1867 - Anyway, my grandfather, John James Newport, was born on 31st July, 1867, at number 37, High Street, St. Marylebone, London and his parents were George and Matilda Martha Newport (née Natt) who had been married at the church of St. George, Hanover Square, London, on 22nd July 1866.
George was born in Herne, in Kent , on Friday, 17th February 17th, 1837, and was the son of John Newport, a market gardener in School Lane, Herne, and Sarah, née Spicer, whose family had been farmers in the area around Herne and Reculver.
Matilda Martha Natt, was born on 23rd September 1843, and was 22 years old at the time of their marriage. Her father was James Natt, a carpenter from Chatham in Kent, and her mother, Matilda Gray, also from the same town. It was while a servant, at a house in Chatham, in 1841, James Natt met the young Matilda Gray, and her older sister Eliza, neither of whom, according to the census, appear to have been servants but were, more likely, either relatives or visitors of the owner, a Martha Dexter – James and Matilda were married in 1842.
1880 - In March 1880, John James received two certificates from the school he was attending - both headed "DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & ART", with one given for passing in "Freehand Drawing of the First Grade, at the Annual Examination of Children in Elementary Day Schools", and the other, exactly the same except that the subject he passed in was "Geometry".
No name of the school is given on either of the certificates and it’s difficult to say which he would have attended but it must have been somewhere near where he was living, which was at No. 23, Little Marylebone Street, Marylebone.
1882 - On Saturday, November 11th 1882, John James’ grandfather died at his home, in School Lane, Herne, Kent; he was seventy-three years old and the death certificate just gives the reason as."heart disease". He was buried in the churchyard of St. Martin’s Church, in Herne, in the same grave as his wife, Sarah, who had died two years before. The informant was his son James (and George’s youngest brother), who had been living with his father. George Newport, being the oldest son, went to Herne to settle this father’s affairs and arrange for the burial.
From sketches, dated December 18th 1882, in my grandfather’s scrapbook, it would seem that George went back to Herne later in the year, most probably to attend the reading of his father’s will and almost certainly to continue with the settlement of any remaining business matters - his father had been a market gardener and had a thriving business (James, the youngest son, was to continue with this business, for a few more years).
Nearing Christmas, it’s most likely that George took the family with him, which would explain the drawings of the old cottage in School Lane, done by my grandfather.
The next school, my grandfather attended was the "Hampden Gurney School", located at the end of Hampden Gurney Street; Marylebone, London. We know this because, at Christmas, 1882, at the age of fifteen, my grandfather was awarded two certificates by the school; one of the certificates being an "Honourable Mention for Mathematics Junior", and the other an"Honourable Mention for Proficiency in Physical Geography (Senior)".
Hampden Gurney School, was founded in 1863 and named after the Reverend John Hampden Gurney, the Rector of St Mary's Bryanston Square, who had envisioned the founding of such a school some years before but died, in 1862, just one year before his vision came to fruition. Perhaps, not surprisingly, he was a very religious man and was an active supporter of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and many other religious organizations and societies.
In the "Post Office London Directory", of 1882. under "Schools" there appears the following entry, concerning the school:-
"Hampden Gurney st., W. William Hammersley, A. K. C. master; Miss Sarah Hunt, mistress; Miss Edith Mary Holt, infants mistress."
It was this William Hammersley who signed both of my grandfather’s certificates.
1883 - In 1883, on Wednesday 9th May, my grandfather was confirmed at St. Mary's, Bryanston Square, the same church at which John Hampden Gurney had been rector, twenty years before. The officiating minister at the confirmation was The Right Reverend Bishop Wilkinson, ex-Bishop of Zululand
In his scrapbook, my grandfather pasted a copy of the hymn sheet used on that day, and, written on the back, is the following:-
"This paper was found on Feby 8th 1888"
"This paper is valuable as supplying a much needed date for on this May 9th I was confirmed through the Right Reverend Bishop Wilkinson Ex-Bishop of Zululand (to give him his general title) which otherwise might never have been brought to light – at least not without an immense amount of labour."
"But I here record a better Confirmation by the Good Great Chief Shepherd, the Bishop of the souls of men by his anointing of the riches of His Grace with His Blessed Spirit Who hath revealed to me my state of nature, brought me into the Kingdom of Grace, is the Earnest of my Eternal Inheritance of the Saints in Light and will guide me to Glory. Blessed be my Father through Jesus my Saviour."
It is obvious that he had lost this Confirmation sheet and, some years later, found it, but the strength of his belief is, also, equally, obvious. Religion in this part of the C19th was not as widespread as is usually supposed so quite where my grandfather’s extremely strong ideas and feelings came from is impossible to say for certain – but he had them and they lasted all through his life.
Sometime in 1883, according to the rate books, the family moved to No. 5, Spencer Terrace, Ariel Street, in Hampstead but it’s not certain whether this was before or after my grandfather Christening at St, mary’s, Bryanston Square.
1885 - In early 1885, George, Matilda, and family were still living at No. 5, Spencer Terrace, but later in the year, the "Street" changed to "Road" and, again according to the rate books, they had moved further along the Road/Street to No. 10.
1887 - On Monday, October 14th, 1887, my grandfather joined the St. Cuthbert's West Hampstead Branch of the "Church Of England Temperance Society", Throughout his life he was very anti-drink and showed this in so many ways – he attended lectures on the dangers of alcohol, he collected newspaper cuttings on the crimes and the abuses carried out by drunks, he supported Billy Sunday, in the United States, who was a strong supporter of Prohibition and, so it is said, through his preaching, played a significant role in bringing it about.
1888 - Though I don’t know when he began, by 1888, John James was teaching Sunday School, at the church of St. Cuthbert, in Brondesbury; there’s a LETTER in one of his scrapbooks, undated except for the year, and it is preceded by his parenthesised note, which says,
"(From one of my Sunday School Scholars at St. Cuthbert's, Brondesbury, 1888)"
168 Loveridge Rd.
Brondesbury
Dear Sir,
I hope you will forgive me for keeping you so long without an answer to your kind letter which I thought so very kind of you to think of me while away but I am in a place and come home rather late and tired so I left it till to night.
I am very pleased to hear that you like the place it must be such a nice change for you I am sure. I do wish Sir that I could just have a look at you as I have heard a lot about the country from my father and mother and I have read about it so I think it must be lovely to take the nice walks there.
Dear Sir I am glad to tell you that I am very well and go to the Sunday school as usual. Mr Haynes is our teacher now and I dare say you know him so I think that I have no more to say this time with my kindest respects to you.
Yours Sincerely,
W. Keneson
The next move, sometime in late 1888, by my grandfather, was to go to Margate to take up a position, at "New College", 16 Dalby Square, Cliftonville, Margate.
