Sir Rowland Hill- a social reformer Rowland Hill
"By chance he witnessed a touching scene, a postman brought a letter from London addressed to a young village girl. She examined the letter, but because the postage on it was so great she refused to accept it. Rowland Hill intervened but the girl was clearly embarrassed by his action. Patiently he questioned her and she finally confessed that the letter was from her fiancé working in London, but as she was too poor to afford letters from him they had devised a neat stratagem. By various ingenious signs and marks drawn on the covering of the letter the young man was able to let her know that  he was keeping well and that he still loved her.
Rowland was profoundly disturbed by this story and he pondered on the problem".6 birthplace
Born: 3rd December 1795, Kidderminster, Worcester/Hereford, the third of six sons.
Married: Caroline Pearson 27th Sept. 1827 St. Peter or Collegiate, Wolverhampton.
Died: 27th August 1879 aged 84 at his residence in Hampstead.
Buried : 1879 Westminster Abbey [2nd chapel to the left of the North entrance].
Father: Thomas Wright Hill. d. 13 June 1851
Mother: Sarah Lea. marr: 29July 1791, St. Martin, Birmingham.
Rowland's siblings: 
Matthew
Edwin
Arthur
Caroline
Frederick
William
Sarah

Rowland's children:
Pearson.10
Clara Pearson.
Louisa Mary.
Eleanor Caroline.

In 1807 Rowland became a teacher-pupil at Hill Top Birmingham, where his father was headmaster. Rowland lectured in astronomy whilst there. He had an artistic ability, winning a national first prize for painting a landscape. He helped to support the family by constructing and repairing scientific instruments.
At the age of 15, Rowland went to work in the assay office in Birmingham, here he inspected and stamped silver items with an assay mark.
Rowland, along with his older brother Matthew, became strongly interested in educational reform, publishing Public Education in 1822 having introduced some of their ideas at Hill Top.

These included:  
*Introduction of science as a compulsory subject
*abolition of corporal punishment
*one afternoon a week allocated to sport
*pupil self government 

Rowland and his brothers became Benthamites* or utilitarian reformers of the early 1800's, after Matthew moved to London and became a barrister. (* from Jeremy Bentham)


 

Thomas Wright Hill (1763-1851), their father, had also been a type of reformer who came from a family of dissenting small traders. It was while serving an apprenticeship in Birmingham  that Rowland's father came under the influence of  Joseph Priestley (scientist, Republican and Unitarian radical). It was Priestley who obtained a position as a teacher for Rowland in a charity school. Thomas returned to this profession starting Hill Top in 1803 after a failed business venture manufacturing ponchos.

In 1818 at the age of twenty-three the Hill family decided to move to Edgbaston near Birmingham. Here in 1819 they established a new school designed by Rowland, called Hazelwood. In terms of physical conditions it was ahead of its time possessing a science laboratory, swimming pool, stage, library, museum, craft room, gas powered lighting and air ducted central heating.

In 1822 Rowland and Matthew published a book elucidating the work they had carried out at Hazelbrook, this brought the school international fame, as a result, boys from many nations began to attend the school.
In 1827 the school was moved to Bruce Castle in Tottenham, North London.
With time Rowland became less and less satisfied with his position as a schoolmaster, he began to look for another occupation other than teaching.

