Camden History

Meet the Robinsons Jummy belonged to Mark Heaton Robinson and his wife Emma. Mark was born in Kent in 1844, and Emma Louisa Webb Richmond in 1847 in Hampshire. They married in Richmond in 1864, when both were under-age, and went on to have 16 children, incredibly all of whom were living at the time of the 1911 census.  Their marriage certificate reveals Mark’s father was a commander in the Royal Navy while Emma’s was a surgeon. Mark’s career evolved over the years. At the time of their marriage and the 1871 census, he was working as a clerk in the Admiralty, which isn’t surprising given his father’s profession. Ten years later he was a manager for the brewers Watney & Co, and in subsequent census returns he appears as an engineer and company owner.  About 1880, Mark became the partner of talented engineer, Peter William Willans, who started Willans and Co to manufacture engines. As Willans and Robinson, Peter and Mark expanded the original business at the Ferry Works, Tham...

Hopefully, we are coming to the end of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK by the beginning of August 2021 we have had 5,982,581 cases which tragically resulted in 130,086 deaths, or a mortality rate of 2.17%. This is the story about the smallpox pandemic which hit Britain 150 years ago. The first state hospital to try to deal with the disease was built in Hampstead, near Haverstock Hill and Pond Street. The site is now covered by the Royal Free Hospital. What is Smallpox? Smallpox is a variola virus, worldwide killing a third of those it infected, and in the 20th Century alone an estimated 300 million people died from the disease. The initial symptoms of the painful disease included fever and vomiting. This was followed by formation of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash over much of the body. Soon the skin rash turned into characteristic fluid-filled blisters. The cause of death from smallpox is not clear but involves multiple organ failure. Those who survived were often left ...