95 Ainsworth Street, Cambridge

The Briggs and Rickard families

Number 95 is one of a terrace of three houses on the west side of Ainsworth Street.

1871 census for household 212*

William Briggs, head, 45, railway guard, b. Bury, Suffolk
Maryanne Briggs, wife, 43, b. Fakenham, Suffolk
William Briggs, son, 14, clerk railway, b. Cambridge
Emily A Briggs, daughter, 13, scholar, b. Cambridge
Caroline Briggs, daughter, 10, scholar, b. Cambridge
John H Briggs, son, 5, scholar, b. Cambridge
Edward Briggs, son, 3, scholar, b. Cambridge
Charles Briggs, son, 5 months, b. Cambridge

*In 1871 Ainsworth Street was not yet numbered. The Briggs and White families lived next door to each other in 1871 and again in 1881, so we can tentatively identify their homes in 1871 as nos. 95 and 97.

1881 census

William Briggs, head, 54, railway guard on GER, b. Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Mary A Briggs, wife, 52, b. Fakenham, Suffolk
Emily Briggs, daughter, 23, b. Cambridge
Caroline Briggs, daughter, 20, b. Cambridge
John H Briggs, son, 15, railway clerk on GER, b. Cambridge
Edward Briggs, son, 13, scholar, b. Cambridge
Charles Briggs, son, 10, scholar, b. Cambridge

As a railway guard, William Briggs was responsible for the safety of the train and its contents, whether that be goods or passengers.

John Henry Briggs died in February 1889, aged just 23.  He is buried in Mill Road Cemetery alongside his parents.

1891 census

William Briggs, head, 59, railway servant, b. Bury St Edmunds
Mary A Briggs, wife, 57, b. Fakenham, Suffolk
Emily A Briggs, daughter, 28, dressmaker,  b. Cambridge
Edward Briggs, son, 23, clerk, b. Cambridge

William Briggs has potentially been demoted from the role of a guard; his occupation is now listed as a railway servant, which would have been more a general labouring job, with fairly limited job security. Both William and Mary have apparently only aged 5 years in the past decade!

1901 census

Henry Rickard, head, 55, carpenter, b. Cambridge
Rosina Rickard, wife, 49, b. Sudbury, Suffolk
John A Rickard, son, 17, butcher, b. Cambridge

1911 census

Henry Rickard, head, 66, builder’s carpenter, b. Cambridge
Rosina Rickard, wife, 60, charwoman, b. Cambridge
Susan Maria Rickard, daughter, 34, domestic cook, b. Cambridge

Henry and Rosina Rickard had been married for 38 years and had seven children, of which two had died.

1921 census

Henry Rickard, head, 77, none, b. Cambridge
Rosina Rickard, wife, 69, charing, b. Cambridge
Susan Maria Rickard, daughter, 44, home duties, b. Cambridge

Source: 1871–1921 England Census