The First Generation

Godwin locations in the Strand.

In 1770 John married Mary Ann Recordon, a member of the family of famous watchmaker Louis Recordon. Over the next 30 years John, the Godwins and the Recordons would trade and live close to one another.

In May 1770 John established himself permanently in the Strand with a lease from the Duke of Norfolk. He took over the frontage from Nicholas Middleton, famed for his wooden travelling cases. John's customer list included the Prince of Wales who he provided with pocket books. In later years it was established that John was also one of the co-inventors of the pocket almanac which became an entire industry in the next century. His best-seller was called "Le Souvenir" which was published every year from at least 1791 until his death. In the early 19th century he co-published it with his neighbour, famous cartographer John Cary, who also had a shop in the Strand. Artwork for Le Souvenir was provided by Edward Burney. John Godwin's shop was initially at 171(165)* in the Strand. His next door neighbor would have been the Talbot Inn. The main carriage stop was right outside his door. He published at least two books in 1770 and 1771, one a book of poetry and the other the transcript of a famous trial. His business card from 1775, which is in the Heal collection of the British Museum, shows that he was also a book seller, providing atlases, almanacs, science and art books as well as pencils and other writing supplies and he also sold Morocco and Etwee wooden boxes. By 1777 he had also taken over the building at 167(161) * Strand. John ⁽¹⁾ was an overseer at St Clement Danes and participated in various meetings at the church in the late 18th century. His next door neighbour was the Rector of St Clement Danes, the Reverend George Berkeley, son of the famous Bishop Berkeley.

During the course of the next ten years John added jeweller, toyman, watchmaker and goldsmith to his résumé and in 1785 the famous engraver Samuel Lysons lived with him as a lodger. Lysons probably worked or lived with John for the next sixteen years. Lysons would later become renowned as one of the most famous engravers of 18th century England and would become Keeper of the Records at the Tower of London as well as Treasurer of the Royal Society and an expert archaeologist. Letters from the famed diarist Hester Thrale (Piozzi) to Lysons, describing John Godwin’s shop, still exist at Harvard University. Piozzi was also a friend of the Burney family, including famed author Fanny Burney, who was Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte.

In 1774 John and Mary had a son called (Charles) Samuel who according to the Goldsmith’s Society would be apprenticed to the Aldridge jewellery family. In 1795 Samuel would then be apprenticed as a lawyer. Their second son was born in 1778 and was named (Charles) William. John ⁽¹⁾ and Mary also had a third son called John ⁽²⁾ born in 1781. John ⁽²⁾ would become a stationer like his father. All of John ⁽¹⁾ and Mary’s children were baptized at St Clement Danes church in the Strand.

In 1781 Mary Godwin (possibly John’s first wife, or possibly the same Mary who lived in Castle Street in 1769) was listed as a perfumer and vendor of hardware at John’s address (171 Strand.)**

In April 1782 John was a Steward in the “Benevolent Institution for Delivering Poor Married Women at their own Habitations” which seems to have been an organization supported by the Freemasons. The President was the Marquis of Carmarthen. As part of this relationship it seems John manufactured some items for the Masons including medals. John was a mason as early as 1769. It appears he joined St Lukes Lodge in Chelsea in 1771 and when that lodge moved further south west he changed to the lodge in Chancery Lane in 1785. In 1795 he became a Grand Steward of the masons.

Mary died in September 1782 leaving John ⁽¹⁾ with five children all less than eight years old. His youngest son John ⁽²⁾ was only nine months old. John ⁽¹⁾ would almost certainly have been compelled to turn to other family to help him raise his children.

In 1791 John ⁽¹⁾ was steward for another group, named the “Institute for the Maintenance and Education of The Female Children and Orphans of Indigent Masons” which had the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York as patrons.

James Godwin ⁽¹⁾ was born around 1755 and may have been John ⁽¹⁾’s brother, a half brother, or possibly a cousin. They were NOT father and son. Neither John's ⁽¹⁾ or James' ⁽¹⁾ parents are known. The first 30 years of James ⁽¹⁾ life are unknown. In 1785 he lived in Marsham Street in Westminster. On 26th July 1787 he married an apprenticed dress-maker named Esther Slorach at St Clement Danes church. Esther Slorach was the daughter of James Slorach a Lieutenant in his majesty's navy. The Slorachs came from Westminster. It seems James Godwin started his business in that same year just a few doors down from John, at 177 The Strand, when he entered the records as a silversmith and later as a “Cutler and Hardware man”. He also made surgical instruments. He worked at this address as a tenant of the Duke of Norfolk until 1791. This building is no longer there today.

