West Moors & the Fryer family
On St. George's Day, the 23rd April, 2008, Miss Frances Evelyn Fryer died
and now lies at peace in a corner of St. Mary's churchyard, West Moors, Dorset,
alongside several members of her family. She was the youngest of four: a
brother (Frederic) and three sisters (Kathleen, Esme & Frances herself) -
each of them died without leaving any descendants. With Frances' death, the
Fryer links with West Moors ceased after some 186 years. However, the name
Fryer will live on across the community, alongside that of Gulliver &
Castleman.
Indeed, if I were a John Galsworthy or a Thomas Hardy, I could write a major
novel surrounding the 'doings' of these three families, covering the latter
part of the 18th and much of the 19th centuries, which would rival any
'Poldark' or 'Forsyte Saga'! I'm not, but the story is a fascinating one
nonetheless: between them, these three names resonate across the history of
this part of Dorset and adjacent counties. Not only were they business
associates, but the three families were united through marriage, inheritance
and business dealings.
The Gulliver 'story' is well known hereabouts, with Isaac Gulliver
(junior) being the son of a smuggler (also named Isaac), who went on to run a
large, and it has to be said successful smuggling empire, in the process buying
up land and property across the counties of Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire and
Hampshire. Eventually, he 'came in from the cold' and accepted a King's Pardon
in 1782 (in return for effectively paying a large fine, by buying the services
of two 'volunteers' for service in the Navy) and ended his life in Wimborne as
a respected member of the community. Isaac Gulliver (d. September 1822)
therefore was accounted a wealthy man. He owned several houses between Poole
and Wimborne and in 1789 acquired Manor Farm in West Moors which had been built
a few years earlier; this became 'Gulliver's Farm'. Only the original barn
remains - the original farm house burnt down in 1935. It would have been
logical to have owned property in the area, both as an investment for the
future, but also to act as staging posts on the route from the coast to the
city of Salisbury. Isaac Gulliver became a Churchwarden at Wimborne Minster
& is buried there. The Fryers were known to Isaac and may even have
been associated with them in the smuggling trade in the late 18th and very
early 19th century, but John Fryer, the patriarch of that line, also had
legitimate interests in the lucrative shipping trade with Newfoundland &
was also to become involved with banking in Dorset. The Castlemans also
were heavily involved in banking, and of course through Charles Castleman, were
responsible for bringing the railway to southwest Hampshire and southern Dorset
- and in the process hastening the social and economic changes that brought a
revolution to peoples lives through the 19th and early 20th century.
The 'Fryer' link with West Moors comes about through the marriage of
Elizabeth Gulliver and William Fryer; the latter was a prominent
banker in Wimborne Minster (an important town in this part of Dorset) & who
was associated (partner of?) Charles Castleman, of railway 'corkscrew'
fame. Elizabeth was granted gifts of land in the local area (from her father on
her marriage & again on his death), which in turn became associated with
the 'Fryer' name. Elizabeth and William also invested in local hostelries on
their own account - a useful hedge against the future.
A further familial link with railways comes about later, as Gulliver's
grand-daughter, Ann (or Anne), married Edward Castleman, elder brother
of Charles [ E & C Castleman, Solicitors, Wimborne & Ringwood ].
Following formation of the railway (Southampton & Dorchester), Edward
invested £3500 in shares, but had little direct involvement in the running
of the company. He was apparently a specialist in administration of large
country estates - links with Uddens perhaps over whose land a length of the
railway runs.
Some dates of importance:-
1842: Land owned by the Fryer family conveyed to the National Society
for a school.
1896**: On January 6th, some land along Station Road was sold by Sir
Frederic William Richards Fryer and his wife, Dame Frances Elizabeth to
Trustees, (presumably Claud Brown as Vicar and the serving Church Wardens),
"containing by estimation one and a half acres" for the sum of
£37-10s. **However, there's something odd here: in "The Heart of the
Village", by Catherine Hazard, which is a history of St. Mary's School,
the date of opening of the school was given as the 18th February, 1986. If the
land was conveyed on the 6th January, and the school opened (a substantial
brick-built building) on the 18th February, some pretty nifty building work had
been going on! I'm more inclined to believe that the land was conveyed the
previous year - but this is only my speculation.
