Author: NMDEA

Joseph Shields (1795-1858), Yeoman, Schoolmaster and Grocer, Dalston

By NMDEA
SPC44/2/52/3 John Sanderson Nov 29 1836 to Feb 28 1837 2s 6d

Schooling had been available in Dalston from the late 1600s. Jonathan Rowland, who died in Dalston on 28 August 1742, had been a schoolmaster for 50 years.[1]

With the development of local industry the population of Dalston grew along with the need for children to receive tuition. This could have provided Joseph Shields with the opportunity to increase his income by combining the roles of schoolmaster and grocer with yeoman. Alongside Dalston’s Grammar School (rebuilt in 1815) available to the poorer children of the parish, there were 16 further schools by 1831.[ 2]

Joseph Shields name appears on four overseers’ vouchers for Dalston Parish. [3] They are dated between 1835 and 1837 and concern the schooling of four boys: George and Thomas Roddick, John Sanderson and John Hind. A charge of 2s 6d was made for each boy for a fixed time span of one quarter per year. John Sanderson’s tuition lasted from 30 November 1835 to 1 March 1836.[4] Three girls from the local factory were also tutored for thirteen weeks each at 1d a day. The bill for them amounted to 3s 3d.[ 5] The 1d may have been deducted from their pay at the factory. The payments were made by James Finlinson, at one time Governor of the workhouse, and later Overseer and Surveyor of Dalston.[6]

SPC44/2/52/1 [c.1836] Dalston Parish Joseph Shields for tuition of John Sanderson, Ruddock brothers and 3 Girls from the Factory

Joseph Shields was born on 30 April 1795 in Kirkoswald, Cumberland. He was the son of Joshua Shields (1762-1841) and Margaret Boustead (1762- 1821).[7] Joseph moved to Wetheral and then to Dalston where he married Isabella Crozier, the daughter of Edward Crozier (1798- 1860) and Isabella Lambert (1795-1836) on Christmas Eve 1823. Both Joseph and Isabella signed the register suggesting they had had some education. When their son, Edward, was baptised on 11 June 1826, Joseph’s occupation was given as yeoman at Fountainhead, Near Dalston, but records for the subsequent baptisms of daughters Margaret (7 September 1827) Sarah (10 April 1830) and Isabella (14 August 1831) describe him as a schoolmaster.[8]

In 1834 Shields was listed as the teacher of boys and girls at Buckhowbank, Dalston. Others who also taught there were a Mr Monkhouse, Joseph Thomlinson, Thomas Stubbs, John Richardson’s wife, Esther MacLean (Cumdivock) John Davidson (Gaitskill),Widow Bailey (Raughton) Ann Blaylock (Stockdalewath), Mrs Twentyman and Miss Dugdale. [9 ]

The 1841 Census shows Shields’ occupation as a grocer. When his wife Isabella died (September 13 1845). [10] When the marriage details of his daughters Sarah and Isabella appear in the local papers, he is noted as a schoolmaster. [11] Mannix and Whellan’s directory (1847) lists him as a grocer and schoolmaster. [12] This switching between occupational titles was commonplace. Sometimes it reflected the social status connected with a particular trade or profession; at others it may have reflected the economic importance attached to their different occupations.


The overseers’ voucher does not make any reference to where the children were taught. Dalston Monumental Inscriptions notes refer to Joseph as ‘Keeping a hedge-school at Corsica’.[13] This refers to Corsica Cottage at Buckhowbank, Dalston. It could be that Joseph taught from a room in his own house. He later owned Sunny Vale near Stockdalewath.

The Carlisle Journal of 1853 [14] has a notice for a house , barn and outbuildings to be let at Sunny Vale. Stockdalewath. The same property was again advertised for rent in November 1857, with three acres of land attached being occupied by a Mr Waugh.[15] Further income for Joseph. This property was subsequently put up for sale after Joseph’s death (21 May 1858).[16]

Joseph’s will of 19 May 1858 gave instructions that his money (less than £20) and that from the sale of his property Sunny Vale should be divided between his 4 children: Edward who was living in Australia, having emigrated in 1857; and daughters Margaret (Brown) in Whitehaven, Isabella (Carlile) in Buckhowbank, and Sarah (Wannop), in Liverpool.[17]

Corsica Cottage Buckabank Dalston 2019

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, DRC/2/95, Wilson, J., 1890, The Monumental Inscriptions of the Church, Churchyard and Cemetery of St Michael’s Dalston, Beck, W., (1890)
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR 41/52, Schools in the Parish of Dalston.
[3] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/52/1-4, Dalston Overseers’ Vouchers, 30 November 1835 to April 3 1837, Joseph Shields to James Finlinson for tuition of children.
[4]Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/52/2, Dalston Overseers’ Vouchers, 30 November 1835 – 1 March 1836.
[5] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/52/1, Dalston Overseers’ Vouchers, May 31 to July 21 undated year
[6] Cumbria Archives, Vestry Notices Dalston Parish PR 41/152 List of schools and teachers, 1834.
.[7] Cumbria Archives, PR 9/2, Kirkoswald, St Oswald Parish, Baptism, Marriages and Burials 1659- 1809.
[8] Cumbria Archives, PR 41/8, Dalston Parish Register, 8 Baptisms 1813-1832; PR 41/10, Marriages, 1813-1837.
[9] Cumbria Archives, PR 41/152, Vestry Notices Dalston Parish List of schools and teachers, 1834.
[10] Carlisle Journal, 20 September 1845.
[11] Carlisle Patriot, 18 March 1854, (Isabella Shields); Carlisle Journal, 20 June 1856, (Sarah Shields).
[12] Mannx and Whellan, Directory of Cumberland, 1847.
[13] as [1] Notes et the end of the book with regard to headstones transcribed.
[14] Carlisle Journal, 8 January 1853.
[15] Carlisle Journal, 6 November 1857.
[16] Carlisle Journal, 13 July 1858
[17] Cumbria Archives, PROB 1858/W985b 19 May 1858.

Research is a work in progress and subject to change.

Any information about ‘Hedge Schools’ in England is welcome

Sunny Vale 2019

John and Eleanor Gate (fl. 1753-1776) ‘Whipping ye Dogs out of the Church’

By NMDEA
SPC 44/2/53 Dalston workhouse Account Book 1746-1775
SPC 44/2/53 Dalston Workhouse Account book Payment to Eleanor Gate 1786

A voucher dated 1786 has a payment to Eleanor Gate (nee Carrick) for £1.7s.6d. It does not stipulate what this is for but it may relate to the role that she carried out for St Martin’s Church, Dalston, in the years prior to this.[1]

The marriage of John Gate to Eleanor Carrick was registered in Dalston on 10 June 1725.[2]

Amongst the payments and supplies of clothes and clogs for the poor in Dalston Poorhouse’s account book each May from 1753 appears a payment to first John Gate then Widow Gate for £1.0s.0d for ‘whipping ye dogs out of ye church, opening & shutting ye sashes, sweeping ye church &c for 1 year’. John Gate first received the payment when Isaac Snowden was the master of the poorhouse when he was paid £5.0.0 a year. After John Gate’s death (buried 5 February 1763), his widow Eleanor took over the role. The payments usually appeared at the same time as those to the master of the poorhouse. Eleanor continued to appear in the account book receiving payments until just after John Mark was appointed master of the poorhouse on 3 February 1771. By 1774 ‘Whipping ye dogs out of the Church’ no longer appears to have been a paid task, however, Eleanor received the same payment for the other previously listed tasks. [3]


