What's in a Name?

Fig 1: Trendell's Wood, Bucks.  Was the family named after the wood or the wood after the family?

One of the advantages of the lockdown is that some organisations have given free access to their reference materials.  For a short period the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (2016) was made freely available on line.  This fine work normally costs £375.99, so free access was a real treat.  Normally if I want to look at it I do so in the British Library.  It is one of the most used books on open access.

Surname dictionaries have been around for many years.  Unfortunately very few are based on original research and most copy the mistakes of previous publications.  This is what marks out the Oxford Dictionary – it is built from scratch and is a pleasure to use.

The dictionary reflects the fact that spelling has only become fixed in the last hundred or so years, indeed family names are proof of this.  As far as the TRENDALL family is concerned there is little new information.  TRENDALL is a variant spelling and has the same origins as TRENDELL, TRUNDLE and TRENDLE.

 

A few highlights:

1.        Using the spelling TRENDALL we can see that there were 155 holders of the name in Great Britain in 2011 and none in Ireland.  This compares to 110 in 1881 – not a big increase for this variant.

2.       In 1881 the biggest concentrations of this version of the name were to be found in London, Kent and in Oxford/Bucks.  This reflects our own ancestry as we have researched it.

3.       The name derives from the Old/Middle English for a circle or sphere and was given to people who lived near such features or were from places named after circular features.  The Dictionary quotes the example of Trendell’s Wood near Stokenchurch (noted as Trindele in 1227).  The word was also used to describe a wheel and a similar word means to bounce or revolve.  ‘Our’ branch of the family has some roots in the Stokenchurch area (more on this to follow in a future blog, but this will have to wait until I can do a bit of fieldwork).

4.       The earliest holders of the name in paper records appear in 1177 when Ernald TRENDEL appears in the Pipe Rolls for Suffolk.  Several TRENDELS/TRENDALES etc appear in the records of the Poll Tax in the 1370s.  I wonder if any of them were involved in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 which was, in part, caused by the Poll Tax?  This reminds me of being in  the Poll Tax riot of 1990 – but this is another story.

Another reference work (see below) describes a Trendle as a round or oval container of uncertain size for the storage of wax with references to the same from 1393 onwards. (B)

TRENDALL and TRENDELL are sometimes used as first names in the United States.  Given point (3) above I note that there is a gentleman called Trendell WOODS living in Chicago and working in property redevelopment.  Life can get complicated.

From time to time I will make reference to other entries in the Dictionary relating to the families that constitute my ancestors.

Philip Trendall

23^rd May 2020.

Acknowledgement & References

 

(A)    The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (Patrick Hanks, Richards Coates, Patrick McClure).  Oxford 2016.

(B)    A Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles: The Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century.  Ronald Edward Zupko, American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia  1985. 

One night with Venus and eternity with Mercury......

Fig 1: The title page of a paper presented to the Royal Medical & Chirurgical Society May 1835

We often wish we could see into the minds of our ancestors.  To understand them better.  To comprehend what was important to them and to examine what they believed and why.  Well we can’t. We must avoid the temptation to indulge in too much sentimental mush.  All we can do is speculate and try and build a little evidence in the hope of opening a small window into the past. 

Although the mind is out of bounds we do have a very rare opportunity to have a bit of insight into the brain of one of my ancestors.  I am indebted to Chris TRENDALL of Ontario who some years ago shared an extract from a medical paper he had found.  I have since been able to download the whole of Volume 16 of the London Medical Gazette 1835 and interesting reading it makes. 

The volume contains the transactions of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, including a paper presented in May and June 1835 by Dr John SIMS MD (1792-1838) of the St Marylebone Infirmary.  Dr SIMMS was interested in Hypertrophy and Atrophy of the brain and the connection between the state of the brain and what we would call mental illness.  His paper is a long one.  With hindsight we can see that his research was bound to fail given the limited options open for scientific examination and a lack of understanding of the functions of the most complicated organ in the human body.  His work was before its time.

