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Drury Wedding 1909

by | Feb 27, 2016 | At Play | 7 comments

drury couples wedding 1909 chrishall

On Saturday 7th August 1909 the double wedding of two Drury sisters, Mary and Fanny,
took place at Chrishall Parish Church.

Mary, 25, married Albert Cranwell, 26, who was an Engine Driver from the village.
Fanny, 36, married Alfred Ernest Walker, 32, a Baker from Forest Gate.

drury wedding chrishallTop Row:

Maggie Pitches, Ginny Cranwell, Frank Drury, Arthur Drury, Albert Cranwell, Alfred Walker, William Drury, Elijah Rumsey, Albert Drury.

Middle Row:

Daisy Cranwell, Emma Cranwell, Dinah Drury, Mary Drury, Fanny Drury, Ann Green (Grannie Drury), Ada Rumsey and baby Jack, Grace Drury* and baby Doris

Bottom Row:

Harry Cranwell, Daisy Rumsey, Violet Rumsey, Hilda Cranwell, May Cranwell, Claude Cranwell, Alfred Drury.

(See Grace in her later years here.)

stephen drury chrishall

Stephen Drury, Chrishall.

I would love to know what Emma Cranwell and Dinah Drury are looking at.  Something is certainly distracting their attention from the camera! Perhaps it is Stephen Drury, husband of Ann and father of Mary and Fanny.  He doesn’t put in an appearance on the photograph although he is listed on the wedding register.  He was a woodman.  According to the Chrishall Scrapbook, he was the founder of the Drury family in Chrishall when he moved here from Berden in 1876. However it seems that it might actually have been his father who brought the Drury’s to Chrishall.  In the 1841 census there is an entry for the Drury family living at 1 Building End with father Daniel, 43 and mother Mary also 43, and children Jonas (14), Eliza (9), Thomas (6) and Stephen (2).  Stephen’s birth place is given as Abington, Cambridgeshire so it looks like they were fairly recently moved in. On the 1871 census it is noted that Mary was blind.

According to my book of Agricultural Records 1909 was a stormy summer.  June was showery with some heavy thunderstorms, July stormy and rather cool but the first fortnight of August was fine and bright before a wet end to the month.  So it looks like they chose the wedding date well.

Further research

This article was prompted in part by a request for a photograph of Alfred Drury.  Further research has uncovered the following but of course if you have anything to add we would be pleased to hear from you either in the comments below or by contacting us.

In the 1881 and 1891 census returns we can find Mary and Fanny at home with the family in Building End where they were both born and brought up.  Ultimately there were to be eight children brought up at Building End.

1901 census

The 1901 census finds Alfred Walker working as a baker and living in High Street, Tottenham.  He was living with five other servants and the head baker who was working ‘at home’ so they must have lived over the bakery.  I imagine this was partly due to be having to be up baking the bread either over night or in the early hours of the morning.

Albert Cranwell was a general labourer living at home in Building End.

Both girls were working away.  Fanny was working as a cook in Royston for the family of an artist (a painter or possibly sculptor).  Mary was a general domestic servant at Devonshire Lodge in Woodford, London.  I wonder if Mary introduced Fanny to Alfred??

1911 census and 1939 records

You won’t find either Mary or Fanny on the 1911 census for Chrishall as it appears they both moved away after their marriages.  Mary and Albert didn’t go too far as the 1911 finds them at Elmdon with son Frank who was 11 months.  Albert was a gardener, a change of profession from ‘engine driver’ that he put on his marriage certificate.  By 1939 they were back in Chrishall and living at Broad Green.

Fanny moved to London with her beau Alfred and 1911 finds them in Walthamstow with Alfred working in a hotel.

I hope he was still baking.


With thanks as always to Bruce Drury for the photograph.

D: 1910 C: 20th Century
1911

7 Comments

  1. Deborah Hirst

    I am so thrilled to see a picture of my great grandfather Claude Cranwell on the site. I have never seen pictures of his brothers and sisters either. This is fantastic! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Alan Knight

      Dear Deborah. I was amazed to see your name on one of my Family History Charts. Ellen Mary Cranwell, b1878, was Claude Cranwell born1896’s, sister, We are connected by my cousin Margaret Mary Brooks the grand daughter of my great uncle Edward John Brooks, and it is her family Chart that your name appears on together with the names of many of the faces in the wedding photograph. Like many other people from Chrishall we are related, often several times over and it is so interesting trying to sort it all out. If you are interested I should like to hear from you

      Reply
  2. Rosemarie Gant

    Hi Deborah – so pleased you like the photograph. I knew Claude when he was in his 90s and he was such a lovely man. He used to cut the grass around his house and make it into beautiful hay which I would have for my donkeys. I didn’t know his wife, your great grandmother, but she had TB and used to sleep in an open sided shed in the garden I believe.

    Reply
    • Deborah Hirst

      Yes! My Great Grandmother was Jessie Peters( granddaughter to Amos Pitches). Although I don’t remember her as I was a baby when she died I do have many fond memories of Grandad Cranwell. If I come across any good photos of them I will let you have a copy.

      Reply
  3. Rosemarie Gant

    That would be lovely Deborah – thank you!

    Reply
  4. Chloë

    Albert Cranwell is my great great grandad. Leslie Cranwell is my grandad, Albert’s grandson.

    Reply
    • Rosemarie Gant

      Love that you are discovering your family links on here Chloe – get them to tell you some of the old stories and write them down 🙂

      Reply

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