Edward Wilkinson was born in 1761 or 1762, the son of John Wilkinson and Ann Denison, the sister of William and Robert Denison. He inherited the Potterton property on the death of his uncle Robert Denison in 1785. On 17 July of the following year he married in Woodford, Essex, Ann Pearce, the second daughter of Nicholas Pearce esq. of Woodford. On 28 October 1789, their son John Edward Wilkinson was born.
Along with several other prominent landowners of the time, Edward Wilkinson sponsored the Barwick Enclosure Act of 1796, which destroyed the last vestiges of open field agriculture in Barwick township. 601 acres of open field, 1934 acres of commons and wastes, and 28 acres of ings were enclosed and re-allocated, mainly to those owning land in the open fields, who could expect to gain several times more land than their original holding.
The subsequent Enclosure Award was published in 1804, but there is evidence to suggest that the re-allocation of land had occurred a year or two before this date. Edward Wilkinson was awarded a total area of 193 acres 2 rods18 perches in Potterton. This comprised:
| a | r | p | ||||
| 9 allotments of land from Church Field, Little Field, Upper Field and Poor Law land with a total area of | 125 | 0 | 13 | |||
| 6 allotments from the Common with a total area of | 55 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 1 allotment in Potterton Ings with an area of | 11 | 3 | 36 | |||
| 4 small encroachments with a total area of | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Edward Wilkinson acquired more land in the area at that time. Rector Colman in 'The History of the Parish of Barwick-in-Elmet' includes the following item:
| 1. | A Mansion House, garden, pleasure grounds, a round house, etc, in 9a. 2r. 18p. of land with a total annual value of £70.0.0. This is set in land with a total area of 303a. 1r. 22p. and an annual value of £373.11s.11d. The land appears to be mainly grass and woodland and includes a farm and barn with a stable, outbuildings and two orchards, also some old buildings. |
| 2. | A house, barn, orchard and land with an area of 238a. 2r. 11p. The tenant was John Hunter. |
| 3. | The Fox Inn with farm house and outhouse, etc. and 30a. 0r. 4p. of land. The tenant was Thomas Carr. |
| 4. | A house and yard with 168a. 3r. 11p. of land. The tenant was Aaron Parker. |
| 5. | A house & close with 118a. 1r. 1p. of land. The tenant was William Burnhill. This was Woodhouse Farm |
| 6. | A house with yard, orchard and garden, and 220a. 2r. 20p. of land. The tenant was James Aveyards. |
| 7. | 5 small holdings rented to John Darley, John Harrison, William Gough, John Gough (gardener) and William Richardson (shoemaker) with a total area of 25a. 3r. 21p. |
| 8. | 9 cottages rented to John Wood, Joseph Sparling, William Bramley (labourer), Thomas Thornton. Thomas Balk, Thomas Hudson (labourer), Peter Amforth and the remaining two cottages were empty. |
There is no mention of the tanyard in the 1803 Rate Book. It is not known when the tanyard ceased to operate. Rector Colman, writing in his History of Barwick-in-Elmet, dated 1908, states: "The tan pits have altogether disappeared but some portion of the buildings remain and the site is included in the grounds of the hall". Whenever the closure occurred the local inhabitants are more likely to have appreciated the noticeable freshness of the air in that otherwise idyllic setting. In addition to this reorganisation of land holding and ownership, there were changes at Edward Wilkinson's house. According to the listed buildings information, the South and East wings of what is now Potterton Hall were built about 1800. These parts are listed Grade II. The 1803 Rate Book calls the house a 'mansion', which seems a suitable description of the extended building. The house was still referred to as Potterton Lodge for many years after the extension as there was a monument in the churchyard to John Swailes, who died 14 April 1831, aged 39, and is described as "servant for 20 years to Edward Wilkinson of Potterton Lodge".
It seems likely that the grounds of the house were extended following this reorganisation to form the present Potterton Park. The 1804 Enclosure Award created Potterton Ings Lane, now called Miry Lane. This replaced the old cart road shown on the plan of Potterton tanyard (see 'The Barwicker' no.38) as the access road to the land to the south of the park. It would then be possible to extend the private grounds about two hundred yards to the west, from the wall and gates shown on the above-mentioned plan to their present limits at the Lodge. We have no records concerning the landscaping and tree planting that must have been carried out after this extension.
The gate piers, quadrant walls and railings near the lodge at the entrance to Potterton park together represent a listed building, specified Grade II by English Heritage. They date the gate piers mid 18th century and the walls mid 19th. centruy.
This description leaves the date of the erection of the present gateway something of a puzzle. The mid-C18 gate piers were not in their present position in the 1770s, the plan in Part 3 showing that this was agricultural land at that time. The sketch of the tanyard area dating from about the same time shows a wall and gate piers much nearer to the Hall. Could these be the mid-C18 century piers which were moved to their present position with a newly constructed wall in the mid-C19? We do not as yet know the answer.