Dog whippers were engaged by the church to keep order at a time when dogs were perhaps not welcomed but tolerated when they accompanied their owners to church. The role may have also extended to controlling misbehaving children, waking those who had fell asleep or dealing with anything that disrupted the service. This was carried out at other churches. Some dog whippers were provided with a whip, wooden tongs and a uniform. [4]

SPC44/2/37 Payment May 6 1764 to Eleanor Gate for whipping ye dogs out of the church

References
[1] Carlisle Archives, Dalston Voucher, SPC44/2/37 line number to be assigned. June 12- October 5 1786
[2] Carlisle Archives, PR 41/3 Dalston St Michael’s Parish Register of Baptism’s Marriage’s and Buriel,s 1679-1749
[3]Carlisle Archives, SPC 44/2/53 Dalston Workhouse Account Book 1746-1776
[4] Daniel Scott, Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland (1899)

Charles Thurnam and Sons. Bookseller, Printer, Binder and Circulating Library, Cumberland

By NMDEA
CAS, DCL P/8/55, Butcher’s cash book, 1836-1837, Charles Thurnam label

Parish vestries utilized printed documents and books to record the business they carried out. These were supplied by stationers including Charles Thurnam.

There is evidence that Thurnam supplied Dalston Parish with Registration Manuals at 2s. 6d, and Notices for County Voters 6d. [1] He also supplied memo books 2s 6d. [2] From 1820 onwards, he supplied Hayton parish with Apprentice Indenture forms. [3] Local business were supplied with cash account books.[4] He directed some of his advertising at Parish Councils in the following manner:-

To Magistrates, Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor This day is published price 9d per pair the new form of Orders and Indentures for binding parish Apprentices. [5]

and

To the members of the Select Vestries, Parish Overseers &c. Just published 12s A Summary of the Law of Settlement by Sir Gregory Lewin also by the same auther price 14s a Treatise on the maintenance of the poor’. [6]

Charles Thurnam Dalston Overseers Voucher SPC2/44/47/6 1837
CAS, SPC44/2/47/16 Dalston Overseers voucher, Charles Thurnam, 1837

Charles Hutchinson Thurnam was born on 15 April 1796 in Edinburgh. He was the youngest of three brothers. His father Timothy Thurnam (c.1770- 1798) a surgeon married Dorothy Graham (b1768)  at Grey Friars, Edinburgh, on 11 January 1819.  Her father  William Graham was also a surgeon and apothecary who had married Dorothy Brisco in 1762. He died in Carlisle in October 1782 aged 45.[7]  Charles Thurnam’s brother  Timothy  became a surgeon in the Army. In 1798 when Timothy was 28 he died when the ship carrying him to India sank. At some point after this, Charles along with his two brothers William Graham Thurnam (b.1792) and John Dodsworth Thurnam (b.1794) moved to Dalston, a village 4 miles from the city of Carlisle. Their mother may have been with them, however, a death did occur of a Dorothy Graham married to T. Thurnam in St Cuthbert’s Parish, Edinburgh, in 1799. [8 ] This Dorothy Graham might be the mother of the three Thurnam boys.

Charles was to see both his brothers die at a young age. William joined the army in 1807 and died from wounds received at Doola (Doolia) near Malligaum, India, while serving in the army of the East India Company on March 14 1823 aged 31.[9] John Dodsworth died as a result of illness on 20 May 1829 aged 26. [10]

Charles moved to Carlisle and began his stationary business at 5 English Street in 1816, selling books and journals as well as patent medicines.[11]. It was common at the time for booksellers to sell medicines. A year later he established a subscription circulating library lending ‘best sellers’ and other popular works that reflected public demand. Probably beyond the reach of the poor, it was particularly popular with middle-ranking women, although some raised concerns about the effect the books would have on their morals and manners.[12]

On 11 January 1819 Charles married Ann Graham (1800-1857) daughter of John Graham, surgeon, in Carlisle. While they went on to have a large family, many of their children died at a relatively young age. William and Harriet as infants , Mary Elizabeth (1840-1843) aged 3, and Charles (1821-1840) aged 19.[13]. Margaret Dorothea (1819-1879), Isabel (1829-1878) and Ann Harriet (1834-1917) remained unmarried and compared with others in the family lived to a good age. Ann Harriet ran part of the stationery business that had expanded into music. Her sister Katherine (1826-1875) married Henry Edmund Ford (1821-1909) organist at Carlisle Cathedral who also was involved with the music side of the business.[14]

Charles expanded the business by becoming an insurance agent. Charles’ own life insurance helped pay off mortgages after his death. [15] The Circulating Library continued to grow. By 1827 it had 1000 books on its list, and continued in exostence until the 1950s.[16]

Other traders in the city benefitted from Charles’ patronage. An account with a city butcher to whom he supplied a cash book, shows some of the items he bought in April 1837, beef 7s 9d, kidney 1s, a calf’s head 3s, as well as a lot of mutton.[17] The bill for 1837 totalled £5.7s.9d. John Robson, a chemist, also provided him with supplies: 2 oz Olives and 1 oz Cinnamon in September 1832 as well as turpentine, glue, vinegar and six books of gold leaf.[18 ]

DCL P/8/55 Charles Thurnam account in Butcher’s cash book 1837

Charles seems to have been driven to succeed being regularly seen in English Street collecting parcels in the early hours from the coaches that ran between Edinburgh, Carlisle and London. In August 1835 the Proprietors of the Carlisle Patriot asked Charles to take over the printing of the newspaper from the old Patriot Office. This became inconvenient for Charles and soon afterwards he removed the presses and other materials to his own premises. On the 16 August 1836 a meeting of the newspaper proprietors was called at the Bush Inn, Carlisle. An order was issued to return the press which belonged to the Patriot Committee. An altercation followed this meeting between Charles and Dr John James. At some point Dr James sustained some injuries and issued a writ for assault against Charles Thurnam 29 August 1836. There were no witnesses to give evidence as to the cause of his injuries although William Nicholson Hodgson, pawnbroker, gave evidence at the Christmas Sessions 1837 to the effect that he heard the ‘scuffle’. [19] The matter seems to have been resolved and Thurnam’s business prospered.

After Charles’ death on 28 April 1852, the business was taken over by his widow Ann and trustees (their sons William Graham (1836-1859) and James Graham (1837-1872) were under 21).[20] Charles left annuities to his daughters in his will including his second eldest daughter Anna Maria Brisco (1822-1872) who married Josiah Foster Fairbank (1821-1899) in 1854 and moved to Scarborough. The same year family history repeated itself on 29 June another son Dodsworth John (1828-1854) died at sea. With the death of their mother Ann on 31 January 1857, the business continued in the hands of William Graham and his brother James Graham.[21]

In 1859 William had become ill and, seeking to improve his health, he went to Rome but died whilst there on 8 August.[22] With the death of James Graham in 1872 the ownership of Charles Thurnam and Sons by a member of the family ceased. Later owners continued to trade under the Thurnam name. The name Thurnam perhaps now having a proven brand recognised in the city.

