Spring Issue of Herts Past and Present

The Spring 2017 issue of Herts Past and Present has just been published by the Hertfordshire Association for Local History.

As always it contains an interesting collection of articles

Hertfordshire men at Passchendale, 1917, by John Cox
In search of "My Lord" Salisbury, by Nicky Webster (about researching and publishing the life of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquis of Salisbury)
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury - The Education of a nobleman, by Alan Thomson
'Plenty of Punch and Good Company' - Bringing local history to life about a theatrical production dramatizing the life of John Carrington, farmer of Bramfield
The Enclosure of the Manor of Barnet, 1818, by Susan Flood
Local History Essay Competition - with details of essays on Knebworth, Lemsford and Croxley Green
Report of the 2016 HALH Symposium on Hertfordshire at war through the centuries.
Book Reviews: Watford : A History, by Mary Forsyth; St Albans: Life on the Home Front, 1914-18, edited by Jonathan Mein, Anne Wares and Sue Mann; On Hertford and its Environs: A Portrait in verse of Hertford and the Surrounding Countryside, by Thomas Green (1719-91), edited by Jean Purkis and Philip Sheail.

Dates for the Diary

13 May  - HALH Spring Meeting and AGM, Ware

24 June - Summer Visit, Benington Lordship, Benington

11 November - Symposium: Women of Hertfordshire, Hitchin

More about Hertfordshire Wrench Cards

Allen Warren has written from Canada to say that he is compiling a catalogue of all the post cards by Wrench from the early years of the last century He has provided a list of all the Hertfordshire cards and I have used this to update my Wrench page. He has also provided a copy of this view of the Gates on Cassiobury Park, in Watford.

There are a number of Hertfordshire cards which he has not identified:

Bishops Stortford Nos 6289 and 6291

St Albans 6300 and 6306

Barnet 7757

Hitchin 8835 and 8836

If you can identify any of these cards please let me know (ideally with a digital copy) and I will forward the information to Allan.

Can you help identify Sydbie, a Hertfordshire Water Colour Artist circa 1905?

Click to see all his known pictures

"Sydbie" was a water colour artist who pictures of Hertfordshire appear in three post card series. 

The first series of six was published in about 1905 by the somewhat mysterious "Water Colour Post Card Co." which may have been what we would now call vanity publishers. However the number of cards showing views near Barnet that appear on ebay suggests quite a number were sold.

The second series have a distinctive logo on the back and show views of St Albans (2 known) and my also have been privately published in about 1906, 

Finally in about about 1908 at least three of his watercolours of St Albans were published by Boots in the Pelham series.

A couple of says ago Terry contacted me to say that he owned the original water colour painting for one of the cards (see picture) and this reopens the key question:

Who was Sydbie?

It seems likely that he was an amateur artist who lived in the Barnet and/or St Albans area in about 1905 and may have had a name like "Sidney B, ????" or "Sidney B?????."  Can you help? And do you know of any other of his paintings or post cards?

First World War casualties from Ludgrove School

The Military

Hilary is researching the musician George Jerrard Wilkinson whose First World War obituary says had been a music teacher at Ludgrave school, (then near Barnet) sometime between 1908 and 1914.  I am unable to confirm this (can you help?) but decided to see what I could find about the pupils (mostly from prominent families) from the school who had died or other wise contributed. 

I was interested to see that one of the teachers at the school, Henry Peter Hansell, became personal tutor to the sons of King Edward VII - especially as more recently both Prince William and Prince Harry went to the school in its "new" location in Berkshire.

The former pupils and teachers who I identified (I am sure there were many more) were: 

Nigel F. E. Anson

Victor Annesley Barrington-Kennett

Basil H. Barrington-Kennett

 Aubrey Hampden Barrington-Kennett

Wilfrid Stanley Bird

William Arthur Derrick Eley

Richard Hallwatt

James Collier Foster Harter

Albert Edward George Arnold Keppel

George Ronald Lane

William Archie Arbuthnot Middleton

W. L. O. Parker

George Harry Thornton Ross

Richard Sutton

More information about the school and its pupils.

