A’Court Family of Wadswick Richard Hyde February 2020
Rural Wadswick (courtesy Chris and Pam Ward)
Richard Hyde spent the first 16 years of his life in Box: five years living at 18 Everley Road, Boxfields before moving to a brand-new council house at 9 Bargates. He wrote to us: “My daughter told me that there was a photo of me as a child in a class photo on the web, and I discovered your website. It refreshed so many memories of Box and it was good to see articles written by people I knew well. I thought you might like some information about the A’Court family, who lived in Wadswick at the same time as the Rowe Family.”
Richard A’Court
Like generations of his ancestors, Richard A’Court was born in Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, the long and broken village made famous by Thomas Hardy as Marlott in Tess of the d’Urbevilles. An A’Court family was even recorded at the Crown Inn, which Hardy renamed Pure Drop Inn. Richard was born in July 1863, the second of six children of Emanuel and Sarah A’Court, agricultural labourer and glover respectively. In 1871 and 1881 they lived at Marnhull with their children; at the latter date living in a property called Near Anthills Farm. Nowadays, this farm is called Antell’s and is a Grade II listed building dating from about 1708.
In 1881 eighteen-year-old Richard was living with his parents and working as an agricultural labourer whilst his future wife sixteen-year-old Mary Eliza Crew (usually called Eliza) was a general servant living in nearby East Stour. She was boarding with her sister Anna Jane who had married Richard’s brother James, who were my great grandparents. The families appear to have been close to poverty; Richard’s younger brother Frederick aged 13 was also a farm labourer and his 11-year-old sister worked as a glover. Mary Eliza was the daughter of another labourer Thomas and his wife Fanny, a glover.
Mary Eliza married Richard in Marnhull on 27 May 1884 which is where their first two children were born. In the 1891 census Richard, still an agricultural labour, his wife Mary Eliza and four children had moved to Wadswick. This must have been a recent move because we can place the family at Hinton St Mary (close to Marnhull) in 1890 thanks to the birth of the youngest child. This gives the connection to the Rowe family, who were obviously close friends in Hinton St Mary, Dorset. One of the things I've wondered about is how the A'Courts and the Rowes travelled from Hinton St Mary to Wadswick. I think they probably travelled on the old Somerset and Dorset line from Sturminster Newton to Bath, Green Park.
The marriage of Frederick Rowe (yeoman) and Charlotte Spokes (schoolmistress) was solemnised in the parish church in Hinton St Mary on 26 August 1890. The school house at Hinton St Mary was shared by several schoolmistresses and that is probably where Charlotte lived before her marriage. The respective fathers were recorded as George Rowe (corn dealer) and John Spokes (bootmaker). One of the witnesses was Charlotte’s sister Martha who later lived with them at Wadswick. By the time of the 1911 census Richard and Mary Eliza had produced eleven children of whom ten were still living. At some point, Richard and Mary Eliza appear to have moved to Brixworth, Northamptonshire. Their daughter Hilda Alice Lilia married William M Riley there in 1921, and another daughter Evelyn May married William G Whiting there in 1923. Richard died in Brixworth in 1928 aged 64.
I wonder if other members of the A'Court family followed the Rowes to Buckinghamshire when the latter moved to Preston Bissett. Victor Richard A'Court married Sarah Ann Harrison in 1919 at Buckingham and he was recorded as an elector at Weston Turville, between Aylesbury and Berkhamsted, Buckinghamshire, from 1923 to 1927. He died on 2 September 1959 at Hamberlins Farm Cottages, Northchurch, Berkhamsted. Reginald George moved to Chapel Lane, Buckingham and probably died there in 1975. His wife Lottie May (Honour) died in 1977 in the Aylesbury area. All these places are within a radius of about twenty miles, all 100 miles from Box.
Richard A’Court
Like generations of his ancestors, Richard A’Court was born in Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, the long and broken village made famous by Thomas Hardy as Marlott in Tess of the d’Urbevilles. An A’Court family was even recorded at the Crown Inn, which Hardy renamed Pure Drop Inn. Richard was born in July 1863, the second of six children of Emanuel and Sarah A’Court, agricultural labourer and glover respectively. In 1871 and 1881 they lived at Marnhull with their children; at the latter date living in a property called Near Anthills Farm. Nowadays, this farm is called Antell’s and is a Grade II listed building dating from about 1708.
