Bailey
was my grandma Hunt's maiden name and this became the starting point for
my research as my mother was able to give me some information about her maternal
grandparents, Ernest and Sarah.The Bailey Family
Bailey
was my grandma Hunt's maiden name and this became the starting point for
my research as my mother was able to give me some information about her maternal
grandparents, Ernest and Sarah.
To date I have traced the Bailey branch of my family back to Thomas Bailey, my six greats grandfather, who was born in Theberton in about 1694.
Theberton is a small village near the Suffolk coast some 20 miles to the north-east of the county town of Ipswich. There has been a settlement there for well over 1000 years, indeed the village is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 although it is spelt Thewardetuna.
The Bailey family soon became an important part of village life in their role as
blacksmiths. Indeed, according to 'The Chronicles of Theberton' by Henry Montagu
Doughty, published in 1910, Thomas and Robert Bailey were paid £1 3s 6d in 1772 for
mending the church bells. According to the
National Archives this would have been the equivalent to 11 days wages and would be worth
about £75.00 today. However the earliest record of a payment was in 1732 when
Thomas was paid 3d for a 'weesell'. This would appear to be an old spelling
of weasel as people were often paid a small amount of money by the parish church
for the catching, trapping or killing of pests and vermin.
The house in which the Bailey blacksmiths lived still stands in the main street and is now the subject of a preservation order. In the mid 1990's I was fortunate enough to go in the house and was amazed to see that the forge was still in situ, together with the original billows and anvil!
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Page maintained by Paul Whiting. Last updated October 2012