(32) Adams family of Greenfield Hall and Woore Manor

The Adams family were landowners in Tunstall from the 13th century and established as potters by 1447.  In the late 18th century they were among the principal rivals to Josiah Wedgwood.   Several branches of the family were often active simultaneously, and since they all tended to use the Christian name William, they can be hard to disentangle.  The last family business was sold to the Wedgwood group in 1966.  In addition to large scale pottery works, the family were landowners in the Burslem-Tunstall area of Stoke-on-Trent and elsewhere in the county.  

Map of the Burslem area, 1775, showing the locations of the places mentioned

Thomas Adams of Burslem, master potter, died in 1563.  His great-grandson, John Adams (d. 1641) left Bircheshead Manor to his eldest son Thomas and property at Sneyd Green, Tunstall and Bagnall near Leek to his younger son, William (d. 1677).  

Bagnall Hall, as depicted in a photograph published in 1904.

William’s son William died unmarried in 1710 and he bequeathed Bagnall to his brother Edward, who was succeeded in turn by his son William (1702-75), grandson Richard (1739-1811) and great-grandson William (1772-1829).  William Adams also leased Fenton Hall, but this seems to have been given up after his widow’s death and was demolished in 1847.  

His son William Adams (1798-1865), perhaps the most distinguished potter the family produced, lived at Greenfield Hall, Tunstall (acquired through his marriage to Jane, daughter and heir of Jesse Breeze) and purchased Newfield Hall, Tunstall from Sir Smith Child bt. in 1858.  His son, William Adams (1833-1905) inherited both properties and also acquired Moreton House, Wolstanton (Staffs).  Greenfield Hall passed to his eldest son, William Adams (1868-1952) but was demolished shortly before 1908 for coal mining; William lived thereafter at Oaklands, Barlaston (Staffs).  Moreton House was inherited by a younger son, Percy Walter Lewis Adams (1875-1952), who later acquired Woore Manor (Shropshire).  William’s son, William Anthony Adams (b. 1909) lived at Lea Head Manor, Aston (Salop) and Crawford, Oulton Cross, Stone (Staffs) in 1969.  Percy’s son, Joscelin Francis Whieldon Adams (b. 1919) then lived at Coombe House, Uley (Glos).

Fenton Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

The house stood on the low ground to the south-west of the manor house, and was a five bay, two storey pedimented house, probably of the late 18th century, with an early 19th century veranda, which was tenanted by William Adams (1772-1829) and subsequently his widow.  Adams was no doubt responsible for adding the verandah.  The house was demolished in 1847 to allow the construction of the North Staffordshire Railway.

Basford Hall, Wolstanton, Staffordshire

Basford Hall, Wolstanton, from a photograph published in 1904.

A five by three bay, three-storey pedimented late 18th century house, extended in the early 19th century.  The original house was made deeper and given a single-storey wing on the left hand side, into which a new pedimented entrance was formed.  The house was demolished in the 20th century, although some of the farm buildings associated with it survive.

Descent: Built for William Bent (fl. c.1780)...sold 1839 to Edward Adams (1803-72); who sold to nephew William Twigg (d. 1867); sold to Edward Challinor (d. 1879),  to nephew, Charles Challinor (d. 1893) who occupied the house by 1872 and began the development of the estate for housing.

Greenfield Hall, Tunstall, Staffordshire

A brick house with two original wings joined to a five bay central block by single-storey connecting links, built in 1791 for Theophilus Smith and originally called Smithfield.  Smith also created the nearby settlement of Smithfield and built a pottery there in 1793, but was bankrupted in 1800.  His assignees sold the house in 1801 to John Breeze, who renamed the house Greenfield.  His granddaughter, Jane Breeze married William Adams (1798-1865) in 1827, and they made additions in 1842.  The house descended in the Adams family and was demolished for coal mining shortly before 1908.  The site is now occupied by a housing estate.  In the late 18th century the estate was noted for its trees and lawns and a private swimming bath.

Descent:  Theophilus Smith (fl. 1788-1801); to assignees in bankruptcy who sold 1801 to John Breeze (d. 1821); to son, Jesse Breeze (d. 1826); to daughter, Jane Breeze who married in 1827 William Adams (1798-1865); to son, William Adams (1833-1905), whose unmarried brother, Thomas, and sister, Jane, lived in the house; to son, William Adams (1868-1952), who demolished c.1908.

Newfield Hall, Tunstall, Staffordshire

A large three storey house with a five-bay entrance front and seven-bay side elevation, built between 1764 and 1770 for Capt. (later Admiral) Smith Child (d. 1813).  A pottery works was built on the estate before 1800, but the house remained in private occupation until the mid 19th century, when it was divided into apartments.  In 1858 the estate was sold to William Adams for mining purposes and that family retained the hall until after c.1945.  It was then unoccupied and was demolished c.1948, with the site being reused for an industrial warehouse.  Some of the outbuildings survived in 1963.

Descent:  Thomas Baddeley (d. 1770); gave the estate 1764 to his nephew, Admiral Smith Child (d. 1813); to grandson, Smith Child (fl. 1838), who let to the Admiral’s partner, John Henry Clive until c.1825; sold 1858 to William Adams (1798-1865); to son, William Adams (1833-1905); to son, William Adams (1868-1952), who demolished c.1948.

Moreton House, Wolstanton, Staffordshire

Moreton House, Wolstanton

A five bay three-storey house of 1743, built for Ralph Moreton (d. 1787).  It was acquired in the late 19th century by William Adams (1833-1905) and passed to his younger son, Percy Adams (1875-1952), who sold it on acquiring Woore Manor.  The house had become derelict by the 1970s but has since been restored.

Woore Manor, Shropshire

Woore Manor, 2012

A five bay two storey house of around 1800, probably built for George Watkin Kenrick as a replacement for a house which had been in the Kenrick family since c.1600.  Older work may survive in the large rear extension, which is mainly late 19th and 20th century.  The house was for sale in 2013.

Descent: George Watkin Kenrick (1770-1839); to son, George Kenrick (1810-81), who sold... Percy Adams (1875-1952), who sold to Douglas Moore Kenrick (1912-98).

The Adams family of Greenfield Hall and Woore Manor

Adams, Edward (1660-1727) of Bagnall.  Second son of William Adams (d. 1677) of Sneyd Green and Bagnall (Staffs); baptised 29 August 1660.  He married 5 May 1687 Elizabeth (d. 1733), daughter of John Meare of Handley Green (Staffs) and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1702-75) (q.v.);
(2) Edward Adams (b. 1709), baptised 5 February 1709; m. Martha, daughter of Joseph Adams of Burslem and had issue one son (William Adams (1746-1805), potter, who seems to have been apprenticed to Josiah Wedgwood);
(3) Elizabeth Adams, m. Joseph Hulme of Bagnall Grange.
He inherited his family's estate at Bagnall from his elder brother c.1710-12.
He died 12 February 1727.

Adams, William (1702-75), of Bagnall.  Elder son of Edward Adams (1660-1727) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Meare of Handley Green; baptised 5 November 1702.  He appears to have had an interest in The Hadderidge pottery at Burslem.  He married 1st, Dorothy (c.1710-35), elder daughter of Francis Meare of Norton Green Hall, and 2nd, 15 July 1735, Sarah (d. 1787), widow of Samuel Braddock of Hayward Park, Cheddleton (Staffs) and daughter of William Whieldon of Kingsley (Staffs), and had issue:
(1.1) Elizabeth Adams (1730-1806), m.1, Joseph Warburton (d. 1769) of Rushton Grange (Staffs) and m.2, 1773, Joseph Smith of Sene Park, Burton-on-Trent (Staffs), but died without issue;
(1.2) Dorothy Adams (1732-44), died young;
(2.1) William Adams (1736-1802) of Bagnall, who died unmarried and without issue;
(2.2) Edward Adams (b. 1738), who died unmarried and without issue;
(2.3) Richard Adams (1739-1811) (q.v.);
(2.4) Thomas Adams (b. 1741), died in infancy;
(2.5) Ralph Adams (1742-1800), married, 17 January 1770 at Stoke-on-Trent (Staffs), Martha Ball;
(2.6) Sara Adams (1744-69), died unmarried?;
(2.7) Mary Adams (b. 1746), m. 28 February 1774, Thomas Gee of Caverswall (Staffs).
He inherited his family's estate at Bagnall from his father in 1727.
He died 20 December 1775.

