MEMORIES
Contents:
2. My Family in St. Mary's House, St. Mary's Lane, Ludlow. Contributed by Cathy Cooper.
1. My Ancestors Living in St. Mary's Lane and Lower Corve Street, Ludlow. Contributed by Angela Jeans, née Haskins.
2. MY FAMILY IN ST. MARY’S HOUSE, ST. MARY’S LANE, LUDLOW Contributed by Cathy Cooper
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Cathy Cooper is the great-granddaughter of Robert Cooper, who in 1886 was described as a coal agent living in St. Mary’s House with his wife, Catherine (née Griffiths). By 1891, Robert was listed as occupier and beer retailer of The Cross Keys Inn (also known as Cross Keys Beer House) in St. Mary’s Lane, which had recently been bought by Ind Coope.
Cathy was born in 1951 in her paternal grandparents’ house in Coventry. Her grandmother, Harriet Elizabeth Cooper, née Harris, was Coventry born and bred and loved city life; her grandfather, William Alfred Cooper, was born and raised in Ludlow and, although he moved to Coventry for work, he always loved the Shropshire countryside. At one point, they bought a small cottage on Clee Hill, but, eventually, moved back to Coventry. Cathy retired from a long career in television in 2011, and is now a photographer and a volunteer ranger for Royal Parks and gardener for Hampton Court Palace, both of which are close to her home in Twickenham. |
THE COOPER FAMILY
In 1886, Robert Cooper was a coal agent living in St. Mary’s House with his wife, Catherine (née Griffiths). The property, which was divided into three dwellings, i.e. St Mary’s House and garden, its rear section, and a small cottage, formerly a brick stable, with outbuildings and premises, then belonged to Miss Emily Margaret Franks from Middlesex, who rented the property to Robert. On 28 October 1902, Emily sold him the house and garden and the small cottage for £380.
Insurance documents for the property from The Alliance Assurance Co., invested in Robert, described him as Robert Cooper of the Cross Keys Inn Ludlow, Licensed Victualler.
In 1886, Robert Cooper was a coal agent living in St. Mary’s House with his wife, Catherine (née Griffiths). The property, which was divided into three dwellings, i.e. St Mary’s House and garden, its rear section, and a small cottage, formerly a brick stable, with outbuildings and premises, then belonged to Miss Emily Margaret Franks from Middlesex, who rented the property to Robert. On 28 October 1902, Emily sold him the house and garden and the small cottage for £380.
Insurance documents for the property from The Alliance Assurance Co., invested in Robert, described him as Robert Cooper of the Cross Keys Inn Ludlow, Licensed Victualler.
St. Mary’s House in St. Mary’s Lane, off Lower Corve Street. The raised water tower which replenished the steam trains on the railway line may be seen to the left.
 “Ludlow”. Courtesy of E. M. Scott. 1932 pen-and-ink drawing by John Gordon MacDonald (1909 -1942). Bottom left is the corner of the stable of Pipe’s Farm, adjacent to St. Mary’s House, and bottom right the back of No. 82 Corve Street. The remaining cottages in the Lane were demolished in 1968, and in Corve Street Nos. 50 (left, with its timbers rendered) and 54 are shown.
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Sketch of St. Mary’s House around 1990, showing the one-up, one-down cottage at the rear of the property. The red door on the right no longer exists.
The rear of St. Mary’s House, which is opposite the St. Mary’s Lane entrance to No. 82 Corve Street. Photograph courtesy of Steve Portnoi, 2022.
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Between 1886 and 1898, the Cooper’s five daughters and two sons were born, in St. Mary’s House or at The Cross Keys Beer House. A further child was stillborn. The photograph shows Robert and Catherine Cooper seated, with their children. Cathy’s grandfather, William Alfred (b.1898) is on the right between two of his sisters. His siblings are: Harriet Helena (b.1886), Florence Mary (b.1887), Catherine May (b.1891), Evelyn Caroline (b.1893) and Robert John (b.1896). His younger sister Hilda (standing near her father) was born in 1900, and lived in St Mary's House until she died in 1990. She never married as that would nullify her right to live in the house. Robert and Catherine’s sons, Robert John (known as Jack) and William Alfred, both fought in WWI.
Photograph courtesy of Robert Holland, whose grandfather, Buckley Holland, married Evelyn Cooper. Robert and Catherine Cooper were his great-grandparents.
1916: William Alfred (Cathy’s paternal grandfather), Hilda and their mother Catherine Cooper. Photograph courtesy of Cathy Cooper.
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1916: Evelyn Cooper. Photograph courtesy of Cathy Cooper.
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1916: Catherine May and Eleanor Cooper).
Photograph courtesy of Cathy Cooper.
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1916: Florence Cooper and daughter, Thelma. Photograph courtesy of Cathy Cooper.
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THE WAR YEARS
William Alfred Cooper of St. Mary’s House, in Bangalore, India, in 1919.
Photograph courtesy of Robert and Christine Holland.
This cutting, probably from The Ludlow Advertiser & Craven Arms Gazette, has the names of May (Catherine May), Eve (Evelyn Caroline) and William Alfred written on it. Dated 4 August 1914, soldiers joined the crowd in Castle Square to hear the Mayor, Samuel Valentine, announce that war had been declared against Germany.
William Alfred Cooper DM2/228619 Pte Royal Army Service Corps.
William enlisted in 1916, as soon as he was 18, and in 1918 was in Mesopotamia, stationed for some time in Baghdad. By 1919 he was in Bangalore, India. He returned home to marry Harriet Elizabeth Harris in 1924.
Robert John Cooper (known as Jack) 216666 Pte 1St Battalion Labour Corps. Born Ludlow 1896, the eldest son of seven children of Robert Cooper, coal agent, and his wife Catherine (née Griffiths.) The family lived at St. Mary’s Cottage/House in St. Mary’s Lane. Jack attested in Ludlow 2 March 1916, aged 19 and single, and was called up on 28 May 1917. A code stamper and grinder, his medical notes he was 5’7 ½” tall, with brown eyes, dark hair and dark complexion. He was discharged 21 September 1917, mainly because of a speech impediment which began in his childhood.
LATER YEARS
William Alfred Cooper DM2/228619 Pte Royal Army Service Corps.
William enlisted in 1916, as soon as he was 18, and in 1918 was in Mesopotamia, stationed for some time in Baghdad. By 1919 he was in Bangalore, India. He returned home to marry Harriet Elizabeth Harris in 1924.
Robert John Cooper (known as Jack) 216666 Pte 1St Battalion Labour Corps. Born Ludlow 1896, the eldest son of seven children of Robert Cooper, coal agent, and his wife Catherine (née Griffiths.) The family lived at St. Mary’s Cottage/House in St. Mary’s Lane. Jack attested in Ludlow 2 March 1916, aged 19 and single, and was called up on 28 May 1917. A code stamper and grinder, his medical notes he was 5’7 ½” tall, with brown eyes, dark hair and dark complexion. He was discharged 21 September 1917, mainly because of a speech impediment which began in his childhood.
LATER YEARS
Robert Cooper.
Photograph courtesy of Cathy Cooper
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Robert and Catherine Cooper (seated). Photograph courtesy of Robert Holland.
