Mr. Egerton Clarke: Meet the Maternal Family

This morning, it's time to take a look at a Clarke, and I don't mean Darren [left] up at Royal St George's…


Last time we ended with young Egerton Clarke, 11 years old and attending an "institution" in Blean, Kent. It's possible this could have been the Blean School. It's possible the "institution" was the Blean Workhouse. And depending on the way the census was aggregated, it may even have been St. Edmund's School in Canterbury (also known as The Clergy Orphans' School), just 2 kilometers from the village of Blean.

To understand which it may have been, we'll have to dig deeper, and that means having a look this time into his mother's family.


That Egerton would have ended up at St. Edmund's is no surprise. Wikipedia: "St Edmund's School Canterbury was first established in 1749 as the Clergy Orphan Society." [You can see the school below, right; click to enlarge any image]

Egerton wasn't exactly an orphan when his father passed away in 1902, but he was barely three years old. His mother, Emma Anna Piper Clarke, who was also responsible for his 13-year-old sister, Dorothy, was the daughter of a farmer. On the 1871 census, Emma Anna, is listed as a scholar, but what that meant for a 14-year-old young lady in rural Hertfordshire—even if her father worked 130 acres and employed 6 men and 2 boys—is difficult for me to ascertain. What useful skills she may have possessed or learned with which she could have supported her children is open to speculation.

And as there are no probate records for Egerton's father, Rev Percy Carmichael Clarke, we don't know the financial situation in which Emma Anna found herself—there isn't even a record of Percy's death in English or French databases—if there were legalities to be settled stemming from a death abroad, and then there was the shipping of the body back to England and the burial. That is, unless, of course, he was buried in France, where he had been Chaplain at resort town of Dinard.

On page 89 of Hazell's Annual for 1906 within a listing of various "Charitable Societies"—just below an entry for the City of London Truss Society for the Relief of the Ruptured Poor—we find the Clergy Orphan Association. Under that bold-faced entry is listed, among others, "St. Edmund's School, Canterbury" [pictured below, left].

While Egerton, whenever he attended, may have enrolled there simply because it was close to home, that reason seems less than likely. As we discussed last time, his father's move from Rector at St Michael-at-Plea, might not have been career advancement, and the family may have been in some trouble, partly financial trouble caused by the move itself. What would it have cost to move one's entire life and household to France?

Egerton's mother passed away in 1930 leaving a legacy of £194 12s., and using a solicitor as executor of her estate, not one of her children. She had been living for a number of years at 30 Portland-road in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, less than 10 miles from her childhood home at Hare Street Village in Hertfordshire.

This doesn't guarantee that she was less than well-endowed financially—it may be as simple as having a great love for family—but that's a bit difficult to determine.


Emma Anna Clarke (née Piper) was raised in a family of 11 children. She had married Percy Carmichael Clarke in late 1887 or early 1888, just at the time her father died. Francis Caton Piper, farmer, had passed away on 9 December 1887. His probate proved £270 12s. 2d. The exectutors were his eldest sons, Francis Parsey Piper and Robert Dean Piper.

That's not a huge legacy to leave a farmer's wife and 11 living children.

Might it be safe to assume that, at the time, staying out of the workhouse may have been as prominent a motive for marrying the much older Percy Clarke Emma Anna as was love—and perhaps larger?

Hannah Parsey Piper, Emma's mother, soon passed away in January 1891. There are no probate records for her.


So, by 1901, Emma Anna's parents were deceased, and Emma herself was in France with husband Percy, and most likely her two children: Neither Dorothy nor Egerton appears in Kent or Hertfordshire on the 1901 UK census. Presumably they were residing with their parents at Dinard in Bretagne [right].

So who was left back in Herts for Emma to turn to when Percy then died in 1902?

Let's see. With such a large numnber of siblings, it may be best to number them…


1.) Her youngest sibling, brother Clement Samuel Piper, died in October 1887, in Reigate, Surrey, at the age of 28. There was no probate, and there is no record that he had ever married.


2.) Another brother, Edward Herbert Piper, like his father a farmer, had passed away in 1893 in Hertfordshire, leaving behind a widow, Sarah Louisa Piper, and a 4 year old daughter, Mildred Louisa.

In 1891, Piper was likely working Bradbury Farm in Greater Hormead, and living there with his 32 year old wife and 2-year-old child.

There was no probate.

After his death, both wife Sarah Louisa and daughter Mildred Louisa would appear separately in the 1901 census, but we'll read about that much later.


3.) Yet another brother, Arthur Dalzell Piper had attended Cambridge. His entry in Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 reads:

Arthur Dalzel Piper. College: ST JOHN'S Entered: Michs. 1873 Died: 16 Nov 1895 Adm. pens. at ST JOHN'S, Oct. 4, 1873. S. of Francis Caton, farmer (and Hannah). B. at Great Hormead, Herts. Bapt. Jan. 29, 1854. Matric. Michs. 1873; B.A. 1879. Ord. deacon (Lincoln) 1879; priest, 1880; C. of Timberland, Lincs., 1879-81. C. of St Luke's, Camberwell, 1881-3. V. of N. Woolwich, 1883-9. V. of Albury, Herts., 1889-95. Died Nov. 16, 1895, aged 42. (Eagle, XIX. 200; Crockford; The Standard, Nov. 19, 1895.)

[An obituary from St. John's College's The Eagle, from Volume 19 in 1897, is seen, left.]

As we can see, Arthur passed away on 16 November 1895 in Albury, near Ware, Hertfordshire. His probate proved £257 10s. 8d., presumably most or all of which was left to his wife, Jessie Mary Elizabeth Jarrett Piper. His executor was Reverend Edward John Doherty.

One wonders if Arthur's death in 1895 in any way figured into the departure of Emma Anna's husband, Percy (another cleric), for Dinard, France, in the same year.

In addition, Arthur's religious calling seems at odds with one chosen by several of his brothers, as we shall see.


Afterwards, Emma Anna's brothers seemed to pass away in even more rapid succession!

