Westbourne - Routledge
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Charles Routledge - Westbourne Photographer
Charles ROUTLEDGE (born 1839, Portsmouth, Hampshire - died 1925, Westbourne, Sussex)
[ABOVE] "Portsmouth Point", an engraved print of 1814, taken from an original drawing by the artist and caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827). When Rowlandson produced this picture, William Henry Routledge (1797-1849), Charles Routledge's father, was based in Portsmouth and serving as a young midshipman in the Royal Navy. By 1824, William Henry Routledge had reached the rank of lieutenant and was married to a young Portsmouth woman named Eliza Cole (born 1805, Portsmouth). Rowlandson's coloured print of "Portsmouth Point", shows a Portsmouth inn called the "Ship Tavern". By 1844, William Henry Routledge, now retired from the Royal Navy, was running "The Blue Posts" tavern in Pembroke Street, Portsmouth. The Westbourne photographer Charles Routledge (1839-1925), who was the ninth child of William and Eliza Routledge, lived in Portsmouth for the first twenty-four years of his life. [ABOVE] A map showing the towns and villages in the borderlands of Hampshire and Sussex between Portsmouth in the west and Chichester in the east. The town of Emsworth and the village of Westbourne, located on either side of the Hampshire-Sussex border, can be seen in the middle of the map. Charles Routledge (1839-1925) worked as a photographer in Emsworth and Westbourne between 1863 and 1911. Charles Routledge photographic career began in Emsworth, where he was based for seventeen years. In 1880, Charles Routledge moved to Westbourne where he worked as a professional photographer until 1911.
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Charles Routledge early life in
Portsmouth Charles Routledge was born in 1839 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Charles Routledge was one of at least twelve children born to Eliza and William Henry Routledge, a former naval officer and innkeeper of Portsmouth. Charles Routledge, the couple's ninth child, was christened at the church of St Thomas, Portsmouth, on 8th May 1839. William Henry Routledge, Charles Routledge's father, was born on 19th February 1797 in East Grinstead, Sussex, the son of John and Elisabeth Routledge. William Henry Routledge joined the Royal Navy as a boy, probably as a midshipman, and by 1824 he had risen to the naval officer rank of Lieutenant. On 29th January 1823, William Henry Routledge married Eliza Cole (born 1805, Portsmouth, Hants.) in Portsmouth. Seventeen year old Eliza was pregnant at the time of her marriage and she gave birth to a daughter a few months after her wedding. The baby did not thrive. The couple's daughter was baptised with her mother's christian name on 3rd May 1823, but baby Eliza died three days later on 6th May 1823. William Routledge's wife soon became pregnant again and in the early Summer of 1824, Eliza gave birth to another daughter, who was baptised Eliza Ann Routledge, named in memory of Eliza's first late lamented child, on 4th July 1824. At least ten more children were to follow, not all of whom would reach adulthood - Elizabeth Routledge (born 1826), William Henry Routledge junior (born 1828), John George Routledge (born 1830 - died 1832), Sarah Frances Routledge (born 1832), Henrietta Routledge (born 1835), Ann Routledge (born 1837), Charles Routledge (born 1839), George John Routledge (born 1841), Emily Ann Routledge (born 1843) and Eliza Maria Routledge (born 1846). By 1844, Charles Routledge's father had retired from the Royal Navy and had become the landlord of the Blue Posts Tavern in Pembroke Street, Portsmouth. Pigot & Co.'s 1844 Directory of Portsmouth records William Henry Routledge as a victualler at Blue Posts, Pembroke Street. On 10th January 1849, William Henry Routledge died, five weeks short of his 52nd birthday. (A note on his will indicated that William Henry Routledge, former Lieutenant in the navy, was at the time of his death, still owed back pay from the Royal Navy). Mrs Eliza Routledge, Lieutenant Routledge's widow, took over the running of the Blue Posts Inn *. Hampshire trade directories published between 1850 and 1865 list Mrs Eliza Routledge as a publican at "The Blue Posts" in Pembroke Street, Portsmouth. In 1875, Kelly's Post Office Directory of Hampshire names William Henry Routledge as the landlord of the Blue Posts Inn, so presumably Eliza's eldest son William Henry Routledge junior had taken over the running of the inn when Mrs Routledge retired. ( Mrs Eliza Routledge died in Portsmouth in 1881, at the age of 75). When the 1861 census was taken, Mrs Eliza Routledge, described as a 55 year old widow, is recorded as a "Victualler" at The Blue Posts, Pembroke Street, Portsmouth. When