People
People Past
There are many people from Threapwood and its surrounding area with long or interesting associations with the village. This page records information including about those individuals and families that may be of interest to those researching the area and its people. The page is updated as and when information is received with the latest additions added at the end.
Gostage Family
Following the passing of long time Threapwood resident Lucy Williams in 2015 (See Interview with Lucy Williams) we have been provided a copy of the "Gostage Family History" documented in 2008 by family historian Sheila Clarkson. This detailed description of the Gostage Family also includes interesting details of the village dating back to the early 19th Century. The document can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here. A memorial to Lucy's Uncle, William Gostage who was killed during the Boer War can be seen by clicking here.
The family tree contained in the "Gostage Family History" referred to above shows that both Lucy's father and grandfather were both called Lloyd. The Certificate pictured below, dating to 1895, almost certainly belonged to Lloyd the elder, Lucy's grandfather, and certifies his enrolment in the "Band of Hope" temperance movement. Established in the mid 19th Century the Band of Hope aimed to teach children the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism. In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work. Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching.
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| Courtesy of Lucy Williams estate. |
Photographs of Williams' family homes in Threapwood and the Sarn can be seen below.
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| "The Groves" - home of Lucy Williams - photo circa 1936 |
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| Former house and shop of George Albert Williams - husband of Lucy Williams in the Sarn. |
Funeral Cards
Following the passing of Lucy Williams in 2015 a large number of Funeral Cards dating from the late 1920's were recovered which record the deaths of many local residents. Local family historians may find details contained on these cards useful in their research.
| Name | Date |
| Eileen Bebbington | 1996 |
| Gwen Bourne | 1988 |
| Sid Bourne | 1994 |
| Richard Herbert Brassey | 1984 |
| Olive Lillian Brayne | 1998 |
| Gertrude Temperance Burrows | 1975 |
| Frank Cartwright | 1987 |
| Leonard Caldecott | 1987 |
| Irene Chidlow | 2001 |
| George Capper Davies | 1980 |
| Eleanor Duckworth | 1981 |
| Gordon Duckworth | 2000 |
| Frank Dulson | 1981 |
| Winifred Dulson | 1981 |
| Joe Dutton | 2000 |
| Arthur Hall | 1977 |
| Leslie Hall | 1994 |
| Arthur Hewitt | 1930 |
| Charles Hewitt | 1961 |
| David Hewitt | 1991 |
| Donald Raymond Hewitt | 1993 |
| Georgina Hewitt | 1979 |
| Maria Hewitt | 1935 |
| Stephen Timothy Hewitt | 2010 |
| Cyril Levi Huxley | 1982 |
| Mary Noel Huxley | 2003 |
| Harry Lightfoot | 1991 |
| Nelly Manford | 1976 |
| Gladys May Nevitt | 1977 |
| Daisy Nickson | 1986 |
| Martha Ellen Peers | 1977 |
| Arthur Reginald Pickering | 1984 |
| Albert Pierpoint | 1969 |
| Clarie Purcell | 1929 |
| Edward Simmons | 1934 |
| Frances Ann Simmons | 1950 |
| Phyllis Simmons | 1989 |
| Joseph Stanley | 1982 |
| Irene Stant | 1997 |
| Jack Cross Stringer | 1983 |
| William James Suckley | 1997 |
| Marjorie Doreen Twiss | 1980 |
REVEREND FREDERICK WHITFIELD - AUTHOR, POET, HYMN WRITER (1827 - 1904)
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Frederick Whitfield, the second son of Thomas & Jane Whitfield, was born in Threapwood on 7 January 1827 and baptised at St. John’s Church, Threapwood on 11 March 1827.
His parents Thomas Whitfield of Whixall, in the parish of Prees and Jane Lloyd of the parish Overton (on Dee) married at Overton on 7 April 1817. Their first son William was born 23 July 1824 at Dudleston Heath, Shropshire and baptised on 26 September 1824 at Overton.
Thomas’ occupation was gaoler no doubt at the recently opened Overton House of Correction. Nothing has to date been found about their life until 1841 when they were living in Parliament Place, Liverpool.
At this time Frederick was 13, his brother William 15 and a merchants apprentice, Thomas 45 a clerk, and Jane 45. Also in the household were John Harrison 30 clerk , Martha Lloyd 13 probably a maternal relative and Jane Jones 15 a servant. Between 1841 and 1851 census Thomas & Jane moved to Tranmere, Cheshire. William married in 1849 and moved to Scotland.
Samuel Tregelles who had been acquainted with Frederick in the 1840’s recalled that Frederick was for nearly twelve years of his youth attracted to the teachings of the Quakers, had spent a short time at Cambridge , and that he wanted to remedy the defects of his education. Frederick began studying Theology at Trinity College, Dublin 1850-1852 and it was then that he began to write and while still a student his first hymn was published in 1855.
He graduated as a B.A. in 1859 and in September 1859 the Bishop of Ripon at a general ordination service admitted him a deacon in Holy Orders. He was appointed curate of Ottley in 1859, and a year later was ordained a priest and in 1861 appointed vicar of Kirkby Ravensworth, Near Richmond, Yorkshire.
Marriage. On 13 November 1861 at Holy Trinity Church, Birkenhead by Rev. Bayley of St.Aidan’s, Birkenhead. The parish register entry read "Frederick late curate of Otley, father Thomas gentleman, to Sarah Garforth of Birkenhead, eldest daughter of William Garforth, deceased, soldier".
