(46) Addyes of Great Barr

The Addyes family were prominent on the borders of Staffordshire and Warwickshire in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Thomas Addyes (d. 1653?) was Warden of Sutton Coldfield in 1633 and acquired land at Great Barr, presumably on the site of Red House Park, which his descendants owned later.  His great-grandson, John Addyes (d. 1706) married Mary Hopkins, heiress of the Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield (Warks) estate, which thus came into the family’s possession.  His property seems to have been divided among his two sons.  Thomas Addyes (d. 1723) received the Great Barr and some Warwickshire property, while John Addyes (d. 1762) received Moor Hall.  Neither son produced male heirs, and Thomas’ share passed to his only daughter Mary Addyes, and from her to her cousin Anne Tonkes (1731-1813), the wife of William Scott of Stourbridge [see Scott of Great Barr]; she was in possession of Red House at her death in 1813.  John dying childless, the Moor Hall estate passed to his great-nephew, John Hackett of Moxhull (d. 1810), who took the additional name Addyes.

Red House Park, Great Barr, Staffordshire

Very little is known of the predecessor of the present house, which was described as a 'neat Gothic seat' in 1834, and which was perhaps built for Anne Tonckes and her husband William Scott after they inherited in 1786; prior to this there may have been a farmhouse.  In 1832 the house had landscaped grounds laid out by John Scott.  The Gothick style of the house may have taken inspiration from nearby Great Barr Hall of 1777; it is to be hoped that a drawing of the house will eventually come to light.  Despite the fact that in 1832 the house was said to be 'in a complete state of repair', it was demolished and rebuilt less than ten years later.

Red House, Great Barr: entrance front in its heyday

Red House, Great Barr: the side elevation

The present house was built in 1841 for Richard Wellbeloved Scott (1803-56), but was already being let by 1849.  It is a two storey square five by five bay block of bright red brick, with the entrance front treated as three wider bays, and a service wing on one side.  It was almost certainly designed by a Birmingham architect and looks exactly like a slightly larger version of one of the early Edgbaston villas.  The site was acquired as a public open space in 1920 by West Bromwich corporation and although the house is in poor condition and has been vandalised, it is remarkable that it has survived at all: so many others in similar circumstances have sadly fallen victim to arson or simply been demolished.  The Friends of Red House Park are currently making improvements to the grounds; the Council is understood to be planning to sell the house for conversion into flats; in the meantime it is boarded up and slowly decaying.

Red House Park in recent years.  Image Penny Mayes.  Licenced under a Creative Commons licence.

Descent:  Thomas Addyes (d. 1670); to son, Thomas Addyes (d. 1700); to son, John Addyes (d. 1706); to son, Thomas Addyes (d. 1723); to daughter Mary Addyes (d. 1786); to cousin Anne Tonkes (1731-1813), wife of William Scott of Stourbridge; to kinsman, John Scott (1763-1832); to daughter, Sarah (1800-74), wife of Richard Wellbeloved (later Scott) MP (1803-56); to son, John Charles Addyes Scott (1830-88); to son, James Robert Addyes Scott (1864-1912); to widow, Kate Scott (née Castelli) (c.1867-1916); sold by auction 1920 to West Bromwich Corporation.  
The house was let to John Vaughan Barber, a Walsall banker, 1832-40, and to Robert Bagnall, ironmaster, 1849-61, and John Marshall, ironmaster, 1861-76, and then his widow Charlotte Marshall (fl. 1881) and then James Shenton, ironmaster (fl. 1891) and in 1892 to Sir Henry Meysey-Thompson, 2nd bt and 1st Baron Knaresborough (1845-1929), before being a convalescent home operated by the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund in 1902-21.

Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire

The first house on the site seems to have been a Tudor house c.1530 for Bishop John Vesey (d. 1554); this was described in 1762 as a three-storey building containing 20 rooms, but as 'a very poor pile of building, without prospect or indeed any any one beauty to recommend it to a man of taste'.  Soon afterwards, it was largely replaced by an elegant two-storey three by five bay house, built in front of the older one.  A photograph of 1895 confirms there were further additions in Victorian times.    

Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield: entrance front.  Image: Craig Burns.  Licenced under a Creative Commons licence.

Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield: garden front.  Image: Trip Advisor

The present big rather dull red brick house was built by Henman & Cooper in 1905 for Col. Edward Ansell of Ansell’s brewery, who bought and demolished the previous house.  It has been a hotel since the 1930s and has been greatly extended.  The grounds were converted into a golf course and part of the land was sold for the development of large suburban villas, many of them of some architectural interest.

Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield: Ladywood Room.  Image: Craig Burns.  Licenced under a Creative Commons licence.

Descent: Bishop John Vesey (alias Harman) (d. 1554); to nephew, John Harman (fl. 1557-59), sold to John Richardson (d. 1584); to son, William Richardson; ?sold to Sir Hugh Brawne (d. 1615); to son, Richard Brawne, who sold 1623 to Gawen Grosvenor (fl. 1628); to son, Leicester Grosvenor (fl. mid 17th cent)...Mary Hopkins, wife of John Addyes (d. 1706); to son, John Addyes (1684-1762); to great-nephew, John Hacket (later Addyes) (c.1738-1810); to nephew, Francis Benyon Hacket (d. 1863); to grandson, George Algernon Benyon Disney Hacket (d. 1904); to son, Lt-Col. John Lisle Hacket, who sold the house to Col. Ansell in 1904/5 and the estate in 1920; sold 1930 to Streather family who opened it as an hotel.  
The Hackets ceased to live at Moor Hall by about 1840, and let it to a succession of tenants, including a Birmingham banker; Robert Garnett, a Manchester merchant and a relative of Sir Robert Peel; Thomas Garnett (fl. 1850); Thomas Hall (fl. 1892) and Albert Reuben Dean (fl. 1900).

Addyes family of Great Barr

The Addyes family are supposed to be descended from Sir Degory Addis (1465-1520), who was born in Staffordshire, but no convincing line of descent has been shown from him to the ascertainable members of the family, and Sir Degory (or Gregory) himself does not appear in the Knights of England.  In the 17th century the family seem to have been 'town gentry' and variously described as yeomen and gentlemen in their property dealings.  Their social status rose with the acquisition of Moor Hall towards the end of that century.  Information about all generations remains sketchy, and in some cases uncertain, as the family are hard to distinguish from (no doubt related) families in the Sutton Coldfield area.

Addyes, Thomas (d. 1653?) of Sutton Coldfield.  Warden of Sutton Coldfield in 1633. He married and had issue including:
(1) Thomas Addyes (d. 1670).
He lived at Maney in Sutton Coldfield until he acquired lands at Great Barr and Walsall (Staffs) in 1613 and 1615.
He may be the Thomas Addyes of Maney in Sutton Coldfield who died in 1653 and whose will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury that year.

Addyes, Thomas (d. 1670) of Sutton Coldfield.  Son of Thomas Addyes (fl. 1613-33).   Warden of Sutton Coldfield in 1642 and 1651.  He married Ann [surname unknown] and had issue:
(1) Thomas Addyes (d. 1700) (q.v.);
(2) William Addyes (d. 1668); died without issue;
(3) John Addyes of Perry Barr, m. Mary [surname unknown] and had issue; ?Warden of Sutton Coldfield, 1674 and 1688;
(4) Ann Addyes, m. Mr. Wilson; died without issue;
(5) Mary Addyes, died unmarried and without issue.
He inherited the Great Barr estate from his father in about 1640.
He died in 1670.  His will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 7 February 1671.

Addyes, Thomas (d. 1700) of Great Barr.  Son of Thomas Addyes (d. 1670) and his wife Ann.  Warden of Sutton Coldfield, 1668.  He married, 30 January 1659 at Knowle (Warks), Mary, daughter of Richard Grimshawe of Knowle (Warks) and had issue:
(1) Mary Addyes (b. 1662), m. Mr. Dolphin and had issue;
(2) Thomas Addyes (1664-1715), baptised 30 June 1664; educated at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1702/3; BA 1706/7); died unmarried, 1715; will proved in 1715;
(3) Nicholas Addyes, died young;
(4) John Addyes (1668-1706) (q.v.);
(5) Joseph Addyes (1670-1731) of Sutton Coldfield, baptised 28 April 1670; died without issue; buried 1 April 1731; will proved at Lichfield, 1731;
(6) Richard Addyes, died without issue;
(7) Nicholas Addyes (1674-1733); m. Miss Hopkins; buried 5 December 1733;
(8) William Addyes, died without issue;
(9) Ann Addyes, m. Mr. Evett/Smith, but died without issue.
He inherited Great Barr estate from his father in 1670, and apparently rented Moor Hall at Sutton Coldfield as he was in possession of it in 1671.
He died in 1700.  He may be the Thomas Addyes of Maney whose will was proved at Lichfield in 1704. His widow married 2nd, 25 June 1706 at Sutton Coldfield, Robert Yates, gent.  

