Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Fanny Holland

1851 –23/07/1937

Straw plaiter born in Hudnall; married Frank Holland

Relatives

Robert Algernon Smith-Dorrien —

Emily Holland (1061) — other

Alfred Albert Holland (1061) — son

Ella Holland — daughter

Francis (Frank) Holland — husband

• Jane Dickson

Plot 1000 Fanny Holland née Mead

 Fanny Mead, born in Hudnall in 1851, was the eldest of the twelve children of William Mead of St Margaret’s (between Hudnall and Great Gaddesden but in the Parish of Ivinghoe) and Elizabeth Whitman of Hudnall, a hamlet closely associated with Little Gaddesden but at that time in the parish of Edlesborough. Her father William was an agricultural labourer.

Fanny’s siblings were: Emily Ann, born in 1853; Joseph, 1855; Ann, 1858; Mary Ann Elizabeth, 1860; Sarah, 1862; George, 1865; Elizabeth, 1867; Margaret Amelia, 1870; Herbert William, 1873; Gertrude, 1875 and Beatrice, 1877.

Life would have been hard for the family of an agricultural labourer and the 1861 Census shows 9 year old Fanny already at work as a straw-plaiter, as were her mother and her 7 year old sister Emily. Many of the other women and girls in Hudnall were similarly employed, some girls even younger than Fanny and Emily. The chalky soils of the area produced straight but pliable wheat straw which was especially suitable for plaiting, after being cleaned, cut into lengths and sometimes split, to allow finer and more intricate patterns to be plaited.

Straw plaiting was a cottage industry, providing vital income for women and children, with the plaits going to the Luton and Dunstable hat industry and skilled straw plaiters earning more than agricultural labourers. Although Little Gaddesden School was open by 1861, it seems that education was not high on the agenda and many of the Hudnall children were required to work instead, learning their trade in a local Plait School where they often worked in very cramped and poor conditions. (Some 15 years later, Mrs Puddifoot, a widow who ran the Little Gaddesden Plait School with 18 children in one cramped room in her cottage, was taken to court and fined 7s. 6d. for overcrowding).

The 1871 Census shows a similar pattern. Fanny, 19, Emily, 17, Ann, 13, Mary Ann, 11 and their mother Elizabeth were all straw plait makers. Their father William and brother Joseph, 15 were agricultural labourers. 5 year old George and 3 year old Elizabeth were at school while Margaret was an infant of 9 months. The Workshop Regulation Act of 1867 banned employment of children under the age of eight, and required all children aged from eight to 13 to attend school for at least 10 hours a week to learn the 3Rs.

Sarah is not named on Census returns and may have died during childhood. The death of a Sarah Mead aged 9 was recorded in the area in 1871, but there was more than one child of that name and age locally. Beatrice, born in 1877 died aged 3 in 1880.

On 9^th December 1871, Fanny married Francis (Frank) Holland, a 21 year old gardener from Little Gaddesden. Hudnall, though closely associated with Little Gaddesden, was then in Edlesborough Parish, so the marriage took place at St Mary’s Church, Edlesborough. Fanny and Frank started their married life in Little Gaddesden, where he worked as a gardener.

 Their son William Henry was born in Hudnall & baptised in Little Gaddesden Church on 19^th May 1872. Their second son Herbert James was born in Little Gaddesden in 1874 and baptised there on 15^th November that year.

 Between November 1874 and 20^th September 1878, when their third son Alfred Albert was born, they moved to Dagnall, where they are shown at Malting Lane Cottage in the 1881 Census. Frank continued to work as a gardener while Fanny is recorded as a gardener’s wife. Henry, 9 and Herbert, 6 were at school and 2 year old Alfred at home.

 A fourth son, Walter, was born in the 2^nd Quarter of 1881 but died aged 10 months and was buried at St Mary’s Edlesborough on 23^rd February 1882. Dagnall, like Hudnall, was in Edlesborough parish.

 On 14^th August 1883 a daughter, Florence Annie was born, followed by another, Ella, on 18^th January 1885. A third

daughter, Beatrice, was born and died in the 3^rd Quarter of 1887.

 The family remained in Dagnall until June 1889 when they moved to Whipsnade. On 17^th June 1889, Florence and Ella entered Whipsnade National School. 4 year old Ella was starting school while Florence, who was nearly 6, had previously attended school in Dagnall.

