On Hiatus

I know that I have been away for several months but I plan to resume blog posts in the very near future - both here, and at my other blog site A Pocket Full of Family Memories. I cannot guarantee the posts will be as regular as they once were, but I will definitely be keeping this local history blog site running so please do re-visit from time to time and you just may find a new post. Thank you!

William Beane : Chimney Sweep

William Beane was born in Beccles in 1831, the son of John Beane and Lydia Lester. In 1841 John and Lydia and their seven children resided at Jones's Score in Beccles. Their neighbours were my four times great-grandmother Mary Ann Waters, and my three times great-grandfather George Waters. The Beane family lived at Jones's Score even after John Beane died in 1847, aged 51 but some time before 1861, Lydia and her son William and daughter Lydia moved to Swine's Green (William's brother Thomas Beane remained at Jones's Score until his death in 1889. He was also a Chimney Sweep). The following census sees William and his mother Lydia living in London Road. His sister Lydia married in 1874 and his mother died in 1879 at the age of 86. By 1891, William was living in Newgate Street in a shed belonging to William Thorpe. William was never married.

William 'Billy' Beane was a Chimney Sweep, employed to clear soot and ash from chimneys, the trade learned from his father John Beane who was also a Sweep. It is more than likely that William started out by going with his father on jobs around Beccles, as his "climbing boy". These were apprentices of the master sweep, who were small enough to be able to climb inside the chimney flue. Sometimes master sweeps employed paupers or orphans from the workhouse. Once a boy's seven-year apprenticeship was completed, he could work as a journeyman sweep, continuing to work for a master sweep of his choice.

A master sweep could have more than one apprentice. They would start the morning by walking through the streets of the town, calling out such cries as, "Soot - Oh Sweep" to let house-owners know that they were around. Once engaged in a job the climbing boys would crawl caterpillar-like up through the flue of the chimney and use a brush to dislodge the loose soot and scrape away any solid bits. The soot would then be collected and bagged up to be carried back to the master sweep's cart or nearby yard. Soot was a valuable commodity in Victorian times, sometimes fetching as much as 9 pence for a bushel. Sweep's cleared around four to five chimneys per day.

At least once a week the boys were bathed in a tub by the mistress of the sweep's yard, so this would have been done by Lydia Beane.

Victorian Sweep Boy
www.victorianchildren.org

A sweep's life was brutally hard. The constant exposure to thick black dust and soot and the hot flues, caused burns, bruises and calloused skin, eye inflammation and the very real possibility of falling, contracting cancer or respiratory disease. They usually slept rough, ate little and could easily develop spinal problems resulting in deformity or stunted growth.

In 1875 a new Chimney Sweepers Act superseded the Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act of 1840. The 1875 Act ensured that all chimney sweeps had to be registered with the police therefore the boys work was officially supervised.

 *       *       *

In May 1864 William Beane was sentenced to two months imprisonment with hard labour for assaulting a Police Constable. Two years later, William was charged with wilfully damaging property of the Victoria Arms. He was turned out by the landlord after becomning verbally abusive and he then struck a window with his fist and kicked it. Beane was fined 9 shillings and 6 pence, and 4 shillings and 6 pence damages.

An interesting marriage union came about in 1874 after an appearance in court by William Flowers who was assaulted by Lydia Beane's (William's sister) former "love interest", Jim Crowe. Flowers, aged 84, had usurped Crowe by winning Lydia's affections after Crowe had left Beccles for some time and was not happy to hear the news upon returning to the town. Jim Crowe was fined 18 shillings and 6 pence or 14 days imprisonment. To put the younger generation in the shade, William Flowers won Lydia Beane's heart, a woman half his age, and they were married that same year. A celebration which was well renowned in Beccles at that time. However, the romance quickly turned sour when in January 1875 William Flowers attempted suicide by hanging. His brother-in-law, Billy Beane, found him in the shed (at Flowers' home in Ravensmere) and cut him down. Subsequently William Flowers cut his own throat and was sent to Shipmeadow Workhouse where he later died.

In September 1874, William Beane was imprisoned for six weeks with hard labour after unlawfully assaulting Robert Goldsmith. Beane was living in a house belonging to Goldsmith but he had refused to pay the rent on several occasions. There were several minor "barneys" between Goldsmith and Beane until the situation escalated where a court appearance and charges were made.

In September 1880 William was given twenty-eight days hard labour for being drunk and abusive towards Margaret Girling, the landlady of the Butchers' Arms. She would not serve him out of hours and when Girling's husband pushed him out of the door, he broke several windows.

William 'Billy' Beane died in 1897. His death record claims he was 70 years old but he was more likely to have been 66.

A romantic footnote to this story is that in Great Britain it is considered lucky for a bride to see a chimney sweep on her wedding day. A family friend from the UK sent me a sweep keepsake on a wrist band (like the one seen below) when I got married. Some modern-day brides even hire a chimney sweep to attend their wedding!

Chimney Sweep bride's keepsake

James Beales : Town Crier

James Beales was the bill-poster and town crier for Beccles from the 1850s through to his death in 1909. Before the days of affordable newspapers and improved education laws, men like James Beales would have held a position of great importance and nobility (His father, James Beales senior, was also a town bill-poster in Beccles). Historically, a town crier was an officer of the Court and his job was to make public pronouncements in the streets. The stereotypical image of a town crier would be of a portly gent in a red robe or coat and tricorne hat, waving a handbell in one hand and carrying a proclamation in his other hand. He would shout, "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Oyez! Oyez!" in a clear, booming voice so as to be heard over the din of horses hooves and traffic wheeling by as well as general street and pedestrian activity. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, and advertisements were all proclaimed by a crier or bellman.

James Beales was baptised in 1833 in Halesworth, county Suffolk but almost all of his life was spent in Beccles. He was the son of James Beales and although his baptism record says his mother's name was Patience, his mother was Elizabeth on the census returns of 1841 and 1851 (It is possible that Elizabeth could have been his step-mother).

