WILLIAM SAUNDERS

Subject Name :  William Saunders  (b ca 1810 – d 1882)

Researchers :      Mike Brock and Carol Thompson


William Saunders spent more than 20 years of his life in prison, asylums and finally the Guildford Union Workhouse following his wife’s death in 1861 before he passed away in the Workhouse in 1882.

The exact date of William’s birth is not known, but he was baptised on 15th July 1810 at Worplesdon’s St Mary the Virgin Church, the son of James and Elizabeth Saunders 1.

There are no records to indicate any other baptisms of siblings around this time, however there is a burial record of a 34-year-old Elizabeth Saunders at Worplesdon on 30th April 1813 who may well have been William’s mother 2.  

The next record found for William is his marriage to Anne Riggate in Worplesdon on 11th March 1832 3.  William’s wife was only 16 years old – her baptism record, under Mary Ann Rigate, showed her birthday to be 26th December 1815 4. 

Ann was almost certainly pregnant on her wedding day, as their first child Sarah was baptised at Worplesdon on 30th September 1832 5.  Sarah was followed by George in 1834 6 and then James in 1838 7, although he died from whooping cough at just two months 8.  A fourth child William was born in 1839 9.   On all these baptisms, father William was noted as a labourer.

The 1841 Census showed the family of five living in Perry Hill, Worplesdon 10.  William senior was a 30-year-old agricultural labourer, Ann age 25 with children Sarah (9), George (7) and William (2). 

William and Ann had two more children, Henry in 1843 11 and Arthur in 1846 12, but life was certainly a struggle for the family.  Minutes from the meeting of the Board of Guardians of the Guildford Union on 13thApril 1844 showed that ‘outdoor relief’ was ordered to be given to a number of ‘able bodied male paupers with their families’, including William.  It stated that he had hurt his hand and that the relief for him would be four shillings (20p) and eight loaves 13.

By the time of the 1851 Census, the eldest children Sarah and George had moved away with the rest of the family living at Milkhouse Gate, Guildford 14.  William, age 40, was now a gardener, his wife Ann 35, and their sons William (12), Henry (7) and Arthur (5).

William’s story so far gives no indication of the combination of circumstances which would befall him and see him spend the rest of his life in institutions.  

The first incident recorded was him being sentenced to 21 days in Wandsworth Prison on 2nd May 1860 for assault and being fined £1 5 shillings (£1.25).  The prison admission record described him as 54 years old, 5ft 6 ½ (1.69m) tall, grey hair, grey eyes, fresh complexion, 11 stone 7lb (73kg), a gardener, unable to read and write and religion Church of England 15.

Wife’s death sees William’s grief turn to anger against authorities

Much worse was to follow for William, as his wife Ann died in North Street, Guildford on 17th January 1861 age 44 from ‘cerebral disease, epilepsy 14 days and exhaustion’ 16.  William’s mental state was clearly shattered, as he was imprisoned three more times in the next five months, including for assaulting a police officer and using threatening language 17.

Such was the concern about William’s condition, he was transferred from Wandsworth Prison to the Springfield Asylum, also in Wandsworth, on 4th July 1861 18, 19. The initial assessment of William two days later said that he was ‘in good general health, amenable and industrious’.  However, the report added that his ‘look, manner and conversation indicate imbecility.  He is not free from delusion’. William told the assessors that ‘he has sworn his life against every policeman’, and that ‘seven of them knelt upon him’.  He went on to speak about his wife’s death six months earlier, saying that she ‘would not have died if she had been looked after’ and that ‘the two parsons had no right to bury his wife without his consent’.

William had been due for release from prison after completing his three-month sentence on September 4th 1861, but he was to remain in Springfield for the foreseeable future.  Further assessments showed him to be in ‘robust health’, but that he was ‘extremely troublesome, excitable and threatening at times’.  On the plus side, William was using his gardening skills as he ‘works in the grounds’.  He also ‘plays at cricket daily’, but as the months in Springfield became years, he was ‘becoming exceedingly stout’.

By September 1865, Springfield was becoming overcrowded, and with Surrey’s second asylum at Brookwood, Knaphill, not yet open, a number of patients including William were moved 90 miles (144km) west to the Fisherton House Asylum in Salisbury 20, 21.

William remained there until 30th March 1868 when he was moved to the new Brookwood Hospital, diagnosed with ‘mild dementia’ 22, 23.  Initial reports on his behaviour said that he appeared to be ‘perfectly well in mind and body’ but within a week of his admission, William was making threats about what he would do if he was detained in the asylum.  He was also complaining about money he believed that was being kept from him, saying that he should be receiving a payment of 14s 4d (about 72 pence) for each day he had been unable to work while incarcerated.

Further reports over the coming months and then years showed William to be a reliable worker in the grounds but was often found to be troublesome, begging for money and tobacco, as well as being ‘corpulent’.

In August 1876, he underwent an operation to remove a growth known as an epithelioma from his lip which had ‘attained nearly the size of a large walnut’.  The operation proved to be successful, with his only physical complaint now being some rheumatism.  Despite this and being close to 70, he was able to resume working in the grounds of the Asylum.

