Education records of the Wilkinson family

A collection of exercise, composition, vocabulary and other work books used by children of the Wilkinson family of 5 Portland Place, Lower Clapton, near Hackney, London. The majority of the work books appear to have been used by Amy Ethel Duodecima Legge Wilkinson (1862-1951). Amy's work books mostly date from the 1870s. There are two books used by Amy's elder sister Evelina Trist Wilkinson (1843-1881) and a scrapbook which appears to have been compiled by their brother Aubrey Thomas Decimus Legge Wilkinson (1858-1878).

These work books have a certain interest for those studying Victorian education, especially teaching of the French and German languages during the 1870s.

Relatively little is known about the life of Amy Ethel Duodecima Legge Wilkinson (1862-1951), the creator of the majority of these work books. However some information can be gleaned relating to the wider Wilkinson family. Amy's father, Thomas Wilkinson (1807-1881), married Anne Brookes of Much Wenlock, Shropshire in 1838. The marriage was registered in the district of Madeley. Anne Brookes appears to have come from a prominent Shropshire family. Anne's brother William Penny Brookes was a surgeon and a pioneer of physical education. Another brother, Andrew G. Brookes of Cressage and Shrewsbury, was a surgeon and a leading figure in 19th century Shrewsbury.

Thomas and Anne's children included Mary Anne Marie Brookes (1840-1854), Georgina Susanna Brookes (1841-1863), Evelina Trist (1843-1881), Algernon Francis Legge (1845-1926), Denning Grueber Legge (1851-1922), Octavius Charles Legge (1854-1919), Aubrey Thomas Decimus Legge (1858-1878) and Amy Ethel Duodecima Legge (1862-1951). It is very likely that there were a number of other children, three of whom were possibly named Caroline, Florence and Ada. At some stage the family appear to have moved to Lower Clapton Road near Hackney, North London.

Amy's brother Algernon became incumbent of St Peter's church in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire in 1886 until 1916. Algernon's son, Rev Reginald Felix Wilkinson (1889-1963), Rector of West Bridgford, donated his family's papers to Nottinghamshire Archives during the early 1950s. The collection is known as the Wilkinson Papers and contains items of correspondence between Thomas, Anne and a number of their children, including Amy.

Sources: education records of the Wilkinson family;
catalogue of the Wilkinson papers held at Nottinghamshire archives;
catalogue of papers relating to Thomas Wilkinson and family held at Hackney Archives;
'Family Search' available at https://www.familysearch.org viewed 30 June 2011;
'Free Births, Marriage and Deaths' available at http://www.freebmd.org.uk viewed 29 June 2011;
'Southwell and Nottingham Church History Project' available at http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/east-drayton/hincumb.php viewed 30 June 2011;
brief details about some Wilkinson family members can be found at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/WILKINSON/1998-10/0908679713 viewed 29 June 2011.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Source of acquisition unknown.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Initial cataloguing began in 2001. Additional work completed by Mark Eccleston, June 2011.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Found in the Education Library, University of Birmingham in 1990.

The papers of the Wilkinson family are held at Nottinghamshire Archives, reference number DD/W. These papers include title deeds, marriage settlements, leases and correspondence as well as printed material collected by Rev Reginald Felix Wilkinson. These papers date from 1554-1972. Hackney Archives in London also hold a small collection of papers relating to Thomas Wilkinson and family, of 5 Portland Place, Lower Clapton Road, reference number D/F/WIL(2). This collection consists of personal papers including correspondence, programmes, hand-bills and photographs covering the period 1852-1881.