Robertson - Printer -Glasgow to Bermondsey / Southwark

[bendywendy]

Hello everyone
I am researching my partners paternal line of Robertson. They originate from Glasgow as Weavers.
 A son Charles Robertson c 1843 Glasgow (to John Robertson & Mary Brown) left Glasgow and went to Bermondsey.
1861 he was a Pressman Printer in Glasgow.
1875 he married Margaret Beattie @ St Pancras.
1881 he and family are living at 19 Drappers Road, Bermondsey, he a Printer.
1891 same address as Printers Compositor.
1891 possibly died??

He might have added his mothers surname into his name of Brown, he was not baptised with this name but this appears on 1881 census.

1843 Margaret Beattie was born Newton le Willows, Lancashire to John Beattie & Sarah ?? both of Cumberland.
1891 Margaret Robertson nee Beattie is living 19 Drappers Road, Widow.

1876 Charles John Robertson son of Charles Robertson & Margaret Beattie above
1899 marriage to Margaret Ada Hennigan
1901 census with wife and family 16 Millstream Road, occ. Printers Compositor

1879 Margaret Ada Hennigan born Bermondsey to John Hennigan & Margaret ?? both of Cork, Ireland. (Henigan/Henegan etc)

1902 Martin Robertson to Charles John Robertson & Margaret Ada Hennigan
1927 marriage to Ethel Bean, York, Yorkshire

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can anyone help with info for these address's (now flats, but were they then) and what the areas in Bermondsey was like please??
Can anyone help with info for Printing Business's within the areas of these address's, don't think they would have travelled far to work from home??
Does anyone have any of these names in their family trees??

Kind regards
Bendywendy

Linking this thread with another thread in Lanarkshire, Scotland, parents to Charles above:-
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,514786.0.html

[jennifer c]

1871 he was in London;  25 Rutland Street St.Pancras  RG10/201/75

Charles B Robertson 27 lodger Printer born Scotland

Multi-household. 2 heads of family John Hutchinson & John Bowden.

Jennifer

[bendywendy]

Thank you jennifer c 

[billramp]

Hi 'BendyWendy'

I would be very interested to know any details you find and have already found for Drappers Road. 
My grandmother lived there at that time at no 18 so could have been a neighbour or nearby.  She was Annie Matilda Down and born in Bermondsey in 1870 and living at no 18 by 1878 ....I have the original certified copy of entry of birth issued for the purposes of the Elementary Education Act 1876.  She was living there at the 1881 census - her father worked on the railway.
She married my grandfather in 1898 and many of his family worked as printers, compositors etc in that area.
I never knew any grandparents so would certainly like to know living and working conditions etc
Bill

[bendywendy]

Hi billramp
What was the name of your grandfather that Annie M Down married??
Did Annie work in the printing business too after her education??


Found these
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43026
BERMONDSEY
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43041
SOUTHWARK

Drappers Road comes under St Olave, Southwark, I think the boundaries were changed around more than once.
I can only find Drappers Way, Southwark on google maps and not sure if this is the same as Drappers Road, Bermondsey?

I don't live any where near London, so the area is completely unknown to me.
Bendywendy

[[Ray]]

Hi

Drappers Road ............

http://london1878.com/stanford62b.htm

Top of the sheet.
North off Alexis Street, to the east of Linsey St/Macks Rd, to the west of StJamesRd

Ray

[bendywendy]

Thanks Ray, I love old maps, on google maps there is a Drappers Way and a Drapers Way, slightly off each other, must be very confusing for the postie!!!
Bendywendy

[bendywendy]

Hi
Found this, takes some navigating, but tis an old map of the area off Blue Anchor Road, which is named on the old map via the link by Ray.
http://www.gardenhistoryinfo.com/oldlondonmaps/horwoodpages/horwood30401.html

and this

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45271
ROTHERHITHE
quote
"At the beginning of the present century Rotherhithe consisted of a few streets, with good gardens to the houses, extending from the Blue Anchor Road (the boundary between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe) to Hanover Street, beyond which were marshes intersected by sluggish, dirty streams. The southern limit of the houses followed the line of Paradise Street and Adam Street, leading from Blue Anchor Road to the end of the Deptford Lower Road. Blue Anchor Road (the river end of which was called West Lane) ran southwards, skirting the dirty streams and stagnant pools of Milford, to the end of Rogue's Lane, which ran through marshy fields to the "Halfway House," past the "St. Helena" tavern and teagardens. Near the "Halfway House"—which, by the way, was a neighbourhood noted as a resort of footpads—at the top of Trundley's Lane stood a few houses, still existing, and named Mildmay Houses. There were a few plots of market-garden ground here and there to be seen, near the spot now occupied by the Grand Surrey Docks, and adjoining Globe Stairs Alley, in the Blue Anchor Road; but the greater portion of the entire district between Rotherhithe and the Kent Road consisted of marshy fields. Mill Pond was the name given to a number of tidal ditches—not unlike those of Jacob's Island—which intersected the space between Blue Anchor Road and the Deptford Lower Road. A larger stream discharged itself into the Thames at King's Mill; but that disappeared when the Grand Surrey Docks were constructed. Within the last half century the inhabitants of the streets around Mill Pond were dependent upon these dirty tidal ditches for their supply of water, which was fetched in pails. Of late years, however, Mill Pond has been drained away, and rows of houses, some known as Jamaica Level, occupy the site" Unquote.....

It certainly did not seem a nice clean place to live if the folk depended on the dirty streams for their water !!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue
The Blue is a central market place in Bermondsey an area in London

http://www.southlondon-today.co.uk/news.cfm?id=28236
The Blue Market

Bendywendy

[billramp]

Hi again BendyWendy.......

Sorry have not replied earlier, I am full-time carer for my wife and cannot always reply quickly.

My gmother's father was a railway official, and she was an advertising clerk before marrying my gfather who was a law writer for a solicitor.
His father had various jobs in printing as did two other people in drappers rd in 1881.
I would imaine they would be involved in book printing, because the 91 census refers to book binders finisher, book sewer and paper stainer.
There is also a street called 'Printers Place' nearby.
Thanks for the links to the maps and to Ray (again)...we can see that drappers rd went from lucey rd to alexis street.  There were 29 dwellings, the enumerator would stop along alexis street and then do drappers nos 13,12,11 to no 1 and the return on the oher side with 29,28 ....to 14
so the Robertsons at no 19 were, in fact, neighbours to my gmother Down at no 18.
Looking for links I have found 11 addresses in drappers out of the 29 in 1871-1891 whose families are being researched!!!!!

Have you seen this site...

www.bermondseyboy.net

One contributor...freddie.....lived in drappers rd......good reading from many of the people who lived in the area
in the 50's and 60's  and of the many old places which would have been in the area at the turn of the century.  I will try and find our from him when drappers rd disappeared, and if he has some old photos.

Also this site also has some very good reading and pictures

www.bermondsey.biz

Very interesting that article as well

Bill