Deepdale- William the Terrible

It follows on from the page Grindon 1600 onwards – Deepdale Farm.

John Titterton, born circa 1710, died 1769, and his wife Jane Edensor only has one surviving son, William Titterton of Deepdale , born 1739.   William inherited Deepdale and, in memory of the mother he never knew, started a tradition still continued today of using Edensor as a christian name.   He is given the nicknmame ‘The Terrible’  because of the reference to him in a letter which read ‘William Titton of Deepdale is ded & we haved had a very grat fest in our toune & all the touns roundabout on a count of the pece’.  How terrible a person was he?  The full text of the letter and an explanation is given on the page ‘That Terrible Letter’.

William marriage Catherine Edge, the daughter of William Edge of Acre Farm, Leek.  They had four surviving sons

John b.1767 (Ardwick, Cheadle, Glossop, Hilderstone, Manchester, Openshaw, Trentham)

William b.1769 (Bradnop, Caleb, Deepdale, Edensor, Tissington)

George b.1776 (Manchester)

Edensor b 1785, d 1858 without issue


Although William b.1769 was the second son he continued to live at Deepdale. He also had four sons christened John, Edensor, William, and George. But only William and George had families.

George b.1810 (Bradnop, Caleb, Tissington)

William Deepdale.

William ended a family tradition of nearly 200 years and moved from Deepdale in the 1860s to manage a newly built farm at Pirehill Grange, near Stone, Staffs. Two bricks in its main door frame have the initials ‘M T’ and ‘J T’ for his two daughters Mary and Jane. William married Mary Birch in 1837 and had three sons and four daughters with, eventually, over thirty grandchildren. Despite this there are only three male Titterton great-great-grand children; the two sons of the author of this web site (called William Thomas Edenzor and Edward John Edenzor) living in the UK and a Donald William Titterton with three daughters, who lives near Perth, Australia. (Don’t ask why we use a “z” rather than an “s” in Edensor; its a complicated story!!!)

The family of George b.1810 which later settled in the Bradnop area, continued the Edensor tradition with a son Edensor and grandsons Edensor, Thomas Edensor and Arthur Edensor. The majority of the descendants living today are those of William Titterton d.1932 and his wife Jane Snape Bagnall, who lived at Tissington. There are also descendants of Arthur Edensor, through his son Caleb, living in the UK and the USA. (Go back)


John b.1767 (Ardwick, Cheadle, Glossop, Hilderstone, Manchester, Openshaw, Trentham)

John b.1767 was William’s eldest son and settled at Ossoms Hill, not far from Grindon. Possibly he inherited wealth through his wife, Mary Hancock. Also his branch of the family kept in touch with his Edensor cousins who were not poor. His daughter Thomasin, married a John Edensor. (Go back) The names of his sons were somewhat predictable:

William b.1796 (Cheadle, Hilderstone, Trentham)

George b.1802 (Manchester, Glossop)

John b.1809 (Ardwick, Birmingham, Openshaw)


William b.1796 is like his great-grandfather, John, in that his life did not follow the standard easy-to-trace genealogical path. His birth has not been found. His existence and place on the family tree is proved by his mention in the will of his father and that he called his eldest son Edensor. He married Elizabeth Swindell and started his family in Cheadle in 1840 when aged 46. Was he previously in a childless marriage or perhaps in service in the army? He died before 1881.

He had eight sons.

Thomas Loton and (Robert) George were unmarried and living with their mother in 1881. Edward died aged 19.

Both William, b.1844 and Edensor, b.1840 have children recorded in the 1881 Census of the UK but there is no later knowledge of their families.

John married Sarah Bentley in 1868. His family eventually moved to Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent. One descendant lives in Victoria B.C., Canada and has his own web page.

The remaining two brothers may have married sisters. Frank married Albina Noakes and has descendants living in the West Country and Richard married a Charlotte Noakes and moved to Hilderstone, Staffs and it is believed he has descendants living today. (Go back)


There were two families who moved early on to Manchester, George b.1802 and his Uncle George b.1776. This was probably under the influence of the Edensor family who had business interests there. Both families used Edensor as a middle Christian name.

The family of George b.1776 also used Mitchell and Taylor as christian names from successive marriages.

George b.1802 christened a son William Phillips Titterton. Another of his sons, John was killed as a teenager in a gunpowder explosion in a shop in Ashbourne. The family of this younger George moved to Glossop. (The families at Ardwick and Openshaw are different; see entry immediately below)


John b.1809 married Mary Adams and moved to Birmingham. However two of their sons Francis and George were living in Ardwick and Openshaw respectively in 1881. (Go back)