Heaton Lodge – Not an Ancestral home – Part 6 – James North Lane

Around this time a portrait was made of the Lodge by William Alexander Ansted (1859-1948) of the Suffolk school. It is still extant as far as I know and in private hands, being sold at auction in the mid noughties.

James North Lane is the next person coming to live in Heaton Lodge. He was the son of James Lane and Elizabeth North who were hoteliers. In 1841 they were running the Globe Inn by the Cathedral in Exeter, and in 1861 the White Lion on the High Street in Bath, James and Elizabeth made their fortune and retired to live in Wraenie Villa in Colwyn Bay.

The Globe Inn, and White Lion Inn (Exeter and Bath Museum Services)

For once we have solid middle class stock coming to live at the house. James North Lane was born in Exeter at the Globe.By 1861 he is an Insurance surveyor, but in 1859 later he is Secretary of the Royal Insurance company, living in Nailsea, near Bristol

He has a particular USP which is needed by the millowners of Manchester and Stockport, he has seen the beneficial effect of water sprinklers in the USA on quenching mill fires before they get out of control and by 1881 he has come to Manchester living at High Bank in Didsbury as General Manager of the Manchester and General Mutual Fire Insurance Corporation. Insurance premiums were greatly reduced if sprinklers were installed, and James insisted that they were. This gave benefits all round, fewer fires and more business for the Manchester General

He has married Fanny Ellen Pocock in 1863 in Somerset, and by December 1890 they are at Heaton Lodge (one of James’ sons , Philip Hardwick Lane, is reported lost at sea on the Talookdar in the South Atlantic). They appear there on the 1891 census. Although the family is visiting in London in the 1901 census, the electoral roll still shows James and Fanny living at Heaton Lodge.

James North Lane – The International Insurance Encyclopedia 1910

The Manchester and General have by now merged with the Commercial Union and James is the manager of the accident department. However, by 1903 the family have moved to London as Mayor Harrop is penning letters to the newspapers from Heaton Lodge. It is therefore possible that they were in the middle of such a move in 1901 (indeed the Manchester Guardian of 29 June 1901 advertises Heaton Lodge for sale, stating it has a frontage to the Didsbury Road of 185 yards (169m) ) and James and Fanny are last recorded living at 32 Alleyn Park, Dulwich. James death is reported there in the London Morning Post of 27 March 1906.

James and Fanny had 12 children between 1865 and 1886. Six of them are shown as living at Heaton Lodge in the 1891 census: Edith Mary, Arthur Vere, Florence Maud Mary, Hugh Septimus, Lilian Mary, and Constance Vere , along with Fanny’s sister who is reported as being sick. Although befitting the gardens we have seen described, a gardener and his family are living in the Lodge in 1891, by 1901, the business man needs an Insurance Messenger on hand, and Mr Hacking has that role, living in the Lodge.

Florence Maud lane married David McLure of West Bank House at St John Heaton Mersey in 1898 and on 20 August 1890 Mabel Francis married Charles Edwin Albrecht of Hamburg also at St John. Edith Mary married Arthur James Murgatroyd on 6 September 1894 and went to live at Oak Lea on Chester Road in Hazel Grove.

Copyright 2019-2023 Allan Russell

Heaton Lodge – Not an Ancestral home – Part 5 – Charles Lings

Heaton Lodge on the 1895 OS Map – it is to the right of Highfield, just at the end of what is now Mauldeth Road. In today’s terms just in the gardens of 18-24 Lodge Court and beyond.

I have Barry Collinson of the Heaton Mersey History Group to thank for this post. He kindly supplied some newspaper articles on Heaton Lodge, and in them was an obituary for Charles Lings of Heaton Lodge. I had seen it before, but assumed it was a stray Lingard and a misprint. However, then I noticed the date, which didnt make sense for Lingards and started searching. As he had not lived at the lodge over the census return periods, I looked for other Lings in the area, and started piecing together a fuller picture.

Charles Lings was born to George Lings (1785-1851) and Sarah Browning in January 1818 in Manchester. As with the Barrs we are looking at a family of non conformists, but whilst not poor it looks like a family that hauled itself up the social scale.

Sarah Lings (1784-1853) ended her days as an Annuitant, so it would seem that George did make a fortune. In 1851 Charles is living in Ducie Street, Manchester, and is described as a Bookkeeper. He married Mary Ann Scott in Huyton in 1845 and in 1851 they are living in Milton Street in Broughton. He is now a Cotton Spinners Cashier and Accountant, and it is this noble and shamefully underrated profession that gives him his eventual wealth.

