Background
Author: Nev. Ramsden
Senhouse family of Whitehaven & Netherhall
This large Cumberland family are descended from a John Senhouse of Nether Hall who died in 1604. One branch of this family came to Whitehaven when John Senhouse born in 1724 at Wigton, the son of a Quaker family, and through his success as a mariner, then ship owner & merchant was able to purchase a property at Calder Abbey along with a town house in Whitehaven. He was appointed the High Sheriff of Cumberland in 1758 and he died at his town house in 1779.
Burke’s Genealogy of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 1
The following is taken the John Burkes Genealogy of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 1
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Mr. [John] Senhouse * died in 1604, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Peter Senhouse, esq. of Alneburgh, or Ellenborough Hall, otherwise Netherhall, who was appointed by letters patent, in the second of James I. to succeed his father as steward of the lordships, &c. formerly belonging to the monastery of Cultram. He espoused Frances, daughter of Lancelot Skelton, esq. of Armathwaite Castle, in Cumberland, and had, with other children,
1. John, his successor.
2. Thomas, of Long Newton, in Cumberland, who married. xxxx daughter of Whelpdale,
and was grandfather of John Senhouse, esq. a lieutenant in Tangier, who built Tangier
House, and Tangier and Senhouse street, and was possessed of large property at Whitehaven.
He died unmarried.
* Mr. Senhouse had also another son, Leonard, who resided at Isel in 1591, but subsequently removed to Wigton. He died in 1638, leaving, with a daughter, Janet, a son and heir. John Senhouse, esq. grandfather of Joseph Senhouse, esq. who wedded the daughter and heiress of John Tiffin, esq.
of Calder Abbey, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John Senhouse, esq. of Calder Abbey, high sheriff of Cumberland, 31st George II. who was succeeded by his son, Joseph-Tiffin Senhouse, esq. of Calder Abbey, an officer in the guards, who wedded first, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Robert Waters, esq. of Linethwaite, but had no issue. He espoused, secondly, Sarah, daughter of John Sunderland, esq. of Cartmel, in Lancashire, and died in 1805, leaving four daughters, viz.
1. Mary, present possessor of Calder Abbey, who married in 1823, Thomas Irwin, esq. a captain of dragoons.
2. Eleanor, married in 1824, to Samuel Irton, esq. of Irton.
3. Sarah.
4. Elizabeth.
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He* died in 1654, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John Senhouse, esq. of Alneburgh Hall, who married Elizabeth, third daughter of Humphrey Wharton, esq. of Gillingwood, in the county of York, and had, with other issue,
1 . Humphrey, who died. before his father s.p.
2. John, successor to his father.
3. Richard.
4. Patricus, who married in 1655, Elizabeth,* daughter and heiress of Thomas Bromfield, esq. of Hames Hall,
Cumberland, and relict of Henry Dalton, esq. of Brigham. This gentleman's great grandson, Humphrey Senhouse, esq. of Bridgefoot, in the county of Cumberland, major of the Cumberland militia, and a magistrate of the county, married Isabella, daughter of William Ponsonby, esq. of Whitehaven, (by Catherine, daughter and co-heir of John Senhouse, esq. of the same place), and left issue at his decease, in 1829,
1.Humphrey, a captain in the Cumberland militia, married and has issue.
2. William, of Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law, who died in 1829.
* This Peter Senhouse seems to have married a second wife, a Mrs. Eglesfield, and had another
son, Anthony Senhouse, esq. of Thornhaugh, in the county of Northampton, who married Mary, daughter of John Banks, esq. and was succeeded at his decease, by his eldest son, The Reverend Peter Senhouse, vicar of Kempley, in Gloucestershire, and of Linton-cum-Lea, in the county of Hereford, a prebendary of Bre
con. This learned prelate published in 1727, a sermon on " the right use and improvement of sensitive pleasures, and more particularly of music," preached in the cathedral of Gloucester, at the anniversary
meeting of the choirs. He was succeeded by his son, Peter Senhouse, esq. of Bamesley, in Gloucestershire, living in 1738, who d. unmarried, and was s. by his sister, Elizabeth Senhouse, who wedded — Caldecott,
esq. and their descendant, Thomas Caldecott, esq. of Dartford, in Kent, bencher of the Middle-temple, is the
present representative of this branch of the Senhouses.
