David
was baptised on 7 June 1795 in the Hampshire village of Bentworth. The baptism record says that his parents were James Ivall (a wheelwright and farmer), and Dinah Ivall nee Camies. They had five other children (a girl and four boys), the youngest of which was born in 1781, fourteen years earlier. In 1795, Dinah Ivall was aged 47, which seems too old for childbirth. It is possible that David was actually an illegitimate child of Mary Ivall, the eldest child of James and Dinah. Mary was born in 1775 and so was aged 20 when David was born. She married in 1797 and went to have twelve children with her husband, William Norgate. James Ivall
died in 1809 when David was 14.
The will of Rebecca Ivall, David’s aunt, left him one
sixth of her estate, which amounted to £510 (about £370,000 in modern day terms, in relation to average earnings)
when she died in 1811. The money was held in trust until David reached the age
of 21 in 1816.
Hourglass tree of David Ivall
David married Elizabeth Rucastle at St Martin in the
Fields, Westminster on 22 December 1816. He was aged 21, she was 25. As far as
I know, there were no children from this marriage.
Dinah, David’s mother, died in 1819. On her death
David inherited ¼ of the trust fund set up for her under the will of James
Ivall, her husband.
The Middlesex Deeds Register (held at the London
Metropolitan Archives) contains an indenture dated 29th October 1822
made between William Wilson of Tottenham Court Road, Coach and Harness Maker of
the one part and David Ivall then of the Coal Yard, Drury Lane, Coach maker and
Thomas Ivall (David’s brother) of Bray, Gentleman of the other part. It is a
lease of No 158 Tottenham Court Road and
the premises behind, then in the occupation of William Wilson. A plan shows a
house 17 feet wide fronting Tottenham Court Road. Behind this is a yard,
workshops (with sawpit) and stable, in total 59 feet wide and going back 144
feet. The term of the lease was 46 years at the yearly rent of £170 15s,
payable quarterly. The 1822 Pigot’s Directory of London lists William Wilson,
Coachmaker at 158 Tottenham Court Road. In 1825 the name of the company was
Wilson and Ivall. By 1827 it was David Ivall & Co, Coach and Harness
Makers. Number 158 was on the East side of Tottenham Court Road, between its
junctions with University Street and Grafton Street. A drawing of the frontage appears in "Tallis's London Street Views", a series of pamplets that were published in 1840, which can be viewed online at http://crowd.museumoflondon.org.uk/lsv1840/. David lived at this
address until 1841. The building no longer exists. There is now a block of
flats on the site with shops at ground level. Number 158 is currently a
furniture shop.
David's first wife died in 1829, aged 38. She was buried on 12 April 1829 at St James, Hampstead Road, the extra-parochial burial ground of St James, Piccadilly. This land is now St James Gardens. On October 14th 1829, David married again - to Martha James at St Mary's, Saltford (between Bristol and Bath) in Somerset. He was 34 and she 33. The marriage record describes David as a widower. The witnesses were Anne Caroline James and T Fenton. Martha was the daughter of the Rev. Samuel James, Rector of Radstock, Bath and his wife Ann James nee Bainbrigge. Samuel had obtained a BA from Oxford in 1776 and a MA in 1782. Dennis Ivall prepared a chart showing that Ann was descended (through several female lines) from King Edward III. Family tradition (as recorded by Dennis Ivall) has it that the marriage of Martha and David was a runaway match, although I have no evidence to support this.
David's first wife died in 1829, aged 38. She was buried on 12 April 1829 at St James, Hampstead Road, the extra-parochial burial ground of St James, Piccadilly. This land is now St James Gardens. On October 14th 1829, David married again - to Martha James at St Mary's, Saltford (between Bristol and Bath) in Somerset. He was 34 and she 33. The marriage record describes David as a widower. The witnesses were Anne Caroline James and T Fenton. Martha was the daughter of the Rev. Samuel James, Rector of Radstock, Bath and his wife Ann James nee Bainbrigge. Samuel had obtained a BA from Oxford in 1776 and a MA in 1782. Dennis Ivall prepared a chart showing that Ann was descended (through several female lines) from King Edward III. Family tradition (as recorded by Dennis Ivall) has it that the marriage of Martha and David was a runaway match, although I have no evidence to support this.
