BIGWOOD ROAD
Introduction
At the time of the census, Bigwood Road was still under construction. There were 12 completed houses and one incomplete. As these were higher status houses, they were constructed as single houses and pairs and not in a continuous wave of building as in the Artisan’s Quarter. At this point, there was no consistent numbering; most houses just had a name or occasionally a plot number. Like many of the other roads in the Suburb, the road was later renumbered. Moreover, as Unwin’s 1911 map shows, today’s road layout had yet to emerge. Southway did not exist as a road; Bigwood Road started at Central Square and then turned southwards towards Meadway where the current junction with Southway lies.
For the sake of completeness, and because the houses were of a similar type and style, Hurst Close is also included in this analysis. Here there were three occupied houses and a further three under construction.
Housing types
The number of rooms per house was more variable than in some roads because of the wider variety of houses styles, with the pairs of houses and single buildings including the work of several architects. Reflecting their status as middle-class accommodation, these houses were quite large, ranging from 6 to 10 rooms. The average number of rooms was 7.9 (kitchens were counted, but not bathrooms, halls/lobbies etc); this was significantly more than in the Artisans’ Quarter.
Household composition
There were 65 residents in total on census night giving an average household occupancy of 4.33 persons. 23 were male and 45 were female: as elsewhere in the Suburb, there was a marked gender imbalance in the population with a much higher proportion of females. In fact, the proportion of females was higher than many other roads (66% female, 34% male).
Most houses (87%) had at least one servant; this was one of the highest proportions in the built roads and largely explains the gender imbalance. In addition, the social expectation that middle class women would remain in the family home until marriage (and might also return if widowed) was also a factor. There were several families with adult unmarried children living in the family home.
As in other roads, the Head of Household was usually male and married (14 out of 15 were male - all had been married, although one was now a widower). The one female Head was a single woman living with servants.
As in other higher status roads, the average age of the household heads tends to be older (44.9 years) and the length of marriage longer, although there were several younger families.
There were 10 families with children, but only 6 had children under 16 years. Several households included adult children who were also earners, which would presumably help to meet household expenses. For example, the Whiddington family at Roseville (later 8 Bigwood Road) had two adult daughters who lived at home who were both schoolteachers, as were both parents. This made Mrs Whiddington very unusual as very few married middle-class women worked at this time.
The most common family size was 3 children (50% of the families). A quarter of families only had one child, however at least some of these families might have been expected to have more children in the future, since new housing frequently attracts new or recently formed families.
Most households consisted of the immediate family, plus a servant. Only one family had a lodger: (the Tigg household at Millfield Cottage, later 14 Bigwood Road). Mr Tigg was a self-employed commercial traveller and this might have been an additional source of income to help sustain quite a large house and is seen occasionally in some of the other middle class roads.
Employment
Most heads of household were economically active. The only exception was Evelyn Maud Lang at Bigwood House, who was a single woman with private means (or inherited wealth). The heads of household were mainly in professional, upper middle-class roles, including senior civil servants, education and professions such as civil engineer and surveyor.
There were also two artists: Tom Roberts who lived at 1 Bigwood Road (now 10 Southway) and Henry Thomas Bosdet who lived at Bishopswood (now 13 Bigwood Road). More information about these individuals can be found at the end of the article.
Birthplaces of residents
As in most roads, the two largest areas where residents were born were London(41.2%) and England (beyond London and the Home Counties) 39.7%, which together account for four-fifths of the residents. The importance of London is somewhat higher than in many of the other high-status roads, with fewer Heads of Household apparently having moved to London. However, their wives were quite often born elsewhere, as were quite a few of the children reflecting the more mobile nature of middle-class families even at this time. A large proportion of the servants were born outside London, predominantly in more rural counties where there would have been limited opportunities for female employment at this time. Almost 60% of the residents in total were born somewhere other than London, which again shows the importance of London as an employment centre attracting migrants from elsewhere in England and the UK, as well as to a lesser extent from abroad. There are relatively few people born in the Home Counties.
Residents of interest:
1 Bigwood Road (now 10 Southway)
Tom Roberts: Born: 1856 in Dorchester, England. Died: 1931 in Victoria, Australia aged 75
He is known as the leader of the Heidelberg School, also known as the Australian Impressionists. He was well known in his lifetime and has recently returned to prominence with interest in this movement in Australia and in the UK.
