10 Brunswick Square, servants from 1841

An exciting part of the Regency Town House museum complex is the atmospheric basement at Number 10 Brunswick Square. This would have been the servants’ domain. The kitchen, the wine cellar and the housekeeper’s room are all there for us to imagine the lives of the people who worked for the owners of the house. Let’s peruse the records and explore the lives of some of them.

 
Inside looking out of the basement of number 10 Brunswick Square. Photo by Jill Vigus

In 1841 Maria Cunnyngham is head of house, her husband Robert having died in 1836.

There are 9 servants listed :-

• Mary Calman 27
• Daniel Smith 29
• Isabella Bruce (or Brown)
• Nathan Galloway 22
• Mary Carmichael 48
• Charlotte Morrison 36
• Henry Janes 23
• Charlotte Christian 23
• Eleanor Young  29

Of the nine, Nathan Galloway, Mary Carmichael, Charlotte Morrision and Charlotte Christian were born in Scotland, as was Maria Cunnyngham.

There is no further trace of any of them, exept perhaps Nathan Galloway, found on the 1851 census working as a valet at Gosford House for the Earl of Wemyss.

In the 1851 census the Hankeys were in residence and listed are 11 servants. Most proved untraceable but Avis Towney, Jonathan Frisby and Lucy Cottingham revealed some detailed information.

Lucy Cottingham born in Framfield, Sussex was 24 years-old in 1851. In 1858 she married Louis Snelling, a carpenter originally from Crawley, Sussex. Louis was a widower, his wife Eliza having died the year before in 1857. Lucy became step-mother to his three young children from his first marriage: Elizabeth, nine; Albert, six and Harry, four. Quite an undertaking for a young bride.

Lucy and Louis went on to have three more children, Louis Samuel, Thomas Napoleon and Margaret Maria. Louis continued to work as a carpenter and they lived in Brighton at various addresses in or near the North Laine: Red Cross Street, Albion Street and latterly in Cheltenham Place. Louis died in 1897 aged 71 and Lucy in 1900 at the age of 73.

The children from Louis’ first marriage didn’t fare very well. Of Elizabeth there were no records but Albert worked as a cab driver and groom. An entry in the Brighton Gazette in 1889 reported him being charged with working a horse in an unfit state. The 1911 census shows he was in the Elm Grove Workhouse. It is unclear how long he remained there. He died in 1927.

Harry also worked as a cab driver and groom but unfortunately became mentally unwell. An entry in a document at the Keep puts him in St Francis Psychiatric Hospital, Haywards Heath, or Lunatic Asylum as it would have been called at the time. He had first been ill in 1885 at the age of 31 and was admitted again in 1895. This time he was there for seven years dying in 1902 at the age of 48. His mental illness was described as dementia. However, this diagnosis may well have meant something different to the understanding we have today and was perhaps more akin to schizophrenia.

St Francis Hospital designed by Henry Edward Kendall Junior opened in 1859 to accommodate up to 400 patients

Lucy’s children from Louis’ second marriage seemed to have been luckier. Margaret Maria married Frederick Edward Peskett in 1893 and moved to Dorset. Frederick ran a gentleman’s clothes shop in Cheap Street, Sherborne. Margaret Maria died in Dorset in 1948.

Louis Samuel and Thomas Napoleon both remained in Brighton, Thomas as a beer retailer at one point running the Prince Arthur (now the Rook Taproom) in Dean Street, Brighton and Louis Samuel worked as a butler and hotel waiter.

Avis Towney and Jonathan Frisby

In 1851 Avis and Jonathan were working together at number 10 and how or exactly when they got together is unknown. Perhaps a shy glance across the dinner table or a brush past in the busy corridor. They got married on 6^th May 1852 in Hove. Both were aged 31, quite old for the customs of the period.

In the next census in 1861 Jonathan and Avis were living separately in Manchester. Jonathan was working as a porter in the Bank of England and on the day of the census it was his registered address, it is likely that he had to live in as part of his role. Avis was living in Chorlton upon Medlock, Manchester with their little girl aged six also called Avis.

