The Hoyland Inheritence

On 23rd February 2009, I published an article on my blog entitled "Three Generations of Brush Manufacturers". The business was started in Sheffield by Jonathon Hoyland (1797 - 1867) around 1816 according to an obituary of his son. But that would make him eighteen or nineteen years old, so he started very young. We do know, according to White's Directory of 1857, he listed as "Jonathon Hoyland, bristle merchant, 53 Queen Street and Adelaide Place". The business was known as The Queen's Brushworks.

When Jonathon died in 1867, it is likely that all his three sons carried on the business. In the 1861 Census, his sons Walter (28) and Arthur (20) and both living at Jonathon's home in Adelaide Place and their occupations are given as brush manufacturers. In the same Census, son Charles (31) was boarding with the Dickerson family in West Derby, Lancashire and his occupation was given as brush manufacturer.

I have no knowledge of what happened to Walter and Arthur, but we do know that Charles built up the business to become quite wealthy. By 1881 he and his family were living in at a smart address in Heeley. The Charles White Directory of 1857 lists "Charles Hoyland, Brush Manufacturer of Victoria Road". Charles died on 23rd June 1905. His obituary was published in The Independent newspaper on 26th June 1905. It said his business was an extensive one. He also did a considerable amount of philanthropic work. His son Charles had taken over the management of the business.

The value of the estate left by Charles Senior was over £44,000, which would be worth in today's terms over £3.6 Million. But this does not take into account the worth of the business which had previously been sold to Charles Junior for £4,000 on a promissory note that was cancelled in the Will. The Will is quite extensive and mostly provides for a Trust to be held for the children, Charles Junior, and daughters Kate, Isobel and Hannah. Charles Senior's wife Hannah died in 1909. I do not have her will, but presume that her wealth was added to the Trust for the children, or divided between the four.

What we do know is that children Kate and Isobel (my father's great aunts) (and presumably Hannah who was married to the artist Fred Mayor) never married but lived comfortably without working for the rest of their long lives. So how did Charles Junior (Charles Haywood Hoyland to give him his full name) get on with the business? This is where things get very interesting, though not at all clear.

Charles H Hoyland started buying property/land on Busheywood Road in Dore. Here I am very grateful to Holly Smart who has found a substantial amount of documents relating to this property. The first of these is a lease to his wife, Louisa Maria Hoyland (ne Brooks) on 19th December 1908 for Plot No 5 Busheywood Road for two properties which have been more recently numbered 14 and 16. There was also land to the north-west leased by Charles to his wife (possibly where 18 and 20 now stand) and land to the south-east "not yet demised" where now probably stands numbers 10 and 12.

What is certain is that the 1911 Census shows Charles H Hoyland living at a house on Busheywood Road with his wife, youngest daughter Edith ( my grandmother and aged 19) two nurses, a servant and Charles' sister Isabel. Charles' daughter Kate had moved to Wimbledon according to the same Census, and living off "Private Means" with one servant. Visiting were two nephews and a niece as well as a friend who was a widow.

In 1913 Louisa Hoyland mortgaged her property with the Huddersfield Equitable for £752, so perhaps the needed the money. That document also now  shows that Charles has moved to Thornfield on Totley Brook Road. But Edith was still living in one of the Busheywood Road properties ("Baulby") in 1917 where my father was born.

But what about the brush manufacturing business? I guess that it started to struggle, maybe Charles did not have the head for business as dis his father. In 1924 there was a problem with an inspection of the Brushworks by the Brush and Broom Trade. Then comes more crucial documents found by Holly Smart. We know from a later mortgage that the first mortgage on the Brushworks took place in 1925 for the sum of £600. Then there is a SECOND mortgage in 1928 of the premises of The Queens Brushworks and other property bought by Charles namely 14, 16 and 18 West Bar Green, 30 and 40 Lambert Street and 1,2,3,4 and 5 Lambert Place all in Sheffield for £4,000. Strangely, both mortgages were with his sisters, Kate and Isobel Hoyland. So they had the capital to lend their brother.

There was also another mortgage in 1928 for leasehold land and two properties (14 and 16 again) on Busheywood Road. This time with Mrs E Willis.

But the most staggering document of all is the mortgage dated 20th December 1930 between Charles and his sisters. Here it refers to the previous mortgages that had obviously not been repaid by Charles as the new mortgage was established "in order to avoid legal proceedings being taken against him by the lenders for the recovery of the last mentioned sum". This time the mortgage is secured on a vast list of freehold and leasehold properties:

Freehold properties

First all those 10 messuages to dwelling houses situate in chemical yard totley in the county of derby known as "cliffe cottages" (2) "brook vale cottages"(2) "northeast cottages"(2) "ford cottage"(1) "Tranmere"(1) and "sheaf cottages"(2) 

Secondly all those 5 messuages or dwelling houses situate in victoria road totley aforesaid known as "woodbine villa" (1) "Narne villas" (2) and "holly mount" (2)
Thirdly all those 3 messuages or dwelling houses situate in the numbed 9 11 and 13 ruskin square albert road heeley in the city of sheffield
Fourthly all those 5 messuages or dwelling houses situate in the numbered 136 140 142 144 and 146 Totley brook road aforesaid
Fifthly all those 5 messuages or dwelling houses situate in and numbered 4 10 24 28 and 30 bushey wood road totley aforesaid
Sixthly all that garage (formerly used as a billiard room) situate on bushey wood road
Seventhly all that garden or land situate in bushey wood road aforesaid
Eighthly all those 5 messuages or dwelling houses situate in albert road heeley aforesaid four of which are known as numbers 268 270 272 and 274 and the other as "brookside"
Ninthy all that hut and land situate in and numbered 82 rangeley road in sheffield aforesaid
Tenthly all those nine dwelling houses situate in and numbered 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 and 24 Quarry hull fields wickersley in the county of york
11thly all that messuage or dwelling house situ are in and numbered 608 barnsley road in sheffield, aforesaid
12thly all that piece of land situate at hollinsend gleadless in sheffield aforesaid
13thly all that messages or dwelling house situate in and numbered 196 mount vale in the city of york together with the cottage stable croft and railway carriage
14thly all that messuage or dwelling house situate in and numbered 36 beers give in the city of nottingham.

Leasehouse properties

1st all those 2 messuages or dwelling houses situate in and numbered 28 and 30 bushey wood road totley aforesaid

2ndly all those 4 messuages or dwelling houses situate in and numbered 143 145  147 and 149 coleford road in sheffield aforesaid
3rdly all those 6 messuages or dwelling houses situ are in and numbered 6 8 10 and 12 and 1 and 2 in court 2 woodside land in sheffield aforesaid
4thly all that messuages to dwelling house situ are in and numbered 209 pits moor road in sheffield aforesaid

All the properties described int his schedule are subject to certain mortgages or charges and this collateral security is given subject to all such mortgages or charges existing at the date hereof entitled to priority hereto.

So now we know that Charles was far more interested in property development that he was the brushworks. It is my belief that by 1932 the brushworks had gone bust, possibly between 1928 and 1930. But what happened next is a mystery. Charles H Hoyland died in 1943, but his sisters lived on for many more years. Did they and Edith inherit all the above property? Certainly when my grandmother died there were many properties she owned (mostly leases?) that that were realised in dribs and drabs after she died. I could never locate the will of Charles H Hoyland, so perhaps one day this might reveal a lot more information. However, it has to be said that he inherited some great wealth that gradually was lost. But Gran (Edith) did leave me and her grandchildren £200 in her will and for that I will be eternally grateful. It bought my first car, that impressive red Triumph Herald Convertible. If it wasn't for that car, maybe my children would not exist.