View source for William Franks (landowner)

{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
[[File:William Franks and his Wife (Jane Gaussen) with their Children.jpg|thumbnail|''William Franks and his wife (Jane Gaussen) with their children''. [[George Morland]], n.d.<ref>Gaussen, Alice C.C., (Ed.) (1904) [https://archive.org/stream/laterpepyscorres02gausuoft#page/206/mode/2up ''A later Pepys: The correspondence of Sir William Weller Pepys &c. Vol. I''.] London: John Lane, [[The Bodley Head]]. p. 206.</ref> (Morland lodged in Charlotte Street in 1796<ref name=EncylLon>{{cite book|author1=Hibbert, Christopher|author1-link=Christopher Hibbert|author2=Ben Weinreb|author2-link=Ben Weinreb|author3=John Keay|author3-link=John Keay|author4=Julia Keay|title=The London Encyclopaedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC&pg=PA150|year=2010|location=London|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-73878-2|page=150}}</ref>)]]
[[File:Beech Hill Park, Hadley Wood.jpg|thumbnail|Beech Hill Park, as illustrated in ''[[European Magazine]]'', 1 July 1796.<ref>Clark, Nancy. (1978) ''Hadley Wood: Its background and development''. 2nd revised edition. Facing p. 65.</ref>]]
[[File:Jane Gaussen (miniature).jpg|thumbnail|Jane Gaussen in a miniature. Anonymous, n.d.]]
[[File:Jane Gaussen (miniature) (2).jpg|thumbnail|A miniature of Jane Gaussen. Anonymous, n.d.]]
'''William Franks''' (died July 1797) was a landowner in [[East Barnet]], [[Hadley Wood]] and [[Cheshunt]], and the owner of a large estate in the former [[Enfield Chace]].

==Early life==
Franks was the son of [[William Franks (died 1790)|William Franks]] (died 1790) who was important in the development of what is now known as [[Fitzrovia]] in central London and was responsible for the construction of large parts of Percy Street, Rathbone Street and Charlotte Street. William's mother was Mary Franks née Pepys (died 1805).<ref name=percy/>

==Houses==
In 1786, Franks bought Mount Pleasant (later known as [[Belmont (East Barnet)|Belmont]]) from [[Sir William Henry Ashhurst]].<ref>Page, William. (Ed.) (1908) [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol2/pp337-342 "Parishes: East Barnet"] in ''A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 2''. Originally published by [[Victoria County History]], London. British History Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.</ref> In 1790, he bought [[Beech Hill Park]], the former home of [[Francis Russell (died 1795)|Francis Russell]], and sold Mount Pleasant to William Wroughton.<ref name=casseast/>

==Family==
In 1780, Franks married Jane Gaussen<ref name=casseast/> in Leyton, Essex.<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=r_856422041 England Marriages 1538–1973 Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref> Their children included:

*Marianne who married [[John Richard Thackeray]], the rector of nearby [[Monken Hadley]], in 1810.<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=r_854998741%2f2 England Marriages 1538–1973 Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref> Marianne died 23 March 1855.<ref name=nichols>{{cite book|editor=Nichols, John Gough|title=The herald and genealogist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uy89AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA326|volume=II|year=1865|publisher=Nichols|location=London|page=326}}</ref> Marianne and John had a son and two daughters, all baptised at [[Downham Market]].<ref name=Cass114>Cass, Frederick Charles. (1880) ''[https://archive.org/stream/monkenhadley00cass#page/114/mode/2up Monken Hadley]''. London: Nichols, pp. 114–115.</ref>
*Cecilia (baptised 1789)<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbprs%2fb%2f71817869%2f1 Hertfordshire Baptisms Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref> who married firstly (1813) Samuel Robert Gaussen and later (1831) George Jacob Bosanquet, son of [[Jacob Bosanquet]].<ref name=casseast/>
*Charles Franks (1791<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=r_949050081 England, Births & Baptisms 1538–1975 Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref> – 1870<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbprs%2fd%2f72599714%2f1 Hertfordshire Burials Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref>) a banker of Cumberland Street,<ref>[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbc%2f1851%2f0003374487 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription.]. Retrieved 13 January 2016. {{subscription required}}</ref> [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], and [[Buckskin Hall]], [[Cockfosters]].<ref>Page, William (Ed.) (1908) [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol2/pp337-342#h3-0005 "Parishes: East Barnet"] in ''A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 2''. London. pp. 337–342. British History Online. Retrieved 12 January 2016.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/eastbarnet00cass#page/n183/mode/2up Cass, 1885–92, p. 152.]</ref>

==Death==
Franks died at Bristol Wells in July 1797.<ref name=casseast>[[Frederick Charles Cass|Cass, Frederick Charles]]. (1885–92) ''[https://archive.org/stream/eastbarnet00cass#page/n179/mode/2up/ East Barnet]''. London: Nichols, p. 148.</ref> He is buried at [[St John the Baptist, Kentish Town|St John the Baptist]] church, [[Kentish Town]], and a memorial to him and his wife exists in the church.<ref name=percy>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol21/pt3/pp7-11 Percy Street.] Survey of London: Volume 21, the Parish of St Pancras Part 3: Tottenham Court Road and Neighbourhood. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1949. Retrieved 10 August 2015.</ref> After his death, his freehold and leasehold property was auctioned in 1798. Advertising for the sale described the properties as being in "Enfield Chace, East Barnet, on Barnet Common, and on Cheshunt Common".<ref name=Times>"Sales By Auction", ''The Times'', 4 May 1798, p. 4.</ref> Beech Hill Park was described as a "capital residence" and an "elegant spacious modern-built mansion".<ref name=Times/> It was conveyed to Archibald Paris on 12 April 1800<ref name=casseast/> but a Mrs Franks<ref>Wife or mother or both.</ref> remained in residence until at least 1802 and Paris did not move in until 1805.<ref>Clark, p. 33.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbor%2fmanc-rate%2f1876%2ffg%2f0159&parentid=gbor%2fmanc-rate%2f1876%2ffg%2f0159&highlights=%22%22 Franks, Mary Cecilia. Probate Calendars of England & Wales 1858–1959.]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, William}}
[[Category:English landowners]]
[[Category:Hadley Wood]]
[[Category:East Barnet]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:1797 deaths]]
[[Category:Cockfosters]]