John Brooke, 1873-1963: Baker and Sub-postmaster at Kingsdown
Text and Photos John Brooke Flashman, July 2021
Text and Photos John Brooke Flashman, July 2021
John Brooke’s life at Kingsdown illustrates how the hamlet developed after the boom years of quarrying were over. For decades around the Edwardian period, the area offered opportunities for hard-working, educated people to bring local trade and commerce to an area separated from Box village before motorised public and private transport. This rural isolation provided opportunities for those who had the trust of local communities and were able to offer local facilities. It was no coincidence that both Kingsdown and Box Hill were dominated by Methodist beliefs championed by local moral leaders, such as John Brooke.
Brooke Family
My grandfather, John (or Jack as he was often known) Brooke, was born on 12 May 1873 at the family home in Old Sodbury, near Yate, to parents Paul and Susannah Brooke. John followed the family tradition by being trained as a carpenter and, after working with his father for a couple of years, he took employment with a Bath firm. His life seems to have undergone a profound change about October 1891 when he was eighteen.
He was baptised and became preoccupied with spiritual matters, displaying a deep religious commitment which saw him follow a devout Christian way of life for the rest of his days. He met a young lady, Virginia Aish, a tenant farmer’s daughter, at the General Baptist Chapel, Old Sodbury and they married there on 14 May 1894. There are no contemporary descriptions of the marriage but their daughter Winifred said that, to please Virginia, John arranged for a white horse and carriage outside the chapel to carry them away after the ceremony.
My grandfather, John (or Jack as he was often known) Brooke, was born on 12 May 1873 at the family home in Old Sodbury, near Yate, to parents Paul and Susannah Brooke. John followed the family tradition by being trained as a carpenter and, after working with his father for a couple of years, he took employment with a Bath firm. His life seems to have undergone a profound change about October 1891 when he was eighteen.
He was baptised and became preoccupied with spiritual matters, displaying a deep religious commitment which saw him follow a devout Christian way of life for the rest of his days. He met a young lady, Virginia Aish, a tenant farmer’s daughter, at the General Baptist Chapel, Old Sodbury and they married there on 14 May 1894. There are no contemporary descriptions of the marriage but their daughter Winifred said that, to please Virginia, John arranged for a white horse and carriage outside the chapel to carry them away after the ceremony.
Move to Kingsdown, 1899
John tried to set up as a builder and carpenter in Box but found it wasn’t profitable, even though he applied for the building of a new carpenters’ shop there.[1] So he changed career and purchased a bakery, corn factoring business (selling seed to local farmers) and general store at Kingsdown in about 1899. John’s older brother Albert William Brooke, had operated a bakery business in the hamlet of Kingsdown previously and it may be that John took over this trade when Albert was living at Bathford.
Curiously, Albert’s death in 1912 was due to a bicycle visit back to Kingsdown to deliver a bible to his nephew Arthur, who was leaving for Canada the next day. Albert came off his bike and was treated by a local doctor for his injuries. All seemed to be going well until nine days after the accident when Albert developed symptoms of lockjaw (tetanus). His condition worsened, culminating in his death in great pain on 5 May 1912. Albert had been accompanied on the mission to Kingsdown by his son Hector. Following his father's death, for the rest of his life, Hector refused to have any contact whatsoever with his cousin Arthur, cutting him off as though he were naturally dead.
John tried to set up as a builder and carpenter in Box but found it wasn’t profitable, even though he applied for the building of a new carpenters’ shop there.[1] So he changed career and purchased a bakery, corn factoring business (selling seed to local farmers) and general store at Kingsdown in about 1899. John’s older brother Albert William Brooke, had operated a bakery business in the hamlet of Kingsdown previously and it may be that John took over this trade when Albert was living at Bathford.
Curiously, Albert’s death in 1912 was due to a bicycle visit back to Kingsdown to deliver a bible to his nephew Arthur, who was leaving for Canada the next day. Albert came off his bike and was treated by a local doctor for his injuries. All seemed to be going well until nine days after the accident when Albert developed symptoms of lockjaw (tetanus). His condition worsened, culminating in his death in great pain on 5 May 1912. Albert had been accompanied on the mission to Kingsdown by his son Hector. Following his father's death, for the rest of his life, Hector refused to have any contact whatsoever with his cousin Arthur, cutting him off as though he were naturally dead.
Meanwhile, John and Virginia settled into their new home and businesses, which they ran successfully for the next 27 years. The bakery required a great deal of work, mixing the dough by hand, baking in the small hours of the morning and delivering to over five hundred customers. The shop was both a general store and sub-post office, which we might imagine occupied both Virginia and paid staff. In 1908 the post office suffered a break-in by two London youths whilst John and his family were out one Sunday afternoon. They stole £13 in money, stamps and postal orders.[2] The local community gathered to support him. George Ford, Kingsdown quarryman, saw the robbers enter the premises, and Herbert John Hale, GWR clerk, remembered selling them rail tickets out of Box which they paid for in coppers (½p to 5p pieces, stolen from the Post Office till). This wasn't the only theft that John suffered.