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The editorial reads: Our photograph is of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cooper of St. Mary’s House, Corve Street, Ludlow, who on Friday 5th April, celebrated their golden wedding. Mr. Cooper is 74 years of age and Mrs. Cooper (who was Miss C. Griffiths before marriage) is 72 years of age. They were married at the Parish Church of St. Lawrence, Ludlow, by the Rev. A. Wight, assistant curate, on 5th April 1885. There were eight children of the marriage, six girls and two boys, and they have five daughters and two sons alive and eight grand-children. Mr. Cooper is well-known in the Ludlow and Craven Arms district and he has been in the employ of Messrs. Blake and Sons, coal merchants, for 47 years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are enjoying fairly good health.
Robert Cooper (senior) died on 16 January 1958, at East Hamlet Hospital; his will stated that his daughter, Hilda, would be a Life Tenant of St. Mary’s House.
As a young girl, Cathy Cooper visited Hilda with her grandmother, Harriet. “Hilda always seemed very bohemian and I remember sitting at her kitchen table with sticky fly paper hanging overhead and the occasional fly would drop off it onto our plates. Fred Stapleton was always there: he was known to us as ‘Aunt Hilda’s gardener’ and tended the large garden, which provided a productive allotment. He seemed very grumpy and never engaged in conversation. It was only later that I was told he was Hilda's companion and they couldn't marry because her father's will stated that if she did, she would have to sell the house and split the proceeds between all the other siblings.’
Fred was Hilda’s life-long companion, and they died within a week of each other in 1990.
Fred Stapleton outside the front door of St. Mary’s House.
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The same door some years later.
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Cathy Cooper’s grandfather, William Alfred Cooper, was born on 4 February 1898 at the Cross Keys Beer House in St. Mary’s Lane.
In 2010, Cathy found his handwritten diary in an exercise book, and transcribed it.
I was born on 4th February 1898 at the Cross Keys Inn, St Mary’s Lane, Ludlow, Salop, the second youngest of eight children; five girls, two boys and one sex unknown which probably died at birth. I was the younger of the two sons. We remained at the Inn until I was about 10 years of age and then moved to a house at the other end of the Lane. It was named St Mary’s House which up to this date (1979) remains in the Family possession, occupied by my spinster sister who is the youngest of the family. She (Hilda) is now aged 77 whereas I am now 79.
They were happy days but I always seemed to be under medical attention for some ailment or other. However, I did become a member of the Church Lad’s Brigade which in those days of the early C20 was a very enthusiastic interest. I was also a member of the Church Choir ‘St Leonards’. Both provided many avenues of boy pleasures.
Aged about 9 I used to rise about 5:00 in the morning with my Dad and we shared breakfast together on toast and cider in the same way as bread and milk. Thereafter my father set off to work as he was in charge of a coal wharf for Blake & Sons. This was up the Station Drive and his ‘office’ was one of three terraced huts which up to this date still remain in the same usage but with different firms.
I was left in charge of the ‘Inn’ till my mother rose and got us ready for school. In the interim I served many a customer with cider which was easily drawn and the kind of drink most favoured. Pubs in those days were open all day from 6 am till 12 midnight. Outside our ‘Inn’ was a railway, the Hereford to Shrewsbury mainline but it was elevated to about 12 to 14 ft high. The gang-line men were often served a Pint by a dish on a long pole hoisted up to them.
At this time also the Birmingham water mains were being laid via Ludlow and there were near enough to a colony of workmen (mostly Irish) employed on this project.
My brother 2 years older than me had the infliction of stuttering and was sent to a private school ,‘The Commercial’, in order to get better education in Speech. This was a flourishing school, the pupils being mainly district farming children who came into Ludlow on ponies or shanks. My sister, the only one remaining now; two years younger than I; still occupying the family home in 1979 and a spinster, also went to a private school (Miss Calvers).
My own education as a junior went no further than the East Hamlet School and I was no enthusiast. In fact, I left school when I was 13 and started work in a cabinet making shop in Fish Street. I think the name was Micklewright and I used to get 1/- per week. There was another young chap in the workshop much older than I and who later on in years became my Brother-in-Law. His name was Holland. Mr Micklewright was an old man and had a son with a badly deformed shoulder who was about 30 years old. He managed the selling of the workshop products but had a big interest in antiques and a shop in King Street.
I was more often to be found there than in the workshop for the son had a 1911 Douglas Motor bike which he used for touring the district, hunting for antiques. I often went with him. He had to straggle-leg off and I used jump on the back. He and Jackie Norton, the local auctioneer were close buddies and often I was left in charge of the shop whilst they had a drinking session in the ‘Bar’ at the ‘Feathers’. If anyone of importance came to the shop, I had to leg-over and fetch him.
I spent many hours with my father up Station Drive and helped him to unload trucks of coal which were stacked for local usage. Usually, trucks of coal were sold to farmers and neighbouring estates sending in their own wagons and labour to collect. All payment to my father was monthly in gold coin which my dad put in a purse bag and counted out on the deal table in our kitchen before being handed into the firm’s office in Corve St.
We were good companions but there was no soft side to his nature and I have long since reflected that his affections were developed along the lines of duty and responsibility. I loved my mother very much but she also had a firmness which could not be disregarded. In contrast to present day age of parentage, I am thankful so much care was taken of my behaviour and that I at least had the instructions even if I have not fulfilled their expectations.
I am writing this because I would have liked to have known my parents’ early life to maturity and learn more about their family. I did not have any personal relationships with my father’s Mum and Dad or know any of his brothers and sisters except the two spinster sisters who lived in Shrewsbury. There is still in existence in the care of my sisters, a large framed picture of my father’s parents sitting outside the Lodge gates of Ellesmere Estate near Shrewsbury.
I think my father was born at Birchen Coppice, Acton Reynolds near Grinshill, Shropshire.
In 2010, Cathy found his handwritten diary in an exercise book, and transcribed it.
I was born on 4th February 1898 at the Cross Keys Inn, St Mary’s Lane, Ludlow, Salop, the second youngest of eight children; five girls, two boys and one sex unknown which probably died at birth. I was the younger of the two sons. We remained at the Inn until I was about 10 years of age and then moved to a house at the other end of the Lane. It was named St Mary’s House which up to this date (1979) remains in the Family possession, occupied by my spinster sister who is the youngest of the family. She (Hilda) is now aged 77 whereas I am now 79.
They were happy days but I always seemed to be under medical attention for some ailment or other. However, I did become a member of the Church Lad’s Brigade which in those days of the early C20 was a very enthusiastic interest. I was also a member of the Church Choir ‘St Leonards’. Both provided many avenues of boy pleasures.
Aged about 9 I used to rise about 5:00 in the morning with my Dad and we shared breakfast together on toast and cider in the same way as bread and milk. Thereafter my father set off to work as he was in charge of a coal wharf for Blake & Sons. This was up the Station Drive and his ‘office’ was one of three terraced huts which up to this date still remain in the same usage but with different firms.
I was left in charge of the ‘Inn’ till my mother rose and got us ready for school. In the interim I served many a customer with cider which was easily drawn and the kind of drink most favoured. Pubs in those days were open all day from 6 am till 12 midnight. Outside our ‘Inn’ was a railway, the Hereford to Shrewsbury mainline but it was elevated to about 12 to 14 ft high. The gang-line men were often served a Pint by a dish on a long pole hoisted up to them.
