• Miscellaneous Information Home
• Transport In Somercotes
• Local Councils
• Featured Articles

 

1. FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EARLY LIFE OF FRANCIS WRIGHT
2. BUTTERLEY COMPANY’S MODEL VILLAGE
3. TIMELINE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRONVILLE MODEL VILLAGE
4. FRANCIS WRIGHT AND LENTON, NOTTINGHAM
5. FRANCIS WRIGHT AND OSMASTON-BY-ASHBOURNE
6. OSMASTON MANOR
7. THE DEATH OF FRANCIS WRIGHT
8. THE WILL OF FRANCIS WRIGHT
9. FRANCIS WRIGHT, PATRON AND BENEFACTOR
10. THE CHILDREN OF FRANCIS WRIGHT

 

FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EARLY LIFE OF FRANCIS WRIGHT

Francis Wright did not come from an aristocratic family but he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He came from a rich, privileged Nottingham family who made a fortune in trade and banking in the late eighteenth century. His great grandfather, Ichabod Wright (1700-1777), was a merchant and ironmonger who established a bank in Long Row, Nottingham in 1761. Along with his two sons John and Thomas he built up the business into a very successful and renowned bank. Francis’ father (Ichabod’s grandson), also named John Wright (1758-1840) inherited part of this banking empire as well as land in Nottinghamshire and family estates in Ripley, Hartshay and Riddings in Derbyshire which contained rich mineral deposits of iron ore and coal.

In 1790 while he was running the Wright’s banking business, John Wright entered into a business partnership with his future father-in-law, Francis Beresford (1737-1803) of Ashbourne, along with William Jessop (1745-1814) and Benjamin Outram (1764-1805). The industrial company that they formed was initially called “Benjamin Outram and Company” but in 1807 the name was changed to “The Butterley Company”. At the time they described themselves as “Traders together in getting and smelting ironstone, casting and manufacturing iron, getting and burning ironstone and getting and burning slack”. After John Wright’s marriage to Elizabeth Beresford (1762-1833) in 1791 the family lived at Willoughby House in Low Pavement, Nottingham. In 1798 he purchased 130 acres of land at Lenton, which was a small agricultural village then, and their new family home of Lenton Hall was completed in 1802. Francis Wright was born there in 1806, the second eldest son in a family of seven children. (Ten children were born of which seven survived childhood).

When Francis was born his father was an extremely wealthy man, who had profited from industry as well as making a fortune from banking. Like all rich children, Francis Wright was well educated and was sent to Rugby Public School to complete his education. He grew up to be a serious, religious and deeply moral man with strict values. He was destined to be a banker until his older brother, John, died prematurely in Italy in 1828. After this his father altered his will so that Francis was made the primary heir to the family fortune. He married into the aristocracy, marrying his cousin, Selina Fitzherbert of Tissington Hall in 1830. On the occasion of the wedding John Wright transferred over to Francis all his shares in Butterley Company.

PHOTO: A Young Francis Wright

 

BUTTERLEY COMPANY’S MODEL VILLAGE

After his father’s death Francis became the chief executive of Butterley Company and, under his guidance the company went from strength to strength, growing into one of the largest industrial concerns in the East Midlands.

He had a very hands-on approach to leadership, believing that “Busy hands keep the devil away”. He also felt that, as a devout Christian, he had a duty to use some of his wealth to assist the less fortunate, to set them a good example and to improve their values.

When Francis Wright took over as the senior executive of Butterley Company there were 1266 employees and more houses were needed for this ever-expanding workforce. From the 1830’s until the 1860’s the company funded a staged programme to build an entire village as a self-contained, industrial community. It was sited near to Riddings and Selston on the Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border and offered well-built houses of a good standard with gardens in pleasant surroundings. This was unusual at the time. It also included a church, a school, medical provision, recreational activities and other amenities, all designed to meet the physical, moral, spiritual, social, emotional and intellectual needs of the workers of Butterley Company and their families. The idea of a model village was not conceived by Francis Wright and he was not alone in his drive to provide a village specifically for his workforce, as it was done by other industrialists in other parts of the country. In building the village he was both philanthropic and pragmatic.

He realised that providing workers with decent housing and good surroundings improved their work rate and this benefited the company. It was also a means that he could exercise some control in how the company’s workforce lived and behaved. The village was considered to be the best example of a model village in Derbyshire and gained national acclaim for the spacious layout and facilities compared to similar industrial places at the time. It was called Ironville.

TIMELINE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRONVILLE MODEL VILLAGE

• 1792 The Pinxton extension of the Cromford Canal opened.
• 1797 The first iron furnace was built at Codnor Park.
• 1797 Six cottages were built at Golden Valley (so named because of the rich mineral deposits). Eventually there would be a continuous row of cottages there.
• 1802 Butterley Company built four lime kilns and a row of eleven cottages for the workers at Codnor Park foundry. The cottages were initially called Measham Row but the name was later changed to Lime Kiln Row.
• 1809 Butterley Company purchased a large area of land from Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall. The open countryside was undeveloped with no roads, only footpaths.
• 1811 The company built a row of thirteen houses on land which was called Forge Row. Another row, which ran parallel, followed called Furnace Row.
• 1813 John Street was constructed and was known locally as Stone Row. It was eventually named Jacksdale Street.
• 1820 A pottery was built on the bank of the canal.
• 1822 An application was submitted by the company for a licence to hold a market on Saturdays and a fair twice a year in Ironville Meadows. It was granted.
• 1830 A brickyard was built at the end of the Coach Road opposite to the reservoir. Francis Wright became the chief executive of Butterley Company. A staged building programme began which lasted for 30 years. The houses followed a basic pattern of 4 rooms with either front or rear gardens. Each house cost £40 to build and the bricks were supplied by the company.
• 1834 King William Street was constructed. It formed the central hub of the model village.
• 1835 King William 1V Public House was started.
• 1836 Victoria Street was built and a Post Office was established.
• 1837 King William 1V Public House was completed. This was the only pub that was allowed by Francis Wright in Ironville.
• 1840 126 houses were completed which formed Albert Street, Tank Street and Meadow Street. Two more rows of houses were built in Golden Valley.
• 1841 A small school was built. It was on the site where Christ Church now stands.
• 1843 The Mechanics’ Institute was established on the site of a former brewery on the South side of the canal. (Please note that craftsmen and artisans were called “mechanics” at that time). The Institute had a swimming pool and an Artisans’ Library and was where the offices of the company were sited.
• 1846 The village school was licensed for worship and a curate, Dr, J. Casson, was appointed. Work began on turning the school into a church, the architect being Henry Isaac Stevens of Derby.
• 1846 Lime kilns were demolished to make way for the Midland Railway line. Francis Wright was a director of the railway line as well Butterley Company.
• 1847 Codnor Park and Ironville Station opened.
• 1850 A mortuary was constructed at the bottom of King William Street as well as a brewery.
• 1850 Newer, bigger schools opened across the road from the old school and situated where they are now. The new church, called Christ Church opened for use.
• 1852 Christ Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield. At the same time a stone-built vicarage and a two-and-a half acre cemetery were made available for use.
• 1854 Francis Wright laid the foundation stone for Codnor Park Monument in honour of William Jessop II. It stood 70 feet high and cost £700, the money being raised by public subscription. It became known as the Jessop Memorial.
• 1860 Queen Street and Market Place were completed although Market Place was never actually used to house a market.
• 1861 The Census showed that there were 2,293 people living in 419 houses in Ironville. The population had grown so rapidly that a new cemetery, consisting of one and a half acres was added to the village.
• 1862 Gas from the company’s own Gas Works was installed in the village.
• 1865 Francis Wright presided over a meeting, held in the school, to form a Co-operative Society.
• 1865 Ironville House was built. The building provided both a Surgery and living accommodation for a doctor. It was a detached house, constructed of slag and was divided into two parts. The private living quarters were at the southern end and consisted of two storeys. The surgery, waiting room and consulting rooms were at the North side of the house and consisted of three storeys with the quarters for servants on the top storey. To the rear of the house were private gardens, stables and outhouses.
• 1866 Butterley Company employed 6,000 workers.
• 1866 Ironville Working Men’s Club was established in the Mechanics’ Institute.
• 1867 Butterley Company built St. Pancras Station in London. The company was the largest producer of iron in the country.
• 1870 The company owned 16 pits and employed 8,000 workers to turn coal and iron into money.
• 1873 Francis Wright died.

