Pascoe Fenwick Esq. (1827 - 1910)

Born 1827 in Gravesend, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Ann Mary (Ravenhill) Fenwick — married 1854 in Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Lydia Laurence (Ray) Fenwick — married 16 Aug 1883 in St. Cuthbert, Bedford, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 2 Mar 1910 at about age 83 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dave Rutherford [send private message]

Biography

Pascoe is listed as born in Gravesend^{[1][2][3][4][5]} although his father Thomas Fenwick was living and working in the Limehouse district of London at this time. However, the family ended up in Gravesend eventually and it is possible that Pascoe's mother had retired to the comparative peace of Bravesend for his birth.
In 1841, at fourteen years old, Pascoe is listed as an assistant (apprentice?) working for William Pattinson at #1 Aldgate High Street, London. There were fourteen other boys from age 14 to 20 working there as well as one 20 year old girl.^[6]
He was listed as a clothier in the family business in 1851 after his father's death.^[1] It was at this time that the young and single Pascoe is believed to have fathered a child, Alice Matilda Wilton, with one of the household servants.^[7]
In 1854, he married Ann Mary Ravenhill in Chelsea, London.^[8] She grew up on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where her father served as Clerk and Sexton.
Pascoe was in partnership with his brother Orlando, who had emigrated from Gravesend to Australia in 1852 and was running a drapers business there.^[9] But both brothers had apparently remained as partners of the outfitters in Gravesend as well. This is seen in the following report from Gravesend Police Court in August of 1856, which also shows that shoplifting (which had plagued their father's shop in Limehouse) was also a problem in the suburbs of Gravesend:
"GRAVESEND POLICE COURT.—Friday.
Present :—R. Oakes, Esq. (in the Chair} ; M. Troughton, Esq.. and Waltar Hills, Esq., the Mayor.
Joseph Redden was charged with stealing three pairs of trowsers, value 14s. 5d. the property of Pascoe and Orlando Fenwick,of High Street.
Police-constable Warner stated that about four o’clock on Wednesday afternoon be met the prisoner in West Street carrying a bundle, he asked the prisoner what he had got, and he said a pair of trowsers which he had bought at Dartford, witness not believing this examined the bundle, and finding it to contain three pairs of trowsers, be took the prisoner into custody.
Edward Dade stated that he was assistant to Messrs. Pascoe and Orlando Fenwick, outfitter, High Street, the trowsers now produced were thelr property, they were worth 15s. 5d.; witness had them at the door Wednesday morning; they had not been sold ; witness did not miss them until the Police-constable came to make enquiries. —Committed to Maidstone for two months with hard labour."^[10]
It is interesting to note that neither Pascoe or Orlando appeared in court. It is known that Pascoe joined his brother in Australia in 1857 for the opening of Fenwick Brothers Drapers in Melbourne,^[11] so perhaps he had already left for Australia by August of 1856.
By the fall of 1860, he was back in Gravesend with Ann. Guy Fawkes Day that year was marred by disturbances described as a riot by the local paper.^[12] The disturbances were led by local watermen and may well have had a political dimension to them, because the previous year, Parliament had enacted legislation which severely curtailed the traditional rights and privileges of the Waterman's Company.^[13] What is certain, is that the authorities expected trouble and swore in special constables for the occasion. For whatever reason, Pascoe decided to ignore two notices requiring him to be sworn in as a special constable. Perhaps he simply chose to pay a fine, and stand guard at his own establishment. But possibly, it was a declaration of his sympathies for the plight of the watermen. His actual fine was larger than most received by the rioters, and may have been an indication of his liberal leanings in this Victorian age.^[14]
