Author Topic: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.  (Read 40043 times)

Offline onefortheroad

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Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« on: Tuesday 30 December 08 15:20 GMT (UK) »
Hi everyone.
According to the 1891 Census, my GtGrandmother, Annie Elizabeth Auston was residing at 6 Westgate St., Ipswich  with some forty-odd others both male and female.
She, along with the majority of her cohabitants, is listed as 'Drapers Assistant'.

Do any of you kind folk know what sort of dwelling/business property this address was and does it still exist?

Many thanks,

David - Yorkshire.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline Suffolk Mawther

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 30 December 08 18:04 GMT (UK) »
Well I can tell you that Westgate Street is about to lose its' branch of Woolworth any day now  :'(

At the beginning of Westgate Street today is a large Co-operative department store, however that would not have been there in 1891.

(This should have read Carr Street for the Co-op and Woolies - my mistake)
amended later that same day dear reader


We  have an ancestor who was despatched to London to work in a Drapery Department of a large department store and was found living in what today we would call a workers hostel along with many other Drapers apprentices.

Certainly today Westgate Street is one of the main shopping streets in the town of Ipswich. there have been many alterations over the years and much of the centre of Ipswich suffered from 'modenisation' in the 1960s - thankfully, some of it now being demolished and better buildings going up in their place.

I guess directories might yield an answer - there are many on open shelves at the Ipswich Record Office - if anyone is going along (husband just returned from a days researching ).

Pat ...
Every time I find an ancestor,
I have to find two more!

SUFFOLK - Pendle, Stygall, Pipe, Fruer, Bridges, Fisk, Bellamy, Sparham - all link to  Framlingham 
DERBY - Bridges and Frost (originally Framlingham/Parham)
NOTTINGHAM - Lambert & Selby
BERKSHIRE/then Hammersmith LDN - Fulker
LDN/MDX - Murray, Clancy, Broker, Hoskins, Marsden, Wilson, Sale
 
GGfather Michael Wilson born Cork, lived Fulham London - moved to Boston USA 1889, what happened next?

Offline Greensleeves

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 30 December 08 21:34 GMT (UK) »
I suspect that 6 Westgate Street was part of the Footmans department store.  This used to be a major commercial operation in Ipswich, before being taken over (if I remember correctly - it was many years ago now) by Debenhams.   Footmans certainly had a large drapery department.   It could be that Footmans had a lodging house for its staff next-door.  Also on the same side of Westgate Street was the Crown & Anchor Hotel which was advertised in 1874 as a "Family and Commercial Hotel" which in the 1980s was number 10 Westgate Street.

Hope this is of use to you,

Greensleeves
Suffolk: Pearl(e),  Garnham, Southgate, Blo(o)mfield,Grimwood/Grimwade,Josselyn/Gosling
Durham/Yorkshire: Sedgwick/Sidgwick, Shadforth
Ireland: Davis
Norway: Torreson/Torsen/Torrison
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Suffolk Mawther

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 00:09 GMT (UK) »
Hello again,

Footmans (or to be correct Footman, Pretty and Co Limited) were general drapers, complete house furnishers, furniture removers, china and glass dealers, and restauranteurs.

They were at Waterloo House
In my Kelly's of 1937 it shows their address as being
6, 8 and 10A Westgate Street

I had thought they were in Carr Street - doh!

Westgate Street, Tavern Street and Carr Street blend into one long shopping street, most of which is pedestrianised.

Good thing Greensleeves  :D
reminded me and I looked them up in the directory.

I will now go and sit on the naughty step!

Pat ...





Every time I find an ancestor,
I have to find two more!

SUFFOLK - Pendle, Stygall, Pipe, Fruer, Bridges, Fisk, Bellamy, Sparham - all link to  Framlingham 
DERBY - Bridges and Frost (originally Framlingham/Parham)
NOTTINGHAM - Lambert & Selby
BERKSHIRE/then Hammersmith LDN - Fulker
LDN/MDX - Murray, Clancy, Broker, Hoskins, Marsden, Wilson, Sale
 
GGfather Michael Wilson born Cork, lived Fulham London - moved to Boston USA 1889, what happened next?


