Spotlight On ... Working For A Living

The Bonny Cravat Inn: where generations of my family worked for a living.

When I think about the different ways generations of my family worked for a living, some stories gather around a farm, a trade, an occupation or a small piece of land. This story however gathers around an inn.

The Bonny Cravat Inn at Woodchurch, Kent, in England became, for generation after generation on the paternal side of my family, a place of work, endurance, and family continuity.  It was not simply somewhere my ancestors appeared briefly in the record.  It was a workplace woven through the lives of the Ramsden, Fullagar, Hukins, and later Bourne families for well over a century.

  The Bonny Cravat Inn, Woodchurch, Kent
— a place where generations of the Ramsden, Fullagar, and Hukins families worked for a living.

Source: “The Bonny Cravat, Woodchurch” by Oast House Archive, via Geograph, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.

This was no ordinary inn.  By the time members of my family began keeping it, the Bonny Cravat was already old.

Edward Hasted, writing in his History of Kent and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent (Volume 7 of the 1798 second edition), noted that Phebe Goble of Woodchurch, by will in 1692, left a charitable bequest of £2 per year to the poor to be paid by her heirs forever, from a farm called the Bonny Cravat, “now an ale-house”. 

I love that passing reference because it gives such an early glimpse of the place.  Long before it became part of my family story, it was already there in village life in the 17th century.

The building that stands today belongs mainly to the later part of the inn's story. The National Heritage List for England lists the present Bonny Cravat as a Grade II building dating from about 1800, and the Woodchurch conservation material notes it as a prominent inn in the village, opposite the church.  So, the business itself is much older than the surviving structure. 

That feels fitting somehow.  The place of work endured, even as the people and the building changed around it.

The list of Bonny Cravat Innkeepers and Publicans sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group.

When I first came across this list of innkeepers and publicans associated with The Bonny Cravat, I did not just see names in sequence. I saw husbands and wives working side by side, widows carrying on after loss, sons following fathers, brothers taking their turn, and one village inn becoming part of my family’s working life across generations.

Woodchurch 1902 - The Bonny Cravat Inn on the left
Source: Woodchurch Local and Family History site 

A family workplace in the heart of Woodchurch

One of the things that stands out most strongly in the record of innkeepers is the repeated evidence of partnership.

My paternal 7th great-grandparents George and Mary Ramsden née Eastland were both part of the inn’s story. 

So were my paternal 6th great-grandparents John and Elizabeth Fullagar née Potter. 

In a later generation came my paternal 4th great-grandparents John and Elizabeth Fullagar née Bourne. 

Then, decades later, my paternal 3rd great-grandparents James and Susannah Hukins née Fullagar took their place there too.

Again and again, the same pattern repeats. Not simply a publican, but a couple. Not only a man’s occupation, but a household economy.  An inn like this was never run by one person alone.  There were customers to serve, stock to buy, food and drink to prepare, rooms and fires to manage, accounts to keep, neighbours to receive, children to raise, and all the ordinary messiness of life going on in the background.

This record makes that shared labour unusually visible.  The women were clearly part of the story, often carrying on after a death because there was no real alternative.  That is one reason the widows stay with me so strongly in this story: 

Mary Ramsden née Eastland. 

Elizabeth Fullagar née Potter.  

Elizabeth Fullagar née Bourne. 

Mahala Bourne-Rolfe née Chacksfield.

Their names are not mere interruptions in a male line of innkeepers.  They are part of the real substance of the story.  Each represents a woman who kept both household and business together at a difficult moment, because the work still had to be done.  Family history so often lets a woman slip into the background, but here they stand plainly in view.

The long family connection - Ramsden, Fullagar, Hukins, Bourne.

The first recognisable names on the list of innkeepers are direct ancestors -

• George Ramsden, my 7th great-grandfather, kept The Bonny Cravat for thirteen years from 1706 to 1719. 

• After his death, Mary Ramsden née Eastland, his widow and my 7th great-grandmother, continued from 1719 to 1720. 

Later came direct ancestors and distant cousins from the Fullagar and the Hukins families. For close  to 90 years, from 1734 to 1820, the running of the Bonny Cravat passed largely between these two families.

Listed innkeepers from the Fullagar and Hukins families are highlighted with hearts

The Fullagars carried a long stretch of the inn’s history. 

• John Fullagar, my 6th great-grandfather, appears for twelve years from 1734 to 1746.

• After him came Elizabeth Fullagar née Potter, his widow and my 6th great-grandmother, who ran the inn for four years.

• The inn then passed to John Fullagar, son of John and Elizabeth and my 5th great-grandfather, from 1750 to 1758.   He would not have worked alone either.  His wife, Sarah Fullagar née Gilham, my 5th great-grandmother, would have been part of that working household.  Sarah was the granddaughter of George Ramsden and Mary Ramsden née Eastland, the first of my ancestors connected with the inn, so the knowledge and habits of innkeeping may well have run through the family as naturally as any inheritance.

