HEADLAND, Thomas Hughes (Grimwade p.542)

[MCB]

Born 1806.
England & Wales Christening record for Uxbridge.
1841 UK Census for Great Sutton Street, Clerkenwell as a silversmith.
1851 UK Census at the same address as a silver polisher employing 1 man and 1 apprentice.
1861 UK Census for Heathcote Street as secretary to a singing school.
1871 UK Census for 26-27 Cornfield, Eastbourne as an hotel proprietor.
1881 UK Census for 17 Bolton Road, Eastbourne with no occupation.
Died 1888 in Eastbourne.
National Probate Calendar for Principal Registry dated 20th March 1888. He is referred to as formerly a silversmith of Great Sutton Street. Value of estate £76.

[silverly]

28 February 1852 Thomas Hughes Headland Widower and Silversmith of 13 Great Sutton Street son of Thomas Headland deceased married Emily Wallis Spinster of 2 Portland Place, North daughter of William Wallace (Cook or Confectioner) deceased.

[blueangel]

Thomas Hughes Headland was my Great Great Great Uncle.

[dognose]

Hi Blueangel,

Welcome to the Forum.

Do you have any other details that you can share with us regarding Thomas Hughes Headland?

Trev.

[vita]

Thomas Hughes Headland was also my great great great uncle & if you are looking for any further information on him I

would be happy to help. I am the author of a number of articles about him - a very interesting character who became quite a

player in Victorian society.

[dognose]

Hi Vita,

Welcome to the Forum.

Any information, especially that connected to his role as a silversmith, would be gratefully received.

Trev.

[vita]

Hi & thanks for the welcome!
I have much information on Thomas from his time as a Clerkenwell silversmith in the 1830s to his death in Eastbourne in 1888. He had three very distinct careers - silversmith, then secretary to a pioneering music school which lead to him becoming Charles Dickens's manager for three years, and finally as manager of the Sussex Hotel, Eastbourne.
The silversmith business in Gt Sutton Street was taken over in 1859 by my great grandfather Henry William Headland Jnr who
promptly lost everything & was imprisoned for debt. By then Thomas was working full time for the composer & music educationalist John Pyke Hullah who was a friend a Dickens. When Dickens manager died Thomas was promoted & very
quickly began to drive the great man crazy with his mistakes. Dickens mentions him often in correspondence & even awarded
him his very own nickname.
Thomas moved to Eastbourne in the early 1860s but maintained a correspondence with Dickens & they appear to have been
able to remain friends. In 1864 Thomas was headhunted to advise the organisers of the Stratford tercentenary celebrations
& credited with much of the event's success. His obituary claims he was "full of anecdotes" about Dickens but I doubt he was
aware Dickens had been full of anecdotes about him!
Regarding his time as a silversmith, I have been unable to trace an apprenticeship but suspect it was with William Hewitt.
Last year I was lucky enough to get a piece of Thomas's silver on eBay & it has pride of place in the cabinet.
Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

[dognose]

Hi Vita,

Many thanks for adding this information.

A couple of other snippets:

HEADLAND, Thomas Hughes. Accompanied C. Dickens on his first American tour as secretary 1842; silversmith 13 Great Sutton St. Clerkenwell, London 1842-59; kept Sussex hotel at Eastbourne about 1869-72. d. Merton lodge, 17 Bolton road, Eastbourne 2 Jany. 1888 aged 82. Forster's C. Dickens i, 278 (1872); Eastbourne Chronicle 7 Jany. 1888 pp. 4, 5.

Source: Modern English Biography: A-H - Frederic Boase - 1892


At the trial of Richard Varley at the Old Bailey on the 26th November 1838, Thomas Headland gave a character witness:

Thomas Hughes Headland, No. 13, Great Sutton-street, Clerkenwell, a silversmith; and Charles Hayward, a silversmith, in the Minories; gave the prisoner a good character. See: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.j ... #highlight

Trev.

[vita]

Hi Trev - happy to be of assistance. Thanks for the snippets - I did actually know about the character witness & he makes
another appearance at the Old Bailey in 1842 when his apprentice steals three shillings worth of silver from him.
I've also come across the claim that he accompanied Dickens to America but this is definitely not the case. I think its been
repeated over the years because that original biography entry said so but I can assure you it is incorrect.
I should have added that Henry William Headland Jnr was Thomas's nephew & had been his apprentice before taking over the
business. After serving his prison sentence he relocated to Hackney & continued to work as a silversmith. I believe he made surgical instruments, but I've not been able to trace a mark for him.

[dognose]

Hi Vita,

Many thanks for the correction and the further information, it's very much appreciated. Please keep us in mind with any other details that come to light.

Trev.

[vita]

I've lots more Trev - for instance, in the late 1850s he was donating prizes to the West London Rowing Club (now defunct)
& was made an honorary member. The first prizes were silver cups & later silver oars which became known as "The Headland
Oars." I wonder where they are now? I've a report of him presenting the prizes at the club's Cheyne Walk headquarters. The club also held a dinner in his honour in central London.
If you Google "Hullah & Headland" you'll see an 1842 etching of Thomas making a presentation to John Hullah who had started singing classes for working men in order to keep them away from the temptations of Victorian loose living. Thomas was chairman of the First Workman's Singing Class & is described as a working silversmith.
Its worth accessing Dickens's letters online to see what he has to say about Thomas - very entertaining!
Personal details are as follows:-
1806 - born Uxbridge, Middlesex, eldest child of Thomas & Christiana Headland.
1828 - marries Juliana Harrison. Juliana dies 1850, no children.
1852 - marries Emily Wallace, daughter Florence Hullah Headland born 1855.
Florence had a daughter who died aged 21 so there is no direct line but I've made it my mission to ensure he is not forgotten.
Best wishes
Vita.