Figure 1.--This is another portrait of Edwad Robinson, probably taken about a year before the cricketing photograph. That would mean about 1880. He looks about 11 years old in this shot. There is another shot of him in exactly the same clothing playing chess with his elder brother outside. I would expect they were taken at the same time. In fact, it appears the cricketing shot is about the latest photo I have of Edward. Note the texture of his jacket and his interesting necktie. It is almost certain this was taken outside the Vicarage with a backdrop.

The patriarch of the Robinson family was the Rev. Thomas Robinson (died 30th June 1895). He was the Vicar of the Parish for 25 years. Many of the images are titled and we can clearly make out there were two boys in the family: the elder brother, William, and the younger brother Edward. They are the pastors grandchildren. The photographs show the boys at about age 9-13 and 13-17 respectively). There was a large extended family resident at the Vicarage - up to 11 people in what appears to at one time be four generations. The entire family will be featured on a later page.

Rev. Thomas Robinson (18??-95)

The patriarch of the Robinson family was the Rev. Thomas Robinson (died 30th June 1895). The Rev. Thomas was born in Calcutta. His father may well have been a missionary there, we are not sure at this time. We do know that he was the Vicar of the Parish for 25 years and, it appears, an important Freemason. He now has a memorial window dedicated to his memory in the village church. A local account survives on a time when the Rev Robinson was Governor of the village school. He was apparently a figure of fear amongst the children and it is known he did dispense corporal punishment and suspend some children for wrong-doing (though this is, of course, nothing harsh for the times).

Mrs. Robinson

Rev. Robinson's wife (12 years younger) was born in Jamaica. Jamaica was another British colony at the time. The family must have spent consideranle time in Jamaica. All the children listed (including William) were born there.

Servants

The family had two female servants (also in the album).

Thomas Robinson (185?- )

The two boys most prominently featured here (William and Edward) had an older brother named Thomas. Both Thomas and William attended the nearby Sutton Valence School, a public school. Thomas briefly attended the nearby Sutton Vallence School as a scholar. This means that he was academically gifted and won a competitive scholarship. He left, however, after a short period to join the Royal Navy. We have no information about his naval career.

William Robinson (1864?- )

William was Rev. Robinson/s middle son. The photographs in the album show William at about age 13-17 years of age. This is the age that he would have attended a public school. The Robinsons were a well-to-do family so it is almost certain that William would have attended a public school. We have learned that he attended the nearby Sutton Valence School for 5 years. By 1881 only William and one sister (Frances aged 22) lived at the vicarage. The album these photographs are from was given to William on his 15th birthday. There is no record of William 10 years later in the United Kingdom, so I think in his 20s he moved to the United States. His family were clearly well travelled. The album was purchased in the United States which I believe show William emmigrated to the United States. I found another curious link tonight - a woman called Robinson in Syracuse, NY (where I bought the album from via an eBay seller there) has posted on a geneology site where just above someone has mentioned Chart Sutton. It is probably just a coincidence, but you never know.

Edward Robinson (1868?- )

Edward was Rev. Robinson/s younger granson. Edward was about 4 years younger than his older brother which of course affected their relationship. The photographs in the album show William at about age 9-13-years of age. This would be just about the age that boys went away to school to pretend preparatory boarding schools. Of course age coventions in the 1870s were still less fixed than they became later. One photograph shows Edward in his cricket whites. With a destinctive tie and belt. We assume that his is his school cricket uniform, although there werr also villiage cricket. We do not know what school he may have attended. He does not seem to have attended the Sutton Valence School. Here we see him a year or two earlier then when the cricket portrait was taken (figure 1). Edward seems to have quite a set of freckles. He wears a suit with a high lapel. Note the neckwear. We are not sure if this was a school outfit or simply a suit he wore. One interesting aspect of his clothes is how dated the styling of his jacket here looks and how modern the cricket image looks. What we have adopted as modern dresswear is the sports wear of the era. Also notice his haircut here. The part is much higher than modern paets.

Created: 1:47 AM 1/12/2005
Last updated: 7:04 PM 2/18/2005