The Froggatt Family of Brewhouse Yard, Nottingham

MARY FROGGATT 1833-1868

Mary FROGGATT was born in 1833, the oldest child of William FROGGATT and Elizabeth BOWLER. She was baptised at Nottingham St Nicholas on 11 August 1833.

                       Joseph     Rebecca
                       BOWLER==v==MILWARD
                              1795
                               |
  1807-1866                1802-1883
   William======v==========Elizabeth    John==========v==========Mary
  FROGGATT     1832         BOWLER     CLARK          ?           ?
                |                                     |
            Mary FROGGATT                         William CLARK                                Charlotte WRIGHT 
            1833-1868                              1831-1899                                      1839-1922
                |                                      |                                              |
                |=====================v================|======================================v=======|
                                    m:1854                                                  m:1874
                                      |                                                       |
      |----------------|--------------|---------------|------------------|---------|          |----------|---------|
   Catherine     William Froggatt    Mary          Francis J           Albert    Walter    Margaret   Lottie     Helen
  1855-1941        1857-1927      1859-1930         1860-?          1862-?1920 1865-1865  1874-1946  1875-1945 1878-1966
      |                |              |               |                  |         |          |          |         |
    m:1894           m:1880                         m:1899             m:1902               m:1906               m:1920 
 George Gilbert      Elisa                          Edith             May Maud              Henry               Joseph
  ARMSTRONG          HAMEL                        McKINNON             DEANE              PROUDLOCK              BIRD 
  1870-1945        1858-1932                      1876-1938              |                 1873-1953           1885-1952
      |                |------------|         |------|-------|                    |-----------|                    |   
Richard Acland        Mary        Grace    Margaret Mary  William              Margaret 
  1896-1942        1882-1923    1888-1976 1900-1901 1903- 1909-1931           1910-1990  
      |                |            |         |                                   |
    m:1927           m:1909       m:1919                                        m:1962
   Lucille           James        Albert                                        Maurice 
    HARDY            SOAMES        HILL                                         SEARLE 
      |            1882-1923    1866-1935                                     1907-1983   
      |                |            |                                             | 
      |                |
      |                |-----------------------|                                       
 George Alain       Laurence                Margaret
    1936-?         1910-1983                 1914-  
                       |                       |--------|
                     m:1933                 m1:1937  m2:1955
                     Ivy May                Oswald   Michael
                  BIRKINSHAW                SEWELL   VALENTE 
                   1911-1975               1908-1972   |
                       |                       |       |   
   |------|-----|------|-------|-------|       | 
Malvina Mary Davina Laurence Ferial Richard  David

Although William and Elizabeth probably moved from Brewhouse Yard to Edward St soon after marriage Mary was actually born at Fenny Bentley, Derbyshire (see notes from our 2007 visit to Fenny Bentley.). The connection to Fenny Bentley is not obvious, but Mary's maternal grandmother (Rebecca MILWARD) was married there to Joseph BOWLER on 27 October 1795. In the 1841 census Rebecca Bowler was residing at Fenny Bentley, aged 75 Shopkeeper. This suggests that Elizabeth Froggatt returned to her mother for the birth of her first child. The distance between Nottingham and Fenny Bentley is 31 miles by road, passing through Stapleford, Derby and Ashbourne.


Record of the reading of Banns for Joseph and Rebecca at Fenny Bentley

Marriage of Joseph and Rebecca in 1795

1841 census for Rebecca at Fenny Bentley

In 1841 the family had left Brewhouse Yard and were living close by in Edward St. By 1851 the family had moved to Castle Wharf and Mary was a Dressmaker, aged 17.


Mary in the 1841 census at Edward St, Nottingham

Mary in the 1851 census at Castle Wharf, Nottingham

Mary was an accomplished dressmaker. Her descendants have a sampler that she sewed. It is dated April 5th 1842 and states Mary was 8 years old, but her birthday was sometime before August in 1833 so she was nearer 9. The sampler has faded with time but the detail and neat stitching are clear.


Mary's sampler dated 5th April 1842

Marriage of Mary Froggatt to William Clark

In the 1851 census Mary's father was a commercial traveller. In the 1854 Wright's Directory he is listed as a traveller for J&H Youle's Timber Merchants, Castle Wharf. In the same directory a William Clark is listed as a clerk for Youle's at Castle Wharf. William Clark would have been 24. It is not surprising perhaps that Mary married William Clark in Nottingham in 1854 (Jun quarter, 7b/369). William Clark was the son of John and Mary Clark. John was a gardener. The 1851 census records five CLARK children: Lucy 1823, William 1831, Ann 1834, Mary 1838 and Betsey 1849.