The 1841 census return shows the Beales family living at Wash Lane in Ingate Street where James Beales (senior) was working as a Tin Plate Maker. James junior was aged 9, and he had two sisters, Caroline and Ann, and two brothers, William and Charles. In 1851 the family had moved to a premises in Hungate Street.

On 17 January 1855 James junior married Maria Dean at St Augustine's Church in Norwich. They had one known son, James Joseph Beales, born later that same year, in Beccles.

The Beccles newspaper of April 1858 carried an advertisement thus:

ADVERTISEMENT: James Beales*, Messenger, Bill-Poster & Distributor, Hungate Street.

*This would have been James Beales senior as James junior was living in Blyburgate Street with his wife Maria and their son James Joseph. James Beales junior was a Messenger & Auctioneer's Assistant.

On 12 March 1859, James Beales (senior) died, aged 64 years. The newspaper reported that he was for many years bill-poster in Beccles.

In September 1865 the Beccles newspaper advertised James Beales (junior), Bill Poster & Auctioneer's Assistant as having moved to Hungate. Tragically, three years later, James Joseph Beales died aged 13.

In September 1872 James Beales was ordered by the Council to "remove encroachments" created by his new shop in Hungate. In January 1875 the East Suffolk Gazette reported that James Beales (bill-poster) had been appointed the new Beccles bellman after James Potter resigned.

The 1877 Beccles Almanack advertised the following:

ADVERTISEMENT: Hungate Street, Beccles, James Beales, Bill Poster, Auctioneer's Assistant & Town Crier. Umbrellas and Parasols manufactured & neatly repaired. All frames recovered.

(The umbrella and parasol manufacturer was Maria Beales, who in the 1901 census return was recorded as "umbrella maker".)

Hungate Street, Beccles (postcard)

Sometime before 1881, James and his wife Maria moved to Smallgate Street and it was here they remained until their deaths. Their former premises in Hungate Street was sold in late 1878 and eventually pulled down that same year.

The Kelly's Directory of 1883 records James Beales under the heading of PUBLIC OFFICERS: Town Crier, Smallgate Street. Under the COMMERCIAL section: James Beales, Bill Poster & Town Crier, Smallgate Street.

Something went wrong for James Beales from the turn of the new century. The first decade of the 1900s saw James appear in the newspapers several times. The Beccles Almanack of November 1902 reported that he met with a serious accident when descending the hill from White Horse Yard to Puddingmoor, fracturing his left arm. The report doesn't state the nature of his accident, whether he was riding a bicycle, a small cart or on foot.

The story which drew me to write this blog post was the one printed in the Nottingham Post of 25 July 1903. The very short piece reads thus:

CONVICTION & ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

Beales, the borough bellman of Beccles, an old man, was sentenced yesterday to fourteen days' imprisonment for using obscene language. On removal to the cell he attempted suicide by cutting his throat with a razor, which he had concealed in his pocket. His recovery is probable.

Sadly, it doesn't end there. On 27 September 1904 the East Suffolk Gazette reported that James Beales, Bill Poster & Town Crier, was drunk at the One Bell public-house in Smallgate Street "where defendent was excitable, his language was unbearable in the street and many parts of the town....the time has come when he should not be allowed to insult women and children". Beales was sentenced to another fourteen days imprisonment in Norwich Gaol when he reportedly claimed in court, "Well I have been there before and now have to go again."

Bill-Poster, 1890s
frohmanalia.wordpress.com

The East Suffolk Gazette of February 1908 reported that Fred Hall of Northgate Street was the new Town Crier of Beccles. Maria Beales died later that same year, aged 71. James Beales died in 1909, aged 77.

George Simmonds and Sarah Jane Stringer

Beccles man, George Simmonds, assaulted his wife Sarah Jane and a police constable in 1895. In 1903 he tried to kill his wife and then he committed suicide by slitting his own throat with a razor.

In July 1895 George Simmonds was brought before the Mayor of Beccles, charged with unlawfully assaulting a police constable. Finding the headline in the Ipswich Journal newspaper took me by surprise because the headline read BECCLES POLICEMAN ATTACKED WITH A BILL-HOOK, not BECCLES WOMAN ATTACKED BY HUSBAND.

The story goes that police-constable Leftley was called to the house of George Simmonds, a lodging house keeper, in consequence of a violent attack made by Simmonds on his wife. When Leftley entered the house, George Simmonds rushed at him with a bill-hook. These were traditionally used in agriculture as a small wood cutting tool. The blow cut through the rim of his helmet and knocked it from the constable's head. Simmonds was reported as being "mad with drink". After attempting to strangle the constable, Simmonds was eventually overpowered by several men and subsequently walked quietly to the Police Station. He was later sent to Norwich Prison.

The Lincolnshire Echo newspaper of 12 March 1903 reported a more tragic story, one which shocked me to the core. George Simmonds went to the house of his wife Sarah Jane, who was living apart from him, and after an exchange of angry words, stabbed her in the chest with a butcher's knife. She managed to escape from him where he subsequently committed suicide by cutting his own throat. Sarah Jane recovered. George did not.

George Simmonds was born in 1853, the son of James Simmonds, ag lab, and Mary Turner (The Simmonds name was also transcribed as Simmons, Summons and Summonds). In 1861 the Simmonds family were living in Ingate Street. James, aged 42, was a labourer by trade. James and Mary had nine known children.

George married Sarah Jane Stringer on 20 January 1876 at St Michael's Church in Beccles. Sarah Jane was born in 1853 in Lowestoft, the daughter of Robert Stringer, blacksmith, and Mary Ann Jarvis. What may or may not be telling is the fact that Sarah Jane signed her name on the marriage certificate, George signed with an "X".

George and Sarah Jane had eight children, three of whom died. In 1881, George and Sarah Jane were living in Smallgate Street with their two young children, Robert and Fanny. By 1891 their family had grown from two to six children and they were living in Newgate Street. George's occupation had changed from general labourer to pork butcher. The 1891-2 White's Directory also listed George Simmons [sic] as Pork Butcher of Newgate St, Beccles. However, in 1901 George and Sarah are living separately but close by - he was Titshall Alley (off Northgate Street), living alone, and she was in Ravensmere with four of their children. I cannot yet find any evidence of George Simmonds being a lodging house keeper between 1891 and 1901.

