Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Record 7: The Garner Household

Record 7: The Garner Household 

Record seven visits the residents of the house named "The Limes".

Head: William Langham Garner

William Langham Garner was born in Melton Mowbray in Leicester on the 15th of January 1870. The first child of ironmonger William (1837-1910) and his wife Louisa Langham (1841-1909). The couple would have five more children, Samuel Herbert (1871-1930), Louisa Annie (1872-1954), Mary Eliza (1874-1956), and Alice Mabel (1880-1975). William attended school in Melton Mowbray and by 1891 he was in training as a student of medicine, later attending the University of Cambridge from which he graduated in 1896. He also became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Physicians.

The Limes, home to the Garner's, 1938.

By 1897, William was house surgeon at a children's hospital in Derbyshire, and a year later he was house surgeon at the Windsor Infirmary. Following this William left for Bedford around 1900 and and settled in Ampthill, where he worked as a surgeon while living with his sister Louisa. In 1902, William met and married 32 year-old Helen Mary Cowley Stagg. The couple never had children, and by 1911 they were wealthy enough to hire both a cook and a housemaid.

Mention of the wedding of William and Helen
in the Dorking & Leatherhead Advertister, 1902.

During his time in Ampthill, as a prominent surgeon and practitioner, William often made appearances in local papers. These offer a better insight into his life during this time. The first such appearance, in May 1901, sees him look over a man who had attempted to drown himself, but assured Garner he was not suicidal or depressed. The following year his marriage alone earned coverage from at least 8 newspapers. In 1903, mention is made of the retirement of the local workhouse's medical officer who recommends his deputy, William as his successor. The following years see William working with the victim of an animal attack in 1905 and an elderly burn victim in 1910.

Mention of William's will in the
Banbury Guardian, 1946.

The Garner's continued to live in Ampthill until around 1930 when they seemingly retired to Bournemouth, Hampshire. Here, Helen was diagnosed and died of cancer on the 20th of September 1936, aged 63. William, following this, lived in their house at 5 Rufford Gardens with the housekeeper, Fanny Inskip, who he then married in 1941, then aged 71. William himself later passed away on the 16th of March 1946, aged 76. In his will he left £2000 to Guy's Hospital to help cancer sufferers in memory of Helen.

Wife : Helen Mary Cowley Garner (nee Stagg)

Helen Mary Cowley Stagg was born in Kensington, London, in 1870. The daughter of William Stagg (1845-1889) and Helen Voysey Cowley (1849-1904). Helen's mother was originally born in India, seemingly to British parents. She moved to Britain around 1860, where she lived with her grandmother in Kensington, and married William in 1867. Helen had several siblings, Claude Stephen Cowley (1869-1892),  Kathleen Julia Cowley (1872-1965), Iva Lucy Cowley (1876-1965), Norah Voysey Cowley (1880-), George Cowley (1881-1944) and Vivian Dorothy Cowley (1882-1922)

Helen attended a girls school in Willesden, and upon leaving around 1888, began working in the medical field. By 1901, she was working in a hospital in Kensington when she met William Garner, who was seemingly visiting London, as by this time he had moved to Ampthill. The couple married on the 31st of July 1902 and Helen promptly moved to Ampthill. Following her marriage, Helen left her job and would never work again. Helen moved with William around 1930 to Bournemouth when he retired and the couple set in to enjoy retirement on the south coast. However, Helen was diagnosed with cancer, which had already claimed her mother and sister. She passed away on the 20th of September 1936, aged 63.

Servant: Angelina Winch

Angelina Winch was born in 1860, in the village of Ridgewell, Essex. The daughter of agricultural labourer Lewis Rinch (1831-1905) and his wife Sarah Rawlings (1829-1909). Angelina was one of four children, the others being Robert (1850-), Frederick (1865-1925), and Charles (1874-1913). Growing up in a relatively poor family, Angelina went into work at an early age. At 11 she worked as a straw plaiter, a role she continued well into her 20s.

Eventually, Angelina left Ridgewell, moving to the village of Tingrith, south-west of Ampthill. Here, by 1901, she worked as a cook for the Green family. From here, she then moved to Ampthill, where she was hired as a cook by the Garner's.

