Simon, a descendant of Bessie (nee Mellsop) and Heywood Crispe through their son Colin Raymond and grandson Peter Raymond, says an early propensity for "breaking the mould" in design and construction was greatly encouraged on both sides of the family.
Auckland University-educated, UK-born Simon Crispe has spent the last two decades in Dubai as part of a design team creating some of the world's most exciting buildings, amongst them the Burj Al Arab, the iconic, sail-shaped five star hotel said to be the third tallest and most luxurious hotel on earth, opening with great fanfare at the birth of the millenium.
Simon, a descendant of Bessie (nee Mellsop) and Heywood Crispe through their son Colin Raymond and grandson Peter Raymond, says an early propensity for "breaking the mould" in design and construction was greatly encouraged on both sides of the family.
5 Comments
One of the functions of a Family Reunion is to remember and honour the sacrifices of those who have gone before, as well as celebrate the successes of those who are still vibrantly alive. The Mellsop Reunion committee was surprised to discover when we first started planning the event to mark 160 years of the family in New Zealand that no headstone or memorial existed for John and Anna Maria Mellsop, the "founding couple" of the Mellsop line in New Zealand.
Although records showed they are both buried in the Waiuku Cemetery, administrators were unable to tell us just exactly where, due to poor record keeping in those very early days. We decided this anonymity needed to be dispelled, and so we have arranged for a plaque commemorating their life and death here in New Zealand. There was room to fix this to the plinth of their son John Thomas Mellsop's memorial, which we felt was an appropriate place to acknowledge them. (Costs for this are not covered in the registration fee and any contributions to cover it greatly appreciated!) Along with this we have compiled a list of the known Mellsop-related Headstones, Memorials or Plaques in the Cemeteries of St Brides Mauku, Waiuku Cemetery, or Mauku Pioneer Cemetery. These are all the family members known to researchers at March 2016. Take a look to find your ancestor! Our Mellsop Reunion Bus Trip on Saturday March 19 takes us on a journey back into pioneering days – and some very hard times – as our forbears made new lives for themselves in the Mauku – Patumahoe – Otaua – Aka Aka and Waiuku areas.
A heap of information will be presented by our tour guides during the Reunion bus trip and we thought it a good idea to post key details of the information presented in a durable form online. That way, those who couldn’t make the trip can follow it up independently, if they wish. And those who went on the trip can refresh their memory on details they may have missed. You may even choose to download it on your phone during the trip, to keep up with your bus guide! We hope the bus trip is informative and enjoyable. There are planned stops, and plenty of chances to take photos if you wish. Within a few years of the Mellsop family arriving in New Zealand in 1855 two of the daughters, Anna and Bessie, embarked on one of the biggest adventures of their very eventful lives, spending time at a Church Missionary Society Mission Station at Otawhau (now Te Awamutu.)
The station was at the centre of the tremendous political tumult that was brewing over land sales and Maori-European relationships, and very soon after their arrival they witnessed a historic event - the crowning of the Maori King, Potautau Te Wherowhero - and the launching of the King Movement in the Waikato. The trip to the mission took several days via canoe up the Waikato River. The Family Link to A Regicide Deep in the history of one branch of the Mellsop - Wheeler line is found John Hewson, a man who rose from obscurity and poverty as a London shoe-maker to the title of "Cromwell's enforcer" and a signatory on the warrant for the execution of King Charles I. He was knighted by Cromwell in 1658 and exercised a brutal military rule in Ireland during which he also lost one eye. In 1941, one of Annie and John Wheeler's grand daughters, Elissa Jean Wheeler, married John Hewson's descendant Bill Troughton. The Hewson name is preserved in their son, David 'Hewson' Troughton, now living in Australia and one of those planning to attend the March 2016 Reunion. This is John Hewson's story. Heywood Crispe, husband of Bessie Mellsop, came from an illustrious line of Kent sheriffs and public servants who held prominent positions in local and national affairs throughout the 16th to 18th centuries, centered on the ancient Manor house of Queke near Margate.
And one of the most memorable was Henry Crispe, who had the doubtful distinction of being the only man kidnapped from home and spirited away to France to be ransomed to pay for King Charles II's bed and board. Reading the contemporary accounts you can't help feeling for this elderly gent, nearly 80 at the time of his kidnapping, loaded into an open boat on a dark night, trembling and terrified, surrounded by men speaking in a language he does not understand with no clue of the outcome. Here then is the story of 'Bonjour Crispe.' The beautiful old oak trees that line the road outside the Titi Farmhouse, (and some in the St Brides church yard as well) have a fascinating history that goes right back to New Zealand's pioneer Bishop George Selwyn and the nation's second Chief Justice, Sir George Arney. The trees were planted by members of the Hill family who bought Titi Farm from John Wheeler. Local Council records state they were "planted to represent the lives lost in the Titi Hill battle." And in the way these things seem to have of linking up, John and Annie Wheeler's youngest son Harry married Henry Hill's grand daughter Gwendoline Cecilia Alice (Gwen) Hill, so the Hill and Wheeler families remain entwined down the generations. Henry Hill originally bought two one thousand acre farms on Springs Road and built a large family home there. The Crispe family links with Quex Park and Manor ended when Thomas Crispe died leaving four daughters in 1680, extinguishing the Crispe male line. But the family's presence is still well documented in the church of All Saints, Birchington, where the north chapel contains "the best collection of memorials in East Kent owned for centuries by the series of owners of Quex House," according to a Kent information website.
All Saints is famous as the burial place of Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, whose grave stands outside the main south door (see image in footnote), but the church has much more of interest than a famous poet's grave. The north chapel is a piece of art in itself, where the Quex, Crispe, and their successors the Powell and Powell-Cotton families have been commemorated in monuments that reflect the styles of all the centuries. John Wheeler – Before And After Anna
When Mauku farmer John Wheeler married Anna Mellsop in 1866 at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Onehunga, both were seasoned settlers who had arrived in NZ in their late teens and undergone an intense initiation into pioneer life and relations with local Maori. Wheeler Family's Early New Plymouth Days
John Wheeler arrived in New Zealand, aged 18, as part of a family group in March 1844, John's father William having arranged to buy land in the new settlement of New Plymouth off New Zealand Company plans in England. And in a case of "the best laid plans" it became obvious not long after their arrival that the Company was not able to deliver on its promises. |
AuthorThere are many wonderful stories that are worth more in the telling than a Facebook Post. Our Reunion Blog, narrated by Mellsop family and friends, is for these. We'd love to hear from you. Archives
March 2016
Categories
All
|