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Penelope Warland born 1738 / John Place - Links with Australia

Note: Some of the information on this page was provided by Jennie Andrews in Australia.

Penelope Warland (1738 - ?) was the daughter of Robert Warland (1694 - 1758) and Ann King (1701 - 1784). (See link for names of her siblings).

Penelope Warland married John Place (1730 - 1800) on 1 or 7 November 1766 at St Andrews, Kinson, Bournemouth, Dorset. Witness to the wedding were Mary Dean and Anna Austen. John Place may have been the son of Conyers Place and Magdalene Glisson although this is not proven and is speculation.

John and Penelope Place had one child:

Family of Mathew Wasse Place (1777 - 1834)

Mathew Wase/Wasse Place married Frances Growden Jeffery (6 May 1788 - 10 Dec 1864) on 8 or 26 April 1808 in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, England. They had the following children:

1838 - George Augustus Place, Wimborne Surgeon, in the news

George Augustus Place was the surgeon at the Wimborne Workhouse from March 1838, after he won a tender, until his resignation in August the same year. According to a news article, he resigned because of conflict between him and the Poor Law Guardians. The article, quoting researcher Margaret Roebuck, states 'It seems the guardians had attempted, illegally, to insist that medical officers should, in the absence of a colleague, attend the colleague's patients'. At an acrimonious meeting held on 30 July 1838, George was accused of not fulfilling his contract and resigned within the week.

In December 1838, after an outbreak of smallpox in the workhouse, letters - later attributed to George A Place - appeared in the Times and Standard newspapers criticising the working of the New Poor Law and citing the poor management of Wimborne's smallpox outbreak as an example. On the day the letter appeared, Wimborne residents held a public meeting to demand that steps be taken to prevent the disease spreading. The Poor Law Commissioners sent their assistant commissioner to investigate and his report exonterated the guardians.

George Augustus Place was not satisified, however, and publicly accused the guardians of negligence. A second report exonerated the guardians and George published an address to the local people, claiming that vital evidence had been omitted, altered or reported incorrectly. George's portrait is held by the Priest's House Museum in Wimborne.

George Place was recorded in the 1841 census at Wimborne Minster. He died in 1843 aged only 31.

1851 census

Mary Ann Coombe (daughter of Mathew Wasse Place) is recorded in the 1851 census at Upwell Isle, Wisbech, Norfolk with her husband Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1817), Mary Ann Coombe (born 1829, possibly Robert's sister or other relative)), Robert G Coombe (born 1847) and George A Coombe (born 1849).

From 1858 - Christopher Henry Place (1814 - 1881)

Christopher Henry Place married much younger Elizabeth Court (16 Oct 1838 - 1915) on 22 May 1858. They had the following children:

1861 census

Christopher Henry Place and his wife Elizabeth and their first born son Mathew Henry Place were recorded in the 1861 census at St Davids, Exeter, Devon. The census shows a George Augustus Place born 1831 at the same location, this is assumed to be their son with the same name but the wrong date recorded.

1864 - Death of Mary Anne Coombe (nee Place)

Mary Anne Coombe (nee Place)(1809 - 1864), the wife of Robert Gorton Coombe, died in 1864.

From 1870 - life of Sir George Augustus Coombe / Pilkington

The following details are from Debretts Guide to the House of Commons, 1886 and the Wikipedia page for George Augustus Pilkington.

Sir George Augustus Pilkington (7 October 1848, Upwell, Cambridgeshire – 28 January 1916) was an English doctor and Liberal politician. Pilkington was born at Upwell, Cambridgeshire, as George Augustus Coombe, the son of R. G. Coombe a surgeon. He was educated privately and trained for medicine at Guy's Hospital, London. He became MRCS Eng and LSA in 1870. He practiced medicine in Southport from 1870 to 1884 when he was House Surgeon to Southport Infirmary, Medical Officer of the North Meols District, Ormskirk Union, Surgeon to the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, and Medical Officer to the Southport Convalescent Hospital and the Southport Infirmary.

See also below from 1884.

1871 census

As noted already, Mary Anne Coombe died in 1864. It is not possible to positively identify Robert or their son Robert (born 1847) or Frances in the 1871 census (yet). Their son George Augustus Coombe (born 1848) is recorded at North Meols, Ormskirk, Lancashire where he is found again in the 1881 census.

Christopher Henry Place (born 1815), his wife Elizabeth (born 1838) and seven others are recorded at Rhinefield, Lymington, Hampshire: Matthew Henry Place (born 1859); George A Place (born 1861); Mary Place (born 1863); Frances E Place (born 1865); John William Place (born 1867); Charles H Place (born 1869); William H Place (born 1871). Not all of these children appear in the 1881 census indicating they had died or left to work elsewhere by then.

1876 - George Augustus Coombe marries Elizabeth Pilkington

George Augustus Coombe married Mary Elizabeth Pilkington, daughter of James Pilkington, former MP for Blackburn, in 1876. He appears to have changed his surname sometime after this date, and possibly after the 1881 census, to Pilkington on the death of his brother-in-law [a brother of Elizabeth].

1881 census

The 1881 census includes the following individuals noted on this page.

From 1882 - George Augustus Place (1860 - 1904)

George Augustus Place (1860 - 1904), the second son of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married Elizabeth Kircher (21 Feb 1857 - 23 Mar 1944) on 18 April 1882. They had the following children:

From 1884 - Life (and death) of George Augustus Coombe / Pilkington (continued)

According to the same Debretts guide and Wikipedia page published above, Pilkington was Mayor of Southport from 1884 to 1885. In 1885, he was elected Member of Parliament for Southport but lost the seat in 1886. He was a councillor and alderman on Lancashire County Council, Deputy Lieutenant, J.P., and Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Liverpool Volunteer Regiment until October 1902. Pilkington was knighted in 1893. He won the seat at Southport again in a by-election in 1899, but lost it again at the 1900 general election. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1911.

Sir George Augustus Pilkington died on 28 January 1916.

From 1886 - Family of Mathew Henry Place

Mathew Henry Place (1858 - 1943), the eldest son of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married twice. The name of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Elizabeth Ballam, whom he married in January 1886 in Lambeth, London. They had three children:

No other details are known.

1891 census

George Augustus Coombe had changed his surname before 1891. He is recorded, with his wife Elizabeth, at North Meols in the 1891 census as George Pilkington.

Matthew Henry Place and his wife Elizabeth ('Lizzie'), as well as their children Emily Violet Marie Place (born 1886) and Matthew Henry Place (born 1888) but not George (not yet born) are recorded in the 1891 census at Christchurch, Hampshire.

Christopher Warland Place (born 1872) is recorded at Brockenhust, Lymington, Hampshire.

From 1899 - Christopher Warland Place (1872 - 1922)

Christopher Warland Place (1872 - 1922), the eighth child of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married Elizabeth Keeping (1862 - 1952) at Lymington on 22 September 1899. They had the following children:

Page created 13 July 2014, updated 26 June 2022 (updates to life of George Augustus Combe/Pilkington) and layout/formatting. Copyright © Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)