Thomas Collyer

4G-grandfather of Norma Margaret Oliver

Born:

c1740 Westminster, Middlesex, England

Married:

(1) c1760 to Margaret

(2) 15 Apr 1773 St George Hanover Square Chuch, Westminster, Middlesex, England to Sarah Smith

Died:

Jun 1799 Great Eastcheap, London, England

Buried:

23 Jun 1799 St Clement Eastcheap Church, London, England

Timeline

Jan 1754

1759

Feb 1769

Oct 1769

Apr 1773

Dec 1775

Jun 1799

Apprenticed to Thomas Disney, peruke maker of St Olave Southwark [1]

Commenced living at Great Eastcheap, London [2]

Admitted as a Freeman to the Worshipful Company of Barbers [3]

Death of wife Margaret [4]

Married Sarah Smith at St George Hanover Square Church, Westminster, Middlesex, England. Occupation stated as peruke maker [5] [25]

Death of infant son Charles, coronial inquest held. Occupation stated as periwig maker [6]

Wrote last will and testament. Occupation stated as hairdresser [7]

Died at Great Eastcheap. Buried in the churchyard of St Clement Eastcheap [8]

Biography

Early years and apprenticeship as a peruke maker

On the 11th of January 1754, under the reign of George II, Thomas Collyer was apprenticed to the learn the art of peruke (wig) making [1].

This is is our first confirmed record for Thomas - he was described as being about 14 years of age and "a poor child" of the parish of St Margaret in Westminster. This was an ancient London parish, located in the area around Westminster Abbey [1].

St Margarets Church and Westminster Abbey, 1753, by John Maurer.jpg

1753 engraving of Westminster Abbey and St Margaret Church next to it, showing the area as Thomas would have known it

The Poor Relief Act of 1601 allowed parish officials to bind a poorer child of the parish to a master, to learn their master's trade. "Pauper" apprenticeships such as these were arranged to remove the child as a financial burden on the parish and it suggests that Thomas's parents were unable to adequately provide for him themselves, or he could have been illegitimate.

The Churchwardens of St Margaret Church and the Overseers of the Poor for the parish bound Thomas to a peruke maker by the name of Thomas Disney. Master Disney was based in the parish of St Olave Southwark, on the south side of the Thames, by London Bridge. Only the previous year (and perhaps unbeknownst to the churchwardens), Disney had been brought before the courts, accused of stealing four feet of "crown hair" and other parcels of hair from a peruke maker in Bermondsey, and defrauding his own master, Benjamin Bailiff, also a peruke maker [26].

The churchwardens paid Master Disney 20 shillings for taking Thomas on, with the expectation that he would instruct Thomas in the art of peruke making and provide him with board and lodging until Thomas attained the age of 24 [1].

Mid-18th century men's fashion and wigs

In Georgian England, the fashion for wearing perukes, or periwigs, for men was introduced into the English-speaking world with other French styles when Charles II was restored to the English throne [15].

At the time that Thomas began his apprenticeship, men's wigs were powdered white or off-white colour. They were made of natural human hair, goat or horsehair, with the latter being used to make a naturally white wig that did away with the messiness and inconvenience of powdering [15].

Thomas would have relocated to Master Disney's home in Southwark to board with him there but, for reasons that are unclear, the apprenticeship did not run its full course. In 1759, only five years into his apprenticeship and at the age of only 19, Thomas left. It could be that Master Disney died or that Thomas ran away but, either way, he began life anew on Great Eastcheap [2].

Life on Great Eastcheap and work as a peruke maker

Great Eastcheap was located just across the river Thames from where Thomas had served his apprenticeship. He would only have needed to take a short walk across London Bridge, up Fish Street Hill, and make a left turn after the Monument.

The name Eastcheap came from the Anglo-Saxon word ceap, meaning to barter and purchase, and the street had long been associated with market trading. The name distinguished it from Westcheap, otherwise known as Cheapside [9] [10] [11].

In modern-times, the street has been subsumed by Cannon Street but a 1746 map of London shows that, at the time Thomas was living there, Great Eastcheap specifically referred to the short section of road between Fish Street Hill to the east and St Clement's Lane to the west, part of the ancient London ward of Candlewick.

1746 Rocque map of London showing Great Eastcheap and St Olave Southwark.jpg

1746 map of London by John Rocque, showing Great Eastcheap and St Clements church nearby, as well as St Olave Southwark, the parish where Thomas served his apprenticeship

Great Eastcheap had for centuries been a "flesh market" for butchers and they were still there in Thomas's day. Amongst the butchers were cooks who dressed and sold the meat, ready-to-eat [12]. On the north side of the street, on St Clements Lane, sat St Clements Eastcheap church and, at the top of street, close to Fish Street Hill, sat the famous Boar's Head Tavern, referenced by Shakespeare in his play King Henry IV (Act ii. Sc. 2) [13].

