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.