The Will of William Cracroft Fooks QC

William Cracroft Fooks QC was a barrister and prominent Dartford citizen. Information about his life is at https://dartfordhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/William%20Cracroft%20Fooks%20QC%20%281812-99%29%20%3A%20Barrister%20at%20Law. 

He died on August 2^nd 1899 at his home, The Bowman’s Lodge, Dartford.

William’s will was signed on January 24^th 1897. It appointed his wife Julia and his sons William and Courtenay to be executors. He left his law books to his sons William and Courtenay, who were both barristers. The residue of his property was left on trust for his wife Julia Shears Fooks, for life. When she died, his six surviving children would each receive one seventh of the residue. They were

-          Ellen Cracroft Gibson (b 1838), who had married Frederick George Gibson in 1860

-          William Cracroft Fooks (b 1840)

-          Isabel Georgina Homewood (b 1844), who had married William Henry Homewood in 1867

-          Agnes Edith Holt White (b 1851), who had married Rashleigh Holt White in 1879

-          Julia Letitia Newton (b 1859), who had married Arthur William Newton in 1885

-          Courtenay Cracroft Spurrell (b 1860)

The remaining seventh share was divided equally between the four children of his deceased son, Walter Pemberton Fooks (b 1842).

The value of the estate was initially assessed as £11,513 7s 10d but later re-sworn as £13,341 1s 6d. This is equivalent to about £5,400,000 now (estimated in relation to the wage of the average worker).

Isabel Georgina Homewood nee Fooks (1844 – 1933) : Intrepid Traveller and Cyclist

Isabel lived in Dartford for most of her childhood and was married in the town. Her autobiography was originally published in 1932 with the title "Recollections of an Octogenarian". It was republished in 2018 entitled “A Victorian Lady Cycles the World, Recollections of an Octogenarian”. Dartford Library has a copy of the 2018 edition. It is a remarkable story of a prolific and intrepid traveller. This item about Isabel’s life contains information from the book. There is an item about the life of Isabel’s father, William Cracroft Fooks (1812-99) on this blog.

William Cracroft Fooks, aged 25, married Letitia Walker at Holy Trinity Church, Dartford in 1838. She had been born in Dartford, was aged 26, lived at Bowman’s Lodge in Dartford and was a daughter of Thomas Walker, a solicitor. William and Letitia went on to have two boys and five girls that survived infancy. They were Ellen Cracroft (b 1838), William Cracroft (b 1840), Walter Pemberton (b 1842), Isabel Georgina (b 1844), Emily Letitia (b 1847), Alice Augusta (b 1849) and Agnes Edith (b 1851).

Isabel was born on January 5^th 1844 in Holborn. She was baptised on February 3^rd 1844 at St Andrew’s, Holborn. Her parent’s address in the baptism record was 19 Bedford Row. In 1847 Isabel and her family moved from Lonsdale Square, Islington to Bowman’s Lodge on Dartford Heath. This house was on a road (then a track) that is now called Swan Lane.

The 1851 census shows William (aged 36, a barrister in practice) living at Bowman’s Lodge, Dartford with his wife Letitia (36) and children Ellen (12), Isabel (6), Emily (3) and Alice (1). There were also three servants in the household. Isabel’s brothers are not listed at the address because they were at a boarding school in Thame, run by their uncle Thomas Broadley Fooks.

In 1856 William’s daughter Emily died aged 8 and later that year his wife Letitia died aged 44 (when Isabel was aged 12). William married Julia Shears Christy nee Spurrell, on January 1st 1858 at St George the Martyr, Queen Square, Holborn. He was aged 45, Julia was 35. She was a widow, having married Edward Christy in 1847 in Dartford.

Isabel’s autobiography says that she soon fell out with her stepmother, who “boasted that she had never had a bath and had never drunk a glass of water.”

William and Julia later had a daughter, Julia Letitia (b 1859) and a son, Courtenay Cracroft Spurrell (b 1860). The 1861 census shows William (aged 48, a barrister-at-law) and Julia (39) living at Bowman’s Lodge with William’s children Walter (19), Isabel (17), Alice (11), Agnes (9), Julia (2) and Courtenay (1) plus a governess and four house servants. Alice died in 1864 aged 15.

Isabel married William Henry Homewood on February 5^th 1867 at Holy Trinity Church in Dartford. He was aged 30, born in Tunstall, Kent. His occupation on the marriage register was “gentleman”. She was aged 23. Later that year Isabel and her husband travelled to Christchurch, New Zealand via Panama (crossing the isthmus by train) and Wellington. They bought the freehold of a farm up the gorge of the River Wiapora, about 50 miles north of Christchurch. It was already fenced and had a good house built of limestone but there was no proper road leading to the house. Isabel became pregnant, but the child did not survive. After 5 years running the farm with her husband, Isabel became unwell with “lung trouble”. She was ill for 3 months in Christchurch, when her doctors told her that she should return to England.

