Looking at newspapers from 100 years ago shows a very different Sutton to the one we know today. This blog focuses on Edwin Mills – an ostler who lived in Sutton New Town. An ostler is a person employed to take care of horses, usually at a stable connected to an inn. Edwin was an ostler at the Cock Hotel in Sutton for 46 years. 100 years ago travel by horse was one of the main forms of transportation and the Cock Hotel was a popular stopping point on the road through Sutton.
Edwin was born in Capel, Surrey in 1850. He married Elia Rose Grabham on the 3rd May 1879 at St Nicholas Church, Sutton. Edwin and Elia had 7 children; Edward, William, May, Frank, Thomas, Alice and Kate. The family lived in Reading Road, Sutton from 1901 to the 1920s.
Edwin died 100 years ago in January 1924. The report of Edwin’s death in the local newspaper tells us about his character and Sutton a century ago. The below articles are from The Sutton and Epsom Advertiser, 17th January 1924.
Sutton New Town 