• Later, the inn returned again to yet another John Fullagar, my 4th great-grandfather and son of John and Sarah Fullagar née Gilham.  He ran the inn for twenty-one years from 1782 to 1803.

• Elizabeth Fullagar née Bourne, his wife and my 4th great-grandmother, continued running the inn for thirteen years after the death of her husband, from 1803 to 1816. Once again, no doubt she had been working alongside her husband during his years at the inn.

• The son of John Fullagar and Elizabeth Fullagar née Bourne, Thomas Fullagar, then took over from his mother in 1816 and ran the inn for four years.  Thomas, whilst not a direct ancestor, was my 3rd great-granduncle.

• Samuel Fullagar appears from 1856 to 1865.  Again, whilst not a direct ancestor, he was my 3rd cousin 4x removed, great great-grandson of the first of my Fullagar ancestors who ran the inn - John Fullagar and Elizabeth Fullagar née Potter. 

The Hukins family formed another thread. 

• John Hukins, my 5th great-grandfather, kept the inn for seventeen years from 1758 to 1775, and he too was almost certainly supported by his wife, my 5th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Hukins née Howe.

• John was followed by his brother James Hukins for seven years from 1775 to 1782.  Whilst James was not a direct ancestor of mine, he was my 5th great-granduncle. 

• Decades later the inn returned to both the Hukins and Fullagar families through James Hukins and Susannah Hukins née Fullagar, my 3rd great-grandparents, who were there for thirteen years from 1824 to 1837.  

Susannah was the sister of Thomas Fullagar, and the daughter of John Fullagar and Elizabeth Fullagar née Bourne. James was the grandson of John Hukins and Elizabeth Hukins née Howe.  By then the family connections around the inn had become dense and interwoven.

Another view of the Bonny Cravat Inn at Woodchurch,
the village inn that remained part of my family's working life for generations.

Source: “Bonny Cravat – Front Road, Woodchurch” by Brian Chadwick, via Geograph, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.

Another branch of that wider story - Bourne - appears in the 1850s. 

• Edmund Bourne, my 2nd cousin 4x removed, ran the inn for four years from 1852 to 1856.  He entered the Bonny Cravat story through marriage to Mahala Rolfe née Chacksfield, the widow of Henry Rolfe. 

What makes this part of the story especially striking is that Mahala had already been keeping the inn on her own for three years after her first husband Henry’s death. (Henry Rolfe had been the innkeeper from 1845 to 1849, undoubtedly supported by Mahala). Again, Mahala was not simply a name bridging one male innkeeper to another. For those years after the death of her first husband, she held the business together in her own right, before Edmund married her and joined the next phase of the inn's working life. 

Although Mahala was not a blood relative of mine, she belongs with the other widows in this story who kept the Bonny Cravat going when life could easily have pushed everything off course.

The work behind the names

What I love most in stories like this are the small details that remind us what the work may actually have looked like. 

• A Kent Archives publication, drawing on Woodchurch parish records for 1765, notes that John Hukins, innkeeper at the Bonny Cravat, was paid “beer for buryings” at local wakes. That tiny detail is one of my favourites because it brings the inn to life. It reminds us that this was not simply somewhere people came to drink. It was part of the village’s social fabric — present even at moments of mourning.

That wider role matters. 

• In villages like Woodchurch, an inn was rarely only a drinking house. It was a meeting place, a landmark, somewhere people heard news, settled arrangements, and crossed paths with neighbours. Standing opposite the church, the Bonny Cravat sat right at the centre of village life.

There is another layer to that history too — one that gives the Bonny Cravat a darker edge.

• Local tradition links the inn with smuggling in the eighteenth century, and that its strange and memorable name may have come from a French vessel remembered as La Bonne Crevette or La Bonne Corvette, in contradiction to the information in Hasted's text. 

Inns such as the Bonny Cravat sat where so many worlds met: respectable village life, hard-earned daily labour, travel, gossip, business, and sometimes things less lawful. 

• Smuggling was rife in Kent in the eighteenth century and continued into the nineteenth, and by the 1820s the district around Woodchurch was associated with men from the gang led by George Ransley, better known through the history of the Aldington Gang. In October 1826 Ransley and others were captured, and the gang’s members were later tried on capital charges.

During the years when James and Susannah were running the Bonny Cravat, they would almost certainly have known of the local smuggling world, even if only through village talk. 

• Stories remembered later say that the Bonny Cravat itself was sometimes used as a courtroom, and that proceedings connected with captured smugglers were held there. Perhaps that is a village memory rather than hard fact, but even as memory it is vivid and revealing. It suggests how closely public life, danger, and daily work could intersect in one place.

There are other old tales attached to the inn as well.

• One says the cellar, still used for beer, once connected by tunnel to the nearby church, perhaps with origins reaching back to the Reformation. Another recalls condemned smugglers being hanged outside the inn after trial. Whether every detail survives exactly as it happened or not, these stories cling to the Bonny Cravat because it was clearly one of those places where village life was lived at close quarters — not neatly or gently, but vividly.

