Introduction
The Storey family played a central role in the establishment of the Arcot estate at Cramlington, Northumberland, and through marriage became closely connected to the Shum and later Trainor families.
Their history reflects a wider pattern of wealth acquired in India being translated into landed status in England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Robert Storey and India
Robert Storey began his career as a medical student before travelling to India at an early stage in his life. There he rose to prominence as Physician to the Nabob of Arcot and is understood to have been associated with the period of the Battle of Arcot.
During his years in India, Storey accumulated considerable wealth, which later enabled him to establish himself as a landowner upon his return to England.
The Acquisition of Cramlington
In 1791, Robert Storey purchased land at East Cramlington from Sir John Lawson, whose family had held the estate for generations.
With this purchase, Storey established the foundation of what would become the Arcot estate, marking his transition from a professional career in India to landed status in Northumberland.
He died on 21 August 1822 at the age of 90.
Marriage and the Shum-Storey Connection
The continuation of the estate passed through Storey’s daughter, Ann Storey.
Ann Storey
In 1795, she married George Shum (born 1775), who had himself been associated with the East India Company. In accordance with the wishes of the Storey family, George Shum assumed the additional surname Storey, becoming George Shum-Storey.
This marriage united two families whose fortunes had both been shaped by service in India.
Arcot Hall
In 1802, George Shum-Storey built Arcot Hall as the family residence on the Cramlington estate.
The name “Arcot” reflects the family’s Indian connections, commemorating the region in which Robert Storey had made his fortune.
Although not designed as a grand architectural showpiece, Arcot Hall was a substantial and comfortable house, forming the centre of the estate and the focus of the family’s life in Northumberland.
Family Legacy
Through the marriage of Ann Storey and George Shum, the Storey inheritance passed into the Shum-Storey line.
Their descendants became established as part of the English landed and professional classes, with connections in law, the clergy, and the military.
Through later generations, the line continued into the Shum family and ultimately into the Trainor family, forming part of the maternal ancestry of Olive Vivian Trainor.
Significance
The Storey family represents a key stage in the transition from:
- professional service in India
- to landed ownership in England
Their acquisition of Cramlington and the creation of the Arcot estate provided the foundation upon which the later Shum-Storey family was built.
This connection forms an important part of the wider network of families that would eventually link to the Seskinore story.