CHARLES LODER

Subject Name :  Charles Loder (b ca.1806 – d 1882)

Researcher : Viv Bennett

Charles Loder never married, but he had to face allegations of fathering an illegitimate son.  He spent his working life in Godalming, becoming a butcher before ending his days in the Guildford Union Workhouse.

Baptised on 16th February 1806 at the St Peter and St Paul Parish Church in Godalming, Charles was the fifth of six known children of James and Jemima Loder née Eade, who had married at the same church in October 1795 1, 2, 3.  Spelling of their surname varies from document to document, with James noted as ‘Lowther or Lowder’ on his marriage record and ‘Louder’ on the marriage banns 4.

Charles next appears in the 1841 Census, aged about 30 5.  He was a labourer living in the household of butcher William Taylor in the High Street, Godalming.  He hadn’t moved far from his parents as they were also living in Godalming High Street – James, 60, a horse keeper, and Jemima, 70 6.  James died in 1842 and Jemima six years later 7, 8. 

By 1851, 40-year-old Charles was a farm labourer, still lodging in Godalming High Street but now with Thomas Hogsflesh, a beer retailer 9.  Thomas Hogsflesh was the father of Martha Hogsflesh 1852-1913, who was also in the Guildford Union Workhouse in 1881.

Charles never married, but it does seem that he became the father of a child around this time.  He was called to the Guildford County Bench on 10th December 1853 to answer a summons brought against him by Sarah Young of Godalming, who alleged that he had fathered her illegitimate son 10.  Charles was ordered to pay Sarah 1s 6d (7½p) per week and to cover the cost of the summons.  No further records have been found to identify who Sarah and the child were.

Charles was a butcher by the time of the 1861 Census, aged 55, living in Godalming High Street  with his widowed sister Charlotte Hammond, 52 (sic), a housekeeper and 13-year-old nephew John Loader, an apprentice stocking weaver 11, 12. 

In the mid-1800s, there were around ten butcher shops in Godalming, with about six on the High Street alone serving the town’s growing population estimated at over 6,500 in 1851 13, 14. 

Ten years later, Charles, 62, was a ‘pig butcher’ living in Hart’s Lane (now Mint Street), Godalming 15.  His household remained the same, with sister Charlotte, a 64-year-old charwoman, and their nephew John, 22, now working as a ‘grounder’ in the leather tanning industry.  John married a couple of months later, moving on to raise a family in Haslemere and then Nottingham 16, 17.

There are no admission records for the Guildford Union Workhouse to show when Charles became an inmate, but it may have been after his sister Charlotte died in November 1876 aged 72 18.  The 1881 Census confirmed him as an inmate, describing him as an unmarried 74-year-old butcher born in Godalming 19.

Charles probably remained in the Workhouse for the rest of his life, passing away there on the 22nd July 1882, aged 76 20.  He was buried four days later at the Nightingale Cemetery, Godalming 21.

March 2021, updated May 2024

References

All references are from Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise noted

  1. Charles Louder 16 Jul 1806 Baptism Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/1/5; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1793-1812.
  2. James Lowther or Lowder & Jemima Eade 16 Oct 1795 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/2/1-2; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1754-1812; page 7.
  3. Elizabeth Louder 17 Apr 1796 Baptism
    Mary Louder 4 May 1800 Baptism
    William Louder 11 Jul 1802 Baptism
    Charlotte Lowder 12 Mar 1804 Baptism
    John Louder 14 May 1809 Baptism
    Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/1/5; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1793-1812.
  4. James Louder & Jemima Eade 6, 13, 20 Sep 1795 Marriage Banns Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/2/1-2; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1754-1812; page 4.
  5. Charles Loader 1841 England Census High Street, Godalming, Surrey; reference HO107; Piece 1082; Book 3; Folio 6; Page 4.
  6. James, Jemma Lowder 1841 England Census High Street, Godalming, Surrey; reference HO107; Piece 1073; Book 4; Folio 8; Page 10.
  7. James Lowder 4 Feb 1842 Burial Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/5/1; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1813-1842, page 297.
  8. Jemima Loader 24 Jul 1848 Burial Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/5/2; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1813-1842, page 68.
  9. Charles Loder 1851 England Census High Street, Godalming, Surrey; reference HO107; Piece 1594; Folio 780; Page 65.
  10. Surrey, Guildford County Bench 13 Dec 1853 The Sussex Advertiser, Surrey Gazette & West Kent Courier, page 7. British Newspaper Archive / FindMyPast.co.uk
  11. Charles Loader, Charlotte Hammond, John Loader 1861 England Census High Street, Godalming, Surrey; reference RG 9; Piece 429; Folio 109; Page 28.
  12. George Hammond & Charlotte Lawder 1 Sep 1834 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/2/3; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1813-1837; page 221.
  13. Godalming 1855 Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Part 1 Counties & Localities, pages 701-703, publisher Kelly & Co.  University of Leicester; Special Collections Online  specialcollections.le.ac.uk
    Godalming  1878 Post Office Directory of Surrey, pages 2231-2234, publisher Kelly & Co.  University of Leicester; Special Collections Online  specialcollections.le.ac.uk
  14. Modern Godalming A History of Godalming LocalHistories.or
  15. Charles Lodder, Charlotte Hammond, John Lodder 1871 England Census Harts Lane, Godalming, Surrey; reference RG 10; Piece 814; Folio 98; Page 47.
  16. John Loader & Eunice Elizabeth Hawtin 30 Jul 1871 Marriage Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; GOD/2/5; Godalming, St Peter and St Paul 1851-1875; page 221.
  17. John, Eunice, Amy, Eunice, Charles Leader sic 1881 England Census 8 Cyprus Terrace, Wallington, Beddington, Croydon, Surrey; reference RG 11; Piece 826; Folio 116; Page 56 (children born Haselmere)
    John, Ann R, Amy, Emma E, John W, Leonard, Percy G Leader sic 1891 England 169 Bobbers Mill Rd, Radford, Nottinghamshire; reference RG 12; Piece 2688; Folio 80; Page 37.
  18. Charlotte Hammond 8 Nov 1876 Burial Godalming Joint Burial Committee; Nightingale & Eashing Cemetery Burial Records 1857-2022; Book N2; Entry 1546; Page 27; Plot 1412 Godalming-tc.gov.uk
  19. Charles Loder 1881 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; reference RG 11; Piece 778; Folio 91; Page 4
  20. Charles Loder 22 Jul 1882 General Register Office; England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford; Volume 2A; Page 41
    Digital copy of original certificate from GRO.gov.uk
  21. Charles Loder 26 Jul 1882 Burial Godalming Joint Burial Committee; Nightingale & Eashing Cemetery Burial Records 1857-2022; Book N3; Entry 2110; Page 4; Plot 1490 Godalming-tc.gov.uk