Meppershall Manor, occupants or owners

[floatingboater]

I've been searching for the names of owners, and or occupiers of Meppershall Manor between about 1700 -1740ish. I understand Richard Stringer sold it to Richard Emery c.1651 then he left it to his daughters Sarah and Elizabeth around 1688. It then passed to their aunt Frances Watson about 1697 and there the trail goes cold. I haven't been able to establish the link between Frances Watson and the Emery family but i suppose Frances may have been Richards sister. According to British history online the next known owners are Charlotte and Thomas Fullwood in 1744 and i think Charlotte was related to the Watson family. They came to Meppershall from Bearley Warwickshire where in 1742 they had a son who they named George Watson Fullwood christened in Snitterfield, sadly he died within 2 years.
Can anyone shed any more light on this conundrum please?

[stevew101]

Have you thought of contacting Beds Council.

They have a lot of information about the Manor here and may well have more in their records.

http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/Archive

Steve

[bedfordshire boy]

VCH Bedfordshire states that in 1744 the manor was sold to Bartlett Mason by Thomas and Charlotte Fulwood AND Henry and Elizabeth Birrell. It speculates that Elizabeth and Charlotte were daughters of Frances Watson.

BARS holds a will of Frances Watson, widow, of Ampthill ref 1701/47 which if it's the same Frances might shed light on the relationship with Charlotte and Elizabeth.

A Frances Emery, daughter of Richard Emery was baptised at Ampthill on 8 Jan 1668, which might be complete coincidence, but that would make her sister of Sarah and Elizabeth Emery spinster daughters of Richard which isn't possible.


David


It's all coming back to me now! Just found your thread of 5 years ago at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=518683.0, in which JP and I got heavily involved. I enjoyed that one!

What strikes me as odd is that VCH says Meppershall Manor was sold by the Fulwoods and Birrells in 1744-5 yet the Fulwoods don't appear to have moved from Warwicks to Meppersall until around that time.  But VCH is a bit ambiguous about the manor as it also says that in 1805 the Poynter family had owned it for 33 years having purchased it from the Fulwoods. The Fulwoods can't have sold it twice, in 1744 and again in 1772!

[floatingboater]

Stevew; thanks for the link, unfortunately i couldn't get it to work. i have searched BLARS with little or no results on this particular topic, i will contact them direct to see what they can suggest, they have helped me in the past.


David, good to make your acquaintance again, as you see i'm still struggling with the Fullwoods.
I found another snippet on http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol3/pp268-275#p47 
In 1691–2 Elizabeth Emery, in performance of the will of her sister, Sarah Emery, conveyed to trustees a messuage and certain lands in the parish of Wilshamstead, now a farm containing 17 a., let at £28 a year, upon trust to apply one moiety of the income for educational purposes in Ampthill and the other moiety for the like purposes in the parish of Meppershall.

The administration of the charity is regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, dated 5 July 1901.

In 1740 the Rev. George Wateson by deed gave an annuity of £5, issuing out of land in Foundry Lane, for teaching children to read and instruction in the catechism. The annuity has been redeemed by the transfer to the official trustees of £166 13s. 4d. India 3 per cent. stock, who also hold £28 13s. 2½ per cent. annuities, representing the redemption of a charge of 1s. a year on the glebe land.

By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, 6 May 1892, the income is applied towards the expenses of the Sunday school and school prizes.

The Feoffee or Charity Estate, comprised in certain ancient deeds, was in 1819 the subject of proceedings in Chancery, and in the result the charity estates were by deed, dated 16 April 1822, conveyed to trustees upon trust for the use and benefit of industrious poor of Ampthill and Maulden, subject to the regulations respecting the application and management settled by the court and annexed by way of schedule to the deed.

The reference to George Wateson (Watson maybe), 1740, is interesting seeing as Thomas & Charlotte Fullwood gave that name to their first son in 1742. I'm wondering if George Wateson is Frances Watsons son but i haven't found anything to back that up.
Also I can't find Charlottes marriage to confirm her maiden name although (unreliable) trees on familysearch say her name was Holden married in Snitterfcield 15th Nov. 1738. That year is missing from parish records as far as i can trace.

