Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Edward Kingham

1848 –25/04/1915

Baker from Chesham, son of a baker and father of another

Relatives

Annie Kingham — wife

Alfred George Kingham — son

Albert Kingham — son

• Christopher Dolton

EDWARD KINGHAM; 1848-1915

 Edward was born in 1848, the fourth child of William and Martha Kingham. His father was a baker. He was born in Chesham where he lived with his family until later moving to Berkhamsted. At the time of the 1851 census, the family was living at 112 High Street Chesham. Edward lived there with his parents and his older siblings Emma, Sophia and Charles. Additionally two lodgers were living with the family, William Tompkins, a gardener aged 73 and Joseph Humphrey, age 27 years, a bricklayer’s labourer. Edward’s mother, Martha, was 32 years old in 1851 and her maiden name was also Humphrey, so it seems probable that Joseph Humphrey was her brother.

 Ten years later the family was still in Chesham, but was now living at 105 High Street. The two lodgers were no longer with the family (the elderly William Tompkins may well have died by then). Edward’s oldest sister had also moved away from the family, but Edward had been joined by his younger brothers, George, born in 1855 (and who is buried in plot X223) and Frederic, born 1857 (buried in plot 865).

 Edward, at the age of 13 years was already working. He was a bowl turner’s apprentice. Percy Birtchnell, writing as Beorcham in 1950, noted that bowl turners had been plying their trade in the Chilterns when Berkhamsted Castle was in its prime. He quotes a mid 18^th century writer, William Ellis of Little Gaddesden who says that alder poles were “turned to great account amongst the Berkhamsted and Cheshunt turners of hollow-ware, who in this commodity make more consumption of this wood and of beech than any other two towns in Great Britain… They make dishes, bowls and many other serviceable goods.”  The tools were primitive; instead of lathes they used a “shaving horse” but they were nevertheless skilled craftsmen. “Yet what feats of craftsmanship were they able to perform! It is on record that a Berkhamsted man turned a bowl so thin that it could be pushed inside out like a soft hat.”

 Ten years later the 1871 census reveals that Edward had moved from Chesham and was now living at 87 High Street Berkhamsted. This was the home of Henry Baldwin and his sister, Sarah, yet another Humphrey and no doubt another relation of Edward’s mother. Harry Baldwin, like Edward’s father William, was also a baker. Whether or not Edward had the necessary skill to be a bowl turner, the 1861 census tells us he had given that occupation up to follow in the footsteps of his father and Harry Baldwin. He is described as “journeyman baker” and presumably worked with Harry.

 As a “journeyman” Edward was by then a skilled worker who had successfully completed his apprenticeship as a baker. Although as a journeyman he would have been considered competent, he would not then have been able to work as a self-employed master baker. The term journeyman was originally used in the medieval trade guilds. Journeymen were paid each day and this is where the word ‘journey’ derived from- “journée” meaning ‘a day’ in French.

Life as a baker in Victorian times was hard and unpleasant. Work started around 11.00 pm each night and the bakers worked through the night to prepare the following day’s bread. Kneading the dough by hand (or even by foot!) was hard physical work. They worked in dusty conditions and the baking ovens gave off considerable heat. It was not until late afternoon on the following day that the baker’s work was done. The Chambers Edinburgh Journal described the trade in 1848 in the following terms:

“The journeymen bakers of London are almost without exception overworked. From 18 to 20 hours of continuous occupation, with perhaps a nap of from an hour to two hours on a board, may be stated as the rule with the large majority of the trade. It often happens towards the end of the week that the poor fellows are employed without rest or sleep for more than 48 hours on a stretch … they are very badly paid. One reason of the low wages of journeymen bakers is undue competition…Another circumstance which tends to reduce wages, and which is at least as effective as competition itself, is the bad state of health of the journeymen bakers, brought on by the very overwork of which I have been speaking…They are exposed to heat, which, while it exhausts them, renders them liable to colds, and seems to favour determination of blood to the head; to dust from the flour, which irritates the lungs; and to severe exertion, which leads to palpitation, diseases of the heart, and apoplectic seizures… The bakers, as a class, are short-lived. There are few old or even middle-aged men among them. “

Arguably Edward might have done better sticking to bowl turning.

