A Snapshot of Wateringbury People

Pat has just published a book that we hope will become a reference in years to come and a part of the history of Wateringbury.

The book was a project Pat set herself back in 2009; people were collecting pictures and postcards of the village and so decided that it is people that make up a village and started asking people 'can I take your photo' and will you write something about yourself or let me write something. 

It has taken until now to complete and therefore spans 2009 - 2012.

There are 34 pages with a photograph on the right hand page and text on the left hand page.
It includes key people in the village and local characters. So whilst it is new, it will become a historical item in many many years to come. 

If you would like your own copy it is currently available from Wateringbury Post Office, via eBay at £6.99 + p&p or you can contact Pat directly by email at     pjolly_uk@yahoo.co.uk

Wateringbury Football Team 1948/49

Photo Courtesy of Peter B Covington

This photo of Wateringbury Football Team from around 1948/9 was kindly given to us by Peter Covington who lived in the village from around 1948 to 1962.

The name Covington was familiar to me as my Mum often talks of a Bernard Covington who she worked for and who was one of the first landlords of the New Kings Head in the 1940's and before that the Telegraph in Bow Road. 
Peter is in fact Bernard's son.

Can you help us put names to faces on this photograph?

The Kings Head Hotel - 1890's

This photo was kindly donated to the website by David Alchin who owns the original.
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Photo Courtesy of David Alchin

This is a fantastic photograph capturing a moment in time at the Crossroads. 

Its hard to imagine how the village once was.

The people's faces in this photo are very clear when enlarged (click on the photo) and I wonder if any are related to me especially those standing on the pavement. It would be great if we could put some names to some of them?

Jude Hanbury & Co Trade Mark

People of Wateringbury

Wendy kindly sends us the following:-

My name is Wendy Mattar and I am great-grand daughter of Harry and Harriet
Martin - long time publicans in Wateringbury. (cousin of Keith Harden who
posted some photos a few years back)  I believe their last hostelry was The
Queens Head. 

Harriet Holmwood Martin was daughter of Ann and Thomas Holmwood
who owned The Wheatsheaf Public House (built by William Beadle her
grandfather in 1847).

I attach some old family photos which you might like to use.
 
With regard to the query on Basil Henry Cheesman (please note correct
spelling) - His father William Henry Cheesman was station master and living
at Phoenix Cottage, Nettlestead in the early 1900's.  Basil was my
grandfather and was killed in 1918 whilst serving with The Black Watch.  He
is buried in the war cemetery at Herringe near Ypres.  His wife Gladys went
on to marry Ted Kirby and they were Landlords of The Fir Tree for a time.
 
Regards
Wendy

Harriet (Holmwood) Martin, Evelyn Martin (Adams) Gladys
Martin (Cheesman, Kirby) and Stanley Martin the ponies name was Kit 

taken in yard of The Queens Head

 Harriet Holmwood Martin

 Harriet Holmwood Martin

 

 Gladys, Evelyn, Jessie and Jack Cronk and Harriet Martin
  Harry Martin with sons Harry and Stan and Jack Cronk

  Basil Cheesman, Gladys Cheesman (Martin and
Joan Cheesman daughter (my mother)

Basil Cheesman.

The People of Wateringbury 1650-1841

Steven MacDougall has published an eBook that may be of interest to our readers

The Book

People of Wateringbury 1650-1841

 Click on the Book to buy and Download immediately

The records of every person who lived in Wateringbury between 1650 and 1841 were researched for this book, which tells what it was really like to live in Wateringbury at that time, through the lives of the people who actually lived there.

Who were the poor families? Who were the rich? How did the rich control the poor? and how did the poor control the rich? How did they interact? Some families remained poor over the whole period and others remained rich, but some changed their position in the village hierarchy. As families change their position they appear in different types of records and interact with others in different ways. Individual people also change their position in the hierarchy as part of their life cycle from single person to married person to old age. The book deals with different aspects of their lives in a chronological way. Some families can be followed from the beginning of the book in the 1600's to the end in the 1840's but Wateringbury was not an isolated village: It was in the county of Kent, not far from London so it is not surprising that people and families were moving in and out of the village the whole time. The book ends in the 1840's when the railway reached the village and the rate of movement increased.

