From Mike Critchlow-
Can anyone help please?
My grand father, William Dexter Hatton, was living at Holland House in Sutton Bridge, just before he married my grand mother, Alexandra C. A, Phillippo.
Can anyone tell me if Holland House still exists please?
If it does, can you tell me how to find it please?
Also, my great grand father was Abraham Martin Hatton and he was employed as a "Sluice Keeper" by the Inland Navigation Service.
Can anyone tell me more about the job and/or the service please?
Thanking you in advance.
Mike
From me-
I've looked on an old map from 1890 which unfortunately doesn't show Holland House.
Wish I could've helped you.
...Lyn
From Oldfartatplay2-
Mike
I'm not sure how much this will help or whether it is relevant. The South Holland Drain empties into the River Nene just above Peter's Point. The Drain / Sluice had to be modified in 1852 to enter the new cut of the Nene (completed 1832). There exists a bungalow next to the sluice which 40 years ago used to be inhabited by the sluicekeeper who worked for the Internal Drainage Board and looked after the area for them. If my memory serves well I think it was a man called Ray Millington at that time. The bugalow is a relatively late build, probably 1940/1950 so it may have been that another dwelling existed on or near that site.( Holland House?). The sluicekeeper connection seems to fit.
More info at
www.south-holland-idb.gov.uk/history.ht The 1881 Census also fits as it shows Abraham living at South Holland Sluice aged 19 as a carpenter. His father James aged 61 was the sluice keeper.I hope I've attached a copy with this message.
Not sure if you've access to any ancestry info for the family. If not message me and I'll do some for you. I've plenty of time!
Regards
Bob
From: MikeCritchlow Sent: 04/09/2008 18:42
Many thanks Bob.
I can confirm the details about Abraham and James living and working as sluice keepers as i have been looking up the census records on Ancestry.
I will look at the web site you suggested too.
I was down in Sutton Bridge last year and managed to find where my grand mother lived on Queen Street and Withington Road but was disappointed to not be able to find grand dad's home.
I'll keep you posted.
Mike
From: emma Sent: 19/10/2008 20:15
i have seen holland house with its name board but its not in sutton bridge its on the way to sutton st james from long sutton along the bridle path/river/sluce if you go to st james rd long sutton and turn around the bend past silverwood nurseries and take the first left which is about 1 mile along follow it right down the bottom to bridle path and its there on the right. the current people living there are really nice i see them out on my rides often right its i have post code for you pe12 9ap hope this helps road name spendlas lane
From: Lyn Sent: 20/10/2008 23:03
Emma, Does it look like the same place on the photo which Mike put in the album?
Looking on Google Earth it looks too far away from the sluice gates to have a Sutton Bridge sluice keeper living there.
There are also so many places in this area called Holland House, I noticed just by googling it.
On that old map I mentioned before (in the railway & old port days) there were several old properties near where the bungalow now stands against the sluice gates at Sutton Bridge.
Be nice if Emmas sussed it though.
From: MikeCritchlow Sent: 20/10/2008 23:30
Bob
I was in touch with a chap from the South Holland Internal Drainage Board and this is what he told me;
"Unfortunately we have no records on individual employees dating back that far. However the sluice is still in existence, although now no longer in use. It is a stone structure consisting of three arches which had timber pointing doors on the tidal side. It was replaced with the current sluice in about 1938, which is situated on the site of the house which your great grandfather would have lived in while he was sluice keeper. We have some photos of the old sluice and house, somewhere, which were taken in the 1930s just before and during construction of the new sluice. Whether this house was called Holland House or not I don't know but it was situated next to the South Holland Main Drain".
So I would guess that my great grand fathers home is no longer there.
Emma, Thanks for your input but like Lyn says, the place you saw seems to be to far away.
Lyn. Thanks for your input too.
Best wishes to all.
Mike
From: Lyn Sent: 21/10/2008 12:53
The modern sluice gates are where you've put your right circle and it's on my very old map that it shows buildings there although no name for them.
I'd love to scan it in but it's rather large and on parchment that gets damaged every time we get the map out....one day I'll frame it and hope that protects it better than it's card tube.
After reading your info I looked on Google Earth and can see the 3 arches mentioned by the draining board chap. They're further along than the modern sluice gates.
Here's a link from Google (You'll have to cope & paste it as Firefox won't let me do it as a link
maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=pe12&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=52.756503,0.180674&spn=0.007766,0.018969&t=h&z=16
Zoom in and you'll see the old arches (and I never knew they were there as nvr been that far along there)
PS I just asked by hubby, he says the 3 arches can be seen from the side of the current sluice and I got my 1890 map out and it shows the railway line running over that point so I suppose a bridge went over the top and the sluice gates would've been underneath.
It's been enjoyable trying to solve this mystery.
Lyn