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At some point in John Spencer’s term operating the gates at Little Anglesey Road, Alverstoke, some women were regularly seen removing chalk lumps that formed the railway embankment, it was believed they found a use for them whitening front door steps, in addition children would throw the chalk lumps around. Worried about the stability of the embankment John Spencer was instructed by the railway company to stop the nuisance and apparently he did so with gusto.

A second daughter, Esther, was born in 1867 and she was baptised at St Mary’s Church in Alverstoke village.

A brief history of the Stokes Bay Branch line might be relevant at this point .

The line was opened 6th of April 1863. The established Stoke Bay Railway Co. was sold to the South Western Railway Co. on the 17th of June 1875. A viaduct over Stoke Lake was replaced by the, still surviving, single span bridge in 1898 and the branch was closed to public traffic in 1915, however, during its useful service time the branch connected with Stokes Bay pier where ferries collected passengers heading for the Isle of Wight, that is until the ferry service became uneconomic because a ferry service to the Island was established in Portsmouth. The Admiralty began using the pier for the observation of torpedo dropping in the Solent by aircraft in 1918.

John continued with his gatekeeping, the 1871 Census revealed the following:                                   Address: 7 Little Anglesey Road                  John Spencer - Head - Married - aged 32 - occupation Railway Porter -

Jane Spencer - wife - aged 39

Ann Spencer - daughter - aged 7 - Scholar

Esther Spencer - daughter - aged 4 - ditto

The 1881 Census adds little additional information; John’s occupation is noted as ‘Railway Porter’ and daughter, Esther, aged fourteen years, has an occupation, namely ‘dressmaker’; their home being simply referred to as ‘Railway Cottage’.         The 1901 Census has John’s occupation down as ‘Gateman Railway’ and gives the family’s address as ‘1 Railway Cottage’.

Esther Spencer was 22 years of age when she married 24 year old Walter James Munday a carpenter, later to be a shipwright in HM Portsmouth Dockyard but living in Alverstoke. The wedding took place at St Mary’s church, Alverstoke on Monday, 5th of August 1889; the bridegroom’s father, 61 year old widower James Munday, a Dockyard man, was present although,other than him and the groom, no other Mundays were present at the ceremony. Also present were Albert Walter King, Harriett Cox and Ivy Farrer.

In 1891 daughter, Ann Spencer, aged 27 years, married to become, Navy Petty Officer, George E Munday’s wife, he was Walter Munday’s brother, so the two Spencer sisters married two Munday brothers. Ann and George moved into nearby 32 Park Road, which remained their home until their respective deaths. George died and was buried at Anns Hill cemetery on the 21st of August 1935 while Annsurvived until aged 75 years leading to her being buried with her late husband an the 10th November 1938. The address given for Ann Munday at the time of her death was 66 Park Road, this seeming change from 32 Park Road was found to be as a result of development on the opposite side of the road whereby renumbering was undertaken, in short, new number, 66, and old number, 32 Park Road, were addresses applicable to the same house. 

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