After Isabel and her husband got back to England they went to live with William’s father. The 1881 census shows Isabel (aged 37) and her husband William (45, no profession) living at Ufton Court, Tunstall, Milton, Kent. This was the house of William’s father Edward, a widower aged 78, a farmer of 220 acres employing 8 labourers. Also listed at the address were William’s siblings Mary (aged 40), Charles (37) and Charlotte (35) plus three domestic servants. Tunstall was a village 2 miles south of Sittingbourne, which is now on the outskirts of the town.

Isabel’s husband William Henry Homewood died on 26 September 1884 aged 48 at Ufton Court, Tunstall. Probate records show that Isabel was the executor of his estate (value £112 14s). She left her father-in-law’s house soon after his death and spent a year visiting friends and relations.

Isabel’s autobiography describes various journeys abroad that she made after her husband’s death. They included another trip to New Zealand. In 1887, Isabel went to Tasmania with her father William Cracroft Fooks QC (then aged 75). He went to represent a railway company in a court case against the Tasmanian Government. In 1896 she obtained a passage on a trading steam boat, which called at many ports on route to the Black Sea.

In 1894, Isabel (aged 50) took up cycling.  According to her book she rode over 13,000 miles in her first year, over 12,000 miles in her second year and 10,000 miles in many following years. She would often do sixty miles in a day. These are impressive distances, especially since her bicycle would have had no gears and would have been heavier than modern bikes. Most of her cycling trips were done on her own. She cycled in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

In 1897, Isabel began a three months training course at York Road Lying-in Hospital, Lambeth to become a midwife. She passed but did not become a full-time midwife, preferring to cycle and travel.

Isabel’s father died in 1899 leaving £13,341. Under the terms of his will, Isabel inherited one seventh of his estate when her stepmother Julia died in 1900.

Isabel is shown in the 1901 census as living in Ealing at the house of her nephew Edwin V R Fooks aged 29, a physician and surgeon. He was born in New Zealand and was a son of Isabel’s brother Walter Pemberton Fooks, who emigrated there in 1863.

In 1904 (aged 60), Isabel embarked on a cycling tour of Eastern Europe. She travelled through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and France. In 1910, she set out on a world tour which involved cycling in the USA, from there she sailed to Auckland in New Zealand, then cycled to Christchurch. She later toured Australia before returning to the UK. She went on another visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1913. Isabel gave up cycling in 1923, when she had reached her 80^th year.

Isabel in 1928, aged 84

Isabel died on November 14 1933 aged 89 in Brentford. Probate records give her address as 2 Greystone Court, The Common, Ealing. Probate was granted to Emily Letitia Worsfold (wife of Edward Worsfold), Henry Verdon Baines solicitor and Isabel Frances Paterson, spinster. The estate had a value of £9,378 2s 7d. Emily Letitia Worsfold nee Fooks (1869-1947) was a daughter of Isabel’s brother Walter Pemberton Fooks. Isabel Frances Paterson (1900-1962) was a grand-daughter of Walter.

Youens Photos

There is an article https://dartfordhistory.blogspot.com/2018/11/ernest-christopher-youens-1856-1933.html on this blog about the life of Ernest Christopher Youens (1856-1933), a photographer and antiquarian who lived in Dartford. He was part of the enterprising and artistic Youens family. My item was seen by Christopher, a great grandson of Ernest, who contacted me by email. He has kindly sent me the photos below

Ernest Youens with his wife Kate and daughters Marian and Dorothy c 1903

Harold Youens (1888-1911), son of Ernest and Kate Youens c 1903

Ernest’s photography studio at his home, 17 Tower Road

The waiting room at 17 Tower Road

Back row: Clement Youens (b 1852), Jesse Youens (b 1846), Dorothy Youens.

Front row: Marjorie Youens, Katie Youens, Olive Youens (Clement’s wife and daughters), Kate Youens, Harold Youens, Marian Youens, Ernest Youens (b 1856).

 Photo c 1910 (Clement, Jesse and Ernest were brothers)

Christopher has deposited some diaries written by members of the Youens family at the Kent County Archives in Maidstone, He plans to deposit more Youens information and photos with them later this year.

Alfred Thomas Penney (1834-1915) and Alfred John Penney (1861-1938) : Grocers and Prominent Citizens of Dartford

This article is about Alfred Thomas Penney (1834-1915) and his son Alfred John Penney (1861-1938). Both were successful businessmen who played a significant role in Dartford’s civic life.

Alfred Thomas Penney was born in 1834 in Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey. He was the sixth of ten children born to John and Elizabeth Penney. John was a shipwright, who later became an “Inspector of shipwrights”. This was a junior management job grade, the first step in a salaried scale. John worked at the Royal Naval Shipyard at Sheerness.

The 1851 census shows that John and his family were living at Rose Street, Sheerness. The household consisted of John Penney aged 55, a shipwright, his wife Elizabeth (49) and children Hannah (20), Walter (18, a shipwright apprentice), Alfred (16, a journeyman grocer), Frederick (14), Amos (12), Jane (9) and Sarah (6). Also living at the address was Elizabeth Howard (72), the widowed mother of Elizabeth Penney.

