My Stocking, Wales and Hill family lines converged in these two London streets on and off for more than two decades from the 1880s onwards. The street names seemed interchangeable and their history was apparently steeped in scandal. But what were the houses, the neighbours and the area like? Do family and other photos show … Continue reading Stocking homes: Bowles Road & Herman Road, Camberwell
Hill Susan Caroline 1875-1951
Stocking homes: Beechfield Road, Catford
My Stocking ancestors (amongst others) tended to stay in one place, often with several branches and generations of the family living very close to, or with, each other. Beechfield Road in Catford, South London, was the centre of the family's life from the early-mid 1900s until after WW2. I wonder what stories those properties could … Continue reading Stocking homes: Beechfield Road, Catford
Elizabeth Bridgetina Stocking (1886-1960): Gent’s Hat Trimmer
'Lizzie' Stocking married Arthur William Evans in 1910, aged 23. They lived their married life in London, leaving little documentary record other than the death in infancy of their only baby, enumeration in the decennial censuses and long-term residence in Ringstead Road, Catford. There were, however, more convoluted connections between the Stocking and Evans families, … Continue reading Elizabeth Bridgetina Stocking (1886-1960): Gent’s Hat Trimmer
Penniston Topper: Footman who saved the life of George III
My research so far shows that the menfolk in my Topper line were all very much on the right side of the law and weren’t afraid of putting themselves in the way of danger to prevent or prosecute crime. Penniston Topper was to achieve fame for foiling an assassination attempt on George III in 1786, although … Continue reading Penniston Topper: Footman who saved the life of George III
Family at War: V2 rocket attack 1945
The Stocking and Hill families suffered losses in WW1. The last months of WW2 were to bring even more. My great grandfather Jim Stocking died at the beginning of the conflict; the family of his widow, Susan, were later caught in one of the worst V2 rocket attacks on London, an impact which must have … Continue reading Family at War: V2 rocket attack 1945
The Hills of London in World War I
My great grandmother was born Susan Caroline Hill in London in 1875. Two of her brothers, William and John, were wounded in action in WW1. One of her Stocking brothers-in-law was killed, and two were awarded the Military Medal. How did the conflict impact on their lives? She married in 1900, and while her husband … Continue reading The Hills of London in World War I
Where was ‘Churvey the Slough’??
The 1881 and 1891 census entries for my 2xgreat grandparents John Hill and Elizabeth Sarah Windebank are intriguing for the birthplaces shown. Unlike their children, they were not, it seems, Londoners. He was born in Elsted, Sussex,; her birthplace was variously described as Chalvey or Churvey, and 'Churvey the Slough', and variously Buckinghamshire or Berkshire. … Continue reading Where was ‘Churvey the Slough’??
A big Stocking family photo c1904? [Updated]
After putting my family tree online with Ancestry.co.uk in the early 2000s, I was contacted by a second cousin once removed, who provided a poor photocopy of a photo purporting to show our 2xgreat grandparents and some of their 19 children, taken some time in the early 1900s. In 2025, a third cousin shared a … Continue reading A big Stocking family photo c1904? [Updated]
James and Susan Stocking: Later lives, Kings & Queens
My great grandparents James Aaron Stocking and Susan Caroline Hill were born in mid-1870s London, around the time Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. By the time they married on 3 June 1900, the old Queen had been dead for nearly six months. Their early married life played out under two new monarchs. By … Continue reading James and Susan Stocking: Later lives, Kings & Queens
Building Stocking heritage: A 20th century family business
My paternal grandfather James Aaron Stocking was born just after the turn of the 20th century into a family where most of the menfolk worked in the building trades, as brickies, builders, house decorators, plumbers, gas fitters, foremen and so on. He himself did many of these jobs through the housing booms of the 1920s-1930s, … Continue reading Building Stocking heritage: A 20th century family business
My Stocking Roots 