Whitehaven Landowners, Merchants and Shipbuilders and the Woods in the 18th Century -
A brief overview. (Post in preparation).
This is a series of notes to act as an aide memoire.
In order to put more flesh on the bones of the John Wood (1717-88) and his brother William Wood (1725 - 1804) ands the Wood family of shipbuilders I felt it necessary to take a brief look at the main personalities involved in the development of Whitehaven.
The first mention of our John Wood that I have so far discovered is in 1751 when Sir James Lowther reached agreement with Henry Benn and John Wood shipwrights to enclose a parcel of land behind Tangier Street, facing the sea for the use of shipbuilding (Beckett.
William and John Wood and his family occupy buildings at Ropers Alley (Coats Lane). 1762 Census.
As shipbuilders and ship owners the Woods would have had direct contact with the merchants of Whitehaven.
What is still unknown is who the brothers were apprenticed to and whether they were involved in the tobacco or coal trade. The ownership of a warehouse alongside their house at Ropers Alley suggests that they were trading - possibly in tobacco from Virginia.
As shipbuilders it is almost certain that they will have spent time at sea in order to learn the practicalities of maritime practise. Who did they sail with? did they go to Virginia?
Their mothers name was Kelsick - as yet we do not know her relationship with Richard Kelsick.
It should be born in mind that I come to this subject in almost complete ignorance and that whilst I know a great deal about English Eighteenth century art particularly sculpture - economic history is something that I am not very familiar with.
In compiling this research the same names keep reappearing and so a list of the dramatis personae would seem appropriate.
Probably a good place to start this research was with Coal and Tobacco by Beckett ... 1981
Much of the information within comes from the Lowther Family Papers.
Whitehaven - 1660 1800, pub 1991. RCHM, is the most useful source for the architecture and development of Whitehaven.
A trawl of the Lowther archives would probably help substantially in this research, but it is far away and I have no real experience in sifting through what will be the numerous documents available.
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The Landowners.
Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706) predominant landowner at Whitehaven.
Sir John Lowther, 2nd Bt,
by Alexander Browne, after Sir Peter Lely,
Mezzotint, circa 1684.
His finger is pointing to the town and harbour at Whitehaven.
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Sir James Lowther. FRS (1673 – 2 January 1755) industrialist and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for 54 years between 1694 and 1755. His ownership and development of coal mines around Whitehaven in Cumberland gave him substantial revenues, and he was reputed the richest commoner in England.
James Lowther (1673–1755), 4th Bt.
Jonathan Richardson, the elder (1667–1745).
The Beacon Museum Whitehaven.
Image courtesy Art UK website.
Sir James Lowther bequeathed his Whitehaven estates to Sir William Lowther of Holker who died a year later leaving his estates to Sir James Lowther of Lowther
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The Curwens of Workington Hall.
Sir Patricius Curwen (1602 - 64).
Henry Curwen, founded Harrington Harbour c. 1750.
The Workington estate passed to John Christian (he took the name Curwen) (1756 - 1828) of Ewanrigg and controlled the estates 1788 - 1828.
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He had married his cousin Isabella Curwen daughter of Henry Curwen in 1782.
For Curwen Archive material see -
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/22905c20-22e6-4daf-8bac-648239eb758b
Henry Curwen married Isabella Gale daughter of William Gale merchant of Whitehaven.
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The Senhouses of Maryport.
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Merchants
The Gale family
William Gale.
Built c. 1733 - 151/152, Queen Street.
Number 151/152 Queen Street may have been erected for William Gale, a merchant who had ships trading with the then booming American tobacco growing colonies.
The house is one of the earliest large house in town to survive with its ground floor accommodation intact, it has latterly been owned by the Bonnar family.
The impressive house was occupied by William Gale until his death in July 1774. The back courtyard was originally the setting for the Gale's own warehouse and a counting house for counting all the money he must have made in meeting the new craving for tobacco. These buildings were restored by the Bonnar family.
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Letter book, 1728 August-1731 July, Robert Carter Papers (acc. no. 3807), Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C28i02a.html
John Gale is referred to as a Glasgow Merchant
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia].