Sir George Rowland Hill's little known foray into the world of Rugby Union9.
George Rowland Hill, not to be confused with Sir Rowland Hill, was involved in the organisation of Rugby Union, acting as president of the organisation for a period of time. This game drew its players originally from the middle class "public schools" (actually private, for some incongruous reason).  The myth of the Rugby school student picking up the "soccer" ball and running was devised to retain the game exclusively as that of the middle and upper classes in Britain. The game was taken home to the British Colonies and the industrial  North of England. This gave a chance for people in the working classes to mix with the middle to upper classes; churches and towns became involved in Union, it became the "works" game. However although Rugby Union was seen as a form of "play" by the well -to -do, the workers saw it as unpaid hard work on top of  an already long and laborious working week.  In addition the Northern Towns became far better at the game than those further south. Thus a breakaway group calling the "new game" Rugby League was developed. The rules of which were originally designed at the George Hotel in Huddersfield. There was  also some involvement from Almondbury primary school8.
Sarah Clark was researching the Hill family out of interest - she is Sarah nee Hill, daughter of Terence Lowry Rowland Hill, deceased, neice of Desmond Hill and grand-daughter of Geoffrey Hill - She was scavenging Google when she came across some sites that reference Sir G Rowland Hill who is the RFU founder not the Penny Post Rowland Hill, it explains that there were two people with similar names with probably very different tastes:
"Sir G. Rowland Hill (1855-1928), President of the Rugby Football Union.George Rowland Hill Reading R.F.C. is an English Rugby Union club, which plays in National Division 3 South. The club is located in the village of Sonning, on the outskirts of Reading in the county of Berkshire.
Reading was formed as Berkshire Wanderers in July 1898 when RFU President Roger Walker, RFU Secretary G Rowland-Hill and Cambridge Blue G R Joyce held a meeting in Pangbourne. Their aim was to set up a rugby club in Reading and the first game was played at the County Cricket Ground, Kensington Road, in September 1898. The Wanderers led a nomadic existence until, shortly before the Second World War, they moved to their present headquarters at Holme Park, Sonning. The club’s name was changed to Reading in 1956 and the first trophy came their way in 1970 when they beat Marlow 16-3 at Maidenhead in the inaugural Berkshire Cup Final.
Here is a small extract of the seconding speech made by Mr. Rowland Hill, the then Secretary of the RFU:
'I have never felt it necessary to advise on matters which were so divided but the time has now arrived where I feel it is my duty to speak out. If the resolution is passed it must inevitably lead towards professionalism. What this resolution means is paying men of playing football. What would be the effect on the working man? The temptation to play rugby was too great already. The opportunities were so many that a man may be away a whole week, and thus earn his wages without doing a single stroke of work. Mr Miller has not given us one practical suggestion as to how his scheme would be carried out. If carried it must break up the Union, and much as I regret this it would be preferable to have division than professionalism'.
The Club was dormant during the Great War, but revived in 1919 under the presidency of George Rowland Hill, who was for 23 years the RFU’s Honorary Secretary, a Committee member for almost 50 years and its President from 1904 to 1907. It was also Rowland Hill who advocated the split of Rugby Football into Union and League. In 1926, Rowland Hill became the first man to be knighted for services to Rugby Football. The main gate at the RFU's Twickenham Rugby Ground is named after him."

With the assistance of Matthew, Rowland was introduced to influential people in London. He became interested in concepts such as the ending of poverty and reduction strategies for crime about which he wrote a paper but with no great effect.
In 1833 he became involved with a group formed to investigate the colonisation of South Australia which at this time was unoccupied territory. As a result of this involvment he became, in 1834 until 1839 Secretary for the South Australian Commission a brain-child of another Benthamite, Gibbon Wakefield.
During the mid 1830's Rowland invested time and money in developing a rotary printing press to speed the production of newsprint. Again he was ahead of his time for the treasury still insisted that rolls of newsprint were not to be used  but only single sheets.
This led to another interest from 1835, that of Post Office Reform his greatest legacy, when he wrote a pamphlet in 1837 called "Post Office Reform : Its Importance and Practicability".
A committee of twelve London businessmen was formed and more than four million signatures were collected in favour of the project. Rowland Hill knew the power of publicity and used it, especially through  newspapers and posters to advertise the benefits of  his proposed reforms. Rowland  had a philanthropic turn of mind evidenced by a pamphlet he wrote in 1837 on improvements for the underpriviledged.
 
