Category: Cumberland

William (1789-1827) and Wilkin Irving, (1791-1859) Surgeons, Greystoke Parish

By NMDEA

When Wilkin Irving died on 9 April 1859 he was described as having a naturally timid and nervous character ‘A safe cautious judge of medical practice, who rarely made a mistake. His opinion often sought by rich and poor’. [1]

The vouchers of Greystoke contain bills for treatment given by Wilkin and his brother William John. The vouchers span the years 1818 to 1834.[2] In addition, there are also bills at a later date signed by their cousin William John Irving (1808-1870). He was the son of Christopher Irving, William and Wilkin’s father’s brother.  

Examples of recurring items appear on the brothers’ bills, including Anodyne drops 1s, diuretic drops 1s 6d, a blister and ointment 2s 6d [3] an alkaline mixture 2s 6d, enuretic solution 1s 3d, and camomile flowers 6d. [4] The procedures they undertook were varied but charges for attending women in labour occur frequently. [5 ][6] The extraction of a tooth from someone called Monkhouse [7] 18 November 1827 and the extraction of urine from someone named Berli[e]n are infrequent events. [8] The Irvings also supplied medicines to the Workhouse in Penrith.[9]

PR5/53 37A Greystoke Overseers' Voucher 1829-1830 William Irving treatment to Berlin , Fanny Cowper
PR5/53 37A Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher 1829-1830 Wilkin Irving

William was baptised on 11 January 1789 and Wilkin on 21 June 1791 in the parish of Caldbeck, as was their brother Joseph (1790-1844). They had a sister Jane (b.1793)  who may have died in infancy. Their father William and his wife Mary [Mally] Dobson had no further children. Mary died on 11 February 1795 in child birth aged 27.

Barbara Dowson (1755-1812) married the widowed William at Greystoke on 27 June 1801. [10]

Their father William had established himself as a surgeon in Hesket Newmarket. Wilkin Irving was educated at Appleby, Westmorland, and gained his surgical degree in Edinburgh before returning to Hesket Newmarket to practice in 1814, first with his father, then the following year with brother William John. [11]

Hesket Newmarket, Cumberland. Left of picture what was the Poorhouse
Hesket Newmarket, Cumberland. Left of picture what was the Poorhouse

William Irving the elder died at Hesket Newmarket on 2 September 1820. His extensive will shows he owned various parcels of land and property in the surrounding area. While he occupied some, he leased others, from which he earned an income. His will names some of those he leased the land to such as Betty Alcock, a farmer, and Hannah Peet, a shopkeeper. [12] Hannah Peet was also a witness to his will.

The three sons are named as beneficiaries in his will. Joseph and William John inherited property and land; Joseph the livestock and household furniture; Wilkin consolidated bank shares valued at £500. Medical and surgical books were left to William John and Wilkin. Wilkin inherited his father’s surgical instruments. Small bequests were made to nephews and nieces, as well as to Christine and Sarah, daughters of fellow surgeon William Blamire of Thackwood Nook, Dalston. Five pounds was left to the parish poor. [13]

While Joseph remained in Hesket Newmarket the brothers continued to practice in the surrounding area. Wilkin at some point moved to Hutton John. William John died suddenly on 23 July 1827 aged 38, [14] leaving a wife Ann Studholme (1789- 1884) who he had married at Sebergham in 1812, and three children: Mary Ann (1814-1898), Catherine (1821-1898), and William John 1823-1905). Ann and her children lived with her brother John, a farmer, at Bell Bridge, Sebergham, before they all moved to Buckabank House, Dalston.

Buckabank House, Dalston, Cumberland

According to newspaper accounts, Wilkin continued to work but his nervous disposition and pressure of work began to take its toll. He gradually withdrew from work refusing to undertake surgical procedures. He moved to Bennet Head near Watermillock overlooking the lake at Ullswater, where he died aged 68. The Carlisle Journal reporting that he had ‘a hereditary malady which he well knew would ultimately prove fatal to him’. [15]

Ullswater from Bennet Head near Watermillock

A memorial to the brothers step-mother Barbara Dowson and her brother Rev’d Thomas Head Dowson was placed in Greystoke Church. [16] The surrounding Churchyard has one to Wilkin irving, his brother Joseph, and their father.

Memorial to Wilkin Irving, his father and brother Joseph at St Andrews Church, Greystoke.

 

Sources
[1] Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser and Penrith Literary Chronicle, 19 April 1859, p. 4, col.,d
[2] Cumbria Archives, PR5/67-K, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin and William Irving, (cousin) 4 June 1834
[3] Cumbria Archives, PR5/54-26, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, william John Irving 4 April 1820
[4] Cumbria Archives, PR5/54/12, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin Irving 5 August 1828
[5] Cumbria Archives, PR5/53/37A, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin Irving 9 November 1830
[6] Cumbria Archives, PR5/53/10, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin Irving 5 June 1833
[7] Cumbria Archives, PR5/54/12, [line 32] Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin Irving. 5 August 1828
[8] Cumbria Archives PR5/53/5, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin Irving, 12 May 1829
[9] Cumbria Archives, PR5/53/37A, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, Wilkin irving 9 November 1830
[10] Carlisle Journal, 4 July 1801, p. 3, col. c
[11] Cumbria Archives, DCC/1/47, Deeds mostly of various properties in Skelton….1714-1832
[12] England and Wales Quaker BMD Register, 1578 -1837, Cumberland and Northumberland Burials 1814-1835 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk 2 October 2020] p. 67 of 272
[13] The National Archives, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB11/1636/67, Will of William Irving Surgeon Caldbeck, Cumberland, 8 November 1820
[14] Cumberland Parquet and Whitehaven Ware’s Advertiser, 31 July 1827
[15] Carlisle Journal, 22 April 1859, p. 5, col. e
[16] Kuper, M. E. (1888), ‘Sebergham Parish Registers’, Transactions of Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and archaeological Society, 9 (series 1), pp. 32-96, p. 73 [accessed 2 October 2020]

William Robinson (1783-1857), Flour for the Poor

By NMDEA

The first Corn Law was enacted in 1815. One of its consequences was its detrimental effect on the poor who were already subject to the vagaries of the weather and variable harvests.[1]

Overseers’ Voucher 1835 SPC/26/12 item 5

Two Vouchers exists from the parish of Greystoke for William Robinson, a miller. One for the supply of oat meal in 1835 [2], the other a bill settled 3 April 1827. [ 3] The later is from William Hodgson, a farmer at Blencow and also overseer, for the supply of flour to the poor in November 1826. It is assumed from looking at the trade directories that this was from Robinson’s time at Hutton Mill. [4]

An undated list of people choosing to use Sparket and Greystoke Mill instead of Hutton Mill to grind their corn exists when Hutton Mill was described as in good repair.[5] Looking at the names on the list, it possibly dates from around the late-eighteenth century. Although the nature of its significance is not known it may be related to the ‘Lord of the Manor’ stipulating where the inhabitants took their corn. It is thought William leased the Corn Mill when Henry Howard of Greystoke Castle was the landowner.[6]

Sparket Mill
Greystoke castle

Those named on the bill of 1826 are Rebeckah [sic] Cowper, Barbery [sic] Parker, Ann Greenal, Frances Williamson, Esther Fox and John Johnston. The order is for a stone of flour [type unknown] supplied at a cost of 2s 8d each. It is not known if this was something done on a regular basis by Robinson.

Some of the recipients of the flour appear to have had other help from the community by means of the poor law. Rebeckah Cowper had received relief in the past. Her name being in the Overseers Account book between 1810-1814. [7] She died in 1847 aged 87. Esther Ward had married John Fox in 1815 and was widowed with a young son Ralph. She died in Penrith in 1861 aged 77 years, having worked as a charlady and general servant. Ann Greenal’s name appears on a bill for Dr W. J. Irving in 1827 for attendance in labour and subsequent medical care. By the time of the 1851 census she was a laundress/pauper living with her son, William. She died in 1864 aged 77. Barbara Parker had sought help from the parish when expecting a child in 1820. A warrant was issued for a Richard Gillespie on 27 October 1820 for him to being examined concerning her yet-to-be- born bastard child. [8]

By contrast William Robinson’s business prospered through the nineteenth century.  He could be described as being part of the Robinson dynasty of millers/corn factors.

