Christopher Petyt was born in 1692 at Orton Hall, Orton, Westmoreland, the son of Christopher Petyt, yeoman, and his wife Mary Wilkinson. His father was the son of another Christopher Petyt who was born at Storiths, Bolton Abbey and was the uncle of William and Silvester Petyt (q.v.).

Christopher’s father died when he was quite young and it was left to his mother to bring him up and attend to his education. His father’s cousin, William Petyt, the eminent lawyer and scholar seems to have taken an interest in him for when William died in 1707 he left £50 towards the cost of his education. He trained as an Attorney, most probably in London because we know that his mother and two sisters were living there in the 1720s. On qualifying Christopher obtained a post as Steward to the Earl of Thannet and it seems that he had living quarters at Skipton Castle. He also acted as the Yorkshire agent of the Trustees of Silvester Petyt’s Charity. He was married in about 1723 to a lady named Elizabeth and their daughter, also named Elizabeth (q.v.), was baptised at Skipton Church on August 1^st 1724. Christopher died at Ilkley in 1728 and was buried there.

Elizabeth Petyt was born at Skipton in 1724, she was the daughter of Christopher Petyt, Attorney at Law (q.v.) and his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Captain William Fleming at Windermere on 10^th September 1745. Where Elizabeth and her widowed mother had lived since 1728 is not known but at the time of her marriage she was rumoured to have a fortune of £5000. William was the son of Michael Fleming the brother of Sir Daniel Fleming, Ist Baronet of Rydal Hall in Westmoreland. Sir Daniel died in 1736 and was succeeded by his brother George who was the Bishop of Carlisle. Sir George died in 1747 and was succeeded by his nephew William the husband of Elizabeth.

William and Elizabeth had four daughters and one son, Michael, who eventually succeeded to the baronetcy in 1757. Sir Michael Le Fleming was known as the ‘’brilliant baronet’’ and Boswell recorded his remarkable social and literary gifts. Michael married in 1782, Lady Diana Howard the only daughter of Thomas, 14^th Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire. William died in 1806 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by a cousin but the estates passed to his only daughter Anne and after her death to the descendants of her aunts the daughters of William and Elizabeth.

Sir William, 3^rd Baronet died in 1757 and his wife, Elizabeth in 1760.

Richard Petty was born at Colne in Lancashire about the year 1735. His father, John Petty who hailed from Dent, was almost certainly related to the Pettys of Craven. John married Mary Walton at Colne in 1732. Through his marriage John Petty became the landlord of the Hole in the Wall Inn on the High Street in Colne, which Mary had inherited from her father George Walton. At that period cock fighting was a popular pastime and cockpits were often attached to inns. This was the case at the Hole in the Wall, in June 1764 there was a notice announcing a cockfight ‘Yorkshire versus Lancashire’ at Petty’s Pit, Colne. It is clear that Richard Petty was familiar with cock fighting and, indeed, was very interested in it and the gambling that was associated with it. This interest was to lead in some ways to his death in 1766.

Richard was an apothecary and practised as a doctor at Grassington. It is probable that he took over the practice of John Hawkridge who described himself as a Surgeon, Man Midwife and Apothecary. Mr Hawkridge left Grassington in 1765 and moved to Otley.

On Easter Tuesday, 1st April 1766, Dr. Petty, Tom Lee; the landlord of the Blue Anchor Inn at Grassington and others attended the cockfights at Kettlewell. It is thought that the Doctor had been lucky and had won a large amount of money. Petty and Lee left the cockfight together to make their way back to Grassington. They called at several inns and at their last port of call at Henry Ellis’s inn at Conistone they were reported to have drunk a pint of rum between them and were pretty well intoxicated. They then mounted their horses to ride back to Grassington. Dr. Petty was never seen alive again.

On 2^nd April the inhabitants were beginning to worry about the disappearance of Dr. Petty and the next day they asked Tom Lee to search for him. On the 4^th April Dr. Petty’s father, John, was sent for from Colne and he paid the expenses of the search for his son. On the 15^th April Tom Lee was committed to York Castle on suspicion of murdering Dr. Petty. At this stage the body of Dr. Petty had not been found but early in May 1766 Ann Grieve was by the River Wharfe at Burnsall and saw something strange in the water, she went for assistance and with the help of William Grieve and William Airton they recovered the body of Richard Petty. He was fully clothed but his clothes had the appearance of having been buried in earth before he had been thrown into the river. An inquest was formally opened with evidence of identification so that the funeral could proceed. An entry in the Burnsal Parish Register reads ‘3^rd May 1766 Richard Petty, who was found in the water, (buried) by Mr. Knowles’. The inquest was resumed on 19^th May and the jury found ‘the said Richard Petty was murdered by the said Thomas Lee or some other person or persons unknown’.

