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Here is beautiful Maggie age 31 - from 27 Laing Street - on a studio photograph in about 1914 with her brother Jim about to enter the fray. She is living with her recently widowed mother and four brothers. Did she marry? She must have had offers? Does anyone know what happened to her after this. The photo was obtained via Mrs Cave and I knew nothing about her then - assuming that Jim was her husband. Maybe the man in the picture is. Can anyone enlighten us? I believe that her younger brother William was the famous bookie's runner Billy O' Brien who stood on many street corners catering for the steelworker's regular flutter on the horses especially on pay day. Just a line to let people know that the names of Grangetown people are still being stored here and the Old Boys Team that George played for has a similar strip to Grangetown Athletic - however there doesn't appear to be a complete strip - and maybe this team was a group determined to keep fit. I wonder how old George is on the photo. There's a clue to the year it was taken. I imagine George would be about 20 and date it therefore at 1911. And now that Libby's brother has re-taken the picture I just love the background houses and wonder where they actually were. We're now beginning to think it was a St Matthews Team because George was a choir boy there.
Communigate or Newsquest - are closing all their websites and we will be unable to access them after June 30th. You can imagine my dismay at this announcement - which took me by complete surprise. I really expected these sites to last forever. Surely - I thought there must be some CLOUD which can store the pages - and there are a lot of pages I admit. I have just realised that my site has 46 pages and each page has about 10 - 15 images on it with some text. So when they asked me to save the data for any sites I may have - I began to have a nervous breakdown. Googling for information on how best to save the data - and there are a variety of ways apparently. Here is the email:
www.communigate.co.uk will no longer be accessible after 30th June 2014 Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. The website www.communigate.co.uk will no longer be accessible after 30th June 2014. If you have content that is important to you, please ensure that you make arrangements to capture all the information on your sites before the date of closure since once this date has passed we will be unable to assist with retrieval of data. Thank you for visiting Communigate Can you imagine how this will affect the visitors to these websites from all over the world? If they cannot view it ? What can I do people? Below is an attempt to retrieve the old site. Let's see what happens. http://web.archive.org/web/20060506032853/http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/cardboardcity/index.phtml http://web.archive.org/web/20060506032853/http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/cardboardcity/index.phtml If you can see this link above - you can use it to find the old archived version of Grangetown in Times Past from Communigate - but you may need to copy and paste it - onto another search engine - in order for it to open. Good luck - it's taken me ages but I hope it works for you. Maggie Dooley and Peter - courtesy of Kath Percival nee Cave Maggie Dooley was a famous wit..always ready with a shrewd comment to raise the spirits of the occupants in Vaughan Street. Her maiden name was McAuliffe..the sister of the famous billiards player Johnna. You can read about one of her adventures in "How do you like your eggs ? The McNicholas Family of 64 Vaughan Street c 1898 The McNicholas Family c 1898 L-R: James b.1897; Mother: Mary Kenny b. 1863; John b.1893; Annie b.1886; Margaret below, b.1888; Alice b.1896; Father: James b.1860; Mary (Cissie)b.1890. Both parents James and Mary formerly Kenny, were immigrants from Counties Mayo and Armagh. Their children were highly intelligent, most becoming teachers and one became a Senator in the U.S. Alice taught at the Farm School for years and was known as Mrs Caherty. Margaret taught at St Mary's also and married Patrick Walsh. They had four daughters and one son Dai Thomas marries Mary Ellen Welsh 1920 - courtesy of Jim White Dai Thomas, steelworker and acknowledged amateur footballer who played for Grangetown St Mary's FC, married Mary Ellen Welsh and later emigrated to the U.S...and their relatives are now living in Chicago... avid viewers of the site. Maid of Honour was Margaret Quinn Best Man was Dick Thomas The flower girls were :- Winnie Traynor, Maggie Lawlor.. Cassie Bennett and Joanna McCarthy.Maggie and Jim O Brien of Laing St c 1914 Maggie and Jim O Brien of Laing St c 1914 - courtesy of Kath Percival nee Cave Maggie and Jim lived in Laing Street. In 27 Laing Street according to the 1901 Census James O'Brien was 60 and Maggie 58 with children Thomas 26, James 23, Mark 21, Margaret 18, Jane 16, John 14, Peter 10 and William 7. The Jim O Brien in the picture with Maggie must be the one aged 23 in this 1901 Census - which would make him 36 in 1914. I wonder which Maggie, Jim married. Jim White's ancestors - 98 Holden Street c 1917 "The Four Generations" One day in 1917/19 they decided to go to North Ormesby to have their photograph taken: Ellen Williams (my Gt Gt Grandmother) b at Gateshead in 1836. Her parents, James Ward and Jane nee Frankland were from Yorkshire. The Wards can be traced back to 1638 at Marske nr Richmond. She first married Patrick White* b Co Wicklow, a coal miner, at St Wilfrids, Bishop Auckland. She was not a Catholic - he was. Patrick died of smallpox at Whitwood, West Riding and the family returned to Co Durham where she remarried - Lewis Williams and had a second family. They moved to South Bank. She died 1919. * White - not my paternal surname - can be confusing. Mary Jane Thomas nee White, daughter of above - b at Whitwood in 1860. Married David Thomas. Had 13 children. Died 1937. Gwenllian McCarthy nee Thomas, daughter of above - b Grangetown 1889. Married Charles McCarthy(1878 - 1933). Five children- 2 boys died young. "Nan"below also died young (22 yrs). Died 1950. Johnna O'Neill nee McCarthy, daughter of above - b Grangetown 1915. Married James O'Neill. One child, Patricia (1937 - 39). Johanna died of child birth complications - 1937. Ellen Williams formerly White nee Ward (1836 - 1919) Mary Jane Thomas nee White (1860 - 1937) Gwenllian McCarthy nee Thomas (1889 - 1950) Johanna O'Neill nee McCarthy (1915 - 1937) The Sleight Family from Lincolnshire c 1890 1890 Photograph of Westoby Sleight and Family Westoby aged 46 yrs and Wife Jane Beel aged 41 yrs Children - Walter aged about 4 yrs Lucy aged about 8 yrs Thomas aged 11 yrs Charles aged 18 yrs Arthur aged 19 yrs John ( William ) aged 21 yrs - The Pikelet Man 1891 Census of 104 Princess St South Bank Westoby Sleight Hd m 47 Joiner Stratton Lincs Jane Sleight Wfe m 42 Osgodby Lincs John (Wm)Sleight son u 23 Greengrocer Lincoln Arthur Sleight son u 21 Gen Lab Lincoln Charles Sleight son u 20 Gen Lab Osgodby Thomas W Sleight son u 12 Lucy Sleight dau u Walter B Sleight son u ( see photo aged 18 ) Arthur Sleight later married Grace Kirk and had seven children. Charles Sleight later married Mary Meegan and had three children. Mr. Sleight was the 'Pikelet