Edward Melland Schill 1891-1916

Melland Schill lived at Croston Towers off Tempest Road in Alderley Edge. The house was similar in its Gothic design to Bollin Towers, both built in the mid 1850’s and only a few hundred metres apart, but Croston Towers was demolished at the end of WW2.  Lieutenant Schill of the 17th Lancashire Fusiliers and at the age of 25 died of wounds on the Somme in August 1916, after apologising to his commander that he had been hit.  The letter from his CO stated that “... he had made himself a favourite with all ranks with his charming disposition ..”  Melland Schill died 30 years before I was born but I still remember playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’ in Croston Towers’ overgrown gardens before a number of large detached houses were built on the plot in the late 1950’s.  The book ‘Manchester Made Them’ by Katharine Chorley includes many mentions of the Schills (an ex German family) but her book concludes with the start of WW1.  If any reader of this Forum knows any details of what happened to the Schill family or to Croston Towers in the period between the two world wars I would greatly appreciate hearing from them.  Lieutenant Schill lies in Corbie Communal Cemetery with his comrades, and is commemorated on the village war memorial at St Philip’s Church.

Launch of the Manchester International Law Centre (MILC)
Miss Olive B. Schill of Croston Towers Alderley Edge and later of Prestbury left a substantial bequest in her will to the University of Manchester in memory of her brother, Edward Melland Schill, who was killed at the Somme in WW1.  The income generated by this bequest was initially used to host and publish a series of public lectures dealing with international law, organised by Professor Ben Wortley.  On Professor Wortley’s retirement, his successor, Professor Gillian White, decided to replace the lectures with a monograph series, published by Manchester University Press.
MILC now hopes to breathe new life into this monograph series, and to republish some of the classic lectures which still retain interest and relevance.  Approximately twenty researchers are currently associated with MILC and the centre hopes to grow at a steady pace over the next few years.
The centre has a number of current and planned projects, of which one of the most significant is the re-launch of the prestigious Melland Schill public lectures in international law after a 40 year interregnum.  The initial lecture in the revived Melland Schill lecture series will be delivered in Manchester on 15 October by Professor John Dugard when he will discuss contemporary developments in Statehood.
In the autumn MILC will also introduce four new master’s programmes in international law, and the centre is currently working on the creation of a database of international law documents.  In collaboration with Lancaster Law School, MILC is also in the process of organising a series of public lectures for the coming academic year on the impact of the First World War on international law.

Hello Graham, Very interesting to read this! Edward was my great grandmothers cousin. Her name was Dr. Eleanor Sykes (nee. Schill), she grew up in Withington Hall, now demolished and the site redeveloped into Christies Hospital (I believe the Rock Garden that my Great Great Grandfather built was recently uncovered in the grounds. If you are interested here is her obituary written by my great uncle: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/feb/07/obituaries.mainsection
I have parts of the family tree if you are interested but sadly no more details than you have on Edward or future generations of that branch, I think its likely that it didnt continue.

Hello Nick.  Many thanks for your note and comments on this Forum post.  I have tried many times to find more about Croston Towers and the Schill family but without success.  The overall size of the plot was about 5 acres and was bounded by Tempest Road, Woodbrook Road, and Macclesfield Road.  I lived in the coachman’s house in one small corner of this plot.  It was one of the largest of the ‘villa’ plots on the Edge, and about the same size as ‘The Ferns’ plot owned by the Hopkinson family.  Edward’s sister moved to Prestbury after WW1 but I have been unable to find out any details, as I am sure that she would have kept photos of the old house.  But I believe you are correct in saying that the family line probably ended when Olive died.  I have some old plans of the area that shows the size of the plot and the old house and the greenhouses, if you are interested.  Most impressed with the obituary of your relative, she was quiet a lady !!

After the schill family, the house seems to have been lived in by Rigby’s.
See http://scafellhike.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-langstrath-beck-rigby-memorial.html

“Returning back to the Langstrath bridge, John Rigby’s home was at Croston Towers, Cheshire, the family house. In January 1945 John’s father, Mr J. Kay Rigby erected the bridge at Low Ghyll Pot in memory of his son who loved the lake district, spending whatever time he could among the fells.”

He is on the Alderley Edge War memorial “John Derek B RIGBY, PO RAF”
and from a Trafford war dead site: “His parents were formerly of “Brereton”, Arthog Rd, Hale”