Thomas Battcock (1763-1800), the journey to London

Thomas Battcock was born in Ford, Sussex sometime between 1750 and 1765.  He started out as a farmer.  In the 1770s Thomas moved to London.  It is not clear why Thomas moved to London but life was pretty difficult in Sussex.  Two of Thomas’ cousins died in work-houses.  Thomas was part of the huge movement of people out of the rural areas in the 18^th century.  In some villages 70% of the people moved away. 

Thomas moved to a London where the heads of traitors were stuck on pikes on the gates into city and the streets ran with filth.  By the time he died, London was the largest and most important city in the world.

Thomas started out in Kensington.  In the 1780s, he married Margaret.  Thomas and Margaret married in their twenties which was quite a young age for the time.  Most people did not get married until they were thirty.  Thomas and Margaret had three children: Thomas William, William Robert and George.  Thomas was christened in Kensington but there is a reference to William being christened in Ford, so Thomas must have still been in contact with his relatives back in Sussex. 

William married Mary, who came from Devon.  They lived at 4 Queen Street (which is now Flood Street) in Chelsea.  They had one son called William Thomas John Battcock in 1803.  

William played cricket for Sussex as cricket first became an organized and spectator sport.  Sussex as a named team started in 1729. After Richmond, the team’s patron died in 1751, the team declined until the Brighton club was established at its Prince of Wales Ground in 1790. This club sustained cricket in Sussex throughout the Napoleonic Wars and, by the end of the war had one of the strongest teams in England. Tens of thousands would turn up for county matches.  This was mostly for the gambling.  Thousands of pounds were bet on each match and even on individual innings and batsmen.  Bookies were not banned from Lords until 1825. 

George Battcock was baptized in 1788 in Kensington.  Thomas Battcock died in 1799 in Kensington leaving an estate worth £5,000.