Mary Halworth

Mary Halworth

Mary was born at St Ives in 1792. She was married to Thomas Halworth. Her birth surname is unknown. On 12 March 1814, aged 22yrs, she was convicted of larceny at Huntingdon Assizes. Her friends, sisters Ann Lantaff aged 23years and Elizabeth Lantaff, aged 17yrs, were likewise convicted. The group had been caught shoplifting. All three were given the death sentence. This was commuted to transportation to Australia for life.

After a period in gaol at Huntingdon Mary was transferred to either Newgate Prison or the prison hulk Dunkirk moored at Portsmouth. She spent many months in appalling conditions before boarding the Northampton at Portsmouth. There were 110 female convicts on board.

The Northampton set sail on 1 January 1815, the voyage taking 169 days. Joseph Arnold, Northampton's surgeon, wrote a transcript of the voyage.

Convict ship setting sail for Australia

Off Madeira on 18 February 1815 they were captured by an American ship, 'but afterwards liberated, the enemy not liking the cargo, and suffered her to proceed on her voyage.'

There were ten deaths, four of whom were convicts. Fatalities were low compared to previous transportations since this was first to have a naval surgeon appointed to care for the convicts. The passenger list included thirty free women and about forty children, most intending to join their husbands who had previously arrived as convicts.

The Northampton arrived in New South Wales on 18 June 1815 and Mary went through a process of disembarkation.

Little is known of how Mary fared in Australia. It appears she was assigned to work for T Turner Lyon on arrival and became his wife. It was not unusual for female convicts to marry soon after arriving in Australia. With nine men to every woman they were in demand and also needed protection.

Elizabeth Lantaff

Elizabeth Lantaff

Elizabeth was born at St Ives in 1797 to Thomas and Elizabeth. She had two brothers and two sisters.

In 1814 Elizabeth, aged 17yrs, her sister Ann aged 23yrs, and friend Mary Halworth 22yrs, were caught shoplifting. On 12 March 1814 they were found guilty of larceny at Huntingdon Assizes. All three were given the death sentence. This was commuted to transportation to Australia for life.

After a period in gaol at Huntingdon Elizabeth was transferred to either Newgate Prison or the prison hulk Dunkirk moored at Portsmouth. She spent many months in appalling conditions before boarding the Northampton at Portsmouth. There were 110 female convicts on board.

The Northampton set sail on 1 January 1815, the voyage taking 169 days. Joseph Arnold, Northampton's surgeon, wrote a transcript of the voyage.

Off Madeira on 18 February 1815 they were captured by an American ship, 'but afterwards liberated, the enemy not liking the cargo, and suffered her to proceed on her voyage.'

There were ten deaths, four of whom were convicts. Fatalities were low compared to previous transportations since this was first to have a naval surgeon appointed to care for the convicts. The passenger list included thirty free women and about forty children, most intending to join their husbands who had previously arrived as convicts.

The Northampton arrived in New South Wales on 18 June 1815 and Elizabeth entered the penal colony at Port Jackson, Sydney, undergoing a process of disembarkation.

Port Jackson, Sydney from the Rocks

On 18 April 1818, aged 21yrs, Elizabeth was granted a conditional pardon. Her occupation was shown as a mantua maker. She was described as just under 5ft 4ins tall, with a fair complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes.

Elizabeth married James Thompson, a free man and butcher, on 29 April 1818. It was not unusual for female convicts to marry soon after arriving in Australia. With nine men to every woman they were in demand and also needed protection.

The marriage was successful, producing one son and three daughters. The family lived at The Rocks, Sydney, James listed as landowner and publican of the Coach and Horses in Cumberland Street, Sydney. He died in 1837.

Elizabeth died on 6 October 1858, aged 61yrs.

Ann Lantaff

Ann Lantaff

Ann was born at St Ives in 1791 to Thomas and Elizabeth. She was the eldest of five children, with two brothers and two sisters.

In 1814 Ann, aged 23yrs, her sister Elizabeth aged 17yrs, and friend Mary Halworth 22yrs, were caught shoplifting. On 12 March 1814 they were found guilty of larceny at Huntingdon Assizes. All three were given the death sentence. This was commuted to transportation to Australia for life.