We could pause here to wonder if perhaps Thomson Hankey, a Governor of the Bank of England, had a hand in securing Jonathan his job. It would be nice to think of some benevolence being bestowed on a former servant of the family.

Ten years later in the 1871 census the family are living in Islington. Jonathan is still a bank porter but, unfortunately, two years later he was dead at the age of 52.

In 1878 daughter Avis married timber merchant Falconer Nailer and in 1881 they were living in Fishersgate near Brighton with their son Cecil aged one. Misfortune then visited the family and Cecil died aged two in 1882 and Falconer died the following year in 1883 aged 35.

However, these tragic events reunite mother and daughter and in 1891 widows Avis Frisby and Avis Nailer are living at 17 Guildford Road, Brighton. Avis Frisby is living off her own means and Avis Nailer is working as a milk dairy manager. No more could be found of Avis Frisby but daughter Avis Nailer moved about quite a lot. She worked in Lewisham as a butcher’s clerk and then in Bloomsbury as a housekeeper to a surgeon. She died in an old people’s home in Richmond in 1948 aged 93 and is buried in the cemetery in Surbiton.

Thomas Starr

Thomas (1802-1873) first comes to the fore in a newspaper report in the Brighton Gazette 13^th September 1849. Described as a second coachman he is in court as a witness to the theft of a great coat and wrapper from the carriage of his master, Mr Hankey of 10 Brunswick Square. However, Thomas has already been working for the Hankeys for at least eight years as he appears in the 1841 census when the Hankeys were living at 4 Brunswick Square before they moved to number 10 in 1842 after the death of Maria Cunnyngham.

Thomas Starr was born in Nottinghamshire and married Elizabeth Mitchell (born 1804 in Yorkshire) in 1836 in Normanton on Trent Nottinghamshire.

In 1851 Thomas and Elizabeth are living in Brunswick Street East with their nine children. Thomas is a coachman as is his son Thomas (born 1827), daughter Emiline (born 1832) is a laundress and William (born 1836) is a page. Brunswick Street East runs along the back of the houses in Brunswick Square and it would seem likely that Thomas senior and his three working children were all employed by the Hankeys. At the time of the census there are a number of coachmen living in Brunswick Street East no doubt working for the families in Brunswick Square.

Number 30 Brunswick Street East, probably the house and stable backing onto number 10 Brunswick Square where Thomas Starr lived with his wife and nine children. (Photo by Jill Vigus 2024)

Thomas Starr moved on and became the landlord of the Lansdowne Arms pub in Farm Road as well as being proprietor of the adjacent livery stables.

Thomas Starr as landlord of the Lansdowne Arms by John Watkins, 1858. By permission of Brighton and Hove Museums

Artist John Watkins apparently made a number of drawings of local people which are held in the museums collection.

Thomas Starr died at the Lansdowne Arms, 3 Farm Road, in 1873. He left less than £200 in his will with his daughters Louisa and Sarah Ann both described as spinsters acting as executrixs.

The Coopers Cask (formally the Lansdowne Arms) showing the stable area next door, now garages and artist studios (photo Jill Vigus 2024)

In 1861 number 10 is unoccupied and Martha Hankey is residing at the family’s London address.

After Martha Hankey died in 1862 the next resident was William Colegrave who had previously lived at 15 Brunswick Terrace and 44 Brunswick Square with his wife Catherine Ann Sarah. William died in 1868 at 10 Brunswick Square aged 80.

One servant who appears to have been with the family for many years is Jane Webber. Born in Worth, West Sussex in 1820 Jane is with the family in 1851 at 44 Brunswick Square working as a housemaid. She is still with them in 1861 at 15 Brunswick Terrace. In the 1871 census she is with Catherine Ann Colegrave (now a widow) at 2 Montpellier Villas so we can assume that she was with them between 1862 and 1868 at 10 Brunswick Square. Catherine Ann died at Montpellier Villas aged 80 in 1978 and in the 1881 census Jane Webber is a lodger at 50 Mighell Street Brighton. Aged 61, Jane is described as a retired domestic.