Sarah gave birth to three sons Frederick William Garforth 1862, John George James 1864 and Charles Edward Thomas in 1865.
His four sons followed him into the church ministry and his daughter Emily cared for him in his retirement. His daughter Rosa married a clergyman
One of his most popular hymns was "There is a name I long to hear." reproduced below;
There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in mine ear, the sweetest name on earth.
It tells me of a Savior's love, who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood, the sinner's perfect plea.
It tells me what my Father hath in store for eve'ry day,
And tho' I tread a darksome path, yields sunshine all the way.
It tells of One whose loving heart can feel my deepest woe,
Who in each sorrow bears a part, that none can bear below.
Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus,
Oh, how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me!
Frederick wrote 30 or so books of verse and prose in his lifetime and retired to South Norwood in London. He died there in 1904 and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery.
Fifty years of growing together - Stephen and Mary Hewitt (Extract from Whitchurch Herald 1999)
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| Stephen and Mary Hewitt on the day of their wedding. | ||
A FARMING couple from Threapwood have celebrated 50 years of marriage.
Stephen and Mary Hewitt tied the knot on June 29, 1949 at St John's Church, Threapwood and last week they celebrated half a century together with a party at the Terrick Hall Hotel. Stephen and Mary have two sons Peter and Ray plus three grandchildren Nicola, Andrew and Katie.
‘We knew each other quite a while before we started going out together. We were on a bus travelling back from the pictures in Wrexham when he asked me for a first date,’ said Mary. The couple have farmed at the Hollies in Threapwood for the past 48 years. ‘We were going out together for about two years before we eventually got married explained Mary. ‘He'd always worked in farming, even before I met him and during the war he served in the Home Guard. ‘Before I met him. I attended Reaseheath College where I learned cheese making and then I worked in local farms as a cheese maker,’ she added.
Recollection of the life of Stephen and Mary Hewitt by Raymond Hewitt (son)
Stephen and Mary lived all their married life at the Hollies, Back Lane, Threapwood. Dad was born at Sunnyside, Back Lane. He was the son of Timothy Hewitt, a wholesale butcher, but sadly his dad died when he was eight years old. He would often tell me and my brother tales of his childhood. He spent a lot of his childhood, like a lot of the children in the village, fishing, birds nesting and tracking animals in the nearby woods.
One day when he was on his own looking for birds nests in the hedgerow, a set of eyes met him through a hole in the hedge, it was Mrs Mouldson a lady that lived in Sandy Lane, she was an old lady with a long dark coat and all the children in the village would run if they met her. Dad said he just said 'hello Mrs Mouldson' politely and ran back to Sunnyside. Ever after that she was very kind to him, whenever he passed her house. He said it was just the chill down the spine he got from those eyes through the hedge, something that stayed with him all his life, and he loved to tell the story.
After he left school he went to work at Broads at Topwood Farm, Oldcastle Lane until he married Mary Fox in 1949. Mum lived at Tallarn Green as a child but her young life was devastated by the death of both her parents when they were in their thirties. Being an only child she had to go and live with her Aunt and Uncles at Ridley. It was very hard for her and when in her teens she went to Bournes the Bank to learn cheese making. It wasn't long before she caught my Dad's eye and they would see each other on the bus going to the pictures at Wrexham on a Saturday night. When he finally built up courage to ask her out she agreed, and it wasn't long before they were married.
When they were married they moved in at Sunnyside with his Mum and relations, this wasn't ideal and they badly wanted a place of their own, so when the Hollies came up for sale they jumped at the chance of buying it to start their life together in 1949. Life was hard trying to make ends meet on a smallholding and when my brother and I were born Dad got a part time job at Ron Hughes farm at Cuddington (later John and Jean Hughes farm). He would get up at 5am in a morning do his milking, clean the animals out, bed down and feed them, in for breakfast, then off to work. When he got back in the afternoon, he would start all over again with his own work and finish about 8pm. It was a very hard life but you never heard him complain.
He was a very quiet man and lived for his family. Mum also worked hard on the farm and in the house, she was always baking cakes and various pies with the produce out of the garden. After my brother Peter and I left home Dad retired from milking but he still kept three jersey cows which he milked by hand every day. Mum would always find him in the cowshed sitting on a bale of hay smoking his pipe. Apart from Mum always being busy at the Hollies, she was also very involved with St Johns church at Threapwood, playing the organ every Sunday and was churchwarden for many years, which she was very proud of. They lived at the Hollies all their married life, they had such pride in the property that they spent all their time their together. Family meant everything to them and they loved spending time with their grandchildren. Mum and Dad were a devoted couple and the Hollies at Threapwood was their life for over 50 happy years together.
God Bless them both.
Edmund & Florence Beckett
Elizabeth Thomas whose grandparents were Edmund & Florence Beckett has provided the following notes about their life in Threapwood:
"I have finally got around to sending you photographs of my grandparent's house in Threapwood. The house was named Mount Pleasant and was a small holding opposite the common.
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| Mount Pleasant | Aerial View |
My grandparents names were Edmund and Florence May Beckett. They had four children whose names were; Florence Muriel, known as Muriel, who is my mother and is still alive aged 96; Gwendoline Alice; Joan and Lawrence. I think they were all born at this address.
