Friday 26 November 2021

WDYTYA? series 18 - Joe Sugg

 

green necklace draped on a wooden surface



Social media star and TV presenter Joe Sugg was the featured celebrity for Tuesday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, with his sister Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, appearing in brief cameos.

Joe's episode spanned a range of stories from his family's history - telegram operators from Jersey and prominent goldsmiths being among them.

Much of Joe's episode, though, centred on his Huguenot (French Protestant) refugee ancestors.



Huguenots were persecuted by the Catholic majority and governance in France in waves of conflict and persecution from the late 1500s through to the late 1700s.

To avoid having their children forcibly taken from them in the night - as so many in their town had suffered - Joe's family made a desperate decision to send the children to Jersey, which was then and is now a dependency of Britain. Protestants trying to leave France was in itself illegal at this time.

Having smuggled all of the children out, their parents later came to join them, and started their new lives on Jersey.



Joe was surprised to find wealth and status in the family in the form of the Austen and Wapshare lines.

William Sandford Wapshare, a clergyman of Salisbury cathedral, married Cooth Anna Austen in 1813.

Though the episode didn't mention it, a quick search shows that William and Cooth's marriage was written about in one of Jane Austen's letters; whether there was any family connection is unclear, but Jane appeared to know the Wapshare family - probably through the clerical connection, as Jane's father was a member of the clergy - even if the Austen surname itself was coincidence.



Going further back in time, Joe learned about John Austen, a prominent London goldsmith.

John actually became a leading member of the Goldsmiths' Company - the livery company that served as a guild for the goldsmiths of London.

The description of John's estate - with diamonds and jewels which today would be worth millions - was a slightly dazzling snapshot into the level of wealth and precious materials he was dealing with day-in and day-out.



A good episode, with Ed Balls up next week to finish the series.



A reminder that while it may be too late for Christmas orders, Christmas gift certificates are still available! You can find more details here.

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