Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Emma Timson

1827 –13/05/1913

Wife of James Timson, Housekeeper and deaf from middle age

Relatives

James Timson (533) — husband

• Christopher Dolton

EMMA TIMSON: 1827 – 1913

Emma was born in Hayes in Middlesex either late in the year of 1827 or early in January 1828. We know that she was baptised in Hayes on 13^th January 1828. Her parents were William and Hannah Berry (sometimes spelt as “Berrey”).

The census of 1841 reveals that Emma’s father, William, was a licensed victualler and the family lived at the Yorke & Albany Tavern in Marylebone, London. Emma was then 14 years of age. The census also enables us to identify her older sister, Annie who was 15years old in 1841, and four younger siblings, William age 11 in 1841; James, age 5; Frederick age 4 and Sophia age 1. What the census of 1841 doesn’t tell us is that Emma had at least one older sibling, Lydia, who had been born in 1813. Lydia does not appear on the census as earlier in 1841 she had married John Timson in Berkhamsted and was living with him in Albert Place in Berkhamsted.

In 1852 Emma married John Timson’s younger brother James. Presumably she and James met through Lydia and John. Emma’s wedding took place in Berkhamsted and we know from the 1861 census that John and Emma were living on Berkhamsted’s High Street near Highfield Road. James, like his father and older brother John, was a gardener and may have worked at the nearby Highfield House and in 1871 we know that James and Emma had moved and were then living at the top of Highfield Road next to Highfield House.

In 1881 the couple had moved again and were living in a cottage at Tring Silk Mill. James was still  employed as a gardener and must have worked in the gardens of Silk Mill House where the mill manager and his family lived. Emma was housekeeper.

Emma and James were back in Berkhamsted by the time of the next census in 1891. The couple were then living in Castle Street and James was still working as gardener. In 1901 they had moved again and were then living at 50 High Street, and James, at the age of 73 had retired.

James died on 16^th July 1907 at the age of 80 years and was buried in Rectory Lane cemetery.

Emma was to remain living at 50 High Street for the rest of her days until she died in 1913. We find her at that address in the 1911 census and in Electoral rolls up to 1913.

The 1911 census tells us that the widowed Emma was living alone at 50 High Street. She was then 83 years of age and is noted as an old age pensioner. The 1911 census also recorded the number of children a woman had given birth to and how many of those children were still living. In this case the census reveals that Emma had not had any children. It is also noted  that she had been deaf for forty years.

Emma died at the age of 85  on 13^th May 1913. She was buried with James in Rectory Lane Cemetery

James Timson (533)

d.16/07/1906

Tenth of twelve children born to John and Mary Timson; Gardener.

Relatives

Emma Timson — wife

• Christopher Dolton

JAMES TIMSON; 1827 -1907

James was the tenth of twelve children born to John and Mary Timson. Like his numerous siblings he was born in Berkhamsted. The family lived on Berkhamsted High Street in what had been Mary’s childhood home. James was born on the 12^th April 1827 and was baptised on 10th June 1827.

At the time of the 1841 census James was 14 years of age. His parents, John and Mary were both then 50 years of age. Also living with the family were two of James’ sister, Anne, 30 years old and 15year old Mary, both whom were straw plaiters. As well as James, his younger brother Samuel was also living in the family home.

Ten years later, James was still living in the family home on Berkhamsted’s High Street. His occupation was a groom and he was unmarried. That however changed early the following year when he married Emma Berrey (sometimes Berry). The wedding took place in Berkhamsted, but Emma was not herself a local girl. Emma had been born in Hayes, Middlesex and her parents were Hannah and William Berrey. We know from the 1841 census that her father was a licensed victualler and ran a pub in Marylebone, London, the Yorke & Albany Tavern. Emma was the younger sister of Lydia Berry who had married James’ older brother John in 1841 and lived with him in Berkhamsted. We can guess that James met Emma whilst she was visiting her older sister.

By 1861 James and Emma were living in the High Street near Highfield Road. James was no longer working as a groom; his occupation was noted as being that of a gardener. James was not the only gardener in the Timson family. His father John worked at The Hall as a gardener all his life and James’ older brother, another John, was also a gardener. Although James and Emma had by then been married nine years, no children are noted as living with them. James and Emma were to have no children, a fact confirmed by the 1911 census which recorded how many children a woman had given birth to and how many of such children were still alive in 1911. In Emma’s case the 1911 census does not record her as having any children.

It is tempting to speculate whether James worked alongside his father in the grounds of The Hall, but the 1871 census tells us that James and Emma were then living together with a lodger, 14 Thomas Stokes. in Highfield Road adjacent to Highfield House.

Highfield House, demolished in the 1930’s originally dated to the late eighteenth century. It featured plum and red chequered brickwork and a welsh slate roof. It stood at the end of Highfield Road at the top of which was tradesman’s entrance to the estate. The main carriage access was from Three Close lane adjacent to the cemetery. A surviving plan from 1867 shows an impressive property which had the benefit of cottages, coach house, Stables lawn, vinery and large kitchen gardens. James presumably worked in the gardens of the house, whilst the lodger Thomas Stokes, worked in the stables. The 1871 census reveals at that date Highfield House was occupied by a  widower, Benjamin Hamilton, a retired H. M. Indian Navy captain and his children.

In 1881 James, 54 years old, was still working as a gardener but no longer at Highfield Hall. The census for 1881 shows that James and Emma had moved to Tring and were living in a cottage at Tring Silk Mill.

Hertfordshire is not a county noted for textile production, but at the end of the eighteenth century the demand for silk, the expense of manufacturing it in London and a ban on its import during the Napoleonic Wars, led to the setting up of a number of silk mills in the county, taking advantage of proximity to London and local unpolluted fast flowing chalk streams. The Silk Mill at Tring was built in 1824 by William Kay who had bought the manor of Tring in 1823. Four years later the mill was leased to David Evans & Co. and latterly owned by the Rothschilds and worked until 1898. The building still stands today, albeit reduced in size, and is now used for light engineering.

The Mill made much use of child labour. Girls were valued more highly than boys and were paid more. It was felt they obeyed orders more readily, their reactions were better co-ordinated and their small nimble fingers could swiftly fill the bobbins and join broken thread. Children were taken from the Berkhamsted workhouse to work at the mill. They either lodged with families in Tring or slept in dormitories at the mill itself. The Berkhamsted Poor Law Guardians frequently objected when labour was requested for Tring mill, complaining that wages were so low paupers often still needed to be supplemented with Poor Relief.

Silk Mill House, overlooking the mill pond, was built  at the mill to accommodate the mill manager. James must have maintained the gardens whilst Emma, who was noted in the census return as being a “housekeeper (domestic service)” worked in the house.

James and Emma had moved back to Berkhamsted by the time of the next census in 1891. The couple were then living in Castle Street and James was still working as gardener. In 1901 they had moved again and were then living at 50 High Street, but James, at the age of 73 had perhaps unsurprisingly, retired.

James died on 16^th July 1907 at the age of 80 years.