8. BISHOP-RUSHFORD

Riley Tree

 LANCELOT BISHOP and JANE RUSHFORD (8)

 

LANCELOT BISHOP. Lancelot was married in 1718. We should expect a birthdate around 1693. No baptism has been found near that date, but there is an earlier one.

Baptism. Skipton.
1679 Apr 27  Lanclitt son of Thomas Bishopp of Skipton.

We have found no burial or other marriage for this child, and the name is an unusual one, so it would seem that he did not marry until he was 39.

His mother was Anne Iveson. Lancelot was their first child. He had four younger siblings.

The woollen industry was a major source of occupation in Skipton. Lancelot became a dyer. His great-grandfather and namesake, Lancelot Iveson, and his grandfather Thomas Iveson had rented a house and dyehouse from Lady Anne Clifford of Skipton Castle in the mid-17^th century. We know that Lancelot Bishop became a dyer, so it is very likely that he was continuing to run this dyehouse and probably lived in the adjacent house.

Thomas Iveson and Lancelot’s father, Thomas Bishop, were in partnership in a fulling mill. The water power was supplied by the Eller Beck, a tributary of the Aire. We do not know whether Lancelot also had an interest in this.

When Lancelot’s grandfather Thomas Iveson died in 1700 he left no will. Lancelot was given powers of administration over his estate. The inventory lists only his purse and apparel, valued at £2.00.00. We might have expected this businessman to have left more. Old age and possibly infirmity may have eaten into his savings.

In 1706, Lancelot’s younger brother, 20-year-old Thomas, died. He also left no will but Lancelot Bishop, Dyer, and John Goodgion, Innholder, were granted administration of his estate.

Young Thomas would still have been living at home, so it is not surprising that his inventory too consists of only one item:
The purse and apparel  £03..07..06

  

JANE RUSHFORD. No baptism has been found for Jane Rushford in the Skipton area. Jonas Rushforth and his wife Ellin Wilton were having children baptised there between 1676 and 1685. There is a six-year gap between 1679 and 1685 when she could have been born. Despite the slight difference in surname, she is probably the following:
Baptism. Skipton.
1682 Jun 11  Jane daughter of Jonas Ruston.

 Marriage. Skipton.
1718 Dec 28  Lancelot Bishop, Dyer, and Jane Rushford, Spinster, of Skipton.

There are three baptisms for children of Lancelot Bishop (Dyer) and his wife Jane.
Baptisms. Skipton.
1719 Apr 20  Anne
1722 Mar 26  Thomas
724/5 Feb 15  George. George was buried on 1 Nov 1726, aged one and a half.

In 1735, when Anne was 16, she was apprenticed to Elizabeth Birtwhistle. Her occupation is not recorded. This was an apprenticeship funded by a legacy by Sylvester Petyt.

Burial. Skipton.
1751 Oct 5  Lancelot Bishop, Dyer, of Skipton.
1758 Oct 10  Jane Bishop, Widow, of Skipton.

[1] The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe. Sarah Lowengard.