Alice Marion Webster was the fifth child of William Webster & Elizabeth Winder born August 22nd, 1859 at Dorney & christened September 18th, 1859 at Burnham, Bucks.
In 1861 & 1871 she was living with her parents & sisters at Dorney Wood Farm.
Alice married John Bradford in April-June 1880 the marriage being registered at Eton. John was the son of Arthur Edwin Bradford & Emily Barnett born April 5th, 1854 & christened May 3rd, 1854 at Holy Trinity, Clapham, Surrey.
In 1881 Alice & John were living at Wormwood St, London & John was a carpet warehouse manager.
By 1891 they had moved to Hambleden, Bucks & John was now a market gardener.
In 1901 Alice was visiting her father William who had retired & was living at the High St, Burnham. With him at the time of the census was also granddaughter Maud E Bayley (25), daughter of Alice’s sister Elizabeth Webster who had married Maurice Bayley. At this time John Bradford was living at Shepperton, Middx & described as living on own means. He was recorded as being married to Amy, aged 48 born at Chiswick, Middx, however no marriage record could be found.
By 1911 Alice was living with her sister, Elizabeth Bayley & her husband Maurice at Middle Park Farm, Eltham, Kent. Alice, who was still described as married (for 30 years) was a maternity nurse. Elizabeth's daughters Maud E Bayley & Violet M Harrison were living at the farm & son Arthur John Bayley was working on the farm.
Alice's husband John Bradford was again found with ‘wife' Amy at the time of the 1911 census. Amy was recorded as having being married for 16 years. They were living on John's houseboat called ‘Gipsy' on the River Thames at Taggs Island, Hampton, Surrey. John was described as a musical composer & he & Amy had 2 servants. The author R.G.M. Baker wrote a book entitled ‘Thameside Molesey' & the following is an extract from this:
‘ Tagg's Island, too, was yet another convenient anchorage for the ubiquitous houseboat. From the 1880s the perimeter of the island was fringed with ranks of these exuberant floating juggernauts. A long line of vessels, their verandahs were bedecked overall with gaily striped and tasselled awnings, their railings, balustrades, and ornate carvings, freshly painted each season in rich and striking colours. Viewed from the towpath it was indeed a glittering sight. Perhaps the most dazzling of all was Mr John Bradford's Gipsy . A large houseboat, near the centre of the line as seen from the Molesey bank, it was covered all over with brilliant tiers of hanging baskets and tubs filled with vivid vermilion geraniums and other flowers of every hue
On a balmy Sunday evening, as darkness was spreading, the brightly coloured lanterns were lit, sending shafts of rainbow light streaming and reflecting across the shadowy water. The melodious tones of an old-fashioned brass-horned gramophone came from the upper deck. The very vessel itself seemed to burst into life. All around, on the Molesey towpath and in countless punts, people stopped and listened.
These free concerts continued for a number of summers and were much appreciated by the people, who used to make a special journey each Sunday down to the river to listen and to look. Unfortunately the owner of the island considered that it drew customers away from the hotel, and told Mr Bradford that he must stop giving the concerts or he would have to remove his houseboat from the island. This order almost broke the kindly owner's heart, he so enjoyed the pleasure his music gave to people. He could not bear to stop on the houseboat without playing the gramophone so he decided to sell the Gipsy and get right away from the place where he was much admired and had for many years done so much to brighten up the scene .'