PHOTO: A postcard of Ironville

 

For almost a hundred years the village of Ironville remained unaltered in design and structure though gradually deteriorating through lack of maintenance. During the 1970s a great many of the houses and some streets were demolished along with significant other buildings under the direction of the county and local authorities and in the spirit of modernisation. This is a great pity as the few buildings that remain now merely hint at the character of Ironville, the model village, as it was.

They are:

• Christ Church
• Ironville school
• School Master’s House (privately owned and called Parson’s Cottage)
• Ironville House (originally for the doctors, now Grade 2 listed and privately owned)
• Mechanics’ Institute (privately owned)
• Vicarage (privately owned)
• The Pottery.

 

MAP: Map of Ironville 1898

 

FRANCIS WRIGHT AND LENTON, NOTTINGHAM

When Francis Wright married Selina Fitzherbert, they lived for a short while at “The Park” but by 1840 they had moved to Lenton Hall that had been built by John Wright, Francis’ father and completed in 1804. John Wright had also created a family vault at the Priory Church of St. Anthony in Lenton in 1828.

The family were very religious, following the Church of England doctrine and practices, and Francis Wright was a church warden for many years at Lenton. It was decided to build a new, bigger church in 1840 in Lenton called Holy Trinity Church and Francis Wright was the main benefactor. He donated the land (valued at £800) on which the church, churchyard, schools and homes for the school master and schoolmistress would be built.

He also donated £3,000 towards the building costs and funded the importation of exotic trees for the churchyard. In 1841 he and three sisters (Frances, Charlotte and Anne were spinsters who lived opposite to the church) laid the foundation stone of the new Holy Trinity Church.

The schools at Lenton were officially opened on April 25th 1842 and called Lenton National Schools, built of brick with stone facings in Church Street. During the same year he was High Sheriff of Nottingham. (Note: In 1851 the three Misses Wright funded a new Lenton Infants School.

By the early 1840’s Francis Wright was looking for a new home for his family, one which better reflected his status and immense wealth. In this he was aided by further inheritances from his mother’s family.

FRANCIS WRIGHT AND OSMASTON-BY-ASHBOURNE

In his will Francis Beresford, of Compton House, Ashbourne, stipulated that his assets were to be divided between his three daughters, Elizabeth, Judith and Selina. Elizabeth, the eldest of the three, was married to John Wright of Lenton Hall but she died before her father. Her share of Beresford’s estate therefore passed to her eldest son, Francis Wright who inherited land in Osmaston, Yeldersley and Shirley in Derbyshire from his maternal grandfather. It was at Osmaston where he decided to build a new home for his family, one which reflected his importance and enormous wealth. Just as he had facilitated a model village for his workforce at Ironville, Wright planned to develop a model estate to service his new Osmaston mansion.

Throughout the late 1830’s and early 1840’s further land was purchased adjacent to that which he already owned in the Osmaston area so that the ideal site could be found for the house. He engaged the Derby architect, Henry Isaac Stevens to design, not only the house, but also a school and a new church in the village. Influencing and providing for the people there, especially through education and religion, were important to him and so a school and a church were funded by him and built before work began on his new family home, Osmaston Manor.

• 1843 A school, funded by F. Wright and designed by H.I Stevens, was built in Osmaston.
• 1843 The village church of St. Martin’s was demolished and a new church was constructed in its place. When it was finished, it was considered by many to be Stevens’ greatest achievement in church design. It was in the Gothic style and constructed of local stone. There was a large tower which housed five bells and a clock fashioned by Whitehurst of Derby. The total cost was £8000.
• 1845 The first service took place in the new church. During the same year Wright modified the family Coat of Arms. The design can still be seen in a stained-glass window in St. Edmund’s church, Fenny Bentley. The design incorporated chevrons, unicorns and a chained bear and his motto “Ad Rem” which translates as “To the point”.
• 1846 After a Sawmill (powered by a huge water wheel) and a Blacksmith’s workshop had been constructed, work began on Osmaston Manor. Francis Wright laid the foundation stone in May 1846. It was one of the first houses in the country to have an iron framework, comprised of girders which were manufactured by Wright’s workforce at the Butterley Company.

OSMASTON MANOR

Osmaston Manor was built in over 3,500 acres of parkland with several lakes, one of which was used for ice skating and ice hockey. It was approached by a long avenue of lime trees. There were formal and landscaped pleasure gardens near to the mansion, which were advised upon by Sir Joseph Paxton, the head gardener at Chatsworth. Everything was on a grand scale. For example, the terraces at the front of the house alone covered four acres of grounds and were decorated with fountains and a stone inscription which read:

“THE WORKS OF OUR HANDS ARE VANITY BUT WHATSOEVER GOD DOETH, IT SHALL BE FOR EVER”.

