National Portrait Gallery Photographic Collection

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Among the treasures of the National Portrait Gallery is this 1929 print of Sir Howard d'Egville by Walter Stoneman. This photograph was probably taken as part of Stoneman's project to create a national photographic record. Prints are available for purchase.

Peter d'Egville And The Forty Thieves

While trying to discover which d'Egvilles were living in Paris in the first years of the nineteenth century I found evidence of a collaboration between Michael Kelly and Peter d'Egville in London during 1806. A simple reference to Songs, duets, trios, chorusses, &c. &c. &c. in the grand operatical romance of the Forty thieves : first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, April 8th, 1806 published by C. Lowndes of London possibly provides us with some illumination on Peter's later life.

Michael Kelly
Frontispiece (engraved by Henry Hoppner Meyer (1782?–1847) from a drawing by Abraham Wivell) to Michael Kelly, Reminiscences of Michael Kelly...2 vols (London: Henry Colburn, 1826).

Michael Kelly (1762-1826) was an Irish tenor, composer and theatrical manager. Mozart wrote the roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro for him. He became principal tenor at the Drury Lane theatre and, in 1793, acting-manager of the King's Theatre Haymarket.

The catalogue information needs to be checked because at this date I would have guessed that any collaboration is more likely to be with James. If the attribution is correct then Peter is in London in 1806 and still active as a choreographer. Fewer than one hundred copies of this work have survived in various libraries throughout the world. I've added it to my "to do" list for my next visit to Oxford.

Une Académie De Danse

Mais le lendemain, et pour rien, j'en éprouvai
un bien vif à voir chez lui M. Degville, excellent
maître de l'école de Gardel. Vingt carrosses à sa
porte, et dans ses élégans salons, trente à quarante
jeunes personnes des premières maisons d'Angle-
terre, m'annoncèrent une académie de danse telle
que je n'en connaissais point encore. Les femmes
seulement, ou tout au plus quelques proches parens
des élèves, sont admis à ces réunions, Deux harpes
une basse, deux violons, sans compter celui du
maître, jouent les exercices les gavottes, les pas
de deux, de quatre, de huit, et enfin la contre-
danse ou walse générale. Des rafraîchissement
ofierts par madame Degville, femme modeste et
spirituelle, terminent cette joyeuse leçon, où cha-
cune aspire à se rendre, tant pour apprendre à
bien danser que pour dire que l'on y danse avec
les jeunes ladys telles, telles.... qui, dans cette
occasion, veulent bien déroger, mais sans tirer à
conséquence; c'est-à-dire, sans que la fille d'un
baronnet puisse jamais être invitée chez sa com-
pagne, fille d'un noble lord la connaissance et
l'amitié ne passent pas les portes de l'académie.

Souvenirs de Brighton, de Londres et de Paris; et quelques fragmens de littérature légère.

Amélie Julie Simons-Candeille. 1818

But the next day, and for nothing, I felt very keen to see at home Mr. Degville, excellent master of the school of Gardel. Twenty carriages at his door, and in his elegant rooms, thirty to forty young people of the first houses of England, informed me such a dance academy as I have not known. Women only, or at most a few close relatives of the pupils are admitted to these meetings. Two harps, a bass, two violins, not counting the master's, play the exercises, the gavottes, the pas de deux, de quatre, de huit and finally the contre-danse or waltz. The refreshments offered by Mrs. Degville, a modest and spiritual woman, end this happy lesson, where each one aspires to go, less to learn to dance well than to say that one dances there with such, such .... young ladys, who on this occasion, are willing to condescend, but without consequence. That is to say, that the daughter of a baronet can never be invited to to the home of her companion, daughter of a noble lord: the acquaintance and friendship do not pass the doors of the academy.

Amélie Julie Simons-Candeille (1767-1834) was a celebrated and multi talented woman. Composer, librettist, writer, singer, actress, comedienne, and instrumentalist; although only one of her works for the stage survives today. Her memoir of travels through England has some incisive observations. This example describes how James Harvey d'Egville's lessons provided a temporary opportunity for social barriers to fall.

