Mary Hiley (1722-1778) mother of a Prime Minister

Mary Hiley was the great great granddaughter of William and Eleanor (see the last post). Mary was born in Fringford in Oxfordshire in 1722. She was one of the seven children of  the Reverend Dr. Haviland John Hiley and Eleanor (nee Terrell). In 1745 Mary married Anthony Addington, also from Fringford, in the St Mary At Hill church in London.

  

Dr Anthony Addington
Royal Physician 

Anthony Addington's career as a physician attracted considerable public attention when he appeared as an expert for the prosecution of Mary Blandy for the poisoning of her father Francis Blandy in 1752. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1756.  He obtained a good general practice and a special reputation for the treatment of mental disorders, and built a house next to his own for the reception of his insane patients. He devoted his attention particularly to the treatment of insanity, and was one of the physicians called in to see George III when he first showed symptoms of mental illness.

Memorial to Anthony and Mary in Fringford church

Mary is mentioned in 'A chronicle of the ancient and noble Norman family of De Havilland : originally of Haverland in Cotentin Normandy, now of Guernsey, including the English branches of Havelland of Dorsetshire, now extinct, Haviland of Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire, also extinct : and Haviland of Somersetshire with the documentary evidences by Havilland, John von Sonntag de, 1826-1886.

The Doctor married Miss Mary Hiley................and to his marriage with Miss Hiley may the Doctor's surprising success in life be primarily attributed.

Dux femina facti  (A woman was the author of the achievement)

Henry Addington, Prime Minister

Mary and Anthony had nine children. Amongst these was Henry, born in 1757. Henry studied law at the University of Oxford and became an MP in 1784. He was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1789 and became Prime Minister in 1801, serving for three years. During his term, Parliament overhauled the whole tax system and Addington secured the Treaty of Amiens with France. He was elevated to the House of Lords as the 1st Viscount Sidmouth in 1805. 

William Hiley, Minister of God's Word, Rector of Poole

This year we will start looking at Hiley families that originated in places other than Yorkshire. The posts this month are about some members of a Hiley family who are first mentioned in Poole in Dorset in the 16th century.

William Hiley became Rector of Poole in 1582. He followed Richard Marcan who had been Rector in 1581, and was succeeded by Nicholas Jeffrey after his death in 1611.

We do not know where William came from. There seem to be no records of Hileys in the Poole area before 1582 so he may have come from outside Dorset. At this time the only universities in England and Wales were Oxford and Cambridge, and the main subjects taught were the classics and theology. If William received a university education he may well have attended one of these two universities. He may have come from a humble background and was looking to move up in the world and prepared to move to a completely different part of the country to pursue his profession.

William married Eleanor Haviland on 9th November 1585 in Poole. Eleanor was the daughter of  Christopher and Cecilia (nee Mann) Haviland. The Havilands were a very prominent family at this time. Originally from Normandy they had lived in Guernsey in the Channel Islands for many years. Christopher settled in Poole in about the year 1540.

William and Eleanor had ten children - Susanna, Samuel, Israel, Jenifer, Elizabeth, Peter, Temperance, Haviland, James and Hester. William died on 22 June 1611 and was buried eight days later at St James's Church in Poole. 

The original church was built in 1142. It was demolished and rebuilt starting in 1819. The pictures show the old church and the present one. 

William must have been an important person in the life of the town of Poole.

Stirring times were those that William Hiley saw. He became Rector in 1582 and died 1611. He saw the beacons on Worborow and the Purbecks flare for the Armada, and rising to the greatness of the occasion, urged the men, that needed little urging for such a task, for they were Englishmen, to join in death grips with Spain, for the freedom of their land, and their conscience. Little need of urging, indeed, when as Froude says, "from Lyme, and Weymouth, and Poole, and the Isle of Wight, young lords and gentlemen came streaming out in every smack or sloop that they could lay hold of, to snatch their share of danger and glory at Howard's side." And so Hiley saw depart "The Castell of Comforte," "The Grace of God," "The Stetts," "Bounauenter," and many besides, (such names are found among the lists of shipping referred to above), and cheered on the hardy sons of Poole, who hastened to join the fray so nobly begun off Plymouth, and still waxing more and more furious. 

