Banham 1765-1789

ROBERT (b. circa 1737) and ISABEL's eldest child is JOHN (b. circa 1764).  He is baptised on 23.8.1761 aged 2 years. JOHN appears to marry three subsequent MARY's;

• Mary Chapman of Banham on 3.5.1785 and witnessed by Elizabeth Hait (?).  Mary is buried 17.7.1797, the same day as her son CHAPMAN, so probably died following complications during childbirth.

                   JOHN (b. 1764) and MARY have three children:

•  SARAH born 13.3.1782 and baptised 4 days later at Banham.

•  MARY born on 17.8.1785 and baptised 8 days later but there is also a record of their MARY being buried on 15.5.1785 aged 14 years at Banham check my records

• CHAPMAN born 30.4.1797 and baptised on 14.5.1797. He is buried in Banham on 17.7.1797 when his father is shown as a widower.

• Mary Berney of Banham married on 17.11.1798, just over a year after JOHN (b. 1764)'s first wife's death and at the age of about 34 years old.  The marriage was witnessed by George Downs (Jnr). This is likely to be the same George Downs that witnesses ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) and MARY KENT's wedding a year later.

• Mary Drake of Banham on 1.11.1816 witnessed by MARIA GILBERT1. and ROBERT GILBERT. JOHN (b. 1764) would have been about 52 years old.

ROBERT (b.circa 1737) and ISABEL's second child is another ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) who was baptised in 1766 and in 1789 married MARY KENT. This ROBERT is my direct descendant, so more of him later in The Millwrights. He dies at the ripe old age of 74 sometime before the end of September 1840.

The next child is REBECCA (b. circa1770) (aka REBEKAH in 1790) who was baptised in Banham on 18.8.1770 2. REBECCA marries John Woods (Jnr) a Banham man on 10.12.1787 with ROBERT (either her father or her brother who is aged 21) as a witness. Sadly REBEKAH is buried on 7.10.1790 after having been married only three years and aged only 20 years old. There is no evidence, but her death could have been from childbirth.

ISABEL (bap 1772)  is their next child and all we know about her is that she was baptised on 14.12.1772.

Their last child is LIVIA born 12.3.1781 and baptised 4 days later. Her father and mother would have been in their early to mid forties.  ISABEL (bap. 1772) and LIVIA (b. 1781) don't appear in later marriage or death records for Banham.

Going back now to ROBERT (circa1766-1840) and MARY KENT who married in 1789.  They have 10 children between 1790 and 1805, most of whom survive to marry. ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) seems to have been very successful; a wheelwright in 1802, a millwright in 1806 and a maltster. He dies leaving a Will showing he owned a house with a Millwright's shop ajoined to it in Banham, three dwellings with yard, gardens, newly built brick and tiled stables and a cart lodge, 3 acres of enclosed arable land, brick kilns, a malting and a post windmill...

...“with patent sails, fly wheel and all necessary and modern machinery lately completely fitted up and capable of doing an extensive business and now in the occupation of Mr. Jonas Mallett 3 and others.” (4)

ROBERT (circa 1766-1840)'s signature appears in the parish accounts of 1829 (and some other year's records) as an overseer that the accounts were correct indicating that he had been educated.5

ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) and MARY's first children are twin daughters MARY ANN (aka MARIA circa 1815) and REBEKAH ISABELL born on 10.1.1790 (4 months after their marriage and not easy to hide!). Both girls are baptised on 2.2.1790 6. We hear no more of REBEKAH, but when MARY ANN is 23 years old, she marries Joseph Howlett also of Banham on 26.5.1813. Their marriage is witnessed by the mark of GEORGE GILBERT (b.1796) who, assuming it is Mary Ann's brother, would be 17 years old 7. They appear to have only one child; George Howlett (b. circa 1828) born 15 years after they marry. In the 1841 census, George Howlett is 13 years old and found living with his uncle and aunt in Westgate Street, Banham. Further investigation into any Howletts of Banham might shed more light.

Two years into their marriage, ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) and MARY have their first son on 19th October 1791 and duly call him ROBERT (b.1791)! He is baptised 8 days later. More of him below.

Two more daughters follow. LUCY born 19.2.1793 and baptised 3 days later and of whom we hear no more, and HANNA MARIA born just over a year later on 27.3.1794 and baptised a week later.

