A Comerford family that brought me from the heart of London’s East End to Northampton and Leicester

A search in Change Alley last week led to the story of a large branch of the Comerford family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

When I was in London last week, I visited the alleys off Cornhill, searching for the Jamaica and Jonathan’s, two of the oldest coffee houses in London, and looking in Change Alley for the site of the home of a branch of the Comerford family who lived and worked there in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Change Alley is a collection of at least five interconnected labyrinthine passages that have changed shape and direction down the centuries and with five access points: two off Cornhill, two off Lombard Street and one leading out of Birchin Lane.

Thomas Comerford, who came from Ireland, was a tobacconist in London from the mid-18th century. He was twice married and married his first wife Alice Davenport (1735-1769) on 26 October 1759 in Saint Mary’s Church, Whitechapel. They lived in Leman Street, Whitechapel (1759-1768), and they were the parents of three sons:

1, William Davenport Comerford (1763-1763), died in infancy.
2, James Comerford (1764-1833), ancestor of the Comerford family of Holborn and Belgravia.
3, Thomas Comerford (1769-1810), draper, of Bond Street, who married Charlotte Watson (1772-1851), and who has a large number of living descendants.

Alice died in childbirth in 1769, and Thomas Comerford married his second wife, Ann Underwood (1734-1807), in Saint Botolph’s Church, Aldgate, on 28 October 1770. Thomas and Anne Comerford were the parents of two more children, a daughter and a son:

4, Mary (1775-1839)
5, Charles Comerford (1784-1849), solicitor. He married Elizabeth Edings Morgan (1797-1867) in Saint Luke’s Church, Chelsea, on 1 May 1813. He lived at East Street, Lamb’s Conduit Street, off Great Ormond Street in Bloomsbury (1807), 16 Clement’s Inn, off the Strand in Saint Clement Danes parish (1838-1840), 72 Old Broad Street (1848), and 21 Oxford Square, Paddington (1849).

I was aware of the story of Thomas Comerford’s second son James Comerford (1764-1833) and his descendants, who were tobacconists, notaries public and Victorian book collectors who had connections with Change Alley for at least four generations and another three or four generations of distinguished medical practitioners and surgeons in Belgravia.

But I had overlooked the Thomas Comerford’s third son, Thomas Comerford (1769-1810), a Bond Street draper and younger brother of James Comerford (1764-1833), and the story of his far-flung branch of the family.

My visit to Change Alley lead me to finding the stories of a branch of the Comerford family that are an introduction to portraits of family life that are both intriguing and fascinating, and at the same time often heart-rending. Over five or six generations or more, I found sad stories of infant mortality and death at childbirth, of children and whole families ending up in the workhouse, and stories too of resilience and fortitude, of trade union activism, and of death at the Gallipoli landings, of passages to India and of birth at sea off St Helena in the mid-Atlantic.

There are intermarriages in successive generations between the Comerford and Finch families that consolidate family networks. There are gun makers and shoemakers, soldiers and bus drivers, whose lives, I imagine, were worlds apart from the doctors’ consulting rooms in Belgravia of their distant cousins.

A family that at one time was at home in places in the East End like Stepney, Tower Hamlets, Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, son moved south of the river to Southwark and places such as Southwark, Lambeth, Newington, Camberwell, Bermondsey and Walworth, and north to Clerkenwell and Islington. In time, they moved on to Aston in Birmingham and other places in the Midlands, including four generations or more in both Northampton and Leicester, with four generations of bootmakers and shoemakers. I even found six or seven members of this branch of the family with the name Charlotte Comerford, and I found that many of the family baptisms and marriages took place in churches that I already know well and have blogged about in recent years.

Thomas Comerford (1769-1810) married Charlotte Watson in Saint Martin in the Fields, facing onto Trafalgar Square (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The story of this branch of the Comerford family begins with Thomas Comerford from Ireland who became a tobacconist in London. He was twice married and he died on 29 June 1812 in the Parish of Saint Botolph, London. His third son was:

Thomas Comerford (1769-1810), born in 1769 and baptised in Saint Mary’s Church, Whitechapel, 15 February 1769. He was a draper in Bond Street, London, in 1784. He married on 23 February 1792 in Saint Martin in the Fields Church Charlotte Watson (1772-1851), daughter of Joseph Watson and his second wife Elizabeth (née Wiltshire) of Whitechapel.

Thomas Comerford died in Mill Yard on 12 July 1810, and was buried in Goodman’s Fields, the burial ground of Somerset Street Presbyterian Church; Charlotte Comerford died in January 1851. Their children included three daughters and three sons:

1, Elizabeth (1795-post 1812), born 27 December 1795 in Everard’s Place, a small alley or courtyard off Church Lane, near Cable Street and Wellclose Square, in the parish of Saint Mary, Whitechapel, in the East End. She was baptised on 21 January 1796 in the Presbyterian Church, Somerset Street (now Mansell Street), Stepney. She married David Smith in Saint Mary’s Church, Stratford Bow, on 10 November 1812.
2, Anne (1798-1800), born 7 February 1798 in Everard’s Place and baptised 23 July 1799 in Somerset Street Presbyterian Church. She died in November 1800 and was also buried in Goodman’s Fields.
3, Charlotte (1800-1800), born 20 January 1800, and died in Everard’s Place in December 1800.
4, Joseph Comerford (1801-1848), of whom next (see below).
5, George Comerford (1803-1806), born 4 November 1803 Swallow’s Gardens, Whitechapel, died in 1806 Rosemary Lane.
6, Francis Thomas Comerford (1811-1864), of whom after his brother Joseph (see below), born after his father’s death, 6 April 1811.

The widowed Charlotte Comerford later married the widowed Samuel Hormack Dann (born 1789) in Saint George in the East Church, Tower Hamlets, on 6 July 1818. They had no further children, and Charlotte died in January 1851.

At least three members of the Comerford family were baptised in Saint Botolph Without Aldgate, Bishopsgate (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The elder of the two surviving sons of Thomas and Charlotte Comerford:

Joseph Comerford (1801-1848), born 10 October 1801 in Sparrow Corner, which was between 83 and 84 Minories in Saint Botolph Parish, Aldgate. He was baptised on 25 August 1809 in Saint Botolph’s Church, Aldgate. He married Mary Davies (1805-1862) in Saint George in the East Church, Tower Hamlets, on 15 July 1827.

