The Shipman family of Thelwall Heyes in Grappenhall & Thelwall, near Warrington

[NathanHead]

Hi Gillian, it's been a few weeks since I messaged you and I was wondering if you didn't get my message?

It would be great to connect and share stories

hope everything is ok

all the best

Nathan Head

[davidwmhill]

Nathan. I am a member of the Shipman/Hill family! My grandmother was Brenda and Molly & Joan were my great Aunts!! I recall many happy days with the family and the Aunts and remember the details as outlined in the posts. The house was an absolute glory and still amazes me after all these years. The school room was used by the local WI, of which Molly & Joan were stalwart members. The house remained in the family for some time following the deaths of the Aunts and my grand-parents, Brenda & Thomas Gray Hill lived in Bowdon where I spent many a happy day in my youth and visiting Thelwall Heys whilst I stayed with them. The splendid house in the Lakes was called Cleabarrow and, again there are a multitude of happy memories of wonderful times spent there with family, this house - at least a small part of it - still remains in the family and provides a reminder of a glorious past. If I can be of any further help please do not hesitate to contact me.

[NathanHead]

hi David, that's brillaint
thanks for posting


I was wondering if you remembered my grandmother or great grandmother or even my great great grandmother maybe?

my great great gran was Emily Moulsdale, maiden name Doodson, she was a big woman who had a walking stick, she worked a lot with the WI there and you may have seen her at some point, I dunno

my great gran was Ada Richards? maiden name Moulsdale? she worked for the sisters before the great war and in the 50s,60s,70s was a close friend and went to visit them for tea and bridge, she was around the same age as the sisters, give or take


her daughter (my gran) was Joan Head, maiden name Richards, born in the 1920s

[davidwmhill]

Nathan.
Good to hear from you. What exactly is your connection/interest in the family? Having been an 'occasional' visitor only - my immediate family lived, and I was brought up, in Kent following my father's move to the South on my parents' marriage - I cannot recall any specific names of those who visited the 'big house' as there were so many, sorry! Although I probably met them during my wonderful visits to Thelwall Heys!! I recall the egg, veg, flower collections from the wonderful garden and have so many heady, happy memories of the grand old house which seemed so huge to a young 10/11/12 year old. I would really appreciate any pictures of the house or the Aunts you might be able to send or link to for me, as I cannot seem to find any from the family archives. I have managed to trace a lineage for the Shipman/Mace/Long family, through ancestry.com and am happy to share any information from this that you might find useful - whilst, of course, protecting the living members of the family. Please do't hesitate to contact me if I can furnish you with any further information that I may be able to pass on.

[NathanHead]

aye ive got a few photos, ill scan them soon and show you


my great gran lived and worked there from around 1910 until the 40s when she got married

and my great great grandmother was a member of the WI

i do have a nice collection of pics, i will scan them, there is one that has a young boy on one of the shipman sister's knees, i wonder if it could be yourself? ill show you as soon as i get round to scanning some

[davidwmhill]

Thanks Nathan.
I've no pics - except those in my head - so anything you can provide would be wonderful! Molly & Joan were fantastic, astute, funny and very wealthy ladies, courtesy of their predecessors and their own strengths, however they never flaunted their wealth and were very 'tweedy', country ladies who seemed to be content with their lot - and why not considering the inheritance they must have enjoyed! Lovely ladies who tried to share their good fortune with the Thelwall and Grappenhall 'set'. I'll never forget Molly's 'beard' and Joan's speed around the garden - Molly could never manage Joan's energy. Sadly' Joan began to lose her mental faculties toward the end and Molly was physically unable to manage, they were a team and Thelwall Heys really ceased to function when they lost their ability to cope - so sad but typical of this situation.
If I can help with any ancestry please do not hesitate to get in touch.
All the best.
David.

[cherylI]

Hi,
I have found this thread via Google, doing a bit of background research for my Mum, who has connections to Thelwall Heys. I realise it is an old thread now, so before I go into the whole family history connections - is anyone who has contributed still following the thread?
Briefly, my Grandmother Mabel was born at the farm at Thelwall Heys in 1922. Her father, Richard Jackson, was the farm bailiff. After he died, his widow Alice, my Grandmother Mabel and her husband, and their baby daughter (my mother) lived at the gate lodge.
Nathan, your grandmother was my grandmother's bridesmaid!
If anyone's still interested I would love to share more. Thankyou

[LizzieNJ]

Hi, I'm aware this is a super old post, but I thought it was worth a shot. I'm looking for any historic photos of Thelwall Heys anybody is willing to share? I work for a Historic Building Surveyor and am doing some background research on the house. Thanks!