COPY OF LETTER
from Robert Bickersteth
Corpus Christi College
Oxford

to Miss Emma Bickersteth
Catterton Hall

Dated April 28, 1866

My dear Cousin,

I think I promised you when I was at Catterton last summer to let you know if in going over it all I saw anything about our ancestors. I will now tell you what I have done in the way of discovery.

The earliest date at which I have at present found our name existing is A.D. 1212, when our ancestors were lords of the township or manor of “Bickerstaffe” or “Bickersteth,” which they held from King John in Lancashire.

As far as I can make out from the manuscripts which I have consulted in the British Museum and Bodleian Library they appear to have come into this estate in quite the ordinary way, the son of Henry III became Earl of Lancaster and they consequently became his tenants.

Our most distinguished ancestor seems to have been Sir Robert de Bickersteth who was sheriff of Lancashire in the years 1311 and 1315.

I have found in Rymer’s Foedera the pardon granted by Edward II in 1313 to the Barons who fought the King at the battle of Bannockburn and “Roger de Bickersteth” is mentioned as one of them.

About the middle of the fourteenth century the name seems to disappear from the possession of the estate and to pass to the Scarisbrick and Stanley families.

The Bickersteths seem to have been able to keep some property in Aughton, for the next fact I found out about them was in a notice of the will of Anne (or Emma) Bickersteth who was the widow of James Bickersteth of Aughton and who divided her property between her son Thomas Bickersteth and two daughters Anne wife of Richard Wighall and Catherine wife of Nicholas Hesketh of Aughton.

Here my researches have stopped for the present.

I have a copy of the notices of our name in the registers of Ormskirk Church but they do not give one very much help.

I had chiefly intended to tell you a rather interesting discovery I made about one branch of our family who settled in Surrey in the 16th century.

I cannot find the name of the man who first left Lancashire, but his son or grandson was Hyam Bickersteth of Chertsey in Surrey who for his loyalty to Charles II was fined £500 and three times imprisoned.

His son was Sir Charles Bickersteth who was knighted by Charles II.

Sir Charles had three sons — one became a Treasurer who was killed in the army and died at Breda — Charles who died young — and another Charles who died unmarried.

They lived at the “Wilderness” in Kent and the park there was laid out by Sir Charles.

After his death the estate passed to Sir John Pratt father of the first Lord Camden and since that time the Camden family have lived there.

Of course these Bickersteths have nothing to do with us except through the same family as their line is extinct.

What I am now most anxious to do is first to fill up the blank from 1394 to 1500 and then to find out who James Bickersteth (the father of Henry Bickersteth my great-grandfather’s father) was, and if possible to trace his line up to the Bickersteths of the 16th century.

In addition to my researches in the manuscripts I have been consulting a very modern book — the Lancashire Directory for 1866 — and have found the following names:

Edward Bickersteth Esq., Ivy Cottage, Brighton-le-Sands, Liverpool
Mrs Frances Bickersteth, Highfield Cottage, Ormskirk
J. Bickersteth Esq., J.P., Catterton, Preston
J. Bickersteth Esq., J.P., 31 West Cliff, Preston
W. Bickersteth Esq., 57 Bewsey St., Warrington

I do not know whether Ivy Cottage belongs to you — but do you know anything of these other people?

I think it might be worth our while to look them up for they may be in possession of information about the family which we want.

COPY OF LETTER
from Robert Bickersteth
70 Cromwell Road S.W.

to Miss Emma Bickersteth
Catterton Hall

Dated October 28, 1894

My dear Cousin,

I hope you will not think the request I am going to make unreasonable, but if you do of course you will not hesitate to refuse it.

I had occasion to go the other day to the Heralds College and on looking at our pedigree I found that (so far as relates to my grandfather and his descendants) nothing had been entered since my father’s appointment to Ripon in 1856.

I have accordingly had this part of it entered up to date, and I wished to know whether you would allow them to copy the pedigree which our register contains with Henry Bickersteth of Kirkby Lonsdale as a step further back, and also the names of his parents James and Mary Bickersteth (her maiden name was Sherdley) with their marriage which took place at Ormskirk in 1736.

I should as evidence that these two people were the parents of Henry Bickersteth a copy of two entries taken long ago from an old family Bible in Rodney Street.

The Heralds said they were quite ready to make the entries if I could produce the Bible.

What I venture to ask therefore is if you would be so kind as to entrust it to me for a few days to show to the authorities at the Heralds College.

I would take the greatest possible care of it and return it to you in a few days’ time.

They are going to send me the additions to our pedigree which I have given them at a charge — making this request so that if I had the Bible by Tuesday I should probably be able to return it to you by Friday.