By this time Wateringbury was well known as a hop growing area and the quantity of the harvests was regularly reported in the newspapers. Some of the people who picked the hops came from as far away as Ireland and they often caused a lot of trouble by attacking the locals and breaking into houses. One amusing aspect of this is that from time to time when people appear in court in London and they want an alibi, they say they were not in London but in Wateringbury hop picking !

There is a whole chapter on the Tomlin family, which is a detailed case study of one family over several generations. The Tomlins were the ancestors of the Perrin family of Wateringbury through the marriage of Elizabeth Tomlin to Thomas Perrin in 1754 when he moved to Wateringbury. Thomas Perrin and his family ran the main carpentry and building business in Wateringbury for the next one hundred years. The carpentry yard was behind Vine House and was there for hundreds of years before it was knocked down in the 1990’s. No photographs of the yard have been found yet. Has anyone seen a photograph?

Other families descended from the Tomlins include the Reeve family at Wateringbury and the Boorman family from William and Rebecca. Both of these were butchers in Wateringbury. The chapter on the Tomlins will be of special interest to  descendants of these families.

Thomas Perrin's house next to where the yard was.

The side of Charles Perrin's house where he kept his horses

THE KINGS HEAD

I understand from the new General Manager of 'The Wateringbury' that the 'Kings Head/The Wateringbury' will be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year and so we are looking for any photographs or personal recollections that may help to show the history of the Kings Head/The Wateringbury.

If you have anything that you feel may be of interest please email it to me via john.gilham@mail.com

Thanks you in advance

John

Mill Lane

 Ray kindly sent in the following two photos and these words:-

I was aware that there was a line of garages where 70s houses numbers 27 and 29 Mill Lane now stand - the attachment shows three quite amazing vehicles and 1 proud employee.  The next picture is of our property Mill Cottage which is next in line in Mill Lane and would have been at one time been numbers 29 and 31 - now just 31.  From recent expert assessment Mill Cottage dates from the 16th Century with 17th Century additions.

The second photo is of the area now occupied by numbers 25 and 27.  The picture shows a line of garages (converted from stables) with the splendid vehicles they once housed.  Through the services of The Automobile magazine I am able to positively identify the first vehicle it is a chain driven Chelmsford steamer, made by Thomas Clarkson who was better-known for steam buses, of which he had 173 running in London alone before WW1.  The model shown in the picture is of the station bus variety with, it is believed side facing rear seats and dates from about 1902.  The source of the identification is a World famous authority in vintage motoring matters Nick Georgano. 

Postcard of The River at Wateringbury

A well worn Post Card of the River at Wateringbury showing the Hopping Huts in the foreground.

The postmark is 3rd August 1913

Hop Picking at Wateringbury

A Postcard sent From Wateringbury possibly by someone on a hop picking holiday. The photos on the card do not indicate where they were taken so may not be in the village.

The Mill Pond and Church

Wateringbury School

From a postcard of Wateringbury School on Red Hill 

when Edgar A Smith was the Head Master

Bow Road - Looking North

Courtesy of Jenni Richards

At this time I believe immediately on the left was the village Blacksmith and on the right was the Hanbury Brewery. Obviously telephones had arrived and it looks as though my Grandads council cart was standing on the footpath on the left, though a little before he had it.

The Orpines - Wateringbury

This house I member as a very young lad of around 9 back in the very early 1960's. 

I remember going there with my mum and I understand it was owned by the Leney family who owned the brewery and hop farms in Wateringbury .

Wateringbury Parish Magazine - January 1910

Where Memories Meet

Where Memories Meet 

Is a shop right on the Crossroads that can be seen many times throughout this website at many different times in its long history as a key village shop.

We don't normally add photos of today or advertise but this shop has been lovingly turned into a meeting place with a Tearoom & Antiques/Vintage Centre where village people can meet each other as they would have done in years gone by. It is also a record as it is today and comparison to how it used to be.

Good Luck to Mark and Sze Lin we hope this corner remains the same for many years.

Click on the photo to go to the website.
 

http://www.wherememoriesmeet.com/

Hop Picker's Huts Wateringbury

Another great Postcard found on Ebay showing a fraction of the influx of hop pickers to Wateringbury around September time each year. This is probably a hand coloured photograph showing hopper huts that I never knew, so were probably demolished in the very early fifties. They stand on the riverbank behind the railway station with the shunting shed clearly visible top left behind. Further up the hill the brewery can be seen.  It looks as though its taken from the bridge.

