Visitors' Book

Wickhamford 1821

Probable Wickhamford inhabitants at time of the 1821 Census 

The 1821 census records do not give details of the inhabitants of Wickhamford, but the village population was given as 130.  By checking the Parish Registers for baptisms, marriages and burials it is possible to find the details of many families who were resident on the 28th May 1821. A reference to the village in the Worcestershire General and Commercial Directory, compiled by S Lewis in 1820, gives a population estimate of 170, which is too high, and the number of houses as 25, which is probably about right.

Unfortunately, none of the details collected on individuals in the 1821 census are now available.  Who carried out the collection of data in Wickhamford is unknown, but the Vicar at the time was Rev’d Charles Phillott.  Although the names of many churchwardens in the village are known from earlier and later periods, those in 1821 are not known, but they may have been partly responsible for gathering information.  The details of families probably resident in Wickhamford at the time of the census are given below.

This type of research has already been done for Wickhamford in 1801 and with named individuals in the 1841 census. This article deals with the halfway point between those two dates. As stated in the 1801 article:  This is purely an academic exercise and should be treated as such. The families below are in alphabetical order and the approximate age of the inhabitants in 1821 is given, where known.

BELCHER FAMILY (4 members)

William Belcher had married Elizabeth Scott in 1816 and they had nine children baptised in Wickhamford from 1817 to 1834.  He was a blacksmith, but it is unknown if his smithy was in the village.

  • William Belcher (26) was born in ca 1795.  He died after 1841.
  • Elizabeth Belcher (??), wife of William.
  • Sarah Belcher (4) was baptised in June 1817.
  • Mary Belcher (1) was baptised in April 1820.

BENNETT FAMILY (5 members)

Thomas and Fanny Bennett had four children baptised in Wickhamford between 1808 and 1822.  Two of their sons were convicted of assault in 1831, when they were still living in Wickhamford.  One was hanged and the other transported to Australia.

  • Thomas Bennett (36) was a labourer, according to the Baptism Register. He and his family were living in the village at the 1841 census, when his age was recorded as 56.
  • Fanny Bennett (32) was the wife of Thomas. She died in the Evesham Union workhouse and was buried in Wickhamford in April 1858, aged 69 years.
  • John Bennett (12) was baptised in July 1808.  He was executed at Gloucester Gaol in April 1831.
  • Thomas Bennett (10) was born in August 1811 and baptised in January 1812.  He was transported to Australia in 1831 and died in Tasmania in 1885.
  • Jane Bennett (6) was baptised in July 1814.

COOK FAMILY (7 members)

Joseph and Elizabeth Cook were shopkeepers and they had eight children baptised in Wickhamford between 1798 and 1816. (The surname is spelled as Cook and Cooke in various Registers.)

  • Joseph Cook (50) was buried in Wickhamford in 1836, aged 65, but his name appeared in the 1841 Bentley’s Directory as a shopkeeper.
  • Elizabeth Cook (46) was a shopkeeper at the 1841 census, when living with her son, Edward. She died in 1863, aged 88, in Willersey, but was buried in Wickhamford.
  • Mark Cooke (14) was baptised in Wickhamford in April 1807, so was probably still living at home in 1821.
  • Edward Cooke (11) was baptised in July 1809.
  • Mary Cooke (9) was baptised in December 1811.
  • Elizabeth Cooke (7) was baptised in November 1813.
  • Joseph Cooke (5) was baptised in January 1816, but buried in 1826, aged 10 years.

CRANE FAMILY (2 members)

  • Mary Crane (38) died soon after the census and was buried in Wickhamford on 18 June 1821, aged 38.
  • William Crane (2) was aged 32 at the 1851 census and recorded as born in Wickhamford, but no baptism record exists.  He married an ‘underaged’ Sarah Faulkener in 1840.

FAIRFAX FAMILY (3 members)

Thomas Fairfax and his wife Hannah, had three children baptised in Wickhamford – Hannah (June 1801), Mary (December 1807) and William (November 1811).  The daughter, Hannah, married in the village in November 1819, with her father as a witness (see below).  After this there are no records of the family in Wickhamford, but it is possible that the parents, and William, were there for the 1821 census. Mary had died, aged 11 in 1819.

  • Thomas Fairfax (??)
  • Hannah Fairfax (??).  
  • William Fairfax (9)

FAULKENER FAMILY (3 members)

William Faulkener and his wife, Elizabeth, had a number of children between 1820 and 1832.

