The Lost Fortune of the Rollestons, Lords of the Manor on a Shoestring…

When Colonel Rolleston inherited the Watnall estate aged 14 in 1862 it was almost bankrupt. His father left less than £100 in his will. The family seat, Watnall Hall, was leased out to tenants and the family were living hundreds of miles away in a terraced townhouse in Brighton.

In a story straight out of Downton Abbey and Outlander, their future wealth and indeed the survival of the entire family line, would depend on astute marriages to renowned and wealthy Scottish families - the Frasers of Torbreck near Inverness; the Dalzells who were the Earls of Carnwath and the Maitlands, Earls of Lauderdale. So what had happened to leave them so impoverished?

Eleven years earlier in 1851 the Watnall Rollestons were well established at Watnall Hall and in some style too. They had an indoor staff of 11 plus gardeners and the Colonel’s father seemed to have put behind him the tragic death of his first wife and only son. At age 65 he had re-established the family line with his new Scottish bride, Eleanor Fraser aged 34, and they had a thriving young family of 3 boys. 

His new wife’s family were the wealthy Earls of Lauderdale. Her mother was Lady Anne Maitland who in 1807 had infamously eloped with a wild young Scottish laird Robert Fraser of Torbreck, Inverness. This Fraser bloodline would play a key role in ensuring the survival of the Rollestons in later generations.

Riddings estate sold by the Rollestons

Like many local landowners, his grandfather had cashed in on the booming local economy by selling the mineral rights for the Rolleston’s Riddings Hall estate near Somercotes to the newly-founded Alfreton Ironworks. The ironworks was at Pye Bridge right next door to the Rolleston’s extensive Riddings estate so their lands and lucrative mineral rights would have been valuable to the company. The deal was £350/year rent plus £150/year for each surface acre of coal mined and £100/year for each surface acre of ironstone for 40 years. Potentially a nice income for the family.

“Copy of an Agreement respecting a lease of coal and ironstone at Riddings and Somercotes from Christopher Rolleston Esq. and son to Thomas Saxelbye & Company. It was agreed this 4th day of July 1806 between James Green of Lenton Abbey, Gentleman, as agent for and on behalf of Christopher Rolleston of Watnall Esq. and Christopher Rolleston the younger, his son, of the same place Esq. on the one part, and Messrs. Thos. Saxelbye, Nath Edwards and Richard Forester Forester, Iron Masters, the partners of the other part.”¹

The Rollestons future prosperity looked assured but a year later Christopher Rolleston senior died. His sons Christopher and Lancelot (the Colonel’s father) inherited the estates. However, for some reason in 1808 the entire estate at Riddings, including Riddings House and the mineral rights were put up for sale at auction. The Ironworks company snapped it up. The auction took place on 23/24 February 1808 in 52 lots. An extract from the notice printed in the Derby Mercury of 7 January, prior to the auction, gives some idea of the size of the Rolleston estate at the time... 

"…In 52 Lots, a Valuable Freehold Estate [Tythe Free], situate at Riddings near Alfreton consisting of several substantial farmhouses and requisite outbuildings, sundry cottages and about 300 acres of valuable meadow, pasture and arable land, divided into convenient sized close, also an extensive right of common over Riddings and Alfreton Common…” A large majority of the Riddings Estate was purchased by Thomas Saxilbye & Company, which later became a significant purchase for the history of the ironworks and of the future of the locality². More of the Rolleston's substantial land holdings in the area is sold in 1809 to "by Lancelot Rolleston to The Butterley Company". Some are retained as in 1830 "All the pits in the Selston area were working the Hard Selston coal and belonged to Chris Rolleston Esq."⁵ but in 1832 the remaining Rolleston land at Riddings, mineral rights and properties in the area were sold³ (this time by Lancelot's brother Christopher Rolleston) to James Oakes owner of the Ironworks for £1926. "Release and Grant of the Manor of Riddings and certain ironstone mines and coal mines under lands in Riddings in the Parish of Alfreton with the necessary powers for working the same." Oakes moved his family to Riddings House (coloured green on the map). The house and grounds were set in 80 acres of land which then became the family home for future generations. 

