Robert Harvey, of
Stoke Ferry, Norfolk
Grocer (not a Surgeon)
1700-1756
(one of two people called Robert Harvey and living
in Stoke Ferry at this time)
Born: 1700(?) and died 29 July
1756 aged 56.
Parents: Robert
Harvey of Crimplesham, Norfolk (possibly: Robert
Harvey, 16??-1720).
Brother of:
1. William
Harvey (1695?-1786) Rector, of Fincham, Norfolk.
2. Possibly: Lieut
John Harvey RN (1700ish to mid 1700ish).
He married: Mary
Wheasenham (1701?-1777) daughter of William
Wheasenham of Runcton Holme. Mary was sister of Leonard
Wheasenham of Runcton Holme.
They had issue:
1. Robert Harvey.
2. Dr
William Harvey (1732-1803), Surgeon in the Navy.
3. Mary (17??-1784).
4. Elizabeth (17??-1798).
5. Ann
Helsham nee Harvey (1731?-1793) who married Dr
Henry Linhooke Helsham MD (1730-1805).
6. Susan
Forby nee Harvey (1732-1824) who married Thomas
Forby.
Robert Harvey: An Overview
The information I have about Robert Harvey comes from the following sources:
1. The diary of his great
grandaughter Elizabeth Jones
(nee Helsham) who makes reference to him but gives no information
about him (written in the mid 1800s).
2. Various notes written by his great great grandson Col
Henry Helsham Helsham-Jones.
3. The book titled "Stoke Ferry" by Doris E Coates, 1980,
page 61. This mentions the doctors in the village including the
Harveys and the Helshams living near the church.
4. His memorial inside All Saint's
Church, Stoke Ferry.
5. His will, which is in the
Public Record Office in Kew (Prob 11/824).
The book "Stoke Ferry" states that Robert Harvey was a doctor and practiced in the village and was followed by his son Dr William Harvey (1732-1803), his son-in-law Dr Henry Lindhook Helsham (1730-1805) and later his grandson Dr Henry Helsham (1767-1806). Robert Harvey's will however presents him as a Grocer and the mix up is because there was a second Robert Harvey living in Stoke Ferry who was in fact a Surgeon.
The details of his will are as follows:
Robert Harvey of Stoke Ferry in the County of Norfolk, Grocer.
His executors were his brother William
Harvey of Fincham, Clerk, and his brother in law Leonard
Wheasenham of Runcton Holme Goth, both of Norfolk. He names his
wife Mary, his sons Robert and William and his daughters Mary,
Elizabeth, Ann and Susan. He leaves each daughter £1000
each, also his wife £1000, his son Robert £300 and William
£500. He mentions a friend Thomas Topper of Wattlington,
Norfolk (Watlington?). The will is witnessed by S Lobb, J
Forby, M Cooksedge. It was written 13 July 1754 and proved 26
August 1756.
Regarding Thomas Topper (1709 – 1790), I understand that he was born in Watlington in 1709. In 1722 he was apprenticed to John Platford of Kings Lynn, Grocer. Thomas was married 28 March 1734 in Methwold to Ann Bird (1708 – 1780) whose family had links to both Methwold and Feltwell. She was sole heiress of Robert Bird. At the time of the marriage licence in 1734, Thomas Topper was described as of Stoke Ferry. Perhaps he was an earlier partner of Robert Harvey or a predecessor? Thomas moved back to Watlington in 1736 when he inherited from his father. Thomas and Ann had 10 children only 3 surviving to adulthood – 2 daughters who had no offspring and one son William. Thomas died in Watlington in 1790.
The diary of Elizabeth
Jones (nee Helsham) reads as follows:
My Grandmother was Anne Harvey, and I should think that she was both
born and married at Stoke Ferry, her parents being Robert and Mary
Harvey. A relative, the Rev
William Harvey, was incumbent of Fincham Church the years 1745
and 1787. Another of the name, a cousin, resided at Watton in
Norfolk, whose only child married Sir
Robert Harvey, and their son is the Mr Harvey whose
entertainments at Crown Point cause such a sensation from year to
year. My Grandmother had, I believe, more than one brother but
the only member of the family we knew and loved was her sister Susan
who is very imperfectly represented by the portrait which hangs over
my fireplace. She married Mr Forby
of Stoke Ferry, whose brother, the Rev. Joseph Forby, was Rector of
Fincham from 1787 to 1799 and he it was who, while travelling on the
Continent before the French Revolution, left some small sum in the
French Fund of which mention was made some years since.
Page 61 of "Stoke Ferry" reads as follows:
The Doctors - Harvey and Steele
In medicine, as in the law, it was traditional that sons would follow
fathers and grandfathers in their professions. This explains
why just two families provided local doctors for the whole of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is interesting that one
house (The Lodge, which together with Lodge Cottage was one property)
was 'The Doctors House' from 1771 until 1954.
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Dr Robert Harvey |
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William |
Mary |
Elizabeth |
Anne |
Brother |
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Henry Helsham, M.D. |
William Harvey |
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All the members of this family are commemerated on stone slabs in the
floor of the aisle in All Saints Church, Stoke Ferry.
In 1771, when Peter Smith, grocer and draper, went bankrupt, Dr
William Harvey bought his estate at public auction for
£378. It included the grocer and drapery shop with house
adjoining, the old chemist's shop, and the lodge with its out-buildings
and servant's quarters (now 'Lodge Cottage'). Dr Harvey and
his family lived at 'The Lodge' and the two shops and houses were
let. In his medical practice he was assisted by first his
brother-in-law, Henry Linhook Helsham, then by his nephew, Henry
Helsham, the younger, both described as 'surgeons'.
Later owners of The Lodge found a print of William Harvey (1578-1657)
who discovered the circulation of the blood and the working of the
heart. Given that the name William recurs, and the custom of
sons following their father's profession, it is reasonable to assume
that the doctors at Stoke Ferry were descendents of a famous ancestor.
Dr Harvey died in 1803, and Helsham the younger continued as
doctor. The widow sold the Chemist shop to Roger Micklefield
and the grocer and drapery shop to Abraham West, keeping the Lodge
for her family's use, and still the doctor's surgery. In the
1820s the practice (and the Doctor's house) was brought by Dr Henry
Steele, whose family continued there until 1928.
It should also be noted that while Doris Coates has refered to Robert Harvey as being a doctor this is incorrect. In his will Robert refers to himself as a Grocer. The doctor was another Robert Harvey who was a Surgeon and was a family relative.
If you have any information to add to what is listed please contact
me on jj@jjhc.info
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of Elizabeth Jones) (Will of
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