Please note: It is believed that this Leicester family may be related to the
Leicester family of Tabley House, although no connection has been found yet.
The earliest known Leicester ancestors are William Leicester and his wife Mary. Little is know about William and Mary except that they lived in Plumley, Cheshire and had 10 children (6 boys and 4 girls), who were all baptised in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. No other information is known about the daughters, but some information is known about the sons:
- William Leicester was baptised on 30 March 1777. He married Elizabeth Robinson on 24 May 1803. They Lived in Plumley and had 12 children, all baptised in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. Their fifth child, Peter Leicester, worked as a chair maker in Hyde and later in Plumley. The youngest son, Samuel, also worked as a chair maker in Hyde.
- George Leicester was baptised 31 August 1780. He married Elizabeth Grice on 26 May 1808. They lived in Knutsford and had three children who were baptised in the Allostock Presbyterian Church.
- Charles Leicester was baptised 24 July 1784. He married Bety Leigh on 28 February 1810. They lived in Chestergate, Macclesfield and had 5 children, all baptised in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. Charles was a Chair maker, specialising in making Macclesfield Ladder Back chairs. His three sons: William, Charles and Thomas all followed him into the chair making business.
- John Leicester was baptised on 31 May 1788. He married Ann and had three children. They lived in Plumley.
Joseph Leicester was the fourth youngest child of William and Mary and was baptised on 22 July 1790 in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. He married Susannah Jackson on 19 February 1816 in Lower Peover, Cheshire. Joseph was a farmer. They had four children who were all baptised in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. The second eldest was Henry who married Elizabeth Wood. Henry and Elizabeth lived in Lostock Green and had nine children. Joseph and Susannah’s youngest child was Charles.
Charles Leicester was baptised on 25 September 1822 in the Allostock Presbyterian Church. He married Ellen Forster from Pickmere on 2 March 1843 in Warrington. In 1851 they were living in Plumley and Charles was working as an agricultural labourer. By 1871 the family had moved to nearby Tabley. They were living in New Road Lodge later know as Peacock Lodge, which was the gate house to Tabley House, where Charles worked as a gardener and general labourer. Charles and Ellen had 10 children. The third eldest, John Leicester, married Ellen Hall the daughter of James and Mary Hall who also worked at Tabley House. John became a farm bailiff and later lived at Wash Lane Riddings Hall Farm in Timperley. Charles died 5 January 1902 and Ellen died 18 September 1910.
Ellen Leicester was the sixth child of Charles and Ellen Leicester. She was born on 22 September 1853. On 5 August 1880 she married Thomas Hall a brother in law to her older brother John. On 25 July 1881 whilst living in Warrington, Ellen gave birth to their only child, Ada Mary Ellen Hall. Tragically, Ellen died two days later due to complications with the birth. Thomas worked on the railways as a porter and moved to live in Southport. Ada Mary Ellen known as Nellie was brought up by her grandparents Charles and Ellen Leicester in Peacock Lodge.
Acknowlegements:
I would like to thank Jane Hinton for providing information regarding the family of John Leicester and Ellen Hall. Also, Peter Marsh who provided information regarding the family of Henry Leicester and Elizabeth Wood.
