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Eyles Family, Cordwainers Alan Payne Additional research and photos courtesy Ruby Eyles June 2018 Cordwainer is a most peculiar word, almost entirely lost in our language today. It derives from the Spanish word Cordova, the Andalusian village specialising in making shoes from the hard-wearing, soft leather of certain horse skins. Cordwaining was the cottage industry of shoe- or boot-making, the trade of three generations of the Eyles family in the late Victorian period. The trade began with finished leather as its starting point. In other words the leather was prepared elsewhere in a long manufacturing process using noxious lime- and curing-pits to clean, tan and colour animal hides. The Box industry involved the cutting and sewing of the leather into finished footwear. Right: The Eyles' family home at Lyndale, Devizes Road, since the 1960s (courtesy Ruby Eyles) |
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Georgian Shoemaking
Georgian cordwainers were different to cobblers, the former was a skilled trade making shoes, the latter repaired them. The Eyles family are variously referred to as shoe- or boot-makers, meaning that they manufactured everyday footwear rather than court shoes. The footwear they made was in two parts: the top section attached to an independent sole and heel. Most of the skill was in the finishing of the seal between the two pieces, to give a watertight, smooth joint which gave an attractive appearance.
This article really begins with John Eyles of South Wraxall who married Betty Hibbard in Box in 1773 and afterwards married again to Ann Shell in 1791.The first record of a cordwainer in the family was Ann's son John Eyles, who was born in 1796 in Box. As an adult John married a Box girl called Christiana and they lived in a small terraced house close to The Chequers pub and had ten children, of whom at least four were shoemakers. All of them appear to be self-employed, a residue of the Georgian cottage industry in Victorian times.
Georgian cordwainers were different to cobblers, the former was a skilled trade making shoes, the latter repaired them. The Eyles family are variously referred to as shoe- or boot-makers, meaning that they manufactured everyday footwear rather than court shoes. The footwear they made was in two parts: the top section attached to an independent sole and heel. Most of the skill was in the finishing of the seal between the two pieces, to give a watertight, smooth joint which gave an attractive appearance.
This article really begins with John Eyles of South Wraxall who married Betty Hibbard in Box in 1773 and afterwards married again to Ann Shell in 1791.The first record of a cordwainer in the family was Ann's son John Eyles, who was born in 1796 in Box. As an adult John married a Box girl called Christiana and they lived in a small terraced house close to The Chequers pub and had ten children, of whom at least four were shoemakers. All of them appear to be self-employed, a residue of the Georgian cottage industry in Victorian times.
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Children of John and Christian Eyles The production of hand-made shoes was a hierarchical trade, not only between cordwainers and cobblers. Several times in the census records, there are corrections in the entries crossing out shoemakers and inserting boot makers, a more skilled job involving the fitting of an additional calf section which had to be merged with the shoe using a V-shaped insert. |
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Two of the children, George and and his brother Thomas, never married and set up home with their Bristol cousin, Elizabeth Ball, as housekeeper at Bye Road, Box. We can surmise the location of this road because in 1861 their house was at the junction of The Market Place and Glovers Lane, probably next to their parents' house. Amazingly Thomas and Elizabeth were still together, living in the same house in 1911, where they property was described as next door to 1 Glovers Lane.
We get a picture of the sort of people that the Eyles children developed into from contemporary newspaper reports. The sixth son, Charles Eyles from Townsend, was an avid poultry breeder and won many prizes in local agricultural shows for his Hamburgh breed.[1] The interest was continued a generation later in 1900-01 by Edwin William Eyles, even after he moved into a new residence, Lyndale, Devizes Road.[2] Charles was not only interested in poultry, he also had ten bee hives at Townsend.[3] TW Eyles of Kingsdown was a stalwart of Kingsdown Golf Club, a director of a company promoting the building of a clubhouse and the club's representative at the funeral of George Wilbraham Northey in 1932.[4] He farmed 63 acres at Bannerdown in 1931.[5]
There was a limit to the number of shoemakers needed in Box and several of John and Christiana's children were obliged to take alternative work. Their second son, William, became a carpenter and the next boy, Edwin, worked for Vezey's candle factory as a tallow melter.