  • William Faulkener (??), a labourer, does not appear in local records after the baptism of a daughter in 1832.
  • Elizabeth Faulkener (28) was born in ca 1893 and was buried in Wickhamford in 1840.
  • Sarah Faulkener (1) was baptised in Wickhamford in January 1820.

HALL FAMILY (8 members)

Charles Hall was born in Childswickham in ca 1780 and was recorded in the 1851 census in Wickhamford, aged 71. He married Hannah Viner in the village in 1802. 

  • Charles Hall (41) was recorded as a labourer at his children’s baptisms. He died in 1865, aged 85.
  • Hannah Hall (41) was born in ca 1780. She died in Wickhamford in 1863, aged 83.
  • George Hall (17), their son, was baptised in August 1803 in Wickhamford. He was buried in the village in 1835, aged 32.
  • William Hall (16) was baptised in January 1805. He still lived in the village in 1829, when he was married.
  • John Hall (15) was baptised in May 1806. He still lived in the village in 1851.
  • Ann Hall (13) was baptised in January 1808 and died in 1828.
  • Sarah Hall (10) was baptised in November 1811. She married in the village in 1833.
  • Thomas Hall (6) was baptised in June 1814. He still lived in the village in 1851.

HOWSE FAMILY (6 members)

William Howse married Mary Crown in Wickhamford in 1811 and they had ten children between 1812 and 1832.  

  • William Howse (32), a labourer, was born in ca 1789.
  • Mary Howse (28), born in ca 1793, died, aged 39, after the birth of her tenth child in 1832.
  • Thomas Howse (8) was baptised in July 1812.
  • Lucy Howse (6) was baptised in February 1815.
  • Richard Howse (3) was baptised in February 1818.
  • Mary Howse (1) was baptised in April 1820.

KENT FAMILY (3 members)

John Kent was recorded in the 1820 Lewis Directory as a farmer in Wickhamford, but no further details of him are known.

  • John Kent (??), a farmer.
  • Mary Kent (??) was the wife of John Kent.  They had a second child baptised in the village shortly after the 1821 census.
  • Mary Kent (1) was baptised in Wickhamford in June 1819.

IVINS FAMILY (5 members)

John Ivins had three children baptised in Wickhamford (1816-1820) and other children after the 1821 census.  (A newspaper report from July 1820 refers to property stolen from ‘John Evans’ of Wickhamford.  This was very probably the same man.)

  • John Ivins (??), was a labourer, according to the Baptism Register entries for his children.
  • Elizabeth Ivins (36), wife of John Ivins.  (There is a burial record for Elizabeth ‘Stins’, aged 40, in August 1825, a few months after her 5-week-old daughter was buried in April. This almost certainly Elizabeth Ivins.)
  • Richard Ivins (4) was baptised in September 1816.
  • Hannah Ivins (2) was baptised in May 1818.
  • Maria Ivins (1) was baptised in April 1820.

ROBINS FAMILY (2 members)

William Robins was a Wickhamford farmer, according to the 1820 Lewis Directory.  He had married, in the village, in October 1817.  

  • William Robbins (??) was from Childswickham and his bride was Catharine Smith, He was a widower at his marriage and she a widow. Albert and Alice Sawyer signed as witnesses.
  • Catharine Robins (??) was from Wickhamford, according to the Marriage Register.

ROBBINS FAMILY (4 members)

James Robbins had two children baptised in Wickhamford before the 1821 census and two afterwards.

  • James Robbins (31) was a labourer and had been born in Chipping Campden in ca 1790.
  • Elizabeth Robbins (31), wife of James Robbins, also born in Chipping Campden ca 1790. (She may have been older, as a woman of this name was buried in Wickhamford in February 1826, aged 40 years.)
  • Ann Robbins (4) was baptised in September 1816.
  • George Robbins (2) was baptised in September 1818.

ROGERS FAMILY (3 members)

  • Thomas Rogers (48), a labourer, was born in ca 1873. After Jane (below), other children were baptised in Wickhamford in the 1820s.
  • Hannah Rogers (30), his wife, was born ca 1891.
  • Jane Rogers (2 months), their daughter, was baptised in Wickhamford in March 1821, shortly before the census.

SAWYER FAMILY (5 members)

The 1820 Lewis Directory lists Albert Sawyer as a farmer in Wickhamford. He lived at the present-day Wickham House and was the tenant at the farm there (now Wickham House Farm).