In 1860 Alfred married Mary Evans at St Paul’s, Deptford. He was aged 25, a grocer. She was 26, born in Ringmer, Sussex, the daughter of a farmer. The marriage register shows that she was unable to sign her name, being illiterate. By 1861 they were living in Lowfield Street, Dartford. Later that year their son, Alfred John was born, followed by a daughter, Elizabeth Jane in 1863. They had another four children who died in infancy¹.

In 1867, Alfred opened his own store at 44 High Street, Dartford. It was known as “The Tea Pot Shop” as there was a teapot sign outside. Apparently, Alfred gave a brown teapot to each of his customers on the Saturday of the opening week². The shop building no longer exists but was next to the Bull and George Inn, the site of which is now occupied by Boots. The 1871 census shows Alfred, aged 36, a grocer employing one man, living at 44 High St, with his wife Mary (38), his children Alfred (9) and Elizabeth (7) and niece Elizabeth Thomas (19, a daughter of Alfred’s sister Elizabeth).

Alfred opened a branch shop in Lowfield Street and in 1875 acquired premises at 47 High St, Dartford. This site (now occupied by a later building that houses the shop Iceland) became the headquarters of his grocery chain. A warehouse here was used to supply his other shops and allowed goods to be bought in bulk, thus saving money. In 1881, Alfred (46), Mary (48), Alfred (19, an assistant grocer), Elizabeth Penney (17) were living at 47 High St. Also listed at the address were Alfred’s niece Elizabeth Thomas (29), five grocer’s shopmen and a servant. One of the shopmen was Edward Parker, aged 23 who was born in Teignmouth, Devon. In 1884 he married his employer’s daughter, Elizabeth Jane Penney at Holy Trinity Church, Dartford. In 1885, Alfred John Penney (aged 23) married Mary Ellen Parker (25), who was Edward’s younger sister.

Alfred Thomas Penney retired from active participation in the grocery business in 1890 when aged 56. His son Alfred John Penney and son-in-law Edward Parker took over and the business was renamed Penney, Son and Parker. In the 1891 census, Alfred Thomas and Mary (plus a servant) are shown living at “Westcroft”, West Hill, Dartford. This house no longer exists, the site is now occupied by the Dartford West Health Centre. Alfred John Penney (29, a grocer), his wife Mary (31), two servants, a grocer’s apprentice and six grocer’s assistants were living at 47 High St. Edward (33) and Elizabeth (27) Parker were living at 3 Tower Road with their children Edith (6), Florence (4) and Winifred (2).

Alfred Thomas Penney performed various public roles in Dartford during his life. He filled the office of overseer (of the poor) as far back as 1875. He was a member of Dartford Board of Guardians for sixteen years, a member of the Local Board of Health and churchwarden at Holy Trinity from 1891 to 95.

Alfred Thomas Penney

(from Local Studies Collection of Dartford Library)

Alfred John and Mary had a son called Alfred Edward Penney in 1892. Sadly he died aged 9 weeks. They did not have any other children¹.

By 1900 Penney, Son & Parker had five shops in Dartford (47 High St, 44 High St, 105 Lowfield St, 36 East Hill and 99 Overy St). They also had shops in Bexleyheath, Bexley, Northfleet and Farningham. Alfred John Penney and Edward Parker decided to convert the business into a public company and issued a prospectus in November 1900 (a copy of which is in Dartford Library). It says that the share capital is to be £35,000 in £1 shares, 10,000 of which were allocated (fully paid up) to the vendors (Alfred and Edward), who would be managing directors (on a salary of £250 pa) after the flotation of the company was complete. The average yearly profit for the years 1898, 1899 and 1900 is stated to be £3,098. Applications to buy 22,000 shares at £1 each were invited. The flotation was successful and a shop in South Darenth was added to the chain in 1902.

Advert from 1897

(from Local Studies Collection of Dartford Library)

In 1901, Alfred Thomas and Mary Penney were still living at “Westcroft”, West Hill. Alfred John and Mary Penney had moved to “Homewood”, Miskin Road. This was one of the most desirable parts of Dartford. Edward and Elizabeth Jane Parker were living at “Ashleigh”, Miskin Road with their children Florence (14), Winifred (12), Mabel (9), Edward (7) and Hilda (4). These houses in Miskin Road no longer exist.

The Penneys and Parkers were living at the same addresses in 1911. The census record shows that the houses that they lived in were large – with 9 or 10 rooms. Two additional Parker children are listed, namely Kathleen Isobel (aged 8) and Gerald Howard Parker (aged 6).

Alfred Thomas Penney died in 1915 aged 80. His funeral service was attended by a large congregation² and he was buried in East Hill Cemetery. Alfred’s wife Mary died the following year. Their gravestone reads as follows.

In / loving memory of / ALFRED THOMAS PENNEY, / who entered his rest June 20^th 1915 / aged 80 years / Also of MARY PENNEY / the beloved wife of the above / who entered her rest October 23^rd 1916 / aged 83 years / “Looking for that blessed hope, and the / glorious appearance of the Great God, and / our saviour, Jesus Christ.” / Titus 2.13

Probate on Alfred’s estate, £12,187 (equivalent to about £4 million now³) was issued to Alfred John Penney and Edward Parker.

