Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Mary Timson

1788 –12/02/1882

Wife of John Timson, sometime shopkeeper and matriarch of large family

Relatives

John Timson — husband

• Christopher Dolton

MARY TIMSON; 1788 – 1882

Mary was born in 1788 to Joseph and Sarah Rolfe. She was the oldest of three children born to the Rolfes, being followed in 1791 by a brother, Thomas and a sister Sarah who was born in 1801.

Mary married John Timson. We know that they married on 2^nd September, but there is some uncertainty as to whether it was in the year 1803 or 1807. There is a record of Mary Rolfe marrying John Simpson [sic] on 2^nd September 1807, but a notice of John’s death published in the Herts Advertiser in 1874 says he married on 2^nd September 1803.

The marriage, whether in 1803 or 1807, took place in Berkhamsted. Mary and John were to be the progenitors of a large family which over the following generations became well known within the town. Mary gave birth to a number of children. Nancy was born in 1808 followed by Ann, 1809; Susanna, 1810; Joseph, 1812; Elizabeth, 1814; Thomas, 1816; John,1818; Sarah,1822; Mary, 1826; James, 1828; William, 1829 and finally Samuel who was born in 1832.

At the time of the census of 1841 John and Mary were living in the High Street in Berkhamsted. Research undertaken by James Moir has identified from the 1839 Tithe map that the Timsons were one of four sets of tenants living on land owned by Joseph Baldwin. There were three properties running south to north from the High Street and a fourth set back in a longer plot. This may suggest that John, who had moved to Berkhamsted from Marsworth, had moved into Mary’s childhood home, particularly when one considers that the 1841 census also reveals that Joseph Rolph, John’s father-in-law, aged 75, was living with John and Mary. 

By the time of the 1851 census, Mary and John are still living on the High Street, but the property where they live was then known as Timson’s Yard. James Moir points out that the use of the Timson surname implies ownership, rather than being a tenant as previously. It seems likely therefore that the Timsons had bought the property from the previous owner Baldwin sometime during the 1840s. (Joseph Rolph, his father-in-law, had died in 1851 aged 85, and may have been in a position to help his daughter’s family in his retirement.)

In 1861, John and Mary were certainly still at the same address, and it seems likely that the front unit was a shop by this time, as Mary is described as a shopkeeper. Significantly, too, Timson’s Yard had been elevated to Timson’s Court; the two dwellings were occupied by the Tarbox and Hunt families.

In the census of 1871, the final one before John died, Timson’s Court was now occupied by the Tarbox and Draper families. Mary had moved to Bridge Street by 1881. But the Timson legacy remained with the property, as it now passed to John’s son Samuel and his large family. He was a master tailor and played a major role in the town. There is no reference to Timson’s Court in the 1881 Census.

However, by 1891 Samuel and his family had moved to Chapel Street, but his nephew Walter E. Timson, (1859-1942) draper and nicknamed ‘Alleluia’ Timson, or ‘Uncle Wally’ was now in occupation at 204 High Street.

The site upon which the Timson’s property once stood is today occupied by Café Nero.

John died on 17^th May 1874 at 89. At some time following his death, Mary moved to Bridge Street, to live in the home of her daughter Anne. Anne, 72 years old, was herself widowed. Both women were in receipt of income from annuities.

Mary died in Berkhamsted on 12 February 1882 at the grand age of 94. She was laid to rest in the same grave in Rectory Lane Cemetery in which John had been buried eight years earlier. The following notice of her death was published in the Bucks Herald on 25 Feb 1882:

“FUNERAL OF MRS TIMSON – In the presence of a large number of people the late Mrs Timson was buried in the 17^th, in the Cemetery. The deceased, who was 94 years old, was borne to the grave by a number of her grandsons, and much interest was manifested in the funeral, at which the Rector officiated. The following is a statement of the descendants of John and Mary Timson: – Children, 11 -3 dead, 8 living; grandchildren, 65 -14 dead, 51 living; great grand children, 136-28 dead, 108 living; grand total, 212. The above figures are exclusive of sons and daughters-in-law. Oldest child, 75 years; youngest child, 50 years; oldest grandchild, 50 years; youngest grandchild, 5 years; oldest great grandchild, 21; youngest great grandchild, a few months.”

John Timson

1784 –17/05/1874

Gardener and progenitor of what was to become a large and well known family in Berkhamsted.