William was baptised at Crosby Ravensworth 16 November 1783. His parents John Robinson (1749-1833) and Mary Clark (1751-1836) ran a mill at Maulds Meaburn. His other brothers took on mills in Cumberland and Westmorland. Thomas (1775-1851) at Craigs Mill, Shap; John (1778-1848) Bongate Mill Appleby; Joseph (1781-1864) Askham Mill, Westmorland; Robert (1785-1874) Maulds Meaburn mill; and Mathew (1787-1853) Sockbridge mill, near Penrith. Their only sister Mary (b.1776) married John Laycock, also a miller.[9]

William Robinson had served an apprenticeship at Millhouse near Hesket Newmarket with his cousin Robert Clark before going to Greystoke Mill where his future wife’s parents Thomas Routledge and Eleanor Smith were the millers. On 13 June 1810 he married their widowed daughter Mary, who already had two young children, Elizabeth and Isaac. They had a further five children: John, baptised 23 March 1813, and William baptised 23 April 1817, who along with Mary’s son Isaac Routledge (1807-1877) were all involved in the milling business. Thomas (1815-1897) broke the mould and became a cleric . Daughter Mary (1810-1891) married John Todhunter a blacksmith but was widowed a year later. Youngest daughter Eleanor or Ellen (1819-1881) married Isaac Kidd, a farmer, later in life. Both daughters lived in the Greystoke area. [10]

Memorial to Mary and Eleanor Robinson and Isaac Routledge daughters and Stepson William Robinson
Memorial to Mary and Eleanor Robinson and Isaac Routledge daughters and Stepson William Robinson

William Robinson returned to Greystoke Mill, where he died on 26 January 1857, aged 75. His wife predeceased him. Memorials to William and Mary Robinson, as well as some of their children, are located at St Andrew’s Church, Greystoke.

William Robinson of Greystoke Mill Memorial St Andrews Church,Greystoke
William Robinson Memorial St Andrews Church,Greystoke

Sources
[1] www.thepoorlaw.org Ann White, East Sussex, The price of bread, 31 July 2019
[2] Cumbria Archives, Hutton Soil, Overseers’ voucher, SPC/26/12 5, 10 March – 1 April 1835
[3] Cumbria Archives, Greystoke Overseers’ voucher, PR5/67-F item 5, William Robinson’s bill settled 3 April 1827
[4] Parson and White, Principal Inhabitants of Cumberland and Westmorland (1829), Compiled by Roland Gregg;  Pigot, Directory of Cumberland and Westmorland ( Pigot and Co., 1834); William Robinson, Greystoke and Hutton Mill,  www.ancestry.co.uk [accessed 20 September 2020]
[5] Cumbria Archives, DHUD/8/56/20, List of Tenants of Whitbarrow, Penruddock and Hutton Soil not grinding corn last winter at Hutton Mill, who went to Sparket Mill and Greystoke mill instead. undated.
[6] Carlisle Patriot, 14 August 1841, p.1, col. d, Freehold Property in the Parish of Greystoke
[7] Cumbria Archives, PR5/45, Greystoke Overseers’ Account book, 1810-1814
[8] Cumbria Archives PR5/67A iem 1, Greystoke Overseers’ Voucher, April 12 1827, W. J. Irving; PR5/67A item 3,  27 October 1820 and PR5/67A item 4, 27 February 1821 [Richard Gillespie] [accessed 20 September 2020]
[9] Penrith Observer, 24 May 1949, p. 7, col. b-c. Robinson’s were Millers for 200 years.
[10] Cumbria Libraries, (920 ROB), Margaret Clark, The Black Book of the Richardson Trust, A question of Inheritance. The letter book of William Robinson, Miller of Greystoke from 1854-55, 3rd edn. (2008).

Memorial to John Robinson of Motherby son of William Robinson
Memorial to John Robinson of Motherby son of William Robinson

Catherine Lawrie (1786-1873), Brazier, Tin Plate Worker and Plumber

By NMDEA

Catherine Lawrie traded in Carlisle while she supplied the workhouse in the village of Dalston some 4 miles away with a number of items. Her bill of April 1831 for repairing 8 tins at a cost of 8d and supplying 12 tins at 3s along with the supply of a boiler costing 1s. 2d was settled by William Barker. [1] She was still supplying them with items in 1837. [2]

the former Workhouse at Dalston



William Barker’s employment with Catherine was abruptly terminated in January 1836. He fell from a ladder fracturing his leg leading to his death. His wife Catherine Henderson was left with four young children.[3]

Richard Johnson became one of Catherine’s employees as her foreman. In 1857 he left Catherine’s employment and set up business on his own. [4] Advertising his new venture, he placed an announcement in the newspaper stipulating his role as foreman to Mrs Lawrie for nearly 20 years, suggesting Catherine was someone respected within the city. It was standard procedure to alert the public of your previous experience when setting up a new venture.

Catherine Elizabeth Henegan was born in Ireland. On 1 January 1814 she married Archibald Lawrie a brazier and tinplate worker from Carlisle at St Mary’s church. Her residence was given as Canonbie, North Britain (Scottish Border region).[5] Archibald and Catherine had four children: Richard Hanegan (1815-91), Catherine Anne (1817-86), Mary Isabella (1819-89), and Archibald,  baptised 17 July 1822. By the time of Archibald’s baptism, his father, lately of Eden Court, was recorded as deceased. His death, aged 51, appears in the burial register of Stanwix on 23 June 1822. [6] The running of the business was taken on by Catherine. When her children were young, Mary Bell became a part of her support network, remaining with her for 30 years.

When Mary Bell died in November 1851, the Carlisle Journal recorded:  ‘At Rockliffe on the 21st inst Mary Bell 58 nearly all her industrious life was spent in the service of the widow of Russell the historian of modern Europe and Mrs Lawrie of Scotch Street Carlisle with the later of whom she lived upwards of 30 years’. [7]


Catherine’s name is in the local trade directory of 1834.  The name of her son, Archibald, begins to appear in the trade directories in the late 1840’s. [8] Their place of business always clearly specified as 54 Scotch Street, Carlisle.


Guildhall and Fisher Street, Carlisle Cumbria Image Bank



Using entries from local newspapers, Catherine’s business activities can be traced. She appears to be the only woman on a list of those allocated shares in a stock company for the provision of a building for the Literary and Philosophical Society in 1838. [9] There is evidence of her securing tenders for work in the city for lanterns costing £12.9s 4d in 1841[10], the maintenance of a force (water) pump in Fisher Street in 1843, [11] and plumber’s work at the Court buildings costing £8.6s.9d in 1845.[12]

Catherine chose to give to charitable causes in the City. She subscribed to a fund for the widow of Thomas Dougall, a mail guard killed in a railway accident in 1840 [13], and to the relief of the distressed poor in Carlisle in 1842.[14] In her later years in business she contributed to the building fund of the Dispensary in 1857.[15 ]

When John Nicholson a stone mason stole 11 lb of lead from her property and sold it on, she decided not to pursue matters further. [16]

While Catherine’s eldest son, Richard, had chosen to pursue a career as a barrister from 1840 practising in the city until 1849, [17] it appears that Catherine was gradually withdrawing from the business in preparation for Archibald to take over. Unfortunately Archibald died on 29 January 1852 aged 29. [18]

In 1860 Catherine appears to have decided to call it a day. Although she is not named in the notice for the sale of plumber’s stock, the address of the retiring proprietor is given as 54 Scotch Street so it is assumed this is her.[19]

 

The Tin Plate Worker Wellcome Collection



In 1868, creditors received a once only payment relating to her business. [20] Catherine left Carlisle with her two daughters to live with her son Richard at Wellington Terrace, Hammersmith. Without the existence of the vouchers Catherine Lawrie’s business interests outside of the city of Carlisle may not have become apparent.

