Friday, 22 February 2013

Snowstorms in 1900

With snow still lying on the moors and in the hedge-backs, and flakes of snow in the wind today, I thought now would be a good time to post this – which I found quite by accident yesterday.

In the first half of February 1900, Britain was hit by severe snowstorms causing great disruption for days. 

On Friday 16 February, the Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough had the headlines:

HISTORY OF THE BLIZZARD
An Unparalleled Storm of Wind and Snow
NOT EXCEEDED DURING THE PRESENT GENERATION
EXCITING AND THRILLING EXPERIENCES

On Saturday 17 February, the report began:

THE GREAT STORM
Further Stories of Adventure and Suffering
SERIOUS LOSS OF LIFE
Trains Fast in Snowdrifts
BREAKDOWN OF COMMUNICATIONS
One effect of the snowstorm is found in the delay to which news for Middlesbrough is being subjected.  All telegrams are being sent by train.  This accounts for the fact that the news of the relief of Kimberley, which was handed in in London yesterday morning to be sent over the wires in the usual way, has only been received by us to-day.  We are in the appalling position, that, with the exception of a telegraph wire to West Hartlepool, there exists no other communication with anywhere, either by telephone or telegraph.  We have been besieged by the elements, and are almost as completely isolated from the outside world as Ladysmith at the present time, or Kimberley until yesterday.

Thursday, 21 February 2013

People of Hutton Rudby in the C18/19: Bousfield to Busfield

... from my working notes ... accuracy not guaranteed ... for explanatory note, see post of 14 Feb 2013


Bousfield

Oddfellows Board:  Bro:  P Bousfield, Hutton, 22 Apr 1853, a57 [farmer, JBTurner]


Bowes

Roger Bowes owned property on East Side:  deeds of 1817 and 1830

EC 354:  30 Oct 1817:  James Bainbridge bricklayer (1) William Richmond of Stockton mercer & draper (2):  2 houses with garden behind, occ by James Bainbridge & John Simpson:  bounded by messuage & garden of Roger Bowes to E, by messuage & garden of Edmund Taylor to W, by street to N, by Thomas Passman to S

FC 147:  14 Nov 1825:  James Bainbridge bricklayer (1) Hutchinsons & Place bankers (2) William Richmond of Stockton mercer & draper (3) Richard Nightingale the younger of Middleton St George (4):  2 houses, lately in 3 tenements, with garden behind, formerly occ by James Bainbridge, Richard Wood & Thomas Almond, then by James Bainbridge & John Simpson, now by James & John Bainbridge; and also 2 new erected houses now in 3 tenements lately erected by James Bainbridge in the garden, now occ by George Harker, Alice Pedlar & Ann Rudd:  all bounded by messuage & garden of Roger Bowes to E, by messuage & garden of Edmund Taylor to W, by street to N, by Thomas Passman to S

FL 58:  13 May 1827:  East Side, judging by occupants & boundaries:  2 houses lately used in 3 tenements with garden behind formerly occ by James Bainbridge, Richard Wood & Thomas Almond, then by sd James Bainbridge & John Simpson, then by sd James Bainbridge & John Bainbridge:  and the 2 houses used in 3 tenements “newly created” and “lately erected” by sd James Bainbridge in the sd garden, then occupied by George Harker, Alice Pedlar & Ann Rudd:  bounded by house and garden bel to Roger Bowes to E, by Edmund Taylor to W, by street to N, by Thomas Passman to S:  parties:   Richard Nightingale the younger late of Middleton St George gent and George Stanger of Pickton farmer:  reciting indre of 14 Nov 1825 to which James Bainbridge, George & John & Henry Hutchinson, Thomas Place, William Richmond and said Richard Nightingale were parties

Monday, 18 February 2013

People of Hutton Rudby in the C18/19: Barker to Blacksmiths

... from my working notes ... accuracy not guaranteed ... for explanatory note, see post of 14 Feb 2013


Barker

Yorkshire Poll Book 1807:  Ayton:  Mark Barker 

Mark Barker benefited under the Will of Thomas Wayne of Angrove Hall (1727-1806). 