At this point, now aged 51, Angelina had never married. This changed in 1911, when she met and married 46 year-old shoe maker William Chappell. Given their age, they never had children, and Angelina eventually passed away in 1933, aged 73. William outlived her by 18 years, passing away on the 20th of February 1951, aged 85.

Servant: Mabel Lilian West

Mabel Lilian West was born in 1893 in Rushden, Northamptonshire, to William Henry and Sarah Elizabeth West. Not much is known of her upbringing or her life after 1911. All that is known is that by the time she was 18, she worked for the Garner's as a housemaid. Interestingly, her name is listed incorrectly in the census as Lilian Mabel.

Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Record 12: The Gardener's Arms

Record 12: The Gardener's Arms

After number 20, record 12 is that of the Gardener's Arms pub, which closed in 1926.

Head: Sarah Ann Mann

Sarah Ann Mann was born in Ampthill, on the 18th of January 1856, to Daniel Mann (1830-1868), an assistant at the local Morris Brewery, and Ann Williams (1825-1883). Sarah had several siblings, William (1854-1914), George (1858-), Edward (1859-1931), and Mary (1861-1953). Growing up, Sarah's future was likely impacted by her father's work at the brewery, and his sudden death in 1868, aged just 39, forced Sarah, then aged 12, to go into work to help support her family. Initally, Sarah worked as a dressmaker, and by the time she was 24, she worked as a laundress.

The Gardener's Arms, next to the grocers, c.1920

The exact circumstances are unknown, but by 1891, Sarah had quit working as a laundress, and was now the publican of the Gardener's Arms pub at 22 Dunstable Street. Aside from this, she also rented out a part of the house as lodgings. Sarah would later rent out this room to her sister, Mary and later her husband William for a time. Sarah eventually retired, and upon reaching her 70th birthday, the pub closed, and was converted back to a house, in which she continued to live with her widowed sister. She passed away on the 16th of April 1937, aged 81.


Sister: Mary Folkes (nee Mann)

The youngest daughter of Daniel and Ann, Mary, born on the 22nd of April 1861, was only 7 when her father died in 1868. After leaving school, Mary, like her sister, became a laundress, and she continued working until her marriage. After her mother's death and her sister opened the Gardener's Arms, Mary moved in with her sister and would continue to do so, alongside her husband, William Folkes, who she married in 1901. The couple never had children, and Mary was devastated when William suddenly commited suicide in April 1912, aged 43. Mary outlived her sister, who died in the house they had shared for some 40 years in 1931, and Mary herself passed away on the 7th of January 1953, aged 91. 

Brother In-Law: William Folkes

Born in the village of Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, in 1870. William Folkes was the first child of Henry Folkes (1846-1914) and Susannah Sale (1842-1916). William's future was influenced by his agricultural upbringing. His father was a gardener, and his grandfather, George, was a farm labourer, so, unsurprisingly, after leaving school he followed in his father's footsteps and became a gardener. By 1901, he lived on accommodation on the grounds of Gaddesden Place, home of Sir Thomas Frederick Hasley, then MP for Watford.

Gaddesden House in 1898, around the time William worked there.

Around this time William met Mary Mann, and the pair were married in 1901. After this William left Gaddesden and moved into the Gardener's Inn in Ampthill. By 1911 he worked for a Mr. Horace Martin. William was well known in Ampthill as a talented gardener and florist, and he often judged local flower shows and frequented horticultural exhibitions across England. On the 15th of April 1912, William went to the house of Mr. Martin, who had asked him the previous day to go round and wake him at 5 am. William did this, then left. He was found several hours later hanging in his shed at 4pm by a local policeman, a note on his desk reportedly read "This garden has about sent me mad. No fruit again." His death was ruled as suicide at an inquest the following day.

Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Record 11: The Burrell Household

Record 11: The Burrell Household

The next record of Dunstable street is house number 20, home of the Burrell's.

