So Who Was A.E. King Part 2

So Who Was A.E. King Part 2

Last week we had a look into the life and career of A.E. King, i.e. Albert Edward King. Today we’re going to consider another A.E. King with a Loughborough connection, and indeed another architect and surveyor.

Arthur Ernest King was born on 15th May 1871, just three years before Albert Edward King, but of no relation. Arthur Ernest was born in Loughborough to parents William Henry Whatton King, a railway clerk, and his wife, Fanny, nee Perkins. Both Arthur Ernest’s parents were born in Loughborough, William Henry Whatton King to parents William Henry King and Harriett Susanna (nee Whatton), and Fanny Perkins to parents George a hosiery factory warehouseman, and his wife Selina (nee Barson).

William and Fanny were married in 1868 in Loughborough, and their first child, Willam Henry was born in 1869, making Arthur Ernest the couple’s second child, born whilst the family were living at 19 Chapman Street, and while William Henry was a 23-year-old railway clerk. Bearing in mind that although Chapman Street lies fairly close to the Great Central Railway, this was not opened until 1899, and the Charnwood Forest Railway, off Derby Road, didn't open until around 1883, so Henry was most likely to be working at the Midland station. 

In 1875 Arthur Ernest’s sister, Alice was born, but unlike her older siblings, her birth was registered in Cambridgeshire, while that of her younger brother, Walter born in 1879, and Herbert born in 1880 was Mansfield. This location is confirmed by the 1881 census return which lists that family as living at 12 Queen Street, Mansfield. William is a railway station master and goods agent, now aged 32.

In 1891, when Arthur Ernest was 19 years old, he was an assistant architect and surveyor. He was still living with his father William and mother, Fanny, and siblings on Queen Street Mansfield, although the census records the property number as 11 rather than 12. Father, William was still a railway station master and goods agent, and brother, William Henry was now a railway ticket collector. The younger children, Alice (16), Walter (12), and Herbert (10), now joined by Ethel (6) and Frederick (3) were all listed on the census as scholars.

Eight years later, on 18 October 1899, Arthur Ernest married Isabel Hughes, at St Margaret’s church in Toxteth. At the time, Arthur Ernest was living at 102 Derby Road in Loughborough, and he was aged 29, and working as a civil engineer. His father, William was a stationmaster at Mansfield. Isabel was the 25-year-old daughter of stockbroker, Edward Gerard Hughes, and at the time of the marriage she was living at 43 Mulgrave Street, Liverpool. She had originally been called Isabella, and was baptised on 16 February 1874 in St James Church, Whitehaven, Cumberland. I wonder how they met?

'Stamford Villas' built 1884, no.102 Derby Road to the left, pictured in 2016

Arthur Ernest’s parents, William and Fanny were still living at 11 Queen Street in Mansfield in 1901, along with daughters (Alice) Maud (25), Ethel (15), and son Frederick (13) who don’t seem to be employed, and sons Walter G. (aged 22) who is a railway clerk, and son Herbert (20) who is a lithographic artist. Meanwhile, back in Loughborough, Arthur Ernest and wife Isabel were living at 126 Park Road. Arthur Ernest was aged 29, and was an assistant civil engineer. They had been blessed with a new baby, Dorothy, who at the time of the census return was 9 months old.

126 Park Road (black front door) pictured in 2017

In 1905, Fanny, Arthur Ernest’s mother died in Mansfield, and it was shortly after this, in April 1906 that Arthur Ernest’s older brother, William Henry, married Blanche Elizabeth Chambers. William Henry was a railway station inspector, living at Clough Villas, Clough Road, Masbrough, near Rotherham, and his father, William Henry Whatton King, was still a railway goods agent in Mansfield. In July 1909, Arthur Ernest’s younger brother, Walter George, married Florence Louise Savage at Mansfield parish church. He was a 28-year-old clerk, living at Watson Avenue, Mansfield, and his father, William Henry King, was now listed as a gentleman.

By 1911, Arthur Ernest, Isabel, and Dorothy had moved back to Mansfield where they were living at Stanton Place, and Arthur Ernest was now an architect and surveyor, and certainly by 1913 his office was established at West Gate, Mansfield. His offices were also the place where details of land and property could be picked up. Naturally, things didn’t always run smoothly, and there was a time in 1914 when Arthur Ernest took someone to court for not paying him for the plans he had drawn up in relation to alterations to a property in Pelham Street, for which a dance and music licence was to be requested.

Sometime after 1914, and before 1921, Arthur Ernest, Isabel, and Dorothy moved to Richmond in Surrey. On the 1921 census returns they were living at 36 Montague Road, and Arthur Ernest was an architect and surveyor to H.M. Office of Works. The family remained living at number 36 until at least 1924, and it was on 31 December that year that Dorothy married Henry Theodore Andrew at St Matthias Church in Surrey. Henry, who lived a few doors away at 22 Montague Road, was a lieutenant in the navy, and his father was Thomas Andrew, a gentleman.