Northgate, Beccles

Now that I have read the two newspaper reports, I understand why they were living apart and why Sarah Jane was recorded as a widow on the 1911 census return.

In 1911 Sarah Jane was living in Rosemary Lane (off Northgate Street) with four of her children, Edward; Herbert, Frederick and Rosa (known as Hilda). Edward, aged 24, was working as a carter for the Co-Op Stores Society. Sarah Jane's daughter Fanny (born 1879) married Ernest George Turner on Christmas Day 1899 at St Michael's Church. He was a Printer Pressman, aged 27 and she was aged 18. Her brother Robert and sister Elizabeth were witnesses. They were married by Rev. John Rowsell. In 1911 they were living at 10 Hungate Street and they worked together at Burton's Stores. They adopted a daughter, Cicely Vera Pruse [sic] who was aged 7 in 1911, after having had two children that both died in infancy.

Sarah Jane's father Robert Stringer died in Edgefield, county Norfolk in 1919, aged 91. Amazingly he outlived each of his three wives (Mary Ann Jarvis, Amelia Thompson and Sarah Ann Barrett).

Sarah Jane Simmonds died in 1927, aged 73.

Canon Rowsell : Rector of Beccles 1882 - 1910

Last week I purchased two historical Beccles postcards. Both were in relation to the late Canon Rowsell. My first thought was, "Great, I can write a blog post about him". When the postcards arrived in the post on Thursday I thought how timely it was as I could use the images as part of a special Easter blog post. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Canon Rowsell's first sermon at St Michael's Church, Beccles was on an Easter Sunday!

John Rowsell was born in Kennington, county Surrey on 4 January 1853, the second known son of Nicholas Henry Rowsell (solicitor) and Mary Ann, nee Bishop. John was baptised one week later at St Mark's Church in Kennington. The Rowsell family resided in Foxley Road, North Brixton up until 1860 when Nicholas Henry Rowsell died, aged just 33. His solicitor's firm was situated at the Verulam Buildings of Gray's Inn Road, in London.

From the 'Cambridge University Alumni, 1261 - 1900'

ROWSELL, John: Adm. pens. at TRINITY, July 8, 1871. S. of Nicholas Henry,

solicitor, of 7, The Croft, Hastings. B. [Jan. 4], 1853, in Kennington, London. School,
Hastings (private). Matric. Michs. 1871; B.A. 1875; M.A. 1878. Ord. deacon
(Chichester) 1876; priest, 1877; C. of St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings,
1876-8. C. of St Clement's, Halton, Hastings, 1878-9. Asst. P.C. of Beverley
Minster, 1879-82. R. of Beccles, Suffolk, 1882-1910. Hon. Canon of Norwich,
1895-1910. Married, July 2, 1879, Alice Lucy, youngest dau. of the Rev.
Richard Wilson Greaves, deceased, formerly R. of Tooting. Died June 7, 1910.

(Crockford; The Times, June 9, 1910.)

John Rowsell married Alice Lucy Greaves in the English Church of Bruges. They had seven children:

Alice Myra Rowsell        b. 1880 Beverley, Yorkshire
Irene May Rowsell         b. 1881 Beverley, Yorkshire
Ruth Margaret Rowsell        b. 1883 Beccles, Suffolk
Monica Bishop Rowsell        b. 1884 Beccles, Suffolk
John Bishop Rowsell        b. 1886 Beccles, Suffolk
Herbert Greaves Rowsell        b. 1888 Beccles, Suffolk
Keith Alfred Rowsell        b. 1890 Beccles, Suffolk

The 1881 census returns show John Rowsell with his wife and their daughter Alice Myra residing in Beverley, county Yorkshire. John's occupation reads thus: "MA Camb. Perpetual Curate in Beverley Minster". The Rowsell family moved to Beccles the following year, in 1882. The Beccles Paper of 14 February 1882 states: "NEW RECTOR: Rev. John Rowsell, minister of St John, Beverley, Yorkshire accepted after resignation of Rev. F.F. Tracy." On 28 March 1882 the Beccles Paper reported that Rev. John Rowsell had preached his farewell service in Beverley Minster, where for three years he had been Perpetual Curate.

The Reverend John Rowsell

On Sunday 9 April 1882, Rev. John Rowsell preached for the first time at St Michael's, Beccles and was warmly recieved. So much so that newspapers and documents of the day consistently reported Rowsell to be "a kindly and sympathetic clergy-man of liberal views." In 1887, Rowsell was appointed Surrogate of Norwich Diocese. The 1891 & 1901 census returns show the Rowsell family residing in Ballygate, Beccles. As he was the Rector of Beccles, Rowsell and his family would have been living in The Old Rectory (now a Grade II listed property). In February 1895, John Rowsell was appointed as Honorary Canon in Norwich Cathedral.

John Rowsell and his family were all productive members of the Beccles community, participating in many societies such as the Temperance Society of Beccles and were staunch advocates for good education for all children. In 1899, four of Canon Rowsell's children took part in a Juvenile Fancy Dress Ball. One of these children in particular, Monica Rowsell, went on to taking part in Church fundraising concerts where newspaper reports claimed she sang "in a pleasing and most splendid manner."

Before Canon John Rowsell died on 7 June 1910 (King Edward VII had died just one month previous), he had presided over many meetings for the community at large including the Public Library, Agricultural and Horticultural Societies, Church of England Society as well as presenting prizes at Caxton Annual Sports, Regattas, and Schools. The East Suffolk Gazette of 14 June 1910 reported that Rowsell: "Introduced parish magazines, also kneelers; Organ renovated & decorated, erection of brass tablets encouraged. Reredos [altar-piece] 1884; East Window, Memorial to Queen Victoria's Jubilee 1887 (£500 public subscription); Trained surpliced Choir." He was indeed a very altruistic and industrious man, who was no doubt sorely missed by the people of Beccles when he passed away, aged 57.

