Longport: The 'Kingdom' of Davenport (1760's - mid 19th C))

 

 The location of Longport Hall (now only the outside wall remains)

 

 

Location 11 on the index map

Longport Hall, the largest house in Longport, was built in the mid 1770s for Robert Williamson sr., pottery manufacturer, who married Ann, the widow of James Brindley . 

This detached Georgian house and its surrounding land were sold by his son Robert Williamson jr. to Henry Davenport in the early 1830s (see 1832 map). 

John Ward in his book published in 1843 described its enlargement and improvement:

“Of the dwelling-houses [in Longport], the principal one, which was erected many years ago by Mr Robert Williamson Senior, was purchased by Mr Henry Davenport, not long before he met with his untimely death in 1835, who greatly enlarged it; and his brother, Mr William Davenport, whose property it now is, has completed it in an elegant manner.” 

The illustration above shows. the west and south sides of the house in 1843. It should be compared with the 1878 Ordnance Survey map. The house was then screened from the road by a stone wall with a thick plantation of trees on the edge of the property to hide the surrounding factories and their smoke. William Davenport, his family and their 9 indoor servants, (there were also several outdoor servants including the gardener and the coachman) were listed in the 1851 census returns as follows:

Place of Birth:
William Davenport Head Married 45 Manufacturer of Earthenware Staffs. Burslem
Minnie Davenport Wife Married 42 Staffs. Burslem
J E Davenport Daughter Single 14 Staffs. Burslem
M H Davenport Daughter Single 12 Staffs. Burslem
E A Davenport Daughter Single 5 Staffs. Burslem
A Davenport Daughter Single 4 Staffs. Burslem
A J Davenport Daughter Single 1 Staffs. Burslem
Elizabeth Baker Servant Single 48 Cook Staffs. Swynnerton
Martha Thomas Servant Single 40 Housekeeper Montgomeryshire
Elizabeth Fowler Servant Single 25 Housemaid Staffs. Leigh
Ann Wilson Servant Single 18 Housemaid Salop. Leigh Bridge
Jane Shropshire Servant Single 42 Nurse Salop. Newport
Martha Mowley Servant Single 21 Nurse Chesh. Smallwood
Jane Woolley Servant Single 23 Laundress Staffs. Lichfield
Henry Davis Servant Widower 54 Footman Chesh. Bickerston
James Deakin Servant Single 16 Chesh. Bickerston

 

Not long afterwards William Davenport moved to Maer Hall which he bought from the Wedgwood family. He then leased Longport Hall to various occupiers. The family put the house up for sale with their rest of their property in the 1880s. 

The estate was bought by a builder who demolished the Hall and built 125 terrace houses fronting Newcastle Street and 3 new streets behind: Bridgewater St., Trubshawe St., and Shirley St. (see the 1900 map). 

Nothing remains of Longport Hall except part of the perimeter stone wall which was reused by the builder as the front garden wall for some terrace houses in Newcastle Street:-

 



 


Longport Hall - part of the perimeter stone wall

 

next is the location of John Brindley's house

questions/comments/contributions? email: Steve Birks