9 Mar 2005
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I drew up a Facer family tree and got thinking about Alfred Facer. He lived from at least 1881 to 1901 at Bradwell (latterly New Bradwell) in Buckinghamshire. His occupation wa railway carriage finisher. Obviously there must have been a coachworks in the area. I decided to look to see if there was any information on the Internet regarding this. Bradwell was on the Newport Pagnell to Wolverton Branch Railway which was constructed in the eary 1860s. Construction commenced soon after the 1863 Newport Pagnell Railway Act was passed and by 1866 it was open for goods, cattle and parcels. The following year the first passengers were carried. The line was closed in 1964 following the Beeching reviews. The following information is taken from http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/giffard99/
1866 - Line opened for goods traffic only. The line brought with it a great many changes. Population
growth in New Bradwell & Wolverton was rapid and enormous. Wolverton's population rose from
335 before the Railway Works was established there, to 1,600 in 1851, and New Bradwell had a
population of 2,400 by 1871, four years after the line opened. In contrast, Newport's population rose
from 3,750 in 1851 to 3,800 in 1891, apparently being unaffected by the Wolverton works
development.
The works undertook manufacture and repair work to carriages and wagons and train lighting
equipment for all the main works. There were spray painting shops, varnishing shops, body repair,
wheel, lifting, smith's, brass, brake, machine and electric trimming and timber production shops and
general stores (to name but a few!).
Img:wolverton-works-dinner-time.jpg Dinner time at Wolverton Works Img:wolverton-works-smithy.jpg The smithy at Wolverton Works Img:wolverton-works-1949-1959.jpg Wolverton Works 1949-1959 Img:wolverton-works-plan-1897.jpg L&NWR Plan of Wolverton Town & Works. Shows Wolverton Works, Wolverton, New Bradwell, Stacey Hill Farm, Tram Track, Newport Pagnell branch line. Scale 25.344in to 1mile. (Taken from Milton Keynes’ Museum list of plans http://www.mkmuseum.org.uk /planlist.asp) Img:wolverton-works-carriage-shop-1906.jpg Wolverton works carriage shop 1906 Img:wolverton-works-body-shop-1906.jpg Wolverton works body shop 1906 From http://www.lnwrs.org.uk/Carriages/WolWorks01.php:
Wolverton Works in 1897: Wolverton Works was the principal carriage works of the London &
North Western Railway (LNWR); from 1865 all the coaching stock and road vehicles were built
there. (Before 1865 carriages had been built at Saltley, Birmingham.) The works was situated north
of Bletchley on the main line out of London Euston and by 1897 had expanded to cover nearly sixty
acres, so that the main line, originally on a straight alignment directly through the works, had to be
re-routed to bypass it to the east.
The Carriage Superintendent in charge of the works was not only responsible for building and
repairing the coaching stock across the entire system but also for its cleaning and examination. In
support of this there were also repair shops at Carlisle and Willesden and a carriage shop at Crewe.
8,100 vehicles were repaired annually, requiring a workforce of 3,200 (with a further 2,000 at
Crewe, Carlisle and Willesden). Road vehicles built and maintained included omnibuses, parcel carts
and vans, broughams, gigs, and so on.
We have two candidates from the 1871 census for Alfred Facer’s father both called William:
. William F Facer, born about 1818 in Wavendon, married to Fanny. He was a butcher.
. William Facer, born about 1822 in Wavendon, married to Eliza. He was a grocer.
