John Ivall (1777-1832) of Bishop's Sutton

John Ivall was a brother of Thomas Ivall (1781-1835), my great, great, great grandfather. This profile contains information from research done by Dennis Ivall.

John was the third of six children born to James and Dinah Ivall, who lived in the Hampshire village of Wield, near the town of Alton. James was a farmer and wheelwright. I don’t have a record of John’s birth, but he was christened on 17 November 1777 in Wield. As christenings were normally performed soon after a child’s birth, it seems likely that he was born in 1777.

In 1797 John married Jemima Gardner in Ropley, a picturesque village about 5 miles from Wield. He was aged 20 and she was 21. They went on to have 10 children (3 boys and 7 girls). They were James (1798-1829), Jane (b1800), Olive (b1802), Charlotte (b1805), Harriett (1807-81), John (1809-29), Mary (b1811), Sarah (1813-76), William (1817-51) and Louisa (1820-6). The family lived in Ropley. John, like several other Ivalls, was a coachmaker.

Ropley Church

John’s father James died in 1809. John was one of the executors of his estate. In 1810, the family moved to the nearby village of Bishop’s Sutton where John continued to work as a coachmaker.

Rebecca Ivall, a spinster, was a sister of James Ivall, John’s father. In her will, made in June 1811, she left one sixth of her estate to each of James’s children who were alive then, namely Mary Norgate (1775-1828), John, Charles (1779-1832), Thomas (1781-1835) and David (1795-1850). The other one sixth was divided amongst the six surviving children of her niece Mary Collyer, the daughter of Rebecca’s sister Mary. Rebecca died aged 72 in August 1811 and John inherited £510 (about £17,300 in modern day terms) on which death duties of £12 15s (ie 2.5%) were paid.

 The following item appeared in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal dated August 24th, 1812 :

KING'S WORTHY, near WINCHESTER.

BENJAMIN HOBBS, BUILDER and WHEELWRIGHT, returns his most grateful thanks to his friends and the public for all favours conferred on him during his long residence at King's Worthy; and respectfully begs leave to recommend his Successor, Mr. JOHN IVALL, to their notice; not doubting but every effort will be used by him to merit their kind support.
All Persons having any Demands on Mr.HOBBS, are requested to forward the same to him, at Worthy, in order that they may be immediately adjusted; and all those indebted to him, are earnestly entreated to settle the same with as little delay as possible.
JOHN IVALL, having purchased the Premises and Stock in Trade of Mr.BENJAMIN HOBBS, begs leave most respectfully to solicit the same kind patronage and support in the BUILDING and WHEELWRIGHT Branches which has been so long experienced by Mr.Hobbs; at the same time requests permission to assure those who may be pleased to honour him with their commands, that his utmost endeavours shall be exerted to give general and universal satisfaction.

(Kings Worthy is about 9 miles from Bishop’s Sutton)

It seems that John was not able to make a success of the business he had bought. Only four months later (on December 21^st 1812) a notice appeared in the Hampshire Chronicle announcing the sale by auction at Kings Worthy of all the stock in trade of “Mr Ival, Wheelwright and Carpenter, quitting his Residence.”

A Court of Chancery document in the National Archives shows that there was a dispute over payment to Mr Hobbs. The document (reference C13/1404/26), dated 22^nd March 1813, is a petition from Benjamin Hobbs to the Right Honourable Lord Eldon, High Chancellor. Mr Hobbs says that John Ivall entered into an agreement to pay him £2,000 for the business and £830 for the fixtures and stock. John Ivall paid a deposit of £300 but has failed to pay the balance. According to Mr Hobbs, John Ivall pretends that the agreement is not fairly made and so is not binding on him. He queries Mr Hobbs’s title to the business. I can find no further records on this case and so don’t know what the outcome was.

During the time when John Ivall was living in Bishop’s Sutton, Jane Austen lived in the nearby village of Chawton (from 1809 to 1817). She wrote her best known books such as Pride and Prejudice during this period.

There is a document in the London Metropolitan Archives which relates to John Ivall of Bishop’s Sutton, coach maker. The summary states

“Dated 25^th May 1816, Manor of Staines, Mr John Ivall to Messrs H&R Horne, Letter of Attorney to Surrender Premises held in the above Manor to the use of Thomas Dexter.”

The premises were two copyhold messuages (ie dwelling houses with outbuildings and land) on the north side of Staines Street.

John’s occupation is given as carpenter in the baptism records for his children Sarah (in 1814) and William (in 1817). It is given as shopkeeper in the baptism record of his daughter Louisa in 1820.

Dinah, John’s mother, died in 1819. On her death John inherited ¼ of the trust fund set up for her under the will of James Ivall, her husband.

Louisa, John’s youngest daughter, died in 1826 aged 5. James, his eldest son, died in 1829 aged 31. His second son, John died the same year aged 20. Jemima, John’s wife died in 1830 aged 53. All were buried in Bishop’s Sutton.

A Hampshire directory dated 1830 lists John Ivall, Bishop’s Sutton under the heading “Shopkeepers and Dealers in Sundries”.

