28 and 28A Castle Street

The Riddiford and Freem families

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Castle Street
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14 Bank Cottage
15 Clematis Cottage
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28 & 28A
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50 Munday Cottage
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Click here to read the earlier history of the house

We have a schedule of the deeds for 28 and 28A Castle Street in Thornbury that states "30th Sept 1788 Mr Mark Nash to Abraham Riddiford conveyance in fee." The will that Abraham Riddiford made in 1827 in which he describes the property left to his daughter Ann confirms that he bought part of it from Mark Nash. Mark Nash seems to have acquired it in September 1786 if our interpretation of the schedule is correct (click here to see the schedule). We have been unable to find any details at all about Mark Nash so far.

The owner of the garden and possibly the other property was William Taylor. William Taylor is not an uncommon name and so it is hard to be certain which William Taylor is referred to here. The Land Tax Records of 1783 show that Sarah Taylor owned the house that became 28 Castle Street and that her tenant was George Longden. By 1800 the same records show that "Mr Taylor of Almondsbury" owned the house which became 28 and the tenant at that time was George Longden. This could imply "Mr Taylor of Almondsbury" was either William Taylor himself or the trustee of William Taylor deceased dealing with the estate after Sarah had died. We have not been able to trace any parish records which could shed light on this.

We know that in November 1794 Abraham Riddiford married Hester Child. The witnesses at the wedding were Abraham Riddiford and Ann Luce. It seems very likely that Abraham was the son of another Abraham Riddiford. We do not at this stage know much about Abraham Riddiford (Jnr). In his will he describes himself a shopkeeper. We also know that at one stage he was a cordwainer (shoemaker).

The Land Tax Record for 1800 shows that Abraham Riddiford was the owner of what we believe to be the smaller of the two houses that now form 28 and 28A Castle Street. The tenant of the house was Ann Reed. It appears from documents which show the earlier history of the house that Abraham Riddiford actually acquired the house in 1788.

The next Land Tax Record we have is that of 1809 and this shows that Abraham Riddiford then owned the two houses; one tenanted by Ann Reed and the other by George Longden. Again it appears from the deeds that Abraham Riddiford actually acquired the second house before this date, probably in 1802.

In 1803 Abraham Riddiford was a Mayor of Thornbury.

Abraham Riddiford and his wife had at least three daughters who survived into adulthood; Emma Riddiford born 18th May 1800, Ann Child Riddiford born on 5th May 1802 and Eliza born 15th July 1804. Abraham's wife Esther (or Hester) died December 3rd 1813 and was buried with two other of their daughters, Maria and Charlotte, who died as infants. Abraham and Hester's only son son, Alfred who died in October 1813 aged 20.

Abraham and Hester's daughters three remaining daughters married.

Eliza Riddiford married John Hopkins on 23rd January 1822. Eliza and John Hopkins later inherited land and property from Abraham Riddiford which included the Tiltfield at Eastlands in Thornbury. Scribes Alcove shows the baptism of Hester Eliza Hopkins the daughter of John and Eliza Hopkins on 27th March 1831 If this is the same couple, John Hopkins was described as a farmer.

Ann Child Riddiford married Thomas Freem, a carpenter who was born in Olveston. The Bristol Times and Mirror of 2nd February 1822 reported this marriage and said it took place on January 25th between Ann Riddiford the second daughter of Abraham Riddiford of Thornbury and Thomas Freem of Kingsdown in Bristol. The spelling of this surname also appears as Freeme or Freame in different records, we have used this spelling for simplicity.

By 1830 the Trade Directory described Abraham Riddiford as a grocer and linen draper. There was an advertisement in July 1835 (after the death of Abraham Riddiford) for the sale of the stock in trade and the fittings of the business of William Mawley which consisted of linen and Woollen drapery, hosiery, haberdashery and groceries. The advertisement said "The Business has been established upwards of fifty years, having been carried on by the late Mr Riddiford and subsequently by his daughter, who is also deceased. The situation is the best in the pleasant and respectable town of Thornbury; the house and premises good with detached garden and the rent low." It would seem that this means that Abraham Riddiford had rented a premises in Thornbury for many years which he used as his shop and this would have been taken on by his daughter. The advertisement says that this daughter was dead. Eliza Hopkins died in 1842 and Ann Freem died in 1831 so the business must have been run by the third and eldest daughter Emma.

