 |
Stapleford
Hall in the early 20th century. The house was rebuilt
in 1788 and demolished in 1935. |
Mr.
Charles Ichabod Wright,
best known as Colonel Wright, of Stapleford Hall, in this county,
and of Watcombe Park, Devonshire, is the head of a family which
has every claim to be numbered amongst the representatives of
the great houses of this county.
The
Wrights of Mapperley are represented on the male side by four
brothers, of whom the late Colonel of the Robin Hoods is the
eldest. The other brothers, who are well known here, are Mr.
Henry Smith Wright, of Park Hill, in Hampshire; Mr. Frederick
Wright, of Lenton Hall, a place which, generations ago, was
occupied by his ancestors; and Mr. George Howard Wright. The
two elder brothers have, to some extent, at any rate, been
identified with local politics ; the two younger have taken
a very useful part in movements for the improvement of the
moral and social condition of the people.
In
his early life Colonel Wright probably enjoyed advantages
which do not come within the reach of all sons of the wealthy.
His father was not only a ripe scholar but a thoroughly practical
man. He combined with a cultivated intellect and the possession
of high scholastic acquirements, a genuine spirit of business.
Such a combination is rare; the scholar may become an ascetic;
the business man may sacrifice his finer faculties on the
shrine of Mammon, or in the idle pursuit of profitless forms
of pleasure.
In
any reference to Colonel Wright and to his antecedents, one
must say something of his father, because he was a distinguished
man who is yet very well remembered, though the introduction
of his name in this part of the article is somewhat out of
chronological order. The late Mr. Ichabod Charles Wright,
whose Christian names the Colonel bears, joined his father
in the banking business in the year 1825, after he had become
a fellow of his college. In the year of his entrance into
business he married the daughter of the first Lord Denman,
who afterwards became Lord Chief Justice of England. His after
life was spent most industriously between business and study.
He translated the “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,”
and “Paradise” of Dante, which translations were
published by Messrs. Longmans, in 1833, 1836, and 1840. A
second edition of these translations was published in 1845,
and their value may be gathered from the verdict of a critic
who, writing in one of the leading journals said: “Lord
Denman may well be proud of his son-in-law, who has converted
into his lordship’s vernacular one of the grandest works
of the human imagination, making the English peasant familiar
with the loftiest dreams of genius that ever swept the eyelids
of the Italian poet.
These
translations may be placed amongst the worthiest of the kind
we possess in our own language.” In 1841 Mr. Wright
published “Thoughts on Currency,” and in 1847,
“Evils of the Currency,” subjects on which he
was well qualified to write. In 1865 he published a translation
of the Iliad of Homer in blank verse, which may take its place
with the translations of Pope and Lord Derby. Mr. Wright’s
last issue from the Press was in 1857, and consisted of a
selection from the Psalms, in verse, which was written when
he was partially blind. Of this distinguished and respected
gentleman, whose remains were laid in Carrington Churchyard
only nine years ago, Colonel Wright is the eldest son, and
it is more than probable that to his early training are now
due, in a measure, those qualities which have made him so
popular in this town, and which leave such a pleasant impression
upon those with whom he comes in contact, whether in the relations
of business, or within the hospitable walls of either of his
country residences.
The
lineage of the Wrights of Mapperley starts with a Thomas Wright,
of Nottingham, who, born in 1724, had sons, Ichabod, of Mapperley,
and John Smith, of Rempstone Hall, who was High Sheriff of
this county in 1815. The third son lived at Upton Hall, near
Newark, and was also in turn High Sheriff of the county. His
son was Joseph Banks Wright, who married into the Dashwood
(Stanton Hall) family. Then we come to Ichabod Wright, grandfather
to the four brothers who now represent the Nottinghamshire
branch of the family, who married Miss Harriet Day, of Yarmouth,
by whom he had fourteen children, amongst them nine daughters,
most of whom married into families of distinction, whilst
one of his sons married a daughter of Archbishop Howley, the
then Primate, and another a near relative of Lord Ellenborough’s.
One of the daughters, of whom Colonel Wright and his brothers
are nephews, married a son of Lord Boston; another married
Sir John Shaw Lefevre, a man of considerable distinction,
and brother to Lord Eversley; a third married one of Lord
Carlisle’s sons, who became Dean of Lichfield; and a
fourth became Lady Overstone, when her husband, Mr. Samuel
Jones Lloyd, was raised to the peerage.