Joseph Comerford died 14 November 1848 in Phoenix Court, and was buried in Goodman’s Yard burial ground; his wife Mary (née Davies) died in East London in 1862. They were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters:

1, Charlotte (1829- ), born 19 April 1829 in Aldgate.
2, Francis Thomas Comerford (1831-1918), of whom next (see below).
3, Joseph Comerford (1833-1899), born in Whitechapel in 1833, of whom after his brother Francis Thomas Comerford (see below).
4, Mary Ann (1834-1896), born at Sugar Loaf Court, Angel Alley, 4 December 1834. She married James Keegan (born 1838). They lived in Regent Street, Lambeth, and Kennington, and were the parents of four children, a son and three daughters.
5, Elizabeth (1836-1905) born in Aldgate in 1836. She married Benjamin George Broome (born 1840) in Saint Thomas Church, Stepney, on 5 April 1863. They were the parents of four children, three daughters and a son. Elizabeth Broome was living in Dean Street, Soho, when she died in 1905.
6, George (I) Comerford (1838-1839), born in Aldgate in May 1838, died in October 1839.
7, Martha (1840-1915), born in Aldgate 1 February 1840. She married William Finch (born 1824), a widowed fishmonger and later a postman, in Saint Thomas Church, Stepney, on 9 February 1868. They lived in Lambeth and later in Battle and then Bexhill in Sussex. Martha (Comerford) Finch died in Brighton in October 1915, and they were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters who all continued the Comerford name:

•1a, Jessie Comerford Finch (born 1869), who married Walter West Gwynne (1866-1958);
•2a, Herbert Comerford Finch (1871-1937), who married his cousin Florence Eva Comerford (1876-1957) in Christ Church, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, on 7 May 1900 (see below);
•3a, Charles Comerford Finch (1874-1949) of Harrow and Willesden, who married Jessie Emily Farrall (1870-1961);
•4a, Frank Comerford Finch (1876-1952), of Swansea, Wales, who married Elizabeth Harriett Rees (1885-1963);
•5a, Ephraim Comerford Finch (born 1880), married in Croydon in 1903;
•6a, Emma Comerford Finch (1885-1949), who married Frederick J Walker in 1913.

8, George (II) Comerford (born 1842), born 1842 in Crown Court, Aldgate.
9, Emma (1845-) born 8 February 1845 in Aldgate.
10, Benjamin Comerford (1848-1852), born July 1848 Aldgate, died 1852 in East London.

The eldest of these ten children:

Francis Thomas Comerford (1831-1918), gunmaker, was born 17 January 1831 at Sugar Loaf Court, Angel Alley, Aldgate – the site is now occupied by railway lines – and was baptised 6 February 1831 in Saint Botolph Without Aldgate, Bishopsgate. He married Hannah Matilda Govett (1832-1905) in Saint Thomas Church, Stepney, on 15 April 1850. They lived for a time in Grove Street, Tower Hamlets, moved to India in the late 1850s, and later lived in Aston, Birmingham from the 1870s. Hannah died in Aston in 1905, and Francis died there in 1918.

They were the parents of 11 children, eights sons and three daughters:

1, George Comerford (1850-1852), born in Stepney, 4 October 1850, died at 27 Grove Street, Tower Hamlets, in 1852.
2, Francis Thomas Comerford (1852-1927), of whom next.
3, Frederick Henry Comerford (1855-1936), born in Stepney, 20 August 1855.
4, Charlotte Elizabeth Comerford (1857-1858), born 4 May 1857, died in infancy on 28 October 1858.
5, Charles William Comerford (1859-1937), born in Madras, 13 March 1859. He married Polly Robinson (1863-1932), from Wednesbury, Staffordshire, in Saint Paul’s Church, in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, on Christmas Day 25 December 1882. They lived in Aston and do not seem to have had any children; Polly died in December 1932, Charles died in Birmingham in June 1937.
6, Henry Hardwick Comerford (1860-1861), born at sea off St Helena in 1860, died in Stepney in 1861.
7, Kate Margaret Comerford (1864-1912), born in Bow in 1864, married James Arthur Garlick (1860-1935), a travelling salesman, in Saint Paul’s Church, Birmingham, in January 1885, and they were the parents of three daughters and a son. Kate died in King’s Norton, Birmingham, in April 1912; James Garlick died in Birmingham in June 1935.
8, Alfred Edward Comerford (1866-1894), born in Lambeth in June 1866. He married Rosina Clarissa Buck (1862-1936) in Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, on Christmas Eve 24 December 1892. Alfred died at Anderton Road, Sparkbrook, on 26 January 1894; Rosina died in September 1936. They were the parents of an only son:
•1a John Augustus Comerford (1894-1958) of Birmingham, who died unmarried.
9, Walter Comerford (1870-1873), born in Birmingham in January 1870, died in January 1873.
10, Thomas Henry Comerford (born 1874), born in Aston at the end of 1874.
11, Florence Eva (1876-1957), born in Birmingham 19 February 1876, she married her first cousin Herbert Comerford Finch (1871-1937), see above, in Christ Church, Sparkbrook, on 7 May 1900, and they were the parents of two daughters.

Saint George in the East, where some members of the Comerford family were baptised and married (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The eldest surviving son of Francis Thomas Comerford (1831-1918) and Hannah Matilda (Govett) Comerford was:

Francis Thomas Comerford (1852-1927), born in Stepney 9 March 1852 and baptised in Saint George in the East on 20 January 1856. He moved to Birmingham with his parents and family when he was in his teens and became an apprentice in the gun trade. He married Charlotte Finch (1851-1933) in Mile End, London, in July 1874 – she appears to be related to William Finch who married Martha Comerford (1840-1915). Francis and Charlotte Comerford lived in India on at least two occasions in the 1870s and 1880s. Francis Comerford died at 92 Milward Road, Hastings, on 9 September 1927; his widow, Charlotte Comerford, died there on 5 March 1933.

Francis and Charlotte Comerford were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters:

1, Florence Charlotte (born 1875), born in Birmingham October 1875.
2, Lilian Rose (1878-1940), born in Ferozepore, Punjab, in 1878. She returned to England with her parents and lived in Dorset before moving to Hastings, where she died on 30 September 1940, aged 62.
3, Violet Isabel (1879-1951), born in Bexhill in 1879, she later lived in Twickenham and died in Hastings in December 1951.
4, Percy J Comerford (1881-1898), he was born in India, returned to England with his parents, and died in Aston in January 1898.
5, William Ewart Comerford (1887-1974), born in Poona on 9 December 1887. He returned to England with his parents, and later lived in Guildford. He died in June 1974.

We now return to Joseph Comerford (1833-1899), second son of Joseph Comerford (1801-1848), and next brother to Francis Thomas Comerford (see above):

Joseph Comerford (1833-1899) was born in Whitechapel in 1833 and was baptised in Saint Botolph Without Aldgate on 3 April 1833. He was an armourer or gunmaker. I have found no record for his first marriage, but he described himself as a widower when he married Elizabeth Jenkins (1837-1918) on 7 July 1867 in Christchurch, Cannon Street Road (the church was demolished after bomb damage during World War II). They lived on Mile End Road in the East End and briefly in Edinburgh. Joseph Comerford died in London in October 1899; Elizabeth died in Islington in December 1918. They were the parents of one daughter and one son:

1, Eva Cannon (1880-1944), married Henry Percival Welbelove (1879-1933) in Saint Mary the Virgin, Somers Town, London, on 3 August 1908. They later lived in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, and Rotherham and Pontefract, East Yorkshire.
2, Joseph Jackson G Comerford (1884-1969), he married Theresa Ellen Wilson (1888-1945) in London in 1909, and they later lived in Monsell Road, Islington. They were the parents of three sons and a daughter:
•1a, Joseph William Comerford (1909-1982), married Clara Gladys Moore (1915-2001), lived in Brighton and died in Hove.
•2a, Harry James Comerford (1911-1972), married, and died in Hillingdon.
•3a, George Albert Comerford (1916-2004), died in Hastings.
•4a Patricia Joan Renshaw (1929-1994), lived in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The tower and some walls remain at Christ Church Greyfriars, near Saint Paul’s Cathedral … some members of the Comerford family were baptised there (Photograph: four Comerford)

