The Story of Mrs Saul

I first started on the quest to find out more about Mrs Saul about four years ago when Nan gave me a photo of Mr Saul, who she said her mother had worked for before she was married.  All she knew was that Mrs Saul, or Sole or something like that, was a cousin of her Grandmother’s and that they lived near Uncle Harry (Walthamstow) where they ran a Pawn Brokers.  Well eventually I tracked them down and the name turned out to be Sewell, so this is the story of Eliza Sewell nee Drawater.

 

The Baker’s Family

Eliza Georgina Drawater was born around 1834 in Bayswater London.  She was the daughter of Eliza and George, a Pastry Cook, and had an older brother, George Christmas and a younger brother William Henry.  I think she was quite close to William as they were only a year or so apart in age and he seems to pop up quite often in her later life. She also had a younger sister Amelia Ann, who died at ten months old through “convulsing from teething”.  At the time of Amelia’s death the address given was 54 Willsted Street, St Pancras.

 

The family must have moved quite early on to Kings Cross, because there are directory references to George Drawater, Baker and Confectioner at 4 Albion Place, Kings Cross from 1841.  At the time King’s Cross was called Battle Bridge and still quite rural, I imagine George must have completed an apprenticeship and then started up on his own, so I think they were doing quite well for themselves. George may have even sold bread to Dad’s ancestors who lived a couple of streets away.

 

The fact that George was a Confectioner as well as a Baker suggests that his customers were quite well off, as most people would not have been able to afford the luxury of confectionery, and the corn laws that had been brought in pushed up the price of flour, making bread more expensive, putting many Bakers out of business. The laws were repealed in 1837 which I’m sure  would have helped George, although his market probably didn’t notice much and he may have even been able to keep his prices up.  At the time white bread was what the wealthy people ate and the more unrefined the flour, the cheaper the bread, unlike today where wholegrain bread is more expensive than white.

 

Albion Place was just within the boundary of Islington and this part of London was once renowned for wells and spring water and became a favourite spa resort, both for medicinal cures and for tea gardens, which offered all kinds of entertainment.

 

Islington was a very affluent area at the time, surrounded to the north by fields, bearing in mind the trains hadn’t arrived when the family first moved there. Islington was to the East, which was inhabited by Clerks and Bankers making their way to the City each day, Grays Inn to the south with its lawyers and Clerkenwell full of radical activity, and it was the beginning of the Victorian era when Britain was starting to prosper again.

 

So this is where Eliza grew up, she was probably sent to a local school, which although wasn’t compulsory at the time and if it was a choice between the boys or girls, the boys would have come first, but I think her parents were in a position to send her.  She would have learnt to read and write, but most importantly how to run a household, sewing and cooking were far more important for a young lady.  She also spent a lot of time with her cousin, also Eliza Drawater, out in the countryside at Twickenham, which I think is where her father was from.

 

Getting Around in Islington

The Drawater’s would have seen much change in the area during their time there, especially with transport.  The wealthy would have had their own carriages to get them around and any long distance travel would have been done by Stage Coach.  So if the family went to visit their relatives at Twickenham they would have travelled by coach.  Albion Place was on a very busy road called the New Road, it was the main link between Paddington and the City.  It must have been very noisy as in 1839, besides the 55 public vehicles using the the New Road, 42 omnibuses served Islington, these seated up to 22 people and were horse drawn.

 

Shillabeer’s Omnibus 1829

 

Travelling by omnibus in London was not always a pleasant experience. The buses were often crowded with dirty straw on the floor. During many times of the day journeys were extremely slow on London's busy streets. On 30 January 1836, The Times newspaper published a set of instructions for its readers, which were intended to make omnibus travel more enjoyable. It provides a valuable insight into the contemporary omnibus experience.


It read:

 

1.

Keep your feet off the seats.

2.

Do not get into a snug corner yourself and then open the windows to admit a North-wester upon the neck of your neighbour.

3.

Have your money ready when you desire to alight. If your time is not valuable, that of others may be.

4.

Do not impose on the conductor the necessity of finding you change: he is not a banker.

5.

Sit with your limbs straight, and do not with your legs describe an angle of 45, thereby occupying the room of two persons.

6.

Do not spit on the straw. You are not in a hogsty but in an omnibus travelling in a country which boasts of its refinement.

7.

Behave respectfully to females and put not an unprotected lass to the blush, because she cannot escape from your brutality.

8.

If you bring a dog, let him be small and be confined by a string.

9.

Do not introduce large parcels - an omnibus is not a van.

10.

Reserve bickerings and disputes for the open field. The sound of your own voice may be music to your own ears - not so, perhaps, to those of your companions.

11.