Charles and Ann Thurnam had one more son, George (1825-1868). He was never mentioned in his parents wills although he did start working with his father. After 1841 he appears to have moved away from Carlisle. An engraver by trade first marrying Mary Ann Mayne in Lambeth, London, on 14 June 1846 then after her death Margaretta Long in Hammersmith, London, on 4 January 1863.[23] Both Isabel and Margaret Dorothea left a legacy of £100 each to his children George Charles Thurnam and James Edward Thurnam. [24]

Margaret Dorothea and her sisters Ann and Isabel had shares in properties at Brownelson and Lingyclose Head near Dalston and properties once occupied by Thurnams and Sons at English Street, Kings Arms Lane and Peascod Lane, Carlisle. In 1916 Ann lived at 22 Hartington Place, Carlisle, which had been purchased by Margaret Dorothea. Margaret Dorothea and Isabel left shares of their estates not only to each other but to their named nephews and nieces. Margaret Dorothea also left legacies to various charities and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

This is a work in progress subject to change with ongoing research.
.

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives SPC44/2/47/16 Dalston Overseer Voucher 1 February 1837-20 January 1838; SPC44/2/48 no line number Dalston Overseers Voucher April 13- May 21 1831.
[2] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/48 no line number Dalston Overseers Voucher April 13- May 21 1831
[3] Cumbria Archives, PR102/126 Apprenticeship Indentures ,1783-1833, St Mary Magdalene, Hayton (Charles Thurnam (1820 onwards).
[4] Cumbria Archives DCL P/8/55 Butcher (T Mitchell?) meat sold book 1836-1837.
[5] Carlisle Patriot, 2 August 1817.
[6] Carlisle Journal, 25 April 1829.
[7] www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk accessed 8 July 2019.  Cumbria Archives St Cuthbert’s Monumental Inscriptions
[8] www.scotlandspeople.cov.uk accessed 8 July 2019.
[9] www.Books.google.co.uk Alphabetical List of Officers of the Indian Army 1760-1834 Bombay Presidency, Edward Dodwell. Accessed 7 July 2019.
[10] Headstone at St Cuthbert’s Church, Carlisle, Cumbria 1 July 2019.
[11] Cumberland News 4 November, 1916, p. 5.
[12] Carlisle Patriot, 5 April 1817
[13] Carlisle Journal, 3 June 1843
[14] Cumberland News, 5 July 1991
[15] J. Pigot and Co. National Commercial Directory Cumberland & Westmorland and Lancashire Pigot Directory 1829 (London and Manchester, 1828), Charles Thurnam, English Street, Carlisle.
[16]Carlisle Patriot 10 March 1827

[17] see 4
[18] Cumbria Archives, DB 138/1 Accounts John Robson Chemist 3 Account Books goods bought by named customers, 1834-1845.
[19] Cumbria Archives, DHOD/13/153 Papers Assault, Dr James Surgeon of Carlisle.
[20] Carlisle Patriot, 1 May 1852.
[21] Cumbria Archives DRC/22/95, J. Wilson. 1890 The Monumental Inscriptions of the church Churchyard and Cemetery of St Michael’s Dalston W Beck (1890).
[22] Carlisle Journal, 20 May 1859.
[23] www.ancestry.co.uk accessed, 1 July 2019.
[24] Cumbria Archives, PROB 1879/W880, Will of Margaret Dorothea Thurnam, 1879.

 

Footnote
Charles Thurnam and Ann Graham were buried at St Michael’s Church Dalston Cumbria Archives (Dalston Monumental Inscription of the church of St Michael 1890)
When Thurnam and Son’s celebrated its 100th anniversary. It was reported she was the last survivor of the family along with her nephew Dr William Rowland Thurnam (1868-1941) son of James Graham Thurnam and Elizabeth Irving. A survivor of Tuberculosis he specialised in it’s treatment Others were found while researching this blog amongst hem Edmund Brisco Ford (1901-1998) an Ecological Geneticist, Grandson of Henry E Ford and Katherine Thurnam as well as the descendents of Josiah Fairbanks and Anna Maria Brisco Thurnam.

 

Tinniswoods of Waygill Hill, Talkin, Hayton Parish

By NMDEA
Waygill Hill, Talkin, 2019

Waygill Hill was a farm near Talkin Village. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was owned by the Tinniswood family; one of the principal families in the area. Other branches of the Tinniswood family lived at Cumcatch and Boothby.

Wills going back to the early 1700s suggest they had a comfortable income. The Reverend Whitehead writes about the Tinniswoods of Waygill Hill in 1879 alluding to their importance in the area and the subsequent loss of the farm.[1]

Waygill Hill passed into the custody of Robert Tinniswood (1752-1820) and his wife Dorothy Bell (1759-1829) although the exact date is unknown. They appeared to be prospering, owning other farms in the area. Subsequently property sale announcements begin to appear for the farms in the local newspapers. Far Tarn End Estate was put up for sale in 1814. [2] Ash Tree Farm and Waygill Hill (which had already been re-mortgaged in 1809) followed. [3] When Robert Tinniswood died in 1820 there was very little left. [4] Robert was described by the Rev Whitehead as ‘an extravagant man‘. Robert’s widow moved to nearby Brampton, possibly to live with two of her children Jane and Elizabeth.

The first voucher referring to the Tinniswoods and settled by Richard Brown is dated January 1833. [5] It relates to Robert and Dorothy’s oldest son John Tinniswood (1772-1831) who probably expected to succeed his father at the farm. One of the items on the voucher refers to

‘a journey to Carlisle to consult Mr Saul [solicitor] about E Tinniswood 4s.0.’

A report in the Carlisle Patriot provides the probable circumstances which the voucher relates to. [6] Kirkbampton Parish faced with the financial care of Elizabeth Tinniswood’s unborn child were seeking her removal to Hayton where they felt her settlement lay. Witnesses were called, amongst them Elizabeth’s mother, now called Mrs Thompson. She explained that she married John Tinniswood at Gretna but he soon left her. She gave birth to Elizabeth in Dumfries and took her to John Tinniswood in Hayton. As her marriage had no legal standing, she was encouraged by a magistrate to pursue John for money. An 1816 bastardly order for St Mary’s Within, Carlisle, named John Tinniswood as the father of the child of Elizabeth Calden. [7] Mrs Thompson said that John Tinniswood subsequently married at least twice more at Gretna but on each occasion left his wife.

Cross-border marriages were common at this time due to the difference in English and Scottish marriage laws. Brampton and Hayton were foremost amongst English border settlements taking advantage of irregular marriages on the Scottish side of the border. It was a booming business.

Young Elizabeth Tinniswood was taken to the workhouse in Hayton where she lived until the age of 11. She explained that she left the workhouse and went into service. For two years she had been at Elizabeth Proud’s  Hardbank Mill working, as she said, for ‘her meat and clothes‘. 

John Tinniswood died in 1831. There are no records of his marriages or any other children he may have had. No decision was reached in Elizabeth’s case. It was due to be heard again at another session. This may not have happened. Elizabeth Tinniswood gave birth to a daughter named Eliza on 30 July 1832 in Hayton. She was baptised privately but died 2 August 1832. [8]


PR102/114/4, Hayton Overseers’ Vouchers, 17 January 1833.

Robert Tinniswood (1773-1861), the second son, was an innkeeper at Low Gelt Bridge with his wife Christina Brown. In January 1817 they were faced with the prospect of bankruptcy. His effects and estate were assigned to Joseph Cox and Thomas Halliburton for the benefit of Tinniswood’s creditors. [9] The property itself was not put up for sale but all the goods in it were. In May of the same year his father was attempting to sell Waygill Hill.

A voucher dated 1821 ‘to buy clothing for ‘Tinniswood Child at 2s’ may refer to Robert’s children.[10] Robert, now working as an agricultural labourer, and his family remained at Bye Gelt.

