Heywood
Author: Nev. Ramsden
Heywood Family of Whitehaven & the Isle of Man
The often repeated claims concerning a merchant Heywood family from Whitehaven seems to be based upon the following source:-
An article on Sir Thomas Birch [1791-1880] appeared in the Liverpool Mercury in 1847 to establish that Birch belonged to one of the eminent Liverpool families and to establish his credentials on the eve of the 1847 election. His mother, was the 3rd daughter of Benjamin Heywood, who was the grandfather of the present (1847) Sir Benjamin Heywood, of Claremont, Lancashire. Sir Thomas Birch's grandfather, Benjamin Heywood, was “a Liverpool merchant, and son of one of the leading merchants of Whitehaven”.
A great deal has been written concerning the very successful trading & banking Heywood families of Manchester & Liverpool. Most seem to start with Benjamin Heywood, 1793-1865 of Pendleton in Lancs.
The History of Arthur Heywood and Sons, Liverpool
Arthur Heywood, Sons and Co. was founded at Liverpool in 1773 by Arthur, son of Benjamin Heywood of Drogheda, County Louth in Ireland, who died in 1725. Arthur Heywood came to Liverpool from Ireland in 1731 at the age of 14 to serve as an apprentice 'in the counting house' of John Hardman of Allerton, MP for Liverpool. He became a burgess of Liverpool in 1736 and in 1739, married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Ogden of Mossley Hill, thereby acquiring a share of the large fortune left by her grandfather John Pemberton. Arthur's brother Benjamin came to Liverpool in 1741 and began his apprenticeship to James Crosby of Liverpool. The Heywood brothers became merchants, and during the French wars determined to extend their trade into the Baltic and the Mediterranean, and from there to the rest of the world.
Is this Benjamin Heywood, born circa 1720, who was the - “Benjamin Heywood, a Liverpool merchant, and son of one of the leading merchants of Whitehaven”, referred to above? If yes, then the family did not have its origins in Whitehaven but in Ireland. It is of course possible that the Benjamin brother of Arthur was in Whitehaven during the years 1731 to 1741 before arriving in Liverpool. But Benjamin started his apprenticeship in 1741 after his arrival in Liverpool so being a man of business in Whitehaven seems improbable. Also there is no documentary evidence of any Heywood living in Whitehaven, or the area surrounding Whitehaven, before the arrival of the ‘Mutiny of the Bounty’ Heywood family from the Isle of Man in 1773.
Our man in the Mutiny on the Bounty
Bounty “mutineer’’, one Peter Heywood [1772-1831], who was granted a Royal pardon and escaped the hangman’s rope, once lived in Whitehaven. He was the son of a Whitehaven woman whose family home was 30 Roper Street – the house with a carved acorn over the door.
Heywood (1772-1831), who hailed from the Isle of Man, and spent his early childhood in Whitehaven, had entered the Royal Navy as a boy of 14 in 1786. The following year he made his first voyage as a midshipman aboard the Bounty, commanded by Captain Bligh.
Heywood’s mother was Elizabeth Spedding, the daughter of James and Mary Spedding who built the “Acorn House’’ and lived there in 18th century Whitehaven
The house was constructed in 1743 by James, the son of Whitehaven’s famous mining engineer Carlisle Spedding, and intended it to be used as both a dwelling and offices for the family business. The acorn finial above the doorway is a reference to the Spedding coat of arms, which bears three acorns. James Spedding & Co, among other things, carried on a large business as timber merchants at home and abroad.
Mary (née Todd of St Bees) was James’s first wife and it was their daughter, Elizabeth, who married Peter John Heywood of the Isle of Man with whom she had several children, including Peter.
The Heywoods moved to Whitehaven in 1773 and lived here for around seven years before returning to the island. James Spedding died in August 1788 and a monument to his memory was erected across the road in Trinity Church (James’s elder brother, Thomas Spedding, was the first minister of St James’s Church).
