Boucher House
Long known as Boucher House, this was the residence of Malchishua Boucher and his family. Better known as John for obvious reasons, he was born in Peopleton in Worcestershire in 1801, and married Margaret Mycroft in Duffield in 1825. Why Duffield is unknown; Margaret was from a Blackwell family of Mycrofts, her grandparents Matthew Mycroft and Jane Braddow living at Blackwell from 1737 until their deaths in 1806 and 1774 respectively. Perhaps Margaret was in service in Duffield when she and Malchishua met.
The couple took up residence here in Blackwell, perhaps in an earlier cottage, as the house we see now is likely to be dated mid 19th Century, so probably built by them? Malchishua was a Wheelwright, Timber Merchant and Farmer; his family reported that his timber business flourished with the advent of the railways. John and Margaret had 5 children, 3 boys , George, John and Thomas and 2 girls Eliza and Ann.
First born Eliza married at age 17 Stephen Wilkinson, a widower Gentleman of Hilcote Hall aged 46 . Stephen died in 1851 and Eliza remarried in 1853 to Edward Harwood, a solicitor.
Fist son George became a carpenter, never married and was buried in Blackwell in 1890.
Second son John took an apprenticeship as a druggist in Belper, and moved to Bristol where he became a successful Pharmaceutical Chemist, employing up to 5 assistants by 1871. He married Julia in Yorkshire in 1867 and they settled in Bristol. When he died in 1905 he left £74000, worth the equivalent in 2022 of more than £10 Million. Two sons became Joint managing directors of a national Pharmaceutical Company, Ferris Chemists, a third a solicitor, and a fourth a physician and Major with the RAMC in 1939. His 3 daughters also enjoyed comfortable livings.
Youngest son Thomas appears to have gone missing between 1851 and 1871, during which time he married a Cecilia and again no record can be found at present. But the couple can then be found in Sheffield, Thomas dying there in 1905 and Cecilia in 1924. They were survived by a daughter Ada.
Youngest child Ann never married and following the death of her parents was the sole occupier of Boucher House for about 30 years until her death in 1898.
The 1901 census leads us to think that Boucher House was unoccupied on the day of the census, and in 1911 was possibly home to a bricklayer, James Andrews, his wife Maria, and grandson Edgar Tyson Breare.
By 1939 Boucher House was occupied by Alan Vardy Marriott until his death in 1979. Aged 15 in 1911, Alan enlisted and became a corporal with the Machine Gun Corps at the outbreak of World War One. His medal record shows that he moved to the Notts and Derbys Regiment serving in the Tank Corps, and his rank was T/Lt…whether that meant Tank Lieutenant or Technical Lieutenant is not known. Often referred to in the village as Captain Marriott, Alan would be seen occasionally in the George and Dragon socialising with Tommy Cotton of Newton Old Hall, and Teddy Ball the Undertaker.
We are grateful to Paul Ollis, an descendant of the Boucher family for sharing the photo of Malchishua ( John) Boucher.