George Albert Chapman, linen draper

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clothing

Street View: 53
Address: 263 Tottenham Court Road

As Chapman’s shop was on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Great Russell Street, it was know by both addresses: 263 Tottenham Court Road and 1 Great Russell Street. The shop had had various occupants and the Sun Fire Office lists the following:
1810 Jonathan Grove, fishmonger
1826 John Bradford, grocer
1828 Charles Ward, tobacconist
1831 George Blakeway, grocer
1834 Isaac Marsh, grocer
1835 Richard Taylor, esquire of Edgware Road, so presumably renting it out
1836 Lavell and Chapman, silk mercers and linen drapers

In an advertisement in The Morning Chronicle of 9 November 1835, James Alexander Lavell and George Albert Chapman announce a partnership at 1 Great Russell Street. They explain that Lavell had been a partner with Harvey & Co. of Ludgate Hill and Chapman was “from the same house”. The way they phrase this suggests that Chapman had not been a partner, but just worked there. They called their new business premises ‘Victoria House’ and sold “a choice and superior assortment of drapery goods, of every description, which, for fashion, variety, and extent, is not usually met with in one establishment”. The partnership only lasted a few years and in February 1838, they dissolved it with Chapman to continue on his own.⁽¹⁾

In 1841, the census lists George Albert at 1 Great Russell Street, apparently single, living with five male journeymen/servants and one female servant. Chapman’s shop was frequently visited by shoplifters and 1840 was a particularly bad year for him. It started in March 1840 with Isaac Eggenton who stole 22 yards of printed cotton. The Old Bailey record is unfortunately rather short and does not tell us much more than that Isaac was 19 years old [which was in fact, 13 years old], pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years transportation. We know that he was sent to the Isle of Wight, to Parkhurst Prison from where he, and many other “apprentices”, as they were called, were sent to Australia or New Zealand. Isaac ended up in Auckland, New Zealand, where he died in 1897 (see here).⁽²⁾

Some of Chapman’s shopmen had to give evidence in Old Bailey trials. Edward Griffith testifies that he is a shopman to Chapman in the trial of Catherine Broderick who had stolen several yards of cloth in March 1840.⁽³⁾ A month later, Margaret Callaghan is apprehended for stealing some printed cotton. In this case, William Harris, “in the service of” Chapman, gives evidence.⁽⁴⁾ Chapman’s shop must have been an attractive place for shoplifters, as a few month later, another female, Catherine Williams, attempted to steal a piece of mouseline-de-laine, but was caught hiding it in her shawl by Griffith. One Thomas Howes, a Manchester warehouseman of King-street, Cheapside, said he had known the prisoner for thirty years, and that “she had the best of character for honesty — she is of an absent character of mind — she scarcely knows what she is about”. She was found not guilty.⁽⁵⁾ Small cases of theft did not usually make it into the newspapers, but in this case, a journalist must have been short of copy and decided to do a write-up about the Williams case. Unfortunately, he got it all wrong and instead of Howes giving Ms Williams a good character, the newspaper wrote that it was a Mr. Williams who did so. He was reported to be a bookseller of 1 Great Russell Street, but that is hardly likely as that was Chapman’s address and the last name of the bookseller is the same as that of the alleged thief. And in the newspaper, Catherine Williams was not discharged after having been found not guilty, but was locked up and only released after two days when bail was granted. It looks as if the journalist combined the notes on two cases and came up with a muddle.⁽⁶⁾

Linen draper from The Book of English Trades (1818)

But Chapman’s woes were not over yet and the month after the Williams case, Martha Jones tried to nick a shawl, but Edward Griffith was on to her⁽⁷⁾ and in 1842, it was yet another shopman, Charles Hewitt, who stopped Peter Collins from wandering off with a pair of gloves.⁽⁸⁾ And in May 1844, it was Chapman himself who apprehended Mary Ann Watson for stealing 11 yards of mouseline-de-laine.⁽⁹⁾ Whether it was the frequent thefts or the less than perfect business acumen of Chapman himself, the drapery in Tottenham Court Road only lasted until 1845 when Chapman assigned his estate and effects onto John Bradury and Henry Sturt, both warehousemen, for the benefit of his creditors.⁽¹⁰⁾ What happened next to Chapman is unclear, so we will continue with the businesses who occupied the corner shop after him.

One William Hardwick, laceman, is next found on the premises, but he went bankrupt in 1849, so that business did not last very long either.⁽¹¹⁾ The 1851 Post Office Directory lists Henry Tautz & Co., silk mercers, on the premises; all still in the drapery line of business, but the 1856 Post Office Directory lists William Davies, hairdresser for 1 Great Russell Street, so a complete change. The 1871 census shows Joseph H. Starie, bookseller, on the premises, and in 1882, an advertisement appears in the Daily News for Benson’s, a company selling rubber hoses at number 263. They had another shop at 4 Tottenham Court Road, which was just across the road. We will sort their history out when we write the post on number 4, but for now, the story of 263 Tottenham Court Road / 1 Great Russell Street has come to an end.

Daily News, 29 May 1882

(1) The London Gazette, 16 February 1838.
(2) Old Bailey case t18400406-1078. Thanks go to Lyn Olds who is a descendent of Isaac.
(3) Old Bailey case t18400406-1161.
(4) Old Bailey case t18400511-1431.
(5) Old Bailey case t18400706-1862.
(6) The Southern Star and London and Brighton Patriot, 12 July 1840.
(7) Old Bailey case t18400817-2011.
(8) Old Bailey case t18420131-772.
(9) Old Bailey case t18440506-1501.
(10) The London Gazette, 13 June 1845.
(11) The London Gazette, 28 July 1849.

