Knox Box of Miscellany

Dawn Knox – A rearranger of words into something hopefully meaningful…

Another Day… Another Monk

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Agnes Monk - lady chimney sweep with her family around her

Agnes Monk – lady chimney sweep with her family around her

Well, believe it or not, I’ve found another monk who is connected to St. Nicholas Church – Agnes Emily Monk, who is buried in the churchyard.

And what’s her claim to fame? Well, she was a lady chimney sweep. And I’m guessing there haven’t been too many of those.

Agnes Emily Clulow was born in Bethnal Green, London in 1871. She went into service as a housemaid, married in 1894 and then married again in 1904, to John Thomas Monk.

A chimney sweep by trade, John Monk was conscripted in 1915, despite being blind in one eye and while he was away, Agnes took over the business, becoming a lady chimney sweep.

Eventually, after she had been widowed, Agnes and her family moved to Laindon. A year later, in 1933, the family moved to a four-bedroomed bungalow in New Century Road and she died in 1952 at the age of 83 not 80 as shown on her head stone which can still be seen in the churchyard.

This is one bit of family history I really like:

On the 15th November 1940 at approximately 1.30pm, a Messerschmitt on a bombing raid was shot down after combat with a Hurricane of the 605 Squadron. The aircraft crashed 300 yards west of Black Bush corner, Horndon on the Hill. The pilot Otto Jaros baled out, landing on a shed in the back garden of a house called ‘San Joy’ in Worthing Road, one street away from New Century Road. An irate ex-East Londoner was “Goin’ to carve his bleedin’ guts out,”  but Agnes stepped in pushing the woman away, until the police arrived, saying that he was only doing his job and he had a Mum worrying about him.

It doesn’t look like she let anything stand in her way.

Go Agnes Monk!

(Thanks Ken Porter for the photo and info)

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