22 Ainsworth Street

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Number 22 is one of a terrace of seven houses on the east side of Ainsworth Street.

1881 census

James T Howlett, head, 25, locomotive engine fireman, b. Cambridge
Mary A Howlett, wife, 24, b. Caxton, Cambridgeshire
Edia S Howlett, daughter, 3, scholar, b. Cambridge
Sarah A Howlett, daughter, 1, b. Cambridge

1891 census

James T Howlett, head, 36, fireman GER, b. Chesterton, Cambridgeshire
Mary A Howlett, wife, 35, b. Caxton
Edith S Howlett, daughter, 13, b. Cambridge
Sarah A Howlett, daughter, 11, scholar, b. Cambridge
Albert E Howlett, son, 9, scholar, b. Cambridge
Arthur R Howlett, son, 7, scholar, b. Cambridge
James F Howlett, son, 3, b. Cambridge
Henry J Howlett, son, 1, b. Cambridge

In 1893 James Howlett was reprimanded for his children’s poor attendance at school (Cambridge Independent Press, 30 June 1893):

Educational – Neglecting to send their children regularly to school: – James Howlett, of 22 Ainsworth Street (as to two children). Order was made to send the children to school.

The Howlett family had moved to 6 Ainsworth Street by 1901.

James and Mary Howlett are buried in Mill Road Cemetery.

1901 census

Charles Crouch, head, 32, club college servant, b. Cambridge
Clara Crouch, wife, 29, b. Lolworth, Cambridgeshire
Clara M Crouch, daughter, 8, b. Cambridge
Ada E Crouch, daughter, 7, b. Cambridge
Charles E Crouch, son, 5, b. Cambridge
Walter L J Crouch, son, 2, b. Cambridge
Edward V Crouch, son, 2 months, b. Cambridge

1911 census

Charles Crouch, head, 44, college servant, kitchen porter, b. Cambridge
Clara Louise Crouch, wife, 39, b. Cambridgeshire
Ada Evelyn Crouch, daughter, 17, at home, b. Cambridge
Charles Ernest Crouch, son, 15, errand boy for book seller, b. Cambridge
Walter Lesley John Crouch, son, 12, school, b. Cambridge
Edward Victor Crouch, son, 10, school, b. Cambridge
Arthur Lenord Crouch, son, 8, b. Cambridge
Ivy Constance Crouch, daughter, 7, b. Cambridge
Doris Irene Crouch, daughter, 4, b. Cambridge
Ena Kathleen Crouch, daughter, 8 months, b. Cambridge

Charles Crouch and Clara Louise Peacock were married in 1892, and they had nine children.

In 1911 their eldest daughter Clara was working as a domestic servant at 2 Park Parade.

Ivy Crouch can be found on the Register of Barnwell Girls’ School in 1912, having previously attended Sturton Street Infants.

Charles Crouch senior died in 1912. Cambridge Burial records state that he died ‘in hospital’.

In April 1914 Charles Crouch junior joined the Suffolk Yeomanry, and went on to serve with the Royal West Kent Regiment and Railway Operating Division, part of the Royal Engineers. The story of his wartime service is told in Barnwell at War (2018).

A certificate from 3 May 1917 shows he ‘has been tested in the Workshops of the Railway Operating Division in the Field and proves himself a Proficient Shunter’. A note in his File from 7 August 1917 records that ‘the man named below has just returned from Hospital: Pte C.E Crouch 7th Royal West Kents’. It is addressed to the 45th Broad Gauge Company HQ at Berques.

Railway Operating Division Certificate – certified that Sapper Crouch, CE. Trade – Clerk, Company 45, has executed a piece of work which in my opinion is equivalent to a test as laid down by Corps Memoranda for the Superior rate, and I recommend his Engineer Pay be increased from 1/4d to 1/8d. Date 22.5.1918

In July 1919, in Vieux-Berquin, Charles married Marie (or Maria) Braets.

Charles Ernest Crouch and Maria Crouch née Braets. Photos used with kind permission of grandson.

Of the Crouches’ other sons, Edward Victor Crouch was killed in a rail accident, aged 17, while at work as a railway number taker (Cambridge Independent Press, 5 April 1918):

KILLED ON THE LINE – Boy Run Over Near Cambridge Station – A sad fatality occurred on the line at Cambridge yesterday evening. Edward Victor Crouch (17) of 22 Ainsworth Street, employed as a number-taker on the Great Eastern Railway, was on the line near Hills Road Bridge shortly after five o’clock, when he was knocked down by a passenger train from London and killed.

Walter Leslie John Crouch joined the 50th Battalion Machine Gun Corps. He was killed in action on 18 October 1918. This is Walter’s page on Lives of the First World War. There are photos and remembrances of him in the Multimedia section.

1921 census

Clara Louisa Crouch, head, widow, 50, home duties, b. Lolworth, Cambridgeshire
Ada Evelyn Crouch, 27, shop assistant (confectionery), b. Cambridge
Arthur Leonard Crouch, 18, general labourer, b. Cambridge
Ivy Constance Crouch, 17, errand girl, b. Cambridge
Doris Irene Crouch, 14, day girl, domestic servant, b. Cambridge
Ena Kathleen Crouch, 10, b. Cambridge

Ada Crouch was working as a shop assistant for confectioner Messrs Hawkins on St Andrew’s Street. Arthur had been working as a labourer for Mr Challice at Trinity Cricket Grounds on Queens’ Road. Ivy was an errand girl for Mr Edwards, fruiterer, St Andrew’s Street. Doris was a domestic servant for Dr Ellis on St Andrew’s Street.

The 1921 Census records Charles junior living in Chesterton with his French wife Marie and their 11-month-old daughter Ernestine, who was born in France.

Arthur Crouch married Maud Hutton in 1938, Ivy married Frederick Brown in 1929, and Doris Crouch married Percy Marshall in 1932. Ena Crouch married Frederick Mansfield in 1935, and in 1939 can be found living at 143 Sturton Street.

By the time of the 1939 Register, Clara was living at 22 Ainsworth Street with just daughter Ada, who was working as a confectioner in a shop. Clara died in 1949, and Ada remained at 22 Ainsworth Street until her death in 1977.

Sources: UK census records (1881 to 1921), 1939 Register, Mill Road Cemetery, Cambridgeshire Burials, Geneanet.org, National School Admission Registers & Log-Books (1870–1914), British Army Service Records, Soldiers Died In The Great War 1914–1919, Lives of the First World War, Barnwell at War (2018), British Army Service Records.

Objects from 22 Ainsworth Street: The working class world of the Crouch family

On Tuesday 12 October 2021, Professor Nick Mansfield (UCLAN) and Robin Mansfield, Charles and Clara’s grandsons, presented a talk to the Mill Road History Society about the Crouch family as shown through the surviving possessions and photos of Charles (1867-1912) and Clara Crouch (nee Peacock) (1872-1949) and some of their 9 children. The objects have been donated to the Museum of Cambridge.

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