RICHARD ATTFIELD'S WINDLESHAM FAMILY

This is research  kindly passed to me by Terry NixonTerenceNixon@aol.com     

Richard Attfield was born on 25^th September 1798 at Windlesham, Surrey, the son of Richard Attfield and Sarah Honer (Source = IGI). He married Sarah Ridgers on 30^th March 1823 at the Parish Church of Windlesham, Surrey (Source = IGI). Sarah was the daughter of Thomas Ridgers and Sarah Taylor (Source + IGI).

We need to be careful with the Attfield family. There are a lot of branches of the family living in Surrey and the opportunity for ‘cross over’ is very high. We know from Eliza’s birth certificate that her parents were Richard Attfield and Sarah Attfield, formerly Ridgers, so we can be confident that they are a good starting point. 

In 1841, Richard and Sarah are living with their children at Chobham, Surrey where Richard is recorded as a Farmer. The children are all recorded as being born at Windlesham which I assume is part of the Chobham district. Living with Richard and Sarah is Rebecca Ridgers, whom I assume is Sarah’s sister. 

Windlesham in 1905

Richard and Sarah had the following children:

i.           James Attfield – born 17^th August 1823 at Windlesham, Surrey. In 1851 he is still living with his parents and working on his father’s farm at Burrow Hill, Chobham.  He married Mary Ann May of Farnham, Surrey in J/F/M 1857 and in 1861, they are living at Burrow Hill where he is recorded as a Farmer of 50 acres, employing 2 men. In 1871 he is a ‘Farmer’ living with his family at Burrow Hill, Chobham and in 1881 he is recorded as a ‘Farmer out of a Farm’ – whatever that means, at Burrow Hill, Chobham. In 1901 he is recorded as a widowed ‘Retired Farmer’ living with his son Andrew Lee Attfield who is a ‘Schoolmaster’ at Clacton on Sea, Essex.

*Notes by Tom - James had two sons James Herbert Attfield 1860, and Andrew Lee 1862. James Herbert Attfield was also a schoolmaster. He married Maria Jean Fiesel (born St James 1862) at Westminster in 1890. They had two sons Cecil H (born Lambeth 1893) and Sydney H (born Ilford 1897) and settled in Ilford, Essex.

ii.          Ann Attfield – born 11^th September 1825 at Windlesham, Surrey.

iii.         Charlotte  Attfield – born 23^rd September 1827 at Windlesham, Surrey.

iv.         Harriet Attfield – born 7^th June 1829 at Windlesham, Surrey.

v.          George Attfield – born 21^st July 1833 at Windlesham, Surrey.

vi.          Henry Attfield – born 22^nd February 1835 at Windlesham, Surrey. In 1851 he is still living with his parents and working on his father’s farm at Burrow Hill, Chobham. He married Rebecca Turvill, born 1834 at Sunbury, Middlesex, in O/N/D 1859 and in 1861, they are living with son at Chobham, Surrey where he is a ‘Farmer of 12 Acres’. In 1871, he is an ‘Agricultural  Labourer’ living with Rebecca and five children at Buck Kilns, Sunninghill, Berkshire. 

Notes  by Tom - Henry died in 1878 at the age of 42. In 1881 Rebecca is a widow living with their four children at Nursery Lane, Sunninghill. She is listed as a seamstress and in 1891 as an upholsterer. The children were Henry Richard Attfield 1861, and Harry 1863 (both born Chobham), Edith 1869, and Mary Ann 1875, born at Sunninghill.

Post Office clerk Henry Attfield (1861) married Calcutta born Harriet Fanny Abbey in 1881 and by 1901 had seven children at their Sunninghill home. 