At the Summer Assize held at York in July 1766 Thomas Lee was charged before a Grand Jury with the murder of Richard Petty. The Grand Jury acquitted Lee of the murder because of the lack of convincing evidence but because a Grand Jury hearing is not a trial, and there is accordingly no acquittal or conviction, the accused could be tried at a later date if new evidence turned up. Tom Lee was released, and returned to Grassington, at the same time John Burnup, his servant, who is rumoured to have heard incriminating conversations between Lee, his wife and others, left his employment and moved to Durham. Two years later Burnup’s conscience got the better of him and following a statement to the authorities Thomas Lee was committed to York Castle on 27^th March 1768 on suspicion of murdering Richard Petty two years earlier. The trial was held at York in July 1768 when Lee and John Bownass were charged with the murder, whilst John Burnup and John Tulley were charged with being concerned in the removal of Dr. Petty’s body, in order to conceal a murder. Evidence was given that Dr. Petty was murdered at Grass Wood Gate, money was stolen from his pockets and the body laid among some reeds in Grass Wood. After the murder they moved the body three different times, and lastly, about five weeks after the event threw Dr. Petty’s remains into the river to make it appear that he had drowned. Lee was found guilty and the other three were acquitted. Lee was hanged at York on Monday 28^th July 1768 and his body was taken to Grassington and the body was hung on a gibbet near the scene of the murder. Many accounts of this murder have been published but the most accurate by far is the one published by R. Geoffrey Rowley in 1982.

John Petyt was born at Pontefract in 1758; he was the son of John Petty and his wife Ann Thorp. He changed the spelling of his name later in life when he became a successful businessman.

John was married twice, his first wife was called Hannah and they had a son, Silvester, born at London in 1787. Silvester was baptised at St George’s Church, Bloomsbury as by that date John was living in some grandeur at 31 Brunswick, Square, London. John had made his money from dealing in stocks and shares, buying land and property, and by owning ships. By 1810 John was a widower because in that year he was married at St George’s, Bloomsbury to Hannah Addison. Hannah was a widow with two children from her first marriage. In the same year as his second marriage John bought the Ackworth Park estate not far from his birthplace in Pontefract. He also applied for and was granted a coat of arms similar to those granted to William and Silvester Petyt (q.v.) in 1690. No doubt that it was at this time that he changed the spelling of his name.

In 1812 when Hannah was forty years of age she gave birth to a daughter, Harriet, at the house in London. Harriet was to die at the early age of thirty one from consumption, her death took place whilst on a visit to Edinburg in 1841 and she is buried in the cemetery at Warriston

John divided his time between his house at London and Ackworth Park but it was at the latter that he died in 1826. He is buried in the churchyard at Ackworth parish church. His widow, Hannah, survived him until her death in 1845 and she is buried in the churchyard at All Saints, Pontefract. John’s son and heir, Silvester, sold Ackworth Park, in 1828 to John Gully the well-known sportsman and MP for Pontefract.

Samuel Petty was born at Kirkgate, Leeds in 1766; he was the son of Dinah Petty the granddaughter of Silvester Petty of Langbar near Ilkley. He trained as a baker and maltster and set up in business at Beeston. He gave his name to Petty’s Fold that was situated on the north side of Town Street in Beeston, he is also remembered for his gift of land to the Methodists to enable them to build their first chapel in the district. Samuel was also a partner in the Hunslet Hall Pottery but it is not known whether he had anything to do with the running of the pottery.

Mary Petyt was born in 1774 the daughter of Henry Petyt, farmer of Deerstones, Bolton Abbey, and his wife Hannah Gill. Mary married Phineas Parkinson, farmer of Addingham, at Bolton Abbey on 20th October 1794. Mary is included on this list not for anything she achieved but for the success of her descendants.

Mary’s granddaughter, Ellen Ann Heyes, born 1845 at Accrington, married in 1866 at Accrington Nathaniel Berry, the son of a Salterforth butcher. The marriage certificate gives his occupation as a book hawker and it is said that he sold bibles to miners in the Cardiff area. Soon after their marriage the young couple moved to London where Nathaniel continued to sell bibles from door to door but at some stage he began to deal in pianos. He started a piano manufacturing business aiming to make a good piano at a price the working man could afford. The business expanded and at its height had thirteen shops in north and east London. Nathaniel died about 1905 and his sons and then a granddaughter carried on the business. The business struggled once recorded music and modern musical instruments were easily available and the small remaining business was sold in 1987 after being managed by the family for well over a hundred years.

Samuel Petty was born at Beeston near Leeds in 1796 and was the son of Samuel Petty (q.v.) a baker and maltster. In his early years he was a baker and probably worked for his father. He later worked at the Hunslet Hall Pottery until his retirement in about 1845.

The following is an extract from ‘Yorkshire Potteries’ by Oxley Grabham.

Hunslet Hall or Petty’s Pottery.