The quarry trade was an obvious route for several of the children to find employment. The fifth son, John (b 1830), depended on family support whilst he worked as a stone cutter in the quarry trade. This John married Mary from Colerne and they lived at the Liberal Club, Box (at one time part of Bear Inn Cottages), where they took in Mary's relative Henry Aust from Bristol. Stone cutting was a thankless job and very badly paid so they took in children, in 1871 Mary's relation Richard H Aust, a one-year old nursing child, and in 1881 a child called Henry Aust who worked as an errand boy aged eleven, possibly the same boy as a decade earlier. By 1901 the family had moved into property at Townsend, next door to brother Charles Eyles, and in 1911 John was a widower boarding with Thomas Aust and his family at The Mead, Devizes Road. Unusually he had joined a masonry union and, at the end of his life, was able to support himself with a pension from the union.
The Upright Family
John and Christiana's sixth son, Henry Eyles, became a stone mason and moved to Quarry Hill where he appears to have married a wealthy girl, Ann Upright, with whom he had nine children. Shoemaking was in the family's blood and their first son, Edwin William (b 1863), took an apprenticeship as a shoemaker with his uncle Charles and was listed as the tenant of Lyndale when the Northey family sold the Perpetual Rent Charge in 1912. Their second child, Charles Upright Eyles, was given the maternal surname as his middle name and this tradition continued through several later generations.
Two of Henry and Ann Eyles's children acquired property on the Devizes Road when this was developed in the late 1890s, one being Francis John Eyles. Francis was a notable Box resident, the verger at Box Church for thirty years after 1903.[6] He too worked in the stone trade and was a distinguished member of both the Society of Masons and the Loyal Northey Lodge of Oddfellows. Francis John Eyles died in 1932 leaving a widow, Rosanna Elizabeth, two sons and a daughter. Rosanna Elizabeth later bought a bungalow at 4 The Bassetts and lived there with her children, Alfred John and Althea Rose. Alfred was a bank cashier for Lloyds Bank and a Special Constable during the war. Althea was a schoolteacher at Upper Weston and Bathford Schools but her life contained a tragedy. On October 1931 she had married Roy Norris, a cabinet designer who came from Oldfield Park, Bath, and they moved to Sidcup, Surrey.[7] In August 1940 Roy lost his life in Croydon, where he had just taken up work for an electrical component manufacturer. He was killed along with three colleagues when a German bomb had a direct hit on the factory.[8]
We get a picture of the sort of people that the Eyles children developed into from contemporary newspaper reports. The sixth son, Charles Eyles from Townsend, was an avid poultry breeder and won many prizes in local agricultural shows for his Hamburgh breed.[1] The interest was continued a generation later in 1900-01 by Edwin William Eyles, even after he moved into a new residence, Lyndale, Devizes Road.[2] Charles was not only interested in poultry, he also had ten bee hives at Townsend.[3] TW Eyles of Kingsdown was a stalwart of Kingsdown Golf Club, a director of a company promoting the building of a clubhouse and the club's representative at the funeral of George Wilbraham Northey in 1932.[4] He farmed 63 acres at Bannerdown in 1931.[5]
There was a limit to the number of shoemakers needed in Box and several of John and Christiana's children were obliged to take alternative work. Their second son, William, became a carpenter and the next boy, Edwin, worked for Vezey's candle factory as a tallow melter.
The quarry trade was an obvious route for several of the children to find employment. The fifth son, John (b 1830), depended on family support whilst he worked as a stone cutter in the quarry trade. This John married Mary from Colerne and they lived at the Liberal Club, Box (at one time part of Bear Inn Cottages), where they took in Mary's relative Henry Aust from Bristol. Stone cutting was a thankless job and very badly paid so they took in children, in 1871 Mary's relation Richard H Aust, a one-year old nursing child, and in 1881 a child called Henry Aust who worked as an errand boy aged eleven, possibly the same boy as a decade earlier. By 1901 the family had moved into property at Townsend, next door to brother Charles Eyles, and in 1911 John was a widower boarding with Thomas Aust and his family at The Mead, Devizes Road. Unusually he had joined a masonry union and, at the end of his life, was able to support himself with a pension from the union.
