Alexander Thomas- The Goldsmith

This is a story about a very young man aged only 15 who, having had both his parents die, sets off from the Welsh border area to London. There he becomes a goldsmith, marries , has a family of 4 daughters and 5 sons, builds a successful business over many years in Hatton Garden the heart of London's top end jewellery and diamond district and also manages to build an impressive portfolio of London property.

Alexander Thomas was Alice Hardy's grandfather. In other words he was my 4 times great grandfather. His story has only recently become fully known to me thanks to contact from another of Alexander's descendants, namely Brent Thomas. Brent is descended from George Thomas, brother of Alice's father Frederick Thomas.

Brent has provided me with a copy of Alexander's Indenture Agreement under which he learned his trade as a planisher. In addition he has sent a copy of Alexander's Will, a number of wonderful photos and granted access to his Thomas family tree. This has provided great insights into the Thomas family.

Alexander's son Frederick married Emma Lingham. In our previous blog we told the story of the Lingham family and their historic involvement in the wines and spirits business they founded in Beer Lane, Tower Street, All Hallows.

Frederick Thomas was an auctioneer. In addition to growing up in central London he had his business located in a number of central London locations not far from All Hallows. On the marriage certificate for Frederick and Emma it is interesting to see that Emma's father George Lingham then listed his occupation as Auctioneer. George had originally worked in his fathers wine and sprits business. However he later listed his occupation as accountant and also as auctioneer. It seems reasonable to assume that George and Frederick met through their common auctioneering activities. This may have been how Emma met Frederick and the two families came together.

Indenture Agreement for Alexander Thomas

The above document sets out the commitment entered into by Alexander at age 15 to learn the trade of a Planisher. The agreement which is dated 3rd day of July 1805. "in the 45th year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the third..." records that Alexander was to serve his apprenticeship over a term of seven years with Thomas Lavin, Planisher of Fetter Lane, London.

At that time both his mother Sarah and father John are deceased. His mother died in December 1793 and his father in August 1804, just 11 months prior to the date of the Indenture.

The apprenticeship to learn the art of planisher is about working with and shaping precious metals, usually gold and silver. This connects with being a silversmith and/or a goldsmith. The coat of arms on the Indenture Agreement is that of the Guild of Goldsmiths.

Fetter Lane where Alexander served his apprenticeship is one of London's very old streets. The summary below provides an insight into its history.

A Roman urn filled with coins was found beneath the surface of the lane, confirming Stow’s observation that an old Roman road had been located in the immediate vicinity. There was a wooden bridge over the Fleet here, too, so the early inhabitants of Fetter Lane and its environs had the advantage of living beside a swiftly flowing river. A ninth-century sword handle was also discovered within the depths of the lane. Its manufacture and material were of fine quality, indicating that it was employed for ceremonial rather than sanguinary purposes. It may then have some connection with a charter of 959 by which King Edgar of Wessex granted the neighbouring land to the monks of Westminster Abbey, one boundary of which was marked by a line parallel to Fetter Lane.

Throughout its history Fetter Lane acted as a boundary, or has been recorded as frontier territory; it was where the Great Fire stopped, and it marks the area where the City’s influence ceases. It is also the area where two parishes, St. Andrew’s, Holborn, and St. Dunstan’s in the West, meet. We may find, in turn, that it has attracted those who live upon “the edge.”

There are numerous stories about the origin of the street's name. One that seems to fit with Thomas Lavin's workshop location is that within the lane there were at one time workshops that made "fetters" or lance vests for members of the Knights Templar.

The conditions imposed upon Alexander during the term of his indenture included the following;

"During the term said Apprentice shall faithfully serve his Master, his secrets keep, his lawful Commands everywhere gladly do. He shall do no damage to his said Master nor see be done to others, but that he to his power shall let or forthwith give warning to his said Master of same. He shall not Waste the Goods of his said Master, nor lend them unlawfully to any. He shall not commit Fornication, nor contract Matrimony within the said Term. He shall not play at Cards, Dice Tables or any other unlawful games whereby said Master may have any loss. With his own Goods or others during the said Term without licence of his Master he shall neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt Taverns, or Playhouses nor absent himself from his Master's service Day or Night unlawfully, but in all things as a faithful Apprentice he shall behave himself towards his said Master and all this during the said Term."

