JOURNAL OF THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE RECORD SOCIETY WOOTTON HALL PARK, NORTHAMPTON NN4 8BQ ORTHAMPTONSHIRE Page PAST AND PRESENT Notes and News … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4 N Thomas J. George (1853-1920) … … … … … … … … … … … 5 (2010) 63 Number Medieval Northamptonshire: The 1301 Assessment for a Fifteenth Stephen Swailes … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7 A Bloody Elopement: The Daltons of Apethorpe and the Battle of Beams Douglas Arden … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 13 A Secret Loadstone: The Worthy Dr Thomas Fuller 1609-1661 and Northamptonshire M. J. Cohen … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 26 The Wastells of Northampton Gillian Ford … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 36 ‘Steer a Safer Course’: Sir Justinian Isham: Family Life at Lamport Hall (1681-1730) Miriam Grice … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 47 Sulby Hall and its Owners 1700-1950 Heather Bird … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 58 Mutuality in Victorian Northampton: The Friendly Societies’ Medical Institute R. L. Greenall … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 68 Evangelical, Liberal, Labourer: Joseph Rowell of Oundle and Brigstock Chris Hamson … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 75 Louisa Knightley and the Royal Household Peter Gordon … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 87 Book Reviews … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 98 Obituary Notices … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 101 Index … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 103 Cover illustration: Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet, by Sir Godfrey Kneller (c.1684) Number 63 2010 £3.50 (Reproduced by kind permission of the Trustees, Lamport Hall Preservation Trust) NORTHAMPTONSHIRE PAST AND PRESENT AND PAST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Northamptonshire Record Society NORTHAMPTONSHIRE PAST AND PRESENT 2010 Number 63 Instructions for Contributors All contributions must be provided in hard copy and electronic format on a disc, CD or as an attachment to an email, preferably in Word. Please use the existing house style of NP&P. Normally, the maximum length is 6,600 words. Shorter articles and small items are also welcome. Draft texts may be sent for discussion. Printed references used more than a few times should be abbreviated after the first time and referred back to the full citation. Each article should have at least one illustration and full articles at least three. All illustrations must be of good quality with copyright permission stated and obtained where appropriate. If digital illustrations are provided they should be in separate files, either JPEG or TIFF, preferably with a resolution of at least 300dpi. CONTENTS Page Notes and News … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4 Thomas J. George (1853-1920) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5 Medieval Northamptonshire: The 1301 Assessment for a Fifteenth … … … … … … 7 Stephen Swailes A Bloody Elopement: The Daltons of Apethorpe and the Battle of Beams … … … … 13 Douglas Arden A Secret Loadstone: The Worthy Dr Thomas Fuller 1609-1661 and Northamptonshire … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 26 M.J. Cohen The Wastells of Northampton … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 36 Gillian Ford ‘Steer a Safer Course’: Sir Justinian Isham: Family Life at Lamport Hall (1681-1730) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 47 Miriam Grice Sulby Hall and its Owners 1700-1950 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 58 Heather Bird Mutuality in Victorian Northampton: The Friendly Societies’ Medical Institute … … 68 R.L. Greenall Evangelical, Liberal, Labourer: Joseph Rowell of Oundle and Brigstock… … … … … 75 Chris Hamson Louisa Knightley and the Royal Household … … … … … … … … … … … … … 87 Peter Gordon Book Reviews … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 98 Obituary Notices… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 101 Index … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 103 All communications regarding articles in this and future issues should be addressed to Barbara Hornby, Hon. Editor, Northamptonshire Record Society, Wootton Hall Park, Northampton, NN4 8BQ © with the individual authors and the Northamptonshire Record Society Number 63 ISSN 01490 9131 Typeset by John Hardaker, Wollaston, Northamptonshire and printed by Information Press Ltd, Eynsham, Oxford, OX29 4JB 4 THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE RECORD SOCIETY (FOUNDED IN 1920) WOOTTON HALL PARK, NORTHAMPTON, NN4 8BQ President Lady Juliet Townsend LVO NOTES AND NEWS Members will be saddened to learn of the death, on 8th August, of Leslie Skelton. Leslie retired in 2007 after almost 20 years as the Society’s secretary and was made an Honorary Member in recognition of his outstanding service. The end, at the