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The Early Lincolnshire Broughams

The Lincolnshire Broughams have a rich and intricate history that dates back to the early Elizabethan age in the second half of the 1500s. The earliest records show that there was a core group of Broughams located in and around Fillingham, a small rural village in Lincolnshire. Over the centuries, the Broughams could be seen spread across nearby villages, including Ingham, Glentworth, Upton, and others. The Broughams were deeply rooted in agriculture, which was the main occupation in these rural areas. The Broughams' lineage includes notable figures such as William Brougham, who had seven children, and John Brougham, who had multiple descendants scattered across Lincolnshire.​

 

As time progressed, this group of Broughams began to migrate beyond Lincolnshire, seeking better opportunities and adapting to changing economic conditions. The Industrial Revolution played a significant role in this migration, with many Broughams moving to urban areas like Sheffield and Birmingham in search of better jobs and prosperity. This migration marked a shift from their traditional agricultural roots to more diverse occupations, including trades and industrial work. The Broughams' story is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of people at the time, as they navigated the challenges of changing times while maintaining their familial connections and heritage.​

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It is this migration of the Lincolnshire Broughams that I am personally most interested.  I descend from a group of Brougham’s in the Wetherby / Collingham areas of West Yorkshire – this group of Broughams migrated to the urban areas of West Yorkshire, particularly Leeds and Huddersfield.  How the Broughams got to the Wetherby area in the late 1700s is what I am trying to uncover.  One obvious theory is that we descend from the Cumbrian Broughams as they moved east through North Yorkshire and then possibly further West.  Another theory is that we are an off shoot of the Lincolnshire Broughams – a suggestion put forward by the late Peter Brougham Wyly.  Did a Lincolnshire Brougham, travel further north to the rich agricultural lands of West Yorkshire, 70 miles north?  It is for this reason that I have been researching this group of Broughams to see if I can find any possible connection.

It is uncertain how the Broughams came to settle in Lincolnshire or where they originated from. The earliest records date back to the early Elizabethan age in the second half of the 1500s. A significant number of the Lincolnshire Broughams were located in and around Fillingham, 11 miles north of Lincoln. Other early Brougham locations in the county include (distances are from Fillingham):
 

Ingham (2 miles south)

Glentworth (2 miles southwest)

Upton (7 miles southwest)

Owmby-By-Spital (7 miles east)

Marton (10 miles southwest)

Lincoln (11 miles south)

Gainsborough (12 miles west)

Scotton (13 miles west)

Kettlethorpe (14 miles southwest)

Messingham (15 miles northwest)

Baumber (18 miles northwest)

Bigby (21 miles northeast)

Barnetby (22 miles north)

Croxton (25 miles north)

Swineshead (41 miles northeast)

Grantham (42 miles south)

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Most of these locations are small rural villages within a few miles of each other, where agriculture is the main occupation. The 1801 census records a population of 243 for Fillingham.

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Street scene showing a rural street with houses, trees to the right from the church cemetery, and a few cars on the street on a warm summers day with the sun shining.

Fillingham High Street 2025

The first recorded Broughams in Lincolnshire
 

The first recorded Broughams date back to the early Elizabethan Age, a family headed by William, who had three children in Scotton:

  • Margarette Brougham (Bpt. 4 March 1567)

  • Steven Brougham (Bpt. 26 March 1567)

  • Agnes Brougham (Bpt. 17 November 1572)
     

There are other pockets of Broughams scattered around

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John Brougham had two daughters in Grantham:

  • Elizabeth (Bpt. 11 Sep 1597)

  • Mary (Bpt. 30 Mar 1600).
     

Another John Brougham in Messingham had three sons,

  • William (Bpt. 23 Aug 1602)

  • Symon (Bpt. 14 Oct 1606)

  • Thomas (Bpt. 14 Oct 1606).

