John Howcutt JP (1814-1885)

• Biography

• Obituary

• Grandchildren

• Notes

Biography

John, the son of William and Elizabeth (Higginson) Howcutt was born at Leicester and christened at St Martin's church on 1 February 1814. At the time, the family were living at Cheapside. It is likely that the Howcutts were living in the building from which William then ran his business, as in 1813 he had a warehouse at Cheapside (1). 

William Howcutt was a freeman of Leicester, who served as Chamberlain of the Corporation in 1813-14. John was described as an ironmonger, the only son of William Howcutt, a former apprentice to Alderman Parsons, when he also was admitted as a freeman on 9 June 1835. Until its abolition at the end of that year, the common councilmen of Leicester Corporation were elected from the ranks of the Freemen by the Mayor and Aldermen. William Howcutt was one of the common councilmen at the time when the old Corporation was dissolved.

When William died in 1844, John, his sister Mrs. Elizabeth Perkins and his mother were the main beneficiaries of the will (2). Further legacies arrived for John in 1851 under the will of his uncle, who was also named John Howcutt (3).

John married Susan Higginson at Belgrave church, Leicester on 3 August 1844. The marriage licence which was issued on the same day, described him as a gentleman living at Granby Street. Higginson was the maiden name not only of John's mother but also of his father's mother. 

In 1851, John was living at 34 Granby Street, which was on the east side of that road between its junctions with Halford Street and Campbell Street. He was described as a seed merchant employing three men. John, Susan and their four children had the support of three resident servants. 

During the 1850s, John followed his father's path in local politics. In 1850, John stood unsuccessfully in St Margaret's parish as a candidate for election to the Board of Guardians, which was responsible for administering poor relief in Leicester. He had better fortune in the following year when he was returned unopposed to fill the vacancy as a councilman in St Martin's Ward that arose through the bankruptcy of George Edward Cuff. St Martin's was the smallest of the seven wards into which Leicester was then divided and included the central area of the town. John was reelected in 1853, topping the poll in a close race for the two available seats:

In 1856, John Howcutt and Joseph Swain were again returned. In the same year, John was elected to the Board of Guardians for St Margaret's No. 2 district (4).

By the 1861 census, John and his family had moved to London Road, Knighton. On this occasion John was recorded as a seed and oil cake merchant and was accompanied by Susan and their daughter Fanny. John's mother was visiting on census night; she was described as a "proprietor of houses". The resident servants had increased to number a cook, two housemaids and a groom. The older daughters, Elizabeth (aged 15) and Helen (aged 14), were away at school, boarding in Effingham Street, Dover. The inhabitants of the premises where they boarded were the schoolmistress, four assistant schoolmistresses, five domestic servants and 16 scholars.

John's oldest sister, Elizabeth, was married to Abraham Perkins, a farmer, and lived at Westfield House, Arnesby.

Elizabeth Howcutt died at Arnesby on 26 November 1863, aged 82. John was the sole executor of his mother's will, her effects being valued at under £300. Both Elizabeth and her husband are commemorated in the churchyard of St George's, Leicester.

During the 1860's, two of John's daughters were married at Knighton, both of their husbands being sons of William Meade, a clergyman. On 13 June 1867, Eliza Howcutt married Rev. Richard Corker Meade of Knighton. On 8 April 1869, Eliza Howcutt married Warren Meade, a physician who was then living at Clogan, county Cork.

In 1871, John and his family were living at Eastfield Road, Knighton, which is about one mile south of the centre of Leicester. The number of servants had increased again and now mustered a nursemaid, cook, housemaid, ladies' maid and a coachman. The 1881 census gives the address as Ashfield, Elmfield Avenue, and includes three servants in the household.

Ashfield - entrance gates

John Howcutt died at Ashfield on 4 December 1885, leaving a net estate valued at the then enormous sum of £110,391.14s.10d. His will left the bulk of these assets to Susan and their children. A total of £200 was given to the Infant Orphanage Asylum, Leicester Blanket Lending Association, the Leicester Association for Promoting the general welfare of the Blind and the Society for the Sick Poor in Leicester. An unusual bequest was of the patronage (i.e. right to appoint the minister) of St Mary at Oatlands in the parish of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey; John gave this right to his son in law, Rev. Richard Corker Meade.

