Ida Mary Downing

Ida Mary Downing (nee Johnstone) was born in Harborne, Staffordshire on 8 Oct 1871. Her father Alfred Johnstone was a Manufacturer and Metal Refiner. She married Thomas Lee Downing on 27 July 1893. Continue reading →
Last updated on 6 July 2021 by JJ Morgan

Thomas Lee Downing

Thomas Lee Downing was the third and youngest son of William Downing. His mother was William Downing’s second wife Susan Lee. Born in 1867, he was brought up in Holly Lodge, Smethwick and by 1890 joined the family malting business, by then bearing the names of his two elder half brothers “G and WE Downing” Continue reading →
Last updated on 10 January 2022 by JJ Morgan

Emma Clifton

Emma Clifton was baptized in Oldbury on 24 Nov 1824. Her father was Edmund Clifton, a farmer, and her mother was Susannah Horton. She appears to have been the seventh of eight sisters. Continue reading →
Last updated on 4 November 2017 by JJ Morgan

The Green House, Tettenhall

The Green House Tettenhall is the three storey building pictured on the right and still stands today in the centre of Tettenhall to the west of Wolverhampton. Continue reading →
Last updated on 4 April 2023 by JJ Morgan

Holly Lodge

Holly Lodge in Smethwick was a substantial residence built in the early 1860’s by William Downing on the back of his successful malting business. Continue reading →
Last updated on 1 January 2024 by JJ Morgan

Index of Places

Here is a list of Places, Houses and Residences connected with the family History. Continue reading →
Last updated on 11 December 2022 by JJ Morgan

Kneller Hall

Kneller Hall, formerly the residence of the painter Sir Godfrey Kneller, is close to Twickenham. In 1850 it was largely rebuilt and became the headquarters of the Royal Military School of Music. Colonel Thomas Bradney Shaw Hellier was Commandant there from 1887 to 1892. Continue reading →
Last updated on 11 February 2021 by JJ Morgan

William Lucas

William Lucas was born in Sydenham, Oxfordshire in 1789. He married Sarah Holder in 1811 and spent the rest of his life in and around Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire. He seems to have been involved working as a coach driver, employed by Inns in the town. Colnbrook was on the Bath Road (A4) and his addresses in the censuses after 1841 are next door to a number of Inns. Continue reading →
Last updated on 2 October 2017 by JJ Morgan