One of the aspects of history I find most fascinating is the interaction between individual lives and the national or world events which impinge on them.
This substantial house was home to the Pownall family for more than two decades from 1889 until after the 1911 Census. For the previous ten years they had resided in Derwent House a large house, owned by another prominent medic of the area the surgeon Dr John Rains, on the other side of Whitelow Road.
The head of the family was Dr. Arthur Edward Pownall, a physician / general practitioner born in Manchester in 1853
Also residing in Derwent House at the time of the 1881 census were; two of Arthur Edward’s brothers; James, a bank cashier, and Alfred Herbert an accountant 2, together with his 11-year-old sister-in-law, Lucy B.
Arthur Edward married Marianne Elizabeth Ada (nee. Du Terreaux) in St, Mary’s Church, Ealing, Middlesex on 6th November 1879. Marianne was born in Paddington, London, on 21st November 1860 and christened there on 2nd January the following year. She was, however brought up in Ipswich, Suffolk where her father, Thomas Webb Du Terreaux (born in the year of the Battle of Waterloo – 1815) kept a “licensed refreshment house” at 17, Upper Brook Street in that town.
Dr. Pownall and his wife had five children, three sons and two daughters. All were born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy and christened at St. Clements. In birth order the five children were: -
1) Sarah Marie, born 28th September - christened 23rd October 1880.
2) Arthur Du Terreaux, born 1st January- christened 4th February 1882.
3) Ada Gladys born 26th October christened - 1st December 1883.
4) George Noel Du Terreaux born 26th December 1887- christened 28th January 1888
5) Alfred Neville Du Terreaux born 12th December 1882 - christened 14th January 1893.
It is in the lives of these children that can be seen the interplay of external forces and their personal histories.
Sarah Marie, married John Priestman in Sunderland in September quarter of 1915 and bore him a daughter, Barbara Marie, in the June quarter of1921.3 John Priestman was a millionaire ship builder and philanthropist who was knighted by George V at Buckingham Palace on the 25th July, 1923 in recognition of both his charitable work and his efforts to produce ships for the Admiralty during the First World War. The depression of the 1930’ s hit the North-East of England particularly hard and Sir John’s central role in attempts to alleviate the worst of the deprivation was further recognized when he was appointed a Baronet (of Monkwearmouth in the County of Durham) on the 30th June, 1934. Sir John died on 5th August 1941 at “Tyringham”, Rutland Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire (West Riding). He left the then huge sum of £1,504,774 —8s —8d. Lady Priestman died on 3rd August 1971 at the Warwick Nursing Home, Warwick Crescent, Harrogate and left the more modest amount of £168,916.
Arthur Du Terreaux, after studying for an M.A. at Cambridge University, became a clergyman in the Church of England being ordained in St. Paul’s Cathedral on the ,19th March 1905. He served as a curate at a number of different parishes including that of St. Pauls, Kersal Moor, Salford where, according to the 1911 census, his sister Sarah Marie was acting as his housekeeper at 27, Kings Road, Prestwich.
While at Kersal Moor on 13th September 1909 he returned to Chorlton-cum-Hardy to officiate at the wedding of his father’s assistant Dr. John Henry McComb to Olive Madaline Charles at St. Clement’s (old church). Another of his curacies was at Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, London and in 1912 he was appointed an assistant secretary to the “Colonial and Continental Church Society”. At Easter, 1915 he became a vicar for the first time when he was granted the incumbency of St. Andrew’s, Roker, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, the church his future brother-in-law, Sir John Priestman, had financed (to the considerable amount of £6,000) the construction of in honour of his mother.
Moving on in the 1920’s firstly to St. Paul’s Walsall, then to the Benefice of Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1932 he was appointed the vicar of St. George’s, Davenport, Stockport.
ST. GEORGES, CHURCH, DAVENPORT, STOCKPORT
He remained at St. George’s for 16 years, becoming quite famous by presenting several radio broadcasts of organ and hymn recitals from the church. It was also during this period that he married late in life when aged over 60 to Margaret Bearpark at Stockport, in the September quarter of 1943. His work in this parish resulted in him being made an honorary canon of Chester Cathedral in 1942. 1948 saw Rev. Pownall move to the parish of Tattenhall where he remained as the rector of St. Alban’s until his death on the 8th April 1955 as reported in the following day’s edition of The Liverpool Echo.