In 1925 Arthur Ernest was elected as a licentiate of RIBA, and five years later, his father, William Henry Whatton King, who had been a station master for over 40 years, had received a gold watch for his long service to mark his 25 years’ service, and who was a keen bowler, died.

Details about Arthur Ernest that he provided to RIBA in 1933-7 showed that he had moved from 36 Montague Road, Richmond, to a street very close by, number 5 Kings Road, also in Richmond. However, by 1939, Arthur Ernest and Isabel had moved to Hodgson Howe, Newlands, Bridge, Cockermouth, Cumbria, presumably as Arthur Ernest had now retired from his position as architect and surveyor. Cockermouth was only about 13 miles from where Isabel had been baptised in Whitehaven, which might be another reason they moved there.

Unfortunately, this is where the trail runs dry, and as yet I have been unable to establish any later information about the family. 

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

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Dyer, Lynne (2024). So Who Was A.E. King Part 2. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2024/10/so-who-was-ae-king-part-2.html 

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Ernest Edwin Coltman's loose ends

So, a couple of weeks ago I shared with you the story of a deed box, and the man it belonged to, and ended by saying there were a few loose ends to tie up. Well, what follows is the story of one of the sisters of Ernest Edwin Coltman.

1863 saw the birth of Henrietta Coltman, daughter of Huram and his wife Eliza, and older sister to Ernest Edwin. Henrietta was born while the family were probably living on Derby Road, where her father was an engine smith, and had three older siblings, John Charles, Eliza Ann, and Huram jnr.. Sadly, only a few months after Henrietta was born, young Huram, aged only 2, died. Another three siblings were born – Florence Mary in 1865, Ernest Edwin in 1867, and Walter William in 1869.

By 1871, Henrietta now aged 7, was one of the six Coltman children living with their parents on Nottingham Road, where the family were joined in 1873 by another daughter, Clara. On the 1881 census return, the family, except Florence Mary, had moved to Island House on Granby Street, and father Huram is a mechanical engineer employing 13 men and 1 boy. Another move sees Henrietta, now 27, living with her parents and three younger siblings, Ernest Edwin, Walter William, and Clara, on Meadow Lane. 

In September 1892 comes the sudden death of Henrietta’s mother, Eliza, aged about 61. On 4 October 1898, Henrietta, daughter of Huram and Eliza, and sister to Ernest, was admitted to Royal Holloway Sanatorium by request of her father, Huram. Henrietta was single, aged 35, a Baptist, and had been living at 119 Park Road, a group of houses known as Auckland Terrace, until she was admitted to the hospital.

The Royal Holloway Sanatorium at Virginia Water, Runnymede, was funded by Thomas Holloway, an entrepreneur, and philanthropist who also funded the creation of Royal Holloway College, which is now part of the University of London – and a place with a Loughborough connection, through Avery Woodward. Of course, the redbrick and Portland stone used in the construction of the sanatorium, which was designed by William Henry Crossland, and opened in 1885, is also very familiar to those of us connected with Loughborough. The sanatorium was a private hospital, so patients (or their relatives) paid for their care and treatment. Today, the hosptial building has been converted into town houses, called Virginia Park.

It is sad to report, that as far as I can tell, Henrietta spent the rest of her life in the sanatorium, where she died on 7 October 1915. Probate was granted to her brother, Ernest Edwin, and her effects were £955 11s. 6d.. Henrietta was buried in the Christ Church in Virginia Water.

On a more cheerful note, Ernest Edwin Coltman seems to have been something of an horticulturalist – as were some of his family – at least, that’s what we might think without reading the newspaper report carefully! The 39th annual exhibition of the Loughborough Chrysanthemum and Fruit Society took place in the Town Hall, on Saturday 8th November, 1913. According to the ‘Melton Mowbray Mercury and Oakham and Uppingham News’ printed the following Thursday, there were fewer entries than in previous years, and most entries were from local people. As well as members of the Coltman family, names like Farnham, Proudman, Tyler, Palmer, de Lisle, Hallam, Widdowson etc. are also familiar to us today.

In this particular show, Ernest Edwin seems to have been competing against his own younger brother, Walter William, who at the time was mayor of Loughborough. Walter took first prize for his neat arrangement of chrysanthemum groups, and first for his circular group of chrysanthemums, to Ernest’s 3rd place in the latter. Ernest, however, came first for his bush chrysanthemums, second for his table group of chrysanthemums, and first for his single variety of cooking apple. Ernest was also second with his salvias, and second with his single flower chrysanthemum plants.