Twenty years later, he has come into contact with William Houldsworth of Reddish, owner of the Mill. He becomes his right hand man and go to business and commercial expert, earning enough money to set up house at Shawbrook Villa, Burnage

Shawbrook Villa, Burnage Library Services

William Houldsworth described Charles at a bazaar in Reddish in 1893 It was about thirty years since he paid his first visit to Reddish Green, accompanied by his late valued partner, Mr. Charles Lings. This suggests his partnership started in the early 1860s, he was of such value to Houldsworth that he set up a second mill in Reddish next to the Houldsworth Mill in partnership with Charles, and his son, George Scott Lings in 1870. By the 1890s they were looking to the USA and George Scott Lings made several trips to New York, setting up a cotton business there and eventually marrying and naturalising as an American citizen.

Charles Lings moved to Heaton Lodge around 1886. This leaves a gap of at least six years where we know it was not inhabited by Julia Barr. She was living at Seymour villa in 1881, and may have moved sooner.

However, Charles only had a couple of years at Heaton Lodge, he died in 1888 at Heaton Lodge at it was once more put up for sale.

“Heaton Mersey – To be let of Sold, that most desirable residence known as Heaton Lodge, for many years in the occupation of the late Mr Charles Lings. The house which is beautifully situated and comands extensive views is within eight minutes walk of the Heaton Mersey Station, and contains dining , drawing and morning rooms, and an exceptionally fine billiard room, nine bedrooms, dressing room, cloak room , vestibule,lavatories & servants hall, two staircases, laundry and all the usual offices, heating apparatus to warm hall and billiard room, with capital cellars; beautifully laid out grounds, planted with well grown shrubs and trees,; excellent entrance lodge, good kitchen garden, well stocked conservatory, hothouses, puts, potting house and extensive vineries. The outbuildings are most convenient, consisting of stabling for four horses loose box coach house &c, together with capital cottage for coachman. For cards to view and further particulars, apply to Mr Arthur Lings, 24 Kennedy Street , Manchester“

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 11 August 1888

I can vouch for the vineries, they were still there, albeit dilapidated , in the early 1970s. Heaton Mersey is the new station, but I would argue with an eight minute walk, especially as we shall see in a future post that the Lodge entrance was at the St Winifred’s end.

That the advert says it had been for many years in the occupation of Charles Lings may indicate that he was in residence there beforehand, which would make sense, however, he only appears on the electoral roll in 1886 at Heaton Lodge.

Arthur Lings was Thomas Lings son, Charles’ brother.

Charles’ family was a big one, George and Sarah Lings had 12 children. Two did not survive infancy and one died aged 21

Thomas Lings (1820-1899) married Maria Davis and then Elizabeth and had two children, one of whom Arthur was the above solicitor. They lived at Beech House in Northenden, he worked as a rates comptroller at Manchester council

Joseph Richard (1824-1898) married Ann Plant, and became a mill overseer, he lived at Osborne Villa on Barlow Moor Road.

James Lings (1829-1911) was a successful director of a cotton manufacturer, Sir E Armitage and sons, and lived also on Barlow Moor Road at number 150. He married Ellen.

Mary Lings (1810-1875) married William Goodier and lived in Liverpool.

William Lings (1815-1893) became a Calico Printer’s agent, and lived on Yew Tree Lane, a couple of doors along from his brother Thomas.

Charles Lings’ children were as successful as their father. As we have seen George Scott Lings (1848-1935) ran the American side of the business, marrying Louise Mary Hughes Hicks in Manhattan in 1911, they lived in Rockland , New York, and after her death in 1830 he moved to Summit Union in New Jersey, before returning to England and passing away in Bucklow at the end of 1935.

Charles Scott Lings (1849-1899) ran the UK and European side of the business, expanding into France.

Charles Scott was educated privately and then at Cambridge before working alongside his father at Houldsworth mill, and in 1882 became Managing Director of the mill.

In 1897 he founded the Fine Spinners and Doublers Association which was an umbrella for the Manchester Cotton Mills, it was a mammoth undertaking in terms of finance and organisation to bring all these companies together, and he took sole responsibility for the flotation – raising £4m – the equivalent of over £500m in todays money. It enabled the Manchester companies to act in union in production and sales. This became an FT 30 company , only disappearing when it was taken over by Courtaulds in the 1950s

In his private life he was a member of Reddish council, and president of the Reddish Working Mens Conservative Association, and a JP for Lancaster. He travelled extensively and held a master mariners certificate.

Charles Scott Lings

In the next part we will learn of James North Lane, and how he helped remove the risk of fire in the mills.

Copyright Allan Russell 2019-2023

Heaton Lodge – Not an Ancestral home – Interlude – For Weddings or a Funeral?

