Lord Hiley

As far as I know there has never been a Hiley (or Highley) to be given the distinguished title of Lord, although there are one or two who have received knighthoods.

But there was a Lord Hiley who lived for only a short time in Walsden near Todmorden in 1873.

The Blog of 7th May 2019 included a story about Reuben Hiley ('Old Wraggs'). Reuben and his wife Betty had 5 children, including a son James. In 1857 James married Mary Ann Lord and the couple had 10 children. The eighth of these was Lord.

Lord was born on 16th April 1873. The family lived in Newbridge, Walsden and the occupation of Lord's father James was recorded on Lord's birth certificate as a 'Carter for Manufacturing Chemists'. The birth was not registered until 28th May. Lord's mother Mary Ann was the informant at the Register Office in Todmorden and, unable to sign her name, she made her mark on the form.

Lord, only six months old, passed away on 10th November the same year. This time his father James was the informant and he had been present at the death. He also made his mark on the form.

Lord had been seen only once by a doctor. The cause of death was given as pneumonitis. Pneumonitis is inflammation (swelling) of the tissues of the lungs. A dry cough and shortness of breath are symptoms of the illness.

Lord was buried in the graveyard of St Peter's Church in Walsden. In the same grave were buried four other children under 10 years old - his brother William (aged 8), his sister Mary Ann (aged 6 months), and two infant children (aged 2 and 9 months) of his sister Sarah Ellen and her husband Fred Smith. Lord's parents James and Mary Ann were buried with him.

There are 23 graves in the St Peter's churchyard where Hileys or people connected with Hiley families are buried.

The photo below shows part of the graveyard at St Peter's. The walking stick marks the grave of John and Mally Highley, distant relations of Lord and his family. Lord's grave has not yet been located.

St Peter's, Walsden graveyard

St Peter's Church, Walsden

Double dating

The last Blogpost (11th December 2019) mentioned the baptism of Agnes Hylyle on 24th February 1539/40.

Before 1752 the calendar year started on 25th March rather than on 1st January so the year used for dates between 1st January and 24th March was the same as for the preceding December.

Dates between 1st January and 24th March before 1752 are often recorded using a technique called 'double dating'. They are given as two years. So Agnes's baptism on 24th February took place in 1539 under the old style (Julian calendar) and 1540 under the new style (Gregorian calendar). 1539 was the year the baptism appears in the parish register and 1540 is the modern year equivalent. Hence 1539/40.

The Blogpost of 5th June 2019 showed the inventory of the goods and chattels of Henry Hyley of Warley. The date of the inventory is properly recorded as 23rd February 1732/3. The record of the entry for Henry's will in the Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York Probate Index is shown below.
(1732/3 Martii (March), Hyley Henrici de Warley P (Parish) Hallifax).

Record of entry for Henry Hyley's will

Halifax Parish Church

Parish registers were formally introduced in England in 1538 following the split with the Roman Catholic Church, when Thomas Cromwell, minister to Henry VIII, issued an injunction requiring the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials to be kept.

The earliest available registers for West Yorkshire are the Parish registers of Halifax, 1538-1593. These cover baptisms, marriages and burials which took place in the Parish church of St John's, Halifax.

The ancient parish of Halifax was the largest parish in Yorkshire and one of the largest in England. The Blog of 6th November shows a map of the townships which were part of the Halifax parish.

Halifax Parish Church

During the years 1538-1593, there were 63 baptisms, 33 marriages and 48 burials recorded involving Hileys, but with a large number of different variant spellings of the surname. Most of these entries were given in Latin.

Nearly all the Hiley marriages up to the year 1800 took place in Halifax Parish Church, with just a small number elsewhere at Heptonstall, Elland, Luddenden and Todmorden.

The earliest Hiley record at Halifax is for the baptism of Agnes, daughter of George Hylyle of Sowerby on 24th of February 1539/40. The next Blogpost will explain this method of denoting the year.

The following excerpt is from the 1598 burial register. It shows Jane, daughter of Michael Hileley of Sowerby, buried on the 19th April, and the widow of Gilbert Hileley of Sowerby buried on the following day.

Part of April 1598 burial register for Halifax Parish Church
(Taken from Ancestry)

The Blogpost of 14th March 2019 showed the will of James Hilaleighe of Sowerby written in 1577. In common with all the other wills available from this time, he requested that he be buried at Halifax:

.............and my body to be buried in the churchyard of Halifax among the bodies of the faithful there buried expecting with them to have a joyful resurrection...........

Pews in the Parish Church 2017

Roots of heaven

Today I am very pleased to include an article written by John Hiley of Ings near Windermere.

Please get in touch if you have the Hiley/Highley surname, or have an interest in it or a connection with it, and would like to support or contribute to this Blog.

Thomas Hiley and his son Herbert

Remembrance Sunday. We remember a father and son who lost their lives in WW1.

Thomas Edward Hiley was born in Southowram, Halifax in 1857. He married Mary Ann Gibson in Hull in 1880 but Mary died the following year. The 1881 Census showed Thomas as working aboard the vessel ‘Liberator’. He remarried in 1887 to Annie Edwards and by 1901 the couple had 5 children, including Herbert. At this time they were living in Boston, Lincolnshire and Thomas was described as a Fisherman. Annie died in 1908 and in 1911 Herbert, described as a Dock Labourer (Fish) was living independently in Skirbeck Quarter, Boston with his three younger siblings. Living close by was the Tann family, including Mary Ann, Herbert’s future wife. Thomas may well have been away at sea at the time of this Census.