4.) Robert Dean Piper died in December 1910 in Bishops Stortford, just before the 1911 census. He left two adult children behind.

Just a decade before 1911, during the 1901 census, he had resided in Newport, Essex, and Robert, 52, listed as "living on own means." His wife, Emma Elizabeth Patten Piper, died on 6 August 1906, and her probate proved £416 17s. 3d. to Robert on 4 December 1908.

Strangley, on the 1881 census, Robert is listed as "Rolston Piper," and he was living at 68 Church Road in Richmond, Surrey, with Emma Elizabeth, their 2-year-old daughter, and a brother-in-law, 19 year old Alfred Patten, listed as a "Student Pupil." They were attended by a cook and a nurse. Robert's occupation was that of a "Brewer."

We find out why on page 5913 14 October 1879 edition of the London Gazette:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned, Robert Dean Piper and Horace Shearly, carrying on the business of Brewers, at Friars-lane, Richmond, in the county of Surrey, under the style of the Richmond Steam Brewery, was this day dissolved by mutual consent j and in future the business will be carried on by the said Robert Dean Piper alone, who will pay and receive all debts owing from or to the said partnership in the regular course of business.—Dated this 11th day of October, 1879.

Robert Dean Piper.
Horace Shearly.


Then, in 1891, Robert (42), Emma (37), and the children [Robert Garnet R. (8) and Emma May Hannah (12)] were living with Emma's father, farmer John Pallew, back in Greater Hormead, Herts. Although the form does not list an occupation for Robert, it would be surprising if he had not been obligated at least to help a bit around his father-in-law's farm.

Incidentally, their son, Robert Garnet Piper, was born in January 1883 in Reigate, Surrey—where Emma Anna Clarke's brother Clement, above, died several years later in 1887. We'll soon see why and how Reigate figures into this story even more.


Two of Emma Anna Clarke's brothers passed on during July 1911, just after the census was taken:

5.) Eldest son, George Parsey Piper, had married his wife, Emma, in Essex in 1870, but worked Bury Farm in Greater Hormead, Herts, where he passed away at the age of 68. He left behind a wife named Emma and 6 children.


6.) Francis Albert Piper appeared on the 1911 census at the age of 65 and passed away at Edmonton, Middlesex.

His story starts on page 6091 of the 15 November 1867 edition of the London Gazette:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership hitherto subsisting between us the undersigned, John Newnham and Francis Albert Piper, as Brewers and Coal Merchants, at Horley, under the style or firm of Newnham and Piper, was this day dissolved by mutual consent; and that in future the business of a Brewer will be carried on by the said Francis Albert Piper on his separate account, who will receive and pay all debts owing to and from the said partnership firm. As witness our hands this 11th day of November 1867.

John Newnham.
Francis Albert Piper.

Newnham & Piper had been listed among the literally hundreds of brewers in England in Loftus's Almanack for Brewers, Distillers, and the Wine and Spirits Trade, 1869 [left].


On the 1871 census we find that Francis, 24, was owner of a brewery in Reigate, Surrey. He lived there with his unmarried sister, Matilda Frances Mary Piper, 26, and his bachelor brother Robert, 22 and mentioned above, and a servant. The business employed 3 men.

This explains the death of their brother Clement, above, occurring in Reigate in 1887, where the younger man presumably worked with, or at least was visiting, his family.

Then on page 4571 of the 7 November 1871 issue of the London Gazette, we find:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership which for some time past has been carried on by Francis Albert Piper and George Lewis Lilley, as Brewers, at Horley, under the style or firm of Piper and Co. is dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 18th day of February last. All accounts due and payable to and by the said firm will be received and paid through the said Francis Albert Piper. Dated this 9th day of October 1871.

Francis Albert Piper.
Geo. Lewis Lilley.


On the heels of that partnership dissolution, this item crops up in the 22 May 1874 issue of the London Gazette, however, on page 2751:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership which for some time past has been carried on by Francis Albert Piper and Robert Dean Piper, under the firm Messrs. Piper Brothers, in the trade or business of Common Brewers, at Horley, was, on the 1st day of January, 1874, dissolved by mutual consent. As witness our hands this 1st day of May, 1874.

Francis A. Piper.
Rob. D. Piper.


It seems Francis also was having some trouble keeping a partner in on his brewing business, and those problems included his brother. We can see, though, that the dissolution of their partnership did not drive either man out of the brewery business—it merely sent Robert off to Richmond.

The 1881 census shows that Francis, 34, was still running the Horley Brewery on Station Road, but was now residing with his wife, Eliza, 32, three children, a 17-year-old governess, and two teenage sisters as domestic servants. At this point, the business employed 6 men.

Business certainly seemed to have improved.

Interestingly, in 1883, Francis's brother, Robert and his wife had had a child who was born in Horley—at a time when Robert's own brewery should have been running in Richmond. Perhaps they had anticipated a need for a period of confinement, and Francis's wife, Eliza, had offered assistance. Or, it could be that Robert's brewery had folded by then.

The Post office directory of the brewers and maltsters (1884) distributed by Kelly's Directories, Ltd. [left], lists both the Piper Brothers' Horley Brewery in Surrey, and Piper & Sweeting's Langdown Steam Brewery in Hythe, Southampton, as being active that year.

The 1995 book, A Century of British Brewers, 1890-1990, by Norman Barber, contains the following transaction: "Langdown Steam Brewery. Acquired by Strong A Co.Ltd 1895."

By 1891, however, Francis was gone from Horley, the brewery already disposed of by the above transaction, and would be residing then in Hackney, where he is listed as a "Granary Superintendent Corn," and lives with his wife and 6 children, ages 5 to 15, and he's no longer an employer: He's listed clearly as a "employed."

By 1901, Francis was living in Hackney at 315 Kingsland Road with Eliza and 5 children, ages 10 to 25 years. His occupation still is listed as a "Forage Superintendent Corn."

There was no probate that I could locate.


That amounts to six deceased siblings through the year 1911.