It is possible these two Johns are the same person; the birth dates of the children seem to follow on, but this is not verified, as Messingham and Grantham are 55 miles apart.
 

Christofer Brougham baptised his son John on 8 Mar 1588 at Croxton – no further records of Croxton Broughams are found.
 

Thomas Brougham is the earliest recorded Brougham in Bigby, only 12 miles from Messingham, suggesting a possible relation to one of the Johns. He baptised his son, Thomas, on 7 Dec 1588.
 

Anthony Browholme, also from Bigby, heads another group (Browholme is an alternative spelling of Brougham). Anthony’s children are:

  • Dorthie (Bpt. 18 Oct 1607)

  • Joane (Bpt. 19 Oct 1608)

  • Elizabeth (Bpt. 17 Feb 1610)

  • Ann (Bpt. 1 Mar 1610) – the first part of the parent's name is unreadable but ends in Marie, likely the mother

  • Alice (Bpt. 25 Mar 1614) – father's name not legible, assumed to be Anthony

  • Dorothie (Bpt. 18 May 1617) – probably the first Dorothy died young
     

Just a few miles away from Bigby is Barnetby, where Peter Brougham baptised his son Richard on 9 Apr 1610. Peter could be Anthony's brother given their ages and the proximity of their locations.

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William Brougham lived 30 miles south of Binting, on the eastern side of Lincoln, in Minting. William is believed to have had seven children:

  • Thomas Brougham (Bpt. 27 Aug 1612)

  • Elizabeth Brougham (Bpt. 8 Feb 1615)

  • Charles Brougham (Bpt. 4 Mar 1620)

  • Elizabeth Brougham (Bpt. 4 May 1622) – father's surname spelt Browholme, Brougham assumed

  • Maria Brougham (Bpt. 15 Mar 1625) – father's name looks like Gulielmj, William assumed

  • Maria Brougham (Bpt. 7 Aug 1628) – father's name looks like Valentina, William assumed

  • William Brougham (Bpt. 11 Nov 1631)

There is then a 26-year gap before any more recorded Brougham births. William and Isabell had a daughter, Isabell, baptised on 24th March in Messingham. This William could be the son of William from Minting (Bpt. 11 Nov 1631), although this is not certain, the timeline makes this feasible.

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Five years later, Charles and Mary were born and baptised together on 12 August 1662 in Baumber, to parents Charles and Faith Brougham. The proximity of Baumber to Messingham (37 miles) and Minting (3 miles) suggests a familial connection between Charles and William. This further implies that Charles is likely the same Charles who was baptised on 4 March 1620, with William Brougham being his father.

Fillingham road sign 2025 from High Street.jpg

In 1680, Cromwell dead and King Charles II on the throne, we see our first recorded Broughams in Fillingham. John Brougham (1661-1704/5) and Elizabeth (-1704) had the following children:

  • Elizabeth Brougham, baptised 6 Feb 1680 in Glentworth.

  • Anne Brougham, baptised 20 Aug 1682 in Fillingham. She married Richard Eirel on 13 Nov 1704 in Fillingham.

  • John Brougham was born in 1684 in Fillingham.

  • Thomas Brougham, baptised 22 Nov 1686 in Fillingham. He married Elizabeth Taylor on 1 Aug 1722 in Fillingham. Their children are detailed later.

  • William Brougham was baptised 10 Mar 1688 in Fillingham and buried 28 Dec 1694, aged just 6, in Fillingham.

  • William Brougham was born on 3 Feb 1694 in Fillingham and was buried, aged 68, on 11 Feb 1779 in Fillingham. He married Jane Rickell on 20 Mar 1719 in Fillingham. She was born 1694 in Fillingham.  This family are discussed in more detail below.

Interesting that the family would have 2 living children with the same name William – I flag as a cautionary note. This was at the time when two calendars were in operation so it is possible the recorded years are out by 1.