After a period in gaol at Huntingdon Ann was transferred to either Newgate Prison or the prison hulk Dunkirk moored at Portsmouth. She spent many months in appalling conditions before boarding the Northampton at Portsmouth. There were 110 female convicts on board.

The Northampton set sail on 1 January 1815, the voyage taking 169 days. Joseph Arnold, Northampton's surgeon, wrote a transcript of the voyage.

Off Madeira on 18 February 1815 they were captured by an American ship, 'but afterwards liberated, the enemy not liking the cargo, and suffered her to proceed on her voyage.'

There were ten deaths, four of whom were convicts. Fatalities were low compared to previous transportations since this was first to have a naval surgeon appointed to care for the convicts. The passenger list included thirty free women and about forty children, most intending to join their husbands who had previously arrived as convicts.

The Northampton arrived in New South Wales on 18 June 1815. After completing the process of disembarkation, Ann worked as a servant.

Convict ship arriving at Sydney Cove

In late 1816 Ann sought approval to marry Ambrose Bryant, a convict and stonemason. They were married on 3 December 1816. It was not unusual for female convicts to marry soon after arriving in Australia. With nine men to every woman they were in demand and also needed protection.

Ambrose was a good choice of husband. His trade meant he was strong and able to defend his family. Stonemason skills were much in demand in a country where the population more than doubled every ten years. The marriage was successful, producing two sons and three daughters. Her first daughter, named Elizabeth, died when aged just 2yrs.

In 1824, still formally a convict and aged 35yrs, Ann was described as just under 5ft 8ins tall, stout, with a fresh complexion, brown hair and grey eyes. By 1828 the family moved to the tiny settlement of Sutton Forest, about 85 miles south west of Sydney, possibly to take up a grant of land. A visitor to the settlement in 1832 described it as 'a most luxurious spot, there is much of the English village in miniature about this township...'

Ann at some point returned Sydney, living at 32 Burton Street. She died in 1849, aged 58yrs, at Goulbourn Street, Sydney.

St Ives men and women transported to Australia

St Ivians transported

In 1814 three young St Ives women, sisters Ann and Elizabeth Lantaff and Mary Halworth, were found guilty of shop lifting. Today it's unlikely the police would even be called to attend. But justice was much sterner in the early 19th century. The three girls, aged between 17 and 23yrs, were sentenced to death at Huntingdon Assizes.

Not untypically, this was commuted to transportation for life. Read on about the experience of transportation and what happened to Ann, Elizabeth, Mary and the other St Ives men and women who were transported to Australia.

Convicts preparing for transportation

Justice in the 19th century
Sentences were harsh in the 1800s. More than two hundred crimes could result in execution, some by gruesome means. Most death sentences were for non-violent property crimes, over half for a first offence. So it was common to commute to transportation for between three years and life.

Penal colonies were established in remote locations and there was no procedure for return after the sentence had been served. Thus very few of those transported ever returned home. Transportation was effectively banishment for life.

A brief history of transportation

First legislated in 1597, for almost 200 years convicts sentenced to transportation were sent to North America and the West Indies. From the late 18th century the industrial revolution led to huge urbanisation and mass migration of population from working on the land to cities. Overcrowding and unemployment resulting from a quadrupling of population in just one hundred years created desperate conditions. Many of those most desperate turned to crime.

The first transportation fleet at Botany Bay

After the 1776 American Declaration of Independence transportation stopped. As prison overcrowding worsened alternative transportation destinations were considered. Just seventeen years after Captain James Cook claimed Australia as a British territory and a gap of eight years in transportation, a fleet of eleven ships carrying 778 convicts sailed to Australia.

They arrived to establish a settlement at Sydney Cove, the first British settlement, on 26 January 1788, a date now celebrate as Australia Day. The first penal colonies were in New South Wales and Norfolk Island. Van Diemen's Land followed in 1803.

Transportation officially ended in 1868, although it had become less used before that date. About 165,000 were transported to Australia. Almost 90% were men. Ages ranged from 9 to over 80 years.

Convict transportees on their way to Australia

From conviction to colony

After a period in the local gaol, often in solitary confinement, those sentenced to transportation were sent to prison hulks. These were rotting unseaworthy warships used as floating prisons, moored in the Thames and other locations.

