The LANGRIDGE Family

One part of my paternal great-great-grandparents is Ann LANGRIDGE (1841-1876). Ann was one of five children born to Joseph LANGRIDGE (1783-1834) and Catherine MILES (1780-1861). Ann married Thomas DAWES (1809-1851) in Lewes on the 10th November 1834.


Thomas was a bricklayer and he died of cancer just after the census was taken in 1851. This is good and bad. Bad because he died young, at age 42, and good because he lasted to the 1851 census which was the first to record the exact age and place of birth. Thomas left Ann with five children between the ages of 5 and 16. While the older children must have been a help, caring for a young family without a wage earner and before social assistance must have been tough.


Ann eventually re-married in 1856 to James GALLOP (1814-1871) and had another child with him, Caroline b. 1856. Ann was only 62 when she died of heart disease and also noted on her death registration is asthma so the LANGRIDGE family may be where the Dawes family inherited asthma from.

The chart at right traces the LANGRIDGE family back to William LANGRIDGE (1742-1808) and Mary HORSCROFT. There is a lot of research left to do on this family as you can see from Joseph's siblings.

Thomas DAWES "The Builder"

There used to be a large windmill at the top of Belton Road. It was owned by the Cutress family and was used to mill flour for their bakery which is now Forfars Bakers. Click here for more information on the Cutress family.

Thomas DAWES (1840-1925) purchased the windmill, tore it down and recycled the bricks and other materials to build terrace homes on Belton Road. The top of Belton Road is shown at right and the windmill was situated in the vacant spot st the top of the street. Thomas didn't start out as a carpenter or builder.

In the 1861 census, at age 21, he is shown as living with his mother (Ann LANGRIDGE) and step-father (James GALLOP) in Brighton and working as a wheelwright. Hi father (Thomas "The Bricklayer") had died in 1851, at age 42, when my great-grandfather was only eleven. He later remarked to his grandson, Reg Barnes, that he put on his fathers boots and walked from Uckfield to Brighton to find work. I don't know when he did this because his mother didn't re-marry until 1856.

By 1871, they are living at 9 Old Shoreham Road. Thomas is now married to Sarah Ann BOXALL (1841-1890) and is recorded as a house painter. Sons Walter and Ernest born in 1864 and 1866 had been added to the family.

In 1881, they are living at 9 Old Shoreham Road he is still a house painter. Children Bertha - b. 1871, , Alice - b. 1872, Minnie - b. 1874, Ada - b. 1876 and Tom - b. 1880 (my grandfather) had been added to the family. Walter is listed as a house painters apprentice and Ernest is listed as a carpenters apprentice so they must have been helping to build the family business.

In 1891, they have moved to 54 Springfield Road and Thomas is still listed as a house painter. His wife Sarah had died in 1890 and one more child, Albert Henry - b. 1882 has been added to the family. Walter and Ernest are no longer living at home and are found elsewhere in the census. Walter married Lucy Ann Gaston in 1887 and Ernest married Mary Jane Wright in 1890.

The 1901 census now records Thomas as a builder and still living at 54 Springfield Road. he has re-married to Sarah ROUST (1851-1928) and has added the final child to the family, Thomas George - b. 1895. Alice, Ada and Albert Henry from his first marriage are still living at home.

By 1911, which is the last census available, Thomas is recorded as a builder and house decorator. Still at 54 Springfield Road he has his second wife Sarah, son Thomas George and brother-in-law George Roust living with him.

The 1905 Kelly's Directory of Sussex lists Thomas Dawes as a Builder located at 54 Springfield Road. The directory can be found at http://www.historicaldirectories.org/

In 1925, Thomas dies at age 84 and he leaves the family business and the premises at 54 Springfield Road to his oldest son Walter. The Brighton and Hove Herald of Saturday January 17, 1925 printed this funeral notice.

A large number of relatives and friends attended St. Augustine's Church, Standore Avenue, on Wednesday, to pay their last tribute to the memory of Mr. Thomas Dawes, who passed away last week at 54 Springfield Road, at the age of eighty-four.

Mr. Dawes was a well known and highly respected builder in the Preston Park district. Until quite recently he retained an active interest in the business which he founded nearly fifty years ago, and which is now being carried on by his son, Mr. Walter Dawes.

