James Douglas, gardener
The contents of a collection of documents relating to the Douglas
family of Peterrsham held in the Surrey History Centre archives relate
to James Douglas, described as a 'gentleman' of Petersham Lodge in
the apprenticeship indenture of 1802 (4072/2), and his family.
James Douglas (circa 1749 - 20 January 1811) was a 'gardener',
or estate manager, for Sir William Manners, heir apparent of the
Earl of Dysart at Petersham, Surrey.
There were two houses
called Petersham Lodge in Petersham in the early nineteenth century,
one in River Lane and the other, with which the Douglases were
associated, set in fifty-nine acres of grounds and gardens on the
edge of Richmond Park. According to the Victoria History of the
County of Surrey iii, 529, this Petersham Lodge was the Surrey
residence of Sir William Manners, heir apparent of the Earl of
Dysart, until his death in 1833. In 1834 it was sold by Manners'
executors to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests by whom it was
demolished and its grounds incorporated within the park. [Sir
William Manners, baronet of Hanby Hall, Lincolnshire, styled Lord
Huntingtower 1821 - 1833, was born in 1766. He was the Member of
Parliament (Whig) for Ilchester between 1803 and 1804 and 1806 and
1807. He died at Buckminster Park, Leicestershire, on 11 March
1833.]
The court book of the manor of Petersham for the years
1742-1809 (58/4/2/2 pp292-3 and 297) describes James Douglas as Sir
William Manners' gardener. Information provided by Douglas in his
memorandum book suggests, however, that his duties tended more
towards those of an estate manager. The financial accounts show that
he paid the wages of some fifteen labourers, including a carter, a
mole catcher and two women who did jobs such as weeding in the
stable yard. He can also be seen to have purchased seed, grain for
doves, large quantities of dung and gravel, and to have paid the
costs of turnpikes when the vegetables he had sown and harvested
were sent 'to town'. He also recorded the dates when cows were
served by the bull and on 30 June 1800 noted that twenty-three acres
of grass had been mowed. This evidence is confirmed by the court
book, which shows that Douglas represented Sir William Manners in
the manorial court.
On 1 November 1804 Sir William Manners
was admitted to a parcel of land on the manor and Douglas is
recorded as acting in the court on this occasion as 'his Attorney in
this behalf'. Douglas also seems to have been employed by Elizabeth,
Lady Pembroke, whose gardens at Pembroke Lodge adjoined those of
Manners. On 6 June 1800 he received forty pounds 'By cash of Sir Wm
[William] Manners bart' and on 1 July 1800 he received fifty pounds
from Lady Pembroke. On 17 November 1800 Douglas recorded in his
memorandum book that Sir William Manners had arrived in Petersham
for the winter and on 1 December he recorded 'My half years wages
due this day 36.15s.' On Sunday 15 June 1800 Douglas 'dined at Sir
Wm Manners Oxford street.' [Elizabeth, second daughter of Charles,
third Duke of Marlborough was born in 1737 and died at Pembroke
Lodge in 1831. She married Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Earl
of Montgomery (1734-1794) in 1756. Between 1783 and 1818 she was
Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen Consort]
Personal
information is also recorded in the memorandum book, such as the
death of Betsy Douglas on 17 April 1800 and the death of a Mrs
Douglas on 21 July 1800. The Petersham burial register for 1786-1812
(P48/1/12) records the burial of an Ann Douglas, aged fifty-one, on
25 July 1800 but does not record the burial of Betsy. The reference
in the memorandum book to the education of James Douglas' son at an
un-named school in Reading in July 1800 and the apprenticeship of
James, another son, to James Houlditch of London in 1802 (4072/2)
suggest that James Douglas' marriage by the Rev Crundell to
Elizabeth Riddick of Kingston at All Saints Kingston on 26 July
1801, which is also recorded in the memorandum book, was not his
first marriage.
The Petersham parish registers provide a
little further information about the Douglas family. The baptism
register for the period 1786-1812 (P48/1/4) records the births and
baptisms of four of the children of James and Elizabeth Douglas:
Mary Ann, born December 1803, baptised January 1804; Henry, born
November 1805, baptised December 1805; John, born September 1807,
baptised October 1807 and George, born June 1810 and baptised July
1810. No reference to James Douglas' first marriage or the baptism
of his son, James, were found.
The Petersham burial register
for 1786-1812 (P48/1/12) records the burial of James Douglas aged
sixty-two on 20 January 1811. No reference to his baptism was found
in the Petersham baptism register between 1748 and 1751 (P48/1/3) or
the Surrey fiche of the International Geneaological Index (IGI). The
grant of administration of the goods of James Douglas (4072/3)
reveals that his widow married George Laud before her death in 1827.
No reference to this marriage was found in the Petersham marriage
register 1813-1837 (P48/1/11) or the IGI.
The memorandum book
also records some meterological information, as well as national and
local events such as a 'General Fast Day' on 12 March 1800 and a
race meeting at Epsom on 29 June.
Of the employees named in
the memorandum book Benjamin Humphreys served as parish beadle in
1831 and died in 1848. The 'Mr Blizzard' from whom Douglas made
regular purchases of dung may have been Allen Blizard, innkeeper of
the Plough and Harrow in Petersham. According to the court book of
the manor of Petersham (58/4/2/2 pp297-298) Blizard was admitted on
1 November 1804 to a parcel of land between Petersham burial ground
and the road, formerly held by Sir William Manners. This parcel
adjoined land already occupied by Blizard. It is possible that
Blizard was able to supply Douglas with dung from the stables at the
inn.
See also:
Douglas House, Petersham
Reverend James Douglas, 4th Baron Douglas of Douglas
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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