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June News

The following items have been extracted from the British Newspaper Archive, also available on findmypast. They are in date order and range from 1828 to 1968:

• 1828, Brentford Gaslight Company; contract for supply of coal
• 1862, An early Royal Chelsea Flower Show
• 1872, An unusual event involving a wooden leg ...
• A collection of articles from 1834 - 1914 about strawberry growing
• 1888, Plans to pave part of the High Street
• 1906, Brentford flooded
• 1920, Compensation claim for a market garden on Ealing Road, affected by Great West Road and housing plans
• 1968, Brentford Nylon's new Wonderlon sheets

Morning Advertiser, 03 June 1828

BRENTFORD GAS-LIGHT COMPANY.- To COAL-MERCHANTS and Others.

Any Person or Persons who may be willing to Contract for the supply of FIVE HUNDRED CHALDRONS of SHIPCOTE or PELAW MAIN COALS, are requested to send in sealed Proposals in writing (stating the price of each sort) to the office of Messrs. Stedman and Southby, No. 9, Throgmorton Street, on or before the Twelfth instant.

The Coals are required to be delivered alongside the Works, at Brentford, free of every expense, together with the ship's certificate and meter's ticket.

The whole quantity to be delivered on or before the First day of August next. Payment to be made at Three months from that period.

By order of the Committee of Management,
CHARLES HENRY STEDMAN,
Clerk to the Company.

Notes

A chaldron was an English measure of coal used from the 13th century. Wikipedia has more.

Read more about the growth of the gas industry in Brentford, author David Shailes.

There are a few local references in the next item, they are in bold.

Morning Post - Thursday 12 June 1862

The aspect of the morning threatened to interfere with the success of the exhibition ; but though showers fell at intervals during the afternoon, and detracted from the pleasure of the promenade, they seemed to have no effect upon the number of visitors, end only led to a greater amount of homage being paid to the more immediate object of the assemblage.

The wisdom of providing against capricious weather by having the entire show under cover was amply justified by the experience of this as well as of former exhibitions.

A few nights since the large tent in which it was intended that the exhibition should be held was blown down, and the collection, which was most extensive and meritorious, had in consequence to be arranged under the western arcade.

If the visitors wore deprived of the effect which the artistic piling and grouping of such a magnificent display would have had under canvas, they had full compensation in the greater opportunity which was afforded of examining the various classes in detail, and in the vista of brilliant colouring which was presented in the greater space.

In all its departments the exhibition was excellent, the pelargoniums particularly, which were in endless variety, eliciting universal admiration, and feasting the eye with the profuseness and beauty of their blooms. Stove and greenhouse plants, orchids, and other exotics, azaleas, roses in pots, calceolarias, and ornamental plants were all well represented, and were much admired.

Some ingenious implements were shown under the eastern arcade, but the attention bestowed on them by the general company was not proportionate to their usefulness or merits. Military bands were in attendance during the afternoon, and performed a wel1 selected programme. The value of the prizes offered was £546.

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MR. DILKE'S SPECIAL PRIZES.
Three Groups of Fruits and Flowers for the dinner table.-1st, £10. Mr. W. 'Thompson, 17, Royal-crescent, Notting-hill ; 2d, £7, Mr. H. Pickering. 42, Prince's-gate.

