Recollections of Egyptian Princesses

ELLEN CHENNELLS (Continued)

It’s unfortunate that we know far more about what Ellen did during her five years in Egypt than what she did for the rest of her life. After the death of Zeynab, she stayed in Egypt for about a year, finally leaving in the autumn of 1876. She seems to have left mostly for health reasons, particularly a heart condition (which was indeed later to become a contributory factor of her death). Besides, she was by now aged 62, and obviously thinking about retirement.

She chose to live in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, a spa-town in the west of England that was increasingly popular with people who had worked in parts of Britain’s expanding empire, especially the Indian Raj. And here her sister, Anne Lydia came to join her in retirement.

Ellen would certainly have found Cheltenham a very agreeable place to live after the heat and dust of Cairo. Set at the foot of the Cotswold Hills, it is still a quiet, largely Regency town, with plenty of wide streets and parks – as well, of course, as its spa. Cheltenham had long been famous for its “cure”, and attracted many famous visitors, such as Princess (later Queen) Victoria, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron. Certainly the taste of the local spa-water can make you believe it must be doing you some good!

The town is now also particularly famous for its annual Gold Cup horse-race.

There was also plenty of reasonably cheap accommodation, to cater for those wanting to visit the spa, or who wished to retire there, and the Chennells sisters found accommodation at Belle Vue Villa, where they are recorded as living in the 1881 Census. The owners of Belle Vue Villa were the young Mr. and Mrs. Packwood, and their paternal grandmother. There were two other lodgers, besides the Chennells, an Edgar Page and his slightly older wife, Emily. A young servant, Georgiana Hall, aged 15, helped with the housework.

The Chennells sisters would most likely have led the somewhat retired life of many such retired “gentlewomen” of the day. They were both described as “annuitants” – presumably meaning that Ellen, at least, lived on the income from her Egyptian Bonds.

Anne Lydia died in 1885, aged about 73, and Ellen, presumably needing only a smaller space to live, moved to her last address, 7 Rodney Terrace Cheltenham. Rodney Terrace is a row of modest 19th Century houses, in the town centre. The houses are all now converted into offices, and have been re-numbered, making it difficult to tell which had been No. 7.

Rodney Terrace, Cheltenham

Here Ellen lived with the Dudge family, Charles, aged 46 in 1891, his wife Elizabeth, 42, and one son, Edward, aged 15. Presumably Edward was merely the only child still living at home at this time. There was another lodger apart from Ellen, Emma Ferris aged 58. There was also a servant, Alma Habits, aged 17.

This photo shows the house that may have been number 7. (It depends on which end of the row you start counting from). In any case, all the houses in the Terrace are identical in size and appearance.

So as you can see, Ellen would have had only modestly sized accommodation, although the house is conveniently placed and no doubt was reasonably comfortable. I wonder if Ellen dreamed there of the time when she had lived in palaces, as the companion of a Princess? Certainly she seems to have always been proud of having once been Princess Zeynab’s governess, as a special mention of it was made in the short notice of her death in the local newspaper.

Ellen died on 13th November 1896. The details on her death-certificate are as follows:

“Registration District Cheltenham. 1896 Death in the Sub-district of Cheltenham in the County of Gloucester.
No. 6.
When and where died: 13th November 1896. 7 Rodney Terrace.
Name and surname: Ellen Mary Chennells
Sex: Female
Age: 82 years
Occupation: Annuitant
Cause of death: Bronchitis & congestion of lungs 9 days. Dilation of heart of long standing. Certified by J.C. Gooding, M.D.
Signature, description and residence of informant: Elizabeth Dudge, present at the death, 7 Rodney Terrace Cheltenham.
When registered: 16th November 1896.
Signature of Reigstrar: J. A. Round, Interim Registrar.”

Presumably she would have been buried, with her sister, in the Cheltenham Cemetery, which is rather delightfully situated beneath Cleeve Hill, one of the Cotswolds. Unfortunately her grave is not listed amongst the Cemetery’s “Graves of Interest”, but who knows, maybe that may one day change (proposals could be sent to Cheltenham Borough Council). Incidentally Brian Jones, a member of the “Rolling Stones” pop-group is buried in the same cemetery.

I have not yet tried to locate her grave, but hope to do so in future. And by the way, if anyone visits Cheltenham in search of Ellen, spa-water, horse-racing, lovely Georgian architecture, the Cotswolds, or even some interesting frock-shops(!), and does visit her grave, I’d love to see a photo, or hear what you may have found out. Cheltenham is easily reachable from London or Birmingham by coach and car, or even by rail, although the station seems to be a bit inconveniently far from the middle of the town.

The notice of her death in the Cheltenham Examiner for Wednesday, 18 November 1896 reads:

“CHENNELLS – November 13, at 7, Rodney-Terrace, Eleanor Mary Chennells, formerly Governess of the Khedive’s family – aged 82 years.”

But now let us return to happier times, when Ellen was in Egypt…

To be continued.