Alexander's Parents

The indenture agreement includes reference to Alexander's deceased father John Thomas, a farmer late of Rhydycroesau. This is a village on the border between Wales and England some 3.25 miles west of Oswestry in Shropshire.

This information about John indicates that unfortunately the notes recorded by Dulcie McClure in which she shows John Thomas as being born in 1754 at All Hallows Barking London and as having died in September 1823 were about another John Thomas. This is easily done with a name that is so commonly used. In her notes Dulcie also listed several other John Thomases which indicates she was possibly a little uncertain about which one was the correct John Thomas.

Brent and I believe we have sufficient evidence to say that John Thomas from Llandysilio was Alexander's father. I am pleased that this means that I can add a little Welsh ancestry alongside my English and Irish DNA.

The research done by Brent indicates that John Thomas was born 26th May 1750 at Llandysilio, Montogmery, Wales. His parents were William and Susannah Thomas. John seems to have lived in Llandysilio for most of his life. He married Sarah Davies on 19 September 1770 at Oswestry, Shropshire and their son Alexander was born 16 July 1790 in Montgomeryshire. Sarah died on 5 December 1793 age 44.

John Thomas' place of residence at the time of his death on 2 August 1804 was given as Rhandregunwen.

The above map shows the three locations connected to John Thomas, namely Llandysilio, Rhandregynwen and Rhydycroesau. The photo below taken at

Rhydycroesau was kindly provided by Brent Thomas.

Alexander's career as a Planisher, Silversmith and Goldsmith

Alexander married Martha Clapham in Bloomsbury, Middlesex on 16 November 1812. This is a few months after he completed his 7 year period of Indenture. Alexander was age 22 and Martha was age 19.

Dulcie's research revealed that Alexander had listed his occupation as a Goldsmith on daughter Mary Ann's baptism record in 1813. This Baptism Certificate also shows 50 Leather Lane as Alexander and Martha's address in 1813.

Alexander and Mary had 9 children. They were; Mary Ann born 1813, James Alexander born 1816, Augusta Frances born 1817, Frederick William born 1819, Emily born 1821, Henry born 1823, Julia born 1826, Edward born 1828 and George born 1829.

By 1816 they were in Kirby St which is not far from Leather Lane. Both of these streets are in the famous Hatton Gardens area of London.

Below is the Baptism Certificate for Frederick William Thomas born 30 November 1819. The address is given as Kirby St.

Below is the Baptism record for daughter Julia born 19 March 1826 also at the Kirby St address.

The map below shows this area as it was in the 1820s. Hatton Street can be seen in the middle (marked by the red pin) with Leather Lane and Kirby St on either side.

Alexander was in business in Kirby St as a Planisher, Silversmith from around 1815 to at least 1845. An indication of the types of businesses in Kirby St is given by the below listings in the London Directory of 1845. I note the goldcaster at number 3, silver wire drawer at number 8, jeweller at number 13, silver spoon and fork maker at 29 and jeweller at 29.

Here is the page showing Alexander at 31 Kirby St. Note that here he is described as a "silver planisher".

Hatton Garden

Below is some of the history of Hatton Garden as described in wikipedia.

Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who established a mansion here and gained possession of the garden and orchard of Ely Place, the London seat of the Bishops of Ely. It remained in the Hatton family and was built up as a stylish residential development in the reign of King Charles II. For some decades it often went, outside of the main street, by an alternative name St Alban's Holborn, after the local church built in 1861.

