Person:Enid Hewitt (1)

Enid Mary Lucy Hewitt was born on 16th July 1901 at Editha Mansions on Edith Grove in Chelsea, west London. She was known as Mary. Her birth certificate says that she was the daughter of Ada Hewitt, formerly Lawrence, and her husband Walter Robert Hewitt, who was the hall porter at Editha Mansions. Ada and “Robert W. Hewitt” had been living there in the 1901 census a few months earlier and presented themselves as husband and wife. No marriage for them has been found, and it would appear that they later separated, with Ada going on to marry in December 1909 to William Isaac Land, a retired soldier. When Ada married William she gave her surname as Lawrence, rather than Hewitt, supporting the theory that she had not been married to Walter Robert Hewitt. Walter can be found in electoral rolls living at various addresses in London up to 1910, but has not been traced thereafter.

The 1911 census finds Mary living with her mother, stepfather, and baby sister at 214-216 Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth. In 1914, when William re-enlisted for the army, he listed his children with Ada, but also listed “Enid M.L. Hewett, (Illegitimate)”. This could be interpreted as indicating that he was actually Mary’s father, but that seems less likely on the basis of the 1911 census in which Mary had been explicitly described as his stepdaughter rather than daughter, and the fact that she was still using the surname Hewitt. Perhaps William listed her as she was one of his dependants.

In 1916, aged just fourteen years old, Mary married Edward Allen Bartholomew in the Maidstone area of Kent. She married under the name ‘Lucy Lawrance’, using one of her middle names and her mother’s maiden name, but she gave her maiden name as Hewitt on her children’s birth records.

Mary and Edward went on to have three children together between 1917 and 1926.

In 1929 William Isaac Land died, and Mary acted as informant for his death, being described as E. Bartholomew, daughter, of 100 London Road, Crayford, Kent.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Mary and Edward were living at 18 Woodside Road in Maidstone. Edward was working as a coal porter, and they had their son, one daughter and her husband living with them. Mary gave her date of birth as 16th July 1897, giving the correct day and month, but adding four years to her age. Perhaps she had done similarly when she married to conceal how young she actually was. Her name was also initially given simply as “Mary Bartholomew”, indicating how she was generally known. Edward died in the Maidstone area in 1955, aged 63.

In 1961, Mary married again. Her second husband was a widower called William or James George Meekins, who was generally known as George.

George died in October 1970, aged 78.

Mary outlived George by ten years. Telephone directories from the 1970s show that she lived at 5 Westmorland Close on the Shepway Estate in Maidstone. Mary died in the Maidstone area in 1981, aged 79.

1.   England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 71; Folio 25; Page 42, 31 Mar 1901.

   Mary's parents a few months before her birth:
   Address: Editha Mansions, Edith Grove, Chelsea, London
   2 rooms occupied
   Robert W. Hewitt, head, married, male, 30 [1870/1], Hall Porter, b. St Pancras, London
   Ada Hewitt, wife, married, female, 23 [1877/8], b. Ridge, Hertfordshire

2. ↑ Births register, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   Superintendent Registrar's District Chelsea / Registrar's Sub-District Chelsea North
   1901. BIRTH in the Sub-district of Chelsea North in the County of London
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   238	Sixteenth July 1901 Editha Mansions	Enid Mary Lucy	Girl	Walter Robert Hewitt	Ada Hewitt formerly Lawrence	Hall Porter	A. Hewitt mother Editha Mansions	Second September 1901	J.W. Facey, Registrar

3.   London, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965 (London Metropolitan Archives, London).

   Mary's father:
   1904, Chelsea
   Hewitt, Robert Walter, Editha Mansions
   
   1906, Holborn
   Hewitt, Robert Walter, No. 6 Flat, Polperro-mansions, Red Lion-square, W.C., from Editha Mansions, Edith Grove, Chelsea
   
   1907, Holborn
   Hewitt, Robert Walter, Polperro mansions, Red Lion square
   
   1908, Holborn
   Hewitt, Walter Robert, 37 Gloucester street / Polperro mansions, Red Lion square, W.C.
   
   1910, Holborn
   Hewitt, Walter Robert, 11 Gloucester street / 37 Gloucester street

4. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 1951; Schedule 2, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 214 & 216 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, London
   4 rooms occupied
   William Isaac Land, head, male, 52 [1858/9], married, Army Pensioner, worker, b. Colombo, I. of Ceylon
   Ada Land, wife, female, 37 [1873/4], married 1 year, 1 child born alive, Housekeeper - Variety Theatre, worker, b. Barnet, Middlesex
   Enid Mary Lucy Hewitt, stepdaughter, female, 10 [1900/1], b. Fulham, Middlesex
   Ada Lawrence Land, daughter, female, 5mth [1900], b. Stratford, Essex

5.   British Army Service Records 1914-1920 (The National Archives, Kew)
   WO97; Box 3257; Record 126.

   Records for William Isaac Land, aged 54, born Colombo, Ceylon, enlisted 12 Oct 1914 at London – includes:
   Particulars as to Marriage: 7 Dec 1909, Marylebone Registry Office to Ada Lawrence, 37, spinster
   Particulars as to Children:
   Ada Lawrence, b. 7 Nov 1910, Wrotham
   William, b. 10 Nov 1913 , 11.20 am, Bexley [later crossed out with note “Dead”]
   Walter, b. 10 Nov 1913, 11.40 am, Bexley
   [William and Walter bracketed together with the word “Twins”.]
   Enid M.L. Hewett, b. 16 Jul 1901, Chelsea (Illegitimate)

6. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Maidstone Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: 18 Woodside Road, Maidstone, Kent
   Bartholomew, Edward / male / 25 Feb 1892 / married / Coal Porter
   Bartholomew, Mary [later amended to “Meekins, Enid M.”] / female / 16 Jul 1897 / House duties
   Bartholomew, Alb[ert] A. / male / b. 26 Aug 1917 / single / Carlerite[?] maker
   [one record closed]
   Chattenton, Geo[rge] A. / male / b. 27 Feb 1914 / married / Retort Stokes (Gas Co[mpan]y) ARP (Decorator Work)
   Chattenton, Dorothy / female / b. 30 Dec 1918 / married / Factory Hand Packer (Sweeds)

7.   British Phone Books 1880-1984 (British Telecommunications Archives, London).

   1973: Meekins, E.M., 5 Westmorland Clo, Shepway Est. Maidstone
   1975: Meekins, E.M., 5 Westmorland Clo, Shepway Est. Maidstone

8. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Enid Mary L. MEEKINS, March Quarter 1981, Maidstone Registration District, Volume 16, page 1629, b. 16 Jul 1899

9. ↑ 1921 Census of England and Wales.

   Address: 56 High Street, Crayford, Kent
   Samuel Roberts / head / 65y 11m [1855] / male / married / b. Goudhurst, Kent / Market Gardener
   Sarah Roberts / wife / 77y 2m [1844] / female / married / b. Marden, Kent
   Ellen Bartholomew / niece / 60y 1m [1861] / female / single / b. Marden, Kent / Greengrocer
   Edward Allen Bartholomew / nephew / 29y 4m [1892] / male / married / b. Hawkhurst, Kent / Bakers Vanman
   Enid Mary Lucy Bartholomew / niece / unknown / female / married / b. unknown
   Albert Allen Bartholomew / son / 3y 11m [1917] / b. Crayford, Kent
   Dorothy Ellen Bartholomew / daughter / 2y 6m [1918] / b. Crayford, Kent
   Ena Ethel Kathleen Roberts / granddaughter / 22y 6m [1918] / single / b. Maidstone, Kent / Greengrocers Shop Assistant