Alfred John Penney paid for the eight bells in Holy Trinity Church, Dartford to be recast in memory of his parents. The largest bell is inscribed
"Mears & Stainbank remade us in the year 1917 as the gift of 
Alfred John Penney churchwarden in loving memory of his
parents Alfred Thomas and Mary Penney."

Penney, Son & Parker shop at 47 High St, date and people unknown (from Dartford Borough Museum)

The 1921 census shows Alfred John Penney (aged 60, a retired provision merchant) living at 7 Miskin Road, Dartford with his wife Mary (61) and niece Hilda Dorothy Parker. Alfred John's sister Elizabeth Jane Parker (58) was at "Westcroft" West Hill Dartford with her husband Edward (64, a director of Penney, Son and Parker, grocers) and their daughter Kathleen (18).

Edward Parker retired in 1924 and moved to Bexhill with his family. He died in 1925 at Hellingly Mental Asylum, E Sussex aged 67 and is buried in East Hill Cemetery in the grave next to Alfred Thomas Penney.

Alfred John Penney surpassed his father in the number of public roles that he performed. He was a member of Dartford Urban District Council 1900-31 and its chairman 1907-9⁴. He became a member of Kent County Council in 1909 and an Alderman in 1927. He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 1913. He was also a churchwarden at Holy Trinity 1906-18 and sat on numerous local boards and committees. Alfred’s record of public service was impressive. The climax of his civic career was appointment as the first mayor of the Borough of Dartford when it was granted a charter in 1933. The following picture shows Alfred and his wife Mary during the ceremonials for this event.

Mary Ellen and Alfred John Penney

(from Dartford Further Historical Notes by S K Keyes, 1938)

Alfred John died in 1938 and was buried in East Hill Cemetery. The Dartford Chronicle⁵, reporting his death, referred to “the character, example and devoted public service of a Christian gentleman and a great Dartfordian.” A large number of people attended his funeral and the Dartford Chronicle printed tributes to Alfred from several prominent citizens of Kent. His grave is inscribed

In loving memory of / ALFRED JOHN PENNEY, J.P.C.C. / Charter Mayor / of Dartford 13^th Sept 1933 / died 31^st May 1938, aged 77 years. / The Lord is my shepherd Psalm XXIII / He giveth his beloved sleep Psalm CXXVII / Also / ALFRED EDWARD PENNEY / died 14^th July 1892 / aged 9 weeks / Also MARY ELLEN PENNEY / beloved wife of the above / died 24^th March 1956, aged 96 years. / At rest

Probate on Alfred’s estate, total value £33,330 (equivalent to about £6 million now³) was granted to his nephew Edward Alfred Penney Parker, dental surgeon, and Claude George Kent (who married Alfred’s niece Edith Mary Parker in 1912), corporation surveyor.

Penney, Son and Parker continued to trade until the 1950s. The shop building at 47 High St was demolished c 1959 and the site redeveloped.

If you have any further information about the lives or families of Alfred Thomas Penney, Alfred John Penney or Edward Parker, please contact me on PhilT42LQS@Yahoo.co.uk

Philip Taylor

References

1 This information is from the 1911 census return.

2 Obituary of Mr A. T. Penney, Dartford Chronicle 25 June 1915.

3 Calculated with respect to average earnings using the website “Measuring Worth” www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/

4 Dartford Further Historical Notes by S K Keyes, 1938

5 Dartford Chronicle 3 June 1938

Alfred Sturge (1816-1901) : Notable Baptist Minister in Dartford

Alfred Sturge was a Baptist missionary and minister who served in Devon, India and Kent. He founded the Baptist Church in Highfield Road and made a notable contribution to Dartford’s religious and civic life.

Alfred was born on May 5^th 1816 in Bishopsgate, central London. His parents were Nathan and Jeanette Sturge. Nathan (an oil merchant) came from a prominent Quaker family. Jeanette was descended from a noble French family, her maiden name was Emeric de St Dalmas. Alfred was educated at a Quakers’ School¹. He later moved to Plymouth and the 1841 census shows him living there, aged 25, a confectioner. Later that year, Alfred married Margaret Tait Stove in Bristol. She was aged 22 and came from Edinburgh. They went on to have twelve children, six girls and six boys. Their names were Esther Eliza (born 1842), Alfred Robert (b 1844), Margaret (b 1845), Thomas Stove (b 1847), Lydia (b 1849), Emily Jane (b 1850), Samuel George (b 1852), Herbert (b 1854), Maria Frances (b 1856), Henry Havelock (b 1858), Agnes Ellen (b 1860) and Ernest Brainerd (b 1862). All these births were in the Plymouth registration district.

In about 1841, Alfred joined a Baptist Church. Baptists are Christians who believe that baptism should be performed only for professing believers (as opposed to infant baptism) and that it must be done by complete immersion. Alfred began to preach and later accepted an invitation to become minister of the church at Modbury¹, a village 12 miles east of Plymouth.

