The Brockelbank Family

The history of the Brockelbank family of Greenwich intersects twice with that of the Newbons:



On January 23rd 1831 James Shelton Newbon married Ann Brockelbank. This was a very good match. James had become the senior male member of his branch of the family the year before at the age of only 25, following his father’s early death; Ann came from a wealthy merchant family, who had made their fortune in the shipping industry. Hers was a large family - it seems she was one of 8 children. By the time her father Thomas Brockelbank drew up his last will and testament in 1839, at least 3 of his children were dead, although all had married. The 5 living children mentioned in his will were his 3 daughters, Mary (the wife of Peter Rolt), Lucretia (the wife of Robert Wilcoxon) and Ann (the wife of James Shelton Newbon), and his 2 sons Lemuel and George - Ann Newbon mentioned her two brothers in her own will, drawn up in 1866, but no mention is made of her sisters or the families of her deceased siblings. Thomas Brockelbank gave to his son George ‘all my stock of barges or craft for his absolute benefit and the goodwill of the business connected therewith’; to his daughter Ann, the wife of James Shelton Newbon, he gave ‘fifty three steam navigation shares’ and confirmed ‘the appointment of the freehold house in Wardrobe Place made some time since to the said James Shelton Newbon and devise the same to him and his heirs and assigns according thereto’. The closing bequest gives a clear indication of the extent of his personal wealth: ‘as to the residue and remainder of my estate, property and effects whatsoever and wheresoever, real or personal, ships, monies due to me for freight, shares in public companies and other securities, capital, monies and interest in the firm of Brockelbank and Rolt or elsewhere, I bequeath and devise the same to my executors hereinafter appointed, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns’. Likewise, the opening of the will deals with ‘my freehold mansion, house, land and grounds, situate on Maize Hill, Greenwich and goes on to mention ‘the residue of my plate, linen, household goods, horses, carriages, fixtures and household effects’. Thomas Brockelbank was the son of John and Mary Brockelbank of Horsleydown, Southwark. Mary’s will, drawn up in 1822 gives invaluable information about other members of the Brockelbank family. It has been suggested on the Internet that the Brockelbank family of Greenwich were related to the Brocklebank family of Liverpool, who went into business with the more famous Cunard family. It is certainly worthy of note that both families made their money through the shipping industry, but I have so far found no direct connection. The Brocklebank family of Liverpool became baronets and a detailed genealogy can be found of their family in various works, such as Burke’s Peerage. It is hard to see where the connection with the Brockelbank family of Greenwich and Southwark would have arisen. It is also interesting to note that the two families always spelt their surname differently.

Ann Newbon was clearly close to her two brothers, Lemuel and George Brockelbank. Lemuel studied at Queen’s College, Cambridge and was then called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1845. A book on Blackheath reveals that George Brockelbank founded the Greenwich and Blackheath Amateur Musical Society in 1843 and that his son George Seymour Brockelbank (1854-1927), a stockbroker, was responsible for reviving the Blackheath Dramatic Club.



Ann Newbon’s son Charles Evans Newbon married George Brockelbank’s daughter Florence Madeline Brockelbank in 1865. Various references can thereafter be found to the surnames Newbon and Brockelbank in the records of the Milford Docks in South Wales, where several members of the family seem to have owned ships. We can thus conclude that the ties remained close between the two families.