Amélie Julie Simons-Candeille
c. 1810

Joe Manton's Shooting Gallery

A Pair of flintlock duelling pistols by Joseph Manton

Joseph Manton, whose address is given for further particulars of Mrs d'Egville's coach to Paris, was the foremost gunsmith of his day. He experimented with rifling, cartridges and improving the lock mechanism. His duelling pistols had the innovation of added weight at the tip of the barrel that compensated for recoil and allowed deadly accuracy. At the Davies Street address was a shooting gallery where the rich and famous would compete in shooting at a wafer.


(Gronow, 1862)

Although the fashionable congregated at the shooting gallery and the coach was a novel venture, because I have a nasty and suspicious mind, I immediately wondered whether Mrs d'Egville's establishment in Montmartre might be the sort of out-of-the-way place one might send one's pregnant hussies.

Rees Howell Gronow Reminiscences of Captain Gronow, formerly of the Grenadier Guards and M.P. for Stafford, being Anecdotes of the Camp, the Court, and the Clubs, at the close of the last War with France, related by himself (1962)

Madame Dagueville's Last Performances

Medea and Jason [1] Thursday 26 August 1784

Almost all of the theatre advertisements from the eighteenth century omit forenames. Consequently we can't be sure of the identity of the Madame Dagueville  who danced in the role of Medea. In this pantomime there would have been a transformation scene in which the characters of Greek mythology were transformed into the Harlequinade. Mother Shipton is said to have ultimately developed into the pantomime dame.

If the dancing master with his practice in Ipswich is d'Egville senior then he must have married at least twice. Mr Dagueville refers to himself as former principal dancer at the Opera House in some of his local advertising material. His wife died in childbirth on Monday 10 May 1779. We know that d'Egville senior continued to be active in London but this doesn't necessarily mean that the two men aren't one individual. Dagueville of Ipswich had a business partner who could have taken over his pupils when he was in town.

The Essex Chronicle 14 May 1779
The British Library Board

Its implausible that the Madame Dagueville who danced in the role of Medea is Catherine Berry (wife of James Harvey d'Egville) as they didn't marry until 1792. Neither can she have been either of Peter's known daughters. Madame Dagueville disappears from the advertisements in the latter half of the seventeen-nineties.

[1] Willaim Van Lennep, The London Stage, 1660-1800 Part 5, 1776-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainment & Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-Reciepts and Contemporary Comment (SIU Press, 1970)

James Harvey d'Egville's Art Collection

The Morning Chronicle 29 June 1820
The British Library Board

I apologise for the quality of the image; the left-hand side has been lost in the digitisation process. I haven't looked into why James might have moved out of Great Marlborough Street and sold at least part of his art collection.

It would be interesting to try and discover what became of some of these paintings and their provenance. The collection appears to contain some important pieces. For example, Gapard Dughet (1615-1675) was known as Gaspard Poussin because he was Nicolas Poussin's pupil and brother-in-law. His Italianate landscape with goat herders was sold by Sotheby's for £12,500 in 2010.

While being "Old Masters" they aren't the most desirable or most expensive in today's market. In 1820 they might have had greater relative value or, for all I know, have been used as tinder.

If "Aglio" is Agostino Aglio it is possible that he was part of James' circle. Aglio worked in the decoration of theatres, churches and country houses in England and Ireland. Jame's son, James, who became a watercolourist worked in the studio of Augustus Pugin. His home must have provided some inspiration and might have provided role models for his future career.

Killed By A Pin

The Nottinghamshire Guardian 22 December 1900
The British Library Board

Infant mortality reached its peak in England and Wales in the 1890s. Although water and sanitation were improving and compulsory vaccinations had begun there were no antibiotics. Death in infancy affected most families and wealth provided little protection. As one of George Harvey d'Egville's descendants Minnie was likely to have been born into straitened circumstances.

The Invisible George

After George Harvey d'Egville relocated to Atherstone his presence in the archives becomes almost invisible. Louis, Sophie and James are apparent in their many column inches of advertisements and publicity. I'd attributed this to the destruction of the smaller circulation local newspapers but I'd begun to wonder whether he did anything other than father a large number of children.

This substantial advertisement that appeared in the Northampton Mercury is not unusual so far as dancing academies are concerned and it is difficult to establish who is really really a d'Egville. I'd consigned it to file of possibly fraudulent dancing teachers but I've reconsidered it because it might be George.

George certainly was a dancer at the Opera House although I'm unaware of any records associating him with the Royal Academy in Paris. One thinks of Atherstone being isolated but Lutterworth is only eighteen miles away on a direct route along Watling Street.