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Following their marriage in 1722, Thomas Brougham (son of John and Elizabeth above) and Elizabeth Taylor lived in Upton.  They had at least 3 children all born in Upton

  • Elizabeth Brougham, born 1721

  • Thomas Brougham born 1723

  • John Brougham born 1725

 

In addition, we have identified a Sarah Brougham, baptised on 25 July 1736 in Swarby, 37 miles away, father Thomas Brougham.  We cannot be certain if the two Thomas Brougham are the same person.  We have not been able to locate an alternative possibility, but the distance may preclude this.


We do not have any further information on this group of Broughams. 

William Brougham, the brother of Thomas and son of John and Elizabeth, born on 03 Feb 1694 in Fillingham, was buried at the grand age of 85 on 11 Feb 1779 in his birth village. He married Jane Rickell on 20 Mar 1719 in Fillingham. She was most likely born in 1694 in Fillingham, though there is one record that shows the birth as early as 1687.

 

William Brougham and Jane Rickell had 4 recorded children, 2 of whom died very young:

  • William Brougham was baptised on 06 Jan 1720 in Fillingham. He died in 1757 in Fillingham. He married Anne Markham on 24 Dec 1745 in Fillingham. She was born in 1720 in Laneham, Nottinghamshire. Their children are detailed in the next paragraph.

  • John Brougham was baptised 19 May 1722 in Fillingham. He died shortly afterwards and buried, 04 Jul 1722 in Fillingham.

  • Thomas Brougham was born about 01 Jul 1723 in Fillingham. He died a young boy aged 5 and was buried on 10 Sep 1728.

  • Anne Brougham was born on 01 May 1725 in Fillingham. She married Edward Hides on 27 Mar 1758 in Fillingham. We don’t have any further information about the Hides Children to date.

 

William Brougham Jnr (1720-1757) we know a little more about.  William Brougham (son of William, grandson to John) was born on 06 Jan 1720 in Fillingham. He died relatively young in 1757 in Fillingham. He married Anne Markham on 24 Dec 1745 in Fillingham. She was born in 1720 in Laneham, Nottinghamshire. The couple had the following children:

  • Ann Brougham was baptised on 10 July 1748 in Fillingham. She married William Pool, born 1742, on 24th April 1768 in Fillingham. They have one recorded child Richard born 1771.  Richard later went on to marry Esther Cooking, but he died relatively young aged 42 and was buried in Fillingham on 31st July 1813. We are not aware of the death dates for Ann and William Pool.

  • William Brougham was born in June 1750 in Fillingham. He was buried 17 Feb 1821 in Fillingham. He married Elizabeth Blakey on 23 Jun 1778 in Fillingham (one source has a marriage date of 26 March 1778).  She was born about 1753 in Cammeringham, 3 miles south of Fillingham. She died much older than her husband at the remarkable age of 95, during the last quarter of 1848 in Fillingham. Their family are detailed later; they form a large part of the Brougham story in Fillingham, who later moved to Sheffield during the 19th century.

  • Thomas Brougham was baptised 1 October 1752 in Fillingham. Here the ancestral trail goes cold on Thomas.

  • Jane Brougham was born and died in September 1755 in Fillingham, living only a few days, baptised on 7 September and then buried on 15 September 1755. It is because of so many infant deaths that parents had their children baptised within a few weeks of birth.

DSC_0262 Fillingham church reduced size_

St Andrew's Church, Fillingham, which has played a part in Brougham life since the 17th Century and possibly before

 

Thankfully, the Brougham name continues through the children of William (1750-1821) and the resilient Elizabeth Blakey (1753-1848).

 

William Brougham and Elizabeth Blakey had the following children:

  • Sarah Brougham (1779 - ) was born in March 1779 in Fillingham. She married William Reavill on 20 April 1813 in Fillingham.  2 children have been identified through baptism records in Fillingham: Mary Reavill Born 1814 and William Reavill born 1816, died1892.