Addyes, John (1668-1706) of Moor Hall and Great Barr.  Third son of Thomas Addyes (d. 1700) and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Grimshawe, baptised 26 May 1668.  He married Mary Hopkins (d. 1732) of Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield and had issue:
(1) John Addyes (1684-1762) of Moor Hall (q.v.)
(2) Thomas Addyes (d. 1723) of Great Barr (q.v.);
(3) Mary Addyes (fl. 1731), m. Rev. John Tonckes of Harborne and had issue a daughter (Anne Tonkes (1731-1813), who married William Scott of Stourbridge; Anne owned Red House at the time of her death)
(4) Ann Addyes (b. 1689), m. 3 February1712/3 Richard Scott of Little Aston (Warks) and had issue including a daughter (Mary Scott, m. Andrew Hacket of Moxhull Hall);
(5) Richard Addyes (b. 1690), baptised 16 January 1690; ?died young
(6) Nicholas Addyes (fl. 1723) of London, haberdasher
(7) Joseph Addyes (fl. 1723) of Sutton Coldfield, gentleman.
He inherited the Great Barr estate from his father in 1700.  His wife inherited the Moor Hall estate before her marriage.
He died and was buried at Sutton Coldfield, 3 September 1706.  His will was proved at Lichfield, 1706.  His widow was buried at Sutton Coldfield, 28 February 1732, aged 80.

Addyes, Thomas (d. 1723) of Great Barr.  Second son of John Addyes (d. 1706) and his wife Mary Hopkins of Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield.  He married Ann Hopkins and had issue:
(1) John Addyes, died without issue;
(2) Mary Addyes (d. 1786) of Great Barr, lady of the manor of Peddimore in Sutton Coldfield from 1766; died unmarried and without issue, 3 April 1786; will proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 3 May 1786.
He inherited Great Barr estate from his father in 1706.  At his death it passed to his daughter, who bequeathed all her estates to her first cousin once-removed, Anne Scott (née Tonkes), for whom see above.
He died in March 1722/23 and was buried at Sutton Coldfield, 23 March 1722/23.  His will was proved at Lichfield, 1 May 1723, and by a bequest he established the Addyes Free School in Great Barr.

Addyes, John (1684-1762) of Moor Hall.  Elder son of John Addyes (d. 1706) and his wife Mary Hopkins of Moor Hall, Sutton Coldfield.  Educated at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge (admitted 1702).
He inherited the Moor Hall estate from his father in 1723.  At his death it passed to his first cousin once-removed, John Hacket (later Addyes), son of Andrew and Mary Hacket of Moxhull Hall, for whom see above.
He died in ?August 1762 and was buried at Sutton Coldfield.  His will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 18 March 1763.

Addyes (né Hacket), John (c.1738-1810) of Moor Hall.  Second son of Andrew Hacket of Moxhull Hall (Warks) and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Scott and his wife Ann Addyes, born about 1738.  He changed his name to Addyes in 1766 after inheriting the Moor Hall estate.  Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1756; BA 1760).  He married, 1769, Jane, daughter of William Scott of Great Barr Hall, but died without issue.
He inherited Moor Hall from his first cousin once-removed, John Addyes (1684-1762). At his death he bequeathed it to his nephew, Francis Benyon Hacket (d. 1863).
He died in March 1810.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, successive editions; Birmingham Gazette, 12 March 1832, 12 October 1840; W. White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, 1834; Collections for a history of Staffordshire, 1910; P. Reid, Burke’s & Savill’s Guide to Country Houses: vol. 2, West Midlands, 1980, p. 160; http://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-m/moor-hall/; http://www.sutton-coldfield.net/history2.html; http://www.redhousepark.org.uk/; 

Where are their papers?

Addyes of Great Barr: no significant archive is known to survive.