Introduction

The period between 1837 to 1914 is an era that in many way has defined much of what we consider to be "Englishness" - if such a thing can be defined - of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Morally and politically, this period began with the passage of the Reform Act 1832 which introduced voting reform; it abolished tiny districts, gave representation to cities, gave the vote to small landowners, tenant farmers, shopkeepers, and householders who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more. But it also enshrined for the first time that only qualifying men were able to vote; the Act introduced the first explicit statutory bar to women voting. 

The 19th century also saw a strong religious drive for higher moral standards led by the nonconformist churches, such as the Methodists, and the Evangelical wing of the established Church of England. The pursuit of a moral purpose was to perhaps best manifested in the educational reforms through a series of Acts of Parliament in 1870, 1876, 1891, and 1897, that saw the establishment of the free school systems that we know today.  The British population not only approached universal literacy towards the end of the era but also became increasingly well-educated; the market for reading materials of all kinds boomed.

Victorian morality was a surprising new reality. The changes in moral standards and actual behaviour across the British were profound. Historian Harold Perkin wrote:

"Between 1780 and 1850 the English ceased to be one of the most aggressive, brutal, rowdy, outspoken, riotous, cruel and bloodthirsty nations in the world and became one of the most inhibited, polite, orderly, tender-minded, prudish and hypocritical"

Technologically, this era saw a staggering amount of innovations that proved key to Britain's power and prosperity. Doctors started moving away from tradition towards a science-based approach; modern medicine saw the light of day thanks to the adoption of the germ theory of disease and pioneering research in epidemiology. 

Domestically, the political agenda was increasingly liberal, with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual political and social reform. There were unprecedented demographic changes: the population of England and Wales almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901. Between 1837 and 1901 about 15 million emigrated from Great Britain, mostly to the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. 

International free trade was maintained by the country's naval and industrial supremacy, linked with global imperial expansion, particularly in Asia and Africa, made the British Empire the largest empire in history. 

The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. Her son and successor, Edward VII, was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe. Looking back through the prism of two world wars, the 1901-1914 period It is often seen as a lost golden age. The Edwardian era spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910, and is generally expanded to the start of the First World War.

The era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had largely been excluded from power, such as labourers, servants, and the industrial working class; and increasingly, women started to be have a more active role in politics. 

In the Village

In Great Addington, the social changes brought in by inclosure were already 30 years in the past by the start of Queen Victoria's reign. The woollen industry was also largely a thing of the past. As with previous periods, this era saw both continuity in the families that lived in the village, but also significant change in the chief forms of employment in and around the village. 

The village also saw the introduction of the railways, which gave the village rapid access to not only the linked towns within the county, but also brought the country to Great Addington. One of the most visible legacies of the introduction of the railways is the use of red brick in buildings. Before the railways, as limestone was easily extracted in the area it was the obvious choice for building material. But with the introduction of the railways, cheap brick could be easily transported in large heavy quantities from the factories and swiftly began to replace stone as the cheapest material to use. It is during the 19th century that brick built houses and brick facades on older stone houses appeared. See the section Rivers, Roads & Rail for more information.

From the 1860's onwards, Great Addington also benefited from two significant land owners moving to and living in the village, taking over from the absentee landlords of the past 300 years. 

James Rennie Wilkinson acquired the Andrew estate in 1865 (itself the remnants of the Medieval de Vere manorial estate), built Shooters Hill, and lived there until his suicide in 1913. Though a quiet and reserved man, he very much the archetypal Victorian non-conformist, Liberal, social reformer; and was a prominent figure in Northamptonshire politics for nearly 50 years.

Sidney Leveson-Lane and his wife the Dowager Viscountess Downe, acquired Great Addington Manor House (then known as Addington Hall) and a significant amount of the land in the parish in the 1870's. Their extensive remodelling of the Jacobean Addington House and two large extensions - each as large as the original house - resulted in the Manor House that we see today. The couple settled into a quiet, but involved, life as "Lord & Lady of the Manor". They were perhaps the opposite of James Rennie Wilkinson. Where he represented social and educational reform, they were representative of the titled and privelleged aristocracy.

