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Woodmans Arms, Thundersley - by Friths
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Kindly provided by Colleen
Also known as the Woodcutter's Arms
Firstly the slight difference in both first name and surname. Spelling of personal names was not an exact science in the nineteenth century and the surviving records that feature Zach and his family give various spellings of their surname, the two most common being Wiltshire and Willsher. His Christian name is always given as either Zachariah or Zechariah. Clearly, Zach is the informal shortening.
Zach lived in an age when formal recording of births, marriages and deaths along with ten-yearly census taking were first implemented by central government. Civil Registration (of births, marriages and deaths) begun in 1837, the first national census was held in 1801 and the first census that actually recorded individual names was that taken in 1841. So prior to 1837 the only recording of all but the most wealthy and powerful individuals was that undertaken by the church in respect of baptisms, marriages and burials.
We can say with some certainty that Zach was born in either 1798 or 1799 as all the census records on which he later features and his death certificate point to these years. His birthplace is always given as either Thundersley or Rayleigh. This is perfectly consistent, as at the time the village was part of the Rayleigh sub-district of the Rochford Hundred, just as we might now use Thundersley or Benfleet. His parentage is less certain. I cannot find a baptism for him, in any church in the surrounding area, although three children were baptised by Robert and Hannah Wiltshire at St Peter’s Thundersley between 1798 and 1808 – all girls. This couple are the only Wiltshire’s of their generation in the village and it is very tempting to assume that Zach is their son and merely escaped the baptismal font.
The earliest mention of Zach that I’ve managed to trace is that of his wedding. The parish register of St Peter’s states that he married Elizabeth Haho (or Hayhoe) on 6th September 1819. (Both parties signed the register with an “X”, as did the witnesses – a fair reflection of literacy standards in the early nineteenth century). We know that Zach and Elizabeth had at least six children (three boys and three girls) the oldest of whom, Caroline, was baptised at Holy Trinity church Rayleigh on 15th September 1822. Two boys followed, Robert in 1824 and Zachariah in 1826. (Zach Junior also went on to have a son of the same name in 1853). It is worth noting that it was common practice for a couple to name their oldest son in honour of the husband’s father, which in this case adds some weight to my assumption that Zach was probably the son of Robert and Hannah. Three more children followed in the 1830’s – Eliza, Mary and finally Aaron in 1839.
Zach himself for some reason does not feature on the 1841 census, although Elizabeth and the children are all listed as living in a cottage on “the road leading to Daws Heath”, probably close to the present junction of Daws Heath Road, Rayleigh Road and Hart Road. However the 1851 census lists him as a 52 year-old “Retailer of Beer” (confirming the information in White’s directory of 1848, which is reproduced on a board in the pub’s lobby). The census even goes to the extent of naming the property in which he, Elizabeth and the two youngest children lived as “Woodman”. This is unusual in that in rural areas at this time there were no house numbers and few streets boasted names. Only the grandest properties or buildings of specific purpose (church, pub, manor house, etc) are explicitly named. The description of the residences either side confirms that our man was running what would become The Woodman’s, which still thrives today (albeit in a newer building).
Both the 1861 census and the 1866 Post Office Directory of Essex list Zach as still plying his trade as a “Beer House Keeper” and “Beer Retailer”, respectively. By 1871 he has left the pub and is listed as a widower, living with his son-in-law in a cottage on the “Heath Road”. He died shortly after this census was taken at the respectable age of 72 on 24th May 1871. The doctor records his occupation as “Woodman” – which indeed may have been his last job. Equally likely is the notion suggested by the notice on the front of the pub that – in addition to beer retailing - he was also involved in boat building, or at least the supply of timber for that industry.
Picture taken, in the mid 1920s, from the junction of Manor House Road (now Manor Road) and Church Road. The shop on the corner was on the corner of the plot on which the Zach is now built, this used to be the Off License (Woodman) that was pulled down to make way for the Zach. The house in the background is still standing.
Taken slightly earlier from what would be now the entrance to the Zach, notice the lack of Electricity Poles. The building on the left is now a Glass company. The area in which the pub is situated is historically Thundersley – and not Benfleet as it is frequently described. When Benfleet Urban District Council was created in 1929 it was an amalgamation of the three ancient parishes of South Benfleet, Thundersley and Hadleigh. The pub stands within yards of the historic Thundersley Hall and the area is now generally referred to as New Thundersley, to distinguish it from the more established Thundersley settlements, roughly between Daws Heath and the parish church on the brow of the hill.
Kindly provided by John Mead
8th August 1999
Taken by Stephen Parker
The following entries are in this format:
Year/Publican or other Resident/Relationship to Head and or Occupation/Age/Where Born/Source.
1851/Zechariah sic Wiltshire/retailer of beer/52/Thundersley, Essex/Census **
1851/Elizabeth Wiltshire/wife/50/Hockley, Essex/Census
1851/Mary Wiltshire/daughter/16/Thundersley, Essex/Census
1851/Aaron Wiltshire/son/11/Thundersley, Essex/Census
1851/James Glascock/lodger, widower, formerly shipwright/48/Eastwood,
Essex/Census
1874/Joseph Jenkins/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1878/Joseph Jenkins/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1881/Joseph Jenkins/Beerhouse Keeper/64/Rettendon, Essex/Census
1881/Louisa Draper/Housekeeper/55/Nottingham, Nottingham/Census
1881/John Hanson/Traveller, Hawker/60/Chelmsford, Essex/Census
1881/William Binns/Lodger, Agricultural Labourer/20/Butley, Suffolk/Census
1881/William Potter/Lodger, Agricultural Labourer/34/Hadleigh, Essex/Census
1882/Joseph Jenkins/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1886/Frederick Warren/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1894/Frederick Warren/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1898/Frederick Warren/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1899/F. Warren/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1902/Frederick Warren/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1908/John Humphreys/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1912/Vincent Potter/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1917/Vincent Potter/Beer Retailer/../../Kelly's
1925/Vincent J. Potter/../../../Kelly's
1933/Vincent J. Potter/../../../Kelly's
Note: Premises only names in 1881, 1925 & 1933
** Provided by John Mead
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