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Charles Howcutt – from Brixworth to
Sheffield |
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Before 1837, the two most
prominent buildings in Brixworth were the parish church and Brixworth Hall.
In that year they were joined by a third when Brixworth workhouse was
opened on the south side of Spratton Road, near the Howcutt windmill. Charles Howcutt was born at
Brixworth on 13 March 1841 and 18 days later was baptised at the workhouse by
its Chaplain, Charles
Frederic Watkins, who was also vicar of Brixworth. The baby’s mother was
Sarah (Allom) Howcutt (1809-1859) but the father's name was not stated either
on the birth certificate or in the baptism record. One person who could not
have been the father was Sarah's husband, William, as he had been buried at
Brixworth on 28 June 1833. Nevertheless, Charles was biologically related to
the other members of the Howcutt family through his mother as she was a
second cousin of her late husband - both were great grandchildren of Thomas
Allom and Eleanor Poole, who had married at Cold Ashby in 1736 and who were
forebears of all the Howcutt and Allom families who lived at Brixworth during
the 19th century.
When the census was taken on 6
June 1841, Sarah and her four children were living at Cross Hill, Brixworth.
The cottage would have been very crowded as it was also home to Thomas and
Ann Elstone and their four children. In 1851, when Charles was 10, he
was already working as an agricultural labourer. He lived in his mother's
house, which seems from the sequence of houses in the census schedules to
have been near the vicarage in Church Street. The household also included his
sisters Julia Ann and Eliza and their mother's aged father Thomas Allom.
After Sarah's death in 1859, Charles initially remained at Brixworth where he
appears in the 1861 census as a mason, living with his brother Thomas at
Silver Street. Sheffield was one of the areas
where industry and the population expanded rapidly during the 19th century.
The population of the area now in Sheffield district increased from about
60,000 to over 451,000 during the century after 1801. In the period 1861 to
1871 alone, the number of inhabitants rose from 219,634 to 277,794. Although
it was almost 100 miles from Brixworth, Sheffield offered opportunities for a
mason and bricklayer on a far greater scale than rural Northamptonshire. [1] The earliest record of Charles at
Sheffield is in January 1866 when his son Tom was born at Sussex Street. No
record has been found of Charles' marriage but the census records after their
marriage confirm that his wife Mary was born at Broxholme, a small village in
Lincolnshire about 44 miles east of Sheffield. Tom’s birth certificate states
that his mother’s maiden name was Norton. [2] Charles and Mary had eight
children:
By 8 September 1869, when William
and Julia were both baptised at St Philip, Shalesmoor, the family were living
at George Street but the funerals of these two children in the following year
took place from 39 Gregory Street. [3] The 1871 census includes Charles and
Mary Howcutt living at a court at Queen Street; Charles was still working as
a mason. The 1881 census records Charles and Mary as living with their
children Albert, Florence, Charles H and Alfred, at Grapes Inn Yard, Lock
Street. Harry was baptised at St Philip’s
on 27 July 1881. Albert, Florence, Charles Herbert and Alfred followed him to
the same font on 25 October 1882. [4] The family remained at Lock Street
for over ten years as the 1891 census includes Charles and Mary Howcutt at a
three room house, 17 Lock Street, with their children Albert, Charles H,
Alfred and Harry. At that time, Charles was a brick maker and the birthplaces
for Mary and Charles were both incorrectly noted as Sheffield. Albert was
working as a bricklayer's apprentice; Charles Herbert was a labourer in a
rolling mill and Alfred a heater at a furnace. In 1901, Charles and Mary were
living at the 4th house in 4th court, Creswick
Street, along with their four youngest children. Charles, Albert and Harry
all worked as bricklayers. Florence was a maker of sweets and "Alf"
worked as a general labourer. The six adults were living in a 3-room house. Charles and Mary remained at
Sheffield for the rest of their lives, her death being registered in 1905 and
his in 1910. Notes [1] A Vision
of Britain Through Time, accessed 17 July 2016. [2] Mary, a
daughter of William and Rebecca Norton, was baptised at Broxholme on 5 August
1838. [3] Tom, William
and Julia were all buried in grave number 76, section A, general ground, Burngreave Cemetery. [4] Sheffield Indexers, accessed 17
July 2016. |
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