Two wealthy individuals, both of whom had an impact upon the village, but perhaps it is the reserved James Rennie Wilkinson, who had the greatest impact outside the village at the time, and deserves the greater recognition.

Sidneys's mother, Agnes, made sure that her six sons hadgood careers: three in the army, one a barrister, one in the church and one in the foreign office, and that her two daughters married well into the aristocracy. Whether through her intentions or not, many of her sons also happened to marry wealthy heiresses

Sidney was educated at Christ Church ,Oxford where he gained a BA and in 1853 was "called to the bar", meaning he had qualified as a barrister, though it is not clear whether he ever worked in a law practice. 

He was commissioned as an officer with the rank of Captain in the King's Own (1st Staffordshire) Militia in 1852, and with the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, the militia were called out for home defence. The 1st Staffordshires assembled 1,171 strong for annual training at Lichfield on 20 April. On 16 May 1854 the regiment was invited to volunteer for permanent service, and 645 volunteers were selected to be embodied. On 30 May they proceeded to Dover to take on garrison duties. 

In January 1855 the 1st Staffordshire was one of the militia regiments invited to volunteer for overseas service: 596 men did so. The service companies - inclusing Sidney - embarked at Portsmouth on SS Hansa and arrived at Corfu in the Ionian Islands on 15 April. They were stationed at Fort Neuf Barracks. In August the regiment sent a detachment to Ithaca, then on 24 August the main body embarked on the transport Indiana for Argostoli on Cephalonia, from where it sent further detachments to Luxuri and Fort George. From the autumn of 1855 the regiment suffered badly from sickness: 25 men and three women and children died and at one period during the summer of 1856 a third of the regiment at Argostoli was in hospital. On 18 August 1856 three companies embarked for home on the Mauritius and arrived at Lichfield on 16 September. The main body of the regiment embarked on the Prince Arthur on 30 August and reached home on 22 September. The regiment was disembodied on 1 October 1856. It was awarded the Battle honour Mediterranean for this service.

Whilst the 1st Staffordshires were not involved in fighting during their posting to the Ionian island, they did suffer greatly with "fever" - probably Malaria. 

It is not clear how Mary and Sidney met, but 6 January 1863 the couple were married at Easingwold. She was nearly 37 and Sidney was 32. Prior to the wedding, a form of pre-nuptial agreement was drawn up and signed on the 3 January 1863 to censure that Sidney had no claim on the Dawnay estates through his marriage to Mary. A similar document had been drawn up when Mary had married William Dawnay.

In 1863, Sidney's brother, the Reverand Ernald Lane, as apointed as assistant priest - "curate" - at Baldersby who was also tutor to Lewis Dawnay, Mary’s second son. The position was perhaps a gift from Mary to the Lane family. Ernald was to go on and have significant career in the Church of England, becoming Dean of Rochester.

On 15 November 1863 Mary gave birth to her eleventh child, a son, Sidney Ernald Ralph Lane, to be followed by her twelth and last child, a daughter, Mary Beatrice Sidney Lane, in 1866.

Shortly afterwards Mary persuaded her good friend William Butterfield to design and oversee the building of a new church to replace the Dalton Chapel in memory of her first husband, thus St John’s Church, Dalton was built in 1868 at a fixed sum of £2,500.

When Hugh, the 8th Viscount Downe, achieved his majority, Mary and Sidney decided to move away from Yorkshire and around 1877 bought  Addington House at Great Addington in Northamptonshire and also a house in London, 8 , Belgrave Square, which remained their main residences  for the rest of their lives.

It is worth remembering that up until this point "Addington House" was relatively modest in size and very little had been done to change the building since it was first built in 1609. Sidney and Mary were therefore clearly seeing an opportunity to convert the 250 year old Jacobean hall, into a contemporary, luxury, Victorian property worthy of their wealth and status. 