I am not sure if my granddad's parents lived there before him, their names were Edward and Alice Beckett. Granddad had a sister named Anne Elizabeth who was a spinster and lived in a cottage down Sandy Lane on the left hand side of the lane. On the right hand opposite the cottage she had an orchard of various fruits, which she harvested and sold at Wrexham market (reference Lucy Williams 's interview by Fred Huxley she is referred to as a Market hustler).
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Annie Beckett and Edmund Beckett pictured at their stall in Wrexham Market. Date unknown. Picture courtesy of Liz Thomas. |
My Granddad Edmund also owned the brickyard for grazing his cattle. Unfortunately I do not have the dates he owned it, but remember visiting as a young girl in the 1950's and playing there with my brothers and sisters. On his death in approximately 1957 ownership was passed to his son Lawrence who lived in Mount Pleasant with his own family for many years.
My uncle Lawrence sold the brickyard but carried on farming Mount Pleasant well into the 1970's. Unfortunately I can't give any specific dates as there is now only my mother remaining and her memory is poor. I hope this snippet of information is of some value to you."
Recollections of the Roberts family of Threapwood by Elaine Adams
My Grandmother was Jessie Roberts born in 1899 at Threapwood. She and her two siblings, Agnes b.1901 and Frank b.1903 were the children of Thomas and Ellen Roberts.
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Ellen Roberts (nee Harrison) born 1875 who married Thomas Roberts at Acton Parish Church, Nantwich in 1899. This photo is thought to date to about 1900. |
It is not known where in Threapwood Jessie and Agnes were born, but Frank was born at a cottage near to the Methodist Chapel. They attended Threapwood School, but Jessie and Agnes were pupils of the school at Shocklach from the summer of 1906 for two years. Whilst there, Jessie was awarded a prize for excellent attendance. Upon their return to Threapwood in 1908, they lived near the top of Dog Lane and had a long walk to school. The three children and a boy called Bill, a neighbour, would set off for school walking along Dog Lane but when they reached a large farm they took a short cut across country. They walked along paths and tracks from which they could see Tinkwood Farm and Little Tinkwood. When walking along a track, which is now overgrown and inaccessible, they had to pass several gypsy families who lived in painted wagons alongside the track. Further on, they would cross a brook, but there was no bridge then, just a large stone slab. They soon reached a short lane which took them onto the road to continue the journey to school.
The photograph of Threapwood School pupils taken on the lane at the side of the school was probably 1910 or 11.They look ready for an outing but where to? The boys are wearing their caps and many have bows and arrows. Perhaps they are going to Broughton Hall for tea and games as they sometimes did. I am able to recognise the three Roberts children on the photo. When allowed out, the pupils played on this lane.
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| Jessie Roberts - left of middle two girls back row, Agnes in the front of two ladies wearing hats. Frank is 6th boy from the left. |
A Doctor went to the school from time to time to give each child a medical. Miss Howard from Broughton Hall would also be present. My grandmother failed one medical. I expect it would be due to a chest condition because she was prone to such problems all her life. Her parents would have been informed by the Headmistress, who would report back to the Doctor a few weeks later. It seems the school took attendance rates seriously, as they would be recorded weekly. One week there would have been full attendance in the Infants but for Frank Roberts being absent one day due to illness! The Roberts family left Threapwood at the end of 1912.
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When the Roberts children walked to school with Bill across country they had no inkling that years later in 1930 Bill (William Mort) would marry Agnes Roberts and they would farm Little Tinkwood until 1965. This photo (left) is thought to date about 1930. My grandmother, Jessie, retained a love of the countryside, and her values, hard work and intuition would have developed during her childhood in Threapwood. As a young child, I was once amazed as I watched her give TLC to a tiny piglet, the runt, from a litter of fourteen. She had it on her knee as she sat by the fire feeding it from a baby’s bottle. |
Thomas Roberts (pictured right) was my G-grandfather, husband of Ellen (pictured above). He was born in 1875. This photo was taken in 1939. The Roberts family were residents of Threapwood and the surrounding areas for several generations. Thomas was born at Worthenbury in 1875. He was the only boy in the family and had five sisters. |
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Maria, b.1877, married Charles Hewitt and they lived in Threapwood. The photo, about 1915, shows them with two of their children, Tom and Lettice. Their son Arthur went to Bebington, Wirral to work on the railways in the 1920s and married Eva Burkhill. On the day their first child was born in 1930, Arthur decided to travel to Threapwood on his motorbike to tell his parents of their new grandson. He had not gone far when a horse, harnessed to a cart selling bread, bolted in front of him and Arthur collided with it and he was killed aged 29, a dreadful tragedy for the family.
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| Charles and Maria Hewitt with Tom and Lettice. c1915 |
Charles and Maria’s daughter Dorothy married James Edwards of Whitchurch. He trained as a journalist with The Whitchurch Herald and became a freelance journalist for The Chester Chronicle and for four other Cheshire newspapers. He was also the Sports Correspondent for The Daily Express and the BBC’s Northern News. Hannah Roberts b 1879 married William Parry and they lived in Whitchurch. Ada Roberts b 1881 married Harold Speed and they lived with their family at Malpas. Mary Roberts b 1884 married Ellis Crump. They lived at Farndon and then Wrexham where they had a grocery business. Tragedy struck their family also with the loss of a toddler son as the result of an accident. The youngest child, Jane Roberts b 1888 married Harold Brereton and they lived at Malpas. Their son Sgt. Geoffrey Brereton of the RAF is named on the War Memorial at Malpas. He died in action in France in 1942.