man'. He lived in a cottage just out of town in Church Lane, on a smallholding, which was rented from the council. The house had been very ingeniously built out of hard pieces of slag, and the walls rendered with sand and cement. On this holding he kept a few poultry and a donkey, which pulled a small box on wheels containing delicious pike-lets which were made on the premises by his wife and then sold round the streets. The pikelets were covered with snowy white cloths and at 'two for a penny' were a good value buy for children just in from school clammering for tea. People were always asking for the recipe, which he stoutly refused to give! I can remember calling at the cottage for a drink of water in the vain hope that we could gain some insight into the mystery, and thereby impart the knowledge to our mothers! These culinary delights have not been copied since. The cottage stood till after the war, but when he passed on it was pulled down to make way for the new road. It is said that one of our hometown boys being inducted into the Army, and given his first intelligence test was asked, "Who lives in the White House ?" He replied " The Pikelet Man!" We could not understand why adults chortled at this, as we knew it to be true. Ged O'Neill Patrick Golden from County Mayo 1862-1929 photos supplied by Kathleen Percival ( Cave) Top left Patrick and his daughter; top right Esther Pattison - his bride - from Richmond Yorks Below Patrick with a bus driver, conductor in the Market Square Grangetown c 1928 The earliest tram seen in the area was in 1919. Patrick Golden aged 21 married Esther Pattison aged 17 in 1885 in St Peters RC Church South Bank. Witnesses were Annie Quinn + Michael Golden (brother) Esther's father is recorded as a Whitemetal Worker Click on link if you want to know more about old trams in the area...Caves of Grangetown Top is Thomas Cave..brother of Walter Middle: Walter Cave and Norah Golden (Cave) Bottom: Tommy Cave, Mary Cave and Brian Cave The Goldens of Grangetown Centre is Bella Golden born in 1887 She married Matthew Mohan.. Her daughter Nellie is on the left. She died tragically aged 18 Below is Norah Golden born 1890 Right are Patrick and his wife Esther.The Gainfords of Holden St The Gainfords of Holden St - courtesy of Winnie Chambers George Gainford arrived in the area from Monaghan c 1860..with his mother and brothers and sisters. He lived in Middlesbrough for a while, married Bridget Callaghan in St Mary's Chapel Mbro and moved to Witton Park and later back to Bolckow and Vaughan's iron and steelworks to live in South Bank. He arrived in Grangetown later where his son John tragically drowned in the slems c 1895.His daughters survived to marry and his descendants are still living in the area. I am one. Witton ParkThe McKennas of Bessemer StMark McKenna of Ireland married Margaret Quinn in Grangetown and had a number of children- one of whom is featured on this picture with Nora Golden...taken about 1910 ..her friend Annie McKenna who married a Lloyd Thomas in Nebraska USA in 1911. Are there any relatives out there? Annie of course had a famous sister..Winnie the footballer...see football teams page. Bessemer Street Children c 1912 photo and information-Sheila Barker The lady on the doorstep of number 77 Bessemer street is Mrs Simpson (nee Feeny) Sitting at the front with his finger in his mouth and bare feet is my handsome uncle Pat Burke. The lad holding the bike is our good friend Jonna McAuliffe. When I was a young girl in the late 40s I remember Jonna used to stand at the corner of Bessemer and Vaughan street back arch with Harry Carr. They were lovely men and everyone would chat to them coming and going home along the ally including me. When the race horse Sheila's Cottage was running, Johnna would tell me - and a couple of times my mam gave me sixpence to back it.The first time it won that was fine.But then it lost and Johnna gave me my sixpence back. Alas !!!! that was the end of my gambling campaign. Sheila Barker The Solomon Family of Victoria Road photos sent by Dick Fawcett of SlaggyIsland fame of his wife's ancestors Edwin (Ned) Solomon: Born in Swansea 1872, married Rosa Forrester in Jarrow 1897, moved to Victoria Road Grangetown to work at Bolkow & Vaughan as a Steel Smelter. Ned and Rosa with eldest daughters Ethel and Olive. Later photo of Solomon Family of Victoria Road photo-Dick Fawcett l-r: Ethel, Olive, Ted (in dress at front), Richard, Henry, Rose. They had another two daughters after these! Nanny Newton of Bessemer St 1914 Nanny Newton of Bessemer St 1914 - courtesy of Sheila Barker This is Elizabeth Ann Newton my great grandmother formerly Thomas nee Harris of 67 Bessemer street Grangetown - with two of her grandchildren.The Duckering Family of Bessemer Street photo and info - Sheila Barker This allotment was situated I am told at the top of Laing st., L to R Charles Duckering his wife Mary (nee Simpson) and their four children The Ledgerwood Family c 1885 The Ledgerwood Family c 1885 - courtesy of Dennis King Reputed to be one of the first Grangetown families to inhabit the town....further investigation reveals... 1881 Census No 23 Grangetown Thomas Harris Head 52 Ironworker b France British Subject Margaret Harris Wife 47 b M'Bro William Son 15 Ironworks Labourer b M'Bro Dorothy Daur 12 b M'Bro Isabella Ledgerwood Grand Daur 2 b Eston The Garvey Brothers of 119 Bessemer St The Garvey Brothers of 119 Bessemer St - courtesy of Dennis King A wonderful poster of the period depicting a brother "double act" who lived in 119 Bessemer St.The Garvey Brothersphoto - courtesy of Dennis King Dennis tells the tale that the person who brought the original poster to him, was actually the wife of the younger brother - and Dennis was able to obtain further copies of the brothers from her family album - which he copied. Mrs Burley with sons Ben and Harry photo - courtesy of Dennis KingThe Story of John Boylephoto and story - Sheila Barker Although the street houses were only two up and two down and most had large families, I have found in my research that there was hardly a house that did not have a lodger, and sometimes two or three. My grandparents were no exception. They had a man named Jim Connelly. My Great Aunt Harriet took in a man named Johnny Connelly. One day Johnny came home from work worried about a young sixteen year old lad who had come from Donegal and who was in lodgings in South Bank, which were not very good. Johnny had been sharing his bait with him. When Harriet found out, she gave him extra for the lad and after a while Harriet let Johnny bring him home to live with them.I don't know what happened to Jim but Johnny lived to a good age with the family and is buried in the same grave as my grandparents. Harriet was a first world war widow. She had a son John Higgins who died at the age of thirteen. The young lad was named John Boyle. He remained at Aunt Harriet's until her death in 1956. He was devastated and ended up moving to my mothers house until his death in 1980. John was part of the family and always referred to any members as our ??. He lived a carefree life and he was a member of the Social club and had many friends in Grangetown. He had come to England following the death of his father. His two sisters went to America. After a few years, his sisters traced