Philip Chauncy’s memoir: 1837
Philip continues his training as a surveyor
The State Library of Victoria has an unpublished memoir of my third great grandfather, Philip Lamothe Snell Chauncy (1816 – 1880), which he wrote in 1877. I have been transcribing it in this series of posts.
Philip Chauncy commenced his professional training as a surveyor in 1834, when he was articled for five years to Joseph Jackson, Land Surveyor, of the town of March in the Cambridgeshire fens.
In 1837 Chauncy worked on surveys in Elm, Orwell, Over and Bardolph Fen in Cambridgeshire, and Upwell in Norfolk. His recreations included skating and fishing, and he enjoyed traveling to London. 1837 was the year of Victoria’s accession: in the town of March, with many other English towns, this was celebrated with fireworks.
In this year two of his older sisters emigrated to South Australia. An enthusiastic letter from one of these, Theresa, urged that there would be opportunities there for Philip and his brother William, and Philip seems to have spent some time reading about emigration and considering whether he should follow her to Australia.
I spent the month of January at Mr. Jackson’s and was engaged on various office work, chiefly connected with the Elm Enclosure.
The usual gaieties of the season were kept up with more than usual spirit this year. – I went to dinner parties and balls at the houses of the surrounding gentry, and often spent many hours in the pleasant amusement of skating – for which the town of March has always been famous.
The artificial rivers and drains of the fens with their still waters become readily frozen and afford hundreds of miles of ice for the skaters who are persons of all classes and ages from the child of five or six years old, and of both sexes.
Whenever the ice is strong enough, races are run in skates, sometimes for one or two hundred pounds a side.
A champion from March has more than once won & worn the belt of all England. The fen people are great skaters, but they always run straight as in Holland. They despise the London “fancy skating”. The only exception to the straight running is when a game of bandy is played in “pattens” on the ice.
The worldly society in which I was placed was doubtless prejudicial to my best interests, and I have often had reason to deplore my indecision and distance from God.
I suffered much during this year from my stomach complaint.
On the 30th January 1837 I visited my Father in London & on the 1st February Mrs Chauncy my step mother accompanied me to consult Mr. Lloyd M.D. the successor of Abernethy who prescribed for me.
On the 7th Feb. I returned to March. where I was again occupied with the Elm Enclosure business. On the 16th I accompanied Mr. Jackson to Cambridge to take some levels for the defendant in a certain pending lawsuit.
This was the first levelling that I had seen. We all dined at the Bull & Mouth Hotel in Cambridge. It was on this business I first met Alfred Searle, afterwards Assist surveyor in Western Australia.
About this time Mr Jackson put in a tender for enclosing an open field of 2000 acres at 10/- an acre for the survey but was not successful in obtaining it.
An 3rd April I went with Mr Jackson in his gig to Upwell in Norfolk and we made a survey & levelled a portion of the west bank of the river Ouse and then returned to March by way of Wisbech on the 6th.
Until the end of July I was engaged in various office and field duties corrected with the enclosure surveys & valuations of Elm, Orwell and Bardolph Fen.
Mr. Jackson effected the Valuations of land in the parish of Elm to the extent of 11000 acres for £250 by contract.
The three Commissioners for Orwell Enclosure receive £750 each
I finished the plans of Elm Inclosure on the sheets of Vellum & the copies on parchment & also drew the plans of Orwell on Vellum & the copies, and places of survey of the river Ouse.
I accompanied Mr Jackson to St. Ives & was engaged taking levels at Norwood Common.
From the 8th to 12th May we attended Elm Enclosure meeting at the White Hart at Wisbech.
On the 20th May I drew a copy of the Valuations at Orwell for Lord Hardwick.
On the 5th June a party of us including seven ladies went fishing in West fen Engine drain. On the 7th to 16th I was at home at March Mr. Jackson having taken his family to Orwell.
About this time I took much pleasure in several fishing excursions. We caught pike, perch, toach, bream, Eels, & Miller’s thuribs [??]. The amusements were varied with quoits.
