Spring Hill, East Cowes is an estate on the Isle of Wight, England, centred around the manor house of the same name. It was to become the family home of the Shedden family. The estate has sweeping views over The Solent. It currently occupies 22 acres, although it was formerly larger, around 100 acres. The estate encompasses Spring Hill House, a farmhouse, farm cottage, a gatehouse, one other large residence and around half a dozen fields. From the 1800s, East Cowes contained four prominent estates, with Spring Hill being among the first to be built. Spring Hill lay between East Cowes Castle and Norris Castle, with Osborne House, the country estate of Queen Victoria, nearby.
Spring Hill estate was purchased in 1794 by the wealthy William Goodrich, partner in a Bristol shipping business with his brother-in-law, Robert Shedden. The business traded in tobacco and sugar and at the time, East Cowes was the main customs post for importing tobacco and rice into Great Britain from America, making the Isle of Wight a useful base for him.The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle William Goodrich and his wife, Catherine Cole, moved into Spring Hill in 1794. Their daughter Mary and her husband George Shedden, soon moved to the Isle of Wight as well, living in the nearby Slatwoods estate, in Old Road, East Cowes.
Spring Hill House was rebuilt in 1863, by Goodrich's grandson, William George Shedden.Walled Kitchen Gardens of the Isle of Wight, by the Isle of Wight Gardens Trust, Page 40 The house now encompasses 15,380 square feet and has 30 bedrooms.The Isle of Wight County Press dated 15 July 2016, Page 4 In 1947, Spring Hill was purchased by the Congregation of Holy Cross, who used it as a convent until 2016, when it was sold to a development company.
History
The story of Spring Hill largely centres around the Shedden family, who originally hailed from Scotland. The eighteen year-old Robert Shedden left Scotland for America in 1759,The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle to seek his fortune. However, his plans were put in great jeopardy by the American War of Independence, but his fortune was ultimately made by it. Coincidentally, the story also features two Isle of Wights. Isle of Wight County, Virginia, United States and the County of the Isle of Wight, England.
Robert Shedden and John Goodrich
None of these two men ever lived at Spring Hill, which became the home of their descendants. However, their story is pivotal, as to how the family earned their fame and fortune.
Arriving in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, America, the fortune-seeking Scot, Robert Shedden found himself at the Nansemond Tobacco Plantation, owned by John Goodrich, where he was given employment. Goodrich also had a merchant trading business, owning 25 ships, which largely transported tobacco to Britain and gunpowder back to America. Shedden prospered there and he soon ended up in partnership with Goodrich. He also ended up marrying John Goodrich's fourteen-year-old daughter Agatha in 1767 and their families were further joined, when Robert's younger brother Jack married Mary Goodrich, another of John Goodrich's daughters.
With the start of the American War of Independence in 1775, much of the trade between Britain and America was outlawed. This put the Sheddens and Goodrichs in a difficult position and led to them both falling foul of the American authorities.
Robert Shedden was arrested in 1776, charged with supporting the Crown. However, he managed to escape and set sail for New York City, which was still under British control. He lost everything when his property was seized and his house burned to the ground. John Goodrich went on the run, but was captured in 1778 and imprisoned at Williamsburg. He was awaiting a death sentence for treason, but also managed to escape and make his way to New York.The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle
A family of privateers
After escaping to New York, John Goodrich published the following 'advertisement' in the Rivington Royal Gazette of 13 April 1778, a loyalist newspaper of the British controlled New York.
"John Goodrich having extricated himself from the hands of the Virginian rebels (a set of perfidious cruel villains) wishes to see his Friends and his Sons, to fall on ways and means, to square the yards with his persecutors."Rivington's Royal Gazette dated 13 April 1778Manchester Mercury dated 16 June 1778, Page 2
Goodrich got his wish when his son Bridger, along with Robert Shedden; and using two of the family's small, but fast ships, decided to become privateers. Attacking and capturing American navy and trading ships, they confiscated the ships' cargoes. This not only earned them their revenge, but it also aided the British war effort, and because of the considerable ‘prize money’ involved, was also extremely lucrative for them. They did this work very successfully for the next 6 years, until the American war of independence ended in 1783.