We now return to Francis Thomas Comerford (1811-1864), the second surviving son of Thomas Comerford (1769-1810) above and the younger surviving brother of Joseph Comerford (1801-1848) above:

Francis Thomas Comerford (1811-1864) was born 6 April 1811 in the Parish of Saint Giles Without Cripplegate, Aldgate. He was a porter and hatter and lived at Christopher Court, off Fenchurch Street, and at Providence Street, Southwark. He married Edith Parsley (1813-1889) in Saint James’s Church, Paddington, on 1 May 1842. Francis Comerford died in 1864 at 72 Hosier Lane, Smithfield, London; Edith died in Camberwell in December 1889. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters:

1, Thomas Comerford (1841-1906), of whom next.
2, Edward Comerford (1845-1918), of whom after his brother Thomas (see below).
3, Emma (1847-1920), she was born in Aldersgate 8 July 1847 and baptised in Christ Church Greyfriars, Newgate, 26 September 1847. She died in Bromley in December 1920.
4, Mary Ann Matilda (1849-1852), born 15 July 1849, baptised in Christ Church, Greyfriars, 5 August 1849, and died in July 1852.
5, Joseph Comerford (1853-1897), of whom after his brother Edward (see below).
6, Eliza (1854-1929), born September 1854. She married Gillespie George Callam (1855-1930) in Saint James the Less Church, Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, on 28 November 1875, and they were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters.

The first of three sons of Francis and Edith Comerford:

Thomas Comerford (1841-1906), wire weaver, was born in Saint Martin’s Le Grand, a former liberty north of Newgate Street and Cheapside and south of Aldersgate Street, on 18 July 1841, and was baptised in Christ Church, Greyfriars, Newgate, on 29 June 1845.

He married Mary Ann Powell (1843-1935) in Saint Mary-at-Lambeth Church, Lambeth, on 14 November 1864. They later lived in Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, Camberwell and Bermondsey. He died in West Ham on 8 June 1906; she died in Leicester in September 1935. They were the parents of one daughter and five sons:

1, Jane (1863-1932), married James Seamer Lock (1860-1950) in Enon Baptist Chapel, Woolwich, on 17 May 1881 and they were the parents of 16 children, eight daughters and eight sons. They later lived in Leicester, where she died on 29 April 1932.
2, Thomas Comerford (1865-1949), of whom next.
3, Benjamin James Comerford (born 1868), born in Cripplegate, 7 February 1868, baptised in Saint Matthias, Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, on 1 March 1868.
4, John Comerford (1870-1871), died in infancy.
5, Robert Comerford (born 1872)
6, Henry Comerford (1875-1946), of whom after his brother Thomas and his descendants.

The eldest son of Thomas Comerford and Mary Ann (Powell) Comerford was:

Thomas Comerford (1865-1949), shoemaker, born Southwark 27 July 1865, baptised in Saint Matthias Church, Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, 1 March 1868. He married Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Patey (1872-1936) in All Saints’ Church, Walworth, on 16 September 1889. They lived in Camberwell, Newington, Walworth and Southwark, and had moved to Leicester by 1897, living at Knighton Fields Road.

Lizzie died in Leicester on 24 December 1936, and Thomas died there in March 1949. They were the parents of two sons and four daughters:

1, Thomas Comerford (1890-1962), of whom next.
2, Amy Ellen (1892-1952), married Henry Davey Radford (1890-1971) in Leicester in June 1915 and died in Leicester in 1952.
3, Elizabeth (1893-1961), baptised in Saint Christopher’s, Walworth, 6 December 1893, married James Lakin (1893-1972) in Leicester in July 1915.
4, Mary Ann (1895-1981), born Preston Buildings, Southwark, 8 December 1895. She married Frederick William Jackson (1894-1973) in Saint Mary Magdalene Church, Knighton, Leicester, on 11 May 1918, and they were the parents of a son and a daughter.
5, Henry Comerford (1897-1997), born in Leicester 27 October 1897.
6, Helen (Ellen) Winifred (1902-1988) in Leicester, 7 April 1902. She married Jack Kyle (1900-1989) from Kettering, Northamptonshire, in Leicester in 1929, and they were the parents of a daughter. She died in Leicester on 20 June 1988.

The eldest son of Thomas and Lizzie (Patey) Comerford was:

Thomas Comerford (1890-1962) was born in Camberwell 15 March 1890, and was baptised in All Saints’ Church, Newington, 2 April 1890. He moved to Leicester with his parents, and he married Charlotte Barton (1887-1955) in Leicester in December 1907. Charlotte died in Leicester June 1955, and Thomas died at 3 Northdene Road, Leicester, on 5 March 1962.

Thomas and Charlotte Comerford were the parents of seven children, including two sons and four daughters:

1, Thomas William Comerford (1908-1978).
2, Florence Winifred (1909-1966) of Leicester, married Cyril James Gilbert (1908-1996) in 1928.
3, John Henry Comerford (1913-1997) of Leicester, married Edna Austick (1914-2003) in Leicester in September 1937.
4, Barbara Elizabeth (1920-2002), married in Acle, Norfolk, in December 1946.
5, Elsie May (1920-1975), married in Leicester in September 1940.
6, Mary (1924-2001), married Alan A Bassett in Leicester in June 1946.

The sixth child and youngest son of Thomas Comerford and Mary Ann (Powell) Comerford (see above) was:

Henry Comerford (1875-1946), bus conductor, born Newcastle on Tyne in March 1875, and grew up in London. He married Rebecca Louisa Hudson (born 1879) in Saint James’s Church, Bermondsey, 25 December 1899. Henry died in Finsbury in March 1946. They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters:

1, Henry Thomas Comerford (1900-2001), born Walworth 30 October 1900, baptised Saint Matthew’s, Newington, 18 November 1900. He married Florence M Waller in Edmonton in 1940. He lived to 101 and died in Enfield in December 2001.
2, (Male) Comerford (1902-1902), who died at birth in Southwark in September 1902.
3, Jessie Rebecca (1903-1974), born in Walworth, 22 May 1903, baptised in Saint Matthew’s Church, Newington, 7 June 1903, and died in Newton Abbot, Devon, in December 1974.
4, Charles William Comerford (1905-1961), born in Walworth, 19 March 1905, died in Southend on Sea, 28 May 1961.
5, Isabella Mary (1908-1920), born in Walworth, December 1908.