It is quite possible that you may not on any consideration be willing to part with the Bible even for a few days or a week or so.

I must only ask you to forgive me for the liberty of my request.

Believe me
Yours affectionately
R. B.

COPY OF LETTER
from Robert Bickersteth
70 Cromwell Road S.W.

to Miss Emma Bickersteth
Catterton Hall

Dated November 30, 1894

My dear Cousin,

I enclose your papers and I am also sending back to you this evening the Bible by parcel post.

I shall be anxious to know that it reaches you safely.

Pray accept my most grateful thanks for lending it and the other papers.

I have hardly done anything in the way of research during the last few weeks as I have had other things to do, but I must try what can be done before Christmas.

I have made one discovery which may prove of interest to us in tracing the family further back.

In the registers of Leyland in Lancashire they have now found another Bickersteth entry.

Among them is a Mr Robert Bickersteth of Aughton who married by licence at Leyland on the 21st February 1685-6 Elizabeth Armetriding, the sister (so far as I can make out) of the Rev. Thomas Armetriding who was Vicar of Leyland from 1689 to 1719.

This Robert Bickersteth had a son Thomas who was baptised on the 31st March 1687.

Robert Bickersteth was buried at Leyland on the 2nd January 1688, but the son apparently lived.

For by his will Mr Armetriding (the vicar of Leyland) left £50 to Mr Thomas Bickersteth of Aughton, gent.

Aughton and Bickerstaffe are both townships of Aughton parish and lie close together.

It is possible that this Thomas Bickersteth was the father of James Bickersteth whose name appears at present at the head of our family tree, but I can only guess this, not prove it.

I do not know at what age James Bickersteth married, but the year was 1736 and his wife Mary Sherdley was at that time about 22.

If we suppose that James was either married at about the same age the dates would just fit in.

We should then get:

Robert Bickersteth of Aughton m. 1685 Elizabeth Armetriding
Thomas Bickersteth baptised 1687
James Bickersteth of Burscough married 1736 Mary Sherdley
Thomas B. elder son born 1746
Henry Bickersteth of Kirkby Lonsdale born 1750 m. Elizabeth Bousfield

This is as I say only guess-work but I hope to clear it up.

If this descent is correct it would account for James Bickersteth calling his son Thomas, the name coming into the family from the Rev. Thomas Armetriding.

But names were already common in the district.

The Ormskirk registers show a Bickersteth (or Bickerstaffe) name as early as 1572 which was given to the son of James Bickerstaffe of Aughton who in 1570 married Anne Westhead.

You see I have a great many dates and entries to work upon but to dovetail them into each other and to identify the relationships is not so easy as one might think.

It is rather like a Chinese puzzle.

My wife adds many messages to your sister and believes me

Yours affectionately
R. B.

Transcription — Research Notebook (continued)

I think that I cannot be quite sure that this Henry was the third son of Robert de Bickersteth by his first marriage. He (Robert) married secondly Isabella daughter of Wm. de Worthington in 1406 and then there was a re-settlement of all his property from which I get the names of all his children, William, Richard, Henry, Thomas, and Katherine.

Henry, the husband of Matilda de Ince, died in 1445 and from him we have a clear descent without a single missing or broken link down to Thomas Bickersteth of Aughton, my great-great-grandfather, and my great-great-grandfather who died in 1735.

Leaving his lands of inheritance in Aughton to his eldest son Robert and the Cockock estate (which was really part of the Aughton property) to his second son John, charging his whole estate with a provision for his third and fourth sons James and Silvester.

James, the third son, was articled as pupil to a Mr Longworth who was the doctor at Ormskirk, and to whom James’ portion was handed over for safe-keeping.

In 1735 Robert and John sold the whole estate and James thereupon executed a deed which I have an abstract acknowledging receipt of his portion from Dr Longworth, and renouncing all claim under his father’s will.

The witnesses to this deed are Henry Sherdley whose daughter he married a few months afterwards, and Henry Sherdley junior — his future brother-in-law.

On the next page I give you the line of descent leaving out all collaterals except the two Robert Bickersteths in the 17th century who inherited the estate in succession.

On the death of Robert “the younger” it went to his step-uncle Thomas — the son of his grandfather by a second marriage.

Pedigree Outline

Henry de Bickersteth
(died 1445)
m. Matilda de Ince

James de Bickersteth
living 1461
m. Matilda

James Bickersteth
living 1521
m. Elizabeth

James Bickersteth
living c.1541
m. Emma

Robert Bickerstaffe
died 1580
m. Margaret

James Bickersteth
died 1583
m. Anne Westhead

Thomas Bickerstaffe
m. Elizabeth (family Bickersteth?)

