William Petre, 11th Baron Petre

Petre and Emma had eight children, including; On 29 September 1832, George Edward Last arrived at Ingatestone Hall in a post-chaise from St. Edmund's College, Ware to replace John Law, who had contracted cholera whilst visiting London earlier in the month.

He took charge of the Ingatestone Mission, at that time one of seven in Essex, and one of his initial concerns was to restore the Ginge Petre Charity to its original Roman Catholic purpose.

A stern but benevolent figure, Lord Petre devoted much of his time to the welfare of his tenants in Essex, and was a generous benefactor of the Church in the county.

E. E. Wilde recalled his efforts in her Ingatestone and the Great Essex Road (1913): "Canon Last, a young, vigorous and popular man, … with the support of Lord Petre, … asserted the right of the Roman Catholics to enjoy the benefit of the Ginge Petre Charity, of which they had been deprived for so many years".During the 1830s, whilst Last was working for the restoration of the charity, the construction of the railway began.

Land was acquired adjoining the High Road in the village for new almshouses, and Lord Petre and Last also proposed to build a new public church nearby.

Twelve single-storey dwellings were constructed in Tudorbethan style of red and white brick, each with a living room, bedroom and scullery.

Lord Petre financed his own contribution to the reconstruction and maintenance of the restored almshouses from private sources and from the sum received in compensation from the railway company.

The pensioners (or "inmates" as they were often referred to) were also required to say their prayers upon rising and retiring, and to care for each other when sick –a duty that a future incumbent of Ingatestone, Roderick Grant (1860–1934), feared was "sometimes more honoured in the breach than the observance".

The priest-treasurer and governor, in addition to being expected to celebrate Mass in the Alms Row chapel at least once monthly, was also required to supervise the keeping of the charity rules by the pensioners.

Together with the appointed pensioners, the governor was to be the absolute owner of the charity land and property, with Lord Petre as patron, reserving to himself and his heirs the right to make new rules for the government of the foundation, or to alter or amend existing regulations.

The new railway proposals required Parliamentary approval, but encountered strong objections, and claims for compensation, from Lord Petre, a major landowner along the projected route.

In the House of Lords, he resisted the Act of Parliament the Company needed to precede until they agreed to pay him six times the compensation originally offered.

He also expressed concern with regard to the effects of the inevitable influx of railway navvies: the latter, many of them from Ireland, had a fearsome reputation, and Essex, as yet, without a modern police force.

However, a fresh dispute began as Lord Petre protested at the inadequate sum awarded to him as compensation for the loss of agricultural land.

The Eastern Counties Railway Company protested at the latter claim, insisting that a panel of surveyors had considered £20,000 a fair total (over £1 million today).

The dispute persisted, but after a period of deadlock, Lord Petre won his case and the railway company paid him six times the compensation originally offered.

The construction from London eastwards began in 1838, but it became apparent the Charity ground in Stock Lane was endangered, as the railway company would require part of the property for the excavation of a cutting.

Henry's son, Francis Petre, was a leading architect who designed the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (Christchurch, New Zealand).

In 1845, Mary Agnes Petre (1816 – ) later married to Mr Douglas, took an inventory of the pictures at Thorndon Hall, the book is divided into a number of sections, each executed in a different style of illumination.