THE FROGGATTS OF BREWHOUSE YARD:

William Froggatt (1807 – 1866)

William was born 16 September 1807 at Brewhouse Yard to James FROGGATT and Mary LOWE and baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas on 16 October 1807. William married Elizabeth BOWLER at Nottingham St Peter on 24 July 1832

                  

James FROGGATT======v======Mary LOWE     Joseph BOWLER=====v=====Rebecca MILWARD

  1770-1824       m:1801   1774-1848      1748-1834      m:1795     1768-1856

                    |                                      |

              William FROGGATT===========v===========Elizabeth BOWLER 

                1807-1866              m:1832          1802-1883

                                         |

                |------------|-----------|-------------|---------|-----------|-------------------|

              Mary         Anne       William      Elizabeth    Sarah       Joseph             James  

            1833-1873    1835-1866   1837-1881     1840-1863  1842-1865   1845-1917          1848-1868

                |            |           |             |          |           |---------|        |  

              m:1854       m:1856      m:1867                               m:1867   m2:1889 

              William      Henry       Sarah                              Elizabeth    Mary

              CLARK       CANTELO    GOODLIFFE                             POUNDS    FLEWITT 
            1830-1899    1828-1912   1837-1881                            1841-1888 1854-1940
                |            |           |                                    |         |
           6 children   3 children  6 children                           4 children 2 children

baptism of William FROGGATT at Nottingham St Nicholas, 1807.

Marriage for William FROGGATT to Elizabeth BOWLER at Nottingham St Peter, 1832. Note the witness was James BOWLER, presumably Elizabeth's brother, who had married at St Peter a few days earler. (Click on marriage image to see full page).

William still resided at Brewhouse Yard at the time of marriage but probably left soon after as his first child, Ann, was born in Edward St in 1833. He was still at Edward St in 1841:

1841 census for William Froggatt and family at Edward St, Nottingham.

Edward St is adjacent to Brewhouse Yard, just across Castle St to the east.

William and Elizabeth had 7 children, The first three were born at Edward St and baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas. The later four do not appear in baptism records; they were probably baptised in a non-conformist church but there is no available record of this.

Baptism for Mary FROGGATT at Nottingham St Nicholas

Baptism for Anne FROGGATT at Nottingham St Nicholas

Baptism for William FROGGATT at Nottingham St Nicholas

After marriage in 1832 William's career as a timber merchant appears to have flourished. It can be traced from directories and census information. He began as a salesman for J&H Youle Timber Merchants on Castle Wharf, along with a Joseph MARRIOTT. Later he took over the Youle business and formed a partnership with Joseph Marriott and John Woodward.

1851 Census: Castle Wharf - below the Castle

1861: Standard Hill - above the Castle

By 1864 the family had moved into a house in the fashionable area of Lenton Road, The Park Estate. By comparing information in Wright’s 1864 Street Directory with the 1881 Census, I have deduced that William Froggatt lived at 8 Lenton Road, a corner property adjacent to Holles Crescent.

Two views of 8 Lenton Rd, The Park, Nottingham; residence of William Froggatt and family - 1862-1866. Click on photo for enlargement

(More information about The Park Estate and maps of The Park are here)

William was in a successful partnership with John Woodward and Joseph Marriott. This partnership was dissolved on 27 April 1864. No reason was given.

The London Gazette of April 29 1864

William FROGGATT ran a successful timber business. At some point in time he moved from Castle Wharf, where JH Youle had been established to a new timber yard at Queen's Bridge. Newspaper advertisements tell us this was a wharf and sheds located adjacent to the Midland Railway goods shed. There were several timber yards in this area, but few of them have a wharf as well.

Nottingham map of 1899. The Nottingham Canal runs just to the north of the MR Goods Shed. William's timber yard may have been on the north of the canal. The yards to the south of the goods shed do not have canal access.

Death of William FROGGATT

William FROGGATT died 5 May 1866 and is buried in Nottingham General Cemetery, plot 8731, to the right of the main gate. Also recorded on the headstone are his wife Elizabeth (1883) and their children Elizabeth (1863), Sarah (1865) and James (1868). Only William and daughter Sarah are actually in this plot. The others are in an adjacent plot, 8720.

Death registration for William Froggatt. Cause of death was Chronic Bronchitis and Disease of the Lungs (which may have been TB).Informant was Henry CANTELO, William's son-in-law.

Burial record for William Froggatt at Nottingham General Cemetery, plot 8731

William's great-grandson at the grave of William Froggatt and family in Nottingham General Cemetery.

William's Will

William's Will was proved in Nottingham on 7 August 1866. This appointed his oldest son William and their lawyer John Rogers BROWNE as his trustees. They began to settle the estate by advertising the lease on Queen's Bridge Wharf, the sale of timber and the sale of the business itself.

The Will of Wiliam FROGGATT runs to 6 pages and can be viewed here in PDF. It was signed and witnessed on 12 March 1866. The Will is reasonably straightforward. William appointed his son William (the younger) and John Rogers BROWNE (of Freeth, Browne and Rawson) as trustees and executors. The estate was valued at no more than £12,000 (about £1 million in 2021). It left:

• £150 (£13,000 in 2021) immediately to William's wife Elizabeth for her sole benefit;
• It places £1200 (£100,000) to be invested, the income to be paid to Elizabeth for the maintenance of herself and any children living at home, with the remained to be invested;
• When Elizabeth died the estate is to be divided into 5 equal parts:
• (i) to son William FROGGATT the younger, or his heirs;
• (ii) to son Joseph FROGGATT or his heirs;
• (iii) to son James FROGGATT if he attains the age of 21 years
• (iv) to daughter Mary (CLARK) or her children, or if no children then to her extant siblings;
• (v) to daughter Ann (CANTELO) or her children, or if no children then to her extant siblings;
• John BROWNE, at his descretion, is to allow William the younger to attend to all matters, assisted by Joseph and James, with William to be paid £200, Joseph £50 and James £40 for their work.

