Pedro the Singing Stonemason

Peter Hand was born on 22^nd February 1842 at the Bromsgrove Union Workhouse in Worcestershire. The fact that he was born here rather than at home suggests that it may have been a difficult birth that required some medical intervention.  Peter was the 3^rd son born to portrait painter John Evans Hand and his Irish wife Mary Ann. His eldest brother, Matthew, was around twelve years his senior. The next oldest, Dominic, was around seven years older. The first of Peter’s younger sisters, Mary was born on 7^th January 1846 when he was almost four years old. By this time the family had moved to Birmingham. Peter’s earliest memories would have involved growing up in Birmingham and seeing his father’s art studio.  The youngest sister, Elizabeth, was born on 3^rd July 1849 when Peter was seven years old.

Peter Hand family tree

According to the census taken on 30^th March 1851, Peter was living at 24 Broom Street in the Bordesley area of Birmingham and was attending school. Peter spent the first fifteen years of his life growing up in the city and the evidence suggests that this was, on the whole, a period of stability and relative happiness. He saw his older brothers, Matthew and Dominic get married in 1852 and 1854 respectively and once they had children of their own they decided to move south to London.

By the time Peter was fifteen he would have left school and he moved north with his father, mother and younger sisters (Mary Ann and Elizabeth) in around 1857. It is not clear whether the move was motivated by a desire to seek work or whether they were forcibly resettled. They relocated to Salford, Lancashire and it is likely that Peter started an apprenticeship to become a stonemason soon after they arrived.

The census, taken on 31^st March 1861, shows that Peter was living with his parents at 2 River Place, Salford. Peter was by now working as a stonemason and stone carver, a job that combined skill and precision with an artistic flair he must have inherited from his father.

Excerpt from 1861 census

Life was hard for them in Salford and in 1861/62 they moved south to be closer to Matthew and Dominic, who at the time of the 1861 census where living at 7 Field Place, Newington, Surrey. The reason for the move was that Peter’s father was probably destitute and in may have been ill. What is certain is that his father died in St Thomas’ Hospital, Lambeth on 15^th May 1862. The cause of his death was Typhus Fever, a disease that hit the poor the hardest.

Peter’s movements following his father’s death are not known, but we can make an educated guess. Peter was now twenty years old and a qualified stone mason. His mother, now a widow, and his sisters may have stayed with Matthew and Dominic thus enabling Peter to travel around the country to work on a variety of different short-term contracts. Peter may have belonged to one of the early trade unions such as the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons and could have also been involved in industrial action. At this time the major issues were the campaign for a nine hour day and the resistance to hourly payment

On 2^nd April 1871, Peter was lodging at a guest house run by a Mrs Kaymer at 24 Guildford Street in Brighton. The census states that he was working as a stone carver which implies more skilled or artistic work than a stone mason. Peter was sharing his lodgings with a plasterer whom he may have known. This could suggest that he was involved in the construction of new buildings being erected in Brighton at that time.

While Peter was carving stone in Brighton, his mother, Mary Ann, was being employed as a domestic servant who practiced needlework. She was living at 130 Peckham Park Road which was (and still is) located in the northern part of Peckham close to the Old Kent Road. Meanwhile several miles away in Newington, Peter’s brother Matthew was residing at 44 Weymouth Street with his wife and three children. At this stage Matthew had moved away from painting houses and was now working as a sign painter.

Once Peter had completed his contract in Brighton it seems likely that he returned to metropolitan Surrey to be closer to his family. A short time afterwards he met a young local woman named Jessie Berry. Jessie was the daughter of an accountant working for the Camberwell parish vestry and would have come from a wealthier middle class background. Peter grew up in a more bohemian environment and must have seemed quite exotic to her. It seems his artistic talents were not limited to the carving of stone either. Indeed, he was an accomplished singer as well. On 29^th April 1873, he performed using the name Pedro Hand in North Woolwich Gardens with a blackface minstrel troupe known as Beaumont’s Black Blossoms. His performance of “Tis but a Little Faded Flower” was commended in a review published in The Era several days later:

Review from The Era dated 4th May 1873

Beaumont's Black Blossoms flyer

Jessie fell pregnant and when it became obvious that she was expecting a baby there must have been considerable pressure from both Pedro’s Irish catholic mother and Jessie’s middle class parents for them to marry as soon as possible.  The prospect of their daughter giving birth out of wedlock must have horrified them.