The parents of these six siblings were Thomas and Jane Roberts. Thomas married Jane Williams in 1873 at Hanmer Church. Jane was born at Rhostyllen near Wrexham and her mother was Welsh-speaking. Jane had moved to the Worthenbury area as a young woman to work at the Holyland Inn. Thomas and Jane’s children were born in Worthenbury but sometime after 1891 they moved to Threapwood. Thomas was employed by the Howard family of Broughton Hall for up to forty years. He lived on a farm called Llandeg, whilst at Worthenbury, probably owned by the Howards, but it is thought that his work was mostly with their horses. He was highly respected and valued by the Howard family and much esteemed locally. Thomas was a Lay Preacher and Deacon and Superintendent of the Sunday School at the Congregational Chapel in Threapwood. He died in 1915 and was buried at Tallarn Green Methodist Chapel alongside his wife who had died of cancer four years earlier (see press obituary).
| Thomas was born in 1848 at Portobello, Willenhall in Staffordshire. His brother William was born at Graseley Lane, Wednesfield in 1852. There is no record of any more siblings born there. Sometime between then and 1861, the family returned to Threapwood and had another child, Sarah Ann, in 1862. William worked as a farm labourer locally and married Esther Walley. They settled at Tushingham and had a large family. One of their daughters married into the local Warburton family. The parents of these three children were William and Hannah Roberts, who had married at Wrexham PC in 1846. At the time, William and Hannah, who was born Hannah Povey in 1820 at Wern, Worthenbury, were both living and working on the outskirts of Wrexham and must have moved to Staffordshire soon after, where William worked as a miner. On his return, William was employed in farming by the Howard family of Broughton Hall for several years until his death in 1876 whilst living at Tallarn Green. His widow, Hannah, died there in 1900. A photo thought to be of Hannah Povey and provided by the Warburton family is shown here. |  |
William was baptised in 1820 at St. John’s Church, Threapwood , which had opened in 1817. Before then, the baptisms took place at Worthenbury or Hanmer Church. The first child, Mary, was born at Tybroughton, Hanmer in 1817. She married Thomas Peate, a name which was later changed to Pate. The other children were Ann b.1823, John b 1829 and Edward b 1833. The family was living at Willington, which became the Tallarn Green area of Threapwood. They were the children of Thomas and Sarah Roberts who had married in 1815 at Hanmer. They appear on the census at Threapwood with Thomas giving his place of birth as Overton in around 1777 and Sarah giving a similar age. On records, age was the most unreliable information recorded. The information given by Thomas was probably correct but if so, he would have been nearing forty when he married. The one born in Overton in 1777, was the son of William and Elizabeth Roberts. William was probably born in 1741 at Overton, the son of Edward and Ann Roberts, with Edward being described as a husbandman. Thomas is named as a pauper and agricultural labourer on the 1851 census at Threapwood and his death is recorded in 1856.
Sarah was born Sarah Davies in Willington in 1787. Her age has to be wrong on the census records because it would mean she was beyond childbearing years when her younger children were born. This Davies family residing at Willington means the Roberts/Davies family lived in the Tallarn Green area for many generations. There are records showing Sarah had seven siblings. Sarah gave birth to two daughters, Emma, in 1811 and Sarah, in 1814, before her marriage. These daughters, together with grandchildren Harriet b 1836 and Sarah b 1840 (illegitimate children of Sarah ) were brought up by Thomas and Sarah. The census also shows a lodger, a young widower with a small child, living with them so life could not have been easy for the elderly Thomas and Sarah. The widowed Sarah also had other grandchildren recorded in her household. Sarah died sometime in the 1860s. She and her siblings were the children of John Davies (b. In 1754 at Willington, the son of another John Davies) and Sarah Williams who were married in 1777 at Hanmer. Sarah Williams b in 1758 at Bronington, then part of the parish of Hanmer, was the daughter of Richard Williams and Sarah Huxley who married at Hanmer in 1752.
Oriel Piggott and Shocklach Hall – David Paton.
From 1871 to 1958 the Piggott family were tenants of Shocklach Hall (SH) which was the biggest farm on the Broughton Hall Estate (BH) – 263 acres. In the 1871 census George Piggott (GP) was recorded as farming SH with his wife Mary (nee Hassall) and 7 children who were Mary, Massie, Joseph, John, Edward, Elizabeth and Hugh. GP died in 1874 and at the time Joseph (JP) was farming at Wood Farm, Threapwood.
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| OS Map from 1872 |
As the house at Shocklach Hall was in such a bad state Joseph Piggott continued to live at Wood Farm until the current one was built - finally moving into the Hall in 1880. Joseph was born in 1842 and died in 1933 aged 91 years and so he was 38 when he moved into Shocklach Hall and very cleverly etched/signed his name and the date 1st May 1880 on one of the window panes of the house.
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| Etched engraving on window by Joseph Piggott May 1880 | ||
Joseph had also married Frances (nee Fearnall) in 1874 and they had 9 children who were Nellie, Mary, Lucy, Massey, George, Edith, Edward, Herbert and Lily. Herbert married Olive (nee Shone) in 1926 and they had 1 child Joseph (Joe). Joe’s Uncle George never married and had a particularly good relationship with young Joe and he lived at SH with his brother Herbert and sister in law Olive until he died in 1943 when Joe was 16.