Robert Bickersteth
“the elder” — died s.p.

Robert Bickersteth
“the younger” — died s.p.

Thomas Bickersteth
buried Aughton 1677
m. Alice

Robert Bickersteth
died 1688
m. Elizabeth Armetriding

Thomas Bickersteth
(1687–1732)

James Bickersteth
m. Mary Sherdley

Henry Bickersteth of Kirkby Lonsdale

I have an immense mass of details about most of these people, chiefly obtained from many of their wills — in some cases quaint and interesting — and a whole legion of collateral relations — brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces etc.

Some day I hope I may be able to show you the pedigree properly written out, but I think it will interest you to have this rough sketch now.

Yours affectionately
R. B.

P.S. I have never made out what became of Robert the younger, the two elder brothers of James Bickersteth.

Copy of Letter

Robert Bickersteth
70 Cromwell Road

to Miss Emma Bickersteth
Catterton Hall

dated December 31st 1902

My dear Cousin,

It is most kind of you to have thought of sending me Mr Patchett’s book and I have duly returned it to your brother at Liverpool.

I was well acquainted with the book for Mr Patchett has given me most valuable help in my earlier researches and sent me a copy as soon as he had printed it.

Since then both he and I have been trying to fix the link between Henry de Bickersteth — the first of the line in Mr Patchett’s tables — and the older Bickersteths who held the manor of Bickersteth in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.

Hitherto we have been unsuccessful, but I have little doubt that if the link is to be found we shall some day come across it.

I pointed out to Mr Patchett one slight mistake in his pedigree.

The wife of Robert Bickersteth, the last Bickersteth owner of Middleton, was not Anne Leatherbarrow but Anne Barton, and they were married in 1729–30.

The Robert Bickersteth who married Anne Leatherbarrow was quite a different person, and at the time of that marriage our Robert Bickersteth was a boy of 14 years of age.

He was only 20 when he married Anne Barton, and that was young enough.

Two or three days ago we had the pleasure of a visit from cousin Ellen and the Bishop.

Yours affectionately
R. B.

From the Registers of Ormskirk, Lancashire

Baptisms

1571 — Emelin Bickerstaffe, daughter of Hugh
1572 — Thomas Bickerstaffe, son of James
1580 — Henry Bickerstaffe of Aughton
1582 — Katherine Bickerstaffe, daughter of Hugh
1625 — John Bickersteth
1636 — Alice Bickersteth
1640 — James Bickersteth
1641 — Jane Bickersteth
1644 — Elizabeth Bickersteth
1703 — Thomas, son of James Bickersteth
1710 — Robert, son of Thomas Bickersteth
1775 — Sarah, daughter of Thomas Bickersteth
1780 — Ann, daughter of Andrew Bickersteth
1789 — Alice, daughter of Andrew Bickersteth
1791 — Richard, son of Andrew Bickersteth

Baptisms continued

1791 — Isabel, daughter of James Bickersteth
1795 — Ellen, daughter of Andrew Bickersteth
1799 — Betty, daughter of Henry Bickersteth
1802 — Thomas, son of Henry Bickersteth
1804 — Jane, daughter of Henry Bickersteth
1807 — Alice, daughter of Henry Bickersteth

Marriages

1568 — Hugh Bickerstaffe & Jane Ashcroft
1570 — James Bickerstaffe & Anne Westhead
1579 — Richard Bickerstaffe & Margaret Cross
1633 — Robert Bickersteth & Alice Scarisbrick
1634 — John Bickersteth & Alice Lea

Marriages continued

1639 — Thomas Bickerstaffe & Maria Bickerstaffe

1736 — Aug. 12 (by licence)
James Bickersteth of Burton-in-Westmorland
and Mary Sherdley of Ormskirk

1736 — Nov. 4 (by licence)
John Bickersteth of Liverpool
and Margaret Fryer of Ormskirk parish

Family Bible Extract (Rodney Street)

Henry Bickersteth
m. Elizabeth Betty

Children recorded:

Elizabeth Bickersteth
James Betty Bickersteth
John Bickersteth
Henry Bickersteth
Elizabeth Bickersteth
Edward Bickersteth
Robert Bickersteth
Mary Ann Bickersteth
Charlotte Bickersteth

Edward Bickersteth married May 5, 1812

John Bickersteth married Henrietta
Their first son born April 21, 1813

Notes on Burials

Here lies the body of Mary, wife of James Bickersteth of Burton who departed this life December 29th 1759 aged 45.

Also Elizabeth Bickersteth who was married Nov. 13th 1775.

Buried April 22nd 1776 — John Bickersteth.

Buried June 6th 1796 — Ann Bickersteth.