In November 1909, a Dedication Service was held for
the Church Bells of St Michael's Church,
which had been re-tuned and re-cast.

It is interesting to note for posterity that the above photograph shows a total of eight men. In all of my Beccles local history books there are similar images but they all show only five of the eight men. The five given names, which correspond to the large bell shown above on the right, indicate the men standing third in from the left: 
The Rev. John Rowsell (Rector)
A.R. Clatworthy (Augustine Richard) (Churchwarden)
Womack Brooks (Churchwarden)
Henry Hopson (Bell Ringing Captain)
W.J. Money (William James) (Mayor of Beccles)
(The two men standing on the left, and the last man on the right, are currently unknown.)

Caxton Sports was postponed in June 1909 due
to a very wet summer. Instead it was held
in July 1909, presentations seen above.

East Suffolk Gazette January 1911: Death of Canon Rowsell, the Rector. “Universally beloved” died on 7 June 1910. He took his share in the Church Services on the Sunday, two days before his death, and preached. He attended the business meeting of the Hospital committee, and was seized by fatal illness while he was on his way to the house of a sick parishioner. Struck down by paralysis of the brain, he died the next day. He had been Rector of the Parish for 28 years, identifying himself with the life and varied interests of the town. “His wide sympathies, his broad mindedness, his readiness to spend and be spent for all those needing his ministrations, endeared him to all his fellow townsmen, and no religious or social or class distinctions were ever allowed to interfere in any way with his efforts for the moral and spiritual good of his people.”

In July 1911, after a committee meeting earlier in the year in which it was agreed that a three-light window on the south-side of the church should be filled with a stained glass design in his memory, a Memorial Window dedicated to Canon John Rowsell was erected in St Michael's Church.

Merry Christmas Becclesians

I have been very neglectful of this blog and for that I am truly sorry to all four of my avid followers! It has been a very busy yet fruitful past three or four months, which has drawn to a nice, neat and tidy close and now I can finally exhale and look forward to Christmas.

I have written a novella, which has been a total of five years in the making from start to finish. The seed planted itself firmly in my head back in 2008 when I had the visualisation of a young girl moving to a new town where she meets her new neighbours, including one who has a mysterious secret. Over the course of the following two years, she discovers that the link between her neighbour and the ghost that she encounters at her mother's work-place have more in common than anyone thought possible.

This initial idea was took root when I loosely based it upon my own childhood experiences, set it in my beloved Beccles, and researched in depth the history of the Kings Head Hotel in New Market, Beccles. From there a fictional story grew and took a journey of its own and, over the course of the following five years, became my biggest writing achievement to date. 

Symphony of War is about my love of Beccles history, as well as the history of World War Two and the child evacuees, and it is a story about family and the secrets they hold. It also has a light paranormal theme attached to it, which is one of my favourite genres in fiction.

E-book cover

I have had to overcome a lot of self-inflicted stress and anxiety, and almost insurmountable self-confidence issues to get my ebook novella "out there" but now that I have taken the plunge I am immensely proud to share it with those who love Beccles as much as I do.

The year 2014 will hopefully have be back to regular blogs on this site and a new novel which is currently in its infancy but is also set in Beccles, and is centred around one of the female character's who features in Symphony of War. 

If you are interested, you can find it here: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Symphony-War-Debra-Watkins-ebook/dp/B00H9E8PAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387523369&sr=8-1&keywords=debra+watkins

A very Merry Christmas to one and all, and see you in 2014 with more stories and histories of Beccles.

http://www.beccleschristmaslights.co.uk/

Knights of Beccles

The June 1992 edition of "The Waveney Life Magazine" includes a quaint little story written by local Beccles man Bob Aldous about the first car he bought in 1929. "It cost just £25," Aldous writes. "We called it 'the covered wagon' although in fact it was a 1925 Jowett 7 h.p. [horse power] car. The purchase was made from the late Mark Knights of Beccles in 1929."

1925 Jowett, owned by John Denton of Yorkshire

"I handed him [Knights] the money and asked him how to drive it! That was no problem, he said, pointing out the gears, the clutch and the brake. He bade me jump in and drive off! Well, after all, there were no such things as driving tests in those days..."

"After the first week I reckoned I was a pretty good driver. So, on the Saturday morning I drove along London Road in Beccles at a smart lick. It hadn't at that stage occurred to me that you should slow down before taking a forty-five degree turn.

My visit to the garage that morning was, to say the least, a little unorthodox. 'The covered wagon' entered through the showroom window! Neither I nor the Jowett sustained any damage, but it didn't do the window much good nor some bicycles which were on display..."

Mark Benedict Knights was born in 1895 in Beccles and was the son of Alfred James Knights and Henrietta (nee Spendlove). The Knights family lived at 16 Alexandra Road in Beccles and Alfred was a Tailor by trade. During the First World War, three of Alfred and Henrietta's sons served:

Alfred John Spencer Knights - R.F.A 2nd Air Mechanic

Ernest Knights - R.F.A Signaller

Mark Benedict Knights - R.F.C Corporal

On the 1911 census returns Mark Benedict Knights was listed as an Engineer's Apprentice. Some time after the First World War I believe he took up a business partnership with Laurence Durrant. Mark married late in life to Olive Gertrude Rayner, in 1932. They had at least four known children, three daughters and one son.

I found the following in the London Gazette, dated 2 January 1951:

NOTICE is hereby given- that the Partnership
(heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned
Laurence Arthur Durrant and Mark Benedict Knights
carrying on business as Motor and Agricultural
Engineers at Beccles under the style or firm of
DURRANT-AND KNIGHTS has been dissolved by
mutual consent as from the 1st day of January, 1951,
so far as concerns the said Laurence Arthur Durrant
who retires from the firm. All debts due to and
owing by the said late firm will be received and
paid by the said Mark Benedict Knights who will
continue to carry on the said business under the same
style or firm.—Dated this 28th day of December 1950.
L. A. DURRANT.

