Thomas Shaw-Hellier

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)
Marriage3 May 1834Old 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)
Birth25 Oct 1802Netherton, Worcestershire
Baptism28 Dec 1802 (age 0)St Thomas, Dudley
Education1820 (age 17-18)Worcester College, Oxford matriculation
Education1822 (age 19-20)Downing College Cambridge (Assistant Fellowship)
OccupationGentleman and Huntsman
Residencefrm 1838 (age 35-36)Packwood House (nr Leamington)
Winter residence to be in charge of the North Warwickshire Hunt.
Death9 Nov 1870 (age 68)Rodbaston Hall, Penkridge
Burial12 Nov 1879St Benedict, Wombourne

Wife: Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE

Name:Alice Titterton PERSHOUSE
Sex:Female
Father:William Bradney PERSHOUSE (1785-1843)
Mother:Alice TITTERTON ( – )
Birth1805Penn Hall
Death1 Dec 1840 (age 34-35)Stockwell Common2
Burial8 Dec 1840St Benedict, Wombourne

Child 1: Evelina Penelope Pershouse SHAW-HELLIER

Name:Evelina Penelope Pershouse SHAW-HELLIER
Sex:Female
Spouse:Joseph SIMPSON ( -1893)
Birth1835
Death1860 (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)
Birth2 Oct 1836Woodhouse, Staffordshire
Baptism17 Oct 1836 (age 0)Wombourne
Education12 Jun 1855 (age 18)Brasenose College Oxford (Matriculation)
Residence1871 (age 34-35)Rddbaston Hall
Residence1881 (age 44-45)Aldershot as Lieut Colonel
Occupation1882 (age 45-46)Commander 4th Dragoon Guards
Witness1889 (age 52-53)Uncle Brad – Best Man at wedding of Henry Evans and Florence Marten
Occupationbtw 1890 and 2 Oct 1893 (age 53-57)Commandant Royal Military School of Music
Residence1909 (age 72-73)Sicily living with ‘mistress’ as visited by Ernest and Jean Agard Evans
Death23 Dec 1910 (age 74)Sicily

Child 3: Mary Ellen SHAW-HELLIER

Name:Mary Ellen SHAW-HELLIER
Sex:Female
Spouse:Alexander Augustus BERENS (1842-1926)
Birth1838Leamington
Death31 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)
Birth1839Leamington
Death4 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
Last updated on 2 October 2017 by JJ Morgan