Oldbury
under the Dudley family
After
the destruction of Hales Owen Abbey in 1538, Henry VII gave the
Manor of Hales Owen, which included Oldbury, Langley and Warley,
to Sir John Dudley the next year. Sir John was a leading member
of the court, and this made the manor subject to affairs of state
in a way not seen since the 12th century.
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Sir
John Dudley, Lord of Hales Manor
|
Sir
John had already sold much of his lands in the south of England,
to concentrate on his midland estates, particularly that of John
Sutton, 3rd Lord Dudley at Dudley Castle. Under Henry VIII, he rose
to become Lord Admiral, a Knight of the Garter and a Privy Councillor,
and, therefore, one of the most influential men in the land. He
continued to be powerful during the reign of Henry's son, the young,
sickly Edward VI, and in 1551 granted himself the title Duke of
Northumberland.
Just
before is death in 1553, Edward VI changed the succession to the
throne to exclude his half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, whom he
detested, in favour of Lady Jane Grey, third in line to the crown.
One of Northumberland's younger sons, Guilford Dudley, was married
to Lady Jane, and so Northumberland supported the change, and may
well have instigated or encouraged it. Jane was proclaimed Queen
on 10th July 1553, but Mary entered London nine days later to popular
support, and claimed the throne. Lady Jane Grey, Sir John Dudley,
and Guilford Dudley were arrested and executed
later that year. The rest of John's sons were arrested and imprisoned
in the tower, but later pardoned and released. Hales Owen Manor
was confiscated by the crown with the rest of John Dudley's lands,
but after a successful petition by his widow,
Jane, the manor was returned to her.
One
of the sons released from the Tower in October 1554 and pardoned
in 1555 was Robert Dudley, his fifth son. He had been a friend and
confidant, and possibly a lover, of Princess Elizabeth. When she
came to the throne in 1558, his fortunes improved and he was given,
amongst other favours, Kenilworth Castle and the title Earl of Leicester.
The
establishment of Oldbury Manor
Jane
Dudley died in 1555, not long after Hales Owen Manor was returned
to her, and Hales Owen passed from her to Robert Dudley. In 1557,
Robert Dudley sold all of Hales Owen Manor, apart from Oldbury,
Langley and 'Walloxhall', to Thomas Blount and George Tuckey for
£3000.
Robert
Dudley settled Oldbury, Langley and 'Walloxhall' on himself and
his wife Amy, with reversion to her right heirs. Thus, these lands
were separated from Hale Owen Manor, and marked the establishment
of Oldbury Manor as a separate entity. Blount and Tuckey also acquired
Warley Wigorn, and in 1560 sold them all on to Sir John Lyttleton.
Both Warley Salop and Warley Wigorn became part of the Lyttleton
estate.
|
Sir
Robert Dudley, first Lord of Oldbury Manor |
Robert
Dudley had married Amy Robsart, the daughter and heiress
of the Norfolk land owner Sir John Robsart, in June 1550, when they
were both in their late teens. It was a lavish wedding at Sheen
attended by the King himself, the young Edward VI. However, the
marriage proved childless, and Robert's political activities and
increasing involvement at Queen Elizabeth's court after 1558, meant
that they were leading separate lives by 1560.
Amy
became unhappy,and is believed to have been suffering from a painful
chest ailment, and depressed by rumours of her husband's affair
with the Queen. In September she was living at Cumnor Manor in Berkshire,
owned by friends of her husband. 'Our Lady's Fair' was held on Sunday
8th September at nearby Abingdon, and she insisted that all the
servants should go to the fair, leaving her alone in the house.
When they returned, they found Amy lying at the foot of a staircase
with a broken neck. A verdict of 'mischance' was recorded, but it
has never been conclusively established whether her death was really
an accident, a murder or a suicide.
By
these events, Oldbury manor passed in 1560 from the Dudley family
to Amy's heir, Arthur Robsart, a son of Sir John Robsart
but of doubtful legitimacy. A little later, Arthur Robsart had to
take out a Chancery suit against Sir John Lyttleton and George Tuckey
to protect his title to the Oldbury lands, and he increased his
local land holding by buying further lands at West Bromwich from
Sir William Skeffington in 1597.
