thomas jelly

Subject Name :  Thomas Jelly (Jelley)
(b1847 – d 1917)

Researchers : Julia Browne and Mike Brock

Thomas Jelly spent over 50 years of his life in the Guildford Union Workhouse and a mental hospital, but was never forgotten by his younger sister Amelia.

Thomas was born in Gomshall in the parish of Shere, on 5th July 1847, the first child of James Jelly and his second wife Elizabeth 1.  His baptism took place at Shere’s Parish Church just five days later, the timing of which may indicate that there were fears for his immediate wellbeing 2.  This proved not to be the case, although it was not until years later that there would be clear evidence of what the family’s concerns may have been.

Thomas’s father James, an agricultural labourer, had five children with his first wife Harriet Wood, who died in 1843 aged just 27 3,4,5.  James’s second marriage was to spinster Elizabeth Davis on 16th June 1844 in Cranleigh, about 5 miles (8km) from Shere 6.

James and Elizabeth’s second child, Frances was born in 1850, and by the time of the 1851 Census, 3-year-old Thomas was living with his family at the ‘Old Work House’ Pislake (now Peaslake), the former Shere workhouse 7, 8.  Thomas’ father James was 42, an agricultural labourer, at least 15 years older than Thomas’ mother Elizabeth.  Completing the household were Thomas’s full sister Frances, 10 months, and his half-siblings James, a 17-year-old agricultural labourer, Mary Anne (13) and Caroline (11).

Thomas gained three more siblings before the 1861 Census – Amelia in 1853, William in 1857 and Louisa in 1859 9, 10.   The family was now living at 13 Tun’s Gate, Guildford.  Thomas was noted as 15 (actually 13), with no occupation, the eldest of the children still living at home.  No mention is made of his health on the Census, but most boys of his age would have been working by now to help provide for the family. Thomas’s siblings Frances (11), Amelia (8), William (5) and Louisa (3) completed the household. Thomas’ parents were expecting their sixth child 11.

Guildford Union steps in with ‘poor relief’

Just over two years later, the Guildford Union Poor Law Accounts showed that Thomas’s father James was receiving ‘outdoor relief’ for his family, and for illness 12.  James passed away at home in Tun’s Gate on 29th October 1863, aged 53, from ‘pulmonary consumption’, and was buried five days later at Guildford’s Holy Trinity Church 13, 14.  As a pauper, the Guildford Union covered the expense of his coffin, indicating how difficult life was for the family.  

The Guildford Union was also giving separate financial support to Thomas.  In the six months to March 1864 he received £1 19s (£1.95) in money and £1 0s 9 ½d (£1.04) ‘in kind’.  The reason for this ‘relief’ was stated in a blunt, one-word label – ‘idiot’.  This terminology was commonly used in Victorian times to denote the category of a person’s intellectual level, and was not considered to be offensive 15.

Apart from Thomas, his widowed mother Elizabeth also had five other children to care for. After James’ death the family moved to Lyon’s Gate, and subsequently to Castle Street.  Thomas received between £2 and £3 and his mother around £10 in ‘money, in kind and medical order’ every six months from the Guildford Union. 

From family life to the Workhouse

A further move in 1865 to Spring Gardens saw a change, however. Thomas was noted in the accounts ending March 1866 as having received a much smaller amount in the previous six months because he had spent 139 days as an inmate of the Guildford Union Workhouse.  With no further funding noted for him after this time, it would therefore seem that around November 1865 at the age of 18 he had become a permanent inmate of the Workhouse.

The 1871 Census confirmed Thomas to be a 25-year-old unmarried inmate, an ‘idiot from birth’ 16.  His family had moved yet again, this time to South Street, Guildford 17.  His mother Elizabeth, now 46, was a charwoman.  Three of Thomas’s siblings were still with her – William, a 14-year-old agricultural labourer, Louisa (12), and Emily (9).  Thomas’ sister Frances had married railway fireman George Burgess in March 1869 and they were living with their baby daughter Elizabeth in Drummond Road, Stoke Next Guildford, while Amelia was a live-in domestic servant in nearby Mount Street 18, 19.

Thomas almost certainly remained in the Guildford Union Workhouse for nearly 50 years, with each Census showing him to be an inmate 20.  At no stage was there any indication that he was anything other than a well-behaved individual.  However, there was much discussion about whether the placement of people like Thomas amongst other inmates was appropriate.

A meeting held by the Guildford Union Board of Guardians in March 1892 stated that it ‘considers it desirable that special county asylum accommodation should be provided’ for ‘semi-imbecile paupers’ to be properly looked after, and at a lower cost, than the current County Asylum at Brookwood 21.

Construction of this would be the responsibility of the Surrey County Council, but it was not until May 1900 that they undertook to build the Netherne Asylum for 1,200 patients at Coulsdon 22.  Over five years passed before the foundation stone was laid in October 1905, with the Asylum opening for the admission of patients in April 1909.

This was where Thomas was moved to sometime after the 1911 Census.  He remained there until he passed away on 31st October 1917, age 71, from ‘senile decay’ 23.   His death was registered by ‘A. Borer, sister, of 83 Grovehill Road, Redhill’.  This was Thomas’s younger sister Amelia, who had married Cyrus Borer back in 1875 24.  Their mother had pre-deceased them in 1904. 25

Amelia was only 12 years old when Thomas had been moved from the Spring Gardens’ family home to the Guildford Union Workhouse, but she had clearly maintained contact with him over the next half-century – a touching example of family love.