I do suppose, however, that since Walter William was mayor, and was the person who actually opened the show, for him to win more than he did might have seemed like favouritism on the part of the judges. Those judges for the blooms were Mr W. Weston (of Kingston, but I'm not sure if that's Kingston on Soar, or a different Kingston) and Mr G. Brown of Aston Hall, while the judges of the fruit classes were Mr Jamieson and Mr A. McVinish, both of Beaumanor. 

But what of Ernest the gardener? Well, according to the show results, Ernest wasn’t necessarily gardening alone, as in brackets after some of his successes, it mentions who his gardener was, and there was more than one – in one case, this was H. Wye, and in another a person called Tyler. But, not to worry as this seems de rigour as Mrs Peacock’s gardener was A. Harris, Farnham’s was H. Salter, Proudman’s was F. Bray, and de Lisle’s was S. Preston! And Mr J. T. Smith, another winner, actually had a nursery on Derby Road! 

To be fair to Mr Smith, at the start of the First World War, he opened his nurseries to the public with a view to collecting money for the war effort. In all, he opened 19 glasshouses to allow people to see his show and single chrysanthemums, apparently one of the finest collections in the district. As if so many chrysanthemums weren’t enough, there we also carnations, bouvardias, cyclamen, and begonias to see. The viewing was open for a couple of days, and who should visit on the first day, but Mrs Florence Coltman, wife of Walter William! Over two guineas was given to the Belgian Fund, and one guinea to the fund for our Indian troops’ comfort.

I've written about chrysanthemum shows before, so you can read more about some of the earlier local chrysanthemum shows on the blog.   

Do please pop back to the blog for more about another Ernest Edwin Coltman loose end!

____________________________________

posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2023). Ernest Edwin Coltman's loose ends. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/06/ernest-edwin-coltmans-loose-ends.html [Accessed 9 July 2023]

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Loughborough's letterboxes, Pt 1

September seems to have flown away in no time at all, and left me wondering just what exactly has happened. I mentioned in an earlier post about some of the events that took place following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and there has been much discussion in the media about what happens with coins and banknotes, and postage stamps, which carry a picture of the queen's head.

While I was out shopping the other day, I happened to notice a headline in one of the national daily newspapers, about the royal ciphers that are on [most] postboxes across the country (and in other countries like Guernsey etc.). I've always been interested in postboxes, and have been a member of the Letter Box Study Group for many years, so it had not occurred to me that there might be any mystery behind the inscription and wording that appears on the boxes. 

I've had a look through my photograph collection, and see that over the years I've taken many pictures of the postboxes in Loughborough, but not of all of them. So, I went out last week and took some pics of one specific postbox to share with you.

But first, perhaps I should say that the initials - sometimes intertwined, sometimes not - represent the initials of the monarch who was on the throne at the time the postbox was installed in its position. So, EIIR represents Queen Elizabeth II (where E is the initial of her first name, and R is for 'regina', meaning Queen, and II indicating that she was the second queen who had the name Elizabeth). You can see a similar cipher on the uniforms of the Beefeaters (Yeoman of the Guard). 

Briefly, you will find the initials VR on postboxes installed during the reign of Queen Victoria (reigned 1837-1901); EVIIR on those placed when Edward VII was on the throne between 1901 and 1910, where in this case, the R is for 'rex' or king. The cipher for George V, however, who reigned from 1910-1936, is simply GR. Edward VIII was only on the throne for 325 days, so there are not many postboxes in existence that bear the initials EVIIIR.

George VI reigned from 1936 until 1952, and postboxes installed during this period bear the cipher GVIR. Once Queen Elizabeth was crowned, new postboxes carried the EIIR cipher, and now that King Charles III has taken the throne, any new postboxes created will be identified with CIIIR.

Postboxes came into being in 1852, but there was no standardised design until 1859, and even then that standardised design was regularly changed. Some of the early postboxes were made by Andrew Handyside, whose ironfounding firm was based in Derby, but the first standardised ones, between 1859-1866, were made by a firm called Cochrane, probably at their Woodside works near Dudley. Cochrane also made the distinctive Penfold boxes, designed by architect J.W. Penfold, between 1866-1879.

Anyway, back to the specific postbox which is the subject of this blog! Our postbox was created between 1879 and 1887, and in the year 2000, there were 300 of these boxes still standing. These boxes are known as anonymous boxes, because they do not carry any royal cipher! The initials on these should have been VR, but the Post Office, who were responsible for the design, admitted there had been an oversight. These boxes were created by Handyside, at his Britannia Works in Derby. Despite not having any cipher on the front, the boxes do carry the name of the company around the base, although in many cases the box has been re-painted so many times, that the embossed lettering is difficult, and in some cases impossible to read.

Here are some pictures of our anonymous postbox which can be found at the mini roundabout that links Park Road, as it leaves Royland Road, to Beacon Road.

Handyside Derby appears on the base

The top of the postbox

Posting aperture and collection plate

Well, that's one Loughborough postbox covered, only another 60ish to go!!!

