Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Octavius Pechell Greenstreet(395)

09/04/1832 –05/02/1903

Born in India, attended Cambridge University thereafter taking Holy Orders.

Relatives

Annie Greenstreet — wife

Arthur Greenstreet (395) — son

• Karen Evans

Plot 395

Arthur Pechell, eldest son of Rev’d Octavius Pechell and Annie GREENSTREET, died 17 December 1897 in his 18th year.
Octavius Pechell GREENSTREET, priest, born 9 April 1832, died 5 February 1903.
Annie GREENSTREET born 7 December 1847, died 24 August 1920

Octavius Pechell Greenstreet was born on 9 April 1832, the eleventh child of John Greenstreet and Sarah (nee Lees). His parents had married, by licence, on 17th January 1813 at Christchurch, Southwark.

His father, John Greenstreet, served in the East India Company for over 50 years and was awarded a 6-clasp medal for the Second Mahratta War and the campaign in Nepal.

Details of his service with the East India Company are as follows:

Cadet in 1795 and arrived in India on 4^th March 1797

Ensign 22^nd November 1798

Lieutenant 30^th October 1797

Captain 10^th January 1805

Major 25th April 1810

Lieutenant Colonel 25^th January 1815

Lt Colonel Commandant 1^st May 1824

Colonel 5^th June 1829

Major General 10th January 1837

Lt. General 9^th November 1846

General 20^th June 1854 

From February to March 1817 John Greenstreet, commanded the 2/15th during operations in the Allighur district and was present at the siege of Rajah Diah Ram’s fortress of Hathras, which fell somewhat abruptly when a British shell landed in the potentate’s magazine, then containing 48,000 lbs of powder. During the Third Mahratta (Pindarry) War, Greenstreet was appointed to the command of the Bengal Brigade of infantry and served in Brigadier-General Doveton’s force at the Capture of Asseerghur in April 1819, ‘being detached to aid in the operations with fifteen companies of the 15th reg., a squadron of cavalry and train of artillery from the Nagpore field force.’ His ‘eminent services’ at Asseerghur were mentioned by General Doveton in his orders of 10 April (London Gazette 30^th August 1820).
At the close of the war Greenstreet transferred to the 2/30th Native Infantry and following the reorganization of the Army in 1824, was placed on the rolls of the 60th Native Infantry (late 2/30th) as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. He retired in 1825 and returned to England where he was promoted to Colonel in June 1829.

John Greenstreet’s service with the East India Company meant that his children were born in both India and England depending on John’s posting at the time.

Octavius’ siblings were born as follows:-

William George Greenstreet was born on 11^th September 1813 and baptised on 25^th September 1813 at the Blacktown Chapel in Madras.

Sarah Elizabeth Greenstreet was baptised on 30^th January 1817 at the station of Cawnpore in the Bengal Presidency.

Anne Maria Greenstreet was baptised on 2^nd September 1818 at the station of Cawnpore.

Fanny Clementina Greenstreet was baptised on 11^th June 1820 at Barrackpore, Bengal.

Edward Spilsbury Greenstreet was baptised on 13^th November 1821 at the chapel in Dacca, Bengal.

Francis Hastings Greenstreet was born in Camberwell and baptised on 30^th August 1823 at Christchurch, Southwark.

Frederick Waters Greenstreet was born in Stamford Street, Southwark and baptised on 31^st August 1825 at Christchurch.

John Thornton Greenstreet was born on 12^th April 1828 at York Crescent, Clifton and baptised on 29^th July 1828 at Clifton parish church.

Charles Hawkins Greenstreet was born on 24^th May 1830 and baptised on 25^th June 1830 at All Saints Church, Kempston.

Octavius Percell Greenstreet was baptised on 28^th June 1832 at All Saints Church, Kempston.

Emily Jane Greenstreet was baptised on 26^th August 1834 at All Saints Church, Kempston.

The expectation for Octavius and his brothers would be to get the best education in the country. Octavius’ eldest brother, William George was admitted to Christ College, Cambridge on 14th May 1832, obtaining his B.A. in 1836 and M.A. in 1839. He was ordained as a priest on 2nd December 1838. William George’s route into the clergy was followed by his brother Frederick Waters, who was admitted to trinity College, Cambridge on 4th April 1845. His B.A. followed in 1849 and his M.A. in 1852, with his ordination taking place in 1850. All Saints Church, Winterbourne Down, situated on the outskirts of Bristol, was founded in 1858 by the Greenstreet family in memory of their parents. The instigator was Frederick Waters Greenstreet, curate of Frenchay at the time. He took a great interest in the inhabitants of ‘The Downs’ mainly miners squatting on common land on the outskirts of Frenchay Parish.