HANNAH MARIA (b.1794) marries Edward Roper of Bressingham 6 on 13.4.1824. She would have been 30 years old, quite some age in those days.  As her father is 58 by now she may have stayed at home to look after her parents and younger siblings - who knows?!  HANNAH MARIA (b. 1794)'s brother and sister WILLIAM GILBERT (b1802) and SARAH WOODCOCK7 (aged 26) witness the wedding.

In 1841, Edward Roper is listed as a farmer living at Tickenhall Street, Banham with his wife HANNAH MARIA. They are both 45 years old and have three children John Roper aged 15 and born around 2 years after they married, Eliza Roper aged 12 and Edward Roper aged 4.

Twenty years later the 1861 census tells us that the family is living at 111 Great Green, Banham. Edward Roper Snr (aged 66) is a Farmer of 38 acres employing two labourers and a boy.

Houses on Great Green, Banham (1997)

HANNAH MARIA (b. 1794) and Edward Roper  live to a ripe old age for the time. They appear again in the 1871 census as being 76 and 77 years old. This time HANNAH MARIA (b.1794) is shown as being a year older than Edward. They now have retired and are living at 57 Great Green. Eliza Roper, still unmarried at aged 42, is living with them as is their grandaughter Martha E aged 6. It is unknown whether Martha E is the daughter of John Roper (b circa 1826) who would be 45 years old or Edward Roper (b circa 1837) who would be 34 years old or - shock! horror! – unmarried Eliza Roper (b circa 1829).  The 'E' could stand for 'Eliza'!!!!!!

The Roper family stay in Banham for some time. Both White's History Gazeteer & Directory of Norfolk 1883 and 1892 list Miss Eliza Roper living at Yew Cottage and her older brother John Roper who is a farmer, assistant overseer and highway rate collector. By 1892 John is Clerk to the School Board and Attendance Officer 8. He would be 66 years old and his sister 63.

On 25th July 1796, ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) and MARY KENT have their sixth child and second son, GEORGE (b.1796). He is baptised 6 days later. Because the core architecture of Banham hasn't changed and because of the importance of his occupation to the economic survival of the village, I could find out a lot about GEORGE (b.1796), so he also gets a section The Brickmaker devoted to him later.

SARAH is born on 6.12.1798 and baptised 4 days later. She marries George Woodcock of East Harling  in Banham on 20.7.1819. East Harling is a village on the road from Banham to Attleborough.  The marriage is witnessed by John Gaymer and Mary Palmer. (See The Cider Makers below).

George Woodcock is shown in the Parish accounts to have paid 2/6d for firing cutting on 1.10.1823. I am not sure if this is a fine or a charge.  It is likely that SARAH (b.1798) died between 1833 and 1841 in her mid-to-late 30s. We can guess this because George Woodcock is listed in the 1841 census as a Butcher of Whithurst Street, East Harling. He has four children; Ester (sic) aged 15, Charles aged 15, Mary aged 14 and George aged 8. No wife is listed.9 George Woodcock continues to be entioned in the 1850 Gazeteer as a Butcher (he would be about 50 years old).

ROBERT (circa1766-1840) and MARY KENT's third son (and eighth child) is born at Banham on 11.12.1800 and baptised 5 days after. He is named JOSEPH (b.1800) and is my direct line, so more about him later in The Engineers.

1.   MARIA is likely to be MARY ANN (b1790) daughter of ROBERT (circa 1766-1840) as she is stated as being MARIA in the 1815 census and would be about 26 years old. ROBERT could be her brother (b1791) who would be aged 25 or her father who would be 50 years old.

2.   This is 4 years after her brother so it is still conceivable that SUSANNAH, who I have put in SAMUEL and SUSANNA's family, could fit as an elder sister.
3.   Probably his employees keeping the business going.
4.   Norfolk Chronicle - 26th September, 3rd & 10th October 1840 quoted on www.norfolkmills.co.uk
5.   I am assuming the Robert Gilbert referred to in the parish records at this time is Robert (bapt 1766) and therefore aged around 53 and not his son Robert (b.1791) who would be aged 38 – this may be a misassumption and needs further evidence to prove. His son George (b1796) can not write at age 17.
6.   We know REBEKAH is not the one buried 7.10.1790 because that record clearly states the person as being aged 20 years at death.
7.   Would he be able to be a witness at this age?
8.  Kelly's 1892.
9.   Assuming SARAH mothered all the children, CHARLES would have been born circa 1833. in 1841 SARAH does not appear in the census entry. Death is far more likely than divorce in those days!