Here's a link to Part 2 of the Loughborough letterbox blogposts.

____________________________________

posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog. You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2022). Loughborough's letterboxes Part 1. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/10/loughboroughs-letterboxes-pt-1.html [Accessed 2 October 2022]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.  

 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne                   

So who was Gertrude Mary Hutton?

I’ve been waiting about 8 years to find the opportunity to write this post, and I’ve decided that Women’s History Month (March), and as we head towards International Women’s Day (8th March 2022), seems as good a time as any to try and describe the life of Gertrude Mary Hutton.

Gertrude Mary Hutton was born on 4th September 1873 in Benares, India, a city now called Varanasi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Her father was Reverend David Hutton, who was a missionary in India, and her mother was Margaret. Rev’d David was part of the London Mission, and began his calling in India in 1865.

1865 was also the year that Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to openly qualify as a medic in Britain. Having gained a certificate in anatomy and physiology through private means, this allowed her entrance to the Society of Apothecaries, through which she took her final exam in 1865, and thus obtained a licence from that Society to practice medicine. The route that she had taken took advantage of a loophole in the admissions policy, which was very quickly closed after her success, in order to bar other women from entry to the profession.

In the late 1860s, Sophia Jex-Blake, who wanted to be a doctor, when women were expected to run the home, was initially approved for entry to Edinburgh to study medicine, but was ultimately rejected. As a consequence of this rejection she called upon other women who also desired to study medicine to begin a campaign which resulted in the formation of what was known as the Edinburgh Seven, leading to the Edinburgh University Surgeon’s Hall riot of 1870.

Although the women in question were then able to study at Edinburgh, the university did not allow them to sit the exams, and therefore they were unable to graduate. Jex-Blake eventually received her degree from Berne, Switzerland, and many of her colleagues also graduated from Europe. Jex-Blake went on to set up the London School of Medicine for Women, and sat exams with the College of Physicians in Dublin, before returning to Edinburgh as Scotland’s first practising female doctor, where she founded the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women and the Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children, in 1885.   

So, by the time Gertrude Mary Hutton was born in 1873, medical education for women was still in its infancy. The 1881 census records the 7-year-old Gertrude as being at 48 Dalhousie Street, Glasgow, the home of her grandparents, William (a photographer) and Catherine Johnson. Edith aged 5, listed as a granddaughter is Gertrude’s sister, and the two older girls, Katey aged 11, and Ethel aged 10, both born in India, are also listed as granddaughters, so I am assuming they are also Gertrude’s sisters. I am less convinced that the Margaret Johnson, aged 32 listed as the daughter of William and Catherine Johnson is actually the mother to the Hutton children. Father, David, does not appear with the family on this census.

It is clear that Gertrude had a strong interest in medicine as in 1886 the ‘Perthshire Constitutional & Journal’ 12th April 1886 reports on success in ambulance classes that have taken place in Crieff. Dr John Brodie, the examiner, reported that of the 51 ladies who took the exams of the St Andrews Ambulance Association, 51 passed. He deemed it was clear they had been well-instructed in theory and practice, had done intelligent demonstrations, and answered questions about treatment very thoroughly. He was also struck by their earnestness and proficiency. Of the 51 passes obtained, 34 were with honours, being awarded above 80 marks out of 100. Miss Gertrude Hutton was listed as one of those who passed with honours.

The 1891 census lists David Hutton as the head of the household, and a missionary in Benares, India, who is currently on furlough. This was quite a common situation for missionaries, who would often spend about 4-5 years away from home, and then 12-15 months at home, when they would attend public meetings and report back on their work, as well as raise money for their cause. Having previously said that I was unsure about Margaret Johnson, the 1891 census also lists David’s wife as Margaret, but as Margaret Hutton. Gertrude is now 17, and Edith now 15, and younger siblings Dora (13), Harold (11), Bertha (9), and David (7) are also on this census return, the family being at 7 Alvanley Terrace, Edinburgh.

By 1893 Gertrude has entered the Edinburgh School of Medicine, Medical College for Women. In the summer of that year she gains a second-class honours in the ‘class of physics’, and in the winter term was a prize-winner in the study of chemistry, having achieved 85 percent. The following winter term Gertrude achieved first-class honours in the ‘class of pathology’ with 78 percent. Summer exams in 1896 in the ‘class of ophthalmology’ yielded second-class honours for Gertrude, and in general pathology she achieved 93 percent. Finally, in July 1898, Gertrude has completed her five-year course, which culminated in the triple qualification of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh (Lic. R. Coll. Phys. Edin.), Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh (Lic. R. Coll. Surg. Edin.), and Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow (Lic. Fac. Phys. Surg. Glasg.).  

