Family history in London.......

Saturday was devoted to a walking tour throughout West Kensington and south London. It might be more interesting for family members than friends. A little background.

My paternal grandmother, Violet Henderson was born in West Kensington, London in 1895. She had two brothers that were substantially older than her. She was in effect an only child of a single mother, Emma Henderson. (We’re not sure about her father. He more or less disappeared from all official records.)

Sometime before 1901 (a census year), Emma and Violet moved 6-8 miles south to the neighborhood on the outskirts of London named Sydenham. Sydenham is adjacent to the neighborhood of Penge, and in Violet’s own handwriting, they attended the Salvation Army Corps in Penge.

In 1905, Emma and Violet joined in the effort to populate the British colonies and spread the work of the Salvation Army and immigrated to Canada. England was very impoverished at the time and London was overcrowded. The Crown and The Salvation Army partnered in a program to promote immigration to the colonies.

Thanks to some great research by my cousin, Lisa Cox we have identified the addresses in London where Emma and Violet lived. Through the miracle of Google Map, I’ve been able to pinpoint those locations. Sandy and I purposely booked a hotel in West Kensington so that we’d be close to these areas.

So here’s a little tour. As you view these images, it is most likely that these structures looked very much then as they look to day. I'm told that these type buildings (which are all over London) date back to the mid-19th century.

55 Yeldham Road - in the current London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Emma Henderson lived here according to the 1891 census with her two sons (older brothers of Violet's). This was prior to Violet's birth. Prior to 1891, Emma Henderson lived in the nearby London area of Battersea, where the two boys were born; however, we are not certain of the exact address, and I didn't get an opportunity to visit in that neighborhood.

Sometime before Violet's birth in 1895, Emma Hendersn moved a couple of blocks over to 25 Beryl Road. This is the house in which Violet was born. This area of West Kensington is very nice today and would have also been in their era. While Emma would have been at the lower end of the economic spectrum, their living conditions were likely modest, but not impoverished.

Sometime prior to 1891 (a census year), Emma and Violet moved about 8 miles to south London and the suburb of Sydenham in the present borough of Lewisham. Their address was 31 Peak Hill Gardens. We are not clear about the reasoning behind this move; however, it is likely that it was related to Emma's involvement with the Salvation Army in nearby Penge, and opportunites for better housing. Sydenham and Penge were also nice areas, but with wide ranges economically from the very rich, to the very poor. In modern times, a train station has been built at the end of Peak Hill Gardens, and that particular street is quite rough, but the rest of Sydenham, while a step down from West Kensington, is very nice.