Sepr. 2d. 1728
Mr. John Gale
Sir -- In mine by Capt: Bowman I gave you an Acct. of my drawing upon you for my ballance and Since I have done it to wit to Colonel John Tayloe for £99"10 which I request yor. paymt. of at time by his promise the bill was not to be Sent away before the Ship I bought the Slaves out of returnd She is not yet gon however it is not amiss to be early in my advice I wish you happy & am Sir –
Yor. most humble Servt.
Per Dunlop.
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From a Letter from Robert King Carter to Peter How and Richard Kelsick 7 July 1731.
https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C29g08b.mod.html
John Gale (ante 1671-1729) was a Whitehaven merchant whom Carter would write a number of times times between1720 and 1729. "Like his brothers John was engaged in maritime trade. Operating as John Gale and Company, he was named as the owner of the vessel Clotilda, built in England in 1726 and registered in Whitehaven in 1727 at 25 tons." His will bequeathed "his half-share in the ships Cumberland and Somerset , his share in the Sea Flower , and 'the whole ship Clothilda .'" The Gale family had many connections with the colonies, especially in Virginia and Maryland. (Gayle N.Mandell, "John Gale, "the Elder," (Ca. 1615-20-1680) of Whitehaven, Cumberland, England," extensive genealogical and historical notes available online as part of a well-documented study on the "The Gale & Gayle Families." )
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Walter Lutwidge - slave trader from about 1710.
Letter Books 1739 / 1740 YDX/1 and YDX/2 Whitehaven Archives (not yet accessed).
His letter books offer a valuable insight into his many business ventures. Lutwidge’s interest in the Slave Trade is demonstrated in a letter to John Hardman of Liverpool in 1749:
"It would not be Disagreeable to me to be concerned a little in the Guinea Trade from your place as I have Ships & no Employment for them that I am at present fond of (I mean the Virginia Trade). I would readily send at least one of them to Guinea in case you should incline to take me in for a share of your cargo as a quarter, third, half or as was most agreeable to your Self you to have the nominating the Captn & other officers as necessary, to be skilled in the Trade, people here being strangers to it"
The letter books contain much more detail about dealing in slaves. They indicate that Lutwidge made three journeys to buy slaves between 1733 and 1737 as he explains in his Scheme of Cargo to purchase 300 Slaves in Angola. The cargo he recommended carrying consisted of a range of goods including guns and a variety of fabrics; Lutwidge advised the value to be expected for each slave would be £6
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Lutwidge trading in Virginia 1738 ship Walpole (son?)
see - http://www.holstonia.net/files/PattonPart1.pdf
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The following notes concern the early maritime records of Walter Lutwidge are as follows:
“Stranraer [a port town in Wigtownshire, Scotland] Oct. 29. Yesterday came into our Loch the Whitehaven Galley, Burden 150 Tuns, carrying 16 Guns, Walter Lutdwige Master, bound for Jamaica, laden with Beef, Butter, and Tallow, from Dublin, with 40 Servants on board, and will proceed in her Voyage with the first fair wind, they are coming here for that intent, this Loch being the best Outlet to the Westward in Britain.” (Supplement, 16–18 November 1709, No. 288);
“Whitehaven, March 24. On the 19th Instant the Whitehaven Galley, laden with Sugar and Indigo, Captain Lutwidge Commander, arrived at Ramsey Bay in the Isle of Man; She sailed from Jamaica on the 6th of February last without any Company, and left three of her Majesty’s Men of War, viz. the Kingston, Portland and Coventry, and four Guinea Ships, at Port-Royal.…” (London Gazette, 28–30 March 1710, No. 4671);
“Whitehaven, May 31. This Morning arrived a Fleet of Light Colliers, being twenty six Sail, from Dublin, under Convoy of the Seaford; And this Evening the Whitehaven Galley, Captain Walter Lutwidge commander, returned hither. In his Passage from hence to the West Indies, he met with a Sloop call’d the Anne of Liverpool, bound home from Fial [Faial (Fayal) Island in the Azores of Portugal] with Brandy, Wine and Sugar; which Sloop had been taken a little before by a Privateer, and mann’d with Frenchmen; he retook her, and brought her in here. The Privateer had put on Board several valuable Parcels of Goods more than her own Cargo, which she designed for France.” (London Gazette, 3–6 June 1710, No. 4700);
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Further reading:
Walter Lutwidge, Merchant of Whitehaven; author Frances Wilkins, Publisher Wyre Forest Press, in Paperback, ISBN10 1897725116
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Walter Lutwidge & family are discussed in:- The Forgotten Trade: Comprising the Log of the Daniel and Henry of 1700 and Accounts of the Slave Trade from the Minor Ports of England 1698-1725 by Nigel Tattersfield, John Fowles (ISBN: 9780712673433)
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House site granted 27 Nov. 1716.