Neighbours:

<– 262 Tottenham Court Road

264 Tottenham Court Road –>

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Jeremiah Danks, carpet warehouse

Tags

furniture

Street View: 53
Address: 9 Tottenham Court Road

When Thomas Danks of Hatton Garden and Baldwin Gardens died in 1837, his two shops were divided between his sons. The property at 98 Hatton Garden was given to his sons Michael, Josiah and Andrew Sidesman (the latter the son of his second wife Elizabeth Scudemore). See for the story of that shop my other blog post here, but in this post we will concentrate on the other side of the family, that is, sons Thomas junior and Jeremiah who were given “all the stock in trade looms for manufacturing hearth rugs implements and fixtures and also all other effects whatsoever belonging to me which may be in or upon the said premises in Baldwins Gardens at the time of my decease”.⁽¹⁾ Jeremiah and Thomas formed a partnership as carpet dealers and hearth-rug manufacturers, but the co-operation did not last very long. Already on the 14th of June, 1838, they dissolved the partnership of “Danks Brothers” at 9, Tottenham Court Road and 41, Baldwin Gardens.⁽²⁾ Where Thomas went after the split is unclear [P.S.: look at the comments to this post], but Jeremiah was certainly in the carpet business at Tottenham Court Road when Tallis produced his Street Views around 1839.

vignette from Tallis’s Street View

Jeremiah splashed out in a major way on advertising space in Tallis’s booklet; no mention of Baldwin Gardens anymore, by the way; did that go to Thomas when they split up? Not only was the vignette in the booklet of Jeremiah’s property, he also claimed 2 of the 3 columns on one of the advertorial pages, giving us lots of information about the business, such as the names of his predeccessors at 9 Tottenham Court Road: G.H. Humphries and Thomas Little. The Sun Fire Office records do indeed have Thomas Little, carpet manufacturer, at number 9 in 1811 and he was still there until at least 1824 when he gave evidence in an Old Bailey case.⁽³⁾ According to the Sun Fire Office, George Hallen Humphreys can be found at number 9 in 1832 and presumably only left when the Danks brothers moved in.

The two columns for J. Danks in the Street View booklet

On the 11th of November, 1840, Jeremiah married Martha Berdoe, the daughter of Joseph and Susanna Berdoe, at St. Pancras Paris Chapel. Martha was the sister of Rebecca Berdoe who had married Jeremiah’s brother Josiah the previous year. Jeremiah and Martha had at least one child, Jeremiah Martin John (often simply called Martin), born in ±1847. In 1851, the family no longer lived at Tottenham Court Road but at Alfred Terrace, St. Leonard Shoreditch. Jeremiah is given the occupation of house agent and collector of rents, so the carpet business must have been abandoned somewhere between 1841 and 1851. Young Martin can be found as a pupil at Byron House School in Ealing in 1861, but where his parents are at that time remains a mystery. In 1871, Martin, by then an American bankers’ clerk, can be found at 15 Barossa Place, Chelsea (now South Parade), living with his widowed aunt Caroline Danks (the wife of Martin’s uncle Michael) and her children Flower, Elisabeth and Alfred.

Martin’s mother, Martha, can be found at the time of the 1871 census in Brighton with her widowed father. This might be construed as a family visit, but for the fact that, at the same time, her husband Jeremiah can be found as an inmate in the Essex County lunatic asylum. Oh dear! No sign of Jeremiah in 1881, but in 1891, he is a patient at Lea Hall lunatic asylum, Leyton, Essex. The Essex County asylum, Warley Hospital in Brentwood, had been opened in 1853, but quickly filled up, despite several extentions, and the “chronic and harmless” had to be housed elsewhere. In 1879, Lea Hall in Walthamstow was rented to house some of the inmates, one of them apparently Jeremiah. The lease on Lea Hall ran out in 1891 and yet another home was sought.⁽⁴⁾ Jeremiah died in 1897, 81 years old, and his place of death is given as Billericay.⁽⁵⁾ Jeremiah may have been moved when the lease ran out to Billaricay Workhouse (see here), although Warley Hospital itself was in the Billericay Registrar’s District, so he may just have been moved back to the main institution.

Warley Hospital (Source: homesandproperty.co.uk)

Martha, in the mean time, had moved to Holyhead Road, Coventry, where she can be found in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses. In 1881 she is visited by Elizabeth Danks, Michael and Caroline’s daughter, so the different branches of the family kept in touch despite the distance and adverse circumstances. Coventry may seem a strange choice for someone who was born in Clerkenwell, but she probably followed her son in his career change from banker’s clerk to watch jeweller. Son Martin married Anne Elizabeth Chadwick of Coventry in 1875 and can be found in that city in the 1881 census (he died in 1886). Anne’s father was a watch jeweller, so either Martin went to work for him and fell in love with the daughter, or the other way round, he fell in love with her, married her and went to work for his father-in-law. Never mind which. Martha died in 1907 and probate was granted to her grandson Martin William, also a watch jeweller.⁽⁶⁾

——————-
(1) The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1876.
(2) The London Gazette, 26 June 1838.
(3) Old Bailey, t18240407-89.
(4) For the history of the Essex County lunatic asylum see here.
(5) England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, April, May, June 1897.
(6) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1907.

You may also like to read the post on the other side of the family, Danks and son at 98-99 Hatton Garden.