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South Lynn family
 Horace was the youngest of five sons born to James Frost and Susan nee Powley; he also had two older and two younger sisters. He was born on 11 Jun 1881 at 3 Keppel Street, South Lynn.
His brothers were Walter (1868 - ), Herbert (1869 - ), Albert (1872 - ) and Arthur (1876 - ). In 1891 Arthur was a Draper's Apprentice.
"Arthur became an Insurance Superintendent for the Prudential. He used to carry a silver knobbed cane and wore white spats. He left Lynn because he was exposed as a twister. His family moved to Cambridge. He had a daughter Aunty Mildred who was a Music Teacher. When he was buried his coffin twisted upside down as it was lowered into the grave." [VAB]
His sisters were Margaret (1864 - ), Edith (1874 - ), Florence (1885 - ) and Kate (1887 - ). By 1891 Edith was living at 10 Goodwins Road Kings Lynn as General Domestic to John Clark a retired Draper (no others in house). She went to Canada.  Horace lived at 21 Nelson street King's Lynn with his parents until he married Phoebe in 1905. At that time he was a Chemist's Assistant. In 1911 he was living at 15 Gladstone road King's Lynn, still a Chemist's Assistant. He and Phoebe had been married for five years and had had three children born alive, two of whom were still living: Evelyn Phoebe (4) and Ruby Selby (1) .
By the time of his death in 1956 he owned Miles the Chemist and is seen here outside his shop.
Susan Powley
 His mother was Susan Powley born at Sporle cum Palgrave and baptised 18 December 1841, the daughter of William Powley a labourer and Lydia nee Cheason. Lydia died in 1852 and William married again to Elizabeth Kemp.
In 1861 Susan was working as a waitress for innkeeper William Maris at the George Hotel in Castleacre street, Swaffham.
The life of James
 James Frost was born at Weasenham in about 1833-4. He was not recorded in the 1851 Census of Norfolk but was an Ostler at the time of his marriage in 1861. By 1881, when Horace was born, he was a groom living with his family at Keppel Street South Lynn; by 1891 he was a Coachman and the family were living at 21 Nelson Street which is close to St Margaret's Church.
As an ostler he may have slept over the stables to guard the horses, getting up very early to clean out and to feed the horses. During the day he would have stoked the boiler in the harness room to protect the harness and heat the feed. When carriages returned from journeys he would have helped to wash, dry and put them in the carriage room. A groom's main job was to keep the horses in good condition by grooming and exercising them. As a coachman he would have driven and maintained the carriage. He would have paid great attention to the comfort of passengers, driving at about seven to eight miles per hour because any faster would have made the horses sweat. He could have worked for a family or for a Carrier who ran a coaching service.
[Summarised from Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861 ] |
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