THE COLTMANS OF HAGNABY, LINCOLNSHIRE. A Study of Minor Landed Gentry

This study provided a detailed history of the above family, from their origins in Leicester, via guild membership in 17th century London, through to the purchase of the relatively small estate in Lincolnshire in 1716. It concluded with the death of Thomas Coltman, who was the only resident squire, and who was himself the subject of the artist Wright of Derby’s portrait Mr and Mrs Thomas Coltman now displayed in the National Gallery (having been purchased for the nation in 1984 for the sum of £1,419,600.) The Gallery commentary suggested Coltman was a wealthy landowner, and that the basis was a London Coffee House, a belief based on anecdotal family evidence. Verification of this theory was sought via a family history, and no evidence could be found to support it, the Coltman lands and fortune being less than the painting suggested. Thomas Coltman’s correspondence with his patron Sir Joseph Banks was the bedrock upon which this research was based, and revealed their feud, which demonstrated the integrity of Coltman in the face of interference from Banks. Decisions taken during his long tenure of the Bench reveal a man of compassion and probity, and distanced him from the stereotypical image of the 18th century magistrate. This overview of one example of 18th century gentry suggested that the Coltman family did not fit within Professor Mingay’s generalisation (i.e. undistinguished, obscure, environmentally circumscribed) for they were revealed as well-travelled, certainly distinguished within their own community, where they were well-known figures of authority. A local history, this study lends credence to the modem view of the Justice of the Peace as hard-working rather than indolent, and suggests that families such as the Coltmans were an important element in the stability of the Georgian period.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

MPhil

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

De Montfort University

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Lawton, Christine

Licence

• https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/87827980-59fb-4a79-8d4e-cad096c657b8/download