9 Pullins Green

Florence Lavinia Hall

Florence's background presented quite a challenge!  We eventually discovered she was Florence Lavinia Pegley, born in the September quarter 1890 in Berkeley.  She was the daughter of a dock labourer, Henry and his wife, Beatrice who were living in Hinton, near Berkeley at the time of the 1901 census.

In December quarter 1914 Florence married Charles Henry Wilcox in the area of Tendring in Essex.  Charles was a crewman in the Royal Navy which might explain the location of their marriage, which was so far away from both their homes.  He was born in Dorset in 1884, the son of Charles Wilcox, a woodman from Mannington in Dorset and his wife, Fanny.  Another branch of the same family lived at Park Lodge and then in Crispin Lane.  They were descended from one of Charles Henry's brothers, a John Robert Wilcox, a soldier whose wife, Sarah, was from Londonderry.  Click here to read about this branch

Charles and Florence had one daughter, May Elizabeth, known as Betty, who was born in the Portsmouth area on 17 May 1918.  When Betty started at Thornbury St Mary's School in 1926 the records show that the family had moved to Thornbury from Standish.

Charles must have died before 1926 because in the school records it gives only Florence's name as her parent/guardian.  She and Betty were living in St Mary Street at this time.

Florence married again, this time to George Herbert Hall, a widower.  We are not sure when they married.  George's first wife, Frances Elizabeth, had died in 1924 aged 55 years.  George was a plumber who lived in Castle Street where he was in business with his son, Thurburn.  After George died in 1946 aged 77 years, Florence continued to live with her stepson, Thurburn Hall and his wife, Ida.  She is listed as living there with them in 1950 electoral register.  Shortly after she moved to 9 Pullins Green where she is listed in 1954.

Florence had several lodgers whilst she was living in the house including Miss Rita Bintcliffe who was headmistress in the Thornbury Grammar School in the 1960's and a policeman, Mr Pocket and his wife.  There was another teacher, Miss Elizabeth Jane Dyer shown in the electoral rolls as living in the house.  She gives the address of 9 Pullins Green when she married Austin John Sealey, another teacher. This has been a slight puzzle to us as Florence, who must have been her landlady, was only listed in the 1954 and 1957 electoral registers of the ones we have seen.  It seems possible that the "lodger" was there after Florence had died.

 This page was last updated: 23/06/2008