The Curious Case of Mrs Colville

[Robert]

Thanks for that, David. There is certainly evidence for a long Handley presence in that part of Brady St which supports your idea that Honey's Mews was really Handley's Mews, even though the mews was a few yards up from where they lived. This site shows a 'Handkey' taking over the Duke of Wellington pub in 1859 (I've checked the Era and it is of course 'Handley') :

http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/BethnalGreen/DukeWellingtonBrady.shtml

In 1861 John is living next door to William and it would be strange if they weren't related, even if they were born in different counties. Unfortunately the numbering system is just as crazy as in 1871.

[David Orsam]

Just to add a little to the Handley knowledge. He was described in the 24 May 1893 Commercial Gazette as a "corn and coal merchant". I have the birth certificate of his son, William Alfred Frederick, born on 12 July 1888 (at 63 Brady Street), and registered on 22 August 1888, in which his occupation is given as "Hay dealer". His wife's name was "Elizabeth Catherine Frederica Handley, formerly Mathias").

[Robert]

Thanks David. I think you're probably right that it was Handley's Mews - they had certainly been around long enough for their name to become attached to the mews, and it had either been corrupted to 'Honey's' or else the reporter simply misheard.

Here they are in 1851. William and John were father and son. Josiah Simmons was running the pub next door.

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Sorry it's not much use but here's the 1888 Post Office map of the area -



Regards,

Simon

[David Orsam]

North and South Mews are such dull names that they were ripe for re-naming by the locals. It would have been nice to have found an independent reference to "Handley's Mews" but in the absence of that it seems a reasonable conclusion. I would also like to have known who was living in South Mews in 1888. Regarding Benjamin Pegram, who was living there in 1881, a little titbit of info. He died, aged 45, at the London Hospital on 28 June 1889 - at which time he was a carman living at 16 Great Garden Street, Whitechapel - and his death certificate states the cause of death as being "Violent - Peritonitis the result of a kick during a street brawl - accidental". The coroner at the inquest (held on 1 July 1889) being none other than Wynne Baxter.

[David Orsam]

Thanks Simon. Regrettably, I never made a copy of them but the Ordinance Survey maps at the British Library (and slightly less detailed versions at the Tower Hamlets library) do show the locations of all three mews, indicated by a cross for the gates.

[Robert]

Yes, Baxter got around. It's fascinating to observe these links and connections.