Sources
[1] Cumbria Archives, Dalston Overseers’ Vouchers, SPC44/2/48/114, 30 April 1830
[2] Cumbria Archives, Dalston Overseers’ Vouchers, SPC44/2/46/16, 1837
[3] Carlisle Journal, 30 January 1836, p.2, col. d.
[4] Carlisle Journal, 30 January 1857, p. 4, col. c.
[5] Carlisle Journal, 8 January 1814, p. 3, col. d.
[6] Cumberland Paquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser, 24 June 1822, p. 3, col. a; Cumbria Archives, PR117/13, Stanwix Burial Register, 1814-1846.
[7] Carlisle Journal, 28 November 185,1 p. 3, col. g.
[8] Pigot & Co., National Commercial Directory of Chester, Cumberland, Durham, Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmorland and York (London and Manchester: J Pigot & Co., 1834);Mannix & Whellan, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cumberland (18470, p. 164.
[9] Carlisle Journal, 17 March 1838, p. 3, col. a.
[10] Carlisle Journal, 16 October 1841, p. 2, col. b.
[11] Carlisle Journal, 15 April 1843, p. 3, col. b.
[12] Carlisle Journal, 18 October 1845, p. 3, col. b.
[13] Carlisle Journal, 21 March 1840, p. 2, col. e.
[14] Carlisle Patriot, 19 February 1842, p. 2, col. b.
[15] Carlisle Journal, 14 August 1857, p. 4, col. d.
[16] Carlisle Patriot, 21 August 1858, p. 6, col. d.
[17] Alumni Cantabrigienses A biographical List of all Known Students Graduates & Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge from the Earliest times to 1900, vol 2, 1752 to 1900, ed. John Vale, Cambridge Library, accessed at books.google.co.uk
[18] Carlisle Journal, 30 January 1852, p. 3, col. g; Cumbria Archives, PR 117/14, Stanwix Burial Register, 1846-1862 entry 264
[19] Carlisle Patriot, 19 May 1860, p. 4, col. b.
[20] Carlisle Patriot, 28 February 1868, p. 3, col. g.


footnote
Catherine and her daughters are buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. Richard at Cheritan Road Cemetery, Folkestone, Kent.

Edward Heylin (fl. 1801- 1843), Linen and Woollen Draper, Penrith

By NMDEA

Edward Heylin was a linen and woollen draper in Penrith. [1] Several vouchers appear with his name on them for the parish of Greystoke; some of which have a printed heading.[2] The bills were sent to Thomas Burn, overseer, and then assistant overseer of Greystoke. Most are bills of only a few lines long.[3] Around the time of these vouchers Heylin was also active in the community, being elected a churchwarden in Penrith.[4] As churchwarden it is likely he was influential in the distribution of Penrith’s charitable funds to the poor.

At least two of Heylin’s bills are for items for a Mary Johnson. Items supplied around 1822 include five yards of grey calico,  at 3s. 9d; three yards black calico at 2s 3d; one yard of fustian at 1s; yarn and whalebone costing 2s 8d; two yds blue linen, thread and tape at 2s 6d;  for the making of shifts, 8d, and two caps, 2d; two aprons, 2d, and a petticoat, 4d; the making of a pair of stays, 1s 4d. [5] The other bill cannot be positively dated but contains similar items. [6]

Mary Johnson was baptised in Greystoke in 1802 so she would have been around 21 when she received these items but her circumstances at the time are not known. She married Joseph Greenhow, a farm labourer, on 8 November 1830 in the same parish. By 1841 they were living at Hog House Brow, Martindale, with two children.

Edward Heylin’s father, also Edward (c.1772-1836), was a yeoman and owner of a farm at Celleron near Ullswater. His mother, Mary Wilkinson (c.1765-1841), owned property in Greystoke which had been in the family from the early eighteenth century. [7] Edward was baptised at Dacre, a village near Penrith, on 20 December 1801. He had three siblings: Jane (1794-1818) who married James Russell; John (1797-1854); and Margaret (1799-1877) who married Thomas Atkinson. Edward’s brother John also appears to have been a draper in Penrith around 1829 before becoming the Governor of Much Woolton Workhouse, Childwall, Lancashire. [8]

Edward married Maria Featherstonhaugh (1802-43) in Alston on 15 October 1823, her place of birth. Maria was descended from a branch of the Featherstonhaugh family of Featherstone Castle, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland. Edward was reputedly a direct descendant of Dr Peter Heylin (1599-1662), historian, author and chaplain to Charles I.[9]

Edward and Maria seem to have had a stable and well established life with a growing family but this was about to change. In 1839 Edward advertised for an apprentice in the Carlisle Patriot [10] but by late 1842 he was no longer trading in Penrith. The Carlisle Journal reported on 10 December 1842, that J. and J. Grindal had taken on his business. [11]

After his father’s [12] and mother’s deaths, he appears to have moved to London with wife Maria. It is unclear what precipitated this move.

1843 must have been a turbulent year for Edward Haylin. Despite favourable character references and their eldest son Richard Featherstonhaugh’s (1824-1852) position as a qualified solicitor, [13] second son Edward (1826-1855) was found guilty of a crime in April 1843. Edward, aged 17, having recently been appointed by Lord Lowther as a clerk at the General Post Office in London [14] was accused of stealing letters containing sovereigns from the Post Office General. [15] Considered a serious offence for which the death penalty had just been abolished in 1837, he was brought before the central criminal court on 8 May 1843. After some deliberation the punishment of the justice system was brought to bear. He was sentenced to transportation for life; departing for Norfolk Island, Australia, from Plymouth on 26 August 1843.

Edward Heylin’s youngest son Henry ( 1843-1899) was baptised at Clerkenwell, London, the month before Edward’s transportation. On 30 November 1843 his wife Maria died. Her death was recorded in Clerkenwell, aged 41.[16].

Son Edward never returned home. On 6 June 1855 he was found guilty of robbery and the illegal discharge of a firearm intending to cause harm and was executed on 26 June 1855. Considered by some as being a harsh punishment.[17] Whether his family knew of his fate is unknown.

From 1843 Edward Heylin the elder is difficult to trace. He occasionally appears on a list of those attending a meeting in London of the Cumberland Benevolent Institution [18] but it is difficult to say conclusively if this is him. He may have returned to Penrith occasionally being involved in the sale of family properties at Celleron and Penruddock but this cannot be confirmed without further research. [19]

Greystoke Voucher E Heylin Linen & Woolen Draper PR5/54 19B 182? items on bill
E Heylin Linen & Woolen Draper Penrith, Cumbria Archives, PR5/54 19B

Additional information about other children of Edward and Mary Heylin.
Alexander (1829-1868) was a bookseller in London. A fire in 1861 at his business in Paternoster Row, was followed by bankruptcy in 1863. [20] Third son John died in infancy in Penrith (1833-1837). Emma (1835-1916) was described as a governess on one census and can be found living with her unmarried brother Henry (1843-1899) who she was caring for when he died aged 55 in 1899. [21] Maria (1837) married Francesco del Campo in 1872. Her whereabouts cannot be traced after this. Genevieve Jane (1839-1884) married William S. Wicks, a stationer by trade. They also had their troubles. William petitioned for divorce on the grounds of her adultery in 1872. Ultimately staying together, Genevieve died after a short stay in Hoxton Lunatic Asylum in 1884.