  • Albert Sawyer (37) was born in Bidford-upon-Avon in 1784. He died in 1830 and is buried near the church porch in Wickhamford.
  • Alice Sawyer (34) was the wife of Albert Sawyer. She was the tenant of the farm after his death in 1830. She was aged 64 at the 1851 census.
  • Felicity Sawyer(??) was married in the parish in 1835.
  • Eliza Sawyer (??) was married in the parish in 1840.
  • Marianne Sawyer (3) was baptised in April 1818. She died in 1832, aged 14 years.

SEARS FAMILY (6 members)

The Sears family were residents in Wickhamford for a number of generations.

  • Thomas Sears (59) lived in Wickhamford for his whole life, dying in 1829, aged 67.
  • Elizabeth Sears (27), nee Tayler, married Thomas in the village in 1795 and died in 1849, aged 82.  She had four children born between 1796 and 1809.
  • John Sears (24) was baptised in August 1796 and died in the village in 1842.
  • William Sears (22) was baptised in April 1799 and was recorded in the village in the 1851 census, aged 51.
  • Bonner Sears (15) was baptised in July 1806. He lived in Badsey in 1841 but may have been in Wickhamford in 1821.
  • Thomas Sears (11) was baptised in August 1809 and was recorded in the village in the 1851 census, aged 42.

SHARP FAMILY (4 Members)

Thomas Sharp married Elizabeth Kirkman in October 1820, both being Wickhamford residents. They remained in the village and a daughter was baptised in August 1821, soon after the census. 

  • John Sharp (55) died in December 1831, aged 65.
  • Idy Sharp (61) died in February 1837, aged 77. She and her husband were both buried in Wickhamford.
  • Thomas Sharp (22) was a labourer, born in 1799. He was still alive in 1846, when a daughter was married.
  • Elizabeth Sharp (24) was his wife. She died in 1824, aged 27 years.

SIMPSON FAMILY (1 member)

  • Judith Simpson (??) married Thomas Thomlinson (see below) in June 1821 and was recorded as living in the village. They had a daughter baptised in Wickhamford shortly after the 1821 census.

TANDY FAMILY (8 members)

John Tandy married Mary Barns in 1812 and they had 6 children baptised in 1813 – 1820.

  • John Tandy (??) was a labourer, according to his children’s baptism records
  • Mary Tandy (28), wife of John Tandy. She died in 1822 aged 29 and was buried in Badsey.
  • Elizabeth Tandy (7) was baptised in June 1813 in Wickhamford.
  • Thomas Tandy (6) was baptised in January 1815 in Badsey.
  • Ann Tandy (4) was baptised in August 1816 in Badsey.
  • George Tandy (2) was baptised in August 1818 in Wickhamford.
  • John Tandy (1) was baptised, in Wickhamford, on 6 January 1820 together with his twin sister – 
  • Mary Tandy (1)

SMITH FAMILY (6 members)

The Smith family ran Wickhamford Mill for many years, with Samuel Smith being recorded as the miller in 1841.  His father was Anthony Smith and his mother Catherine, who had married in Badsey in 1792.  They had nine children between 1793 and 1812.  It was only after 1812 that the Parish Register recorded a father’s occupation, but it is quite likely that Anthony Smith was also the miller.

  • Anthony Smith (??)
  • Elizabeth Smith (??)
  • Sarah Smith (16) was baptised in August 1804.
  • Maria Smith (14) was baptised in March 1807.
  • Samuel Smith (11) was baptised in August 1809.
  • Francis Smith (9) was baptised in March 1812, the youngest of the children. 

SQUIRES FAMILY (3 members)

John Squires married Ann Sharp, in Wickhamford, in April 1816. 

  • John Squires (??) was a carpenter.
  • Ann Squires (??) had a baby in 1825, who only lived 8 months.  She and her husband seem to have left the area after this tragedy.
  • Maria Squires (3), daughter of John and Ann, was baptised in the village in February 1818.

TAYLOR FAMILY (9 members)

The Taylor family moved to Wickhamford in the 1820s and very shortly before the census the matriarch of the family, Sarah Taylor, died, aged 84, and was buried in the churchyard.  In the 1820 Lewis Directory, both John Taylor and Thomas Taylor were listed as farmers.  Members of the family lived at Wickhamford Manor and Elm Farm at this time.

