My family lived in or near Glastonbury from at least 1760 until my great-grandfather left for Bristol in 1875 and subsequently for London.

 

The Glastonbury Viles

 

 

Glastonbury, a small town in Central Somerset is the site of a famous Abbey, the ruins of which remain, and of Glastonbury Tor, associated with the legendary King Arthur and Avalon. The town was the one of the first places to become a haven for Flemish and Walloon Protestant refugees, settled there by the Duke of Somerset. In 1551 commissioners sent by the Privy Council to Glastonbury found 44 refugee families, amounting to over 200 foreigners.   These people were largely weavers and dyers, although that industry did not long survive. Nearby is the village of Street, which was to outgrow its more famous neighbour in the 19th century by virtue of the development of the shoemaking industry there. Glove making was also a very important occupation, particularly for the women of Glastonbury and the surrounding area. Of course, agriculture was the major activity of the area. The hamlet of Northover is situated between Glastonbury and Street, and the village of Meare is 3 miles to the north west of Glastonbury.

Glastonbury town is divided into two Parishes: St. John the Baptist, and St. Benedict. The latter lies to the South and includes the area known as Hill Head, where many members of the Family were born and died in the 19th. century.  The centre of the town was also highly populated by Viles, particularly Benedict St., Magdalene St., and Northload St., with a few of the more prosperous members in the High Street. The Family in Glastonbury shows an interesting, and no doubt common pattern. From small beginnings in the 18th century it burgeoned in the mid-nineteenth century; there were 43 individuals recorded in the Census of 1861 for the two Glastonbury parishes alone. But it dwindled as a result of death and migration to a handful by the end of the century. In the 1901 census there are only 5 individuals named Vile living in Glastonbury itself. By the end of the 20th. century they are longer to be found there: In the Glastonbury phonebook of 2003 there were none, the nearest being in Butleigh.

 

Where did they come from? My own family came from Seavington St. Mary. Others came from the area of South Petherton in South Somerset, or from Dorset. Before that they may have been in Devon where there was a large contingent of Viles, particularly in Barnstaple and Exeter, from Cornwall where Vial was a common name, or from Hampshire where there are records of Vyles going back to 1496.

 

The Early Stages in Glastonbury

There are three main family groups in Glastonbury in the 18th. and 19th. centuries. They are probably interrelated, almost certainly in the case of the families of Hugh and Julia Vile and Richard and Elizabeth Vile, although I have not yet established that relationship. The earliest references, however, are to the family of Hugh and Elizabeth, married in 1760 in St. John’s Church.

 

 

The Family of Hugh and Elizabeth Vile

In 1760  (Sept. 1) Hugh Vile of Sevington Abbot married Elizabeth Spurlock at St. John’s; the marriage was witnessed by Hugh Vile (father?).  There is a record of a birth of Hugh Vile to Hugh and Betsy Vile at Sevington St. Mary in 1761, and of the burial of a Hugh Vile there in 1763.  In 1762 (Dec. 12) there is the baptism of John, son of Hugh and Elizabeth Vile of Sevington Abbot at St. John’s in Glastonbury, and in  1765  (Jan. 27) the baptism of Sarah, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Vile, of Sevington Abbot.  1786 (Sept. 19) Burial of Sarah Viles. A Bettsy Viles was buried at St. Benedicts aged 77 years in 1819.

 

Clearly the family was connected to Seavington St. Mary, and there were other members of the family there in the late 18th. and early 19th. centuries.  Indeed there are no fewer than twelve references to variants of “Hugh Vile”; first in the records of Seavington St. Mary and later in Glastonbury, whereas I have found only one other reference to a Hugh Vile in the whole of England, at Bishop’s Tawton in Devon in 1745.  The list begins with Hugh Vyle and Hugh Ville at Seavington at the end of the sixteenth century, and ends with the burial of three Hugh Viles in Glastonbury in 1793-4 and 1806.  (A later Hugh Vile was born at Glastonbury in 1815).

1779 (Nov. 24) Burial of Richard, son of Hugh Vile.

1779 (Dec. 2)  Burial of Sarah, daughter of Hugh and Betty Vile.

1790  (21 Nov.) John Vile married Rebecca Bridge. 1791  (Oct. 23)  Baptism of Joseph, son of John and Rebecca Viles. 1796 (June 2) Burial of Rebecca Viles.

