James Arrighi & Castle Ashby

 

On the back of this portrait is written ‘James Arrighi 1877-1960’ and he was the youngest son of Louis Arrighi (see previous post). The portrait was taken by S. H. Greenway Studios, Northampton and Daventry, and probably dates to the late 1900s when James was around thirty years old. His beard and moustache resemble that worn by King George V and give him a very regal look!

Sometime between 1903 and 1905, James Arrighi took the position of Clerk of Works at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. He remained in the area even after retirement, eventually leaving in 1950 according to this entry in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo (25th April):

Image © Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Researching James’ family, I was intrigued by his daughter’s middle name, Amelia Compton Arrighi, who was born in 1905. She was presumably named after the Compton family who reside at Castle Ashby and have done so since the 1500s. I also found the following postcard of Castle Ashby House among the photographs. A souvenir of the Arrighi family’s time there, perhaps?

James Arrighi passed away in 1960 at the age of eighty-four. I have more photographs relating to his family that I plan to share, but will save them for future blog posts.

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Newspaper clippings/information courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive; The British Library Board. Further research carried out using Ancestry and Scotland’s People.