The Peat family of Mosborough are thought to be descended from an ancient line of the same name from Duffield in Derbyshire (John Peat of Duffield, 1555-1597).
Maurice “Moggy” Peat (1915-1995) was born on 14th June 1915, the youngest son of Rowland Peat (1874-1956) of Vine Grove Farm, Mosborough, cattle trader, and his wife, Rose Ann (formerly Lee, 1878-1958). The family were committed members of the Wesleyan Methodist church, and Maurice was baptised on 18th July 1915 at Mosborough Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church. Living almost opposite the Mosborough Endowed School in School Street, it seems most likely that Maurice would have been a pupil there, and in December 1923, his name appeared on Pied Piper’s Merit List in the Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald, [1]although there is no mention of the reason for his award. After primary school, it is presumed that he attended Woodhouse Grammar School, for a Maurice Peat is listed amongst the prize winners for a Form IIa Science award in 1928[2]. He passed the Northern Universities School Certificate at Woodhouse in 1931[3].
Maurice was a groomsman for his elder brother, Harold (1902-1964), at his wedding at St. Mark’s church, Mosborough in 1933 to Miss Mary Wright (1902-1975), and he was best man at the wedding of his brother, Clarence (1908-1987), to Miss Cissie Honeybone (1908-1993) at Eckington Memorial Methodist Church in 1936[4].
With the likelihood of War being ever-present in the late 1930s, the Government commissioned a population survey in 1939 to provide information for wartime planning. At this time, Maurice, then aged 24, was living with his parents at Vine Grove Farm, assisting his father, Rowland, with managing the farm. In a rare newspaper article about him in January 1949, he is pictured plaiting straw in the ancient art of “corndollie” making, a hobby he had been pursuing for five years or so.
It was not until some years after the War in 1950 that Maurice met and married Constance Mary Hartley (1906-1982) in Sheffield. Constance was the daughter of William Ezekiel Hartley (1870-1955) of Manor Farm, Harthill, farmer, and his wife Edith Mary (formerly Dodson, 1880-1942). The Hartleys were initially at Ridgeway Moor before moving to Woodthorpe Farm at Intake and later to Harthill
After the death of his father in 1956 and his mother in 1958, Maurice was joint executor of their respective estates along with his sister, Clara Marion (1911-2000), who had married Harry Smith (1900-1986) of 77 High Street, Mosborough, fruiterer. Maurice inherited the total of their estates, except for a chair, picture, and table his mother left to his sister, Clara.
Unlike his father, who was relatively active in community affairs, Maurice was anti-social. His habit of driving his Mercedes car or van slowly around the village infuriated local people. He terrified school children and was abusive to any individual who might inadvertently stray unto his land. Typical of the many stories that abound was that of Vera Bacon, the wife of Horace Bacon, butcher of 58 High Street, Mosborough. She had a habit of exercising her dog along a footpath over Maurice Peat’s land in Station Road. Maurice observed her allowing the dog to defecate on his land, after which he took the offending faeces and deposited them in Horace’s shop doorway, saying, “It belongs to you!”.
His wife, Constance Mary, died at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital on 5th August 1982, aged 75, and was buried at Eckington Cemetery, on 11th August of that year, aged 75, with an estate valued at approximately £49,000. Maurice made his Will in July 1993, and he died at Todwick Nursing Home on 13th August 1995, aged 80 years. His estate was valued at £1,622,319. Under the terms of his Will, all his real estate and personal assets were placed into trust for 80 years, for his nephew John and his sisters Sheila and Patricia- these being his sister Marion’s children. Presumably, this was with the specific intent to ensure that none of his surviving relatives would live to benefit.
[1] Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald, 1st December 1923.
[2] Eckington, Woodhouse and Staveley Express, 17th November 1928.
[3] Eckington, Woodhouse and Staveley Express, 28th November 1931.
[4] Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald, 4th September 1936.
Similar Posts
