Introduction
Sarah Shire spent much of her adult life in two very different worlds. Born into a labouring family in rural Somerset, she left Hardington as a young woman to enter domestic service in London, where she spent many years as a cook in a prosperous clerical household. She later returned to Hardington, resumed glovemaking, and married for the first time in her mid-fifties.
Early life
Sarah was born on 13 February 1871 at East Chinnock, the seventh of ten children born to Walter Shire and his wife, Sarah Ann (née Andrews).[1] At the time of her birth, the family lived at 13 East Street, where her father worked as an engine driver, operating agricultural machinery, while her mother earned additional income as a glover.
Between 1875 and 1879, the family moved to Hardington, first living in the High Street before settling at Lyatts, where Walter established himself as a farmer.[2] By the time of the 1891 census, Sarah was living with her parents and working as a glover, a trade she probably learned from her mother, as many village girls did.
Domestic service in London
During the 1890s, Sarah left Somerset and moved to London to enter domestic service. By 1901, she was employed as a cook by the Rev. Thomas John Davis at 53 Longridge Road, Earl’s Court. The household consisted of Davis, his wife, their unmarried daughter Evelyn, and three resident servants: a parlourmaid, a cook, and a housemaid.
Sarah remained with the family until at least 1911. After Thomas Davis died in September 1901, his widow headed the household until her own death in November 1914.[3] The family’s circumstances remained comfortable, and by 1911, a lady’s maid had been added to the domestic staff. Sarah’s continued employment by the same family for at least a decade suggests a degree of stability and trust that was not always found in domestic service.
For a woman from a small Somerset village, life in Earl’s Court must have been profoundly different from the world in which she had grown up. Yet, despite spending many years in London, she eventually returned to Hardington.
Return to Hardington
Mrs Davis’s death in November 1914 may have prompted Sarah to return to Hardington to help her sister, Louisa, care for their elderly parents and unmarried brother, Albert. However, Louisa may have taken advantage of Sarah’s return to marry Charles Axe in late 1915.
Back in Hardington, Sarah resumed glovemaking and worked for Thring Brothers of Yeovil. The industry had long provided employment for women in the area, and Sarah returned to an occupation that had been part of her life before she left for London.
Her father died in June 1925, and her mother followed him in May 1926. Later that year, on 27 December 1926, Sarah married Leonard Wakely at Hardington Church.[4] Leonard, a smallholder at Lyatts, was fifty-four years old, and Sarah was fifty-five. Both had spent most of their lives unmarried, and their marriage offered companionship and greater security.
Married life and later years
Sarah and Leonard continued to live at Lyatts. The 1939 Register recorded them there with Stanley Chant, a 28-year-old cowman, and Mervyn Parry, a 7-year-old evacuee from London. Their household reflected both the agricultural character of the holding and the disruptions caused by the Second World War.
Leonard died in 1951 at the age of eighty-one. Afterwards, Sarah moved to Yeovil to live with her great-niece, Mildred Beryl Bond, at 15 Market Street. This was her address when she made her will on 30 January 1952.
Sarah died on 24 March 1955 at the age of eighty-four. Her estate was valued at £234 3s. 5d.[5]
Conclusion
Although Sarah left her rural, working-class family to take on a responsible role in a middle-class household in London, she was ultimately drawn back by family ties and responsibilities. Her story illustrates the opportunities that domestic service offered rural women while also demonstrating the enduring pull of family, community and place.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register.
[2] Hardington voters’ lists; Guardian Valuation Lists.
[3] National Probate Calendar.
[4] Western Gazette, 31 December 1926, p.14.
[5] The will of Sarah Wakely, dated 30 January 1952, proved at Bristol on 6 April 1955.