Nott and Wright Family History: Ch:2- Philip Nott and Martha Jane Wright

PHILIP NOTT

Philip Nott

Philip Nott was born at “Trevarrick” farm, Gorran, Cornwall on 8 October 1839. The Nott family had lived at Trevarrick and Gorran for many generations. Trevarrick is on the Gorran High Lanes, near the village of Gorran Churchtown, and its sister village on the coast Gorran Haven. These villages are on the southern coast of Cornwall, near Mevagissey and St Austall, the closest large town being Truro

Map of Cornwall, and Gorran (A)

Map of Gorran, Gorran Haven, Trevarrick, and Gorran HighLanes

Map of Trevarrick Farm, Gorran

Trevarrick Farm

While another branch of the family worked the farm at Trevarrick, Philip’s father Joseph Nott, grandfather John Nott and great grandfather William Nott were carpenter/builders, a trade that Philip followed. The Nott family ancestry will be explored in detail in another chapter.

In the 1841 UK Census, Joseph and Elizabeth Nott were living at Trevarrick Farm with their two sons James aged 4 and Philip aged 2. There were five Nott families living at Trevarrick at the time, including Joseph's parents John and Mary Nott, and Joseph's brother Nicholas Nott and family, plus John Nott's younger brother Nicholas Nott who inexplicably inherited Trevarrick Farm from their father William Nott. By 1851 Joseph and Elizabeth and their growing family had moved to Gorran Churchtown.

In 1861 Philip was working as a carpenter at Cornwood in Devon, living with the Luscombe family. The son, James Luscombe and a John Osborne, both carpenters, also lived at the address. By 1870 he had moved to London and was working as a joiner.

Marriage

Philip Nott married Martha Jane Wright in the Kensington District, London, on 26th February 1870. They were married in the Methodist Chapel in Lancaster Road, Notting Hill, witnessed by Martha's father John Bee Wright, and Philip's sister Annie Nott who had also moved to London.

Martha Jane Wright

At the time of their marriage they were living in adjacent houses- Philip at No. 20 Appleford Road, Westbourne Park, Borough of Chelsea/Kensington, and Martha at No. 18 with her parents John Bee Wright, a Congregational Minister, and wife Martha Rowling, and three siblings.

Map- Appleford Road, Kensington/Chelsea, London

1886 map- Kelly's Directory Map of London

Appleford Road not named but under the word 'NEW' in Kensal New Town on left

MAPCO- London & Environs Maps and Views

http://mapco.net/london.htm )

c.1872 Map of Kensal NewTown

South Row joined Appleford Road in the right bottom corner, which shows this was a new development and must have been developed shortly after this map was drawn.

Several properties are shown on both sides of Appleford Road- notably the buildings on the southern side are not shown in the 1886 map above.

(MAPCO- London & Environs Maps and Views

http://mapco.net/london.htm )

Map c.1872

NB. Western Rail and The Harrow Road and Kensell Green (below 'To Chelsea' sign), Westbourne Manor House to the right of The Harrow Road sign, and Highgate top right (and Highgate Hill further east)

(Notably the Notts lived in Westbourne Street, Highgate Hill in Brisbane)

(MAPCO- Wyld's New Topographical Map of the country and the vicinity of London c.1872- this map appears to pre-date the map above)

Philip, at 30 years of age was ten years older than his new wife. Sometime between July and September that same year, the first of their many children was born- their first daughter, Flora Nott, was born in Chelsea/Kensington, London, in July- September 1870 (probably Kensal New Town where they were living in 1871 Census)

The Wrights were natives of Norfolk, and Martha Jane Wright was born 15 July 1849 in Norwich, Norfolk, the daughter of John Bee Wright of Aldeby, Norfolk and Martha Rowling of Norwich, Norfolk.
This very interesting family will be explored in detail in another chapter.

