Forum Topic

marsh battersea

i am researching my family history and my ancestors were living in battersea 1840 onwards...the latest birth certificate i received stated that one of my ancestors place of birth in 1850 was marsh,battersea..does anyone have any idea where this was?i believe my ancestors were gypsies so i do not know if this has any relevancethanx

Minnie Jakeman ● 6939d5 Comments

Minnie Why dont you try the local history library at Lavender Hill? They are very helpful

Jean Gilmore ● 6939d

There is information about the Local History Library at http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/LeisureandTourism/Museum/mushistory.htm

Francis House ● 6939d

Or you can try the Old Battersea site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OldBattersea/

Francis House ● 6939d

"i believe my ancestors were gypsies so i do not know if this has any relevance"That's interesting.  Where Battersea Park is today used to be marshland, and it could be that your ancestors were living there gypsy-style, and the only address that could be given was "marsh".I wonder if the baby was included in the 1851 census, which is available at the National Archives at Kew, or online at  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census

Richard Jennings ● 6937d

Re: [OldBattersea] marsh batterseaAlmost certainly it was Battersea Marsh which by 1840 had been notorious for quite some time. There were gipsies in the Battersea area, as has been mentioned before.  There was one encampmentin the Battersea High Street area, and - even after the Shaftesbury Estate was built - there was anencampment towards the Queenstown Road end.  This latter group were probably those who had beendisplaced from the marsh when the grand, new, park was constructed. Tom

Francis House ● 6775d