Hatton Garden is London's jewellery quarter and the centre of the diamond trade in the United Kingdom. This specialisation grew up in the early 19th century, spreading out from its more ancient centre in nearby Clerkenwell. Today there are nearly 300 businesses here in the jewellery industry and over 90 shops, representing the largest cluster of jewellery retailers in the UK.[1] The largest of these businesses was De Beers, the international family of companies which dominated the international diamond trade. Their headquarters were in an office and warehouse complex just behind the main Hatton Garden shopping street.

In the current day map below of the Hatton Garden area you can again see Leather Lane to the left and Kirby St to the right hand side.

Hatton Garden's historic connection with diamond merchants is evidenced by the detail on the map below.

While Alexander conducted his business from Kirby St through to at least 1945, it appears the family home was established elsewhere. Electoral Rolls have him at Upper Park St , St Luke, Finsbury in 1832. A house at Upper Park St was included in the properties he gifted to his sons on his death in 1848. Alexander's Will is discussed in more detail later in this blog. He left a total of 12 properties which he spread amongst his sons.

Alexander died on 20 May 1848 at Rozol Cottage, Barnsbury Park, Islington at age 57. He is recorded in the 1841 Census as then being at Barnsbury age 50. His second wife Elizabeth is also recorded as being at that address age 55. Six of his properties were located in Barnsbury.

The Last Will and Testament of Alexander Thomas

The above document is extremely hard to read. I have only included the first page. It is a long Will. Alexander was clearly a very successful man and he left considerable property. We are fortunate in having reference notes from Brent that summarise the content of the Will.

It is the last Will and Testament of one Alexander Thomas of Barnsbury Park in the parish of Saint Mary, Islington. It is dated 24 December 1844.

The list of assets and cash sums bequeathed to his heirs is as follows:

To his sons;

• James Alexander Thomas the sum of 200 pounds and leasehold houses at 34, 35, 36 and 37 in Cumberland Market, Regent Park;

• Frederick William Thomas the sum of 250 pounds and leasehold houses at numbers 8 and 9 in Barnsbury Terrace;

• Henry Thomas the sum of 300 pounds and leasehold houses at numbers 6 and 7 in Barnsbury Terrace;

• Edward Thomas the sum of 300 pounds and leasehold houses at 2 Barnsbury Terrace and 45 Upper Park St;

• George Thomas the sum of 300 pounds and leasehold houses at 1 Barnsbury Terrace and 44 Upper Park St.

To his daughters;

• Julia Thomas 300 pounds.

• Emily Stein 100 pounds.

To his grandchildren;

• Augusta Stein and Frederick William Stein 50 pounds each.

• Augusta and Frederick plus Emily Stein and George Alexander Stein "plus the child or children of which my daughter Emily is now pregnant.." to receive funds for their education and maintenance.." from rents and profits from properties at Barnsbury Park. The numbering of these three properties in the Will is hard to read and is complicated by the fact the main number for each appears to be 6 and then another number follows in each case so we seem to have 6 and 26, 6 and 28 and 6 and 29. These properties were to be held in a trust which was to be managed by Alexander's friend William Powell of York Buildings and Alexander's son Frederick. There is an unusual situation regarding the grandchildren. Alexander and Martha's daughter Augusta Frances married Frederick William Stein at age 17 on 2 August 1834. She and Frederick had two children namely Augusta born 26 August 1835 and Frederick William born 16 August 1837. Sadly Augusta Frances died shortly after the birth of Frederick. Her husband Frederick subsequently married her younger sister Emily and they had two children namely Emily born 16 May 1840 and George born 20 December 1842. In 1851 Emily and her husband were living in Tulse Hill and Frederick was an importer of foreign silks. He had been born in Germany. Emily was age 30 and they had 6 children. They were Frederick age 13, Emily age 10, George age 8, Henry age 6, Alfred age 4 and Louis age 2. Emily's sister Julia who was unmarried was living with her and Frederick.

To his "dear wife" ;

• 50 pounds "in token of my affection (my reason for not having made further provision for her being that she is possessed of ample separate property)".

