A Cup of Tea

Postcard sent in 1938 featuring Bricett Hall

This postcard featuring a view of Bricett Hall was shared with me late last year.

The postmark on the reverse is very faint but appears to have been posted July 1938, and addressed to:

Mrs. Gomm
10, Garrick Road
Greenford.
Middx.

The note reads:

Griffen: House
Monday evening

Dear Elsie,
Arrived here 6.15 had an easy ride with the wind all the way, called at Mrs Proctor’s for a cup of tea she was very pleased. Taint arf quiet here. Had a sleep all afternoon in a cornfield, wasn’t arf good, am sleeping here tonight may go to sea-side tomorrow Love to all
Gilbert

Reverse of the postcard sent July 1938

Gilbert and Elsie Gomm were both recorded at the address on the postcard in the 1939 register. The couple had married in 1931, and since both had also been born in the London area, there appeared to be no link to Great Bricett.

However, after receiving the postcard I blogged about recently, I noticed both involved the surname Gomm. It turns out that Gilbert was the son of the sender of the previous postcard, Ernest Gomm, and the Bricett miller’s daughter, Cinderella Clark! An amazing coincidence considering the postcards had been shared by different owners.

Part of the 1939 register
Gilbert and Elsie Gomm in the 1939 register at 10 Garrick Road

Gilbert writes from ‘Griffen House’. This would not be the property currently named Griffin House, but more likely to be the buildings that used to be the Griffin Inn.

The Mrs Proctor who Gilbert visited for a cup of tea, could be Gladys Proctor (nee Lazenby), who was recorded living on Griffin Hill in 1939. She was the widow of George Andrew Proctor, a farm labourer, who had died two years previously.

Or it could have been Elizabeth Proctor (nee Richardson). Elizabeth and her husband Andrew George Proctor, an agricultural labourer, were living on The Green of Great Bricett in 1939. These were the parents of the above Gladys Proctor’s deceased husband.

OR it could have been a completely different Mrs Proctor that he visited on the way.

Either way, Gilbert seemed to have a lovely time in the area – sleeping all day in a cornfield seems a very relaxing way to spend the day.

More details of Gilbert Gomm, Gladys Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and their families can be found on WikiTree

*Another amazing coincidence while researching this postcard:
A few years ago, a friend recalled that a great aunt of his had lived in Bricett – the Gladys Proctor likely referred to in the postcard was this same woman!

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A Bundle of Worry

A sepia postcard picturing 2 boys stand leaning on a fence in front of a church, marked 'BRICETT CHURCH' and 'P W FINTER Photo NEEDHAM MKT'
Postcard sent in 1906 featuring the church of Great Bricett
The above postcard was shared with me recently, featuring a photograph of two children standing in front of Great Bricett church.
The stamp on the reverse side shows that the postcard was received/processed by Chiswick post office on 16 June 1906, and was addressed to:
Mrs Gomm
4 Hogarth Lane
Chiswick
The note reads:
Dear Mum
Just a card to wish you many Happy Returns of Your Birthday & also ask you if you remember this spot where the Millers daughter was turned into your bundle of worry and mine
Ernest
Reverse of used post card with Chiswick. W postmark (9.45AM JU 16 06)
Reverse of the postcard sent 16 June 1906
The sender was Ernest Albert Gomm, a postman from London, who married miller’s daughter, Cinderella Clark. Cinderella was the daughter of Aber John Clark, who was the miller at Bricett Mill, as was his father before him.
The ‘bundle of worry’, Cinderella, was born ‘up the road’ in Barking (Suffolk) while her father was running the mill there, but Abner was born in Great Bricett (likely in Mill House). Her family appears to have been in Barking between (roughly) 1868 to 1880 before returning to run the mill at Bricett.
Part of an 1891 census page showing the Clark family at Bricett Mill.
Cinderella Clark recorded with her family at Bricett Mill in the 1891 census

Ernest was born in Buckinghamshire but appeared to live most of his early life in Chiswick, London – at the address on the postcard even – 4 Hogarth Lane.

A marriage entry from a parish register
Marriage record of Ernest & Cinderella in the Great Bricett parish registers
They married in Great Bricett church (as referenced in the postcard) on 3 October 1900, and the couple set up home together in Chiswick. They were recorded just around the corner from ‘mum’ in the 1901 census the following year, on Mawson Lane.
c1912 map showing Hogarth and Mawson Lanes

At the time Ernest sent this postcard, the couple had just one child, Gilbert Walter, but the next year, their daughter Grace Minna would arrive. I’d love to know why Cinderella was referred to as a ‘bundle of worry’ – I like to think it was a term used affectionately.

