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March 2007
This site contains no information provided by Tony Skarratt, who has asked for all data supplied by him to be removed. I regret this as it provided help to me originally and would have still been useful to other researchers.
This is a family that has a lot of information available about it and is the subject of some very interesting events.
The family lived in London up to 1780's, when they moved to Kington,
Hereford with Carelton Skarratt and his family.
He set up as a clockmaker in the town, he was apprenticed in London
to Jane Saxby in 1768 so he was probably continuing his trade from London.
Skarratt family from 1700 to 1900. basically the Kington era.
LISTINGS IN DIRECTORIES
Directory of Herefordshire for 1858 by Edward Casey
& Co:
page 169. Skarratt T.C., High, St Kington. (under Linen
& Woolen Drapers)
Littlebury's Postal & Commercial Directory of Kington,
1867:
page 310. Skarratt, Thomas Carleton, Silk Mercer, Clothing.
High St
page 311. Skarratt, Mrs. Elizabeth, Fancy repositories, Jeweler. High St.
page 307. Skarratt, William Carleton, Draper's Asst.
Church St.
page 300. Skarratt. T.C. Kington . Commissioners under
local board.
Kelly's 1900:
page 116 Private residence, Skarratt T.C. 11 High
St.
E.R.Kelly Post Office Directory 1870
page 342. Skarratt. Henry. Watchmaker & Toy Dealer.
High St.
page 342. Skarratt. T.C. Draper
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| 10 HIGH STREET, Kington.
Thomas Carleton Skarratt (Author of the Diaries) lived in No.11 and ran his drapers business from No.10 from c1858 to c1876 |
45 HIGH STREET, Kington
The watch & clock business of Thomas Carleton Skarratt and later in 1859 Elizabeth Skarratt wasl here. Also Henry Skarratt her son was listed up to at least 1871 |
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Old Radnor Church in Powys. Wales. about
4 miles from Kington in Herefordshire. England, is famous for its organ case, medieval screen, stained glass, and large font. The church is set in a commanding position looking out over beautiful countryside, if I was to be buried anywhere, this would be the place I would choose... ...
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CARLETON SKARRATT
He had three daughters and one son, his son Thomas Carleton 1776 -
1838, followed his father into the profession in Kington.
Thomas married Elizabeth ball in 1802 and they had 10 children all
born in Kington. see family tree. Three of the sons, Henry, Thomas and
Charles each pursued different careers and made their mark on the society
of the time.
Henry 1809 - 1888, continued the family clockmaking tradition in Hay-on-Wye and then Kington.
Thomas 1818 - 1909, was initially a linen draper in Kington, Author of the Diaries..
Charles 1824 - 1890, was a Hotelier, and some say he left to avoid debtors, and emigrated to Australia in1852.
Henry Carleton 1809 - 1888
Henry was the second son, born in Kington and the only one to become
a clockmaker amongst his brothers. He was probably trained by his father
and in 1835 he worked at a premises in 10, Castle Street, Hay-on-Wye. From
what I was told by the present owners, Henry did not own the shop as many
articles imply.
It would appear that when his father died in 1838 he returned to Kington
and assisted his mother in the shop at 45 High Street. When his mother
died in 1871, Henry who retired in 1870, moved to Ludlow., where he later
married Sarah Evans in 1874.
The business was taken over by T. J. Coleman. Henry lived at Gothic
Villa, Gravel Hill, Ludlow, where he died in 1888 One watch has come to
light in Australia would seem to confirm that Henry actually had a business
in Ludlow. A mantle clock made in Ludlow and a gold watch made by H.C.
Skarratt , Ludlow #55743. Henry also tuned pianos, led the town band and
managed the gas works. It would appear that Henry never put his name on his
watches but traded under the T.C. Skarratt name. There is one gold watch that
apparently is bearing his name though.