At this time also the Birmingham water mains were being laid via Ludlow and there were near enough to a colony of workmen (mostly Irish) employed on this project.
My brother 2 years older than me had the infliction of stuttering and was sent to a private school ,‘The Commercial’, in order to get better education in Speech. This was a flourishing school, the pupils being mainly district farming children who came into Ludlow on ponies or shanks. My sister, the only one remaining now; two years younger than I; still occupying the family home in 1979 and a spinster, also went to a private school (Miss Calvers).
My own education as a junior went no further than the East Hamlet School and I was no enthusiast. In fact, I left school when I was 13 and started work in a cabinet making shop in Fish Street. I think the name was Micklewright and I used to get 1/- per week. There was another young chap in the workshop much older than I and who later on in years became my Brother-in-Law. His name was Holland. Mr Micklewright was an old man and had a son with a badly deformed shoulder who was about 30 years old. He managed the selling of the workshop products but had a big interest in antiques and a shop in King Street.
I was more often to be found there than in the workshop for the son had a 1911 Douglas Motor bike which he used for touring the district, hunting for antiques. I often went with him. He had to straggle-leg off and I used jump on the back. He and Jackie Norton, the local auctioneer were close buddies and often I was left in charge of the shop whilst they had a drinking session in the ‘Bar’ at the ‘Feathers’. If anyone of importance came to the shop, I had to leg-over and fetch him.
I spent many hours with my father up Station Drive and helped him to unload trucks of coal which were stacked for local usage. Usually, trucks of coal were sold to farmers and neighbouring estates sending in their own wagons and labour to collect. All payment to my father was monthly in gold coin which my dad put in a purse bag and counted out on the deal table in our kitchen before being handed into the firm’s office in Corve St.
We were good companions but there was no soft side to his nature and I have long since reflected that his affections were developed along the lines of duty and responsibility. I loved my mother very much but she also had a firmness which could not be disregarded. In contrast to present day age of parentage, I am thankful so much care was taken of my behaviour and that I at least had the instructions even if I have not fulfilled their expectations.
I am writing this because I would have liked to have known my parents’ early life to maturity and learn more about their family. I did not have any personal relationships with my father’s Mum and Dad or know any of his brothers and sisters except the two spinster sisters who lived in Shrewsbury. There is still in existence in the care of my sisters, a large framed picture of my father’s parents sitting outside the Lodge gates of Ellesmere Estate near Shrewsbury.
I think my father was born at Birchen Coppice, Acton Reynolds near Grinshill, Shropshire.
The Cross Keys Beer House No. 11 St. Mary’s Lane. (Also known as the Cross Keys Inn)
 No. 11 St. Mary’s Lane, the former Cross Keys Beer House.
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 Note the modern conversion of the ‘capital Cellaring’ referred to in the Auction Poster of 1888.
Photographs courtesy of Steve Portnoi, 2022.
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The Cross Keys beer house was located in what today is No. 11 St. Mary’s Lane. On 3 August 1846, 16 railway bills were passed in Parliament; one of these was for the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, with authorised capital of £800,000. The task of building the railways fell to vast gangs of itinerant labourers, known as navvies. The railway station at Ludlow opened on 21 April 1852, as the southern terminus of the first section of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, and The Cross Keys beer house was the obvious watering hole for the railway workers. The men hauled buckets of beer up the embankment to the railway sidings where they worked. Edward Baker was landlord in 1879; by 1888, William Price was the landlord and The Cross Keys was ‘in the occupation of Mrs Ann Price’.
That September, it was auctioned at The Queen’s Arms Inn by Mr Henry Newman.
That September, it was auctioned at The Queen’s Arms Inn by Mr Henry Newman.
The sales poster claimed:
‘The Premises, which are licensed for Beer, Cider, and Tobacco, contain Bar and Parlour, Sitting Room, and good Bedroom, with capital Cellaring, all in good repair, and adjoining are Brewhouse, with Two Copper Furnaces, Coach House, Coal Shed, Stabling, Pigsties and Closet. Gas and Town Water are laid on, and there is a pump on the premises. Possession can be had at Michaelmas next. The Property is well situate; close to the Railway Goods Yard, and always commands a good trade, and is an excellent investment.’
Ind Coope Ltd bought the beer house in 1891, with Robert Cooper (of St. Mary’s House) as the occupier and beer retailer. A case, later dismissed, was brought against Cooper that year for supplying drink during prohibited hours. Ownership and occupants remained the same in 1901, when the rateable value was a modest £12. 5s for clean premises in good condition, consisting of just a bar, kitchen and four bedrooms. In 1906, tenant landlord Thomas Crowther married Jane Williams; her son, Herbert lived with them on the premises. Superintendent Perry, of Ludlow police, objected when Crowther applied to renew the licence in 1911, complaining that the urinal and WC in a yard across the lane appeared to be used by both the family and customers. Perry felt the 12 other fully licensed houses within 173 yards of The Cross Keys had equal if not better accommodation for people, horses and vehicles, whilst this was a beer house which did but small trade. The landlord’s stepson said there was a shed which could be used as a stable, the average weekly takings were £7, and trade was increasing, the inn being used by men working on the railway to take their meals in. A provisional licence was accordingly granted.
Thomas Crowther appears to have been landlord on 31 December 1915, when John Jones, haulier, bought The Cross Keys. John Jones owned land and property in the Linney; in 1901, he paid Leah and James Grosvenor, son and daughter of Charles James Grosvenor, just over £51 ‘for land, trap shed, laundry and hereditaments’ on the site of the current No. 10 St. Mary’s Lane, where the cottage, then known as Greystones, had stood. Sales documents show he ‘purchased from Ind Coope & Co. (1912) Ltd. (Late in the Occupation of Thomas Crowther, being the whole of 11 and 10 St. Mary’s Lane)’. John Jones died in 1940, and Nos. 10 and 11 remained in his family until at least the mid-1960s. They sold some of the Greystones’ land and the sheds to Harley and Robin Gatehouse, of Coppice Farm, Hayton’s Bent, near Ludlow, who built the house today known as Bag End, and some to the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB) for a sub-station.
The Cross Keys continued to trade until after the end of the Great War, but closed because of an ‘on the slate’ dispute. Either the railwaymen caught the landlord adding extra chalk marks to the slate, or they ran up such large unpaid bills that he was driven out of business.
ST. MARY'S HOUSE AND NOS. 13 - 15 ST. MARY'S LANE
Over the centuries, there have been several dwellings on the site of St. Mary’s House, and the three cottages that today are Nos. 13, 14 and 15 St. Mary’s Lane were once a single property, variously a cottage, stables, workshops and premises.
‘The Premises, which are licensed for Beer, Cider, and Tobacco, contain Bar and Parlour, Sitting Room, and good Bedroom, with capital Cellaring, all in good repair, and adjoining are Brewhouse, with Two Copper Furnaces, Coach House, Coal Shed, Stabling, Pigsties and Closet. Gas and Town Water are laid on, and there is a pump on the premises. Possession can be had at Michaelmas next. The Property is well situate; close to the Railway Goods Yard, and always commands a good trade, and is an excellent investment.’
