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John Earle and Ann Bignal © John, the son of John Earle and his wife Ann (nee Baker), was baptised on the 1st March, 1728, in the Old Parish Church in Headley, Surrey1. Nothing is known of John or his family’s life until he married Ann Bignal on the 11th June, 1753, in the Old Parish Church, Headley, Surrey2. It would appear the Church had been re-named as St Mary by this time. Although very hard to read, the details can just be made out on the original. This record indicates John was from Headley and Ann from Walton-on-the-Hill. A possible baptism, at St Peter, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, on the 9th March, 1732, has been located for Ann, the daughter of William and Mary Bignal1. Walton-on-the-hill is approximately 2km north-north-east of Headley in Surrey, and is an ancient settlement with signs of Pre-historic and Iron Age activity, and where ruins of Roman villas have been located3. The Domesday Book records Walton [-on-the-Hill] as consisting of 18 medium households, made up of 10 villagers, 1 smallholder and 7 slaves; with an annual value of £6. The Church is said to date from the mid-1200s, but it is thought it was probably built on the remains of an older church. A Manor house has parts dating back to the 14th Century and includes the remnants of a great hall and a chapel. Walton still contains several old houses and is surrounded by farm lands, open heath and commons. Today one of the most popular attractions is the Mere Pond on the edge of the Heath, this was formerly the village water supply, but is now a pleasant place to picnic and feed the swans. A search of parish records in the area indicate John & Ann had at least six children: John 1757; Sarah 1759-c1765; Joseph 1760; Benjamin 1763-1767; Sarah 1766, she married James Fuller 1791; and Mary 1768-1770. All appear to have been baptised in the West Street Independent Chapel, Dorking, Surrey. The children’s baptismal records suggest John and Ann possibly moved closer to Dorking soon after their marriage. However, this is supposition as nothing is really known of their lives, but again we can assume John was a Labourer probably working on the land until he was no longer able to do so. This assumption is supported by John Earle being located on the All Surrey, England, Land Tax Records, 1785-18006, in the Holmswood Borough of Dorking. Recorded as a Tenant, along with Jas Duncan, on Sewen's Land in 1785, between 1786-1792 both are on the same land, now owned by Mrs Judith Tucker, and recorded as part of Late Shambles Farm, in 1798 the land is recorded as belonging Henry Peters Esq. John is recorded as a tenant. John appears on the 1799-1800 records as a tenant of Christopher Abel in a House & Garden near the Church Yard. It is believed this was part of the Cotmandene Alms House in Dorking, where they both died. The Alms House was established in 1677 when the Hon. Charles Howard of Deepdene and Sir Adam Brown of Betchworth Castle, granted to the Church Wardens and Overseers of the Parish a licence to build an Alms House on the ‘north end of the common or waste land called Cotman Deane’ in Dorking, and awarded a lease of the land at a peppercorn rent for two-thousand years from Michaelmas 1676. The building consisted of 18 apartments, but initially there was no endowment for inmates. However, a local widow bequeathed her property to local charities, which under an order of the Chancery Court was applied ‘to the maintenance of the poor old men and women in the hospital at Cotmans Deane’. Rebuilt in 1848 and then further modernized and extended in 1961, the Alms Houses are still in use today, where the residents continue to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and a view out to a large green space across the road at Cotmandene.
At the age of 88, John died and was buried in the Dorking
Cemetery on the 7th April, 18155. His wife Ann died less than a year later, aged 87, and she was
buried, on the 28th January, 1816, also in the Dorking Cemetery5. References: 1. Parish Baptism Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 2. Parish Marriage Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 3. Walton Local History Society http://www.waltonandtadworthlhs.org.uk/ 4. British History Online - Dorking http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp141-150 5. Parish Burial Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 6. All Surrey, England, Land Tax Records, 1780-1832 https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Other Sources: Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk Binstead Histoy http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol5/pt1/pp117-125 Exploring Surrey’s Past www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/
Headley, Surrey,
UK http://www.headleysurrey.org.uk/
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