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Biography of Rev William Walker 1838 - 1915 (Victorian schoolmaster)
 Contents
Overview
Early life
Later life
More about family
References
We came across the name Rev William Walker while
researching past Malvern schools. He was in turn vice principal of St
Peter's School, Peterborough, headmaster of Hanley Castle
Grammar School in Worcestershire, headmaster of Reading Grammar School in
Berkshire, principal of Connellan College in Great Malvern, and headmaster
of a boys' prep school at Thorp Arch Grange in Yorkshire.
Vestiges of the name 'Connellan' can still be found at
the top of
one of the gate pillars of Townshend House in College Road (see photo
above).
William Walker was the eldest child of Grocer and Butter
Factor William Walker, and Margaret Laverick of Kendal in Westmoreland. He
was born in the small village of Long Marton in 1838, and had three sisters
Margaret, Ann and Mary.
In the 1851 census the family was living at Highgate,
Kendall when William senior was described as a Butter Factor.
William's mother died four years later, in 1855, when he was 17 years old.
How William from the north of England and lacking
significant wealth could afford to obtain a university degree and become a
clergyman we do not know, but it seems his main aim was to become a
schoolmaster rather than minister to the poor. Possibly he was helped by the
Church of England Sunday School movement.
Crockfords Clerical Directories of 1885 and 1908 jointly
record:
Walker William, Rectory, Shelton, Newark
- Trinity College Dublin BA (Resp) 1866, MA 1870, BD and DD 1882, FRGS.
Deacon 1867, Priest 1868 by Bishop of Worcester; Headmaster Hanley Castle
Grammar School 1867 - 1877; Headmaster Reading Grammar School 1877 - 1887;
Headmaster Thorp Arch School 1890 - 1894; Curate of Newton-Kyme, Yorkshire
1891 - 94; Special Services Diocese of Southwark 1895 - 1906; Vicar of St
Matthias, Sneinton 1900 - 1904.
From 1863 to 1867 William Walker was at St Peter's
College, in the cathedral city of Peterborough, then in Northamptonshire,
becoming Vice Principal. St Peter's was a male teacher training college
then recently established by the diocese of Peterborough in 1859.
We wondered if the award of a degree by Trinity College
Dublin was through a correspondence course and by interview, or some such
arrangement, as he could not have been in Dublin and Peterborough at the
same time.
On 28th December 1865 William married widow Bedelia Anna
Watterton, the daughter of Peter Connellan of Sligo in Ireland, at the
Cathedral Parish Church Manchester. The witnesses were his sister Margaret,
and Thomas Watterton who was either her brother or father in law.
On the 17th August 1857 Bedelia had first married William
Watterton at Calry, Sligo, Ireland. In 1861, the year he died aged 30 years,
the census recorded William Watterton as a brewery clerk living in
Nottingham, the city of his birth. The couple had one son, John Edwin.
Thomas Watterton, Bedelia's father in law was described
in ther 1851 census as Chief Constable, goaler, and relieving officer for
vagrants. In a later Trade directory he is described Chief Constable and
Inspector for weights and measures at the Town Hall, Newark.
The 1871 census recorded Rev William Walker, aged 33
years, living at Church End, Hanley Castle, with his wife; stepson, John
Edward Watterton, aged 12 years; daughter Bedelia Hannah, born at
Peterborough; and daughter Margaret, born at Hanley Castle. Also in the
household were 27 boys aged between 8 and 17 years, a teacher, a cook,
housemaid and a nurse.
Hanley Castle 1885, by GP Yeats
Courtesy of Great Malvern library
By 1881 William had moved on and is recorded living at The
Masters House, Reading School in Earley Road, which is in the parish of St
Giles. He has three more children; William and Francis, born at Hanley
Castle; and Cecelia, born at Reading. His stepson appears to have left home
and we haven't found him in the later census.
Now aged 43 William is the headmaster of a much larger
establishment and is possibly at the peak of his career.
In 1883, William's wife inherited a large sum from her
cousin Hugh Connellan, who had run a china and earthenware business in
Sligo. Perhaps it was this inheritance that decided William to branch out on
his own account and move to Townshend House in College Road Great Malvern which was
previously the home of water cure doctor
Ralph Barnes Grindrod.
In Great Malvern he set up a small boys' prep school which the
couple named 'Connellan College'.
The former Connellan College
The school opened its doors in 1888 and closed in 1890.
