Wilton Terrace Station Road

3 Wilton Terrace, 36 Station Road, Cambridge

History of 36 Station Road

1891

Thomas T Ball, 68, chemical manure manufacturer, born Burwell

Eliza M A Ball, 53, born London

Alice M Ison, 20, cook, born Thriplow

Ellen Wallis, 18, housemaid, born Cambridge

The Coprolite Diggers

1901

Frederick Dale, 34, tailor outfitter and wine merchant, born London

Edith K, 32, born Cambridge

Guy F, 2, born Cambridge

Dora Pepper, 18, housemaid, born Melbourn

Ethel M Wick, 19, cook, born Gt Eversden

1911

William Frederick Shaw Gillson, 60, bank cashier, born Bath

Annie, 57, born St Neots

Audley John, 29, music dealer, born Cambridge

Margaret Mary, 21, born Cambridge

Florence Kidman, 18, domestic servant, born St Ives

1913

William F S Gillson

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Spalding’s 1887 Directory also lists Thomas T[hwaites] Ball (1822 – 1901) living at No. 3 Wilton Terrace. The Ball family originated from Burwell where John Ball was the first producer of superphosphate. He discovered fossils, originally thought to be dinosaur dung, which he named coprolites from the Greek words kopros meaning dung and lithos meaning stone. He ground them into powder in his mill and added sulphuric acid. A biscuit was formed which he
then broke up and spread on his fields. The coprolite industry brought wealth and employment to Cambridgeshire because farm labourers could dig for fossils when the harvest was in. Thomas T. Ball was listed as a Chemical Manure Manufacturer and employer in the 1891 Census entry for 3 Wilton Terrace. He was given the Freedom of the City of London on 4/3/1876.

For more information about the family of T T Ball see this family history link.