Joseph Eglese, jeweller and watch maker

Tags

clocks and watches, jeweller

Street View: 7 Suppl.
Address: 30 Cornhill

In February 1842, Joseph Eglese of 13 High Street Aldgate, jeweller, bought the freedom of the City (by redemption) by paying £13.10.- and £5.3.6. The record states that he was the son of Edward Eglese of Southwark, deceased. Edward had died in November 1831 and was buried at Deadman’s Place, Union Street, a sure sign that he was a member of an independent chapel, although he had his son Joseph baptised at St. Saviour, Southwark, on 3 January 1819 (Joseph was born on 18 August 1818). In the 1841 census, Joseph is listed at Cheapside as a jeweller, living with one assistant, one William Middleton, at number 123 or thereabout. The census doe not give any house numbers and I am guessing the house number somewhat from the neighbouring occupants who, unfortunately, do not all appear in Tallis’s early Street View of 1839. Wherever he lived in Cheapside in 1841, it cannot have lasted long as the 1842 freedom record gives him at Aldgate High Street. He is certainly still in Aldgate in 1843 when he married Sophia Webster, but by 1844, he had moved to 30 Cornhill. The baptism of his son Joseph Henry on the 10th of November of that year lists the Cornhill address.

gold watch dated 1856 (Source: NAWCC discussion thread)

And that is where Tallis finds him when he collected the information for his 1847 Supplement. But, again, it did not last long and an 1851 advertisement lists him at 43 Cornhill, corner of St. Michael’s Alley. By then, he no longer lived above the shop as in July 1848, when his son Charles Edward is baptised, he could be found at 6 Scrubland Road, Haggerston, and in the 1851 census at 3 Tyssen Cottages, Hackney. He confirms this in an Old Bailey case where he states “I am a jeweller of Cornhill—I do not live there—my housekeeper and two servants live on the premises”.⁽¹⁾ The occupation of number 43 did not last long either, as already in 1852 Messrs Benson, late Eglese, are listed for that property in the Land Tax records. It was pulled down in 1855 and, according to the tax record, “was not to be rebuilt upon to be left as vacant ground to improve the entrance of St. Michaels Alley”. Around 1856, Eglese occupied 28 Cornhill.

1865 advertisement

Eglese also formed a – probably short-lived partnership – with William James Thomas in the 1860s at 136 Oxford Street. The partnership with James was dissolved in 1865 and Eglese moved to 28 Bishopsgate where he, and his son Charles Edward, continued to trade till 1880 when they went bankrupt. So far, a normal career with its ups and downs; even bankruptcy was nothing out of the ordinary – there were many cases heard each week at the Bankruptcy Court, but this time, something happened. A notice in The Police Gazette of 21 June 1880, tells us that Charles Edward had absconded and was suspected of stealing jewellery. That cannot be a coincidence. Did Charles Edward make off with the jewellery to avoid having to hand it over to the creditors? And did his father know beforehand what he was planning to do? Maybe not. They dissolve their partnership in 17 November 1880.⁽²⁾

The London Gazette, 4 June 1880

The Police Gazette, 21 June 1880

Jewel presented to Joseph Eglese as one of the 127 who brethren served as stewards at the inauguration ceremony of the second Freemasons’ Hall in 1869 (see here)

Charles Edward is next heard of in Australia, where he marries Emilia Wayland in 1887. But Charles was a wrong one and embezzled some funds from the Wollongong Harbour Trust where he had been the secretary. He admitted to falsifying the books and said he had expected a legacy and only ‘borrowed’ the money, fully intending to return it. In 1904, he divorced Emilia on the ground of desertion. You wonder why she left him, don’t you? The legacy he was allegedly expecting could have been from his mother. Joseph Eglese had died in 1883 and left his widow £925.⁽³⁾ She died on Christmas Day 1886, but probate was not granted until 1893. Her estate only amounted to a little under £100 and the executor was daughter Sophia Elizabeth Bedborough.⁽⁴⁾ There is, however, no indication that Charles Edward was to receive any of it.

The Standard, 15 September 1891. The Bedborough in the High Court of Justice case was no doubt daughter Sophie Elisabeth, but I do not know who Mackerell is.

And the shop at 30 Cornhill? The Submarine Telegraph Company had their offices there after Eglese left. Their history has been extensively researched and can be seen here. The STC just rented the space and the Land Tax records continued to list number 30 for Currie & Co, bankers, who also owned other property in the area.

(1) Old Bailey case t18640606-591.
(2) The London Gazette, 19 December 1880.
(3) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1884,
(4) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1893.

Neighbours:

<– 31 Cornhill

29 Cornhill –>

Advertisement

Henry Mills, silversmith

Tags

clocks and watches, jeweller

Street View: 48
Address: 172 Oxford Street

We saw in the post on Henry Fricker, shoemaker, at 171 Oxford Street, that at some point in time his neighbour at number 172, Henry Mills, extended his own property to include number 171. That is not to say that the two buildings very physically merged into one; they were not, but Mills apparently thought it advantageous to spread his shop over two properties. It appears from the 1841 census that the shops were already combined in or before that year as there is only one entry between the occupants of numbers 170 and 173, listing Mills and his family. The next census, of 1851, however, reverted to two entries with Benjamin Burchett, watchmaker, two shop assistants and a general servant at number 172 and John Finlayson, jeweller’s assistant at number 171. Also at number 171 could be found a house decorator with his wife and a lodger. It would appear that the decorator just rented part of the house as we still find Mills as “Mills, Henry, silversmith & goldsmith, watchmaker & jeweller, importer of foreign clocks & watches” at 171 & 172 Oxford Street in the 1856 Post Office Directory, without any mention of anyone else trading from either property. Mills himself, by the way, was by then living at Turnham Green, Chiswick.