For the following account of this pottery, I am entirely indebted to Messrs. J R and F Kidson, who give it in their classic work on Leeds Pottery. The premises were still standing in 1892, in a ruinous condition, situated at the corner of Beeston Road and Holbeck Moor, but just within the township of Hunslet. After the Leeds old Pottery it was in its day the most important of the Leeds local potteries. In 1792, the pottery was in the hands of Messrs Petty and Rainforth, but it had been established some time. They made cream and other wares of a similar type to that manufactured by Hartley, Greens and Co. Many of their productions were exported to Brazil. In 1817 to 1825, the firm was Petty and Hewitt; from 1825 to 1845 it was styled Samuel Petty and Son. After this Messrs. Petty, having by means of their exports to Brazil established a South American agency, retired from the earthenware business and went into another class of trade.

Samuel Petty married Mary Ann Bullman at St. Peter’s Church, Leeds in 1811. They had 9 children including the grandly named Alfred Wedgewood Petty. From 1877 to 1855 they lived at Moorville Terrace, Beeston and from 1855 until his death in 1859 he lived at Burley Lodge, Burley, Leeds. He is buried in Beeston churchyard.

Elizabeth Petyt was born at Hazlewood, Bolton Abbey in 1794; she was the daughter of Thomas Petyt, a farmer, and his wife Ann Holmes. Elizabeth’s claim to fame is that she was the mother of Timothy Taylor the founder of the famous brewery in Keighley that bears his name.

Elizabeth married Richard Taylor of Bingley at Bolton Abbey in 1816. Richard was a tailor and by 1851 he was well established at Myrtle Place, Bingley. By that time he was employing seven men including his son Timothy who was born at Bingley in 1826. By the time of the 1871 census Richard was a widower and living in retirement at Main Street, Bingley.

In about 1857 Timothy had married Charlotte Aked the daughter of printer and publisher Robert Aked of Keighley. They had three children Helena 1858-1871, Robert Henry 1860-1931 and Percy 1871-1953. Timothy continued in his old trade as a tailor and at one time had a shop in Low Street, Keighley. At some stage during the mid 1850s Timothy changed his occupation to that of a maltster and brewer. He obtained premises in Cook Lane and advertised the opening of his brewery in the ‘Illustrated Monthly Journal and Keighley Advertiser’. The business was a great success and five years later Timothy removed to a new site at Knowle Spring. Timothy died in 1898. The business continued to prosper and the brewery was considerably extended in 1911. The company is still managed by members of the Taylor family and continues to go from strength to strength. The present head of the family is John Aked Taylor, born 1917, the grandson of Timothy Taylor and great grandson of Elizabeth Petyt. He was knighted in 1972 and in 1982 was created a Life Peer; he uses the title Baron Ingrow of Keighley.

John Petty was born at Salterforth, a small village between Colne and Skipton. He was one of the ten children of Micah Petty and his wife Mary Nelson. Micah was a tailor and the grandson of Silvester Petty of Langbar near Ilkley.

John had a taste for leaning and in this his father encouraged him. He attended the school of Mr John Driver, a Baptist Minister, who, besides following his calling as a hand-loom weaver, undertook to instruct young John, a son of his own, and the son and daughter of the neighbouring squire. Primitive Methodist preachers began to visit Salterforth from 1822 and the Petty household was open to them for hospitality. It was under the influence of these preachers that John was persuaded to commit his life to Christ. From the time of his conversion at the age of sixteen he began to preach to local congregations. Within two years he was called to work as a hired (i.e. paid) local preacher in the Keighley Circuit, and in 1826 when he was eighteen he was called to the work of the itinerant ministry.

His first circuit (1826-1828) was the Pembrokeshire mission based on Haverfordwest, which was followed by a year at Stroud. In 1829 when he was still only twenty-one he was appointed to Tunstall, the mother circuit of the Primitive Methodist Connexion, and surprisingly found that he was named on the plan as superintendent, an indication of the high regard in which he was held very early in his ministry. In 1831 he was transferred to Wearside and in 1832 to Guernsey to take over the Channel Islands mission. From 1835 to 1850 he worked in circuits on the Welsh border and in the Midlands until in 1850 he was moved to London to take responsibility for the publications of the PM Connexion. In 1857 he was asked to undertake a history of the Connexion to be published to mark its Golden Jubilee in 1860. Between 1857 and 1863 John Petty was involved with work at Hull before the Connexion honoured Petty by asking him to assume the Governorship of the Elmfield residential schools for boys opened at York early in 1864. The following year it was decided to accept into Elmfield a number of young ministerial candidates and Petty added to his duties those of theological tutor.

Apart from his ‘History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion’ published in 1860 John Petty wrote many other books. He wrote a memoir of Thomas Batty, three catechisms for the use with the young, several volumes of sermons, and a set of lectures, which had been delivered, to the ministerial candidates at Elmfield School.

John Petty married Thirza Sproston (1808-1871) at Bradford in 1832 and they had eight children. He died whilst still working at Elmfield School on 22^nd April 1868. Memorial services were held at the little Stonegate (Ebenezer) Chapel on Sunday26th April and on the following day John Petty was buried in the York Cemetery. In 1903 the Monkgate Primitive Methodist Church in York was officially opened, replacing the Ebenezer Chapel in Little Stonegate. The new building was to be used for the attendance at worship of the boys from Elmfield School. This link with Elmfield was one of the factors behind the naming of the new church the ‘John Petty Memorial Church’, which title proudly surmounts the large window over the main entrance.