So, by the end of that summer in 1911, Emma Anna Clarke had only four living siblings:


7.) Matilda Frances Mary Piper, her spinster sister, was living back in Bishops Stortford in 1911. In 1901, she had been living on her own means, 40 miles from Hare Street, in St Alban's, Herts, in a flat in 172 Fishpool Street [right], at the age of 56. She had somehow eluded being counted during the 1891 census.

Matilda would pass away in on 6 January 1933 while residing at 30 Portland-road (the address Emma Anna would be using at the time) in Bishops Stortford, Herts, and proved a legacy of £2,121 2s. 4d. Her executor was her sister, Elizabeth.


8.) Elizabeth Agnes Piper, appeared on the 1911 census as probably living in Edmonton, Middlesex, at the age of 50, but she passed away in Bishops Stortford in June 1935. She showed up on the 1891 census living in Thorley (I am unable to find the complete record on ancestry.com), but she managed to miss being counted on the 1901 census. In 1881, she was recorded as a resident of Thorley Wash Farm with her brother-in-law John and sister Hannah Patten, their children, and 4 servants.

In 1911, she may have been living with her brother, Francis, during his time in Middlesex, but she died near home in Herts, the probate reading "Administration (with Will)." She seems always to have lived in the care of, or caring for, her siblings, even before the passing of her parents.


9.) In 1911, Hannah Louisa Piper Patten, a sister who had married farmer John Edward Drury Patten, still lived at Thorley Wash Farm, just outside of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, where she bore 5 children. John Patten would pass away on 16 August 1898.

Thorley Wash Farm must have been doing well: Patten's 1898 probate proved £14,091 13s. 3d. Executors were Hannah and her brother, George Parsey Piper. Hannah would die at Thorley Wash in 1930 and her probate shows her leaving £5,935 5s. 5d. Executors were her sons John Francis and Drury Dalzell Patten.


10.) Emma Anna's final sibling was Frederick Ebenezer Piper, born in January 1852.

In early 1873, he married Mary Meacher in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. She was the brother of well-to-do Charles Robert Meacher, Esq. Mary's brother passed away on 18 August 1876 in Watford, Herts, and his probate was listed as "Under £18,000." Spinster sisters Sarah Lucy and Agnes Meacham were executors, along with William Godden of 34 Old Jewry, Gentleman.

Ebenezer and Mary had two children, according to family trees on ancestry.com. He appeared outside the confines of his father's farm when the London Gazette carried this item on page 2457 of their 10 May 1881 edition:

Notice is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore existing between us the undersigned, Francis Albert Piper and Frederick Ebenezer Piper, carrying on business as brewers at the Albert and Bell Breweries, Horley in the county of Surrey, under the style or firm of Piper Brothers, was dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 25th day of March 1881. And all debts due to and owing by the said firm will be received and paid by the undersigned, Francis Albert Piper.—Dated this 3rd day of May 1881.

Francis A. Piper.
Fred. E. Piper.


At the same time that brother Robert was brewing on his own in Richmond, and Francis had found and severed ties with yet another partner in younger brother Ebenezer, who may have had some money through his bride.

What's odd is that Ebenezer and wife do not seem to appear on the 1881 or 1891census.

The National Archives at Kew list the following entry:

Papers relating to a loan D 123/25 1882-1893

Contents:
From Sarah Lucy Meacher and Agnes Dillon, to Frederick Ebenezer Piper for his brewery business in Hythe, Hants.

So, by 1882, Ebenezer was off to borrow money from his sister-in-laws, spinster Sarah, in Watford, and an Agnes Dillon (presumably the married name of Agnes Meachan above) for funds to open his own brewery.


It's hard to tell exactly how things worked out, but on page 4888, the London Gazette of 12 October 1883 reported:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore existing between us the undersigned, Frederick Ebenezer Piper and Randall George Frederick Sweeting, carrying on business as brewers and maltsters at the Langdon Steam Brewery, Hythe, near Southampton, Hants, under the style or firm of Piper and Sweeting, has this day been dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 29th day of December 1883—Dated this 6th day of October 1883.

Fred. E. Piper.
Randall George Fredk. Sweeting.


We saw a snippet about Piper & Sweeting's brewery above. As noted, Ebenezer and Mary do not appear on either the 1881 or 1891 UK census.

Ebenezer, however, appears on the 1901 form at the age of 48. In that year, we find him living in St Margaret's Villa at 4 Benhill Road in Sutton, Surrey, obviously having returned from his days as a brewmaster in Hants.

His occupation is given as "living on own means," and the other person sharing the villa with him is his 44 year old widowed sister-in-law, Louisa Piper.

Sarah Louisa Piper was widowed, you'll recall from above, when Herbert Piper died in 1893.

It seems reasonable to think that this "sister-in-law" of Ebenezer's is Sarah Louisa, being called simply Louisa here.

How Ebenezer ended up hooking up and co-habiting with Louisa is unknown.

What happened to Mary Meacher Piper, I also don't know. There are simply too many Mary Pipers who died between 1881 and 1901 to determine which one she might have been. And why Ebenezer seemingly doesn't appear in the census counts for 1881 or 1891 is also unknown.

However, according to the blog The Breweries and Public Houses of Surrey, there was a public house described thusly:

The Three Tuns, High Street (NGR TQ 326508 (?) Situated 200 yards from the White Hart Inn and 200 yards from the Plough.

In 1892 described as a beerhouse owned by Frederick E Piper, of Horley, and tied to the Hornchurch Brewery Co, Hornchurch, Essex (formerly Youell & Elkin, brewers, Horley). The licensee was William Balcombe, and the premises described as a tramps lodging house.


That "Frederick E. Piper" is certainly our Ebenezer, and the "tramp house" [right] a place where it might been difficult to take an accurate census count.

Ebenezer, however, died back home in Bishops Stortford in September of 1930, returning to his place of birth as most of the siblings did near the end.


