Whatmore Family History

By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Watmores were spreading out from Shropshire, looking for new opportunities. Gradually they spread through the neighbouring county of Worcestershire. One of the early migrants was Humphrey Watmore the Elder  who went to Bewdley. Humphrey was the great x 8 grandfather of Sheila Kirk. Sheila has researched and written about his life and has kindly agreed that her fascinating account  can be reproduced here.

Humphrey, baptised in Stottesdon on 14th January 1599, was one of the younger sons of William the Younger. As such, because of the laws of ‘primogeniture’, he knew that he would be obliged to build a new a life away from the family farm. Accordingly, when still a very young man, probably by about 1614, he left Stottesdon and made his way to Bewdley, which at that period was still in Shropshire. Wribbenhall, across the bridge on the north side, was in Worcestershire. He was probably apprenticed to a tanner, because the tanning industry  became his ultimate occupation. Such an  arrangement was no doubt set up  before he left home. His father was a successful business man describing himself as a  “yeoman” and would be able to well afford Humphrey’s fees, and to help him get established.The leather trade was at this time was one of the major  industries in Bewdley, with several thriving tanneries in operation, thanks to the nearness of the river, which supplied the essential water as well as the means of transporting the finished product. The Severn at that time was navigable up to Shrewsbury and down to Bristol and the open sea. The proximity of the Wyre Forest ensured there was a plentiful supply of oak trees whose bark, being rich in tannic acid, was used in the tanning process.

There is an excellent booklet published by Bewdley Historical Research Group, and entitled ‘From Hide to Leather,’ which gives a good insight into the world of tanning and the leather industry. Our Watmores feature briefly on pages 4 and  8, and in the Appendix featuring Court Manor Rolls. 

 Humphrey rapidly established himself. In the year 1619, when aged twenty, he  was appointed a member of the ‘Common Council’, five years before his marriage. He was rarely out of office of some sort for the rest of his life - which was a long one for that era, almost seventy years.

Recorded in the Parish Register for St Leonard’s Church, Ribbesford, on 4th November1624 , is the marriage of Humphrey Wattmore  to  Elizabeth Yeates.  Ribbesford was  the mother church of Bewdley at that time. The church is sited a considerable way from Bewdley centre, some distance along an unmade track. Parishioners had to be very stalwart to reach it. (The original centre  of Bewdley was nearer to Ribbesford) The large church of  St Anne’s which now stands in the centre of Bewdley’s main street, was not built until the 1700s to replace a Chapel of Ease (St Andrews) which stood where St. Anne’s now stands. Carved  above the Ribbesford church porch canopy is the logo ” TM 1633 HW.”  We are sure the HW refers to Humfrey the Elder. He was a known benefactor of the church, and sometime church warden, and perhaps paid money towards the cost of erecting, renovating or roofing the porch.

 Ribbesford church porch  Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

 Over the next twenty years, Humphrey and Elizabeth produced at least ten children, of which six were either stillborn, or died  in very young infancy. It seems that the damp river air in Bewdley was not as conducive to good health as was the bracing air of the Clee Hills.  Chest infections were rife, especially among those involved in the tanning trade. Plague–called locally ‘the Peste’ -was prevalent in Bewdley and other waterborne diseases flourished. The sons survived and prospered,  though unlike their parents, they did not see old age -while most of the daughters foundered. Only Mary survived, to die unmarried aged 29, before the death of her parents.

The following are the known children of  Humphrey and Elizabeth:

Mary                bpt 2 Oct 1625          bur. 15 Sept 1654 Unmarried

Elizabeth           bpt 9 March 1628      bur 14 April 1628

Sarah               bpt 18 April 1630       bur 23 May 1630

Unnamed          born and died 1631

Sarah               bpt 9 June 1633          bur 30 April 1634

William             bpt 8 March 1635

Unnamed          born and died 1637/38

Humphrey         bpt 7 April 1639        bur 28 Oct 1667 (three weeks before his father)

Unnamed          born and died 1642

Thomas             bpt 14 Aug 1645       bur 10 Aug 1693

 Ribbesford Church  Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

All these children were born in Bewdley, baptised at St. Leonard’s, Ribbesford and also buried there, apart perhaps for William whose  date and place of death cannot be found. We know he was Bailiff in 1666, and he is also mentioned in the Bridgewarden’s Accounts during that time. His signature appears on a number of papers. Maybe he moved out of the area following the death of his wife. 

Humphrey the Elder’s  tanning business grew and the family prospered, in spite of the political  turmoil around him. He became a highly respected citizen, regarded as a Gentleman earning the courtesy title of “Mr.”  Even in the Burials Register both he and his son Humfrey Jnr. are listed as “Mr Humfrey Wattmore”  He was no doubt a member of Bewdley’s Ancient Guild of Corvisors, and was  elected a Capital Burgess, as were his sons in their turn.  He took an active interest in the affairs of his adopted town, concerning himself with the rights of citizens, and generously supported many of the town’s institutions.  He gave money towards the Chapel of Ease, subscribing to funds to install new doors for the gallery pews. He donated money for the “ease of the poor”, also remembering them in his Will, ( See below) and supported the Bewdley Grammar School, of which the bailiff and burgesses were governors. His sons would have been educated there. Though only a small school, a large number of its pupils went up to Oxford and Cambridge  -  including our Thomas Watmore Jnr.

