The History Of Hessle Mount

Around 1796, much of the area of Hessle known as North Field, bounded by Heads Lane, Swanland Road and Beverley Road, was divided into five enclosures. Enclosure was the conversion of the open field system of farming into that of enclosed fields by surrounding an area of land with fences, ditches and/or hedges so that what had usually been common land became private property. Enclosure by private Act of Parliament had increased dramatically during the second half of the eighteenth century. These pieces of land changed hands quite quickly, and much of the land adjoining Swanland Road was purchased by Thomas Bentley Locke; indeed, for a time Swanland Road was known as Locke’s Lane. The Locke family had resided in Hessle for many years, probably at the Old Hall, between Back Lane and Southgate. Thomas Locke (Thomas Bentley Locke’s father) was warden of Trinity House several times between 1798 and 1817.

On 5th July 1806, there occurred a conveyance from George Peacock (a timber merchant) and George Popple (a grocer) to James Kiero Watson (a partner in the Hull bank of Harrison, Watson and Pease at 54 Whitefriargate) of “land in a place known as the North Field of Hessle bounded by land of Walter Strickland to the north, land of Robert Galland to the east and by the road from Hessle to Swanland to the south and west. In total 7 acres, 2 roods and 17 perches.” This we can take to be the plot of land upon which Watson built Hessle Mount.

A further conveyance exists, dated 5th April 1813, in which Watson, now described as “of Hessle Mount”, purchased a further 11 acres of land from Galland. Hessle Mount was, therefore, clearly built between 1806 and 1813. Around this time, the grounds of the mansion were laid out to parkland, bordered by a belt of woodland to the north and east sides. This woodland can still be seen today as the north and east edges of the grazing land immediately adjacent to the eastern boundary of the school playing field. Hessle Mount was approached from Swanland Road (the original driveway entrance is still visible today, with two dwellings on the land) and the driveway opened out onto terraced gardens, and the parkland as described. The house was probably very similar in design to the earlier Tranby Lodge, which stood in grounds bordered by Heads Lane to the east and Ferriby Road to the south.

Thomas Langdale’s “A Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire”, published in 1822, lists James Kiero Watson of Hessle Mount, and he continued to reside at Hessle Mount until 22nd August 1826, when the property was sold to the aforementioned Thomas Bentley Locke. According to the conveyance, Locke purchased “the mansion house called Hessle Mount, with the coach houses, stables yard, gardens, plantations and pleasure grounds and the pieces and parcels of meadow and pasture thereto adjoining, in total 36 acres, 2 roods and 25 perches bounded by the road leading from Hessle to Swanland towards the south and west, by land belonging to the Reverend Richard Sykes towards the north and by land belonging to Robert Earnshaw and Daniel Robinson towards the east.” The coach house and stables yard were situated to the north of the main house, beyond the present Mount Bungalow (our Pre-School) next to what is now Rosemount Grange. Indeed, in the immediate vicinity of Hessle Mount there remain dwellings named The Coach House and The Coaching House to this day. Further along Jenny Brough Lane, heading towards the sharp left hand bend, are dwellings named Hessle Mount Farm and Hessle Mount Cottages, each of these properties standing within the original boundaries of the Hessle Mount estate as previously described. (James Kiero Watson died intestate on 18th November 1829.)

Thomas Bentley Locke seems to have also been a partner at the bank (now named) Harrison, Watson and Locke. In addition, he was Sheriff of Hull in 1819, Mayor in 1833 and qualified as a J.P. for the East Riding of Yorkshire on 31st December 1839. He also served as churchwarden of Hessle Parish Church in 1838-1839. On 7th January 1846 Locke’s wife, Mary, died at Hessle Mount. According to the diary of Joseph Pease (who lived at Hesslewood House and was son of the Pease who was partner in H W & P bank) “...the memory of this lady will be long and affectionately cherished by a large circle of friends and especially by the poor of Hessle.” Mary Locke had in 1840 founded a girl’s school for domestic service training, in Swinegate, Hessle.

The census of 30th March 1851 recorder the following as resident at Hessle Mount:

• Thomas Bentley Locke – born in Hull. A widower aged 59 and head of the household. A Magistrate for the East Riding of Yorkshire and a retired banker.
• Thomas Bentley Locke Jr – born in Cottingham. The unmarried son of the head of the household, aged 30. A farmer of 124 acres, employing four labourers (possibly Raisthorpe Farm, near Thixendale.) A proprietor of railway shares.
• Mary Ann Reynard – born in Hessle. The daughter of the head of the household, aged 28. A landed proprietor’s wife.
• Robert Reynard – born at Sunderlandwick. The son-in-law of the head of the household, aged 36. A landed proprietor.
• William Harratt – born in Herefordshire. A widower and house servant, aged 54.
• Jane Wilson – born in Beverley. An unmarried house servant, aged 44.
• Mary Spencley – born in Cottingham. An unmarried house servant, aged 39.
• Eleanor Sanderson – born in Hutton Cranswick. An unmarried house servant, aged 17.
• Henry Izzard – born in Huntingdonshire. An unmarried groom, aged 24.
• Peter Cross – born in Beverley. A married groom, aged 60.
• Mercy Cross – born in Laceby. A married laundress, aged 64.