 

December 2020, updated July 2024

References

The source for references is Ancestry.co.uk unless otherwise noted. 

The spelling of the surname varies over the years between Jelly and Jelley. References give the actual spelling as officially documented.

  1. Thomas Jelley 5 July 1847 Birth England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915; 1847; Jul-Aug-Sep; Guildford, Surrey; Volume 04; Page 153
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  2. Thomas Jelley 10 July 1847 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Shere, St James 1832-1871; SHER/4/2
  3. Thomas Jelley & Harriet Wood 13 April 1883 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Cranleigh, St Nicolas 1813-1837; CRA/2/2/2
  4. James Jelley 27 April 1834 Baptism
    Henry Jelley 6 March 1836 Baptism
    Caroline Jelly 2 May 1841 Baptism
    Jane Jelley 26 March 1843 Baptism
    Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Shere, St James 1832-1871; SHER/4/2
    Mary Anne Jelley 25 February 1838 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; West Horsely, St Mary 1813-1890; HW/1/4
  5. Harriet Jelly 1 August 1843 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Shere, St James 1813-1847; SHER/5/1
  6. Thomas Jelley & Elizabeth Davis 16 June 1844 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Cranleigh, St Nicolas 1837-1876; CRA/2/2/2
  7. Frances Jelley 30 June 1850 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Shere, St James 1832-1871; SHER/4/2
  8. James, Elizabeth, James, Mary Ann, Caroline, Thomas, Frances 1851 England Census Old Work House, Pislake, Shere, Surrey; Class HO107; Piece 1594; Folio 327; Page 18
  9. Amelia Jelley 23 October 1853 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Stoke Next Guildford, St John the Evangelist 1813-1860; STK/1/5
    William George Jelley 31 May 1857 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Shere, St James 1832-1871; SHER/4/2
    Louisa Hannah Jelly 26 June 1859 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, St Mary 1855-1876; GUM/4/1-3
  10. James, Elizabth., Thos., Frances, Amelia A, William, Louiza A 1861 England Census 13 Tun’s Gate, Guildford Holy Trinity, Surrey; Class RG9; Piece 428; Folio 60; Page 10-11
  11. Emily Jelley 1861 Birth England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915; 1861; Oct-Nov-Dec; Guildford, Surrey; Volume 2A; Page 59
    Emily Jelly 17 January 1862 Baptism Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity 1860-1874; GUHT/4/2
  12. James Jelley Guildford Poor Law Half Yearly Accounts 1864-1871; BG6/33/1 Available at Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey
  13. James Jelly 29 October 1863 Death England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915; Oct-Nov-Dec 1863; Guildford, Surrey; Volume 2A; Page 39
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  14. James Jelly 3 November 1863 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity 1813-1870; GUHT/5/1
  15. The Language of Madness: Understanding Terminology Restoring Perspective, Life and Treatment at the London Asylum, project of the University of Western Ontario, Canada.   uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/londonasylum/terminology
    The Clinical History of ‘Moron’, ‘Idiot’, and ‘Imbecile’ The words have a less-than-savory past.  Word history.  Merriam-Webster Dictionary
    Merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/moron-idiot-imbecile-offensive-history
    Social Stigma, 19th Century Insanity Register of Qualified Genealogists blog
    Qualifiedgenealogists.org/RQGNews/blog/insanity
  16. Thomas Jelly 1871 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG10; Piece 813; Folio 81; Page 8
  17. Elizath, William, Louisa, Emily Jelley 1871 England Census South Street, Guildford Holy Trinity, Surrey; Class RG10; Piece 813; Folio 6; Page 4
  18. Frances Jelly & George Burgess 28 March 1869 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity 1837-1876; GUHT/2/2
    George, Frances, Elizabeth Burgess 1871 England Census Drummond Road, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG10; Piece 811; Folio 63; Page 25
  19. Amelia Jelly 1871 England Census 3 Mount Street, Guildford St Nicholas, Surrey; Class RG10; Piece 813; Folio 30; Page 10
  20. Thomas Jelly 1881 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG11; Piece 778; Folio 93; Page 7
    Thomas Jelly 1891 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG12; Piece 560; Folio 202; Page 8
    Thomas Jelly 1901 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG13; Piece 605; Folio 69; Page 13
    Thomas Jelley 1911 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey; Class RG14; Piece 3087; Page 14
  21. Guildford Board of Guardians Semi-Imbecile Paupers 12 March 1892 Surrey Advertiser, p 2  Available at FindMyPast.co.uk / British Newspaper Archive
  22. Netherne Hospital, Coulsdon, History Theme Disability History Exploring Surrey’s Past
    Available at ExploringSurreysPast.org.uk
  23. Thomas Jelly 30 October 1917 Death England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1916-2007; Oct-Nov-Dec 1917; Reigate, Surrey; Volume 2A; Page 263
    Digital copy from General Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  24. Amelia Ann Jelley & Cyrus Borer 4 April 1875 Marriage Westminster, London; Church of England Marriages and Banns; St-Martin-In-The-Fields 1874-1876; STM/PR/6/69
  25. Elizabeth Maria Jelly & James Childs 17 June 1877 Marriage Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity 1875-1894; GUHT/2/2
    Elizabeth Maria Childs 25 February 1904 Burial Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Guildford, Holy Trinity 1890-1913; GUHT/5/3