This is the next in our series of blogs relating to Priory Row Cottages.
Sue Breslin, one of the volunteer research team, says “I moved to Coventry in 2022 and as soon as I discovered the Historic Coventry Trust I signed up as a volunteer. I love family history, social history, and understanding how places have changed over time. The idea for this series of blogs was sparked by discovering how old the Priory Row cottages are and wondering about who might have lived there over the centuries. I love to find out the life stories of people from the past – there’s always something interesting, and often surprising.”
People of Priory Row Cottages – Elizabeth & Emily Alston 1840 – 1939: a tale of two sisters
The Blue Coat school is a well known Coventry school founded over 300 years ago. Its original aim was to feed, house and clothe its pupils who would leave at 16 having been trained in domestic service. The original building was in the city centre behind the cottages on Priory Row. There are a number of Blue Coat schools across the country, named after the colour of the coats the pupils wore.
In the 1851 census two teachers and five girls from the school were living at 4 Priory Row including governess Elizabeth Ellen Alston, aged 30, and her sister Emily aged 13, a pupil.
The previous 1841 census shows William and Elizabeth Alston living in Leicester with their six children, including Elizabeth Ellen and Emily. The older children had been born in London where William was relieving officer for the Poor Law Union, responsible for assessing people who were applying for poor relief or for entry to the workhouse. He held the same position in Leicester from 1837 until he resigned in late December 1843 amid allegations of financial impropriety. Newspaper reports from 1837 indicate that there had been opposition within the council to William’s appointment – it was rumoured that he had been declared bankrupt and that he had left his position in London under similar clouds.
Using census information and some newspaper reports it’s possible to trace the lives of the sisters, Elizabeth Ellen and Emily, after they left Blue Coat School.
The census of 1861 shows Elizabeth living in her eldest brother William’s house, her occupation as governess. She could have held that position for William’s two small children, but it’s equally likely that she worked for another family and contributed to the household finances. In 1871, aged 50, she is still a governess but lodging with five others in the house of William Hayward, an ex soldier. I haven’t been able to find her in the 1881 census but in 1891 she was living with her unmarried niece in Harlow in Essex. She is shown as head of the household and living on her own means, so she must have been able to save some money whilst working. Elizabeth died in Harlow in 1898 and was buried in the local churchyard.
It must have been a difficult life for Elizabeth, an unmarried woman trying to make a living in an ill paid, often badly thought of, job. Victorian novels are full of such women, reluctantly taking a role as governess when their family falls on hard times.
For Emily life took a different turn. In 1856 a number of London newspapers reported her marriage to Dr Charles Tilstone Beke at St James’ Cathedral, Port Louis, Mauritius. The University of Dundee has some letters written by Charles to a friend and one of these from 1855 refers to the imminent arrival of his assistant Emily Alston. How Emily came to that role isn’t clear but hopefully her education at Blue Coat School played its part.
Charles was a geographer, a traveller in Africa and a writer, often on Biblical matters, and he was nearly 40 years older than Emily. In 1861, after being counted in the census for Bekesbourne in Kent, they travelled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt together and published an account of their travels on their return. Charles was interested in finding the exact location of Mount Sinai as mentioned in the Bible and his last journey in 1873 was an attempt to do so. He thought he had succeeded and his writings were published by Emily after his death in 1874.
Emily herself died in France in 1911 – her widowhood having been spent in financial difficulty. Charles had left effects worth about £200, which was not a great deal to see her through nearly 40 years on her own. The Bank of England inflation calculator says that £200 at that time was several years wages for working people and would have bought a small terraced house or a good quality horse and trap. Emily spent many hours writing to newspapers and to individuals keeping her husband’s reputation alive and seeking financial assistance. Among archived correspondence there is a letter from Emily to Charles Darwin thanking him for his generosity, and a record in Darwin’s accounts of him having sent her £5.
It’s interesting to wonder what might have happened to the sisters had their father managed to hold on to his position as relieving officer in London. They may have made good marriages, had children and not had to worry about money, although Emily might have found that a little dull considering the path she actually took.