Adams, Richard (1739-1811) of Bagnall and Cobridge Gate. Third son of William Adams (1702-75) of Bagnall, born 17 August 1739.  About 1759 he borrowed money from his father and established himself as a potter at Cobridge in Burslem, making unmarked salt glaze and white stoneware; about 1780 he expanded the works and transferred to the production of painted and enamelled creamware; he retired in 1793.  He married Elizabeth (d. 1834), daughter of John Jackson of Greenwood Hall and Whitfield (Staffs) and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1772-1829) (q.v.);
(2) Richard Adams, died in infancy.
He inherited his family's estate at Bagnall from his elder brother in 1802.
He died 19 April 1811.

Adams, William (1772-1829), of Bagnall and Fenton Hall.  Only surviving son of Richard Adams (1739-1811) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Jackson of Greenwood Hall and Whitfield; born 20 July 1772.  He was a pupil of Lewis Heath of The Hadderidge pottery, Burslem, in which he acquired his grandfather's interest.  He sold this in 1804 and took the Cliff Bank works in Stoke-on-Trent, and gradually expanded the business, so that by 1818 there were five potteries, producing Queensware and transfer-decorated earthenware.  He married 18 January 1793 Sarah, elder daughter and eventual heiress of Lewis Heath of The Hadderidge, Burslem, and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1798-1865) (q.v.);
(2) Edward Adams (1803-72) (q.v.);
(3) Lewis Adams (1805-50), of The Watlands, Wolstanton; first chief bailiff of Stoke-on-Trent, 1839-40; died unmarried and without issue;
(4) Thomas Adams (1807-63), of Liverpool; died unmarried and without issue;
(5) Anne Adams, m. Joseph Trigg of Bank Hall, Burslem and had issue;
(6) Sarah Adams (d. 1831), m. James Guest of Medlock Grange (Lancs) and Bowdon (Cheshire) and had issue one daughter;
(7) Lettice Adams (d. 1827), died unmarried and without issue;
(8) Elizabeth Adams (d. 1862), died unmarried and without issue;
(9) Frances Adams (d. 1879), m.1, John Massey Morris and m.2 John Walton of Bowdon (Cheshire) but died without issue;
(10) Susanna Adams, died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited his family's estate at Bagnall from his father in 1811, but lived at Fenton Hall, which he rented, and which his widow occupied after his death until it was demolished in 1847.
He died 2 September 1829.

Adams, William (1798-1865), of Greenfield Hall, Tunstall and Liverpool.  Eldest son of William Adams (1772-1829) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Lewis Heath of Burslem; born 9 November 1798.  He worked as a potter in the Stoke-on-Trent area, taking over the management of his father's concerns with his brothers, and in 1834 building the Greenfield pottery in Tunstall. He developed his company's American market, and visited America in 1821 and 1825, after which the firm produced transfer-printed china with scenes taken from American engravings.  In 1853 he dissolved the partnership and sold all the works except the Greenfield site, which he continued to operate himself. He married 9 May 1827 Jane (d. 1864), elder daughter and co-heiress of Jesse Breeze (d. 1827), potter, of Greenfield, and had issue:
(1) Lt-Col. William Adams (1833-1905) (q.v.);
(2) Thomas Adams (1836-1905), born 19 October 1836; died unmarried and without issue, 23 February 1905;
(3) Sarah Adams, m. Harry Ward Astbury of Stand Lodge, Radcliffe (Lancs);
(4) Jane Adams (d. 1889), died unmarried and without issue;
(5) Lettice Adams, m. Charles Challinor (d. 1893) of Basford Hall, Wolstanton (Staffs) and had issue;
(6) Mary Adams, m. William Simms Bull of Tyn-y-Coed, Llanaber (Merioneths.) and had issue;
(7) Ann Adams, died in infancy.
He acquired Greenfield Hall, Tunstall, through his marriage in 1827, and made additions to it in 1842.  He subsequently bought Newfield Hall from Sir Smith Child, bt. in 1858.
He died at Rhyl, 23 October 1865.  Will proved in the Principal Probate Registry, 18 December 1865 (estate under £20,000).

Lt-Col. William Adams (1833-1905) 

Adams, Lt-Col. William (1833-1905), of Greenfield Hall, Newfield Hall and Moreton House, Wolstanton.  Elder son of William Adams (1798-1865) and his wife Jane, daughter of Jesse Breeze of Greenfield; born 13 June 1833.  Educated at Rugby School.  Worked as a potter, in the family business; he closed the potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and transferred the company to the works at Tunstall; JP for Staffordshire; Lt-Col. of 1st battalion, Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers.  He married 20 May 1864 Laura Eliza (d. 1914), elder daughter of Andrew Jukes Worthington of Ball Haye Hall, Leek (Staffs) and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1868-1952) (q.v.);
(2) Hugh Worthington Adams (b. 1870) of Highfield, Barlaston, HM Coroner for North-West Staffordshire, born 12 February 1870; m. 24 July 1900 Clarice Sophia (d. 1959), daughter of Charles Bennett Roche of Daventry, Flecknoe and Silverstone (Northants) and had issue two daughters;
(3) Frank Pemberton Adams (1872-1919) of Leek (Staffs), died unmarried;
(4) Percy Walter Lewis Adams (1875-1952) (q.v.);
(5) Laura Mildred Adams (d. 1912), died unmarried 3 June 1912;
(6) Cecily Janet Adams (d. 1946) of The Little Croft, Wolstanton, died unmarried, 28 June 1946.
He inherited Greenfield Hall and Newfield Hall from his father in 1865, and purchased Moreton House, Wolstanton in the late 19th century.
He died 5 March 1905.  Will proved at London, 29 April 1905 (estate £15,782).

Adams, William (1868-1952), of Greenfield Hall and Oulton Grange (Staffs).  Eldest son of Lt-Col. William Adams (1833-1905) and his wife Laura Eliza, daughter of Andrew Jukes Worthington of Balle Haye Hall (Staffs), born 12 August 1868.  Operated the family pottery business in partnership with his brother Percy.  He married 16 November 1904 Mildred Mary (d. 1966), daughter of Rev. James Jordan Serjeantson of Hanlith Hall (Yorks), rector of Lichfield St. Michael (Staffs), and had issue:
(1) William Anthony Adams (b. 1909), m. 10 July 1936 Margaret Elizabeth, daughter of William Edward Carter of Eccleshall Castle and had issue two sons;
(2) Richard Patrick Adams (1911-46), died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited Greenfield Hall from his father in 1905, but demolished it c.1808 for coal mining in the area.
He died 27 December 1952, aged 84. Will proved at London, 15 April 1953 (estate £99,159).

