I found your page on the net regarding the Wrathall family history extremely interesting. I can trace my family history back to Susan Wrathall (Wraythall) who lived in Blackburn in 1863. Any more details on the family would be most appreciated.Jeremy's branch of the Wrathall family tree is likely to be close to that of Roy Wrathall of Cambridge and Brenda Smith Heinsma of Nova Scotia, since Ingleton is near Barbon, Bentham, Burton-in-Lonsdale, Casterton, and Kirkby Lonsdale, all of which have been closely identified with the ancestors of Roy Wrathall of Cambridge and Stephen Wrathall (Brenda's GGF) of Nova Scotia.Henry Lonsdale Wrathall was born 15/03/1863, the only son of Susan Wrathall, the daughter of some farmers living in the vicinity of Westhouse near Ingleton....We are reasonably sure that [Henry's] father was one of the Lowther family. (Earl of Lonsdale - either Henry Cecil Lowther or Henry 3rd Earl of Lowther who died in 1876 aged 58. Susan W. moved to Liverpool in around 1880.
In Feb. 2002, Derek Wrathall of Skipton mentioned that Jeremy has relocated to the Lake District:
I met up with Jeremy Wrathall and his parents on Jan. 31. I didn't learn anything new, but did get a copy of the fine photograph of Henry Lonsdale Wrathall. I have asked Jeremy to send you a copy but he is a busy chap running his own I.T. business so be patient.Hamish Lonsdale of Victoria has contributed more information that connects with Susan Wrathall and the Earl of Lonsdale, the ancestors of Jeremy Wrathall of Surrey . (Click HERE to read Hamish's information.) Thanks to the work of Derek Wrathall in transcribing the Westhouse census, we were able to determine the parents of Susan Wrathall, the shared ancestor of Jeremy and Hamish Click HERE to view the latest results using data contributed by Derek, Hamish and Jeremy.
I will send you details of my more recent line in the near future.
In Feb. 2003, Nick Richards of Liverpool , who can be reached at nickrichards(at)wherever.co.uk, contacted us with some sad news - the death of his grandmother
Evelyn Constance Irene Wrathall in September 2002. Nick also
contributed the following info about the ancestry of his great-great-grandfather Henry Lonsdale Wrathall:
According to some fairly quick research on the internet:
Of course I can't be sure these dates are 100% accurate though I have seen
the Yellow Earl's dates in several places, he being of course the most famous, and it seems fair to say that he is no relation to us!
In January 2002, Theodore (Theo) Gillam , who can be reached at professor.rutherford.nobbs(at)fsmail.net , contacted us with a question about an old photo:
Does anyone know of a Wrathall who owned a jewellery shop circa 1924, specialising in gold, silver, teeth etc. and ocularist services? Part of the business was called 'The Old Curiosity Shop' - in the photo I've sent, the shop occupies at least 4 shop windows. Outside, there's a monument/roundabout which is very characteristic: seven decorated pillars with what look like spear heads on top, and an ornate plinth in the middle topped by a cylindrical stone.Derek Wrathall mentioned the following about the shop:The car featured is a Trojan, built by Leyland Motors, based both in Croydon and in Leyland, Lancs. It's a demonstrator so it could well be near Leyland, given that the name Wrathall comes from roundabouts, although I suppose the photo could be taken just about anywhere. The monument is pretty distinctive though. The lorry on the left of the picture has Hounslow written on the side, but that really has no bearing whatsoever given that it's on wheels and designed to move around the country.
It is quite a while since I was through Leyland but I can't recall ever seeing such an ornate roundabout. As a former highway engineer I would very much doubt that it is still in that form and may well have been resited. When I am next in Preston I will see if I can find trade directories for the area for that period but I am not optimistic as I have already been through most of them without ever picking up a Wrathall, jewellers. I have my notes from Kelly's Directory of Lancashire for 1924 and there are 7 Wrathalls listed but none are jewellers or oculists/ocularists. I feel that the photograph was probably taken in the south of England. There may be a way of identifying the location via a motoring magazine. I will have a word with my son-in-law who is in the motor trade.In Feb. 2002, Theo had further information on 'The Old Curiosity Shop':
Many thanks for your cogitation as to the whereabouts of this particular strain of Wrathall - I think I know where it is; Kingston, Surrey. The stone, just visible in the middle of its cage, is 'the' King Stone [Coronation Stone], which now resides somewhere other than the monument, which itself still survives, although now surrounded by grass. The person who recognised the monument is going to go and have a look-see, to see if the buildings which were once owned by Wrathall the Jeweller, Ocularist etc. are still there.In December 2002, William (Bill) Torrens contributed the following info regarding the Old Curiosity Shop:
I am the Local Studies Librarian for Buckinghamshire. A member of the public has just been using our internet facilities to have a look at "The Wrathalls of Surrey and Warwickshire" web page and has read the piece about the Old Curiosity Shop in Kingston-on-Thames. He is the great-grandson of the shop owner, who was Harry John Wrathall [died circa 1944].In February 2003, Derek Wrathall contacted Gerald Leslie Wrathall, and mentioned the following about his conversation:He would be very pleased to contact you, but he doesn't have access to e-mail. Hence my involvement as an intermediary. His name is Gerald Leslie Wrathall.
