Liberty of the Tower of London

[stevew101]

Hi Tracey,

There are two definitions for a colourman.

1.  A person who mixed textile dyes

or

2.  A housepainters assistant.

Steve

[Ruskie]

Well, Holywell Lane is still there and is a few streets south of St Leonards Shoreditch.

I can't see how a Elizabeth could have been born and brought up in the Tower of London if her father was a 'colourman' who was dead by 1835. She gives his occupation as 'colour-maker' on her marriage certifciate. I would have thought she would have said he was a "Warder of the Tower" or some other military occupation. I wonder if it is possible for him to go from being a military man to a colour man? I would have thought not.

I'd be interested in other's thoughts about this.

By the way, I did look for Union Street and there were quite a number of them - I couldn't narrow down one around Tower Hill, but someone else may be able to. I would like to find them at the address in the 41 or 51 census to give more of an idea as to where it was or is.

PS. You may find lists of warders of the Tower - I'm sure someone will be able to advise you if they do and where to look.

[Ruskie]

The surname Atchison is most concentrated in the borders area (northern England/Southern SCotland) so William may have been Scottish. You might need to take into account variations in spelling of the surname which may have origins elsewhere.
http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Surnames.aspx

[Ruskie]

I ahve no idea if this is a comprehensive list - it doesn't appear to be so as there are few noted in early years. William Atchsion doesn't appear there anywhere that I can see:
http://yeomenoftheguard.com/Yeoman%20Warders%20List.pdf
Maybe if you contact them via the website http://yeomenoftheguard.com/towerwarders.htm#rollcall0 they may be able to point you in the right direction ... 

I think I must have lost my searching mojo, but I can't find Elizabeth Atchison in the 1841 census. (looked yesterday and couldn't see John or Thomas Try either ....  ) Hopefully someone will come to the rescue.

[Ruskie]

I see at her marriage Elizabeth gives her address as 4 Spital Square - I found that on an old map. It is further south of Holywell Lane off Shoreditch High St which leads into Bishopsgate Street. And a few streets south of this is a Union Street. As they are so close together perhaps this is the where John was living. Now to try to find the corresponding streets on a modern map. 

[Ruskie]

Looking at a modern map, I think Union Street is the part of Brushfield Street from Crispin St to Bishopsgate (with Pizza Express on the corner). A lot of modern office buildings on Union Street but a couple of old ones remain.
[Just remembered the address was "Union St, Tower Hill" ... unsure how this fits in with Tower Hill which is 'down the road a bit'.  ]

Spital Square is marked on a modern map as running south off Folgate St near Dennis Sever's House. On the old map it appears to be the next street down from the current Folgate St and an extension of Lamb St west to Bishopsgate/Norton Folgate St. If you look at google Street view you
can see the houses of Spital Square. Very visitable Tracey.

[as an aside, if you are visiting the area you must see Dennis Sever's House (it is jaw dropping) http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/. I also know of a really lovely boutique hotel if you are looking for a posh expensive place to stay  ]

[laceytreigh]

Wow! You guys are really helpful! I love waking up in the morning to find all this information waiting for me to read it.

So, it looks as though another family legend has been dashed. I wonder why Elizabeth's son Thomas wrote these things in his diary? Someone had a fanciful imagination! Maybe it was a popular bedtime story.

I said to someone once that my ancestors didn't 'do' anything special, they weren't well-off or well-known and the person replied 'they survived', which I am thankful for and it makes finding out the truth a little easier to take.

London births and baptisms on Anc....y has this baptism
20th Jul 1835 at St Leonard Shoreditch
Elizabeth Ann Atchison-born 29th Sept 1820. Father William(deceased) Mother Elizabeth(deceased)  Holywell Lane. Trade/Profession Colourman

I wonder why anyone would get baptised at age 15? Is that an odd thing or fairly common? I know parents sometimes waited till the child survived childhood, but 15? And with both parents deceased and the 3 sisters baptised together, makes you wonder who arranged it and why?

Thanks Steve for the definition of colourman. Either job was probably quite toxic and would lead to an early death I suppose.

Ruskie, I've read so many of your replies to other people and you continue to be a great source of information. Thank you so much for all your efforts. You've certainly set me up with some homework!
I've seen Dennis Sever's House on a travel show but I'd forgotten about it. It looks really interesting, I'll have to see if we can fit it in. I'd love to be able to afford to stay in a posh expensive place but that might have to wait for another visit. The one after I win the lottery!! The less I spend on accommodation, the longer I can stay in Europe!

Another snippet from the diary says that Elizabeth sang in the chorus at Drury Lane and that's where she met her future husband. Maybe another bedtime story.

Elizabeth and her husband left for Australia in 1853 so the opportunities for finding them in the census are very limited.

Regards,
Tracey.

[Bookbox]

Going back now to the bride's birth, according to information in the diary of her son, Elizabeth Ann Atchison was "born and reared in the Tower of London because her father was a Warder of the Tower. ... Are there records of the Warders of the Tower? And if he had been a Warrant Officer in a Highland Regiment, would that make him Scottish?

The Tower has its own chapel, St Peter ad Vincula, which was for the use of Tower residents and prisoners alike. The registers haven't been deposited but are held at the chapel. You could contact their archive for information.

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/ChapelofStPeteradVinculaArchives

On the other hand, if William ATCHISON was a Scotsman, his children may not have been baptised into the Anglican faith at birth. That might explain the later baptisms at Shoreditch, if indeed it is the same family.

[Ruskie]

I'm not sure I would completely dismiss what John and Elizabeth's son wrote just yet. I can't think why he would fib, unless of course these were the stories he was told by his mother and she 'embellished' the facts. Also, some family stories did get muddled over the years, and it may be an earlier generation or another family member who was 'born and reared in the Tower of London'.
I think there is still a lot more to investigate.

Bookbox may have a point regarding the reason for the later baptisms. Later baptisms do happen but it is not the norm - maybe the parents forgot to get them 'done' when they were infants and after they died the children may have gone to live with relatives who decided to have them baptised.  (just a wild guess)

You will note that in the marriage entry below John and Elizabeth the couple's address is "Tower of London", so perhaps residents had personal preferences regarding which church they used.  All the events and addresses are in similar vicinity so it is looking like there is just the one couple. Atchison (and variants is not a very common name in the area though there are a few of them)