On November 16th 1788 James ⁽¹⁾ and Esther had their first son who they also called James ⁽²⁾ and who was baptised at St Clement Danes.

Just a few doors down from James ⁽¹⁾ and John ⁽¹⁾, at 181 The Strand, was the business of William Cary, brother of John Cary. William Cary was one of the most respected manufacturers of optical instruments and telescopes of his era, he even made the telescopes used by Lewis and Clark during their legendary exploits in the Americas. He co-founded the Astronomical Society in London with Charles Burney, uncle of Edward Burney. Cary knew William Hyde Wollaston from whom he purchased quantities of refined platinum which he then sold to James Godwin. In fact some of the first ever platinum jewellery in the world may well have been made by the Godwins and possibly even engraved by Lysons, who also knew Wollaston. Wollaston would later become President of the Royal Society. At this time the Royal Society was housed literally 14 doors down the street from John ⁽¹⁾ at Somerset House.

It would seem that John may have known William Godwin, famed philosopher and father to Mary Godwin (who would later write “Frankenstein”.) In his diary (kept at the Bodleian in Oxford) William wrote that he took up residency in 1783 in a property overlooking St Mary le Strand church. The house in which William lived was 163 Strand, just four doors down from John’s house/shop. Both John ⁽¹⁾ and William are also known to have frequented the Crown and Anchor on the Strand, a popular and enormous pub known for its association with non-conformists and anti-establishmentarian politics. The pub was John's "local" and some time later William, who had now become a renowned writer and philosopher, took up residence in an apartment at the front of the pub. One of Lysons friends was the aforementioned Hesther Thrale (Piozzi) who almost certainly introduced the artist Edward Francis Burney to John Godwin. Burney provided illustrations for Godwin's pocketbooks. Burney's cousin, who was also very close friends with Piozzi, was famed novelist Fanny Burney who, around the same time that Piozzi was visiting Lysons at John's shop, became Keeper of the Robes for Queen Charlotte. Fanny was very well acquainted with the entire royal household and was friends with both the King and the Prince of Wales. Now that her favourite cousin Edward, who had provided the illustrations for her novel Evelina, was providing illustrations for Godwin's "Le Souvenir" pocket book, it is possible that Fanny might have been responsible for John Godwin getting his royal charter as "Pocketbook Maker to the Prince of Wales". However it appears that John had his charter before the first known appearance of Burney's art in his "Le Souvenir" pocketbook."Le Souvenir" came out in 1791 (for 1792) when Godwin's charter was already in place.

Perhaps not coincidentaly Fanny Burney's brothers, Dr Charles Burney and Captain James Burney, were both close friends with philosopher William Godwin and visited him dozens of times. Fanny also visited him with her husband and brothers on at least one occasion. So although there appears to be no familial connection between philosopher William Godwin and John Godwin of the Strand, they both were well acquainted with the Burney family and Hesther Thrale (Piozzi). Captain James Burney would later sail with Captain Cook on his second voyage around the world.

The Second Generation

From 1798 James ⁽¹⁾ and Esther ⁽¹⁾ would be listed in Holborn as “Jeweller and pocketbook maker”. The following year, in 1799, they had a third son named Alfred ⁽¹⁾. 290 High Holborn at this time was a four residence yard set back from the street. This courtyard seems to have originally been named Dolphin Court, then it became Fenwick Court. The Godwins did not own this residence but rented it for 30 years from a series of landlords. Around this time they also had a fourth son named William Edward.

By 1801 they had acquired a tenancy for a shop a few doors down at 304 High Holborn. Their landlord was St Bartholomews Hospital (famous for Sherlock Holmes and Watson). It would seem that 304 Holborn had an established reputation as the site of a bookseller by the name of T. Heptinstall, so it may well have been a case of buying the business for the sake of convenience. Heptinstall had published a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost in 1799 with a critique by Samuel Johnson and illustrations provided by Edward Burney. Johnson was a parishioner at St Clement Danes when John ⁽¹⁾ was on the church committee. Heptinstall was still at 304 Holborn in July 1800 but was definitely gone by August 1801. This address would then become the principal family business for the Godwins for the next 105 years. The building was only three floors with an attic at this time, but around 1876 it would be increased to a full four storeys. The renovation was undertaken by George Alfred Godwin and involved gutting the building and moving the internal floor structure. The process of renovation was captured by local artist John Phillips Emslie who painted a watercolour of the house in 1875. In 1883 a famous hotel named the "First Avenue" was constructed on the corner of Brownlow Street, almost directly opposite the family shop. Presumably this would have been good for business.

