1066 Genealogy

Masonry being one of the construction trades required the skills of both an architect and engineer and the eye of an artist as stonemasons were employed to work on both the interior and exterior features of buildings. They could be called upon to build or repair anything from a church doorway to a pavement prior to the development of the specialist monumental masons during the 18th century.

These highly skilled artisans were proud of the knowledge and manual dexterity that they had learnt through a system of apprenticeships, usually of seven years with a master mason and then two years as a journeyman craftsman. On completion of their training they could apply to become a master mason and take on pupils. Most of them became members of a guild or trade association and operated in a similar way to other craftsmen, although many aspects of both their organisation and working practices were unique.

The demand for the skill of the Stonemason who only had their labour to sell was small compared to that of Carpenters or Potters and, unlike in other trades, there was usually only one master mason employed on each project. The process of becoming a master craftsman often depended on being a burgess - someone who owned a certain type of property in a borough.

Masons usually worked on building sites and normally did not have a permanent workshop in town, they set up workshops or ‘lodges on site which often doubled as places to hold trade association meetings. A mason or his wife who fell on hard times through sickness or old age, could expect a pension or a one-off payment from trade funds.

Masons, like other trade associations also contributed to the public purse and funded the construction of local hospitals or churches, and in many cases they might own benches in the church for the use of members who had paid their fees.

The records of C.F.Bridgman, a firm of Stonemasons (formerly Parsons) based in Lewes from the early 18th century, were deposited in the East Sussex Records Office in 1965 by Hillman Sons, Vinall and Carter, Solicitors of Lewes, and consists of some 98 volumes of Ledgers, Day Books, Letter Books, Wage and Cash Books together with Classified Accounts which cover the period 1834 - 1959.[1]

The Universal British Directory of 1793 – 1798 lists both Isaac Hargrave and John Morris as Stone Masons in Lewes, and other local records further indicate that the above John Morris (1715 - 1792) who inherited the business in 1744, was the son of Arthur Morris, (1685 - 1744)[2] one of the earliest recorded Stone Masons in Lewes and founder of the modern day C.F.Bridgmans.

John Morris Jnr. (c.1754 - 1822) joined his uncle John in the family business until the retirement of his uncle whereupon he partnered Edward May (c.1750 - 1803) until his own retirement in 1800. Edward May joined forces with Latter Parsons (1773 - 1848) until his death in 1803 when Charles Parsons (1766 - 1828) then partnered his brother Latter and was later joined by John Parsons with the firm continuing under the name Parsons until 1881 when it then became C.F.Bridgman, a name it kept until 1962.

Details of some of the Masons connected with the Firm of C.F.Bridgman (formerly Parsons)

Through these surviving records of Parsons and C.F.Bridgman covering the period 1834 to 1959, it is possible to follow the firms extensive business interests in the general building and repair work that they undertook as well as the erection and maintenance of the tomb stones that are dotted around the many churchyards of both East and West Sussex. Earlier records of both Edward May and Latter Parsons and covering the period 1799 through to 1842 are in private hands and todate have not been inspected.

The London Masons’ Company (initial charter granted 1677) did not recognize a member of a provincial guild as entitled to practice in the City, unless he applied for admittance as a ‘foreigner’ to their own body, and Arthur Morris was accepted as a ‘foreign member’in 1712[3]. Arthur used a riverside stone-yard at Cliffe until about 1727 when he moved his stone-works to 'new ground' on the opposite bank near Eastgate,[4] and it was from here that together with his son John he did some of their best commissions for the Pelham Family (Duke of Newcastle) supplying Plymouth Marble, Purbeck Paving and other stone from Portland, Reigate, Lindfied and Buxton for the construction of Lewes Bridge, Pelham House, Glynde Church etc.