  • Thomas Taylor (62) was born in ca 1759. He died in 1841 and was buried in Wickhamford.
  • Mary Taylor (61), wife of Thomas Taylor, predeceased her husband, dying in 1823, aged 63, two years after the census and was buried in the churchyard.
  • John Taylor (36), son of Thomas and Ann Taylor (born ca 1785) lived at Elm Farm in 1841 and he died in 1852. He had children baptised in the village after the 1821 census.
  • Sarah Taylor (21), wife of John Taylor (born ca 1800).
  • Frances Taylor (7 months), daughter of John and Sarah Taylor was baptised in Wickhamford in October 1820.
  • Sarah Taylor (2), daughter of John and Sarah Taylor was baptised in Wickhamford in August 1818. She died aged only 11 years, in 1829.
  • Samuel Taylor (21), son of Thomas and Ann Taylor (born ca 1800), lived at the Manor in 1841 and he died in 1866.
  • Ann Taylor (21), wife of Samuel Taylor, (born ca 1800).
  • Joseph Taylor (??), son of Thomas and Mary Taylor, married in 1828 in Wickhamford. He died in 1883.

THOMLINSON FAMILY (1 member)

  • Thomas Thomlinson (??) married Judith Simpson in Wickhamford in June 1821.  Both resided in the parish. The family (as ‘Tomlinson’), with five children, were living in the village for the 1841 census.  When a daughter was baptised in November 1821, his occupation was recorded as a labourer.

WINNETT FAMILY (4 members)

  • Richard Winnett (ca 35), a labourer, had a daughter baptised in Wickhamford in 1818. He and his wife were still in the village in 1841.
  • Ann Winnett (ca 21) was the wife of Richard Winnett.  She was later referred to as ‘Fanny’.
  • Betty (Elizabeth) Winnett (3) was baptised in February 1818.
  • Mary Winnett (10 months) was baptised in July 1820.

The people listed above total over 100 probable inhabitants of Wickhamford in 1821 out of a recorded figure of 130.

Other possible inhabitants of Wickhamford in 1821

Other people in Wickhamford at the time of the census would have been unmarried servants at the Manor and farms as well as single men working on the land and lodging in resident’s houses.  Some potential inhabitants in May 1821 are as follows:

  • Mary Clarke (70), who was buried in 1823, aged 72. 
  • Elizabeth Sharp (24), who was buried in 1824, aged 27.
  • John Viner (73), who was buried in 1829, aged 81.
  • Mary Barnes (69), who was buried in 1830, aged 77.
  • Charlotte Kent married William Malins in September 1819 in Wickhamford and both lived in the parish, so may have still been there in May 1821.
  • Joseph Gillett married Hannah Precks in November 1821 in Wickhamford and both lived in the parish.  There are no other records in the parish for this couple, so they may have been servants, who moved away after their marriage.
  • Elizabeth Farmer of Wickhamford married William Young of Buckland in October 1822.  She may have been a servant in the village in May 1821.
  • Francis Ewins of Wickhamford’s will was proved in September 1825.  This is a variation on the name ‘Ivins’, above, so he was probably an older relation of John Ivins.
  • Richard Stanton of Wickhamford’s will was proved in April 1824.  The witnesses were Henry Stanton and Thomas Stanton, who were both described as ‘Yeoman of Wickhamford.  Richard was baptised in Wickhamford in May 1789, so would have been 42 at the 1821 census.  He had married Hannah Davis in the village in 1815.

These cases bring the number of inhabitants likely to have been present for the census to 113 out of the recorded total of 130.  If all of the families described in this article were living in their own houses or cottages, almost all of the 25 households will have been identified.

Apart from Field Farm (previously called ‘Wickhamford Farm’) and Wickhamford Mill, which are south of the Evesham to Broadway road, all of the houses would have been located on or near the village street, now Manor Road.

When the 1841 census was taken and villagers names recorded, about twenty of the surnames mentioned above, still occurred in Wickhamford.  When comparing 1821 with 1801, less than ten surnames appear in both years.  It would seem that the period between 1821 and 1841 was more stable, in terms of population movement, that the period between 1801 and 1821.  For the majority of that time, we were at war with France.

Occupations were recorded at the census, but that information does not survive.  From the list above, it would seem that Wickhamford had five farmers, a miller, a shopkeeper, and a carpenter. There were ten known labourers, who would have worked in agriculture, but many of their wives and older children would have been similarly employed.

Tom Locke, March 2022