The Ring o' Bells
May 2005
James was a farmer at Thurnham, 5 miles south of Lancaster. He married Grace Blackburn, and they had 6 children, who were probably all born in Thurnham, and were all christened at Thurnham RC church:
Joseph was born at Thurnham, near Lancaster, and christened at the Roman Catholic church there on 2nd March 1795. He was confirmed into the church, at Thurnham, on 14th September 1813.
He married Elizabeth Chatburn on 26th October, 1819, at St Mary's parish church, Lancaster. His occupation is shown in the marriage register as "gentleman", an indication of the family's social standing. Joseph and Elizabeth had ten children, all of whom were baptised at Thurnham:
Joseph, like his father, was a farmer. Until 1830 he farmed at Thurnham, but the parish register entries for his children's baptisms suggest that the family then moved to Ashton (-with-Stodday), a hamlet slightly closer to Lancaster. However, the later census records show Robert's birthplace as either Thurnham or Lancaster.
By 1841, Joseph had given up farming, and was a publican in Galgate (I don't know which pub). By 1851 Joseph, his wife Elizabeth and their son Edmund had moved to Liverpool and were living at 15 Ellensborough Street. Joseph's occupation was shown as Warehouseman.
Joseph died on 26th September 1854 at George's Terrace, Comus Street. By the time of the 1861 census his widow Elizabeth was at 65 Christian Street, Liverpool, occupation Beer House Keeper. Her son Edmund was living with her, employed as a Hotel Waiter, and there was a servant and a lodger also living there. An 1864 directory of Liverpool shows Edmund Park as the licensee of the "Lancaster Arms" at 65 Christian Street. This pub no longer exists, but was probably on the site now occupied by part of Liverpool John Moores University.
By 1871 Elizabeth had returned to live in Galgate (No.3 Marginson's Cottages) with a grand-daughter Mary Jane Park (born in Liverpool). She died at Galgate on 20th June 1873.
Robert was born on 16th December 1832, probably at Ashton, south of Lancaster, where his father was a farmer. He was christened on 18th December at the Roman Catholic church at Thurnham. In 1841 he was living with his family in Galgate; in 1851 he was a farm labourer at Fox Holes Farm, Nether Wyresdale.
He married Jane Hallewell (I have not yet found a record of the marriage). Jane was the daughter of John and Mary Hallewell (also spelt Halliday, Holiway) of Clifton, near Preston. The Hallewells, like the Parks, were Catholics and farmers. Robert and Jane had seven children:
Robert and Jane lived in Heysham after their marriage (their first child was born there), but by 1861 they were residing at Tongue Moor, near Littledale Hall, in a secluded valley a few miles to the east of Lancaster. Robert's occupation at that time was coachman. The birthplaces of their children suggest that the family moved to live in Lancaster by 1863. By 1871, Robert had followed his mother's example and become the beer house keeper at the Ring of Bells public house in King Street, a pub which still exists today.
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The Ring o' Bells |
Robert died aged 39, on 24th August 1872, of tuberculosis, shortly after the birth of his youngest daughter. According to the death certificate, he had been suffering from tuberculosis for 1½ years - place of death was Galgate, a village south of Lancaster. His widow Jane continued as licensee of the Ring of Bells for a further twenty years, as well as raising the large family, one of whom, William, was blind. By 1896 Jane had retired to live at 28 Thurnham Street, a large house near the centre of Lancaster, which she shared with her daughter Alice's young family, her son William, and some lodgers. Later, they all moved to 71 Dale Street, where Jane died on 15th January 1919, at the age of 83.
Alice was born at the Ring of Bells beer house (2 King Street), Lancaster, on 6th August 1872. She would have been raised by her widowed mother, who continued to run the beer house following her husband's early death through tuberculosis. Some time between 1891 and 1896, the family moved to 28 Thurnham Street, Lancaster.
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28 Thurnham Street, Lancaster |
Alice married Henry Pedder, a railway clerk, on 23rd January 1896. The marriage took place at St Thomas's Church, an Anglican church almost directly behind the house in Thurnham Street. This was despite the Catholic background of the Parks, and the non-conformist background of the Pedders. Their children were, however, brought up as Catholics. For some years following their marriage, Henry and Alice lived with Alice's mother at 28 Thurnham Street, Lancaster. In 1901, there were also two lodgers staying at this address.
They had 5 children:
By 1909 the family, including Alice's mother, had moved to a large terraced house at 71 Dale Street, Lancaster. The loss of two of their children, due to illnesses, in the space of less than two years, must have been very distressing.
Alice was partially-sighted, possibly as a result of measles in childhood.
Henry and Alice moved to 9 Chester Place, Lancaster in the early 1940s. Henry died in 1944 at the age of 73, Alice died on 23rd November 1958, at Chester Place. Cause of death was bronchitis.
