The Edge Family, Horton Hall and St Michael's Church and Churchyard, Horton, Staffordshire

My interest in the Edge family and their association with Horton Hall and St Michael's Church and Churchyard in Horton, Staffordshire was sparked by a family connection to the Edge family. As well as pointing me towards an interesting avenue for research, the family connection prompted our visit to Horton[1] during a trip to England in late 2019.

Photo taken by the author - November 2019

The Family Connection

My husband's connection to the Edge family starts with his 3rd Great Grandmother, Sarah Edge. Sarah married William Chapman in Ireland in 1826[2]. They lived in County Wicklow, Ireland. It was their son William George Chapman who immigrated to New Zealand in abt. 1880 via Australia[3]. He had immigrated to Australia from Ireland sometime before 22 December 1855 when he married Tamar Waldron at St Peter's Church, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Their marriage entry shows William’s mother as being Sarah Edge[4]:

Marriage Registers. St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
via Ancestry.com

Research to date suggests that Sarah Edge, my husband's 3rd great grandmother, traces her ancestry back to the Edge family of Staffordshire who were associated with Horton Hall and St Michael’s Church and Churchyard, Horton.  However, much of the information I have, as follows, is drawn from secondary sources[5].

Edge Family Estate and Home

Derivatives of the name Edge include del Egge and de Egge. Adam de Egge (b. abt. 1282) received a grant of lands in Horton in 1338. This included a house that later (abt. 1820) became known as Horton Hall. Over the years the Estate was passed, through the Edge family, from father to son eventually being inherited by Richard Edge. This Richard Edge was born in about 1573 and died in about 1647 in Horton, Staffordshire. Research suggests that he is my husband's 9th Great Grandfather. When Richard died, he left the estate to his son Timothy Edge (b. abt. 1619) in preference to his oldest son, Richard Edge (b. abt. 1607) or second oldest son, John Edge (b. abt. 1609). See below - Why Timothy and not Richard or John?

Today, Horton Hall is listed on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II Building[6]

The House 

British History Online[7] describes the house as a 17th century house of coursed ashlar which consists of a central range with cross wings ...

An outbuilding retains a reset doorhead possibly from the north-east side of the house and dated apparently 1640 with the initials of Richard Edge. The principal and secondary staircases survive, but the main rooms were remodelled in the mid 18th century. At that date the south front was given sash windows on the ground and first floors and the doorway was moved to the centre to create a near symmetrical elevation. The short service wing on the northeast corner was probably built at that time. Early in the 19th century canted bay windows were added to the west front. A coach house with stables was built north of the house in the later 19th century. The walled garden on the west has an entrance with a doorhead dated 1668 and the initials of Timothy Edge.

Estate Succession – Timothy Onwards

According to British History Online[8], Timothy Edge died unmarried in 1683. He was succeeded in ownership of the Estate by his cousin Ralph Edge who died a year later in 1684. Ralph's heir was a distant relative, Nicholas Edge who retained possession despite allegations that he had forged the deed of settlement.

The Estate left Edge ownership in 1720 when Nicholas' son, Timothy, sold the estate to John Alsop. John's heir was his wife's niece, Elizabeth, wife of Henry Fowler. Their son, John Fowler owned 458 acres in Horton in 1820 and inherited the house from his Mother. It was about then, in 1820, that the house became known as Horton Hall.

Next, the house passed from John Fowler to his daughter Phoebe in 1827. She married FitzJames Watt in 1836 and died in 1854. In 1850 the house was occupied by Phoebe's half-brother Josiah Gaunt and, after Josiah's death in 1868, it was occupied by his son Frederick who died in 1875. In 1881 Phoebe's son Arthur was living at the house while on leave from India, where he was a civil judge at Poona. He died in 1885. Ownership of the house and 472 acres in Horton was shared by Arthur's seven children, of whom two survivors sold the estate in 1917 to Charles Cowlishaw.

Charles Cowlishaw broke up the Estate, selling the house in 1918 to Robert Hall who died in 1926. In 1948 Hall's widow Margaret sold the house to Major George Greaves. The house was bought from him in 1951 by John Moxon who died in 1987. John Moxon’s widow, Doreen lived at the house until 1991 and in 1992 the house was sold jointly to Philip Cooklin, his wife Christine, and Mrs. Cooklin's parents Mr. and Mrs. E. J. D. Warrillow.