"Mothers and fathers who wish to have news of your absent children; Friends who are separated and wish to write to each other; Emigrants who do not want to forget your motherland; Farmers who want to know the best place to sell your produce; Workers and labourers who want to find the best work and the highest wages; support the report of the House of Commons by your petitions in favour of the Uniform Penny Post.....". 
a poster proclamation from the Postal Reform Committee

The proposals were not without their detractors such as Lord Lichfield  (P.M.G.)and Col. Maberly (Sec. to the P.O.).
These proposals for reform were based on the idea that as population growth occurred, taxes would be raised to pay for the system, he recognised that high levies on postal articles reduced the demand for the system.
 
A major plank in the reforms was to introduce a uniform postage rate independent of the distance the article travelled combined with a pre-paid system to reduce the cost of accounting.
On 16th September 1839, as a result of his lobbying of parliamentary progressives and a bill passing through the two houses, Rowland was given a temporary position at the Treasury to supervise the introduction of his reforms. Here he had to "advise' the Post Office but had no real power over it, unlike his adversary , secretary to the Post Office, Col. W.L.Maberly.

The First Postal Codes

Akudo Ike public relations manager for the Royal Mail states that there is evidence from literature available at the postal history museum that Sir Rowland Hill first put forward a proposal to divide London into various postal districts (SE, SW, N, NW, E etc) in 1856 to quicken the sorting process. This was then rolled out across other major cities and built upon. The current postcode format was introduced in 1966 but is based on the initial template Rowland Hill introduced. The year 2014 marks forty years since the roll out of the current post codes was completed.

The Penny Black

25p commemorative stamp 1998Probably his best remembered icon. The Penny Black postage stamp, used to affix to the front of envelopes  was introduced on the 10th January 1840. These  stamps were designed to replace the Mulready wrappers when they were not available. [gb-philately@ttrr.org state that the stamps and the Mulready wrappers were not available until 6th May 1840 whilst 10th January, 1840 was the reduction in postage rates to 1d per 1/2 Oz. Hill thought the envelopes and letter sheets would be preferred, but the convenience of the stamps was selected by the users]. However the wrappers due to their design were lampooned and denigrated by the public. The Penny Black was later changed to the Penny Red so that the postage mark could be seen more clearly.

A huge increase in letter posting resulted from the massive cut in postal charges, with Post Offices being swamped on the first day.
The Penny Post and the adhesive stamp proved to be an overwhelming  economic and social  success.

The stamp printers were producing half a million stamps a day to have them ready for May 6th 1840. Besides the Penny Black the printers also made the Two-Pence Blue. Thereafter stamp collecting became a popular hobby as the number and variety of stamps continued to increase.

Brazil soon followed Britain's lead in introducing the reforms and within ten years most other major economic countries had adopted the reforms in one way or another.
A change of government occurred  when the Tories returned to power in 1844 and Rowland was dismissed from the Treasury Office when his appointment was not renewed by Sir Robert Peel.
 
"His career serves as an illustration of the wave of radical reform which aimed to break down the privileges of old corruption, and to allow men such as himself, his brothers and their Hazlewood pupils to share in the fruits of success"M.J. Daunton
Rowland Hill

He joined the London & Brighton Railway Company, but in 1846 with the return of the Whigs to power he returned  to the Post Office this time in the position of Secretary to the Post Master General, with Maberly still Secretary of the Post Office. The two were adversaries for eight years. In 1854 his ambitions were partly realised when he became the only secretary. For the next ten years he ruled the P.O. somewhat autocratically after the years of frustration. Himself eventually ousted by other younger would be reformists.
 
"part of his success was the ruthless dedication to a single theme."  M.J. Daunton
Rowland Hill

For his progressive services to the Empire, Rowland was knighted as Knight Commander of the Bath by Queen Victoria and made a Fellow of the Royal Society followed by an honorary degree from Oxford University. Rowland retired in 1864 due to ill health.


