Introduction
Herbert Joseph Voizey was a butcher in the village from around 1870 to 1900. Before moving there, he and his family lived at East Chinnock. Some of his descendants played a significant role in the village during the twentieth century.
Early life at East Chinnock
Herbert was born at East Chinnock in 1842, the eighth of nine children born to Thomas and Priscilla Voizey. His birth was registered under the name “Joseph”, and he was baptised as such, but he later became known as “Herbert” or occasionally “Herbert Joseph.”
His parents, who were both born at East Chinnock, married there in 1823. Thomas was a farmer until the mid-1830s when he became a carpenter. He also kept the Hare and Hounds Inn.
Thomas suffered from bronchitis, and the wood dust from his carpentry probably aggravated his condition. In April 1847, he became ill with pneumonia and died just sixteen days later on 5 May 1847.[1] His death left Priscilla responsible for five children under the age of 16 and three older children.[2] Priscilla supported her family by continuing to run the inn.[3]
.The next three and a half years were difficult for the family. Not only had they lost Thomas, but in 1850, they became embroiled in a frightening episode when Walter, the eldest son, was found guilty of attacking and robbing a man and sentenced to transportation for fifteen years. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, and he was eventually cleared. However, he spent two years in Dartmoor Prison before his release. Fortunately for him, transportation sentence had not been put into effect.[4]
It may have been during the stressful time that Priscilla began a relationship with William Brown, a much younger man. They married at East Chinnock on 31 December 1850. At the time, William was 23, while Priscilla was 47 or 48.
William may have brought some stability to the family during a turbulent time. Originally from Crewkerne, he was a saddler like his father and pursued this occupation for the rest of his life. He took over as the landlord of the Hare and Hounds, running until at least March 1852, but no later than June 1857.[5] He also took on his stepson, Thomas, as an apprentice, but during the 1850s, Thomas left home to join the Royal Artillery.
By April 1861, the family was living at 16 Fordhay, East Chinnock. Herbert and his younger sister, Emily, were the only two children still living at home. Herbert worked as a butcher’s labourer, while Emily was a glove sewer. Both children retained the name “Voizey” instead of adopting “Brown.”
Marriage
On 5 June 1865, Herbert married Mary Matraves of South Petherton.[6] At the time of their marriage, Herbert was 23 years old, and Mary was 15. Both signed the marriage register. The witnesses were Herbert’s sister, Emily, and Mary’s brother, Thomas.
Mary was the sixth of seven children born to James and Elizabeth Matraves of Seavington St Michael. Her father, James, was a carpenter who died in December 1857 at the age of 47. After his death, Elizabeth and her children moved to Watergore, South Petherton. The 1861 census recorded her as a house and land owner. On 24 December 1861, she married James Hutchings, but they seem to have separated by April 1871. Elizabeth died at Hardington in April 1880 at the age of about 70.
East Chinnock
Herbert and Mary spent the first few years of their married life at East Chinnock, where they had two children, Thomas and Lillie Louisa.
Move to Hardington
Between February 1868 and September 1870, Herbert and his family moved to Hardington. Their arrival probably preceded that of Mary’s brother, Thomas Matraves, who took over the village forge in 1870. By April 1871, Mary’s youngest sister, Susan, lived with them. She married William Vaux the following year.
By 1879, Herbert’s sister, Emily, also lived in the village after marrying a gardener named John James Sharman, who worked for the Vassall family. When Mrs. Vassall moved to Godalming in 1883, John and Emily moved with her.
Butcher and shopkeeper
At Hardington, Herbert was a butcher and shopkeeper. They set the shop up early on, as they were running it by May 1871, when they had to brave a verbal attack from a female customer over a small sum of money.[7]
The shop was probably situated where Annie Voizey’s shop was in the 1960s, close to Broadstone.[8]
Like many other traders of that time, Herbert sometimes infringed the law. In November 1878, he was fined 16s, including costs, for having unjust scales.[9] In August 1886, he was fined £1 and costs for cruelty to a horse, working it when it was covered with wounds from which blood and matter were oozing.[10]
Herbert also incurred two small fines for not minding his horse correctly. In March 1891, he was fined 2s 6d and costs for leaving his horse and cart unattended opposite the Butcher’s Arms, Hendford, Yeovil, between four o’clock and half past five on the afternoon of Saturday 14 February.[11] In August 1891, he was fined 1s and 5s costs for allowing his horse to stray at Hardington on 29 June.[12]
By the age of fifty, Herbert was sufficiently well off to make a loan to a relative. On 1 August 1892, Harry William Barge, a cabinet maker, carpenter and undertaker of 4 Goswell Terrace, High Street, Street, filed a bill of sale in favour of Herbert Voisey for £35.[13] Barge’s wife, Elizabeth, may have been Herbert’s first cousin once removed.