John William Petty was born at Greenmount Terrace, Hunslet near Leeds in 1820; he was the son of John Petty of Beeston and his wife Elizabeth Hirst. He was the grandson of Samuel Petty (q.v.) baker and maltster of Beeston. His father had first trained as a baker but later became a land surveyor.

John’s father died when he was six years old and his mother brought him up alone until she remarried. John could never praise his stepfather too highly for it was he who put down a £30 premium and allowed him to be an apprentice printer at the Leeds Times. The Leeds Times was then edited by Samuel Smiles and he no doubt had an influence on the young John Petty. Later, for many years he had charge of the printing office of H W Walker in Briggate, Leeds and, for a shorter period of Webb, Millington and Co., Otley. In 1865 John set up his own business in Albion Street, Leeds. The firm prospered and over the years they moved premises several times until they had to build the ’largest printing works in Leeds’ on Whitehall Road.

John married Sarah Stephenson of Cottingham near Hull in 1843 at Cottingham church. They had 7 children.

Notes from the ‘Stephenson Brochure’ written by his son Wesley Petty and published about 1918………John William Petty of Highfield House, the senior founder of Petty and Sons, Whitehall Printeries, Leeds died in his eightieth year. He was the oldest printer in the city, being apprenticed at the Leeds Times when Samuel Smiles was editor. After having charge for many years of the late H W Walker’s printing office and latterly of Webb, Millington and Co., Otley, he began business on his own account in Leeds in 1865, and aided by his two sons, Wesley Petty, then 18 years of age, who had seven years’ experience, and two years later on by Benjamin Petty, the Chairman of Petty and Sons (Reading), Ltd., the business prospered.

Mr John Wm. Petty was a gentle, genial man of wide interests. For sixty-one years he was a Methodist Lay Preacher. He represented the West Ward in the Town Council for fourteen years. Always a firm supporter of the Liberal Party, he helped to return to Parliament the first and second Edward Baines, Lord Macaulay etc. He was a manager of the Leeds, Skyrac and Morley Saving Bank, and associated with the late Mr. J W Armitage and Canon Jackson for some years in the St. James’ Hall Working Men’s Institution, of which the author of this brochure was the Hon. Secretary and Organiser. He was for many years the President of the Leeds Temperance Society. Surrounded by all that should accompany old age—honour, love, reverence and troops of friends—he retained every faculty unimpaired to the last.

Robert Petyt was born at Kettlewell in 1820; he was the son of Thomas Petty, a farmer, and his wife Ann Wiseman. Robert changed the spelling of his name after he moved to London and become a wealthy and successful businessman.

Robert married his wife Sarah about 1847 and the first of their seven children was born in 1848 at Bradford. By 1851 he was back in Kettlewell and on the census returns he was described as ‘’formerly a builder and joiner’’ but apart from that no trade was given. However by 1871 he was living at Little Horton, Bradford and trading as a wool merchant and a soap manufacturer. By the time of the Census of 1881 Robert was living at 10 Lawn Road, Hampstead, London and in business as Stock and Share Dealer. At that time he was employing two of his sons as clerks. Rather strangely, his father, Thomas Petty aged 83 was living with him and the old man is described as a Soap Manufacturer and employing 2 men, 3 women and 1 boy.

Robert died in 1883 at his home at Hanger Hill, Ealing Common. His business premises were at 9 Drapers Gardens, Throgmorton, Street, London.

Joseph Petyt was born at Beamsley in 1825; he was the son of Christopher Petyt and his wife Elizabeth Moon. Christopher was a farmer and stonemason who in 1851 was employing 12 men. He must have been responsible for much of the building work in the area. He also specialised in monumental masonry and examples of his work can be seen in Bolton Priory graveyard. Joseph trained as a mason which was a skill he used later in life, he was also a farmer.

In 1853 Joseph married Alice Read (1826-1889) at Bolton Abbey. They had three children, William who trained as an engineer and emigrated to America in the early 1880s, Thomas who died in 1858 aged three years and Emily (q.v.). In 1861 Joseph was described as a Surveyor of Buildings, in 1871 as a farmer of 60 acres and by 1881 he was established at Stank House Farm, Bolton Abbey as a farmer and Agent to the Duke of Devonshire. In his capacity as Agent he would be responsible for the day to day management of the Bolton Abbey estate.

In 1864 Bolton Abbey became a parish in its own right and in 1866 the seventh Duke of Devonshire employed George Street to make some changes to the layout of the church. One of Street’s changes that was not accepted at the time was his suggestion that the two windows in the east wall should be removed and replaced with ‘a lofty painted reredos’. In 1877 it was decided to remove the windows and the wall was taken down and rebuilt. Joseph Petyt designed the new wall and the estate workmen carried out most of the work. A local artist, George Bottomley of Crosshills, painted the wall in 1880.