the census return was completed on 7th April 1861, Mrs Routledge was the Head of a Household containing 11 other persons, comprising of two sons, three daughters, a niece, Mrs Routledge's son-in-law, Henry Hellyer, a 44 year old butcher, and four grandchildren, the offspring of Henry Hellyer and Eliza's daughter Sarah Frances Routledge. Charles Routledge is described on the 1861 census as a twenty-two year old "Mail Messenger". George Routledge, Charles's younger brother is entered on the 1861 census return as a "Photographic Printer", aged 20. George John Routledge (1841-1911) later worked as a professional photographer in Fareham, Hampshire. Charles Routledge marries and moves to Emsworth, Hampshire On 29th January 1862, at Portsmouth's St Thomas's Church, Charles Routledge married Helen (Ellen) Hawkins (born 1837, Otterbourne, Hampshire), the daughter of William and Hannah Hawkins. Charles Routledge's wife gave birth to a son named Charles William Routledge later that year.[ Charles William Routledge was baptised at St Thomas's Church, Portsmouth, on 17th August 1862 ]. The following year, Charles Routledge, together with his wife Helen and their baby son moved from Portsmouth to Emsworth, a small Hampshire fishing port bordering West Sussex. (In 1861, the small coastal town of Emsworth had a population of 1,750). A second son was born in Emsworth eighteen months later and christened William Linn Routledge. The baby boy was taken back to St Thomas's Church, Portsmouth to be baptised on 24th January 1864. Emily Ann Routledge, Charles and Helen's third child, was born in Emsworth, Hampshire, in 1866 and baptised in Portsmouth on Christmas Day. Two more Routledge children were born in Emsworth - Thomas George Routledge (christened in Portsmouth on 27th September 1868) and Helen 'Ellen' Edith Routledge (baptised at St Thomas's Church, Portsmouth on 27th September 1868). Possibly under the influence of his younger brother George, Charles Routledge took up photography as a profession. Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Hampshire, issued for the year 1865, lists Charles Routledge as a "photographer and newsagent" at St Peter's Square, Emsworth. Kelly's Hampshire Directory published in 1867, also records Charles Routledge as a photographer in Emsworth's St Peter's Square. Charles Routledge worked as a photographer in Emsworth for a number of years. By the time the census was taken on 2nd April 1871, Charles Routledge was residing with his wife and five children at a house in Spring Gardens, Warblington, Emsworth. On the 1871 census return, thirty-two year old Charles Routledge is entered as a "Photographer". |
* The Blue Posts public house in Pembroke Street, Portsmouth, which dates back to the 18th century, was a well known inn or tavern in Portsmouth for many years. Today, the public house on the corner of Penny Street and Pembroke Road is known as "The Pembroke" and is believed to be one of the oldest pubs in Portsmouth. The Routledge Family of Portsmouth was associated with the Blue Posts tavern in Pembroke Street between 1844 and 1875. |
Charles Routledge in Westbourne, Sussex. |
[ABOVE ] A coloured picture postcard of The Square, Westbourne produced around 1905. The postcard does not carry the name of a photographer or publisher but is postmarked "Emsworth, 20th July 1905. [ABOVE ] A group photograph of a gathering of some of the female inhabitants of Westbourne, probably photographed by Charles Routledge around 1910. This large group photograph depicts a total of 53 figures, including six children and two ladies in invalid wheel chairs. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Jim Barlow of the Westbourne Village website]
[ABOVE ] A wedding photograph probably taken by Charles Routledge at Westbourne in 1907. The photograph shows the wedding party of Rhoda Lucy Churcher and William Edwin Goddard. An enlarged picture of this wedding photograph and further information about the Churcher Family of Westbourne is provided at the foot of this webpage. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Helen Bishop and Christine Hayter] |
When the 1881 census was taken,
Charles Routledge was recorded in Westbourne, Sussex. The parish
of Westbourne was only a mile or so from Emsworth, but it was
situated across the border in West Sussex. In 1881, Charles Routledge was residing
in East Street, Westbourne with his
wife Ellen and their three youngest children - Emily Ann Routledge,
aged 15, Thomas George Routledge, aged 13 and eleven year old
Edith Ellen Routledge. On the census return, Charles Routledge gives his occupation as "School Attendance Officer", but there is
evidence that Charles had retained his interest in photography. The Trades
section of Kelly's Directory of Sussex, issued for the year 1882, lists
