Husband George Beecroft [5822]
Born: 1739 - England, United Kingdom
Christened: 22 Aug 1739 - Otley, Yorkshire, England
Died: 8 Feb 1820 - England, United Kingdom
Buried: 13 Feb 1820 - All Saints Churchyard, Otley, Yorkshire, England 1
FamilySearch ID: LB6N-H6F
Find A Grave ID: 80336511
Father: George Beecroft [12541] ( - )
Mother: unknown [7375] ( -1779)
Marriage: 25 Mar 1775 - Saint Peter, Leeds, Yorkshire, England 2 3
Events
• He was baptized on 22 Aug 1739 in Otley, Yorkshire, England. George Beecroft • He was Methodist.
• Beginning in 1778, he and his wife moved to Kirkstall Forge, Yorkshire, England.
• He leased Abbey House in 1779 located in Kirkstall Forge, Yorkshire, England.
• He died on 13 Feb 1820 in Otley, Yorkshire, England. George Beecroft Events
• Event: Kirkstall Forge acquisition, 1779. The history of the family is bound up with that of the works in a most remarkable manner. Their association with the forge began because a strong-minded woman named Betty Beecroft, whose family married into the Butler family, wanted a new farm. The Beecroft family lived quite close to the forge, farming and carrying on a wholesale butter business, which was managed by Betty Beecroft. In October 1779 she records in her diary that she approached her husband as follows: "George", she said, "I would like to have thee seek a larger farm than this when our lease is up". Her husband replied, "There will be the forge to let and it is under Lord Cardigan, a rare good landlord, but we have no chance. It will take too much money". "Never mind that", said Betty, "We shall do for that, I warrant thee". And she did, for Betty Beecroft decided to work the forge as well as the farm. • Biography: Methodist Magazine 1813, pp.453-460. Eliza Beecroft (1748-1812) was born in Otley, Yorkshire, the daughter of a tanner, John Skirrow. She lost her father in early life and entered into business with one of her brothers. She came under Methodist influence at the age of nineteen and was formally admitted into the Society in November 1767. Skirrow was deeply affected by the preaching of Rowland Hill during his visit to Leeds in 1770 and dated her conversion to about that time. She also started attending band meetings for young women organised by Mary Bosanquet-Fletcher. • She was Methodist.
• Biography: Beecroft, Elizabeth ('Betty') (née Skirrow) Marriage Events
• Marriage: 25 Mar 1775, Church of Leeds, York, England. George Beecroft • Marriage: 25 Mar 1775, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. George Beecroft • Marriage: 28 Mar 1775, Saint Peter, Leeds, Yorkshire, England. George Beecroft Owner of the Beecroft coat of arms. Funeral services were held Aug 1812
Beecroft, George 1775 March 28 of Leeds, (on 1778 of Kirkstall Forge nr Leeds) m. (on above first date) Elizabeth Skirrow native of Otley.
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Name:
George Beecroft
Event Type:
Christening
Event Date:
22 Aug 1739
Event Place:
Otley, Yorkshire, England
Event Place (Original):
Otley, York, England
Gender:
Male
Father's Name:
George Beecroft.
England, Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1547-1957
Event Type:Burial
Event Type Note:
Name:
Age:
Death or Burial Date:
Death or Burial Place:
Death or Burial Place (Original):
Birth Date:
Source Publication Year Range:
Wife Elizabeth "Betty" Skirrow [5823]
Born: 1748 - Otley, Yorkshire, England
Christened: 4 Sep 1748 - Otley, Yorkshire, England
Died: 25 Jun 1812 - Kirkstall Forge, Yorkshire, England 2
Buried: - All Saints Churchyard, Otley, Yorkshire, England 1
FamilySearch ID: MNCB-X64
Find A Grave ID: 80336539
Father: John Skirrow [11242] (1690-1766) 1
Mother: Elizabeth Walsh [14367] (1705-1794)
At that time it was in a ruinous condition, requiring a great deal of money to be spent on it. John Butler, a cousin, supported Betty Beecroft, and his brother, Thomas Butler, was persuaded to put £1,000 into the venture. In 1780, the profit was £172, and by 1785 it had risen to £658 - quite a large sum in those days.
For the first year Betty Beecroft apparently had sole charge of the forge but John Butler used to come there once a week to pay the wages, and after a year Betty was writing in her diary, "Everything generally ordered and decided by John Butler".
