Millennium Project
by Jon Malings
Click on the highlighted years to see details of associated documents.
1649 Richard Jakeman sold to William Sturch for £15 5s. [£24K]
1665/6 William Sturch died. I assume that his son William (jnr.) inherited Winmour Cottage
1698 William Sturch (jnr.) died and left the property to his son William.
1698/99 William Sturch, carpenter of the City of London, sold the property to his mother Mary Sturch for 20/-. "in consideration of the natural love and affection which he hath and beareth unto his mother and for her better maintenance and provision." Richard Clary is living in the house.
1699/1700 Mary Sturch, widow, sold to John Langston, Gentleman of Deddington, for £13 10s. [£22K]
1707 John Langston died. From later events I assume he bequeathed the property jointly to his unmarried daughters Ann and Elizabeth Langston.
1725 Ann Langston died. In her Will she left a lifetime interest in her half-share of Winmour to her serving maid Katherine Waite. Ann requested her sister Elizabeth do the same with her half-share if she should die before Katherine. John Rouse is living in the house.
1750 Elizabeth Langston died. In her Will there is no mention of a cottage in Philcote Street or a half-share of the same. Elizabeth bequeathed £120 [£180K!] to her servant Catherine Waite plus linen and apparel. It’s not clear when/how Catherine became the freehold owner.
1755 Catherine Waite, spinster, died. By this time a second tenement had been built on the (north) side of the original cottage and Catherine owned both. In her Will she left:
One cottage to her brother and his wife, John and Anne Wyatt, for their lifetimes, then to be passed to their son John.
The other cottage, newly built, to her nephew John Wyatt, son of John and Anne. If John jnr had no heirs then both cottages passed to Catherine's other brother Richard Wyatt and his heirs on John jnr.'s death.
1756 John Wyatt snr, labourer of Deddington, died. In his will he left everything to his wife Anne.
1768 John Wyatt jnr. and his mother Anne both died. John apparently had no heirs so the whole of Winmour then must have passed to Catherine Waite’s brother Richard Wyatt.
1774 William Wyatt, goldbeater of St. Martins in the Fields London, son and lawful heir of Richard Wyatt, sold both cottages to William Bennett, weaver, of Deddington, for £25. [£34K] The two tenements had previously been occupied by John Tilly and William Bennett but now only by William Bennett.
1790 William Bennett took a mortgage on the property for £21 [£25K] from Richard Bignell, Gentleman of Banbury. William was living in one tenement and Ann Smith in the other.
1792 William Bennet sold to Robert Killby, baker, of Deddington, for £40. [£48K]. Only William was mentioned as living in the property.
1793 William Bennett was still living in Winmour when Robert Killby resold to John Bennett, weaver, son of William, for £40... !?
1801 William Bennett died (probably)
1806 John Bennett sold the property, now occupied by him and Mary Williams, to Samuel Churchill, Gentleman, solicitor in Deddington, for £80. [£57K]
1808 The Deddington Enclosure map shows the “proprietor” of Winmour (number 138 on the key) as the Deddington Feoffees…probably on lease from Samuel Churchill.
1818 Samuel Churchill sold Winmour to Hannah Turner, widow, of Evenley Northants and Clifton, for £100. [£73K]. I assume that Samuel had leased out the property to the Feoffees Charity. Occupiers are listed as Benjamin Harris, William Wilkins and Ann Cleaver who all appear to be elderly.
1823 Hannah Turner sold to John Hopcraft, mason, of Deddington for £100. [£83K]. The occupiers were "The Overseer of the Poor of Deddington and their undertenants".
1830 John Hopcraft took a mortgage of £100 [£83K] from William Rose, joiner, of Deddington and George Rogers, blacksmith, of Steeple Aston. He is occupying the propety alone
1837 John Hopcraft sold to Michael Rose, yeoman of North Aston, in trust for William Rose, for £20 [£16K] and the mortgage. The then occupiers were John himself and William Banes.
1839 George Rogers, the provider of the Mortgage, died. His Will identifies the Trustees who will manage his assets, including the Winmour Mortgage.
1840 Executors of William Rose (owner) and George Roberts (mortgagee) auctioned the property. Henry Dean, farmer of Deddington, bought it for £102. [£77K]
1840 and the 1841 Census: Thomas French, the sexton, occupied one tenement with his family. In the other were Joseph Kilby, a sawyer, and his wife.
1851 Census: The tenants were Mary Hopcraft, a widow, with her two adult sons, both mason's labourers and Francis Knibbs, a labourer, with his family.
1861 Census: Mary Hopcraft had remarried. She and her (new) husband John French, a road surveyor, lived alone. John Payne, an agricultural labourer, lived next door with his wife and son.
1871 Census: John French had died. Mary's son George Hopcraft,with his wife and six children, had moved into one of the (small) tenements. John Payne, now still next door but was subletting to Richard Slott, a cabinet maker, and his family.
1877 Henry Dean sold, by way of Mortgage, to Henry Mullis, saddler of Deddington, for £500 [probably a typo for £50 [£26K] according to the 1926 Abstract of Title from which this information is taken. The tenants were named as George Hopcraft and Richard Slott.
1881 Census: George H is still in residence, Richard Slott has gone and John Matthews, a brickmaker, had moved in with his wife and three young children.
1891 Census: George Hopcraft looks to be a permanet fixture. John H Gregory, a rural postman, occupied the other tenement with his wife and two children.
1895 Kelly's Directory: George Hopcraft is listed as a grocer in Philcot street.
1901 Census: One cottage is empty and George, his wife and one adult son are in the other. It could be that the Hopcrafts are occupying both cottages and using one as the grocer's shop. As both the men are working as labourers maybe George's wife Jane was running the grocery business.
1902: George Hopcraft died but his widow Jane continued to live in the property, as will be apparent later.
1905 Henry Mullis sold to Clara Emma Mullis, spinster, [and his niece], for £100. [£42K]
1911 Census and Kelly's Directory: Jane Hopcraft, widow, lived and worked in Winmour as a "small grocer" with her adult daughter Elizabeth.
1916: Jane Hopcraft died. It looks like William Hopcraft (whoever he was) took over the tenancy.
1926 Clara Mullis sold to Frank Seymour Hirons, labourer, for £67. [£13K]
1926 Mr. Hirons gives George Hopcraft, the tenant, notice to quit
1926-1952 Various bills and correspondence. Fire insurance, connecting to the water main, replacing the thatched roof, a new kitchen floor and a proposal to sell a small piece of garden.
1961 Frank Seymour Hirons sold to Walter George Hayward.
1963 Walter George Hayward sold to William Thomas Moreby.
1988 The house was given a Grade 2 listing by the Department of the Environment as “a building of special architectural or historic interest”.
1988: Messrs Hancocks solicitors presented a Schedule of Documents to Mr. Moreby as he was, apparently, selling the property.
1994 Winmour was owned/occupied by Steven and Anne Goodison. They sold a small piece of their garden to Lynette Green, owner of the adjacent Calder Cottage; presumably the same piece that Mr. Cooper wanted to buy in 1948.