The Big Houses
Part 1: Setting the scene for the middle of the 19th century
This is an attempt to summarise the history of the families that had significant influence over the life of the parish in the 19th century. It is intended to set the scene for the diary starting in 1850. I have devoted very little time to this introduction, representing what I have learnt over the last few weeks. I am sure the information I have provided can be challenged and improved upon. This isn’t easy to read as a story. There are a lot of people mentioned. It should perhaps be regarded as a source of reference to understand the families that made major contributions to the village in the second half of the century. Living in the big houses: the landowners, the landlords, the employers, the benefactors to the parish and to the church, the main contributors to the Poor Rates, the well fed, the well-travelled and the occasional prosecutors for theft and poaching. Some important families: In earlier times, the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dynham families were Lords of Piddington, Brill, Boarstall and Muswell Manors. Through marriage and inheritance, they were succeeded by the Aubrey family. The estates then passing to the Aubrey Fletchers at the beginning of the 20th century. The Aubrey family has never lived in Piddington. Their interests were focused on Brill, Boarstall and Chilton. In the 19th century it would seem that they owned very little of the land in Piddington. By the middle of the 19th century I believe that Gravel Pits farm was their only property in the village. The Turner family owned land in Ambrosden, Arncott, Piddington and perhaps further afield. Their wealth was derived from investment in the East India Company. In the mid-18th century the estate was inherited by Sir Gregory Page-Turner. The Page Turner family were the major landowners in Piddington until later in the 19th century. Again, the Turner family has never lived in the village. The Walker family. A Piddington family who owned a considerable amount of property up to the end of the 18th century and possibly in the early 19th century. The enclosure award of 1758 gave the largest proportion of 499 acres of freehold land and 36 acres of leasehold land to Edward Turner. John Walker came next with 198 acres. These two landowners accounted for about half of the land enclosed in Piddington at this time. The other half was awarded to about 30 others. To date I have been unable to conclusively establish the direct descendancy to the Walker families listed in the 1851 census. The Beck family. A family from Ambrosden and also of Blackthorn but with some members of the Beck family living in Piddington for many years. Their home in Piddington is now named the “Homestead.” William Walker sold the original, smaller property, then comprising two cottages, to William Beck, Yeoman of Piddington in 1660. Members of the Beck family were buried in Ambrosden. The Beck family living in Piddington at the beginning of the 19th century comprised John Beck, his wife Sarah Franklin and their two daughters: Mary, born 1792 and Ann, born 1798. The Stone family. Descended from the Stone family in Thame, the Stones were successful farmers in Piddington. It is best to start with Job Stone living in “Westbrook” at the beginning of the 19th century. Job married Elizabeth Stevens from Chilling Place farm in 1799. They had 10 children. 9 were born in Piddington. It would appear that the family moved to Wotton Underwood in the early 19th century. Their youngest child was born there in 1819. Few of their children survived to see adulthood. Job died in 1839 and Elizabeth 18 months later. Both were buried in Piddington. Two of their sons played a considerable part in Piddington later in the century, although I have seen no evidence of them having lived in the village beyond their childhood at Westbrook. These two were Job and Elizabeth’s second son, Edward Stone, born 1803, and Thomas Stone, their fifth son, born in 1812. Edward continued his family’s farming tradition. Thomas was articled to a London solicitor by the name of Morris at the age of 16. Job’s mother’s maiden name was Morris. The Bottrill family. The Bottrill Family can be traced in Oxfordshire back to the beginning of the 18th century. The 1841 census shows two Bottrill farming families in Piddington headed by William Bottrill and his elder brother Richard Bottrill. They were both born in Wendlebury. Two other Bottrill brothers can be found in Wendlebury and Launton. It is not clear which farms Richard and William occupied in 1841. Richard died in 1843, 18months after his wife, Martha Shaw. They do not appear to have had any children. William Bottrill married Mary Ann Alley in 1827, a daughter of a farming family in Islip. They had six children between 1829 and 1840. Their two boys, also called Richard and William, died as infants. Ann, their eldest daughter, died at the age of 12. William Bottrill was reasonably well-off and had some investments in the village. The arrival of the Brown family: In many ways the Brown family defined 19th century Piddington. Partly as tenants of Manor Farm but perhaps more importantly through their marriages to other Piddington families. John Brown arrived in Piddington in 1815 to take over the tenancy of Manor Farm. The farm was owned by the Turner family. He was 34 years old, a widower with three young daughters, the eldest just 13 years old. Their mother, Mary Tuckey, had died 10 years earlier, 4 years after their marriage. This must have been very soon after the birth of her third daughter. John was born and married in Standlake, close to Witney. Other members of the Brown family continued to farm in Standlake throughout the 19th century. Before John Brown arrived in Piddington he had been a farmer in Arncott for 10 years, taking over the tenancy shortly after his wife’s death. His three children would have been 3 years old and under. It is probable