On Fri, 9 Sep 2005 17:43:06 +0100, June Hughes
wife being rather preoccupied this year (a daughter's gotta do what a daughter's gotta do) this summer has mainly been a bit of a write-off for me in terms of going out etc. So I chose to do some family history. And for the only proper day out we've had recently we went to Horncastle for my personal heritage trail. My grandfather's family were there for generations and, amazingly, most of their houses survive, including a couple of one-up-one-down canal cottages in which they raised great tribes of children. I think that's why they left the town - it stagnated as the C19th progressed but they expanded rapidly and, as house painters, ran out of work. (Or perhaps it was because one of their neighbours was the hangman. Maybe he started looking at them in a "measuring up" kind of way.)
Anyway, my grandfather was born in New Barnet. It may be no coincidence that both Horncastle and Barnet had huge, renowned horse fairs - I wonder if there was a well beaten path between the two. He was at 4, Montague Terrace, East Barnet Rd in 1891 and 1901. His father had died by 1901 (I suspect he's probably the one who fell off his ladder and was impaled on railings) so his mother was supporting the family by working as a char. When he got married in 1919, as a carpenter, his address was 87, East Barnet Rd (maybe the same place?). Any idea if these addresses survive? -- Phil C.
