Wilson of Eshton Hall

The Wilson family have been associated with Eshton Hall for over 300 years, from its purchase in 1646 until its sale to the Eshton Hall Education Trust in1960.

This brief pedigree of the Wilson family, showing the descent of the Hall and later the Baronetcy, commences with text taken from A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland with addition information from various other sources. You can also view this information as a Family Tree .

The family of Wilson descends from
ROBERT WILSON, ESQ., of Brigsteare, Heversham, Westmoreland, and Alice his wife. Their son :

MATHEW WILSON, ESQ., became possessed of Eshton Hall by purchase, as above stated. He died in London in 1656, and was succeeded by:

JOHN WILSON, ESQ., of Eshton Hall, who, by his wife Dorothy, was father of, with other younger children:
MATHEW WILSON, ESQ., of Eshton Hall, married June 28th., 1699, Anne, daughter of Timothy Blackburne, Esq., of Blackburne Hall, in Swaledale, Yorkshire, and was succeeded by his son:

MATHEW WILSON, ESQ., of Eshton Hall, baptized October 14th., 1706, who married Margaret, daughter of Henry Wiglesworth, Esq., of Slaidburn, and had, with other issue, his heir:

MATHEW WILSON, ESQ., of Eshton Hall, Barrister-at-Law, born February 12th., l730. He married July 7th., 1759, Frances, daughter of Richard Clive, Esq., of Styche, Salop, M.P. for Montgomeryshire, and sister of Robert Clive, first Lord Clive. By her he left a daughter, Margaret Clive Wilson, who married, first: February 3rd., 1783, the Rev. Henry Richardson, M.A., Rector of Thornton, (who assumed the surname and arms of Currer, and died 10th. November, 1784, 1eaving only a daughter,) she married, secondly, November 20th., 1800, her cousin:

MATHEW WILSON, ESQ., born August 10th., 1772, who thus became of Eshton Hall, and had issue:

SIR MATHEW WILSON, J.P. and D.L., M.P. for the Northern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, born August 29th., 1802, died 1891, created a Baronet in 1874. He married, June 15th., 1826, Sophia Louisa Emerson Amcotts, only daughter and co-heiress of Sir Wharton Emerson Amcotts, Bart., of Kettlethorpe Park, Lincolnshire, by his second wife, Amelia Theresa Campbell, and has a son:

SIR MATHEW WHARTON WILSON, 2nd Baronet, born 20th. March, 1827, died 1909, formerly of the 11th. Hussars, married 13th. November, 1850, Gratiana Mary, only daughter of Admiral Richard Thomas, of Stonehouse, and has a son:

SIR MATHEW AMCOTTS WILSON, 3rd Baronet, JP, 1st. West York Rifles, born 2nd. January, 1853, died 1914, he married, 8th. October, 1874, Georgina Mary , eldest daughter of Richard T. Lee, Esq., of Grove Hall, Knottingley and had a son:

SIR MATHEW RICHARD HENRY WILSON, 4th Baronet, born 1875, died 1958 married Barbara Lister, dau of 4th Baron Ribblesdale and had a son:

Read an article about the life of Peter Cecil Wilson 3rd son of Sir Mathew Richard Henry Wilson 4th Bnt. born 1913 and at one time the charismatic head of the auction house Sotheby's and regarded by some as being the real life James Bond immortalised by Ian Fleming.

SIR MATHEW MARTIN WILSON, 5th Baronet, born 1906 died without issue 1991 with the title passing to the son of his brother, Anthony Thomas:

SIR MATHEW John ANTHONY WILSON, 6th Baronet, born 1935

A more exstensive early Wilson pedigree was included in Whitaker's History of Craven and can be viewed here as a pdf file.

Bibliography:

A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland.
by Rev. Francis Orpen Morris (1810-1893), plates - Alexander Francis Lydon (1836-1917), published by subscription and then as a complete set of volumes in 1880 by William Mackenzie, London.

History of Craven by TD Whitake, 3rd enlarged edition, edited by AW Morant, published 1878.

A History of Eshton Hall by Peter Robinson, written and published for the 2006 Eshton Hall School Reunion.

Some images including the Wilson pedigree © Colin Hinson from the digital version of the 3rd, enlarged edition of TD Whitaker's History of Craven which can be purchased from him along with Thos. Langdales 1822 Topographical dictionary of Yorkshire for £20 including P&P.