Introduction
This is the story of William Delves Collier, my 5x great-grandfather, who was the last in a line of silk weaving Williams from London's East End. His story is intertwined with the changing fortunes of the silk weaving industry, the growth of Bethnal Green and its turbulent local politics, which at the time were dominated by the infamous
Joseph Merceron.
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| Extract from John Rocque's 1746 map showing Shoreditch and Bethnal Green |
Early life
William Delves was born in Shoreditch, Middlesex on 1st December 1772. His unmarried parents, William Collier and Phoebe Booth, had him baptised at St Margaret's church in Westminster on 26th December, presumably to avoid any scandal. At this time, the family were living at New Inn Yard and his father was working as a "Fringe, Ferrit and Velvet Ribbon maker".
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| Baptism record at St Margaret's |
William and Phoebe went to have 3 more children before deciding to cement their relationship by marriage at St Leonard's, Shoreditch on 3rd September 1782. William's baby brother, Matthew, had died only the year before and it's likely that this tragic event prompted them to tie the knot and provide security for the family. The church was made famous in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons:
"When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey. When I am rich. Say the bells of Shoreditch". It's not difficult to imagine ten year old William standing in church alongside his surviving younger siblings; five year old Ann and three year old Thomas.
In the years that followed his parents wedding, the family grew with the arrival of his sister Sarah Delves 11th December 1782 and Phoebe on 31st January 1785. Three years later, on 7th February 1788, William was apprenticed to James King of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. Less than two months after he was apprenticed, he received news that his grandfather, who lived in Chester, had died. He had evidently doted on him as in his will he describes him as his
"dear beloved grandson" and he left him all his books, writings and accounts.
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| Record of marriage at Christ Church, Spitalfields |
On 9th November 1795, William married Eleanor Evitt at Christ Church, Spitalfields . After the wedding, the couple made their home in Spencer Street and later Bateman's Row, both in Shoreditch and were soon blessed with children. In the ten years following their marriage;
Matthew Delves, Sarah, Eleanor, Ann and John were all born there.
London's population was growing sharply at this time and the rich landowners to the east of Shoreditch were leasing out parcels of land here for development by builders. They would, in turn, sub-lease the completed houses to people either as homes or as investment opportunities. The turn of the 19th century coincided with the worst poverty in living memory for the weavers of Shoreditch, Spitalfields and Bethnal Green , as a steep increase in food prices, caused by the war with French and by two successive poor harvests took its toll.
Moving East
Sometime around 1805/06, William applied for and was granted a license to run the White Horse public house in nearby Bethnal Green. At the time, the parish was firmly under the dictatorship of Joseph Merceron, who had by now abolished independent scrutiny of the parish accounts. Parish funds poured into his bank account and he continued to divert money intended for the relief of the poor. His control over the various statutory authorities which governed the local amenities was absolute. He chaired the Bethnal Green pavement commission and watch trust, and was the licencing magistrate for all public houses in the parish, many of which he owned, including the White Horse. Merceron had a close business relationship with the local breweries, especially Truman Hanbury and Buxton, who operated the Black Eagle Brewery opposite his father's old pawnshop on Brick Lane.
The White Horse at 44 Hare Street was a few doors away from the workhouse, which at the time housed between 500 and 700 even though there were only beds enough for 300 inmates. The situation there was appalling with people sleeping 3 or 4 to a bed, shivering with cold and starving while Merceron siphoned off the funds intended for their relief and lived like a king. Several attempts were made to end the corruption, but Merceron was able to deflect these by threatening or bribing witnesses.
In May 1807, William received news that his uncle, Matthew, a successful orris (silk lace) weaver living at 21 Little Queen Street in Westminster, had passed away. William was left £100 in the will, which is roughly £10,000 in today's money. Later that month, on Saturday 30th May, at about half past six in the evening , an incident took place which must have shaken him. He was attending a benefit society meeting in the pub's club room when he heard a noise downstairs. When he descended the stairs, he saw his wife in a scuffle with a man who was trying to leave. William grabbed hold of him and his wife told him that the man had stolen a quart pot. In the scuffle, the pot fell from under his coat. The scuffle continued outside and it was apparent that the thief had a bag. Upon examining the bag, William found that it contained two pint pots that belonged to other publicans. The parish watch officer was called and the man was taken into custody. At the subsequent trial, which took place at the Old Bailey on 1st July 1807, the defendant, 24 year old William Cabbady, was sentenced to be transported for 7 years, leaving his wife and two children to fend for themselves.