1953 Coronation Celebrations in Wateringbury

With the Queens Diamond Jubilee Celebrations this year it would be great if we could find some photos of the Coronation Celebrations of 1953 in Wateringbury.

Are there any out there?

Wateringbury School - March 1931

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Bristow

Thanks to Kevin Bristow for sending us a great photo of the Knitting lesson at Wateringbury School taken March 1931.

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Mill Cottage Wateringbury

Back in 2009 Ray left a message on the board  as follows:-

Just found your site - very interesting! We live in the Mill Cottage listed as 'Old Cottage Wateringbury' on the photograph included to your site - we seem to have lost a chimney down the years.....

We bought the place in December 2006 and are keen to learn all we can about the property - not much came with it by way of documentation, a great pity.

The cottage is mentioned in Michael J Fuller's book 'The Watermills of the East Malling and Wateringbury Streams with a nice pen and ink drawing and, reference is made to a photo taken in 1868/9 of the cottage with Alfred Boorman and his family (the then miller) stood outside but frustratingly not included to Fuller's book.... this is all the more annoying as the text goes on to state that the building is shown with leaded lights and without the current tile cladding. Long shot - but you wouldn't happen to know where this early photograph is? It appears Mr Fuller sought confirmation of the identity of Alfred Boorman from one of his descendants a Mr R. P. Ninnim.

We suspect Mill cottage to be a half timbered building and would love to see this allusive photo - and indeed to gain any other facts that may be available, knowing how old it is would be on top of that list.

If you are able to point the way or help our better understanding that would be greatly appreciated.

This was a postcard I published back in 2009 to which Ray was referring.

Now Rob has sent in this photo from 1873/4 with the following:-
Hi Ray

Your description exactly matches the photo. My mother (Louise - R P Ninnim's daughter) has done some family history research and has notes about who each of the individual people in the photo are

(left to right): Emma J Boorman (nee Woodgate, born Rainham, married Dec. 1854), the twins Ernest and Charles, but obviously I don’t know which is which, aged 3 in 1871.  Alfred Boorman, the Miller, Alfred J Boorman aged 13 in 1871 and Harry (listed on the census as Arthur, aged 9 in 1871). Missing from the family are Emma and Edith. Edith probably was not yet born, I’ve no idea where Emma is, she was 11 in 1871, so is probably away in service, on the index to 1871 she is listed as Emma F, but looking at the original sheet I think she is Emma J like her Mum. 


All things considered I think the photo is about 1873/4.

 

Photograph Courtesy of Rob Dean 

Ray has kindly sent in a photo of the cottage as it is today (Jan 2012) taken from much the same position.

Photograph Courtesy of Ray Cattle

This is a photo of the cottage taken during the floods of 1968.

Photograph Courtesy of Rob Dean 

Lastly Ray enjoys the view of the Mill Pond from the cottage and the Duck House he made for it a couple of years ago has proved very successful and a great favorite with the moorhens particularly.
Great timing with the ice circles. A magical moment.

Photograph Courtesy of Ray Cattle

The North Pole Pub

 A great photograph of The North Pole Pub on Red Hill Wateringbury

Not sure when this would have been taken but it has to be 1920's or earlier by the cars and bus. Looks like a Beano which is about to leave or just returned. On the far right of the photo it looks as though its the Ice Cream man on a bicycle with a cool box on the front.

The other thing to note is once again there is a flag pole outside the pub as can be seen on the Kings Head Hotel, flying the Union Jack.

The Adams Family

Thanks John for the great website! I enjoyed looking at the book you put together. The old photos are interesting to see.

I think my Adams family was from Wateringbury in the early 1800’s.  For this reason, I was interested and was googling around for anything related to Wateringbury.

My ancestor was James Adams, and given a name like that, it has been hard to zero in on where he was born in England.  Looking at your book, it is hard to imagine why he would have left.  The town looks so beautiful.

