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b.1869-d.1925
Sarah Featherstone
Before I begin, I think it’s worth noting here that Sarah’s age and birth-place vary in all the records. It was only when I found her Settlement Record that I was able to piece together her true age.
Who was Sarah?
The Horton Case Notes didn’t provide much information on Sarah. They stated that she was born circa 1869, single and admitted from Southwark parish. Confirming her birth was difficult because I couldn’t find a match in the birth records for the period 1865-71.
Settlement Record
After finding Sarah’s Settlement Record dated 19th February 1890, I was able to discover her age and her family. At the time of the Settlement order Sarah was residing at the Fulham Road Workhouse and the paper orders St. George’s Union to ‘remove’ Sarah from their union to that of St. Saviour’s Union as Newington is her legal place of settlement. In addition, it says that she has “resided in the Parish of St. Mary Newington for a period of three years and upwards since August 1876 …”.
The record also provided several pieces of valuable information, namely that Sarah (or Sarah Ann) was the daughter of William & Elizabeth Featherstone and that she was born in a Court off Beckway Street, in St. Mary Newington circa 1861. The record states that her mother Elizabeth was currently in St. Saviour’s Infirmary and that her sister, Elizabeth Pitt resided at 9 Akers Street, Walworth.
Indeed, the 1891 census entry for Sarah’s mother, Elizabeth, widow, aged 72 confirms that she is a ‘patient’ at St Saviours Union Infirmary, Camberwell. And a check for Sarah’s sister, Elizabeth shows her marrying Henry PITT on 7th March 1876 at All Saints, Walworth.
Birth and baptism
Sarah was born in the Holborn registration district of London in Q4 1858 but wasn’t baptised until 13 November 1872 at St. Philip, Arlington Square, Islington (now demolished). I wonder why they waited so long after her birth? The baptism record gives her father’s occupation as ‘bill poster’ and the family’s address as 16 Popham Street, an 8 minute walk from St. Philip’s.
Sarah’s parents William & Elizabeth Featherstone (née Radford) had married on 9th December 1850 at St. George, Bloomsbury (Holborn). The Featherstones had at least five children, William (b1851), Elizabeth (b1852), Sarah (b1854, d1857), Emma (b1857, d1857) and our subject Sarah Ann.
Census records
On the 1861 Census, the Featherstone family are living at 29 Hatton Wall, Saffron Hill, Holborn. Sarah is 2 years old, her father William 37, mother Elizabeth 38 and siblings William 9 and Elizabeth 8. Sarah’s father was born in St. Andrew, Holborn and her mother Elizabeth in Kentisbeare, Devon. Her father is working as a ‘bill poster’. The family are sharing the property with 3 other families (their occupations being bricklayer, blacksmith and glass cutter).
By 1871 the family have moved to Islington and are living at 9 Chapel Street*. Sarah is now 13yrs old, her father William 48, mother Elizabeth 49 and sister Louisa aged 8. William is now described as a ‘master bill poster’. For some reason though Sarah’s birthplace is given as Hounslow.
* now named Chapel Market
I haven’t been able to identify Sarah on the 1881 Census, although she is probably the Sarah A. Featherstone working as a servant at a Public House named “Guildhall Stores” in Basinghall Street in the City of London.
Regular stays in the Workhouse
The first record I found for Sarah entering the workhouse was on 31st March 1890 when she was admitted (aged 28/born 1862) to Christ Church Workhouse, Marlborough Street, Southwark. After a stay of almost 6 months, she was discharged on 27th September 1890. Was she admitted because she was unable to find work and therefore destitute or was this the start of her mental illness?
Six months later when the 1891 Census was taken, Sarah is an inmate at Newington workhouse where she’s described as 30 years old (b1871), born Islington and working as a ‘domestic housemaid’.
The next record found, dated 6 January 1898 describes Sarah’s admittance to Holborn Union workhouse in Mitcham, Surrey but she’s not there long and discharged on 30 April. Over the next 10 years, there are numerous records showing Sarah’s admission and discharge from Newington Workhouse.
On the 1911 census we find her as an inmate at the St. Mary Newington Workhouse. She’s described as 44 years old and her place of birth is unknown.
Horton
On Saturday, 8th August 1914, Sarah, now aged 45 (born 1869), is discharged from Newington Workhouse, Westmoreland Road, Southwark and sent to the Horton Asylum. Up until this point, I have not found any evidence of mental illness in Sarah or her family.
Case Notes from 1914 describe Sarah as “suffering from Systematised Delusional Insanity … She is intensely suspicious and has delusions of persecution. She complains of being sneered at”. She says, “everybody has combined to be spiteful to her.” Another entry from 1914 says, “At present is quiet and behaving well. Does a little sewing but does not seem keen at present on doing much. She is weak-minded and shows a defective power of reasoning.”
In 1915, Horton became a War Hospital and its patients dispersed to other asylums. Sarah was transferred to Bexley Asylum, Dartford Heath. Notes dated 23 October 1915 mentioned that Sarah “preferred Horton to Bexley, as some of the nurses were rather suspicious …” and that she is “somewhat discontented and querulous.” In 1915, Bexley housed over 2,500 patients.
source: http://www.bexleyhospital.co.uk/history.html
Throughout her time in the asylum, the case notes repeat the same language, for example on 3 October 1919 it says Sarah is a “feebleminded and foul-mouthed patient who is very quarrelsome and noisy.”
On 1 September 1920, Sarah returned to Horton. The following month she’s described as “an irritable type of woman easily upset and inclined to be querulous.” The following year when the 1921 census was taken, Sarah is described as aged 52 (b1869), place of birth unknown and formerly a launderess. Most asylum patients were expected to work for the benefit of the asylum and its inmates. Sarah regularly worked in the laundry and occasionally she sewed.
On 5th August 1925, eleven years after arriving at Horton, Sarah died and was buried on the 10th in grave 55b.
Both of Sarah’s sisters married: Elizabeth to Henry Pitt in 1876 and Louisa to Frederick Mays in 1887. From around 1901 and until 1921, Louisa was living in Collier’s Wood, just 8miles from Epsom; I wonder whether she ever visited her sister?
The End