William and Mary FROGGATT had six children:

Catherine Elizabeth Clark 26 March 1855 6 Jan 1941
William Froggatt Clark 1857 11 Dec 1927
Mary Elizabeth Clark 1859 1930
Francis Joseph Clark 9 December 1860 12 Aug 1953
Albert Henry Clark 1862 ?1920, Canada
Walter Woodwood CLARK 1865 1865

By 1861 the family had moved a few metres from Castle Wharf to Isabella St, which is adjacent to Brewhouse Yard and Edward St:

In White's 1864 Directory, William Clark is a Slate Merchant, Isabella St., and William Froggatt is a timber merchant with the firm of Froggatt, Woodward and Marriott, Castle Road Wharf, having bought J&H Youles Timber business. William Froggatt died in 1866 (see below) and in 1869 William Clark is listed with the firm of Woodward, Clark & Co, timber merchants. It would appear that William Clark joined the firm with John George Woodward after his brother-in-law's death. Woodward Clark & Co are listed in directories for 1869, 1894, and 1900

Death of Mary CLARK (née Froggatt)

Mary died in 1868 in Nottingham, aged 35 (Dec qtr Basford 7b/89) and was buried on 19 November 1868 at Nottingham General Cemetery. In 1869 William Clark was listed as a Timber Merchant residing at Lenton Tce, The Park, so this may have been where Mary died.

William the widower

In the 1871 census, William the widower was living at The Park with son William Froggatt Clark. Also at the address is William's sister Betsy Clark (aged 22) and two servants. The other children of William and Mary are scattered. Sons Francis and Albert are at school in Brixton, London. Catherine and Mary are also at school in Brixton at a Ladies Boarding School (Upper Tulse Hill), the Principal being Elizabeth WOODWARD from Nottingham. The Froggatt, Clark and Woodward families were business partners in Nottingham, indeed the Woodward family lived adjacent to the Clark family so this connection may explain why the children were sent to London after their mother died.



1871 census for William CLARK, his son William and his sister Betsy at The Park

1871 census: Francis and Albert at school at 25 Brixton Place, Lambeth


1871 census: Kate (Catherine) and Mary CLARK at school in Brixton, Lambeth

Marriage of William CLARK to Charlotte WRIGHT

In the 1881 census William was living at Fairlawn, in The Park Nottingham. He had four of his children with him, confirming this is the correct William CLARK. He now has a new wife, Charlotte and three more children. The GRO index gives the maiden name of the mother of the three children as WRIGHT. For some reason, the marriage of William CLARK to Charlotte WRIGHT took place at Christ Church at Bridlington Quay, Yorkshire. At the time of marriage Charlotte was residing at Bridlington Quay and William in Nottingham. The marriage was witnessed by John Woodward (William's business partner) and Betsy Clark, William's sister. The record confirms Charlotte was the daughter of William WRIGHT and Charlotte, lace thread merchant of Nottingham and who also resided in or near The Park Nottingham.

William and Charlotte had three children:

NameBirthDeath
Margaret Eleanor 19 October 1874 1946
Lottie Isabel 15 Dec 1875 14 May 1945
Helen Stanley Mar 1878 13 May 1966
1881 Census

In 1881, William Clarke (the 'e' having now been added for some records) was living at "Fairlawn", Duke William Mount, the central road in The Park, Nottingham. His four children with Mary Froggatt are back living with him, together with 3 servants:


1881 census for William CLARK and family at Fairlawn, The Park, Nottingham.
1891 Census

By 1891, William and family had left The Park, and were residing at "One Ash", next to the Manor House, Edwalton, south of Nottingham, near Ruddington. Annie WRIGHT was a visitor, being Charlotte's niece.

Death of William CLARK

William CLARK died on 11 November 1899 as 12 Bridgford Rd, Nottingham, just across the road from the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. According to the probate entry, he left an estate of over £9,000 (about £810,000 today) to be administered by his second wife Charlotte.


12 Bridgford Road, Nottingham (left half of building)
1901 and 1911 Census

In 1901 Charlotte Clark and her daughter Helen were living at 10 Balmoral Rd. Helen was a lady cook instructor school.

In 1911 Charlotte and Helen had moved to 8 Grosvenor Ave, Mapperley Park, Nottingham. Helen was now an Art and Cookery Teacher for the County Council.


Charlotte died on 8 February 1922 at the Coppice Hospital, Nottingham. Probate was granted to her step-son William Froggatt CLARK and a solicitor. The estate had dropped in value over the 23 years and was now worth only £2,295 (£91,000 today).