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| Joseph Piggott c1920 | Frances Piggott c1900 |
George owned Manor Farm (MF) with 24 acres in Shocklach village and in his will he left it to his favourite nephew Joe. Joe married Oriel (nee Mercer) in 1956 and they moved into Manor Farm in the same year and they have 4 children Andrea, Ailsa, Mark and Adrian. Oriel has always kept a daily diary and in 1961 she had recorded that she helped with fetching bricks and oak beams for gate posts back to Manor Farm from the sale of effects at Broughton Hall on the 18th, 19th and 20th September of that year!
Major Robert Moreton Wood who was born in 1914 in Herbert, Otago, NZ and his family were the last owners and incumbents of Broughton Hall. During a family holiday he broke a leg skiing and it appears that whilst being treated for his broken leg other complications were diagnosed from which he died in 1955. His grave is in St Edith’s Churchyard and he was awarded a full military funeral with a shotgun salute over the grave. When he died the estate had very little funds left and SH with 215 acres was put up for sale to raise some money to sustain Mrs Esme Woods and her 4 children. They eventually moved into The Soughans Farm which was one of the only three remaining BH farms – the others being The Glandeg and the Purser.
Esme died in 1981 having remarried and become Esme Willans. On the 25th February 1958 the cows and implements at SH were sold, on the 25th March Herbert and Olive, who were still there, gave up SH and on 24th April it was sold to Rodenhursts. In 2010 SH was sold by Rodenhursts to Lady Tamara (Grosvenor) and her husband Edward Van Cutsem.
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| Shocklach Hall | Forecourt |
Oriel and her son Adrian were invited up to the hall in 2010 and asked Lady Tamara if they could have the signed pane in the event of the window being altered and/or removed and she kindly remembered and four years later the very pane was delivered to Manor Farm wrapped in some newspaper for them to keep! Since 1956 Joe, Oriel and Adrian have built up Manor Farm to 118 acres however, as the result of a tragic farm accident, Joe died in 2004 aged 77 and Oriel and Adrian are now managing the farm.
Edward Broad (1827-1901) - from Eddy Broad
Edward was born in Hanmer. His father, John, married Martha Stockton of Bunbury in 1825 and was a farm worker from in Halghton, Hanmer. In 1829, a younger brother, another John, was also born there. No more is known of the family until they appear in the 1851 census for the Cheshire part of Threapwood where John is a shopkeeper and farmer at 22 acres. A later advertisement for P H Broad grocers states that the business was established in 1841, suggesting that they had been in Threapwood since the 1830s as there is also no mention of them in 1840 in the Hanmer tithe awards.
But where in Threapwood? Few properties are named in the census, but by trying to follow the enumerators route around the village we know that they are five properties past the Horseshoe lnn heading towards the Holy Land. 22 acres is a substantial amount of land in this part of the village. Frontier House, The Tenement and Somerset house can all be ruled out as they are in the Flintshire part of Threapwood and the Holy Land is occupied by James Rowson. My best guess then, is the present Quinta House which adjoins about 13 acres and sits at the junction of Oldcastle Lane and Chapel Lane. An ideal place for a grocers.
By 1861 though, John and family are at the Holy Land where John is the publican and farming 56 acres now. He died in 1868 and is buried along with his wife Martha, who died four years later. The grave is just through the gates at Threapwood church, on the left beneath a yew tree. He left goods to the value of £67O 18s 9p and no property (£102,000 in 2023 terms). The Holy Land, a cottage and blacksmiths had been advertised for sale in 1857 but documents show that it was not until1876 that Edward bought them all plus another 17 acres of land. ln 1865 he married Sarah Payne, whose father had been the wheelwright at the cottage by the Holy Land that Edward later bought. Sarah was the housekeeper for John Pendlington of lscoyd before the marriage.
Their first child, John, was born in 1869, followed by Albert 1872, Philip 1874,Victor 1880, Maggie 1883, Alfred 1884 and finally, at the age of 46, Sarah Jane ( Lilly) in 1886. The 1871 census describes Edward as a farmer of 57 acres and a brick and tile maker. The brickworks at Topwood, Oldcastle was probably started by Edward in the 1860s as there is no mention of brick makers or brickworks any earlier. He probably bought the land when the Oldcastle estate was sold off in the mid-1890s as he owned it at his death in 1901 Edward was doing well for himself and he was prominent in the rebuilding of the Congregational Chapel in 1874. £250 was the amount quoted for the rebuild (£24,000 in 2023). £50 was raised in grants and Edward gave £20, promising to raise it to £50 if the rest could be raised without borrowings, which it was.
Sarah laid one of the stones at the foundation ceremony and Edward provided tea afterwards for the 300 people who attended. The newspaper said "it would be better for the character of many of his brethren in the trade if they showed a readier disposition to assist at tea drinking”. ln this instance Mr Broad would lose nothing, as the caterer of the tea party and certainly stand higher in the estimation, even of those who did not patronise his house, to partake of the cup which both “shears and inebriates”. Despite this admonishment, the Holy Land continued to serve alcohol for some years, however, Edward failed to attend the Licensing Sessions at Broxton in 1891. Two villagers attended to object to the renewal but admitted that the lnn had been closed for two years. The magistrates said that this proved that Edward did not want to renew. Perhaps it was temperance tendencies, other business interests, or, as I was told, Sarah's fondness for the contents of the bar.
