Author: Sheila Kleiman

Mary lived during the reigns of King William and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, King George I and King George II

Meet MARY STEER, born in Farnham in 1689 before middle names were popular and names for baby girls were usually selected from just a handful of choices! Her parents lived in Downing Street and as Mary never married, she likely lived her whole life in the same house. Exactly three records of Mary have survived – her baptism, her burial, and her Will! As she graced Farnham with her presence for almost seventy years, perhaps we can try and bring her to life!

• Mary was the eldest daughter of Richard Steer and his wife Martha, and was baptized in Farnham Parish Church on 27 November 1689. Steer was written with a silent ‘e’ at the end by the Vicar but the family didn’t spell it that way themselves.

Richard and Martha Steer

• Steer/Steere does not appear in Farnham Register until 1686. A definite cluster of Steer families in the 1600’s show up in the records of Wonersh, Bramley, Shalford, south of Guildford, so Richard may have come from that area.

• About Martha Turner nothing is known other than her marriage in Farnham Church on 15 July 1686. No matching baptism or burial records have been found, despite using all kinds of search parameters. Poor Martha ~ she left such a tiny footprint.

Bricklayers in Georgian England

Richard Steer, and his sons, grandsons, and great grandsons were all bricklayers and to understand Mary Steer’s status in Farnham life, we must understand what was meant by “bricklayer”. A seven year apprenticeship had to be completed before a man could designate himself as a bricklayer and the rules were set by the ‘Tylers and Brickmakers Guild’. Once the apprenticeship, and a few years as a journeyman were complete, a bricklayer could set himself up in business and often advertised in local newspapers as ‘Bricklayers and House Builders’. A business like the one belonging to the Steer family thrived in Farnham. They became owners of freehold properties, had a house servant or two, and employed many labourers in the business. All-in-all, Mary Steer was born into a family of the ‘middling sort’ of Farnham folk – clearly not gentry but neither wage-labourers. When Mary died, she is given the honorific title ‘Mistress’ in the Farnham Parish Register.

Why was Farnham a good business location for Bricklayers?

According to Nigel Temple’s book Farnham Buildings and People (1973), skilled bricklayers and house builders were in much demand in Farnham for a number of reasons: 1) People wanted the old black and white timber framed houses clad in bricks 2) Farnham’s prominence as a corn market, along with the lucrative growth of hops, brought wealth to the town and business men wanted status houses built for themselves (Longbridge House ~ 1717, Wilmer House ~ 1718, 10, Castle Street ~ 1718) 3) “Speculative building reached Farnham in the early 1700’s” (Temple), and 4) later, when the Brick Tax was introduced in 1784 to help pay for the (unsuccessful) wars in the American Colonies, house owners wanted molded and hung tiles, pointed like bricks, which needed skilled artisans but were exempt from the tax.

>>> Farnham saw four generations of bricklayers and house builders called Richard Steer. The line ended with Richard Steer the 5th who became a tailor in Farnham, was survived by a daughter who was orphaned and raised by her grandmother in Longbridge. Jane Steer died unmarried in 1898, so ending that line of the Steer family.

What do we know about Mary Steer?

We know that Mary ran a hat-making business from the Downing Street house. The National Archives has a record that shows us that Mary was a milliner:

“The making of hats, bonnets and other headwear for women and children was referred to as millinery and made by a milliner. The term milliner was derived from the name given to dealers of trimmings and accessories who came from or imported their goods from Milan, Italy.” (historyinthemaking.org)

We know Mary never married. We can wonder why? Her sister Ann Steer found a husband among Farnham’s business class, and her three brothers married local women, so marriage into the Steer family was not a bad thing. Mary lived until she was almost 70 years old, so she must have been a healthy woman. Was it from choice, or was she duty-bound to care for her father who died when Mary was a 47 years old spinster? Family duty could also have come into play in 1726 when Mary was 37 as her sister-in-law, Abigail Steer, died leaving five children under the age of 10 without a mother. Aunt Mary surely had to step in and raise the children as well as run the house in Downing Street for both her father and brother. All five children survived to adulthood ~ the two boys to become Farnham bricklayers and the three girls to marry and have children. Mary actually out-lived two of her nieces so only one (Sarah who married George Cooper, a Binsted farmer) is named in her Will.

We know that Mary could sign her name. Did this mean she was fully literate? Apparently, it was not unusual for women to be able to read but not necessarily write that well. Mary’s father probably paid for her to attend a ‘dame’s school’ in Farnham for a few years but her education would have been limited. No books are mentioned in her Will. Additionally, she had her own seal stamp for use with red sealing wax; unfortunately it’s impossible to work out what it said.

We know that clothes were important to Mary. How can we think that? Other women have simply mentioned their ‘wearing apparel’ in their Wills, but Mary itemized her clothing. Additionally, being a business woman she had certain dress standards to uphold.

