Author: Peter Collinge

Jollie’s Description of Wigton 1811

By Peter Collinge

The road [from Carlisle to Wigton] pretty good and the surface level; but nothing very much interesting occurs. The country, though not disagreeable, soon becomes wild and barren, but not without some fertile spots and pieces of woodland. This road affords us a tolerable extensive view. On the right is Moorhouse, the seat of Major Hodson, where Joseph Liddel, Esq. and several other gentlemen, had planted several extensive tracts of Scotch fir, which thrive well and enliven the face of the country … The intervening country, though not remarkable for its fertility, is well-cultivated, and shows some spaces of rich ground.

Wigton is seated on a most beautiful and healthy part of Cumberland, on a gravelly soils and southern aspect … and surrounded with rich cultivated lands, and valuable commons capable of great improvements. There are several handsome buildings in the town, and the streets are tolerably wide, and kept pretty neat around the market place. In 1788 a new and elegant church was built. Here is an hospital, founded in 1725, for six indigent widows of episcopal clergymen, well endowed. In 1788 was also built a meeting place for dissenters, of which there are several respectable families. The town also possesses an endowed school … and a parochial library belonging to the church. The former manufactures here were tow-cloth, osnaburghs, and coarse linens, striped checks and calicoes, and of late years fustians, muslins, ginghams &c have been introduced. But what has most contributed of late years to the population of the place is a manufactory of printed calicoes at Spittal, about a quarter of a mile from the town, established in 1790, by Messrs Brumell and Irving and now the property of Messrs Ferguson and Irving. There are also breweries belonging to Messrs Hodgson and Mr Skelton. This place is supplied with coal and lime from Bolton, about four miles distant.

Sources

Francis Jollie, Cumberland Guide and Directory containing a descriptive tour through the county (Carlisle: F. Jollie and Sons, 1811)

George Alsop (1776–1847), Surgeon and Apothecary, Uttoxeter

By Peter Collinge

George Alsop was born in 1776. By 1799 he had qualified as a surgeon and took on John Roe as an apprentice. He took on a second apprentice, George Roe, in 1802. He married Susanna Christiana Mountford (b.1786) at St Peter and St Paul, Aston, Birmingham, on 8 May 1803. In the 1841 Census George and Christiana were recorded as living in Balance Street along with their children Mary Ann Alsop (25); Susanna Alsop (20) and Edward Alsop, also 20. They had two servants, Elizabeth Thawley (20) and John Brassing[?] aged 15.

He formed a business partnership with James Chapman and between them they provided medical services, pills and powders to the parish poor on behalf of the parish overseers (see entry ‘The Price of a Broken Leg). Alsop also became embroiled in a minor cause-celebre of the early nineteenth century. It was a case that had attracted considerable public attention and was authenticated by numerous highly respected people of ‘rank, talent, and scientific attainments’. Alongside Elias Sanders, curate of Church Broughton; John Webster, surgeon of Burton; Frederick Anson, rector of Sudbury; and George Watson Hutchinson, vicar of Tutbury, Alsop was one of the people who, watching ‘most diligently and attentively’, witnessed the supposed abstinence of Ann Moore of Tutbury, Staffordshire. Moore had constantly asserted that excepting a few blackcurrants, she had not eaten any solid food since the spring of 1807, nor had she taken any liquid since the autumn of 1808. By 1813 the case had attracted such widespread publicity that an investigation led by Legh Richmond sought to determine the truth of Moore’s claims. Richmond published his findings in A Statement of Facts, Relative to the Supposed Abstinence of Ann Moore of Tutbury, Staffordshire and a Narrative of the Circumstances which led to the recent Detection of the Imposture (Burton-upon-Trent: 1813). The title says it all.

In 1821 Alsop was listed amongst a number of other residents of Uttoxeter as a jury member at the Staffordshire Quarter Sessions. Other jury members included William Porter, Thomas Earp, William Garle and Michael Clewly.

Despite having a long-standing contract with the parish overseers, Alsop was declared bankrupt in 1831. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings land held by Alsop at Hockley was passed to his assignees and to a Mr Wilkinson, and Lanes End Croft to Mr Lassetter. A settlement was reached with creditors and a final dividend was paid in 1842[?].

At the end of December 1840 the long- standing partnership between Alsop and James Chapman was dissolved. Both men declared their intentions to carry on as Surgeons. Apothecaries and midwives independently.

His death was announced in Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal on 3 December 1847. George was 72 and declared to be ‘Universally esteemed and respected by all who knew him, and his death will be a cause of regret to an extensive circle of friends and acquaintance’.

In his short will Alsop left his plate, linen, old furniture, book debts and securities for money, and all personal effects to his ‘beloved wife’ for her sole use, and mad her the executrix. The will makes no mention of any real estate.

Sources

1841 Census HO 107/1007/15.

Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal, 3 December 1847.

Parish Register, St Peter and St Paul, Aston, Birmingham.