  • Ann Brougham (1783 – 1860) was born in January 1783 in Fillingham. She died December 1860 in Lincolnshire. She married John Akrill on 01 January 1811 in Fillingham.  They had 5 children which are detailed below. Her husband dies, relatively young, she marries again, and later Ann moves in with her younger brother William and becomes his housekeeper.

  • John Brougham (1783 – 1870) was born in September 1785 in Fillingham. He died in October 1870 in Sheffield. He married Mary, probably around 1805, Mary was born about 1781, 20 miles away in Everton, Nottinghamshire (maiden name possibly Hutchinson given the name of their son) She died in May 1859 in Sheffield.

  • William Brougham (1789 – 1868) was born in February 1789 in Fillingham. He died, June 1868 in Lincolnshire.  He was a farmer and became the Gamekeeper at Fillingham Castle.  There is a portrait of William posing in his Gamekeeper attire allegedly painted by Mary Ellen Best whilst visiting her relatives, the Daltons, at Fillingham Castle.  William never married or had any children

  • Elizabeth Brougham (1791 - ) was born in Aug 1791 in Fillingham.

  • Mary Brougham ( 1794 - ) was born Apr 1794 in Fillingham.  There are two possible scenarios for Mary:

    1. There is a Mary who was buried in Lincoln on 13th April 1795, aged 0 (but why buried in Lincoln if born in Fillingham – possibly described as Lincoln because of the diocese area) (source ancestry hint)

    2. It is possible she married James Robinson on 24 November 1834 at All Saints Church Gainsborough (source ancestry hint).  The 1851 and 1861 census finds a James Robinson living with Mary Robinson but her dob is estimated to be 1814 on both.    It maybe questionable therefore that the Mary Brougham who married James is this Mary and we've got an unidentified Mary Brougham still.

  • Joseph Brougham (1796 – 1863) was born about 1796 in Fillingham. He died on 24 September 1863 in Fillingham. He married Maria Dawber (1812-1878), daughter of John Dawber and Margaret, on 21 Jul 1836 in Glentworth.  Joseph was a farmer.  They have 5 children, discussed later.  Joseph and his wife, Maria, are buried in St Andrews Church, Fillingham.

Brougham Joseph of Lincoln Probate Announcement.jpg

 

Ann Brougham (1783 -1865) daughter of William Brougham and Elizabeth Blakey married John Akrill, (sometimes Ackrill or Acrill) born around 1778, on 1st January 1811.  They had several children all probably born in Owmby-By-Spital:

  • Mary Akrill (1814-1882)

  • Jane Akrill (1816-1899)

  • John Akrill (1819-1909)

  • Ann Akrill (1821-1895)

  • William Akrill (1827-1920)


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Ann Brougham Family Tree.jpg

It is Ann’s husband that causes most interest.  There is a John Akrill who was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for stealing a horse at Lincoln. Is this Ann’s husband? Ann’s husband is thought to have died in late 1830 in Owmby-By-Spital. Thee is another John Akrill who was hung in 1827 for horse stealing, but we don’t believe this is Ann’s husband as he was from Grantham.

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Ann marries again, a Robert Nicholson (c1763 - ) in Owmby-by-Spital in 1838.  Robert is 20 years her senior; the 1841 census confirm this. However,  the 1851 census still has Anns name as Akrill which may dispute this marriage, though it is likely this is an error.

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Ann moves in with her younger, unmarried, brother, William Brougham (1789-1868) who was running the family farm of 30 acres.  Her son and daughter-in-law, William and Elizabeth Akrill, and her grandchild, John Akrill, also live at the farm. The 1851 census describes Ann as the housekeeper and her son an Agricultural Labourer. William is thought to be the gamekeeper for the Fillingham Estate – a painted portrait of him allegedly painted by Mary Ellen Best whilst visiting her relatives, the Daltons, at Fillingham Castle.

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Ann dies, 30 years after her first husband in December 1860.