That explores the entire cast of siblings of Emma Anna Piper Clarke, mother of Egerton Clarke, in the year of 1911. The situation was thus:

Six were dead or about to die that year, leaving just four besides herself.


● Widowed sister Hannah Patten, 62, was relatively wealthy and living in Thorley, Herts, near Bishops Stortford. Hannah would die at Thorley in 1930.


● Spinster sister Elizabeth 60, was residing in Edmonton, Middlesex, in 1911 after living for years with Hannah at Thorley. She eventually would pass away in Bishops Stortford in 1935.


● Spinster sister Matilda, 66, was living once again in Bishops Stortford, probably at 30 Portland-road [left], in 1911 after appearing on the 1901 census alone and living by her own means in a flat in St Alban's.


● Brother Ebenezer, 59, was also living in Bishops Stortford in 1911, and it probably won't surprise you to discover that widowed sister-in-law, Sarah Louisa Piper, about 52, was living there as well.

Sarah Louisa's 22 year old daughter, Mildred Louisa, also was living in Hertford, Herts, in 1911. In 1901, she had been a 12 year old "school girl" at the London Orphan Asylum's District Girls School [below, right] in Watford, Hertfordshire, while her mother lived with in-law Ebenezer Piper.

One wonders why. Was it a chance for a free education—and a decent one at that, if past opinion is to be believed? Was it just that there was no money in a home 'living by its own means' to support Mildred? Is there another reason I simply cannot imagine?


Emma Anna Piper Clarke had been born on 1 December 1857, the youngest of all of the Piper siblings, and would have been 53 years old in 1911 when the census was taken.

Emma Anna still had a handful of kin back in Bishops Stortford in that year, although older than she, along with an in-law. What could have happened to her? Why wasn't she there, with them, in that 1911 census count?

There are 5 Emma Clarkes on the 1911 UK census who could be our Emma. They were living in Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire—none of which seem very proximate to a place she would probably want to be: Near her child or her family. They could be Emma Anna, but are probably not, unless she took herself far afield.

Given the UK census's propensity, however, often to have middle names entered instead of Christian names (like Ebenezer and Louisa above), I tried "Anna Piper." Using the same year of birth, we end up with this:



That top entry may not be our Anna, but, again, the Annas in the other possible locations—here Nottinghamshire and Sussex—don't seem at all likely to be Emma Anna Clarke, actually far less so.

The siblings in Bishops Stortford were all listed as members of "households" in 1911.

Did their sister, Emma Anna, end up in the workhouse at Watford, Herts? 54 is a bit old for attending a school...

There are no solid primary sources available to me that would describe conditions in the Watford workhouse [right] in that era. However, it is near the workhouse in Bishops Stortford, and was designed by the same gentleman. Reading the report of the commission set up by the British Medical Journal, 1894-95, to inspect the workhouse makes it seem not quite as awful as the institutions portrayed by Dickens—as long as you can get past the sewage. [Read about it HERE.]


One thing that we can feel better about: It appears that young Egerton Clarke, Emma Anna's 11-year-old son does not appear to have been in a workhouse in 1911.

Here's the information found on the 1911census.co.uk website regarding young Egerton:



It seemed unusual that a school situated in an historic English cathedral city like Canterbury—and which is today in the district of Canterbury—would have been listed as having been within the district of village of Blean in 1911. Today, it is the other way around: Blean is within the Canterbury district.

That said, clever researcher and friend of this website, Jennifer M., found out where Egerton was... indirectly.

Wikipedia lists the names of the Headmasters & Headmistresses of St Edmund's School in Canterbury, which, you'll recall was established for the orphans of clerics. (In the United States, "orphan" would imply that a child has no living parents, but we learned above, in the case of Mildred Piper, that having a dead father and a living mother would have been enough to consider a child an orphan in England at the time.)

Jennifer used the name of Walter Burnside, who was Headmaster of St Edmund's from 1908 to 1932 and came up with this information:



Brilliant, Jennie!

And so we find that Walter Burnside was also residing in an "institution" in Blean, Kent, during 1911—a time we know he was serving as Headmaster at St Edmund's.

St Edmund's School today takes children of the ages 3 to 18. Hopefully, Jennifer's cleverness demonstrates clearly that young Egerton already had been enrolled at the school by 1911, no matter where his mother may have been. And, as it was a school for orphans, it was unlikely he would have been the beneficiary of any great amount of money bestowed upon him by his wealthy Aunt Hannah in Thorley (on his mother's side of the family) or his rich Uncle Egerton (on his father's side).


Next time, we'll tighten the focus on Egerton as the Great Britain moves on to the next challenge to the Empire: The First World War.

And it's at that point that we'll discover the link between Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke and our own George Ramsay Acland Mills.

Focusing on Warren Hill's Master's Residence, 1901

As regular readers know, some time ago, Michael Ockenden of the Eastbourne Local History Society sent this message: "Another Michael of Eastbourne Local History has turned up these two photographs of Warren Hill School. The first is probably from a postcard and shows the view looking up what is now Beachy Head Road with the school on the left. It's hard to date precisely but one can suppose that it is pre 1900. The masters' residence must be the house on the right. The girls walking down the hill are almost level with a group of flint cottages which still stand."

It's that post card image that interests us today, especially regarding that master's residence.

The last time we looked at Warren Hill School, we determined that the configuration of the structure in those 1880 photographs discovered by Barry McAleenan was essentially the same as the image of the school from the post card mentioned above. Mr. Ockenden's assessment of the image as dating from before the turn of the century was spot on!

The house in the image is now 10, Beachy Head Road, and we've wondered for a while here about the possibility of it being the hard-to-find master's residence. I had searched the "West Ward" census for 1901 and found nothing that could be called a Master's residence, although I did find many homes and flats containing a schoolmaster or two!


It turns out that the "West Ward" document I could access using the name of Head Master A. Max Wilkinson (giving me access to the census at Warren Hill School that day) did not contain the houses across the street down near what is now the junction with Colistocks Road [pictured above, today]. And the only way of "getting in" was by knowing the name of a resident—shutting me out of those nearby houses completely.