The funeral service took place on what would have been Mr. Dawes' eighty-fifth birthday had he lived. The Vicar (the Rev. J.E. Page, M.A.) officiated, and impressive music was played by the organist, Dr. Alfred Abdey, F.R.C.O.

Among those present in the church were several members of the Brunswick Lodge of Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, of which Mr. Dawes was a member for sixty-five years.

The mourners were the widow, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Dawes, Mr. T.G. Dawes A.R.C.O., Mr. E. Dawes, Miss Gladys Dawes, Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Dawes, Mr. and Mrs. W. Barnes, Miss Moon, Mr. G. Roust, Mr. C. Tampkin, Mr. T. Gardner (representing Mr. and Mrs. T. Dawes and family, of Montreal, Canada), Mr. W.T. Dawes, Mr. A.E. Saunders, and Mr. G.S. Godfree.

There were many floral tributes, including those sent by the following:

The Widow and family; Charlie and family; Mr. and Mrs. James Horton-Stephens; Mr. G.S. Godfree; Tom, Carrie and the Children in Canada; Miss Howell; Ellen and Nellie (Eastbourne); Mr. and Mrs. Hall; Mr. and Mrs. Phillimore (Worthing); the Employees; and the Officers and Members of the Loyal Brunswick Lodge, I.O.O.F., Brighton District, Manchester Unity.

My Legacy...lost

One of my great-grandfathers was Thomas DAWES (1840-1925) whom I call "The Builder" because he built more than 100 houses in Brighton during the first part of the twentieth century. I do this to differentiate him from his predecesors Thomas (1809-1851) "The Bricklayer" and Thomas (1769-1943) "The Labourer."

In his will dated 22 Sep 1924 and probated 21 Apr 1925 Thomas left sixteen of his houses to his children and grandchildren among other things. Here is a transcript of that portion of the will

"I give and devise my freehold houses as follows: (a) No 25 Belton Road and No 66 Beaconsfield Road to the said Walter Dawes in fee simple (b) Nos. 44 and 46 Belton Road and No. 114 Chester Terrace to Ernest Dawes in fee simple (c) No. 92 Chester Terrace to my Grand-Daughter Gladys Dawes of 11 Havelock Road, Brighton in fee simple (d) No. 27 Belton Road and No. 112 Chester Terrace to Minnie Barnes in fee simple (e) Nos. 40 and 48 Belton Road and No. 94 Chester Terrace to Tom Dawes in fee simple (f) Nos. 29 and 31 Belton Road and No. 2 Sandgate Road to Albert Henry Dawes in fee simple (h) No. 20 Lowther Road and No. 16 Dyke Road Drive to the said George Dawes in fee simple"

What is interesting here is he left out some children. His daughter, Bertha Tampkin, died in 1921 but he omitted her widower and his two grandsons Charles and Sydney Tampkin. Also excluded was his daughter, Alice Goldsmith, who had emigrated to New Zealand. He included his daughter, Minnie Barnes, but excluded the others, why?

These terrace houses are worth about £300,000, or more, in today's market making their total value C$1,530,000. If my father only knew!

My grandfather, Tom Dawes, died in 1933 shortly after inheriting the houses. His widow, my grandmother Carrie, had to sell the houses to survive after he died. Unfortunately, that was just before WWII and they weren't worth much. Family lore has it that his half-brother, George, either looked after the sale or bought the houses himself.

The top photo is No. 48 Belton Road, the middle is No. 40 Belton Road and the bottom is No. 94 Chester Terrace.

The BOXALL Line "Going Back"

My great grandfather (Thomas DAWES - The Builder 1840-1925) married Sarah Ann BOXALL (1841-1890) on 10 July 1864 at St. Nicholas Church in Brighton. They were married for 26 years when Sarah Ann died at age 49 in 1890. During their marriage they had nine children of which eight survived to aduldhood. Their family tree can be viewed in this earlier post.

The tree at left displays Sarah Ann's ancestry back to her grandparents John BOXALL (1778-1855) and Hannah HORNSBY (1779-1831). Her great-grandparents were Richard BOXALL and Elizabeth BRISTOW who married in Duncton, Sussex on 17 June 1772. Nothing more is known about this couple.

Of Sarah's five siblings only she and sister, Clara, had children.

Sarah died of Leucocythoemia (2 years) and Hemiplegia (1 month) according to her death registration. She is buried in the Brighton Woodvale Cemetery with her husband and daughter Ada. Her tombstone is shown in this previous post.