Not all the Greenstreet boys stayed in England, as it is probable that there was some influence on them from their father’s travels and service with the East India Company.  Charles Hawkins Greenstreet travelled to New Zealand, arriving at the port town of Lyttelton aboard the William Hyde on 9th January 1852. He married Eliza Mackie on 6th July 1858 at Avonside Church, Christchurch. Eliza’s family were among the oldest settler families in the Canterbury region. Her father, Rev Charles Mackie, headed Canterbury’s first Anglican church, the Church of the Holy Trinity Avonside, which was established in 1855. Together they had ten children in the ten years between 1859 and 1869.

The Anglican Church played a prominent part in the story of the Greenstreet family, as not only did Octavius and two of his brothers enter the clergy, but the spouses of his other siblings were either children of clergymen or clergy as shown on the events in August 1842.

On Saturday 6^th August 1842, The Northampton Mercury reported on a double wedding as follows:

In the 2d inst., at St Giles’s Church, in this town, by Rev W.G. Greenstreet, the Rev. James Thomas Browne, of Brampton, Hunts to Sarah Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Major-General Greenstreet, of the East India Company’s Service. At the same time, Henry John, second son of Major-General Greenstreet, to Anna Maria, second daughter of the late Rev. W.M. M’Quire of Liverpool.

In 1851 the Greenstreet family were living at Ravensworth, Thurlestone Road, Cheltenham in Gloucestershire with Elizabeth Lees, a sister of Octavius’ mother, two of Octavius’ nephews, a cook and two domestic servants. John Greenstreet was listed as being a Lieutenant Colonel in the East India Company. Octavius’ mother Sarah (nee Lees) Greenstreet, died aged 64 and was buried on 31^st August 1855, at St John the Baptist Church, Frenchay. The following year General John Greenstreet died, aged 74 years, at Frenchay, on 9th April 1856 and was buried at Winterbourne Down in the graveyard of a church dedicated to John and Sarah by his son Frederick.

Despite the passing of their parents, both Octavius and most of his siblings were very much based in the west Country area of Somerset and Gloucestershire.

Octavius was educated at Cheltenham College before becoming the third member of his family to go to Cambridge University, entering Trinity College on 8th July 1852. He obtained his B.A. in 1856 and his M.A. in 1859. On Sunday 14th June 1857 Octavius Pechell Greenstreet, B.A., Trinity College Cambridge, was ordained by the Bishop of Exeter and afterwards licenced to the curacy of St Mary’s Church, Exeter. On 26th June 1862 at Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, the Rev Octavius Pechell Greenstreet conducted the marriage of his widowed brother, Henry John Greenstreet, to Margaret Jane, daughter of George Austin Esq., of Shefford.

On 26^th November 1865 Octavius’ sister Anna Maria Greenstreet, died at Clifton and was buried on 1^st December 1865 at Winterbourne Down, the church found by her brother in memory of their parents. In September 1868 the Rev O.P. Greenstreet was the priest-in-charge of Stogumber in Somerset

On 4th August 1869 at Bathwick, Octavius married a spinster 13 years his junior, Emma Theresa Trevelyan, the eldest daughter of the Rev. Edward Otto Trevelyan, late of Stogumber, Somerset. Octavius’ marriage was performed by his brother the Rev. Frederick W. Greenstreet. At the time of his marriage Octavius was described as a Clerk in Holy Orders, living at 2 Laura Place. Within weeks of his marriage Octavius was appointed to the curacy of Barmston in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This moving of home seems to have been a frequent occurrence for Octavius and his new wife, Emma Theresa. Two years later the census shows that Octavius and Emma Theresa were living at Wellington Terrace, Clevedon, near the Somerset coast. Octavius was described as being a “Curate without cure of souls”. On the 28^th March 1872 an advertisement was placed in The Western Daily Press:

WANTED, immediately, in a Clergyman’s Family in the Country, a NURSE, who has been well trained under an upper Nurse, and thoroughly understands bringing up by hand an infant, nearly six weeks old. Must be a Churchwoman. No help given in Nursery. No other children – Address Mrs O.P. Greenstreet, Houghton-in-the Dale, Fakenham, Norfolk.