Footnote

On 15 July 1812 the Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser recorded the suicide of an E. Heylin. [22]This seems to refer to Edward Heylin who was overseer [parish officer] in Penrith in 1811. It cannot be established conclusively how he is related to Edwin Haylin. Also at this time there was an affiliation for Edward Heylin of Celleron to appeal against. [23 ] it is possible the two events are related.

sources
[1] J. Pigot, National Commercial Directory 1828-9 (London: Pigot & Co., 1828)
[2] Cumbria Archives, Greystoke Overseers’ Vouchers, PR5/53 11, 183[?]
[3] Cumbria Archives, Greystoke Overseers’ Vouchers, PR5/54 19B 182[?]
[4] Westmorland Gazette, 5 July 1823, p.3, col. e
[5] Cumbria Archives, Greystoke Overseers’ Vouchers, PR5/67-D 11, 7 August 1821 or 2, bill for items for Mary Johnson
[6] Cumbria Archives, Greystoke Overseers’ Vouchers, PR5/67/D 8 [1820s]
[7] Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser, 6 August 1841 p. 8, col. e.
[8] TNA, HO/107/511/13 1841 Census, Much Woolton Workhouse, Childwall, Lancashire.
[9] Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser, 6 August 1841 p. 8, col. e.
[10]Carlisle Patriot, 16 February 1839, p. 2, col. a
[11]Carlisle Journal, 10 December 1842, p. 2, col. e
[12]Carlisle Journal, 10 September 1836, p. 3 col. g
[13] TNA, Court of King’s Bench: Plea Side: Affidavits of Due Execution of Articles of Clerkship, Series III; Class: KB 107; Piece: 16 [accessed at ancestry.co.uk 16 July 2020]
[14] Kendal Mercury, 6 May 1843, p. 2, col. g
[15] Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 18 July 2020), May 1843, trial of EDWARD HEYLIN (t18430508-1417).
[16] Worcester Journal, 7 December 1843, p.3, col. f
[17] Libaries Tazmania Online Collections https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON33-1-76$init=CON33-1-76p85 and Colonial Times 27 June 1855 p. 2, col. f [accessed at trove.nla.gov.au] https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8781473?searchTerm=heylin
[18] Penrith Observer, 26 May 1868, p.6 col., c
[19] Cumbria Archives, DX 315/1, Deeds relating to property in Motherby, Penruddock Cumberland, and Barton, Westmorland, 1669-1859
[20] The Stirling Advertiser and Midland Counties Advertiser, 12 September 1861, p. 3, col. b; London Gazette, 31 July 1863, p. 3817
[21] West London Observer, 21 April 1899, p.6, col. d

[22] Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser, 15 July 1812, p.3, col, c

[23]Cumbria Archives, Kendal ,WQ/SR/651/23 Recognizance of Edward Heylin and John Bailey, 4 Jan. 1812 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk] England, Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975 , UK Lunacy Patient Admission Registers 1846-1912, England and Wales Civil Divorce Records 1858-1918

GRO search index www.gov.uk [deaths]

Thanks to Joe McDarby

Wilkinson’s Griffin Inn, Penrith

By NMDEA

The Griffin Inn was one of the numerous inns in Penrith during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was listed as being situated in the urban subdivision of Dockray and in later years the Corn Market. It was part of the social and commercial centre of the community, helping to promote the economy of the town, providing a venue for local officials, manufacturers and traders and those selling property. It was a place for social and cultural events providing accommodation for passing travellers, those on fishing excursions to Ullswater, and travelling performers as well as members of the Cumberland Militia that assembled and trained there in the early 1800s.[1] Grain was sold outside the various inns positioned round the Cornmarket; barley was sold from outside the Griffin.[2]

The Griffin Inn had been trading from at least 1779 when innkeeper Christopher Idle offered for lease a:-

Large and convenient dwelling house with a large hall or kitchen, parlour, back kitchen and brew house on the first floor, a large dining room, a small ditto, three lodging rooms for servants, three cellars, both dining room and lodging rooms have closets. Good stables for eighteen horses, common stables for fifty more, a byer for cows, roomy chambers for hay, three extraordinary good granaries, a pump, coal holes and every necessary convenience the whole situate within a large close yard. The stock and furniture to go with the premises it also a good seat in the Parish Church.[3]

One voucher from Threlkeld with no clear date has the letterhead ‘Wikinson’s the Griffn Inn’. Scribbled on the back are additions to the bill. It is probably dated from the end of the eighteenth century. It does give an brief insight into the business of the Griffin. Wilkinson supplied the customers with a range of alcoholic drinks, mainly ale and porter; luncheon and dinner, tobacco, beds, horses hay and corn along with the services of an ostler. The printed bill also shows the Griffin offered fruit, punch, tea and coffee, wine and negus, washing facilities, postage and paper as well as food and ale for servants. [4]

bill for Wilkinson's Griffin Inn items such as ale ,porter hay tobacco
Wilkinson’s Griffin Inn Penrith c 1800 SPC21/8-11 13 A and B

John Wilkinson and his wife Julia Harrison were married at Thorpe in the parish of Greystoke in 1789 but perhaps seeing a lucrative business opportunity moved and became the proprietors of the Griffin around the time of the birth of their second son, William in 1795. William did not survive beyond his first year, as was also the case with sibling John (b.1799).[5]

After John Wilkinson’s death in 1801, [6] it is not known if Julia had full control of the inn or a trustee was appointed. However, the lease of the Griffin was offered for nine years in February of that year. The Griffin being described as in the possession of Mrs Wilkinson.[7] Little can be found of the Griffin’s activities until 1811 when Jollie’s trade directory lists Julia Wilkinson as the Innkeeper.[8] She remained at the inn and was still there when her father Jonathan Harrison died in 1818[9] and when her daughter Mary married the Rev. John Ormandy the following year. [10] Mary died in a house fire on 27 December 1848 ,the suggestion in one local newspaper being that her being intoxicated was partly to blame.[11]

The General Wolfe inn near the Griffin, where Isaac Wilkinson was the innkeeper was continued by his only daughter Mary after his death in 1823.[12] She had married William Bolton a Sergeant Major in the Cumberland Militia in 1802. Widowed in 1824 she continued in business at the inn. [13] It may be that the two Wilkinson families were related.

In 1819 local newspapers carried family notices suggesting that Julia Wilkinson had remarried. The notice in the Carlisle Patriot of 31 July read ‘At Greystoke Thursday Mr Isaac Hodgson of London Slop Merchant to Mrs Wilkinson late of the Griffin Inn Penrith’. [14] A slop merchant provided clothes and bedding to sailors; often they were cheap and of poor quality. Indignant at this announcement, the same paper retracted this two weeks later, claiming it a falsehood. The instigator was unknown.[15] Julia Wilkinson died sometime around 1824. [16]

In 1811 the Wilkinsons’ eldest surviving son, Harrison, became a surgeon in Hounslow, Middlesex. Prior to that he had been in the Royal Navy.[17] The other Wilkinson children didn’t follow their parents into the innkeeping trade. The Griffin was once again offered for lease, with the addition to its facilities being a garden. Particulars of the lease were to be had from Thomas Wilkinson [John and Julia’s son] of Thorpe House, Greystoke.[18]

The will of Harrison Wilkinson (1790-1830) identifies family members. Apart from some small bequests he instructed his trustees to divide most of his estate between his brother Thomas (1797-1860) and two sisters Mary (1791-1848) and Ann or Nanny (1800-1865). The Griffin made up part of his estate. Dorothy the eldest daughter of his sister Mary was to benefit from the profits of the Griffin independent of her parents or husband, then subsequently the female lineage [her sisters or daughters]. The female heirs were always to be preferred before the male. Youngest sister Ann named Smith in the will, later married James Rowntree, a successful gun maker of Penrith and Barnard Castle. She was resident in Penrith when she died in 1865. She, like her siblings benefitted from her brothers estates at Townhead, Penrith; and Thorpe and Field House, in Greystoke parish.

Perhaps mindful of his own endeavours to gain an education and the lack of a public library in his early life, Harrison added a codicil to his will. He asked for his books comprising his library, to go to the president and committee of the public library free of all legacy duty for the use of all the inhabitants of Penrith.[19] They went to the Mechanics Institute, the forerunner of the Public Library. [20]

Julia Wilkinson appears to have been the only female owner among the Griffin’s various hosts before it ceased trading in March 1893. Adam Barker, a farmer who had taken possession of the Inn in October 1892, was adjudged bankrupt the following year.[21] The General Wolfe fared better and continues in business.

