More than Oliver Twist: Biography ______Inmate Name: George Edmund Fox (b.1868, d. 1947)

30th January 2020 Caroline Woods

George Edmund Fox was born to parents John Edmund and Martha Ann Fox on 22nd February 1868, in the tiny hamlet of Yarrow, , . (1) He was baptised at St Mary’s Church, on 5th April 1868, his father’s occupation being shown in the records as a gardener. (2)

George’s parents had married in 1862 when John was 64 years and Martha 32 years. (3) John had been married before to Rosamond by whom he had a daughter Maria, George’s half-sister. (4). Rosamond had died in 1860. (5)

Sadly, George’s mother Martha died within a few weeks of his birth, probably from postnatal complications, and was buried in Bintree churchyard on 6th March 1868. (6) What happened to George following Martha’s death isn’t clear, but the 1871 census finds him boarding at the tender age of three years with the Southgate family in North Elmham. (7)

Who were the Southgate family of North Elmham and why did they give George a home? The head of the family was Thomas and it would seem he was George’s first cousin. (7) George’s Aunt, Charlotte Fox had married Thomas Southgate in 1813 and they gave birth to Thomas Southgate around 1818. (8) (9) The 1841 census for West Raynham shows Thomas living in the parish of his birth, aged 23 years and a blacksmith. (10) By 1851 he has married and living with his own family in North Elmham and it is to this home that George comes as an infant. (11) The following photograph shows the forge at North Elmham in 1870. George was probably already living with Thomas when it was taken. (12) One of the men shown in the photograph is likely to be Thomas – maybe the gentleman to the fore of the picture?

Where was George’s father John at this time? No record of his death between George’s birth and 1871 can be found so it would appear he was still alive. However, a John Fox, gardener, is shown as living alone in Bintree on the 1871 census. (13) Although this census record shows him as 65 years, he would in fact have been 73 years and perhaps

More Than Oliver Twist ACE Funded SSN Project Workhouse Network too old to raise a toddler on his own and work without any other support network. George’s half-sister Maria doesn’t seem to be nearby to help her father. She had married a Jeremiah Southgate from Essex in 1854 and, as no local records for her can be found after this date, probably returned with him to Essex to live there. (14) Whether he is related to the North Elmham Southgate’s has not been investigated to date.

Unfortunately, family life did not continue for George as the 1881 census finds him in the Workhouse, aged 13 years. (15) What had happened to the Southgates to mean George could not continue living with them? Records show Thomas dies in 1875, followed by wife Sarah in 1877. (16) (17) Their daughter Rosamond, who was living at home in 1871, had married in 1872. (18) George’s own father does not appear on any census record for 1881 and has probably died, as a John Edward [Edmund] Fox is recorded as being buried in Bintree churchyard in 1876. (19)

George did not remain in the workhouse for long, as in May 1881 he was taken into service by Henry Raven, Surgeon, of . (20) The Proposal of Service form for George, now aged 14 years, shows his parents as being dead. He is to receive £3 with board, lodging and washing, with an amount of £2 10s to be given by the Board of Guardians in clothing. George’s benefactor Henry Raven was a Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator for the Poor Law Union. (21)

Maybe working for Henry Raven set George on the path to better things for by the 1891 census he had not only moved jobs but moved counties! In a surprising turn of events he is found working as a footman at Dale Park House, Madehurst, West Sussex, the home of Charles J Fletcher, JP, and his family. (22) Dale Park House was a grand country house (now demolished) built in 1784 and inherited by Charles from his father in 1875. Sales particulars from 1825 ‘note the size of the estate to be 2565 acres, the house having five bedrooms on the first floor, seven bedrooms on the second floor and five bedrooms for servants. There was a kitchen garden, newly erected Grapery, pleasure gardens, shrubbery and walks, rides, drives, five lodges, plantations/woods and an icehouse in the park’. (23) What must George, have thought of such a place? How did he end up working in this affluent household? Could it be through Henry Raven’s connections or did he simply see the position advertised and apply for the job? It was quite a varied household for on the night of the 1891 census there were Charles, his wife and six children, a niece, two visitors plus 18 servants including George in the house! The servants came, not just from other parts of the country, but from Switzerland, Belgium, France and America. (22) As this picture drawn by John Preston Neale in 1829 shows, quite an impressive place to live and work. (24)

How long George remained in service with the Fletchers is not known but by the 1901 census he has had a change of career, working as a water company inspector and living in a boarding house in Paddington, London. (25) How did these changes come about? The Fletcher family also had a property at Grosvenor Place, London. (23) Could George

More Than Oliver Twist ACE Funded SSN Project Workhouse Network have worked here at some point and decided he preferred London life? What did he make of living in London after a rural existence up to this point?

Having made the move to London George continued to live there, meeting his wife Jane and marrying her in Whitechapel in October 1903. (26) The 1911 census finds them living in Pimlico, George working for the Metropolitan Water Board and now a foreman. (27)

George next appears in the records on the 1939 Register, retired from the water board and living with wife Jane in Great Dunmow, Essex. (28). He dies in March 1947 at the age of 78 years, with his wife passing away the following year aged 84 years. (29) (30) No records can be found of the couple having any children or of George or Jane leaving a will. Reference list

(1) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1868). Certified entry recording birth on the Civil Registration Index, March 1868. Available at: www.gro.gov.uk (Accessed 18 December 2019)

(2) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1868). 1813 to 1880 Baptism Project North Elmham St Mary. Available at: http://tinstaafl.co.uk/nbp/Church_Pages/elmham_nth4.htm (Accessed 18 December 2019)