An honest reminder about risk

One detail in particular stops this story from drifting into nostalgia. The Bonny Cravat was not just some picturesque old public house or quaint place where my family members lived and worked.  It was also the place where debts had to be met, and where the rougher edges of local life came right up to the door.

• In 1837, James Hukins appeared in connection with relief for insolvent debtors, a reminder that keeping an inn was never a guaranteed road to security. Family history can sometimes make an old inn sound comfortably picturesque, but for the people living it, it was work tied to risk, debt, and uncertainty.

I think that is central to the story. The Bonny Cravat was a place of continuity and family labour, yes — but it was also part of a precarious economy in which fortunes could shift quickly.  Bills still had to be paid.  Stock still had to be bought.  Losses could mount.  A bad run could undo years of effort.

By the end of 1837, my 3rd great-grandparents, James and Susannah, found themselves in dire circumstances and were in severe financial trouble. They could no longer continue at the inn and a mere two years later they were preparing to emigrate.  

From Woodchurch to Australia

One part of this story did not end in Woodchurch.

When my 3rd great-grandparents James Hukins and Susannah Hukins née Fullagar left the village and emigrated to Australia in 1839 with their family, the Bonny Cravat story took on a longer reach. In one sense, the inn itself was left behind.  But in another, the habits and knowledge shaped there travelled with them.

I find that continuity especially moving, because the family's connection to public-house life did not disappear in Australia. Two of their sons — my 2nd great-grandfather Adolphus Hukins and my 2nd great grand-uncle John Hukins — were both running pubs in Australia in the 1850s.

There is something remarkable in that. A family shaped for generations by the life of one village inn in Kent carried that working knowledge across the world. What had been learned at Woodchurch was not lost.  It became part of the family's Australian story as well.

Seen that way, the Bonny Cravat was more than a village inn attached to one side of my family tree. It was a workplace woven deeply into my family's life, part of a tradition of labour that crossed generations and, eventually, continents.

Sources and notes

With thanks to the local historians and record keepers whose work helps bring places like the Bonny Cravat back into view:

This post draws on a family document, Innkeepers and Publicans of The Bonny Cravat, based on material from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site and records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group.

This post also uses Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, 2nd edition, volume 7 (Canterbury: W. Bristow, 1798), in the Woodchurch section under “Charities,” which preserves an early reference to the Bonny Cravat as an ale-house.

Additional context comes from Kent Archives, Issue 15 (Autumn 2019), which quotes a 1765 Woodchurch parish record noting John Hukins, innkeeper at the Bonny Cravat, being paid for supplying “beer for buryings.”

Spotlight On ... Going Solo!

I've decided to branch off for a while and share things other than just the stories of my direct ancestors.  The main motivation for this is my desire to share some of the many wonderful photos I've found of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).  These photos deserve to be in the spotlight, so I thought long and hard about an interesting way to do this.

I've decided to put together collections of photos that all share a common thread.  For the third collection post, the spotlight is on ... Going Solo!

The individual portraits are either photographic portraits or painted portraits that cover the time period from the mid to the late 1800s. Each one is truly a treasure.

James Wright

1822-1875

He was the second husband of my paternal 3rd great aunt Hannah Browning.

James was born in London in 1818, but he died in New South Wales.  He was transported to Australia as a convict at the age of 19.  He went on to marry Hannah in 1848 when he was 26 years old.  

Together they had 21 children, including 4 sets of twins.  Tragically, not all the children survived into adulthood.

James died at the age of 57. He was accidentally killed by a falling tree while out cutting down the said tree with his sons in an attempt to collect a bee hive that was lodged in the tree!

What a life story!  I don't have a date for this portrait, but James does look like he is in his early 50s, so perhaps this photo was taken to celebrate his 50th birthday in 1868!

Common Ancestors (with his wife Hannah):  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

This is one of James's sons, William Edward Wright.

1852-1931

He is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.

William earned his living as a miner for many years, married Mary Jane Aspinall when he was 21 and went on to have six children.

I think this portrait speaks volumes about the sort of man William was - unassuming, no-nonsense and hard-working.  I think perhaps that was his best set of clothes.

No date for this portrait either, but I'm guessing it would be late 1880s to early 1890s.

Common Ancestors:  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

This is a portrait of  Harriet Matilda Thomas nee Wright.

1860-1920

She is one of James's daughters and one of  William's sisters, making her another of my paternal 1st cousins 3x removed.

Harriet married Andrew Thomas at the age of 16 and they went on to have a family of thirteen children, including one set of twins.

Harriet's husband died in 1915, aged 59, and Harriet herself died in 1920, also aged 59.  

I find the enormous lace collar that Harriet is wearing to be quite extraordinary.  I wonder if it was a family heirloom and held special significance for her?  I imagine it was only worn on very special occasions.