** This lady was one of ten sisters, nine of whom died of the plague, caught from a man who merely called in at the house to light his pipe. She her self, being in London, escaped ; but coming down, on hearing of their misfortune, was allowed by the magistrates to converse with her mother across the river Derwent only.
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3. Catherine, married to Ralph Cook, esq. of Camerton Hall.
4. Mary.
5. Margaret," married to Henry Eglesfield, esq. of Cross Canonby, and il. in Hi!) I.
6. Elizabeth, married to William Nicholson, esq.
Mr. Senhouse d. in 1667, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, John Senhouse, esq. of Netherhall, a captain in King Charles the First's army. This gentleman espoused first, Elizabeth, daughter of Jerom Tolhurst, esq. lieutenant governor and M.P. of Carlisle, but had no issue. He married secondly, Mary, daughter of Andrew Huddleston, esq. of Hutton-John, in Cumberland, and niece of Father Huddleston, chaplain and confessor to Charles II., and had:-
1. John, his heir.
2. Andrew, killed at sea, fighting against the French.
3. Dudley, drowned in the river Lune.
4. Peter, married Catherine, daughter of Skelton, of Branthwaite, and had issue,
4a. John, who had a son Peter, who died unmarried, and a daughter Catherine, married to William Ponsonby, esq. of Whitehaven, and had an only surviving daughter and heiress Isabella, who married Major Senhouse, as stated above.
4b .Richard, M. D. left a son, Peter, who died unmarried, in 1750.
5. Humphrey, of whom presently as purchaser of the manor and estate of Nether, and continuator of the line of the family.
6. Dorothy, married to her cousin Patricus Senhouse, esq. of Hames Hill.
7. Mary, married to Richard Richmond, esq. of Crosby.
Captain Senhouse adopted a military life when young against the wishes of his parents, and had a narrow escape of his life, having been saved by the timely interposition of the son of a tenant who had followed
him to the wars, and who afterwards held a tenement at Ellenborough rent free for life. Captain Senhouse //. in 1667, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
John Senhouse, esq. of Netherhall, who married Jane, daughter of Richard Lamplugh, esq. of Dovenby Hall, in Cumberland, by whom (who married secondly, Charles Orftur, esq. of Plumbland,) he had surviving
"sue at his decease in 1694,
1. Mary, married first, to Francis Skelton, of Branthwaite, and secondly to Richard Butler, esq. of Rocliffe, in
Lancashire.
2. Jane, married to John Stephenson, esq. of Baladool, in the Isle of Man.
3. Francis, died unmarried.
4. Grace, married to Richard, Viscount Shannon, and had an only daughter and heiress, Grace, who married Charles, Earl of Middlesex, eldest son of Lionel, first Duke of Dorset, but died without issue,
5. Isabel, married to John Fletcher, esq. of Cleator Hall, in Cumberland, now represented by his great grandson, Sir Henry Fletcher, baronet.
6. Elizabeth, died unmarried.
These ladies, who inherited as co-heirs to their father, disposed of the demesne of Netherhall and manor of Alneburgh, or Ellenborough, to their uncle, Humphrey Senhouse, who thus became of Netherhall, or Elleuborough. He was enabled to effect this purchase by the grateful munificence of his mother's sister Bridget, daughter of Andrew Huddleston, esq. of Hutton-John, and of her husband, Joseph Huddleston, esq. of Millom Castle, both of whom adopted him, being themselves without issue, in consequence of some need
full kindnesses received from Senhouse's father and mother, during the first years of their marriage ; an alliance which had taken place contrary to the wishes of their immediate families, while Joseph Huddleston
was a younger brother and before he inherited the patrimonial estate of Milium Castle. He espoused Eleanor, daughter of William Kirby, esq. of Aslack, in the county of Lancaster, and had issue,
1.Joseph-Richard, who died unmarried, in 1718.
2.Humphrey his successor.
3.William-John, who died unmarried in 1727.