After Arthur Edward retired from his medical practice he moved with his wife and his remaining daughter, Ada Gladys, to Sunderland. He died in May 1918 at his son’s vicarage. In the September quarter of 1919, Ada Gladys married her brother’s chief curate Harold Marley. Shortly after Rev. Marley was promoted to take charge of the first of the several West Midland parishes he served until his death in 1956. Ada Gladys had a son and a daughter with Harold and died on 27th January 1980 at Richmond House, Richmond, North Yorkshire. In her will she left £15,999.
George Noel Du Terreaux Pownall studied engineering and moved to Bristol to work in the fledgling airplane manufacturing industry. In 1915 he returned to marry Dorothy Marguerite Heslop, the daughter of a Manchester surgeon, William John Heslop, at St. Gabriel’s Church, Hulme, Manchester on 23rd December. His marriage certificate shows his home address as, 5, Stanbury Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol. Sadly, Dorothy Margeurite passed away, aged just 27, in the West Ham area of London in the March quarter of 1925. George Noel re-married in the December quarter of 1927 in Headington, Oxfordshire to Gladys Winifred Roe (nee. Stokes) and in the 1939 register is recorded working as a mechanical engineer in the vital field of aircraft production. He was living in the Bristol suburb of Clifton at 5, Cecil Road. Early in 1941 further tragedy struck George when he was widowed for the second time, Gladys Winifred dying in Honiton, Devon. The Gloucestershire Echo reported on 24th October, 1946 that George Noel, then living at “The Cote”, Alveston, Gloucestershire, was one of the three founding directors of Autronic Developments Ltd., a new company based at 63, The Strand, Cheltenham for the “manufacturing and dealing in electrical and mechanical apparatus etc.”. his involvement with the company appears to have been quite short term as he is not included in the list of directors in its entry in the 1953 “who’s who in the motor industry” which lists it as manufacturers of electro-magnetic clutch and brake units. (Ex. Graces Guide to British Industrial History)
George Noel died during the March quarter of 1971 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire.
The youngest of the five children of Dr. Arthur Edward and Marianne E.A. Pownall, Alfred Neville Du Tereaux left home at 15 to join the Merchant Navy training ship in Liverpool, H.M.S. Conway. After serving throughout the First World War in the Merchant Navy he joined the P&O Line reaching the rank of second officer. He remained unmarried and normally gave his shore address as whichever Vicarage his brother, Arthur was occupying at the time. On the evening of 16th September, 1932 with his ship “The Viceroy of India” preparing to leave port he was found dead in his cabin having committed suicide by hanging.4 The circumstances of his death led to a slight anomaly in its recording in that it was recorded twice. As he was aboard a ship about to depart it was first recorded by the ship’s captain as “an overseas death”; then as the ship was still at anchor in Tilbury Docks, Chadwell St. Mary, Grays, Essex it was recorded by the local registrar of Orsett, Essex. Alfred Neville left a sum of £360—6s—2d to his mother.
Tony Goulding © 2020
Location, Chorlton
Pictures; 67, High Lane A.E. Landers 1959 m 17922, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, St. Andrew's Church, Roker, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland,St Georges BY USER Zzztriple2000 CC BY 3-0 https//commons
By: - Stanley Walker cc by SA 20 https//commons licensed under creative commons attribution share alike 2-0 generic license
Notes: -
1) This house at 67, High Lane later became the home of Dr. John Bowling Holmes, the prominent sportsman who I’ve written of on this Blog before. His son, Geoffrey Bowling Holmes, coincidentally was, in 1954, the secretary of the Chorlton-cum- Hardy cricket club the subject of a recent post.
2) Alfred Herbert Pownall was a very successful accountant and property developer. He was a partner in the firm of Butcher, Litton and Pownall of 69, Princess Street, Manchester. He married Ellen the daughter of one of his partners, William Butcher who had just recently passed away, at Christ Church, West Didsbury on12th May 1883. In doing so he became the owner of both his late father-in-law's house at 65, High Lane together with the neighbouring 67 occupied by his brother. He later acquired the substantial properties of 22-24, Whitelow Road and other houses in the area.
Alfred Herbert died at “Waveny”, South Drive, Chotltonville on 23rd December 1914 leaving £5,567—14s—2d to his widow and George Henry Pownall, banker.
3) As reported in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette of 15th November 1934 Sir John and Lady Priestman donated a new school for “myopes blind and deaf” to be named after their only daughter. The Barbara Priestman Academy for the provision Special Needs Education is its present incarnation in Sunderland.
4) From the Daily Herald of 19th September 1932.
