Phillipp Randall was born around 1590 and married an Edeth Carpenter, born 1594, on 6th November 1620 at Saint Denys Church, Warminster. According to the baptism records at Saint Denys Phillipp and Edeth had three sons and a daughter: John, born 1621; William, born 1623; Phillipp, born 1625 and Edeth, born 1628. An interesting source of information comes from the pewing of parish churches. The right to sit in a particular pew in a church arose by prescription attached to a property, faculty or grant by the bishop. Those pews not held by prescription were the property of the church and the wardens were able to exploit this source of income by charging rents or selling life interests in pews. Although no record of Phillipp's death has been found there is an entry in the Wiltshire pew rents, volume 4, held at the Wiltshire Record Office, showing a Phillipp Randall renting a Pew for 2s in 1624. This same pew being previously rented by a James Carpenter, the name of Phillipp's father-in-law. Again, the same pew being vacated and rented on to a John Hynd in 1630. Reasons for the changes in pew rents are not certain indicators of individuals deaths.
The baptism records of Saint Denys shows John Randall as being the eldest son of Phillipp and Edeth. Very often, but not always, the first born son was named after his father and the same tradition was sometimes applied between a mother's name and first born daughter. We can see that their only daughter, Edeth, born 1628 was indeed named after her mother. John, however, was not named after his father but we do see that his younger brother was. John was born in 1621 and lived in Warminster - marrying about 1646. Unfortunately his wife's name is missing from their children's christening record. Omission of detail such as this was not unusual on records of that time and only much later were standardized forms introduced to cover full particulars of parentage, The process of recording christening details were very dependent on the scribe's inclination, as can be seen by the numerous ways they spelt the surname of Randall. . The exact location of marriage is uncertain as no married record has been found at Saint Denys church. It is possible, however, that John's wife was from outside the Warminster area and John married her within her own parish. Needless to say both he and his wife settled in Warminster after they married where later the christening of their four offspring were recorded. The Saint Denys records show the christenings of their son John on the 24th February 1646, their son William, on the 16th May 1652, their son Richard, on the 15th October 1655 and their daughter, who's name was not recorded in full but is shown only with the initial 'H'., on the 29th December 1656. During John's life (1621-1671) he would have worked and seen his children work as servants and labourers in the farms and on the land of Wiltshire.
Richard was christened at Saint Denys church, Warminster, on the 15th. October 1655. He married an Anne Lovelock, also a Warminster lass, on the 20th. October 1692. Richard had two elder brothers, John, born 1646 and William, born 1652. He also had a younger sister, who's first name is uncertain because of an incomplete church entry but is known to begin with ' H ', she was born in 1656. Richard and Anne had four children and followed the tradition of naming the first born son after the father and the first born daughter after Richard's mother. Their first child, Richard, was born in1693. John, their second son was born in 1694 followed by their first daughter, Edith, born 1697. William, their youngest, was born in 1699.
John Randall was born in 1694. Christening records at St. Denys Church Warminster show he was christened on the 16th March 1694. John had two brothers and a sister. Richard born 1693, Edith born 1697 and William born 1699. John married about 1720. His wife's name is unknown as no marriage records can be found and no mother's name was recorded on their only son's christening record. We do know that she gave him a son, William, born 9th November 1724.
Although no marriage records can be found we know of William Randall and his wife Sarah from the baptism records of their ten children Betty born 1761, John born 1765, Sarah born 1768, Elizabeth born 1770, William born 1772, James born 1774, Thomas born 1776, Richard born 1778, Edward born 1780 and Mary born 1783. We also have the birth details of William (senior born 1724) from IGI records which also show details of his father John. Unfortunately there are no details of his mother. Their first born, Betty, was born in Deverill, Longbridge some four miles due south of Warminster. By 1765 William and Sarah had moved to Warminster and as time went on had their other nine children baptised at St. Denys Church in Warminster. William and his family lived in Warminster. The exact location is not recorded but we can say that they lived somewhere within Warminster, probably around or in the Warminster Common area. During the early seventeen hundreds the place was renowned for its squalor and rudeness of the people living there. Outsiders entered the area at their own peril. Housing and sanitation were basic. Houses were little more than hovels with earth floors and no plastering with rooms consisting of one room up and one room down.