The Upright Family
John and Christiana's sixth son, Henry Eyles, became a stone mason and moved to Quarry Hill where he appears to have married a wealthy girl, Ann Upright, with whom he had nine children. Shoemaking was in the family's blood and their first son, Edwin William (b 1863), took an apprenticeship as a shoemaker with his uncle Charles and was listed as the tenant of Lyndale when the Northey family sold the Perpetual Rent Charge in 1912. Their second child, Charles Upright Eyles, was given the maternal surname as his middle name and this tradition continued through several later generations.
Two of Henry and Ann Eyles's children acquired property on the Devizes Road when this was developed in the late 1890s, one being Francis John Eyles. Francis was a notable Box resident, the verger at Box Church for thirty years after 1903.[6] He too worked in the stone trade and was a distinguished member of both the Society of Masons and the Loyal Northey Lodge of Oddfellows. Francis John Eyles died in 1932 leaving a widow, Rosanna Elizabeth, two sons and a daughter. Rosanna Elizabeth later bought a bungalow at 4 The Bassetts and lived there with her children, Alfred John and Althea Rose. Alfred was a bank cashier for Lloyds Bank and a Special Constable during the war. Althea was a schoolteacher at Upper Weston and Bathford Schools but her life contained a tragedy. On October 1931 she had married Roy Norris, a cabinet designer who came from Oldfield Park, Bath, and they moved to Sidcup, Surrey.[7] In August 1940 Roy lost his life in Croydon, where he had just taken up work for an electrical component manufacturer. He was killed along with three colleagues when a German bomb had a direct hit on the factory.[8]
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Above: Lyndale in the years when Box won several prizes for Village in Bloom in the late 1980s and early 1990s
A Curious Coincidence
Cordwaining and stone quarrying were both becoming obsolete trades by the mid-1900s. Quarry stone had been exhausted and local footwear manufacturing was superseded by factory machinery, even in very rural Box village. Mass production of footwear had been introduced a century earlier by none other than Mr Brunel. It wasn't Isambard Kingdom Brunel but his father Marc,
a famous engineer and inventor in his own right, who developed a machine for the mass production of army boots in the 1810s.
It was a curious coincidence that Marc's invention of machinery to produce factory-made boots later brought the end of the local handmade industry in the village, whilst Isambard's discovery of building stone in Box Tunnel had introduced a whole new industry here.
Edwin, Percy and Graham at Lyndale
The oldest of Henry and Ann Upright's children was Edwin William, the last boot maker in Box. By 1911 cheaper, factory-made products reduced the profitability of the trade and Edwin William became a dealer, buying and selling products manufactured elsewhere. He had moved into Lyndale, Devizes Road, possibly after the property was built in 1896. Edwin William married Amelia Fear and they had one child, Percival Henry. The end of hand-made shoes was evident and Percy took up an engineering apprenticeship, for many years working as a mechanic for the Bath Electric Tramways.
Percy's sudden death aged 43 in 1937 shocked local people who described him as much esteemed by all who knew him.[9] Many important Box people attended the funeral, his parents Edwin William and Amelia (who by then had moved out of Lyndale to Quarry Hill), his sisters-in-law Daisy and Mrs Florence Perren (who played the organ) and a number of his uncles and cousins. Percy is buried in the family plot at Box Cemetery.
Percy and Constance had three children, Graham Ronald, Patrick John and Audrey Elizabeth. Audrey was a very good looking young woman, coming second in a beauty competition organised for the Box Conservative Party Fete and judged by radio and TV star Hubert Jack Watson in 1951.[10] Jack Watson was probably best-known for playing Petty Officer Bill Gregory who courted Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street in the 1960s and also appeared in over fifty British films.[11]
Graham was the last of the Eyles blood line to live in Box. His father had died when he was just ten and his mother when he was serving in the Second World War at Tonyrefail, South Wales, working as a Bevin Boy to keep the coal mines operating. He hadn't known about his mother's death until he returned home to his teenage brother and sister. Graham's life long interest was
bell-ringing which he learnt whilst serving in the war. It was also the reason he met his wife Ruby.
