Martha Hickinbotham and Thomas Garrett

Martha and Thomas, both garden labourers, eventually become closely linked with one another, but each has a full life before they meet so we’ll look at each individually first.

Martha

Martha was born in 1805 in Ticknall to John and Sarah Saunders, one of 8 children.[1]

Aged 21 in 1826 she married Samuel Hickinbotham, an Agricultural Labourer with a long family association with Ticknall.[2] The following year their first child, Ann, is born and followed every 2 or 3 years by 6 other children.[3] They are fortunate not to lose any of their children in infancy. Four of their children marry and provide Samuel and Martha with 28 grandchildren.[4]

Samuel died in January 1857 aged 55.[5] I have not found any indication, up to now, that Samuel worked for the Calke Estate. However, 1857 is when we first come across Martha in the Estate records. When Samuel died, Martha would have had to find some kind of income. Rent needed to be paid and food bought and their youngest child, William was only 7 years old. I presume he was something of a surprise as there is 10 years between him and his closest sibling and Martha would have been 44years old. She begins by working in the house, earning a few shillings at a time helping in the Laundry or the kitchen, wherever they need an extra pair of hands. By 1862 the work is more often and more regular, until 1864 when she is a full time Garden Labourer. She works full time in the gardens until August 1867, a couple of months before a significant event for her.[6]

Before we turn our eyes to Thomas, I want to mention Martha’s daughter Hannah. She was born in 1837. In 1851, aged 14 she was a servant in the home of Thomas Mansfield, a Malster, in Hartshorne.[7] 10 years later we find Hannah in the Ashby Union Workhouse. It says that her previous occupation was as a Dairy Maid. Underneath Hannah’s entry is written ‘her child’ aged about a year old and born at the Workhouse.[8] I can find no further reference to this child and so have to presume that the child died. We have to assume that her mother either couldn’t or wouldn’t support Hannah. Martha is a widow by now and has her daughter, Emma and son in law living with her and looking after one of her other grandchildren too.

Hannah’s life, in the next 10 years, does not get any better. She has another illegitimate child, Emma, born in Coleorton, very near Ashby, in 1863, and two years later a son called William.[9] And then in 1869 her name appears in the newspaper after a horrifying incident. The following is taken from The Leicester Journal 26^th March 1869;

‘Hannah Hickinbotham, an inmate of the Ashby Workhouse, pleaded guilty to having on the 11 March, unlawfully assaulted and beat her illegitimate child, named William Hickinbotham, aged 4 years. From the evidence of Mr Arnold (the Master of the Union) and Ann Gee, it was proved that on the morning in question the child, who was sitting on the defendant’s knee, was thrown on the floor with violence, and whilst on the floor was kicked about the head. Sentenced to twenty one days hard labour.’[10]

In 1871 Hannah is in Burton upon Trent visiting her sister, Elizabeth and her husband and children. She indicates no occupation at this time.[11]  Her two children Emma and William, meanwhile, are in the Ashby Workhouse.[12] On the face of it this seems to be very cruel on the part of Hannah, leaving her children alone there. However, if Hannah has no occupation, and no support, it might have been the only option open to her.

It seems that the visit to her sister’s in Burton upon Trent means that she has settled there. She has another illegitimate child, Samuel, there in 1872, and the following year has another son, Daniel,[13] but very soon afterwards marries Daniel’s father, Daniel Edwards. He is 14 years younger than Hannah and works as a general Labourer. In 1881 they live at 43 John St, Burton upon Trent and all 4 of Hannah’s children are there too.

And now lets go back to Thomas Garrett.

Thomas

Thomas was born in Kings Newton in 1800 to Samuel and Sarah Garrett.[14] Samuel was a Framework Knitter.[15] Thomas takes up Labouring work and on 18^th April 1825 marries Frances Vernon in Melbourne. Their son John is born 1^st October 1826[16] and 3 more children follow, a regular 2 years apart.[17]

I found Thomas working for the Calke Estate in a wage list in 1836 and a list of Garden Labourers in 1839.[18] His wife Frances (Fanny) died in August 1858.[19]I cannot find his name again in documents until February 1864 when he appears as a Garden Labourer. His youngest son Thomas dies around this time aged 32 years. He works as a full time Garden labourer until 1882 (18 years) and he is 82 years old.[20]

Let’s go back to 1864 when Thomas begins his long term role in the Calke Gardens. Martha also begins work in the Gardens in 1864. There must have been a spark between them and they found comfort and companionship in each other because on 14^th October 1867[21] Martha and Thomas marry and settle in High Street, Ticknall.[22] She continues to work in the gardens for another three years, but of course her name appears in the books as Martha Garrett.

In 1879 Martha appears again in a Stewards Account book being paid 6 days board wages of 7s 9d.[23] This would have been at a time when the family were away. Possibly when the house was being given a spring clean and they needed some extra help.

Thomas died in September 1889 having reached the grand old age of 90. At some point after his death Martha gains a place in the Alms Houses in Ticknall and we find her there in 1891 aged 84.

The Alms Houses were built in 1772 according to the instructions in the will of Charles Harpur, for ‘7 poor, decayed men or women of Calke and Ticknall.’ They consisted of a ground floor room, a chamber over, a large pantry and a plot of garden ground. Out of the yearly income from the capital endowment of £2000, each of the ‘inmates’ received £10 (4 shillings per week), the remaining £10 was used for the cost of repair. A loaf of bread per week was also given to each household and a load of logs each year. The 4 shillings a week payments continued until 1957, the free bread delivery until 1978 and the delivery of logs ceased when gas heating was installed in 1989.[24]

Martha died in 1897. Aged 90.

[1] Ticknall Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[2] Ticknall Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[3] 1841 and 1851 census’s Ticknall – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[4] Various Census returns – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[5] Ticknall Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[6] Time Books for Estate Workers 1857-1867 – Calke Archive – DRO Jan 2024
[7] 1851 Census Hartshorne Derbys – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[8] 1861 Census Ashby de la Zouch – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[9] Birth, marriage and death index – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[10] Leicester Journal 26 March 1869 – FindMyPast Jan 2024
[11] 1871 Census Burton upon Trent Staffs – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[12] 1871 Census Ashby de la Zouch Leics – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[13] Birth, marriages and death index – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[14] Birth, marriages and death index – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[15] 1841 Census Kings Newton – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[16] Melbourne Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[17] 1851 Census Kings Newton – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[18] Calke Archives DRO Jan 2024
[19] Melbourne Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[20] Time Books for Estate Workers Calke Archive DRO Jan 2024
[21] Ticknall Parish Registers – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[22] 1871, 1881 Census Ticknall – ancestry.co.uk Jan 2024
[23] Steward’s Account book – Calke Archive DRO – Jan 2024
[24] Olive Wardle – Harpur Crewe Trust – Jan 2024.