Friends of Hastings Cemetery

Frederick Tuppenney was born in Tonbridge Kent, the son of Samuel and Carey Tuppenney.  His father was a cordwainer and he had two brothers and two sisters.  In 1861 he married Lucy Sarah Bacon (13 years older than him) in Hastings. She originally came from Chelmsford.  A child, Lucy, was born in 1868 but sadly died the same year.  In 1871 he was keeping a lodging house at 6 Eversfield Place with his wife and two servants, and was still there in 1874.  His wife died in 1879 aged 48.  

By 1881 he was living at 4 St Margaret’s Rd. with his sister in law, Helen Hayward, a widow of 48 and head of the house.  No occupation was given, he being described as formerly a lodging house keeper. He was still a widower.

He married Jacoba, a Dutch woman born in Delft and of independent means in 1883.  They had a daughter Carey Elizabeth Jacoba who was born in 1885 in Den Haag where they were living. Another child Jacoba Elizabeth Emma Tuppeney [Dolly Baby] was born in Hastings in 1887 but died the same year.

His fortunes had changed again by 1891.  He was living at Moorhurst, Oaklands, in Westfield, on private means.  He was married but no wife is included in the entry.  His niece Lucy Bassett lived with him as assistant housekeeper

In the 1891 Census Jacoba is shown as head of the household, which includes her daughter and two servants.  They were living at "La Haye" and are both shown as naturalised British.

Frederick was Chairman of the Board of Guardians for Hastings from 1889, also a member of the Battle Board of Guardians and of Battle Rural District Council, presumably the Battle RDC interest arose whilst he was living in Westfield.  He was a Liberal and from 1890 he served on the Town Council, and became Mayor in 1898 and, fairly unusually it would seem, served a second term in 1899.  On completing his second year of office as Mayor he was presented by the Corporation with an illuminated address on vellum in recognition of his services.  He was also a Justice of the Peace for the County and Borough, Alderman of the County and for the Borough; member of East Sussex County Council and member of the Hastings Lodge of Freemasons (No 2692).

He was Mayor again in 1908; during this period of office the troops returned from the South African War and Earl Brassey returned from Australia.  Frederick and Jacoba were both members of the Free Church and interested in social causes and philanthropy.

Tuppeney oversaw the expansion of the Workhouse to the western side of Cackle Street and fought against the council taking over the responsibilities of the civil parishes in the Union, but he eventually lost the vote. (article on Frederick Tuppenney and his Hastings Union work in Hastings Bygones 5, p.56-59.)

When he died in 1910 he was living at La Haye, 22 Laton Rd.  The funeral service was at Robertson Street Congregational Church and was an impressive occasion with Town Crier and the Mayor’s Macebearer leading a procession from the Town Hall.

He left £7984 8s 10d to his widow Jacoba who survived him by 20 years, dying in 1930.  By then she was living at 5 Quarry Terrace.  In her obituary in the Hastings Observer of 11th October 1930 his wife was described as entering ‘with zest all his many public interests.’  She had continued his social and philanthropic works, taking his place on the Board of Guardians, working for schools and also promoting the temperance cause.  Her daughter became a teacher.

Cackle Street was renamed Frederick Road in 1904 after the Chairman of the Board of Guardians and now there is a Tuppenney Close built on land that was the site of the Union Workhouse, presumably in memory of Frederick and Jacoba.