In 1870 Henry Hawkes is on the Electoral Register living at 10 Brunswick Square and in the 1871 census Henry is living with his wife Martha, his children and their four servants.

Three of these servants have proved traceable. Mary Ann Killick born in Guildford in 1846 was working as a Ladies Maid. In 1878 she married James Henry Fitch, a labourer, in Wandsworth. The pair had four children and lived in the south London area. The three daughters Clare, Rhoda and Ethel all worked at some point as bookbinders or lithographic printers.

Charlotte Allen was born in Oving or Colworth near Chichester. In 1871 Charlotte was working as a housemaid for Henry Hawkes at number 10. Later that same year she married furniture shopman James Humphrey in Chichester. The pair lived in Chichester for a few years, however in 1901 the couple are back in Brighton at 9 Clarence Street. James is now an insurance agent and Charlotte a sweetshop keeper. Ten years later they are still at Clarence Street but James is now described as a Confectioner and Tobacconist. And Charlotte appears to have no occupation, perhaps she now considered herself retired.

Mary Jane Worger was born in Brighton in 1855. Her father William Worger, a Brewers labourer, and mother Sarah were living at the time of the 1861 census at 19 Elder Row. Mary Jane is one of four siblings. Elder Row housed many of the brewery workers from the Black Lion Brewery, Black Lion Street. The brewery was founded in 1545 by Flemish Protestant Deryck Carver who was burned at the stake in a beer barrel in Lewes in 1555 for his faith.

In 1871 Mary Jane was at number 10 working as a kitchen maid. She stayed working in the area and by 1891 had graduated from Kitchen Maid to become a Cook to Joseph Pepler and his wife Elizabeth at 25 Tisbury Road. In 1901 she is Cook at 28 Ventnor Villas to widower George David Jones a retired Barrister aged 80 and his sister-in-law Caroline Shorter aged 69. Mary Jane is still there 10 years later in 1911 when the head is now Naomi Shorter Matthews

Later in 1921 Mary Jane aged 65 is working as a Cook for Eleanor Lynch Staunton 81 and her sister Lucy aged 79 at 18 Norton Road Hove.

Perhaps the most remarkable event of the Hawkes’ time at the house was found in a newspaper report in 1874 of the suicide at number 10 of George Wyatt an 18-year-old footman. George was found by the cook hanging on a rail behind a door. In 1871 the cook was Roseanna Crips (or Cripe) aged 34 from Oxfordshire, was she still the cook in 1874? If so, how did it affect her? We will never know but can imagine it would have been a traumatic experience for everyone living in the house.

Newspaper report from the Brighton Gazette, 27th August 1874

No reason could be found for young George tragically taking his life. He was buried in an unmarked grave in St Andrews Old Church, Hove.

1881

In 1881 Martha Hawkes, Henry’s wife is in residence at number 10 and six servants are listed.

William Whiting born in Brighton 1841 had a long history of service. He worked for different people in the Brighton area including Ellen M Locke, Lady Dowager Sarah Boynton and William Egerton Hubbard. He started as a footman and rose to become a butler.

And then there are some blacksmithing connections among the servants at number 10. Jane Overington born in 1850 in Durrington was a Ladies Maid at number 10 in 1881. Her father Henry was a blacksmith, being part of a dynasty of blacksmiths in Durrington. The first Henry Overington arrived in Durrington from Hampshire in 1740 to run the local blacksmiths at the Forge and Rose Cottage. The business continued through the generations. In 1834 Avis Overington, Jane’s grandmother took over running the business when her husband died. She also turned her hand to running a Dame School: a small, privately run school for children age two to five. Dame Schools were run by local women and they provided care and a basic education for a fee.

In 1959, one of Avis’s descendants claimed that naughty children were tied to the grandfather clock in the school, forcing them to be still for fear they might pull it over on themselves. Avis appears to be quite a formidable woman! The Overingtons were also involved in local politics including roles as Overseer of the Poor, Highway Surveyor, Churchwarden, and Parish Constable. They were also parish councillors and, later, town councillors.

