In the early years of the twentieth century, Henry George Muddle the younger appeared to have all that was required for a fulfilling and worthwhile life. He had good looks, a good personality by all accounts and he came from a moderately wealthy family ~ with the resources to finance whatever career he chose to pursue. A difficult life for Henry George seemed hard to imagine in those peaceful, prosperous early years of the Edwardian era.

Over the next five decades, the story of Henry George's life did not turn out as one might have expected. He could have run a successful butchers' shop, continued farming his Grandfather's and Father's land and like them, become one of the respected pillars of Edgware society. Instead, the early potential faded quickly and his inheritance evaporated. Almost all that he had towards the end of his life he owed to his wife and her family.

The reasons for this divergence will never be known; we can make some educated guesses, but the possibility of any reliable determination died with him. What is known is that Henry George was a heavy drinker, possibly even an alcoholic, but whether this was the cause of his problems or the result of other issues is impossible to say. Members of the family would smile as they recalled the escapades of his later years, but as a young man he was clearly of a somewhat troubled and conflicted disposition.

In some ways, the change in Henry George's prospects ran parallel with even greater changes in an entire way of life. When he was born in 1880, Edgware was a quiet country town with a population of less than one thousand. Edgwarebury ~ the small hamlet two miles from Edgware, where he spent the first twenty years of his life, had remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years ~ 'Absolutely out of the world' according to one contemporary writer. Henry George's Father, Grandfather and other farmers, made a very successful living from hay-farming and it could have been assumed that he would continue in that occupation.

However, as the railways reached further and further into the London suburbs and more people escaped the smog and congestion of the capital, so the demand for housing increased. By the early 1920s, most of the hay farms in Edgware, Little Stanmore and Mill Hill were beginning to disappear, making way for vast housing estates. The use of horses in farming was also a thing of the past, with the number of working horses in Britain going from over a million in 1900 to less than 25,000 by 1914. This resulted in less demand for hay, which, having reached it's peak in 1895, then went into a steep decline. Life, for Henry George and for the 'most sequestered hamlet' at Edgwarebury, did not evolve as might have been anticipated in 1880.

This is also the story of James Bray, Charles Muddle, Mary Jane Muddle and the Taylor family, all of whom had a huge impact on Henry George's life. Bray laid the foundations of the family's prosperity and introduced Henry George's father to the lucrative hay trade in Edgware. Charles Muddle played his part by using his influence and connections to help establish his nephew in business. Mary Jane was from a new generation of more independent-minded women; with her husband unable or unwilling to assume his responsibilities, she made use of her new-found rights and freedoms to become the mainstay of her family. The Taylor family were a constant source of stability, financially and otherwise for Mary Jane as her husband's decline began to take its toll. Without all of these people, the story of Henry George would have been very different.

The information on this website comes from official documents ~ some from the recollections of family members. The late Eric Muddle in particular gave me his recollections of Henry George. His wife, Joan, also provided me with copies of several photographs covering the Edgware years. I am indebted to the late Derek Miller ~ whose excellent website provided me with much background information on the Muddle family. Thanks also go to Gaye Morgan and Norma Potter ~ Librarians at the Codrington Library, All Souls College, Oxford, to the archivists at Barnet and Harrow Libraries and at Shropshire Archives and to those working at the City of London Photographic archive.

At the time and in the places where they lived, James Bray, the Muddles, Taylors and others like them, were what might be called 'Farming Gentry'. Consequently, their comings and goings were documented in the local newspapers to what might seem, by modern eyes, an unusual degree. As a result, I have been able to find a large number of articles covering their numerous social, charitable, civic and business activities.

Please see 'Research Sources' for a complete list of contributors, the websites consulted and photograph acknowledgements.

Most of what you will read on the following pages is factual ~ though at times it has been necessary to use a mixture of facts and conjecture in order to give a more rounded and substantial account of Henry George's life. However, my interpretation of certain events and situations might be different to yours, so please don't hesitate to let me know if you have an alternative view.