Philip Antrobus
Philip Antrobus was the builder of Lowerhouse - the mill (1819)
and more than fifty cottages, possibly some additional houses.
It is not certain that Antrobus actually got the mill into operation
before he died (4 October 1830), but probable that he did. It was,
however, unused at the time of his death.
He married Mary Brooke on 17th May 1815. Philip died on [disputed:
4 October 1830 or 11th December 1829]. He left a comprehensive
Will dated 13th November 1829. The short time between the date
of his Will and that of his death suggests that he was not in good
health and that he was facing the possibility of his early demise.
His Will was most comprehensive but nevertheless omitted one most
important, indeed, essential, instruction. The Will provided for
annuities to his wife Mary for her keep and the upbringing of his
large family of young children, five boys, John, Peter, Philip, George,
and Thomas, and three daughters, Margaret Jane, Mary Elizabeth,
and Frances, and to his sister, Mary Chetham[1],
and specified where this money was to come from - the income from
his Cheshire properties (as distinct from his Staffordshire properties).
However, he omitted to give his Executors, Peter Brooke and John
Brooke, the necessary authority to lease the properties in order
to obtain income! The private Act
of Parliament obtained that authority (full
text
).
From the Act we can see that Philip Antrobus owned estates in Staffordshire and Cheshire. It details only the Cheshire estates which were all in Bollington and Prestbury. The Act ends with a Schedule of these properties and each is listed with more or less detail, the tenant's name, the size of the property and the annual (rental) value.
One of the tenants is someone of interest in a different context.
Philip Antrobus owned (built?) and lived in the house known now
as The
Rookery, but then
just Rookery. The schedule shows that in 1832 it was let to William
Crossley. It is thought that this was William Crosley the engineer
of the Macclesfield
Canal who would at this time have recently completed construction
of the canal at Bollington. He continued as engineer through the
early years of operation.
George Antrobus
Son of Philip Antrobus, George grew up to be a mill operator like his father. After his father's death, while George was still a child, the Lowerhouse estate was leased to Samuel Greg jnr, so George took other mills in Bollington.
George Antrobus
Father of Philip Antrobus. The
house next door to Rookery is Turner Heath House and that is
where George Antrobus lived while he developed various mills in
Bollington. 'Bollington in old picture postcards', p.14, records
that "George
and his sons were also in business as 'check merchants' and
weavers (probably employing domestic workers). The sons, Philip
and George, built cotton mills at the eastern end of the village
in the late eighteenth century, but a business was also carried
on adjacent to Turner Heath House. When Philip Antrobus junior
died in 1829 he left a small works at Turner Heath consisting
of a warehouse, dyehouse, weaving shop, and steam engine (valued
at £47) as well as his new mill at Lowerhouse (valued at £704)."
Footnote:
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to the reference in the text above
1 Philip
Antrobus's sister is referred to in the Act once as Mary Cheetham
and twice as Mary Chetham.
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