Introduction
Thomas George Horrell was a domestic gardener whose career spanned various locations in South West England and the Welsh Marches. Although the specific reasons for his frequent moves are unknown, they were likely facilitated by newspaper advertisements and the expanding railway network.
Childhood
Thomas was born in Teignmouth in late 1852 or early 1853.[1] His grandfather, Edmund Horrell, had moved to the town from Poundstock, Cornwall, as a young man and married Joanna Jago, a local woman. Their first child was John Gaverick Horrell, Thomas’s father. All three generations–Edmund, John and Thomas–worked as gardeners. Thomas’s mother was Jane Wallin, the daughter of William and Susanna Wallin of East Teignmouth, but little is known about her background.
Marriage and early married life
By the age of nineteen, Thomas was boarding at 22 Alphington Street, Exeter.[2] In 1873, he married Elizabeth Niass, who was employed as a general domestic servant in Exeter.[3] Elizabeth was born in Bristol to a single mother, who later moved to Newton Abbot, where she worked as a laundress.[4] Thomas secured a position at Mamhead, probably at Mamhead House, the home of Sir Lydston Newman, Baronet. Their son, John Edmund, was born at Mamhead in 1874.[5] By April 1881, the family had moved to East Street, Crewkerne.[6]
Hardington
From about 1884 to 1887, Thomas worked as a gardener at Hardington Rectory.[7] He was probably the first gardener recruited by Rev. H. H. T. Cleife, who began his duties as rector in October 1883.
By March 1887, Elizabeth was probably pregnant with her second child after an interval of thirteen years. This change in circumstances may have influenced their decision to leave Hardington. They held a sale on 28 May 1887 that included pigs, furniture, clothing, and a gun.[8] The pigs and gun suggest that Cleife permitted Thomas to engage in activities typically associated with a smallholding.
Bath
The family moved to Bath, where they initially lived at Oldfield Park and later at 1 Railway Place near Bath Spa railway station.[9] Their daughter, Bessie, was born on 7 December 1887.[10] By April 1891, John was working as a hairdresser, marking a departure from the family’s horticultural trade. While residing at Railway Place, Thomas won a prize for his pet cat in the Bath Cat Show.[11]
Aberllynfi
The family subsequently moved to Aberllynfi near Hay-on-Wye, where Thomas worked in walled kitchen gardens attached to Gwernyfed Park, a Victorian mansion on the Welsh borderlands. John accompanied them and worked as a self-employed hairdresser.[12] The reason for the family’s move is unclear.
Hereford
In his fifties, Thomas became a florist at 1 Broomy Hill, Hereford.[13] No newspaper advertisements for the business have been identified, suggesting that it may have operated on a modest scale. For Thomas, the venture was short-lived, as he died in 1910 at age 58.[14] Following his death, Elizabeth continued the florist business until at least 1917, after which she supported herself by taking in boarders.[15] She died in 1931 at the age of 81.[16] Neither Thomas nor Elizabeth left a will.
As for their children, Bessie married Charles Valentine Tapp, an ironmonger, in 1919 and settled in Hereford. John is recorded in the 1911 census as an unmarried, unemployed barber living in Barry, but his whereabouts after that year are uncertain.
Conclusion
Thomas George Horrell’s life combined continuity and change. Like his father and grandfather, he worked with plants; however, unlike them, he did not stay rooted in Teignmouth. His career carried him across Devon, Somerset, and the Welsh borderlands, before he attempted, late in life, to establish himself independently in Hereford. Although his death cut short his involvement, Elizabeth continued for several more years. His children, meanwhile, moved into other lines of business, ending the family’s long association with gardening.
References
[1] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[2] RG10, St Thomas, piece 2054, folio 17, p.26.
[3] Civil Registration Marriage Index; RG10, Exeter, piece 2068, folio 47, p.39.
[4] RG9, Newton Abbot, piece 1401, folio 110, p.14.
[5] Civil Registration Birth Index; RG11, Crewkerne, piece 2387, folio 14, p.22.
[6] RG11, Crewkerne, piece 2387, folio 14, p.22.
[7] Hardington voters’ lists.
[8] Western Gazette, 20 May 1887, p.7.
[9] St James, Bath, Baptism register; RG12, Walcot, piece 1934, folio 55, p.32.
[10] 1939 Register.
[11] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 23 March 1893, p.8.
[12] RG13, Aberllynfi, piece 5176, folio 5, p. 2.
[13] Kelly’s Directory of Herefordshire, 1909.p. 85.
[14] Civil Registration Death Index.
[15] Kelly’s Directory of Herefordshire and Shropshire, 1917, p.99; RG14, Hereford, piece 15707; RG15, Hereford, enumeration district 13, schedule 66.
[16] Civil Registration Death Index.