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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => London & Middlesex Lookup Requests => London and Middlesex => England => London & Middlesex Completed Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Tillyboo on Sunday 15 July 07 22:54 BST (UK)
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Good evening,
I have just received my grandmothers birth certificate and it shows that she was born in June 1906, The Lodge, Bancroft Road - Sub District of Mile End Old Town Eastern.
She was in fact illegitimate as only her mothers name appears on the birth certificate, the father was left blank. My great grandmother lived at 111 Bridge Street, Mile End Old Town and she was a Domestic Servant.
We always thought my grandmother's father was Portuguese so Lord knows who he was. My great-grandmother did get married and my grandmother was given her husbands name. He was fair haired, Danish and extremely short so it was always unlikely he was going to be her biological father - the birth cert confirmed this.
Anyway, I'm waffling on so ...
- Does anyone know what 'The Lodge, Bancroft Road' was ? My GGM and GM were Jewish and I believe this area had a large Jewish community so I'm wondering whether it was some sort of establishment for immigrants to get help and care i.e. unmarried mothers to give birth etc.
- Is there anywhere I can find out about what sort of house she would have been a servant in ? Was Bridge St. a well to do area ? maybe a rich Jewish family ?
- Without the 1911 census is there any way I can find out who resided at the Bridge St. address in 1906 (stories in the family relate to my GG being raped by possibly the master of the house / visitor of wherever she was living - maybe this address ? May not even have been in this country though as she was Dutch.
In anticipation of maybe some answers :) Many thanks
Tillyboo
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Hi Tillyboo.
Looking at Booths Poverty Map of London 1898-99 Bancroft Road is shown as being some households comfortable others poor, fairly comfortable good ordinary earning and a few middle class well to do. It is not shown as poor or very poor.
On 2000 map the road is still shown.
You might be able to find out about The Lodge at http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/eolintro.htm
I hope this is of some help to you
Patrish.
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Hi Patrish,
very useful thank-you, I'll check out the website tomorrow - my bed is calling me ! I stay up too late researching ... :)
Tilyboo
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You are welcome :) I am off too shortly ;D
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http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?MileEndOldTown/MileEndOldTown.shtml
- I have the feeling that 'The Lodge, Bancroft Road' was a way of referring to the MEOT workhouse.
If she had been working as a live-in domestic servant she possibly would have lost her job when it turned out she was pregnant, so the Bridge Street address might have been temporary accomodation - sometimes women just went into the workhouse infirmary to give birth, so she probably wasn't in there very long.
I can't seem to find the street on www.historicaldirectories.org , but the Times turns up a few mentions of the place:
1914: grocer Daved de la Fiente (nephew of Joshua de Lara, shot by Sydney Smith), was a grocer living at Bridge Street, Mile End.
1908: Edward Aylett, lived Bridge Street Mile End, worked for James Calcutt (imprisoned for fraud).
1899: Thomas Jones Davis, a grocer, had a second store at Bridge Road Mile End (fined for selling adulterted butter).
I think Daved might have been 'de la Fuente' - born 1879, married 1912 (listed as da la Fuente) to Matilda Beth. I mention this family because on the 1881 census - Joseph and Esther Delafuente listed with children including David and also Sarah and Joshua Delara - shows that this family were also Dutch.
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Yes Jorose you are right, I should have looked at that link as I have seen it before as I have ancestors from that area also.
It seems to have been common practice rather than putting workhouse on the certificate, I have come across it before with illegitimate births.
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Hi jorose,
This is very interesting thank-you and makes very good sense. I never thought of a workhouse.
I'll research the Dutch family to see if there is any link - although I know that there was a Dutch Jewish community in that area at the time.
Poor woman had a very tough life it seems, Sarah her daughter, died before she did at the age of 54 and it sounds as if Leah gave up after that and died soon after. My Aunt recently found an old letter from Leah to a friend saying 'My darling girl has gone, she suffered so much, how am I going to carry on without her?' .... Blimey it was very emotional to hear that and I didn't even know my Great Grandmother or my Grandmother. Funny how this family tree business gets to you isn't it.
She also lost the majority of her family to the holocaust. I am very lucky to be here from what I have discovered.
many thanks
Laurie
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Hi jorose and patrish,
Spot on !
I found this piece of text, it seems it was indeed a workhouse.
"In many London and middlesex poor law unions or parishes the maternity ward was in the workhouse rather than in the workhouse infirmary. After 1904 a birth certificate should not state that a birth took place in a workhouse giving instead the street and number as place of birth, for instance, 4 Kings Road, St. pancras, instead of St. Pancras workhouse. Alternatively, a euphemistic name might be used such as THE LODGE, BANCROFT ROAD, for Mile End Workhouse'
Thank-you very much for the pointers and information.