With conditions even worse than the overcrowded gaols, standards of hygiene were so poor diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera were common. The death rate even before setting sail was one in three.

Convicts were put to hard labour in chain gangs, working in the docks or dredging the Thames. At night they were chained to their bunks. Rations were  deliberately inadequate and convicts became malnourished.

There was only one hulk used for women prisoners, the Dunkirk moored at Portsmouth. They also underwent hard labour, though less physically demanding, such as beating hemp.

Prison hulks moored at Portsmouth

On embarkation to Australia convicts were taken aboard ship wearing chains and shackles. Sometimes these were worn throughout the journey. Locked in iron cages below deck in unsanitary conditions, they came on deck only for fresh air and exercise.

The journey took up to six months. Already weakened by their experience while in custody, on the early journeys many convicts died from dreadful conditions aboard ship. From 1840 onwards conditions improved. Joseph Arnold, surgeon of the Northampton, wrote a transcript of the voyage. One of the St Ives' transportees, Mary Halworth, was aboard the Northampton.

The penal colony
The worst experiences for convicts occurred whilst awaiting and then undergoing transportation. Provided  they were compliant while serving their term, Australia offered them opportunities. Any reluctance to comply was dealt with harshly, such as flogging, leg irons or transportation to a much stricter penal colony.

Convicts were allocated work as soon as they arrived according to their skills. Unskilled men were assigned to work gangs, building roads and similar tasks. Female convicts usually became domestic servants, or were sometimes forced into prostitution, such was the sparsity of women.

Convicts arriving at an Australian penal colony

Wherever possible convicts were assigned to free settlers, responsible for their keep and discipline in exchange for a grant of land. They were well fed, with twice the daily calories a typical British labourer would receive.

After serving roughly half their sentence or about 12 years if a life sentence, convicts could be issued with a Ticket of Leave. This entitled them to certain freedoms such as the right to marry, bring their families from Britain or to acquire property. Those who served out their full sentence or were granted a pardon usually remained in Australia as free settlers.

St Ives men and women transported to Australia
Listed below are the thirteen St Ivians transported to Australia. Click any link to read the life story.

Henry Armstead
Henry Canham
William Epey

William Fuller

Mary Ann Greensmith
Mary Halworth
Thomas Hand
John Howard
Ann Lantaff
Elizabeth Lantaff
Sarah Lenton
John Luff
Mary Ann Wootton

St Ives photographs post 1950

Photos of St Ives post 1950

The Dolphin Hotel, late 1970s. Earliest know date 1594. Closed in 1968 and stood derelict until demolished and rebuilt 1985.

The Cherry Tree, Merryland, 1977. Earliest known date 1838. No longer a pub by 1924. After a fire the building was demolished.

The Greyhound, Carlisle Terrace, early 1970s. Earliest known date 1838. No longer a pub.

The Dun Horse, Ramsey Road, early 1970s. Earliest known date 1790. Renamed The Aviator in 1992. Closed about 2014.

The Robin Hood, Market Hill, early 1970s. Earliest known date 1728, probably much older. Originally split into two pubs. Closed an unused since 2012.

The Manchester Arms, Needingworth Road, early 1970s. Earliest known date 1838. No longer a pub.

The Black Bull, London Road, 1970s. Trading since the 1830s. No longer a pub.

St Ives railway station, 1950s.

St Ives railway station, 1950s

St Ives railway station, early 1970s, shortly before demolition.

St Ives 24 December 1920

Charles Robert Bullard

Charles Robert Bullard

In 1905 a basket weaver from St Ives invented the treaded tyre, a feature today of every form of transport and a legal minimum requirement for motorised vehicles. His idea was so revolutionary he got an offer equivalent to £3 million for the rights. Choosing to patent the innovation himself, his dreams of making a fortune came crashing down when he was made bankrupt just a year later and his story of 'Fortune Thrown Away' was reported around the world. Read on for more details of his life and how he coped with the disappointment.


Following the introduction of the modern bicycle, John Dunlop's 1888 invention of the pneumatic tyre with inner tube made cycling much more comfortable. Bicycles gained popularity as a means of transport and cycling clubs sprung up.

St Ives was one of the earliest, formed in 1877. The Cambridge Independent Press 3 May 1889 wrote of the 'desirability of resuscitating the St Ives Cycling Club', which originally ran from 1877 to 1884. An article in the Cambridge Daily News a week later told of the first meeting of the reformed Club, there being about sixteen bicycles and a good number of spectators.