The Brickmakers

The second son of ROBERT (1766-1840) is GEORGE who was born on the 25th July 1796. He's around 4 years younger than his oldest brother ROBERT (b1791) with 2 sisters between them.GEORGE (1796-1876) marries MARY DOVE also from Banham on Valentine's Day in 1815 when he is just 19 years old.

JOSEPH HOWLETT and MARIA GILBERT are the witnesses at the wedding of GEORGE (1796-1876) and Mary. Maria GILBERT1 is probably GEORGE (1796-1876)'s older sister HANNAH MARIA (b. 1794) who would be one month short of being 21. This wedding is nearly 2 years after GEORGE (1796-1876)'s oldest sister MARY ANN (b1790) married Joseph HOWLETT and at which GEORGE (1796-1876) left his mark as a witness even though he was only 17 years old at the time. By not being able to sign the marriage certificate, we can assume that GEORGE (1796-1876) could not write, unlike the Robert Gilbert (either George's brother or father) who signed the Parish Accounts in 1829.There was no formal schooling in the village for another 60 years2 - though GEORGE (1796-1876) could have been taught later on in his life.

We don't know when GEORGE (1796-1876) became a brickmaker, but we do know that his father owned brick kilns at his death in 1840 and that GEORGE (1796-1876) is listed as a brick maker in the 1841 census when he is 45 years old.


Banham is reported to have grown during the 18th and 19th century:

'with the establishment of a brick works at Hunt's Corner to the west of the village and the development of a local cider industry. Hunt's corner named after the owner of one of two separate works which in the 19thC supplied bricks and tiles over a large area of South Norfolk.' (Banham Heritage Register, 1991).

From the 1841 census, I knew that GEORGE (1796-1876) lived at 55 Westgate Street and, from the map, the brick works were at Hunt's Corner, so I went to look for it on my visit to Banham.I was delighted to find the house in Grove Road (formerly Westgate Street) and, in 1997, the home of the cottage-industry sized Tey Pottery, run by Carol Tey, well known for being the maker of the Britain in Miniature series. This is definately where GEORGE (1796-1876), ran his brickmaking business from. I was kindly shown around by Carol who told me that the house was originally timber-framed and in-filled at the back with brick.

Brickmaker's Farm (1997)

There is also a site of another brick kiln site nearby recorded in 1797 3  but I don't know who lived there; maybe the Hunt's?  It could be where the business started then moved to accommodate demand. The Banham Heritage Register (1991) cites that this brickmaker's was

“...there before 1836. Two separate brickworks (2 firms) in the same place. Former 'Brickmakers Arms' now 'Corner House' with row of brickmakers cottages next door, also a large house, possibly one of the owners houses, next to it. 2 kilns remain, and a barn made from waste bricks.”

Map of Banham (1797) showing location of brick kilns3

Carol showed me two brick 'bottle' shaped kilns in her garden; one used to house a goat, the other left in its original state. She explained that part of her garden was basically hard core from all the bricks crushed into the ground which made a good campsite.

One of the original kilns (1997)








Carol remembers being told that two pheasants were tithed (quarterly?) to the Duke of Norfolk and indeed, Banham was one of the manors of the Duke of Norfolk4 but this still needs to be confirmed.

On the side of the large barn where Carol worked and stored her stock, were patterned bricks built into the external wall. She preferred to think of this as a sort of 'catalogue' to show customers rather than waste bricks (as claimed in the Banham Heritage Register of 1991). Carol also had heard rumours that the brick makers had made the bricks for the Sandringham Estate 5. I have since checked this out and it seems unlikely, but the thistle brick is interesting!

 Wall at Brickmaker's Farm made from waste bricks (or a catalogue?!) (1997)

The reason the bricks were so good was because of the clay pit just outside the village centre. The clay was the closest to be found near the fens and contained the right percentage of iron oxide to make the red 'brick' colour. In 1997 the clay pit was the site of the Monkey Sanctuary at Banham Zoo (and probably still is, if the Zoo hasn't changed it's layout).

