Display Ancestors of
William Lutener Langridge		 Display Descendants of
William Lutener Langridge		 GD005556    Contact contributor     Contributor Number: 1

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Born 01 Mar 1818 at Uckfield, Sussex
Christened 21 Feb 1836 at St Andrew & St Mary Church, Fletching, Sussex
Died 26 Sep 1901 at Rock Cottage, Hollington, Sussex and Burried at Church in the Wood
Father: James Langridge
Mother: Caroline
Married Mary Funnell 15 February 1836 at St Andrew and St Mary the Virgin, Fletching, Sussex
Marriage Notes: Husband from = tp, Bride from = tp, Husband from = Fletching, Bride from = Fletching, Witness 1 = Jonah ROBERTS, Witness 2 = Jane SMITH, Marriage Notes = Groom condition bachelor. Bride condition spinster.,.
Children.
  • William Lutener Langridge  b.01 Sep 1837 at Fletching, Sussex, c.08 May 1859 at Hollington, Sussex, d.07 Feb 1884 at Church in the Wood, 3 Children.
  • Caroline Jane Langridge  b.1839 at Fletching, Sussex, d.03 Jan 1918 at Church in the Wood,
  • Luke Langridge  c.04 Nov 1840 at Fletching, Sussex, d.1862 at Church in the Wood,
  • James Langridge  c.28 May 1843 at Danehill, Sussex, m.30 Mar 1865 at Parish Church, Hollington, d.1904, 8 Children.
  • George Langridge  b. at Sussex - Fletching(Originally: Unknown - Fletching) (1861 Census), c.27 May 1848,
  • Elizabeth Langridge 


Notes: Our great great grandfather was born at Uckfield, Sussex, on 1 Mar 1818, the son of James Langridge and his wife, Caroline, of Danehill. He was the middle of three boys and his childhood was spent at Christopher Fields. As he was christened in the Church of England on 2 Feb 1836 it is probable that he broke with his Baptist upbringing in order to marry Mary Funnell, the wedding being held at Fletching on 15 Feb 1836. Mary was baptised on the on 20 Jun 1816 and was the daughter of Edward and Mary Funnell. Mary’s father, Edward, was a wheelwright from Splaynes Green.

William worked as a wheelwright in the family business but at the age of about 30 he left the trade to go farming and in the 1851 census he is shown as farming 23 acres at Chelwood Common together with his wife and family of six ranging in age from 14 years down to 2 years. I think he must have also been trained as a builder at some stage as in later years he is often recorded as being a builder in Hollington.

In 1854 he left Fletching and moved to Hollington where he took up the appointment of Parish Clerk and Sexton at the Church in the Wood, a position that he was to hold for 47 years. Initially he lived at Baldslow near Hastings while he built Rock Cottage in Battle Rd which was completed in 1855. A church school for the poorer children of the parish was established in two rooms above the cowshed at Rock Cottage but this later moved to a proper school built by William at a cost of 338 pounds 16 shillings and 1 penny and was opened on 18 Jan 1857. This building is still in existence and has been converted to a private home. In 1865 the ancient church underwent a massive reconstruction and William was deeply involved in this project. The 1867 Kelly’s Directory of Sussex quotes Mr WL Langridge of Battle Rd Hollington as a builder, brickmaker, stonemason and monumental sculptor. He must have been a man of many talents. In the Sussex Blue Book of 1885 he is shown as Parish Clerk and in the residential section as a farmer of Rock Cottage.

In the 1873 survey of land ownership William is assessed as owning 5 acres 2 roods and 13 poles with an estimated rental value of 147 pounds. In the 1881 census he is shown as farming 40 acres in Battle Rd. It also shows here that five of his grandchildren (including Luke and Florence) were living at Rock Cottage with him while the remaining three were with their parents at nearby Clifton Villa. His wife Mary passed away on 20 Jun 1885 and from that point on his single daughter Carline Jane acted as his housekeeper.

Wiliam died on 26 Sep 1901, three days short of the 47th anniversary of his appointment as Parish Clerk. Carline and his daughter in law Isabella continued to live at Rock Cottage until Carline’s death on 3 Jan 1918 when the property passed to his grandson Arthur James Langridge. Isabella had died in Apr 1917. Arthur lived there until about 1946 and after his wife died and he went to live with his daughter the property was sold and not long afterwards was bulldozed to make way for post war development of suburban St Leonards-on-Sea.

(See also the extracts from Rev Bullock’s book about the Church in the Wood regarding the Langridge Family)


Occupation: 1851 Farmer Chelwood Common, 1867 & 1891 Parish Clerk and Sexton, 1881 Farmer Hollington

1841 Lived: Fletching, n/a, Rel: h, Status: , Age: 20, Occupation: Wheel right, Where Born:
1861 Lived: Rook Cottage, Hollington, Sussex (SSX), Rel: Head, Status: M, Age: 43, Occupation: Builder, Where Born: Uckfield, UNK
1891 Lived: Rock Cottage, Hollington, Sussex (SSX), Rel: Head, Status: W, Age: 73, Occupation: Parish Clerk/Sexton(Em'er), Where Born: Uckfield, SSX