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Most Recent Ancestors of Adrian Fletcher and Angela Williams

Ancestors of John Adolphus Burton and Georgiana Ernstin (Gem) Burton (Middlecoat)

Nicholas Middlecoat and the Tregony (Cornwall) Connection

Franklin Grigg's "Tregony History" site          Genuki page for Cuby with Tregony          More about Parish Registers

Whilst most of these people lived in Tregony, their church dedicated to St James was and is called "Cuby with Tregony" as it is technically in the adjacent parish of (Saint) Cuby.

Tregony had had its own church by the river (Fal), but it was abandoned in the mid-1500s in the wake of attacks by the river.

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Tregony

Tregony is a hill town sitting above the River Fal - nowadays a modest creek, but in medieval times a navigable waterway with docks.

Tregony High - 2011.  In the early 1800s Nick Middlecoat Jnr's Queen's Head Inn stood where the white building on the far right now is.  The reason why the road is unusually wide is that in the middle there was a market hall, and above this was a meeting room (for the "council") - Nick went one stage further and put a substantial arch over the road between his inn on the right and the meeting room in the centre.  Substantial, because on top of the arch linking the inn and the meeting room was a drinking lounge run by Nick (a sort of Cornwall Vasari Corridor with bar).

The tower on the left was built much later when the middle-road markets were removed, but the large stone house (the Rectory) and the coaching inn next door (The King's Arms - an excellent lunch spot and now sole survivor of Tregony's 30 - 40 inns and pubs) on the left would have been familiar sights to Nick.  Many many thanks to Frank Grigg, local historian, for helping interpret all of this.

Grampound

On Wednesday July 14, 1819,  Isaac Watts, Samuel Groggan, John Luke, John Cooke and Nicholas Middlecote (sic) were tried before the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of the King's Bench, for a range of offences relating to the attempted bribery of electors in Tregony and Grampound before an election in the previous year.  They were found guilty in respect of the Grampound related offences, but we have yet to discover what the punishment was.  Electoral bribery in the so-called rotten boroughs of Cornwall was rampant at the time, yet this was the only case ever to be successfully brought to court before the Great Reform Act did a major clean-up in 1832.  Nick and his mates must have got something seriously wrong to go down in history in this way! 

Eventually, as a consequence of yet more bribery events, Grampound was formally disenfranchised in 1824 - the only rotten borough to receive this treatment prior to the Great Reform Act of 1832.  And Nicholas Middlecoat Jnr (72) faded from the public scene.  But he is far from finished life-wise.  In 1838 he is a witness at the marriage of his daughter Charlotte to Charles Oatey, in 1841 he is censussed in Rospeath near Land's End, and he finally dies in 1844, aged 92, and is buried in the Cuby with Tregony church.  Sadly his tombstone has not survived.

Nicholas Middlecoat jnr

(1752 - 1844 (92))

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Unconnectedly, Richart Barwell was a contemporary of Col Samuel Hampton in Calcutta !

from the "Dictionary of Indian Biography" by C.E.Buckland, London 1906

In 1801 Tregony had a population of 937, of whom just 200 were allowed to vote for 2 MPs to go to Westminster.  Tregony was a classic "rotten borough" (and also a "potwalloper borough").  Nearby Grampound had a smaller number of voters and also sent two MPs to parliament.

Potwalloping in A(u)ction

from the front page of The Times, 12 November 1801

A potwalloper borough was one in which a householder had the right to vote if he had, in his house, a hearth large enough to boil, or wallop, a cauldron, or pot (Wikipedia).  So it seems that successful house buyers here could look forward to ongoing income from electoral bribes.

Nicholas Middlecoat Jnr (1752 - 1844 (92)), political fixer, trader and Licensee of the Queens Head Inn, Tregony.  Handled (and seemingly often appropriated) election bribery money for three decades from the early 1790s.  His life was very long and a bit of a roller coaster, as this selection of documents from the Cornwall Records Office indicates.  Sadly the Queens Head was demolished in the early 1800s - it was located nearly opposite today's clock tower.  Nicholas Jnr and his wife Ruth (Hambly) had at least 14 children between 1780 and 1804, most of whom thrived on Cornish food and made it through to adulthood. Child 13 was George, Madras Artillery Captain and Adrian's 3xGrt Grandfather.

ch 25 August 1752 Cuby with Tregony, nr Truro, Cornwall.