The Northampton Mercury 21 November 1829
The British Library Board

Mrs d'Egville's Establishment In Montmartre

The newspapers are full of advertisements by the enterprising d'Egvilles - I have a very low tolerance of boredom - but when I saw this one I did a cartoon double take. It provokes so many questions.

The Morning Chronicle 9 September 1802
The British Library Board

War with France was the default situation for Britain throughout much of the eighteenth century. The term The Second Hundred Years' War is used to describe the period from 1689-1815 by some historians. The longest interlude of peace lasted from 1713-1740. But on 25 March 1802 Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens and the War of the Second Coalition came to an end. This particular war - along with the War of the First Coalition - had been an attempt by the European monarchies to counter the revolution in France.  

Peace was short lived because Britain declared war again on 18 May 1803. Despite strong anti-French feeling in England France remained a cultural centre. The column also contains an advert for a school in Tournay. Mrs d'Egville doesn't appear to be offering any specific education so the nature of the establishment is unclear. It might almost be a 'bin' for unwanted young women. James d'Egville is certainly the ballet master because this address appears in other adverts at this date.

This was, perhaps, not the carriage's only journey. In the "Fashionable World" column of The Morning Post on 15 April 1802 it was reported that,

The first and only carriage sent to Paris from this country, since the signing of the Definitive Treaty, arrived there a few days ago. It was built by Mr. THOMPSON of Mortimer-street for Madame D'EGVILLE, a French lady of large fortune.

The identities or identity of Mrs and Madame d'Egville are anybodies' guess.

The Death Mask Of The Princesse de Lamballe

I've noticed from the statistics that many casual readers arrive at this blog after searching for the death mask of the Princesse de Lamballe. It seems macabre to want to view a remnant of a woman who met her end in such violent and inhumane circumstances.

Madame Tussaud was commissioned to make death masks of some who were murdered in the Terror but none are known to survive. The Tussaud collection endured a shipwreck in 1822, the Bristol riots of 1831, a fire in 1925 and was bombed in the Blitz of 1940.

This portrait was sketched on the day of her murder by Gabriel. She looks younger than her 42 years.

Discord Takes The Lead Of Harmony

The Ipswich Journal 14 October 1786
The British Library Board

I wonder how many children from each school attracted a crowd comprising of almost 200 friends and relations? And talk about pushy parents? This lot jeered the children from the floor. Today we would probably have been able to watch it on YouTube or somebody would have pocketed a couple of hundred quid by sending the video to a television show.

Peter d'Agueville - Car Booter

When I told my colleague Lacyee that I'd found a second advertisement for an auction at Peter d'Agueville's house she said, "He seems a bit of a car booter our Pierre." I wonder whether the first sale even took place because the items listed seem similar but for the absence of a piano.

Ipswich Journal 22 September 1792
The British Library Board

It appears that Mr d'Agueville has by this time already moved on from Hatton Court. However, he has lately occupied the house and isn't the late occupant. It doesn't necessarily even mean that he has left Ipswich.

Ipswich Journal 16 May 1778
The British Library Board

In the Ipswich Journal for Saturday 16 May 1778 advertised the sale of an estate situated in Ipswich. Lot iv is a freehold messuage with a bricked sashed front, "late in the occupation of Mr. Dagueville." Unlike many other d'Egville properties it was obviously unsuitable for a dancing school. Balls were held in the assembly rooms and he seems to have taught at various locations.

If Mr. Dagueville moved from the area of Saint Mary's Church in Stoke Street to Hatton Court then he upped sticks for new home little more that ten minutes walk away.

Sophie d'Egvilles Last Appearance In London

To date I haven't found an appearance by Sophie on the London stage much later than this extravaganza by James. This heroic pantomime cost Drury Lane some £7,000 to produce.

You will notice that Miss d'Egville appears twice on the billing. While admitting the possibility of other explanations it seems likely that these are Sophie and Fanny. This is three years after Peter d'Agueville's auction was forced by relocation from Ipswich in 1792.

The capitalisation is copied directly from the magazine so it is interesting that while Georges' name appears in small capitals neither of the Misses d'Egville merit this billing. Perhaps it was almost time to try something new for Sophie.

