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John BRADFIELD (1789–1863)
His wife Mrs Sarah BRADFIELD, née Day (c.1793–1856)
St Mary Magdalen section: Row 18, Grave D53

John Bradfield was born in Abingdon in 1789 and was baptised at St Nicolas's Church there on 10 January 1790. He was the son of John Bradfield senior of St Nicolas's parish and Ann Shurey who were married at St Helen's Church in Abingdon on 7 December 1782. His three siblings were also baptised at St Nicolas's Church: Ann (1784), an earlier John (1786, buried 1787), and Elizabeth (1788).

Sarah Day was born in London in c.1793.

On 9 November 1812 at St Nicolas's Church in Abingdon, John Bradfield married Sarah Day, and they had the following children:

• Sarah Bradfield (born in Oxford on 29 April 1813 and baptised at Holywell Church on 30 April)
• Emily Bradfield (born in Oxford in 1814 and baptised at Holywell Church on 18 August)
• John Bradfield junior (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1816 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 9 May)
• Eliza Ann Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1818 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 7 September)
• Charles Bartholomew Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1819 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 5 November)
• Edward Henry Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1821 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 2 September)
• Richard Frederick Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1822 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 7 September) died aged seventeen months with name recorded as Frederick and buried in its churchyard on 31 August 1824
• Helen Amelia Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1826 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 15 March)
• Caroline Harriet Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1827 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 2 December)
• Frederick William Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1831 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 23 February)
• Nathaniel James Bradfield (born in Broad Street, Oxford in 1833 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 6 September); died aged ten

John & Sarah Bradfield must have been living in Holywell parish when they were first married, but by 1816 they had moved into 50 Broad Street, where they were to live for over 40 years. John is listed as a plumber & glazier here in Pigot's Directory for 1823.

Right: No. 50 Broad Street is the second house from the left. The pair of houses shown to the right of Bradfield's house collapsed when the New Bodleian Library was built and were rebuilt to match the other pair: all four now form Blackwell's bookshop.

The side passage beside No. 50 that led to Bradfield's workshops can be seen in this photograph

John & Sarah Bradfield's eldest daughter Sarah was living in London when she was married in 1840:

• On 3 September 1840 at St James's Church, Paddington, Sarah Bradfield married Thomas Ward, son of the college servant Richard Ward, who was an office clerk living in Islington

At the time of the 1841 census John & Sarah Bradfield were living at 50 Broad Street with their other eight children: Emily (26); Eliza (22); Charles (21), who was a plumber's apprentice; Edward (18); Helen (14); Caroline (13); Frederick (10); and Nathaniel (6). John (20) was a glazier, lodging with the nurseryman Joseph Bates in Summertown. Also living with them was an 80-year-old man called John Day, who may have been Sarah's father

On 9 August 1843 their youngest son Nathaniel James Bradfield died suddenly at Steventon at the age of 10 and was buried in St Mary Magdalen churchyard on 14 August. A death announcement was placed in Jackson's Oxford Journal.

Their son Charles was married in 1844:

• On 10 December 1844 at St Paul's Church, Charles Bartholomew Bradfield, described as a plumber & glazier, married Harriet Snowshill, daughter of the mason Thomas Snowshill: both were living in Adelaide Street.

Their son Edward Henry Bradfield died at Broad Street at the age of 24 on 28 August 1846 and was buried in St Mary Magdalen churchyard on 2 September. His death notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal read: “Aug. 28, after a short but severe illness, to the inexpressible grief of his family and friends, in his 25th year, Edward Henry, third son of Mr. John Bradfield, of Broad-street, in this city.”

Their daughter Eliza was married in 1848:

• On 27 April 1848 at St Mary Magdalen Church, Eliza Ann Bradfield married George Edward Patey, a college servant of St Peter-in-the-East parish and the son of another college servant James Patey.

John Day, Sarah's father, died at Broad Street at the age of 87 and was buried at St Mary Magdalen churchyard on 23 September 1848, just two weeks before St Sepulchre's Cemetery was opened.

In 1851 John Bradfield (60) was at home at 50 Broad Street with his wife Sarah (57) and their five unmarried children Emily (35), John (34), Helen (24), Caroline (22), and Frederick (19): his two sons were working with him as plumbers & glaziers.

Mrs Bradfield died in 1856:

† Mrs Sarah Bradfield née Day died at Broad Street at the age of 63 on 9 April 1856 and was buried (date uncertain) at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery (burial recorded in the parish register of St Mary Magdalen Church).

Her death notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal read: “April 9, after great suffering, Sarah, wife of Mr. John Bradfield, Broad-street.”

John and Sarah Bradfield's son Frederick was married about nine weeks after his mother's death:

• On 22 June 1856 at St Ebbe's Church, Frederick William Bradfield (22), described as a plumber, married Emma Rose (23), the daughter of the deceased ironmonger Charles Rose: both were then living in Bridge Street.

Their son John Bradfield junior died at Broad Street a few months later at the age of 39 and was buried on 16 September 1856. His burial is recorded in the register of St Mary Magdalen Church, and he may have been buried with his brother in its churchyard, as he is not mentioned on this grave marker.

John Bradfield senior must have retired in the late 1850s, as the auction of his house and workshop was advertised in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 21 January 1860:

A VALUABLE FREEHOLD DWELLING HOUSE,
Painter's, Plumber's, and Glazier's Workshops,
STORE ROOMS, YARD, AND LARGE GARDEN,
Situate opposite the Sheldonian Theatre & Museum,
BROAD STREET, OXFORD.
TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION, By Mr. R. Pike

At the King's Arms Hotel, Broad-street, Oxford, on Tuesday the 7th of February, 1860, at Six o'clock (by direction of the Mortgagee, under a Power of Sale), under conditions then to be produced. — All that extensive PROPERTY, comprising the Dwelling House and Premises, for the last 40 years occupied by Mr. John Bradfield, plumber and glazier, extending from that part of Broad-street, immediately opposite the Sheldonian Theatre & Museum to Trinity College Gardens, a depth of upwards of 200 feet.