The Heywoods of the Isle of Man -- Manx Note Book, Volume 2, 1886
See:- http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxnb/v06p066.htm
----------- His eldest son, Peter John (born 1739, died 1790, buried in Braddan Church*) became Deemster. He was a man of considerable culture and literary tastes. It is to his correspondence with Professor Thorkelin, of Copenhagen, that we owe the preservation of probably the oldest Manx Ballad in existence.§ He was the last Heywood who held the Nunnery estates, as he sold them to John Taubman, of the Bowling Green, Castletown. By his wife Elizabeth (born 1745, died 1808, buried at Whitehaven), only daughter of James Spedding, whom he married at Whitehaven, on the 15th of May, 1762, he had issue 6 sons and 3 daughters; of the sons, Thomas, the eldest, died on the 2nd of December, 1770, James also died young, Peter (born 1772, died 1831, at Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park), was a Post Captain in the Royal Navy, in which position he highly distinguished himself. The earlier part of his career in connection with the "Mutiny of the Bounty " is well known. In 1816 he married Frances, only daughter of Francis Simpson, but had no issue; Henry (born 1779, died at Madras, 1802, without issue), Robert John (born 1781, died 1796), and Edwin Holwell (see below). of the daughters, Hester (born 1768, died September, 1793, at Hastings, buried at Tunbridge Wells), will be remembered in connection with her brother Peter. She wrote several touching poems and many admirable letters, which testify to her devotion to him. Her health broke down under the trouble and anxiety attending his trial, and she died at the early age of 25. Isabella (born jane+ )born 1777, died 1856, buried in Braddan Cemetery), married the Rev. James Aislabie; Edwin Holwell (born 1782, died 1832), married Elizabeth Nickle, and had issue Edwin Holwell (born 1806, died without issue, 1870) the last of the Heywoods in the elder branch, Peter John (born 1809, died 1836, without issue) ; Elizabeth (born 1808, died 1874), married E. C. Fleetwood,* but had no issue. Robert (born 1740, died 1808), second son of the above Thomas, was "fifteen years his Majesty's Water-Bailiff of this Island."§ He was married twice: first, to Margaret, only daughter of Richard Joiner, of Douglas, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. All the sons died without issue: Thomas (born 1765, died unmarried), Richard (born 1769), and Robert (born 1769), were drowned in the West Indies in 1786, Calcott (born 1766, died 1852, buried at Conchan), was a Captain in the gth Regiment, and a member of the House of Keys; Hester, the eldest daughter (born 1771, died 1796, buried at Conchan) was unmarried; Margaret (born 1773, died 1861), married Samuel Thomson, of London, banker, and had issue 8 sons and 6 daughters. He had been a Lieutenant in the 44th Regiment.+ One of their sons, Thomas Richard Heywood Thomson, married Margaret,, daughter of Daniel Fleming Wilson, M.H.K., J.P., (born 1777, died 1846, buried at Braddan), of Farm Hill, Braddan; of their daughters, Eliza (born 1814, died 1883, buried at Braddan Cemetery), married Senhouse Wilson (born 1812, died 1864, buried at, Braddan Cemetery), High-Bailiff of Douglas, M.H.K., and Registrar of Deeds, eldest son of the above D. F. Wilson, and had issue, Senhouse Heywood Wilson, the present proprietor of Farm Hill; Nessy married William Stephen, advocate, and had issue Nessy, now residing in Douglas; Margaret, unmarried, residing in Finch Road, Douglas; and Rebecca married H. B. Noble, J.P., C.P., of Villa Marina, Douglas. Robert Heywood married secondly Elizabeth (died 1793, buried at Braddan), daughter of John Joseph Bacon, at Braddan, in 1788, and had issue two daughters and a son. of the daughters, Jane married Robert Boardman, and had issue two daughters; Elizabeth married Edward Caryl Fleetwood, and had issue 5 sons and 2 daughters. The son, John Joseph (born 1789, died 1855), proprietor of Bemahague, "one of her Majesty's Deemsters for this Island, the duties of which important trust he discharged with uprightness and ability for the lengthened period of 33 years."* He was married twice: first to Elinor (born 1791, died 1820, buried at Conchan, sister of Field-Marshal Sir William Rowan, and had issue a daughter, Elinor, who married John Daly. Their eldest son, Frank, married Louisa Browne, and their son, Heywood, is the present proprietor of Bemahague. Deemster J. J. Heywood married secondly Elizabeth (born 1796, died 1843, buried at Conchan), only daughter of Alexander Birtwistle, and had issue an only daughter, who married the Rev. C. T. Pratt.
The brig, the Eliza Heywood of Whitehaven, was built by K Wood and Sons, Maryport, launched on 22 July 1834 and registered at the port of Whitehaven. Her managing owner, solicitor Edwin Holwell Heywood, was also clerk to Whitehaven Town and Harbour Trustees. His eldest son Captain Edwin Heywood, who had been employed by T and J Brocklebank but was unable to obtain a position as captain with their fleet, supervised the construction and sailed as master of the Eliza Heywood for 5 voyages between 1834 and 1840. The first three voyages made a profit but the fourth a loss, owing to the fraudulent activities of Barry and Company of Swansea who went into liquidation owing the Eliza's owners £800. The final voyage also made a loss, partly due to Captain Heywood's extravagance. Indeed the owners were still pursuing him for £1 500 in 1843.
The ship was sold in February 1841 to Currie and Newton of Liverpool for £2 200, which was about the extent of the owners' losses.
see:- Whitehaven R.O. Reference - DH/56