Whether the Cooklin and Warrillow families still live there, I don’t know but Horton Hall was certainly still occupied when we were there in November 2019:

Horton Hall - November 2019. Photo taken by the Author

Horton Hall - November 2019. Photo taken by the Author

Why Timothy and not Richard or John?

Richard Edge (1573-1647) lived at what later became known as Horton Hall during the English civil war years. As indicated above, when he died, he left the Estate to his son Timothy Edge (b. abt. 1619) in preference to his oldest son, Richard Edge (b. abt. 1607) or his second oldest son, John Edge (b. abt. 1609).

Under normal circumstances, Richard as the oldest son, would have expected to inherit the Estate. Richard, and another younger brother, Walter, were ‘out of favour’ because of an earlier falling out in relation to an unfulfilled obligation – see below.

John was the second oldest. However, he was not favoured by his father because he was a Royalist. Research suggests that John is my husband's 8th Great Grandfather. It was John’s son, John, who moved to Ireland. He was included in the Act of Attainder of 1869 of King James' Irish Parliament as John Edge, Gent of Dublin[9]

Timothy was favoured because he was a Parliamentarian and so succeeded his father as owner of the Estate.

Family Disagreement

Richard Edge the Elder (1573-1647) had agreed to settle lands to the value of 40 pounds on his son Richard's marriage to Mary Johnson (1627). He had also agreed to provide for his own 4 daughters, Jane, Dorothy, Elizabeth & Mary. Richard failed to do either. It appears that, when pressed to honour his obligation by his wife in 1630, Richard became very angry and threatened to go to Ireland and disinherit his son. He then left home, abandoning his wife, and took up residence at an alehouse in Congleton (Cheshire), 5 miles from his own house. He essentially stormed off and neglected his wife and children. His wife, being without money, sought the assistance of her friends and relatives. Their sons, Richard Edge and Walter Edge, with the help of their Mother and others, seized and disposed of some of Richard’s property. This then became the subject of legal action when Richard Edge the Elder commenced legal proceedings in the Chancery Division against his sons and the others involved.

The pleadings are set out in Appendices 13 and 14 of the Chancery Bills and Answers:

Suit between Richard Edge the Elder of Horton County Stafford Gentleman, Plaintiff and Richard Edge the Younger (son of the Plaintiff), Walter Edge (another son of the Plaintiff), William Jolley, Sir William Bowyer of Knipsley co. Stafford, Knight, John Bellot Esquire, Randle Rode, Esquire, Thomas Malkin and Margaret Malkin, his wife, Defendants.

Bill dated 24 November 1631[10]

The Plaintiff is seised for life in divers messuages and lands in Horton and in the parishes of Leek and Horton co. Stafford and was also possessed of divers deeds evidences charters exemplifications copies of writings records and other writings as well as bonds money and other property, all this property was in convenient rooms under lock and key in his dwelling house at Horton. The said Richard Edge the Younger, Walter Edge, William Jolley, Thomas Malkin and Margaret Malkin his wife took away and disposed of this property on the 20th December 1630 with the help of the Plaintiff's wife, Dorothy.

The answer of William Jolley and Richard Edge the younger is dated 29th November 1631 and denies the allegation of improper dealing.

On the Defendant Richard Edge the Younger's marriage there was a treaty made between his wife's father Thomas Johnson and John Barbour her uncle (on behalf of Mary the said Defendant's wife) and the said Sir William Bowyer and John Bellott (on behalf of the Plaintiff) and there was a portion of 40 pounds with the lady. At that time the Plaintiff undertook to so provide for his four daughters as to prevent their becoming chargeable to the Defendant Richard Edge the Younger but he has not performed his promise.

The answer of the remaining Defendants was taken at Biddle, Staffordshire on 19 January 1632[11].

