Martha dallen

Subject :            Martha Dallen (b 1802 – d 1886)

Researcher :      Diann Arnfield

From West Horsley to Hampton Court

Martha Dallen, along with her mother and sister, were for many years the trusted domestic employees of well-off spinster Jane Lloyd, daughter of a chaplain to a future king of England, living close to Hampton Court Palace.  Following Miss Lloyd’s death, Martha moved to Guildford, but after her health began to fail, she became an inmate of the Guildford Union Workhouse where she remained for the rest of her life.    

Martha was born on 16th September 1802 in West Horsley, Surrey, the daughter of James, a cordwainer (shoemaker), and Martha Dallen 1, 2, 3.  She was 4 years old when baptised at Dorking’s Independent West Street Chapel on 4th June 1807 at the same time as her siblings William, John and Sarah.  James and Martha’s last child, Maria, was born in about 1808 4. 

No record for Martha has been traced between her baptism in 1807 and the 1851 Census when, unmarried and aged 48, she was living and working as a cook for Jane Lloyd in Hampton Court Green, next to Hampton Court Palace 5.  Also employed by Miss Lloyd were Martha’s 82-year-old mother as housekeeper, and Martha’s unmarried sister Maria as a housemaid.  Miss Lloyd was the 62-year-old unmarried daughter of Thomas Lloyd, the one-time chaplain of the Duke of Clarence who would become William IV in 1830 6, 7, 8.  Martha’s mother and sister had been with Miss Lloyd since at least 1841, responsible for every aspect of running her household above and below stairs 9, 10. 

After Martha’s mother passed away in Hampton in May 1853, aged 85, Martha and sister Maria continued to work for Miss Lloyd 11. 

The 1861 Census listed 58-year-old Martha as ‘housemaid’, and presumably still cook, while her sister had taken over as housekeeper 12.  Miss Lloyd’s property was recorded as ‘The Old Office’, now a listed building, situated across the road from the entrance to Hampton Court Palace 13.  Their next-door neighbour at the time was the renowned scientist Michael Faraday 14.

Miss Lloyd passed away at the beginning of 1863, so Martha and Maria returned to Surrey, moving to Guildford, close to their sister Sarah and her family 6, 15.  After so many years living in Hampton Court working for one employer, it must have been hard for Martha and Maria to adjust.  Maria died soon after, in October that year aged 55 16.

Martha was now in her early sixties.  Whether she continued to work is not known, but the Guildford Union Poor Law Accounts for 1864-1871, the only years available, showed that between September 1866 and March 1868, Martha received a little financial assistance from the Union for being ‘partly disabled’ 17.  She was living then in Castle Arch, Guildford, probably with her sister Sarah and family who had been at this address when Maria died.

Martha was next traced in the 1881 Census when she was an ‘inmate’ of the Guildford Union Workhouse, aged 77, an unmarried domestic servant 18.  No mention was made of any disability.  It is not known where Martha had been living in the intervening years, or when she had been admitted to the Workhouse, but it seems likely that she could have been an inmate for some time.  She died there on 17th June 1886, aged 83, of old age 19. Her burial service took place four days later at Guildford’s Holy Trinity Church 20.

August 2023, updated July 2025
Edited by Mike Brock 

Spike Lives is a Heritage project that chronicles the lives of inmates, staff and the Board of Guardians of the Guildford Union Workhouse at the time of the 1881 Census.  The Spike Heritage Museum in Guildford offers guided tours which present a unique opportunity to discover what life was like in the Casual/Vagrant ward of a Workhouse. More information can be found here

References

Note: the source is Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise specified

    1. James Dallen & Martha Stedman 27 Dec 1793 Marriage Family Search, Utah; England Marriages; East Clandon, Surrey
    2. James Dallen 19 Dec 1783 Apprenticed to John Pincott of West Horsley; The National Archives, Kew; Board of Stamps Apprenticeship Books; Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices’ Indentures; class IR1; piece 32
      James Dallen (senior) 5 Sep 1825 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; West Horsley, St Mary; ref HW/5/1
    3. James Dallen born 25 Sep 1794, baptised 17 Sep 1798
      William born 25 Dec 1798, John born 17 Jun 1800, Martha born 16 Sep 1802, Sarah Dallen born 27 Dec 1804, baptised 4 Jan 1807
      The National Archives, Kew; England & Wales, Non-Conformist & Non-Parochial Registers; Dorking West Street Chapel (Independent); class RG4; piece 3102
    4. Maria Dallen 2 Aug 1829 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; West Horsley, St Mary; ref HW/1/4
    5. Jane Lloyd; Martha, Martha, Maria Dallen 1851 Census for Green SS (South Side), Hampton Court, Middlesex; class HO107; piece 1604; folio 351; page 14
    6. Jane Lloyd 3 Jan 1863 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Kingston, Surrey; volume 2A; page 159 Digital copy from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk “Daughter of Thomas Lloyd Chaplain to the Duke of Clarence”
    7. Thomas Lloyd 19 Dec 1824 Deaths Weekly Globe; page 4 British Newspaper Archive
    8. Duke of Clarence; William IV Wikipedia.org
    9. Jane Lloyd; Martha, Maria Dallen 1841 Census for Hampon Court Green, Hampton, Middlesex; class HO107; piece 178; folio 38; page 5
    10. The Roles & Responsibilities of Female Victorian Servants 13 Jul 2022 Owlcation.com
    11. Martha Dallen (senior) 5 May 1853 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Kingston, Surrey; volume 2A; page 118 Digital copy from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
      Martha Dallen (senior) 11 May 1853 Burial London Metropolitan Archives; London Church of England Parish Registers; Hampton, St Mary; ref DRO/140/A/04/004
    12. Jane Lloyd; Maria, Martha Dallen 1861 Census for Old Office, Hampton, Middlesex; class RG9; piece 458; folio 78; page 3
    13. Old Office House Grade II Listed Building British Listed Buildings britishlistedbuildings.co.uk
    14. Sarah Faraday 1861 Census for Old Office, Hampton, Middlesex; class RG9; piece 458; folio 78; page 4
      Michael Faraday Wikipedia.org
    15. Sarah Dallen & William Edwards 24 May 1841 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary; ref GUM/2/1-3
      William, Sarah, William, James, John Edwards Census for 2 Castle Arch, Quarry St, Guildford, Surrey; class RG9; piece 428; folio 13; page 17
    16. Maria Dallen 12 Oct 1863 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 38 Digital copy from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
      Maria Dallen 16 Oct 1863 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St John the Evangelist; ref STK/1/5
    17. Martha Dallen 1867 Lady Day (half year ending 25 March 1867) to 1868 Lady Day (half year ending 25 March 1868) Guildford Union Poor Law Half-Yearly Accounts; ref SHC BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking SurreyCC.gov.uk
    18. Martha Dallen 1881 Census for Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; class RG11; piece 7778; folio 91; page 3
    19. Martha Dallen 17 Jun 1886 England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index; Guildford, Surrey; volume 2A; page 59 Copy of original from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
    20. Martha Dallen 21 Jun 1886 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity; ref GUHT/5/2