John Tytheridge A Publican at The Marlborough Head In London

Ann Bennett (nee Tytheridge) sister of John Tytheridge 

I first came across John Tytheridge’s name 30 years ago when manually searching probate records. I could find nothing about John other than he was publican at The Marlborough Head public house in central London. In those days there were no Internet records and looking for John among the London Records was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This week I decided it was time to investigate again, aided by all the online records now available. This blog recounts what I have learnt and illustrates what an amazing amount of information can be found online 

John Tytheridge’s Parents in Mitcham

John’s parents were John Tytheridge and Ann Sprules who married at Christ Church, Spitalfields on 3 November 1816. They were recorded as of this parish and a bachelor and a spinster. At the marriage John signed his name and Ann, unable to write, put her mark. 

John and Ann moved to Lower Mitcham in Surrey where John was employed as a gardener. Ann was from Mitcham, baptised in Mitcham, St Peter and St Paul on 2 July 1786, daughter of William Sprules.

In 1818 John and Ann’s son was born, he was also called John. His baptism took place in the strangely named church of “City of London Lying-In Hospital” situated in City Road, Finsbury. The baptism records for 31 May 1818 show John baptised, son of John and Ann Tytheridge of Lower Mitcham, John is shown as a gardener. The City of London Lying in Hospital was a maternity hospital for the wives of working men and it had a chapel attached to it. I do not know why John was born and baptised here 10 miles from Mitcham. In 1821 John’s sister Ann was born. She was baptised in the local parish church of Mitcham, St Peter and St Paul, on 8 April 1821. Her parent’s residence is recorded as Mitcham and John shown as a gardener. Their surname in this record is written as Tetheridge.

In these day Mitcham was a Surrey village, about nine miles from London, although now it is a suburb of London. There were many large houses in Mitcham where John could have been employed as a gardener. It is also possible he was employed in the growing of lavender, since the area around Mitcham has grown lavender since the 1500s. The famous company Potter and Moore was set up in Mitcham in 1749 to extract lavender oil.

John and Ann Tytheridge in Wavendon

Sometime before 1832 John and Ann and family had moved to the small village of Wavendon, Buckinghamshire,  where John worked as a gardener. The evidence for this comes from an apprenticeship certificate for son John. John died on 26 March 1839 in Wavendon age 61. His age given suggests he was born about 1778. The cause of death was consumption (tuberculosis). His death was registered by Sarah Chance not by his wife. He was buried in the parish church of Wavendon on 29 March 1839, records show he was “husband of Ann”. 

Ann Tytheridge in Woolley

Ann, now a widow, moved to Woolley in Yorkshire. It is unknown whether she moved to find work or to be near a relative. She died 7months after John, her age was given as 53 or 55 in two different records. She was buried on 7 October 1839 in Woolley Parish church, her residence was shown as Woolley Park. Woolley Park is now a Grade ll listed building and was home of the Wentworth family. The transcription of her burial record shows her surname as Tetheridge.

The Index to Death Duty Registers suggest both John and Ann died intestate, with Ann granted administration of John’s estate and John (the son) administration of Ann’s estate. It looks like tax was due on their estate, tax was due on any estate over £20.

John Tytheridge’s Life 

While John junior’s early life was spent in Mitcham later the family moved to Wavendon. At the age of 14 John was sent to London to be an apprentice to David Francis Powell a citizen and patternmaker of London. An indenture was signed on 17 December 1832 and the basis of the agreement was David Powell would provide food, clothes, lodging for John and teach him his craft. In return John would work for David and learn the trade. During John’s apprenticeship there was a list of things he could not do including gambling, haunting taverns and playhouses and he could not get married. This indenture was binding for 7 years. John would have finished his apprenticeship just after his mother died.

On the 1841 census 21 year old John and his 18 year old sister Ann were living together at The Minories in London, residing with James and Elizabeth Miller. John is listed as a tailor and Ann is shown as no occupation. The Minories was a street that ran north from the Tower of London. London Land Tax Records show John paying tax at The Minories, Portsoken, City of London from 1844 to 1848. In the Post Office directory of 1845, he is shown as a tailor at 139 The Minories.