• 6 shifts ~ worn under the gowns during the day, and for sleeping
• 6 aprons ~ important items to protect Mary’s gowns which could only be spot-cleaned and brushed; the aprons could be washed
• 5 petticoats ~ quilted ones for winter, matching ones for fancier gowns
• a black callaminco petticoat ~”Calamanco (also spelled callaminco) is a thin fabric of worsted wool yarn which could come in a number of weaves: plain, satin, damasked, and was even brocaded in floral, striped and checked designs with a glazed surface”.

• a bedgown ~ not for wearing to bed but worn when arising from bed, and again after removing the day’s gown in the evening.

• 2 brown gowns
• a flowered gown
• a gray grown
• a crimson gown
• a ‘stitched’ (embroidered) gown
• a yellow gown
• a purple gown

We know that Mary owned no property or even furniture as her Will makes no mention of either. She lived in her father’s Downing Street house, which then became her brother, Richard’s house. She likely had knick-knacks and some jewelry which she may have already promised to friends or relatives. Equipment needed for hat-making business had probably been sold to another entrepreneur as Mary aged.

We know that Mary had money of her own, some left to her by her father, and the rest, proceeds from her millinery business. As an unmarried woman, she was at liberty to do with it what she wanted. She had given her brother, William Steer, a loan so that he could buy a house in Farnham. She left her brother Richard Steer, a cash sum of £60, and some type of investment worth £100 to her sister Anne Hunt.

We know that Mary’s maid servant was Sarah Jones who witnessed Mary’s Will with a mark (a squiggle)had probably been with her for many years as Sarah died in 1764.

Mary Steer’s Will – 30 September 1758

I give to my brother Richard Steer the sum of £60

• Richard Steer was born in Farnham in 1688, the oldest son of Richard and Martha Steer.
• Like his father, Richard trained as a bricklayer and was self-sufficient enough by 1716 to marry a Farnham woman – Abigail Jewer, born in 1691.
• The couple were married for ten years and had five children – Mary, Elizabeth, Richard, Sarah, and John. Abigail died, age 35, in 1726.
  

• Richard married Elizabeth Hole (born Elizabeth Underwood) in Farnham in 1743 – a second marriage for both of them.
• Richard outlived Elizabeth, who died in 1752, and he lived on until he was 85, which was a remarkable age for the time.
• He left a Will and here is a summary ~ Richard Steer the Elder: to eldest son Richard £20, to daughter Sarah Cooper (husband Henry)1s/6d a week, £40 each to grandsons John Taylor, Richard and John Moth. All property and estate after legacies and expenses paid to son John Steer who was also the Executor.

To my brother William Steer the sum of money owed to me by him and secured as a mortgage on his home and premises in Farnham.

• In other words, Mary waived the debt.
• William Steer was born in Farnham in 1694 and continued in the family business as a bricklayer. His wife was Phyllis (maiden name unknown) and the couple had three children but only their daughter Phyllis survived infancy.
• In 1730, William had acquired sufficient wealth to purchase a 4 acre hop-ground ‘abutting the west side of the churchyard in Farnham’ from Henry and John Mayne.
• William lived until age 75, dying in Farnham, a year before his wife, Phyllis.

To my sister Ann Hunt and her husband, I give £100 during their natural lives and after their decease, I give £30 part thereof to their daughter Jane and the residue to be divided amongst their other children in equal parts.

• This must have been in the form of an investment that paid an annual dividend rather than a lump sum.
• Ann Steer was the only other daughter of Richard and Martha to survive infancy. She married William Hunt in Farnham in 1726 and had at least five children.

• Why did Mary single out her niece, Jane Hunt, to receive a larger share than her siblings? A good reason may have been that Jane was her goddaughter; Jane was 26 and unmarried when Mary died, and quite possibly living with her aunt as a companion and helper to run the Downing Street house.

Disposal of Clothing

Anne Hunt (sister)	2 brown gowns a flowered gown a gray gown a crimson gown 2 petticoats 6 shifts 6 aprons A bedgown
Phyllis Steer (sister-in-law)	an embroidered gown and quilted petticoat
Phyllis Jackson (niece)	a yellow gown and petticoat
Anne Steer (wife of nephew, Richard)	a purple gown and petticoat
Sarah Cooper (niece)	no item named – a clerical error

Would these women have been happy to receive Mary’s clothes? Chances were that the items were rather dated (Mary was almost 70 when she died) and possibly somewhat worn out. The women could have sold on the items, or taken them to a seamstress to have them remodeled to fit them and bring them more up-to-date. It is possible, however, that Mary’s relatives passed on the items to their servants or to the poor women of Farnham!

Witnesses were John Burgis, who was probably an attorney who witnessed other Farnham wills, Mary’s maid, Sarah Jones (discussed above), and Thomas Russell, Farnham School Master, whose name appears in many records.

Select Sources

• London Metropolitan Archives (Mary Steer’s Will)
• Ancestry.com
• Google images
• Farnham Buildings & People by Nigel Temple 2nd Edition London: Phillimore, 1973