52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2022. Week 1/January: Foundations.

 FOUNDATIONS

My initial thought when I saw this week/months theme was wouldn't it be great if I had ancestoral links to the late 60's UK soul band, The Foundations. I couldn't name one of their songs but the name lingered in my memory. But no, there are no links there.

I then thought about foundation stones, many can be found within Methodist Churches, but I cannot think of anyone within my family that could have such a memorial stone, although my Great Grandfather is said to have started a church in London in the 1880s.

But to be honest with you, for this weeks theme I was always going to write about:

PHILIP JAY of Cavendish & Long Melford Suffolk

1780 - 1841

who was involved in the manufacture of foundation garments in the early 1800's.

Philip was a Stay- Manufacturer.

Philip was the eldest son, of those surviving infancy, of Samuel & Mary nee Barnard. He was one of 14 children, although at least 4 of those did not survive to see their first birthday. Philip was baptised on the 3rd of August 1780 at Cavendish, Suffolk, an idyllic village that remains a much photographed classic English village to this day.

Cavendish Green

http://www.foxearth.org.uk/

  

The industies and employment related to Suffolk at this time were Farming, Fishing and Textiles. Broadcloth, had been woven in the area since the 13th/14th century. The local sheep grew a thick short curly fleece, ideal for cloth making. However during the Georgian period the thick felted woollen clothing became less fashionable and the area's manufacturers were looking towards diversifying into silk weaving. Samuel Jay was one of Suffolks woollen manufacturers and when Philip came of age he joined the 'family firm' of cloth manufature.

Philip married Susanna Sparrow in 1802, newspaper announcements of the event indicate that he was a 'Stay Manufacturer'.

A brief History of Stays/Corsets

Stays or Corsets was the name given to for the fully laced bodices worn underclothes from the late 16th- 18th century. All of society wore 'stays', although those worn by peasants were made of leather and never washed. By the early 1800's the heavily boned stays were making way for shorter and lighter boned stays and bust bodices to support the empire line fashions. As the fashions evolved and clothing again necessitated the use of heavily boned, waist sinching undergarments of the Victorian period, so the interchangeable name of stays and corsets for the early undergarments, the name corset became more well known.

From the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection: c.1795-1800

Stays made from cotton twill, lined with linen, bound with linen twill tape and stitched with linen thread.

                         https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138889/stays-unknown/                         

It was around this time that the production in linen became more expensive whilst the cost of cotton was becoming less expensive. The use of cotton in undergarments was becoming increasingly used from the 1810s.

In 1812, the London Gazette published a dissolved partnership between Samuel Jay and his son on 6th Oct, identified as 'woollen manufacturers. Although it would appear that Philip continued within the textile industry, Samuel died in 1816.

The next business event for Philip occurred in May 1820, with the London Gazette that Philip Jay (Stay Manufacturer) was declared bankrupt. Fortunately this was only a short term event as by July 1820, the bankruptcy had been superceded, which suggests that his creditors allowed a percentage of the debt to be paid.

On the  29th of May 1820, Philip and Susanna's youngest child was born, Charles James Jay, he appears to have been their 11th child.

Philip continued in textile manufacturing. In 1822, there was a case at the Old Bailey, whereby Sarah Johnson, aged 19 and Ann Brown, aged 25, were found guilty of theft by pickpocketing. Accused of stealing a pocketbook and a £1 promissory note from Philip Jay, worsted manufacturer of Cavendish, whilst in London. The accused were sentenced to transportation for 7 years.

In 1823, it appears that Philip's business was once again in the news.

Bury and Norwich Post 4th Jun 1823.

It would appear that in a bid to clear his debts Philip sold many of his home effects

From The Ipswich Journal 5th April 1823.

The textile trade in Suffolk was changing, as previously stated the price of linen was increasing cheaper imports of cotton and silk were being imported from India and the Far East and Suffolk manufacturers and weavers were diversifying into silk cloth production. As early as 1770 silk weavers were moving from London to the Sudbury area, but it was the advent of the 19th century, so this new cloth was becoming more prevelent. Perhaps Philip was unable to keep up with the times and this and this new cloth was when his business started to lose money.

In 1830, the electoral roll shows Philip living in Cavendish but by the 1841 census, Philip, Susanna have moved to Cock & Bell Lane in Long Melford, Suffolk. Philip is living by Independent means.

On 31st December 1841, Philip died and was buried at St Mary's church, Cavendish on 7th Jan 1842. His death announcement appearred in the Suffolk Chronicle on 8th Jan 1842.

Philip Jay's will appears to have been written shortly before his death on the 17th December 1841. It is short, unlike his father's, making his wife the exectrix and beneficiary of his estate and effects. A year after his death, on 6th January 1843, Philip's son, Philip was sworn to Administer his father's estate, his mother having renounced the role of Administrator and Exectrix of her husbands estate.

Perhaps a lastling legacy of Samuel and Philip Jay's textile manufacturing history is the number of drapers and merchants of textiles amongst their descendants.