Fig 2:  Chart showing relationship between the author and Joseph TRENDALL (1811-1833)

It wasn’t just medical science that was in its infancy.  Ideas of medical confidentiality and ‘data protection’ were non existent.  For this fortuitous reason the patients in his case studies are named.  The patient we are interested in is Joseph TRENDALL (1811-1833).  He was my Great Great Great Uncle, the son of Joseph TRENDALL (c1770-1838) and Ann TRENDALL (BARTLETT 1789-1829).  He was born in St Marylebone, Westminster on 27^th December 1811 and was baptised a couple of weeks later.  The register bears the word ‘POOR’ indicating the status of the family and the fact that they could not afford a fee.  His father was a baker who went on to do quite well for himself.  Joseph was one of 11 children.  Two of them called Joseph.  It was not that unusual at the time to use a name twice if the first named died very young.  But, in this case this subject, Joseph (1811-1833) was still alive when another was baptised – although there is a big gap between them.  The second Joseph was one of the youngest children in the family and was born in 1827 and lived until 1903.  Why would you have two children of the same name?  This oddity was enough to make me check the records very carefully to make sure that I am not attributing a child to the wrong parents and it seems not.  So it is speculation time.  When the youngest Joseph was born in 1827 his elder brother Joseph was 16.  It is possible that by that time he was estranged from his parents.  His parents had moved up the Great North Road to Whetstone while their son remained in Marylebone.  Perhaps they assumed that he had died.  Perhaps they regarded him as not being a member of the family any longer having given up on him because of his lifestyle or mental illness.  As we shall see he clearly had his share of medical problems and at the time of his death his address was given as the Marylebone workhouse (of which the infirmary was part).   We lack evidence. 

Fig 3:  Baptism Record for Joseph TRENDALL (1811-1833). St Marylebone.  Note the annotation: POOR

Joseph TRENDALL (1811-1833) was admitted to the St Marylebone Infirmary on 6^th March 1833.  In the paper he is listed as Joseph TRENDAL aged 22.  On his burial record his name is TRENDLE.  Spelling was a lot more casual in an age where literacy was a luxury (1).

Dr Sims describes the case history:

“A short time ago he had taken a large quantity of mercury for the cure of syphilis……He was reported insane, but when visited he was quite rational, although unable to control the spasmodic motions of the muscles of his extremities, which were thrown about, and much distorted.  Cupping, and other depleting measures, brought him into a quiet state.  On the evening of the 9^th he was suddenly seized with a fit resembling epilepsy, which soon however assumed a confirmed apoplectic character , attended with complete insensibility, stertorous breathing, and general convulsions.  He died the following evening” (Sims, 1835 p333) (2)

Joseph was clearly very ill at the time of his admission but it is hard to know the causes of his ailments and the effect of his treatment.

To us the idea of ‘cupping’, the placing of heated cups to raise the skin, seems odd given the description of his symptoms.  However the process has reappeared in the world of ‘alternative’ medicine in recent years, but still without any scientific proof of its efficacy.  I dread to think what other ‘depleting measures’ might have included.

The one solid thing we know about his medical history is that he had syphilis (or at least was thought to have had the disease) and had consumed mercury as a cure.  Many of his symptoms and the idea that he may have been insane fit a diagnosis of the last stages of syphilis but Joseph was only 22 at the time and one would normally expect the disease to have been present for many years to reach this stage but who knows when he may have contracted it, and how quickly it progressed. 

We all know that mercury is a poison but its use for the treatment of numerous afflictions was almost universal for a period of at least 400 years.  It was the preferred treatment for syphilis until  the late Victorian period.  It probably killed many patients in search of a cure and the symptoms of the poisoning are similar to (at least to the observations of a layman) to the diseases that led to the ingestion of the ‘medicine’.  Depression, mood changes, physical tremors, memory problems and lack of motor skills are part of a long list of effects leading to death.  In Joseph’s case Dr SIMS could be describing the effects of the treatment rather than the disease.

