Agricultural Wages and the Sandridge Agricultural Workers Strike of 1873

Anthony recently contacted me about his ancestor Jonathan Cox (1821-1881) of Hill End Sandridge - which means that we share William Cox (1760-1802) as an ancestor. When I have more time I will update the earlier ancestor pages but in the meantime I had a look to see if there was anything new about Jonathan on the British Newspaper Archive.

Jonathan Cox is mentioned several times in my account of the Sandridge Agricultural Strike of 1873 and in particular he told a parliamentary commission that “Men work 11 hours a day, and women nine. … Able-bodied labourers have from 11s to 14s a week; boys from 3s 6d to 5s. … boys rarely go to work before they are from 10 to 12 years of age. … Girls are not employed in farm labour, they are engaged in straw plaiting from a very early age. Women, too, are chiefly engaged in plaiting. A few are employed on farms in weeding in summer.” 

I therefore decided to look for news item which related to the people he employed.

In 1861 one of the young men that he employed on an annual basis, almost certainly through a hiring fair absconded:

Leaving Employment. - Henry Peters, a lad in the employ of Mr Jonathan Cox, of Hill-end Farm, Sandridge, was charged with leaving his service. - Mr. Cox informed the Bench that the boy had left his employment on a former occasion, which he overlooked, he being a yearly servant. - Defendant pleaded guilty, and was ordered to pay 17s 6d costs, and return to his work. - His master paid the money which was to be deducted from his yearly wages. 

In 1871 one of the young men he employed stole some money from another and the court case included details of what he was paid:

Joseph Mardell  (16) was brought up in custody on remand, charged with stealing 6s. 6d, the property of Isaac Matthews, a ploughboy in the employment of Mr Jonathan Cox, Hill End Farm, Sandridge ... Mr Cox stated that the prisoner was employed at 4s 6d a week and £2. 10s. annually ... ... 

In 1875 William Chapman was not paid enough for his work at harvest time . Jonathan Cox took him to court for reach of contract but iam has legal support and it would seem that Jonathan Cox dropped the charge when he realised that his foreman would be required to give evidence. I am sure this would not have happened before the strike.

For more information see Jonathon Cox, Hill Farm, Sandridge, 1821-1881 and The Agricultural Workers Strike, Sandridge 1873

Update on the Sandridge Rifle Range

Alan has provided an update on the current state of the former rifle range at Sandridge.

I have recently had a walk in the woods where the Sandridge rifle range was situated. There are two visible brick lined target frame pits up by the remnants of the stop butts. One pit is relatively clear, the other is practically filled in with soil and leaves. The two target pits are a distance of, roughly, 50 yards apart. The pit that is clearer looks about 20 yds. long by 4 yds. by 10 foot deep. It is difficult to say how long the partially buried target pit might be but the stop butt earthworks which serviced this part of the range were not very high and less complete than the other one. From the cleaner target pit is was possible to walk back along the line of the range and find the remnants of three firing point positions that would have been about 100 / 200 / 300 yds. from the target frames. There is also some brick work debris remains and a metal drain cover at the 300 yd firing point. Nothing longer than the 300yds point seems to remain visible. The area outside the woods is agricultural with a recent tree plantation in the area that would have had the longer distance firing points.

Further information on rifle ranges near St Albans  

James Coles of Water End Farm

James William COLE (1851-1923)

David Cole writes: My grandfather Charles Percy COLE (1884-1966) was a member of the family of James William COLE (1851-1923) who inhabited Waterend House soon after your ancestor Dolphin Smith left there,  i.e. from around 1878 until at least 1907 when my grandfather emigrated to Canada.

I note the following facts:

The Sandridge Shooting Range - update

Early in the 20th century the rifle range at Beech Bottom was closed and a new shooting range was opened  to the north of Sandridge. At first I thought it may have been used in the First World War but found that the main range in the St Albans area was at Chalk Hill, to the South West of the City. (DETAILS OF BOTH RANGES).