that he also rented the Arncott farm from the Turners and he may have continued with the lease after moving to Piddington. It did not take John Brown very long to find himself a new young bride in Piddington. He had a short courtship with Ann Beck, living at the other end of the village. It is possible that Ann’s father, John had died by this time and that her mother, Sarah was a widow. Ann married John Brown in September 1816 when she had reached the age of 18. John would have been 35. Ann went to live with John in Manor Farm and took over the role of stepmother to John’s three girls. Ann had six children of her own: William, Caroline, who died in 1820 aged 9 months, Thomas, a second Caroline, John Beck and Charles, with births from 1818 to 1828. John Brown became very good friends with James Griffin at Muswell Hill Farm and also his closest neighbour, Vicar John Cleobury. Both John Brown and James Griffin served together as church wardens for many years, sometimes alternating with William Bottrill. The next significant step in this story is the marriage of John’s eldest daughter by his first marriage. Ann Brown married Edward Stone in Ambrosden in August 1830. Ann’s two younger sisters, Mary and Maria were witnesses at the wedding. Edward Stone was recorded as “of the Parish of Wootton Underwood” and Ann “of the hamlet of Blackthorn in this Parish”. They would both have been 27 years old. Edward and Ann took over the running of Yeat Farm in Wootton after Job Stone died in 1839 at the age of 65. His wife, Elizabeth died in 1841, also aged 65. They were both buried in Piddington. The 1841 census shows John Brown as a farmer in the household listed next to the vicarage. His wife, Ann is shown together with John’s daughter, Maria and John and Ann’s children, William, Thomas, Caroline and Charles. Mary, John’s youngest daughter by his first marriage is not shown. It is probable that she is already married at this time. John Beck Brown, who would have been 16 at the time is also not shown. It is possible that William Brown left Piddington later that year to take over the tenancy of a farm in Lower Winchendon. The landlord for this property and others in Winchendon was the Duke of Marlborough. William’s father would have made adequate financial provision for him, having previously inherited property in Standlake after his parents’ death. John Brown died in September 1842. The executors of his will were James Griffin and his son-in law, Edward Stone. His will allowed for £10 to his son William, “having been already amply provided for.” His three daughters by his first marriage received bequests as follows: Ann, having married the well-off Edward Stone, received £20. Maria, £500. Mary, mentioned by her married name of Weaving, £500. The rest of his estate was divided between his wife, Ann and her four children, Thomas, Caroline, John Beck and Charles. Additionally, Thomas Brown received properties and freehold land in Standlake. Thomas Brown took over the running of Manor Farm on his father’s death. In November 1845 his elder half sister Maria married William Tubb in Piddington. Maria would have been 42 at the time. William Tubb, a farmer from Blackthorn would have been 41. His first wife, Ann died in October of the previous year. The marriage was witnessed by Thomas and John Beck Brown. Three months later Maria’s sister Mary was also married in Piddington. This was Mary’s second marriage. She was a widow and her married name was Weaving. I have so far been unable to trace the details of her first marriage. In February 1846, at the age of 40, she married William Tredwell, a farmer living in Piddington. William’s father was also William, a farmer. The witnesses to this marriage were William Brown, her younger half-brother and Sarah Tredwell. I believe Sarah Tredwell to be Sarah Matilda Tredwell who would marry Thomas Brown just a few years later. I believe this William Tredwell to be her cousin who had recently moved to Piddington from Chesterton. William was a Piddington church warden in 1850. Thomas Brown married Sarah Matilda Tredwell from Grendon Underwood and was just 20 at the time of her wedding in 1850. She was born in Bladon in 1830, the daughter of Edward Tredwell and Charlotte Faulkner. The family moved from Bladon to Grendon Underwood shortly after her birth. To bring Part 1 to a conclusion I have tried to locate different members of each family in the 1851 census. Some are in Piddington. Others are in neighbouring parishes. I have discovered the following:
The families shown above form the basis of the social scene for the well-off in Piddington and neighbouring parishes in the second half of the 19th century. Family gatherings and visits by horse and trap must have been frequent. These provided the opportunities for different families to meet and for new marriages to strengthen family ties. Sources Much of this could not have been established during the last few weeks without reading Colin Matson’s “Piddington Postscript.” The book is meandering and contains references to “Grandfather Brown”, “Aunt Lizzie”, “Aunt Bessie” and “Aunt Tredwell.” It has been difficult to establish many individuals and their relationships through his perspective of events in Piddington. I have found much of the book quite uncomfortable to read, given Colin Matson’s obvious need to ingratiate himself with the Brown and Stone families. He takes every opportunity to embellish their superior status and is, at best, patronising towards the tradesmen and labouring classes. The book, however, has provided an excellent starting point and many clues. I have validated everything through census returns, parish registers, wills and probate records. This process has established that Colin Matson had made incorrect assumptions in a few instances. I have also been able to establish a lot more information on each family’s history. Some thoughts and observations
Part 2: 1851 to 1861 Perhaps in a few weeks’ time. |