Fig 4: Hogarth's famous image depicting a man with his young wife visiting a quack doctor for mercury.  Note the pitted skull on the table, the pox marks on the man and the figure of death in the background.

The effects of mercury can be seen in skeletons that have skulls with a pocked and flaking bone structure.  Because of the association between this sexually transmitted disease and its treatment a joke arose:  ‘Spend one night with Venus and eternity with Mercury’.  Oh, for a classical education!

As an aside, mercury was also used as a cure for constipation.  A rather extreme cure.  It is said the route taken by the explorers Lewis and Clark through the western United States can still be traced by the mercury deposits left behind by  expedition members who imbibed Dr Rush’s ‘Thunderclappers’ pills.  This mercury based medicine was used to tackle the side effects of eating an expedition diet that contained little roughage and no fresh fruit. 

Fig 5:  A purgative of explosive power!  Mercury tablets used for the treatment of 'syphilis, pleurisy, ague and other ailments'

A post mortem examination of Joseph was carried out and his brain carefully examined.  The brain was described thus:

                “….the convolutions were much flattened, and closely pressed together.  The blood vessels                  were almost entirely empty.  The membranes were quite dry and the ventricles appeared to                  be almost obliterated….it weighed 3lb 9oz”  (Ibid) (3)

The heart was said to be ‘natural’ and the lungs full of pus.

Dr Sims concluded that this was a case of Brain Hypertrophy, ie that it was an enlarged brain with excess growth of tissue, that caused Joseph’s death.  We can’t tell if this was in fact the case.  The detailed description he provides of the brain means little without a full clinical context.  For example we don’t know when Joseph contracted syphilis or how long he had been taking mercury or what the other symptoms of his supposed insanity were. Death certificates were not issued in England until 1837 so we don’t know what would have been recorded. 

Dr Sims continued his study of the brain but lived for only three more years and died in 1838.  He had suffered a serious infection contracted during his post mortem work but it was typhoid that saw him off.  It is believed that he contracted the infection at the Marylebone Infirmary.

So, we have glimpse of one aspect of the life of Joseph TRENDALL (1811-1833) but as always this generates many new questions, the answers to which are lost.  It is impossible not to dwell on the survival of some records and the loss of others.  The technology that allows us to search into an obscure journal from long ago and find a relative may yet generate other clues – and more questions.

Philip Trendall

Bramfield

15^th May 2020

(1)     At this time male literacy is said to have been around 63%, but this is likely to include basic reading and writing only   https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Literacy-in-England-1580-1920_fig3_228553349  (accessed 15^th May 2020)

(2)    Sims, John. On Hypertrophy and Atrophy of the Brain:  Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society 26 May 1835 and 9^th June 1835 London Medical Gazette, Vol 16: 456.  Accessed via Google Books 15^th May 2020: https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qad6oHm9z_YrbO4gHy7L43rIU_oEbzXmW05fnJ5q4tpaBa2e5w1RKLkvNt1YnGPni9vGnFB5xZdbzLgKXJOPwFZUtjzAP3tlxCSOQTrCmv1ZTl0WrxspC7GRci6j6UPeCcwXLPbXzHHy6uFVZbt34QGYQjrd1WLhTe_S_hAuD0Yt5nWEg3sSPV5vZdwOpCd7Cmx16j16L_L2JjoR7v8IfvFUvMx6rQqCKbz8w7oZf-XvOFK2NVxCt7d0VwOD5VmFB150t8CBm77nB825drw3wWxA3wJ2Rw

(3)    The average male brain weighs around 3lb.

Photos: Frederick TRENDALL

As requested here are two more pictures of Frederick TRENDALL (1890-1940).

Fig 1 Frederick TRENDALL 1890-1940 in India

Fig 1 shows Frederick TRENDALL in India early in the 1920s.  Note the simple backdrop and palm like plant.  He wears his medal ribbons from the Great War and has sergeant's chevrons on his sleeves.  He does look young in this picture - he would have been around 30 years old.  I will find the original picture to look for any evidence of where it was taken.

