Chapter 8 - The Charleys of Blakeney, Gloucestershire

 

Chapter 8

The Charleys of Blakeney, Gloucestershire

The story that a Charley came over from Ireland to Berkeley in an open boat with a wife and child and a pack on his back is accepted by all the family of the generation who would be likely to have heard the story from their parents. The details which are known are few. The family sought a haven in Berkeley castle and were subsequently admitted on the strength of their credentials. It is said that this was on account of some personal service rendered to the Fitzharding family who were the Lords of Berkeley.

This Charley, the writer’s great-great-grandfather, would never disclose his origins to his family or reveal his wife’s maiden name.

An immediate question arises. “Why did he come to Berkeley?” There is no direct evidence, but an interesting fact was disclosed to the writer one day when she was sheltering from the rain in Gloucester public library, casually looking through a book on the history of the Fitzharding family. There it was stated that in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Fitzharding was deputy Lord of Ireland. It is possible therefore that the Charleys in Belfast were known to a later Fitzharding and possibly a friendship existed between them because of the Charleys’ long line in Lancashire and later in Belfast. This might account for the fact that it is said the Charley from Belfast was admitted to the castle because of some personal service which had been rendered to the Fitzharding family.

The appropriate years in the parish registers of Berkeley church have been searched but no entry can be found in the name of Charley. The clerk, an old resident who had searched the registers over and over again said he had never seen the name recorded. This may be significant. Possibly this Charley coming back from Ireland where his family had been fugitives from persecution was anxious to conceal his identity, furthermore, entries of births, deaths and marriages were not made in the official parish registers until 1832.

We know that James Charley, a son of the Charley from Belfast, crossed the river Severn and settled in Blakeney, but why did he come to Blakeney?

The powerful Berkeley family, which practically monopolised the office of Constable of St. Briavels Castle in Gloucestershire during the 18^th century, was required to furnish stewards, deputy wardens and secretaries to assist the Constable in his administration. They held considerable sway over a wide area reaching nearly as far as Gloucester itself. It is probable therefore that this Charley migrated from Berkeley on the recommendation of the Fitzharding family.

It was the writer’s great-grandfather James Charley (b. 1805 d 1890) who settled in Blakeney. He is buried with his wife Emma in Blakeney Baptist burial ground. He was a builder and built Brook House, where the writer was born, Colebrook Cottage, Highmead House, Blakeney Baptist chapel and manse. The story is told that he and his wife accompanied by another young couple walked to Coleford, 6 miles distant, each Sunday to attend the Baptist chapel. He later built the chapel at Blakeney and was one of the first members. Two old pewter plates, no doubt the original communion plates were found in the chapel cupboard. The writer owns one of these and her brother Reginald the other.

Their father James Smith Charley (1860-1936) used to tell the Sunday School children the story that when the circular decorative plaque in the centre of the ceiling was being put into place when the building was being erected it fell down three times. The lesson he used to point out was “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”

It is known that the writer’s great-grandfather the builder, when a boy, was vaccinated against smallpox by Dr. Jenner the son of the vicar of Berkeley. When searching the parish registers in Berkeley she came across an entry of particular interest recording that when Dr. Jenner was testing his theory of vaccination for the prevention of smallpox, a number of Berkeley children were vaccinated by him. It is probable that James Charley was one of these.

James was a man of broad sympathies and public spirit. The writer has in her possession two share certificates of £10 each in the name of James Charley, builder, Blakeney, who in 1860 invested this sum in the Forest of Dean Central Railway (incorporated by Act of Parliament). This railway was intended to connect Blakeney with Purton Pill for loading coal from the Forest of Dean. The venture was a failure and the railway was never completed. The man behind the idea was G.B.T.F. Smith which was interpreted locally as “Great Big Tom Fool Smith.”

The children of James Charley (1805-1890) who married Emma Virgo (1799-1879) were:

1.      Samuel (1834-1884) of Bristol House, Blakeney, journalist, buried in Blakeney Burial Ground. A man of many talents, he was much respected in the Forest of Dean by the miners and was given a handsome gold watch inscribed ‘presented to Samuel Charley by the members of the Dean Forest Miners Federation in appreciation of the excellent reports supplied by him to the Press, Nov. 1872.’ He was then only 38 years old. A chain accompanied the watch but unfortunately it was of base metal and it was never known why the fake was not discovered at the time. The writer’s eldest brother Reg had the watch, but it was stolen from his house at Boscobel, Stafford. Samuel Charley married Hannah Constance of Longhope but their married life was short as he died in 1884 at the age of 50.