Head: Francis Mark Burrell

Francis Mark Burrell was born in the St. Pancras area of London in 1879. The last child of Henry Burrell (1835-1910), a coachman, and his wife Elizabeth Jutton (1837-1915). Francis had 8 older siblings, James Henry (1865-1949), Emily (1869-), Rose (1869-1906), Beatrice Annie (1871-1940), Jessie Catherine (1873-1948), Philip Arthur (1875-1938), and George Frederick (1877-1949)

20 Dunstable Street, c.1920s

After attending school from around 1884 to 1892, Francis went into work as a provisional merchant. eventually moved to Croyden, Surrey. Here, Francis married Ellen Hurrell on the 13th of January 1907. By 1911, the couple had moved to Ampthill, and lived at 20 Dunstable Street. Here, the couple ran a small shop, selling confectionery and tobacco. This continued until WW1 broke out, and Francis returned to London, where he joined the London Regiment of the Territorial Force. Serving in the 9th Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles). He was injured, and died of his wounds while fighting on the Western front in France on the 24th of September 1918, aged 39.

Wife: Ellen Burrell (nee Hurrell)

20 Dunstable Street
Image copyright Google 2009

Ellen Hurrell was born around 1868 in Wickhambrook, Suffolk. Her father, Henry Hurrell was a farmer. Although she was born in Suffolk, by the 1900's she lived in Croydon, Surrey. Here in 1907, she married Francis Burrell, who was ten years younger than her. The couple never had children, and it is unknown what Ellen did after husband's death during WW1. She doesn't appear to have remained in Ampthill after 1918, and she may have remarried sometime after.

Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Record 10: The Mills Family

Record 7: The Mills Family

The tenth record of Dunstable street introduces the Mills.

Head: Annie Mills (nee Scurr)

Ann "Annie" Scurr was born in the village of Barford, in Warwickshire, in 1865. The eldest daughter of Robert Scurr (1834-1906), a butler, and his wife Mary Ann Dry (1837-1909). Ann had one younger sibling, William Robert (1866-). Ann attended school in Barford and remained in education until her latter teenage years. Despite this, she seemingly never worked. Towards the end of the 1890's Ann met 30 year-old dairyman John Mills. The two were married on the 3rd of April 1899.

The couple had four children together, John Robert Scurr, Muriel Mary Scurr, Ethel Hilda Scurr, and Marjorie Scurr. During these years they notably moved to Suffolk from around 1901 to 1905. By 1911, the family had settled in Ampthill.

Not much is known of John Mills, as he does not appear with his family on either the 1901 or 1911 census, although Ann was still listed as married to him in the latter census. By the 1930's, the family had again moved, this time to Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, where Ann died in 1933, aged 68.

Son: John Robert Scurr Mills

The first child of Ann and John, Robert John Scurr Mills was born in Leamington Spa on the 19th of February 1900. Growing up, Robert's education was presumably affected by his family moving from Suffolk to Warwickshire, and then to Ampthill, where he completed his school time around 1914. By 1918, John had left Ampthill and had moved to Northamptonshire, where he met and married Elsie 17 year-old Maria Simonds in 1918. The couple had multiple children, Mary Emily (1918-), Margery Annie (1921-2011), Joan Constance (1924-1992), Doreen Joyce (1928-2015), John Robert Scurr (1930-1997), Rex (1932-), Henry William (1933-2001), and Laurence (1935-).

After 30 years of marriage, Elsie passed away in 1949, aged 48. After two years as a widower, he remarried in 1951 to Norah Newman, however this marriage did not last, and in 1957 John married once more, to 18 year-old June Dunkley. Whether this marriage lasted is unknown. Either way, John eventually passed away in 1976, aged 76.

Daughter: Muriel Mary Scurr Mills

Muriel Mary Scurr Mills was born in Ipswich, Suffolk on the 19th of February 1902, sharing a birthday with her older brother John. Not much is known of her life, although it is known that she never married, and consequently had no children. She died in Wellingborough on the 17th of February 1997, two days before her 95th birthday.

Daughter: Ethel Hilda Scurr Mills

Ethel Hilda Scurr was born on the 20th of August 1904, as was her twin sister Marjorie Scurr, who died in 1905. Ethel, like her brother, left Ampthill for Northampton in the 1920's. In 1925 she married 22 year-old bus conducter, Harry Enerst Cowper. The couple settled in Wellingborough, and had five children, Kenneth Ernest William (1925-2004), Raymond Harry (1928-2010), Jean (1929-), Morris (1936-), and Veronica J (1942-1943).

Harry eventually passed away in 1968, aged 65, and Ethel passed away 8 years later, in 1976, aged 71.