It is worth reading some of the other articles in the Freemasons' Magazine for February 1795 because they give a real sense of the instability in the Europe for which Sophie was shortly to embark. A good analogy might be that one decides to go and get a job in Paris some time after Dunkirk in 1940.

Feb. 12. The long-expected heroic Pantomime of D'egville's—"Alexander The Great, or, The Conquest OF Persia," made its entre at Drury-laneTheatre.

In this Ballet, which certainly exceeds every thing of the kind ever exhibited on an English Theatre, the magnificent splendour of scenery and decorations are happily and ingeniously blended with all that strength of interest which fine action must ever excite. The characters are as follow:

MACEDONIANS.

Alexander, - - Mr. J. D'Egville.

Hephestion, - - Mr. Aumer.

Clytus, - - Mr. Dubois.

Perdiccas, - - Mr. Fairbrother.

Parmenio, - - Mr. Phillimore.

Ptolemy, - - Mr. Caulfield.

Attalus, - - Mr. Benson.

Eumenes, - - Mr. Bland.

Philip, - - Mr. G. D'Egville.

Officers, Guards, Attendants.

AMAZONS.

Thalestris, - - Mrs. Fialon,
Miss Collinse, Miss Heard, Miss D'Egville, Miss Redhead, Miss Stagledoir. Miss Stuart, Miss.Tidswell, Mrs. Bramwell.
PERSIANS.
Darius, - - Mr. Fialon.

Son of Darius, - - Master Menace.

Oxathres, - - Mr. Boimaison.

Memnon, - - Mr. Webb.

Arsites, - - Mr. Maddocks.

Spithridates, - - Mr. Banks,

Raesaces, - - Mr. Lyons.

Sysigambes, - - Mrs. Coyler.

Parisatis, - - Mrs. Hedges.

Artemisia, - - Mrs. Butler.

Statira, - - - Miss J. Hillisberg.

High Priest of the Sun, Mr. Roffey.

Satraps.

Mr. Kelly, jun. Mr. Evans, Mr. Brady, Mr. Caulfield, jun. Mr. Powel, Mr. Creed,

Attendant Females.

Miss Brooker, Miss Phillips, Miss Daniels, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Hasley, Miss Chatterley, Miss Grainger, Mrs. Jones, Miss Menage, Miss D'Egville.

 Priests and Persian Army.

Lampooning James

Figaro in London was a satirical paper and a predecessor of Punch. This non-too-flattering portrait of James was published on Saturday, 30 April 1836.

James' pupils had been the subject of public conjecture for at least thirty years now. Some of his ballets may not have been as straight forward as they at first appear. For instance La Cruche Cassée - performed on 7 January 1826 - really has little to do with broken jugs. The subject of the 1771 painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze would have been familiar to most sophisticated gentlemen.

Morris does not know what to be up to. He has been told that he is a twaddling manager of the old school, and that the old school will no longer do,—a truth that his considerably diminished coffers have for the last few seasons been painfully teaching him. He has been in the habit for the last sixty years of playing old comedies, and laying out nothing but a few shillings now and then for a yard of white satin, to give a fresh lining to Mr. F. Vining's old light comedy coat; and every time he has fresh lined this said coat, he has fancied himself very liberal, and hugged himself in his own conceit as an enterprising manager. Latterly, he has discovered that nobody comes to his theatre, and, as his receipts have diminished, he has refused even the satin lining to his actors coats; but though he has discontinued trimming their coats, the critics have been very active in trimming their jackets. However, at last, having grown desperate by repeated losses, he lugs out Winston, kicks out F. Vining from the stage-managership, cuts a caper round his own stage, and, in a paroxysm of poignant agony, takes apas seul down to the house of D'Egville. 'Damme,' says Morris, 'I'm ruined if I don't have a ballet at the Haymarket;' and he gave a faint pirouette, which ended in his slipping down flat upon some oil-cloth, under the ex-dancing master's sideboard. D'Egville, having picked him up, cut a few useless and empty capers, poised himself upon one foot clumsily, and threw out his arms like the sails of a ricketty windmill. 'I'm your man' cried the danseur of former days; ' I'll get up ballets.' Morris clutched at the bait, and thought that, in securing poor old D'Egville, he had ensured all the splendour of spectacle, and all the allurements that the train of Terpsichore can offer. D'Egville engages a few of his own pupils, gives them a few French names, and mixes up with them a few of the old stout and sturdy shilling per night Coryphees of some of the miner theatres. The superannuated couple think, by this trick, to make people believe that they have got a French ballet at the Haymarket. No such thing. The corps is as wretched a mixture as four-shilling tea, and they waddle about the stage as clumsily as bugs on a bolster. Morris cannot manage with spirit, even if he were to try ; and his effort to compete with the King's Theatre in the ballet department is about as good a joke as Hunt's putting up for Westminster against five other candidates. Morris had better stick to the payment of his salaries, without attempting the wretched farce of trying to earn them. If he wishes to make money he must let his theatre, but if he likes losing his cash he has only to keep it open. In these days ofmanagerial activity and competition, such a twaddler as Morris ought to have nothing lo do with a theatre, and we very much fear the experience of the season he has just commenced will give him good reason to agree with us. The most judicious thing he has done is to take half-price, but, as an act of justice, he should do so at the very commencement of the performance. What he means by engaging poor Russell as stage-manager we cannot divine. The fact is, that Morris has got about him more twaddlers of the old school, if possible, this season than any previous one.

