Brookbanks Brockbank Brooksbank genealogy

Four generation of BROOKBANKS named Christopher are known who were all yeoman farmers in the parishes just south of Worcester. Many of then left wills and inventories of their household goods and farming stock

The earliest known ancestor baptised his children at Hanley Castle from 1653. His son Christopher was a yeoman of Madresfield, and his grandson Christropher moved to Seven Stoke.

The next Christopher moved to Pendock, but he died young and his five children were brought up elsewhere.

One of his sons, who was baptised Richard in 1770, left Worcester and set up as a baker in Seven Dials, London. He married three times in London and outlived all three wives. They were all buried together in St Giles-in-the-Fields

Richard had a son Christopher who became a baker like his father and for a while worked in his father’s bakery, but then set up near the Elephant & Castle in South London. He married Arabella from the wealthy Dackombe family, but she died at the age of 28 and Christopher died shortly after.

Christopher & Arabella had two sons. One named Christopher Richard became a plumber and builder in North London. The other, named James born 1831, became a bus conductor taking horse drawn buses over London Bridge. He married the daughter of a dairyman in Stepney and later took over the dairy business.

His daughter Helena married Henry BLEWETT, a seaman, in 1886

BROOKBANKS Family Legend

My grandmother (Helena Annie BROOKBANKS-2) maintained that the BROOKBANKS were connected with the PENDRILL family. The Pendrill family helped Charles II to escape from Britain after his defeat at the battle of Worcester in 1651. Charles hid in the Pendrill’s house at Boscobel and in an oak tree in the grounds while the house was searched. It seemed there was truth in the legend when I traced the family’s origin back to Worcestershire with a connection to Old Swinford just 15 miles from Boscobel, even though this was not known by my grandmother.

After the restoration of Charles in 1666, the Pendrills were rewarded by a grant of land in St Giles-in-the Fields, where Richard Pendrill has a grandiose tomb. Richard Brookbanks left Worcestershire and set up as a baker in this same London parish. He was also buried in St Giles-in-the-Fields along with his three wives. Was this the Pendrill connection of which my grandmother boasted - that they both had tombs in the same churchyard?

Despite these associations between the BROOKBANKs and Worcester, I have now found that the connection was through my grandmother’s maternal ancestry! My grandmother’s mother was Elizabeth BRAY whose father Thomas BRAY married Mary PENDRILL at Camberwell St Giles in 1824. The Worcestershire and St Giles PENDRILL connections are just coincidence after all.

BROOKBANKS around the World

Several members of the BROOKBANKS family have emigrated and raised families in other countries. William BROOKBANKS, the son of the Baker of Seven Dials, emigrated to Philadelphia in 1842 and became a gas-fitter and naturalised American citizen. I have no record of any descendants.

Two generations on, two sons of Christopher Richard, the builder of North London also emigrated. Christopher Richard went to Canada and founded a large family around Windsor, Ontario. Frank Warren went to New Zealand about 1885, and though he died young he also founded a large family in Auckland. See the family tree T3

The latest known emigrant was Walter Herbert who emigrated to South Africa after world war 2 and founded his family there mainly in Pitermaritzburg. See tree T2

INDEX OF MARRIAGES ON THE BROOKBANKS FAMILY TREES

SURNAME DATE/PLACE MARRIAGE TREE MARRIED TO:

ADCOCK Norman c1950 BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Joan

ASBURY Eleanor 24Oct1803 St Mary-le-Strand MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

BALLENGER Mary 24Sep1797 Claines WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS William

BENNETT William J 26Feb1927 West Ham ESS BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Ellen Mary M

BLEWETT Henry Michael 11Jan1886 Stepney St Dunstan BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Helena Annie

BRAY Elizabeth Mary Ann 2Dec1855 St George East MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS James

CHALLENGER Rachel 13Jul1834 St Martin-in-the-Fields MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

CLARK Ann 21Oct1830 Old Swinford WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS William

CLARKE Sarah 22Jul1850 Chelmsford ESS BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Ch’pher Richard

CRUDINGTON Elizabeth 26Apr1825 Kingswinford STS BrooT0 BROOKBANKS William

CRUMP John 10Sep1750 Worcester St Peter WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Mary

DACKOMBE Arabella 28Nov1821 Chr’church Blackfriars SRY BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Christopher

DAY Elizabeth 2Sep1710 Worcester All Saints WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

FITZDERALD Margaret 1925 Hampstead MDX BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Herbert James

GAISFORD William 30Aug1822 Holborn St Andrew MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Eleanor

HAIRFIELD Emma E 17Feb1895 St Paul Bow Common MDX BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Francis Edward

HALL Elizabeth 15Aug1713 Worcester All saints WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS William

HALL John E 6Nov1825 Westminster St James BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Elizabeth

HARGRAVE Eleanor 14Dec1856 St Pancras Old Church MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

HARRIS Annie Sara c1905 Canada BrooT3 BROOKBANKS Richard F’rdick

HAYWOOD Marian Ellen 2q1882 Islington MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS C’pher Richard

LAMASS Margaret 3q1894 Mile End MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Chr’pher Thomas

MARNS Miriam 1884 St Pancras MDX BrooT2 BROOKBANKS James

MORRIS Dinah 29Sep1782 Pendock WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS William

MORRIS Susan 1974 BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Peter

NEED Mary 20Feb1720 Worcester St Helen WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Christopher

NANGLE Martin 4May1830 Bloomsbury St George MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Isabella

ONION Emma 1903 BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Francis Edward

PALFREY John 12Jul1694 Worcester St Martin WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Ann

PALMER Ann c1885 New Zealand BrooT3 BROOKBANKS Frank Warren

RANDLE Dorothy 4Dec1731 Worcester St Peter WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANK William

RICHARDSON J 8Mar1803 Old Swinford WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Isabella

RUMFORD Hannah 23Nov1745 Worcester St Michael WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANK William

SELLWOOD Emma 1903 BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Francis Edward

SMITH Lavinia 1884 St Pancras MDX BrooT2 BROOKBANKS James

SOWLEY Jane 8Jul1799 Claines WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Caster(Christopher)

ROBERTS Rebecca 20Jun1830 St Paul Covent Garden MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

STEVENS St John 4q1912 Lambeth SRY BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Florence

TAYLOR Elizabeth 5Nov1816 Kings Norton WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Christopher

TIPPING James 3Oct1714 Madresfield WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Isabella

TRUSTTUM Thomas 4q1882 Mile End MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Alice

TURNER Elizabeth 3Oct1721 Worcester St Martin WOR BrooT0 BROOKBANK William

TURNER Olive V 1946 BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Ch’pher Francis

WEST John 10Oct1849 Chelsea St Luke, MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Arabilla

WHITE Mavis D 1952 Durban S.Africa BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Walter Herbert

WOODWARD Ann 28Feb1819 St Giles-in-the-Fields MDX BrooT0 BROOKBANKS Richard

WRIGHT Ethel 1915 Harringay MDX BrooT2 BROOKBANKS Ch’pher Francis

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OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS

1) B9 origin of Christopher and his marriage to Mary

2) B8 marriage of Christopher & Isabell; did Isabell re-marry in 1702 Richard ASTON?

3) B7 Why is there a gap of 11 years between baptism of Christopher and Richard, both at Seven Stoke?; where were Christopher & Mary buried?

4) B6 marriage of Christopher to Ann not found c1765. Where and when did Christopher-4 die?

5) B3. Where was James-3 in the 41 census aged 9?