Genealogy Chat

Hi, I am wondering where a birth might have occoured - my Grandmothers' birth cert has her place of birth as Frith Wood, Unstone (1908), when I search on maps that does seem to literally be a wood! Please tell me my poor Gt Grandma didn't give birth in a tent! My Gt Grandfathers occupation at the time is House Painter - but there don't seem to be many houses around for him to paint! Thanks in advance for any help or thoughts! Helen

According to the 1884 map on the Curious Fox website, there were a couple of brickyards and a kiln or two at the far south end of Frith Wood. As a child, I lived in a little group of houses set back from the main road, which had various addresses, one of which was 5 The Brickyard. At the back of the houses was the overgrown ruins of what had once been a brickyard. I'm guessing that the houses were once lived in by employees, or maybe the owner of the brickyard - haven' t researched this it's just a guess. So maybe your ancestor was living in houses once associated withone of the brickyards? You could read the enumerator's description of the area on the 1901 census and it might give an idea of what habitation there was in that area.

I looked on the 1901 census, and there is just one family who lived in 'Frith Wood' - Henry Crow, a farm labourer, and his wife Hannah. They had a boarder, Caroline Rushton, who was a general servant. This is the last entry for that enumeration district - the previous entries have families in the surrounding farms - Bentley Hill Farm, Summerley Farm, BlackaMoor Farm a nd Ramshaw Farm. So it looks like there was a cottage of some sort at least! Google 'peak district view' and then on the first hit scroll down to 'frith wood picnic site'. There's a pdf document with a map an dsoem background history. There used to be charcoaling activity in the woods. It sounds like a delightful place to be born!

Georgia, Thanks for that, this family are causing me no end of headaches! Part of me can't wait for the 1911 census at least they might be of 'fixed abode' by then! At least she was born in June so not too much chance of snow! Many thanks Helen