Ind Coope Ltd bought the beer house in 1891, with Robert Cooper (of St. Mary’s House) as the occupier and beer retailer. A case, later dismissed, was brought against Cooper that year for supplying drink during prohibited hours. Ownership and occupants remained the same in 1901, when the rateable value was a modest £12. 5s for clean premises in good condition, consisting of just a bar, kitchen and four bedrooms. In 1906, tenant landlord Thomas Crowther married Jane Williams; her son, Herbert lived with them on the premises. Superintendent Perry, of Ludlow police, objected when Crowther applied to renew the licence in 1911, complaining that the urinal and WC in a yard across the lane appeared to be used by both the family and customers. Perry felt the 12 other fully licensed houses within 173 yards of The Cross Keys had equal if not better accommodation for people, horses and vehicles, whilst this was a beer house which did but small trade. The landlord’s stepson said there was a shed which could be used as a stable, the average weekly takings were £7, and trade was increasing, the inn being used by men working on the railway to take their meals in. A provisional licence was accordingly granted.
Thomas Crowther appears to have been landlord on 31 December 1915, when John Jones, haulier, bought The Cross Keys. John Jones owned land and property in the Linney; in 1901, he paid Leah and James Grosvenor, son and daughter of Charles James Grosvenor, just over £51 ‘for land, trap shed, laundry and hereditaments’ on the site of the current No. 10 St. Mary’s Lane, where the cottage, then known as Greystones, had stood. Sales documents show he ‘purchased from Ind Coope & Co. (1912) Ltd. (Late in the Occupation of Thomas Crowther, being the whole of 11 and 10 St. Mary’s Lane)’. John Jones died in 1940, and Nos. 10 and 11 remained in his family until at least the mid-1960s. They sold some of the Greystones’ land and the sheds to Harley and Robin Gatehouse, of Coppice Farm, Hayton’s Bent, near Ludlow, who built the house today known as Bag End, and some to the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB) for a sub-station.
The Cross Keys continued to trade until after the end of the Great War, but closed because of an ‘on the slate’ dispute. Either the railwaymen caught the landlord adding extra chalk marks to the slate, or they ran up such large unpaid bills that he was driven out of business.
ST. MARY'S HOUSE AND NOS. 13 - 15 ST. MARY'S LANE
Over the centuries, there have been several dwellings on the site of St. Mary’s House, and the three cottages that today are Nos. 13, 14 and 15 St. Mary’s Lane were once a single property, variously a cottage, stables, workshops and premises.
St. Mary’s House and Nos. 13 – 15 St, Mary’s Lane in 1990.
Photograph courtesy of Robert Holland.
Here are some of the owners and occupants of property on the land now occupied by St. Mary’s House and Nos. 15 – 13 St. Mary’s Lane, the majority of whom rented out their premises.
• 1679 – 1692, Richard Davies, ironmonger, owner.
• 1680 – 1685, Thomas Jordan, yeoman.
• 1685 – 1693, heirs of Thomas Jordan.
• 1710 - 1727, Samuel Bowdler, haberdasher, owner.
• 1731 – 1733, Walter Young, pipemaker from Ludford.
• 1735 - 1768, John Walker, smith.
• 1738 - 1777 John Jones, owner.
• 1768 – 1776, William Whittall, glazier.
• 1776 – 1797, Martha Whittall, his widow.
• 1777 - Benjamin Giles and William Gill, owners.
• 1774 - 1788, Jacob Davies, life tenant.
• 1781, Richard Beddoes, tanner.
• 1788 - 1807, Anthony Scarlett, hop merchant, owner.
• 1807 - 1817 Richard Greenhouse, tanner, owner. Greenhouse is also recorded as paying £2 10s 0d. tax on a house in St. Mary’s Lane.
• 1797 – 1817, Ephraim Grubb, shoemaker of Ludlow.
• 1817 - ?, Samuel Grubb, shoemaker and mortgagor.
• 1817 - 1825, William Greenhouse, glover and tanner, owner.
• 1817 – 1826, Henry Wellings, banker (assigns). Various bank failures at this time resulted in numerous ownership changes. • 1825 - 1833, Edward Taylor, cordwainer, owner.
• 1825 - 1833, Mr. Phillips, watchmaker of Ludlow, mortgagee of Edward Taylor.
• 1829 - 1830, Mary Cund, mortgagee from Shrewsbury.
• 1833 James Coates, Gentleman, mortgagee of Edward Taylor.
• 1829 – 1845, William Cooks, farmer from Stanton Lacy.
• 1845 – 1848, Francis Cox, farmer from Stanton Lacy.
• 1841, Thomas Botfield, ironmaster, owner.
• 1843, Beriah Botfield, politician, owner.
• 1856, John Hasler, owner.
• 1877, Thomas Darby, haulier at Sandpits, owner.
• 1884, Thomas Darby sells St. Mary’s House, repaying three mortgages, to Francis Richard Southern, solicitor of Ludlow, Edward Southern of Newbold, Gent., and James Duggan of Steventon, farmer.
• 1884, Miss Emily Margaret Franks, owner.
• 1902, Robert Cooper, coal sales agent and innkeeper of The Cross Keys, owner.
• 1958, Hilda Cooper, life tenant.
• 1679 – 1692, Richard Davies, ironmonger, owner.
• 1680 – 1685, Thomas Jordan, yeoman.
• 1685 – 1693, heirs of Thomas Jordan.
• 1710 - 1727, Samuel Bowdler, haberdasher, owner.
• 1731 – 1733, Walter Young, pipemaker from Ludford.
• 1735 - 1768, John Walker, smith.
• 1738 - 1777 John Jones, owner.
• 1768 – 1776, William Whittall, glazier.
• 1776 – 1797, Martha Whittall, his widow.
• 1777 - Benjamin Giles and William Gill, owners.
• 1774 - 1788, Jacob Davies, life tenant.
• 1781, Richard Beddoes, tanner.
• 1788 - 1807, Anthony Scarlett, hop merchant, owner.
• 1807 - 1817 Richard Greenhouse, tanner, owner. Greenhouse is also recorded as paying £2 10s 0d. tax on a house in St. Mary’s Lane.
• 1797 – 1817, Ephraim Grubb, shoemaker of Ludlow.
• 1817 - ?, Samuel Grubb, shoemaker and mortgagor.
• 1817 - 1825, William Greenhouse, glover and tanner, owner.
• 1817 – 1826, Henry Wellings, banker (assigns). Various bank failures at this time resulted in numerous ownership changes. • 1825 - 1833, Edward Taylor, cordwainer, owner.
• 1825 - 1833, Mr. Phillips, watchmaker of Ludlow, mortgagee of Edward Taylor.
• 1829 - 1830, Mary Cund, mortgagee from Shrewsbury.
• 1833 James Coates, Gentleman, mortgagee of Edward Taylor.
• 1829 – 1845, William Cooks, farmer from Stanton Lacy.
• 1845 – 1848, Francis Cox, farmer from Stanton Lacy.
• 1841, Thomas Botfield, ironmaster, owner.
• 1843, Beriah Botfield, politician, owner.
• 1856, John Hasler, owner.
