History

The Cloutings first appear in the Boyton records in 1795, when Eliza Cloughton, daughter of Samuel and Margaret, was baptised. The following year, Samuel was involved in a land dispute with the Rector.

There are at least two possibilities for Samuels baptism: the son of Sam Clouting Jun^r and Ann (formerly Turner), who was baptised at Yoxford on 8 February 1765 (in which case, he may have been part of a family which left wills between 1752 and 1780); or the son of Jn^o and Marg^t Clouten who was baptised at Butley on 9 April 1752. There is a substantial difference in their ages, but unfortunately we have no age at death to help. As Butley is much nearer Boyton, the earlier Samuel seems more likely; but the presence of John Turner as a witness at Samuels marriage may support the later birth.

SAMUEL CLOUTEN (sic), a widower, married MARGARET PIPE, a spinster at Rendlesham on 17 January 1786. Both were of that parish and both marked the register. I have found no trace of Samuels previous marriage in Rendlesham or the surrounding villages; the 1786 marriage is the earliest of a Samuel in Suffolk in the International Genealogical Index (IGI). A Rebecca Clouten (who may have been his first wife) was buried at Rendlesham in November 1782, but no age is given.

Samuel and Margarets first child, Sarah, was baptised at Rendlesham in June 1786. Three more children, Samuel, Margaret and WILLIAM were baptised at Eyke between May 1788 and July 1792. Their last three children - Eliza, Maria and James - were baptised at Boyton between November 1795 and July 1800. Although described as a yeoman in 1796, he was listed in the parish register as "Little Farmer and Cottager" in 1797 and "Labourer and Cottager in 1800. In all the baptisms, Margarets maiden name, Pipe, was mentioned, thus confirming that they were all of the same family.

There are several references to Samuel in the records of the Court Baron of the Manor of Boyton, which passed into the control of the Mary Warner Charity in 1738. In 1796, Samuel Pipe of Woodbridge (possibly a relative of Margaret) and Samuel Clouting were involved in a dispute with the Rector of Boyton over a claim to the copyhold of land. After a long hearing and an adjournment:

However, later on the same day the Court admitted him to the copyhold of other land in Boyton. As he was also a member of the Homage (ie the jury) in 1802 and 1803, his contempt of court clearly was not held against him. This links with a legal document of 1858 in the possession of Mr W C P Clouting in which Samuels son - a carpenter, by then living in Ratcliff, Middlesex (now Stepney) - referred to his fathers ownership of:

It seems possible that this was a late example of a fictitious suit (recovery and exemplification) against the vendor to evade restrictions on the sale of land.

Samuel Clouting was buried at Boyton on 6 January 1808. His death was presented to the next meeting of the Court Baron, which was not until 13 October 1814, when his son James was admitted to the "copyhold tenement with yard and garden". However, as James was "an Infant of the age of Fourteen (consistent with his baptism in 1800), he was committed to the care of his "mother Margaret Clouting, widow". There is a burial of a Margaret Clouting "of Southwold" in November 1830, aged 71, which is about the right age.

WILLIAM CLOUTING, single man, married SARAH MORFEE, a minor with the consent of her father, William Morfee, on 23 November 1819. Both were of the parish of Boyton. The witnesses were Ann Morfee and Maria Clouting - almost certainly Williams sister from a comparison of the writing with her marriage in 1824. We have found no earlier trace of William Morfee, though the names Morfee, Morphey, Morfey and Morphew are quite common in Suffolk.

William first appears in the Boyton records as a blacksmith in 1819. He and Sarah had six children baptised at Boyton between 10 January 1821 and 1833. The first was WILLIAM MORPHON (sic) CLOUTING; William senior was listed as a blacksmith in the register. We know little of what happened to their other children, except that George was a blacksmith in 1848, when he went to gaol in Ipswich for 1 months hard labour for "trespass in pursuit of game at Capel St Andrew".

William Clouting, aged 48, was buried at Boyton in July 1840. He therefore does not appear in the Censuses or in the earliest trade directory in the East Suffolk Record Office (Whites 1844). There is no trace of Sarah at Boyton in the 1841 Census; but a Sarah Clouting is listed as occupier of a cottage next to the smithy in the 1843 Tithe Award. I have not traced Sarahs death; she was not buried at Boyton.