"Oliver Cromwell had a statue erected to him for cutting off the head of a bad king; how much more did Hill deserve a statue for sticking on the head of a good queen?"
Punch 19th March 1864

A little before his death in 1879 he was given the Freedom of the City of London.
His final honour was to be buried at Westminster Abbey, London.
 
Rowland Hill's statue stands in St. Martin's le Grande opposite the former G.P.O. in London. A simple inscription states:
        "He created a uniform
          Penny Postage 1880"


Speaker required at Kidderminster
The Chairman of Kidderminster Civic Society has found a dearth of information about  Sir Rowland Hill and is looking for someone who likes public speaking and has an interest in the history of Kidderminster and / or Sir Rowland Hill to give a talk.

If you have an interest or know someone who might please contact Nick Hughes by email or by post  telephone or fax:
Painters Solicitors
29 Church Street
Kidderminster
Worcestershire
DY10 2AU
Tel: 01562 822295
Fax: 01562 820083
Communications- the branches of Thomas Wright Hill, Sir Rowland Hill's father.
Tom Morris10 a descendant of Rowland Hill writes that a retired university lecturer is writing a series of books about famous Midlanders (Rowland Hill is one of them) and he has researched the current descendants. The lecturer contacted Tom's dad's uncle, and thus validated all those generations of family stories which they thought were just wishful-thinking.
Apparently there are stories of  tragedy close to Rowland Hill's family, involving an elder son or grandson who was cut out of his will by a jealous sibling, who later ran away to America with an allegedly corrupt solicitor. It should make good reading when it comes out. It will probably be a book produced by the local library service, of the West Midlands' Metropolitan Councils, where the author and Tom's great-uncle live.
Valerie Hill, [email out of date] A descendant through one of the Kidderminster branches of the Hill family states that Rowland Hill's brother, Edwin had a daughter, Marcia who married a solicitor. Valerie believes that this solicitor [Mr. Walters] acted for Rowland Hill although as yet there is no confirmation that these are the same solicitors.11

A contemporary Rowland Hill [email out of date] says Sir Rowland Hill is his 5th great uncle and was born in the centenary of his death - which was why he was named after him!

Ros Plume finds she is related to Rowland probably via a paternal grandfather's maternal grandmother.

Pat Ness is researching her genealogy and found that she is related to one of Rowland's housekeepers, Susannah Fearey. Pat has found that Rowland Hill's brother, Arthur had a son, Albert Hill who lived at Priory Side, All Hallows, Tottenham. Albert had daughters, Helen B. and Clara M. who were both school teachers aged 19 and 17 respectively in the 1881 census. Arthur, who was a commercial clerk was succeeded at Bruce Castle Park School by Norman George Birbeck Hill. Priory Side became Parkside Preparatory School in 1903.

 Anton Boreckyi writes that his wife, Deborah Howarth-Hill, is a direct descendant of Sir Rowland Hill and Lord Hill of Alvarez [ Spanish Peninsula War]. The family's origins are in Shrewsbury, Shrops. The former ancestral home, Hawkestone Manor is now owned by the Catholic Church.

 Pam Ciriani   Pam started her journey into the Rowland Hill aspect of her family tree after a great aunt left a skeletal tree that she and another aunt had constructed. Pam's great grandmother was a member of the Hill family. Pam thinks that  the solicitor mentioned above may be Laundy Walters who married Marcia, living at Woodhays, Wimbledon, Surrey. This family can be found on the I.G.I., they had two children, Mary Helen Walters and Rowland Percy Walters.

Richard Hill finds that his grandfather told him he was a descendant of Sir Rowland Hill through the Rev. Matthew Hill and Thomas Hill who lived at Sutton, Herefordshire. Thomas was born  17th December 1772 and died 27th January 1847, he was married to Sarah. When Richard visited Kidderminster he saw the statue to Rowland Hill outside the shopping centre, and nearly fainted, it was the 'spitting image' of Richard's father who is now in his late sixties! [Could these two descendants be Matthew Davenport Hill, brother to Sir Rowland and their father and mother Thomas Wright Hill and Sarah Lea? -T.M.]