General Wolfe Inn Little Dockray, Penrith .Griffin Inn was situated just around the corner until 1888
General Wolfe, Little Dockray, Penrith


sources.
[1] Ewanian (William Furness), History of Penrith from the Earliest Record to the Recent Time, (1894) Reprint Carlisle Bookcase, pp. 179-185. Michael Mullett, A New History of Penrith, Book V, Penrith in the Nineteenth Century. 1800-1901 (Carlisle, Carlisle Bookcase, 2020), pp. 46-49; Westmorland Advertiser and Kendal Chronicle 26 June 1813, p.3, col., d
[2] www.penrithtowntrials.co.uk http://www.penrithtowntrails.co.uk/downloads/cornmarket.pdf
[3] Cumberland Pacquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser, 8 June 1779, p.1, col. b.
[4] Cumbria Archives, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, SPC21/8-11 13A and 13B, no date
[5] www.ancestry.co.uk
[6] Cumbria Archives PROB/1801/A(44) John Wilkinson Innkeeper Penrith
[7] Carlisle Journal, 7 February 1801, p.1, col. d.
[8] Jollie, F. Cumberland Guide and Directory (Carlisle, 1811), p. xxxi.
[9] Cumberland Paquet and Whitehaven Ware’s Advertiser, 8 September 1818, p.3, col. a.
[10] Carlisle Patriot, 20 February 1819, p. col. d.
[11] Kendal Mercury ,6 January 1849 p.2, col., g
[12] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1823/W723, Isaac Wilkinson Innkeeper, Penrith, 1823, Cumberland Paquet and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser 17 February 1823, p.3, col. c.
[13 Pigot & Co., National Commercial Directory, Cumberland, Lancashire, and Westmorland 1828-9 (London and Manchester, J Pigot & Co., 1828).
[14] Carlisle Patriot, 31 July 1819, p. 3, col. d.
[15] Carlisle Patriot, 14 August 1819, p.3, col. d.
[16] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1824/A(25), Julia Wilkinson, widow of Thorpe. 1824.
[17] UK City and County Directories 1766-1946, 1811, London County Directory, p. 1566 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk, 25 August 2020].
[18] Carlisle Patriot, 17 December 1825, p.1, col. e.
[19] National Archives, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB11/1792/175, 3 November 1831, Will of Harrison Wilkinson of Hounslow, Middlesex.
[20] Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, 20 January 1883, p.5 cols. a-b.
[21] Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, 11 March 1893, p.4 col. g.


Research is ongoing and additional information may by gained accessing the following :-

DHOD/15/7, 1831-36, Estate of Harrison Wilkinson deceased and residue to Mrs Smith, Gosling Cottage, Carlisle.
DHOD/15/10 1830-38, Papers, estate of Dr Harrison Wilkinson, deceased.

Daniel Dunglinson (1764-1829), governor of a workhouse with a profitable enterprise?

By NMDEA

Kendal workhouse manufactured hardens ( a type of cloth) for approximately 50 years. This took place during part of the tenure of Daniel Dunglinson governor of the workhouse.

In 1797 Frederick Morton Eden described the workhouse as being a commodious building in an airy situation, kept with great neatness and propriety, with 55 separate rooms, 35 lodging rooms with an adjoining garden from which the poor were provided with vegetables. The bread allowance was plentiful and on beef days each person was allowed half a pound without discrimination for age or sex. In April 1795 there were 136 inmates in the workhouse, 57 males and 79 females. Seventy-six of them were under 30, 27 between 30 and 60, and 33 over 60.[1 ]

The harden manufactory was credited with reducing some of the costs of the workhouse and the poor rates paid by Kendal township. While having access to charitable funds from the Kendal Fell Fund, generally the workhouse profits were attributed to the harden manufactory. It was run while being mindful not to undercut the ordinary trader.[ 2 ] Parson and White’s 1829 trade directory listed it as a manufacturer of carpets.[3]

The manufactory did have a manager. In 1815 it was Thomas Harrison (c. 1791 – 1815).[4] who died aged 24 in 1815. Then, at some point this role was carried out by John Mann (1802-1875). The extent to which Daniel Dunglinson can be credited with the profitability of this enterprise can only be speculated upon. Equally, there is no evidence of his wife’s involvement in the workhouse.

By 1818 typhus fever was prevalent in Kendal . A proposal was made for a ‘House of Recovery’ to be erected to combat infectious diseases for the benefit of the poor and wider community; the cost to be offset by the profits from the harden manufactory.[ 5 ]

In 1823 the number of paupers in the workhouse was put at 118 , 44 employed in useful work the average net cost of each pauper a week being 1s 4d at the lowest , 2s 4 1/2d at the highest. [6]

The harden production continued until closed by order of the Poor Law Board, the stock related to the manufactory was put up for sale in 1849. [7] John Mann become Governor in 1829 after Daniel Dunglinson [8] finally tendered his resignation, along with his wife Margaret Dunglinson (1802-1877) in October 1848.[9]

Mary (or Diane) Croker mat women, Colchester 1823
https://www.portrait.gov.au/image/87693/87466/ Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat women, Colchester 1823 by John Dempsey

[1] Frederick Morton Eden, The State of the Poor, A History of the labouring classes in England 3 vols, (London, 1797), III, pp.750-771.
[2] Kendal Mercury, 14 February 1846, p.2, col.e
[3] Parson and White, History, Directory and Gazetteer of Cumberland and Westmorland, (White and Co., 1829), p.665
[4] Lancaster Gazette, 11 March 1815, p.3, col. c
[5] Westmorland Gazette, 29 August 1818, p.3
[6] Westmorland Gazette, 19 April 1823, p.3, col. b
[7] Westmorland Gazette, 9 June 1849, p.3, col. b.
[8] Westmorland Gazette, 29 February 1832, p. 4, col. e.
[9] Westmorland Gazette, 14 October 1848, p.2, col. e.
[29] Kendal Mercury, 28 March 1840
[30] www.ancestry.co.uk

footnote

Kendal workhouse sometimes referred to as Kirkby in Kendal as there was another workhouse called Kirkland in Kendal at this time.

Daniel Dunglinson (1764-1829),and Sarah Sowerby, (1730-1812)

By NMDEA

Daniel Dunglinson was the governor of Kendal Workhouse, Westmorland, for over 20 years. He was baptised at Crosthwaite, near Keswick, in the adjacent county of Cumberland. His parents were Daniel Dunglinson (1730-1814) and Dinah Fisher (1731-1810). His name can be found on letters and bills sent to Threlkeld parish, four miles from Keswick, between 1805 and 1811 concerning Sarah Sowerby. It is assumed that Sarah’s parish of settlement was Threlkeld and she had not gained any settlement rights in Kendal.

A letter with an attached bill to Joseph Dixon, overseer, in Threlkeld from Daniel Dunglinson reveals that Sarah had become a resident in Kendal Workhouse. [1 ] Expenses for Sarah include £1. 11s. 4 1/2d for casual relief June 23 to August 18 prior to her admission to the workhouse in 1805.[ 2] This was a lot of money. Prior to this, Sarah’s name appears on their St. Thomas’s Day account sheets receiving casual relief of £4. 5s. 0d. in 1801 [3] and in 1803 £0.7s 0d.[4] She found it necessary, however, to ask for further help. A letter written on her behalf (5 December 1801) by D. Morland asks that she be remembered at Christmas as she is more feeble and ‘she struggles to get her meat‘. She hopes something will be sent as kindness has been shown to her in the past. [5]

Letter written By D Morland on behalf of Sarah Sowerby from Kendal December 5 1801 SPC21/8-11 23B
Letter written By D Morland on behalf of Sarah Sowerby from Kendal December 5 1801 SPC21/8-11 23B

While in the workhouse various requests and payments occur between Kendal and Threlkeld. Typical examples of expenditure for Sarah are:-

May 5 1807 26 weeks board at 3s. 6d. total cost £4. 11s. 0d.[6] Her board for 26 weeks had increased by 7 November 1809 to 4s. a week.[7] Items of clothing and fabrics, for example, a handkerchief, 1s. 11d.; flannel for petticoats, 3s. 1 1/2d.; 2/4 yards bratting, 1s. 10d., 10 December 1805;[8] new shoes, 7s. 6d. 16 April 1807.[ 9] Items requested, 2 brats 1s. 4d., and 2 shifts, 5s. 5d.; 4 August 1807. [10 ]