In
1573 Arthur Robsart had manorial rights, and apparently settled
the manor on his son Robert [1]. However,
a document of 1607 [2] describes Robert
Robsart as the 'son of the Lord of the manor': "… William Tuncky,
a customary tenant, while sinking a draft well of great depth was
desired by one Robert Robserte, son of the Lord of the manor, to
sink the well deeper to see if there were any coals to be found.
Other tenants at the same place had dug and found coals". Robert
predeceased his father, however, and Oldbury manor passed to his
son George Robsart.
In
1610 George decided to profit from his inheritance and sold the
reversion of the manor to William Turton. He then thought
better of the deal, and managed to buy back most of the manor, although
William Turton retained some of the buildings. The manor was again
owned by the Robsart family, in the shape of George, his wife Anne
and his son Arthur.
The
Lyttleton papers include a 1630 lease [3]
from Sir Thomas Lyttleton of Frankley to Edward Banburye
of Blakeley Hall of tithe corn from Oldbury and Langley Walloxhall.
This is unlikely to be corn grown on Blakeley Hall itself since
the Lyttletons would have no interest in it. However, it may refer
to a holding by Lyttleton in the Langley area, part of which was
in Warley Wigorn, and therefore sold to him by Blount and Tuckey.
Edward Banburye was probably a tenant of the Robsarts.
The
Robsarts did not keep the manor long and sold it on again. The exact
circumstances of the sale are not clear, but 'The Victoria County
History for Worcestershire' states that Arthur Robsart and William
Turton, son of the previous purchaser, sold the manor to Charles
Cornwallis in 1633, citing a 'Feet of Fines' of that date [4].
Charles
Cornwallis came from Broom Hall in Suffolk, but he already had land
interests in the area. In 1604, Sir Charles Cornwallis, his grandfather,
had bought the manor of Harborne and Smethwick from Lord Dudley.
This was also part of the Halesowen Abbey lands at the dissolution
[5]. After a long and illustrious diplomatic
career, Sir Charles made some injudicious remarks about the Scots,
and was imprisoned in the Tower. On his release he came to live
at Harborne, and he died there in 1629. Harborne and Smethwick Manor
descended to his grandson Charles, but he sold it to Thomas Foley
in 1661.
Resident
Lords of the Manor
Blakeley
Hall had been a grange of Halesowen Abbey, and probably being
the largest house in Oldbury, had become the manor house. Charles
Cornwallis was married to Elizabeth, a member of the Colmore family
of Birmingham, and they are reported to have had their children
christened at Oldbury Chapel [6]. This
suggests that they were living at Blakeley Hall. The will of Elizabeth's
father, Edward Colmore [7] seems confirms
this in these extracts:
"In
the name of God Amen the fourteenth daie of July in the yere of
our Lord God one thousand six hundred and fortie of Edward Colmore
of Blakely Hall in Oldbury in the Countie of Salop gent … And as
concerning my lands tenements and worldly goods first my will and
bequest is, And I give unto Oldbury in the Countie of Salopp where
I now dwell one croft of land with the appurtenances being in Arly
in the countie of [Warwick] for …. the mainteynance of a minister
there for ever.
"Item
- I give unto Katherine Cornwalleys my granchilde and Goddaughter
that Lease of myne that I have duringe the life of Mr [or Mrs] Robsart
issuing out of the manor of Oldbury beinge fifteene pounds per Annum.
"Item
- I give to the poore of Oldbury five pounds in money"
Clearly,
in 1640 Edward Colmore was living there with Charles and Elizabeth.
It would appear that members of the Robsart family were still living
in Oldbury manor, apparently now tenants at £15 per annum rent.
Edward Colmore left generous amounts for his servants, including
twenty shillings to a Katherine Dudley. The bulk of his estate went
to Charles Cornwallis, his "loving sonne in lawe", with forty
shillings for his daughter Elizabeth Cornwallis "to buy a ringe".
According
to Nash, Charles Cornwallis held a court leet and court baron at
Blakeley Hall on 29 April 1648. As well as selling off Smethwick
Manor, he also sold off some properties in Oldbury manor in 1661,
at a time when he was getting on in years and putting his affairs
into order.
