JACOB BROWNFIELD

There is an entry dated May 2nd 1682, in the St Alphege’s baptismal register, for the birth of a daughter Elizabeth BROMFIELDE to Ann, and Robert a waterman. An additional entry states that Elizabeth died on September 2nd 1682. According to the St Alphege’s burial register, Anne BROMEFIELD, a widow, was buried on April 4th 1707. However, the first entry for the name Brownfield is JACOB BROWNFIELD¹ and so this seems a good place to start our story. The spelling seems to have varied over the next eighty years but it is reasonable to assume that we are dealing with a single family. Jacob was a tailor, who by 1704 was living with his wife ELIZABETH in Mr. Skelton’s Lane². Despite his name and profession, more normally associated with Jewish origins, Jacob was a Christian and when their daughter JANE BROWNFIELD was born, they took her to St Alphege’s Church in Greenwich to be christened. There are entries for six children for JACOB BROWNFIELD and ELIZABETH in the baptismal register at St Alphege’s. They are, using the spelling as it is written:

I. JANE BROWNFIELD who was born “in Mr. Skelton’s Lane” and christened on April 12, 1704, sadly an additional entry states that she died on August 8, 1704³.

II. JAMES BROMEFIELD who was born “in Mr. Skelton’s Lane” and christened on December 12, 1705/06⁴.

 III. RICHARD BROMEFIELD who was born “in Mr. Skelton’s Lane”, son of JAMES a taylor(sic)”, He was christened on August 4, 1708. He too died as a child, aged two and a half, on April 3, 1709⁵.

 IV. THOMAS BROMEFIELD who was born “in Mr. Skelton’s Lane” and christened on January 7, 1710/11.⁶

 V. ELIZABETH BROOMFIELD, who was christened on April 17, 1717 in St Alphege’s, Greenwich.⁷

 VI. MARY BROWNFIELD who was christened on August 4, 1723.⁸ and married JAMES PADDON a butcher on May 9, 1753 in St Alphege’s Church, Greenwich.⁹

View tree of Jacob and James

GENERATION NO. 2

 JAMES BROMEFIELD

 JAMES BROMEFIELD was born in “in Mr. Skelton’s Lane” and christened on January 22, 1705/06, in St Alphege’s, Greenwich.¹⁰ He married ELIZABETH KITHER on January 25, 1731/32 in St Alphege’s Church, Greenwich, by licence.¹¹

JAMES BROMEFIELD and ELIZABETH KITHER had eight children, they were:

 (i). JOHN BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on August 12, 1733.¹² John was apprenticed to George Smith, a waterman, on July 13, 1750¹³. On September 2, 1760 He married ELIZABETH SPELSBURY in St Alphege’s Church, Greenwich.¹⁴ ELIZABETH BRUMFIELD, a Waterman’s wife, was buried at St Alphege’s on  December 22, 1797¹⁵. This was probably John’s wife.

John and Elizabeth had four children:

(i). SARAH BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on September 21, 1761.¹⁶

(ii). JOHN BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on March 30, 1766.¹⁷

(iii). MARY BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on January 25, 1768.¹⁸

(iv). CATHERINE BROMFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on September 1, 1776.¹⁹

The remaining children of James and Elizabeth were:

 II. ELIZABETH BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on July 27, 1735.²⁰

 III. JAMES BROUNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on September 10, 1738.²¹

 IV. MARY BROWNFIELD who was christened in St. Alphege’s on July 12, 1741.²²

V. WILLIAM BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on November 3, 1742.²³ (See William and Ann)

VI. THOMAS BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on September 1, 1745,²⁴ where he married SARAH YOUNG on February 28, 1767.²⁵ Thomas was apprenticed as a waterman to George Clavell on February 8, 1760 and completed his apprenticeship on November 11, 1767.²⁶

VII. MARY BROWNFIELD who was christened in St Alphege’s on December 4, 1748.²⁷

Asa Briggs in his “A Social History of England” suggests that up to the beginning of the industrial revolution there were only four social classes in England, based on the ownership of land.

• The Aristocracy who owned great tracts of land and who could attend court.
• The Gentry who in the countryside formed a “Squirachy” and from their Manors and Halls, provided much of the employment and as Justices of the Peace administered the law.
• The third small group were the freehold farmers and in the towns the ordinary merchants and increasingly the small professional class who owned their own houses.
• Lastly the “Working Classes” or “Lower Classes” or “The Poor”. There was some stratification within this class and for instance a shoemaker like William Munyard (see The Munyards) making new shoes, would consider himself above a cobbler who mended old shoes. The whole group existed very near to the subsistence level and any event, such as a bad harvest, which would push up the price of wheat and therefore bread, or the increased taxes required to pay for a war, could easily push them into poverty. There were no pensions or social security payments and very little opportunity to save. If the husband or breadwinner was ill and unable to work or died before his wife, then the family could be left in desperate straights and would need to call on the support of the Parish under the Poor Laws. There is no record of James occupation but his father was a tailor and at least three of his brothers were watermen so this puts the family firmly into the working class. Presumably, the family had fallen on hard times when an Elizabeth Brownfield was buried on September 5, 1779 in a pauper’s grave at St Alphege’s Church. This may have been Elizabeth Kither, James ‘wife, who would have been aged about 73, although it could also have been James’ sister, if she had not married, who would have been 62.

