Henry Clapcott Girdlestone, SV/PROG 2

See notes at the bottom about the origin of Henry's second name.

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FS family tree profile here: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MCSD-CX5

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GRO birth registration:
GIRDLESTONE, HENRY CLAPCOTT [mmn] BOLTON
GRO Reference: 1862 D Quarter in BLYTHING Volume 04A Page 636

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Christening 19th Dec 1862, Wangford (St Peter & St Paul parish church https://www.wangford.net/church/index.php), Suffolk (mother's name incorrectly cited):
Name: Henry Clapcott Girdlestone
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 19 Dec 1862
Christening Date (Original): 19 DEC 1862
Christening Place: WANGFORD BY SOUTHWOLD,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND
Father's Name: Horatio Girdlestone
Mother's Name: Helen Catherine
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J3VQ-L61 : 11 February 2018, Henry Clapcott Girdlestone, 19 Dec 1862); citing WANGFORD BY SOUTHWOLD,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 952,462.

From Wangford parish register:
Henry Clapcott Girdlestone s/o Horatio and Ellen Catherine Girdlestone.
Privately baptised 19th Dec 1862, received into the church 13th Dec 1864.
Horatio - a surgeon.
("Received into church" usually refers to the conclusion of the rite of baptism following a private baptism. Private ("emergency") baptisms may be carried out if the baby is sickly and not expected to live. Private baptisms may be carried out by anyone, for example the midwife. From this forum.)

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1871 Census, aged 8, at Andover, Hampshire:
"England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VF63-GGG : 10 December 2017), Henry Girdlestone in entry for Horatio Girdlestone, 1871.
Page: 1871 RG10/1242 Folio 83 Andover Dist 6 Page 15 Sched 76 The Hurst
Horatio Girdlestone Head Mar 57 MD MRCSL & LACL (not practising) Norfolk Hethersett
Ellen C Girdlestone Wife Mar 51 Norfolk Burnham
Lucy G Girdlestone Dau Unm 18 Scholar Staffordshire Hanly
Frances Girdlestone Dau 12 Scholar Suffolk Wangford
Henry Girdlestone Son 8 Scholar Suffolk Wangford
2 servants>

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1881 Census, aged 18, with family & servants, Bramshaw, Hants. :
"England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q274-PNM8 : 13 December 2017), Henry C Girdlestone in household of Horatio Girdlestone, Bramshaw, Hampshire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 1, Piece/Folio 1202/72, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,546.
Page: 1881 RG11/1202 Folio 72 New Forest - Lyndhurst Dist 1 Bramshaw
Page 1 Sched 3 Burnford House
Horatio Girdlestone Head Mar 61 Retired Doctor MD Norfolk Hetherstone
Ellen C Girdlestone Wife Mar 63 Norfolk Burnham
Fenella H Girdlestone Dau Unm 31 Staffordshire Hanley
Lucy G Girdlestone Dau Unm 28 Staffordshire Hanley
Frances Girdlestone Dau Unm 22 Suffolk Wangford
Henry C Girdlestone Son Unm 18 Suffolk Wangford
3 servants>

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This is the home where the family moved to after Andover: Wood End - archived site here, a large home in Ridgeway Lane, Pennington, Hants. The three unmarried sisters (Fenella, Lucy and Frances) moved back there by the 1911 Census, although away in Reigate, where Fenella owned a large house, in 1901. Frances was the last sibling to die, in 1939.
(Original web page of house.

1891 Census, aged 28, Pennington, Lymington, Hants, with father, sisters, servants, now a Modern Language Master (see also attachment under Sources).
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4QFR-VT2
From FreeCEN:
Piece: RG12/898 Place: Lymington -Hampshire Enumeration District: 7
Civil Parish: Lymington Ecclesiastical Parish: Lymington
Folio: 105 Page: 14 Schedule: 70
Address: Wood End
GIRDLESTONE Horatio Head W M 71 Rtd Physician Norfolk - Hethersett
GIRDLESTONE Fenella H Daur S F 41 Staffordshire - Hanley
GIRDLESTONE Lucy G Daur S F 37 Staffordshire - Hanley
GIRDLESTONE Frances Daur S F 30 Suffolk - Wangford
GIRDLESTONE Henry C Son S M 28 Modern Languages Master Suffolk - Wangford
CLARKE Louisa Servt S F 18 Cook Dom Servt Ireland
STICKLEE Rose Servt S F 19 Housemaid Dom Servt Hampshire - Lymington

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Graduated from University of London, BA degree (French & German), 1887. Became a master of modern languages.

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Married Evelyn Harris in 1894 in Lymington. He applied for a passport in the same year.

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They moved to Germany fairly soon after marrying, where Henry taught at Neuenheim College, Heidelberg, Germany, where his first few children were born (and where one of Oscar Wilde's sons was a student for a while after their his mother fled Europe to escape the scandal, and gave them pseudonyms - see links below). The location was at Mönchhofstraße 28, here, but there's an apparently more recently built nursing home there now.

There are several mentions of Henry in the school magazine, Der Neuenheimer (mostly in English) - see full list here, including his listing as Head master and Master of Classics in 1903, here.

About the history of Neuenheim College, later Heidelberg College - part-translation: When the British founded the Neuenheim College in 1843, young Englishmen of the upper classes are to receive their education here and to get to know the advantages of the British and Baden education system. The distinguished gentlemen import all kinds of sports from the island, for which Heidelberg is still known today: rugby, rowing, hockey, tennis and track and field athletics. At that time, the school building stood between Quinckestrasse and Keplerstraße, all except the language teachers all teachers came from England.
Neuenheim College merged with Heidelberg College in April 1906.