It
is somewhat remarkable that this large family comprised three
sets of twins. After this gentleman, came the distinguished
man who translated the wondrous Tale of Troy, and now Colonel
Wright perpetuates the favourite forenames which for generations
have been borne by the head of the Wrights of Nottinghamshire.
As the Wrights of Swanwick, in Derbyshire, are another branch
of the family, it would perhaps be well to glance at such
parts of their pedigree as affect the Colonel’s family.
We
are now enabled to go back two centuries earlier than the
house of Thomas Wright, of Nottingham, and to trace the family
to a John Wright, of Stow-market, in Suffolk, whose will was
made in 1557, and who assumed the alias Camplyon—a rather
picturesque patronym, by the way.
His
first son was Captain John Wright, who suffered eight years’
imprisonment in Newark Castle for his attachment to the Parliamentary
cause, and it was very natural that he should never be able
to understand why be was incarcerated. He afterwards acquired
property in several parts of Nottinghamshire, and in a certain
part of Suffolk, and at his death he was buried in St. Peter’s
Church, in this town.
The
second son of this gentleman settled at Bingham, and was interred
in St. Mary’s Church, Nottingham, where there is a monument
to his memory. He left two sons, Samuel and Ichabod, the first
named of whom was born about the year 1697. Ichabod, the second
son, born in 1700, is described as a banker, who owned lands
in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. This member of the family,
so far as I have been able to make out, was originally engaged
in the Baltic trade, and late in his life, about the year
1760, he devoted a portion of his wealth to the establishment
of Wright’s Bank, taking his two sons into partnership.
This, the first of the family, who was christened Ichabod,
is also buried in the precincts of St. Mary’s Church.
John, the heir of Ichabod, was also a banker in Nottingham;
he married a daughter of John Sherbrooke, of this town, and
left issue several children, one of whom, Samuel, of Gunthorpe,
married a daughter of Lord Coventry.
His
eldest son, John Wright, banker, of Langar and Lenton Hall,
principal proprietor of the Butterley Works, married a daughter
of Mr. Berresford, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. His eldest son,
also of Lenton Hall, died in Naples, in 1828, and left a daughter,
who became the wife of the Earl of Buckinghamshire. One of
the sons of this John Wright was the late Mr. Frank Wright,
of Osmaston Manor, a magistrate for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire,
and Staffordshire, and High Sheriff of the first-named county
in 1842, who married a daughter of Sir Henry Fitzherbert,
of Tissington.
From
documents in the possession of Colonel Wright, and from other
sources, I have selected such portions of this pedigree as
bore more directly upon the family of bankers.
Colonel
Wright is undoubtedly one of the most popular of our local
public men. Yet he is no orator as Brutus was ; his public
speeches are delivered in a hesitating manner, and they convey
to the listener the impression, which is rightly founded,
that public demonstrations are not in his line, and that be
would very much prefer to be away from the glare of that fierce
light which beats about the life of a public man. Yet Colonel
Wright’s public career may be described as eminently
successful.
He
got into Parliament twelve years ago with very little trouble;
he simply put himself in nomination at the eleventh hour,
and the people returned him with Nottingham, and to trace
the family to a John Wright, of Stow-market, in Suffolk, whose
wlll was made in 1557, and who assumed the alias Camplyon—a
rather picturesque patronym, by the way.
His
first son was Captain John Wright, who suffered eight years’
imprisonment in Newark Castle for his attachment to the Parliamentary
cause, and it was very natural that he should never be able
to understand why he was incarcerated. He afterwards acquired
property in several parts of Nottinghamshire, and in a certain
part of Suffolk, and at his death he was buried in St. Peter’s
Church, in this town.
The
second son of this gentleman settled at Bingham, and was interred
in St. Mary’s Church, Nottingham, where there is a monument
to his memory. He left two sons, Samuel and Iehabod, the first
named of whom was born about the year 1697. Ichabod, the second
son, born in 1700, is described as a banker, who owned lands
in Lineolnshire and Nottinghamshire. This member of the family,
so far as I have been able to make out, was originally engaged
in the Baltic trade, and late in his life, about the year
1760, he devoted a portion of his wealth to the establishment
of Wright’s Bank, taking his two sons into partnership.
This, the first of the family, who was christened Ichabod,
is also buried in the precincts of St. Mary’s Church.