him to Bessemer street and he received a letter asking if he was the John Boyle they were looking for. John was delighted, and he took the letter to the Social club that night to show his friends and... lost it.!!!!!! John never heard any more about his family. SB Mrs Lane and Children - Bessemer Street c 1925 photo - Courtesy of Dennis King Already a famous picture - as front cover of Sid France's booklet on Grangetown's past - entitled ' Clean Steps and White Pinnies'- Mrs Catherine Lane - related to the White family - is holding baby Lawrence as brother Thomas stands by. Catherine (nee Fleming) and her husband James had seven children altogether: Hannah, Philomena, Thomas, Jack, Francis, Jimmy and Lawrence. From Bessemer Street they moved to the "Branch" (Branch End) and back to Bolckow Road's Carnival House before finally ending up in Vickers Street.Stapylton Street Party c 1919 photo - courtesy of Dennis King Getting together to celebrate the peace after Great War, the families of Stapylton street pose for the camera. As far as I know, no-one has claimed any of these people as their relatives. What a wonderful site! Some minor info: My grandmother, Sarah Ann Wilkinson was born at 102 Stapylton Street on 2/8/1892 and was still living there when she got married on 23/8/1913. She married William Herlingshaw (born as William Shaw) who was also living at 102 at the time of the marriage. It is thus likely that they were at the street party. Ken Herlingshaw ([email protected]) The more observant among you, may have noticed a switch in the year applied to this particular photograph - which now seems more likely - considering the short table and the presence of women only seated at the table. It's now my belief that these women were wives and possibly mothers of those brave soldiers who had fought and lost their lives during the Great War. Hi John, Just back from watching "the match" at my father's. Even though I only lived in the area for two years or so before the age of five I have always been a devoted Boro supporter. My father was amused to see his photograph on your site. My grandmother (Sarah, nee Wilkinson) is the tall girl at the back and to the right of the table, looking forward.She is immediately to the right of the girl with a white headband and white top. My grandfather William Herlingshaw, born William Shaw, is to the right of her, against the house wall, wearing a large light-coloured cap looking across the street.After leaving the army in 1916 he was a crane driver in the blast furnace area until he retired.I really have no clue about the year. I asked my father but he wasn't born until 1922. Either 1911 or 1918/9 seems plausible. The Herlingshaws and the Wilkinsons lived at several different houses in Stapylton Street over the years. There were three William Herlingshaws, my grandfather, uncle and cousin. It is nice to see the contributions to your site made by my cousin Billy. Keep up the good work, regards, Ken Herlingshaw The Watson Family - Holden Street photos - courtesy of Keith Watson Top left is Albert Watson born 1901, next are his parents and on the right is Elizabeth Watson who emigrated to the USA. Bottom are Clifford and Keith - himself.The Simpsons of Bessemer Street 1919 photo - courtesy of Sheila Barker Bridget Simpson (nee Feeney) with grandchildren George & Sarah Knight 1919 Jack Simpson with grandaughter Thelma Duckering 1919. Margaret & Violet Grout - Holden St photo - courtesy of Keith Watson via Sheila Barker Violet Grout is pictured with Keith Watson - probably wearing a balaclava - on the left and with Margaret Grout on the right.looking a very curly blonde ..He was never short of lady friends.The Gribbin Family of Laing St The Gribbin Family of Laing St - courtesy of St Mary's Archives Top - Patrick Gribbin and wife Elizabeth ( nee Stinson ) Bottom - Lizzie or Katie Gribbin and her sister Deborah with husband Patrick Carson who were married on June 2nd 1914 by Father Bernard Kelly -Witnesses : Catherine Gribbin and James Daly My great grandfather John O'Neill gave his address as 15 Laing St when he married my great grandmother Annie Fox in Grangetown St Mary's...which was the address of the Gribbin family at that time...Strange.The Children of George William Ayton photos - courtesy of George Ayton Delighted that your web site improves every time I see it. Even more delighted that you put the pictures of my grandfather on. The attachment shows individual pictures of his children, at least the nine that survived into adulthood. My father was George Albert Ayton born at 112 Vickers Street on 26th December 1919. He was billeted in South Shields in WWII with the Royal Scots and this is where he met and married my mother. He worked as a caretaker, I think in the Council Schools in Grangetown after the war but settled in South Shields. The Walsh Family of Bessemer Street 1908 The Walsh Family of Bessemer Street 1908 - courtesy of Tony Walsh Back Row: Tom, Paddy, Jim, Andrew Middle: Mary, Andrew Walsh, John, Margaret nee Tierney, Winnie. Front Row: Michael, Joe, Bill Maggie Walsh later Pattison was born in 1909 and ... her mother Margaret Tierney was living in 117 Bessemer St at the time of her marriage to Andrew of 43 North St South Bank in 1887 in St Mary's Chapel Grangetown. Andrew Walsh himself was born in the Swinford parish of County Mayo in 1856 and his mother was a McManus.Tom and Anastasia photo - courtesy of Tony Walsh Thomas Walsh married Anastasia Bruen in St Peter's Church South Bank in 1920. They had eight children.The Burke Family of Bessemer Street photo - courtesy of Sheila Barker Top L-R: Mary Burke b 1897 Grace Burke b 1899 Elizabeth Ann Burke b. 1895. Middle row: L-R: William Burke b 1902 Jane Burke (nee Thomas) b 1873 Gavin Burke b 1918 Patrick b 1905. Bottom Row: James Burke b 1909. John Burke b 1868 in Co Mayo George and Maggie Ayton c 1930 photo + info - courtesy of George Ayton I thought I'd send you this photograph of my grandparents (taken in the 1930's, just to complete the family group. My Grandfather, George William Ayton, was born at 133 James Terrace, Warrenby, the son of Benjamin and Charlotte Ayton from Norfolk (Gissing and Pulham Market respectively). He worked as a locomotive cleaner and became a locomotive fireman (I think this was at Warrenby Ironworks) before WWI. He was injured in the war and amongst other injuries, lost an eye, after the war he worked as an oiler and greaser. He married Maggie Buxton of 119 Wood Street, Grangetown, she was the daughter of George James Buxton and Elizabeth Mary (nee Easton). They lived at 112 Vickers Street from around 1909 until they moved to Shakespeare Avenue in the 1930's. George The Murphy Family of 95 Cheetham St c 1920 The Murphy Family of 95 Cheetham St c 1920 - courtesy of Kevin Murphy USA The Murphy family lived in Lackenby, South Bank and Grangetown also - before they emigrated to Chicago in the Twenties. Pictured above are :- Joseph ( who stayed in occupied Germany after WW1 - thus the uniform ) his brother John, who also served, and sister Catherine, who was a registered nurse. Jack and Ethel Dalton of 9 Whitworth Rd c 1920 Jack and Ethel Dalton of 9 Whitworth Rd - courtesy of grandaughter Elaine Meadows Jack and Ethel ran the confectioners and tobacco shop in the section of Whitworth Rd between Cheetham St and