Offline Greensleeves

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 10:02 GMT (UK) »
Hello again - I couldn't remember either which was Westgate Street (having left Ipswich, the town of my birth,  over 20 years ago) so I checked on the site below  - there is a link to it  in the Suffolk Resources section - and found photos of the streets. I don't know if there are any of the old Footmans store but you might want to check it out, David, as there's interesting stuff in there.


http://www.ipswich2006.com/

Regards
Greensleeves
Suffolk: Pearl(e),  Garnham, Southgate, Blo(o)mfield,Grimwood/Grimwade,Josselyn/Gosling
Durham/Yorkshire: Sedgwick/Sidgwick, Shadforth
Ireland: Davis
Norway: Torreson/Torsen/Torrison
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 11:42 GMT (UK) »
Good morning folks.

Come down off the naughty step ,Pat. Your interest is much appreciated and, as the old saying goes; 'time plays tricks'...... or have I just made that up....oh, I don't know.
Anyway, we're planning a couple of weeks in East Anglia this year with the caravan (apologies to following motorists), so a day or two in Ipswich checking the records office is on the cards now.
It's nice to know that the building may still be there. It's one of those things I suppose. Can't quite get my head round what she was doing there and what the 'set-up' at no.6 was. I need to see it for myself.
Thanks again, Pat and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Regards,
David.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 11:54 GMT (UK) »
Hi Greensleeves.

Thanks for the info - it has certainly shed a little light on what was going on in Annie's life in the 1890's.
When we visit Ipswich in the summer we may be able to fill in a few of the gaps and add a bit more detail. It'll be interesting, anyway.

Thanks again, Greensleeves and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Regards,
David.

ps: I checked out the Ipswich2006 link. Excellent. Thanks.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline coombs

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 12:15 GMT (UK) »
Hi

Was Annie from the Suffolk area or elsewhere? If her and the other residents were from other areas then could they have been in training as a drapers assistant there at No 6 Westgae Street?

Ben
Researching:

LONDON, Coombs, Roberts, Auber, Helsdon, Fradine, Morin, Goodacre
DORSET Coombs, Munday
NORFOLK Helsdon, Riches, Harbord, Budery
KENT Roberts, Goodacre
SUSSEX Walder, Boniface, Dinnage, Standen, Lee, Botten, Wickham, Jupp
SUFFOLK Titshall, Frost, Fairweather, Mayhew, Archer, Eade, Scarfe
DURHAM Stewart, Musgrave, Wilson, Forster
SCOTLAND Stewart in Selkirk
USA Musgrave, Saix
ESSEX Cornwell, Stock, Quilter, Lawrence, Whale, Clift
OXON Edgington, Smith, Inkpen, Snell, Batten, Brain

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 31 December 08 12:43 GMT (UK) »
Hello Ben.

Annie was, or appears to have been, something of a free spirit.
She was born in Gt. Bentley, Essex  the daughter of a pretty affluent farmer - servant, live-in-teacher, father was privately educated, etc..
She appears in Ipswich, at no.6 Westgate St., in 1891 and in a Leeds lodging house in 1901. Inbetween these dates she gives birth to 2 fatherless children who are adopted by a family in Earsham.

I wondered if she was sent to Ipswich as a young lady to learn the drapery trade, by her parents. But when you look at the '91 census return and see she was living with fortythree others at no.6, the culture-shock for her, as a previously privileged girl, must have been considerable.
Maybe that's why she sems to have 'gone off the rails'. Or maybe she was simply overwhelmed by events. Who knows?

I'm looking forward to the summer when I can actually go there and do some more research into her life.

Many thanks, Ben for your interest and a Happy New Year !

Regards,
David.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.