Charles
and Elizabeth had no sons, but two daughters, Anne and Frances,
starting a succession of descent for the manor down the female line.
Around 1663 he conveyed to Anne and Francis, as coheirs, the manor
of Oldbury, his lands there and the tythe of corn. Anne was already
married to Anthony Mingey of Norwich and immediately her
half of the estate was settled on him. In 1668 Frances married William
Fetherston of Coventry, whose father John Fetherston had started
to develop Packwood House in Warwickshire. Around 1668 William Fetherston
purchased Anthony Mingey's moiety for £950 [8],
and, thus, the whole manor passed to the Fetherston family. They
and their successors did not live permanently at Blakeley Hall,
and may have rented it out or used it as an occasional residence.
The days of resident Lords of the Manors had ended!
|
Oldbury
Manor Court Roll of 1668 [Sandwell Community
History and Archives M66/1]
|
A
Latin court roll from 1668, carrying the manor seal survives [9],
recording the transfer of copyhold of six sellions of land in 'Pynfold
Crofte' from Thomas and Ellinor Darby to Elizabeth Parrish, widow,
and her heirs, "virgam … consuedo manorij" [by the rod according
to the custom of the manor]. Possession of the copyhold document
and a small wooden rod relating to the property was taken as proof
of copyhold. When land was transferred, the 'rod' was surrendered
by the old tenant to the court, and passed to the new. The Lords
of the Manor received a payment for the transfer. The Court Baron
was held on 8th August in the name of Anthony Mingey and his wife
Anne and Frances Cornewallis, so it predates the marriage of Frances
and the transfer of full ownership to William Fetherston.
The
Lord and Lady of the manor would rarely, if ever, attend the court,
leaving the business to their steward, John Harrison, who signed
the document, Isaac Hypkiss their bailiff, and Thomas Jorden. The
1662 hearth tax returns include a 'Thomas Darby', paying for three
hearths, and an 'Isaac Hypkiss' paying for one. A 'Thomas Jordan,
nayler' contributed 1/6 to the voluntary lay subsidy of 1661, and
may have been a witness to the proceedings at the court. The bailiff
of the manor probably lived in Oldbury, at a house in the centre
of the town on a site opposite that of the later 'The Big House'.
This was known as 'The Old Manor House' [10]
and was surrounded by pleasure grounds and orchards. It survived
until 1904, by which time it was being used as a common lodging-house
and in a very dilapidated state.
The
full name of the manor given on the 1668 document is 'Oldbury Walloxall
al Langley Walloxall al Langley e Walloxall', which translates
as 'Oldbury Walloxall otherwise Langley Walloxall otherwise
Langley and Walloxall', as found on later rolls in English [11].
This perpetuates the mystery surrounding the location of the medieval
settlement of Walloxhall, but adds nothing to solving it!
Female
descent of the manor
William
Fetherston was a generous man and his nephew Thomas erected a monument
at Studley, Warwickshire, to commemorate his gift of money for twelve
loaves of bread for the poor of Studley each Sunday. The Fetherston
family developed another connection to the Oldbury area when William's
sister Mary married John Grove of Rowley in 1666. However, Charles
Cornwallis's failure to provide a male heir was continued in subsequent
generations, with the lordship of the manor passing through daughters
and different family names.
Frances
and William Fetherston left two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne,
as co-heiresses, both christened at Holy Trinity, Coventry, the
city where they were living. According to Burke, their only son,
William, had died in 1704, and a third daughter, Frances, did not
inherit and, presumably, had also died early. Elizabeth was born
in 1675, married into the Paston family, and had no children. After
her death, her portion of the estate reverted to her sister's heirs.
Anne
married William Addington of Lincoln's Inn Fields, Middlesex,
and had the two daughters, Frances and Anne. On 7th April
1713, four years before his death, William Fetherston of Warwick
Borough, transferred the Manor and Lordship [12]
"… with all the rents, services, Courts Leet, Courts Baron, view
of Frankpledge, wasts, waste grounds, goods of felons, fugitives
and outlawes, tithes and tenths of corne, grain and hay …" to
William Addington. There were still enough manorial rights at this
time for the manor to produce a good profit for its Lords and Ladies!