 Anna Stone, the Group Archivist for Aviva plc has discovered that Rowland Hill was an auditor for the 'Protestant Dissenters'* and General Life and Fire Assurance company from 1838 until 1839/1840 when their deed of settlement was written. He then had to resign after being appointed to the Treasury. In 1844 when there was a National Testimonial promoted in his honour the board of the company subscribed five guineas.
* The Protestant Dissenters'  is one of the constituent companies in the Aviva plc group.

 Valerie Irvine [nee Hill] and her cousin once removed, Desmond Hill, are trying to trace their descendants from Rowland's family tree. Valerie's grandmother related how they were related to Rowland in some way. Valerie traces her line back through  her grandfather, Sir Roderick Hill R.A.F., GGF Prof. Micaiah Hill, GGGF Rev. Samuel John Hill, GGGGF Rev. Micaiah Hill [b. 1790, d. 1849] and GGGGGF William Hill of Walsall b. 1746, d.1801.

 Carol Cain is researching a possible Sir Rowland Hill association. Carol has a family history left by her mother who died in the 1960's. The tree states as follows:
"Christyanne Kampard, daughter of Clare Hill of Birmingham, England and Alexander Kamprad was  the niece of Sir Rowland Hill 'of penny postage stamp in England' ". The information also mentions Harbourne Hall, Edgbaston. Clare Emma Hill's  father was Joseph Hill born about 1816, iron brazier who married Mary Ann Bramhall in 1835 at Handsworth near Birmingham. Joseph was buried at Key Hill, Birmingham.

Catherine Green says her father is Stanley Hill and that he conveyed to Catherine that he was Sir Rowland Hill's 4 or 5X  grandfather.

Judy M. Armson [nee Hill] can show direct descendancy from Thomas Wright Hill through Sir Rowland Hill's brother Arthur, born 27 August 1798 at Bruce Grove, London, d. 18 June 1885. Arthur married Ellen Tilt Maurice, their son Edward Bernard Lewin Hill b. 13 Jan. 1834 at Tottenham, Middlesex became the Principal Clerk at the General Post Office. This would indicate that Sir Rowland had some influence on his nephew. Edward married Mary Emmiline Venn b. 1843. Judy has a photograph of Mary.
Edward and Mary's family appear in the 1881 census:
Dwelling:    Bruce Grove
    Census Place:    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Source:    FHL Film 1341336     PRO Ref RG11    Piece 1381    Folio 79    Page 7
    Marr    Age    Sex    Birthplace
Edwd.B.L. HILL    M    47     M    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Head
    Occ:    Principal Clerk General Post Office
Mary E. HILL    M    38     F    Canonbury, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Wife
Edith M. HILL    U    17     F    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Daur
    Occ:    Scholar
Arthur B.L. HILL    U    16     M    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Son
    Occ:    Scholar
Arthur S. HILL    U    11     M    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Son
    Occ:    Scholar
Lydia M. HILL    U    8     F    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Daur
    Occ:    Scholar
Francis W. CLARKE    U    16     M    Plymouth
    Rel:    Visitor
    Occ:    Scholar
Susan HAKIN    U    23     F    Tottenham, Middlesex, England
    Rel:    Servant
    Occ:    Domestic Servant
Maud M. MADLE    U    21     F    Fyfield, Essex, England
    Rel:    Servant
    Occ:    Domestic Servant
Edward and Mary's son was Arthur Bernard Lewin Hill b. 1865 d.1914.

