Whatmore Family History

In the nineteenth century, some of the Watmores moved a long way from their Shropshire roots. This was the case with William Watmore from Chelmarsh who ended up in the village of Great Bardfield, Essex.

I came across William in the 1881 census when I was looking for the brother of my great great grandmother, and I initially thought that I had found him, but the Chelmarsh parish register showed that he was the wrong one.

William the stray was baptised on 7 November 1824, the illegitimate son of a Sarah Watmore. His ’supposed’ father was a Thomas Lloyd. Looking for him in the 1841 census, possibly still with his mother, we find a William Watmore aged 15 and a Sarah Watmore aged 40 at Rose Cottage, Baveney Wood, Neen Savage. The head of the household was a James Watmore aged 70, a thatcher, and Benjamin Watmore aged 25, also a thatcher.  Of course the 1841 census does not show relationships so we have to wait until 1851 to see how these people related to one another. The head of the household in 1851 was Benjamin aged 48, unmarried and a thatcher. With him was Sarah aged 50, born Neen Savage, described as Housekeeper and as his unmarried sister. Also in the house are Benjamin’s niece Elizabeth Smith and a John Smith described as a lodger. William was not there but in the nearby parish of Stottesdon I found a William Watmore, aged 26, born at Neen Savage,  working as a Wagonner.

Looking at the Neen Savage parish register I discovered that there were no Sarah’s baptised there around the time of the birth of the Sarah at Rose Cottage so she could not be Benjamin’s sister. There was also no baptism of a William Watmore at the right time.

In 1861 Sarah was still with Benjamin, again described as his sister.  She passed away a few days after the census, aged 62 and was buried on 22 April 1861 at Neen Savage. We will consider Sarah’s origins later on.

At the time of the 1861 census, William Watmore aged 36, was at Great Bardfield, Essex. He is described as an unmarried lodger and a gardener and groom. Why had he moved to Essex? Was there anyone else in the village who was from Shropshire? The census shows that there was - Barrett Edward Lampet, Vicar of Great Bardfield, born about 1812 at Bridgnorth. He was in fact born on 18 August 1811 and baptised in June 1814 at St Mary Magdalene’s, Bridgnorth. By 1841 he was already at Great Bardfield, shown as a clerk. By 1851, he was the vicar of Great Bardfield. Chelmarsh, where William Watmore was born, is only about 5 miles from Bridgnorth. It seems likely that Barrett knew William’s mother and that sometime between 1851 and 1861 he contacted William Watmore  and suggested that work was to be had as a gardener at Great Bardfield.

William Watmore married a Rebecca Claydon, (born about 1825 at Steeple Bumpstead, Essex) on 9 September 1862 at St James’s Chuch, Paddington, London. How they met is easily explained - in 1861 Rebecca was Cook to the Lampet household at Great Bardfield. Why they married in Paddington is more difficult to explain. In 1851 a Rebecca Clayton from Essex was working as a servant  in Oxford Street, London. Just round the corner in 1851, at Cavendish Square was Barrett Lampet, described as Vicar of Great Bardfield. Why either of them were there is unknown, but Rebecca may have attended church at St James, Paddington and  have expressed a wish to be married there. It seems strange that William and Rebecca were not married at Great Bardfield. Barrett Lampet did not die until 1867. Had William and Rebecca fallen out with him?

William and Rebecca spent the rest of their lives at Great Bardfield. By 1881, Rebecca’s unmarried sister Emily had come to live them. Rebecca died that same year and Emily had probably moved in to look after her during her last illness. Emily stayed with William, however, acting as his housekeeper. By 1901 William was living alone and still working as a gardener at the age of 76. He died in the March quarter 1910 aged 85. As William and Rebecca had no children, the Watmore family did not continue at Great Bardfield.

To return to William’s mother, Sarah. Who was she really? Sarah’s ages in the censuses and at her death point to a birth about 1799. If we look for a baptism about this time, somewhere near Chelmarsh we find a Sarah baptised at Quatt Malvern, just across the river, on 4 January 1794.  It was a private baptism, which suggests that she was not expected to live, but she was ‘received into the church’ a month later and there is no record of her burial as an infant, so presumably she survived.

If this is the right Sarah, then her parents were a John Watmore and a Sarah - probably the John Watmore who married a Sarah Sutton on 5 May 1785 at Quatt. Their children were John 1786, William 1789, Mary 1791, Sarah 1794 and Thomas 1797.

Chart of the Watmore Family at Quatt

We know a little more about the Thomas Watmore baptised in 1797. One of the very few early Watmore graves to have survived stands  in the churchyard at Quatt. It shows that Thomas died  on 18 November 1824 at Ripple in Worcestershire. He would only have been about 29 when he died. He had married Elizabeth Nokes on 27 November 1823 at Much Wenlock and their marriage lasted just over a year before his early death. Thomas and Elizaneth had no children. Elizabeth never remarried. She later moved to Shifnal and she died there on 21 June 1860 aged 70. She is buried with her husband at Quatt.

 The grave of Thomas and Elizabeth Whatmore at Quatt

Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

The following is a transcription of the will of Elizabeth Watmore:

‘This is the last will and testament of me,Elizabeth Whatmore of Shiffnal in the parish of Shrosphire, Widow. First  I direct that my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses be fully paid and satisfied as soon as conveniently may be after my decease. I give and bequeath to my sister Maria Rixom the sum of fifty pounds. To my sister Sarah Valentine the sum of forty pounds whose receipt alone notwithstanding her coverture shall be a full discharge for the same, and to my sister Mary Jenks the sum of thirty pounds, and to the several persons herein after named the following specific legacies, that is to say - To my niece Maria Nokes my large Bible and the little bracket in my kitchen and the ornament which stands thereon, To my brother Edward Nokes my pair of silver table spoons and my mahogany two leaved tabled, To my friend Elizabeth Owen of Quatford my two silver salt spoons and my hair brooch and to my niece Mary Haywood six silver tea spoons and sugar tongs. And as to all and singular the rest residue and remainder of my goods, chattels, moneys, rights, credits and personal  estate and effects whatsoever and wheresoever subject to the payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses and pecuniary legacies hereby given or which I shall bequeath by any codicil hereto, I give and bequeath the same unto my three sisters above named in equal shares and proportions payable, as to the share of the said  Sarah Valentine on her receipt alone as above mentioned. I nominate and aappoint Edward Cherrington of Shiffnal aforesaid wine merchant and Thomas Evans of the same place, publican, executors of this will.’

20 June 1860 Witnesses: Thomas Evans  Shifnal  Jas. Leake Shifnal

(Will proved 30 July 1860)