Poems On Various Subjects

Among the notes on one of my various defunct laptops was this reference to Peter d'Egville. He appears among the list of subscribers to Poems on Various Subjects by John Taylor Esq. This work was published in two volumes in London in 1827. I haven't been able to move beyond the first poem - but Byron did write to the author on at least one occasion. I can't imagine how I could listen to a reading without gnawing through my own limbs.

Being so late it is difficult to believe that it was Peter d'Agueville/d'Aigueville because at the very least he would be almost ninety years old. However, some people did manage to live to a ripe old age. Having found the reference I will have to go back to the tree in case he's among the fruit. All suggestions and identifications are welcome. There are many references and dedications among the poems to Peter d'Agueville's contemporaries.

It does tell us two things: he had sufficient disposable income to subscribe to the work and he lives at a reasonably good address. There are modern buildings in Percy Street but some of the architecture from Peter's time has survived.



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Misprint In The Graphic

The Grauniad are not the only rag to make the odd mistake. The Graphic's review of Pittore e Duca (4 February 1882) performed at Her Majesty's Theatre by the Carl Rosa Company refers to Herbert d'Egville's efficient performance. However, unless there were two d'Egvilles in the Carl Rosa Company this is likely to be John Hervet d'Egville.

John Hervet d'Egville as the Mikado

John spent to years with the Carl Rosa Company before moving on to the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Now Herbert is added to my list of synonyms for Hervet fate will likely conspire in compounding my reputation as an idiot by revealing Herbert d'Egville of the Carl Rosa Company.

The Frustrations Of Pierre d'Aigueville's Timeline

Among some of the first data about a Peter/Pierre d'Aigueville to show up on the Internet was a marriage record held by FamilySearch. A Peter Hervez Daigueville married Margaret Benton at Saint Mary's Church, Portsea, Hampshire, on 19 December 1774.

The Hampshire Chronicle 4 October 1773
The British Library Board

In October 1773 Mr and Mrs Daigueville were performing at the theatre in Southampton and Mr Daigueville's teaching practice was based at a girls' boarding school.

Elizabeth Armstrong was a longstanding pupil and is listed among "scholars of d'Egville". She had certainly been on the stage since the age of six when she danced at Sadler's Wells in the autumn of 1769. At the time of the performance in Southampton she was no more than ten years old.

For Peter, the father of James Harvey d'Egville, to have married Margaret Benton in Portsea in December 1774 the Mrs Daigueville on the bill would have to have died sometime in the next twelve months. But at his benefit in May 1775 his wife danced in the role of Boadicea Queen of Britain assisted "by her two daughters."

Peter often seems to have spent extended periods in the provinces as he danced in Bristol in 1776. For him to have been in Southampton - a city of some importance - would not be unusual for a performer based in London.

After James returned to England at around the time of the French Revolution it becomes increasingly difficult which d'Egville is referred to in the bills and advertisements. It is consequently difficult to identify the woman referred to as Madame d'Egville.

The Daigueville who left a well furnished home in Ipswich in 1791 remains tantalising. In another coincidence Peter's daughter Sophie disappears from the English scene shortly afterwards.