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Time does not allow us to explore Ann’s children in this piece, but to note that her grandson, William Thomas Akrill (1856 – 1937) who marries Mary Ann Bamford, goes on to be a leading light in the Methodist movement in Lincolnshire.  He lived in Fillingham practically all his life and is buried at St Andrew’s Churchyard, Fillingham alongside his wife. Others on Ancestry.com have documented the Akrill’s of Lincolnshire in more detail.​

 

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Joseph Brougham's gravestone (1796 - 1863) at St Andrews Church, Fillingham

Joseph Brougham (1796 – 1863), brother of Ann and son of William Brougham and Elizabeth Blakey,  with his wife Maria Dawber (1812-1878) had 5 children:

  • Ann Brougham (1837-1896).  Ann never married and seemed to have a life moving around and living with her relatives.  The 1871 census has Ann living with her brother, William, on the outskirts of Lincoln at Gowt High Street where he runs a Grocer’s shop. Come 1881 Ann is living back in Fillingham with her younger brother, John on The Grange, where she is a housekeeper and her brother is a Cottager.  Living with them is their nephew William Wesley Brougham, aged 8, son of their brother William Brougham (1840-1923) and sister-in-law Rebecca Gilby who moved to Sheffield.  By 1891 Ann is living with her elderly Uncles, William Dawber, 74, and Henry Dawber, 69 in the village of Glentworth, 2 miles from Fillingham.  Henry dies in 1891 and William shortly after in 1892.  The deaths of her two Uncles on her mother’s side, is perhaps the reason why Ann moves to Sheffield, where her younger brother’s family have settled.  Ann dies on 7 October 1896, relatively young aged 59, in Sheffield Royal Hospital following complications from a hysterectomy.

  • John Brougham (1838 – 1839). John died in infancy, at Fillingham, only surviving a few months.

  • John Brougham (1840 – 1916).  Twin to William. John followed his father into farming.  John, unlike other members of his family and some of his children, stayed in Fillingham rather than moving to Sheffield. At the age of 20, John was a carter.  Later John took over the family farm when his father died, and managed it with the help of his mother and paid help. His marriage, late in life aged 41, to Fanny Brown (1849 – 1919) on 1 January 1882, bore 4 children.   In his later years he became the village Sub Postmaster, and did other work to make ends meet such as a brick layers labourer and a gardener.  Fanny delivered the post, described as a Delivery Postwoman in the 1911 census.  Their daughter Mary Ann who was living at home and single, was an Assistant Sub Postmaster and Domestic.  John and Fanny are buried in the graveyard at St Andrews Church, Fillingham, in the village where John lived all his life. The children from the marriage were:

    • Joseph Herbert Brougham (1883 – 1918) moves to Sheffield and married Edith Stead (c1884 – 1926) from Derbyshire.  Joseph dies young at age 35 as does Edith at 42.

    • John Henry Brougham (1882 – 1966) moves to Sheffield to become an a electric tram car conductor, married Elizabeth Ann Hunt (1878 – 1929) at St Cuthbert’s in Sheffield on 5th January 1904 and continues to live in the Sheffield area. Electric trams started running in Sheffield in 1899 so John would have been one of the first people to work on electric trams.   Following Elizabeth’s early death, John then marries Olivia Berry (1882 - 1971).  John and Elizabeth have 3 children

      • Edwin Brougham (1904 - 1904) dies an infant

      • Elsie Brougham (c1909 - 1919) Dies a young girl aged 9 from Lobar pneumonia in Sheffield.

      • Frank Brougham (1917 - ) Possibly married Dorothy K Male in Portsmouth, had 3 children, died in 1990.

    • Mary Ann Brougham (1885 – 1965) Mary Ann stays at home in Fillingham and assists the family in the Post Office on High Street, and subsequently becomes the Sub-PostMistress. Her photo can be seen in the local newspaper when she retires in 1963.