Susan was still living at Ashfield at the time of the 1891 census, along with her only as yet unmarried child Fanny, a cook, serving maid, housemaid and two nurses. It seems from the census record that Susan was suffering from dementia, as she was described by the contemporary term "imbecile". As in 1881, the coachman and his family lived nearby at Ashfield Cottage.

Fanny Howcutt was 42 when she married Rev. David William Lord at Knighton church on 26 March 1894. It seems that they did not stray far from the area, as his residence was recorded as Knighton Fields House, Leicester when he was buried in 1918; Fanny died in 1932, her last residence being Charnwood, Kirby Muxloe.

Susan Howcutt survived until 10 May 1900. When her daughters obtained administration of her estate, the effects were reported to be worth £5,866.7s.3d. John and Susan are buried, along with five of their children, under a monument on the left hand side of the main entrance drive of Welford Road Cemetery, Leicester. This edifice is almost certainly the largest Howcutt memorial in Britain. 

The inscriptions record John and Susan's repeated bereavements. Their son John was 1 year and 7 months old when he died in 1852. A daughter Agnes died in 1854, aged 14 months. Frederick John was also 14 months old when he died in 1857. Their last surviving son, Alfred died in 1858 of convulsions accompanying a fever of 9 days; this was around the time of his tenth birthday (5). Only three of the seven children reached adulthood - Elizabeth, Helen and Fanny.

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Obituary

Death of Mr John Howcutt

It is with deep regret that we have this week to announce the death of Mr. John Howcutt, which took place at his residence at Ashfield, Knighton, on the 4th inst. The deceased gentleman, who was in his 72nd year, was formerly in partnership with Mr. Johnson, as ironmongers, in Cheapside, and afterwards carried on business as a seed merchant in Cank-street. While engaged in this trade he took into partnership Mr. Thomas Barwell, who had been in his service many years. Deceased, several years ago, retired from any active part in the management of the concern, but was appointed a director of the Leicestershire Banking Company. Mr. Howcutt was at one time a member of the Town Council, having been elected in 1853 for St. Martin's parish with Mr. Joseph Swain. He continued on the Corporation six years, when Mr. Councillor Crow became the colleague of Mr. Swain. He was also, in 1867, appointed a magistrate of the borough, and for several years was very assiduous in attending to his duties as a justice of the peace. During the last year or two, however, the deceased gentleman was unable to give much service to the town, and his appearance on the Bench, which at one time was frequent, was made at irregular intervals, owing to failing health. Mr. Howcutt was a Conservative in politics and a Churchman, and was generally respected by the townspeople at large.- At the Town Hall on Monday morning, the Mayor (Ald. Hart) referred to the death of Mr. Howcutt and said he was a gentleman who was identified many years with the administration of justice in that Court. He could only say, on the part of the Bench, how much they regretted the loss of one who had not only distinguished himself in the position of magistrate, but also as a townsman of Leicester. His loss would be deeply deplored by his friends and everyone who knew him. 

(from "Leicester Journal and Midland Counties General Advertiser", Friday 11 December 1885, page 8, local news)

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Grandchildren

Although John and Susan had no grandchildren with the Howcutt surname, their two oldest daughters were both mothers of substantial families.

Eliza and her husband, Rev Richard Corker Meade, had nine children: 

The children's birthplaces chart the movement of the family until Richard Corker Meade was appointed Vicar of St Neots, Huntingdonshire, in 1875. He remained in that post until his death in 1902.

Helen and her husband, Warren Meade, had seven offspring:

The first child was born in Ireland, but all of the others at Alverstoke, Hampshire.

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Notes

(1) The Leicester Journal & Midlands Counties General Advertiser (5 March 1813) included this advertisement: 

(2) Will of William Howcutt, gentleman of Leicester, proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) on 29 February 1844.

(3) Will of John Howcutt, gentleman of Bitteswell, proved at PCC on 14 February 1851.

(4) Leicester Municipal Borough and County Poll Book 1883 (Leicester).

(5) Cause of death from death certificate. The certificate states he was 9 years old but the tombstone gives Alfred's age as 10. He died on 10 December 1858, his birth having been registered during the first three months of 1849.

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