Saint Mary-at-Lambeth Church, where some members of the Comerford family where baptised and married (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

We now return to the second of three sons of Francis and Edith Comerford:

Edward Comerford (1845-1906), coachman and bus driver, was born 2 June 1845 and baptised in Christ Church, Greyfriars, Newgate, 29 June 1845. Edward was twice married; he married his first wife Louisa Trimmer (1846-1888) in Saint Mary-at-Lambeth Church on 29 September 1867. They lived in Saint John’s Square, and later in Newington, and Louisa died in March 1888. Edward and Louisa Comerford were the parents of three sons and three daughters:

1, Louisa Elizabeth (1869-1903), born in Cheap 1869, baptised in Saint John the Baptist Church, Clerkenwell, 24 April 1870. She married William Griffin Walker (born 1867) in Saint Peter’s Church, Walworth, in June 1888, and they were the parents of two daughters. She lived in Newington and died in July 1903.
2, Edward Thomas Comerford (1870-1917), born in Clerkenwell 1870, baptised in Saint John the Baptist Church, Clerkenwell, 24 April 1870. He was a private in the East Surrey Regiment by 1901. He died in Southwark in 1917.
3, Arthur Comeford (1876-1946), born in Southwark 30 September 1876 and baptised in Saint Mary, Newington, on 15 December 1876. He was a plumber and gas fitter, and lived in Bermondsey. He married Alice Elizabeth Howard (born 1879, Bromley Bow, Poplar) in Saint Dunstan and All Saints’ Church, Stepney, on 21 May 1899. He died in 1946 and was buried in Greenwich.
4, Harriet Eleanor (1878-post 1955), born in Newington, 1878, baptised in Saint Mary’s, Newington, 25 July 1879. She married William Henry Pearson (1877-1967) in Saint Mark’s Church, Walworth, on 31 July 1898. The lived at Ethelred Street, Lambeth, and Blandford House, Richborne Terrace, Lambeth, and were the parents of one son and three daughters.
5, Rose Matilda (1881-1933), born Newington, 13 July 1881, baptised in Saint Mary’s Church, Newington, 24 August 1881. She married William Henry Chaproniere (1878-1916) in Saint Paul’s Church, Bermondsey, on14 May 1899. They lived in Bermondsey, and were the parents of three sons and a daughter. He was a corporal and died in the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916; she died in December 1933.
6, Albert Edgar Comerford (1887-1915), born in Kennington on 25 June 1887, and baptised in Saint James’s Church, Kennington, on 28 July 1887. A printer, he was a private in the Royal Fusiliers City of London Regiment 2nd Battalion by 1911, in Jubbulpore, India. He was killed in Gallipoli on 5 June 1915 and is named on the Helles Memorial Gallipoli.

Louisa died in March 1888 and Edward Comerford married his second wife, Jane Julie Osborne (1866-1943) in Saint Mary-at-Lambeth Church on 27 July 1890. Thomas and Jane Comerford later lived in Camberwell, but by 1913 they were described as ‘destitute and homeless’ and living with their children in Saint Olave’s Workhouse, Bermondsey. Edward died at the end of 1918; Jane died in Staines in 1943. They were the parents of two daughters and a son:

1, Jane Agnes (born 1901), born in Camberwell 11 March 1901, baptised in Emmanuel Church, Camberwell, on 28 April 1901. She married Frank Gill.
2, Frederick Charles (aka Charles Frederick) Comerford (1907-1985), born in Old Lambeth 23 April 1907. He married Phoebe Carpenter (born 1908) in Brighton in December 1929, and died in Hove in December 1985.
3, Ellen Elizabeth (born 1911), born in Camberwell 10 February 1911.

Saint James’s Church, Northampton … Edward William Comerford and Harriet Longworth were married there in 1902 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

We now return to the third of three sons of Francis and Edith Comerford:

Joseph Comerford (1853-1897), a boot maker, was born in St Georges Borough in 1853. He married Catherine (Kate) Miller (1854-1915), from Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire, in Saint James the Great Church, Bethnal Green, on 7 August 1874. Joseph Comerford moved to Northampton, and moved between Northampton and Newington as Joseph Comerford continued to find work in the shoe industry. They eventually lived at 32 Wellington Street, Northampton. Joseph died in Northampton in October 1897, when he was only 45 and his children were still young. His widow Kate later kept a boarding house at 84 Dunster Street, and died in Northampton in October 1915. They were the parents of eleven children, six daughters and five sons:

1, Catherine (born 1874), born in Bethnal Green, Hackney, July 1874. She married William Thomas Tyler (1863-1908) in Saint Michael’s Church, Northampton, 6 August 1893, and they were the parents of seven children, three daughters and four sons.
2, Clara (born 1876), born in Hackney, married William Muddiman (1878-1942) in Saint Giles Church, Northampton, in January 1897. They lived in Dallington and Marlboro’ Road, Northampton, and were the parents of one son and four daughters.
3, Joseph Comerford (1879-1958), shoe finisher, born Northampton. He married Esther Mary Clarke (1871-1957) in Northampton 16 September 1906; he died in Daventry 16 November 1958; she died at11 Baker Street, Northampton, 29 November 1957. They were the parents of one son:
•1a, Joseph Cyril Comerford (1906-1985), born Northampton, 19 March 1906. He married Florence Isabella Liggins (1910-1975) in Northampton, March 1932. They lived at 59 Northfield Gardens, Watford, Hertfordshire. She died June 1975; she died 8 December 1985.
4, Edward William Comerford (1880-1949), born Newington, 25 May 1880, baptised Saint Christopher’s Church, Walworth, 12 October 1887, and moved to Northampton with his parents. He worked in the boot trade and married Harriet Longworth (1881-1961) in Saint James’s Church, Northampton, 8 May 1902. They lived in Duston, Northampton, and Abbott Road, Manfield, and were the parents of six children, five daughters and a son. Edward Comerford died in Mansfield 1 May 1949; Harriet died 10 August 1961.
5, Thomas James Comerford (1884-1975), born Northampton 10 June 1884, married in Northampton September 1921, and died there December 1975.
6, Herbert Comerford (1886-1970), of whom next.
7, Eliza Edith (1888-1933), born Southwark 28 April 1888, baptised in Saint Giles, Northampton, 13 September 1893, along with two of her sisters. She married William Henry Beal (1885-1933). She died at 187 Hampstead Road, St Pancras, London, 10 May 1933, and he died in June 1933.
8, Elizabeth Miller Comerford (1890-1967), born Northampton 13 August 1890, baptised in Saint Giles, Northampton, 13 September 1893, along with two of her sisters. She married Frederick Stevens (born 1890) in Northampton in April 1915. She died in Poplar, London, in December 1967.
9, Sarah Victoria (1893-1983), born Northampton 28 January 1893, baptised in Saint Giles, Northampton, 13 September 1893, along with two of her sisters. She married William Thomas Hollowell (1890-1963) in Northampton in January 1910, and they were the parents of a son, Ernest William Hollowell (1910-1990), who lived in Bolton Lancashire.
10, George Albert Comerford (1895-1897), born London, 27 May 1895, baptised in Saint Giles, Northampton, 21 January 1897, died later that month in Northampton.
11, Lily (1898-1899), born in Northampton in April 1898, died there an infant in October 1899.

The sixth child and fifth son of Joseph and Catherine (Miller) Comerford of Northampton was:

Herbert Comerford (1886-1970), of Northampton. He was born in Southwark 25 June 1886 and moved to Northampton as a child with his parents and siblings, and grew up in Alcombe Terrace and Dunster Street, Northampton. He married Mabel Louisa Lamburn (1891-1982) in Northampton in April 1915. Herbert died in Northampton in June 1970; His widow Mabel died in Northampton on 2 August 1982. They were the parents of:

1, Herbert Comerford (1915-2005), of whom next.
2, Reginald Comerford, born in Northampton 10 February 1921

The elder son of Herbert and Mabel Comerford of Northampton was:

Herbert (Bert) Comerford OBE (1915-2005), born in Northampton in November 1915. Bert, Comerford attended Kettering Road Intermediate School, and at the age of 15 followed his father and grandfather into the shoemaking trade. He first became a clicker in the shoemaking industry, working for G Webb & Sons at their factory in Brockton Street, Northampton. The clickers became known as the elite or the ‘gentlemen’ of shoemakers. They cut out the shoe uppers from the precious fine leathers using knives with curved and sharply pointed blades.