He emigrated to Australia as a child with his family and trained there initially in photography. He returned to England to study at the Royal Academy art schools and travelled in Europe where he encountered plein air painting and impressionism.
On returning to Australia, he travelled with other artists and developed a distinctive style of outdoor painting and sketching which also aimed to show distinctive features of the Australian landscape and lifestyle.
In 1901, he was commissioned to produce the so-called ‘big picture’ of the Opening of the First Australian Federal Parliament in April 1901. This required him to travel to England to sketch some of the individuals present and he completed the picture in London in 1903. The family then remained in London, moving to 1 Bigwood Road which was purpose built by architect Geoffrey Lucas to his requirements, including the large downstairs room at the front of the house which was his studio.
He worked in a hospital during the First World War and returned to Australia in 1919.
There is more detail about Tom Roberts in our section on Suburb Artists.
Caleb Roberts
Born 1898, New South Wales, Australia - son of Tom and Lillie Roberts. Teenage years spent in Hampstead Garden Suburb.
Educated at St Paul’s School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Joined the Army during WW1, commissioned in 1916 into the Royal Engineers. Served in Palestine, on the Western Front and in North Russia, where he won the Military Cross in 1919.
After war service, he took a degree in civil engineering, before marrying and returning to Australia. He worked as a Highway Engineer and was responsible for modernising and improving the road network in Victoria.
For most of the Second World War, he served in the Australian Intelligence Corps, becoming director of military intelligence in February 1942. On 1 July 1942 Roberts was appointed controller of the Allied Intelligence Bureau at General Douglas MacArthur’s Geenral Headquarters, South-West Pacific Area. He led an organisation of 2000 men from Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, the USA and countries occupied by the Japanese, responsible for propaganda, espionage, sabotage and guerrilla operations in enemy-held territory. He retired in late 1944 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In civilian life he continued to be central to the development of the Australian road system.
Herbert George Potter
Saunders House, Bigwood Road (now 12 Southway)
Born. 1869 in Hampstead d. 1951
Was a chartered surveyor and estate agent. Took over the family business in High Street, Hampstead. Was estate advisor to Hampstead Garden Suburb.
Became a member of Hendon Borough Council and was mayor from 1938-39.
Henry Thomas Bosdet
Born Jersey 1856, Died Jersey 1934
He lived at Bishopswood (now 13 Bigwood Road) from 1910-11 until 1920 when ill health caused him to return to Jersey. The house was designed for him and he called it Bishopswood Studio.
In the 1911 Census return, he describes himself as ‘artist, painter and designer’ but his particular expertise was stained glass window design and production.
He grew up in London, attended UCS (then in Gower Street) Trained at the Royal Academy where he later became a lecturer and tutor.
His stained glass was strongly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement. He was at the height of his powers when he came to Hampstead Garden Suburb. His work is mainly ecclesiastical, appearing in churches in Jersey, England, The Netherlands, Barbados and France.
There is more information about Bosdet in our Suburb Artists section.
Hurst Close
Ernest Gold CB DSO OBE FRS (24 July 1881 – 30 January 1976)
8 Hurst Close (Plot 324 in Census)
Ernest Gold was a British meteorologist with a global reputation whose work was crucial in both world wars.
He was born near Coventry and educated at Birmingham and Cambridge Universities. During World War 1, he was the first military weather forecaster. He set up Meteor RE, based at the British Expeditionary Force HQ in Montreuil in 1915 and forecasting became crucial to the planning of ground and air offensives. He was mentioned in dispatches, awarded the DSO and OBE and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
After the First World War, this experience of forecasting for flying made him pivotal to the development international aviation services. He became President of the Commission for Synoptic Weather Information of the International Meteorological Organization (now the World Meteorological Organization). In 1919 he became Deputy Director of the Meteorological Office.
During the Second World War, he was based in the War Office and oversaw the development of military forecasting which was vital for the operations of Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Commands, as well as in preparations for D Day. He was awarded the American Medal of Freedom with Silver Palms for his war work.
He continued to live in Hurst Close until his death and was deeply involved in Suburb life. He was a founder member of the Residents’ Association and Chair for 8 years, as well as involvement in the Horticultural Association and Free Church.
Information about Gold’s work during the First World War is on the Met Office website, including:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/library-and-archive/archive-hidden-treasures/first-military-forecast
Kate Webster