On 16th October 1915 Thomas was a Deck Hand aboard the Steam Trawler ‘Fijian’ (Boston). The vessel was reported missing on that day. Given the location and date, it is likely that she struck a mine. There were no survivors.

Thomas's name is inscribed at the Tower Hill Memorial in London. The Memorial commemorates the men of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who have no grave but the sea.

At age 57, Thomas was the oldest of all the Hileys/Highleys to be killed during WW1.

Thomas Edward Hiley - Tower Hill Memorial

Included courtesy of Brian Watson, Vessels lost in WW1

http://www.benjidog.co.uk/Tower%20Hill/WW1%20Farraline%20to%20Firth.html

Fishing trawler The Holland - lost without trace in WW1

This would have been a similar vessel to Fijian

(from Old Boston, Boston's trawler fleet in WW1)

Herbert, born in 1893, married Mary Ann Tann in the Spring of 1914 in Boston, Lincolnshire.

He was a Stoker for the Royal Naval Reserve aboard H.M.S. Cressy. On 22nd September 1914. H.M.S. Cressy, along with H.M.S. Hogue and H.M.S. Aboukir, were ambushed by a German U Boat while on patrol off the Dutch coast. All three ships were torpedoed and sunk with the Cressy losing 560 of her crew, including Herbert.

The War was not yet two months old and Herbert had been married for only a few months. His name is remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial in Kent.

Stoker Herbert Hiley - Chatham Naval Memorial

Included with the permission of Brad Evans at Find A Grave

H.M.S.Cressy

Henry Hileley, Sowerby Constable

A number of articles have been written giving summaries of sections of the Sowerby Constables' Accounts over the years.

The only mention of a Hiley Constable is that of Henry :

Henry Hileley, Constable, 1677-8, busied himself with the repair of the roads. The travellers he had to relieve were of no moment.
To James Bankcroft , when he went to get stones for stocks...……………………..0  1  6
For repayre of stocks ………………………………………………………………………..…....0  6  0
To Jno: Willman for leading 2 stones for stocks ………………………………………..0  0  9
                                                                        
In 1645-6 the Constables were Richard Houlgate and John Hopkinson. There are two entries in the Accounts which mention Edm. (Edmund) Hileley.

Paid to Edm. Hileley, James Sladen and Peter Mawde for makeinge a Watchehouse att Sowerby Bridge, the 13th of Novem. ……………………………………………………………………………………………........0  0
Paid to Edm. Hileley for theakinge the watchhouse att Sowerby Bridge, 
the 6th day of Dec. (1645) ………………………………………………………………………. 0  1  0
Paid for a load of coles which the watch had …………………………………………….0  0  6

(From Sowerby Constables' Accounts Parts II and IV. Lectures by Mr H P Kendall)

A theaking-rake was a small rake used by thatchers.

W B Crump wrote an article in 1928 for the Halifax Antiquarian Society on Sowerby Highways. He provided examples of work carried out in the summer of 1689 including the following:

29th July: Pd. to Henry Hiley for a man and horse 3 daies and leading stones with a sled to Sowerby Townegate.

He wrote: Certainly too much praise cannot be given to the Constables of Sowerby for their systematic repair of the highways. Year by year from 1629 to 1691 they kept men employed on the work

Sowerby Towngate with the Church (centre) and the Hall (left)

(with the permission of David Greaves)

Sowerby Constables

The Yorkshire Hileys came from the township of Sowerby in the ancient parish of Halifax. The map below shows Sowerby and all the other townships.

Map of the Parish of Halifax, showing the townships, church and chapels

(Sowerby Probate Records, Hebden Bridge Local History Society)

Each township had a Constable, serving for one year.

Peter Crabtree, in his book ‘Crabtree – Dweller by the Wild Apple Tree’ writes that:
‘The constable was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, for apprehending those suspected of crimes, and for bringing them before the manor or assize court for trial. The position, which was unpaid, was filled on a rotation basis and confirmed by the manor court. Fulfilling the office of township constable was one of the obligations of service of both bond and free tenant.' 

There are four Hileys listed in the records of the Constables for the township of Sowerby. The details below are taken from 'The Sowerby Constables', a lecture by Mr H P Kendall in 1906. A catalogue of the names of all the Constables is given by Mr Kendall, starting at the beginning of the reign of King Henry the Eighth in 1509. Years are given as the number of years since the start of a monarch's reign.

The table gives the name of the Hiley Constable, the name of the monarch at the time, the number of years since the start of that monarch's reign, and thus the year in which the Hiley Constable served.

Name                            In the reign of       Start of reign     Years since start of reign      Year

Gilbert Hyleley       Henry VIII             1509                    23                                             1532 

Michaell Hileley     Elizabeth I             1558                    21                                              1579 

Edward Hileley       Elizabeth I             1558                    29                                             1587 

Henry Hilley            Charles II               1660                    18                                             1678

The next Blogpost will give some brief details of Henry Hilley's year as Constable.