Alfred Lamb was born in 1858 in Hull, East Yorkshire. He was the eldest son of Martin James Lamb and Elizabeth, and brother to Marcus, my great, great grandfather.
Like the rest of the family, Alfred didn't move far, but stayed in Hull. But by the early twentieth century, he had moved away from the crowded centre, presumably reflecting his improved financial position.
In 1881 Alfred is aged 23, living at 2 Alicia Street, in the Sculcoates district. At some point in the previous ten years since the 1871 census he has married Ann Maria Storer, aged 25, and is living with his in-laws. The head of the household is Henry Storer, his wife is Dinah Grace. Alfred and Ann Maria have two children - Alfred H Lamb, b 1879 in Hull, and Albert E Lamb, b 1881, also in Hull. Our Alfred is listed as "Painter" (This is painting houses, rather than Constable-like).
In the 1891 census, he and his wife are at 9 Alicia Street - they've moved just down the road. He is 34, and now described more clearly as a "House painter". His eldest son, Alfred H, aged 12, is occupied in "Assisting House Painter" (which I thought was rather nice).
They have a large family, and also living with them is Alfred's father-in-law Henry, aged 55. His marital status is "Married" still, rather than Widower, but Mrs Storer isn't living in the household it seems. Just as well, as Alfred and Ann have 5 sons and 3 daughters: Alfred (12), Albert (10), Frederic (8), Arthur (6), Ann (4), Martin (3), Mabel (1) and Ada (9 months).
This is then a large household. The 1891 census included a column for the enumerators to indicate for each household "number of rooms occupied if less than five". It is difficult to believe, but this household of 3 adults and 8 children is recorded as living in 4 rooms. The definition of what constituted a room varied a little, but it certainly doesn't mean four bedrooms. Even then, it would be rather crowded.
I was relieved to see that the family now seem to be living in a house that has more than four rooms. They are living at 68 Francis St (East?). Alfred, aged 43, is still a house painter, but is now also an employer, so it seems he's doing okay. He is still living with Annie, aged 45.
Son Alfred H, 22, is unmarried, a "Journeyman House Painter". Albert, 20, unmarried, is an Apprentice Slater. Frederick, 18, is an Apprentice House Painter. Also part of the household are daughter Annie (14), son Martin (13) and daughter Mabel (11).
This was the particularly pleasing bit. There's a brilliant website - www.historicaldirectories.org - that allows you to look at and search through a range of well-known trade directories from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. I was having a look at Kelly's 1913 directory for Hull. I wasn't planning on serious research, but entered the search term Lamb, just to see what came up. And there was Alfred, listed as a painter, living out on The Boulevard.
I'm not familiar with Hull, apart from via all the maps I'm looking at, but my Pevsner guide helped me, as it so often has. The Boulevard, it says, is a "wide tree-lined street", laid out in 1870, and it has "plenty of large late 19th century terraced housing with good details". Rather different, then, from the two-up, two-down where Alfred's family started.
It seems that Alfred's sons followed him into the house-painting trade. In the same directory are listed Alfred H(enr)y Lamb, painter, living on Blake Street, and at Clifton Terrace, off Clifton Street, there's another house painter, Martin James Lamb (cousin of my great-grandfather, also Martin James Lamb). Also listed is Albert Ernest Lamb, an apprentice in the 1901 census return, now listed in the directory under his chosen trade, as a slater.