By the time they got married, Jessie must have been somewhere between five and eight months pregnant. Consequently they were already living together at an address in Trafalgar Street, when they were finally married at St Peter’s church, Walworth on 16^th August 1874. At the time of the wedding, Pedro still described himself as a stone carver and there is no mention made of his other life as a singer. Pedro and Jessie’s baby was born in the autumn of 1874 and they named her Jane Maria Hand.

The pressure of being a young father seems to have taken its toll on Pedro’s singing career. Indeed, on 4^th June 1876 he placed the following advertisement in The Era. Clearly, he was no longer performing with Beaumont’s Black Blossoms but still yearned to sing in front of an audience.

In 1877 the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons called a strike in support of its claim for 10d an hour. The result was a total defeat resulting in wage cuts and longer working hours. Whether or not Pedro was involved is debatable. However, what is certain is that he must have moved to the north of England in search of work. Jessie was pregnant again and they needed the money. Maybe he contacted an old friend from his early days in Lancashire and called in a favour.

Pedro and Jessie’s second child was born on 25^th September 1877 at 14 Woollacott Street in Oldham, Lancashire. He was a son and they named him William Pedro Hand after Jessie’s father and Pedro himself. Perhaps significantly, Pedro describes himself as a stone mason rather than a stone carver at this time.

Pedro and his family did not apparently remain in Oldham for long and by the time of the next census on 3^rd April 1881, they were living at 34 Constance Road close to East Dulwich railway station. Pedro’s mother, Mary Ann, was also living with them and his wife, Jessie, was pregnant again.

Pedro’s brothers were still living within a few miles. Matthew was living at 44 Sayer Street in Newington with his two sons Edward and Matthew. Matthew was still working as a fence painter and his sons were scene painters, perhaps for a west-end theatre. Meanwhile, Dominic and his family were living at 78 South Street in Camberwell. Dominic was a writer and artist and his eldest sons, Dominic and Claude helped their father in the print shop.

Pedro and Jessie’s third child, a baby girl, was born in the summer of 1881 and they named her Alice. Alice’s birth was followed by Daisy in the autumn of 1883 and finally Mary Dorothy Hand in spring 1890.

Happily for Pedro, there is evidence that his singing career continued following his return to London. The South London News reported on the 23^rd June 1883 that Pedro had performed at the Spa Tavern in Bermondsey. The review warmly praised his double-voiced vocal skills.

Unfortunately, the happiness did not last. His mother, Mary Ann’s  health worsened in the early months of 1886 and as she became more poorly she was admitted to the infirmary at Camberwell workhouse on Havill Street. She died of bronchitis on 13^th March 1886.

By the time the next census was taken in spring 1891, Pedro had reverted to his birth name Peter, suggesting perhaps that his singing days were over. By now the family had moved to 1 Lansdowne Place, Peckham close to the Old Kent Road. Peter was still a stone mason and his eldest daughter, Jane was working as a domestic servant. William, Alice and Daisy were all at school.     

The rest of the 1890s were apparently a difficult and sad time Peter and his family. Peter started experiencing mental illness which at some stage would have made it impossible to continue working. His illness would have placed a good deal of strain on the family, both emotionally and financially and with great reluctance Jessie is likely to have taken the decision to place him in the Havill Street workhouse.

As his condition deteriorated, he was moved into the infirmary. Once there, he was assessed and registered a lunatic.  By the 1890s it was standard policy to separate the mentally ill from the rest of the inmates and he was subsequently transferred to the Constance Road workhouse on Saturday 15^th April 1899 “for observation“. The workhouse was near to where he used to live in 1881 and was still close enough for Jessie and the children to visit him. At this time they were living at 54 Nutcroft Road in Peckham.  He remained at the Constance Road workhouse for less than a fortnight. He was assessed on Wednesday 26^th April and was transferred to Banstead Asylum in Surrey the following morning. The admissions book states that Peter was suffering from dementia and goes on to say that “he has but little idea of time or place. Degraded in habits. Delusions of identity” He did not survive in the asylum long and on 31^st May 1899 he succumbed to pneumonia. His death certificate also mentions ‘chronic brain wastage’ as his cause of death. The description of his death suggests he may have suffered from early onset Alzeimer’s disease which was not understood in those days. It was a terribly sad end to a man who had been blessed with the creative talents of stone carving and singing.

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