It was natural for stonemasons to set up their shops in places accessible to wharves or establish their own wharf on a navigable river, and the wharf at Eastgate continued to be used for another 250 years. It must have seen many barges and boats unload their cargo of stone and other building materials and the Cash Books record that the Barge 'Maggie' was a regular caller as noted on August 7th 1889 - The Barge Maggie, paid to Warner Edgar £26/12/6d plus Beer for unloading the vessel - 6/4d[5] and again on September 8th 1890 - Captain Humphrey, freight of Portland £19/10/0d plus Mrs Anderson, Beer for unloading stone - 5/-d whilst on 29th September 1892, Captain Cole of the Barge ‘Maggie’ was paid £16/15/1d plus Mrs Anderson 7/3d, Beer for unloading.[6] - It would appear that Mrs Anderson was the keeper of the local beer house that supplied the necessary refreshments for the men unloading the vessels.

Some earlier entries in the Classified Accounts book indicate some of the quantities and costs involved with a delivery of "Portland in Block" as delivered on Wharf in December 1887:[7]

A hand written note underneath the above in the account book reads "1043 feet total @ 1/11d = £99/19/1d - near enough to say it cost delivered on Wharf free of all charges 1/11d foot cube"

It is no wonder that the men were supplied with free beer, as each 3-foot length of Portland Stone must have weighed in at just under 4 cwt each; but the 1873 Ordnance Survey Map shows quite clearly the existence of a crane in the Stone & Slate Yard at the Eastgate Wharf.

Stone Costs – per foot[8]

1790 – 1830 Portland Stone 2/-d to 4/-d ; Purbeck 5/6d to 7/-d; Black Marble 10/-d;

Sicilian Marble £5/5-d; Dore Marble £1/8/-d to £3; Charlwood Marble £4/10/-d.

An idea of the quantities of other building materials held in the Stone and Slate yard can be gleaned from entries listed in the various account books including the following:

8000 Best Duchess; 15700 Best County; 1600 Wide Ladies Slates 16x10; 4600 of 16x8 and 300 Doubles - a grand total of over 47,3000 slates.

10 Fixed Wreaths varying in price from 1/9d to £1/1/-d to sell at 3/6d to £2/2/-d

An entry in the statement of Accounts for 1903 - 1904 states “ Paid off amount owing to Messrs Parsons Bros., Faulkner and Nicholson the sum of £850/-/d, The stock I consider is about the same as when I first took over the business” signed by C.F.Bridgman.[12]

Reference was made earlier to the work carried out by Arthur Morris in the early 18th century for the Duke of Newcastle, and the firm continued to supply materials and undertake the repair and erection of new buildings for notable clients such as The Right Honourable The Earl of Chichester; The Earl of Sheffield; The Viscount Gage; Magistrates of the E.Div of Lewes; Directors of Lewes British School and the Lewes Gas Works; Commissioners of the Cliffe; Commissioners of the Borough of Lewes; School of Science and Art and the Naval Prison as well as local builders such as George Constable of Barcombe; Edward Constable and Edward Pullinger of Lewes. [13]

An interesting entry dated June 11th 1842 was for work on the “Belle Toute Light House”[14] where Parsons supplied:

During the early and mid 19th century Parson Bros. built many fine houses in Eastbourne especially Terminus Road as verified by a note placed inside a bottle and then sealed into the wall of No 85 Terminus Road in 1881 by the workmen of John Russell & Sons, builders of Eastbourne and found when the building was demolished in the mid 20th century. The note signed by 17 workmen reads:

“This is to state to those, whoever may find this, that this house was built by Messrs J L & C Parsons, stonemasons, of Lewes in the County of Sussex, about the year 1865; and this wing was added to the building by the owner at the under mentioned date. Commenced by the builders John Russell & Son of 10 West Terrace in Eastbourne on November 8th 1880 and supposed to be finished by the end of January or middle of February 1881 by order of George Augustus Edwards, the owner at this time” [15]

NB. According to the 1881 Census, No 85 Terminus Road was the Temperance Hotel and George Augustus Edwards was listed as Hotel Keeper and Head of Household. John Russell was listed as a builder resident at 10 West Terrace, Eastbourne where he employed 20 men & boys.