FRUIT.
Pineapple any variety. - 1st, £3. John Floud, gardener to Mr. R. Fothergill, Aberdare.
Grapes, Black.-1st. £3, Mr. A. Henderson, Trentham-gardens, Stoke-on-Trent.
Grapes, White Muscat.-1st, £3, John Horwood, gardener to Mr. G. H. Turnbull, Bromley.
Grape., White. Any class. - 1st £3, G. Wortley, gardener to Admiral Hon. P. Carey, Norwood.
Peaches. - 1st. £3, Mr. A. Henderson, Trentham-gardens; 2d, £2 F.W. Durrant, gardener to Hon. Colonel Duncombe, St. Neots.
Nectarines.-1st £3, C. Allen, gardener to Mr. J. B. Clegg, Cheshire; 2d, £2 Mr. A. Henderson, Trentham-gardens. Cherries.-1st. £2, Mr A. Henderson. Trentham-gardens.
Strawberries-1st £1 10s. Mr. R. Smith, Twickenham.
Strawberries.-1st, .£2 10s., Mr. R. Smith, Twickenham; 2d £2 Mr. J. . Widdowson: Chorley-wood-house.
Melons Green-fleshed.-1st, £1 10s., Mr. J. Meredith, Vine- cottage. Garston Liverpool.
Melons Scarlet-fleshed.-1st, £1 10s., W. Kaile, gardener to the Earl of Lovelace, Ripley.
Vines in Pots, two plants.-1st. £4, Mr. John Smith, Lyon-gardens (should be Syon?), Brentford; 2d £3, C. Hutt, gardener to Miss Burdett Coutts, Highgate.
Miscellaneous. -1st, £2, Mr. J. Standish, Ascot and Bagshot; 2d £1 10s., Mr. T. Lunt, Greenock. N.B : 2d £1 10s.,Mr. J.H. Trouncer M.D., 6 Mount-street; 2d £1 10s. Mr. A. Henderson, Trentham-gardens.

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IMPLEMENTS.
The following implements were commended by the committee
Class A.-Heating Apparatus &c. - 1. Model of a patented conservatory-Mr. Cranston, Birmingham. 2. A six feet boiler -Mr Ormston, Chelsea. 3. A hot air ventilator- Mr Thompson, Dalkeith commended as leading to useful results . 4. Doors and panels for boiler pedestal for heating halls etc'.-Messrs. Weeks, Chelsea.
Class B.-Garden machines.-1. Water ballasting adjustable garden rollers- Messrs. Amitt and Beresford, Peterborough. 2. Lawn o mowing machine-Messrs. Brown. Cannon-street, W. 3. Mowing machines - highly commended -Mr. Green, Holborn-hill; 4 Mowing machines - Messrs. Kennard, Dublin
Class C.-Garden Tools. Cutlery. &c.-l. Fruit and flower gatherers-Messrs. Barr and Sugden, Coventry (priced too highly)
Class D - Garden Ornaments in Wirework. -1. A collection of vases &c.. -Messrs Brown, Cannon-street W. 2. A collection of garden ornaments-Mr. Jones. Bankside. 3. Galvanised flower baskets .-Mr. Banks, Liverpool.
Class E.-Garden Pottery. &c.-l. Garden sticks and labels Mr Haage, Erfurt. Prussia. 2. Garden labels-Messrs. Betham and Blackith, Lower Thames-street. 3. Large garden pots- Mr. Phillips, Weston-super-Mare.
Class F -Implements for Watering. Protecting, &c.-1. flower pot covers -Messrs. Barr and Sugden. 2. Watering engines-Mr. Read, Regent-circus, Piccadilly-. 3. Tree guards -Mr. Banks. 4. Water barrows-Mr. Nixey, Slough.

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The following item was sufficiently novel to be included in 26 newspapers between June 11th and 22nd, including the Bucks Herald, Luton Times and Advertiser, Dundee Courier, Shields Daily Gazette, Shipping and Mercantile Gazette - London, Staffordshire Advertiser, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, The Era - London, Carlisle Patriot, Fife Herald, South Wales Daily News, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Western Gazette - Yeovil, Dover Express.

Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 14 June 1872

Research notes

Fortunately full marriage details are available on ancestry and show the couple married by banns at St Paul's Old Brentford on 3rd June 1871 (ie a few weeks after the census in which they were recorded as man and wife). Both lived in St Paul's parish and George described himself as 50, a widower, a hawker and the son of Alban Hyde, (deceased) carpenter. Mary Ann Sharvell was 41 and a widow, the daughter of Charles YOUNG (deceased), also a carpenter. The marriage was witnessed by John NORTH and 'Marthr' WAITE and all parties signed the register, though George's signature was not a confident one.