The house was constructed in Elizabethan style on a site used for a previous house in the sixteenth century. Comprising of seventy rooms, Osmaston Manor took nearly four years to build, and three hundred workers were involved.

The walls consisted of blue limestone which was cut locally at Kniveton while doorways and windows were fashioned by stonemasons from gritstone brought from Stanton Moor. H.I. Stevens, the Derby architect, devised the house plan in specific blocks around quadrangles so that every aspect of living was provided for.

FAMILY ROOMS

The Wright family lived in splendour in the Manor and no expense was spared. The main entrance on the East side was through a stone porch, where an oak door led into a marble hall, giving access to the main family rooms on the ground floor.

The Great Hall ran the full width of the house and had decorated windows at each end. It was often used for prayers twice every day for the family, visitors and servants and was led by Mrs Wright during her husband’s absence. The Dining Room was forty feet long with an oak table that could seat twenty-four people. It had a connecting side lobby with a metal table that was heated by hot water being piped through. This served as a hot plate to ensure that any food and dishes were always hot and available, as the kitchens were a hundred yards away down corridors.

The Music Room was opposite across the corridor. Other important family rooms were the Drawing Room which had an ornate oriel window and the Library. There was an arched walkway which was a hundred and fifty feet long called the Arcade that connected the main family rooms to the Carriage House. The Arcade had a flat roof with a covered Gallery on the floor above and both of these provided space for exercise and promenading with magnificent views over the gardens.

On the other side of the Gallery were Mr Wright’s Business Room, the Breakfast Room, the Chapel, suites of bedrooms (10 double and 4 single), the School Room and the Nursery. Each different suite contained a water closet and a bathroom. Incorporated among the various sections of rooms were four huge towers, each with its own character and purpose.

One tower housed the flag pole while the Clock Tower had the inscription “Work while it is day” round the parapet. On the West side of the mansion past the Clock Tower was the Conservatory and Fernery. Behind these was a Riding School and indoor Tennis Court which doubled as party venues for special family occasions such as weddings as it could easily seat between 200 and 250 people at such events. Carriages were stored there as well as the provision of stabling for up to seventeen horses.

SERVANTS’ ROOMS

As in all great houses the servants worked and lived mostly out of sight of the family and their guests at Osmaston Manor. They performed their duties in purpose-built workrooms which formed a quadrangle around the Kitchen Court. Right at the back of the house were the Dairies and Larders which were connected to a row of buildings that housed the Engine House, the Bake house, the Laundry and the Brew house. The Scullery and Kitchens were enormous, being well -ventilated and well-lit with the range occupying the whole of one wall. All the work rooms had hot and cold running water and there were other labour-saving devices such as machinery turned by a water-wheel. (See Modern Technology and Innovations). Running at right angles to these rooms down a long passage were the Butler’s Pantry, the Housekeeper’s room, the room for the Housemaids and various other storerooms along with the Bell Board which had 49 bells connected to different parts of the mansion. The Servants’ Hall was impressive and could accommodate up to 50 servants comfortably for meals. Men and women servants slept in different parts of the Servants’ Quarters (there were ten bedrooms each for males and females) with a separate staircase for each gender.

1871 CENSUS

In 1871 there were the following people living in Osmaston Manor:

• Francis Wright 64 Land Owner Iron Master J.P.
• Selina Wright 64 Wife
• Judith Wright 28 Daughter
• Philip Wright 24 son Land Owner
• Alice E. Wright 21 Son’s Wife
• William A. Wright 1 Grandson
• Philip N. Wright 2 ½ Grandson
• Julia Berry 24 Visitor
• Sarah Barnett 66 Housekeeper
• Annie Smith 49 Ladies’ Maid
• Elizabeth Hickson 32 Cook
• Martha Barton 32 Laundry Maid
• Eliza Low 24 Laundry Maid
• Harriett Eastwood 38 Housemaid
• Fanny Featherstone 26 Housemaid
• Edith Platts 19 Housemaid
• Eliza Mumpstone 31 Dairymaid
• Sarah Bennett 21 Kitchen maid
• Fanny Blundstone 27 Nurse
• Eliza Boden Nursery maid
• Charles Bashford 23 Footman
• Frederick Ford 19 Footman
• Samuel Thornley 48 Coachman
• Alfred Statham 30 Groom
• John Gadsby 19 Groom
• Henry West 15 Groom

** NOTE William Hall was the Butler to Francis Wright in the 1871 Census. He lived with his wife and five children in Osmaston but not at the Manor. He worked for the family for at least 30 years and continued to work for Mrs Wright after Francis Wright’s death, working at Yeldersley Hall (where she moved to) until her death there in 1889. The census showed that an Estate Agent, a Game Keeper, a Dairyman, a Dress Maker, a Gardener and Agricultural workers all lived in cottages within the estate along with their families.

Though they did not reside in the manor house, they were essential to upkeep of the household and worked there on a daily basis. Many servants were necessary to meet the family’s every need.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

It was not without reason that Osmaston Manor was given the title “The World’s most technically advanced house”. It had many design features and pieces of equipment that used modern technology. The most notable feature in the design was that there were no chimneys when the house was initially constructed. Stevens incorporated what was described as the “Sylvester Principle” where the flues from each fireplace went downwards into a complicated pipe system in the cellars. The smoke was channelled through a tunnel under the house until it reached a Stone Tower in the walled garden, a distance of 600 feet. When it was first built the Tower was 150 feet tall and 21 feet square. Two massive boilers heated the tower so that the smoke was drawn along the tunnel and up the tower into the sky. These boilers heated all the walls of the kitchen garden which were hollow and fitted with metal pipes as well the glass houses used for growing exotic fruit and vegetables. However, the system was not a success and in later years a new system of traditional chimneys was installed and the Stone Tower was modified into an Observatory.

Other innovations proved to be more successful. There was under -floor central heating. The cellars also housed an underground railway (at least 300 feet in length) with a turntable and hydraulic machinery for transporting and lifting coal to all parts of the mansion. Water was heated by five boilers and conducted all through the house by miles of pipes while under the dining room was a water cistern which held 30,000 gallons of water. Domestic processes such as washing, drying, spit-roasting meat and other processes were all powered by machinery worked by a huge water wheel. Next to the kitchen was a Fresh Air Tower which drew in air to feed the various boilers.