Jane continued in service until by 1901 at the age of 51 she is living with her parents and working as a dressmaker, a job she did when she was younger and also the role her mother Louisa had for most of her life.

Mary Bowles was born in Rottingdean in 1860. Her father Edmund Bowles was another Blacksmith (did Mary and Jane chat about their childhood as blacksmiths daughters, I wonder). After working at number 10 in 1891 Mary worked for Joseph J Brown as a housemaid in Bell Street. However, by 1911 she is living at Pekin Cottage, High Street, Rottingdean with her brother William Bowles who, having given up blacksmithing to become a minister at the church, had also turned his hand to photography producing many postcards particularly of Rottingdean.

A William Bowles postcard

William Bowles often put his name on the front of them as you can see. More William Bowles postcards of Rottingdean can be seen on this website.

https://www.sussexpostcards.info/publishers.php?PubID=36

On the 1911 census Mary is described as a Sick Nurse. Probably she is caring for her 87-year-old Uncle, Richard Sherlock a Navy Pensioner, who was also living in the cottage. Richard died in August 1911 at the Royal Sussex County Hospital leaving £820 4s 6d (approximately £83,681 in today’s money) to Mary’s brother William Bowles. It is unclear from the probate notice if the money was shared with Alphonse Willet Gonin or if Gonin was acting as the solicitor.

In 1921 Mary is at 35 St Nicholas Road Brighton, living alone aged 61 and working as a General Domestic (Private)

1891, 1901 and 1911

In the 1891 census William Fitzgerald Pilcher was living in the house with his wife Annette and six servants. William had two registered addresses: 23 Grosvenor Place London and 10 Brunswick Square. Not much of note could be found of the six servants but three of them did work for the Pilchers for a number of years.

Stephen Frederick Collett the butler worked for the Pilchers for at least 30 years. Born in Clapham Surrey in 1843 to gardener Henry Collett and his wife Rebecca, he first appears on the 1881 census working for the Pilchers at their London address. He continues to work for them finally appearing in the 1911 census at 10 Brunswick Square, now aged 68 and single. He was still the family butler.

Frances (Fanny) Slater was also with the Pilchers between 1881 and 1911.

Frances Elizabeth Slater known as Fanny was born on 15^th February 1844 in Mitcham Surrey and appears on the 1851 census aged 7 living with her parents Thomas and Mary Ann at Norbury Lodge. Thomas is a coachman and Mary Ann is an entrance lodge keeper. In 1861 Fanny aged 17 is at Norbury Lodge working as a housekeeper. By 1881 Fanny is at the Pilchers London address and in 1891 at number 10 Brunswick Square.

In 1901 now a widow Annette Pilcher continued to live at number 10. However, at the time of the census she is in London, a visitor at 16 Half Moon Street and with her is her Ladies Maid Fanny Slater. Fanny appears again in the 1911 census this time at number 10, she is now 67. She then disappears and no record can be found of her after this entry.

Working at number 10 as a cook, in 1911 Lucy Unstead aged 28 from Firle Sussex was yet another Blacksmiths daughter. Her father Tom Unstead is described in the 1891 census as a master blacksmith. In 1917 Lucy started training as a nurse at the Poplar and Stepney District Asylum and moved in 1921 to Brighton, qualifying in 1922.  This certificate describes her as “a conscientious steady worker”.

Lucy Unstead’s nurse training record

In the 1939 register Lucy is working as a Queens Nurse Midwife and is living at 50 Barcombe Road Brighton. She died in 1965 aged 83 in the Royal Sussex County Hospital leaving £3237 (£59,249 in today’s money).

In 1917 widow Annette Pilcher married Adam Gordon Duff a retired barrister and in 1921 the pair are at number 10 Brunswick Square: Annette was 73 and Adam 72.