In 1881 eighteen-year-old Richard was living with his parents and working as an agricultural labourer whilst his future wife sixteen-year-old Mary Eliza Crew (usually called Eliza) was a general servant living in nearby East Stour. She was boarding with her sister Anna Jane who had married Richard’s brother James, who were my great grandparents. The families appear to have been close to poverty; Richard’s younger brother Frederick aged 13 was also a farm labourer and his 11-year-old sister worked as a glover. Mary Eliza was the daughter of another labourer Thomas and his wife Fanny, a glover.
Mary Eliza married Richard in Marnhull on 27 May 1884 which is where their first two children were born. In the 1891 census Richard, still an agricultural labour, his wife Mary Eliza and four children had moved to Wadswick. This must have been a recent move because we can place the family at Hinton St Mary (close to Marnhull) in 1890 thanks to the birth of the youngest child. This gives the connection to the Rowe family, who were obviously close friends in Hinton St Mary, Dorset. One of the things I've wondered about is how the A'Courts and the Rowes travelled from Hinton St Mary to Wadswick. I think they probably travelled on the old Somerset and Dorset line from Sturminster Newton to Bath, Green Park.
The marriage of Frederick Rowe (yeoman) and Charlotte Spokes (schoolmistress) was solemnised in the parish church in Hinton St Mary on 26 August 1890. The school house at Hinton St Mary was shared by several schoolmistresses and that is probably where Charlotte lived before her marriage. The respective fathers were recorded as George Rowe (corn dealer) and John Spokes (bootmaker). One of the witnesses was Charlotte’s sister Martha who later lived with them at Wadswick. By the time of the 1911 census Richard and Mary Eliza had produced eleven children of whom ten were still living. At some point, Richard and Mary Eliza appear to have moved to Brixworth, Northamptonshire. Their daughter Hilda Alice Lilia married William M Riley there in 1921, and another daughter Evelyn May married William G Whiting there in 1923. Richard died in Brixworth in 1928 aged 64.
I wonder if other members of the A'Court family followed the Rowes to Buckinghamshire when the latter moved to Preston Bissett. Victor Richard A'Court married Sarah Ann Harrison in 1919 at Buckingham and he was recorded as an elector at Weston Turville, between Aylesbury and Berkhamsted, Buckinghamshire, from 1923 to 1927. He died on 2 September 1959 at Hamberlins Farm Cottages, Northchurch, Berkhamsted. Reginald George moved to Chapel Lane, Buckingham and probably died there in 1975. His wife Lottie May (Honour) died in 1977 in the Aylesbury area. All these places are within a radius of about twenty miles, all 100 miles from Box.
Wadswick between the parishes of Box, South Wraxall, Atworth and Corsham (courtesy 1986 Ordnance Survey)
Living and Working in Wadswick
In 1901 Richard described his occupation as farming labourer and his daughter Ethel Elfrida was at Wadswick Farm as a domestic working for the Rowe family. It was Ethel who married a neighbour, Thomas Henry Toghill, a miner quarryman working underground, later a shepherd, and finally a jobbing gardener.
The Toghills were a Wadswick family who had worked as farm labourers and servants for several generations. Thomas Henry (1882-1950) was the son of Charles, a labourer, and Elizabeth Lucas from Corsham. Rather than work as a labourer on Joseph Fry’s farm, Thomas Henry joined the 3rd Wiltshire Regiment aged 17½ in 1899 at Devizes. He signed his name but appears to have been barely literate. He probably served in the Boer Wars in South Africa and was fully discharged in 1905 with a reference Character Exemplary. He and Ethel were married in 1904 and in 1911 he was working as a shepherd at Wadswick, although the family seems to have left Box for Keynsham by 1916, where several of their children were born. On Ethel’s death in 1955, probate was granted: TOGHILL Ethel Elfreda of 117 Pear Tree Cottage, Winsley near Bradford on Avon Wiltshire, widow died 17 September 1955 at St Martins Hospital Bath. Probate Bristol 18 November to John Thomas Toghill (son), mason. Effects £581.13s.6d.