Vickers St - featured in the Shops section. It later became Tonkin's wet fish shop.Nellie and Hilda - Bessemer & Vaughan Streets 1918Nellie and Hilda - Bessemer & Vaughan Streets 1918 - courtesy of Sheila Barker I have just rang Joan. She said it would be round about the first world war and that Hilda would be 98 if she was still alive. I would guess the photo to be about 1918. Hilda was Hilda Simpson, photo taken on their back step 77 Bessemer St ,and re Nellie:- the Doyles lived opposite in the back street; so they would be Vaughan St even numbers. Joan remembers Mr Doyle she said he was a nice man, tall with a white moustache. Hilda went away to service at 14. She married and lived all her of her married life in Rochdale. Nellie later moved to Normanby but they never lost touch. They had been best friends at school and when Hilda was home she always went to see Nellie. Sheila Barker We went to Nellie's 80th at the St Peter's Club. A great lady ! Harriet Best of Stapylton StreetHarriet Best - courtesy of Sheila Barker Harriet was the eldest sister of Hilda Lightfoot nee Simpson and grandaughter of Edward Feeney. Harry Scutt and Friends 1906 Harry Scutt and Friends 1906 - courtesy of Edward Wilcock Harry Scutt lived in Vickers Street and sent a postcard or two to his ex neighbours and friends Jane and Ethel Pearson who left the town in 1905 to teach in York- bottom left. They were soon joined in York by another neighbour and colleague - Lucy Toomey bottom right. Another friend of the Pearson sisters is Abigail Cooney - top right. Jim White's RelativesJim White's Relatives Jim and Lizzie Murphy of GrangetownJim and Lizzie Murphy of Grangetown - courtesy of Kevin Murphy Andrew & Margaret WalshAndrew & Margaret Walsh - courtesy of Tony Walsh Margaret was a Tierney before she married Andrew from County Mayo. Charles Duckering marries Mary Simpson July 1917 Charles Duckering marries Mary Simpson July 1917 - courtesy of Joan Duckering via Sheila Barker Charles and Mary are on the left.Mary and Bill King of Vickers Street Mary and Bill King of Vickers Street - courtesy of Dennis KIngTommy and Dolly Davis Tommy and Dolly Davis - courtesy of Sheila Barker Tommy and Dolly Davis nee Duckering were the first Steward and Stewardess of Grangetown British Legion. Tommy died young in the 1940s. S.Barker Peter Fox of 39 Bessemer StreetPeter Fox of 39 Bessemer Street - courtesy of Jim Fox of Barley Hill County Tyrone Don't get too excited - this is not a thatched cottage in Bessemer Street. Peter is pictured here later in life enjoying his farm in Barley Hill County Tyrone after earning the cash to buy it - working as a labourer in the Steelworks of Bolckow, Vaughan & Co.for about ten years in the latter part of the 19th C - as an inspiration to his sons and daughters who followed. Sadly, he found that the industry exacted a very high price. His daughter Annie died of pneumonia aged 28 soon after giving birth to two children. His youngest son Michael was killed by a locomotive inside the gates of Bolckow, Vaughan leaving a widow Bridget who lost all of three children in infancy - the final one to grief. His daughter Bella who lived next door to her brother Michael and married his best friend Ned Purcell - was widowed within two months of her brother's death - and buried her husband in her brother's grave in Eston Cemetery. A tragic tale for Bessemer Street - which could possibly be replicated by other families in the town. Times were hard for all. Amy Smith of 19 Wood Street Amy Smith of 19 Wood Street - courtesy of Carl Hierons Amy Youngman Smith lived in Eston and was my grandmother. She was married to Harold James Caswell who lived at 41 William Street. They were married in the Parish of Grangetown on 16th November 1927, Witnessed by parent John James Caswell (born 1878), and parent Charles Smith. Banns where read on 23rd October 1927. The witnesses were Sydney Bullock and Winifred Smith. Harold and Amy lived in Grangetown for many years. Harold died in 1959 age 57 and Amy died age 75 in Whale Hill. BIRTH :1906 Eston BANNS :23 October 1927 MARRIED :Harold J Caswell CHILDREN :John born 1928, Charles Robert 1931,Arthur 1933, Derick 1937, Kenneth, Alan 1942, Amy 1947. DIED :1981 Carl Hierons Carl Hierons - Family Tree The Caswells of Grangetown The Caswells of Grangetown - courtesy of Carl HieronsJohnna McAuliffe and friend in Bessemer Street 1912 Johnna McAuliffe and friend in Bessemer Street 1912 - courtesy of Sheila Barker As a young man, Johnna lost his leg attempting to hitch a lift on a lorry, I was told. Here is looking on, leaning on a large bicycle, whilst a group of youngsters from Bessemer Street take a pause from their street games to satisfy the photographer. Johnna became a very successful biliards player. Mrs Simpson nee Feeney looks on from number 77.The Livingstones of Bolckow Terrace c 1900 The Livingstones of Bolckow Terrace c 1900 - courtesy of Kathleen Potter nee Livingstone An idyllic scene outside the Bolckow Terrace residence of Mr JohnLivingstone - worker at Bolckow and Vaughan's ironworks just up the road. He strikes a familar Victorian pose alongside his wife, child and elderly mother - against a background of trained climbing plants and shrubbery.Toddlers of Holden St 1912 Toddlers of Holden St 1912 Mr & Mrs Gus Jones of 10 Cheetham St Mr & Mrs Gus Jones ( nee Carrick) of 10 Cheetham St - courtesy of grand-daughter Ann Moutrey nee Carman The photo was taken 1957. They had 3 children - Freda, Arthur and Vera. After his retirement from Dorman & Long, Gus worked as caretaker for Browns' on Whitworth Road. The Whiles Family of Bessemer Street The Whiles Family of Bessemer Street- courtesy of Brian Crowther The Whiles Family Collin Whiles married Mary Alice Smart on November 19th 1926 and they had nine children. Margaret, John (Jack) Colin, Joan, Ronald, Dennis, Michael, Kenneth and Samuel Peter. Collin was born 1904 and died 1993 Mary Alice born 1906 and died 1986 Margaret Elizabeth was born 1928 attended St. Mary's school and when St. Peters was built on Normanby road attended her last year of school there. Married Leslie Crowther 11th December 1948 in Saint Mary's RC church they have 2 sons Brian and Arthur and a daughter Hazel. Margaret and Leslie in there early married years lived in Marquand road in South Bank until in 1963 moved to Spencer road, Teesville. In May 1997 Leslie died. John Edward everyone knew as Jack. He attended St. Mary's school and St. Peter's on Normanby road. Married Hilda Coleman and have 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. They emigrated to Australia in November 1966. They have lived most of the time near the Gold Coast Brisbane area of Queensland, Australia since emigrating. They have been home twice on holidays and visited Grangetown twice since emigrating. Colin was born in 1933 and died in February 1933 Joan born in 1935 attended St. Mary's school and St. Peter's on Normanby Road. She married Terence Rooke in Saint Mary's RC church. Terry for years was a local athlete and still lives in the Eston area. They have a son Terence and a daughter Carmel. Joan died in March 1973. Ronald attended St. Mary's school and St. Peter's on Normanby road. Married Doreen Smith and have one daughter. Dennis born 1940 spent most of his life in Claypenny Hospital and died November 1958 Michael