West Moors & the Fryer family
On St. George's Day, the 23rd April, 2008, Miss Frances Evelyn Fryer died
and now lies at peace in a corner of St. Mary's churchyard, West Moors, Dorset,
alongside several members of her family. She was the youngest of five siblings:
two brothers (Frederic & William) and three sisters (Kathleen, Esme &
Frances herself); each of them died without leaving any descendants - William
(William Arthur Francis, known as 'Frankie') died in 1941 at sea during service
with the Fleet Air Arm. With Frances' death, that line of the Fryer family that
had the strongest link with West Moors ended after over 180 years. However, the
name "Fryer" will live on across the community, alongside that of
Gulliver & Castleman.
Indeed, if I were a Winston Graham, a John Galsworthy or a Thomas Hardy, I
could write a major novel surrounding the 'doings' of these three families,
covering the latter part of the 18th and much of the 19th centuries, which
would rival any 'Poldark', 'Forsyte Saga' or 'Mayor of Casterbridge'! I'm not,
but the story is a fascinating one nonetheless: between them, these three names
resonate across the history of this part of Dorset and adjacent counties. Not
only were they business associates, but the three families were united through
marriage & inheritance.
The Gulliver 'story' is well known hereabouts. Isaac Gulliver (junior)
was a smuggler - as was his father before him, also named Isaac. The son
developed a large, and it has to be said successful smuggling empire, in the
process buying up land and property across the counties of Devon, Dorset,
Wiltshire and Hampshire. Eventually, he 'came in from the cold' and accepted a
King's Pardon in 1782 (in return for effectively paying a large fine, by buying
the services of two 'volunteers' for service in the Navy) and ended his life in
Wimborne as a respected member of the community. Isaac Gulliver (d. September
1822) was accounted a wealthy man. He owned several houses between Poole and
Wimborne and in 1789 acquired Manor Farm in West Moors which had been built a
few years earlier; this became 'Gulliver's Farm' - a name it retains to this
day[1]. Only the original barn remains; the eighteenth-century farm house burnt
down in 1935. It would have been logical to have owned property in the area,
both as an investment for the future and also to act as staging posts on the
contraband route from the coast to the city of Salisbury & elsewhere.
([1] For a brief time during the latter 19th century, it
was known as 'Hatchard's Farm' after the family living there - this change of
name to reflect the occupants is a common feature hereabouts.)
Isaac Gulliver became a Churchwarden at Wimborne Minster & is buried there.
The Fryers were known to Isaac and were associated with them (through
John Fryer [b. ~1724, d. 1810] in the smuggling trade in the late 18th and very
early 19th century, but John Fryer (and later his son, William) also had
legitimate interests in the lucrative shipping & fishing trade with
Newfoundland (through the port of Poole) & was also to become involved with
banking in Dorset. The Castlemans were also heavily involved in banking,
and of course through Charles Castleman, were responsible for bringing the
railway to southwest Hampshire and southern Dorset - and in the process
hastening the social and economic changes that brought a revolution to people's
lives through the 19th and early 20th century.
The 'Fryer' link with West Moors comes about through the marriage of
Elizabeth Gulliver, eldest child of Isaac, with William Fryer in
1793; the latter was a prominent banker in Wimborne Minster (an important town
in this part of Dorset) & who was associated (partner of?) Charles
Castleman, of railway 'corkscrew' fame. Elizabeth was granted gifts of land
in the local area (from her father on her marriage & again on his death),
which in turn became associated with the 'Fryer' name. Elizabeth and William
also invested in local hostelries on their own account - a useful hedge against
the future.
A further familial link with railways comes about later, as Gulliver's
grand-daughter, Ann (or Anne) Fryer, married Edward Castleman,
elder brother of Charles [ E & C Castleman, Solicitors, Wimborne &
Ringwood ]. Following formation of the railway company (Southampton &
Dorchester), Edward invested £3500 in shares, but had little direct
involvement in the running of the company. He was apparently a specialist in
administration of large country estates - links with Uddens & Canford
perhaps over whose lands lengths of the railway run.
