1851 – 1922
Born in Clerkenwell, London, he came to Portsmouth to work at the brewery of Pike, Spicer & Co (later taken over by Brickwood’s), where he eventually became a director. He had a strong interest in genealogy and local history and after his death left a large collection of notes that were purchased by the Borough Council and are now in the collection of the Portsmouth History Centre. They are indexed and cover what might be expected: mayors, burgesses and governors of Portsmouth, various wills and pedigrees, monumental inscriptions in St Thomas church and transcripts from its parish registers. He also copied out verbatim some items, such as A plain and true statement of the Divisions in Portsmouth, published in London in 1711, which gave one side of an almighty row that had taken place between members of the council.
His only publication was Portsmouth Parish Church (Charpentier, 1921), written jointly with Oxford-educated Henry Thomas Lilley, who was Senior Science Master at Portsmouth Grammar School and had considerable experience as a writer, albeit of books on chemistry and geometrical drawing for Army candidates. Lilley also carried out research into the history of his school and in 1923 published Early Portsmouth Defences. His other interests included Tudor Portsmouth, on which he published a series of article in the St John’s Ambulance Association Magazine – Portsmouth Centre, c.1894-7.
Sources
- Obituary, Evening News, 1 January 1923
- Portsmouth Encyclopedia Online
Portrait
None known.
Contribution to county’s history
He collected materials on the history of Portsmouth, some of which may no longer be available. .
Relevant published works
-
With H.T. Lilley, Portsmouth Parish Church, 1921
Critical Comments
An example of the local history ‘squirrel’, who collects rather than writes. He extensive notes seem to include no commentary at all
Other Comments
Contributor
Barry Shurlock, 14 October 2025
Keywords
Portsmouth, Lilley
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