Adams, Percy Walter Lewis (1875-1952) of Moreton House, Wolstanton and later Woore Manor.  Fourth son of Lt-Col. William Adams (1833-1905) and his wife Laura Eliza, daughter of Andrew Jukes Worthington of Balle Haye Hall (Staffs), born 24 January 1875 and baptised 4 April 1875.  Educated at Rugby School.  Operated the family pottery business in partnership with his brother William.  JP for Stoke on Trent.  Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and published the parish registers of Wolstanton.  He married 26 April 1916 Ada Gladys, daughter of Archibald Douglas of Salwarpe (Worcs) and had issue:
(1) Ralph Douglas Gresley Adams (1917-64); died unmarried and without issue;
(2) Maj. Joscelin Francis Whieldon Adams (1919-91), of Coombe House, Uley (Glos), JP, born 22 March 1919, m. 5 June 1952 Pamela Joan, daughter of Lt-Col. Reginald Wilmot Blomefield Peel OBE and had issue two sons and one daughter; died April-June 1991;
(3) Lettice Carol Adams (1920-93), born 7 November 1920, m. 10 July 1947 Frederick Thomas Lawrence McCallum Dawson of The White House, Hadstock (Cambs) and had issue; died August 1993.
He inherited Moreton House, Wolstanton from his father in 1905, who sold it on purchasing Woore Manor.  He sold Woore Manor prior to his death.
He died 6 December 1952, aged 77.  Will proved at London, 20 April 1953 (estate £31,639)

Adams, Edward (1803-72), of Basford Hall.  Second son of William Adams (1772-1829) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Lewis Heath of The Hadderidge, Burslem; born 16 July 1803.  He married Mary (d. 1863), daughter and co-heiress of Jesse Breeze of Greenfield, and had issue:
(1) Capt. Edward Richard Adams (1835-95) of Basford Hall and afterwards of Leek, Capt. in Kings Own Staffordshire Militia; born 22 June 1835; married 19 June 1873 Grace, daughter of Charles B. May and had issue one son; died in Melbourne (Australia), 1895;
(2) Edward William Adams (1838-66); born 15 June 1838; died 10 October 1866;
(3) Frederick Thomas Adams (b. 1840); born 17 January 1840; married 22 January 1870 Hannah, daughter of John Tomkinson, but died without issue;
(4) Elizabeth Adams (b. c.1842); married 13 September 1864 William Holt, elder son of George Wells Holt of Great Yarmouth and had issue;
(5) John Adams (1844-84) of Birmingham, MRCS, born 26 October 1844; married 11 August 1875 Margaret, daughter of William Wordley of Liverpool and had issue one daughter; died 16 May 1884;
(6) Albert Adams (1846-97); born 7 June 1846; died unmarried 12 March 1897;
(7) Sarah Marian Adams (b. c.1847); married 1 November 1870, James Johnson Charlesworth MD of Longnor (Staffs) and had issue;
(8) Charles Lewis Adams (b. 1849); died unmarried.
He acquired Basford Hall before 1839, and was succeeded as owner by his eldest son.
He died 1 January 1872.  Administration of goods granted at Lichfield, 5 December 1872 (effects under £100).

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1925, p. 3 and Supplement, p.2; W. Turner, William Adams: an old English potter, 1904; VCH Staffordshire, vol 8, 1963, pp. 81-104, 205-24; T. Mowl & D. Barre, The historic gardens of England: Staffordshire, 2009, pp. 51-52; http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/027.htm, accessed 7 September 2012; http://www.thepotteries.org/potters/adams.htm, accessed 27 April 2013

Where are their papers?

Adams family of Greenfield Hall and Woore Manor: deeds and papers, 1670-1933 [Stoke-on-Trent City Archives, no ref.]

Revision and acknowlegements

This post was first published 28 April 2013 and updated 3 September 2020 and 4 April 2021. I am grateful to John Sutherland for an additional image.

(31) Adams of Drumelton House and formerly of Erne View

William Adams (1763-1817) of Gortgommon (Fermanagh) acquired Erne View (Cavan) in the late 18th century.  The location of this house has not been traced.  There is a modern street of that name in Belturbet (Cavan), but no house of this name can be identified on early 19th century maps of the area.  However, William's son, William Adams (1794-1846), inherited Drumelton House.  It is not clear whether this property came to him from Richard Adams (1793-1827), whose relationship to this family has not been ascertainted but who was described as 'of Drumelton' at the time of his death, or through his marriage to Eliza Cooney, whose mother, Matilda Talbot, was also described as 'of Drumelton House'.  At all events, Drumelton thereafter became the family seat.  The house descended to his son, William Adams (1837-1908), who remodelled it in 1884 to the designs of James Franklin Fuller, and thence to his unmarried children in turn.  Some of the land was sold through the Irish Lands Commission in 1930, but the house remained in the family until the late 20th century.

Drumelton House, Cavan

Drumelton House.  Image: Niamh Fitzpatrick.

The earliest deeds of Drumelton are said to date from 1715, which may imply that there was a gentry house from that time or soon afterwards; and the family still preserves a clock made in Cavan in 1723, which be a further pointer to the date when a household was established here. Nothing is known, however, of the appearance of the house before it was remodelled as a large late Victorian two-storey roughcast gabled villa with red brick dressings for William Adams in 1884 to the design of James Franklin Fuller, of Dublin.  The broad entrance front has projecting three-bay gables at either end, with a smaller two-bay gable in the middle; each of the main gables contains a circular limestone panel, the left hand one showing an unusual coat of arms and the right-hand one an heraldic crest.  These are reputedly the heraldry of William Adams and his wife, Sarah Chatterton, but no authoritative record of such arms has been traced.  The main entrance is offset, under a bracketed timber canopy, into a curious single-storey lean-to porch that stands between the projecting gables. Either at the time of the 1880s remodelling or a little later, the downstairs rooms were given steel-lined shutters, presumably as a defence against attacks during the early 20th century Irish troubles.

Drumelton House: detail of gable showing a coat of arms.  Image: Niamh Fitzpatrick

Previous owners: Matilda Talbot, wife of George Cooney; to daughter, Eliza Cooney (d. 1875), wife of William Adams (1794-1846); to son, William Adams (1837-1908); to son, William Chatterton Adams (1873-1917); to brother, George Chatterton Adams (1877-1954); to sisters, Elizabeth Irene Wilson Adams (1880-1963) and Lilian Welby Adams (b. 1886); to niece, Annabel Eveline Chatterton Harvey (1904-98), wife of Harold Archibald Allison (1906-68), who sold it... Mr & Mrs. A. Fitzpatrick (fl. 2012)

Adams family of Drumelton House

Adams, William (1763-1817) of Erne View.  He married 1st a daughter of George Forbes and 2nd, Rosa Ann (d. 1846), daughter of Francis Kyttels, and had issue:
(1.1) William Adams (1794-1846) (q.v.).
He lived at Gortgommon (Fermanagh) and later purchased Erne View (Cavan), which has not been located.
He died in 1817.

Adams, William (1794-1846) of Erne View, later of Drumelton House.  Son of William Adams (1763-1817) and his first wife, a daughter of George Forbes; born 1794.  He married 1833 Eliza (d. 1875), elder daughter of George Cooney and his wife Matilda Talbot of Drumelton House, and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1837-1908) (q.v.);
(2) Matilda Adams (d. 1901), died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited Erne View from his father in 1817 and later Drumelton House (either from Richard Adams (d. 1827) or in right of his wife.
He died in 1846.

Adams, William (1837-1908), of Drumelton House.  Only son of William Adams (1794-1846) and his wife Eliza, daughter of George Cooney; born 18 March 1837.  JP for Cavan; High Sheriff of Cavan, 1887.  He married 15 November 1870 Sarah (d. 1929), third daughter of George Chatterton JP of Ballynamote House (Cork) and had issue:
(1) Sarah Frances Adams (1871-1954), married, 6 July 1904, John Chartres Molony BA JP of Madras Civil Service, and had issue;
(2) William Chatterton Adams (1873-1917) (q.v.)
(3) Eveline Norcott Adams (1875-1948), m. 1902 Very Rev. William Coates Harvey MA LLD, rector of Paynestown, Beau Parc (Meath) and Dean of Clonmacnoise, and had issue a daughter (Annabel Eveline Chatterton Harvey (1904-98), who married, 1938, Harold Archibald Allison (1906-68), later of Drumelton), 2 January 1948;
(4) Maj. George Chatterton Adams (1877-1954) (q.v.)
(5) Elizabeth Irene Wilson Adams (1880-1963), of Drumelton House; died unmarried and without issue, 18 December 1963;
(6) Lilian Welby Adams (b. 1886), of Drumelton House; died unmarried and without issue;
(7) Welby Alleyne Chatterton Adams (1889-1912), died without issue;
(8) Richard Randolph Adams (1882-83), died young;
He inherited Drumelton House from his father in 1846 and remodelled it in 1884.
He died 19 March 1908, aged 71.

