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Henry Thomas GARDNER (1834–1855)
St Giles section: Row 20, Grave F35

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There is evidently at least one other burial in this grave: it could be Henry’s father (1877), his brother (1878), or his mother (1897), as all three burials are recorded in the St Giles’s parish register

 

Henry Thomas Gardner was born at Crab Tree Corner, Oxford in 1834 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 26 December. He was the son of James Gardner (born at Park Street in St Mary Magdalen parish, Oxford in 1804) and Margaret Loder Prior (born in Woodstock in 1802), who were married Woodstock on 28 April 1831. His father was variously described as liveryman, stableman, or groom.

Six of Henry’s siblings were also baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church: Sarah Anne (1831), James John (1833, buried there 1835), James (1836, buried there 1840), Francis Loder (1838, buried there 1841), John (1840), and Emily Letitia (1841). Their address is given as Park Street (presumably Parks Road), but by the time Henry’s youngest brother Francis Loder Gardner was baptised at St Giles’s Church on 14 August 1846, they had moved to Parker’s Square in St Giles.

At the time of the 1851 census, Henry (16) was working as a gardener’s nurseryman, and living with his parents James (45) and Mary (recorded as 41, but actually 49) at Parker’s Square. His father and his sister Ann (19) were both described as beer retailers, and his three younger siblings John (10), Emily (8), and Francis (4) were still at school.

Henry died at his parents’ home in 1855:

† Henry Thomas Gardner died at Parker’s Square at the age of 21 on 14 December 1855 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 23 December (burial recorded in the parish register of St Giles’s Church).

Henry’s parents in 1861 were living at the “Cottage of Content” at 7 Parker’s Square with three of his siblings: John (20) was an under-bedmaker, Emily (19) was a shoe binder, and Francis (14) was a gardener’s labourer. Henry’s father James was now described as a beerhouse keeper & gardener.

His parents then moved to 51 Cardigan Street, to a house they also gave the name of the “Cottage of Content”. At the time of the 1871 census Henry’s father was working as a gardener, and two of his siblings were still at home: John (30), who had no occupation and Emily (27), who was a dressmaker. There is also an Isabella Gardner (18) named as their daughter, but she is more likely to be a granddaughter.

Henry’s father James Gardner died at 51 Cardigan Street in 1877 at the age of 70 and the St Giles’s register records that he was buried on 13 April. His brother John Gardner died there the following year at the age of 38 and the St Giles’s register records that he was buried on 30 May 1878. Both are likely to be buried in St Sepulchre's Cemetery.

In 1881 Henry’s mother, a widow of 74, had a general shop in her house at 51 Cardigan Street, and also sold beer there: only her daughter Emily (36), who was described as a shopkeeper, was still with her. In 1891 she and Emily were still there, selling beer (takeaway or “outdoor” sales).

Henry’s mother Mrs Margaret Loder Gardner née Prior died at 51 Cardigan Street in 1897 and the St Giles’s register records that she was buried on 10 September. Her age at death was recorded as 91, but she was actually 95.