Charles Routledge of Westbourne under the occupational heading of
"Photographers". The 1887 edition of Kelly's Sussex Directory also lists
Charles Westbourne as a photographer in Westbourne. Charles and Ellen Routledge's eldest son, Charles William Routledge (born 1862, Portsmouth) had left home to join the Navy and in 1881 he was serving as an officer's servant at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Sadly, Charles Routledge junior was to die at Greenwich five years later in 1886, at the young age of 23. Another son, William Linn Routledge (born c1864, Emsworth) was in domestic service and working as a gardener. By 1890, Charles Routledge had been appointed "Vaccination Officer" for the Westbourne district. (* See note below on Charles Routledge's duties as a Vaccination Officer). However, the local directories published throughout the 1890s refer to Charles Routledge as holding the twin jobs of "photographer & vaccination officer". The 1891 census records Charles and Ellen Routledge in East Street, Westbourne. The Routledge children were no longer residing with their parents, but Mr & Mrs Routledge had taken in as a lodger a young trainee elementary teacher, nineteen year old Arthur Burrows from Little Clacton, Essex. Charles Routledge is entered on the census return as a self-employed "Photographer", aged 52. By 1895, both of Charles Routledge's daughters had married. Sisters Emily and Helen Routledge had taken as husbands two brothers from Nuthurst in Sussex. In 1892, Emily Ann Routledge (born 1866, Emsworth) married John Worsfield Tullett (born 1865, Nuthurst, Sussex), a son of Caroline and Richard Tullett, a sawyer of Monk's Common, Nuthurst. After his marriage to Emily, John Worsfield Tullett was to find work as a railway signalman and the family settled in Croydon, Surrey. In 1895, at Westbourne, Emily's sister, Helen Edith Routledge married policeman Matthew Richard Tullett (born 1868, Nuthurst, Sussex), a younger brother of John W. Tullett. Initially, Matthew and Helen Tullett made their home in Islington, London, where their two daughters Winifred and Violet were born. [Emily Winifred Tullett was born in Islington during the First Quarter of 1896 and the birth of her younger sister Violet Helen Tullet was registered in Islington early in 1898]. P. C. Matthew Tullett and his family later moved to the London Borough of Bromley, where they are recorded in the 1901 census. When the 1901 census was carried out, sixty-two year old Charles Routledge was described as a "Photographer", working "At Home". Mr and Mrs Routledge were still living in East Street, Westbourne, but at the time of the census they were sharing their cottage with their unmarried son William Linn Routledge, aged 37, who was working as a "Gardener" in domestic service, and their five year old grandchild, Winifred Tullett, the daughter of Helen Edith Routledge and her husband Matthew Tullett. Charles Routledge served as Westbourne's Vaccination Officer * for nearly twenty years, holding this position from around 1890 until about 1910. During this period Charles Routledge combined his two roles as Vaccination Officer and Westbourne's resident photographer. Kelly's 1909 Directory of Westbourne lists Charles Routledge as "photographer & vaccination officer" but by the time the 1911 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex was published, the post of Vaccination Officer for the Westbourne and Emsworth area was held by John Carpenter Sherman of Emsworth. Kelly's 1911 Directory of Westbourne records Charles Routledge's occupation as "Photographer". However, the 1911 census makes no mention of Charles Routledge's photographic activities. On the 1911 census return, Charles Routledge is described as "Caretaker of Church". When the census was taken on 2nd April 1911, Charles Routledge was a seventy-two year old widower living with his middle-aged son William at the family cottage in East Street, Westbourne. Mrs Helen Routledge, Charles Routledge's wife, had died in Westbourne during the First Quarter of 1908, aged seventy. Charles Routledge's son, forty-seven year old bachelor William Linn Routledge, was still employed as a gardener in domestic service. At the time of the 1911 census, Charles Routledge's youngest daughter Mrs Helen Edith Tullett was living with her husband Matthew and two daughters in Bromley, Kent. Charles Routledge's eldest daughter Mrs Emily Ann Tullett was residing in Croydon, Surrey, with husband John Worsfield Tullett and their young son Charles Alfred John Tullett (born 1902, Croydon). Charles Routledge, who had served as Westbourne's resident photographer for over thirty years, died in 1925 at the age of 86. [The death of Charles Routledge was registered in the District of Chichester during the 4th Quarter of 1925].