I found what I believe is the family living on Pizien Well Street in 1841.  My James Adams is enumerated with is widowed mother Harriet and two brothers, William & Charles.  I think that James then came to America about 1850.  On the Census of 1851, the family is once again found on Pizien Well Street (house #146).  Granted, this is a long time before your time, but if you have any advice on how I may be able to research further, it would be great.

On the 1851, Harriet was shown born in 1792 in Teston.  Son William was born 1816 in Wateringbury.  Son Charles was born in 1824 in Yalding.  Looking at a map, all these villages are close to one another.

Any idea what the church would have been? Or the possible cemetery the family could have used? 


Please email me - pjbuckley@nyc.rr.com

Thanks,
Patrick J. Buckley
Manhattan, NY

Glebe Meadow

 Mary Jane writes:-

Looking through pictures found a question about how the vicar was would it have been Rev. Henderson, or was it before his time.
I also read article on Glebe Meadow, there is a gap on number 11 well Bill and Millie Cowlard lived there until early 2005approx with there son John who still lives in Glebe Meadow at number 35. I have spoken to John and he said he didnt mind me contacting you. I think we moved to Glebe Meadow in early seventies and I lived there until I got married in 1981 then I moved to flat above A.M.G. office were we lived for few months then moved to Maidstone.
But my dad was born in Wateringbury and lived there all his life, moving away briefly in his early married life, only to return and work at Pelican Farm for Donald Mitchell. We lived at Pelican Farm until he was made redundant after Mr Mitchells death, and the farm was then sold so we moved to Glebe Meadow, I just feel it would be nice for him and my mum to have a mention if possible as they quite well known in village.

I also enjoyed looking at old school photos but couldnt see anyone I recognised, I was attending primary school in the sixties. My mum was one of the dinner ladies.

If this is the sort of information you need please contact me by e mail I would like to help if possible.

the pictures [on the website]are of my grandmother who lived on Tonbridge road opposite the vicarage, she was a regular at the working mens club also a regular at Queens head having her own chair at both!  She also worked all her working life at Pheonix Brewery to support her children [my dad and his sister] after my grandfather was lost in action in first world war.
Unfortunately I dont think we have any photos.



I forgot to mention my nan was known as Flo and well known in village. I keep coming up with other things to mention to you, I remembered last night that where Allington Gardens now is I am sure used to be a plant nursery I think the lady was called Mrs Powers or something similar, I remember as very small child looking over my nans garden wall there was a bungalow and huge garden and  going there to get plants. The entrance was where the cut through to Allington Gardens from Tonbridge Road is [if its still there] in between Mrs Duffy the school teachers house and there used to be a little shop on other side of the ally way, but I havent read about either on web site.


Thanks MaryJane Hardy nee Cowlard, formerly of 11 Glebe Meadow.

The Telegraph Public House - Alterations

Following on from the two photographs of The Telegraph Pub, Dail has kindly sent some very rare and interesting detail of alterations to the Telegraph back in the very early 1900's. 

The one small thing I remember about the pub, where I experienced my very first half pint of mild back in the very early 1960's, was the penny machine that was on the wall in the bar, It was in the Public Bar to the right of the serving area as seen on the bottom drawing. The closest you got to a win was your Penny back! It was similar to this.

This is what Dail Kindly wrote:-

I thought while you have a newly posted picture of the old Telegraph pub that once stood on Bow Road, I would send you the attached plans. I’m sure there are some, including yourself, who have a certain fondness for this old pub. Though I don’t find the façade particularly attractive, I do find the plans of interest, as I’m sure you will too.

There was a building already on the site of the old Telegraph pub a good number of years before it was extended. The Telegraph Inn was formerly a beer shop acquired by John Beal Jude (of the Kent Brewery) in around 1870. The appearance of the building was significantly altered in 1903, by which time it was in the hands of Jude Hanbury & Co.

Referring to the shaded parts of the first plan, a new bar was added on the south side, along with a central bay and a shop front, each with an ornate façade. In 1939, when the pub had been taken over by Frederick Leney & Sons Ltd, the inside was refurbished as shown in the second plan. The inside was again altered by Leney in 1951, as shown in the third plan.

Hope this is of interest
Regards,
Dail

Words and Drawings courtesy of Dail Whiting

The Telegraph Public House

Lionel kindly sent this Photo of The Telegraph.

