Biography:
Rosa Foster
04/08/1843 –12/08/1903
Rosa Foster
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Plot x240 Rosa Foster (née Lane) (1843-1903)
Rosa was born 4 August 1843, the daughter of John E Lane, nurseryman, and his first wife, Sarah Foster. (Her father, mother and step-mother are buried in plot 181).
In 1879 Rosa married Henry James Foster, brewer, in Berkhamsted. Henry was the stepson of Rosa’s father, his mother Hannah having married him in 1852.
In 1881 the couple were living at Oaklands and employing a live-in domestic servant.
They were to have two children, Sarah born 1882 and Edward Charles born 1886.
In 1901 Henry, a brewery director, was living at Oak Vale, Shrublands Avenue. Also living with him were his unmarried sisters Caroline and Anne Foster and his cousin Caroline Chilton. They employed a live-in domestic servant.
Rosa not at home because, tragically, she was confined as a patient in St Andrew’s Hospital for Mental Diseases in Northampton. Identified only by her age, initials and as “wife of brewer” she was labelled “Lunatic” in the census return, the catch-all description for virtually any sufferer from a mental illness at the time.
St Andrew’s was a charitable foundation founded in 1838. Thomas Octavius Prichard was appointed as the hospital's first medical superintendent: he was one of the pioneers of "moral management", the humane treatment of the mentally ill. The chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and opened in 1863 and had housed, or was to house, several well-known patients including the poet John Clare and the Duchess of Marlborough.
Rosa died at St Andrews 12 August 1903, “The beloved wife” of Henry, and mother of Edward Charles, who are buried here with her.
View this burial in the cemetery
Plot x240 Rosa Foster (née Lane) (1843-1903)
Rosa was born 4 August 1843, the daughter of John E Lane, nurseryman, and his first wife, Sarah Foster. (Her father, mother and step-mother are buried in plot 181).
In 1879 Rosa married Henry James Foster, brewer, in Berkhamsted. Henry was the stepson of Rosa’s father, his mother Hannah having married him in 1852.
In 1881 the couple were living at Oaklands and employing a live-in domestic servant.
They were to have two children, Sarah born 1882 and Edward Charles born 1886.
In 1901 Henry, a brewery director, was living at Oak Vale, Shrublands Avenue. Also living with him were his unmarried sisters Caroline and Anne Foster and his cousin Caroline Chilton. They employed a live-in domestic servant.
Rosa not at home because, tragically, she was confined as a patient in St Andrew’s Hospital for Mental Diseases in Northampton. Identified only by her age, initials and as “wife of brewer” she was labelled “Lunatic” in the census return, the catch-all description for virtually any sufferer from a mental illness at the time.
St Andrew’s was a charitable foundation founded in 1838. Thomas Octavius Prichard was appointed as the hospital’s first medical superintendent: he was one of the pioneers of “moral management”, the humane treatment of the mentally ill. The chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and opened in 1863 and had housed, or was to house, several well-known patients including the poet John Clare and the Duchess of Marlborough.
Rosa died at St Andrews 12 August 1903, “The beloved wife” of Henry, and mother of Edward Charles, who are buried here with her.
Relatives
Historical Connections
The following local places of interest are linked to Rosa Foster:
Berkhamsted Railway Station
Berkhamsted School
Berkhamsted Town Hall
Military graves