Grave Nch 25 (Worn and hardly legible)

Richard was born in Brimpton in 1797, one of a large family. He was for seven years the schoolmaster at Aldermaston. He married Ann Whistler at Aldermaston in 1823. About 1832 the family moved to Kingsclere and five children were added to the four they had already. In 1841 he was employed as a land measurer, probably for the new Enclosure Act. Then he became the landlord of The Pineapple pub in Brimpton, which was leased from Winchester Cathedral by his distant cousins, Goddards of Blacknest in Brimpton. Then he and his family moved to Newbury where he took over the New Inn in the Cattle Market. In 1842 his wife died following complications after the birth of their tenth child. Richard married Ann Patience Dicks in 1848 and they had one child.

The Newbury Borough Police sergeant, George Goddard was his nephew, son of his brother William, and it appears that there was some ill feeling in the family. After a disagreement Ann Patience Goddard, nee Dicks, left the pub and moved into the household of George Goddard. There was a court case in June 1830 when Richard was charged with failing to support his wife thus making her “chargeable to the common fund of Newbury Union”. In other words she was destitute and had applied for charity relief.

Richard replied that he was giving up the pub and his son was to take over. He had taken rooms in town for himself and his wife but she had refused to move with him. While he was absent from the pub articles had been removed by the police sergeant, probably at his wife's request. The court was not able to agree on the subject as to whether he had failed to support his wife and dismissed the case to cheers from the court. Mrs Ann Patience Goddard did not return to her husband and ended her days in lodgings. Richard stayed at the New Inn while his son was landlord, but worked as a dealer. He died in the Church Alms Houses in October 1875. A funeral service was conducted at St John the Evangelist and he was buried in Newtown Road Cemetery.

The tombstone records the death of his first wife, Ann Whistler Goddard, but she was actually buried in St Nicolas' Churchyard in 1842. The footstone reads RG 1878, AWG 1842 and JG 1882, the last being John Goddard son of Richard who died in the Berkshire Lunatic Asylum. 

Ann Patience Goddards body was brought from Kennington for burial on 2 may 1883

Children:

Richard (1828- 1887) married Selina/Sabina in 1854. No children. He was a police constable for a time before taking over the New Inn.

William (1831?- unmarried in 1851 census

John died in Berkshire Lunatic Asylum in 1882. Had a son Richard John who was still in Newbury in the 1901 census.

Francis left Newbury for Croydon between 1851 and 1861.

Thomas went into the navy. Married a Devon girl. Died in Essex in 1898.

Alfred left Newbury between 1851 and 1861. Went to Croydon. Died 1920.

Henry left between 1851 and 1861. Went to Greenwich and died there 1876.

James died under a year in 1846. The son of the second family Edwin, left Newbury for Lambeth and died there 1906.

Ann - married name Rolfe.

Jane moved to Croydon. Ancestor of Sue Knight of Canada.

Catherine- married name Earley.

Author: Julie Goddard
© Julie Goddard

RICHARD GODDARD
Near to the north gate of the cemetery there is a gravestone which is rapidly deteriorating. It is to Richard Goddard, who died 3 November 1875 aged 78, his first wife Ann Whistler Goddard and his son John. In fact Ann was not buried here, but in St Nicolas churchyard in 1857. And John died at Cholsey Mental Hospital aged 48 in 1882. He was buried in the same grave as Richard, but only commemorated by the initials J G.
Richard was born in Brimpton, the fourth child of Richard and Catherine Goddard and was christened at St Peter's there on 6th December 1797. Richard, his father, died in 1805, leaving his mother Catherine to raise ten children alone, the eldest, Susannah being 12. Richard married Ann Whistler of Aldermaston in 1823. He is recorded on the baptism records of their first four children as a school teacher at Aldermaston school.
From 1831 he tried his hand at running a public house "The Pineapple" in Brimpton. However, the pub belonged to Winchester College and was only leased to the other Goddard family in Brimpton, who lived at the estate called "Blacknest". When the "Blacknest" Goddards sold up and moved to Yorkshire the lease of the Pineapple was not renewed. Richard had to look for other work. In the 1841 census he is a Land Measurer, presumably helping measure land for the Enclosures Acts.
Sometime after this he moved with the family to Newbury and became licensee at the "New Inn" in the Cattle Market. In 1846 his wife Ann, died from complications from giving birth to her twelfth child. With ten surviving children to be looked after and a pub to run Richard took another wife, Ann Patience Dicks of Bucklebury.
Returning to the children of Richard the elder and Catherine his wife; the next youngest child to Richard was William born in 1799. William had a son, George, who worked his way up through the police force to become a Police Sergeant in the Newbury Borough Police in 1868.
On 30 June 1870 the Newbury Weekly News reported on a court case in which Richard the publican was accused of "neglecting to maintain his wife, [Ann Patience Goddard] who had become chargeable to the Common Fund of the Newbury Union.". Richard explained to the court that he was in the process of handing over the pub to his son Richard.
Richard senior's son Richard had also been in the police force in Walworth and Croydon but had returned to Newbury with his wife Sabina to help his father. Richard further explained that he had rented two rooms in town into which he intended to move, but his wife had refused to join him. She had instead moved in with Police Sergeant George Goddard and his wife Elizabeth. Richard complained that at a time when he was away from home some of his household goods had been removed to the house of the Police Sergeant. Richard said that he was quite willing to support his wife if she returned to him. The court declined to interfere in what seems to have been a martial disagreement carried to extremes. In the 1871 census Richard was still living at the pub, with his son Richard and his wife running it, but he described himself as "a widower". This was not the last time that Police Sergeant George Goddard was in conflict with his uncle and cousin. In 1874, just after new licensing hours had been passed, he charged Richard junior, who was now landlord of the New Inn, with supplying liqueur after hours. The case was dismissed. Richard died in 1875 and was buried in the Cemetery, aged 78 on 3 November that year. Ann Patience Goddard died aged 72 and was buried 2 May 1883 her body being brought to the Cemetery from Hannington.
Further notes: 1. According to Berkshire FHS George, the Police Sergeant died in 1887 and was buried in the Cemetery on January 31. He had in fact lost his position in the police force when Newbury Borough Police were taken over by a County Police Force.

2. Ann, the first child of Richard junior, born in 1824, married Richard Rolfe an eminent eminent Newburian, and was buried in the Cemetery 4 February 1881, aged 56. 3.

Information on the family has come mainly from Sue Knight of Ontario, Canada, a descendant of Jane, daughter of Richard and Ann Whistler Goddard, born 1825.

Author: Julie Goddard
©