In the 1861 census at Gravesend, Pascoe's daughter Alice is listed with them as a scholar. Her relationship is described as 'visitor'.^[2] In 1867, Pascoe and his wife visited his brother Orlando and his new bride in Melbourne.^[15] After this visit, the Australian records no longer show Pascoe as a resident of Melbourne, but of Gravesend, England instead.^[16] The 1871 census shows Pascoe and Ann back in Gravesend. His daughter Alice is still living with them, listed now as a niece.^[3] In 1874 they were listed as living at West hill, Gravesend.^[17] The following year, in 1875, Alice married Edwin Tunnicliff, a Derbyshire butcher and grocer in a ceremony in Gravesend.^[18]
Pascoe was a believer in the Victorian concept of 'philanthropic capitalism', as perhaps best exemplified with the "five per cent philanthropy" of the Model Dwellings Companies. He was a patron of one such company, The Work Men's Dwellings Improvement Company, which was formed in 1875.^[19]
His partnership with his brother Orlando was formally dissolved in May of 1876. When the dissolution papers were signed, Orlando's signature was witnessed by James Gatehouse, Mayor of Melbourne. Pascoe's signature was witnessed by William Lake, Mayor of Gravesend, England.^[20]
By 1879, Pascoe and his wife had moved to Vicars Moor Lane in Edmonton, just north of London. He witnessed at the wedding there of his step-niece Elizabeth Dobson to Pascoe Caddy, who was Pascoe's first cousin, once removed on his mother's side.^[21] By 1881 he was retired and they had two nieces and a nephew living with them, along with three servants^[4] His wife Ann died the following year.^[22]
In August 1883 he remarried to Lydia Laurence Ray in Bedford:
"WEDDING. FENWICK-RAY. -August 16, at St. Cuthbert's Church. Bedford by Rev. Joseph Ray M.A., Pascoe Fenwick. of Wilton Lodge, Kensington, to Lydia Lawrence Ray, of Bedford. daughter of the late Rev. Richard Ray."^[23]
The following year he purchased land in Natal, South Africa and donated it for the construction of a church for the local preacher, who was Lydia's brother in law, Rev. Benjamin Markham. In 1885, he and Lydia made an extended visit to South Africa. After arriving at Durban, he bought his own horses and carriage, and drove up to Bulwer taking three days. He bought a farm in the Polela district which may have been Ashtonvale, where Benjamin & Rachel settled.^[24] And when they returned to Britain the following January, Lydia's sister Rachel accompanied them.^[25]
In the 1891 census, Pascoe and Lydia were listed as "boarders" in a place north of Liverpool in Lancashire. Among the other "boarders" were an estate broker, an architect, a print buyer, an analytical chemist and two ladies who reported that they were "living on their own means'.^[26] I suspect that they were travelling, on an extended holiday of sorts.
By 1901 Pascoe was living in the St. John's Notting Hill section of Kensington, London with his second wife Lydia and her sister Mary and three servants. And Lydia's sister Rachel was visiting from South Africa. Pascoe was listed as a retired colonial merchant.^[5]
Pascoe died on March 2, 1910. At the time of death, his address was listed as 5 Lansdowne-crescent, Kensington. His will was probate on April 14, 1910 and he left an estate of £51,579, his wife, her spinster sister Mary Lawrence Ray and a civil engineer, Theodore Charles Troubridge Walrond as executors.^[27] He also donated £500 each to Gravesend Hospital and Albert Memorial in Gravesend.^[28]

