Nunn: 1820 Robson’s London Directory

There are 13 people called Nunn (or in one case, Nun), in Robson’s 1820 London Directory. This is the earliest directory that David Nunn appears in.

R Nun, salesman, Leadenhall Market

Not yet identified.

Nunn & Co., British lace manufacturer, 59 Gracechurch Street and 10 Wood Street, Cheapside

William Nunn is the Nunn of “Nunn and Co.” He was baptised in Wendons Loft, Essex, near Saffron Walden in 1757, the son of John Nunn and Sarah Watson. His nephew William Adams Nunn (son of Humphrey Nunn and Mary Adams, a widow (maiden name not yet identified) )was a lace manufacturer in Nottingham, whose family would eventually move to the Isle of Wight to make lace there. William Nunn was one of the executors of William Adams Nunn’s will.

Nunn & James, Manchester and Scotch warehouse, 46 Old Change, Cheapside

Not yet identified. Might be connected with William Nunn of “Nunn & Co.”, given that they were both based in Cheapside.

R Nunn & Co., muslin factors etc., 51 Friday Street, Cheapside

Not yet identified. Another connection with William Nunn?

D Nunn, tobacconist, 22 Windmill Street, Tottenham Court Road

My ancestor, David Nunn, who moved the following year to Shoreditch where he worked as an oilman and tallow chandler. He died in 1841. His birthplace and parents are not yet identified.

E Nunn, innkeeper, 3 Lower Thames Street

Elizabeth Nunn was a widow, and ran the Bell Tavern on 3 Lower Thames Street, very close to the church of St Magnus the Martyr. She was born Elizabeth Skipper, the daughter of John Skipper, and married Thomas Willett Nunn at St Dunstan’s in the East in 1799. They had at least seven children (five girls, two boys), and her husband died in 1817, aged 48. The burial register for St Botolph’s Billingsgate gives his address as Bell Tavern, Lower Thames Street. Thomas Willett Nunn had been born in Cambridge, and baptised at St Giles’ in 1770, the son of James and Ann Nunn.

Elizabeth ran the pub until at least about 1844. She was of 129 St John Street, London, when she wrote her Prerogative Court of Canterbury will in 1855. She names four daughters: Phoebe Nunn, Mary Smith, Harriet Smith, and Elizabeth Adam. Her daughter Ann had married Hugh Murphy, nephew of “Mr T Bryer of King William Street, London Bridge” in 1838 at St Magnus the Martyr, but marriages for that church at that time are lost. Ann and Hugh aren’t mentioned in the will, but one of the executors was Thomas Bryer of 44 King William Street, mercer, who appears to be Hugh’s uncle.

I Nunn, bookseller, 48 & 49 Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn

James Nunn was one of the sons of Joshua Nunn and Mary Baker. He was born in Earl Stonham, Suffolk, married Sarah Embleton, and was considered to be one of the best booksellers in London. He died in 1831.

Joshua Nunn, teadealer, 9 Tavistock Street, Tottenham Court Road

Joshua Nunn was a grandson of Joshua Nunn and Mary Baker, the son of William Nunn of Romford.

Robert Nunn, carpenter and undertaker, 12 Bartholomew Close

Not yet identified.

Samuel Nunn, breeches maker and tailor, 24 Thayer Street

Son of Thomas Nunn, who lived and worked at the same address. Thayer Street is in the Manchester Square area of Marylebone. Thomas died in about 1800, Samuel in about 1829. They both left Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills.

Thomas Nunn, grocer and oilman, 19 Great James Street, Bedford Row

Thomas was born in Linton, Cambridgeshire, in about 1777, and baptised as Thomas Mundy Nunn. His father, John Nunn, was a son of Joshua Nunn of Withersfield, Suffolk. Thomas lived and worked at the same address in Holborn for many years. He died in 1844 and left a Prerogative Court of Canterbury will.

William Nunn, coal and oil warehouse, Hackney Road

William Nunn arrived in London from Suffolk in 1815 or 1816. His baptism and parentage is unknown. He married Sarah King in Stutton, Suffolk, in 1802. David Nunn was one of the trustees for William’s eldest son, Joshua. As David’s baptism is also impossible to find, it’s possible that David and William were brothers or cousins, who arrived in London at about the same time. William died in Hackney 1849, aged 73, and was buried at Abney Park cemetery. Read more about William.

William Nunn, silk manufacturer, 119 Church Street, Shoreditch

William Nunn died at the same address in 1844, where he was by then a grocer. He was 63 (born about 1781). He had married Mary Birt, a widow, in 1828, at St Matthew’s, Bethnal Green. Although the directory says he was in Shoreditch, Church Street got its name because it’s the street that St Matthew’s was on. The western end of the street meets Shoreditch High Street, so it’s possible he gave Shoreditch as the area because it was so close to such a major road. On the 1841 census, he’s described as a grocer, and says that he was born in Middlesex. He is possible the son of John and Elizabeth Nunn of Coopers Gardens, born on 8 Oct 1781 and baptised at St Leonard’s, Shoreditch in 1781. He left a Prerogative Court of Canterbury will.