1807 Info 3b: James Crompton
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John Watts
b.3rdQt1847
d.10apr1926
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m.1stQt1861
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Sarah Ann Barr/Blay
b.....~1849
d...jun1924
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Annie William Jane Fred Eva Arthur
b.01aug1874 b.16aug1876 b.11dec1878 b.3rdQt1882 b.03sep1887 b.21feb1891
d.2ndQt1882 d.11sep1957 d.06jun1969 d.1stQt1905 d...mar1977 d.19dec1988
********* | | ********* | |
m.2ndQt1897 m.15apr1907 m.08jun1908 m.4thQt1915
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Mary jane Arthur Alfred Bessie
Duke Crompton Taylor Botterill
b.18may1878 b.20sep1874 b.16jul1975 b.14feb1891
d...jun1949 d.26sep1951 d.1stQt1944 d...jun1970
Arthur's wife Jane WATTS
On 11 December 1879 Jane WATTS was born, the third of John WATTS' six children. He was a general carrier travelling from Beverley to Hull. The family home was next to his carrier's ' garage' at 49 Lairgate, Beverley. The carriers eventually became Watts Bros of Beverley and motor transport replaced the horse and carts, or rullies in the dialect.
GRO Birth: Jane Watts First Quarter 1880 Beverley 9d 95
| Registration District Beverley | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 Birth in Sub-District of Beverley in the County of York | |||||||
| When and where born |
Name | Sex | Name of Father |
Rank or Profession |
Name of Mother |
Informant | When Registered |
| 11th Dec 1879 Lairgate Beverley |
Jane | Girl | John Watts |
Carrier | Sarah Ann Watts formerly Hale |
S.A.Watts Mother |
19th Jan 1880 |
1881 Census Sun/Mon 2/3rd April 1881
Source: FHL Film TNA Ref RG11
Piece: 4748; Folio: 113; Page: 6; Sched: 30
Dwelling: Lairgate
Place: Beverley, St Mary, Yorks ER, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Birthplace
John Watts Head M 33 Carrier Lincoln, Louth
Sarah A Watts Wife M 31 Carrier's wife Lincoln, Horncastle
Annie Watts Dau 6 Scholar Yorks, Hull
William Watts Son 4 Scholar Yorks, Hull
Jane Watts Dau 1 Yorks, Beverley
Sarah Barr M-i-L Wid 57 Formerly domestic servant Kirby Castle
| Right: 49 Lairgate where Jane was born. In 2001, the adjacent
garage, now used as a carpet warehouse, from where John WATTS' carrier business departed,
carried the 1919 Watts Bros logo above the door. This has now been demolished, though the
house remains.
The modern name Lairgate derives from either 'Lairs' - the street of barns' - or Lathegate, meaning Barn Yard. The Watts Bros yard may have occupied the site of one of these yards. |
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Lairgate derives its name from being at one time a street of barns, meaning Lairs or Lathegate meaning Barn Yard.
Her father, John WATTS, Carrier
In 1879 John Watts bought the road service of a small horse rully - dialect for cart - belonging to Mr Backhouse. The service delivered newspapers to every hamlet between Hull and Beverley and gave lifts to those wanting to sell their butter and eggs. Source: The Hull Daily Mail 10 March 1949
Watts John, carrier to Hull daily, and hay and straw dealer, Lairgate
- Bulmer's Directory 1892
Watts leaves Lairgate daily at 8am returning from the Rampant Horse, Mytongate, Hull, at 3pm
- Kelly's Directory of the East Riding, 1905
The carrier was the lifeblood of the community in the 19th century. It was he who collected and delivered virtually everything that was moved. [...] The Watts run started off in Beverley and then went via Woodmansey and Dunswell to terminate in Hull. [A modern distance of 8½ miles or 14km]. There were prearranged collection points along the way but, because the cart ran more or less like clockwork, if you just waited by the in the early morning you knew it wouldn't be long before Watts appeared. Once at Hull, the deliveries were done and collections made. With these completed, the horse and cart went to Mytongate in the town. Here a series of stands were organised so carriers from all over the region had room tofeed the horse and await traders to bring goods to them for delivery on the return journey. Simple but efficient was the carrier system. It depended on men like John WATTS who deliver personal messages on their way. [...]