Among the servants in 1921 were the butler Albert Edward Parkhouse born in Torquay Devon.  In the 1901 census at the age of 23 Albert was a footman at the home of widow Charlotte Henrietta Alers Hankey in Torquay. Charlotte, born in France, had been married to John Alers Hankey. John was a member of the vast Hankey dynasty one branch of which lived at number 10 Brunswick Square from 1842 to 1862. Albert then worked for Adam Duff as a butler and went with him when he married Annette Pilcher in 1917 and moved to number 10 Brunswick Square. As well as appearing on the census Albert was also on electoral registers along with Adam and Annette until Adam died in 1923 and then alongside Annette.

Frances Sims aged 45 was born in Penrice Glamorganshire and was working as a Ladys maid. In 1930 Frances appears on the Electoral Register for the first time at the Duff’s London address. Her inclusion reflected the Equal Franchise Act 1928 when all women over 21 were able to vote and finally achieved the same voting rights as men. This act increased the number of women eligible to vote to 15 million.

When Annette Duff died in 1936, she left a bequest to Frances Sims who at the time would have been 61.

Unfortunately, nothing further can be found about Frances.

Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligence 15^th December 1936

From around 1925 number 10 became four flats with different residents. However also listed in the directory was caretaker Frederick Nixon, living in the basement. Although not strictly a servant it is worth having a look at his life.

Over the years occupants came and went from the flats but Frederick appears to have remained caretaker until 1956 when he died and his wife Daisy May Nixon takes over. She is still listed as caretaker in 1964.

Frederick Charles Nixon was born on 20th February 1875 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. His mother was Hannah and his father Jonathan.

In the 1881 census Frederick aged 7 and brother Samuel aged 9 are living with their mother Hannah in Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

In 1890 aged 16 Frederick joined the Navy and served until 1909. His naval record describes him as between 5 feet 1 inch and a half and 5 feet 3 inches with brown hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion. Although it would appear he was discharged in 1909 in 1911 he is in the census on Portland as a Petty Officer aged 36 so it would seem he is still involved in the navy or shipping in some way.

On 26 January 1907 Frederick married Daisy May Burt in Ventnor and on 29^th September 1907 daughter Daisy Matilda Nixon was born.

In 1911 when Frederick was in Portland, Daisy May and 3-year-old Daisy Matilda were living with her parents Leonard and Fanny Burt at 3 East Street Ventnor. Also, there was Samuel Nixon, Frederick’s older brother, an Army Pensioner.

In 1921 Frederick, Daisy May and Daisy Matilda were living at 7 South Street Ventnor. Frederick and Daisy May are working as General Dealers (Provisions). Daisy Matilda is a scholar.

What brought the family to Hove and a long association with number 10 is unknown; perhaps most likely it was the job as caretaker of 10 Brunswick Square.

An advertisement appears in a local newspaper offering a flat to rent at number 10 Brunswick Square. Applicants are asked to apply to the caretaker.

Brighton Herald on 7^th February 1925

The person dealing with the rental would have been Frederick as he appears on the Electoral Register of 1925 as the caretaker at Number 10 Brunswick Square.

In the 1939 register Frederick Nixon is the caretaker and Daisy May is described as doing unpaid domestic duties. Also present was schoolgirl Joyce Lilli Trotter although who she was and why she was there is unknown.

In 1939 daughter Daisy Matilda aged 32 was registered in Ventnor living with Dora Emmie Hamilton, an Off Licence Manageress. Daisy Matilda was a shop assistant.

Daisy Matilda had previously appeared in the 1929 Electoral Register living at number 10 Brunswick Square with her parents.

Frederick died in 1956 in Hove and it seems that his wife Daisy May took over his role as caretaker. In 1959, registered on the Electoral Register, are mother and daughter Daisy May and Daisy Matilda.

Daisy May Nixon died in 1978 and Daisy Matilda Nixon in 1997.

So concludes a peek at the lives of servants, some of whom toiled for many years, living and working in the basement of number 10 Brunswick Square.

Research by Jill Vigus (August 2025)

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