Revell Family Study
Nottinghamshire
The Woodborough, Reavills from 1809 to 1911
by Roger E. Reavill, 4 January 2012Woodborough parish was in the Arnold sub-district of the Basford Registration District
Descendants of William Reavill
I have recently been exploring the relationships between Reavills who were born in Oxton and moved to Woodborough - two Nottinghamshire villages that are just over 3 miles apart, both of which I know quite well. This is especially true for Woodborough, where my parents lived for 15 years and where my father, Ernest William John Reavill (1911-1977), was a Councillor and Churchwarden at St. Swithin's Church. My mother was Stephanie Muriel Reavill (Nee Jones) (1909-1983).
But, you may ask, why would I be interested in a Reavill born in "Oxton"? Because during my ramblings on the internet I came across some census returns for a William Reavill who was born in Oxton in 1809 and for many years during the 1800s was the landlord of "The Four Bells" a pub on Main Street in Woodborough, across from St. Swithin's Church. The pub gets it name from the church having four bells in its belfry. More importantly, this is a pub in which I have drunk numerous pints of beer over the years! I had hoped to find a connection between this branch of the Reavills and my own but, sad to say, have been unable to do so. What follows is the results of my research into the family history of "The Woodborough, Nottinghamshire Reavills from 1809 to 1911". I believe what follows to be fairly accurate, but anyone has any different, more reliable, or new information, I would love to hear from you.
William Reavill was born in 1810 in
Oxton, married an Ann Poole from Woodborough in 1835, St. Swithin's, moved to Woodborough and had 6 children, all but one
being born in Woodborough. The 6th was born in Calverton, 2 miles away, where the family lived for a short time. During
much of the time from 1835 to 1884 the Reavills' abode was "The Four Bells" on Main Street, Woodborough.
In the 1841 census this William Reavill was living in Woodborough, age 30, occupation "Gardener", but with no mention of his wife (Ann Poole) who was born in Woodborough in 1812 and who he married at St. Swithin's in 1835. An "Ann Reavill" is listed as a member of William's household, but born 1826, "age 15", which does not tie in with their marriage year of 1835, Ann's birth year (1812), nor the birth years of their first three children who were living with William, namely: Elizabeth (b.1836), John (b.1838) and George (b.1840), all children being baptized at St. Swithin's. This being the case, I believe the 1841 census entry to be in error and "Ann Reavill's" birth year should have been listed as 1812 and not 1826. This is supported by the facts that no other "Ann Reavills" were found in the 1841 census in Nottinghamshire, and only 3 others were found in the entire country, and none of these were born 1812. This includes spelling variations for both "Ann" and "Reavill".
An additional daughter, Ann, was born in 1845 in Woodborough, and baptized at St. Swithin's. At this time William was still a "Gardener", living in Woodborough.
Yet another daughter Eliza ¹, was born and baptized, St. Swithin's in Woodborough in 1846. William is still a "Gardener", living in Woodborough. Sad to say, Eliza ¹ died in 1847 in Calverton, and was buried at St. Swithin's in Woodborough.
The 1851 census has "William & Ann Revill" living at "Bottom Buildings, Calverton", with their correct birth dates and places of birth. George is no longer with them because he died in 1847, in Calverton, and was buried at St. Swithin's, Woodborough. Elizabeth, John and Ann are all living at home. William's occupation is now "Beer House Keeper", so clearly he has come up in the world.
Yet another daughter, also called Eliza ², was born and baptized (St. Wilfrid's) in Calverton in 1855. William's occupation is now listed as a "Publican", still living at "Bottom Buildings, Calverton".
In the 1861 census, the William & Ann Reavill family now reside at the "Four Bells, Woodborough", William's
occupation being "Victualler and Farmer of 360 acres". What a difference 10 years makes! Elizabeth, John, Ann and Eliza
² are still living with their parents and all four remain unmarried.
In the 1871 census, William & Ann Reavill are living with their youngest daughter, Eliza ², on "Main Street, Woodborough", with William's occupations being "Publican, and Farmer of 360 acres". (The Four Bells pub is on Main Street in Woodborough.) John Reavill (b.1838) the only living son of William & Ann Reavill is also recorded in the 1871 census as living in Main Street, Woodborough, presumably at a different abode from his parents, since their entries are separate. His occupation is "Farmer of 200 acres". He is married to Emma Reavill (Nee Oakley) who was born in Brington, Northamptonshire in 1838. They were married in 1870 at St. Matthew's, Nottingham. It would appear that Emma Oakley had been married before because living with them, in 1871, were daughters Emma Oakley (b.1862) & Mariah Oakley (b.1865), and sons James Oakley (b.1864) & Edward H Oakley (b.1867). John & Emma Reavill had a son of their own, another John Reavill (b.1870)
In the 1881 census William Reavill is now a widower, his wife, Ann Reavill, died sometime between 1871 and 1881, probably in 1879. He is still a "Publican & Farmer", living at "The Four Bells, Woodborough". Living with him are his son John Reavill (b.1838) and John's wife Emma Reavill (b.1838), also John & Emma's children: John (b.1870), Annie (b.1872), Alice (b.1877) and Kate (b.1879). John Reavill's (b.1838) occupation is listed as "Assistant To His Father (General Labourer)", and his wife Emma Reavill (b.1838) is a "Housekeeper".