EB 102:  11 & 13 May 1816:  Hutton manor & mill:  assignmt to Barker

EX 146:  26 & 27 Nov 1823:  Hutton manor, mill and [Manor House] farm

FQ 249:  13 & 14 Mar 1829:  exors of Wayne to Barker:  the Carpenters Arms with the cartwrights shop and stable on the west end thereof, the garden and the privy on the south & backside of the premises, bounded by road to East Rounton to E, by Mrs Elizabeth Hildreth to W & S, by road to East Rounton, John Robinson and Mr Farnaby to N – occ by Edward Meynell;  the garth occ by Edward Meynell, bounded by Elizabeth Hildreth to E, by John Burdon to W, by Thomas Passman, Elizabeth Hildreth, Mr Kendall & William Spence to N, by road to East Rounton to S; the site where buildings lately occupied by John & Hannah Kay & taken down by Mark Barker stood; the garth now used as garden ground to the E & backside of the sd site;  the new houses built by Mark Barker on the site and part of the garth: some of the houses and the garden ground “at present unoccupied”, the others occupied by Robert Hall, William Souter, George Sanderson, John Kay, Mary Lamb, Jackson Richardson, John Wild and Thomas Shaw:  bounded by house & lands bel to Rev Richard Shepherd to E & S, by Arthur Douglas and townstreet to N & W

FT 30:  12 & 13 May 1830:  East Side:  John Kay of Hutton cartwright & others to Mark Barker & trustees:  house heretofore used as a coachhouse & formerly occ by James Ingledew, Mary Collyerson & Diana Swales, then by Elizabeth Farnaby, then by Charles Hall, then by Hannah Best, & now by Matthew Garbutt:  bounded by street to E, Mark Barker to W & S, Arthur Douglas to N

FU 487:  16 May 1832:  South Side, tithe map 194-6:  John Passman of Hutton yeoman (1) James Robinson of Whorlton yeoman (2) Robert Pulman of Stockton gent [solicitor] (3):  building with cowhouse & premises adjoining, and garth of 2r adjoining to the N:  bounded by Jane Farnaby to E, by Mrs Hildreth to W, by street to N, by Mark Barker to S:  occ by John Passman & James Harrison & Mary Kingston;  and the house with garden adjoining, bounded by street to E & N, and by above prems to W & S

1805:  4 Oct:  murder of Margaret Barker:  a spinster of Hutton Rudby aged about 46, who made a living for herself and her aged parents by travelling in the neighbourhood with housewife cloth for sail, she was staying at the house of Thomas Wilson, journeyman smith, in Stockton, when he murdered her in the night, apparently in mistake for his stepdaughter

1823 Baines:  Hutton:  Joseph Barker, farmer & gamekeeper

Mark Barker leased the site of the National Schoolhouse to the trustees for 5/- p.a [Lease for 999 years 10 Mar 1836]
Mark Barker made his Will on 18 Aug 1838, and was bur 24 Jan 1839 a72 at Stokesley [NBI Beryl] [HR Wills]

Tithe Map:  Edward Meynell occupied the Carpenters Arms, owned by Mark Barker
Tithe Map:  William Meynell and others occupied Barkers Row
Tithe Map:  Mark Barker owned Manor House farm, occupied by James Longstaff

Mark Barker named Edward Meynell the younger, weaver, and William Passman farmer of Carlton as his executors;  Meynell renounced probate.

1841 Census:  William Barker 75 linen weaver and Margaret Barker 30 linen weaver, South Side
1841 Census:  Mary Barker 30 and children, South Side
1841 Census:  Thomas Barker 40 linen weaver and Jane 35, South Side
1841 Census:  Butter Hill:  Dorothy Barker 75 in household of John Garfat

1851 Census:  North End:  Thomas Barker 53 hand loom weaver linen, b Hutton, Jane 50 b Liverton, niece Elizabeth Barker 12 house servant and uncle William Whorlton single 80 hand loom weaver linen, both b Hutton

1859 Whellan:  Hutton Rudby:  Mr Mark Barker is Lord of the Manor and resides in the Manor House, a small farmhouse, situated about a mile west of Hutton
1872 Post Office Directory:  Hutton Rudby:  William Barker, butter dealer


Saturday, 16 February 2013

People of Hutton Rudby in the C18/19: Bage to Bainbridge

... from my working notes ... accuracy not guaranteed ... for explanatory note, see post of 14 Feb 2013


Bage

John Bage occupied a house and garth or yard on East Side, bought by Joseph, Thomas & William Whorlton in 1808 [East Side deeds]

FS 461:  2 & 3 Feb 1831:  Thomas Bage had been a tenant of Rudby estate

1841 Census:  Jane Bage 11 and younger siblings, Enterpen

George Davison (1790-1860) shoemaker, Rudby, married Ann Bage (1780-1853).  He left £450 on his death.  Buried in Rudby.  Their children were Ann and George.  Ann  (1816-1855) married Thomas Stringer.  George (1817-1871), shoe maker, Rudby, married Mary Ann Mundell (1817-1882)  Buried in Rudby (issue).