George Tinniswood (1798-1859) was the fourth born and third surviving son. He never married. He worked on the Brackenthwaite Estate at Cumrew.[11] Like his two brothers, he was an agricultural labourer. By this time their parents’ farm was owned by Mr Graham of Edmund Castle.

Margaret was the eldest daughter born in 1780 but nothing can confidently be attributed to her life or her sister Mary. Mary (1782-1818) died 2 years before her father. The Carlisle Patriot describes her as dying after a lingering illness.[12]

Another daughter Dorothy (1785-1858) married first Thomas Simpson Wills (1774-1809) then after his death the Reverend John Leech (1793-1864) on 9 August 1820. They moved shortly after to Berwick upon Tweed. Her son, Edmond Wills, appears in another voucher.[13]

‘Rec’d Apr 10 1833 of ‘David Watt [Parish Clerk] the sum of £1.15s for Henry Browns House due to Edmond Wills for whose use received the same E Tinniswood’.

It has been assumed this is Elizabeth Tinniswood, Dorothy’s sister. Edmond Wills (1808-1856) subsequently entered the clergy living in Barkstone, Lincolnshire.

The two unmarried sisters, Elizabeth Tinniswood (1787-1870) and Jane (1789-1863) were left £20 by their mother in her will of 1831. Around this time they began trading as confectioners and grocers in Brampton [14]. They were still trading at Front Street when Jane died in 1863. [15] She left her estate of less than £200 to her sister Elizabeth. [16] When Jane died they had been trading at the same place Front Street, Brampton, for around 35 years. Elizabeth left her estate of under £100 to her surviving brother William (1794-1878). William, having moved to Leeds, Yorkshire, was an excise officer.[17]

Thomas (1791-1851), the other brother, had married Betsy Watson and had a large family. He was first surveyor of taxes for Eskdale Ward which included Brampton and Hayton then from 1820 Berwick upon Tweed. [18] He died at 31 King Street, Carlisle in 1851. [19]

Waygill Hill still stands near Talkin village today. The Tinniswood sons perhaps hoped for a future on their father’s farm but it was not to be. An epitaph to their father was placed in Hayton Church. [20] although I couldn’t find it in April 2019.

‘Farewell vain world, I’ve seen enough of thee’ And now am careless what thou say’st of me;. Thy smiles I court not, nor thy frowns I fear, My cares are past, my head lies quiet here. What faults you view in me take care to shun, and look at home; enough there’s to be done’

Former Workhouse Hayton Cumberland April 2019 Photo taken by M Dean April 2019
Former Workhouse Hayton, Cumberland, April 2019 Photo taken by M Dean

Sources
[1] Carlisle Patriot, 12 December 1879
[2] Carlisle Journal, 16 July 1814
[3] Carlisle Patriot, 11 December 1829
[4] Cumbria Archives, PROB1826/AB(38) Administration Bond, Robert Tinniswood
[5] Cumbria Archives, PR102/114/4, Hayton Overseers’ Vouchers, 1 January 1833
[6] Carlisle Patriot, 7 July 1832
[7] Cumbria Archives, CQ 5/7 Carlisle, Quarter Sessions, Bastardly Recognitions, Midsummer 1816.
[8] Cumbria Archives, PR 102/8 Hayton, St Mary Magdalene Parish Burial Register 1811-1879
[9] Carlisle Patriot, 18 January 1817
[10] Cumbria Archives, PR102/110/2, Hayton Overseers’ Vouchers, December 19 1821
[11] Carlisle Journal, 25 March 1859
[12] Carlisle Patriot, 7 February 1818
[13] Cumbria Archives, PR102/114/8, Hayton Overseers’ Vouchers, 10 April 1833
[14] Parsons, W. M. & White, W.C., History, Directory and Gazetteer of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland (Pigot & Co., 1829)
[15] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1863/W125a, Will of Jane Tinniswood
[16] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1870/W653a, Will of Elizabeth Tinniswood
[17] www.findmypast.co.uk accessed 1 June 2019
[18] Carlisle Patriot, 19 February 1820
[19] Carlisle Journal, 28 March 1831
[20] Cumbria Archives PR 60/5

Various reference to the Tinniswoods in Catalogue of the Howard Family papers related to Cumberland. Durham University Library accessed at www.http://endure.dur.ac.uk:8080/fedora/get/UkDhU:EADCatalogue.0154/PDF accessed 1 June 2019

Christopher Crozier (1783-1839),Blacksmith, Brampton

By NMDEA

Voucher PR60/21/13/5/52, 17 September 1817, Expenses to take Christopher Crozier from Carlisle to Newcastle

Christopher Crozier was a blacksmith by trade like his father William, and his brother William (1783-1856). Christopher and William were baptised on the same day 2 February 1783. Their mother was Arabella or Isabella Hetherington. Two other brothers Joseph (1790-1842) and Quintin (1788-1823) were also smiths: Joseph a blacksmith, and Quintin a whitesmith. All operated within the town of Brampton. Christopher also had 3 sisters: Mary (1784-1851), who married John Aikin; Isabella (b.1795) and Margaret (b.1798).[1]

A voucher for Brampton parish dated 17 September 1817 although torn and missing the lower half gives an insight into a brief period in Christopher’s life.[2] Expenses had been incurred by an unknown person for the taking of Christopher from Carlisle to Newcastle. They include:-
⦁ Burns Coach to Carlisle 2s 6d Driver 6d [Coach Carlisle to Newcastle[3]
⦁ Supper 1s 6d Ale 1s
⦁ Breakfast 1s 3d Gin 4d
⦁ Paid Wm Jackson Jailor 8s 6d
⦁ Turn key for Irons 2s
⦁ Hector Glendinning [blacksmith] for Iron Crozier 2s
⦁ Coach Fare to Newcastle £1.12s.
⦁ Bread cheese & Ale for Crozier at Carlisle 1s 2d

The assumption from the items on the voucher is that Christopher had committed a crime. Court records (15 April 1817) show that he was accused of larceny (theft), but received no punishment.[4 ] The Carlisle Patriot gives a little more information reporting that Christopher had stolen some bank notes and when asked how he would be tried replied ‘By the Spirit‘. No further court proceedings took place as he was considered not to be of sound mind.[5 ] It is possible that owing to his state of mind and his family being unable to help him that Christopher was placed in safe custody. Guidelines of the Safe Custody of Insane Persons Act 1800 allowed for this.[6]


Another voucher dated two years earlier (2 December 1815) is for eleven weeks board for Christopher Crozier at a cost of £4.8s.[7] The other named parties being Messrs Pow and Cook (grocers in Mosley Street, Newcastle) and Drs Wood and Glenton, which suggests this is not the first time that Christopher has had some aberration.[8] In 1817 there was no mental health facility near to Brampton, the nearby city of Carlisle’s Garlands Hospital not being opened until 1862. The Asylum at Warden Close, Newcastle was the nearest, where Dr J. Wood and Dr F. Glenton were physicians.

Examination of military records reveals that Christopher, like his brother William, joined the army on 26 September 1807 serving in the 1st Battalion, 5th Foot Regiment. The Peninsular War saw Wellington’s Anglo-Portuguese force besiege Ciudad Rodrigo in Spain from 7-20 January 1812. One of those injured was Christopher, suffering a gunshot wound to the leg on 19 January 1812. He was considered unfit for further service and discharged on 1 April 1812. [9] Whether he suffered any mental affliction as well as physical injury as a result of his five and half years army service can only be speculated upon.