Lutwidge built his house 1728 - an H plan Mansion, (Lons52 including (now) 75 Lowther Street on corner of Scotch Street.).(1728 dated rainwater head).
Bought adjoining site 1741/2.
The Lutwidge mansion one of the largest houses in Whitehaven. View by Matthias Reed shows the rear of the house it is clear to see the H shaped layout. The central range provided living accommodation with a central staircase and courtyards front and back where carriages and carts could decant their contents This is flanked by two large wings - the one on the Scotch Street side which wasn't heated and was probably a warehouse. The surviving wing provided more storage and office space. The wings actually look longer on the original painting creating a square court. This property was held by the family until May 24th, 1780, when it was sold by Charles, grandson of Thomas, the first owner, with the concurrence of Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, the last heir of entail, for £1,260, to Sir Joseph Senhouse, then residing at Arkleby Hall.
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Share in the Whitehaven Rope Co.
Third share in the glass house operating in the 1730's.
In 1743, Walter and son Thomas importing tobacco from Virginia (Beckett).
Bankrupt died in debtors prison in Dublin in 1744.(Beckett).
Thomas Lutwidge (son of Walter) established Brewery in 1730 until financial difficulties in 1736.
Thomas Lutwidge 1670 - 1746.
No brewery at Whitehaven until Patrickson and Spedding Timber Co.(Beckett - date - 1750's ?).
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The following notes concern the early maritime records of Walter Lutwidge are as follows:
“Stranraer Oct. 29. Yesterday came into our Loch the Whitehaven Galley, Burden 150 Tuns, carrying 16 Guns, Walter Lutdwig Master, bound for Jamaica, laden with Beef, Butter, and Tallow, from Dublin, with 40 Servants on board, and will proceed in her Voyage with the first fair wind, they are coming here for that intent, this Loch being the best Outlet to the Westward in Britain.” (Supplement, 16–18 November 1709, No. 288);
“Whitehaven, March 24. On the 19th Instant the Whitehaven Galley, laden with Sugar and Indigo, Captain Lutwidge Commander, arrived at Ramsey Bay in the Isle of Man; She sailed from Jamaica on the 6th of February last without any Company, and left three of her Majesty’s Men of War, viz. the Kingston, Portland and Coventry, and four Guinea Ships, at Port-Royal.…” (London Gazette, 28–30 March 1710, No. 4671);
“Whitehaven, May 31. This Morning arrived a Fleet of Light Colliers, being twenty six Sail, from Dublin, under Convoy of the Seaford; And this Evening the Whitehaven Galley, Captain Walter Lutwidge commander, returned hither. In his Passage from hence to the West Indies, he met with a Sloop call’d the Anne of Liverpool, bound home from Fial [Faial (Fayal) Island in the Azores of Portugal] with Brandy, Wine and Sugar; which Sloop had been taken a little before by a Privateer, and mann’d with Frenchmen; he retook her, and brought her in here. The Privateer had put on Board several valuable Parcels of Goods more than her own Cargo, which she designed for France.” (London Gazette, 3–6 June 1710, No. 4700);
--------------------------
Further reading:
Walter Lutwidge, Merchant of Whitehaven; author Frances Wilkins, Publisher Wyre Forest Press, in Paperback, ISBN10 1897725116 (not available anywhere at present).
--
Walter Lutwidge & family are discussed in:- The Forgotten Trade: Comprising the Log of the Daniel and Henry of 1700 and Accounts of the Slave Trade from the Minor Ports of England 1698-1725 by Nigel Tattersfield, John Fowles (ISBN: 9780712673433).
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Henry Benn Shipbuilder.
1762 Census at 8 Church St.
Declared bankrupt 10 Dec 1766.