HH/16/24-32 1788-89

Regarding the export of British manufactured goods on the packets: held by Customs ("The Revenue Men") - Mainly involving N Middlecoat (probably jnr) & N  Hambly, (more likely Wm Hambly, Nick's brother-in-law).

CF/1/4748 1796

I. P. Coffin's pamphlet "to the worthy electors of the borough of Tregony", publishing letters and papers proving treachery of Middlecoat, Gurney and Hawkins, and good faith of Barwell

CF/1/4751 1796

Rich. Barwell's address to Tregony electors concerning Chris. Hawkins, Nich. Middlecoat and rev. Rich. Gurney plotting to ruin his chances as M.P., while professing to support him.

CF/1/4750 1796

Nich. Middlecoat's address to borough of Tregony disclaiming Barwell's assertions of treachery and accusing him of duplicity

Note: Richard Barwell (1741-1804) was a "Bengal man" and strong supporter of Warren Hastings.  He was renowned for his great (dubiously won) wealth, and had two houses in Calcutta when he retired from India in October 1781. At that time Col Samuel Hampton seems to have had about 9 houses there!

HH/13/108  6th December 1796

Affidavit sworn by John BARNICOAT of Tregony cordwainer that some three years previously he was in company with Revs. Rd. and Thomas Peter GURNEY and Nicholas MIDDLECOAT when last said he did not know anything about Sir. C. H. opposing Mr. BARWELL in Tregony and was not authorised to make use of Sir. C. H's name in any such manner.

HH/13/209  14th March 1808

Letter. T. CROGGON to Sir C. H.: Cochranes arrived: Mr. Middlecoat and Mr. Roberts have been here ever since the 7th. I have repeatedly urged them to procure the needful and use it discreetly but they have neglected to do it...... I consider the day is lost for want of decision and energy".

CF/1/4644 c.1808

The House of Commons, 1790-1820, Volume 1,  By R. G. Thorne

N Middlecoat in Grampound (p57)

N Middlecoat in Tregony (p84)

Extract from “The Western Antiquary" Volume 6 (c1887) by W H K Wright (Google)

“At the election of 1818, the virtuous Middlecoat again repaired to London, in company with four other persons like unto himself, in search of candidates for Tregony and Grampound. They put up at an inn (The Bell & Crown, 24 hours from Exeter on the Royal Auxiliary Mail) in Holborn and arranged the sale of the boroughs, the price to be paid for the latter being 7,000 and for the former 6,000 guineas.” (p32)

In July 1819 Isaac Watts, Samuel Groggan, John Luke, John Cooke, and Nicholas Middlecote (sic) (represented by the Rev Richard Gurney from Tregony) were tried by a "special jury" in the Court of King's Bench presided over by none less than the Chief Justice, and found guilty of attempting to bribe the electors of Grampound.  Don't know what the punishment was yet.

Trial Report in the London Times 15 July 1819

HH/13/275 11th October 1819

Eventually, as a consequence of other bribery events, Grampound was formally disenfranchised in 1824 - the only rotten borough to receive this treatment prior to the Great Reform Act of 1832.  And Nicholas Middlecoat Jnr (72) fades from the public scene.  But he is far from finished life-wise.  In 1838 he is a witness at the marriage of his daughter Charlotte to Charles Oatey, in 1841 he is censussed in Rospeath near Land's End and he finally dies in 1844, aged 92.

d 30 July b 4 August 1844 (92) - death certificate

Clearly, a spell in the Cornish Archives and Institute in Truro is called for ..... not to mention a photoshoot in Tregony / Falmouth etc, though sadly the Queens Head was demolished in the early 1800s, and no family gravestones remain in the Cuby with Tregony churchyard.