Mike has just written about investigations relating to the Sandridge range, probably more relevant to the Second World War. He say:

Heath Farm Dairy. Sandridge/St Albans

Military

St Albans

Heath Farm Dairy was a major supplier of milk to the City of St Albans 100 years ago. This photograph of Heath Farm Dairy was probably prepared for use in an advertisement and provides a wider view of the farm  from the Home Meadow, showing more of the farm buildings to the North of the Farm House. At the time (early 20th century) the photograph was taken the farm would have been in St Albans, but the northernmost farm buildings could have still been in the parish of Sandridge. The farmer was my great grandfather, Jacob Reynolds, and during the First World War difficulties was caused by the number of the milkmen who joined the armed services. (see The Story behind a 1916 Christmas Card)

A link between Thomas Edison and Hertfordshire

As a young man John Verity spent some time around 1880 in America working with Thomas Edison (whose first light bulb patent is dated 1880). He returned to England and his efforts culminated in the great display of incandescent lighting at the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1882.   In conjunction with Sir James Pended and Sir George Elliot, he founded the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company. As chairman of Verity's (Limited) he was a large employer of labour in Birmingham and Manchester. 

In 1897 he made Sandridgebury, Sandridge, his country home and married the daughter of a London banker, Henry Lubbock, of Newberries, Aldenham, Herts. Later the same year he also hosted a meet of the Hertfordshire Hounds at Sandridgebury. However he only lived in Hertfordshire for a short time - perhaps after becoming High Sheriff for the County of London, and died in 1905.

More Information about John Verity

A Hertfordshire Hounds "Calendar" from 1897

The Hertfordshire Hounds will meet on ... ...

Hunting

Trudi has provided this most interesting Hertfordshire Hounds "Calendar" where, instead of turning over the pages the owner would get a regular postcard from the hunt kennels which were just north of Harpenden. The card was then slide in from the side to appear in the central window. In this case the card was sent to John Verity of Sandridgebury.

I would be most interested to hear of other similar Victorian "post card calendars" - particularly if linked to Hertfordshire.

Water End Sandridge/Wheathampstead in 1830

Sandridge

Water End House was originally in the Parish of Sandridge, but is now in Wheathampstead. Sarah Jennings, who later became the Duchess of Marlborough, of Blenheim Palace, was born there. It was also the home of my Great Grandparents Dolphin and Maria Smith. I have just posted the following picture showing the rear of the house in 1830.

Water End House, Sandridge

1880s Pictures of St Leonards, Sandridge

Sandridge

I have just added three 1880s pictures of St Leonards, Sandridge, including an interior which shows the box pews before the 1887 restoration to the St Leonard's page.

Box Pews in St Leonard's Church circa 1880

Pictures of Heath Farm, Bernards Heath, St Albans

In June I visited Jim, who lives in one of the modern houses that were built on the site of Heath Farm, which was the Reynolds Family home for about 60 years from 1871. He had some very interesting photographs which he has allowed me to copy, and I had planned to spend the summer writing up the history of the farm from some extensive notes I prepared in the 1990s. However other matters mean that I am going to have less time to spend on family history over the next few months - so I have put the pictures, with brief comments on line. If anyone can add to the history of the farm and the dairy, particularly after 1926, I would be very interested to hear from you. The new pictures are on the following pages.

Heath Farm in 1911 - This page shows views of the Aldenham Harriers meet at the farm, and Jim had two pictures, almost certainly taken on the same occasion which show one of the barns, and the row of lime trees, far more clearly.

Heath Farm circa 1960 - A series of photographs taken not long before the farm house and remaining buildings were demolished.

Heath Farm Dairy - An interior photograph of the dairy, delivery carts and van, and milk churns, etc.

The Second Battle of St Albans - 2014 style

In camp before the fighting

This afternoon the 2nd Battle of St Albans was re-enacted on Bernards Heath, which is where most of the fighting took place in 1461.  The re-enactment was by the Medieval Siege Society and the day was organised by Sandridge900 - as Bernards Heath was part of the parish of Sandridge until about 100 years ago. My wife and I really enjoyed the event which is of special interest as the part of Bernards Heath used was surrounded by my great grandfather Jacob Reynolds' farm before St Albans houses sprawled all over it.  An earlier re-enactment, in 1907, was not held on the Heath.

I was interested to see that my booklet,  A Short History of Bernards Heath, had been reprinted by the Friends of Bernards Heath and was selling like hot cakes.

Read on for photographs of the fighting...