Legh Richmond, A Statement of Facts, relative to the supposed abstinence of Ann Moore of Tutbury, Staffordshire and a Narrative of the Circumstances which led to the recent Detection of the Imposture (Burton-upon-Trent: J. Croft, 1813).

London Gazette, part 3, (T. Neuman: 1842).

Staffordshire Adevrtiser, 27 February 1841.

Staffordshire Record Office, D3891/6/70, Uttoxeter Poor Rate assessment, 1832.

SRO, Q/RJr/ 1821.

TNA IR/38 & IR/70 Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices’ Indentures 1710–1811.

TNA, PROB 11/2086/6 Will of George Alsop, Surgeon of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, 4 January 1849.

N.B. This biography is a work in progress and will probably be amended as further information from vouchers and other sources becomes available.

Samuel Garle (1792–1867) of Uttoxeter, So Much More than a Draper

By Peter Collinge

Samuel Garle was born in Uttoxeter the son of William and Ann Garle.

He had seven siblings, although not all survived into adulthood: William (1786–1856), Elizabeth (1787–1789), Richard (1788–1848), Thomas (1790–1793), Ann (b.1793), John (1795–1857), and Thomas (b.1796).

Samuel Garle married Sarah Fox on (b.1802) on 16 April 1825 at Gayton, Stafford. They do not appear to have had any children. He is listed in trade directories as a linen and woollen draper and hosier in Uttoxeter’s Market Place, but bill heads for his business also note that he furnished funerals, provided stays and supplied charities at wholesale prices.

By the time of the 1851 Census, he had retired and both he and Sarah were living in Balance Street, in a freehold house, along with a servant Elizabeth Blow or Bloor. Ten years later, they were still in Balance Street with a servant, Ellen Spare.

He died aged 75 on 14 April 1867. His will was proved at Lichfield by his widow Sarah and his nephew William Garle of Millwich, a farmer. The value of Samuel’s effects was under £6,000, indicating a successful businessman. However, Garle’s interests extended beyond his drapery business and supplying the parish overseers. Samuel and William (probably the brother and not the nephew) Garle were on the provisional committee of the Leeds, Huddersfield, Sheffield, and South Staffordshire railway, also known as the Leeds, Wolverhampton and Dudley Direct Railway, and the Direct East and West Junction Railway. Samuel Garle’s and John Garle’s names could also be found amongst the list of proprietors on the deed of settlement of the North and Central Bank of England. In 1826 he was listed as one of the jurors in the Quarter Sessions alongside John Garle, innkeeper.

Sources

Anon, Deed of Settlement of the North and Central Bank of England (Manchester: printed by Henry Smith, 1835)

William James Adams, Bradshaw’s Railway Gazette, vol 1 (Manchester: Bradshaw and Blacklock, 1845)

HO107/2010 1851 Census

RG/9/1954 1861 Census

England and Wales FreeBMD Index, 1837–1915

UK Poll Books and Electoral Registers 1538–1893, Uttoxeter, 1861

National Probate Calendar 1858–1966, Samuel Garle late of Uttoxeter gentleman, 14 April 1867

W. Parson and T. Bradshaw, Staffordshire General and Commercial Directory presenting an Alphabetical Arrangement of the Names and Residences of the Nobility, Gentry, Merchants and Inhabitants in General (Manchester: 1818)

Pigot and Co., National Commercial Directory [Part 2: Nottinghamshire–Yorkshire and North Wales] for 1828–29 (London and Manchester: J. Pigot and Co., 1828).

Pigot and Co., National Commercial Directory, [Derby–South Wales] (London: J. Pigot and Co. 1835).

Staffordshire Record Office, D3891/6/70, Uttoxeter Poor Rate Assessment, 1832.

SRO, Q/RJr/1826.

St Mary’s Parish Register, Uttoxeter

N.B. This biography is a work in progress and will probably be amended as further information from vouchers and other sources becomes available

An Apprentice and an Anonymous Letter: Eli Wood of Uttoxeter

By Peter Collinge

There is a common assumption, probably derived from Dicken’s Oliver Twist who was taken from the workhouse to be indentured to an undertaker, that by definition parish apprentices were orphans. This was not always the case. In early 1829 Eli Wood of Uttoxeter, aged about 16, was bound to W. Appleby of St Mary’s parish Stafford. Uttoxeter’s parish overseers received a bill for the drawing up of the apprentice order, the indenture and the associated paperwork. Nothing more is heard of Eli Wood until the Uttoxeter overseer received an anonymous letter, dated 3 March 1830. The informant, who clearly knew something of the family and its history, told the overseer that Eli had had a work-related accident. He had been thrown off his master’s horse and although hurt, the injury was considered to be slight.

In the letter, written in a semi-literate hand, possibly in an attempt to disguise the author’s identity, we are told that Wood is apprenticed to a Mr R. Thorpe, a last-maker, not the Appleby named in the bill for the justice’s clerk’s fees. It could be that in the intervening year Appleby had died and that Wood’s apprenticeship had been transferred to Thorpe.