The
main inheritance was 'Blackley Hall' with its barn, stable buildings,
garden, orchard, appurtenances, and a string of fields: Barne Croft,
Moore Rough, Blackley, Grove Close, the Pool Tayle Close, Hill Leasow,
Lower Blackley and Great Meadow. Many of the fields can be identified
on the Tithe Map 130 years later. With it went the '… water Corne
Mills, commonly called Oldbury Mills, and the Mill Pool…' and
two closes near the mill. There was also about an acre in a place
called 'Kingsfield' near 'a coppice called Kimberley', and some
cottages near 'the Park' and elsewhere in the manor.
Frances
Addington married a Coventry gentleman, Christopher Wright,
and Anne married Richard Grimshaw of Knowle. The Lordship
was shared with Elizabeth Paston until her death, and then held
jointly by the Wrights and the Grimshaws. Richard and Mary Grimshaw
had one son, also Richard, who died unwed, and who sold his moiety
to Christopher Wright around 1765, reuniting the manor again under
one Lordship.
|
Probable
portrait of Christopher Wright Jnr.Detail
from a painting at Hospitalfield House.
|
Christopher
Wright and Frances Addington also had one son, called Christopher
after his father. The 'Victoria County History of Worcestershire'
is incorrect at this point, making no reference to Christopher Wright
the younger, and attributing to the father a marriage that was entered
into by the son: the error is perpetuated in Hackwood [13].
The will of 'Christopher Wright of the City of Coventry Gentleman',
written in 1763 and proved in 1765, refers to 'my loving wife
ffrances Wright and my son Christopher Wright'. The will of
'Christopher Wright of Hawkesbury … Esquire', written in 1778 and
proved in 1798, refers to provision for his mother Frances Wright
widow and for his 'dear wife'.
On 2nd September
1776, Christopher Wright, the son, had married Mary Parrott,
the widow of Richard Parrott of Hawkesbury Hall at Foleshill Church
near Coventry. The Parrotts were a family of well-to-do mine owners
working collieries at Hawkebury in the Bedworth area. Richard and
Mary had no children, but Richard had a brother, Francis, who was
a 'Doctor of Physic' practicing in Bull Street, Birmingham, and
it was through his family that the manor was to descend.
|
Descent
of the manor as drawn up by Christopher Wright
|
Christopher
Wright Jnr was a lawyer and eager to get to grips with his inheritance.
In one document he set out the descent of the manor from Charles
Cornwallis to himself [14]. In another,
he sets out the customs of the manor [15].
The items refer to the succession of the manor, which was clearly
a matter of some concern at the time since there was no heir to
the estate, and concludes the 'Entails seem not to be warranted
by custom'. The document is not signed or dated:
|
|
"Manor
of Oldbury - Mr Christopher Wright, the Lord says |
|
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-- That the Eldest Son inherits |
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--
That an Husband surviving his Wife has no estate in her Land
|
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--
That the Copyholds pass by Surrender made only in open Court
|
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--
That he takes two years Rent on Alienation and the lib. on a
Descent |
|
|
--
That he takes seven years Purchase for an Enfranchisement reserving
the Chief Rent and having a further Consideration if the Land
be herriotable |
|
|
--
According to his Account Entails seem not to be warranted
by the Custom"
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|
During the Lordship
of Christopher and Frances Wright, the first canal between Birmingham
and the coalmines of the Black Country was cut. It was a contour
canal built by James Brindley, and its line took it through the
grounds of Blakeley Hall Farm, within 150 yards of the old hall
itself. Canal records [16] suggest
that an agreement on the line of the canal was reached on 31 August
1772 with 'Frances Wright and another' (presumably Christopher Wright)
but this is only twenty-one days before the canal opened, and does
seem to be leaving it late. The old house of Blakeley Hall was demolished
soon afterwards, and a new farmhouse, Blakeley Hall Farm, erected
close to a toll gate on the turnpike road bordering the estate.