1914: In this year, Sir Frederic(k) William Richards FRYER offered the
West Parley Parish Council (the local council at the time) a piece of land as a
site for a village hall in West Moors. The Great War (1914-1918) prevented the
project going ahead straightaway, but in 1920 an ex-Army hut was erected on the
spot now used as the Memorial Hall car park. A fund was set up to raise money
to build a all as a memorial to those that had been killed in the war. It was
completed in 1929. Sir Frederick was born in 1845 and died in 1922, so he
didn't live to see the project finished.
1973: About 100 years after the opening of the first public house (see
1871 above), the Blandford Brewery, Hall & Woodhouse Ltd., bought a piece
of land from Captain F.W.B. FRYER (Frederic Walter Balfe: d. 9/3/1978) and the
FRYER ARMS opened for business in 1973. Captain Fryer was a direct descendant
following the marriage of William Fryer & Elizabeth Gulliver.
Specific entries for the 'main players' in the Gulliver - Fryer -
Castleman saga, as it relates to West Moors.
John FRYER (1724 - 1810):
Nominally of Southampton, but there is an inscription at Wimborne Minster which
mentions him as being .. " of this town " & he probably also had
links with the Isle of Wight. Died 29th September, 1810. Probable 'associate'
of Isaac Gulliver in the smuggling trade. Father of William Fryer (q.v.), who
married Gulliver's daughter, Anne (or Ann q.v.); the Fryers became very
wealthy, through the Newfoundland fishing trade & banking. In particular,
this from the RBS web site: " .... private bank was established in
Wimborne in c.1790 as Fryer, Andrews, and William Woolfry. A 1797 list of
country bankers lists 'Fryer & Co' as bankers at both 'Winbourn and Poole'.
It was also known as 'Wimborne, Poole & Blandford Bank' and 'Dorset Bank'.
By 1840 it had branches at Poole, Ringwood, Blandford, Wareham and Sturminster
Newton. It was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1840, which later
was merged with the Westminster Bank (1970), the group becoming the National
Westminster (later NatWest); this too was absorbed into the RBS 'empire'
eventually.
Isaac GULLIVER (1745 - 1822):
Born - Semington, nr. Melksham, Wiltshire, 1745 (September 5th), settled end of
life in Wimborne where he died in 1822 (Friday 13th September), aged 77;
however for several years at the end of his life, he resided, albeit often
turning up in others of his properties, in what is now West Moors, from at
least 1789 (Gulliver's Farm, was Manor Farm) to 1817, at which latter date he
moved to Wimborne. His father (also Isaac) was a smuggler (spirits, wine, tea
& tobacco - all heavily taxed commodities), and Isaac junior followed the
family trade. His area of operation for smuggling purposes extended over large
parts of east Dorset, including Longham, Kinson, Corfe Mullen & West Moors:
the 'shore-line' front for seaward operations probably extended from Poole to
Christchurch, which at the time was virtually uninhabited and backed by the
wide expanse of Poole Heath - itself a part of the great Dorset heathlands that
extended well to the north and west. Married in 1768 (Gulliver aged 23)
Elizabeth Beale, whose father (William) was also in the 'trade'.
Daughter Elizabeth (q.v.) married William Fryer (q.v.); as an individual, and
by virtue of extension through the family, the 'Gulliver-Fryer' dynasty were to
own land & property, including a number of inns, in this area. Note that
Gulliver's grand-daughter (daughter of Elizabeth & William), Anne (or Ann
q.v.) married Edward Castleman (q.v.), who was the brother of Charles Castleman
(railway, q.v.).
On his death, the majority of Isaac Gulliver's lands in West Parley (which
would have included those in West Moors), passed to Frederick William Fryer
(q.v.), the youngest child/son of the marriage of William Fryer & Elizabeth
Gulliver: this was a magnificent bequest! It specifically included the farm at
West Moors, and presumably large parcels of land attached.
William Rolls FRYER (1770 - 1834):
Born - xxxxx, 1770, Banker (amongst other interests, including shipping &
possibly smuggling) of Wimborne, where he died in 1834 (age 64). It is almost
certain that William (and hence the Fryer family) benefitted from the marriage
to Isaac Gulliver's daughter, Elizabeth (q.v.), both in monetary terms and in
land/property: however, the Fryers were wealthy in their own right.