The Children of William CLARK & Mary FROGGATT

Catherine Elizabeth Clark

Catherine Elizabeth was born 26 March 1855 in Nottingham. By the time of the 1891 census Catherine was working as a housekeeper for the Armstrong family at Toxteth Park, Lancashire. Also at that address was a George Gilbert ARMSTRONG, a journalist, son of Richard Acland ARMSTRONG a "Protestant Dissenting Minister of Religion".


1891 census for Catherine CLARK

Catherine married George Gilbert ARMSTRONG in June quarter 1894 at Nottingham. George was a journalist and 16 years her junior.

Who was George Gilbert ARMSTRONG?

George Gilbert was born 22 May 1870 in Nottingham to Richard Acland ARMSTRONG and Clara (née WICKSTEED). Richard Acland ARMSTRONG was a "Protestant Dissenting Minister of Religion", born in Bristol on 5 February 1843 to George ARMSTRONG and Frances (née ACLAND). George was born in Ireland and was also a dissenting minister.

Richard Acland ARMSTRONG became the distinguished minister of Hope St Unitarian Church, Liverpool (now demolished). The life of Richard ARMSTRONG and his family were recorded in a book published in 1906 by his son George just after Richard's death. It contains a very good portrait of Richard. The book is not available online but some extracts can be read here.


Richard Acland Armstrong in later life. See more about RA Armstrong here.

A sketch of Hope St Church, Liverpool.(From this site.)

The family moved several times and some of this can be traced through the census records.


1871 census for George Armstrong with his in-laws at Hafod y Coed, Tre Llan, Wales.

1881 census: George is back with his family, now at 5, Second Avenue, Sherwood Rise, Nottingham.

1891 census: Now at Toxteth Park, Liverpool, where Richard ARMSTRONG was the minister at Hope St.
George and Catherine's family

George and Catherine had a son, Richard Acland ARMSTRONG, born in Bradford (North Bierley 9b/194) in 1st quarter 1897, when Catherine was 42 years old. In the 1901 census they were living at 3 Bertrand Place, Gilnow, Bolton, Lancashire. By 1911 they had moved to Denison Rd, Victoria Park, Manchester. In 1921 they were in London at 4 Buck Court, The Temple. In 1939 they were at 133 North End, Golders Green, London


1901 census
1911 census
1921 census
1939 register

In 1930 George inherited £1,000 from Emily ARMSTRONG (an aunt or great-aunt), once a school headmistress. In 2020 that would be over £60,000.

Catherine (also Katharine) Armstrong nee CLARK died 6 January 1941 at 133 North-End Rd Golders Green, London.


133 North End is the white property

George Gilbert ARMSTRONG died 24 February 1945 at 133 North End, Golders Green.

The only son of George and Catherine, Richard Acland ARMSTRONG, married a French woman, Lucille Mathe Marcelle HARDY, whose parents were Belgian. Richard and Lucille had one child, George Alan ARMSTRONG, born 30 June 1936. Richard Acland died of heart failure in Portugal on 1 October 1942. Probate was granted to Richard Armstrong, attorney for Lucile Armstrong, widow.

1911 census for Lucille HARDY and family
1939 register for Richard Armstrong
1942 newspaper announcement of Richard's death in Portugal
1942 probate for Richard ARMSTRONG

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William Froggatt CLARK

William Froggatt Clark was born in Nottingham in 1857. He married Elisa HAMEL in Nottingham in mid-1880 (Jun 1880 7b/451).

Elisa HAMEL was born in 1858 in Nottingham to Sigismund and Cecile HAMEL. The Hamel family lived at Welbeck Tce in the 1861 census, but by 1871 had moved to Newcastle Terrace, The Park, Nottingham (along with William Clark, William Froggatt, Arnold Goodliffe....etc). Elisa was the second of six daughters. Sigismund had been born in Hamburg, Germany in about 1825 and was a shipping merchant.

William CLARK and Elise had 2 daughters:

NameBirthDeath
Mary Malvina CLARK 1882, Nottingham 1923, Nottingham
Grace Cecilie CLARK 17 Feb 1888, Nottingham 27 April 197, Poole, Dorset

In the 1881 census, WIlliam and Elisa were living at 5 Tennyson St, Nottingham. In 1891 they were at 15 Wellington Square, off Derby Rd and adjacent to The Park. They had daughters Mary Malvina (aged 8) and Grace Cecilie (aged 3). In 1901 William Froggatt Clark was a timber and slate merchant (employer) living at 11 Park Terrace with Elise and daughters Mary (aged 18) and Gracie (aged 13).

