Thomas Hobbs and Hannah Oliver

The Cresswell Arms Appleton-le-Street
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Rogers - geograph.org.uk/p/1201302
A classic stone-built inn dating back to the 1800s when it was flanked by a blacksmith and a butcher.

Thomas Hobbs married Hannah Oliver, daughter of George Oliver and Mary Hodgson, at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street, on 29 Dec 1817. 

Hannah, who was 19 at the time of the marriage, had been baptised in Appleton-le-Street on 16 Dec 1798, whereas Thomas was consistently listed as being from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where he was purportedly born on 8 Apr 1792, although I have yet to see any original record to confirm this. Quite what this apparent southerner was doing this far north also currently remains a mystery.

Almost a year before they married, Thomas and Hannah had a son, who was baptised under the name of Thomas Hobbs Oliver. Once his parents had married, he is listed under the surname of Hobbs and when this son married in 1843, is acknowledged on the record as Thomas Hobbs Jnr. The couple had four sons:

1. Thomas Hobbs Oliver bap. 15 January 1817, in Appleton-le-Street
2. William Hobbs bap. 19 Jun 1819 at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street
3. John Hobbs bap. 7 Dec 1828 at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street, buried 17 Nov 1831, also at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street
4. John Hobbs bap. 14 Apr 1834 at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street, buried 22 Oct 1848, also at All Saints Church, Appleton-le-Street 

In 1841, we find Thomas Hobbs (45) Shoemaker in Appleton-Le-Street, Malton, with Hannah Hobbs (40), Thomas Hobbs (20) Farmer, William Hobbs (20) and John Hobbs (7), as well as Harriot Mooring (15) Female Servant,  along with George Reveley (15) and Robert Wilkinson (13), Shoemaker's Apprentices.

In 1851, Thomas Hobbs (57) from Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, is listed as Inn Keeper, Shoemaker & Farmer and it is clear they had taken over the pub from Hannah's father, who had died in 1850. The household consisted: Hannah Hobbs (51) wife, William Hobbs (30) son, Elizabeth Hobbs (6) granddaughter (daughter of son Thomas, who was probably staying with her grandparents then as her mother had just given birth to her sister) and Jane Medcalf (16) House Servant.

In 1861, we find Thomas Hobbs (69) Farmer 29 Acres Public House with Hannah Hobbs (63), William Hobbs (41), Hannah Hobbs (9) granddaughter (again daughter of son Thomas) and Mary Stainsby (13) Kitchen Maid.

In 1871, Thomas Hobbs (78) Farmer, from Henley, Oxfordshire, is confirmed to be at the Cresswell Arms Inn, Appleton-Le-Street, Malton, Yorkshire with Hannah Hobbs (71) and Sarah Suffill (18) Servant from Hovingham, Yorkshire. 

The Cresswell Arms, which dates from at least the early 1800's, is also said to have been a 17th century building. The pub was destroyed - devastated after a fire ripped through the building - in 2020 and later ransacked by intruders. 

Thomas Hobbs died on 31 Aug 1877, aged 85. Probate was granted in 1886, which states that "The Will of Thomas Hobbs late of Appleton-le-Street in the County of York Inkeeper who died 31 August 1877 at Appleton-le-Street was proved at York by Hannah Hobbs of Farfield Howsham in the said County Widow the Relict the sole Executrix." He left a personal estate valued at £235 (around £29K in 2022).

Thomas Paul Hobbs, who died 31 Aug 1877, aged 85, is buried in Appleton-le-Street, and is listed in Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions. There's a head stone in All Saints Churchyard. 

In 1881, the widowed Hannah Hobbs (82) was still running the Public house in Appleton-le-Street with Harry Magson (18) Grandson, Servant (ag lab) - son William's son/stepson - and John Ward (52) Lodger, Farm labourer.

Hannah Hobbs (née Oliver) died on 24 Jul 1887, aged 88. She was also buried in All Saints Churchyard, Appleton-le-Street, along with her late husband.