Adams, William Chatterton (1873-1917), of Drumelton House.  Eldest son of William Adams (1837-1908) and his wife Sarah, daughter of George Chatterton of Ballynamote House (Cork); born 6 June 1873.  Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (Senior Moderator; BA); served in Egyptian civil service.  He married Priscilla Louisa (d. 1969), daughter of Bindon Blood Storey, President of the Institute of Civil Engineers of Ireland, but died without issue.
He inherited Drumelton House from his father in 1908.
He died in Dublin, 6 April 1917.  His will was proved in Dublin 14 June 1917.  His widow married 2nd, 1919 John Reginald Hare Duke (d. 1954) and 3rd, 1959, Col. Aleyn Whitely Stokes DSO MC (d. 1965), but died without issue.

Adams, Maj. George Chatterton (1877-1954), of Drumelton House.  Second son of William Adams (1837-1908) and his wife Sarah, daughter of George Chatterton of Ballynamote House (Cork).  Educated at Portora School, Enniskillen (Fermanagh) and Trinity College, Dublin (BA); served as a Major in the Inniskilling Fusiliers during the Boer War and First World War and was awarded the MC and mentioned in despatches.  He married 1919 Susan Holmes, daughter of George Reynell Gresson, but died without issue.
He and his unmarried sisters inherited Drumelton House from his elder brother in 1917. After the death of Elizabeth Adams in 1963 the house passed to their niece, Annabel Eveline Chatterton Allison (1904-98).
He died in 1954.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, successive editions; Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, p. 1058; K.V. Mulligan, The buildings of Ireland: South Ulster, 2013, p. 558.  

Where are their papers?

Adams family of Drumelton House: no significant archive is known to survive.

Coat of arms

As noted above, no coat of arms is known to be formally recorded for this family.

Revision and acknowledgements

This account was first published 27 April 2013, and was revised 12 May 2014, 10 September and 22 September 2017. I am grateful to Niamh Fitzpatrick and Camilla Allison for additions and corrections.

(30) Adams of Bowden House, Totnes and Old House, Sydenham

William Adams (1752-1811), a merchant and banker who served several times as Mayor of Totnes and became the town’s MP and Recorder, bought the Bowden House estate from the Trist family in about 1800.  On Adams’ death, it passed to his elder son, William Dacres Adams (1775-1862), who served as Private Secretary to two Prime Ministers (Pitt the Younger, 1804-06 and the Duke of Portland, 1807-09), and who was a Commissioner of Woods & Forests, 1811-34.  He married the daughter of Mayow Wynell Mayow (d. 1807) and through this marriage inherited the Old House estate at Sydenham (Kent).  Bowden House was occupied by his younger brother, Lt-Gen. Sir George Pownall Adams (1779-1856), but passed in 1862 to W.D. Adams’ eldest surviving son, the Rev. Dacres Adams (1806-71).  His son, Rev. William Fulford Adams (1833-1912), sold it to the Singer family in 1887.  William was a friend of William Morris and father of the artist, William Dacres Adams (1864-1951) and the bookbinder Katherine Adams (later Webb) (1862-1952).  In 1862 Old House, Sydenham passed to W.D. Adams’ third son, Mayow Wynell Adams (1809-98), who wrote a brief history of Sydenham in 1878; he sold the land for building from the 1870s onwards and the house was demolished in 1902.

Bowden House, Totnes, Devon

Bowden House © Hamid van Koten

An early 16th century manor house built for John Giles, which was remodelled for Nicholas Trist in 1700-04 or 1722 to create handsome two storey east and south fronts with stone cornices and sash windows.  The nine bay south front has a 2-5-2 rhythm, giant pilasters framing the two bays at either end and the central bay, and a central pedimented doorcase.  The seven bay east front has a 2-3-2 rhythm with giant pilasters framing the two-bay end sections.  These handsome frontages however conceal the complicated remains of the older house, with a Tudor great hall lying in the angle of the two later wings.  

Inside, the east front has a richly if rather provincially Baroque entrance hall at its centre, the long axis of which is at right-angles to the facade.  On the wall opposite the windows, giant pilasters flank arched niches with full-length grisaille figures and a central doorway with open pediment and bust.  The long side walls have niches with shells and medallions above of Charles I (dated 1735) and Elizabeth I.  On the south side a broad coffered doorway leads to the staircase hall, with a good 18th century staircase around a well, with turned balusters, column newels and a ramped handrail; the fireplace opposite, not centrally placed, has a grand but rather chaotic overmantel. The plaster ceiling has a lively very large but low-relief figure of Mercury in a central panel, Victory and Pegasus in cartouches, putti in roundels and mythological scenes in rectangles; the disparate scales of the different elements are reminiscent of the entrance hall at Saltram.  Next to the staircase hall in the south wing is reused 16th century panelling and an imported wooden overmantel elaborately carved with the arms of the 2nd Earl of Bedford (d. 1585) flanked by high-relief figures of Judith and Holofernes.  From here a four-centred doorway leads into the former screens passage and the older part of the house.  The former great hall, now the Old Kitchen, has a late 16th century single-rib plaster ceiling and the remains of a Pegasus frieze.  The fabric of the hall is possibly older than the ceiling, as from this part of the house projects a much rebuilt north wing with an early Tudor wall painting on the upper floor.  Upstairs there is early 18th century panelling in the central room on the east front, and another panelled room and closet in the south range.  The house is now an alternative community, and the service wings and outbuildings have been much altered to create holiday flats.  The grounds may have been landscaped c.1788, when Rev. Browse Trist was given permission to divert a road further away from the house.

Descent: John Giles MP (c.1487-1552/3); to son, William Giles (c.1507-?81); to son, John Giles MP (d. 1606); to son, Sir Edward Giles MP (1566-1637); to first cousin, Richard Giles (1581-1648); to son, John Giles (d. 1676); to kinswoman, Mary, wife of Sir Richard Gipps, who sold 1704 to Nicholas Trist (1668-1741); to son, Browse Trist (c.1699-1777); to son, Hore Browse Trist (c.1736-80); to brother, Rev. Browse Trist (c.1742-91); to three daughters, who sold c.1800 to William Adams MP (1752-1811); to son William Dacres Adams (1775-1862); to son, Rev. Dacres Adams (1806-71); to son, William Fulford Adams (1833-1912), who sold 1887 to Sir Mortimer Singer (d. 1929); sold c.1914 to Montague Bush; sold to Robert William Campbell-Davidson (fl. 1923) requisitioned for use by US Army in WW2; used as special school; sold 1960s to Harvey family, who sold 1976 to Christopher & Belinda Petersen; sold 1990 to Bowden House Community.

Old House, Sydenham, Kent

Old House, Sydenham c.1895  Image Ideal Homes

A substantial but plain five bay three storey early Georgian villa with a low pitched roof concealed by a parapet, probably built c.1715 for Edward Hodsdon, a London wine merchant.  It was the centre of the largest private estate in Sydenham, and although outlying portions of the estate were developed from c.1860 the house itself survived largely unaltered, with grounds of 110 acres, until it was demolished for development in 1902.

Descent: Sold 1713 to Edward Hodsdon (d. 1737), wine merchant; to son, Edward Hodsdon (d. 1739); to brother, Thomas Hodsdon (d. 1766); to widow, Susanna Hodsdon (d. 1773); sold by her trustees 1786 to Mayow Wynell Mayow (d. 1807); to daughter, Elizabeth Mayow, wife of William Dacres Adams (1775-1862); to son, Mayow Wynell Adams (1809-98), who broke up the estate; the house sold by auction in 1900 to Edmondson & Sons, developers.