At the time of the 1841 census, GEORGE (1796-1876) and Mary and their three children (JAMES (b circa 1816), JOHN (b circa 1821) and MARY ANN (b circa 1826) are still in Banham as are the families of ROBERT (b. 1791) and LIVY (b1805) whilst their brothers JOSEPH (b 1800) and WILLIAM (b 1802) with their respective families have already moved to Bury St Edmunds and their sisters MARY ANN (b 1790), HANNAH MARIA (b 1794) and SARAH (b. 1798) to outlying villages, on marrying. (REBEKAH ISABELL b 1790 and LUCY (b 1793) are where?)


Kelly's Directory and White's Directory of 1845 show that there were 150 people employed making bricks and tiles in Banham with GEORGE GILBERT (1796-1876) listed as a brickmaker as well as J.(John?) Hunt 6. Employing so many people at this time (approx 12% of the local population 7) would have meant that brickmaking would have been very important to the local economy and the livelihood of a large proportion of the village.


The 1851 census shows GEORGE (1796-1876) living at 55 Westgate Street aged 55. He is not only a brickmaker but a farmer of 50 acres employing 15 men, indicating they were well-off financially. MARY (nee Dove) is the same age and listed as a 'farmer's wife'. Their first born son, JAMES (b1815) is still living with them despite being aged 36. He is listed as 'Farmer's son'. GEORGE (1796-1876) and Mary have their grandson Robert GERMANY (b1847) aged 4 (listed in the census as a visitor) staying with them. Their daughter MARY ANN (b1826) had married a local farmer and yeoman John GERMANY8; about 1843 (she would have been only 17 years old) and went on to have 11 children. The young Robert GERMANY (b 1847) may have been being looked after whilst his mother is sick or having another baby, as MARY and John GERMANY's children arrived every 2 years!


GEORGE (1796-1876) and MARY also have a scholar and servant ANN LANCASTER (aged 19) from Fersfield staying with them in 1851. They are still doing well if they have a servant staying with them. The name doesn't seem to appear in the family so is probably not a relative.

We also can see that GEORGE (1796-1876) sees himself more as a farmer than a brickmaker at this time, so may have handed most of the brickmaking business over to the Hunt's.

Hunts Corner, Banham (1997)

By the time of the 1871 census, GEORGE (1796-1876) is living at 137 Hunt's Corner and is a widower, aged 74. He is still a farmer with 37 acres and employing 2 men. He has a housekeeper, Elizabeth Rush born in East Harling (maybe a connection with his sister SARAH (b1798) who lives in that village with her husband George WOODCOCK).  His eldest son,

JAMES (b1815), now 53, is still unmarried, a famer's son and living with his father. They have another servant; Charlotte Twist aged 18 from Old Buckenham.

In the 1871 Census (?) the description of the parish says '...including the Garden House with Hunt's Corner, Gilbert's and Cook's Place 9.

GEORGE (1796-1876) dies at 79 years old on 25th January 1876.  His death is witnessed by his Grand-daughter EMA (sic) JANE GILBERT who lives in Norwich.  It would need to be checked out, but of GEORGE's three children, JAMES (b c1815) stays at home and is handicapped in some way, MARY ANN marries John GERMANY, so her off-spring would carry the family name of Germany, so if EMA is a 'true' grand-daughter she is probably the daughter of JOHN (b.circa 1821).  To still have the family name, she is probably a spinster and may have been nursing GEORGE (1796-1876) in his last days.  Possibly, there is a Norwich family line which can be followed from the 1851 census as JOHN (b1821) is still in Banham in the 1841 census.

 

George Gilbert's Death Certificate (1876)

In the 1881 census (five year later), his eldest son, JAMES (b circa1815) is 60 years old and living with his younger sister MARY ANN (b1826) and her husband John GERMANY, one assumes this will have been since GEORGE (1796-1876)'s death. JAMES is identified in that census  as as “Handicapped / Imbicile” for the first time.

By 1892, John Hunt is listed as the only brickmaker in Banham. He farms as well 10. Hunt's Corner remains a landmark in the village, the reference to Gilbert's Place and Cook's Place appear to have vanished with time.

Section of Banham Ordnance Survey Map (1884) showing Hunt's Corner, Brick Kilns and Corn Windmill.










Footnotes:
1. MARY ANN GILBERT (b.1790) married in 1813 and so, in 1815 when GEORGE (b.1796) married, she would have been Mary Ann HOWLETT.  It may be able to be proved otherwise, but this is why I am assuming that MARIA GILBERT is HANNAH MARIA GILBERT (b. 1794).  It was not uncommon for people to be known by their middle names until well into the 20th Century.