Meanwhile, over in Loughborough, in 1889, new premises were built on Fennel Street for the Medical Aid Association, this being Unity House. The building was designed by local architect Wille Thomas Hampton, who around the time was living and working from a property in Swan Street, having recently moved from Pinfold Street. At the time of construction of the building, the doctor for the association was Dr Thomas Corcoran, and the junior surgeon was Dr Joseph. By 1899, the position occupied by Dr Corcoran had been taken by Dr Charles Symington.

Unity House in 2014

‘The Medical Directory for 1900’, in the ‘Provincial Medical Directory’ section lists twelve doctors in Loughborough at that time, all male, except one:

N.B. McI. Blackham; T. Corcoran; A.B.J. Eddowes; J.H. Eddowes; Gertrude M. Hutton; J. McLaws: A.E. Palmer; R. Paul; P. Phelps; J.B. Pike; C. Symington, and J.A. Unitt

The address given for Gertrude Hutton is 20 Fennel Street, Loughborough. The numbering on Fennel Street is not the same today as it was in 1900, so, the building to the left of Unity House as you look across from Biggin Street today is numbered 20, but at the time Gertrude was living on Fennel Street, it was Unity House that carried the number 20, and thus was where she was staying. Today, Unity House is number 21, having been re-numbered before 1913.

Fennel Street Club is no.20 Fennel Street, next to Unity House (2022)

In his Medical Officer’s report to the committee of the Medical Aid Association, of 1899, published in 1900, Dr Symington talks about, amongst other things, outbreaks of infectious diseases, and births. He acknowledges the help he has received from Dr McLaws, and Mr A. Harding. He also writes:

"Dr Gertrude Hutton has already proved herself to be a very capable and energetic colleague. Dr Hutton’s services are well received by her patients, and, I prognosticate an increase to the Association from family members.” the latter presumably as a direct result of Gertrude’s influence.

The 1901 census records 26-year-old Gertrude, a medical practitioner, as lodging at 104 Park Road, with Arthur Harding, a "commercial traveller drugs" - whom we know from Dr Symington's report of 1899, was the Secretary to the Medical Aid Association - Arthur’s wife, Adeline, daughter Rosalie, and son John.

The Park Road property (2022)

So, it’s likely that Gertrude’s first professional role was in Loughborough, and that she was Loughborough’s first woman doctor. Sadly, I have been able to find little about her time in Loughborough, and have not been able to establish exactly when she left, but I do know that by 1905 she had moved to Liverpool, where she lived and worked for the rest of her life.

On 10th January 1940 Gertrude Mary Hutton died. At the time, she was living at 1 Elm Bank, Anfield, Liverpool, the same house that she had moved to when she left Loughborough. Her death certificate states she was aged 66 and a doctor of medicine. The funeral took place at 12 noon on Saturday 13 January 1940, at Anfield cemetery , where she was buried in a purchased plot, section 7, grave number 478, in the Church of England area. The burial ceremony was performed by A.J.A. Medhurst.

It is in the obituaries and tributes, that more is revealed about Gertrude’s career in Liverpool.       

On 25th January 1940, the ‘Liverpool Echo’ carried the following obituary:

“TRIBUTE TO WOMAN DOCTOR’S WORK

Appreciative reference to the work of Dr. Gertrude Hutton, senior medical officer at the Dispensary for Women and Children, Netherfield Road, Liverpool, who died some days ago, was made by Dr. Margaret Joyce at a meeting of the committee.

She mentioned that Dr Hutton came to Liverpool from Edinburgh to carry on the work of the dispensary when it was one of the activities of the Victoria Settlement and had continued since, in 1908, the work was taken under new management. For thirty-two years many thousands of women had placed themselves and their children under the care of Dr. Hutton as senior medical officer, and never failed to receive her utmost skill and attention. She was a brilliant diagnostician and a clever physician.” 

On 6th September 1940, some 9 months after Gertrude’s death, the ‘Liverpool Daily Post’ carried the following article, in which a tribute was paid to Dr. Gertrude Hutton:

“DISPENSARY FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN:

WAR-TIME WORK UNDER DIFFICULTIES

Mrs. E.W. Hope, presiding at the annual meeting yesterday of the Dispensary for Women and Children, Netherfield Road, said the year had been a very difficult one for the dispensary but its workers had coped efficiently with the altered conditions.

The black-out necessitated the closing of the dispensary in the evenings during the winter months and this, coupled with the evacuation scheme and the severe weather, resulted in a serious reduction in attendances. Largely owing to the efforts of Dr. Lilian Hughes, senior medical officer and the “life and soul” of the place, there had been a gratifying improvement in the last few months and the attendances were now about two-thirds of normal. Mrs. Hope paid a tribute to Dr. Gertrude Hutton, who died in January after thirty-two years’ devoted and skilful service as senior medical officer.”