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Approved for admission to a BA degree at the University of the Cape of Good Hope in March 1904.
Report of the Council of the University of the Cape of Good Hope for the year 1903. See p. 15.
During the year the following Graduates of other Universities were approved for admission to degrees in this University, and will be admitted at the Graduation Ceremony in March, 1904:
1. Degree of B.A. ....
Henry Clapcott Girdlestone, B.A., London. This was presumably based on recognition of his University of London degree.

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Was living as College Warden at South African College, then in Breda Street (poss. cnr. Orange St?), Cape Town, at the time of the baptism of son Eustace, in March 1907. South African College boy's school in Cape Town

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He taught at the Diocesan College, Campground Road, Rondebosch (aka "Bishops"), from 1907 until his death in 1913. He penned Latin and history text books, and was an examiner in French and German. He also did some work for the Old Diocesans' Union and wrote up its register. He was an avid chess player. There is a brass in his honour in the Brooke Chapel.
Apart from the books mentioned below, he also wrote a "History of England", which was one of the textbooks used at the College. (Information kindly provided by the archivist, Dr Paul Murray.)

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Author of "Europe: Its Influence on South Africa", published in 1912, as well as Latin matriculation notes and "South Africa and the British Empire. A Course of Lessons for the Cape Matriculation History Syllabus of 1911" with co-author Alicia Sophia Bleby.The former was later revised and indexed by Cecil Lewis and Alicia Bleby, and republished in 1929.
The books by Henry are listed in WorldCat here: List of HC Clapcott books

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Civil Death certificate in Simonstown (attached as a source): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSC-QSDT
DEATH NOTICE (South Africa) - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-QSTV-J?i=780&cc=2517051&cat=331262''' (2 versions) Signed in Rondebosch.
Copies attached.

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Died at the Cottage Hospital at Simon’s Town (see here for history).

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Buried at St Peter's Cemetery in Observatory.
http://www.ancestors.co.za/database/member/st-peters-view.php?q=3134 and http://www.ancestors.co.za/database/member/st-peters-transcription....
Photos of the memorial cube here: http://www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=3352141 (See also photo attached under Media.)

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Obituary in school journal (Diocesan College Magazine) after his death - see attached - says that Henry had gone to Simonstown on the Friday before his death to stay with "his cousin, Commander Nelson", for the weekend, apparently quite well, but was struck down and died within 4 days of double pneumonia. The Editorial in the magazine talks of "grief into which the whole College has been suddenly plunged by the loss of a master so highly esteemed by all for his unselfish character and conspicuous devotion to duty... sympathy with his relatives, especially the bereaved wife and family of five children in their irreparable loss.".
(The identity of the abovementioned Commander Nelson has not been established.)

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Memorial plaques (see under Media) - one in the chapel at Diocesan College (BIshops) where he taught for seven years, and one at St Mark's Pennington (Lymington) for Henry and his son Horace, who died a few years later in WW1.

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Some information on other family trees:
http://www.slatters.org.uk/history/bowdens/bk/f4769.htm
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=horatione...
(Both with sources.)

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NOTE (trivia): Some more about Oscar Wilde's sons (Cyril and Vyvyan) and mention of Neuenheim College on these sites:
https://etinkerbell.wordpress.com/2015/06/13/my-father-oscar-wilde/ and http://histclo.com/bio/w/wilde/bw-kids.html

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Notes about the likely origin of Henry's unusual second name:

Background story: This investigation all began when I discovered a Henry Clapcott on Wikipedia, who was born in Dorset but emigrated to NZ. Henry Clapcott
That led me into investigating his family (found baptism based on his brother's second name and Venn record of birth), which uncovered the fact that several had moved to Flegg, (another interesting diversion!)... and then this couple turn up in Hulver St, now Henstead, just up the road from Wangford at the time of the 1861 Census, just before Henry is born:

Name John W Clapcott
County Suffolk
Event Type Census
Event Date 1861
Event Place Hulver Street, Suffolk, England
Ecclesiastical Parish Norwich
Registration District Blything
Residence Note Hulver Street
Gender Male
Age 40
Marital Status Married
Occupation Curate Of Henstead
Relationship to Head of Household Head
Birth Year (Estimated) 1821
Birthplace Tarrant Keynston, Dorset
Page Number 12
Registration Number RG09
Piece/Folio 1183 / 132

John W Clapcott Head M 40 Tarrant Keynston, Dorset
Anne S Clapcott Wife F 39 Durham, Durham
Hannah Curtis Servant F 18 Smallburgh, Norfolk
Edward Tidman Servant M 15 Cranworth, Norfolk
"England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7DK-4HH : 11 December 2017), John W Clapcott, Hulver Street, Suffolk, England; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

Being a tiny village, it is likely that the curate and his wife would have travelled to Wangford to see Dr Girdlestone, Henry's father - or perhaps Horatio and Ellen travelled to Henstead and met the curate there. Either way, this is too much of a coincidence to be just chance - and Clapcott is an unusual name, all of the earliest available occurrences (17th C) being in Dorset. (Unfortunately to date haven't been able to obtain info about whether one of the Clapcotts was a godparent, because the original PR image is not available online.)

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