Whilst researching my ancestors on the Sarginson side of my family I came across a record which intrigued me. Stanley, my first cousin seven times removed, seems to have been apprenticed to a member of the Glover’s Livery Company in London in 1779. The Company was one of the City’s ancient Livery Companies with a Hall which had been established in Beech Lane, Cripplegate in 1638. However, by the late 18^th Century the number of members in the Company had decreased and the Hall was given up as there were limited funds to maintain it. Unfortunately, there is only a transcribed record of Stanley’s apprenticeship which states that he was the son of George Pickard from Dunkeswick, Yorkshire who had died by 1779.   Stanley was apprenticed to William Pickard on 25 January 1779.

Further research determined that Stanley had been born on 9 April 1760 and baptised on 7 May 1760 in All Saints Church, Harewood, Yorkshire to parents George and Mary from nearby Dunkeswick. George’s sister Catherine Pickard (1732-1793), is my six times great grandmother (1737-1775) and married Thomas Selby (1730-1818) on 24 November 1754 in Sherburn in Elmet, Yorkshire.

At the time of his burial in 1775, George (1737-1775) was described as a labourer from Dunkeswick. The 1848 Topographical Directory of England describes Dunkeswick as a township within the parish of Harewood in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In the late 18^th century much of the lands were owned by the Lascelles family and the parish is well known for a significant property: Harewood House. Catherine’s brother William (1729-1807) was a tenant farmer in Dunkeswick on land owned by the Lascelles family.

It is unclear how Stanley came to be apprenticed to a master glover in London. While the master was called William Pickard, there does not seem to be a close connection between his father George and his master William. What does seem to be the case is that Stanley did not complete his apprenticeship. A record for his burial was found in the parish records of St Mary at Hill parish church near Billingsgate, London. It shows that he was buried on 31 August 1779 aged 19. No further information was included in the record. It seems that his apprenticeship was short lived.

I found a further record for his brother James (1763-1832) which showed that he did gain the freedom of the City of London on 3 April 1799, on payment of 46 shillings and 8 pence, after completing his apprenticeship with the Draper’s Livery Company. His father was also named as George Pickard from Dunkeswick, deceased. So far, I’ve been unable to find James’ apprenticeship record. Draper’s Hall does still exist in the City of London in Throgmorton Street.

I am interested in Stanley’s ancestors as I have limited information about them. Do contact me if you know more about the family.

Note: the map used in this blog has been reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under the following creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and sourced from the NLS maps site https://maps.nls.uk/.

Bibliography

Harewood Parish. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp409-413 : accessed August 2020.

London Apprenticeship Records. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2020.

London Freedom of the City Admission papers. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2020.

OS Maps. https://maps.nls.uk/ : accessed August 2020.

St Mary at Hill Church. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/dictionary-of-london/mary-at-hill-mary-de-cricherche-chapel : accessed August 2020.

The Drapers Livery Company. https://www.thedrapers.co.uk/Company/History-And-Heritage.aspx : accessed August 2020.

The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London. https://www.thegloverscompany.org/index.php/history-of-the-company : accessed August 2020.

West Riding Land Tax Records. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2020.

Yorkshire baptisms, marriages and burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2020.