The Brockelbank family of Greenwich and Southwark

1     John Brockelbank (1741– )
      = (1.) ?
.......2     John Brockelbank
      = (2.) Mary Liddard (1749–1822/3)
.......2     Elizabeth Brockelbank (d. before 1822)
              = ? Groves
..............3     Thomas Groves
..............3     William Groves
..............3     Elizabeth Groves
                    = ? Dudin
..............3     Ann Groves
.......2     Lemuel Brockelbank (d. before 1822)
.......2     Ann Brockelbank
             = ? Moss
.......2     Lucretia Brockelbank (1788– )
             = George Devall (1784– )
.......2     Thomas Brockelbank (c1775–1843)
             = Elizabeth ? (c1778–1847)
..............3     William Brockelbank (d. before 1839)
                    = Rachel Radford Hillman (c1801–1878)
......................4     ? Elizabeth Brockelbank
......................4     Rachel Brockelbank (1823– )
..............3     Mary Brockelbank (c1801–1845)
                    = Peter Rolt (1799–1882)
......................4     Peter Pett Rolt (1822–1860)
......................4     Mary Rolt (c1826– )
......................4     Thomas Rolt (1827– )
......................4     Annie Rolt (c1831– )
......................4     John Rolt (1833– )
..............3     Elizabeth Brockelbank (1804–1837)
                    = William Crees Taylor ( –1831)
......................4     William Crees Taylor
......................4     Elizabeth Taylor
..............3     Lucretia Brockelbank (c1807-1883)
                    = Robert Wilcoxon (c1801-1866)
......................4     Robert Wilcoxon (c1826– )
......................4     Lucretia Lucy Wilcoxon (c1830– )
                            = James Nasmyth Arnold Wallinger
......................4     Mary Wilcoxon (c1833– )
......................4     Annie Wilcoxon (c1835– )
......................4     Arthur Wilcoxon (c1838-1920)
......................4     Emilie Wilcoxon (c1839– )
......................4     Charles Wilcoxon (c1841– )
..............3     Thomas Brockelbank (1811–before 1839)
..............3     Ann Brockelbank (1813–1866)
                    = James Shelton Newbon (1806–1863)
......................4     James Thomas Peter Newbon (1832–1864)
......................4     Thomas Newbon (1834–1871)
                            = (1.) Jane Edmans (1834–1862) = (2.) Jessie Woodcock
......................4     Henry George Newbon (1836–1895)
                            = Alice Wade
......................4     Annie Newbon (1837–1841)
......................4     Charles Evans Newbon (1839–1929)
                            = Florence Madeline Brockelbank (1845–1924)
.............................5   Arthur Charles Newbon (1866–1884)
.............................5   Herbert Alexander Newbon (1870–1935)
......................4     Joseph Newbon (1840–1901)
                            = Laura Edith Daniel (1848–1880)
.............................5   Douglas Shelton Newbon (1872–1934)
.............................5   Muriel Undine Newbon (1875–1949)
......................4     Clarence Brocklebank Newbon (1843–1847)
......................4     Septimus Baily Newbon (1846–1900)
..............3     Lemuel Brockelbank (1815–1869)
                    = Eliza Mary Finch ( –1891)
......................4     Eliza Brockelbank (1841– )
......................4     Thomas Brockelbank (1842– )
                            = (1.) Emily Archer Bone
.............................5   Thomas Ronald Leonard Brockelbank (1873– )
                            = (2.) Marion Emily Creighton Harper
.............................5   Lemuel Brockelbank (1877–79)
.............................5   Ralph Brockelbank (1880– )
......................4     Lemuel Brockelbank (1844– )
......................4     Annie Brockelbank (1846– )
......................4     Duncan Brockelbank (1849– )
                            = Betsy J. ?
.............................5   Irene Brockelbank
.............................5   Ethel Brockelbank
.............................5   Claire Brockelbank
......................4     Augustus Brockelbank (1850– )
                            = Flora Angus
.............................5   Clarence A. Brockelbank (1877– )
.............................5   Constance Flora Brockelbank (1878– )
......................4     Raymond Bragg Brockelbank (1851– )
                            = Ellen Louisa de Pothonier
.............................5   Amy Edith Brockelbank
.............................5   Francis N. Brockelbank
.............................5   Lemuel de Pothonier Brockelbank
......................4     Helen Brockelbank (1853– )
......................4     Henry Brockelbank (1854– )
                            = Mary Rebecca ?
......................4     Mary Brockelbank (1856– )
                            = Charles Clarke Irons
.............................5   Hilda Mary Irons (1880– )
.............................5   Madeline Patty Irons
.............................5   Seffried Charles Irons
.............................5   Margery Elizabeth Irons
.............................5   Kathleen Maria Irons
.............................5   Wilfred Edward Irons
.............................5   Lorna Christabel Irons
..............3     George Brockelbank (1817–1893)
                    = (1.) Elizabeth Jane Herring ( –1854)
......................4     Emmeline Lucia Brockelbank (1840– )
......................4     Thomas Attwood Brockelbank (1841– )
......................4     Robert Stanley Brockelbank (1843– )
......................4     Florence Madeline Brockelbank (1845–1924)
                            = Charles Evans Newbon (1839–1929)
.............................5   Arthur Charles Newbon (1866–1884)
.............................5   Herbert Alexander Newbon (1870–1935)
......................4     George B. Brockelbank (c1848– )
......................4     Frederick Morgan Brockelbank (1850– )
                    = (2.) Ann Comber Farlow (c1833–1880)
......................4     George Seymour Brockelbank (c1855– )
......................4     Una Kathleen Brockelbank (c1858– )
......................4     Clarence Hartree Brockelbank (1859– )
......................4     Gerald Brockelbank (c1860– )
......................4     Constance May Sebastiana Brockelbank (c1864– )
                            = George Chetwynd
......................4     Eva Blanch(e) Brockelbank (c1867– )
                            = Rev. Alfred Ernest Norman
......................4     Lionel Rupert Brockelbank (c1870– )

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