• 1877, Thomas Darby, haulier at Sandpits, owner.
• 1884, Thomas Darby sells St. Mary’s House, repaying three mortgages, to Francis Richard Southern, solicitor of Ludlow, Edward Southern of Newbold, Gent., and James Duggan of Steventon, farmer.
• 1884, Miss Emily Margaret Franks, owner.
• 1902, Robert Cooper, coal sales agent and innkeeper of The Cross Keys, owner.
• 1958, Hilda Cooper, life tenant.
1. MY ANCESTORS LIVING IN ST MARY’S LANE AND LOWER CORVE ST, LUDLOW
Contributed by Angela Jeans.
Angela Jeans, née Haskins, was born in Ludlow, Shropshire in 1948 and lived in the town until I she was 18.
This is her account of her family who lived in Nos. 14 and 15 St. Mary's Lane and in No. 93 Lower Corve Street in the C19 and C20.
My maternal great-grandparents were James Jacks ( 1867 - 1935) and Mary Ann Brookes (1864 - 1925).
James Jacks' father was Edward Jacks (1838 - 1900) and his mother was Emma Wright (1838 - 1877).
Mary Anne Brookes' father was Daniel Brookes (1840 - 1920) and her mother was Emma Hall (1845 - 1882)."
The Jacks family
The Brookes family
The Weaver family
A simplified family tree is shown below:
Contributed by Angela Jeans.
Angela Jeans, née Haskins, was born in Ludlow, Shropshire in 1948 and lived in the town until I she was 18.
This is her account of her family who lived in Nos. 14 and 15 St. Mary's Lane and in No. 93 Lower Corve Street in the C19 and C20.
- "My maternal grandmother was Edith Agnes Jacks (1891 – 1960). She grew up with her mother and father at The Old Brickyard but her parent’s families lived in St Mary’s Lane and Lower Corve Street for many years.
My maternal great-grandparents were James Jacks ( 1867 - 1935) and Mary Ann Brookes (1864 - 1925).
James Jacks' father was Edward Jacks (1838 - 1900) and his mother was Emma Wright (1838 - 1877).
Mary Anne Brookes' father was Daniel Brookes (1840 - 1920) and her mother was Emma Hall (1845 - 1882)."
The Jacks family
The Brookes family
The Weaver family
A simplified family tree is shown below:
The Jacks family lived at 14 St Mary’s Lane from 1871 until 1921.
The Brookes family lived at 15 St Mary’s Lane from 1891 until 1921.
The Weaver family lived at 93 Corve Street, only a few doors from St Mary’s Lane, until George and Ann’s deaths in 1871.
Emma Jacks, who was James Jacks sister, was living in 15 St Mary’s Lane in 1939 with one of her daughters.
So the Jacks family lived in 14 or 15 St Mary’s Lane for 70 years or more.
These were working people in Ludlow. They worked as labourers, launderesses, and servants among other things. They lived as tenants and raised families. They generally only appear in written records for births, deaths, marriages and census returns. In a few cases they also make an appearance in local newspapers. Further information on some of them is given below.
Daniel Brookes (1840 – 1920).
Daniel lived in St Mary’s Lane for at least 20 years, from 1891 to 1911 according to the census, and probably until his death in 1920. He led an eventful life, serving as a police constable, losing his first wife at a young age, being imprisoned for theft, having several industrial accidents, and living to the age of 80. Some of these incidents were reported in the local newspapers.
Daniel was born in 1840 in Newland, Worcestershire. His father’s occupation was given as labourer on Daniel’s birth certificate. By 1851 his father was farming 8 acres in Worcestershire, however he died in 1858 when Daniel was 18 years old. His mother, Charlotte, continued to farm and the 1861 census gives her living in Lower Bullingham, Herefordshire as a farmer of 17 acres employing two of her sons as workers. Her family continued to farm this property for about 50 years. Daniel lived nearby as a lodger and was employed as a labourer. His future wife Emma Hall’s family lived nearby.
Daniel married Emma Hall at Yatton Chapel, near Much Marcle, Herefordshire, in 1864. He was working as a police constable in the Hereford City police at the time. He continued in the police force until about 1867 when he was employed as a railway porter at Hereford railway station by the Great Western Railway. By 1881 he had moved to Ludlow and was employed as a yardman at Ludlow railway station.
1882 was a difficult year for Daniel. In April he was convicted of stealing two fowl and sentenced to 6 weeks imprisonment with hard labour. This was reported in the local newspapers – one report said that the fowls were the property of Robert Marston Esq and were valued at 10s each. Daniel pleaded guilty and said that “he was very sorry, and had never been up before. He had been employed by the railway company for 18 years.” Another report said that “A sum of money, amounting to 15s., found on the prisoner was ordered to be handed over to his wife. Then in November 1882 his wife Emma died from cancer at the age of 36.
In 1886 Daniel married his second wife, Hannah Weaver. It seems possible that he lost his job with the railway company as a result of his conviction in 1882 because in 1891 he was working for the Titterstone Quarry Company at Bitterley Wharf, where he had a serious accident. This was reported in a local newspaper on 14 october:
ACCIDENT – On Thursday afternoon about four o’clock a serious accident befell Daniel Brookes, residing at St Mary’s Lane, Ludlow, employed by the Titterstone Quarry Company at Bitterley Wharf, as a tipper. Brookes and a man named Edward Martin with others were engaged in pushing a wagon containing some rails along the siding, when some other wagons ran into the one the men were pushing, knocking Brookes down. The wheels of the wagon passed over his right side and shoulder, fracturing his ribs, injuring his shoulder and contusing his right cheek. Martin was knocked into the wharf hole. Brookes was picked up and placed in the guard’s van of the train about to start for Ludlow, and was brought to Ludlow station, under charge of Mr George Bright, and two fellow workmen named John Collier and Frederick Penny. The poor fellow on arrival at Ludlow was placed in a conveyance and taken to Ludlow Cottage Hospital, where he was examined by Dr George Cranstoun. He was detained as an in-patient. The medical man entertains hopes of his complete recovery.
Daniel’s problems do not appear to have been caused by drunkenness, which seems to have been a common problem in Ludlow at that time. In 1889 he was reported to be the vice-templar of the “Ludlow Castle” Lodge of Good Templars which held weekly meetings in the Coffee Tavern in the Bull Ring. This was a local branch of a national temperance organisation.
Daniel was not the only one in the Brookes’ household to have an accident. The Ludlow Advertiser, 7 June 1902, carried the following in a report of a meeting of the Town Council:
Daniel Brookes, St Mary’s Lane, wrote stating that his wife sustained a compound fracture of the right leg on May 10, as a result of stepping into a hole on the footpath in the lane in the darkness, there being no lamps lighted. The Town Clerk was instructed to reply expressing the Corporation’s regret at the accident, but pointing out that no liability attached to them.
Daniel must have recovered from his serious accident in 1891 because he had a further accident in July 1906 which was reported in local newspapers:
ACCIDENT – On Wednesday an accident occurred at the Titterstone Works, Clee Hill. It appears that a workman named Daniel Brookes, of St Mary’s Lane, Corve Street, Ludlow, was engaged tilting a wagon of stone, when the top of the wagon fell back on his hand. He was conveyed to Ludlow, and removed to the Nursing Home, Julian Road, where he was attended by Dr. Downes, who found it necessary to amputate three fingers.