Common Ancestors:  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

This kind-faced man is Joseph Fullagar

1820-1915

He is my paternal 1st cousin 4x removed.  Born in Woodchurch, Kent, England, he lived his entire life in that village, working as a gardener.  That would be my dream job!

He married Charlotte Morphett when he was 21 years old in 1842, and they had a family of eighteen children, including one set of twins.

Joseph passed away in 1915 at the age of 94.

I'm unsure of the date of this photo but Joseph looks to be in his late 40s, so it could have been taken in the late 1860s.

Common Ancestors:  John Fullagar and Elizabeth Bourne  (my paternal 4x great grandparents)

This is Joseph's wife Charlotte Fullagar nee Morphett

1824-1895

She married Joseph in 1842 when she was 17 years old, and (as mentioned) went on to have eighteen children, including a set of twins. 

I think she would have been one rather remarkable woman and I'm amazed she still has such a kindly countenance in her golden years, as seen in this portrait.

I don't have a date for this photo, but Charlotte looks to be in her 60s, so perhaps it was taken to celebrate a milestone 60th birthday which would have been in 1884.

Perhaps that cap/bonnet on her head was a real fashion statement at the time, but it's hard to imagine wearing something like that on a daily basis!

This distinguished man is John Potter Davis

1834-1917

He is my paternal 3rd cousin 4x removed (quite a distant relationship!)

John was born in Woodchurch, England but emigrated to the U.S.A. with his parents in 1849 when he was 15 years old.

He married Mary Elizabeth Mack when he was 21 and they eventually settled in Wisconsin.  

Both John and Mary worked as a team when John became the Superintendent of the Walworth Poor Farm in in 1882.

They ran this poor house and lunatic asylum for sixteen years, and apparently were known as quite a caring couple displaying humane (for the times) treatment of the inmates.  Those poor inmates ended up living in this place because of poverty, that was often accompanied by mental illness, a physical or cognitive disability; or they were young, poor, unmarried pregnant women who could not take care of themselves or their offspring.

Common Ancestors:  John Fullagar and Elizabeth Potter  (my paternal 6x great grandparents).

This is Mary Elizabeth Davis nee Mack, John's wife.

1837-1918

Mary was born in Madison County, New York and died in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, as did her husband.

Mary's husband John died in 1917 at the age of  83, and Mary herself died the following year, 1918, at the age of 81.

It's likely that the photo portraits of both John and Mary were taken when they left Walworth Poor Farm, around 1898 which would put them both in their early 60s.

Emily Adelaide Hukins

1847-1942

This is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.  She was born and died in New South Wales, Australia.

Emily married Thomas John Dixon Barnes in 1865 when she was 18 years old.  They went on to have eight children, losing only one daughter in infancy. 

Sadly, Emily's husband died when she was 53, but Emily herself had a very long life and passed away in 1942 when aged 95.

I don't have a date for this portrait unfortunately, but given the usual practices of this era, it could have been taken on her wedding day, on the day she turned 21 or to celebrate a wedding anniversay.

Common Ancestors:  James Hukins and Susannah Fullagar  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

Here is Thomas John Dixon Barnes, the husband of Emily

1842-1901

Thomas was 23 years old when he married.  He had emigrated from England just the year before.

In 1901 Thomas passed away at the age of 59.

Again, I'm unsure of the date this photo was taken.  Thomas is holding a top hat which could suggest the photo was taken on his wedding day in the mid 1860s, but he looks older than 23.  

Perhaps this photo was to mark a special occasion of some other sort.

Nancy Eliza Robertson nee Browning

1875-1939

My paternal first cousin 3x removed

Born in New South Wales, and died in Gympie, Queensland.

Nancy married William Hector Robertson in 1896 when she was 21 and went on to have a family of nine children.

Perhaps this portrait dates from her wedding day.  

Nancy passed away in 1939 when she was 64 years old.

Common Ancestors:  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

This is William Hector Robertson, Nancy's husband.

1868-1950

He was born in Scotland and died in Gympie, Queensland, Australia.

William married Nancy when he was 21 years old.  When Nancy died in 1939, William was 71 years old, but interestingly he re-married the following year 1940 at the sprightly age of 72!

He passed away in 1950 at the age of 82.

Now this rather dapper young man is John Thomas (Jack) Browning, brother to Nancy pictured previously.

1879-1951

My paternal first cousin 3x removed.

John Thomas, known as Jack, married Margaret Ellen O'Reilly when he was 31 years of age.

They went on to have eleven children, not all of whom survived to adulthood.

This photo shows John as a young man. It was possibly taken when John turned 21 in 1900. 

John was born and died in Queensland. He passed away when he was 72 years old in 1951.

Common Ancestors:  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns  (my paternal 3x great grandparents).

This lady with the quite stylish bonnet and rather sad face is Eleanor Jane Atkin nee Jones

1863-1957

She is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.  Born in New South Wales, Australia to a convict named John Michael Jones and his wife Harriett Lancaster-Exton, Eleanor was raised in a family of nine siblings and two half-siblings.

Her father died when she was only 3 years old, and her mother re-married three years later.

