Thomas Castle & Co. - Castle, Edwards & Co. - Castles & Co. etc.

Wine & Spirit Merchants

• Date:
• 1779: Robert Castle is a distiller of Bristol at time of his marriage.
• 1788-1789: Robert Castle, distiller of Maudlin Lane, Bristol insured by Sun Fire Office, 26 Jun. His Wine and Brandy Merchant business was insured 12 Jan. 1789. In 1789 Robert Castle, John Naylor, Rowland Williams, John Ames and Michael Castle were insured by the same at Milk Street, 27 March. On 31 May 1788, as Wine and Liquor Merchants the partners were insured for properties in Castle Ditch.
• c. 1791-1807: Robert Castle & Co. Rectifying distillers, Milk Street, Bristol. Michael Castle & Co., Distillers, Cheese Lane.
• c. 1803: Robert Castle dies (brother of Thomas and Michael - distillers) and father of Robert Edye Castle and Michael Hinton Castle, to whom he leaves the Milk Street distillery premises as joint tenants.
• c. 1807: Michael Hinton Castle, John Ames, Michael Castle, Thomas Castle, and Robert Edye Castle, in partnership as distillers and rectifiers. Distillery premises conveyed by father of Williamson to Williamson and Cross (John Williamson & William Cross, distillers of Chester) as tenants, the father died 1813. A lot of business transacted between the two companies. Messrs. Castle and Co. itself consisted of two companies. Michael Castle & Co., distillers, and Castle & Co., rectifiers. The Partnership between Robert Castle, John Ames, Michael Castle, Thomas Castle and Richard Ellison, dealers in wine and Foreign and British Spirits was dissolved at the end of July 1807. Also, by September 1807 the partnership of Samuel Crady Edwards, Robert Castle and Michael Castle, Rectifying Distillers.
• c. 1808: Samuel Crady Edwards, senior, distiller of Bristol, died. He was co-partner in the firm Samuel Crady Edwards & Co., Redcliff Street. He wished in his will for his brother John Jeffries Edwards to be considered in his stead as a partner by his co-partners, with a view to taking on Samuel's son, Samuel Crady Edwards junior, once he reaches a suitable age.
• c. Mar. 1811: a fire destroys a malt loft and large quantity of corn therein at the Cheese-lane distillery of Michael Castle. Fortunately it didn't reach the spirit stores.
• c. 1812: Ames, Castle & Co., distillers, selling distillery property at Temple-backs formerly property of Parry, Cole & Co., distillers.
• 16 Feb. 1816: Robert Edye Castle retires from the Cheese Lane partnership. He died in Sept. 1819.
• c. 1817: Williamson & Cross dissolved partnership. Williamson retires. (Cross & Co. were malt distillers in Bedminster Causeway in 1791)
• c. 1821: Michael Castle died.
• 30 Sep. 1822, partnership of Michael Castle & Co. ended by effluxion of time. John Ames retires altogether leaving Thomas Castle and Michael Hinton Castle.
• c. -1827: Thomas Castle & Co. (Thos. Castle died 12 June 1827). Michael Hinton Castle only surviving partner.
• c. 30 Sep. 1829 Thos. Castle & Co. ends by effluxion of time (dissolution of co-partnership as Malt Distillers and dealers in spirits heretofore carried on in Cheese Lane in parish of St Philip and Jacob, in County of Gloucester adjoining the City of Bristol, under firm and style of Thomas Castle & co., after death of Thomas Castle in 1827 and effluxion of time for remaining partners 30 Sept.1829, to be carried on by Levi Ames, John Ames, Michael Hinton Castle and Thomas Harris under the firm and style of Thomas Harris & Co. (Signatories Lionel Lyde, Levi & John Ames, T. Harris, Geo. H. Ames, Michael Hinton Castle, and then Michael Hinton Castle, Geo. E. Kiddell and William Edwards); New partnership Castle, Edwards & Co., Milk Street. Michael Hinton Castle's distillery in Cheese lane becomes Thomas Harris & Co. This was simultaneous the dissolution of the partnership of Shute, Edwards & Shute, of Redcliff Street, in which both Thomas Castle and Samuel Crady Edwards Jnr. were in co-partnership with Edwin Shute, (later to go bankrupt on his own account).