4.Bridget, married to John Christian, esq. of Unerigg Hall, and had with other issue, a daughter,
5. Mary who wedded Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, and had, interalios, a son, Edward (Sir), who upon being elevated to the peerage in 1802, assumed, by permission of the late Humphrey Senhouse, esq. M.P., the title of Ellenborough, from the ancient patrimony of his grandmother's family.
6.Johanna, married to Gustavus Thomson, esq. of Arcleby.
Mr. Senhouse, who served the office of sheriff of the county of Cumberland, in the 1st of George I., died in 1738, and was succeeded by his son,
Humphey Senhouse, of Netherhall, who married Mary, daughter and ultimately co-heiress of the Right Rev. Sir George Fleming, bart. of Rydal, Lord Bishop of Carlisle, and had issue,
i. Humphrey, his successor.
ii. William, b. in 1741, a lieut. R. N..
Whitehaven: Its Streets, its Principal Houses, and their Inhabitants - page 224
by William Jackson, F.S.A. - Whitehaven, December 11th, 1877.
Tangier House (which gave its name to the row of houses built in a line with its court front, and subsequently, when both sides were built, to the present street) owes that name to the African settlement which was the white elephant in the dowry of Catherine of Braganza. How vast an amount of money was wasted on it by England we do not exactly know; how much anxiety it cost poor Pepys, the readers of his diary may form some idea of; but one Englishman seems to have made money there, for Captain Richard Senhouse, [*] grandson of Peter Senhouse, Esq., of Netherhall, returned thence, and buying a large piece of ground here, April nth, 1685, supplemented by a smaller grant in 1688, built this mansion and warehouses, and laid out gardens on the same.
He was residing there up to 1690, but, in the following year I find a Mr. Richard, in place of Captain Richard, occupying the house, which he continued to do up to, and perhaps later than, 1701. They might be one and the same, but I note the difference. The mansion became the property of Humphrey Senhouse, Esq., of Netherhall, subsequent to that date. It was occupied during the year 1715 by Alfrid Lawson, who, in 1749, succeeded his brother in the baronetcy and the estates of Isell, Brayton, Hensingham, &c. Then, from 1716 to 1720, by Henry Blencowe, who married the daughter of Ferdinando Latus, Esq., of both of whom I may at some future time speak in connection with other Whitehaven houses belonging to them, for here they were only tenants. In
October, 1722, Gustavus Thomson, Esq., of Arkleby Hall, became the owner of this property, and in that year sold off a portion to one Christopher Thomson ; perhaps it was part of the dowry of his wife Joanna, one of the two daughters of the Humphrey Senhouse already mentioned. Bridget, the other, married John Christian, at Cross Canonby, May 14th, 17 18.
* He was Pratique Master at Tangiers at the time of its evacuation, in 1683.
Pratique Master – today means a Ports Medical Officer
also, see The History of the Second Queen’s Regiment by Davis, p. 229.
Senhouse Street, Whitehaven
Senhouse Street runs off Duke Street and parallel to Tangier Street and originally ran through to George Street. It dates back to 1714 and the name derives from the family of Captain Richard Senhouse who was granted a large plot of freehold land by John Lowther to encourage him to settle and develop in the town. Humphrey Senhouse developed this street by selling off land to builders and so did Gustavus Thompson who acquired the estate in 1721. The houses were completed by 1726 and formed two terraces either side of the street. Half way along Hicks Lane leads to Tangier Street.
John Senhouse of Calder Abbey then of Whitehaven
Who is this mysterious John Senhouse ?
It is apparent that this John had business interests in Stafford shire, but is this where he died ?
Reference: D3272/6/3/3
Description: Letters of Administration with will annexed of John Senhouse, esq., late of Calder Abbey, now of Whitehaven, co. Cumbria.
Concerning - Freehold messuages, in the counties of Cumbria and Westmorland, and parishes of St. Bridgett and Wigton.
Date: 1797
Held by: Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service: Staffordshire County Record Office.
Humphrey Senhouse (1731–1814)
He was a British Tory[1] politician from a Cumberland family.
He was the eldest son of Humphrey Senhouse (1705–1770), a landowner and High Sheriff who had founded the port of Maryport, and the heiress Mary, daughter of Sir George Fleming, Bt, Bishop of Carlisle.
