Charles Thomas Ward (1829-1887) – a Tottenham publican

Charles Thomas Ward.
My 2nd great-grand uncle.

Born in Tottenham Hale, Middlesex, on 2 December 1829 to parents William Ward and Mary Ann Downer, Charles was baptised on Christmas Day at All Hallows Church in Tottenham.

He was still living at home with his parents – 4 Cottage Place, Tottenham Hale – at the time of the 1851 census, when he was listed as a gardener. He was living in Upper Clapton, Middlesex, when he married Mary Ann Moore on 19 March 1861 at Hackney Parish Church. She was baptised on 26 May 1824 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, the daughter of cordwainer Thomas Moore and his wife Elizabeth.

They went on to live at 3 Beecher Cottages in Tottenham, but Charles gave up gardening and became a publican. The 1871 census listed him at the Wellington in Green Lanes, Hornsey, with his wife and children. The pub was a substantial building on the corner of Turnpike Lane but in recent years it was converted into a Burger King fast food outlet and then a branch of Costa Coffee. A small bar called The Wellington survived next door to the old pub building, fronting on to Turnpike Lane and aimed mostly at the Irish community, but this too would close.

Mary Ann died some time in the 1870s and Charles married a second time, his bride being the much younger Sarah Diggins, in 1879. She came from Helions Bumpstead in Essex, where she’d been baptised on 2 March 1856 to agricultural labourer William Diggins and his wife Elizabeth. It’s possible that she met him when she came to work at the pub – an Annie Diggins from Bumpstead was a servant there at the time of the 1871 census and must’ve been a relative. Similarly, a Mary Diggins was a servant with them in 1881 and an Elizabeth Diggins was listed as a visitor. Sarah and Charles had children of their own.

Charles was shown on electoral rolls at the Wellington until 1886 but he died on 21 May 1887 at another pub, the Sir John Lawrence, High Road, New Southgate, leaving an estate valued at £234. Named after a Viceroy of India, the building is no longer standing and whether Charles was the landlord there is not known although the probate record suggests he was.

The 1891 Census showed Sarah living at 15 Turnpike Lane, Hornsey, Middlesex, with some of her children and working as a charwoman or cleaner. I suspect Sarah died young in 1893, her death registered in St Pancras, but proof has been hard to come by.

Charles and Mary Ann’s children:

• Charles William Ward (1862-1948). Sometimes known as William Charles Ward, he was born in Tottenham and worked as a salesman and warehouseman for a drapery. He married Kent-born Gertrude Botten and had a family with her. They were living in Uxbridge at the time of the 1939 Register. Gertrude and Charles both died in 1948.
• Edwin Ward (1864-1944). Edwin worked as a clerk, cashier and warehouseman, married Ann Elizabeth Bride of East London in 1887 and had children with her. They lived in Wood Green and New Southgate, Middlesex, for many years. He died in 1944, Ann in 1949.
• Albert Ward (1865-????). Albert married Eliza Hockley of Tottenham in 1895 and raised a family. He worked as a salesman. Eliza described herself as a widow in the 1911 census but it’s unclear when Alfred died.
• John Walter Ward (1868-1941). John worked as a tailor and married Faith Hope Charity Kimpton of Hertfordshire in 1898. They had children and lived in and around Tottenham and Hornsey all their married life. Faith lived until 1957.

Charles and Sarah’s children:

• Agnes Ward (1880-1951). Agnes grew up in and around Tottenham and married Walter James Church in 1917. They lived in Chingford and Ongar, where Agnes died a widow in 1951.
• Henry Ward (1881-1949). Henry was baptised in St Mary’s, Hornsey, and married Alice Phoebe Atkins in 1906. They had children and he worked as a butcher. He died in 1949, Alice in 1964. They lived in and around his place of birth all their lives.

Sources: Wills, BMDs and census info at Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com, where I also accessed the British Newspaper Archive. Birth records at gro.gov.uk. Websites linked to in the text.