Adrian Fletcher

afletch at paradoxplace dot com

HH - held at the Courtney Library, Royal Institution of Cornwall, Truro.  Other papers are held in the Truro Cornwall Records Office of the National Archives

Obtainable from the author

Saint Cuby (aka Cybi)

was a Celtic Cornish Saint who travelled widely in Cornwall, Wales and the Irish sea. 

Several churches are dedicated to him, as is a spring enclosure in North Wales where miraculous cures were administered.

Back through the generations ----

Adrian Fletcher

"Gem" Burton (Middlecoat)

Francis Middlecoat

  equals a link to an original document image - thanks to the Cornwall Family History Society for helping us start out with locating these and family search for providing many of them.

Grateful thanks also to Frank Grigg for making available to us data and his considerable local knowledge. 

1752

New Year's Day for 1752 in England was reset to January 1st - up until this time it had been on March 25th, so there was no January 1 - March 24 1751!  The first three months of years before this are sometimes shown with two year numbers - eg Jan 1550/51 - for clarity.  Amongst other things, zodiac versed readers will see that the concept of a two or three headed "Janus" looking back on the old year and forward to the new in the month of January was looking at life through an agricultural rather than calendar lens.

Also, in order to effect the change to the Gregorian Calendar, the English days September 2 - 14 1752 were disappeared - Nick Middlecoat jnr  (b August 1752) damn nearly arrived on earth in a calendrical black hole !

More about this

Nicholas Middlecoat Jnr

b ch 25 August 1752 Cuby with Tregony, nr Truro, Cornwall. 

Married in Cuby with Tregony 6 July 1779  by banns

Father of 14, innkeeper ("Queens Head Inn " Tregony), political agent and fixer (see above), writer and writee, bankrupt (c1808) ... a fascinating Cornish rogue.

Found Guilty of Electoral Bribery - Report in the London Times 15 July 1819

Signatory, as a Tregony freeholder (of what?)  (along with 2 cousins and a few hundred Cornishmen), of the 1820 Loyal Declaration.

1841 census - Found right down near the tip of Cornwall in Rospeath as a "supervisor of tin" (presumably not at the Rospeath mine which only produced copper).

d 30 July b 4 August 1844 (yes 1844) aged 92

 - parish burial record No 675.

Death Certificate

Nicholas Middlecoat Snr

b ch 15 March 1718, Cuby with Tregony (parents identified as Edward & Elizabeth)

m 29 June 1749 in Cuby with Tregony (bishops transcript only)

A Tailor (Taylor)

d bu Cuby with Tregony 17 Sept 1801 (83). Half way down p56 - the very feint entry (that's the way it goes!).  

Will of Nicholas Middlecoat Snr (with transcript & abstract)

AP/M/3145 Will of Nicholas Middlecoat, tailor, of Tregony 1802 (proved)

Edward Midlecoat

Elizabeth Midlecoat (  )

Jane Middlecoat (Saunders)

b ch 31 January 1721 in Cuby with Tregony (parents identified as Aaron & Elizabeth) (may be mistranscribed date as parents married in Bodmin 2 months later!)

m 29 June 1749 in Cuby with Tregony (bishops transcript only)

d bu 21 July 1804 (82) Cuby with Tregony we think that this is her as she probably died after Nick.

Aaron Sanders

c Cuby with Tregony 27 December 1696

A joiner from Tregony

m 1721 (Phillimore's Directory) the physician's daughter from Bodmin.

Aaron Sanders Snr

b ?

m 6 June 1693, Cornelly, Cornwall

d bu Cuby with Tregony 24 November 1729

Link to "Will"

Aaron Sanders died intestate and the papers "AP/S/2691 Will of Aavon (sic) Sanders, joiner, of Tregony 1730-1731" relate to the administration of his estate which wife Jane delegated to Colan Quintrell, husband of daughter Mary.

