4 Castle Street

Samuel and Eliza Fudge

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Click here to read about the other owners of 4 Castle Street

Samuel and Eliza Fudge lived at 4 Castle Street in Thornbury for many years.

Samuel was born in Gloucestershire in the June quarter of 1862. The photograph shown here on the right is of Samuel Fudge and it was taken in 1890. We believe that the lady photographed below was Eliza Fudge nee Dinham.

Their wedding in 1892 was reported in the "Family Friend"; "St. Mary's Church, Tyndall's Park, Clifton, Bristol, was the scene of a very pretty wedding, on Saturday morning, September 17th, the contracting parties being MR. SAMUEL FUDGE, Thornbury, successor to the late Mr. J. Y. Sturge as Secretary to the Thornbury Gaslight and Coke Company, Limited, and MISS ELIZA DINHAM, second daughter of Mr. James Dinham, of North Curry, near Taunton, Somerset. The bride, who was very prettily attired, was accompanied by one bridesmaid, her sister, Miss Lizzie Dinham, and was given away by her uncle, Mr. Edward W. W. C. Denby, of 7, West Park, Clifton, Bristol. The ceremony, which took place at eleven o'clock, was performed by the Rev. E. Beresford Cook. In the afternoon the happy couple left Clifton for London, where they spent their honeymoon. The bride and bridegroom were the happy recipients of numerous presents, presented to them by their many well wishers."

Eliza Dinham was born in North Curry in Somerset. The Census of 1871 shows that Eliza was the daughter of James Dinham a carpenter and his wife, Ann. The 1881 Census shows them still living in North Curry. By this time Eliza had three sisters (Edith, Alice and Matilda) and one brother (William).

Samuel Fudge In the 1871 Census the eight year old Samuel was living in St Philips in Bristol with his parents Samuel and Elizabeth Fudge. Samuel the elder was a 47 year old boiler maker born in Kingswood near Bristol. Elizabeth and Samuel had two other sons (Thomas aged 20 and James 18) and five daughters (Mary 16, Caroline 18, Sarah 12, Fanny 6 and Lilly 3). In 1876 Samuel's father died aged 52 and his death was registered in Bedminster.

On 21st April 1877 Samuel, then living at 7 Richmond Terrace Barton Hill in Bristol was apprenticed to an architect called Alfred Harford of 30 Broad Street in the St John District of Bristol. The indenture showed that Samuel's brother, Thomas Fudge had to pay £30 for the five year apprenticeship, during which time he also agreed to provide clothes, food and lodgings for Samuel.

In the 1881 Census Samuel was living with his widowed mother and his two younger sisters Fanny and Lilly. Samuel was aged 18 and a student architect and surveyor. They were living in Barrow Lane East in St Phillips.

At the end of his five year apprenticeship as a surveyor and architect, Samuel received an excellent reference from his employer - " I have great pleasure in stating that during the whole time Samuel Fudge was with me as a pupil I found him most obedient, punctual and thoroughly reliable. In his work he was neat and exact and I could with great confidence recommend him to a situation as an assistant."

The Bristol newspaper of 7th December 1881 carried a report of an address that Samuel Fudge gave to the Junior Architects Society at the Fine Arts Academy about the usefulness of apprenticeships, providing that the master was a good teacher and the apprentice diligent and attentive. He also said how desirable it was that the young apprentice desired to follow the trade he was apprenticed to. It seems that Samuel was very much drawing on his own experience of a job he enjoyed with a good teacher.

In the 1891 Census Samuel and his mother, Elizabeth, were lodging in Barrow Lane East and Samuel was indeed working as a surveyor's assistant.

We have been told that Samuel and Eliza met while singing in the choir of Bristol Cathedral. Because the newspaper said that Samuel replaced Joseph Young Sturge who died 30th December 1891, Samuel must have begun working in Thornbury before he married. It seems that Samuel and Eliza Fudge set up home in Thornbury immediately after their marriage.

The Rate Book of 1894 shows that Samuel Fudge was renting a house on The Plain from Francis Gayner. This house later became known as 15 The Plain.

The 1901 Census shows the family at the house on The Plain. Samuel was then 39 and an architect and Eliza was 30. The Census shows that by that time they had two sons. The elder son was Gerald Edward Samuel Fudge who was born on 7th March 1894 in Thornbury. Gerald attended the Council School and Thornbury Grammar School which he left in 1910 to become a bank clerk. The younger son was Hubert Henry born on 27th November 1898 and in this Census aged two. "Bertie" as he seems to have been known at school attended the Council School and Thornbury Grammar School, which he left in 1915 to become an apprentice engineer. They had had another son Egbert who was baptised in 1895 but who died aged only 12 days. Their daughter Marjorie Kathleen was born on 5th November 1903. Marjorie attended a Private School and then Thornbury Grammar School which she left in July 1921 to commence a career in teaching. The photograph here shows the three children, Gerald, Hubert ("Bert" ), and Marjorie in 1907.

The Trade Directories show that Samuel also worked as an architect, a land surveyor, steward to Thornbury Castle, Secretary to the Gas Company (click here to read more about Thornbury's Gas Company) and Collector of Taxes.

In 1905 and 1910 the Rate Books show that Samuel Fudge was now renting his house from the trustees of the late Richard Scarlett which means that he was living at 4 Castle Street.

Although Samuel and Eliza Fudge had been living in the house for some time, they were only tenants and not the owners. They were given the chance to buy the house in 1919 when on 15th April the property was auctioned.

Their home in Castle Street was described in the sale as lot 5, "A Very Desirable Modern Dwelling- House situate at Castle Street. Numbered 265 on the Thornbury Tithe Award. In the occupation of Mr S Fudge under lease expiring at Lady Day 1922. The House contains on Ground Floor - Three Rooms with Kitchen and Boiler House. There are also Three Principal Bedrooms, Attic and Underground Cellar with Garden at the rear".

Samuel died in 1924 on June 21st and was buried in Thornbury Cemetery. His will of 30th July 1917 left all his property to his wife, Eliza. The will was proved on 15th August 1924 in Gloucester.

Click here to read about the other owners of 4 Castle Street

This page was last updated: 01/08/2011