Introduction
This page was created because in January 2022, I received an email from Clare Wilmot regarding her ancestors who once owned the brewery at 107 Redcliffe Street. Clare sent so much information about her family that I was able to make this page.
The Wilmot Family
Over the next couple of weeks, Clare sent a few more details of the family and with what I was able to find, produced a timeline of the family.
The Wilmot Family Tree
Click on the image or here for a full size JPG; or here to open a SVG file
William Byam Wilmot and Matilda Wight had 10 children, but only one is shown in the tree
The original tree was created using Dia Diagram Editor
The first mention we have of this branch of the Wilmot family of Bristol was Luke, a joiner by trade who died in 1756. Luke passed the "default" of his Will onto his nephew Luke, who was the uncle to Luke Samuel Wilmot, who died in 1805. Luke the Joiner had many properties and one was in Temple. This may have been the origination of the Brewery location at or near 107 Redcliffe Street.
His nephew, Luke Wilmot, brewer and maltster, who died in 1792, appears in Reports of the Commissioners (Commonly Known as Lord Brougham's Commission) as in 1753, giving 30l with the interest going to the poor. The interest was given as 1l 4s distributed annually to seven poor parishioners who each received between 2s and 5s. The same report mentions the May, 1798 accounts of the Temple Charity School for Girls and his widow, Ann Wilmot, who bequeathed them £20. The Wilmot's appear to have been Methodists as in 1783, Samuel and Luke Wilmot of Bristol were subscribed to a publication entitled "The Religion of the Heart." Luke owned property in St. James, and it was the rent from these properties that helped him accrue his wealth.
The Wiltshire Parish Registers and My Heritage record the marriage of Luke Samuel Wilmot of St. Mary Redcliffe and Ann Byam, aged 24, on September 5, 1801 at Sherston Magna, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Ann was born in 1777 to William Byam and Ann Byam. They had one son: William Byam Wilmot (born 1801) and that Ann passed away in 1830, aged 53. Luke Samuel Wilmot is recorded as owning the brewery at 107 Redcliffe Street in 1801. He died on November 7, 1805, aged just 26, passing Redcliffe Brewery on to his brother, Samuel Reynolds Wilmot.
Memorial to Luke Wilmot (died November 7, 1805, aged 26) in St. Mary Redcliffe Church
The inscription reads:
This stone is placed by his widow to the memory of Luke Wilmot
Late of this parish, Brewer
He died Nov. 7th 1805. Aged 26 years
No man more exemplarily could have fulfilled the several duties of life and have excited
in the breasts of those who knew him more severe sensations of regret for his loss.
Samuel Reynolds Wilmot, who was declared bankrupt on March 12, 1835. This wasn't the first time that Samuel had had trouble with money. Cowdroy's Manchester Gazette of April 11, 1818, reported that he had to surrender himself at the Commercial Rooms, Bristol at midday on April 20, 21 and May 19. The paper also reported that his attorney was a Mr. Cooke.
These photographs date from May 1875, and by then Daniel Sykes & Co. owned the brewery at 107 Redcliffe Street
The photos are from Bristol's Free Museums and Historic Houses: The Ghosts of Redcliff
It seems that Samuel enjoyed mixed fortunes during his life. Between April 7, 1809 and May 9, 1810 he bought share number 389 in the Bristol Institution for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts. The London Gazette of March 1812, reported that "the Partnership lately subsisting between the undersigned Samuel Reynolds Wilmot and Amm Wilmot, widow, in the City of Bristol, in the business of Brewers, under the Firm of L. and S. Wilmot, was dissolved by mutual consent om the 31st of October last." In the directories for 1828, he was recorded as living at 10 Redcliffe Street. He was prosecuted on May 21, 1827 for "Sending out beer without a certificate." In 1833, he was invited, but declined to become the president of the Colston Society. He died on November 13, 1855, aged 73.
Incidentally, the share that Samuel bought in the Bristol Institution had a life of its own. On October 1, 1835 it went to Charles Manby, Engineer. On December 1, 1836 to James Cunningham, Merchant of King's Parade; then on February 6, 1845 to James Cunningham, Jnr.