Parsons not only built houses in Eastbourne, he also undertook a variety of work as a master-mason or superintended other works as well as supplying builders and stonemasons with items from the Lewes Stone yard. These included slates, marble chimney pieces, fire surrounds, window frames, doors, shelves, slate dairy tables, slate cisterns, slate sinks, slabs, stones, tiles, cement and plaster[16] as illustrated by the following entries:

May and Parsons supplied Plaster and Stucco ornaments in 1800 for the billiard room of Inigo Thomas at Ratton Place at a cost of £25; Glynde Place purchased ornamental frames in 1801 and Thomas Tilt received 5,500 feet of Welsh slate shipped through the port of Newhaven for his Ballroom in Brighton at a cost of £124/17/6d.[17]

October 11th 1851 - Edward Maynard spent £2,263/-/-d on slates and materials for houses under construction at Eastbourne whilst on 14th January 1852, Lord Page of Firle bought 400 slates 16ins x 10ins for £1/16/- [18] and in February 1864 through to 1866 he superintended the Restoration of Hartfield Church including supplying the Working Plans, Specifications and Working Drawings, Superintending the workers (20 Joiners), arranging accounts, etc. = £37/16/0d

Travelling expenses of 20 Joiners = £20/-/-d; making a grand total of £57/16/0d[19]

Warenne Cemetery in Lewes was built in 1845 by John Latter Parsons in collaboration with Benjamin Ferry using the remains from the Old Priory at a cost of £413/3/7d[20]

The Naval Prison in Lewes was also supplied on a regular basis with Sand & Gravel, Rubbing Stones, Soft Stones, Grinding Stones and other materials, plus other interesting entries include the supply of “Polished Sicilian Marble Slabs” and the fixing of same for the ‘International Tea Company’ of the Cliffe, Lewes on July 13th 1896[21] and the repair of a clock case at a cost of 2/6d for Mrs Parsons of 11 East Street, Lewes[22] and supplying ‘1 ton of seconds coal from Berry & Bussey to Mrs C F Bridgman of Lewes’ on October 19 1894 at a cost of £1/2/-d[23]

Examples of how Bridgman’s contributed to the public purse can be found in the itemised accounts of the Cash Books and BRN 80 lists some of contributions he made to Poor Rate. i.e. - 3rd September 1889, £2/7/8d, and 24th December of the same year £2/8/8d. The rental of a pew at St Johns Sub Castro Church cost him 4/-d on a regular basis (every six months) and other entries include ‘Postman for Xmas’ 1/-d; and ‘Xmas Bops’ to some of his staff in 1889 included, Ward 10/-d; Leppard 2/-d; and in 1890 Reed received 7/-d, and the 1891 recipients were Ward 10/-d; Chandler 5/-; Leppard 2/6d and Huggett 2/-d.

N.B The 1881 census informs us that Ward was living at 14 High Street, aged 16, an Apprentice Stonemason but listed as the Nephew of C F Bridgman, probably explaining why he always got more than the others.

Other interesting entries include the payment of £1/10/-d to W. Carpenter for school fees in May 1889 and January 1890 and the purchase of the National Encyclopaedia at a cost of 12/- in January 1890[24] plus the payment of fees totalling £2/1/8d for J Chandler, Lindfield and Jenkinson in September 1889. Reference to the 1881 Census informs us that William Carpenter aged 33 years; a certificated School Teacher with one assistant was resident at 77 High Street, Lewes. There is no indication as to what William Carpenter was teaching, or to whom, but perhaps, together with the Encyclopaedia, it was for improving the English of the Stonemasons as spelling mistakes on a monument could prove to be very costly, especially if they had to be re-cut.

Local masons were often painters and responsible for the lettered boards of local charities and Creed and Commandment tables that had been statutory church equipment since Elizabeth 1’s enactment.

