A House in Skirbeck

[Rochdalian]

Hi

John Henry Cooper died at 2 Drainside North, Skirbeck, Boston in 1910.  We've been looking for the address on Google maps and other places without luck.  Has anyone any ideas please about where the house is/was situated or has the street been renamed or disappeared altogether?

John Henry Cooper was Helen's g-grandfather and sometimes dropped the Henry.  We will be in the UK in June and thought we would make a trip to Boston but if we can't find the place there is less point I suppose

Thanks

Bob & Helen
Melbourne, Australia

[Ruskie]

Darinside North appears to be near Spilsby Road. I will see if I can narrow the location down a bit better. 

[Ruskie]

On Google maps if you locate Willoughby Rd and Spilsby Roads in Boston, the roads meet at a 'V'. Parallel with Willoughby Road is Horncastle Road. THe area in between those two roads was called Maud Foster Drain, so I'm wondering if Drainside is in this area?

[Ruskie]

Places mentioned in the 1901 census include:
Hospital Lane
Kitlings
Bede Row
Mardens Row
Drainside North
Intrepid Cottages
Willoughby Row
Willoughby House
Splisby Road

Spilsby Road still exists as does Hospital Lane, but I can't see to find Drainside North. There are still some older houses in the area, so if we can find the road we might get lucky and find the house. It has probably be renamed as you said - Drainside doesn't have a very nice ring to it, though looking at google maps it looks quite nice along the canal.

[tina morana]

I found Spilsby Rd at this site.
Tinam

http://www.draftfcb.com/holiday2011/

[Ruskie]

I've done a bit of googling and have seen a few mentions of the address "Drain Side, Willoughby Row, Skirbeck". So I'm wondering if Drain Side was part of Willoughby Row. Might Willoughby Road (on today's map) have once been called Willoughby Row. It does run alongside the canal. I would need to recheck, but I wonder if your house may have been near where Spilsby Road meets Willoughby Road. Unfortunately it looks like there are some new buildings at that end of Willoughby - not sure where No.2 would have been.

[Redroger]

From what has been posted so far on this thread, and my own residence in Boston, now over 40 years back, I am fairly certain that it would be in the vicinity of the Maud Foster Drain, but the reference to Skirbeck concerns me somewhat as regards Willoughby Road area. When was this part incorporated into the borough, and was it part of Skirbeck prior to its incorporation? Though on a small scale, the map in Phillimore's guide to parishes suggests to me that the neighbouring parish to Boston was most likely to have been Sibsey.

[Ruskie]

I don't know RR. On the maps I've looked at Skirbeck is marked in the vicinity of the intersection of Spilsby and Willoughby Roads. I have no idea of parishes. For some odd reason I can't get onto old maps at the moment. I think that the 1905/6 map of the area I looked at yesterday showed a different name for Willoughby Road. If that is the case, then I can't work out where Willoughby Row or Drainside were located. An educated guess is the best I can do (but I have no local knowledge whatsoever). Do you have any ideas RR?

Bob and Helen, where was John Cooper living in 1901? Do you have census references? Were his family still living in Drainside in 1911? If so, do you have their names? I am wondering if they lived nearby Drainside even if elsewhere. Knowing where may help to locate Drainside.

If you have the time, my opinion is that it would still be worth venturing to the area where your ancestor's lived and died, even if you are unable to narrow down the exact house/s. You will at least get a feel for the place. Maybe you could find John's grave and visit it? Will you be hiring a car?

[Rochdalian]

Thank you very much everybody who has contributed so far

Now, to answer your questions Ruskie.  We have not been able to find John (Henry) Cooper on the 1901 census anywhere in England.  We are assuming he doesn't appear on the 1901 census because he didn't want to be found.   John left his wife and family in Australia in 1895 ostensibly to visit family around Leicestershire and Rutland. There is a lot more to the story of course but basically he was 'running away'   We have no idea how he ended up in the Boston area as his siblings all seemed to reside around Melton and Sewstern.  We have checked the address on both the 1901 & 1911 census and it is the same widow as head that reported the death and it appears to have been some kind of boarding house.

I am pretty certain we will visit and, as you say, get a feel of the place.  And yes we certainly will be using a hire car.

Thanks for your help and interest.

B & H