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A TRIP TO CHESHIRE 1 June 2004 by Ruth Thorp Returning from a family holiday in the Peak District, we spent a day visiting various places in Cheshire that were associated with the Thorp family in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Macclesfield We started our visit in Macclesfield, parking in the multi-storey car park in Jordangate. Following a surprisingly sunny bank holiday weekend, it was unfortunately rather a grey day, with sporadic drizzle, which meant my photographs were not as good as they might have been. We firstly looked for the house in Jordangate that belonged to the family in the second half of the nineteenth century, called "Pear Tree House". Although there was no name apparent, we guessed that it was the fine three storey town house behind railings, half way along Jordangate.  Jordangate House, Jordangate, Macclesfield, Later, on my return home, I found out on the Internet that the house is now called "Jordangate House", but was previously called Pear Tree House. It was built in the 1700s and originally owned by the Brocklehurst family (another silk trading dynasty - see later), before being sold to the Thorp family. Pear Tree House was sold around 1913, by the executors of the estate of John Walter Hook Thorp. We walked into the centre of Macclesfield and called in at the Town Hall at the Tourist Information Centre. They advise family history researchers to visit the library (in Jordangate) or the County Records Office in Chester - both of which I intend to do, when we don’t have two eight year olds in tow! We were hoping to visit the parish church, which apparently has a window dedicated to Frances Maria Thorp, but this was not possible as was been closed for refurbishment. It is nearly complete and we hope to visit when we are next in Macclesfield. We then went to the Silk Museum, which is in the old Sunday School building. This small museum gives a simple introduction to the silk industry and its history in Macclesfield and beyond. There is also a room with examples of historical costumes made of Macclesfield silk, dating back up to two hundred years. There is no mention of the Thorp family in the museum, except that there is a list, with photographs, of all the mills in Macclesfield, organised by the decade they were built. This includes three mills in Thorp Street, of which two are still standing. Much mention is made in the museum, including in the video presentation, of the Brocklehurst family, who seem to have been the biggest silk mill owning family in Macclesfield. We have since found that there were strong connections between the Thorps and the Brocklehursts, both families producing several town magistrates and mayors. As mentioned above, it also appears that the Thorp family bought Pear Tree House from the Brocklehursts (but see also Prestbury below). There is prominent mention in both obituaries of the Brocklehursts attending the funerals of Robert Thorp in 1885 and his son John Walter Hook Thorp in 1912. It is also mentioned in the museum that several of the silk traders who came to Macclesfield in the first half of the nineteenth century were from Spitalfields in London. This was the case with the Thorps, with Samuel Thorp of Rainow coming from Spitalfields, where he had lived along with his elder half brother John Thorp of Evesham, and later with his wife Hannah and the eldest few of their children. They lived in Spital Square (John at number 30, Samuel at number 37), which the museum describes as where the wealthier silk families lived. The museum also mentions that many of the silk workers in Macclesfield emigrated to Paterson, New Jersey, USA (called "Silk City"). Again, there is a Thorp connection here, as Thomas Thorp, sixth son of Samuel of Rainow, emigrated to Paterson with his family in 1849. (We are still trying to find out if there are any descendents of this line still in the USA - I have only got as far as 1930.) It is apparently possible to consult the library and archives (including a big photographic archive) at the silk museum, by appointment, which we hope to do sometime in the future. We then visited Thorp Street, which is a hundred yards or so from the Town Centre. There are two remaining mill buildings in Thorp Street - "Thorp House" and the "Gas Mill". Thorp Street backs onto the River Bollin, which runs alongside the bypass, and is admittedly a slightly run down area.  Thorp House, Thorp Street, Macclesfield  Thorp House, Thorp Street, Macclesfield  Samuel and David Thorp in Thorp Street, Macclesfield Thorp House is split into four units, which are let as various office units to architects and similar. The Gas Mill now accommodates a printing company. I later found out from a book (that I bought at the Silk Museum) that the Gas Mill was built in 1827 and had originally been four storeys high. However, following a fire in 1977, it was reduced to three storeys - this explains the rather abrupt roof line (see photograph). From his obituary, it seems that the Gas Mill was still owned and run by John Walter Hook Thorp at the time of his death in 1912. It was apparently sold to a company called Berisfords in 1913.  Gas Mill, Thorp Street, Macclesfield |
Rainow, near Macclesfield We drove a couple of miles out of Macclesfield to the village of Rainow, which is a pretty rural area, despite being so close to the town. We found Tower Hill House and Tower Hill Cottages, just to the Macclesfield side of the village centre. We photographed these, assuming that Tower Hill House was the home first of Samuel Thorp of Rainow (family documents simply say that he lived "at Tower Hill") and subsequently his bachelor sons John and Edward and his widowed daughter Anna and her three children.   Tower Hill House, Rainow, near Macclesfield, There is also mention in family documents that some of the family lived at "The Cottage", Rainow, but it is not clear which cottage this was (possibly the building now split into Tower Hill Cottages 1, 2 and 3?) Prestbury We took the Wilmslow road northwards from Macclesfield for a few miles, to the village of Prestbury - clearly a very choice part of Cheshire. We found the village church of St Peter's, which newspaper cuttings suggested held a Thorp family vault.  St Peter's Church, Prestbury, Cheshire. After some searching round the churchyard, which was a fair size, we found a grave stone, a rough carved texture and in the shape of a cross, under a weeping willow tree in the south side of the churchyard.  The family vault at St Peter's Church, Prestbury, Cheshire. Ten names are on the base of the cross:- Robert Thorp 1825-1885; his wife Frances Maria Thorp 1824-1876; three of their thirteen children who died young - Priscilla Thorp 1848-1961, Frances Maria Thorp 1855-1868 and George Herbert Thorp 1863-1871; Robert's bachelor eldest brother John Thorp 1813-1863; Robert's sons Robert Arthur Thorp "Priest" 1853-1891 and John Walter Hook Thorp 1851-1912; plus JWHT’s wife Louisa Caroline Thorp 1854-1935 and one son Herbert Walter Beck Thorp October 1879-2nd October 1934.    Inscriptions on three sides of the base Interestingly, the next door grave - definitely a little grander than the Thorp one - belongs to the Brocklehurst family, so this must have been the burial place for the silk mill owners! Wilmslow We then moved onto Wilmslow to look for the grave of Jonathan Thorp(e) of Wilmslow (1704-1742). This grave is mentioned in a late nineteenth century newspaper article called "Wilmslow Graves". This article describes the gravestone of Jonathan Thorpe and gives the inscriptionl, which was in Latin. The article says that the stone is just to the right of the main church door. However, despite careful searching, we were unable to find the stone. However, there were a few stones where the words were illegible or even completely worn smooth, which was not surprising as these stones were underfoot and it was clear that the churchyard is still used as a major thoroughfare in the town. Alderley Edge Our final visit of the day was to Alderley Edge to look for "Oak Bank" in Brook Lane, the home of Samuel Thorp of Alderley from about 1851 to 1889. We were hopeful of finding this house, as it was marked on an old A-Z map dated around 1980. However, we were to be disappointed, as it was just a building site, where a block of flats (or "penthouses" as the sign grandly called them) were being built. It seems we were only a few months too late to see Oak Bank, which was a rather sad end to the trip. |