The Watts - last owner of Speke Hall, Liverpool

Previous owners of Speke Hall.

There has been lots of research written about the Norris family who first owned Speke Hall. After all, they built the house and it remained in the family for hundreds of years. However, as a visitor to the hall, we can see the influences of the last family who owned it. Therefore, I thought it would make a nice change to research the last family of Speke Hall: the Watts.

Speke is first mentioned in the Doomesday book of 1086. This states that at the time of the Norman Conquest, the manor of ‘Spec’ had been held by a Saxon Lord, Uctred, who was the largest landowner in Lancashire. It consisted of 200-300 acres of land and was valued at 64p.

The issue of ownership for the next few hundred years is complicated. The feudal system was a complex arrangement of land tenure. In theory, all land belonged to the king. In practice, the land was granted by him to tenants-in-chief, who granted tenures and sub-tenures. By 1170, Speke was included in the Master Forestership of Lancashire, though the tenure was in the hands of the Molyneux family, who were to retain nominal overlordship until the late 16^th Century.

In the early 13^th century, the manor was divided into two parts: one half to Robert Ernys of Chester; the other to Sir Patrick de Haselwell. Sir Patrick had two daughters who married brothers Alan and John le Noreis. By 1317, John le Noreis was in sole possession of the full Haselwell half of the manor and from 1332 he leased the Ernys land. John and his wife, Nicola had a house at Speke by 1314 and from then descended a line of Norrises who were to live at Speke until the 18^th century. The two halves of the manor were reunited into Norris ownership when Sir Henry Norris married Alice Ernys in about 1390.

Built by the Norris family in stages during the 16^th Century, Speke Hall that we know today was complete by 1598.

The estate remained in the Norris family until 1736. Mary Norris inherited it from her father, Thomas in 1731, and in 1736, she married Lord Stanley Beauclerk. Mary’s strong attachment to the house was not shared by her husband and son, and when she died in 1766, the house was let out to tenants. Equally, Mary’s grandson, Charles Beauclerk took little interest and considerable damage was done to the house by various tenenats.

In 1795, for the only time in the house’s history, Charles sold the estate for £75, 500 to Richard Watt, a Liverpool Merchant.

First Richard Watt:

Richard Watt (1) was born of humble origins in 1724 at Standish near Wigan. As a young man, he held the only licence and drove the first hired carriage in Liverpool for Mr. Geoffry Walley. Geoffery sent Richard to evening school and in 1750 sent him to Jamaica as manager of cargo on his ship.

Whilst in Jamaica, he bought a plantation; George’s Plain, and exploited slave labour to produce rum and sugar. He returned to England in 1772 with an amassed fortune of £500, 000. 

Back in England, Richard was shown in the Liverpool directory as “Richard Watt, merchant” with an address in Hanover street, near to the docks.  In 1773, he built himself a house at Oak Hill near Old Swan, which was outside of Liverpool at the time. His name is shown on Yate’s map of 1786, which also shows the previous owner of Speke Hall, Lady Beauclerk.

In 1783 he purchased a 2, 500 acre estate in Bishop Burton, Yorkshire. Having no children, he executed a deed giving Bishop Burton to his nephew, Richard (2), for life. This became the home for a branch of the Watt family for many generations. 

As well as working in the mercantile trade, Richard was also a ship owner. Most of the local ships registered in Liverpool at the time were owned by local shipping merchants. The table shows that Richard Watt was an investor in the shipping industry.

Finally, in 1795, Richard bought Speke Hall and Manor for £75, 500. Unfortunately, within twelve months of buying Speke Hall, Richard died without issue on 4^th November 1796. He never had the chance to live at Speke.

In memory of his Uncle, Richard (2), who took over his business, had another ship built in 1797 called The Watt.

Second and Third Richard Watts:

Richard’s nephew and heir, Richard Watt (2) was born in 1751 and lived at Bishop Burton, Yorkshire. He married Sarah Greenup (date unknown) who died in childbirth in 1788. She left Richard with three babies, the youngest of whom, William, died in 1792 age four. Richard bought the manor of Ottringham to make better provision for his second son, Francis.

	"OTTRINGHAM, is a village in the parish of its name, having no dependent township, in the wapentake of Holderness, three miles and a half from Patrington. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Francis Watt, Esq. of Beverley….” (Pigots 1834, pp 1037)

Richard continued to work for the family merchant and shipping business. Regarding Speke Hall, he undertook some restoration work in the Great Hall about 1802 – 1803.   However, he died in 1803, before the family had the chance to move there, and so he too never actually got to live in Speke Hall.

Richard’s son and heir, Richard (3) was born in Liverpool in 1786, but was christened and grew up at the family home in Bishop Burton.

On his father’s death, Richard (3) became the owner of all three estates: George’s Plain in Jamaica, Bishop Burton and Speke Hall. Richard also became High Sheriff of the County of York 1811-1812. 


To be continued.....