A check of births in Middlesex shows Mary Ann's surname was recorded in a range of forms between 1851 and 1871: Shervill, Shirvell, Shirvall, Sherville, Shervell, Shirvel, Sharvell and Shervall.

The 1861 census shows Mary Ann with her previous husband living in a cottage on Heath Lane, Isleworth. Her husband was Charles Sharvell, who was aged 35 and a labourer born in New Romney, Kent. They had four children at the time of the census including Charles age 7: in the1871 census he was with his mother and George Hyde, age 17, which points to this being the relevant entry. Charles senior was buried 'in front of the church' at Hounslow on 11th September 1864 at the age of 38 (original burial register for Hounslow Heath on ancestry.

In 1861 George Hyde, age 41, was living at 56 High Street and was a fishmonger - read more about this trade. His wife Mary was 42 and also from Berkshire: Bridgewaltham, probably Bright Waltham. There is a local burial that may be that of Mary although she is older than expected: Mary Ann Hyde buried in the new burial ground of Ealing, 29th May 1864, age 52. She was of Old Brentford.

I suspect some of you are interested in what happened after George's second wife left with his leg. Having got this far I was keen to get to an end point. In George's case this was in the third quarter of 1878 when he died at the age of 58. His second wife Mary Ann was ten years younger than George and the 1881 census shows her living in Back Lane, Chiswick, age 51, a widowed charwoman. Living with her were her daughter Charlotte, age 11 and a younger daughter Annie age 9, both girls scholars and Brentford-born.

At first I could not locate Mary Ann in the 1891 census: a Mary Ann Hyde in the workhouse nearly fitted but this Mary Ann was born in Brompton and was single. Nor was there a good match in the death registrations. However a search of marriages suggested she may have found a third husband, Thomas SIMCOX. The 1891 census shows the couple living at 6 Caroline Place, Albany Road Brentford; Thomas was 61 and a bricklayer born in Diddlebury, Shropshire and Mary Ann was also 61. Sharing the same house were William and Charlotte ARMITAGE, he a 25 year old labourer, and she aged 22: the marriage of William to Charlotte Hyde in the second quarter of 1888 in BrentfordRegistration District confirms this is the correct family.

Evidence to date points to Mary Ann being a survivor, so I half-expected her to be alive in 1901; however no entry matched. Her daughter Charlotte and husband William Armitage were living at Distillery Road with their three children; William was a labourer for the gas works, work which sounds reasonably secure. A census search leaving the surname blank found Thomas and Mary Ann indexed as LIMCOX; they were both 71 and living at 6 Woodings Cottages, Back Lane, Turnham Green, the home of George and Annie SALMON and their four children. Thomas and Mary Ann were recorded as George Salmon's in-laws, and George's wife Annie, age 27, is most probably the Annie who was living with her mother in 1881, age 9. Thomas Simcox was still working as a bricklayer at the age of 71.

Mary Ann lived a further five years after the 1901 census, dying at the age of 77. Her death was registered in the second quarter of 1906 at Brentford.

There are some public family trees on Ancestry which include some references to Mary Ann YOUNG, as she was originally named.

The above does not clarify what happened to George Hyde's leg; perhaps a family descendant knows more...

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Middlesex Independent 20 June 1888

Notes

The section to be paved spanned 119 to 141 High Street, New Brentford. It is not clear what the state of paving was elsewhere in High Street.

Gloucestershire Echo Saturday 30 June 1906

As a result of the great rain on Friday morning, a culvert which carries water from the Ealing distict to the Thames at Brentford burst opposite the British Schools in the High-street, Brentford, and a tremendous amount of water flowed right across the road and down the back of the houses opposite, flooding a number of houses.

The scenes in the Town Meadow and Pump-alley were reminiscent of Venice. These places are situated at the bottom of a steep incline from the High-street, Brentford, with the result that the water in some cases came right over the roofs of some of the tenements. In other cases the water reached the first floor, and the tenants were compelled to seek refuge in their night-gowns on the roofs of the houses. Furniture of all kinds - tables, couches, chairs, lamps, and bric-a-brac - was floating in the water, and the ground-floor of each house was completely submerged.