It is appropriate at this point to include information about Henry Isaac Stevens, the architect of Osmaston Manor.

HENRY ISAAC STEVENS 1806-1873

Henry Isaac Stevens was born in the same year as Francis Wright and was probably Derbyshire’s most prolific and accomplished architect. He was born in London in 1806, the second son of Isaac Stevens and Elizabeth Young. As a young man he studied at the office of William Martin and married his daughter, Anne in Repton, Derbyshire in 1832. They had four children. In 1841 the family lived at 3, The Terrace, London Road and Stevens had an office in the Post Office Chambers in the Cornmarket in Derby.

In 1850 he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects. By 1852 Henry Stevens and his family had moved to Ashbourne Road in Derby and in 1871 they lived at 20, Peartree Road, Litchurch in Derby. Over the course of his career, Stevens built up a reputation as an ecclesiastical architect, but he designed many schools and other public buildings as well as over 30 churches. He was the architect for Full Street Baths in Derby (1856), Melbourne Athenaeum (1853) and extensions to the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary (1850 and 1867). Francis Wright used his services a great deal for the building work at Ironville model village, Lenton and Osmaston. Indeed, Osmaston Manor was considered to be Stevens’ greatest achievement. They enjoyed an excellent working relationship in their professional business dealings which was based on mutual respect and hard work. Henry Stevens served as a Tory councillor in Derby in 1862 and between 1866 – 1869. He died in 1873, the same year as Francis Wright.

THE DEATH OF FRANCIS WRIGHT

Francis Wright had been the driving force and chief executive at Butterley Company for thirty years when he died at home in Osmaston-by-Ashbourne on February 24th 1873. The cause of death was pronounced as long-standing kidney problems aggravated by severe bronchitis. He was sixty-six years old. Because he was such a well-known businessman and land owner, his death was announced in all the newspapers at the time. The sentiments in this obituary are typical of what was expressed about him:

The Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald” on March 1st 1873: “We announce, with great regret, the death of Francis Wright Esq. of Osmaston Manor, which took place at half past eight on Monday morning. The deceased gentleman had suffered from a chest infection for about a fortnight, but his death, as far as the public was concerned, was unexpected. He was sixty-six years of age, the senior partner in the Butterley Iron and Coal Co. and was also a member of a well-known banking company in Nottingham. His loss will be greatly felt in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, in which counties he was a liberal patron of charitable and other institutions, and a firm friend of the poor.”

As was the tradition in 1873 for eminent people, his funeral was an impressive, solemn affair with many people attending. It took place on Saturday March 7th at St. Martin’s Church on the Osmaston estate. Everybody connected with the Butterley Company or the villages near to where he lived and worked paid their respective tributes to him on the day of the funeral especially. In Osmaston-by-Ashbourne the bell ringers rang muffled peals on the evening before the funeral and the whole village turned out to line the route to the church before the bells were rung immediately after the funeral. In Ashbourne the shops were half closed, the petty sessions adjourned and business was generally suspended.

Work at the Butterley Company’s collieries and ironworks was stopped and Heanor church bells tolled. There were similar tributes in Ripley where all tradesmen suspended business and closed their establishments. The families in Ironville were particularly affected, the “Derby Mercury” reporting:

“The lamented death of Francis Wright of Osmaston Manor coming so unexpectedly as it did, throw a gloom over this village and the district around Codnor Park works. He always had at heart the moral and spiritual welfare of the inhabitants of this place, being so closely connected with the works and the collieries around them and endeavouring by coming often among them with his usual earnestness by various means to improve their moral condition and promote the happiness of the many.

A greater benefactor will sadly not be found. All work at the forges and foundries entirely ceased on the day, the shops were closed and business in the market suspended. The church minute bell was tolled on the day of his death and also during the time occupied by his funeral.”

The weather on the day of the funeral was very wintry with sleeting snow showers and heavy snow covering the ground, making any form of travel difficult. It was also bitterly cold. Arrangements were made for the tenants from Nottinghamshire to be transported to Derby by train.

“Several omnibuses and other conveyances were sent to Derby station to convey passengers to the manor. As the grounds were approached it was impossible not to be struck by the solemnity of the occasion which had called so many people together. The darkened windows and the mourning-clad servants all indicated the same sad event. The tenants assembled in the Racket Court where refreshments were provided for those who had come a distance.” Derby Mercury.

Arrangements were also made for 30 senior Butterley officials (agents and foremen) to be transported to Osmaston to take their place in the funeral procession. They travelled on the company’s railway line as far as Ripley and were then taken to Osmaston by carriage.

All the rituals associated with funerals of the rich were followed. Participation in the funeral cortege was by invitation only and the order and formation followed strict protocols. In an article on March 7th 1873 “The Derbyshire Advertiser” described every detail of Francis Wright’s funeral. Just before 1p.m. the coffin, which was covered in a black velvet pall edged in white satin, was lifted on to the hearse which was pulled by four black horses without plumes. The first section of the procession involved the hearse with attendants.

PROCESSION

The Undertaker

First Carriage

Mr. R.D. Goodwin and Dr. Ogle, medical attendants

Second Carriage

The Rev. W.G. Vernon and the Rev. J.W. Reeve

Pall Bearers

Mr. Hall, butler and Mr. Marsden, engineer on the estate

(Eight bearers who were named)

Pall Bearers

Mr. Trivet, clerk of works. Mr. McGibbon, bailiff

Next in line came the close family mourners who rode in Mourning Carriages. Their order was determined by seniority in the family with the oldest son first.

Mrs Selina Wright (Francis’ widow), Miss Judith Wright and Mrs. Philip Wright did not attend.

First Mourning Coach

Mr. John Wright, Miss E.A. Wright, The Rev. Henry and Mrs. Wright

Second Mourning Coach

Mr. F.B. Wright, Mrs F.E. Wigram, Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Plumptre

Third Mourning Coach

Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Fox, Mr. and Mrs. F. Fox

Fourth Mourning Coach

Mr. and Mrs. Fitzherbert Wright, Mr. Philip Wright, Mr. Blaskett Botcherby

Fifth Mourning Coach

Col. Fitzherbert and Sir John Alleyne Bart., Mr G Wright, Mr John Martin

Behind the carriages of the close family members were coaches carrying more distant family, friends and neighbours. Some carriages were empty but were sent by people who were unable to attend as was usual. Last of all came the people who walked the one-mile route from the manor to the church. They were:

Tenantry from Nottingham, Lenton, Lowdlam and Osmaston.

