The Ash Family
The Ash family played but a minor role in the development of papermaking on the Dour but they were associated both in work and in social life with well known papermakers in the area and were the ancestors of Henry Hobday who played a prominent part in the development of Buckland Mill and. thus are worthy of mention.
Francis Ash was born in the parish of River in 1740 and became a papermaker at River Mill. It is believed that his father was also a papermaker working at the mill although there is no proof of this. The year of birth of Francis given above is a contradiction to the entry in the River Church Baptismal Records which record. that the first born. to him and his wife Ursula was baptised on 20th. May 1754 at which time both Francis and his wife would have been only fourteen years of age while the family bible records the birth as 26th. May 1764. The sequence of subsequent births to the family confirms the accuracy of the family bible. Ursula, his wife, is known to have been born in 1740 also.
Francis and Ursula Ash had three sons but, as far as is known, only one, Thomas born in. 1773, became a papermaker. He rose to the position of foreman at River Mill and later was foreman at both River and. Crabble mills under the Phipps family. Thomas may well have been a dedicated papermaker for he did not marry until he was 38 years of age, and then to a widow.
John Norwood, born at River in 1767, served his apprenticeship to papermaking at River Mill and in 1795 he married Martha Ash, a daughter of Francis and Ursula Ash. A year later he moved to Lower Buckland Mill still working for Phipps and. he later took over a small mill at Horne Street, Cheriton.
Francis Ash died in 1882 and in 1884 his widow, Ursula, married John Phipps, believed to have been the brother of William Phipps who at one time owned both River and. Crabble mills and operated Lower Buckland Mill. It is believed that it was John who took out a patent for a special watermarking of paper in 1790 and who eventually started a paper machinating business in Thames Street in London. He was some years younger than Ursula whom he out lived by seventeen years.