Family Life

By the late 1840s, Charles Dickens was already established as one of England’s most popular, successful and well-respected writers. He had written such timeless classics as Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickelby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Dombey & Son and a Christmas Carol with David Copperfield, Bleak House and Hard Times to come in the next few years.

On 16 January 1849, the eighth child in the growing Dickens family was born at 1 Devonshire Terrace.

Birth certificate of Henry Fielding Dickens. General Register Office (GRO) ref: 1849 MAR - Marylebone I 260

Henry grew up to be a successful barrister and was knighted in 1922.

The Dickens family in the 1851 census returns provide an excellent example of a divided family. Charles’s father, John Dickens, died on 31 March 1851, the actual date of the 1851 census. John’s widow, Elizabeth and four of their children (including Charles) spent the night of the census at the residence of Dr Robert Davey, the surgeon who had looked after Mr Dickens senior throughout his final illness.

1851 Census.The National Archives ref: HO 107/1507 folio 206 page 16

Meanwhile, Catherine Dickens and her sister Georgina Hogarth were taking the waters in Malvern, Worcestershire, staying at a house called Knutsford Lodge.

1851 Census. The National Archives ref: HO 107/2043 folio 98 page 21

The Dickens children, together with the servants, were at home in Devonshire Terrace.

1851 Census. The National Archives ref: HO 107/1488 folio 207 page 9

Ten years later the Dickens family had split up in a far more lasting way.