Many of the Brownfield family were watermen, which means that they had completed an apprenticeship and earned their living on the river Thames. Watermen had a reputation for rowdy behaviour and were well known for their colourful language. The following information is taken from a leaflet issued by the Guildhall library in January 1999:

THAMES WATERMEN

“Until the mid 18th century London Bridge or boat was the only means by which to cross the River Thames. Because of the potential difficulties this posed, the Corporation of London was appointed Conservator of the Thames in 1193, its duties including the licensing of boat operators on the river. There is evidence to suggest that the Corporation passed regulations in 1370 governing watermen, i.e. those who carried people by boat across the river. Acts to regulate charges were also passed by Parliament in 1514 and in 1555 to make the passenger safe, both in the durability of the boat and in the reliability of its owner.

The Company of Watermen was formed in order to put an end to what a 1566 Act of Parliament calls divers and many misfortunes and mischances, caused by evil and ignorant persons who robbed and spoiled of their [passengers’] goods, and also drowned them. Its original function thus differs from the City livery companies in that it existed not only to protect the economic interests of its members but also to bring them and their activities under control. Elizabeth I granted the company its arms in 1585, while the ordinances performed the function of a charter. This was eventually granted in 1827. The structure of the company was that of a fellowship. Officers empowered to license operators were not elected by members but appointed by the Lord Mayor. In 1641, following a twenty year campaign, the wishes of ordinary members were taken into account; licensed watermen elected 55 assistants, who nominated twenty candidates for office. Out of these twenty, the Lord Mayor appointed four to join the previous years four, who continued in office. Measures to promote safety and efficiency soon appeared; a system introduced in 1696 for instance, meant that boats and their owners had to bear a number and operate from an approved plying place. Printed tables of fares became an annual publication by the early 18th century.

In 1700, the Lightermen, i.e. those who unloaded cargo from ships and carried it into port by lighter, joined the watermen, having formerly been members of the Woodmongers’ Company. In the long run, this greatly benefited the company, if not the watermen themselves, since the bridge building programme of the late eighteenth century and the introduction of steamships in the early nineteenth meant a decline in demand for the waterman’s skills. With the expansion of the Port of London, on the other hand, the Lightermen flourished.

The company differs from the City livery companies in several other ways. Its influence on the Thames stretched from Gravesend to Windsor, so that, unlike most of the City livery companies, its members were often drawn from areas some considerable distance from the City of London. Since the Thames Conservancy Act of 1857, the western limit of jurisdiction has been Teddington Lock. In addition, the company has no livery. One reason for this might be that the freedom of the City that the liveried would enjoy, would exempt them from impressment into the Navy, a fate inflicted upon many members of the company from the fourteenth century. Guildhall Library Ms 10799 contains correspondence with the Admiralty relating to impressment and the compilation of a list of those members eligible for service in 1855, while Ms 6386 records the names of 105 company members killed or invalided in action in the early 19th century. Although this tradition is no longer practiced, others flourish. The will of Thomas Dogget (a Drury Lane comedian), dated September 1721, provided for a scarlet coat and a silver badge with a representation of Liberty on it to be awarded annually by the Fishmongers’ Company; these were then to be rowed for by six watermen within a year of completing their apprenticeships. The race, from The Swan, London Bridge to The Swan, Chelsea, has taken place annually ever since, save the war years.”

SOURCES

Jacob and James

1. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Jane Brownfield, April 12, 1704. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
2. Ibid.
3. Additional entry for Jane Brownfield, April 12, 1704 in St Alphege’s Baptismal register, Transcript at Greenwich Local History Library.
4. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for James Brownfield Dec 12, 1706. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
5. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Richard Bromefield, April 3, 1709 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
6. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Thomas Bromefield, Jan 7, 1711. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
7. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Elizabeth Broomfield, April17, 1717. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
8. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Mary Brownfield, Aug 4, 1723 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
9. St Alphege’s Marriage register, entry for Mary Brownfield, May 9, 1753. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
10 St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for James Brownfield Dec 12, 1706. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library
11. St Alphege’s Marriage register, entry for James Brownfield 25 Jan 1732. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
12. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for John Brownfield, August 12, 1733. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
13. Apprentice Bindings, Watermen’s Company. Truelove Ltd. microfiche for 1750 at Greenwich Local History Library.
14. St Alphege’s Marriage register, entry for John Brownfield, Sept.2, 1760. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
15. St Alphege’s Burial register, entry for Elizabeth Brumfield, Dec 22, 1797. LMA M/F X094/132
16. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Sarah Brownfield, Sept 21, 1761 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
17. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for John Brownfield, March 30, 1766 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
18. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Mary Brownfield, Jan. 25, 1768 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
19. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Catherine Bromfield, Sept 1, 1776 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
20. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Elizabeth Brownfield July 27, 1735. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library
21. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for James Brownfield, Sept. 10, 1738. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
22. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Mary Brownfield, July 12, 1741. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
23. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for William Brownfield, Nov 3, 1742. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
24. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Thomas Brownfield, Sept 1, 1745. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
25. St Alphege’s Marriage register, entry for Thomas Brownfield, Feb 28, 1767. Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.
26. Apprentice Bindings, Watermen’s Company. Truelove Ltd. microfiche for 1760 at Greenwich Local History Library.
27. St Alphege’s Baptismal register, entry for Mary Brownfield, Dec.4, 1748 Transcript in Greenwich Local History Library.