Graham worked as an electrician at Westinghouse, Chippenham, for many years. And in the North Wiltshire area he was well-known as a keen member of the Rifle Club and long-time bell ringer and tower captain at St John the Baptist, Colerne.
Cordwaining and stone quarrying were both becoming obsolete trades by the mid-1900s. Quarry stone had been exhausted and local footwear manufacturing was superseded by factory machinery, even in very rural Box village. Mass production of footwear had been introduced a century earlier by none other than Mr Brunel. It wasn't Isambard Kingdom Brunel but his father Marc,
a famous engineer and inventor in his own right, who developed a machine for the mass production of army boots in the 1810s.
It was a curious coincidence that Marc's invention of machinery to produce factory-made boots later brought the end of the local handmade industry in the village, whilst Isambard's discovery of building stone in Box Tunnel had introduced a whole new industry here.
Edwin, Percy and Graham at Lyndale
The oldest of Henry and Ann Upright's children was Edwin William, the last boot maker in Box. By 1911 cheaper, factory-made products reduced the profitability of the trade and Edwin William became a dealer, buying and selling products manufactured elsewhere. He had moved into Lyndale, Devizes Road, possibly after the property was built in 1896. Edwin William married Amelia Fear and they had one child, Percival Henry. The end of hand-made shoes was evident and Percy took up an engineering apprenticeship, for many years working as a mechanic for the Bath Electric Tramways.
Percy's sudden death aged 43 in 1937 shocked local people who described him as much esteemed by all who knew him.[9] Many important Box people attended the funeral, his parents Edwin William and Amelia (who by then had moved out of Lyndale to Quarry Hill), his sisters-in-law Daisy and Mrs Florence Perren (who played the organ) and a number of his uncles and cousins. Percy is buried in the family plot at Box Cemetery.
Percy and Constance had three children, Graham Ronald, Patrick John and Audrey Elizabeth. Audrey was a very good looking young woman, coming second in a beauty competition organised for the Box Conservative Party Fete and judged by radio and TV star Hubert Jack Watson in 1951.[10] Jack Watson was probably best-known for playing Petty Officer Bill Gregory who courted Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street in the 1960s and also appeared in over fifty British films.[11]
Graham was the last of the Eyles blood line to live in Box. His father had died when he was just ten and his mother when he was serving in the Second World War at Tonyrefail, South Wales, working as a Bevin Boy to keep the coal mines operating. He hadn't known about his mother's death until he returned home to his teenage brother and sister. Graham's life long interest was
bell-ringing which he learnt whilst serving in the war. It was also the reason he met his wife Ruby.
Graham worked as an electrician at Westinghouse, Chippenham, for many years. And in the North Wiltshire area he was well-known as a keen member of the Rifle Club and long-time bell ringer and tower captain at St John the Baptist, Colerne.
The Eyles family were once extensive in Box with marriages to many local people. Graham's great aunts included Fanny and Eva Sawyer at Pye Corner, and Florence Perren at Valens Terrace. Those names are now missing from the list of village residents.
The trade of hand-made shoemaking has gone for ever from Box and, with occasional exceptions, from our country altogether.
The trade of hand-made shoemaking has gone for ever from Box and, with occasional exceptions, from our country altogether.
Eyles Family Tree
John Eyles of South Wraxall married twice: first Betty Hibbard in 1773. Children: Harriett (b 13 March 1774); Jane (b 9 November 1777); Ann (b 20 August 1780)
Second marriage to Ann Shell in 1791. Children include John (1795 - 1876).
John (1795 - 1876), cordwainer, married Christian (1796 - 1879). They were recorded as living in Box Village from 1841 to 1861 and at Townsend Lane in 1871, possibly at the foot of the Market Place next to the Chequers. Children:
1. George (13 December 1819 - 1901), cordwainer;
2. William (b 26 December 1821), carpenter journeyman;
3. Edwin (6 March 1824 - 1855) tallow chandler or tallow melter, married Jane (b 1824 in Devon);
4. Ann (b 15 January 1826);
5. Thomas (b 5 May 1828), boot and shoe maker;
6. John (1830 - 1911);
7. Elizabeth (b 7 October 1832);
8. Henry (27 March 1835 - 1890), stone mason who married Ann Upright;
9. Charles (16 March 1837 - 1907), self employed shoemaker or boot maker, married Elizabeth (b 1865) who was 26 years younger than him. They lived at Townsend in 1891 and Charles remained there after the death of his wife;