The 1891 census next records Rev William Walker living at Thorp Arch Grange
in Yorkshire. With him are his wife and children; Bedelia; Margaret;
William, now described as a schoolmaster; Francis and Cecelia. Also in the
household were two assistant schoolmasters, Alfred Lindor Marin and Frederic
W Sudfield; a butler; housemaid; parlourmaid; and ten pupils aged between 10
and 17 years.
William is described as a Doctor of Divinity, Clerk in
Holy Orders, Schoolmaster and employer, so one assumes he is running his own
establishment, which probably took both boarders and day boys. We think William was at Thorp Arch Grange until 1894.
In 1896 the property was taken over by Thorp Arch
Industrial School which was certified by the Home Office, on 4 January 1896,
and was established by the Leeds School Board. It was situated near Boston
Spa, north east of Leeds, and continued in operation till at least 1920. Later an
approved school and a childrens' home occupied the building. There were
rumours of sexual abuse there in modern times.
Following the death of his wife at Newark in 1899,
William then became vicar of St Matthias Sneinton from 1900 - 1904; the 1901
census records him living in St Matthias Road, Nottingham with his daughter
Margaret.
He was then given Shelton Rectory near Newark, and it
appears that soon after, in 1904, as chairman of the school managers, he sacked the village schoolmistress, Charlotte Aspinall, resulting in a dispute
of some kind which was reported in the Nottingham Evening Post.
The 1911 census recorded him, aged 73 years, living at
Shelton Rectory Newark, with his unmarried sister, Margaret aged 71 years,
and Lydia Swindell, a domestic servant. The Rectory is recorded as having 10
rooms.
We think his daughter Margaret, previously his
companion, had died in 1907, the same year as her sister Bedelia.
Schoolmaster Rev William Walker, Doctor of Divinity,
died at Shelton Rectory in Nottinghamshire, during the Great War, on 28th November 1915, aged 77
years.
Three of William's children also became school-teachers like their father,
but we have found no information about his stepson John Edward or Edwin Watterton who
was last recorded at home in 1871 aged 12 years.
Bedelia Hannah Walker 1867 - 1907, the
eldest child, married in 1900, Frederick W Sudfeld a German citizen who in
1891 had been a teacher at her father's school in Thorp Arch, Yorkshire. The
1901 census records the couple at Claremont in Barbourne Road, Worcester
where he is a schoolmaster; they have a young son Friedrich WH Sudfeld born
at Nottingham in 1900. A daughter Winifred was born in 1903, but sadly
Bedelia died at Nottingham in 1907, probably giving birth to her son Ottomar
who also died. We have found no trace of Frederick or their children
Friedrich and Winifred after
that, so possibly he emigrated or returned to Germany.
Magaret Walker 1870 - 1907 seems to have lived with her
parents and died at Nottingham in 1907 aged 30 years.
William Hugh Walker, born at Hanley
Castle in 1870 became a school master, like his father, and emigrated from
England to Jamaica in 1906. In 1891 aged only 19 years he had been a
school-master at his father's school of Thorp Arch Grange. On 19th August
1896 at St John's Weston Super Mare near Bristol he married Bertha Maude
Phipps the daughter of a commercial traveller; the officiating priest was
his father Rev William Walker. We did not find William junior in the 1901
census and according to his obituary, see below, he may have gone off to the
Boer war; Bertha is staying with her parents and has no children, and we
wondered if the couple had split up.
The later life of schoolmaster William Hugh Walker is
related by the website of historian
Joy Lumsden in Jamaica. To quote:
Hugh Walker died in 1940 and his obituary gives the
details of his life, especially after he came to Jamaica in 1906.
Obituary of William Hugh Walker
Daily Gleaner, July 4, 1940
Death of Mr Hugh Walker, A Descendant Of Sir Walter
Scott.
The death occurred yesterday morning of Mr William Hugh
Walker, well known educationist, at his residence North Avenue, Rest Pen, St
Andrew. Mr Walker had been ailing since December of last year but was able
to move about. He was confined to bed for only three weeks.
Mr Walker's death will be much regretted by his many
friends and admirers. He was popular, not only in the Corporate Area, but in
the other parishes. Mr Walker, who had a distinguished scholastic career,
was born on July 5, 1871, at Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, England. He was
the eldest son of the late Rev William Walker, D D and the former Bedelia
ConnelIan, daughter of Sir Peter Connellan, Baronet. His parents
subsequently left Worcestershire and resided at Yorkshire. He was educated
at Winchester College and took degrees at London University.
Mr Walker served in the Boer War of 1899 till 1902.
