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George Budd

Born: 1826
Died: 28 December 1878

Author: Tony McGarry

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GEORGE BUDD: HIS STORY                                                                                                      

Unfortunately, very little is known about George. I could only positively identify him in one Census, that of 1841. 

George’s family came from an area northeast of Chichester, West Sussex. Travelling from Chichester, the distances in miles to locations in the story are as follows:

• Boxgrove – 4
• Halnaker – 5
• Lurgashall – 16
• Westhampnett – 2

George’s father was also called George. He was born in 1795 in Boxgrove, Sussex. In 1861 Boxgrove had a population of 666.

George Budd senior married Elizabeth Saunders on 2 March 1824 in Boxgrove. George was illiterate, a labourer and made his mark with a cross. The couple soon had the first of their five children.

George’s Siblings

• Harriet was baptised on 9 July 1824 in Halnaker, Sussex. The other four children were baptised in Boxgrove. Today Halnaker has a population of 200. 
• George was baptised on 2 July 1826.
• Ann was baptised on 30 January 1828.
• William was born in Boxgrove. He was baptised on 14 February 1830.
• Henry was born In 1832. He was baptised on 8 April 1832.

George’s mother Elizabeth died in 1837 after only 13 years of marriage. Her death was registered in the September quarter in the Westhampnett Registration District, which covered Boxgrove.

The 1841 Census records the following people at a residence on Halnaker Street, Boxgrove:

• George Budd, aged 45, Agricultural Labourer
• Harriet Budd, aged 15 (although she is probably 17)
• George Budd, aged 15, Agricultural Labourer
• William Budd, aged 11

Henry (George’s brother), aged 8, was also living on Halnaker Street at the time of the 1841 Census, but was with relatives: Henry, aged 30, and Louisa Budd, aged 25. 

Ann (George’s sister) was listed as being 15 (in reality she was about 13). She was living in a Boarding House on German Place (renamed Madeira Place in 1914) in Brighthelmstone, the old name for Brighton. Ann’s entry has the letters “FS” in the Census column headed Profession, Trade, Employment, which means that she was Female Servant. 

On 19 November 1842 Harriet, aged 18, married Stephen Kingshott, aged 24, in Boxgrove. Stephen was a labourer of Lurgashall. Both were illiterate and signed their names with a cross.

On 19 January 1847, William Budd, aged about 17, was found guilty of Larceny at Chichester Sessions. He was sentenced to one month in prison.

In 1848 George’s father (George Snr.) died. He was buried on 24 February 1848 in Boxgrove.

George Budd senior’s children went their separate ways:

In the 1851 Census there were five lodgers in the house of Thomas Boyling in in Halnaker. These included Henry Budd, 19, Agricultural Labourer, born Boxgrove.

On 24 June 1854, Ann Budd, aged 26, married Stephen Kingshott’s brother John. (Stephen had married Ann’s sister Harriet.) John was aged 35, of Lurgashall, Sussex. Both were illiterate. 

In 1855 Harriet and Stephen Kingshott immigrated to Australia. The SS Euphrates landed on 7 August 1855. Harriet was 30 and Stephen, a farm labourer, was 36, born in Lurgashall. He had a brother in Australia. Steven was illiterate but Harriet could read and write.

George’s brother Henry married Ann North the same year. The marriage was registered in the June quarter at the Steyning District Registration Office, which covered Upper Beeding. 

Unfortunately, George’s sister Ann Kingshott died in 1857 after only three years of marriage. She was buried on 1 January 1858 at Lurgashall.

In the 1861 Census, Henry and his family were living in Lower Beeding. Present were:

• Henry Budd, Head, aged 27, Farm Labourer, born Halnaker
• Ann, Wife, aged 22, born Horsham                                   
• And their children, all born in Lower Beeding:
  • Jane, aged 3
  • James aged 2
  • George, 3 months

Lower Beeding is 3 miles from Horsham.  

In the 1871 Census, William Budd, aged 41, born Boxgrove, was listed in the Westhampnett Workhouse on Stane Street. The workhouse was destroyed by fire in 1899. In 2024, 1600 people lived in Westhampnett.

Henry was living with his family in Crawley. Present were:

• Henry Budd, Head, aged 39, Labourer born Sussex
• Ann, Wife, aged 33, born Horsham
• And their children:
  • Jane, aged 3
  • James, aged 12
  • George, aged 10
  • Henry, aged 7
  • Edwin, aged 6
  • Amy, aged 1

William Budd died in 1873, aged 44. He was buried in Boxgrove on 15 September.

I found a record of a George Budd who married Katherine Sherwin on 23 November 1873 in Bognor Regis. Both were over 21 – George would have been about 47 – and lived in Bognor Regis. Katherine’s occupation was given as Hotel Keeper. Could this George Budd be OUR George Budd?

George was admitted to the Sussex Asylum on 8 January 1876. He was 50 years old, and a Hotel Keeper living in the Claremont Hotel in Bognor Regis. His mental disorder was ‘Mania sub acute’, and the admission record states he had been suffering from his mental health problem for about a year prior. He died in the asylum and was buried in the cemetery there in an unnamed grave on 28 December 1878.

The Claremont Hotel in West Street was built in 1827 and closed in 1887.

In the 1881 Census, Henry’s family were living in Pease Pottage, a village at the southern edge of Crawley. Present were:

• Henry Budd, Head, aged 47, Agricultural Labourer, born Boxgrove
• Ann, Wife, aged 42, born Beeding                                     
• And their children:
  • Edwin, aged 16
  • Amy, aged 11
  • Ernest, aged 8

George’s widow Katherine died age 80 in 1909. This tells us she was about 44 when she married George Budd. She was buried in Farncombe, Surrey, on 13 March.

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Author’s Thoughts 

This research was not easy, as George Budd is a very common name in the West Sussex area. In the 1841 Census there were nine George Budds in Sussex born between 1828 and 31. His history between 1841 and possibly 1873 remains a mystery. We cannot be certain that this is our George Budd.

– Tony McGarry