The Adams family of Bowden House and Old House, Sydenham

Adams, William (b. c.1725), of Totnes.  Son of Rev. Samuel Adams and his wife Susan, daughter of Bartholomew Parr of Silverton (Devon).  He married Mary Chadder and had issue:
(1) William Adams (1752-1811) (q.v.); 
(2) Samuel Adams of Totnes (b. 1770), barrack master at Hounslow; m. 1800 Elizabeth Bentall and had issue; 
(3) Mary Adams, m. Giles Welsford esq.; 
(4) Sarah Chadder Adams, m. James Hodge esq.; 
(5) Susan Adams, m. John Parr Welsford esq, banker and secretary to Patriotic Fund and Waterloo subscription.
He lived in Totnes.
Date of death unknown.

Adams, William (1752-1811), MP, of Bowden House.  Elder son of William Adams (b. c.1725) and his wife Mary (née Chadder); born 30 September 1752.  MP for Plympton Erle 1796-1801 and Totnes 1801-11; merchant and banker; Mayor of Totnes 1780-81, 1788-89, 1797-98; Recorder of Totnes, 1807-11.  He married 1774 Anna Maria (d. 1830), wet nurse to HRH Princess Amelia and daughter of Richard Dacres of Leatherhead (Surrey), and had issue:
(1) William Dacres Adams (1775-1862) (q.v.); 
(2) Sir George Pownall Adams (1779-1856) (q.v.); 
(3) Anna Maria Adams, m. Baldwin Fulford esq. of Great Fulford and had issue; 
(4) Louisa Sawyer Adams (1783-1867)
He purchased the Bowden House, Totnes estate (technically in Ashprington parish) from the Trist family c.1800.
He died 21 September 1811, aged 58.

William Dacres Adams by Sir Thomas Lawrence, c.1810.
Image from Philip Mould Ltd.

Adams, William Dacres (1775-1862), of Old House, Sydenham.  Elder son of William Adams (1752-1811) and his wife Anna Maria, daughter of Richard Dacres of Leatherhead (Surrey); born December 1775.  Private Secretary to Prime Minister (Pitt the Younger, 1804-06; Duke of Portland, 1807-09); Commissioner of Woods and Forests 1811-34.  He married 1804 Elizabeth (d. 1814), second daughter of Mayow Wynell Mayow of Sydenham (Kent) and had issue:
(1) William Pitt Adams (1804-52), diplomat; born 11 December 1804; m. Georgiana Emily (1815-92), daughter of Robert Lukin esq (who married 2ndly, Gen. Sir Henry Warre KCB) and had issue a daughter; died at Lima (Peru), 1 September 1852;
(2) Rev. Dacres Adams (1806-71) (q.v.); 
(3) Mayow Wynell Adams (1809-98) (q.v.); 
(4) Rev. Herbert George Adams (1814-51), vicar of Cornwood (Devon), m. Eleanor (d. 1900), daughter of Baldwin Fulford esq; 
(5) Elizabeth Mary Adams
He inherited the Bowden House estate from his father in 1811; and in right of his wife the Old House, Sydenham estate in 1807, and lived at Sydenham.  Bowden House was occupied by his younger brother.  At his death Bowden House passed to his eldest surviving son and the Sydenham property to his third son.
He died 8 June 1862, aged 86 and was buried at Sydenham, 14 June 1862, where he is commemorated by a monument in the churchyard.  Will proved 29 August 1862 (estate under £35,000).

Adams, Lt-Gen. Sir George Pownall KCH (1779-1856) of Bowden House.  Second son of William Adams (1752-1811) and his wife Anna Maria, daughter of Richard Dacres of Leatherhead (Surrey); born 1 January 1779.  Lieutenant-General in the Army; appointed a Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Order.  He married 1821 Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir William Elford, 1st bt. and had issue:
(1) Capt. William Elford Adams (1823-56), m. 1849 Anna Maria Bannerman (b. 1830) and had issue a daughter; 
(2) Rev. George Dacres Adams (b. 1824), vicar of East Budleigh (Devon), 1852-84; m. 1857 Elizabeth Agnes, daughter of Rev. R. Pattrick but died without issue?; 
(3) Arthur Elford Adams (b. 1826), m. 1847 Henrietta (b. 1824), daughter of William F. Bowman esq.; 
(4) Henry Cranstoun Adams of Lion House, Exmouth (1826-1911), m. Matilda Winslow (b. 1827), daughter of Thomas Patton esq. and had issue.
He lived at Bowden House, Totnes, which was owned by his brother.  He may have inherited property at Buckland Monachorum in right of his wife.
He died at Buckland Monachorum, 1856, aged about 77.

Adams, Rev. Dacres (1806-71) of Bowden House.  Second but eldest surviving son of William Dacres Adams (1775-1862) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Mayow Wynell Mayow of Sydenham (Kent), born 1806.  Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1824, BA 1827; MA 1832); ordained deacon, 1829 and priest, 1830; curate of Stokeinteignhead (Devon), 1829; vicar of Bampton (Oxon), 1837-71; JP for Oxfordshire.  He married his cousin, Anna Maria (d. 1896), daughter of Baldwin Fulford esq. of Great Fulford, and had issue:
(1) Rev. William Fulford Adams (1833-1909) (q.v.)
(2) Philip Dacres Adams.
He inherited the Bowden House estate from his father in 1862.
He died 8 December 1871, aged 65.  Will proved 3 February 1872, effects under £7000.

Adams, Rev. William Fulford (1833-1909), of Bowden House.  Elder son of Rev. Dacres Adams (1806-71) and his wife Anna Maria, daughter of Baldwin Fulford of Great Fulford (Devon), born 19 July 1833.  Educated at Marlborough and Exeter Coll, Oxford (matriculated 1852; BA 1856; MA 1859); Clerk in Holy Orders; vicar of Little Farringdon (Oxon), 1864; Rector of Weston-sub-Edge (Glos).  A friend and contemporary of William Morris.  He married 13 November 1859 Catherine Mary (1830-1912), daughter of Thomas Horton of Bromsgrove (Worcs) and had issue:
(1) Margaret Adams (1861-74); died young;
(2) Katharine Adams (1862-1952), bookbinder (see Oxford DNB), m. 1913 Edmund James Webb (1853-1945) but died without issue;
(3) William Dacres Adams (1864-1951), artist and illustrator; born 19 August 1864; m. 1899 Marie Regina, daughter of Rev. Edward Houghton of New York and had issue one son and one daughter;
(4) Winifred Mary Adams (1867-68), d. young.
He inherited the Bowden House estate from his father in 1871 but probably never lived there and sold it in 1887 to the Singer family.
He died in 1909.

Mayow Wynell Adams
Image South London Guide

Adams, Mayow Wynell (1809-98), of Old House, Sydenham.  Third son of William Dacres Adams (1775-1862) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Mayow Wynell Mayow of Sydenham (Kent), born 11 October 1809.  Author of A short history of Sydenham, 1878; JP for London and Kent.  He married Anna Maria (d. 1895), daughter of Major Hodge, who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo; and had issue:
(1) Edith Maria Adams (d. 1871), m. 9 November 1865 Edward R. Fisher of Thorncombe near Guildford (Surrey); died 9 October 1871.
He inherited the Old House, Sydenham from his father in 1862, but sold off the estate for building.  The house itself was sold after his death.
He died 18 Feb. 1898; commemorated by a monument at Sydenham churchyard.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, p.6; B. Cherry & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Devon, 2nd edn, 1989, pp. 195-96; http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/SydenhamThorpesConservationAreaCharacterAppraisalPart2.pdf, accessed 27 August 2012; http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/lewisham/assets/galleries/sydenham/the-old-house, accessed 24 April 2013; http://sydenhamforesthillhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2008_11_01_archive.html, accessed 24 April 2013.

Where are their papers?

Adams family of Bowden House and Old House, Sydenham: deeds and estate papers relating to Kent (Sydenham), 1530-1908 (Lewisham Local Studies & Archives, A64/1, A69/20); corresp and papers, chiefly of William Dacres Adams, 1770-1906 (British Library Add. MS. 89036).

Revision
This account was last updated 20th March 2014.