Laurie
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I have had my fathers birth cert for ages and only recently realised Bancroft Lodge where he was born was a Workhouse
Anybody have any ideas of where to get a photo of it??? thanks
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hi Tillyboo I was reading your message about your family of De La Fuente s I was totally gobsmacked, my great grandmother s name was Rachel De La Fuente she was married to Nathan Bell ,in my family tree I also have a Joshua De Lara and a David De La Fuente they were Dutch jews and did cime from Mile End but my gg grandmother was Portuguese. One of their children was Morris who was my grandfather he married Jenny Van Boolen who was also Dutch they had Nathaniel who was my father its so exciting Ive been contacted by a girl in America who it turns out is my second cousin, her grandfather was my grandfathers brother and we ve spoken on the phone
many times, I do hope this sheds some light for you.
Sheila.
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Sheila,
Rachel is also my great Grand mother.... Esther (hettie) Bell b.1908. being my Gran
Tony Anderson
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Hi Tony I am delighted to hear from you, this is brilliant we are growing by the
minute, who was your grandma Hettie married to cos Im getting a wee bit
confused. Racheal De La Fuente was my great grandmother and you re grt grt
gandmother my grandperants were Morry an Janey Bell, Racheal being Morry s
mother,and my father s grandmother so Ive always been a Bell, till I got married.please keep In touch
Best wishes. Sheila.
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Sorry Tony I never read the message right we both have the same grt grandmother it will be fun working out who we are to each other.
Sheila
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Sheila,
Thanks for the reply.
My Gran Esther (Hettie) Bell b.1908 d.1989 was your Grandads little sis.
She married my grandad James William Anderson in Stepney in 1928, They had 6 children, John b. 1935 being my dad.
So if your dad and my dad were Cousins then that must make us 2nd Cousins.
I've not looked at the Bells in to much detail, i've been tracing the Andersons.
I have seen enough of the Bells to see we are a bit of a mixed up family,
Dutch, Portuguese and Jewish should be interesting looking at my Nans side.
Best wishes your second cousin Tony
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Hi Tony my dads name was Nathaniel Bell he was born in 1923 in Mile End he
had three sisters, my grandad Morry had nine brothers and sisters,my dad was named after Racheals husband Nathan. We certainly are mixed up, my mums side are all dutch jews but my dads side are a mixture ,as you say Dutch
Portuguese Morry s wiife Janey my grandma s single name was Van Boolen
doesnt get any more quirky does it. I know we are a big family I have just found another second cousin in USA she s the grandaughter of my grandpa s
brother or rather she found me like you did.I will pass this on to my other cousins. At the moment Im trying to find out who Racheals parents were but
not much luck so far.Nice to hear from you please keep in touch,best wishes
your long lost cousin Sheila x
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Re Bancroft Lodge - the following web site gives the history
http://www.ezitis.myzen.co.uk/mileend.html
(It now goes under the name of Mile End Hospital. It was a workhouse originally, military hospital WW1, became a LCC hospital in 1930 with 550 beds, NHS 1949 and later part of the London Hospital. In 2008 it was a community hospital for elderly people. Next to it is a derelict Jewish cemetery bombed in WW2 - but this is not owned by the hospital. and there have been efforts to try to preserve and restore the cemetery, probably unsuccessful so far.
The old hospital would have had lots of local Jewish and immigrant patients.
Kate
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thanks for that link have saved it to my favourites
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Many thanks to Laurie for finally confirming my great grandfather George Sargent died in 1926 in the Mile End Workhouse - AKA Bancroft Lodge, Bancroft Road, Mile End, London.
Here's a link to the page he referenced: https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/RESEARCH_GUIDES/web_detail_rg/SISN+33?SESSIONSEARCH#:~:text=In%20many%20London%20and%20Middlesex%20poor%20law%20unions%20or%20parishes,%2C%204%20Kings%20Road%2C%20St.
I remember my late dad - born in 1919 - telling me he remembered crying when his grandad was "sent to the workhouse", and it's taken me ~30 years to find out which grandfather and where he was sent!
Now all I've got to do is trace another great grandfather, Thomas Henry Burrell, who 'disappeared' after 1906! This has never been spoken of in the family, and we presume he died or left the country: his wife remarried 7 years later in 1913!
BTW, I'm not looking for help in the search (a distant cousin is also on it): my mention is for general interest only. :-)