TAYLOR, Robert - Friends of Horton Cemetery

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b.1884-d.1914

^{Robert Taylor was born on 17 August 1884. His birth was registered in the Strand, London}

^Family

^{Robert’s parents were Robert (senior) and Jane Taylor (nee Northfield}. They had been married on 6th August 1881 at the Parish Church, St Martin in the Fields, London. It was the first marriage for both of them. Robert (senior) worked as an Engine Driver.}

^{The family lived for many years around Long Acre, a street in the city of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin’s Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the East. The family is never far from here; they are usually seen living in multi occupancy houses. Many of the properties were fairly substantial in size, each family had two or three rooms.}

^{Together Robert (senior) and Jane had eleven children, four of whom died in infancy.}

^{Growing Up}

^{Robert (junior) was the eldest son following the birth of two girls. He was baptised at the age of six months at St Martin in the Fields Parish Church, at the same time as his two older sisters and where his parents had married a few years earlier. Robert was to have ten siblings. We know very little about the family or Robert (junior)’s early life.}

^{At the time of the 1891 Census the family were living at 12 Great Queen Street. They occupied three rooms. Robert was 6 years old and recorded as a scholar. His father worked as a stationary engine driver.}

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^{Ten years later in 1901 the family was living in nearby Mercer Street, the family had two rooms and shared the house with three other families, also having two rooms each. Robert at 16 years of age, did not appear to be working, unlike his younger brother John who was a printer’s boy. Robert senior continued to be an engine driver. By 1906, firms associated with transport, a mixture of traditional coach-builders and those connected with the motor trade, occupied 41 buildings in the Long Acre area, where the family lived.}

^{A brief admission to the workhouse}

^{There was a brief one-day admission to Sheffield Street Workhouse, Westminster on 12th Oct 1909, when Robert (junior) was 25 years of age. He}^{was discharged the same day at his own request. His parents and family were still living in the Long Acre area.}

^{The following year Robert was admitted to Cleveland Road Infirmary where he stayed for four months. On 6th February 1911 Robert left the Infirmary and was transferred to St Giles Workhouse where he stayed only four days before being admitted to Horton Asylum. It is not known what was the matter with Robert.}

1911 – entry to Horton

^{By the time of the 1911 census Robert would have been a patient at Horton for just a few weeks. All the other patients recorded on the same page have occupations where Robert has a blank entry suggesting he may never have worked. He died at Horton Asylum on 17th March 1914, the cause of his death was 1. Fatty degeneration of the heart. 2. Pulmonary Oedema. He was buried at the Horton Estate Cemetery on 23 March 1914.}

^{Author’s Notes}

^{It has not been possible to access Robert’s case notes at the London Metropolitan Archives, although searching for more information is still ongoing.}

^{Although very little is known about Robert Taylor, we can follow him through the censuses and the admissions to the workhouse, infirmary and asylum but little detail was given, only dates recorded. Twenty-nine years of age is young to have heart problems but it would be common for the patients at the asylum to die from physical illnesses.}