Expenses for Sarah Sowerby 1805 sent to the Threlkeld SPC21/8-11 98A
Expenses for Sarah Sowerby 1805 sent to the Threlkeld SPC21/8-11 98A


In November 1806 Sarah had been ill but was recovering. By August the following year Daniel Dunglinson wrote ‘the old lady has been poorly for some time back and confined to her bed. She is something better at present and getting to stirring about in her room’. [11] Sarah had been requesting items of clothing for herself. Threlkeld was slow to agree the request as a letter from Thomas Winter overseer in Kendal to Threlkeld December 1807 reveals. He again asks for their agreement to having these items supplied to her [12]

May 12 1807 Letter written by Daniel Dunglinson to Threlkeld Overseers' SPC21/8-11 48A
May 12 1807 Letter written by Daniel Dunglinson to Threlkeld Overseers’ SPC21/8-11 48A

Sarah’s name appears on a bill for a pair of hose and other items on 31 January 1811[13] but is absent from the St.Thomas Day account of 1812. [14] Sarah having died that year, had been a resident in the workhouse for seven years.

Other inmates, if the Kendal Mercury accounts are accurate, were there longer. One example on the 14 May 1836 is given of a Betty Holmes who had been in the workhouse since 1801. A servant in Kendal she had jumped from a window when ‘love crazed her brain’, subsequently losing a leg and never regaining her reasoning. Kindly regarded by charitable ladies of the town, she was allowed to visit them once a fortnight. [15 ] Unlike Betty nothing could be found to give an idea of Sarah’s life before she entered the workhouse. Access to the workhouse day book may give more information. [16]

The vouchers, along with adverts in the newspapers every January from 1821 as a supplier of oats to the workhouse, [17] give an indication of the length of tenure of Daniel Dunglinson at Kendal Workhouse. His wife died in 1828, Daniel died the following year. His obituary (4 April 1829) reads ‘For may years he filled the office of governor of the workhouse with credit and respectability, he was a truly upright honest man greatly respected in society. [18 ] He was at the workhouse either at or just after the inception of the production of hardens [sacking type fabric] at the workhouse in 1801. [19]. See separate post.

Daniel and Mary (Bailey) Dunglinsons children
Of their children, William the eldest was once a weaver, married to Mary Peill. Together they were responsible for Keswick charity houses and the workhouse,[20] Mary carrying on alone after Williams death in 1845. Henry (1793-1817) married Margaret Lindsey and died aged 23 shortly after their first son Daniel was born. Daniel (1795-1797 ) died in infancy. John (1797-1860) is difficult to positively locate. He may have moved to Shoreditch, Middlesex. marrying first Hannah Sharp (c1784-1832) then Dinah Banks (1804-1876). Only daughter Dinah (1799-1887 ) in later life can be found first in Liverpool running a boarding house, then in London. [21]

sources

[1] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 98, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 11 December 1805

[2] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 98, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 11 December 1805
[3] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 22, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, St. Thomas Day Accounts, 1801
[4] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 8, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 1803
[5] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 23, D. Morland, Letter for Sarah Sowerby, 5 December 1801
[6] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 49, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 16 April 1807
[7] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 40, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, May – November 1809
[8] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 98, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, December 1805
[9] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 49, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, April 1807
[10] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 47, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 4 August 1807
[11] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 48, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 12 letter from Daniel Dunglinson, May 1807
[12] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 37, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, Letter from Thomas Winter, December 1807
[13] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 52, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 31 January 1811
[14] Cumbria Archives, SPC21/8-11 98, Threlkeld Overseers’ Vouchers, 1812 St. Thomas’ Day Accounts
[15] Kendal Mercury, 14 May 1836, p.3 col. e
[16] Cumbria Archives, (Kendal) WC/W/1/34, Workhouse Day Book, 1807-1810
[17] Westmorland Advertiser and Kendal Chronicle, 12 January 1823, p.1 col.d
[18] Westmorland Gazette, 4 April 1829, p.3 col.e
[19] Westmorland Advertiser and Kendal Chronicle, 7 December 1811, p. 4, cols, b-c
[20] Kendal Mercury, 28 March 1840
[21] www.ancestry.co.uk

footnote

James Finlinson

By William Bundred

The puzzle of the several James Finlinsons and their Occupations

Every now and again in the poor law vouchers we come across an unusual surname and think that this would be a good person to research, based on the belief that the more unusual the surname, the easier they will be to locate in the records. All too often, we find the sources confusing with more than one person sharing the same name. What follows is about two people sharing the name James Finlinson who had a tendency to move around a great deal.

One James Finlinson (1783-1847),was a man pre-occupied with parochial office becoming Governor of the Workhouse, Assistant Overseer, Registrar, Surveyor and Manager of Roads for the parish of Dalston. Despite his accumulation of posts, James has been somewhat of a difficult person to trace especially before his appointment as Governor of the Workhouse in 1825. He and his wife, Elizabeth’s (1784-1869) association with the poorhouse lasted for many years.

In 1825 James and Elizabeth were appointed as Governor and Matron of Dalston Workhouse with the salary of £14 per annum and a room for a loom. In 1826 a new workhouse in Dalston was built. On 26 April 1827 James was appointed assistant overseer of the poor for Dalston with a salary of £13 and keeper of the workhouse with an additional of £12.

In the Militia List, Cumberland Ward, for 1818, is a James Finlinson, weaver, aged 32, of Buckabank. Given his occupation, this is likely to be the same Finlinson who became the workhouse governor.

Finlinson is one of those people whose association with parochial office spanned the old poor law and the changes brought about by the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. In 1843 he was appointed as manager of the roads and in November 1844 resigned as Overseer.

He was reappointed Overseer in February 1845.

Dalston Vestry minutes of 1844 show that Finlinson’s offer regarding Dalston workhouse was resolved. Rent of £6 10s per annum was accepted for part of the workhouse, including the kitchen, vestry room, lodging room above vestry room, the garden and one out building.

James’ parents were James Finlinson, yeoman, of Houghton and Ann [Nancy] Corry who were married by licence on 30 October 1779 at St Michael’s, Stanwix, (licence granted 24 October 1779). At the time their first child John was baptised at Stanwix 28 October 1781, James and Ann were living at Pepper Moss. John went on to marry Mary Wood, and became a farmer at Warblebank Westward.

James was baptised at Bolton parish church, Cumberland, in 1783. Other children followed: Sarah, baptised 24 July 1785; Ann baptised 6 March 1791, both at Bolton. Joshua, son of James Finlinson of Little Dalston, husbandman, and his wife Ann late Corry, was baptised 11 June 1797 at Dalston.

Joshua became a blacksmith and parish clerk in Thursby. He is buried in Thursby churchyard. Also buried in Thursby churchyard are James (d.23 February 1834, aged 81), and Ann (d.20 February 1824, aged 70).

James Finlinson the younger, married Elizabeth Pape on 11 May 1809 at St Mary’s, Kingston-upon –Hull, by banns.

Why they married in Hull is a mystery.

One theory is that James was serving in the Military, but no mention of James has been found in Military records.

Elizabeth was baptised in Mordon, Sedgefield, County Durham, on 18 December 1784. Her parents were Robert Pape, a cordwainer, and Ann. The family moved to Whitby, Yorkshire, where a daughter, Ann, was born on 10 January 1789 (baptised 13 January 1789 at St Mary the Virgin, Whitby). Robert Pape was buried in the same church on 20 October 1812, aged 63.

In the 1841 no occupation for James or his wife Elizabeth is stated. In their household is a William Finlinson, aged 15, who most likely was the son of Joshua blacksmith of Thursby.

James died on the 25 November 1847. He is buried in Dalston churchyard. The inscription on his grave reads:

In Memory of James Finlinson many years assistant overseer for this parish,

who died Nov. 25th 1847, aged 65 years

Also Elizabeth, his wife,

Who died November 13th 1869, Aged 85 years.