 The 1891 Census shows Frank and Fanny with their five surviving children at The Green, Whipsnade. Frank continued to work as a gardener. Henry, 19, Herbert, 16 and Albert, 12 were all agricultural labourers while Florence, 7 and Ella, 6 attended Whipsnade School. However, the girls’ School Admission Register entries show that they left the village on 4^th May 1893.

 By 1901, Fanny and Frank had moved to 63 Gossoms End. Frank, by then 51, worked as a farm cattleman while Fanny kept house. Three of their children, all working, still lived at home. Alfred, 22 was a wood turning machinist while Florence, 17 and Ella, 16, had gone into domestic service and worked as housemaids, as was very common for young women at the time.

 Fanny and Frank had moved to 6 Shrublands Avenue, Berkhamsted by 1911 and Frank worked as a nursery labourer. That Census shows that, of their seven children, only three were still alive. 26 year old Ella, who worked in the Morocco Leather Factory in Park Street, lived at home while Alfred, 32, by then married with three young children, also lived in Shrublands Avenue, at No 16. Florence, 27, was the domestic servant in the household of Joseph North, Auctioneer and his wife Charlotte at 209 Berkhamsted High Street.

 In addition to their two children who died in infancy, their second son, Herbert died in Berkhamsted in the 1^st Quarter of 1897, aged only 22 while their eldest son William had died aged 36 and been buried in Kensworth on 4^th February 1909.

 By the time of the 1921 Census, Fanny was 69 years and 8 months old. Frank, aged 72 years and 1 month, was still working. A jobbing gardener with his own account and no fixed place of work, he was supporting both Fanny and their daughter Florence, aged 37 years and 10 months, who was an out-of-work private cook. Their address was still 6 Shrublands Avenue, where Fanny and Frank lived for the rest of their lives.

 Frank Holland died aged 86 on 21^st October 1935 and was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery three days later, the service conducted by W.G. Jacobs, Methodist Minister.

 Fanny lived until 23^rd July 1937 when she died aged 85 and was buried with her husband Frank. Methodist Minister Ezra E W Ramm conducted the service. It is not clear at what point Fanny and Frank had become Methodists. They had been married in Edlesborough Church and their four boys were all baptised there, so the decision was taken after 1881.

 Two of Fanny and Frank’s children are also buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery: Ella died aged 52 on 18th July 1937, five days before her mother and is buried in Plot 999. Alfred Albert died aged 76 on 22^nd February 1955 and, with his wife Emily, is buried in Plot 1061.

Francis (Frank) Holland

1849 –21/10/1935

Born in Little Gaddesden; a gardener and cowman

Relatives

Fanny Holland — wife

Emily Holland (1061) — other

Alfred Albert Holland (1061) — son

Ella Holland — daughter

• Jane Dickson

Plot 1000 Francis (Frank) Holland

Francis (Frank) Holland was born in 1849 in Little Gaddesden, the son of Jesse Holland and Hannah née Meager, both of Little Gaddesden, though some later Census returns give Jesse’s place of birth as nearby Ringshall. Jesse worked as a groom in 1841, later as an agricultural labourer and finally as a gardener.

Jesse and Hannah had nine children, of which Frank was the seventh. His siblings were: James, born in 1833; Anne, born 17^th November 1835; William, born 20^th August 1838; Sarah Hopcroft, born in 1841; Henry, 1845; Alfred James, 1847; Louis Cass Edward, born and died in Autumn 1854 and Elizabeth, born in 1857. All the children were born in Little Gaddesden, where their parents remained until their deaths.

Living conditions for the family must have been hard. The 1851 Census shows 40 year old Jesse working as an agricultural labourer in Little Gaddesden while Hannah, 40 had no occupation recorded but had six children at home, of whom 2 year old Frank was the youngest. Ann, 15, worked as a straw plaiter and William, 12, as a farm labourer. Their wages would have been a useful addition to the family’s income. Sarah, 10 and Henry, 7 were at school and Alfred, 4 and Frank, 2 at home. Straw plaiting was a cottage industry, providing vital income for women and children locally, with the plaits going to the Luton and Dunstable hat industry. A skilled straw plaiter would earn more than an agricultural labourer.

12 year old Frank was still at school in 1861. His father, by then 50, and his 14 year old brother Alfred worked as agricultural labourers, while 16 year old Henry was a farm carter. Frank’s mother, with only one young child, 4 year old Elizabeth, to care for, worked as a straw plaiter.

