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nformation contained in these pages is intended for genealogical research only,
and I ask that you respect the privacy of those mentioned.
Please
acknowledge the source of any information used from these pages.
Thomas Clarke and Hannah Hartwell© Thomas, the son of William Clarke and Sarah Robins was baptized on the 7th October, 1781, in St Lawrence Parish Church, Weston Sub Edge, Gloucestershire1. Thomas, a Single Man, married Hannah Hartwell, a Single Woman, by Banns, in Badsey, Worcestershire, on the 17th November, 18082. Both made their mark and were both of the Parish, the officiating minister was William Dowell and the witnesses were Stephen Crisp and Elizabeth Hartwell, Elizabeth was most likely Hannah’s sister. Hannah, the daughter of George Hartwell and Mary (nee Simpson), was baptized in St James Parish Church, Badsey on 25th December, 17841. Badsey is approximately 5km north-north-west of Weston Sub Edge, and for most of its history agriculture has been the main occupation of the villagers3. The Domesday Book4, tells us that in 1086, there were 12 villagers, with 8 ploughs, implying that arable farming was already well established. At the beginning of the 19th Century, the old open field system gave way to a more enclosed landscape which better suited the agricultural revolution that was taking place, and changed the landscape irrevocably. In the latter half of the 1870s, the great agricultural depression began to hit the country, but around Badsey, market gardening became the main source of employment from the mid-1880s. Many were small family businesses, often working several different plots of land some distance apart. Unlike a conventional farm with a farm house at its centre, market gardeners lived in village houses and expected to walk or ride some distance to their different plots of land. Many took advantage of the Evesham Custom, which allowed tenant market gardeners to put up huts, called ‘hovels’. Generally constructed of wood and iron, some were a bit more elaborate, made of brick and tile. These hovels were important to the villagers as they provided a place to store their tools and produce and somewhere to eat and shelter from the weather. Hovels were once common around Badsey, but now only a few brick and tile ones survive and are still in use. Although now most of these now contain all the mod cons, such as power and running water. Thomas and Hannah’s first child, George, was born in Badsey on the 25th August, 1809. By 1812, the family had moved to Bretforton, also in Worcestershire. Records indicate Thomas and Hannah had four more children; David 1812; John 1814, he married Ann Gibbs 1839; Sarah 1817; and Jacob 1820. The 1841 Census5 shows Thomas age 55, an Agricultural Labourer and his wife Hannah also age 55, living near the Square in Bretforton. With them is Samuel Clarke, presumed to be their 7year old grandson. In 18515, Thomas and Hannah are still in Bretforton, and assumed at the same address. Thomas is now recorded as age 66, still an Agricultural Labourer, birthplace recorded as Weston Sub Edge, Gloucestershire. Wife Hannah is age 67, her birthplace given as Badsey, Worcestershire. Their grandsons Samuel, age 16, an Agricultural Labourer, and 14year old Plough Boy Thomas were living with them. At the age of 74 Thomas died, on the 8th July, 1854, in Bretforton6. The cause of death was Inflammation and his occupation was given as Husbandman. His wife Hannah registered his death on the 21st July, and Thomas was buried in the Parish Churchyard Bretforton on the 12th July, 18547. Inflammation probably referred to a morbid condition of some or all part of the body, consisting in congestion of the blood vessels, with obstruction of blood circulation, and growth of morbid tissue, or tumorous growth. It is manifested outwardly by redness and swelling, heat and pain8. Hannah is found on the 1861 Census5 in Village Street, Bretforton. Recorded as Head of the household, Hannah is now 76, a Housekeeper, living with her is her 24year old grandson Samuel, an Agricultural Labourer. It is assumed Hannah and Samuel are at the same address as in 1851, and it is also assumed that as Thomas was recorded as a Husbandman on his death certificate, that they may have owned or at least rented a small parcel of land, most likely for the purpose of Market Gardening. A husbandman in England in the medieval and early modern period was a free tenant farmer or small landowner9. On the 12th October 1866, Hannah died in Bretforton6, she was 85years old. Her occupation was given as Widow of Thomas Clarke Agricultural Labourer and the cause of death was Old Age. Hannah's daughter Sarah Perkins registered the death on the 17th October. Hannah was buried in the Parish Churchyard Bretforton on the 15th October, 18667.
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