Chapter 1: The Master Mariner – Swapping Sails for Shoreham Coal
Before the Bakers were known as the master builders of Portslade, they were masters of the sea.
Thanks to our readers, Dee and Alison, we’ve struck a "deep vein" of history that takes us back to Hastings. The family ancestors weren't just local fishermen; they were entrepreneurial mariners who saw the future in "Black Gold"—coal.
The Hartlepool Connection (1855) Dee has a remarkable piece of evidence: an original letter dated 1855 from her great-great-uncle, written while he was docked in Hartlepool. At that time, Hartlepool was one of the busiest coal-exporting ports in the world.
Our ancestor, William J. Baker, was a Master Mariner sailing the treacherous coastal routes. These "Collier" ships were the lifeblood of the South Coast, bringing coal from the North East down to the hungry furnaces of the South.
Why Portslade? As William navigated his ship into the Shoreham Harbour canal, he would have looked out over the area we now know as Copperas Gap. In the 1850s, this was a place of massive change. The Portslade Gas Works was expanding, and the town was crying out for coal and, more importantly, for people with the skills to build the infrastructure to support it.
William J. Baker and his kin did what all great entrepreneurs do: they "swallowed the anchor." They brought their seafaring discipline and their knowledge of the coal trade onto dry land. They moved from the deck of a ship to the heart of Copperas Gap, eventually settling at 6 Clarendon Place.
It was this nautical foundation that provided the "seed money" and the grit for the Bakers to branch out into the blacksmithing, building, and hardware trades that would define Portslade for the next 120 years.
Chapter 2: The House of Eleven – Life at 6 Clarendon Place
While the Baker men were out building the town, the heart of the family was beating at 6 Clarendon Place. This wasn't just a house; in the early 1900s, it was a hive of activity located in the gritty, industrial landscape of Copperas Gap.
A House Full of Sisters The 1911 census reveals a staggering household. Henry Baker, an "Under-Foreman" at the Portslade Gas Works, lived here with his wife Sarah and their ten surviving children (out of eleven born).
Imagine the morning rush in that terraced house! For a long time, it was dominated by daughters: Ellen, Sarah, Alice, Florence, Edith, and Hilda. This explains exactly why our reader Dee remembers a family of "many sisters and aunts."
The Working Women of Portslade Life wasn't just about domestic chores. As soon as they were old enough, the Baker girls stepped out into the local workforce:
The Steam Laundry: Several sisters worked at the Portslade Steam Laundry on the corner of Station Road. It was hot, heavy work, but it gave these women an independent streak that defined the family.
The Glove Factory: Dee mentions a "Glove Factory." Glove making was a skilled trade that required a fine touch—a sharp contrast to the heavy masonry work their cousins were doing in the North Street yards.
The Resilience of Elisa Jane Dee’s great-grandmother, Elisa Jane Baker, is the standout figure here. She married Frederick Stansfield Hill (connecting the Bakers to the famous Hills of Hove), but she remained the anchor of Clarendon Place.
Even when the "character" H.A. Wray moved in and caused a family rift that saw her father move out, Elisa Jane held her ground. She was a property-owning woman in an era when that was rare. She didn't just live in the house; she owned it, protected it, and kept the Baker legacy alive through some very turbulent family times.
A "History Round Up" Fact:
"If you walk past Clarendon Place today, it’s hard to imagine the noise and bustle of 1909. Not only was it home to the 11 Baker children, but it was also the site of a major Suffragette rally. Imagine the Baker sisters standing on their doorstep, watching history being made right in their street!"
Chapter 3: The North Street Empire – From Cradles to Coffins
While Henry Baker was keeping the town’s lights on at the Gas Works, his relatives were busy building the very walls of Portslade. The "Centre" of this operation was 51 North Street.
The Master Builders The Bakers were "entrepreneurial" to their core. In North Street, they operated a massive yard that served as a blacksmith’s forge, a wheelwright’s workshop, and a timber yard.
They were responsible for constructing many of the iconic Victorian terraces we see today around Trafalgar Road and St Andrew’s Road. They didn't just build houses; they built the community’s infrastructure. If a shop needed a new storefront or a factory needed a repair, they called the Bakers.
The "Two H. Bakers" Confusion Local memory often gets a bit muddled here, and for good reason! There were actually two firms operating under the family name in the same street:
The Timber & Hardware Merchants: This branch (H. Baker & Co) provided the materials for the town’s growth. This is the lineage of the hardware store you remember from the 1970s.
The Funeral Directors (Baker & Sons): Because the Bakers were master joiners, they had the best timber and the finest carpentry skills in town. In the Victorian era, it was common for builders to also be undertakers. They moved from crafting window frames to crafting coffins, providing a service to the community from "cradle to grave."
The Hill Connection This is where the "deep vein" hits the Hills of Hove. When Elisa Jane Baker married Frederick Stansfield Hill, it was a union of two trade dynasties. While the Hills were becoming the "Harrods of Hove" with their department store, they shared that same foundational DNA of building and undertaking.
The Legacy Lives On
Even as the heavy industry moved out of Copperas Gap, the Baker name stayed put. Whether it was the hardware shop in the 1970s or the funeral directors that still serve the area today, the family’s presence in Portslade has lasted for over 170 years.
A Closing Thought:
"From a Master Mariner in Hartlepool to the hardware shop on the corner, the Baker story is the story of Portslade itself. It’s a tale of hard work, large families, and the resilience of people like Elisa Jane.
Do you have a 'Baker built' house? Or maybe you remember the smell of the sawdust at the North Street yard? Join the conversation below—as we've seen today, you never know what history you might be sitting on!"
| Year | Milestone |
| 1855 | William J. Baker writes home from a coal ship in Hartlepool. |
| 1860s | The family moves from the Old Village down to Copperas Gap. |
| 1901 | Henry Baker is Foreman at the Gas Works; house full of daughters at 6 Clarendon Place. |
| 1909 | Suffragette rallies take place right outside the Baker front door. |
| 1920s | The Baker sisters are a mainstay of the Portslade Steam Laundry. |
| 1970s | The Hardware store in North Street remains a local landmark. |
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