What a wonderful personal insight into their lives!
More details of Cinderella Clark and her family can be found on WikiTree
A note on the photograph:
The photographer was Percival Walter Finter – a ‘native of Needham Market’ who opened a business as a photographer and hairdresser in Bildeston in 1906. As the mark says Needham Market, I would presume the photo was taken before then. He was working as a grocer’s assistant in Ipswich in 1901 so we can probably narrow the date of the photograph down to between 1901 and 1906.

How I’d love to know who the boys were posing out the front!

 

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Patently Improved

A two-wheeled dogcart (via Gail Thornton)

William Glaister, my 2nd great-grandfather, was a coachbuilder in Dunedin, New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th century. A couple of years ago, I discovered he was also an inventor.

In 1892, William filed a patent for ‘An invention for improvement in two-wheeled vehicles’. An abstract was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 31 March 1892 (available via Ancestry).

New Zealand Gazette (Supplement), 31 Mar 1892, p1

If a member of the public wanted to purchase copies of the patent documents, they would pay 2 shillings and 6 pence for the written description of the invention, and 3 shillings for the accompanying technical illustration. William, himself, would have paid at least a few pounds for actually filing the patent. (Source: New Zealand Legislation – 1889 fee schedule)

Using the Intellectual Property Office New Zealand Patents register, I was able to view the original patent document in which included a description (in his own handwriting) and a drawing of the concept.

An Invention for Improvement in Two-Wheeled Vehicles – William Glaister

I have transcribed the specification, adding punctuation and paragraphs for ease of reading.

Here describe the invention at length

The drawing accompanying this specification is a drawing of a two-wheeled vehicle, and the improvement consists in making the body of the vehicle adjustable so that it can be moved backwards or forwards by means of a series of levers.

In the drawing, the body of the vehicle instead of being rigidly fixed to the frame of the vehicle has four small wheels, two on each side marked A and A1 in drawing: these wheels are made to move in a slot formed as shown at C C1 and C C1 in drawing and fixed to the shaft.

Instead of the wheels and slots, I may use slides formed by the conduct of smooth surfaces attached to the body of the vehicle and the shafts respectively.

The body of the vehicle is moved backwards or forwards on the wheels (or on slides) by means of the brake-lever D which is connected by the rod E with the lever F which works on the end of an iron or steel shaft G which passes across under the body of the vehicle and is attached to both shafts of the vehicle and on the opposite side of the vehicle the necessary levers are attached to the end of this shaft and to the body of the vehicle similar to G J H in drawing and to the body at H.

When the brake-lever D is moved so as to apply the break (I), the body of the vehicle is made to move backwards so that the weight is so adjusted as to be easiest for the horse in going down hill, while the moving of the brake-lever so as to remove the brake, brings the body of the vehicle forwards so that in going up hill the body of the vehicle is so adjusted that the weight is balanced on the axle and thus a great objection to two-wheeled vehicles is obviated.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

The combination of the wheel and slot or slides substantially as above described applied for the purpose of adjusting the body of two-wheeled vehicles so that the body of the vehicle and the load carried are balanced on the axle in going up or down hill. I do not claim any novelty in the any of the parts nor in the method of gearing or operating by means of levers.

Dated this fourteenth day of March A.D. 1892 [signed] William Glaister

It’s still a bit difficult to understand (for me), but the Otago Daily Times gave a pretty good summary when William presented a cart using his invention at the Otago Agricultural Show that same year: “The cart is provided with patent gear by means of which the body of the vehicle can be thrown backwards or forwards at will so as to adjust the load on the horse’s back”. Load-balance was apparently a well-known issue for users of this type of vehicle.

Otago Daily Times, 3 Dec 1892, p6 (Supplement), c4

I’m not sure how successful the invention was or whether it was utilised by other coachbuilders. Perhaps someone in the know could shed some light on that for me?

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Three Weddings, Two Churches, One Day

On 29 October 1892, Selina Bramford and Arthur John Double married in the parish church of Great Bricett, Suffolk.

Marriage record of Selina Bramford

On the same day, in the same church, her elder brother, Frederick Bramford, married Mary Ann Emsden.

Marriage record of Frederick Bramford

One of Frederick’s witnesses, Ellen Morphew, was his married eldest sister, while the other, Edward William Sparrow was the husband of his second eldest sister, Maria.

The event was such an interesting occurrence that the Reverend Frederick R Lee made note of it next to Selina’s marriage entry (one and a half years later).

Reverend’s note in the marriage register

“note. Selina Bramford of Entry no. 98 and Frederick Bramford of Entry no. 99 are sister and brother. F. Lee. 14/3/94.”

But what makes it even more notable, is that on the very same day, their brother, Albert Bramford, was ALSO married, only 12 miles away in Ipswich.