The scale of their undertaking should not be underestimated. Sidney and Mary commissioned a significant amount of alteration and extension works, at trebling the size of the house, significantly altering the interiors, and introducing "modern" conveniences. Unusually for such works rather than employing local craftsmen an advert was placed in the Northamptonshire Mercury in 1878:

"Alterations and enlargements of the above named Mansion...persons desirous of contracting for the works must send in sealed tenders to Mr. George Redfern, clerk of the works, Great Addington Hall"

The works included the creation of the two large wings on either side of the central "E" shape of the Jacobean building, along with considerable extensions to the rear of the building, and a completely new roof. The remains of the original roof can be seen within the existing roof void. 

The inclosure map of 1803 shows a number of houses and buildings on the west side of Main street opposite the Hare and Hounds, including Harris's Yard (presumably associated with Samuel Harris who ran the pub and the bakery); and the home of Thomas Chapman, a labourer. Two of the properties were part of manor estate holdings and leased to tenants, but one property was held by Robert Andrews and leased to a tenant. On the 1817 Ordnance Survey (OS) preliminary survey by William Hyett the buildings can still be seen, but by the first published OS map of 1884 the houses are gone, the land has become part of the Manor house woodland garden, and a wall has been built down the length of Main street, and the entrance opposite Ringstead road is in place. 

It is difficult to know how much time Mary and Sidney spent in Great Addington. The census records of 1881 show them at Baldersby Park with 5 other members of the family and over 40 staff. In 1891, they are at Puckaster House on the Isle of Wight (believed to have been in the family possession through inheritance from one of Sidney's uncles) with 2 other members of the family and 15 servants. In  the 1901 census Sidney is at a house in Scotland, which may have been rented for a holiday as it does not seem to have any family connections. 

There are very few newspaper articles about Mary and Sidney and they seemed to have been quite content to live a quiet life between their properties in Northamptonshire and London. The earlier articles seems to be records of their attendance at weddings, garden parties, grand balls, and hunts. Later articles seem to be solely related to agriculture and farming. In the Northampton Mercury of June 1910 there is one longer article about Sidney which describes him as "genial, popular, and scholarly", and also mentions that he has become "lame" and "restrained from the active life of his younger days"; it also describes him as an "old English country gentleman". Great Addington villagers of the period referred to Sidney as "Squire Lane".

There are references to their generous nature both towards the villagers and also in monies given to repair works at the church, including the restoration of the church porch.

William Boon who was born in 1902, when interviewed in the 1980's recalled a mixture of his own memories of Sidney Leveson Lane and also stories about Mary Isabel who had died two years before he was born:

"Sidney Lane and his wife Lady Downe lived in the Manor House, he was more of less the Squire of the village....Squire Lane had a butler who dressed in pin stripes and tails on high days and holidays, there was also a Pantry and Kitchen maid as well as a Scullery maid, in pecking order. The Squire had two pairs of horses and a carriage. Mr. Birchby used to drive the Squire's horses, he lived in the house next to the Hare & Hounds pub...The kitchen garden stretched up to the Ring (Rushwell Close) and I remember ploughing it up and turning it into a kitchen garden. Lady Downe had a soup kitchen where the poor folk were given a hot meal each day to prevent them from starving. Every Saturday everyone went along to the Manor for a dish full of dripping, it was the done thing. Squire Lane owned John Tyler's farm (Manor Farm), Top Lodge at the Poplars (Finedone Poplars) and also Patch Farm in 10 acre field...After Squire Lane died all his farms were sold, he also owned Beeches Farm in Little Addington. I remember sitting on a wall and watching the horses being sold. I helped to cart bricks from the railway station with two horses to build Beeches Farm house".

Mary died on 14 April 1900 at her London home and was buried next to her first husband ,William Dawnay in the Churchyard of St James, Dalton - a church that he had commissioned to be built. She was joined following his sudden death on 29th December 1910 by Sidney (aged 79) who is buried next to her. The three graves can be found screened behind a low hedge at the eastern end of the Church of St James, Baldersby, Thirsk, Yorkshire.

Sidney and Marys' son, Sidney Ernald Ralph Lane, inherited the majority of the family estate, he lived in London rather than Great Addington and sold their land and properties in Great Addington circa 1919.