Another business was now in Edwards portfolio. ln 1891 he is described as a shopkeeper and miller. It is likely he bought Sarn mill after it was advertised for sale in 1888 along with a house, blacksmiths shop and other buildings. However, disaster struck at 2.30 in the morning on 21st February 1895. Coals falling from the fire had ignited some sacks hanging near to. Edwards son Philip, who had been sleeping nearby was awoken by the heat and tried to extinguish the flames with neighbours but it was hopeless. The fire burnt out leaving just bare walls and the new extension that had been built the previous year to house a steam engine. The damage was estimated at £2000 (over £300,000 in 2023) and was not insured. Philip's hands were badly burned fighting the fire (though I was told it was in rescuing the books as Edward would want to know who owed him money.
This was not the first fire that Edward had suffered. 10 years earlier in 1885 Malpas fire brigade spent five hours attending to a burning hay rick in the stackyard of the Holy Land as the fire was in danger of spreading to other ricks and buildings nearby. lt was supposed the fire was started by Edward’s children playing with matches. Edward, like many other business men of their time, had another income from lending money. Bypassing the banks with person-to-person loans. One such transaction in 1869 shows John Nixon mortgaging a property for £55 at 5% interest per annum. There is also the story that Edward rode out to Chorlton Old Hall with a bag of gold when his brother, John, was in urgent need of funds. Lending did not always go well though.
When John Diggory, the blacksmith, died in 1886, he owed Edward £30 8s 6d. Edward took his elderly widow and son to court. He said he would accept a plot of land but they refused. The case was adjoined. Edwards name crops up frequently in newspaper reports of court cases, whether as an assistant overseer for the parish or as a victim, as when a drunken Robert Downs smashed a window when Edward refused to serve him another drink or when a tramp was given 7 days hard labour for stealing a pair of stockings from him, value 6d. Another case in 1893 saw two men acquitted of trying to steal coal from the brickyard. But Edward was not always on the right side of the law. ln 1875 he was fined for moving two cattle with foot and mouth and others from Shocklach meadows along the highway to Threapwood. He claimed the animals were in danger through rising flood levels so the court agreed to be lenient and fined him £1 with 13s costs.
ln 1878, he was charged with encroachment by putting up a fence and narrowing the road from 25ft to 10ft 6in from the centre. The land was directly opposite the Smithy where horses would stand while waiting to cross to the blacksmith. He was fined 7s and 17s costs. Two years later he had to pay £2 to the rev Cox of Threapwood after cutting down and removing two poplars from the churchyard. ln 1882, he fell foul of the weights and measures inspector with 2 weights light and 2 unstamped. Fined 20s and costs. They paid another visit in 1898 and bought a loaf which proved to be 5oz short of the regulation 4lbs. His son ( Philip?) represented him in court and argued that when the price of wheat went up and other bakers raised their price to 7p, Edward, instead, reduced the size of the loaf and kept the price at 6d (actually better value) He served 800-1000 customers a week and they were well satisfied. The Magistrates weren't though, and he was fined £1 with 11s costs.
Edward died on the 2nd November 1901 at the age of 74 after a lingering illness. The report of his funeral acknowledges him as the "most successful of tradespeople”. Mr Broad managed, most successfully, a brickworks, a flour mill and a large grocery and baking business, all of which he had built up during a career of steady and patient industry. ln his private life he was most highly respected, and was the leading parishioner. At the local congregational chapel he was an important parsonage, and for a number of years had held the position of treasurer and deacon. His loss among the Congregationalists, be keenly felt”.
The funeral was held at Threapwood Congregational Chapel. There was a large congregation and the cortege to Malpas cemetery consisted of 18 carriages. ln his Will and Codicil, he left Sarah Topwood cottage and the semi-detached pair of Lilac cottages on Chapel Lane for life, after which they were to go to Alfred. Unfortunately, Alfred died before his mother so it was his estate that sold the three properties in 1930 for a total of £420. John and Albert were to share equally, the Holy Land, The Smithy, a cottage and further plot of land occupied by Harry Hall and a house and land occupied by Joseph Beavan. Philip and Victor were to share the whole of the property at the Sarn purchased from Nathaniel Speakman plus property purchased from James and Ellis Carr.
There is no mention of the mill itself, whether or not it is back in working order. John Davies is the miller by 1911 and Philip and Victor sold the mill cottage, blacksmiths and land in 1915. Maggie and Sarah Jane were to share the brickyard and a cottage in Threapwood. This was probably Sunnyside, where Sarah Jane was living when she married a few years later. Maggie, Sarah Jane and Alfred were to receive £1O0 when they reached the age of 21 or when they married and Albert inherited Edwards "gold watch chain and appendages.
The Churtons of Malpas, London, Threapwood & Auckland - Bruce Woodhouse
Background
The Churton name arises on the paternal side of the Woodhouse family. My paternal great grandmother was Alice Sarah Churton who was born in London in 1831 and died in Auckland in 1909. Alice married John Woodhouse at St Paul’s Church, Auckland in 1851, with her father (my 2nd great grandfather), John Frederick Churton officiating.
John Frederick Churton was the Perpetual Curate at Threapwood from 1832 to 1839. Following his appointment as a chaplain in Port Nicholson (Wellington) in 1839, John, his wife Mary, seven children and several ‘servants’ sailed with the New Zealand Company’s ‘first fleet’. John was subsequently appointed by Governor Hobson as the colonial chaplain for New Zealand, becoming the first Minister of St Paul’s Church, Auckland.
John Frederick Churton’s role as a religious leader in the formative days of New Zealand in the 1840s is well known. However, as the Woodhouse family historian, my interest goes further back to the Churton family in the UK, particularly in London, Threapwood, Whitchurch and Malpas.