My father Lionel Brotherwood had this photo of the Telegraph pub in his possession.
It was taken from his house in Bow road. Looking closely at the roofs of the houses there are no TV aerials, unlike the flood picture from 1968. So we estimate it as being late 1950's. 

It's a shame there are no vehicles in the shot.

Photo and Words Courtest of Colin Brotherwood

Wateringbury Souvenir Crested China

Ray left a note on the message board that prompted such an interesting answer form Dail, that I though it would be good to share it with a wider audience.

Ray Wrote:-

First email:

I live at Teston and have a collection of Wateringbury souvenir crested china dating from the late 19th/early 20th century, many items of which are stamped on the base with the name of M Harris, Stationer. I suspect that this souvenir ware was largely sold to the hop pickers coming down to Wateringbury and the surrounding area from London.

I have been told that Harris’s shop was where the newsagent shop in Bow Rd is now situated and that the blocked up door on the side of the present shop was the original shop door.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate any pictures of Harris’s shop. Having just seen your website, I was wondering if you have any in your collection? If so, would it be possible to purchase a copy from you please?
 

Second email:

Thanks for the info. The Harris family appears to have been in business in Wateringbury for many years. I have found two references in old trade directories, which seem to relate to earlier members of the family:

Melville & Co Directory 1858 lists John  Harris -  Saddle and Harness Maker
Kellys Directory 1891 lists Mrs Sarah Ann Harris -  Harness Maker & Stationer

I am still researching old trade directories so will hopefully be able to follow the family line further.

Please feel free to post my mail on the message board with a note that I am always on the look out for additional items of Wateringbury crested china to add to the collection.

Regards
Ray

Dail then kindly responded as follows:-

In response to Ray Wilkinson’s enquiry on the message board relating to his collection of Wateringbury souvenirs sold by M Harris. Stationer.
 
During the 19th century there were several families with the name Harris living in Wateringbury, a good number of whom were proprietors of local businesses which included the Kings Head, two butchers’ shops, and a stationer’s.
The stationer’s shop is now the hairdressers called ‘Hair Traditional’, situated at the top of Bow Road. A picture of this shop (bearing the name Saunders) is on this website imbedded in the section entitled ‘The Boorman Family’ (also shown below).
 
Towards the late 19th century the stationer’s was run by Sarah Anne Harris, the widow of John Harris. John and Sarah Anne had at least nine children, all born in Wateringbury, the eighth of whom was called Minnie, born in 1867. It was Minnie who eventually took over her mother’s shop in about 1907, following her mother’s death. Minnie never married and died a spinster in about 1947. I would suggest that Ray’s china souvenir collection would date from 1907 to the 1940’s.
 
Hope this is helpful.
 
Regards.
Dail Whiting.

River Medway at Wateringbury

Wateringbury Bridge

Wateringbury Bridge and River

The War Memorial Unveiling Ceremony

Two Photographs of the War Memorial Unveiling Ceremony

originally standing on the corner of Bow Road and Tonbridge Road.

Boorman Butchers in Old Road

Boorman Butchers Shop - Old Road Wateringbury 1890's

Another great photo from John Boorman who writes:-

As far as I am aware it is one of two existing pictures showing the Boorman butcher's shop in the Old Road and as far as I am aware it is the only existing picture of Charles Boorman (1845-1901) my great grandfather and the son of the founder of the business William Boorman. Charles is shown here with my grandfather Harry Boorman who took over the business, first with his brother William, and then on his own from about 1911 to 1943. 

As you will be able to deduce Charles died at the age of 56 on 31 Dec 1901 and Harry was born 18 Feb 1869. I would have guessed, working from the apparent ages of the two men that this photo would date from about 1895 but my brother, who knows more about the history of photography than I, thinks late 1890s.

Photo and words courtesy of John & Nigel Boorman

The Boorman Family

When I was very young, mum would send me to the village butchers for Pigs Fry, Sausages, Pigs Trotters or Pork Chops. There were two butchers in the village one in Tonbridge Road almost opposite the Queens Head owned by Mr Skinner and Boormans in Bow Road between the Bow General Stores and Mac the Barbers. As a family we always used Boormans. I can picture the shop now back in the 50's with its very large cold slab in front of the windows which were often open in summer or had a wooden lattice grill to let the air in. There would often be a real pigs head on the slab with a lemon in its mouth. There was a huge wooden chopping bench that was dipped where the axe and knives had worn the wood away whilst cutting the meat. and a massive cold room with a huge door with a handle that needed a lot of strength to open. I remember the lorry delivering whole or half animals, the guys wore white overalls and white hats often stained with blood.

