Below
is the journal of a year
and a half in the life
of a newly-married young
mother living in the 1840s
on the eastern fringe
of Hardy's vast heath,
on land that nearly a
century later would become
part of Bournemouth. It
offers a rare insight
into how ordinary people
lived at the time.
Web-page annotations last updated 14-02-11. Thanks again to all who contributed info, we'll
keep updating as more details become available. Email
if you have any new info or corrections.
Our diarist, Mrs Jane Hicks née Brown (1814-96), was the daughter of Mary Hatchard
[also spelt Hatchett] [c1793-1816] of Christchurch, and Charles Brown [c1778-1839]. Mary was
the daughter of William Hatchard [c1759-1821], whose family came from Dorset, he becoming a
'yeoman' farmer at East Parley. (This would mean he was a cut above the ordinary tenant farmers,
and had his own estates, where he grew corn profitably. The family apparently were also millers
who owned Walford and Canford Mills, and he also raised longhorn cattle.) Before his death
at Wimborne of TB, William married three times between 1785 and 1811, being twice widowed.
(His other wives Mary Breaker in 1800 and Elizabeth Emmery in 1811, were themselves both widows.)
Re-marriage was of course due more to the spouse's premature death, often the wife in childbirth,
rather than through divorce, which did not really then exist - as Hardy's 1840s-set novel The
Mayor Of Casterbridge dramatises. Jane's father Charles Brown may also have married several
times. Children also often died - four of Mary Hatchard's five siblings seem to have died young.
Mary and her surviving sister Amelia only lasted five years after marriage.
This probably helps account for the diary's many characters with the same Christian names within
each branch of the family - and the difficulty matching these up with online parish records,
which only list one Christian name. It was evidently an adjunct to this expectation some children
would die prematurely that the confusing practice of giving overlapping names developed. That
is, to carry on the father's or mother's name, not only the eldest would be named after the
father or mother. Subsequent sons and daughters would be given the same first name plus a differing
middle name, which would be used socially to avoid confusion. Thus, a "John Smith"
could increase the odds his name would be perpetuated by christening his first son John Alan
Smith, his 2nd son John Bartholomew Smith, etc., the sons being referred to socially as Alan
and Bart. Given the limited number of Christian names then in use (mostly borrowed from royalty),
we have a confusing number of Williams, Georges, Charles, as well as the plainer but more popular
John; on the female side, Mary was the most popular, along with Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah, and
the plainer Jane.
Our diarist Jane Brown was a 2nd-generation descendant product of her grandfather William Hatchard's first marriage, in 1785, to Mary Freeborne [1766-1798] of Wimborne, via her daughter, also named Mary [c1793-1816]. Jane herself was born in 1814 in Moordown in what is now north-central Bournemouth, and lived nearby in the hamlet of Muccleshell on the south bank of the River Stour, which would form Bournemouth's northeastern boundary. Note that the name Bournemouth does not appear in the diary, it then being still styled just as Bourne - where Jane goes to sell farm produce. Her parents were both deceased by the time the diary starts, making the support of her extended family important in domestic arrangements.
Jane's husband Richard Dale Hicks (the diary's frequently-mentioned "Rd," "Richd", or just "R") was the son of farmer Charles Hicks [1778-1857] and Jane Dale [1779-1850], who had married the day before Xmas Eve 1805. The family on the mother's side, the Dales, seem to have been local farmers in the area for at least several generations, and there are several "Richard Dales" mentioned in local records. It may be that Charles and Jane Hicks named their son Richard Dale after one of these. Maps still show a Dales Lane and Dales Farm just across the Stour, which may indicate that a branch of Richard's mother's family owned land there, in what is now Merritown. (It is Dales Farm that is pictured at the top of the page.) Charles Hicks was an established member of the local community, being twice Holdenhurst churchwarden. He was originally from Ringwood, the market town mentioned in the first diary entry. Sometime before 1811 he had begun farming one or two small fields adjoining the farm next to Holdenhurst church. He subsequently moved to King's Farm in the next hamlet westward, Muccleshell. Charles and Jane Hicks had 6 children. Our diarist's future husband Richard was the 2nd oldest, born in 1811, with a brother and 4 sisters - Jane, Elizabeth, Harriet, Charles, and Ann [see family tree below for details]. All appear in the diary, with the oldest (the Aunt Jane Jenkins mentioned in our epilogue) the Mrs Jenkins referred to passim. Also living with the parents were two of Richard's siblings, Harriet and Charles Hicks, who is also listed as a confectioner (perhaps learning the trade). The Jenkins's daughter Frances may be the 'Fan' referred to in the diary.
In the early 1840s, our diarist's future husband Richard Hicks, age 30, was living with his parents at King's Farm, where he no doubt provided a large part of the necessary labour to maintain the farm. Situated on the north side of the Throop-Holdenhurst road through Muccleshell, close to Throop Mill on the Stour, Kings Farm was named after the previous owner, the Kings, the name being presumably retained to avoid confusion with the family's previous home at Holdenhurst, which was known officially as Hicks' Farm. Living with Charles and his wife Jane were 3 of their 6 adult children: as well as Richard were 2 of the 4 daughters, Elizabeth and Ann. On the farm property, just to the east and nearer the road, were two older farmhouse buildings [both now demolished]. In one lived the old shoemaker George King, a relative of the farmer after whom King's Farm was named. Charles Hicks also owned various adjoining properties in conjunction with another farmer, William Brown. He lived in the other, 2nd, farmhouse, as did his 29 year-old sister Jane - our diarist to-be.
By 1841, Jane Brown and
Richard Hicks were thus
literally next-door neighbours.
They married on the last
day of May 1842 in an
Anglican ceremony in Holdenhurst,
and remained living on
the Hicks family property,
probably moving into the
2nd, older, farmhouse
where shoemaker George
King had lived. (Presumably
he had moved, or died.)
There, the couple set
up a dairy farm, with
a few sheep, cows, and
chickens, and sold the
produce (eggs, butter
etc) in the local townships.
The 2-storey thatched
farmhouse was where the
couple and their children
lived, along with a servant
or two. However as family
groups tended still to
remain close neighbours
where they could help
out with farm or domestic
matters (like childminding),
the diary's cast of characters
is quite large. And because
it was impossible to travel
after dark, visitors coming
for supper stayed overnight,
so that the house at times
seems more like a bed-&-breakfast
establishment. The comings
and goings of relatives,
in-laws, friends - and
unhappy servants - as
well as Jane's own social
outings make up the substance
of the diary. Nine months
after their marriage,
their first child was
born, Richard Dale Hicks.
He is first referred to
in the diary as just "the
baby", and then by
his middle name, Dale,
to avoid confusion with
his father Richard Snr.
At the start of the diary,
baby Dale, born 15 February
1843, is a month old.
It is from this period
that we have the earliest
entry in Jane's diary,
and it is possible being
at home with a new baby
is why Jane began to keep
a diary.
In 2008, a descendant of Jane Hicks came from Australia searching for the village where his ancestors had lived, only to be told by local tourism staff that there was no such place as Muccleshell. The hamlet stood just west of Holdenhurst village, centre of a parish which included the then-small seaside "spa" of Bourne that would become the South Coast's top resort - Bournemouth. (The village is just S of what is now Bournemouth Airport, just across the B3073.) The name Muccleshell, old spelling Muckleshell, probably came from "Muckles Hill," another name for Berry Hill, which forces the river to make a northward loop around it, and represents the most northerly reach of the Stour villages. It was one of 4 "tythings" of the parish of Christchurch's Chapelry of Holdenhurst occupying the Liberty of Westover, the other 3 being Holdenhurst, Muscliff (just west), and Throop.
Muccleshell [OS grid reference SZ108961] no longer officially exists as a district, subsumed into neighbouring Throop, but in the early 1840s it contained around a hundred and twenty inhabitants. Jane's then quite rural neighbourhood was bounded on the south by Castle Lane (now a busy main road) down the Stour, leading SE to Christchurch [where the castle stood], and on the north by the Stour itself, flowing into Christchurch Harbour. The built-up area of streets on the south side of the Stour is now part of Bournemouth, the former hamlets here being adopted into the expanding Borough in the 1930s. Most of this land was part of the County of Hampshire until boundary changes in 1974 handed parts of it over to Dorset.
To see exactly where Jane was living at the time, you can click on the thumbnail map at right to see a larger version.The red dot is the likely location of Jane and Richard's farm. You can see how the built-up area stopped on the S bank of the Stour, which became the boundary of the new municipality of Bournemouth. The green patch is an area of flood plain, bottomland well-watered by tributary streams, while the brown area generally dry, non-arable heathland stretching N of the river into Cranborne Chase, which was only "disafforested" by Parliament in 1830 to help clear out the smugglers and poachers who haunted it. Although the name has disappeared from the map, many of the cottages are preserved as this is now part of the Throop & Muccleshell Conservation Area.
In the handwritten journal as it has come down to us, the handwriting is very even throughout. This may show that Jane had been trained to maintain an even style; or her penmanship may reflect the artistic flair she later demonstrated by drawing sketches. Of course the text may be a later transcription.The mis-spellings, odd capitalisation of words, and lack of punctuation however suggest if the text was copied, it was not tidied up for posterity but faithfully reproduced as was. To view a full-size page [covering 16th August- 5th Sep 1843] of the actual journal, click here. (You can also download it to print out by right-clicking on the link and selecting Save Link As or Save Target As.)
The whole diary is less than 5,000 words, obviously not meant to be read by anyone else (probably not even her husband), and is quite obscure in places, so extensive annotation has been necessary. The brief, cryptic entries, which use initials or abbreviations for names, together with Jane's odd spellings, lack of any punctuation to separate sentences, and odd capitalisation of nouns (which sometimes makes it hard to discern genuine popular names from ordinary words) all make it difficult to follow what is going on, or know who's who. A certain amount of the commentary below is of course speculative, and we would be interested to hear from anyone who has an alternative interpretation, or additional info regarding any given entry. Email us if you have any info or thoughts.
Jane Austen once said the best focus for a story was 2 or 3 families in a small village. Judging from the contrast between her novels and our other Jane's diary, the author evidently led a rather sheltered life. Here there are half a dozen core families, and dozens of other individuals continually coming and going. It is not at all the conventional modern picture of the era.
The Journal of Mrs Jane Hicks, née Brown, Muccleshell, Holdenhurst, Parish Of Christchurch, County of Southamptonshire, March 1843 - October 1844
1843
March 18 [Saturday] Richard went to Ringwood. Mrs. S. went with me to Mrs Mayby's. I felt very cold and uncomfortable but she made us stay to tea.
Ringwood is an historic market town to the east, on the River Avon which joins the Stour at Christchurch, about 13 miles travel if Richard crossed the Stour via Iford Bridge, where both the main road from the village and the main Bournemouth-Christchurch road cross the Stour. Mrs. S is perhaps Mrs Sansom the Hicks's nurse, who possibly lived at Parley across the Stour. Mrs Mayby is a friend whom Jane goes to visit again (cf 23 Aug entry). Taking tea is one of Jane's most noted activities - though as we see, it covers a variety of types of social occasion.March 19 [Sunday] Went to Church.
