Davies Buildings Shrewsbury 1881 - 1891

[P.P.Power]

Census returns for 1881 & 1891 show my Great Grandfather residing at "Davies Buildings" in Shrewsbury (Civil Parish of Saint Mary). I am having difficulty in locating the physical location of this building(s) within Shrewsbury. Lack of an 1881/91 map doesn't help & search engines haven't helped much either  . If anyone out there could educate me that would be great. T.I.A.

[Lynntony]

I believe the building (?) was on St Michael's Road. Not sure if it was one building, or a terrace of houses - or even if it still exists! I did research this particular address some years ago, and even visited Shrewsbury to see if there was any trace of said dwelling, but without success.
There are some large houses on this particular stretch of road, next to Morris Lubricants premises and there's always the possibility that it was one of those. There is also a terrace of houses a little further along the road on the same side, which is also a possibility. Unfortunately, none of the houses has any type of nameplate to denote what they were formerly known as. If anyone is visiting Shrewsbury archives they may be able to pinpoint the exact location for you.

You can check out the properties in question on Google streetview. Just type 104 St. Michael's Street, Shrewsbury, in the search box and it should show you the area I'm talking about.


Tony

[P.P.Power]

Tony .... many thanks. I have to agree with you in that somewhere along St. Michaels Street is the most likely location. The residences immediately after Davies Buildings in the 1881 Census are Factory, Factory House, Bridge Inn, then 80 - 83 Spring Gardens. These appear to be in order, heading N.E. along what is now the A5191. Indeed Spring Gardens is a continuation of Saint Michaels Street. I guess Davies Buildings, as you suspect, were somewhere along this stretch. I can find Factory House & Spring Gardens on an 1882 pre WW2 1:2,500 map (care of a popular mapping website) but sadly no sign of Davies Buildings. At some point I will visit Shrewsbury Archives & dig further. Regards Geoff.

[Lynntony]

Geoff, I don't know if this is of any use but you could try contacting Shropshire Family History Society at

http://www.sfhs.org.uk/

They, or one of their members, may have more info St Michael's Street. My own interest in the building ended when I realised that a simple error had left me chasing the wrong family!

Tony

[P.P.Power]

Good call Tony. I'll give them a try. Regards.