Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

George Ellis died 3rd January 1927 and his wife Lucy died 5th February 1909 Lucy Chennells’ Story Unlike her husband’s family, Lucy Chennells’ immediate family were very much parishioners of St Peter’s Berkhamsted and inhabitants of the town, rather than the surrounding villages. Her father William Chennells was born at Berkhamsted on 5th October 1812, the son of Joseph and Philadelphia, who had lived at Great Gaddesden, Hudnall, and Little Gaddesden, before finally settling in Berkhamsted. George was one of eight brothers, who  all appear to have been quite close as a family. This closeness within the Chennells family actually leads to a number of complicated relationships. In 1841 William and Mary Chennells were one of three Chennells families living in Castle Street, near to the church of St Peter’s, Berkhamsted. All three heads of the families were brothers, George (born 1800), Isaac (born 1807) and William, and all gave their occupation as being labourers. William probably married circa 1834, but no record of his marriage to Mary nee Watson has been found as of yet. The couple appear to have had six daughters and one son, according to the parish registers of St Peter’s though there is no record of daughter number five being baptised there. Their known children were: Anne (1st Daughter) born 9th July 1835 and baptised 25th December 1835. Emma (2nd daughter) born on 21st November 1836 and baptised 26 March 1837. George (1st son) born on 18th April 1838 and baptised 20th May 1838. Sarah (3rd daughter) born on 6th July 1840 and baptised 13th September 1840. Charlotte (4th daughter) baptised 26 November 1843 Lucy (6th daughter) born 17th June 1846 and was baptised 5th October 1856. William Chennells appears to have died shortly after Lucy was born, which is probably why she was not baptised until she was aged 10. The widowed Mary with six, possibly seven, young children to support would have needed to find a husband. As mentioned previously the Chennells family appear to have been very close, so much so that by 1851 another brother, Adam (born 1819) was also living in Castle Street. The Chennells men had just one sister, Anne, who was born in Berkhamsted on 20th April 1817. On 5th March 1836 she had married James Bartam at St Peter’s Church and the couple had three children, George (1836), Sarah (1837) and William (1839). Baby William died in 1842 aged 3, and Ann appears to have never had any more children. She was buried on 14th August 1849, leaving her widower with two children. The life and death of Anne Bartram (nee Chennells) plays a significant role in the life of our Lucy. This is because James Bartram, Lucy’s uncle-by-marriage, was now in need of a wife, and her mother, Mary Chennells, was in need of a husband. Early in 1851 Lucy’s mother, Mary Ann Chennells, widow of William, married James Bartram, widower of Lucy’s Aunt Anne. The extended family of step-brothers and sisters/cousins lived in Castle Street, next-door to their mutual uncle, Isaac Chennells. Sadly Mary Ann died in 1855, a fact mentioned at the time of Lucy’s baptism in 1856. Lucy Chennells was baptised at St Peter’s on 5th October 1856 and the register notes that she had “both parents dead”. So at the age of nine Lucy was an orphan, albeit one with a large extended family nearby. In 1861 Lucy was boarding with her eldest sister, Emma Chennells, at the home of Daniel and Ann Dwight in Upper Mill Lane. Daniel must have been a close family friend, as Emma had previously been living with him at the time of the 1841 census, when she was just aged 4. On 20th June 1869 Lucy Chennells married George Ellis at St Peter’s Church. Lucy’s brother George Chennells had married George’s sister, Mary Ann in 1865, so Lucy and George would have known each other well before they were married. Lucy and George settled in Ravens Lane close to where his mother, Susannah Ellis, was living in Ellesmere Road. During the late 1800’s that part of Berkhamsted which was in the Parish of St Mary’s Northchurch, and which later became the Parish of St Michael’s Sunnyside saw considerable development and population growth. In 1861 there were 18 houses in Ellesmere Road, by 1871 this had become 36, and in 1891 the number had risen to 55. The expansion in George Street which wasn’t even on the 1861 census was even greater. From having not been laid out at all in 1861, George Street had 92 houses and a population of 437 in 1891. This rapid urban expansion right where Lucy and George were living would have given George a plentiful supply of work, as he was now a fully trained bricklayer. They remained living in Ravens Lane throughout the 1870s and into the 1880s. Ravens Lane runs along part of the parish boundary between St Peter’s Berkhamsted and that part of St Mary’s Northchurch that was later to become the Parish of Sunnyside. Lucy and George had seven of their children baptised at St Peter’s Church, the church where Lucy herself was baptised in 1856. Their children, who were all born in Ravens Lane, were: George William born in 1870 and baptised on 8th September 1872. Henry baptised on 8th September 1872. Charles baptised on 26th May 1875. On Saturday 12th June 1875 the Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser reported the following death on “June 2nd – at Raven’s Lane, Charles infant son of Mr George Ellis”. William, born on 9th April 1876 and baptised 24th February 1883. Charles born in 1879 and baptised 24th February 1883. Annie, born on 9th June 1881 was baptised 24th February 1883. Ada born 1885. Emily baptised on 15th December 1886. By 1891 Lucy and George had moved into a relatively newly built house at 8 George Street, which appears to have remained their home for the rest of their lives. The 1911 census tells us that it was a house with five rooms. Although George seems to have been quite happily employed as a bricklayer, their sons George William and William both appear in the 1914 Kelly’s Directory as tradesmen in their own right, employing their own workers. George William was a house decorator at 288 High Street, from as early as 1902 when he appeared in that directory, whilst William was a hairdresser at 18 Chapel Street. Lucy passed away at George Street on 8th February 1909, the grandmother of four children courtesy of her eldest son George William. The widowed George was not left alone as in 1911 he still had four unmarried children living at home; William, Annie. Ada and Emily. George remained a widower in George Street for the rest of his life surrounded by a large, growing family. In 1924 his grandson, George William Ellis junior was married at St Peter’s Church. It’s a shame that Lucy never got to see her family grow and prosper, though George must have been proud at having such a handsome family. Now at rest with her beloved husband George, Lucy’ descendants stayed in the Berkhamsted and Bourne End area to this day.