2."A School Board of 5 members was formed compulsorily May 20 1875; Jn Roper, clerk to the board & attendance officer.  Board School, built in 1878, for 183 children; average attendance 150;" Source: Kelly's Directory of Norfolk & Suffolk 1929.


3. Map of Banham 1797, Source: A Topographical Map of the County of Norfolk Surveyed and Measured in the Years 1790, 91, 92, 93 and 94. By Thos Donald, Thos Milne and Assistants.  Planned from a Scale of on Inch to a Statute Mile. The Whole Executed and Published at the expense of the Proprietor William Faden. Geographer to His Majesty and to HRH the Prince of Wales. London August 12th 1797

4.History, Gazeteer, and Directory of Norfolk,etc... by William White. (aka White's Directory) 1836, 1845


5. I checked with the Sandringham archivist (2009).Sandringham Hall was built in 1771, then demolished by the Prince of Wales in 1862 and re-built in 1870, so it is highly unlikely that 'Gilbert' bricks were used at Sandringham unless it was for outhouses.  It is conceivable that bricks from Banham were used when the Hunt family had taken over but there are no existing records to confirm this.

6. A James Hunt is the witness at GEORGE (1796-1876)'s brother ROBERT (b1791)'s wedding to Ann HEWITT 20.07.1812.  It is highly likely that this is a member of the same Hunt family that were brickmaking along with the Gilberts and indicates a good relationship at the time.
In 1836 JAMES HUNT is a Joiner but later in 1845 and 1850, the Hunt family are closely interlinked with ROBERT's brother GEORGE (b 1796) as tile makers. Refer to Kelly's Directory 1845, White's Directory 1845, Hunt & Co's Directory 1850.

7. Total population of Banham in 1841 was 1165.  Source: White's Directory, 1845.


8. The Germany family appears in Banham in the Directories from 1836 – 1883 but are not in the 1892 directory. Then GEORGE GERMANY (b1857?) appears in the 1929 Kelly's Directory as a farmer. 

9.Isaac Cook was a farmer and member of the School Board living at The Grove 1883, White's Directory 1883.

10. By 1892 John Birkbeck Hunt is the only brickmaker listed in Banham (Kelly's Directory, 1892) and by 1929 there are no brickmakers living in Banham and Brickmaker's Farm is inhabited by a farmer Thomas Newton. (Kelly's Directory, 1929)

The Cider Makers

When SARAH (b1798) married George WOODCOCK of East Harling on 20th July 1819, the marriage was witnessed by John GAYMER and Mary PALMER (unknown connection with the family but at a guess, could be George Woodcock's married sister). The Gaymer family had a cider making business in Banham that was very well known and cited as having been in existence since circa 16801. In my childhood (early 1960s), Gaymer's cider was a well known brand until (if my memory serves me well) the 1970s.


It is highly likely that the Gilbert family had connections with the cider making industry.  This may have been part of their farming activity – we know that ROBERT GILBERT (1766-1840 ) had orchards (from his Will) and JOSEPH (b1800) was an Engineer.  In those days, being an engineer meant someone who had knowledge of mechanics.  A cider press is mechanical as are pressured vats so I strongly believe that he may have maintained the cider presses until heading for Bury St Edmonds where we find him in 1841.

The village sign, although modern, shows the brick kiln, cider apples and cider press.

London - 1840s-1914

A Father and Son Partnership (The 1840s)

JOSEPH (b1800) and his son JOHN (b1821) move to Lambeth, a suburb in South London around 1840. They take JOSEPH (b1800)'s youngest children (ROBERT (b circa 1833) and LUCY (b circa 1840)) with them, leaving CHARLES (b circa 1826), HARRY (b circa 1828) and SALLY (b circa1831) all by now of age, in Bury St Edmonds. I haven't followed these lines through but it is likely that there are Gilberts still in Bury St Edmunds that come from this family.


Once in Lambeth, JOHN (b1821) meets and marries a Bethnal Green girl; JANE ELIZABETH REYNOLDS in the Parish Church of St Mary, Lambeth  (.Picture of St Mary's) They marry on 11th July 1841. Her father Charles, also an engineer, may have worked with JOSEPH (b1800) and his engineer son, JOHN (b1821) and witnesses the marriage with a J. L. Gassler. JOHN (b1821) is living in Waterloo Road at the time of his marriage.  Both are of full age, so one assumes 21 years old, although the ages aren't stated.