The
Manor under the Parrotts and the Frasers
Mary
Wright appears on manor documents as the sole Lady of the Manor
in the 1780s and 90s. There was no heir to the estate from the old
Cornwallis line. On her death in 1801, she willed most of her estate,
including Oldbury Manor, to one of her first husband's relatives,
Francis Parrott, junior, born in 1764. Francis Parrott was Mary's
nephew, the son of her brother-in-law Francis Parrott MD, who had
died in 1790. This is made clear in a document [17]
dated 9th January 1816, by which Francis Parrott of Hawkesbury Hall
sold a charity school established by Richard Parrott and bequeathed
in trust by Mary Wright, 'widow and wife of Christopher Wright
and previously wife of Richard Parrott, uncle of Francis Parrott'.
Francis
Parrott seems to have lived on his inheritance, and was Lord of
the Manor from 1801 until his death in 1843. In 1816 he agreed to
sell some of the manor land in the centre of Oldbury next to the
bailiff's house, the 'Old Manor House', for the building of a Court
of Requests. When the Oldbury Enclosure Act was passed in 1829,
half of the proceeds of the enclosure went to him as Lord of the
Manor, and the remainder was divided between the people of Oldbury
and a fund to build a new Anglican Church in Oldbury. Francis Parrott
died in 1843 at Foleshill without any children, and the estate passed
to his elder sister Elizabeth.
|
|
Elizabeth
Fraser (Parrott) and Major John Fraser from portraits at Hospitalfield
House
|
Sixty
years earlier, in 1783 Elizabeth Parrott had married Major John
Fraser of the 2nd Battalion of Foot, the Royals, at St Martin's
Church in Birmingham. They lived at his ancestral home, Hospitalfield
House, Arbroath, on the east coast of Scotland. They had one child,
Elizabeth, born in 1805, and her father died when Elizabeth was
less than two years old. Shortly afterwards, Mrs Fraser fled Hospitalfield
House, leaving it to be administered by her husband's trustees,
and returned to Hawkesbury Hall. During her return to Coventry with
the young Elizabeth, she was hotly pursued by the law since it was
illegal in Scotland for them to leave Hospitalfield without the
trustees' permission.
Thus,
Elizabeth Fraser (née Parrott) was 82 when she inherited the Hawkesbury
estate, including Oldbury Manor, and she held the Ladyship of the
Manor for only eight years. 'Mrs Frazier' is recorded on the Oldbury
Tithe Apportionment of 1843 as the owner of the estate around Blakeley
Hall Farm, leased out to three separate tenants, George Downing,
Phoebe Downing and William Downing. She also owned three other small
pieces of land: a strip in the old Radnall Field; land next to the
court house which was part of the lands surrounding the old bailiff's
house; and a house at Langley in Hobicus Lane. The manor still held
the copyhold of many parcels of land, the chief rents on some freehold
land and mineral rights in Oldbury, all of which increased its value.
The
young Elizabeth Fraser was brought up at Hawkesbury Hall. She married
Arthur Baker, a young soldier in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, at Aberdeen
when she was only eighteen, and they travelled to Arbroath to claim
Elizabeth's inheritance. The trustees were unimpressed by the claim,
and refused to transfer Hospitalfield House, left in trust to Elizabeth,
to them. Instead, they 'bought off' Arthur Baker with a sum of money
for a commission in the army. However, he disappeared soon afterwards
with the money, leaving Elizabeth behind, and was found dead in
strange circumstances at Dover four years later. The young widow
Elizabeth and her mother spent time at Arbroath and at Coventry.
She was an intelligent young woman, and among her accomplishments
was playing the harp.
Enter
Patrick Allan, born in 1813, the son of an Arbroath weaving merchant
[18]
. He had become an artist, studying in Edinburgh and abroad before
settling in London. He returned to Arbroath to complete a series
of paintings for an edition of Sir Walter Scott's book 'The Antiquary',
and there he met the widowed Elizabeth Fraser-Baker, eight years
his senior. They fell in love, and were married in 1843, when Elizabeth
was thirty-eight.