Bert married Ella Mary Everitt (1917-2011), daughter of George Everitt and Maud EE Bennett of Northampton, in Northampton in January 1940. Bert was in the British Army during World War II, but returned to shoemaking in Northampton in 1946. He was a long-term member of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) when he began working full-time for the union in 1959. In the 1960s, he was living at 10 Lea Road, Northampton. He became the union’s assistant general officer in 1969. The union merged with other unions in 1970 to form the National Union of the Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades (NUFLAT), and Bert Comerford was elected as its first General President. The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several parliamentary elections.

The 1970s were a difficult period for the footwear industry in Britain, and when Bert retired in 1980, he described how he regretted leaving while the decline continued. Today, Northampton and the county’s shoemaking industry are thriving once again, and the town is still recognised across the world for making high-quality footwear.

Bert Comerford was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1981 New Year Honours list. In retirement, he was an honorary member of the Clothing and Footwear Institute. He died in July 2005; his widow Ella died on 28 January 2011.

The former G Webb & Sons factory in Brockton Street, Northampton … three generations of the Comerford family worked in the shoe industry in Northampton

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 108, Monday 24 August 2026, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle

Damien Hirst’s sculpture of Saint Bartholomew, ‘Exquisite Pain’, in Saint Bartholomew the Great Church, Smithfield, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XII). The Church Calendar today celebrates the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (24 August).

Later today, I hope to take part in the choir rehearsals preparing for a funeral tomorrow in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford. Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle … a statue on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 22: 24-30 (NRSVA):

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’

A statue of Saint Bartholomew above the south porch of Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Wednesbury (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

The Church Calendar today celebrates Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (24 August). Exciting Holiness recalls that it has long been assumed that Bartholomew is the same as Nathanael, ‘though it is not a certainty’.

The gospels speak of Philip bringing Nathanael to Jesus, who calls him an Israelite worthy of the name. He is also present beside the Sea of Galilee at the resurrection. Although he seems initially a somewhat cynical man, he recognises Jesus for who he is and proclaims him as Son of God and King of Israel.

Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke, and in Acts of the Apostles. But, apart from the narrative about Nathanael, we are left with silence when it comes to the story of Saint Bartholomew.

One of my favourite walks in silence in the English countryside is along Cross in Hand Lane, which starts at the back of the Hedgehog Vintage Inn in Lichfield and leads to Farewell and Saint Bartholomew’s Church, on the northern fringes of Lichfield.

This walk along Cross in Hand Lane marks the beginning – or the end – of the pilgrim route between the shrine of Saint Chad in Lichfield and the shrine of Saint Werburgh in Chester Cathedral.

Today, this pilgrim route is marked out as the Two Saints’ Way. And little has changed in the landscape along this route since mediaeval times. The road twists and turns, rises and falls, with countryside that has changed little over the centuries.

At this time of the year, the fields are usually green and golden under the clear blue skies of summer. There are horses in paddocks here, or cows there, and most of the land is arable or being used for grazing.

Although farming patterns have changed in the last 30 or 40 years, these fields may not have changed in shape or altered in their use for centuries, and even the names on new-built houses can reflect names that date back to a period in the 12th to 14th century.

Apart from the occasional passing car or van, one other walker and one or two cyclists, the only hints of modernity are the overhead pylons, and until their demolition in recent years the smoking towers of the power station in Rugeley could be glimpsed in the distance.

This walk often offers me opportunities to clear out the cobwebs in the corners of my brain and (hopefully) my soul, and allows me time to enjoy this walk as this walk and as nothing more.

I have stopped to admire the shapes and patterns of the fields and the trees. I have stopped in silence at the babbling brook. I have stopped to look at Farewell Mill. The local historian Kate Gomez suggests the name has nothing to do with saying goodbye and points out that the alternative spelling of ‘Fairwell’ refers to a nearby ‘fair or clear spring.’

Often as priests, we think we should be filling the silent spaces in time with intense prayers and thoughts about sermons and services that need preparation. But sometimes we need to just let go and empty our minds, our thoughts – even our prayers. We take everything else to be recycled as we clear out spaces in our houses, our offices, our studies and our garden sheds. But we seldom give time to clearing out the clutter in our inner spiritual spaces, allowing them to benefit from recycling.

Silence is prayer in itself, on its own, alone.

A gate in the churchyard at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Farewell, at the end of Cross in Hand Lane, on the northern fringes of Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Monday 24 August 2026, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle):

In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 23 to 29 August 2026 (pp 32-33), is ‘Legacies of History’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a reflection by the Revd Dr Rachele Evie Vernon O’Brien, a Jamaican-born theologian and advocate.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 24 August 2026, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle) invites us to pray:

Lord of compassion, remember young people who feel let down by the Church. Draw them into communities where your love is shown in actions as well as words.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace
truly to believe and to preach your word:
grant that your Church
may love that word which he believed
and may faithfully preach and receive the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel
: by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Farewell … at the end of a walk along Cross in Hand Lane from the Hedgehog Vintage Inn in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Elephant and Castle is nowa lively and vibrant part of South London, but how did it get its unusual name?

High Point and LCC Tower in Elephant and Castle … but how did this colourful part of South London get its name (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

The Elephant and Castle is a very dominant part of the coat-of-arms of one branch of the Beaumont family, and so it became a major feature in the heraldic decoration of the ceiling of the long gallery illustrating the Comberford family tree in the Moat House on Lichfield Street, Tamworth.

I was first shown this ceiling and its heraldic decorations when I was a teenager. It has fascinated me ever since, and I have been back to see it many times over the past 55 years or more.

There is no simple explanation of why or how the Wednesbury branch of the Beaumont family adopted the elephant and castle as one of their heraldic symbols. But I was reminded of it last week on the buses through Elephant and Castle in London last week, on my way between Waterloo Station and Brockley, visiting Comerford Road.

Strata Tower, part of the fast-changing redevelopment of Elephant and Castle in South London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Elephant and Castle is a neighbourhood just south of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Southwark. A transport hub, it is a familiar landmark and home to thousands of people, and it is also an area in transition. A major regeneration programme is underway, with over £4 billion of public and private money being invested in the area.

Elephant and Castle is the name of a short road, but the name is generally used to refer informally to much of Walworth and Newington. The area has a rich cultural history, has two local universities, a flourishing arts scene and a strong Latin American influence. The origins of the area are found in its location at the meeting point of several major routes into the heart of London.

To this day, it is one of the city’s most important transport hubs. It has two underground stations, a mainline rail station, 28 bus routes, and excellent road and cycling connections.

The area was once known as the ‘Piccadilly of the South’ – a central hub of entertainment that regularly drew in thousands of Londoners. With plans for new theatres, cinemas, shops, restaurants and places to socialise, Elephant and Castle is once again becoming a destination for visitors, as well as a great neighbourhood in which to live, work and learn.

