BRYER of Surrey Chart no. 20

	Walter James BRYER		Phoebe BISHOP
	b. 13 Nov 1845 Newington SRY		b. 8 Aug 1848 Dalham SFK
			m. 28 Apr 1867 Trinity Church, Trinity Gray's, Holborn
	d. 6 Aug 1896, London County Lunatic Asylum, Ilford, ESS, aged 52		d. 2 Oct 1924 at 47 Mornington Road St Pancras, MDX, aged 76
	Cab Driver

Their Children

Walter John	Rosina Jane	Alfred	Emily	Albert Ernest	Florence	Amelia Elizabeth	Phoebe	Phoebe
b. 20 Jun 1867 Lying In Hospital Endell Street, St Pancras [Family actually living at 28 Gresse Street, St Pancras]	b. 25 Jan 1869 28 Gresse Street, St Pancras	b. 25 Feb 1871 28 Gresse Street, St Pancras bp. 31 Jul 1871 St Pancras Old Church	b. 11 Nov 1872 28 Gresse Street, St Pancras	b. 30 Jun 1874 10 Little Guilford St, St Giles	b. 12 Feb 1876 12 Little Guilford St, St Giles	b. 25 Jan 1877 1 Little Coram Street, St Giles	b. c. Oct 1882 4 James St, Islington	b. 13 Feb 1886 4 James St, Islington
m. Julia Sarah HOLLOWAY 18 May 1890 at St James Horsleydown SRY	m. (1) Walter John HUDSON 19 Sep 1892 Islington Register Office (2) Frederick ELMS 27 Nov 1935 Edmonton Register Office MDX				m. Charles Alfred BARRETT 2 Jul 1894 at Islington MDX	m. John OXLADE 22 Sep 1900 at Stoke Newington MDX		m. Thomas James PECK 29 Aug 1908 at Battle Bridge Islington MDX
d. 15 Dec 1951 at 115 Friern Road Camberwell SRY, aged 84 bur. St Mary the Virgin Benfleet ESS [FindAGrave]	d. 3 July 1937 at North Middlesex County Hospital, Edmonton MDX, aged 68 bur. 9 Jul 1937 at Islington Cemetery MDX			d. 30 Jul 1874 at 10 Little Guilford Street St Giles MDX, aged 1 mth		d. 14 Sep 1910 at West Ham Union Infirmary West Ham ESS, aged 33	d. 20 Feb 1885 at 4 James St, Islington MDX, aged 3	d. 1969 St Pancras RD MDX, aged 83

Who They Were

Walter James followed his father into the Cab Driving business. On 3 July 1890, he was admitted to Ishmael's Ward for alleged lunatics in Islington Workhouse, assessed, and then committed on 5 July. The admission documents state his wife was Phoebe, and their address 4 Rufford Street. Thereafter he was transferred to the Bethnal House Lunatic Asylum in Bethnal Green, where he was listed in the 1891 census. He sadly died in a psychiatric hospital, Claybury Mental hospital, or London County Lunatic Asylum, Ilford, which existed until 1997, but has since been converted into luxury flats called Repton Park. There is more information on the hospital itself in Wikipedia. The Wellcome Collection has a number of interesting photographs.
The cause of Walter's death is given as Exhaustion of General Paralytic Seizures

An interesting account of the life of a London Cab Driver is to be found among the writings of Charles Dickens. Click Here for a transcript.

Where They Lived

At the time of their marriage in 1867, both gave Gray's Inn Road as their place of residence. When their first child was born they were living at 28 Gresse Street St Pancras. Gresse Street runs behind Tottenham Court Road, almost at the junction with Oxford Street, and number 28 is now a graphics design/advertising company office. They lived at this address until at least November 1872.

By June 1874, when Albert Ernest was born (and died), they were living at 10 Little Guilford Street St Giles. At the time of Albert's death, July 1874, Mary Ann BISHOP, Phoebe's mother, gave her address as informant to the Registrar, as 40 Upper Rathbone Place, Marylebone. This is very interesting as it is the first sighting I had had of Mary Ann since Phoebe's birth. I subsequently identified Phoebe's parents in 1871, living with Walter and Phoebe in Gresse Street, just off Oxford Street; Mary Ann was described as a Nurse.

Florence was born in Feb 1876 at 12 Little Guilford Street and Amelia Elizabeth, in Dec 1877, was born at 1 Little Coram Street St Giles. In the 1881 census they were still living in Little Coram Street, with Robert Bishop, Phoebe's father, listed as a boarder. These addresses are all within what is now known as Bloomsbury.

In February 1885 and February 1886, they were living at 4 James Street, Islington. It has not been possible to identify the location of this street, so far.

When Florence married in 1894, she gave her address as 79 Hanley Road Islington, which is located in Finsbury Park. Since she married in the Islington Register Office, it is not possible to locate the family in a specific parish.

On Walter's death certificate, August 1896, his "former address" is given as 4 Rufford Street, Islington, and since Phoebe was no longer living with him in 1891; he had been committed to the Bethnal House Lunatic Asylum in Bethnal Green in 1890, and he was still in that establishment in 1891. Walter died in the London County Lunatic Asylum of Exhaustion of General Paralytic Seizures. No family member is mentioned on the certificate.

When Amelia married John Oxlade in 1900, both gave 71 Cowper Road Stoke Newington as their place of residence, which was probably her husband's address.

In about 1890, Phoebe met Walter Hudson, and although they did not marry, they lived together as man and wife thereafter. In 1891, they lived at 15 Little Marylebone Street Cavendish Square St Marylebone, with Walter's daughter Maud and Phoebe's daughter Phoebe, both named Hudson on the census. In 1896, Walter James Bryer died but it appears they did not legally marry even then. In 1901 they lived at 176 Great Titchfield Street St Marylebone; Walter spent some time in hospital, and the Poor Law Infirmary records show he was discharged on 11 Feb 1905 to his wife Phoebe at that same address. In 1911, they lived at 12 Foley Street St Marylebone. In 1919 and 1924, when Walter and then Phoebe died, their address was given as 47 Mornington Road St Pancras. Thomas Peck was the informant on Phoebe's death certificate.

When daughter Phoebe married in 1908, at All Saints Battle Bridge, she gave her address as 30 All Saints Street, Islington, the home, for many years, of her sister Rosina.

Family composition at the time of the 1881 Census | 1891 Census.

Family Group Identifiers

Family: BRYERU1
Family Group: b-sry020