Fig 2 Frederick TRENDALL 1890-1940 seated front row.

This photograph is likely to be from the late 1920s or even the early 30s.  This looks like an amateur snapshot and the composition is pretty poor.  Note the large foreground, the subject finishing a fag and lots of ongoing chatter.  It is a hockey team. FT is seated in the front row 3rd from left.  He looks much older than Fig 1, but it is a poor photo.  The identification was handed down although I can see the family resemblance and in this picture he does look like his Father (Thomas TRENDALL 1855-1936).  Note the hockey sticks and pith helmets.  Depending on the date this picture could have been taken in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) which was one of the postings he had in the later 1920s.  I have cropped the photograph to give a close up.

Fig 3: Cropped and zoomed from Fig 2

Together with the picture posted in the VE Day Blog these are the only images I have of my Grandfather Frederick TRENDALL 1890-1940.  There must be more.  What happened to any photographs or papers held by his wife Nellie Dorothea TRENDALL (PARROCK 1893-1970) or his daughter Irene TRENDALL (later BRUESCH and ADRAGNA 1921-2012)?  Both died in the USA and attempts to contact Irene (Aunt Rene) before she died were unsuccessful.  It is a slightly melancholy thought  that I do not know anybody still alive who knew Frederick TRENDALL. 

                                                                Fugit inreparabile tempus.

13 May 2020

Some Thoughts on the 75th Anniversary of VE Day

                                                             

                                                                      Frederick TRENDALL (1890-1940)

Today (8^th May 2020) is the 75th anniversary of VE Day.  The day that the Second World War ended in Europe.  Parades and events have not taken place as planned because of the current Covid-19 induced lockdown.  It seems appropriate therefore to briefly mention here my two closest relatives who fought in the war.  I hope to write more about them in future posts but now is a good time to remember the contribution of my paternal Grandfather and Father.  They were only two of many in the wider family to have served in the conflict but they stand as representative of them all.

My Grandfather, Frederick TRENDALL (1890-1940) had served in the Great War, during which he had been wounded at least twice, and later in the army in India until the 1930s when he became a full time member of the Territorial Army.  At that time he was commissioned as a Lieutenant (Quartermaster) in Queen Victoria Rifles (King’s Royal Rifle Corp).  At the start of the Second World War he became part of the British Expeditionary Force BEF).  He was killed in action on 25th May 1940 near Calais.  He was fifty years old and is buried at Calais South Cemetery.  His grave carries the inscription:  "To the world he was only one.  To one he was all the world".

His commanding officer wrote from a prisoner of war camp to my Grandmother, Nellie TRENDALL (PARROCK – 1893-1970):

“The limit to the number of letters [from the camp] has prevented me from sending you the sympathy and condolences of all the officers of the Bn on your husband’s death, which was contributed to by his disregard of personal danger.  I can only tell you how much I appreciated his constant loyalty, good cheer and hard work, an appreciation shared by all ranks, and offer my sincere sympathy in your loss.  Regret I cannot write more fully, Believe me………..”

                                             

                                              The Grave of Frederick TRENDALL, Calais

His son (my Father), Frederick Alfred TRENDALL (1914-1983) was living at 32 Cremer Street, London E2 (The Marquis of Lansdowne) at the start of the war (as shown in the ‘1939 Register’) although he also used his Father’s address in Highbury.  He joined up on 2^nd October 1939 and served in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) throughout the war. A few weeks after becoming a soldier he married in December 1939.  Like his Father he was part of the BEF returning to England in June 1940 where he stayed until 1943.  Thereafter he served in the Middle East, in the British North African Force (BNAF), Italy and back in the Middle East.

  On VE Day he was in Palestine.  On joining in 1939 he was a motor driver.  At the end of the war he was a warrant officer class 1 (WOI).  He was Mentioned in Dispatches – probably for an incident in Italy but research is ongoing to try and pin this down as no citations are included in the London Gazette.