 In 1872, on 27^th February that year, Edward married. His bride was Annie Chiltern who lived in Northchurch. Annie’s father, William Chiltern, was also a baker and presumably it was through that link that Annie and Edward met.

 The couple’s first son, Edward William Kingham was born in 1873 and their second son, Albert was born in 1875. By the time of the 1881 census the family was living in Raven’s Lane together with two lodgers. A third son, Alfred, was born in 1877. Neither of the two younger boys lived to an old age. Alfred died age 18 years old in 1894 and Edward’s wife Annie died in 1898.  At the time of the 1901 census Edward was living at 118 High Street with Albert. Edward was still baking and Albert had joined him in that trade. Albert however died later that year age 27 years.

 By 1911 Edward, then aged 63 years and still a baker, remained living at 118 High Street but had been joined there by his eldest son, Edward William, Edward’s wife Mary and their son, Edward Arnold Stapleton Kingham. Edward escaped the traditional family occupation of bakery; he was a depot manager. He was also the only one of the family who escaped interment in plot 230.

 An article published in the Herts Advertiser in August 1892 entitled “Bread v Meat” explained that “Ye merry butchers have challenged ye jolly bakers to a game of ye old English cricket in costume.” The two teams met outside the Crown Inn and from there processed to the cricket ground led by a brass band. A butcher, dressed in blue marched alongside a baker wearing a white hat. Captains were appointed and it was Edward that was captain of the bakers.  Many townspeople turned out to watch the match; “…there could not have been less than a thousand spectators and there was much cordiality and fun and genial banter.” After the match (which the bakers won) the teams returned to the Crown, sang Auld Lang Syne and the National Anthem and retired to the inn for supper.

 Edward’s death certificate records that he died on 11th April 1915.  He had moved from Manor Street and was living at the time of his death at 11 Charles Street. Whether his son and family were still living with him is not clear (The 1920 Electoral Roll places them then in Cross Oak Road), but Edwards’ death was reported by H Cheshire “Occupier 11 Charles Street”

 The cause of death of death was cirrhosis of the liver and exhaustion, the latter often being a symptom of the former. Cirrhosis  is a late stage of scarring of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions, such as hepatitis and chronic alcoholism. If it was heavy drinking that caused cirrhosis in Edward’s case, it is perhaps not surprising that he turned to drink having watched his wife and two of his children die of tuberculosis.

 Edward died in 1915 and was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery on 15^th April 1915.

Albert Kingham

1874 –12/12/1901

Son of a baker, a baker himself, died at 27 of tuberculosis

Relatives

Annie Kingham — mother

Edward Kingham — father

Alfred George Kingham — brother

• Christopher Dolton

ALBERT KINGHAM; 1874 – 1901

Albert Chilton Kingham was born in Berkhamsted in 1874. He was the second child born to Edward and Annie Kingham.

 At the time of the 1881 census he was 6 years old and was living with his parents, his older brother, Edward, and his younger brother who had been born in 1876. All three brothers were attending school, being described in the census as “scholars.”

In 1891 Albert, now 16 years old, had left school and  was working as a baker’s assistant, following in his father’s footsteps. His father, like a number of other members of the extended Kingham family, was a baker. The  family is recorded as living in the High Street. The older brother, Edward, had moved away from home.

 An article published in the Herts Advertiser in August 1892 entitled “Bread v Meat” explained that “Ye merry butchers have challenged ye jolly bakers to a game of ye old English cricket in costume.” Albert played on the bakers’ team, his father Edward being appointed captain. The two teams met outside the Crown Inn and from there processed to the cricket ground led by a brass band. A butcher, dressed in blue marched alongside a baker wearing a white hat. Many townspeople turned out to watch the match; “…there could not have been less than a thousand spectators and there was much cordiality and fun and genial banter.” After the match (which the bakers won) the teams returned to the Crown, sang Auld Lang Syne and the National Anthem and retired to the inn for supper.

