Background
Author: Nev. Ramsden
FERYES, Ferres, Ferise or Farish Family of St.Bees & Whitehaven
It has been claimed that the Feryes family that arrived in Whitehaven in the middle of the 17th century originated in Ireland. From the available records it would appear that two, or possibly three, brothers came to Whitehaven at about that time. William [a merchant] was the successful one, Richard [a blacksmith] had the larger family of nine children with two wives, of whom two (twins) died as babies, but has left no trace in the record of his activities, and finally Robert is the puzzle and his three children died before their first birthday. As with other incoming families to the Whitehaven area, the Feryes clan had a tendency to lean towards the non-conformist religions with the result that there are many gaps in the records. Over the years the spelling of this name transitioned from Feryes to Farish.
There is evidence that one or more members of the Feryes families made their way from Cumberland to Virginia in the American colonies in the late 1690’s – early 1700’s. Whitehaven is the logical place for this to happen, and several members of the Whitehaven Feryes clan were in fact mariners.
American claims of Feryes ancestry
For information, see: "The Farish Family of Virginia and Its Forebears", by John Frederick Dorman. Published by Miller & Robertson, 1967
A typical claim found on the WWW is:
John Farish (1695 - 1771)
Born 1695 in Cumberland, England
The son of Robert Farish and Sara Farish
Brother of Robert Farish
Husband of Sarah Martin — who married 1725 in King and Queen County, Virginia
His descendants:
Father of Robert Farish and James Farish
Died 1771 in King and Queen County, Virginia
Though there was a John Feryes / Farish born in Whitehaven at this time [1694], the son of William & Mehetabel Feryes, he died when aged 7 years.
The Cupola
1708: A plot of land on corner of Scotch Street and Duke Street was granted by Sir James Lowther to William Feryes.
1708-1710: Feryes constructed a mansion, warehouses, stables and gardens on the site. The mansion, was originally called the Cupola, then the property passed to the family of William Feryes’ wife, Mehetabel Gale.
1796: John Lewthwaite acquired the Cupola and adjoining land. Mary Lewthwaite inherited the building. She married Milham Hartley and the property passed to their son John.
1845: John Hartley dies
1847: Property sold to Whitehaven Hematite Iron Company
Known as the Cupola, this was one of the most magnificent houses in Whitehaven and is featured prominently on Matthias Reads "Birds Eye View of Whitehaven". It was built around 1710 at an estimated cost of £2400 by a wealthy merchant called William Feryes who moved from an existing house on King Street. He was one of the original board of Trustees that controlled the town and had also became part of the wealthy and influential Gale family with his marriage to Mehetabel, daughter of John Gayle of Whitehaven. Unfortunately he died almost as soon as it was completed in August 1710. It was later owned by John Gale.
In contemporary illustrations it is shown as being 3 storeys high with additional basement and surrounded on three sides by warehouses with a garden at the back. This shows the tendency of Whitehaven merchants at the time to keep their business at home. The roof had four separate pitched and slated sections each with two chimney stacks surrounding a large central domed bell tower from which the property got its name. The current building is far less impressive having been greatly modified by William Barnes in 1851 after it had been purchased by the Town's trustees to become the Whitehaven Town Hall.