So how did the Will play out?

• Firstly, William's youngest son James died on 15 Feb 1868 aged 20 years and 4 days and unmarried, so his fifth share was to be apportioned amongst his four siblings.
• Second, assuming the trustees invested the £1200 it would have received between 2% and 10%, averaging 4% (Bank of England rates at this time) so would have generated between £2,000 and £12,000 per year for Elizabeth the widow.
• Assuming the remainder of the estate was cashed up and this brought in the expected value, it may have provided about £8,000 after debts and other costs. If invested it may have provided an income to the trust of about £320 (£27,000 today) per year.
• Next, William the younger married Sarah GOODLIFFE on 11 April 1867 and moved from Lenton Rd The Park to a large property in Sandiacre soon after (The Elms on Derby Rd). He bought the property freehold so we can assume he had received some money from his father's estate by this time. He was due for a payment of £500 to administer the estate. (He may also have had a useful dowry from Arnold GOODLIFFE his father-in-law).
• The senior trustee John Rogers BROWNE, the solicitor in Nottingham, died on 28 October 1870. We can assume another from his law practice took over this role as provided in the Will, but it left William to manage the estate with help from his brother Joseph.
• Daughter Mary (married to William CLARK) died in late 1868. She had 5 children still living at this time.
• William the younger died at Sandiacre on 9 July 1881, leaving three children alive.
• Elizabeth the widow died 4 April 1883. Only her son Joseph outlived her.
• Joseph was the only one left as a trustee to oversee the winding up of the estate, assuming the estate was not finally distributed until after Elizabeth's death. There might have been £6,000 available to be divided amongst the four eligible siblings.

Elizabeth FROGGATT (nee BOWLER) lived on in Nottingham. By 1871 Elizabeth was living at 30 Rye Hill Cottages, The Meadows, widow, timber merchant's widow. She had a servant, Mary TOMLINSON, aged 13. In 1881 she had a boarder, Mary Whitley aged 61, a laundress.

1871 census for Elizabeth FROGGATT at 30 Rye Hill Cottages.

1881 census.

The Rye Hill Cottages were part of The Meadows, south of the river. This area became run down and was cleared in the late 1970s.

Rye Hilll Cottages, 1973, just before demolition.

Death of Elizabeth FROGGATT

Elizabeth died 4 April 1883 at 30 Rye Hill Cottages. She is buried at Nottingham General Cemetery with William Froggatt her husband. The monument over the grave records William and Elizabeth and three of their children: Elizabeth, Sarah and James. Elizabeth and William had seven children but Elizabeth outlived them all except her son Joseph the Poor Rates Collector. The dates on the monument indicate that son Joseph arranged for the memorial to be erected. He would have paid for it from William's estate.

Death registration for Elizabeth FROGGATT. Cause of death was Pneumonia. Informant was her son Joseph.

The Children of William and Elizabeth FROGGATT

Mary FROGGATT 1833-1868

Mary was born in 1833 in Edward St, Nottingham and baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas on 11 August 1833. She was recorded in the 1841 and 1851 censuses at Edward St. She married William CLARK, a timber merchant in mid-1854. They had 6 children before Mary died in November 1868.

There is more about Mary and her family here

Anne FROGGATT 1835-1866

Anne was born in 1835 in Edward St, Nottingham and baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas on 18 June 1835. She was recorded in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. She married Henry CANTELO, a silk manufacturer in mid-1856. They had 3 children before Anne died in July 1866.

There is more about Anne and her family here

William FROGGATT 1837-1881

William was born in 1837 in Edward St, Nottingham and baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas on 5 April 1837. He was recorded in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses with the family. He married Sarah GOODLIFFE, the girl across the road, on 11 April 1867 at the Derby Rd Baptist Chapel. William and Sarah moved to Sandiacre near Derby and established a timber business there. They had 6 children, 3 of whom died in infancy, before William died on 9 July 1881.

There is more about William and his family here

Elizabeth FROGGATT 1840-1863

Elizabeth was born in 1840 in Edward St, Nottingham but there is no record of her baptism. He was recorded in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses with the family. She died on 3 March 1863 and was buried 9 March 1863 in Nottingham General Cemetery, plot 8720.

Sarah FROGGATT 1842-1865

Sarah was born in 1842, probably in Edward St, Nottingham. She was recorded in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses with the family. She died in Nottingham on 3 Februay 1865 and was buried on 8 February 1865 in Nottingham General Cemetery, plot 8731.

Joseph FROGGATT 1845-1917

Joseph was born in 1845 in Nottingham. He was recorded in the 1851 and 1861 censuses with the family. He married Elizabeth Jane POUNDS, on 2 July 1867 at Nottingham Holy Trinity. They had 4 children before Elizabeth died on 2 January 1888.

There is more about Joseph and his family here

James FROGGATT 1848-1868

James was born in 1848 at Castle Wharf, Nottingham. He was recorded in the 1851 and 1861 censuses with the family. He died in Nottingham on 11 Februay 1868 and was buried on 15 February 1868 in Nottingham General Cemetery, plot 8720.

Back to Froggatt Family History

Last updated: 9 October 2023