The 1851 census shows Alfred and his family living in Plymouth and his occupation as “town missionary”. By 1861 they had moved to a different address in Plymouth and Alfred is described as a baptist minister. Soon after this, Alfred was appointed as pastor of the Baptist Church at Madras in India, where he worked for four years¹. He returned to Britain in 1865 and stayed with his uncle, Thomas Sturge, at Northfleet. In May 1865, Reverend William Hodsoll, the minister at the Congregational Church on West Hill, Dartford was unwell and so Alfred stood in for him. By January 1867, Reverend Hodsoll’s health was worse. Alfred would have replaced him on a permanent basis, except that the rules of the church said that a Baptist was not eligible for the pastorate². Alfred therefore resigned in March 1867 and formed a Baptist Church, with a temporary home in High Street, Dartford. The foundation stone for a new church in Highfield Road, Dartford was laid in November 1867. It is inscribed

This stone was laid by the

Reverend Francis Tucker BA,

6^th November 1867,

Rev Alfred Sturge, pastor.

The church was built by a local firm, James Sharp & Sons. It opened for worship on April 8^th 1868. In 1872, James Sharp (1844-1900), the eldest son of James Sharp (1808-83) the founder of the building firm, married Alfred’s daughter Emily Jane Sturge.

Baptist Church, Highfield Road, Dartford (2013)

Interior of the Baptist Church (2013)

Alfred moved into 4 Highfield Road, next to the church (the site of this house is now a car park). In 1871, the census shows Alfred Sturge (54, a baptist minister) living there with his wife Margaret (51) and children Lydia (22), Emily (20), Samuel (19), Henry (13) and Ernest (9) as well as a housemaid and a cook.  In 1881, the family at 4 Highfield Road was Alfred (64), Margaret, their daughter Agnes (21) and a general servant. Alfred’s youngest son Ernest died in 1882 aged 20. In 1885 Alfred, by then 68, retired from his ministry. The 1891 census shows him living at 29 Highfield Road, Dartford with his wife Margaret and son Herbert (36, a veterinary student). This house is about 50 yards south of the church, on the opposite side of the road.

29 Highfield Road, Dartford

The Elementary Education Act of 1870 required the formation of School Boards to establish and administer elementary schools free from Church of England doctrine. Members were directly elected. Alfred was involved with the formation of the Dartford School Board and was for many years its chairman. He also acted as guardian, charity trustee and governor of Dartford Grammar School. Alfred was a leading Liberal and made political speeches. He advocated temperance and was himself a total abstainer³.

Alfred Sturge

After Alfred’s retirement from the Dartford ministry “he was frequently occupied in lending his eloquence to platforms or pulpits elsewhere, travelling to distant parts of the country and earned the honorary and endearing designation of “The Bishop of the Baptists.””³ When he was aged 82, he went mountain climbing in Switzerland with his son Henry. However, Alfred’s health deteriorated after this and he died on January 25^th 1901 aged 84 at his home.

A local newspaper³ described Alfred as “one of the most notable residents of the parish of his generation”. They referred to “the fearlessness, independent spirit and vigour which characterised the ministry and public life of the Rev. Alfred Sturge in Dartford. His intellectual ability and cheery, cordial manner will alike be long missed here.”

Alfred was buried in East Hill Cemetery. His gravestone is inscribed:

In loving memory / of / ERNEST BRAINERD STURGE / who fell asleep in Jesus / September 21st 1882 / in his 21st year. / 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ / shall all be made alive.' 1.Cor. XV.22. / Also / in loving memory of / the Revd ALFRED STURGE, / for nearly 40 years a faithful minister of / Jesus Christ / in this town, / founder and first pastor of the Baptist church in Highfield Road / Entered into his rest Jan 25th 1901 / in his 85th year. / 'He was a good man, and full of the Holy / Ghost and of faith: and much people was / added unto the Lord.' Acts.XI.24. / Also in loving memory of / MARGARET TAIT STURGE, / wife of the Rev ALFRED STURGE, / a devoted wife & mother and an earnest Christian worker. / Entered into her rest on March 29th 1913, / in the 95th year of her age.

The gravestone of Alfred Sturge

Probate on Alfred’s estate was granted to Henry Havelock Sturge (his son) and Thomas Sturge (a chartered accountant). He left £2,005 11s 9d, which is equivalent to about £790,000 now⁴.

The fortunes of Alfred’s sons were somewhat mixed. His eldest four sons all emigrated to North America. Alfred Robert was a newspaper writer, who died in Tennessee. Thomas Stove, Samuel George and Herbert lived in Rochester, New York where they ran boarding stables. Herbert later returned to England where he married Emily Curtis Bray in 1891. She divorced him in 1900 on the grounds of cruelty and adultery with Alberta Emily Sercombe (who had three children by Herbert). They don’t seem to have married. Henry Havelock Sturge became a surgeon who worked in South Africa and then England.

