Page 4 - HGS Suburb News 134 - Spring 2018
P. 4

FROM THE  ARCHIVES






                                                                                                                been collected by the Registrar who had amended the return
                                                                                                                and added: “Particulars inserted from information obtained by
                                                                22 of the heads of household were women, seven of whom   instructions from Registrar General”.
                                                             were married, five were widowed and ten were single ladies.   Interesting observations noted on certain occupants of the
           A snapshot of Hampstead                           107 heads of household were men, 95 of whom were married,   road in 1911 are:
                                                             five were widowed and seven were single. The sex of one head
          Way from the 1911 Census                           of household was not known. Eight of the married households   •   At 12 (now 142) – a builder’s foreman for the Co-Partnership
                                                             only had one partner at home that night. The average length of      Tenants, Herbert Cecil Wood
         By the time of the 1911 Census taken on April 2/3, 145 of the   a marriage was 10.9 years.             •   At 21 (now 124) – a concert pianist, George Woodhouse
         eventual 179 houses in the Hampstead Way, right up to   Households contained a variety of family members other   •   In Litchfield Square – several civil servants, and also several artists
         Reynolds Close, had already been built, although eight were still   than sons and daughters and there were 25 visitors staying in   •   At 84 (now 173) – a professional singer, James Saker
         unfinished buildings. One of the houses had been subdivided,   the road on census night. There were also 22 boarders, or   •   At 92 (now 89) – the Brooks Club hall porter, John Storer
         so for that address there were two census returns submitted.   paying guests. There were 78 live-in staff, mostly servants (two   •   At 81 (now 142), 98 (now 201), 118 (now 70), 130 (now
         Eight of the properties were unoccupied on census night, as   of whom were only 15 years old), but also employees who were   46), 158 (now 30) – architects, respectively James Rogers,
         presumably their tenants were away from home. So there were   housekeepers, family helps, companions, private tutors, nurses      Francis Hart, Arthur Stratton, Thomas Wilson, Charles Tate
         130 returns filed for the road.                     and cooks.                                            (as well as both Charles Simmons and Raymond Unwin
            The original numbering of Hampstead Way began at the   23, or 4.4%, of the 535 residents had been born abroad,      living up in Wyldes Close)
         Temple Fortune end of the road with adjacent houses numbered   including ten in Europe. Ten hailed from Scotland, five from   •   At 146 (now 40) – an actress, Mabel Thomas
         in sequence on the east or north side from 1. However further   Wales and two from Ireland, with another four from the Isle of   •   At 175 (now 101) – the Free Church Minister, Rev James
         along the road the numbering crisscrossed the road with little   Wight. But by far the majority, 296 or 55.3%, had been born in      Henry Rushbrooke
         logic. Early in 1913 the whole road was renumbered, and no   London, with another 65, or 12.1%, in the Home Counties. 122,   •   At 248 (then called Heath Close Corner) (now 51), the
         house retained its original number. The new numbering, given   or 22.8%, came from elsewhere in England, and the birthplace      Keeper of the Wallace Collection, Dugald Sutherland MacColl
         here italicised, began this time at the opposite end of the road,   of five was not given. Two of the servants did not know where   •   At 251, (called Nine Elms) (now 45), The HM Medical
         at the North End Way end of Hampstead Way. The west/south   they had been born and one of these was listed as a foundling.     Inspector of Prisons, Dr Thomas Legge, who had been born
         side of the road was numbered with odd numbers beginning at   The average age of the heads of household was 41.1 years,      in Hong Kong.
         1, up to 221 just before the entrance Farm Walk. Even numbers   with 29 being the average age overall for the street. Only eleven   •   Others who were born abroad included: at number 100
         were used for the east/north side beginning at number 6, the   residents were over 65. The oldest inhabitant, and the only one   (Briarcot) (now 205), William Thorn Spettigue, who was a
         house at the bottom of Hampstead Heath Extension, then called   in her eighties, was 82.                  hosier and outfitter, born in Ontario, Canada; at 119 (now
         Winnepesaukee (which had previously been 200), up to 164   287 people (53.6% of the residents) had occupations and   68) Carl Kinzbrunner, secretary of a learned science society,
         (which had been number 1) at the Temple Fortune end of the   this included the live-in staff, who formed 27.9% of the      born in Austria; at 185 (now 81), James Walter Smith, a
         road. Note that some numbers do not exist.          employees. The next most common career was that of a clerk;      publishing editor and journalist, born in the USA. an activist
            The houses/properties came in a variety of sizes and had   there were 67 people, or 23.3% of the workforce, with that      in the Co-Partnership and Garden City movement.
         between one and twelve rooms (see chart above). For census   occupation living in Hampstead Way, many working in the Civil   Janice Blackstaffe, Garden Suburb Archives
