99 Ainsworth Street

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Number 99 is one of a terrace of three houses on the west side of Ainsworth Street.

In this house we see a different family in residence in each of the six census records from 1871 to 1921. This is unexpected, as these houses were more spacious and comfortable than the average for the neighbourhood, and we more commonly find that residents stayed put!

1871 census for household 210*

Richard B King, head, 34, engine smith G E Railway, b. Woolwich, Kent
Norah D King, wife, 28, b. Salt Hill, Buckinghamshire
Alice N King, daughter, 9, scholar, b. Stratford, Essex
Martha E King, daughter, 7, scholar, b. Stratford, Essex
Edward J King, son, 5, scholar, b. Cambridge
Charles R King, son, 1, b. Cambridge

*In 1871 Ainsworth Street was not yet numbered. Identification of houses is tentative – in this case based on continuity of neighbours in 1871 and 1881.

1881 census

William Hall, head, 48, stone mason, b. Eaton Socon, Bedfordshire
Lucy Hall, wife, 47, b. Trumpington, Cambridgeshire
Eliza E Hall, daughter, 20, b. Cambridge
Andrew W Hall, son, 17, b. stone mason, Cambridgeshire
Walter Hall, son, 14, apprentice to mason, b. Cambridge
Helen Hall, daughter, 14, scholar, b. Cambridge
Caroline Hall, daughter, 12, scholar, b. Cambridge
Lucy L Hall, daughter, 8, scholar, b. Cambridge

1891 census

Henry Marshall, head, 40, commission agent, coal & corn trade, b. Cambridge
Eliza Marshall, wife, 32, dressmaker, b. Thetford, Norfolk
Alice Cecil Marshall, daughter, 12, scholar, b. Cambridge
Olive Marshall, daughter, 8, scholar, b. Cambridge
Gertrude Marshall, daughter, 7, scholar, b. Cambridge
Henry Marshall, son, 5, scholar, b. Cambridge
Ada Marshall, daughter, 4, scholar, b. Cambridge
infant son, 3 weeks, b. Cambridge
Elizabeth Pate, lodger, 75, b. Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire

1901 census

Robert Cross, head, 58, farm labourer, b. Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire
Elizabeth Cross, wife, 54, b. Lakenheath, Suffolk
George Cross, son, 26, general labourer, b. Middlesborough, Yorkshire
Bertha Cross, daughter, 15, dressmaker’s apprentice, b. Burnt Fen, Cambridgeshire
Ruth Cross, daughter, 12, b. Mildenhall, Suffolk
Claude Cross, son, 7, b. Cambridge
John Wright, boarder, 19, general labourer, b. Barrington, Cambridgeshire

The eldest son George was born in Middlesborough, which tells us that his parents had to travel widely to look for work in the early years of their marriage. Even within the past 15 years, when the three younger children were born, they had to move from village to village within the eastern Fens.

In 1911 they were living at 60 Kingston Street, and Robert is described as an invalid.

1911 census

Samuel Braybrook, head, 66, coal merchant, own account, b. Elsworth, Cambridgeshire
Jane Braybrook, wife, 59, b. Girton, Cambridgeshire
Harrey Braybrook, son, 26, general labourer, Great Eastern Railway, b. Cambridge

Samuel and Jane Braybrook had been married for 34 years and had two children.

Jane and son Harry were living at 23 Ainsworth Street in 1921.

1921 census

George Pinney, head, 22, general labourer, b. Cambridge
Lily Pinney, wife, 25, home duties, b. Shorncliffe
Frank Barber, boarder, 26, farm labourer, out of work, b. Sheffield
Florence Barber, boarder, 24, cook, 22 Barnabas Rd, b. Aldershot
Victor Barber, boarder, 1, b. Sheffield

George Pinney was a labourer for the Atlass Stone Company on Coldham’s Lane. Frank Barber’s employment status is not easy to decipher, but his census entry implies that he and his family had recently moved from Sheffield to Cambridge, where his wife Florence had already found a job, and he himself was looking for work as a farm labourer.

Sources: 1871–1921 England Census.

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