Welcome to the Stretton History website, which is a community project aiming to bring together and share photos and stories about the village of Stretton near Warrington.
Stretton has a fascinating past, and as residents of the village, we’re keen to piece together snapshots of Stretton’s colourful past over the years.
If you would like to get involved or can contribute information, please contact us: clare.olver@gmail.com. There’s so much to learn, it would be great hearing from you. You might:
have lived in or know the village or surrounding area
know about the church, school or businesses in the parish
know or have information on any of the families who have historically lived in Stretton
know about the farms
have photos, stories, documents or papers relating to Stretton’s past
You’ve seen the Netflix series, now come and see what life was like in Stretton two hundred years ago. You are invited to a special talk at St. Matthew’s church on Thursday 14th November at 7:30pm where Clare Olver will share her latest research into the history of our village.
In her talk, Clare will share an insight to life in Stretton two hundred years ago, and introduce Warrington’s own Samuel Pepys and the real life Lady Whistledown of Stretton who didn’t hold back with her views on the local families. Clare will also talk about the background to the building of St. Matthew’s church which will celebrate its bicentenary in 2025.
The talk will be preceded by refreshments from 7pm, and all are welcome. Donations to church funds. All welcome!
One of the Six Stories of Stretton shared with lots of friends and neighbours earlier this week, was Society in Stretton during the 1920s. To find out what what life was like in the village a hundred years ago, we are lucky enough to have access to the 1921 census. It was taken on the night of 19 June 1921 and is the most detailed information to date about the houses, occupiers and occupations.
The image above is just one of 98 householders within Stretton. A full transcript of all 353 residents is here.
For a bit of fun, I looked at the names that were on the rise, and those that were on their way out. For the girls, Mary remained a favourite across all generations, whereas for the chaps it was Thomas and James:
Then slightly more serious, a look at the occupations of firstly female and then male. These were for everyone over the age of 14 – the age when children could leave school:
From the chart above, it’s really clear that three quarters of the females above 14 were working at home supporting the families. On top of that, a further 13% were in domestic duties working for an employer – such as a cook or housekeeper. The remainder included a caretaker, nurse, waitress and shop assistant. There were five clerks and typists in total; all were under 26.
For the men of the village, over half were still involved in farming, and a further 5% were working in gardening or grounds maintenance. The next largest group were those in industry – for employers such as Crosfields and Rylands Wire works in Warrington. For those employed in agriculture, a quarter were farmers or business owners in their own right, but Joseph Taylor, farmer and horse dealer of Moss Hall employed eight men. Albert Woodward of Lower Hall, Colonel Lyon of Appleton Hall and Herbert Brocklehurst of Mosswood Hall collectively employed a further twelve.
And with a bit of geography thrown in, it’s always interesting to see where people have been born and how far away from Stretton if not local. To put it in context, here is a graph showing where those were born between 1851 and 1939. The red line is those born in Stretton, which stays surprisingly constant (between 30 and 40%) until the 1939 Register. One thing to note is the rise and then fall of those born in Ireland (yellow line). They were practically all male and came over to work on the farms, with a peak in 1881. At that time, one in four men in the village were Irish and 86% of all agricultural labourers were Irish. They left as soon as they came, for in 1916 this together with the men who had left to fight in the Great War, caused significant labour shortages for the potato harvest.
The 1921 census return isn’t our only source of information, photographs are a valuable way of giving us insight into what life was like every day. The school was nearly 90 years old:
This photograph of Walking Day below was probably taken around 1921 or 1922. Note the boy dressed as Felix the Cat in the bottom left of the picture. For other photos of Waking Day head over here.
1921/2 Stretton Walking Day
And this photo below taken in Hatton Lane looking towards the church on what appears to be quite a muddy lane. In fact, there were no houses along Hatton Lane until 1907, and by the 1921 census there were just a tiny handful: Roadside Cottages opposite the Cat & Lion and further along, Sunnyside and Hillcrest.