The letter continues: Wood’s parents had been in Stafford to see another son ‘woe I am informed is in gale’, and called upon Eli. Seeing Eli unwell they decided to take him back to their house in Pinfold Lane, Uttoxeter. The letter writer was of the opinion that any application made by Eli Wood or his parents to seek financial assistance from the Uttoxeter overseers as a result of the accident should be resisted. Signed ‘Well Wisher’, the clue as to the possible identity of the anonymous writer comes towards the end of the letter; Wood’s master had a great deal of work that needed to be completed and was in need of him. It seems likely that ‘Well Wisher’ was R. Thorpe who having invested time and money in Wood’s apprenticeship, now wanted to ensure that the errant Wood (who had effectively absconded) returned  to his duties. So why be anonymous? Probably it was an attempt to ensure that upon Wood’s return, the master/apprentice relationship could be repaired.

Thomas Steeple Flint (1788–1851) of Uttoxeter

By Peter Collinge

Between 1827 and 1836 Flint, listed as a basket, sieve, white cooper and turner in Pigot’s directory, supplied the parish overseers of Uttoxeter with a range of chandlery goods including baskets (described as wiskets), bowls, a ‘pump basket’ for the workhouse, and scuttles and sieves for the workhouse’s brick kiln. Spoons and large baskets were provided for the workhouse. Repairs were sometimes made to baskets. Like many traders and shopkeepers of the period the submission of most of his bills came in January each year, suggesting that he operated a system of credit. His premises were in the Market Place Uttoxeter, although the 1841 Census gives his address as Spiceal Street where he was living with his son William aged 10 and Mary Moore aged 23. By the time of the 1851 Census he was living in Balance Streetand listed as a ‘proprietor of houses’. This switch into rentier property was a common business strategy.

On occasion the receipts were signed by A. Flint. This could be Abraham or Augustus Flint. Both were attorneys. Abraham is listed in Pigot’s directory for 1828 – 29, whilst Augustus, alongside yeoman William Steeple Flint and jeweller Benjamin Bell was one of the three people who applied for letters of administration following Thomas death in April 1851. The ‘A’ could also be Flint’s wife Ann. Flint’s probated estate amounted to £200.

One bill submitted to the overseers from the attorneys Bedson and Rushton indicates that Flint, or one his many relatives in the Uttoxeter area, became involved in a land dispute. Their bill lists ‘Attending Mr Thos Kynnersley & Mr Wood respecting dispute with Mr Flint in regard to the situation of lands near Uttoxeter Mill occupied by him.’

Thomas and Ann Flint held an insurance policy with Sun Life. It was not for property in Uttoxeter, but for a house and printing office at 6 Nassau Street, Soho, London. Insured for £800, the brick built property was not used for drying paper neither did it contain a stove. Had it done so, the insurance value would have been increased as both represented ‘hazardous’ circumstances. The ownership of property in London may have enabled Flint to move from basket maker to ‘proprietor of houses’.

An auction advert in the Derby Mercury in 1838 provides details of Flint’s premises in Uttoxeter Market Place and an explanation for his move to Spiceal Street.

Flint’s property had ‘two commanding fronts, one opposing the Market Place, having a frontage of 28 feet; and one facing the Sheep Market, with a very handsome Private Entrance and a Frontage of 45 feet’.

The house consisted of a ‘Front shop 21 feet by 16 feet … with a sitting room at the back …together with a handsome parlour, neatly fitted up with cupboards … There is cellaring under the whole; part thereof is now used as a workshop, and a kitchen well supplied with soft water … Over these apartments is an elegantly fitted-up dining room 20 feet 6 inches by 14 feet 6 inches … with marble chimney piece, and two sleeping rooms, one of which is 19 feet by 11 feet 6 inches’ also with a marble chimney piece. The other room was smaller but had a large closet attached. Above these rooms were another six sleeping rooms and above those an attic measuring 43 feet by 21 feet. Outside there was a garden and stabling for four horses.

Towards the end of the advert Flint availed ‘himself of this opportunity of returning thanks to the public at large, for the very liberal support he has received since his commencement in business, and respectfully informs them that he is now declining the same in favour of his journeymen John Wyatt and Simeon Johnson’.

Sources

Derby Mercury, 31 October 1838

London Metropolitan Archives, CLC/B/192/F/001/MS11936/553/1245849,  Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Group, Insured, Thomas Steeple Flint, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire,  basket maker, and Ann Flint his wife, 15 Mar 1837

Pigot and Co., National Commercial Directory [Part 2: Nottinghamshire–Yorkshire and North Wales] for 1828–29 (London and Manchester: J. Pigot and Co., 1828).