The name of the house as Shooters Hill first appears in the 1891 census. Again there are new live-in servants, Sarah Giles and Minne Sivies. Also in the house is a visitor, 16 year old Rennie Beuzeville Byles, James’s nephew.

Reappearing in James's story and now living in the village in 1891 is John Duncan Milligan, the son of Thomas Milligan from Dean, who is listed as farmer and manages the land that James owned. It would seem that John had moved to the village around the time that James had decided to stop farming himself and either appointed John Milligan as his farm manager, or let that land to him as a tenant.

Newpaper archives from the time record the fact that both James and John often spoke at Temperance Movement meetings across the area. The Temperance Movement was a social movement that campaigned against the recreational use and sale of alcohol, and promoted total abstinence. In the 19th century, high levels of alcohol consumption and drunkenness were seen by social reformers as a danger to society's wellbeing, leading to social issues such as poverty, child neglect, immorality and economic decline. Temperance societies began to be formed in the 1830s to campaign against alcohol. Specific groups were created over periods of time dedicated to the different aspects of drinking. For example, in 1847, the Band of Hope was created to persuade children not to start drinking alcohol. Most of these temperance groups were aimed at the working class. Temperance was also supported by some religious groups, particularly the Nonconformist Churches. In 1884 the National Temperance Federation, which was associated with the Liberal Party, was founded as an umbrella organisation. The Conservative Party largely supported the interests of the alcohol industry and opposed temperance. Although the temperance movement met with local success in parts of Britain, it failed to impose national prohibition, and disappeared as a significant force following the Second World War. 

Just one year later, on Tuesday 23 August 1892, John Milligan took his own life, he was 32. The inquest took place just 3 days later on Friday, 26 August 1892 at the Leopard (House) Inn, Great Addington. In the report it states that John was living in the village with his mother and sister, "at the large farm house near Great Addington", and that his older brother, Robert Arthur Milligan, was a surgeon in Northampton.

The inquest jurors were all from the Addingtons; Thomas Coleman (foreman), Thomas Parkin, John Harris, Harry Hudson, Simeon Abbott, George Knight, Joseph Loakes, Thomas Hackney, David Payne, Robert Loakes, David Abbott, and John Hollis. Mr. Gerald Hunnybun, solicitor, represent the family - he was also James Rennie Wilkinson's solicitor. Inspector Tarry, of Thrapston, was also present. The Coroner, Mr. Parker,  remarked:

"all these inquiries were painful, but the present one was unusually so, as the last time he came there the deceased was foreman of the jury. It was very sad, therefore, that they should now find him corpse instead of being about and active"

The jury crossed the road to the deceased's residence to view the body, which would indicate that the large farm house mentioned was in fact Home Farm. It was reported that:

"(Robert Milligan) was sent for last Friday to see the deceased, and found him very much depressed and suffering from sleeplessness. He could find no cause for it...He gave him a draught, and the deceased seemed better in the morning...(Robert) came down on Monday evening and saw him again...He then appeared much the same, and complained of sleeplessness and pains the head. He had another draught that night, but on Tuesday morning he was still depressed. Witness advised him to go away for a time to be free from the worry of work, and he consented to do so. Arrangements were to made for a companion to with him. (John) walked to Ringstead (and Addington) Station with (Robert), who left by the morning train for Northampton...he was apprehensive of mental trouble. He complained on Sunday of a pain in his head, and seemed to be affected by the great heat. On the day before his death he was four hours in the broiling sun, attending machinery on the farm."

Another witness, Amelia Carpenter, wife of John Carpenter, of Little Addington said on Tuesday she was engaged in washing the deceased's residence when at about ten minutes to eleven she heard the report of a gun as she was in the kitchen. She ran upstairs to the sitting-room, from where she thought the noise came and found John lying on the floor. Just after Robert got back to Northampton he received a telegram, and, returning to Great Addington, found his brother was dead. 

In October, 1900 Elizabeth Wilkinson died aged 60. Her funeral at All Saints church Great Addington was attended by family and friends including the Wicksteed and Timpson families.  

