During the first week, the new hospital admitted 123 patients. On the 18th alone, 24 new cases were taken in. By then, 62 people had already died from the disease at the Garrison hospital, and two or three a day at Evan Fraser. Police were stationed outside to prevent anyone going in. Religious services were banned, and public libraries forbade the borrowing of books.

It was then confirmed that the Garrison was a primary source of infection; within a half-mile radius of the hospital, smallpox was four times as virulent as elsewhere. In December, the last patients there were discharged, the building fumigated and set alight.

Mr Francis Boynton of Sutton, was to supply the Evan Fraser with its milk, at 1/- a gallon. The Baths & Washhouses Committee made a gift of '1,000 old towels'. Miss Mary Marsters, born in 1895, recalled that, a few days after her mother died in 1899, someone in the village noticed that her father who "had a beard like George V, had a spot or two on his face. The doctor said he'd better go to hospital. He went to fever hospital on West Carr Lane. He said he never had smallpox till he got there." After the outbreak, the Evan Fraser assumed the role of a convalescence unit for cases of diphtheria and scarlet fever.

During the First War, the staff were thoroughly overworked. A nurse died, and the enquiry found that nurses were expected to work for three months with only one night and a weekend off.

Older Sutton residents remember that, because of its 'isolation' status, and therefore no visiting, patients were assigned a number, and "you had to look in the paper to find if the person had died or not."

At the outbreak of World War Two, the hospital again shifted its emphasis, to receive 150 chronic elderly sick. This became the home of those surviving until February 1945. People working at the hospital then, recall a lack of electricity and flush toilets. Mice were always in the kitchen; two or three would be running back and forth along the gaspipe which ran through the wall to the central gaslight.

The buildings were eventually demolished in 1958, and in 1966 the land was divided between the Corporation, for the development of Bransholme, and private developers. Sutton Park School occupies part of the site today.

When Evan Fraser was still quite new, there came to live in Sutton a couple who did a great deal for hospitals - Mr and Mrs Edwin Robson who, in 1913, came to live in the large, gracious Sutton House, formerly owned by the Liddells. Mr Robson was on the Board of Management of the Royal Infirmary, and his wife had, only the previous year, purchased a house on Holderness Road, to be used as a free maternity home for poor mothers. This home became very popular, and in 1915, Mrs Robson gave it as a gift, fully equipped, plus £50 p.a. for running expenses, to Hull Corporation.  This home eventually became the Hedon Road Maternity Hospital. Mrs Robson performed the official opening on 11 October 1929. There were 83 beds, with accommodation and a training school for 24 midwives.

Edwin Robson (1863-1939) had entered business in his uncle's firm, Mr Henry Hodge, seed crusher, of High Street. Later, Mr Robson purchased Wilmington Mills, and c1900 became a director of the newly-founded British Oil & Cake Mills.

The couple had moved from Tower Grange on Holderness Road, and they brought with them some of the staff. Well remembered was Mr Leake, the gardener who lived in a cottage on the estate, and whose daughter Winnie, later married Clem Robinson.

Winnie Leake between the whale jawbones of Sutton House

Mr and Mrs Robson had eight children. Barbara Robson, born 1912, was away at school in 1925 when she became ill, and died suddenly of meningitis. Edwin Robson bought land from Mr Leonard Rodmell, of Hill Farm, and gave to the village a Playing Field in her memory, known as the Barbara Robson Children's Playing Field. The ground space was altered somewhat when the new Robson Way was constructed - but the playground and field are still well used.

          Barbara Robson c1924

Opening of Playing Field, 19.5.1928.
Settrington Savery MP, Edwin & Edith Robson,
Lady Middleton, J MacDonald, T R Ferens, P Reckitt

 

During the First World War, Mrs Robson set up a model creamery at Sutton House, where she became an expert cheese-maker. During one ten-day teaching course in 1919, 286 gallons of milk were used to make 500 pounds of cheese. Many thousands of pounds of cheese were made that year at Sutton House.

Mrs Robson was also keen on poultry breeding, and she enjoyed flower cultivation in the extensive grounds of the house. She was "forever opening bazaars, six in one week at one time." She laid the foundation stone for Portabello chapel. They were staunch Methodists, but their children were married at St James'. Doris Kirby remembers watching from her grandmother's window, 58 Church Street, as the red carpet was laid along the path, and the canopy raised over the porch.

Wedding of Violet Robson and William Nicks, 29 January 1929.

Violet was a keen supporter of the Guiding Movement, and was Brown Owl for some time.

Guides outside Sutton House, early 1930s. Hilda Atkin & Winnie Leake leaders.

 

Mr and Mrs Robson and family, c1935

The family had a chauffeur for many years, James Chesney, who lived in Beech Cottage, the corner of Potterill Lane. James' daughter Vera, trained as a seamstress under Madame Clapham.³

Beech Cottage was built around 1849 when George Sonley lived there. He had 16 children.

Beech Cottage 1904

James Chesney chauffeur, with Edwin & Edith Robson,
& two daughters, c1915.
He owned a succession of vehicles, the last being a Rolls-Royce.