Relatives

Mary Timson — wife

Ann Wood — daughter

• Christopher Dolton

JOHN TIMSON; 1784 – 1874

John was to become the father of a large family of Timsons which over the following generations would come to be well known in Berkhamsted, some rising to prominent civic positions within the town.  A number of his children, grand-children and great grand-children were in due course to be buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery when they died.

John himself was born in Marsworth, Buckinghamshire, in 1784. His parents were John and Elizabeth Timson. He had a younger sister, Patience, who was born in 1792.

John married Mary Rolfe in Berkhamsted. We know that they married on 2^nd September, but there is some uncertainty as to whether it was in the year 1803 or 1807. There is a record of Mary Rolfe marrying John Simpson [sic] on 2^nd September 1807, but a notice of John’s death published in the Herts Advertiser in 1874 says he married on 2^nd September 1803. The couple had numerous children. Nancy was the eldest born in 1808 followed by Ann, 1809; Susanna, 1810; Joseph, 1812; Elizabeth, 1814; Thomas, 1816; John,1818; Sarah,1822; Mary, 1826; James, 1828; William, 1829 and finally Samuel who was born in 1832. 

We can find details of John in the census of 1841. John and Mary were then living in the High Street in Berkhamsted. Indeed, John was to remain resident in the High Street for the rest of his life. John’s age is given as  50 years, but that is an underestimation of his age. Given his year of birth, he would have been 56 or 57, depending when in the year he was born. He may have been uncertain of the exact year of his birth, as his age varies by a few years in most the census returns. (For example, having given his age as 50 years in 1841, one might expect his age ten years later in 1851 to be 60, but it is in fact then noted as being 65.) Four of the couple’s children were still living with them, including Mary, age 15 years, and Ann, age 30, both of whom were straw plaiters.

John’s occupation is noted in the censuses of 1841, 1851 and 1861 as that of gardener, in which occupation he was to continue working until past the age of 76. By the time of the 1871 census, when he was 86 years old, he had finally retired, being noted as “gardener (past work).”

We learn from the death notice referred to above that John worked as a gardener at the Hall in Berkhamsted for over sixty years. The Hall, now no longer standing stood at the east end of the town. The house itself was described as gaunt and grey but it had magnificent gardens with many greenhouses and cedar trees which were hidden behind high brick walls. It had been home to Thomas Halsey M.P. and latterly the Curtis family. A large staff was employed at the Hall including a significant number of gardeners, John being among their number. The Hall was demolished in 1937 and purchased for the development of housing on what is now known as Hall Park. Cedar Road and Cedar Way are reminders of the trees that once stood in the gardens and Hall Park, Hall Park Way and Hall Park Gate are all references to the old house and gardens.

John died on 17^th May 1874 at the venerable age of 89 and was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery. His funeral was well attended both by members of his family and Thomas Curtis from the Hall and a number of servants from the Hall as the following death notices explain:

“DEATH OF AN OLD INHABITANT – On Sunday last the knell tolled the death of probably the oldest inhabitant in the parish, Mr John Timson, who was born on April 30^th 1785, and died on May 17^th, 1874, in his 90^th year. He was married on September 2^nd, 1803, and his wife, or rather widow, is still living, in her 87^th year. Their issue was 11 children, of whom 9 are living; grandchildren living, 53; great grandchildren living, 54; total of direct living issue, 116. The late Mr Timson was of very simple and temperate habits, and followed the healthful occupation of working in the gardens at the Hall, Berkhampstead, upwards of 60 years”.  (Hertfordshire Advertiser 23^rd May 1874.)

“FUNERAL OF THE LATE MR. J. TIMSON

On the 22^nd inst, the late John Timson, who died on the 17^th in his 90^th year, was interred in the cemetery, and the funeral of the deceased was of a somewhat remarkable character. The pall bearers included six of his grandsons, and several of his more recent comrades in labour at the Hall. The followers exceeded 40 in number, and among them were Thomas Curtis, Esq, of the Hall, and several of the servants, who met the corpse at the church. The funeral was conducted by the Rev. C. Karran, curate; and Mr Macrone, organist, played the “Dead March in Saul”. At the grave, before the lowering of the coffin, a number of the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the deceased placed on it their bouquets and choice flowers. The widow of the deceased survives him, and is in pretty good health”. (Bucks Herald 30^th May 1874.)