advertisement in The Nottinghamshire Guardian, 3 January 1856

Not surprisingly perhaps, over the years the jeweller’s shop fell victim to a number of thefts and swindles. In March 1843, for instance, a woman came into the shop who wanted to look at a gold watch. According to the newspaper article about the case, she indeed bought a watch, but could only pay with a 50l. bank note. She said that if Mills could change the note she would be happy to buy other items from him and she told Mills that she had been given the note by Mr. Wyatt of Oxford Street. Mills said he could not change the note, but would give her a cheque. After some hesitation she agreed. Mills did not quite trust her and sent one of his apprentices to follow her to see if she went to the address she had given. No, she did not. The apprentice was heard as a witness and he said that the lady had appeared “in the family way”, wore spectacles, a straw hat, a veil and a black silk dress. A lodger at the house the accused went to testified that she did indeed have a room there and had been wearing a black silk dress on the day in question. When a policeman searched the room of the accused, he found various items that were “apparently the result of habitual pilfering”. He also found a black dress and straw bonnet, but no trace of the watch or cheque. The woman declined to say anything in her defence and was committed to be tried at the Old Bailey.⁽¹⁾

From the proceedings of the Old Bailey case a few months later, we learn that the woman’s name was Harriet Oakley and that she was accused of stealing the 50l. note from Edward Wyatt, a carver and gilder of 360 Oxford Street. When Mills sent his apprentice to follow the prisoner, he also sent his other apprentice to Mr. Wyatt to inquire about the woman and the bank note. It turned out that the accused had been employed as a seamstress and domestic servant by Mrs. Wyatt and that Mr. Wyatt had given his wife the 50l. note, which she kept in an unlocked drawer. Wyatt went to Oakley’s address after he heard from Mills, but went away again and only involved the police the next day, giving her every opportunity to hide or dispose of the goods acquired with the stolen money. During the hearing at the Old Bailey, the various witnesses were rather hesitant when it came to identifying the woman, the dress or the straw bonnet and frequently contradicted their own story. Mills, for instance, could not recollect exactly whether he had been shown the bonnet: “I think I saw a bonnet, since that time, at the police-office — I have been shown a bonnet since than by the police-officer — perhaps it might be twice — I do not think he showed it me at all — he might have shown me the bonnet in Court — it might be there — he did not show it to me — he did show it, I believe”. Although it seems most likely that Harriet Oakley had pilfered the note from the Wyatts, there was not enough conclusive evidence against her and she was found ‘not guilty’.⁽¹⁾

advertisement in Greenwich Hospital. The Park and Picture Gallery. A Hand-Book for Visitors, 1860

By 1861, sons William James and Henry junior were living at 171 Oxford Street, although Henry senior was still involved. At least, the census for Turnham Green lists him as jeweller, not as retired jeweller. In 1864 a newspaper report saw William testifying in a case of “obtaining goods by false pretences”. William described himself as assistant to his father, certainly suggesting that Henry senior was still in charge. The case, by the way, revolved around a Thomas Godfrey, auctioneer and house agent, who bought silver tea spoons from Mills’s and paid with what turned out to be a bad cheque. Mills was not the only victim of Mr. Godfrey who seemed to have made a habit of shopping in this way.⁽³⁾

Henry senior died in April 1868 and the burial and probate records still gave Oxford Street as his abode, so he apparently never officially retired.⁽⁴⁾ Son William James was to follow him to the grave two years later, just 31 years old.⁽⁵⁾ Louisa, William’s widow, was listed as watchmaker and jeweller at 172 Oxford Street in the 1871 census, and Henry junior with the same profession at number 171. By 1881, however, Henry had disappeared from Oxford Street and numbers 170 & 171 are occupied by James Moore, upholsterer and carman. Louisa is still at number 172, though. A little after the census was taken, the house numbering in Oxford Street changed and 172 became 394.

1886 Goad’s insurance map with number 394 as the second house from Duke Street (click to enlarge)

It is not clear how long Louisa remained at number 172 after the 1881 census was taken, but in 1891 and 1901, number 394 was occupied by Frederick Dixon, a jeweller originally from Lincoln. In the 1911 census he is still described as a jeweller and his son Leslie Frederick as an assistant jeweller, although they were no longer living at Oxford Street, but at Gayton Road, Harrow. In 1909, Leslie had acquired the freedom of the City through the Company of Spectacle Makers by redemption. On the Company’s documents he was described as an optician. The Dixons may have continued trading as jewellers while sharing the premises with others, but it is clear that totally different things were available from number 172/394 in 1913 and 1919.

1895 pocket watch by Dixon (source: antiques-atlas.com)

advertisement in The Bystander, 10 December 1913

advertisement in The Tatler and Bystander, 27 August 1919

(1) The Morning Post, 22 March 1843.
(2) Old Bailey case t18430508-1499. Online here.
(3) Daily News, 15 September 1864.
(4) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1868. Estate valued at under £7,000.
(5) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1870. Estate valued at under £2,000

Neighbours:

<– 173 Oxford Street

171 Oxford Street –>

William Miers, Maker of Miniature Frames

Tags

art, jeweller

Street View: 19
Address: 111 Strand

On the 8th of June, 1821, John Miers, 64 years old, jeweller of 111 Strand was buried at St. Paul’s, Covent Garden. From John’s will we learn that he had nine children living (two had died before him) and that his son William and John Field “who has been my assistant several years shall jointly and as partners have the option of purchasing the lease of my house, goodwill of the business … at a fair valuation”. If they do not want it, the executors (Francis Place and John Meabry) were to sell the business. If we go back in time a few years, we come across an Old Bailey case in which two young boys were tried for attempting to steal earrings from the shop.⁽¹⁾ In itself, the report of the theft is not terribly exciting, but it does tell us that the shop belonged to John Miers senior and that his son, John junior, was also working there and so was Lewis Field who described himself as assistant to Mr. Miers. Were this Lewis and the John Field mentioned in the will related? Possibly. Or was there a mistake in the Old Bailey report and was his name John? Also possible.