Whippet safety bicycle 1885

Charles Bullard most probably was one of those eager cyclists. Born in Crown Street, St Ives in 1865, he was the youngest of five children born to John Bullard and Maria (née Robb). The family made baskets from willows grown on Holt Island, employing four men. Initially Charles worked as an apprentice draper, lodging at James Smith's drapers, clothier and shoe seller's store in Bridge Street.

It wasn't long before Charles took over the family business. The Cambridge Independent Press 5 May 1889 records that Charles and his workers celebrated May Day on Holt Island with flags, refreshments, amusements and evening dancing. And J Kemp Foster, in his reminiscences of St Ives in the late 19th century published by the Hunts Post 12 June 1909, remembers Charles selling his baskets at the corner of Bridge Street, as shown in the image below. Might that be Charles wearing the bowler hat?

Charles Bullard's basket stall in Bridge Street, on the right. Possibly Charles himself in the bowler hat.

In 1894 Charles married Annie Bebee. They lived in Campion's Yard, St Ives. Their first child, unnamed, was stillborn. A daughter and four sons followed.

About 1905 Charles had his bright idea for a non-skidding device for tyres. The invention was so good it won the 1906 £100 prize awarded by the Cyclists' Touring Club for the best invention of its kind. It also attracted an offer of £16,000 for the rights, equivalent to £2 million today.

Believing he was onto something good, Charles turned down the offer. He contacted Bromhead & Co, a firm of patent agents, to protect his invention in the UK, France, Germany and America.

Another offer to purchase the rights was made, this time for £25,000, today's value £3 million. In fact the bidder, Ernest Terah Hooley, secured acceptance with a £20 deposit. Charles was probably unaware he was now swimming in shark-infested waters.

Hooley certainly had a background in the bicycle business, buying such famous names as Dunlop and Raleigh and selling them on at inflated prices to make a huge profit. He was bankrupt several times and served two prison terms from 1911 onwards. It's easy to see how Charles might have been persuaded by a man the chief prosecutor named the most attractive personality he'd encountered in his professional career.

The promise of riches all came to nothing. Charles appeared in the City of London Court, sued by Bromhead & Co. and reported by the Hunts Post 6 October 1906. He had paid £30 on account, equivalent to more than £3,000 today, and Bromhead & Co. wanted the balance of their fees of about £10, over £1,200 today. Since he'd never been sent any patent certificates, Charles claimed he had no evidence the work was done.

Bromhead & Co. produced the certificates for Germany and France and explained it could take up to two years for Governments to send the patent certificate, the United States being particularly tardy. The judge found in Bromhead & Co.'s favour. It's ironic the only record of Charles' patent is from the United States, dated 2 January 1906.

Somewhat ominously, there was no mention in court of the UK patent. Ernest Terah Hooley withdrew his offer and Charles found his UK rights had not been properly protected. Being a smooth operator, did Hooley spot the flaw and take advantage? We'll never know. Because of the mistake, Charles couldn't prevent UK tyre manufacturers from copying his invention.

It seems Charles put up a fight for his rights. Sadly, through expense or effort on his cause distracting him from his basket-making business, he ended up in Peterborough Bankruptcy Court in early 1907. Under the heading 'Fortune Thrown Away' the tale was syndicated around the world, reported last in Australia as shown below.


The humbling experience was clearly too much. On Tuesday 23 July 1907 Charles, his wife and six children, now including Catherine Maria, a two month old infant, sailed aboard the SS Saxonia from Liverpool to Boston, Massachusetts. Charles' occupation was listed as a carpet cutter.

Their ultimate destination was South Bend, Indiana. It must have been something of a culture shock, moving from a market town with a population of 3,000 to a city of 54,000 inhabitants. By 1910 they had moved 350 miles west to Kane Township, Iowa. The family had suffered a tragedy, Catherine dying in infancy. By 1920 the family had moved again, 350 miles south west to Kaw Township, Missouri.

Charles died on Wednesday 28 January 1925 of leukemia, aged 60yrs. He had risen from carpet cutter to be the President of K C Carpet Co.

St Ives 29 December 1920