Kings Cross Great Northern Railway

[ludorabbit]

I am looking information for my great great granparents
My great great grandad was a station inspector at Kings Cross
He worked for GNR from its opening
My great grandad also worked on the railway
He was a railway clerk
Their name is Fisher
I know great great grandad was very well respected in his workplace and the community

[Procat]

Hi,

I have moved this post from "One place studies" as I think it will get more attention under "Railwaymen."

[Jan1954]

Have you contacted the Railway Ancestors Family History Society (http://www.parishchest.com/shop/index.php?cmd=listlinkeditems&cat=D225&breadcrumb=Societies+%26+Groups:Railway+Ancestors+ FHS) at all?

[malcolm99]

Hello ludorabbit

Have you got their Christian names as that will help locate them more easily.

malcolm99

[Sue Mackay]

This won't help you with your ancestry as such, but if you want some local colour go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LnDhMy-axw&feature=related

The 10 minute black and white cine film from the 1950s was taken in and around King's Cross. You might think the start is only for steam train buffs, but later it pans out to street scenes around the station. Not only are the shots amazingly evocative of the time but the music will get those of a certain age nostalgic as well!

[Peter Goodey]

See this National Archives Research Guide (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=124).

As you will see, the National Archives have some GNR staff records.

[British Viking]

This won't help you with your ancestry as such, but if you want some local colour go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LnDhMy-axw&feature=related

The 10 minute black and white cine film from the 1950s was taken in and around King's Cross. You might think the start is only for steam train buffs, but later it pans out to street scenes around the station. Not only are the shots amazingly evocative of the time but the music will get those of a certain age nostalgic as well!

My goodness! Not only nostalgic but also I never realised steam trains gave off so much, erm, steam!

[Peter Goodey]

For a moment I did wonder what sort of "local colour" in the vicinity of Kings Cross we were going to get. :biggrin:

[ludorabbit]

Thank you, as you can see I am a novice hopefully will get the hang of it soon!
thanks again

[ludorabbit]

I have tried looking at National Archives but I have found it difficult to find what I am looking for
James Fisher worked as a Station Inspector at Kings Cross until he was transferred to Bourne,Lincs due to ill health unfortunately he passed away in 1862, he was very popular with his colleagues and the community
His son Charles worked as a railway clerk in Kings Cross he died in a railway accident at work in 1920
I was hoping to find out more information about them and their way of life.

[ludorabbit]

Hi Malcom,
thanks for your reply, great grandad was Charles Henry Fisher, his dad was James Edward Fisher, I have been unable to trace James Edward`s family I was told he was born in Newbury but thats as much as I know at the moment.

[malcolm99]

Presumably you’ve seen James Edward’s 1861 Census entry but have you seen this one for 1851?
1851 James Edward Fisher’s family at Walsworth, Hitchin, Hertfordshire: HO 107 Piece 1710, Folio 232, Page 7 (Crown Copyright).

There is also a marriage on FreeBMD: James Edward Fisher and Emma Perkins, St George’s Hanover Square Mar-Jun 1844 which could well be him.

His children James Edward, Charles Henry and Walter Thomas were baptised together at All Saints, Battle Bridge, Caledonian road, Islington on January 18th 1860 (on this page it’s in parish no.37 showing how close the church was to the station: http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/genuki/MDX/Islington/outline.htm ).

You might find either of these standard works on the Great Northern Railway (GNR) of interest:
GRINLING, Charles Herbert: The History of the Great Northern Railway, 1845-1922. Allen & Unwin, 1966.
NOCK, Oswald Stevens: Great Northern Railway. Ian Allan, 1979.

There are no specific books describing Bourne in the 1850s/1860s but there are one or two interesting things on this site: http://boar.org.uk/aeiwxe1ArchiveContents.htm - also see the note at the bottom of this page: homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/railway.htm (http:// in front – no www).

Bourne was a new station in 1860 and was part of the ‘BOURN and ESSENDINE RAILWAY’. There is a book about this railway: RHODES, John: Bourne to Essendine. KMS Books, 1986.

There is also this: stenlake.co.uk/books/view_book.php?ref=476 (put http://www in front) and there is a Yahoo discussion group: finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/railways_of_bourne (put http:// infront – there’s no www).

You should be able to borrow any of these books from your local library. If Staffordshire haven’t got them, they can borrow them through the Inter-Library Loan system.

malcolm99

[ludorabbit]

hi thanks for that, I agree very nostalgic and all that steam would not go down well today, I loved travelling on steam trains
when I was a bit younger than I am today! We only went on day trips to Southend but the train journey was the best bit.

[ludorabbit]

Wow all this information is so exciting, I know James was born in Berkshire, then all I knew was that he was living in Kings Cross
So its interesting to know about the time in Hertfordshire, how many miles did people travel in those days with no motorway etc
Charles is my great grandad so much help in such a short time is much appreciated thanks to you all.

[malcolm99]

For background about King’s Cross station see: lner.info/co/GNR/kingscross.shtml (put http://www. in front) and this book: Chris Hawkins, ‘Kings Cross’, Irwell Press, 1990. ISBN 1871608147
For a general overview of the area there’s this book (although I’ve never seen it myself): ‘Change at King's Cross : from 1800 to the present’ Edited by: Michael Hunter and Robert Thorne. Historical Publications, 1990.