It was Henry who in January 1841, built what must have been a unique creation for the time, a gas clock. It was mounted on the outside of the shop and displayed the time not only in the daylight, but also at night! What Henry had done was to connect the local town gas supply to a clock mechanism to produce what is undoubtedly the only clock of its type ever built. There would be a pilot light by day, and at night the clock mechanism would turn a cam that operated the gas cock and raised the flame up to illuminate the clockface. How it actually worked in detail is not quite clear, but we have Mr. Barnston's idea on the operation. "He knew that a beveled gear wheel attached to an arbour through the clock plates to the motion wheel on the front of the movement was often used to operate the hands of a second subsidiary dial. He therefore adapted this principle by attaching a rectangular brass plate with a slot cut in each end. Behind this was a gas tap with a round lead counterweight. The clock is in the archives of Hereford museum, and having seen it, I can say it is not in good repair and it is not obvious how it works due to bits missing. The clock itself was in constant use as a public clock at the shop until 1920.
THE MAZEPPA COACH timetable for 1850's had a note on it reminding people that the departure time was London Time, and not by Skarratt's Clock local time. The coming of the railway in 1853 cost Herefordshire eleven minutes.
For the technically minded clock enthusiast this is the description
of the clock:-
It had a brass chapter ring 6½" Dia., which was used in a single
handed 34 hour movement, and fitted with a brass dial centre so that winding
hole could be positioned. The movement was a barrel from a long-case movement,
wound from the front of the dial to lift up the weight. hour and minute
hands were fitted and the anchor escapement released 16 inches long. Henry knew that a
beveled gear wheel attached to an arbour through the clock
plates to the motion wheel on the front of the movement was often used
to operate the hands of a second subsidiary dial. He therefore adapted the
principle by attaching a rectangular brass plate with a slot cut in each
end. Behind this he placed a gas tap fitted with a round lead weight on
one end and a narrow arm on the other to fit into the slot. The gas jet
was placed at about eight o'clock on the bottom LH side of the dial.
The case is 17" long, 7½ inches wide and 6 inches deep.
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| It can be seen how bad the condition is from this front view. The front panel has been removed. | RH side view showing barrel and string replacing original cat gut for weight suspension. |
Charles
Because of the discovery of gold at places like Ballarat, Charles opened a hostel for the miners, many of whom had come from the failed tin and copper mines in Cornwal. Walter Hall, who came out with Charles, married to Charles's sister Elizabeth, started a store supplying the daily necessities to miners and their families.
It was in Geelong that Charles married Mary "Nell" Ellen Wren from London, in 1854. They moved to Melbourne and then Sydney and by then had 13 children. From Kings Cross, Sydney, Charles moved to Rockhampton to the new goldfields and opened a very superior hotel. There was another whiff of aristocracy about the Royal Hotel in Sydney when Charles Carleton Skarratt bought it for £25,000 in 1872. Skarratt's wife was reputed to be a Countess in her own right. Skarratt made a pile through his association with the pioneers of the Mount Morgan gold field, and in 1882 he let the hotel to Thomas Asche, father of the celebrated Oscar of "Chu Chin Chow" fame. Asche senior, according to contemporary accounts spent most of his waking hours reclining in a chair beneath the umbrageous foliage of the potted plants in the lobby. Charles became very rich through his connection to his cousin, Walter Hall and the Mount Morgan Mining Company. There is a shady story here, basically the Hall's being the villains and Charles as a comparatively innocent participator. Walter Hall had managed to set up a company with two brothers called Morgan, who had scraped a living by farming until the gold was found. A mountain of gold virtually! Walter Hall astutely purchased any shares being sold in the company and managed to ease control away from the Morgans Charles was invited to buy a block for around £6000 and from this and the hotel profits he moved back to Sydney and built himself a large house at Summerfield in 1881. He named it Carleton, and today it serves as a children's home.
Walter Hall returned from Australia to Kington and tried to pay off
his benefactors from whom he had borrowed money to emigrate. But because
they had all died or moved away, Walter gave Kington the 13 acre Recreation
ground in 1888. The gates are dedicated to Walter Hall for his gift to
the people of Kington.
