Landed families of Britain and Ireland

This site, which was short-listed for the Society of Architectural Historians (GB) Colvin Prize in 2019, presents my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Sunday, 23 February 2014

(111) Allix of Swaffham Prior House and Willoughby Hall

Allix of Swaffham Prior &
Willoughby Hall

The Rev. Pierre Allix (1641-1717) was a prominent French Protestant clergyman and scriptural writer who was forced to flee France at the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685. At the invitation of the Bishop of Salisbury, he settled in England and was appointed minister of a new French church in Aldersgate, London, serving the Huguenot community. After the accession of King William & Queen Mary in 1689 he became an enthusiastic pamphleteer in support of the new order and he was rewarded with the Treasurership of Salisbury Cathedral in 1690. His elder son, John Peter Allix (1679-1758), followed his father into the church and was appointed vicar of Swaffham Prior in 1712. Despite later preferment to be (briefly) Dean of Gloucester and then Dean of Ely, he retained the vicarage at Swaffham Prior until 1753, by which time he had bought the manor of Knights there in order to establish his son Charles (1716-94) as a landed gentleman. Charles, who remodelled the house at Swaffham Prior, also inherited an estate at Marsh Chapel in Lincolnshire from a cousin, and when he died he left that property to his eldest son, Rev. Charles Wager Allix (1748-95) and Swaffham Prior to his younger son, John Peter Allix (1749-1817).

The Rev. C.W. Allix, who was vicar of Mere in Wiltshire from 1775-95, seems to have bought the West Willoughby Hall estate at Ancaster (Lincs) about the time of his father's death, and his son, Charles Allix (1783-1866) made his home in the Queen Anne house there and developed the farming potential of the estate. His son and heir, Frederick William Allix (1816-94), married into one of the leading county families, the Neviles of Wellingore, and his wife was independently wealthy. She insisted that they live on the Continent, and they lived for a time in Paris and later bought a house in Brussels which is now part of the permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU. Her husband seems to have preferred England, and seems to have hoped that if he provided an up-to-date house on their Lincolnshire estate his wife would consent to return and live there. Willoughby Hall was accordingly rebuilt, but the house was not a success and Mrs. Allix continued to live in Brussels until her death in 1910. Their son, Charles Noel Allix (1846-1925) was not much of a success either. Expelled from Harrow, he became a Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, but he seems to have been obliged to resign his commission and in the 1870s he was employed for several years in Egypt and in the Turkish army. Permanently short of money, he is reputed to have found it convenient to confuse his creditors by sometimes being 'Charles Noel' and sometimes 'Noel Charles'. He inherited Willoughby Hall in 1894 but never lived there for very long, and in about 1913 he sold it outright to a clergyman who devoted his life to caring for his wealthy but deranged elder brother. When he died in Wales in 1925 he was down to his last few hundred pounds.

The other branch of the family were more successful. John Peter Allix (1749-1807), who inherited Swaffham Prior House, passed it on to his eldest son, John Peter Allix (1785-1848), who was a model early 19th century improving landowner. He created the small park around the house, led the local volunteers during the Napoleonic wars; and became MP for the county in the 1840s. His only failure was to produce any children, and in 1848 the Swaffham Prior estate passed to his brother, a retired Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, who fought gallantly under Wellington in the Peninsular Wars and at Waterloo. The estate passed in 1862 to his only son, Charles Peter Allix (1842-1921), who became an active magistrate and Vice-Chairman of Quarter Sessions, an antiquarian, and a railway promoter. His son, Charles Israel Loraine Allix (1872-1960) lived at Compton Lodge in Eastbourne between the wars but after the Second World War returned to Swaffham Prior House and made it his home. His only son having been killed in the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940, the estate passed to his eldest daughter, who married the owner of the adjacent Newton Manor estate. Their son, Henry Charles Hurrell (b. 1950), sold Swaffham Prior House and the park in 1982 to Sir Michael Marshall, son of the aircraft engineer, Sir Arthur Marshall, but retained most of the land, which continues to be farmed with the Hurrell's Newton Manor estate.

Swaffham Prior House, Cambridgeshire

Swaffham Prior House

The house began as the manor house of an estate called Knights which was taxed on 17 hearths in 1667, and the present building incorporates a seven bay house of 17th century date with lath and plaster internal walls. The present nine bay, two storey brick front was built c.1753 for Charles Allix. The central three bays are stepped slightly forward, and have a late 19th century porch with Tuscan columns, a metope frieze and a pediment. At the same time the house was given a top balustrade with ball finials, which conceals the five hipped dormers in the roof. Probably c. 1870 C. P. Allix added a bay window to the drawing room on the right-hand gable end, and a billiard room to its north, and inserted a main staircase in the former hall. One room preserves a 17th century overmantel and panelling and there is a repositioned secondary staircase of the late 17th century. The house stands in a well-wooded park created between 1800 and 1820 and extended to the north in the 1880s.