The butcher in my day was Eric Boorman who I can also picture today delivering the Sunday joint. In those days we left the back door unlocked and Eric would open the door and shout " its only the Ole Butch".

Eric's son John has kindly written to us with some photos of his dad and his mum Joy, who was also well known in the village in my day. John has also given us a very interesting potted history of his family which I am sure you will find as interesting as I have.

Over to you John:----

Boorman's Family Butchers in the middle with its windows open and Eric's delivery van parked outside

The photo of the shop in Wateringbury I would guess is mid 1950's. I can just make out the name Saunders above the door of the general stores and, of course, "Mac" Clarke is trading on the other side, perhaps the Saunders name will help identify the date with more precision. The white Ford Anglia van, parked outside the shop, belonged to my father. I notice that there are no bubble gum or sweet machines attached to the side wall of the shop which I am sure must have arrived around 1960.

Joy & Eric Boorman

The photo of my parents was taken whilst living in Wateringbury, perhaps about 10 years before my father's death C1978 as he passed away in 1988.

A typical bill from the eighties but probably very similar for many years before

In his later years my father used to run the shop himself during the day and then, after cleaning and closing up, he would fill the van and go out to deliver on the rounds, hence the nickname by which he came to be known "The midnight butcher". I would always try to take leave from the RAF for the days leading up to Christmas so that I could take over the round and free him up to do the shop and cut the orders for me to deliver. I was often joined by my brother Nigel who would try to take holiday for the same purpose. The receipt shown is for a turkey I ordered from him at Christmas 1980. The bill is headed H. Boorman prop E.S. Boorman, father never removed his own father's name and many of his customers knew dad as "Harry". You will also notice that he never changed the "Est 120 years" either!

-*-

 The photo below was given to me by my mother when my father died.  As you will see it is a photograph taken at Wateringbury school which my father has marked C1880. I would guess that he is not too far out but my own guess would have been C1878/79. It is interesting for me as it shows my grandfather and his two brothers Frederick and William. According to my father Frederick is the boy third from the left in the second row from the back. My grandfather is certainly the boy in the same row but second from the right. William the youngest is in the front row second from the right. Given that Frederick was born 1867, Harry 1869 and William 1872 I will leave you to form your own idea of the likely year. Dad also identifies the headmaster and his wife as Mr & Mrs Kingston. He also makes note that the boy standing next to Mrs Kingston, 1st left on second row from back, is Ernest Anderson who lived in Old Road and who went on to become a surveyor working for Frederick Leney at the brewery. Perhaps some of your correspondents will be able to identify others if you wish to use the photo.

 
My 3 x great grandfather was a wheelwright who lived in Marden, two of his sons upped sticks and moved to Wateringbury around 1830 these sons were David Boorman (1807-1882) and William (1810-1887). In 1832 David married Mary Ann Cook of Wateringbury in Rochester and David took over The Dukes Head in the Old Road where he remained landlord until his death. David and Mary Ann had 11 children and David was a carpenter, grocer, builder and master builder (according to various census returns) as well as being a licenced victualler. According to documents I found in the parish chest David was quite an important person within the village, he made numerous donations to the school and was one of a select few elders of the village who were chosen to walk and verify the parish boundaries. Sadly David's later life makes unhappy reading as he was widowed in 1879 and he suffered a series of strokes which left him bedridden for his last few years. His youngest daughter became pregnant out of wedlock and then died at an early age. David summoned his solicitor, put his affairs in order, and committed suicide in a particularly horrible way. Inquest details available.
 