This stone was erected

By the members of the Loyal Caldew Lodge,

Dalston, of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, M.U.,

As a token of respect for his valuable services

After his death, although this has not been determined for certain, it seems that Elizabeth continued to live in what was the Poorhouse for a while. In both the 1851 and 1861 Censuses she had her sister Ann were living at the Forge, Buckabank. Her occupation was given as laundress and that of her sister as a boot binder.

One of the other James Finlinsons in the area was a schoolmaster. He also had a wife Elizabeth. James married Elizabeth Shepherd on 5 September 1796 at St George’s, Bloomsbury, London. This James and Elizabeth Finlinson certainly had two children baptised Helen (25 January 1804) in Wigton, and Joshua in Penrith (6 June 1807) who went on to become a Church of England clergyman.

There were also three daughters of a schoolmaster James Finlinson and Elizabeth Finlinson who were baptised on 20 October 1814 at St Mary’s Carlisle, but, despite the title ‘schoolmaster’, it is not certain yet as to which James and Elizabeth were their parents.

Sources

Dalston Memorial Inscriptions, p.79 No. 224

Parson and White, Directory of Cumberland 1829, p. 372, James Finlinson Governor of the Workhouse

Mannix and Whellan Directory of Cumberland 1837, p.193, James Finlinson Registrar Dalston

James Finlinson entries in the Carlisle Journal and Carlisle Patriot:

Unless there is reference in the newspaper articles to Dalston, it is difficult to determine to which James Finlinson they refer

Carlisle Journal 5 Jan 1811

Advert for Pupils J Finlinson Grove House near Wigton

Carlisle Journal 17 Aug 1811 p.1 col.D

Letting of farm at Bog-Hall Bolton parish near Wigton.

James Finlinson was owner & occupier of the estate

Carlisle Journal 27 Nov 1819

Letters to the Carlisle newspapers regarding a dispute over recording a County meeting. James Finlinson was said to be an obscure schoolmaster of Carlisle

Carlisle Patriot 8 Jan 1820

Private Tuition offered to inhabitants of Carlisle by J Finlinson

Carlisle Journal, 19 May 1838 p.3, col. D.

Correspondence with a Mr J Routledge of Brampton regarding Jane Hall a pauper belonging to the parish of Cumwhitton

Carlisle Journal 26 Feb 1842 p.1 col. B

Nominations for Election of Guardians of the Poor James Finlinson for Dalston

Carlisle Journal, 5 March 1842, p.1, col. E

Nominations for Election of Guardians of the Poor James Finlinson for Dalston

Carlisle Journal, 7 May 1842, p.1, col. A

Notice of order of road diversion Barras Lane Dalston. James Finlinson Surveyor of the Parish of Dalston.

Carlisle Journal, 27 April 1844, p.3, col. C

Alterations to Highway at Hawksdale James Finlinson surveyor

Carlisle Journal, 20 July 1844, p.3, col. C

Poilce Intelligence case of John Cairns false entry of birth J Finlinson overseer & registrar

Carlisle Journal, 10 August 1844, p.3, col. H

Under reports from the Cumberland Assizes

James Finlinson assistant overseer for Dalston witness in case of George Cairns who was prosecuted for obtaining money under false pretences from the registrar of births deaths & marriages for Dalston district.

Carlisle Journal, 27 February 1846, p. 1, col. D

Election for the Guardians of the Poor James Finlinson for Dalston

Carlisle Journal, 6 March 1847, p.1, col. F

Notice of Appoint of Joseph Shields of Buccabank as Deputy Registrar to James Finlinson

Thanks to Margaret Dean, and Bob Nichols for their help.

Alexander Cockburn (1794-1842), Pipe Maker, Grocer, and Miller

By NMDEA

Although baptised in Swinton, Berwickshire, Alexander Cockburn and his brother John (1781-1835) were to establish themselves in business in Carlisle. John may have arrived first, with Alexander joining him later. Marrying Mary Storey, the daughter of Johnathan Storey, a spirit merchant in Shaddongate Parish, the register describes Alexander as a pipe maker in 1817.[1] The Cockburn brothers also had a small premises in Fisher Street where they also sold tobacco. [2]

Clay for the pipes was available locally. The Pipery was situated near the Mill Race in Shaddongate.[3] Once a small suburb of Carlisle, it was on the road to Dalston just outside the city walls. At the end of the eighteenth century Shaddongate saw an influx of migrant workers looking for employment opportunities in the manufacturing industries. Many of these workers were of Irish and Scots origin.


Alexander and Mary’s daughter Margaret was baptised 28 February 1819 [4] by which time Alexander also had a Grocer’s shop at Annetwell Street within the area of the old city. Shortly after this in 1823 the canal was opened improvng trading links especially to Liverpool. It was here that another brother James (1801-1868) moved. Initially a flour miller, he married his first wife Ann Storey (1805-1852), [5] the sister of Mary Storey in 1824. While the brothers’ sister Mary Anne Hepburn (1797) married Steven Somerville and lived in Edinburgh, other siblings were Alison (1783-1811), Robert (b.1786), Margaret (b. 1789), Agnes (b.1791), and Isobel (b.1801). [6] Their parents being Alexander Cockburn (1752-1825 ), a fewer or blacksmith, and Margaret Service (1757-1829). [7]

Alexander and Mary don’t appear to have had any more children, before Mary died in childbirth on 22 November 1824 aged 29 at Annetwell Street. [8]

The brothers continued with their Pipery in Shaddongate despite the unrest that had developed in the area. Living conditions were poor, overcrowding common for many. The migrants being unfairly blamed for some of the trouble. John, Alexander’s brother gave evidence at the subsequent investigation into the resulting deaths in the Shaddongate riots of 1826. After the Riots’ of 1826, the Cumberland Pacquet and Whitehaven Ware’s Advertiser described the arrival of Benjamin Batty to direct efforts to restore order in the area. He was to instigate the formation of a police force to combat insubordination in the suburb. His first attempt to restore order in February 1827 led to him having to take refuge in Mr Storey’s house after being set upon. It is possible this could have been Mary Story’s father’s abode.[9]

24 January 1831 Alexander married again. His wife Jane Ross (1793-1873). [10] was the widow of Hugh Ross and the daughter of John Tallentire and Jane Henderson. A son, John Tallentire, was born 21 December 1834.[11]

For a brief time John Cockburn, after trading as a haberdasher and paper dealer, became a bookseller at 34 Scotch Street, once occupied by Mr Jollie the publisher. At the time, Alexander was listed at Irish Gate Brow [Annetwell Street].[12]

On Alexander Cockburn’s headed bill of September 1835 to Dalston’s Overseers he is described as a grocer supplying goods to Agness Ha[e]rdman for 23 weeks at a cost of £2.17s. 6d. [13] Agnes’s life is a mystery.

SPC21/2/48/159 Dalston Overseers’ Voucher September 1835


Well established in Carlisle, Alexander was elected a Counsellor. [14] All appeared to be going well. He owned three farms which he let. [15] Then on 16 September 1835 brother John died aged 54 [16] and on 3 January 1837 a fiat of bankruptcy was issued against Alexander. [17] The fact being made well known by various newspapers. The Cumberland and Westmorland and Whitehaven Ware’s Advertiser further reiterated his status ‘Peter Dixon was elected to Alderman of the Corporation of Carlisle on Tuesday in the rooms of A Cockburn a bankrupt’.[18] He relinquished the office of Alderman on 9 November 1836, [19] and his farm properties were advertised for sale. [20] Creditors were asked to make it known what they were owed. The Pipery in Shaddongate was advertised for lease, by the now owner Mrs Armstong in May 1838. [21] A Certificate was issued in April 1837 [22] which would effectively discharge him of what was asked of him under the bankruptcy proceedings, while final dividends were paid out in 1838. [23]

Denton Corn Mill was offered for lease by Mrs Dixon [24] and Alexander was successful in taking over the Mill. He placed a notice in the Carlisle Journal of 1838 as follows:-

A Cockburn having entered on this commodious mill respectfully informs the public that the arrangements which he has made enable him to execute all orders in this line with the greatest care and expedition’. [25]

Alexander Cockburn was not re-elected Councillor in November 1841 at the Municipal Elections for Caldewgate Ward.[26] The next year, on 21 May 1842 Alexander died aged 48. [27] His death appeared in the Liverpool Standard and Commercial Advertiser on 27 May, where brother James was living at Aigburth, Toll Gate near Liverpool.[28] The obituary emphasised his role for Carlisle Corporation. Alexander was buried at Holy Trinity Church where his brother John had also been buried, in close proximity to where they had been in business together.