(29) Adams, later Woollcombe-Adams and Stopford-Adams, of Ansty Hall

The Addam or de Adam family seem to have been minor landowners in Essex (Harlow) and Hertfordshire (Great Amwell) in the 16th and 17th centuries.  The Rev. Simon Adams, who was rector of Aston-le-Walls (Northants) from 1627-73, moved the family’s focus to Northamptonshire, where they built up property at Moreton Pinkney and East Haddon, although most members of the family also pursued a professional career.  In 1744 Clarke Adams (1719-76) married Elizabeth, the daughter of Rev. William Tayler of Ansty Hall (Warwickshire).  Although she died a few years later, the marriage gave him an interest in the more substantial Anstey estate, which he and later his son Simon Adams (d. 1801), a lawyer, seem to have managed on behalf of Edward Taylor, a lunatic (d. 1799), and which Simon inherited on Taylor’s death.  

Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1843), who inherited in 1801, was probably responsible for remodelling Ansty Hall in the early 19th century.  He sold his land in Staffordshire (Wigginton, Dosthill) in 1801 and part of his Northamptonshire property in 1824 and 1829.  This consolidation of interests in the county established the family among the gentry of Warwickshire, where Henry was High Sheriff in 1837.  Capt. George Curtis Adams (1807-83) sold the remainder of the Northamptonshire estate in 1869.  On the death of his son, Henry Cadwallader Adams (1850-92), Ansty passed to his sister Emma and her husband Lt-Col. Edward Woollcombe, who took the additional name and arms of Adams in 1893.  Their grandson, Peter Adams (b. 1912), sold the estate in 1956 to his distant cousin, Derric John Stopford-Adams (1907-94), who was a great-grandson of the first Henry Cadwallader Adams (d. 1843).  Stopford-Adams retained the estate until 1986 when he sold it to Twinland Ltd. for conversion to an hotel.

Ansty Hall, Warwickshire

Ansty Hall: the lower two floors of the seven-bay centre represent the original house

A handsome red brick house built in 1678 by Edward Taylor, whose family leased the estate from the Dean and Chapter of Windsor.  As originally built, it was a two storey red brick seven bay, double-pile house with stone quoins and dressings, with four main rooms on each floor and a central staircase.  The principal fronts face north-west and south-east, and the lower part of the north-west front still dates from this period.   Externally, it is not unlike the demolished Allesley Park on the other side of Coventry.  

Ansty Hall: rear elevation.  On this side the work of different dates is more evident

The garden front is also of seven bays, but plainer; there are no quoins and the doorway here has no pediment.  Inside, many 17th century features survive, including the bolection-moulded fireplace in the entrance hall, the panelling of the drawing room and library, and the staircase with an openwork scroll balustrade with heavy moulded handrail and panelled newels.  

In the later 18th century the estate passed by marriage to the Adams family of East Haddon and Moreton Pinkney (Northants), and either Simon Adams (d. 1801) or his son Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1843), made major alterations.  These included widening the garden front by the addition of a recessed bay and single-storey quadrant link at either end, adding the top storey and the present doorcase, pediment and slate roofs, and remodelling the interior.  The dining room is of this date and has an Ionic screen at one end, and the remodelling also saw the replacement of many of the fireplaces in the main rooms.

To the right of the entrance front is a lower, recessed two storey service wing, added in the mid to late 19th century but keeping to the style of the original building.  The house is reputed to have been the model for the home of Mrs. Cadwallader in George Eliot's Middlemarch.  It was converted into an hotel after 1986.

Previous owners: Dean & Canons of St George’s Chapel, Windsor granted lease of demesne 1544 to Richard Harrison, who sold 1550 to John Barker; to son, William Barker; to son, Richard Barker (fl. 1619-37); to daughter Mary Barker, wife of Thomas Woodcock (d. c.1640); to daughter Anne Woodcock (d. 1671), wife of Richard Tayler (d. 1676); to son, Edward Tayler (1652-1721); to son, Edward Tayler (1683-1749); to brother, Rev. William Tayler, rector of Malpas (Cheshire) (c.1684-1750); to son, Edward Tayler, a lunatic (d. 1799), on whose behalf it was managed by his nephew, Simon Adams (d. 1801), who inherited it; to son Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1843); to son Major-Gen. Henry William Adams (1805-54); to brother, Capt. George Curtis Adams RN (1807-83); to son Henry Cadwallader Adams (1850-92); to sister, Emma Louisa Adams (d. 1915), wife of Lt-Col. Edward Woollcombe(-Adams) (d. 1914); to son Major Cecil Edward George Woollcombe-Adams (1873-1936); to son Peter Edward Adams (b. 1912); sold 1956 to distant cousin, Derric John Stopford-Adams (1907-94), who sold 1986 for conversion to hotel.

The Adams family of Anstey Hall

Adams, Rev. Simon (c.1602-73), rector of Aston-le-Walls (Northants).  Son of Simon de Adam (d. 1644) of Great Amwell (Herts) and St. Margaret's, London and his first wife; baptised at St Margaret Moses, London, 24 June 1602.  Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (admitted pensioner, 1619; BA 1622/23; MA 1626).  Ordained priest in diocese of Peterborough, 1627/28; rector of Aston-le-Walls (Northants), 1627/8-73.  He married Cicely (d. before 1677), daughter of William Abbis of Bedford and had issue:
(1) Cecily Adams (1628-84), m. Thomas Cooper (d. 1680), gent., of Lubbenham (Leics) and had issue two sons and three daughters; will proved at Leicester, 1684;
(2) Simon Adams (1631-1709) of Moreton Pinkney (Northants) (q.v.); 
(3) Dorothy Adams (b. 1633; fl. 1670), m. Richard Miles (fl. 1676) and had issue seven children; 
(4) Thomas Adams (1636-39), died young;
(5) Rev. William Adams (1638-66), Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; baptised 12 April 1638 and buried 20 April 1666 at Aston-le-Walls;
(6) Thomas Adams (b. 1639, fl. 1685), baptised 26 December 1639 at Aston-le-Walls; m.1, Elizabeth, daughter of William Flexney of Oxford and had issue, and perhaps m.2, 1685, Jane Whynyates of St. Olave's, Southwark; ancestor of the Adams family of Lavendon (Bucks); 
(7) Sarah Adams (fl. 1676), m. William Fullwood MD of Huntingdon; 
(8) Hester Adams (fl. 1676), m. William Sanderson, gent. of Pilton (Warks) and had issue?
He probably began the process of building the family's lands in Northamptonshire.
He died in 1673, aged 71, and was buried at Aston-le-Walls, 5 August 1673.  Will proved in Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 10 September 1673. His widow's will was proved in the PCC, 23 November 1677.

Adams, Simon (1631-1709), of Moreton Pinkney (Northants), gent.  Eldest son of Rev. Simon Adams (c.1602-73) and his wife Cicely, daughter of William Abbis of Bedford; baptised at Aston-le-Walls (Northants), 7 July 1631.  He married first, c. 1656, Elizabeth Hindes (d. 1660) of Priors Marston (Warks) and second, c.1661, Anne (d. 1708/9), daughter of Robert Cooper of Lubbenham (Leics), gent., and had issue:
(1.1) Cicely Adams (b. & d. 1657);
(1.2) A child (b. & d. 1658)
(1.3) Mary Adams (b. 1660; fl. 1682);
(2.1) Elizabeth Adams (b. 1662), baptised 28 April 1662; m. 27 July 1693 Samuel Preston of Bugbrooke, gent.; 
(2.2) Anne Adams (b. 1663); baptised 28 July 1663;
(2.3) Susanna Adams (b. 1666), baptised 24 May 1666; m. at Daventry, 13 July 1695, Robert Onley, esq. of Newton; 
(2.4) Simon Adams MD (1667-1748) (q.v.);
(2.5) Sarah Adams (b. 1669), baptised 13 July 1669; m. 24 August 1691, Richard Houghton of Oxfordshire;
(2.6) Thomas Adams (b. 1673), baptised at Moreton Pinkney, 2 August 1673.
Lived at Moreton Pinkney (Northants).
He died in 1709 and was buried 27 April 1709.  His first wife was buried, 17 May 1660 and his second wife 6 January 1708/9, both at Moreton Pinkney.