By the 1851 Census JOSEPH (b1800) and his son JOHN (b 1821) are living opposite each other (at numbers 43 and 44) respectively in Boston Street, Shoreditch, on the north side of the River Thames.  JOSEPH has Mary Ann and their two youngest children and ROBERT (b1833) and LUCY (b1840) living with them.  It's not clear from the copy of the census that I have, but it appears that JOSEPH is 50 and Mary Ann 54 at this time.

By now JOHN (b1821) and Jane have three children JOHN (8?) JOSEPH (b1845) aged 6, and ALFRED (b 1848) aged 3.

 Old Ordnance Survey Map : Shoreditch 1872

JOHN (b1821) also states they are living in Boston Street at Union Mills in 1854 and the Engine Works, Boston Street (1855). One assumes this is the same place but whether they are living there as owners or employees is unknown. Incredibly at the end of the road according to the map of 1872, there is a Brewery.

Boston Street , Shoreditch, London EC2

showing the Brewery at the Hackney Road end,

now site of the Hackney City Farm

 (detail from : Old Ordnance Survey Map : Shoreditch 1872)

I visited the site which is just off Hackney Road.  It is now the Hackney City Farm. Much of the surrounding area was waiting to be re-developed in 1997 so I could get a good feeling of what it must have been like. The street sign for Boston Street was still attached to the wall of a school built in 1873.



According to the City Farm website,

“In the early 1800s the site was occupied by farmers and market gardeners supplying fresh produce to the city of London.


Later as the area became built up, a brewery occupied the site and beer was brewed from late 1880s until the 1930s. West’s brewery as it was then, supplied beer to its own public houses in Hackney Road and nearby Bethnal Green. The water used in the brewing process was supplied by a well, still present today (although capped) in the front garden. “

You can see from the map how, by the 1870s, inner London was typical narrow small terraced housing.  However, I am very curious about Union Mills.  Was this house free for its workers?  Were Joseph and John working for a pre-cursor to the Brewery or did they have their own Engineering works in this area?  I hope to find out more about this in the future.  I suppose I don't want to believe that, from looking through my 21st C eyes, the family went from what seemed
to be a comfortable life in a delightful Norfolk village to 'dark satanic mills', especially when you read the description below:

Shoreditch with its mere 640 acres, had grown faster than any other London parish in the first half of the century and by 1851 it had nearly 130,000 inhabitants. Although the numbers declined thereafter, they did so only slowly. Shoreditch in 1870 was still grossly overcrowded.... Many inhabitants were living in impossibly crowded and airless conditions... The New River Company had not yet provided Shoreditch with a constant water supply......The population was constantly shifting....Those who could afford to, moved away from Shoreditch. Those who came in to replace them, uprooted by other clearances and railway development were those who could afford nothing better.....There were, as there had been for decades, public houses galore.” (Old Ordnance Survey Map: Shoreditch 1872)

The Inventor ( The 1850s)


My grandfather (ALBERT EDWARD Gilbert (1904-1998) remembers his great-grandfather (JOHN b 1821) as

“a man of sub-stature, with coach and horse and by profession an engineer. I was told, as a child, that he lost his money at law, fighting cases (with people) who had stolen his inventions. “

In consulting the Patent's Office records, there are many submitted patents that have not been sealed under the name 'Gilbert' which may indicate their originality was challenged.  This would have to be verified through court records if they still exist.

However, two patents were sealed:

• Patent No 552 dated 12th September 1855 is An Improved Pump or Pumping Apparatus by John Gilbert of the Engine Works, Boston Street, Hackney.

• Patent No 2029, dated 6th December 1873 by John Gilbert of Raymouth Road, South Bermondsey is :Gilbert's Improvements in Obtaining and Applying Motive Power. This also refers to a Patent No 2568 dated 15th October 1861.

JOHN (b1821) and Jane have 4 sons, the youngest is GEORGE FITZHERBERT born on the 4th of August1854 and is my direct line. Interestingly his birth wasn't registered for over a month. And then by his mother.  The origins of the middle name Fitzhertbert are currently a mystery.  Normally anyone called Fitz.... is illegitimate.  But GEORGE (1854-  ) is the youngest son, so this would not be the case here.  It may be that Fitzherbert is a name inherited from his mother, Jane's (Reynolds) side.


