Hallworth Beginnings

An Introduction, Index, and Links to Local History Resources.

This post is being completely rejigged, to make it easier to read - talk to me if you can't find anything about which you'd like to know. Sorry if it's a bit confusing at first. Have a look at the Hallworth family tree; just scroll right down to the bottom of the website.

If you are searching for any of your ancestors born in the Cheshire / Lancashire area, you need look no further as I know of no link (yet!) to that large branch of Hallworths.

The very beginning of research into this branch of the family was to hunt out records on Grandad Harry Hallworth, who was born in the year 1900. This means that he should appear as a baby in the National Census returns of the year 1901, which were the latest then available. Family history had it that he was born in the Sockburn area, and sure enough he was found in the entry for that town, in 1901.

The details on that census return showed me that his father was born in Bedfordshire, so next I stepped back in time to the earlier census of the Bedfordshire area.



I'm going to give you all the details I've dug up on the Hallworth family from the Census Returns, but this time I've set them out in the right order to make it easy to follow. However, of course, genealogy must always start from what you know for sure & then working backwards in time!


So first, here's a little background on Grandad Hallworth.

William Henry (Harry) Hallworth
He was born in Dinsdale (Yorks/Durham border) on the 26th of February 1900, which was just before the death of Queen Victoria. He lived in the Darlington area (Co. Durham, England) all his life apart from his years of military service. He lived to the grand old age of 94 (it was always easy to remember his age!!) He managed to be remarkably independent into his old age. He was survived by his 2 children and 4 grandsons.

Here we see a photograph of Harry as a young man, in 1921, aged 21. It is from an image of the MTHC  in Lahore (military transport/training Hockey Club??). The full image can be seen below that {click on any images to enlargen them}.

He was a Motor Bus Driver by trade (and during his military service years, too). A great weaver of tales and always very well-turned out.
His wife was Violet Annie Hallworth, nee Cox. Violet was born in 1902 and worked in service, and then at a school. She died (following a stroke) in 1986, leaving Harry a widower for many years. They had married in the year 1929, and together they had two children.
You can read more about the COX family by following this link.

We knew that Harry's parents were named Charles & Kate Hallworth, and that they came from Bedfordshire & London respectively.

Here now is a photograph of Harry Hallworth in his later years (1987).


So -  I wanted to find out as much as I can about the Hallworth family and their origins.  To make a start, I used the details available in the National Census (from 1841 to 1911) and the registration details available online.  After that I filled in a few extra details from various archives - newspapers, military records, prison records, photographic & mapping archives, and so on. (See the guide page at the top of this site for some useful links.)
Please note the Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service have been a treasure trove in many areas of the Hallworth family - I have tried to include a useful reference number each time, and I add the acronym BLARS.

I also relied heavily on the research of others!  I've been very lucky to meet (online) with several Hallworth cousins / fellow genealogists and they have been very generous with their interesting stories. My grateful Thanks go out to them; particularly Aunt Sheila, Keith, Peter, Clive, Evelyn, Charlotte, Barbara, Susan, Patti, and all involved at Sockburn Hall.

The results can be viewed in the following posts, so here's a roughly chronological index:
(or you could read through all the material by using this link & scrolling on.)

• Earliest Hallworth records - beginnings of the name?
• Famous Hallworths
• James & Margaret Hallworth of Pulloxhill - brother to our earliest ancestor (in draft).
• Dog & Badger - story of Philip Senior, his parents & his nephew Jonathan Hallworth; publicans - and a second page about the Licenses and bonds.
• Charles & Maria Hallworth - Miller in Maulden, Beds.
• Mills in Bedfordshire - i.e. those relevant to the Hallworth Millers.
• Ruffian Hallworths (Bedfordshire criminal records)
• Philip & Elizabeth Hallworth - Farmers in Toddington, Beds.
• John & Eliza Hallworth - Miller, Farmer, Baker, Grocer!
• Separate page on Eliza Hallworth (nee Hammond)
• Separate page onJohn's sister Lucy & her Rowland Hallworth
• Charles & Kate Hallworth - Coachman, publican (our Harry's father).
• Separate page about Kate and her Shackleford ancestors; and Kate May Junior, her daughter
• Their early lives, and time at Sockburn Hall (~1901)
• Their later lives, beginning with time at Pepper Arden Hall (1911+)
• More pages on photographs from Peter, and info about Charles & Kate's children, and more about the Shacklefords. 
• Further miscellaneous records & notes about Hallworths in Bedfordshire, including especially the trade directories.

The family tree diagram below here may help to clarify the relationships - perhaps best to right-click & open it in another window/tab so it is enlarged.

More info is available from the following sites on the local area of Bedfordshire, e.g. Ampthill.

• A fascinating level of detail is available on Workhouses/ Poor Law at this site; look up just Ampthill by clicking here. (It includes a list which shows us the lacemaker Sophia Hallsworth of Cranfield (aged 70) was an inmate at Ampthill in 1881...but no others.)
• The Encyclopedia Brittanica entry from 1911 on Ampthill, here.
• Around Ampthill today, modern day guide here with a page on history.
• A local history site, under construction.
• Bedfordshire local gov archives & records, here.
• Hugh Wallis' site holds IGI batch numbers for parish records - you can browse births & marriages by Parish.
• Also the ever-useful Frances Frith site has several old maps & Photos of Ampthill and surrounding areas - have a good rootle & enjoy!!

Do keep returning to this blog to find out the latest research. Why not post a comment if I've made an error, or missed something out??