emma mallandain
Emma was born on 3 October 1825 at James Place in Finsbury and baptised on 26 February 1826 at St Luke’s on Old Street. She lived with her parents, Peter Mallandain and Elizabeth Hodges, in the parish of St Luke’s for many years and was educated at the French Protestant School of Westminster on Shaftesbury Avenue. The school was founded in 1747 to educate children of Huguenot descent and took in both boys and girls.
In 1851, Emma was still living with her mother and siblings at the family home on James Street and was working as a Berlin Worker. Emma hasn’t been located in the 1861 census but in 1871, she was lodging at 1 Gladstone Street in Southwark and her occupation was recorded as Annuitant. She likely received a legacy from her father’s estate that was paid as an annual annuity. According to the Marshall Report, she worked as a fancy needle-woman for many years so it is possible she took in needle work to supplement the income from her inheritance.
Emma next appears in the 1881 Census living with her sister Elizabeth Ann and brother-in-law William Clarke at 9 London Road in Southwark. Her occupation was listed as Housekeeper and she likely helped her sister manage her house and seven children.
At the age of 64, Emma applied for admission to the French Hospital and was allowed entry in March 1889. The French Hospital was established in 1718 to care for aged and infirm Huguenot refugees and in later years, their descendants. It was originally located on Bath Street near Emma’s childhood home in St Lukes but by the early 19th century, the building was in such decline that the hospital moved to a new building on Victoria Park Road in Hackney:
‘It was a fashionable Victorian Gothic version of a small French chateau, and it was opened in June 1865 with accommodation for 40 women and 20 men, a steward and his wife and nurses and servants, besides a Chapel, a Library and spacious dayrooms. It seems that the Directors were happy to ignore past criticisms from the Charity Commissioners that their inmates were treated too well! They were certainly not allowed to be idle, for the routine at Victoria Park recognised a basic need - that though one was living on charity it was still necessary for most people to make themselves useful in the community and 'help towards the general economy' of the Hospital was part of daily life. To mark the Jubilee of 1887 the residents presented Queen Victoria with a black silk dress made by the 12 weaveresses among their number.’
Victoria Park Road, Hackney
She was recorded as an inmate at the French Hospital in both the 1891 and 1901 census returns. In 1891, her occupation was recorded as ‘formerly Dress Maker’. In order to gain acceptance into the hospital, all applicants had to prove their Huguenot ancestry and as a result, Emma obtained much of the information on the early family and later provided this information to J.J. Marshall.
William Arthur Mallandaine commissioned Mr. Marshall to research the family history with the hope of locating his niece, Ida, and possibly uncovering an unpaid inheritance. This report has been the cornerstone of the research conducted since it was completed in 1905 and thanks to Emma, a great deal of information not recorded in the public records is available to Mallandain family researchers.
Emma corresponded with William Arthur and several of her letters have survived; in one letter dated March 1898, Emma told William that she used to visit his great-grandparents, John Mallandain and Sarah West, when they lived in Mile End Road and she also knew their son, Edward, and had possession of a book that once belonged to him. This is one of only a few links that confirm contact between the descendants of the James branch and those of the John branch.
Emma died at the French Hospital on 25 January 1905 and was buried at Ilford Cemetery.