Martha and David had seven children, namely David
James (1830-73), Martha James Brisco (1831-99), James (1832-96), Laura
(1833-9), Emma (1835-86), Kate Bainbrigge (1836-1917) and Albert Ivall
(1839-97). The family attended St Pancras church, where their children were
baptised. Laura Ivall died in 1839 aged 5. The rest of his children survived
into adulthood. St Pancras church was erected 1819-22, at the junction of Euston Rd and Upper Woburn Place. The church has survived and is an impressive building.
A notice appeared in the London Gazette of 17 August
1830 to say that the partnership between David and Thomas Ivall (my ancestor)
had been dissolved by mutual consent. The coach and harness-making business at
158 Tottenham Court Road was continued by David Ivall.
Old Bailey records show that David Ivall was a jury
member in 1831.
The Hampshire Record Office has, as part of
the Carnavon of Highclere papers, a letter dated 29 May 1833 from the 3rd
Countess to Lady H Stapleton which includes the following passage :
“Will you tell Mr Pusey that we had a visit yesterday
from his coachmaker Mr Ivall, who is going to build us a Britzka (an open carriage) for travelling
abroad. He has taken back your dear father’s beautiful carriage, which of
course would be useless to us under present circumstances as it is too heavy to
go abroad and we think upon the whole, for a coachmaker, Ivall being a most
obliging one, he has behaved very moderately. He took back the chariot (a four-wheeled carriage with back seats
only) at £112, being £37 less than he would have demanded had we not
ordered a new Britzka of him.”
The coachmaker referred to is almost certainly David
Ivall.
In 1837, David Ivall of Tottenham Court Rd, coach
maker, is listed as an assignee (one appointed to act for another) for John
Clark, dentist, who was bankrupt. Assignees of bankrupts’ were usually their
principal creditors and/or close relatives.
David acquired additional premises for the manufacture
of coaches at 18 Cardington St (about ½ mile from 158 Tottenham Court Road) in
1839. The indenture, dated 7th June 1839 refers to Francis Graham
Kelly of New Inn, Middlesex, Gentleman mortgagee of the premises and John Shaw
of Cardington St, St Pancras, Builder. There is a map showing the site, which
had a narrow frontage onto Cardington Street with a piece of land 108 feet wide
and 48 feet deep behind it. The lease was for 89 years with an annual rent of
£36 payable quarterly.
The 1841 census shows David Ivall aged 45 a coach
maker living in Tottenham Court Road, St Pancras with his wife Martha (45) and
their children Emma (6), Kate (4) and Albert (2). The family moved to 14
Blomfield Road, Maida Hill later in 1841. The house was newly built and in the area
of London now known as “Little Venice“, as it is traversed by the Paddington
and Regent Canals. Westminster Rate Books for 1841 show Mrs Ivall as the owner and occupier of 14 Blomfield Road. The house had a rateable value of £120, the highest in the street. The 1855 Post Office Directory and a plan dated 1874 shows
14 Blomfield Road as being on the eastern corner of the intersection with
Randolph Road. An impressive, large house (now numbered 24, see photo below) of
the right age is still there. It is in a fashionable part of London and must be
worth a lot of money.
+Blomfield+Rd.JPG)
An item in “The Examiner” newspaper of 28 December
1844 lists David Ivall as making a £1 1s (equivalent to about £50 at current
values) annual subscription to University College Hospital (which was close to
his premises in Tottenham Court Road).
