How is "Plaxtol" pronounced ?

[Nick29]

I wasn't aware that there was one in Sussex too, thanks for that !   However, the 1851 census says "Plastow, Kent" (the letter i appears to be missing).

I'm still no closer to a solution to this, incidentally 

[chris2705]

Just having a quick look at this as it is now bugging me (it has probably driven you mad by now ) but I found these references to "Plastow" "The Plastow Level", and "Plastow, part of Kent" from an old map of 1789.

http://archivemaps.com/mapco/kent1789/kent02_01.htm

It appears to me that it is closer to modern Plaistow, East London rather than Bromley, but not that far from the latter. There is also a Plastow Lane in Bromley with your spelling.

[Nick29]

It's been driving me mad for nearly two years ! 

Unfortunately Thomas only lived long enough to appear on two censuses - the 1841, which is not of much use in establishing birthplace, and the 1851 census, where he puts "Plastow, Kent".  He was married in Lee, Kent.  And I'm still not totally sure whether he was actually my great uncle by marriage or by blood (he was married to my g.g. grandmother's sister, but he may also have been my g.g. grandfather's brother).  My g.g. grandfather either put down "London" or "London Middlesex" as his birth place.  See the previous page for more details.  Thomas died without heirs, and I've researched all of my g.g. grandfather's children for clues, and found none.  The family seems to arrive in Eltham Kent around 1830, and in the period 1850 to 1870 there were over 100 Martins in Eltham, and their relationships are proving very difficult.

[chris2705]

Lee and Eltham are very close as I am sure you know but I guess that does not help in knowing whether your Plastow is the Bromley one or East London one. Sounds complicated all in all!

[Nick29]

Well, to make things worse, most of the men in the family (with the exception of Thomas) were bricklayers, so they moved around a bit.  Thomas died of an aneurism of the heart, and he had rheumatic fever, so he may well have chosen a lighter profession because of it.

[chris2705]

My lot have lots of army members going around the empire having kids all over the place. They don't make it easy!

All the best

[grandarog]

Hi Nick,
                   Ref your orriginal question heading this thread.
         I come from the Swale area of kent and we have quite a few Plaxtol Roads here.
         Unlike the Sevenoaks Weald Dialect  over this way the word Plaxtol is pronounced Playstool as in Play and Stool. So you could find several prununciations depending on location.
                                                     Regards Rog

[lindylou2_2002]

I'd put my money on it being a miss-hearing of Plaistow Bromley - because it isn't that far away from Lewisham.

Just a thought - because someone says they were born in Plaistow doesn't mean that they were baptised there. I was born in Rochester but I wasn't baptised there ....

Carole

Just read this and it is almost a straight road from lee through grove park to the  plaistow area of bromley it has its own church and cemetary. Hope this helps. also if you carry on past plaistow you will come to chislhurst the roads havent changed much in a hundred yeards or more.

[Nick29]

Thanks for that.  I used to know the area pretty well, because I was born in Greenwich, and went to school and had friends in Eltham, but that was 40 years ago, and so much has changed in that time.  I must admit that I found chris2705's post a little worrying, because I thought I had the correct Plastow (Plaistow), but now I'm not so sure.  I'm still desperately searching for clues to tie them to an area in the pre-1820 period.