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| 67 High Lane, 1959 |
The head of the family was Dr. Arthur Edward Pownall, a physician / general practitioner born in Manchester in 1853
Also residing in Derwent House at the time of the 1881 census were; two of Arthur Edward’s brothers; James, a bank cashier, and Alfred Herbert an accountant 2, together with his 11-year-old sister-in-law, Lucy B.
Arthur Edward married Marianne Elizabeth Ada (nee. Du Terreaux) in St, Mary’s Church, Ealing, Middlesex on 6th November 1879. Marianne was born in Paddington, London, on 21st November 1860 and christened there on 2nd January the following year. She was, however brought up in Ipswich, Suffolk where her father, Thomas Webb Du Terreaux (born in the year of the Battle of Waterloo – 1815) kept a “licensed refreshment house” at 17, Upper Brook Street in that town.
Dr. Pownall and his wife had five children, three sons and two daughters. All were born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy and christened at St. Clements. In birth order the five children were: -
1) Sarah Marie, born 28th September - christened 23rd October 1880.
2) Arthur Du Terreaux, born 1st January- christened 4th February 1882.
3) Ada Gladys born 26th October christened - 1st December 1883.
4) George Noel Du Terreaux born 26th December 1887- christened 28th January 1888
5) Alfred Neville Du Terreaux born 12th December 1882 - christened 14th January 1893.
It is in the lives of these children that can be seen the interplay of external forces and their personal histories.
Sarah Marie, married John Priestman in Sunderland in September quarter of 1915 and bore him a daughter, Barbara Marie, in the June quarter of1921.3 John Priestman was a millionaire ship builder and philanthropist who was knighted by George V at Buckingham Palace on the 25th July, 1923 in recognition of both his charitable work and his efforts to produce ships for the Admiralty during the First World War. The depression of the 1930’ s hit the North-East of England particularly hard and Sir John’s central role in attempts to alleviate the worst of the deprivation was further recognized when he was appointed a Baronet (of Monkwearmouth in the County of Durham) on the 30th June, 1934. Sir John died on 5th August 1941 at “Tyringham”, Rutland Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire (West Riding). He left the then huge sum of £1,504,774 —8s —8d. Lady Priestman died on 3rd August 1971 at the Warwick Nursing Home, Warwick Crescent, Harrogate and left the more modest amount of £168,916.
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| St Andrew's Church, Roker, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland |
While at Kersal Moor on 13th September 1909 he returned to Chorlton-cum-Hardy to officiate at the wedding of his father’s assistant Dr. John Henry McComb to Olive Madaline Charles at St. Clement’s (old church). Another of his curacies was at Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, London and in 1912 he was appointed an assistant secretary to the “Colonial and Continental Church Society”. At Easter, 1915 he became a vicar for the first time when he was granted the incumbency of St. Andrew’s, Roker, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, the church his future brother-in-law, Sir John Priestman, had financed (to the considerable amount of £6,000) the construction of in honour of his mother.
Moving on in the 1920’s firstly to St. Paul’s Walsall, then to the Benefice of Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1932 he was appointed the vicar of St. George’s, Davenport, Stockport.
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| St George's Church Davenport, Stockport |
He remained at St. George’s for 16 years, becoming quite famous by presenting several radio broadcasts of organ and hymn recitals from the church. It was also during this period that he married late in life when aged over 60 to Margaret Bearpark at Stockport, in the September quarter of 1943. His work in this parish resulted in him being made an honorary canon of Chester Cathedral in 1942. 1948 saw Rev. Pownall move to the parish of Tattenhall where he remained as the rector of St. Alban’s until his death on the 8th April 1955 as reported in the following day’s edition of The Liverpool Echo.
After Arthur Edward retired from his medical practice he moved with his wife and his remaining daughter, Ada Gladys, to Sunderland. He died in May 1918 at his son’s vicarage. In the September quarter of 1919, Ada Gladys married her brother’s chief curate Harold Marley. Shortly after Rev. Marley was promoted to take charge of the first of the several West Midland parishes he served until his death in 1956. Ada Gladys had a son and a daughter with Harold and died on 27th January 1980 at Richmond House, Richmond, North Yorkshire. In her will she left £15,999.