Victorian Photographers in Hertfordshire

Victorian Photographers

I have introduced a new menu, for Victorian Photographers, starting with those where I have carte de visite examples of their work. All the following photographer pages are either completely new, or include new examples of their work:

Barnard, St Albans

Coles, Watford

Dighton of St Albans

Downer of Watford

Dunn of Hemel Hempstead

Elsden, Hertford

Forscutt, Hertford

Garrood of Hertford

Goodfellow of Ware

Hockett of New Barnet

Lane of Hemel Hempstead

Martindale, Watford

Maxwell, Hadley Green & Barnet

Norman of Tring

Roberts, St Albans & High Wycombe

Sills of Berkhamsted

All the new images provide an enlarged portrait and it planned to add examples of cabinet cards in many cases. If you can provide examples of other Victorian Hertfordshire photographers, or datable images for those already online, I would love to here from you.

An update of the East Barnet Pages

East Barnet Lane

Barnet

Following a query about a post card of the church, I decided to split the page on East Barnet, adding a lengthy description of the church from 1880 (in addition to the 1863 description of the village) and two new post card views. In addition all pictures now have a higher definition picture if you click on them (and even higher resolution are available on request).

East Barnet "Home" Page

St Mary the Virgin Page

An Unknown House near New Barnet ???

Where is it?

This card was sent by "Vic" who may have got a job working there, to Miss Ettie Plant on 25 March 1909. It was posted at New Barnet, so must be somewhere nearby. Can anyone identify it.

Who was "Sydbie" - Another St Albans card has turned up

Sydbie is a water colour artist, identity unknown, whose "Sydbie Series" post cards are easily recognised because of their very distinctive backs.

There appears to have been a set of six: views of historic features in the Barnet area issued in about 1905.

• Hadley High Stone
• The Old Oak, Hadley
• Latimer's Elm, Hadley Woods
• Ye Old Psychic Well, Barnet
• The Old Red Lion from Barnet Hill
• Windmill (Barnet Gate)

I have been looking for any other cards for years and found that he painted two cards of St Albans published by Boots the Chemists in the Pelham Series. These showed Gorhambury Ruins and Sopwell Nunnery. 

Much to my surprise a few days ago I found another "Sydbie Series" card - showing St Albans Abbey - with a more conventional back. So are there more water colour views by him in existence - perhaps of St Albans. Let me know if you know of any.

Click here to see all his post cards.

Report on July activities -and some quickie reports

The original plan was that I took the month quietly but there were 29 posts and over 5900 visitor views on this newsletter, and over 22,000 to the main web site. The real problem was that I spent too much time on the site, and with holiday breaks, etc., other matters got neglected. In the next few days I will posting provisional plans for the future of the site.

Quickie Reports of  Recent Correspondence and Updates.

Thomas MARRYAT, Barnet, 1760 & "A Happy Child"

Last year I was asked about the origins of an 18th century song which turned up in America and which had a specific reference to Barnet. Paul has written to say that when Thomas Marryat was in America between 1760 and 1766 he could not have met the Geyer family in Boston. I have contacted the original enquirer, Caroline, and reviewed what we know and where further evidence might turn up.

Hatfield Local History Society Publications

I have updated the contact information for people wanting to buy any of these publications.

Apsley Football Club

Anthony Taylor has provided some additioina information

AUSTIN, Berkhamsted, mid 19th century

Audrey asked about the shop occupied by Joseph Austin (a butcher) in the 1851 census - and also about records of the location of contemporary graves in Berkhamsted. I am only able to give limited advice - can anyone else help her?

Old Hertfordshire Recipies: Dunstable Larks

Anthony Carter pointed out that my original illustration was the wrong species - and I have replaced it with a more relevant picture.

An Unusual Uniform - So what did this man do for a living?

Jon suggests that the badge could represent the letters SGC and wondered if this could be the uniform of people who worked for the St Albans Gas Company. Can anyone verify this - or come up with an alternative suggestion?

A Wig-making Factory in St Albans in the 1930s

Brenda emailed me with some more information and I have added her note as a comment.