The Bridgewarden’s accounts for 1654-5 record this: ‘œ3.4s.2d. was received of Mr. Wotmore for moneys that was to be employed for the use of the school’

Bewdley Bridge  Copyright: Worcestershire Record Office and reproduced here by their kind permission

The Grammar School was originally established in the late 1500s,meeting in a room next to the chapel, and taught by the curate.  It  was  refounded following the granting to the town of a new Charter from King James 1 in 1606 who laid down the ground rules ….  “for the  better education of young children and youths, in good arts, learning, virtue and instruction, always to be brought up and informed, which shall be called  ‘the Free  Grammar School of King James  in  Bewdley,’ wherein shall be one master and one usher.” It was thus established  half a century before its counterpart in Kidderminster, the King Charles I School.

Bewdley’s  new Charter decreed that the ruling body of the Borough would consist of a bailiff and twelve capital burgesses, the bailiff to be elected annually by the burgesses. The burgesses were to be elected for life, as vacancies occurred, by the Bailiff and capital burgesses, while the common burgesses were to be appointed for life without any limitation as to number. The bridgewardens,  who were officials of some importance, are not mentioned in any charters, but they were always appointed from among the capital burgesses.

Their accounts begin in 1569, and records still exist up to about 1670 though in a very fragile condition. They are3 written in a style which is almost impossible for the layperson to decipher. They are available on microfilm at the County Record Office, Spetchley.

So it can be seen that Humfrey Watmore and his sons were citizens of some note, all playing a significant role in the Borough’s affairs.

 In addition to his role as a Capital Burgess, Humphrey served as both Bridgewarden and  Chapel warden, as well as Churchwarden at Ribbesford, and was in office for many years, including  the extremely difficult years of  1646-7, where he had to contend with dissention and  fighting on two fronts:

 Firstly, within the local church. In 1646, as Humfrey took on the mantle of chapel warden, and also churchwarden at Ribbesford.  A nonconformist community of  Baptists was founded by John Tombes, curate of the Chapel. Though he retained his office in the church, Tombes was very outspoken in his opposition to Infant Baptism, to the anger of many, including Richard Baxter of Kidderminster. Baxter came to Bewdley more than once and hotly debated this issue with Tombes. One such encounter, on New Year’s day 1649, resulted in a near riot. It was reported  that their followers ” became like two armies, and the civil magistrate had much ado to quieten them.”  A fraught time for Humfrey. Things did not quieten down till Tombes moved to Leominster in 1650. Meantime, during Humphrey’s time as churchwarden, troubles were brewing at Ribbesford Church too. The Rector, John Boraston, has served at Ribbesford since 1630, and did not accept the strictures laid on the Church by Cromwell. Being  was an ardent Royalist, John Boraston  ignored the ordinance abolishing the observance of Christmas in 1646/48, and summoned  his parishioners to church where he preached a lengthy sermon. He also persisted in wearing his full surplice and hood to the anger of Cromwell’s men. They reported that, “the said Boraston is of a very proud and contentious spirit, and doth lord it over his parishioners, calling honest men knaves and honest women witches”.   Surprisingly, he was not deprived of his living. It can be imagined that Humfrey experienced  a very testing time.

Secondly, there were years of strife between Royalists and Parliamentarians -  the   “Roundheads and Cavaliers,” which split not only the nation, but families too. There was a Royalist Garrison at Bewdley and strong gates and barriers were set up at Bridge Gate, Tinkers Gate (near Humfrey’s house), Welch Gate and Doglane Gate. Charles I fled to Bewdley from Oxford in 1641, escaping from his Parliamentarian enemies. He lodged at  Ticknell (Tickenhill) Manor, Bewdley, for three days before remustering and returning to Oxford.  A historian writing a few years later records, ” It does not appear that the town went to any larger expense than half a crown on the occasion of this visit.” 

On  Charles’ second and third visits in 1643 and 45, Tickenhill was so ravaged by a combination of neglect  and the fighting, he deemed it not fit to live in so lodged at the Angel Hotel which still stands in Lode Street, near the river bridge. Humfrey continued serving as councillor and burgess  through the trauma of the execution of  King Charles 1 in 1649,  the continuing infighting during the  ‘Cromwell’ years and on through the Restoration of King Charles II. Humfrey thus  lived through the reigns of four monarchs, Elizabeth 1, James1, Charles1 and Charles II plus the years of Cromwell’s Long Parliament.