A years later in the 1901 census, James was now 57 and widowed. Also living in the house is his niece, Mary Prior, who was listed as the housekeeper. She was the daughter of Elizabeth’s sister Sarah. She continued to live there until his death. Again, there are two new servants living in the house, Annie Bedsworth and Martha Braddick.

In December 1910, James was asked at short notice to stand as the Liberal Candidate for Member of Parliament for North Northamptonshire. He felt it was unlikely that he would win, especially at such short notice, but did not want to let his friends and colleagues down. He lost to the Conservative candidate.

The last census record that James appears in is for 1911. He was now 67. His niece, Mary Prior, is still living in the house though she now gives no occupation. The two new servants are Margaret Jinks, age 17, who is the housemaid and Ellen Packwood, age 21, who is the cook. All three women are single.

On Wednesday 12th March 1913 James took his own life by drowning himself in the lock on the river Nene near the railway station, (now demolished). The inquest was held on the following day:

“Sarah Ann Sharp of the Mill House...said Mr. Wilkinson called at her house....He gave her three letters, one for her husband, one for Mr. (Herbert) Howard and one for Mrs. Byles” (James’s sister who was visiting him at that time)...Sarah thought it was strange that James should give her a letter for his own sister and took it immediately to the house, on her way she met her husband and sent him after James."

Herbert Howard, who by now was living at Home Farm and farmed the Wilkinson estate, was in the meadow near the river with a Mr. Peck. They saw James cross the bridge over the river and walk towards the lock. Howard and Peck went towards James and saw that he “sat on the wall of the lock and appeared to slide in. The lock was about 10 feet deep”. Peck ran towards Ringstead for assistance and Howard ran to fetch a ladder. A porter from the station, Harry Holley, jumped into the water and with assistance from Howard was able to get James out of the lock. “He was unconscious, but after artificial respiration..he appeared to come around slightly, his heart beating faintly”. However, as he was being carried to the house he stopped breathing.

Reports from his doctor and solicitor, Gerald Hunneybun, indicates that James had suffered from depression and in his doctors view, worked too hard which was a contributing factor to his depression.

The inquest was held the next day at Shooters Hill. Mr Parker was the coroner. Alfred Gray of Addington was the foreman of the jury. Gerald Hunneybun, solictor, represented the family. The Coronoer read parts of the letter he had left for his sister, Susan Mary Byles (nee Wilkinson), who had been staying with him: 

"My life is unsupportable. It is trouble with the estate. By the time this letter reaches you I shall be in the water in the lock. It will be terrible work, but in my position my life would be a curse to you all"

Susan and also Gerald Hunneybun said that James had been deluded on the matter of his finances. Gerald also said that James had been depressed the year before but had recovered, adding: 

"he was not bad enough to be placed under restraint, although they exercised more or less a watch over him".

Dr Robb of Irthlingborough also gave evidence that James had suffered "from a great depression" a year earlier.

In a speach at Northamptonshire County Council, teh Chairman of the council made reference to his loss being linked "to an hereditary ailment". There may therefore be a connection between James's death and his mothers death some 77 years earlier when he had just been born. 

His death was widely reported across England with articles in newspapers in Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Exeter etc. Moving obituaries were printed in the local press and local council leaders and the local MP wrote about him and his work in liberalism, non-conformist religion, temperance movements, and education.

The report of his funeral is quite touching and shows the high regard he was held in by all. His funeral was attended by family, friends, politicians and local industrialists.

"For the private mourners and a number of very intimate friends, there was a service at Mr. Wilkinson’s house, Shooters hill. In the garden he had loved others waited; half-way down the carriage drive to the road there were the teachers and scholars of the little Sunday School he had cared for; and in the road the entrance to the drive was a large crowd (of hundreds) of sorrowing visitors —men who had worked with Mr. Wilkinson as County Councillors, as Guardians of the Poor, as preachers, Sunday School teachers, temperance reformers, politicians, and many who, utterly opposed to him in opinion, revered his character and his life. The coffin, and the coach in which it was placed, were covered with beautiful wreaths. After the private carriages which followed, the Sunday school teachers and scholars walked, and the others formed behind for the short procession through the village. It was a very sad and silent march, for although Mr. Wilkinson's life was one to cause joy rather than grief, the shock of the end had deeply touched all. Many of the villagers walked in the procession and others stood in front of their cottages. All the blinds were drawn: the whole village was in mourning." 