William Miers and John Field did indeed enter into a partnership after the death of John Miers senior, but The London Gazette of 14 April 1829 has a short notice to say that they are “in insolvent circumstances”. A later notice (London Gazette, 15 October 1830) announces a meeting with the creditors and the executors of John senior’s estate. It also mentions that John junior has a debt owing to the estate and that he is “late of Rio de Janeiro, in the empire of the Brazils”. He was, in fact, to remain in South America for many years and became a well-known botanist. In due course, dividends were paid out to the Miers & Field creditors, but in 1840 (London Gazette, 17 March 1840), William is once again in financial trouble. This time no longer together with John Field (more on Field’s later career here), and instead of jeweller, he is now described as “ormolu miniature frame-maker, dealer and chapman”. His address is still given as 111 Strand, but two months later, in a further notice in which he is given a certificate (London Gazette, 15 May 1840), he is described as “late of 111 Strand”.

Bill-head of William Miers (Source: British Museum)

From the 1841 census we learn that he is living at 31 Cockspur Street with his wife (Amelia) and children (William John and Amelia). Ten years later, he and his wife can be found at 5 Charlotte Street. William dies in 1863 and that would be the end of the story, but for the amazing work father and son did. Although John senior was described as a jeweller, he specialised in silhouette portraits, or ‘profiles’ as they were also called, done on cardboard, plaster or ivory, some so small that they could be used on rings or lockets. Robert Burns had a silhouette of his Clarinda (see here) and a miniature one as well (see here). The correspondence between Burns and Clarinda shows her announcing that she is going to Miers (who was at that time working in Edinburgh) and Burns replies, “I thank you for going to Miers … I want it for a breast-pin to wear next my heart”.⁽²⁾. The National Portrait Gallery has ten examples of silhouette portraits by and after Miers (see here), but the Internet will reveal many more.

after John Miers, line and stipple engraving, late 18th or early 19th century (Source: National Portrait Gallery)

These small profiles or silhouettes obviously required small frames and that is what son William seemed to have specialised in. They were first made from gilded plaster or papier mâché, but were later made in ormolu. It is thought that at least some silhouettes ascribed to John Miers were in fact by John Field and he seems to have been the artistic driving force during the partnership with William Miers. William may not even have made any profiles himself, but just relied on copying the duplicates his father had made. In the trade card below you can see – in very small print – that he has “preserved all the original profiles for nearly half a century, and can supply copies of every size without the necessity of sitting again”. During his career William described himself variously as goldsmith, profilist, jeweller, miniature frame maker, and engraver.

Trade card William Miers (Source: British Library)

Addresses and partnerships:⁽³⁾
various cities in the north of England – John Miers (1781-1788)
162 Strand – John Miers (1788-1791)
111 Strand – John Miers (1791-1821)
111 Strand – William Miers and John Field (1821-1829)
111 Strand – William Miers (1830-1840)
31 Cockspur Street – William Miers (1841-1843)
36 Haymarket – William Miers (1844)
8 Greek Street – William Miers (1846)
35 Princes Street – William Miers (1848-1850)
5 Charlotte Street – William Miers (1853)
94 Dean Street, Soho – William Miers (1854)
88 Dean Street, Soho – William Miers (1856-61)

William died 22 August 1863, but does not seem to have written a will, at least, no mention is made of him in the National Probate Calendar. More information on John Miers can be found here, and more on William here.

And 111 Strand? That became the address of the Phonographic Institution, first run by Thomas Allen Reed and later by Bernard and Henry Pitman, the brothers of Isaac Pitman who developed phonography, that is, the shorthand writing system.

Isaac Pitman, A Manual of Phonography, Or, Writing by Sound (1849), p. 44.

(1) Old Bailey case t18100411-47,
(2) The Correspondence Between Burns and Clarinda, 1843, p. 191.
(3) For this list, I have relied on various post-office directories and on the information that profilesofthepast.org.uk has compiled.

Neighbours:

<– 112 Strand

110 Strand –>

Elizabeth Pryor, silversmith

Tags

cutler, jeweller

Street View: 21
Address: 20 Gracechurch Street

The previous post showed us Charles Snelling, perfumer and hairdresser, moving from Wellington Street to 20 Gracechurch Street some time between the publication of the Tallis booklet and the 1841 census. In the Tallis booklet for Gracechurch Street, number 20 is occupied by E. Pryor, silversmith, jeweller and cutler. The advertisement for the shop in the booklet shows us that E. Pryor was widow Elizabeth Pryor. She had continued the business of her husband Nathaniel after his death in 1833.⁽¹⁾ Nathaniel Pryor (born 1766) and Elizabeth Thake (born 1777) had married in 1795 at St. Botolph’s, Bishopsgate, but the earliest mention I found of a shop for them in Gracechurch Street is in 1809 in the Sun Fire Office records. That is not to say that Nathaniel had not had a shop before that, perhaps even as early as 1789 when he was eligible for the freedom of the Goldsmith’s Company (he had started his apprenticeship at Joseph Savory’s of Cheapside in 1782), but he may just as well have stayed on with his master as a journeyman. In the advertisement Elizabeth entered into the Tallis’ Street View booklet, she says that the business had been established 30 years ago, which would indeed suggest 1809 as the starting date.

Advertisement in Tallis’s Street View booklet

Montague Howard in his Old London Silver of 1903 gives Nathaniel from 1810 to 1833 and Elizabeth from 1834 tot 1840. Intriguingly, he also gives a Matthew Pryor at 20 Gracechurch Street in 1819, but I have not found any record of him elsewhere. Could that have been a misreading of Nath.? We do not know a lot more about the shop or what was sold there other than what has been described in the advertisement, but there is a bit more to say about the charitable work undertaken by the Pryors.

For all Victorians charity constituted a large part of everyday life and an advertisement in The Morning Chronicle of 7 May 1821 testifies that the Pryors were no exception. Mrs Pryor is mentioned as one of the people undertaking all the arrangements for the embarkation of a destitute mother and her eight children to New South Wales where they are to join the husband and father. The subscription needed was to cloth the family and provide them with a few necessities for their passage. In this particular case, we do not know the name of the woman, but in another case, we know more.

