Simeon Strange

							W111                                                                   page 1 of 6


                     Simeon Strange by Shirley Newman 1999

            MY PATERNAL GREAT GRANDFATHER - SIMEON STRANGE



Bapt:          15 March 1846 at Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, 3rd child of parents:
                     William and Elizabeth Strange (nee Embling) of Prioryfield,
                     Lydiard Tregoze.

Siblings:      Mary Ann, Bapt 1841, Lydiard Tregoze
               George, Bapt 2.7.1842      do
               Edwin, Bapt 15.9.1848 do
               William Richard, Bapt 17.7.1852 do
               John, Bapt 10.3.1855 do
               Rhoda, Bapt 8.3.1857            do

Married:       aged 19, to Elizabeth Loveday of Broad Hinton, on 21 July 1865 at
               the Zion Chapel, Highworth, Wilts.

Died:          1932 at Stratton St Margaret Workhouse, Wilts.
Bur:           Wroughton St John's Churchyard on the left of the path, no headstone

Children:      Twin boys died in infancy of Scarlet fever
               Louisa Lucy, b 1847, Swindon, mar John Robinson,
               Lydia
               Letitia Martha (Pat) mar Frank Burkett,
               Ruth b 16.12.1872, Swindon, d Wroughton 1907,mar James Newman,
                             Chilton Farm, Wroughton
               Hubert, b Wroughton 1874, mar Mary Elizabeth, b Wroughton 1888,
                             d 1974 Freemantle, Australia
                             Mar Kylie Leader b Wroughton, d Freemantle,

               In addition to their own children, Simeon and Elizabeth brought up:
               Minnie, b 1891, illeg. daughter of Ruth Strange and James Newman;
               Frank, b 1904, illeg. son of Letitia (Pat) Strange;
               Frederick, b 1907, youngest son of Ruth & James Newman.

Lived at:      Prioryfield, Lydiard Tregoze
               Cob Gutter, Lydiard Tregoze (1851 Cencus)
               Spittleborough Farm, (servant aged 15, 1861 Cencus)
               Church Farm Cottages, Swindon (1871 Cencus, agri.lab)
               Gospits Farm, Swindon Rd Wroughton, (1881 Cencus, lab)
               11 Marlborough Road, Wroughton
               Priors Hill, Wroughton
               Workhouse, Stratton St Margaret
W111                                                                     page 2 of 6


(Note – Simeon was Janet Millar’s (nee Williams) great grand uncle, making
Shirley and Janet third cousins

I have been unable to locate Shirley Newman the author of this biographical
sketch, for permission to reproduce the article or to verify any of the source material;
on the basis of the already established internet availability, I have taken the
responsibility to reproduce it here
 – Stewart Millar)



S  imeon appears to have been small
   boned, thin and wiry in build - like
my Father Fred, and not unlike Frank
                                               were born. In the 1871 Census they
                                               had 2 lodgers living with them.

Strange, but smaller. The only two             Then they moved to Swindon Road
photographs of Simeon were taken by            Wroughton where the rest of the
my Father Fred with the brownie box            family were born. Gospits Farm was
camera just a few months before he             next    to    where     Barratts   the
died at Stratton Workhouse at the age          wheelwrights are now in North
of 86 He seems to have had the                 Wroughton.      The farmhouse was
same high cheek bones as Frank and             thatched, with the dairy at the rear.
Fred had .                                     The girls used to pick bunches of
                                               buttercups and put in jars on the dairy
In character he was a sweet, kind,             window sills where it was cool and
mild man; religious and even                   white They had two donkeys called
tempered.        He must have been             Dorcas and Dolly. There was an
intelligent in order to have moved from        orchard with wonderful apple trees
his humble beginnings to having a              which bore very sweet and juicy
small farm of his own. He was literate         apples, which Frank and Fred used to
and hard working. He started out in            "nog", and several fields at the rear
life as a hired labourer (via the              where they grew vegetables. Simeon
Michaelmas fairs) , then built up his          also rented fields further at the back
smallholding and dairy farm near the           where he kept about 15 cows, grew
Black Horse in North Wroughton. .              vegetables. He made his own butter
                                               and cheeses, delivering the produce in
Simeon Strange was described as a              his horse and cart to the large houses
servant aged 15, at Spittleborough             in Old Swindon - Belmont Crescent,
Farm,     in   the    1861     Cencus.         Westlecot Road, etc (never in New
Spittleborough lies next to Lydiard, so        Town).
this was probably one of his first jobs.
He worked at Hook at one time.                 The farm must have prospered
                                               because he had a bank account, and
He got married At Highworth Zion               it was his custom to visit the Bank in
Chapel when he was 19 years old, to            Old Town once a week to pay his
Elizabeth Loveday.       (There were           money in on market days, so the
families of both Stranges and                  turnover must have been worth the
Lovedays at Highworth at that time, so         visit.  Frank remembered that his
whether they were visiting or living           Grandfather had a cheque book
there I don't know). After he married,         (which was very unusual in those
they settled for several years at              days).
Church Farm Cottages, Swindon
where the twins and the first two girls
W111                                                              page 3 of 6