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Trades People of Westbourne - Photographs believed to have been taken by local photographer Charles Routledge |
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[ABOVE ] A photograph of a group of children wearing placards advertising local businesses in Westbourne (c1910). The businesses and trades people represented were (from left to right, in the back row) : "EDGEL'S MILK" - Mrs Elizabeth "Betsy" Ellen Edgell (1849-1915), who ran a dairy farm in Westbourne from 1887 until 1915 ; "CROUCH FLOWERS" - Mark Crouch (1859-1925), a greengrocer of East Street, Westbourne ; "BURGE'S .." - Isaac Burge (1845-1927), a milk dealer and "TRUDGETT'S ICES" - Joseph Trudgett (born 1850, Wickham, Hants), a confectioner & grocer. (From left to right, in the front row) : "TREE'S SAUSAGES" - Ernest Joshua Tree (born 1878, Chesterfield), a grocer ; "DADY'S SPECIAL PRIZE HOVIS" - George Augustine Dady (born 1878, East Dereham, Norfolk), a baker, shoemaker & general shopkeeper ; "SIMONS COAL MERCHANT" - Arthur Simons (born 1878, Aldershot, Hants.), a grocer ; "PRATT SWEETS"- Henry Pratt (1850-1933), a general shopkeeper, and "MORGAN .. " - Frank Henry Morgan (1854-1929), draper and clothier. All of the traders mentioned on the placards are listed in Kelly's Commercial Directory of Westbourne published in 1911. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Jim Barlow of the Westbourne Village website] |
[ABOVE ] A
photograph of the delivery cart from Edgell's Dairy of Westbourne (c1910).
Charles Edgell (born 1845, Christchurch, Hants.) established a dairy in Westbourne
around 1885. When Charles Edgell died in Westbourne in 1887 at the age of
41, the dairy business was continued by his widow Mrs Elizabeth "Betsy"
Ellen Edgell (1849-1915). Mrs Betsy Edgell is recorded as a "cow keeper" and
dairy farmer in Westbourne from 1887 until her death in January 1915, at the
age of 65. Edgell's Dairy was run by Mrs Edgell's son Edward "Ted" Alfred Edgell
(born 1886, Westbourne) until his death on 7th November 1925. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Jim Barlow of the Westbourne Village website] |
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"Routledge Cottage" in East Street,
Westbourne
Routledge Cottage in East Street, Westbourne, is thought to be the cottage where the photographer Charles Routledge lived for over 40 years. Routledge Cottage was owned by members of the Churcher and Scadgell Families of Westbourne and Emsworth. George Churcher (born c1797, Wickham, Hampshire), a local farmer, owned land in the Westbourne area in the early 1840s. George Churcher had married Rhoda Woodman (born c1793) in her home parish of Westbourne in 1819 and the couple went on to produce a number of children, including George Churcher junior (born 1820, Westbourne), Edward Churcher (born 1832, Westbourne) and Harriet Churcher (born 1837, Westbourne). At the time of his death in 1845, George Churcher was recorded as the owner of a cottage in East Street, Westbourne and eventually this property passed to his daughter, Harriet. At the time of the 1861 census, Mrs Rhoda Churcher, the sixty-seven year old widow of George Churcher and the mother of Harriet Churcher, was recorded in North Street, Westbourne and described as a "Farmer of 33 acres, employing two men and one boy". Mrs Rhoda Churcher died in Westbourne on 15th March 1866, aged 72. Harriet Churcher had married John Scadgell (born c1830, Westbourne) a cabinet maker and upholsterer of Westbourne, in 1860. Either at the time of her marriage to John Scadgell or on the death of her mother, the cottage in East Street passed to Mrs Harriet Scadgell. When the 1871 census was taken, John and Harriett Scadgell and their five daughters were recorded at the cottage in East Street, Westbourne. Around 1880, John Scadgell and his large family vacated the cottage in Westbourne and moved to St Peter's Square, Emsworth. John Scadgell had established a cabinet making and upholstery business in the central square at the bottom of Emsworth's High Street. In the Spring of 1880, not long after the arrival of the Scadgell family in Emsworth, Mrs Harriet Scadgell died at the age of 43, leaving John Scadgell to bring up a family of four boys and three daughters. Charles Routledge had once worked as a "photographer and newsagent" in St Peter's Square, Emsworth. It appears that as John Scadgell and his family moved into St Peter's Square, Emsworth, the photographer Charles Routledge moved into John Scadgell's cottage in Westbourne's East Street. (The Westbourne Story suggests that Charles