The infant in question was Cyril John Trevelyan Greenstreet who had been born in Houghton in the Dale. One can only assume that there were complications with his birth as Emma Theresa Greenstreet died on 1st April 1872 at Houghton in the Dale in Norfolk and was buried in Clevedon, Gloucestershire. Her son survived only two more months and was buried with his mother, at All Saints, Clevedon on 28^th June 1872.

The Rev O.P. Greenstreet lived all over the country throughout his career. In May 1874 he was living at Elford in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where he was the curate. And yet again he was assisting at another family wedding as reported by the Worcester Journal of 11^th July 1874:

O’CONNOR – GREENSTREET. – July 2, at the parish church of Pattingham, Staffordshire, by the Rev F.W. Greenstreet, Vicar of All Saints’, Winterbourne Down, Gloucestershire, assisted by the Rev O.P. Greenstreet, Curate of Elford, Staffordshire, both Uncles of the bride, and the Rev A.F. Forbes, Rector of Badger, Salop, the Rev John Prettie O’Connor, third son of the Rev Dionysius Prittie O’Connor, Rector of Gayton-le-wold, with Biscathorpe, Lincolnshire, to Elizabeth North Greenstreet, elder daughter of the Rev W.G. Greenstreet, Vicar of Pattingham and Patshull.

All Saints Church, Winterbourne Down was very much the Greenstreet family’s church, and a location which members of the family must have frequently travelled to. On the 13th October 1877 The Wrexham Guardian and Denbighshire and Flintshire Advertiser reported on a marriage that was performed on the 4th October 1877 “at All Saints Church, Winterbourne Down, Bristol, by the Rev O.P. Greenstreet, assisted by the Rev F.W. Greenstreet, father of the bridegroom, the Rev E.F. Greenstreet to Ellionor, youngest daughter of the late Robert Trichard, of Llwydiarth Esgob, Anglesey.”

On 23^rd March, 30^th March and 6^th April 1879 banns of marriage were read for Octavius Pechell Greenstreet and Annie Skelton, spinster, at St Mary’s church, Whitby. Their wedding took place on 17^th April 1879 at Whitby, with the officiating minster being Octavius’ nephew-in-law, the Rev J.P O’Connor. Octavius and Annie’s first son, Arthur was born on 11^th February 1880 and baptised on 10^th March 1880 at St Ninian’s chapel, Whitby. The officiating minister at the baptism was the baby’s own father, Rev O.P. Greenstreet. Arthur’s birth was reported upon by the Whitby Gazette on 21^st February 1880.

By April 1881 Annie and Octavius has moved to Upton Scudamore in Wiltshire. In July of that same year Octavius was licenced by the Bishop of Salisbury to the curacy of Upton Scudamore.

Annie and Octavius had three more sons, who were all born whilst the family was living at The Grange in Upton Scudamore. As curate of the church of St Mary’s, Upton Scudamore, Octavius was the officiating minster at all of his sons’ baptisms. Annie and Octavius’s other sons were:

Charles Leonard Greenstreet, born on 9^th June 1881 and baptised on 3^rd July 1881

Edward Hawkins Greenstreet baptised on 8^th July 1883

John Wilfred Greenstreet, born on 15^th June and baptised on 5^th July 1885.

 The Greenstreet family appear to have moved to Berkhamsted at some time in 1886, as Rev O.P. Greenstreet was no longer officiating in the parish registers of Upton Scudamore after December 1885. Once settled in his new home the Rev O.P. Greenstreet immediately took a great interest in local affairs. In December 1888 he attended a public County Council Meeting held at Berkhamsted’s Town Hall. Later that month Octavius read one of the lessons at the Christmas service at St Peter’s.