Although the type of traffic on this job was hardly the same two days running, the route that the horse and cart followed was almost identical. The outfit obviously needed a driver, but other vital parts of the Watts service were the lads who assisted him. It was their job to run up and down the alleys of Hull fetching and carrying whilst the driver dealt with the more important tasks. To improve efficiency, as time went by, the lads were issued with shopper cycles so that they could nip ahead and cover the ground and carry more than a small pair of arms would embrace. Even when Watts entered the motorised age in 1915, buying a two-ton Selden [only manufactured in World War 1] to supplement their horses, the lads and their bikes were still very much a part of the crew.
Source: Walker, Charles, A History of road transport
The Rampant Horse, located at either 69 or 78 Mytongate, had a long history of accommodating carriers. The large opening to the left of the bar, demolished in 1989, led to Dinsdales’ Entry, which contained livery stables and was named after the Dinsdale family who ran the pub for more than thirty years.
By the time of the 1891 census the Watts family was almost complete. George Watts was born on 30 December 1911.
1891 Census Sun/Mon 5/6th April 1891 Source: FHL Film PRO Ref RG12 Piece:: 3907; Folio: 103; Page: 4; Sched: 31 Dwelling: Lairgate Place: St Mary's Beverley, York, England Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace John Watts Head M 43 Carrier Employer Lincoln, Louth Sarah Ann Watts Wife M 40 Lincoln, Horncastle Annie Watts Dau S 16 Yorks, Hull William Watts Son S 14 Scholar Yorks, Hull Jane Watts Dau S 11 Scholar Yorks, Beverley Fred Watts Son S 8 Scholar Yorks, Beverley Eva Watts Dau S 3 Yorks, Beverley Arthur Watts Son S 1m Born 21 February 1891 Yorks, Beverley
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| Above: 1908 map showing Mytongate, Hull, shaded yellow. Note how the central location is based around the important agricultural centre of the cattle market, the railway good station for onward dispatch and collection of packages by rail and items that may be travelling by sea. |
1901 Census Sun/Mon 31st March/1st April 1901
Source: FHL Film TNA Ref RG13
Piece: 4461; Folio: 76; Page: 10; Sched: 50
Dwelling: Lairgate
Place: Beverley, Yorks ER, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace
John Watt Head M 53 General Carrier Employer Lincs, Louth
Sarah A Watts Wife M 52 Lincs, Horncastle
Annie Watts Dau S 26 Yorks, Hull
William Watts Son S 24 General Carrier Worker Yorks, Hull
Fred Watts Son S 18 General Carrier Worker Yorks, Beverley
Eva Watts Dau S 13 Yorks, Beverley
Arthur Watts Son S 10 Yorks, Beverley
1911 Census: Sun/Mon 2nd April/3rd April 1911
Source: TNA Ref: RG14 PN
Reg. Gen. Ref: RG78 PN ; En.Dist: 02; Piece: 28545; Sched: 100
RegDist: 520 SubDist: Beverley
Dwelling: 49 Lairgate
Place: Beverley, Yorkshire East Riding
Rooms in dwelling, other than scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom: 10
Years married: 39
Children: Alive 6, dead 2
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace
John Watt Head M 63 Farmer & Carrier Employer Lincs, Louth
Sarah A Watts Wife M 62 Lincs, Horncastle
Anne Watts Dau S 36 Assisting in Business Worker Yorks, Hull
Eva Taylor Dau S 23 Yorks, Beverley
Arthur Watts Son S 20 Assisting in Business Worker Yorks, Beverley
Eva Taylor had been married for two years. Eva Taylor née Watt's life is in 1807info3d
1921 Census: Sun 19th June 1921
Source: RG15; Piece: 23571;
RegDist number: 350; SubDist: 2; ED 7; Sched: 350;
Reg District: Beverley; Parish: St Nicholas
Dwelling: Pighill Lane
Place: Beverley, Yorkshire East Riding
Rooms: 2
Children under sixteen: none
Name Rel Age Mar Occupation Employer Work place Birthplace
Yrs Mn
John Watt Head 73 10 M Retired Farmer & Carrier Lincs, Louth
Sarah Watt Wife 72 7 M Home Duties Lincs, Horncastle
 |
| Above: Pighill Lane, Beverley 1928. It is suggested that John Watt lived in one of the small cottages along Pighill Lane just south of the Molecroft label |
John WATT died on 10 April 1925 aged 77 (GRO ref: 9d 105) recorded at 49 Lairgate, Beverley, left £8925 7s 11d (equivalent to £606,000 RPI to 2023) to William and Arthur Watts haulage contractors and Annie Watts, spinster. It is believed that his daughter Jane had received her sixth to help bail out Arthur's Barton butchery business.