Assault In The Mirror

The gossip from the Opera House reflected in The Monthly Mirror for October 1807 reveals a more complex background for James' assault on Mr Waters than was reported in The Morning Post the following year.  

James dispute with Waters must be seen in the context of a struggle for ownership of the Opera House between Waters and Mr W. Taylor. Waters owned almost half of the shares in the Opera House and held a mortgage for the controlling percentage of the shares owned by Taylor. The labyrinthine legal proceedings in this matter which would ultimately last for decades began in June 1808.

The Monthly Mirror for October 1807.

Dido And Aeneas At The Opéra Comique

If you still haven't forgiven your loved-one for failing to fulfil your Valentine's Day expectations then he or she can redeem themselves by taking you to Paris for one of the performances at the Opéra Comique's Festival Dido and Aeneas.

This isn't quite a d'Egville related post but I support the Opéra Comique and other theatres and companies loosely connected to the family.

FESTIVAL DIDO AND AENEAS

DIDO AND AENEAS

OPERA in a prologue and 3 acts by Henry Purcell
Libretto by Nahum Tate
First known performance in December 1689 at the Boarding School for Girls in LondonWilliam Christie
Jonathan Cohen
Deborah Warner
Les Arts Florissants

7 PM and 9.30 PM / Monday 5, Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 March 2012

Presentation of the work 40 minutes prior to each performance

Prices B: € 108, 87, 65, 40, 15, 6
Salle Favart

Assault At The Opera

I love this story because of its slapstick quality. Life at the Opera was often turbulent.

The assault took place on 24 October 1807 but it did not come before the Court of the King's Bench until 16 February 1808 so today is the anniversary of the trial. 

James had to pay £5 in damages to Waters - this doesn't seem an extraordinarily large sum but at the time an agricultural worker might earn £40 per year.

Morning Post 17 February 1808
British Library Board

Georges Bizet

On 4 February 1882 The Graphic carried a review of Balfe's Pittore e Duca performed at Her Majesty's Theatre by the Carl Rosa Company.The performance was received with great applause by the crowded audience despite Madame Valleria's cold but the review was not without reservation.

Herbert d'Egvilles efficient performance was recognised and his relationship with Georges Bizet was specifically mentioned. Herbert is identified as Bizet's cousin no less.

The Graphic 4 February 1882
The British Library Board

Helen C. Black's Pen, Pencil Baton and Mask: Biographical Sketches (1896) (see The Legend of Roma Guillon Lethière) mentions that Madame Michau, née Sophie Hervé d'Egville, was first married to Captain Augustus Bizet. Bizet is not an uncommon name either in the United Kingdom or France but other parts of Roma's legend have turned out to be true although they originate in tragedy.

Spring Assizes At Derby

The Derby Mercury 19 May 1886
The British Library Board

A Serious Charge

Nottingham Evening Post 3 April 1886
The British Library Board

d'Egvilles of Ipswich

In Tales, Poems and Masonic Papers by Emra Holmes (1877) [1], a commentary on the minutes of the British Union Lodge, Ipswich, records that Peter Dagueville was proposed for initiation on 4 March 1783. The spelling is similar to that used when Peter dAgville signed his name. 

Peter's membership of the British Union Lodge might have only lasted a short time as Holmes says that he has disappeared from the list of members for 1786-87.

In March 1791 Peter announced that he would be leaving Ipswich through an auction advertisement in the Ipswich Journal. Hatton Court still exists, off Tavern Street, leading towards the Churchyard of Saint Mary-le-Tower.

Ipswich Journal 26 March 1791
The British Library Board

However, Peter might not have left Ipswich or if he did so he might have left his progeny behind. In 1809 the marriage of Miss d'Egville of Ipswich to Ensign Deighton of the West Norfolk Militia was announced in the Bury and Norwich Post. Peter is likely to have been too old to be the Peter d'Egville charged with riotous conduct in 1843.

Bury and Norwich Post 26 April 1809
The British Library Board

Interestingly Sophia Hervey d'Egville (Madame Michau) disappears from the English scene in about 1795 to reappear in Paris. We know that there was at least on other d'Egville there in the first decades of the nineteenth century.  


[1] Tales, Poems and Masonic Papers by Emra Holmes (1877)Masonic Papers, Notes on the old minute books of the British Union Lodge, No. 114, Ipswich. A.D., 1762.