Philip Taylor 

PhilT42LQS@Yahoo.co.uk

References

1. Alfred Sturge, Wikipedia, 22/12/2013.

2. Dartford: Some Historical Notes, S K Keyes (1933), page 346.

3. Death of the Rev Alfred Sturge, Local newspaper (title not known), Feb 2^nd 1901.

4. Estimated with respect to average earnings using the website Measuring Worth www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/

John Landale (1784-1860) : Lottery Winner, Property Owner and Antiquarian

John Landale was born in 1784 in Leeds, Yorkshire (I cannot find a record that gives the name of his parents). He came to London and in 1806 married Tabitha Martin at St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate. He was aged 22, she was 19, born in Dartford. They had four children, Samuel Martin (b1807), John (b1809), Elizabeth (b1814) and Rosetta (b1816). Samuel and John were baptised in London, Elizabeth and Rosetta were baptised in Dartford. It seems that the family moved to Dartford sometime between 1810 and 1814.

 Keyes (reference 1) refers to “a Mr Landale, a tailor in the town, who had won £30,000 in a lottery”. This sum would have been equivalent to about £25 million (reference 2) now. There was an annual English State Lottery from 1694 to 1826. John used his newly acquired wealth to buy land in Dartford and build houses for rent. 

East Dartford contains the site of a Roman Cemetery (now occupied by houses in Chaucer Park). John bought the field that contained the site and began some excavations in 1822. He found a stone coffin which he said (reference 3) “contained a female with remarkably small bones. When the coffin was first opened, the hair appeared of a light brown colour, apparently clubbed on the crown of the head and fastened with a brooch or bandeau of pearls: but in a few moments the whole fell to dust: the pearls rubbed like soap to the touch and only a few pieces of the broken metal ornaments remained. … A coating of gum strongly adhered to the larger bones, which retained an aromatic and pleasant smell, and in the coffin was found a copper coin of Constantinopolis in good preservation.” The stone coffin is on display in Dartford Museum. 

John was a founding shareholder and one of the nine directors of Dartford Gas Works, which was built 1826-27 in Gas Lane (now Victoria Road) to supply gas for street lighting in Dartford. 

In 1829, John Landale published a book entitled “A collection and abstract of all the material, deeds, wills, leases and legal documents, relating to the several donations and benefactions to the church and poor of the parish of Dartford, in Kent and of the Spital alms houses.” Dartford Library has copies in the local history collection. 

John was a supporter of the 1832 Electoral Reform Act. The Times dated 6 October 1831 contained an item reprinted from the Maidstone Journal. It began “A meeting was held in a field opposite the Duke of Wellington, Dartford of the tradesmen and artisans of Dartford, Crayford and its vicinity, to petition the House of Lords to pass the reform bill. The committee met in the town at 1 o’clock, with bands of music and banners, and marched to the field, where they met by their Crayford friends in excellent order. A hustings had been erected, where the committee, with Mumford Campbell, Esq., of Sutton Place, and a magistrate of the county, at their head, took their stand. Mr Landale, sen., a respectable tradesman of the town, was called to the chair. There were near 3,000 persons present, and the meeting was conducted with the greatest propriety.” The bill granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had sprung up during the industrial revolution and took away seats from the “rotten boroughs” - those with very small populations. It also slightly increased the number of individuals entitled to vote (by about 4%), to approximately one out of six adult males. The bill faced opposition in the House of Lords but was eventually passed in 1832 as a result of public pressure. 

John’s eldest son Samuel had a haberdasher’s shop in High St, Dartford and was apparently declared bankrupt in 1832. The Maidstone Gazette contained notice of an Auction in May 1832 of the “Valuable and Extensive Stock of Linen Drapery, Hosiery, Haberdashery, Household Furniture, Fixtures and Effects of Mr Samuel Landale.” In June 1832 The Times contained a notice of a further auction in Dartford of “All the best Household Furniture, China, Glass etc of Mr Samuel Landale …. By order of the trustees, for the benefit of the creditors.” 

The first of John and Tabitha’s children to get married was their son John, who married Sarah Instone in 1832. Their eldest daughter Elizabeth married George Tucker in 1836 and Rosetta Landale married John Davis Hall in 1840. 

The Dartford Board of Guardians was formed in 1836 to run workhouses in Dartford and the surrounding area. John was one of two people representing the parish of Dartford on the board, another 20 people represented nearby parishes. John Landale of West Hill, Dartford, Gentleman was one of four candidates for election to the board in 1840 (reference 4). 

The 1838 tithe list shows John living at West Hill House, which had 10 acres of grounds, including a fruit plantation. West Hill House is a large property at the top of West Hill, set back from the road on the north side and now used as a Masonic Hall. It has been extended since the Landales lived there. John was a major landlord – he owned 69 other houses and cottages in Dartford. They included Hampden and Claremount Terraces, which flank the entrance to West Hill House. Also two rows of cottages called St Ronan’s and The Crescent in Darenth Lane, near its junction with East Hill. Both no longer exist, St Ronan’s was demolished in 1938.

West Hill House (in 2011)

John Landale, West Hill, is listed as a market gardener in the Dartford section of Pigot and Co’s Commercial Directory for 1840 (reference 5). 

The 1841 census shows Tabitha (50), Samuel (30) and Ann (7) Landale living at West Hill House, Dartford. John Landale is not listed at this address – it seems that he was elsewhere when the census was taken. Ann was John and Tabitha’s granddaughter Ann Sarah Landale, who was the eldest child of their son John Landale.