The thing about researching this is you chance on something and no matter what it is you cant get an explanation, so it will be perhaps forever shrouded in mystery.

If we go back to Roger Rowson Lingard and the Marslands who seem to pop up all over the place, they popped up on the 31 March 1851 at the Albion Hotel in Chester. At first I thought it may be a wedding, but I cant find any Lingards or Marslands being married in Chester, it’s unlikely to be a funeral, they were too short notice, and people have travelled great distances. Baptisms would have not been the rowdy affairs they deteriorate in today.

The only thing I can think of is a trial or a conference. Did they have conferences in those days? There are a few solicitor types in the adjoining houses, so it has something to do with solicitors I think. However, beyond that I am flummoxed, and it will have to stay a mystery The Druggist probably just happened to be there.

The Albion Hotel was on lower Bridge Street in Chester, Parry’s Railway companion of 1848 said it was a “respectable hotel”, whilst the 1856 Stranger’s Guide to Chester and environs effused:

…that first class establishment, the ALBION HOTEL. This house has no superior in the city; for while of handsome external proportions its interior arrangements have all been conceived with especial regard to the comford and convenience of visitors. The Assembly room is the largest in the city ; the other rooms are light and lofty ; in short under the zealous superintendence of Mr and Mrs Chambers, none who once make acquaintance with the ALBION will ever sigh for better or more comfortable quarters. Behind the hotel are extensive pleasure grounds , as well as a verdant and spacious Bowling green, to which there is a carriage entrance from Park Street.

I guess that’s a five star review then. Dont rush, the Albion that is in Chester now may or may not be the same one.

Anyway, what were they doing. Here is the guest list

Postscript.

Mystery solved. Jill Trumble of Stockport Heritage group tells me they were probably there for the Chester assizes. These I didn’t know about, they were quarterly court sessions where the most serious crimes were tried. Richard Boughey Monk was prosecuting a burglary at Simonswood where the miscreants had shot a farmer in his mouth when he opened his door. He suffered horrific disfigurement but survived.

The Birkenhead riots were also tried here. Locals were demonstrating against navvies being brought in from Ireland and several outbreaks of violence occurred between 1850 and 1851, resulting in armed police being brought in.

Thomas Marsland was there in his role of high sherrif for the assizes.

It explains the preponderance of silk around the hotel and adjoining streets and is a useful insight into the day to day work of the Lingard and Marsland families.

It is also a human touch to see that some brought along their wives and relatives, the ladies I guess wanted to shop in upmarket Chester, to get the latest fashions.

It would have been a difficult journey, the railway did not connect Stockport and Chester until around 5 years later. It was probably made by horse or Stagecoach. But as they were there for the duration they clearly made it into a family occasion.

It was certainly good business for the hoteliers and the newspapers as this advertisement says.

My pun in the title then was wrong. Perhaps Court in the act or given the riots in Liverpool Scallies of Justice. I’ll get my coat.

Copyright Allan Russell 2019

Heaton Lodge – Not an Ancestral home – Part 4 – William Roby Barr

Part one is here, outlining the outline of inhabitants, part two about the Lingards and part three on the Marshalls

After the death of Maria Marshall the House was once again up for sale. It was bought around 1870 by William Roby Barr. In 1868 William is shown as living at Norris Bank House in Heaton Norris, this was on what is now Didsbury Road out of Stockport before you reached the top of the hill at Bank Hall. However, as we saw in part two, William married one of the Eskrigge family, Julia, who lived at West Bank house. He obviously wished to consolidate this and move next to his inlaws, and in 1870 he is shown as a resident of Heaton Lodge. This was a power marriage as the Eskrigges had both millowning and civic connections, as well as being nonconformist liberals.

William is the first occupant for whom we have an image

William Roby Barr, Stockport Library Services

He came from a family of Scottish nonconformists, and his grandfather Matthew Barr was a silk weaver in Manchester in 1799. William’s father, Nathaniel, was born on 30 December 1798 in Manchester, and he married Ann Carruthers at St John on Deansgate, Manchester in 1830. By 1832 he is living on Caygill Street in Manchester (which is now near Trinity Way) and describes himself as a Salesman. In 1841 they have moved to upmarket Burlington Street and he is now styled as a Merchant.

William was the first of three children, born on 29 December 1831 and baptised at Grosvenor Street chapel. He married Julia Adelina Eskrigge in 1856 in Stockport.