In February 1819, Nathaniel Pryor received a letter from the Bank of England saying that they were prepared to give £5 to Elizabeth Brooks upon her embarking for transportation to New South Wales. Elizabeth Brooks had been convicted of knowingly trying to pay with a counterfeit £1 bank note. The case was heard at the Old Bailey in September 1818 and she was sentenced to death.⁽²⁾ The sentence must have been changed to one of transportation as on the 1st of February, Elizabeth Brooks writes to the Governors of the Bank of England from Newgate Prison’s “transport side” that she is to go “to a Foreign Country” with her children, two of which are with her in the prison. Two others who are at a factory are to join her with a 5th child to remain behind, looked after by a friend. While Elizabeth was in prison she sold or pawned all her clothes to support the children and now that transportation was imminent, she asked the bank for support. This may seem strange as she first robbed them by trying to pay with a forged note, but the Bank had a fund set aside for desperate cases such as Elizabeth’s.⁽³⁾ I gather from the correspondence that Elizabeth’s letters did not go to the Bank directly, but were sent via an intermediary, in this case Nathaniel Pryor, hence the answer to him and not to her directly.

The original letters from Elizabeth Brooks and the bank’s answer to Nathaniel Pryor (and many more like them) can be seen here.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth Pryor said that she was still continuing her late husband’s shop in the Tallis’ Street View advertisement, she must have given the business up quite soon afterwards, as in the 1841 census we find her living as an “independent” with William Smither, a tea-dealer at 28 Gracechurch Street. As we have seen, the shop at number 20 was taken over by hairdresser and perfumer Charles Snelling who had his business there until at least 1852 when dividends were paid out to his creditors after bankruptcy proceedings had been started against him.

————-
(1) Nathaniel died the 15th and was buried the 24th of the 2nd month of 1833 at Bunhill Fields. The notation of the month as the 2nd rather than February is a Quaker practice and the records of the Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex contain a paper asking Thomas Colcock, grave maker to dig a grave for Nathaniel in the Friends’ burial ground at Bunhill Fields.
(2) Old Bailey case t18180909-107.
(3) See website Bank of England here.

Neighbours:

<– 21 Gracechurch Street

19 Gracechurch Street –>

Charles Danieli, jeweller

Tags

jeweller

Street View: 41
Address: 315 Oxford Street

Charles Danieli originally came from Italy, but he was certainly in London by December 1819 when his two children Charles junior and Sophia were baptised at St. Marylebone’s. Charles senior and his wife, also Sophia, were to have several more children and the census of 1841 lists Sophia (22 years old), James (20), Frederick (15), William (15), Alfred (7), Cecilia (5) and Rosina (3). Charles junior, who is calling himself Charles George, or Carlo Georgio to emphasise his Italian roots, described himself as a jeweller and lived at 13 Little Titchfield Street with his wife Charlotte Emma Annis. At the same address (all properties in that stretch of Little Tichfield Street housed more than one family) lived Elizabeth Annis (65 years old), Mary Annis (35) and John Annis, plumber (30). They were undoubtedly Charlotte Emma’s mother and siblings as the will of her father John (he died in 1839) names his wife Elizabeth and his son John William, plumber, and gives the address of 13 Little Titchfield Street. Charles Danieli (whether it was senior or junior is not specified) was one of the people asked to confirm that the will was written in Annis’s handwriting.

But back to Charles senior at Oxford Street. Although he styled himself a jeweller, I do not think we should compare him with the ones one now finds in Hatton Garden. Read trinkets and household goods instead of jewellery and you are nearer the mark for Danieli. A number of Old Bailey reports on thefts from his shop tell us what kind of things he sold. In 1824, two looking glasses were stolen⁽¹⁾; in 1833, a tea-caddy⁽²⁾; in 1835, a musical box, silver buttons, silver pencil-cases, a brooch, a hair-brush, knives and forks⁽³⁾; in 1839, a looking-glass and frame⁽⁴⁾; and in 1841, a work-box and some spoons.⁽⁵⁾ What is also indicative of his status – or non-status if you prefer – as a jeweller, is that he is frequently described as a general salesman, even by his own son Frederick when he gave evidence in the 1839 Old Bailey case. And in 1841, when Charles became bankrupt, he is described in The London Gazette as “jeweller, dealer and chapman”.⁽⁶⁾ Danieli ended up in the Debtor’s Prison for London and Middlesex⁽⁷⁾, but he did not have to stay in there for very long, as a year later he is described as “assistent to Charles George Danieli […] jeweller, silversmith, cutler, and dealer in every kind of Birmingham and Sheffield Ware, and Furniture and General Dealer.⁽⁸⁾

The 1843 Post Office Directory does indeed lists Charles senior’s son Charles George at number 315 as jeweller and silversmith, but a few doors away, at number 304, another son, James, could be found as jeweller, silversmith and clock maker. James was not listed by Tallis at number 304; he gives various businesses at that number, among them one Thesher, a silversmith, and one Willey, a print seller. The jewellery trade was kept very much in the Danieli family, as on his marriage certificate (1842) Frederick is also described as a jeweller. When William gets married in 1844, he is given the occupation of watch-maker. The following year, Charles senior dies, just 56 years old; he is buried on 24 August 1845 at St. Marylebone’s. 315 Oxford Street was at some point taken over by the Royal College of Chemistry, although they must have erected a new building, judging by the picture shown below.⁽⁹⁾

Royal College of Chemistry (Source: Universal Resource Management)

Plaque at 315, Oxford Street (now no. 299) (Source: London Remembers)

The 1851 census sees Charles George living in Islington as an artist with his wife Charlotte Emma and their children. The National Portrait Gallery tells us that an album of Charissima Emma Annis, 13 Little Titchfield Street, contains some leaflets concerning Charles George. It is not surprising that they ended up in the papers of the Annis family, considering they were Charles George’s family-in-law. His brother Frederick, by the way, married into the Reeves family which may explain an 1838 invoice that can also be found in the Annis papers for Danieli’s lessons in watercolours to a Miss G. Reeves. The leaflets produced by Charles George and found amongst the Annis papers, show that Danieli was trying to establish himself as a picture restorer in 1846.⁽¹⁰⁾ In one leaflet Danieli says that he is only working for the trade and in another, smaller, leaflet he advertises himself thus:

Carlo Giorgio Danieli, restorer of old paintings after the Italian method, begs to inform those who possess pictures that have suffered by time or otherwise, that his mode of restoring is entirely different to that in general use in England, and far excels it both by reinstating the picture in its original state, and securing it entirely from injury during the process.
C.G.D. being likewise an Artist understands more perfectly the composition of a picture, and in consequence the exact application of the process of restoring it; which he undertakes to perform in a superior manner, let the glazings and finish be ever so delicate. – At the same time it will be found worthy of notice that the terms are much below the usual charges for restoring in the ordinary way.

