Nellie and Charles Burton

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Title

Nellie and Charles Burton

Description

The top two photographs depict Charles and Nellie Burton outside the back door of the house on Great House Street in Timberscombe where they lived from 1950 to c. 1964. To Mr. and Mrs. Burton, their home was known as Rona but was later renamed Paxholt. Rona was at least the third place they lived in and around Timberscombe, having also been at Stowey Farm (about two miles south of Rona and officially addressed as part of Wheddon Cross) and Clouds (situated at Cowbridge Cross, on the edge of the hamlet of Cowbridge and northeast of Timberscombe). Charles was born in Hertfordshire and Nellie originally came from Wiltshire. Their routes to Somerset--and the properties they inhabited -- are a classic reflection of the life of working class people in the first half of 20th century Britain.

Nellie was born in 1889 as Ellen Emma Bowey in Salisbury, Wiltshire to Henry and Henrietta (nee Paull) Bowey, their fifth child following Gertrude, John, Henry and Edwin and would be followed by three other sisters, Elizabeth, Eva and Annie (1). The family lived at the wonderfully named Fisherton Anger in the district of Alderbury, where Nellie was baptised on the 5th of May 1895 (2). Before she was born, her father had listed himself as a "Bricklayer's Labourer" and later as a "General Labourer" but around the time of Nellie's arrival, Henry Bowey described his occupation as "Owner of Meadow"(3).

By the 1911 Census, 20-year-old Helen (as she was mistakingly identified) Emma Bowey was working at 33 Lowndes Square, on the northwestern end of Belgravia, London (4), one of ten listed servants in the household of Sir George Francis Bonham (1847-1927), a retired member of the Diplomatic Service , who had served at embassies in Lisbon, The Hague, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Rome, Madrid, Serbia, Switzerland and Paris (5). On the census, the positions of the ten servants was not specified but it is likely Nellie Bowey was at work in the kitchen.

On the 12th of February 2022, Peter Burton, living Maldon, Essex and the youngest of five brothers, all grandsons of Charles and Nellie Burton, was visiting in Wootton Courtney, "looking up a few haunts from my family history". In particular, Mr. Burton contacted the St. Petrock's History Group, searching the exact location of the house he knew of as Rona. On the follow-up, Peter Burton's eldest brother, David Burton, of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, was able to supply the second and third photographs seen above and Peter was able to supply excerpts from a short biography written by his and David's father, Edwin Charles Burton, the first child of Charles and Nellie Burton. Further support was later offered by Charles and Nellie's second grandson, Christopher Burton of Tiptree, Essex and third grandson and his wife, Stephen and Sue Burton of Hertford.

On his biography, Edwin Charles Burton wrote "By 1914, my mother, who had worked her way up through the kitchens of several great houses, was serving as a kitchen-maid at Briggens House at Roydon, on the borders of Essex and Hertfordshire". At Briggens, Nellie would have been employed by Herbert Cokayne Gibbs (1854-1935), a merchant banker and the 1st Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon (6). Among Nellie's duties was to accept produce delivered to the estate, including game in season which was "brought to the house by a handsome young game-keeper....."

That young man was Charles Issac Burton, coming over from the neighbouring village of Hunsdon, where he was born on the 30th of December 1883, the third child of Charles and Hannah (nee Bennett) Burton. His older siblings were Mary and Alfred and he was followed by Florence, Kate, Harry, Ethel, Frederick and Robert William (7). Their father was an agricultural labourer. At the age of seventeen, the younger Charles Burton was working as a Domestic Garden Labourer (8) but by the 1911 Census, he had become a gamekeeper, thus coming to Briggens House and meeting the kitchen-maid. Charles Burton and Nellie Bowey were married on the 3rd of March 1917 at St. George, Hanover Square, London (9).

On their wedding register, under "Residence at the time of Marriage", both the groom and bride gave London addresses. Charles was still working as a gamekeeper at "20 Uckland Road Enfield Wash", located in Middlesex, Greater London. Nellie's address was "N. Grosvenor Bldgs, W." and for "Rank or Profession" nothing was listed but likely, be it at Grosvenor Road in Pimlico or Grosvenor Street or Square in Mayfair, she was probably cooking. According to their son, Edwin Charles, it was "soon after" the wedding that Charles was mobilised into the Royal Garrison Artillery and stationed in Germany. He was demobilised in 1919 and on 19 February 1920, Edwin was born in Marylebone, London, with a sister, Elizabeth (Betty) following in October 1921, also at Marylebone (10).

According to the 1921 Census, taken before the birth of Betty, Charles and Nellie Burton, along with Edwin, were already living at Queens Gate in London (11), suggesting that both parents had begun working for the man who would affect the rest of their lives. Fred Beadle was born in 1872 at Erith, Kent and in 1894 married Ethel Marion Norris. Mr. Beadle made his fortune first as a coal merchant and then as a director of various industrial companies (12). Before the outbreak of World War I, Beadle and his wife had purchased their London home at 1 Queens Gate, on a terraced row in Kensington and in 1919 bought a country home, Stowey Farm, south of Timberscombe (13).

