An Illicit Still in Gertrude Street Sheffield - May 1880

 

This cutting is from the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent dated 15th May 1880 and refers to the discovery of an illicit still in Gertrude Street which was off Infirmary Road in Sheffield

On the face of it it is just another case of common criminality that was rife in late Victorian Britain and also demonstrated the keenness of the authorities to disrupt activities of this nature.

But the reason why I posted this article on the blog was because the Isabella Buckley who appeared before the magistrates in this case also features in an article I posted to the website many years ago

The article was entitles "Alleged Violence in a Sheffield School 1878" and refers to the death of a schoolgirl who was also called Isabella Buckley. The Isabella Buckley that was involved in the illicit still was the grandmother of Isabella who died two years earlier. Her son Robert was the father of the dead girl.

The case caused quite a furore at the time and I am still not convinced with how the case was conducted. Here is the link to the article  

Donald Morton's 9th Birthday Card - Northfield Road Crookes Sheffield

 This card appeared on a well known auction site in February 2020. Of course that was a month before a series of measures were introduced by the UK government which will have repercussions long after I leave this mortal coil

It is from his Aunty Ethel and Uncle Harry on the occasion of Master Donald Morton's 9th Birthday Card at 121 Northfield Road Crookes Sheffield. It is postmarked Sheffield 15th February 1939 and the cost of the postage was 1 old penny

The house is still there in fact I passed it today - it just up from the Jet Petrol Station on Northfield Road

Here are a few details of the family from BMD and Ancestry - the dob of Donald would mean that the card was sent a month after his birth date

Births Mar 1930   

Morton Donald Johnson Sheffield 9c 778

Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page 

Parents Marriages Sep 1924   

Johnson Laura A Morton Ecclesall B. 9c 806   

Morton Fred Johnson Ecclesall B. 9c 806

Birth 12 Jan 1930 • United Kingdom 

Birth of Brother Brian Morton(1935–2007) 12 Jul 1935 • Sheffield

Residence 1939 • Yorkshire (West Riding), England Marital Status: Single

Marriage Oct 1955 • Huddersfield, Yorkshire West Riding, United Kingdom

Death of Mother Laura A Johnson(1905–1970) Mar 1970 • Sheffield, Yorkshire West Riding, England

Death of Father Fred Morton(1903–1973) 03 Dec 1973 • Sheffield, Yorkshire, England

Death Jul 1990 • Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page 

Births Mar 1925  

Morton Fred Johnson Ecclesall B. 9c 728 28 Dec 1924 - died 2005   

Births Dec 1926  Morton Gladys Johnson Sheffield 9c 831

Died 22 Oct 1926 • 69 Ravencarr rd, Sheffield

Births Sep 1931  Morton Margaret Johnson Sheffield 9c 753

Births Sep 1935  Morton Brian Johnson Sheffield 9c 651

12 Jul 1935

Name

Donald Morton Birth 12/01/1930 Death 07/1990 Sheffield South Yorkshire England

 
 

The Death of Harry Blackhurst Southey Sheffield - December 1932

 In Sheffield's Shiregreen Cemetery, there is a family grave that is recorded on the excellent Sheffield Indexers site

BLACKHURST, Annie Maria (Widow, age 76).     Died at Royal Hospital; Buried on April 15, 1958 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield. Parent or Next of Kin if Available: ~. Remarks: Removed from Basegreen. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 28

BLACKHURST, Henry (Son of James Hill, age 16). Died at 45 Gressingham Road; Buried on December 15, 1932 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

BLACKHURST, James Hall Williamson (Engineer, age 59). Died at 45 Everingham Road; Buried on October 17, 1935 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

WOLSTENHOLME, Albert Eric (son of Albert, age 2). Died at 1 Wordsworth Crescent; Buried on March 7, 1940 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

The Guardian dated 14th December 1932 carried a report of an inquest into the death of the son Henry (Harry) Blackhurst age 16 who died on the previous Saturday. The verdict was accidental death but given the circumstances of his death the verdict should have been death due to inadequate education!!

The Opening of Tinsley Park Golf Club Sheffield - Saturday 17th July 1920

The following article is from The Scotsman dated Monday 19th July 1920 and refers to the opening of Tinsley Park Golf Club Sheffield on Saturday 17th July 1920

Henry and Emily Swan - Walkley Sheffield

 I have just received from the author the following book

John Ruskin’s faithful stewards, Henry and Emily Swan, made a practical success of an educational ideal. They were the curators of Ruskin’s art-treasures at St George’s Museum, in Walkley. Local metal-workers and visitors from across the world were greeted with courtesy, enthusiasm, and deep knowledge.

In the first biography of the Swans ever to be published, Stuart Eagles digs into the archives to reveal the fascinating story of a couple who embraced Quakerism, vegetarianism and spiritualism. Born in Devizes, Wiltshire, Henry moved with his parents to London. In a life of extraordinary energy and innovation, he became a writing engraver, devised the ‘Regent Method’  of musical notation to teach singing, embraced spelling reform, learned shorthand, and printed some of Isaac Pitman’s publications. An early adopter of the bicycle, he sought to make boomerang-throwing an athletic sport. He was among the first students at the London Working Men’s College, where he met Ruskin, and copied illuminated manuscripts for him.