I Predict A Riot

On Monday 27 November 1843 Peter d'Egville appeared before the magistrates at Ipswich Town Hall charged with riotous conduct. R.B. Clamp, the Governor of the Ipswich Union House, alleged that Peter had conspired with the other "able-bodied paupers" and refused to obey orders.

Peter is described as "One of the more violent of the party" who "appeared to have seen better days." Peter's age is not given but he is a contemporary of the Peter Harvey Gooding d'Egville who accosted James Hervet d'Egville in Worcester in September 1854. Lacking further identifying information, on the balance of probabilities he might be a member of the d'Egville family who were active in East Anglia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Consequently they are likely to be separate individuals.

Peter justifies his behaviour by complaining about the quality of the food and that Mr. Clamp is robbing the paupers. Their soup was made of herring and sprats' heads and tails, potato peelings, peas and water. It is central to Peter's complaint the paupers who come to beg for soup at the workhouse gate are getting the peas because they sink to the bottom and the inmates are served first from the watery broth.

At first sight such soup might appear disgusting but at the time this "waste" would not be disposed of for composting or the local authority refuse collection. Most households would have used such ingredients to make stock.

In the course of this petty uprising a stick was thrown at a policeman and Peter displayed threatening behaviour towards a porter. It is surprising that he was only bound over and asked to make further complaints to the Board of Guardians. The Great Whip Street Workhouse was an institution intended to accommodate 400 people in an environment of strict discipline. Despite the magistrates apparent support of Mr Clamp their leniency towards Peter in a climate where compliance was paramount perhaps reveals deeper undercurrents.

The Ipswich Journal 2 December 1843
British Library Board

Denial Of An Impudent Vagrant

On Tuesday 19 September 1854 James Hervet d'Egville was accosted in the Tything, Worcester, by a stranger. The man claimed to be related to him and demanded sixpence.

In 1854 the average weekly wage of an agricultural labourer was 10/8 (for those of you who don't remember the pre-decimal currency of the United Kingdom that's ten shillings and eightpence or about 53 pence). Sixpence (2.5 pence) had a good deal more spending power then and would certainly have bought a couple of pints. The average price for a gallon of beer in that year has been calculated as about just over one shilling and sixpence (7.5 pence) [1].

James was born in Worcester in 1813 to Louis Hervey d'Egville (1786-1857) and Mary Davis (1791-1846). Peter Harvey Gooding d'Egville was born in 1803 to George d'Egville and Mary Reid (who appear to have married in 1803). Consequently the man who accosted James in the Tything was probably his first cousin.

James might not have known that Peter was his cousin. George was committed to the institution of marriage and entered into serial wedlock as his wives wore out and died. His progeny are extensive and he did not invest in their futures; unlike his brothers.

Peter Harvey Gooding d'Egville was certainly a pest. There are other instances of petty crime which are recorded around the Midlands and I'm uncertain if it were he who instigated an insurrection in an East Anglian workhouse.

The Worcestershire Chronicle 27 September 1854
The British Library Board

1. An extensive Excel spreadsheet of prices taken from the data series which were collected by Professor Gregory Clark and used in three publications were re-formatted by Peter Lindert 10 April 2006 can be downloaded here. Citations are provided in the spreadsheet.  

Prejudiced By A Mistake?

This statement appeared in The Morning Post on Saturday 13 December 1823. It interests me for two reasons.

Firstly, James confirms that the George Harvey d'Egville living in Atherstone is indeed his brother. It's the first firm evidence that I've found and it shifts an assumption to a fact. I'd a lurking suspicion that the George of Atherstone might not be a connection of the famous James and less famous George at all. We do know that there were other Harvey d'Egvilles in the United Kingdom at the time and their connection, if any, is a mystery.

Secondly, the man who was wrongly hanged for murder in Barbados has either taken or was given the forenames that were current in the Harvey d'Egville family. We know that there was a Peter Hervez d'Aigueville who married at Portsea in the 1770s and a family who were active in East Anglia a little while afterwards. While the statistical odds of two people who share the same name meeting at a party are much less than one might think these names are quite rare.

I'm uncertain whether from what we know of James' character that we should believe this is a credible denial.

The Morning Post Saturday 13 December 1823
The British Library Board