George Double was born in 1840 in Hadleigh, the youngest of seven children of Cornelius and Susanna Double. They lived in what was 132 Benton Street, a one-up, one-down middle cottage with outside lavatory. The cottage does not exist today; it was split in two and became incorporated into the two cottages either side when renovation took place in the 1980s. The front door and windows of the cottage, to the right of the downpipe, are shown in the 1962 photograph.
George's father was an agricultural labourer, his elder brother Cornelius was a railway engine cleaner at Hadleigh railway station and three of his sisters, Maria, Elizabeth and Emily were silk throwsters at the Silk Mill in Hadleigh.
According to the diary of Dean Barry Knox (1840-42) who, whilst on a round of visits on Wednesday 12th October 1842, recorded 'Then come Cornelius and Susan Double. Independents. They have eight children. They were church people but went to (the) Meeting (House) when Mr Taylor left Hadleigh. Apparently rather above the generality.'
We know that from the 1851 Census George Double was listed as a 'Scholar' in Hadleigh, the 1861 Census lists him living in Newington, London, his occupation as 'Railway Porter'. In 1862 he married Emma Sadler ( a Suffolk girl born in Somerton) in Clapham. From these humble beginnings George Double, through sheer hard enterprise, rose to become a successful builder of pier heads and bridges working with leading engineers of the day, such as G. N. Abernethy and John Dixon, later to become a successful independent contractor of public works.
With thanks to Margaret Woods and Suzanne Angland, Hadleigh Society History Group