Beatrice Pyle née Stallan, photographed by her brother William James Strallan

93 (51) Mill Road (Barnabas Villas, no number)

History of 93 Mill Road

1861 (44)

Sarah Bayley, 45, gardener’s widow, b Cambridge

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1871 (43 Barnabas Villas)

unoccupied

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1881 (Barnabas Villas)

James McKinney, 32, clergyman C of E, b Ireland

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1891 (51)

William Bemont, 70, bootmaker, b Cambridge

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1901

Robert Pyle, 31, chimney sweep, b Cambridge

Beatrice [née Stallan], 28, b Sawston

Eva C, 3, b Sawston

Dorothy B, 2, b Cambridge

Olive A, 6 mos, b Cambridge

Arthur Odell, 21, boarder, chimney sweep, b Cambridge

In 1911 the Pyle family were living at 89 Mill Road.

In 1891 Robert Pyle was boarding at 25 Great Eastern Street.

Christopher Tongue notes in his family history: Robert’s upbringing would have been rough and harsh, but he was determined to improve himself, and the decision to marry Beatrice Stallan from the village of Sawston was intended as a steadying influence, because the Stallans were chapel-going and dedicated to self-improvement. Their first child was born in the  Stallan home, ‘East View’, Sawston in April 1898, and at Sawston Congregational Chapel baptised Constance Eva, which reflected the taste for forenames derived from novels then in vogue. Known as Connie when very young, the child preferred to be known later as Eva to family and friends. For companionship she was joined in a few short years by three sisters, then two brothers. This volatile brood grew up in Mill Road, Cambridge, where Beatrice opened a millinery shop to eke out the family income.  Eva went to the nearby St Barnabas school  and passed the Minor Scholarship examination in 1910. When still a child on a visit to London it is recorded that she climbed Tower bridge with her father and threw his hat into the Thames from the upper walkway. If this is an example of her impulsiveness then we must say that this characteristic never left her, and her family would be either delighted or annoyed by her actions on impulse in the coming years. Her sisters in particular, who were content with domestic life, could not really understand their eldest sister, who seemed restless and unpredictable. Eva had much closer bonds with her brothers whom she loved indulgently and uncritically all their lives. [next part]

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1913

Heber Harrison, draper and clothier

Christopher Morley, bricklayer