James Randall was born in the December of 1774. He was the third son of a five son and three daughter family. On the 8th July 1798 James married an Ann Gardner at St.Denys Church, Warminster. He lived with his wife and family in or around Warminster Common the exact location is unknown. This was the age of agriculture and Warminster was famous as being the greatest corn market in the West of England, second only to Bristol. James would have worked, as his father did, as a labourer on one of the many local farms in the district helping to till the land, sow the grain, and harvest the corn. The work was hard and seasonal and the pay dependent on quota. James and Ann were a god fearing couple and led hard and simple lives. Ann gave birth to three sons Charles born 1798, Robert born 1800 and Thomas born 1802.
Thomas grew up in Warminster and like his father worked as an agricultural labourer. In the June of 1824 he married a Harriet Clacey born 1804, who was also born and bred in Warminster. The local St. Denys Church records show, by its numerous recorded entries, how closely knit the community was and how the Randall families prospered throughout this period. Between 1824 and1849 Thomas and Harriett managed to bring up nine children Charles born 1824, Maria born 1827, John born 1829, Thomas born 1832, William born 1835, Rebecca born 1838, Edward born 1841, Mary born 1845 and Caroline born 1849. Times were still hard, but clearly from census records, the type of work available within the Warminster area gave Thomas's children the opportunity to expand their interests. By 1851 Charles, his eldest son, was occupied as a coach painter. Maria, his eldest daughter, was working at the local silk factory and his other three sons James, Thomas and William were employed as labourers. The younger children Rebecca, Edward, Mary and Caroline were too young to work but interesting enough the girls occupations were recorded on the 1851 census as being 'Sunday Scholars' whereas Edward, although three years younger than his sister Rebecca, was recorded as a 'Scholar'. Maybe this was an example of sexual inequality of the time when boys were allowed some form of full time education but the girls only the privilege of a one day Sunday schooling.
By 1881 Thomas had died. Harriet, his widow, was living as a boarder at her daughter's Rebecca home at 44 Chapel Street, Warminster. Rebecca, who by now was also a widow, was living in poverty. Her husband, Josiah Yeoudall, who had died sometime within the preceding eighteen months, had left her unsupported with five young children to bring up. None of these children were of working age the youngest being just one year old. It is not surprising that on the 1881 census Rebecca's occupation was noted as pauper.
Charles was born in Warminster in 1824. We know that Charles by 1851 was boarding with a John Hatchings at Gentle Street,a narrow cobbled streets in Frome. His work as a coach painter must have taking him away from Warminster. He nevertheless still spent some of his time at home at 58 Kings Street, Warminster, where his future wife Emily and her family lived just round the corner, at 21 Chapel Street. On the 22nd December 1852 Charles married Emily Hawkins at Frome Church Selwood. After marrying Emily they spent a short time living in Catherine Street, one of the more steeper streets in Frome, before moving on to ' The Butts ' in Frome where their first child William John was born in1853. By 1857 Charles and Emily had moved from Frome to 19 Cottage Street, Poplar, Middlesex, where Emily gave birth to her first daughter, Harriet, on 17th September 1857. Their second son Charles was born in 1860. Emily gave birth to another six children, Henry born 1862, Emily Louisa born 1863, Arthur born 1865, Thomas born 1866, Albert born 1868 and Sidney born 1874. All were born in Poplar with the exception of Emily Louisa who was born at 5 Catherine Street, Bromley and who was later taken back to Warminster for a family christening at Christchurch, Warminster.. After the 1846 abolition of corn duties, the coming of the railway in1851 and the lack of a canal, Warminster - trade wise - went into decline. As with many agricultural areas the local industries suffered forcing their working population to seek alternative employment. By 1900 Warminster's former cloth trade had gone. Local iron foundries, making farm implements, were only just existing. Warminster had seen many of its inhabitants leaving to find jobs elsewhere. For three or more generations it had been the home of the Randall families living in