This leaflet, dated May 1846, has the hand-written address 50 Upper John Street, Fitzroy Square on it, while another copy, with the same text, but undated, gives 81, Newman Street, Oxford Street.

Charles George alleged that he had had 10 years of experience as an artist, especially as a copyist of Italian Old Masters and that he is capable of restoring and aging missing bits of paintings in such a way that no difference can be seen with the original. I don’t know what the good people of the BBC’s Fake or Fortune programme would think of this practise, but in the 1840s, it was quite an acceptable thing to do.
In the 1861 census, we find Charles George in Leamington Priors, Warwickshire, still as a picture restorer. He died 29 May 1866 at Leamington Priors and probate was granted to his widow.⁽¹¹⁾

The Catholic Directory and Ecclesiastical Register, 1851

Brother James at number 304 had died on 27 March, 1847, just 33 years old, but his widow Sophia continued the shop and an advertisement she put in the Catholic Directory shows us what kind of shop it was. I particularly like the combination of ornamental hair-work and engraving. Not quite what you would nowadays find in the same shop as watches and cutlery. Did James take over the business of Thresher who was mentioned by Tallis? And do the engravings the widow mentions in her advertisement have anything to do with Willey, the print seller? I will try and find out and let you know in the (future) posts on these two gentlemen.

—————–
(1) Old Bailey case t18241028-130.
(2) Old Bailey case t18330214-236.
(3) Old Bailey case t18351214-200.
(4) Old Bailey case t18390916-2496.
(5) Old Bailey cases t18410705-1851 and t18410301-900.
(6) The London Gazette, 17 December 1841.
(7) The London Gazette, 25 March 1842.
(8) The London Gazette, 31 March 1843.
(9) C.A. Russell, Edward Frankland: Chemistry, Controversy and Conspiracy in Victorian England (2003), p. 303 (online here).
(10) Westminster Archives, access number 1396/6.
(11) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1866. His estate is valued at under £200.

Neighbours:

<– 314 Oxford Street

314 Oxford Street –>

Richard, Richard and George Attenborough, jewellers and pawnbrokers

Tags

jeweller, pawnbroker

Street View: 61
Address: 110 Shoreditch High Street

As mentioned in the previous two posts, the Attenboroughs that had a pawnbroker’s or jeweller’s shop in London are manifold and cause many identification problems, especially the ones that are the subject of this post as they seem to be all over the place all at once, not to mention their predilection for the name Richard, but I will do my best to keep their story as simple as possible. Unfortunately, some family members will fall by the wayside, either because I cannot prove a relation between them, or including them would complicate matters unnecessarily. For a break-down of the Attenboroughs from Titchmarch, see the previous post and for the Attenboroughs from Blakesley, see here.

In this post I will attempt to sort out the ones from Titchmarsh that had their business at 110 Shoreditch, but to do so, we must first look at Robert Attenborough (1777-1809) who describes himself in his will as of Crown Street, Finsbury Square, pawnbroker. He mentions his brothers John and Richard who are to be the joint executors.⁽¹⁾ Not long after Robert’s demise, we find brother Richard (1780-1862) running the business in Crown Street. Robert’s sons are then still too young to be working, but in 1825, in an Old Bailey case, we learn that Richard (1809-1886), the son of the Robert who died in 1809 and the nephew of the Richard who took over the Crown Street pawnbroker’s, is working in his uncle’s shop.⁽²⁾ Crown Street, by the way, is sometimes given its later name of Sun Street, but the same property is meant. From at least 1812, one Alexander Innes Burgess (sometimes called plain Alexander and sometimes Alexander James) is working at the pawnbroker’s and is later taken on as a partner. The partnership is dissolved in 1838 and Burgess goes his own way.⁽³⁾ However, when the partnership is dissolved, the address of the business is given as 110 High Street, Shoreditch. When we look back through the Old Bailey cases, we find that at least from 1825 onwards, the 110 High Street shop is used by Richard alongside the Crown Street property. If the uncle and nephew had kept to these two addresses, there would not be a problem, but alas, their expansion drift knew no bounds.

68 Oxford Street

The 1841 census finds nephew Richard with his wife Elizabeth (who is also his cousin), their children (Mary 8 years old, Elizabeth, aged 6 and Richard, aged 2) in Oxford Street. Also living there as apprentices are yet another Richard Attenborough and a James Attenborough (both 15 years old, although that is probably approximate). There is a James Attenborough, silversmith, to be found in Victoria Road in 1851 who was born in 1823 in Titchmarch, and most likely the son of John and Susannah, and therefore nephew Richard’s cousin. Whether the other apprentice, Richard, is also the son of John and Susannah or another relation (perhaps Richard, son of George of Blakesley?) is unclear. But keep an eye on little Richard, the two-year old son of nephew Richard, as he will figure again later on. The 1842 Robson’s London Directory tells us that nephew Richard had his shop at 68 Oxford Street which was empty at the time Tallis brought out his Street View. It is also very badly depicted in the booklet with a gaping hole on the ground floor, so it may have been in the proces of being rebuilt for Richard.