Some dates of importance:-
1842: Land in West Moors owned by the Fryer family conveyed to the
National Society for a school. This was probably close to the modern-day
Memorial Hall.
1896**: On January 6th, some land along Station Road was sold by Sir
Frederic William Richards Fryer and his wife, Dame Frances Elizabeth to
Trustees, (presumably Claud Brown as Vicar of Verwood and the serving Church
Wardens), "containing by estimation one and a half acres" for the sum
of £37-10s.
**However, there's something odd about the dates here: in
"The Heart of the Village", by Catherine Hazard, which is a history
of St. Mary's School, the date of opening of the school was given as the 18th
February, 1896. If the land was conveyed on the 6th January, and the school
opened (a substantial brick-built building) on the 18th February, some pretty
nifty building work had been going on! I'm more inclined to believe that the
land was conveyed the previous year - but this is only my speculation.
1914: In this year, Sir Frederic William Richards FRYER offered the West
Parley Parish Council (the local council at the time) a piece of land as a site
for a village hall in West Moors. The Great War (1914-1918) prevented the
project going ahead straightaway, but in 1920 an ex-Army hut was erected on the
spot now used as the Memorial Hall car park. A fund was set up to raise money
to build a hall as a memorial to those that had been killed in the war. It was
completed in 1929. Sir Frederick was born in 1845 and died in 1922, so he
didn't live to see the project finished.
1973: About 100 years after the opening of the first public house (see
1871 above), the Blandford Brewery, Hall & Woodhouse Ltd., bought a piece
of land from Captain F.W.B. FRYER (Frederic Walter Balfe: d. 9/3/1978) and the
'FRYER ARMS' opened for business in 1973. Captain Fryer was a direct descendant
following the marriage of William Fryer & Elizabeth Gulliver. The 'Fryer
Arms' did not last long! It was demolished around 2005, and the 'Fryer Mews'
development stands in its place - the home of the author of this note.
Specific entries for the 'main players' in the Gulliver - Fryer -
Castleman saga, as it relates to West Moors.
John FRYER (~1724 - 1810):
Nominally 'of Southampton' but there is an inscription at Wimborne Minster
which mentions him as being .. " of this town " & he probably
also had links with the Isle of Wight. Died 29th September, 1810 at the age of
86. Associate of Isaac Gulliver in the smuggling trade. He married Ann Rolles [
hence the 'Rolles' connection in later names ] and was father to William Fryer
(q.v.), who married Gulliver's daughter, Elizabeth; the Fryers became very
wealthy through the Newfoundland fishing trade, dealing / trading between
Newfoundland & England (via Poole) & banking. In particular, this from
the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) web site: " .... private bank was
established in Wimborne c.1790 as Fryer, Andrews, Woolfry & Co., by John
Fryer, John Andrews and William Woolfry. A 1797 list of country bankers lists
'Fryer & Co' as bankers at both 'Winbourn and Poole'. It was also known as
'Wimborne, Poole & Blandford Bank' and 'Dorset Bank'. By 1840 (when William
Fryer had inherited his father's interest in the bank), it had branches at
Poole, Ringwood, Blandford, Wareham and Sturminster Newton. It was acquired by
the National Provincial Bank in 1840, which later was merged with the
Westminster Bank (1970), the group becoming the National Westminster (later
NatWest); this too was eventually absorbed into the RBS 'empire'.
Isaac GULLIVER (1745 - 1822):
Born - Semington, nr. Melksham, Wiltshire, 1745 (September 5th), settled end of
life in Wimborne where he died in 1822 (Friday 13th September), aged 77;
however for several years at the end of his life, he resided, albeit often
turning up in other of his properties, in what is now West Moors, from at least
1789 (Gulliver's Farm, was Manor Farm) to 1817, at which latter date he moved
to Wimborne for the last years of his life. His father (also Isaac) was a
smuggler (spirits, wine, tea & tobacco - all heavily taxed commodities),
and Isaac junior followed the family trade. His area of operation for smuggling
purposes extended over large parts of both east & west Dorset, including [
in this part of the county ] Longham, Kinson, Corfe Mullen & West Moors:
the 'shore-line' front for seaward operations probably extended from Poole to
Christchurch, which at the time was virtually uninhabited and backed by the
wide expanse of Poole Heath - itself a part of the great Dorset heathlands that
extended well to the north and west. Married in 1768 (Gulliver aged 23 at the
time) Elizabeth Beale, whose father (William) was also in the 'trade'.