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Patrickson Shipbuilder.
In partnership with John Spedding.
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Richard Kelsick.
and Kelsick and How(e).
For Kelsick and Howe and the tobacco business between Whitehaven and Norfolk and the Virginia plantations see - https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/21048
The identity of the members of the firm of How and Kelsick, London is revealed by a power of attorney from Peter How and Richard Kelsick of Whitehaven, County of Cumberland, England, dated 1740, by which they appointed John Champ and William Jordan of Richmond County, Virginia as their agents. (Richmond Co. Va. Records. Order Book 1 p. 152.)
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Kelsick is a Cumbrian name. The earliest Kelsick entry in the St.Bees Register is for Elizabeth dau. of William Kelsick bapt. – 10 May 1542.
It seems the early spellings of Kelsick and Keswick were interchangeable.
The complicated family history is not helped by the proliferation of Richards -
Richard Kelsick born 1687 - St Bees, Whitehaven, Cumberland
Death 1740 - Virginia, USA.
His Mother Isabella Benn - St Bees, Whitehaven, Cumberland.
Father Richard Kelsick - Virginia, USA.?
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The Robert King Carter Letters to Richard Kelsick, from Rappahannock, Virginia -
Robert Carter was a member of the Council of Virginia, acting governor 1726 -1727, and a political power in the colony.
see -
https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C31g07a.mod.html
https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C29g08b.mod.html
Letter book, 1728 Aug.-1731 July, Robert Carter Papers (acc. no. 3807), Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Letter from Robert Carter to Captain Richard Kelsick, July 8, 1729
Rappa[hannock, Lancaster County, Virginia] July. 8. 1729
Capt Richard Kelsick
I Heartily wish you a good Voiage and am
yr Humble Servt.
Letter from robert King Carter to Peter How and Richard Kelsick 7 July 1731.
Rappa [hannock, Lancaster County, Virginia- July 7. 1731
from
https://christchurch1735.org/robert-king-carter-papers/html/C31g07a.mod.html
Mr Peter How & Capt. Richard Kelsick.
Herein you have a bill of Loading for 20:hogsheads of tobacco more in the same Ship consigned to you for sale -Resting in hopes that both this and the last Parcel may return a
living price I am,
Gentlemen,
Your very humble servant,
Debts incurred by the forge and the decline in the tobacco trade may have contributed to his bankruptcy in 1763." ( Paula S. Felder. "Fredericksburg and Whitehaven Connection to English Port a Forgotten Chapter in Area's Colonial History Living-history Program," Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star , 7/2/2005, and Notes on a portrait of "Mrs Peter How and her Two Children, Peter and Christian," 10/16/2015 )
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Letter from Richard Kelsick d. 1760 Mayor of the Borough of Norfolk Virginia. to Benjamin Franklin, 10 April 1756.
see - https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-06-02-0188
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Captain Richard Kelsick, Mayor of Norfolk, VA.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3717&context=etd
1740s Captain Richard Kelsick, the second or third of that name to trade in Virginia, established a permanent residence in Norfolk Borough. Soon after his arrival he married Elizabeth Hutchings, daughter of Norfolk's foremost merchant John Hutchings.
He further cemented his local connections by forming a partnership with local magnate Thomas Newton who furnished the bills of exchange for goods imported from the Whitehaven firms of Peter How and Matthew Gale. Kelsick thus assured his entry into the charmed circle of Norfolk Borough's oligarchy. Member of the borough council by 1748, he became alderman in 1751, the final step toward his election as mayor in 1755.
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The Cumberland Chronicle 24 May 1777 Whitehaven: Today "a fine vessel, pierced for 18 guns, called The Littledale, was launched out of Messrs. Speddings, & Co's yard, built by Messrs. Palmer, & Co. for Mr. Richard Kelsick."
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Peter How(e).
Tobacco Merchant.
Howe Younger and sons bankrupt 1763.
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The Gilpins.
John Gilpin, 1719, Queen Street House House (Lons 43 Queen Street).
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The Speddings.
John Spedding and his son James.
JS Letters to Lowther YCOP/23 Whitehaven Archives
Carlisle Spedding and his son also James.
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Clement Nicholson - Tobacco Merchant.
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