In 1901, Jane was 'in-service' in London. Family hearsay records her being nanny for Sir Walter Gilbey, of the gin family. She stayed there some time before becoming nanny to Olga Burls. The 1901 census records her being at the home of Julia E Ellis, where she was nurse to her granddaughter Olga. Though only 21 she was recorded in the census as the senior servant. No. 1 Regents Park Terrace is now off Oval Road, north of Euston Station and east of Regent Park Zoo and is now in Camden Town.
1901 Census Sun/Mon 31st March/1st April 1901
Source: FHL Film PRO Ref RG13
Piece: 133; Folio: 25; Page: 41; Sched: 233
Dwelling: No 1 Regent Park Terrace
Place: St Pancras, London, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace
Julia E Ellis Head Wid 71 Living on own means Herts, Bps Stortford
Charles M Burls S-i-l M 32 Consulting engineer Worker Hants, Portsmouth
Clara Burls Dau M 41 Herts, Bps Stortford
Olga G Burls GDau 4 London, St Pancras
Jane Watts Serv S 21 Nurse Domestic Worker Yorks, Beverley
Sarah Moody Serv S 44 Cook Domestic Worker Hants, Lockerley
Elizabeth Trollope Serv S 26 Housemaid Domestic Worker London, Hoxton
| Right: Regent Terrace, London in 2009 |  |
The christening gown, though over 100 years old, is a beautiful example of the skill and delicate craft of hand sewing. It illustrates the lost skills of sewing taught to young girls with a 'domestic' education. It will be seen that the widths of lace are divided by strips of calico 'faggoted' together. This involves sewing a strip of brow paper to the hemmed material, leaving ¼ inch (6mm) proud. The same happens to the length of lace. This helped to bring the two pieces together, to keep the lace and calico parallel and avoids drawing the two pieces together. The two pieces were joined together with a feather stitch, seen above..
The yoke at the neck and the cuffs of the sleeves were made of insertion lace through which, tradition dictates, pink or blue ribbon was threaded.
| In later years Jane retold the story of being nanny to the Abrahams family 1 and to a child she referred to as 'Boy'. Mr Abrahams was a Jewish solicitor who married a Himhoff; a Dutch Jewish family and reputed to be the H in the gramophone recording company His Master's Voice (M for Muckel?). Grandmother Himhoff, always said of Jane, ' Nannie you will go to heaven mit de [sic] brush and shovel in your hand'. Jane frequently mentioned Finchley Road and walking round Russell Square. She told how she had enjoyed Lord Major's Show and the visit to the Abrahams' country house at Marlow. As this was her favourite job she kept in touch with the family by letter and visited on one occasion. |  |
The 1911 census only has two Abrahams listed as solicitors. One is a bachelor. Arthur Edward Abrahams of 5 Gloucester Street, Portman Square, was born in Maida Vale, London in 1866. He was married to Clare Augusta and had a son Eric Arthur (Boy?) born1904. There were five servants in the household, but no grandmother. The National Archives references 6 Gloucester Street, which may have become Gloucester Place, which is adjacent to Portman square. Russell Square is 1? miles (2.25km) from Portman Square. The Finchley Road may have extended to Park Road. As a solicitor living near Portman Square, he would be wealthy enough to have a country house in Marlow. This may fit with the assumed dates of Jane's employment.
It is difficult to substantiate this account. By supposition:
 |
1911 Census: Sun/Mon 2nd April/3rd April 1911
Source: TNA Ref: RG14 PN547
Reg. Gen. Ref: RG78 PN19 En.Dist: 11 Sched: 101
RegDist: St Marylebone SubDist: St Mary's
Dwelling: 5 Gloucester Place, Portman Square, W
Place: London
Rooms in dwelling, other than scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom: 13
Years married: 13
Children: Alive 2, dead none
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace
Arthur Edward Abrahams Head M 45 Solicitor London, Middlesex
Clare Augusta Abrahams Wife M 34 London, Maida Vale
May Helen Clare Abrahams Dau 11 Student London, St Pancras
Eric Arthur Abrahams Son 7 London, St Pancras
Olive Skelton Serv S 29 Cook Domestic London, Battersea
Ada Dollenmore Serv S 34 Parlour maid Domestic Herts, Hatfield
Dora Kate Ingram Serv S 26 Housemaid Domestic Berks, Wargrave
Margaret Rayner Serv S 23 Kitchen maid Domestic Scotland, Leith
Elsie Rodford Serv S 19 Nursemaid Domestic London, Pimlico
| In 2010 there appeared to be building works and modernisation of the buildings which
should contain 5, Gloucester Place.