Estate Defrauded In 1922 there was a theft by a solicitor acting for the estate of my great grandmother. The family originally believed that it was committed by JW Trenfield but it turned out that the perpetrator was his son, Reginald Blair Trenfield,[3] The son misappropriated £202.17s.9d (worth over £9,000 in today's money) plus two cottages at Old Sodbury, which he then sold.[4] The case was taken over by the Director of Public Prosecutions following an initial hearing. My grandfather John gave evidence citing his address as 1 The Firs, Kingsdown, and the case was referred to the Court of Assize. Eventually John and his son Arthur were appointed new trustees of the estate and the sales repudiated. Reginald Trenfield was sentenced to a term of imprisonment with hard labour, although the Brooke family never recovered any of the money he had stolen from them. When he was released from prison, Mr Trenfield called on my grandfather and asked for a sizeable loan to give him a fresh start in life, which he swore he would repay. He had apparently become an alcoholic after he left the army. John did let him have the money, although he knew from the outset that he would never get it back. He later told my mother that he should at least give Trenfield the chance to redeem himself and it would have been permanently on his conscience had he denied him that opportunity. This tells us a lot about the sort of man John was. |
Life at Kingsdown
Their work did not prevent John and Virginia from being very active in community life of the area. At one stage, John (tenor), Virginia (soprano), their son Douglas (bass) and daughter Winifred (alto) gave performances locally as a vocal quartet. During the Great War John was required to supply a nearby military establishment with bread, which considerably increased his workload. One side effect of this was that he developed the skill of producing very crusty bread, particularly rolls, which the soldiers apparently preferred. The chapel, of course, took up much of their time. He was a trustee of the original Wesleyan chapel at Kingsdown which offered services at 3pm and 6pm on Sundays and, during the First World War, John frequently preached in the local area.[4] Not to be outdone, Virginia Brooke was a member of the District Nursing Association. When the Kingsdown United Methodist Church was built in 1926, John became a Trust Steward for the chapel. His time at Kingsdown was marked by hard work and generosity, for both of which he was renowned throughout his life. Sometimes it was simple acts of kindness, such as supplying a field for a camping expedition by the cadets of St Saviour’s Church Lads Brigade in 1924 and 1925.[5] John and Virginia enjoying a ramble around Kingsdown in the early 1920s. They were both great walkers. |
Family at Kingsdown
John and Virginia’s marriage produced ten children, three of whom died in infancy. All three were interred in the same unmarked plot in Box cemetery. As a child, I well remember being taken to the cemetery by my grandfather John Brooke who pointed out the plot under a tree, now gone and I have since failed to identify the exact location. Of their five sons only Eric had any children, all girls, so the male line through John is now extinct, but not the female line, of which I am a part.
John and Virginia’s marriage produced ten children, three of whom died in infancy. All three were interred in the same unmarked plot in Box cemetery. As a child, I well remember being taken to the cemetery by my grandfather John Brooke who pointed out the plot under a tree, now gone and I have since failed to identify the exact location. Of their five sons only Eric had any children, all girls, so the male line through John is now extinct, but not the female line, of which I am a part.
Their second surviving son Douglas Redvers trained as a chemist after serving in the First World War and for a while had a shop in Box village. In 1930 he had become engaged to a local girl, Ethel Oatley, and in July of that year he purchased a pharmacy and shop in Swindon.
Travelling back to Box by motorbike to tell his parents about it, he was involved in a collision with another motor-cyclist at a junction on the main Bath Road. The two machines hit each other head-on, both riders receiving severe injuries from which they died soon afterwards. Douglas was the only member of the family to have been a Freemason. This had always been a matter of concern to his father John who was wary of any sort of closed brotherhood, especially one with religious overtones which were in direct conflict with his own beliefs. Left: Coleridge House where Douglas Brooke had his pharmacy in Box after the Bence family had moved their grocer's shop to a new premises next door. Possibly Cecil standing next to his motor bike. |
Like all but one of the children, John and Virginia’s oldest daughter, Winifred Florence was born at 2 The Firs, Kingsdown. All the children had a very strict upbringing. A highlight of the religious year was harvest festival, followed by a function known as the bidding to raise funds for the chapel through an auction of goods. As the event drew nearer, excitement increased, particularly affecting Winnie. However, in an exercise of self-denial, her parents made her remain at home that evening and she missed the event. Winnie went to Box School, then to Chippenham County, where she matriculated. She became a pupil teacher at Box and later obtained a teaching qualification in history and music from Avery Hill College, Eltham. She married another teacher Hector Howell Jones (known as Jo) in 1928 and they moved first to Stourbridge and later to Birmingham where Winnie was appointed head of a mathematics department in a girls' secondary school. She later took a music post at a local grammar school. After her retirement in the late 1960s, Winnie and Jo resettled at Combe Down, Bath.
Seen below two harvest loaves, baked at Kingsdown at different times. The one on the left was taken outdoors on a chair;
the one on right was taken indoors.
Seen below two harvest loaves, baked at Kingsdown at different times. The one on the left was taken outdoors on a chair;
the one on right was taken indoors.