M. B. KNIGHTS.

It was after the dissolution of the business in 1950 that Mark Benedict Knights applied to the Beccles Town Council for development of the existing business:

(20 March 1953) Beccles & Bungay Times newspaper: SALTGATE FILLING STATION: An application by Mr M Knights of Old Market Garage for development of the Saltgate frontage with petrol pumps came before the Town Council. He agreed: 1.) To stop using the two pumps in Old Market. 2.) No adverts on Saltgate. 3.) The wings should be planted with suitable trees instead of flowers. 4.) The main wall on the west side of the building be constructed of good quality red facing bricks and carried 3 feet above the eaves of the building.

Mark Benedict Knights died at Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth in 1964, aged 68.

Mark Knights business advertisement in
Beccles Official Guide, late 1950s

Will Judge : Beccles Comedian

I'm sorry to my readers for leaving this blog for three months without typing a single word. My not-so-lame excuse is that I've been preoccupied with finishing the final edit on my first novella (which, incidentally, is set in Beccles).

Recently I acquired some 'Waveney Life' and 'The Waveney' magazines from the 1990s and amongst them are some fabulous local stories and poems to tell about Beccles and its rich variety of colourful characters of the past. One such person was comedian Will Judge.

'Waveney Life' magazine, February 1992

In the February 1992 edition of 'Waveney Life' magazine there is an article entitled "Beccles man who topped the Bill" compiled by Bob Aldous. Here follows a short extract:

"At fourteen he [Judge] was organising his own repertory company in Beccles. His stage was set up in a stable where the old Cinema building now stands in Saltgate. Will charged a penny and local folk flocked in to enjoy his shows..."

After reading this two-page article I was intrigued to know more about him, so in true genealogist style I started researching his past. Immediately I discovered that he was born Joseph James Judge, born 4 November 1883, in Beccles, son of Edgar James Judge and Jessie Elizabeth (nee Lockwood). Joseph, or Will as he later became known, had two younger brothers: Thomas Elmar Judge and Edgar Robert Gibbs Judge (who both became Tailors/Drapers, although Thomas later became a Printers Clerk).

Edgar James Judge, born in Bungay, was a Printer & Compositor by trade, quite possibly employed at Clowes Printing Works (and may have worked alongside my 2xg/grandfather who was also a Printer). In 1891 he and his wife and family were residing at Newgate Street but by the 1901 census returns they were residing at 42 Denmark Road, which remained the family home long after Edgar James Judge died in 1923.

The 1901 census states that Joseph James Judge was a Carpenter by trade which is interesting when you cross reference his career in the newspapers and find he was treading the boards across London's music halls in 1898/1899 as Will Judge, Comedian (Bob Aldous does state in his 'Waveney Life' article that "the stage was in his blood...and that he had tried to keep the family peace by training as a cabinet-maker".) By 1900 he was advertised in newspaper articles as working the Pavilion's and Palace's in Portsmouth.

The newspapers certainly paint a positive picture of Judge across time, with reviews such as:

"...whole performances arouse unrestrained laughter...'

"...Judge, comedian in humerous numbers and character studies, causing ripples of laughter..."

"...Mr Judge's forte is in character studies, and as a dame and yokel he has few superiors..."

The 1911 census return shows Judge lodging in Leiston and this was quite possibly where he met his future bride, professional singer Gertrude Hannah Orchard, as she was also lodging in Leiston in 1911. Gertrude (or Gertie as she was known in theatre circles) was a Soprano, and in 1911 was in Leiston with her younger sister Florence Orchard. The sisters were travelling from their native hometown of Blackpool to Suffolk in the hopes of finding work as singers. On 3 June 1912 Will Judge and Gertrude Orchard were married in South Shore, Blackpool.

The marriage transcript of Joseph (Will) Judge & Gertie Orchard

 

Will and Gertie had quite a career as a double-act, spanning the 1910s and 1920s travelling across the UK, back and forth from their home in native Beccles, entertaining in Derby, Kent, Sussex, Plymouth and Portsmouth. During the first world war Will helped entertain the forces. Will was also a keen saxophonist, liked to paint watercolours of Beccles scenes, and make scale models of sailing ships, including a local wherry.

On 8 August 1920 a son was born, Edgar Nicholas Judge and he later went on to become a Reverend in Beoley, county Worcestershire.

Gertie died in 1947 at 42 Denmark Road, in Beccles. Joseph James Judge died in 1960 "finally called to that great music hall in the sky after a life of giving joy to others" at the home of his son Edgar Nicholas Judge in Worcestershire. Edgar himself died in 1979.

'Waveney Life' magazine, February 1992

Relics of Beccles on Twitter

For anybody who was following me on Twitter, I do apologise but I have recently de-activated the account because I had run out of things to say that could only be said in less than 140 characters. There is such a wealth of Beccles history that I could write about but it would take more than Twitter to do it any justice. Therefore, I have decided to stick with the 'Relics of Beccles' blog.

Sincere thanks for all your support. It has been, and still is, very much appreciated.

Debra from Relics of Beccles

Suspected Murder at the Ship of Sarah Ann Flowers : Part Two

On 12 October 1880 Sarah Ann Flowers, wife of James Nelson Flowers, publican of the Ship Inn in Bridge Street was found dead. This blog post - part two - covers the surgeon and coroners findings, from the inquest at Beccles and the following trial at the Suffolk and Norfolk Assizes in Norwich. The London Daily News of Saturday 16 October 1880 reported:

The coroner's jury at Beccles last night returned a verdict of 'Wilful murder' against James Flowers, publican, of Beccles, whose wife was found dead in the tap-room. The medical evidence showed that many of the woman's ribs were broken, probably by some person kneeling on her chest. The deceased was addicted to drink.