The Butterley Officials

Mr. Twilley, Head Gamekeeper

The Gardeners and Servants

Mr. Blood

Workmen and Cottagers

A detachment of County Police

Engraved Memorial Cards which were specially printed for the occasion were distributed to everyone and all the pedestrians in the procession were given black shoulder scarves, hat bands and black gloves to wear.

Inside the church the pulpit, the communion table and the reading desk were draped in black. The long funeral service was led by two vicars, the present and past ministers of Osmaston. After the service the mourners were separated and only a few mourners watched the interment into the family vault. The body of Francis Wright joined four other family members who had died before him. They were Mrs. E. Wright, (John Wright’s first wife), Miss Agnes Wright (eldest unmarried daughter), an infant daughter of the Rev. F.E. Wigram (nee Wright) and Marcus Beresford Wright, Francis Wright’s youngest son who died aged just 2 years of age.

THE WILL OF FRANCIS WRIGHT

Details of the Will were published in May 1973 after it had been proved in London. In essence, his eldest son, John Wright, inherited the entire Osmaston Estate and the sum of £125,000. His widow, Selina Wright received an annuity of £10,000 and a residence for life. To his son, Henry, he bequeathed £25,000. His four youngest sons (Henry, Francis, Fitzherbert and Philip) inherited his interests in Butterley Company and he also left sums of money to his daughters and God-children. The total value of his assets was 1.4 million pounds which equates to more than 2 billion pounds at to-day’s value.

FRANCIS WRIGHT, PATRON AND BENEFACTOR

Francis Wright was a principled, moral and deeply religious man. He was also very rich, influential and possessed an iron will. He believed it was his duty to use his wealth to develop law-abiding communities around schools and churches. He gave his patronage to causes concerned with health, religion, morality and education.

As a benevolent master, Francis Wright wanted his workforce to be healthy and ensured that the houses that were built for them had larger than average gardens. As early as 1857 there was a doctor installed in Ironville and Ironville House, a purpose-built surgery combined with a residence, was built on his instruction in 1865. Wright was a benefactor to the Derbyshire Nursing Association. He was on the Board for the Derby Infirmary for many years and was the president for a while. He corresponded with Florence Nightingale regarding ideas for enlarging the hospital so that more people could be treated. It was mainly due to him that a new Nightingale extension to the hospital was built, as many on the board opposed it. He personally donated £20,000, an enormous amount of money then, towards the cost. Ironically, his commitment to this cause was to prove fatal as, while undertaking a monitoring visit to the hospital, he caught a chill which, along with other problems, caused his death.

Because of his religious convictions, Francis Wright defrayed the costs of the building of the following churches:

• Holy Trinity Church, Lenton 1842
• St. Martin Church, Osmaston 1843-1845
• Christ Church, Ironville 1851-1852
• St John’s Church Ashbourne 1871 (Originally a Free Church)

He was a Church Warden for many years in Lenton and Osmaston and dictated that his Butterley workforce and his tenants should attend church regularly, occasionally checking to see who was in church and who was absent! Osmaston Manor had its own chapel incorporated into the mansion where daily prayers and Bible readings could take place for the family. A weekly service was held on Wednesdays that workers and servants were expected to attend. He was very proud of the fact that his son, Henry, was ordained as a minister and installed him as Chaplain at Butterley Company. Francis Wright belonged to a number of religious societies where he held high offices. He was President of the Church Missionary Society until his death and Vice President of Derbyshire Auxiliary Bible Society, which later became the British and Foreign Bible Society. He supported the Derby and Derbyshire Penitent Females Home where he was the President. At home, family parties and special occasions began and ended with prayers. With regards to morality, Francis Wright had somewhat puritanical views on alcohol consumption and pleasure.

He only ever allowed one public house to be built in Ironville and there were strict rules imposed at the inn in Osmaston where it was stated that no ale was allowed on Sundays or after 9 pm on week days. He devoted a great deal of time to the Criminal Justice System being a magistrate for more than thirty years (1841-1873) and was the Chairman of the Ashbourne Bench. It should be remembered, however, that his strong moral principles and stern approach were not universally admired, especially when he put a stop to the annual fair in Ashbourne and tried to stop (unsuccessfully) the Shrovetide football matches there.

Francis Wright prioritised education in his patronage, understanding fully the benefits that education could bring. He supported and defrayed the cost of the building of church schools in Ironville, Lenton and Osmaston as well as houses for teachers. In the Penny Magazine “A Day at Butterley Ironworks”, February 1864, it was reported that “It is a standing rule of the company that no apprentice shall be received until he can read, write and perform the earlier processes of arithmetic”.

From 1857 to 1873 he was president of an association that distributed prizes to children of miners in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. He presented certificates and cash prizes to the children for achieving excellent standards in their school work and 1,345 children of miners were awarded their prizes personally by him during that time.

A product of the public-school system himself, Francis Wright proposed the funding of a college for middle-class boys at a meeting of the Midland Branch of the Clerical and Lay Association. His vision was to create a boarding school as a more affordable alternative to the existing public schools. Because of his active support, Trent College, with its strong Christian ethos, opened in 1868 near Long Eaton, with 53 boys, rising to 225 boys on roll by 1870.

Following his death, memorials to Francis Wright were erected in places, associated with him, which can still be seen to-day. The tenants of Osmaston placed an illuminated plaque inside St. Martin’s Church and a stone memorial at the front of the school near to the roof. A new East window was installed at Holy Trinity Church, Lenton, funded by church members, friends, tenants and Wright’s own family. The window was very unusual and consisted of three stained-glass panels decorated with elaborate fruit and flowers. In Ironville the parishioners raised funds for a new stained-glass window to be installed in the North wall of the Baptistry in Christ Church as a memorial to his benevolence.

Public subscriptions funded a monument in Ashbourne which took the form of a market cross and a water fountain. The tall four-sided structure was quite intricate, having gothic detail. On two sides were Wright’s shields carved in stone while the other two other sides had inscriptions and quotes from the Bible. The water fountain was made of brass with the face of a lion. If you visit Ashbourne, you can see the Wright Monument in the Market Place, although the water fountain is no longer in use.

At its 1875 Speech Day, Trent College combined prize-giving with the opening of a chapel erected to the memory of the late Mr. Wright. The Duke of Devonshire, the chief patron, presented the prizes and the Bishop of Lichfield dedicated the chapel. Trent College still functions as an independent school and the chapel there is a Grade II listed building.