Emma Riddiford married William Mawley in Bristol on 7th July 1833. Sadly the marriage did not last very long as Emma Mawley died in September 1834 and was buried in Thornbury. William Mawley married Harriet Luce in February 1835. In July 1835 William Mawley advertised the sale of the stock and fittings of the business previously owned by his first wife and before that by her father.

Abraham Riddiford died aged 66 and was buried on the 27th January 1831. By his will, made 13th November 1827 and proved in London on 18th March 1831, he left what is now 28 and 28a Castle Street in trust to his daughter, now called Ann Child Freem, and her children. The will describes the property as :

"three tenements in the several occupations of William Liddiatt, John Longden and Mary Hopkins widow as my tenants thereof with the gardens and appurtenances thereto adjoining and belonging and which said I bought and purchased of Mark Nash and also all that messuage or dwelling house in two tenements in the several occupations of Nicholas Lansborow and …(left blank) Carter as my tenants thereof with the garden and appurtenances thereto adjoining and belonging which I bought and purchased of William Taylor all which said messuages tenements or dwellinghouses gardens and premises are lying and adjoining on the East side of the … street of the town and borough of Thornbury aforesaid".

The Land Tax Records of 1831 show that Thomas Freem now owned the houses which had two tenants listed William Liddiard and Thomas Landsdown. We know from Abraham Riddiford's will that by this time the two houses in Castle Street were subdivided, one being three households and the other two. The Land Tax Records show no sign of this. This could be explained - either the other households were subtenants which might not need to be shown or there was simply not enough room on the form to list them all.

The Tithe Map of 1840 confirms that the properties marked 277 and 278 were owned by Thomas Freame (sic). The property was at that time occupied by five tenants; Joseph Carter and Edward Trayherne in one (plot 277) and Sarah Webb, William Liddiard and Joseph Birt in the other (plot 278).

The Census of 1841 shows that Ann and Thomas Freem lived in Olveston and that Thomas was a carpenter. They had seven children living with them; Julia aged 18, Alfred aged 16, Eliza aged 13, Hannah aged 8, John aged 6, Emma aged 4 and Elizabeth aged 1.

On 29th December 1849 a newspaper reported that a petition for insolvency had been filed by Thomas Freem. The petition said that Thomas had been living in Tockington for twelve months and had lived at Riberton in Gloucestershire for three years and before that that he had lived for nineteen years in Olveston where he carried on a business as a carpenter. The interim order had been filed in January 1850 at the White Hart in Thornbury and now anyone in debt to Thomas Freem should pay it back to the Clerk of the Court at Crossman and Lloyd solicitors in Thornbury w

The 1851 Census appears to show that they were living in Olveston.

We know that one way Ann and Thomas Freem had raised money was by a mortgage of £250 by mortgage using the properties at 28 and 28A as security. An indenture made on 27th January 1852 between Joseph, Richard and Henry Williams of Llanthony Vach in Monmouthshire and William Turner a tinner of Bristol refers to this arrangement and passes the mortgage on from trustees of the original lender Hannah Williams (then deceased) to William Turner.

On 28th June 1856 Thomas Freem died insolvent - presumably this is why the mortgage remained unpaid.

The 1871 Census showed that Ann was living with her daughter Emma and Emma's husband Mark Curtis. She was 69 and a widow, receiving parish relief. Ann Child Freem died aged 79 in the June quarter of 1881.

Click here to read about the next owners of the houses

Click here to read about the occupiers of 28 Castle Street

Click here to read about the occupiers of 28A Castle Street

This page was last updated: 02/08/2011