Another obituary from Margaret Joyce reads as follows:

“Dr Hutton came to Liverpool to take charge of the Dispensary for Women and Children, at that time one of the activities of the Victoria Women’s Settlement, but which in 1908 was taken over by a Committee of Liverpool women who were fortunate in securing the continuation of Dr Hutton’s services. Notwithstanding the acquirement of considerable private practice, Dr Hutton has ever since that date devoted a large part of her time and energy to the Dispensary, and many thousands of women and children, living in one of the poorest parts of Liverpool, have passed through her hands. She was a brilliant diagnostician and a sound physician. Not only was her medical skill at the services of these women, but her kindly and shrewd advice was sought by them in every difficulty or crisis occurring in their lives. Her place will indeed be hard to fill. Her courage kept her at her post until within a few days of her death, though fighting against a mortal illness. Much sympathy is felt with her surviving brother and sisters, and with the close friend who shared her home and helped her much in her work.”

Gertrude’s home on Elm Bank was a couple of doors down from the house in which her close friend, Mary Jane Loheide had been brought up. Mary Jane became a nurse and, as the above obituary reads, helped Gertrude in her work. After Gertrude’s death, probate was granted to Mary Jane on 14th March 1940, and the effects amounted to £1,863 2s. 7d.. By 1945, Mary Jane had moved from Elm Bank to a house called Loretto on Sandfield Park East, in Liverpool, and by the time of her death on 2nd August 1952, she was living at Westminster House on Westminster Road, Liverpool. Probate was granted on 2nd October 1952 to her solicitor, and her effects amounted to £1,127 18s. 6d.

The inscription on the grave reads:

In loving memory of

Dr. Gertrude Mary HUTTON M.D.

died 10th Jan. 1940.

The dear daughter of the late Rev. D. HUTTON,

and devoted friend of Molly.

Also of

Mary Jane LOHEIDE,

companion of the above,

who died on the 2nd August 1952.

“Safe in God’s keeping.”

__________________________

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2022). So who was Gertrude Mary Hutton? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/03/so-who-was-gertrude-mary-hutton.html [Accessed 6 March 2022]

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I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne

So who were the Woodwards of Loughborough?

The Woodward family

On 4 February 1860, in Port Louis, on the Island of Mauritius, the birth of Robert Wallace Woodward was registered. Robert was born to a father who was in the 5th (Northumberland) (Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot, but his parent’s names have proved elusive. However, much of Robert’s own life and that of his own children has been revealed through extensive research.

 

Robert Wallace Woodward

In 1871, at the age of 11, Robert is boarding at a school in West Grove House, in Barnard Castle, a town near Teesdale in the county of Durham. He is there with other scholars – William Cowan, Thomas Wilson, John Stevens, John Taylor, Ernest Hurd, John Robinson, Herbert Thubron, Herbert Hurd and George Carlin – as well as the schoolmaster, William Darwent, who was also minister at the Hall Street Independent chapel. Darwent’s wife, Isabella, and two sons, Charles who was 12, and Richard who was aged 2 also lived at the schoolhouse, along with two servants.

 

Having completed this part of his education, sometime around 1878 Robert began the first stage of his teaching career, and in 1881 he was a resident schoolmaster in Southampton, living at 21 Lower Prospect Place.

1881 census record for Robert Wallace Woodward

 

At the same time as Robert was in Southampton, a 19-year old Ella Mary Glanville was also living there, with her parents, Ebenezer Richard Glanville, and Louisa Morgan (formerly Hingle). The family were descended from a John Morgan, originally of Abergavenny, so it is possible that the Glanville residence  - Llangenny House on Oxford Road, in the St Mary’s district of Southampton – was a nod to their Welsh ancestry. Ebenezer and Louisa had married in Islington in 1859, and Ella was born in Southampton in May 1862.

1881 census record for Ella Mary Glanville

 

Sometime around 1884-5, Robert must have enrolled with the University of London, because in July of 1887 he matriculated with honours. His educational background was reported at the time as that he had studied at Sheffield Collegiate School, followed by a period of private study. Given his future career, one might assume that he had studied for a teaching qualification.

 

Robert and Ella must have already met in Southampton, but perhaps these educational qualifications were what was needed to gain the permission of Ella’s father to get married. This they did, and the marriage is registered in the quarter 3 (July August September) civil registers as taking place in Southampton in that same year, 1887.

 

So it was that Robert Wallace Woodward and his new wife, Ella, arrived in Loughborough, where Robert had taken up a teaching position at the Loughborough Grammar School. On 27 June 1888, Ella gave birth to the couple’s first child, Avery, who was to be the first of three daughters. This happy occasion was followed in October 1889 by the birth of their second daughter, named Ella.

Loughborough Grammar School, evening view

 

A trade directory for 1889-90, so presumably compiled in late 1888-early 1889, lists Robert as living at 106 Park Road, and being a tutor at the Grammar School. By 1891, Robert, wife Ella, and their two children were living at 7 Middleton Place: his occupation is listed on the census of that year as teacher of Classics.