THE CHILDREN OF FRANCIS WRIGHT

During Francis Wright’s marriage to his cousin, Selina Fitzherbert, they had twelve children. As wealthy parents they expected that the boys would follow in their father’s footsteps at the very least, but hopefully become more important or powerful. The girls were required to have good marriages into other rich or wealthier families. Mr. and Mrs. Wright believed that it was their duty to instil in their children a sense of morality and that material success was the reward for honesty, goodness and hard work. Religion played a huge part in the household and affected how they lived. Influenced by their parents’ strength of character, attitudes and example as they grew up, the children’s lives were interwoven with religion, privilege and wealth along with a sense of duty, making them the adults they became.

In order of birth the children were:

1. John Wright 1831-1901

John Wright was Francis Wright’s first-born child. As a boy he was well educated and, as a young man he was taken on a grand tour of Europe with his tutor. He was married twice in his life.

His first marriage was in 1853 to Emily Sophia Plumptre (1831-1860), the daughter of the Reverend Henry Webster Plumptre, Rector of Eastwood. They had four children before Emily sadly died in childbirth at the age of twenty-nine. John Wright was inconsolable and set off on long travels, visiting Norway, Sweden, Russia, Persia, Babylonia, Assyria and Asia. The journey was over 11,000 miles and took eight months. For much of the time he travelled on horseback with little more than a guide, a money belt and a revolver. He later wrote a book about his adventures called “Old Ali or Travels Long Ago” and it was published in 1881. John Wright’s second marriage in 1861 was to Francis Mary Rice and they had eleven children. John and his family lived in luxury at Yeldersley Hall, which Francis Wright owned and was close to Osmaston Manor.

While his father had proved himself visionary and highly successful in business, the same could not be said of John. In 1873, on the death of Francis Wright, he inherited Osmaston Manor plus £125,000. After making some poor business decisions he sold the Osmaston estate in 1883. He had already changed his name from “Wright” to “Osmaston” by deed poll in 1874. Like his father, he was a magistrate in Derbyshire and also in Staffordshire.

He was Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. After the sale of the estate he purchased Hawkhurst Court, Hawkhurst in Sussex. He moved to live in Hawkhurst permanently and became a magistrate in Sussex. The 1901 census showed that he lived by independent means and he died later that year. Of his children, three of his sons were surveyors and conservationists in the Indian Imperial Forests, one became a vicar and another was a practising barrister.

2. Henry Wright 1833-1880

The Rev. Henry Wright, the second born child of Francis and Selina Wright, first studied at Balliol College Oxford, before graduating in 1856 in Lincoln and he was ordained as a priest in 1859.

After his father’s death he moved to Hampstead, London to be minister at St. John’s Church. This enabled him to devote more time to be Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, a role he had taken over from his father. Henry and Lucy Wright had eleven children who survived childhood (14 born) and were very happy together. Tragically Henry met his death in a freak drowning accident while he was swimming with four of his sons. The family were on holiday in the Lake District in 1880 when it happened and he was just 47. His funeral was held in St. Paul’s Cathedral and he was buried in Hampstead. He left a personal estate of under £200,000. At least two of his children continued his work with the Missionary Society and became missionaries in India.

 3. Agnes Wright 1833-1909

Third born and oldest daughter, Agnes never married. She lived at home at Osmaston Manor with her parents, living a very sheltered life and died at the young age of 21 after illness. She was buried in the family vault at St Martin’s, Osmaston.

4. Elizabeth Wright 1835-1909 (Plumptre)

Elizabeth Wright was the fourth child born, second daughter and the oldest surviving girl after Agnes’ death in 1857. In 1859 she married John Bridges Plumptre, son of the Rector of Eastwood, in a double wedding with her sister, Frances, marrying at the same time. This was the second time that the Wrights and the Plumptres had joined in marriage as John B. Plumptre’s sister; Emily had married John Wright in his first marriage. John Bridges Plumptre’s family on his mother’s side were titled landowners in Kent so after the couple were married they went to live near to them in Goodnestone, Kent where John Bridges Plumptre was a gentleman farmer. Their farm joined onto the huge estate of John’s grandparents Sir Brook and Lady Bridges at Goodnestone Park.

The 1881 Census showed that John B. Plumptre was a magistrate and farmed 290 acres, employing 12 labourers, 12 boys and a woman on the farm. Also staying with them in 1881 was her sister, Mary Fox (Wright), her husband C. Douglas Fox and their three children. John Bridges Plumptre died in 1888 and Elizabeth remained living there with her children. Her oldest son, named after his father, joined the clergy and became Reverend John Bridges Plumptre.

Henry, another son, took over the management of the estate and Elizabeth was recorded as having “independent means”. Henry subsequently inherited more land from his maternal grandparents (Bridges) and became Henry FitzWalter Plumptre, 20th Lord FitzWalter. Elizabeth’s daughter, Selina married her cousin Lionel Osmaston (a son of John Osmaston). Another da

daughter, Elizabeth, married a cousin, Maurice Beresford Wright (a son of Elizabeth’s brother, Rev Henry Wright). It was not unusual then for cousins to marry.

5. Selina Wright 1836-1900 (Fox)

Selina was the third daughter born in the Wright family. In 1869 Selina Wright married Francis, second son of Sir Charles Fox. (Her younger sister Mary would later marry his brother, Charles Douglas Fox).

Francis Fox entered a partnership in a civil engineering business with his father and brother in 1857 and they would become highly successful. He was responsible for the bridge over the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi and the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as extending the London Underground. Like his father-in-law, Francis Fox was a very religious man and with his older brother, Douglas (See Mary Wright) he devoted much of his spare time to mission work in London. Francis and Selina Fox had five children, two sons and three daughters. The oldest, Selina Fitzherbert Fox MBE MD BS (1871-1958) founded the Bermondsey Hospital and Medical Mission in 1904.

Selina was eight years older than her husband and after her death Francis Fox remarried in 1901. He was knighted in 1912 and died in 1927.

6. Francis Beresford Wright 1837-1911

Francis Beresford Wright went to Trinity College Cambridge where he gained an M.A. in 1862. Later the same year he married Adeline Frances Henrietta Fitzherbert (1844-1924). She was the elder daughter of Colonel Henry Fitzherbert of Somersal Herbert Hall. They had nine children born with three children only who survived to be adults. They lived at Aldercar Hall near to Codnor Park. Along with three brothers, Henry, Fitzherbert and Philip, Francis inherited Butterley Company from his father. Francis was a magistrate in Derbyshire. In 1881 he described himself as a “J.P. Iron and coal proprietor of Butterley Company, Farmer of 295 acres” and lived at Aldercar Hall with his family. The census showed that a teacher for the children and ten servants lived there in employment.