Staffordshire Record Office (SRO), B/C/11, Thomas S. Flint of Uttoxeter, Admon, 29 Oct 1851

SRO, D3891/6/33/6/006, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, Aug 1827–May 1828

SRO, D3891/6/34/12/090, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 18 Nov 1829

SRO, D3891/6/35/3/32, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 27 Jan 1831

SRO, D3891/6/37/10/49, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 28 Jan 1832

SRO, D3891/6/39/16/33, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 30 Jan 1833

SRO, D3891/6/40/10/18, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 15 Jan 1834

SRO, D3891/6/41/5/5, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 17 Jan 1835

SRO, D3891/6/41/7/75a, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 26/2/1834–16/12/1834

SRO, D3891/6/42/47, Uttoxeter overseers’ vouchers, 20 Jan 1836

TNA, HO/107/1007, Census 1841

TNA, HO107/2010, Census 1851

This is a work in progress subject to change as new research is conducted.

Jane Baxter (1792–1867) and the Brick-Makers of Uttoxeter

By Peter Collinge

Uttoxeter had a number of brickworks situated on the Heath near to the workhouse. It is almost certain that most of the bricks were used locally. Indeed, Kingman has calculated that as around 40 per cent of a brick’s cost could be accounted for by its transportation the distance between production site and final destination was often short. The poor law vouchers contain payments for the digging out of clay, for the transport of other raw materials, particularly coal from Stoke-upon-Trent and Cheadle, and for brick production, but not for transportation. The latter costs may have been covered by the purchasers. Pitt’s history of Staffordshire (1817) notes that in the town ‘The houses in general are well built of brick, and commodious. The wharf belonging to the Grand Trunk Canal Company, with several large warehouses enclosed by a brick wall, … has contributed much to the prosperity of this small but flourishing town … There are several neat mansions of brick, built in the vicinity of the wharf’.

Until mechanisation in the nineteenth century, brick-making was both relatively small-scale and seasonal with manufacturers often engaged in other occupations. Clay tended to be dug between autumn and spring, with the actual process of brick-making occupying the summer and autumn months.

The only Utttoxeter brick-layer noted in the 1793 Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce and Manufacture was William Hubbard who also doubled as a maltster. No brick-makers were listed. What is perhaps surprising is that even by the time of Parson and Bradshaw’s 1818 directory although the number of brick-layers had increased there were still no brick-makers listed. John Allen of Balance Hill, John Allen of Pinfold Lane, William Blurton, John Chatfield, William Eglison, William Hubbard, Neville Newbold, and John Walker were all brick-layers. Edward Hooper was both a bricklayer and builder, and more unusually John Tunnicliffe of High Street was listed as a brick-layer, grocer and flour dealer. Thomas Salt is described as the ‘agent for the sale of tiles of all descriptions, fire and floor brick, & Quarrie’s patent water, etc, pipes’. Many of these items are listed amongst the overseers’ vouchers.

The situation had shifted considerably by 1834. Brick-layers included Joseph Blurton, Anthony Chatfield (who crops up many times in the vouchers), Edwin Chatfield, John Chatfield and John Chatfield junior. A number of brick-makers are also listed. They included Clement Baxter, John Hudson, Margaret Parker and (unless this was a place rather than a person) the unlikely sounding Parish Yard. All were located on the Heath. In Uttoxeter were John and William Hales.

Jane Baxter, the daughter of George and Jane Baxter, was baptised on 3 February 1792. Her siblings included Clement (1780–1841), George (1786–1852), James (baptised 13 October 1789), Peter (baptised 17 October 1796) and Edward (1794–1859). George Baxter, a yeoman, died in 1802. In his short, probated will (£100) he left all of his real and personal estate to his ‘loving wife Jane’ for her own enjoyment and disposal. No mention was made of any children. His executors were William Chatfield, yeoman, and William Rogers, gardener (see entry 2 Feb. 2018)

At what point Clement Baxter entered upon the brick trade is unknown. The earliest reference we have is in the 1834 directory. His will of 1841 (£200) described him as a brick-maker. He bequeathed all his real and personal estate to his sister Jane appointing her as his sole executrix. We may ask why Jane was bequeathed the brickworks ahead of her brothers. Although it is often thought that males always inherited businesses before females, this was not necessarily the case. If it was felt that the men in the family were already established in their own occupations, or regarded as feckless or lazy, women often inherited. It may also have been a way of securing an income for the unmarried Jane thus reducing or eliminating her dependence upon the family. She also had practical experience in the brickworks operated by Clement. Her name appears in a number of overseers’ vouchers showing that she was dealing with the accounts. On 14 July 1829 there is a settled bill for 300 bricks costing 8s, whilst in March 1830 she received £5 8s 0d for a delivery of dung. This involvement would have placed her in a good position. She knew who the customers were and more importantly those who paid on time and those who did not. She would have known where raw materials could be obtained and the price to pay for such items.

In both the 1851 and 1861 Census returns Jane Baxter is recorded as being unmarried and living alone on Uttoxeter Heath. In 1851 she is listed as a brick-maker mistress. She is also listed as a brick-maker in White’s 1851 directory alongside Porter and Keates who by then had added brick and tile making to their other activities as grocers, tea dealers, ironmongers, chandlers, hemp and flax dressers, and nail manufacturers.