Going back to 1803 we find that Charles Ross, pocketbook maker and W. Godwin, silversmith, were operating out of the 290 Holborn address. Mr Ross was there from at least 1801. This was recorded in a robbery investigation in the minutes of the Old Bailey. However, this "W. Godwin" is a mystery, in much the same way as "John Godwin pocketbook maker" who had been listed there in 1791 is something of a mystery. Could this have been John ⁽¹⁾’s son (Charles) William who would have been 25 years old at this time.^

In January 1804 a tragedy would strike the family when John Godwin died falling from a 33 foot parapet near Somerset house, located literally outside his back door. A coroner’s inquest seemed to conclude that he took his own life after being in a state of depression. His second wife Elizabeth (Betty) was left to sort out the family business. (Elizabeth’s maiden name was Gayleard. Her nephew would become one of the governing council in Jamaica.) In July of 1804 a probate inventory was taken which showed that John had a very large residence in the Strand and was owed considerable sums of money, including by his landlord the Duke of Norfolk (whose other title was the Earl of Arundel.) In 1805 Betty was still trying to collect that money and ended up in a dispute over the estate with the children of John ⁽¹⁾’s first wife. In a rather unlikely turn of events John had a life insurance policy which he had used as collateral to borrow money from Charles Dumergue, the Queen's dentist. Dumergue was friends with Sir Walter Scott and Charles Lamb, and was yet another acquaintance of the Burneys. Somewhat suspiciously Dumergue sold his lien on John's life insurance policy just one week before John died.

By 1806 James’ ⁽¹⁾ business in Holborn was doing well enough that he was able to advertise a supply of Coral jewellery, which was extremely expensive at that time. The same year John’s widow Elizabeth (Gayleard) remarried to John Rolfe of Brighton.

By 1810 James’ relative, Thomas Godwin (possibly another brother), moved into a residence just a mile down the road from the Holborn address. Thomas established a business there as a parasol, umbrella and fishing tackle manufacturer and silk merchant. This business was located at 7 Tottenham Court Rd. James ⁽¹⁾ provided insurance for Thomas’ business. We know that James son George ⁽¹⁾ was also repairing umbrellas from the 290 Holborn address. Thomas had his home at 10 Tottenham Court Rd while Louis Recordon, John ⁽¹⁾’s father-in-law was at 12 Tottenham Court Road. Thomas would marry Charlotte Beata Aldridge of the Aldridge jewellery family. This was probably the same family which had apprenticed John⁽¹⁾’s son Samuel. Thomas would later employ another Thomas Godwin, which may have been his son or may have been one of the Godwins of Gutter Lane, who were in the silk business. No solid connection has been found between the Godwins of the Strand and the Godwins of Gutter Lane.

Meanwhile, James ⁽¹⁾ and Esther encouraged their oldest son James ⁽²⁾ to work in the family jewellery business at 304 High Holborn, while their second son George ⁽¹⁾ established a business as early as 1813 out of the family home at 290 High Holborn and then married Elizabeth Sophia Williams in April 1814. George's business was variously jeweller, pocket book maker, writing desk maker, desk box, jewellery box, trunk maker and umbrella repairman. In 1815, George and Elizabeth had a daughter Elizabeth Esther (named after her mother and grandmother.) In 1817 they had a son called George Alfred Godwin.

George ⁽¹⁾ was still operating his business at 290 High Holborn as late as 1821. From 1810 to 1820 another John Godwin appeared in the tax rolls at 290 Holborn. It is likely, but not certain, that this was John ⁽²⁾. We know John ⁽²⁾ was born in 1781 but his mother had died in 1782 and his father, John ⁽¹⁾, died in 1804. His stepmother remarried in 1808. John ⁽²⁾ then doesn’t reappear again, for certain, until 1823 when he seems to have opened a business as a stationer on Tichborne Street (underneath today’s Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus). So what happened to John ⁽²⁾ in the interim? It seems entirely likely that he lived and worked in Holborn with James ⁽¹⁾, James ⁽²⁾ and George ⁽¹⁾ since he would have only been an infant when his mother died.^

George ⁽¹⁾’s wife Elizabeth Sophia died in 1818 at only 25 years old. George ⁽¹⁾ was left with two small children. He chose to emigrate to Calcutta and leave his children in the care of his relatives. His son, George Alfred, remained with James ⁽²⁾ while his daughter Esther was left to be raised by her mother’s family. The London Times in 1854 mentioned in the listing for Esther’s wedding that George ⁽¹⁾ had gone to Calcutta.