And finally, what was making the news in the 1920s in Stretton? Apart from the regular write ups of the fooball teams and Joseph Taylor’s horse, Battleaxe we had:
Death of Peter Cliffe aged 90. Had 10 children and 104 descendants Suspected case of Foot & Mouth
Appleton Parish Council “years behind” Stretton had a telephone and they needed to get a “move on”
Landlady of Ring O’Bells guilty of giving her cleaning lady a quarter pint bottle of beer – no conviction but “substantial” costs
If you have any photos from the 1920s or stories you’d like to share, please do get in touch and we’ll add them to our collective history.
If you missed the talk and would like to see it in full, here is the link on YouTube
Thanks to an afternoon’s conversation between former vicar, the Rev Bob Rowlands and Heather Coulson, we’re lucky to learn more about another Stretton resident who left their mark on life: Charles Ernest Overton.
Charles Ernest Overton was born in Stretton on 25th February, 1865. His family lived at Walls Pit Cottage, near where The Partridge pub is today. He attended Newport Grammar School until the family moved to Zurich, Switzerland, in 1892, as a result of his mother’s chronic illness.
Overton was the son of Rev Samuel Charlesworth Overton, Curate of St Mathews, and Harriet Emma Fox. Harriet was one of seventeen children and the daughter of the Rector of Delamere, William Darwin Fox. Rev. Fox was second cousin of Charles Darwin, and they were at university together.
Charles Darwin was a frequent visitor to the rectory at Delamere and planted a Wellington, Medler, and Spindler tree as well as numerous ferns from South America. The Rev Fox was a keen naturist and was especially interested in butterflies. He was also a farmer of some 200 acres, and he would often be seen riding around the parish of Delamere with at least eight of his children all riding donkeys.
Overton lived in Zurich for the rest of his life and worked as a teacher. He was also a keen amateur photographer, and his photographs of Zurich and the surrounding area are now held in the Swiss National Museum.
Overton was a physiologist and biologist, now regarded as a pioneer of the theory of the cell membrane. His work on the permeability of cells helped scientists to understand how cells work and how they interact with their environment. Overton’s work helped to lay the foundation for modern cell biology.
Despite his significant contributions to science, Overton is not as well-known as some other scientists. However, his work has had a profound impact on our lives today, including the development of new and more effective drugs and anaesthetics.
Overton’s life is a reminder of the rich history of Stretton
Stretton residents are invited to a special talk at St. Matthew’s church on Wednesday, 11th October at 7:30pm, where Clare Olver will share six short stories about the village’s history.
The talk will cover a wide range of topics, from the Romans to more recent times, and will explore what Stretton means to us who live here today.
Clare moved to Stretton over 25 years ago and was inspired by her neighbour whose family had lived here since the 1700s. He talked about the people as well as the place, and this led Clare to start capturing the stories of the village we see today.
In her talk, Clare will share an insight to life in Stretton a hundred years ago, the links to Charles Darwin, and the Bradshaw Guide to Railways made famous by Michael Portillo. She will also talk about how the residents of Stretton were amongst the first to settle in America, and the international interest into some of those families.
Latterly, research has also revealed the extent to which Stretton’s former neighbours were involved with the slave trade.
The talk will be preceded by refreshments from 7pm, and all are welcome. Donations to church funds.
This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the history of Stretton and the people who have lived here throughout the ages. All welcome!
It’s hard to imagine a hundred years ago that the house where the vicar of Stretton lived would become part of a large hotel. Just out of sight to the left of the photograph above is the original part of the old vicarage which was built in 1831 for Rev. Greenall. It can still be seen from Stretton Road, opposite the school. In the 1920s, a new vicarage was built across the road and next to St. Matthew’s church, and the original vicarage became a family home. Thanks to research by Heather (nee Heesom) this is the story of the family who lived in the house:
Henry David Llewelyn Lloyd was born on the 14th August 1881 Edgbaston, Birmingham. It is sometime after the 1921 census and before 1926 when we see Mr Lloyd on the register of Associate Engineers as living at the Old Vicarage, Stretton. He firstly lived at “Shirley”, Birchdale Road , Stockton Heath, as a director of the Whitecross Wire works.