John Ivall made a will dated 3 April 1832 in which he is described as “Shopkeeper of Bishop’s Sutton”. He appointed his eldest daughter Jane Ivall and son-in-law Thomas White (a cabinet maker of New Alresford and the husband of his second daughter Olive) as his executors. They were instructed to sell his property and divide the proceeds between his six surviving children and his grandchild Henry Hasted (the son of his daughter Charlotte). The will instructs his trustees to retain the share of his daughter Harriett Ivall and supply it from time to time for her use as they think best, which could imply that she was mentally disabled. Harriett appears in the 1851 census living with her widowed sister Mary in Bishop’s Sutton and died in 1881 in the New Alresford workhouse.

Bishop's Sutton Church

John died on 2 October 1832 aged 55. He was buried in Bishop’s Sutton. I have visited the churchyard but could find no Ivall graves - most of the gravestones are illegible. 

An auction was held to sell the house and business of John Ivall after his death.

Item in Hampshire Chronicle, 29 October 1832

On 18 October 1843 (I don't know why there was an 11 year delay) Thomas White, the surviving executor, was duly sworn to administer John Ivall’s estate, which was worth less than £300.

As far as I know, none of John’s sons had children.

Phil Taylor ©2012

Charles Ivall (1779-1832), 4th child of James Ivall

Charles Ivall was an elder brother of Thomas Ivall (1781-1835), my great great great grandfather.

Charles was the fourth of six children born to James and Dinah Ivall. He was christened on 11 April 1779 in the Hampshire village of Wield. It was customary to christen children soon after birth so he was probably born early in 1779. The family lived in Church Farm House, Wield.

Church Farm House (drawing by Dennis Ivall)

He married Jane Heath on 21 January 1799 in the nearby town of Basingstoke. Charles was aged 20 and his wife was 24. They had nine children – 7 girls and 2 boys. They were Charlotte (1799-1801), Mary (b1800), John (b1802), Charles (b1803), Sarah (b1805), Dinah (b1806), Anne (b1808), Elizabeth Charlotte (b1810) and Eliza (DOB unknown). All were born in Wield, where the family lived.

Jane died in 1827. Charles married for a second time on the 28 Aug 1828 when aged 49. His new wife was Elizabeth Cresswell and the marriage took place in Basingstoke.

Charles died in 1832 aged 53 and was buried in Bentworth on 26 January 1832. He doesn’t seem to have left a will.

St Mary's Church, Bentworth. Charles is buried in the churchyard.

The Hampshire Chronicle dated 25 June 1832 contains a notice (see below) advertising an auction in Bentworth to sell Charles's stock from his business as a wheelwright including timber, tools, a neat gig (new) and a good dung cart. 

Charles’s daughter Elizabeth Charlotte Ivall died a spinster on 5 August 1834 aged 24. She bequeathed all her estate, including her share of the cottage where she lived, to her sister Anne Ivall. The death duty record says that the will was proved on 26 May 1835 and gives Elizabeth’s estate as under £20. Anne died on 20 September 1834 aged 26, soon after her sister. As they apparently lived together and both died young within 7 weeks of each other, perhaps they both died from the same infectious disease?

The following item was printed in the Hampshire Chronicle dated 29 September 1834:

To be SOLD, by Private Contract,—A newly erected DWELLING HOUSE, with a Wood House, Water Tank, Garden, and premises adjoining, desirably situated in the parish of Bentworth, Hants, late the property of Misses Ivall, deceased. The Trade of a Grocer and Draper has been carried in these premises for some time past, and the purchaser will be entitled to the good will of this business, on taking the Stock in Trade at a fair valuation. For further particulars, and to treat for the purchase, apply to Thomas Murrell, of Medstead, or to Dunn and Hopkins, Alresford.

Anne's will (made after Elizabeth’s death) describes her as a grocer and a spinster. It leaves £50 to her nephew Henry Ivall, son of Harriett Moody of Basingstoke. Henry was the only surviving son of Anne’s brother Charles. He died about 1829 and his wife Harriett married Robert Moody in 1831. Henry was the ancestor of 3 generations of Ivalls, the last of which died in 1940. The rest of Anne’s estate was to be paid to her sister Eliza Watts, wife of Thomas Watts. The death duty record says that Anne’s will was proved on 26 May 1835. Henry Ivall was paid £50 and Eliza Watts £169 15s.

Phil Taylor ©2012

David Ivall (1795-1850), successful coachmaker

David Ivall was the younger brother of Thomas Ivall (1781-1835), my great, great, great grandfather. This profile contains some information from research done by Dennis Endean Ivall (1921-2006).

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 29^th 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.

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 3^rd 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 7^th 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.

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 6^th 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

“Sacred to the memory of Laura Ivall who departed this life the 19^th of April 1839 aged 5 years and 6 months.

Also Mr David Ivall, father of the above who died 6^th June 1850 aged 55 years, deeply lamented.

Also Martha, the beloved wife of the above who died 13^th 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 6^th April 1845 in her 90^th 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.

Thomas Ivall (1781-1835), yeoman of Bray

Thomas Ivall was my great great great grandfather, the line of descent being through his son David Ivall (1816-67), to his son George Ivall (1853-1932), to his son George William Ivall (1880-1934), to his daughter Grace Evelyn Taylor nee Ivall (1922-2006), my mother. This profile of Thomas contains information from research done by Dennis Endean Ivall.

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 29^th 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 17^th 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 54^th 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