Daughter Elizabeth (q.v.) married William Fryer (q.v.); the 'Gulliver-Fryer'
dynasty were to own large tracts of land & a wide variety of property,
including a number of inns, in this area. Note that Gulliver's grand-daughter
(daughter of Elizabeth & William), Anne (or Ann q.v.) married Edward
Castleman (q.v.), who was the brother of Charles Castleman (railway, q.v.).
On his death, the majority of Isaac Gulliver's lands in West Parley (which
would have included those in West Moors), passed to Frederick William Fryer
(q.v.), the youngest child/son of the marriage of William Fryer & Elizabeth
Gulliver: this was a magnificent bequest! It specifically included the farm at
West Moors, and presumably large parcels of land attached.
William CASTLEMAN (1766 - 1844):
The family Castleman had their roots (at least in the 18th century) in the
small Dorset village of Chettle, about 6 miles NE of Blandford Forum. William
moved to Wimborne Minster (then an important financial, commercial &
trading centre in the county) during the latter part of the seventeenth century
and established himself in the legal profession, but he was undoubtedly linked,
no matter how loosely, with messrs Gulliver & Fryer (above) in the
contraband trade. However, as was often the case at the time, he migrated to a
more respectable occupation, becoming Deanery Steward of the considerable
Hanham Estate. During 1800, he went into partnership with William Dean and
George Adams to form the Christchurch, Wimborne & Ringwood Bank, also
acting as that bank's legal advisor. The link with Dean is interesting, as this
gentleman was influential in the development of Bournemouth. The bank failed
but Castleman had already distanced himself from the venture. Although William
& his wife had 10 children, only three survived to adulthood: Henry, Edward
& Charles. Henry entered the legal profession, but otherwise does not
figure in this story. The other brothers are listed below.
William Rolles (or Rolls) FRYER (1770 - 1834):
Born 1770: banker (amongst other interests, including shipping & possibly
smuggling) of Wimborne, where he died in 1834 (age 64). It is almost certain
that William (and hence this branch of the Fryer family) benefitted from the
marriage to Isaac Gulliver's daughter, Elizabeth (q.v.) in 1793, both in
monetary terms and in land/property: however, the Fryers were wealthy in their
own right.
Elizabeth GULLIVER [FRYER on marriage in 1793, aged 23] (1770 - 1839):
Born - Sixpenny Handley, 1770 (late January/baptised 4th February), daughter
(and eldest child) of Isaac Gulliver (q.v.); died 1839. Thought to be the
'favourite' child of Isaac Gulliver & inherited the entire estate on his
death, his son having died without marrying and his second daughter (Ann)
doesn't seem to have figured prominently: she married twice, without bearing
any children.
Ann (or Anne) FRYER [CASTLEMAN on marriage in 1823, aged 24] (1799 -
1883):
Was the third child / eldest daughter from the marriage of William Rolles Fryer
& Elizabeth Gulliver. She married Edward Castleman in 1823. She had a
considerable fortune in her own right, through the provision made for her by
her grandfather, Isaac Gulliver. It is now considered that she was her
grandfather's 'favourite', hence the settlement of considerable estates on his
death. Large tracts of the (then) West Parley parish would have passed to her.
Edward (or Edmund in some texts?) CASTLEMAN (1800 - 1861):
Edward is the brother of Charles (of 'Corkscrew' fame), and was a minor
shareholder in the Southampton & Dorchester Railway (see elsewhere for more
on this). On marriage, Ann & Edward made their home in one of the inns that
Ann's grandfather (Isaac Gulliver) had owned in the area, but eventually they
moved in to the family home at Allendale House, Wimborne until Edward's
retirement, when they moved back to Chettle House, Chettle, which his father
had bought in 1826. As well as being a lawyer (he was to administer, or assist
with the administration of many great estates in the area), he was a partner in
the Wimborne Bank, which eventually was purchased by the Wilts and Dorset bank,
which in turn became part of Lloyds Bank.
