A local history and genealogy page for the Parish of Wimpole.
Town Green Road, Orwell c1905
The 1901 Census for Orwell, Cambridgeshire.
Reference: RG13/1521 (with acknowledgement to the
Public Record Office)
Date of Census: 31 March 1901
There is a national Census every ten years when
the year ends in a one. This page details the population of the Parish
of Orwell on the night of 31 March 1901 (the list includes children and visitors
from outside the parish in temporary residence within Orwell on the night
of the census).
My thanks and acknowledgements to the 'census team' who provided the documentation and who typed and checked the various page transcripts back in 2002/2003. Particular thanks to Mike Giddings, Susan Giddings, Alexandra Morton and John Parkins for all their help, assistance and encouragement. Any errors are probably mine.
Columns (left to right):
1. Name.
2. Relation to Head of Household.
3. Married, Widow, Widowed or Single (14 years and
over).
4. Age.
5. Occupation.
6. Place of Birth.
Any house numbering shown below was used/allocated in 1901 and therefore unlikely to relate directly to present day postal addresses.
[Information, notes and comments additional to the 1901 Census are generally shown italicised within square brackets]
I would be pleased to hear from you if you can offer any additional genealogical or family information relevant to this page, especially if you possess old photographs that could be added to this site for those who follow. Please use the site's Contact Page in the first instance.
[1] Completed pages.
[2] Following a parish boundary change in April 1999, much of the area of Orwell on the Cambridge Road, previously known as 'New Orwell', is now part of the modern-day Parish of Wimpole. [3] These pages are being rebuilt after their transfer to the new website. The basic listings remain available for reference during the rebuilding.
The 1901 Census for Orwell continued from Part Two:
[This page covers the remainder of Town Green Road following on from Part Two before moving somewhat randomly between Fisher's Lane, Town Green Road and Cambridge Road mixed together.]
[1] Wimpole PR: William Chapman 23 (1870-1951), bachelor of the
Parish of Orwell, married Mary Ann Spacksman 27, spinster of the Parish of Wimpole, at Wimpole Parish Church on 1 October 1892.
[2] Wimpole PRs and previous Censuses: Mary Ann Spacksman (1866-1943), daughter of David Spacksman, labourer of Kingston parish, and Elizabeth Spacksman of Wimpole, was baptised at Wimpole Parish Church on 4 March 1866. In the 1871 Census, 5-year-old Mary Ann was living with her parents in the Keeper's Lodge, Eversden Pastures, in Kingston parish. In the 1881 Census 15-year-old Mary Ann Spacksman was working as a scullery maid on Branksea (Brownsea) Island in Dorset alongside elder sister 26-year-old Sarah Ann Spacksman. In the 1891 Census 'Mary Spacksman', 26, is recorded occupying one room at 77 Earl Street in Marylebone (possibly a guest or boarding house of some kind), located just north of Liverpool Street Station in London. She is listed as alone, married, without employment, and born in Cambridgeshire. At this time her son William Arthur is staying with his grandparents in Wimpole (see below). I have been unable to establish any documentary evidence of William Arthur's birth, his birth father, or of any possible marriage.
[3] Early in WW1, son William Arthur Spacksman enlisted into the 7th Battalion
Suffolk Regiment at Melbourn, Cambridgeshire. He was killed on the third day of the Battle of the Somme, probably during the attack of Ovillers. He is commemorated on the Orwell Roll of Honour in Orwell Church and the Thiepval Memorial (ie no known grave). The Commonwealth War Graves
Commission records: "William Arthur Spacksman, Private 18127, 7th Battalion
Suffolk Regiment, died on Monday, 3rd July 1916. Age 30. Additional Information:
Son of Mrs. M. A. Chapman, of Field Barn, Orwell, Royston, Herts."
[4] The WW1 Suffolk Regiment Roll of Honour records William Arthur's place of birth as
Clapham, Surrey (ie London). There is no record of a subsequent baptism (or of anything else) in either the Wimpole or Orwell parish registers and given that William Arthur wasn't recognised as a 'Chapman', in either life or death, the birth father clearly wasn't the then 15/16-year-old William Chapman. British Army pension records refer to William as 'Step Father' to William Arthur. In the 1891 Census, 5-year-old William Arthur 'Spaxman' is living in Cambridge Road, New Wimpole, with his grandparents David and Elizabeth 'Spaxman', and presumably attending Wimpole CE School. His place of birth is given in the 1891 census as 'London'.
[5] Field Barn was destroyed by fire around 1974. See page 'Field Barn - An Outstation of Manor Farm, Orwell' on the 'Orwell Past and Present' website. The page includes a location map and a photograph of William Chapman with his horses.
