wierd

Wierd and Wonderful
The things you find in the Census
Collected from previous Newsletters

Say That Again?
Sometimes the Enumerator seems to have had trouble reporting what he was told. Understanding someone with a strong accent (and possibly few teeth) must have been difficult at times.

Can you work out these place names he was given? Say them out loud - it helps.

Potterspar (Clue - it's in Middlesex)
Youerst (One in Sussex, one in Surrey)
Azamere (In Surrey)

Is This A Record?

Sometimes the enumerator apparently had to listen to a complete life-story when he asked about an occupation. Clergymen and Doctors were often particularly keen to record all their qualifications for posterity. Here are two from Dave's last piece. They make a change from all the Ag Labs and Scholars:

Annuitant and agent for the Norwich Union Marine Fire Office

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Licentiate Apothecaries Hall and General Practitioner

The Things you find...
Here's an enumerator's comment that's been brought to our attention (nothing to do with Sussex...)

The "Head" is a charwoman living with a niece and a daughter with a different surname. The unmarried son also with a different surname lives with another woman - not wife by name and they have a child. Lastly, there's the lodger obviously in the Head's bed. They don't seem to know where they came from.
The enumerator has added "all living in sin and ignorance"

This one is from Sussex - a place of birth:
Erringlie
(We think it must be Hellingly)

and another contender for the longest job description:

"Superannuated Chief Boatman in Coast Guard & Extra glubman in Customs "
(Still trying to find out for sure what a glubman was...)

The Things We Find Spot the Odd One Out? All these have appeared recently as Sussex place names. One of them is different... Harlington Ardingley Hardingly Hardinglygh A couple more placenames to puzzle over:- Hitcking Fields (in Sussex) August (in Kent) A Famous Sussex VIP (well, almost...) Mehetabel Gregory age 69 Formerly the Queen's housemaid - piece 594(Brighton) Happy Families Another batch of Sussex residents whose names fit their occupations: Mr Clapshoe the shoeing smith Mr Broom the broom maker (Thanks, Karen for this one) Mr Carpenter Cole the carpenter Master Charles Carpenter Cole the carpenter's son	Some more suggestions of people with appropriate occupations, this time from Brighton: Miss Chandler the Chandler Miss Sharp the Needlewoman (born in Lancing) Meanwhile in Westham Trevor has found a Boulder Picker married to a Schoolmistress "There must be a story there somewhere" Happy Families More Sussex residents whose names fit their occupations. These two are both from Hastings. Mr Sailor the Mariner Mr Sammon the fisherman (registered as Salmon) The lowest of the low? Some of the grand houses in Brighton and other towns have a whole string of servants - butlers, cooks, lady's maids, kitchen maids - often listed in strict order of hierarchy. The bottom of the list is usually "boots" who cleans the shoes. We recently spotted, though, an "under boots", who must be the lowest... ...unless, of course, you know different!