Meet the cast of characters that once populated our district. All classes rubbing shoulders in a selection of photos from the archives. The learned, the humble, the achievers, the most respected, all remembered as they may never have been before.
Without doubt the most important figure to emerge in local history in the Nuneaton area is Alfred Lester Scrivener (1845-1886). His was a towering achievement that links the modern town back to the 19th century and beyond. Local historians since owe an enormous debt of gratitude to this man. Although all of them did not know who the source of their information was. Now you do for the first time. For three brief years in the period 1877 - 1881 he wrote a series of articles in the Nuneaton Observer on "Old Nuneaton" etc. He had access to his father's records (Joseph Scrivener [1816-1861]) and the collective memories of old townsmen which he gathered in. Perhaps his most important achievement was saving the Nuneaton Diary 1810-1845. A record of town life kept by an old grocer whose shop was in the Market Place - John Astley. Mr. Astley preserved the town's tittle tattle. An old lady found it and brought this remarkable document into his editorial office at the Observer. The diary will appear on this web site soon. Together with Alfred Scrivener's commentary on it. He was the founding editor of the Nuneaton Observer but left Nuneaton in 1881 to take on the editorship of the Bootle Times.
Nuneaton's Mermaid of the great flood of 1932. Stella Bailey (1912-?). Stella was one of eight children whose father W.H.Bailey was a baker in Church Street for many years. Stella married Ernest Orton in 1936 and they had an antiques business latterly in Moreton in the Marsh.(Courtesy Jean Lapworth)
Bermuda Ladies Football Team in the 1950's.
At the rear Annie Sparrow - Manager
Back Row: L-R Mrs. Waite, Mrs. Seadon, Mrs. Kilburn, Joan Kent, Elsie Sheldon, Joan Clay, Violet Fowler, Mrs. Haycock.
Front seated on the pitch: L-R:
Mrs. Coles, Violet Tallis, Jean Kent, Ann Warren, May Gibbs. Anne Sparrow ran the village general store and sweet shop. Her husband Jack was a groundsman and gardener at Bermuda Working Men's Club. Anne ran the football team and organised the local carnival and their youngest son Joe became later Managing Director of UVA Engineering, Caldwell. (Ralph Oldacres)
William Johnson MP (1849-1919). He was MP for Nuneaton 1906-1918. Chairman of Bedworth Borough Council 1894-`1910 and General Secretary of Warwickshire Miners Association.
Iris Tubb (Heawood & Watson, Hinckley)
Wash Harris was a well known and much loved publican at the Rugger Tavern (formerly the New Inn) at Attleborough for 27 years. Here is the newspaper cutting when he took over the pub. (Stephanie Southall - Wash's daughter's collection)
The Townsend sisters of Attleborough Hall. (Jan Brock Collection)
Thomas and Sarah Townsend of Attleborough Hall, on the occasion of their 50th Anniversary 1885. (Jan Brock)
Nuneaton Trent Valley station staff. Before WW1.
John Cooke (1762-1844) Nuneaton Town Crier. (Ted Veasey Collection)
Mayors of Nuneaton 1907-1957 (1)
Local dignitaries including Francis Newdigate seated with walking stick outside Arbury Hall. (courtesy Martin Olner)
A welcome home for Sir Francis Newdigate? (Jean Lapworth Collection)
Roy Whitehouse of Nuneaton.
The staff of J.C.Smith, Bedworth. (Bedworth Echo)
The Nuneaton Detachment 2nd Batallion Royal Warwickshire Yeomanty 1883. J.Company Band.
Back Row - John Millington, Joseph Millington, W.Ball, W.Wingate, J.Jebitt, J.Taylor, S.Wilson.
Front Row - R. Brooks, William Millington, G.Grimes, H.Green, B.Smith, J.Austin, Sgt. W.Wheatley, G.E.Jee,
Seated on the ground: J.Wheatley.
(Pauline Nottingham)
I am most grateful to Darrell Dunning who has provided me with information to upgrade this photo from a mystery photo to one where a goodly number are identified. We would like to complete the names thats for sure.
This photo hangs in Darrell's entrance hall and the photo was taken at Arbury Methodist Church probably in the late 1930's. The fellow towering over everyone at the back is Darrell's dad - Ernie Dunning. Also in the picture are his dad's sisters Doreen (Kendell), Eileen (Meachem) who still live in the town. Darrell's Auntie Iris nee Pugh who married his Dad's brother - Ken. Darrell and his family lived in Webb Street.
