Thomas Shaw Hellier was born on 25 Oct 1802 the eldest son of James Shaw-Hellier of the Wodehouse. He was baptized in Dudley on 28 Dec 1802. He was the principal beneficiary of his grandfather, Rev Thomas Shaw-Hellier‘s will of 1812. This permitted him to lead the life of an important country squire and landed farmer and pursue his passion for hunting across several counties.
Thomas Shaw Hellier of Rodbaston Hall
He matriculated at Worcester College in Oxford in 1820 (not to be confused with his ecclesiastical Oxford based cousin and exact contemporary also Thomas Shaw-Hellier of Lincoln College). In 1822 he obtained an assistant fellowship at Downing College, Cambridge.
When his father died in 1827 he took effective control of the family estates and most notably the Wodehouse in Wombourne. However, this was still only as a trustee for his brothers and sisters until the youngest Emma attained the age of 21 in 1830. The status of the accumulated income of the estate from 1812 to 1830 was disputed in a series of law cases between the siblings that went to the House of Lords. This appears to have all been resolved by about 1838. Whether it was a side effect of this dispute or the hunting opportunities elsewhere, Thomas did not live in the Wodehouse for most of his life, preferring to rent it out
Thomas married Alice Titterton Pershouse in London on 3 May 1834. The Pershouses were another significant landowning Stafforshire family and close neighbours at Penn Hall. The marriage only lasted six years before Alice died in Stockwell on 1 Dec 1840. They nonetheless had one son and three daughters.
Thomas’s pursuit of his passion for hunting is confirmed by the portrait of him that still hangs in the Wodehouse, where he is surrounded by his hounds. He is recorded as being Master of Fox Hounds and living in Packwood House in Warwickshire around 1838. From Packwood House in 1841 he is recorded as being resident in Harrington Hall in Lincolnshire by the 1851 census. This marks a brief involvement with the South Wold Hunt in this part of Lincolnshire. After this, he moved back to Staffordshire and purchased Rodbaston Hall in 1852 where he was active in the Albrighton Hunt. Both his brother-in-law Richard Evans and Richard’s brother Thomas rode with this important hunt in the period 1840-1859.
He is recorded as being a JP for Staffordshire.
Thomas Shaw-Hellier died on 7 Nov 1870 at Rodbaston Hall.
Family of Thomas SHAW-HELLIER and Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE
see also Thomas Shaw-Hellier’s sister Mary SHAW-HELLIER
| Husband: | Thomas SHAW-HELLIER (1802-1870) | |
| Wife: | Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE (1805-1840) | |
| Children: | Evelina Penelope Pershouse SHAW-HELLIER (1835-1860) | |
| Thomas Bradney SHAW-HELLIER (1836-1910) | ||
| Mary Ellen SHAW-HELLIER (1838-1865) | ||
| Camilla Charlotte Augsuta Bradney SHAW-HELLIER (1839-1923) | ||
| Marriage | 3 May 1834 | Old Church, St Pancras1 |
Husband: Thomas SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Thomas SHAW-HELLIER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | James SHAW-HELLIER (1759-1827) | |
| Mother: | Elizabeth BADDELEY (bap.1766, d.1835) | |
| Birth | 25 Oct 1802 | Netherton, Worcestershire |
| Baptism | 28 Dec 1802 (age 0) | St Thomas, Dudley |
| Education | 1820 (age 17-18) | Worcester College, Oxford matriculation |
| Education | 1822 (age 19-20) | Downing College Cambridge (Assistant Fellowship) |
| Occupation | Gentleman and Huntsman | |
| Residence | frm 1838 (age 35-36) | Packwood House (nr Leamington) |
| Winter residence to be in charge of the North Warwickshire Hunt. | ||
| Death | 9 Nov 1870 (age 68) | Rodbaston Hall, Penkridge |
| Burial | 12 Nov 1879 | St Benedict, Wombourne |
Wife: Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE
| Name: | Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | William Bradney PERSHOUSE (1785-1843) | |
| Mother: | Alice TITTERTON ( – ) | |
| Birth | 1805 | Penn Hall |
| Death | 1 Dec 1840 (age 34-35) | Stockwell Common2 |
| Burial | 8 Dec 1840 | St Benedict, Wombourne |
Child 1: Evelina Penelope Pershouse SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Evelina Penelope Pershouse SHAW-HELLIER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Joseph SIMPSON ( -1893) | |
| Birth | 1835 | |
| Death | 1860 (age 24-25) | Hitchin |
Child 2: Thomas Bradney SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Thomas Bradney SHAW-HELLIER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Nickname: | Uncle Brad | |
| Spouse: | Harriet Sophia Bradney Marsh EVANS (1840-1907) | |
| Birth | 2 Oct 1836 | Woodhouse, Staffordshire |
| Baptism | 17 Oct 1836 (age 0) | Wombourne |
| Education | 12 Jun 1855 (age 18) | Brasenose College Oxford (Matriculation) |
| Residence | 1871 (age 34-35) | Rddbaston Hall |
| Residence | 1881 (age 44-45) | Aldershot as Lieut Colonel |
| Occupation | 1882 (age 45-46) | Commander 4th Dragoon Guards |
| Witness | 1889 (age 52-53) | Uncle Brad – Best Man at wedding of Henry Evans and Florence Marten |
| Occupation | btw 1890 and 2 Oct 1893 (age 53-57) | Commandant Royal Military School of Music |
| Residence | 1909 (age 72-73) | Sicily living with ‘mistress’ as visited by Ernest and Jean Agard Evans |
| Death | 23 Dec 1910 (age 74) | Sicily |
Child 3: Mary Ellen SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Mary Ellen SHAW-HELLIER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Alexander Augustus BERENS (1842-1926) | |
| Birth | 1838 | Leamington |
| Death | 31 Oct 1865 (age 26-27) | Norwood |
Child 4: Camilla Charlotte Augsuta Bradney SHAW-HELLIER
| Name: | Camilla Charlotte Augsuta Bradney SHAW-HELLIER | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Russell WING (1839-1901) | |
| Birth | 1839 | Leamington |
| Death | 4 Dec 1923 (age 83-84) | Wandsworth |
Sources
| 1 | “Pallots marriage Index gives maiden name as Titterton”. |
| 2 | “Gentlemans Magazine, 1841”. Text From Source: Residence of Francis Slater her brother in law |