If you will broach politics or religion, speak with moderation: all have an equal right to their opinions, and all have an equal right to not have them wantonly shocked.

12.

Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. Remember that you are riding a distance for sixpence which, if made in a hackney coach, would cost you as many shillings; and that should your pride elevate you above plebeian accommodations, your purse should enable you to command aristocratic indulgences.

Then the steam train arrived in London and the city raplidly began to spread outwards filling Hackney and Islington, Pancras and Paddington, as more people arrived by train so they would start to settle around the areas of the railway stations and so the richer people started to move further outwards, so eventually by the late 19th century  King’s Cross had become quite a slum area, cramped with families all crammed into single rooms of tenement buildings, but Eliza and co had managed to get the best from the area before all this happened.

Euston Station (1834-7) was the first mainline terminus in London, just along the road from Albion Place, within easy walking distance.  There was also a line built from Camden Town to West India Docks, what is now the North London Railway and a section added in 1850 from Highbury to Bow Junction, which gave a passenger service of 15 minutes from  Islington into the City.

Kings Cross was originally designed and built as the London hub of the Great Northern Railway and terminus of the East Coast Main Line. It was designed and constructed in two years from 1851 to 1852, on the site of a former fever and smallpox hospital, just to the West of Albion Place. So this would have made the area even noisier and dirtier too, with the steam pouring off the trains, more people rushing too and from the station, but hopefully increased passing trade for George at the Bakery, in a prime position to catch hungry travellers.

Kings Cross Station 1853

 

The main part of the station was opened on October 14, 1852. The platforms have been reconfigured several times; originally there was only one arrival and one departure platform.  In later years as suburban traffic grew, space for additional platforms was added with considerably less grandeur; the secondary building now containing platforms 9-11 survives from that era.
According to legend it is built on the site of Boudicca's final battle, or else her body is buried under one of the platforms there.

 

Licence to Marry

By the age of 21 Eliza had met a young man, he was a Solicitor’s Clerk called Edmund Palmer, the son of a Leather Case Maker.  They were married at the Parish Church in Islington, which was either All Saints or St Mary’s, by licence, in April 1853.  Edmund lived at 11 Thornhill Street (later called Wynford Road) in Islington and Eliza was at Albion Place.  Usually people who were getting married had their banns read in church on three Sundays before the marriage, but marriage by licence was often preferred because it was quicker, more convenient and more discreet. A licence had to be obtained from the appropriate authority to marry at a place within its jurisdiction.  It was also thought to be a bit of a status symbol, and quite trendy at the time to get married by licence, so this could have been the case if Eliza was a bit of a social climber.

 

Eliza must have been 21, because her marriage certificate states full age, perhaps her and Edmund were trying to marry a bit secretly, because the witnesses were a Thomas Bilby and M Carson, when usually there would have been at least one parent as a witness and I can’t find any relationship between the names.  But it would have been a bit difficult to marry secretly at the local parish church, so maybe they were just in a rush for some reason.

 

So Eliza and Edmund were married and on 4 December 1854,  Edmund Henry George Palmer was born, they stayed in Islington and moved into a house in Bingfield Road.  It was quite a newly developed area, just off Caledonian Road, to the North of Regents Canal.  It’s possible that Edmund worked in the City and got the train from Caledonian Road each day, although a walk south, down Grays Inn Road, maybe to Holborn would probably be more likely, as this was the area of Law. 

 

Sadly the marriage was short lived and Edmund snr died later the following year.  I don’t know if there were any other children, but Eliza was now on her own with a young baby.  I haven’t found a will for Edmund, so I assume his death must have been quite unexpected, although at such an early stage in their lives he may not have had much to leave her anyway, unless he was insured, but so far I’ve not found anything to say Eliza became a wealthy widow at the age of 23.  So I’m assuming she may have moved back with her parents, which is the most likely scenario.

 

A New Man

However, all was not lost as a new man showed up in Eliza’s life and she  married again, and this time she did very well for herself indeed.  I haven’t been able to find a marriage certificate yet, but she certainly married again, this time to Philip John Mirehouse. Eliza had married into a seriously wealthy family, Philip was a couple of years younger than her and was a Gentleman, which basically meant he had his own private income and was, I believe, the eldest  son of Henry and Milly Mirehouse.  He was born and brought up in Easton-in-Geordano, Somerset, quite close to Bristol.  His father was the vicar of Easton, but also the Prebendary of South Grantham, Lincolnshire, which meant that he took an income from the parish at Easton, but also the large area of South Grantham (where his nephew was later installed as Vicar of one of the parishes).  The Rev Henry was also a magistrate and one of the principal landholders in Easton, when his father died in 1823 he had left Henry, as well as property, the sum of ₤10,000, an enormous sum of money then.