1881 census for William Froggatt CLARK and family at 5 Tennyson St, Nottingham
1891 census for William Froggatt CLARK and family at 15 Wellington Sq, Nottingham
1901 census for William Froggatt CLARK and family at 11 Park Tce, Nottingham
1911 census for William Froggatt CLARK and family at 19 Park Tce, Nottingham

William Froggatt CLARK died 11 December 1927 at 20 Regent St, Nottingham although his residence at the time was Newcastle House, The Park, Nottingham. His wife Elise died a few years later on 28 November 1932 at Newcastle House.

1927 probate for William Froggatt CLARK
1932 probate for Elise CLARK

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Mary Clark

Mary was born about 1859 in Nottingham. She has been omitted from the birth index, or there has been a mistake with the mother's maiden name. The obvious entries are for two Mary Elizabeth CLARKs, registered in Nottingham December 1859 or December 1861. However, these have mother's name of MANTLE and WARRENER respectively, rather than FROGGATT.

After her mother died in 1868, Mary and sister Catherine were sent to school in Brixton, London where they were in the 1891 census. She is back living with her father in the 1881 census. In 1891 aged 31, she was in Manchester, working as a "Lady Companion" with the widow Johanna MEYER. In 1901, aged 42 and still single, she was living as a "companion" to two elderly sisters at Parkfield, Middleton Rd, Crumpsall, Manchester. By 1911, aged 52 she was living with her sister Catherine (Armstrong) at Denison Rd, Manchester.

1871 census for Mary CLARK at a boarding school in Lambeth
1881 census for Mary Clark

1891 census for Mary
1901 census for Mary CLARK

1911 census for Mary living with her sister and brother-in-law at Denison Rd, Manchester

Mary did not marry. She appears to have died in Nottingham in 1930 (Mar quarter 1930 7b/434).

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Francis Joseph CLARK

Francis was born in Nottingham in late 1860. He migrated to Canada in 1882.

There is more information about Francis Joseph and his family here.

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Albert Henry CLARK

Albert Henry was born in late 1862 in Nottingham. In the 1871 census Albert was at school in London with his older brother Francis. In 1881 he was back living with his father in Nottingham and working as a lace manufacturer's assistant.

1871 census for Albert Henry CLARK
1881 census for Albert

After the 1881 census, reliable information about Albert is difficult to find. The issue is confounded by there being two persons named Albert Henry CLARK, bothe born in Nottingham, one in 1859 and the other in 1862. Both had parents in the lace trade and both went into the lace trade by age 18. The older Albert Henry CLARK married Annie Mary STEERE in 1879 and they are rexcorded in the 1881 and 1891 censuses in Nottingham. There is an 1888 newspaper report from Austria for an Albert Henry CLARK, his date of arrival in 1882 and his occupation in the lace trade would fit either person. After the Austrian incident it is likely that Albert went back to Nottingham before the 1891 census.


St James Gazette, London 18 November 1888

After the 1881 census information that can be reliably connected to Albert Henry disappears from the British records. There are several possible leads, but most are false:

  • In 1882 an AH CLARK made an application for a passport. This may have been the AH CLARK that went to Austria.
  • In December 1891 an AH CLARK aged 29 and a "traveller" returned to Liverpool from New York. If he had spent a few months in New York he would have been absent at the time of the 1891 census in England.
  • On 26 Feb 1892 an AH CLARK aged 29 and single departed London for Sydney, Australia on board the Orotava.
  • In 1899 an Albert H CLARKE and family travelling from Liverpool to Albany in Western Austalia with his wife and two young daughters (one named Lila). Unfortunately the wife is not named. The only Lila CLARK in the UK birth records
  • The 1911 census has an Albert CLARK aged 51, widower, born Nottingham as a boarder at 15 Arkwright St, Nottingham. His occupation was "lace mechanic".
  • There is a death in 1918 for an Albert CLARKE killed in France that some people have linked to this Albert. His Army record shows his full name as Albert William and his mother as Ann, of 28 Northcote Tce, Nottingham.
  • An Albert H CLARK is recorded in the 1921 Canada census living in Ontario, aged 58. The record shows he was born in Ontario and his mother was also born in Ontario.

1891 shipping record for AH CLARK travelling New York to Liverpool.

1892 shipping record for AH CLARK travelling London to Sydney, Australia.