Frederic William FRYER (1812 - 1890):
was the youngest child / son of the marriage of William Fryer & Elizabeth
Gulliver (see above): he was born 22nd March, 1812. On the death of his
grandfather (Isaac Gulliver q.v.), the considerable land holdings in West
Parley, Hampreston & Wimborne Minster civil parishes (which all included
West Moors - the greater part in West Parley) passed to Frederic(k) William: as
he would have only been 10 years old, this must have been held in trust until
he was 21 years old (in 1833). By 1869, Frederick was one of the major
land-owners across what we now know as West Moors, though at this time,
habitation was still sparse - mainly concentrated in the farms along the Uddens
/ Mannington brooks, some clustered around & to the north of the railway
station (built in 1867) & some individual cottages around the moorland
edge.
Apparently, he lived for some years in middle-age on the Isle of Wight (where
there was a large Fryer 'clan') but he ended his days in the village of
Holdenhurst, then in the county of Hampshire (now in Dorset, not far to the
north of Christchurch). He married (in 1838) Emily Frances Richards (born 1818
in Worcester) and they had several children (provisionally* assessed as ...),
in order: Clara Matilda (b.1841 in Switzerland), Emily Frances
(b.~1843 in Worcestershire), Frederic William Richards - the eldest son
& heir - (b.1845 in Worcestershire), Alfred Charles (b.~1847 in
Worcestershire), Mary Ada (b.1848 in Worcestershire), Eleanor
Constance (b.~1851 in Belgium) & Evelyn (or Eveline) Louise (b.
~1856, probably in Belgium). Frederic William (q.v.), being the eldest male
child, would inherit the West Moors estates on his father's death, and much
later, he would begin the process of gifting plots of land for village use -
see later.
[* provisionally as at autumn 2011, as I haven't got around
to pinning down the 'paper-chase' to accurately determine all the
facts.]
Charles Castleman (1807 - 1876):
The brother (younger by 7 years) of the above Edward. He was also trained for
the legal profession and was a practising solicitor in Wimborne Minster.
Charles was the 'moving force' behind the Southampton & Dorchester Railway,
which was to run through what is now West Moors, though at the time was little
more than a collection of farms on the edge of a wide expanse of moorland. On
the deposition of the Bill seeking authorisation for the railway, Charles
Castleman is listed as a 'principal director / shareholder' and also acted as
the Secretary & Solicitor for the company. The London & South Western
Railway (L & SWR) took over the Southampton & Dorchester [ in 1848, a
year after opening; it had always run the railway ] and in 1855 Charles became
a director of that company, eventually holding the post of Chairman between
1873 & 1875. Given the family connections outlined elsewhere, it is
inconceivable that the Castlemans didn't benefit the Fryers and vice-versa with
land-for-cash deals and appropriate shares in the railway. Charles married
thrice, and is buried at Melcombe Regis, Weymouth.
Frederic (later Sir Frederic) William Richards FRYER (1845 - 1922):
born: 25th January, 1845, died 20th February 1922. Frederic was the eldest son
(& therefore heir) from the marriage of Frederic William Fryer & Emily
Frances Richards. He married Frances Elizabeth Bashford (August 1870 in
Westminster), the daughter of W.C. Lake Bashford of Soberton, Hampshire - she
died on Christmas Day, 1920.
He was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, about 16 miles NE of Worcester (the
latter being the birth-place of his mother). His entry in the 'India lists'
note he was educated at 'foreign schools' and we must assume that these were
establishments where his father was living (considerable doubt about this)
though at some stage he was sent back to England and attended Bromsgrove
Grammar school (the town of his birth & perhaps near his maternal parents),
a fee-paying establishment of some importance, though not of the status of
Eton, Winchester et.al.