She married George Beecroft in 1775 and three years later moved to Kirkstall-Forge where her husband leased an iron works in partenorship with John Butler. Her husband was also a devout Methodist and served as a trustee for two local chapels.
Mrs Beecroft enjoyed a considerable reputation for holiness and corresponded with several other female Methodists of note - one of her letters to Mary Bosanquet-Fletcher survives in the Fletcher Collection in the Methodist Archives. Her funeral sermon in August 1812 was preached by the prominent Wesleyan minister Joseph Benson.
Source: Methodist Magazine 1813, pp.453-460.
1748-1812
Born at Otley and baptized on 4 September 1748, she married a tenant farmer, George Beecroft, of Bramley, Leeds. Showing great enterprise and determination, she persuaded her husband to rent the derelict Kirkstall Forge and this launched a successful family ironmaking business, in which her brother-in-law John Butler played a crucial role.
At the age of 18 she attended a Methodist class meeting and was moved to seek God's blessing, despite her determination not to become a Methodist. She did so nevertheless on 22 November 1767. A committed Methodist from then on, she believed in the providential guidance of her enterprise. Local tradition records that John Wesley once took refuge in the forge from a hostile mob. She is known to have met him in London and to have received his blessing in his closing days. In addition to her entrepreneurial skills, she was remembered for her 'industry, economy, integrity, firmness of mind and inviolable attachment to the Scriptures'.
She died on 25 June 1812.
England Marriages, 1538\endash 1973
Name:
George Beecroft
Event Type:
Marriage Notice
Event Date:
25 Mar 1775
Event Place:
York, Yorkshire, England
Event Place (Original):
Church of Leeds, York, England
Gender:
Male
Age:
25
Birth Year (Estimated):
1750
Spouse's Name:
Elizabeth Skurrow
Spouse's Gender:
Female
Spouse's Age:
23
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated):
1752.
England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887
Name:
George Beecroft
Event Type:
Marriage
Event Date:
25 Mar 1775
Event Place:
Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Event Place (Original):
Leeds, Yorkshire, Yorkshire, England
Age:
25
Birth Year (Estimated):
1750
Spouse's Name:
Elisabeth Skirrow
Spouse's Age:
23
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated):
1752.
England Marriages, 1538\endash 1973
Name:
George Beecroft
Event Type:
Marriage
Event Date:
28 Mar 1775
Event Place:
Leeds Minster, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Event Place (Original):
Saint Peter, Leeds, York, England
Gender:
Male
Spouse's Name:
Elisabeth Surrow
Spouse's Gender:
Female.
Children
1 F Elizabeth Beecroft [12520]
Born: 1776
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: M57F-V27
Spouse: Ambrose Heath [12521] (1773- )
Marr: 21 Mar 1798 - York, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
2 F Nancy Beecroft [12522]
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
3 F Anne Beecroft [5832]
Born: 1777
Christened: 10 Sep 1777 - Chapel of Headingley, Yorkshire, England
Died: 1853
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: LTL5-LP4
Spouse: Thomas Butler [12524] (1778-1831)
Marr: 23 Apr 1801 - Leeds Minster, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
4 M George Beecroft [5826]
Born: 12 Aug 1781 3 4
Christened: 20 Jun 1781 - Chapel of Headingley, Yorkshire, England
Died: 7 Feb 1839
Buried: - St Stephen Church, Kirkstall, Yorkshire, England
FamilySearch ID: K4NB-V76
Spouse: Mary Audus [5827] (1786-1865)
Marr: 13 Sep 1808 - Selby, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
General Notes: Husband - George Beecroft
Beecroft & Butler families Abbey House was leased to the Butler family of Kirkstall Forge in 1779 and members of the Beecroft and Butler families occupied Abbey House on and off until 1883, and then again between 1912 and 1925.
George Beecroft and John Butler were partners at Kirkstall Forge from 1779 and obtained the lease for Abbey House at the same time.
Ambrose Edmund Butler married Isabella Holgate of Liverpool in 1841. The courtship letters written between them from 1837 to 1841 were published in 1939 by their son Hugh Myddleton Butler under the title "A Kirkstall Forge Romance".
Death Notes: Wife - Elizabeth "Betty" Skirrow
Notes: Marriage (Elizabeth "Betty" Skirrow):