The problem has been solved by the intrepid Jennifer M., a dear friend and a wizard with these census documents.

Here's what she had to say:


Looking at the 1899 map [which you can see by clicking HERE], I’m fairly sure the building on lot 161[which is on the 1930 map, which you can see by clicking HERE] (#10) is what the 1901 census taker called “Warren Hill cottage.”

The inhabitants are:
     1. Charles E King, 38, schoolmaster
     2. Francis H. Brodrick, 33, schoolmaster
     3. George Anderson, 24, schoolmaster
     4. Eliza Shepherd, 46, housekeeper - domestic
     5. Isabella Morrison, 25, parlourmaid


I think #6 BHR is “Fairfield Cottage.” It has a family living in it by the name of Broson. I think. The handwriting is old-fashioned and curly. The family members names are Arthur, Orpha, Katie and Edith.

I’m not sure which are the Beachy Head Villas #1 and #2 (maybe on the 1899 map in section 115 2-790?), but I think “new cottages 1-6” are the ones next to #6. If you want those names, too, let me know.

And when I searched, yes, the school itself was in a different district from all the cottages on the other side of BHR.


So, we find that the cottage of schoolmasters was appropriately named "Warren Hill Cottage." You can see the entire page of the census document by clicking HERE.


Along the road today, traveling west toward the site of Warren Hill School [as seen, above], we can start at the intersection of Beachy Head and Meads Street. On the right hand side, now recessed off the road and behind a thick hedgerow, would seem to be the "new cottages." We clearly can see cottages number 5 and 6, however, listed on this excerpt from the full census page.

Then the census taker came to Nos. 1 & 2 Beachy Head Villas. They would seem to be the L-shaped buildings across the road, to the south.


Then the taker went to both Warren Hill Cottage and Fairfield Cottages [seen, above, as they appear today, No. 10 (left) and No. 6]. One of the two buildings would be the master's residence of Warren Hill School, although I might have guessed it would have been what is now No. 6, Holly Cottage. We'll never know, however, the exact path walked by the census taker on 31 March 1901.

What is particularly interesting would be to know if the cottage was owned by Warren Hill School. We know the school's grounds encompassed land along Carlisle Road up to Boston House, which is now a girls' school. Could that tract of land have extended east to include the cottages mentioned above? Or did the school simply rent a house for the use of the schoolmasters. It would seem to have been a fairly posh set-up: In no other residence of an ordinary schoolmaster did we find domestic servants—at least not in the West Ward!

Nonetheless, it would seem the entrepreneurial enterprise known as Warren Hill School would have been flush with assets that went beyond the mere operation of the school early in the 20th century. It is staggering to consider what all of that land would be worth today!


When Joshua Goodland bought and then sold the institution [above], around and during the onset of the Great Depression, it was probably a substantial transaction. It also allowed Goodland to hire a young schoolmaster named George Mills, who is the focus of our research here.

George in all likelihood lived in that master's residence while his wife, Vera, stayed in Knightsbridge with her mother and sister, and described it in his novels. It may not be exciting for everyone, but I'm delighted to have a location for Mills during his time in Meads!

Many thanks to the relentless Jennifer, the Sultana of the Census, for her persistence in locating first, the census document, and then the residence itself. And many thanks for her kindness and friendship as well.

Introducing Miss E. J. Warwick, the British Wanderers, and the All-England Team

Friend of this website, Joanna Healing, recently checked in here with this brief recollection:

I also remember Guy and Joan Warwick – Guy better because Joan died earlier.

Although Joanna did not know Joan as well, many people must have known of Miss E. J. Warwick, and to a great many of them she must have been a hero. (By the way, who decided that "heroine" was no longer a word one uses?) Edith Joan Warwick was born on 13 June 1898 in Peterborough, where she lived at 103 Park Road [pictured, left], and passed away in Devon in September 1973, presumably in Budleigh Salterton where she lived with her brother, Guy.

Our association here with Joan is via the sport of croquet, in which she was a renowned figure. Warwick won the Women's Championship of the Croquet Association in 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1968. She lost in the final to talented Isobel Roe in 1961 amid that stunning run of success.

Remarkable! As a North American sports fan, the only similar run of success in my lifetime was that of ice hockey's Montreal Canadiens in the 1960s. Les Habitants, as they were known, won Stanley Cup titles under their legendary captain Jean Beliveau in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, and 1971.

Still, when the aging Beliveau had an off-night on the ice, his teammates could and would pick up the slack. Warwick had no such help on the lawns while making her run at those championships. There were other all-time great stretches of success by hockey teams—especially by those "Habs"—and there were other magnificent, year-after-year performances in the sport of croquet as well. However, the string of titles won by both those Canadiens teams and Joan Warwick would be crowned a sporting "dynasty" by rabid fans on this side of the pond!

Oddly, croquet was not even her sport of choice! Of her early life, we know little. She can be found in the 1901 UK census at the age of 2, but is not at home. She and her 32-year-old mother, Clara E. Warwick, were visiting the home of Mrs. Lily Bennett in "Burley-in-Whfdle," Yorkshire, where Mrs. Bennett lived at Glendair on Station Road with 2 sons, a daughter, and 2 servants. Mr. Bennett was not at home.

The record shows that both Clara and Joan Warwick were born in "Northhants Peterboro," and that in 1901, Clara was already a widow with a daughter in tow, and a son, James Guy Warwick, presumably at school. Guy, however, does not appear on the 1901 census, although in 1911's census, we find him at 16 living in a household in Erpingham, Norfolk, where he may have been working with an architect as an assistant while learning the profession.

In 1911, Joan was still residing in Peterborough at the age of 12 with her mother.


After that, there is an informational gap, but she does begin to crop up once again by 1927. In that year, Joan appears on the ship's manifest [left] of the Mooltan, a steam ship arriving in London on 9 September 1927.