Thursday, 14 February 2013

People of Hutton Rudby in the C18/19: Ableson to Ayresome

from my working notes ... accuracy not guaranteed, and for explanatory notes see my earlier post ...

Ableson

Thomas Ableson was the first schoolmaster of the Bathurst school, died in 1750 and was succeeded by his son William [Hastings]

William Ableson d 1782 a 63, Master of Rudby School, d of asthma [PRs]

10 Oct 1789 William Ableson admitted and licensed to teach a Petty or English School in Hutton Rudby [Borthwick faculties etc 1768-1793]

Yorkshire Poll Book 1807:  Hutton Rudby:  William Ableson schoolmaster

GG 130:  31 Oct 1835:  Thomas Spence of Hutton weaver & Dorothy his wife (1) Henry Collins of Stokesley gent (2):  2 houses now used as one, the weaver’s shop adjoinging & the garden or orchard of 1r behind, occ by Thomas Spence; the butcher’s shop adjoining the weaver’s shop occ by William Sherwood:  bounded by Lord Falkland to E, street to W, Mrs Kingston to N, Edmund Taylor to S; also Gowdie/Gowlay Hill Garth 1a with cowhouse occ by Thomas Richardson:  bounded by John Charlton to E, by Francis Stainthorpe to W, by street to N, by Jane Willans & Edward Meynell to S; also house with garden & garth behind 2r, occ by William Merrington:  bounded by street to E, William Wood to W, John Seamer to N, John Rymers & Francis Stainthorpe to S; also 3 closes formerly 2 closes called the Cottager 7a, previously occ by William Braithwaite as tenant to William Spence decd:  bounded by Robert Halliday Dobson to E, George Hunter & William Ableson to W, by Rounton road to N, by Richard Johnson to S; “& all other the messuages lands tenements and hereditaments formerly belonging to Thomas Smith late of Hutton yeoman decd and comprised in his Will”

People of Hutton Rudby in the C18/19 - explanatory note

As I work through my archives, I thought I would post some more information from my working notes ...

While I was working on Remarkable, but still True I amassed a great deal of information about inhabitants of Hutton Rudby in the C18 and C19.

I can't guarantee accuracy, but I know from experience that people researching their family history have found these notes useful, so I will reproduce them on this blog.

There is a certain fascination in browsing through them, as they include information from a variety of sources and build up a unique picture of village life in the past, but they are really intended for reference.  They consist mostly of surnames but also include general categories such as Skutterskelfe workers, blacksmiths and parish clerks.

They may appear slightly cryptic - they were only intended for my use.

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Christopher Rowntree of Middleton-on-Leven

My post of 8 February mentions Christopher Rowntree, who went to court to prove he was a gentleman.

The story is told in The Church & Parish of Rudby-in-Cleveland by the Rev Arthur Eddowes (1924):
The following account of a Middleton "worthy" is copied from one of the many interesting "sporting" articles contributed by Mr Fairfax Blakeborough in the Darlington and Stockton Times:–
Mr Rowntree, – a famous Cleveland fox-hunter and racing man, – is perhaps the only man in England who had a trial at law to prove that he was a gentleman.  He won a gentleman's race at Stokesley and the prize was withheld on an objection being raised that he was not eligible for the race, not being, – it was argued, – a gentleman according to the general acceptance of the term and meant to be implied in the conditions of the race.  The trial took place before Mr Baron Thompson at York in 1803 and the following is an account of it written at the time:–
“At an Assize trial held at York to decide whether one Christopher Rowntree, of Middleton-on-Leven, the celebrated fox-hunter, was a “gentleman," the only evidence against him was that he was blind of one eye, wore leather breeches, and when he came to Stokesley market dined at an ordinary with the farmers at one shilling or eighteen-pence a head, – the best joints of meat there never being sold by butchers at more than fourpence a pound, and eggs being retailed in our market at twopence a dozen during the season. 
As to his worldly wealth, and unblemished character, these were fully admitted by his opponent (though they doubted whether he could be said to keep a pack of foxhounds, as each of his tenants fed a few, and the horn was blown to gather them together when they had to assemble for a hunt). 
The counsel on behalf of Christophr. Rowntree declared that a gentleman remained such wherever he dined.  Those wishing to hold from him that title to which his client possessed every just claim ought to prove, – not where he dined and paid, but whether he dined and left without paying, then, – guilty of such an act as that, – he would have lost all right to have been considered a gentleman.  They, – his opponents, – should have proved not that he went about in leather breeches, but without any at all, then that truly would have stamped his client as no gentleman.”