A charming story is told of him. He used to play a silver cornet, and when coming home at night from reporting a meeting in the Forest he would give the pony a free rein and sit back in the saddle and play his cornet to his heart’s content. When the Forest children were naughty or perhaps would not go to sleep, their mothers would say “Hush or you won’t hear Sam Charley playing his little silver cornet.”

2.      Emma (1830-1898) of Blakeney, married William Noakes, draper, of Luton House, High Street, Bromsgrove. Sam Charley visited his sister there and the Noakes children remember him coming up the street carrying a long object wrapped in green fern leaves. The precious bundle was a whole salmon which had been caught by a fisherman at Gatcombe, Purton, or possibly by one living in Blakeney.

3.      George (1833-1913) of Woodbine Cottage, Longhope, Gloucestershire was the writer’s grandfather. He was a woodworker at Constance’s mill at Longhope and married Elizabeth Smith, the daughter of Robert Smith, a flour miller at Walford, North Ross. They were early in the field of mechanical milling and had a primitive steam engine. In Woodbine Cottage was an old blunderbuss which John Charley, a cousin of George, used in the Crimea. He lost an arm in that campaign. The writer’s most vivid memories of George Charley were his handsome white beard and the half crown he always gave her whenever she went to see him.

4.      Ann who married first William Cotton of Lydney and second Richard King (who had a son Ernest).

5.      Susan who married Frank Jones of Birmingham.

6.      Elizabeth (Bessie) who married a Lines. Their son Charles was brought up by Samuel and Hannah Charley of Blakeney and was at school with the writers’ father in Bath. Later he went abroad.

Elizabeth’s second husband’s name was Woodland and their children were:
1. Jessie, married Dr. Jervis
2. Lily, married a doctor
3. Daisy, unmarried
4. Blanche, unmarried
5. Grace, married Joe Gain, a solicitor
6. Florrie, unmarried
7. Tom, unmarried
8. Percy

The girls were exceptionally fair, almost albinos.

7.      Selina

8.      Walter, who married Mary, was a farmer of Droys Court near Gloucester. Their children were:
1. Edgar
2. Owen
3. Ellis
4. Cleopatra, married Joshua Hale and lived in Purton Manor, a fine Tudor house which was built by Sir Walter Raleigh. There is a very handsome panelled room where the initials of Raleigh and Miss Throgmorton who became his wife are intertwined on the carved fireplace.

Walter Charley’s wife had two sisters who owned a baby linen shop in Old Bond Street and included among their customers Mrs. Gladstone, Baroness Windsor and the Earl of Plymouth. These sisters left £40,000 on trust to Walter’s wife and then to the children.

William Virgo (1797-1880) the brother of Emma Charley née Virgo was a very popular member of the family and lived at The Ark, Blakeney.

William and Lois Virgo had three daughters. One married William Cotton of Lydney. Another daughter married a Mr. Ridley of Bury St. Edmunds. William who was called Uncle Billy, was a blacksmith and had a smithy at Blakeney. When the writer’s father who later owned the land, pulled down the buildings, he gave her the stone and the labour of a man for one week. During this time she built the rockeries at Moira, Blakeney, then their home. There were also two water troughs from the smithy which now form part of some very pleasant rock gardens.

The family of George Charley (1833-1913), the writer’s grandfather, of Longhope were:

1.     1. Selina who married Andrew James Walker of the Inland Revenue Service and lived in Stroud, and later at Bolton.

2.     2.  Elizabeth (Bessie) a school mistress. She spent week-ends with the Noakes family at Bromsgrove. She loved pretty clothes and would pirouette to show off her flounces. A special one with full skirt edged with broad bands of silk pleased her most.

3.      3. Evan who married Julia Hale a schoolmistress at Huntley, Gloucestershire. He did not marry until both his parents were dead. She died in 1952 having lived with them at Woodbine Cottage, Longhope.