a close knit community in and around Warminster Common. Throughout this time the various off-springs of the Randall line made their homes in the various streets on the Common. Brook Street, King Street, Fore Street and Chapel Street had their fair share of Randall residents, sometimes dwelling door by door in the same street. The Common and its residents had been closely linked to the surrounding areas where sheep and corn farming flourished. They had been dependant on this for their livelihoods. By 1881 all this had changed. Many of the residents and maybe some of our distant relatives had left Warminster and emigrated to America or Canada or had left to live in a more affluent area of England. The coal mining areas of Wales and the growing industrial revolution of London offered some of the Randalls a more promising future. Charles's brother, William Thomas Randall, moved with his wife Maria to Llanover in Monmouth and worked as a labourer in the local iron works. Charles moved with his wife and son William to Poplar in Middlesex. Emily, Charles' wife, as noted on her death certificate, died on the 3rd June 1876 in Poplar at her doctors surgery from a heart attack. Soon after this Charles married a Mary Ann Skip, a widow with three young children of her own, and later had another two children by her, George and Mary Ann Randall. No records has been found confirming the date of death of Charles or Mary. All we can say is that they died after 1881.
Charles was born on the 12th May 1860 in a small terrace house at 19 Cottage Street in Middlesex. As a growing lad Charles would have helped his father with the many duties of coach repairing and painting. His later profession, recorded in 1885 when he married Harriet Elizabeth Bowers born 1863, confirmed that he had gained and was a skilled " Carter ". Family information about Charles is sparse. It was generally thought that in his later years he had little to do with his own family. Charles married Harriet Elizabeth Bowers on the 25th December 1885 aged 25 and lived for a time at 10 Hope Street Poplar. On the 18th October 1886 Harriet gave birth to their first child Charles Henry Randall. Ten years later their daughter Clara was born in 1893. From 1896 little is known of Charles life. Times in the early nineteen hundreds were hard and this must have effected Charles' family life. The exact date of Charles's death is unknown. All we can say is that after 1896 and according to more family stories he became a somewhat shady character. His son Charles Henry Randall spoke little of him and it was generally thought that he treated his wife and family badly. Records show that by 1911 Charles had turned to labouring and family stories indicate that Charles had deserted his family. He died sometime after 1911.
Frances May temporarily moved up north to stay with relatives in Stockton-On-Tees, Co Durham. During September 1940 German planes raided the Thames Estuary and on one of their nightly visits, unable to find their target, unloaded some of their bombs on the residential areas of Poplar. One of the houses bombed was 9 Ellesmere Street Poplar, the house was occupied by Charles' mother, father, sister, aunt and grandmother. All were lucky enough to survived the bombing and were re-housed amongst relatives. Charles' mother and father moved into their sons house in Dagenham . Charles's sister Grace Caroline went to stay in Somerset. By January 1941 Charles was an expectant father. In July 1941 Frances May Randall gave birth to a daughter Gloria Grace at the East End Maternity Hospital, Tyingham, Filgrave Road, Olney, Buckinghamshire. It was normal at that time for pregnant mothers to be vacated to maternity hospitals away from the dangers of the Blitz. The East End Maternity Hospital was a converted country manor house set in the heart of the country. During 1940 to 1944 Charles continued to work in London. Frances May and daughter stayed with relatives in Stockton-On-Tees. Charles's mother and father remained in Dagenham until the early part of 1944 when they moved to their new home at 43 Gough Grove, Poplar, E 14 , moving to their new home to make way for the return of Frances May and new baby son Christopher Leslie born on the 6th January 1944 at the East End Maternity Hospital, Olney. In 1956 Frances May gave Charles a second son, Peter Henry born on 7th February at Upney Hospital, Barking, Essex. Charles and Frances May lived in Dagenham until 1966. It was then that Charles decided to move to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Charles died on 25th May 1984 .
