William Tarbutt was born 18th September 1810 at Cranbrook to George Tarbutt and Philadelphia Wimsett who had married the previous year. William's trade, which he followed from his father, was as a basket maker at his shop on the High Street in Cranbrook. He continued this trade throughout his life and when he married Sarah Monk Smith in 1849 her skills as a dealer in toys and fancy goods expanded the outlet to become the Toy shop on the High Street.
William's hobby was the historical study of many aspects of Cranbrook life and it is his considerable legacy of research and lectures that makes William Tarbutt so important. He was a member of the Cranbrook Literary Association where he gave a series of lectures from 1866 to 1870:
An Historical Account of Dence's School & Schoolmasters from 1568 to 1865
Cranbrook Church
Cranbrook Church; its Monuments
Cranbrook Church; its Ministers
which were all published together in 1873 as The Annals of Cranbrook Church.
In 1874 he presented a paper on The Ancient Cloth Trade of Cranbrook to the Kent Archaeological Society followed in 1882 by a further paper on Briefs in the Parish of Cranbrook
William Tarbutt died on 29th August 1893 at Cranbrook and is buried at St Dunstan's where his gravestone records him as the Historian of Cranbrook
| George Tarbutt | m: 15th Nov 1809 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | Philadelphia Wimsett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 11th May 1779 d: 25th Feb 1851 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 25th Feb 1851 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | b: 26th Dec 1777 d: 27th Aug 1849 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 27th Aug 1849 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William | Anne | Mary Ann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 18th Sep 1810 Cranbrook, Kent d: 29th Aug 1893 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 29th Aug 1893 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | b: 1813 Cranbrook, Kent ch: 26th Dec 1813 St Dunstan's Church | b: 29th Apr 1816 Cranbrook, Kent d: 17th May 1848 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 17th May 1848 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William Tarbutt | m: Oct to Dec 1849 | Sarah Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b: 18th Sep 1810 Cranbrook, Kent d: 29th Aug 1893 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 29th Aug 1893 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | b: 7th Jul 1813 Staplehurst, Kent ch: 15th Aug 1813 Independent chapel d: 10th Aug 1904 Cranbrook, Kent bur: After 10th Aug 1904 St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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