chr 1694 James s. of Gilbert Rymer 14 May

Marriage 1729 James Rymmer Isabell Jump 10 Nov

burial 1774 May 15 James Rymer of Birkdale

Wills and Inventories now preserved in the Probate Registry at Chester
James Rimer late of Birkdale yeoman deceased 18 Feb 1775 FHL 88829
In the Name of God Amen I James Rymer of Birkdale in the County of Lancaster Yeoman Do for settling my temporal concerns make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner followith First I order and direct that all my just Debts funeral Expences and the Charges of the probate of this my Will Shall be first paid and discharged forth and out of the Profits of my real Estate I do then give and devise my Messuage and Tenement lying in Birkdale and all those Closes and parcels of Moss ground lying within the Parish of Halsall unto Thomas Rymer my son and Mary Carr my Daughter for the Want of her then to her Children Equal Betwixt them Share and share alike charged and Chargeable Nevertheless with the Clear Yearly Annuity or sum of five pound year unto Edward Rymer my son during his Natural life if my term and Interest in the Messuage and Tenement in Birkdale so long Continue And I also charge my real Estate with the Legacie or sum of Five Shillings unto Isabel Rymer my granddaughter Daughter to my son Robert and the same to be in full of her Claims and demands whatsoever to or from my said real Estate Provided my son Edward die before my term in the said Messuage and Tenement in birkdale expired and leave Lawful issue then I give the said Yearly Annuity or sum of five pounds unto the sone of my son Edward during my term and Interest in the said Messuage and Tenement in Birkdale I give and Bequeath unto my sone Edward Rymer all my Wearing Apparel also three Chairs Also I give and Bequeath unto Mary Carr my Daughter the Corner Cubbard six silver tea spoons Cheaue one Pewter dish and the rest of my Houshold goods I give unto my son Thomas and Lastly I do hereby revoke and make void all former and other will or wills by me heretofore made and do Nominate constitute and Appoint Thomas Rymer my son and Mary Carr my Daughter Executor & Executrix of this my Will and Testament in Witness Whereof I the said James Rymer have here unto sett and put my Hand and Seal this Eleventh day of may in the year of our Lord One Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy four Signed James Rimer
Signed Seaed Published and Declared by the Said James Rymer the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who have hereunto Subscribed our names as Witnesses in his sight and Presence
John Johnson
Catherine Johnson
Peter Rymer
The 4th Day of February 1775 Thomas Rymer and Mary Carr the Executor & Exectrix whith in named were Sworn in Common Form before me Lancelot Graham Surrogate
Probate issued 18th of same
James Rymers will Dated May 11th 1774
Howard 499