Elizabeth GULLIVER [FRYER on marriage in 1793, aged 23] (1770 - 1839):
Born - Sixpenny Handley, 1770 (late January/baptised 4th February), daughter
(and eldest child) of Isaac Gulliver (q.v.); died 1839. Thought to be the
'favourite' child of Isaac Gulliver & inherited the entire estate on his
death, his son having died without marrying and his second daughter (Ann)
doesn't seem to have figured prominently: she married twice, without bearing
any children.
Ann (or Anne) FRYER [CASTLEMAN on marriage in 1823, aged 24] (1799 -
xxxx):
Was the third child / eldest daughter from the marriage of William Fryer &
Elizabeth Gulliver. She married Edward Castleman in 1823. She had a
considerable fortune in her own right, through the provision made for her by
her grandfather, Isaac Gulliver.
Edward (or Edmund in some texts?) CASTLEMAN (1800 - 1861):
Edward is the brother of Charles (of 'Corkscrew' fame), and was a minor
shareholder in the Southampton & Dorchester Railway (see elsewhere for more
on this). On marriage, Ann & Edward made their home in one of the inns that
Ann's grandfather (Isaac Gulliver) had owned in the area. As well as being a
lawyer (he was to administer, or assist with the administration of many great
estates in the area), he was a partner in the Wimborne Bank, which eventually
was purchased by the Wilts and Dorset bank, which in turn became part of Lloyds
Bank.
Frederic William FRYER (1812 - 1890):
was the youngest child/son of the marriage between William Fryer &
Elizabeth Gulliver (see above), born 22nd March, 1812. On the death of his
grandfather (Isaac Gulliver q.v.), the lands in West Parley (which included
West Moors) passed to Frederic William: as he would have only been 10 years
old, this must have been held in trust until he was 21 years old (in 1833). By
1869, Frederick was one of the major land-owners across what we now know as
West Moors, though at this time, habitation was still sparse - mainly
concentrated in the farms along the Uddens / Mannington brook, and some
clustered around the railway station (built in 1866/67) & some individual
cottages around the moorland edge. He married Emily Frances Richards and they
had three children, the eldest of these (Frederick William Richards Fryer)
inherited the West Moors estates on his father's death. However, this Fryer
began the process of gifting plots of land for village use. Apparently, he
lived the greater part of his life on the Isle of Wight.
Charles Castleman (1807 - 1876):
The brother (younger by 7 years) of the above Edward. He was also trained for
the legal profession and was a practising solicitor in Wimborne Minster.
Charles was the 'moving force' behind the Southampton & Dorchester Railway,
which was to run through what is now West Moors, though at the time was little
more than a collection of farms on the edge of a wide expanse of moorland. On
the deposition of the Bill seeking authorisation for the railway, Charles
Castleman is listed as a 'principal director / shareholder' and also acted as
the Secretary & Solicitor for the company. The London & South Western
Railway (L & SWR) took over the Southampton & Dorchester [ in 1848, a
year after opening; it had always run the railway ] and in 1855 Charles became
a director of that company, eventually holding the post of Chairman between
1873 & 1875. Given the family connections outlined elsewhere, it is
inconceivable that the Castlemans didn't benefit the Fryers and vice-versa with
land-for-cash deals and appropriate shares in the railway.
Frederic (later Sir Frederic) William Richards FRYER (1845 - 1922):
born: 25th January, 1845, died 20th February 1922. Frederic was the eldest
child (and eldest son/heir) from the marriage of Frederic William Fryer &
Emily Frances Richards. He married Frances Elizabeth Bashford (~1870), the
daughter of W.C. Lake Bashford of Soberton, Hampshire - she died on Christmas
Day, 1920. He entered the Bengal Civil Service in 1864 (aged 19), graduated
within that service in 1869 (aged 24) and the first 22 years of his working
career were spent in the Punjab. His later posts include: Financial
Commissioner in Burma (1888), Officiating Financial Commissioner, Punjab
(1894-1895) then the first Lt-Governor of Burma from 1897 to 1903: Burma had
been regarded as a province of British India since 1886, but it had only had a
'Chief Commissioner' to represent the Crown. He was invested as Knight
Commander, Order of the Star of India (K.C.S.I.), probably on this last
appointment. Presumably in 1903 he retired to the United Kingdom. As he would
have been 58 in 1903, it is likely that he would have retired home to Britain
at that time. Sir Frederic was a great keeper of diaries, and these have been
published - along with photograph albums of his time in India & Burma. His
extensive diaries from 1865-1880 describe his early life in the Punjab. He also
published a book relating to the tribes of Burma. It is through his line that
parcels of land in West Moors derive: their son, Frederic(k) Arthur Bashford
FRYER, eventually became Brigadier General with the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons,
and died in September 1943. This Frederic married Frances Esme Balfe (who died
in 1948), and they had four children; Kathleen, Frederic, Esme and Frances -
the aforementioned Frederic is mentioned below. Frances Balfe came from Irish
Roman Catholic stock, and it is interesting to speculate that perhaps the land
that now accommodates the Roman Catholic church was once part of the Fryer
inheritance, which was ceded to the church (in the 1920s) at the instigation of
Frances.
