The Nuthalls of Kingston -- A Forsyte Story

My forebears, the Nuthall family of Kingston-Upon-Thames, were a large and successful Victorian family.

Their story parallels the lives and times of the Forsytes described by author John Galsworthy in sharp detail in his "Forsyte Saga". "The Forsyte Saga" is a series of stories (which are usually published in two or three volumes) describing the lives and times of a large newly wealthy Victorian family.

They represent the new "middle class" which developed in Victorian England, along with industrialisation. They were prosperous and seemingly more proper than the established aristocracy. They invested in company shares and became board directors and men and women of influence in their chosen spheres.

One of their most cherished ambitions was to marry their daughters and sons to families of higher rank. This could prove difficult, and it was acceptable for cousins to marry if the parties agreed and more suitable spouses were not to be found.

The Forsytes remember their roots in the country as farmers, although this is only mentioned by the older Forsyte generation. In their case, they moved to London to take advantage of the booming London economy to become involved in real estate. The Saga does not dwell on the details of how they developed their fortunes, but focuses on the Victorian era.

The Edward and Charlotte (nee Butler) Nuthall moved to Surrey in the early 1800s from rural Suffolk to establish a retailing business. Details of the business are sketchy, but there is some material in the newspapers which carried their family obituaries.

Life in Rural East Anglia

East Anglia was a thriving rural and trade economy in the 18th century, with its ports working as the major base of trade for England. Most of this trade was focused on Europe, and hence the need for ports close to Europe. One commentator, Houghton, records that there were 47,180 households in Norfolk in 1693, making one of the biggest counties at the time.

As the Americas opened up, the focus moved to ports on the West of England, with increasing trade leaving and arriving from ports such as Liverpool. The relative prosperity enjoyed by East Anglia decreased. Many people chose to leave the area in favour of London and its surrounds.

Edward Nuthall was born in the small village of Frostenden, Suffolk in 1811. He was baptised in the neighbouring Wrentham, where his mother, Abigail, attended the independent Congregational church there.

I do not have a contemporary description of these two villages, but do have the record made by William White, in his "History, Gazetteer and Directory of Suffolk" of 1855 (first published in 1844). Frostenden was a "scattered village" containing 456 inhabitants and covering 1310 acres 4 to 5 miles north-west of Southwold. Frostenden's local Anglican church is All Saints and White describes it as of "ancient fabric, with a round tower".

Wrentham was a "large well built village" 5 miles north of Southwold, with 1026 souls and 2303 acres. Its Anglican church is St Nicholas, where most of Edward's cousins and aunts and uncles were baptised. There are a series of Nuthall gravestones which remain today in the churchyard. White describes the church as a "neat and ancient structure, with a tower and five bells. In 1831-2 it was repewed, repaired and furnished with 312 additional sittings..."

The Independent Chapel in Wrentham, where Edward and his brothers and sisters were baptised, is considered locally to be the oldest congregation of its kind. The congregation began meeting in 1647, and the current Chapel was built in 1778.

Another village in the district, Benacre, contained a branch of the Nuthall family. Benacre is 6 miles north-west of Southwold. The smallest of the three villages, it had a population of 223 "souls" and 1660 acres. Described by White as a "scattered village...of salty and marshy land extending eastward to the sea beach, near which is Benacre Broad, a sheet of freshwater covering more than 50 acres, and abounding in pike, perch, roach, and other fish."

This tiny village has the honour of being the site of the discovery of antique coins:

"In 1786, one of the workmen employed in cutting the turnpike, which adjoins the park, found a stone bottle, containing upwards of 900 pieces of silver coin, mostly in good preservation, and none older than the time of Vespasian. The late Sir Thomas Gooch [local gentry] bought about 700 of them and the remainder were sold to a Jew who retailed them at low prices in the neighbourhood."...White's "History, Gazetteer and Directory of Suffolk," 1855.

In the Middle Ages, the whole district was owned by the Pierre-point or Pierpoint family. Through a series of inheritances and sales much of the land passed to the Gooch family and to the Dean and Chapel of Westminster. The social structure appeared to continue to work in a feudal-style system to at least the mid 19th century.

Although the Nuthalls who lived in the district were unlikely to have owned land, they were prosperous enough to have servants and workers. The 1851 Census shows Edward's cousin, Nevil as having moved to another local village, Wroxham, and farming the church farm of 175 acres with 4 men and one boy.

The household consisted of the family of Nevil, his wife, Hannah, and their three sons, John H., Nevil, and Henry C., and their three servants Jesse Poppy Lake, Maria Larkman, and Ann Larkman.

Henry and Abigail's Children

Edward was the fifth child of Henry and Abigail Nuthall's eleven children, all born in Frostenden. At present, I have traced four of these children. One, Matilda, died aged four and is buried at Frostenden's Anglican church, All Saints. As was the custom, Henry and Abigail named their tenth child and next-born daughter, Matilda. The eleven children span an age range of about 23 years.

Their eldest son, William Henry Nuthall married Maria Sallows and they appear to have moved away from Wrentham for a period when their second, third and fourth children were born, and back for the birth of their fifth, sixth and seventh (who died at one).

Their second son, George, provides the first clue as to how the family came to become established in Surrey. George married Sophia, who was born in Oxford and was slightly older (three years). There is a gap of some years, before I have been able to pick up their story. George and Sophia had at least seven children. The first child that I have a record for was Abigail Maria (possibly named after her grandmother) born about 1831, when Sophia was 29 years old.

According to records in the Surrey Comet, the local newspaper (which exists today), George established a Surrey confectionery firm probably based in Kingston-upon-Thames with a partner, a Mr Linton. At a guess this must have been somewhere between 1820 and 1830.

This business went on to become extremely successful and provided the basis for the soon to develop extended Victorian Nuthall family.

When Mr Linton retired, George's son, George William took over as a partner, in the mid 19th century. When, in turn, George retired another son, Charles Edward became a partner to George William and the firm was known as G. and C Nuthall.

George and Sophia lived in Brentford, Middlesex from about 1830 to 1840, moving to Kingston before the birth of their youngest son, Charles Edward.

Edward and Charlotte

Edward was six years younger than George who was able to show the way for his younger brother to follow his footsteps and establish a trading firm near London. The Surrey districts of Richmond and Kingston were growing markedly during this period, as large numbers of formerly country based folk arrived to make the most of the industrial revolution and economic growth.

It is unclear how Edward met Charlotte, who was from Oakhampton in Devon. Edward and Charlotte lived in Richmond, Surrey, in about 1838 at the time when Edward's brother, George, had a young family and was working at his growing confectionery business.

Edward and Charlotte had seven children from 1839 to 1851, all born in Richmond. Edward established a business, known as E. Nuthall and four of his five sons worked in the business over its prosperous years. This business imported and sold tobacco and tea and was established in a building which remains today on Kingston's market square.

The Victorian Tale

The period in the lives of the Nuthalls from the 1830s through to the First World War provides the parallel story to that of the Forsytes. This is no accident, as John Galsworthy grew up in Kingston and modelled his Forsyte characters on the men and women of the district. Studying and reflecting the social mores, conflicts and habits of an era, he drew portraits of the new Victorian middle class.

Both George and Edward had sons who went on to become Mayors of Kingston-Upon-Thames and leading local businessmen.