We believed from ALBERT EDWARD (1904-1998) that two of George's brothers emigrated to the USA. To date there are no records to support, or deny this, but neither JOSEPH (b circa 1845) nor ALFRED (born circa 1848) seem to be on the 1881 census for Middlesex or Surrey. However there was a cholera outbreak in 1866 that took the lives of many living in the crowded inner London districts, To date, I haven't searched for their Death certificates.

Back South of the River (The 1870s)

By 1873 the family are living back south of the River Thames in 30 Raymouth Rd, Rotherhithe SE16.  Raymouth Road is right next to the railway line and close to Southwark Park which was opened in 1869.

 Raymouth Road is just off the right-hand corner of this map

(Old Ordnance Survey Maps: Bermondsey and Wapping 1894)

“The railway line runs from London Bridge Station and began as the London and Greenwich Railway in 1836.... Bermondsey and Wapping were poor and crowded districts by 1894: poor because much of the local employment was casual and unskilled, and because those who could afford to live in more salubrious districts moved away from the warehouses, factories and railway viaducts; and crowded because the land was entirely developed by 1894, yet commerce and industry needed more space in districts where casual employment compelled large numbers to live very near their places of work.....(Stephen Humphrey 6)

GEORGE FITZHERBERT (1854-    ) marries a Bermondsey girl Elizabeth POW on 25th April 1875 in the Parish Church of St John's Southwark. He's 21 and she is 19 years old.

 George Fitzherbert and Elizabeth Pow's Marriage Certificate (1875)

Living with the In-Laws (The 1880s)

In 1881 and 1896, GEORGE FITZHERBERT (1854- ) is a Pottery Works Engine Driver – at marriage (1875) he was cited as an Engineer like his father (JOHN b1821) and on the birth of their first son two years later in 1877 he is cited as an Engine Fitter.

Elizabeth's parents William Pow and Ann Rebecca (nee Fudge) lived at 46 Raymouth Road from 1880 -1893, so Elizabeth was 'the girl next door' – ish!


We are not sure which pottery GEORGE FITZHERBERT (b1854) worked at as there were several in the area.  However, it could be the Doulton Works at Lambeth, due to a 3 inch (5.5 cm) jug inscribed with his name and the date 1887 that my father has.  This doesn't quite make sense however, and needs further research:

George would only have been 33 years old so the ornament wouldn't be for long-service (and married 12 years – the 9th anniversary is celebrated with pottery!) so it seems strange for him to be awarded a little jug, or as a driver, to have made it himself. I haven't seen anything in Doulton history on the web to indicate why this would be a special year to the factory either. Alternatively it could be from a member of another branch of the family – another little mystery maybe?





Just out of interest, Elizabeth's father was a leather dresser (and later her brother was a Tanner)  which fits in with the area they lived in;

“As crucial to the economy of Bermonsey as the river was the leather industry. The tanneries occupied much space south of the railway.” 7

GEORGE FITZHERBERT (1854-  ) and Elizabeth have 4 sons and one daughter. Just over 2 years after their marriage, the eldest (and my direct line) WILLIAM GEORGE was born on 16th May 1877 at 53 Silverlock Street, Rotherhithe. I think this is near Warndon St, just round the corner from Raymouth Road. Again it takes over a month to register the birth which was done by Elizabeth.


Four years later, by the 1881 census, GEORGE FITZHERBERT (1854- ), his wife Elizabeth, 2 of their children x and y are living at 46 Raymouth Road, Rotherhithe with Elizabeth's parents (in their 60s) and John Pow, (Elizabeth's brother aged 37 unmarried, unemployed and also born in Bermondsey). This makes a household of seven and I can only speculate whether it was through choice or hard times.


Within the next 10 years, Elizabeth's father William Pow has died. The 1891 census shows us the household still includes Ann Pow, now a widow aged 75 and John Pow, GEORGE FITZHERBERT's brother-in-law aged 47 who is now a Tanner.

By 1904,  GEORGE FITZHERBERT (1854) and Elizabeth have moved to 14 Poplar Road, Camberwell. This (and her age) probably indicates that Ann Pow is by now deceased. Maybe John Pow remained at Raymouth Road.  This would need to be investigated.

