Whatmore Family History

Only one Shropshire Whatmore family ever seems have set up home in Shrewsbury, the county town. Whilst Watmores and Whatmores are to be found at various times in the various towns in the south of the county, they do not seem to have lived in any of the towns north of Wenlock Edge. This post is about John Watmore of Shrewsbury, the exception to the rule and about the Fewtrell family into which his daughter married. The story of John Watmore has been researched by Geoffrey Whatmore and appears in his publications ‘Whatmore Panorama’ and ‘Wat’s Brother-in-Law’. These can be purchased at www.genfair.com  I am most grateful to Geoffrey Whatmore for his permission to make use on this blog of yet another of his stories.

 John Watmore was a cooper – a maker of barrels - which were used for many purposes and were essential to the vintners of the Shrewsbury. Geoffrey Whatmore suggests that John was born about 1585 at Chorley, Stottesdon, the son of Francis Watmore and his wife Ann (who were involved in the Cowslow Close affair - see ‘Whatmore Panorama’). This would make John the great great grandson of the William  Watmough who migrated to Shropshire from Prescot in Lancashire. Francis and Ann had five known children – Francis, John, Richard, Alice and Jane. One would expect Francis to be the first of their male children but we know nothing about him other than his name and the year of his death – 1627. In addition, the records are so far silent about the fate of  Richard. We know, however, that Alice and Jane both married into the West family of Stoney Stratford in Leicestershire.

 For reasons unknown, John received a good education at Shrewsbury School where he was a student in 1593. On 26 August 1610 he married Mary Morley at St Julian’s church in Shrewsbury. 

For some forty-three years John was a churchwarden at St Julian’s. The records show him as John Ottmer, paying bread and wine fees in 1621. It was at St Julian’s that John was buried in 1653, when the sum of 6 shillings and 8 pence (33 new pence) were paid for his burial within the church and for tolling the bell.

St Julian’s as John Watmore would have known it     A drawing by John Homes Smith  Copyright: Shropshire Archaeological Society and reproduced here by their kind permission  

St Julian’s was originally St Juliana’s. The reason for the change of name is unknown. The church has had quite a chequered history. The tower dates from about 1200 and was intended to support a spire which was never built. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1749 – 50 to a design of Thomas Farnolls Pritchard and the south side facing the High Street was ‘beautified’  (Nicholas Pevsner’s description) in 1846. In the 20^th century the church became redundant and the nave was turned into a craft centre. This eventually closed down and the church was bought by Andrew Wright and his wife who have restored the nave into an evangelical church, whilst they live in the tower! 

The congregation of St Julian’s included members of the Fewtrell family who were vinters in Shrewsbury  and who owned property in the town and also owned Easthope  Manor Farm just below Wenlock Edge.

John and Mary Watmore’s daughter Dorothy  married John Fewtrell of Easthope in 1641 at St Julian’s in Shrewsbury and Dorothy went off to live at Easthope Manor Farm.  John Fewtrell’s ancestor Edward Fewtrell  had purchased Easthope Manor Farm  from the Crosthwaithe family in about 1557. It seems to have passed to Roger Fewtrell (probably Edward’s son) and was probably sold to Roger’s brother John in about 1588. In 1610 the farm belonged to Edward Fewtrell, the son of John. This Edward married Elizabeth Crowther on 21 September 1613 at Ludlow. Thereafter the farm passed to their son John (born about 1622) who married Dorothy Watmore. Easthope Manor Farm passed out of the hands of the Fewtrell when it was sold by John Fewtrell’s grandchildren Samuel Fewtrell and Mary Harris in 1712. The purchaser was William Russell of Enchmarsh. The farm house  still exists, standing close to the church at Easthope. Nicholas Pevsner  (‘Buildings of England: Shropshire’ Penguin Books 1958  ) states that the present building  was built about 1600 and possesses a plaster ceiling of a similar design to one at nearby Wilderhope Manor. Madge Moran (‘Vernacular Buildings of Shropshire’ Logaston Press 2003) reports that much of the timber framed medieval manor house remains including the screens passage and spere-truss. My own impression is that the fine windows at  the front of the house look as if they were inserted in Georgian times. 

Easthope Manor Farm - front

Easthope Manor Farm - rear

Unfortunately the church at Easthope, which originally housed the Fewtrell family tomb, was very badly damaged by fire in 1923.

Easthope church

John Fewtrell had a large number of siblings and at least one of them emigrated to America. His brother Thomas who was baptised at Easthope on 14 April 1628  was buried at Surry in Virginia, USA in 1693. His son Thomas, born 1659 at Chetton in Shropshire, settled at Northampton, Virginia, USA. There are references on the internet to other members of the Fewtrell family from Easthope settling in America but unfortunately their descendants do not seem to have researched properly their ancestors precise origins as the dates given seem to be just guesses. 

Dorothy and John had a large family, all born at Easthope. Their known children were: Elizabeth 1642, Mary 1644, Martha 1646, Hannah 1648, John 1649 the twins Timothy and Joshua 1650, James 1651 Benjamin 1642 and Lydia 1643. Sadly Dorothy died in 1643, possibly from complications following the birth of her last child.  In seems likely that Dorothy’s parents also went to live at Easthope Manor Farm – we know that Mary Watmore was there in about about 1642 and is buried in Easthope churchyard. Dorothy’s husband John Fewtrell remarried within 3 months of the death of his first wife. His second wife was Eleanor Watson. John Fewtrell died at Easthope in 1690.

When Dorothy’s father died in 1653 he left twenty pounds to each of his surviving grandchildren and most of his houses, lands and rents to John Fewtrell. Strangely he left only 40 shillings to his eldest grandson John with a note stating that this bequest was not to be increased! We know a little more of what happened to the children of Dorothy and John Fewtrell (See Family chart in this post). Of the male children, however, we only know that John born 1649 married a Sarah and  had a son Samuel born 1686. This son married an Anne and their two known children were Hannah born 1705 and Thomas born 1709 who took Holy Orders and died in 1764 at Easthope. In Thomas’s will of 1643 he refers to his sister Sarah (otherwise unknown) and also to his sister Blakeway. He also refers to his Blakeway nephews and nieces – Thomas, Richard, Ann and Charles. There is also a reference to Samuel Blakeway. I have assumed, perhaps unjustifiably, that Thomas’s sister Hannah married a Samuel Blakeway although I have been unable to trace the marriage.