In the 1939 Register he was living with his wife Amy and his son Antony at the Old Vicarage, along with a gardener, cook and parlour maid. His daughter Dorothea Evelyn was married and working at the War Office in Westminster as a examiner in the censorship office; their youngest daughter Barbara, was in a Sanatorium at Abergele.
While at boarding school, Barbara had contracted Infantile Paralysis, commonly know as Polio. Before this she had been a keen horse woman having been taught to ride by my Great Grandfather, John Harrison from Hatton.
Barbara and her horses
As a result of Polio, Barbara took up writing and in 1950 published a book called Little Green Men, in which she also drew and painted the pictures. This was some task as she had very limited movement in her arms and fingers and I have managed to source a copy:
Front cover of Barbara Lloyd’s book Little Green Men
The flyleaf clearly shows the terrible time the family went through and the determination of Barbara to succeed:
My Grandmother remembers Miss Lloyd seeing her being pushed around in a chair. The photo below is of Miss Lloyd in earlier times with my great, grandfather John Harrison
Miss Lloyd and John Harrison outside the Old Vicarage
Mr Lloyd was not only a Managing Director but he was also made a JP in 1929. Despite this he had a couple of run-ins with the law for drink driving, lost his licence and had to employ a chauffeur. He passed away in 1945 at the Beamont Nursing Home, Warrington, leaving £48,000.
The old vicarage was put up for auction on the 30th May 1946 at 11am:
The fine freehold Georgian residence of the Old Vicarage, Stretton, comprised of Entrance Hall, Cloakroom, 3 Entertaining rooms,5 Principle Bedrooms with washbasins, 2 Bathrooms, Garage, Hard Tennis Court, well stocked Gardens and Grounds total area 3 Acres.
2pm The residue of the Antiques and Modern furniture together with important sporting equipment and outside effects also a Tong and groove timber Bungalow containing 2 rooms with slow combustion stove, small scullery with a sink, the building is fitted with electric light.
The house was bought by Marie Teare and then became a hotel.
I can remember some of the antique furniture and porcelain at the Old Vicarage, especially a brass standard lamp that was engraved to Canon Cross, a large statue of a nun, a huge black ebony elephant that was used to prop the door to the lounge open. Happy days at the Vic.
Many thanks to Richard Barber from sending over three photos of his time at Stretton School. Richard left in 1961 and went to Sir John Deane’s, whereas most of his classmates went to Lymm or Stockton Heath. Richard thinks that the photos were taken around the end of the 1950s. One of the photos is below, and if you want to see more or can put a name to a face, then head over to the School Photos page
Today is the date by which we need to complete the 2021 census. It’s something on the list of things to do, along with possibly the weekly shop and maybe the first cut of the year for the lawns. However the census is only ever undertaken once every ten years so that makes it bit more special. It’s a snapshot in time – of life in Britain on 21 March 2021. Just as it was on 6 June 1841; 30 March 1851; 7 March 1861 and so on. As everyone knows, the personal information is kept secure for a hundred years and then released. This means that we’ll get to see what our parents/grandparents/great grandparents wrote in 1921 in January 2022.
This census is the first on-line. Previously an enumerator walked about the village taking down the details of each household and then collating into handwritten forms.
To bring this more to life here are the census returns from the place that we call The Partridge, although many others will know it as the Hollow Tree and before that, Walls Pit House. The Whitley family lived at Walls Pit House in the 19th century; Charles Whitley was a contemporary of Charles Darwin at Cambridge. More about the house and family here.
The 1841 census below only asked for the name of the residents, their age to the nearest five years, occupation and whether or not they were born in the same county:
Walls Pit House – 1841 Census
Here we can see George, Peter, Ann and Mary Whitley along with Elizabeth Eaton and James Brotherton. Other than the latter whose occupation is down as MS (male servant) there is no information about the relationship between the other occupants.