Following Jane Baxter’s entry in the 1851 Census is the entry for Peter Baxter, a brick maker journeyman; his wife Charlotte and their son Isaac, a cordwainer journeyman, and brick-maker journeyman John Norris. In all likelihood Peter was working for his sister. Whilst Peter was a brick-maker journeyman in 1831 he applied to the overseers for a pair of new shoes for his wife costing 6s. In 1835 he received £1 0s 0d for clothes for an apprentice. Clearly, although in work, his income was insufficient at times. The 1851 Census also lists widow Elizabeth Baxter (69) living on the Heath with her sons Thomas (35) a carter and labourer, and Edward (33) a brick-maker journeyman. Both were unmarried. Elizabeth was possibly the widow of Jane’s brother George. Other brick-makers on the Heath were Thomas Parker and his son Charles described as a brick-maker/servant, and master brick-layer William Godrich.

By the time of the 1861 Census much had changed. Jane was out of business; Peter, now widowed, had become a servant, and Isaac has disappeared from the record. Norris was still a brick maker. Also listed as a brick-maker was G[iddeon?] Prestbury.

Jane died in 1867 and is buried in the churchyard of St Lawrence, Bramshall.

Sources

Peter Barfoot and John Wilkes, Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce and Manufacture (1793)

Bramshall, St Lawrence Memorial Inscriptions

Mike Kingman, ‘Brickmaking and Brick Building in Staffordshire 1500–1760’, (Unpublished PhD Thesis, Keele University, 2006)

Mike Kingman, ‘The Adoption of Brick in Urban Staffordshire: the Experience of Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1665–1760’, Midland History, 35:1, (2010)

C. C. Owen, The Development of Industry in Burton-upon-Trent (1978)

William Parson and Thomas Bradshaw, Staffordshire General and Commercial Directory, 3 vols (Manchester: J. Leigh, 1818), II

William Pitt, A Topographical History of Staffordshire (Newcastle-under-Lyme: J. Smith,1817)

SRO, D3891/1, Uttoxeter Parish Registers

SRO, D3891/6/34/12/040, Uttoxeter Overseers’ Vouchers, 14 Jul. 1829

SRO, D3981/6/36/1/22, Uttoxeter Overseers’ Vouchers, 7 Mar. 1830

SRO, D3891/6/36/6/21, Uttoxeter Overseers’ Vouchers, 20 Nov. 1831

SRO, D3891/6/43/3/7, Uttoxeter Overseers’ Vouchers, 30 Jun. 1835

SRO, D3891/6/42/19, Uttoxeter Overseers’ Vouchers, 6 Oct. 1835

TNA, IR27/360, Court of Probate, Wills and Probate

TNA, H.O. 107/2010, Census 1851

TNA, R.G. 9/1955, Census 1861

William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield: 1834)

William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield: 1851)

This is a work in progress, subject to change as new research is conducted.

Pigot’s Description of Whitehaven, 1828-29

By Peter Collinge

The following description of Whitehaven is taken from Pigot and Co.’s trade directory of 1829-29.

Whitehaven, the principal sea port in Cumberland … The town is situated in a remarkable creek, overlooked by high ground on three sides. From the south the town makes the best appearance, commanding a view of the interior of the streets, the harbour, and the castle belonging to the Earl of Lonsdale, which form fine objects in the landscape. Descending by an excellent road from the north, between two small eminences, the traveller approaches the town by a fine arch of freestone … In the year 1556 the town is said to have had only six houses, subsequently, being supported by the fostering hand of the Lowthers, it has risen to wealth and consequence; being at present the most eminent port in the coal except Newcastle … Whitehaven is a regular and well-built town, for the most part, the streets being broad and spacious, crossing each other at right angles, and the houses built with some degree of taste … Here are three chapels of ease … St Nicholas, … Holy Trinity … and St James’. The other places of worship are Scotch independent, Methodist, Anabaptist, Roman Catholic and Society of Friends’ meeting houses. The other public edifices and institutions are the dispensary, the house of industry, the marine school, national and Sunday schools, the theatre, the public office, Lowther Street, customs house, baths, subscription library, philosophical society’s room, harmonic society’s concert room, a saving’s bank and a mechanics institute … The principal manufactories of this town are linen, sails cloths, checks, ginghams, sheeting, threads, twine, cables, tobacco &c. Here are also some chemical works, anchor foundries and two breweries. The coal mines at Whitehaven are perhaps the most extraordinary in the known world … A fine new pier is erecting on the south of the harbour, at considerable expense … There are three weekly markets … In 1821 the population of Whitehaven … was 12,438 exclusive of 8000 sailors, which were not classed with the actual inhabitants by [the] census.

