Now I have to say that this bit of Mallet’s Court is all I have in the picture collection.
And will probably be the only photograph to record its existence.
It was off Greengate just four doors up from Gorton Street, contained just three houses and was listed as unoccupied in 1910 and had gone in a redevelopment just three years later.
All of which begs the question of why I should have gone looking for it and to to which the answer as ever is because it was there.
In 1891 there were just the two families living in this narrow alley and they were Mr and Mrs Baxter and Mr and Mrs Driver.
James and Mary Baxter shared a two roomed property with their three daughters, and the Driver’s managed to squeeze themselves, two children and a lodger into their three rooms.
This was hardly luxury living but neither family I suspect scored high on the income level. Mr Baxter worked as a carder in a cotton mill and Mr Driver described himself as a “hawker”, Margaret his wife as “a fancy box hawker” and their lodger was “gardener.”
And while Mallet’s Court was one of those dark alleyways where the sun failed to brighten its gloom or a gentle wind lift the staleness of the place it was wider than its neighbour which was Prestons Court which despite its few houses was really a narrow passage linking Greengate with Dawson Street and a brewery.
So Mallets’ Court was not the sort of place which many would want linger in or indeed knew much about unless of course you used the Flying Dutchman which was on the corner which dates from the 1850s and lasted into the 20th century.
From 1891 it was run by Lucy Parton who took over the place from her husband John A Parton. The couple had married in 1865 and as ever there is a little mystery.
Mr Parton is listed at the Flying Dutchman in 1886, but five years later there is another licesnsee who in turn has been replaced by Mrs Parton by 1895.
In time I will find out more about them. I know that he was born in Manchester in 1842 and was an iron dealer while she was born in Bollington four years later and started work as a servant.
So far apart from a few entries on official documents their lives have remained in the shadows and the picture of the pub featuring the name of Mrs Parton is about all we have.
Although I did find their marriage certificate which reveals that he was living in Pollard Street in Ancoats and was a bayonet maker and she was in Mile Platting.
And of course it is the detail that is the most fascinating because both of them were illiterate along with one of the witnesses, was recorded as leaving their “mark” on the certificate.
Not that this was unusual even in the 1860s but raises questions about how they managed the pub accounts.
And it leads me off into a search of Mr Parton’s father who described himself as a “cattle dealer,” Mr
Whitson, Lucy father who was a beer retailer and the intriguing thought of where the couple met.
But that is for another time.
Location; Salford, Manchester, Bollington.
Pictures; the Flying Dutchman from a picture postcard in the collection of Mrs Bishop, Greengate and Mallet’s Court, 1842 from the OS map of Manchester & Salford, 1842-49, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/ and part of the marriage certificate, 1865, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass
*Mallet's Court, Enu10 56-57, Greengate, Salford, 1891
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| Mallet's Court & the pub, circa 1900 |
It was off Greengate just four doors up from Gorton Street, contained just three houses and was listed as unoccupied in 1910 and had gone in a redevelopment just three years later.
All of which begs the question of why I should have gone looking for it and to to which the answer as ever is because it was there.
In 1891 there were just the two families living in this narrow alley and they were Mr and Mrs Baxter and Mr and Mrs Driver.
James and Mary Baxter shared a two roomed property with their three daughters, and the Driver’s managed to squeeze themselves, two children and a lodger into their three rooms.
This was hardly luxury living but neither family I suspect scored high on the income level. Mr Baxter worked as a carder in a cotton mill and Mr Driver described himself as a “hawker”, Margaret his wife as “a fancy box hawker” and their lodger was “gardener.”
And while Mallet’s Court was one of those dark alleyways where the sun failed to brighten its gloom or a gentle wind lift the staleness of the place it was wider than its neighbour which was Prestons Court which despite its few houses was really a narrow passage linking Greengate with Dawson Street and a brewery.
 |
| Mallett's Court, 1849 |
From 1891 it was run by Lucy Parton who took over the place from her husband John A Parton. The couple had married in 1865 and as ever there is a little mystery.
Mr Parton is listed at the Flying Dutchman in 1886, but five years later there is another licesnsee who in turn has been replaced by Mrs Parton by 1895.
In time I will find out more about them. I know that he was born in Manchester in 1842 and was an iron dealer while she was born in Bollington four years later and started work as a servant.
 |
| The wedding marks, 1865 |
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| May 8 1865 |
And of course it is the detail that is the most fascinating because both of them were illiterate along with one of the witnesses, was recorded as leaving their “mark” on the certificate.
Not that this was unusual even in the 1860s but raises questions about how they managed the pub accounts.
And it leads me off into a search of Mr Parton’s father who described himself as a “cattle dealer,” Mr
Whitson, Lucy father who was a beer retailer and the intriguing thought of where the couple met.
But that is for another time.
Location; Salford, Manchester, Bollington.
Pictures; the Flying Dutchman from a picture postcard in the collection of Mrs Bishop, Greengate and Mallet’s Court, 1842 from the OS map of Manchester & Salford, 1842-49, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/ and part of the marriage certificate, 1865, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass
*Mallet's Court, Enu10 56-57, Greengate, Salford, 1891
If I'm right and the Flying Dutchman was located at 36 Greengate then from 1923-1928 my great grandmother lived there her youngest daughter was born at that address and my great grandfather died there. The families previous address was 10 Scotland, Red Bank, Manchester.
ReplyDeleteUnknown. What were your great grandparents names?
ReplyDeleteHall, Boot, Simpson Bradford
Delete