This may be coincidence but 3rd April 1673 Rebecca Watson married Edward Houlden in Ampthill, parents named John & Frances Watson, i can't link them yet.

As you say David, Richard Emery christened Frances in 1668 in Ampthill but there are 2 burials for Richards name in Meppershall 28th Jan 1683 and 9th Sept 1686 so is it coincidence or is one of them Frances' dad?

[bedfordshire boy]

I found this a couple of days ago when searching BLARS against Emery, Richard (the comma is important). It was hit 44 out of 73.

Reference   O/79

Final Concord
Date Free Text   Trinity 1648
Scope and Content   
William Farrer, gentleman                                             Plaintiff
Thomas Barber, gentleman and wife Elizabeth
Richard Emery, gentleman and wife Elizabeth                 Demandants

- messuage; garden; orchard; 120 acres arable; 10 acres meadow; 40 acres pasture; 2 acres wood in Meppershall, Polehanger and Campton

I wonder if these Emerys were related to the Potton family, where there were also Richards, with whom I'm connected.

David

[bedfordshire boy]

This may be coincidence but 3rd April 1673 Rebecca Watson married Edward Houlden in Ampthill, parents named John & Frances Watson, i can't link them yet.

FreeReg have transcribed his name as MOULDEN. He was rector of Ampthill.

They had children in Ampthill all transcribed as Holdon or variations.

[bedfordshire boy]

I think I may have cracked the Emery - Watson conundrum, but a lot more more work needs to be done to prove it. It looks as though Richard Emery married Elizabeth Archer c1647. Elizabeth Archer's sister, Frances Archer, married John Watson c1653. Both families were riddled with clergymen. Elizabeth and Frances were daughters of the Rev Timothy Archer and his wife Rebecca Beedles who married in Cambs in 1621.

So VCH was right when it said Meppershall Manor passed to Frances Watson, aunt of Sarah and Elizabeth Emery in 1698. But the link is via the female sides of the two families, not the Emery name.

I would order Frances' will from BARS to see if Charlotte and Elizabeth are named in it.


David

George Watson was John and Frances' son born 1654 at Ampthill.

[floatingboater]

David, your tip about the comma seems to have worked. i just searched Watson, Frances and it turned up something that i haven't yet had time to study.
    Reference
    AU10/1/6
    Title
    Correspondence between Andrew Underwood and Elizabeth Milburn on the latter's ancestors including George Wateson, many individuals and discussed, but the principal subjects include:
    - Timothy Archer, Rector of Meppershall and his daughter Frances (later married John Watson);
    - Frances (d.1701) and John (d.c.1697) Watson and John's father Richard, "a popish recusant" of Little Park, Ampthill (d.c.1643); John left plate in his will to Ampthill church; children of John and Frances were George [1653-1742], Charles [bap.1654], Rebecca [bap.1656], Henry [bap.1660] and Mary [d.1662]
    - Edward Holden, Rector of Ampthill 1671-1680, later of Weston on Trent [Derbyshire], husband of Rebecca (daughter of John and Frances Watson);
    - Thomas Archer, Rector of Houghton Conquest and author of a "gossipy commonplace book"
    Date free text
    2002-2003
    Production date
    From: 1643   To: 2003
    Level of description
    item

    Persons/institution keyword
    Underwood, Andrew Grimmer,
    Milburn, Elizabeth,
    Wateson, George,
    Archer, Timothy,
    Archer, Frances,
    Watson, Frances,
    Watson, John,
    Watson, Richard,
    Watson, Charles,
    Watson, Rebecca,
    Watson, Henry,
    Watson, Mary,
    Holden, Edward,
    Holden, Rebecca,
    Archer, Thomas
    Keywords
    clergy names index,  church plate,  Roman Catholic individuals, AMPTHILL, MEPPERSHALL, HOUGHTON CONQUEST, Weston upon Trent,  Ampthill Little Park

Hierarchy browser

    Andrew Underwood Collection
    fonds | AU
        Biographical
        sub-fonds | AU10
            Rev.George Wateson (1653-1742)
            series | AU10/1
                Correspondence between Andrew Underwood and Elizabeth Milburn on the latter's ancestors including Ge...
                item | AU10/1/6
                2002-2003

[floatingboater]

Sorry David we appear to have crossed posting. Looks like you got there before me.