58.12 Maternal Cousins of Gertie Larard (née Brittain)

David and Eliza Meaden (nee Waddilove) had one child, which means that Gertie has no siblings or full first cousins.

• 52.2.1 - Eliza Meaden Meaden (1840-1907) m Charles Edward Brittain (1839-1910) 
• See Chapter 58

• 52.2.2 - Fanny Jane Meaden (1841-1901) m Henry William Roberts (1845-1918)

• Henry David Roberts (1870-1951)
• Married Margaret Cuthbertson Mackintosh (1874-1948) in Witton Gilbert, Durham in 1897.
• 1891: At home in Elvetham, Durham. Assistant at public library. This was early for conventional public libraries, although libraries had been an important part of Mechanics' Institutes for several decades. In this case, it may have been the Palace Green Library, which had a public lending library since 1669 (!) which was extended in the C19. Incidentally, the first modern public lending library in London was in Norwood - opened in December 1888.
• 1901: He was a librarian and secretary, and they lived at 44 Southwark Bridge Road (273 miles SSE). From an old directory, we learn: Southwark, Public Library, Southwark Bridge road, Henry David Roberts, Librarian. About 8,000 volumes. Income from penny rate about £870. Open on week-days from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• The road did not lead to the current bridge, which opened in 1921 but the 1819 version, designed by John Rennie the Elder. This "Iron Bridge" consisted of three large iron spans - cast in Masborough, Rotherham -supported by granite piers, including the longest cast iron span, 240 feet (73 m), ever made. It is mentioned in Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit".

Old Southwark Bridge (credit)

• Children:
• Margaret Irene Mackintosh Roberts (1899)
• Margery Cuthbertson Roberts (1907)

George Inn, Southwark (my photo)

• 1911: Another 52 miles south, he was now Director of Public Library, Museums of Fine Art Galleries for Brighton Borough Council! They kept a cook and a nurse. The main library, museum, and gallery was in the old stables of the Royal Pavilion.

Plaque marking the foundation of Brighton Library, Museum and Fine Art Gallery (my photo)

• The British Library has a copy of a book he edited, A Short History in English, Gurmukhi & Urdu of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and a Description of it as a hospital for Indian soldiers, 1915. 130,000 Indian soldiers fought in Europe in WWI; 12.000 were treated in Brighton. The BBC have the story of its use as a hospital.
• In 1918, as Henry David Roberts — Honorary Secretary, Inter-Allied Exhibition, Ministry of Pensions, he was a made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
• This exhibition was on the After-Care of Disabled Men. There is the fascinating story of the use of the Pavilion for disabled men after it was a military hospital for Indian soldiers in an article by Kate Elms.
• In this she refers to Roberts: "Roberts moved to Brighton in 1907 and quickly took responsibility for both the town’s library and its museum. He was closely involved with the decision to hand the Pavilion over to the authorities for use as a military hospital and, after the war, became the first Director of the Royal Pavilion Estate, so his is an interesting first-hand account."
• The India Gate was presented by The Indian Gate was opened to the public by the Maharajah of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, in a crowded ceremony on 26 October 1921. This was a gesture of thanks from the people of India to the people of Brighton for the care of her sons. (Brighton Museums)

India Gate, Brighton (my photo)

• The National Portrait Gallery has a photo of him, taken by Lafayette in 1927 (yet to be digitised).

Brighton Museum and Library - former Pavilion Stables (my photo)

• So, apparently, he saw the Pavilion as a fitting place to treat Indian soldiers [update: in his book he suggests that the King may have had a hand in this], ensured that their physical and cultural needs were such that it was held up as an example, and edited a book in English and Indian languages on the outcomes. As he observed, it was "necessary to arrange that men from every one of the fighting classes... could be taken in, possibly large numbers of different castes at the same time; yet each must find within the hospital the possibility of living according to his own custom and religion." Then, he opened the doors to disabled soldiers, and later held an exhibition to publicise the necessary after-care. Then he took over the Pavilion for the Council.
• This was probably Brighton's first vegetarian restaurant, 67 years before Food for Friends!
• In 1920, (and again in the early 1930s), Henry was authorised to proceed with the restoration of the Pavilion (and Corn Exchange), now that its hospital duties were complete. This included improvements to the dome theatre, removing post-1864 decorations, and extending the public areas around the Pavilion.
• In 1920, he was made a chevalier of the Order of the Crown of Italy by His Majesty the King of Italy (Victor Emmanuel III).
• In 1939, he wrote the definitive book on the Pavilion, The History of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. He wrote more on his adopted town, including on its parish registers, i.e. family history.

A note on the Royal Pavilion

The Royal Pavilion was built in three stages, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic: its current appearance, with its domes and minarets, is the work of architect John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815.

Brighton Pavilion (my photo)

The fanciful interior design, primarily by Frederick Crace and the little-known decorative painter Robert Jones, was heavily influenced by both Chinese and Indian fashion (with Mughal and Islamic architectural elements).