Why did the Rollestons not continue leasing their land and mineral rights and reaping the rewards? Selling their land was perhaps a foolish move. In 1847 Oakes’s son noticed a black oily substance coming from the walls of his coal mine⁴. The miners thought it had a peculiar odour and when it was tipped into the canal with the drainage water the local boys discovered that it could be set alight by throwing hot coals onto the water's surface.  With the help of his brother-in-law, Lyon Playfair who was a chemist, he sent a sample to his friend James Young for testing. It was crude oil. Playfair with the assistance of Edward Meldrum set up a refinery next to James’s pit to refine the crude oil into paraffin for lamps, yielding 300 gallons per day. Thus was created the world's first oil refinery. The mines and associated works were a financial goldmine and would eventually be incorporated into the Stanton Ironworks company. The Rollestons did not see a penny.

The Rolleston family never held a great deal of land in Watnall either so their income here was not large, mostly from small farms. Now, with the sale of Riddings, unlike many manor owners in the area, they did not own coalmines or mineral rights. They had sold mining rights for the Watnall estate in 1829 to the Barber Company but the small-scale coal mines on their Watnall land had not been particularly successful⁵. However, there were substantial amounts of "new" money coming in the family. Lancelot's uncle, Robert Rolleston, had established himself as a very successful London trader. He had raised his own family based in the leafy London suburb of Camberwell so his Watnall nephews may not have seen any of his fortune when he died in 1826.

Lancelot Rolleston in 1838

His brother Christopher died unmarried in 1840. There's some uncertainty as to who was the older brother. If Lancelot had inherited the estate from Christopher, the recently changed death duty law would have applied. In 1815 death duties were exempt for all close relatives but that only now applied to inheritance from spouses and parents. In 1853 the new Succession Act removed all these exemptions and increased the percentage of tax levied of the value of the estate. This alone could explain the exceptionally low value of Lancelot's estate at his death. Had it been manipulated to avoid the crippling new death duties? Perhaps the estates were not near bankruptcy at all?

He remarried in 1846 and had 4 children in quick succession. As his family grew up, Lancelot’s expenses mounted. The education of his three sons had to be paid for. His 3 daughters from his first marriage all got married around this time, an expensive proposition for him in dowries no doubt. All 3 of them also remarried. Was he expected to provide another 3 dowries? 

The Watnall Troop of Hussars which he had established in 1815 and the County Militia which he took command of in 1833 were expensive to keep up. Officers were expected to equip and finance their local units out of their own pockets and officer’s commissions and promotions back then had to be paid for. There would be expenses involved in becoming the M.P. for South Notts, living in London, which he was elected to in 1837, 1841 and 1847. There was no pay for an M.P. until 1911, they had to meet their own living and accommodation expenses while at Parliament. In 1849 he mysteriously resigned. What was the reason for his sudden resignation? Maybe he wanted to spend more time with his new family in Watnall or maybe he could no longer afford the expense. Adding to the mystery, his replacement as M.P. "unopposed" was his son-in-law Robert Bromley who died the next year aged just 35.

He also held shares in various companies including the developing local railways, a notoriously speculative investment of the time. The Nottingham Date Book of 1845 explains...

“The year is further memorable for an extraordinary movement known as ‘the railway mania.' For several months the money market was deluged with a flood of prospectuses of railway schemes of every character; a Stock Exchange was established in the town; the most fabulous gains were reported; and amongst the holders of stock were clerks, small shopkeepers, and many of no capital whatever. When "the panic" came, nearly the whole of these projects dissolved into airy nothingness, and the holders of the scrip found themselves involved in ruinous expenses.”

He was on the committee of the fledgling Midland Railway. Shares in canal companies at the time were no better, plummeting with the coming of the railways. Perhaps an investment went wrong? The Rollestons and their country gent predecessors were also fond of hunting and gaming, living the life of a “sportsman”, an 18th century euphemism for the boisterous aristocratic lifestyle of gentlemen's clubs, horse riding and fox hunting. The old cock-fighting pit in the grounds of Watnall Hall is testament to this. Maybe there were gaming and gambling debts? 

In 1854 Lancelot applied for loans totalling £1300 to the Inclosure Commissioners for drainage work at Watnall and another estate at Toynton in Lincolnshire presumably to extend his workable farmland. Repayment of these loans was at a rate of 6% twice a year. Did he fall behind with these? 

In 1855 the Post Office Directory of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire has Ichabod Wright the Nottingham banker and a fellow South Notts hussar living at the hall. The Rollestons have moved out...