Two of Thomas Henry’s brothers - Albert Toghill (horseman on farm) and George Toghill (farm labourer) - lived with them at Wadswick in 1911. Ethel still had her parents and six siblings living close to her in the hamlet. Her father Richard A’Court was now cowman on farm, probably less stressful than labouring. Her brother Alfred Sidney A’Court was a domestic gardener and Victor born in Wadswick in 1897 was already a farm labourer aged 14. Another brother, Herbert Charles, had moved to Longsplatt, Box and was a steam roller driver.
As the family grew up in Wadswick, their social life appears to have been somewhat isolated. It led to a number of marriages between the same families, the A’Court, Toghill and Pearce families, in the hamlet. We have seen how Thomas Henry Toghill married Ethel A’Court in 1904. Albert Sydney A’Court married Ethel Pearce in 1912 and they later moved to Gastard. Albert W Toghill married Florence E Pearce in 1914. Elsie Rosina A’Court married Reginald S Pearce in 1939.
If you think this was rather confusing, there was an added twist in my family two generations later. Lilian (Lily) Hyde, granddaughter of James and Anna Jane A’Court, married William Billy Hyde who later ran a boot repair business next to Box Highlands School. The story of the Hyde families can wait for another occasion but I wonder if they came to Box because of the A’Court connection? Family anecdotes haven’t recorded the reason.
In 1901 Richard described his occupation as farming labourer and his daughter Ethel Elfrida was at Wadswick Farm as a domestic working for the Rowe family. It was Ethel who married a neighbour, Thomas Henry Toghill, a miner quarryman working underground, later a shepherd, and finally a jobbing gardener.
The Toghills were a Wadswick family who had worked as farm labourers and servants for several generations. Thomas Henry (1882-1950) was the son of Charles, a labourer, and Elizabeth Lucas from Corsham. Rather than work as a labourer on Joseph Fry’s farm, Thomas Henry joined the 3rd Wiltshire Regiment aged 17½ in 1899 at Devizes. He signed his name but appears to have been barely literate. He probably served in the Boer Wars in South Africa and was fully discharged in 1905 with a reference Character Exemplary. He and Ethel were married in 1904 and in 1911 he was working as a shepherd at Wadswick, although the family seems to have left Box for Keynsham by 1916, where several of their children were born. On Ethel’s death in 1955, probate was granted: TOGHILL Ethel Elfreda of 117 Pear Tree Cottage, Winsley near Bradford on Avon Wiltshire, widow died 17 September 1955 at St Martins Hospital Bath. Probate Bristol 18 November to John Thomas Toghill (son), mason. Effects £581.13s.6d.
Two of Thomas Henry’s brothers - Albert Toghill (horseman on farm) and George Toghill (farm labourer) - lived with them at Wadswick in 1911. Ethel still had her parents and six siblings living close to her in the hamlet. Her father Richard A’Court was now cowman on farm, probably less stressful than labouring. Her brother Alfred Sidney A’Court was a domestic gardener and Victor born in Wadswick in 1897 was already a farm labourer aged 14. Another brother, Herbert Charles, had moved to Longsplatt, Box and was a steam roller driver.
As the family grew up in Wadswick, their social life appears to have been somewhat isolated. It led to a number of marriages between the same families, the A’Court, Toghill and Pearce families, in the hamlet. We have seen how Thomas Henry Toghill married Ethel A’Court in 1904. Albert Sydney A’Court married Ethel Pearce in 1912 and they later moved to Gastard. Albert W Toghill married Florence E Pearce in 1914. Elsie Rosina A’Court married Reginald S Pearce in 1939.
If you think this was rather confusing, there was an added twist in my family two generations later. Lilian (Lily) Hyde, granddaughter of James and Anna Jane A’Court, married William Billy Hyde who later ran a boot repair business next to Box Highlands School. The story of the Hyde families can wait for another occasion but I wonder if they came to Box because of the A’Court connection? Family anecdotes haven’t recorded the reason.