Unfortunately, Barge lacked business acumen. By October 1895, he was struggling to pay his debts and ultimately declared bankruptcy in May 1902. This situation would have placed Herbert or his wife in the uncomfortable position of needing to repossess any security that Barge had pledged.[14]
Witness at an inquest
On 30 June 1897, Herbert was the principal witness at the inquest into the death of James Purchase, the rector’s coachman who suffered a fatal heart attack during the Jubilee festivities.[15]
Family life
Herbert and Mary had seven children while living at Hardington, bringing their total to nine. The first child to leave home was Thomas, the oldest, who moved to East Chinnock to learn saddlery from William Brown, his grandmother’s second husband. He was followed by Lillie, who moved to Godalming to work as a cook for Mrs. Vassall, and Beatrice, who worked as a grocer’s assistant at Corscombe. By March 1901, only the two youngest children remained at home. However, Herbert had passed away by then.
Death
By 1900, Herbert was suffering from chronic bronchitis, the same disease that killed his father. He died on 2 May 1900 at the age of 58.[16]
Mary’s later life
Mary continued to run the grocery shop, assisted by her daughter, Mary Annie, who eventually took over the business. In the 1901 census, Mary’s address was Cottage 329. She died on 15 March 1924, at the age of 74.
Children
Herbert and Mary had four sons and five daughters:
1865- Thomas (became a saddler and later a farmer; married Amelia Annie Elliott at East Chinnock in 1893; died in 1948);
1868- Lillie Louisa (married Ernest Henry Lord Jearum; widowed in 1925; died in 1951);
1870-Albert Edward (became a carpenter; married Alice Mary Shire; died in 1936);
1872- Beatrice Elizabeth Matraves (married George Chaffey Hallett; resided at Hardington; died in 1943);
1876- Flora (marred John William Green; resided at Spalding; died in 1963);
1878- Ernest Albert (became a butcher at Deal; married Kathleen Alice Aplin; died in 1949);
1880- Mary Annie (became a shopkeeper at Hardington; never married; died in 1973);
1883- Blanche (married Bertie Mark Axe; resided at Hardington; died in 1969);
1888- Walter (became a butcher and later publican at Shepton Beauchamp; married Beatrice Annie Welch; died in 1972).
References
[1] Thomas Voizey’s death certificate.
[2] One child died in 1829, at the age of two.
[3] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 20 June 1850, p.4; East Chinnock marriage register; entry for 31 December 1850.
[4] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 19 June 1850 p. 3; Sherborne Mercury 20 August 1850 p.4; Sherborne Mercury 20 April 1852 p. 2; Salisbury and Winchester Journal 24 April 1852 p. 3; Southern Times and Dorset County Herald 1 May 1852 p. 4.
[5] Sherborne Mercury, 9 March 1852, p.3; 9 June 1857, p.6.
[6] In the early 1870s, Mary changed the spelling of her surname from “Matravers” to “Matraves.”
[7] Western Gazette 9 June 1871 p. 7.
[8] The 1871 census recorded the family living in the lower end of the High Street. The 1881 census recorded them living at 3 Barry Lane, with the Sharman family next door. The 1891 census recorded their address as the Street. However, these different addresses may all refer to the same location.
[9] Western Gazette, 8 November 1878, p.6. Herbert’s name is spelt Voisey.
[10] Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 4 August 1886, p.3. Herbert’s name is spelt Voisey.
[11] Western Gazette, 3 March 1891, p.6. Herbert’s name is spelt Voisey.
[12] Western Gazette, 7 August 1891, p.3. Herbert’s name is spelt Voisey.
[13] Commercial Gazette (London), 3 August 1892, p.6.
[14] Western Gazette, 16 October 1896, p.6; Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 17 May 1902, p.5.
[15] Weymouth Telegram, 6 July 1897, p.7.
[16] Death certificate of Herbert Joseph Voizey.