Sources

Pigot and Co., National Commercial Directory [Part 1: Cheshire – Northumberland] for 1828–29 (London and Manchester: J. Pigot and Co., 1828)

Workhouses in Cumberland in 1777

By Peter Collinge

Abstracts from the Returns made by the Overseers of the Poor reveal that the following places had workhouses in 1777. The returns also stated how many people each workhouse could accommodate. This figure is given after the name of each place. It is not a complete list as it does not include Keswick workhouse. Neither does it include Wigton or Dalston although both had workhouses by the late-eighteenth century. Many of those in receipt of poor relief were provided for outside of workhouses.

Whitehaven, 135

Caldbeck, 80

Carlisle

Botcherby, Botchergate and Carleton, 12

Briscoe, Harraby and Upperby, 7

Kirkbride Parish

Caldewgate Quarter, 20

Richergate Quarter, 10

Castletown Quarter, 8

Churchtown Quarter, 8

Wetheral, 2

Eskdale Ward

Arthuret, 50

Bewcastle, 25

Brampton, 20

Castle Carwicke, 9

Cumwhitton, 7

Denton Nether, 21

Farlam, 30

Hayton, 7

Kirkandrew Parish

Middle Quarter, 50

Mote Quarter, 50

Nether Quarter, 45

Nichol Forest, 50

Kirklington Parish

Hathersgill Quarter, 20

Middle Quarter, 20

Westlinton Quarter, 20

Leonard Coast

Askerton Quarter, 20

Stanwix, 12

Stapleton Parish

Stapleton, 20

Trough, 3

Ainstable Parish, 10

Aldston, 40

Greystoke Parish

Heskett, 20

Penrith, 36

Cockermouth, 70

Source

House of Commons, Abstracts of the returns made by the overseers of the poor, in pursuance of an act passed in the sixteenth year of His Present Majesty’s reign … (London: 1777), 26.

The Elsmore Family Part Three: Apprenticeships

By Peter Collinge

Searching the apprentice records on the Staffordshire Names Index reveals the names of nine Elsmores from the Colwich area: Ann, Francis, George, James, John, Mary, Sarah, Thomas and William. Either it was common for people to pay a fine for not taking apprentices, or some of the Elsmores proved, on occasion, to be unsatisfactory in some way. Looking at the dates of the apprenticeships it seems that 1828 was a crucial year.

In 1828, aged 11, Ann Elsmore the daughter of Mary Hawthorn (late Elsmore) was apprenticed to housewifery to farmer James Astley of Hixon. The apprenticeship did not actually take place as another source notes that Astley paid £10 instead of taking an apprentice.

With his parents deceased, in 1832 Francis Elsmore, aged 10, was apprenticed to farmer Charles Haywood. However, the following year Haywood paid a £10 fine instead of taking Francis. On this occasion Francis’ age was given as 13. Instead, Francis (13) was apprenticed in husbandry to Samuel Buttery, another farmer on 13 July 1833. In 1835 Francis, (age given as 11 so it might be another Francis Elsmore) was apprenticed to farmer William Smith. In all instances, however, the sources note that Francis was an orphan.

George Elsmore was apprenticed to Thomas Aylsbury of Taft Farm in July 1823, but like Ann and Francis, by December his master had paid £10 instead of taking George. The following year George (11) was apprenticed to cordwainer John Elsmore.

Nine-year-old James Elsmore was apprenticed in husbandry to William Masters in 1823 on the same date that George had first been apprenticed.

In 1808 John Elsmore, the son of Thomas and Ann Elsmore of Bishton was apprenticed to farmers John and Thomas Bould of Hixon until he reached the age of 18.

Aged 10 Mary Elsmore (parents deceased) was apprenticed to John Day, a butcher in Great Haywood, in 1819.

In 1827 Sarah Elsmore, aged 10, was apprenticed in housewifery to Viscount Thomas William Anson of Shugborough. This arrangement does not seem to have worked out as in the following year Sarah (of Sitch Lane) became apprenticed in lace-making and housewifery to Henry Cox of Great Haywood (who is recorded as a baker so perhaps it was Henry’s wife who was to instruct Sarah). After this Sarah was to be assigned to James Elsmore.

Thomas Elsmore was apprenticed to James Trubshaw at his new house in Little Haywood in 1821.

William Elsmore (11) son of Sarah Elsmore of Hixon was apprenticed in husbandry initially to Henry Churchill, a schoolmaster. The apprenticeship them seems to have been transferred to Walter Yates, a farmer, of Coley.