 By 1901 Albert was living with his father alone, at 118 High Street. His younger brother Alfred had died of tuberculosis in 1894 and his mother also fell victim to the same disease in 1894. Tuberculosis was also to claim Albert in 1901. Unlike his younger brother who was ill for 18 months, the disease was to take a swifter course with Albert, as his obituary published in the Bucks Herald of 21^st December 1901 reveals. “The funeral of Mr Albert Chilton Kingham, son of Edward Kingham, who died on the 12^th of rapid consumption at the age of 27, took place on Tuesday at the Cemetery preceded by a service at the Baptist Church. The Rev. F. C. Hughes gave a sympathetic and suitable address. Only a few weeks before the deceased was one of the most stalwart men in Berkhampstead, and general sympathy is felt for the father.”

 The obituary tells us that the family were part of the Baptist congregation. Percy Birtchnell (“ A Short History of Berkhamsted”) explains that “Baptists and Quakers have been active in Berkhamsted for over 300 years. About a fifth of the people of Berkhamsted  (and probably a higher proportion of the people of Northchurch) were dissenters in the second half of the seventeenth century. Most of them were Baptists  who met for worship and mutual encouragement in their own ome sin 1640 if not earlier. The Conventicle Act of 1664 required everybody to conform to the worship of the parish church; refusal could be punished by fines, imprisonment, confiscation of property and ultimately exile or even death. Many local people were prosecuted for not paying rates for the upkeep of the parish church.”

 The Baptists built a meeting house in water lane in 1722. The present meeting house on the corner of Ravens Lane was built in in 1867.

Albert was buried in the same plot in Rectory Lane cemetery in which his younger brother and mother had been laid to rest.

Annie Kingham

1848 –02/12/1898

Daughter, wife and mother of bakers - a hard trade. Died of tuberculosis like her two sons.

Relatives

Alfred George Kingham — son

Albert Kingham — son

Edward Kingham — husband

• Christopher Dolton

Annie Kingham; 1848 -1898

Annie was born in 1848, the second child of William and Ann Chilton. She is initially named in records as “Ann” but in later records appears as “Annie”. She had an older brother, Alfred and a younger brother William.  At the time of the 1851 census, when she was 2 years of age, the family was living at 78 High Street, Berkhamsted. Her father, William, was a confectioner, although by the time of the 1861 census his occupation is that of baker.

In 1871 the family had moved to Gossoms End and in the following year, 1872, Annie married Edward Kingham. He, like her father, was also a baker and it was presumably through the bakery trade that Annie and Edward met. Their marriage took place on 27th February 1872 in the Parish Church at Northchurch.

In 1873 Annie gave birth to her first child, Edward. Albert followed in 1874 and Alfred in 1876.

At the time of the 1881 census the family was living in Ravens Lane and in 1891 in the High street.

Alfred died of tuberculosis after 18 months of illness at the age of 18 in 1894 and was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery.  Annie died 4 years later on 2nd December 1898 at the age of 50 at 118 High Street Berkhamsted. Her husband Edward was with her when she died. Her death certificate records the cause of death as pulmonary phthisis – she too like Alfred (and later also Albert) died of tuberculosis. She was buried with Alfred (and she was to be later joined by both Albert and her husband Edward).

Alfred George Kingham

1876 –03/12/1894

A promising pupil teacher who tragically died of tuberculosis at 18.

Relatives

Annie Kingham — mother

Edward Kingham — father

Albert Kingham — brother

• Christopher Dolton

Alfred Kingham: 1876 -1894

Alfred George Kingham was born in Berkhamsted in 1876 and was the youngest of three children born to Edward and Annie Kingham. At the time of the 1881 census he was age 4 years and was staying at the home of his maternal grandparents. He was already attending school at this time, being described in the census as a “scholar”.