I have just had a long conversation with Gerald and find that we are kindred spirits in some ways in that we are both retired civil engineers and have spent most of our working lives in the public sector. He has done quite a lot of work on his family tree but it is all hand written. However, he has promised to send me copies which I can then scan or transcribe to send on to you. He also has quite a number of anecdotes about some of his ancestors which I hope he will put down. One of interest was of a letter from Cecil Rhodes asking one of Gerald's ancestors to join him in South Africa, but sadly it would appear that Gerald's father threw the letter away - or at least it couldn't be found when he died. He has traced his ancestors back to the late 1700s - early 1800s in Kingston but has not yet found a Yorkshire link, however, surprisingly, he has found a Wrathhall (sic) in Kingston in 1540. It will be interesting to see his work.It is likely that the Kingston Wrathalls owed their name to another locative derivation than the Linton Wrathalls, since the original pronunciation of the Linton name was "Wrayt-hall", and apparently the original pronunciation of the Kingston name was "Wrath-hall". There is some information on the Internet regarding Gerald's branch. The L.D.S. FamilySearch site has the following data from the 1881 British Census for Kent:
| Name | Relation | Marital Status | Gender | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
| Sarah Ann ARMITT | Head | W | Female | 58 | Oxford, England | Letter Of Apartments (Lodging House Keeper) |
| Jane Ann RATHALL | Visitor | W | Female | 53 | Islington, Middlesex, England | Milliner (Out Of Business) |
| Harry J. RATHALL | Visitor | M | Male | 24 | Camberwell, Surrey, England | Jewellers Assistant |
| Francis RATHALL | Visitor | U | Male | 16 | Newington, Surrey, England | Barman (Unemployed) |
| Arthur W. ECHLIN | Lodger ((Boarder)) | U | Male | 21 | London, Middlesex, England | Stockbrokers Clerk |
| William D. FANSHAWE | Lodger | U | Male | 25 | Ireland | Bachelor Of Arts Schoolmaster (Oxon) |
| Henry J. BASSETT | Lodger | U | Male | 23 | Birmingham, Warwick, England | Mem R C Surgeons Eng (Not In Practice) |
I have read with interest [Theo Gillam's] request for information regarding The Old Curiosity shop in Kingston upon Thames. I am the grandaughter of Harry John Wrathall who owned the shop. My father was his eldest son John Sidney Frank Castle Wrathall. My father was born December 4 1984 and his parents moved to the shop fairly soon afterwards.If you would like to tell me how far you can go back into the Wrathall history of this branch of the family on behalf of Gerald Leslie Wrathall, who I guess must be the son of one of my cousins, I would be glad to help and maybe glean some more information.
I know nothing of any car in photos, I do not think they have any connection at all with the shop. The monument is now the other side of the road ( out of the way). The Old Curiosity Shop has been pulled down and is now just a building with offices.
I would be interested to know the names of the parents of Gerald Leslie Wrathall, who is the great-grandson of Harry John Wrathall, ex-owner of The Old Curiosity Shop. .... My research has led me back to 1744 {definite), with proof, but not in Kingston. My research starts in London. I believe there were Wrathalls in Kingston before 1884 but I know nothing about them. I too have various pictures of The Old Curiosity Shop taken at different times.
In with the same bunch of information regarding Wrathalls of Surrey and Warwickshire, there is part of a census of 1881 which I do not think has all the spelling in of the surnames. ....... The Harry J. Rathall - visitor, should be Harry John Wrathall and maybe is a missing piece in my family history, at a period where he met my Grandmother and before they moved to Kingston-upon-Thames. The name Jane Ann Rathall is .... the same mistake and should be Wrathall, and who I think was [Harry's] mother. She was a milliner and her husband died some time before her.
My name was Vivienne Joy Wrathall till I married and it is now Marchant. I would love to swap information and family chat with Gerald. We moved from Tolworth, Surrey, at the end of WW11 and moved to Broadstairs, Kent. I then moved to Wales in 1972 and lost all contact with the Wrathall family, except for brief contact with a cousin Yvonne, daughter of Gerald Wrathall, my father's brother.