In April 1923, Ethel Marion Beadle died at Stowey Farm (14). On 25 January 1925, Fred Beadle married an artist, 20-year-old Suzanne Bechley-Crundall from Hampstead, London (15). Over the next few years, Mr. Beadle began purchasing land and several buildings around Timberscombe, including in 1928, properties in and around the Hole's Square section of the village (16), which might have included Rona. Rona was semi-detached on its left to a similar property called Corner Cottage. Obviously built around the same time, in similar style, they are on a site where at some point before 1905 previous buildings had been severely damaged, perhaps by fire. The destruction is pictured on a postcard postmarked February 1905, seen at SP-001. The two new structures, both with a rough render, were probably completed by the 2nd of September 1907, when Sidney, Reginald, William and Edwin Thorne were enrolled at the Timberscombe School, with their address recorded as being in the village. The Thorne family had recently arrived in Timberscombe and this likely would have been their first home in the area. Living at Rona in 1911--so perhaps its first occupants--were Robert Baker, a Timber Haulier with his wife Mary Ann (nee Webber) Baker and two of their sons, 22-year-old John Henry and 13-year old Albert. Both families lived at these properties at least until after the 1921 Census (17).

The top photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Burton was donated in 2022 by Joy Booth, who was born at Stowey Farm, where her father was the Bailiff. A handwritten note on the photograph states that Nellie was the cook at Stowey from the early 1930's but it is apparent that both her and Charles were established at 1 Queens Gate before then. Their children, Edwin and Betty, were raised there and spent holidays at Stowey (18). Geoff Peirce, the son of Harold Peirce, Mr. Beadle's butler recalled that by the outbreak of World War II, most family and servants of Fred Beadle, still at 1 Queens Gate, came to Stowey Farm (19). Certainly another reason was that on the 18th of December 1939, the Court Circular Column of Buckingham Palace, printed in The Times, reported that Mr. and Mrs. Beadle had left No. 1 Queens Gate and that their present London address was 15 Grosvenor Square, with their "permanent address" remaining as "Stowey Farm, Timberscombe, Minehead".

Harold Peirce, Mr. Beadle's butler and his wife, Eileen (nee Moxham) Peirce also had a daughter, Shirley, born at London in 1935, with Nellie Burton named as her godmother. In December 2008, now Mrs. Eason, Shirley recalled earlier visits to Nellie and Charles Burton at Rona (as pictured at SP-315) and still kept in touch with their daughter, Betty, then in her 80's (20).

Betty Burton is possibly the photographer of the second and third photographs (21). It is evident in all three photographs that Charles Burton had a good smile but also was in a wheelchair. Coming to work in Kensington, Mr. Burton's job had evolved from gamekeeper to caretaker. It was in this capacity that in the mid 1930s, Charles was "involved in a tussle with an intruder" at 1 Queens Gate. During the struggle, World War I shrapnel in his back shifted, cutting into his spinal cord. Charles Burton never walked again (22). This would seem a factor-- besides their years of service-- in the support the Beadles offered Mr. and Mrs. Burton for the rest of their lives.

1943 was a busy year for Fred Beadle, continuing to purchase and sell properties in and around Timberscombe, beginning with his own residence. In January, he and Suzanne left Stowey Farm to relocate to Clouds (23), built during 1925 in the modern Dutch Cape Style (24). Clouds was certainly a smaller property than Stowey Farm but by the 17th of July, the Beadles were joined by the Burtons (25). The third photograph was dated 1947 and depicts Charles and a dog in "the shack", where he and Nellie lived while at Clouds. As 1943 proceeded, Mr. Beadle purchased other Timberscombe properties, including the apartment house, Rosemont on Brook Street (26) and the Old Forge in the village centre that had been converted into three flats (27). This could also be when Fred Beadle purchased Rona.

Some sources have Nellie continuing to cook for Fred and Suzanne Beadle into the 1950's. but certainly they were at Rona, described as their retirement home, by 21 April 1950 (28). Both Shirley Eason and Betty Burton (written in her Life's Stories) cite that Nellie Burton retired when moving to Rona and when Mr. and Mrs. Beadle left Clouds, moving to Willet House in Elsworthy, Somerset. Below the photographs is a letter, written and signed on the 7th of January 1963 by Charles and Nellie Burton and sent to Suzanne Beadle ---and kindly shared in 2022 by David Burton. It is clear that Rona was provided to Mr. and Mrs. Burton for life but remained owned by the Beadles.