By 1851 we can see more information such as relationship and place of birth:
Walls Pit House – 1851 census
It is quite difficult to read – even when enhanced, so if you’re interested in tracing your family tree, it’s always worth going back to a copy of the original census return. In 1851 we can just about make out that it was a family of unmarried siblings, with George Whitley the head being a non-practising surgeon. His brother Peter Whitley had presumably also retired from law, and both were living a life of relative luxury compared to the other residents of Stretton, along with their three sisters.
Ten years later in 1861 the data collected was more or less the same. So on the face of it, it’s all quite factual, but as we follow the family over the years, we can see that sisters Ann and Mary were living at Walls Pit alone and presume that their siblings had died. What we can see is that they were well looked after with now five servants:
Walls Pit House – 1861 Census
So far so good, but we’ll skip forward twenty years to 1881 to show that obtaining data from census returns for individual houses isn’t always easy. For larger properties or with an enumerator who had an eye for detail, it’s quite straightforward, but the 1881 Census for Stretton looked like this:
Walls Pit House – 1881
Not only is the writing particularly tricky to read, but the names of the houses aren’t listed either. This means that it’s very hard to work out who lived where, especially when cottages were all rented and families moved around the village or local area in search of work. Fortunately in 1901 the enumerator that year was more diligent and all the names of the properties are included and the entries clear to read:
Walls Pit House – 1901 census
In 1901, the Whitley family were still living at Walls Pit House, and the level of detail required to be entered hasn’t really changed that much in 60 years. By 1911 each house had their own form to complete. Other than the details of the marriage and number of children, the details were pretty much the same:
Walls Pitt House – 1911 census
This is as far as we can go at the moment with the raw data, we’ll have to wait to see what the 1921 census forms reveal in about nine months’ time.
However this is just the start. We’ve already seen that we can track the Whitley family who lived and owned Walls Pit House for over 70 years. By transcribing the entries, and then collating into spreadsheets then we start to get a picture of all of the village, and that’s when it starts to give a real picture of life over the past century in Stretton. If you want to see the transcribed census returns for Stretton, please have a look here or get in touch.
In the middle of the First World War, a young boy of 12 moved from Manchester to work at Hillside Farm and this is his story. What makes it special is that it has been told in an article in Cheshire Life and thanks to his grandson, there is also a wonderful audio recording made in 1972 of his time here just over a century ago. It’s always fascinating to read accounts of what everyday life was like, but Charles Samson speaks with such clarity it brings it all to life.
Before we go any further, we should just note that Hillside Farm is technically over the border in Appleton – along from Owen’s Corner. Over the past few months in lockdown the footpath past the farm has become even more popular for our daily exercise, so many from Stretton will be very familiar with the farm and fields around.
Hillside Farm 1874 Reproduced with permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence
As with nearly all of Appleton, Hillside Farm was owned by the Lyons Estate from Appleton Hall. Tenant farmer, Ralph Tickle and his wife Ellen ran one of the most successful beef farms in the county. His great grandfather, John Tickle, had moved from Bold. Lancashire to Lower Whitley in 1805 and his descendants married into prominent farming families such as Whitlow, Neild and Horton. By 1894 Ralph Tickle had married Ellen Horton from Little Leigh, and moved to Hillside Farm where they raised their young family.
In his reminiscences, Charles Sampson (1903-1996) recalls his time at the farm as one of seven young boys living with the family in the farmhouse. Hillside Farm was very large and progressive, with cattle brought over from Argentina into Liverpool and then to Warrington on the train. He writes of driving over 200 head of cattle from the station up London Road from Stockton Heath and the farm work he was required to do with the calves. He speaks with obvious pride at being allowed to be in charge of driving the heavy shire horses and flat lorry down to Stockton Heath at the young age of 13 to collect the brewers grain from Greenall’s.