Frederic (or Frederick) Arthur Bashford FRYER (1871 - 1943):
The eldest child (and eldest son / heir, born 13th August, 1871) of the
marriage between Frederic William Richards Fryer & Frances Elizabeth
Bashford. Joined 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, 1890 and for a time (from 1897)
was A.D.C. to the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma (who was, of course, his
father). He served in the South African ('Boer') wars, and was promoted to
Major in 1903. On the 30th January, 1904, he married Frances Esme Balfe (q.v.)
and they had four children, who all died without issue. With these deaths (the
last in 2008), the 'local' Fryers were to lose their link with West Moors.
Brigadier-General Fryer and his family had their seat at Shreton House,
Blandford, and he was sometime Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Dorset and
was also a J.P. He died on the 23rd September, 1943.
Frances Esme BALFE (xxxx - 1946):
Frances Balfe married Frederic Arthur Bashford Fryer (then either Major or
Brigadier-General) on the 30th January, 1904. She was the second child (and
second daughter) of the marriage of Lt-Col. Walter Balfe & Esme Mary
Fitzgibbon. She died on 3rd December, 1946. Frances came from an old Irish
family, following the Roman Catholic tradition (on her mother's side). She was
raised as a Catholic and it is interesting to speculate that, as we know the
Fryers owned the land where the later 'Fryer Arms' was built, they also owned
& perhaps gifted the land where the RC church stands now. It would probably
all be part of the same large property - possibly the Fryers owned the freehold
of Woolslope Farm, but I haven't been able to confirm that.
Frederic (or Frederick) Walter Balfe FRYER (xxxx - 1978:
Eldest son (and second child) of the marriage of Frederic Arthur Bashford Fryer
and Frances Esme Balfe. As the sole male heir to this line of the Fryer family,
the remaining estates in West Moors came to him on the death of his father (in
1943), and it is he who sold parcels of land for building places like the
'Fryer Arms' etc. He died, as did his sisters (Kathleen, Esme & Frances)
leaving no heirs. His younger sister (Frances) died in 2008 and was the last of
the 'West Moors' Fryers to die.
Description of Fryer tombstone at Kinson:
" Sacred to the memory of William Fryer Esq. of Wimborne Minster and
Lytchett, Dorset, banker. Died March 1834, aged 64 years. Also Elizabeth, his
wife, daughter of Isaac Gulliver Esq. of West Moors, Dorset. Died 1839 aged 69
years. [ by this marriage, the families of Gulliver and Fryer are linked ]
Also John Fryer Esq. of Wimborne Minster eldest son of above, died Oct 1854
aged 57 years. Also Mary his wife, daughter of Christopher Harding Esq. died
1886 aged 79 years. Also Lieut. General Sir John Fryer Knight Commander of the
Most Honourable Order of Bath Colonel of the 6th Dragoon Guards, the
Carabiniers eldest son of the above John and Mary Fryer. Died 28th January 1917
aged 78 years. Also Catherine Lady Fryer, 52 years wife of Lieut. General Sir
John Fryer, K.C.B and daughter of George Reed Esq. East Brent Manor, Somerset
died August 1914 aged 74 years. Erected in 1915 by Lieut. General Sir John
Fryer K.C.B. to the honoured memory of his forefathers. "
An attempt to portray the 'linking' between the three families through business partnerships and marriage.
Sources:
http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/kinsondorset/page3.phtml [
accessed 12th November 2009 ]
http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/kinsondorset/page12.phtml [
accessed 12th November 2009 ]
http://www.thedorsetpage.com/history/Smugglers/Smugglers.htm [
accessed 12th November 2009 ]
http://www.stmaryswestmoors.org.uk/parish_history.htm [
accessed 28th November 2009: this latter a particularly useful source ]
[ Last entry: 18 APR 2010 ]