Charles Burton died in October 1964 (29) and Nellie Burton died at Tone Vale Hospital in Bishops Lydeard on 25 September 1975 (30). At the start of World War II, their son, Edwin, had been called up into the Somerset Light Infantry. Post war, he returned to London, where in 1946, he met Elsie Greenwood (31). They married in 1948 (32), with David, the first of their five boys, born in 1949 and Peter, the youngest, born nine years later, thus having memories of grandad and granny. On the 40th wedding anniversary of Edwin and Elsie, their sons, David, Christopher, Stephen and Peter took them for a celebration meal. (A fourth son, Mark, had passed away in 1987). Their chosen venue was Briggens House, then a hotel, where Nellie and Charles met (33).

Creator

Anonymous /
perhaps Elizabeth (Betty) Burton /
perhaps Elizabeth (Betty) Burton /
Charles Issac Burton and Ellen Emma Burton

Date

between 1950 and 1964
between 1950 and 1964
1947
7 January 1963

Language

English

Identifier

Charles and Nellie Burton at Rona (later Paxholt), on Great House Street, Timberscombe, between 1950 and 1964 / Charles Burton at "the shack" at Clouds, Cowbridge Crossing, 1947 / letter from Charles and Nellie Burton to Suzanne Beadle , January 7, 1963

Acquisition Date

2022
2022
2022
2022

Acquisition Method

Gift
Gift
Gift
Gift

Category

PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Occupations / Timberscombe

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

entered by Tom Sperling

Condition Date

2022

Dimension Type

W X L

Dimension Units

cm

Dimension Value

20.5 X 17
19 X 14.5
12 X 17.5
11.5 X 9
15 X 12 (ID card for Nellie Burton, National Registration Office)

Institution Name

St. Petrock's History Group

Notes

(1) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 and 1881 and 1891 England Censuses (2) Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916 (3) 1881, 1891 and 1901 England Censuses (4) search, savills.com (5) hyperleap.com and Directory of British Diplomats-Colin Mackies, gulabin.com (6) en.wikipedia.org and The National Portrait Gallery, npg.org.uk (7) England & Wales, Christenings Index, 1530-1980 and England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 and 1891, 1901 and 1911 England Censuses (8) 1901 England Census (9) Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935 (10) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 (11) the 1921 England Census information placing Charles, Ellen and Edwin Burton was supplied by Sue Burton, the wife of Stephen Burton, the third grandson of Charles and Ellen (12) 1881 England Census and Bexley, Kent, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935, 1911 England Census and "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE", community website of Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe, LOCAL HISTORY, "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm" , wheddoncross.org.uk (13) H.M. Land Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 27 May 1927 and "Particulars, Plans & Conditions of Sale of a VALUABLE FREEHOLD ESTATE, known as 'STOWEY FARM', by Messrs, RISDON & LEVERSHA, on MONDAY, 30th JUNE 1919" (14) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Allegations) 1858-1995 (15) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 and 1939 England and Wales Register (16) H.M. Land Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 18 June 1928 (17) Timberscombe School ADMISSION REGISTER, 1897-1944, Nos. 225,226,227 and 228, 1901 England Census, Somerset England, Church of England Baptisms, 1911 and 1921 England Censuses (18) as recalled from Edwin Charles Burton's short biography of his parents by his son, Peter Burton, on 18 February 2022 (19) "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE", community website of Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe, LOCAL HISTORY, "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm", wheddoncross.org.uk (20) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 and a letter sent to Jim and Terry Bruce of East Harwood Cottages on 8 December 2008 by Shirley (nee Peirce) Eason and shared by the Bruce family in June 2022 (21) as recalled by David Burton in June 2022 (22) as recalled on 15 February 2022 by David Burton (23) H.M. Land Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 19 January 1943 (24) Historic England, British Listed Buildings.co.uk (25) the ID card of Nellie Barton, postmarked by the National Registration Office that she was at Clouds on 17 July 1943, as shared by her grandson, David Barton (26) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995 (27) as recalled in 2022 by Joy (nee Land) Booth, in that her grandparents, John and Florence Bertha Burnett and their daughter Elsie May (Joy's mother) were among the first to lease a flat the Old Forge--and were evicted around 1943 by Mr. Beadle who had purchased the former forge, shortly after the death of Mr. Burnett (28) the ID card of Nellie Burton, postmarked by the National Registration Office that she was at Rona Cottage on 21 April 1950, as shared by her grandson, David Burton (29) England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 (30) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995 (31) as recalled by Peter Burton on 18 February 2022 (32) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (33) as recalled by Peter Burton on 18 February 2022

Storage Location

St. Petrock's History Group Archive

Storage Date

2022

Storage Notes

St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS

Item Reference

SP-285

Technique

Copies

Comments

Citation

Anonymous / perhaps Elizabeth (Betty) Burton / perhaps Elizabeth (Betty) Burton / Charles Issac Burton and Ellen Emma Burton, “Nellie and Charles Burton,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed April 28, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3579.