Name Variants in Find My Past

The latest edition of the Lost Cousins newsletter contains an article about the problems of searching for people with multiple given names which you might find interesting. Every online site has its searching idiosyncrasies and it is important to find out what they are.  .

The Great Northern London Cemetery

The End of the Line by Martin C Dawes

I have posted a "draft" review page for this book and will add a contents list and review on request. This will allow me to include more books - only reviewing those that are of proven interest to visitors to this site. If you have a copy why not help others by sending me a review.

Even I hit Brick Walls sometimes ...

Answers

 The harder you bang your head against the wall, and the longer you spend doing it,  the less likely you are to  step to one side and find is a doorway through the wall just round the corner! Many of the questions I get can be solved by just throwing new light on information which is reasonably accessible, perhaps using some special search tricks, and sometimes new or easily overlooked resources.

So sometime I get a question where I feel I can offer little practical advice. It may be that there is no solution - or perhaps I am just looking too hard in the wrong case. Anthony Pearson asked me about Henry Pearson - who according to the 1881 and 1891 census was born in Barnet in about 1855. However there are no obvious entries in the 1861 or 1871 census and no matching birth registrations around 1855 - even after I tried all the tricks of the trade at the problem. Read Henry PEARSON, Barnet, 1850s to see the approach I used - and you might spot a trick that could help you with your problems - or find the advice in I've hit a Brick Wall useful.

Or even better (for Anthony) you might see something I overlooked and come up with a way forward.

Dr Thomas Marryat & A Happy Child from Barnet c1760

Caroline came up with a unusual question - relating to "A Happy Child" from Barnet who is mentioned in a spiritual song that was circulating in the United States and was first published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1767.

I investigate and find that a Presbyterian Minister, who was also a poet, left a chapel in Barnet in 1760 and went to America. He returned, initially to Ireland, in 1766 (the year before the song was published) and some years later his son married a lady from Boston, Massachusetts!

So he is a prime candidate for being the author - or is he???  I then find a broadside ballad entitled "A Children's Example" in a collection of English ballads, mainly from the 17th century, although some could be as late as 1790. Is it possible that Dr Thomas Marryat wrote the poem when he was at Barnet to frighten children to be good and God loving, had it printed, and then took a copy to America? Or perhaps it was a much older ballard with no connection with the rather eccentric doctor?

I don't know - so what do you think after reading the evidence at Thomas MARRYAT, Barnet, 1760 and "A Happy Child"

Wood Street, Chipping Barnet, circa 1904

Wood Street, Chipping Barnet, circa 1904

[larger image on main site]

Across the County boundaries around Barnet

Loz contacted me because of difficulties in locating birth details of Joseph Rolph and I was able to find him - see ROLFE, Monken Hadley, 1800-1851. The problem is that in the 1871 census Joseph gave his place of birth at Barnet - which was then in Hertfordshire - but he had actually been born just over the county boundary in Monken Hadley, which was then in Middlesex but became part of Hertfordshire in 1903. Both Barnet and Monken Hadley became part of Greater London when the County of Middlesex was abolished as an administrative unit! The lesson is that if your ancestors came from the Barnet area you need to check both the Hertfordshire and Middlesex records.

More from the Home Counties Magazine 1901

I have updated the page on the Home Counties Magazine to include a short piece about an inquisition relating to a Chipping Barnet charity. In addition I have added a 1901 advert from the magazine to the page on St George's School, Harpenden. The advert not only gives details of the school but also gives details of the school fees.

I plan to post more extracts from this magazine during 2012.

(If any of you have any information about 19th century school fees in Hertfordshire please let me know by commenting below.)

Major Fire at Barnet in 1908

The Great Fire at Barnet, August 15th, 1908
Published by The Watford Engraving Co - (See Downer)

At the beginning of the 20th century few local paper contained many, if any, pictures and there was a ready market for photographers to rapidly produce postcards recording local events. One of the leading practitioners was Frederic Downer, who founded the Watford Engraving Company which also printed cards for other photographers.