George Noel Du Terreaux Pownall studied engineering and moved to Bristol to work in the fledgling airplane manufacturing industry. In 1915 he returned to marry Dorothy Marguerite Heslop, the daughter of a Manchester surgeon, William John Heslop, at St. Gabriel’s Church, Hulme, Manchester on 23rd December. His marriage certificate shows his home address as, 5, Stanbury Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol. Sadly, Dorothy Margeurite passed away, aged just 27, in the West Ham area of London in the March quarter of 1925. George Noel re-married in the December quarter of 1927 in Headington, Oxfordshire to Gladys Winifred Roe (nee. Stokes) and in the 1939 register is recorded working as a mechanical engineer in the vital field of aircraft production. He was living in the Bristol suburb of Clifton at 5, Cecil Road. Early in 1941 further tragedy struck George when he was widowed for the second time, Gladys Winifred dying in Honiton, Devon. The Gloucestershire Echo reported on 24th October, 1946 that George Noel, then living at “The Cote”, Alveston, Gloucestershire, was one of the three founding directors of Autronic Developments Ltd., a new company based at 63, The Strand, Cheltenham for the “manufacturing and dealing in electrical and mechanical apparatus etc.”. his involvement with the company appears to have been quite short term as he is not included in the list of directors in its entry in the 1953 “who’s who in the motor industry” which lists it as manufacturers of electro-magnetic clutch and brake units. (Ex. Graces Guide to British Industrial History)
George Noel died during the March quarter of 1971 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire.
The youngest of the five children of Dr. Arthur Edward and Marianne E.A. Pownall, Alfred Neville Du Tereaux left home at 15 to join the Merchant Navy training ship in Liverpool, H.M.S. Conway. After serving throughout the First World War in the Merchant Navy he joined the P&O Line reaching the rank of second officer. He remained unmarried and normally gave his shore address as whichever Vicarage his brother, Arthur was occupying at the time. On the evening of 16th September, 1932 with his ship “The Viceroy of India” preparing to leave port he was found dead in his cabin having committed suicide by hanging.4 The circumstances of his death led to a slight anomaly in its recording in that it was recorded twice. As he was aboard a ship about to depart it was first recorded by the ship’s captain as “an overseas death”; then as the ship was still at anchor in Tilbury Docks, Chadwell St. Mary, Grays, Essex it was recorded by the local registrar of Orsett, Essex. Alfred Neville left a sum of £360—6s—2d to his mother.
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| 22-24 Whitelow Road, June 2020 |
Location, Chorlton
Pictures; 67, High Lane A.E. Landers 1959 m 17922, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, St. Andrew's Church, Roker, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland,St Georges BY USER Zzztriple2000 CC BY 3-0 https//commons
By: - Stanley Walker cc by SA 20 https//commons licensed under creative commons attribution share alike 2-0 generic license
Notes: -
1) This house at 67, High Lane later became the home of Dr. John Bowling Holmes, the prominent sportsman who I’ve written of on this Blog before. His son, Geoffrey Bowling Holmes, coincidentally was, in 1954, the secretary of the Chorlton-cum- Hardy cricket club the subject of a recent post.
2) Alfred Herbert Pownall was a very successful accountant and property developer. He was a partner in the firm of Butcher, Litton and Pownall of 69, Princess Street, Manchester. He married Ellen the daughter of one of his partners, William Butcher who had just recently passed away, at Christ Church, West Didsbury on12th May 1883. In doing so he became the owner of both his late father-in-law's house at 65, High Lane together with the neighbouring 67 occupied by his brother. He later acquired the substantial properties of 22-24, Whitelow Road and other houses in the area.
Alfred Herbert died at “Waveny”, South Drive, Chotltonville on 23rd December 1914 leaving £5,567—14s—2d to his widow and George Henry Pownall, banker.
3) As reported in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette of 15th November 1934 Sir John and Lady Priestman donated a new school for “myopes blind and deaf” to be named after their only daughter. The Barbara Priestman Academy for the provision Special Needs Education is its present incarnation in Sunderland.
4) From the Daily Herald of 19th September 1932.
The house our land was built on was bought by John Pownall of Dudley Road WR from John Turner. He was living in the house 1911 census with his family, Cotton Yarn Merchant/employer b1860
ReplyDeleteChorltongirl's comment took me back to the records, it looks like your Pownall has no connection with the Pownalls of this post nor with the Harold Pownall who was his next door neighbour but one. Harold was with his brother Walter a prominent manufacturer of womens clothing in cotton and art silk and they may appear in another story - watch this apace! Incidentally after writing this piece I remembered that my late brother, Kevin had worked for another Pownalls firm for a number of years.
ReplyDeleteAlso my childhood doctor's, surgery was at 22, Whitelow Road (Dr. Peter F.G. Denton)