Then to watch from the heights the straggling line of the Spaniards, to note the flash of the guns, in the action off the Wight, and to listen to the sullen roar, that told of danger and death to those bold adventurers. What a day of suspense that Thursday, August 4th (n.s.), 1588! The Rector found men praying then as they had never prayed before, and had, doubtless, much to do, striving to comfort the wives that might even then be widows, and children that might never see their fathers more.

(Poole Church and its Rectors by H Lawrence Phillips, Rector of Poole, published in 1915)

........ on the appointment of William Hiley in 1582, the Corporation built a new parsonage house for him and William Hiley remained as Rector of Poole for the rest of his life. In fact the 29 years of William Hiley's rectorship of Poole was a most significant period in national and religious history. It was during his curacy that the Warbarrow Beacons were lit to signify the approach of the Spanish Armada. It was, too, William Hiley, as Rector of Poole, who received the very first copy of the authorised version of the Bible for use in St James.

(Mansions and Merchants of Poole and Dorset - Poole Historical Trust)

The Census of 1921

6th January 2022 was an important day for family history researchers because the 1921 Census of England & Wales went online and became accessible for the first time, having been closed for 100 years under the 1920 Census Act.

The Census was taken on 19th June 1921 after a two month delay due to industrial unrest. The 1931 Census was destroyed in a fire and the 1941 Census was never taken due to WW2 so the next census will not be available to view until 2052.

The Census offered more detail than any previous census, including place of work and employer details.

This Blog has already included a number of posts featuring great grandfather Samuel Hiley (1853-1939). His place of residence and occupation have been traced through previous censuses, records of marriages (his own and those of his children), and other records and documents, but the 1921 Census entry provided new, previously unknown, information about him. 

The entry shows Samuel and his wife Elizabeth living at 479 Park Hill, Chapel House, Padiham Road, Burnley with Samuel working as the Caretaker at the Park Hill Wesleyan Chapel. Samuel had always been one of the leading members of the Wesleyan Chapel at Lanebottom in Walsden, serving the Chapel in various capacities. The Park Hill Chapel is shown in the photo below.

This image has been used with permission from Burnley Civic Trust's Image Archive, www.bcthic.org

Samuel lived in Walsden for nearly all his life but the 1911 Census shows him living in Littleborough and the 1921 Census now shows him living in Burnley, so we know he spent at least two spells away from Walsden.

Not far away from the Chapel lived Samuel's daughter Annie, her husband Herbert Jackson and children Willie (Willis) and Annie. Herbert was the Head Gardener at Ightenhill Park working for Burnley Corporation. The family lived at Ightenhill Park Lodge.

Elizabeth died in 1931 and Samuel then lived on his own at 3 Top o' th' Hill Road in Walsden. He died in 1939 while staying with Annie and Herbert in Burnley.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all my readers - and welcome to the first post of the year.

A reminder that this Blog is for anyone who is a Hiley (or Highley), or who is related to one, or who has an interest in family history and genealogy. I would be pleased to include anything that others would like to contribute, either about Hileys or about a related topic.

My own Hiley ancestors originated in the Upper Calder Valley just west of Halifax. The Blog has now been running for three years and most of the people and places featured so far are associated with these 'Yorkshire Hileys'.

But there are Hiley and Highley families who are not related to the Yorkshire Hileys. One of the themes of this year's Blog will be to look at some of these other families and find out about some of the people in them.

I will continue with the occasional series of posts on:

Notable Hileys

Hileys/Highleys killed in WW1

Families connected with my own Hiley line

and particularly for my own family:

The life and reminiscences of Henry Hiley

A few reminders

You can contact me directly at christopherhiley@hotmail.com.

Click on an image in a post to magnify it.

Use the 'Search this Blog' feature to search for a particular name or post.

Let me know if you want to include an article, send a photo, have a suggestion, or if you have a comment on one of my posts.

Part of the area of Castle in Todmorden with Cross Stone church in the background
This is the area where James and Martha Highley first lived after they moved west
 along the Calder valley from Warley 

Private Allan Hiley

The last post of 2021 features Private Allan Hiley from Leeds who was killed in the First World War aged just 22.

Allan is shown in the 1911 Census living at 3 Cedar Road, Armley, Leeds with his father Charles (a tobacconist), mother Mary Esther, and two older sisters. He was aged 17 and working as a Shop Assistant.