Judy has also found two images of Sir Rowland in some books left by her father. These are rare in that one shows Sir Rowland and his wife Caroline, the other appears to be a photograph of a painting by J.A. Vintner. Permission has been granted for their reproduction here but if you wish to use these images for financial gain then you should contact Judy M. Armson  

Sir Rowland Hill and his wife Caroline (neé Pearson) Painting of Sir Rowland Hill (1795- 181879) by John Alfred Vinter (1828-1905)


Arthur Bernard Lewin HILL, solicitor, was a son of  Edward and Mary Hill. He was born in 1865 and died 1914, he married Eliza Cousins d. 1936. They had a son, Edward Bernard Lewin Hill, Judy's father.

Judy has also submitted information on Frederic Hill, a younger brother to Rowland (no 'k' in the name according to the biography written by his daughter, Constance, a barrister at law.) Frederic[k] married Martha Cowper and they lived at Hill Top, Gough Street, Birmingham. Her father was Professor Cowper who contributed to the diffusion of cheap literature by means of a printing machine which supplanted the old hand presses, her brother Edward practically invented the printing machine.
Frederic[k] and Martha had three daughters: 
                                                        Leonora
                                                        Ellen G. b. 1841, Ellen was an illustrator of books /artist 
                                                        Constance b. 1844 , d.~ 1929
Robert Brown finds that Thomas Wright Hill was his greatx3 grandfather. Sir Rowland Hill's sister, Caroline, 1880-1877, was Robert's greatx2 grandmother. She married Francis Clark in 1824, a silver smith and magistrate. They had eight sons and three daughters. In 1833 the Clarks went to live in the Hazelwood School building after it ceased to be used for such a purpose. In 1850 they decided to emigrate to Adelaide because three of their sons had died from tuberculosis. They felt the warmer climate would prevent or slow down the disease. They bought a property just east of Adelaide which they named Hazelwood. Francis had a bad heart and in March 1853 he went with his eldest son, Sidney, to visit the doctor from the Fatima (the ship which brought them to Adelaide) which lay in in Williamstown, Victoria, where he died from a heart attack, aged 53 years. The Clarks continued to live at Hazelwood. The South Australian Government bought the property in 1913 and it is now a public reserve called Hazelwood Park.  Most of the descendants of Caroline and Francis live in Adelaide.

Robert has been progressively compiling the Hill Family and Clark Family Trees for eventual publication.
 
At the top of the Sir Rowland Hill tree, Robert tells us that John Hill, Tailor of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, was born 1702, died 1782, he married Hannah Dalton, native of Tettenhall near Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
 
Albert was a son of Edwin Hill, 1793-1876.  He married Henrietta (Hettie) Clark, a niece of Francis Clark. 
Their children were:
Nellie Hill, married, Arthur Campbell.
Clara Hill, died 1906.
Edwin Hill, married, Miss Kitto.
Winifred Hill, married, Karl Grüber, lived in Germany.
Warren Hill, married Ethel.
Florence Hill, died 1879.
Annie Hill, married, Leander Roussin, lived in Cairo.
 
Using the book published after Thomas Wright Hill died, The Remains of Thomas Wright Hill, Robert has gone back two more generations.
 
FIRST GENERATION                                                                                                      
Hill, Landowner near Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, married 1. ?, married 2. ?.

SECOND GENERATION
Hill married 1. ?.
Walter Hill, Hatter of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, married Miss Butler.
 
Hill married 2. ?.
Mrs Tencate of Birmingham, Warwickshire.
 
The names of the wives of Thomas Wright Hill's five sons were :

Matthew married Margaret Buchnall.
Edwin married Anne Buchnall (they were sisters)
Rowland married Caroline Pearson.
Arthur married Ellen Maurice.
Frederic married Martha Cowper.

Contact: Robert Brown
  Rowland's sister, Caroline                                                                       Caroline, sister to Sir Rowland Hill
Roger Fearnside has found that his great- grandmother's niece was Mabel Mary Kitto daughter of Prebendary John Fenwick Kitto, Vicar of St. Martin-in-the Fields. She was married here on 4th July 1888 to Edwin Howard Hill [then aged 23], gent. The marriage was entered in The Times newspaper where the groom was shown as living at Qu'Appelle, Canada, son of Albert Hill of Tottenham, gent.