William's father, William Collier, died the following year. He had been living at 1 John Street in Spitalfields and was working as a "Narrow Velvet Maker" The funeral took place on 20th December at Christ Church in Spitalfields . His will reveals that he had amassed a substantial property portfolio during his lifetime:
"I give and bequeath to my eldest son William Delves Collier of the White Horse in Hare Street Bethnal Green my three houses in St John Street Bethnal Green for the remainder of the lease thereof I also give and bequeath to him my four leasehold houses numbers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Shacklewell Street also three leasehold houses numbers 23, 24 and 25 in Carter Street Bethnal Green and I likewise give and bequeath to the said William Delves Collier my ten shares in the Hope Insurance"
His sister Ann inherited 4 leasehold properties in Princes Court, Princes Street, Bethnal Green. In addition, she was left their father's house in John Street, Spitalfields and the house adjoining it. His younger brother, Thomas, inherited 7 leasehold properties in Shacklewell Street and in addition to those, two leasehold houses in front of Shacklewell Court being numbers 2 and 4 and eight houses in the same court. Princes Street and Shacklewell Street were on the Tyssen Estate which her father must have bought the leases on when it was developed in the late 18th century.
William's rental income from those 10 properties alone is estimated to have been in the region of £100 per year, which equates to roughly £10000 in today's money. The ownership of these properties meant that William was entitled to a vote in the local parish vestry at St Matthews, which was still firmly under Merceron's control.
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| Horwood's map 1819 showing leasehold properties bequeathed by William Collier |
The transcript of the Old Bailey trial mentioned above reveals that William was attending a benefit society in an upstairs room of his pub. This is likely to have been a masonic meeting. Indeed, records show that the
Lodge of Prosperity 65 was meeting at the White Horse in 1810. The following year, William was initiated into the Lodge of Prudent Brethren 145, who regularly met at
The Ship public house in Brick Lane.
During his tenure at the White Horse, William went on to have four more children: James, Thomas, George and Caroline; all of whom where baptised at St Matthews. However, by the time daughter Jane was baptised on 14th August 1814, William was no longer the licensee at the White Horse and had returned to weaving silk for a living. Why? Had the economy improved? He was also living at nearby St John Street which is likely to have been one of the properties his father had left him in his will.
Towards the end of the decade, opposition to Merceron's tyranny grew in strength. An 1817 parliamentary select committee investigation into the licensing of premises in London uncovered evidence that Merceron had granted licenses to "disorderly houses" and "flash houses". It transpired that many of these pubs, that were brothels or dens of thieves, were under his ownership. However, the White Horse in Bethnal Green was evidently one of the better pubs in the East End:
"...the White Horse, in Hare-street, we have been to twice or three times, and found them at a very late hour, but in general it is a very good house; when we have found them open they have assigned reasons, that there was a club or party, or something of that kind; I have found them lately in pretty fair order."
In 1818, Merceron was put on trial for embezzling the sum of £925 1s 3d from the local parish. He was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at the Kings Bench Prison in Southwark. Being a very wealthy man, he was able to ensure that his time there was relatively comfortable. By late 1819 he was back in Bethnal Green and set about regaining control of the parish vestry. The account of the vestry election held on Easter Monday 1822 hints at riotous and corrupt nature of local politics at the time:
"...when the vestry doors were opened, a crowd had already gathered outside St Matthew's church... Inside, a fight ensued over who should chair the meeting...After the election, several vestrymen moved for an inquiry into the goings on at the workhouse. Merceron signalled his approval, but made sure the investigation was well-stacked with his own supporters."
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| Middlesex Sessions House, Clerkenwell Green |
By this time, William, who would have been present at the election by virtue of the property he owned, was living in Edward Street. He was elected as a Justice of the Peace, a role that he must have been given with Merceron's blessing. The Middlesex Sessions of the Peace met 8 times a year at the Sessions House on Clerkenwell Green. The records reveal that he was responsible for examining a number of bastardy cases under the
Poor Law between 1822 and 1824. After that, he disappears from the records entirely and there is some evidence that suggests he was involved in some sort of a
scandal and forced to resign.
Given the chaotic nature of parish affairs at the time, its no wonder that I cannot find a surviving burial record for William and given the likelihood that he died before the advent of civil registration in 1837 and there is no record of a will, there is no way of determining exactly when he died. One
source says that he died on 11th January 1835, but I am unable to confirm this.
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| St Matthews, Bethnal Green 6th February 2020 |
Sources:
1. Woodford J. - The Boss of Bethnal Green
2. House of Commons - Police Report: Relative to the Licensing of Public Houses in the Metropolis 1817
