Humber - Mere

[stevetewk65]

My great grandmother, Alice Jane Humber's birth in 1875 is registered as at 'Mere', and the family lived in Maiden Bradley.

I was hoping someone might know what hospital provision there was in Mere at that time. Or was she likely to have been born at home and Mere is simply the registration district. Any way of me finding out.

Thanks for any pointers anyone might have

Steve

[rosie99]

The only way to find out where she was born is the birth certificate.  Mere as you said is the registration district these are the places it covers
http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/reg/districts/mere.html

[carol8353]

Most babies born back then would have been born at home,not hospital(cost too much!)

But as Rosie said,only the actual birth cert will tell you " where" she was born.

Have you found her on subsequent censuses,sometimes you might find helpful parents who give an actual address on the census.

Carol

[stevetewk65]

Thank you Rosie and Carol.

I do have her parents on the census returns of 1871 and 1881 - Dorchester, Dorset and Dartford, Kent. Alice's father was a gamekeeper and it seemed he moved about a lot! Alice had a sister also born in the Mere area in 1878 so the family were there for at least 3 years.

Presumably her father was employed on an estate in the Maiden Bradley/Mere area but I don't know where, hoped Alice's birthplace might be a pointer. Sounds like birth certificate it is then 😊
Thanks

[rosie99]

It may only say Maiden Bradley with no information on the actual residence 

[judb]

FamilySearch has this baptism, which seems a bit odd as the birth was registered in 1875.  Unfortunately no image on this index so perhaps it's a transcription error.

Alice Jane HUMBER
Baptised: 07 Feb 1874 at Maiden-Bradley, Wiltshire, England
Father's Name   John Humber
Mother's Name   Emma
Residence: Maiden-Bradley, Wiltshire, England

I note that her birthplace in 1881 is given as Maiden Bradley so it seems a fair bet that she was born in Maiden Bradley and registered at Mere. 

(However I see in 1891 when she is with her parents and some siblings in Warwickshire (if I have the correct family) her birthplace is given as Yarnfield,  Somerset     This is also the birthplace given in 1911 for Alice Jane PEARSALL who seems to be her married name.)

Not sure if that's helpful or not!

Judith

[stevetewk65]

Hi Judith,

You're spot on with everything there. I agree, that 1874 entry is a red herring - well, a complete error actually 😊

The Yarnfield part is amusing too, I think Yarnfield was part of maiden Bradley parish and was presumably once in Somerset. I don't think we can blame our ancestors if boundary lines move but you think they'd remember exactly where they were born. 😀

[judb]

I suppose both places of birth are strictly correct with, as you have said, Yarnfield being actually a part of Maiden Bradley parish.

It would be interesting to see the FamilySearch film or the parish register re the 1874 baptism entry.  A couple of years ago I did some transcribing and indexing of parish registers for Mere, Stourton and Kilmington but I can't see the name HUMBER mentioned - hardly surprising. 

Looking at the Parish Clerk site I note that the OPC for Mere, Stourton and Kilmington is also the OPC for Maiden Bradley, so you may be able to access the parish records through that site.  However I suspect a church record may just give the name of the parish as the residence.

https://wiltshireopcproject.wordpress.com/about/

Scroll down - her name begins with "D".  This site used to have open access but it seems now that you have to register to get far in. Edit to add: not sure if this is correct as I had another look and could get this far
http://www.wiltshire-opc.org.uk/genealogy/index.php/parish-directory/item/357-maiden-bradley-with-yarnfield

I have family who were in West Camel and then in Mere but mostly during the first half of the 19th century.  There is a stained glass window dedicated to them in Mere church.

Judith

[KGarrad]

Description of Maiden Bradley, from GenUKI:

"MAIDEN BRADLEY, a parish partly in the hundred of Mere, county Wilts, and partly in the hundred of Norton Ferris, county Somerset, 4 miles N. of Mere, and 8 E. of Bruton. Frome is its post town. It includes the hamlet of Yarnfield.
Maiden Bradley House is a seat of the Duke of Somerset."

See: http://www.bradleyhouse.org/

And: https://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcom.php?id=149

"There would also have been the household servants of the gentry. Bradley House alone employed almost 50 people when it was first completed, including a dozen gardeners. As recently as 1910 there were 35 indoor staff, several of them footmen who still wore wigs, brocade coats, white breeches, silk stockings and buckle shoes when serving at meals and attending church services."