I think Eleanor would probably have had a tough upbringing.  It's likely she would have perhaps remained a little unnoticed with eight older siblings, having a sister born just a few months after the death of her father, and then two half-siblings born when she was aged 7 and 11.

Eleanor married Joseph Atkin when she was 19 years old.  They were married for 59 years and had six children.  Joseph passed away in 1941 when Eleanor was 77 years old.  Eleanor herself died in 1957, aged 93.  

Common Ancestors:  James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.

This sweet jovial face belongs to Elizabeth (known as Betsy) McQuilty nee Exton.

1849-1917

She is my paternal 3x great aunt.  Elizabeth was born in New South Wales, but died in Beaudesert, Queensland.

Elizabeth married Francis Thomas McQuilty in 1866 when she was only 16.  They went on to have eleven children.

Along with raising their children, Elizabeth worked as a domestic for most of her life.

Her husband passed away when Elizabeth was 58 and she kept on working after that.  Elizabeth died in 1917 at the age of 61.

Common Ancestors:  James Exton and Susannah Lancaster  (my 3x great grandparents and Elizabeth's parents)

The Story of Dominyche Fullagar (Fullagarde)

The story of my paternal 12x Great Grandfather Dominyche Fullagar (Fullagarde) (c.1518-1558) will be a short one.  

The information I have found has come from oral family history recorded by descendants in England, although there is one piece of evidence that provides proof of some of the particulars of his story. That's his last will and testament.





Dominyche was born 500 years ago in 1518, according to family history, in Headcorn, Kent, England.

His name was most likely pronounced as "Dominic".

There are no records in existence that can provide proof of his date of birth or the names of his parents, so I'm unable to fill in those blanks.

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13359000

In the supposed year of Dominyche's birth, King Henry VIII had been the monarch of England for nine years, James V ruled Scotland and Francis 1 was the ruler of France.

Henry VIII was to remain the monarch of England during the majority of Dominyche's life.

Dominyche married Alice Hemersham around 1539, in the village of Headcorn, Kent.  He would have been 21 years old and Alice was 17. Their son William was born the following year, probably in 1540. 

Dominyche's occupation was 'mercer'.  He was a trader in cloth, textiles and woollens, and he seems to have been rather well-off.  Whether he had inherited land and wealth from his father, or had become very prosperous as a result of his occupation is unknown.

Headcorn at that time was a village that had prospered with the growth in the textile industry.  Many of the weavers in the village would have been Flemish weavers who had escaped French rule and settled in England.  Dominyche would have often visited the Cloth Hall in the centre of his village to buy fabrics from weavers such as these.

Village of Headcorn

The Old Cloth Hall apparently still stands in the village of Headcorn.  Reputedly it's the building on the right in the photo above.

In Dominyche's time, the Exchequer would have been next door.  It served as a bank, and Dominyche would have gone there to get a line of credit in order to make his fabric purchases.  It's likely he would have then sold them in places such as London or even in Europe.

(Note:  this information about Headcorn was provided by a distant relative from her own family tree research, but is apparently not correct according to a local historian who has been researching the village for many years.  I received a message from this historian stating: "I have read your piece relating to Headcorn and would like to offer some corrections. I have been a local historian in Headcorn for many years. The building in the High Street shown is not a cloth hall, it is known as Shakespeare House and was possible a weaving house?, The building to the left is 'Chequers', named that as it was an inn called the 'Ball and Chequers'. It was NEVER a bank there would not have been one in the village at that time.")

Dominyche died on the 21st of December 1558, when he was only 40 years old.  He died in the village of Headcorn.

Now to his last will and testament.  The language of Dominyche's will is extraordinary and obviously reflects the nature of the English language during the period known as the Tudor Period in England. This was known as Early Modern English, the stage of the English language as it developed and was used from the late 15th century until the mid-to-late 17th century.

The transcript reads:

In the name of God Amen. The 21st day of December in the year or our Lord God 1558 and in the first year of the reign of our sovereign Lady Elizabeth by the grace of God Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the faith.

This is the last Will and Testament of me Dominyche Fullagarde mercer of the parish of Headcomne being sick in body and of perfect remembrance I bequeath my soul to almighty God and my body to the ground to be buried in the church yarde of Headcomne or its where.

Then I will William Fullagarde my son my part of one messuage garden barn and other housing thereunto belonging and the land thereunto belonging by estimation 13 acres more or less within the borow of Headcomne of its where within the parish of Headcomne in feesimple forever.

Also I will that William Fullagarde my son shall mine executor of all my moveable goods recervynge (?) my wife shall have half the household recervynge (?) the tunnes of the bruehouse and Alice my wife shall have two kine and a bull and the said William my son shall pay to Alice my wife 20 (pounds) of lawful money of England by equal portions within one hole year next after my death.

I will that Alice my wife shall have her dwelling in the house as long as she lyveth she being sole widow and when the housselhold is shift my son to choose first so that my wife shall not medle with the shopp of mercerie furthermore I will that my wife and William my son to keep for the house and to bear the charges between them and to shift the profits betwixt them.