Both these Williams were living in Wavendon in 1871. We decided to follow them up in 1881 to see if we could tie either to Alfred. Here is our first William:
1881 Wavendon (RG11_1477_1482-0756)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Facer Head Widower 62 Butcher Wavendon, Bucks
. . . quoted from RG11-1480-94-4 ()
and the second:
1881 Walton Road, Wavendon (RG11_1477_1482-0767)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Tew Head Mar 59 Grocer Wavendon, Bucks
Eliza Tew Wife Mar 60 Grocer's wife Deddington Oxfordshire
. . . quoted from RG11-1480-100-15 ()
There was another William Facer living in Ampthill but born in Wavendon in about 1847:
1881 Bedford Street, Ampthill(RG11_1634_1639-0106)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Facer Head Mar 36 House painter Wavendon, Bucks
Matilda Facer Wife Mar 39 Luton, Beds
Lizzie Facer Dau 8 Scholar Ampthill, Beds
Rose Facer Dau 6 Scholar Ampthill, Beds
Bertha Facer Dau 4 Scholar Ampthill, Beds
Thomas Facer Son 2 Ampthill, Beds
We looked in the 1881 England census to find the William Facer who was a schoolteacher in 1871 - there was no sign of him. When we looked in the 1881 census for Wales, we found him living with his family in Llanwnog. Unfortunately there was an error when we tried to view the original image. The PRO reference is RG11/5484/13/7. Here is the summary information:
1881 Caersws, Montgomeryshire
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William F Facer Head Mar 36 Teacher B.A. (London Warendon Bucks
University)
Mary Facer Wife Mar 34 Llandinam,
Montg.
Mary Eliza Dau 10 Scholar Llanwnog, Montg.
Facer
Sarah Jane Dau 8 Scholar Llanwnog, Montg.
Facer
Annie Facer Dau 1 Llanwnog, Montg.
Alice Facer Dau 1 Llanwnog, Montg.
We looked for this family in the 1891 census but it appears that they had split up and the parents were missing, presumably dead. Here is Frederick William Facer aged 6 who we think was living with our Alfred Facer in 1901. He is living with a family of Wooleys who is probably his mother’s brother’s family.
1891 "Cia" Wrexham Regis, Denbeigh(RG12_4618_4621-0203)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
John Woolley Head Mar 48 Contractor Montg.
(employer) Llandinam
Ann Maria Woolley Wife Mar 42 London City
Florence Mary Dau S 16 Scholar Chester,
Woolley Cheshire
Annie Louisa Dau S 15 Scholar Chester,
Woolley Cheshire
Francis Arthur Son 12 Scholar Chester,
Woolley Cheshire
Hilda Eve??? Dau 10 Scholar Chester,
Woolley Cheshire
John Edward Son 10 Scholar Chester,
Woolley Cheshire
Lauretta Mary Dau 7 Scholar Yorkshire
Woolley Burnley
Frederick William Nephew 6 Scholar Montg. Caersws
Facer
. . . quoted from RG12-4619-38-21 ()
There is also a Margaret Facer, possibly called Mary on the previous census. She is almost certainly related since she too is living with some Woolleys:
1891 Brook Cottage Llandinam, Montgomeryshire
(RG12_4590_4593-0264)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Edward Woolley Head M 49 Builder Montg.
(employer) Llandinam
Lucy Anne Wife M 42 Bloomsbury
Woolley London
John B???? Son S 20 Joiner Montg.
Woolley Llandinam
Mary Anna Dau S 17 Scholar Montg.
Woolley Llandinam
Arthur Woolley Son 14 Scholar Birkenhead
Cheshire
Matthew Gilbert? Son 9 Scholar Montg.
Woolley Llandinam
Lucy Gladys Dau 1 Montg.
Woolley Llandinam
Margaret Facer Niece 8 Montg. Llanwnog
. . . quoted from RG12-4591-107-4 ()
And Mary Eliza Facer living in the same house as Edward Evans
1891 3 Church P, Pool Lower, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire
(RG12_4595_4598-0472)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Mary Eliza {-Lodger-} S 20 Assistant School Montg.
Facer Head housewife Caersws
. . . quoted from RG12-4597-66-19 ()
We then tried to find out what happened to Alice’s twin sister Annie and to the elder sister Sarah Jane. By great luck we found Annie Facer living with her grandparents: William and Eliza - helping us to tie the families together!