1855 Post Office directory entry for Watnall

The Rolleston's Brighton townhouse

These are perhaps some of the reasons why financial belts had to be tightened and the Hall leased out to others. Lancelot had also seen his share of tragedy at the hall. All of his first family had died during his time there, his first wife Caroline and their 4 children, so perhaps he was glad to move away. Or did the aging Colonel simply feel the need for some sea air in his twilight years? The 1861 census, a year before his death, shows the family are living in Brighton with a nurse, Emily Andrews from Mile End in London, living with them.

The situation was never resolved in his lifetime.

Watnall Hall remained leased out until the 1880’s. At the age of 76 years Lancelot Rolleston died on the 18th of May 1862. His 14-year-old eldest son, also called Lancelot (the future Colonel Rolleston), who was still a minor, inherited the impoverished estate.

In the next instalment of Tales from Watnall Hall we’ll examine the Colonel’s formative years and how the Earl of Carnwath’s young sister helped him steady the family finances…

Sources : Watnall Hall and the Rollestons - RA Horton 2000; Somercotes Local History Society; Martyn Fretwell - "East Midlands Named Bricks"; Wikipedia - "The petroleum industry", public census records; London Gazette; Ancestry .com.

Notes:

1 - Copy of an Agreement respecting a lease of coal and ironstone at Riddings and Somercotes from Christopher Rolleston Esq. and son to Thomas Saxelbye & Company

It was agreed this 4th day of July 1806 between James Green of Lenton Abbey, Gentleman, as agent for and on behalf of Christopher Rolleston of Watnall Esq. and Christopher Rolleston the younger, his son, of the same place Esq. on the one part, and Messrs. Thos. Saxelbye, Nath Edwards and Richard Forester Forester, Iron Masters, the partners of the other part.

1st. That the said Messrs. Rolleston, father and son, shall forthwith grant to the said Thomas Saxelbye & Co. a lease for 40 years commencing the 1st day of August next but determinable at the end of 30 years as after mentioned of all the Mines, Veins, Seams and beds of coal and ironstone lying within or under all the lands and grounds belonging to the said Messrs Rolleston or either of their heirs within the lordship or hamlet of Riddings or Somercotes or either of them or elsewhere in the parish of Alfreton in the said county of Derby with all necessary requisite Liberties and Privileges for getting, working, burning, stacking, selling and carrying away the same or otherwise for the beneficial enjoyment of the said lease and particularly land for wharfs by the canal side where most convenient.

2nd.  The rent for the coals to be at and after the rate of £150 for every surface acre but subject to deduction and abatement in respect of all the coals not actually gotten in the hard or main seam after the same rate per acre.

3rd. The rent for the ironstone to be at and after the rate of £100 for every surface acre of land out of which it is gotten or one shilling per ton of 22 hundreds weight to the ton at the option of the leases.

4th. The rents to be ascertained and paid for both coals and ironstone on the 1st day of August annually.

5th. To pay a fiscal rent of £350 a year for both coals and ironstone so long as the Lessees shall choose to work the whether they get a quantity sufficient at the above rent to amount to £350 in the year or not, but to pay for any excess of quantity gotten until the deficiency of former years is allowed for.

6th. The Lessees may determine the leases as to the coal by giving 6 months previous notice at the end of any year ending 1st August if they should choose to discontinue working the colliery.

7th. The Lessees to pay such rent annually for any land they may damage by making pits, roads etc., as is paid by the tenant of the land for the other part of it, and also a proportionate part of the levies and taxes in respect thereof.

8th. In getting ironstone by Bell Pits in openwork the surface soil to be laid aside and afterwards replaced on the surface.

9th. The rent paid by way of recompense for damages to continue payable for 3 years after the pits or roads in respect whereof it became payable to cease to be used, in lieu of the Lessees making good the land unless the land is sooner made good by either the tenant or the Lessess of the coals etc.

10th. Messrs Rolleston may determine the Lease at the end of 30 years next after the time from which the rent became first payable, giving 2 years previous notice to the Lessees in which a case of compensation is to be made to the Lessees to be settled by arbitration if the parties themselves cannot agree.

11th. The Lessees to have the Liberty to take away and convert to their own use Clay, Sand, Stone and other material gotten in the working of the colliery or getting ironstone.

12th. The Lessees may get Clay for bricks, Stone, Sand and any other materials in the land for use of the colliery buildings, workmen’s houses etc.

13th. The Lessees to be allowed 2 years to bore and sink trial pits etc., to enable them to determine whether or not to work the colliery. The rent not to commence until the end of the 2 years unless the colliery is sooner begun to be worked and coal gotten, nor these if they decline the leases.

