15/09/2026
UPDATE - The Red House, Mayne Street, Hanford
We have received some fascinating history dating back to the early 1800s on this beautiful old house, although there are two slightly conflicting versions of its story.
The earliest reference found so far is from 1803, when John Cotton (Blacksmith) is mentioned. In 1828, the property was transferred from Timothy Wood to William Crewe for £69 11s 8d. A second 1828 document records the transfer of land/property from John Cotton (Blacksmith) to William Crewe, an innkeeper, for £27 10s.
Following William Crewe’s death in 1853, the property passed to his son Samuel Crewe. Samuel subsequently experienced financial difficulties and, in 1868, was declared bankrupt. The property had been mortgaged, and a number of further mortgages and changes of ownership followed during this period.
Also in 1868, there was a tenant agreement involving John Sillito, with reference to subletting to Hannah Beardmore. In 1869, a further agreement was made between John Sillito and Hannah Beardmore.
Following Hannah Beardmore’s death in 1875, her will left her estate to Frederick Bernard Cooper and Thomas Bridgford Beardmore. In 1876, John Sillito transferred the property to Elizabeth Cooper, and a mortgage was subsequently taken out with the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Building Society.
A 1876 deed from John Sillito to Cooper also refers to the earlier history of the property, including its previous mortgages and Samuel Crewe’s bankruptcy.
In 1880, Elizabeth Cooper (later Ridley) transferred the property to John Johnson for £180 13s 5d.
Then, in 1896, David Dilworth, acting as a representative of the Newcastle Building Society, transferred the property to Alfred Rawlins for £265. This appears to mark the beginning of a much more settled period in the property’s history.
In 1933, Alfred Rawlins transferred the property to his son, Percy James Rawlins, a schoolmaster, for £500. There is also reference to a land discharge from the manor to Percy Rawlins, possibly confirming the property’s freehold status.
In 1967, following Percy James Rawlins’ death, the property was transferred by his executors to Charles Norman Galletley for £3,000. Five years later, in 1972, Galletley transferred it to Geoffrey Norman Watts for £10,000.
There are then records relating to a land search and stamp survey carried out for Mr P. A. Coyte in 1974 and 1975, together with a further land transaction involving P. A. Coyte in 1979.
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The Wood Family Connection
There is also another fascinating strand to the property’s history concerning the Wood family.
Israel and Elizabeth Wood had ten children, and Israel was the publican at The Abercrombie Inn between 1838 to 1871. Their daughter Julia Wood later married Alfred Rawlins.
Interestingly, census records show that Alfred and Julia were living with Julia’s parents from around the time they married in the 1870s. This raises the possibility that the Wood family may have occupied the property as tenants for some considerable time before Alfred and Julia eventually became owners in 1896.
There is therefore an intriguing question as to whether the Wood family had a longstanding connection with the property before the formal ownership records begin to show the Rawlins family.
Another particularly interesting connection is Julia’s brother, Leonard Broughton Wood, who owned the Crystal Tile Company. He became involved in a court case against a rival company which allegedly had stolen his secret tile-making recipe.
An Intriguing Property Story
Taken together, these records paint a fascinating picture of a property that has been part of Hanford’s history for well over 200 years.
From John Cotton the blacksmith and Timothy Wood, through the Crewe, Sillito, Beardmore, Cooper, Rawlins and Galletley families, the property has passed through the hands of a remarkable number of local people.
There are still unanswered questions—particularly concerning who actually lived in the property during the earlier years, the relationship between the Wood family and the property, and whether some of the people named in the deeds were owners, tenants or both.
The deeds and census records may hopefully help to uncover more of this story and perhaps reveal some of the people who lived in this beautiful Georgian house over the generations.
There is clearly much more to discover! ❤️