Elephant and Castle has a a variety of cafés and places to eat (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Today, Elephant and Castle is a fast-changing area with modern developments like the Strata tower, nicknamed the ‘Razor’, High Point London South Bank University, the LCC Tower and a variety of cafés and places to eat.

But how did Elephant and Castle get its unusual name?

There are many explanations, but none seems to satisfy my curiosity.

No-one questions that the name Elephant and Castle is taken from the name of a pub or coaching inn at this major crossroad. The earliest surviving record of this name in relation to this area appears in the Court Leet Book of the Manor of Walworth, which met at Elephant and Castle, Newington on 21 March 1765.

The inn was rebuilt in 1816 and again in 1898. The Victorian pub was demolished and the present Elephant & Castle pub, at the junction of New Kent Road and Newington Causeway, was part of the comprehensive redevelopments in the 1960s.

But how did the original pub get its name?

A gable end mural on the corner of New Street and High Street, Stony Stratford, recalls the story of Eleanor of Castile (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The popular and enduring myth is that the inn took its name from an English corruption of the Spanish phrase La Infanta de Castilla, a title held by Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I. Her funeral procession in 1290 was later marked by Eleanor Crosses the length of England, ending at Charing Cross – but not at Elephant and Castle.

She is commemorated in a mural in Stony Stratford, but is also remembered for her virulent antisemitism.

However, Eleanor of Castile never held the title of Infanta de Castilla. Indeed, according to Stephen Humphrey in his book Elephant and Castle, a History (2013), the pub sign at Elephant and Castle only begins to be used in the area about 500 years after Queen Eleanor lived.

The Infanta de Castilla house in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

A second disputed origin is with another Infanta of Castille, Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. When she first arrived in London in 1502, she lived in a house on South Bank that later become the residence of the architect Christopher Wren. This building is about a mile and a half from where Elephant and Castle roundabout stands today.

The house on South Bank is close to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. In Twelfth Night, ‘The Elephant’ is a lodging house in the ‘south suburbs’ recommended by Antonio to Sebastian as the best place to stay.

It serves as the staging ground for their separation and Sebastian’s later mix-up with Viola (as Cesario). It is often been said that this reference in one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies is to lodgings in Elephant and Castle. But Twelfth Night is set in Illyria, not in London, and the first documented performance of the play (1602) was not in Southwark but at Middle Temple Hall, on the other side of the river.

The plaque on the Infanta de Castilla house on South Bank (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

A third popular explanation for the name of Elephant and Castle is found, supposedly, in the heraldic symbols of the Cutlers’ Company, one of the livery companies in London. The company adopted the image of an Elephant and Castle as the crest in its coat of arms granted in 1622. It may have been a reference to the use of ivory in cutlery handles rather than any imagined connections with Eleanor of Castile or Catherine of Aragon, or, for that matter, with Coventry or the Beaumont family.

An elephant and castle can be seen in the coat of arms granted to the Cutlers’ Companyin 1476 and depicted at Cutlers’ Hall, with elephants as supporters on each side of the shield. The elephant theme is repeated throughout the hall on Warwick Lane, including the pair of elegant golden elephant heads on the door knockers.

The Royal African Company, founded in 1672, used a similar sign because of the ivory trade.

But Elephant and Castle as the name of the public house that gives its name to the area in South London first appears in records in 1765, when the building is first described as a public house called the Elephant and Castle. Stephen Humphrey finds no evidence to connect the pub or its early proprietors with the Cutlers’ Company or the cutlery trade. He concludes that the sudden appearance of the ancient sign in the area cannot be explained and suggests that, as with the vast majority of pub names, the choice may have been a random one.

The elephant and castle are part of the heraldic symbols of the the Cutlers’ Company and Cutlers’ Hall in London (Photograph: Wikipedia)

The image of an elephant with a castle on its back has been popular for centuries and throughout Europe. The mediaeval bestiaries said Indian and Persian warriors fought from wooden towers on the backs of elephants, an elephant and castle is one of the symbols in the 14th-century choir stalls in Chester Cathedral, and the emblem is found in the coat of arms of Coventry, granted by Edward III in 1345.

The Garter stall plate of John Beaumont (1361-1396), 4th Lord Beaumont, shows his coat of arms used a lion passant as the crest. But his great-grandson, William Beaumont (1438-1507), 2nd Viscount Beaumont, used the heraldic device of an elephant with a tower on its back.

William supported the Lancastrian cause and Henry VI. He was on the losing side at the battles of Towton (1461) and Barnet (1471), was twice stripped of his land and titles by the Yorkists, and spent many years in exile or in prison. In the end, he fought for Henry Tudor at Bosworth, and within a few months he was restored to his lands and titles.

Livery badges for John Beaumont with the elephant and castle rebus are on display in the British Museum, the London Museum and Salisbury Museum. John Beaumont’s uncle, Henry Beaumont (1411-ca 1447/1448), ancestor of the Beaumont family of Wednesbury. That branch of the Beaumont family appear to have adopted the elephant and castle as the crest in their coat-of-arms.

Henry Beaumont’s wife Joan was the daughter and heiress of William Heronville of Wednesbury and widow of William Leventhope of Wednesbury. When Joan died, Wednesbury Manor was inherited by her only son, Sir Henry Beaumont (1446-1471) of Wednesbury. This Henry’s granddaughter, Dorothy Beaumont, married Humphrey Comberford of Comberford Hall, who was the Master of the Guild of Saint Mary and Saint John the Baptist in Lichfield in 1530.

The wealth of the Wednesbury estate greatly enriched the Comberford family, which explains in part why the line of descent from the Beaumont family was emphasised by the decorative heraldic family trees on the ceiling of the Moat House, the family’s Tudor house on Lichfield Street in Tamworth.

But I have strayed away from the questions I had last week about the origins of the name of Elephant and Castle in London. Perhaps there are no answers.

The Beaumont coat-of-arms, including an elephant and castle, in the Comberford heraldic family tree in the long gallery of the Moat House, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2024: 106, Saturday 24 August 2024, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle … a statue on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and tomorrow is the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIII).

The Church Calendar today celebrates the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (24 August).

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

A statue of Saint Bartholomew above the south porch of Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Wednesbury (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 22: 24-30 (NRSVA):

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’

Damien Hirst’s sculpture of Saint Bartholomew, ‘Exquisite Pain’, in Saint Bartholomew the Great Church, Smithfield, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Today’s Reflection:

The Church Calendar today celebrates Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (24 August). Exciting Holiness recalls that it has long been assumed that Bartholomew is the same as Nathanael, ‘though it is not a certainty’.

The gospels speak of Philip bringing Nathanael to Jesus, who calls him an Israelite worthy of the name. He is also present beside the Sea of Galilee at the resurrection. Although he seems initially a somewhat cynical man, he recognises Jesus for who he is and proclaims him as Son of God and King of Israel.

Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke, and in Acts of the Apostles. But, apart from the narrative about Nathanael, we are left with silence when it comes to the story of Bartholomew.

One of my favourite walks in silence in the English countryside is along Cross in Hand Lane, which starts at the back of the Hedgehog Vintage Inn in Lichfield and leads to Farewell and Saint Bartholomew’s Church, on the northern fringe of Lichfield.

This walk along Cross in Hand Lane marks the beginning – or the end – of the pilgrim route between the shrine of Saint Chad in Lichfield and the shrine of Saint Werburgh in Chester Cathedral.