In the 1810 book, 'History of Virginia' by Edmund Randolph, it is said that John Goodrich and his 3 sons seemingly captured so many Virginian ships that the whole British navy could match them. As Americans, the Goodrich family were also referred to as arch-traitors to the cause of an independent America.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Page 263
In March 1778, the armed sloop Hammond, commanded by Captain Bridger Goodrich captured the sloop 'Esther', containing 65 Hogsheads of tobacco, from South Quay in Virginia. The story said that in the previous 4 months, he had taken 9 prizes.Caledonian Mercury dated 9 May 1778, Page 3 In April 1780, a British ship called the 'Crown Galley' containing stores and clothing for 500 cavalry soldiers and 50 cannons was taken by an American privateer, but was happily retaken by Goodrich and Shedden's Hammond.Aberdeen Press and Journal dated 26 June 1780, Page 2 In May of 1781, one of their rich trading ships, bound for London, was almost intercepted by the American 'Hector'. Luckily the Virginia, one of their other ships, was on hand to prevent this from happening.Saunders's News-Letter dated 3 July 1781, Page 1 In September 1781, in their ship the Virginia, they captured the schooner Susannah, laden with sugar, from Port-au-Prince.The Derby Mercury dated 13 September 1781, Page 1 In January 1783, the Goodrich ship Virginia, captained by Stanton Hazzard, captured a French ship called the Ranetta, carrying bale goods valued at £40,000. The Ranetta put up quite a fight and 33 men of the Virginia were killed or wounded.Dublin Evening Post dated 28 January 1783, Page 2
When the war ended in 1783, being unable to carry on their lives as privateers and unable to remain in America, the Shedden and the Goodrich families left New York for good in the Virginian ship, 'Hazard'.The Caledonian Mercury dated 23 August 1783, Page 3 It was said that they abandoned Virginia when Lord Dunmore left the country.Norfolk Chronicle dated 24 May 1783, Page 4 They settled in Bristol, an important British trading port and by then, hugely wealthy from all of the prize money they had seized, they set up a number of new business ventures.
However, John Goodrich did not have long to enjoy his new life in England, dying just a few years later in 1785.The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle
Robert Shedden & Sons
In 1786, Robert Shedden established this merchant business, with his two eldest sons, George (listed below) and Robert Shedden Jr. Following the Treaty of Paris, trading could again recommence with America and so their import/export business was restarted from the other side of the Atlantic. As well as this, they also did a lot of trading with Willie Shedden's New York company, Shedden, Patrick & Co, who by 1788 were said to be one of the most successful businesses in New York.
Robert Shedden & Sons were said to be turning over £150,000 per year, but by the mid-1790s, started to concentrate their trade in New Brunswick and the West Indies. They imported sugar and rum, whilst exporting European and Indian produce. The company owned a fleet of ships, but also leased some as well. During this period, the company suffered at the hands of American and French privateers, incurring huge losses. However, despite this, the business was still extremely profitable.
Robert Shedden went on to diversify into the insurance market and he became a leading name at Lloyds, along with his son, George. Robert's knowledge of the merchant trade and shipping, in Britain, America and the West Indies, was invaluable to Lloyds and there are several landmark legal cases in his name. He was also a key member of many of the Lloyds committees.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Pages 240 to 244
Just after the turn of the century, the business acquired a sugar plantation in Trelawny, Jamaica. This consisted of 167 acres of land, worked by around 290 slaves. Later, the Sheddens also bought interests in other Jamaican plantations as well.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Page 245
William Goodrich (1794–1812)
Like Robert Shedden and his brother, Bridger Goodrich, William became a privateer using more of the family ships. In October 1778, with his sloop, the 'Lady Dunmore', Captain William Goodrich captured a brigantine called the Bold Defence, bound for Baltimore. The ship 'Lady Dunmore' was named after the wife of Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia.The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle Around the same time, William also captured an armed schooner called Liberty, which put up some resistance, killing one man and wounding two others. However, Goodrich's men, boarded the Liberty with their cutlasses in their teeth and captured her.The Caledonian Mercury dated 26 December 1778, Page 2
In December 1778, he captured a French Brig, carrying coffee and indigo, said to be worth £12,000.The Northampton Mercury dated 21 December 1778, Page 1 In December 1779, he captured a sloop laden with tobacco and carried it in to New York.The Leeds Intelligencer dated 7 December 1779, Page 3 In December 1780, he captured a Spanish ship, carrying 38,000 dollars, 40,000lbs of Spanish Indigo, 50 hogsheads of sugar, some tobacco and many other valuable items.The Oxford Journal dated 3 February 1781, Page 1
In 1783, with the war of Independence over, he sailed to Britain and settled in Bristol, with the rest of his family. However, in 1794, William Goodrich decided to retire to the Isle of Wight and bought the Spring Hill estate.The Sheddens of East Cowes, by Anne Crofton Dearle At that time, the house was described as being characterised by no peculiarities of design, but standing on the brow of a hill, it commanded views of the Solent. The neighbourhood was described as being extremely beautiful, being almost entirely covered with charming seats and villas.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Page 226 His neighbours included Lord Henry Seymour of the adjoining Norris Castle and on the other side by the architect John Nash at East Cowes Castle.
Life must have seemed very quiet for him there, after all of his adventures in the Americas. One of his concerns in 1803, was to threaten in the local papers to prosecute anyone caught taking sand or soil from the seashore of Spring Hill.The Hampshire Telegraph dated 28 March 1803, Page 2 However, of more significance in 1803, was that Lieutenant general James Arnold of the Royal Engineers, stayed with Goodrich at Spring Hill whilst awaiting his convoy's departure to the West Indies. He was the son of the renowned American General Benedict Arnold. One of the reasons given for why James stayed at Spring Hill was that the estate was within sight of his ship.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Page 231 In 1807, he married Virginia Goodrich.The Prince of Privateers by Nick Hartley, Page 255