A good friend of the group Jack Brown sent us his memories of his grandfather ‘ The Victorian Gamekeeper’ A member of the group who designs websites built a site to record all of his article about his uncle Ernie Brown landlord of the Chequers (The Crooked Chimney) and life in Cromer Hyde. The site is called H.J.Browm Memories of Cromer Hyde

Alfred Henry Brown, Mary Ann, Percy, May, Eva, Christine and Mildred

Alfred Henry Brown was born at Basingstoke, Hampshire on April 3rd 1867,where his father, Joseph Brown, worked on the railway. He had a good voice when he was a boy and sang in the choir of Winchester Cathedral, where he won a gold watch. When he died it was buried with him because Grannie didn’t want any argument about who should have it. When her Father died there had been a dispute with her sister, Aunt Ginnie, about who should have a lovely oil lamp, probably the only thing of value they had, and she didnt want it repeated. One of his early jobs was for the Earl of Calthore, but his first job as under gamekeeper was for the Queen Mothers family at St. Paulswaldenbury,St. Pauls Walden, Herts. read full article

BROWN Ernest Charles, bachelor aged 37 of Cromer Hyde and Elsie May PADLEY, spinster aged 37 of Cromer Hyde

Book 1 entry 283 Tuesday, February 14, 1928 - BROWN Ernest Charles, bachelor aged 37 of Cromer Hyde, caterer, son of Alfred Henry Brown, gamekeeper and Elsie May PADLEY, spinster aged 37 of Cromer Hyde, daughter of Christopher Padley, licensed victualler by Banns. Revd. W.W. Clarke Witnesses: C. Padley; H. John Kelsey - read full aticle

Auntie May and Family

Sadly Arthur died in the fifties but Auntie kept on at Kodak for many years. She used to go to the Kodak Hotel at the coast for a holiday and they used to send a car for door to door service. In those days when Sue and Rob were young and we used to go away with them for a week, Auntie May used to come to Elmer Close to look after Nan and sometimes Auntie Eva came too. She moved to a smaller flat, and then eventually moved to an old peoples flat with a warden where she was very happy. All this time her mind was quite clear and her memory good but as she got into her nineties she was not so mobile and used to have a help every day , eventually to get her up and get her meals. She was always a joy to visit and never complained and talked about reaching 100 but it was not to be and after a short illness died in her ninety ninth year. She would have made a lovely Mum and always loved babies and children and we will always remember her.Read her full article

May got a job as cook in the main Kodak factory at Pinner and Arthur got work in the packing department.

May got a job as cook in the main Kodak factory at Pinner and Arthur got work in the packing department. They moved to a new council flat nearby and spent some happy years there. At Kodak they soon realised what a good cook and organiser she was and she was soon promoted to be in charge of kitchens and restaurant. In 1948 when there was still rationing she made us a lovely three tier wedding cake . and they came to our wedding.Read full article

Lemsford Local History Group have a large archive of documentation & images for all aspects of history in Lemsford Parish. For our website we require your help to update and provide memories, facts and images about all aspects of the past in Lemsford Parish. Please Contact us on info@lemsfordhistory.co.uk

Andy Chapman LLHG

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All photographs, images, PDFs and text used on this website are for your enjoyment. Please remember all photographs and material used on this site MAY NOT be copied, in whole or in part, or be duplicated to another computer, transmitted, published, reproduced, printed, hotlinked, etc. without the express written permission of the Lemsford Local History Group. To apply to use an image or article Contact Info@lemsfordhistory.co.uk

Census	Name	Age	Relationship	Location	Occupation	Birthplace
1841	Shadrack Brown	55		Stanborough	Shepherd
1841	Susan Brown	13		Stanborough
1841	John Brown	15	Lives with Munt family	Cromer Hyde	AG Labourer	Herts
1841	Sarah Brown	70		Brocket Hall Lodge	Female Servant	Essex
1841	Maria Brown	35	Daughter	Brocket Hall Lodge	Female Servant	Essex
1841	William Brown	70	Lives with Charlotte Goodge	Lemsford Mill	Ag Labourer
1841	Sarah Brown	15	Lives with Sams	Lemsford Mill	Female Servant
1851	William Brown	88	Head	Lives with William Hill Lemsford Mill	Parish Relief	Hatfield
1851	Sarah Brown	81	Head	Brocket Hall Lodge		Essex
1851	Maria Brown	51	Daughter	Brocket Hall Lodge	Gate Keeper	Essex
1861	Maria Brown	66	Head	Brocket Hall Lodge	Gate Keeper	Walden Essex
1871	Maria Brown	74	Head	Brocket Hall Lodge	Lodge Keeper	Essex
1901	Alfred Brown	32	Head	Cromer Hyde	GameKeeper	Basingstoke
1901	Annie Brown	29	wife	Cromer Hyde		Whitwell
1901	Ernest Brown	10	Son	Cromer Hyde		Pauls Walden
1901	Bertie Brown	8	Son	Cromer Hyde		Pauls Walden
1901	Frederick Brown	4	Son	Cromer Hyde		Pauls Walden
1901	May Brown	1	Daughter	Cromer Hyde		Hatfield
1901	Percy Brown	1	Son	Cromer Hyde		Hatfield
1901	Alfred Brown	43	Head	Cromer Hyde	GameKeeper	Fleet Hamp
1901	Annie (Mary!) Brown	41	wife	Cromer Hyde		Whitwell
1911	Alfred Brown	43	Head	Cromer Hyde	Gamekeeper	Fleet, Hamp
1911	Mary Brown	41	Wife	Cromer Hyde		Whitwell
1939	Ernest C Brown	59	Head	The Chequers Inn Cromer Hyde	Licensed Victullar	Whitwell
1939	Elsie M Brown	48	wiife	The Chequers Inn Cromer Hyde	Caterer
1939	Thomas Olsen	22	Single	The Chequers Inn Cromer Hyde	General Help

Lemsford Local History Group

The Lemsford Local History Group, formed in 2001, is interested in all aspects of the history and the people of this area - both ancient and modern. We welcome correspondence from anyone who shares this interest.The group archives now include a significant number of photographs and documents, as well as records of baptisms (to 1985), marriages (to 1970), burials (to 2003) and memorial inscriptions (to 2003) from the St John's parish church registers. Records of births, marriages and deaths before the consecration of the church in 1859 will be found in the registers of Bishop's Hatfield parish. The archive also contains admission records for the village school - St. John's Church of England Junior Mixed Infants school - since it was first opened in 1872