Episode summary:
Una Stubbs was born in Hertfordshire in 1937. She has a brother Paul and sister Clare. She lives in London, as do two of her three sons. She knew that on her mother's side of the family, her great-grandfather was Sir Ebenezer Howard, the architect of new towns such as Welwyn Garden City, but she knew nothing about her father's family.
Una's father Clarence Stubbs grew up in Yorkshire. Una visited her cousin Jocelyn Stackhouse, Jocelyn's husband David and another cousin Carol to find out about her father's parents.
Jocelyn and Carol knew their grandparents Arthur Stubbs and Annie Robinson well and showed Una some photos of them. They told her that the eldest son of the family, Albert (Jocelyn's father), was not Arthur's son, and that Clarence (Una's father) was born before Arthur and Annie's marriage, although he was Arthur's son. There were four other sons, including Alwyn (Carol's father), and a daughter.
Annie was born in 1884 and died in 1960.
Una went to York and got a copy of Annie Robinson's birth certificate from York Register Office. Annie's mother was Eliza Robinson but there was no father's name given. Una looked at the 1891 census where Annie was shown as the adopted daughter of blind basket maker Joe Horsfall and his wife Mary H. They also had a daughter Lydia. On the 1901 census Annie's surname is Horsfall and Mary is the head of the household.
Una was then given the birth certificate of Albert, who was born 12 Oct 1903 at York Workhouse to Annie Robinson, a domestic servant. No father's name was shown. Una visited the former workhouse building and was shown workhouse records including the workhouse birth register, and the admissions and discharges register which showed that Annie was admitted on the 29th Sep 1903 and discharged 2 Nov 1903, so she was just there to have her baby really.
The birth certificate for Una's father Clarence Watson Robinson showed that he was born on the 25th Oct 1908 at 50 Rose Street, York. No father's name is shown on his birth certificate either, but on the marriage certificate of Arthur and Annie dated a few months later, Arthur's residence is shown as 50 Rose Street and Annie's as 45 Rose Street. Arthur was 19 and Annie 23. Arthur's father was John Stubbs. Arthur adopted Annie's son Albert after the marriage.
On the 1911 census Arthur and Annie are at 21 Beaconsfield Street, York, which was later demolished in the slum clearances. Arthur's occupation is shown as confectioner, working for a chocolate manufacturer. This was Rowntree's. Coincidentally, Una was the "Rowntree's chocolate girl", appearing in adverts for their products, in her 20's, and visited the factory at that time. She revisited it in the programme, and met the company archivist who showed her a 1920 photo of the Central Works Council including Arthur, from the company magazine The CWM. She told Una that in 1929 Rowntree's had to sack 120 men because business was doing badly, and that Arthur was probably one of those men. A copy of the CWM stated that some of the men went to work in Welwyn Garden City.
Una then switched to looking at the family of her mother Angela Rawlinson. Angela's mother was Kathleen Howard, the eldest child of Sir Ebenezer Howard and his wife Lizzie.
Una went to the City of London to see a plaque which commemorates Ebenezer's birth. He was born on the 29th Jan 1850 at 62 Fore Street, the son of a baker, and was educated at a boarding school in the countryside. After leaving school he worked as a shorthand writer / stenographer / clerk, and by the time he reached his 30's he was working in this capacity at the House of Commons where he heard debates about the bad living conditions in the city.
In 1891 Ebenezer started to write a book about the idea of building a garden city. Una visited Hertfordshire Archives to see his papers, including the typescript of the book plus diagrams and designs that he drew for it. Ebenezer borrowed money to have it published in 1898, under the title "To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform". He then toured the country giving illustrated lectures on the subject, and attracted enough investors to set up a company to build the first garden city at Letchworth in 1903. His wife Lizzie wrote him a letter in October 1904 about the fact that his work for the garden city meant that he was not earning an income to support the family. She died a month later.
In 1919 Ebenezer set out to try to create another garden city, Welwyn Garden City. Una met a local historian who showed her a letter written by a Norwegian investor to Seebohm Rowntree. Ebenezer managed to raise enough money from investors to buy the estate where the city would be built, and in 1921 he moved to Welwyn Garden City to live there himself. He was awarded the OBE in 1924, knighted in 1927, and died in 1928 leaving an estate of £800. His funeral was held in Letchworth.
Una went to see the house in Welwyn Garden City where Arthur and Annie Stubbs moved four years before Clarence married Angela.
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