From asylum to workhouse

One important change noted by the medical staff was in his behaviour, in that he had become much quieter and more well behaved.  On 24th May 1880, after almost 19 years spent in mental institutions, Brookwood’s Committee of Visitors ordered that he could leave ‘as a fit case for the workhouse’.

William was moved a few miles south to the Guildford Union Workhouse, where he was noted as an inmate in the 1881 Census, a 73-year-old widowed gardener born in Worplesdon 24.  He lived for only a few more months, passing away on 12th January 1882 in the Workhouse age 74 from ‘decay of old age’ 25.  He was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church, Worplesdon, four days later 26.


March 2022, updated July 2024

References

  1. William Saunders Baptism 15 July 1810, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers 1776-1812; Reference: WOR/1/3. Ancestry.co.uk
  2. Elizabeth Saunders Burial 30 April 1813, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary Worplesdon 1813-1878; Reference: WOR/5/1, Page 2. Ancestry.co.uk
  3. William Saunders and Ann Riggate Marriage 11 March 1832, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1832-1837; Reference: WOR/1/3, page 63.  Ancestry.co.uk
  4. Mary Ann Rigate Baptism 25 February 1816, Guildford. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Nicholas, Guildford 1813-1849; Reference: GUN/2/1, page 17.  FindMyPast.co.uk
  5. Sarah Saunders Baptism 30 September 1832, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 88.  FindMyPast.co.uk
  6. George Saunders Baptism 21 September 1834, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 99.  FindMyPast.co.uk
  7. James Saunders Baptism 17 February 1838, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 118.  FindMyPast.co.uk
  8. James Sanders sic Death Q2 1838, England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915, Guildford Surrey, Volume 4, Page 179. FindMyPast.co.uk
    Copy of original death certificate from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  9. William Saunders Baptism 30 June 1839, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 125. FindMyPast.co.uk
  10. William, Ann, Sarah, George, William Saunders 1841 England Census Worplesdon, Woking, Guildford, Surrey. HO107; Piece: 1080; Folio: 8; Page:  Ancestry.co.uk
  11. Henry Saunders Baptism 3 September 1843, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 145. FindMyPast.co.uk
  12. Arthur Saunders Baptism 31 May 1846, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary, Worplesdon 1813-1854; Reference: WOR/4/1, page 158. FindMyPast.co.uk
  13. William Saunders 13 April 1844 Guildford Poor Law Union Board of Guardians Minute Books 1836-1918; BG6/11/5, page 212. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey, England
  14. William, Ann, William, Henry, Arthur Saunders 1851 England Census Worplesdon, Woking, Guildford, Surrey. HO107; Piece: 1594; Folio: 555; Page:  Ancestry.co.uk
  15. William Saunders 2 May 1860 Register number 1283, Wandsworth Prison, Surrey, Register of Prisoners 1860. UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951. Ancestry.co.uk
  16. Ann Saunders Death Q1 1861, England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915, Guildford Surrey, Volume 2a, Page 38. Ancestry.co.uk
    Copy of original death certificate from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  17. William Saunders 18 February 1861 Register number 3198
    William Saunders 5 March 1861 Register number 3357
    William Saunders 5 June 1861 Register number 4079
    Wandsworth Prison, Surrey, Register of Prisoners 1861.  UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951.  Ancestry.co.uk
  18. Willm Saunders 4 July 1861 admitted to Surrey Asylum. UK Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912, Piece 18: 1861 Jul-1864 May. Ancestry.co.uk
  19. William Saunders 4 July 1861–25 September 1865 Case No 2362. Springfield Asylum Records, Case Book and Index 637/1/5. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey, England 
  20. Wm Saunders 25 September 1865 admitted to Fisherton House, Salisbury, Wiltshire. UK Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912, Piece 10: 1857 May-1879 Dec. Ancestry.co.uk
  21. Old Manor Hospital, Salisbury Fisherton Asylum Wikipedia.org
    Additional oral information from Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey, England
  22. Wm Saunders 30 March 1868 Brookwood Asylum, Surrey. UK Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1912, Piece 20: 1867 Jan-1869 Apr.
    William Saunders Admission number 436 Brookwood Asylum, Woking, Mental Health Admissions, 1867-1871; Register Number 1, Admission Numbers 1-1250, Reference 3043/5/1/1/1. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England.  Ancestry.co.uk
  23. William Saunders Brookwood Asylum Records, Male Case Book 3043/5/9/1, pages 208 and 262. Surrey History Centre, Woking, Surrey, England
  24. William Saunders 1881 England Census Guildford Union Workhouse, Guildford, Surrey. RG11; Piece 778; Folio 94; Page  Ancestry.co.uk
  25. William Saunders Death Q1 1882, England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915, Guildford Surrey, Volume 2a, Page 49. Ancestry.co.uk
    Copy of original death certificate from Government Register Office GRO.gov.uk
  26. William Saunders Burial 16 January 1882, Worplesdon. Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers St Mary Worplesdon 1879-1946; Reference: WOR/5/2, Page 10. Ancestry.co.uk