TITLE DEEDS

Of No 31 Hoxton Square and 225 Hoxton St, later 27 & 27a Hoxton Street and other property (earlier in series).

Deed series begins with marriage settlement of George Crosby & Katherine Pocock (1, see below), 1758 and with a lease and release by Israel Wilkes and Giles Bawdripp to John Jones (2-3)' This conveyed 3 houses on the east side of Hoxton Square and two houses at the east end of the Square, abutting south on the road leading to Old St. (Plan mentioned but not on deed, an office copy). Jones mortgaged to Ann Holmes in 1778 (4), and made a will in 1781 leaving all to his wife Elizabeth (5). (6) is an abstract of title of Elizabeth Jones back to 1679, reciting a lease and release of 12-13 November 1679 in which Sir Edward Massie conveyed to Catherine Austin (i) a capital messuage, late of John Hunt, then Eliza Paris, a house adjoining built by Edward Massie and a walled garden bordering south and west on Hogsden Lane; (ii) Churchfield of 6a, partly digged for sand and gravel, abutting north on Hogsden St and yards occupied by Thomas Cuddesden and east on a house called the Crooked Billett; (iii) The Crooked Billett, late occupied by John Arnell and then Eliza Paris. (iv) messuage lately built by Thomas Cuddesden, brickmaker, walled in brick and adjoining another house newly built by the late Robert Massie, father of Edward. (v) Messuage occupied by George Deguarne and garden, bowling green and allies of 2a; (vi) brick messuage of six rooms and garden or green platt measuring 27' sq approx occupied by George Deguarne. Catherine Austin passed her estate to heir Thomas Austin, who died in 1700; his heir John Austin sold to Israel Wilkes in 1730 when the estate consisted of 112 houses in Hogsden or Hoxton Square, Hoxton Street and King Street. Wilkes eliminates wife's dower claim and other documents are as in this group, plus lease of 1761 by Jones to Thomas Betts of 31-33 Hoxton Sq. (occupied by Lewis, Coleman and Barker), and a lease of 1767 of the London Apprentice to Cadwallader Coker and Valentine Grimstead, partners and brewers. (7) is the will of Elizabeth Jones, of 1781, proved the same year, leaving her estate to grandaughter Elizabeth Wright, property to be sold. In (8-9) her devisees sell 31 Hoxton Square to George Crosby, sugar refiner of Goodmans Fields, 1781 (for Crosby marriage settlement see (1). In Crosby's will of 1784, proved 1790 (10) his heir is his daughter (Catherine, with life interest to wife Isabella. Both die within two years and the property is inherited jointly by Elizabeth Stirling, Katherine's sister, and Robert Crosby, George's brother. In (11-12) the latter buys the former out of 31 Hoxton Sq and considerable estate in Wantage. Robert Crosby's will (15), 1796, makes son Robert his heir (bequests include servant Martha Hawkes and John Heseldine, a boy living at the Hoxton Sq house). Will proved 1809 and 31 Hoxton Sq sold by Robert Crosby to Rev Thomas Fancourt (17-18). Fancourt leases the back of the house and workshops, formerly a schoolroom, to William Lucraft of 33 New Inn Square, chair-maker, in 1849 (19-20), plan on deed. This is the later 225 Hoxton St. His daughter Jane inherited in 1857, her brother John having died in India in 1836 (21-23). The Hoxton Square house was in poor repair and sold to Lucraft in that year (24, plan on deed) together with 225 Hoxton St. Lucraft was by then a wholsale cabinet and chairmaker. In 1893 Mrs Lucraft let 31 for a year to Charles Shelly, cabinet maker (25) and sold 31 Hoxton Sq and 15 Kingsland Road to Mrs Annie Eliza Wells in 1900 (28), who in turn leased 31 Hoxton Sq to Nathan Lee from 1928 to 1940 (29-30,32). 27a Hoxton St was let to Albert Edward godfrey for a year in 1932. (33) is an undated roof plan and cross sections of 27a, scale 4' to 1", nd but c 1920s.

Donation.

The title deed series concerns estate once owned by Sir Thomas Leigh (see Survey of London Vol VIII St Leonard Shoreditch pp72-4) After the end of this series, NO. 31 Hoxton Sq. and 27-27a Hoxton St were bought by J. Waller & Co, a rubber stamp making company founded in Clerkenwell in 1868. This company, which believed itself to be one of the earliest UK rubber stamp makers, was at various addresses in Clerkenwell, including Peartree Street, before being bombed out in 1940. Many records were destroyed in that incident and the company moved to Hoxton Sq in 1953. After a number of name changes the business was sold off in stages up to the final liquidation in 1983.