His wife and son didn’t stay on at Denton Mill. [29] They lived in Stanwix Village for a while, as did daughter Margaret who later married William Roxburgh (an estate agent from Liverpool who at one time lodged with them).[30] James Cockburn died in the Workhouse Liverpool 1868 where he appears to have sought surgical treatment. Jane Cockburn died 18 April 1873 aged 80, [31] but before her will could be enacted, her son John Tallentire died 24 April 1873 aged 38 intestate. By then, John Tallentire was a fairly successful building contractor of Bolton Place, Carlisle. As he had no close relatives, the estate went to John Alexander Cockburn (son of Alexander Cockburn’s brother John) of Allenwood Paper Mill.[32]

View of Carlisle from Blackwell Building s on the left of the the Industries that once followed the River Caldwe towards Shaddongate
Left buildings of the Industries which followed the River Caldew into Shaddongate April 2020

Sources
[1] Carlisle Patriot, 26 April 1817, p,3. col. e.
[2] Pigot & Co., National and Commercial Directory Cumberland Westmorland and Lancashire for 1828-29 (London and Manchester, J Pigot & Co., 1828).
[3] Carlisle Journal, 2 March 1844, p.4, col. b.
[4] Cumbria Archives, PR/47 25, St Mary’s Parish, Carlisle, Baptism Register 1813-1822
[5] Liverpool, England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754-1935 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk, 6 June 2020]
[6] Berwickshire Swinton and Simprim Church of Scotland Birth serach [accessed at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk 6 June 2020]
[7]Alexander Cockburn and Margaret Service gravestone at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125134655
[8]Carlisle Patriot, 27 November 1824 p,3. col,e
[9] Ware’s Cumberland Pacquet and Whitehaven Advertiser, 13 February 1827 p,3. col,e  Carlisle Patriot 10 June 1826 p 2-3
[10] Cumbria Archives, PR/47 14, St Mary’s Parish Carlisle Marriage Register 1825-1837
[11] Cumbria Archives, PR/47 27, St Mary’s Parish, Carlisle, Baptism Register 1830- 1853
[12] J. Pigot, National Commercial Directory of Cumberland and Westmorland (London and Manchester: J Pigot & Co., 1834 [accessed at www.ancestry.co.uk p. 23]; Carlisle Journal 9 August 1834
[13] Cumbria Archives, SPC44/2/48/159 Dalston Overseers’ Voucher, September 1835, Alexander Cockburn Grocer , dealer in Tea, Hams, Bacon Butter Flour &c
[14] Carlisle Patriot, 26 December 1835 p,3. col,e
[15] Carlisle Journal, 15 August 1835 p,2 col,e
[16] Carlisle Journal ,19 September 1835 p,3 col,f
[17] Carlisle Journal, 7 January 1837 p,2. col,c
[18] Ware’s Cumberland and Westmorland and Whitehaven Advertiser ,24 January 1837, p,2. col,d
[19] Carlisle Journal, 21 January 1837 p,3. col.b
[20] Carlisle Journal, 29 July 1837 p1 col,e
[21] Carlisle Journal, 12 May 1838 p,2 col,d
[22] Perry’s Bankruptcy Gazette, 8 April 1837, p,6
[23] Carlisle Journal, 15 September 1838 p,1 col,a
[24] Carlisle Journal, 30 December 1837 p,2 col,f
[25] Carlisle Journal ,17 February 1838 p,1 col b
[26] Carlisle Journal, 6 November 1841 p,3 col,6
[27] Carlisle Journal, 21 May 1842 p.3 col f
[28] Liverpool Standard and Commercial Advertiser, 27 May 1842 p,8 col g
[29] Carlisle Journal, 28 May 1842 p,1 col,c
[30] Carlisle Patriot, 30 July 1847 p, 2 col,h
[31] Cumbria Archives, PROB/1873/W346A269, Will of Jane Cockburn
[32]Cumbria Archives , PROB/1873/96, Administration John Tallentire Cockburn 9 May 1873

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

footnote
Margaret Cockburn [Roxburgh] died 15 January 1848 at her Stepmothers home in Carlisle Carlisle Journal 21 Jan 1848
James Cockburn 2nd wife was Jane Pickering (Graham) married Liverpool 11 February 1855

Stephen Garnett (1763-1840), overseer and obsessive?

By Alannah Tomkins

The salaried assistant overseer of Kirkby Lonsdale, Stephen Garnett, is one of the few characters we’ve come across who appears in the historical literature before the start of the vouchers project. Historian James Steven Taylor identified him as a generator and hoarder of parish correspondence, when he (Taylor) wrote about the pauper letters which survive for the parish.

He was baptised in Yorkshire and had moved to Kirkby Lonsdale by the time of his marriage in 1787. Garnett made a living as a grocer, an occupation much surveyed by this project. He was also a methodical and careful man: having been entrusted with the task of managing poor-law correspondence for his home township, he went on to gather over 1200 letters and other documents between 1809 and 1836. As beneficiaries of his record-keeping, is it unkind of me to suggest he might have been obsessive?

The majority of items in the collection are letters from or about the paupers who were legally ‘settled’ in Kirkby Lonsdale but who lived elsewhere. Paupers requested poor relief by post, and tended to ‘threaten’ to return home. They might prove more expensive if on the doorstep than if relieved at a distance. Letters were addressed variously to Mr Garnett, Mr Garner or Mr Gardner.

Garnett was paid £10 a year for his services to the township, a modest salary, and an early example of a wage being given to a deputising overseer of the poor. He was described as a ‘Guardian’ of the poor, terminology used because Kirkby Lonsdale had formally adopted ‘Gilbert’s Act’ for the purposes of poor relief. It entered a union with sixteen other townships in the early nineteenth century and built a workhouse for use by all the locations in the union in 1811.

Most of the letters were written to Garnett, but a small selection of copy letters survive from him to other places. They show that he could write with some asperity, in protection of Kirkby Lonsdale’s finances. See for example his letter to a fellow overseer Mr John Scorah in Wakefield, 1825:

        Kirkby Lonsdale Novr 1st 1825

  Mr Scorah

        Sir/

        Yours of the 30th Ult. is now before me Respecting a man of the name of Isaac Middlebrook it would have been well if he had given you more Information as respecting himself stating the grounds on which he claims a settlement here, I have examined the towns Books but can find no such name in them nor is any such person known here by the oldest Inhabitant

  On this account I cannot authorise you to relief him on our account, but i wish to be rightly understood it is not our wish to put any obstackels [sic] in the way or cause any unnecessary trouble, if he can tell whear his parents lived or whith whoom he himself lived and by what means he gained a settlement it will be attended to, when we receive this Information we shall be able to tell wether it is in this Township or some other Township in this parish, thear being nine different Townships in this parish all maintaining their own poor

                I am Sir yours Respectfully

                    Stephn. Garnett

The preservation of so much paper by one man is striking, if not entirely unique. We might suspect that a similarly full collection of letters (and vouchers) for the parish of Colwich in Staffordshire might well be owing to the incumbency of John Wetton in the post of assistant overseer there.

Sources: J.S. Taylor, ‘Voices in the crowd: The Kirkby Lonsdale township letters 1809-36’, T. Hitchcock, P. Sharpe and P. King (eds), Chronicling Poverty. The voices and strategies of the English poor 1640-1840 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997); www.workhouses.org.uk