Profile: William Ready 1794-1824 Wicken Cambs
A young Wicken labourer, a crossing at Upware, and a tragedy on the River Cam…
William Ready (1794-1824) Wicken, Cambridgeshire
William Ready 1794-1824 was my 4th great grandfather on my grandmothers side, he was born in Wicken, Cambridgeshire. His father was Thomas Ready (1755-1840 Wicken), his mother was Elizabeth Ready (nee Benstead - c.1761-1848 Wicken).
Wicken is a small village north of Cambridge in the fens.
1794
William is born in 1794 and is baptised at Wicken Church on 23rd March 1794.
1816
In 1816, aged 22, William married Mary Church aged 19, also from Wicken, at Wicken Church. They go on to have four children:
1818
Their first daughter Mary is born and is baptised in Wicken Church February 1818.
1820
Then their son John Ready is born and he is baptised in Wicken Church 30th April 1820.
1823
Their daughter Susan Ready is born.
The Ready Family tree c.1823, Wicken.
1824
1824 was a year of tragedy. In the April of 1824 their first daughter, little Mary Ready died. She was only about 6 years old and she was buried at Wicken Church on 25th April 1824.
Then on the 26th July of 1824 William Ready died, leaving wife Mary, looking after two small children and with the grief of both the loss of her little girl and now her husband.
At the same time, about the end of July, Mary had just become pregnant with their fourth child, we don’t know whether William and Mary were aware of this before William died or if she found out not long after.
On the burial record it says both No 128 (William Ready aged 30) and No.127 (Thomas Fuller aged 24) “were drowned in returning from their labour near Upware. Buried on July 27th 1824.
It is sad to note, on the Wicken parish deaths and burials records, it shows both daughter Mary and father William’s burials on the same page.
The newspaper reports of the time give us a little more detail about William and his friend Thomas’ deaths.
Cambridge Chronicle and Journal (Friday 30 July 1824) William Ready and Thomas Fuller drowned.
Upware and River Cam location
The newspaper report tells us that the two men had been working over the other side of the river from Upware on the west, which would have been in Waterbeach fields, where they had been mowing.
There was a ferry boat at Upware but the men had their own transport across the river and on their return journey one of them had put their hand into the water accidentally upending the boat, causing them both to fall into the river.
John Bull Newspaper - Monday 02 August 1824
Upware, Wicken and River Cam Location
The incident was reported in the same way in several other newspapers across the country.
OS 1886 showing Upware and the River Cam
Inverness Courier - Thursday 19 August 1824
How awful an event and those poor people helplessly watching it unfold too. Eventually the bodies were recovered and would have been conveyed to Wicken by horse and cart, where both men were buried the very next day on the 27th July 1824.
The approximate site of the tragedy
The River Cam at Upware looking south from the Five Miles From Anywhere No Hurry Inn (M Bullivant April 2026)
My daughter Charlotte and I visited the site where 4x great grandad and his pal drowned, to pay our respects. We both choose a small stone and said a few words before sending the stones into the river in remembrance.
Taken from the south side of the Five Miles From Anywhere No Hurry Inn at Upware April 2025. (M Bullivant 2026)
The Aftermath
Ready Family Tree, Wicken 1825
1825
Mary was pregnant when William drowned. Their son was born and baptised 17th April 1825, he was named William, after his father.
1827
Tragically Mary then dies, aged 30, just 3 years after husband William’s drowning. She was buried at Wicken Church.
Daughter Susan was only about 3 years old, son William only just 2 years old, son John cannot be traced in the records after his baptism in 1820 - if he was still alive, he would have been about 7 years old.
What became of William and Mary’s 4 children
Daughter Mary Ready had died aged about 6 years - just c.6 months before her father William had died.
Son John can no longer be found in the records after his baptism in 1820.
Daughter Susan Ready (my 3rd Great Grandmother) was a baby when her father William died, and she was only about 4 years old when her mother Mary died. Her story will be given separately later on.
And
Son William, who was born after his father William drowned, went to live with his grandmother Elizabeth Ready (nee Benstead). He was about 2 years old when his mother Mary died. He is shown on the 1841 census with his grandmother Elizabeth, she aged 80 and a widow, and they lived on The Row, Wicken – Elizabeth’s husband, William Ready, the grandfather, had died the year before.
The young William may have gone straight to live with his grandparents after the death of his father William and mother Mary.
His grandmother Elizabeth dies in 1848 and by the 1851 census William, aged 25 is shown living with sister Susan, her husband and children. The census just states ‘village’ for the address in Wicken. Susan who is now married with children of her own clearly has to look after her brother who seems to have lost his way a bit. William is listed as a pauper.
This newspaper report most likely refers to our William:
Cambridge Independent Press - Saturday 21 May 1859
Why he would choose to damage a window in the Newmarket workhouse is a mystery, was this from the outside in or was he having stay there and damaged the window from inside? Also where was he committed for seven days to?
By the 1861 census William, aged 36, is shown as a lodger ‘unable to work’ living in Drury Lane Wicken, still with his sister Susan, her husband and children.
Position of Drury Lane in Wicken, Cambridgeshire
By the time of the 1871 census William, aged 45 is in the Newmarket Union Workhouse and he is still there, aged 56, in 1881.
OS Map 1885 Newmarket Workhouse
You can read more about the Newmarket Workhouse on the Newmarket Local History Society website by clicking HERE.
William Ready junior dies at the Newmarket Workhouse, aged 64, in June 1888.
You can download a PDF version of this article with references and notes HERE
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