The House contains kitchen, scullery, coal and beer cellars in the basement; front and back parlours on the ground floor; a sitting room and bed room on each of the first and second floors, and three bed rooms over; also at the back, and communicating with the house, a large wash-house, with five rooms over the same, occupied as Tenements separate from the house, and approached through the yard from which the Workshops are entered, the first consisting of a warehouse or passage, 60 feet in length, with a large bed room over, leading to the plumber's shop, 33 feet by 18 feet 6 inches, over which is the glazier's shop, 36 feet by 18 feet 6 inches, with two large painter's shops, and a yard at the back thereof, leading to a garden upwards of 37 feet wide and 69 feet long, planted with choice fruit trees and a summer house, &c., erected thereon, together with other conveniences.

John Bradfield and his unmarried daughters moved to Gloucester Green. He can be seen there aged 71 at the time of the 1861 census with Emily (46), Helen (35), and Caroline (33). Another family lived in part of their house.

Later that year Miss Emily Bradfield died at Gloucester Green at the age of 47 and was buried on 25 September 1861, probably elsewhere in the St Mary Magdalen section of St Sepulchre's Cemetery.

John Bradfield died in 1863:

† John Bradfield died at Gloucester Green at the age of 74 on 12 December 1863 and was buried (date uncertain) at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery (burial recorded in the parish register of St Mary Magdalen Church).

His death notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal read: “Dec. 12, after a lingering illness, aged 74 years, Mr. John Bradfield, plumber, glazier, painter, &c., of this city.”

His daughter Miss Caroline Harriet Bradfield died at Gloucester Green three months later and was buried on 31 March 1864, probably in the same grave as her sister Emily.

His daughter Helen was married in 1868:

• On 13 April 1868 at South Hinksey Church, Helen Amelia Bradfield (42) of South Hinksey married the organist Thomas Moreton Richmond (34), the son of the college servant James Richmond.

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Surviving children of John & Sarah Bradfield

• Sarah Bradfield, Mrs Ward (born 1813) was living in Observatory Street in 1851 with her husband Thomas and their children Sarah (10), Edward (8), John (7), and Sidney (6). In 1861 Sarah (45) was living at 29 Paradise Square, St Ebbe's with Thomas (42), who was a kitchen clerk at Oriel College and four of their children: Sarah (20): Thomas (17), who was a manager; John (16), who was a bookbinder's apprentice; and Sidney (15), who was a bookseller's apprentice. Her husband died in 1863, and in 1871 Sarah (57) was living at 37 Princes Street in east Oxford in the home of her son Thomas (28), who was a coal dealer, his laundress wife, and their four children. By the time of the 1881 census Sarah (67) was a widow, living at London Place with her widowed sister Helen. Sarah died in 1888 at the age of 75.
• Eliza Ann Bradfield, Mrs George Patey (born 1818) was living in Rugby in 1861 with her husband George, who was a schoolmaster, and their children Harriet Patey (11) and Helen Kate Patey (9), plus a 14-year-old servant girl and a lodger. She died in Rugby in 1863 at the age of 44.
• Charles Bartholomew Bradfield (1819) was a plumber, painter & glazier in 1851, living at Friar's Wharf, St Ebbe's with his wife Harriet. In 1861 they were living at Bridge Road, St Ebbe's with their only son Charles (7). By 1871 their address was given as Ashley's Row (possibly the same address) and their son Charles (17) was a porter. Charles died at Bridge Street at the age of 52 and was buried (probably in Osney Cemetery) on 22 December 1873.
• Helen Amelia Bradfield, Mrs Thomas Richmond (born 1826) does not appear to have had any children. Her marriage only lasted five years, as her husband died in 1873 at the age of 39. At the time of the 1881 census Sarah (54) was living at London Place, St Clement's, and her widowed sister Sarah Ward (67) had come to live with her, and her nephew John Bradfield (21), an unemployed cabinet maker. Her address was specified as 15 London Place in 1891, and her nephew was now in employment. She died at 15 London Place on 25 August 1895. Her effects came to £30, and her nephew John Bradfield, who was now a mechanic, was her executor.
• Frederick William Bradfield (born 1831) was a painter & glazier in 1861 living at 19 Great Clarendon Street with his wife Emma and their son John Frederick William Bradfield (1): the latter died in 1863. In 1881 Frederick and Emma were living at 3 Cranham Terrace with their sons Edward Henry (18) and Frederick James (16), who were painters and Ellen or Helen Amelia (12) and Frank (11), who were at school, plus a servant. Frederick William Bradfield died at 2 Cranham Terrace at the age of 59 in 1888 and was buried on 20 August, probably in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, and may be buried in the grave below. His son Frederick James Bradfield was killed in a fall from scaffolding in 1914.

This double plot at Row 29, Grave H1 & 2, has an inscription to Frederick William Bradfield's son Edward Henry Bradfield, who died in 1937 aged 75, and Edward Henry's wife Mrs Emily Ann Bradfield, who died in 1935 aged 67. As it is a double plot, it is likely that other members of this branch of the Bradfield family are buried here. This is a very late grave, and it is probable that it was an old one brought into reuse by St Paul's Church.