1789 (Nov. 20) Baptism of Sarah, daughter of Hugh and Hannah Viles. 1790 (April 18) Burial of Sarah Viles   1794 (Dec.7) Burial of Hannah Vile.  Who was this Hugh Vile, and when and where did he marry Hannah?

 

There are no fewer than three burials of a Hugh Viles recorded within a few years. 1793 (Nov. 20)  Burial of Hugh Viles, and 1794 (Feb. 11)  Burial of Hugh Viles (a pauper) at St. John’s; 1806 Burial of Hugh Viles at St. Benedict’s. I have not yet been able to distinguish between them.

 

The Three Main Families

 

1. Family of Hugh and Julia Viles

 

1790 (Aug. 27) The baptism of James, son of Hugh and Julia Viles at St. John’s Church, Glastonbury. They were my 4x great grandparents. On 23 August 1781 Hugh Vile, a soldier in the Somersetshire Militia married Julian Boldy, sojourner, late of the parish of Shapwick in Somerset, at Maker Parish Church in Devon/Cornwall.  Julian was baptised at Shapwick on 29 August 1761, the daughter of John and Grace Bold(e)y. Hugh and Julian had three children who were baptised at Shapwick: Hugh, 21 April 1782, Sarah, Jan. 7 1785, William, 6 Jan. 1788. They then appear to have moved to Glastonbury where James was baptised in 1790.

 

There are two possible records of births that could be this Hugh Vile. In 1745 a Hugh Vile was born at Bishop’s Tawton in Devon, the “base-born” son of Sarah Vile. I know nothing more of him. In 1761 a Hugh Vile was baptised at Seavington St. Mary, the son of Hugh and Betty Vile, who had been married the previous year at Glastonbury. He would be the obvious person to be the Hugh Vile whose father lived at Glastonbury and always described himself, as of “Sevington Abbotts”. However a note of doubt is introduced by the fact that a Hugh Vile was buried at Seavington St. Mary in 1763.  This could be the infant born two years earlier, or it could be the Hugh Vile who witnessed the marriage of 1760 in Glastonbury, the possible father (or uncle) of the bridegroom.  I tend to think that this is the true explanation, largely because of the subsequent history of Julia(n) Vile, his widow, who moved to Seavington Abbotts, presumably after the death of Hugh Vile in Glastonbury in November 1793.  Another possibility is that this Hugh did not die until 1806, and that Julia moved to Seavington St. Mary around 1795 to have her baby after a scandal.

 

Julia Vile reappears in 1795 in Seavington St. Mary as the mother of a “base born” son, John.  She has two further illegitimate children, Benjamin in 1803, and Pamilia in 1806. Julia Vile made a will in 1829, leaving Water Street Farm in Seavington Abbotts to her daughter Pamila, who had married Thomas Prior on the 16th May 1826. Juliana Vile, widow, died aged 79 yrs. in 1840 (her death certificate gives her age as 85, clearly a mistake), her death being witnessed by Pamela Prior. The extraordinary thing is that Julia would have been 45 years old in 1806 when Pamela was born. Furthermore, what happened to the four children she had had by Hugh?  Did she send them to live with friends or relatives, in Shapwick perhaps, or did the father live on in Glastonbury until 1806?

 

1.1. Family of James and Hannah Viles. James Vile was married to Hannah Amesbury at Meare on 17 June 1811. A son James was baptised at Meare on 1 June 1817: address Westhay, and William in 1820. James (aged 50) and Hannah were at Magdalene St. in 1841, with William (20), and Henry. James Viles, aged 60, was in 1851 lodging at 108 Hill Head, Glastonbury, with William Martin’s family.

 

1.2.1. Family of James and Eliza  Viles

In 1835 James Viles married Eliza Cox at St. Benedict’s. In 1837 the baptism of William, son of James and Eliza Viles is recorded at Street. He is a labourer, and their address is given as Turfmoor(?). In the 1841 census Eliza Viles and her daughter Ann are recorded in Glastonbury, but no husband James. In fact James was in Ilchester Prison in 1841.  In 1851 James Vile, 33, agricultural labourer is reported at 92 Hill Head, with wife, Eliza, aged 39. In 1851 they have four children: Julia Ann, William, baptised 1842 as William Henry, Pamel(i)a (bapt. 1846), and Mary Jane (bapt. 1850, died 1858). In 1853 they had a daughter, Eliza, in 1855 a daughter Elizabeth Ann, who died in 1858, and in 1857 a son John, who lived only 2 months. James Vile is also reported in the 1861 Census, aged 43, at 87 Hill Head.  Julia is there, with William (19), Pamelia (13), Eliza (8), and Elizabeth A. (5). In the 1881 census James Vile (69) and wife Eliza (68) are recorded at Clare’s Buildings. There is the burial of James Vile, resident of Hill Head, aged 81, reported in 1889, and although the ages do not quite match up it is most likely that it is this James Vile.

