Thomas Ivall was born during 1781 in the Hampshire village of Wield
(which is about 12 miles NE of Winchester), the fifth of the six children of
James Ivall (a wheelwright and farmer who was born in nearby Bentworth) and
Dinah Ivall nee Camies (also from Bentworth). Thomas was baptised on 23
November 1781 at Wield. His father died in February 1809.
On 11 November 1809, Thomas married Jane Smith (from Copford, near
Colchester in Essex) at St James Church, Piccadilly. He was 28 and she 29. The
marriage register states that both were “of this parish”. St James is an
impressive Wren church in what is now (and was then) an affluent area. The
church was famous for its fashionable and eminent congregations.
The children of Thomas and Jane were Georgiana Jane (born 1810), Robert
Thomas (born 1812 in East Sheen, Surrey), Louisa (born 1814 in Bray, Berkshire)
and David (born 1816 in Bray) Ivall.
Thomas was left one sixth of the estate of his aunt Rebecca Ivall
following her death in 1811. This amounted to £510 (about £17,300 in modern day
terms) on which death duties of £12 15s (2.5%) were paid.
The baptism records of Thomas’s children Louisa (in 1814) and David (in
1816) give Thomas’s occupation as a gardener and his address as Down Place,
Bray. This was a landed estate about 2 miles SE of the village of Bray in
Berkshire. Down Place house was built in about 1750. The estate was the
property of Henry Harford in 1816. Thomas’s wife Jane, when widowed described
herself as “formerly a gentleman’s steward’s wife”.
Down Place
Down Place is still standing - it is on the banks of the Thames, just
north of the A308 from Maidenhead to Windsor. There is a good view of the house
from the footpath on the opposite side of the river. It is part of the Bray
Film Studios, which were used by Hammer Film Productions to make “horror” films
between 1951 to 1966. A wing of the house has been renamed “Toad Hall” and
converted into residences. The approach road is still called Down Place. Bray
is now a fashionable village with expensive houses. It has two Michelin-starred
restaurants, the Fat Duck and the Waterside Inn.
Dinah, Thomas’s mother, died in 1819. On her death Thomas inherited ¼
of the trust fund set up for her under the will of James Ivall, her husband.
Thomas’s daughter Georgiana Jane died aged 10 in 1821.
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 of
Bray, Gentleman of the other part. It is a lease of No 158 on the east side of
Tottenham Court Road and 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. David Ivall (1795-1850) was Thomas’s younger
brother whose coachmaking business was very successful and who died a wealthy
man. Thomas’s son David Ivall (1816-67), my great great grandfather, was later
employed by his uncle David and worked at 158 Tottenham Court Road.
In 1830, the London Gazette printed a notice stating that the
partnership between David Ivall and Thomas Ivall of 158 Tottenham Court Road
was dissolved by mutual consent on 17th August 1830. The notice
stated that the business would continue to be operated from the same premises
by David Ivall.
Thomas Ivall died on 6 June 1835 aged 53 and was buried on 13 June 1835
at St Michael’s Church in Bray. A list of the monumental inscriptions in the
churchyard records that his gravestone said
“Sacred to the memory of Thomas Ivall who departed this life 6 June
1835 in the 54th year of his age. Here also are interred the remains
of Georgiana Jane Ivall who departed this life 5 March 1821 aged 10 years.”
I wasn’t able to locate the gravestone myself.
St Michael's Church, Bray
The will (dated 5 May 1835) of Thomas describes him as “Yeoman of Down
Place”. A yeoman is someone holding and cultivating a small landed estate. He
could not have owned Down Place, but may have acquired property nearby. The
estate duty record of his will values his estate at £4,000, which equates to
about £200,000 in current terms so he was reasonably well off (presumably most
of Thomas’s wealth came from the coachmaking business he owned in partnership
with his brother David). The will left £50 immediately to his wife Jane and
each of his three surviving children. His children were also left £500 each
when they reached 21 with the residue to be invested to provide an income for
his wife until her death or remarriage when the remaining funds were to divided
between Thomas‘s children. If any of them were dead at this time then their
share would go to their children. The executors of the will were Jane Ivall and
Robert Thomas Ivall. Jane died in 1866 (intestate) and Robert Thomas in 1865.
David Ivall, who was the only child of Thomas still alive in 1866, took over
the administration of the will when Jane died. The probate records state that
the remaining amount in 1866 was “less than £1,000”.
Phil Taylor
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