  Also from the Bristol Mirror - Saturday 26 May 1832, p.2:  "NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership formerly subsisting between Thomas Castle, deceased and the undersigned, Thomas Harris and William James, deceased, as Common Brewers and Maltsters, in Jacob Street, in the parish of St. Philip & Jacob, in the City of Bristol, under the firm of William James and Company, and which after the decease of the said Thomas Castle, was continued by his undersigned Executors and the said Thomas Harris and William James, became dissolved as to the said William James by his death in 1829; and the Partnership since carried on in the same place by the undersigned Executors of the said Thomas Castle, in conjunction with the said Thomas Harris, under the same firm, was on thee 31st day of December last dissolved by mutual consent; all debts due and owing to and from the said concern will be received and paid at the Brewery, in Jacob Street, by Mr. William Henry Castle, by whom the business will in future be carried on.—Dated the 9th day of May, 1832." Signed by Michael Hinton Castle, George E. Kiddell & William Edwards as executors of Thomas castle deceased; by Thomas Harris and Harriette Stock as executrix of William James deceased, and by W. H. Castle.

• c. 1832: Robert Castle, son of Thomas Castle becomes partner of Castle, Edwards & Co., Milk Street.
• 15 May 1838, Mr. Samuel Crady Edwards, of the firm Messrs. Castle, Edwards & Co., rectifiers, died at Long Ashton after a protracted illness, aged 47..
• 30 Sept.1844, partnership of Castle, Edwards & Co. expires by effluxion of time. A new partnership is formed between M. H. Castle, Robert Castle and William Jones: (dissolution of partnership which has for some years subsisted between Levi Ames, Michael Hinton Castle, Thomas Harris and Robert Castle, as Rectifying Distillers and Dealers in Foreign and British Spirits, at Milk Street Bristol, in future under firm of Castles and Company, to be continued by Michael Hinton Castle and Robert Castle in conjunction with William Jones of Bristol, distiller, 30 Sept. 1844. Also with regards to the Cheese Lane malt distillery, dissolution of Thomas Harris & Co (Levi Ames, John Ames, Michael Hinton Castle, Thomas Harris) as Malt Distillers and Dealers in Spirits in Cheese Lane, 30 Sept.1844).
• 27 Nov. 1844, William Cross bankrupt.
• 23 Jan 1845: Michael Hinton Castle died.
• c. Mar. 1849: Court case occurs where Castle & Co. claims against Williamson for business transacted 30 or 40 years previously. (Morning Post - Thursday 01 March 1849 p.7. from which much of the above information derived.)
• c.1863: James Williams, partner in Castles & Co. dies.
• 25 March 1868: Milk Street premises advertised to let.
• In the Bristol Mercury - Saturday 24 April 1869, p.1. Messrs. Castles and Co. closed the Milk Street distillery and removed their business to Liverpool. the sale of Stock-In-Trade began on 11th, 12th, and 13th May. On Thurs. 24 June 1869, the final clearance sale took place, the remnant of Messrs. Castle & Co's stock sold by Messrs. Alexander & Daniel. The shortage of raw materials during the American Civil War, reliance on the "triangular trade", African and American grain imports, and the division of Presbyterian church on its attitude to slavery may have influenced the move. Michael Hinton Castle himself owned 243 slaves on two estates in Trinidad until the British abolished slavery in 1833. Liverpool had a large sugar industry potentially attractive to the distiller's trade and Castles & Co. had long established connections there. A blog about the Castle family by Colin Salter containing much useful information may be found here.

