​Bemerton HISTORY

Who lived here?

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31 Lower Road

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In 1901 John and Mary Knight, both aged 65, lived here with their 5-year-old granddaughter Winifred.  John was a self-employed jobbing gardener.   In 1911 this house doubled as a dairy and was known variously as Bemerton Dairy, the Dairy Shop and The Shop.  The occupants were Charles Spicer, who was a dairyman, and his wife Era who assisted in the business.  In the 1960s the house was known as The Alders.

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33 Lower Road

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Charles and Sarah Waters and their four children were here in 1901.  Charles was a platelayer with Great Western Railways and his eldest son was a baker’s apprentice.  In 1911 Mary Smith was a 39-year-old widow who lived in the property with her four children, all of whom were at school.  Mary’s sister Emily Still, who was employed as a cook, also lived with the family.

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35 Lower Road

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In 1901 George and Francis Shepherd and their son Edwin were living in the house.  George was a baker and Edwin was a domestic gardener.  In 1911 George had retired and he and his wife, also known as Fanny, were still in the property along with their daughter Mary and her husband Walter Richards.  Walter was employed by the military as a storeman.

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37 Lower Road

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Charlie and Annie Newman were here in 1901 with their two young children, Bessie and Alfred.  Charlie, was a platelayer.  In 1911 Mary Moorse, a widow, lived in the property with her two sons.  Harry, the elder of the boys, worked as a railway engine cleaner while the younger, Cecil, was at school.

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39 Lower Road

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In 1871 Walter Marks, a railway pointsman, lived in this property with his wife Harriet. Clara Payne, who was not widowed, lived here in 1901 without her husband but was accompanied by her son Percy who was a carpenter. In 1911 Henry Billins, a railway pointsman, was living in the house with his wife Mary.  John Feltham, Henry’s stepson, was also here along with his four children.  John, a labourer on the railways, was married but his wife was not living with her family at that time.  Joseph Anderson, a 72-year old widower - and a watch and clock maker by occupation - also lived in the house.

 

41 Lower Road

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In 1871 George Mortimer, a railway policeman working for the Great Western Railway, lived in the house with his wife and four children.  Also living with them was Caroline Perret and her son Thomas Perret who was a railway porter.  In 1901 John Hartley, a shoemaker, lived in the villa with his wife Rosetta and their young son William.  The house was vacant at the time of the 1911 census.

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