attended St. Mary's school and St. Peter's on Normanby road. Married Carol Snaith and have 2 sons and 2 daughters Kenneth attended St. Mary's school and St. Peter's on Normanby road. Married a Grangetown girl Peggy Milsom at Saint Matthews church in Grangetown and have lived all there married life in Eston. Samuel Peter was stillborn February 1949 Collin and Mary Whiles in early married life lived at 52 Whitworth Road. Margaret John and Joan were all born here. They moved to 36 Bessemer Street in 1936 Ronald, Dennis, Michael, Kenneth and Samuel were all born at this house and Mary and Collin lived there until the street was demolished and they were rehoused at 212 Birchington Avenue. I, as their oldest grandchild, remember going there and if the door was not open you would pull the string, which lifted the latch, and that was the door unlocked there was no mortice lock. There was always a pram or a push chair in the passage as members of the family were visiting. The number of times we use to walk across the fields from South Bank to Grangetown and if the weather was really bad we would use the tip. On Sunday afternoons when we visited after the initial welcome Mary my grandmother always would give you one of the large Yorkshire puddings from on top of the oven. As I remember that house there was a small lobby, then a half paned glass door. To the left was the front room, mainly only used on Sundays, walking up the passage with the stairs in front of you then to the left the middle room through the middle room to the kitchen which led to the back yard. Tin bath hung from a nail on the wall. I remember having a few baths in front of the fire in the middle room; I might have been fourth in line for the bath. The toilet was at the bottom of the yard, it had the newspaper squares hung on the wall, it was cold in the winter and dark on a night no electricity in there. The coal house was next to the toilet. Mary Whiles mother Elizabeth Burke formally Smart (nee Hewitt). Elizabeth Hewitt married Henry Smart. They had three daughters Mary Miriam and Elizabeth. Mary married Collin Whiles Miriam married George Willoughby and Elizabeth (Lizzie) married Vincent McNamara. Henry Smart died and Elizabeth remarried and that was to Thomas Burke and they had 2 sons Michael and William. Michael an army man married Joanna McCarthy and lived in Vaughan Street and William married Winifred Tierney. Michael was a very talented pianist mainly classical and lived at 57, Bessemer Street. On the Coronation of the late King George and Queen Elizabeth in 1937 Michael moved the piano under the front window and played nearly all night for everyone to dance and jig to. On the 1927 electoral register Elizabeth and Thomas Burke with her father William Hewitt lived at number 1 Bessemer Street. There was a steam locomotive named William Hewitt named after him. This Locomotive ran on the Grangetown Rail Bank. A certificate of the award was on the wall of the middle room at 36 Bessemer Street for years it was presented to him on behalf of Bolckow and Vaughan. Margaret Crowther nee Whiles and son Brian Crowther. The Thompson Family of Eversham Road The Thompson Family of Eversham Road - courtesy of Margaret Thompson Top left: An avid reader of four to five books a day, Mrs Thompson of Eversham Road is pictured in her favourite chair in her front room. Top right is her husband Charles Thompson, pictured with his parents Charles and Margaret Thompson nee McGuone when they were living in Lanchester Road Grangetown. Moving clockwise, bottom right, her mother Mrs McGuone can be seen. She lived in the Bungalows on Birchington Avenue. Bottom left in their Eversham Road garden, Madge Thompson and her mother Margaret pose for the camera.The Thompson Family of Eversham Road 2 The Thompson Family of Eversham Road 2 - courtesy of Alan Thompson Madge was taken at Normanby Hall Summer Fayre. She worked abroad quite a few years - in fact she was in Canada when Alan and I married. When Mam had a stroke she stopped her work and nursed her for five years until she died age 68yrs. Madge never married but had a way with kids. Our four loved her as did Charlie and Enid’s Ian. Sadly she too died young. Margaret Thompson The Porter Family of Bolckow Road c 1900 The Porter Family of Bolckow Road c 1900 - courtesy of Wendie Thiele The top row are pictures of Ernest Porter, my great Uncle; Thomas Albert Porter, My grandfather, Edith Porter Hayden, my Great Aunt, My Great Grandfather, Thomas Porter My Great Grandmother MaryEllen Winn Porter, and in the bottom row, Arthur Porter, and Percy Porter.I think they are also my Great Uncles. Hello John, I remember my mom saying that my grandfather owned a pawnshop. I do believe these pictures may have been taken in the early 19oo's. My mother Winifred Porter came over to the United States in 1926, at the age of 11. She was the daughter of Thomas Porter and Esther Elizabeth Althwaite. I am e-mailing you from Seaford, Long island N.Y. the United States of America. Thanks again John for your time..This is a wonderful thing you are doing!! Wendie Thiele USA Mary Wall nee Traynor and Children Mary Wall nee Traynor and Children - courtesy of Estelle Blackburn nee Lambert of Keighley A particularly significant picture for me as this lady appears to me my grandfather's sister -my Grand Aunt - Mary Traynor who lived in 1 Holden Street in 1891 aged 21 years. She married Patrick Wall, a railbank labourer, and lived next door in number 3 Holden Street afterwards. The two young children with her are Mary and Thomas Wall. Mary had a brother Patrick aged 23, who was also a railbank labourer in 1891 and was the only male employed in the household. It's quite likely that they were good mates and went to work together every morning. My grandfather Michael was only 16 at this time and by the time of this photograph was preparing to join the Durham Light Infantry and fight overseas. His picture and story is on the earlier pages. The Barry Brothers 1914 The Barry Brothers - courtesy of Frank Barry This photograph of 1914 shows Eddie Barry aged one with his brother Jack aged 11. They were the children of Edward Barry and Bridget Foley. A girl was born before Jack but died in infancy. After Jack, another five children were born. All died in infancy until Eddie became the second survivor. Con (Cornelius) born after Eddie,also survived. The Reeve Family 1944 The Reeve Family - courtesy of Terry Reeve 1944 Annie Reeve (nee Lawton, of Laing Street) with myself aged 2,left; Bernard aged 3 and baby sister Julie. The Simms Brothers c 1914 The Simms Brothers c 1914 - courtesy of Sheila Powlay The Simms' brothers of Ethel who married Fred Powlay, emigrated to Australia with 2 daughters in the twenties. This photograph is from one of the daughter's sons - Richard Webb. She is now in a home and would love to have news of any of the Simms' family. [email protected] and Tel: 454520Mrs Hanlon 11 Laing Street Mrs Hanlon 11 Laing Street - courtesy of Charles Donnelly Could anyone provide information on the HANLONS who resided at 11 Laing Street during the 14/18 war and afterwards? I believe my Grandmother's name was Margaret and I have a photo of her. She had several children, Lily, Thomas, William, Lucy and Anastasia. Charles Donnelly.The Lightfoot Family of Grangetown Part One The