John, the heir of Ichabod, was also a banker in Nottingham;
he married a daughter of John Sherbrooke, of this town, and
left issue several children, one of whom, Samuel, of Gun-thorpe,
married a daughter of Lord Coventry. His eldest son, John
Wright, banker, of Langar and Lenten Hall, principal proprietor
of the Butterley Works, married a daughter of Mr. Berresford,
of Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
His
eldest son, also of Lenton Hall, died in Naples, in 1828,
and left a daughter, who became the wife of the Earl of Buekinghamshire.
One of the sons of this John Wright was the late Mr. Frank
Wright, of Osmaston Manor, a magistrate for Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, and High Sheriff of the first-named
county in 1842, who married a daughter of Sir Henry Fitzherbert,
of Tissington. From documents in the possession of Colonel
Wright, and from other sources, I have selected such portions
of this pedigree as bore more directly upon the family of
bankers.
Colonel
Wright is undoubtedly one of the most popular of our local
public men. Yet he is no orator as Brutus was ; his public
speeches are delivered in a hesitating manner, and they convey
to the listener the impression, which is rightly founded,
that public demonstrations are not in his line, and that he
would very much prefer to be away from the glare of that fierce
light which beats about the life of a public man. Yet Colonel
Wright’s public career may be described as eminently
successful.
He
got into Parliament twelve years ago with very little trouble;
he simply put himself in nomination at the eleventh hour,
and the people returned him with acclamation. Ill health,
combined perhaps with some little dislike of the stormy atmosphere
of political life, induced Colonel Wright to give up his seat
after a few months of senatorial experience, but he continued
to command the Robin Hood Rifles for a long period after his
resignation, and no one questioned the prudence or the policy
of the step he had taken. He was as popular as ever, and at
the head of the famous regiment in whose welfare he took,
and still takes, such a thorough interest, and on the occasion
of his rare attendance at public gatherings, whether political
or social, his presence was equally acceptable, and he bad
still that hold upon public estimation which he has always
maintained. Such is the picture, imperfect, perhaps, in some
of its lines, but truthful so far as it goes, of the high-minded
English gentleman who divides his time between Stapleford
Hall and Watcomb Park—between Nottinghamshire and Devonshire.
A
river, from which the Valley of the Erewash takes its name,
turgid when there has been much rain, tolerably bright under
ordinary conditions, has been forced to take its course close
to the house, which has a low situation. Running water, whether
in the volume of a river, or in the form of a thread-like
brook, always gives picturesqueness to a landscape, and the
only regret with regard to the Erewash at Stapleford is that
it contributes this element at a point which is rather too
near the mansion.
The
grounds have been very much expanded by the present owner,
who has taken in large pieces of what was open field beyond
the boundaries of the grounds, and placed them under the hands
of his gardener. They are now part of the garden, and set
with a very fine collection of shrubs, chiefly of the fir
kind. Colonel Wright, I may mention, is a great admirer and
a successful grower of coniferae, and has discovered that
a ball shot straight from a small rifle will remove a superfluous
“leader” from the summits of the tall ones, which
cannot well be reached by ordinary appliances.
The
other portions of the garden are planted with flowers, which
seem to have been chosen for the brightness and beauty of
their colours. There is a still brighter collection in the
spacious copper-roofed and copper-framed conservatory attached
to the house, and built, I believe, necessarily at great expense,
by the late Lady Warren, who formerly lived here. A broad
gravel terrace runs parallel with the house, and terminates
at a small group of Scotch firs, which is immediately approached
by a flight of grass steps. The Stapleford mansion itself
does not represent any distinct type of architecture. It has
been in all probability added to and altered by successive
owners. One portion of it dates back many generations, and
presents the solid conventionalism which certain architects
of the sixteenth century observed. The inner walls of this
part of the house are almost unnecessarily substantial, and
the mullioned windows, through which light is still admitted
into several of the rooms, furnish still further evidence
of the antiquity of the building.
The
manor has been successively owned by the Staplefords, the
Tevereys, and at a later period by that celebrated admiral,
Sir John Borlace Warren, who performed many important services,
which are fully recorded in the naval histories of the period,
and who represented the borough of Nottingham in Parliament
from 1796 to 1806. During the American War Sir John occupied
the important post of Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty’s
ships on the North American station. At the close of that
contest he returned to his country, and spent most of his
time at Stapleford Hall, taking an active part in the magisterial
business of the county. His widow resided at Stapleford until
a comparatively recent date. Lady Warren died, I believe,
in 1839.
