Family History
Moderator: andysfootball
Family History
Hello, I am researching my family history and note that some of my relatives (The Days) used to live at 303 John Williamson Street in 1945. It would be great to hear from anyone who knew them (Philip Anthony, Jane Elizabeth and their daughters Toni and Victoria Ann) or to get any information about what life was like there back then. Many thanks.
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Kellan
- Motor Mouth
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:12 pm
- Location: Not 231 John Williamson Street anymore
Re: Family History
My avatar shows 231 John Williamson Street where I was born in 1953 - I don't remember the Days but my older brother (Pooter) may. The community was close knit and the area well served by the shops of Frederick Street and Laygate. The houses unfortunately were slums - only a cold water tap, no bathroom and an outside toilet. Still it did me no harm!
Re: Family History
The name Vicky Day rings a bell perhaps she went to Barnes Road school but I can't be sure. Number 303 was in the next block to ours. Barnes Road was the infants and juniors schools you went to if you lived in our street.
When you look at old maps of the town, John Williamson Street was probably amongst the longest streets of terraced houses in South Shields. As Kellan says we lived at 231 and I had two school friends, one who lived at 79 and one at 527 or thereabouts. The street stretched from Laygate Lane, low numbers, to Dean Road, high numbers, on the way to Tyne Dock.
The street was split up into blocks and I can remember that number 79 was in the second block and 231 was in the third block of houses. The first three blocks were on the level, then the street climbed quite steeply to the junction with Barnes Road. The street then went level for a short distance and then there was a slight decline to where it came to Dean Road. The whole street was cobbled with dark grey cobblestones. The street was lit by gaslights until the 1960s. There were four gaslights in our block, two in the middle and two at the end on opposite sides of the street.
Despite being a terrace the houses (or uni-flats in modern estate agents speak) themselves could be quite different. I am not sure how long it took to build the street, but by the 1881 census only numbers up to about 176 were shown as having been built. The front doors on our side of the road were grouped in fours in our block. The two outer doors were downstairs flats and the two inner upstairs flats. We lived in an upstairs flat. Our flat, 231, was entered by the front door where you were faced by the stairs up to a small landing. At the top there was a door in front of you as the stairs carried on straight down to the back door and the backyard. You turned right to enter the living room which had a very small scullery off to the left where there was just room for a cooker, sink and cold water tap. There were two other rooms which we used as bedrooms as there were three children. One was off the living room at the back and the other was a larger room at the front just off the landing, where I slept with my two brothers.
When you went through the front door of a downstairs flat like 233 you entered a passage which took you into the living room. On the right just before the living room was a door to the front bedroom. Through the living room you would come to a small scullery with a sink and cold water tap and then through to the backroom which was normally used as another bedroom. There would be a door opposite the scullery to the backyard which was shared with the upstairs flat. For example, we shared with number 233. The backyard which was paved had a wash house, which had a built in copper and grate for a fire, a shared toilet, and two coal houses. The backyard had a door which lead out into the back lane. The back lane ran the length of the street and we played all our games of football and cricket there. On Mondays the lane was filled with washing hanging out to dry.
The flat at number 79 where my friend lived was designed differently. You entered through the front door went up the stairs and then came to a wall on the landing. There were two rooms to your right. One room was the living room and the other which overlooked the front was the bedroom. Through the living room you came to the scullery and the backstairs to the backyard. There was no back bedroom nor was there any running water in the house. My friend shared a bedroom with his parents and got cold water from a tap in the backyard until they were re-housed by the council in 1965, when he was 14. On the opposite side of the street some of the even numbers were grouped in twos and had attics.
As our block was relatively short compared to the others we had no corner shops. However the second block had two shops. One shop in the middle of the block , in the 1960s, dealt in second hand goods, mostly clothes, I remember buying cheap comics from there. The corner shop, with Reed Street, which was called Dixons was a small grocers run by Mrs Dixon. The corner shop we used was on the corner of the next block and Bertram Street. It was run by Mrs Marr and was called latterly Pertels. This shop had a bakery on the premises and although fairly small they baked bread, cakes and pies. One of their specialities was ‘pies and peas’ we would take a basin and ask for six pennorth of peas and gravy and 4 pies. At the top of the next block, with Barnes Road, each corner had a shop on it including a post office. I remember in the early 60s that you had the choice of 5 fish and chip shops within easy walking distance of our house. We used Atkinsons on the corner of Marshall Wallis Road. Chips were 4d in winter and 6d in the summer when the new potatoes came in.
There were a couple of churches close by the Wesley Chapel and the Gospel Temple were on the corners of Fredrick Street and Bertram Street. The nearest Church of England church was St. Judes where we were christened.
They began demolishing the first block of John Williamson Street in the early 60s. The residents, including my friend , were moved to new council houses in Biddick Hall. Our block was not demolished until the late 70s. Only the last block remains, the street has been replaced with a road through from Tyne Dock to Laygate and down Western Approach to the Market Place.
When you look at old maps of the town, John Williamson Street was probably amongst the longest streets of terraced houses in South Shields. As Kellan says we lived at 231 and I had two school friends, one who lived at 79 and one at 527 or thereabouts. The street stretched from Laygate Lane, low numbers, to Dean Road, high numbers, on the way to Tyne Dock.
The street was split up into blocks and I can remember that number 79 was in the second block and 231 was in the third block of houses. The first three blocks were on the level, then the street climbed quite steeply to the junction with Barnes Road. The street then went level for a short distance and then there was a slight decline to where it came to Dean Road. The whole street was cobbled with dark grey cobblestones. The street was lit by gaslights until the 1960s. There were four gaslights in our block, two in the middle and two at the end on opposite sides of the street.