At a County Court Court hearing on 14 November Daniel was awarded compensation of 13s 6d per week for the injuries to his hand, this being half of his normal wages. The following month the quarry owners made an application to the court to reduce the compensation to 9s per week on the basis that he was able to work and earn 17s per week. The doctor who carried out the amputation gave medical evidence to the court. He said that Daniel “had the use of the whole of the thumb and the greatest part of the index finger. He could use the hand for such work as pushing trucks, but had no sound grip of an implement.” The Judge rejected the application on the grounds that it had been made too soon after the original order and that there was no evidence presented to show that Daniel was able to work.
In 1909 Daniel was working for George Roberts, a veterinary surgeon, of Corve Steet. He was employed as a groom and gardener. In March 1909 he had another accident when he fell from a ladder which slipped on the snow and he broke a bone in his wrist and bruised his hip. This case also ended up in the County Court when Daniel complained that the amount of compensation he received for being unable to work was inadequate. He had received half wages and had agreed a further sum of £10 from the insurance company in full settlement of his claim. The Judge ruled that compensation should continue to be paid at the rate of 7s per week until such time as an application was made for a reduction in that amount.
Daniel died at the age of 80 and was buried in Ludlow on 2 September 1920.
The Brookes family lived at 15 St Mary’s Lane from 1891 until 1921.
The Weaver family lived at 93 Corve Street, only a few doors from St Mary’s Lane, until George and Ann’s deaths in 1871.
Emma Jacks, who was James Jacks sister, was living in 15 St Mary’s Lane in 1939 with one of her daughters.
So the Jacks family lived in 14 or 15 St Mary’s Lane for 70 years or more.
These were working people in Ludlow. They worked as labourers, launderesses, and servants among other things. They lived as tenants and raised families. They generally only appear in written records for births, deaths, marriages and census returns. In a few cases they also make an appearance in local newspapers. Further information on some of them is given below.
Daniel Brookes (1840 – 1920).
Daniel lived in St Mary’s Lane for at least 20 years, from 1891 to 1911 according to the census, and probably until his death in 1920. He led an eventful life, serving as a police constable, losing his first wife at a young age, being imprisoned for theft, having several industrial accidents, and living to the age of 80. Some of these incidents were reported in the local newspapers.
Daniel was born in 1840 in Newland, Worcestershire. His father’s occupation was given as labourer on Daniel’s birth certificate. By 1851 his father was farming 8 acres in Worcestershire, however he died in 1858 when Daniel was 18 years old. His mother, Charlotte, continued to farm and the 1861 census gives her living in Lower Bullingham, Herefordshire as a farmer of 17 acres employing two of her sons as workers. Her family continued to farm this property for about 50 years. Daniel lived nearby as a lodger and was employed as a labourer. His future wife Emma Hall’s family lived nearby.
Daniel married Emma Hall at Yatton Chapel, near Much Marcle, Herefordshire, in 1864. He was working as a police constable in the Hereford City police at the time. He continued in the police force until about 1867 when he was employed as a railway porter at Hereford railway station by the Great Western Railway. By 1881 he had moved to Ludlow and was employed as a yardman at Ludlow railway station.
1882 was a difficult year for Daniel. In April he was convicted of stealing two fowl and sentenced to 6 weeks imprisonment with hard labour. This was reported in the local newspapers – one report said that the fowls were the property of Robert Marston Esq and were valued at 10s each. Daniel pleaded guilty and said that “he was very sorry, and had never been up before. He had been employed by the railway company for 18 years.” Another report said that “A sum of money, amounting to 15s., found on the prisoner was ordered to be handed over to his wife. Then in November 1882 his wife Emma died from cancer at the age of 36.
In 1886 Daniel married his second wife, Hannah Weaver. It seems possible that he lost his job with the railway company as a result of his conviction in 1882 because in 1891 he was working for the Titterstone Quarry Company at Bitterley Wharf, where he had a serious accident. This was reported in a local newspaper on 14 october:
ACCIDENT – On Thursday afternoon about four o’clock a serious accident befell Daniel Brookes, residing at St Mary’s Lane, Ludlow, employed by the Titterstone Quarry Company at Bitterley Wharf, as a tipper. Brookes and a man named Edward Martin with others were engaged in pushing a wagon containing some rails along the siding, when some other wagons ran into the one the men were pushing, knocking Brookes down. The wheels of the wagon passed over his right side and shoulder, fracturing his ribs, injuring his shoulder and contusing his right cheek. Martin was knocked into the wharf hole. Brookes was picked up and placed in the guard’s van of the train about to start for Ludlow, and was brought to Ludlow station, under charge of Mr George Bright, and two fellow workmen named John Collier and Frederick Penny. The poor fellow on arrival at Ludlow was placed in a conveyance and taken to Ludlow Cottage Hospital, where he was examined by Dr George Cranstoun. He was detained as an in-patient. The medical man entertains hopes of his complete recovery.
Daniel’s problems do not appear to have been caused by drunkenness, which seems to have been a common problem in Ludlow at that time. In 1889 he was reported to be the vice-templar of the “Ludlow Castle” Lodge of Good Templars which held weekly meetings in the Coffee Tavern in the Bull Ring. This was a local branch of a national temperance organisation.
Daniel was not the only one in the Brookes’ household to have an accident. The Ludlow Advertiser, 7 June 1902, carried the following in a report of a meeting of the Town Council:
Daniel Brookes, St Mary’s Lane, wrote stating that his wife sustained a compound fracture of the right leg on May 10, as a result of stepping into a hole on the footpath in the lane in the darkness, there being no lamps lighted. The Town Clerk was instructed to reply expressing the Corporation’s regret at the accident, but pointing out that no liability attached to them.
Daniel must have recovered from his serious accident in 1891 because he had a further accident in July 1906 which was reported in local newspapers:
ACCIDENT – On Wednesday an accident occurred at the Titterstone Works, Clee Hill. It appears that a workman named Daniel Brookes, of St Mary’s Lane, Corve Street, Ludlow, was engaged tilting a wagon of stone, when the top of the wagon fell back on his hand. He was conveyed to Ludlow, and removed to the Nursing Home, Julian Road, where he was attended by Dr. Downes, who found it necessary to amputate three fingers.
At a County Court Court hearing on 14 November Daniel was awarded compensation of 13s 6d per week for the injuries to his hand, this being half of his normal wages. The following month the quarry owners made an application to the court to reduce the compensation to 9s per week on the basis that he was able to work and earn 17s per week. The doctor who carried out the amputation gave medical evidence to the court. He said that Daniel “had the use of the whole of the thumb and the greatest part of the index finger. He could use the hand for such work as pushing trucks, but had no sound grip of an implement.” The Judge rejected the application on the grounds that it had been made too soon after the original order and that there was no evidence presented to show that Daniel was able to work.