Allan joined the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) 10th Battalion which was formed at Halifax in September 1914 and landed at Le Havre in late August 1915. The Battalion took control of the front line near Armentieres. Allan was killed in action on 1st October 1915 after only a month in France. He was buried at Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier near Lille in northern France. 

Photo of Allan with a report of his death appeared in

The Yorkshire Evening Post on 7th October 1915

Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved.

With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive

(www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

Allan's grave at the Brewery Orchard Cemetery
Included with the permission of C. and J. Cosgrove

Brewery Orchard Cemetery
Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission

On this day...Jack Highley thanks his customers

The following entry appeared in the Todmorden Advertiser and Hebden Bridge Newsletter on this day in 1867.

Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved. 

With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive 

(www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

John (Jack) Highley was born in Halifax in 1839. His parents were John and Mary (nee Eastwood). His father John was a Cordwainer or Shoe Maker.

John married Mary Dawson in 1860 and the following year was recorded in the census as living with Mary's family in Todmorden and working as a Boot, Shoe and Clog maker. In 1871 he was described as a Boot and Shoe Maker, employing 2 men.

By 1881 John and his family had moved away from Todmorden and they were living in a house called 'Highley Villa' in Blackpool. He must have been a man of many talents. From starting his working life as a Shoemaker, in 1881 he was a 'Tailor and Draper', in 1891 a 'Pork Butcher', and in 1901 a 'Pig Dealer'. 

Like John, his brother William also followed in his father's footsteps. In 1881 he was a 'Master Clogger' in Todmorden.

John and Mary had two boys and two girls. Their daughter Clara died at age 3 and is buried in the graveyard at Mankinholes on the moors above Walsden and Todmorden. Also buried here are John and Mary. 

Their other daughter Bertha married George Henry Hall in 1894 and Bertha and George's son Clifford was born in 1899 and brought up in St Anne’s. Clifford was a Lieutenant with the Royal Air Force 214th Squadron. He was killed when he crashed in mountains between Lyon and Marseilles, aged 20, on 9th July 1919, while flying a Handley Page bomber with two mechanics and an observer. Clifford was buried at Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseilles but is also named on the gravestone above.

In the 1939 England and Wales Register, Jack Highley is listed, working as a 'Boot Repairer & Clogger own a/c single handed'. Living with him at the time in Todmorden were his brother Clifford and sisters Cora and Mary. Jack was the grandson of William the Master Clogger mentioned above.

Jack Highley's Cloggers shop was a familiar fixture behind the Market in Todmorden until the early 80s. The picture below is from 1973 and, along with the description, is included with the kind permission of Daniel Birch.

Highlee of Highlee, the richest man in Sowerby

Instead of an 'On this day' feature this month we have an 'In this month' post.

In 1886 The Surtees Society published a work in its series of 'Yorkshire Diaries & Autobiographies in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries'. It was called 'Some Memoirs concerning the Family of the Priestleys, written, at the request of a friend, by Jonathan Priestley.' It was written in 1696 in the 63rd year of his life.

Jonathan was one of the seven sons of Joseph Priestley and his wife Elizabeth. The family lived at Goodgreave in Soyland, a village near Sowerby and five miles south west of Halifax. Priestleys had lived in Soyland for many generations. Joseph was a yeoman clothier combining cloth-making with farming. The family took some of their cloth to sell at the cloth exchange in London.

The Priestley family suffered at the time of the Civil War between 1642 and 1644. The yeoman farmers and weavers rebelled against King Charles's policies and took up arms against them. Joseph joined the Parliamentarian cause and fled into Lancashire in August 1643 along with his son Samuel when the Royalists occupied Halifax. The Priestley's home and lands at Goodgreave were ransacked and plundered.

Joseph was captured on Blackstone Edge and imprisoned in Halifax but became ill with a fever and died. In November 1643, after the Royalists had fled following the Battle of Heptonstall, Samuel found a Royalist soldier lying in the River Hebden. He waded into the water and rescued the man but died from pneumonia shortly afterwards.

In his memoirs Jonathan referred to his father's dealings with 'Highlee of Highlee'.  

The property Highlee has been mentioned in previous posts. Enter 'High Lee' in the 'Search This Blog' box to read them.

The person called Highlee was James, the son of Michael - see the post of 11 September 2021. His son was also called James - 'young Highlee' in the excerpt above.