35 King Arthur’s Lake – Martin Mere in Lancashire: 2 October 2024

About 6 years ago when I discovered that the Hankin family came from a place I had never previously heard of, I came across an ancient map of the area of Lancashire called Lathom.  The Hankin family were farmers in Lathom from at least the late 1500s, which is when regular records of births, deaths and marriages commenced in England.  Specifically, the Hankin family farms was located in a part of Lathom called Hoscar Moss.

Wiki claims “The name Hoscar is derived from the Old Norse “hross” or Old English “hors” and “kjarr” (marshland), again from Old Norse.”  It seems Hoscar Moss means something like “horse swamp”.

I became intrigued about Lathom and Hoscar Moss when I found this old map of Lathom.  The top of the map is oriented to the west rather than to the north as is now the usual practice.

The area with the circular “oval” ring has the word “Lathom” written inside it.  Above and to the right of the Lathom oval is a large, elongated lake which has no name.  The lake has an outlet where water discharges into a waterway running through the middle of the Lathom ring and if you look, you will see that there are 3 islands in the lake.

When I found this map of Lathom, I wondered what the name of the lake was and I began looking for the lake.  I could not find the lake shown on this map because this lake no longer exists. 

The lake did exist in 1600 when the map was made and it was called Martin Mere.

Martin Mere is the fabled lake around which the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are set. 

according to the legends, Sir Lancelot was brought to the shores of Martin Mere by his parents King Ban and Queen Elaine, who had fled from France. They landed in Lancashire and the baby Sir Lancelot was placed and abducted by the Lady of the Lake (Vivian) who raised him as her son.  This gave Lancelot his name – Sir Lancelot of the Lake.   the Lady of the Lake ws probably the local manifestation of the Irish Goddess Brigid

Even more famously, as King Arthur was dying, he ordered Sir Bedivere to throw his sword Excalibur into a lake.  Twice in succession, Sir Bedivere lied and said he had thrown Excalibur into the lake.  The dying King Arthur finally knew that Excalibur had been thrown into the lake when Sir Bedivere told him that a hand had come out of the lake and caught it when he threw it into the lake.

Martin Mere was the lake into which Sir Bedivere finally threw Excalibur.

Martin Mere was a magical place in the past and it is still a magical place today

Draining of Martin Mere was first attempted in 1697 by one of the local landowners Lord Fleetwood.  Given that Lord Fleetwood was deliberately destroying a sacred lake so that he could make money, it was appropriate that Lord Fleetwood was bankrupted by his drainage attempt.

The farm operated by my ancestors in Hoscar Moss was just south of the original shoreline of Martin Mere, but to reach the shoreline, you would have had to navigate your way through the boggy ground which had given the name Hoscar Moss to the marshland immediately to the north of the ancestral farm.

I doubt it is practical for Martin Mere to be kept drained indefinitely into the future.   I am staying 3 nights in Scarisbrick, where some of my ancestors once had a farm.  This is a picture of Scarisbrick in 1956 when the drainage works were unable to cope with the heavy rainfall.

In surface area, King Arthur’s Lake was the largest lake in the whole of England.  It was a truly impressive lake.

The siting of King Arthur in Lancashire is not at all implausible.  The Romans stationed a heavy cavalry regiment throughout most of their occupation of Britain (about 300 years) at Ribchester, near Preston in Lancashire.  The notion that all Roman military units – including units which had been continuously in Britain for nearly 300 years – simply left when the Empire ordered them to go to Europe to fight its wars in Europe, is difficult to believe. 

I think the tales of King Arthur and his knights probably originated in the Roman cavalry units from Ribchester area which stayed on after the Empire ordered them to abandon Britain.

The original Martin Mere is by no means completely conquered.  A new pumping station was opened at Crossens in 1961 and it was upgraded in 1997.  The drainage pumps are capable of shifting 1,700 tons of water per minute and were required to run at full capacity for the first time in 2000 to avoid flooding.  The volume of water pumped out of Martin Mere to keep it drained, increases every year.