10. Jane (b 20 September 1840), who worked as a child as shoe binder, later becoming a schoolmistress.
Henry (27 March 1835 - 1890) was a stone mason who married Ann Upright (b 1837 at Morden, Surrey d 1892) and they lived at Quarry Hill. Children:
a. Edwin William (1862 - 1951), shoemaker or boot maker who married Amelia Fear;
b. Charles Upright (15 June 1864 - 1945), stone mason, who married first Elizabeth Annie (b 1865 at Somerford Keynes, d 1947). They lived at Quarry Hill and had three children Gertrude Annie (1895 - 1950); Walter Upright (1897 - 1927); William George
(b 1899). In 1911 he was living at 1 Bath Road, after The School House, with his second wife Eliza (b 15 February 1865). Later they moved to 23 The Bassetts. Walter Upright Eyles served in the First World War. He joined up in 1916 aged 18 when he was working as a railway signalman and, after training, left for France to serve as a sapper in the Royal Engineers. He obviously had considerable ability and was promoted to the skilled role of telegraph operator with the 61st Divisional Signal Corps, staying in France for several years after the armistice.
c. Catherine Ann (b 27 February 1867);
d. Arthur Henry (20 March 1869 - 1946), banker mason, who married Rose Hannah (b 1866 at Purton, d 1940). They lived at Myrtle Grove, Bath Road in 1901 and had children Henry Reginald (b 1898); Hilda Rose (b 1899) who married OW Shargood; and Florence Louise (b 1903) who married Edwin H Hayward of Box Hill in 1936;
e. Thomas (b 2 August 1871), stone mason, who married Minnie (b 1873) and lived at 3 Valens Terrace. Children Robert Dawson (b 1902), and Wilfred James (b 1905);
f. Francis John (10 December 1875 - 1 December 1932), stone mason, who married Rosanna Elizabeth (b 21 December 1870).
In 1901 they lived at Elmslea, Devizes Road. Children: Alfred John (b 21 July 1901), Richard Frank (b 1906) and Althea Rose
(b 1908) who married Roy Norris;
g. Elizabeth Louise (10 December 1877 - 1963), who married Charles Tolley;
h. Ada Jane (15 May 1880 - 1884); and
i. Constance Nellie (b 13 October 1883).
Edwin William (1862 - 1951) married Amelia Fear (b 1868 at Ashwick, Somerset, d 1942). In 1901 they lived at Lyndale, Devizes Road. Child: Percival Henry (1894 - 1937) who married Constance Kate.
Percival Henry (1894 - 1937) was an engineer who married Constance Kate (7 May 1897 - 1946). Children:
Graham Ronald (1926 - 2017) who married Ruby Gibbons;
Patrick John (died as a baby);
Audrey Elizabeth.
John Eyles of South Wraxall married twice: first Betty Hibbard in 1773. Children: Harriett (b 13 March 1774); Jane (b 9 November 1777); Ann (b 20 August 1780)
Second marriage to Ann Shell in 1791. Children include John (1795 - 1876).
John (1795 - 1876), cordwainer, married Christian (1796 - 1879). They were recorded as living in Box Village from 1841 to 1861 and at Townsend Lane in 1871, possibly at the foot of the Market Place next to the Chequers. Children:
1. George (13 December 1819 - 1901), cordwainer;
2. William (b 26 December 1821), carpenter journeyman;
3. Edwin (6 March 1824 - 1855) tallow chandler or tallow melter, married Jane (b 1824 in Devon);
4. Ann (b 15 January 1826);
5. Thomas (b 5 May 1828), boot and shoe maker;
6. John (1830 - 1911);
7. Elizabeth (b 7 October 1832);
8. Henry (27 March 1835 - 1890), stone mason who married Ann Upright;
9. Charles (16 March 1837 - 1907), self employed shoemaker or boot maker, married Elizabeth (b 1865) who was 26 years younger than him. They lived at Townsend in 1891 and Charles remained there after the death of his wife;