4.      4. Walter, the youngest went to London while young and did extremely well in business as a meat merchant in Smithfield Market. He married Ada. Their daughter Thelma is a lecturer in Art at Portsmouth Training College for teachers and a fine artist. Her flower paints are delightful.

5.   5.   James Smith Charley (1860-1936) the writer’s father, married Eva Morse (1870-1951) of Viney Hill, Gloucestershire, the daughter of George and Sarah Morse. They were married on June 24^th, 1890 by Rev. G.R. Tanswell the minister of Blakeney Baptist Chapel. Mr. Tanswell had married Hannah, widow of Samuel Charley. The service was held during a terrific thunder storm. It is said that the match-makers were busy in pairing off the three Morse sisters and it was thought that Sally would be the one chosen by James Charley.

James Smith Charley was brought up by Samuel and Hannah Charley. He was sent away to Weston School, Bath for one term only. With him was Charlie Lines. The writer has his one and only school text book and also a wooden box which was his only luggage at school. On the death of Sam Charley he was the right hand of Aunt Hannah and carried on the journalistic work of her husband. The editor of the Western Mail Mr. Henry Lascelles Carr was interested in the boy and sent him a text book on shorthand. The day it arrived he attended Littledean Petty Sessions, then cycled to Symonds Yat where he sat in view of that gem of English country side and learned his first lesson in shorthand.

He was an ardent Liberal, an Overseer for the Poor and local agent for Sir Charles Dilke M.P. for the Forest of Dean. He died June 5^th, 1936 aged 76. He was secretary of Blakeney Baptist Church for many years and also Superintendent of the Sunday School. The writers’ mother, Eva Charley (b 1870, died Sept 4^th, 1951) was much beloved in Blakeney and was a founder governor of the Dilke Memorial Hospital. She represented the Gloucester County Council Education Committee on the local church school board. As a free-church woman she found it hard to convince the vicar that the school had to be closed by order of the County Education Authority. She was missionary secretary of Blakeney Baptist Church for 50 years, founder of Blakeney and Awre District Nursing Association and secretary of Blakeney Choral Society.

The author is indebted to the late Margaret Harvey M.B.E., secretary of the Women Liberals Federation, of Bromsgrove, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey of Bromsgrove (Mrs. Harvey was Laura Noakes, the daughter of Emma Charley of Blakeney) for the following memories of some mutual ancestors given to her in 1940.

Emma Charley and William Noakes were married in Blakeney Baptist Chapel on Dec 31^st, 1856. They crossed the River Severn by boat and sailed on to Bristol for their honeymoon. Earlier in about 1847 Emma and Ann Charley as young girls once went to stay with Mrs. Harriet Moorman their aunt, living in Cheltenham. When asked if they had brought white veils, a fashion among young girls at that time, they said “No” and she replied that she could not allow them to go out in Cheltenham without them. So she cut a very large one of her own in two and gave half to each. Mrs. Moorman was married to a surveyor who was also a successful cultivator of grapes.

Richard Cradulk or Cradok or Caradoc, father of Emma and grandfather of Lois who married William Virgo of The Ark, Blaneney, was considered quite a “nob” in Blakeney. He wore silver buckles on his shoes, paid big prices for his shirts and carried the first umbrella made of whalebone seen in the village. He was Welsh and spoke the language. He married twice – Sarah, who died in 1797 aged 49 and Christine who died in 1835 aged 87. A cream Quaker vase exists which was brought from Blakeney and belonged to Richard Cradok. It was used for dried grasses.

Richard Cradok had two sons who were lost in America. They landed but were never heard of again. A daughter was Ann Cradok of Brighton. She lived on the site of the Pavilion and was asked to sell her land when the Pavilion was built by George IV. She used to visit Bath and at a hotel was once asked to give up her rooms for the Royal Suite. She received a letter of thanks from the king. She was very generous and sent £5 to Emma Charley and black silk stockings to James every Christmas. She adopted a niece, Mrs. Challen who was residuary legatee under her will. She left £1,000 each to her sisters Emma and Mrs. Bullock and a like amount to Uncle Billy Virgo. Another sister who married a farm labourer was cut out of the will. Later Emma Charley took in a daughter of this disinherited daughter when she came destitute to Blakeney.