Ship Inn, 1912

Mr Edward Bowles Crowfoot, surgeon, said he made an external examination of the body of the deceased (Sarah Ann Flowers) and also performed a post mortem examination. He found bruises on the arm, thigh, and face. On post mortem examination he found ten ribs had been broken on her left side, the fracture being continued in four of the lower ones. On the right side eight of the lower ribs were fractured, and he attributed these injuries to compression in the chest, perhaps by kneeling. Crowfoot attributed the cause of death to shock, consequent of the serious injury to the ribs, which could not have been merely from a fall. The anemic condition of the brain, the pale and healthy appearance of the lungs, and the emptiness of the right side of the heart, all pointed to sudden death. Death probably ensued very quickly after such injuries, especially considering the condition of the brain, and the commencing fatty change of the heart. Mr William Taylor McComb, assistant to Messrs Crowfoot, corroborated.

At the magesterial inquiry Mr EB Crowfoot repeated the evidence he had given before the Coroner at Bccles, detailing the results of the external and post mortem examination he had made. He found the heart presented signs of fatty degeneration; the lungs were healthy; the liver was softer and more friable than it is in a state of health; the stomach, spleen and right kidney were healthy, but the left kidney was undergoing fatty degeneration. He found about 3ozs. of serous fluid in the arachnoid cavity of the brain, and the cortical surface of both hemispheres were covered with a layer of coagulated lymph. He was of the opinion that death was caused from shock consequent to the injuries to the ribs.

In cross examination Crowfoot said he noticed no disarrangement of the clothes nor any appearance of a struggle. The fatty degeneration of the heart might have caused death, and it was very likely that the serous fluid on the brain might cause death, coupled with a fall. Deceased was a person perculiarly liable, from the condition of the brain, to a fit of serous apoplexy. All the injuries might have been caused by a fall, except the fractured ribs and the position in which the deceased lay when he saw her was quite consistent with the theory that she fell from a chair in a fit.

It was proved that Sarah Ann Flowers was drunk shortly before she was found by Hannah Willingham (housekeeper to Alfred Francis, a neighbour) and that she (Flowers) was in the habit of getting drunk, and it was sought to be shown in defence that she fell down the step from the bar to the cellar, and so received the injuries to her ribs. While the medical man (Crowfoot) could not say this might not have been so, he was of the opinion that the injuries were the result of greater violence than a mere fall. Willingham believed that Sarah Ann Flowers died shortly after she put her on the chair, she having seen her head thrown back and her eyes and mouth wide open. There was no proof that the prisoner (James Nelson Flowers) had ever struck his wife, while his closing the house so early was explained as the result of his desire to prevent his wife being seen in a state of drunkeness. For a more detailed account of this trial I would strongly recommend to anybody interested, that you read the lengthy article (which spreads across two pages) in the Ipswich Journal of 13 November 1880, found at The British Newspaper Archive online. It makes for very compelling reading.

The jury, after an absence from Court for five minutes, returned a verdict of NOT GUILTY, and the prisoner was discharged.

On 25 January 1881 the East Suffolk Gazette reported that the licence of the Ship Inn was transferred from James Flowers to William Bell. The census return of that same year shows James Flowers was a boarder (at his brother George's) in Swines Green, Beccles and he was a hay dealer by trade. James Flowers died in 1888, aged 60.

Ship Inn, 2012
Today its a Holiday Cottage

Suspected Murder at the Ship of Sarah Ann Flowers : Part One

On Tuesday 12 October 1880, Sarah Ann Flowers was found dead on the floor of the tap-room at the Ship Inn, in Bridge Street. Her husband, James Nelson Flowers, was charged with her murder and sent to trial in Norwich the following month, where he was found not guilty.

I have extensive notes on the inquest at Beccles in October 1880, held before C.W. Chaston, Esq., County Coroner, the Chief Constable and the Deputy Chief-Constable and Mr E.B Crowfoot, surgeon and the Magisterial Inquiry before R Dashwood, Esq. (Chairman), WE Crowfoot, Esq., and the Mayor. Mr F.J Dowsett appeared for the prisoner. I will dedicate the next blog post to the Coroner's findings.

Alfred Francis, engine driver, in Samuel Darby's employ, who lived next door to the Ship Inn told the court that he called on James Flowers every morning at six o'clock. On Wednesday 13 October Flowers was up when Francis went by, and called him in, and said, "There's a rather bad job happened here; the poor old girl lay here dead". Francis then went into the tap-room and saw the deceased (Sarah Ann) lying on the floor with her head nearly on the threshold of the cellar door, and her feet towards the window of the tap-room. Francis could not stop to make a close examination but sent his children for a doctor and a policeman. Francis was unable to say whether Flowers and his wife lived comfortably together, but he had seen the deceased the worse for drink many times. Later Francis told the magistrates court that he had occasionally heard deceased and the prisoner (James Flowers) quarelling but he never saw any blows struck.

Alice Francis, aged 11, (daughter of Alfred Francis) said she went to the prisoner's house on Tuesday evening, about five minutes past five, when she saw the deceased lying in the cellar. She was frightened and went and told Hannah Willingham (boarder of the Francis family). Willingham told the court that she found deceased lying on her face in the cellar, she picked her up and sat her in the chair in the bar. When she was sat up in the chair her head fell back and her mouth and eyes were wide open. At the magisterial inquiry, Willingham said the deceased was helplessly drunk, but she managed to walk with her support and totter over the threshold separating the cellar from the bar and set her on a chair. Afterwards they (Hannah Willingham and Alice Francis) went for Mrs Beane (Harriet Beane, charwoman to the deceased for eleven years) because they thought Mrs Flowers was dying but when they got back to the Ship Inn they found the house closed. On tapping at the window, James Flowers opened his bedroom window and said that Mrs Flowers was in bed.

More on the inquiry and surgeon's evidence will be in part two. I did some background research on Sarah Ann and James Flowers to get a feel for who they were before this shocking incident occured that fateful October night.

It took me longer to find out about Sarah Ann because, as it turned out when she married James Flowers she was a widow. I discovered this when I found their marriage entry in the Beccles St Michael's Church parish registers.