In his diaries, Joseph Pease recorded on 25th September 1857 that the bank of Harrison, Watson and company had failed. Reading between the lines, it seems that the other partners in this bank - presumably including James Kiero Watson (who built Hessle Mount) and Thomas Locke, father of Thomas Bentley Locke now of Hessle Mount - had split away from Pease’s father in 1793. Thus Harrison Watson and Pease had become Harrison Watson and Locke, located at 54 Whitefriargate, Hull. Pease seemed delighted that the current partners in this bank were ruined. He suggested that J.K.Watson (believed to be the son of the J.K.Watson who had built Hessle Mount) “…must be for ever censured.”

The fallout from the failure of the bank soon caused a sad development. Again, from the diary of Joseph Pease: “To complete the distress occasioned by these failures, Thomas Bentley Locke of Hessle Mount, J.P. East Riding of York, blew out his brains this morning by pistol (1st October 1857.) He was formerly a partner of the bank of H.W. & P., retired in 1831 and gazetted out in 1835. When he retired the bank balance was £14000 which was reduced to £1400 when he was gazetted out and they never had balanced their books after that date. It seems probable Mr. Locke might think himself involved in the bank, and was upset.” Two days later, Pease spoke with Locke’s son and daughter about funeral arrangements “…I recommended at Hessle, and that privately. They, however, judged differently and had a full procession to Hessle Church.”

Hessle Mount passed to Thomas Bentley Locke Jr on his father’s death, and he is believed to have resided at the house until his own death on 30th August 1890. According to the 1871 census, Locke lived at Hessle Mount with a housemaid, a housekeeper, a dairymaid and a groom. He does not appear to have any descendants, certainly not according to his will, and so the Locke family line died with him. His will, dated 19th August 1879, appointed John Henry Burstall and Archibald Utterson his executors. After his death, provision was made for Burstall and his wife Anne to have use of the estate under the provision of the Settled Land Act 1882. Further, a £600 annuity was to be paid to Anne Burstall out of the profits of the estate. Certainly, Bulmers Directory of 1892 lists the owner of Hessle Mount as being Colonel John H Burstall (the Burstalls were another family of long Hessle residence.) A conveyance then exists from Colonel Burstall to an American businessman, Oswald Sanderson, dated 20th March 1901 for “the dwelling house known as Hessle Mount together with the stables, cottages, greenhouses, gardens and pleasure grounds adjoining.” The sum received was £11000.00, and the transaction was approved by Locke’s two executors.

During the late Victorian period, the house was extended to the rear (these additions have since been removed) and other additions were made to the south-east corner of the main building. The stone porch was also added.

Oswald Sanderson secured a £7500.00 mortgage from John Shaw (a Hull merchant) and William Hodgson (of Beverley), with interest payable twice yearly at a rate of 3 ¾%. This mortgage was repaid and released on 19th January 1916. Sanderson was from 1905 the Managing Director of Ellerman’s Wilson Line, then the largest ship owner in the world, and a Director of White Star Line, owners of the “Titanic.” He himself owned a 36’ sloop, “Pyxie”, built in New York in 1892. His position at the shipping line enabled him to travel widely. He and his wife sailed from Liverpool to New York aboard the SS “Oceanic” on 11th November 1903, and an excerpt from the New York Times Social Notes of 2nd May 1921 reads “Mr & Mrs Lloyd B Sanderson of 52 East Sixty-Seventh Street gave a luncheon yesterday for Mr & Mrs Oswald Sanderson of Hessle Mount, Hessle, England” (Lloyd was Oswald’s brother, and also died in 1926.) Another story concerns Oswald addressing a crowd of worried relatives who had gathered outside White Star’s New York offices, that the “Titanic” was safe when he apparently knew nothing of the sort! Further, Sanderson was a passenger on the first voyage, from Belfast to Southampton, made by the White Star liner “Olympic” (sister of the Titanic) after she was refitted following her deployment with the navy during the Great War. Sanderson died on 25th December 1926, and it is not clear whether the main house was occupied after this time.

The next certain event is the sale of the estate by Sanderson’s widow (now resident at 32 Cadogan Place, London) to Benjamin Tyzack (a shipbuilder from Hessle) and his wife Catherine on 1st June 1932. The sale price was £6250.00 (presumably reflecting the depressed state of the country’s economy at this time?) It is interesting to note that separate in the sale description are “those two parcels of grass land adjoining” - it seems that by this point the grazing land to the east of the present boundary was considered as being apart from the main gardens.