In place of the original gigantic Martin Mere lake, there is now only the magnificent Martin Mere Wetland Centre – a wonderful bird sanctuary which I visited today.  These photos were taken at Matin Mere Wetland Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 34 Ann Vernon, Great, Great Grandmother of Eliza Hankin: 1 October 2024

Ann Vernon was the twice removed great grandmother of Eliza Hankin, the woman who received the Postcard from Alfred Pearson.  Ann was the daughter of Samuel Vernon and Ann Walker, who had married on 25 November 1781 in Saint Helen Church Tarporley, Chester and who both lived in the Parish of Tarporley when they married.

Ann was baptised on 24 August 1794 in Saint Helen Church Tarporley.  The baptism record states that Ann’s parents lived in Tarporley, but does not record her father’s occupation.

It was a very wet day on 22 September 2024 when I took this photo of Saint Helen Church, Tarporley in Cheshire.

 

The descent from Ann Vernon to Eliza Hankin goes like this.

• Ann Vernon was mother of Mary Vernon.
• Mary Vernon was mother of Eliza Berry.
• Eliza Berry was mother of John Hankin.  
• John Hankin was father of Eliza Hankin.

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James William Thompson and Ann Vernon were parents of Mary Vernon, but they did not marry each other.  Although Ann Vernon had at least four children, she never married and her children were all born “illegitimate”.  Ann Vernon’s recorded children were.

• Samuel Vernon, baptised on 30 May 1815 in Saint Oswald Parish Church, Malpas in Cheshire.  When Samuel married, he said his father was “William Callwood commonly called Caldwell”. 
• Mary Vernon, baptised on 11 September 1817 in All Saints Church, Harthill.  James William Thompson is known to have been Mary Vernon’s father because Mary Verrnon said this when she married Joseph Berry.
• Ellen, baptised on 21 November 1819 in Saint Wilfred Church, Davenham, Cheshire.  The name of Ellen’s father is not known.  Ellen was buried on 27 November 1821 at age 2 in the Chapel at Witton-cum-Twambrooks.  She lived in Leftwich, Cheshire.
• William Vernon, baptised on 16 March 1834 in Saint Bartholomew Church, Church Minshull, Cheshire.  The name of William’s father is not disclosed and is lost.  William Vernon was buried on 7 May 1834 at age 1 year and 5 months in Saint Chad Church, in Over, Cheshire.  His burial record says he lived at “Wayhouse Green”, near Over.

This is a summary of Ann Vernon’s children.

 

Ann Vernon

↓

 

Samuel Vernon   Baptised 30 May 1815   Father William Callwood or Caldwell

Mary Vernon   Baptised 11 September 1817   Father James William Thompson

Ellen Vernon Baptised 21 November 1819 Buried 27 November 1821 Father unknown

William Vernon Probably born in January 1833. Baptised 16 March 1834 Buried 7 May 1834 at age 17 months Father unknown

 

Ann Vernon was buried on 21 August 1836 in Saint Chad Church, Over, Cheshire aged 40.

 

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From the Vernon side of the family, the line of descent to Eliza Hankin looks like this.

 

Daniel Vernon + Mary Hough (Baptised 21 May 1722 and 25 February 1722) ↓ Samuel Vernon Baptised 27 April 1764

Joseph Walker + Elizabeth Minshall (Baptised 8 January 1720 and 24 July 1718) ↓ Ann (Hannah) Walker Baptised 23 October 1763

 

↓

 

Samuel Vernon + Ann (Hannah) Walker

(Baptised 27 April 1764 + 23 October 1763)

↓

Ann Vernon

(Baptised 24 August 1794)

 

The joining of James William Thompson and Ann Vernon to produce Mary Vernon can be summarised like this.

 

James William Thompson + Ann Vernon

(Baptised 27 February 1797 + 24 August 1794)

↓

 

Mary Vernon Baptised 15 September 1817

 

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The pattern disclosed by Ann Vernon’s first three births is that of someone who led an unsettled life.  Ann had four recorded children.  Two were baptised when she lived in Broxton, one was baptised when she lived in Leftwich and one was baptised when she lived in Church Minshull.  Two of her children – Samuel and Mary - had different fathers and it is possible that the fathers of Ellen and William Vernon were also different.

There was a thirteen year gap between the birth of Ellen Vernon in 1819 and the birth of William Vernon in 1833.  This might indicate that Ann’s life was more settled after the birth of Ellen – but this cannot be assumed.

