Biography:
Mary Ann Horne
19/04/1839 –1905
Mary Ann Horne

MARY ANN HORNE; 1839 – 1905
Mary Ann Horne was born in 19 April 1839 to George and Elizabeth Horne in Ivinghoe Buckinghamshire. She had 5 siblings. Her father was an agricultural labourer. Mary’s mother died in 1847, only three years after her last son was born.
Mary Ann worked as a straw plaiter and by 1871 at the age of 32 years she was living in the newly built Bede almshouses in Little Gaddesden. The almshouses were built by Viscountess Marianne Alford in memory of her husband and were opened in 1865. The houses were provided homes for single women and widows. There were rules concerning behaviour which were strictly observed. A curfew bell was rung each evening. Special prayer books were provided. Murray’s dictionary defines ‘bede’ as a Middle English form of ‘bead’, used in the archaic sense of ‘prayer’. Hence the residents were known as Bedeswomen implying that they had to pray for the founder.
The design of the houses was influenced by G E Street and by Continental practice, being long and symmetrical. The Bede Houses were originally five or six cottage pairs, with attached gardens, later changed to 3 dwellings. They had 10 rooms in pairs, with accommodation for 10 widows. The buildings were arranged to form three sides of a square.
Ashridge estate gave two tons of coal a year and 4s. a week to each widow. Medical attention was also provided.
In 1901 Mary was the housekeeper of the Bridgwater Arms Hotel in Little Gaddesdon. She remained single and she died in 1905 and is buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery. Her address at time of death was 15 Victoria Road Berkhamsted.

in the cemetery
MARY ANN HORNE; 1839 – 1905
Mary Ann Horne was born in 19 April 1839 to George and Elizabeth Horne in Ivinghoe Buckinghamshire. She had 5 siblings. Her father was an agricultural labourer. Mary’s mother died in 1847, only three years after her last son was born.
Mary Ann worked as a straw plaiter and by 1871 at the age of 32 years she was living in the newly built Bede almshouses in Little Gaddesden. The almshouses were built by Viscountess Marianne Alford in memory of her husband and were opened in 1865. The houses were provided homes for single women and widows. There were rules concerning behaviour which were strictly observed. A curfew bell was rung each evening. Special prayer books were provided. Murray’s dictionary defines ‘bede’ as a Middle English form of ‘bead’, used in the archaic sense of ‘prayer’. Hence the residents were known as Bedeswomen implying that they had to pray for the founder.
The design of the houses was influenced by G E Street and by Continental practice, being long and symmetrical. The Bede Houses were originally five or six cottage pairs, with attached gardens, later changed to 3 dwellings. They had 10 rooms in pairs, with accommodation for 10 widows. The buildings were arranged to form three sides of a square.
Ashridge estate gave two tons of coal a year and 4s. a week to each widow. Medical attention was also provided.
In 1901 Mary was the housekeeper of the Bridgwater Arms Hotel in Little Gaddesdon. She remained single and she died in 1905 and is buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery. Her address at time of death was 15 Victoria Road Berkhamsted.
Relatives
No relatives have been linked to Mary Ann Horne