In 1909 Daniel was working for George Roberts, a veterinary surgeon, of Corve Steet. He was employed as a groom and gardener. In March 1909 he had another accident when he fell from a ladder which slipped on the snow and he broke a bone in his wrist and bruised his hip. This case also ended up in the County Court when Daniel complained that the amount of compensation he received for being unable to work was inadequate. He had received half wages and had agreed a further sum of £10 from the insurance company in full settlement of his claim. The Judge ruled that compensation should continue to be paid at the rate of 7s per week until such time as an application was made for a reduction in that amount.
Daniel died at the age of 80 and was buried in Ludlow on 2 September 1920.
This photo shows Daniel Brookes in 1913. The child in the photo is William Daniel Church who was his grandson. William’s mother was Florence Brookes, who was the daughter of Daniel and his second wife Hannah Weaver. Note that Daniel’s damaged left hand has been covered with a blue pen at some time, however the missing second, third and fourth fingers can still be seen. This photo was kindly provided by Dan Church, who is William’s so
Edward Jacks (1838 – 1900)
Edward lived in St Mary’s Lane for at least 30 years, from 1871 until his death in 1900. He was born in 1838 and baptised at Bromfield. His baptism record gives his mother’s name as Ann Jacks but no father’s name is given. Ann had another son, James, in 1842 and again no fathers name is given in the baptism record. Ann married George Weaver in 1846 and had three daughters including Hannah Weaver, who became Daniel Brookes’ second wife.
Edward married Emma Wright in 1865. Emma’s family came from Cainham (Caynham) and her father, Richard, was a coal miner on Clee Hill. They had three children between 1867 and 1872 (James, my great grandfather, Emma and Agnes). Then in 1876 they had twin boys, Charles and Joseph. Charles died almost immediately. Joseph may also have died at the same time but the records are confusing and it seems more likely that he lived until 1878.
Edward lived in St Mary’s Lane for at least 30 years, from 1871 until his death in 1900. He was born in 1838 and baptised at Bromfield. His baptism record gives his mother’s name as Ann Jacks but no father’s name is given. Ann had another son, James, in 1842 and again no fathers name is given in the baptism record. Ann married George Weaver in 1846 and had three daughters including Hannah Weaver, who became Daniel Brookes’ second wife.
Edward married Emma Wright in 1865. Emma’s family came from Cainham (Caynham) and her father, Richard, was a coal miner on Clee Hill. They had three children between 1867 and 1872 (James, my great grandfather, Emma and Agnes). Then in 1876 they had twin boys, Charles and Joseph. Charles died almost immediately. Joseph may also have died at the same time but the records are confusing and it seems more likely that he lived until 1878.
Edward’s wife Emma died in 1877, about 6 months after the twins were born. We don’t know if her death was related to birth of the twins but it seems possible. Edward himself committed suicide in 1900 and it may be that he never recovered from the loss of his wife. This tragic event was reported in the local newspapers. James Jacks (1867 – 1935) James Jacks was born in 1867; his parents were Edward Jacks and Emma Wright. According to census returns, James lived with his family at 14 St. Mary’s Lane from 1871 until 1891. In 1891 James married Mary Ann Brookes whose family lived next door at 15 St. Mary’s Lane. In 1901 they lived in New Road and in 1911 they lived at 3 The Old Brick Yard, which was just off New Road, and was where the family lived for many years. James worked as a labourer for various companies in Ludlow. The photos on the right came from Suzanne Dunn who is the granddaughter of Edith Jacks sister, Emma. Emma emigrated to Canada with her husband John Wilcox in the 1910s. |
James Jacks, first son of Edward and Emma Jacks, was the great-grandfather of the author, Angela Jeans, née Haskins.
Above and below: Mary Ann Brookes, who married James Jacks in 1891.
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William Church and Florence Brookes with their children
William Daniel and Florence Bessie.
This photo was kindly provided by
Dan Church who is William Daniel
Church’s son.
Other Family Members.
Everyone discussed above were my direct ancestors. Of course I also had many other family members who lived in St Mary’s Lane – their brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces.
We have researched some of their families and a couple of examples are given below.
Florence Brookes.
Florence was born on 5 June 1886 and was baptised Florence Annie Brookes in St Laurence’s Church on 27 June 1886. She was the daughter of Daniel Brookes and his second wife Hannah Weaver. She lived with the Brookes family at 15 St Mary’s Lane and in 1901 was living at the residence of Ernest King, Surgeon, at 50 Broad Street where she was employed as a housemaid at the age of 14.
In the 1911 census, Florence was again living at 15 St Mary’s Lane and shortly after she married William Church in London. Their son William Daniel Church was born later in 1911. William and Florence then lived at 15 St Mary’s Lane until 1913 when William and Florence travelled to the United States and their son remained in Ludlow with his grandfather.
Florence returned to England in August 1915 while William remained in Cincinatti, Ohio. She took her son to Cincinatti in November 1915 and the family became naturalised US citizens in 1917.
Beatrice Brookes.
Beatrice was born on 30 September 1888 and was baptised in St Laurence’s Church on 21October 1888. She was the daughter of Daniel Brookes and Hannah Weaver and lived with the Brookes family at 15 St Mary’s Lane. In the 1901 census Beatrice was living next door, at 14 St Mary’s Lane, with her cousin Emma Jacks and Emma’s nephew Harry Price. Emma had recently got married to John Davies, but her husband was working away at the time of the census. In the 1911 census, Beatrice was again living at 15 St Mary’s Lane with her father and in 1915 she married Frederick Babbage, who was a butcher from Devon. He had a shop at 14 High Street, Ludlow, which is now D W Wall and Son. They had four children while they were living in Ludlow and some information on their son Cyril is given below. In 1929 Frederick sold the business and the family moved to Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
Everyone discussed above were my direct ancestors. Of course I also had many other family members who lived in St Mary’s Lane – their brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces.
We have researched some of their families and a couple of examples are given below.
Florence Brookes.
Florence was born on 5 June 1886 and was baptised Florence Annie Brookes in St Laurence’s Church on 27 June 1886. She was the daughter of Daniel Brookes and his second wife Hannah Weaver. She lived with the Brookes family at 15 St Mary’s Lane and in 1901 was living at the residence of Ernest King, Surgeon, at 50 Broad Street where she was employed as a housemaid at the age of 14.
In the 1911 census, Florence was again living at 15 St Mary’s Lane and shortly after she married William Church in London. Their son William Daniel Church was born later in 1911. William and Florence then lived at 15 St Mary’s Lane until 1913 when William and Florence travelled to the United States and their son remained in Ludlow with his grandfather.
Florence returned to England in August 1915 while William remained in Cincinatti, Ohio. She took her son to Cincinatti in November 1915 and the family became naturalised US citizens in 1917.
Beatrice Brookes.
Beatrice was born on 30 September 1888 and was baptised in St Laurence’s Church on 21October 1888. She was the daughter of Daniel Brookes and Hannah Weaver and lived with the Brookes family at 15 St Mary’s Lane. In the 1901 census Beatrice was living next door, at 14 St Mary’s Lane, with her cousin Emma Jacks and Emma’s nephew Harry Price. Emma had recently got married to John Davies, but her husband was working away at the time of the census. In the 1911 census, Beatrice was again living at 15 St Mary’s Lane with her father and in 1915 she married Frederick Babbage, who was a butcher from Devon. He had a shop at 14 High Street, Ludlow, which is now D W Wall and Son. They had four children while they were living in Ludlow and some information on their son Cyril is given below. In 1929 Frederick sold the business and the family moved to Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
Edith Agnes Jacks (above and right) was the daughter of James Jacks and Mary Ann Brookes. She married Lionel Watkins (below).