Churtons of Malpas and Whitchurch
Early family records have identified that between 1540 and 1736, five generations of Churtons lived in and around Malpas. My 8th great grandparents (William Churton and Alice Yeardley) were married at St Oswald’s Church, Malpas in 1604, as were my 6th great grandparents (William Churton and Dorothy Hopley) in 1680, and my 5th great grandparents (Joseph Churton and Ellen Moulson) in 1725.
My 4th great grandparents (John Churton and Mary Morgan) were married in St Alkmund’s Church, Whitchurch in 1754. Their son, William Churton (John Frederick Churton’s father), was born in Whitchurch, but subsequently moved to London.
Churtons of London
William Churton and his brother Edward became involved in the linen trade in London in the 1790s. Whilst Edward traded out of 140 Oxford St, in 1796, William established a business as a hosier at 91 Oxford St.
William married Elizabeth Bray at St Mary’s Church, St Marylebone in 1797. They had four children, including John Frederick Churton who was born in St Marylebone in 1798. John’s mother Elizabeth Churton died in 1804.
In 1820, William Churton and his family (now with his second wife, Eliza Fuller and further children) relocated from the residential part of 91 Oxford St to ‘Sutton Court Lodge’, Little Sutton, Chiswick, West London.
John Frederick Churton in London and Threapwood
In 1815, when John Frederick Churton was 17, Articles of Clerkship were drawn up which bound John as a clerk to serve in the profession of Attorney at Law and Solicitor in St Marylebone for a period of five years.
Like his father, John was to marry twice. In 1821 he married Letitia Hughes with whom he had two children. The eldest, William, survived, but the youngest, Nathaniel died at age 3 months. Letitia died some three months later in January 1826. In September of that year, John (28) who now had custody of his eldest son William (4) married my second great grandmother, Mary Charlotte Falwasser (25).
In June 1827, nine months after his marriage to Mary Falwasser and at the age of 29, John was admitted to Cambridge University where he studied law. He graduated LLB in 1833 and went into the Anglican Ministry. He was the Perpetual Curate at Threapwood from 1832 to 1839. I expect at that time, John would have been aware of historical Churton family connections to the nearby locations of Malpas and Whitchurch.
John and Mary had ten children, four of whom were born in London (Alexander, Catherine, Alice (my great grandmother) and Charles), three in Threapwood (Jane, Marion and Mary) and three in Auckland (Eliza, John and William).
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| Reverend JF Churton – 1852 (by Charles Heaphy) |
Departure for New Zealand
The early European settlement of New Zealand involved the Crown declaring sovereignty over New Zealand in 1838, and then negotiating with Māori and signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Concurrently, the London based New Zealand Company saw a commercial opportunity to acquire land from Māori and bring English and Scottish settlers to the country.
The Tory, being the first ship of the New Zealand Company’s fleet, left England for Port Nicholson (Wellington) in May 1839. Whilst the curate at Threapwood, the Reverend Churton took up an appointment as chaplain to the New Zealand Company and sailed from Gravesend with his family on the 9th ship of the fleet, the Bolton, in November 1839.
The Bolton arrived in Port Nicholson in April 1840 after a voyage of just over 5 months. The cabin passenger list included John and Mary Churton, their seven children, Mary’s sister Sarah Falwasser (40), and family friends, Eliza Hargreaves (17) and her brother Winter Ainsworth Hargreaves (12).
In steerage were a further 16 passengers linked to the Churton family. The Bolton’s passenger list recorded:
Castle, John (39), Agricultural labourer – servant to Churton, Maria (37), Ann (14), Jane (7), James (4), Daughter (1).
Craven, Thomas (30), Agricultural labourer – servant to Churton.
Jones, Mary (15) – Servant to Churton.
Lowe, Griffith (36), Agricultural labourer – servant to Churton, Ann (35), Edward (11), Joseph (9), Mary (7), John (5), William (2).
Maddox, Sarah (16), Servant – servant to Churton.
Whether any or all of these passengers came from Threapwood and its surrounding areas is unknown. However, a qualifying male occupation for passage with the New Zealand Company was that of an agricultural labourer, which John Castle, Thomas Craven and Griffith Lowe all stated they were.
My research into the members of the ‘Churton party’ has identified the following:
Eliza Hargreaves – Born in 1823. Married William Young (1813 – 1893), Collector of Customs in 1841 in Auckland. Eliza died in 1845 and was buried in Symonds St cemetery. William and Eliza had two children, William Spearman Young (1842 – 1913) and Frederick Winter Young (1843 – 1846).
Winter Ainsworth Hargreaves – Born in 1827 in Orrell, Manchester, migrated to New Zealand in 1839, returned to the UK, married Caroline von Windheim in Worcester in 1850, died in Parramatta, Sydney in 1883.
John Castle – Born in 1797 in England. Married Maria Farrier (1802 – 1887) in Sholden, Kent in 1822. After migrating to New Zealand, the family lived in Wellington. John died in Wellington in 1880, aged 83, and was buried in Bolton St cemetery. His wife Maria died in Wellington in 1887.
Griffith Lowe – Born in 1798 in Flintshire, Wales, married in 1830. After migrating to New Zealand, the family lived in Wellington. Griffith appeared on the Wellington jury list between 1845 and 1852. His occupation was a labourer. Griffith died in Wellington Hospital in 1852, aged 50. His wife Ann died in Auckland in 1869.