Chapel Plaister was a chapel of ease not a church (courtesy Box Parish Council)
Conclusion
If you ask Wadswick residents about their allegiance to Box or Corsham, you soon find out that they are independent people, proud of living in their own hamlet. Many attended Chapel Plaister Chapel and the local Post Office and tried to be self-sufficient in foodstuffs, relying on occasional visiting salesmen for fish and bread, utensils and domestic items. But they couldn’t be fully independent because there was no burial ground in the hamlet and no school for children, causing residents to integrate more with the centre of Box after the 1870 Education Act. The Rowe family story tells of the efforts made to ferry people to Box village and back; an independent hamlet but still very much part of the history of Box.
If you ask Wadswick residents about their allegiance to Box or Corsham, you soon find out that they are independent people, proud of living in their own hamlet. Many attended Chapel Plaister Chapel and the local Post Office and tried to be self-sufficient in foodstuffs, relying on occasional visiting salesmen for fish and bread, utensils and domestic items. But they couldn’t be fully independent because there was no burial ground in the hamlet and no school for children, causing residents to integrate more with the centre of Box after the 1870 Education Act. The Rowe family story tells of the efforts made to ferry people to Box village and back; an independent hamlet but still very much part of the history of Box.
A’Court Family Tree
Emanuel (1836-), agricultural labourer, married Sarah Warren (1832-), glover. In 1871 their address was The Barton, Marnhull, and in 1881 they lived at Near Anthills Farm, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton. Children: James (1861-); Richard (1863-1928); Frederick (1867-); Anna M (1869), glover; Albertina (1871-); and Rose (1874-). All were born in Marnhull, Dorset.
In 1891 Richard (1863 Marnhull-1928 Brixworth), his wife Mary Eliza Crew (1865 Stalbridge-) and family lived at The Cottages, Wadswick, next door to Wadswick Farm where Thomas Wright farmed and then came the home of the Toghill family with their 11 children. In 1901 he was described as farm labourer and in 1911 as cowman. Children:
Ethel Elfreda (16 February 1885 Marnhull) worked as a domestic servant for Frederick and Charlotte Rowe at Wadswick Farm in 1901. She married Thomas Henry Toghill in 1904;
Bessie Beatrice (1886 Marnhull-1955) married Wilfred James Alford (1983-), carpenter of Atworth in 1909. In 1911 they lived at Shaw, Melksham with a one-year-old son, William Frederick;
Frederick A (1889 Hinton St Mary-);
Alfred Sidney (12 February 1889 Hinton St Mary but baptised 29 May 1892 in Box-1959) married Ethel Pearce (25 December 1889-1956) in 1912. He was a rubber worker in 1913 and enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1917, possibly wounded at one point. In 1939 he worked as a War Department labourer in Velley Hill, Gastard. Children: William George (b 1912 and baptised in Gastard), Doris C (25 August 1916) who married Mr Kelly, Dennis SR (1929);
Elsie Rosina (16 August 1892 Box-1980) who married Reginald S Pearce in 1939;
William John (21 February 1894-1895);
Victor Richard (1896 Box-2 September 1959 at Northchurch, Berkhamsted);
Reginald George (14 October 1898 Box-1975), who married Lottie May Honour (30 November 1897-1977) and moved to Buckingham as a general labourer in the brickworks there. He had children born somewhere near Thame and Bicester before moving to Chapel Lane, Buckingham and probably died there in 1975;
Hilda Alice Lilia (1900 Box-) married William M Riley in Brixworth in 1921; and
Evelyn May (8 August 1902 Wadswick) married William G Whiting at Brixworth 1923; and
Thomas Henry William (2 March 1904-1958) married Sarah Sheppard in September 1925 at Keynsham. Children include one in the Keynsham area and then five in Brixworth, Northamptonshire.
Toghill Family Tree
Charles (b 1850 Cold Ashton), farm servant, married Elizabeth (b 1852). In 1881 the lived at Wadswick village. Children:
Ellen Lou (b 1874);
Herbert Charles (b 1876);
Eliza B (b 1879);
Mary A (b 1881 at Wadswick);
Thomas Henry (4 March 1882-1950) married Ethel Elfreda A’Court (b 16 February 1885) in 1904;
Florence E (b 1884);
Emily M (b 1885);
Selina Mary (b 1887);
Bertha Kate (b 1888);
Louisa E (b 1889);
Albert W (b 1890) married Florence E Pearce in 1914;
Ernest V (b 1891);
Rose A (b 1892);
George F (b 1893); and
Jesse E (b 1895).