The firm appreciated the benefit that advertising in the local trade and commercial directories could bring and entries outlining this were found in the Cash Book for 1889 to 1893[25] and include:

Examining the various parishes mentioned in the workbooks during the latter part of the 20^th century helps us to define the “catchment” area of Bridgman’s stonemasons.

It further indicates how large and important the firm was in the local area with work being undertaken in Arlington, Hailsham, Southover, Lindfield, Eastbourne, Herstmonceux, Ringmer, Firle, Glynde, E.Chiltington, Portsea, Newick and of course Lewes. Examples of train journeys undertaken by the workmen are also listed in the cashbooks together with their relevant cost:[26]

Labour costs for the workforce are listed on a regular basis throughout all of the ledger books and indicate the difference between the cost of a Stonemason as against that of an Apprentice, Labourer or Boy as shown in the following examples:

It would appear that prices varied as to the ability of the customer to pay, and the amount of work that was required on a regular or casual basis.

Latter Parsons sawyer, Tim Emmery was paid 2/2d per day in 1794 and Smart was paid £2/13/- for a months work involving the sawing of 180 feet of Portland Stone.[32]

The setting up of a saw was an expensive item costing in the region of 10/-d per time.

A good master attracted loyal service and Latter Parsons who died in 1848 was carried to his grave by ten of his workmen, whose average length of service was over thirty-three years apiece.[33]

In the introduction it was mentioned that the process of becoming a master craftsman often depended on being a burgess - someone who owned a certain type of property in a borough, and Parsons owned a good deal of property in Lewes and the surrounding district.

Monumental Masons

The practice of marking graves with inscribed stones dates back to about the 17th century, as prior to this period, only the gentry and the aristocracy could afford monuments to the deceased either in the form of an effigy or engraved brass plaque on their family tomb, usually situated inside the parish church, whereas most other people were laid to rest in unmarked plots in the churchyard or in a plot with a simple wooden cross as a marker.

During the 17th century, artisan craftsmen and yeoman farmers began to mark graves with stone monuments whilst tombs erected by the gentry and aristocracy began to appear outside of the main church building because of lack of suitable burial space inside.

The first gravestones usually only referred to the person buried beneath it with the inscription taking up the entire stone, whilst the oldest surviving gravestones generally date from around the early 18th century and are to be found on the South side of the church, beyond the area where its shadow fell as superstitions said the Devil entered graveyards at the North and walked in the shade. As a result, early use of the North side was for the graves of unbaptised children, suicides and the insane, - superstitions that died out in the latter part of the 18th century.

Until the development of canals in the late 18th century, and the coming of the railways in the early 19th century, gravestones were usually constructed from local materials; but unfortunately not every kind of stone was suitable for this purpose. Cotswold stone for example weathered badly and Masons had to set brass plaques for the inscriptions into the monuments face, whilst slate was ideal for making tomb stones as it was both durable and easy to work.

The College of Arms was the official body responsible for supervising epitaphs, but its authority declined from the early part of the 17th century and guidelines dating from this period stated that epitaphs should contain "the name, the age, the deserts, the dignities, the good or bad fortunes in the life, and the manner and time of the death of the person therein interred" a formula that was followed mostly by the gentry.

The carvers of these monuments can often be identified by their habit of signing their work, usually at the base of the design, and, although such signatures were rarely cut before the middle of the 18^th century; very few have remained legible, except those cut in the early years of the 19^th century.

In c.1800, the average price from May and Parsons of a typical Sussex head and footstone linked by a stone grave rail, usually made in three different qualities of Portland, cost about £4 to £5, and chest tombs of the simple sort were about £15[34].

The surviving records of Parsons and C.F.Bridgman give many specifications for the building of tombs, materials required, hours worked by the stone mason and others, as well as details of other work done on existing tombs as shown by an entry of September 12th 1840 when C Bridgman took 2 days 2 hours @ 3/6d per day together with Taylor who spent 1 day 3 hours @ 2/4d per day to clean a tomb for N Wimble.

