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The Barker Family (2)

In 2010, we were contacted by Sandra Smith (nee Barker), whose family have strong connections with Sundial House at 17 High Lane, Ridgeway. Since then, Sandra has provided us with further information about the Barker family and we are publishing some of this below.

To assist in understanding this article, the various family relationships are summarised first, with birth dates shown in parentheses, and the main family line shown in bold:

Henry Barker, Sandra's great-great-great grandfather, was born in 1806 and came to Ridgeway in the early 1840s with his wife Jane. Together, they had ten children, and their son Henry (b 1837) married Jane Stevenson (b 1836) from Barlow, Derbyshire. Sandra's family line continues through William (b 1863), whose birth certificate is shown below:

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William married Florence Wall (b 1868) on 6 August 1888 and their marriage certificate and photograph are shown below:

As seen on the certificate, the marriage was carried out by the resident Vicar of Ridgeway, Mark G Hubback, who is shown on the following photograph.

From Frank Fisher's collection

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William and Florence are also seen below, together with their seven children:

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Back row: Sybray, George, Frank, Henry (Harry)

Seated: William, Florence

Front: Maurice, Lewis, William (Billy)

Later in life, Maurice entered the sicklesmith trade at the Phoenix Works. He can be seen in the following photograph, standing third from the left (against the window):

From Frank Fisher's collection

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William had a reputation as a gardener and, because he kept winning all the flower and vegetable show prizes, was made a judge in order to give others a chance. 

William’s son Henry (b 1889) married Minnie Bolam (b 1888) and they lived in Sundial House at 17 High Lane. It was here that they brought up their eight children.

The following photograph of Stanley (standing), Ivor and Maurice (on the table) and Gwenyth (in the chair) was taken on 10 May 1926.

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Sandra’s father and uncle were Leslie (b 1910) and Henry (b 1909), who are seen in the following early photograph, taken at Sundial House, and in another taken later in life.

Henry (Harry) had a very successful career in the construction industry and was responsible for buying of plant and equipment for the Wimpey Company.

The following photograph shows Henry, shortly after his birth in 1909, as the youngest member of five generations of his family. He is held by his grandmother Florence (nee Wall, b1868), wife of William Barker (b 1863). Standing behind are his father Henry (b 1889) and his great-grandfather Henry Wall, b 1845 (father of Florence). Seated next to Florence is his great-great-grandfather William Wall (b 1821).

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Leslie’s Birth Certificate is seen below, showing that he was born at 17, High Lane and that his father’s profession was a Sickle Smith.

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Leslie married Eileen Burnop (b 1917) and their children were Sandra (1943), Carol (1947), Christine (1949).

Leslie made his career in the Royal Marines and received the British Empire Medal for outstanding zeal and devotion to duty. Both Leslie and his brother were worldwide travellers throughout their lives.

Sandra married David Smith (b 1941) and their children are Jeffrey David (b 1969) and Tracey (b 1973).

Sandra’s family played a significant role during their time in Ridgeway. In particular, the following members were known to be actively employed in the sicklesmith trade, which was the village’s main industry:

Henry (1806), Thomas (1832), Henry (1837), George (1841), James (1845), James (1866), William (1863), James (1873), Henry (1889), George (1891),  Maurice (1903)