On 7 May 1845 27-year-old John married Jane Short in Walthamstow, St Peter in the Forest, Essex. There were no children from the marriage. 

From 1846 to 1851 John is shown on the electoral register for Bow, living in a house on the High Street. On the 1851 census John and Jane are living at 1 High Street, Stratford le Bow. It shows John age 32 from Mitcham, a victualler living with Jane his wife age 30 from Bristol. Also living with them are two servants and a niece, Mary Ann Short. The Post Office Directories show that the pub they ran was called the Black Swan, probably situated on the corner of Bow High Street and Bow Street.  

In 1852 a newspaper advert shows the lease on The Marlborough Head, 32/33 Great Marlborough Street was for sale. John was granted a licence to run this pub in March 1893. The pub was situated in central London near Regent Street, near Liberty’s, probably at the top of Carnaby Street and opposite The London Palladium. The pub was still there in 1966 although had been rebuilt but it has now been replaced with modern buildings. 

John Tytheridge’s Death

John and Jane lived at The Marlborough Head until John’s death on 27 December 1858 age 40. He was buried at Brompton Cemetery on 31 December 1858 after a service at Westminster, St James. He was buried in Grave B71, a map of the cemetery shows plot B is just to the right of north entrance.

John's will was written in 1854 and left everything to his wife Jane. Probate records show the estate was worth under £1500, (probably around £1400).

In March 1859 Jane put the lease of the Marlborough Head pub up for sale. Jane is missing from the 1861 census but in 1871 lodging at Stanley Villas Chelsea with William Nailer and wife and describes herself as a publican. On the 1881 census Jane is living with William and Mary Titmus (her niece) and family at 5 Cavendish Villas, Richmond. Jane died on 4 July 1886 at 1 Maple Villas, Maple Road Penge, age 67. 

As John and Jane had no children the Tytheridge surname died out from this line. 

The Tytheridge Surname Lives On

Despite John having no children the Tytheridge name has been preserved to the current day by the family of John’s sister Ann who was very proud of her Tytheridge surname.

On 16 April 1841 Ann Tytheridge married William Bennett in St Catherine Creechurch, both were of full age and from Jewry Street. Ann was probably only 20 and her father is shown as John Tytheridge but it doesn’t mention he is deceased. Her brother was one of the witnesses at the wedding. 

William and Ann Bennet had 4 children born in London.
• William Bennett born 1842 died 1843
• John Edward Bennett born 1845 died 1860
• Elizabeth Bennett born 1846 died 1851
• Isabella Bennett born September 1849 died Dec 1848

On 1851 census they were living in Stepney. In October 1852 they emigrated to Australia with their only surviving son, John. They sailed on the Koh I Noor, leaving London and sailing to Port Phillip, Victoria. In Australia Ann had 5 more children

• George Bennett born 1853 died 1853
• Maria Bennett born 1854 died 1934
• Charles Henry Bennett born 1858
• Ann Bennett born 1860
-• Frederick William Bennett born 1863 died 1926

Four of the children survived, but John who had travelled with them from England died in 1860. Ann died in Yarra, Victoria on 12 October 1902, her husband William died in 1904. 

At least one of Ann’s grandchildren were given the middle name Tytheridge, Frederick William Tytheridge Bennett. This Christian name has been handed down the generations and is still in evidence today. Also, a piece in the local newspaper showed that the family house of Frederick Bennett was called “Tytheridge”.

Looking for John Tytheridge Senior

Unfortunately, despite finding out so much about the children John and Ann Tytheridge, the origin of their father John Tytheridge born around 1778 remains a mystery. He is not related to the Tytheridge family of Hampshire. But the questions remain

• Is John related to the Tytheridges in Sundridge Kent?
• Is John a Titheridge who migrated from Hampshire then misspelt his surname?
• Is John a descendant from a family in Westminster who spelt their surname Titteridge, Tutteridge and many other variations, who were present in London in the early 1700s but have no known descendants?

None of the records currently available online provide a possible John Tytheridge born in 1778, so if you have come across someone who fits the bill please get in touch and solve the mystery.