The
last Lords and Ladies of the Manor
|
|
|
The
formidable-looking Elizabeth Fraser who inherited Oldbury
Manor at the age of 82.
|
Patrick-Allan
as artist, the last Lord of the Manor.
Portraits
at Hospitalfield House
|
Elizabeth
Fraser-Baker, the last Lady of the Manor.
|
When
her mother died on 2nd February 1851, Elizabeth inherited Hawkesbury
Hall and Oldbury Manor from her to add to the Scottish estates inherited
from the Frasers. Patrick and Elizabeth Allan became Lord and Lady
of Oldbury Manor. That year they changed their name to 'Allan-Fraser',
and it is under this name that they are recorded on most manor documents.
Patrick largely gave up his painting career, and took to running
the estates he had acquired through Elizabeth. They extended and
developed Hospitalfield House, which was their main residence, and
it wqas Patrick that designed the ideosyncratic features of the
building.
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|
|
|
Hospitalfield
House in 2008 showing (top-left) the view from the garden,
(top-right) the view from the front drive, (bottom-left) the
gallery, (bottom-right) a sitting room with the family portraits.
[Photographs: Terry Daniels]
|
|
Receipts
of Troughton, Lea & Kirby on behalf of Patrick Allan Fraser
from 1853-5 for Oldbury Manor. Total receipts were £1264
5s, including large sums from various land transactions and
fines, and £10 from Thomas Jackson for the site of the
chapel at Langley Green (now Zion United Reform Church] |
Patrick
was intent on maximising the income from all of their estates to
pay for the work at Hospitalfield. In Oldbury, he chased up back
rents, exercised rights over copyholders, leased the minerals under
the Blakeley Hall estate and pursued court cases against defaulters.
Patrick was not a man to give ground in negotiations or when he
felt his interests were being compromised, and we must assume he
had foreseen the financial potential of his marriage to Elizabeth.
Thomas
Ball Troughton was the steward of Oldbury Manor in the early part
of the Allan-Fraser's lordship
[19],
but Edward Caddick, a West Bromwich solicitor, was appointed steward
in 1870 [20].
He was at the heart of the legal activities in Oldbury and moaned
to Patrick Allan-Fraser about the inefficiency of previous stewards.
Caddick was involved in a very significant court case for Patrick
Allan-Fraser, heard in the Royal Courts of Justice in 1889. This
concerned land in the centre of Oldbury which had been sold by the
owner to Worcestershire County Council who had built a police station
there. It had been sold as freehold, but Patrick Allan-Fraser claimed
that it had not been enfranchised and was still copyhold with rents
payable to him. Proving their case was not easy, and Edward Caddick
bitterly complained about the poor record-keeping of previous stewards
who did not adequately describe the location, status and tenancy
of the estate lands. After a lengthy fight, the judgement went to
the Allan-Fraser, and Worcestershire County Council reluctantly
paid up to enfranchise the land.
|
|
Patrick
Allan-Frazer, last Lord of Oldbury Manor [courtesy
of Patrick Allan-Frazer Trust]
|
|
Enfranchisement
was a good source of income. 'Copyhold land' was held from the Lord
of the Manor by virtue of the tenant appearing at the Manor Court
and paying an entry fee to be admitted to the property. This was
recorded in the Manor Rolls and he was given a copy indenture (hence
the term 'copyhold'). He then paid an annual rent to the Lord of
the Manor. Enfranchisement was the process by which the copyhold
was converted to a freehold by the payment of a single fee. There
might still be an ongoing rent even on the freehold land, known
as the 'Chief Rent', depending on the terms of the enfranchisement.
The note on manor customs from Christopher Wright suggests it was
the practice at that time to charge seven years rent and to reserve
the chief rent on enfranchisement.
Towards
the end of the nineteenth century, there was a growing tendency
to convert copyhold land to freehold since an Act of 1852 granted
copyholders the right to demand enfranchisement, and the copyhold
system was finally abolished by an Act of Parliament in 1922. On
3rd October 1872, for example, the Allan-Frasers agreed to the enfranchisement
of two plots of land owned by G Harris at Bristnall Fields for £52-18-9,
including buildings, mines and chief rents.