 Bewdley from ‘Worcestershire’ by Treadwell Russell Nash Second Edition 1799

We cannot know where the Watmore political sympathies lay, but Bewdley was a Royalist town with many prominent loyalist gentry. It is recorded that early in the Civil War Humfrey supplied a musket for the muster of arms, which in total included 38 muskets, 3 halberds, 2 calivers (guns),3 fowling pieces, 3 corslets, a pike, 2 pistols and a lance for a horseman. Whatever his leanings, Humphrey would have had to tread a very diplomatic path. There is no suggestion anywhere that he fell foul of either side. Though he was too old to fight in the conflicts between  King and Cromwell, his skills must have been valued for he remained on the council throughout these troubled times. In his capacity as councillor and capital burgess, he would have been called in to confer with, and perhaps conciliate between opposing factions  and dally attendance on the  succession of Kings who visited the town,  Charles 1, then Charles II and later James II and Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

Extract from the Bridge Warden’s  and Church Warden’s Accounts   

 1639   Pd for 12lb and halfe of gunpowder      (Saltpetre was being manufactured in Bewdley)  16s 8d

 1639-41 Pd for removing the gunpowder out of ye Chappel (!!) and into ye Courthouse    4d

 1643   Pd for mending ye gunpowder barrel.                                                                       3d

1643-45 Pd for ringing at  Prince Rupert’s coming                                                          1s   6d

              Pd for ringing at the King’s coming to Town and going forth.                            2s   0d

  

How did Humfrey ever find time to attend to his business? While the sons were still children, his wife Elizabeth  played a key role  in running the tannery. In that era, it was an accepted practice for women to play key roles in running businesses. Times were more enlightened back then! By the time he died, Humfrey was a wealthy man by the standard of the day. He lived in a large five bedroomed house near Tinker’s Gate, on the Park Brook, with outbuildings, a Malthouse, a pig sty  and a garden leading down to Lady Meadow back towards the river down Lax lane. He had bought this from the previous owner, John Tyler.  John Tyler died in 1626, so Humfrey bought this property while still a very young man. Like his father  before him, he was obviously an astute business man. In addition to this property he subsequently came to own a number of other impressive properties, among them two sizeable houses with tanyards situated along Severnside South. These were occupied by his sons William and Thomas, and were left to them in their father’s will. He held the lease on a group of dwellings in Over Street (High Street) which were rented out. He also had extensive tanning yards  along Severn Side which housed a large store of  expensive oak bark and calf skins.

After successfully steering his family and his adopted town through the years of fighting and uncertainty, Humfrey died in November 1667, aged 68, and was buried at Ribbesford Church on 17th of that month.  This was just three weeks after the death of his son Humfrey Jnr., a very sad time for the whole family.  The major responsibility for the family and tanneries now fell to his sons William and Thomas, and to Humfrey’s widow Elizabeth, until she too died in 1670.

Parish Register Entry shows : Burials  1670  March 12  Mrs. Elizabeth Wattmore, widdow.”

At his death  Humfrey’s complete inventory of added effects was valued at £293.4s 8d. This was in addition to the value of his various properties. The combined contents  of the Wills and Inventories for Humfrey and for Elizabeth, show how wealthy they had become.

   

Will of Humphrey Watmore  Transcribed by Sheila Kirk

Will of Humfrey Watmore of Bewdley (Tanner) made 11 November 1667 

ITEM     I give fifty shillings to be sett in safe hands by the Bayliffe and Capitall Burgesses of the Boroughe of Bewdley the use and benefitt  thereof to bee yearly distributed to the poore of the said Boroughe of Bewdley for ever.

ITEM     To my eldest sonne William Watmore the messuage and copyhold tenement wherein I nowe dwell situate near Tynkers Gate in Bewdley, with outhouses, backside and appurtenances, together with pt. of the garden I bought of John Tyler and next to Lady Meadows belowe the broad alley which is beside the sayd garden, with the pigg steigh at the end theruppon.

Also to my sayd sonne William Watmore my freehold messuage or tenement, backside and garden situate on the east side of Over Street (now High St.) in Bewdley and nowe in the occupation of Widdowe  Goddington,  Edward Smythe and Widdowe ffeildd.

To have and to hold to William Watmore after the death of my wife Elizabeth to whom I devise sayd properties for her life, but should she marry then she shall have but the moiety of the rent of my freehold land during her life.

To my sonne William watmore all my lease, interest and terme of years which I have in the messuage or tenement situate by Seaverne Side wherein the sayd  William my sonne now dwelleth, between the messuage in the tenure of Joseph Pooler and the messuage in the tenure of William Wyde.

To my sonne Thomas Watmore my messuage or copyhold with backside and garden situate by Severne Side in Bewdley, nowe in occupation of ffrancis baggott after the decease of my wife.

All the rest of my goods and chattels I bequeath to my wife Elizabeth Watmore who I make my sole Executorix

  

Witnesses

                                                                                                Mark of

Thomas Goddington   his mark                                              Humfrey Watmore

Hugh Pardoe                                                                         

John Harris