1839 Tithe notes (supplemented with reference to census and other sources)

 

Upton Township included some of what we today call Bache – it bordered onto the Townships of Bache; Moston; Caughall; Picton and Newton.

Upton contained 1106 acres of which over half was owned by Baronet Sir Philip Egerton whose family line Brock/Egerton had been ‘Lord of the Manor’ since Elizabethan times.

Other major landowners were Land Agent Samuel Brittain; Lloyd & Henry Branford ;  – who owned land bordering Newton and may have held Newton’s Manor; & Charles Potts of a long-established Chester family. The Earl of Kilmorey still held most of Upton and the 1839 Tithe Apportionment recorded his dues from each land plot.

 

There were two main clusters of dwellings

·        Upton Heath -  (the village pump area) – cottages

·        Upton Village – (Church Ln / Upton Ln / Demage Ln junction near Golfclub) mainly farm houses/yards but some cottages

and two smaller clusters

·        (Bache – around the Egerton Arms)

·        (Liverpool Rd ribbon development near Frog Inn

and a few individual or pair of dwellings.

 

Most farmers were tenant farmers leasing fields which were not always adjacent and changed hands according to demand. Hence ‘farms’ couldn’t be defined as specific single entities. People recorded on the census as ‘farmers’ occupied land from only two acres up to a few hundreds of acres.  The fields used by a particular farmer were not confided within a township boundary and so occupiers of fields within Upton may have been farmed by farmers living in a neighbouring township or further afield.

 

Only 62 dwellings in all with no school or church although some public houses and some provisions were sold from dwellings.

 

The asylum had been recently built (the 1829 building) on a site of a few acres – known as the asylum gardens (18) with a lodge and tree’d drive (17a) – all in the ownership of the County Magistrates.

 

There was only one ‘gentleman’s estate’ – Charles Potts (established Chester family) owned the old ‘Upper Upton Hall’ (site of the Golfclub) – possibly by inheritance.

 

The Chester & Birkenhead railway had ownership of the track cutting north to south through the western part of the township splitting many fields into two.

 

 

The apportionments were assigned to plots 1-154 and 156 - 185 although some of these were further subdivided such as 76 and 76a. Where these plot numbers are given in the text below they are shown in red (34).

NB – to aid identification - the following text describes where the field plots were in relation to today’s landmarks such as road names, golf course,  shops etc

The farms

  • Tenant farmer - Thomas Seacome occupied Upton Hall (12)– with most of the fields to the west of the railway line 1,2,8,9,10,11,13b,14,15,16,17,19,20,12a,13 but also much of the Bache pool area.26,26a , and part of the golf course (49,50).

 

  • Tenant farmer - Thomas Ithell ( a father and son both Thomas – aged 59 and 23 in 1839) occupied the farmhouse & yard (61) in Upton Village n. of Upton Lane (by sandpit) with fields 63,64,66,67,68 to the n. incl the dale 65. They also had fields w. of Grange farm 163,164,165 and 73,74,75,77 west/north of the dwellings 78  (known at various times as Demage Hall & Demage farm). The 1851 census records the Ithells as farming 267 acres – at a  quarter of Upton’s land area - theirs was the largest ‘farm’ although they only owned some 4 acres in 1839.

 

  • George Rolison (he signed Rolison but many records show Rolinson) occupied the Egerton Arms public house (22) and a few acres (21,23,24,24a) to the north of Mill Ln from Liverpool Rd to the Mill Ln rise. He also had hay fields 37 & 38 (Wealstone Ln playing fields) and 41 part of the golfcourse. (He is recorded in the 1851 census as a farmer of 40 acres but in Bagshaw’s directory – though as George Robinson - as the victualler of the Egerton arms. By the 1874 directory his son Charles Rolinson is the victualler).

  • Tenant farmer - Martha Denson occupied the house – 88 (opposite the house now named Upton Farm) and the walled garden 86. She is also recorded as occupying fields 80 – 85, 89,90,90a,97 (much of central Upton bordered by Church Ln /Heath Rd/ A41/Demage Ln). Fields 127-130 known as Marl Heyes. Fields 140 – 145 much of the land between Flag Ln Nth. and just beyond Caughall Rd. By the 1851 census and Bagshaw’s 1850 directory she is not mentioned – presumably deceased.   Beecroft ??? jo in 1874 upton green – William in 1851 with 140acres

 

  • Tenant farmer - Samuel Thomason occupied the moated Grange farm (171,172) and surrounding fields 166 – 185. He also had his own field 115  - site of Upton High school & playing fields. In the 1851 census he is recorded as aged 50 and unmarried; farming 165 acres.

 

  • Tenant farmer - Joseph Jones occupied a house(91) on the corner of Church Ln fields 119,120,123-126 (Westlea school area); 76&76a,146,154,156-158 (around Caughall Rd and going towards Duttons Ln) and 42/42a (SW part of the golf course); 93 (Known as Kiln croft – site of the Chuch Hall/Vicarage); 96,98,100,101 (Alpraham Cres/Cross Green  area)

 

  • Tenant farmer Joseph Lloyd occupied the farmhouse (31) by Upton Mill and occupied the Mill orchard (32) and nearby fields fields (33-35) – these some fifteen years later becoming the new residential development Upton Park.