He was professionally associated with Christ College,
London, and was Senior Master at
Faversham .... Mr Walker came to Jamaica in
November 1906 and was associated with Mr A Noel Crosswell, who was then
Headmaster of New College. He was associated with this institution for three
years, after which he accepted a position at
Munroe College and was there
for four years. During that period he was French and English master and also
a sportsmaster. It was during his term as sportsmaster that the College won
the Governor's Shield for football.
Mr. Walker opened his own private school at Clifton
House, Gordon Town, in January 1914. The school developed considerably and
in November 1917 removed to Retreat, also in St Andrew, in more spacious
buildings.
He subsequently gave up teaching and joined the staff of
the
United Fruit Company where he was employed for some time.
After leaving the
Fruit Company, Mr Walker became a private tutor. It might be mentioned that
Mr. Walker travelled extensively and was a linguist and a fine musician.
Mr Walker, it might be stated, was privately associated
with
Mr TW Palmer, late US Senator for Michigan, and formerly US Minister to
Madrid. He was a descendant of Sir Walter Scott.
Mr Walker is survived by his wife and two children and
other relatives in England.
The funeral, which look place yesterday afternoon, was
largely attended. The interment was made at St. Andrew's Parish Church
cemetery. The Rev T Thomas of St Andrew's Parish Church conducted the
services at the home, the Halfway Tree Parish Church and the grave. Many
beautiful wreaths were placed on the grave.
The service in the church was deeply impressive, with Mr
Egerlon Andrews, organist of the Kingston Parish Church presiding at the
organ. Favourite hymns of the deceased were sung. Pall bearers were Messrs
Roy Martinez, Ian Caryll, D. Bradbury, Vermont, A Douet and S Sharpe. Among
those who attended besides the wife and daughters of the deceased were: Mr
Samuel Hart, Mr John Pringle, Mrs AE Marchalleck, Miss E Marshalleck, Mr and
Mrs D McDonald, Mrs Douet, Mr, and Mrs E Romney, the Misses Rornney, Mr W
Priestnal, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Martinez, Mr. and Mrs. H. Warner Bolton, Mr. L.
Moses, Miss A.Surgeon, Mrs H Vermont, Mr and Mrs M Powell, Mr WB Garriques
and family, Mr. Reggie Murray, Mr. Anderson Aguilar, Mr. Ken Crooks, Rev
Cohen, Mr and Mrs Hamilton Jones, Mrs C Broadbent, Mrs S Sharpe, Mr Ian
Caryll, Mr Mervin Phillips, Dr Duquesnay. Mr Fred Duquesnay, Mr H Duquesnay,
Miss K Duquesnay, Mr CB Facey, Mr H Hunter. Mr. George Scott, Miss Constance
Aarons, Mr Croswell, Miss Soutar, M H Fowler, Messrs H and K DeCasseres, Mrs
G P Stephenson and a number of other persons who associated with Mr Walker
in the teaching profession.
We suspect William Hugh Walker may have left his first
wife Bertha behind in England and married second, at Jamaica, in 1914, Aline
Muriel Craven Curtin.
It is interesting that the obituary suggests William junior
was a descendant of Sir Walter Scott and grandson of Sir Peter Connellan
Baronet; we have found no evidence of that and it's possible this was an
invention.
Francis Peter Connellan Walker born at
Hanley Castle in 1878 became a school-master like his father. In 1901 he was
teaching at Leicester, and the next year he married farmer's daughter,
Caroline Mary James, at Oxford. They had one daughter.
In 1911 he was an assistant teacher working for the
Education Committe of the Borough Council in Liverpool.
School-master Francis Peter Connellan Walker died at
Alresford in Hampshire in 1924 aged only 46 years. If we have it right, his
wife Caroline lived to the age of 95 years.
Cecelia Geraldine Winifred Walker born
at Reading in 1880 also became a teacher. The 1901 census records her
working at a large private Ladies' School in Avenue Road Southend-on-Sea run
by Helen Maude O' Mearer the daughter of an Irish clergyman. Helen O'Meara
was still running the school in 1911 when it was named Southend College.
Cecilia had moved on by 1911 and the census records her
as a teacher in a Secondary School working for the City Council in
Nottingham, where she died in 1965.
The main legacy of Rev William Walker and his children is
most probably the effect they had on the lives of their pupils, as there may
be few descendants.
- England and Wales Census
- Indexes of births, marriages and deaths
- National Probate Calendar
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Do please let us know if you can add to this story,
particularly if you have information about the Connellan family in Ireland,
and William Hugh Walker's life in Jamaica.
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