Jane Sanders (Fountain)

b ?

m 6 June 1693, Cornelly, Cornwall

bu Cuby with Tregony, 11 July 1734 (Bishop's Transcript)

Elizabeth Sanders (Demountfryart)

b 21 February 1693, Bodmin, Cornwall

m 11 April 1721 (in Bodmin) "Aaron Sanders of Tregony" according to Phillimore's Directory.

d bu Cuby with Tregony 8 October 1730 (37)

Dr George Demountfryart (or de Monfriart) had five terms as Mayor of Bodmin (Cornwall)  - 1691, 1694, 1700, 1712, 1716.

George's name and 1700 mayoral term is still remembered on an inscribed stone next to a piped water outlet (from "The Beacon") in Bell Lane, Bodmin.  The water was said to be very healthy and especially good for curing eye infections.  Not today!  See photo below.

BRA93/29  10 Sep 1690

Contents: Lease (99 years) house etc in Bodmin

The centre of gravity of our Tregony rels was the church of St James, Cuby with Tregony.  Since their time the body of the church has been significantly remodelled, but today's tower would be much as they knew it.  Sadly the old gravestones have been cleared from the graveyard, and none of "our lot" survived.  Sadly also the church is kept locked.

In Bodmin, our oldest "Family Artefact" records Dr George Demountfryart as Mayor (of Bodmin) in 1700

Physician George Demountfryart, Adrian's 7xGrt Grandfather, Nick M jnr's Grt Grandfather, had five terms as Mayor of Bodmin (Cornwall)  - 1691, 1694, 1700, 1712, & 1716.  His 1700 term is still remembered on the inscription on this water outlet in Bell Lane, Bodmin.  The water is piped from "The Beacon", a hill some distance south of Bodmin, so this would have been a significant engineering undertaking, particularly after the need to rebuild the church spire which had been destroyed by lightening in December 1699.  The water was said to be very healthy and especially good for curing eye infections.  Not today we think, but the fact that the piping is still working over 300 years after it was built is remarkable! 

Capt George Middlecoat

(1802-1845 (42))

Son of Nicholas and Ruth

Child number 13 of 14 of Nicholas jnr and Ruth, who escaped Cornwall to serve in British India in the Madras Artillery.

More about Cap'n George and his descendants in Madras (British India) in the 1800s

In 1826 George Middlecoat married Susannah Palmer Hampton, grand-daughter of Colonel Samuel Hampton (Bengal Army).  Her great-grandfather was Charles Hampton, who sailed to Calcutta as an East India Company clerk in 1710. 

More about the Hampton family in Bengal (British India) in the 1700s

Ruth Middlecoat (Hambly)

b 1760 Cuby with Tregony

m 6 July 1779 in Cuby with Tregony, Cornwall

via banns.  Witnesses John Sibly and Wm Jacob

d (buried) 8 Mar 1825 Cuby with Tregony

Richard Hambly (Hamley)

b ch 22 January 1726 St Clements (nr Truro), Cornwall

m in Tregony 28 February 1756 by licence

Described as a Victualler (which could mean Inn Keeper as well as a supplier of Spirits or more general Victuals).

d bu 27 August 1763 (aged just 37) in Cuby with Tregony7

John Hambly

Probably from St Clements

Elizabeth Hambly (Higgs)

of Launceston if she was the one who married a John Hambly there on 18 May 1714 - the only one of the numerous Cornish John Hamblys that we have found so far to have married an Elizabeth.

Ann(e) Scott (Hennah / Hambly)

b 29 May 1739 in Tregony

m1 in Tregony 28 February 1756 (aged 16) by licence

Wm Hennah was a witness

m2 1 May 1764 in Tregony to John Scott, by banns

d not yet located

William Henna

b record not located yet

m married 10 May 1723 - Cuby with Tregony

d record not located yet

Link to 1763 Will

AP/H/6266 Will of William Henna of Tregony 1763

Ruth Henna (Teague)

b 22 November 1699 Cuby with Tregony

m married 10 May 1723 - Cuby with Tregony

d bu Cuby with Tregony 13 September 1760 (61)

Richard Teague

We have also found the original parish register entry for the marriage of the Ruth's  parents Richard and Grace, who were married in Cuby with Tregony on 22 October 1683.

How good is that!

Grace Teague (Laurence)