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As Bishop's Castle was for over 250 years the home of the Wollastons who were ancestors of the Australian branch it might be well to say something of the town. Built on a hill and ringed by higher ground it is a quaint little town with some very steep narrow streets. It is three miles east of Offa's Dyke and there were some defences round it from the 7th century.
It got its name from the Castle built in the 12th century. Egwin "Shakehead," a Saxon cured of his palsy at the shrine of St. Ethelbert Hereford, out of gratitude gave the Manor of Lydbury to the Bishops for ever. The Castle was probably used as a residence by the Bishops when touring the northern part of their diocese. In the 13th century Bishop's Castle became a separate parish from Lydbury with its own church.
Later on the Bishop exchanged the estate with Queen Elizabeth who sold it to Walcots of Walcot and granting a new charter to the town established a Bailiff, Recorder and 15 Aldermen in 1573, with representation in Parliament. Although no battle was fought there during the Civil War the church was badly damaged; it is thought because William Walcot and the town were loyal to the King. William was the King's page at his execution.
Bishop's Castle became one of the "pocket boroughs." As the Clive family had control over the parliamentary seats the elections ruined the Walcots who had to sell their vast estates to Robert Clive (of India). It is not known if the Wollastons had any part in these unfortunate happenings during the 17th and 18th centuries when they were bailiffs of Bishop's Castle, but Richard married Ann Clive, aunt of Clive of India in 1748.
Walter Wollaston who married Elizabeth Williamson at Ludlow in 1612 became Bailiff of Bishop's Castle in 1618 and served the Borough for many years. The following list of Bailiffs (or Mayors) of Bishop's Castle shows the family's efforts in the performance of their civic duties.
| 1618 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1624 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1634 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1646 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1646 | Walter Wollaston | (Died in office) |
| 1650 | Edward Wollaston | |
| 1662 | Edward Wollaston | (John Edwardes in another document) |
| 1665 | Edward Wollaston | |
| 1675 | Edward Wollaston | The Elder |
| 1686 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1688 | Samuel Wollaston | (But given as Sampson Pugh of Churchstoke in J.II new charter) |
| 1691 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1694 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1697 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1709 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1714 | Walter Wollaston | |
| 1716 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1728 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1730 | John Wollaston | |
| 1737 | Richard Wollaston | |
| 1741 | John Wollaston | |
| 1762 | John Wollaston | |
| 1781 | John Wollaston | |
| 1797 | John Wollaston | (For rest of year) |
| 1801 | John Wollaston | |
| 1804 | John Wollaston | |
| 1810 | John Wollaston | |
| 1812 | John Wollaston | |
| 1814 | John Wollaston | the younger |
| 1819 | John Wollaston | junior |
| 1824 | Thomas Wollaston | |
| 1829 | John Wollaston | the younger |
| 1841 | Richard Gulston Wollaston | (Dr.) |
| 1849 | Richard Gulston Wollaston | (Dr.) |
| 1880 | Rev. John Thomas Burton Wollaston | |
| 1882 | Rev. John Thomas Burton Wollaston |
| 1815 | John Wollaston | |
| 1827 | Thomas Wollaston |
It is not known what the occupation of Walter was when he moved to Bishop's Castle. It is possible that he was a doctor as each generation had at least one surgeon, though it is possible some were landholders. Walter's son Edward was obviously in business as he had two tokens struck and as he was designated junior it would appear to confirm that Walter was the son of Thomas of Over Penn, whose nephew Edward was born 19 years earlier.
Each generation had a Richard and Richard (1658-1731) entered public life described as an Alderman in 1688.
It would appear that it was this Richard Wollaston Esq. who was in 1699 a grantee at the Duchy of Lancaster Gray's Inn Lane as Master Forester of Symonds Wood and Coxstath within the Wapentake of West Derby and Salford, also of H.M.'s Parks in the Wapentake (an area in Yorkshire and the Midlands) Hundred of Staffs, in the county Palatine of Manchester.
His son Richard 1687-1748 married a Mary Wollaston, apparently his first cousin once removed, his second wife being Ann Clive aunt of the First Lord Clive of India. There were no children. Richard was Mayor of Shrewsbury in 1730 and later Receiver General of Taxes, and in 1734 claimed £2995-11-1¾d. which he had overpaid on land tax. In the same year he was directed to pay money in his hands or lose his securities which would have been considerable. At the Assizes he complained of lies and insults and false receipts, when he was apparently being charged with deficiencies, but he was granted a respite. He subsequently prosecuted_ Francis Gregory, Receiver for Pulley, for forging receipts. His receivership was apparently satisfactory as his application as Receiver of Taxes in 1739 was accepted.
Richard's brother John (1691-1742) had three sons who all became surgeons - Richard and John remaining at Bishop's Castle and William a surgeon in the Guards.
Standing astride and at the top of the steep High Street is the old Council House and nearby a house with 1611 above the porch, and a very fine solid old oak front door. As this house was occupied by several generations of Wollaston surgeons one might reasonably assume that it was here that Walter Wollaston brought his bride in 1612. (Strangely the marriage is recorded in the Bishop's Castle Register.) John who died in 1848 was the last to practise here, but was not using it as a residence as he was living across the border at Ivy House in Montgomeryshire.
The church of St. John Baptist is mostly 19th century with a 17th century tower and 13th century font. Among the early church wardens were Walter 1614 and son Walter 1682 vicar's wardens, 1690 Richard warden, and 1720 John vicar's warden.