Descent: Roger Rant (d. 1747); to widow, who sold 1751 to Very Rev. John Peter Allix (d. 1758) who installed his son, Charles Allix (d. 1794); to son, John Peter Allix (d. 1807); to son, John Peter Allix (d. 1848); to brother, Charles Allix (d. 1862); to son, Charles Peter Allix (d. 1921); to son, Charles Israel Loraine Allix (1872-1960); to daughter, Mary Diana Allix (1911-68), wife of Reginald Metcalfe Hurrell (d. 1973); to son, Henry Charles Hurrell (b. 1950), who sold the house 1982 to Michael Marshall (fl. 2007) while retaining the estate.

Willoughby Hall, Ancaster, Lincolnshire (aka West Willoughby Hall)

The Rev. C.W. Allix seems to have bought the Willoughby Hall estate from the Forster family before 1795, perhaps to provide an estate for his son, Charles, who married in 1808. After living briefly at Carlby near Stamford, Charles was occupying Willoughby by 1810, and lived there until his death. The Hall of that time was apparently a Queen Anne house, of which nothing is known, but which was perhaps fairly tired by the time F.W. Allix inherited in 1866.

Willoughby Hall, from the sale particulars of 1928

Allix commissioned a large neo-Jacobean house in 1873 from William Watkins of Lincoln, who is better-known for commercial buildings in a French Renaissance style. The new house was complete by 1875 and cost an estimated £28,000; sale particulars show that it had a lofty hall, four main reception rooms with elaborate carved fireplaces and a smoking room, a broad staircase leading to a first floor with eight main bedrooms and a further nine bedroooms on the second floor. But the house was little occupied by the family and was leased by 1890 and sold in about 1913. Nobody stayed in the house for long, suggesting that it may not have been very convenient or attractive, and it stood empty and deteriorating through the 1930s, so that by the outbreak of World War II it was in poor condition. The house was taken over for military use and further damaged "to the point of offensiveness". It was then reputedly used for bombing practice by the RAF, with numbers painted on the roof as targets.

Willoughby Hall: the house on the eve of demolition in 1963.

It must have been well-built, because despite this, the shell stood derelict after the war until it was blown up in 1963. The grounds were recently remodelled and preserve the much stable block of 1876, with shaped gables. It would be good to see a new house built on this site.

Descent: Rev. Charles Wager Allix (1748-95); to son, Charles Allix (1783-1866); to son, Frederick William Allix (1816-94), who rebuilt the house; to son, Charles Noel Allix (1846-1925), who sold c.1913 to Rev. Harry William Hitchcock (d. 1941) (as agent for his brother, Charles Hitchcock (d. 1928), a lunatic); sold after 1928 to Peter Murray of Home Farm, who demolished the house and sold the stonework 1963.

Allix family of Swaffham Prior and Willoughby

Allix, Rev. Pierre (1641-1717). Son of Pierre Allix, pastor of the Reformed Church of France at Alencon. Educated at the Protestant Academy at Saumur (France); Pastor at at Grande-Quevilly, Rouen, and later Charenton, Paris; following the revocation of the edict of Nantes he accepted an invitation from Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, to continue his studies in England, and he was naturalised, 16 December 1687. From 1688-90 he was minister of a new French Protestant church in Jewin Street, Aldersgate, London; he matriculated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1689 and was granted the degree of DD 1690, which he subsequently incorporated at Oxford; finally he was appointed Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, 1690-1717. He was "universally esteemed the greatest master of the age in Rabbinical learning". He married, 1678, Margeurite (d. 1739), daughter of Jean Roger of Rouen and had issue:

(1) Very Rev. John Peter Allix (1679-1758) (q.v.);
(2) Mary Allix (d. 1741); married, 28 July 1726, Claude des Maretz (d. 1763); buried 17 June 1741 at St Antholin, London;
(3) James Allix (c.1682-c.1705); died young;
(4) Thomas Allix (c. 1684-88); died young;
(5) William Allix (1689-1769); educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (admitted 1706; BA 1709/10); a naval commissioner; Commissioner for distribution of prize money for Spanish ships taken at Gibraltar, 1739; Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, 1766; died 1769 and was buried at St George's, Bloomsbury; will proved 4 April 1769;
(6) Gilbert Allix (1692-1767); baptised 1 January 1693; a London merchant; married, about September 1723, Jane Champion de Crespigny; died 1767; will proved 3 July 1767;
(7) Margaret Allix (d. c.1772); married, 1724, Peter Seignoret; died in Switzerland.
He died 21 February 1716/7. His widow died in London, 24 October 1739.

Allix, Very Rev. John Peter (1679-1758), of Swaffham Prior. Only son of Rev. Peter Allix (d. 1717) and his wife Margeurite, daughter of M. Jean Roger of Rouen (France), born in France, 22 August 1679. He came to England with his father and was naturalised, 16 January 1687/8. Educated at Charterhouse and Queens' College, Cambridge (admitted 1699; BA 1702/3; MA 1706; DD 1717). Ordained deacon, 1705 and priest, 1706. Appointed a Chaplain to the King, 1721; vicar of Swaffham Prior, 1712-53; rector of Castle Camps (Cambs), 1725-58 and Dry Drayton (Cambs), 1724-25; Dean of Gloucester Cathedral, 1729-30; Dean of Ely Cathedral, 1730-58. He married, 30 April 1713, Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Parker of London, merchant, and half-sister and eventual co-heiress of Adm. Sir Charles Wager (First Lord of the Admiralty, 1733-42), and had issue:
(1) Charles Allix (1716-94) (q.v.).
He purchased the Swaffham Prior House estate in 1751.
He died 11 January 1758 and was buried 15 January 1758 at Castle Camps, where he is commemorated by a monument.