Charles Sampson talks fondly about the abundance of food compared to his life back home in Manchester, the meat hanging up in the pantry, the cheeses along the side and the jars of bottled fruit. He paints a vivid picture of the village on a Sunday which includes the family’s attendance at St.Matthew’s for the evening service, where each farmer, his wife, children, farm and house staff sat in their row in church. After the service, he recalls sitting in the drawing farm with the family singing hymns and writing letters home, before everyone retiring to bed at 10pm sharp.
It is clear from listening to the recording that leaving the farm was a source of regret to Charles Sampson, and he retained a love of cattle to the end of his life. He left to work with his father who had been asked to move up from London to Burnage, Manchester to set up a division of J Lyons, and when Lyons bought Black and Greens, Charles became employed in the tea package industry. It is with grateful thanks to his grandson for sharing the recording.
Just a year or so after Charles left the farm, and following the death of Ralph Tickle’s father, in December 1919 the Tickle family moved to Bishop’s Tachbrook in Warwickshire where they continued their success in cattle farming. Ellen died in 1943, but Ralph lived the age of 94, passing away in Warwickshire in 1962.
If this is your first visit to the history of Stretton website, welcome. For those of you who have visited before, here is a quick tour round a few recent updates.
For a start, you’ll notice a lot more maps, and this is thanks to the National Library of Scotland which allows the sharing of the maps for non-commercial uses.
Then there are the newspaper articles which have been added to the website on new separate page. These have been transcribed as more newspapers are scanned and come available on-line. They’ve been linked on the relevant page but if you want to see all of them, do head here. Likewise nearly 30 wills have been transcribed and added. These are invaluable if you are researching your family history.
And best of all are the photos and comments that have been shared – thanks to everyone who has taken the time to sort through their boxes and photos and send across. We’ve got new school photos, the first image of Fir Tree Cottage and new photos of the Cat and Lion.
Hatton Lane is one of the most popular for comments and thanks to the contributions the page has been really enhanced.
So even if the front post doesn’t change each week, there’s always work going on to add more details to the website. Please do get in touch – and thank you to everyone who has.
It’s very simple to use. Just enter your postcode and from the results you can then zoom in and out, as well as pan around to view other areas of interest. The window splits into two halves – the 1846 tithe map on the left and an OS map (or aerial view) on the right. You can drag the central button to the left or right to widen the view on either side.
You can also change the maps that are displayed in either window using the options under the search field. The image below shows an aerial image on the left from around 1973 with Acton Avenue clearly showing on the west of London Road.
Whilst this is fun to play around with the two screens, the tithe part of the tithe map is also really interesting as it reveals a large amount of detail:
To find out more about who owned the land where you’re living, click on the tithe map. The field highlighted above is either side of the Roman Road, behind St. Matthew’s school. In 1846 it was owned by Thomas Lyon (of Appleton Hall fame) and farmed by Mary Bolland who lived at Roadside Farm on London Road.
This map shows that more or less all the land from Stretton Road and Hatton Lane north towards Owen’s Corner was owned by Thomas Lyon. He started to hoover up land to surround his Hall (now where Bridgewater School stands) from Walton all the way up to Stretton. If you want to see how so much land ended up in the ownership of so few, a quick look at the tithe map of Appleton/Appleton Thorn shows that roughly 80% was owned by either Thomas Lyon or the Warburtons from the Arley Hall Estate. However, Thomas Lyon and never really got much further south than the crossroads as the landowner map of the whole parish shows a more complex picture with a larger number of landowners shown on the map legend below:
So going back to the original question, what was growing in your garden in 1846? This final screenshot from the website might help:
North of Stretton Road, half of the land was cropped, the other was pasture. Ironically the areas that we now retain as our green spaces, including the cricket pitch and playing fields were cultivated in 1846 for potatoes and oats. Whilst most of the farmland managed by Mary Bolland was put down to grass, if you live in Foxhills Close a hundred and fifty years ago your garden was a field of potatoes and turnips.
The History of Stretton, near Warrington 