On 27^th April 1889 The Bucks Herald reported upon the re-opening of the Baptist Chapel in Northchurch as follows:

This place of worship was re-opened on Sunday after undergoing restoration.  The Rev J.F. Smythe of Berkhamstead, preached in the evening, and a collection was made in aid of the fund for defraying the expenditure. On Monday after Rev. Mr Hudson, of Boxmoor, preached, a social evening followed, and then a public meeting. Mr H. Stevens, of Tring, presided, supported by the pastor, Rev A. Bosher and the Rev O.P. Greenstreet, a clergyman of the English church, Berkhamstead. A notable feature was the singing, led by Mr. Baldwin, who with Mr James Sear, Misses Sear (2), Misses Baldwin (3), and Mr Timberlake formed an efficient choir…

The Rev. O.P. Greenstreet afterwards gave an address, saying that although a loyal member of the Church of England, he sympathised with all Christian work. He assured them that the inner principle of the Church was more liberal than they might imagine. He regretted that in this part of the country they did not find many clergymen who were prepared to work with Nonconformists on a common platform, but in the presence of the common enemies of drink and unbelief injuriously affecting the country. He thought they ought to be agreed in the common teaching of the Christian religion as the only effective remedy. One Christ died for all, and why should people who agreed in the main be so much divided. They could surely all meet at the Cross of Christ, as they would have to meet hereafter. Walking on Berkhamstead Common a day or two before he heard the larks, although he could scarcely see the above him, and so thought if they could rise higher and higher out of the mists and fog, they would be able to sing and serve together.

 All the socialising was not restricted to the man of the house. In January 1889 an evening of musical entertainment was held at the Berkhamsted Town Hall with the programme including a piano duet – “Husarenritt” by Mrs O.P. Greenstreet and Mrs H. Mackay.  Later in May 1889 Oak Vale School held its annual Sports Day in the grounds of Berkhamsted Castle. During the day Mrs O.P. Greenstreet was thanked for being one of the donors of prizes.

In June 1890 a service of ordination was held at St Peter’s church with Rev O.P. Greenstreet being mentioned as one of the parish’s curates.

In 1891 the family were living at Clevedon House, Cross Oak Road, employing a cook and a housemaid. The 1890’s saw all of the Greenstreet boys leaving home to go to boarding school as well as other family events. Annie’s aunt, Charlotte Skelton, who had remained a spinster, died at the age of 82 on 19^th March 1892 at Shadwell in the family’s home parish of Thorner.

Eighteen months later Annie’s mother, Anna Maria Skelton, died on 1^st November 1894 at 1 Grosvenor Road, Scarborough, aged 82. Annie’s brother, Rev Charles Arthur Skelton was the executor of her will. She was buried on 3^rd November 1894 at Whitby. Three years later the grief would have been so much closer to home when Annie and Octavius’s eldest son, Arthur Pechell Greenstreet, died off acute leucocythaemia  (leukaemia) on 17th December 1897, aged just 18. With him when he died was his cousin, Sarah Isabella Browne, daughter of his aunt, Sarah Elizabeth (Greenstreet) and her husband Rev James T Browne. Arthur was buried at Rectory Lane on 20^th December 1897.How devastating it must have been for Octavius to have another son die young.

 By 1901 Octavius and Annie had moved to a house called Stoneycroft in Shrublands Road. None of their sons were at home at the time of the census, but the couple still had a cook and a parlour maid looking after them. Their eldest surviving son, Charles, was living with his uncle, Rev Charles Arthur Skelton in Woking, Surrey. He did not follow his father into the church but became a chartered accountant. His brother, Edward, was closer to home, boarding at a school in Harpenden, whilst the youngest in the family, John Wilfred, was at St Chad’s College, later to be called Denstone College in Staffordshire.

The Reverend Octavius Pechell Greenstreet died on 5th February 1903 in Berkhamsted, at the age of 70, and was buried at Rectory Lane on 7^th February 1903. making his wife, Annie, the executor to his will. Octavius’ death does not seem to have stopped Annie performing her civic duties. On Saturday 31^st October 1908 the West Herts and Watford Observer reported on a meeting of the Berkhamsted Branch of the National Union of Women Workers, which was held at Ashlyns Hall. Mrs Greenstreet was amongst those attending and was elected on the Branch’s council.

Though the Rev O.P. Greenstreet never got to see his sons grow into their chosen careers, his widow Annie would have seen the diverse paths that her sons chose.