Allix, Charles (1716-94), of Swaffham Prior House. Only son of Very Rev. John Peter Allix (d. 1758) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Parker of London, merchant, and half-sister and co-heiress of Adm. Sir Charles Wager (First Lord of the Admiralty, 1733-42), born 2 June and baptised 21 June 1716. Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (admitted 1733; BA 1737/8; MA 1741). He married, 1744, Catherine, daughter of Rt. Rev. Thomas Greene DD, bishop of Ely, and had issue:
(1) Charles Wager Allix (b. 1745), baptised 9 February 1745; died young;
(2) Rev. Charles Wager Allix (1748-95) (q.v.);
(3) John Peter Allix (1749-1807) (q.v.);
(4) Jane Allix (1750-1817), baptised 21 December 1750; married, about December 1781, Rev. George Wilson MA (c.1755-1829), vicar of Corbridge (Northbld), 1785-1829, second son of Very Rev. Thomas Wilson DD, Dean of Carlisle; died 8 November 1817; buried at Corbridge;
(5) Catherine Allix; died young.
He was given the Swaffham Prior House estate by his father in or about 1751 and remodelled the house in 1753. He inherited the Marsh Chapel estate from his cousin, M. de Boussière. At his death Marsh Chapel was left to his elder and Swaffham Prior to his younger son.
He died 25 December 1794, aged 78.

Allix, Rev. Charles Wager (1748-95). Elder son of Charles Allix (c.1716-94) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Rt. Rev. Thomas Greene DD, bishop of Ely, born 18 June 1748. Educated at Harrow and Christ's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1767; BA 1774; MA 1777). Ordained deacon and priest, 1775; rector of Mere (Somerset), 1775-95; a member of the Society for the Propogation of Christian Knowledge. He married 1st, 8 June 1775 at Liverpool (Lancs), Ann Johnson (d. c.1780) of Liverpool, and 2nd, 23 January 1781, Catherine (d. 1839), second daughter of Richard Townley of Belfield Hall (Lancs) and had issue including:
(2.1) Charles Allix (1783-1866) of Willoughby Hall (q.v.);
(2.2) Catherine Anne Allix (1787-1862), baptised 25 December 1787; died unmarried at Bath (Somerset), 8 October 1862; will proved 12 November 1862 (estate under £12,000);
(2.3) Rev. Richard Wager Allix (1789-1827), baptised 14 November 1789; educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1807; BA 1811; MA 1814; BD 1821; Fellow); ordained deacon and priest, 1813; curate of Kegworth (Leics), 1813-16; vicar of Latchford (Cheshire), 1816-26; rector of Great Warley (Essex), 1827; married, 15 February 1827, Jane, widow of Rev. George White LLB but died without issue, 31 May 1827; buried at Great Warley (Essex) but commemorated by a monumental inscription at Latchford; administration of goods granted in PCC, 3 August 1827;
(2.4) Margaret Elizabeth Allix (1791-1827); married, 15 August 1820, Rev. George Lavington Yate (1795-1873) and had issue two sons; died at Great Warley (Essex), 31 May 1827;
He inherited the Marsh Chapel estate (Lincs) from his father in 1794. He bought the Willoughby Hall estate at Ancaster (Lincs).
He died 30 November 1795; his will was proved in the PCC, 13 May 1796. His widow died 6 October 1839.

Allix, Charles (1783-1866) of Willoughby Hall. Eldest son of Rev. Charles Wager Allix (1748-95) and his wife Katherine, daughter of Richard Townley of Belfield Hall (Lancs), born 20 January 1783. Educated at Harrow and Christ's College, Cambridge (admitted 1800). JP and DL for Lincolnshire. Described as "an agriculturist of high eminence, a real and practical farmer, and one who owned that he farmed with success". He married, 3 June 1808, Mary Elizabeth (1787-1861), second daughter of William Hammond of St. Alban's Court (Kent) and had among other issue:
(1) Mary Catherine Elizabeth Allix (1809-42), born 1 June 1809; married Lt-Col. Charles Allix (1787-1862) (q.v.) and had issue one son; died 4 March 1842;
(2) Charles Hammond Allix (1810-30), born 27 July and baptised 19 August 1810; Lt. in Grenadier Guards; died 1830;
(3) Charlotte Francis Allix (c.1812-90); married, 11 November 1857, Henry Osmond Nethercote (1819-86) of Moulton House (Northants) and had issue two daughters; died 7 May 1890; will proved 31 July 1890 (estate £2,507);
(4) Caroline Isabella Allix (1814-36); baptised 3 April 1814; died unmarried, 26 January 1836;
(5) Frederick William Allix (1816-94) (q.v.);
(6) Louisa Margaret Allix (1818-95); baptised 17 December 1818; married, 16 January 1844, Rev. James Griffith, rector of Flaxton (Yorks NR) and had issue; died 11 June 1895; will proved 23 July 1895 (estate £400);
(7) Juliana Jemima Allix (1820-40), born 17 September 1820; married, 15 August 1839, Capt. Francis Capper Brooke (1810-86) of Ufford Place (Suffolk) and had issue one daughter; died at Athínai, Attiki (Greece), 12 December 1840;
(8) William Kent Allix (1823-54), born 9 April and baptised 5 June 1823; educated at Harrow and RMC Sandhurst; officer in 1st Regiment and served in West Indies, Canada and Crimea; aide-de-camp to Lt-Gen. Sir De Lacy Evans; unmarried; killed at Battle of Inkerman, 5 November 1854;
(9) Wager Townley Allix (1825-78), born 1 March 1825; married, about December 1862, Catherine Elizabeth (1831-99), daughter of T. Tyrwhitt Drake of Shardeloes (Bucks) and had issue two daughters; died 18 June 1878; will proved 10 August 1878 (estate under £14,000);
(10) Emily Persis Allix (1830-1912); married, 11 September 1851, Arthur David Vesey (1825-57), son of David Veasey of Castle Hall, Huntingdon (Hunts) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 8 December 1912; will proved 30 January 1913 (estate £1,586).
He inherited the Willoughby Hall and Marsh Chapel estates from his father in 1795.
He died 22 January 1866; his will was proved 10 April 1866 (estate under £8,000).