Sources

SRO, D24/A/PO/2809, John Elsmore, 9 Apr. 1808

SRO, D24/A/PO/2721, John Elsmore, 9 Apr. 1808

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, John Elsmore, 9 Apr. 1808

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, Mary Elsmore, 27 Oct. 1819

SRO, D24/A/PO/2722, Mary Elsmore, 27 Oct. 1819

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, Thomas Elsmore, 15 Sep. 1821

SRO, D874/7/6/23, James Elsmore, 5 Jul. 1823

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, George Elsmore, 5 Jul. 1823

SRO, D874/7/6/27, George Elsmore, 18 Dec. 1824

SRO, D24/A/PO/2833, Sarah Elsmore, 4 Jul. 1827

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, Sarah Elsmore, 14 Aug. 1827

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, Sarah Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2838, Sarah Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Sarah Elsmore, 2 Aug. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Ann Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, Ann Elsmore of Princes End, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D874/7/6/29, Ann Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, William Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2839, William Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2840, William Elsmore, 16 Jul. 1828

SRO, D874/7/6/30, William Elsmore, 8 Nov. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PV/1, William Elsmore, 8 Nov. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, William Elsmore, 8 Nov. 1828

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Francis Elsmore, 21 Jan. 1832

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Francis Elsmore, 11 Apr. 1833

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Francis Elsmore, 13 Jul. 1833

SRO, D874/7/6/34, Francis Elsmore, 13 Jul. 1833

SRO, D24/A/PO/2723, Francis Elsmore, 11 Jul. 1835

This is a work in progress, subject to change as new research in conducted

The Elsmore Family, Great Haywood, Shoemakers, Part Two: Who were the Elsmores?

By Peter Collinge

The Elsmores were Roman Catholics. As a result of Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, between 1754 and 1837 all marriages had to take place in the Church of England. The Catholic registers that do survive for this period contain records of illegal marriages. Several Elsmore marriages took place at the parish church of St John the Baptist, Tixall, Staffordshire. White’s 1834 directory notes, however, that adjoining the south wing of Tixall Hall ‘is a modern Catholic chapel, a handsome Gothic structure, with an octagonal tower, and beautiful stained glass windows. The parish church … is a small edifice dedicated to St John the Baptist’. For several centuries Tixall had been a safe haven for Catholics. In 1827 the Clifford family, who lived in the hall, built the chapel. By 1835 they had left the area giving the chapel and an acre of land to the Catholics of the area. In 1845 the chapel was taken down and rebuilt in Great Haywood.

William Elsmore (b.1783) married Susan or Susanna Dale on 13 February 1809. The marriage was recorded as having taken place at St John the Baptist church. Susanna was around six months pregnant at the time. Their son James was baptised 23 July 1809 at St John’s. Susan Dale and her sister Frances were confirmed on 5 May 1802 at Tixall chapel.

For Colwich, the 1841 Census (when ages for adults were rounded down to the nearest five years) lists William (55) a cordwainer, his wife Susanna (50) and five children: Stephen (25), Thomas (20), Mary Ann (16), Frederick (15) and Francis (13). Living next to them was another William Elsmore, (30) a joiner and carpenter; his wife Anne (32), and children Teresa, (4); Louisa, (2) and Ann (1).

The 1851 Census reveals that William, aged 68, was born in Stafford, and Susanna, aged 67, was born in Tixall. Stephen (38), born in Baswich, was a cordwainer like his father. No other children of William and Susannah are listed but living with them were two grandchildren, Cecily aged nine (born in Stowe) and Edward Brian, aged two, born in Campden, Gloucestershire. This may explain the connection with Chipping Campden of Thomas Elsmore, a bricklayer, lodging at an inn in High Street, noted in the 1851 Census.

Another child of William and Susanna was Charles, born 1814. At the time of the 1851 Census he was a ‘post’ boy living in St John Street, Lichfield, along with his brother Francis, an ostler and general servant; and an extended family that included their sister Mary A. Brian (37), a victualler’s wife, born in Great Haywood; her sons William (3), born in Longton; Charles (1), born in Great Haywood; and Henry (6 months), born in Lichfield. Also living at the same address was brother-in-law Edward Guy (36), an agricultural implement maker, born Boston, Lincolnshire; and niece Teresa Elsmore (14), a nurse. Visiting when the census was taken was cousin Harriet Dale (30), born in Tixall.

White’s 1851 directory informs us that William Brian was the innkeeper of the Lord Nelson, St John Street, Lichfield.

James Elsmore (b.1809)

Also in the 1841 Census for Colwich are James Elsmore, a cordwainer, his wife Pamela and their children James (b.1836), Robert (b.1837), Pamela (b.1838) and George (b.1840). James and Pamela (née Wood) were married at Painswick, Gloucestershire, on 15 July 1833.

In the 1871 Census James (61), a master cordwainer employing one man, and Pamela (60) and two of their children, Monica, aged 25, a machinist and Francis, aged 15, a cordwainer were all living next to Great Haywood Catholic school and chapel. On the other side of them were William Elsmore, (60) a joiner and carpenter; his wife Anne (67), daughter Martha, (28) a certified schoolmistress; son William (26) also a joiner and carpenter, and a grandson, Francis (3), born in Broughton, Yorkshire.