Poplar Road, Camberwell, South London

My grandad (ALBERT EDWARD (1904-1998) remembers having an uncle nicknamed 'Jumbo'. Indeed an elephant called Jumbo was brought for London Zoo by P. T. Barnam in 1882, so 'Jumbo' could conceivably be ALFRED (born about 1882). Grandad remembers his uncle Jumbo being a Stoker in the Royal Navy. I have looked at some ship's records but didn't find anything, however, this may still be traceable. His brother ARTHUR is remembered by grandad as being a "driver of a horse and cart".


ELIZABETH JANE (aka LILLIAN) married JOSEPH KING (1870-1931) a Draper's Collector in 1910. She would have been 24 years old. They had 6 children Katheryn (1912-1985), Joe (1914- ?), Nellie (1916-?), Len (1920-2002), Phyllis (1922-?) and Bernard (1924-1963). LILLIE who died in 1974 at Lewisham Hospital at the age of 61 8.


ELIZABETH POW died of tuberculosis on the 29th May 1904 at 14 Poplar Road in Camberwell. She was only 47 and her husband George was with her at her death. He would have been widowed at the age of 50.

Death Certificate of Elizabeth Pow (1904)

Third Generation Londoners (The 1890s)

Returning back to the eldest son, WILLIAM GEORGE (1877-1933);  he started his working life as a printer's machine boy (aged 14 circa 1891) but within five years had become a Stoker by trade.  For some unknown reason the marriage certificate states his name as WILLIAM JOHN when he marries SARAH ANNIE ROGERS on the 24th May 1896 in St Crispin's Church, Bermondsey.   It is undoubtably the same person.  WILLIAM (1877-1933) was 19 and Sarah was 18.

The marriage certificate of William and Sarah Annie Rogers 24th May 1896

(William George is now William John)

 

Sarah was given a Book of Common Prayer by the officiating minister which I still have.











From the marriage certificate we see that GEORGE FITZHERBERT (b1854) is still an Engine Driver though we don't know if that was still at the Pottery he was working at in 1881. Sarah Annie ROGERS (1878-1933) was living at 28 Southwark Park Road and her father Henry ROGERS was a Lighterman on the Thames.

There is a family story that Henry ROGERS fell into the Thames and drowned whilst working. Sarah's mother re-married a docker who regularly became drunk (family name ELLIS?). He would fall asleep at his meal so she would give his food to the children and tell him he had eaten it when he woke.




Mother of Sarah Annie Rogers circa 1900

 

 Sarah Annie Gilbert (nee Rogers) circa 1896

Thought to be at the time of her marriage in 1896 

by the wedding ring being clearly shown in the pose and from the clothes.

 Sarah Annie circa 1900

Probably a bit later – thinner face, leg o' mutton sleeves and lace cap(?)

– a style she is wearing in the family picture of about 1906

The Turn of the Century (The 1900s)

Sarah and WILLIAM GEORGE (1877-1933) had six children. I am descended from ALBERT EDWARD (1904-1998) their fifth child.

WILLIAM GEORGE (1877-1933) and Sarah Annie with five of their 6 children.

Far right: William George (1897-1916), next right Emily Grace (1898-1990)

Bottom row: on rocking horse, Albert Edward (1904-1998), Alfred Henry (1903-1974)  Sarah Annie (1878-1928), Lillian (1900-1974). Thomas (?-?) wasn't born yet, dating the picture at around 1906.

I was able to photocopy this picture just before it disintegrated – hence poor quality. Originally it was sepia, about A3 size and had been framed at one time.

SARAH ANNIE (1878-1928) circa 1910. This a home photograph, and the clothes seem later than those above, so the child she is holding may be Tom.









Footnotes:


1 how we work out John birthdate

2. 1841 Census

3. From the 1881 Census (Middlesex) we find a ROBERT GILBERT, Engine Fitter living at 8 Pundersons Gardens, Bethnal Green.  He is married to CATHERINE borth in North Roode who does somthing will bonnets (writing is unclear).  They are both 48 years old.  They have five children living with them; HELLEN, Furworker aged 17, SARAH, Trimmer aged 14, MINNIE, Scholar aged 11, ALICE, aged 9 and ROSE aged 5.


4. As shown on GEORGE FITZHERBERT's Birth Certificate, August 1854

5. Patent No 552 dated 12th September 1855 is An Improved Pump or Pumping Apparatus by John Gilbert of the Engine Works, Boston Street, Hackney.

6.  Stephen Humphrey (TBA)

7.  Leather (TBA)

8. Lillian King (TBA)