Today, this pilgrim route is marked out as the Two Saints’ Way. And little has changed in the landscape along this route since mediaeval times. The road twists and turns, rises and falls, with countryside that has changed little over the centuries.

At this time of the year, the fields are green and golden under the clear blue skies of summer. There are horses in paddocks here, or cows there, and most of the land is arable or being used for grazing.

Although farming patterns have changed in the last 30 or 40 years, these fields may not have changed in shape or altered in their use for centuries, and even the names on new-built houses can reflect names that date back to a period in the 12th to 14th century.

Apart from the occasional passing car or van, one other walker and two cyclists, the only hints of modernity are the overhead pylons, and until their demolition last year the smoking towers of the power station in Rugeley could be glimpsed in the distance.

This walk often offers me opportunities to clear out the cobwebbed corners of my brain and (hopefully) my soul, and allows me time to enjoy this walk as this walk and as nothing more.

I have stopped to admire the shapes and patterns of the fields and the trees. I have stopped in silence at the babbling brook. I have stopped to look at Farewell Mill. The local historian Kate Gomez suggests the name has nothing to do with saying goodbye and points out that the alternative spelling of ‘Fairwell’ refers to a nearby ‘fair or clear spring.’

Often as priests, we think we should be filling the silent spaces in time with intense prayers and thoughts about sermons and services that need preparation. But sometimes we need to just let go and empty our minds, our thoughts – even our prayers. We take everything else to be recycled as we clear out spaces in our houses, our offices, our studies and our garden sheds. But we seldom give time to clearing out the clutter in our inner spiritual spaces, allowing them to benefit from recycling.

Silence is prayer in itself, on its own, alone.

Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Farewell … at the end of a walk along Cross in Hand Lane from the Hedgehog Vintage Inn in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Saturday 24 August 2024, Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), has been ‘What price is the Gospel?’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from Dr Jo Sadgrove, Research and Learning Advisor, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 24 August 2024, Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle) invites us to pray:

We pray for all institutions whose patron is the Apostle Bartholomew, saint and martyr.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace
truly to believe and to preach your word:
grant that your Church
may love that word which he believed
and may faithfully preach and receive the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel
: by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect on the Eve of Trinity XIII:

Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The glass panels in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Dromcollogher, Co Limerick, depict scenes from the life of Saint Bartholomew, including the calling of Saint Nathaniel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Saint Bartholomew’s Church at the junction of Clyde Road and Elgin Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

How Saint Mary’s Church in Handsworth has links with the Industrial Revolution … and the Comberford family

Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth, also known as Handsworth Old Church, is sometimes described as the ‘Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

When I was in Birmingham last week, after finding the tomb of William Holte in Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church in Aston, with its early depiction of a Comberford coat-of-arms, I decided to walk from Aston to Handsworth, where Saint Mary’s Church is associated with some members of the Comberford family through intermarriage with the Stanford family.

The Stanford and Comberford families were among the leading ‘conforming Catholic’ families in Staffordshire, and in the post-Reformation decades in the second half of the 16th century, the River Tame was like a Tudor motorway, providing easy access between the Comberford and Stanford manors in Wednesbury, Handsworth, Perry Barr, Kingsbury, the Moat House in Tamworth and Comberford Hall.

Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth, also known as Handsworth Old Church, is a Grade II* listed building beside Handsworth Park, formerly Victoria Park, and is close to the Birmingham Outer Circle.

The church is sometimes described as the ‘Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution’, and Saint Mary’s is the burial place of key figures in the Industrial Revolution in Birmingham and the Midlands, including James Watt, Matthew Boulton and William Murdoch, members of the Lunar Society.

Handsworth was originally in the Diocese of Lichfield until it was transferred to the Diocese of Birmingham, and it was in Staffordshire until it was transferred to Warwickshire and became part of Birmingham in 1911.

The west end of Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth … the church dates back to at least 1160 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Despite its strong connections with the Industrial Revolution, the earliest parish register for Saint Mary’s begins in 1558, and the church dates back to at least 1160. The Manor of Handsworth is even older and existed since Saxon times, so there may have been an earlier timber church in Handsworth.

The first stone church on the site of Saint Mary’s was built ca 1160, when a priest was recorded in Handsworth. It was a small and austere Norman structure, filling about half the site of the present south aisle. The few surviving Norman features of the church can be seen at the lower stages of the sandstone tower at the east end of the original church.

Saint Mary’s Church was enlarged in the 14th century. The tower, which has six bells, is in the decorated style of the reign of Edward III, like the other remaining parts of the ancient fabric. In the chancel are two effigies of members of the Wyrley family, and an ancient piscina.

William de Wirleia was Rector of Handsworth in 1228, and remained there until he died in 1247. He is the earliest recorded member of the Wyrley family in Handsworth.

The tower of Saint Mary’s Church, which was enlarged in the 14th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

All the manors in Handsworth were held by a single succession of overlords in the early Middle Ages. William FitzAnsculf held Birmingham, Edgbaston, Aston, Erdington, Witton, Handsworth, Perry Barr and Little Barr in 1086. His successors were lords of other manors in Aston parish – Bordesley, Little Bromwich, Duddeston, Saltley and Nechells – that were first named in the 12th or 13th century. The estates and Dudley Castle passed to the Paynel family, and from them to successive members of the Somery family until John de Somery died in 1322.

The Somery family shared their interests in Handsworth Manor with the Parles family, whose estates and wealth were eventually inherited by an heiress Anne Parles, who married John Comberford (ca 1440-1508), of Comberford Hall, who was a Justice of the Peace and MP for Staffordshire 1502-1508. John Comberford’s sister Margaret married William Holte (ca 1430-post 1498).

As for the Somery family, when John de Somery died in 1322, his co-heirs were his sisters: Dudley and the manors of Birmingham, Perry Barr and Little Barr went to Margaret, wife of John de Sutton, while Handsworth Manor, Edgbaston Manor and the manors in Aston parish went to Joan, widow of Thomas Botetourt.

Handsworth Manor then passed through the Botetourt and Beauchamp families to Joan Beauchamp’s son, James Butler (1420-1461), 5th Earl of Ormond, who was beheaded as a Lancastrian in 1461. Butler’s estates and interests were recovered eventually and in time passed to his youngest brother, Thomas Butler (1426-1515), 7th Earl of Ormond – grandfather of Anne Boylen – and from him to his daughter Lady Anne Butler (1455-1533) and her husband Sir James St Leger, and to their grandson John St Leger in 1519.

John St Leger sold Handsworth Manor in 1555 to Sir William Stanford (1509-1558), Justice of Common Pleas and MP for Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme. He consolidated his links with Staffordshire by buying the neighbouring Manor of Perry Barr and Manor of Handsworth, which he bought from Sir John St Leger, who had inherited the estate through his descent from James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond.

Sir Robert Stanford (1540-1607), succeeded to Handsworth Manor and Perry Barr, and built Perry Hall in 1576 (Image: Lost Heritage)

Stebbing Shaw in his History of Staffordshire (vol 2, p 108) says Sir William Stanford married Elizabeth Comberford, a daughter of Thomas Comberford (1530-1597) of Comberford Hall and Wednesbury and his wife Dorothy, daughter of William Wyrley of Hampstead in Handsworth. However, most authorities agree William’s wife was Alice Palmer, daughter of John Palmer of Kentish Town, Middlesex.