His brother Harry a domestic gardener, married Alice Ison (born Cambridgeshire 1863) in 1889. The 1901 census shows them at Gardenener's House, Eridge Road, Crowborough in Sussex with their two Berkshire born sons, Harry 6 and William aged 2. 

vii.        Eliza Attfield – born 1^st October 1839 at St Lawrence, Chobham, Surrey.

viii.       Jemima Attfield – born 12^th September 1841 at St Lawrence, Chobham, Surrey. In 1851, Jemima, Sarah and Rosina are visitors at John and Elizabeth Ottoway of Halebourne Farm, North of Bagshot Road, Chobham. Jemima married George Crouchman in J/A/S 1875 at Epping in Essex and in 1881 they are living, with children at Ivy Cottage, Alfred Road, Chigwell, Essex where he is recorded as a ‘Blacksmith’. In 1891 they are living, with children, at Chestnut Cottage, Chigewll, Essex, where he is recorded as a ‘Farrier’. Ditto 1901

ix.         Sarah Attfield – born 16^th February 1844 at St Lawrence, Chobham, Surrey. In 1851, Jemima, Sarah and Rosina are visitors at John and Elizabeth Ottoway of Halebourne Farm, North of Bagshot Road, Chobham   In 1861 she is a servant at Farnham and in 1871, she is a servant at Chigwell, Essex along with her sister Ann. There must be a tie in with her sister Jemima who lived at Chigwell when she married, but which of the sister’s moved to Chigwell first we cannot know. I cannot find any subsequent census records of Sarah, nor marriage nor death. 

On the 1901 census we have Sarah Attfield

x.          Rosina Attfield – born 2^nd April 1846 at St Lawrence, Chobham, Surrey. In 1851, Jemima, Sarah and Rosina are visitors at John and Elizabeth Ottoway at Halebourne Farm, North of Bagshot Road, Chobham. She married Henry John Nieass in O/N/D 1875 at Kensington, Greater London. Sadly she died just three years later in J/A/S 1878 at Kensington   

George Benjamin Woolger was born in 1830, son of Robert Woolger and Matilda Ann Richbell. He married Eliza Attfield, who was born on 1^st October 1839 to Richard Attfield and Sarah Ridgers of Windlesham, Surrey on 14^th December 1867 at Kingsbury, Middlesex – probably St Andrews Parish Church.

1861 Census

George, aged 28, is recorded as an ‘Innkeeper’ living at Bridge Road, Chertsey in Surrey. His mother Matilda, is living with him and he has an ostler (Richard Shanks) which suggests there were horses involved with the pub – was this a coaching inn?. He also has a house servant, Ann Attfield which is not surprising as he kept an inn. She is probably a sister of his future wife Eliza Attfield, so did he meet his future wife through his servant or did he already know Eliza and gave her sister a job?

Eliza, aged 21 and born at Chobham, is a general servant working for an Elizabeth (?) Leah (Lent ?) at Clare Monk Cottages, Friary, Guildford, Surrey

1871 Census 

George, now aged 38 is married to Eliza Attfield and they have a son Horace (aged 2) and a daughter Louisa Preston (aged 1). George is recorded as ‘Innkeeper’ but they are living at River Dale Cottage, which is a different address to the 1861 census. So have they changed their inn or do they not live at the inn and have just changed residence? They have two servants, Emma Field is a general servant and James Chapman is a pot man(?) which ties in with George’s being an innkeeper. There is no mention of an ostler so had they moved to a different inn which had no connection with horses? – unlikely because they were an inn, hence they provided accommodation and as horses were the only means of travel, they would also need stabling for those horses and hence someone to look after them.

Eliza is recorded as aged 29  born 1842 at Egham, Surrey - yet her birth certificate shows her born in 1839 at Chobham.  However, Egham and Chobham are not very far apart.

The marriage certificate of George and Eliza shows her father as Charles Attfield yet her birth certificate and census records show her father is Richard Attfield. 

George Benjamin Woolger died in 1876 and Eliza probably remarried George William Hazelwood in 1879 at Windsor which is quite close to Chertsey. The 1881 census shows Eliza and George Hazelwood with step children Frances Woolger, born at Chertsey in 1873 and Horace Woolgar, born at Chertsey in 1869 but there is no sign of Louisa Preston Woolger, presumably she went to live with an aunt or an uncles somewhere.

Obviously George was not a successful businessman. There was an article in The Times dated 5^th June 1877 which states that unsatisfied creditors of George, who had a claim against Eliza Woolger (Widow) on George’s estate, had to get their claims in by 12^th July 1877. The article also says that George had kept ‘The Cricketer’s Inn’ so we have a name for George’s pub.