Page 52 - ‘A Blaker Family History’ The family history of Joseph Blaker (1916-2007; ‘Joe’)

© The Blaker Society
© The Blaker Society

William and Caroline were married in Worth, Sussex. Their marriage
certificate simply records their respective marks, indicating that neither
could write their names.

They established their initial home at Copthorne Bank, Burstow, near
Reigate, Surrey. William and Caroline had 3 children:
• Harriett: b. 1850, Burstow, Surrey
• John: b. 1852, Burstow, Surrey
• Ann: b. 1854, Worth, Sussex

By the time of the 1851 Census, William and Caroline were living with
their four month-old daughter, Harriett, at Copthorne Bank, Burstow,
Surrey. William was then working as an ‘Agricultural Labourer’.

Ten years later, in the 1861 Census, William, Caroline and their three
children were living in Balcombe Lane, Balcombe, Sussex. They continued
to live in Balcombe Lane for at least the next two decades.
The properties in Balcombe Lane no longer exist, as they were probably
demolished before the late 1970s, when the Ardingly reservoir was
constructed, adjoining Balcombe Lane. Given the proximity of Balcombe
Lane to St. Peter’s, Ardingly, it is possible that this was the focus for their
religious worship, as opposed to the parish church of St. Mary, Balcombe.

Location of Balcombe Lane, near Ardingly, Sussex

Within the 1891 Census, William and Caroline were recorded visiting
their married daughter, Harriet Botting, and her family at Middle Pilstyle,
Hazeldean, Cuckfield – this is c. 4 km north of Holy Trinity Church,
Cuckfield. These records describe Caroline as being deaf.

Some time thereafter, William and Caroline entered the Cuckfield Union
Workhouse. William died there in December 1990, leaving Caroline as a
widow. William’s death certificate record ‘Senile Decay’ as the cause of his
death.

Caroline was recorded in the 1901 Census as a 74 year-old widow, living
with some 200 other inmates of this foreboding institution. Caroline
survived her husband by some 4 years, before she also died at the
Cuckfield Union Workhouse. Her death certificate showed that she died of
‘Bronchitis’. This was a depressingly sad end to a very hard life.

The Union Workhouse became the site of the Cuckfield Hospital, which
was eventually closed in 1991 when regional hospital services were
focused on the newly opened Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath.

Cuckfield Union Workhouse: c. 1909

Cuckfield Union Workhouse: Ardingly Road, Cuckfield: 1896 Map