Although not a native Nuneaton, the Rev. Jacob Stanley, inadvertently was a major influence on the history of Nuneaton as his son Reginald Stanley became the owner of a major brickyard locally and went on to become one of the town's major employers and one of the big four brick makers in the country. Rev. Jacob Stanley (1804-1886) married Susannah Jenkins on 13.7.1835 who had the following children:
Susan Stanley b.1836
Reginald Stanley b. 1838 Hayle, Cornwall
Jacob Stanley b. 1840 Great Torrington, Devon
Ellen Stanley b. 1842 Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Frances Stanley b. 1844 b. Weymouth, Dorset
Lucilla Stanley b. 1845 Weymouth, Dorset
Reginald Stanley emigrated to America in the 1850's, and his American diary has survived. This will feature in this web site shortly.
Jacob Stanley went on to be an artist in oils of some repute. Their story will be published on this web site. (Reg. Rowley)
James Ball, Railway Goods Guard of Nuneaton, with his various awards for his St. John's Ambulance activities. (Tina Aucott, Jim's daughter, provided these photos from her family archives)
John Bostock the Butcher with a prize beast. In the background is the Railway Tavern in Bondgate. 1900.
Walter T. Prince (1913-1951) a photograph probably taken not long before his untimely death. Wally drove a loco underground at Haunchwood Colliery (Tunnel pit) and was killed in an accident driving it. It was a tragic event and it effected many of his friends down the pit. He lived in Bucks Hill, Chapel End. Wally was a staunch Trades Unionist. (Lee Family Collection)
Bermuda's Victory celebrations 1946. Everyone is having a great time.
From the Warwickshire County Graphic. 1925 (courtesy Rod Grubb)
The staff at Exhall Wheelwright Lane Junior School June 1949.
Standing: Miss E. Johnson, Mr. E.Greening, Miss C. Knight, Mr. G. Johnson, Mrs. A. Drakeford, Mr. G. Edmands. Seated Miss L.E. Soult, Miss C. Harrison, Mr. E.S.Ward, (headmaster) Mrs. A.L.Deeming, Miss. O. Geary. (staff missing Mr. P. Cocker)
(Geoff Edmands Collection)
The staff at Wheelwright Lane Junior School, Exhall. July 1950.
Standing: Joan Bruce, Margaret Williams, Edwin Greening, Mrs. E.S.Ward, Mrs. A. Drakeford,
Seated: Philip Cocker, Olive Geary, Mrs. A.L. Deeming, Mr. E.S.Ward, (headmaster), Miss L.E.Soult, Clarice Knight, George Johnson.
(Geoff Edmands Collection)
Joe Allen, of Bedworth, brother of the well known local haulier - Frederick Allen. Former Chairman of Bedworth UDC and an Inspector in the Special Constabulary. (Alison Moore Collection)
Mrs Billie Rowley's Dance Band.
The Nuneaton family of Millington - 59 Deacon Street, Chilvers Coton. (Pauline Nottingham)
Bedworth Market Place 1955. The man on the right selling bricks is the well known Canon Maggs and the stall is in aid of Bedworth Church Hall in Park Road. The clerical looking gentleman in the middle is not known currently. (The church hall was later demolished).
The boy on the left is Lawrence Moore (Alison Moore's father) and the lady buying a brick is Nelly Wilkes, formerly of Mile Tree Maggot Farm in Bulkington. Thank you also to Linda Burton for help with the description. (Alison Moore Collection)
Freda Halford from the camera of Clare Speight, Nuneaton.
Frederick Duncan Robertson, proprietor of the Nuneaton Chronicle. (Edmands family collection)
Thomas Courtenay Neath - a prominent amateur photographer and resident of Chilvers Coton.
Abbey Street School before World War One.
From the Warwickshire County Graphic 1925, courtesy Rod. Grubb)
William Johnson MP (1849-1919). Born in Chilvers Coton, lived at Collycroft he bame the champion of the Warwickshire Miners.
Became the Liberal MP for Nuneaton
David Sidwell with his grandparents - George Clarke (1885-1960) and Gertie (Gertrude Brookes) (1888-1955). George Clarke kept a remarkable memoir of his life in Nuneaton. Written in beautiful copper plate writing his grandson David Sidwell has, through the application of modern technology brought George's account of his life into the 21st century and this is now available as a paperback book. Although George's story is a personal memoir it is something more than that it is the story of one man's observations of life in a mining community in which he was an observant participant. Not only this although George came from a humble background it is beautifully written and when it comes to family and social history as good as it gets. Copies of the book can be obtained by emailing myself, Peter Lee, through this web site or by ordering the book through Waterstones in Nuneaton. David has carried out a great service not just to his grandparents who will now live forever but to people interested in this community in the late 19th century to the late 1950's. It is in effect one of the finest testimonies to family history I have ever seen in 40 years of being a family historian in my home community of Nuneaton. (David Sidwell).
