The early ginger beer incised J.
Row, Confectioner, Bures.
The size is approximately 7" high
This bottle is owned by retired butcher, George Warden
who lives in Bures.
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Jephthah Row was born in 1846 at
Dicklebrough, Suffolk.
The census of 1861 lists him as an Apprentice Baker to a Mr Edward
Chipperfield, London Road, Lowestoft.
By 1871 Jephthah was married to Phoebe and the census of that
year records him as a Confectioner and Baker in Bournemouth.
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The 1881 census lists Jephthah
and his wife at No 6 Bridge Street, Bures with three children.
No6 has long been demolished,
but it would have been one of the middle two properties
on the right.
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Looking at where the children were
born suggests the family came to Bures in 1877.
His wife, Phoebe, died in 1885
and by September 1886 he had remarried to Jane Amelia Patten at
Lexden in Essex,
Again looking at the census records
of 1891 Jephthah and his new wife were living in Ashbourne in
Derbyshire, having had three more children, this indicated they
had been in Ashbourne district for around two years, their first
child was born at Clacton on Sea in 1888, around a year and a
half after they were married.
The last child to be born in Bures
was a daughter called Jessie, indicating the bottle would date
from between 1877 and 1884.
The census of 1901 records Jephthah as a Fish Merchant at Colchester
so by this time he had probably returned to the home of his second
wife
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John Manning who lived during the
early part of his life in Bures, is pictured here with a large Ginger
Beer Dispenser engraved "T, Clarke" which he purchased
from an auction for £190.
On the base, it`s embossed as manufactured by "Doulton, Lambeth"
There were three recorded Thomas
Clarke's, two of which could be possibilities. There was a Thomas
Clarke born in 1859, he was a carpenter and remained single throughout
his life and was still listed in Bures in 1911.
One of the problems I encountered searching the census records was
the way the surname Clarke was recorded, sometimes it had an "e"
and other times it didn't.
The most likely candidate was a Thomas Clarke born in 1889, this
man had various occupations and appears listed in the census as
a tanner, a farmer and farm labourer.
He was married to Sarah Clarke, they had seven children, one of
whom was also called Thomas. He appears in several census records:
1881, 1891 and 1901, his occupation in the 1901 census is given
as a J ourneyman/ Baker. He was visiting a family called the Snowder's
in Colchester, I can see no connection here. I could find no record
of him in the 1911 census, there were lots of Thomas Clarke's or
Clark's.
Thomas Clarke senior and his wife, Sarah, were both listed as pensioners
in the 1911 census, they were both in their early 70's by this time.
However in the trade directories from 1906 Thomas was listed as
a pleasure boat proprietor and was succeeded by his wife following
in his death in March 1918, aged 75. The last reference I found
to Sarah Clarke was in 1917, l believe she died in 1920 aged 80.
These would seem the most likely candidates for the bulk ginger
beer dispenser.
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Barbara & Willie
Amos behind the counter at "The Eight Bells" admiring
the Dispenser. |
Acknowledgment to John Manning for allowing me to
photograph the dispenser
and
Jack Feast, Chairman of the Trent Valley Bottle Club for allowing
me to publish his research material.
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