An important Hertfordshire Directory from 1854

Directories

Craven's 1854 Directory

Between 1846 and 1937 a regular series of Post Office/Kelly's directories were published for Hertfordshire at about 4 year intervals. I have access to digital copies of most of them and use them regularly in my research.  A tiny number of competitors entered the market, without much success, and I was delighted when I was able to acquire a pretty good copy of the hard to find Craven and Co's Commercial Directory of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire published in 1854. 

St Albans

I had not seen a copy before and found that it was organised in a different way to, for example, the 1851 Post Office Directory. I was worried when I found that at least some of the place descriptions were little more than a cut and paste rewrite of the 1851 directory. However when I looked at the directory listings I was delighted. The early Post Office Directory were very selective on who they included and it was clear that that the Craven directory was significantly more informative. A quick check of the first 20 "Trades" entries for St Albans included many entries which would have been not important enough to be included in the P O Directory for 1851 - including Eliza Allen (matron of the Goal), John Scott Allen (head turnkey of the Goal) and David Arnold (Town Hall Keeper). Charles Arnold was at "The Goat" which was not named in the P O Directory  and the entry for William Bennett, builder, included the additional information "and brick, tile and lime manufacturer."  

Sandridge

To estimate the amount of extra information in the directory I have transcribed the entry for the village of Sandridge - highlighting the extra information. In addition there are a large number of interesting adverts at the back of the directory and I have added the following to the main web site:

Swan Brewery, Berkhamsted

George Groom, builder, Hemel Hempstead

William Bull, Chemist, Royston

J W King, White Horse Inn, Shenley

You will undoubtedly be hearing more of the "goodies" in this valuable directory.

Sandridge Exhibition in St Albans Museum now open

Declaring the Exhibition open

Sandridge

Yesterday evening I attended the opening of the special exhibition to celebrate 900 years of records relating to the parish church of Sandridge, being held in the St Albans Museum over the next five weeks. Exhibits go back to the Iron Age and as one might expect there is a lot about the church. What made me feel old was that there was quite a lot on areas such as Jersey Far, which is now part of St Albans, and which had not been developed when my parents left Sandridge 75 years ago!

The Sandridge 900 Team

See Sandridge900 for the exhibition dates and other events, including a re-enactment of the 2nd Battle of St Albans in May.

The Ford at Water End, Sandridge/Wheathampstead

Rivers

Sandridge

I recently came across two pictures taken at the ford on the River Lea, I would guess about 1960. Since then the ford has been bridged over so that it is dry when the river is low, and the bridge has been replaced. Can anyone date the photographs and possibly identify the people?

Click here for older pictures of the ford and nearby Water End House.

A busy March - but a quiet April is predicted

While things may look OK up front with 25 posts, over 7200 page views on the newsletter, over 23,000 visitors to the main web site, and some useful activity @HertsGenealogy - behind the scenes things haven't gone as I planned. My office is still as untidy as before - I have made little progress transferring files to my new computer - I have not slept well, and have put on about 3kg when I was meant to be loosing it. The last of these problems is because I have spent more time snacking at the computer and less time on country walks, etc.  I am clearly showing signs of stress and need to unwind. 

Sandridge

... So don't expect a lot of activity in April - as this site will have to have a low priority. I will concentrate on news items, and finishing off a few mini-projects where 90% of the work has already been done - plus perhaps one or two rural relaxation posts. I will still answer quick questions and comments but anything new involving significant research will have to wait. I must avoid too much time at the keyboard so I also plan to get out and about more - starting with going to London at the end of the week for the Leo Computers Society Diamond Reunion, and including the opening of the St Albans Museum "Discover Sandridge" exhibition associated with Sandridge900 later the month. 

Points from the Post

Hertfordshire Memories: If you have memories of the last 100 years which should go on record the most appropriate place is probably http://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/ unless they are very specifically relevant to pages already on this web site. This site concentrates on the period up to the end of the First World War, and I can always link through to later material on other sites.

Local Germans in 1914: Jon drew my attention to a blog (Sausage Dogs Persecuted - the Fall of Dachshund during WW1) which mentions that according to Graham Greene (son of the headmaster at Berkhamsted School) dachshunds were stoned at Berkhamsted. This reminded me of Joseph Kimich of Hemel Hempstead, son of a German watchmaker, who committed suicide shortly after a newspaper article referred to the possibility of the sons of Germans being interned. 