 Their eldest son, Charles Leonard returned to the family home at Stonecroft, Shrublands Road, taking a bedroom on the first floor. Although listed on the electoral roll in 1911 as living with his mother, the census shows him boarding with the Hodgson family at Cambridge Gardens, Notting Hill in London. It seems that Charles was probably living between his mother’s home and the Hodgson house as he courted a daughter of the family, Mildred Russell Hodgson, who he married on 17^th April 1913 at St Columb’s Church, Kensington. Annie’s first grandchild, Wilfrid Russell Greenstreet was born in Notting Hill in 1914, followed four years later by a brother, Stanley Russell Greenstreet. As the eldest surviving son, Charles Leonard appears to have been the one to remain close to his mother in Berkhamsted. Annie died on 24^th August 1920 making her two sons, Charles and John the executors to her will. It seems reasonable to assume that Charles brought his family back to Berkhamsted to be with his mother in her final days. In 1921 Charles, his wife Mildred, and their two boys were living at Stoneycroft, 9 Shrublands Road, with a domestic servant and a mother’s help.

 Meanwhile Edward Hawkins Greenstreet, Octavius’ second surviving son, was living a far more adventurous life, completely removed from the middle-class occupations that his family favoured. On 23^rd March 1905 he boarded an Allen Line ship called Victorian, that was bound for St John’s port, newfoundland in Canada. Arriving in April 1905, he gave his occupation as “labourer” and his destination as Saskatchewan.  Four years later he returned home to have banns of marriage read at St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted, on 21^st and 28^th February, and 7^th March 1909. Three weeks later The Globe newspaper dated Saturday 27^th March 1909 made the following announcement in its marriages section:

Greenstreet – Weedon. On the 24^th inst., at St Peter’s Bedford, Edward Hawkins Greenstreet, of Lloydminster. Sask., Canada, son of the late Rev O.P. Greenstreet of Berkhamsted, to Annie Yorke, daughter of the late Robert Yorke Weedon.

Edward and his new bride wasted no time in returning to Canada, boarding another Allan Line ship, the Corsican, from Liverpool on 25^th March 1909.

Two years later the 1911 Census for Canada records Edward and Annie living at a town called Battleford in Saskatchewan. They had taken Canadian nationality and Edward now gave his occupation a being a merchant and farmer. Sadly, the couple never had any children, and Edward died at Greenstreet, Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada on 4^th September 1925.

 In 1907 John Wilfred graduated Queens College, Oxford with a B.A., with his M.A. following in 1911. He was ordained at Durham in 1910 and was the chaplain at Denstone College from 1912 to 1920. During his time with Denstone College John was part of the Officers Training Corps (OTC), attaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.  In 1920 the Rev. J.W Greenstreet was appointed the Vicar of South Kirby, Yorkshire. Five years later the Archbishop of York appointed him Rual Dean of Hemsworth. However his links with his old college and home of eight years remained strong as he married Miss Honor Margaret Euren of Denstone in 1928.

Annie Greenstreet

07/12/1847 –24/08/1920

Born into a well to do Yorkshire farming family, became wife of Rev. Octavius Greenstreet

Relatives

Arthur Greenstreet (395) — son

Octavius Pechell Greenstreet(395) — husband

• Karen Evans

Plot 395

Arthur Pechell, eldest son of Rev’d Octavius Pechell and Annie GREENSTREET, died 17 December 1897 in his 18th year.
Octavius Pechell GREENSTREET, priest, born 9 April 1832, died 5 February 1903.
Annie GREENSTREET born 7 December 1847, died 24 August 1920

Annie Greenstreet was born Annie Skelton in the Yorkshire village of Thorner. Her father, Henry Skelton was a farmer, wool merchant and landowner from nearby Leeds who had made his home at a place called Field Head House in Thorner, probably immediately after his marriage. Annie’s parents were married at St Peter’s Church, Thorner on 25^th August 1840. The wedding was announced in the Bradford Observer as follows:

Same day [on Tuesday week] at Thorner by the Rev W.F. Hook. D.D., Vicar of Leeds, Henry Skelton jun. Esq., of Bramley Grange, to Anna Maria, second daughter of the late John Kitson, Esq of Field Head, Muirfield.

Within a year the first of seven children, including Annie, was born as follows:

Anna Maria was baptised 31^st August 1841 at St Peter’s Church, Thorner

Henry, born January 1843 and baptised on 24^th January 1843 at Thorner. He died at Sarawak, Borneo aged 30 on 26^th June 1873.

Elizabeth, born 1845

Annie, born 7^th December 1847

Jane, born 1850

Charlotte, born 1851.

Charles Arthur baptised on 10^th September 1854 at Thorner

Annie’s father, Henry Skelton junior, appears to have been a very religious man, attending many meetings in aid of local Church of England societies. Henry’s Christian devotion was reported upon prior to his marriage.