Voucher /21/13/5/114 5 January 2019 13 weeks Board for Christopher Crozier in the Lunatic Hospital

Problems with overcrowding at Warden Close Asylum in Newcastle may explain why another voucher for grocers, Pow and Cook dated 5 January 1818 is for 13 weeks board at a cost of £5.4s ‘for Christopher Crozier in the lunatic hospital. [10] Thomas Bells’s name appears on the back of the voucher. [11]

One more voucher headed ‘Parish of Brampton to Thos Bell’ suggests that Christopher recovered enough to return to his family in Brampton.[12] It is for 15s 9d ‘Expenses when C Crozier returned’ on 11 July 1818. Christopher’s and Joseph’s names appear in the 1828-29 trade directories as blacksmiths at Back Street, Brampton, suggesting Christopher was either working or attempting to do so.[13]

Christopher Crozier died in 1839 his brother Quintin had already died in 1823.  Brothers Joseph and William appear on the 1841 Census in Brampton, Joseph still a blacksmith with his wife Mary Moffit, William (who had also been injured during his army service in the 21st Foot Regiment) an Army Pensioner with his wife Susan.[14]  After Joseph died in 1842 his widow Mary made a living in Brampton as a publican .One establishment she ran being the Jolly Butcher.  Prior to 1841, William his eldest brother was found guilty of steeling sovereigns from Thomas Knott  and was sentenced to transportation for life in March 1836, but this was later commuted to a 6 month prison sentence. He died in 1856. and by 1861 his widow Susan was an inmate in Brampton Workhouse. Mary, his sister, moved to Newcastle with her surviving children after her husband John Aikin’s death. [15]

Footnote
Dr James Wood died in 1822,[16 ]and Dr Frederick Glenton 1824.[17] Whilst they had their supporters, [18] in 1824 Newcastle City Council on advice given in a report into the running of Warden Close Lunatic Asylum concluded that it had been run as a private asylum for the benefit of the physicians and action was taken to redress this. The morals of treatment turned towards non restraint, provision of more space , land for gardens and access to sewing, music and reading. It eventually closed around 1855.[19]

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, PR 60/2, Brampton, St Martin Parish Register of Baptisms
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR60/21/13/5/52 Brampton Poor Law Voucher, 7 September 1817
[3] Carlisle Patriot, 26 April 1817
[4] England & Wales Crime, Prisons Punishment 1770- 1935 Cumberland Court records, 15 April 1817, accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk, 20 April 2019
[5] Carlisle Patriot, 19 April 1817
[6] www.oldbaileyonline.org, accessed 20 April 2019
[7] Cumbria Archives, PR60/21/13/5/22, Brampton Poor Law Voucher, 2 December 1815
[8] Tyne Mercury, Northumberland & Durham & Cumberland Gazette, 17 January 1804
[9] The National Archives, Kew, War Office Armed Forces Judge Advocate General and Related Bodies, 1807-1813, WO 121/129/134, Christopher Crozier, accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk, 20 April 2019
[10] Tyne and Wear Archive Service Catalogues, H O S N, St Nicholas Hospital Gosforth, 1829-2005
[11] Cumbria Archives, PR60/21/13/5/114, Brampton Poor Law Voucher, 5 January 1818
[12] Cumbria Archive Service, PR60/21/13/65, Brampton Poor Law Voucher, 11 July 1818
[13] Parson W. M. & White, W. E., History, Directory & Gazetteer of the Counties of Cumberland & Westmorland (1829) . Pigot and Co., National Commercial Directory Cheshire- Northumberland for 1828-29 (J Pigot & Co).
[14] The National Archives, Kew, War office Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General and Related Bodies, WO 97/1184C/227, William Crozier, 1821, accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk, 20 April 2019
[15] Carlisle Patriot 10 April 1846, p 2-3.  Carlisle Journal 26 March 1836 p 2.   www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 20 April 2019
[16] Tyne Mercury, Northumberland & Durham & Cumberland Gazette 11 February 1822
[17] Newcastle Courant 10 April 1824
[18] Tyne Mercury, Northumberland & Durham & Cumberland Gazette 19 February 1822
[19] Tyne and Wear Archive Service Catalogues H O S N, St Nicholas Hospital Gosforth 1829-2005

 

 

This is a work in progress subject to change with new research

Townley’s Chemist and Druggist, Brampton

By NMDEA
L Townley Druggist PR60/21/13/5/58
L Townley Druggist PR60/21/13/5/58

Brampton was provided with a medicine dispensing service by its physicians and by the town chemist, Lancelot Townley (c.1750-1824). His daughter Elizabeth (1791- 1865) followed him into the business as possibly did another daughter, Hannah (1799-1837). Elizabeth’s and Hannah’s siblings were William (b.1781), Jane (1783-1855) Michael (1784-1808), George (b.1787), Mary (1789-1790), George (b.1794), and Sarah (b.1798).[1] The involvement of Mary Holmes (c.1754-1819) wife of Lancelot or their other children who survived into adulthood in the business near Front Street, is not known.

Peter Barfoot and John Wilkes  1797 directory lists a Mr Townley as a Druggist. [2] In Jollies’ 1811 directory L Townley Druggist is named as a trader in Brampton. [3]. It is assumed this is Lancelot Townley. His bill to Brampton the overseers from 3 March 1817 to 18 March 1818 is for a Physic 3d, and three lots of medicines priced at 10d, 9d and 6d respectively. The total amounting to £0. 2s. 4d.[4]

Mary (Holmes) Townley died in 1819 and Lancelot in 1824. [5] Looking at the trade directories it appears that their daughter Elizabeth has taken on the role of chemist on her own, but in his will Lancelot Townley left everything equally to his two daughters Elizabeth and Hannah. The will stipulates: ‘To my two daughters Elizabeth and Hannah my household furniture, stock in trade together with all my money and securities for money’. [6] It is conceivable that Hannah entered the family business and that they worked together perhaps following their father’s recipes. Preparation of qualified doctors’ prescriptions may have been undertaken, although they may have had no formal qualifications themselves. Perhaps they learned their trade from their father. Until the 1868 Pharmacy Act training for chemists had not been standardized. They may even have been seen as a competitor by the doctors.

There are no newspaper notices as to what they may have been selling or whether they sold non-pharmaceutical goods. Their father’s bill is for the overseers and it is the only one found so far. This may be an indication that their pool of customers came the less well off, as paying doctors’ fees was not an option for them. Equally, many chemists and druggists served a predominantly middle-class clientele. By 1829 Elizabeth had competition from Henry Dobson and others who traded as chemist’s and also selling tea, oils and colours.[7]

Hannah Townley died in 1837, however Elizabeth Townley can be found on the 1841 Census at Brampton Lane still trading as a Chemist. She is absent from subsequent trade directories. Elizabeth’s sister Jane , married to clockmaker William Richardson, died in 1855. His business near the Horse Head Inn which became the Nag’s Head[8] Subsequent census returns reveal that Elizabeth provided herself with an income by offering lodgings, described asa lodging house keeper on the 1861 Census. This was a common practice for many women. Elizabeth Townley’s niece Mary Townley died in 1864.[9] She left her assets to her half-sister Elizabeth Holmes Latimer of Townley Place and Stamford House, her stepfather William Richardson and aunt Elizabeth Townley. It reveals she owned property herself at the West End of Brampton which provided her with an income. Along with her half-sister Elizabeth Holmes Richardson (Latimer) the other witness to her will was John Pears, chemist.

