Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

In June 2009 I asked for help finding William Thorpe in the 1861 and 71 censuses. I had his wife in 1871 but he was not at home. I don't need to find either of them in any other censuses before or after.

In the end he was not traced even by this expert crew so I felt slightly less stupid in a funny sort of way. I did say I'd come back if any further developments happened......

Of twelve children three of them were born NOT in Liverpool but in Widnes. The firstborn Niels P.J. was born in Liverpool in 1870 but followed by:
Willaber in Feb. 1872 in Terrace Row Widnes
Hannah Maria in Aug. 1873 - also Terrace Row
Another child John Nelson Thorpe came next in 1875 - but I do not know where and I cannot find him in FreeBMD.
Next was Mary Louisa born in Widnes - again Terrace Row.
After her the family apparently moved back to Liverpool because the next daughter Margaret Bond Thorpe was born in March 1880 in Liverpool. All subsequent children have Liverpool as place of birth.

I looked for Terrace Row in the 1861 census and it is not yet there. Nor is it in 1871. By 1881 it does exist and it seems to be near an alkali works and to water whether sea, river or canal I know not - if the occupations of residents in the street are to be believed. Of course the Thorpes do not live there by then - that would be too easy wouldn't it?

Sorry to be so longwinded but I don't want to waste your valuable time duplicating what I've done. Now the questions.....are there directories or electoral rolls or other sources which might help me establish when they arrived in Widnes? Does anyone know when Terrace Row was built? Are there other paths I might explore? Any thoughts greatly appreciated - you always give me food for thought...

Ken

Hi Ken
Terrace Row was in the West Bank area of Widnes. It is shown on the 1906 ordnance map. It is now called St. Mary's Rd. It overlooks the River Mersey only separated from it by the promenade and a small public park.
Cheers.

Halton Borough Council may be able to help with a date when the houses were built but looking at the residents in the 1881 census I get the feeling that most were either young married couples or families with the older children having been born elsewhere and only the younger ones born in Widnes. I get the feeling that it might have been a street in an area that was just being developed - perhaps some new industries opening and housing needed for the incoming workers. The feeling is that they may have been built around the early part of the 1870's.

The difficulty about checking street directories or Electoral Registers is that these were prepared the year before publication and you have only a brief space of time between when they were in Liverpool and when they moved into Widnes.

There are links on the council site to all the libraries in the surrounding area and Widnes has a Family History Section on the top floor where such documents will be held.

Hi again
Further to my previous note.According to "A Register of Building Plans for Widnes 1865-1920." by Brian Lawless published by Halton Council in 1988. Some 10 houses were built 1868. 1 in 1869. 10 in 1874 and unknown number in 1872. Some may have been built prior to 1865. According to the 25 inch map Lancashire there were some 43 houses in the street all on the same side of the street facing the River. The area of the town known as West Bank was mainly built in the 1860's and 1870's as the local chemical industry boomed.
hope this helps a little.
cheers.

Thank you both for your replies - I'm glad to know a little more about Terrace Row especially so it has helped. I'm afraid it looks as though it may be some time before I can get to Widnes to see what can be followed up so I'll have to "archive" your reply Mary.

Ken