Frank was still living at home in Little Gaddesden with his parents in 1871. His 60 year old father was by then a gardener and both Frank, 22, and Alfred, 24, worked as garden labourers, quite probably with their father. Frank’s mother Hannah and 14 year old Elizabeth were both straw plaiters. With everyone in the household working, the family would have been in a stronger position financially than in earlier years.

 On 9^th December 1871, Frank married Fanny Mead of Hudnall, a 20 year old straw plait maker. Hudnall, though closely associated with Little Gaddesden, was then in Edlesborough Parish, so the marriage took place at St Mary’s Church, Edlesborough. Frank and Fanny started their married life in Little Gaddesden, where he worked as a gardener.

 Their son William Henry was born in Hudnall & baptised in Little Gaddesden Church on 19^th May 1872. Their second son Herbert James was born in Little Gaddesden in 1874 and baptised there on 15^th November that year.

Between November 1874 and 20^th September 1878, when their third son Alfred Albert was born, Frank and his family moved to Dagnall, where they are shown at Malting Lane Cottage in the 1881 Census. Frank continued to work as a gardener while Fanny is recorded as a gardener’s wife. Henry, 9 and Herbert, 6 were at school and 2 year old Alfred at home.

A fourth son, Walter, was born in the 2^nd Quarter of 1881 but died aged 10 months and was buried at St Mary’s Edlesborough on 23^rd February 1882. Dagnall, like Hudnall, was in Edlesborough parish.

 On 14^th August 1883 a daughter, Florence Annie was born, followed by another, Ella, on 18^th January 1885. A third

daughter, Beatrice, was born and died in the 3^rd Quarter of 1887.

 The family remained in Dagnall until June 1889 when they moved to Whipsnade. On 17^th June 1889, Florence and Ella entered Whipsnade National School. 4 year old Ella was starting school while Florence, who was nearly 6, had previously attended school in Dagnall.

The 1891 Census shows Frank and Fanny with their five surviving children at The Green, Whipsnade. Frank continued to work as a gardener. Henry, 19, Herbert, 16 and Albert, 12 were all agricultural labourers while Florence, 7 and Ella, 6 attended Whipsnade School. However, the girls’ School Admission Register entries show that they left the village on 4^th May 1893.

By 1901, Frank and Fanny had moved to 63 Gossoms End. Frank, by then 51, was working as a cattleman on a farm while Alfred, 22 was a wood turning machinist. Both Florence, 17 and Ella, 16, had gone into domestic service and worked as housemaids, as was very common for young women at the time.

Frank and Fanny had moved to 6 Shrublands Avenue, Berkhamsted by 1911, by which time he was working as a nursery labourer. That Census shows that, of their seven children, only three were still alive. 26 year old Ella, who worked in the Morocco Leather Factory in Park Street, lived at home while Alfred, 32, by then married with three young children, also lived in Shrublands Avenue, at No 16. Florence, 27, was the domestic servant in the household of Joseph North, Auctioneer and his wife Charlotte at 209 Berkhamsted High Street.

 In addition to their two children who died in infancy, their second son, Herbert died in Berkhamsted in the 1^st Quarter of 1897, aged only 22 while their eldest son William had died aged 36 and been buried in Kensworth on 4^th February 1909.

 Aged 72 years and 1 month, Frank was still working in June 1921. A jobbing gardener with his own account and no fixed place of work, he was supporting his wife Fanny, aged 69 years and 8 months and his daughter Florence, aged 37 years and 10 months, who was an out-of-work private cook. Their address was still 6 Shrublands Avenue, where Frank and Fanny lived for the rest of their lives.

 Frank Holland died aged 86 on 21^st October 1935 and was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery three days later, the service conducted by W.G. Jacobs, Methodist Minister. His widow Fanny lived until 23^rd July 1937 when she died aged 85 and was buried with Frank. Methodist Minister Ezra E W Ramm conducted the service. It is not clear at what point Frank and Fanny had become Methodists. They had been married in Edlesborough Church and their four boys were all baptised there, so the decision was taken after 1881.

 Two of Frank and Fanny’s children are also buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery: Ella died aged 52 on 18th July 1937, five days before her mother and is buried in Plot 999. Alfred Albert died aged 76 on 22^nd February 1955 and, with his wife Emily, is buried in Plot 1061.