The Hicks family attended Holdenhurst Church about a mile east, newly built in 1834 to replace a crumbling Saxon-Mediaeval chapel too small for the by then 600-odd parishioners. Charles Hicks had been churchwarden at the old church, as had wife Jane Dale's ancestors. When Jane says simply she went to church, or to chapel (in the evening), this would be where she goes.
March 23 [Thursday] Went to Mrs. Wictcher's to tea. I drove the Pony, Rd. drove us home.
It appears the family had a "pony trap" or light carriage of some sort, which both Jane and Richard take turns driving here. Ann and Thomas Whitcher, a couple in their early 30s, lived with their two young children on the Hicks's former farm at Holdenhurst, next to the church. The Whitcher family rented various garden-type plots and pastures from the Gervis-Tapps - the major local landowners.
March 25 [Saturday] Went to Mrs. Hicks's to tea.
Mrs Hicks, Jane's mother-in-law, lived almost next door to the couple in Muccleshell, at Kings Farm, with her two spinster daughters Elizabeth and Ann.
March 26 [Sunday] We went to Xchurch. Mrs. S. nursed the Baby at Jenkins while I went to Church. Rd. et myself returned without her, had some trouble to dress the Baby, was very low on account of Mrs. Sansoms leaving.
Xchurch (Christchurch) is about 5 miles away to the SE. Mrs. S. would be Mrs. Sansom, whose departure leaves Jane without a nurse and seems to point up her own inexperience with a baby as she finds it difficult to dress him on her own. The Jenkins family appear throughout the diary, being one of the family's childminders when Jane has to go off on business, as well as trustees for the Dale estate. Richard's mother's family the Dales also apparently [cf 29 Aug 1844 ] had relatives in Christchurch.
April 8 [Saturday] Mary did not please me but I allowed her to go see her Grandma on condition she should return next night.
Mary appears to have been one of a series of Hicks live-in servants, possibly a replacement for Mrs. Sansom. More problems between Jane and Mary appear in the entries just below, and she would leave the Hicks's employ in mid April.
April 9 [Sunday] Missed Flannel petticoat had reason to believe Mary had it on, she did not return.
April 10 [Monday] About tea time Mary returned with an excuse the Grandma was so ill.
April 11 [Tuesday] We were invited to Mrs. Cooper's but did not go on account of Mary's being all day making butter and taking some tea.
The Coopers lived at Throop, in cottages half a mile away owned by Lord Malmesbury, on the site of the later Vicarage Cottages. Elizabeth Cooper (born 1801) had three sons, and was an ancestor of the wealthy Cooper-Dean family, who owned much of the land that became Bournemouth.
April 13 [Thursday] Mary left me. Harriet came.
It would seem the unsatisfactory maid Mary decided to leave. Harriet may be Jane's sister-in-law Harriet Hicks, who was living with the Jenkins in Christchurch.
April 14 [Friday] Walked down to Mrs. Cooper's after tea.
April 17 [Monday] Emma Peat came to stay with me.
This may be the E Peat with whom Jane and family later stay at Lymington.
April 18 [Tuesday] Emma walked to Mrs. Witcher's with me and Baby, called at C. Marshall's about her little Girl. At Miss Perry's for her Servants character also at Mrs. Hamonds.
This would likely be Charlotte Marshall who lived at Holdenhurst Green, en route to Whitcher's farm, with husband and five children, the youngest girl being probably Elizabeth, age 3 [she is not in the 1841 census]. Miss Perry may have been Jane Perry, living with her father at Blackwater, reached from Holdenhurst via a ferry across the Stour. Her servant was someone Jane may have been considering hiring. "Character" here would of course mean the good character reference required of all servants.
April 19 [Wednesday] Miss Hicks made butter for me. Edwin came after Emma.
Miss Hicks may be Elizabeth, given a more formal courtesy title as Richard's elder sister. She is evidently helping out the temporarily servantless Jane with the butter churning. Re Edwin, see below.
April 23 [Sunday] Went to Preston to tea Edward his Wife, and Emma, and Edwins Sweatheart were there.
Edwin would be Edwin Bound, who is mentioned elsewhere as helping out his mother, who
seems to have been Jane's step-aunt Betsy. Thomas Bound [1799-1870] and wife Elizabeth (aka
Betsy) nee Hatchard [1801-72] were a prosperous couple who had one of the principal local dairy
farms, at Parley Court across the Stour. They had 7 children, of whom 3 had already died in
childhood. Edwin, born 1826, would be 18 in 1843. He would later leave the area, marrying his
younger 'sweatheart' Rose Haines, of London, and moving to Bristol, where the couple had 5
children, he becoming a milliner.
Preston might be Hampreston, across the Stour 5 miles west, but Jane spells Hampreston correctly
later on [7 Aug, 26 Sep]. Old maps show a now-vanished place called Preston between Holdenhurst
and Iford, and a Preston near Burton [N of Xch] is attested in records, its name surviving
in Preston Lane. The place-name Preston was a common one, deriving from a priestly settlement.
There was also a Christchurch hosiers establishment run by a Henry Preston, which may be where
Jane later buys 4 pr stockings [11 Sep].
April 24 [Monday] S. Marshall came to live with me.
Jane's friend Charlotte Marshall of Holdenhurst already mentioned does not seem to have any girls with a Christian name starting with S; however this may be Sarah Marshall (b. 1826 i.e age 18) who lived at Muccleshell Cottage with her parents. She appears to have become Jane's new maid and is referred to at regular intervals throughout the diary. Other persons named Marshall are also mentioned in the diary, but which family they belong is usually not clear.
April 25 [Tuesday] William slept here.
Possibly Jane's brother William, who may also have been helping out at a time Jane was struggling slightly with her new baby. However as William lived close enough not to require staying over, it could have been one of the Bounds - Edwin's older brother William Thomas, born 1824, and so then around 19. The Bound family would babysit the infant Dale over the next year or so [cf 4 June].
April 27 [Thursday] Harriet left. She carried the Baby to Iford for me. We met Richard and rode home. Ann Bacon came to live here.
Presumably with Sarah Marshall employed, Harriet Hicks was no longer needed. Ann Bacon (b 1830) lived with her parents at Throop Dairy, under a mile away, and was evidently just more temporary help. She was strong enough at age 13 to carry the baby to Iford, a 6-7 mile return trip, and Jane and Sarah are not surprisingly sorry to see her leave in the coming month.
[There is a month-long gap here in the diary entries.]
May 25 [Thursday] Ann Bacon left. S. et I were [sorry?]
May 27 [Saturday] Mrs. Bound et Thomas came to tea.
The use of "Mrs Bound and Thomas" would today suggest a mother and son, but Jane often refers to married women acquaintances by title-plus-surname, and men by their first name. Mrs Bound may be her Aunt Betsy, who was in fact not a direct relation but her step-aunt, hence the slight formality.
May 31 [Wednesday] Harriet came again R. went to Exchurch brought Ann et Ann Rogers. They were all here to tea.
Harriet would be Jane's sister in law, who had helped out earlier when Mary left. Exchurch and Xch are Jane's standard abbreviations for Christchurch. The first Ann is presumably Ann Bacon, back for a social visit. Ann Rogers' s home is not known.
June 2 [Friday] Went to Wimborne. R. was very cross because it was late.
Jane freely records the frequent arguments she and Richard have as a newly married couple. Wimborne is about 7 miles to the west. There was an important livestock and corn market there.
June 3 [Saturday] F. Jenkins came to stay with me, we walked to Parley to tea. R was cross as possible the Water was high F and I stayed there.
F Jenkins may be the Fanny Treasure who married a Henry Jenkins, handyman (later a farmer), at Christchurch in 1800. Although this would make her a generation older than Jane, a later entry [9 June 1844] refers to a visit by "Mr Jenkins Fan" which could fit with this identification. Staying over was a common practice when visiting someone outside your village as the darkness made travel impractical, especially when the river was high.
June 4 [Sunday] F went to Chapel with me. Mrs. Bound kept the Baby. R came after us with the Gig.
Jane attended Parley Church, leaving baby Dale with Mrs Bound. Richard owned a gig - a lightweight carriage, which indicates his relative wealth.
June 5 [Monday] Went to see Mrs. Witcher.
Mrs Anne Whitcher, of Hicks's Farm in Holdenhurst - see 23 March entry.
June 7 [Wednesday] I think Ann Rogers came, we went to Mrs. Coopers to tea. Fanny's Father called for her.
Jane appears to be writing up the diary some time later, and cannot remember if this was the day Ann Rogers called.
June 11 [Sunday] Richard, myself, Ann Rogers walked to Mrs. Burgess. I went to church. Mrs. B. nursed. R shewd off his airs again coming out of Church.
Mrs Burgess is evidently a nurse for baby Dale, perhaps a professional wet-nurse. Jane and Richard appear to be rather sour with each other at this period. Jane seems to regard her husband as having a penchant for showing off or social pretension. In the next entry, Jane and Richard have a row when she refuses to let Ann take the baby outside in the rain, so there may have been some issue here.
June 14 [Wednesday] R et moi had a rough because I was not willing for A. Rogers to take the Baby out in the rain. Ann went to Xchurch with him. I went after Mrs. Cooper to come to tea with me. Ann Hicks called for Rogers to go for walk for [before?] R returned to tea.
Jane's use of French "et moi" for "and myself" is the diary's oddest feature. Is it a social affectation, perhaps to mimic Richard's showing off or putting on 'airs'? (The aristocracy used French phrases when they did not want the servants to understand, the basis of the saying "pas devant les domestiques" - not in front of the servants.) The & or ampersand sign derived from the letters e and t being joined together as a ligature, so would be probably pronounced quite differently as Latin, not French (rhyming with 'bet' rather than 'may'). However, it may be that Jane was badly taught at what was called a Dame School, where the teachers were usually young women themselves often poorly educated. The use of the & sign could have been picked up from school lessons via the old shorthand for the Latin et cetera - “&c.” [cf 10 Nov 1843]. People in “trade” would use such 'shorthand' written English daily as an adjunct of ledger-keeping. Pupils are traditionally taught that “figures” have a written-out word form used when doing “letters.” Jane may have heard the phrase "et moi" and similarly thought “&” was part of this French phrase.
June 17 [Saturday] Went to tea at Mr Hicks's. I stayed with her while E walked part of the way with A Rogers to Kingston. Ann Hicks went to ringwood after S Burry.
Mr Hicks would be Jane's father-in-law, and E likely her sister-in-law Elizabeth. Kingston could be the hamlet of that name 4 miles from Ringwood on the old road south, or an obsolete spelling of Kinson, which is much less of a walk. "S Burry" is presumably of the same Burry family at whose place Jane later has dinner, and tea [24/26 Feb 1844].
June 20 [Tuesday] Drank tea at Mr. Hicks with Miss Burges, Rogers etc.
Evidently Jane went to visit her father-in-law at Kings Farm and had tea with Miss [Ann] Rogers and Miss Burgess. The latter was perhaps a daughter of their nurse Mrs Burgess.
June 21 [Wednesday] Went to Ringwood the Water was high.
The market town of Ringwood stood on the far bank of the Avon. The water seems to have been high since the start of the month, and may indicate a wet summer, bad for the crops. (The 1840s acquired its nickname the Hungry Forties partly from a series of bad harvests.) With people often relying on crossing at fords rather than the bridges which later replaced them [as at Iford], high water made river crossings dangerous, and drownings were not unusual, as people wore heavy clothing and few could swim.
June 22 [Thursday] Miss Hicks's and Company came to tea, made baby some Frocks.
June 23 [Friday] I rode part of the way to Xchurch with Rd. walk back to Mrs. Wicher's where he called for me.
Jane sets off with Richard, and then breaks her journey with friends, waiting for Richard to pick her up on his way home from Ann Whitcher's place [in Holdenhurst].
July 2 [Sunday] Harriet left was taken ill.
July 4 [Tuesday ] Went to Wimbourne to pay part Rent.
As rent for the farm is being paid at Wimborne, it may be that Lord Wimborne bought King's Farm when he bought up various properties in 1835. Charles Hicks however owned the land by 1846 when the Tithe Map was drawn up, presumably having bought it from the Canford Estate.
July 14 [Friday] Ann R came up also William and his Aunt Bety. Charlott left me.
This William could be William Thomas Hatchard [1825-??] as he had an Aunt Betsy / Betty (Thomas Bound's wife already mentioned). Charlott could be her friend Charlotte Marshall of Holdenhurst, who had 5 children of her own. The phrase Jane uses here and elsewhere "left me" (rather than just "Charlott left" ) is slightly odd - as if Jane is feeling a sense of personal abandonment. There certainly seems to have been a regular coming and going of domestic help. Mrs. Sansom the nurse had left in late March, and Ann Rogers, evidently the new nursemaid, may have been replaced by Charlotte, who would be followed by Sarah Marshall, Jane Wareham, and Jane James. S[arah] Marshall [see next entry] may have been a younger relative of a friend like Charlotte, hence the phrase "here to work," meaning not a social visit this time. (Alternatively it may mean she was not a live-in servant but only came over as and when needed.)
July 15 [Saturday] S. Marshall was here to work. We went to Bourne quite late.
Bourne was the "marine village" that during this decade became 'Bournemouth.' It was then still part of Holdenhurst parish, the main road NE/SW to what is now the town Square being Holdenhurst Road. There had been a "decoy" pond there, in the valley where the Bourne stream ran, to snare waterfowl, with an associated lodge since at least the 18th C.. There was also a purpose-built inn put up in 1809, soon after the heathland commons was privatised under the new Inclosures Act. In 1810, a Cranborne JP, Capt. Lewis Tregonwell, bought 8 acres between the Square crossroads and the beach, building a "mansion" (now the Royal Exeter Hotel), plus some other houses for holiday lets to the gentry. He died in 1832, but his widow remained in Bourne, where she would successfully campaign for her late husband to be recognised as official founder of Bournemouth. In 1835, Lord of the Manor George Gervis had 16 villas and a hotel built, and by 1840 Bourne was a stagecoach stopover, and had its first guidebook mentions as a health resort. But it contained no commercial sector, and until 1851 had to be supplied with produce and labour brought in by tradespeople from the surrounding villages.
July 16 [Sunday] Went to see Miss Joy. Went to Hasdin[?] Church after dinner.
This may be another Bourne visit. Jane also mentions meeting Miss Joy on a visit to Bourne
on 4 Sep. She may have been related to Henry Joy [c1822-] the Bournemouth developer who later
built the town's Victorian Arcades.
Since Jane often omits punctuation, 'Hasdin' may be the name of someone she visited just before
church. On the other hand, it may be the name of a church. It ia not likely to be her badly
scribbled version of her local church, Holdenhurst, this being an abbreviation she does not
use elsewhere, or need to use at all. It could be her name for some new church or chapel in
Bourne. Jane also mentions attending church in Bourne on 24 Sep, and another planned trip to
"Bourne church" on 11 Aug 1844.
The town's official first church was St Peter's, begun in 1841, as part of Benjamin Ferrey's
1836 township plan, with John Tulloch as local architect. But this was still being built in
1843-44, not being consecrated until 1845. Services were held there whenever a minister was
able to attend. According to the history of St Peter's, this was usually a Revd Wyndham, from
Salisbury, the closest resident vicar being Revd Burrows, of Christchurch. 'Jane's 'church'
was likely a makeshift arrangement lacking a proper saintly dedication and known instead by
a secular name, perhaps the name of the house owner.
Hasdin is an established Anglo-French surname, though not listed in the 1841 census. It may
also have been a house name, for none of Bourne's early houses had street numbers, only names.
The 1841 Census lists a number of uninhabited buildings. One possible similar name to "Hasdin's"
[sic] was Hastings, surname of a Tregonwell ancestral line, one of whom, Henry Hastings, being
hunting mad, also owned land around the Bourne. As Bourne was originally a duck-shooting rendezvous,
with its own "decoy" pond for well over a century, and its first known buildings
catering to sportsmen, such a dedication for some local building would fit. In 1838, the two
semi-detached cottages which stood on the present Square where Debenham's store now is, which
had accommodated a caretaker and his family and any visiting duck hunters, were converted into
a makeshift schoolroom /church with a small bell tower atop the 'join'.
July 19 [Wednesday] Sal Lockyer came here, sent her home in evening while we went to Xchurch.
A Sarah Lockyer (b 1832) lived nearby with her parents, in a cottage near Throop Mill.
July 21 [Friday] Jane Wareham came to live here.
Jane may have been from the Wareham family at Hurn across the Stour.
August 3 [Thursday] Went to Jenkins to dinner.
August 7 [Monday] Went to Wimborne returned to Hampreston to tea.
Around this time, the second baby was conceived, and there is less mention of rows between Jane and Richard.August 12 [Saturday] Went to Ringwood to sign the conveyance of Bourne Houses, dined at Goodyers with William; drank tea at Mourtown. Mr Hicks and his wife came home before we left. I called at Mr Westcotts after something for my cold.
This is a most surprising entry, one of the Diary's mysteries. Is Jane signing over some
property she owned or inherited at Bourne? Given Jane's consistently odd capitalisation of
nouns, 'Bourne Houses' may not be a proper name, but just houses in Bourne, though the plural
indicates it's more than just a former relative's home. It seems unlikely on its face a farmer's
wife was buying houses at Bourne, given that it was such an up-market new resort. Also, women
were then legally chattels of their husbands , so her husband's signature would be required
on any matrimonial assets. However, her grandfather William Hatchard's will has survived, and
it bestows £300 (then a considerable sum) each on Jane and her brother. This came with
the proviso (a common one imposed on women) that her share was not to be paid until she was
25, which would mean in 1839-40. If the money was invested by her Ringwood trustees or advisors
(the Godyers?) in a couple of houses at the growing new resort of Bourne, one possibility is
that this was the disposition a few years later of that legacy. As the Diary suggests the family
continued to struggle financially, it may be they did not ultimately profit from such transactions.
The Goodyers were perhaps acquaintances of William in Ringwood (William Thomas Bound had been
born in Ringwood in 1824, suggesting a Bound family connection there). The only places sounding
like "Mourtown" on the route back from Ringwood are Merritown north of Muccleshell,
and Moordown (then sometimes spelt Moredown), where Jane was born. "Mr Westcotts"
implies a chemist's or pharmacy, though a later [Nov 1st] entry refers to "Dr Westcotts".
The use of "Mr Hicks and his wife" presumably for her father- and mother-in-law seems
odd, perhaps suggesting a dislike of the latter, who elsewhere criticizes her, leading to rows.
August 13 [Sunday] I was obliged to come out of church I was so warm. Jane was going home so I went over to see Mrs. Bound. Ann Hicks rode from Church with us. Went to Parley Church in Evening took Baby with us. Jane came to Mrs B's after us. I got very wet in my feet.
The summer seems to have picked up after a wet June, though the ground is still waterlogged. The women are visiting the nurse Mrs Burgess.
August 16 [Wednesday] I took the butter to town, Jane carried the Baby.
Our Jane is taking dairy produce to town again, the servant Jane Wareham accompanying her to carry baby Dale. The town could be Christchurch, which had a weekly market and a twice yearly fair.
August 20 [Sunday] Did not go out, roasted a chick. After tea Mrs. Dale, Mrs. Jenkins and Girls called.
Roast chicken for Sunday lunch, then a visit by Mrs Jenkins and daughters, plus "Mrs Dale." The latter cannot be Jane's mother-in-law, who would be Mrs Hicks. Dale was the mother-in-law's maiden name (Jane Dale, 1779-1850), so this must be a relation of hers, such as her mother. The Dale clan evidently had property just across the Stour at Merrittown, where there is still a Dales Farm and a Dales Lane. The Salisbury Journal for 5th April 1845 also mentions a Richard Dale as tenant of Tuckton Farm, just outside Christchurch on the Bournemouth side of the Stour.
August 21 [Monday] Was all ready to go to Xchurch, when Mr et Mrs. Jenkins came to tea. I went down to Mrs. Harvey's to borrough bottle of gin.
Mrs Harvey is presumably Mary (b. 1785), wife of Joseph, a farmer in Berry Lane, Muccleshell, and a close enough neighbour to be a child minder. She is mentioned again and despite the 30-year age difference seems to be a valued friend, from whom she can borrow liquor (and later, money). Jane rather shows her "lower order" side by 'borrowing' gin from her - a very cheap drink nicknamed "Mothers' Ruin".
August 22 [Tuesday] Went to Bourne et Xchurch.
Jane gives no indication of her business at Bourne, presumably again selling farm produce to the staff of the new villas. Early Bourne being too exclusive to allow shops, tradesmen would call at the villas, either with their carts or on foot carrying baskets. Christchurch may have been Jane's next port of call for such purposes. Presumably she walked east along the coast road, then home up Castle Lane - no doubt an all-day outing, over heathland tracks and wagon roads.
August 23 [Wednesday] Dined at Mrs. Mayby's the little ones birth Day it was very wet.
Despite the rain, Jane goes to her friend Mrs Mayby's child's birthday meal.
August 24 [Thursday] We rode to Mr Elliot's after tea.
Mr Elliot may have been Ethelbert Elliott, the tenant of Parley Farm. Presumably Jane and Richard both went on horseback.
August 27 [Sunday] Went Mrs. Jenkins to dine went to Church in Morning. Ann nursed.
Ann presumably is Ann Hicks, another sister-in-law. Jane presumably still had no nursemaid as yet.
August 31 [Thursday] Hart went to Bourne with me to carry her Eggs we had tea at Mr. Jenkins.
Hart may be a member of the same Christchurch family as William Hart who in 1845 set up a fusée watch-chain manufacturing plant at Bargates to employ impoverished females by making thread-like 'chain' mechanisms (not ordinary pocket-watch "fob" chains). One of several such factories was owned by Henry Jenkins. A Mary Hart had married a Henry Treasure Jenkins, chainmaker, in 1829, he being presumably a son of the Jenkins who in 1800 married Fanny Treasure mentioned above [3rd June]. Jane and Hart seem to be taking farm produce [eggs] to sell in Bourne again. Possibly this branch of the Jenkins family are now living at Bourne, as Jane meets them there again [e.g. 4th Sept.].
September 3 [Sunday] Went to Church it was beautiful day but very hot. After tea we went to Longham to Dairy man Trinimon's.
Longham is the small upstream settlement that grew up around one of the oldest bridges over the Lower Stour, on the road to Wimborne. The visit is evidently connected with their family dairy-produce enterprise.
September 4 [Monday] Let the Baby fall on the bricks of some bags. I persuaded Ann H. to go to Bourne with me we carried Richard's dinner he was dreadfull cross. After tea we went to Bourne. Met with Mr. Jenkins there, also Miss Joy, J. James etc.
The phrase "on the bricks of some bags" makes little sense (on some bags of bricks?), but it may be that Jane was upset by the accident. The growing village of Bourne is already becoming a social centre. Miss Joy may be an elder relative of the Henry Joy who later helped develop the town centre. Ann H may be Ann Hatchard from the Parley area [see 7th Sept, and 31 May 1844].
September 5 [Tuesday] I went to Mrs. Coopers to tea thinking she would walk to Black water with me but she would not the Old Lady went I carried they baby. With me got H. Perry to bring him home for me. Gave him suss (?) and 6.
Blackwater is a hill and fir plantation, across the Stour by ferry from Holdenhurst. On 9th Sept, Mr Perry helps exchange an unwanted horse called Whitefoot, so this may be part of the day's agenda. A horse dealer called Martin Perry is mentioned in the Salisbury Journal in 1847 [SJ 11-02-1847]. "Suss and 6" is presumably sustenance, i.e a meal, plus sixpence as reward to H. Perry (perhaps a son or daughter) for bringing the baby home after Jane had to carry him on the way out.
September 6 [Wednesday] R et moi went to Xchurch with butter.
The couple are again taking farm produce to town. Note the use of "et moi" again.
September 7 [Thursday] Went to Wimborne drank tea at Mr[s?] Hatchards when we got home R was very cross said he not stay out so late any again with me.
The Hatchards is presumably the family home of Jane's friend Ann Hatchard, in the Parley area. A William Hatchard is listed in the Salisbury Journal for 11th Dec. 1837 as the tenant of East Parley Farm. The confused grammar of the 2nd sentence ("said he not stay out so late any again with me") may indicate Jane was recording an upsetting row which could impact on her freedom in future.
September 8 [Friday] Let the Baby role off bed. Mr. Gold was here in Evening.
Another mishap with baby Dale, now six months old. The 1841 Census lists an Isaac Gold, 55, Farmer and a Jane Gold, 45, at Holdenhurst's Townsend Cottage. In fact, he is also the official Enumerator for the Census.
September 9 [Saturday] R went to Xchurch about horse. I roasted Fowls for dinner. Mr. Perry took away whitefoot sent another.
Presumably their horse Whitefoot was being exchanged for another, via horse dealer Mr Perry, who kept his livestock at Christchurch.
September 10 [Sunday] Went to Church in Morning. Ann et and Hart came to tea. R et moi had dreadful quarrel after supper.
Note the confused "et and" [word missing?] and the more affected-seeming "R et moi". It's possible the latter is her self-conscious usage, perhaps imagining such quarrels are rather "common."
September 11 [Monday] They [?] have been to Turf cart; sold 5 couple of Fowls this Morning. Went to Xchurch in Evening. Bought 4 Pr Stockings.
Jane and Richard keep chickens besides running a dairy farm. As well as selling the eggs, they sell fowls for meat on a bulk basis (10 fowls today, plus a 12 more pairs 13th Sept). Turf-carts were the most common traffic on the heath. The right to cut turf for fuel, called turbary, was an ancient commoners' right which the local villagers had demonstrated over at the time of the 1802 Inclosures Acts, to get heathland set aside for this. Many of the early tracks Jane would have used were kept from being overgrown by the regular passage of the turf-carts.
September 12 [Tuesday] Baked bread; et pies for the Men's dinner. Mrs Martin was here Washing they finished their pudding for supper.
September 13 [Wednesday] J. James came to tea I rode her donkey half way home. R walked with her when we returned Willis was here with my Umbrella paid him 2s he was nursing the Baby. Sold Hastlett 6 couple Fowls James brought baby a new hat . . . . a present
September 14 [Thursday] Mrs. Martin came to washing iron. R went to wimbourne fair. We were brewing.
The fairs at the nearby market town of Wimborne Minster were held every year until 1876. There were actually both spring and autumn fairs, these being mercantile events dealing in horses, cattle and cheese, one the Friday before Easter, and the 2nd every September 14th. The fairs with their accompanying commotion became such a nuisance to town residents that a decade on, in 1854, a petition was organised against them, though they were not abolished until 1876. Jane and Richard evidently also home-brew their own ale, perhaps for sale.
September 15 [Friday] R went to Xchurch with butter I expected James [?] with her Beau to dine Roasted brace of Partridges's Mutton chops Boiled plum puddings my company did not come richard went down to Gubbins's in Evening.
While Richard goes to town to sell their butter, Jane prepares a dinner with roast partridge, mutton chops and plum pudding for a pair of guests, evidently a betrothed couple, who do not show up. 'James' with her Beau must here be female, perhaps the Jane James mentioned above and below [Sept 25th etc], who may be related to the Mr and Mrs James who stay over at Xmas. The Gubbins were acquaintances mentioned again, perhaps the Muccleshell family listed in the 1841 census. The G Gubbins who lives somewhere on the way to Sway i.e. towards Christchurch [cf 1 Oct 1844] must be a relation [there is both a George and a Grace Gubbins in the census] in a different location. The M. A. Gubbins who comes to stay for a month after the birth of Jane's 2nd child in April 1844 doesn't match anyone in the 1841 census.
September 16 [Saturday] Baby is 7 months old to Day his Father carried him to his Grandma's just now. I have not cooked to Day but it is the same Jane's work is as usual all yet undone she has after being kept up to it all the Morning got her milk house and wash house clean for the first time since she has been here. S. Marshall has made the Baby a Frock.
Baby Dale has survived to 7 months, and Richard takes him to his grandmother's [at King's Farm]. Jane indulges in a lengthy sentence outlining her standard complaint about the servants not doing their work unless she gets after them.
September 20 [Wednesday] A James to Mrs Hicks's with us to the in[t]ended [?] harvest supper, met Mr et Mrs Cooper there.
On Harvest Suppers, see note for Sep 22nd.
September 21 [Thursday] Miss James went to Woodburry hill fair; with Richard I was much anoyed because I could not go with them tried to get Eckton's Don[k]ey to go to Xchurch but could not, Mrs Harvey took tea with me.
Woodbury Hill was a considerable distance westward, above Bere Regis east of Dorchester, but it was the largest fair in the south of England and people would travel overnight to attend it. Richard may have been buying and selling there, rather than just seeing the funfair side which Hardy depicts in Far From The Madding Crowd [Ch. 50] regarding a similar event, the Greenhill Sheep Fair above Dorchester, which incorporates a circus. It ran for 5 days every September 18th-22nd, with each day having a particular speciality. Richard attended on the 2nd-last day, which was Sheepfair Day, when herds of sheep were bought and sold. Jane is again not allowed to attend, and can't even get Eckton's donkey to take her to town. A later reference [3 Aug 1844] indicates J Eckton's donkey pulls a donkey cart, rather than being ridden. (A John Eckton is also listed in the Holdenhurst parish records as a witness to a series of 1830s weddings, and we can surmise if he hired out donkey carts for wedding couples, he may also have offered to become a witness to the wedding.)
September 22 [Friday] We drove A James home, brought back Jane went to Hicks's Harvest supr returned early; Richard stayed late did not enjoy it.
A Harvest Supper or Harvest Home was akin to an early Thanksgiving ceremony, to celebrate the completion of the harvesting. The depiction in Hardy's Far FromThe Madding Crowd [Ch. 23] is sometimes cited as an authentic description, though technically this was a Shearing Supper to celebrate the completion of sheep-shearing and the packing of the wool. (In Hardy's depiction, the farmer sets a long dining table up so it projects out the parlour window into the garden, to avoid having the labourers in the house; they sit at table in the garden, and as entertainment take turns singing for their supper.) This one appears to have been hosted at Richard's parents' place.
September 23 [Saturday] Hicks's et Miss L. Aldridge were here at tea.
September 24 [Sunday] We went to church in Morning to bourne to tea it was a great Fogg.
Though still called Bourne, Bournemouth obviously already had an established church community, which people like Jane travelled miles to attend, despite the fog.
September 25 [Monday] I drove Mr James to Wimbourne returned to tea Jane James took care of the Baby and got dinner for me. The Threshing Machine was here.
Threshing Machines were an unpopular form of automation of agricultural labour and helped prompt the "Captain Swing Riots" of the previous decade, when farm workers went about the countryside smashing new steam-powered farm machinery such as this. It was partly this that prompted the official over-reaction in the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, deported from Dorset to Australia in 1834 for trying to form an agricultural union.
September 26 [Tuesday] I drove J. James to Hampreston R came afterwards on Gypsy, had a pleasant ride home, though I was afraid.
Jane does not indicate why she was afraid, but this may have been due to fear of the horse "Gypsy", who may have been a rather skittish or headstrong animal, here ridden on the outward leg by her husband. Jane normally walks with a servant, rides a donkey or goes in a cart. Hampreston is across the Stour, 5 miles NW, and her saying she drove J[ane] James there implies she was more than an ordinary servant, perhaps the daughter of a friend or neighbour, who has been helping as a domestic. She may belong to the same James family referred to elsewhere as guests of Jane's, including over Xmas.
September 27 [Wednesday] Baby was very ill. R went to Ringwood, J James cooked for me.
September 29 [Friday] Went with Jenkins's to Mr Rogers's to dine. Baby had two teeth come through.
September 30 [Sunday] Joe drove me to Peter Warne's I spent a very uncomfortable [?] but Mr et Miss Warn returned to tea when it was altogether so pleasant.
The surname Warne was well-known in the Christchurch area. It was associated a generation earlier with a notorious Burley-based smuggling family, consisting of brothers Peter and John, and their sister Lovey Warne, who became a legendary local figure, "the Lady in Red." Jane was related to the Warnes through her father's marriage to Mary Hatchard, whose sister Amelia (known as 'Melior') had in 1811 married Peter Isaac James Warne of Hurn. (A "Love Warne" [sic] is given as a witness at Amelia's 1811 marriage.) Their son is likely the Peter Warne mentioned, while Peter's sister Jane Br[e]aker Warne may be one of the other Janes mentioned in the diary. The Breaker name resulted from William Hatchard's 2nd marriage, in 1800, to a Mrs Breaker, who already a son and two daughters, with both branches of the extended family living at Parley Farm. The three Breaker children died before Jane was born - brother Robert drowned crossing the Stour in 1812, just before his marriage, while Mary died in 1808 and Jane, by then Mrs Jane Dale, in 1818. William Hatchard's 3rd wife, Elizabeth Emmery, was herself by then [1811] already a widow with a 17-year old daughter. Siblings Peter and Jane Warne were our Jane's contemporaries, all born within a few years of each other, 1811-14.
November 1 [Wednesday] Mr Warn drove me to Mrs Rogers w[h]ere we met Richard waiting after dinner Ann went with me to Doctor Westcotts for something to cure my cough.
November 7 [Tuesday] Mr Jenkins came here to sleep.
Presumably this is Henry Jenkins, making an overnight stopover on his way somewhere.
November 8 [Wednesday] They went to Blandford fair.
Situated beyond Wimborne, Blandford Forum was another market town with an annual fair. Again, Jane is left behind.
November 9 [Thursday] Mrs hicks et Mrs Cooper were here at tea.
November 10 [Friday] Mr Bowhey's Sale. Baby was very Ill sent for Goddard; Sherto came sent him a Smellic (?) &c C Tucker drank tea with us.
Goddard is another local Doctor, whom Jane consults again [26 Sep 1844]. John Bryer Goddard, surgeon, lived in Christchurch at Magnolia House [now demolished], on the corner of Stoney Lane and Bridge St, next to where a modern veterinary practice stands. Sherto may have been a colleague at the same medical practice, sent to give baby some medication under the patent or brand name Smellic (Smellic is a surname).
November 16 [Thursday] Etherige brough home my Picture Frame Mr et Mrs Bowhey called.
November 29 [Wednesday] We went to Xchurch.
December 4 [Monday] Richard went to Wimborne after Hurdles Mrs James came down slept here
The hurdles are presumably sheep-pen fencing, so the Hicks appear to be also raising sheep, as is also suggested by the 24 Dec. entry to a sheep field.
December 5 [Tuesday] Mrs J went home had a Girl come to offer as Servant.
December 10 [Sunday] I went to Chapel in Evening with Burges.
December 12 [Tuesday] Jane Wareham left, S Ayles came for a Week Miss Burges went home after staying with me a few days R had a quarel with [me?] because he would make the Baby go; but Hariet brought him home to tea.
More domestic comings and goings, and a quarrel over whether the baby should be taken on a visit. The reference to Harriet seems to confirm she was indeed Richard's sister.
December 18 [Monday] R went to Xchurch Eliza Goff came to live with me.
Another new live-in servant arrived, to replace Sally, who had only come for the week at that point, though she returned a few days later. The 1841 Census lists an Eliza Goff age 16 living with her family at Muccleshell.
December 19 [Tuesday] Sally Ayles left.
December 20 [Wednesday] Drank tea at Craghton's returned left Baby in care of Ann Read; and then went to hear the Blind Musician at Xchurch.
Ann Read appears in several entries below as a visitor and helper. The 1841 Census lists an Ann Read, age 40, living with her mother, a grocer, at Muccleshell. Was the Blind Musician an early performer, perhaps based at the Priory, whom people came to hear play in the run-up to Xmas?
December 21 [Thursday] Sally Ayles called to see me and stayed here.
The closest Census match here is a Sarah Ayles age 30 living at Muccleshell.
December 23 [Saturday] I went to Bourne and Xchurch. Sally rode with me to carry Baby.
Another combined Bournemouth-Christchurch triangular-route trip, by horse or pony.
December 24 [Sunday] Went into the Sheep field with Richard and Baby in Morning.
December 25 [Monday] We went to church Sally & Eliza Got dinner and took care of Baby Sally went home in afternoon Mr James dined here Mrs came after W et Miss G drove her to the door they slept here went home next night.
Xmas Eve seems to be marked by a Sunday-morning family pastoral walk among the sheep. Xmas Day does not seem much different than the usual social round. In theory, the choice of companions on this special occasion could indicate who was special amongst their friends, but the diary as usual is short on detail. Current helper Sally goes home for Xmas, Jane has Mr and Mrs James as overnight guests, Mrs James being brought by W [William?] and his companion Miss G. Mr & Mrs James spend Xmas Day with Jane and Richard, departing the next evening.
1844
January 1[Monday] We went to Lord Malmesbury's Ball S Marshall stayed with Eliza and the Baby.
Lord Malmesbury was the major local landowner, and a man of considerable importance. Richard and Jane would be attending the annual New Year's Day Ball for tenant farmers.
February 5 [Monday] We went to Xchrch partly in Seharch of a nurse called on Mary Spickernell.
Jane's search for a nurse is probably due to being now 7 months pregnant with her second child, who will be born 3rd April.
February 6 [Tuesday] Went to see Mrs Cox Mary Spickernell came the while.
Mrs Cox may have been the wife of Charles Cox, of another local fusée watch-chain manufacturing enterprise set up in Christchurch originally by Robert Harvey Cox to help establish a home-working cottage industry that would train poor parishioners to be self-sufficient and avoid the workhouse.
February 7 [Wednesday] Baby was ill Mr Roisls (?) changed a Cow.
The Hicks evidently have more than one cow, i.e. not just a single cow to provide milk, but perhaps a small dairy herd.
February 8 [Thursday] M Spickernell went away.
February 22 [Thursday] Richard went to Bounds Sale Mr et Mrs Cox came to tea, it was a very wet cold day.
Mr and Mrs Cox have not been mentioned before this month, but are mentioned again this year - perhaps new friends. They seem to be helping arrange for a nurse.
February 24 [Saturday] We went to Xchurch in Morning I had a bit of Mutton at Mrs Burry's R bought a Dog.
February 26 [Monday] Received a note from Mrs Cox saying the Nurse could come we went round Bourne to Xchurch drank tea at Burrys.
Another Bourne-Xchurch excursion, the return leg perhaps including Ringwood where Mrs Burry previously seemed to be living.The dog Richard buys is not mentioned again.
March 3 [Sunday] I went down to Mrs Harvey's afterwards for a walk.
March 18 [Monday] Mr cox brought over the Old Nurse.
March 22 [Friday] Eliza went to Wimbourne Richard drove Charles to Fordingbridge. Ann Read drank tea here.
Charles is presumably Richard's brother, who does not seem to have been mentioned before. Fordingbridge is on the Avon not far from Ringwood.
March 23 [Saturday] A James went home.
[Some untidiness marks the handwritten entries for several days]
March 24 [Sunday] Mr et Mrs Mayby came to supper had some young pigs.
The livestock now also includes some young pigs. Pigs were a familiar feature of a smallholding - tenant farms often came with a pigsty as a necessary permanent fixture.
March 26 [Tuesday] Went to Mayby's to tea.
March 27 [Wednesday] Richd went to Xchurch
March 28 [Thursday] Mr Haris was chosen Member Richd went to Xchurch to vote, I drank tea with Mrs Harvey Richd came down to sup.
This sounds like the election of a local MP, this constituency being Christchurch, after the main town. "Mr Haris" might be the younger brother (who thus did not inherit the peerage) of James Howard Harris (1807–89), the MP for Wilton who on his father's death in 1841 was elevated to the Lords as 3rd Earl of Malmesbury, serving as Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Lords, and later writing several political memoirs. It would have been the 3rd Earl's Ball the Hicks attended New Years Day, Malmesbury being the major local landowner to whom rents were paid.
April 1 [Monday] Old Nurse came, Mr. Bound was here at tea.
April 2 [Tuesday] Richd wento Xchurch we went for walk
April 3 [Wednesday] Baby was born. I was rather Poorly an hour or two before I called any body sent for Mrs. Harvey. Mrs Carter came some time after Baby was born Mr Westcott might as well have stayed at home thought the Baby would have died but a little Dolbys soon put him to rights so far.
An unsentimental account of a home birth, with a married friend or two in attendance as midwife, and the medical man [Westcott] arriving later to no purpose. Mrs Carter was not a close neighbour, living upriver between Redhill and Ensbury [see 10 June 1844 entry], and so may have come due to her midwifery experience. The newborn baby (Walter Charles) has some sort of tonic ladled down its throat to save its life. Mrs Harvey was the older neighbour from whom Jane had earlier [21st Aug.] borrowed a bottle of gin, and the "Dolby's" may in fact be gin. Gin was used as a working-class remedy for illness (in Pygmalion, GB Shaw has Eliza tell an anecdote re this, which betrays her working-class outlook.)
April 7 [Sunday] Mrs Carter drank tea and stayed the Evening with me Hart et fan came up; Mrs Whicher called.
More women friends stop by to visit her, and presumably see the baby - perhaps either Harriet Hicks or Mary Hart Jenkins, plus Fan[ny] Jenkins, and Anne Whitcher.
April 14 [Sunday] Came down stairs.
Jane has obvously been confined to an upstairs bedroom for a week or so. The house had two floors, as can be seen in surviving photos.
April 20 [Saturday] Mrs Bound came over stayed all night.
April 21 [Sunday] Edwin came after his mother.
April 24 Edwin Bound et Mr Carter had tea here.
April 28 [Sunday] Nurse took Baby to see Mrs Carter. Richd drove me down to Church to return thanks after dinner. We went for a ride to Iford took the Babys with us.
Jane's first outing after her confinement is a carriage ride to church to "return thanks" presumably for the successful birth - something not to be taken for granted in those days. Iford was a small village where the road from Muccleshell and the main Bournemouth-Christchurch road crossed the Stour via a mediaeval bridge, next to a manor house built by local squire Dr William Dale Farr.
April 29 The Nurse left M A Gubbins came.
May 1 We had Castlemans clerk and Old Airs here I walked with him into the field to Richd who took the Pony and went to Bourne to see Castleman. Airs dined here. Miss Brown et William came down to tea. Eliza's going to Club.
The Castlemans were an influential Wimborne family. Here, 'Castleman' may have been Charles
Castleman (1807-76), a solicitor. ("Old Airs" is unidentified, the surname probably
being Ayres.) A William Castleman, Attorney, age 75, appears on the 1841 Census as a resident
of "Bourne." The age is right for this to have been Charles's father, William Castleman
(born 1766), Steward to The Deanery manorial court at Wimborne, administering land that had
been bought from the church at the time of the Reformation by a local [Poole] MP. His death
date is given in a family history online as 1838, but this seems to have been when his spouse
died; elsewhere, William Castleman V is given as not dying until 21 October 1844. Charles's
older brother Edward [1800-61] became Steward to the vast Bankes estate, married in 1823 the
grand-daughter of the wealthy former "King of Smugglers" Isaac Gulliver [buried in
Wimborne Minster in 1822] and became a successful banker, based in Wimborne. He invested £3500
in the railway line.
The source of some of this wealth from smuggling activities may also have prompted an interest
in acquiring parcels of land to control pubs and inns, as Gulliver had; Charles Castleman was
also an associate of William Fryer, another banker who had married Gulliver's eldest daughter
and heir, and they had also invested in local hostelries. It's possible this aspect explains
Richard's involvement, including his dealings with a brewery.
In any case, Charles invested £5000 and became the prime mover for this local railway
link; he was the man after whom the Southampton-Dorchester railway was nicknamed Castleman's
Corkscrew. Its 'corkscrew' route through the New Forest was designed to link up the smaller
market towns between Southampton, Salisbury, Dorchester: Ringwood, Wimborne, Lyndhurst etc.
(This would allow the local farmers to 'export' their unrefrigerated fresh produce to markets
as far away as London, with the first "up" train of the day being known as the milk
train.) He had the route surveyed and got the additional finance he needed in the spring of
1844, which would fit our time-frame. The section from Brockenhurst and Holmesey [officially
opened as "Christchurch Road Station"] bypassed Sway, which became a station on a
2nd branch line west to Poole just beyond the branch line running south to Lymington Pier.
(The line closed in 1977 and the 16-mile Ringwood-Poole section became in 1994 The Castleman
Trailway recreational route.) The track-laying phase could provide an alternative explanation
why Richard would spend so much time there, perhaps laying foundations for the section of line
skirting Sway. Richard's occupation is listed in the next [1851] census as a 'machine and drillman',
suggesting an operator of drilling machinery.
May 3 Richd took some money of Bowden et paid his rent.
May 20 [Monday] Pd off my washerwoman
May 21 Went to Poole took both Children called to see Mrs Millage, Mrs Sansom et Miss Feacy.
This is the first visit to Poole that has been mentioned, again a fair distance there and back, even by wagon, with another visit 3 days later. However it appears the couple need money [see also 25th May below]. This might help explain Richard's taking on outside work, viz. the Castleman contract.
May 24 Little Harvey's were here to tea.
Mr & Mrs Harvey's children come to tea?
May 25 Richd went to Wimbourne and Poole in sehearch of money but returned without money. Mr Westcotts Man came for his Bill I agreed with E Edwards.
This would be Dr Westcott's medical bill for attending Jane's birth, and may be the reason they need money. Jane engages yet another new servant, E Edwards - possibly the Eliza mentioned below.
May 27 [Monday] M.A. Gubbins left.
M.A. Gubbins had come 29th April, probably to help out for a month while Jane recovered.
May 28 E Edwards came to live with me. Harriet et her Mother drank tea here.
May 30 Eliza went to Club we were going to Mrs Waters's but she put her knee out so I sent for Mrs Harvey to drink tea with me. The [?] came also.
The "Club" Eliza went to [also 1st May] may have been a Thursday-evening village social club (both 1st and 30th May are Thursdays). Sending for someone to drink tea with you sounds rather odd, and the fact Mrs Harvey's was where Jane went to "borrough" a bottle of gin [21 Aug 1843] suggests there may on occasion have been more than tea in those teacups.
May 31 Richd went to see his calves I stayed with Mrs Craiton the while. We then went to Parly had a rough [?] at last I stayed there the Girl and children with me called to see Mrs Hatchard.
Richard evidenly has some calves as part of his livestock holdings. The "rough" is probably just Jane's standard spelling of row, rather than meaning she had a rough night or time at Parley.June 1 Mrs Bound et I did not agree very well about washing the Children my putting the Oldest to bed awake finished it.
June 2 [Sunday] Mr et Mrs H called in as she was going to Church. I spent as much time as possible out of doors. Richd came to tea as soon as we got home he started to Andover I went to Borrow money of Mrs Harvy first.
Reading between the lines, her in-law's visit en route to church seems to have prompted Jane to spend time outdoors. Cash still seems to be tight: as well as the visit to Mrs Harvey, some of the travelling seems to be to collect payment. Andover is well beyond Winchester, a considerable distance.
June 3 R returned soon after we were gone to bed had to get up again. E hicks came up told me my Brother was married.
Evidently Jane had lost touch with her brother William if she learned of his marriage via an in-law. Perhaps her moving out in 1843 to get married had left him free to move on. (This suggests the other references to a William visiting were not to her brother, but more likely William Thomas Bound, cf 14 July, 12 Aug, and 1 May above.) Jane's account of the family Xmas getogether mentions a W driving back with a Miss G., who may have been his fiancee. "E hicks" may have been Jane's unmarried sister-in-law Elizabeth [b.1809/1811]. The phrase "came up" could imply up from the coast, ie at Bournemouth. An Elizabeth Hicks is listed in the 1841 census as a 25-year-old [=born 1815/16] laundress residing at Bourne, though the birthdate is 6-7 years out from that of Richard's older sister [b 1809].
June 6 Richd went to Fair.
June 9 [Sunday] Mr Jenkins Fan, et Bess came up after tea, I sent the girls with Dale after to Mr Shamers to ask him to take a note to Miss Feacy we afterwards went up broadway lane altogether.
Broadway Lane is the main route south out of Muccleshell to Castle Lane (the main road to Christchurch) and becomes Charminster Rd running SW down Richmond Hill to what is now Bournemouth Square.This was probably the route Jane & co. took, at least when taking the gig or a cart into Bourne. "Dale" is presumably Jane's first child, now being referred to by name as since Walter's birth, he is no longer "the baby" of the family.
June 10 Richd took the Gig to town, brought back a Cart I went to red hill drank tea with Mrs Carter afterwards walked on to Ensbury came home round berry hill met Mrs Harvey agreed to go there to tea next day had a note from Miss Feacy.
Jane's itinerary takes her to Redhill and Ensbury, two other hamlets just upstream on the Stour, and she returns home not via Broadway Lane, but the shorter route through neighbouring Muscliff via Muscliff Lane and around Berry Hill, where Mrs Harvey lives (in Berry Lane).
June 11 I went to Iford with Richd in Morning as soon as he had dined he started to Bourne with his Sisters to meet a large party. I drank tea at Mrs Harveys
This seems to be the height of the social season. Jane's travels in the last few days encompass not only into "town" (Christchurch?) then up the Stour to Red Hill and Ensbury, but now east to Iford. Richard then heads off with his sisters southwest to Bourne to meet a large group there.
June 12 Mr Wills was ordained Miss Feacy came to stay Mrs. Sansom, Mrs Craiton, Miss Randlle et M Bound dined here. Miss Brown et Mrs Jerio came to tea, Mr et Mrs Cox with Miss Sainsberry to supper.
The social season continues with Miss Feacy staying over for a week, 4 more ladies coming to dine, another 2 to tea, and 3 more people to supper. (None of these other ladies who are new faces seem to be in the 1841 census list, and may be from outside the census area. Could they be new acquaintances from the Sway-Lymington area?)
June 13 I rode on the Pony Miss Feacy et Richd walked the Girls brought the Baby to meet us Dale was at Mrs Harveys.
There seems to be only the one pony between them now. Young Dale is staying with Mrs Harvey [as he would again 18 June]. The Harveys may have connections with Poole [see 18 October]. Dale would later marry a girl from a Poole family.
June 14 Mrs. Harvey et Miss Reeks drank tea with us afterwards we all went to Little Down to see the ruins. Miss Reeks went on home. Mr Harvey came to supper.
The only Miss Reeks in the 1841 census is a 28-year old laundress at Bourne. Littledown Common is an area of heath south of Holdenhurst, and there was an adjacent estate owned by the Cooper-Dean dynasty, who had built a Georgian manor called Little Down House. But "the ruins" are a mystery. Were they the result of a recent destruction by fire of some local buildings, or were they older ruins newly uncovered, perhaps by a heathland fire?
June 15 Mrs Marshell had tea here R went to Town.
June 16 [Sunday] Eliza gave her Master warning to leave we went to Church as usual in the Evening (I went to chapel with Miss Feacy) not best pleased with Richd.
It appears this new servant is leaving because of Richard rather than Jane's treatment of her. Richard is about [below] to offend Jane herself somehow. Was Richard the reason other servants left?
June 17 Richd ofended me so that I made myself quite ill we went to Mrs Harveys to tea spent a pleasant Evening
June 18 We drove Miss Feacy home came back in the wet Dale was at Mrs Harveys who came up with him herself.
June 19 Eliza went to get a place Mrs James came down just as I was going down to Mrs Harveys.
June 20 Richd went Southampton to see a Brewery Mr Westcott called R returned not very late.
Was his brewery visit in connection with the new railway out of Southampton, perhaps to obtain ale for the navvies working the Sway-Holmesley section? If so, Richard was in charge of more than just a drilling rig. An entry below [30 Sept] suggests he had also arranged to provision the workers with farm produce, and the ale may have been to go with this.
June 21 Mrs Waters et Sister drank tea here I went after her with Gig.
Mrs Waters's name appears a number of times over the year.June 22 Picking Feathers Richd drove me et the Children to twon [sic] had tea at Jenkins's N Dow called
"Picking feathers" is perhaps plucking game birds for sale as well as to make use of their plumage, though the end use of these feathers is obscure (ladies' hats?)
June 23 [Sunday] Went to Church this Morning richd is gone to Mr Waters since tea.
July 21 [Sunday] Did not go to Church
There is a gap here in the diary of a month, at the end of which she notes she did not attend church, which in those days was unusual.
July 22 Richd went to Sway
This is the first of many mentions of visits to Sway. As suggested above, Richard was probably now working on the new railway nicknamed Castleman's Corskscrew, which came west past Sway, where a branch line to Lymington was to be built. The land there seems to have been part of the Meyrick Estate.
July 23 Mrs James came down.
July 24 Mrs James Brewed Eliza gave warming [warning?] Miss Raines called had supper with me
Mrs James seems to be staying a few days. Is the servant Eliza giving warning she wants to quit, like her predecessors?
July 25 Baked; made butter, Mrs James went home I had cold and tooth ache. Ann Read came up a little while.
July 26 Richd returned we drank tea at Mrs Harvey's;
July 28 [Sunday] Hart came up after tea Dale had a fall on the Stones while I was Skiming.
'Skiming' would be skimming the cream off the top of the milk, evidently part of Jane's regular work to create dairy produce to sell in the surrounding towns and villages.
July 29 I went to Sway with Richd for the first time Eliza dresed the Baby We left Dale a Xchurch went into Lymington dined et drank tea at E Peat's returned to Sway to Sleep.
Sway was a quiet backwater, but at this time, not only was the railway coming through the area, but novelist Captain Marryat, who stayed nearby at Chewton Glen, was about to put the Sway area on the literary map by setting his classic 1847 Children Of The New Forest here. He may thus have been visiting the vicinity at the same time, just before the railway arrived bringing inevitable changes. E Peat of Lymington may be the Emma Peat who helped Jane out earlier [17 April 1843].
July 30 Went out for Walk with Richd et Baby did not leave Sway till after tea called at Jenkins for the Baby Dale
Young Dale, still a toddler, is being minded at Mrs Jenkins at Christchurch, who acts regularly as childminder for them.
July 31 Richd went with his Mother to Wimborne I went down to Mrs Marshall with the Children Took Rd Trowsers to mend.
Mrs Marshall who is to mend Richard's trousers may be the mother of Sarah, Jane's sometime servant.
August 1 Richd went to Xchurch I went to Mrs Harvey's she was going out N(?) brought Hariet home to tea Mr et Mrs cox came also to tea.
August 2 I went down to sit with Mrs Strong(?) an hour
August 3 It was a very rough Day I Borrowed J Eckton's Donkey et Cart took the Girls et Children to Xchurch to get me a Frock made. R came home to supper.
Jane seems to be doing some childminding of her own. Eckton's donkey proves more cooperative this time [see 21 Sep 1843]. Donkey carts were routinely driven by women - Jane Austen was given one by her brother to do her shopping in Alton.
August 4 [Sunday] We to dine at Mayby's took the Children et Girl.
August 5 R took Dale to Bourne brought back Mrs James wet afternoon.
Another routine trip to Bourne[mouth], again with a child, though it appears by donkey-cart as above, or pony-and-gig, as she brought back a neighbour.
August 6 Mr J came to dine the [he?] went home after tea; Mrs et Mr Waters had supper with us.
The various meals here suggest the one Mr J (James?) came for might be lunch, he then setting off home after afternoon tea, with the Waters arriving to have supper, a later meal, perhaps around 7 (this being summertime, it would not be dark till after 8pm).The same dinner-then-tea sequence occurs in the 18th August entry. In the entry below however, Richard's "tea" would be the regular 'teatime' meal (between 5 and 6pm), with him working till dark to get the harvest done in time, though it sounds below as if they have only the one field to harvest, growing wheat [cf 10 Aug entry].
August 7 Richd was at work in the Harvest Field I carried his tea he kept me with the Children till quite dark.
August 8 R wished me to go to Wimborne but the rain came down so he went himself Edwin Bound came after the money for Ducks R et myself had supper at Waters's left the Children at home.
They have been buying ducks from the well-off Bound family at Parley Court. The diary's penultimate entry [below] suggests they are bought live and Jane kills them herself when they are to be eaten, which would be normal practice for a farmer's wife in the days before refrigeration.
August 9 R went to Sway took Dale to Xchurch they returned rather late.
August 10 R went to way returned to Harvest et got in all the Wheat which was fit he took Dale to his Mother's who got a fall whilest there Mr et Mrs Cox came for butter
Some of the wheat crop seems to have been ruined, perhaps by a wet summer; they sell butter to the neighbours.
August 11 [Sunday] We were expected at Mrs James's this morning to go to Bourne church but disapointed her on account of Richd going to Sway to Morrow We went to Church this Morning the Girls have not been out Tucked the Baby it has been a wet afternoon. R is just gone out with Mr Gold.
Another trip to attend church in Bournemouth is planned. Considering the extra distance involved, the change of Sunday venue may be for social reasons. Again, this is not St Peter's, which did not open till 1845, but some earlier temporary one, presumably the same one in the "Hasdin" entry of 16 July 1843, which she also visited 24 Sep 1843.
August 18 [Sunday] Mayby's were here to dinner et tea also Mrs Harvey et Mr [?] et my Aunt Roasted a piece of beef.
Jane's un-named Aunt [her step-aunt, Betsy Bound?] is visiting, and helping cook, a roast-beef dinner. Note continued use of "et" as a shorthand for "and."
August 21 Richd went to sway Eliza's Month was up I foolishly asked her to stop.
Another servant gone - evidently there was a trial period of a month after which you could simply give notice. This is presumably the same Eliza who earlier gave a warning to her master ie Richard. Jane dismisses her, but at once regrets it.
August 22 I let Eliza go to get her foot measured she stayed away till 12 O clock and then was saucy
Eliza is getting herself measured for new footwear, perhaps for her next job, and is demonstrating more independence after Jane's mishandling of the situation. The census lists a half dozen local shoemakers, including their neighbour old George King.
August 24 Eliza left Joeana Troke Mrs Harvey's Gill was here I got the work done nicely.
Eliza moves on, but Jane now has Mrs Harvey's girl servant Joanna Troke - perhaps a relative of the "E.Troke" mentioned later [12 Sept] as a new nursemaid. (The 1841 Holdenhurst Census lists a number of Trokes at Muccleshell and Holdenhurst, including two Johannah Trokes listed as ages 8 and 47, i.e 11 and 50 in 1844. An E[lizabeth] Troke of Muccleshell is also listed age 10, which would make her 13-14 in 1844.)
August 25 [Sunday] Drank tea at Mrs Harvey's as we were going out Miss Brown came she went along with us.
It is unlikely this Miss Brown was her sister, unless she was again using formality as an affectation, and this is likely the same Miss Brown they visit 4th September - perhaps a relative of the other William Brown?
August 26 Ann Martin came to wash Ring came to offer through her I went after E Lockyer left Dale with Mrs Harvey
August 27 E Lockyer came to live with me R went to sway
E Lockyer must be Eliza's replacement as live-in domestic, evidently not local or new to the area. (No Lockyers are listed in the Holdenhurst 1841 census.)
August 28 Made 25 Butter R came at home
Jane is involved in some sort of large-scale butter production.
August 29 We all went to Xchurch in a cart R bought a Horse sold Giss I had dinner at Dales we returned to tea.
Was "Giss" the frisky horse earlier called Gypsy, now being replaced? The Dales may have been relatives of Richard's mother: their firstborn had been given the middle name Dale as it was Richard's maternal family surname, his mother being born Jane Dale. These Dales are presumably at Christchurch, though there were other Dales just across the Stour from Throop, giving their name to Dales Land and Dales Farm there, and another Richard Dale at Tuckton Farm.
August 30 Just as Eliza was going for her Box a little Boy brought it I lent her sixpence R went to sway again 1s 6d.
The box in question must be the servant equivalent of a suitcase or trunk, where Eliza kept her spare clothes and few possessions.
August 31 S Marshall was here we baked
Sarah Marshall returns?
September 1 [Sunday] J Martin rode to Church with me R stayed at home to take a Pill after tea we went for a walk met with Min et Hart
September 2 Humby was here S Marshall sent a brace of bir[d]s R went off after dinner we bit of a quarrel about Bet Osmond
Is this more trouble between Jane and Richard over serving girls? "Humby" is not in the local Census, but may be William Humby, owner of the Sandford Hotel and King's Arms in Christchurch around this time, who was also sometimes local burgess and stagecoach stopover agent. An Osmond family is listed in the Census, at Muscliff, though the only 'Bet' candidate is Elizabeth, age 12.
September 3 Ann Marshall came to work Richd came home to tea.
The 1841 Census lists two Ann Marshalls: one age 23 in 1844 from Littledown, and a more likely candidate age 15 ie 18 in 1844, from Bourne, who is listed as a servant.
September 4 We went to Miss Brown's to tea Mr et Mrs Jered came to supper
September 5 R went away I drank tea at Mrs Harvey's came home very cross the Baby's bed was not made.
Dissatisfaction with the new domestic, Ann Marshall - or is it more likely the nursemaid, E. Troke (who will leave in a week)?
September 6 We brewed I sent Ford after my Key to preston Miss Harveys were here Mrs Harvey came up at supper time
More home brewing. "I sent Ford after my Key to preston" seems to mean she sends someone called Ford to fetch a key of hers which is at Preston, which may be the now-vanished hamlet.
September 7 R returned just as we were to rights Hart brought home the Children's Frocks paid the washer woman.
Both Jane's children were boys, but "frocks" may refer to the old fashion of dressing pre-school-age boys as well as girls in frocks.
September 8 [Sunday] Richd et Eliza have been to Church this morning I have not been.
September 10 M Longman came to offer.
September 12 E Troke left M Longman came as Nurse maid.
E Troke would be the departing nursemaid, possibly the Eliza above, replaced by M. Longman.
September 12 et 13 Ann Marshall was here at work. R came home from Sway to dinner
September 14 R went to Wimborne Fair
September 15 [Sunday] We got to Church too Early so we called to see Mrs wicher Mr et Mrs Waters Mr et Mrs Harvy drank tea here I was very ill.
Once again, we must wonder what was in the teacups.
September 19 S Marshall was here to work. W Brown called but would not stay to dine I was going to see Mrs Wicher but R heard she was confined; so I went to Exchurch with R . . . had tea at Jenkin's.
W Brown would not be her now-married brother, as this would be an odd way to refer to him, but perhaps a Walter or another William Brown. See 15th July note. "Confined" meant staying in due to being in the later stages of pregnancy.
September 20 R went to Sway et Back
September 21 R went to Woodbury hill
R goes off to the Woodbury Fair again - again without Jane, just like last year.
September 22 [Sunday] Neither me nor the girls went out Boiled Leg Mutton et Turnnips I was very poorly
September 23 R went away Early
September 24 Mrs Harvey gave a hare they came to sup from it Races [?] I was in bed all day S Marshall stayed with me part of the time Mrs Hicks sent for the Baby he was asleep et did not go.
September 25 R came home Mr Waters had supper with him
September 26 R went to Mr Eyles Sale I went to Doctor Godhard had the Pony et Gig Mrs Waters went with me ann Read took care of the Children.
Jane, who has been feeling unwell, again consults the local doctor, Goddard, travelling by pony and gig accompanied by a neighbour while another [Ann Read again] minds the children. There is no "Eyles" in the Census list, but there is an Ayles family at Muccleshell and another at Holdenhurst.
September 27 R went to his Mother's came home et quarrelled with me because I did not send the Baby down there on Tuesday which upset me for the Day.
Jane has more marital discord due to the influence of her mother-in-law.
September 28 R went to Sway returned at Night I roasted a Goose S Howard came to see me A Ellis called
September 29 [Sunday] Mr et Mrs James et S Howard came to dine Mrs Waters came to sup Joe Rogers et Miss Aldritch called S H stayed
There seems to be an endless round of visitors. Miss Aldritch might be one of the Aldridge family who were major local farmers, based at Muccleshell and Muscliff, though the "L. Aldridge" in the Sep 23rd 1843 entry does not match anyone in the Census list.
September 30 J Newman came to take account of the Stock etc. Miss Spickernell came to spend the Day Mr et Mrs Waters et Brother were here to supper sent off some of the Goods to Sway had Mrs Summers to Wash S et Dale went to Wimborne with Richard who went to Pay his Rent.
Richard and Jane seem to be sending some sort of stock and goods [livestock and dairy produce?] to Sway, perhaps to feed a construction crew. Tenants paid rent quarterly at Xmas, Easter, on the Nativity of St John the Baptist [24 June - official Midsummer's Day], and Michaelmas [29 Sep].
October 1 R went to Sway in Morning S et Dale rode as far as G Gubbins's with him.
October 2 Finished ironing was much displeased at my Frocks not being dried well.
Jane is having more servant troubles, and seems to be doing her own ironing at this point.
October 3 We went to Waters to tea expected R home
October 4 et 5 Ann Marshall was here to work. R came home.
October 6 [Sunday] Roasted Leg Mutton S H went to Chapel in Evening R et myself went to Mrs Harveys after the Children were dressed stayed to supper I took the baby left Dale at home.
Dale seems to have been left at home on his own this time.
October 7 Had J Frys cart went Children et all to Sway went for a walk after tea. R slept with the baby down stairs S slept with me up stairs she frightened me in the Night.
S seems to be the S Howard mentioned earlier, perhaps the daughter of the Mrs Howard mentioned below [cf Oct 19], who has been staying with them and accompanying Richard on trips.
October 8 S went in the Waggon with the Children I cooked couple of Rabbits Mr Moore came looked over the house
Rabbit was becoming more common a meat, and is referred to several times here. Jane refers earlier to hare, a native animal becoming scarce, while the rabbit was an imported species maintained as meat for the table. Cranborne Chase across the Stour had been earlier described by Celia Fiennes as a "hare warren". But after the Chase lost its status as a baronial hunting ground in 1830, rabbits would have lost their protected status, and went from being a luxury item to a species classed by farmers as vermin, which anyone could snare or shoot. "Mr Moore" would be the person they visit at Lymington, below.October 9 Everything went wrong the Children had misfortunes; had no fire all wrong we went into Lymington to Mr More's had glass of wine there liked Mrs Moores very much I took each of the children to Mrs Belbins Dale went with us to Mr Mores we had some bread et cheese et Porter then come home in the rain; had tea spent comfortable eve R went out did not return till after we were a bed he had been to Waters.
Following various domestic misfortunes, Jane suddenly becomes more loqacious after some alcohol [wine and porter beer]. Note her use of the old literary phrase "a-bed."
October 10 R went off again I baked, roasted rabbit Dale was very poorly I put him into a warm bath.
October 11 Gave Dale Castor oil he was better Ann R brought some composition
The remedies for a toddler who was "poorly" seem to have been a warm bath, then castor oil, while the "composition" Ann R[ead] brings may have been a medicinal preparation.
October 12 Salted round of Beef et quarter of Pig which we had of J Marshall Baked Jim came home brought a note from Richard et he brought some beer
October 13 [Sunday] Roasted place of Pork boiled Rabbit et seemed to go wrong at first but all was well after it has been a wet afternoon the Children are gone to bed we have none of us been out Mr et Mrs Jenkins called this morning gave me a cake.
This being autumn, when livestock is traditionally slaughtered, with portions preserved for the winter, there is a variety of meat on the table - as well as roast or boiled rabbit, there is mutton, goose, duck, beef, and now roast pork.
October 16 We went to tea at Waters R went to Sway.
October 17 Aunt drove me to Xchurch fair Saw Richard there; had dinner at Mrs Burrey's S Howard took care of the Children William rode home with us after tea Aunt went home.
Given this is a family visit on the occasion of Christchurch Fair, the William who rides home with them may be her (now-married) brother. Alternatively, it may be the 20 year old son of family friends the Bounds. The "Aunt" who drives Jane to the Fair could be Jane's step-aunt Betsy Bound, or it could be a biological aunt, though obviously elderly. This and the 18 Aug entry may be the only references to Jane's parental generation.
October 18 Mrs Harvey drove me to Poole.
What their business was in Poole is never explained. Their son Dale would later set up a grocery business in Poole High Street, and 7 years later married a Poole girl.
October 19 We had J Fry's Cart went to Xchurch about my Watch Glass received a Note from R saying Jenkins were coming When we got home Mrs Howard et Ann were there; killed couple Ducks, R came home.
The "Watch Glass" may be connected with the local fusee watch-mechanism industry. Jenkins may be confectioner Thomas and wife, who were relatives, or Fanny and Henry Jenkins, who was also the owner of the town's 3rd watch-chain factory, based on Christchurch's Rotten Row, now part of Bridge St.
October 20 Jenkins's came to Dinner.
... Jane's diary ends here, as abruptly as it had begun 18 months before, in the autumn of 1844, when the 2nd baby mentioned (Walter Charles) was about 6 months old.
The family did not remain in the Bournemouth area. They moved about during their last years in England, though why they gave up their family farm is not known. (The 1840s are often referred to as the Hungry Forties due to the general hardship.) By the end of 1845, the family had moved eastwards along the coast to Milford-On-Sea near Lymington, where a 3rd son, Arthur William, was born. They then moved inland into the New Forest, and daughter Mary Jane was born there in 1847. (This move may again have been connected with the construction through the Forest of the new railway line, completed in 1847.) The family moved on again, this time to the village of East Harnham near Alderbury, in the parish of Britford, on the southeastern outskirts of Salisbury (also on a branch of the new Castleman railway). Here, Augustus Thomas was born in 1850. Early the following year Mary Jane died (cause not indicated), and by the time of the 1851 census, the eldest son, Dale, now age 8, had been sent to live with his grandparents, Charles and Jane, back at King's Farm. There is a record of a son Henry being born in 1851, but nothing else is known of him; daughter Amy Ursula was born in Britford parish in 1852. By this time, Richard was giving his profession as baker.
The Hicks family now decided to relocate to Australia - a common solution for Victorian farm workers unable to make headway under the new English land-ownership rules. In September 1852, as Unassisted Immigrants, Jane and Richard and 4 children boarded a clipper bound for Australia, a voyage that took 4 months. According to one online account, an unnamed infant was born during this trip. (This may be a confusion over their bringing an infant with them - presumably Amy Ursula.) They settled first at Whittlesea, in the State of Victoria. In 1853, Richard worked on the survey for a local reservoir and water system there. He also worked as an 'agriculturalist' (the term used on Edgar's 1855 birth certificate) and as a 'carrier', but not much more is known. After twenty-five years, Jane and Richard settled at Bundalong in Yarrawonga, a parish and township near the Murray River, in 1878. The family seemed to to have had a new brick house built there. In 1879, he was able to obtain 150 acres of Crown allotment land, purchased under a 'homesteading' style arrangement whereby the occupier had to work the land and improve it, which he did. He obtained another 150 acres in Yarrawonga, as well as another 50 acres beyond that, which was planted with wheat. His sons Walter and Edgar occupied neighbouring allotments, working these successfully. Jane's obituary in the Yarrawonga Chronicle mentions that Richard's "children married and established comfortable homes around him."
The eldest son, Dale, then age 9, had been left behind. He remained with his now-widowed paternal grandfather, perhaps as a helper. (Grandma Jane, Richard's mother, had died at Throop in 1850.) Grandfather Charles would die in 1857. Dale then appears to have gone to the Isle of Wight with his aunt Jane - Richard's eldest sister,who married William Jenkins. Dale worked as an apprentice grocer. By 1871 Dale had moved on to Poole, where he set up his own grocery business on the High Street. His now-widowed Aunt Jane Jenkins was by then living-in with him as a housekeeper. In 1878, Dale married Poole girl Kate Emily Osment, and ran a grocery business in Eltham, Kent. Two children were born, Charles and Mabel, Charles becoming an assistant to his father in the shop. Dale Hicks died in Brentford, Essex, in 1906, aged 63. It appears he never saw his parents or siblings again, though he did correspond with his brother Walter in Australia. Dale's only grandchild (by his son Charles), Dorothy Katherine, continued the Hicks branch of the family tree in England, via Dorothy's daughter Jean and her daughter Catherine.
Despite all their “roughs” (as she poetically spelt “rows”), Jane and Richard's marriage lasted nearly fifty years, till his death from a stroke in 1890, age 79 in Yarrawonga, Victoria. Jane died in 1896, age 82, at her son Walter's house in Yarrawonga. She is buried in the cemetery at Bundalong, her obituary describing her as "an esteemed old resident" whose funeral was a very large one.
As often happened in the 19th C., the parents had outlived some of their children. Mary Jane, born in the New Forest in 1847, had died age 4 in 1851. Augustus Thomas, born outside Salisbury in 1850, died in Australia in 1875 (by then age 24-25 and working as a coachman) of measles-related complications. The fate of Henry, born in 1851, remains uncertain - no census details are given, suggesting an early demise, and the unnamed infant supposedly born during the 1852 voyage doesn't appear again. The others seemed to have survived and married, and online genealogical sites show how the family line continued in Australia through the 20th century - though details vary between websites. Walter Charles (the Diary's 2nd baby, born in April 1844), married twice, had 7 children, and died in 1927, age 82. Arthur William, born in Milford-on-Sea in 1846, married in 1872 and died in 1920 age 73. Edgar Alfred, born in 1855, remained at Bundalong near his parents, married in 1882, fathered 8 (or 10) children, and died in the last year of WWI, age 62. Amy Ursula, in one online version Edgar's twin sister (with both being born 1855 in Australia), was in another account born outside Salisbury in 1852, and went to Australia as an 8-month old baby. Like her brother Edgar, she too remained at Bundalong, marrying in 1881 (or 1882), having 3 (or 5) children, and dying there in 1932.
Richard's surviving siblings (all mentioned in the diary) remained in the Holdenhurst area. His brother Charles died in 1889, age 70. His sister Harriet (who may be the diary's "Hart") died in 1862, age 49. Elizabeth, born on Xmas Day 1809, died in 1875. The 3rd sister, Ann, died in 1887, age 72. (By this time, Jane and Richard were living alone and to quote Walter's letter to Dale, "growing old fast.") Richard's eldest sister, who married when she was in her 50s, outlived her husband William Jenkins, and was still alive in the 1870s when she moved to Poole as Dale's houskeeper, but her death date is not known.
Jane's private journal of 1843-44 would outlive them all. Jane took her diary with her to Australia, and it was her descendants there who preserved it as a family heirloom. Two of these have since written privately-printed family-history books covering Richard and Jane's life there, one by Maureen Mannion, and one by Val Hicks. It was Maureen who in 1986 sent a photocopy of the diary to Mary Baldwin, a Hampshire genealogist, for further research. This was the basis of an article in the Bournemouth Echo 15 April 1993, and a March 1994 feature by Mary in Dorset Life magazine, “Mrs Dale Hicks Diary.” Mary also sent a copy of the handwritten journal to Michael Stead of Bournemouth Borough Council, who in December 1999 typed it out and began adding annotations to clarify its cryptic entries. Michael's typed transcript of the handwritten diary text, along with the revised and expanded annotations reproduced above in italics, was published online in the run-up to the town's 2010 bicentenary. Jane Hicks's journal remains one of the few local first-hand accounts known for this early period of the town's history, when it was a ‘marine village’ known simply as 'Bourne.'