Banqueting Room, Royal Pavilion (John Nash)

Queen Victoria, disliked the Pavilion, and to Brighton, now accessible to Londoners by rail. In addition, the Pavilion was cramped for her growing family. Instead, she built Osborne House (my photos are here). The Pavilion was sold to the Council: the proceeds helped furnish Osborne House. In 2020 (six weeks before this post!) management and operation of the Royal Pavilion & Museums' buildings and collections were transferred from Brighton & Hove City Council to a new charity.

• William Edwin Roberts (1871-1956)
• Married Annie Eason Goodenough (1871-1953) in Witton Gilbert in 1897.
• He was a schoolmaster for Birkenhead Corporation, and they lived at 15 Osborne Road, Birkenhead.
• Children:
• Fanny Roberts (1902)
• Oscar William Roberts (1905)
• Norah Eileen Roberts (1909)

• Herbert Charles Roberts (1872-1943)
• In 1911, a missionary and inmate at the Salvation Army Elevator House in South Charles Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester. These provided work for the destitute, so that they could pay their board and lodging. They combined factor space with hostel accommodation. Work varied over the years but included the making of baskets, brushes, cabinets, mattresses, carpets, bread and tambourines. (workhouses.org). 

• Frederick Meaden Roberts (1874-1929)
• Married Emmeline Longfield (1869-1949) at St George, Jesmond, Northumberland [Newcastle]. My photos of Newcastle upon Tyne are here. He was a librarian and he worked for the Ilford Borough Council, Essex [superseded by Redbridge London Borough Council in 1965]. They lived at 14 Melbourne Road, Ilford, and kept a servant. It seems that Southwark was ahead of Ilford in adopting Dewey Decimal! Ilford Town Hall was extended in 1927 to include a library, the council itself having met above a shop until 1909.

St George, Jesmond (Terry Phillips)

• Stephen Henry Longfield Roberts (1901)
• Alice Louise Bertha Roberts (1904)

• Kate Margaret Roberts (1875-1965)
• Married William Backshell McDouall (1873-1918) at St Luke, Shepherds Bush in 1899. He was a librarian for Hammersmith Borough Council, and they lived at the library, which was on Uxbridge Road. This was the Passmore Edwards Library, one of 24 funded by the journalist and philanthropist Passmore Edwards. In 2008 a new library was built; the old one became the home of the Bush Theatre.
• Edwards was important in the development of public libraries in Britain, as was the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who funded a long list.

Passmore Edwards Library, Shepherd's Bush (Alex Williams)

Newton Abbot, Passmore Edwards Dedication (my photo)

• Children:
• Charles Backshell McDouall (1900)
• Having turned 18, Charles was enlisted in WWI in July 1918. He served as a gunner and driver with the Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company) in WWI. "Has 4 years cadet training and has been a sergeant for a year. A smart lad, who should make a good officer in due course". He was not posted abroad. He was dispersed via Crystal Palace in December 1918 (his widowed mother having written in previous month, requesting same).

• George Duncan Roberts (1877-1958)
• Married Mabel Elizabeth (1876) in 1904
• He was an asylum clerk for London County Council, and they lived at 182 Station Road, Crayford (suggesting he was a commuter)
• Married Freda L Roberts (1900) in 1940

• Fanny Elizabeth Roberts (1878-1949)
• Married Charles Kendrick (1874-1928) in Worcester in 1910
• Patrick Charles Meaden Kendrick (1920)
• Married Charles H Bridgewater

• Ernest Douglas Roberts (1880-1937)
• 1901: At home in Hammersmith, a commercial clerk
• 1911: Boarding at 4 Winsham Grove, Clapham Common, with William Robert Price Little and family. He is a Class 1 Clerk, Wandsworth Prison

• Minnie Roberts (1882)
• 1911: Draper's bookkeeper ('servant') at 93 High Street Worcester. Only a draper's assistant ('servant') otherwise present. 
• Later, an Assistant Matron at a Foundling Hospital in Berkhamsted.

• Percy Roberts (1884-1916)
• 1891: At home in Hammersmith, a boy copyist (16)
• 1901: Lodging in Clapham Common, alongside brother Ernest. Bank clerk. This was at the Head Office of the Union of London and Smith's Bank. In 1918 this bank amalgamated with National Provincial Bank of England to form National Provincial & Union Bank of England, which itself merged with Westminster Bank in 1968 to form NatWest.

Head Office of the Union of London and Smith's Bank

• WWI: Served as Lance Corporal with the 10th “Stockbrokers” Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
• David Carter calls them the first pals' battalion, and has this: Volunteers from the City of London, many employed in the Stock Exchange and other City firms gathered to sign on from 21 August 1914. They marched to Tower Ditch and were sworn in by the Lord Mayor of London, who later became their Honorary Colonel. The City of London provided support, the Corporation offered to buy two machine guns, the Musicians Company of the City of London provided instruments for the band. An individual, friend of Private George Rothschild, offered £3000 (worth nearly £200,000 today) as a fund to provide equipment and comforts for the men.
• Leaving Liverpool Street Station on 3 September they went to begin training at Colchester, moving the following year to Andover. Crossing to France on 31 July 1915 they went first to Armentieres and spent time becoming familiar with trench life and warfare. Early in 1916 they were at the Western Front (Bailleulval, Mezerolles, Berles au Bois, Boiselles au Bois). Percy is listed amongst the 249 men of the regiment (1034 from the brigade) killed in action at the Attack on Poiziers on 15 July 1916. This St Swithin's Day assault was one of the first in the long struggle at the Somme.