(3) ‘John Fox’ (1862). Certified entry recording marriage, Marriages 1538-1973. Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 18 December 2019)

(4) ‘John Fox’ (1841). Census return for Yarrow, Bintry [Bintree], East subdistrict, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: HO107/1841, folio 9, p. 12 (1841). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 15 January 2020)

(5) ‘Rosamond Fox’ (1860). Certified entry recording death, England & Wales Deaths 1837-2007. Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed 15 January 2020)

(6) ‘Martha Ann Fox’ (1868). Entry recording burial at Norfolk Record Office, Parish Burials. Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 18 December 2019)

(7) ‘George Edmond [Edmund] Fox’ (1871) Census return for Eastgate Street, North Elmham, Mitford district, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: RG10/1849, folio 70, p. 15 (1871). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 4 December 2019)

(8) ‘Charlotte Fox’ (1813) Norfolk, Church of England Banns and Marriages, Northamptonshire Record Office; Northampton. Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk (Accessed: 20 January 2020)

(9) ‘John E Fox’ (1798) Norfolk, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812, Northamptonshire Record Office; Northampton. Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk (Accessed: 18 January 2020)

(10) ‘Thomas Southgate’ (1841) Census return for West Raynham, Walsingham district, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: HO107/771, folio 2, p. 7 (1841). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 20 January 2020)

(11) ‘Thomas Southgate’ (1851) Census return for Eastgate Street, North Elmham, Mitford district, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: HO107/1825, folio 519, p. 25 (1851). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 20 January 2020)

(12) ‘North Elmham Forge’ (1870). Photograph supplied by Steve Pope, Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse Museum (Accessed: 14 January 2020)

(13) ‘John Fox’ (1871) Census return for Bintree, Mitford district, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: RG10/1849, folio 31, p. 16 (1871). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 19 December 2019)

(14) ‘Maria Fox’ (1854) Norfolk Banns and Marriages. Norfolk Public Record Office: ref PD276/67, p. 16 (1854). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 16 January 2020)

More Than Oliver Twist ACE Funded SSN Project Workhouse Network (15) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1881) Census return for The Workhouse of the Mitford & Launditch Union, Gressenhall, East Dereham subdistrict, Norfolk. Norfolk Public Record Office: PRO 1980/112, folio 5, p. 8 (1881). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 21 November 2019)

(16) ‘Thomas Southgate’ (1875). Certified entry recording death on the Civil Registration Index, June 1875. Available: www.freebmd.org.uk (Accessed 20 January 2020)

(17) ‘Sarah Southgate’ (1877). Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish Records, Parish Burials. Norfolk Public Record Office: ref. PD209/16, p. 173 (1877). Available: www.ancestry.co.uk (Accessed 20 January 2020)

(18) ‘Rosamond Southgate’ (1872) Norfolk Banns and Marriages. Norfolk Public Record Office: ref. PD209/10, p. 99 (1872). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 20 January 2020)

(19) ‘John Fox’ (1876). Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish Records, Parish Burials. Norfolk Public Record Office: ref. PD276/8, p. 50 (1876). Available: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed 20 January 2020)

(20) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1881). ‘Proposal of Service for Pauper Child maintained in Union workhouse’. Form regarding the proposal of service for a child maintained in the Mitford and Launditch Union. TNA MH12/8490/165. The National Archive. Available at: www.discovery.nationalarchives.co.uk (Accessed: 8 January 2020)

(21) ‘Henry Raven’ (1876). Letter from the Clerk to the Guardians of the Mitford and Launditch Poor Law Union to the Local Government Board. He makes reference to Henry Raven as medical officer and public vaccinator for the Union. TNA MH12/8488/9. The National Archive. Available at: www.discovery.nationalarchives.co.uk (Accessed: 8 January 2020)

(22) ‘George E Fox’ (1891) Census return for Dale Park House, Madehurst, Barnham, Westhampnett district, West Sussex. Sussex Public Record Office: RG12/843, folio 83, p. 10 (1891). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 12 December 2019)

(23) ‘Dale Park House’. History available at www.parksandgardens.org/places/dale-park-madehurst. (Accessed 13 January 2020)

(24) ‘Dale Park House’. Picture available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Park. Accessed 13 January 2020

(25) ‘George Fox’ (1901) Census return for 30 Northumberland Place, Paddington, Paddington district, London, Middlesex. Middlesex Public Record Office: RG13/10, folio 87, p. 28 (1901). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 12 December 2019)

(26) 'George Edmund Fox' (1903). London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p93/mrk/008. Available: www.ancestry.co.uk (Accessed 03 January 2020)

(27) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1911) Census return for 58 Charlwood Street, Pimlico SW, London, St George Hanover Square district, Belgrave sub district, Middlesex. Middlesex Public Record Office: RG78PN15 RD5 SD2 ED 24 SN 371, RG78 code no. 15, piece no. 456 (1911). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 12 December 2019)

(28) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1939) 1939 Register for Morris Cottages, Dunmow RD, Essex. Essex Public Record Office: Ref. RG101/1568E/004/12, letter code DDGW (1939). Available at: www.findmypast.co.uk (Accessed: 12 December 2019)

(29) ‘George Edmund Fox’ (1947). Certified entry recording death on the Civil Registration Index, March 1947. Available: www.freebmd.org.uk (Accessed 4 January 2020)

(30) ‘Jane Fox’ (1948). Certified entry recording death on the Civil Registration Index, September 1948. Available: www.freebmd.org.uk (Accessed 8 January 2020)

More Than Oliver Twist ACE Funded SSN Project Workhouse Network