Pitchley History

Research - the story so far...

Origins of the name Pitchley

Pitchley is a place in Northamptonshire and there are records of Pitchleys living in Northamptonshire from 1606; these are the earliest records of the name Pitchley.  The Pitchleys were wealthy landowners and moved away from Northampton with the last of the line, William Pitchley, being buried in a church yard in Ramsgate, Kent.  I cannot find any connection between this Pitchley family and the London and Surrey Pitchleys who descended from James Pitchley, the Traveller.

Earliest London and Surrey Pitchley records

The 1851 census record states that James Pitchley was born in Middlesex in around 1801 and was a Traveller. This is confirmed by his marriage certificate dated 1839, that states that his address was 'the Queen's State' - in other words, he had no fixed address.  Many descendents of James have since confirmed that he was a Gypsy and his Great Grandson, Alexander Pitchley, continued the gypsy tradition into the 1900s, travelling through Kent selling paper flowers. All Pitchleys born in London or Surrey appear to trace back to James.

From James' marriage certificate we know that his father's name was William. There was a William Pitchley born in Southwark in 1784 with parents William Pitchley and Hannah.  There are no other records of the name Pitchley in London prior to that date only Pixley and Pikesley.  We know that James could not write, nor could any of his ancestors before him, so It is possible that the name Pitchley merely sounded like the name that it actually was, so the name may have originated from Pixley or Pikesley and they most probably stem from the name Pike, a gypsy name. The other possibility is that the name was Pidgley, another gypsy name with a similar sound to Pitchley, and some records for Pidgleys do exist in the London area from 1619.

James Pitchley Timeline

1828 - daughter Mary Ann born in St Saviour Southwark, mother's name Sarah (have not found James' first wife Sarah's maiden name yet)
1831 - daughter Elizabeth born in St Saviour Southwark, mother's name Sarah
1835 - son William born in St Saviour Southwark, mother's name Sarah
1837 - Sarah Pitchley died in St Saviour, Southwark

20th June 1839 - Marriage to Hannah Jackson. The certificate states that James was a bachelor, this may simply have been a mistake or the Established Church did not recognise his first gypsy marriage? James' occupation was stated as labourer and their residence at time of marriage was stated as being Queen's State, indicating that they had no fixed address and were Travellers. Neither James nor Hannah were literate and marked their names with a cross. The witnesses were Mary Sage and James Green.

Dec Q 1839 - son Joseph born in St George, Southwark

1841 census - James is listed as living in Potts Court, St Mary Newington, aged 40 and his occupation was a labourer. It indicates that 'yes' he was born in the County. Others living with him were Anna (should be Hannah) aged 25 born in the County; William aged 5 born in the County and Joseph aged 1 born in the County

1842 - daughter Elizabeth born in Newington

1844 - James Pitchley born in Southwark

1846 - Mary Pitchley born in St George Southwark

5th April 1849 - Thomas Pitchley born in St George, Southwark

1850 - Caroline Pitchley born in Southwark

1851 census - James is listed in John's Place, St George, Southwark; occupation is stated as Town Traveller, he was aged 50 and was said to have been born in Middlesex. He was living with wife Hannah aged 39; son William aged 16 who was a hawker in brushes; Joseph aged 11, a scholar; Elizabeth aged 9 also a scholar; James aged 6; Mary aged 4; Thomas aged 3; Caroline aged 1 and a Visitor called Sarah Handicott aged 6 months. Sarah appears to have married in 1869 in Axbridge Somerset but no clues as to who she was yet.

1852 - daughter Eliza born in Southwark

1855 - daughter Hannah born in Southwark

By 1861 census Hannah is a widow.

Other London and Surrey Pitchleys

1891 census Henry Pitchley b. Epsom 1821

Henry was a gypsy living on Epsom Downs at the time of the 1891 census with wife Mary and daughter Ada. His son, Henry, lived in the neighbouring caravan with his wife Unity and their two children Mary and Henry. Researching Henry has shown that his name was actually Pidgeley. There is a marriage record for Henry Pidgley who married Mary Smith in 1864:

Name: Henry Pidgley
Year of Registration: 1864
Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun
District: Wandsworth
County: London, Surrey
Volume: 1d
Page: 769 (click to see others on page)

Also his children Henry Pidgeley b. Bromley in 1867, Emma Pidgeley b. 1868 Merrow, Surrey, Annie Pidgeley b. 1870 in Epsom, Surrey and Ada Pidgeley b. 1875 Epsom Surrey. It looks like Henry Pidgeley may actually have been Christened in Boldre, Hampshire in 1831 with father Robert and mother Sarah.

It is unlikely that there was any close connection between Henry and James and probably no connection at all.

Back to Pitchley family tree