Romney Family of Whitestock Hall

The boxes are split as follows:

BD HJ 37: 1/1-50

BD HJ 38: 1/51-79; 2/1-21

BD HJ 39: 3/1-8; 4/1-61; 5/1-2; 6/1-7; 7/1-7; 8/1-12

Whitestock Hall was sold to George Romney of Kirkland, Westmorland in 1801. When he died the following year, the Hall passed to his son, John. Four years later John married Jane Kennel of Colton. Their first child, Mary, was born in 1809. She married John Job Rawlinson in 1831. George was born in 1811 and died in 1865. In 1813 Elizabeth was born. Like George she never married and died at Whitestock Hall in 1893. Their youngest daughter, Jane born in 1815, married Thomas Brooks of Rusland Hall, a widower, in 1857. This marriage did not last very long as Thomas died in 1866. Then Jane had the job of administering his estate as well as that of his former wife, Cordelia, who had died in 1852. Jane died in 1889. The youngest child of the family was John, born in 1817. Like his father, he was ordained in the Church of England and his wife was called Jane. They had ten children born between c1850 and c1870. The first John Romney died in 1832 at the age of 75 years; the younger John died in 1875. On his death the Romney estates seem to have passed on to John Orde Romney, who sold them c1904

The collection includes a large number of title deeds to property in Colton parish including the Whitestock Hall, Barkhouse Bank and Haybridge estates. Parcels of land and farms in Ickonthwaite and land in Dalton parish also belonged to the Romney family

A number of wills survive including those of John Romney (1832), Jane Romney/Brooks (1853, 1866, 1875), Elizabeth Romney (1866) and John Romney (1867). Various other probate papers accompany these wills

There is not much personal correspondence though a number of letters to Jane Romney from her sister Elizabeth and brother John do survive, dated c1836-1852

During the nineteenth century, several valuations of Whitestock Hall were made. These give field names, acreage and value. A few plans also survive showing the estate, together with sales particulars c1903. The collection also contains some surveys and accounts re timber on the estate