Sarah Maddox – Married James Louden/Lowden in Auckland on 19 February 1843. They had five children. Sarah died in Auckland in 1854 and was buried in Symonds St cemetery.
Churton family in Port Nicholson (Wellington)
With the arrival of the Bolton at Port Nicholson in April 1840, the Reverend Churton and some 230 passengers joined another 700+ recently arrived UK settlers living on the beaches, the flat land in the Hutt Valley and on the slopes of the hills surrounding the harbour.
To put the timing of the New Zealand Company’s arrival at Port Nicholson into context, the land on which the city of Auckland now stands was not ‘purchased’ from Māori until some 6 months after the Churton’s arrived in Port Nicholson, and the first UK settlers did not arrive in Auckland until October 1842. By that time, Port Nicholson was well established.
The Reverend Churton was not enchanted with life in Port Nicholson. He was particularly concerned about the lack of promised farming land for settlers in and around the harbour and the windy weather, both of which he claimed the New Zealand Company had failed to advise prospective migrants of.
He made his position clear on these and other associated issues, in both public forums and written text. As a result, he was not held in high esteem by some of the local residents and was criticised by the Port Nicholson press.
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| Thorndon Flat and part of the city of Wellington – April 1841 (by Charles Heaphy) |
Port Nicholson/Wellington 12 months after the Churton’s arrived
The Reverend Churton left Port Nicholson in December 1840 and sailed north to the then capital of New Zealand, Russell, in the Bay of Islands. There he was appointed to the pastoral charge of Christ Church in Russell. However, in January 1841, Government officials and all Government papers were moved from Russell to the proposed site for Auckland on the Waitemata harbour.
The Reverend Churton, at the request of Governor Hobson, and with the sanction of the Bishop of Sydney, consented to take the office of colonial chaplain based in Auckland, and the incumbency of the yet to be constructed St. Paul's Church. Mary Churton and her family followed John to Auckland in February 1841.
Churton family in Auckland
Over the next few years, John and Mary Churton established themselves in Parnell, one of Auckland’s early suburbs. It was there that John built the family home he called ‘Little Sutton’ after the village in Chiswick where his parents and siblings lived.
‘Little Sutton’ was to remain the Churton family home for the next forty years. Of John and Mary Churton’s ten children, nine were to marry between 1851 and 1869. Those marriages produced some 43 grandchildren, including ten from the marriage of my great grandmother Alice Sarah Churton to John Woodhouse.
John and Mary Churton’s second daughter, Catherine Letitia Churton married Charles Heaphy VC, the first colonial soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross. Charles Heaphy was the draughtsman and artist for the New Zealand Company, and he came to New Zealand on the Tory in 1839.
Some of his paintings of early New Zealand were published in London to support the New Zealand Company’s migration campaign. He is now recognised as one of New Zealand’s most distinguished nineteenth-century landscape painters. Four of Charles Heaphy’s paintings are incorporated into this article.
Colonial Chaplain and Minister of St Paul’s Church
As the colonial chaplain, Reverend Churton ministered to the British and colonial troops stationed in New Zealand during the period of the New Zealand wars. Those wars were a series of conflicts that took place between Māori and the colonial government over land rights. Reverend Churton was also responsible for ministering to hospital patients and jailed prisoners.
The foundation stone for St Paul’s Church in Auckland was laid by Governor Hobson in July 1841 and the first service was held in May 1843. St Paul's was to serve as Auckland's Cathedral for the next 40 years.
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| Auckland Waterfront – 1852 (by Charles Heaphy) |
Deaths of John and Mary Churton
Reverend Churton officiated at St Paul’s Church until his untimely death in 1853 at the age of 54. He died from pleurisy at ‘Little Sutton’ after a short illness.
His funeral procession left ‘Little Sutton’ for St Paul’s Church and was reported to comprise the “largest concourse of mourners yet assembled in Auckland”. Along with his family and the local community, it included the Lieutenant-Governor, the Chief Justice, members of Council, clergy and 250 troops from the 58th Regiment.
Reverend Churton was buried in Symonds St cemetery and the Emily Place memorial referred to on the Threapwood History Group’s website was subsequently erected.
After her husband’s death, Mary Churton lived on at ‘Little Sutton’ until 1879, when she died at the age of 78. She was buried with Reverend Churton in Symonds St cemetery.
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| Old St Paul’s, Auckland – 1853 (by Charles Heaphy) |
Subsequent to the submission of this article its contributor Bruce Woodhouse visited Symonds St Cemetery in Auckland and photographed the Churton grave. He also visited the current St Paul’s Church which replaced the original church in the 1890s. The photos taken during that visit are below.
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| Gravestone in cemetery | Plaque on Pulpit | Pulpit at St Paul's |
Threapwood Today
Recent Activities
| On 16th September 2016 we were welcomed to Greaves Farm in Threapwood by Bob and Shirley Carter. Together with many local residents we walked a route which included many interesting features such as the Sink Holes, The War Way and The Wych Brook.
The visit started with a welcome to everyone by Shirley who gave a short explanation of the sink holes and local area. During the walk Chris Bennion talked about The Wych Brook, Dorothy Powell "The War Way" and Mike Boxall gave information about the Civil War battle of Oldcastle Heath. After the walk visitors were able to enjoy a short slide show which included a sample of the photographs now included on our web site. Click on the pictures right to see a full scale image. |
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