 

Philip’s Uncle John was a Barrister and also a Judge at the Lord Mayor’s Court in London and the Old Bailey, he had properties and farmland in Pembrokeshire, Wales and also had a London address.  The family still continues to hold the property in Pembrokeshire today.

 

Being the eldest son Philip, who was named after his Grandfather on his mother’s side, another prominent Gentleman, would have been very well educated, being his father’s principal heir. His brother Henry was a magistrate at Bedminster, Somerset and Arthur, his other brother was an Officer in the Royal Navy and lived in Surrey.  How these two met I don’t know unless Eliza had been left a wealthy widow?

 

Then came 1867, this was not to be a good year for Eliza or Philip, firstly Eliza’s father, George died at the age of 72, then Philip’s father, Henry died. Then tragedy struck again and on 1 November 1867 Philip died at the tender age of 29 from Gastro Enteritis, it must have been a terrible time for Eliza.  The couple were living at Woburn Cottage, Dukes Road, Euston.  This was just around the corner from Eliza’s younger brother William who was living at 167 Euston Road.  William was a Boot and Shoemaker and was married to Sarah, they had two children at the time Amelia age 3 and Eliza, just a baby.  They were probably a great support to Eliza, as William was present at the death of Philip and it was him who registered the death.

 

 

           

 

             Woburn Walk

 

Poor Eliza, her second husband dead and she was only in her early thirties, her eldest son Edmund would have been 12 by now, there may have been other children, but so far he is the only one I’ve found and I don’t think she had any with Philip, so it’s possible they weren’t married long.

 

So, alone again, but this time I’d like to think that Eliza had been provided for, bearing in mind Philip’s family background.  I don’t know if she stayed on at Woburn Cottage, but perhaps she spent some time recovering in the Twickenham countryside with her dear cousin Eliza, who had since married and become Eliza Searle, because two years later she was married again, in Richmond.

 

Third Time Lucky

James Samuel Sewell was a commercial Traveller, he too was widowed and had two children.  James, the eldest was 6 and Elizabeth only 4.  I don’t know how Eliza and James met, because his address at the time of their marriage was Brixton, although he was originally from Shoreditch and it seems from the marriage certificate that Eliza was living in Richmond, Surrey.

 

So James and Eliza settled down to married life and in 1876, 7 years after their marriage, they had a son together he was named Philip Mirehouse Sewell, presumably after Eliza’s previous husband.  I wonder how James felt about that, surely Eliza wasn’t still pining for Philip or maybe she thought if Philip kept the Mirehouse name he would come into some money one day.

 

In the meantime Edmund, Eliza’s first son had become a Pianoforte Maker, I assume he worked for Witton and Witton, because in 1876, the same year Eliza’s son Philip was born, he married Louise Witton and in 1881 they were living with her parents, not far from Eliza at 50 Queen’s Road, Hackney.  They had three young children Louise 4, Grace 2, and Edmund only a year old.  So Eliza had some grandchildren, the eldest of which was only a year younger than her own youngest son, Philip.  It must have been quite strange.

      

 

 

A Witton & Witton Piano

 

During this time Eliza’s elder brother, George had moved out to Bedford where, following in his father’s footsteps he was a Baker and Confectioner.  He had married Lizzie, who was nearly twenty years his junior and they had two children.  George died in 1892 and Lizzie followed in 1899.

 

By 1881 William, Eliza’s younger brother was living around the corner from Woburn Cottage, where Eliza had lived with Philip.  He was still making boots and shoes and had certainly put his wife Sarah to work as they had 10 children by this time, not uncommon then, but it must have been hard work.  William died in 1888 at the age of only 52, a difficult time for Sarah as her youngest  would have only been 7 years old.  Hopefully Eliza and James kept in close touch with her as they didn’t live too far away.

 

More Bootmakers

In 1874 the Sewell family were living Regents Row, Dalston and by 1881, 12 years after their marriage, at 3 Helmsley Terrace, just off Mare Street next to London Fields in Hackney.  James was now a Boot Manufacturer and his eldest son a Clicker which, according to the dictionary is a “foreman shoemaker who cuts out leather and gives out work”.  I wonder if James had perhaps taken some tips from Eliza’s brother William, they may have even worked together, although William didn’t appear to live in Hackney at all. The area in which James and Eliza lived was renowned for Boot and Shoe Makers and the family must have been doing pretty well as they employed Pollie Morely a 20 year old from Dalston as a General Domestic Servant.  Elizabeth, James’s daughter, who was now 16 years old, was employed as a Miliner and Philip was now 5 years old, presumably about to start school.