The Dartford Library local history collection has a letter dated 25 June 1841 from John Landale to Messrs Dunkin & Son, Printing Office, Dartford. It reads 
"Sir. I am too ill to see to any business and with regard to your publication, as far as I am concerned there is not a vestige of truth in any of it. Your informants must have meant to hoax you, or they are ignorant liars. If I was in health I might set of it on its true bottom and give you honest information but as regards myself – personals I beg you not to interfere with. I thought you were a man of too much sense on hearing to think of the risque of a false statement of any one’s affairs, and what is my affairs to Dartford’s history, or its valuable inhabitants. I have sent the sheet to my solicitors in New Inn and expect it back tomorrow."
John Landale John seems to be objecting to something that John Dunkin or his son Alfred John Dunkin had printed about him, but I have no information on what it was. John Dunkin wrote a book on the history of Dartford that was published in 1844.

The South Eastern Gazette published the following item on 22 March 1842 about a court case.

Henry Hunt, 23, for stealing four bushels potatoes, value 4s., the property of John Landale, at Dartford. Mr. Deedes conducted the prosecution. The prosecutor, who is a market gardener at Dartford, lost about four bushels of potatoes from a clamp in his plantation on the 31st January. On the next day he went to the lodgings of the prisoner, in whose room some potatoes were found corresponding with those taken from the clamp. The corded trousers of the prisoner were compared with some marks left on the mould and found to correspond. Transported twelve years. Prisoner had been before convicted of felony.

The 1851 census shows John Landale (born in Leeds and aged 66) as a farmer employing 6 labourers, so it seems that he was still running his market gardening business. Also at West Hill House with him were Tabitha (62) his wife, Samuel (43) his son, Ann Landale (16) his granddaughter and a servant. 

John and Tabitha’s son, John junior, is listed in the 1851 census as an accountant, aged 41. He was living in a house on West Hill, Dartford. His wife Sarah (34, a tobacconist) and two of their children Elizabeth (12) and Sarah (5) were living in Spital Street. Presumably John and Sarah had separated. John junior died in July 1854 aged 45 and his daughter Sarah died two months later aged 8. Ann Sarah Landale, John and Tabitha’s granddaughter who is shown living with them in the 1841 and 1851 censuses, married Henry Santler, a corn merchant, in 1855. Sadly she died, aged 22, later that year.

Tabitha Landale died in 1857 and John in 1860, aged 76, at West Hill House. They were both buried in a tomb in East Hill Cemetery. The inscription is difficult to read but says 
"In memory of / Mr JOHN LANDALE / of West Hill House in this parish / who died [October 31st] 1860 aged [76] years / Also M[rs] LANDALE wife of the above / who died [February 17th 1857] aged 69 years" 

John Landale's grave, East Hill Cemetery, Dartford

Household funiture from West Hill House and items from John's market gardening business were sold by auction in December 1860.

The probate record for John Landale, late of West Hill House, Gentleman, says that his will was proved by Edward Hall the younger of Dartford, millwright, Thomas Miles of White Hill, Dartford, farmer and James Sharp of Dartford, builder. The value of his estate was quoted as “under £3,000.” I have a copy of the will (made in 1857) but it is difficult to decipher, being lengthy, handwritten, phrased in legal language and without punctuation. I have also looked at the death duty record (reference 6), which provides some clarification and additional information. John left an annuity of £26 a year, to be paid in weekly instalments to his eldest son, Samuel. Presumably John did not trust him with a lump sum, given his previous record of bankruptcy! John’s daughter Elizabeth had died by the time that he made his will but he made a bequest of £200 to each of her children George and John Tucker, to be held in trust until they reached the age of 21. He left all his household goods, his shares in the Dartford Gas Light and Coke Company and the residue of his estate (total value £2,541) to his daughter Rosetta for the benefit of herself and her children namely her sons John, Edward and Henry Hall and her daughters Rosetta, Louisa and Julia Hall. There were no bequests to the two surviving daughters of his son John Landale (1809-54). 

With thanks to Dr Mike Still of Dartford Museum, who provided information for this article.

Philip Taylor 

References 
1. Dartford Historical Notes by S K Keyes (1933), p255. 
2 .Calculated with respect to average earnings using the website “Measuring Worth” www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ 
3. The History and Antiquities of Dartford by A J Dunkin (1844), p90. 
4. Dartford Historical Notes by S K Keyes (1933), p236. 
5. Dartford Further Historical Notes by S K Keyes (1938), p873. 
6. Folio 1249 in IR 26/2223 (at the National Archives at Kew). 

John Dunkin (1782 -1846) : Printer and Historian

The following is based on an item about John Dunkin in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

John Dunkin was born at Bicester, Oxfordshire on 16 May 1782. He was a son of John Dunkin (d. 1823) of Bicester and his wife, Elizabeth, widow of John Telford and daughter of Thomas and Johanna Timms. While attending the local free school, he suffered a severe accident and for many years it was feared he would remain disabled for life. While recovering he tried his hand at verse but contrived also to pick up some knowledge of history and archaeology. At the age of twenty he was apprenticed to a carpenter or house decorator at Stony Stratford, whom he left to take up employment in Oxford. At twenty-three he was in London, working for the clerk of works at Kensington Palace.