The baptisms and burials registers for Barwick record the names and occupations of some of the men of Potterton during the decade 1800-1809. Apart for those already mentioned, they are Francis Wilkinson and Thomas Sotheron (farmers), John Thompson, Jeramiah Maude and John Jakeman (labourers), John Thompson (shepherd) and Thomas Roebuck (no occupation given).
Edward Wilkinson seems to have played a full part in the affairs of Barwick township and parish. Along with others in 1809/10, he donated £15.10s.0d. to the Potterton Bridge account, presumably for renovation or repair.
In 1821, the Rector of Barwick, William Hiley Bathurst, had the schoolroom altered and rebuilt at a cost of £119.11s.11d., which he bore himself except for £10 given by Edward Wilkinson.
In September 1831, Edward Wilkinson was appointed Surveyor of the Highways for Potterton, others acting for Barwick, Barnbow, Scholes and Morwick.
Edward Wilkinson died on 16 July 1836 aged 74 years. There is a tablet in his memory on the south wall of the chancel in the parish church. He was succeeded by his only child, John Edward Wilkinson, who was born in 1789. He married Catherine, the eldest daughter of Robert Bathurst and niece of Bishop Bathurst of Norwich. She was born in Bengal, India, in 1797/8. Colman gives the date of the marriage as 1813 but this is likely to be a mistake as Catherine would be only 16 at the oldest. Could the year of the marriage have been ten years later in 1823? A daughter Maria Ann was born in 1827/8 and a son Bathurst Edward on 19 July 1834, both births occurring in Bengal, so the family had a lengthy stay in India.
The 1841 census enumeration forms are now very difficult to read in parts making it impossible to draw a complete picture of Potterton at that time. However the entry for the dwelling still called Potterton Lodge shows that no member of the Wilkinson family was in residence on the day of the census. The house was occupied by two male and four female servants.
Ann, the widow of Edward Wilkinson died 26 October 1846, aged 78 years. Her death is recorded on the previously noted tablet on the south wall of the chancel of the parish church. John Edward Wilkinson did not long survive his parents, dying at Scarborough on 14 August 1850 aged 60. His death is recorded on another tablet on the south wall of the chancel. The heir to the property, his only son Bathurst Edward Wilkinson was then aged only 16.
The 1851 census gives us a comprehensive picture of Potterton at the time. There were 11 dwellings with 77 inhabitants in the hamlet which, in accordance with the entries in the census forms, included Syke House but not houses on Kiddal Lane. Dominating the picture was the dwelling which by then had become known as Potterton Hall The head of the household was Catherine Wilkinson, the widow of John Edward Wilkinson. She was aged 53 and was described as a landed proprietor occupying 70 acres and employing 7 labourers. Her daughter Maria Ann, aged 23, was also living there.
Also resident in the Hall were an elderly female visitor and eight unmarried female servants: a housekeeper (unusually born at sea!), a ladies maid, two housemaids, a cook, a laundress, a scullery maid and a kitchen maid. Completing the household staff were three male servants: a butler, a footman and a groom. None of the servants was born in Barwick but they were from many parts of the country.
Living in their own houses in Potterton were other employees of the Wilkinson family:
Most of the other residents of Potterton were substantial householders and employers of men and women. They were:
Apart from the servants described above no female occupations were stated.
| a | r | p | £ | s | d | |
| Potterton Hall, green house, stables, sheds, gas-house, vineries, gardens and pleasure grounds. (Frank Wormald esq.). | 11 | 1 | 39 | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| Potterton Hall grassland. | 18 | 1 | 34 | 26 | 8 | 1 |
| Potterton Hall willow garths, plantations and woods (In hand Bathhurst Edward Wilkinson) | 95 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Potterton Lodge and garden (Henry Gough), one cottage (Thomas Birch), one cottage (empty),coachman's cottage (occupant not given) | 0 | 0 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| Potterton Grange Farm (Wm Mouncey) | 231 | 0 | 17 | 221 | 5 | 4 |
| Brickpond Farm (Sarah and Joshua Hartley) | 103 | 0 | 23 | 113 | 1 | 9 |
| Kiddal Hall Farm (Robert Coward) | 186 | 1 | 3 | 173 | 3 | |
| Woodhouse Farm (John Greenwood) | 124 | 0 | 7 | 110 | 4 | 0 |
| Kiddal Lane Farm (John Hartley) | 66 | 1 | 3 | 54 | 13 | 5 |
| Fox and Grapes Inn and Farm (John Swales) | 209 | 0 | 6 | 200 | 11 | 11 |
| Barhouse Farm (Henry Pullan) | 35 | 3 | 36 | 38 | 7 | 3 |
| Cottage, blacksmith's shop and land at Morgan Cross. (John Collett) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Stable, cowhouse, yard and Manor Garth (Henry Gough) | 5 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| House, joiner's shop and land at Potterton (Francis Pullan) | 2 | 3 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
| House and garden (William Ward) . | 0 | 0 | 27 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| Cottages (Anne Haste, John Jakeman, James Pawson, William Pullan, Charles Theakstone). Totals | 0 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 0 |
| Pastureland (Sarah, Joshua and John Hartley) | 19 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 19 | 1 |
| Land at Black Fen (Charles King) | 5 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 0 |
Catherine Wilkinson, the widow of John Edward Wilkinson, died 28 December 1856 aged 59 and her death is recorded on the tablet in the chancel of Barwick Church already described. On the north wall of the lady chapel there is a stained glass window "erected to the memory of John Edward Wilkinson and Catherine his wife by their affectionate children Bathurst Edward and Maria Ann Wilkinson".