These children attended St. Joseph's R.C.School, Coton Road, Nuneaton (Veronica Buckby)
Edward Ferdinand Melly - The Managing Director of Griff Collieries Co. Ltd.
Robert Swinnerton of Swinnerton & Sons, Timber Merchants.
Henry Stubbs of Camp Hill Hall
A series of portraits (probably from the studios of Clare Speight, Nuneaton) of local worthies, taken to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. The great and the good of Nuneaton. Note the hairstyles, the moustaches, beards and sideburns. There is so much character in these faces.
Henry Slingsby, Silk Manufacturer, Nuneaton.
Bert Green of Queens Road, Nuneaton.
George Fox (1624-1691) founder of the Quaker movement. Born in Fenny Drayton near Nuneaton.
| Fenny Drayton - The First Quaker |
William Cawthorne, the printer and stationer. C. 1909. This old established business is still thriving in Nuneaton and dates back to Thomas Short, who was in business in 1835. Mary Short, Thomas's widow sold the business to Edward Houlston who in turn sold it to William Cawthorne we see here in 1868. The large timber buttress is to shore up the building next door which was being taken down and rebuilt in 1909.
Nuneaton Post Office Staff 1912.
Sent to me by the late Moreton J. Ensor of Brewster, Massachussets. James Ensor was his grandfather, and both his parents came from Hall End, Attleborough and migrated to Brockton Massachussets to work in the shoe industry of America
Rev. R. Chadwick MA became the Vicar of Chilvers Coton parish on December 6th 1887 and was there until 1914. He was a honorary Canon of Worcester.
Ebenezer Brown of Attleborough.
Ebenezer Brown's Family.
Well known residents of Attleborough. Including the Brown family. (Anne Lawson)
The Grove House in Garrett Street Attleborough, home of Ebenezer Brown. Pulled down in the 1940's or 50's. Next to the Wide Yard.
|
|
Mr & Mrs. E.M.Shilcock on their wedding day, somewhere in Nuneaton. (Anne Lawson Paling)
Muriel Edmands in the doorway of Tower House, Bedworth. 1935. The house is decorated for the 25th anniversary of the Coronation of King George V.
(Geoff Edmands)
A much earlier view of Tower House, Bedworth with one of the Edmands sisters, Dorothy or Muriel making a cup of tea with her little tea set. (Edmands family collection)
Tommy Westwood of Nuneaton. (collection of Ruby Atkins, Horace Bull)
Albert Owen and Hannah Elizabeth Beddows who married in 1911 at Longford Registry Office. The child is Gary Moore's uncle Albert Owen who was born in 1914, so this may be christening day for Albert 100 years ago. Albert died in 1993. (Gary Moore)
Sarah Ann Marriott Cohen who married firstly John Beddows, 2nd William Butlin. Photo thought to be taken at the Spitalfields in Bedworth. c. 1940's. Sarah died in 1954. What a lovely Bedworth character. Nice pet too!
(Gary Moore)
Four local participants in the Nuneaton Carnival 1930.
(Anne Paling Lawson)
Lewis Coleman was proprietor of the Nuneaton Observer.
Ronald Edmands of Tower House, Bedworth.
(Edmands Family Collection)
Edward Ferdinand Melly
Geoffrey De Havilland, whose father was the Vicar at St. Mary's Abbey Church and lived at the rectory in Manor Court Road. Founder of the famous aircraft company.
The famous Rugby player - Wally Holmes as a kid in the back yard of his home, known as the George & Dragon yard in Queens Road, Nuneaton. As its name implied the 10 court cottages that made up this yard was in the back yard of a pub called the "George & Dragon". These cottages were built in the 1820's on a piece of ground called "The Ropewalk" and this is how the shopping centre that stands there today got its name. The cottages, however, were poor accommodation and by the 1930's were derelict. The original rope maker was Joseph Scrivener who came to Nuneaton sometime between 1810-1820 and purchased this piece of land to lay out a long lineal strip for his Rope Walk. Most towns had their ropemakers and he made everything from heavy ropes for industry through to cord and string for wrapping parcels. It was a lucrative trade at one time. His "Good Front House" was converted into a pub, and he built two rows of cottages for tenants. Thereby ensuring a captive audience for his pub trade. Joseph Scrivener's grandson was Alfred Lester Scrivener. The great Nuneaton historian. Later rope makers were Isaac Hogg and Phillimores, who shop was well known to local people up until the 50's, although by this time the Phillimore sisters who ran it had devolved the shop into a "Doll's Hospital". The cottages we see here lay derelict in the 30s but were pressed into use on that infamous night of 16th/17th May 1941 when 100 people were killed in Nuneaton by the Luftwaffe. The bodies being dug out of the rubble were far too many for the modest local mortuary at the hospital and they were brought here to the George & Dragon yard and bodies and body parts assembled for identification. The grisly job was carried out by Frank Hextall who worked for the council and who was assigned this duty because he was deemed suitable due to his WW1 experience. He had served in the 216 regiment of the Royal Engineers (Nuneaton Company) in France. But nothing prepared him for the horror of that night in this filthy court of cottages where he had to assemble the bodies and parts of bodies as best he could so grieving relatives could bury their dead.