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Cyril Frederick Babbage. Cyril Frederick Babbage, the son of Beatrice Brookes and Frederick Babbage, was born 1917 in Ludlow. Cyril joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1938 and was called up in September 1939. He trained as a Spitfire pilot and was posted to 602 Squadron as a Sergeant Pilot. The Squadron moved to Westhampnett Aerodrome in West Sussex (now called Goodwood) in August 1940. This was at the height of the Battle of Britain and 602 Squadron flew many operations from August until the end of November. Cyril attacked and destroyed several enemy aircraft and was himself shot down twice. On 26 August, after probably destroying a Me109 over Selsey Bill, Babbage was shot down by Hauptmann Mayer of 1/JG53. He bailed out, was picked up by a rowing boat and landed by Bognor Pier. His aircraft, Spitfire X4188, crashed into the sea. Two days later, he was discharged from Bognor hospital, and driven back to the squadron by the CO, S/Ldr AVR Johnstone, accompanied by the MO. Babbage's clothes were still damp and he borrowed a coat from a hospital porter for the journey. On another occasion his aircraft was damaged by return fire and he was forced to land in a field where his aircraft overturned but he was uninjured. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in October 1940 and commissioned in November. Cyril continued to fly operationally throughout the war, initially flying Spitfires in 41 Squadron and later he did an operational tour on Mosquitos, during the course of which he was twice shot down. He remained in the RAF after the war and retired in 1964 with the rank of Wing Commander. Cyril died on 24 November 1976 at his home in Larkhall, Bath. Authors' Notes: Angela’s husband, Robert (Bob) Jeans, tells us, “Cyril appears in several books - I got one from our local library this week which is purely about 602 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. Cyril gets many mentions and, in the introduction, the author says that the inspiration for researching and writing the book was seeing the photos of Cyril being rescued from the sea and his upside-down Spitfire when he crash-landed.” References: RAF WESTHAMPNETT DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN 80th Anniversary A not-for-profit booklet produced on the 80th Anniversary year of the Battle of Britain by Mark Hillier. 'Of the 34 pilots of 602 who served at RAF Westhampnett, 13 gave their lives during World War II. Six pilots were killed during their time at the airfield during the Battle of Britain.' Links: Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. C F Babbage (bbm.org.uk) BUTCHER BIRDS’ OVER BRITAIN (key.aero) The article credits Cyril with the first combat success against the Focke Wulf Fw 190, a new German fighter, and shows a painting of the potential action. |
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© Robert Holland. St. Mary’s House and Nos. 13 – 15 St. Mary’s Lane the late 1900s.
St. Mary’s Lane[i]
Map analysis suggests that an ancient track came along Fishmore Road and St. Mary’s Lane, and then by the part of the Linney which now runs beside St. Leonard’s churchyard.
The triangle between St. Mary’s Lane, Lower Corve Street and the western end of New Road, though colonised by buildings in the Middle Ages, is an enduring town-plan relic of this ancient road inter-change.[ii]
A survey of fields in 1562 shows that what is now New Road was then referred to as St. Mary’s (or St. Mary) Lane. Fishmore Road was known as Fishpool Lane.[iii] St. Mary’s Lane has also been called Back Lane[iv].
Today, St. Mary’s Lane, the site of thirteen homes, the Friends’ Meeting House, and the houses in St. Mary’s Mews,
may be accessed from Lower Corve Street, opposite The Merchant House. About 120 metres ahead, at the edge of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, its course changes abruptly from heading north-eastwards, and heads westwards, past The Bridge Inn to rejoin Lower Corve Street and the Bromfield Road at Corve Bridge.
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St. Mary's House and 13 - 15 St. Mary's Lane
Over the centuries, there have been several dwellings on the site of St. Mary’s House, and the three cottages that today are Nos. 13, 14 and 15 St Mary’s Lane were once a single property, variously a cottage, stables, workshops and premises next to the skin yard of Mr. Owen shown on the 1831 map. Owners and Occupants of Nos. 13 – 15 St. Mary’s Lane. Indentures in the possession of the current owners of St. Mary’s House paint a complicated picture of occupancy and ownership of this site, relating also to the land on which the Louisa Powell Almshouse was erected in 1878. One such document dated 5th September 1857, which details a sale, from John Hasler to Mr. Henry Harding and which recites in full another Indenture dated 15th December 1856, between Beriah Botfield and John Hasler, concerns the sale of the ‘newly erected Messuage or Tenement and other Buildings, with the Garden and Land adjoining on the West Side, to a Road or Lane called St. Mary’s Lane’, i.e. St. Mary’s House, and ‘all that Cottage formerly a Brick Stable, adjoining on the South Side to the newly erected Messuage or Tenement’. Today, this is St Mary’s House and the two original cottages, which were described as a cottage and brick stables. The document carries on: ‘and also, all those five stables and other buildings, thereunto belonging and adjoining to the tenement or cottage, previously described.' These stables etc., will become Nos. 13-15 St Mary’s Lane. |
1831 Pritchard Map.
In 1807, the Greenhouse family of tanners and glovers sold land and property in St. Mary’s Lane to John
Owen(s), described as ‘Skinner, Ludlow’. His Skin
Yard is depicted on the 1831 Pritchard Map at
the east side of Corve Street/St. Mary’s Lane. The
1840 edition of Robinson’s Commercial Directory
described Owen(s) as a tawyer and oil dresser, and
he may also have been a shoemaker; that year, he
was made bankrupt, and
the Ludlow bank of Eyton
& Co. was nominated
‘assigns.’
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Land Swap
In 1876, Louisa Powell, widow of Charles Powell, Gent of Sutton Court, Didlebury, entered into discussion with her neighbour, landowner Henry Harding, to exchange parcels of land. Later, the Louisa Powell Almshouse would be built on the land Louisa acquired. Her ultimate dealings were with Henry Harding’s heir, Edward Charlton Harding, who subsequently sold his ‘newly arranged property’ to Johnathon Bishop for £550.00. Bishop needed £300 to effect the sale, and Rodney A. Anderson, a Ludlow solicitor, arranged a loan for this sum through Thomas Griffiths, a former Ludlow bookseller. The tenants in the three cottages at the time were Edward Jacks, William Millington and William Smith Ludlow Railway Station was opened in 1852 and, up on its embankment, the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway line passed the original cottage gardens, which were in a single line at the rear of the centre cottage. This was the slice of land that Edward Charlton Harding received from Louisa Powell in exchange for his piece behind the proposed Almshouses. The access route which allowed a horse and cart and cattle to pass between these cottages and the Louisa Powell Almshouse, built in 1878, into the fields and orchards can still be seen alongside No. 15. Endnotes [i] Jonathan and Rosemary Wood, The People and History Lower Corve Street and St. Mary’s Lane, Ludlow. [ii] David Lloyd, MBE, The Concise History of Ludlow, p.15. [iii]Ibid, p.71 [iv] David Lloyd & Peter Klein, An Historical Anthology, end papers. |