Despite being a terrace the houses (or uni-flats in modern estate agents speak) themselves could be quite different. I am not sure how long it took to build the street, but by the 1881 census only numbers up to about 176 were shown as having been built. The front doors on our side of the road were grouped in fours in our block. The two outer doors were downstairs flats and the two inner upstairs flats. We lived in an upstairs flat. Our flat, 231, was entered by the front door where you were faced by the stairs up to a small landing. At the top there was a door in front of you as the stairs carried on straight down to the back door and the backyard. You turned right to enter the living room which had a very small scullery off to the left where there was just room for a cooker, sink and cold water tap. There were two other rooms which we used as bedrooms as there were three children. One was off the living room at the back and the other was a larger room at the front just off the landing, where I slept with my two brothers.
When you went through the front door of a downstairs flat like 233 you entered a passage which took you into the living room. On the right just before the living room was a door to the front bedroom. Through the living room you would come to a small scullery with a sink and cold water tap and then through to the backroom which was normally used as another bedroom. There would be a door opposite the scullery to the backyard which was shared with the upstairs flat. For example, we shared with number 233. The backyard which was paved had a wash house, which had a built in copper and grate for a fire, a shared toilet, and two coal houses. The backyard had a door which lead out into the back lane. The back lane ran the length of the street and we played all our games of football and cricket there. On Mondays the lane was filled with washing hanging out to dry.
The flat at number 79 where my friend lived was designed differently. You entered through the front door went up the stairs and then came to a wall on the landing. There were two rooms to your right. One room was the living room and the other which overlooked the front was the bedroom. Through the living room you came to the scullery and the backstairs to the backyard. There was no back bedroom nor was there any running water in the house. My friend shared a bedroom with his parents and got cold water from a tap in the backyard until they were re-housed by the council in 1965, when he was 14. On the opposite side of the street some of the even numbers were grouped in twos and had attics.
As our block was relatively short compared to the others we had no corner shops. However the second block had two shops. One shop in the middle of the block , in the 1960s, dealt in second hand goods, mostly clothes, I remember buying cheap comics from there. The corner shop, with Reed Street, which was called Dixons was a small grocers run by Mrs Dixon. The corner shop we used was on the corner of the next block and Bertram Street. It was run by Mrs Marr and was called latterly Pertels. This shop had a bakery on the premises and although fairly small they baked bread, cakes and pies. One of their specialities was ‘pies and peas’ we would take a basin and ask for six pennorth of peas and gravy and 4 pies. At the top of the next block, with Barnes Road, each corner had a shop on it including a post office. I remember in the early 60s that you had the choice of 5 fish and chip shops within easy walking distance of our house. We used Atkinsons on the corner of Marshall Wallis Road. Chips were 4d in winter and 6d in the summer when the new potatoes came in.
There were a couple of churches close by the Wesley Chapel and the Gospel Temple were on the corners of Fredrick Street and Bertram Street. The nearest Church of England church was St. Judes where we were christened.
They began demolishing the first block of John Williamson Street in the early 60s. The residents, including my friend , were moved to new council houses in Biddick Hall. Our block was not demolished until the late 70s. Only the last block remains, the street has been replaced with a road through from Tyne Dock to Laygate and down Western Approach to the Market Place.
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curly
- Full Time Gobber
- Posts: 15702
- Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2003 1:53 am
- Location: Not 230 John Williamson Street any more!
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Re: Family History
And I loved it, despite what these days would be described as hardships.
Bonty neet was the best night of the year with on average three bonfires per back lane, a few back doors got burned or blistered but we enjoyed baked potatoes, barbecued sausages, home made soups and even an elementary bread cooked on the embers. Everyone brought their own fireworks and espite a few accidents I can never remember any real serious injuries or deaths on Nov. 5th. in South Shields.
I also remember the "knmocker up" from Readheads shipyard banging on doors at around 4:30 am to get the workers out of bed, and the man coming around to light the gas street lamps in the evenings before returning next morning to pull on the chains to extinguish them.
We were moved to the Derby Street area in 1972, but they were happy days.
Bonty neet was the best night of the year with on average three bonfires per back lane, a few back doors got burned or blistered but we enjoyed baked potatoes, barbecued sausages, home made soups and even an elementary bread cooked on the embers. Everyone brought their own fireworks and espite a few accidents I can never remember any real serious injuries or deaths on Nov. 5th. in South Shields.
I also remember the "knmocker up" from Readheads shipyard banging on doors at around 4:30 am to get the workers out of bed, and the man coming around to light the gas street lamps in the evenings before returning next morning to pull on the chains to extinguish them.
We were moved to the Derby Street area in 1972, but they were happy days.
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Delilahcat
- Full Time Gobber
- Posts: 4834
- Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 2:25 pm
- Location: Marsden South Shields
Re: Family History
I was born in South Eldon Street but had many pals who lived in John Williamson, South Palmerston and Frederick Streets. My friend Meg Taylor lived on the corner of South Frederick Street and Gilbert Street. Her aunt Mrs Slater ran the chip shop on the other corner. It's now a takeaway. We roamed all the streets 'playing out' until it was dark. Remember buying comics from the shop mentioned. Bonfire night was one of the highlights of our year. The smell the next morning of spent firemorks and smouldering bonfires was unforgettable!