By November 1863 FWR is listed as having attended University College, London,
being attached as a student to the Middle Temple of the Inns of Court. He sat
the examination for entry to the Bengal (Indian) Civil Service, and having
passed, subsequently took up his appointment with the Bengal Civil Service in
1864 (aged 19), graduating within that service in 1869 (aged 24) and the first
22 years of his working career were spent in the Punjab where he served with
distinction.
His later posts include: Financial Commissioner in Burma (1888), Officiating
Financial Commissioner, Punjab (1894-1895) then the first Lt-Governor of Burma
from 1897 to 1903: a unified Burma had been regarded as a province of British
India since 1886, but it had only had a 'Chief Commissioner' to represent the
Crown (in the person of the Viceroy). He was invested as Knight Commander,
Order of the Star of India (K.C.S.I.) in the New Year honours list of 1895 [he
had been created a Companion in that order in 1890], prior to taking up his
last appointment in Burma - initially with the title "Chief
Commissioner" (3rd April 1895), then that office was re-defined and
Frederic William Richards Fryer became the first 'Lieutenant-Governor' of the
unified province of Burma. In 1903 he retired (though the official 'Gazette of
India' has this as ... "allowed to resign") and returned to Britain,
though it is fair to point out that up to that point, the vast majority of his
life had been spent outside Britain! He was active right up until his death in
1922, attending (& chairing) meetings of various societies relating to
'eastern' matters and often presenting papers.
Sir Frederic was a great keeper of diaries, and these have been published -
along with photograph albums of his time in India & Burma. His extensive
diaries from 1865-1880 describe his early life in the Punjab. He also published
(in 1907) a book relating to the tribes of frontier Burma. In addition, he is
the author of the " Dera Ghazi Khan settlement report (1876) ", which
was effectively the 'Domesday Book' of the region to which he was assigned. The
following is taken from that report ....
" In regard to the Settlement Officer (i.e. Fryer) himself, His Honor
the Lieutenant Governor, in his orders on the Assessment Reports, expressed his
concurrence in the Officiating Financial Commissioner's high approval of Mr.
Fryer's labours, and remarked that he had spared no pains to acquire an
intimate knowledge of the district, and had evinced sound judgement in his
assessments. I think he has left a name which will be long remembered in Dera
Gházi Khan. The people liked him, as he was accessible, genial, and a
good linguist. His popularity and local knowledge made him a power in the
district. Thanks to his discretion …. no disturbance, conflict of
authority, or other avoidable difficulty occurred in the five years during
which Settlement operations were in progress … [ J. B. Lyall, Settlement
Commissioner ] "
It is through his line that parcels of land in West Moors derive: their son,
Frederic Arthur Bashford FRYER, eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier
General with the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. This Frederic married Frances Esme
Balfe (who died in 1948), and they had five children; Kathleen, Frederic, Esme,
William ('Frankie') and Frances - the aforementioned Frederic is mentioned
below. Frances Balfe came from Irish Roman Catholic stock [ her new husband
possibly converting to Roman Catholicism on marriage ], and it is interesting
to speculate that perhaps the land that now accommodates the Roman Catholic
church on lower Pinehurst Road was once part of the Fryer inheritance, which
was ceded to the church (in the 1920s) at the instigation of Frances.
[ Sir Frederic Fryer ....
BIOGRAPHY
]
Frederic (or Frederick) Arthur Bashford FRYER (1871 - 1943):
The eldest child (and eldest son / heir, born 13th August, 1871) of the
marriage between Frederic William Richards Fryer & Frances Elizabeth
Bashford. Joined 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, 1890 and for a time (from 1897)
was A.D.C. to the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma (who was, of course, his
father). He served in the South African ('Boer') wars, and was promoted to
Major in 1903. On the 30th January, 1904, he married Frances Esme Balfe (q.v.)
and they had five children, who all died without issue - one being lost at sea
in 1941 (Fleet Air Arm), the remainder being buried in the churchyard in West
Moors. With these deaths (the last in 2008), the 'local' Fryers were to lose
their link with West Moors. Brigadier-General Fryer and his family had their
seat at Shroton House, Iwerne Courtney ( ~6 km / ~4 miles NNW of Blandford
Forum ), and he was sometime Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Dorset and also
a J.P. He died on the 23rd September, 1943.