A service of boats from the adjacent ferry was requisitioned, and eatables were brought around to the people, who were shivering in the cold. Firemen from the Brentford Fire Station soon came on the scene with an engine, and set about pumping the water. Progress, however, was exceedingly slow, and it was noon before an apporeciable amount of the water had been cleared and the stray furniture allotted to the respective owners, who were dressed in rugs and lace curtains their clothes having been washed away.

Two or three adventurous spirits swam away from their rooms, and others jumped out of the first-floor windows into boats. It was not until five o' clock in the afternoon that the homes of the various people had regained their normal appearance, The damage done to the furniture and general household effects of the poor people living in this district is considerable, and many women and children were weeping at their loss.

Residents desrcibed the drowning of fowls, rabbits, and pigeons, which perished in their pens in the back gardens. In one house a cat was drowned, but in another two cats saved their lives by swimming round and round the parlour until they were rescued, and another cat swam for some time round a flooded garden and then climbed to safety.

The imprisoned inhabitants were is a state of alarm lest the floods should reach them in their bedrooms, and children cried lustily.

During the morning a van carried round food supplies, which were hauled up to the windows, and a doctor who was going to the loclal mortuary had to row across the flood to the spot.

While the flood was at its height a baby was born in one of the houses, The midwife was rowed to the house in a boat, and effected an entrance via the bedroom window.

Notes

There are three postcard views showing the floods, thanks to Jim Storrar and Peter Stuart.

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Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 28 June 1920

It was stated for the claimant that after fourteen days' notice, the District Council took possession of the property under the Housing and Town Planning Act, 1919, and the Middlesex County Council were taking a portion of the land for the projected Great West Road. Mr Addey claimed compensation amounting to £3,465, and the District Council replied by offering £950, "in view of the fact that the claimant was limited by a lease which could be terminated by the landlord at twelve months' notice at any time." Mr Addey considered that he was entitled to more than a year's net profits, submitting that, if the District Council had not intervened, it was probable that he would have finished the lease, which went on to 1926.

For the District Council it was submitted that the claimant had nothing more than a twelve months' tenancy under this lease which he could sell. The land was available building land, and could be used for building at any time. As a matter of fact, the District Council had a letter from the owner at the commencement of these proceedings - he was now dead - stating that he intended to dispose of the land.

The Arbitrator said that if he did not take the view of the Council he would state a case on the point. He thought that was better than issuing his award first. On the other hand, if he agreed with the view of the Council, he would simply make an award.

Notes

So there you have it. By this point I was interested in Mr Robert Addey and his market garden and checked for other articles - they will appear in coming months. It seems that, around the time of the judgement by the Arbitrator, the Addey family travelled to Bath for a holiday. They were recorded in the Bath Visitors' List in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 03 July 1920: 'Grand Pump Room Hotel ... Mr & Mrs R F Addey (Brentford) and Mr and Mrs Robert Addey (Brentford).'

The website also has a detailed biography of Robert Edward Addey thanks to Janet McNamara.

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Daily Mirror -22 June 1968

The benefits:

• Feel like linen
• More absorbent
• Hand or machine washed
• Quick-to-dry
• Never-never iron
• Beautiful colours

The advert includes a coupon to order a colour brochure - 'we advise you to post the coupon TODAY as the response will be tremendous' - and also invited Personal Shoppers to call in on 'Monday to Saturday between 9am and 6pm (except Friday afternoons). At our Factory on the Great West Road, Brentford (on the A4, not the M4 Motorway) opposite Firestone on your left coming from Chiswick.'

The site has a photo of the Brentford Nylons building (this may be the office buildings?) and also one showing the factory, both taken in 1973, thanks to Peter Young.

I wonder how many WONDERLON sheets survive today? They will now be the museum pieces.

Published June 2012; last updated August 2023