Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose
Encyclopedia
The Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose, were, for several generations, dominant in the Cornish
Industrial Revolution as owners of mines and smelting works. They also developed williamsii hybrid camellia
s and fine gardens at Burncoose
, Gwennap
and St Michael Caerhays
, in Cornwall
, United Kingdom.
on the south coast of Cornwall, at St Michael Caerhays, between Truro
and St Austell
. The garden holds the NCCPG National Magnolia
Collection. It was bought by the Williams family, who still own it. The gardens are open to the public each year during March, April and May.
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
Industrial Revolution as owners of mines and smelting works. They also developed williamsii hybrid camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
s and fine gardens at Burncoose
Burncoose
Burncoose is a village near Gwennap in west Cornwall, England, UK. It was first recorded in 1277 as Burncoys, i.e. Cornish Broncoos, meaning "wood hill".-Further reading:...
, Gwennap
Gwennap
Gwennap is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles southeast of Redruth....
and St Michael Caerhays
St Michael Caerhays
St Michael Caerhays is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately seven miles south-southwest of St Austell....
, in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom.
Family members
- John Williams the First (1685–1761) Purchased Burncoose in 1715, married Thomasine Paynter.
- John Williams the Second (1714- ?) Initiated the construction of the Great County AditGreat County AditThe Great County Adit, sometimes called the County Adit, or the Great Adit was a system of interconnected adits that helped drain water from the tin and copper mines in the Gwennap area of Cornwall, in the United Kingdom...
, which eventually became a 40-mile system of aditAditAn adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s, draining over 60 mines. - Michael Williams (1730–1775), son of John the First. He married Susanna, daughter of Henry Harris of Cusgarne, Cornwall, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Beauchamp (1670–1729) of Pengreep, Cornwall. He lived at Burncoose and was the father of,
- John Williams the Third (23 September 1753-17 April 1841) Son of Michael Williams (1730–1775). Controlled the Gwennap copperbelt and copper smelting works in SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. Also owned tin-smelting works, sulphur mines and quarries. Director of The Cornish Bank. With the Fox family of FalmouthFox family of FalmouthThe Fox family of Falmouth, Cornwall, UK were very influential in the development of the town of Falmouth in the 19th century and of the Cornish Industrial Revolution...
, built the PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
breakwater and developed the harbour at PortreathPortreathPortreath is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles northwest of Redruth....
and linked it by tramway to his mine at PoldicePoldicePoldice mine is a former metalliferous mine located in Poldice Valley in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated near the hamlet of Todpool, between the villages of Twelveheads and St Day, three miles west of Redruth....
. Purchased land at ScorrierScorrierScorrier is a village in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It is about 2 miles northeast of the centre of Redruth and 3 miles south-east of the coast at Porthtowan, on the A30 road at the junction of the A3047 road that leads west to Camborne and the B3298 road south to Carharrack...
and built Scorrier House there. Married Catherine Harvey in 1776. Received a dream warning of the assassination of the Prime MinisterJohn BellinghamJohn Bellingham was the assassin of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. This murder was the only successful attempt on the life of a British Prime Minister...
in 1812, "correct in every detail". - John Williams the Fourth (12 April 1778-11 August 1849), FRS (6 March 1828). Son of John the Third.
- Michael WilliamsMichael Williams (MP)Michael Williams was MP for West Cornwall from 19 July 1853 until his death in June 1858.He was the second son of John Williams "the Third" , the Cornish industrialist, of the Williams family...
, MP for the Western Division of CornwallWest Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency)West Cornwall was a county constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election.- Boundaries :...
from 1853 to 1858. Son of John the Third. High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1840, Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall and Deputy-Warden of the Stannaries. Bought Caerhays Estate in 1853. - Sir William Williams, (3 August 1791 - 24 March 1870), Son of John the Third. He served as Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall, High SheriffHigh SheriffA high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Cornwall and Deputy-Warden of the Stannaries in 1851. He was created "Baronet Williams of Tregullow in the County of Cornwall", on 4 August 1866. - Frederick Martin Williams (1830–1878), was Conservative Member of Parliament for Truro.
- Philippa Williams ( ? -1861)
- Arthur Trefusis Heneage WilliamsArthur Trefusis Heneage WilliamsLt.-Colonel The Hon. Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams was a Canadian businessman, farmer and political figure. His statue stands in front of the town hall of Port Hope, Ontario....
of Penryn Park, Port Hope, OntarioPort Hope, OntarioPort Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, son of John Tucker WilliamsJohn Tucker WilliamsJohn Tucker Williams was a navy officer and political figure in Canada West.He was born at Penryn, Cornwall in 1789, a member of the Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose. His middle name was for the Tucker family of Trematon Castle, Cornwall...
, and grandson of John Williams (1753–1841) of Scorrier House. He was the hero of the Battle of BatocheBattle of BatocheThe Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...
and his statue stands in front of the town hall at Port Hope. His son General Arthur Victor Seymour WilliamsArthur Victor Seymour WilliamsGeneral Arthur Victor Seymour Williams , was a Canadian general in the First World War and later the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police....
served in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Mount Williams (Canada)Mount Williams (Canada)Mount Williams is located on the border of Alberta and British Columbia on the Continental Divide. It was named in 1918 after Major General Arthur Victor Seymour Williams CMG.-See also:* List of peaks on the British Columbia – Alberta border...
was named in his honour. - John Michael Williams (25 December 1813-1880), married Elizabeth Maria Davey, dau of Stephen Davey of Redruth, in 1852
- John Charles WilliamsJohn Charles WilliamsJohn Charles Williams was an English Liberal Unionist politician and a noted gardener at Caerhays Castle, Cornwall, where he grew rhododendrons.He was educated at Rugby School and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge....
(30 September 1861 - 29 March 1939), son of John Michael Williams and Elizabeth Davey, his wife. MP for the Truro Division of Cornwall, 1892–1895, High Sheriff of Cornwall 1888, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall 1918-1936. - Charlotte Williams, daughter of John Michael Williams, married Edward Powys Rogers. They moved to "Burncoose" in 1916.
- Harriet Rogers, daughter of Edward Powys Rogers and Charlotte Rogers, married James Malcolm McLaren (1874–1935), a geologist and developed a garden at "Tregye", near Carnon Downs.
- Francis Julian Williams (16 April 1927 - ), CBE, current owner of Caerhays CastleCaerhays CastleCaerhays Castle is a semi-castellated manor house located south of St Michael Caerhays, a village in Cornwall, England. It is situated overlooking Porthluney Cove on the English Channel...
.
Caerhays Castle
Caerhays Castle is a mock-mediaeval castle, designed by John NashJohn Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
on the south coast of Cornwall, at St Michael Caerhays, between Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
. The garden holds the NCCPG National Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
Collection. It was bought by the Williams family, who still own it. The gardens are open to the public each year during March, April and May.
Sources
- Williams, F. J., et al. Burncoose gardens: a garden oasis in the Minewastes of Cornwall by F. J. Williams C.B.E., Arnold Dance, David Knuckey.
- Smelt, Maurice (2006) 101 Cornish Lives, Penzance, Cornwall: Alison Hodge ISBN 0-906720-50-8, pages 246-248: “John Williams (1753-1841), Mining magnate, born Lower Cusgarne, Gwennap".
- Newell, Edmund (2004) ‘Williams, John (1753–1841)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 Link to Article (Subscription) accessed 27 July 2007]