86 Ainsworth Street

86 Ainsworth Street

Number 86 is a mid-terrace house on the east side of Ainsworth Street.

The 1871 census records 21 inhabited houses in Ainsworth Street, plus another 9 under construction. However, they are not numbered, and at present it is not possible to identify all of them.

1881 census

William F Ellis, head, 39, boilersmith on GER, b. Shoreditch, Middlesex
Elizabeth M Ellis, wife, 39, b. Plaistow, Essex
Florence E Ellis, daughter, 14, pupil teacher, b. Stratford, Essex
Earnest W Ellis, son, 9, scholar, b. Stratford, Essex
Alice M Ellis, niece, 7, scholar, b. Stratford, Essex

By 1891 Elizabeth Ellis had died, and the family had moved next door to 88 Ainsworth Street.

1891 census

Mary Carpenter, head, widow, 50, dressmaker, b. Cambridge
Walter Powell, lodger, 27, bricklayer’s labourer, b. Stansford, Cambridgeshire
James Leech, lodger, 52, commission agent, b. Cambridge
Shadrach Benstead, lodger, widower, 58, boot maker, b. Cambridge

Shadrach previously lived at 81 Sturton Street with his wife Elizabeth and grown-up children.  Elizabeth died in 1886.  Their son, Luther Benstead, is now living at 81 Sturton Street with his wife Sophia.

1901  census

William J Tiplady, head, 41, boot maker, at home, b. Cambridge
Alice Tiplady, wife, 40, b. Cambridge

William and Alice Tiplady moved here from 46 Ainsworth Street.

1911 census

William John Tiplady, head, 51, bootmaker, own account, at home, b. Cambridge
Alice Tiplady, wife, 50, b. Cambridge
24 years married, 1 child who died

William Tiplady died in 1913. The electoral registers show that Alice remained at the property until 1929. Nonetheless, there was no entry for 86 Ainsworth Street in the 1921 register, and Alice was living at 52 Bateman Street, working as housekeeper for a Miss Anne Bond.

Sources: 1881–1921 Census, electoral registers (up to 1966), General Register Office birth, marriage and death indexes (1837 onwards)