After the war the cottages were pulled down and when we go shopping at the Ropewalk we are treading this historic ground.
An old Nuneaton character John (Jack) Warren. He worked at Fielding Johnsons for many years and his hobby was hand bell ringing. (Tom Burgoyne collection)
Jack Warren was often seen about town on his tricycle. Here he is quite close to Nuneaton station (you can make out the LNWR goods warehouse in the background)
The staff of Fred Wolfe of Nuneaton at Market Bosworth show in the 1950's with a particularly ugly gnome.
Outside 180 Coventry Road, Nuneaton 16.8.1959 (Geoff Edmands)
Charles Pipe 1912 of the Railway Tavern, Bond End, Nuneaton. (Tom Burgoyne)
The Kinder family lived in Bridge Street, Chilvers Coton for two hundred years. Thomas Kinder is pictured here in 1902.
Chris Rowley on a horse, in Regent Street looking towards Wheat Street in the background. Buildings on the left long demolished now replaced by the Justice Centre. (Ian Burgoyne)
A Coronation Party in Nuneaton. (W.H.Pope, courtesy Colin Yorke)
George Pears aged 83 in 1924 and a resident of the George Eliot Lodging House on Abbey Green when this photo was taken. (Ted Veasey Collection)
Mr. & Mrs. Radbourne, a Canadian couple who were billeted in Nuneaton during World War 2, as they were reluctant to take the hazardous journey back to Canada and run the U boat gauntlet. Here they are revisiting friends in Nuneaton post war.
Old Nuneatonian - Maurice Billington - out and about on his bike. Hence the boots. (Maurice Billington collection)
The photographer Geoff Edmands with Judith Howells at Gun Hill Mixed Infants School, Arley where Geoff taught Class 2. 4th December 1936 (Geoff Edmands Collection)
John Bosworth (Jacko - the Nuneaton town crier) offers a pony as a prize worth a whole £10. In the Newdigate Arms yard. Sam Robbins later went into the sale of motor vehicles. Whatever happened to this poor old horse?
Arthur Moreton, 1 Bond Street, Nuneaton.
The Pallet family of Norman Avenue, Nuneaton.
Leon Vint was the entrepreneur who founded and had built the Empire Theatre. Read the story in the document below.
| Leon Vint (1872-1943) by Victor Welland |
The Empire Theatre, Leicester Road, Nuneaton. Could the dapper fellow to the right of the placard by Leon Vint himself?
Members of the Green family, Attleborough on their private tennis court at the rear of the Square. (Anne Paling Lawson)
More of Nuneaton Tennis Club in the 1930's.
(Anne Paling Lawson)
The Paling family on Attleborough Square.
(Anne Paling Lawson)
A Float in the Nuneaton Carnival Procession (1970's)
Bedworth Football Club's dance on 17th February 1937. Note that the flash of the camera has caused many of those gathered for the picture to close their eyes momentarily. Geoff Edmands whose collection this is from is second on the back row from the left.
(Geoff Edmands)
(Celia Hornbuckle)
Elegant young gentlemen on a Summer afternoon out. Their status designated by their bowler hats.
Tom Burgoyne on the left, Edward Burgoyne centre rear, Charles Pipe on the right. I believe Charles Pipe emigrated to Australia. The location is believed to be Caldecote.
Henry Bellairs Vicar of Nuneaton. Note the quill pen.
Walter Williams of Hollyhurst Farm, Bulkington
Two bare knuckle fighters. 8th July 1910.
OLD RAILWAYMEN
Sarah Townsend (1816-1907) outside her leafy cottage door at Attleborough.
Catherine Mary Ensor (1883-1973) of Hall End, Attleborough. (Moreton J. Ensor)