The Beaumonts and the Ironworks (1)

There will probably be several things to say about this.

The first is that it dawned on me many years ago that George Beaumont (d.1736) must have been involved in the ironworks somehow, because of the cast iron memorials in Darton and Sandal churches.

It transpires that cast iron funerary memorials are inherently quite rare. In the words of Joseph Hunter:

The memorials to the [Beaumonts - in Darton church] are on two large plates of cast iron, the letters in relief. This, if any thing, will ensure perpetuity. Marble or monumental brass cannot, in this point, compare with it. There are a few other instances in the churches of this district; but it is wonderful that, in a country abounding with iron-works, recourse has not been had more frequently to this mode of perpetuation.

(Hunter, Joseph, South Yorkshire, vol. ii p.372).

Moreover it is practically speaking unheard of to find them commemorating people who were not connected with the industry (please post a comment about that, especially if you think what I say is wrong).

Now, the internal evidence of the dating of the two Darton slabs (by that, I mean what can be deduced just from looking at them - please trust me on this for now) is that they were both made at the same time, no earlier than 1713. In that year George Beaumont was 17 and of course, he died early in 1736. I think that his uncle and he were instrumental in having the slabs made, soon after 1713.

The second point for today, after which I will stop, is that there is documentary evidence of George being involved in financing the Wortley Ironworks at exactly this period.

The main proof that I have seen comes in a schedule of securities** listing amounts owing to his estate in 1740. Some of the documents evidencing these debts had George himself  as a party and were dated when he was alive, and others had the executors as parties and later dates. These (I suppose) were transactions "rolled over" from George's lifetime, but they could have been new loans, we have no way to know.

Amongst those owing money were Matthew Wilson, James Oats, and William Murgatroyd, the bonds in question being dated from 1737 onwards. All three of these were partners in the forge. The total amount owing to George's estate from these three borrowers was considerable, over £700.

It has been stated that James Oats died in 1738 and that shortly after this Matthew Wilson declined to carry on the management following a crisis involving Murgatroyd (who was later arrested) carrying on a venture of his own (see Miss R.Meredith, writing in C.Reginald Andrews, The Story of Wortley Ironworks, 3rd edition, 1975, at p.95).  But in the 1740 schedule Oats is not referred to as deceased.

The Rev. Mr Cockshutt, through his own family and his relatives the Spencers of Cannon Hall, was well acquainted with the partners of the Wortley Forge and it would be fascinating to know whether his handling of these affairs was, shall we say, as helpful to his own friends as it was to the Beaumont children, and indeed whether the debts were ever collected.

** This schedule is now in the Yorkshire Arch. Soc., part of its DD70 collection, probably in DD70/93. They supplied me with a copy of it, but unfortunately its exact reference is not noted. They have given me permission to reproduce a copy of it, which I shall do another day. It is a list of securities delivered to William Wrightson after Mr. Cockshutt died (see post dated 31 January).

Miss Meredith was the archivist at Sheffield, The source for what she states may perhaps be the Spencer-Stanhope archives from Cannon Hall. If you are familiar with these papers please post a comment.