But it was in the world of stereoscopy, a form of 3D photography, that Swan first made his mark. He invented the ‘Clairvoyant’, a hand-held stereoscope. Then he patented the ‘crystal-cube miniature’,  a self-contained, hand-coloured 3D portrait which he marketed through his Casket Portrait Co.

Crucially, Henry and Emily Swan were two of Ruskin’s most dedicated and consequential disciples. Together they helped shape both Sheffield’s cultural heritage and Ruskin’s enduring legacy.

Stuart has a dedicated website that is well worth visiting 

Air Raid Precautions Sheffield - April 1937

 This cutting is from the Daily Independent dated 17th April 1937 

I was surprised when I first saw this as I was always under the impression that Britain in general and Sheffield in particular were not fully prepared for was in the summer of 1939.

But this article contradicts that viewpoint but you cannot help thinking that Britain was extremely nervous about the impact of enemy air raids and the causalities that would entail from such raids.

This was the prevailing thinking throughout the Thirties and stems from the British PM Stanley Baldwin

"The bomber will always get through" was a phrase used by Stanley Baldwin in a 1932 speech "A Fear for the Future" given to the British Parliament. His speech stated that contemporary bomber aircraft had the performance necessary to conduct a strategic bombing campaign that would destroy a country's cities and there was little that could be done in response"

Resurrection Day Service - Walkley Cemetery Sheffield - 9th April 1939

Walkley Cemetery Sheffield - 27th October 2012

Resurrection Day Services were not that common in the United Kingdom but it appears that the first one to be held in Walkley was in 1902. Traditionally associated with the Easter period and the Resurrection of Christ the service also had another purpose. Taking place in a cemetery it was an opportunity for attendees to celebrate the lives of their family and friends in that particular cemetery, whose graves they dressed with flowers. And such activities meant that the cemeteries would avoid falling into neglect  

As stated above the Rev Sydney T.G. Smith of St Mary’s Church, Walkley, conducted the first Resurrection Day Service in the Walkley Cemetery on Easter Sunday 1902. Five years later research found an official count of 12,764 people attending the Walkley Resurrection Day Service

Thirty two years later over 5000 were still attending the Resurrection Day Service in the Cemetery

Walkley Cemetery Sheffield - 9th April 1939

The Resurrection Day Service was still in existence in 1950 This cutting is from the Yorkshire Post dated 9th April 1950

I am unsure when the annual Resurrection Day Services came to an end in Walkley 

Golf in Sheffield - May 1925 - The State of Play

 I came across this in the Sheffield Daily Independent Daily Independent dated Friday 22nd May 1925

I was considering expanding this article as it had some interesting points about the history of golf in Sheffield. But when I had a look I found this excellent site that covers the origins of municipal golf in Sheffield in a most comprehensive manner     

A Frightful Death of Emma Memmott - Sheffield - August 1856

 A report from Manchester Times (Manchester, England), Saturday, August 9, 1856; 

FRIGHTFUL DEATH AT SHEFFIELD 

Shortly before eleven o'clock on Monday morning, a frightful accident occurred at the silver-plating works of Messrs. Wm Hutton & Sons, High Street, Sheffield. The unfortunate victim of the casualty is a girl named Emma Memmott, age 13 years who was employed to assist in the various occupations of the works. A few moments before eleven o'clock she was engaged at a lathe making up some finished articles when a shaft, which runs underneath the lathe, caught her dress. The place where she was caught was at the coupling point, and so firm was the hold which had been taken. that her efforts to disentangle herself were fruitless. She screamed aloud and a man named Birks, who was at work close by, ran to her assistance. 

A strong iron bar which had been placed in front of the lather had enabled her to withstand the drawing of the shaft and Birks who took hold of her, feeling that she was dragged from his grasp, called lustily for assistance and for the engine to be stopped. In another moment however the poor girl was dragged from his arms, the strong iron bar bent, and the body literally twisted around the shaft, which was revolving at the rate of 300 times a minute. It was about a minute before the engine was stopped and then the mangled corpse was shocking to be looked upon. Though it was presently known that the girl was dead, yet the men who extricated her from the shaft hurried her to the Infirmary but the attention of the surgeon was fruitless. 

A truly horrifying death and Emma was just 13 years old

The Sad Story of Sheffield's "Starfish" Sites at Strines End and Grindleford

 These two pages are from a book I read years ago called Trojan Horses that dealt with deception and misdirection in wartime. On pages 130 and 131 there is a section on what were known as Starfish sites and it makes particular reference to the events in the Sheffield area in the summer and autumn of 1940.

I was not aware of the dismantling of the site and of course you are always left wondering if the fatalities and destruction that occurred on the nights of 13the and 15th December 1940 would have be less had the site remained active.

Dewsbury Woman Cured by Doan's Backache Kidney Pills - December 1903

 This advertisement is from The News dated 11th December 1903 and I must admit it made smile. In fact I thought if you altered the arrangement of  just two words you may get nearer the truth in our household! Needless being the person I am I kept these thoughts to myself for obvious reasons

Anyway thankfully Mrs H Walker of 15 East Parade Dewsbury was cured by taking Doan's Backache Kidney pills

I have tried to locate East Parade in Dewsbury but have had no success. The BNA goes no further than 1952 but one cutting I did find was of interest. I wonder if she knew of Mrs Walker 

 Of course Miss Boothroyd was to have what can only be described as an interesting life