Allix, Capt. Frederick William (1816-94) of Willoughby Hall. Eldest son of Charles Allix (1783-1866) and his wife Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Hammond of St. Alban's Court (Kent), born 11 April 1816. Captain in the Grenadier Guards. He married, 30 May 1844, Sophia Mary (d. 1910), daughter and heiress of Christopher Henry Nevile (later Noel) of Wellingore Hall (Lincs) and had issue:
(1) Charles Noel Allix (1846-1925) (q.v.);
(2) Helen Harriet Elizabeth Allix (1848-1906); married, 16 July 1870, Abel Humphrey Ram (1843-98), son of Stephen Ram DL of Ramsport (Wexford); lived in Paris; died without issue, 28 September 1906; will proved 14 May 1907 (estate in England, £725).
He inherited the Willoughby Hall and Marsh Chapel estates from his father in 1866; Marsh Chapel was sold c.1872 to pay for the rebuilding of Willoughby Hall. He and his wife lived mainly on the Continent, initially in Paris but later at 33 Boulevard du Régent, Brussels, a house which his wife owned. He also had a house in Ramsgate (Kent).
He died at Ramsgate, 13 October 1894; his will was proved 10 April 1895 (estate £16,481). His widow died at her house in Brussels, 16 September 1910; her will was proved 25 November 1910 (estate in England, £48,185).

Allix, Col. (Noel) Charles Noel (1846-1925) of Willoughby Hall. Only son of Frederick William Allix (1816-94) and his wife Sophia Mary, daughter and heiress of Christopher Henry Nevile (later Noel) of Wellingore Hall (Lincs), born 15 May and baptised 18 September 1846. Educated at Harrow (expelled). Colonel in the Grenadier Guards; equerry to the Khedive of Egypt, 1872-75; served with the Turkish Army in Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 and was awarded the Orders of the Medjidie and the Osmanieh and later in Crete, 1879-80. JP and DL for Parts of Kesteven and Kent. He was frequently short of money, no doubt partly due to his enthusiasm for hunting and sport in all forms; an entire room at Willoughby Hall was said to be filled with his hunting trophies. He married 1st, 11 March 1871, Helen (d. 1889), daughter of Edwin Taunton of Bromborough (Cheshire) and 2nd, 28 December 1893, Gertrude Anne (1870-1951), youngest daughter of William Hynam of Strawberry Lodge, Twickenham (Middx), and had issue:
(1.1) Muriel Lilian Helen de Burgh Allix (c.1873-1922); born in Cairo (Egypt) c.1873; died unmarried, 28 June 1922; adminstration of goods granted 7 February 1923 (estate £405);
(2.1) Vera Dorothy Violet Allix (1894-1973), born 23 September 1894 and baptised 4 February 1896;
(2.2) Ileene Gertrude Allix (1895-1981), born 24 November 1895; married, 4 October 1917, Col. Richard Conyers Ruck (1886-1973) of Indian Army, son of Lt-Col. A.A. Ruck of 8th Regt.; died Jan-Mar 1981, aged 85
(2.3) Norah Kathleen Allix (1902-85), born 15 January 1902; married 1 September 1925, William Robert Williams (1894-1964), son of W.R. Williams of Machynlleth (Merioneths) and had issue one son; died April 1985.
He inherited Willoughby Hall from his father in 1894 but let it frequently and sold it c.1913. He lived subsequently at Rhiwgwrieddyn near Machynlleth (Montgomeryshire).
He died 6 August 1925; his will was proved 24 October 1925 (estate £676). His first wife died 10 August 1889, and his widow 23 April 1951; her will was proved 21 June 1951 (estate £1,552).

