The history of 6 Matham Grove

[Hazel Wright]

Am trying to find out some family history relating to 6 Matham Grove. My mother moved there as a child, it would have been in the 1920s or early 1930s. The family comprised Walter Fentum, Gladys Fentum, Annie Fentum and Flora Fentum. We believe that they moved there from a house in Crystal Palace Road and that 6 Matham Grove had been in the family before they moved in. If anyone has any information relating to earlier occupants/owners I would love to hear about it.

The last of my family (as far as I'm aware) to live in 6 Matham Grove was Annie Fentum , who might show up on records as Emily Annie Fentum. She was there until her death in !982, but we believe she may have passed ownership of the house to some-one or some organisation sometime prior to her death. Again any information would be gratefully received.

[Lynne]

Go to the John Harvard local history library in Borough High St. They'll have the directories and maps for your area and possibly pictures as well. The Census will tell you who was living there then

Also the Land registry for ownership

[Hazel Wright]

Thanks Lynne. That's helpful. We're planning to visit to look at local records but we live in Sheffield so want to gain as much info as possible before we go, to focus our search as much as we can.

[ianr]

Your local library is more or less certain to provide free access to http://www.ancestry.com, which contains census information. Other online genealogical sites and providers, such as http://www.findmypast.co.uk, are also available. I've got a subscription to the http://wwww.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk and could have a look for any mentions (rather unlikely though) next time I visit.

Most such subscription sites usually also allow non-subscribers to do index searches.

Sorry -- I've just realised the date. The 1911 census is the most recent one available at present.

[peckwoman]

In 1939, 6 Matham Grove had just the one occupant, Emily A Fentum, born 1907, single, publisher's clerk. Noted is that she was "part time ARP vol"

[Kathleen Olander]

Hello

In 1911 Alexander Henry Clark lived there with his wife Annie and children Violet and Victor, he was 43 and a clerk born in St Pancras.

Walter Sidney Fentum age 29 and his wife Emily Mildred nee Barlow, and daughter Emily Annie lived at 119 Crystal Palace Road in 1911.

Hope this helps?

[peckwoman]

It would appear that Walter Sidney's father and mother, Henry William and Harriet were living at 119 Crystal Palace Road in 1911 with their other children in four rooms, along with Walter Sidney and his first wife Emily Mildred and daughter Emily Annie in four rooms. Before that, in 1901 the family were living in Sumner Terrace, Peckham, then back n in 1871 it appears that Walter Sidney's grandfather Martin Fentum, an ivory Turner employing 20 men and 6 women was living at 'Norville' near Alleyne Park. Of course, this is all conjecture, you have to prove it with some sources other than census like certificates, etc.. but great fun!

[Hazel Wright]

Thank you peckwoman. The 1939 'census' is a strange one.All 4 of the family would have been living there at the time, so I'm assuming that all of them, excluding Emily Annie were staying elsewhere on the relevant night, though I couldn't find them recorded anywhere! The information about Walter Sydney's ancestors is fascinating. My mother, Flora Fentum, was Walter Sydney's daughter from his second marriage to Gladys nee Richards. We have been trying to trace the Richards family line as we thought that there was a link, apart from Gladys, to the house in Crystal Palace Road. It looks like we were looking at the wrong family line!

[Hazel Wright]

Thank you Kathleen. That is very helpful information.

[ed_pete]

It's possible that more people are recorded as living there in 1939 but there entries are not made public until either 100 years have passed or they are confirmed as no longer alive. If you know that they are no longer living then I think you can apply to have the record opened.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/1939-register/#7-what-does-it-mean-when-an-entry-is-crossed-out-and-marked-see-page

[intexasatthe moment]

Hazel I've found with searching records that people don't show up on the 1939 register .Maybe people consciously avoided being recorded ?

On a seperate note although any help might also benefit Hazel - can anyone give advice on searching old copies of the electoral roll ?

Digitally there seems no central records from about 1932 onwards .Is it they are regionalised so one has to search under specific parliamentary areas /geographic regions ? London seems to be fairly well recorded but other areas less so .

[camberwellconvert]

Hello,

We're the current owners of 6 Matham Grove. We bought the property in Sept 2011 and the previous owner had been in the property for 29 years. Going by your information, that would suggest that they purchased it from your relative c1982.

We have some knowledge of the history of the house - it was built by the church and at some point in it's life it was used by the church as a children's home, as were several others in the street. These properties were all eventually sold off into private ownership. Our buyers documents revealed that a covenant still exists on the property that prevents us from opening licensed premises from the property. We are aware that the previous owner had the paper deeds to the property that detailed much of the ownership history of the house. Deeds nowadays are electronic (and ours are in the control of the bank as we still have a mortgage on the property) but we still have occasional contact with the previous owner and I'd be happy to contact him to see if it were possible to get a copy of the deeds. Perhaps you could DM me.

[edhistory]

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,618969,619185#msg-619185

[Ex-UplandRd]

Hello everyone - I've just joined the forum and seen your post, which interests me greatly as I'm doing a history masters and my dissertation is about the children's homes of East Dulwich. These were blended into the community in ordinary houses.

There were about 30 of them (at least) in what I call the 'triangle' between Lordship Lane, Goose Green and Peckham Rye up to the 1930s, and you may be interested to know that there were several each in Matham Grove and Crystal Palace Road. Most files are locked (to be opened only after 100 years). Your relatives are highly likely to have lived next door to one of these homes, if not have been the first family to live in it after it was returned to its landlord.

I'm hoping to find anyone who was resident in these houses )to talk to them about their experiences (the survivors would be in their late 80s at the very youngest now I would suspect - it's a needle in a haystack I suppose!). This is why I have joined the forum.

Should I come across any information about your address during the course of my studies, and you are interested, I will keep you updated. I'm hoping to put lots of people in touch with the fascinating histories of their homes when the project is finished.

Nina

[Hazel Wright]

Hi Nina. This is going to be a very interesting dissertation and I'd love to be updated with information. My mother lived at 6 Matham Grove for many years as a child and lived there with my father for a while after they married. My mother passed away several years ago but my father is still alive. He's 96 but is mind is still as sharp as anything, so anything he can tell you would be spot on. I've just emailed him your post and will let you know if he has anything he can tell you.

Hazel

[Ex-UplandRd]

Hi Hazel - thank you so much for asking him! If he remembers anything about the people in the street at that time I'd be over the moon to hear about it. What is always lacking in history is the history of the people themselves. I'd love to be able to find out about the children and what the community remembers of them.

I've also added another post on the forum about 1930s memories, in the hope I may jog a few more long-term residents into looking back! Feel free to share this topic with anyone you know who has long roots in the area.

Best wishes, Nina