Marriage record of Albert Bramford

The three Bramfords were three of six siblings all born in Great Bricett – Ellen, Maria, Frederick, Albert, Selina, and Alice. Their mother died in 1878, just over a year before the eldest sibling, Ellen, married in 1880. Less than two months later, their father died. In 1881, the rest of the siblings (except one) were recorded at Great Bricett with their Aunt Mary. Frederick (18) was listed as the head of household, but their aunt had presumably stepped up to care for her brother’s orphaned children and keep house for them.

The Bramford siblings with Aunt Mary on the 1881 census

Maria, the second eldest, was the next to marry in 1885, before Aunt Mary died in 1887.  The youngest, Alice, married in 1890. The three remaining siblings, Frederick, Albert and Selina, were still recorded together in Great Bricett in the 1891 census.

I’m surprised Albert didn’t also marry at Great Bricett. All six siblings were baptised there, their parents (and Aunt Mary) were buried there, and all the siblings were married there, except Albert. His bride, Emily Marian Brode, was from Hertfordshire, but the previous year was recorded in the 1891 census, at the School House in Ringshall, as a ‘National Governess’. Albert’s residence was given as St Matthew (Ipswich) on the marriage record but we don’t know how long he was resident there – a week? a year? He had been recorded in Bricett the previous year as an agricultural labourer, but was now a general dealer.

What conversations had been held around all three weddings being held the same day? Was it planned? Did any family attend Albert’s wedding in Ipswich? Had there been a falling out? I’ll just have to add this to the list of things that we will never know.

Bramford Family Timeline (1878-1892)
1878 mother died
1880 Ellen married (Jan)
1880 father died (Mar)
1885 Maria married
1887 Aunt Mary died
1890 Alice married
1892 Frederick, Selina and Albert married

More details of Selina Bramford and her family can be found on WikiTree

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Bankrupt or Insolvent?

The debtors prison at St Briavels Castle c1858

The last time I looked into the financial woes of my ancestor George Wreford, I wanted a simple explanation into the change in bankruptcy laws in 1861. I’ve since learned the key to understanding is knowing the difference between bankruptcy and insolvency.

Bankruptcy or Insolvency?

Whether a person was declared bankrupt or insolvent, was dependent on the profession of the debtor.

Only traders could apply for bankruptcy and have access to some kind of relief – an ‘Order of Discharge’ – which would effectively clear the debt, and allow them to rebuild their business or finances. Any money earned after bankruptcy was theirs to keep.

Non-traders were not able to do this, and would be liable for their debts forever. Any future assets or inheritance could be seized by creditors to pay off old debts, and they could be kept in gaol indefinitely.

Why was this case?

It was a long-held belief that financial failure in commerce was a natural risk of business (think: ‘market fluctuations’), whereas failure in private life was a moral or personal failing (think: ‘extravagant lifestyles’). Debtor’s prisons were seen as a punitive measure to discourage living beyond one’s means.

What changed in 1861?

After the new Bankruptcy Act (effective October 1861), non-traders could also apply for bankruptcy – an ‘Order of Discharge’ – so that they, too, could have their debts cleared.

Unfortunately for George, he became insolvent in March 1861 while still under the old laws.

So why would George be considered a non-trader?

The answer seems to lie in the fact that as well as being an innkeeper, butcher, and journeyman butcher, George was also described as a farmer.

Farmers were excluded from bankruptcy because their livelihood depended on the ‘labour of the soil’ and the ‘uncertainty of the seasons’, NOT commercial trade.

So although George was a butcher and innkeeper, his farming defined his primary legal status. This meant the courts viewed his capital as being tied up in land and livestock reared by himself, rather than goods bought and sold. The meat he sold was likely butchered from his own animals rather than animals bought from someone else.

Being a ‘journeyman butcher’ also suggested that he was an employee rather than a business owner, and therefore could not declare bankruptcy.

The Petition

The London Gazette, 26 Mar 1861, issue 22495, pp1360-1361

This notice in the London Gazette tells us that George voluntarily declared insolvency. He would have recognised he was in serious financial trouble and filed his own petition, giving over all his assets to the court to pay off his debts. Had he not done this, a creditor could have had George sent to prison and controlled whether he was released.

The ‘Benefit of the Act’

Exeter Flying Post, 24 April 1861, p7, c3
On 23 April 1861, George was declared “entitled to the benefit of the act, and ordered to be discharged”. In his case, ‘the benefit of the act’ meant that he would be discharged from prison because the court was satisfied that he’d surrendered all his assets and not committed fraud. Apparently it protected him from being imprisoned again for those specific debts BUT could still have future money and assets taken away to pay off creditors.
No wonder he took off to New Zealand a few years later!
(NB: Mr John Laidman (c. 1799–1871) was a prominent Exeter solictor (and City Treasurer) who specialised in bankruptcy law. He even wrote a legal guide, Bankruptcy and Insolvency: Practical Observations on the Laws, in 1857.)

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