Jane, Brian and Ann Elsmore

1841 Census for Great Haywood at Norton Land are Henry and Mary Yates and their children John and Ann; and a Mary Elsmore (30). Henry was an agricultural labourer. Next to them at Swansmoor Farm were Robert Cliff [?] aged 70, a farmer; Jane Elsmore (60); Jane Elsmore (26); Brian Elsmore (24); and Ann Elsmore (20).

In 1861, at Swanmoor Farm, Colwich, were Brian Elsmore, (47) farmer of 114 acres employing one labourer and one boy; and Brian’s sisters Jane (49) and Ann (44).

White’s 1834 directory notes that Swanmoor was three miles north-west of Colwich with two large farms. One belonged to Sir T. A. Clifford, constable, and the other to William Moore.

George Elsmore (b.1814)

In 1861, at Billington, Bradley, lived George Elsmore (47), a cordwainer; wife Ellen, (38); Thomas (12), a cordwainer; and Ann (9).

By 1871 George Elsmore (57), born at Little Haywood, his wife Ellen (48), born Stafford, and their children (all born in Bradley) William (16); Thomas (22), an indoor farm servant; Ann Eliza (19); George (18), a ‘farmer’s son’; Ellen (15); Elizabeth (13); Emily Jane (11); Alice (8); and John (5) were still resident at Billington, Bradley.

By the next census (1881) many of George’s and Ellen’s children were no longer living in the family home. George (67) and Ellen (58) were living with their unmarried son William (26), an agricultural labourer; and a grandson Edward B. Elsmore (5) in Berry Ring, Bradley.

Joseph Elsmore (Farmer)

In 1826 Joseph Elsmore of Swanmoor was appointed as a juror for the Quarter Sessions.

Joseph Elsmore (b.1814)

Joseph was born in Fradswell and became a farm bailiff in the parish of St Andrew, Shifnal, Shropshire, living at Hatton School. His wife Elizabeth (b.1823) was the school mistress and was assisted by their daughter Margaret (b.1857). Living with them was Herbert Merriman (b.1853), and agricultural labourer; and Richard Wedge (b.1861), a groom and domestic servant.

Thomas Elsmore (b.1821)

In 1841 in the parish of St Mary, Stafford, shoemaker Joseph, born around 1821, was living with his wife Mary and their two children William, aged two; and Bernard, aged one.

Joseph Elsmore (b.1821)

Living in the same street in Stafford as Thomas Elsmore (b.1821) was shoemaker Joseph, his wife Caroline and their son Thomas, aged one.

Frederick Elsmore (b.1828)

Like his father William, Frederick became a shoemaker. He appears to have moved around a great deal. In 1841 he was an apprentice shoemaker in Stafford living in the household of his master Samuel Mountford. In 1851 he was lodging in St Peter’s parish Derby. Ten years later he had moved to Walsall Wood. He was still a shoemaker and still living in digs.

Robert Elsmore (b.1784)

In 1851 at Mavesyn Ridware, Staffordshire, Robert Elsmore (67), born in Colwich and his wife Sarah (51) were in receipt of parish relief. Their 14-year-old daughter Rebeccah was dressmaker’s apprentice, and their 11-year-old-son Henry was an agricultural labourer.

William Elsmore (b.1816)

Living at Ellastone, Staffordshire, were William Elsmore (35) a bookkeeper to a builder, (born in Bradley, Staffordshire); his wife Charlotte (42) born in Ellastone, and their children William H. (12), born in Colwich; Bryan T. (9); Jane (7); Frederick J. (4); and Louisa (1). The last four children were all born in Ellastone.

John Elsmore (b.1814)

John Elsmore was born in Great Haywood. By the time of the 1851 Census he was a widowed a farm labourer living in Armitage. His daughter Elizabeth (b.1828) was a laundress, and his son, Thomas (b.1829) was a farm labourer.

Sources

Birmingham Archdiocese Archives, P162/1/2, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths, Roman Catholic Parish Marriages, 1798–1853

Gloucester Archives, P244, IN 1/16, Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers, Painswick

www.stjohnsgreathawood.org/history

SRO, Q/Rjr/1826, Quarter Sessions Jurors Lists (Staffordshire Name Index)

The National Archives, ‘How to look for records of Catholics’

TNA, HO 107/994/11, Census 1841

TNA, HO, 107/1010/1, Census 1841

TNA, HO, 107/1999, Census 1851

TNA, HO, 107/2014, Census 1851

TNA, HO, 107/2015, Census 1851

TNA, HO, 107/2076, Census 1851

TNA, HO, 107/2143, Census 1851

TNA, HO, 107/2146, Census 1851

TNA, RG, 9/1908, Census 1861

TNA, RG, 9/1909, Census 1861

TNA, RG, 9/2018, Census 1861

TNA, RG, 10/2819, Census 1871

TNA, RG, 10/2820, Census 1871

TNA, RG, 11/2634, Census 1881

TNA, RG, 11/2687, Census 1881

William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield: 1834)

William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield: 1851)

This is a work in progress, subject to change as new research is conducted.