THE PEOPLE

There are still a few old families living here whose ancestors have lived here for generations. In many cases they have carried on the same work from father to son, e.g. on farms and in the old smithy.

In Upton Tithe Commutation Award of 1859 the chief landowner was Sir Philip de Malpas Grey-Egerton, Bart. Among other landowners were John Axe, Samuel Brittain, Charles Hamilton,.the Heskeths, John Ithell, Charles Potts and Edward Evans. Some of the chief occupiers of land under the above were William Carter, George Rolison, Thomas Ithell and W. Darlington. Many of these names crop up time and time again in the Vestry Minutes Book, whose owners are Overseers of the Poor or of the highway, or Constables for the Township of Upton-by-Chester.

At this time some of the thithes were paid to the Rector of St. Mary's-on-the-Hill, Chester, and some to the Earl of Kilmorey, the tithe-owner.

From a Directory of the 1850s we can learn more about the inhabitants. Thus:- "John Axe, vict., Victoria Hotel, Thomas N. Brushfield, superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum, Wm. Carter, corn miller, Chs. Darlington, shoemaker, Wm. Darlington, blacksmith, Francis Dickson, nurseryman. Wm. Hughes, beer house, Thomas Knight, wheelwright. Henry Lewis, house surgeon of the Lunatic Asylum, Chs. Potts, attorney, Wm. Shone, collector of taxes, G. Rolison, vict., Egerton Arms, Wm. Tilston, cheese factor and John Wainwright, cattle dealer. Farmers: Wm. Beecroft, S. Davies, Wm. Evans, Thomas Ithell, The Hall, John Edward Norton, Mrs. Thomason and Thomas Wilcoxon."

These names are taken from actual records, and we hope that any omissions will be forgiven.

year	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851
Upton	173	182	105+ 101	289	437	279+ 276
Bache	8	21	21	34	18	12+ 13

year	1871	1891	1901	1921	1931	1951
Upton Incl Bache	544+ 603	1313	1887	2292	1667	5800

Figure gives male + female where known otherwise single combined figure.

From 1831 – 1931 the Upton returns include persons in the County Mental Hospital.

Of the 555 persons in 1851 :- 238 of these were in the County Mental Hospital.

In 1831 Upton 28 families were in agriculture; 1 in trade and 1 other.

Upton inhabited houses :- 30 in 1831; 62 in 1851; 138 in 1891; 155 in 1901.

Bache inhabited houses :- 3 in 1851.

Notable People

There have been a number of these who have lived in Upton, and several well known visitors have stayed here. Others, including Royalty and military personages, have passed through en route for the military establishment at The Dale.

(64) Residents.

(1) John Snell of Upton, as he was called in an old record, was not born in Upton and neither did he die here. After the defeat of the Royalists at Worcester he sheltered with a well born Cheshire family and married into it. His claim to remembrance is the Snell Exhibition which he founded at Balliol College, Oxford. We have no record of his dwelling place in Upton but from his will we gather that he had a regard for the place. In this "Will of J. Snell (made) 29th Dec. 1677" (he died in 1679) bequests were made - "to his wife £100 and. an annuity of £100 secured on Upton", also to his daughter - "an annuity of £100 secured on Upton, and a further annuity of £60 secured on Upton.
To the poor of the Parish of Upton £10."

(2) Sir John Meadows Frost, D.L., J.P., Mayor of Chester 1915-19, lived at Upton Lawn until his death in 1935. He was knighted on the occasion of the visit of George V to Chester in 1918, he being Mayor at that time.

(3) Another public figure was Alderman J. H. Haselden who died in1938. In 1932 he was made Sheriff of Chester. He is remembered for his untiring work in church and parish.

(4) Mr. Basil Nield, M.B.E., K.C., M.P. for Chester since 1940, lived at Upton Grange and was a well known figure in local events during the period between the two wars.

(5) Mr. Alfred Tyrer, a Liverpool Solicitor, who lived at Plas Newton until he died a few years ago aged well over 90, was an interesting character. He took an active part in church and village affairs during the last and this century. He was a keen polo player and wrote a book on the subject. Of interest is the fact that he was among those who travelled on the first train to Hoylake in 1869. (65)

(6) Among the residents in Church Lane there is one who figures in the New Year's Honours List of 1951; Mr. Charles Greenwood, M.I.C.E., L.R.I.B.A. City Surveyor, who was awarded the O.B.E.

In addition to the above, between 1920 and 1948 there has been a long list of distinguished military officers living in Government House, known locally as "The General's House."

Visitors.

Three of these have come to Upton Lawn:-

(1) Earl Haig stayed with Sir John and Lady Frost. 'While there he planted the Verdun acorn, referred to earlier, and inspected the school children. The story is told that Earl Haig was met at Chester Station by Frost and Snow (the latter being the name of the G.O.C.).

(2) Lord Beatty stayed at Upton Lawn on the occasion of his receiving the Freedom of the City of Chester.

(3) The King of Afghanistan came to Upton Lawn for lunch.

Visitors who aroused quite a lot of Interest during the Great War were the family of the Emperor of Abyssinia. They stayed with Miss Clark-Lloyd at Newton Cottage, and on Sundays attended Upton Church, carrying brightly coloured umbrellas in wet weather. Heile Selassie's daughter was educated by Miss Clark-Lloyd.

During the World War Princess Mary stayed at Government House. The grocer at the Bache still remembers her ration book being taken there by her lady-in-waiting. (66). Field Marshal Montgomery was another visitor to Government House during the World War. On this occasion there was some difficulty in persuading small boys to attend school in case there was a chance of their seeing "Monty."

Since Upton Heyes has become the Judge's Lodgings we have had Lord Chief Justice Goddard and other Judges staying there.

In 1949 the Queen visited the Queen's Bays at The Dale, while in l950 the King paid a visit there to inspect the Royal Dragoons. He was accompanied by the Mayor of Chester as far as the Bache, the limit of the city boundary. There the Mayor and his party turned back and the King, with his escort, crossed the boundary into Upton Parish and drove on towards the Dale.

Several famous golfers have played at the local golf club, and during Chester Race week well known jockeys have paid the club a visit.

Finally, here are four people who live in or have lived in Upton, all different, but each possessing something which seemed to us worth recording:

(1) First we have a man who so identified himself with the whole life of the parish that, after his death, the residents found it difficult to think of Upton without him. Mr. Sparling was Vicar of this parish for fifty years (1882-1932) and throughout that time gave unfailing and earnest service in all spheres.

(2) Our oldest inhabitant, Mrs. George Smith, Longfleld Avenue, was born in 1859 at the now- demolished cottage in Heath Road. She has memories of a much smaller village, and told us how she went to a nearby private school for 5d per week, and attended the "Old Chapel" - now a shop - on Sundays.

(3) From old age we come to long service. Mr. Godwin, the milkman from the Bache Dairy, has delivered milk without missing a day for about thirty years. He has never been known to have a holiday. (67) This is truly remarkable in an age of five-day weeks and holidays with pay.

(4) This is someone totally different from the other three and someone without a name. We are told that there used to be an old character who lived on Upton Heath who was always known as "Trousers" since he wore very large and baggy ones. In time the reason became apparent when it was discovered that he was a poacher who hid in his large trousers the rabbits and game that he had stolen. (68)