Right: Gloucester Place, London near Portman Square |
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Jane left the Abrahams in 1907, at the aged of 27, to marry Arthur.
Hornsea holidays
| Holidays with Grandma Jane were the seaside and North Cliff beach. We had
arrived by train into Hull Paragon Station and then onwards by East Yorkshire Motor
Services’ navy blue double-deckers, some with rounded roofs, designed to go under
Beverley Bar, and four-seater bench seats on the top deck. The journey was a treat in its
self, with the four-seater top deck front seat prime choice.
Right: East Yorkshire Motor Services double-decker one of which is Hornsea bound. Source: Old bus photos |
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Since the wind always blew off the North Sea we left Grandma’s bundled with woollies and wind break as well multi-coloured inflatable beach ball. Along the passage, across the road and right down Morrow Avenue. It was a bare-foot challenge to reach the beach without stubbing toes. The cinder of the passage was no obstacle: the hot tarmac was comforting. The difficulty, however, were the pebbles of pea-shingle carried by car tyres from the Morrow Road car park to the pavement. Grandpa’s allotment once backed on to this car park.
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Beach access was marked by a dark green Coastguard look-out and a
substantial series of steps and platforms. Wide and safe but leaning with the effects of
erosion, they lead down to the elaborate and substantial concrete promenade marking the
end of coastal protection. Beyond this, winter and high tides saw new climbable deposits
of eroded Holderness boulder clay at the foot of the cliff.
Left: Modern steps leading down to Hornsea beach © Stephen Horncastle but licensed for further reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. |
| At North Cliff there was no accommodation for tourists. Soft, deep, high-water footprint dimpled sand lapped the foot of the stairs. The way to the water was marked by a line of large tumbled stones, which preceded the tide line, the strings of weed and bands of small shingle sitting on the wet compressed sand. Wave breaking and protecting groynes, draped by beards of green weed and adorned by razor sharp, knee grazing limpets, reached into the water. The windbreak was strategically positioned, hammered into the sand with beach stones and regularly turned. And, there we sat and, I am told, frequently shivered. |  |
| Above: North Cliff, Hornsea circa 1950 |
Somewhere in this area a World War 2 pill box had fallen to the beach. Though resting at an angle the door was accessible to the darkness and ‘Biggles’ adventures. The wet sand was for racing between the groynes, cricket and for digging. One year the soft sand made the base for Jokari, a ball on an elastic string attached to a post. Alternate players hit the ball until her bat came in contact with my forehead. The resulting scar is no longer on my hair-line.
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Jane survived a double mastectomy, the first in August 1945 and a second in early 1951.
When the shop closed, in January 1956, Jane moved to live with her daughter Bessie at 23 Egerton Road, Wembley. She died on 06 June 1969 in a Shepperton nursing home and was cremated at Golders Green, London. Her ashes were interred in the Hornsea family grave. In her will, it is believed, Jane left her diaries to her grand daughter Jennifer Beckwith. These diaries must have recorded a fascinating life: a life of a young and successful Edwardian Nannie who nurtured a husband who had not had the same fortunate early life. As her married life developed and her family grew she took the responsibility for keeping them new ventures. Left: Jane Crompton extracted from a photographed taken with her children in 1964, at the time of Ted's visit |
Jane's death
GRO Death: Second Quarter 1969 Surrey North 5g 486
Certified Copy of an Entry Pursuant to the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953
| Registration district Surrey Northern | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-district of Staines County of Surrey | |||||||
| When and where |
Name | Sex | Maiden Name |
Date and Place of Birth |
Occupation | Informant | Cause of Death |
| 6th June 1969 Shepperton |
Jane Crompton |
Female | Watts | 11th Dec 1879 | Widow of Arthur Crompton |
Bessie Beckwith |
Carcinoma of R. Breast Left Ventric failure Senile Dementia |
At the time of her death she was living with her daughter Bessie at 23 Egerton Road, Wembley.
| More information 1 |
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Origins of the Abrahams' family name
Esther Kahn, Guide at Jewish Museum Melbourne, thinks the Abrahams were originally from Germany and came to England as far back as the 1700s. This family seem to be connected to the Western Synagogue, as many of that name are buried in their cemeteries. This is now the West London Synagogue in Upper Berkeley St, off Edgware Road. |
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| This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass |
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Version A11 Updated 19 November 2024 |
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