THORNER

On Wednesday last, the Right Rev the Lord Bishop of Ripon, held a Confirmation in the Parish Church of Thorner, comprising the Parishes or Thorner, Barwick-in-Elmet, Whitkirk, Bardsey and Collingham. The Bishop, after the service, delivered a most impressive address to the newly confirmed; after which his Lordship was conducted to the School-room, where, in kind compliance with the request of the Vicar and inhabitants of the Thorner, he presented, from them, to Henry Skelton, Jun., Esq., a silver-basket, value £26, on which is the following inscription:-“Presented to Henry Skelton, Jun., Esq., by the Vicar and Inhabitants of the Parish of Thorner, as a trifling testimonial of their esteem and gratitude. 30^th September 1840”.

On 3^rd May 1845 “Henry Skelton junior of Fields End, Thorner” attended a meeting of the Ripon Diocesan Church Building Society. In 1851 Henry Skelton was the decanal secretary of the Rural Deanery of Wetherby, as well as a being a supporter of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

In February 1853 Annie’s father placed an advertisement in The Leeds Intelligencer:

“WANTED, by the Leeds District Committee of the Society for Promoting Christan Knowledge, a Person of respectability and character, and a Member of the Church of England (male or female) to conduct the Business of the Depository immediately; at a salary of £30. House Rent and Taxes paid.

Application to be made, within the ensuing week to Henry Skelton, Esq., Treasurer; at 9 Basinghall Street. A Guarantee will be required.

On 23^rd January 1862 The Wetherby News reported as follows

THORNER

TREAT – On the 14^th instant, the members and friends of the Thorner Library held their annual gathering at the residence of Henry Skelton, Esq., Fields Head, Thorner, where they partook of an excellent tea, provided for them by the liberality of the above-named gentleman. The evening was spent in a very interesting and social manner, affording amusement and pleasure to all the party. The proceedings of the evening terminated with addresses by the Rev. R Newlove, vicar; Rev. H.M. Smith, curate; and The Rev. J.H. Longsdon, incumbent of Seacroft. After sing the National Anthem and the Evening Hymn, the party dispersed.

 The Skeltons lived a comfortable life and had the means to employ a governess, a cook and a housemaid. In 1861 Henry Skelton farmed 186 acres, employing 5 men and a lad on the farm. Henry’s social and church activities made it almost inevitable that his daughters would be meeting members of the clergy, who would have made very suitable spouses, and his sons would be predisposed to becoming members of the clergy. On 24^th January 1866 at St Peter’s church, Thorner, Anna Maria Skelton, eldest daughter of Henry Skelton, Esq., married the Rev. Charles Edwards. M.A., incumbent of Holy Trinity, Bradford.

By 1871 Henry Skelton had retired and he and his wife were living at Field Head House with four adult daughters, Elizabeth, Annie, Jane and Charlotte. Their staff included a cook, seamstress, house maid, gardener, and a charwoman. The 1870’s were a turbulent decade for the Skelton family. On 26^th June 1873 Annie’s brother died. His death was announced as follows:

SKELTON – June 26 at Sarwak, Borneo, of remittent fever, aged 30, the Honourable Resident of Sarawak Henry (eldest son of Henry Skelton, Esq., late of Fields Head Horner, Leeds), deeply regretted by his friend the Rajah, and also by the European and native population.

 Annie’s father, Henry Skelton, died on 25^th September 1875 at Whitby, aged 71. Henry Skelton was held in such great esteem by the parishioners of Thorner, that in the north aisle of St Peter’s Church Thorner, a stained-glass window was erected in his memory.

 Annie Skelton was a 31-year-old spinster when she married the widower, Octavius Pechell Greenstreet, by banns on 19^th April 1879. At the time he was living at 2 North Street, Whitby, whilst she was living at 165 Hildas Terrace, Whitby. Annie’s first son, Arthur was born on 11^th February 1880 and baptised on 10^th March 1880 at St Ninian’s chapel, Whitby. The officiating minister at the baptism was the baby’s own father Rev O.P. Greenstreet. Arthur’s birth was reported upon by the Whitby Gazette on 21^st February 1880.

By April 1881 Annie and Octavius has moved to Upton Scudamore in Wiltshire. In July of that same year Octavius was licenced by the Bishop of Salisbury to the curacy of Upton Scudamore.