The 1881 Census shows they had a          birth of my Father Frederick.
lodger in the house as well as 3          Unfortunately Ruth caught Scarlet
children living at home - Lucy, Ruth      Fever during the confinement, and
and Hubert 7, (Mary not having been       died two weeks later on New Year's
born yet).                                Day 1908. By this time their daughter
                                          Mary had married Kylie Leader and
Simeon, in contrast to his brother        had a small baby, so Fred was given
George, was said to have been a           to her to nurse for a few months,
"sweet, mild man." He was religious       thereafter the Grandparents looked
and a church warden at St Johns           after the baby again.         So the
Wroughton for many years. There is a      household in the early 1900s
brass plaque on the wall of the tower     consisted of Simeon and Elizabeth,
to him, and he is mentioned as being      Minnie a teenager, Frank and Fred.
church warden in 1906 when there          Elizabeth missed her youngest
was a church outing.                      daughter, and Frank remembered that
                                          she cried as she was making the beds
I am told that his daughters were "all    and he heard her crying "my poor
too good looking for their own good",     Mary, I shall never see you again in
and the Strange parents were too kind     this life". She also had a favourite
and not strict enough with them.          saying which was "in the midst of life
Louisa the eldest, married in haste,      we are in death".
John Robinson of Swindon. Lydia
went away and became a school             Simeon's son Hubert (Bert) grew up to
teacher; had an affair with the school    be a wastrel and got into debt many
headmaster for many years and had         times. Simeon paid off his debts and
twin girls by him. (It was sad that       finally lost all his money because of
when his sick wife died and he was        Bert. They were very poor when
free, she had just resigned herself and   Frank and Fred were children. Bert
married someone else).                    used to drink heavily and was lazy.
                                          When Simeon went into Swindon with
My Grandmother Ruth at 18, had a          his horse and cart to sell his butter,
daughter by James Newman of               cheeses and vegetables, Bert was
Chilton Farm in 1891 called Minnie,       supposed to tend the fields with the
whom Simeon and Elizabeth Strange         hired hands, but Simeon frequently
brought up at Gospits Farm, (their        got back to find Bert and the men all
youngest child Mary being 3 at the        drunk and incapable lying in the fields
time). Then a few years later Letitia     with the empty casks by their sides
Martha (known as Pat) had Frank           which they had got from the pub and
Strange (by Frederick Parsons, a tall     charged to Simeon. So not only was
6ft 2in. good looking redheaded           he in debt for the beer, but the fields
coachman) whom her parents brought        hadn't been worked either. After he
up as their own as well when she went     married, Hubert lived in one of three
back into service. She subsequently       houses near the Three Tunns Inn at
married Tom Burkett a butcher at          Wroughton, and used to ride a white
Southampton and made a new life for       mare. He had 1 son and 2 daughters
herself.                                  (one called Nina whom Fred saw
                                          riding in hunting gear when he went to
When Simeon and Elizabeth were in         Guildford later).
their 50s, Ruth who had married
James Newman seven years before,          Simeon sold his farm (after the
came home to Gospits Farm for the         farmhouse had burnt down) to settle
W111                                                               page 4 of 6


Bert's debts. Bert went to work for a      income and no doubt free bread.
Jewish banker as farm manager at           Minnie courted him and they married
Shalford near Guildford. "He had big       and moved to Honiton in Devon, which
ideas and rode to hounds as he had in      left the three men on their own.
Wroughton".                                Minnie married at Wroughton, and
                                           when all the people were seated in the
Gospits Farm was where Barretts the        church the parson wouldn't conduct
Wheelwrights are now; the story goes       the ceremony because she hadn't
that Barretts wanted the farm next         been baptised! So In front of the
door in order to expand. Some people       congregation they marched to the
said that a spark from their forge went    back of the church to the font, and she
onto the thatch and the farm               swore at the parson and said "now
conveniently burnt down!           Frank   that's enough, now marry us". Eileen
Strange, when a teenager cycling up        Selby was at the wedding when a
Croft Road to the GWR Works,               child and remembers the day.
remembers someone called out to him
"your roof is going up a treat" - and he   Frank remembered that Minnie was
looked back and saw the blaze. He          bad with money as well and got Frank
turned round and went back to find the     and Simeon into debt. Frank had his
farmhouse ruined. So Simeon, Frank,        job in the GWR and bought a bicycle
my Father Fred and Minnie were             on hire purchase in order to get to
homeless. They went to live in 11          work. He used to give Minnie the
Marlborough       Road       Wroughton     money to buy the weekly postal
(rented) and later in a tiny cottage on    orders, and had a shock when they
the right hand side going up Priors        wrote saying he was in debt and the
Hill.                                      instalments hadn't been paid.