Sailing from Sydney, Australia, and using the moniker "Miss E. J. Warwick," the listing shows her address as being "103 Park Road, Peterborough," fixes her at 29 years of age, and describes her occupation as "Home Duties."


That seems a very odd choice for Joan to have made for her occupation, and I would wager that most other women sporting the tag "home duties" were not engaged regularly in the nearly same activities as Joan! But more on that 1927 voyage a bit later.

We next find her asea in 1934, this time steaming into London (Tilbury) on 20th December aboard the S.S. Orford, bound from Brisbane. The manifest, however, indicates "Miss E. J. Warwick" boarded at Port Said, Egypt. She was then 36 years of age, still at the same Peterborough address, and still engaged in the same occupation:
"HOME DUTIES."


But Joan crops up elsewhere in the historical record in 1934. At right, you see a photograph of three women smiling from aboard a departing train. The news service blurb to be run in newspapers with the image states:

Caption: English and Scottish girl[s] who compose a hockey team called the British Wanderers left St Pancras on the Maleja boat train for a tour in Egypt - photo shows left to right Miss W M Neave with Miss E J Warwick ( captain ) an Miss J Ellis at the carriage window before their departure November 16th 1934.


It's no secret to regular readers of Who Is George Mills? that Warwick was a world-class hockey player in her youth, and this photograph corroborates that—as well as the reason for her 1934 trip to Egypt.

Even The Straits Times of Singapore, in their edition dated 16 December 1934, also ran a photograph of Warwick and her team, the British Wanderers, as seen, left. The team and its captain were apparently world-wide news, belying her own claim that she was merely a practitioner of "home duties," unless one counts often skillfully wielding a hockey stick against malicious opponents on a muddy field as simply a part of one's duty in the home.

At some point soon after this, however, Joan must have retired from taking the field herself, but maintained her strong link to the women's sport.

It's quite odd for me here to have so many images from an era to help tell a story—I'm usually scrambling to find something to illustrate each entry—but this time we just move to the next newspaper image, and so, too, into the next stage of Joan's life!

Below, right, find a photograph that ran at the top of page 3 of the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, 26 July 1938. We find Joan below the equator once again, and the caption reads:

Miss Joan Warwick (manager) and Miss M. M. Knott (captain) of the All-England women's hockey team, which arrived in Sydney yesterday after a successful tour of New Zealand. Miss Warwick was in Australia with the 1927 team, and Miss Knott is one of the most famous of England's captains, a position she has held for eight years.


From this we can gather that, in 1927, Warwick had traveled with the All-England team, not the Wanderers, to the South Seas. It seems remarkable that, short of having been someone of privilege like Lady Dorothy Mills, author, traveler, explorer, and once sister-in-law of George Mills, these women had the opportunity to see so much of the world. So for Joan, the daughter of a Peterborough auctioneer who left a young widow to raise two very young children, living such a life virtually must have been a dream come true, and at the very least, it must have made for some amazing scrap-books and memorabilia!

For now, we'll leave Joan along with Miss M. M. Knott disembarking at Sydney after sailing in from New Zealand. Next time we'll take a look at the 1938 tour of Australia, meet their hosts and few of the players, and hear from Joan herself about the trip.

We'll also follow her to Budleigh and look at her later-in-life athletic career in croquet.

See you then!

Capt. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden of Newlands School, Seaford

We're staying yet another day in Seaford, East Sussex—just as I'm certain that George Mills would have wanted to do himself during summer—to take a look at another Sussex-based connection to Mills.

A connection with Sussex, especially Seaford, is by no means specific to George Mills in and of itself. But stir in a preparatory school and croquet, and the coincidences we always seem to find revolving around Mills start adding up! Let's start our examination at Newlands School in Seaford [pictured above, left, the entrance to the old school building, presumably a gate-keepers or caretakers lodge] and its proprietors, Mr. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden.

From the Newlands website, here's a brief history of the institution:

The school first started as a tutorial in 1814 at Hatfield House, home of The Marquis of Salisbury.

The Marquis' chaplain was a man called The Reverend Faithful [sic]. He taught the local children... He retired in 1854 and handed the pupils over to Mr. Chittenden, who started it as a school in Hoddeston [sic] in Hertfordshire.

He called this school The Grange, hence the 'Grange' dormitory at Newlands today. He had strong views about education and felt that no lesson should be longer than 20 minutes, as no child could concentrate one hundred per cent for longer - and he demanded one hundred per cent!

The Reverend Faithful was Head until 1893 and was then joined by his nephew, Mr. Wheeler, who eventually brought the school to Seaford in 1903.

At first he rented two houses in Seaford and hired the back playing field from a local farmer. Then he built the school and later bought the front field. His foresight in purchasing land gave the school the opportunity to expand later on when it was needed.


So, we find the roots of the school extending back as far as 1814, but its history in Seaford dates to 1903.

Where exactly the transition in ownership occurs, moving from the tenure of Reverend Faithfull and Mr. Wheeler to someone actually named Chittenden, is difficult to determine, but in the 1930 Sussex Post Office Directory of private residents, the following entry is found: "Chittenden, Capt. Hugh Faithfull, The Mill dene, Sutton Road, Seaford."


Then, in the 1931 telephone directory for Seaford, the following listing for the same Chittenden is included:

Chittenden, H. F. & Cooper, E. A, Newlands . . Seaford 34


Does this entry imply that the school is under the co-ownership of partners, one of which is H. F. Chittenden? Or is this a principal and a Head Master? That 1930 directory mentioned above lists an "Cooper E." living in Eastbourne, but no "E. A."

What we do know is a bit about Hugh Faithfull Chittenden.

He was born on 9 November 1892 in Epsom, Surrey, to Charles Grant Thomas Faithfull Chittenden (1860 – 1905) and Eliza Cummins Wheeler (1859 – 1952). Their son, Hugh, does not appear in the UK census in either the 1901 or 1911.

The year of the senior Chittenden's death—1905—drew my notice. Having married a Wheeler, presumably the daughter of Reverend Faithful's partner, Mr. Wheeler, and with Hugh and his father having been named after the Reverend, these families seem to be inextricably tied to the school and each other.

