George Wilkins

Cottage Row
206 Lower Street
25 Prospect Place

206 Lower Street as marked by the arrow Looking from South Street to Broad Street

Occupation: Tailor

George was born in 1816, the son of Henry Wilkins and Ann Underdown. In December 1838 he married Elizabeth Tomlin in St. Leonard’s Church. His sister, Louisa, was one of the witnesses and at that time she was living at 206 Lower Street with John Bell,  James Milner Underdown and James’ spinster sister Rebecca. After George and Elizabeth married they set up home in Cottage Row, now Wellington Road, where their first four children were all born. George Bass, their fourth child was born in 1847, James Richard,  their fifth, was born in Lower Street in 1850 so we roughly know when they moved into number 206 Lower Street.

Bankruptcy

South Eastern Gazette – Tuesday 08 August 1865

In 1865 George, like a lot of business people of his time, was made bankrupt. At the time he was living at 206 and carrying on his business at 1a Lower Street, which was almost opposite. After the bankruptcy case was settled, George and Elizabeth continued to live and run the tailoring business from number 206 until, in 1867, a fire broke out in the next door Walmer Castle Hotel which resulted in their home being destroyed.

The site of 206 Lower Street today

A Fire

The fire was reported in the Dover Express on Friday 1 November 1867 which said that-

“….. The inhabitants of the town were aroused from their slumber shortly after three o’clock on Wednesday morning by the cry of ‘Fire’. Mr. Wilkins awoke by a strong smell of smoke penetrating his bedroom ….. He descended to the street and almost immediately Mr. Noble, fruiterer and Mr S Solomon, general dealer, arrived, who encountered Mr. Jewitt the landlord of the hotel, and a servant, almost in a state of nudity, just escaped from the house calling for assistance……. The Royal Marines followed by troops were on the spot with their engines…… Messengers were sent to Dover and Sandwich for additional engines; soon after which the roof fell in,  the walls and chimneys shortly following….the troops continued with unabated vigour knowing that there were spirits in the cellars and bar, which as the fire reached one receptacle after another shot up fiercer than before. The heat was so great that in the houses opposite the plate glass was so hot the squares were in some instances broken….The Dover engine came …..they had accomplished the distance from Dover to Deal in the short space of three-quarters of an hour…..”

Luckily no lives or injuries were sustained and through the efforts of neighbours most of George and Elizabeth’s furniture and belongings were saved enabling them to set up home and business again at 25 Prospect Place, now Victoria Road.

Following the fire, the Deal Walmer & Sandwich Telegram reported on the need for the town to have it’s own ‘engine’ and Volunteer Fire Brigade. That same newspaper also later reported on the levelling and then the rebuilding of the Walmer Castle Hotel. Once rebuilt it continued as a Hotel until its closure in 1893. Three years later in March 1896 it opened it’s doors as Lloyds Bank.

Deal in 1874 finally got it’s ‘engine’ and  Volunteer Fire-Brigade, though sadly George didn’t live to see it. He died in 1871 and was buried in St. George’s Church on 20 August. Underneath his name on his burial record, it says ‘25 years clerk of St. George’s Church.’ Elizabeth, his wife, then lives with their daughter Louisa in the now newly named Victoria Road until her own death on 19 December 18

Sources and further reading:

The Old Pubs of Deal & Walmer (with Kingsdown and Mongeham) by Steve Glover and Michael Rogers.
Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved.
With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).