  • James Sadler – occupied the Acres farmhouse/yard (148); and adjacent fields 147,149-152 (Nth of Acres Ln).

Miller

  • William Carter was the tenant miller & farmer of  Upton Mill (30) occupying only two fields 36 (off Wealstone Ln just Nth of Newton); 160 (NthE of LongLn).

Nurseryman

  • Francis Dickson – nurseryman & seedman (bn. Edinburgh)
     (with James Husband?) owned and occupied Upton Villa (later known as Upton House & Stanton House) within the large plot (29). He also owned and used fields 27,27a,28 presumably as nursery ground (on the southern boundary with     Newton and Bache). Plot 28 also contained a building – this may have been the working centre of the nursery business. He also rented field (40) between the Mill and Upton Cross.

 

Gentleman’s estate (probably with a farm manager)

  • Charles Potts (of a long-established Chester family) owned the orchard homestead (43) along with fields 44-48, 51,52 (part of the estate – now golfcourse) and also an isolated field 39 – between the mill and Wealstone Ln.
  • Edward Evans owned and occupied fields 107 – 112  the area that latter became Plas Newton. Could this have been purchased to build Plas Newton ?

 

The following occupied fields within Upton Township but appear not to have lived in Upton. They possibly farmed from outside Upton but had some fields within Upton.

 

  • Henry Hesketh 102,105,106 on the Newton boundary

  • William Fox – 116-118,121,122 (Cornwall Rd area)

  • John Dinwoodie – fields 4-7 in the far NthWst of Upton may have farmed in Moston – even from Moston Hall.

 

  • Richard Massey had two fields  between rail & road 59,9a and the plantation (58,58a) all just s. of the Moston boundary.

  • James Price had a small field (114) just Nth of Newton.

  • Charles Billington had two fields (103,104) just Nth of Newton
     
  • Robert Rolison had a meadow (3) on the western boundary – possibly with more land further west beyond Upton.

  • Isaac David Jacques occupied field 153 on the border with Picton – possibly with other fields in Picton.

 

 

 

 

 

The dwellings

Upton Heath

-         131 (Wheatsheaf area) – 6 cottages owned by Samuel Rushton
- George Blake
- John Smith
- Miss Smith
- Thomas Tasker (Ag Lab married aged 59 in 1851)
- George Taylor
- Charles Williamson ( Railway porter married aged 36 in 1851)

-         132 (Upton Ln / Heath Rd corner) – owned by Lloyd Bamford
- Samuel Blake

-         132a (north side of Heath Rd heading up towards the pump)
- Mary Darlington

-         133 (next up) - owned by Lloyd Bamford
- Mary Farrington (Charwoman married aged 57 in 1851) who also occupied a thin strip of land 161 alongside Brook Av.

-         134 (next up) - owned by Lloyd Bamford
William Parsonage who also had a garden (89a) in the triangle opposite the later site of the Wheatsheaf; and field (138) owned by the Cathedral now partly the site of the A41 between the traffic lights and Flag Ln.

-         135 (next up – three dwellings) – owned by Sir Philip Egerton
- John Jones (also occupied the field 136 (site of Baptist church))
- John Reeves (also occupied the garden 137 (part of the wedge between                   Flag Ln Sth and Heath Rd)
- James Speed

-         139 five dwellings(site of Heath newsagents)- owned by Samuel Brittain
- Isaac Blackman
- Richard Challoner
- John Pulford
- George Reeves
- James Roberts

 

Upton Village

-         70 – (Rose Cottage) Miss Whitelock – owned by Samuel Brittain

-         69  two dwellings next door – owned by Sir P Egerton
- John Hughes who also occupied small field 79 by the Demage cottages
- Mary Hughes

-         86a – two dwellings on Upton Ln by the farm with walled garden
- Mary Brooks
- the Misses Hibbert

-         88 – two cottages alongside Martha Denson’s farmhouse
- John Sauntley
- John Tasker

-         71 – the house later known as Upton Farm with the small croft (72) at the back
- William Cardwell

 

 

The Bache (as part of Upton Township)

Two dwellings (25) occupied by Mary Dutton & Samuel Massey with 25a a garden adjacent to the Bache pool .

 

Upton Cross

John Axe owned and occupied Sand Hole croft (95) and the house and cottage and garden (95a). John Dane tenanted either the house or the cottage.

 

Frog Hall area

Frog Hall (54) owned by John Axe was recorded as five dwellings
-           Matthew Fayle
-           Samuel Hignett

-         Joseph Johnson

-         Samuel Lloyd

-         Thomas Reeves

The public house (55) owned by Lloyd Bramford was occupied by Robert Jones.

The cottage (53) also owned by Lloyd Bramford was occupied by Jane Jones

 

The smithy on the Liverpool Rd (56) and field opposite (10a)– owned by Sir P.Egerton

Occupied by William Darlington (blacksmith) and family

 

Demage Cottages (78) Site of the future Demage Farm (and former Damage Hall?)

Both owned by George Blake (of Upton Heath?) these were occupied by Thomas Bennett (an Ag. Lab.) and Mary Jones . (surrounding fields were occupied by other farmers.)

 

Two dwellings just Sth of the plantation boundary with Moston
- Moses Lanceley & George Wynne