The Elementary Education Act of 1870, known as the “Forster Act” after its sponsor, William Forster, was the first of a series of acts that made education compulsory for children, initially between the ages of 5 years and 10 years, latterly increased to 13. Many poorer parents were opposed to compulsory education as it meant that children who otherwise might have been in gainful employment earning an income for their families had to attend school. These acts provided that whilst those who could afford to pay for the education of their children should do so, the schools were to be publicly funded and subject to inspections to maintain the standard of education.

Alfred not only started school attendance earlier than compulsorily required, but he also continued in education after the age of 13, by which age he could have left. Clearly he had considerable aptitude as a student, as at the time of the 1891 census Alfred, who was then living with his parents in Berkhamsted, was age 14 years and was described in the census as a “pupil teacher”.

As education became more widespread in the 19th century, the academic training of student teachers in a college system could not meet demand. In 1846 the pupil teacher system was introduced in which intellectually suitable pupils of at least 13 years of age served an apprenticeship, typically of 5 years, after which they would be qualified teachers. As pupil teachers they would teach the younger children and learn from observation and experience. During the apprenticeship they were paid a small salary. In the 1870s and 1880s pupil teachers were offered instruction at centres designed to improve their training. Typically a pupil teacher would spend half his or her time at such a centre and half training in a school.

Sadly Alfred’s promising career as a teacher came to naught; on the 3rd December 1894 at the age of 18, he died. His death certificate records that he died at home in the presence of his father. The cause of death was “Phthisis,” an old term for tuberculosis. The certificate records that he had been ill for eighteen months before his death. The Bucks Herald published minutes of a School Board Meeting which was held on 20th April which refers to Alfred’s ill health. “The Clerk stated that Mr Alfred Kingham, pupil teacher was still unwell and was going to the seaside again for a fortnight.”  (Seaside air was thought to be good for patients suffering from tuberculosis.) The same minutes record that another pupil teacher, Miss A. Pocock and a teacher, Miss Lillian Howard, were also unwell, but whether or not from tuberculosis is not apparent.

During Victorian times tuberculosis, or consumption as it was also known, was particularly prevalant amongst the urban poor where overcrowding allowed the disease to thrive. Contemporary public health physicians had a tendency to blame the poor and their poor housing conditions for the disease, but it was by no means exclusive to the poor and it affected people at all levels of society. It is a mycobacterial infection spread when aerosol droplets of infected sputum ejected by coughing of the infected person are inhaled by those in prolonged and close contact. Nearly 4 million people are estimated to have died of the disease in England and Wales between 1851 and 1910.

Tuberculosis came to be considered in Victorian times as a “romantic disease” being entwined with notions of beauty and creativity. Tuberculosis was thought to bestow upon the sufferer heightened sensitivity and creativity.  The consumptive appearance entailed a pale skin, red cheeks with a feverish glow and an ethereal thinness. This became associated with fragility and sexual attractiveness and became the defining fashionable aesthetic. Many upper class women purposefully paled their skin to achieve a consumptive appearance. Corsets and voluminous skirts further emphasised slender figures. Consumptive heroines appeared in literature ( e.g. La dame aux Camelias and Les Miserables) and in opera (La Boheme and La Traviata). Byron was to declare “ How pale I look! – I should like, I think, to die of consumption… because then all the women would say ‘see that poor Byron – how interesting he looks in dying!’”

However, as Alfred no doubt discovered it was not a pleasant death.

“There was, and is, nothing remotely Romantic or psychosomatic about the disease. The most common form of human tuberculosis usually begins with flu-like symptoms which progress to a persistent cough, the spiting of blood caused by lesion of the lung tissue, and consequent weight-loss or general wasting of the muscles. The primary lesion of the lung can sometimes heal and the infection be contained within a protective tubercle. If this does not happen, the disease begins to consume the organ in which it has lodged, usually the lung, and the illness progresses to a fatal conclusion. This can sometimes be a protracted process with periods of remission or latency.” (“The Dark Shadow”, R. Brownlow.)

Alfred’s mother and his brother, Albert, were also to die from tuberculosis.

Alfred was buried in Rectory Lane cCemetery, where he was later joined by his brother and both of his parents, Annie and Edward.