Hi Graham Be careful not to confuse more than one establishment called the Saracen's Head. There were once a number of inns of that name in the City of London, the most famous being in Snow Hill in the parish of St Sepulchre. One of the others was in Carter (originally Little Carter) Lane, just south of St Paul's Churchyard. The former was a very well known establishment, and very old, and is mentioned frequently in contemporary accounts of London. Its most notable appearance in literature is as the venue for the employment interview between Wackford Squeers and Nicholas Nickleby. The old inn was demolished in 1868 to make way for the construction of Holborn Viaduct - an event so notable that it was reported, with a large etching of the event, on the front page of the Illustrated London News. So Ellen's place of employment in 1881 would not have been the old coaching inn, but a more modern hotel, presumably named after the old inn. There is no sign of it in 1871, presumably because the surrounding area was still under reconstruction. In 1891 it is shown on the census as Number 10 Snow Hill, still being run by Matthew WOODHILL and family. It then disappears, so presumably did not survive. As to Ellen, I think she probably married Charles Skinner CHAPPLE at All Saints Fulham in 1889. The entry in the marriage register gives her father as William BENNETT (deceased), a builder, which is consistent with the 1841 census. Charles and Ellen are in Fulham in 1891, with Ellen giving her place of birth as Soho. The Sun Hill in "The Bill" is a suburb, not a street, in the fictitious London Borough of Canley, which appears to roughly equate to the actual Borough of Tower Hamlets, not the City. The name apparently derives from a street in the Hertfordshire home town of the series' creator. I got this from Wikipedia - I am not an expert on the programme! Best wishes Caroline > Hi all > This is something I never thought to ask before - would anyone have > any knowledge regarding the Saracens Head Hotel or Inn at Carter's > Lane, Snow Hill, Holborn? My great-great aunt, Ellen Bennett born > 1839, Soho, Westminster was the housekeeper of this hotel (1881 > census), a reasonably important position no doubt, but she disappears > from view come the 1891 census and I have not a clue what happened to > her. > > I have a reasonable amount of information from history re. the > Saracen's Head, but anything anyone may have would be appreciated, > especially any information re. the staff/servants etc. of the hotel > 1870s-1900s. By the way do you think that Sun Hill in "The Bill," is > really Snow Hill? > > Cheers > Graham > Melboujrne > Oz >

A lot of the locations are shot in Croydon. A useless bit of information for you! Cheers Andy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Caroline Bradford" <caroline.bradford@btinternet.com> To: <middlesex_county_uk@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 10:48 AM Subject: Re: [MDX] Saracens Head Hotel, Snow Hill > > The Sun Hill in "The Bill" is a suburb, not a street, in the fictitious > London Borough of Canley, which appears to roughly equate to the actual > Borough of Tower Hamlets, not the City. The name apparently derives from > a > street in the Hertfordshire home town of the series' creator. I got this > from Wikipedia - I am not an expert on the programme! > > Best wishes > > Caroline >