Genealogy Chat

A friend has offered me the use of her timeshare apartment in Cyprus next year if I can research the history of her house and present it to her friends and family by Christmas. How could I refuse?

I'm going through street directories and electoral rolls to establish the names of occupants year by year. I'm doing fine, especially when I check these names against censuses etc. And this is where it gets interesting.

Jehu White is listed on the 1901 census as a Coachman in the Royal Laundry. He was living in Evelyn Road, Richmond, Surrey - this is 10 years before he lived in my friends house. This occupation intrigues me because I believe all the laundry from Windsor Castle was sent by train to a laundry in Richmond, but why??? So if anybody can tell me what Jehu's job was all about and anything about this laundry I'd be really grateful.

Jane Pare lived in the house from 1868, but it's her husband that interests me. William Pare 1801-1866 was a sea captain and it looks like he took passenger ships to and from India. I googled his name and found a reference to the SS Windsor Castle for instance. Can anybody help me find something about him?

Poss addition to the scrapbook:

http://blpc.bl.uk/catalogues/evanion/Record.asp?EvanID=4881&source=gallery.asp

Perhaps it was easier to have all linen from all the royal houses washed at one location - then could be sent ahead to the next location in the royal progress?

Royal Laundry organised on military lines? See extract from the Royal Engineers museum site about the connections to the Royal Household:

http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part8.htm

Extract from "Conservation Area Studies" by Richmond Council

A fascinating building which dominated life in Kew Foot Road for many years until its demolition in 1970 was the Royal Laundry. It was designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria as a model laundry, constructed in 1846, and for nearly 80 years it dealt exclusively with the royal washing. The miniature train brought the Queen’s washing every day into Richmond Station from London, Windsor and Osborne House and all other royal households excluding Balmoral. It is claimed that 700,000 items a year, or 1.5 tons of laundry a day were handled here. When the laundry closed in 1925, the brick buildings with distinctive Italianate tower were used as The Tower Garage. The modern townhouses of Lenton Rise and Tower Rise now stand on the spot

How far would it be from Richmond Station to Lenton Rise? Did Jehu drive a coach to and fro?

1940's aerial photo of the Royal Laundry at Fig 101 of this document:

http://www.kimwilkie.com/images/projects/lon/odp/odp_landscape_ass.pdf

(This is fascinating, but I'd better get on with something else now! - hope you get that timeshare)

Hi Paul
Can't offer any help to you with this mission but I can add a thanks to you for the help you've given me with my search in the Richmond area for my family. Hope you find the info you need with the help of everyone here.
Di

Now I understand. You've helped me enormously. My friend will be delighted as her previous home was on the site of the Royal Laundry! It's a 10-minute walk from Richmond station and at the end of the road where my friend now lives.