Patrick
and Elizabeth had no children, and were the last Lord and Lady of
Oldbury Manor. Elizabeth died in 1873 aged 68, and Patrick designed
and built a large mausoleum for her and her parents, and later himself,
as the centre-point of the new Western Cemetery at Arbroath. This
is a large red sandstone building incorporating the style of detailed
decoration developed by Patrick for Hospitalfield House itself.
|
The
Mortuary Chapel in Arbroath Western Cemetery where the last
two generations of the Lord and Ladies of Oldbury Manor lie.
[Photograph: Terry Daniels]
|
Since
he had no heir, Patrick established a Trust to administer the estates
and run Hospitalfield House as an arts centre to encourage young
artists. After his death in 1890, 'The Patrick Allan-Fraser of Hospitalfield
Trust' was enacted, and they still run it as an arts centre today
. Edward Caddick, Robert Whyte and James Muir were the first trustees
who ran the estates of Patrick Allan-Fraser, including Oldbury Manor.
The
trustees sold the right to hold a market at Oldbury to Oldbury Urban
District Council in 1895 [21]
, and a market was established in the town square. The influence
of the manor and nature of land holding was changing at the turn
of the twentieth century. Tenants increasingly sought to enfranchise
their lands: in July 1898, for example, John and Edward Harper won
an enquiry at the Talbot Hotel, Oldbury, held by the Copyhold Department
of the Board of Agriculture to enfranchise their lands at Rood End
[22].
The number of manor courts being held decreased rapidly, one of
the last being in 1923, with only two small items of business, when
Edward Caddick, of the solicitors Caddick and Yates, acted for the
stewards of the manor. The Kelly Directory of 1936 records the Trust
as the Lord(s) of Oldbury Manor, and they still have that position,
although now it carries no power or influence.
References
1
|
|
Feet
of F. Salop, Mich. 15 Elizabeth - quoted in 'Victoria County
History for Shropshire' |
2
|
|
Exch
Dep by Com Hil No 17 5 Jas 1 - quoted in 'Victoria County
History for Shropshire' |
3
|
|
Birmingham
City Archives: MS/3279/351747 |
4
|
|
Feet
of Fines, Salop, Mich. 9 Chas. I. |
5
|
|
'Victoria
County History of Staffordshire', xvii, 88 |
6
|
|
Hackwood
F W,'Oldbury and Round About' (1915), p88 - statement
without reference |
7
|
|
Will
of Edward Colmore: PRO prob\11\184\328 |
8
|
|
Shakespeare
Birthplace Trust DR12/42 |
9
|
|
Sandwell
Community History and Archives |
10
|
|
McKean,
Rev H, 'Picturesque Oldbury', (1900), p 64 |
11
|
|
Indenture
of Copyhold admission of Shadrach Tunckes to land on the Rowley
Hills, Court Leet, 18 October 1752, T Daniels collection |
12
|
|
McKean,
p 73 |
13
|
|
'Victoria
County History for Worcestershire', (1913), III, ca p150;
Hackwood p 90 |
14
|
|
Hospitalfield
House Archive: HA/FAM 7/1/1 |
15
|
|
Sandwell
Community History and Archives, T31/1 |
16
|
|
1899
Survey of Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal, Sheet 51, which
details the agreements between the canal company and landowners |
17
|
|
Warwick
County Record Office, DR435/26 |
18
|
|
Website
of 'Patrick Allan-Frazer of Hospitalfield Trust' - www.hospitalfield.org.uk
|
19
|
|
Hospitalfield
House Archive: HA/ENG 2/2.5.1 |
20
|
|
Sandwell
Community History and Archives, D/OR 13, Appointment of Edward
Caddick, 21 September 1870 |
21
|
|
'Oldbury
Charter Souvenir Brochure', 1935 |
22
|
|
Hackwood,
p 91 |
Acknowlegement
The
author is greatly indebted to Dr William Payne, the Director of
the Patrick Allan-Fraser of Hospitalfield House Trust at Arbroath,
for allowing free access to their archives which provided valuable
information on the Wright, Parrott, Fraser and Allan-Fraser families
This
article © Dr Terry Daniels 2008 - contact
for permission to reproduce
|