age of 87, was very peaceful. Leslie had recently moved to Felton in Northumberland to be near his son and his family. The funeral was held at Felton Church on 16th August. Memorial gatherings at St Helens and Sywell were also arranged. * * * * * Welcome to Stephen Jennings who is undertaking work to update and maintain the Society’s membership database and to keep the accounts. Stephen is the ideal person for these tasks, having recently retired from a position at the Society’s Independent Examiners, J.R. Watson and Co., in which capacity he had carried out the annual reviews of the Society’s accounts. * * * * * Judith Hodgkinson writes: With reference to ‘The London Accounts of Juliana, Lady Langham, 1774-1794’ (Northamptonshire Past and Present, No.62 (2009) p.49), I would like to correct the impression given in the article that Lady Langham only visited her mantua- maker and shoemaker once a year. From the amounts paid and the frequency with which many names appear, it would seem that Lady Langham paid most of her bills either in cash at the time, or very promptly when they were presented. However, some tradesmen’s bills were only sent in once a year at the end of the season. This included the silk mercer, woollen draper, mantua-maker, tailor and shoemaker. One can scarcely wonder at the financial difficulties many of these tradesmen faced: four or five quiet months in the summer and autumn while their wealthiest patrons were at their country houses, followed by seven or eight months of activity, at the end of which, with luck, bills would be settled, often with an abatement, or reduction, which would eat into profits. No wonder Robert Campbell in The London Tradesman (1747) suggests that ‘The Business of a Mercer requires a very considerable Stock. Ten Thousand Pounds, without a great deal of prudent Management, makes but a small Figure in their way’. In comparison, from the same source, the mercer’s shop assistants might earn £25-40 a year, a competent tailor a guinea (£1.05) a week and the ‘mere working Taylor’ between 20d (8p) and 3 shillings (15 pence), depending on the season. * * * * * I would like to thank the authors and reviewers for the excellent material and David Hall and David Harries for their support in producing the journal. Thanks must also go to Jean Hall for all her help over the years. Do not forget to consult the website for the latest about the Society: www.northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk. Barbara Hornby 5 Thomas J. George (1853-1920) In 2008 the Record Society gave to the Northampton Museums and Art Gallery an album of photographs of museum exhibits which was added to the Social History Collection (accession number 2008.28). At the request of the Society, the Museum gave the Society a copy of an early twentieth century photograph from the album of a previous curator, Mr Thomas J. George. Mr W.R.G. Moore has provided the following account of Mr George: Thomas George took charge of Northampton’s fledgling museum and library in the 1880s and built them into substantial collections which form the basis of the facilities we have today. Thomas John George was born in April 1853 at Bythorn in Huntingdonshire, son of a gentleman farmer. His family had farmed there for generations and accordingly we find him in the census for 1881 at the neighbouring village of Keyston. Aged 27, with his wife and first child, George was a farmer of 665 acres. However, farming was not his passion: educated at Uppingham School and Cambridge, he had long been interested in geology and archaeology. George brought his young family to Northampton. After offering to assist with the task of removing the museum from the Town Hall to larger premises in Guildhall Road, he was appointed Keeper in May 1884. Then in 1885 he accepted the additional post of Librarian. George held both positions until 1912, after which he remained the museum’s curator until his death, at the age of 66, in March 1920. When he started, both the museum and library were small and disorganised. Gradually George built them into substantial, carefully arranged collections, well used and valued as educational institutions. The museum was divided into sections for archaeology, ceramics and footwear; the library into reference, lending library and a reading room. A second museum was opened at Abington in 1899 and after protracted discussions a new library was built in Abington Street, opening in 1910. The removal of the library created additional space for the museum in Guildhall Road, which resulted in a new display area for boots and shoes and on the first floor a new art gallery. George always showed an enthusiastic interest in the museum and the objects held there. He encouraged others, giving many talks and lectures, and he supported the Northamptonshire Natural History Society, where he set up an archaeological section. His published works include several important articles on prehistoric and early Northamptonshire. An obituary appeared in the Journal of the Northamptonshire Natural History Society