As you can see from the above, these companies went through a very complex evolution of partnerships and co-partnerships. Below are some of the individuals involved:

Robert Castle was born in Hatherleigh, Devon, 1754, baptised 21 Apr., son of George Castle and Mary Edye, George was from Bristol but had married Mary on 15 Apr 1751 at Hatherleigh. George was a Presbyterian minister at Hatherleigh, son of Michael Castle and Elizabeth Hinton. Robert married Deborah Naish at Beckington, Somerset, on 23 Feb. 1779. He was a distiller of Bristol already at the time of his marriage, likely at Maudlin Lane where he appears in 1789. By 1789 Wine & Liquor dealing premises are in Milk Street.

Robert's brothers and sisters were all baptised at the Dissenting Church, Hatherleigh, Devon:

George, 20 Mar. 1756; Mary, 30 July 1757; Samuel, 12 Aug. 1759; Edmund, 7 Sept. 1760; Michael, 26 Mar. 1762; John, 6 Apr. 1763; Rosanna, 6 May 1764; Sarah, 20 Nov. 1765; Thomas, 28 May 1767; William, 16 July 1769; Henry, 22 July 1770; Isaac, 22 Aug. 1773.

Robert and Deborah's children were also baptised at the same church:

Mary Naish, bapt. 3 Sept. 1780; Michael Hinton, bapt. 27 July 1785; Deborah, bapt. 12 Oct 1786; Robert Edye, bapt. 12 Oct. 1786; Harriot, bapt. 30 Aug 1788.

Thomas Castle, brother of Robert and Michael, born 1767, married Mary Morgan on 9 Sept. 1802 at St. Mary with All Saints, Beaconsfield, Bucks. by licence. (Phillimore's transcripts). Thomas and Mary had twelve children, baptised at Lewin's Mead: Mary, b. 26 June 1803 and Thomas, b. 6 Sept. 1804, both bapt. 18 July 1805; Robert, b. 4 July 1807, bapt. 30 Nov. 1807; Michael, b. 8 Oct. 1808, bapt. 9 Sept. 1809; William Henry, b. 11 June 1810 and  Julia, b. 10 July 1811, both bapt. 9 Sept. 1811; Charles, b. 27 June 1813, Caroline, b. 17 June 1814, Ellen, b. 2 July 1815 and Deborah, b. 30 July 1816, all four bapt. 11 Nov. 1816; Edward, b. 16 Sept. 1817 and Frederick, b. 15 May 1819, both bapt. 17 Oct.1823.

From 1821-1827 the rectifying distillery at Milk Street was under the firm of Thomas Castle & Co. subsequent to the deaths of brothers Robert and Michael. More info. on Thomas can be found in Colin Salter's blog here. Thomas died at Grove House, Clifton on the morning of 12 June 1827 aged 60. He was buried on 19 June in the family vault at Lewin's Mead.

Michael Hinton Castle became central to the rectifying part of the business alongside Thomas Castle. He married Susan Smith, the daughter of Capt. John Christmas Smith and Charlotte Maria Bearsley, (Wine Merchants, Oporto, Portugal), on 27 August 1808 at Clifton. Susan died Tuesday 24 May 1814 "in the prime of her life" aged 30, she was buried at St Andrews, Clifton on 29th. I can find no records of children from this marriage. On 17 Feb. 1816 Michael married again in Clifton, to Frances, fifth daughter of the late Rawson Hart Boddam Esq. former governor of Bombay and Eliza Maria Georgiana Tudor. They had 4 children: Tudor bapt. at St. Andrews, Clifton on 13 May 1817; the rest baptised at Lewin's Mead chapel: Boddam, born 6 Jan. 1819 and Fanny, b. 14 Sept. 1821, both bapt. 9 May 1822—and Susan, b. 30 Oct. 1824, bapt. 7 May 1825. Frances unfortunately died at Clifton not long after the birth of Susan, on 19 May 1825 aged 39. She was buried at Lewin's Mead Unitarian on 26 May. After the death of Frances, Michael married a third time, on 12 June 1828, to Mary Helen Gordon, daughter of John Gordon of Clifton and his wife Catherine Hering. Michael and Mary Helen had five daughters all baptised at Lewin's Mead: Ellen, b. 29 Jan.1832, bapt. 26 May 1833; Kate, b.13 Sept. 1829, also bapt. 26 May 1833; Mary, b. 22 June 1833, bapt. 26 Aug. 1833, died age 2 yrs, 10 mths, bur. Lewin's Mead 30 Apr. 1836; Alice, b. 1838, bapt. 14 Sept. 1839, age 1 yr. Curiously, Ellen was baptised again on 1 July 1852 at St. Michael, Bath; Kate on 16 Feb. 1850 at Abbots Leigh Holy Trinity; and Alice and Mary Rose were both baptised on 15 March 1853 at Abbots Leigh. Susan, the daughter from his second marriage was re-baptised at Silchester, Hampshire on 28 Feb. 1846, all occurring after the death of their father on 23 Jan. 1845 at his home at Stapleton Grove, aged 60.