Materials used were 1 gallon of mortar, 1 pint of oil and 1 gallon of sand at a cost of 1/5d plus the labour charges of 10/9d making a grand total of 12/4d.[35]

Often the order book contains a free hand drawing of the monument to be erected as detailed below:

A Portland Stone Tomb with York Stone Curb to be erected in Chiddingly Churchyard complete @ £12/15/-d

Portland Stone Tomb as per drawing erected in Ditchling Burial Ground and to include fixing of same @ £27/0/0d

Prior to 1852, burial grounds were controlled by the Church Vestry, but the Burial Act of that year empowered them to appoint Burial Boards whose responsibility was all matters relating to the control of the burial ground and its monuments.

Churchyard scenes carved on the base of a number of headstones found in the Sussex churchyards of Horsham, Hurstpeirpoint, Shipley, Steyning and Thakeham include both a wooden grave-board with elaborately moulded posts, as well as a Sussex type grave-board with connecting stone rail (the term ‘rail’ being used for the connecting slab) as listed in the early 19^th century account-books of May and Parsons at a cost of just over £5.[39]

On 25th November 1893, Bridgman paid F G Beckett £2/-/d for 2 Water Colour Drawings[40]

Some of the orders contain details of the Inscription that was to be cut into the Headstone as per the following example:

An interesting entry of June 4th 1881 refers to the late Charles Parsons, a past director of the company, and whose tomb in All Saints was cleaned by Bridgman at a cost of 2/- The cost of Bridgmans time in making out the application was £2/-/-d and the engraving of the Inscription and reblocking of the letters cost £2/3/11d; making a total of £4/5/11d[42].

Jul 18th 1921 - Glynde, Memorial @ £170/-/-d plus mans time at unveiling & expenses = 15/5d. Total of £176/6/-d

[1] BRN 01 to BRN 98, East Sussex Record Office, The Maltings, Lewes.

[2] Georgian Lewes, 1993, Colin Brent Books, pp 205 -13, 216 - 221.

[3] Georgian Lewes, 1993, Colin Brent Books, pp ?

[4] Georgian Lewes, 1993, Colin Brent Books,

[5] Cash Book, BRN 80, Bridgman’s Records, ESRO

[6] Cash Book, BRN 80, Bridgman’s Records, ESRO

[7] Classified Accounts, BRN 90, ESRO

[8] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p275

[9] Day Book, BRN 55, Bridgman’s Records, ESRO

[10] Classified Accounts, BRN 89, ESRO

[11] Classified Accounts, BRN 90, ESRO

[12] Private Accounts, BRN 91, ESRO

[13] Ledger Book, BRN 9, ESRO

[14] Day Book, BRN 13. ESRO

[15] Scrap Album, BRN 95, ESRO

[16] Order Book, BRN 70, ESRO

[17] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p276

[18] Day Book, BRN 55, ESRO

[19] Ledger, BRN 7, ESRO

[20] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p58

[21] Day Book, BRN 38, ESRO

[22] Ledger Book, BRN 11, ESRO

[23] Ledger Book, BRN 11, ESRO

[24] Cash Book, BRN 80, ESRO

[25] Cash Book, BRN 80, ESRO

[26] Cash Book, BRN 80, ESRO

[27] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p272

[28] Day Book, BRN 13, ESRO

[29] Day Book, BRN 55, ESRO

[30] Ledger, BRN 6, ESRO

[31] Ledger BRN 7, ESRO

[32] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p272

[33] AMS 5836/4, ESRO, (accounts in private hands).

[34] Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p273

[35] Day Book, BRN 13, ESRO

[36] Day Book, BRN 13, ESRO

[37] Day Book, BRN 14, ESRO

[38] Day Book, BRN 15, ESRO

[39]Burgess Frederick, English Churchyard Memorials, 1963, Lutterworth Press, p148

[40] Cash Books, BRN 80, ESRO

[41] Order Book, BRN 71, Page 155, ESRO

[42] Ledger Book, BRN 10, ESRO