From Samplers to Family History at Steyning Museum.

It all started with the purchase at auction of two sets of samplers. They were embroidered with ‘Wiston School’, names and dates. All of them were sewn by either Alice or Eliza Worsfold. That was all we knew at first, but it was enough to start us off on our research in the museum’s archives.

The first thing we discovered, by looking at the censuses, was that they were sisters who lived at Wiston, not far from what is now the Wiston Tea Rooms. Their father was a sawyer, working on the Wiston Estate.

We knew that the old school building of Wiston and Buncton Parochial School was still standing, now two private residences, and found it on an old map. Two of us walked up the track to see where the old school was, just across the field from Buncton Church. We were in luck. The residents of both the old school house and the converted school-room were out in their gardens and each kindly lent us some old sepia photos of both the building and some of its pupils and teachers. This was an amazing piece of good fortune as we found both Eliza Worsfold and her brother Thomas named on the photos.

Back at the museum, the censuses gave us approximate birth dates for Alice and Eliza, which helped us locate their baptisms in the parish registers, along with their five brothers and sisters: Edward, Ellen, Phyllis, Thomas and Justinian (later known as Vic). Working backwards, we put together a Worsfold family tree from about the 1720s onwards.

Now we began to wonder what happened to Alice and Eliza after they left Wiston School. Some more research showed that Alice married a sailor, George Divall, who within weeks went back to sea, never to meet up again before he was killed in the Battle of Jutland on HMS Invincible. There is a very poignant inscription on his gravestone, chosen by his young bride. She never married again. Eliza (also known as May) remained a spinster. The two sisters shared a house in Worthing for many years. Eliza May died in her fifties, whilst Alice, the war widow, lived to the grand old age of 93.

We believe there are still Worsfold family descendents living in the Steyning area and would be happy to hear from any of their relations at familyhistory@steyningmuseum.org .

Steyning Museum Opening Times
Am:   Tues Wed Fri 10.30 - 12.30
Pm:    Sun Tues Wed Fri 2.30 - 4.00
and from 8.1.11. we are open all day Saturday from 10.30 - 4.00

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