Money Lent. An Accommodating Pawnbroker. Political satire, published by W. Dent, 1793

The 1848 Post Office Directory tells us that Richard senior (the uncle) is still working from 31 Crown Street, but also from 8 Bridge-house Place, Borough; the Shoreditch shop is not mentioned. The Bridge-house property must have been in his possession since at least 1835 as he takes out an insurance with the Sun Fire Office for the shop in that year. In 1848, nephew Richard is working from 68 Oxford Street and 1 Adam & Eve Court, but that latter address quickly disappears and is no longer listed for him in the 1851 Post Office Directory. The 110 Shoreditch address is back in the 1851 directory, but now belonging to George Attenborough (1815-1874) who also has shops at 31 Compton Street and 24 Kenton Street, Brunswick Square. He is the son of uncle Richard’s brother John. George is mentioned as working and living in Crown Street in various Old Bailey cases between 1833 and 1842. In 1850, he marries Harriet Elizabeth Leete, who, judging by her last name, was in some way related to George’s mother who was called Susanna Leete Coales, but I do not know how exactly. George died in 1874 and his probate entry describes him as of “11 Paragon, New-Kent-road and of 93 and 95 Old-Kent-road”.⁽⁴⁾ No more mention is made of the 110 High Street, Shoreditch shop.

In 1851, uncle and nephew Richard are living in the same house again, this time in Green Street House, East Ham. In 1861, Richard junior, the son of nephew Richard, can be found at 68 Oxford Street with his sister Mary. Unfortunately, young Richard dies just two years later.⁽⁵⁾ The business at 68 Oxford Street remains in the family as in 1871, we find nephew Richard living in Acton with the job description “pawnbroker 68 Oxford Street”. Ten years later, we find him at 52 Holland Park, but he is not happy and on 6 December 1886 he commits suicide.

“Dr Diplock held an inquest yesterday at no. 52, Holland-park, concerning the death of Mr Richard Attenborough, who shot himself with a revolver on Monday. –Miss Elizabeth Attenborough, daughter of the deceased, said her father was a pawnbroker, and was 77 years of age. Ever since Mrs Attenborough’s death [in 1884] deceased had been depressed and suffered from sleeplessness, and said he was worn out. On Monday witness heard a report as of firearms, and deceased was afterwards found, with a revolver near him, in a closet. –The Coroner asked if it was true that deceased had had to pay a large sum of money into the High Court of Justice. –Witness replied that she did not know; he had not mentioned any thing of the kind to her. –Dr R.A.Jackson, Ladbroke-grove, Notting-hill, said the bullet had entered the right ear and come out at the left temple. The wound must have been self-inflicted. –A verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind was returned.”⁽⁶⁾

Richard was buried at Brompton cemetery on the 10th. Probate was granted to his daughters Elizabeth and Annie, spinsters.⁽⁷⁾ Uncle Richard could be found living at the 8 Bridge-house Place, Newington Causeway, property in 1861. He died in 1862 and although his probate entry only mentions Bridge-house Place, a notice about his death in The Observer also mentions Crown Street, so he must have retained that shop till the end of his life.⁽⁸⁾ An 1864 notice in Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper mentions a John Attenborough at 8 Bridge-house Place, but I do not know how he was related to uncle Richard, or to the nephews Richard and George.

A pawnbroker’s shop from G.A. Sala’s Twice Round the Clock (1859)

Despite the use of the word jeweller, most of the pawnbroking business of 110 Shoreditch concerned everyday objects and pieces of clothing, rather than rings and watches. The Old Bailey cases where the Shoreditch or the Crown Street shops are mentioned, relate to items such as a looking glass, shawls, shirts, sheets, handkerchiefs, stockings and bits of carpet. For instance, in October 1831, Henry Horn, shopman to Attenborough’s at Shoreditch gave evidence in a case of a purloined shawl which the accused had pawned for 2s at the shop.⁽⁰⁾ And in another case, nephew Richard produces the sheet, valued at 3s, the accused had stolen from a farrier.⁽¹⁰⁾ Being accused of dealing in stolen items must have been a constant worry for pawnbrokers — it probably still is — and the Attenboroughs seemed to be in court quite often to give evidence on stolen property. In 1872, the Pawnbroker’s Act regulated the trade, making sure that pawnbrokers were of good character before they obtained their licence which could be revoked if the pawnbroker knowingly received stolen goods (see here). In 1907, Charles Leete Attenborough wrote The Law of Pawnbroking. With the Pawnbrokers’ Act, 1872, and the Factors’ Act, 1889, and Notes Thereon. Charles Leete was the son of George of 11 Paragon, New-Kent Road.

Pawnbroking and the jeweller’s trade seems to have run in the blood of any number of Attenboroughs and even today, Attenboroughs can still be found in London plying the same trade. There is a branch in Bethnal Green Road and their website states that they have been in business since 1892, but how they are related to the Attenboroughs that have been discussed in the last three posts is unclear.

(1) The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1491, 7 January 1809.
(2) Old Bailey, t18250113-59.
(3) First mention in 1812 (Old Bailey, t18120219-37); partnership dissolved (London Gazette, 30 January 1838); In 1848 he can be found as a pawnbroker at Clarence Place, Camberwell (Old Bailey, t18480918-2213).
(4) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1874. Probate was granted to Gill and Layman, pawnbrokers and his son John of St. Paul’s Churchyard, a solicitor. The estate was valued at £16,000.
(5) The Observer, 12 June 1864. Richard had died on the 4th of June and was buried at Brompton cemetery on the 10th.
(6) The Standard, 9 December 1886. Thanks go to Nicholas Thompson for sending me his information on the Attenboroughs and for alerting me to the tragic end of nephew Richard’s life.
(7) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1886. The estate was valued at just over £35,000.
(9) The Observer, 26 May 1862; England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1862. Probate was granted to nephews Richard and John (a farmer at Brigstock, Northants). The estate was valued at £120,000. Uncle Richard was also buried at Brompton cemetery.
(9) Old Bailey, t18311020-107.
(10) Old Bailey, t18251027-81.

You may also like to read the posts on Robert Attenborough of Charlotte Street, and on George and Richard Attenborough of Fleet Street and Piccadilly.
More information on the Attenborough family can be found in blog post 243 on the Landed Families of Britain site (here)

Neighbours:

<– 111 Shoreditch

109 Shoreditch –>

Robert Attenborough, jeweller and pawnbroker

Tags

jeweller, pawnbroker

Street View: 82
Addresses: 93 Charlotte Street

In a previous post, we saw Richard Attenborough of Blakesley married to Elizabeth Coales. Elizabeth was the niece of Susannah Leete Coales who married John Attenborough of Titchmarch. The story of the extended Attenbury family is quite a complicated one and especially the Titchmarch side of the family. To make the story not more complicated than it already is, I will leave out all the family members that do not figure in the pawnbroker’s story.