On 11 December 1809, at St Mary's, Islington, Dunkin married Ann, daughter of William Chapman, a civil engineer from Lincolnshire. They had a son, Alfred John Dunkin (born 1812 in Islington) and a daughter, Ellen Elizabeth (born 1814 in Bromley).

Dunkin took up printing, served an apprenticeship in London, and set up at the age of thirty as a bookseller, stationer and printer in Bromley, Kent. Here he published his first work, “Outlines of the History and Antiquities of Bromley in Kent” (1815). It was followed by “The History and Antiquities of Bicester” (1816). The Bicester history attracted the attention of Sir Gregory Turner, a local proprietor. In 1819 Turner encouraged Dunkin to work up the extensive collections Dunkin had made for “The History and Antiquities of the Hundreds of Bullingdon and Ploughley”, which was eventually published in 1823. The work (limited to 100 copies, of which 70 were for sale at 5 guineas) is based on thorough topographical investigation, and draws on Dunkin's superintendence of excavations at Ambrosden and Bicester. He was an original member of the British Archaeological Association.

Dunkin moved to Dartford in 1835, where, with his son, he set up a bookshop at 13 High Street, and started to build a printing business. Shortly afterwards he opened a branch business at Gravesend. The address of John Dunkin at 13 High Street, Dartford (near One Bell Corner), is currently occupied by “Prime Linens”.

13 High Street Dartford in 2018

The premises have changed substantially since Dunkin occupied it. A photo in the 2018 Dartford Historical & Antiquarian Society newsletter shows 13 High Street in c 1892.  The building then had four stories, as compared to two now. The columns and pediments either side of ground floor frontage can be seen then as now. 

13 High Street, Dartford c 1892

(from the collection of the late Pat Stevens, courtesy of Dartford Historical & Antiquarian Society).

  

The 1841 census shows John Dunkin, a printer, his wife Ann and daughter Ellen living in High Street, Dartford with two apprentices and a servant. 

Mr and Mrs Dunkin were attacked on Dartford Heath in 1842 (1). They were driving their phaeton from Bexleyheath to Dartford on a dark evening, when a man rushed up to them and attempted to drag Mr Dunkin to the ground. The only weapon he had was an umbrella which he repeatedly tried to to push into the felon's face. Mrs Dunkin was driving and kept urging the horse to carry on. Eventually they escaped, although the villain pursued them for some distance. 

In 1844 Dunkin published his “History and Antiquities of Dartford”. Copies of this book are in the reference section of Dartford Library. 

Picture of John Dunkin, from the 1844 edition of his “History and Antiquities of Dartford”.

Dunkin died on 22 December 1846 aged 64, and by his own desire was buried on the eastern side of the lich-gate of St Edmund's Cemetery, Dartford, as near as possible to the ancient burial-ground of Noviomagus which he had described in his last book. Most of the gravestones in the cemetery have been cleared away with some of them (including Dunkin’s) placed against the outside wall. The inscription reads

Beneath this mound lie the remains of JOHN DUNKIN who died suddenly Dec 22 1846. A brass tablet is erected inside the ladye chapel Dartford Church.

John Dunkin’s gravestone

The brass tablet that was erected to his memory in Holy Trinity Church, Dartford reads

On the Eastern side of the lich gate of St Edmunds Cemetery, Dartford, reposes the mortal part of JOHN DUNKIN born at Bicester Co. Oxon, May 16^th 1782, died at Dartford, Co. Kent, Dec 22^nd 1846. A good citizen and most industrious antiquary. His memory lives in his works, as his histories of Dartford, Bromley, Oxfordshire, Bicester &c testify, but lest one of the remembrance of others might seem to suffer undeserved neglect, his family have erected this memorial of their affection.

He was the son of John Dunkin, gentleman (who died suddenly November 12^th 1823 in the 84^th year of his age and is interred at Bromley Co. Kent), who was the second son of Thomas, great grandson of John Dunkin of Merton, Co. Oxon, gentleman, whose loyalty and integrity, obtained from King Charles II, Letters Patent dated Oct. 14^th 1662 confirming the Title and Tenure of his estate in that parish, together with a Grant of the Manor of Merton to trustees for the benefit of Dame Katherine Harrington and her children after the attainder and confiscation of the property of her husband Sir James Harrington Bart., one of the judges in the memorable trial of King Charles I.

Dunkin’s brass tablet in Dartford Church

After his death, censuses show that John Dunkin’s family continued to run a stationery business at 13 High St, Dartford until at least 1861. His wife Ann died at Dartford on 12 March 1865, aged 77. His son Alfred John died in 1879 aged 66, his daughter Ellen Elizabeth in 1890 aged 76, both unmarried. The three of them are buried in the same grave in East Hill Cemetery, Dartford.

Dunkin's collections were presented to the Guildhall Library by his daughter in 1886. Those relating to Oxfordshire have been in the Bodleian Library, Oxford since 1954.

Reference 1. Wilmington, A Village in North Kent page 161, by Jean Radford (2008).