To put this in perspective and to explain why this can be confusing. Clare wrote to me that not only were father and sons named Luke but so were nephews and cousins! The family also married people with the same names! For example, Luke's wife Ann, is not the Byam Ann of his nephew’s marriage. Samuel was Luke’s brother and Samuel’s sons were Luke Jr. and Samuel Reynolds Wilmot! The Luke Wilmot born in 1765 and who died in 1792 and was Luke’s Uncle, who was also the benefactor of the 7 families. His wife was Ann too. He left money to his brother and two nephews (Luke and Samuel Reynolds). His brother was Samuel and Samuel bequeathed the Trade (probably meaning the brewery) and his estate to his sons, (Luke and Samuel Reynolds) with provision for Luke’s wife Ann, who dissolved the relationship with Samuel Reynolds Wilmot in 1812. Samuel (senior) died in 1794.
To mid 1700s - Luke, the joiner, died in 1756. He had a brother Samuel and a sister Martha. His daughter Grace Sparding received all the proceeds from his extensive tenements. He had three people who administrated the Trust for his daughter. On his side of the family, Luke and Ann Wilmot were childless.
To end of 1700s - Luke's nephew, also named Luke, was given money to care for his father, Samuel (the same Samuel as above) and was to be favoured in the Will, if Grace and her children died. The nephew Luke, had a brother Samuel and a brother Thomas. Luke married Ann and owned a farm and a trade, possibly a brewery. He died in 1792. Samuel married Elizabeth and had three children, Marion, Luke, and Samuel Reynolds
Into the 1800s - Luke left his trade to his brother, Samuel Reynolds Wilmot. He also left money to another Luke (the youngest above) and Marion and Thomas' (the same Thomas as above) son, who was also named Thomas and who was a carpenter. He also left money to Ann Wilmot, a spinster, who was the daughter of Samuel (the same Samuel as above). This Samuel died in 1794. The youngest Luke, married Ann Byam in 1801. Their son, William Byam Wilmot was born the same year. Both Sam and Luke were brewers. Luke died in 1805.
In 1806, there was a law suit between Samuel Reynolds Wilmot and Ann Wilmot, who finally dissolved their association in 1812. William Byam Wilmot went on to become a physician and married his cousin.
Of the later generations, William Byam Wilmot became a physician first in UK, then in Melbourne, Australia. He was the first cornonor in Melbourne (1842). He and his wife Matilda, had 10 children. His son, Alfred, was a doctor/surgeon in UK, and his son, Douglas, was a solicotor, practicing in London and he died in 1950. Edward was a Tropical Agriculturist died in Warwickshire in 2012. Clare, the lady who originally emailed me, is a sugeon and studied medicine at Bristol University.
Sources & Resources
Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 17 - Mention of Samuel Reynolds Wilmot
Bristol Museums: The Ghosts of Redcliff - Pictures and the story of Recliffe Street
Cowdroy's Manchester Gazette - April 11, 1818 - Mention of Samuel Reynolds Wilmot
Dia Diagram Editor - Used to draw the family tree on this page
My Heritage: Ann Wilmot (Byam) - Genealogical record
Natural philosophy, medicine and the culture of science in provincial England: The cases of Bristol, 1790-1850 by Michael Raymond Neve (1984) - Mention of Samuel Reynolds Wilmot
Reports of the Commissioners (commonly Known as Lord Brougham's Commission) - Mentions Luke Wilmot's charity
The Inhabitants of Bristol in 1696 by Elizabeth Ralph and Mary E. Williams (1968) - Mention of various Wilmots and Wilmotts
The London Gazette, March 1812 - Mentions several Wilmots
The Religion of the Heart - The Wilmot's subscription to this publication
The Wilmot Home Page - Wilmots from all over the world
Thornbury Roots: Samuel Mullett Wilmot - The Wilmot's of Bedminster, Redcliffe and Thornbury
WikiTree: Wilmot
Will of Luke Wilmot, Malster and Brewer of Saint James Bristol - National Archive (need to pay)
Wilmot Wilmoth Wilmeth by James Lilliard Wilmeth (1940) - Mostly Wilmots in the United States
Wiltshire Parish Registers: Marriages, Volume 1 - Mention of marriage of Luke Wilmot to Ann Byam
This page created January 16, 2022; last modified January 27, 2022