Elizabeth Townley died a year later in 1865, but appears to have left no will.[10]

A modest headstone commemorates Hannah, Elizabeth and their niece Mary Townley at Brampton Old Churchyard adjacent to a larger columned headstone to Mary’s half sister Elizabeth Holmes Richardson (1823-1888) and her husband William Latimer (1831-1865), solicitor.

Sources
[1] ancestry.co.uk,  accessed 11 April 2019
[2]Peter Barfoot and John Wilkes Universal British Directory, Vol 5 (London: c.1797)
[3] F. Jollie, Cumberland Guide and Directory (1811)
[4] Cumbria Archives, PR60/21/13/5/58, Brampton Overseers’ Voucher, March 1817 to March 1818
[5] Carlisle Journal, 6 March 1819
[6] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1814/W399, Will of Lancelot Townley 1824
[7] W. Parson and W. White Directory and Gazetteer Cumberland and Westmorland (1829)
[8] Cumbria Archives, Brampton Monumental Inscriptions (Cumbria Family History Society) Cumbria Libraries VF B-BRA/9 Penfold John, The Clockmakers’ of Brampton Set  7 1974, in Papers on the history of Brampton and District 
[9] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1864/WCOD293, Will of Mary Townley 1864
[10]Carlisle Journal, 17 March 1865

Hannah, Elizabeth and niece Mary Townley Headstone (foreground) Brampton Old Churchyard photo taken M Dean 7 April2019
Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary Townley (niece) Headstone in the foreground Brampton Old Churchyard Taken M. Dean 7 April 2019

 

George Graham. Surgeon, Brampton. 1783-1847

By NMDEA

 

George Graham was a surgeon in Brampton. During his working life he encountered both the poor and the non-poor. His name appears on voucher PR60/21/13/5 which relates predominantly to child deliveries with fees ranging from 15s to £1.5s. As one item on the bill relates to the Workhouse it is assumed that the mothers were poor.[1] The mothers are referred to by the prefix ‘Miss’ and a surname. One is simply referred to as ‘a pauper in Brampton’. Excepting a Miss Robb or Ross and the pauper however, it is possible to determine who some of those concerned are.


Cumbria Archives Service, PR60/21/13/5, Brampton Overseers’ Voucher, Dr Graham, 22 Mar. 1816


Four have been identified: Robert, illegitimate son of Margaret Dobson 11 March 1814, Forrest Head. Ann, illegitimate daughter of Ann Atkinson, spinster, 5 May 1815, Brampton; George, illegitimate son of Sarah Taylor, weaver, 5 November 1815 Brampton; and Margaret, illegitimate daughter of Margaret Wallace, 12 January 1816, Brampton.

From parish registers, four have been identified: Robert, illegitimate son of Margaret Dobson, 11 March 1814, Forrest Head; Ann, illegitimate daughter of Ann Atkinson, spinster, 5 May 1815, Brampton; George, illegitimate son of Sarah Taylor, weaver, 5 November 1815, Brampton; and Margaret, illegitimate daughter of Margaret Wallace, 12 January 1816, Brampton.[2]

Other vouchers bearing Dr Graham’s name are for medication but it is not clear who they are for. Medicines include, Cream Tartar 4d, Cordial Mixture 3s, Diuretic Mixture 3s, Bronchial Mixture 3s, Opening Powder 6d, and Tonic Powders 5s. Although the precise ingredients are not stipulated, Dr T J Graham’s Modern Domestic Medicine (1837) may give some idea as to the ingredients used.[3]

Dr Graham was born at Bankhead, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire on 15 October 1783 in the Esk Basin. This was once known as the ‘Debatable Land’ between England and Scotland where the Graham, Armstrong, Bell and Elliot families administered the law. George Graham had five siblings: three sisters Sarah (1777-1862), Janet (1778-1841) Margaret or Peggy (1786-1836), and brothers William (1781- 1849) and John (1789- 1838). Sarah married farmer Richard Johnstone (1773-1873) and Janet also married a farmer, John Hope (1779 -1866). [4] George’s parents Peter Graham (1740-1825) and Ann Nichol (1747-1831) left the farm at Bankhead around 1790 and moved the short distance to Cubbyhill near Longtown.[5] George became a Surgeon, John became a silk mercer in London, and William took over the farm.


Dr Graham gained his Surgical Diploma in Edinburgh and began practice initially in Longtown Cumberland aged 23. His name is amongst those balloted for the Militia but he did not serve, a substitute took his place[6]


Working Life
Dr Graham began practice in Brampton in 1811. His name can be found in the 1829 trade directory at Market Place. [7] He was one of three surgeons in Brampton; the others being T. Gilbanks, H. Dobson and W. Fleming. In 1834 he was joined by an assistant William Armstrong (1812-1886), also born in Canonbie. Dr Graham purchased a property in Market Place in the centre of Brampton for £400 in 1836 and began a Doctors’ Partnership with Dr Armstrong in 1839. [8] They can be both found on the 1841 Census at Front Street, Brampton. They were joined in the practice by John Graham(1820-1893) George Graham’s nephew, one of his brother William’s 12 children. John Graham continued in the practice till 1861 when he sold up to leave for London along with his wife.[9] William Armstrong continued to be involved in Brampton affairs, becoming Justice of the Peace for Cumberland and Chairman of the Brampton Poor Relief Fund in 1878. He died at Garden Terrace, Brampton, 5 August 1886.[10]

 

Brampton Stocks, 2019

Some of Dr Graham’s work involved the administration of justice. Local newspapers give an insight into what is hoped were the less common events in his working life. In 1836 he ordered the release of a Jwhonnie Steeson (sic) from his punishment in the stocks Market Place, Brampton. The event was recalled by local poet Peter Burn (1831- 1902).[11] In 1841 at the trial of Jane Hogg and her mother Mary Hogg for the murder of Jane’s newborn child, Dr Graham gave evidence. Jane and Mary Hogg were both found guilty but the death sentence was commuted. The Jury asked for leniency for Jane. Lord Chief Justice Denman said of her mother Mary ‘if I were perfectly convinced that she had destroyed the child for the purpose of saving the expense of keeping it … I should have no choice but to leave her to the executioner’. [12] He felt that all the facts were not known. Jane was given a life sentence, Mary was transported on 2 May 1842 to Van Diemen’s Land never to return.[13]

All three doctors were together two years before Dr George Graham’s death at the celebration of the Earl of Carlisle’s birthday at the Howard Arms, Brampton.[14]

Doctor Graham’s death is reported in the Carlisle Patriot, 2 July 1847: ‘At Brampton on the 26th ult George Graham Esq surgeon aged 63 much respected by a wide circle of acquaintances‘. [15] He was buried at Lanercost, two miles from Brampton.[16]


