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William Baker (alias
Hassall) the Elder 1787 to 1863
BAK00102
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The home page of the Farndale family website of which this section is a part |
The Home page of the Baker family part of the website |
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Notes on the Baker family history |
The Baker Family Tree, which is the best way to search the family history |
Headlines of William Baker The Elder’s life are in brown.
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Context and local history are in purple.
1787
William Baker was the second, but eldest surviving son of Richard
and Hannah (nee Hassall) Baker (FAR00083). William was born in 1787
at Leominster, Herefordshire and baptised on 17 January 1789. His mother’s
surname was Hassall.
1802
William Baker was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was
admitted in 1802.
William inherited Highfields,
Audlem, from his father in 1803, when his father died.
Highfields passed to the younger son, William Baker. William knew
his priorities; They were fox hunting, shooting and
running the estate, and in that order. To do him justice, he would have
experienced great difficulty in taking over from his formidable aunt, “Madam
Barrow”. He hunted with the local packs, Highfields being in those days within
hacking distance of four different hunts. He also kept a private pack, jointly
with his friend and neighbour, Richard Corbett, of Adderley
hall.
1813
William Baker married Anne Hough (1793 to 1854) at St James the
Great, Audlem on 9 August 1813. At the time of his marriage
he gave his name as William Baker alias Hassall.
They had eleven children.
Research by Nicholas
Kingsley: William Baker
(1787-1863), was a pupil at Shrewsbury School. He too seems to have used his
mother's maiden name from time to time, and when he was married in 1813 he was called William Baker alias Hassall. He is not
known to have followed his father and grandfather into architectural practice
or surveying, but one of his five sons, Thomas Dod Baker (1830-80) took up the
profession again and became Borough Architect of Kidderminster; several of the
others became lawyers.
1815
In 1815, when his first son Richard was
born, William Baker was a gentleman.
Richard Dod Baker (1815 to 1843)(BAK00120),
who was unmarried, was born in 1815.
1816
William Dod Baker the Younger (1816 to 1876)(BAK00121)
who later married Prudence Cliff and later his cousin Henrietta Louisa Bellyse
was born in 1816.
1817
Sarah Baker (1817 to 1907)(BAK00122) who
later married James Etches was born in 1817.
1819
Ann Baker (b 1819) (BAK00123)
who later married Rev James Wood was born in 1819.
In
1820 there was a visit by the Duke of Wellington to Combermere
Abbey for the christening of Combermere’s son in
December 1820. During the visit the entourage went to Audlem where Combermere’s brother was the vicar. He had been at the
Audlem grammar school for a period with William Baker and they carried on to
Highfields, bringing the Duke with them. Combermere’s sister, Hester lived at the vicarage and
carved a mantlepiece, commemorating the occasion and when the vicarage was
demolished some years later, the fireplace was removed and placed in a bedroom
at Highfields.
A memorable day was Christmas Eve, 1820. The Duke of Wellington
was staying with his old cavalry commander, Field Marshall Viscount Combermere who, as Harry Stapleton Cotton, had attended Audlem grammar
school with William. On Christmas Eve he and the Duke
visited Combermere 's brother, William Cotton, who
was vicar of Audlem, from where they later drove on to Highfields. The Cotton’s
sister, Hester, commemorated the occasion by carving a fire piece, which
remained in a bedroom at the 17th century Vicarage until this beautiful old
house was, I think very foolishly, demolished by the church commissioners some
years ago. The fireplace was acquired by the writer, and
is now in a bedroom at Highfields.
1821
John Hough Baker (1821 to 1842) (BAK00124),
who was unmarried was born in 1821.
1823
Mary Baker (1823 to 1905)(BAK00125) who
later married John Piercy was born in 1823.
1825
Jane Baker (1825 to 1914)(BAK00126) who
later married her cousin Joseph Haywood Belyse was born in 1825.
1827
George Baker (1827 to 1877)(BAK00127)
who later married Jane Allman was born in 1827.
1830
Thomas Dod Baker (1830 to 1880)(BAK00128)
who was unmarried was born in 1830.
1832
Charlotte Baker (b1832)(BAK00129) who probably
died young was born in 1832.
1834
Charity Baker (1834 to 1920)(BAK00130) who
married Henry Piercy was born in 1834.
1839
In 1839, he was a JP for Cheshire. William was a Justice of the Peace for Cheshire between 1839 and
1863.
1851
1851 Census – Highfields, Woodhouse Lane, Buerton,
Nantwich, Cheshire:
William Baker, 63, head, magistrate
esquire
Ann Baker,57
Ann Baker, 30
Mary Baker, 27
Jane Baker, 25
George Baker, 23
Thomas Dod Baker, 21
Charlotte Baker, 19
Charity Baker, 17
4 servants
Waggoner
1860
William Baker of Highfields, from a
photograph on glass taken about 1860
1861
1861 Census – Kinsey Heath, Buerton,
Nantwich, Cheshire
William Baker, head, widower, born Leominster, Herefordshire in
1788, 73, magistrate
Ann Baker, daughter, unmarried, 38, magistrate’s daughter, born Buerton
Mary Baker, daughter, unmarried, 33, magistrate’s daughter, born Buerton
Jane Baker, daughter, unmarried, 30, magistrate’s daughter, born Buerton
George Baker, son, unmarried, 28, solicitor, born Buerton
Charlotte Baker, daughter, unmarried, 25, magistrate’s daughter,
born Buerton
Henrietta Baker, granddaughter, unmarried, 11,
born London
Jane E Baker, granddaughter, unmarried, 6, born Buerton
Richard D Baker, grandson, unmarried, 4, born Buerton
A visitor, John R Piercy, 29 (who would marry Mary Baker in 1863)
3 house servants and a groom
1863
William Baker died on 8 July 1863. He was buried at St James the
Great, Audlem on 13 July 1863.
The Wellington Journal, 18 July 1863: FUNERAL OF THE LATE W BAKER, ESQ. On Wednesday, the 8th
instant, William Baker, Esquire, one of the oldest magistrates for the county
of Chester, expired at his residence, the Highfields, near Audlem, Cheshire,
after a long and lingering illness, at the advanced age of 75. His remains were
consigned to their final resting place in the churchyard, Audlem, in the same
grave as his beloved wife, on Monday last. The deceased was followed to the
grave by his three sons, three sons in law, and other relations and friends. A number of people congregated in the churchyard to witness
the last mournful and solemn rites of the deceased gentleman, who through life
was highly and deservedly esteemed, not only for his readiness to do any act of
kindness to his neighbours, but when officiating in his judicial capacity
invariably tempering mercy with justice, which gained for him the goodwill of
all men. He was indeed a true specimen of the fine old English gentleman, and
his name will long be remembered and his loss deeply
deplored in this county.
His will was proved 29 October 1863.
His wife, Anne was buried at Audlem on 5 December 1854.
One of the stained glass windows at
Audlem church has the inscription:
To the glory of God, and in memory of William Baker who died AD
1863, and of William Baker his son, who died 1876, both of Highfields in this
parish, justices of the Peace, this window is dedicated.