Joseph Petyt died 15 March 1883 and was buried in the graveyard at Bolton Abbey. His memorial reads…In memory of Joseph Petyt born at Beamsley, December 13^th 1825, died at Stank House, Bolton Abbey, March 15^th 1883. This memorial was erected by 136 of his friends in much of their great regard for his personal worth and public and private services on the Bolton Abbey Estate. Also Alice, wife of Joseph Petyt born at Bolton Abbey, November 12^th 1826, died November 22^nd 1889. ‘Qui S’estime Petyt deviendra grand’

The following appeared in the Craven Herald.

THE POET’S CORNER.

Lines written on the death of Mr Joseph Petyt of Stank House, Bolton Abbey, Agent to the Duke of Devonshire (who died March 15^th, and was interred at Bolton Abbey, March 19^th, 1883).

The weary eyes are clos’d in death;

Thy labour now is o’er;

Thy aching limbs are laid at rest,

And ne’er shall suffer more.

No earthly skill could save thy life,

Nor give thee health again;

For sudden was the call at last--

All human aid was vain.

Thy death is mourn’d by all around,

Their loss is great indeed;

Thine ear was open to distress--

Thine hand to those in need.

The widow and the fatherless

In thee have lost a friend;

‘Twas thine to stay oppression’s hand,

And all their rights defend.

Truth and justice was thy guide—

No lover thou of strife;

For discord had no place in thee;

Thine was a peaceful life.

Long and faithful thou has serv’d

The Duke of Devonshire,

To do thy duty to his Grace

Was ever thy desire.

Thy active brain will never more

Work out another plan,

So well adapted in design

To meet the wants of man.

Oh! Better far than human skill,

God’s wisdom did devise

For thee a house not made with hands—

A mansion in the skies.

And though we never more shall hear

Thy voice in palm or song,

We trust that thou had’st join’d the choir

Of the bright angel throng.

Whil’st thou art resting in thy grave

Beside the Abbey grey,

Thy loving deeds will live and bloom,

And never fade away.

Thomas Whitaker, Addingham, March 19^th, 1883.

Elizabeth Petyt was born at Beamsley in 1841; she was the daughter of Christopher Petyt, stonemason and his wife Elizabeth Moon. She was the sister of Joseph Petyt; Land Agent to the Duke of Devonshire. Elizabeth was a talented musician and was the organist at Bolton Abbey Church for fifty years. She was a farmer in her own right at Hardy Grange, Beamsley and the 1881 Census describes her as a Professor of Music and farmer of 57 acres. One assumes from that entry that Elizabeth also taught music. Elizabeth married late in life at the age of 42; her husband was Dr. William Usher of Addingham When William died in 1911 his obituary in the Craven Herald stated ‘Closely following the traditions of the older-fashioned country practitioner, he was almost daily to be seen mounted on his sturdy hack, traversing the highways and byways of Wharfedale on his mission of ministering to the sick.’ Elizabeth died at Bolton Abbey in 1917 and the following obituary was printed in the Craven Herald, 26^th January 1917.

Bolton Abbey lost one of its most highly respected and energetic workers by the death of Mrs Usher on Wednesday, the 24^th ult., at the age of 76 years. She was the widow of the late Dr Usher of Hardy Grange, Beamsley. Mrs Usher was the well-known lady organist of Bolton Abbey Church, and retired from that position in March 1912, through failing health. She had held the post faithfully for over half a century, and to commemorate her good work a brass tablet has been fixed to the organ front.

It is worthy of note that the deceased lady, as Miss Petyt, sister of Mr Joseph Petyt of Stank House, Bolton Abbey, was, half a century ago, a noted contralto singer, and frequently figured at the famous Penny Readings in Skipton—at that time a popular institution, at which many worthy Skiptonians, since passed away, gave readings from popular authors of the day.

The record of the Petyt family in organ playing at the world-celebrated priory is unique. Mrs Usher belonged to the Petyt family, her father being a Petyt himself. One has to go back many generations to find the time when a Petyt did not preside at the organ at Bolton Abbey Church. Indeed Mrs Usher succeeded her sister in the position of organist over 50 years ago, and her father had been the organist long ere her sister took up the work, and his father before him officiated in a similar capacity.

None can tell when the Petyts actually did begin the organ playing at Bolton, but it is certain that a Petyt used to preside at the organ there when the accompaniments were played on a hand-blown instrument, and it is assumed that a Petyt led the music at the Abbey service before organs came into use in England at all.

No wonder that, not only Bolton folks but the Duke of Devonshire, who owns the Abbey and the estates for miles round, have been so proud of the lady organist at this charming church in the higher valley of the beautiful Wharfe. Her loss will, indeed, be mourned by a large circle of friends.