Fish Street Hill was the old Roman road that led onto the London Bridge and, on the opposite side of the road, ran Little Eastcheap, chiefly inhabited by basket makers, turners and more butchers [14].

View of Fish Street Hill and Monument from Gracechurch Street London 1795 by William Marlo

View of Fish Street Hill looking towards the Monument and London Bridge, 1795. Great Eastcheap is the lane running off to the left of the picture, roughly where the store front with awning is.

Work as a peruke maker

Styles in men's wigs, 1765

As a wig maker, Thomas would have made the wigs, curled and, if required, powdered the hair and he also would have taken on the tasks of "barbering", including dressing and powdering a customer's natural hair and shaving beards [15].

We can expect that Thomas had regular customers - wigs needed to be replaced every four or five years and, in the interim, could also be re-styled or recoloured to suit fashion dictates. Customers might have been men or women although, at this time, women primarily wore artificial hair pieces rather than full wigs [16].

Thomas would have worked from a shop, likely his own on Great Eastcheap and he might also have sold accessories such as soaps, perfumes, powders, pomades and cures for lice [16].

Shop for peruke maker and hair dresser, 1765

Ad for a Newcastle peruke maker and hair dresser in 1764, giving us an example of the kind of services and products Thomas would have sold

(Newcastle Courant, 11 Feb 1764)

First marriage and admittance to the Worshipful Company of Barbers

At around the time Thomas began living on Great Eastcheap, he met a woman named Margaret. They likely married between 1760-1761 as their first child, Thomas, was born on the 1st of July 1762 and baptised at St Clement's Eastcheap [17].

Church of St Clement's Eastcheap

Thomas and Margaret went on to have three more children: Elizabeth born in 1764, Harriet in 1766 and Maria in 1768 [18] [19] [20].

Sadly, when Margaret gave birth to Maria in May of 1768, she and Thomas had only just suffered the death of their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, a few short weeks before [21]. She would be followed by their other daughter, Harriet, who died in early June [22]. Although we don't know the exact cause of their deaths, the Bills of Mortality for this period in London show that the most common causes of death were fever, tuberculosis, convulsions, and smallpox [23]. The death of the two children in relatively quick succession points to illness, rather than accidental deaths, and is reflective of the high rate of infant mortality at the time.

Margaret herself passed away not long after, in October 1769, leaving Thomas a single father of his two remaining children, Thomas and Maria [24].

Earlier that same year, perhaps to give further weight to his business, Thomas became of full member of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, the London guild for his profession. As he did not finish his apprenticeship, Thomas paid the sum of £3.3s. for his admittance (worth roughly £400 as of 2025) [3]. The practical benefits of his admission as a "Freeman" of the company were probably nominal, however it would have provided him with a certain status, both with his peers and customers, as well as providing networking and social opportunities.

Second marriage and coronial inquest into death of son

Thomas continued to raise his remaining two children for the next three years until, in April 1773, he applied for a marriage licence to marry Sarah Smith, a spinster living in the parish of St George Hanover Square [25].

She was older than him - around the age of 39, compared to his age of 33 - but we don't know anything else about her early years. Hanover Square was a very fashionable residence in Mayfair for London's elite and perhaps Sarah worked in one of the grand houses. It may be they met by chance, or Thomas provided a wig for someone Sarah worked for or otherwise knew.

They were married at St George's Church in Hanover Square on the 15th of April, 1773, the day after their marriage licence was granted. Witnessing the marriage was Benjamin Torkington, a beadle in the parish of St Martin-in-the Fields, and Mary Dale [5] [27].

St George Hanover Square in 1787 by T Malton.jpg

St George Hanover Square, Mayfair, 1787

Interior of St George Hanover Square.jpg

Inside St George Hanover Square

After their marriage, Sarah settled with Thomas at his home on Great Eastcheap with his children, Thomas junior now aged almost 11 years of age, and little Maria aged 5.

Given Sarah's age, there was probably little expectation that she would have children of her own. So it was perhaps a surprise when, two years later, she gave birth to a baby boy in May 1775, whom they named Charles [28].

Later that year, on Friday the 8th of December, Thomas and Sarah went for a walk with baby Charles bundled up in Sarah's arms. It was about 6-7pm in the evening and they were walking along Newport Street, not far from Covent Garden, when a man walked briskly towards them. He passed by Sarah on her left side, pressing into her. When Sarah looked down at baby Charles, she saw that he wasn't breathing. They went into a nearby chandler's shop, but could not see any signs of life. They then frantically walked up the street to Long Acre where they saw a surgeon, who attempted to bleed Charles in an attempt to revive him. Sadly, baby Charles passed away [29].