Sarah Ann Barrett was christened at St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth on 14 May 1814, the daughter of Samuel Barrett and Sarah, late Archer [source: familysearch.org]. Sarah Ann married Benjamin Youell from Beccles on 29 March 1832 at St Nicholas Church. Benjamin was a waterman by trade, residing in Ravensmere. He and Sarah Ann lived in Ravensmere up until his death in 1855. On 18 July 1858 Sarah Ann Youell (widow) married James Nelson Flowers (batchelor) at St Michael's Church.

James Nelson Flowers was baptised on 12 November 1827 at St Michael's Church, Beccles, the son of Richard Flowers and Sarah Susannah, late Algar. This last piece of information piqued my curiousity as I have Algar - from Barnby and Beccles - in my family tree. My 5xg/grandmother was Sarah Algar (not the same Sarah but possibly related, I would need to research the Algar family tree much further). Richard Flowers was from Worlingham, and he was married previously to Eleanor Warnes.

More next time...

Piper of Beccles

Last week, whilst researching for tweets, I found an entry in the Beccles Almanack for the death of William Piper, "an old inhabitant of Beccles", who died in 1902, aged 84. The East Suffolk Gazette newspaper of 9 December 1902 also printed a small piece about the Piper family. I honestly think William wanted me to find him and write a blog post about his family because not long after, I found a piece about Frederick Piper which I discovered was William's son.

Frederick Piper was reported in the Beccles Weekly newspaper of 9 August 1864 for the Beccles Petty Sessions, chaired by Mayor S. Wilton Rix (see my two-part blog about Samuel WIlton Rix) and attended by Revs R.C. Denny and J.C. Safford:

Frederick PIPER, pipemaker, was charged with trespassing on the Great Eastern Railway, at Beccles, on the 12th July. Benjamin AYDEN of Beccles: on Tuesday the 12th July, I saw Frederick PIPER walking on the Railway, between the Black Boy Street, and the Ingate Road crossings; he was walking in the four foot way in front of the down train from Ipswich to Beccles, about half-past eight. I asked him what he was there for, and requested him to leave. He refused to do so. Defendant had no right to be there.  It is part of my duty to keep people off the line.

Charles FARMAN: I am gate-keeper of the Ingate Street crossing, of the Great Eastern Railway, at Beccles. I have repeatedly cautioned defendant against trespassing on the Railway.
The Mayor said the bench was quite agreed that it was absolutely necessary to put a stop to this most dangerous practice of walking on the railway. The present offence was aggravated by the facts that the accused had often been warned, without effect, was abusive to the officer, and had absented himself when summoned.  Frederick PIPER must pay forthwith a fine of 20 Shillings, with 9 Shillings and 6 Pence costs, or be imprisoned for six weeks. 

Going through the 1841-1911 census returns for the Piper family, I discovered Frederick Piper's parents were William Piper and Mary Ann (nee Woolner). Frederick was found on the 1851 census aged 8, living in Northgate Street with his maternal grandfather George Woolner as well as his parents and two younger brothers.

In 1861 Frederick was a lodger at "The Race Horse Inn" at Ingate Street (James Debbage). There is a possible link with the Copeman family of Beccles here as Frederick was a Pipemaker at this time, and the Copeman's were well-known Pipemakers in Beccles in the first half of the nineteenth century. Another lodger at "The Race Horse Inn" in 1861 was David Copeman (Pipemaker, aged 50).

Image from www.amelia-parker.com

In 1871 however, Frederick had moved to Lowestoft - working as a labourer - and was a lodger of John Mummery (who was a Fish Merchant and Publican of "Rose Shamrock & Thistle" in Bevan Street). In 1881 we find Frederick working as a Fruiterer, lodging with Fishmonger Thomas Powell in Grimsby, county Lincolnshire. It would appear that Frederick returned to the Lowestoft area by 1884 where he died, aged 42.

Frederick Piper's father William was not Beccles born but he lived in Beccles all his life and was well known in the town during the later half of the 1800s, along with his father Isaac Piper (not to be confused with the Beccles tailor of the same name). The East Suffolk Gazette of 9 December 1902 reported the following:

DEATH of William Piper, aged 83, son of Isaac Piper an old-time carrier or “tanner” as he was dubbed when making prolonged halts at roadside inns. [William was] rope-maker on north side of a field in Gaol Lane (adjacent to Bowling Green). Removed in 1858 when Station Road was made. Then field in Ravensmere, but had to move when Denmark Road was made. Then took meadow in Caxton Road “where he remained undisturbed until he gave up spinning hemp”. Trade connections: merchants, farmers, wherry owners & yachtsmen”. Familiar face at Beccles Corn Market, attended for more than half a century.

William Denson : I Shall Not Be Gone Long

Every now and then I come across stories in the history of Beccles which beg to be re-told.  Sometimes these stories relate directly to one of my ancestors and this thrills me no end. Then there are those stories which affect me personally because they are tragic tales; for instance, my step-mother's paternal grandfather who, in 1943, was killed at the crossways of Station Road and Smallgate.

William Denson, aged 63, of 5 Denmark Road, Beccles left his house at around 10am on Saturday 17 July, to visit friends who lived in London Road. Waving goodbye to his wife, Frances Lilian Denson, in his usual good spirits, his last words to her were, "I shall not be gone long."

At approximately 10.30am, in response to a telephone call, PC Smith attended the scene of a traffic accident on the corner of Station Road, near the Public Hall. There he found a three-ton lorry loaded with shingle, which was two feet on the nearside path into Station Road, facing east. Dr Grantham-Hill and Supt CW Chiddel, of Beccles Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade, were rendering first-aid to a male cyclist, who was lying just behind the lorry. The lorry driver, Roger Scott, aged 19, from Wales, was visibly shaken and was sitting in his cabin. Scott later told PC Smith that he had earlier called at a café for a cup of tea and was proceeding down Market Street, his speed as he approached the crossroads in third gear being about 10 mph, sounding his hooter several times. The crossroads appeared to be clear, but as he was almost over them, travelling close to his near side, he suddenly saw a cyclist on his off side.

An ambulance arrived to take William Denson to Beccles Hospital where he later died from injuries incurred by the fatal collision. I can only imagine the impact this would have had on 19 year old, Roger Scott.