That seems to have been made more apparent when one reads the probate of Charles Chittenden:

CHITTENDEN Charles Thomas Grant Faithfull of 33 Hatfield-road St. Albans Hertfordshire died 17 May 1905 at Little Grange Broxbourne Hertfordshire Probate London 18 July to William Albert Wheeler, school-proprietor Effects £5226 3s. 6d. Resworn £5526 3s. 6d.

Having left behind at the very least a 44-year-old widow and a 12-year-old son, Hugh, Charles Chittenden opted to bequeath his legacy to the proprietor of the school!

Charles died at the location of the original school, Little Grange in Boxbourne, Herts, where two of his sisters still lived, although the school itself had gone by 1905. (By the way, earlier census records show that this 'Little Grange' was, indeed, the location of the Grange Preparatory School.)

It's strange, though, that during the 1901 UK census, the Chittendens—Charles and Eliza—lived in a boarding house owned by Sarah and Susie Searle in Sidmouth, Devon, along with Arthur G. F. Chittenden, 38 and "living on means," and Evelyn R. Wheeler, 35, with no occupation listed, presumably a relative.

The occupation of Charles on that 1901 census form is recorded as "banker's clerk," not schoolmaster, not even remotely related to the field of education, and they are clearly not living near Herts or Seaford. So much for the notion that this family was very close, and that their lives revolved entirely around the school, making the peculiar probate above far more difficult to understand than it started out! The fact that H. F. Chittenden would become Head of Newlands was apparently not always carved in stone.

None of the couple's children is listed as boarding there with them in 1901, and by 1911, Eliza is living in the Greenwich district of London, according to the census from that year.

In fact, the first record we find of their son, H. F. Chittenden, is in an issue of the London Gazette dated 19 November 1915, in which "Hugh F. Chittenden" is listed as an entry in a section headed by the term "The Royal Sussex Regiment." It reads: "The undermentioned Second Lieutenants to be temporary Lieutenants. Dated 27th September, 1915."

We can see from his WWI medal index card [pictured, left, front and back] that he transferred to the Royal Engineers, and that his service under the Colours was meritorious. Still, it is difficult to find much mention at all of our H. F. Chittenden, let alone information about his boyhood or education.

And here's a mention in the text Fifty-five years at Oxford: An Unconventional Autobiography (Methuen, 1946) written by George Beardoe Grundy, Hugh's father-in-law:

"Of my two children my son Major Grundy, East African Engineers, has lived in Africa since the close of the last war, and my daughter Barbara married Hugh Chittenden of Seaford, Sussex. In the case of both of them a light-hearted youth has been succeeded by a middle age of hard and successful work. ——G. B. Grundy"


Hugh F. Chittenden's hardworking wife, Barbara May Grundy, was born 2 April 1896 in Epsom, Surrey. They were married in Oxford in the spring of 1917, and the success to which Grundy refers must involve Newlands.

They had a son, Sgt. H. J. R. Chittenden, who was born in Oxfordshire in the summer of 1918, and died on active service with the Military Police of the East Africa Corps in October, 1942.

Their son's 1943 probate reads: "Hugh John Robert Chittenden, of Newlands School, Seaford, Sussex, died 30th October 1942, on War Service. Administration Lewes, 25th October, to Hugh Faithful Chittenden, School Proprietor. Effects Five Hundred and Sixty Four Pounds, Eighteen Shillings and Eightpence."


In early 1932, the couple may have had a daughter, Anne Chittenden, in Marylebone, London.

At first I found no indication that they may have had a child bearing the Christian first name of David, except that in the Newlands website's "History of the School" we find:

Many years ago an exclusive interview was conducted with the late Mr David Chittenden, ex headmaster and direct descendant of the man who started Newlands, some insight was gained into what life was like at Newlands before and after the war:

'Things were very strict then. The swing door by Matron's surgery led into my Parents' private area where no one was allowed, not even me during term time! I had to call my Father, "Sir", and my Mother, "Mrs. Chittenden." However, I liked the life. It was different and a lot tougher than today. Every morning we had cold showers, Winter and Summer and until 1950 boxing was compulsory for all pupils whether they liked it or not!'


Checking the 1946 phone records, the following record appears:

Chittenden, H. F, Newlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Despite the lack of a record of a David Chittenden having been born to a mother with a surname of Grundy, the above anecdote indicates that H. F. and Barbara Chittenden were, indeed, David's parents.

H. F. Chittenden is listed at the Newlands phone until well into the 1960s, after which the listing becomes:

Chittenden, H. F, Rostrevor, Claremont Rd . . . . . . . . . Seaford 4130


Just above that 1969 listing, however, is this one:

Chittenden G. W. D, Newlands School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Assuming the "D" stands for David, we've found our man: George W. D. Chittenden, born in Eastbourne in March of 1926!

And, unfortunately, we learn even more about David Chittenden [left] in this obituary from the Eastbourne Herald of Friday, 25 May 2001:

Newlands mourns death of Founder

It was with profound sadness and loss staff and pupils heard of the untimely death of David Chittenden on Easter Saturday. There was nobody who cared more passionately about Newlands - past, present and future, than David and his life was intrinsically interwoven with the school. Five generations of the Chittenden family were proprietary headmasters of what was then Newlands Preparatory School, for boys only. David attended the school as a pupil when his beloved father was headmaster. With no secondary schooling available at Newlands then, David went to Eastbourne College before returning to Newlands as a teacher and then as headmaster in succession to his father. This role he carried out in his own inimitable manner... A tribute to David Chittenden from headmaster Oliver Price appears in tomorrow’s Seaford Gazette. A memorial service will be held in St Leonard’s Church on June 25 at 11.30 am.


Education was the career of, as it says, five generations of Chittendens, and that be true (although I can't entirely discern its veracity). However, a hobby comprises this last bit of Chittenden-related trivia: It appears that H. F., an inveterate bird watcher, was ornithologically notable for having made and documented a certain discovery in his garden.