The defendant Richard Edge the younger is son and heir apparent of the plaintiff. The latter agreed to settle lands to the value of 40 pounds per annum on the marriage and to provide for his own four daughters Jane, Dorothy, Elizabeth and Mary which he failed to do. About Michaelmas 1630 the plaintiff deserted his own house and went to live in a common alehouse in another county 5 miles distant from his own house and neglected his wife and children. He threatened to go to Ireland and take his property with him, and disinherit his son whereupon the Plaintiff's wife sought the aid of the Defendants (near neighbours and kinsmen of the Plaintiff) who helped her (an old woman) to secure the property. Thomas Malkin and Margaret his wife are also of the Plaintiff's kindred

St Michael's Church and Churchyard, Horton, Staffordshire

In 1692, Thomas Rudyard. the lay rector of Leek, Staffordshire, conveyed the patronage of Horton church and churchyard (St Michael's) to Richard Edge (1573-1647) and William Hulme. In 1677, patronage was held by Timothy Edge (abt. 1619-1683. This suggests that the patronage associated with St Michael's Church and Churchyard was conveyed by Richard by the same line of succession as the Horton Estate and Edge family home, later referred to as Horton Hall. That is, Richard to his son Timothy ... Timothy Edge to his cousin Ralph Edge ... Ralph to his distant relative, Nicholas Edge and Nicholas to his son Timothy Edge.

British History Online picks up the story from there suggesting that, in 1720, Timothy Edge, son of Nicholas Edge, conveyed the church to John Alsop, his successor at what was to become known as Horton Hall. However, by 1725, the patronage belonged to the Lord of Horton manor, John Wedgwood, and it descended with the manor until 1791 when it was sold to Thomas Sutton of Leek. In 1807, Thomas Sutton sold it to Edmund Antrobus and in 1926 Crawfurd Antrobus transferred the patronage to the Bishop of Lichfield[12]

St Michael's Church and Churchyard, Horton, Staffordshire, England, November 2019.
Photo taken by author

Note: I have now moved my blogging efforts from this platform to WeAre.xyz so that I can integrate building my family history archive with blogging. This post, or an updated version of it, can be found at: https://app.weare.xyz/blog/the-dual-genealogist/blogposts/the-edge-family-horton-hall-and-st-michaels-church-and-churchyard-horton

Notes

[1] Horton is a conservation area. Horton Conservation area Appraisal via Staffordshire Moorlands District Council [Website]. 

[2] Reports of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Alexander Thom & Co. (Limited), 1895–1899 via Image Ancestry.com. Dublin, Ireland, Probate Record and Marriage License Index, 1270-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed 5 June 2020.

[3] It is likely that William travelled from Melbourne to Christchurch, New Zealand (entering New Zealand at the port of Lyttleton) in about 1880. When he died on 6 June 1893, his death entry indicated he had been in New Zealand for 13 years. Death registration 1893/7  Births, Deaths & Marriages Online [digital index], New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs [Website]. Accessed 22 April 2022

[4] Marriage Registers. St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Image via Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, St. Peter's Eastern Hill, Marriages, 1848-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Accessed 5 June 2020.

[5] Sources include:

• Burke, B., Burke, A. P. (1899). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland. United Kingdom: Harrison & sons;
• Moxton, J.F. (1997 ) The History of Horton Hall Churnet Valley Books. Leek, United Kingdom;
• Horton via British History Online [Website]. Accessed 29 April 2022.

[6] Horton Hall via Historic England [Website]. List Entry Number:1374778. Date first listed:22-Oct-1952. National Grid Reference SJ9407957425.

[7] Horton via British History Online [Website]. Accessed 29 April 2022.

[8] British History Online – See Note 5.

[9] Burke, B., Burke, A. P. (1899). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland. United Kingdom: Harrison & sons

[10] Appendix 13 1631 Chancery Bills and Answers Charles I E 14/14 - As cited by Moxton, J.F. (1997) The History of Horton Hall Churnet Valley Books. Leek, United Kingdom. (p.117)

[11] Appendix 14 1632 Chancery Bills and Answers Charles I E 17/38 - As cited by Moxton, J.F. (1997) The History of Horton Hall Churnet Valley Books. Leek, United Kingdom. (p.117)

[12] Horton via British History Online [Website]. Accessed 29 April 2022.