Percy Roberts Memorial at Thiepval

Eliza had previously had a daughter by her first marriage with Frederick Samuel Smith (1807-1838).

• Eliza Margaret Smith (1834-1834)
• No known children

David had ten children in his subsequent marriage with Betsy Maria Morgan (1823-1881). Their children are Gertie's half first cousins.

• Betsy Maria Meaden (1847-1892)
• No known children

• Kate Harriet Meaden (1849) m Samuel Aston (1849-1889)

• Reginald Samuel Aston (1887-1940)
• Born Aston
• 1911: Domestic chauffeur visiting the Dance family in Camberwell
• Emigrated to Canada
• Married Lizzie Louise Pettit (1892-1958) in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1922

Winnipeg Unions Station (Thomas Quine)

• Mary Ann Meaden (1851)
• No known children

• Julia Jane Meaden (1853-1928) m George Richmond Downes (1838-1908)

• Julia Ethel Downes (1887-1968)
• 1911: At home in Cowley, a student

• Geoffrey Richmond Downes (1889-1939)
• 1911: Assistant teacher (22), boarding at Rock House, Trafalgar Street, Cheltenham, which was clearly functioning as a small school. It was possibly Cheltenham's most idiosyncratic building, covered in chocolate coloured rocks (and shells), fish-scale roof tiles, and with a grotto inside, according to Oliver Bradbury and Pevsner. Demolished 1978.
• In 1916-1917, served as a rifleman with the 5th London Rifles who fought at the Somme. Discharged after being wounded, received Silver War Badge for his pains.

Silver War Badge (credit)

• Roger Meaden Downes (1892-1967)
• Also an assistant schoolmaster in 1911. Boarding, along with other teachers, with John Botheras, United Methodist Minister and College Principal, at Stafford College, 14 Westbourne Road, Forest Hill (near Crystal Palace)

Stafford College, Forest Hill, 1908 (Postcard For Sale)

• Served with the Royal Garrison Artillery in WWI.
• Married Violet Tyrrel Sellar (1898-1985) in Runcorn, Cheshire in 1925.

• Edward Collis Downes (1893-1958)
• Born in Woodstock. My photos of Woodstock are here.
• Cadet in the Officer Training Corps, and was made a temporary 2nd Lieutenant in September 1914. Was in France from July 1915, initially with the Leicestershire Regiment. Commission confirmed in 1916 (Yorkshire Regiment), Lieutenant from 1917, stayed until at least 1922; ended up as a Captain with Yorkshire Regiment. 
• There is a record of him travelling on a banana boat from Avonmouth to Kingston, Jamaica in 1924. He was an Assistant Superintendent of Public Gardens. He returned on the RMS Coronado, also once used by Rudyard Kipling to visit Jamaica.



RMS Coronado (post card)

• Married Phyllis Maud Evers (1896-1971) in 1926
• He was a horticulturalist, and they lived in Waltham Cross. My photos of Waltham Cross (and neighbouring towns) are here.

Waltham Cross (my photo)

• The Eleanor crosses were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with crosses in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had them erected between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, who died in November 1290, marking the nightly resting-places along the route taken when her body was transported to London. The crosses stood at Lincoln, Grantham and Stamford, all in Lincolnshire; Geddington and Hardingstone in Northamptonshire; Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire; Woburn and Dunstable in Bedfordshire; St Albans and Waltham (now Waltham Cross) in Hertfordshire; Cheapside in London; and Charing (now Charing Cross) in Westminster. Three – those at Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham Cross – survive more or less intact; but the other nine, other than a few fragments, are lost. 
• The largest and most ornate of the twelve was Charing Cross, which was destroyed of Oliver Cromwell, and rebuilt a few hundred yards away by E. M. Barry, designer of the Floral Hall, Covent Garden (my photo) - inspired by the Crystal Palace; then the Royal Opera House next door (my photo); also completer of his father's work on the Palace of Westminster (my photo) and Halifax Town Hall (my photo). The original site of Charing Cross has been occupied since 1674 by an equestrian statue of King Charles I, and is the official centre of London for the calculation of the distance from London to anywhere else.

Hardingstone Cross (my photo)	Geddington Cross (my photo)
Charing Cross, 1865 (my photo)	Statue of Charles I (my photo)

• Alice Emily Meaden (1856-1935)
• No known children

• Beatrice Emma Meaden (1858-1877)
• No known children

• Ellen Rose Meaden (1859-1862)
• No known children

• Minnie Amelia Meaden (1861)
• No known children

• (David) George Morgan Meaden (1862-1898)
• No known children

• Henry Ernest Meaden (1864)
• No known children

More on these individuals in Chapter 61.5.

Next (Meaden Summary Tree)