The Cowards at Home: Census 1921
As the National Archives release the 1921 Census, we get a glimpse behind the door of 111 Ebury Street…
In January, the National Archives released the 1921 Census, taken on the 19th June that year. At the time, the Coward family were living at 111 Ebury Street in a busy boarding house (or ‘apartment house’ as is recorded in the document). The house itself was on the outskirts of the exclusive area of Belgravia, not far from Victoria Station. Coward kept the top room, overlooking the Georgian squares and gardens, while a variety of lodgers took rooms downstairs. The names and occupations of those present on the night of the census are preserved for posterity and reveal an interesting mix of people.
The digitised image of the census page, which the National Archives have kindly permitted us to reproduce here, is below. As you can see, Coward’s father Arthur, then 64, is listed as the head of the household and the Apartment House Keeper with Coward’s mother Violet, 58, as his assistant. Coward’s younger brother Eric was just shy of his 16th birthday and still in full-time education while his Aunt Vida is described as undertaking ‘house duties’. Also working at the house was the ‘servant’ or ‘house boy’, the 14 year old Cyril Gray.
(C) Crown Copyright, courtesy of The National Archives and www.FindMyPast.co.uk
Of the paying guests, perhaps the most fun is 30-year-old Eric Loyd, a singing student. It’s not dificult to imagine Loyd and the young Coward singing together, is it? Do you recognise any of the other names? If you do, get in touch at cowardoffice@alanbrodie.com
But where was Noël?
The summer of 1921 coincided with Coward’s first trip to America which explains his absence. He and Jeffery Holmesdale, later Lord Amherst, took the SS Aquitania and landed in New York on June 10th. Amherst was, for a time, Coward’s holiday companion and responsible for some unique film footage of their later travels.
111 Ebury Street Now
You can still see 111 Ebury Street in Belgravia, London and it has changed little in the last 100 years. Until the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it was the Lord Milner Hotel but at the time of writing it is still empty. The area is still well worth the visit and only 5 minutes’ walk from Coward next house in Gerald Road.