Allix, John Peter (1749-1807) of Swaffham Prior House. Younger son of Charles Allix (c. 1716-94) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Rt. Rev. Thomas Greene DD, bishop of Ely, born 8 November and baptised 7 December 1749. He married, 11 October 1782, Sarah (1759-1836), daughter of Rev. William Collier, vicar of Swaffham Prior and had issue:
(1) Catherine Allix (1783-1873), born 1 December 1793 and baptised 1 January 1784; married, 31 May 1808, Robert Wilkinson (d. 1839) of Montagu Square, London and had issue two sons; died 11 January 1873 and was buried at Swaffham Prior, 16 January 1873; will proved 28 February 1873 (estate under £8,000);
(2) Charlotte Jane Allix (1785-1870), baptised 18 January 1785; married, 25 January 1808, John Pardoe (1787-1870) of Leyton (Essex) and had issue; died 24 February 1870;
(3) John Peter Allix (1785-1848) (q.v.);
(4) Charles Allix (1787-1862) (q.v.);
(5) William Allix (c.1789-1812); Lieutenant in 95th Regiment; killed at Battle of Badajoz (Spain), 6 April 1812; commemorated by a monument at Swaffham Prior;
(6) Thomas Allix (1791-1809); educated at St. John's College, Cambridge (admitted 1808); died unmarried, 20 September 1809; buried at St. Augustine's, Bristol, 29 September 1809;
(7) twin, Matilda Allix (1794-1877), born 5 March and baptised 9 May 1794; married Thomas Roberts; died without issue, 17 May 1877; buried at Swaffham Prior, 24 May 1877; will proved 1 August 1877 (estate under £40,000);
(8) twin, George Gilbert Allix (1794-95), born 5 March and baptised 9 May 1794;
(9) Juliana Allix (c.1796-1886); died unmarried, 24 February 1886, aged 90; will proved 10 March 1886 (estate £7,632)
(10) Wager Allix (1799-1812), baptised 2 June 1799; died from injuries received from being thrown from a carriage, 8 February 1812; buried at Swaffham Prior, 16 February 1812;
(10) Marianne Allix (1806-67), baptised 1 June 1806; died unmarried, 16 June 1867 and was buried at Swaffham Prior, 22 June 1867.
He inherited Swaffham Prior House from his father in 1794.
He died 15/16 May and was buried at Swaffham Prior, 24 May 1807; his will was proved in the PCC, 18 December 1807. His widow died 3 February and was buried at Swaffham Prior, 11 February 1836; her will was proved 13 August 1836.

Allix, John Peter (1785-1848) of Swaffham Prior House. Eldest son of John Peter Allix (d. 1807) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Rev. William Collier, born 2 December 1785 and baptised 3 February 1786. Educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge (admitted 1804; BA 1808; MA 1811). Captain of Swaffham Prior Volunteers, 1803-08 and Major in Cambridgeshire Militia; JP and DL for Cambridgeshire; High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, 1826/28; MP for Cambridgeshire, 1841-47. He married, 7 March 1816, his first cousin, Maria (d. 1854), daughter of John Pardoe of Leyton (Essex), but had no issue.
He inherited Swaffham Prior House from his father in 1807, and probably created the park. At his death his estate passed to his next brother.
He died 19 February and was buried at Swaffham Prior, 26 February 1848; his will was proved 14 April 1848. His widow died 21 May and was buried 27 May 1854.

Allix, Lt-Col. Charles (1787-1862) of Swaffham Prior House. Second son of John Peter Allix (d. 1807) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Rev. William Collier, born 24 April 1787. Colonel in Grenadier Guards; served in Peninsula Wars and at Battle of Waterloo. He married, 10 April 1841, his cousin Mary Catherine Elizabeth (1809-42), daughter of Charles Allix (q.v.) of Willoughby Hall and had issue:
(1) Charles Peter Allix (1842-1921) (q.v.)
He inherited Swaffham Prior House from his elder brother in 1848.
He died 24 April 1862 and his will was proved 26 June 1862. His wife died 4 March 1842.

Allix, Charles Peter (1842-1921), of Swaffham Prior House. Only child of Col. Charles Allix (1787-1862) and his wife Mary Catherine Elizabeth (d. 1842), daughter of Charles Allix (q.v.) of Willoughby Hall, born 21 February 1842. Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1860; BA 1864; MA 1873). JP and DL for Cambridgeshire; Vice-Chairman of Quarter Sessions. Representative of the Diocese of Ely in the Canterbury House of Laymen, 1889-96. Chairman of the Swaffham and Bottisham Fen Drainage Commissioners; Chairman of the Ely and Bury St Edmunds Light Railway Company; promoted the construction of the Cambridge to Mildenhall line. Contributed papers to the Cambridge Archaeological Society. He married, 2 August 1866, Laura Agneta Wellington (1843-1922), daughter of Richard Lee Bevan of Brixworth Hall (Northants) and had issue:
(1) Laura Matilda Ethelwyn Allix (1867-1936), born 14 May 1867; married, 1 October 1889, Sir Arthur Francis Pease (1866-1927), 1st bt. of Middleton Lodge, Middleton Tyas (Yorks) and had issue one son and three daughters; died 4 January 1936; will proved 2 April 1936 (estate £33,997);
(2) Isabella Maude Allix (1869-1954), born 19 January 1869; married 8 July 1897, Capt. Edward Gordon Young RE (1868-1900); died without issue, 18 April 1954; will proved 15 July 1954 (estate £12,979);
(3) Laura Mildred Allix (1871-84), born 7 January 1871; died young, 30 April 1884;
(4) Charles Israel Loraine Allix (1872-1960) (q.v.);
(5) Richard Peter Allix (1876-77), born 13 June 1876; died in infancy, 31 May 1877;
(6) John Peter Allix (1879-1959); born 27 July 1879; educated at Eton; railway company executive; married 24 March 1920, Virginia, daughter of Archibald Cameron Norman of The Rookery, Bromley Common (Kent) and had issue three sons; died 1 March 1959; will proved 28 April 1959 (estate £5,702);
(7) Mary Cecily Allix (1890-1973), born 29 May 1890; lived at Richmond (Yorks); died unmarried, Jan-Mar 1973.
He inherited Swaffham Prior House from his father in 1862.
He died 10 July 1921 and his will was proved 28 October 1921 (estate £47,650). His widow died 6 April 1922; her will was proved 19 July 1922 (estate £1,684).