106 Park Road

No.7 Middleton Place

 

On 27 April 1893, the Woodward family welcomed another addition to their family, Ida, who was the last of the three daughters.  

Robert Wallace Woodward at the LGS in 1895. This photograph can be found, along with much other historical information about the school, in the LGS Digital Archive (courtesy of the LGS Archivist)

 

Around 1894, Robert and the family had moved to 16 Herrick Road, but they were only there for a few years before they moved to Nottingham, where Robert took up the post of assistant master at the Nottingham High School. The family seems to have settled in Gedling, first at Hardy’s Drive and moving to Main Street by 1901. However, after another short-lived move, this time to Dagmar Drive in Alexandra Park, Nottingham, in 1905 the family were living at Mecklenburg Road, Nottingham.

16 Herrick Road

 

1904 was a good year for Robert and Ella’s daughter, Avery, who in March gained a prize in the Cambridge local exams – best Junior Girl, Nottingham, for which the prize was £8. This success continued into 1905 when, again in March, Avery gained another prize in the Cambridge local exams – best senior girl, Nottingham, for which the prize was £12. These academic achievements led to Avery being successful in the exams at the University of London, and she won a scholarship of £40 for two years, awarded by the university. Her place of education was listed as University College Nottingham, which had been founded in 1877, built by 1881, with classes beginning that same year, was not able to confer degrees itself, and was affiliated to the University of London. University College Nottingham had only recently – 1900 - raised its entry age to 16, thereby offering preparation for entry to university.   

 

Clearly Avery was a diligent student as in August 1906, when the University of London (University College Nottingham) published the results of it honours list for intermediate exams in the arts and sciences, Avery, was awarded second class in the intermediate arts: Greek. But Avery wasn’t the only Woodward girl to do well, and youngest sister Ida followed her example. As a privately educated scholar, Ida won the Junior Mathematics Prize, donated by Sir Charles Seely, in the Oxford local exams, although there was no monetary value reported.

 

In June 1910 Avery is a student at Newnham College, Cambridge, and gains a first-class pass in part 2 of the Classical Tripos. The article which appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post on 20 June 1910 (page 7) goes on:

 

“She was educated at home, and attended classes at the University College, Nottingham. She gained a Pfieffer Scholarship at Girton College, which she relinquished on gaining a Gilchrist Scholarship of £50 a year at the London University, and the Nottingham Girls’ Higher Education Exhibition. At Newnham she obtained a first-class in all the college examinations, and on gaining a first-class in the Classical Tripos (part 1) in 1909, won the Arthur Hugh Clough Scholarship of £40 a year, awarded to the best Newnham student of the year.”

 

On the 1911 census returns Robert, his wife Ella and youngest daughter, Ida - the latter listed as a student - are still living at Mecklenburg Road, Nottingham, and Robert is working at Nottingham High School. Middle daughter, Ella, is boarding in Leigham Street, Plymouth with fellow students. She is studying natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. Eldest daughter, Avery, is lodging in Lewisham where she is an assistant teacher for a girls’ public-school trust.

 

The Classical Association held their first ever conference in Sheffield University, in December 1912, and, as a member of the association, Avery Woodward was listed as one of the attendees.

 

Meanwhile, Robert and Ella were still living at Mecklenburg Road, until 1916 when they moved to 32 Leonard Avenue in Sherwood. This was probably because their youngest daughter went off to Leeds University at the time, and in 1918 gained her BSc from that institution, and in 1919 was an assistant mistress in a secondary school in Castleford, about nine miles from Leeds.

 

Robert and Ella continued to live at Leonard Avenue, but Robert retired from his teaching post at Nottingham High School in 1923, and sometime before 1939 he and Ella moved to a house called Staddles, on Church Street, Stoke Winterbourne, Salisbury. It was while they were living here that on 22 February 1939, Ella died, although her place of death was actually 74 Campbell Road in Salisbury. Probate was granted to her daughter, Avery, on 10 June 1939. Ella left the sum of £543 15s 4d.. The 1939 register was taken in September of that year, so only 7 months after Ella’s death, and Avery is living with Robert at Staddles, along with a domestic servant. By now, Robert is 79, and Avery is listed as a university teacher, but on the actual register, the subject of her teaching is illegible.

Extract from the 1939 register (FMP)

 

Robert only outlived Ella by three years, and on 28 March 1942, he died, like his wife, at 74 Campbell Road, Salisbury. The Nottingham Evening Post of 31 March printed the following notice: “Mr R. W. Woodward dead. Old boys of Nottingham High School will learn with regret of the death at Winterbourne Stoke, Salisbury, of Mr Robert Wallace Woodward, in his 83^rd year. Mr Woodward joined the staff from Loughborough Grammar School in 1898 and retired in 1923. He taught mathematics, Latin and English.” Robert’s will was proved at Llandudno and Probate was granted on 8 May 1942 to Avery and Ida Woodward, spinsters. Effects were £3977 6s. 3d.