Mrs Usher, herself, could recall being greeted by no less than four successive Dukes of Devonshire, and congratulated on her work at the organ and when the King had attended Divine Service at the Abbey during his stay at Bolton in the shooting season, he always declared how greatly he enjoyed the simple but striking service and music at their ancient and delightful sanctuary.

In connection with the post of organist, Mrs Usher was the choir mistress, and during her long term of office regularly attended a weekly practice, also frequently three times each week she held a singing class for the boys attending Beamsley Boyle and Petyt School, immediately after school hours. These classes were to train the boys to be choristers. It is interesting to note that three of the bearers at her funeral have this year completed 50 years service in the Abbey choir. Each of them started as boys under the tuition of Mrs Usher. The deceased lady has been more or less an invalid since her retirement, and for nearly three years had been living with her niece, Mrs Alfred Downs, The Beeches, Bolton Abbey.

Wesley Petyt was born at Wingham Terrace, Sheepscar, Leeds in 1847. He was the son of John William Petty (q.v.) and his wife Sarah Stephenson. He was a printer and was the Chairman and Managing Director of Petty & Sons (Leeds) ltd. He married Frances Elizabeth Harrison at Leeds in 1871, they had 13 children. The following is taken from an obituary that appeared in the Harrogate Herald of 25^th April 1928.

Mr Wesley Petty, one of the best-known figures in the printing trade, and who lived at Harrogate for 30 years, died at his house, 2 Hollins Lane, Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday night. He was in his 82^nd year. For some years he was chairman and managing director of Messrs Petty and Sons, of the Whitehall Printeries, which was established in 1865 by his father, the late Mr J W Petty. At one time he was president of the Leeds and Yorkshire Master Printers’ Association, and in later years a member of the Council of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce.

Though an active businessman Mr Petty found time to devote himself to various public improvements. An earnest advocate of temperance, he was hon. Secretary of the Leeds Temperance Society in 1869, and afterwards its president, and he founded the Leeds and other branches of the National Temperance Council, of which at the time of his death he was senior vice-president.

His concern for the welfare of the working classes was shown in various ways, notably as organising secretary of the St James’s Hall Workingmen’sInstitute, and he was one of the late Canon Jackson’s helpers among the poor of St James’s parish. Mr Petty was on the Boards or Committees of the Leeds Extension Society, the Cookridge Convalescent Hospital, and the Thoresby Society; he was a vice-president of the Leeds WMCA; as a junior in the West Riding Choir, first prize winners, he sang in the first national competition of tonic sol-fa choirs at the Crystal Palace, 1857-8. In his early days he helped to found the Leeds Amateur Vocal Association, and was in the first committee of the Leeds Philharmonic Society; and was in recent years a member of the National Health Insurance Committee of the Leeds Corporation.

Whist living in Harrogate he was interested in its local affairs, and for three years represented the Central Ward on the Town Council. He also took great interest in Bilton Church, occupying the position of Warden, and frequently read the lessons at the request of the Vicar. He organised the Choir Committee and assisted in building a new organ chapel and the enlargement of the fine organ by Lewis. He also founded the winter concerts and the Mutual Improvement Society, which were popular features.

An old Freemason, he was one of the founders of the Doric Lodge, Harrogate, and a Past-Provincial Grand Deacon. In 1916 he was made a Freeman of the City of London through the Guild of Feltmakers, and admitted to the Honourable Court of Assistants two years later, and he helped in the formation of a Masonic Lodge with the title of ‘’The Feltmakers’’. As recently as last Friday he was made the first Honorary Member of the Doric Lodge.

When the late Mr Buckingham, many years schoolmaster at Christchurch Schools, lost that position he had filled with great ability, Mr Petty organised a Board under which Mr Buckingham established the Harrogate Middle-Class Schools, using the United Methodist Schoolroom for that purpose. They were the forerunners of the Harrogate Secondary Schools, now for many years one of the best educational assets of the borough.

Mr and Mrs Petty celebrated their golden wedding in October 1921. They had thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters-three died in infancy- and at the time of their golden wedding they had 21 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Mrs Petty died in September 1922 and since then Mr Petty has lived in quiet retirement at his home in Headingley.

Emily Petyt was born at Bolton Abbey in 1859, the daughter Of Joseph Petyt, Agent to the Duke of Devonshire, and his wife Alice Read. She was very talented artist, painting in both oils and watercolours and she was a musician. She was described on the 1891 census returns as a landscape artist and sculptor. She was married to Alfred Downs who was Agent to the Duke of Devonshire for 52 years. The following is part of an obituary printed in the Craven Herald 15^th March 1929.

The death on Friday last, at the age of 70, of Mrs Alfred Downs, of The Beeches, Bolton Abbey, removed one of the best-known figures from the village. Prior to an illness lasting a considerable time, Mrs Downs had taken an active part in public affairs in the district, and was well-known and highly respected.

The daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Joseph Petyt of Stank House, Bolton Abbey, Mrs Downs was a native of the district and had lived there all her life. She was actively identified with Bolton Abbey Church, being for many years a member of the choir, and had acted on numerous occasions as deputy organist at the Abbey. For many years she had held office as a Sunday school Teacher, and about 20 years ago founded the Bolton Abbey Girl’s Club, which she carried on in the capacity as President up to her illness

Alfred Downs who was born at Edensor in Derbyshire in 1862 died at Beamsley in 1951.His obituary in the Craven Herald of 27 September 1961 included the following.

Formerly Agent for the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey estate with which he had an association of nearly 60 years, Mr Alfred Downs died at his Beamsley home on Saturday aged 88. A man of wide interests he had been a Justice of the Peace since 1930 and gave loyal and zealous service to religious, local government and recreational organisations. He was greatly esteemed in Bolton Abbey and district.

Mr Downs retired in 1937 after being estate agent at Bolton Abbey for 52 years and before that assisted in the estate office for seven years before going to Bolton Abbey from Chatsworth, Derbyshire.

He served under three Dukes of Devonshire. He was responsible for the outside arrangements when the late King George V visited Bolton Abbey for the grouse shooting, and helped to provide sport for many other distinguished guests at various times.

A devout churchman, Mr Downs had been associated with the Priory Church, Bolton Abbey for almost 70 years, for the first 31 years of which he was a chorister. He was a sidesman for 64 years, and for nine years he was the Rector’s Warden.

In 1887 Mr Downs became a Foundation member of the Boyle and Petyt School, Beamsley, and in 1917 was appointed chairman of the school’s trustees, a position he held for many years. He was also a trustee of the Silvester Petyt Trust. At one time Mr Downs served on the Addingham Education Sub-committee, he was at one time chairman.

Elizabeth Petyt was born at Hazlewood, Bolton Abbey in1861, She was the daughter of Henry Petyt (1825-1886), a shoemaker, and his wife Ann Gill (1831-1909). On the 1891 census returns Elizabeth was described as a dressmaker but later in life she was better known for her skill as a baker. Her speciality was a delicious sponge cake, which she called a light luncheon cake. She made these cakes for the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey for many years. It was the practise at the Devonshire Arms to serve one of these cakes or part of one, depending on the size of the party, for the last course of luncheon, accompanied by a whole Stilton which was passed from table to table with a napkin round it and port inside it.

The following is taken from an account that appeared in the Craven Herald and Pioneer in early August 1933.

By the side of the road that climbs steadily from Bolton Abbey, and winds its way across Blubberhouses Moor towards Harrogate, there stands two weather-beaten cottages, whose quaintness betrays their antiquity. Originally they were one house, the homestead of a Wharfedale farm, which for over two hundred years was occupied by the Petyt family. Now one of the cottages shelters one of the last of this family, Miss E Petyt, who will reach her 72^nd birthday on 29^th August. There have been Petyts in the Bolton Abbey district ever since the beginning of the 16^th century and a John Petyt married the sister of Richard Moon, the last Prior of Bolton. Three generations later there were Petyts living at Storiths and today Miss Petyt’s home is in the joint township of Hazlewood with Storiths. It was at Storiths that William and Silvester Petyt (q.v.), the two most famous members of the family were born. In the vestry at Skipton Parish church there hangs a portrait of Silvester and once when Miss Petyt visited the church the verger told her that he recognised her from her ancestor’s portrait. She replied that she did not know that she was so ugly.

From her mother, who died at the ripe old age of 78, and who knew four Dukes of Devonshire, Miss Petyt has received a rare legacy. It is an old fashioned recipe of how to make the most delicious sponge cakes one could wish to taste. There are sponge cakes and sponge cakes. Some are as tough as leather and as heavy as lead, but those, which come out of Miss Petyt’s oven, have a fairylike lightness. They are unique, as several of her friends have discovered. Often they keep her so busy with orders that her hens cannot lay eggs fast enough to meet requirements. And when her customer’s needs are satisfied, she can sit and look through the mullioned windows across the valley to Beamsley Beacon. She thinks of it as the hill her grandmother, one of the Demaine family, climbed in the early 19^th century to visit the soldier who was guarding the beacon anxiously wondering how much longer he had to wait before telling Wharfedale that the threatened Napoleonic invasion was an accomplished fact. Fate decreed that that day should never come. Today Miss Petyt surveys the world through her gold-rimmed spectacles and declares that it is mad on pleasure. ‘My mother walked to Skipton Parish Church and back to be confirmed’ she told a Pioneer reporter. ‘Now they wont walk two yards to church. Some of the clothes modern girls wear invites insults, I think men will soon have to take to petticoats if they want to be different’.

Elizabeth died unmarried in 1936 and is buried in the churchyard at Bolton Abbey.

Maud Petyt was born at Bolton Woods near Bradford in 1886. She was the daughter of James Petyt (1853-1931), a wool buyer and his second wife Alice Jubb (1856-1906). James was born at Hazlewood near Bolton Abbey and was the son of Henry Petyt, shoemaker and he was the sister of Elizabeth Petyt (q.v.).