10. Jane (b 20 September 1840), who worked as a child as shoe binder, later becoming a schoolmistress.
Henry (27 March 1835 - 1890) was a stone mason who married Ann Upright (b 1837 at Morden, Surrey d 1892) and they lived at Quarry Hill. Children:
a. Edwin William (1862 - 1951), shoemaker or boot maker who married Amelia Fear;
b. Charles Upright (15 June 1864 - 1945), stone mason, who married first Elizabeth Annie (b 1865 at Somerford Keynes, d 1947). They lived at Quarry Hill and had three children Gertrude Annie (1895 - 1950); Walter Upright (1897 - 1927); William George
(b 1899). In 1911 he was living at 1 Bath Road, after The School House, with his second wife Eliza (b 15 February 1865). Later they moved to 23 The Bassetts. Walter Upright Eyles served in the First World War. He joined up in 1916 aged 18 when he was working as a railway signalman and, after training, left for France to serve as a sapper in the Royal Engineers. He obviously had considerable ability and was promoted to the skilled role of telegraph operator with the 61st Divisional Signal Corps, staying in France for several years after the armistice.
c. Catherine Ann (b 27 February 1867);
d. Arthur Henry (20 March 1869 - 1946), banker mason, who married Rose Hannah (b 1866 at Purton, d 1940). They lived at Myrtle Grove, Bath Road in 1901 and had children Henry Reginald (b 1898); Hilda Rose (b 1899) who married OW Shargood; and Florence Louise (b 1903) who married Edwin H Hayward of Box Hill in 1936;
e. Thomas (b 2 August 1871), stone mason, who married Minnie (b 1873) and lived at 3 Valens Terrace. Children Robert Dawson (b 1902), and Wilfred James (b 1905);
f. Francis John (10 December 1875 - 1 December 1932), stone mason, who married Rosanna Elizabeth (b 21 December 1870).
In 1901 they lived at Elmslea, Devizes Road. Children: Alfred John (b 21 July 1901), Richard Frank (b 1906) and Althea Rose
(b 1908) who married Roy Norris;
g. Elizabeth Louise (10 December 1877 - 1963), who married Charles Tolley;
h. Ada Jane (15 May 1880 - 1884); and
i. Constance Nellie (b 13 October 1883).
Edwin William (1862 - 1951) married Amelia Fear (b 1868 at Ashwick, Somerset, d 1942). In 1901 they lived at Lyndale, Devizes Road. Child: Percival Henry (1894 - 1937) who married Constance Kate.
Percival Henry (1894 - 1937) was an engineer who married Constance Kate (7 May 1897 - 1946). Children:
Graham Ronald (1926 - 2017) who married Ruby Gibbons;
Patrick John (died as a baby);
Audrey Elizabeth.
References
[1] The Bath Chronicle, 6 December 1877 and Trowbridge and North Wilts Advertiser, 24 January 1880
[2] The Western Daily Press, 30 November 1900 and The Bath Chronicle, 5 December 1901
[3] The Wiltshire Times, 31 August 1895
[4] The Bath Chronicle, 16 June 1923 and The Wiltshire Times, 1 October 1932
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 18 April 1931
[6] The Wiltshire Times, 10 December 1932
[7] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 24 October 1931
[8] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 24 August 1940
[9] The Wiltshire Times, 6 February 1937
[10] The Wiltshire Times, 28 July 1951
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jul/09/guardianobituaries3
[1] The Bath Chronicle, 6 December 1877 and Trowbridge and North Wilts Advertiser, 24 January 1880
[2] The Western Daily Press, 30 November 1900 and The Bath Chronicle, 5 December 1901
[3] The Wiltshire Times, 31 August 1895
[4] The Bath Chronicle, 16 June 1923 and The Wiltshire Times, 1 October 1932
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 18 April 1931
[6] The Wiltshire Times, 10 December 1932
[7] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 24 October 1931
[8] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 24 August 1940
[9] The Wiltshire Times, 6 February 1937
[10] The Wiltshire Times, 28 July 1951
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jul/09/guardianobituaries3