Neither William Reavill, nor his son John Reavill (b.1838), show up in the 1891 census, and Emma Reavill (John's wife) is listed as a "Widow", living with her daughter Alice Reavill (b.1877) at 38 Corporation Road, St. Mary, Nottingham. Emma's occupation is now listed as "Publican". William Reavill died in 1884 (age 77) and his son John Reavill died in 1887 (age 49). John & Emma Reavill's eldest son, John Reavill (b.1870), also shows up in the 1891 census (age 20) as being single, living at "The Four Bells, Woodborough", his occupation being listed as a "Farmer".
The 1891 census entry for John & Emma Reavill's eldest daughter Annie Reavill (b.1872) will be of particular interest to those readers familiar with Woodborough families. Annie was not living with her widowed mother at 38 Corporation Road, St. Mary, Nottingham, nor with her older brother, John Reavill (b.1870). Annie Reavill is listed as being a "Visitor" at the "Post Office, Main Street, Woodborough", which at the time of the census was the abode of John & Elizabeth Foster and their 6 children, ages 9 to 20. At the time of the census, Annie Reavill was 19 year of age, and the Foster's eldest daughter, Hannah, was 20. I suspect they must have been old friends, both having grown up in Woodborough and being of similar age. (For the record, Foster's eldest son, James, was 18.) John Foster's occupation was listed as "Market Gardener" There have been many, small market gardens in the Woodborough area for many years. I assume he also ran the Post Office. Annie Reavill's occupation was "House Maid", but not for the Fosters, since she is listed as a "Visitor".
As I mentioned earlier, my parents lived in Woodborough from 1962 to 1977. During that time, the Woodborough Postmaster was a "Mr. Foster" obviously a different Mr. Foster from the one living in 1891, but probably a descendant. (I recall hearing that the Fosters had lived in Woodborough as long as anyone could remember.) One should realize that in the 1960s and 1970s the Woodborough Post Office sold more than stamps. For example, I remember my mother relating how Mr. Foster had a friend who lived in Melton Mowbray who had access to large wheels of Stilton Cheese. During his visits to Woodborough this friend would bring one or more wheels of this delicious cheese, which Mr. Foster would cut in to wedges and sell to his customers. Mr. Foster would take orders ahead of time and, on the day of his friend's visit, the word would go around the village - "The cheese is in!" - which started a mad dash of Woodborough housewives to the Post Office!
1891 was the last census year that Reavills showed up living in Woodborough, for example, no Reavills were recorded as living in Woodborough in either the 1901 or 1911 censuses, and didn't show up again for several decades. However, John & Emma Reavill's eldest son, John Reavill (b.1870), does show up in the 1901 census (age 30), as being married to Mary Ellen Reavill (Nee Goodall, b.1871 in Nottingham) and living with their son John Wilfred Reavill (b.1899 in Nottingham) at 6 Preston Terrace, Nottingham. Their marriage took place in 1895 and was registered in Nottingham. John Reavill's occupation is listed as "Fireman, Railway".
John, Mary Ellen, and John Wilfred Reavill also show up in the 1911 census as living at 64 Kirkby Street, Nottingham, along with their second son Louis Reavill (b. 1905). John Reavill's occupation is now "Locomotive Driver".
Since my main interest in putting together this monograph was the "Reavills of Woodborough", I decided this was a good place to bring it to an end.
A Personal Note: Woodborough's Parish Church, "St. Swithin's", has been mentioned several times. It may be of interest to readers to learn that our daughter, Anna Elizabeth Reavill, was baptised at St. Swithin's on 23rd. October, 1996. The cremated remains of my parents, Ernest and Stephanie Reavill, were interred in St. Swithin's Churchyard in 1977 and 1983, respectively.
Sources:
Nottinghamshire Family History Society's Transcriptions of Baptism, Marriage & Burial Entries in the Parish
Registers of the county
General Register Office (GRO) Civil Registrations of Births, Marriages & Deaths Indices and Certificates
(1838 - Present) accessed through FindMyPast.co.uk.
UK Census Returns for years 1841 - 1911 for the years ending with a "1" -- accessed through FindMyPast.co.uk.
Note: When my parents moved to Woodborough around 1962 they weren't aware of any Reavills living there at that time,
nor were they aware of any previous history of Reavills in Woodborough. Some years later they learned of an "E. Reavill"
thought to be "an elderly lady" (and believed to be an "Elsie Reavill") but they never met her. An "E. Reavill" was
living at 17 Roe Hill in 1984 (according to the phone book). Maybe someone can confirm the above, or else put me straight. I did find a death record for an "Elsie Reavill" (b. 1907 -- d. 2000), registered in Basford, which probably includes Woodborough. I also found an "Elsie A. Gretton" who married a "Leonard Revill" (note spelling). Their marriage was registered in Basford in 1981. I also found an "Elsie Annie Gratton" (note spelling) who's birth was registered in 1907 in Bakewell, Derbyshire. These may, or may not, be the same "Elsie" who may, or may not, have lived on Roe Hill.
Roger E Reavill
3820 East Street
Cincinnati
OH 45227, USA
Tel: (513) 271-4016
E-mail: R-Squared@cinci.rr.com
Descendants of William Reavill
Reavill in Woodborough 1871-1891
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