Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Is anything known about James Sprott, who funded the building of All Saints church, Speke in 1871? He seems to have been a sea captain, later in partnership as Fisher & Sprott, shipowners with a London office but having vessels built in Liverpool. By 1871 he was living in Scotland and had died by the end of the century. I have not found him in any local census.

Daggers

Daggers,

I haven't yet found reference of him being a sea captain, I assume this is him and family, with the family connection to Speke Hall.

James Sprot married Mary Watt, 1834, Bishop Burton, York.








1871 Scotland
James Sprott
Age:
67
Estimated Birth Year:
abt 1804
Spouse's name :
Mary Sprott
Where born:
England
Spott
County:
East Lothian
Address:
Spott House
Occupation:
Land Owner
Adelaide Watt, Niece, England

The rest servants.

Bert
You never seem to fail. That must be his marriage in Yorkshire, where the Watt famiy had another estate. It would explain his interest, or his wife’s, in building a church for Speke.
I will look further into his captaincy, if any.
Thanks very much, yet again.
D

It doesn't add much
The Pall Mall Gazette (London, England), Saturday, July 8, 1882
Deaths
Sprot Mr James of Sprott D.L. and J.P. for the County of Haddington at Spott House, Dunbar. July 5

Very similar in the Times from their archive.

There's a snippet in the Aberdeen Weekly 1876 which will likely add to the confusion,

Owner Captain James Sprott of Harrington, Cumberland, loses ship, etc.

I wonder if he had his fingers in a pie there.

There's also book, may be available at the library.

"The Lost World of Fisher & Sprott's Mere Line: Cumberland-Liverpool-London"

Bertieone wrote: ↑

05 Dec 2018 17:20

There's also book, may be available at the library.

"The Lost World of Fisher & Sprott's Mere Line: Cumberland-Liverpool-London"

There's one listed in the Central Library catalogue.

Excellent and worth getting hold of. Thanks once more.
D

I can add a little about James Sprot(t). He was an uncle or great uncle of Miss Adelaide Watt, last private owner of Speke Hall. She was visiting him in East Lothian when the 1871 census was taken, and it seems fitting that he funded the building of All Saints church in Speke, close to the Hall.
D

Daggers,

Not sure this will help with James Sprot/t but gives his relationship to Adelaide Watt, he was her legal guardian.
Hope it is of use.

http://spekearchiveonline.co.uk/miss_watt's_letters.htm




These pages contain the letters of Miss Watt, the last owner of Speke Hall and the Speke Estate. They will be added to as time allows. Please click on the links below to view the letters by year.

Spott is a village of Haddingtonshire, 3 miles away from Dunbar, Scotland. Miss Watt bought the estate of Spott, while she had Speke Hall, for £65,000. Spott House is a little way outside the village at the base of Doon Hill, it commands beautiful views to Bass Rock and the Isle of May. An old building greatly improved by James Sprot (1804-1882). James Sprot married Mary Watt, he was a great friend of Richard Watt who he met at Oxford. Richard Watt died young leaving his daughter Adelaide, with James and Mary having no children before he died Richard asked James to be Adelaide’s guardian when she was 9 years old. She moved to Spott House to live. She was a shy, gentle and affectionate person.

Gray

Gray
Thanks very much for that clarification. I have dipped into the Speke archive site from time to time and there is much interesting material there.
Daggers

Daggers,

Cambridge Alumni : Born 14/1/1804
Name: James. Sprot
College: TRINITY
Entered: Michs. 1823
BORN: 14 Jan 1804
Died: 1882
More Information: Adm. pens. (age 19) at TRINITY, May 14, 1823. [2nd] s. of John [of Clapham, Surrey] (and Mary, dau. of Benjamin Yule, of Edinburgh). B. in Edinburgh, Jan. 14, 1804. School, Gloucester. Matric. Michs. 1823. Adm. at the Inner Temple, Jan. 26, 1826. Of Spott House, Dunbar, E. Lothian. J.P. and D.L. Married, May, 1834, Mary, dau. of Richard Watt, of Bishop Burton, Yorks., and Speke Hall, Lancs. Died in 1882.


1841 Scotland census:
Parish Spott
ED:1; Page 9; Line 840

address: Sprott Pl. East Lothian

Esq. James SPROT aged 35 born England
Occ: Ind.
Mary Sprott c 1820 England
I assume Mary is his wife? Does not give relationship. A fair bit younger than him.
There are a number of occupants in the house again does not give relationships.


1881 Scotland Census
Parish Spott Ed 2 Page 1 Line 7
Roll C sst1881_306

Address : Spott House

James SPROT 77
occ: Landed proprietor
Born: Clappim England (assume this means Clapham)

Charlotte Fane sister in law aged 65 born Burton So Bishop ?
Adelaide Watt born abt 1858 Speke Hall England

A number of house staff.

Hope this is useful.

Gray

Daggers,

A few snippets to add to the story.

Captain John Sprott on the Airey Force 1873:- http://marinersandships.com.au/1873/09/020air.htm

A basic search with Sprott :- http://marinersandships.com.au should yield 23 references to surnames and a ships name.

One of many Australian newspaper articles on the wreck of the Mallsgate:- https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146676619

Middleton Reef:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleton_Reef
________________________________________________________________________
Louis
Member 8426

Thanks to both of you. Quite a picture is building up. I shall have to see if captain John was a brother of James, and there may have been confusion about “Captain James”.
They are not family, but James appears in local history and it is always good to tidy loose ends.
D

I hope you are going to publish a book about all these local "loose ends" you have done so much research into.

Thanks, Mary. 'Loose Ends' would be a good title, but who would want to read about my stumbling about on the edges of knowledge???
D

If there was an index of all the names mentioned in it, it will likely get quite a number of look-sees at least.

How about a couple of entries for the Journal then?

Back to the original topic:
Captain John Sprott, sea captain and later shipowner is a different man from John Sprot(t), guardian of Miss Adelaide Watt of Speke Hall.
I can now separate them after reading the book, mentioned earlier, by David Hollett, and they do not appear to be related.

Thanks to all for your contributions.
Daggers