Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree A)

My grandfather Frederick John HOOKINS was apprenticed to James WENSLEY as a Wheelwright and Carpenter by the above Indenture.
James lived in the village of Mark on the main road leading through the village called Blackford Road in the 1901 Census with his wife and 5 children although as his eldest son was only 8 years younger than James' wife I guess this was James' 2nd or subsequent marriage. On that Census his property was listed next to the entries for the Parish Church and Post Office. The current Post Office is situated directly opposite the Church so it doesn't seem to have moved far if at all since 1901. James was born in Brompton Ralph which is interestingly where Fred's ancestors had lived with his great-great grandfather Robert having been born there about 100 years prior to this Census.
Fred, as an 18 year old minor, needed his father William's permission to enter into this apprenticeship and William is seen to be a party to this document with various obligations to fulfill. Fred, you will see, was paid the princely sum of ten shillings per week for the first year of his apprenticeship which increased to fifteen shillings for his second and final year. His working day is stipulated as ten and a half hours and he has to work 6 days each week - I wonder how the youth of today would feel about that!!!! He was due to start on 1st June although the Indenture was not signed until 3rd August so possibly he was being tried out during the interim period.
Elsewhere on the blog is a picture of Fred outside a workshop bearing his name as a Wheelwright so he obviously made the grade and enabled him to maintain a family as he was married just 5 years later.