Routledge previously resided in Paradise Lane, Westbourne). The 1881 census records John Scadgell, a fifty-one year old widower, residing with seven of his children at the house in St Peter's Square, Emsworth and Charles Routledge, described as a "School Attendance Officer", aged 42, living with his wife Ellen and their three youngest children at the cottage in East Street, Westbourne. The cottage in East Street, Westbourne, rented by Charles Routledge, was now owned by John Scadgell, but the Scadgell family remained based at St Peter's Square, Emsworth for the next thirty years. When John Scadgell died in the Warblington district of Emsworth in 1898 at the age of sixty-nine, the business of Scadgell & Sons passed to his eldest sons Frederick John Scadgell (born 1872, Westbourne) and Harry George Scadgell (born 1876, Westbourne). The ownership of the cottage in East Street, Westbourne also passed Frederick J. Scadgell. (In the 1901 census, Frederick John Scadgell is described as a twenty-eight year old "House Decorator and Undertaker" and Harry George Scadgell as a "Furniture Dealer", aged 24). In a trade directory published in 1911, Scadgell & Sons were listed as builders and cabinet makers at 15 & 17 The Square, Emsworth. By 1911, Frederick J. Scadgell, had become a leading figure in Emsworth and was a Member of Warblington Urban District Council. Harry George Scadgell, Frederick's younger brother, went on to open a "furniture emporium" in Petersfield, Hampshire and a second furniture store in the Sussex seaside town of Worthing. W. G. Scadgell's furniture store, which was established in Worthing in 1919, was still in business in 2009. |
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The Wedding Photograph of Rhoda Lucy Churcher and William Edwin Goddard (1907) |
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[PHOTO: Courtesy of Helen Bishop and Christine Hayter] |
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For further information on Edward Churcher of Westbourne, his daughter Nelly Churcher and her husband Oswald Leonard Edward Link please click on the following link to Helen Bishop's Family History website : |
Acknowledgements |
Thanks to Susan Rutter,
who currently lives in Routledge Cottage in Westbourne, for
prompting my study of photographer Charles Routledge. I am indebted
to Jim Barlow, the author of the website Westbourne - A
Rural Village in West Sussex, for allowing me to use several of
the images of Westbourne, believed to be the work of Charles
Routledge, the Westbourne photographer. A special thank you to Helen Bishop and Christine Hayter for providing the wedding
photograph of (Rhoda) Lucy Churcher and William Edwin Goddard, possibly
photographed by local photographer Charles Routledge. I am also
grateful to Mark Bishop and Helen Bishop for providing
family history information relating to the Churcher Family of Westbourne
on their Family History website. Mark Bishop is descended from
Edward Churcher (1832-1916) of Westbourne. Mrs Christine
Hayter, Mark Bishop's mother and the owner of the Churcher Wedding
photograph, is descended from Nelly Churcher,
Lucy Churcher's younger sister. I am also grateful
to Nikki Wells of Christchurch who has very kindly provided
details of the Routledge Family on her Family Tree Maker website
"Brookes et al". I have also been
helped in my study of Westbourne
in Victorian and Edwardian times
by the following two websites : Westbourne - A
Rural Village in West Sussex and
Emsworth Online. Information on the
Edgell Family, dairy farmers of Westbourne, was provided by
Rex Le Grice
on the Le Grice
Genealogy website. Primary Sources : Trade Directories: Pigot & Co.'s Directory of Portsmouth (1844) ; William White's Directory of Hampshire (1859) ; Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Hampshire (1865) ; Kelly's Post Office Directory for Hampshire (1855,1875,1898,1911); Kelly's Post Office Directory for Sussex (1866,1867,1870,1874,1878,1882,1887,1890,1895,1899, 1905,1907,1909,1911). Census Returns: 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 & 1911. Websites : Births, Marriages & Deaths Records on FreeBMD ; 1881 Census & International Genealogical Index on LDS Family Search. Census returns were also explored on the UK Census Collection featured on the ancestry.co.uk website, 1901 Census Online and the 1911 Census website. Secondary Sources : The Westbourne Story by Lucinda Roch and Matthew Toms (Kenneth Mason Publications, 2005) |
More information on the West Sussex village of Westbourne can be found at Jim Barlow's Westbourne website by clicking on the link below: |