 

1.2.1.1. Daughter Julia is recorded as having two daughters, Ann in 1857, who died aged 4 months, and Elizabeth Ann in 1860. No father is mentioned in the records.

1.2.1.2.In 1865 Thomas Mills married Pamelia Vile. In 1869 Joseph Martin married Ann Vile. Eliza Vile, daughter of James Vile, married Harry Munden in 1873.

 

1.2.1.3. Family of William and Mary Vile

In 1871 there is another family, that of William Vile, at Hill Head.  In 1871 his age is given as 31, although in 1881 it is given as 34.  His wife Mary is stated to be 28 in 1871, but as 41 in 1881. Sarah A. Lester is listed as “daughter” aged 9 (i.e. born in 1862), together with Edward W. Vile (7), Jesse Vile and Ernest A. Vile (died Feb.1873, aged 2 years).

William Vile was married to Mary Lester in 1868 in the Church of St. Benedict, Glastonbury; she is described as a spinster, and both are resident at Hill Head.  William’s Father is named as James Vile on the marriage certificate, and it seems that this William is the son of James and Eliza. Two children were baptised at a private baptism in Feb. 1873, Ernest Arthur (presumably just before he died), and Charles Henry. In 1876 another Ernest Arthur was baptised, followed by Herbert George in 1879, and Rhoda Elizabeth in 1885. At the same time that Rhoda Elizabeth was baptised so was Mary Jane, although she had been born in April 1864.

The family is listed in the 1881 Census at Hill Head. Sarah is now Sarah A. Vile, and in addition there are William E. (16), clearly the Edward(?) W. Vile of 1871, Jessie, Charles H., Rhoda E., Ernest A.(not the Ernest A. of 1871), Herbert G., and Kate.

They are still at Hill Head, No. 50, in 1901, but now they are listed as Viles. William’s age is given as 55, and Mary’s as 67, which is consistent with the ages given in 1881. Ernest is still there, and a granddaughter, Edith Allday, aged 11.

 

1.2.2.  Family of William and Elizabeth Viles. William Vile, (my great-great-grandfather), was baptised at Meare, on 23 May 1820; address: Glastonbury Heath. He was married to Elizabeth Hawkins on Christmas Day, 1841, in the parish of Street, and both were described as resident there. They were living in Street in 1842 when a daughter Elizabeth was born, followed by Maria, then by William in 1845, Edwin in 1847, Mary Jeannetta Griffiths in1850, and Amina (i.e Annemarie) in 1852.  In 1861 they were living at 108 Hill Head, and had at least 7 surviving children: William (16), Edwin (13), Jeanette (11), Annemarie (9), Ephraim, born at Hill Head, Anne (2), Tom 2 mths. Ephraim was my great-grandfather; he was 6 in 1861.  William Viles of Heath Moor died in 1867, aged 46. His death was notified by “Mena” Vile, probably Annemarie.

 

1.2.2.1.  Family of Ephraim and Martha Vile. Ephraim was married in St. Luke’s Church, Bedminster, Bristol, in 1875, to Martha Annie Cooper. By 1881 he had moved to East London, an area where the family name was already common, to practise his trade as shoemaker, learnt in Street(?), and already practised in Bristol. Where was Ephraim in 1871? In London he had at least two sons, Maurice William, my grandfather, born in Bristol in 1876, and Edward George in 1879.  Martha died probably in 1883. Ephraim was in London in the 1901 census at 7 Rosina Cottages, Hackney. He had remarried to Lizzie Barlow(?), date uncertain.

1.2.3.  Family of Maurice and Mary Vile. Maurice William married Mary Irons in 1900. They had four children: Edward Maurice Vile, my father; Lilly; Jim; and Ada?.

 

2.The Family of Richard and Elizabeth Vile

 

2.1. 1806  Marriage of Richard Vile to Elizabeth Tomer.  1808 (March 30) Baptism of Sarah, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Viles. 1809 (July 19)  Baptism of Triphona, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Viles. They had a son Thomas in 1813, a son Hugh in 1815, and a daughter Betsy in 1819, who died in infancy (Check again). In 1819 they were in Benedict Street. In 1820/21 the burial of Richard Vile, Benedict St., aged 35 years took place.