On the 29th June Queen Victoria was proclaimed in March by the sub Sheriff – Mr. Dobode and there was a display of fireworks in the Evening.
On the 6th Aug. Mr. J. attended the first. meeting of the Over Inclosure Commissioners at St Ives in Hunts. The Act of Parliamt for this Inclosure was paper on the 30th June, by wh. he was appointed commis & Surveyor.
On the 22d to 24th we attended the Enclosure meeting at Wisbech. Commissioners awarded me great me praise for the plans.
I finished off two sets of plans of the Elm and Orwell Inclosure surveys and some other plans during the months of Sept. and Oct. – Six hours was a day’s work.
During this time I suffered greatly with my stomach complaint and at Mr. Jackson’s suggestion took essence of ginger, but atho’ it proved a wonderful remedy at first I soon found it injured me and that it was difficult to do without it. Dr. Thackery of Cambridge whom I consulted told me to avoid all stimulants as I would poison.
On the 6th. Nov. we. began the Survey of Over in Cambridgeshire Mr. J. left it to me and I carried it on successfully until my complaint obliged me to abandon it and on the 22d I returned home very weak thro’ not having eaten any meal since the 13th. On the 14th Dec. I consulted Dr Thackery.
On the 16th I went to London on a visit to my Father.
My sisters Theresa and Martha had gone to South Australia last year and I had received Theresa’s journal which William and I contemplated publishing (The Ms is now among my papers) with some comments of our own.
At this time I desired to raise some money on my reversionary interest in Father’s annuity or my Step Mother’s settlement; but our solicitor, Mr. Western, recommended me not to attempt to sell my smaller reversion in the consols worth about £523 at the decease of my step mother (who died 24 January 1868). Theresa & Martha’s similar interests in that smaller reversion did not fetch more than £150 each.
About this time I called on my Step uncle John Curtis of Soho square and also on several persons connected with the new province of South Australia – Robt Gouger first Coll Secretary &c.
Mr. Jackson now agreed to take brother Hugh as as his articled purple [sic.] on the low terms of £160 for four years, on consideration, he said, of my good conduct.
On the 24th Dec. I dined at Curtis’s and there met his sister Matilda.
On Christmas day I, William, Eunice, Hugh, Anna and Sophia dined at Curtis’s and spent a pleasant evening.
26th Dec. William and I went to Hamstead Heath, hired ponies. and rode to Highgate and back.
27th Dec. My step mother, Eunice, Anna, Sophia and I went over the Tower of London and witnessed the evolutions of some companies of soldiers. In the White Tower (since burnt down) I handled the axe which was used to decapitate Lady Jane Grey, and other relics, We also saw the Thames on fire. Davis’s stores of oil and turpentine were burnt and the inflamable matter floating down the river set two ships on fire and burnt them to the waters edge.
29th Dec. To day I called at the offices of the South Australian Commissioners; No. 6 Adelphi Terrace, Strand, where I first became acquainted with Mr. John Hutt their secretary and afterwards Governor of Western Australia. (See the account of South Austa in the (London) Morning Herald of the 1st March 1837.)
I could not find the article Philip referred to in the Morning Herald (London) dated 1 March. There was an advertisement on 7 March and an article on 23 March:
Philip’s training as a surveyor continued until 1839. I will resume his account of his training in a future post.
Related posts and further reading
1877 Memoir by Philip Chauncy
Capturing Cambridge: The history of fen skating. (2021, September 8). The Museum of Cambridge. https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/2021/09/the-history-of-fen-skating/
Turkey smart – Champion skater of the fens. (n.d.). Wisbech and Fenland Museum. https://www.wisbechmuseum.org.uk/turkey-smart-champion-skater-of-the-fens
This post first published at https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/2025/01/30/philip-chauncys-memoir-1837/
I feel like I need more details about him handling the axe that decapitated Lady Jane Grey 😅 I was NOT expecting that, haha.