When James Rhind-Tutt died last year, he left his family something rather special.
Jim (as he was known) had no children, yet as the last of 11 siblings of the well known Rhind-Tutt family from Stapleford and Paddington he wanted all 145 living family members to preserve and pass on the memories his generation had of their fascinating early family history.
In his will Jim tasked his nephews Andy and Philip and last living cousin Tom to work with Tom’s nephew Stephen and write the family history into a book telling the story of the Rhind-Tutt family, from its founders born in 1840 and 1843 until the last of their children passed in 1964.
Over the past twelve months, while the world was placed on hold through covid, the four family historians carried out Jim’s wishes, met via Zoom weekly and not only pieced together the most fascinating early photos, facts and stories of a Victorian family into a book but also created a museum and archive at Andy’s home for anyone interested to see.
Andy, who was Mayor of Amesbury in 2011 is not new to preserving archives -in 2012 he founded Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, and was the driving force behind negotiating the purchase of the Melor Hall site for the Town Council to build a new museum to showcase its rich past.
When discussing the legacy with Andy he said: “Many local people will remember uncle Jim as quite a character, dedicated to community service, a councillor for 60 years and a collector of local history.
"He recorded his life and things around him in photos and memorabilia and it was not surprising that his last wish was to create a book and finish something we all talked about for decades.
"As we started to consider the stories we had heard in the past, and look at hundreds of old photos we had found, Jim’s cousin Tom brought the stories to life, for he was born in 1927, remembers well his fathers family in the 1930’s and remarkably is the last living grandson of the founders Tom Tutt and Jane Rhind who were married 155 years ago in 1866!”
The Rhind-Tutt family book tells the story of the Thomas Tutt of Wishford, sixth son of George Tutt and Elizabeth Mandrell and Jane Rhind of Paddington, only daughter of Charles who was the first postmaster in 1840 and mother Georgianna Castle secretary to Lady Knatchbull of Kent (who was a Niece of Jane Austen).
It tracks their lives in and around Hyde Park during the Victorian era and that of their six children. The book is packed with photographs from as early as 1866 of the family and places in Wiltshire and London, stories of connections with Winston Churchill and Charles Dickens, pioneer motoring at the turn of the 20th century and a lovely set of photos of Queen Victoria in her carriage.
The book was printed locally by Salisbury Printing and over the bank holiday weekend Andy Philip and Tom hosted a special family reunion at Andy’s home in Allington to celebrate Jim’s life and generous legacy, unveil the museum and as requested hand every family member a book.
Tom, who at 94 is the oldest member of the family said: "It was great to meet cousins and descendants of my grandfather’s siblings who I had never met before and really has been a joy to work with my younger cousins and nephew to put this book together.
"We all miss Jim, but his foresight will ensure the family story and he will never be forgotten.”
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