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WILKS, The Slade, Bushey, 1881

September, 2008

 

Places

Bushey

Liz Williams (logikliz @t blueyonder.co.uk) of Cheltenham writes:  My ancestor John Wilks and his family are listed as living in "The Slade" Bushey in the 1881 census. Would you be able to point me in the right direction for info about this house?

Have a look at the Census & Maps page and then have another look at the census returns. (The original pages as shown on Ancestry are of particularly poor quality - so if you want to be able to read the original handwriting in the enumerator's book try another census web site or have a look at the microfilms).

Look at John Wilks' neighbours you will find that "The Slade" was a private house occupied by an unmarried gentlewoman called Sarah Taylor. The address for John Wilks in the enumerator's book is given as "do" (short for ditto) suggesting he could have been Miss Taylor's gardener, perhaps living in an attached cottage. Scanning through the census returns you will find that "The Slade" was between a big house called "Bushey House" which was the home of a solicitor. On the other side of John Wilk's abode were some some cottages, beyond which was a pub with the extremely unusual name the "Horse & Chains".  Properties without names on either side are described as being in the "High Street". It is likely that the named properties were either fronting on the High Street or (in the case of poorer households) in yards or alleys running off the High Street.

While many pubs have closed down or changes their name in the last 127 years this one has not - and a search for "Horse & Chains" on google will quickly give you a map showing exactly where the pub is, and "The Slade" will not have been far away. By careful research along the lines suggested on Census & Maps page you may be able to tie down its location more precisely.

If you can add to the information given above tell me.

Page created September 2008