Henry Wallis - Inn Keeper of the Old Gate
  
A little echo from many years ago when Withernwick would have been a rather different place to live.
The Falcon would still have been three separate cottages, not a pub. The village pub  would have been the Old Gate on High Street.
In the 1860's the inn keeper was Henry Wallis, sadly the only 'hard' evidence of him is this memoriam card.
  

 
Henry had been born in Cheshunt Common in Hertfordshire in 1820 (baptised on 14th July 1820).
So he had certainly come quite a way to end up as an inn keeper in Withernwick.
He must have been a reasonably prosperous man as he is on an electoral register dated 1868, as time when the right
Click here to see the 1868 electoral register (it will open in a new window).
to vote depended on wealth. The memoriam card suggests that he was well know and regarded, we can perhaps guess
there was a service in St Alban's church followed by burial in the churchyard.
    
Below is the 1861 census record for the Old Gate
  

  
A bit difficult to read so here is a transcript.
    

Name	Year of Birth	Place of Birth	Profession/Relationship to Hnery
Henry Wallis	1820	Cheshunt Common	Inn Keeper
Susanna Wallis	1813	Withernwick	Wife
Francis Wallis	1847	Withernwick	Daughter
George Wallis	1854	Withernwick	Son
John Wallis	1837	Withernwick	Son - Tailor
Francis Ellen Lawson	1850	Sproatley	Niece
William McArthur	1830	Ceylon (Sri Lanka)	Photographic Artist
Henry Morley	1826	Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamhsire	Lodger
George Mumby	1827	Lincolnshire	Lodger

  
Some interesting points.
John is called Henry's son but Henry would have only been 17 when John was born, it is possible. If correct it does indicate that the
family had lived in Withernwick since about 1835.
It is unlikely we will ever see a photo of Henry, cameras were no common in his lifetime, however William Mc Arthur sounds like an
interesting character. Born in Ceylon (how did he come to be in Withernwick?) and a photographic artist. So maybe we can imagine Henry
and his family being photographed by William, that would be a remarkable image from 1861.
The Old Gate was obviously also being used as a lodging house. We can easily imagine that Henry Morley and George Mumby were itinterant farm
workers, men did seem to often travel some distance in search of work.
There is a bit of a problem with the 1841 census. There is a Henry Wallis born in 1820, but with a different wife named Mary, a daughter named Jane and
no son called John. It is possible that Henry could have been married previously, Mary and Jane could have both died. Henry could have then
married Susanna who had a son John by a previous marriage. There is no sign of them on the 1851 census which might give us
more information on this. 

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