Henry and Ann Timpson née Wheelband
1860 – 1861
The happy day had arrived and the wedding of Henry Timpson and Ann Wheelband was performed by the Rev Edward Wells, the Rector in the local All Saints Parish Church, at Kings Cliffe on Thursday 5 January 1860.
The pair having attended church there for the last three Sundays for the reading of the Banns. For the civil registration document Henry had given his occupation as shepherd and age as 27 and Ann her age as 20.
The witnesses were both from the bride’s family signifying their approval of the marriage. They were John Wheelband (we assume Ann’s father, as her brother John had married a widow in Devon and changed his name) and Ann’s older sister Sarah Elizabeth Wheelband. It was a time of celebration for all.
The couple had decided to live in Kings Cliffe as with a population in 1860 of around 1,200 people it offered the opportunity of going into business and Henry’s sister Mary Ann was living there with her husband James Loweth who had been Innkeeper at The Wheel Inn since 1847.
Back row – James and Mary Ann Loweth née Timpson – Innkeepers
Second row – Unknown (Loweth?) male relative (with his hands on Charles Loweth’s shoulders), Ann Timpson née Wheelband, Harriet Loweth, Henry Timpson (with his hands on Emma Loweth’s shoulders).
Third row – Charles Loweth, Emma Loweth.
In Front sitting – Henry Timpson Loweth. (Note infant boys were dressed the same as girls in those days).
This is the first known photo of Henry and Ann Timpson.
About Kings Cliffe
KINGS CLIFFE was a royal manor, part of the ancient demesne of the crown. Until the mid-1800s, a market cross stood at the crossroads in the centre of the village, an area known as “The Cross”.
The ‘town’ of Kings Cliffe was of some importance relative to neighbouring Stamford in the early Middle Ages, but its fortunes declined in the 15th century. Hunting visits by the royal household had dwindled and around 1439, possibly as a consequence, many houses were recorded as ‘waste’ and returning no revenue to the King. In 1462, a serious fire is said to have destroyed 100 houses, the ‘King’s House’ among them.
The annual fair and market were suspended and not reinstated until 1604. In 1592, Queen Elizabeth I granted ‘Cliffe Park’ to the Earl of Essex and, on his fall from favour, Lord Burghley took keepership of it. The royal connection continued until 1812 when the Earls of Exeter (the Burghley’s of Stamford) bought it outright from the Crown.
With no resident ‘Lord of the Manor’, Kings Cliffe was an open town, attracting people to settle here who had left their own parishes for whatever reason.
A view along one of the many narrow lanes in the town of Kings Cliffe.
The next time we see Henry and Ann is in the 1861 Census held on 7 April 1861.
Henry and Ann are living at West Street in Kings Cliffe and are looking after Henry’s widowed mother. Henry is aged 28 and Ann 20.
Of interest is that Henry now gives his occupation as Grocer & Shepherd. After expert consultation and the lack of any reference in the local trade directories we must assume that Henry and Ann would have operated a small grocery business from home, probably with Ann doing a lot of the work and Henry supplementing their income as a shepherd. The grocery business can’t have been very profitable as by September 1864 it is no longer mentioned.
Henry and Ann would both have worked at “The Wheel Inn” when it was busy for some extra funds.