Henry Cottrell

It really was Henry’s dying wish! As a 38 year old man, he was obviously not prepared for death. His will is dated 5th January 1784 and he died, childless, on the 9th January 1784. The plaque says that he had recently arrived from Dhaka (then in India) so perhaps he died of something caught whilst there.

Despite being the younger son, Henry had inherited his father Charles’s estates in the York area. He must have been very fond of his parents as he requested that he be buried near them in Malton (see No. 3), despite residing in Brompton Grove, Middlesex.

Indeed, his will mentions ‘my diamond Ring with a Lock of my said Fathers Hair in it’ which he bequeaths, with his estates, to his elder brother Edward. Henry must have been very wealthy as his wife Hannah Maria was to receive a very generous annuity of £300 (£58,000 in today’s money), ‘as a Token of my Regard and Affection for her’. However, this would be halved if she re-married ‘because a second husband ought to be capable of maintaining a Wife’. Hannah could also keep ‘Towels and Trinkets and ornaments of dress’ that Henry had given her as well as the ‘India Muslins’ that he had brought back from India specifically for her.

There is also a very touching line in the will: ‘I also desire my said Wife to accept of out of my Watches and such other Trinkets which I have worn as she shall think proper’. Henry even remembers to ensure his servant John Mason receives an extra year’s wages following his death. Mourning rings (at one guinea each, today £140) were also to be bought for the executors, Henry’s friend Thomas Pottinger of Bengal, and other friends, as the executors thought proper.

As we can all see, his sorrowful wife and beloved brother did their duty and interred Henry in Malton. According to a subscript to Henry’s will, Hannah Maria was later married to Charles Aylett Esq some time on or before 9th June 1795. Charles Aylett may have been a family friend as his surname appears in the list of witnesses to Henry’s will.