This would have been absolutely devastating to both Thomas and Sarah. Given the unexpected and sudden nature of his death, the local coroner of Westminster, Thomas Prickard, called for an investigation. The following day, he instructed the constables of the parish to attend a coronial inquiry at the Sign of the White Bear, a pub on Hanover Street, Westminster in two days' time, on Monday the 11th of December. They were also to summon 24 "able and sufficient men" local to the area from which 12 would be empanelled to form a jury. Both the coroner and the jurors would view Charles' body, hear evidence and question witnesses [30] 31].

The inquiry commenced at 6pm on Monday. Thomas attended and his statement was recorded. He started by identifying himself as being "of Great East Cheap London Periwig-maker". He then went on to state that, when the man passed by Sarah, he said that she cried out, "the man has killed by child!" and also that baby Charles attempted to cry. Thomas believed that that the man's elbow struck his son on his left side and it was that which caused his death [29].

Thomas's statement was the only evidence recorded by the inquiry. On the basis of his testimony, the jurors and coroner found that the death was accidental and by misfortune [32]. The following day, Thomas and Sarah buried their son at St Martins-in-the-Field churchyard [33].

Perhaps Sarah didn't know at the time but she was one-month pregnant with their next, and last, child. Our ancestor, baby Samuel, was born the following year on the 26th of August 1776 and he was baptised by his parents at St Clement's Eastcheap church three weeks later [34].

Final years and death

The family remained at Great Eastcheap and Thomas continued working as a wig maker.

In 1792, Thomas arranged for his now 16-year-old son, Samuel, to begin a legal apprenticeship, working as a clerk for Frederick Smith, an attorney of His Majesty's Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas. Samuel would later successfully complete his clerkship and be sworn and enrolled as an attorney of His Majesty's Court of Common Pleas in January 1797 [35].

Thomas's signature on the Articles of Clerkship for his son, Samuel

That same year, Thomas's eldest son, 35-year-old Thomas junior, moved up the street, to Number 4 Great Eastcheap, close to St Michael's Crooked Lane. He began running a shop there, selling oil and British wine [36] [37].

In January 1798, Thomas's daughter Maria, aged almost 30, married Harry Gunn at St Sepulchre church in Holborn, with her half-brother Samuel - only recently married himself - acting as one of the official witnesses [38]. Later that year, their brother Thomas junior married Hester Beckett at Christ Church in Spitalfields, in June 1798 [39].

Tragedy struck only a few months later, however. Thomas's only daughter Maria died in November. She was buried within a month of her infant daughter, suggesting that her death was related to childbirth [40].

The following year, 1799, now aged about 59, Thomas's health began to fail him. He must have sensed his end was close as he wrote his will only two weeks before his death. On the 8th of June, he made his last will and testament. First, he bequeathed to his son Samuel, his blue lapelled coat and his silver watch. To his son Thomas, he bequeathed the rest of his "wearing apparel", as well as all his money, household furniture and stock in trade. The rest of his estate, he bequeathed to his wife Sarah, along with any money that came out of The Friendly Society [7].

Friendly Societies were a form or mutual aid or insurance. They were run co-operatively by members for a variety of purposes - members would pay subscriptions and the society would pay allowances to members who became ill, or pay for burial if a member died. Others worked as a mutual savings society, akin to a credit union [41].

Example of an 18th century lapelled coat, such as the one Thomas willed to his son, Samuel

After Thomas's passing, he was buried on the 23rd of June, 1799, in the churchyard of St Clements [8].