At the end of the war his commanding officer wrote:

“M.S.M Trendall has excelled as an MSM from every angle.  A good leader who carries out work under all conditions with cheerfulness, enthusiasm and drive”.

On discharge his conduct was listed as ‘Exemplary’.

He did not apply for his medals, viz: 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45 (MID) for many years.  The last entry on his Army Military History Sheet shows that the medals were issued on 6^th July 1983.  He had died two months earlier on 1^st May 1983.

                                                             Frederick TRENDALL (1914-1983)

The generations that fought in, and lived through, the conflicts of the twentieth century were a special breed.  They went through so much and yet it is my generation and my children’s generation who have benefitted and have enjoyed the rewards.  Our freedom and our security rests firmly on the sacrifice and hardships of those that went before.  We owe them a massive debt of gratitude.

Lest we forget.

Philip Trendall

8^th May 2020

Note:  I am still working on understanding the activities of other members of the family during the war – including those of my maternal Grandfather – George SCOTT (1906-1971).  The work undertaken on the Home Front by women in particular is harder to research, but I will try.

Great Aunt Min

Mention of the GRIBBLES and PARROCKS has raised a couple of comments about Minnie PARROCK (1892-1984).  She is one the of oldest relatives I ever met in person but that was a long time ago.  In our part of the family she was always known as ‘Aunt Min’ or ‘Great Aunt Min’. She was in fact my Great Aunt being my Father’s (Frederick Alfred TRENDALL 1914-1983) Aunt (on his Mother’s sister).

Fig 1: Pedigree Chart showing the parents and grandparents of Minnie PARROCK

Given the fact that she was in touch with us until 1969 at least it is surprising that we know so little about her.  Few records are readily available that give us a glimpse of her life.  There are some family stories about her.  We know that she was a keen churchgoer and perhaps had an affection for a vicar that was unrequited. She never married and lived in East London/Essex for the whole of her life.  As a young boy I remember her occasional visits.  We were always briefed to be on our best behaviour.  We knew that she was an important guest because a tin of Ye Old Oak Ham was opened for the occasion.  She required a brandy or two for medicinal purposes and always returned home to Ilford in a cab. My parents did not keep in touch with her when we moved to Tottenham in 1969 – perhaps other members of the family did?

Minnie PARROCK was born at 23 Herbert Street, Plaistow, now in London but then still part of Essex, on 23^rd May 1892.  She was the daughter of Alfred PARROCK ((1871-1955) and Minnie PARROCK (COWLAND) (1871-1936).  She was baptised in the local parish church, St Mary the Virgin, on 8^th July 1892.  She was one of four children, all of whom lived into a mature adulthood.  Minnie was the granddaughter of the subject of an earlier blog: Emma GRIBBLE (1846-  ).

In March 1901 she was living with her family at 23 Belton Road West Ham.  This was a ‘respectable’ working class area at the time.  Minnie’s Father was a skilled compositor in the printing trade working for newspapers for most of his career.

In 1911 she had left home and was working as a servant.  She hadn’t gone far.  She was living in the Woman’s Settlement in Plaistow.  This was a home for single working women and was occupied mainly by servants.  It was a philanthropic institution and for a while provided healthcare in the area.  The site was eventually taken over by another charity that now specialises in creating opportunities for young people.

We lose sight of Minnie PARROCK in the records for many years.  She appears in a few newspaper report in the 1930s performing at 

Fig 2: Relationship Chart: Minnie PARROCK to Sam TRENDALL

church concerts etc.  She was clearly musical and much involved in church music in later life.  She was a singer and there is a possible mention of her in the Stage Newspaper in the 1920s as a soprano.

Fig 3: Essex Chronicle 22 March 1925

Her Mother, Minnie PARROCK (COWLAND), died in 1936.