Allix, Charles Israel Loraine (1872-1960) of Swaffham Prior House. Eldest son of Charles Peter Allix (1842-1921) and his wife Laura Agneta Wellington, daughter of Richard Lee Bevan of Brixworth Hall (Northants), born 1 December 1872. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1891; BA 1894; MA 1898). Lieutenant in Coldstream Guards; served in WW1 from 1914-18. JP and DL for Cambridgeshire. He married 23 October 1906, Hon. Hilda (1879-1923), daughter of Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper and had issue:
(1) Mary Diana Allix (1911-68) (q.v.);
(2) Pamela Rachel Allix (1913-2003), born 1 July 1913; married 14 March 1947, Frank Charles Thorpe (1910-69), son of Charles Thorpe, and had issue;
(3) Aurea Ethelwyn Allix (1917-2012), born 7 September 1917; married, 12 January 1942, Philip Henry de Lerisson Cazenove (1901-78), son of Maj. Edward Cazenove JP and had issue; died 9 January 2012, aged 94;
(4) Peter Loraine Allix (1919-40), born 10 February 1919; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; killed in action at Dunkirk, 30 May 1940.
He inherited Swaffham Prior House from his father in 1921, but lived at Compton Lodge, Eastbourne (Sussex) in the 1920s and 1930s.
He died 13 March 1960; his will was proved 27 June and 22 August 1960 (estate £119,814). His wife died 28 April 1923; administration of her goods was granted 31 August 1923 (estate £3,708).

Allix (later Hurrell), Mary Diana (1911-68). Eldest daughter of Charles Israel Loraine Allix (1872-1960) and his wife Hon. Hilda, daughter of Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper, born 18 September 1911. She married, 12 December 1939, Reginald Metcalfe Hurrell (d. 1973) of Newton Manor (Cambs), younger son of Arthur Hurrell of Harston (Cambs), and had issue:
(1) Henry Charles Hurrell (b. 1950), born 13 March 1950; married, 1986, Fiona Adabel Bruce (b. 1961) and had issue three sons and one daughter;
(2) Judith Hurrell (b. 1940), born 24 November 1940; married, 1965, Derek N. Smedley (b. 1937) and had issue one son and one daughter;
(3) Elizabeth Hurrell (b. 1943), born 28 April 1943; married and had issue;
(4) Anne Ethelwyn Hurrell (b. 1947), born 27 April 1947; married 1983, Ashley J.A. Tooth (b. 1947) of London.
She inherited Swaffham Prior House from her father in 1960. At her death it passed to her son, who sold the house in 1982 while retaining the estate.
She died in 1968. Her husband died in 1973.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1965, pp. 14-15; Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Cambridgeshire, 2nd edn., 1970, p. 467; Sir. N. Pevsner, J. Harris et al, The buildings of England: Lincolnshire, 2nd edn., 1989, p. 101; T.R. Leach & R. Pacey, Lost Lincolnshire country houses, vol. 2, 1992, pp. 69-80; H. Thorold, Lincolnshire Houses, 1999, p. 178; VCH Cambridgeshire, vol. 10, 2002, p. 280; http://eastcambs.gov.uk/listed-buildings/swaffham-prior-house-86-high-street-swaffham-prior-cambs; http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/407.

Location of archives

Allix family of Swaffham Prior House: family and estate papers, 17th-20th cents. [Cambridgeshire Archives]
Allix family of Willoughby Hall: estate rentals, correspondence and papers, 1862-1912 [Lincolnshire Archives]

Coat of arms

Argent, a wolf's head erased gules, in the dexter chief point a mullet of the second, all within a bordure sable.

Revision & Acknowledgements

This post was first published on 23rd February 2014 and last revised 3rd April 2015. I am grateful to Honor Wayne for corrections.