Also I will that in case William my son do not suffer my wife quietly to be with him that then she shall disentre him.

Then I will that my brother Nicholas Hemersham shall mine oversear of this my Will and Testament and to have for his pains 13s/4d to be paid immediately after my death and I give to everie one of my Godchildren 4d and I give to Thomas Bames dwelling with me 10 shillings immediately after my death and William my son being my Executor to pay my bequeathes and to receyve all my debts in witness hereof Nicholas Mr. Hemersham James Mr. Hynchell Richard Buchorse Vicar with other.

What fantastic language!  It's an absorbing read.  I find some of the spelling quite interesting.  What on earth is "recervynge"?  Would that be "revenue"?

It appears that Dominyche was only survived by his wife and one son.  Essentially, the will states that Dominyche's wife Alice should have a few cattle, plus the sum of £20, and should have the use of the house during her lifetime. Son, William and Alice were to share the profits of the shop and to live together in the house.

I find the remark "My wife shall not medle with the shoppe of mercerie", quite interesting. Perhaps Alice had tried to have a say in the business when Dominyche was plying his trade, and perhaps he had not appreciated that at all!

Son William was to have "messuage, garden, barn and 13 acres".  

A typical 16th century middle class house

 A "messuage" was a dwelling house wtih outbuildings, possibly similar to the house pictured here. 

"Messuage" was an Anglo-Norman French word with its origin in the Latin language ... 'manere' meaning "to dwell".  







Presumably this sizeable 13 acre property contained the "shoppe", although that is not clear.
 

Dominyche's brother-in-law was also mentioned in the will ...  "my brother Nicholas Hemersham shall (be) mine oversear of this my Will".  Dominyche also gave 4 pence to each of his godchildren.  I wonder how many there were?  Did Dominyche have lots of godchildren because he and wife Alice only had the one son?  There are endless questions I'd love to find the answers for, but it's likely a lost cause given that the life of my 12x Great Grandfather was lived so very long ago!

Special Note to any family members:  If you have information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so.  Please use the comments box below or email me.  It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.

The Story of Susannah Fullagar

This story is about my paternal Great Great Great Grandmother Susannah Fullagar (1791-1862).  In the year of her birth, 1791, George 111 was the monarch of England; the world's first Sunday newspaper was published; Captain Arthur Phillip was in his fourth year as the Governor of newly established colony of New South Wales in Australia.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

When Susannah was born, her father John Fullagar was 33 years old and her mother Elizabeth Bourne was aged 30.

She was born in the village of Woodchurch in Kent, England, and was the fifth child born to John and Elizabeth.





Susannah's eldest brother Richard had been born in 1782.
John was born in 1784, but had died the same year.
Another son John was born in 1786, but had died the same year.
Mary was born in 1785, and had died just a little while afterwards.
George was born in 1787, but had died the same year.
Sarah was born in 1788.

So that meant that when Susannah was born just three years later, the only other siblings still living were Richard and Sarah.  More siblings were to follow, but sadly, another four died in infancy.

Elizabeth was born in 1793 when Susannah was 2, but died the same year.
Thomas was born in 1794.
Josiah was born in 1796, but died the following year.
Josephus was born in 1799.  Sadly, he died just two months later.  Susannah was aged 8.
Sophia came along in 1801 but died the same year.
Ann was born in 1802 when Susannah was 11 years old.

You do have to wonder what effect the loss of so many siblings, while they were still babies, would have had on Susannah.  Perhaps the realisation of such a tragedy didn't hit her until she was much older.

Up until 1802, Susannah's father was the innkeeper of the Bonny Cravat Inn.  The family of six children had grown up a modest home on a large plot of land near the village.  Possibly Susannah's childhood would have been a happy, carefree one growing up in the small, picturesque village of Woodchurch.

Unfortunately in 1803, when Susannah was 12 years old, her father died.  At the point, Susannah's mother took over as innkeeper, so I imagine life would have changed considerably then.  With her mother working long hours, no doubt assisted by Susannah's older brother Richard, who would have now been 21; perhaps Susannah, aged 12, and her older sister Sarah, aged 15, would have taken on the mothering and the domestic duties around the home, while their mother worked at the inn.  Their brother Thomas would have been 9 years old, and baby Ann would have only been 1.  I would think that the carefree childhood days would have well and truly ended after the death of Susannah's father.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

Eleven years later, in December of 1814, a marriage bann was posted announcing the coming marriage of Susannah Fullagar and James Hukins.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

Then in January of 1815, at the age of 23, Susannah married James Hukins. They went on to have a family of nine children, born over a period of sixteen years.

Their daughter Elizabeth was born in June of 1815, so Susannah would have been pregnant at the time of her wedding.
John was born two years later, in 1817.
James came along in 1820.
Crittenden was born in 1821.
Adolphus was born in 1823, when Susannah was 32 years old.
Sabina, was born in 1825.
Norman came along in 1828, but sadly, died when he was a month and a half old.
Cassandra was born in 1829.
Then their last child, Adelaide was born in 1832.