In the 1929 journal British Birds, Volume 22, we find the following: "Mr. HF Chittenden informs us that at Seaford, Sussex, on December 18th, 1927, Lapwings in large flocks were observed heading straight out to sea southwards. The weather was very cold with a strong east wind."


In the 1931's Proceedings of the International Ornithological Congress (Vol. 8), there is an article on page 85 by E. B. Poulton and H. F. Chittenden dated Oct. 15, 1930 entitled, 'The Hedge-sparrow feeding a young Cuckoo on Pieris rapae, L.'

Chittenden's contribution to the above article is described in the Journal of entomology: General entomology, Volumes 5-6, published by the Royal Entomological Society of London, 1930. It reads:

"Poulton exhibited two photographs kindly sent to him by Mr. HF Chittenden, who had taken them, on 29 June, 1930, in his garden at Newlands, Seaford, Sussex. The first showed the fosterer approaching with the white butterfly very clearly seen in its beak, while in the second the food was being transferred. Both photographs showed the Cuckoo sitting on the flat top of a tree-stump. that the Pierine was undoubtedly P. rapae and not brassicae. He did not see the insect caught, but observed that the whole butterfly, wings and all, was swallowed by the young Cuckoo. In answer to the objection that the Hedge-sparrow might be offering to the Cuckoo food which it would have itself rejected, he referred to the known examples of maternal instinct in which the parent bird devoured the faeces of its young."


His observations would soon be sought and held in high regard. In A History of Sussex Birds: American Blue-winged Teal to Red-legged Partridge (H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 1938) by John Walpole-Bond and Philip Rickman, for example, the authors note:

"Haematopus has been found more than a few hundred yards from the Channel, and all such relate to single specimens frequenting the banks of estuary and inlet — with one exception, which bears on two birds seen by Major HV Christie in a field adjoining the western Rother at Stopham, quite eleven miles from the coast, on May 5th 1936, though during mid-August, 1937, Captain H. F. Chittenden met with a couple at Littlington about a league from the coast in the vale of Cuckmere. In other words, with us the "Olive " is practically a confirmed shore-lover, where it affects not only the mud-flats and shingle, but also the rocks beneath the cliffs at low tides; and the western half of the coast (especially the southwest corner) is vastly preferred to the eastern. It seldom fraternizes with other species, though on several occasions I have seen it with common curlews."

So, why is an amateur ornithologist, one-time captain in the Royal Engineers, and headmaster of a preparatory school in Seaford, Sussex germane to our ongoing discussion of George Mills?

Besides the usual, multiple, very coincidental relationships—lived in Sussex (Seaford), ran a preparatory school, was an officer in the Royal Engineers (the corps in which George's Uncle Dudley A. Mills was a well-known officer)—it's H. F.'s wife, Barbara, providing the best link!

Barbara Chittenden was a croquet partner and rival of George and his sisters, Agnes and Violet Mills, during the post-War era. Barbara played from 1952 through 1978. She went 10-10 against Agnes Mills in 20 head-to-head matches over the years according to the database at the Croquet Association, and they played both with and against each other countless times in doubles.

Strangely, Chittenden only played Violet Mills once, on 20 June 1962 at Eastbourne, in the first round of the Open Singles (Draw). She also played with and against George, but the database has no records of those matches.

Barbara Chittenden's career croquet record and other sortable data can be perused by clicking HERE.


Incidentally, croquet also leads us to the discovery of another child of the Chittendens, based on this excerpt from a 2008 story, "From the bibliographer's casebook: A ripping yarn with a happy ending " by David Drazin, found at Croquet World Online. Regarding books of rare croquet drawings done by artist Horace Francis Crowther-Smith [one of which is seen, right, a 1912 image of famous former champion Lily Gower], the author writes [my emphasis]:

These were the books of 1911 and 1912 that were donated to the Association by Margaret Payton on behalf of Barbara and Joan Chittenden, mother and daughter, past members of Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne.

The article continues:

Roger Wood of Compton told me the circumstances in which Margaret Payton first brought the Chittenden gift to the notice of the club. In the early years of the last century Barbara Chittenden was very close to Nora, widow of the Rev George Frederick Handel Elvey, a past Croquet Association chairman. She may well have received Crowther's work from the Elveys. But how they got into the Rev Elvey's hands in the first place remains a mystery.


Of Chittenden's relationship with other players, the 1957 Devonshire Park photograph with which we've been so obsessed here tells the tale.

In the center of the front row, her face raised to the camera, we see Barbara in a white dress. Seated to her left is her dear friend Nora Elvey, mentioned above. To her right, wearing a dark suit, we see Agnes Mills, sister of George.

And for those of you who've been following the last few entries here, next to Mrs. Elvey, to her left, we see Aimee Reckitt, wife of Maurice. And to Agnes's right (our left), we see Lily Gower from above, or Mrs. R. C. J. Beaton as she was known in 1957!

Am I wrong in assuming these smiling women were all, as it seems, very close? Or is the fact that these nodding acquaintances all just by chance happened to end up next to each other in the front row of a group photograph simply another in a string of astonishing coincidences that revolve around the Mills family?

Anyway, we can chalk up yet another possible coincidence to the list above: Croquet.

We don't find H. F. Chittenden himself among the players populating the lawns from Budleigh to Compton. While Barbara played, he presumably was out birding, at least until he passed away in the spring of 1975.

It would not surprise me in the least to find that George Mills at some point had been employed by Hugh as a schoolmaster at Newlands School. But we cannot know for sure, even though Newlands [below, right] is still operating today.

From Lisa Sewell of Newlands, I received this message regarding the possibility of George's past employment:

Unfortunately Newlands went briefly in to administration in 2006, [and] at this time all records were lost or destroyed so I have very little information on anything prior to this date.

Barbara May Chittenden left us on 11 December 1987 in Lewes, Sussex, at the age of 91, many years after the passing of the Mills siblings.

Did George Mills teach at Newlands? We may never know...