INTERVIEW
He can trace his family back to 1740 in
Seaview, and then back beyond that to
1600 and even 1200.
The Seaview connection – and the
fact that his ancestor Anthony Caws
essentially founded the village – is what
fascinates people the most, particular
in an age when families are more
fragmented and rarely stay in one area
even for one generation.
Strong arm tactics
The undisputed “grand daddy” of the
Caws clan was Old John, who came as
bailiff to the St Helens Priory in 1740,
from Kingston in Shorwell.
John’s main claim to fame was his
extraordinary strength. Apparently
double-jointed, he could lift extraordinary
weights and it was said that if a wheel
came off the back of a hay wagon, he
could lift it single-handedly. He also had
the ability to lift a barrel of ale and drink
from it!
Naturally, such claims attracted
pugnacious challengers, including a
‘stout’ prize fighter from Portsmouth,
who crossed the Solent to take him on,
ridiculing him for his size and appearance.
However, it turned out to be a shortlived contest, as mighty little John shook
hands with the champion so hard that
the blood dripped from his fingers –
Neptune off Seaview circa 1890s
and then promptly threw him onto a
blackthorn hedge.
John was also known for his large
family of 12 children. As many of them
grew into adults, the local vicar decided
that the family was ‘too noisy’ for its
increasingly overcrowded place at Fairy
Hill, so in exchange for their property,
they were given the Old Fort field on
which to build a house for every child.
Will jokes: “Not much has changed
there – we’re still a noisy lot. Or should I
say, we are not exactly shy!”
It’s not known what became of all of
old John’s children, but one son was
famously poisoned by mistakenly eating
hemlock, whilst William built the large
house that became the Seaview Hotel.
It was John’s grandson Anthony who
went on to become the father of the
Caws family that settled in Seaview, and
became sea pilots.
They were quite famous sea pilots too,
says Will, who treasures a model of one
of his ancestor’s boats, the Neptune.
“I have a great admiration for what they
Seaview fisherman Tim Wood, Herillerron Howe, Nugent Caws, Alf Mursell, Joe Matthews and Daniel Walker, 1880
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