Elizabeth (Grannie Strange) had died       After Minnie left, the three - Simeon ,
11 November 1918          in the great     Frank and Fred moved to a tiny house
influenza epidemic of 1918. She was        in Priors Hill . Frank said "they lived
nursed by her daughter Lucy                without a woman in the house for 2
Robinson in Cricklade Road Swindon,        years", and must have been extremely
and brought back to Wroughton to be        poor.     Frank remembers he and
buried in St John's Churchyard (left of    Simeon having only a pint of beer,
the path). Joe Newman remembers            bread and cheese for Christmas
on his way home from school,               Dinner.     Fred said that the only
stopping in respect as a cortege went      present he ever received at Christmas
by and someone said to him "that's         once was a sugar mouse, so it
your grandma" - no one had told him        became a tradition in our family that
that his Grannie had died. He was          he always bought us a sugar mouse
upset.     Joe remembers her and           each Christmas!
Simeon with affection and said they
were a kindly old couple. Apparently        By this time Simeon was well in his
Grannie Strange was the first to call      70s, and they were finding it hard to
him 'Joe' instead of William. Fred was     cope. So my Father Fred at about 13
10 years old when she died.                years old(in about 1921) went to find
                                           himself somewhere to live and work.
They took a lodger after moving to         He went first to The Bear Inn at
Marlborough Road, - a baker who            Hungerford where he lived in as a
worked across the road in The              boot boy but was very unhappy and
Pitchens - which gave them a little        didn't stay long. He subsequently had
W111                                                               page 5 of 6


a variety of jobs and lodgings in
Swindon.
                                           Obituary from the North Wilts Herald:
Frank stayed with his Grandfather for
a while, but then went into lodgings in
Swindon which was nearer his work.
He was fortunate in having learned a              "WROUGHTON DEATH
trade and having continuous work.

Frank remembered that Simeon used
to sit and pare his finger nails with a    The death has occurred of an old
knife! (My Father Fred used to drive       Wroughton resident, in Mr. Simeon
me mad when he did similar instead of      Strange, at the age of 83.
using the scissors, but upon reflection,
                                           For many years Mr Strange was in the
I suppose poor people years ago
                                           farming business at the Gospits Farm,
couldn't afford scissors!)
                                           where now stands the wheelwrights'
At some time Simeon went to live at St     business of Messrs Barrett & Co.,
Margaret's Old Peoples Home at             Wroughton, though it is many years
Stratton     St     Margarets       (the   since he gave up business.
Workhouse).      His mind began to
                                           For many years he was Vicar's
wander as he slowed up, and several
                                           Warden at the Parish Church, at the
times he tried to walk all the way
                                           time the Rev. J. R. Turner was
home to Wroughton. Fred and Elsie
                                           incumbent. He was acting in that
visited him at Stratton in 1932 before
                                           capacity at the time the Wroughton
he died and took the photos of him.
                                           Church tower and bells were restored,
Elsie's father Jim Bennett, was the
                                           in April of 1906."
Chairman of the Board of Guardians
which managed the Workhouse and
orphanages in those days. He kindly
agreed to sign the papers to pay for       Shirley Newman
Simeon's body to be brought back to
Wroughton for burial in the churchyard     August 1998
(left of the pathway near his wife
Elizabeth although there is no stone to
mark it). Frank was at the funeral.
W111                                                            page 6 of 6


NOTES

Eileen Selby told me that there was a    Where the Co-operative Discount
Strange     Family    Bible   at   her   Supermarket now stands on the
Grandmother's house in Cricklade         corner of Newport Street and High
Road. Unfortunately, Eileen's step-      Street Swindon there was a bank
father Jack Sturgess and his second      which was owned by the Strange
wife came from Brighton, (as did their   family in the 19th century. I still
relatives). After Eileen's mother died   wonder if we are connected to that
she had nothing to do with him, so       branch.
Eileen had nothing from her home and
doesn't know what happened to any
Strange family mementoes or the
Bible.                                   I still think there must be some
                                         connection re: the Simeon Strange
However, Frank told me he had a          born at Aston Tirrold, Berks in the
large photograph of his Grandmother      1840s of a William Strange, as the
Elizabeth somewhere, and a whole         name combination is not common.
stack of old photos which he would
look out for me to see. (They were
there at the Windsor Road House
apparently before they moved to the      I must try and trace the Guildford
flat).  I would like to see what the     branch - what were Hubert's children's
Strange grandparents looked like;        names?
everyone says how kind and sweet
they both were, but no one says what
they looked like!