Adams, Dr. Simon (1667-1748), of Daventry and East Haddon (Northants), MD.  Elder son of Simon Adams (1631-c.1710) and his second wife Anne, daughter of Robert Cooper of Lubbenham (Leics); baptised at Moreton Pinkney, 19 July 1667.  Educated at Lincoln College, Oxford (matriculated 1684; BA 1688; MD).  He married 23 June 1692, Anne (d. 1736), daughter of Rev. William Gilbert of Culworth (Northants) and had issue:
(1) Rev. Simon Adams (1693-1731) (q.v.); 
(2) Catherine Adams (1696-1775), baptised 9 July 1696; m. 15 October 1724 Rev. John Gilman DD (1675-1741), , rector of Crick and Clay Coton, and had issue; 
(3) Anne Adams (d. 1747), m. 6 June 1716 Benjamin Warren (1680-1741/2), esq. of Bugbrooke (Northants) and had issue.
He lived at Daventry and East Haddon (Northants).
He died 10 May 1748 aged 80 and was buried 15 May 1748. at Daventry, where he is commemorated by a monument.  Will proved in Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 2 April 1749.  His wife died 2 December 1736 and is buried at Daventry.

Adams, Rev. Simon (1693-1731), vicar of Welton (Northants).  Only son of Dr. Simon Adams (1667-1748) of Daventry and his wife Anne, daughter of Rev. William Gilbert of Culworth (Northants); baptised at Daventry, 6 October 1693.  Educated at Rugby School and Lincoln College, Oxford (matriculated 1710/11; BA 1714; MA 1717). Ordained; vicar of Welton (Northants), 1721-31.  He married 10 Feb. 1717/18 Anne, daughter of John Clarke esq. of Drayton and had issue:
(1) Lt-Col. Clarke Adams (1718/9-76) (q.v.); 
(2) Anne Adams (1721-81), baptised 6 April 1721; m. 3 February 1742/3, Thomas Freeman (d. 1776), gent. of Daventry; died 26 April 1781 and was buried 1 May 1781 at Daventry;
(3) Simon Adams (1724-1801), attorney of Towcester (Northants); baptised 19 November 1724 at Welton; died unmarried, 18 November 1801 and buried 20 November 1801 at Towcester.
He inherited and accumulated property at Moreton Pinkney, East Haddon etc.
He died 2 October 1731 and was buried at Welton.

Adams, Lt-Col. Clarke (1718/9-1776), of East Haddon and Moreton Pinkney, gent.  Elder son of Rev. Simon Adams (1693-1731) of Welton (Northants) and his wife Anne, daughter of John Clarke esq. of Drayton; baptised 8 January 1718/19.  Lt-Col. of the Northamptonshire Militia.  He married 1st, 15 August 1744 at Daventry, Elizabeth Dobbins (d. c.1750), daughter and eventual heiress of Rev. William Taylor of Ansty Hall (Warks), rector of Malpas (Cheshire), and 2nd, 29 August 1751 at East Haddon, Frances (1725-81), daughter and heiress of Richard Clarke of Nortoft and Welton (Northants), and had issue:
(1.1) Simon Adams (c.1745-1801) (q.v.);
(1.2) Elizabeth Dobbins Adams (1747/8-82), m. 16 August 1771 Charles Watkins of Daventry; died 19 May 1782.
He inherited estates at East Haddon and Moreton Pinkney (Northants) from his father, and acquired an interest in the estates of his first wife's father at Ansty Hall.
He died 26 June 1776; buried at East Haddon, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by William Cox.

Adams, Simon (c.1745-1801) of Ansty Hall.  Only son of Lt-Col. Clarke Adams (1718/9-76) and his first wife Elizabeth Dobbins, daughter of Rev. William Taylor of Ansty Hall (Warks).  Educated at Lincoln College, Oxford (matriculated 1763; BA 1769; MA 1773) and Middle Temple (admitted 1770); barrister-at-law; recorder of Daventry, 1770-1801; deputy recorder of Northampton, 1774-1801.  He married 3 January 1778 at Tottenham (Middx), Sarah (c.1753-1833), daughter of Cadwallader Coker of Bicester (Oxon) and had issue:
(1) Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1842) (q.v.);
(2) Rev. Thomas Coker Adams (1782-1851), vicar of Ansty, Shilton and Foleshill (Warks), m. 16/23 September 1806 Mary, daughter of Johnson Pistor Withington of Bath and had issue six sons and four daughters;
(3) John Adams (1786-1856), born 1 September 1786; m.1, 1811 Elizabeth (d. 1814), daughter of William Nation of Exeter and had issue two sons and m.2, 21 January 1817 Jane (d. 1825), daughter of Thomas Martin of Nottingham and had issue a son, the Rev. Henry Cadwallader Adams (1817-99), children's author; John Adams m.3, 28 December 1826 Charlotte Priscilla, daughter and heiress of John Coker of Bicester House (Oxon) and had issue three sons;
(4) Sarah Coker Adams, m. 17 May 1800 James Beck of Allesley Park (Warks).
He inherited estates at East Haddon and Moreton Pinkney from his father in 1776, but sold the East Haddon estate to Henry Sawbridge, 1780.  In 1799 he acquired full control of the Ansty Hall estate on the death of his mother's brother, a lunatic, on whose behalf he had managed the estate for many years.  Either he or his son remodelled the house there.
He died at Bath, 10 March 1801 and buried at Ansty, 19 March 1801.  Will proved in Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 3 July 1801.  His wife died at Bath, 17 July 1833 and was buried at Ansty, 26 July 1833.

Adams, Henry Cadwallader (1779-1842) of Ansty Hall.  Eldest son of Simon Adams (c.1745-1801) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Cadwallader Coker of Bicester (Oxon), born 11 December 1779.  JP and DL for Warwickshire; High Sheriff of Warwickshire, 1837; Mayor of Coventry, 1836.  He married, 11/18 June 1803 Emma (d. 1857), eldest daughter of Sir William Curtis, 1st bt. and had issue:
(1) Maj-Gen. Henry William Adams (1805-54) (q.v.);
(2) Capt. George Curtis Adams (1807-83), RN (q.v.);
(3) Maj-Gen. Frank Adams (1809-69) CB, m. 1845, Ellen, widow of J. Straith and had issue; died 19 September 1869;
(4) Arthur Roberts Adams (1812-77) QC, recorder of Birmingham and Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford; died unmarried and without issue;
(5) Lt-Gen. Cadwallader Adams (1825-92) (q.v.);
(6) Emma Curtis Adams (d. 1880), m.1, Cdr. John Garrett RN and m.2, George Young of Appley Towers, Isle of Wight;
(7) Anna Delicia Adams (d. 1897), m. 1843, Alfred Burton of St. Leonards-on-Sea (d. 1877);
(8) Laura Coker Adams (d. 1859), m. Rev. Cadwallader Coker Beck
(9) Louisa Anne Adams (d. by 1898).
He sold land at Wigginton and Dosthill in Staffordshire in 1801 and some further land in Northamptonshire in 1824 and 1829.
He died in Bath, 31 March 1842.  Will proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, June 1842 and administration of remaining effects granted by the Principal Probate Registry, 11 April 1859.  His wife died 22 June 1857 at Corston House, Ryde (Isle of Wight).

Adams, Maj-Gen. Henry William (1805-54) of Ansty Hall.  Eldest son of Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1842) and his wife Emma, daughter of Sir William Curtis, bt.; born 31 January 1805.  Major-General in the Army; Lt-Col. of 49th Regiment; appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath.  He married 28 November 1843 his cousin, Katherine (d. 1905), daughter of Rev. Thomas Coker Adams, but had no issue.
He inherited the Ansty Hall and Moreton Pinkney estates from his father in 1842.
He was killed in action at Scutari in the Crimea, 19 December 1854.  His widow was granted the same rank as if he had survived to be appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath.  Lady Adams died 21 October 1905.  Her will was proved in London, 8 December 1905 (estate £26,949).

