Jolliffee

SHAREHOLDERS OF THE SOMERSETSHIRE COAL CANAL

Thomas Samuel Jolliffe

Biographical Details

Born: 22nd June 1746, Cavendish Square, London

Married: 23rd June 1778. Ann Twyford, daughter of the Rev. Robert Twyford of Kilmersdon

Died: 6th June 1824

Buried: 16th June 1824 at Kilmersdon, Somerset

Monument inside church.

Family: Three sons, one daughter, no issue thereafter.

Portrait of T. S. Jolliffe by Lawrence
(by permission of the Jolliffe family)

Thomas Samuel Jolliffe came from a wealthy landowning family which produced many Members of Parliament. He was MP for Petersfield 1780 to 1787, Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire & Somerset, Lt Colonel 2nd Somerset Fencible Cavalry, High Sherriff 1792. In the 1794 Act of Parliament he was listed as an original shareholder of the Somersetshire Coal Canal. He was an important supporter, as a major landowner in the Wellow Valley, being Lord of the Manor of Wellow as well as Kilmersdon.

The record of the marriage of Jolliffe to Ann Twyford reveals an interesting piece of information about another of the S.C.C. shareholders. One of the witnesses was "Ant Kington". The list of S.C.C. shareholders contains the name Anthony Kington. This name also occurs in the list of shareholders of the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Together with Gore Langton, Jolliffe played a part in the passage of the Dorset & Somerset Canal Act through the committee stages of Parliament in February 1796. Although he was a landowner on the route of the D.& S.C. it appears that he did not become a shareholder. As well as being a S.C.C. shareholder to the tune of £2,000 he was a Trustee of the West HarptreeTurnpike Trust.

AMMERDOWN HOUSE

Ammerdown House, now a listed Grade I building, was designed in Neoclassical-style for Thomas Samuel Jolliffe in 1788 by James Wyatt (1747-1813). The building was constructed of Bath Stone ashlar by Joseph Towsey of Blandford Forum, who became a shareholder in the Dorset & Somerset Canal.

AMMERDOWN COLUMN -- from an old engraving

AMMERDOWN COLUMN -- August 2010

Ammerdown Column, still a prominent landmark on the Ammerdown estate, was commissioned by Thomas Samuel Jolliffe's bachelor son John in 1853. The design of the column is said to have been inspired by the Eddystone Lighthouse. It was designed by the civil engineer and architect Joseph Joplin. John died a year later and his younger brother Rev Thomas Robert Jolliffe completed the column.

The inscription on the plaque at the base of the column reads:-
THIS PILLAR IS ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE GENIUS, ENERGY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THOMAS SAMUEL JOLIFFE, LORD OF THE ADJACENT HUNDREDS OF KILMERSDON AND WELLOW, IN EVERY RELATION OF LIFE, IN THE SENATE AND ON THE SEAT OF JUSTICE, IN EXERCISING THE PECULIAR RIGHTS AND DISCHARGING THE VARIOUS DUTIES OF AN EXTENSIVE LANDHOLDER, CONCILIATED THE REGARD AND ESTEEM OF AN AFFLUENT AND INTELLIGENT DISTRICT. TO HIM WHO RECLAIMED THE SURROUNDING LANDS FROM THEIR ORIGINAL AND STERILE CONDITION, WHO CLOTHED THEM WITH FERTILITY AND VERDURE AND EMBELLISHED THEM WITH TASTEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL DECORATIONS, HIS DESCENDANTS, WITH FEELINGS OF PROFOUND AND GRATEFUL AFFECTION, DEDICATE THIS COLUMN.

AMMERDOWN PARK
VI JUNE MDCCCLIII

(Two other versions of this text in French and Latin appear on other sides of the column).

The JOLLIFFE COAT OF ARMS from the sign of the Jolliffe Arms public house, Kilmersdon.

Return to main index
Return to History
Return to top of this page

Home	Maps	History	Features	Pictures	Books
The SCCS	Magazine	Events	Join us	Contact	Links

Portrait of T. S. Jolliffe by Lawrence (by permission of the Jolliffe family)	Thomas Samuel Jolliffe came from a wealthy landowning family which produced many Members of Parliament. He was MP for Petersfield 1780 to 1787, Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire & Somerset, Lt Colonel 2nd Somerset Fencible Cavalry, High Sherriff 1792. In the 1794 Act of Parliament he was listed as an original shareholder of the Somersetshire Coal Canal. He was an important supporter, as a major landowner in the Wellow Valley, being Lord of the Manor of Wellow as well as Kilmersdon. The record of the marriage of Jolliffe to Ann Twyford reveals an interesting piece of information about another of the S.C.C. shareholders. One of the witnesses was "Ant Kington". The list of S.C.C. shareholders contains the name Anthony Kington. This name also occurs in the list of shareholders of the Kennet & Avon Canal. Together with Gore Langton, Jolliffe played a part in the passage of the Dorset & Somerset Canal Act through the committee stages of Parliament in February 1796. Although he was a landowner on the route of the D.& S.C. it appears that he did not become a shareholder. As well as being a S.C.C. shareholder to the tune of £2,000 he was a Trustee of the West HarptreeTurnpike Trust.
AMMERDOWN HOUSE	Ammerdown House, now a listed Grade I building, was designed in Neoclassical-style for Thomas Samuel Jolliffe in 1788 by James Wyatt (1747-1813). The building was constructed of Bath Stone ashlar by Joseph Towsey of Blandford Forum, who became a shareholder in the Dorset & Somerset Canal.
AMMERDOWN COLUMN -- from an old engraving AMMERDOWN COLUMN -- August 2010	Ammerdown Column, still a prominent landmark on the Ammerdown estate, was commissioned by Thomas Samuel Jolliffe's bachelor son John in 1853. The design of the column is said to have been inspired by the Eddystone Lighthouse. It was designed by the civil engineer and architect Joseph Joplin. John died a year later and his younger brother Rev Thomas Robert Jolliffe completed the column. The inscription on the plaque at the base of the column reads:- THIS PILLAR IS ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE GENIUS, ENERGY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THOMAS SAMUEL JOLIFFE, LORD OF THE ADJACENT HUNDREDS OF KILMERSDON AND WELLOW, IN EVERY RELATION OF LIFE, IN THE SENATE AND ON THE SEAT OF JUSTICE, IN EXERCISING THE PECULIAR RIGHTS AND DISCHARGING THE VARIOUS DUTIES OF AN EXTENSIVE LANDHOLDER, CONCILIATED THE REGARD AND ESTEEM OF AN AFFLUENT AND INTELLIGENT DISTRICT. TO HIM WHO RECLAIMED THE SURROUNDING LANDS FROM THEIR ORIGINAL AND STERILE CONDITION, WHO CLOTHED THEM WITH FERTILITY AND VERDURE AND EMBELLISHED THEM WITH TASTEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL DECORATIONS, HIS DESCENDANTS, WITH FEELINGS OF PROFOUND AND GRATEFUL AFFECTION, DEDICATE THIS COLUMN. AMMERDOWN PARK VI JUNE MDCCCLIII (Two other versions of this text in French and Latin appear on other sides of the column).
The JOLLIFFE COAT OF ARMS from the sign of the Jolliffe Arms public house, Kilmersdon.