This puts him into partnership with the Eskrigge family of West Bank, His brothers in law, Thomas and William Linton Eskrigge, give him powerful connections and by 1860 he is appointed an overseer of the poor for Stockport. By 1864 he is running first Newbridge Lane, then Park Mills in Stockport (which has just suffered a devastating explosion under Henry Marsland’s ownership) The description of this gives an insight to the hazardous conditions under which the millworkers had to carry out their duties:

“At about quarter after five o’clock on Monday afternoon the boiler suddenly burst with a very loud noise. The boiler was lifted from its bed and carried the whole length of the quadrangle, and it struck the six story mill with such violence as to pass through the wall which was 2 feet 4 inches (71cm) thick. The consquence was that very nearly the whole front line of the building carrying with it the floors for about almost one half their breadth. The works in the other buildings were instantly stopped, the men rushed into the yard and in a few minutes made and attempt to get out some of the unfortunate creatures who were buried in the ruins. Three men , who were the only persons on either of the three lower floors at the time of the explostion, were got out very shortly after an organised attempt was able to be made to scale the ruins; none of these men were seriously hurt, as the bricks and rubbish formed a gradual slope up to the third or fourth floor, some of the firemen and others scrambled up and got out a number of men who were only slightly covered or were so much frightened to have lost their presence of mind.. But when these efforts had been continued for six or eight minutes, a dense smoke rose from the ruins and the whole spot was instantly enveloped in flames.“

Bells Life, 23 March 1851

Amazingly only twenty were killed. This was not a one off event, earlier that month there had been a boiler explosion in Riga Street in Manchester. That time the mill owner was found guilty of manslaughter. In this case a verdict of accidental death was recorded, and recommendations made for the strenghtening of the boilers in future. Henry Marsland was luckier than his workers, or perhaps had more influence in Stockport.

The danger of fire was ever present. In April 1871, Eskrigge and Barrs Park Mill was again engulfed by fire, and although no one was killed this time, there was £18,000 of damage -about £2.1m in todays money. The next but one inhabitant of Heaton Lodge would solve this issue.

William’s connections serve him well, and in 1865 he is asked to be Mayor of Stockport. In 1863 John Eskrigge had been mayor, and in 1864 it was William Linton Eskrigge’s turn.

John and William Linton Eskrigge – Stockport Library Services

The Eskrigges were an old Stockport family, their seat for 200 years was Hollywood House, they originated from near Lancaster. William Linton’s politics were Free Trade, and it was he who lobbied for the statue of Cobden to be erected in St Peter’s Square in Stockport. Thomas Eskrigge Senior met James Kershaw in 1841 in Warrington and they set up Mersey and India Mills as grass was growing in Heaton Lane in 1841 and Stockport was “to let” Thomas Junior took over the business from him, and he retired to Marple. On the way he married Sir Ralph Pendleburys stepdaughter. Like his brother he was a staunch Liberal and nonconformist.

William Barr assumed the mayoralty after his Brothers In Law, he created a stir when he was the first mayor not to attend services at St Mary, using his own church instead.

As well as a businessman and public servant he also turned his hand to academic matters in the way that the Victorians often did, and was a member of the Royal Geological Society and frequent contributer to the Manchester Geographical Society, publishing a paper on the Quartenary Deposits of the Mersey

After Heaton Lodge he moved to Fernside in Cheadle Hulme and died in July 1875 aged only 43 there. His wife moved to Seymour Villa, 16 Priestnall Road, moving down the road to number 4, shortly before her death in 1905, aged 72.

William had one brother and one sister, his brother Joseph Henry Barr followed the family tradition by marrying into the Eskrigges, and wed Julia’s sister Ann. He became a General Practitioner living on Ardwick Green in Manchester and then in Brighouse before dying in Stockport aged 51 in 1889

Joanna, his sister lived on her wealth and never married, although she did not marry an Eskrigge, she lived with her sister in law Julia for the last 20 years of her life, dying in 1907 aged 73. She is buried at Willow Grove cemetery in Reddish

William and Julia had three children, Charles Eskrigge, George Frederick and Ernest Edward.

Charles Eskrigge Barr was born in 1861 and married into a Scottish nonconformist family, marrying Isabella Williamina Butters Adam in 1871. He was listed as a Bleachers Foreman in Stockport in 1891, before moving to Bolton where he managed a Calico Bleachworks. He died around 1942 in Wallasey near Liverpool, leaving £3,877

George Frederick Barr, born 1863 trained in the administration side of cotton, being a cashier in a cotton mill in 1901 before becoming a cotton salesman. He died at 56 Mersey Road, Heaton Mersey in 1911

Ernest Edward Barr (1881-1916) also became a cotton salesman. He married Rosa Howard in 1895, and plied his trade selling cotton in Derbyshire, living at Goyt Bank. He is buried along with his aunt, Joanna at Willow Grove.

Like the Marshalls before them, their wealth was only fleeting.

Copyright Allan Russell 2019-2023