Adams, Capt. George Curtis (1807-83) of Ansty Hall.  Second son of Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1842) and his wife Emma, daughter of Sir William Curtis, bt.; born 24 November 1807.  JP for Warwickshire.  He married 28 January 1847, Mary Susan, daughter of Edward Woolmer of Exeter, and had issue:
(1) Emma Louisa Adams (c.1848-1915) (q.v.);
(2) Henry Cadwallader Adams (1850-92) of Wandsworth (Surrey); born 28 July 1850; m. 20 September 1887 Harriet Sarah Monk, daughter of Robert Preston Drummond; died without issue, 25 December 1892; will proved 14 January 1893 (estate £113);
(3) Katherine Anna Adams (d. 1865), died without issue.
He inherited the Ansty Hall and Moreton Pinkney estates from his brother in 1854, but sold the remaining Northamptonshire property in 1869.  He may have added the service wing to Ansty Hall.  At his death his property passed to his elder daughter.
He died 11 December 1883.  His will was proved in the Principal Probate Registry, 26 January 1884 (estate £7,442).  His widow died 23 July 1893 and her will was proved 14 August 1893 (estate £10,493).

Adams (later Woollcombe-Adams), Emma Louisa (d. 1915) of Ansty Hall. Elder daughter of Capt. George Curtis Adams (1807-83) and his wife Mary Susan, daughter of Edward Woolmer of Exeter; born c. 1848.  She married 6 June 1872 Lt-Col. Edward Woollcombe (d. 1914), son of Vice-Adm. George Woollcombe of Hemerdon; he assumed the name and arms of Adams, 1893.  They had issue:
(1) Maj. Cecil Edward George Woollcombe-Adams (1873-1936) (q.v.)
(2) Gwendoline Mary Woollcombe-Adams (d. 1948), m. 1899 Capt. Richard John Oliver-Bellasis (d. 1938) of Shilton House, Coventry (Warks), son of Admiral Richard Aldworth Oliver;
(3) Dorothy Katharine Woollcombe-Adams (d. 1934);
(4) Hilda Margaret Woollcombe-Adams (d. 1963), m. 1911 Charles Augustus Oliver CBE, younger son of Admiral Oliver.
She inherited the Ansty Hall estate from her father in 1883.
She died 13 August 1915.  Her will was proved 15 October 1915 (estate £9,265).  Her husband died 30 November 1914.  His will was proved 10 February 1915 (estate £3,672).

Woollcombe-Adams, Maj. Cecil Edward George (1873-1936) of Ansty Hall.  Only son of Lt-Col. Edward Woollcombe (later Woollcombe-Adams) and his wife Emma Louisa, daughter of Capt. George Curtis Adams; born 1 July 1873.  Lieutenant in Hampshire & Isle of Wight Artillery.  He married 27 April 1911 Evelyn Frances Adams (d. 1942), daughter of Ralph Coker Adams Beck of Bookham Lodge, Cobham (Surrey) and widow of Charles Wriothesley Digby of Meriden Hall (Warks), and had issue:
(1) Peter Edward Woollcombe Adams (1912-65) (q.v.);
(2) Elizabeth Susan Woollcombe-Adams (1914-97), born 25 May 1914; married, 1937, George Maurice Berridge (known as Mick) Helps (1910-92) and had issue two sons; died December 1997, aged 83 and was buried at Ansley (Warks).
He inherited the Ansty Hall estate from his mother in 1915.
He died 8 June 1936.  Will proved 28 September and 18 November 1936 (estate £40,459 in settled land and £3,547 in personal effects).  His widow died 14 February 1942.  Her will was proved 15 October 1942 (estate £4,814).

Adams, Peter Edward Woollcombe (1912-65) of Ansty Hall.  Only son of Maj. Cecil Edward George Woollcombe-Adams (1873-1936) and his wife Evelyn Frances Adams, daughter of Ralph Coker Adams Beck; born 1912.  He married 5 October 1939 Brenda Amicia, daughter of Rev. Bracebridge Lindsay Hall of Weddington (Warks) and had issue:
(1) Rupert Adams (b. 1944);
(2) Nigel Adams (b. 1952);
(3) A daughter, d. young.
He inherited the Ansty Hall estate from his father in 1936, but sold it to his distant kinsman, Derric John Stopford-Adams (q.v.) in 1956.
He died in Birmingham, October-December 1965.

Adams, Lt-Gen. Cadwallader (1825-93).  Fifth son of Henry Cadwallader Adams (1779-1842) and his wife Emma, daughter of Sir William Curtis, bt.; born 1825.  Lt-Gen. in the Army; Col. of 49th Foot.  He married in India, 1871, Anna Catherine Elizabeth (d. 1922), daughter of Col. James Stopford CB and had issue:
(1) Maj. George Stopford Adams (1872-1915) (q.v.);
(2) Philip James Cadwallader Adams (d. 1912), m. 1909 S.C., daughter of A.W. Stanfield of Nottingham
(3) Evelyn Blanche Stopford Adams, m.1, 1900 Capt. Kennett Dixon (d. 1927) RN and m.2, 1939 Cyril Henry Barraud of Coggeshall (Essex), son of Herbert Rose Barraud of London.
He died 10 February 1893.  His will was proved 10 April 1893 (estate £22,367).  His widow died 10 April 1922, and her will was proved 10 June 1922 (estate £674).

Adams, Maj. George Stopford (1872-1915).  Elder son of Lt-Gen. Cadwallader Adams (1825-93) and his wife Anna Catherine Elizabeth, daughter of Col. James Stopford CB; born 1872.  Served in WW1 with Lancashire Fusiliers.  He married 12 July 1905 Muriel Ada (1884-1952), daughter of John Cooke Harker of Champion Hill, London SE and had issue:
(1) Derric John Stopford Adams (1907-94) (q.v.).
He was killed in action at Gallipoli, 11 May 1915.  His will was proved 24 September 1915 (estate £5,363).  His widow died 2 March 1952.  Her will was proved 2 May 1952 (estate £19,383).

Adams, Derric John Stopford (1907-94).  Only son of Maj. George Stopford Adams (1872-1915) and his wife Muriel Ada, daughter of John Cooker Harker of London SE; born 17 January 1907.  Barrister, diplomat and stockbroker.  He married 29 June 1935 Elizabeth Bruce Pakenham, daughter of Col. Arthur Hugh Block of Okehampton (Devon) and had issue:
(1) Paul Meredyth George Stopford-Adams (b. 1943) of Steppes Farm, Frampton, Dorset;
(2) Venetia Caroline Mary Stopford-Adams (b. 1936), m. Hugh Sefton Pigott, son of Alfred Sefton Pigott of Cheadle Hulme and had issue;
(3) Charmian Elizabeth Sara Stopford-Adams (b. 1939), m. 1961 Gervase Thomas More Shorter, son of Alan Wynn Shorter of Carshalton.
He purchased the Ansty Hall estate from his kinsman, Peter Edward Woollcombe Adams (1912-65) (q.v.), in 1956.  He sold it in 1986 for conversion to an hotel.
He died in Bridport (Dorset), June 1994, aged 87, and was buried at Ansty.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, successive editions; V.C.H. Warwickshire, vol. 8, 1969, pp. 43-48; P. Reid, Burke’s & Savill’s Guide to Country Houses: vol. 2, West Midlands, 1980, pp. 126-27; G. Tyack, Warwickshire Country Houses, 1994, p. 224

Where are their papers?

Adams family of Anstey Hall: deeds and estate records relating to property in Warwickshire (Anstey etc.) and Northamptonshire (Bugbrooke etc.), and family papers, 15th-19th cents. [Warwickshire County Record Office, CR285].

Revision
Revised 21st February 2015.