This is a work in progress and subject to change with new research


Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, PR60/21/13/5, Brampton Overseers’ Vouchers, 22 March 1816
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR60/7, Brampton, St Martin’s Parish. Register of Baptisms, 1813-1835
[3] Thomas J. Graham, Modern Domestic Medicine. A popular treatise illustrating the symptoms, causes and distinction and correct treatment of the diseases incident to the human frame; embracing the modern improvement in medicine (7th edn., 1837), https;// books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
[4] www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
[5] Dumfries and Galloway Family History Society, Canonbie Parish Church Monumental Inscriptions (2006).
6] Cumbria Archives, Q/MIL. Militia Liable Books, 1690-1831, (1806-1812)
[7] W. Parson and W. White. Directory and Gazetteer Cumberland and Westmorland (1829).
[8] Cumbria Archives, DCART/B/2/19/2, Deeds and Probates re: Clarke’s property in Market Street[Place] purchased by George Graham Surgeon of Brampton (B1); Carlisle Patriot, 10 November 1838; Carlisle Journal, 12 April 1843; Carlisle Patriot, 13 August 1856
[9] Carlisle Journal, 11 January 1861
[10] Carlisle Journal, 10 August 1886
[11] Carlisle Journal, 20 January 1893
[12] Carlisle Journal, 7 August 1841
[13] www. convictrecords.com.au, accessed 14 Mar. 2019.
[14] Carlisle Journal 20, September 1845
[15] Carlisle Patriot, 2 July 1847
[16] Cumbria Archives, Carlisle, PR 121/9, Lanercost, St Mary Magdalene Parish Burial Register, 1813-1870

Isaac Dodd (1744-1818), Vestry Clerk, Skelton

By NMDEA

Voucher PR 10/V/10/6 March 6 1785 payment to Rebecca Dixon

The poor of Skelton received relief from funds made available from charging ratepayers of the Parish. Payments were made by Isaac Dodd, referred to as Vestry Clerk but occasionally Parish Clerk. A few of those mentioned in the vouchers as receiving poor relief are Philip Bowman, Rebecca Dixon, Sarah Moor and Jane Sewell for child maintenance; and Thomas Gill and Edward Tinkler for house rent. William Hogg and Joseph Nelson received payments for providing board for the poor, and John Hutton for help when he was ill.

Voucher PR10/V/14/1 1 September 1788 Philip Bowman
Voucher PR10/V/14/1 1 September 1788 Philip Bowman

Dodd’s name appears on numerous vouchers found between 1783 and 1786. He also received letters from the poor asking for help. One such letter in July 1790 came from William Turner of Whitehaven asking for 20-30 shillings so his daughter can start up a business in a small shop. He says that he is old and in ill health and a burden to her. His daughter was already struggling to maintain herself and her family. William said that he had asked the Parish Officer of Whitehaven for help but they contended that he did not belong to them. It is assumed they don’t think he has a ‘settlement’ in the parish. Therefore, he is writing to Isaac Dodd as he must believe his place of settlement is with Skelton. Notes at the bottom of the letter refer to a Barbara Nelson and that notice is to be taken of Frances Graham, presumably to help determine his case.

Parish Clerk
Isaac was appointed to the post of Parish Clerk by the then Rector, Rev’d Samuel Starkey  (1747-1804) in January 1786 and continued [in the role] after the appointment of Rev’d Tovey Jolliffe (1750-1830) in 1791. In 1810 the Overseers of the Poor and Churchwardens Account Book records that he was paid £1 1s 0d a year. He also received payments for supplying communion wine £2 15s 0d and washing the church linen £0 5s 0d in 1805. His name appears in the account book on other occasions, recording the payments to parish poor and when attending the quarter sessions. Isaac’s name is also recorded frequently as a witness at weddings in the parish. It is not known if he received any payment for doing so. On the birth of his son in 1772 the parish register records Dodd’s occupation as a tailor. It was common for holders of parish officers to have a main occupation.

Family
Issac appears to have been born in Croglin, a small village about 14 miles from Skelton  on the 13 August 1744. His siblings were Joseph (1739), John (1742) Thomas (1747-1747) Mary (1749), William (1752) and Elizabeth (1756). He married Rachel Allonby on 7 July 1768. On 28 September 1768 their daughter Ann was baptised but  the same day Rachel’s death is recorded in the register. Ann survived only a few months after the death of short her mother, dying on the 14 January 1769. Isaac then married  Mary [unknown surname] (c.1748-1797), although the record of the marriage cannot be found in Skelton parish. They had 4 children John (1771), Joseph (1772-1774), Mary (1776) and her twin Betty (1776-1801). Dodd’s second wife Mary died on 19 April 1797 aged 49. Five years later, in 1802 Isaac, now 56, married for the final time Esther Hutton aged 48.

In 1817 Isaac Dodd resigned from his role as Parish Clerk. His signature in the Account Book showing a deterioration in quality from earlier entries. Shortly afterwards he made a short will. It begins: ‘I Isaac Dodd of Skelton in the Parish if Skelton in the County of Cumberland being mindful of my mortality do hereby make publish declare this to be my last will and testament’.

He left any interest from his property to his wife as well as the residue of his personal belongings to her to distribute amongst his brothers and sisters and her brothers and sisters according to her own mind. No one is named. Isaac Dodd died 13 August 1818 and his will was proved on 19 September.  His effects were less than £200. 

An entry in the Parish Register of 1831 shows that an Esther Dodd aged 79 married a Thomas Mulcaster aged 75 of Croglin. It has been assumed this is Isaac Dodd’s widow.

This is a work in progress subject to change with further research.

Sources 
Cumbria Archives

Cumbria archives  PR10/V/10/6 (Rebecca Dixon) . Skelton Overseer Voucher 6 March 1785

Cumbria Archives PR10/V/14/1 (Philip Bowman)  Skelton Overseers Voucher 1 september 1788

Cumbria Archives PR10/V/1-24 Skelton Overseers Vouchers

Cumbria Archives PR 10/81, Skelton Overseers of the Poor and Churchwardens Account Book 1734-1817

Cumbria Archives PR 10/113, Letter to the Vestry Clerk. July 1790

Cumbria Archives PROB 1818/W405, Will of  Isaac Dodd

Internet

www.familysearch.org  Cumrew Parish Register 1676-1961,  accessed 5 February 2019

www.ancestry.co.uk. England Select Births, christenings, marriages and deaths 1538-1973, accessed 5 February 2019

www.bankofengland.co.uk, accessed 9 February 2019

Peter Dixon and Sons, Cotton Spinners at Langthwaite Mill, Warwick Bridge, 1809-1872

By NMDEA

Vouchers from Hayton Parish PR102/114/9-11 concern the purchase of textiles from Peter Dixon & Sons,  Warwick Bridge.[1] The materials purchased included blue flannel, check, grey and black calico. Who the material was for is unstated, however, being of a darker cotton material, it was probably destined for the poor. Their clothes needed to be cheap, hard wearing and slow to show the dirt.

Voucher PR/102/114/10 Warwick Bridge Mill Peter Dixon & Sons
Voucher PR/102/114/10 Warwick Bridge Mill . Peter Dixon & Sons

The mill at Warwick Bridge was called Langthwaite Cotton Mill built in 1790 and run initially by brothers John, Richard and George Ferguson. John died in 1802 and in 1809 Richard and George, offered the mill’s lease to their brother-in-law Peter Dixon (1753-1832).[2] Peter, a merchant from Whitehaven, had married their sister Mary Ferguson (1762-1814) in 1783. [3] Dixon took on the lease with his sons John (1785-1857), Peter  (1789-1866) and George (1794-1860). Dixon’s other children were Richard (b.1788) , Ann (b.1792), Robert (b.1793) Joseph F. (b.1795), Frances (b.1797) Mary (b.1798) and Sarah (b.1800).[4] The brothers Peter and John bought extra land in order to enlarge the mill and improve its access to a good water supply. They built new cottages and provided employment for those living in the local area as well as a few residing in the poorhouse. [5] Women and children employed in the mill were paid 3s to 10s depending on their age. Peter Dixon died in 1832 and the sons sought to expand the business further as the textile industry expanded overall. Peter Dixon jun. was the most influential in the running of the mill.