In September 1939 a Register was created for use during the war, particularly for the administration of ration books and the production of National Identity Cards.  The 1939 Register, as it is known, is an amazing piece of work.  The whole country was registered in a matter of weeks with a very high degree of accuracy.  What’s more the register was regularly updated manually.  It was used as the basis for establishing the NHS registers and was maintained, on paper, into the 1990s.  Its importance for historians cannot be over stated.  Although not a census in the strict sense it acts as a census substitute (for England and Wales at least).  The 1931 census was destroyed in the war and there was no census in 1941 for obvious reasons.

Fig 4:  1939 Register showing 5 Hickling Road Ilford

In September 1939 Minnie was living with her widowed Father who had by this time retired.  They were the only two residents at 5 Hickling Road Ilford.  Minnie is described as a Machinist (now invalid).  The nature of her malady is not described but as she was to live for another 45 years it could not have been too serious.  She remained living at this address for many years.  Curiously her sister (my Grandmother) Nellie TRENDALL (PARROCK 1893-1970) is also listed at the address in the Electoral Roll 1964 although we know that she was living in the US.  In 1939 the Register shows us that the area was one occupied by upper working class families with jobs such as postmen, typists and shop assistants, although one neighbour lists his occupation as ‘Canadian Cattle Rancher Retired’ which would have made conversation in the local pub a little more interesting, or perhaps not – tales of prairies may have quickly worn thin in suburban Essex. Hickling Road is made up of three bedroom terraced houses so she would have had plenty of space to herself for her remaining years at home.

Alfred (senior) died in Hickling Road in May 1955, of heart disease and senility.  His death was registered by his son, also Alfred (PARROCK 1894-1973).

Apart from appearing in electoral rolls there is nothing else about Minnie PARROCK, that I have found, until her death in 1984.   She died in Chadwell Heath Hospital on 23^rd April 1984.  Her home address is given as a residential care home in Ilford.  Her death was registered by her sister Gladys (Gladys PARROCK, later WILLOUGHBY 1901-1998).  There is no record of a will or of any newspaper obituary or notices.  She left little lasting imprint on the public record.

I have mentioned some of Minnie’s siblings. But until a few years ago I had never heard of any of them.  Gladys lived until 1998 and Alfred (junior) until 1973.  Perhaps other members of the family were in touch with them but families easily drift apart.  Gladys died in Devon and Alfred in Hertfordshire.  Nellie died in the USA in 1970 so by the end of their lives they were distributed across the UK and beyond.  I will always remember Great Aunt Min, but it would have been nice to know Great Aunt Gladys and Great Uncle Alfred.

Philip Trendall

May 2020

Note:  Somewhere I have a picture of Minnie PARROCK.  Just one.  I will post it when I find it.

Emma GRIBBLE: An unknown end.

Fig 1 Simple tree showing the realtionship between the author and Emma GRIBBLE

There are plenty of dead ends (or brick walls) in family history.  Many can be overcome and some are not worth too much effort.   The case of Emma GRIBBLE is probably not worth too much more work but going down rabbit holes is one of the pleasures of this hobby.

Emma GRIBBLE (B 1846) is my Great Great Grandmother.  She was born in Crediton in Devon.  Her Father and Grandfather were blacksmiths with a line of shoemakers also in the family.  For reasons unknown the whole family moved to Bedford in the late 1850s.  By the age of 14 she was a domestic servant and in 1861 was working and living as such at a commercial school in Horne Lane Bedford run by Mr Wilkinson FINLINSON. 

Fig 2 John Vowler GRIBBLE (image not confirmed ) near the end of his life.  John was Emma's Father. Photo used by kind permission of Kaye WILSON.

In 1865 she was working in the household of  Mr Henry GAMBLE when she was convicted at the Petty Sessions of stealing 2 chemises and other items of linen to the value of 6/-.  She had been with them for a fortnight.  In various reports she was described as being of good or very good character.  She admitted the theft to her employer on being challenged and pleaded guilty at court. ‘Theft by Servant’ was seen as a serious crime in Victorian England.  Servants had access to their employer’s homes and most personal possessions.  Now known as ‘Theft Employee’ the phrase servant was still being used in the 1980s to refer to theft in the workplace.  It remains an aggravating fact in theft cases as it is seen to constitute a breach of trust.  As a first offender Emma was sentenced to three months hard labour in Bedford County Gaol. 

Fig 3 The Bedford Times and Bedfordshire Independent, Sat 25 Nov 1865 p 8

We hear no more of her until she appears as a servant working in Stourbridge in Worcestershire (now West Midlands).  On 16^th June 1870 she married John PARROCK (1840-1883) who was a tailor in the town.  They married in the Methodist Chapel although there is no history of non conformity in either the PARROCK family.

Nine months after the wedding Emma gave birth to a son; Alfred PARROCK (1871-1955), my Great Grandfather.  At the time of the 1871 census he was still an ‘unnamed infant 7 days’.  Emma and John went on to have five children, the youngest, Ann, being born in 1878.  Five children in eight years meant that Emma spent most of the 1870s either nursing or pregnant.

 

In the 1881 census the family were living at 24 West Street Stourbridge. 

On 27^th January 1883 John PARROCK died aged 43.  The death certificate records ‘Morbus Cordis’ with acute Albuminuria.  This indicates that he suffered some form of heart failure and probably kidney disease.  He died at home at 16 Hemplands, Stourbridge in the presence of Emma who registered his death the next day. 

Emma soon left Stourbridge and took the children to Bedford, perhaps to be near her family.  On 6^th October 1883 she had her children baptised at St Paul’s Church Bedford.  The reason why the children were not baptised earlier is unknown.

In 1889 she re-married at St Peter’s Church, Bedford  Her new husband was John BOWLER, a bricklayer.  He was a bachelor aged 32 and she was 43.  Quite an age difference for the time which was made less obvious by her claiming to be 39 in the marriage register!

In June 1891 the new family were living at 38 Channing Street Bedford.  Emma was still 39 according to the census and John Bowler was 34.   Two of the girls; Jane and Emma (now being called Amy) were live-in domestic servants in well off areas of the town.

This is the last we hear of Emma GRIBBLE-PARROCK-BOWLER.  She disappears from the record.  She was not a witness at Alfred’s wedding in 1892.  She is not to be easily found in the 1901 or 1911 census.  Her three surnames are not that unusual.  Even in 2020 there are 86 BOWLERS and 30 GRIBBLES  listed in the Bedford telephone directory.  We know that ‘our’ PARROCKS moved to London in the 1890s but there are still a dozen in Bedford.  For the time being I will leave Emma GRIBBLE, maybe to return one day to find out where she ended up.  Unless of course anybody else knows what happened to her………..

Philip Trendall

May 2020

The Marquis of Lansdowne Restored

Photo:  Spitalfields Life 2020



A few years ago the campaign to save the pub* was successfully concluded and the Marquis of Lansdowne is to be included in the new 'Museum of the Home' (The Geffrye Museum to most of us).  The expanded museum is due to open later this year but it appears that work on the pub has been completed as can be seen in the picture above.   How much of the interior has been preserved is unknown. 

The campaign to save the pub was led by the 'Gentle Author' who runs the Spitalfields Life website.  He published an update on the pub in February 2020.   This can be found at:  https://spitalfieldslife.com/2020/02/01/the-marquis-of-lansdowne-restored/  He has also reproduced the article written by George (George BARKER) a few years ago.  All in all well worth a read.

Before the work started I had a look around the interior of the pub and wrote a note of the experience. The pub is older than I thought (1838) although by the time I came along it was showing every year of its age!  I might write a few lines about the pub itself in a future post.  Few places, even in London, can have seen so many changes.  The road itself is on its third name since the pub was built:  Thomas Street, Harwar Street and Cremer Street.  Only the last name has an obvious origin (like the school it was named after Sir William Randal CREMER (D1908).  Another angle to follow up.................

Philip Trendall
20 April 2020 


*The pub in question is the Marquis of Lansdowne, 32 Cremer Street, London E2.  Associated with the Wilson, Barker and Trendall families from before the Great War until 1969, and my birthplace.