Ellen was a cousin of my mother, Grace Evelyn Taylor nee Ivall (1921-2006). Ellen’s father was Robert Melton Armitage (1881-1916), the elder brother of my grandmother Emma Ivall nee Armitage (1883-1970). There is an article about Robert’s life on this blog.
Robert Melton Armitage married Ann Maria Godfrey on 8 February 1903, at St Matthias Church, Stoke Newington. Robert (occupation given as cabinet maker) was aged 22 and Ann was 25.
Ann and Robert’s children were Ellen Elizabeth (born 27 Feb 1904 in Stoke Newington), Florence Annie (born 1906 in Edmonton, died in 1906), Doris Winifred (born 1912 in Hackney, died in 1914) and Marjory (born 12 Dec 1915 in Edmonton). Robert’s daughter Ellen Elizabeth was baptized at St Matthias’s Church, Stoke Newington on 3 April 1904. The register gives Robert’s address as 85 Shakespeare Road.
Robert was a soldier in WW1 and was killed fighting in France on 24 May 1916. Ann, his wife, received a pension of 21 shillings a week from December 1916. Ancestry has a transcript of the WW1 Pension Ledger listing the names of Ann Maria Armitage (born 11 July 1877) and her daughters Ellen Elizabeth and Marjory.
In 1920 Ann married Frederick Francis Taylor in Edmonton. The 1921 census shows them living at 119 Fairview Road, South Tottenham. Frederick was aged 33, born in New Cross (in S London), a shipping agent. Ann was 43, occupation “home duties”. There were no children are listed in the household.
My mother told me that one of Robert and Ann’s children (who was known as Dolly), was mentally disabled. A family story was that visitors took her a rice pudding and she put in on her head ! The 1921 census shows Ellen Armitage aged 17, as a patient at Napsbury Mental Hospital, St Albans. The 1939 Register lists Ellen Armitage, born 27 February 1904, as a patient (incapacitated) at Napsbury Hospital, St Albans. The date of birth shows that this is Robert and Ann’s daughter.
Napsbury Hospital was a mental health facility near St Albans in Hertfordshire. It was initially known as the Middlesex County Asylum. Following the construction of the numerous buildings and extensive grounds, Napsbury opened on 3 June 1905 and was in continuous use as a hospital until its official closure in 1998. The site has since been redeveloped for residential use.
The death certificate of Ellen Elizabeth Armitage says that she died on 16 July 1943 at Napsbury Hospital, St Albans, aged 39. The address recorded for her was 119 Fairview Road, South Tottenham. She was a spinster of no occupation, daughter of Robert Melton Armitage, a postman, deceased. Cause of death was 1(a) Bronchopneumonia 1(b) Status epilepticus. The informant was A. Taylor, mother, in attendance. Her address was The Lodge, Tottenham High School for Girls, High Road, Tottenham.
Status epilepticus is a medical condition consisting of a single seizure lasting more than 5 minutes, or 2 or more seizures within a 5-minute period without the person returning to normal between them. Previous definitions used a 30-minute time limit. Status epilepticus is a life-threatening medical emergency, particularly if treatment is delayed.
Ellen is buried in Tottenham Cemetery. Records show that she was in Napsbury Hospital in 1921, 1939 and 1943. It was quite common at this time for mental health patients to be in hospitals or asylums for long periods. Ellen's death certificate shows that she was epileptic. Her two sisters and father died before she was 13. Perhaps this also affected her mental health ?
The 1933 Electoral Register shows Frederick Francis and Ann Ellen Taylor at Tottenham High School, High Street, Tottenham. This is the address given for her mother on Ellen's death certificate. The 1939 Register lists them there with Frederick (born 8 December 1887) shown as a school keeper. Ann's date of birth is given as 11 July 1876. Electoral registers show both of them at the address in 1945 and 1949. Ann uses Ellen (instead of Maria) as her middle name in all these records.