Thomas Henry Toghill (4 March 1882-1950) married Ethel Elfreda A’Court (b 16 February 1885) in 1904. Children:
William (b 1906);
Alfred Cyril (b 1908);
Victor M (1916-1920);
John Thomas (19 December 1920-1988).
Emanuel (1836-), agricultural labourer, married Sarah Warren (1832-), glover. In 1871 their address was The Barton, Marnhull, and in 1881 they lived at Near Anthills Farm, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton. Children: James (1861-); Richard (1863-1928); Frederick (1867-); Anna M (1869), glover; Albertina (1871-); and Rose (1874-). All were born in Marnhull, Dorset.
In 1891 Richard (1863 Marnhull-1928 Brixworth), his wife Mary Eliza Crew (1865 Stalbridge-) and family lived at The Cottages, Wadswick, next door to Wadswick Farm where Thomas Wright farmed and then came the home of the Toghill family with their 11 children. In 1901 he was described as farm labourer and in 1911 as cowman. Children:
Ethel Elfreda (16 February 1885 Marnhull) worked as a domestic servant for Frederick and Charlotte Rowe at Wadswick Farm in 1901. She married Thomas Henry Toghill in 1904;
Bessie Beatrice (1886 Marnhull-1955) married Wilfred James Alford (1983-), carpenter of Atworth in 1909. In 1911 they lived at Shaw, Melksham with a one-year-old son, William Frederick;
Frederick A (1889 Hinton St Mary-);
Alfred Sidney (12 February 1889 Hinton St Mary but baptised 29 May 1892 in Box-1959) married Ethel Pearce (25 December 1889-1956) in 1912. He was a rubber worker in 1913 and enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1917, possibly wounded at one point. In 1939 he worked as a War Department labourer in Velley Hill, Gastard. Children: William George (b 1912 and baptised in Gastard), Doris C (25 August 1916) who married Mr Kelly, Dennis SR (1929);
Elsie Rosina (16 August 1892 Box-1980) who married Reginald S Pearce in 1939;
William John (21 February 1894-1895);
Victor Richard (1896 Box-2 September 1959 at Northchurch, Berkhamsted);
Reginald George (14 October 1898 Box-1975), who married Lottie May Honour (30 November 1897-1977) and moved to Buckingham as a general labourer in the brickworks there. He had children born somewhere near Thame and Bicester before moving to Chapel Lane, Buckingham and probably died there in 1975;
Hilda Alice Lilia (1900 Box-) married William M Riley in Brixworth in 1921; and
Evelyn May (8 August 1902 Wadswick) married William G Whiting at Brixworth 1923; and
Thomas Henry William (2 March 1904-1958) married Sarah Sheppard in September 1925 at Keynsham. Children include one in the Keynsham area and then five in Brixworth, Northamptonshire.
Toghill Family Tree
Charles (b 1850 Cold Ashton), farm servant, married Elizabeth (b 1852). In 1881 the lived at Wadswick village. Children:
Ellen Lou (b 1874);
Herbert Charles (b 1876);
Eliza B (b 1879);
Mary A (b 1881 at Wadswick);
Thomas Henry (4 March 1882-1950) married Ethel Elfreda A’Court (b 16 February 1885) in 1904;
Florence E (b 1884);
Emily M (b 1885);
Selina Mary (b 1887);
Bertha Kate (b 1888);
Louisa E (b 1889);
Albert W (b 1890) married Florence E Pearce in 1914;
Ernest V (b 1891);
Rose A (b 1892);
George F (b 1893); and
Jesse E (b 1895).
Thomas Henry Toghill (4 March 1882-1950) married Ethel Elfreda A’Court (b 16 February 1885) in 1904. Children:
William (b 1906);
Alfred Cyril (b 1908);
Victor M (1916-1920);
John Thomas (19 December 1920-1988).