Chalkhurst was originally built as a wedding present for Robert William Cannell and his bride Charlotte 'Lottie' Brown, by Robert's father Henry, when they married in Greenwich in the Autumn of 1890.Robert was one of the Seed Cannells. The Cannell family had been amongst the early pioneers of the seed trade when they realised that they could sell seeds in packets to grow vegetables, fruit trees and flowers. The business 'blossomed' under father Henry Cannell. Henry was born in Norfolk in 1834 and he moved to London where he set up business as a florist in Woolwich. Henry married Jane Elizabeth Bayne (also born in 1834 in Woolwich) in the Spring of 1858 in Lewisham and they went on to have several children.
First came Mathilda who was born in 1860. Then came a son, Henry Robert (born in 1861), who became a florist alongside his father before following him into the seed trade. A second son, Robert William, was born in the early Winter months of 1866 in Woolwich, followed by Ernest Arthur (1867), Lily Catherine (1872) and Rose Hester (1873-1887). Even the daughters maintained the floral theme!
Henry's mother Mathilda (who was born in Suffolk in 1811) lived with them in Woolwich during the 1880s.