Was Ann Vernon a “sex worker”?   Having multiple children outside of marriage at a time when this was socially condemned is consistent with being a sex worker, but this should not be assumed.  If Ann Vernon was a sex worker, it is unlikely that she would have known the names of the fathers of her children, but Samuel and Mary Vernon both knew the names of their fathers. 

For me, the sex worker theory is not convincing. 

Ann’s death at age 40 might be seen as consistent with the sex worker theory, but death at what we would now think of as a young age was not unusual in that era.

Because John Littlemore is named in the 1841 Census as the father of Ann Littlemore, we can assume Ann had a relationship with him.

John Littlemore, father of Ann Littlemore, married someone called Mary Garner on 11 February 1841.  Any baptismal records after this marriage for children of John Littlemore probably relate to their children.

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There are indications that the extended Vernon family existed at the very bottom of society.

Someone called Richard Vernon was convicted of “larceny” on 27 June 1842 in Cheshire Assizes;  Richard’s recorded alternate surname is unreadable.  Richard was supposedly 13 when he was convicted, giving a birth year of 1829.  Richard was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, plus a whipping. 

Someone else called Vernon was also convicted on 27 June 1842; Thomas’s crime was “riot and assault” and his alternate surname was “ Caldwell”.  Thomas’ was supposedly 17 when convicted, giving him a notional birth year of 1825.   Thomas was awarded 12 months’ imprisonment. 

Thomas’s “Caldwell” alias implies a close connection between Richard and Thomas Vernon and Ann Vernon because the father of Ann Vernon’s son Samuel Vernon, was “William Callwood or Caldwell”.

Richard and Thomas Vernon were brothers.  They were recorded in the 1841 Census at Eaton, Tarporley, Nantwich, Cheshire.  This is a summary of their 1841 Census record.

 

Name	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Place of Birth
Thomas Vernon	45	1796	Cheshire
Elizabeth Vernon	20	1821	Cheshire
William Vernon	15	1826	Cheshire
Richard Vernon	15	1826	Cheshire
Ruth Vernon	5	1836	Cheshire
John Vernon	80	1761	Cheshire
Ruth Vernon	80	1761	Cheshire
Thomas Vernon	14	1827	Cheshire

 

My guess is that after their mother died, Richard and Thomas Vernon fell into anti social behaviour and were then treated harshly for their “crimes”.  Although they probably understated their ages to mitigate their sentences, this clearly did not work. 

Based on baptism dates, Thomas was 16 and Richard was 14 when they were convicted on 27 June 1842.

Thomas Vernon, the father of Thomas and Richard Vernon, must have been closely related to Ann Vernon (the great, great grandmother of Eliza Hankin), but I have not traced the exact relationship.

 The Vernon family was at the bottom layer of society and was treated accordingly.  That is the likely reason for Ann having children outside of marriage.

When people are treated as having very little value, they have few reasons to conform to society rules about being married before having children.

 

33 Alfred Pearson at Saint Edmund’s College: 30 September 2024

Today I visited Liverpool City Archives and was permitted to examine the records of Saint Edmund College for the period when Alfred Pearson was a student there.  Alfred attended Saint Edmund during these school terms

Autumn	Spring	Summer
1907	1908	1908
1908	1909	1909
1909	1910	1910
1910	1911	1911

 

When he started at Saint Edmund in August 1907, Alfred was in Form III (B) – the equivalent of the 9^th year of formal education.  When he graduated from Saint Edmund, he had successfully completed Form V (A) – the equivalent of the 12^th year of formal education.

Before attending Saint Edmund, Alfred had attended Saint Saviour Elementary School at Everton and he had successfully completed year 8 (0nce called the Merit Certificate in Australia) at Saint Saviour in 1907. 

The Saint Edmund College records, list these academic achievements by Alfred while he attended Saint Edmund.

Diocesan Examination	Junior 1st Class	1908
Diocesan Examination	Intermediate 1st Class	1909
Liverpool Education Committee	Common Local Admission Examination	1908
Senior Oxford Local Examination	First Division Pass List	1909
Preliminary Certificate Examination		1909 to 1910

 According to the Saint Edmund records, when Alfred commenced at Saint Edmund, his father was a “Coachman”.  The Census records state that Alfred’s father Thomas Pearson was a Hansom Cab driver – this means he was a taxi driver, but the taxi was pulled by a horse rather than by an internal combustion engine.

Item 11 on Alfred’s Admission Record reads as follows.

11 Particulars of any exemption from Tuition fees
(a)   Total exemption	Partial exemption
Granted from (date) - 1 VII 1907	Granted from (date)

 I offer a few words from personal experience about Alfred’s fee paying scholarship.  The most obvious positive about the scholarship is that Alfred did not have to pay fees.  In my personal case, the fees had to be paid to the school first and then the scholarship authorities (the Australian government) would reimburse the fees actually paid.  In practice, this meant I had to ask the Principal to give a false receipt saying the fees had already been paid, so that the fees could be “reimbursed” to mum, and thus enable the fees to be actually paid.  That process was humiliating.

The other point I make is that school fees form only part of the costs incurred in going to school.  Most sports require special sports clothing and/ or equipment.  These “ancillary costs” were probably NOT covered by Alfred’s scholarship and either Alfred had to find the money to cover them – by part time work – or his parents somehow had to find the money to cover them.

The scholarship made it POSSIBLE for Alfred to complete his education, but the process of actually getting an education must have nevertheless been tremendously hard.

Alfred must have worked his arse off to achieve what he achieved.

The Saint Edmund Admission record says that when he left Saint Edmund, Alfred’s “Occupation taken up after leaving" was “Ex Student Teacher”.  The implication of this entry seems to be that while he studied at Saint Edmund, Alfred was already doing studies to qualify himself as a teacher.  If this is correct, Alfred did NOT cease to be a student teacher when he left Saint /Edmund College; he continued to qualify himself as a teacher by attending Chester College (Now Cheshire University).

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When Alfred attended Saint Edmund College, it was located in Colquitt Street, Liverpool.  In the year 2024, Colquitt Street seems an unlikely place for a school to be located.  This was Colquitt Street on Thursday 26 September 2024.

 

 

Colquitt Street is now a very busy, commercial street and at its northern end, Colquitt Street is very close to Saint Luke’s Church.  Saint Luke was bombed by the Nazis in World War 2 and although the walls still stand, it no longer has a roof.  Here is Saint Luke Church as seen from Colquitt Street.

 

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Saint Edmund’s College was established in 1898 by the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool and was located in Colquitt Street when Alfred attended it.  Although Saint Edmund was a co-educational school when Alfred was a pupil there, it became a girls only school in 1912.  Saint Edmund moved from Colquitt Street to Devonshire Road, Liverpool in 1925.  Saint Edmund ceased to exist in 1981 when it merged with Liverpool Girls’ College to form Archbishop Blanch School. 

I know from a book called “A History of St Edmund's College, Liverpool 1898-1981” by Kathleen Goodacre, that immediately prior to the creation Archbishop Branch School, Alfred Pearson’s name was remembered on a memorial board at Saint Edmund College.  I have written on at least three separate occasions to Archbishop Branch School at the address listed on its website – both by email and by “Snail Mail”, including letters addressed personally to the lady listed as the school Principal on the School website – but I have never received even a formal acknowledgment of the receipt of my letters.  I wanted to be able to take a photo of the Memorial Board mentioned by Kathleen Goodacre.  I have been unable to do this – if the Memorial Board still exists – because Archbishop Branch School has ignored all of my attempts to communicate with it.

Perhaps the staff at Archbishop Branch School are too overworked to even send formal acknowledgments to incoming correspondence.

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I have not as yet been able to obtain any records of Alfred’s attendance at Chester College, but I am certain that when I do, the Chester College records will reveal the identical high achievements that Alfred displayed at Saint Edmund.

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When Alfred enlisted in World War 1 on that day in September 1914, he lined up with thousands of others to pass through this door into Saint George’s Hall.  The door he queued up to enter and enlist, still exists.  This is the door Alfred passed through to enlist in the King's Own Liverpool Regiment in Saint George’s Hall Liverpool on that day in September 1914.

Once he entered this door, Alfred’s hard earned career as a teacher, was finished; so too, was his life on this planet.

Alfred and all those other men who willingly walked through this door, should be honoured and remembered.

Let us not forget them.