Sunday, 16 February 2014

(110) Allison of Undercliff, Cleadon

James Allison (1796-1865) was a successful businessman who began as a shipbuilder at Monkwearmouth in Sunderland. When the lease on his shipyard ran out, he turned to brewing instead and the profits of this business allowed him to build a small country house called Undercliff set in ten acres of grounds at Cleadon, a few miles north of Sunderland. His son William Henry Allison (1827-1917) succeeded him both at Undercliff and in the brewing business, finally selling out in 1890, when Newcastle Breweries Ltd was established to buy up a number of brewery companies in the north-east. James's elder son, James John Allison (1826-99) appears to have established a corn dealing business in Sunderland, but this became insolvent in 1861 and he too then joined the brewing company. Both James junior and William were active militia soldiers, James ending up as Colonel of the Durham Light Infantry and William as Colonel of the Newcastle Royal Engineer Volunteers and later succeeding his brother at the Durham regiment.

From about 1906, William leased Tickford Abbey in Buckinghamshire for a number of years. It is not clear why, in his late 70s, he should suddenly move from County Durham to a rather larger house at Newport Pagnell, especially as he returned to Undercliff by 1911. His son, James John Allison (1854-1929), who was a Director of Newcastle Breweries Ltd., lived in Newcastle-on-Tyne and sold Undercliff in the early 1920s.

Undercliff, Cleadon, Durham

Undercliff: the south and east fronts, showing the unequal spacing of the bays. Image: Pete Bettess

A puzzling but attractive two-storey classical house of brick with stone dressings, which was reputedly built in 1853-56 for James Allison. The designer is unknown but could well have been an amateur as the handling of the facades, articulated by Tuscan pilasters, demonstrates several solecisms: for example, the pilasters on the main south front are irregularly spaced, as the front consists of three narrow bays and two broader ones with bay windows.

Undercliff: entrance front. Image: South Tyneside Council

The three-bay entrance (west) elevation is markedly unbalanced, with a large Tuscan porch sat uncomfortably on the left hand bay and a blind right-hand bay, but there seems no evidence that the range has been truncated. The long east range incorporated service accommodation and a cottage.

Undercliff: the staircase hall. Image: Pete Bettess

Inside, the house retains Tudor-style decoration in the entrance hall and a curved dog-leg stair with an elaborate cast-iron balustrade. The main rooms on the south front also have quite elaborate plasterwork and good marble fireplaces. The house became a "Home of Healing" in the 1960s and was divided into three units in 1977 to the designs of Colin Luke, architect, who subsequently lived in one of the units created.

Descent: Built for James Allison (1796-1865); to son, William Henry Allison (1827-1917); to son, James John Allison (1854-1929); who sold c.1922 to Col. Sir Robert Chapman (1880-1963), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Robert MacGowan Chapman (1911-87), 2nd bt., who gave it in the late 1960s to St Michael's Home of Healing; converted to three dwellings 1977.

Allison family of Undercliff

James Allison
Mayor of Sunderland

Allison, James (1796-1865) of Undercliff. Son of John Allison (1746-1800) of Monkwearmouth (Durham), and his wife Anne (d. 1830), daughter of John Taylor of Monkwearmouth, mariner, born 17 January 1796. Shipbuilder (1818-33), wine and spirit merchant and brewer; took over North Quay Brewery, 1833; Mayor of Sunderland 1844-45 and 1864-65. He married, 1819, Henrietta (1799-1881), second daughter of Edward Hinde, of Sunderland, attorney, and had issue:
(1) Henrietta Allison (1820-98), born 25 February 1820; married, 21 July 1840, William Gylby (1814-72) and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 18 April 1898;
(2) Edward Allison (b. 1822), born March 1822 but died in infancy;
(3) Ann Allison (1824-1909), born 2 January 1824; married, 19 March 1844, Edward Edden of Edgbaston, Birmingham and had issue three sons and one daughter; buried 15 March 1909;
(4) Col. James John Allison (1826-99) (q.v.);
(5) William Henry Allison (1827-1917) (q.v.);
(6) John George Allison (1833-1917), born 2 Jan. 1833; civil engineer; married, 3 June 1857, Mary Anne (1834-1903), daughter of George Wilkin Hall, of Boldon and had issue six sons and two daughters; died 12 February 1917; will proved 8 April 1917 (estate £921);
(7) Charles Allison (b. 1836), born 21 April 1836 but died in infancy;
(8) Albert Edwin Allison (1843-61), born 13 January and baptised 20 February 1843; sailor; drowned 10 August 1861.
He built Undercliffe at Cleadon in about 1853.
He died 12 July 1865; his will was proved 27 January 1866 (estate under £30,000). His widow died 23 May 1881; her will was proved 20 February 1882 (estate £697).

Col. J.J. Allison

Allison, Col. James John (1826-99), of Otterburn Hall (Northbld). Second but oldest surviving son of James Allison (1796-1865) and his wife Henrietta (d. 1881), daughter of Edward Hinde of Sunderland, attorney, born 14 May 1826. JP and DL (1876) for Co. Durham; hon. Col. of 4th Bttn, Durham Light Infantry; awarded CB. He married, 20 December 1853, Jane Smith (c.1832-1914), daughter of George Wilkin Hall of Boldon (Durham) but had no issue.
He lived at Beaufront, Roker Terrace, Sunderland, and leased Otterburn Hall (Northbld) briefly in the late 19th century.
He died 25 March 1899; his will was proved 6 June 1899 (estate £33,595). His widow died 18 April 1914; her will was proved 25 May 1914 (estate £12,864).