There
is an old picture in the possession of Colonel Wright, which
contains a representation of the original proportions of Stapleford
Hall. It is of large dimensions, and is evidently the work
of an artist of more than average ability. Much of the canvas
is occupied by sombre foliage, which might belong to any locality,
but in one corner appear the conventional proportions of the
old hall, and its identity is fixed more conclusively by the
introduction of the river, and other features peculiar to
the village, it is curious to note how love of, and aptitude
in, certain accomplishments permeates certain families.
I
have known families, of whom each member is practically musical,
if one may so speak. Several of Colonel Wright’s family
are painters. The Colonel himself, is or was, a not unskilful
manipulator of the pencil and brush, and his two sons spend
much of their time at the easel. The elder of them has reproduced
very faithfully two of Niemann’s landscapes, now hanging
in the dining room, which represent that famous and most industrious
artist in his brightest and sunniest mood, and there is more
of his work in the house. There are certain rooms in the house
consecrated to painting, and the younger brother is working
at a drawing this morning. Perhaps they may have inherited
this taste from their ancestors, for in one of the principal
rooms there is a large picture of rare merit by their great-grandmother—a
Mrs. Wright, of Mapperley. The subject is one which might
have been chosen by Gainsborough, and in some of its aspects
the picture reminds one of that master. There are others,
too, of the family, in bygone generations, who painted well.
That
Colonel Wright is fond of good pictures there is abundant
evidence within the walls of his Nottinghamshire residence.
In making his art purchases he does not seem to have been
actuated by a mere desire to possess. After looking at his
collection, one is impressed with a notion that he has bought
whnt most appealed to his taste and sympathies. The more valuable
of his large pictures are exhibited in corners of the house,
where they would hardly be seen by the casual visitor. The
brighter specimens adorn the walls of the drawing room; others,
including the two Niemans, have taken up permanent quarters
in the dining room. But the masters are not altogether excluded
from the collection.
Frank
Hals’ portrait of Vandyck, and an example of Guido,
entitled “The Assumption,” take their place on
the same walls, with modern landscapes, seascapes, and river
and mountain scenes, not the least meritorious of which are
contributed by Mr. Wake, who has more than once been a guest
of the genial owner of Stapleford. In the same company is
to be seen the fascinating Duchess of Cleveland as Sir Peter
Lely saw her, when her beauty and vivacity won for her a foremost
place in the Court of the Second Charles, and there are two
charming water-colours from Varley’s facile brush. I
believe Colonel Wright’s taste runs in the direction
of water-colours. From his own little room, used for the purposes
of business and study, the graver work of the painter has
been banished, and the walls are covered with pretty water-colours—bits
by Prout, Gastineau, Bernard Evans, and half a dozen others,
whose names stand high amongst the water-colourists. Several
of the pictures in the dining room came from Mapperley Hall,
which was built nearly a century ago by Mr. Ichabod Wright,
“before I had any idea of being married,” as he
says in the volumnious journal he left behind him, Here are
two small pictures by Von Blumen, the fine examples of Niemann
already mentioned, two, of five or six, works by this great
artist possessed by Colonel Wright ; a meritorious painting
by Thomas Wright, a member of the family, who lived at Upton,
in this county, said to have received finishing touches from
the hand of Wilson ; a Clarkson Stansfield, a Canaletti, and
two paintings by Bussy, representing incidents on the Field
of Bosworth, which possesses local interest.
These
two pictures formerly formed part of a collection at Wartnaby.
A representation of tree trunks, lichen “—covered
and knarled, bears the sign of Salvator Rosa, and at one end
of the room there is a large picture by Sir William Allen,
once president of the Scotch Academy—a canvas from which
we learn something of the generous side of the First Napoleon’s
character, for the Emperor is here distributing money to helpless
prisoners. Upstairs there are several interesting old paintings,
which, it is fair to suppose, have been placed rather out
of the way on account of their size; partly, perhaps, because
their subjects are not the most pleasant to look upon. it
is pleasanter to feast one’s eyes upon Niemann’s
grand picture, “London, from Waterloo Bridge,”
which hangs, in Colonel Wright’s name, on the walls
of the Castle Museum, at Nottingham, than to study Le Brun’s
canvas showing Hercules, of brawny limb, slaying the flesh-fed
horses of Diomedes, which occupies the greater part of one
of the upstairs corridors at Stapleford.
By
Leonard Jacks, The Great houses of Nottinghamshire and
the County Families.(1881)
Thanks
to A. Nicholson for the source of
computerised text and pictures: www.nottshistory.org.uk