Lightfoot Family of Grangetown - by courtesy of Ken Lightfoot via Sonja Lightfoot Grangetown Memories Kenneth George Lightfoot born 7th June 1922 at 36 Whitworth Rd, Grangetown on what was reputed to be the hottest day of the year, the first child of George Dale and Olive May Lightfoot (nee Jordan). Olive May Jordan had worked in the steel works, Bolckow and Vaughan as it was then, between 1916 and 1918. They married 6th July 1921 at South Bank Baptist Church and lived above their newsagent’s shop at 36 Whitworth Rd. My brother, James William, was born in 1924. The business had been started in the late 1890s in Bessemer Street originally by my grandparents William and Ann C Lightfoot, who had moved to Grangetown from Normanby-in-Middlesbrough between 1881 and 1891. In 1891 they lived in Holden Street, my grandmother seemingly busy with a young family and my grandfather, a steelworker. Stapylton St, Laing St, half of Whitworth Rd, Vaughan St, Holden St and Bessemer St had all been built for the workers at the steel mills. Bessemer St had some larger properties on one side with three bedrooms. At No 50 I remember the policemen, Sargeant Devany and his wife lived. Us youngsters were scared stiff of him, if he caught us messing about in the street he used to clip us with his gloves! I was the first child to be dedicated in the newly formed Mission Gospel Hall in Wood Street in July 1922, unfortunately the photographic proof of that was lost when the Lee Road building was demolished years later, after a fire caused by vandals torching the roof in around 1990. They had done the same to the Lyric Cinema only a few weeks earlier. As a child I went to Sunday School there until the new mission hall was built in Lee Road in 1930. At 5, I went to Pochin Rd Infants School; Miss Burns was the head teacher, she was still there when my eldest son Eric went to the school in 1952, and only retired in approx 1960. When 9, I became a newsboy for my father but had to stop as a new law came in preventing this until the age of 12. I resumed in 1934, taking two rounds on a morning and two at night, being paid 5/- a week, a big wage at that time. At Grangetown Mission there was always plenty going on. We had extensive Sunday School anniversary services each year spread over a few days as there were so many children and young people attending. We had recitations, singing and gospel messages and would tour the streets in the mornings to announce the meetings and sing a hymn or chorus in the open air. When I was 13 I went into the Bibleclass, at 15 a teacher of some of the primary youngsters and then at 18, with others, ran the Bibleclass. The family moved from over the shop in 1935 to a beautiful house, 35 Granville Rd. 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and inside toilet – we even had a large shed! Dad bought a garage for the car at the end of the garden, up until now it had been kept in the old horse stable at the allotments at the top of Stapylton St. My grandmother Ann C Lightfoot had kept her double decker horse bus and two horses there alongside a pony and trap. The bus ran Grangetown Station to Grangetown and also from The Market Square to Redcar, Ripon, Thirsk and York Races.The bus had been sold when my grandfather William Lightfoot had died in 1918. The pony and trap went to my Uncle Jack out at Levisham. Uncle Jack was my grandfather’s son from his first marriage to Jane (nee Stead) at Wrelton near Pickering. When Bill and I were young we used to visit Grandma over at Danby, where she had retired in 1919 when my father was demobbed from the army, he had been in the KOYLIs, the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and was able to take over the shop. I remember going over there in an open-topped Citroen, later in a small Singer saloon but when this broke down it was traded in for a Jowett saloon which just chugged along but was very comfortable. Grandma Lightfoot died in 1932 and was brought back to be buried with her husband William in Eston Cemetry. Their headstone is shared by Herbert, my Uncle, who was killed in action at the age of 31 in WW 1. The move to the Board School, on the corner of Cheetham St and Whitworth Rd, was in 1931 when I was 9. We used to go back to Pochin Rd for woodwork lessons with Mr Stevens. I was about 12 when I joined the Boys Brigade, we met in a hut behind Roberts St, in an upstairs room. I joined the band and became a drummer. Mr Williams was the captain in charge. It was a good band with an ex-professional bugler/drummer to teach us. We had some good parades on Remembrance Sunday to the Parish church. We always had a two minute silence in school on Armistice Day. Sometimes after school I would visit my Grandma Jordan, she had been born in Northamptonshire, come up to Guisborough, met and married her first husband, Henry Buckton, he died when he was 33. He was underground on shift at Eston Ironstone mine in August 1886, when he was hit on the head by a loose piece of stone, it fractured his skull. Grandma married again: James Jordan had also travelled to Guisborough but from Tavistock in Devon. He had lived with his older brother and they both worked in the ironstone mines over at Skelton or possibly Eston. I remember my Grandad Jordan being ill, and having to go and be looked after in the Union Workhouse at Guisborough, that was after Grandma had died in the early 1930s. He was there a few months and I remember visiting him there and have a lasting impression of what a dreadful place it was, I was only young and didn’t understand about the workhouse. Grandad came out and lived at 9 Roberts St until he died in 1937. Grandma Jordan had lived at 66 Cheetham St, right opposite the girls’ entrance to the school. I remember Lily Preen, she was the same age as me, and Joan Picktal. Daughter of Mam and Dad’s best friends. But I lost track of them when I moved up to senior school: The Sir William Worsley School or The ‘Willy Wets’ as it was known locally, in 1935. It was a lovely school: with the classrooms having large, concertina windows that could be opened full on sunny days. The hall was full of new PE equipment, we had a proper woodwork room and also a beautiful young art teacher, Miss Davis – all the lads fell for her! Everyone was very happy. We did not have homework but I went with others to nightschool twice a week doing social studies and PE. In my second year I became leader and head boy – what an honour! My life was very full around 1936: I left school to help Dad in the shop and still helped with the papers morning and evening. We had great times at the Mission too, about a dozen of us young people met on Sunday nights after the service and a couple of times during the week. I also had nightschool and Boys’ Brigade. I met Vera sometime during 1938, at the church hall 6d hop, I think. We started going to church together, one week to the Mission and the next to her Wesleyan church. One night a week to the Lyric cinema – I think I had given up nightschool by then. By this time I had saved up enough money to order a sports cycle from France’s Garage: a Rudge Whitworth with hub brakes, dynamo and three speed gear – a beauty at £12-19-6d! When it arrived, I went off on cycle rides after doing my paper rounds. Once, Bill and I, and six others cycled to Scarborough with a couple of