Several of the children sought employment outside the Box and Kingsdown area, but this was not true of Gerald Wilfred, the most controversial of the family. He was reputed to be sullen and morose by nature and tended to be regarded as a misfit by his siblings. As he grew older, he became a talented footballer and my mother recalled how he could dribble the ball through a throng of opposing defenders without their getting near him. He was also a very accomplished illustrator of botanical specimens drawn whilst studying at evening classes in 1926 and 1927.
After school Gerald took employment with Mr Jay at the Northey Garage, Box, still working there when he moved into rented rooms in Bathampton in 1930. At about this time, Mr Jay realised that money was being taken from the business and contacted the local policeman PC Carter. Gerald was found with stolen money in his pocket and confessed. He was charged and released on bail in the sum of £5. In a state of distress, Gerald left his lodgings that night and threw himself under a railway train at Bathford. His death was pronounced as suicide whilst of an unsound mind. It was a tragic end to a distressing event. Gerald was rarely talked about by members of the family, Mr Jay became unpopular amongst sections of the village, and my mother recalled seeing PC Carter on the day of Gerald’s funeral. He was directing traffic with tears streaming down his face.
After school Gerald took employment with Mr Jay at the Northey Garage, Box, still working there when he moved into rented rooms in Bathampton in 1930. At about this time, Mr Jay realised that money was being taken from the business and contacted the local policeman PC Carter. Gerald was found with stolen money in his pocket and confessed. He was charged and released on bail in the sum of £5. In a state of distress, Gerald left his lodgings that night and threw himself under a railway train at Bathford. His death was pronounced as suicide whilst of an unsound mind. It was a tragic end to a distressing event. Gerald was rarely talked about by members of the family, Mr Jay became unpopular amongst sections of the village, and my mother recalled seeing PC Carter on the day of Gerald’s funeral. He was directing traffic with tears streaming down his face.
Leaving Kingsdown
We need to go back a few years in the story of John and Virginia because their lives had taken a dramatic turn. Sometime in 1926, John visited his doctor on a routine matter and received the chilling prognosis that he would be dead within two years if he didn’t retire from the business. The hard work in operating the bakery and running the shop and post office had taken its toll. Needless to say, when Virginia heard the doctor’s advice, she made John give up the business immediately and the family moved from Kingsdown to what was to be their final home at 2 Mead Villas, Box. A lesser man might have decided to take things easy from then on, but John was made of sterner stuff and he embarked on what was effectively a second career for the next seventeen years. He did this out of a firm sense of public duty and, in so doing, shaped events in the village of Box and the duties of the local authorities and parish council to protect the interests of ordinary villagers. We tell this part of John Brooke’s story in the next issue of the website. |
Brooke Family Tree
Parents Paul Philip Brooke (1828-1903) and Susannah Neale Stinchcombe (1838 - 1919). Children:
John Brooke (12 May 1873 – 3 March 1963) married Virginia Aish (b 10 November 1871-4 May 1945) on 14 May 1894. Children:
Parents Paul Philip Brooke (1828-1903) and Susannah Neale Stinchcombe (1838 - 1919). Children:
- Henry Stinchcombe (1861-1930);
- Walter (1863-1934);
- Emma (1865-1940);
- Albert William (1868 - 1912);
- Francis Thomas (1871-1899);
- John (24 May 1873-1963);
- Arthur Paul (1873 -1963);
- Percy Gerald (1881-1952).
John Brooke (12 May 1873 – 3 March 1963) married Virginia Aish (b 10 November 1871-4 May 1945) on 14 May 1894. Children:
- Arthur Philip John (28 February 1895-22 May 1969), radio officer Merchant Navy, married Gertrude Lydia Butt on 26 July 1947;
- Harold Augustus (3 May 1897-30 January 1899);
- Douglas Redvers (28 November 1899-27 July 1930), unmarried;
- Winifred Florence (21 February 1902-28 February 1983) married Hector Howell Jones, a teacher, on 4 February 1928;
- Cecil Francis (30 November 1903-30 November 1977), a printer who married Gladys Violet Brooke on 25 December 1936;
- Gerald Wilfred (16 July 1905-4 April 1930), unmarried;
- Ena Deborah (13 March 1907-3 April 1908);
- Paul Philip (24 September 1909-1 January 1910);
- Eric Henry (22 November 1913-15 February 1990) married Gladys Jane Mary Blent on 18 September 1937;
- Grace Mary (22 November 1913-5 March 1988) married Henry Charles Flashman on 2 September 1935 – my parents.
References
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 3 February 1900
[2] The Bath Chronicle, 21 May 1908
[3] Details kindly provided by Pamela Pipe
[4] The Western Daily Press, 22 July 1922 and 31 October 1922
[4] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 16 March 1912
[5] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 14 June 1924 and 6 June 1925
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 3 February 1900
[2] The Bath Chronicle, 21 May 1908
[3] Details kindly provided by Pamela Pipe
[4] The Western Daily Press, 22 July 1922 and 31 October 1922
[4] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 16 March 1912
[5] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 14 June 1924 and 6 June 1925