Annie and Octavius had three more sons, who were all born whilst the family was living at The Grange in Upton Scudamore. As curate of the church of St Mary’s, Upton Scudamore, Octavius was the officiating minster at all of his sons’ baptisms. Annie and Octavius’s sons were:

Charles Leonard Greenstreet, born on 9^th June 1881 and baptised on 3^rd July 1881

Edward Hawkins Greenstreet baptised on 8^th July 1883

John Wilfred Greenstreet, born on 15^th June and baptised on 5^th July 1885.

In April 1883 Annie’s brother “Rev C.A. Skelton, B.A., of St John’s College Oxford, son of Mr Henry Skelton, a member of a well-known Leeds family”, was appointed as the Vicar of St Thomas’s in Leeds.

The Greenstreet family were still living in Upton Scudamore in 1885 but appear to have moved to Berkhamsted at some time in 1886, as Rev O.P. Greenstreet was no longer officiating in the parish registers of Upton Scudamore after December 1885. Once settled in his new home the Rev O.P. Greenstreet immediately took a great interest in local affairs. In December 1888 he attended a public County Council Meeting held at Berkhamsted’s Town Hall. Later that month Octavius read one of the lessons at the Christmas service at St Peter’s.

On 27^th April 1889 The Bucks Herald reported upon the re-opening of the Baptist Chapel in Northchurch as follows:

This place of worship was re-opened on Sunday after undergoing restoration.  The Rev J.F. Smythe of Berkhamstead, preached in the evening, and a collection was made in aid of the fund for defraying the expenditure. On Monday after Rev. Mr Hudson, of Boxmoor, preached, a social evening followed, and then a public meeting. Mr H. Stevens, of Tring, presided, supported by the pastor, Rev A. Bosher and the Rev O.P. Greenstreet, a clergyman of the English church, Berkhamstead. A notable feature was the singing, led by Mr. Baldwin, who with Mr James Sear, Misses Sear (2), Misses Baldwin (3), and Mr Timberlake formed an efficient choir…

The Rev. O.P. Greenstreet afterwards gave an address, saying that although a loyal member of the Church of England, he sympathised with all Christian work. He assured them that the inner principle of the Church was more liberal than they might imagine. He regretted that in this part of the country they did not find many clergymen who were prepared to work with Nonconformists on a common platform, but in the presence of the common enemies of drink and unbelief injuriously affecting the country. He thought they ought to be agreed in the common teaching of the Christian religion as the only effective remedy. One Christ died for all, and why should people who agreed in the main be so much divided. They could surely all meet at the Cross of Christ, as they would have to meet hereafter. Walking on Berkhamstead Common a day or two before he heard the larks, although he could scarcely see the above him, and so thought if they could rise higher and higher out of the mists and fog, they would be able to sing and serve together.

 All the socialising was not restricted to the man of the house. In January 1889 an evening of musical entertainment was held at the Berkhamsted Town Hall with the programme including a piano duet – “Husarenritt” by Mrs O.P. Greenstreet and Mrs H. Mackay.  Later in May 1889 Oak Vale School held its annual Sports Day in the grounds of Berkhamsted Castle. During the day Mrs O.P. Greenstreet was thanked for being one of the donors of prizes.

In June 1890 a service of ordination was held at St Peter’s church with Rev O.P. Greenstreet being mentioned as one of the parish’s curates.

In 1891 the family were living at Clevedon House, Cross Oak Road, employing a cook and a housemaid. The 1890’s saw all of the Greenstreet boys leaving home to go to boarding school as well as other family events. Annie’s aunt, Charlotte Skelton, who had remained a spinster, died at the age of 82 on 19^th March 1892 at Shadwell in the family’s home parish of Thorner.

Eighteen months later Annie’s mother, Anna Maria Skelton, died on 1^st November 1894 at 1 Grosvenor Road, Scarborough, aged 82. Annie’s brother, Rev Charles Arthur Skelton was the executor of her will. She was buried on 3^rd November 1894 at Whitby. Three years later the grief would have been so much closer to home when Annie and Octavius’s eldest son, Arthur Pechell Greenstreet, died on 17^th December 1897, aged just 17, with his cousin, Sarah Isabella Browne, on attendance.  Arthur was buried at Rectory Lane on 20^th December 1897.