Postcard: Station Road, Beccles. Public Hall on the left.
This shows the very corner where William Denson was killed.

William Denson was born in Glemsford in West Suffolk. He served his apprenticeship as Printer Compositor at Sudbury and later worked in Tunbridge Wells before settling in Beccles. He worked for almost 40 years at the Caxton Press. He left a widow, Frances, aged 53, and two sons; Frank and Kenneth. Frank was my step-grandfather.

In 1911, at the time of the census, William Denson was aged 31 and was a boarder at 5, Denmark Road. The house was occupied by widow, Amelia Leon, aged 53. Her two daughters, Florence Amelia and Frances Lilian, were also recorded on the census. Frances, aged 21, was a Bookbinder and worked at the Caxton Press with William. William Denson and Frances Leon were married in 1912 at St Michael's Church in Beccles.

At the time of William Denson's tragic death, World War Two was raging and both of his sons had both joined the Royal Air Force. Frank Denson, who was a Leading Aircraftman at the time, was a monotype operator at the Caxton Press prior to joining up. Both sons would have heard the tragic news of their father's accident and subsequent death via their superiors or through a telegram sent by their mother.

Frank Denson,
1975

This blog post is dedicated, with love, to my step-mother who is celebrating her birthday today. Happy birthday Mum II and I hope you have a fantastic day. xx xx

 

 

 

Emily Calver : Death By Religious Mania

Every now and then I stumble across a suicide story in the Beccles newspaper transcripts and it truly wrenches at my heart because the report is usually just a name and the circumstances of their untimely deaths, sometimes with blow-by-blow descriptions given. When it's somebody who has drowned themselves in the river Waveney however, I feel even more saddened and I find myself wanting to know more about them. Who were they and where did they come from, before they took their own lives?

The river Waveney, and Beccles

One such person I found was Emily Calver, who drowned herself in 1898. In the Ipswich Journal, on the same page as large advertisements for St Jacob's Oil (Conquers Pain, in large bold letters), Scott's Emulsion cod-liver Oil and Lifebuoy Royal Disinfectant Soap, lies the heading: SUICIDE AT BECCLES : SEQUEL TO RELIGIOUS MANIA.

The report, in two lengthy paragraphs, details the state of mind of Emily Calver in the lead-up to her disappearance and subsequent suicide. Herein is the first paragraph:

"A widow, named Emily Calver, aged 52, committed suicide at Beccles, on Saturday morning [30 April], by drowing herself in the river Waveney. She had often made use of threats, but as she never did more than make a feint of carrying them into execution, no importance was attached to them, except that by order of Dr. [William Taylor] McComb, she was closely watched. She lived in Denmark Road with her two step-sons [Thomas Read Calver and John Brown Calver], and for the last three months a young woman [Edith Jessie Watling] had attended on her as nurse housekeeper. Early on Saturday morning, while the young woman still slept, Mrs Calver made her way to the river by way of the wall on the Norfolk side, and threw herself into the water. It is surmised she would have gladly got out again had she been able to do so, as she would be simply acting on suicidal impulse, the result of a kind of religious mania and liver complaint. Her body was discovered by a banker's clerk; named Youngman, on his way to bathe in the river."

Dr William Taylor McComb
1850-1902

Emily Calver, nee Gower

Emily Gower was born in 1845 in Barford, county Norfolk, and christened on 3 August 1845. She was the daughter of James Henry Gower and Pleasance, nee Baxter. James Henry Gower and Pleasance Baxter were married on 10 October 1831 at Saint Peter, Southgate in Norwich. In the 1851 census returns I found the family living in Chedgrave Street, in Chedgrave. James Henry was cited as "Pauper formerly Shoemaker". The 1861 census reveals they were still living in the Loddon area but Emily, by this time, was living in Blyburgate Street, Beccles. She was an apprentice Dressmaker, living in Blyburgate Street with Sarah Beamish, nurse. Emily's sister Naomi Gower was also living at this address, working as a House Servant. By 1871 however, I find Emily was living in Marylebone, London working as a Servant for Henry Gilbert (Coach Builder).

In 1887 Emily married Frederick Francis Calver, who was a widower (his first wife Hannah, nee Brown passed away in 1885). Frederick Calver was born in Walpole, county Suffolk, in 1836. He came to Beccles between 1851-1861, living in Ravensmere first as a lodger with the Purland family and later, as head of his household with wife Hannah and their children Thomas Read Calver, Frederick William Calver and Florence Hannah Calver. They had at least another three known children after 1871: Miriam Calver, John Brown Calver and Augustus Clement Calver.

The 1861 census cited Frederick Francis Calver as a Tanner; the 1871 census as Fellmonger (dealer in hides or skins, in particular, sheepskins and prepared skins for tanning) and Primitive Methodist Local Preacher. Now there was an interesting contrast in professions if ever I saw one.

When Frederick's first wife Hannah died in 1885, three of their children were still unmarried and living at home: Thomas, Florence and John. Frederick (jnr.) and Augustus were making their living in London as Tailors by the turn of the century. In 1891 the remaining Calver family were living in Denmark Road, Beccles. Then I discovered a tragedy appeared to have struck the family as Emily was cited in the 1891 census return as a widow. How could that be when she had married Frederick only four years earlier? The East Suffolk Gazette newspaper confirmed what I feared. Frederick had died in 1889:

EAST SUFFOLK GAZETTE. 2 July 1889: DEATH of Frederick Calver, aged 52, a class-leader of the Primitive Methodists, and preacher for 25 years. He was a Fellmonger.

At the inquest into Emily Calver's suicide, her brother, Henry Gower, fruiterer of Beccles, explained in some detail the state of mind his sister possessed prior to her death. He reported to the jury that Emily had complained frequently of pains in her head following a bout of influenza three months prior. Henry told the jury that Emily had allegedly told him the pain was so terrible "she could not bear her own existence". The jury returned a verdict of "Suicide by drowning, while of unsound mind".