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Brampton Mill,
Bromholme Lane, Brampton
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Members of the Howcutt family
lived and worked at Brampton Mill in the 1790s. Their offspring sometimes
adopted an unusual alternative surname. William Howcutt (1765-1813) and
Anne Franklin were both living at Brampton, about two miles east of Huntingdon,
when they married at Brampton parish church in 1792. William was described as
a miller when their children, Charles and Elizabeth, were christened there in
1792 and 1794. Anne was buried at Brampton in the following year at the age
of 22. It is not known how long William remained in the vicinity but he had
returned to Brixworth by the time of his death. Charles used Franklin as an
alternative surname to Howcutt, which may suggest that he was at least partly
brought up by his mother’s relatives. [1] The 1773 Enclosure Map for
Brampton only shows one mill in the parish – in the east of the parish next
to the River Great Ouse at the south end of Bromholme Lane. It was at the
same place as the only mill on the 1885 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map. The
building is sufficiently old and large to have been William's home as well as
his workplace. It has been extended over the years, but one part has a stone
inscribed with the date "1774" let into the wall. Brampton Mill now houses a
restaurant, whose website includes a gallery
of present-day pictures. Notes [1] He
appears as “Charles Franklin” in the 1831, 1841 and 1851 censuses of Poplar and
as “Charles Howcutt Franklin” when, as a widower, he married Jane Thorpe at
St George’s-in-the-East, London in 1845. In the next generation, George
Howcutt (1812-1877) was also often referred to with the Franklin surname.
Other descendants of William Howcutt & Anne Franklin continued using
Franklin as an alternative for Howcutt as far down as the couple’s 2x great
grandson Frederick William Howcutt (1885-1931). |
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