I had never heard of Samuel Hinde until I started looking into the history of Foxley Oaks. Samuel was a major landowner in Whittington in the mid 1700’s until his death in 1809.
I first heard of Samuel Hinde when I was trying to find out information on the Newbridge Inn which stood on Newbridge Lane.
I came across a newspaper article from 1820 which listed many parcels of land in Whittington for auction, on behalf of the Hinde family, including the land which later became Foxley Oaks Colliery and where the Newbridge Inn stood.
There were many people owning land but the main landowners in Whittington at the time of the Tithe awards were:
Duke of Devonshire Henry Dixon (relative of John Dixon)
Descendants of Samuel Hinde Sarah Denton(widow of Pym)
Samuel Bower Cundey Family
Gillett Family George Jenkinson
Samuel had a sister Elizabeth who became John Dixons first wife on 18 July 1775. She sadly died quite young and was buried in Whittington churchyard on 13th April 1789.
The Marriage entry for John and Elizabeth from the Whittington Church of England and Marriage Banns register 1754-1903.
Samuel Hinde was born in 1746, he married Hannah Binney in Worksop on 18 August 1780 and the couple lived in Whittington. The only information I have as to where the couple lived is from the description of the family dwelling house in the auction details, which states that it was “pleasantly situated near Whittington Bridge, at the South entrance of the village of Whittington”. This would suggest the family lived either in the Manor House at the bottom of Whittington Hill or in an earlier house on that site.
Map showing the location of the ‘dwelling house’ and the present house in the location indicated.
Samuels occupation is given as ‘Gentleman’, he was certainly a man of independent means and owned a quantity of land in Whittington from mid-1700’s until his death. I have not been able to ascertain how Samuel came by this land or how he made his fortune. Apart from the Tithe Award[1] information and the auction details there is little information I can find which definitely confirms where Samuel Hinde comes from.
As well as property in Whittington Samuel (according to his will) also owned property and lands in Grenoside, Ecclesfield Yorkshire, which he left to his son John. As Samuel left his estates at Ecclesfield to his eldest son I would imagine there is a good chance he originates from that area. After checking the Sheffield Archive catalogue there were certainly many people of the family name Hinde living in the Sheffield area over the years. There are also roads in Sheffield, Hinde House Lane, Hinde House Crescent, Hinde St and Hinde House School bearing the same name.
Without further research it is not possible to check definitely, and as I am presently researching Whittington history then it is probably something to be left for another time!
Samuel and Hannah had seven children, six of whom survived until adulthood.
A simple tree for Samuel showing his seven children
Samuel died in 1809 followed in 1811 by his son Samuel Binney Hinde. Hannah, Samuels wife died in 1822.
The family land and properties were first advertised for Auction in the Sheffield Independent 26 February 1820 and comprised of 40 lots together with 5 shares in the Chesterfield Canal and several other shares in cottages and lands in Whittington not disclosed in the auction lots! He held a ‘family’ seat and other seats at St Bartholomews which were included in the ‘house’ lot.
Many of the places in the auction list had names that I had never heard of for example:
The Wheel Close Bottoms, Bird Croft Butts, Dam Flats, the Piper Hole and the Near Brown Hole!
Whether the auction went ahead I do not know but when the Tithe Awards were made the Hinde family still held a substantial amount of land and property as can be seen in the following maps.
The Tithe maps show the land the family held after the Tithe awards. With help from a fellow researcher Elizabeth Pemberton, we managed to sort through the tithe map and locate most of the land he owned.
In 1825 the Hinde land and property was again advertised in the Derby Mercury.
Again in 1832 there was an advert in the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent listing the land but it would appear there must have been some dispute as the sale was listed as being dealt with in the Chancery Court[2], and on this occasion there is no doubt that the land would be sold! By this time both John and Mordecai, Samuel sons had died, and it was left to the Uncle of the remaining siblings, Mordecai Binney, to sort the estate out.
Some of the land eventually ended up in the Dixon estate and gave them a larger share of the Manor of Whittington.
Samuel and his family are buried in Old Whittington churchyard and whilst I was there trying to find the graves I came across a lady looking for the same graves, she turned out to be a direct descendant of Samuel, it was a co-incidence and a surprise that we were both looking for the same people.
The family graves in Old Whittington churchyard.
Before starting this research I have never heard any mention of the Hinde family, hopefully Samuel Hinde will be remembered as a man, who at one point, had a 16th share of the Manor or Royalty of Whittington!
[1] The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This Act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave the names of all owners and occupiers of land in the parish. Wikpedia
[2] Chancery Court – Court of Chancery, which heard civil cases, referred to as equity suits, from 1558 until the dissolution of the court in 1875 this could include family inheritance and wills, land and other property. Chancery equity suits 1558-1875 – The National Archives
Old Whittington One Place Study 