Thomas de Trafford

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Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford, 1st Baronet (22 March 1778–10 November 1852) was a member of a prominent family of English Roman Catholics. He was born at Croston Hall near Chorley, Lancashire on 22 March 1778, son of John Trafford and Elizabeth Tempest, and was christened Thomas Joseph Trafford (no de). Thomas claimed to be a direct descendant of Edward I (15 generations removed).^[1]

Contents 1 Marriage and family 2 Estates 3 Public office and creation of baronetcy 4 Later life 5 Notes 6 Bibliography

[edit] Marriage and family

Thomas married Laura Anne Colman, daughter of Francis Colman of Hillersdon, Devon, on 17 August 1803 and the couple lived at Trafford Hall, in Trafford Park. They had nine daughters and five sons^[2], including:

• Elizabeth Jane, born about 1804, died September 1813, aged 9
• Laura Anne, who married Thomas William Riddell of Felton, Northumberland on 4 September 1845 at All Saints Catholic Chapel, Barton-upon-Frode^[3]
• Humphrey Francis, born 1 May 1808, died 4 May 1886, who became the Second Baronet
• Jemima, who in 1829 married her cousin Henry Tempest of Heaton, Lancashire, who was a JP for Lancashire
• Maria, born about 1811, died 9 May 1826, aged 15
• Thomas William, born 23 August 1813, died 1844
• Jane Seymour, who in 1842 married George Archer Shee, eldest son of Sir Martin Archer Shee, a former President of the Royal Academy. Jane and George's great-grandson George Archer-Shee was the subject of a notorious 1910 prosecution for allegedly stealing a 5 shilling postal order. The case formed the basis for the play The Winslow Boy.
• Caroline, married William Gerard Walmesley of Westwood, Lancashire, son of Charles Walmesley, on 18 October 1838, and died in 1883
• John Randolphus, born 11 April 1820, married Lady Adelaide Cathcart, daughter of General Sir Charles Murray Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart and Henrietta Mather, on 13 July 1850, died 3 February 1879 (or possibly 15 February 1871).
• Charles Cecil, born 18 December 1821, died 1878, a captain in the Third Regiment of the Duke of Lancaster's Own Militia and also an officer in the 1st Dragoons^[4]
• Augustus Henry, born 12 April 1823, married Gertrude Mary Walmesley, daughter of Herman Walmesley, on 19 September 1876, died 19 January 1895 at Haselour Hall, Tamworth^[5]
• Sybilla Catherine, who married Reverend John Sparling, third son of William Sparling of Petton Park, Shropshire in 1843
• Belinda
• Harriet, who married James Cunningham, a captain in the Fourth Dragoon Guards, in 1853

[edit] Estates

After his father's death on 29 October 1815, and despite his position as the fifth son, Thomas went on to inherit his father's estate. Two elder brothers both named Joseph had died in infancy and two others, Humphrey and John, had both died before their father. Slater's Directory for 1845 names Thomas Ayres as Sir T.J. de Trafford's land agent in Stretford. In Edward Twycross's The Mansions of England and Wales (1847), Thomas is noted as the owner of Trafford Hall in the parish of Eccles on the southern bank of the Irwell, five miles west of Manchester. The mansion is described as built of stone with a front featuring a classical portico with columns and a pediment.^[6] Tithe maps from the mid-19th century, made available by Cheshire County Council, show that Thomas owned more than 700 plots in the Bollin valley near Wilmslow, amounting to about 430 acres.^[7]

Thomas is recorded as having divided the Manors of Trafford and Stretford, giving land including a portion of Croston Manor to his son John Randolphus.^[8] In 1853, John Randolphus applied for a £5,000 government loan to drain lands in "Croston, Penwortham, Wigan."^[9] In 1874, John Randolphus reunited Croston Manor for the first time since 1318 by purchasing the remainder from trustees of Thomas Norris.

It appears that Thomas Trafford was alert to the financial opportunities presented by the burgeoning coal mining industry. He leased mining rights at the Pemberton Four Feet Mine in Hindley to a partnership of Byrom, Taylor and Byrom for 33 years from 24 December 1849. Trafford was entitled to rent of "£75 per foot per Cheshire acre, and £100 per annum at the least." This venture evidently did not prove as profitable as the lessors had hoped. Within three years the partnership was bankrupt and the mine lease was auctioned on 27 October 1852.^[10]

[edit] Public office and creation of baronetcy

Thomas Trafford served in the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, receiving a commission as a Major-Commandant on 23 August 1817.^[11]

After the repeal of the Test Acts and the passage of the Catholic Relief Act in 1829, the Trafford family became eligible for offices previously barred to them by their religion. Thomas Trafford was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1834.^[12][13] He is also recorded^[6] as serving as Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.

He was created the First Baronet de Trafford on 7 September 1841. On 8 October 1841, Queen Victoria issued a royal license to "Sir Thomas Joseph Trafford ... that he may henceforth resume the ancient patronymic of his family, by assuming and using the surname of De Trafford, instead of that of 'Trafford' and that such surname may be henceforth taken and used by his issue."^[14] The Anglicisation to Trafford had probably occurred in the 15th century, when the Norman article 'de', signifying that a family hailed from a particular place, was generally dropped in England. The resumption of such older versions of family names was a romantic trend in 19th century England, encouraged by a mistaken belief that the article 'de' indicated nobility.^[15]

[edit] Later life

Thomas de Trafford is recorded as living at 12 Grosvenor Street, in Mayfair, London from 1847 to 1852.^[16] Laura died on 22 October 1852 and Thomas died at Trafford Park on 10 November 1852.^[17][18]

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

• Baines, Edward (1836), History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, Fisher, Son, & Co.
• Richards, W.S.G. (1896), The History of the De Traffords of Trafford. Circa A.D. 1000-1893. Including the Royal and Baronial descents of the family. 202 pages, printed for private circulation, Plymouth

Baronetage of Great Britain
Preceded by New Creation	de Trafford Baronets 1841–1852	Succeeded by Sir Humphrey de Trafford