George ⁽¹⁾ went to India aboard the East Indiaman Providence in May 1822. He arrived in Calcutta in November 1822 where he remarried in 1828 to Emily Leith, the daughter of a Scottish nobleman. George ⁽¹⁾ started another family in India and it seems unlikely that he ever returned to England. He settled in Bagulpur on the banks of the Ganges (known as Bheuglepore) which was known for centuries as the Silk City. George lost much of his inheritance in the Indigo trade while living in Purneah. He died between 1839 and 1840 but his descendants still live on today in both India and England.

When George left for India in 1822 it seems that the Godwin family finally relinquished their tenancy on 290 Holborn after having been there for at least 30 years. The fact that John ⁽²⁾ turns up again the following year in Tichborne Street strongly implies that he was indeed the John working in Holborn alongside James ⁽¹⁾ and ⁽²⁾ and George ⁽¹⁾.^ It is also interesting to note that Percy Bysshe Shelley, the famous poet and future husband of Mary Shelley, wrote in a letter in 1810 that he had visited the Godwins of Holborn and noted that a John Godwin lived there but was “no relation” to his future father-in-law, famed philosopher William Godwin. In his papers at the Bodleian library William also mentioned owing money to a shop keeper at 301 Holborn. It seems inconceivable that he wouldn't have seen TWO businesses within a few dozen feet, both with the name GODWIN over the door.

George ⁽¹⁾’s oldest son George Alfred was groomed by his uncle James ⁽²⁾ to take over the family jewellery business. The business had passed on to James ⁽²⁾ when James ⁽¹⁾, had retired to Enfield around 1828. Perhaps not coincidentally the residence in Enfield was originally occupied by a John Godwin the previous year. Could this have yet again been John ⁽²⁾? Regardless, James ⁽¹⁾ passed away in 1831 and was buried back in the city. However his Enfield home had been extremely close to where John ⁽¹⁾ and his first wife Mary had been buried in Edmonton. In his will James ⁽¹⁾ only mentioned his children, James, George, Eliza, William Edward and Alfred. He also mentioned his grandson George Alfred. There is no mention of his daughter Esther. It is entirely possible that Esther was Eliza.

Starting in 1848, after his mother’s death, James ⁽²⁾ had listed the family business as “James Godwin and Nephew” which was, of course, his 31 year old nephew George Alfred. James ⁽²⁾ would remain the senior partner in the family business until his death, still a bachelor, in 1867.

James ⁽²⁾ brother Alfred ⁽¹⁾ had moved out to Surrey at least as early as 1821. Alfred ⁽¹⁾ was variously a farmer, miller and a "brewer and agricultural labourer" and would have a very large family with at least eight children. Alfred ⁽¹⁾ Godwin would also buy and hold from 1821 until 1827 a property called Duckstars in Ifield Surrey for his brother James ⁽²⁾. When James ⁽²⁾ took over the family business in Holborn in 1827 the holding in Ifield was sold. It is possible that this money was used to purchase 304 Holborn, but this has to be confirmed. Alfred would then move north to Horley by 1830 and by 1836 he had settled in Cranley Common where he remained for the rest of his life. He died in 1854.

The Third Generation

By 1856, the 68 year old James ⁽²⁾, was ready to completely hand over the family jewellery business to his nephew George Alfred. At that time the family took out an advertisement looking for a property to rent, presumably for James ⁽²⁾ who eventually retired to Haverstock and then died in 1867, leaving £8000 to his nephew as well as his shares in the business. George Alfred’s family then resided at the 304 High Holborn address and continued to run the family jewellery and cutlery business. Sadly his first wife Henrietta died at only 33 years old in 1858. About a year later George Alfred married his deceased wife’s first cousin Quintillia Soward. They would have two children, Quintillia Godwin, born about 1862, and a son named Alfred ⁽²⁾, born around 1866.