John Attenborough (1736-1800) of Titchmarsh and his wife Elizabeth Winfield had three sons:
-John (1773-1860), married Susannah Leete Coales (1780-1864); they had a son George (1815-1874) and a daughter Elizabeth (1804-1884) who married her cousin Richard (1809-1886). Susannah’s niece Elizabeth (1829-1914) married Richard (1822-1901) of Blakesley.
–Robert (1777-1809), married Mary; they had three sons: John (1806-1861, a farmer), Robert (1807-1892) and Richard (1809-1886; who married his cousin Elizabeth, the daughter of John)
–Richard (1780-1862), never married

The various family members spread themselves out as jewellers and pawnbrokers at many addresses in London. Only three of which are in the Tallis Street Views, one for the Blakesley lot (see here) and two for the Titchmarsh side of the family; the one you are reading now and this one. There were many more addresses, some of which will be mentioned, but others will unfortunately have to be ignored, either because I cannot quite work out what the family connection is, or because the story will get too complicated and too far removed from the Tallis Street Views, after all the subject of this blog.

Pawnbroker’s shop by Cruikshank to illustrate Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum Collection)

Tallis lists 110 High Street, Shoreditch and 93 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square for the Titchmarch Attenboroughs and I will start with the latter. Robert (1807-1892), the second son of Robert (1777-1809) was the jeweller / pawnbroker at 93 (later 93-94) Charlotte Street. The numbering in Charlotte Street has changed dramatically since then and the property is now number 10. The earliest mention I found for Robert in Charlotte Street is in an 1834 Old Bailey case where his shopman gave evidence.⁽¹⁾ The 1851 census lists Robert, his wife Mary Ann, two sons, three daughters, one assistant, two shopmen, a warehouseboy, two nurses, a housemaid and a cook. By 1861, he has removed his family to 56 Avenue Road where he remained until he died. Robert's name does figure a few times in Old Bailey cases when dodgy articles have been pawned in his shop, but he seems to have acted honourably on the whole (but do see later in this post) and tried to avoid acting as a fence, for instance in 1836 when he did not trust the chap who brought in some material and went to find the man’s master to see whether the pledge was genuine. It wasn’t.⁽²⁾

Two more addresses are found in Old Bailey cases for a Robert Attenborough: Greek Street (1855 and 1863) and Duke Street (1873 and 1874). In the Old Bailey transcripts, there is no evidence that it concerns the same Robert as the one in Charlotte Street, but a report in the Morning Post of 14 July 1851 on a burglary at Greek Street at least tells us that the owner, Robert Attenbrough, does not live above the shop, so it may certainly be a second shop belonging to the Robert of Charlotte Street. Robert figures several times in newspaper reports of fraudsters, cheats and liars trying to fob off stolen goods to the pawnbroker, either at Charlotte Street or Greek Street, but only in 1864 do we find evidence that it concerns one and the same Robert, incidentally also giving us information about the other Attenboroughs.

Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, 10 january 1864

The first time, 39 Duke Street, Manchester Square, is mentioned as the address for Robert Attenborough is in September 1866 when an assistant of Attenborough’s gave evidence against a suspected thief. The business is referred to as “late Neale”.⁽³⁾ In 1872, both the names of Robert and Percy Attenborough are mentioned in the newspapers when they reported on one of their employees who had been stealing from the firm. Percy turned out to be Robert Percy, Robert’s son, born on 10 January 1848.

Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, 5 October 1872

Robert was mentioned in Customs’ Administrators and Customs’ Reformers by James O’Dowd (1853) in an 1845 case where bent Custom officers had cheap French watches smuggled into England where they were distributed by a custom-house agent to various pawnbrokers from whom they were subsequently seized by the same customs officers who had hedged the plot. Attenborough was chosen as one of the victim as he dealt in that sort of material, but he got wind of the scheme and dispatched a friend to Calais to gather evidence. The two Customs officers were caught and fired from their office. O’Dowd gives this shortened version of events, but he also gives a longer version in which Attenborough does not act as honourably as he could by not voluntarily giving up all the watches he had in his possession and which had come from the swindlers. According to this version, Attenborough even offered the officers who came for the watches a bribe for which he was fined £50. The pawnbrokers who had been a victim of the smuggle scheme were allowed to retain the watches, but only after paying the import duty.

Robert died on 23 August, 1892 and the estate was valued at over £74,000.⁽⁴⁾ Percy died in 1930 and in his probate entry, there is no reference to the business, so it is unclear what happened to it.⁽⁵⁾ Despite the slur on his integrity in 1845, Robert is called the “prince of pawnbrokers” in a list of people who have died in 1892.⁽⁶⁾

———————
(1) Old Bailey t18341124-141a.
(2) Old Bailey, t18360404-1011.
(3) The Pall Mall Gazette, 24 September 1866.
(4) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1892. The estate was first valued at £66,000 but later revalued at £74,255.
(5) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1930.
(6) The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, 31 December 1892.

You may also like to read the posts on George and Richard Attenborough of Fleet Street and Piccadilly, and on Richard, Richard and George Attenborough of Shoreditch High Street and Crown Street, Finsbury Square, or on John Graham of 10 Ludgate Street whose son married Amy, the daughter of Robert.
More information on the Attenborough family can be found in blog post 243 on the Landed Families of Britain site (here)

Neighbours:

<– 94 Charlotte Street

92 Charlotte Street –>

George and Richard Attenborough, jewellers and pawnbrokers

Tags

jeweller, pawnbroker

Street View: 12 Suppl.
Address: 204 Fleet Street

The story of the extended Attenbury family who worked as pawnbrokers, silversmiths and/or jewellers in London is quite a complicated one and started in two villages in Northamptonshire, Blakesley and Titchmarch. I will come back to the Titchmarsh lot in later posts, but for now I will concentrate on George and Richard, the easier family group to sort out. George Attenborough senior (1791-1829), a farmer of Blakesley, and his wife Elizabeth had two sons who went to London to find a better life for themselves: George (1820-1892), who married Sarah Emma Parsons (1824-1897), and Richard (1822-1901), who married Elizabeth Coales (1829-1914). In 1844, George and Richard obtain their freedom of the City of London via the Company of Spectaclemakers by redemption. They are described as pawnbrokers and silversmiths. 1844 is also the year in which George marries Sarah Emma Parsons at Brighton. The couple’s son, Henry Arthur (1848-1930), receives his freedom of the Spectaclemakers in 1873 and takes over the business. Richard, although listed at number 204 when he obtains his freedom, at some point moves to 19 Piccadilly. We will come back to him later.

