Abigail Nelson

  Birth Notes:

Information from Carol Nuttall:

I am trying to locate a photograph of Brow Farm, Bidston Hill (if one exists !) and your website was flagged up by a member of WikiWirral. My sister and I have been researching the family for many years now and the Hazlehursts of Bidston proved to be not only our ancestors but also those of both our husbands. We know from our research that Brow Farm was built by George Holding the miller, probably in the 1730s or 1740s. In a lease between Robert Vyner and John Hazlehurst dated 10th December 1754 it mentions 'a house or cottage and other outbuilding lately erected by the late George Holding'. There is also reference to an earlier lease between George Holding and Robert Vyner dated 1736. We know that George Holding was the miller as his occupation is given on the baptism entry for his daughter Anne on the 17th September 1738 at Bidston.

By 1754 George had died and John Hazlehurst became the third life on the lease, along with William Holding, son of George and aged about 24 years, and James the son of James Banister of Oughton aged about 22 years. From then on it would seem that the Hazlehursts occupied Brow Farm and farmed the land around. In another lease dated 13th April 1767 the three lives are James Banister, now aged 35, John Hazlehurst aged 52 and his wife, Grace Hazlehurst also aged 52. It states that only two of the previous three lives are still living, clearly meaning that William Holding had died.

The Hazlehursts continued to occupy the farm and numerous fields around up until 1876 when Thomas Hazlehurst died and the farm was taken over by his daughter Anne and her husband, Henry Povall. Henry's son, John, married Hannah Halewood and they took over running the farm after Henry. John died in 1936 but I think his son, John, was involved with the farm by then. By the time of John Povall's death in 1936, Birkenhead Corporate was in negotiation with the Vyner Estates for the possible purchase of the land with a view to erecting houses. The purchase eventually went through and on the 10th January 1936 a proposal was put forward for the erection of 214 houses. On the 14th July 1937 the Town Clerk submitted the joint valuation of Messrs Leonard Wright & Co of Chester, acting for the Corporation, and Joseph Beecroft of Willaston, acting for Mr J Povall tenant of Brow Farm on Bidston Estate amounting to £205 for the loss of crops and disturbance of tenancy owing to the building operations of the Corporation. We don't know at what stage Mr John Povall had to leave Brow Farm or when it was actually demolished.

We have seen in your family tree that you have had contact with several ladies who are the owners of the Halewood family files. We would be very grateful if you could either put me in touch with them or ask them whether they know of any photograph in existence of Brow Farm. My husband is also associated with the Halewood family as his great grandfather, John Nelson, was the brother of Abigail Nelson who married Abraham Halewood.

Abigail married Abraham Halewood, son of William Halewood and Ann Woodcock, on 2 Mar 1868 in Birkenhead Wirral Cheshire [St. Mary's].¹⁷ (Abraham Halewood was born in Sep 1847 in Oxton Birkenhead Wirral Cheshire,¹⁷ died on 19 Mar 1917 in Wallasey Wirral Cheshire ¹⁷ and was buried on 23 Mar 1917 in Wallasey Wirral Cheshire [St. Hilary's] ¹⁷.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Census, 1881, Wallasey Wirral Cheshire [Folley Lane]. ¹⁷

• Census, 1901, Wallasey Wirral Cheshire [Wallasey Village]. ¹³