The Pragnells of West Tytherley
Introduction
This is a brief summary of my research into my Pragnell family of West Tytherely, Hampshire and the families who married into them.
I have an extensive database of records of the West Tytherley Pragnells, and the Pragnells who lived in some of the surrounding villages. I also have full dates and references for the information given here. I have far more information on the families of many of the Pragnells listed. I will be happy to share information with genuine researchers who are directly descended from these families. Most of my research has been carried out via census returns or via parish registers, wills and other primary source documents held at the Hampshire and Wiltshire Record Offices.
Contact: helen at sign dorsetbay dot plus dot com. Please use . in place of dot and @ in place of 'at sign'!
The Scammells And Pragnells
In 1851 Thomas Scammell (see 'Joseph Scammell - An Ordinary Man') was "a bakers son, working in father's business".
By 1859 he had left Ludwell and moved to the tiny village of West Tytherley, Hampshire, taking his younger half brother Sidney James with him. Why? The area around West Tytherley is heavily wooded and there was, and indeed still is, a sawmill there. Thomas and Sidney called themselves carpenters after their move but it is not clear whether they learnt the trade in Ludwell or whether they moved to West Tytherley first. There is a big sawmill on the Wardour Estate - could Thomas and Sidney have worked there? Why did they choose a career in carpentry rather than following in their father's footsteps as bakers?
Once living in West Tytherley, Thomas and Sidney Scammell married local sisters, Elizabeth and (Matilda) Agnes Pragnell. Elizabeth and Agnes's father, Robert Pragnell, was the local Carrier, carrying goods from Romsey to Salisbury and Shaftesbury Market. George Ingram. The Pragnell family had lived in West Tytherley for generations. It is possible that they came from the Isle of Wight and they may have moved to West Tytherley in the 16th century to help with the building of Norman Hall, a large Manor house, since rebuilt.
There is also a Scammell/Pragnell marriage in a neighbouring village in 1801 - Thomas Scammell (b.circa 1765) to Ann Pragnell, Widow. No link between the families has yet been established. A Thomas Scammell of East Wellow was also convicted for breaking windows in the riots of 1830. He was the son of Thomas and Anne and was born in 1809. There was a Hampshire Scammell branch, which has not been linked to the Wiltshire branch - but this Thomas has not yet been connected to them, either.