The Riley Family

The above photo is of Houghton Hall. How is this english estate connected to the Hardy family?

Jane Ann ("Annie") Riley who married Charles Lingham Hardy was a daughter of Charlotte Dix. Charlotte was born in the village of New Houghton on 18 November 1838. Her father and brothers worked on the estate of Houghton Hall. Charlotte was employed there as a nursery maid to help look after the then estate owner's children.

History of Houghton Hall

England's first Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole ( pictured above) built Houghton Hall in the 1700s. Sir Robert had inherited the Houghton Estate from his father. He invested very well in shares in The South Sea Company as a young man. When he sold these shares he spent the proceeds on building Houghton Hall.

Sir Robert was elected to Parliament in 1701. Being a country squire himself he won the support of other country gentlemen. His highly successful career in parliament included becoming the longest serving Prime Minister of England. He held that position from 1721 to 1742. He was held in very high regard and some have suggested he may have been the greatest Prime Minister in England's history. He was described as being a very persuasive orator who could move both the emotions and minds of others and above all had extraordinary self-confidence.

During his time in office he passed a law in Parliament that enabled the creation of earldoms and enabled them to be inherited. He then put himself on the list and became Baron of Houghton and Earl of Orford.

Sir Robert had the then village of Houghton pulled down and rebuilt on the outskirts of his estate to improve his view. Houghton Hall is situated about six miles from the Royal Family's estate at Sandringham. Edward , Prince of Wales apparently purchased Sandringham in preference to Houghton Hall in 1861.

Houghton Hall passed from Sir Robert to his son Horace Walpole on Sir Robert's death in 1745. Horace had no children and the estate then passed to Horace's nephew George Cholmondeley- pronounced "Chum-lee". George was the First Marquess of Chalmondeley and elected to live at the Cholmondeley Castle estate in Cheshire rather than Houghton Hall. However his son William Henry Hugh the Third Earl of Cholmondeley ( see picture below) did live at Houghton Hall from inheriting it in 1815 until his death in 1884. He would have been living at Houghton Hall when Charlotte, her father and brothers were working at the Houghton Hall estate.

Currently the owner of Houghton Hall is Lord David George Philip the 7th Earl of Cholmondeley who inherited the title and estate in 1990. He is shown below. As Lord Great Chamberlain he is responsible for the managing the Palace of Westminster which includes the Houses of Parliament. The family still also own the Cholmondeley Castle estate in Cheshire but do not live there.

Charlotte's son Arthur

Sadly, as was common in those times, Charlotte was raped by a "nobleman" (her words) at the age of 16 and fell pregnant. She was subsequently put on a ship to Australia. In due course on 7th July 1856 at Pitt St in Sydney she had a son who she named Arthur Dix. No father was named on the birth certificate. The chances are he was a son of one of the noblemen living at or visiting Houghton Hall.

Charlotte met irishman James Riley and married him on 15 December 1862 at Elizabeth St, Sydney. James was born in St Michael's Parish in Dublin. He appears to have found his way to Australia when working as a steward on various ships trading between Ireland, England and America.

James and Charlotte had a second son James Richard born in Sydney on 5 July 1863. In 1864 they moved to Auckland, New Zealand arriving on 4th March on the barque Alice Cameron. James had responded to a call for military settlers in New Zealand that offered 50 acres of land in return for military service in the Waikato Militia. He enlisted for service in Sydney and set sail with his young family in the Alice Cameron on 16th February 1864.

Another son William Thomas was born in Auckland on 4 October 1864. A third son George Edward was born in Hamilton on 27 June 1866.

James served in the militia until 15th May 1865. Like many he only retained his land grant for a short time. Most of the "free land" was of very poor quality unsuitable for farming. The Riley family moved to Auckland where their daughter Charlotte (Lottie) was born 8 May 1868. They soon after moved to Thames where Jane Ann was born on 31 October 1869. James worked as a miner seeking his fortune in the Thames goldfields.

In 1871 the Rileys moved back to Auckland where son Oliver was born 23 October 1871. The Rileys initially lived in Clarence St and James worked as a labourer, storeman and gumsorter.

Further additions to the family followed, namely Frederick Charles in 1873, Lydia Mary 1875, Alfred Henry 1876 and Sydney Austin 18 April 1878.

James and Charlotte bought a house in Wallace Street Herne Bay around 1881. Next door was a grocer's shop which they also soon bought. James died at Wallace Street on 21 September 1892.

Charlotte ran the grocer's shop for many years. She is described as being a little short woman who was extremely fond of and kind to children. She loved her shop, looked after it and would not retire. She died at the Wallace St house on 19 January 1926.

Acknowledgement;

I extend my sincerest thanks to Joy Carter, a descendant of Charlotte and James Riley's 4th born son Oliver (Olly) Riley. Olly was her grandfather. Joy researched and wrote a very detailed history of the Riley family and kindly shared this with me. There is more about the Riley family that I will share in future blogs.

More information on Houghton Hall can be found at www.Houghton Hall.com