Sources & Notes

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} 1851 England Census, Kent, Gravesend, District 1a, Class: HO107; Piece: 1608; Folio: 21; Page: 34; GSU roll: 193508.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1861 England Census, Kent, Gravesend, District 13, Class: RG 9; Piece: 471; Folio: 55; Page: 2; GSU roll: 542645.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} 1871 England Census, Kent, Milton, Gravesend, District 8, Class: RG10; Piece: 891; Folio: 70; Page: 6; GSU roll: 823483.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} 1881 England Census, Middlesex, Edmonton, District 12, Class: RG11; Piece: 1390; Folio: 38; Page: 11; GSU roll: 1341338.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} 1901 England Census, London, Kensington, Kensington Town, District 29, Class: RG13; Piece: 23; Folio: 86; Page: 23.
6. ↑ 1841 England Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 721; Book: 11; Civil Parish: St Katherine Cree Church; County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: 18; Folio: 41; Page: 8; Line: 22; GSU roll: 438827.
7. ↑ "England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2N3K-PJK : accessed 02 Nov 2014), Matilda Pascoe Wilton, 1851.
8. ↑ "England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-1920", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2DSL-FCS : accessed 08 Sep 2014), Pascoe Fenwick, 1854.
9. ↑ Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time, 1542-1879, Part 1, Men of the Time, pg. 78 of 584, entry for Orlando Fenwick.
10. ↑ Kentish Independent, Saturday 16 August 1856, pg. 7.
11. ↑ Fenwick Brothers, Drapers, Melbourne, Victoria, Museum Victoria online collection.
12. ↑ "The Fifth of November and the Mayor's Day Riots." Kentish Independent, Saturday 24 November 1860, pg.8.
13. ↑ see Wikipedia entry for Waterman.
14. ↑ South Eastern Gazette, Tuesday 20 November 1860, pg. 6. "The Firework Disturbances.— the petty sessions, on Monday, five more watermen were brought before the magistrates, charged with having taken part in the riotous proceedings of the 5th inst. Three of them, Thos. Dixon, James Peen, and Joseph Toulson, were fined 20s. and costs, and the remaining two, James Lukes and John Laurence, 10s. and costs. John Dixon, the elder, was also fined 40s. and costs, or fourteen days, for urging on the mob, on the same evening. The proceedings, it seemed, were repeated on the night of the 9th, following the election of Mayor ; but the borough force being assisted by a number of the county constabulary, under Superintendent Everist, sixteen persons were captured, and on being brought before the magistrates fifteen of them were fined in various amounts, and one of them, Mr. H. F. Wells, civil engineer, of Perry-street, and of highly respectable connections, was committed for fourteen days’ imprisonment. A memorial was forwarded a day or two afterwards to the Secretary of State, from a number of gentlemen at Northfleet, with a view to obtain a remission of the remainder of the sentence. On this the magistrates were communicated with, and they directed their clerk to forward the details of the case, the same time consenting to recommend that the rest of the punishment should be foregone, but only on account of the state of Mrs. Wells’s health. The magistrates have also fined Mr. Pascoe Fenwick, of High-street, 40s, for neglecting to attend and be sworn in as special constable, he having received two notices to do so."
15. ↑ Victoria inward passenger lists 1839-1923, Arrival year: 1867, Arrival month: Jun, Arrival port: Melbourne, Ship name: Suffolk.
16. ↑ Melbourne Directory 1868 (Sands & McDougall), pg. 372.
17. ↑ UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946, England, Kent, 1874 Kelly's Directory, pg. 187 of 732.
18. ↑ "England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2DP3-W9M : accessed 02 Nov 2014), Alice Matilda Wilton, 1875.
19. ↑ In 1884, Pascoe would author a book on the subject titled "Better Dwellings for the Workmen of London". See Open Library.
20. ↑ Victoria government gazette 1876, pg. 118.
21. ↑ London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921, Enfield, Edmonton St Paul, 1879, pg. 4 of 4.
22. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915, 1882, Q2 - Apr-May-Jun, F, pg. 3 of 12.
23. ↑ London Evening Standard - Friday 31 August 1883 - pg.1.
24. ↑ email, Bart Simon, RSA. Oct. 20, 2014.
25. ↑ January 22, 1886, Departures, Danube.
26. ↑ 1891 England Census, Lancashire, North Meols, District 11, Class: RG12; Piece: 3035; Folio: 84; Page: 15; GSU roll: 6098145.
27. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1910, F, Fe, pg. 3 of 4.
28. ↑ Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Monday 18 April 1910, pg.8.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Dave Rutherford for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Dave and others.