WILLIAM CLOUTING (the Morfee was omitted) of Boyton, a bachelor aged 21, married EMMA RAWLINGS of Sutton, a spinster aged 19, at Sutton on 8 February 1842. Emma was the daughter of Jonathan Rawlings, a farmer then farming in Sutton. We had great difficulty in tracing her birth. Her gravestone says she was born in 1821, a little earlier than Census data suggest. In the Censuses she gave her place of birth as Hoo, some miles to the north-west, where we found her fathers probable baptism (in 1793), but not hers. She presumably was not baptised at birth, as we eventually (thanks to the IGI) found her baptism at Boyton in November 1867. By then, she had been a widow for two months and was aged 44.

In the 1841 Census, WILLIAM CLOUTING was listed as blacksmith - this can only be William Morfee Clouting, as his father was dead. William also gave his occupation as blacksmith when he married. In the same Census, EMMA ROWLING, aged 15 (ages in the 1841 Census are rounded), was working as a female servant at the Bell Inn. He is listed as blacksmith in Trade Directories between 1844 and 1864.

When he married, he signed the register, as had his father in 1819, while Emma made her mark. He also signed the accounts when bills were paid and most of the accounts up to 1867 are in the same handwriting. I have not discovered where he was educated. Mrs Royle-Bantoft suggests the family could have afforded to send him to Woodbridge, where there were 11 schools in 1830. The first school was not established in Boyton until 1868, when Williams son William, aged 9 became a founding pupil, having had "previous instruction" in Butley.

William and Emma had ten children baptised at Boyton between December 1843 (Jonathan Rawlings Clowting) and December 1862; and an eleventh, Hannah Margaret, daughter of William Morfee Clouting and Emma, was aged 4 in the 1871 Census but not baptised until 1 March 1870 (and not with her mother in 1867). Their sons were listed in the Censuses as blacksmiths in the forge: James in 1861 (journeyman) and 1871; Charles in 1871; and Charles and William Ebenezer in 1881. Later, William James was blacksmith at Sutton and his brother William at Alderton.

William Morfee Clouting died in 1867. His gravestone reads:

[NB William Morfee junior had died in 1854, leaving ten children, including two more named William.] According to family tradition, William was killed by a horse, but I have been unable to confirm this. His death certificate gives the cause of death as 'No medical attendant'. The informant was Mary Pettit, who was present at death. She lived next door in 1861 and 1871, the wife of George Pettit, an agricultural labourer aged 37 in 1861, with 3 children. I could find no trace of an inquest in the Liberty of St Etheldredas for 1867 (even though the Coroner held an inquest on the death of a child at Shottisham during the following week), nor any reference in the newspapers. If it is true, he may well have been kicked while shoeing the horse - an occupational hazard for blacksmiths.

After her husbands sudden death, Emma appears to have taken over the forge. She was listed as blacksmith in the 1871 Census; and in the Trade Directories between 1869 and 1875. Her son, Charles Jasper, appears as blacksmith for the first time in Kellys for 1879 and then in the 1881 Census.

In their book on Victorian East Bergholt, the East Bergholt Society note that:

Charles Jasper Clouting was already 17 when his father died and his signature appears on all the receipts immediately after his fathers death. However, that could simply reflect Emmas illiteracy. Snell notes the extent of the involvement of women in trades, including women apprenticed as blacksmiths in the 18th century; that there were 512 female blacksmiths recorded in the 1841 Census (in 1871, there were 436) and Glyde noted 25 in Suffolk in 1851. Snell comments:

Emma Clouting was not alone: Emma Thompson was listed as blacksmith at Alderton in the Trade Directories from 1858 to 1875.

In 1884, Emma was elected by the Trustees as a resident in the Mary Warner Almshouses, where she appears in the 1891 Census living at number 14. She died in 1906 and is buried next to her husband.

Charles Jasper continued to operate the smithy well into the twentieth century; and was succeeded by his son, Charles George. Charles Jasper is listed in the Electoral Rolls for 1897, 1899, and 1921; and also in 1921 even though he died in 1922! He, his wife and family are buried in a separate plot, surrounded appropriately by an iron chain.

NOTE: The references to Baptisms, Marriages or Burials from the Boyton and other Parish Registers are from the registers held at the Suffolk Record Office, Ipswich. The details of Births, Marriages and Deaths from 1837 are from the Registrar General, St Catherines house and Census Returns 1841-91 are from the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane.