No, not that one. No,
not the Marquis of Lansdowne. The pub
that is the focus of this short blog is The Victory in Queensbridge Road
Hackney, about 10 minutes walk from the Lansdowne.
My Father, Fredick Alfred TRENDALL (1914-1983), moved into
the Marquis of Lansdowne in 1939 and shortly afterwards married his first wife
Lillian BARKER (nee WILSON) (1909-1954).
Lillian was a widow and was running the pub that has previously been run
by her first husband. George Stanley BARKER.
At the same time The Victory was being run by Annie Agnes
RICE (nee MEHEW) (1881-1965) the widow of Albert Charles RICE (1878-1921). Albert was the son of Charles Osborne RICE
and Mary Ann Nelson TRENDALL (1846-1914) and, with his siblings, had been
brought up in a Lunatic Asylum in Kent where his parents worked.
Mary Ann Nelson TRENDALL had an interesting and tragic
life. She is the subject of a linked
blog. She was the daughter of William
TRENDALL (1820-?). He was the twin
brother of Thomas TRENDALL (1820-1878) who is my direct ancestor.
Also living at The Victory in 1939 was Ann Elizabeth
TRENDALL (1853-1944). She is the oldest
person to appear on my family tree. She
was also the daughter of William TRENDALL and was born in the family house and
business (he was a Pawnbroker) in Cromer Street St Pancras. She was therefore
the Aunt of Albert Charles RICE, and Edward Osborne RICE (1868-1953), who was also living at The Victory
in 1939.
Ann Elizabeth TRENDALL never married and spent her working
life in domestic service, mostly as a cook.
Her life spanned an era of great change.
She was born at a time of oil lamps in a city that relied entirely on
horses and a few trains for transport.
She saw the coming of the London Underground, gas, electricity, radio
and the motor car. Her relatives and
friends fought in wars from the Crimea to the struggle against Hitler. She was in London during the air raids of the
First World War and the Blitz of the Second.
My sisters were nearly 2 years old when she died half a mile
from where they lived, but they never met.
The overlap between Maureen and Christine TRENDALL (1942 - ) and Ann Elizabeth TRENDALL covers a span of
170 years and counting.
Ann Elizabeth TRENDALL often visited relatives. For example on the night of the 1911 census she was with her 1st cousin; Eliza
HOOKER (nee TRENDALL) (1841-1911) in Beccles, Suffolk. Eliza was the daughter of Robert TRENDALL (1809-?)
the elder brother of William and Thomas TRENDALL (B1820). Eliza died a couple
of weeks after the 1911 census was taken.
At the time of the 1871 census
Anne Elizabeth was staying with her Grandfather William JOHNSON (abt
1794-1874) in Northaw near Cuffley, Herts. For a while Anne Elizabeth and the RICEs lived
in North Kensington, a short walk from the birthplace of my Grandfather
Frederick TRENDALL (1890-1940).
When Ann Elizabeth TRENDALL died she was buried in Kensal
Green cemetery. Not far from the
(unmarked) grave of Thomas TRENDALL (1820-1878), my Great Great Grandfather and
her Uncle. (1)
The Victory, which was about the same age as the Lansdowne,
closed in the 1950s and was demolished to make way for the blocks of flats that
now occupy the eastern end of Queensbridge Road. I have not been able to find a photograph,
although there are many pubs with similar names in the area. The Victoria, for example, is a pub that
survives at the other end of Queensbridge Road.
Ann Elizabeth TRENDALL represents an important link to the
past. She reminds us that there is a lot
that we don’t know about our fairly recent history. Why did my Father and his Father have little
contact with their extended family? Was
there a falling out? Or was it just a
case of different branches of the family drifting apart while living in a busy
city? Ann clearly kept in touch with
various parts of the family, but not with my direct line.
The pubs of the East End operated as a virtual network. For example local branches of the Licensed
Victuallers Association ran events and outings and the Morning Advertiser was
full of news about who was running which pub, especially in the capital. Were the two parts of the family aware of
each other? We are unlikely ever to
know.
Philip Trendall
May 2026
Corrections and comments always welcome
(1)
She would
have known Thomas TRENDALL. When she was
little Thomas lived at the same and adjacent addresses. Her Father, William, and Thomas were twin
brothers. She was in her late 20s were
he died – she may even have attended his funeral.
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