tents for a week by the sea. On the first morning we were all on the sea front at 5am! I don’t remember what we did the rest of the week but we all enjoyed and were spent up by the end of it. I remember Munich in 1938 and Chamberlain’s ‘note of peace’ but I remember too Dad saying “ It’s only a put off and that war was coming.” He was right! But in July 1939 I made up my mind to visit Aunt May at Higham-on-the-Hill, near Nuneaton. (Auntie May had been born in Middlesbrough in 1895, the daughter of my Auntie Annie – she was my half-aunt really, my grandfather William Lightfoot had been married previously.) I bought panniers for the bike and off I went, on my own. Down the old A1, staying overnight at Doncaster and then on the next day arriving at about 7-8pm, Aunt May was very relieved I had got there safely and phoned Dad at the shop to let him know – he was waiting there for her call. I had a great time, cycled to Coventry and Nuneaton and met a relative of their’s, Doris, who was about 16. Aunt May was very keen for us to get to know one another but distance would have been a great disadvantage. After the week there I cycled up to Blackpool meeting Dad there, with Bill, in the car for a few days’ holiday. They returned by car by I took off on my bike – it took me all day to make it home but I did it – 200 miles plus in one go. I had had a lovely two weeks and seen many lovely places. I had bought Vera an elasticated swimsuit but never saw her wearing it. (Shame) Lightfoot Family Part Two - War! Lightfoot Family Part Two - War! That August the war clouds were gathering, and I remember going to the ‘Will Wetts’ school to get our gas masks and trying them on. Dad was a special constable and so had a forces one. When war was declared on Sept 3rd 1939 I remember the wireless broadcast whilst we were having Sunday dinner. I was only 17 and therefore not of call-up age, so I joined the Air Raid Precautions as an ARP warden and was even given a ‘beat’: Victoria Rd to Burnsville Rd with the post behind the King’s Head Hotel in Victoria Rd. With Dorman & Long Steel Works (later British Steel) being so close we were a great target and, sure enough, were soon bombed. The first bombs were dropped near Number 9 Mill behind Bessemer St, but, thankfully, they did not explode, otherwise the mill and all the streets would have gone up. However, the next night Vaughan and Stapylton Street were bombed. About four people died, including my 30 year old invalid cousin, Verdun Wilkinson. He had stayed in the house whilst others had gone to the brick shelter. A very dramatic night for everyone. Our shop at 36 Whitworth Rd was only 50 yards away from the bomb – we were very fortunate. Altogether eight houses were hit in the two streets. Two weeks later another raid hit the railway lines behind Roberts St and 7 Railway Place.. I had just left the warden’s post in the King’s Head yard and was walking up Alexandra Rd when the bomb dropped about 100 yards away. I rushed to the site to see if anyone was there but could only see the rubble in the front room. Later I learnt that Mr Hubert Adams, a butcher with a shop in Argyle Rd, was killed – he had been sheltering under the stairs with his little dog. There were later raids on Lanchester Rd whilst I was away in the RAF. I had learnt to play the drums in the BB and then got to know a drummer/saxophone player who lived at 108 Cheetham St, he was called up so I took his place in a band called ‘The Melody makers’. Charlie Warren on fiddle/sax and Fred Hindle on piano. I learnt a lot from them and they were very patient with me. We played at the Wednesday night hop and quite a few wedding receptions including that of Joan Pickthall. I met Joyce Drury in March/April 1940. Vera Huthart was my girlfriend, she and Joyce were being bridesmaids for Grace (Nee Binns) and Alf’s wedding. So Vera brought her home to meet me and to see if we could all go out in the afternoon, it was a Sunday. Joyce worked in a florists shop in Harrogate until she was called up when she joined the Land Army. This meeting began a lifelong relationship for Joyce and I as we began going out with each other then. I was 18 in June 1940 and volunteered for air crew in the RAF but was not called up until the 8th October, possibly because of Dunkirk. So many rescued and needing to recover and rehabilitate. But on the Sunday I was in the Mission and listening to the preacher on ‘Only Jesus’ which was the text on the wall behind him. All I remember was seeing that text illuminated and it confirming my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. After that I was never really afraid of joining up or of all that lay ahead. 8th October – off to Padgate, Lancs for kitting out and then on to Blackpool for footdrill or ‘square bashing’ and more training in the Winter Gardens annex and PT in the ballroom! We formed up in the street outside with a Corporal Double in charge and went on route marches supposedly for 6-8 miles but usually fell out at the Blackpool Baths and went into a teashop for an hour. Later Corp Max Bare took over for a while, he was in the RAF concert party, a comedian. We could go into the Tower for 6d – we were only on a £1 a week as AC2s under training but we managed. I met Ron Thomas, from Grangetown and my friend from Boys’ Brigade. Also Ken Hoyle – the three of us used to be together. Ken was a few months older and had been called up earlier – he had qualified as a wireless operator and rear gunner on Wimpies (Wellingtons). I learnt later that he had been fortunate to escape the bomb that had been dropped on Middlesbrough Railway Station in late 1940. He also had parachuted from a plane over Germany during a bombing raid. We met later in the 1950s and chatted over our experiences. I was in three billets in Blackpool: 10 General St; 24 Station Rd and 121 Bloomfield Rd. Training at the Winter Gardens was every morning – 9am – 12pm and our tests were above the Burtons shop, so were given the nickname ‘Burtonitus’. I managed 10 words per minute but didn’t get any further so failed my wireless operator’s training and was remustered to Motor Boat Crew and put on general duties until posted. I did a couple of guard duties, one on Christmas Day 1940. An officer came round giving out cigarettes, I did not smoke but took them for others that did. Whilst I was in Blackpool I was given a 48 hour pass and tried hitch hiking to Knaresborough, got as far as just outside Skipton and bunked down for the night in an army Nissan hut – they took me the next day to Skipton station to catch the train to Knaresborough. No more hitching for me – Dad Drury worked on the railways as an engine driver and he got me a ticket back to Blackpool. My posting to Great Yarmouth came through in January 41 and I went with about 20 others there by train, arriving in the very early hours of the morning during a heavy snow storm, carrying all our kit to a garage in the High Street where we kipped down until around 8pm. We went to a café and whilst there a bomb dropped only about 200 yards away. Later I was put in a billet on the Esplanade over looking the pier. I was put on general duties in the cookhouse, the old circus buildings. A good job, good food and was able to listen to the band practising. Had to do the occasional guard duty – the armoury, with .303 rifles