    • Frank Brown Brougham (c1888 – 1974) marries Edith Brooks (1899 – 1963). Frank serves as a private in WW1.  One child is recorded:

      • Dorothy Annie Brougham (1928 – 2017) Dorothy was born in Fillingham and dies in Ingham very near by.  She married Dennis Kirman.

DSC_0260 Fillingham John Brougham_edited.jpg

Gravestone in St Andrew's church, Fillingham, of John Brougham (1840 -1916) and his wife Fanny nee Brown (1849 - 1919)

  • William Brougham (1840 – 1923). Twin to John. William left Fillingham so he could start as a Grocers apprentice in Lincoln.  In 1871, at the age of 30 William was a Grocer in his own right living and working on the High Street at Gowts, which is on the outskirts of Lincoln.  According to the 1871 census, William’s sister, Ann, is living with him as a Housekeeper and they have a young domestic servant working for them implying that business is reasonably successful. William marries Rebecca Gilby (1842-1920) in 1872 and have their first child, William Wesley in Lincoln.  Between 1872 and 1873 they move to the Ecclesall area of Sheffield where William continues his trade as a Grocer and takes up employment as a Grocer’s Assistant.  The couple go onto have another 6 children.  Their first born, William Wesley Brougham, at some point moves back to live with William’s twin brother, John and elder sister Ann, on the family farm, Lake Side, in Fillingham. We can only guess why, but with 6 children, space in the family home must have been at a premium.  This does not last long because at 18, William is back living with the family in Sheffield and takes up his father’s profession as a Grocer’s Assistant.  By 1891, William has switched trades, presumably because it is more lucrative and easier as he gets older and takes on the role of an Insurance Agent.  This he pursues for a long time, working for Prudential. During the 1890’s his sister Ann moves in with him again from Fillingham to live with the family until her early death in 1896.  Wiliam was with his sister when she passed away at Sheffield Royal and registered the death.  At some point after 1911, William and Rebecca up sticks again, to Hathersage in Derbyshire where he continues as an Insurance Agent.  Rebecca passes away on 19th April 1920. William lives with his daughter and son-in-law, a bookkeeper. William, aged 82, dies on 19 Jan 1923 from a carcinoma of the liver.  Helena M Brougham, his daughter-in-law, is the informant for the death. William's children are discussed in more detail under the Sheffield Brougham's.

  • Henry Joseph Brougham (1846 -1846) the last known child of Joseph and Maria sadly died in Infancy at Fillingham.

Fillingham Lake in an agricultural setting with lillies and ducks on the water

Fillingham Lake set in an agricultural landscape.  A derelict farm cottage sits to the right.

Broken down old cottage with just one main gable end standing, now overgrown with shrubs and grass

The story of the Lincolnshire Brougham's continues in Sheffield.  William Brougham (1840 1923) leads the way by taking his young family to live there at the end of 1872/beginning of 1873.  He is later followed by the children of his twin brother, John, namely Joseph Herbert Brougham (1883 -1918) and John Henry Brougham (1882 -1966).  Others later follow such as his sister Ann (1837 -1896) in her later life.  It is this group of Brougham's that establish the Brougham clan in Sheffield which ultimately move elsewhere including Birmingham, Stoke, Derbyshire, Leicester and Taunton.  With this departure, the Brougham numbers in Lincolnshire decline.

It is inevitable that during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century that agricultural families, struggling to make a living on the farms, move to the industrial heartlands in search of better jobs and livelihoods.  The Brougham's of Lincolnshire are no exception.

The story of the Lincolnshire Broughams continues with the Sheffield Broughams.

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As for my initial research into a possible link between the Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire Broughams in the 18th or early 19th centuries - so far,  none has been found.

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David Brougham

AllThingsBrougham.co.uk

2025.

DSC_0291 Glentworth adjusted.JPG

St. Michael's Church, Glentworth, Lincolnshire

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