11. STONEHOUSE

Bray Tree

WILLIAM STONEHOUSE and ALICE (11)

 

WILLIAM STONEHOUSE. William had his first child baptised in Whitby in 1667. That gives him a likely birth date in the 1640s. This fits the following.

Baptism. St Mary the Virgin, Whitby
1647 May 23  William son of Will Stonehouse. Whitby

The abode of Whitby means that the Stonehouse family were living in the town and not in one of the outlying parts of the parish.

We have not found the baptisms of any siblings. There are some gaps in the registers between 1649 and 1669, and in other places the ink is faded. Thomas Stonehouse was having children baptised at the same time as William junior. He is probably a brother or a cousin.

William was born towards the end of the Civil War, after which King Charles I was executed in 1649.

Most of his childhood was spent during the Commonwealth period under Oliver Cromwell.

A William Stonehouse, who may be his father (or grandfather) died in 1655. If it was his father, then William junior was only eight.

 

ALICE. We have been unable to find William’s marriage, but in 1701 we have the burial of Alice, wife of William Stonehouse.

They must have married in the 1660s, not long after Charles II retook his father’s crown.

The fishing harbour of Whitby is at the mouth of the Esk on the Yorkshire coast. There are steep climbs on either side.

We know of four children baptised at the church of St Mary at the top of the eastern cliff.

Baptism, St Mary the Virgin, Whitby.
1667 May 22 Margarite daughter of William Stonehouse.
1671 Jan 7  Richard. This first Richard was buried on 5 Aug, aged 7 months.
1673 Oct 8  Richard  Whitby.
1684 Mar 22  John. Whitby

On 29 Oct1684 there is the burial of Mary Stonehouse, daughter of William. The ink in the early registers is faded, so there may be others.

George Fox visited Whitby on a number of occasions from 1651 to 1669. A Quaker meeting house was established in Church Street in 1676. On 21 April 1689, a William Stonehouse was buried in the Quaker cemetery. This is the only Stonehouse entry in the early Quaker registers for Whitby. Our William had his children baptised in the Anglican church, so this is unlikely to be him.

When their children were born, Alice and William were living in Whitby town. Later, they moved to Larpool. This is in the township of Hawsker. It stands on the River Esk, just over a mile south of Whitby. Today, it is dominated by Larpool Hall, but this was not built until late in the 18^th century.

Whitby from Larpool [1]

Both died in Larpool.

Burials. Whitby.
1701 Sep 13  Alice wife of William Stonehouse. Larpool.
1706 Nov 26  William Stonehouse.  Larpool.

We find most of their descendants in the next few generations in this area south of Whitby, down to Fylingdales.

 

[1] Chris Beetles Gallery