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The plaque on the gates in Kington recreation as described above.
"This Recreation ground was presented to the residents of Kington by Thomas Skarratt Hall 1888". |
Charles returned to England in 1881 and settled in London in style, with eight children. The daughters were sent to finishing schools in England and Paris and Sydney went to Monkton Combed School in Devon. Sydney went up to Cambridge, and in 1890 there was Carleton Fisher Skarratt of Worcester, a cousin of Thomas.
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| Thomas Carleton Skarratt, Vicar of Kemsing | |
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| Monumental brass to Thomas in St Mary's Church, Kemsing | Grave of Thomas in Kemsing, St Mary's Church grounds |
| Inscription reads:-
Thomas Carleton Skarratt vicar of Kemsing from 21st December 1889 who died 3rd September 1908 and is buried in the churchyard. during his vicariate the North Aisle was built and the church and screen restored. He adorned the Chancel. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and place where thine honour dwellith |
The location of this stone remained a mystery to me until recently. Thanks to Mike Browell & Ian Winterburn sending me information I now know the exact location and a little more about its history.
The location is Laund Clough. 165992 (approx), Up the Little Don Valley from Langsett.
The next problem is to work out who it was named for.
I was sent this information:
THE SKARRATT STONE During the last Bradfield boundary expedition (28th December 2002) a small group split from the main party to investigate Skarratts stone....we found the stone and needless to say questions were asked as to what it was? and who was Skarratt? An enquiry was made to one of our contacts in Peolstone Footpath Runner who's patch it is in, and a reply has been received from that well known Bob Graham enthusiast... Andy Plummer. The answer is in the form of a couple op letters reprinted from Peak & Pennine.
Who was Skarratt?
Does any reader have any information on the stone carved with "Skarratts Stone 1894" which I saw recently while walking on the way up Laund Clough on the Langsett Moors? It obviously commerates someone, but who and why?
Josie Wilson< Sheffield.
In response to Josie Wilson's request for information about Skarratts Stone in Laund Clough on the Langsett Moors in the last issue, the following details were taken from an article by G.H.B. Ward in the Clarion Ramblers Handbook for 1934-35.
"At the time the carving was made, the shooting rights over the western section of Langsett moors were owned by a Sheffield based firm of cutlers, Harrison & Harrison. Skarratt was either a partner in the firm, or had a financial interest in it, and the carving was done on the orders of Mr. George Howson.
Skarratt was a member of the shooting party from about 1887 to1897. He supposedly live in London and made his fortune from an earlier time spent in Australia, possibly gold mining. The shooting party would take lunch at the (then) shooters hut about 400 yards below the confluence pf the Loftshaw and Laund Clough streams. On the walk from the huts to the shooting buts near the head of Laund Clough, Skarratt made a practice of taking a ten-minute rest (and a toddy of whisky) at this stone.
According to Ward, one peculiarity of Skarratt was that when he was in a mist on the moors he showed palpable signs of fear.
John Milner, Sowerby Bridge near Halifax.
This answer seems quite comprehensive but if Skarratt was in the shooting party until 1897 why is the date on the stone 1894?
Richard Hakes
I will try to answer the points made in the above info. There are I believe two people who this could be applied to, William Carleton Skarratt and Charles Carleton Skarratt, two brothers who left Kington and went to Australia. Charles made his money in the Morgan gold mine (see above bio on Charles) . He obviously came back wealthy settling in London, being able to send his daughters to finishing schools in Paris and Sydney and his son to Cambridge.
I would like to Find out more about the firm of Harrison & Harrison, and if Skarratt was involved in some way. There is an earlier connection to a Harrison family, but this may be just coincidence.
.
