Bessie Sargant née Underwood, born 1869 at Brighton, was the seventh child of John Harmer’s sister Zilpah and her husband Henry Underwood. This makes her John’s niece.
As a toddler Bessie lived at 11 Pelham Square, then for less than a year at 93 Upper North Street until the Underwood family settled at 99 Upper North Street in 1871. Her father died of cancer in 1874 when she was just five, followed by her mother (who died of consumption) in October 1881. In the census of April 1881 11 year old Bessie was at school. After the death of Zilpah Snr., Bessie’s 23 year old sister Zilpah doubtless became something of a mother figure to her.
Marriage
Bessie married Alfred Sargant in Jun Q 1889 at Brighton, when she was 19 or 20. Alfred, who was born at Petworth in the winter of 1867, was an oilman / colourman, so may have worked with Bessie’s brother Albert. In the 1891 census the couple were living at 95 Islingword Road off Elm Grove, Brighton. 1891 and 1892’s street directories list ‘W. Hammond, Oilman’ at this address, and 1893’s lists ‘Charles Chapman, Oilman’.
Clubs and pubs
By 1901 Alfred and Bessie were living and working at the Constitutional Club in East Grinstead. This imposing stone building was constructed in 1896, and is now in use as offices and retail premises. Constitutional clubs were (and are) democractically organised private clubs for members of the Conservative party. As dull as this sounds, they actually provide social events, are licenced to serve alcohol, and usually provide a venue for sporting activities. These days the latter seem to comprise of darts and televised football, but in the early 1900s most had a billiards hall.
By 1911 Bessie (40) and Alfred (42) had moved to Ashford, Kent. Bessie’s widowed sister Zilpah, 53, was living with them. Alfred was club steward for the Elwick Club on Church Road there, and Zilpah and Bessie were helping out with the day to day running of the club. The club is a private members club which is still going strong today.
When Zilpah passed away on 13th November 1929, aged 72, she left her £35 estate to Bessie. Her address at that time was 49 South Road, Newhaven. A quick Google search revealed that back then this was the Plough public house, which from 1934 (1938 at the latest) has been known as the Prince of Wales. A list of landlords provided by the wonderful website pubshistory.com suggests that the Sargants were running the pub for some years between 1919 and 1929.
After Zilpah’s death Alfred and Bessie returned to Brighton, where they ran the Albion Inn at 28 Albion Hill.
Final years
Bessie died in 1933, aged 64. Curiously her place of death was Wivelsfield, which may imply that she died at St. Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath – which at that time was still in use as the County Lunatic Asylum. Without sight of her death certificate, however, this remains conjecture. I have written a little about mental health and the Harmers of Heathfield here.
Alfred died at Brighton in 1937, aged 69. The couple had no children.
