Nat Gould

Richard Gould 1742-1809

Richard Gould was the eldest son of William Gould 1704-1757 of Brownhill in Warslow and his second wife Elizabeth Grindon 1723-1790.

He was born in 1742 and baptised at Alstonefield on 3 January 1742/43.

Richard Gould married first Nancy Sterndale 1749-1779, by whom he had two daughters, and secondly Rebecca Salt. His first wife was the child of first cousins Ralph Sterndale 1721-1796 and Elizabeth Bateman 1722-1755, the latter being also his own first cousin. Nancy Gould died in 1779, and was buried at Hartington in Derbyshire on 28 June 1779. His second wife Rebecca Salt died in 1811, and was buried at Alstonefield on 7 October 1811.

He had two daughters by his first wife. His elder daughter was Mary Sterndale Gould born in 1777 and baptised at Alstonefield on 12 May 1777. She married John Irwin of Manchester, a manufacturer. Their son was John Gould Irwin, the Manchester architect .The younger daughter was Elizabeth Gould. She married Benjamin Baldwin of Manchester and they had two sons. He was the son of James Baldwin of Manchester, a stay maker.

There were no children of his second marriage.

In his Will his father bequeathed to him the property in Warslow that he had purchased from the late William Gould of Westwood, Richard paying £400 in total to the younger children. When he came of age, he was also to have the Alstonefield tithes (yielding a valuable income) and the tenancy of the family home Brownhill in Warslow, both leased from the Harpur-Crewes. In the meantime they were to be held by his widowed mother.

In September 1773 he was declared bankrupt, his business having been that of a dealer and chapman (1).

If William Gould had intended to establish a dynasty at Brownhill, he did not succeed. Only one more generation of Goulds lived at Brownhill. Richard Gould had no sons, and his widow’s second husband gave up the tenancy. The Harpur Crewes converted Brownhill into Warslow Hall for their summer use.

(1) The London Magazine, or the Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer volume 42 page 466 (1773): "BANKRUPTS Richard Gould, of Brownhill in Staffordshire, dealer".
The Universal Magazine volumes 52-53 page 167 (1773) : "Richard Gould, of Brownhill, in the parish of Allstonfield, Staffordshire, dealer and chapman" declared bankrupt September 1773.