but NO bullets! We were told to ‘use our bayonets if any Germans came’. I was able to go and listen to the band and came to know the drummer, he was from The Ambrose Band and sat in a few times for him in the pier concerts. Thus I was able to join the RAF Band there for a while. From Great Yarmouth I moved to Pembroke Dock for training on the ground from May 1941 until December 1944. Three weeks on a whaleback Air Sea Rescue boat was spent in Tenby until a posting late December 1944 to Fraserbrugh in Scotland – a chilly winter. But a move to Calshot near Southampton was certainly much warmer and I was there until around 1945 on a long range Air Sea Rescue course. Joyce and I became engaged, intending to marry in December 1944, but two things prevented that: Joyce’s Mum Annie Drury became very ill and eventually died 27th December 1944. Also I had been posted to Fraserbrugh. Our wedding plans were then altered to January 23rd 1945, when we married at the church of St John the Baptist, Knaresborough. The Lightfoot Family of Grangetown Part Three The Lightfoot Family of Grangetown Part Three Soon I was sent to Bangor, North Wales to pick up a boat to Dover from where I sailed to Gibraltar, leaving there December 1945 to go to Blythe for ASR in the North Sea until I was demobbed in October 1946 having laid up our boat at Poole Harbour, along with many others. On coming back from the war, the changes I remember seeing mostly were the open spaces in Stapylton St,Vaughan St and Lanchester Rd were houses had been bombed. I believe a Mrs Crowdace had lived in Lanchester Rd and she had had her house rebuilt. Joyce had been mostly back in Knaresbrough but had travelled backwards and forwards to Grangetown occasionally until I was demobbed. Then we lived for a short while at 35 Granville Rd with Mum and Dad until Dad had been able to rearrange the accommodation at 36 Whitworth Rd, so that we could have some downstairs rooms additional to the bedroom upstairs – then we moved there. I was working with Dad and Bill in the shop, until I took over 74 Bolchow Rd, Dad had bought No 74 in around 1932 as a house but he turned it into a newsagent/ tobacconist shop with a mangeress running it then I worked there for a while as Beattie Hawkridge was leaving to get married. But then I moved back to 36 and Bill took over 74. Charlie from Vickers St used to help Dad and I as we took it in turns to get the morning papers from the railway station. In my mid-twenties, my first son, Eric James, was born 3rd Feb 1947. Joyce and I just made it to Guisborough to the maternity home before the roads were blocked with a terrific snowstorm. Eric was born by candlelight as the electricity had gone off. It was seven days before I could get to see him or Joyce! Whitworth Rd was the main shopping street then with a few shops in Bolchow Rd and Argyle Rd. Next to us was Kendras Pawn Shop and the otherside was a cake shop for a while and then a wireless / tv shop. By the end of 1947 we had moved to 91 Cheetham St, my second son John Kenneth was born there on 21st December 1949. I took two whole days off from the shop and I remember making, cooking and serving Christmas dinner to Joyce in her bedroom – with her tv. My first daughter was also born there, Christine, on 2nd September 1953, a family friend stayed with Joyce and the two boys whilst I went to St George’s Rd to find the midwife. The 50s onwards saw lots of extra housing built in Grangetown. Kingsley Rd had been the end of previous building, now Birchington Avenue was extended right up to Whale Hill – this went on for years with renovations happening to the older properties too. We bought No 3 Whitworth Road in about 1960 – it was only a sweet shop, but I had it extended and put in cards, toys and tobacco – and Joyce managed it. We traded there until 1971 when it was compulsorily purchased, we had to be out by March/April 1971, sadly it was demolished 6 months later. I had a different trade really at No 36 where I was selling newspapers, tobacco, toys, general stock even paraffin. I used to deliver this in the area using a van with five gallon cans in it. I sold No 36 in about 1966/7 and it was compulsorily purchased from the new owners a year or so later and demolished soon after. So over 70 years of Lightfoot trading in Whitworth Rd was brought to a close – an end of an era. I had lived in Grangetown all my life except for the war, having lived at 91 Cheetham St, then moving to 30 Westbourne Grove, Teesville, nicknamed ‘Windy Ridge’ for a very short time. We moved back to 91 until we were able to move into 52 Eversham Rd in the mid 50s. We were living there when our second daughter Susan was born, although she was actually born in Saltburn Maternity Hospital in 1959. Another move a little later, this time to accommodate my father-in-law, John Drury from Knaresborough, who needed looking after. We moved out of Grangetown to a big house at 225 Normanby Rd. When Mr Drury died, we sold the house, moved back to Cheetham St, No 110 this time until our bungalow in Braidwood Rd, Normanby was finished in late 1969. My parents had continued to live at 35 Granville Rd. Dad, George Dale Lightfoot, died in 1950 and Mam, in 1970, whereupon the house was sold. My brother Bill married Cecily Anita Jackson who lived in Bolckow Rd, they moved to 65 Granville Rd and later to 31 Church Lane, Eston. They had one daughter, Janet Dale Lightfoot, born in 1949. She married and now lives in Hartburn, Stockton. So, as a family we left Grangetown finally in 1970, my grandparents having moved there in the early 1890s – a fine record by anyone’s standard. The Bareham Family of Laing St + Pochin Rd - courtesy of Sue Fishwick Back Row: L-R Tom, Harry, Nellie, Joseph, Harriet, Jack, Walter, Annie, George. Front Row: Arthur, Walter, Elizabeth, Ada Tom is Sue Fishwick's grandfather According to family tradition, Walter Bareham b 1853 in Toppesfield Essex - walked the 274 miles to Durham looking for work. He met his future wife Elizabeth Hannah Sunley in Bishop Auckland market b 1861 and they married in Thornley Parish Church in Sept 1876. In 1885, they moved to Grangetown with their 8 children to live in 31 Laing Street at the same time as her brother John William Sunley moved to 27 Bessemer Street with his wife Elizabeth ( nee Ardley) and his children. By 1901 Walter and Elizabeth had 14 children and a larger house was called for. So they moved to 11 Pochin Rd and their in-laws the Sunleys moved nearby to number 21. But they unfortunately lost three of their children - Archer age 1 in 1894; Samuel at birth in 1901 and Fred in 1906 aged 7. But their household was still a happy one. All the family descended on the house on Sundays and the sound of hymn-singing could be heard down the street by all. They had an allotment on which they reared pigs and there were always hams hanging on hooks in the kitchen. Elizabeth died in 1927 - a year after their 50th wedding anniversary was celebrated and Walter five years later in 1932. http://web.archive.org/web/20060506033051/http://www.communigate.co.uk:80/ne/cardboardcity/page19.phtml |
AuthorMy name is John O Neill and my interest is in ensuring that many Grangetown people can discover more about their roots and family history. Archives
January 2018
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