5. John and Ann Lambert of Shropshire

The Lambert name is derived from a Germanic first name. It gained popularity in Britain in the Middle Ages with the immigration of weavers from Flanders, among whom St Lambert was a popular cult figure. The name is most common in the North East of England. John (1765) was from a family well-established in the Shrewsbury area of Shropshire.

Shrewsbury is a large market town on the River Severn, and is the county town of Shropshire. The town centre still has a largely unspoilt medieval street plan, and over 660 listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the C15 and C16. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. It's probably my favourite town - my photos are here.

Rowley's House, Shrewsbury (my photo)

The Purslow name probably derives from Parsley. Ann (1760) was also from a Shropshire family.

For the record, and with the usual cautions, my oldest direct ancestors  we know about in this part of the family are: Joseph Lambert (1695), Alice Whiston (1699), Richard Purslow (1683), Richard Hoggins (1642) and Sarah Bucknall (1705).

John Lambert married Ann Purslow in Dawley (now in Telford), Shropshire in 1793. Dawley was, for over three centuries, a mining town, both for coal and ironstone. Clay extraction, for local industrial pipe factories, brickyards and the pottery industry, has been a major influence on the landscape, and on the culture. The area was covered by clay mounds, and large clay pits dominated the landscape. The adjacent village of Horsehay was the site of a bridge factory (later a crane fabrication plant) that exported around the world. There will be more on Dawley and the surrounding area in later chapters.

John and Ann had nine children:

• 35.1.1 - Lucy Lambert (1781)
• 35.1.2 - Elizabeth Lambert (1787)
• 35.1.3 - Mary Lambert (1794)
• 35.1.4 - Mary Lambert (1795)
• 35.1.5 - Fanny Lambert (1796)
• 35.1.6 - Benjamin Lambert (1798)
• 35.1.7 - Jane Lambert (1800)
• 35.1.8 - Juliot Lambert (1802)
• 35.1.9 - Jesse Lambert (1804)

More on these in Chapter 35.

There is significant doubt over the first two children, as they predate the marriage. Perhaps there was another John Lambert in the area (there are none in the 1841 census), or perhaps our John had an earlier marriage.

Lucy is particularly interesting, even if she is - in reality - a more distant relative. She was christened at the church at Pitchford, which is on the estate of Pitchford Hall. Her father may also have been baptised here. By coincidence I visited this splendid house with Save Britain's Heritage in 2019.

Pitchford Hall (my photo)

Pitchford church (my photo), where Lucy was baptised

Pitchford church (my photo)

At least one of John's sons was in the iron trade, and there are records of at least one small foundry in Pitchford. Parts of the historically important iron-framed Ditherington Flaxmill in Shrewsbury, which we visited on the same day, were made there. Its steel framing makes Ditherington (1797) the ancestor, construction-wise of The Empire State Building (1931)(my photos) via Cologne Cathedral (1880)(my photos), and the Home Insurance Building, Chicago (1885).

Ditherington Flaxmill under long-awaited restoration (my photo)

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