His estate was worth £39,821 but after debts, wages etc was £20,878 – that is the equivalent of £1.6million today. The executors of his will were, Rennie Beauziville Byles, nephew; Herbert Garner Horsfall Wilkinson, nephew; and Gerald Hunnybun, his solicitor. Mary Prior received  £100 plus £140 a year for life. His two nephews received £100 each, and £20 went to Amelia Carpenter. The remainder of his estate was split 2/5 to his sister Mary Byles, 2/5 to his sister-in-law Emily widow of his brother Charles Herbert Wilkinson, and 1/5 to his brother Frank Colin Wilkinson.

In June of that year most of the land and property - apart from Shooters Hill house - was sold. Herbert Howard purchased the farm - referred to at that time as Brook Farm - and associated lands, plus a number of other cottages. In September of the same year all of James and Elizabeths’ possessions that they had accumulated in the nearly 50 years they lived at Shooters Hill Villa were put up for sale and the house cleared. Within a few years James & Elizabeth were largely forgotten. It is a shame that somebody who gave so much of their life to help both the village and the wider Northamptonshire community at a time of great social reform is now largely forgotten.

Education, both of children and of adults, was a passion for James and it is perhaps fitting to end this section with the details of an article that appeared in the local press in the 1880’s:

“On Thursday week...the children connected with the Nonconformist Sunday schools, at Thrapston, enjoyed their annual treat. Four large wagons and two vans were lent by obliging friends...to the residence of J. Rennie Wilkinson. The juveniles at once proceeded to engage in the various games and pastimes provided for them by their teachers and kind entertainers. About 300 to 400 children altogether (including many of the village children, specially invited by Mr & Mrs Wilkinson) took part in the amusements and in the plentiful supply of cake, buns, tea etc provided.”

I can’t think of many people today who would open their garden to 400 children plus teachers.

In 1922 David Edward Mitchell brought the Shooters Hill house and then brought up other properties in Great Addington as they became available, including parts of the Sidney Leveson Lane estate from his heir, Sidney Ernald Lane.

Only 13 women are recorded as having an occupation. The abbreviation "F S" is used against 9 of the women and which stood for Female Servant. One woman is given as "Independent" meaning that she were living on their own means and had no profession. The other 3 women are a Lace Maker, a Nurse, and a Publican - Mary Warmsley, aged 50, who is running the Hare & Hounds.

The men of the village are overwhelmingly working on the land. Out of the 70 who give their occupations, 47 (or 67%) work on or are connected to the land. There are a number of craftsmen as you would expect - blacksmith, carpenters, watch maker, and wheelwrights (a maker of carts as well as wheels). A further 10 others with the initials "M S" against their name are Male Servants, mainly teenage boys or young men. Most of those employing servants - female or male - were typically the wealthy land owners, so it is reasonable to suggest that everyone was dependent upon the land to give direct or indirect employment.

There is only 1 individual who neither works on the land, or as a craftsman, or as a servant. William Mitchell, aged 40, works in a "Paper Mill". This is the only person employed in "industry". What is also notable is that there are no Weavers listed anymore. What had been a major industry in the 18th century in the area, with Kettering as its epicentre, has now moved to East Anglia and Yorkshire. The rapid decline in the woollen industry in the Kettering area was quite devastating for the local economy, so much so, that in an 1817 petition to Parliament it was stated that 1,123 people were in receipt of poor relief. In 1821, out of a total population of 3,668 in Kettering, it was declared that 1,805 paupers. The impact of the collapse of the local economy was have been profound and affected not only the town of Kettering, but also the surounding villages. Great Addington and other villages in the area had been linked to the woollen industry and the decline must have had a significant impact. The movement of the industry away from the area and the economic decline in the early 19th century had led to a de-industrialisation and the village population was now dependent upon the land, much as it had done during the Medieval period.