By 1901 Annie and Octavius had moved to a house called Stoneycroft in Shrublands Road. None of their sons were at home at the time of the census, but the couple still had a cook and a parlour maid looking after them. Their eldest surviving son, Charles, was living with his uncle, Rev Charles Arthur Skelton in Woking, Surrey. He did not follow his father into the church but became a chartered accountant. His brother, Edward, was closer to home, boarding at a school in Harpenden, whilst the youngest in the family, John Wilfred, was at St Chad’s College, later to be called Denstone College in Staffordshire.

The Reverend Octavius Pechell Greenstreet died on 5th February 1903 in Berkhamsted, at the age of 70, and was buried at Rectory Lane on 7^th February 1903. The Rector of St Peter’s church , Rev H.C. Curtis performed the funeral.

 making his wife, Annie, the executor to his will. Octavius’ death does not seem to have stopped Annie performing her civic duties. On Saturday 31^st October 1908 the West Herts and Watford Observer reported on a meeting of the Berkhamsted Branch of the National Union of Women Workers, which was held at Ashlyns Hall. Mrs Greenstreet was amongst those attending and was elected on the Branch’s council.

Though the Rev O.P. Greenstreet never got to see his sons grow into their chosen careers, Annie would have seen the diverse paths that her sons chose.

 Her eldest son, Charles Leonard returned to the family home at Stonecroft, Shrublands Road, taking a bedroom on the first floor. Although listed on the electoral roll in 1911 as living with his mother, the census shows him boarding with the Hodgson family at Cambridge Gardens, Notting Hill in London. It seems that Charles was probably living between his mother’s home and the Hodgson house as he courted a daughter of the family, Mildred Russell Hodgson, who he married on 17^th April 1913 at St Columb’s Church, Kensington. Annie’s first grandchild, Wilfrid Russell Greenstreet was born in Notting Hill in 1914, followed four years later by a brother, Stanley Russell Greenstreet. As the eldest surviving son, Charles Leonard appears to have been the one to remain close to his mother in Berkhamsted. Annie died on 24^th August 1920 and was buried at Rectory Lane on 27^th August 1920. Her funeral was conducted by her husband’s nephew, the Rev Clement Michael Greenstreet. She made her two sons, Charles and John the executors to her will. It seems reasonable to assume that Charles brought his family back to Berkhamsted to be with his mother in her final days. In 1921 Charles, his wife Mildred, and their two boys were living at Stoneycroft, 9 Shrublands Road, with a domestic servant and a mother’s help.

 Meanwhile Edward Hawkins Greenstreet, Annie’s second surviving son, was living a far more adventurous life, completely removed from the middle-class occupations that his family favoured. On 23^rd March 1905 he boarded an Allen Line ship called Victorian, that was bound for St John’s port, newfoundland in Canada. Arriving in April 1905, he gave his occupation as “labourer” and his destination as Saskatchewan.  Four years later he returned home to have banns of marriage read at St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted, on 21^st and 28^th February, and 7^th March 1909. Three weeks later The Globe newspaper dated Saturday 27^th March 1909 made the following announcement in its marriages section:

Greenstreet – Weedon. On the 24^th inst., at St Peter’s Bedford, Edward Hawkins Greenstreet, of Lloydminster. Sask., Canada, son of the late Rev O.P. Greenstreet of Berkhamsted, to Annie Yorke, daughter of the late Robert Yorke Weedon.

Edward and his new bride wasted no time in returning to Canada, boarding another Allan Line ship, the Corsican, from Liverpool on 25^th March 1909.

Two years later the 1911 Census for Canada records Edward and Annie living at a town called Battleford in Saskatchewan. They had taken Canadian nationality and Edward now gave his occupation a being a merchant and farmer. Sadly, the couple never had any children, and Edward died at Greenstreet, Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada on 4^th September 1925.

 In 1907 John Wilfred graduated Queens College, Oxford with a B.A., with his M.A. following in 1911. He was ordained at Durham in 1910 and was the chaplain at Denstone College from 1912 to 1920. During his time with Denstone College John was part of the Officers Training Corps (OTC), attaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.  In 1920 the Rev. J.W Greenstreet was appointed the Vicar of South Kirby, Yorkshire. Five years later the Archbishop of York appointed him Rual Dean of Hemsworth. However his links with his old school and home of eight years remained strong as he married Miss Honor Margaret Euren of Denstone in 1928.