 

The Stepchildren

In 1890, at the age of 26, James jnr married Eliza Emma LeMonde in Wandsworth, she was the daughter of Joseph and Emma LeMonde.  Nine years earlier, in 1881 she had been living at the Strand with her Uncle George Bowness who was a Fishing Tackle Manufacturer.  Interestingly enough William Drawater’s eldest daughter was a Fishing Tackle Maker at this time and was the same age as Eliza Emma, maybe it was through her that they met.

 

James jnr and Eliza lived in Wandsworth, although I don’t know how long for but  they had a daughter Eliza Emma born in 1891, but sadly her mother died, although I’m not sure when or where, but the baby was still young and so James and baby Eliza moved back home with his father and stepmother.

 

Enter Jane Broughton

By this time James snr had given up Boot Making and him and Eliza had moved out to suburban Walthamstow in Essex where they ran a Pawnbrokers shop.  With James jnr and baby Eliza moving back in with them they decided to employ someone to look after the young Eliza.

 

Jane Anne Broughton was a local girl from nearby Woodford, she had been employed as a Domestic Servant by James Percival, a Commercial Clerk from Lancashire and his American wife Cordelia at their home in Woodford.  I don’t know when or why she left there, or how she came to work for the Sewells, but she ended up in Walthamstow at 88 Wood Street as a Nanny to the young Eliza Emma.

 

Jane’s elder brother Harry had a bakery business in Walthamstow and her elder sister Fanny also lived in Walthamstow with her husband.  Apparently old Mr Sewell liked a laugh and a joke and one day when Fanny came into the shop with her crying baby, he offered he a pawn ticket for the baby.

 

Jane was very happy with the Sewells and apparently Jane and James jnr had taken quite a liking to each other.  Eliza Searle, from Twickenham was a frequent visitor to her cousin in Walthamstow, and had a son George, her pride and joy, who was fast approaching his forties with no sign of a wife.  Eliza liked the look of Jane and had plans for her where George was concerned.

 

In 1896 James Sewell snr died, followed by Eliza in 1898 aged 64.  I assume this is when Jane stopped working for the Sewell family, but help was at hand as Eliza Searle had a friend in Twickenham who needed a Nanny.  So Jane moved to Twickenham and promised to keep in touch with James jnr by letter, he would send his letters through Eliza and she would pass them on to Jane and vice versa.  So Jane wrote to James, but received no reply and after writing some more and still receiving no reply she eventually gave up, heartbroken

 

 

In the meantime Eliza Searle had introduced Jane to her son George, who was a Bricklayer and lived at home with his mother and father, Adonis, also a Bricklayer, at 2nd Cross Road,  Twickenham.  With no word of James, Jane took solace in the company of George and on 11 June 1900, they married.  Jane was 25 and George 42,  these are my Great Grandparents. It was a very happy marriage despite the fact that on the day of their wedding Eliza gave Jane a bundle of letters that James had sent her and she had never passed on, she later told her daughter Ellen it felt like the worst day of her life!

 

Life After Eliza

In 1901 James Sewell jnr was living at 162 Edgeware Road, with this daughter now aged 9 and Phoebe Edwards who was employed as his housekeeper.  I had assumed that one of the Sewell boys would have taken over the Pawn shop, but James was a Pianoforte Salesman and Philip was a Piano Tuner living at 2 Selbourne Road, Walthamstow with his wife Charlotte.  It was in fact James Edmund Drawater who was a Pawnbroker at 88 Wood Street, Eliza Sewell’s nephew, son of William Henry, the Boot and Shoemaker.  How this came to be I don’t know, but he was still there in 1914 although I don’t know how long for, but 88 Wood Street is now a sports shop.

 

In 1901 Edmund Palmer, Eliza’s eldest son was 46 years old and living at 51 Newington Butts, Elephant & Castle, with his wife Louisa and two of their children Edmund, 21 and Raymond, 13.  Edmund was now a Piano Salesman and his eldest son a Musical Instrument Dealer.  It looks like their daughter Grace married an Inland Revenue Officer and was living in North Tawton (possibly Taunton) Devon with a one year old son, Alfred. Witton & Witton pianos are still manufactured, but now in Malaysia.

 

So that was the life of Eliza Georgina Drawater/Palmer/Mirehouse/Sewell, from Baker’s daughter to Clerk’s wife, to being the wife of a wealthy Gentleman, then meeting a Commercial Salesman cum Bootmaker cum Pawn Broker.  She certainly saw some tragedy along the way, but probably no more than most people of her time and she seemed to live fairly comfortably, with her family quite close by.  I just think it would have been nice if one of her husband’s could have outlived her.