Hertfordshire Genealogy: The Funeral 914-1914

This will be an interesting test of what can be done from a distance - as I live on the other side of Hertfordshire to Bishops Stortford, and have never visited the town. At least in the early stages all the information will come either from books, or from my computer.

A look at the back of the card gives a general indication of the date. The message on the back suggests that the card base could not have been printed before about 1904 (but the photograph could have been developed some years later on old stock). The postage rate applied before 1917. This evidence (although not cast iron) might suggest a date between 1904 and the First World War.

A quick look shows that the hearse and the horses look the same and a more detailed look at the driver and his companion (the funeral director?) show they are the same - indicating that is it the same undertaker.

But is it Bishops Stortford? The first clue is the sign over the shop which reads "Family FOWLER Butcher". Kelly's Directories for Hertfordshire are available on the Historical Directories web site for 1902, 1908 and 1914.

In 1902 and 1908 Frank Fowler, butcher, is listed at 20 North Street & 74 South Street, Bishops Stortford, and he was the only Fowler, butcher, listed in Hertfordshire. In 1914 Frank Fowler, butcher, is listed at 20 North Street; 74 South Street & 1 Dunmow Road & farmer, Parsonage Mill, TN 81.

This suggests that, if it is Hertfordshire, there could be three possible locations within Bishops Stortford, and I will return to that matter later, as there is other, stronger evidence to confirm Bishops Stortford.

On the wall of the shop there is a display of four apparently identical posters and by considerable enlargement and enhancement it is clear that it is advertising the "EMPIRE PICTURE PALACE" and the words below, while indistinct are compatible with "Bishops Stortford".

In addition the Mercia Cinema web site (a comprehensive list of Cinemas across the country) records:

This not only confirms the Bishops Stortford location for the cards but dates the funeral to a period of about three years from March 1912. [For more about the cinema, showing that it was open after April 1915 see South Street.]

So we know the date within a couple of years - and have also confirmed that we are talking about Bishops Stortford. However Frank Fowler had three shops and to locate the first picture more precisely we need to find out which one. There are some important clues in the pictures themselves which could be easily overlooked

The second picture shows the hearse passing some houses and in the background it is clear that the trees and bushes are completely devoid of leaves, telling us that the funeral took place in winter. Returning to the first picture we can see all the spectators appear to be warmly dressed, also suggesting winter.

There is a distinct shadow, which is comparatively short suggesting a time around midday with the procession proceeding south.

If the street location can be accurately identified on an ordnance survey map the shadow in the picture could be treated as a gnomon of a sundial, with the direction telling the time and the length the time of year - perhaps to within a week or so although the measurement could not say which side of the winter solstice the picture was taken. (Sorry I give up at this point - but can anyone help?)

The shadows in the second photograph appear to be longer and it could have been taken later in the day, after a church service. This would mean that the horses are going in a generally south westerly direction. A look at modern maps (such as google) suggests that they may be travelling to the cemetery along Apton Road.

The shadows in the first picture locate Fowler's shop on a junction of a main road running north south, and a side road entering from the East. The photo is taken from a comparatively high viewpoint on the west side of the street.

The photograph showing the shop includes one important clue about what a neighbouring property sold - an advert for Martell's Brandy in a bay window. So perhaps the answer is to find identify the property - as public houses are comparatively well documented.

To help me decide which it was I decided to look at a number of the books of photographs of old Bishops Stortford (See Sources of Information). Unfortunately I was unable to find any old street scenes of the roads which clearly showed the shop, and few, if any, even gave a clue to the numbering of the properties. Remember Stortford had a picture of "North Street friends" which includes Frank Fowler - but with no indication which of the people in the picture he was. It was clear that significant lengths of the streets, particularly South Street, were not shown in the pictures available to me and Dunmow Road was a dead loss.

If the shop was in North Street it would have to be on the East side near an major road junction. Maps fail to show a suitable road junction and the continuous frontage of impressive commercial buildings did not fit either. A check of the 1912 Kelly's Directory provided the following neighbours:

Several of these properties could be identified from the photographs and proved that Fowler's North Street shop was part of the continuous frontage - and could not be the one in the funeral photograph.

If the shop was in South Street it would have to be on the East side near an major road junction. Because of the River, which runs behind the properties on the East side there was only one candidate location - the road that crosses the River to go to the railway station. The books were unhelpful in that they did not show anything that could be linked to this part of the street. A search of the Bishop's Stortford entry in the 1914 Kelly's Directory shows the following entries in South Street:

So Frank Fowler's shop - and the side road shown in the picture - were between two beer retailers. The Bishop's Stortford and District Local History Society booklet Public Houses and Hotels identifies No. 70 as the Sacacen's Head. No. 78 is identified as Bridge House and the description reports that It was opened in 1868, two years after the bridge in Station Road was erected. Before that time it cost ˝d to be rowed across the Stort.

