Introduction

John Gillard was a railway labourer from Lancashire who worked on the construction of the railway at Hardington Marsh. In 1860, he married Louisa Rendell, who had two illegitimate daughters. In the 1860s, John and his family moved to Child’s Hill, where they eventually became involved in the laundry industry, which thrived in the area. In 1892, a fire caused by John’s laundry operations destroyed his house. By moving to London, John and Louisa paved the way for two young sisters from Hardington to join them as servants and settle in London.

Birth

John Gillard was born around 1829 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire. His father, Archibald, was a mason who may have worked on the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830.

Railway

John was one of the navvies who built the railway from Crewkerne to Yeovil. A court case of June 1860 refers to him as a railway navvy residing at Hardington. On the night of Saturday, 23 June 1860, he went on a pub crawl as far as Yeovil. While walking down Hendford Hill in a drunken state, cursing and swearing, he attracted the attention of PC Penny, who asked him to go home quietly. When John responded by hitting him and trying to push him over, Penny arrested him. At the Borough Police Court the following Monday, two magistrates fined John 10s.[1]

Marriage

During his time at Hardington, John became involved with Louisa Rendell, a single woman of about the same age who lived at Hardington Moor with her parents, Thomas and Susan Rendell. Louisa had two daughters: Selina, born around 1850 and Lucinda Jane, born around 1853.[2] Despite this potential obstacle, John and Louisa married at Hardington Church on 2 September 1860.

John probably moved in with Louisa’s parents. On census night in 1861, Louisa and Lucinda were recorded in the household of Louisa’s parents, while Selina was a nursemaid in a farmhouse at Pendomer. John was not recorded, presumably because his work had taken him away from home.

Childs Hill

By 1868, John Gillard, Louisa, Selina and Lucinda had moved to Childs Hill, where John worked as a railway platelayer. By April 1871, John and Louisa lived at Cricklewood Terrace with their son, also named John, who was born the previous year. Selina lived nearby with her husband, Thomas John Elphick, whom she married in 1868. Lucinda was probably in domestic service, but has not been found on the 1871 census. However, on 16 November 1873, she married a railway excavator named Jesse Potter, and they settled in Hendon.[3]

By April 1881, John and his family lived at 2 Brook Cottages, The Mead. At that time, Elizabeth Partridge from Hardington lived with John and his family as a general servant, while her sister, Harriet, lived with Selina as a cook. Both Elizabeth and Harriet later married and settled in London.

Laundry work

At that time, many people in Childs Hill earned a living providing laundry services to the new suburbs of West London and Hampstead. Their customers believed the Childs Hill water was cleaner and less likely to carry diseases like cholera and typhoid. Selina’s husband, Thomas Elphink, ran a laundry at Child’s Hill, which employed six in-house laundry workers in April 1871. John decided to take advantage of this opportunity, and by July 1888, both he and his son were working in the laundry business.[4]  

Death of Louisa

Later that same year, Louisa died at the age of 58.

Second marriage

The following year, John married Mary Ann Armstrong, who was twenty years younger than he was.

Conflagration

On Wednesday, 30 March 1892, at around 11.45 pm, James Simmons, the owner of the Sanitary Laundry at The Mead, was returning home when he noticed a glare in one of the upper windows of an adjacent property. As he approached, he saw that the upper part of 2 Brook Cottages was on fire. Knowing that John Gillard and his wife were inside, he banged on their door and called out to them. When he finally made them hear, they came downstairs to the front door only to find it stuck. Using all his strength, Simmons forced the door open and saved them. The fire spread to other properties, destroying 1, 2 and 3 Brook Cottages and damaging Mr Simmons’s laundry. None of the tenants were insured. The local newspaper reported that the houses in the area had special flues for ironing grates, and the flue at John’s house overheated, causing the fire.[5]

Willesden

By March 1901, John and Mary Ann had moved to Willesden, where John’s son lived. John lived off his savings, while Mary Ann continued working as a laundress. They lived initially at 44 Draper’s Road and then at 67 Dudden Hill Lane.

Death

John died in 1916 at the age of 89.

Mary Ann’s later life

By June 1921, Mary Ann was a patient at Park Royal Hospital, Acton Lane, Willesden, which was a Poor Law institution. She died in 1924 at the age of 75.

References

[1] Langport & Somerton Herald, 30 June 1860, p.4.

[2] Selina’s birth was registered in the first quarter of 1850; Lucinda Jane’s birth was registered in the first quarter of 1853. Lucinda later adopted the name Lucy.

[3] Thomas and Selina Elphick signed the marriage register as witnesses.

[4] Hendon marriage register: entry for John Gillard junior on 21 July 1888.

[5] Hendon & Finchley Times, 1 April 1892, p.5.