Humphrey junior was elected at a by-election in 1786 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Cockermouth, which was generally regarded as a pocket borough. He held that seat until the 1790 general election, when he was returned as an MP for Cumberland. He did not contest the seat at the 1796 general election
He had married in 1768 Catherine, the daughter of Thomas Wood, of Beadnell, Northumberland; they had one surviving child, another Humphrey.
William Senhouse Profile & Legacies Summary - 1741 – 1800 his biography
He was a slave-owner on Barbados and the son of Humphrey Senhouse (the founder of Maryport,) and father of Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, both of whom have entries in the ODNB, as 'land owner and port founder' and 'naval officer' respectively.
William Senhouse, Surveyor General of Customs and planter, was born at Netherhall, Cumberland, 16 January 1741, the third son of Humphrey and Mary Senhouse. Educated at Ellenborough School and then in Cockermouth where he was prepared for the Royal Navy. In naval service 1755-69. In 1770 appointed to the customs service in the West Indies and from 1771-1799 lived in Barbados. In 1772: married Elizabeth Ward Wood, daughter and heiress of Samson Wood, planter of Barbados. They had 3 daughters and 8 sons. Thanks to the influence of Sir James Lowther, MP for Carlisle, Senhouse was appointed Surveyor General of the Customs in Barbados and the Windward and Leeward Islands. In post from 30 May 1770 until 1787, when the office as abolished. “…Senhouse purchased a sugar plantation and combined his customs office with the rural life of a gentleman planter. He also received a power of attorney to superintend Sir James Lowther's plantation in Barbados.” He paid £18,000 for 'The Grove' plantation in St Philip's. “From a run-down condition, he improved the plantation until it became a productive property with a comfortable house for his growing family.” His son, Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, recorded that the plantation was generally in profit from 1787 until Senhouse’s death in 1800.
Will of William Senhouse of St Philip Barbados [made in 1798] proved 26/11/1800. He left the Grove estate and the enslaved people on it to his wife Elizabeth for life to support her and the education of their children, with consent for her to sell the estate if appropriate, and for the estate if retained to pass to their children share and share alike but adjusted for the £1000 he had settled on his daughter Mary Ward Senhouse on her marriage to John Barrow, with continent remainder to his brother Sir Joseph Senhouse and then to his brother Humphrey Senhouse.
William's brother, Joseph Senhouse (1743-1829), travelled with him to Barbados and then, on 21 July 1771, left William on the island and went to Roseau, Dominica, to take up his new appointment as Collector of Customs. Appointed Comptroller of Customs at Roseau, Dominica in 1774. After a year's leave of absence in England, he returned to the West Indies in 1776 and was appointed by his brother William to the Collectorship at Bridgetown, Barbados. Returned to England for good, August 1779. After 1782 became Sir James Lowther's political manager at Carlisle, elected mayor of the city and through Lowther's influence received a knighthood.
taken from:- Legacies of British Slave-ownership - published by UCL
Other Sources
Winchester, Angus J. L. 2004 "Senhouse, Humphrey (1705–1770), landowner and port founder." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 21 Jul. 2018.
Laughton, J. K. 2012 "Senhouse, Sir Humphrey Fleming (bap. 1781, d. 1841), naval officer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 21 Jul. 2018.
The following is typical of the information available at the National Archives concerning the ships of Whitehaven. This entry shows that John Senhouse was the major shareholder in this ship, just one of many.
Whitehaven Ship: Happy. Burden: 160 tons. Commander: Alexander Lawson. Crew: 35.
Burden: 160 tons. Crew: 35. Commander: Alexander Lawson.
Home port: Whitehaven. Armament: 8 carriage guns.
Owners: John Senhouse, Peter How, William Hicks and others of Whitehaven, merchants.
Crew:
Lieutenant: Hugh Gwin.
Gunner: John Brocklebank.
Boatswain: Richard Warkup.
Carpenter: Benjamin Wood.
Cook: John Thompson.
Surgeon: George Nichols.
Date: 1761 October 17 Held by: The National Archives, Kew