The Ash Tree Inn and Farm, Birkdale
Some of the older generation in Birkdale still refer to ?Th? old Ash?. This is an affectionate reference to the little eighteenth-century hostelry, the Ash Tree Inn, which once stood near the junction of the present Kew Road and Bedford Road. The site is now occupied by the Portland Hotel, and althougth the small whitewashed building vanished one hundred years ago, its name still clings to its Victorian successor.
the builder of the Ash Tree Inn was Thomas, the enterprising son of the Birkdale yeoman, James Rimmer. their farmhouse stood amid its sandy fields on the north side of the present Bedford Road, and opposite the Portland Hotel. Inn-keeping may have been in the family: a ?Thomas Rymer landlord? is recorded in 1737, and James, eldest son, Robert, became a landdord in Formby. His career was brief, however, as he died in 1761 at the age of only thirty, leaving one child, Isabel. Yeoman James co-operated in the building project, but died whilst the new inn was being built in the year 1774. He left most of his property between his son, Thomas, and daughter Mary, the wife of Richard Carr. Mary received some luxurious items by the standards of the day, including six silver teaspoons, ?cheane? (presumably China), pewter, and a corner cupboard. The Carrs then lived in Blowick, but a family arrangement seems to have been made by which Mary and Richard took over the farmhouse, and Thomas, newly married to the Richard,s sister, Margaret Carr, moved into his new brick-built house. Thomas? share of the holding seems to have been mainly rough ground: seven acres described as warren; just over three acres called Ash Tree hey; and a small area described as ?building and garden?.
The house was in an advantageous position close to the junction of two ancient trackways, one leading to Scarisbrick and the south-east, and the other a route across marshland, called Wham Lane. thomas was still a husbandman, but his inn became increasinglly important and lucartive as the town of Southport developed. Visitors found an excursion to the Isle of Wight, as the district was named (or nicknamed), a pleasant change. They would drive out in donkey carriages, drawn by up to three donkeys, which coped better than horses with the sandy terrain. A writer in the nineteenth century stated: ?There is a little inn and in the season it is no uncommon thing to see thirty or forty donkeys and a dozen or twenty donkey carriages tethered in front of the hotel?. thomas had leased land in front of his inn, and there he laid out a bowling green for his patrons. The more energetic could also enjoy a scramble up to the flagpole which marked the highest point of the adjacent sandhills. This vantage point gave good views over the surrounding country-side: Halsall Church and, beyond it, Clieves Hills and the rising ground towards Aughton could be seen. Further away, Parbold and Ashurst Beacon and the stone tower mill on Harrock Hill would be visable, and on really clear days the Pennines and the hills of Lakeland.
At certain times of the year the gipsies would arrive and set up an encampment, which proved another novelty for the visitors. They could also regale themselves on bacon and eggs and other rural refreshments, perhaps in the shade of the tree which gave both the inn and the neighbouring farm their names.
Besides catering for the tourists, the Ash Tree Inn became an important meeting place for the community, housing events such as the meetings of local societys and their annual roast beef dinners. A notable event took place in 1845, when the implementation of the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act at last began in Birkdale. The landlord by that time was Thomas? son James, aged seventy, and it must have been an important day for him when the lawyers representing the Lord of the Manor and the Rector of North Meols arrived at the inn to meet the Rector himself and the assistant Tithe Commissioner. Their task was to estimate the cash value of the tithes, which from time immemoral had been paid in kind. Perhaps the good fare provided by James assisted in the amicable outcome of their discussions.
James was still landlord in 1851, but by 1861 his second son, Robert, had taken over. Robert had previously farmed eight acres in North Side Lane, near the surviving cottage in Liverpool Road which in 1845 was occupied by Thomas Carr, a kinsman of Robert and of the Carrs of Ash Tree Farm. Sometime during the 1870s the ownership of the inn passed to a brewery. Robert?s address was Upper Aughton Road when he died in 1878, a year after his wife Mary (Carr). He was quite prosperous, leaving bequests totalling £1,500 and leasehold property in Stamford Road, and having acquired the status of ?gentleman? according to the description in his will.
By 1881, the landlord of the Ash Tree was Robert Tilley, a ?foreigner? from Much Wenlick in Shropshire. Within the following decade civilisation set in, and the homely little building was superseded by the somewhat pretentious Portland Hotel, which must have looked strangely out of place among the sandy wastes which were still nearby. Landlord Thomas would perhaps have been pleased to know that not far from his bowling green another form of healthy recreation had begun. In 1889 the newly-formed Birkdale Golf Club secured land for a golf course adjacent to Bedford Road and Liverpool Road, and reserved rooms at the Portland Hotel to serve as its headquarters. Part of the course lay across what is now Bedford Park, and this was the cradle for the first eight years of the now famous Royal Birkdale Golf Club, until its transfer to the Hillside dunes.Page: page 39Page: page 79Page: page 196Page: page 9

• Married: 10 NOV 1729 in North Meols, Lancashire, England

1. Elizabeth RYMER b: in North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 25 OCT 1730 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
2. Robert RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 24 SEP 1732 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
3. Gilbert RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 23 FEB 1734 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
4. Thomas RYMER b: ABT 1737 in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England
5. Isabel RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 20 MAY 1739 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
6. James RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 27 FEB 1742 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
7. Edward RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 30 JUN 1745 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England
8. Mary RYMER b: in Birkdale, North Meols, Lancashire, England c: 26 FEB 1748 in St. Cuthberts, North Meols, Lancashire, England

1. Type: Vital Record
   Title: The Parish Registers of North Meols 1594-1731 Transcribed by Brierley
   Location: FHL
   Publication: Preston 1929
2. Type: Vital Record
   Title: The Parish Registers of North Meols 1732-1812
   Location: FHL
   Author: transcribed by F. H. Cheetham
   Publication: Preston 1934
3. Type: Book
   Periodical: Families and Cottages of Old Birkdale and Ainsdale
   Publication: Carnegie Publishing, 1992