Signed by Nathaniel Edwards for Thomas Saxelbye & Company and James Green for Christopher Rolleston Esq. and Son.

2 - In 1834-5 the construction of the new model village of Ironville began on land to the west of the ironworks purchased from Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall adding to the two rows, Furnace Row and Foundry Row, which had been built in the early 1820's - Derbyshire Record Office D.503, Historical map No.29 n.d. c.1865

3 - Derbyshire Record Office - D2536 - James Oakes of Riddings, ironworks - 1720-1946 - Bundles of deeds in numbered series - 19th-20th cent - Nos 30 to 33

      30 - Deeds bundle no. 30. Manor of Riddings with certain Ironstone and Coal mines under the same, bought from Lancelot Rolleston, 1832, and remaining coal beds from Lancelot Rolleston, 1850, [with rough sketch map of later date] and further re-conveyance to Oakes of mineral rights mortgaged by Rollestone by Sir Oswald Mosley, 1874 - 1832-1874

31 - Deeds bundle no. 30A. Re-conveyance to Oakes of mines at Riddings mortgaged by Rolleston in 1833 to Reverend I Rolleston, 1864 - 1864

32 - Deeds bundle no. 30B. Riddings Mineral leases by Lancelot Rolleston to Saxelbye and Co 1808, and James Oakes 1832 with abstract of Rolleston title to manor of Riddings, and Joseph Dawes' supplemental abstract of title to an estate at Riddings 1809 and 1829-30, with Rolleston mineral a/cs etc, early 19c - 1808-1832

33 - Deeds bundle no. 30C. Rolleston Deeds of manor of Riddings, associated minerals, and other properties in Riddings mid 16 cent - 1843 - 1843

4 - Petroleum Spring 

In the Riddings pit owned by James Oakes and Co a natural petroleum spring was discovered as the salt water diminished.  The miners thought the oil had a peculiar odour.  It was tipped into the canal along with the water.  It was soon noticed by the local boys who found that it could be set alight by throwing hot coals onto the surface of the canal. Professor Playfair, an eminent geologist and a relative of the owner of the colliery told Dr Young the Manager of a chemical works in Liverpool of the findings. The oil was later collected in casks and transported to Scotland where James Young distilled light thin oil for lamps and thicker oil for machinery.  However after a year the spring began to fail. Youngs Paraffin Oil was patented in 1850. He had realised the possibility then and he tested coal by gently heating it and found that oil could be produced from it.

https://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-2/Bk2-1847.html

5 - Healy Hero website http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-2/Bk2-1829.html "From 1824 - 1829 Jessop had pits at Selston and Thomas Francis Philip Hutchinson Barber agreed with Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall in 1829 to dig pits on the Watnall Estate." in 1830 "All the pits in the Selston area were working the Hard Selston coal and belonged to Chris Rolleston Esq. "

Barber Walker seem to have let the rights to Watnall mining go as in Watnall Woods in the 1850's a new but ill-fated mining operation had been started by James Morley of Nuthall centred around Woodpit Cottage (where the Watnall Hall gamekeeper lived). Morley had borrowed money from his family's hosiery business and bought a lease from Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall Hall to access to the coal reserves. In 1853 it was described as a “house, close with workshops & yard amounting to about 5 acres”. J.M. Lee’s book about Watnall’s mining history says... 

“Morley worked from old shafts which he refurbished, probably old Barber and Walker workings which originally had their outlet to the Nottingham Canal via the Giltbrook Valley. Morley wasn’t lucky. A court case took place in 1858, in which his creditors recovered all his mining and personal assets. He ended up with “the wearing apparel of him the said James Morley” – losing literally everything except the shirt on his back. The colliery apparatus was sold in 1858 and comprised amongst other items: eight steam engines, nine boilers, 150 tram wagons, 43 railway trucks, several miles of rails and a good many buildings, to be demolished within a month, as well as 30,000 bricks". 

Archives to explore for more information:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/1ede9254-9ecc-4216-990c-a31ad661224f

1855 Post Office Directory https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ctRAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=kimberley+greasley+%22edinburgh+row%22&source=bl&ots=ZqSZO-zE4S&sig=ACfU3U3ObdFFnQASvme6CJtNdp8TRYTI3Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOl7i9gPmDAxWMQkEAHcbgCUsQ6AF6BAgOEAM#v=onepage&q=ichabod&f=false