         purposes halls, landings or bathrooms are not considered as   Service, but in other industries too. There were thirteen artists
         rooms, but kitchens, studies, as well as living rooms and   (mostly painters, but also an actress, an authoress, a concert
         bedrooms are. The largest houses were those near the Extension.   pianist and a draughtsman), twenty teachers, nine architects or
         119 houses had between 5 and 9 rooms, and the average   surveyors, three doctors and a dentist. The Post Office employed
         number of rooms was 6.7.                            ten. There was an accountant, a stockbroker, a barrister but also
                                                             those employed in the building trade such as a plumber, a
                     PROPERTIES PER NUMBER OF ROOMS          house painter and a carpenter. One person managed a
                                                             cinematograph company, another was a jeweller, another a
                          10  11 12 1  2  3  4                                 10  11 12 1  2  3  4
                     9                                       silversmith. Five of the wives worked.
                                                                          9
                                        5         1%  1         The resident at house number 57 (now 121) had refused to
                                                                                             5
                                                  2%  2      fill in the census return. She was a female suffragette with the
                                                  1%  3      surname Kelsey, aged approximately 52, and living with her two
               8                                  2%  4      grown-up sons and a servant. The scant information given had
                                                                   8
                                                 13%  5
                                                 28%  6
                                                 28%  7
                                                 12%  8                                                         Foundation cottages pre WW1
                                                 10%  9
                                           6      2% 10                                         6
                                                  1% 11
                                                  1% 12
                   7                                                    7
                          10  11 12 1  2  3    4
                     9
                                        5
            There were 535 people residing in the road on census night:
         201 males, and 334 females. 66 of the households, or 50.8%,           10  11 12 1  2  3  4
               8
         were families with children under 16. Not all were nuclear       9                  5
         families, as the children were not always living with their
         parents: one lived with her older brother and sister and                5
                            5
                        4
         widowed grandmother, another with her grandmother, four   8         4
         were nieces or visitors, and one four-year old boy lived with his   3
                  3
                                           6
         single mother. There were 115 children under 16 (or 21.5% of   Larger houses on Hampstead Way by the Heath
         the total number of residents) living in the street. 35 families
         had only one child aged under 16, 20 had two, 6 had three, 3                                           Hampstead Way towards Finchley Road
                   7
         with four and 2 with five. The average number of children per                          6
         family was 1.74. There were, of course, some families with
                                            1
         children aged 16 and over still living at home with them. These   7                     1
         older children were mostly part of the workforce.
               2                                                    2
                     FAMILIES PER NUMBER OF CHILDREN
                        4   5
                  3
                                                                                 5
                                                                             4
                                                 53%  1                3
                                                 30%  2
                                                  9%  3
                                                  5%  4                                                         Hampstead Way near junction with Willifield Way
                                            1
                                                  3%  5
                                                             Hampstead Way gardens
               2
                                                                                                 1
                                                                                                                                                The Hampstead
                                                                    2                                                          Garden Suburb Archives Trust
                                                                                                                 exists to preserve the history and culture of the Suburb
                                                                                                                                   www.suburbarchives.com
                                                                                                         Contact: 020 8455 8813 or 8455 2877 · Email: suburbarchives@gmail.com

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