Source information

Thomas Collier, Apprenticeship Indenture, St Margaret and St John Westminster, 1754, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Collyer, London Land Tax Records 1692-1932, Ward of Candlewick, St Clements Eastcheap Precinct, 1759, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. These land tax records were taken every year and Thomas is recorded in St Clements Eastcheap Precinct every year from 1759-1798. He is not recorded in this ward any earlier, so we can confidently state he commenced living on Great Eastcheap in 1759.
Thomas Collyer, Index of Freemen, 7 Feb 1769, Archive ref: B/1/10, page 149, The Worshipful Company of Barbers [www.barberscompany.org]
Margaret Collyer, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register, 19 Oct 1769, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Collyer and Sarah Smith, Marriage record, St George Hanover Square London Parish Register, Record no: 114, 15 Apr 1773, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Charles Collyer, Coroners Inquest, City of Westminster Coroners: Coroners' Inquests into Suspicious Deaths, 1775, LL ref: WACWIC652150379, Image 379, 11 Dec 1775, London Lives [www.londonlives.org]
Will of Thomas Collyer of Great East Cheap, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Probate granted 28 Sep 1799, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Collyer, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register, 23 Jun 1799, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Eastcheap, Last edited 1 Jun 2024, Wikipedia [en.wikipedia.org]
Eastcheap, Map of Early Modern London, University of Victoria, Last edited 5 May 2022
Entick, Rev. John, A new and accurate history and survey of London, Westminster, Southwark and places adjacent, Volume 4, 1766, Edward and Charles Dilly: London, Google Books [books.google.co.uk]
Strype, Survey of London (1720), Candlewicke Street Ward, XII, 182 [online] (hriOnline, Sheffield), Accessed 23 Apr 2025, Digital Humanities Institute, University of Sheffield [www.dhi.ac.uk]
Jenkins, A Dictionary of London (1918), The Boar's Head, British History Online, Institute of Historical Research, University of London [www.british-history.ac.uk]
Strype, Survey of London (1720), The Parish of S. George Botulph Lane, 172 [online] (hriOnline, Sheffield), Accessed 23 Apr 2025, Digital Humanities Institute, University of Sheffield [www.dhi.ac.uk]
Wig: 18th century, Last edited 22 Apr 2025, Wikipedia [en.wikipedia.org]
18th Century Occupations: The Peruke Maker, The Friends of Graeme Park [graemepark.org]
Thomas Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 25 Jul 1762, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Eliz Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 27 Jun 1764, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Harriett Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 27 Jun 1766, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Mariah Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 5 Jun 1768, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Eliz Collyer, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 10 Apr 1768, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Harriet Collyer, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 14 Jun 1768, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
A General Bill of all the Christenings and Burials from 13th December 1757 to 12th December 1758, Collection of Yearly Bills of Mortality from 1657 to 1758 Inclusive, 1759, Internet Archive [archive.org]. Sadly, the Bills of Mortality past 1758 are not currently freely available online.
Margaret Collyer, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 19 Oct 1769, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Collyer and Sarah Smith, Marriage licence, London and Surrey England Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 14 Apr 1773, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Disney, Surrey Quarter Sessions, 1743, Reference: QS2/6/1753/Eas/77, The National Archives [www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]
There appears to only be one adult Benjamin Torkington living in London in the 1770s and that was the Benjamin Torkington who worked as a beadle for the Watch in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. See:
- Statement of Benjamin Torkington, Settlement Examination Book, St Martin-in-the-Fields, 27 Nov 1775, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
- Coroners' Inquest into Suspicious Deaths, City of Westminster Coroners, LL ref: WACWIC652090038, Image 38, 1 Feb 1769, London Lives [www.londonlives.org]
Charles Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 4 Jun 1775, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Oath of Thomas Collyer, Coroners Inquest into death of Charles Collyer, City of Westminster Coroners: Coroners' Inquests into Suspicious Deaths, 1775, LL ref: WACWIC652150384, Image 384, 11 Dec 1775, London Lives [www.londonlives.org]
Summons to constables, Coroners Inquest into death of Charles Collyer, City of Westminster Coroners: Coroners' Inquests into Suspicious Deaths, 1775, LL ref: WACWIC652150380, Image 380, 11 Dec 1775, London Lives [www.londonlives.org]
The coroner frequents more public-houses than any man alive, Guest post written by Owen Davies and Louise Falcini from the University of Hertfordshire, London Historians' Blog [londonhistorians.wordpress.com]
Charles Collyer, Finding as to cause of death, Coroners Inquest into death of Charles Collyer, City of Westminster Coroners: Coroners' Inquests into Suspicious Deaths, 1775, LL ref: WACWIC652150379, Image 379, 11 Dec 1775, London Lives [www.londonlives.org]
Charles Collyer, Burial record, St Martin-in-the-Fields Westminster Parish Register, 12 Dec 1775, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Samuel Collyer, Baptismal record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 15 Sep 1776, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Samuel Collyer of Great Eastcheap, Court of Common Pleas: Articles of Clerkship and Affidavits of Execution, 1792, Reference: CP 5/137/13, The National Archives of the UK [discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk]
Thomas Collyer, London Land Tax Records 1692-1932, Ward of Candlewick, St Michaels East Precinct, 1797, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. This is the first entry for Thomas junior in the Candlewick ward - from this point on, he is recorded every year in St Michael's East precinct until his death in 1823. Later land tax records for his widow confirm the house was on Great Eastcheap.
Thomas Collyer, Kent's Directory, page 46, 1803, Google Books [books.google.co.uk]. This is one of a number of entries in local London Directories for Thomas, all confirming his address as being 4 Great Eastcheap and he was operating as an oil and British wine warehouse.
Henry Gunn and Maria Collyer, Marriage record, St Sepulchre Holborn Parish Register, 31 Jan 1798, Record no: 5, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Collyer and Hester Beckett, Marriage record, Christ Church Spitalfields Parish Register, 7 Jun 1798, Record no: 297, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Maria Gunn, Burial record, St Clement Eastcheap Parish Register [Church of England], 7 Nov 1798, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Friendly Society, Last edited 21 Feb 2025, Wikipedia [en.wikipedia.org]