Out of 266 people living in the village, 38 were named Abbott - nearly 15% of the entire village!. The Abbott's at this time were 8 separate families - though with shared ancestors. Other common surnames were Beeby (20 people), Harris (19), Ball (15), and Ward (14). Other long standing village names were Hackney, Lovell, and Vorley. 

Thomas Sharpe is oldest resident, aged 86 (born in 1755) and living in Gardeners Cottage. The youngest is a 2 day old infant child of William & Jane Abbott, who is baptised as Mary, 4 months later. They have three other children, Hannah (5), Robert (3), and Sarah (aged 1); Mary Abbot (69) is also living in the house with them.

William and Jane Abbott had married in 1835 and were both from Great Addington, Jane's maiden name was also Abbott - so clearly would have been a relation. They lived in one of the cottages in the High Street and William was employed as Agricultural Labourer. Presumably the couple later separated as by 1851 Jane is head of the household and is "relieved from the parish", meaning that she has no work and is dependent on charity from the parish funds. She is living with her daughters Hannah (15) and Sarah (11) - who are both listed as Lace Makers - Mary born in 1841, and a son, William, born in 1844. William Abbott is a lodger in a boarding house in Thrapston and along with other lodgers in the same house is working as a Bricklayers Labourer. He is still lodging - though in a different house - in 1861 and also still working as a Bricklayers Labourer. In that same year Jane is still in Great Addington and is now listed as a Lace Maker and Head of the family. One can only assume that the couple had separated at some point between 1841 and 1851, though remained married.

Lawrence Hudson, the wheelwright, who is mentioned in the 1847 and 1867 village directories died in 1867, aged 72. His property was put up for sale and the notice of auction appeared in the Northamptonshire Mercury newspaper of Jan 1868. The details given are interresting as they give a detailed decription of the size and quality of a master-craftsmans house. It also shows that he owned a number of other properties that he would have let to tenants, bringing in extra income. The auction was to take place at the Leopard Inn on Thursday 30th January 1868.

Lot 1 - All that desirable... Dwellinghouse...containing parlour, sitting-room, kitchen, back kitchen, scullery, outhouses, together with the workshops, barn, sawpit, large yard, well-stocked orchard....for many years in the occupation of the late Mr. Lawrence Hudson.

Lot 2 - All those two freehold cottages...stone built and thatched...now in the occupation of A. Chapman and Thos. Abbott.

Lot 3 - All that stone-built and thatched House...together with four stone-built and tiled cottages...Gardens in front...in the occupation of E. Hudson, John Abbott, D. Harris and H Lovell.

Lot 4 - All that freehold stone-built five-roomed cottage....Little Addington...with barn, workshop and outhouses...also a large garden...in the occupation of William Hudson.

At the time of his death, Lawrence was married to his second wife, Elizabeth (nee Coston, from Hampshire). The couple had married in 1858, Lawrence already had a number of grown up children from his first marriage, the eldest of which, Henry Hudson, was a wheelwright like his father and was 37 when his father married the 34 year old Elizabeth. 

Lace & Shoe Making

Lacemaking was an important source of income for the poorer classes in the counties of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and a significant number of villagers earned their living from this industry.  The 1861 census lists 10 females in the village working as lace makers. The hand-made lace industry was already in decline by then, so this is a substantial number.

By 1861, the shoe industry in Northamptonshire had been established for almost a 100 years. Originally based in the towns of Northampton and Wellingborough, shoe manufacturing had developed from a local craft into a national industry with strong links to London shoe manufacturers. Northamptonshire provided a skilled labour force, on good transport links (turnpikes, canals and navigable rivers) at a lower cost than in London. The industry spread down the Nene valley and along the turnpike roads from Northampton. 

Originally, the shoe makers worked from home, often assisted by their wives, children, or other family members. Factories began to be built in the larger towns so that owners could further industrialise the process where their employees would work, but outworkers, in the backstreets of towns or in the villages, remained an essential element of the industry.  In 1861 there are 14 men in the village employed as Shoe Makers, and circa 80 employed on the land. 