Listing of Skarratt in Crockfords
SKARRATT, CARLETON FISHER. Adm. pens at Emmanuel, Apr. 17, 1890. S of John Martin Esq., of Vernon House, Lower Wick, near Worcester. B. 27 July 1871. Schools, Blasdell's, Tiverton, Worcester and Oakham. Migrated to Downing. Oct. 8, 1890. Matric. Michs. 1890. Went to America. (Blundell's Sch. Reg.; Oakham Sch. Reg.)
SKARRATT, CHARLES SYDNEY. Adm. at Trinity Hall, 1889. S of Charles Carleton, of Summer Hill, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, Matric. Michs. 1889. Brother of the next.
SKARRATT, THOMAS CARLETON. Adm. pens. (age 22) at Pembroke, Oct
1. 1870 {Eldest} s. of Charles Carleton, Esq. of Sydney, Australia. B in
Victoria. Matric. Michs. 1879. Migrated to Downing. Oct 19, 1882; B.A.
1884; M.A. 1889. Ord deacon (London 1886; priest, 1887; C. of Christ Church,
Paddington, 1886-9. V. of Kemsing, Kent, 1889-1908. Died Sept 3. 1908,
aged 50. Brother of the above. (Crockford; The Times, Sept 4, 1908.)
KEMSING church, Kent. St Mary the Virgin. |
Located in Kent just north of Sevenoaks is the small
village of Kemsing and its village church. The church was the parish of
Rev. T.C. Skarratt from 1889 -1908 and he was responsible
for improving the fabric of the church including the following windows:
T.C.Skarratt 1857-1908, Amy Carleton Skarratt 1866-1927, Charles Carleton Skarratt 1824-1900, Daisy Wren Skarratt 1877-1942, Emily Carleton Skarratt 1862-1923, Lucy Anne (Minnie) Skarratt 1863-1934, Violet Hall Skarratt 1877-1953. |
from "Sydney'S Highways of History" by Geoffrey Scott
W.R. Hall managed operations in New South Wales for several years; and his career, as described in Percival Serle's Dictionary of Australian Biography, was spectacular. Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, in 1831, and arrived in Sydney on 14 February 1852. After a spell on the Victorian goldfields, he became connected with Cobb & C0., first as an agent and late as a partner in Rutherford's syndicate. When gold was discovered at Mount Morgan in Queensland, Hall invested heavily in the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company and made a fortune of several millions. He retired from Cobb & Co. in 1885, and for some years before his death on 13 October 1911, he was a director of the Mount Morgan Company. His widow (Elizabeth R. Kirk) founded the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust with a gift of £1,000,000.
from The Lights of Cobb & Co. by K.A.Austin
*********************
"Australian Tom"
Since writing the article "An Australian Connection" for the summer
issue of 'The Well', more information about the Skarratt family has come
to light. We now know that there was once a linen draper who lived in the
small market town of Kington in Herefordshire. Being a draper he was one
of the first to hear of any deaths that occurred in the town, for he supplied
black crepe for hat bands and black ribbon for arm bands, or even bolts
of suitably dark material for making up mourning clothes. These deaths
were all recorded in his diary, often with comments on the manner of death
and the nature of the lost one. His diaries also a reveal a lively interest
in everything that went on in the town. Very keen on all manner of sporting
activities, he commented on the football and cricket matches between the
boys of Kington and the neighbouring towns and villages. He described
fishing trips made with his friends; skating outings with his daughter
when the severe winters of the 1880's froze the local ponds; and otter
hunting up and down the local rivers and brooks. His comments on
musical events are somewhat pithy, being inclined to describe the
effects of the town band or the church choir as producing plenty of noise
but not much music. The annual horticultural shows are dealt with lovingly,
giving full lists of prizes won by himself-and they were considerable in
number. Agricultural shows were always attended and market trends noted.
It is interesting to find the misdemeanors of the young were much the
same as they are today, such pranks as taking gates of hinges and leaving
them in other people's gardens being mentioned.
