Hi
Is there anyone who can help me find out who was living in Virginia Terrace, London, in the 1830s?
By way of explanation, a few years ago an old manuscript was donated to the museum in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, entitled ‘The History of Winchcombe’. It is annotated ‘London, 1837’ and the first page states:-
To
John Timbrell, Esquire,
This attempt at a History
of his native Town
is inscribed
with the highest Esteem and Regard
by his sincere Friend
The Author
On the second page of the manuscript is a letter to the recipient from ‘The Author, Virginia Terrace, 13 August 1837’, the contents of which confirm that they were friends, and it includes the following line: ‘As it is, I have been able to do little more than put together the materials furnished me by yourself’.
Recent research has indicated that the likely recipient of the manuscript was John Timbrell (1762-1844) the son of an illiterate Winchcombe papermaker, who was apprenticed to a Middlesex attorney in 1777, and subsequently lived in Kentish Town.
However, the identity of the author is proving rather more problematic. It’s apparent that the contents of the manuscript were gleaned from published books and it does not contain the sort of local detail which wold have been available to someone who was living in Winchcombe in the early 19th century, so the presumption is that the author probably was from London. All we have to go on is his address - Virginia Terrace - and googling it produces references which suggest that it was later re-named Great Dover Street (or Dover Road), which is in Southwark.
If it could be established who was living in Virginia Terrace in the 1830s it might be possible to work out who the author was.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
ROB