Maud was a very talented musician, being an excellent pianist and possessing an exceptional contralto voice. She was so obsessed with music that she even persuaded her father to give their house at 68 Bolton Hall Road, Bradford the name of Rossini Mount. It is not known whether Maud appeared on the professional stage during her time in Bradford but it can safely be assumed that she was involved with local amateur groups in the town.

In 1910 Maud married Arthur Rawstron (1891-1916) at Bradford Register Office, later that year she gave birth, at Buck House Farm, Baildon, to a son, Leslie Petyt Rawstron. At the time of his marriage Arthur was employed as a clerk at a wool mill, he later became a cashier at Charleston Combing Co. Ltd., Bradford. With the outbreak of war in 1914 Arthur enlisted in the Ist Battalion Seaforth Highlanders and was killed in action in Iraq. He has no known grave. At the time of his death Maud was living at Mexborough Road, Bolton Woods, Bradford.

In 1919 Maud was married at Bolton Abbey to Cuthbert Paul Beadon. Paul, as he was known, was the son of the Rev. William Beadon, a Wesleyan minister. He had served as a commissioned officer in the RFC during the war and at the time of his marriage he was still serving with what was by then the RAF. Paul was to re-enlist in the RAF during the Second World War.

It was after Maud’s marriage to Paul that she left Yorkshire. At some stage after the end of WWI she and Paul lived in Dar-es-Salaam, it is thought that Paul was involved with an airfield there. When they returned to England they settled in London and it is then that Maud made most of her professional appearances. She sang with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, appeared in Ivor Novello’s ‘Glamorous Nights’ (she was said to have been understudy to Gertrude Lawrence) and appeared as a soloist in many concerts such as those staged by the League of British Artists. In one such concert in 1922, using the stage name Joan Bethune, she appeared at The Queen’s Hall and sang two pieces, ‘Love is a Slave’ and the aria by Rossini ‘Una Voce Poco Fa’. At some stage during the late 1920s Maud was persuaded that she had a great musical career in front of her. A concert was arranged at the Albert Hall, she was given the name of ‘Gloriana Britanicus’ and the event was advertised all over London. With a name like that she was doomed to failure and the concert was not the success she had hoped for. She was able to get small parts for a number of years but she was never to be the leading lady.

Maud and Paul lived at various addresses in London, they had a flat in Regent Park, not far from the one lived in by Mrs. Simpson and later one in Cumberland Mews. They were bombed out of this last flat in 1943/44 and they then bought a large house in Amherst Road, Ealing Broadway

Leslie, Maud’s son from her first marriage was also interested in the stage He trained as an actor and stuntsman. He was the understudy to Robert Donat in ‘The 39 Steps’ and he did all the dangerous parts like falling from trains. Like his mother he was never a great success although he did get quite a lot of work appearing in public information films. He also worked as a male model and often appeared on the front of Paton and Baldwin’s knitting patterns.

Maud was a very glamorous figure and after the war when the stage work had dried up she could often be seen modelling clothes in the large London hotels. Eventually the cost of living in London became prohibitive and they bought a house at Seaton near Plymouth. At first Maud was unhappy cut off from all her friends in London until she discovered the church community in Downderry, a nearby village. She played the organ in the church until 1972 and was involved with the church council serving on the committee from 1963 to 1965. Maud died on 23^rd January 1974 and Paul died two years later.

Margaret Petyt was born at Bradford in 1905; she was the daughter of Harry Petty (1875-1929) and his wife Violet Coe. Harry, who was a millinery warehouseman, was the son of Aaron Petyt who was born at Beamsley near Bolton Abbey. Aaron moved to Bradford early in his life and eventually set up business as a Tailor and Draper at Chatsworth Place, Manningham, Bradford. Violet Coe’s father was Alfred Coe who was a commercial photograper. In the early 1890s Alfred set up a separate company, The Coe Collotype Company, to produce postcards. His businesses were highly successful but after the death of his wife in 1906 Alfred decided to retire.

Margaret was a graduate and trained as a teacher. Her teaching career started in Featherstone but after a few years she returned to Bradford. Her specialist subject was English and she ended her teaching career at Woodroyd Middle School, West Bowling, Bradford in 1970.

Her great passions in life were the Youth Hostel Association and foreign travel. Margaret joined the Youth Hostel Association in 1931, a year after it was formed. She was a founder member of the Bradford Youth Hostel Association, which celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1983. Her proudest boast was that she had spent more than 2500 nights in Youth Hostels. She rambled as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, India, Israel and Canada among others. She kept a list of all the overnight stays she made at hostels, many of them in the Yorkshire Dales, of which she was passionately fond. For many years she led groups on hostel tours in the North of England, took part in working parties carrying out cleaning and decorating chores, and served on the YHA’s National Countryside Committee. Margaret also served on the committee of The Council for the Preservation of Rural England (Craven Branch).