Edwin and Miss Kitto may have had a daughter, Ruby. Roger has located a death certificate for an Edwin Howard Hill of Hornsey Lane, Middlesex, general farmer and widower from 1927 signed by his son Lawrence Davenport Hill of Yale Court, West Hampstead, engineer.
Roger suggests the above Mabel Kitto may be the 'Miss Kitto' shown in Robert Brown's research.

Contact: Roger Fearnside

 A  zipped GEDCOM file of the Rowland Hill Pedigree as pieced together from the above communications is here  [modified 24th Feb 2008] download it and see if you can add anything? If so contact  through guestbook on main page. You will need Winzip  [evaluation version] and also a free copy of  Personal Ancestral File [PAF]* to import the Gedcom into PAF.
*click on 'order/download products' tab, then 'software downloads free' link, then  'Personal Ancestral File Companion 5.2 Basic Version (8.46 MB)' link.

                                                                                                        Bust of Sir Rowland Hill, Westminster Abbey
                                                                                            Sir Rowland Hill is buried in Westminster Abbey.
                                                  The bust can be seen in the second chapel on the left after entering through the North Door and Transept.

                                                                                       Part of Sir Rowland Hill's Last Will and Testament16


e-mail Penny Post!
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Bibliography and contacts:
1. The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the Penny Postage, R & George Birbeck Hill*
    two volumes, 1880. * Rowland Hill's nephew.
2. Rowland Hill and the Penny Post, M.J. Daunton, History Today, August 1985
3. Jessica Midgley, unpublished study 1997
4. Stamp Collecting, S. Phillips
5. Techniques of Philately, L.N. & M. Williams.
6. Collecting Postal History, Prince, Dimitry, Kandasuroff.
7. The Life and Work of Sir Rowland Hill 1795-1879, Jean Farrugia.
8. "History of the Union" ABC T.V. 15th May, 1999.
9. E-mail communication from Rex Sweeny indicates however, that there were TWO Sir Rowland Hills! This other was knighted in 1926 according to "Who was Who".
10. E-mail contact with Tom Morris [Tom, this email address appears to now be invalid, could you please update, a number of persons would like to contact you regarding the publication] Rowland Hill's great x 5 grandson.
11. Valerie Hill of a Kidderminster Hill branch now resident in New York
12. David Drew-Smythe  resident in Sydney Australia writes: Eleanor, daughter of Sir Rowland, married a Smythe. I wonder if you have this husband's full name and any background? I am interested because one of my great great grandfather's brothers was baptised (Bristol 1834) Josiah HILL Smith (Smythe) and I am trying to establish the identity of the particular Hill family that gave its name to this Smith/Smythe son.  If you can help please contact David.
13. Penny Carpenter of Canada is Sir Rowland Hill's cousin 5 x removed. Sir Rowland Hill's mother Sarah Lea is Penny's 4 gr-grandmother's sister.
14. Richard and Betty Hopkinson in New Zealand think they have descendancy through Betty's great grandfather George Bedford who married Esther Hill born about 1852 but still looking for a connection.
14. Pam Ciriani  who used to live in Kidderminster, has placed information on the I.G.I site [Latter Day Saints] re Rowland Hill and his descendants, this may solve some peoples questions.
15. Wikipedia page  

16. By kind permission of  Judy M. Armson 

Further Reading:
Hey, Colin G. Rowland Hill, Genius and Benefactor 1795-1879. Quiller Press, London, 1989. - This includes pictures of Thomas Wright Hill and his sons Matthew, Edwin, Rowland, Arthur and Frederic.. There are also pictures of Hazlewood Scool and Bruce Castle. [Thanks go to Rob Brown in South Australia for that]

Copyright ©  Tim Midgley, 1999 links revised 8th October 2020.