The three pawnbrokers’ balls can be seen on the Fleet Street shop on the right-hand side of the picture (Source: Illustrated London News via Wikipedia)

204 Fleet Street was built next to and over a small alleyway leading to Bell Yard, clearly visible on the left-hand side of the elevation at the top of this post and the rounded arch can also be seen just under and to the left of the pawnbroker’s symbol in the Illustrated London News illustration above. The shop was moved east a few houses to 193 Fleet Street, on the corner of Chancery Lane, probably in the early 1880s when Temple Bar was taken down and the Royal Courts of Justice were built. Another address found for the business is 71-72 Strand (photo here), but that may just have been a temporary address while the building work at Fleet Street was going on.

193 Fleet Street (Source: Google Street View)

The new premises on the corner of Chancery Lane were designed by the architects Archer & Green and, according to English Heritage, opened in 1883. Two 1884 photographs can be found here and detailed pictures of the decoration on the building can be seen on the blog post by Ornamental passions here. George lives out his days at Grove Lodge, Muswell Hill, Hornsey where he dies on 22 January 1892. His estate was valued at over £313,000, but later resworn at £321,000.⁽¹⁾ His widow Sarah Emma died in 1897 and his son Henry Arthur in 1930.⁽²⁾ Henry must have handed over the pawnbroker and jeweller’s shop between 1891 and 1901 as the census for 1901 finds him at Catesby Hall, Daventry, Northamptonshire, as a grazier and farmer, while the 1891 census still found him in London as a pawnbroker.

The 1911 census tells us that 193 Fleet Street was occupied by three pawnbroker’s assistants, one warehouse boy, a jeweller’s assistant, a housekeeper and a general servant. The name of the owner is given as George Attenborough. This must be the son of Henry Arthur who was born in 1873 and obtained his freedom of the Company of Spectaclemakers in 1897 by patrimony, probably at the time when his father retired. George was a clever chap and had been to Oxford where, according to the 1901 census, he obtained a BA. He died in December 1949 and is described in the probate entry as of Catesby near Daventry and of 193 Fleet Street.⁽³⁾ Over time, the shop became less of a pawnbroker’s and more a jeweller’s and still occupies the 1883 building. Their website can be found here.

Trade card for Richard (Source: British Museum)

Richard, although listed at number 204 Fleet Street when he takes out his freedom, at some point moves to 19 Piccadilly. He is not yet there when the Tallis Street View for Piccadilly comes out (number 19 is then occupied by Woolley an ironmonger), but when he marries Elizabeth Coales in 1849, he is described in The Observer as of Piccadilly and Portman Street. The Post Office Directories of 1848 and 1851 give, besides 19 Piccadilly, also 8 Portman Street, Portman Square, as his address. Richard and Elizabeth do, however, live above the property in Piccadilly where the 1851 census finds them with two assistants and two house servants. Richard makes quite a name for himself when he enters some of his work in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and his work merits a whole page in the Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue. At the next exhibition, in 1862, some of his jewels are depicted in the catalogue and described as “most refined examples”.

In 1856, the Post Office Directory lists Richard at both numbers 19 and 33. In 1870, he had his shop at 33 Piccadilly (by then encompassing numbers 34 and 35) entirely rebuilt and The Architect (27 August 1870) fills a whole column describing the new building (online here), illustrating it with the drawing of which you see the lower section below.

The Architect, 1870

In the 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses, we find Richard living at Whitley Grove, St. Giles, Reading, variously described as landowner, pawnbroker, silversmith and farmer. In 1873, his entire herd is sold at auction.⁽⁴⁾ This had probably all to do with a compulsory purchase order on the farm taken out by Reading Town Council for drainage purposes.⁽⁵⁾ Given the extensive building work at Piccadilly, the exclusive silverwork he produced which received only praise, and his move to the countryside, one might assume that Richard was doing very well, but instead of leaving a similar sum of £300,000 at his death in 1901 as his brother George had done, Richard left a ‘mere’ £5,800 in assets.⁽⁶⁾ Not to be sneezed at of course, but more could have been expected. A possible explanation is a bad investment. According to culturalecology.info, Richard retired from his business in London in 1874 and bought the Lower Resolven colliery in Wales. By 1885, “extravagant living and ignorance of the trade brought their nemesis when he failed, with assets negligible and debts of nearly a quarter of a million”.⁽⁷⁾ Unfortunately, the article does not give any references, so no idea where the information came from, but it would certainly explain the drop in Richard’s financial resources. By 1891, Richard had moved back to his roots and could be found at the Manor House in Horton, Northamptonshire, where he spent the rest of his days.

(1) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1892.
(2) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1897 and BMD Death Index December 1930.
(3) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1950.
(4) Thornton’s Circular. A Record of Shorthorn Transactions, vol. 3, January 1872 to December 1873.
(5) The Builder, 29 March 1873.
(6) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1902. Estae valued at just over £5,800.
(7) ‘Living and Working by Water’ by culturalecology.info (online here).

You may also like to read the posts on Robert Attenborough of Charlotte Street, and on Richard, Richard and George Attenborough of Shoreditch High Street and Crown Street, Finsbury Square.
More information on the Attenborough family can be found in blog post 243 on the Landed Families of Britain site (here)

Neighbours:

<– 205 Fleet Street

205 Fleet Street –>