1899 shipping record for Albert H CLARKE - record of ship and passenger list
Emigration to Canada

On 20 May 1882 an Albert Henry CLARK settled on dominion land in Manitoba. He occupied the land for 3 years than applied for a Homestead Grant which was awarded on 30 Dec 1885. At the same time the adjacent block of land was occupied by a Francis Joseph CLARK, whom we know later settled in Brandon Manitoba. It is unlikely to be coincidental that an unrelated person with the same name as Albert's older brother occupied the adjacent land.


Land and Homestead Grant Register for Albert Henry and his brother Francis Joseph CLARK in Manitoba, Canada.

A Francis Joseph CLARK married Edith May McKINNON in Brandon, Manitoba on 15 August 1899 and an Albert Henry CLARK married May Maud DEANS in Brandon on 26 March 1902. Thus it is highly likely that these two grooms were brothers and they were the brothers born in Nottingham in 1860 and 1862 respectively. What Alfred did after marriage is unclear. There are no births in Manitoba to Albert and Maud, and neither of them died there up to 1922. Neither of them appear in the various Canada censuses from 1891 to 1921, so where did they go?

There is another homestead grant application for an Albert Henry CLARK in 1913 in Glendon Alberta. His application states he was born in Nottingham England in 1863. If this is the same Albert CLARK it is over 1,000km from Brandon Manitoba to Glendon. Lastly we have a death and burial records for an Albert Henry CLARK who died in Swift Current, Saskatchewan on 20 September 1920 and was buried at Mt Pleasant Cemetery. Again it a long distance from Glendon to Swift Current. But this Albert CLARK has a headstone so someone paid for it. Perhaps his wife?


Headstone for an Albert Henry CLARK at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Is this the Albert Henry CLARK born in Nottingham, England in 1862 to William CLARK and Elizabeth (FROGGATT)?

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The Children of William CLARK and Charlotte WRIGHT

Margaret Eleanor CLARK

Margaret Eleanor was born 19 October 1874 in Nottingham. She was living with her parents, William and Charlotte, in the 1881 and 1891 censuses. She attended Nottingham High School from 1886 to 1891, specialising in music and the violin. After leaving high school she attended the Berlin Conservatoire from September 1892 and became an accomplished violinist. In 1901 she was a Teacher of Violin in Middlesbrough.


1901 census for Margaret CLARK boarding at 11 St Johns Tce, Middlesbrough (now a car park).

Margaret married Henry Stanley PROUDLOCK in Nottingham in mid-1906. Henry was born 11 January 1877 in Newcastle to Marmaduke Watson PROUDLOCK (an accountant) and Jane Ann WHEATLEY. and was a consulting engineer. Margaret and Henry had at least one child - Margaret Ursula was born 13 October 1910 in Guisborough, southeast of Middlesbrough. There is a birth for a John RC PROUDLOCK, born in Newcastle on Tyne on 20 October 1916, mother's maiden name being CLARK, but I cannot connect John to Margaret and Henry. I have concluded that John belongs to a different Proudlock/Clark family.

In 1911 the family were living in Castleton, Yorkshire, a small village on the banks of the Esk River, and inland from Whitby. Henry's occupation was consulting mechanical engineer. He probably found work at the numerous quarries and mines in the district. In 1911, Margaret is recorded as a violinist.


1911 census for Margaret and Henry PROUDLOCK.

By 1935 Henry, Margaret and daughter Margaret were living at 425 Gillott Rd, Middlesborough and by 1939 they had moved a short distance away to 100 Rotton Park Rd.


1935 electoral roll.

1939 census for Margaret and Henry PROUDLOCK with their daughter Margaret.

Margaret PROUDLOCK (née CLARK) died in Birmingham in May 1946. Her husband Henry died there in March 1953. Both are recorded at the Lodge Hill Crematorium, Birmingham.

Margaret Ursula PROUDLOCK married Maurice SEARLE in 1962 at Newton Abbot. She would have been 52 years old. Maurice appears to have been a widower and probably a policeman. Maurice died in 1983 and Margaret late 1990, both at Torbay.

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Lottie Isabel CLARK

Lottie was born in Nottingham on 15 December 1875, and is in the 1881 and 1891 census records with her parents. In 1901 and 1911 she is listed as a school teacher in Wakefield, Yorkshire.

There is more information about Lottie here.

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Helen CLARK

Helen was born in Nottingham in 1878 and is in the 1881, 1891,1901 and 1911 censuses with her mother. She married Joseph Ashby BIRD in mid 1920 (Wokingham 2c/1310). I cannot find any children. Joseph died on 16 August 1952.

Helen Stanley died on 13 May 1966. She was still living at 65 High St, Hampton, Surrey.



65 High St, Hampton, Surrey today

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Last updated: 29 July 2022