The records of The Old Bailey criminal court include
the trial of George Lee and James Bullough who were indicted for stealing a bag
and 9lbs of horsehair from David Ivall’s factory in 1844. Bullough (aged 50)
was found guilty and sentenced to 3 months in prison. Lee was found not guilty.
In another case in 1846, William Thomas was tried for stealing 56lbs of lead
from a house at the bottom of David Ivall’s garden. Thomas (aged 19) had a
previous conviction. He was found guilty and sentenced to be transported for
seven years.
David’s business prospered. The records of the
Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers Company (held at Guildhall Library) show
that he was made a Freeman and Liveryman of that Company on 24 April 1845.
He
successfully applied to be made a Freeman of the City of London in 1846.
At
this time the Freedom of the City of London was a practical necessity for those
who plied a trade in the City and was granted to many people. He employed his
nephew David Ivall (1816-67), my great, great grandfather, as a coach maker.
David adopted the family crest shown below, although it was not registered with the College of Arms. The text means "By defending, I conquer." Many families assumed unofficial armorial bearings for use on coaches, note paper etc, if they had pretensions to social position.
The Daily News dated August 3, 1849 contains an item
stating that David Ivall Esq had been elected a fellow of the Zoological
Society of London (who ran London Zoo).
The following classified advert appeared in the The
Times on 19 April, 23 April and 22 May 1850
“CARRIAGES – DAVID IVALL solicits the nobility and
gentry to an inspection of his extensive assortment of well manufactured
CARRIAGES both new and second-hand, which are either for SALE or JOB, with the
option to purchase, at his old-established manufactory, 158
Tottenham-court-road. N.B. Several well appointed for continental travelling.”
David died on 6th June 1850 aged 55. His
death certificate says that the cause of death was "Rupture of a coronary artery". This was certified by a post mortem. The informant was Octavius A Field, a surgeon in attendance and present at the death. An announcement in the The Standard (a
London Newspaper) said that the death was at Randolph House (14 Blomfield Rd, where David lived).
David was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery (Plot 1953, Sq 22, purchased by David in 1838) on 11 June 1850. The inscription on the grave says
David was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery (Plot 1953, Sq 22, purchased by David in 1838) on 11 June 1850. The inscription on the grave says
“Sacred to the memory of Laura Ivall who departed this
life the 19th of April 1839 aged 5 years and 6 months.
Also Mr David Ivall, father of the above who died 6th
June 1850 aged 55 years, deeply lamented.
Also Martha, the beloved wife of the above who died 13th
June 1853, aged 57 years.
Leaving 3 sons and 3 daughters to deplore their loss.”
And on
the reverse side
“Sacred to the memory of Ann, Relict of the Revd
Samuel James, who died 6th April 1845 in her 90th year.
Also sacred to the memory of David James Ivall who
died at Christchurch April 1873 aged 42 years.”
Kensal Green Cemetery is well maintained and I have
located the grave. However, most of inscription is no longer legible (the
wording given above came from Dennis Ivall’s research at least 20 years ago).
David Ivall's grave
David’s will left his house and its contents to his
wife Martha until her death or remarriage. Thereafter it went to his eldest
surviving son (David James Ivall when Martha died in 1853) subject to him
paying £1,500 to be divided between the other surviving children. His children
were left £1,000 each when they reached 21 years. His wife received the income
from the rest of his estate until her death or remarriage. Thereafter the rest
of the estate was to be divided equally between his children. The estate duty
record gives the value of David Ivall’s estate as £35,000, which equates to
about £25,000,000 in today’s terms (calculated in relation to average earnings).
The National Archives contains a report dated 11 Feb
1853, which lists debts owing to the estate of David Ivall. There is a long
list of creditors who were customers of David’s coach making business. They
include several well known names such as Lord Carrington (who owed £6.4.6),
Lord Lucan (£113.1.4), Lord Churchill (£20) and W.H.Smith (the founder of the
newsagents, £36.19.0).
David’s wife Martha died in 1853 aged 57.