Robert Clark of Royston: As far as I know his first post card views were published in 1904, and most were of Hertfordshire and adjoining parts of Cambridgeshire. A query from Shirley means it would be interesting to know if there are examples of his views earlier than 1904, either a straight photographs, or as post cards with undivided backs.

There were about half a dozen other items which would have qualified for a brief mention .. but I don't have time to report everything.

Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, left her mark at Water End House.

Sandridge

Sarah Jennings was born at Water End, Sandridge (now in Wheathampstead) and little could have her parents guessed that she would end up as the Lady of Blenheim Palace! My interest in the house arises because my Great Great Grandfather, Dolphin Smith, moved there in about 1843. 

However the reason for mentioning the house now is that Harvey's father worked as a gardener at the house in the mid 20th century. As a result we now know that at that time the house was occupied by Colonel Bertram James Walker and his second wife,  Lucie Marie Ludovika Anastasia Adelheid Karola Hedwig comtesse Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow of Denmark. Harvey also provides an interesting description of the interior of the house - including an inscription "SJ" which is said to have been put there by Sarah Jennings.

Jacob Reynolds & Family, Heath Farm, Sandridge, 1892

Jacob Reynolds & Family at Heath Farm, Bernards Heath in 1892

Sandridge

In connection with Sandridge900 I have just posted this picture and views of Heath Farm - which was in Sandridge at this date, but later became St Albans on my web site. The web page includes a short biography of all the people shown - and their main links with Sandridge/St Albans as adults - together with pictures of Heath Farm. (Jacob Reynolds was my Great Grandfather and Harry Reynolds (back row right) was my Grandfather. 

I would be very interested to hear memories of the Farm when it was still operating as a diary - and would be delighted (and very surprised) if anyone knows the name of the dog.

The Sandridge Parish Council in 1894

Sandridge

At the end of 1894 the old parish vestry form of local government was abolished, and a parish council, with elected councillors, was established. To record the centenary Reg Auckland, a noted local historian, wrote an account of the first Parish Council meeting. The first councillors to be elected were: John Henry Smith (farmer of Evans Farm)(90 votes), Henry Alexander Taylor (farmer at Hill and farm and former way warden)(87), William Paul (83), Samuel Norman (grocer living in Culver Road, Bernards Heath)(82), Rev. James Alexander Cruikshank (66), James Slimmon (farmer at Marshalswick Farm)(74), Frederick William  Bush (Civil servant living at Dell Field, Sandridge)(83) and Harry Beasney Cox (farmer at Pound Farm and former overseer of the poor)(63).

Read the full account of the election and the first council meeting.

The Manorial Documents Register

Manorial Document Register

The Manorial Courts were an important part of any rural community, and the records of the courts can be very useful in tracking back family lines at a time when parish registers were not available. The problem is that even when they have survived they may be held in many different depositories - or even be in private hands. I am afraid I have tended to ignore them on this site because I don't have easy access, but a recent announcement about the Manorial Document Register had alerted me to the need to publicise them.

I did a quick search for several Hertfordshire manors: 

Tring - 57 entries - Mostly at HALS, some in the National Archives, a few in Lambeth Palace Library

Tring Rectory - 18 entries - all at HALS

Betlow (a  tiny ancient manor in the old parish of Tring where some of my ancestors were Lord of the Manor in Victorian Times) - 10 entries - most at HALS, two at British Library - none after 1695

Sandridge (One when I have actually worked with some of the original records) - 43 entries - most at the Northampton Records Office, more at HALS, others in the British Library and National Archives.

Of course the record only tells you where you need to go to see the original documents, many of which will be full of names - but unindexed. In addition many of the earlier ones will be in Medieval Latin, and even those in English could be in clerical hand - which need practice to read well. So manorial records are definitely not for those of you who expect everything to be indexed online in clear text ...

Chalk Hill Rifle Range, WW1, at Sandridge or St Albans?

The Military

As part of the research into the First World War in St Albans Jon has discovered a possible "Chalk Hill" in the parish of St Michael [more information]. If this is correct the question then arises as to whether the firing range in Sandridge was used during the war - as it was an obvious and available training resource.

While on the subject I am still trying to find the location of Briton's Camp, which was clearly in the countryside somewhere near St Albans.

Late News: Jon has contacted me with definite evidence of where the Chalk Hill and Gorhambury Firing Ranges were from the Herts Advertiser of 10 October 1914 and the web page has been updated accordingly.