2.2.1. 1835 Baptism of Charles Viles, base born son of Triphona Viles, Benedict St.  1835 Burial of Josephine (?) Vile, Benedict St., aged 23(?) years.

2.2.2. In 1832 Thomas Vile married Mary Quick. In 1833 Amelia, daughter of Thomas and Mary Vile, Benedict St., was baptised. She died in 1835. Mary died in 1836, aged 21. In 1838 Thomas Vile (24), widower, parents dead, married Ruth Giles (27), Benedict St.

2.2.3. In 1838  Hugh Vile (21), father dead, labourer, married Elizabeth Penny (22), Benedict St.  In the 1851 Census the family of Hugh Vile, 34, agricultural labourer, 28 Benedict Street, also appears, with wife Elizabeth, and sons Thomas (born 1842) and Henry (born 1848); They were then living at Fisher’s Court, Benedict St, although by 1861 they had moved to 104 Benedict St. They had a daughter Charlotte, bapt. 1852. They had a son William, aged 10 in 1861, in 1853 they had a son Edwin, and in 1856 a son, Charles, and in 1859 a son Frederick who died five months later. There are a number of other infant deaths recorded at Fisher’s Court, but not immediately attributable to Hugh and Elizabeth: John Viles in 1841, apparently at birth, Charlotte Viles in 1845 (6 weeks old), William Vile in 1849, aged 2 years, and Charles Vile, in 1851, infant.  If all are included they had a total of ten children, only 5 of which survived more than two years. Hugh Vile died in 1869 at the age of 51. Elizabeth Vile, "widow of Hugh Vile from Glastonbury", died in 1883 at the Union Workhouse in Wells. Her age is given as 59 years, and although this does not match the age of Elizabeth Penney Vile, it is almost certainly her.

2.3.1. Henry Vile, aged 34 was at “Common Lodging House”, Benedict Street in 1881. He is a Licensed Hawker and Common Lodging House Keeper. Ann Browton (36) is his Housekeeper.  Henry Vile, Benedict St., aged 35, died in 1882.

 

3. The Family of Robert and Hester Vile

 

3.1. Robert Vile married Hester (Esther) Vincent in 1814 (Apr. 6). In the record he is stated to be from Stoke Abbot, Dorset. I cannot find reference to him there, but a Robert Vile was baptised on 4 January 1795 at Broadwinsor, Dorset, which is adjacent to Stoke Abbot. (IGI)  In the 1841 census they were recorded at Northload St. He is a baker. Daughter Ann was baptised in 1815, as seemingly was another daughter Elizabeth, William was baptised in 1819, and James in 1821.This family is in the 1851 Census at 12 Northload St. William is described as a tailor. (A William Vile was a Churchwarden at St. Johns in 1850. Film no.1596941).  Son James has disappeared and is replaced by James, a grandson, aged 3. Robert died in 1852. His age is given as 76, which would make his date of birth 1776.

3.1.1. William Vile, aged 42, a tailor, was at 77 Northload St. in 1861, with Mary Ann, his wife, 40, and Ann Vile, daughter, 4.

3.1.2. In the 1851 census James Vile, aged 29, is at 16 Northload St. He is an agricultural labourer, married to Betsey Vile. They have two children, Robert, aged 2, and William aged 1. In 1861 they have moved to 78 Northload St, and they have six sons and one daughter. James (13), Robert, (12), William (11), Samuel (8), Henry (6), John (3), and Hester A. (8months). In 1881 James Vile, aged 59, is at Northload Bridge, a general labourer.

3.1.2.1. James Vile, aged 34 in 1881, and wife Jane at The Armory. He is the Innkeeper. They have a son Albert William Vile (4).  James and Jane are still in Glastonbury in 1901. He is the Hotel keeper at the Mitre, 27 Benedict St.

3.1.2.1.1. Albert is at 3 Avalon Buildings in 1901, married to Annie Gwendoline, with daughter Dorothy Gwendoline, born in 1899. He is a carpenter.

3.1.2.2. Robert Vile, general labourer in Benedict Street in 1881, aged 33, with his daughter Elizabeth (18) and nephew Willie Vile (6), born at Zeals, Wiltshire.