Scandal, Divorce and Womens rights at the Rectory 1873

The Rector of Great Addington in 1873 was Richard Doke (age 41), he was unmarried and had two servants, Anna James (age 41) and Martha Glover (age 22). 

Anna had been christened Hannah Griffiths, but had always been known as Anna. In 1864, at Great Addington church, she married Joseph James who was living in Liverpool at that time, though he had been born in Cardigan. Richard Doke was the Rector at the wedding.

Joseph James who was a Master Mariner - somebody who was qualified to the highest level to command any ship of any size. Anna and her husband lived for the majority of the time in Cardigan in Wales, but whilst Joseph was away at sea for long periods of time Anna would act as housekeeper for Richard Doke. Why Anna travelled all the way to Great Addington and how she and Richard knew each other is unknown. 

In 1871 Joseph  returned from sea and instead of returning to Cardigan, he came to Great Addington and lived with his wife Anna at the Rectory - quite why Richard Doke allowed this and how Joseph was employed during this time is again unknown. 

In late 1871 it was revealed that Martha was pregnant by Joseph and after returning to her parents home in Great Gidding she gave birth to a girl, also named Martha, in May 1872.

In October 1872 Anna went to court seeking a divorce from her husband. In her petition for divorce she alledged that:

"during the last six months of the year 1871 and the early part of of 1872...Joseph James...habitually committed adultery with Martha Glover then a domestic servant at the Rectory Great Addington"

In the petition, Anna also accused Joseph of cruelty - including physical violence and verbal abuse.

"On the night of 21st May 1872...Joseph....abused and threatened (Anna)...she was compelled from fear of sever bodily injury to leave...and pass the night elsewhere"

The newspaper report of the time stated: 

"The disputes between the parties seemed to have arisen about money, and on several occasions (Mr James) was alleged to have struck his wife in the course of their quarrels. The adultery was clearly proved, but the evidence as to the cruelty so slight that the learned judge could not act upon it"

While divorce is common these day, historically divorce in England was very difficult to obtain and women were not permitted to apply for a divorce - they had very limted rights and were, in law, seen as part of the husbands possessions. The term "'relict" - something left behind - being applied to women who's husband had died before them. 

Between 1700 and 1857 there was less than 400 divorces, the majority of which were in the aristocracy. It was only following the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 that divorce became a civil matter, women could now instigate a divorce proceedings and the control of the case was taken away from the Church and its Ecclesiastical Courts.  Divorce however remained rare, especially those cases brought by women. The main reasons for so few divorces in Victorian England included the length of time it took to obtain a divorce, fear of publicity, loss of access to children, loss of property, loss of a means of support, social shame, and the costs that few could afford. Women could now file for divorce, but needed a reason in addition to adultery, such as incest, rape, bigamy, cruelty or desertion, whereas the husband needed merely to prove his wife’s infidelity — a remnant of the original procedure for obtaining a divorce.

In 1858 the handling of the legal process for divorce was transferred from the ecclesiastical courts to a newly established civil court, the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. In 1873 responsibility was passed to a division of the new Supreme Court. All divorce cases were heard in courts in London, thus the costs and complexity still made it difficult for all but a few.

Therefore for Anna to instigate a divorce in 1873 is quite a remarkable event, she must have had support - at the very least financially - from her brother-in-law Samuel Owen who was a successful solicitor in Cardigan - it would be logical to assume that he also gave her legal assistance.

Anna got her divorce granted in May 1873. It would have been one of less than 300 granted in England that year. She was also awarded alimony, but then had to go repeatedly to court over the following years to try and force Joseph to make the alimony payments.

In the 1881 census she is at visiting the home of her sister and brother-in-law in Cardigan but by the census of 1891 she is back in Great Addington and working as Housekeeper for Richard Doke who was still Rector. 

Martha married a William Owens in November 1873 in Great Gidding. Martha's daughter was brought up by Martha's parents in Great Gidding.