In 1882 he purchased Wootton Court in Warwickshire and made it the family home a year later, after the house had been enlarged and the gardens improved. Wootton Court was originally called “Green Hayes” but Francis changed its name as his brother, Fitzherbert, already lived at “The Hayes” in Swanwick. The family mostly referred to it as “Wootton” when they moved in and they were very happy there. He became a J.P in Warwickshire.

After the move he attempted to sell Aldercar Hall and it was put up for auction. An advert in “The Times”, July 14th 1883 promoting the sale gave an insight into how the family lived at Aldercar Hall which stood in 300 acres:

“The mansion, placed on a commanding eminence, approached from the high road through an avenue of chestnut trees stands in the midst of fine, undulating lands, the pleasure grounds on the south side being skirted by an ornamental lake with islands and a wilderness. It is entered into a quadrangular court and contains a spacious entrance hall with broad staircase, handsome drawing room with large bay window, dining room, library, billiard room opening onto a conservatory, eight principal bedrooms and two dressing rooms, bathroom, schoolroom, day and night nurseries and seven secondary bedrooms. The domestic offices are excellent and fitted with every modern convenience. The stabling comprises six loose boxes, two coach houses and saddle and harness rooms.”

It went on to describe the terraced gardens, tennis court, lake, aviary, orchard house, palm house along with Home Farm (40 acres) and Park Farm (175 acres of grassland and 60 acres of arable land). Unfortunately, Aldercar Hall did not sell at the auction and it was leased by Francis Beresford Wright to Mr. Frank Adams M.A. who ran a school for boys there until 1901. The census of that year showed that Arthur Beresford Wright (Francis’ son) was the owner and he and remained a pillar of society there for many years.

Francis Beresford Wright continued to live at Leek Wootton, near to Leamington Spa until his death (when he suffered a heart attack) aged 73 in 1911. An obituary in the Leamington Spa Courier recorded him as “a liberal and unostentatious helper of charitable and philanthropic societies and institutions”. His widow, Adeline, died in 1924, and after that her oldest son, Arthur B. Wright, moved from Aldercar Hall to Wootton Court where he remained until his death in 1952.

7. Frances Wright 1839-1914 (Wigram)

Frances Wright married the Reverend Frederic Edward Wigram (1834-1897) in a double wedding alongside her sister, Bessie, (the family’s name for Elizabeth Wright) at Osmaston in 1859. Frederic came from a well-connected family, his grandfather being Sir Robert Wigram, merchant and ship-builder. From 1858-1863 he was Assistant Curate at St. Paul’s Church, Cambridge before transferring to a new post of Curate of Wanstead in Essex. In 1865 Frederic Wigram became Perpetual Curate of Christ Church, Highfield, Southampton where the family stayed until 1880. Following the untimely death of his brother-in-law, the Reverend Henry Wright, Frederic took over Henry’s duties and became the Honorary Secretary of the Church Missionary Society. In 1881 the Wigram family were living at Oak Hill House, Frognal, Hampstead in London where they would remain. In 1887 Frederic Wigram started a world tour to visit the society’s principal stations and further promote missionary work. The family are believed to have given £200,000 of their own money to aid the work of the Missionary Society, and, for this, Frederic Wigram was made Prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. During their marriage Frances and Frederic had twelve children, of whom seven survived childhood. Four of their children followed their father’s calling to become vicars and three of these were missionaries. Francis continued to live, by private means, at Oak Hill House after her husband’s death in 1897. When she died in 1914 her estate was left to be shared by the Reverend Harold F.E. Wigram (son), Agnes Margaret Wigram (unmarried daughter) and Albert Lesley Wright (son of Frances’ brother, Henry)

8. Mary Wright 1840-1920 (Fox)

Mary Wright married C. Douglas Fox in 1863 when they were both 23. Unlike Mary, Douglas did not come from a large family, having two brothers and one sister. Douglas Fox was a civil engineer whose father had designed the Crystal Palace. Douglas was clever and had studied at Kings College London between 1855 and 1857. He was to have gone on to study at Trinity College Cambridge but the financial collapse of his father’s contracting company put an end to it and they established an engineering consultancy together. In 1874 his brother Francis, who had married Selina Wright, became a partner in the firm. Mary and Douglas were married for more than fifty years and had one son and four daughters. Douglas, in his work was an extremely able engineer. He was involved in the construction of the Snowdon Mountain Railway and worked on several of the London tube lines. He was the joint engineer of the Liverpool Overhead Railway which was the first electric elevated city railway in the world. He designed the Victoria Falls Bridge and in 1886 he was knighted by Queen Victoria. He died in 1921 in Kensington at the home of one of his daughters a year after Mary died.

9. Fitzherbert Wright 1841-1910

Fitzherbert Wright was the ninth child and fourth son born to Frank and Selina Wright. He married Charlotte Rudolphine Louise von Beckmann, in 1865. She was the daughter of Ernst Christopher Frederich von Beckman who was a German pastor. By the time of their marriage the Butterley Company was making a fortune for the family. Francis Wright donated £3,230 so that St. Andrew’s church could be built in Swanwick. Both Francis and Fitzherbert Wright donated money so that a new schoolroom could also be built.

As a wedding present to his son and bride Francis Wright built “The Hayes”, a stone-built house in Swanwick. It was specially designed by Stevens and Robinson, Architects in Derby. The couple became pillars of society in Swanwick and lived there in comfort for most of their married lives, looked after by a number of servants. Their children were born there, six surviving childhood. Their oldest son, Henry Fitzherbert Wright (1870-1947) was called to the bar in 1895 and became a lawyer as well as being a Member of Parliament for six years.

Their oldest daughter, Emilie, married a man of the cloth, Rev. W.H. Draper.

Fitzherbert Wright was appointed a magistrate in 1867. For many years he was connected with the Derbyshire volunteers and attained the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel. After Francis Wright died, Fitzherbert and three brothers inherited Butterley Company and were partners in running the business.

When Fitzherbert Wright retired from being Managing Director of Butterley Company in 1903 he gave a gift of money to Swanwick Church so that a tower could be added. (There was not a tower built initially).