Frances Esme BALFE (1874 - 1946):
Frances Balfe married Frederic Arthur Bashford Fryer (then either Major or
Brigadier-General) on the 30th January, 1904. She was the second child (and
second daughter) of the marriage of Lt-Col. Walter Balfe & Esme Mary
Fitzgibbon. She died on 3rd December, 1946. Frances came from an old Irish
family, following the Roman Catholic tradition (on her mother's side). She was
raised as a Catholic and it is interesting to speculate that, as we know the
Fryers owned the land where the later 'Fryer Arms' was built, they also owned
& perhaps gifted the land where the RC church stands now. It would probably
all be part of the same large property - the freehold lands making up the
former Woolslope Farm.
Frederic (or Frederick) Walter Balfe FRYER (1909 - 1978:
Eldest son (and second child) of the marriage of Frederic Arthur Bashford Fryer
and Frances Esme Balfe. As the sole male heir to this line of the Fryer family,
the remaining estates in West Moors came to him on the death of his father (in
1943), and it is he who sold parcels of land for building places like the
'Fryer Arms' etc. He died, as did his sisters (Kathleen, Esme & Frances)
& his brother (William, known as 'Frankie') leaving no heirs. His younger
sister (Frances) died in 2008 and was the last of the 'West Moors' Fryers to
die.
Description of Fryer tombstone at Kinson:
" Sacred to the memory of William Fryer Esq. of Wimborne Minster and
Lytchett, Dorset, banker. Died March 1834, aged 64 years. Also Elizabeth, his
wife, daughter of Isaac Gulliver Esq. of West Moors, Dorset. Died 1839 aged 69
years. [ by this marriage, the families of Gulliver and Fryer are linked ]
Also John Fryer Esq. of Wimborne Minster eldest son of above, died Oct 1854
aged 57 years. Also Mary his wife, daughter of Christopher Harding Esq. died
1886 aged 79 years. Also Lieut. General Sir John Fryer Knight Commander of the
Most Honourable Order of Bath Colonel of the 6th Dragoon Guards, the
Carabiniers eldest son of the above John and Mary Fryer. Died 28th January 1917
aged 78 years. Also Catherine Lady Fryer, 52 years wife of Lieut. General Sir
John Fryer, K.C.B and daughter of George Reed Esq. East Brent Manor, Somerset
died August 1914 aged 74 years. Erected in 1915 by Lieut. General Sir John
Fryer K.C.B. to the honoured memory of his forefathers. "
An attempt to portray the 'linking' between the three families through business partnerships and marriage.
Sources:
http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/kinsondorset/page3.phtml [
last accessed 10th October 2011 ]
http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/kinsondorset/page12.phtml [
last accessed 10th October 2011 ]
http://www.thedorsetpage.com/history/Smugglers/Smugglers.htm [
last accessed 10th October 2011 ]
http://www.stmaryswestmoors.org.uk/parish_history.htm [
last accessed 15th December 2011: this latter a particularly useful source with
a more detailed family tree]
http://www.archive.org/stream/burmaunderbritis01nisb/burmaunderbritis01nisb_djvu.txt
[ last accessed 14th December 2011 ]
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:The_Indian_Biographical_Dictionary.djvu/191 [
accessed 14th August 2011 ]
http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/simplesearchsummarycat.php?mode=q&FrontisKeyword=Fryer&FormsButton1=Go&s=1
[ accessed 14th August 2011 ]
http://tinyurl.com/3stdvzj [
accessed 14th August 2011 ]
http://tinyurl.com/4xd4quw [
accessed 14th August 2011 ]
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-lpj6_623-711&cid=-1#-1
[ accessed 14th August 2011 ]
http://www.archive.org/stream/finalreportonfi00fryegoog#page/n41/mode/1up [
accessed 14th August 2011 ]
[ Last entry: 21 DEC 2011 ]