According to the certificate of Banns, and the marriage entry in the church register, the first mention of any location associated with William appears to be Colchester in Essex. His parish is shown as St Leonard's, but there are no records of any Hebdens in the parish register there. 

On the strength of this, it is probable that William might have been born elsewhere, maybe even in the Yorkshire Dales. Colchester was a garrison town, and William may have been associated with the military, either as a serving soldier or a contractor. This possibility is strengthened by the fact that his first child, Stephen, was born in Armagh on the 29th January 1814, though there is no record of his birth locally.

In the spring of 1814, William and Frances and their young son Stephen returned to England and settled in Brighton. Their first home was at No.21 Camelford Street, Just a short distance from the centre of Town. Here, William set up his shoe-making business, which appears in Pigot's Trade Directory for 1823

 

 

 

 

Over the next 25 years, William and Frances laid the foundations of both the family in Brighton, Burnley and Australia. (to see how the family grew click HERE)  

Sometime between 1823 and 1830, the family moved to new premises at No 4, Market Street, Brighton. The shop was almost certainly rented rather than bought and is still there today, numbered 4 - 5 Market Street, suggesting that two shops have been knocked into one.