The Bonny Cravat Inn, as it is today

In 1824, just after their fourth child was born, Susannah and her husband James took over the running of the Bonny Cravat Inn, which stood opposite the church.





The inn had been run by Susannah's father for 20 years, and was taken over by Susannah's mother when her father had died.  Susannah's mother, Elizabeth, was innkeeper for 12 years up until 1816 when Susannah's brother Thomas had taken over.  That was the year after Susannah had married.

Susannah's brother Thomas was innkeeper for only 4 years and for some reason, which I have not been able to uncover as yet, he stopped innkeeping in 1820.  For a period of 3 years the Bonny Cravat Inn had been in the hands of people outside the Fullagar family, until Susannah and her husband took over.

The record of Innkeepers for the Bonny Cravat Inn:
(sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site of the Woodchurch Ancestry Group). 

Date	Innkeeper/Publican	Monarch
1690-1701	John Medhurst - The Butchers Arms	William & Mary 1689-1694, William III 1694-1702
1701-1706	Sarah Wood - The Bonny Cravat	Anne 1702-1714
1706-1719	George Ramsden	George I 1714-1727
1719-1720	Mary Ramsden - Widow of George
1720-1732	John and Thomas Hills	George II 1727-1760
1732-1734	Mary Hills - Widow of John
1734-1746	John Fullagar
1746-1749	Elizabeth Fullagar Widow of John
1749-1750	Elizabeth Fullagar - Widow of John & Mary Austen Widow
1750-1758	John Fullagar - Son of John
1758-1775	John Hukins	George III 1760-1820
1775-1782	James Hukins - Brother of John
1782-1803	John Fullagar - Son of John
1803-1816	Elizabeth Fullagar - Widow of John
1816-1820	Thomas Fullagar
1820-1823	Shadrack Pearce	George IV 1820-1830
1823-1824	George Elliott
1824-1837	James and Susannah Fullagar Hukins	William IV 1830-1837
1837-1843	Gabriel Law	Victoria 1837-1901

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site

Susannah was listed as the innkeeper, along with her husband James, for a period of twelve years from 1824 to 1837.  What's fascinating for me is the fact that her name is recorded with both her maiden name, Fullagar, and her married name.  Perhaps the reason for that is to acknowledge the very long association of the Fullagar family with the running of the inn!

When Susannah began innkeeping with her husband, she had four children between the ages of nine and one, and then went on to have another four, although, tragically she lost one of her children when he was only a baby.  As any working mother knows, Susannah's days would have been hard slog.

At this point, I'm going to mention this week's prompt in the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge: Close Up.  It seems that Susannah would have spent time in the company of smugglers, up close and personal!! 

Smuggling had been rife in Kent during the 18th century and continued on into the 19th.  By the 1820s, Woodchurch was home to quite a number of smugglers from a well-known gang, known as Ransley's Gang.  It's likely Susannah knew them quite well, or at least knew of them.

In 1826, some members of this gang fought with the Revenue on the village green in Woodchurch, but they lost and were captured.  The Bonny Cravat Inn had often been used as a courtroom, and so it was in 1826, when Susannah and her husband ran the inn, that the trial for the captured smugglers happened at the Bonny Cravat.

The men were sentenced to death during the proceedings, and were subsequently hanged by the neck on gallows which apparently stood outside the inn.

What a gruesome sight for all in the village, but particularly for Susannah and her family, with the men likely hanging for days just outside the inn. Talk about up close and personal!



The name 'Bonny Cravat Inn' was and remains a unique name for a pub in England.  No other inn or pub has ever had a similar name.  It's said that the name came from a French fishing boat used as a smuggling vessel. The story goes that the inn was in fact the rendezvous point for smugglers who traded with the French in the early 1700s, using a boat called La Bonne Crevette. The original sign for the inn though apparently said La Bonne Corvette.  So it appears that the inn had been a smuggler's inn for the period from the 1700s to the 1800s, and it also became the place where smugglers were tried and sentenced!

It seems that after twelve years of innkeeping, Susannah and her husband were in severe financial trouble.  There is a note in The London Gazette of late 1837 that shows James petitioning the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debors.  It's interesting to also note that he had started out as a farmer, then became a victualler and farmer, but had most recently been just a victualler.  I think it can be safely assumed that Susannah's husband had lost the farm he had originally owned before they married.  It does all paint a picture of dire straits!

About eighteen months later, Susannah and her husband James were preparing for emigration.  They obviously felt that the chance for a better life far off in the colony of New South Wales was their best option!

There is a parish record that shows Susannah and her family were supported by the Woodchurch Parish with the provision of tickets and attire for the voyage as assisted immigrants to Australia.  In early May Susannah was provided with "1 gown, 1 stiff petticoat, 1 flannel petticoat, 5 shifts, 4 pairs stockings, 3 handkerchiefs, 1 pair shoes, 3 caps", whilst her husband was provided with "attire and ten pounds sterling".   There is no record of any provision for their children.

