In the 1990's, Eric Henry George Muddle ~ grandson of Henry George, recounted stories told to him by his father. One of these was that during the time they owned the butchers shop, Mary Jane Muddle often had to work in the shop ~ her young son playing in a washtub behind the counter. Meanwhile, her husband lay in bed upstairs ~ too drunk to serve customers. If Isaac Taylor had considered Henry George as an unsuitable husband for his daughter in 1901, then just two short years later his doubts were being realised.

When Henry George started to drink regularly cannot be certain. It seems hard to believe, given the distance between Edgwarebury and the public houses in town, that it had started before his going to work in Aylesbury. It also seems unlikely that Charles Muddle would have secured a job for his nephew with William Smith ~ or helped to set him up in business, if his drinking was already excessive. So, it seems reasonable to conclude that it was during his time at Aylesbury and Tring that Henry George first got used to drinking ~ and that his drinking problem only began after he returned to Edgware.

Why he started to drink to excess is a more difficult question to answer. He may have come to the realization that butchering was not the occupation he wanted after all. There is also the possibility that he had not married Mary Jane Taylor because he wanted to, but because he had little choice in the matter. So in 1902, the prospect of spending the rest of his life living above the shop ~ with someone he had felt obliged to marry, may have been too much for him to contemplate. For maybe the first time in his life, Henry George was having to face up to his responsibilities ~ and if he was unable to do so, then he may have considered alcohol to be his only escape.

If her husband was in the early stages of alcoholism, then Mary Jane would have considered Edgware High Street the worst possible place for them to live; The Chandos Arms was next door to the shop and The Masons Arms, The Boot, The George, The White Hart and eight other public houses, were all within walking distance.

The beginning of the end started in 1902. In May of that year there was an embezzlement hearing at Edgware Petty Sessions. Evidence was given that Henry George had purchased 53 sheep from a Charles Lovett for £89 - a considerable sum. The sheep actually belonged to Lovett's employer, Mr Gwynne, who had not known of the sale and was still owed £28 - which Lovett, a chronic gambler, was unable to pay. Lovett was sent for trial at the Old Bailey, where he pleaded guilty.

Accounts of the trial were in the local newspapers and would not have reflected well on either Henry George's honesty or his business acumen. He had paid for the sheep with three cheques; Lovett had asked that two of the cheques be made out to him and only the third be made out to his employer. That Henry George agreed to this suspicious request was either foolhardy or worse still, suggested that he had known Lovett was up to no good. It was also hard to imagine that a small butchers shop could have had use for 53 sheep or that it was generating enough business to recoup the £89 cost - the equivalent of £8,000 in 2017. Local people, observing all of this and already familiar with Henry George's drinking problems, would have been less and less inclined to give him their business.*

There was one incident in 1903 that may have distracted Henry George and Mary Jane from the problems of daily life. Their shop was just two doors down from Edgware Courthouse and that proximity led to a mention in the national press. The incident is not likely to have been mentioned at all were it not for the fact that the presiding magistrate was W S Gilbert ~ of Gilbert & Sullivan ~ who had retired from the musical world and now lived at Harrow.

Either Henry George or his father is recorded as being present at a meeting of the Edgware Tradesmen's Association in September, 1903, but just a few weeks after that, the inevitable happened; Henry Muddle Sr decided to sell the business to a local man, Frederick James. In November of that year, Mr. James felt it necessary to post the above advertisement for three consecutive weeks in the local press. There is no way of knowing what other incidents had prompted this action by Mr. James, but it would have been a source of embarrassment for Henry George, his wife and both their families. It would have been a particularly bitter blow for Charles Muddle, who had done so much to help establish his nephew in business. It does seem perverse, given his apparent reputation, that in 1904 Henry George was asked to second one of the candidates in the election for the Parish Council.

On 28th July 1904, at the age of 78, James Bray died at Edgwarebury. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church, Edgware, where he had been Churchwarden and where his wife, Mary, was also buried.

James Bray died a relatively wealthy man, his personal estate was valued at £2903 6s 10d ~ the equivalent of £336,000 ($500,000) in 2019. Apart from a small bequest to Bray's brother, William, Charles Muddle and Henry George Muddle the elder inherited the entire estate. According to the will, Charles received 'All the stock standing in my name in the books of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England...my Jewelry and silver articles'. Henry Muddle Sr inherited 'my real estate...the rest, remainder and residue of my personal estate and effects' ~ including Bray's china, which was specifically mentioned in the will. The archives at All Souls College contain notification of Bray's death and confirm the transfer of Bury Farm to Henry George Sr.

Henry George was not mentioned in his Grandfather's will which had been written in May of 1904. More significantly, 29-yr old Henry Fry, who had been married to Henry George's sister Caroline for just two years, was appointed as co-Executor, along with Henry Muddle Sr. The appointment of Fry could be an indication that James Bray, who had clearly led a cautious and hard-working life, had reason to doubt his grandson's character.

Then, in the autumn and winter of 1904, just months after Bray's death, Henry George suffered two more devastating losses ~ his uncle, Charles Muddle died suddenly on 28th September**, and his mother died on 28th December after a long illness. The local paper recorded the floral tributes paid to his mother; that from Henry George read: 'To my dearly beloved mother, from her heartbroken son...Harry'***

It is hard to imagine the affect that the loss of his Mother, Grandfather and Uncle had on Henry George, coming hard on the heels of losing his business the year before. The only source of happiness for Henry George during those difficult two years was the birth in July, 1905 of his second son, Charles. When the infant was baptised at St. Lawrences' Church, his Father's occupation is recorded as 'Farmer', and the Electoral Register for that year lists Henry George: 'Successively, High Street and 6, Meads Road'.

Henry George had given his infant son the name Charles ~ almost certainly in remembrance of his uncle. The child's second name was William ~ which may have been a tribute to his former employer.

The business of William Smith continued to prosper and flourish on Market Street in Aylesbury for many years to come, passing from his sons to theirs. Despite the early promise ~ and the hopes and efforts of his family, Henry George Muddle's career as a butcher was at an end ~ there would be no thriving business to pass on to his sons. From this point on, the extent of their inheritance and Henry George's survival, would be entirely dependent on the efforts of Mary Jane Muddle.