Bathurst Edward Wilkinson, the son of John Edward and Catherine Wilkinson was aged 22 on his mother's death. He had served in the 4th. Dragoon Guards including the whole of the period of the Crimean War, 1854-5. In 1858, he married Jane Annie, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Brearey, and their eldest child Bathurst George Wilkinson was born on 20 August 1859. They had five more sons and three daughters.
The census returns for 1861 show that the number of dwellings in the hamlet had been reduced to 9 but the inhabitants now totalled 83. Part of this increase can be attributed to the crowded nature of Potterton Grange Farm where William and Mary Mouncey lived with their fifteen children aged from 18 years to 7 months.
Potterton Hall too had numerous residents. The Wilkinson family was not living there at the time and the tenant was Frank Wormald, born in Pentonville, Middlesex, and described as a Justice of the Peace for the West Riding. His wife, daughter, two nieces and two nephews, (all four being visitors from Islington, Middlesex), complete the family.
Also in residence were two male servants; a butler and a footman, and six female servants: a housekeeper, a lady's maid, two housemaids and two kitchen maids. A visiting seamstress completes the household. Apart from the residents of the Hall, the nature of the hamlet remained broadly the same as in 1851.
Although not in residence the Wilkinsons were still the dominant landowners in the area and the extent of their estates in Potterton, Kiddal and Woodhouse is revealed in the Barwick Rate Book for 1861. The list above describes their properties, gives the tenants, the acreage of the land and the gross estimated rental.
It is interesting to note the presence at this time in Potterton of some family businesses which served the Barwick area through several generations - Goughs (gardeners), Colletts (blacksmiths), Richardson (boot and shoemakers), Pullans (joiners and wheelwrights). and Hartleys (innkeepers and joiners).
We hope to trace in future articles the history of the individual farms in Potterton, Kiddal and Woodhouse, belonging to the Wilkinson family and to other landlords. In the remainder of this series of articles, we shall be concentrating on life in Potterton Hall.
The census returns for 1871 show that the number of dwellings in the section marked 'Potterton hamlet, Hall and cottages' had risen to 12 but the inhabitants now numbered only 60. The reason for the decline rests on two households. Living at Potterton Grange Farm, there were now only ten members of the Mouncey family. At the Hall, the tenant and his family were not in residence. This was likely to have been Frank Wormald, (the tenant in 1861), as Kelly's Directory for 1867 records him as residing there. Living at the Hall were two male servants: a butler and a footman, and four female servants: a housekeeper, a housemaid, and two kitchen maids. During the absence of the Wilkinson family, William Ward acted as their agent.
It is likely that the Wilkinson family returned to the Hall in the mid-1870s as the two youngest children were born there. On 13 November 1876, John Edward and Catherine Wilkinson's only daughter Maria Ann, who had married Colonel O G Langley, died. There is a window in the lady chapel of the parish church erected to her memory by her brother Bathurst Edward Wilkinson.
At the census of 1881, there were 13 dwellings and 71 inhabitants of Potterton. Bathurst Edward Wilkinson, described as a farmer and Justice of the Peace, was in residence at the Hall with his wife Jane Annie and eight of their nine children (the third son Caryl Charles was elsewhere). Bathurst Edward Wilkinson was for some years the Chairman of the Skyrack Division of the West Riding Bench of Justices and was described as playing a prominent part generally in the affairs of the West Riding.
From the birth places of the Wilkinson children given here and in other records, we can see something of the family's past places of residence, or at least those of the mother Mrs Jane Annie Wilkinson. The children are
Also living at the Hall were two male servants: a footman and a groom, and six female servants: a governess, a head nurse, an under nurse, an upper housemaid, a lower housemaid and a kitchen maid.
At the time of the census in 1891, most of the the Wilkinson family were in residence at the Hall. Bathurst Edward and Jane Annie Wilkinson had seven of their nine children living with them. Bathurst George and Allen Henry were elsewhere, the former at a theological college in Canada. Other members of the family present include John's wife, Millicent, and Caryl Charles' wife Sarah Elizabeth and daughter Eva, who was born in California, USA.
In view of the family's foreign connections it is no surprise to find that they were accompanied as governess by Fräulein Emma Hummel, who was born in Göttingen, Germany. Also living in the hall at that time were two male servants: a footman and a groom, and six female servants: a cook, a ladies' maid, a housemaid, a nurse, an under housemaid and a kitchen maid. A full house!
In about 1893, Bathurst Edward Wilkinson left Potterton to spend the remainder of his life in the south of England. The family retained the ownership of the Potterton estate for a couple more decades. The Hall was rented out to tenants and the family never resided there again.