In 1870 George Alfred’s oldest son, George James, would marry Fanny Elizabeth Shrosbery in Mandeville Essex. The following year, 1871, George Alfred would move out to Bexley with his second wife and leave the Holborn address to his son to raise his family, although the census would still show George Alfred as the principal resident. In 1875 some considerable work on the 304 Holborn building was completed. The site had originally been a three storey building and when the renovation work was approved, local artist and Royal Academy exhibitor John Phillips Emslie painted the scene for posterity. The renovation must have cost substantial sums of money since the internal floors were moved and the structure converted into a four storey building. The final result was then featured in “The Architect” magazine in 1876 as sketched by Charles Shoppee who then exhibited the final result at the Royal Academy.

George James would eventually move in 1881 to Friern Barnet, a London suburb. He would stay there with his family for at least a decade, while his father still retained a home in Bromley. Meanwhile, the family business continued on in Holborn. In February 1891 George Alfred passed away and the family’s store manager Richard Jarman moved in to the Holborn property. George Alfred’s son George James would now head the family.

The Fourth Generation

Eventually his son George Albert would join the family business, which concentrated at this point almost solely on silver. In March 1900 George James would officially dissolve his partnership with his son George Albert. The father would remain as chairman. In 1904 a clearance sale was held at the Holborn address.

In April 1906 the two, father and son, collectively folded the family business, because "...the company cannot, by reason of its liabilities, carry on its business..." It appears that this dissolution may have been partly due to George James’ health since he died only 11 days later. However, the dissolution may also have been forced onto the family by a creditor, Atkins Brothers, a silversmith in Charterhouse Street. All of this is reported in the London Gazette on April 10th and April 13th 1906. By June of 1907 the business seems to have moved across the road into the First Avenue Hotel Buildings where it continued briefly as an appraisal company which also sold Royal Worcester China and offered services in designs. The final termination of the family business seems to have come when the liquidators shut down their paperwork in August 1909. The Godwin family stationary, jewellery and silver business ultimately traded for at least 135 years, 108 of those out of the address at 304 High Holborn. It began at least as early as the reign of George III and ended in the reign of Edward VII. The First Avenue Hotel and the buildings opposite, which included 304 High Holborn, were destroyed by a bomb on the night of September 8th 1940.

George James' younger brother James Beebe Godwin had been farming in Essex before he moved to New Zealand. He had nine children, five sons and four daughters. Collectively there are at least 124 direct descendants of James Beebe and his wife Lucy living in New Zealand.

The Fifth Generation

The second oldest son Sidney Herbert, would be born in 1873 and at the age of 20 would take a ship called Umbilo to South Africa where he would join the Grahamstown Volunteers (called “Marshall’s Horse”) to fight against the Boers.

George James’ son Cecil Strickland would also go into the family business as a jeweller. He would fight in the Hampshire Regiment in World War I.

The Sixth Generation

Cecil Strickland's son Alan Strickland Godwin would die during the height of the Battle of Britain in September 1940.

Geoffrey Herbert’s family line would continue with three children, six grandchildren and eleven great grand children.

Nevil Strickland Godwin’s line continued through his two daughters.

*The London directories (and various other evidence) suggest that John’s name was associated with 161, 165, 167 and 171 Strand and 290 High Holborn while James’ name is on 177 Strand and 290 High Holborn. This is a confusing situation because the Elizabethan palace known as Somerset House was knocked down and completely rebuilt between 1776 and 1800. Consequently the numbers on some of the properties in The Strand were recast. What had been 167 Strand was renumbered 161 Strand, meanwhile the original 161 Strand was STILL number 161. So there were two number 161’s, but it seems almost certain that John lived in the eastern-most of the two because it would logically have originally been number 167. John had also leased number 165 Strand in 1775 for 25 years, which would have been his home, but he auctioned the last four years of the lease in 1796. This would have been the same as 171 Strand before the renumbering. So it looks like he only occupied two locations, 161/167 and 165/171.

**At this early date we know this was the original 171, later to become 165 Strand. We also know that James ⁽¹⁾ was at 177 selling hardware in 1789. The renumbering seems to have principally happened between 1788 and 1793.

^ John ⁽¹⁾ had three sons. His first wife died when they were all little children. The oldest was named Charles Samuel but was referred to as just Samuel and he trained as a goldsmith. The second was Charles William he disappears from the records but a W. Godwin silversmith appears at 290 Holborn in 1803. The third was John ⁽²⁾ and he disappears from the records and reappears in 1823 as a stationer but we have a John Godwin pocketbook maker living at 290 Holborn from 1810-1820.