William Henry Allison

Allison, William Henry (1827-1917), of Undercliffe and Tickford Abbey. Third son of James Allison (1796-1865) and his wife Henrietta (d. 1881), daughter of Edward Hinde of Sunderland, attorney, born 31 October 1827. Educated at The Grange, Sunderland. Brewer; sold company in 1890 to Newcastle Breweries Ltd. JP and DL for Co. Durham and JP for Buckinghamshire, 1906; honorary Col. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Royal Engineer Volunteers; awarded Victoria Decoration, 1882. He married, 21 September 1852, Margaret (d. 1917), daughter of John Clay, of Cleadon Meadows, nr. Sunderland, and had issue:
(1) James John Allison (1854-1929) (q.v.);
(2) Nina Florence Allison (1856-1907), born 17 October 1856; married, 18 April 1889, Charles Newton Lovely MD (c.1864-1947), of Dawlish (Devon), and had issue three sons and one daughter; died of pneumonia, 14 January 1907 and was buried at Dawlish Cemetery;
(3) Maud Allison (1858-1930), born June 1858; married, 25 August 1889, Horace Ridgway Harrison, of Vancouver Island, Canada, and died 1930;
(4) Oswald Allison (1860-1934), of Port Elizabeth, Cape Province (South Africa), born 25 February 1860; married, 1866, Eliza Talbot (d. 1934) and had issue; died 18 June 1934; administration granted 22 July 1935 (estate in England £1,123)
(5) Henrietta Allison (1862-1935), born 23 January 1862; married, 3 August 1886, R. M. Lambe, of Cleadon House, and died 1935;
(6) Violet Allison (1864-1927), born 17 January 1864; married, 4 August 1888 (div. 1904), Viginti Tertius Thompson (d. 1946), shipowner, of Rainton Grove, Sunderland (brother of Charles Thompson, of Morton Hall, Otterburn mentioned below) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 16 August 1927;
(7) Mabel Allison (1866-89), born 30 January 1866; married, 5 January 1889, Archibald Graham, of West Kirby (Cheshire), and died 16 August 1889.
(8) Harold Kenneth Allison (1870-1949), of Dunmoe, Navan (Meath), born 22 January 1870; married 1st, 30 August 1894, Lady Diana (d. 1914), daughter of 14th Earl of Eglinton and formerly wife of Sir Claud Alexander, 2nd bt., and had issue one son (H.A. Allison of Drumelton House) and one daughter; married 2nd, 1939, Maria Rebecca Heany; died 16 April 1949; will proved 20 October 1949 (estate in England, £1,339)
(9) Capt. Hubert Allison (1872-1956), of Little Abbots, Pewsey (Wilts), born 20 December 1872; Jockey Club starter, 1913-47; married, 6 April 1917, Mildred Clarke (1885-1969), daughter of Charles Thompson of Morton Hall, Otterburn (Northbld) and had issue three daughters; died 6 April 1956.
He inherited Undercliffe from his father in 1865 and leased Tickford Abbey c.1906-10.
He died 11 January 1917; his will was proved 16 May 1917 (estate £31,970). His wife died 25 January 1917; her will was proved 18 April 1917 (estate £1,230).

Allison, James John (1854-1929), of Undercliffe. Eldest son of William Henry Allison (d. 1917) and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Clay of Cleadon Meadows, born 19 June 1854. Educated at Kings Sch. Canterbury. Director of Newcastle Breweries Ltd; JP and DL for County Durham; Major and hon. Lt.-Col. 3rd Bttn. Durham Light Infantry; Mayor of Sunderland. He married, 1st, 11 April 1882, Edith Hope (1859-82), daughter of Rev. Alexander Napier, vicar of Holkham (Norfolk), and secondly, 18 September 1884, Edith Bryham (1864-1951), eldest daughter of Robert M. Davidson, of High Cross House Lodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and had issue:
(2.1) Henry James Noel Palmer Allison (1887-1919), born on 16 May, 1887; educated at Wellington College; Lt. in 3rd Gordon Highlanders; married, 1909, Helen May, daughter of William Jones of Knowle, Bristol, but died without issue, 3 February 1919; will proved 31 July 1919 (estate £247);
(2.2) Claude Stanley Allison (1889-1962) of Wentworth, Virginia Water (Surrey), born 3 October 1889; educated at Repton; Director of Atkinson Baldwin & Co. Ltd., wine and spirit merchants; married, 26 November 1931, Helen (d. 1960), eldest daughter of George Roper,
of Sunderland; died without issue, 4 June 1962; will proved 19 July 1962 (estate £47,334).
He lived in Newcastle-on-Tyne, but inherited Undercliffe from his father in 1917, and sold it c.1922 to Robert (later Sir Robert) Chapman.
He died 15 September 1929; his will was proved 15 September 1929 (estate £8,730). His first wife died 24 December 1882 and his widow 22 March 1951; her will was proved 4 July 1951 (estate £9,060).