| BIO: Eliza Jane HUTSON
was born in the Southern Coastal region of England
Hampshire, in a parish called Havant in 1850. First
married to William
Richardson BREDIN then aged 41yrs when she was 20
years old. Eliza Jane Hutson and her husband William Richardson Bredin
came to Australia some time between their marriage on 28 February 1870
at Havant in Hampshire, and the birth of their first child, Eliza Ann
in 1871 at Inglewood, Victoria. After the birth of three children at
or around Inglewood (Eliza Ann in 1871, Elizabeth in 1873 and Charles
Hawtry in 1877), Eliza Jane appears to have "moved" to
Clifton Hill (Melbourne). Whether William was with her or not is
unknown at this stage. In 1889, another son Albert Edward was born to
Eliza Jane and William Richardson. He died later that year at 7 months
of age. Then, in 1890, Myrtle is born, also at Clifton Hill -
registered as both Bredin and Hudson (sic), with father unknown on the
certificate. On 12 January 1894, Eliza Jane marries Charlie Prosser
(Charles Henry Sharman) in Melbourne. Her address is stated on the
marriage certificate as Tarwin, Gippsland and Charlie's as Heatherton.
They continued to live at Heatherton, where Henry Hutson (Harry) was
born. The marriage certificate of Charlie and Eliza Jane states that
she was widowed in February 1884. This is not true, as William
Richardson did not die until 08 April 1907. If William Richardson is
Albert Edward's father is also unknown. It is possible that they
divorced (though no Victorian records of this exist), or more likely,
Eliza Jane married Charlie Prosser illegally. Lilly work
as one of the districts most respected Midwifes. She
assisted in the birth of her grandson, Charlie Hutson
Prosser when he was born during the night. The birth took
place in a tent which was the first home for Harry and
his bride. Charlie was taken to Leongatha Hospital the
next morning. 1911 Encyclopaedia
HAVANT, a market-town in the Fareham parliamentary
division of Hampshire, England, 67 m. SW. from London by
the London & South Western and the London, Brighton
& South Coast railways. Pop. of urban district
(iooi), 3837. The urban district of Warblington, i m.
S.E. (pop. 3639), has a fine church, Norman and later,
with traces of pre-Norman work, and some remains of a
Tudor castle. Havant lies in a flat coastal district,
near the head of Langstone Harbour, a wide shallow inlet
of the English Channel. The church of St Faith was
largely rebuilt in 1875, but retains some good Early
English work. There are breweries and tanneries, and the
manufacture of parchment is carried on.
Havant's parish church is dedicated to St Faith, a young
girl of Aquitaine in France, who was martyred A.D.290
during the Diocletian persecution. Whilst unrecorded in
the Doomsday Survey, there are other references to the
church about this time. The early Gothic style is
retained despite being rebuilt and restored several
times.
The churchyard had always been Havant's principal burial
ground and by 1850 it was estimated to hold the remains
of over 20,000 souls. Its level had risen to well above
that of the surrounding streets and as it became
impossible to make new burials without disturbing the
remains of others, a new cemetery was established on land
in New Lane which had been given by Sir George Staunton.
One acre was allocated for the church and a quarter of an
acre for dissenters. The cemetery was expanded in 1896.
By 1800 there were several shops and a church house in
front of the church in West Street; most of these were
demolished at some time but one building remained at the
corner of Homewell by the churchyard until the 1920s. The
church house was founded for the use of the poor and
became a meeting place for social events. Spits, crocks
and other utensils for cooking were provided by the
parish free of charge and could be obtained from here.
The building was later converted into an almshouse, the
last occupants being two aged paupers by the names of
Bishop and Carpenter.
Examination of the records of the Court Leet, the
manorial court which dealt with criminal offences, gives
some idea of lawlessness in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Havant possessed the usual equipment for the punishment
of offenders; the ducking stool, stocks, pillory,
whipping post and the lock up. Anyone sentenced to be
confined in one of these appliances would become the
target of abuse and missiles from their fellow
townspeople.
The pastureland around Havant and on the Downs was ideal
for sheep farming which in turn supported a number of
other industries. Wool was made into cloth and a thriving
trade was established. However, during the 16th Century,
Parliament introduced a new standard size to which cloth
had to be manufactured and as this could not be complied
with locally, the industry went into decline. The sheep
also provided essential food and their skins were used
for the manufacture of parchment and leather.
Havant parchment was held in very high esteem on account
of its whiteness compared with all other parchment which
tended to be yellow. It was made from the inner layer of
the sheep's skin which was processed over several weeks
before being finished. Throughout manufacture large
quantities of spring water were used and it was the
unique properties of this water which were responsible
for the parchment's whiteness.
Although parchment had been made in Havant for hundreds
of years there is no evidence to show that it was
produced on any large scale until the 1850s. The last
parchment yard, Stallard's in Homewell, closed in 1936.
The outer layer of the sheep's skins, together with the
skins of other animals, went to various tanneries in the
town for making into leather. This was another industry
requiring a large volume of water. It flourished by
supplying boot, shoe, clothes and harness-making trades.
The making of leather and high quality gloves continued
into the 1960s, much of the latter work being carried out
in employees' homes.
Brewing was another thriving local industry also reliant
on the abundant supply of virtually pure water. In 1855
there were four breweries and nine malt houses in the
town and in addition a number of Beer Houses brewed their
own supply. The barley for the malt as well as the hops
were grown locally. The last brewery was Biden's which
was situated in West Street next to the Prince of Wales.
When it closed in the 1920s it was converted into a
laundry, later becoming the Home Service Laundry, making
exploitative use of the brewery's old well. Another
laundry, the |
