141 Rocky Ln

[Pomgolian]

Hi everyone I am looking for any history at all for the site of 141 Rocky Lane prior to 2008/9... things such as who, or what business' occupied the site over the years... how long has it there and has it always just been one site and one business? The site is very close to 'The Railway' bridge and it is now Taroni's Scrap yard... Thank you for reading and thank you for any help you may be able to give. (Part of my family research ) Pom

 

[mikejee]

Hi Pom,
There seems a slight mystery about this site. Below I give the electoral roll for 141 Rocky lane, including an entry for 1912, which has the same person as in 1920. However Kellys (which does not seem to list 141 at all) appears to show (unless I'm missreading it)that the street was renumbered between 1915 and 1921.
Still below are the entries for the rolls:
1910 John Muirhead
1920 John & William Alexander Muirhead
1922 Charles & Louie Hill
1925-27 Arthur Leonard John Jeffrey
1930-1935 Arthur Leonard John & Carrie Jeffrey
In 1939 and after there is no listing on 141

 

[Pomgolian]

Hi Mike at least you found more than I was able to by trawling through the Census, another friend also tried some Trade directories and found nothing. I have asked John Houghton if he would look in the ones he has also for me, he said he would try but have not heard anything from him yet. I just keep hitting brick walls with this one... thanx for what you have found I'll keep trying.

 

[mikejee]

Pom
As I said before, Kellys shows that the road was renumbered. I have found a reference in to a John Muirhead in the newspapers at 141 Rocky lane pre 1915, so it looks as if the renumbering was between 1920 and 1921, and the first two items on the list I gave you must therefore refer to another building.
Mike

 

[Pomgolian]

Mike I just found the Muirhead's living at 141 in the 1891 census so the family must have occupied it as a residential property for a number of years... next door at 140 in 1891 was a Coach Body builder so would have needed more space... so I'm thinking maybe the properties became joined after renumbering to become the large property it is today... what do you think?

 

[Phil]

Hi Pom,

It's been a while since we heard from you, I hope you are all sorted now. I think that possibly the white building in one of these two photos may be what you are looking for. Well it matches the description that you and Mike have given and it certainly looks like it was a house at one time and that it had the large factory type building added later.

Mike to me it looks like the numbering on Rocky Lane was changed from sequential to odds on one side and evens on the other around the time that you say.

 

[mikejee]

Regrettably Pom I don't think that is the house. the numbering completely changes, as you can see from the 1915 and 1921 Kellys entries. However, a map is below showing the numbering in 1915 and 1921 of the one building we know is the same. Further along in 1915 is listed a George Mathewson, haulier at no 63. Counting houses on the map, no 63 would be the end building nearest the bridge ( though it looks a bit further away in your picture). So possibly no 63 is the building you are looking for. What do you think?

 

[Pomgolian]

Mike I know that 129 Neal William Ashton Beer Retailer was 'The Hen & Chickens 1891 and later possibly Shannahans on William Henry St... I think the new numbering is the problem here...
Hi Phil things are getting better, we still have a little more to sort out with our Insurance yet, but should be done by the end of the year... it will have been 5 years by then since the first 'Big' quake 4 Sept 2010 and then 22 Feb 2011.
Now from this pic about the building I think it's the Brick 2 story one...I'll send yours to them and see what they think ... this one below is what they posted... Just wish I could get on a bus and go and look for myself... LOl

 

[Phil]

Pom

Glad to hear things are getting better, I think I might have raised your hopes for nothing with that photo. After studying the photo you posted and consulting Google Earth I realised it was alongside the canal bridge and not the railway bridge and this would be further down the road. Sorry.