He and his wife, Charlotte visited the U.S.A. in 1904, sailing on the “SS Blucher.” Charlotte had a sister there. In 1910 he became ill and went to live in Bournemouth in the hope that he would recover. Sadly, he passed away there. He was brought back to Derby by train and the funeral hearse met him at Derby station from where he was taken to Osmaston Church to be interred in the family vault. After his death the family put “The Hayes” up for sale and it was sold for £11,500 to be used as a Christian conference centre. His obituary commented that:

“Mr. Wright took a keen interest in everything which tended to promote the benefit and welfare of the community and was a trustee of the personal estate of the D.R.I. At one time he was an Alderman of Derbyshire County Council”.

10. Judith Wright 1842-1903

Judith was Francis and Selina Wright’s youngest daughter. She never married.

She was born in Lenton and after Osmaston Manor was built she lived with her parents there until her father’s death.

In 1873 after her father’s funeral she moved to Yeldersley Hall to live with her mother. When Selina Wright died in 1888, Judith remained at Yeldersley, living there alone except for the servants. An article in the Derbyshire Advertiser in 1903, gave information about the causes that she supported. It hinted at the way she had lived as a spinster in the Wright household:

“Miss Wright had devoted her whole life to religious and charitable work, but especially to missionary work. She was a liberal subscriber to many public institutions, including the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary and was on the committee of the Osmaston Nursing Association and the Ashbourne Cottage Hospital for many years. She had been a Sunday School teacher and of late years held a Sunday afternoon class at the hall. Each Christmas it was her custom to give reasonable presents of coal etc. to the widows of the district and her charity was almost proverbial”.

Judith Wright held an annual treat for the children in Osmaston and Yeldersley where they were able to wander the grounds and play in the gardens at Yeldersley before sitting down to tea. There were more than 100 children and as many parents who were given afternoon tea on such visits.

There were donkeys and ponies to ride as well as having races and cricket games. Any proceeds that were made by a sale of work was for the benefit of missionaries. She also held special teas at Yeldersley Hall for the women inmates of the Ashbourne Workhouse and arranged transport by carriage for them to attend.

On her death age 61, she was interred in the family vault at Osmaston along with her parents.

11. Marcus Beresford Wright 1845-1847

Marcus Beresford Wright only lived a short life, dying at the age of two years. He was interred in the family vault at Osmaston.

12. Philip Wright 1846-1915

Philip Wright was the youngest child and fifth surviving son in the family. He was educated at Harrow between 1860 and 1864. He was 22 in 1868 when he married Alice Elizabeth Bury, the daughter of the Reverend William Bury, in Pimperne, Dorset. They were married by Alice’s brother, Rev. Thomas Bury who was assisted by Philip’s brother, Rev. Henry Wright. They lived at Osmaston Manor when they were first married and then at “Elms House” on Derby Road in Ripley. He was one of the four sons to inherit his father’s shares in Butterley Company.

In 1874 he purchased Mellington Hall, Churchstoke, Montgomeryshire, Wales he had the mansion completely rebuilt and 1,923 acres of grounds laid out by Joseph Paxton. Philip and Alice moved there to live permanently around 1876 with Philip funding improvements to the villagers’ lives. In 1875 a new school was erected and maintained in Churchstoke at the sole expense of Philip Wright along with a house for the school mistress. The children attending Churchstoke schools had an annual treat at Mellington Hall courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Wright.

Philip Wright was High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1884. He was also a J.P. in Shropshire and Derbyshire. Philip and Alice Wright had seven children, all boys. Their oldest son, Reverend William Adin Wright (1869-1942) was vicar of Pentrich from 1912-1922 and in Lenton Nottingham from1922-1928, which his grandfather would have appreciated.

Their second son Commander Philip Nithsdale Wright (1871-1901) became an officer in the Royal Navy and died from wounds inflicted in China during the siege of Tientsin aged just 30.

Philip Wright erected a brass plaque in Churchstoke church in his son’s memory and there was a large article headed “The China Crisis” in “The Derby Mercury” on July 18th 1900 which included his death. Their third son Maurice Beresford Wright (1872-1951) married his cousin Elizabeth (daughter of J. Bridges Plumptre and Elizabeth Wright). He became a doctor and surgeon and rose to the rank of Major in the army. He was awarded an O.B.E in 1919.

Alice Wright died in 1896 while staying with Frances (Philip’s sister) and Frederic Wigram in Hampstead, London. It is unclear what happened to Mellington Hall and Philip Wright between 1898 and 1901 but he married for the second time in 1901 and again in 1909. The Mellington Estate was advertised for sale in 1901 as follows:

“FOR SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY MELLINGTON HALL.

It extends to 1920 acres and is situated on the border of two counties, Montgomery and Salop, five miles from the county town of Montgomery. The mansion is a handsome Gothic edifice solidly built of stone and brick, occupying a beautiful site in the centre of the estate and commanding unsurpassed views. It contains five reception, billiards room and 24 bedrooms and is exceptionally well appointed. Appurtenances: These are quite in keeping with the residence, the wooded grounds are characteristic, walled garden with glasshouses, good stabling for 9 horses and surrounding is a grandly timbered park of over 100 acres in which is a large sheet of water. The estate is of a fertile character. It is divided into several medium-sized farms, all with substantial cottages and small holdings produce a regular income of £1970 per annum. The woods cover an area about 100 acres. The estate provides excellent shooting, both in wing and ground game, trout fishing in two streams, hunting with hounds, good society in the district.

SOLE AGENTS OSBORN AND MERCER ESQ. ALBERNOLE STREET, PICCADILLY”

In 1905 “The Shrewsbury Chronicle” stated that a Mr. Sydney E. Heap had recently purchased the Mellington Estate. Philip Wright died in 1915 and this short obituary was placed in “The Ripley and Heanor News”

“The death occurred on Tuesday in a London nursing home of Mr. Philip Wright, father of the vicar of Pentrich, Rev. W. Adin Wright, Mr. Godfrey Wright and Mr. Cedric Wright. The deceased gentleman was 68 years of age and was the youngest son of the late Francis Wright of Osmaston Manor and a brother of the late Fitzherbert Wright. Lady Douglas Fox is now the only survivor of the Osmaston Manor family. Some forty years ago Mr. Wright was in residence at “The Elms” Derby Road, Ripley and besides holding a managerial position at Butterley Works was Captain of the Ripley Company, 1st Derby Volunteers. The funeral takes place at Hampstead Cemetery”.

 

Acknowledgements:

Bibliography:

• The Story of “Osmaston-by-Ashbourne”. Osmaston History Group

Websites

• britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk
• ancestry.co.uk
• nottshistory.org.uk
• heanorhistory.org.uk
• lentontimes.co.uk
• somercoteshistory.co.uk

PHOTO BELOW: Francis Wright [1806-1873]