The family party, which included ...
Susannah, now aged 48;
Her husband James Hukins, aged 47;
Her eldest daughter Elizabeth, aged 24, who was by then married to Edward Dawes and had a son James aged 1;
Son John, aged 22;
Son James, aged 20;
Son Crittenden, aged 18;
Son Adolphus, aged 16;
Daughter Sabina, aged 13;
Daughter Cassandra, aged10;
and daughter Adelaide, aged 7;
all boarded the ship Cornwall at Gravesend on the 7th of May in 1839.

On the emigration record Susannah's occupation was listed as "farm servant", as she was not working as an innkeeper at that time. It appears she was educated as she could read and write. Her father was incorrectly listed as 'Charles Fullagar, innkeeper' when it should have read 'John Fullagar, innkeeper'.  There was never a Charles Fullagar living in Woodchurch and working as an innkeeper.

Susannah's husband James was listed as a 'farm labourer' on the previous page of this record.  Her older sons were listed separately as 'single men'.  John was listed as a 'gardener', James as a 'coachman' and Crittenden (although his name was incorrectly spelt) was listed as a 'groom'.  

Early on May the 12th, the Cornwall set sail for Australia.  The voyage took almost four months, with the ship arriving in Sydney on the 1st of September, 1839.

An excerpt from the Surgeon's Report of the Cornwall stated:

"Sailed from Gravesend on 12th. May 1839 and arrived on 1st. September 1839.  112 Days  On board were: 150 Adult Males. 101 Adult Females. Children: 50 Male;  74 Females; Infants 12.
Nine Males & Nine Females died on board. Main afflictions were Fever, Diarrhoea, Scurvy, & with the children Rubella, Scarlet Fever, Bowel (infection) from the irritation of teething. No one was confined to bed during the last 6 weeks – good state of health on arrival.  Five children born on board."

Sydney Herald (NSW), Monday 2 September 1839, page 2

The Surgeon's report tells of not only the births, deaths and illnesses, but also of the weather conditions.  At the beginning of the voyage there was apparently extremely inclement weather.  The Cornwall experienced squalls, hail storms, and snow storms as it journeyed towards the Bay of Biscay.  It mentions sightings of flying fish, hooking pigeons and albatross when the ship was rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

On the morning of the ship's entry into Port Jackson at Sydney, the Surgeon described his first sight of 'old Sydney town'.  No doubt Susannah would have experienced the same sights.

Sydney Cove 1839

"We entered Sydney Heads, a narrow passage between the high rocky coast, and as soon as the ship rounded the South Head, the most beautiful scenery bursts upon the sight with the Town of Sidney in the distance.

To the right as we enter the Heads is a bay, forming the Quarantine Station.  We beat up the Harbour which is a complete bay of bays, with here and there a small island, the banks are covered with Gentlemen's country seats of every stile of building, interspersed among the thick bush wood, which grows to the very edges of the banks, which are rock stone of the most picturesque formes and appearance; in the centre of the bay soon after entering is a rock, the top of which may be seen at low water mark, called the Sow & Pigs, with a Light Ship near it.

As we proceeded, the town became more exposed to view with the ships lying in the cove, and at 10.30am, we came to a safe anchorage of the Fort which stands on a projecting peak."

I'm not entirely sure what happened to the family upon their disembarkation on September 2nd 1839.  It does appear that they stayed in or close to Sydney for at least a few months as tragically, Crittenden died in 1840 with the place of death recorded as Sydney.  He was aged 19.

Soon after, it's likely that Susannah's husband would have been hired for work by one of the landowners in the colony, because by the late 1840s, Susannah and her family were definitely living and working in the Illawarra district on the New South Wales south coast. 

In 1848, Susannah's husband James is mentioned in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald as being a tenant farmer for a man named Stephen Addison Esq.  Captain Addison was giving a speech at his farewell dinner before he set off for Van Diemen's Land, and stated

"He had come to this district and had settled on what all thought a wilderness - he had greatly improved it, he it was that had given a stimulus to improvement; but if he had not been blessed with such tenants as Mr. James Hukins and family, and ably supported by good neighbours, all he could have done would have availed to nothing."

I have no doubt at all that Susannah, who was no stranger to hard work, would have been ably assisting her husband James with the clearing and working of the land.  She was to be the wife of a tenant farmer for the remainder of her life, which was to be 14 years.

It does appear that Susannah and her husband remained on that farm, named Susan's Hill, until their deaths.

As can be seen in the Death Notice above, Susannah passed away at the farm, Susan's Hill, near a small town called Jamberoo, on the south coast of New South Wales.

She died in 1862, at the age of 71, after "a long and painful illness which she bore with Christian fortitude".  She was survived by her husband James and seven of her children.


Special Note to any family members:  If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so.  Please use the comments box below or email me.  It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.