Pest House Oakridge Bisley

[Lorraine Frank]

Hi Scone, I may be able to helps as Hannah Phelps (1825-1868) was my father's great grandmother. She had 11 children ( according to the Parish Register) and lived in the Pest House with Philip Gardiner her partner and possible cousin ( their mothers might have been sisters) when it was two separate dwellings. Her first child Allen William (1845-1883) was by someone called Brunsden and it was he who lead the exodus of siblings and cousins to London , which is why my father, grandson of Hannah and Philip's son George Oliver (1860-1938) was born there. Anne was her sister and informant of her death which was due to a consumptive disorder ( source; death certificate). You may be interested to know that my eldest niece was named after Hannah so her memory lives on. Phelps and Gardiner were very common names in that area in previous centuries ( see the website "Oakridige Community Archives" which holds a wealth of information about these two strands for further details).

[scone]

Hello Lorraine Frank

Thank you for your response.  My mother now aged 90 yrs was a Gardiner and from the area.  I came across Philip Gardiner whilst following a twig on a branch of Gardiner's my theory being if I follow enough of them I may come across more direct branches i.e. Ephraim Gardiner and Mary Ann Jefferies.  It was the 'pest house' and the relationship between Philip and Hannah that caught my attention.  Now I'm interested in the fact you think they may have been cousins which doesn't surprise me and will be interesting to explore further.

I wasn't aware of Hannah's first child or that many of them moved to London again that may be useful information and interesting to follow.  I've had a brief look at the website you mentioned that could also prove interesting. 

I've looked into more about the riots in Bisley as mentioned by cath 151 and there are several names there that are familiar to me i.e. Harold Gardiner & Jesse Phelps both names having direct  links to my descendants however whether these are the same ones within the right time frames I've yet to determine.   

Plenty of work still to do.

Many thanks
Sue