Having got some pub names I go back to the Bishops Stortford and Thorley web site - which has quite a bit about Bridge House including some photographs and the news that it burnt down in 2006. The photographs make it clear that even numbers were on the West side of the road - and that Frank Fowler's shop in the photograph cannot be the South Street Shop.

Hockerill Street and Dunmow Road circa 1883
from large scale O.S. map on Oldmaps.

So the search switches to a public house in Hockerill near the corner of Dunmow Road and Stansted Road. Another look at the booklet Public Houses and Hotels suggests the Cock in Stanstead Road - with a picture which shows part of a shop next door, There is an even better picture in The Book of Bishop's Stortford & Sawbridgeworth (reproduced right). This clearly shows a building that matches the funeral photograph of Mr Fowler's shop adjacent to the start of Dunmow Road, The windows of the Cock have writing on which is too small to identify but could well be the Mantell's Brandy advert of the funeral photograph. [An afterthought - the shadows on the road in this photograph suggest at least a two story building on the corner opposite the shop, which would provide a high viewpoint from which the funeral picture was taken.]

There can be no doubt that the shop in the funeral photograph is Frank Fowler's Dunmow Road shop.

A View down Hockerill Street taken by someone standing outside Mr Fowler's Shop

Valentine Card 54255
negative date 1906

So what do we know?

Now we know where the picture is taken we can tell that the funeral procession was travelling south along the Stanstead Road. It was almost certainly going straight ahead at the cross road, proceeding along the London Road rather than turning right along Hockerill Street in the direction of St Michael's. As Stanstead Road runs slightly East of North, and as the line of the shadow in the photograph is slightly East of North when compared with the buildings, it is definitely in the early afternoon during the winter months. The cinema advertisement shows that the first photograph must have been taken no earlier than March 1912, and almost certainly no later than 1916. The lack of leaves on the trees in the second photographs shows it was in winter.

It is also perhaps worth noting that All Saints Church is on the Stanstead Road and the most likely route from the church to the cemetery would be down London Road, crossing the river using Station Road and continuing along Newtown Road to join Apton Road.

What questions are still outstanding?

Undertaker: While the photographs are good enough to identify some of the undertaker's men the identity of the firm managing the funeral is unknown. Kelly's Directories are of little help. In 1914 (and 1922) there is no undertaker listed in Bishops Stortford. In 1912 the only entry is for "Charles Martin (exors of), 123 South Street, Bishops Stortford", and this entry probably indicates he had died before the Empire Cinema opened. It may be that the undertaker came in from elsewhere - or that the funeral was put on by a local builder who also did the occasional funeral.

Time and Date: Using measurements of the shadow it should be possible to narrow the dates on which the funeral was held. There may even be computer programs which would make it easy.

Location of Second Photograph: While this may have been on the approach to the cemetery this is not certain - it is unlikely that this could be answered except by someone who has specialist knowledge of Bishop's Stortford's history.

The Identity of the Deceased: It is possible that this question will never be answered - unless some other records relating to the same funeral have survived and can be located. However, there may be clues in the Herts & Essex Observer as the funeral would seem to be of someone who was inportant enough to be reported.

A Possible Identity and Date

Over six months later, while researching another aspect of Bishops Stortford, I found a very likely identity for the deceased, as everything appears to fit the evidence previously collected.

Sir Walter Gilbey, of the firm W & A Gilbey is described in his online biography as "one of the most successful, influential and philanthropic men ever to emerge from Bishops Stortford", died on 12 November 1914, aged 83, and was buried in New Cemetery, Apton Road. He lived at Elsenham Hall, to the north east of Bishops Stortford, and the natural route from Elsenham to the New Cemetery would be to come down the Stanstead Road. His status in the town was such that it was likely to attract numbers of people in dark clothing to line the route. One might also expect some people with cameras to take photographs of such a significant event.

For more online information on Sir Walter Gilbey see History of Bishops Stortford, Wikipedia and Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Bishops Stortford Museum hold a major collection of Sir Walter Gilbey's papers, and there is a whole gallery devoted to Sir Walter Gilbey and the W & A Gilbey Wine Co.

What is needed now is to try and find out more information on Sir Walter Gilbey's funeral, possibly from press reports, to see if this can confirm the identity.

Were your ancestors in Hockerill in 1914?

If so can you suggest names for anyone in the watching crowd?

Several of the faces are clear enough to make this possible.