He was named Thomas Carleton Skarratt, after his father, and the main
purpose of the diaries was to keep the scattered members of his family
in touch with each other and with the events in their home town of Kington,
by posting copies of the diaries from one family to the next, from Kington
to Ludlow; to Wigan; Sydney or Melbourne, etc. Two of his younger brothers
were William and Charles. William was at first in partnership with him
in the draper's business, but later decided to emigrate to Australia to
join Charles, who had already gone there. With a neighbour Walter Hall,
who had borrowed money from his friends to enable him to get to Australia.
Charles had settled in Geelong by 1853, near the goldfields in Victoria.
Here he set up a "hotel" for miners and their families, while Walter opened
a "store". Both did well and in 1854 Charles married a London born girl
called Mary Ellen Wren. This couple (Charlie and Nell in the diaries) raised
a large family in Geelong, Melbourne and Sydney, thirteen in all, of whom
nine survived. Walter Hall married the diarist's elder sister, Elizabeth
(Liz), and both families prospered in the new country, moving from Geelong
to Melbourne and from there to Sydney, where eventually in 1881 a large
house was built for Charles, called "Carleton". (It is still there and
is now a large children's hospital at Summer Hill.)
In 1878 Charles and Walter had become shareholders in the Mount Morgan
Mining Company in New South Wales, and they were rich enough to make visits
to England. The diary entry for the 12th. of February, 1878 reads "A letter
to hand to Henry (another brother) and self in which he mentions the all but decision to send Tom to England". The "all-but" soon became definite, because
on the 23rd April came a letter from Tom (who was the eldest son of Charles
and Mary Ellen and was called Thomas Carleton Skarratt after his grandfather
and his uncle the diarist) to announce that he was in New York and would
leave for England on 18th April. On arrival Tom went to stay with his uncle
Henry in Ludlow on 5th May, and visited Kington a day or two later. A series
of visits to old friends and members of the family followed during the
next month or two, and on one occasion the diary records "24th October,
Australian Tom came by the 5.00pm. train to spend the night with us". The
next year Tom spent at Ludlow before going up to Cambridge. On 6th April,
1880 his uncle wrote "Australian Tom paid us a visit, just for the day,
prior to his resuming his studies at Cambridge".
In 1881 Charles decided to bring the rest of his family to England,
and they all, except for one daughter, duly arrived in Ludlow in June of
that year. The elder girls evidently went away to school, but the two youngest,
twins Violet and Daisy, stayed in Ludlow. In December 1881 it was recorded
that "Tom had passed his exam" in Cambridge. That was the last mention
of Tom until 1885 when he was said to be going to Australia for his health.
How long he stayed there is not known, but in 1886 he was a curate at Christ
Church, Lancaster Gate, and in 1889 Lord Saukville presented him to the
Living of Kemsing, where he died in 1908.
So the next time you walk through the chancel of St Mary's Church,
trying as always not to walk on the monumental brass that lies in the middle
of the floor, you will know that it was put there in memory of "Australian
Tom".
V.E. Bowden
The descendants of the above family members still live in Australia
====================================================================================
My thanks to Mr. Victor Bowden, Kemsing.
OTHER
Adverts
Kinston Commercial Prospectus 1879
|
T.C.SKARRATT |
|
Linen & Woolen Draper |
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Silk Mercer, Haberdasher, Hosier, &c., |
|
High Street Kington |
|
Plain & Fancy Straw bonnets & Hats of the newest shapes in great variety. |
|
FAMILY MOURNING AND FUNERALS COMPLETELY FURNISHED. |
| A well-assorted Stock of Gentleman's Clothing, of Good Material and Workmanship.Youths' and Boys' Suits. Waterproof Capes, Coats, &c. |
KINGTON Memories
APOSTLES FARM
On nthe 9th October 1885, the land was sold at the Oxford Arms in Kington. Thomas Skarratt, the highest bidder at £3,600. On the 12th October his daughter lent him £3,000.
It passed on from his daughter's son., John Carleton Ward on the 2nd March 1917 to Mr Price Weale.
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