1891 Church End, Wavendon, Bucks (RG12_1150_1153-0126)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Head M 69 Grocer Wavendon
Facer Bucks
Eliza Facer Wife M 70 Deddington
Oxfordshire
Annie Facer Grand-dau 11 Scholar Caersws Montg
Stephen Lodger S 25 Police Constable, Buck West Bromwich,
Jennings County Police Constabulary Staffs
. . . quoted from RG12-1150-133-3 ()
There was no sign of Sarah Jane - possibly she was married by then. We searched the IGI for marriages of Sarah Facer from 1871 to 1910 with no matching results. We also searched for Annie or Alice marrying between 1891 and 1901 - there was no sign. We found Alice Facer working as a servant to Joseph Thomas a Wool Maker in Aldenham, Herts.
1901 Woodhall, Aldenham, Hertfordshire (RG13_1314_1316-0101)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Alice Facer Serv S 21 Kitchenmaid Montg. Caersious
And Annie Facer, indexed as Annie Fuces (she is Annie Facer on the National Archives version of the census)
1901 District Princess Alice Orphanage, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire
(RG13_2892_2894-0239)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Annie Office Clerk S 21 Clerk Typewriter in Caersws, Montg
Facer Office
. . . quoted from RG13-2892-118-9 ()
We looked at all female Facers aged 16-21 in the National Archives version of the 1901 census and could not find Margaret Facer. So, after Alfred’s brother William died his young family were spread far and wide across the country, fostered with various family members:
Name 1891 1901
Mary Eliza Working in school in Welshpool
Sarah Jane unknown
Annie With paternal grandparents in Wavendon Typist in orphanage in Sutton
(William Facer) Coldfield
Alice With paternal uncle in Bradwell (Alfred Servant in Aldenham, Herts
Facer)
Margaret With maternal uncle in Wrexham Regis
(Edward Woolley)
William With maternal uncle in Wrexham Regis With paternal uncle in Bradwell
Frederick (John Woolley) (Alfred Facer)
In the 1901 census we found William Facer:
1901 Church End, Wavendon, Bucks (RG13_1359_1361-0594)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
William Facer Head M 79 Grocer Wavendon, Bucks
Eliza Facer Wife M 80 Oxon, Deddington
Attach:BKMRG13_1359_1361-0594.gif
. . . quoted from RG13-1361-63-2 ()
A few houses away was a Kezia Facer, a widow living on her own
1901 Church End, Wavendon, Bucks (RG13_1359_1361-0594)
Name Relation Condition Age Occupation Where Born
Kezia Facer Head Wid 54 Charwoman Wavendon, Bucks
We looked for the death of William F Facer, the schoolteacher and found it in 1889:
Death of William Frederick Facer, aged 44, DEC QTR 1889, District of Newtown, Montgomeryshire.
Vol 11b, p123
And for Mary Facer:
Death of Mary Facer, aged 43, DEC QTR 1890, District of Newtown, Montgomeryshire. Vol 11b, p119
There were no other Facer deaths in the index for Montgomeryshire We found the death of a William Facer aged 79 in 1901 in Newport Pagnell district:
Death of William Facerm, aged 79, SEP QTR 1901, District of Newport Pagnell, Bucks. Vol 3a p479
The Newport Pagnell distict covers the following parishes: Astwood, Bletchley, Bradwell, Bradwell Abbey, Bow Brickhill, Broughton, Castlethorpe, Chicheley, Clifton Reynes, Cold Brayfield, Emberton, Fenny Stratford, Gayhurst, Great Brickhill, Great Linford, Hanslope, Hardmead, Haversham, Lathbury, Lavendon, Little Brickhill, Little Linford, Loughton, Milton Keynes, Moulsoe, New Bradwell, Newport Pagnell, Newton Blossomville, Newton Longville, North Crawley, Olney, Olney Park Farm, Petsoe Manor, Ravenstone, Shenley Church End, Sherington, Stantonbury, Stoke Goldington, Tyringham with Filgrave, Warrington, Water Eaton, Wavendon, Weston Underwood, Woughton on the Green.