The Tyzack’s secured a mortgage of £4000.00 from Sanderson’s executors, enabling them to purchase the title to the property as joint tenants. Subsequently, Benjamin Tyzack died at Hessle Mount on 8th October 1936, and his estate in its entirety passed to his wife. Around the time of the Second World War, the future of the house and grounds was uncertain, and it was proposed that they be acquired for use as a public park. This proposal was subsequently dropped, as was a similar proposal concerning Tranby Park on the western side of Jenny Brough Lane. The £4000.00 mortgage was repaid and released on 7th April 1945, and it is noted that Katherine Tyzack is at this time described as living at The Mills, Pocklington – this perhaps ties in with the public park idea, and that Hessle Mount was unoccupied. It is recalled locally that, whilst troops were stationed at Tranby Park from 1943 onwards, Hessle Mount was used as an officer’s mess.

On 7th April 1945, the property was sold by Catherine Tyzack to John and Ethel Hatfield, market gardeners of Tranby Park, Hessle. The sale price was now £10000.00, and again the two parcels of grassland were described separately. The Hatfields added garaging for cars on 20th May 1946 (believed to be what is now the assembly hall), and sold a parcel of land including the dwelling house situated thereon to George and William Anstead on 20th October 1947. They further sold off 4225 square yards, together with a house situated on it known as The Lodge, to John Wharram on 5th September 1949. This is presumably the lodge house which stood at the original entrance to the estate on Swanland Road, and may indicate the point at which access to the estate was first made from Jenny Brough Lane, via what is now the entrance to Keepers Cottage. The Hatfields then received planning permission to convert existing outbuildings into dwelling houses on 10th April 1951 (possibly the old stables, etc?) In 1956 and 1957, the Hatfields were refused permission for the residential development of 27 acres of land adjoining Hessle Mount (this must refer to what is now the adjacent grazing land, and suggests that this land was still part of the Hessle Mount estate at this time.)

The house was sold by Hatfield on 25th April 1958 to Duncan Ferguson Yuille, a Medical Practitioner, for £3000.00, a price which reflects that the Hatfields retained ownership of the 27 acres of grazing land adjacent, plus the land north of the house on which Mount Bungalow and Rosemount Grange are now located. On 14th July 1964 the property was officially grade III listed (Grade II listing came on 16th May 1988.) Later that year, on 26th August, Yuille sold the house to Brian Charles Tempest Blackburn for £9500.00, who sought and received planning permission to alter the dwelling and to use the building for the storage and repair of automatic coin machines. Blackburn further sold the house to Frederick Elmo Winter, a scrap metal merchant, for £30000.00 on 27th August 1976. Mr. & Mrs. Cutting first viewed the property on the afternoon of 9th August 1978, and later agreed to purchase Hessle Mount from Winter for £42000.00. They took receipt of the keys on 2nd October that year.

On 8th November 1978 Beverley Borough Council granted planning permission for the house to be used as a school. The land immediately east of the property was by now in the ownership of Mr. T Barnett, and was operated as Rosemount Nurseries, but the crescent of land closest to the house was unused. The boundary between the unused land and the house was marked by a privet hedge. It was understood that the previous owners of Hessle Mount had enjoyed informal use of this land.

The first day of school at Hessle Mount was Monday 30th April 1979, and on 11th July that year the first sports day was held. Work commenced on new toilets for the school on 2nd March 1981, and the portable building now known as Room 1 was erected during April 1981.

In January 1984, following consultation with the relevant authorities, the upstairs rooms were brought into use for the first time. Mrs. Riddle was appointed Head Teacher on 4th June 1984, and during January 1985 the rear courtyard area was laid to concrete.

By February 1985 Rosemount Nurseries was in receivership, and on the 19th the receiver agreed to sell to Hessle Mount School the piece of land mentioned earlier, plus an extra 5 yards, for the sum of £5000 – the privet hedge was grubbed out during May 1985 and the playing field as we know it today was created.

Existing outbuildings were dismantled, reconstructed and generally improved to create what are now the main hall and cloakroom during July and August 1985. The old conservatory (which stood where Room 2 now stands) was also demolished. Room 2 was erected during September 1985.

Between 1st and 7th April 1986, the driveway/playing surface was created by lifting away the existing grass area and laying the whole area to tarmac.

The willow trees that follow the schools’ eastern boundary were planted during June 1986. The portable building now known as Room 3 was erected during March 1988, and Room 4 was erected during May 1991. Room 11 (formerly the Pre-School, now the IT Suite) was in use from 6th November 2000 and Mount Bungalow opened as the present Pre-School on 5th September 2006.

A list of owners of the property:

JK Watson 1806/1826 – 20 years
The Locke Family 1826/1890 – 64 years
J & A Burstall 1890/1901 – 11 years
O & B Sanderson 1901/1932 – 31 years
B & C Tyzack 1932/1945 – 13 years
J & E Hatfield 1945/1958 – 13 years
DF Yuille 1958/1964 - 6 years
BCT Blackburn 1964/1976 – 12 years
FE Winter 1976/1978 – 2 years
The Cutting Family 1978/ - 33 years so far