My 2 x great grandfather William does not seem to have risen to the heights of his brother within the village. He married Rebecca Simmons of Mereworth at Plaxtol in 1833 and settled in Wateringbury as a pig butcher. In those days when most people had a pig in the back yard which they fed on household scraps, William would have been called in to kill and dress the pig when the time came. William and Rebecca had 6 children and lived in the Old Road where William, in time, opened a butcher's shop. Family tradition has it that William liked a drink and was arrested one night and put in the village lock up. William was evidently a large man and he managed to smash his way out. I always treated this tale with some scepticism but recent evidence has come to light which may well prove this story to be true. The butcher's shop in Old Road was situated next to "The Harrow" and here it stayed until about 1912 when the brothers in paragraph 1, William and Harry, dissolved their partnership and Harry moved the shop to the village centre - William opened his own shop in Canterbury. William and Rebecca also had a sad time to deal with when their daughter Ellen committed suicide by throwing herself off Teston Bridge and drowning at the age of 18. This story has been verified by newspaper reports at the time but it is said that Ellen became pregnant by the son of the house in which she was employed as a maid. When the pregnancy came to light Ellen was sacked and shown the door, in despair she killed herself.
 
My great grandfather, Charles, married Betsy Waterman of High Halden who was acting as housekeeper for her brother who was manager of Pelican Farm. Charles (1845-1901) and Betsy had 4 children and Harry and William carried on the butchering tradition. My cousin Reg Davis who is several years older than me remembers the slaughter house behind the shop being used when he was a boy and the nightmares that it used to give him!
 
Harry my grandfather ran the shop until his death from cancer in 1943 and my aunts kept the place going until my father returned from the war when he took over until he retired through ill health in the early 1980's. Sadly he also passed away from cancer in 1988 aged 75. Although I am one of 6 children with 3 boys none of us wanted to take up butchering and my father never pressed us, he never really wanted to follow that path himself, thus came the end of a family era after about 150 years.

My mother did not move away from Wateringbury until the early 1990's when the upkeep of Lime Tree House became just too much and all 3 of my sisters were still living in the village at that time. Our final link was broken when Carol moved to the Isle of Wight about a year ago but I think Wateringbury will always be "home" to all of us. 

I enclose details of the newspaper reports following the tragic deaths of David Boorman and his niece Ellen Boorman, both so very sad but which make the history I have already sent a little clearer.
 
The following newspaper artice was obtained from Maidstone Library.

TESTON

Melancholy Suicide - T. N. Dudlow, Esq, coroner, held an inquest on Monday, the 7th inst, at the Farmhouse, on the body of Ellen Boorman, who threw herself off Teston Bridge on Sunday (the previous day). William Hollamby, who saw the deceased seat herself on the wall of the bridge, tuck her clothes round her legs, and throw herself over backwards. He gave an alarm, and, with assistance, the body was got out in twenty-five minutes after, but life was extinct. William Philpot, who assisted the last witness, confirmed his statement. William Boorman, father of the deceased said he could only suppose that the cause of deceased's crime was her being discharged from her place, where she had lived for 6 years, which prayed upon her mind. She had been ill at different times lately. She had left her place about twelve weeks. Verdict - Deceased destroyed herself by throwing herself from Teston Bridge, she not being then of sound mind.
Ellen was buried at Wateringbury on 14 Apr 1856. The service being conducted by the Reverend Henry Stevens.

Following the inquest Ellen's body was taken to Wateringbury church in a coffin where she laid for a week until her burial. Her father placed candles around the coffin and stayed by his daughter, day and night, until the burial. Ellen is buried with her parents and infant brother, William in Wateringbury churchyard just inside the gate to the left of the main path where the memorial stone still stands.

In the Maidstone and Kentish Journal 12 Jun 1882 the following report under Wateringbury was found. (Newspaper film located at Maidstone Library)

SAD CASE OF SUICIDE

On Thursday last an inquest was held at Wateringbury by J Rogers, Esq, the coroner for the Tonbridge district, on the body of Mr David Boorman, 74 years of age, for many years landlord of the Duke's Head, who committed suicide by hanging himself on Wednesday. From the evidence it appeared that Mr Boorman had been paralyzed for two years and a half and confined to his bed. Within the last few days he signed a petition to wind up his business affairs in liquidation, since which time he has been in low desponding state, but his relatives had no idea that he intended to attempt his life. In order to raise himself in bed a handkerchief was tied in a loop to the bed post, and on Wednesday the deceased was found with his head through this, and his body on the floor, quite dead. The jury returned a verdict of suicide while in a state of temporary insanity.

The above words and photos were Courtesy of John Boorman