Michael Castle, brother of Robert, married Catherine Kiddell, daughter of the Rev. John Kiddell of Bath at St. Peter, Cornhill, London on 7 May 1806. Michael was Mayor by the time his daughter Catherine was born on 20 Nov.1812. She was baptised at Lewin's Mead Presbyterian Chapel on 18 Jan.1813. She was also later baptised again at St. Nicholas in Bristol on 12 Dec. 1828. Michael Castle died at his home, Stapleton Grove, on Tuesday 22 May 1821 (Bristol Mirror - Saturday 26 May 1821 p.3.), he was buried in a New Vault at Lewin's Mead Presbyterian Chapel on 24th (the register is incorrect stating 1820,- National Archives, Kew: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 3323). Catherine, his widow, died on Saturday, 1 Nov. 1823 at Stapleton Grove, leaving 11 year old only daughter Catherine with Ann Kiddell and Rev. Lant Carpenter as guardians, George Eddie Sanders of Park Street and Thomas Harris of St. Philip & Jacobs, executors of her estate. Catherine the daughter died, after a long and painful illness, in Park Lane, London, on 11 Dec. 1834, in her 23rd year. She left her leasehold property in Cheese Lane to Thomas Harris, and the residue of her properties to her uncle Thomas Castle, with serious sums of money to her former guardians, relatives and friends. She was buried in Michael Castle's family vault at Lewin's Mead on 27 Dec. 1832 by the Rev. Lant Carpenter, her former guardian. Colin Salter's blog has interesting primary source information concerning "the reading of the Will".

Samuel Crady Edwards was born 30 Dec. 1790, son of Samuel Crady Edwards of St. Thomas, Bristol, distiller, and his wife Jane. He was baptised at Long Ashton on 29 July 1815.Samuel Crady Edwards (senior) of St. Peter, Bristol, married Jane Whitehouse of Long Ashton by license on 26 Dec. 1788. Several of their other children were baptised at Long Ashton on the same day as Samuel Crady: Betty Chamberlain, b. 11 Jan. 1790; John, b. 18 Apr. 1793; Jane Whitehouse, b. 20 Aug. 1794; Maria, b. 14 Aug. 1802 and Harriett, b. 27 Jan. 1805.

Samuel Crady Edwards (senior) was baptised at Christchurch, Bristol, on 6 Dec. 1772 along with his sister Sarah, children of Samuel and Betty Chamberlain who married at St. James, 7 Oct. 1764.

2 Gallon Saltglaze Brownware Flagon
Impressed:  2 / Castle Edwards & Co. / Bristol Potter: not marked.

3 Gallon Saltglaze Brownware Flagon
Impressed:  3 / Castle Edwards & Co. / Bristol Image courtesy: Richard Westacott Jones. Pale glazed version. Potter: not marked.

2 Gallon Salglaze Brownware Flagon
Impressed:  2 / Castles  & Co. / Bristol Image courtesy: Paul De'Ath. Potter: not marked.

2 Gallon Flagon
Impressed:  2 / CASTLES  & Co. / BRISTOL / * Potter: PRICE & SONS / STONE WARE / BRISTOL (diamond stamp).

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