In March 1851, William Purchase, aged 52, was a sleighmaker living at Oil Moor.

Birth

William was born at Hardington in about 1798, the son of Henry Purchase and his wife,Sarah.

First marriage

On 16 March 1835, William married Charlotte Parsons at West Coker. William was about 37, and Charlotte was about 26.

In June 1841, the couple lived in Lyatts Lane.

Charlotte died on 17 January 1843, aged 34.

Beer house keeper

The tithe survey shows William as the occupier of a cottage at Lyatts owned by Jonas Delamont (number 74) and a cottage at the foot of Pig Hill owned by Benjamin Chandler (number 89A). According to Rev. Sawyer’s unpublished history of |Hardington, the latter cottage was the White Horse Inn, and William was the last publican.

On 7 July 1858, William Purchase was summoned for two offences: being open too early on Sunday, 23 May and being open too late on Monday, 14 June (Club Day). The Magistrates fined Purchase 10s for the first offence and £1 and costs for the second.^[1]

On 1 September 1858, Yeovil magistrates rejected his application for a spirit licence because of opposition from Mr Hoskins.[2]

Loom mender

In addition to running the inn, William repaired looms. The baptism register records William’s occupation as ‘repairer of looms’ in 1847, ‘mender of looms’ in 1848 and ‘sleighmaker’ in 1850. The 1851 census recorded his occupation as “Sleymaker.”

Second marriage

On 4 September 1845, William married Sarah Partridge, the daughter of Abraham (a lime burner) and Joan Partridge. William was about 47, and Sarah was about 23 and heavily pregnant with their first child.

Death

William died in October 1859, aged 61.

Sarah’s later life

Sarah took over running the inn and continued until about 1868. The 1861 census shows her living at the “Public House” with eight children aged from one to fifteen. Her late husband’s two sons by his first wife had left home, as had her eldest daughter.

In April 1871, she was a glover living in the High Street with five children.

She died in May 1877, aged 54.

Children

William and Charlotte had two sons. William and Sarah had six sons and three daughters.

William’s sons by his first wife included Alfred John Purchase. His sons by his second wife included James Morris Purchase.

References

[1] Sherborne Mercury 13 July 1858 p. 5.

[2] The Western Flying Post 7 September 1858 p. 5.