A stained glass window with the Wollaston blazon at the top has at the bottom:-
In memory of John Wollaston Esq. of Ivy House who died Oct. 1848. Aged 63 years.
Also of Mary Ann first wife of John Wollaston who died 14 May 1815 aged 21.
Also of Beatrice 2nd wife of John Wollaston who died 24 Nov. 1878. Aged 89 years.
Also of Richard Wollaston Esq. merchant of London who died March 23 1845. Aged 90 years.
Beneath the Church Tower two large wooden plaques carried records of gifts. One reads:- The following persons gave towards the casting of the bells . . . Richard gent 30s. . . . Jnon Wollaston ½ guinea.
The other Roll contained gifts to charities including:-
Walter Wollaston Alderman of s y town left by will (5 Oct 1718) 40s. a year to be given to y e poor of y s town upon y e 1 s day of January yearly, for ever.
Meeting the vicar in the afternoon I arrived, I discovered he had that morning paid out the Walter Wollaston benefit which had now. owing to the increased value of money, become £50.
Another benefit was:- Mr. Richard Wollaston d.1845 late of Greenwich in the co. of Kent a native of this Town by a TRUST DEED Feb 24 1844 endowed the NATIONAL School of Bishop's Castle with £100 3 per cent Consols: Ann s the dividends thereof to defray the charges of education m the said school for 6 poor children natives of Bishop's Castle.
Walter Wollaston (C.158S-1646) married twice - first to Elizabeth Williamson at Ludlow by whom he had 3 children. His second marriage to Ann Palmer produced a family which survived for 3 generations. Walter's sons by his first marriage were Richard and Edward whose progeny was to extend to France and Australia.
The name of Richard tends to overlap in the Bishop's Castle history as the name is carried on from one generation to the next, but in other counties and in London the name has presented problems almost impossible to sort out and which I have dealt with elsewhere.
During three visits to Bishop's Castle over several years I searched for the Ivy House of John, Surgeon of Bishop's Castle and Coroner for Shropshire. On the final day of my last visit I found it midway between Bishop's Castle and Churchstoke in Montgomeryshire, and in that county. A stone set in the coach-house is engraved "Ivy House J.W. 1833" which is possibly the date that John built Ivy House. It later came into the hands of the Earl of Powis of the Clive family. The present owner presented me with a pastel of John Wollaston by a Royal Academy artist, also some old documents, wills, etc.
One of these was a letter in a bottle thrown into the sea off the Canaries from the "John Mum" bound for Australia in 1849. It was signed by two brothers named Lewis and being picked up by a fisherman was sent back to the sister, a Mrs. Mountford near Bishop's Castle. There seemed to be a relationship between the Wollastons and Mountfords as at the previous John's request his heir, son of George and Sarah Mountford was named John Wollaston Mountford. John's widow Beatrice gave Edward Mountford a lease of "Ivy House."
John Wollaston acted as an executor for a number of people and some of the receipts are interesting apart from the prices, e.g.:-
Mr. Wollaston to Eoan Jones
| 1830 | Nov |
9th do 30 do 31 |
Mr. Stephen Morgans Funeral Unpaid for Ale Mr. Morgans Sale dined 5 at 1s. each Ale David Eating and Ale |
£ s d 5- 2-6 2-15-0 5-0 9-6 2-0 £8-14 -0 |
Although ale was not as cheap as in the 13th century when it was bought in quantity for ½d. to ¾d. a gallon it was still reasonable in 1830 so it must have been a pleasant event.
I have always been intrigued by those large boxlike stone tombs in English cemeteries standing above ground and though I have looked into some that have been broken by the ravages of time they seem to contain practically nothing though in one I saw a few bones - no traces of coffins.
It was Richard's younger brother John whose sons Richard and John, both surgeons, were to continue the family name - the former in France and England and John in Australia.
Richard (1716-1786) the eldest son had a family of which the fifth generation was in France in the mid 19th century. This family consisted of John A. Wollaston M.D., Edouard Lieutenant R.N. of France, Louis a Judge de Paix who in 1896 married Augustine de Chevalier at the Madeleine Paris, and Marie in a convent in Troyes. We do not know if these men had male heirs, and I can find no trace of any Wollasions in France today. The English branch of this family has its last member John Gulston Wollaston living in 1972.
The name Wollaston crops up in Canada. America and other parts of the world. These people should be considered with a certain amount of caution. It could be that like the Wollsteins they have chosen the name because they like it. This occurred when John Edward Israel Wollstein fled to England from Poland in 1810 when the rest of his family had all been killed. Although some of the members of this family retained the new name of Wollaston some subsequently returned to their previous name.
John (1719-177l>) the second son ot John, was responsible for the line that stretched to Australia and remains a viable family. This family came down through Rev. Edward Wollaston M.A.. Worcester.
There is a separate branch of the family living in Australia which came from the Continent where members of the family moved from time to time. The founder of this branch was William Charles Frederick. The name Frederick occurs frequently in certain families still extant in England but which I have been unable to follow. Henry the son of the above was an artist of considerable merit and for some time was employed by Sydney newspapers. His talent as a painter would probably have made him famous had he bothered to continue. His two sons were Marcus and Vivian. Marcus was a wholesale jeweller and Vivian an architect: each have two sons living.