In 1834 the Dixons bought land in Duke Street, Carlisle. They also bought nearby shops and houses to let to their workers. The cotton mill in Shaddongate and the accompanying chimney were completed on 25 October 1836.[6] At the time the chimney was the highest in the country. The mill was powered by steam rather than water. Production continued at Warwick Bridge, although the Dixons did try to sell the mill, without success staying and building further workers cottages and a school.

What remains of Longthwaite Cotton Mill Warwick Bridge Photograph taken 14th february 2019 M dean
What remains of Langthwaite Cotton Mill Warwick bridge. Photograph taken 14 February 2019 M Dean

The Dixons appear to have tried to look after their workers, for example, building and supporting the school in Shaddongate, Carlisle.[7] They set aside land at both Warwick Bridge and Carlisle for gardens giving an annual premium to those with the best cultivated ground. By 1843 there were 120 cottage gardens at Warwick Bridge. [8]. A church was built at Warwick Bridge at the Dixons’ expense with free seats [9]. Following an outbreak of typhus in Warwick Bridge and the neighbourhood, Peter Dixon jun. made a cash donation of £20 to the House of Recovery in Carlisle. [10]

The Dixons built and lived in substantial residences themselves. Peter and his wife Sarah Rebecca Clark lived at Holme Eden Hall, Warwick Bridge, built around 1840; John and his wife Mary T Stordy at The Knells near Houghton built in 1826 . George and his wife Mary Boucher lived at Tullie House, Carlisle, his father Peter having bought it in 1825. The Dixons were influential in the politics of Carlisle , Peter and George serving terms as Mayor. By 1847 they had a further 2 mills at Cummersdale and Dalston along with the mills at Warwick Bridge and Shaddongate. In total, the Dixons employed about 8000 people.

Peter Dixon died 28 April 1866 and was buried in the grounds of Holme Eden Church. The Carlisle Journal  reported that many villages came to the church  to pay their respects not only to someone who had spent a long life amongst them but who had also shown them true acts of benevolence. [11] By 1872 the cotton industry was less profitable. Proceedings were begun for the liquidation of Peter Dixon & Sons.[12] Peter Dixon’s  estate was sold, including Holme Eden Hall and the workers’ cottages at Burnrigg near Warwick Bridge. [13] Cotton production ceased at Warwick Bridge but the Dixon’s continued for a short while as a new limited company involved in the completion process of the textiles from the Shaddongate factory.

Most of the mills and buildings the Dixons built still exist today being adapted for differing purposes. The largest of which, Dixon’s chimney, is still a well known local landmark with a small tweed mill nearby. Ferguson Brothers opened a Mill at Holme Head, Carlisle in 1824. That building also survives.

Dixon's chimney and Shaddongate Mill Carlisle Photograph taken 14th february 2019
Dixon’s Chimney and Shaddongate Mill Carlisle Photograph taken 14 February 2019 M Dean

Sources

[1] Cumbria Archives. PR102/114/9, Hayton Overseers’ Voucher, 15 February 1833; PR102/114/10, Hayton Overseers’ Voucher, 3 December 1833; PR102/114/11, Hayton Overseers’ Voucher,12 January 1833

[2] Mawson D.J.W., 1976 Longthwaite Cotton Mill. Transactions of Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archeological Society p160-183
[3] Cumberland Paquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser, 9 September 1783
[4] www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 15 February 2019
[5] Warwick Bridge and District Local History Group, Who worked at the Mill 1792-1845? (Open Doors Publishing, 2014)
[6] Carlisle Journal, 3 December 1836
[7] Carlisle Journal, 3 November 1838
[8] Carlisle Journal, 8 July 1843
[9] Carlisle Journal, 13 July 1844
[10] Carlisle Patriot, 10 December 1831
[11] Carlisle Journal, 8 May 1866
[12] The London Gazette, 19 July 1872
[13] The Whitehaven News, 17 July 1873

Elizabeth Wilson (fl. 1785-1788): Money Troubles Part Two

By NMDEA

PR 10/V/12, Skelton Overseers’ Voucher, Elizabeth Wilson to Isaac Dodd, 25 June 1786

 

One of the vouchers from Skelton initially caused a bit of a puzzle. This was resolved when it became apparent that it was from Elizabeth Wilson to Isaac Dodd, the Skelton vestry clerk. This was not the only letter that Elizabeth had written to Isaac. Like Elizabeth’s previous letter, (see https://thepoorlaw.org/2018/12/29/elizabeth-wilson-fl-1785-1788/), this one, dated 25 June 1786, came from Kendal and was to be left at the Black Bull, Penrith.

It begins ‘I received the money but both genes was light’. Once more she was talking about guineas given to her and their validity. Their light weight was the source of her unease and the consequent effect this had on its monetary value.

 

The Guinea was minted in Britain between 1663 and 1814. It weighed approximately one quarter ounce of gold. Its value could fluctuate with the rise and fall in the price of gold. By 1717, however, its value was fixed at 21shillings. The guinea Elizabeth was given was most likely a George III guinea. During his reign these were issued in six different obverses and three reverses. From 1761 to 1786 the guinea showed a crowned shield on the reverse. In 1787 the guinea was called the ‘spade guinea’ referring to the crowns shield in the shape of a spade on the reverse.

It was the weight of the coin that concerned Elizabeth. These coins not only lost weight with wear but irregularity of shape meant they were the target of counterfeiters; clipping being one such offence. Pieces were shaved from the edge of the coin to melt down for the gold to be sold or made into other coins. Elizabeth was obviously aware of the problem of counterfeit coins. Warnings appeared in the newspapers of the time. The following appeared in the Newcastle Chronicle:

Counterfeit guineas are now in circulation in Whitehaven which seem to have been produced only a few days since. They are much thinner than the real guinea poorly relieved and so badly executed that they can pass upon none but the very ignorant.

In 1786 the Derby Mercury reported concerns about counterfeit copper coins being released into general circulation and the impact it would have on the lower classes. The Mayor offered a reward of five guineas for help in bringing those responsible to justice.  Nearer to Skelton at a later date and at the instigation of the Mint, Richard Irving was prosecuted by Thomas Ramshay and received a sentence of six months hard labour for knowingly possessing counterfeit coins when arrested by Hesket Newmarket Poorhouse doorway. Previously he had been a husbandman of good character, but was now selling pots and living in camps at the hedge-sides.

Another profitable crime was that of ‘uttering’.  This often involved a genuine coin or coins being swapped for a counterfeit one while making a purchase. Women were often involved in uttering or passing of bad coins. The notion being they were more easily trusted and able to dispose of the false coins.

Elizabeth Wilson’s upset seems to be directed at the coins she has been sent rather than any malice towards Isaac Dodd.  She finished her letter: ‘My mother desiers (sic) to be remembered to you all so no moor[more] at present from your frend (sic) and well wesher (sic). However by November 1787 she is still having trouble with the weight of the guinea.

Sources

Cumbria Archives

PR 10/V/12, Skelton Overseers’ Voucher, Elizabeth Wilson to Isaac Dodd, 25 June 1786

Newspapers

Newcastle Chronicle, 4 August 1781

Saunders Newsletter, 20 September 1786

Derby Mercury, 19 December 1786

Carlisle Journal, 19 October 1839

Websites

www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0 March 2018 accessed 13/01/2019

https://wwwlondonmintoffice.org accessed 13/01/2019

This is a work in progress, subject to change with further research