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James Fuller and Sarah Earl © The son of James Fuller and his wife Jane (nee Lucock), James was baptised in St Martin, the Old Parish Church, Dorking, on the 21st May 17581. Dorking was most likely established originally as staging post on Stane Street, the very important Roman Road which ran between Chichester, the vital English Channel Port for the Roman supply and administrative machine, and London2. It appears the Romans chose well, as the settlement persisted and prospered even after they left Britain in the 4th Century. Little is known about Dorking in Saxon times but it is listed by the Normans in their Domesday Book of 1086 as the Manor of Dorchinges. The manor, which once belonged to a Saxon, was now held by William the Conqueror himself. Of some value, the Domesday Book lists one church, three mills worth 15shillings & 4pence, 16 ploughs, three acres of meadow, woodland and herbage worth 88 hogs. By the Middle Ages, Dorking was a prosperous agricultural and market town, benefiting from its situation in a narrow chalk valley where many roads, paths and tracks met. The chalk hills also led to a thriving Lime-burning industry. For many generations local farmers had burned the chalk, spreading the resulting lime across their field to improve soil quality, and the Dorking chalk pits were in operation from the early 1600s. The Domesday Book is the earliest surviving public record in England. It is a detailed survey and valuation of all the land held by the William the Conqueror and his people, along with all the resources that went with the land in late 11th Century England. There was nothing else like it in England until the Census which began in the mid-19th Century3. On the 27th January, 1791, in the Dorking Parish Church, after the publication of their Banns, James married Sarah Earle. James was a Bachelor and Sarah a Spinster, and the record indicates they were both of the Parish of Dorking4. Believed to have been born in Betchworth, Surrey 12th February, 1766, and baptised in the West Street Chapel (Independent), Dorking, on the 26th February, Sarah was the daughter of John Earle and his wife Ann (nee Bignal)1. Betchworth is a small village set in the chalk hills of the Mole Valley in Surrey. Approximately 4½km east of Dorking, Betchworth was also supported by the chalk industry. There were some brick-works, a large Castle and several Farm Estates which also provided work for the village inhabitants5. Dorking Parish records indicate James and Sarah had six children: Joseph 1792-1877; Richard 1796-1859; Jane 1797-1813; James 1802-1881; William 1806, he married Mary Ann May 1827; and Mary 1815-1815. While there is no documented evidence of James’ actual occupation, later family records indicate many of his family worked as Agricultural Labourers and Limeburners, so it is reasonable to assume that James was also involved in both these occupations. Burning of the lime was mostly a winter occupation when there were fewer farm jobs to be done, so in all possibility James also worked on the land during the busy farm seasons. During the 18th Century, burnt limestone or chalk was the main component of mortar and was widely used in building. Large kilns were used to burn the limestone (chalk mined from the surrounding hills) taking up to six men to work each kiln. A fire was set at the base of the kiln, which was filled from the top with limestone, a fire was then lit at the base of the kiln. As the limestone burnt, it was pulled out of the flues near the bottom, while the kilns were continually topped up with more limestone. It was hard and dangerous work, with the kilns running day, and night and labourers working 12hour days, even sleeping near the kilns. The job generally paid good wages, but the confinement, continuous work and noxious gas often took its toll6. In general during the early part of the 1800s living conditions for most labouring families were quite hard and many families lived in housing tied to their employer. House were little more than one or two room wooden structures with low thatch roofs and dirt floors, often crowded and possibly even housing more than one family at a time. Poorly ventilated, with no bathrooms, inadequate kitchens, and unsanitary conditions meant that diseases like Typhoid, Smallpox, Influenza and Dysentery spread quickly. Medical assistance was almost non-existent and people did not know how diseases were spread or how to stop them. Food was quite basic, generally consisting of a ‘pottage’ made with seasonal vegetables like cabbage, potatoes & onions, and when obtainable small amounts of meat or fish. Fresh water wasn’t always safe to drink, so most households made a type of ale using grain, water & fermented yeast, children also drank milk when it was available7. James died on the 30th August, 1839, he was 82years old, his occupation was given as Labourer and the cause of his death as Natural Decay8. His death was registered in Dorking on the 31st August and the Informant was Mary Ann Fuller, believed to be his daughter-in-law, who was present at his death. Buried in the Dorking Cemetery on the 4th September, James burial record has him as 81years old from Back Lane, Dorking9. Sarah is found on the 1841 Census10, living in Dorking with her son William, a Limeburner Journeyman, his wife Mary and family in Chalk Pit Lane. Sarah is listed as 75years of age, there is no occupation given and her birthplace is recorded as Surrey. In 185110, Sarah is still in Chalk Pits, but is now living with her son Richard, also a Limeburner, his wife Jane and family. An 85year old Widow, Sarah’s relationship is given as Mother, her occupation as Dependent Relative and her place of birth as Dorking, Surrey. Also in the house is a William Page, listed as a 30year old Railway Fireman, a Lodger from Kent. Just a few months after the 1851 Census was taken, on the 27th February, 1852, Sarah died at Chalk Pits8. Her age was given as 86, her occupation as wife of James Fuller, Labourer, and the cause of death was recorded as Old Age. Sarah’s death was registered in Dorking on the 6th March, by her daughter-in-law Mary Ann Fuller, who was in attendance at the death. Sarah was buried on the 7th March, 1852, in the Dorking Cemetery9. It is not known if there is, or was, a marker on either James or Sarah’s graves. Given the harshness of life rural England during the early 1800s, it is a testament to the resilience and hardiness of both James and Sarah to have both lived well into their eighties.
References: 1. Parish Baptism Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 2. Exploring Surry's Past http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/mole_valley/dorking/ 3. Domesday Book http://opendomesday.org/ 4. Parish Marriage Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 5. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk 6. Dorking Museum http://www.dorkingmuseum.org.uk 7. Daily Life in the 19th Century by Tim Lambert http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html 8. Death Certificate 9. Parish Burial Record via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk 10. UK Census Records via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk Other Sources: Oral Family Story Public Family Trees via Ancestry.co.uk https://www.ancestry.co.uk |