Map of Norfolk, showing Norwich and Aldeby

Philip Nott’s family in Cornwall

Philip was the second child of Joseph and Elizabeth Nott of Gorran.
Joseph, the son of John Nott and Mary Pearce of Gorran Churchtown, was born about March 1808 and baptized in Gorran on 10 February 1809, and died 20 October 1889 in Gorran. He married Elizabeth Searle on 27 July 1836 in the parish Church of Gorran. She was born 8 February 1811 in Landreath Cornwall, the daughter of John Searle, and died 23 February 1893 in Gorran. They lived in a cottage in the centre of Gorran named Brookvale. The house is still there today, but has been much extended and modernized.

Brookvale Cottage, Gorran

Joseph and Elizabeth Nott had eight of their nine children born every two years between 1837 and 1853, and their last child in 1866: James, Philip, Mary, Eliza, Sarah, Amelia, Elizabeth, Ann, and Susan.

Grand-daughter Ann Treneer, a teacher at Gorran School, wrote several books including the highly respected “School House in the Wind” about her life in Cornwall, which was made into a movie. In it she wrote:
“Grand’fer Nott, one of the Notts of Trevarrick, was something of a saint from all I have heard, but handsome with it. Granny Nott was a Searle; she was clever, with a biting tongue.”

All of their children were baptized in the High Lanes Wesleyan-Methodist Church at Trevarrick, as most of the Nott families were who lived in the Trevarrick area at the time.
The first baptismal records for the Gorran High Lanes Wesleyan-Methodist church began in 1837.
Joseph was a Wesleyan class-leader at Highlanes, Gorran for over forty years, which probably led to Philip’s meeting with John Bee Wright in London.

Record source- Parish of Gorran, Online Parish Clerk

http://www.cornwall-opc.org/Par_new/e_g/gorran.php

Joseph and his wife are recorded as buried in the same churchyard as several generations of his forefathers- St Gorran Church cemetery

St Gorran Church gravestone inscription:

In loving memory of Joseph Nott of this Parish

Who died October 20^th 1889 aged 80 years.

Also Elizabeth his wife

Who died February 23^rd 1893 aged 81 years

Part of St Gorran Church cemetery

Nott forebears in the front and rear

Gorran Churchtown and Gorran Haven

Gorran Churchtown is a very small village, the centre for the surrounding farms.

A narrow street through Gorran

St Gorran’s parish church (dedicated to St Gorran, or Goronus) stands on the site of a Norman-built church, some parts of which remain and are incorporated into the church which was built much later. The south aisle is late 14^th century, the tower was rebuilt in 1606 in place of a steeple which had fallen into decay, and the northern doorway is thought to be 13^th century.

St Gorran Church doorway (Nott graves to right of door)

St Gorran Church Tower

Philip’s father Joseph Nott (1808-1889), grandfather John Nott (1772-1852), great grandfather William Nott (1747-1825), great great grandfather Benjamin Nott (1713-1767), 3x great grandfather Joseph Nott Jnr (1686-1732) and 4x great grandfather Joseph Nott Snr (1665-1750) are all buried in this churchyard.

Gravestone of William and Florence Nott (on left)

Closer view of William and Florence Nott's grave

In the Memory of

WILLIAM NOTT

of this Parish who departed

this life on the 22nd .August 1825 Aged 78

Also in the Memory of

FLORENCE wife of William Nott

Who departed this life on

12th July 1816 Aged 70

As to the Non-Conformists, there were Wesleyan Methodist and Calvinist chapels at Gorran Haven, and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Gorran High Lanes.

Further detail on this Nott ancestry can be found in Chapter 10: Ancestry of the Nott family

GORRAN HAVEN

Further down the Gorran lanes is a quiet little fishing village protected by a groin, named Gorran Haven. There are references to its fishing practices as early as 1271. Here there is the small church of ‘St Just’ dating to the 15^th century and possibly resting on the footings of a very ancient building, which was only restored as a place of religious worship in the 19^th century after being used as a ‘fish cellar and net store’ for centuries.

Gorran Haven

Gorran Haven beach and groin

12 April 2013

Ch:2- Philip Nott and Martha Jane Wright