Note that Martha had died in 1833. Therefore it is assumed this is reference to Elizabeth.

Alexander died 20 May 1848. He was buried at St Mary's Islington on 27 May 1848.

Considering the 15 properties listed in his Will it would seem that in his trade as a gold and silver smith and planisher Alexander had done very well. The properties were mostly within the Islington area and within Islington they were in Cumberland Market (4 houses), Barnsbury Park (3 houses) and Barnsbury Terrace (6 houses) plus 2 in Upper Park St.

In his Will Alexander gives his place of residence as Barnsbury Park. He died at Rozal Cottage which was one of the three properties named in his Will as being at Barnsbury Park.

On the map above you can see Barnsbury Terrace lower left and Barnsbury Park towards right top.

The above property shown in a photograph supplied by Brent is situated currently at 6 Barnsbury Park Rd. It is quite a large building in which 26, 28 and 29 are possibly separate apartments.

The houses in Barnsbury Terrace listed in Alexander's Will were at numbers 1,2,6,7 and 9. The above photo from Brent shows the present day house at 7 Barnsbury Terrace. This is the creamy yellow coloured building which looks to be in very good condition. I assume number 9 is the brown brick house to its right. Further left is a strip of houses in a different style as can just be partially seen. I do not know whether all or some of these houses are from the early 1800s. In some cases I have come across both even and odd numbers on the same side of these old streets so it could be that 6 is the similar style house to the left of 7 with 1, 2, and 9 to the respective sides of these.

Below is a short summary of Barnsbury's history.

The name is a syncopated form of Bernersbury (1274),[1] being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman Conquest. The area of Barnsbury was predominantly rural until the early 19th century.

By the end of the 18th century, Barnsbury, like other parts of Islington, was regarded as attractive part-rural suburbs by the comparatively wealthy people wanting to move out of the cramped City of London and industrial Clerkenwell. The area is close to the city, and had strong local trade in its position as the first staging post for travellers making the journey from London to the north, and with considerable agricultural traffic and cattle driving to the nearby Smithfield cattle market in the city.

Barnard Park, consisting of 10 acres (4 hectares) including a large area of football pitches, was created in 1967 on an area of housing that had been bombed during World War Two, and was named after former Islington Mayor Cllr George Barnard.[2]

I note that other commentaries refer to the development of Barnsbury Park Estate in the period 1830s and 1840s. Perhaps Alexander's real estate holdings arose from being in the right place at the right time!

A short history of Cumberland Market is shown below.

Cumberland Market was a London market between Regent's Park and Euston railway station. It was built in the early 19th century and was London's hay and straw market for a hundred years until the late 1920s. An arm of the Regent's Canal was built to the market. The market was surrounded by modest housing, and in the early 20th century became an artistic community. The original houses were demolished during and after the Second World War and it is now a housing estate, known as Regent's Park Estate.

Below is an example of current houses in Cumberland Market. They look very "upmarket".

I was not able to find a house at 44 Upper Park Street. However there is an Upper Street near Barnsbury I do not know if this is the same street renamed. It is a main road consisting mainly of retail shops and offices. Frederick and Emma lived at Upper Street when Alice was born in July 1843.

"Stories From Wills"

This blog is largely based on information from the Will left by Alexander Thomas, supported by additional information and photographs very kindly supplied by Brent Thomas. During the time I have been writing this blog another descendant of the family has made contact with me. This is Andrew Millie who is descended from George Augustus Lingham. Andrew has provided me with fascinating new information about the Lingham family. Much of this is from copies of Wills left by members of the Lingham and Teale families. Mary Teale was married to George Lingham.

I also must thank my cousin Kristine Hardy, a descendant of Charles and Alice Hardy's son George Hardy. Kris assisted in connecting Brent and Andrew to me. Many thanks Kris. I hope you enjoy the stories now coming from these new connections.

At present I am busy reading Wills and digesting all of this new information. Undoubtedly another blog will follow.