 

The previous year, 1941, Ida Woodward was a joint author (with Kathleen Lonsdale and J. Monteath Robertson) on structure and magnetic anisotropy of sorbic acid, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Ida was again a joint author, this time in 1955, on a paper on the effects of temperature on some hydrogen-bond networks in crystals, and again in 1956 on a paper about hydrogen bonds in crystals in the proceedings of the Royal Society, London.

 

Meanwhile, in 1950, older sister Avery was the President of the Association of University Teachers, and was working at Royal Holloway College. At a meeting of the central council of the Association, at Swansea University in May 1950, the Western Mail (20 May 1950, pg 4) quoted Avery: “We depend upon efficient teaching in schools for an adequate supply of students fitted for university education. Already in science departments in girls’ schools it is hard to find enough teachers.”

 

At some point, before 1960, both Ida and Avery moved to Belfast, where Ida worked for the University of Belfast. Together, the two sisters went on a cruise on a ship called ‘Venus’, which departed from Southampton on 23 March 1960, returning to Southampton almost two weeks later, on 4 April. Records show that the cruise ship returned to Southampton from Madeira and Tenerife. Both sisters are recorded as being single, and both give their address as 13 Broughton Park Belfast. Avery’s occupation is recorded as ‘nil’, so presumably she has retired, but her 67-year old sister, Ida, is listed as a university lecturer. They travelled First Class.

 

In a book published in 1962, called ‘Fifty Years of X-Ray Diffraction’, Ida and her work are mentioned a number of times, particularly in relation to her being one of the ‘original Royal Institution research workers’ and that she was a mathematician.

 

On 17 September 1978, Avery Woodward, the oldest daughter of Robert and Ella, died in Belfast. The probate date is 12 May 1978, in which she was listed as living at 13 Broughton Park, Ravenhill Road, Belfast. She left £28,831, but there are no names listed on the probate record. 

 

Ida Woodward, the youngest daughter of Robert and Ella died at Deramore House, a private nursing home in Belfast, on 22 October 1983. She had lived in Belfast for many years, and had worked at Queen’s University. The service was held at the Belfast City Crematorium at 2pm on Monday 31 October.

Probate Record (Ancestry)

 

After her death, Ida continues to be mentioned in published books. In a chapter on women crystallographers, in their 2008 book, called ‘Chemistry was their life: pioneer British women chemists, 1880-1949’, Marlene and Geoff Rayner-Canham recorded that Ida was one of W. H. Bragg’s group of 18 students, 11 of whom were women.

 

In 2015, authors Jonathan C. Brooks-Bartlett and Elspeth F. Garman wrote about the x-ray crystallography experiments that Ida and colleagues had carried out in 1937.

 

So, it seems that although Robert and Ella Woodward’s daughters never married, and did not have any descendants, their names are still remembered for the work they did in the field of science.

 

However, there are a couple of loose ends to tie up, and some speculation to ponder over.

 

Middle daughter, Ella, appears to have disappeared from records, after the 1911 census. The only records found that might be related to her are an entry in the 1939 register for an Ella Woodward, listed as a resident at the Wiltshire County Mental Hospital where her condition is cited as ‘incapacitated’. This particular Ella Woodward died in quarter 3, July August September 1948, and is recorded in the civil death register index as having died in the district of Devizes. While this information about the death is most likely to be the same Ella Woodward as was resident in the Wiltshire County Mental Hospital, it is not conclusive evidence that this is Ella Woodward, daughter of Robert and Ella.

With regard to Robert's teaching career, given that he was teaching Mathematics, Latin and English at Nottingham High School from 1898 until his retirement in 1923, and that Nottinghamshire writer, D.H.Lawrence attended that same school from 1898 until 1901, there is a possibility that the latter might have been taught by the former!  

 

The other matters for speculation are whether or not Avery, Ella and Ida were friendly with the Corcoran sisters, Kathleen and Nora, who were local supporters of the Suffragette movement. Kathleen, born in 1886, was only two years older than Avery, and Nora was born in 1889, the same year as Ella Woodward. Although the Woodward family moved to Nottingham in 1898, it might be possible that the families visited each other, as Nottingham is only about twelve miles away, but this is, pure speculation.

 

Consideration might also be given to the possibility that either Avery or Ida, or both of them, might have been  involved in supporting the war effort, during the Second World War, by perhaps working at Bletchley Park. A quick search of the records does not reveal their names, but until I can prove this definitively, I’m not dismissing the idea!  

Bletchley Park in 2014

 

 

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2020). So who were the Woodwards of Loughborough? Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/06/so-who-were-woodwards-of-loughborough.html [Accessed: 28 June 2020]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the comments box that appears below this blogpost. Alternatively, you can contact me via lynneaboutloughborough[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne