In a message dated 16/10/2008 14:04:30 GMT Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
A friend of mine has been tracing his ancestry, which includes the Hambridge Family. These he has traced back to the Thames area and the Oxford Canal. He is mystified by an entry in the 1841 Census, where Hambridge is listed as a "Boat House Keeper" at Banbury. Hi Ivan I think this might be the 1851 census, not the 1841. The 1851 shows a James Hambridge at the Jolly Waterman in or near Mill Lane as a boatman and boathouse keeper. Gardners 1852 Oxfordshire Directory shows a John Hambridge as a Beer Retailer in Mill Lane, Banbury. In the 1851 Census, the enumerator's description of his area which covered the Jolly Waterman is: "All that part of the parish of Banbury Including the whole of Bridge Street North and South to the end of Broad street leading from thence on the Right of Castle Street Including Mill Lane and Houses Back of the Bottle Yard the Houses in Crown Yard with the Houses belonging to Banbury on Cherwell Street" To me it looks as though James/John doubled up as the landlord of a Beer House with a secondary occupation of operating boats. It was not uncommon for landlords to have another job on the side - it tided them over when beer trade was slack. It looks to me as though the Jolly Waterman was somewhere near Tooley's and is now under the Castle Quay shopping centre (or at least the canalside path). There were several wharves in the area, both above and below the lock - and BW's official name for the lift bridge above the lock is Mill Lane Bridge. DaveD I raise money for charity just by searching the web! www.everyclick.com is an internet search engine with a big difference - it donates half its revenues to charity, please support them too! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