Shaw appears to have confused her with a much later Elizabeth Comberford who married William Stanford of Packington, a first cousin twice removed of the judge. This Elizabeth Comberford was a daughter of Thomas Comberford (1472-1532) and Dorothy Fitzherbert; she was a sister of Humphrey Comberford of Comberford Hall, Canon Henry Comberford, Precentor of Lichfield, and Richard Comberford, sometimes (confusingly) identified as the ancestor of the Comerford family of Co Kilkenny and Co Wexford.

Sir William Stanford of Handsworth and Handsworth and Anne Palmer were the parents of six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Sir Robert Stanford (1540-1607), succeeded to Handsworth Manor and Perry Barr, and built Perry Hall in 1576.

Robert Stanford’s eldest son, Edward Stanford, who succeeded to Handsworth Manor and Perry Hall in 1607, was a witness to a Comberford family deed in 1599 signed by William Comberford of Tamworth and his brothers John Comberford and Thomas Comberford. Edward Stanford died in 1632 and was succeeded in turn by his son William Stanford.

One of Sir Robert Stanford’s daughters, Mary, married Humphrey Comberford, on 30 January 1591. Humphrey Comberford died at Comberford during his father’s lifetime, and he was buried in Saint Editha’s, Tamworth, on 6 August 1609.

William Comberford (1594-1653) was baptised in 1595 in Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth, where his mother’s brother, the Revd Henry Stanford, was the Rector in 1604-1608 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Mary (Stanford) and Humphrey Comberford were the parents of five sons and four daughters. Their eldest son, William Comberford (ca 1593/1594-1653), was born ca 1593/1594, and was baptised on 8 February 1594/5 in Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth, where later his mother’s brother, the Revd Henry Stanford, son of Sir William Stanford, was the Rector in 1604-1608.

William Comberford inherited Comberford Hall 1611, and his grandfather William Comberford died in 1625. At the Visitation of Warwickshire he was described as ‘de Cumberford et Kingsberrow’ or Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a reference to his interest in one-ninth of the manor of Mancetter within the Parish of Kingsbury.

When his grandfather died in 1625, William Comberford as his heir succeeded to the Comberford family estates. But he did not take possession of them as the bulk of the estates, including the Moat House in Lichfield Street, Tamworth, and the Manor of Wednesbury, had been leased in trust by his grandfather to his uncle William Comberford.

William Comberford died in 1653, perhaps at the Marshalsea in Southwark. Although he asked in his will to be buried in the Comberford family vault in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, it appears he was buried at Saint George the Martyr, Southwark.

William Comberford’s next brother, the second son of Mary (Stanford) and Humphrey Comberford, was Robert Comberford (ca 1594-1671) of Comberford Hall, the last of the senior line of the family to live at Comberford Hall, although his widow Catherine (Bates) continued to live there until she died in 1718.

The fourth son of Mary (Stanford) and Humphrey Comberford, John Comberford (ca 1597-(ca 1666), lived in Handsworth, until he inherited Wednesbury after the death of his eldest brother, William Comberford, in 1653. After settling ‘all my lands in Wednesbury’ on trustees, he appears to have paid off the outstanding debts on the estate and sold it ca 1656 to a distant cousin, John Shelton of West Bromwich. John Comberford’s will is dated 1657, but he was still living in 1664, and died ca 1666.

A daughter of Mary (Stanford) and Humphrey Comberford, Elizabeth Comberford, also lived in Handsworth. She is named in the wills of her brothers William and Robert Comberford, and she died ca 1677.

Meanwhile, Sir Henry Gough bought Perry Hall in 1669, and it stayed with the Gough and Gough-Calthorpe family many generations.

The churchyard at Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth, has many graves of local historical importance (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Until the Industrial Revolution, Handsworth was a large rural parish with a population widely dispersed in farms and cottages. As a Staffordshire country church placed at the convergence of several cross country tracks, Saint Mary’s became a significant place in the life of Birmingham as it developed into the largest industrial city in Britain.

James Watt (1736-1819), who lived in Handsworth, is remembered as the inventor of the steam engine. Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) applied his engineering talent in 1774 to Watt’s ideas, and Boulton and Watt became leading figures in the Industrial Revolution. William Murdoch (1754-1839), another engineer, became a partner of Boulton and Watt. He perfected gas lighting and the high-pressure steam engine. All three have monuments in the church.

James Watt was buried in the grounds of Saint Mary’s, but when the church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1820, his tomb was inside the church. A groined chapel was designed by Thomas Rickman and built over Watt’s tomb On the south side, and includes a white marble statue of Watt by Francis Legatt Chantrey.

More factories followed, and Handsworth continued to expand throughout the 19th century. This growth was further encouraged by the arrival of the railway, with stations opening at Handsworth in 1837 and Perry Barr in 1854.

From 1860 to 1873, the Revd Herbert Richard Peel, a nephew of Sir Robert Peel MP, was the Rector of Handsworth. To accommodate the growing population, Saint Mary’s was expanded in 1870, and several new churches were built in the parish, including: Saint John’s, Perry Barr (1833), Saint James’, Handsworth (1838-1840), Saint Michael’s, Handsworth (1855), Holy Trinity, Birchfield (1864), Saint Paul’s Hamstead (1892-1894), and Saint Andrew’s, Handsworth (1909).

The site of Handsworth Rectory is now the large pond in Handsworth Park (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Handsworth Rectory was sold in 1891, was demolished in the 1890s and the site later became the large pond in Victoria Park, now Handsworth Park.

As for Perry Hall, built in 1576 by Sir Robert Stanford, the father of Mary (Stanford) Comberford, it had been abandoned as a family residence by 1919. Birmingham Corporation was having financial troubles in the 1920s, and had to choose between saving Aston Hall and nearby Perry Hall. Aston Hall was saved, Perry Hall was demolished in 1931, and the stables and the last remaining lodge were demolished in 1935. The site of the house and estate is now Perry Playing Fields is and the boating pool is part of the former moat of Perry Hall.

Saint Mary’s churchyard includes the graves of two key figures in the story of football: William McGregor, a director of Aston Villa who called the founding meeting of the Football League in 1888, and George Ramsay, whose headstone reads ‘Founder of Aston Villa’. Harry Freeman, the popular music hall performer, was buried there in 1922. But the graveyard is overgrown and it is difficult to find the graves.

Webster Booth (1902-1984), largely remembered for his singing duets with Anne Ziegler, was a member of the choir of Saint Mary’s as a child. He was seen as one of the finest tenors of his day.

Inside Saint Mary’s Church, Handsworth (Image: HandsworthParish website)

Today, Saint Mary’s is part of the Handsworth Group and describes itself as a warm and welcoming Church with a diverse and growing congregation. The worship aims to be dignified but inclusive and is of a moderate catholic flavour, using incense on the Principal Feasts.

• Sunday services are: 8 am, Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer, 1662); 11 am, the Parish Eucharist (Common Worship, 2000), the principle service in the parish and a sung service. Morning Prayer is said every Friday at 8:30, and there is Daily Prayer following Common Worship in the Church Hall.

The churchyard lychgate on Hamstead Road in Handsworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)