The Robsons owned a great deal of land in Sutton and Stoneferry. Edwin died in 1939 and Edith in 1941. Sutton House was used by the Electricity Board for the remainder of the War, but then it was bought by the Church of England and converted into the Hull Diocesan Maternity Hostel. When the Hostel moved to its original location in Linneaus Street in 1971, Sutton House fell into disrepair. However, the listed building was eventually converted into the splendid Residential Home that it is today.

One of Mrs Robson's supporters at the cheese-making classes was Mrs Philip Reckitt. After Mary Ann Priestman died, the Reckitt family bought East Mount, and had the house almost entirely re-built to a design by John Bilson. On his frequent 'Grand Tours', Philip Reckitt collected many interesting and curious objects for his house.  The gift of his home in 1925 to be used as a further branch of the Royal Infirmary typified the interest that the Reckitt family had always shown in the Infirmary, starting in 1858 when Isaac Reckitt gave two guineas for the hospital. The Hull Royal Infirmary (Sutton Annexe), comprising the large house and 50 acres, was officially opened on 5 February 1931. Now, the Reckitts' home in the large complex is used for administration.

Former home of the Reckitt family at East Mount - 1995

Between East Mount and Sutton, several superior houses had made their appearance by the early 1900s - Eldon Villas and Locherben, the latter occupied by Herbert Gray and family for many years. Evidence of cut and dressed stones in the garden suggest a former well.

Opposite, on Saltshouse Road, stands the 'charming residence' known as Woodside. It was erected in 1890 by its first owner, Mr F D Hurtley. Horace (1849-1930) and Lucy Waterhouse lived there for several years, from about 1916, having moved from The Elms.  Mr Waterhouse was a partner in the firm of Barton & Waterhouse, seed crushers of Stoneferry.⁴ Atlantic Mill was their first venture, but it burnt down in 1886. They built a new mill, and in 1908 took over Albion Mill. Horace and Lucy had seven children, most of whom remained in Sutton for some time, and were prominent in village affairs, with the church, and other activities.

Woodside, home of the Waterhouses, c1920

The house was sold to the Corporation around 1953, and is now a Remand Home, Sutton Place.

Built around the same time was the house next door, known as Three Trees, and occupied by William and Freda Waterhouse (married 1913) and family.⁵

Three Trees, 1920

William became managing director of United Premier Oil & Cake Mill. He owned Chestnut Farm, opposite the house. The name is retained in the housing estate there. Ursula Waterhouse (later Follett) recalled how during the War, the working shire horses were brought from the mill at Stoneferry to remain safe from incendiaries in the farm fields.  But on the night of 9 May 1941, an enemy aircraft emptied its bombs onto the field, killing all the horses.

Mr Waterhouse surveying bomb damage on Chestnut Farm

The Waterhouses were also very involved with Sutton village and the church. In 1947 William bought the old cottages and land in front of the church hall - subsequently known as Church Cottages - and made a gift of them to the church. The church garden at the foot of the west steps, though not on the exact site, is sometimes referred to as the Waterhouse garden.

Freda Waterhouse was the daughter of the Winkleys, formerly of Tilworth, but from 1900, of Addison House, next door to Three Trees. The castellated dwelling, with its datestone of 1900, is now the residence of a more prominent personage.

Enid, Freda and Lois Winkley, of Addison House, 1900?

Thus, the extended Waterhouse family occupied the greater part of Second Sutton Lane, as it was called. Aingarth, The Hornbeams, once occupied by the Bladon family, and The Hollies, complete the walk into Sutton.

Leonard Rodmell, from whom Edwin Robson bought land for the Playing Field, was the son of Abraham Rodmell (1834-1910), who held a farm called Mount Pleasant, situated east of the parsonage on Wawne Road.⁶  Built around 1870, it was a typical Victorian model farm, with arched, decorative window-heads, polychromatic brickwork, and angular gables.  Indeed, it was known locally as 'Model Farm'. Abraham and his wife Emma, had eleven children - "She made all their shirts," remarked a relative, "and knitted as she went down the field to fetch the cows up."  Eventually, the farm passed to Leonard. He lived there with his siblings Harry, Billy, Frank, Lily and Marion.

Tragedy was to befall Frank, who was killed by a train between Sutton and Swine when he was crossing the track with a flock of sheep.  It was a windy day and he failed to hear the train.

'Model' Farm, c1930                            

In 1927, Leonard and his wife Alice, moved to Hill Farm (Rose Cottage on the 1890 plan of estate - Mr Liddell's land). The land of the two farms was worked together, comprising about 147 acres, and extending behind Barton House and Holly Bank on the west, and behind the Reading Room and railway, the school and churchyard, to the east.

Alice's sister Emily, married 'Rowley' Thompson (he was a familiar figure milking his cows in the pinfold next to the school) and they lived in 'Highgate' in Wawne Road after Miss Barker left. Their two sons, Harold and Frank, helped on the farm.  Leonard and Alice had no children of their own, and later, Harold and Frank became part owners. Before Mount Pleasant passed to the Council in March 1959, Frank and his wife Barbara, farmed Mount Pleasant. The farmhouse was demolished in 1968/9.

Astral Way, a private residential development, now occupies the site of Hill Farm.

Frank Thompson with Uncle Leonard Rodmell      

In his early years as a farmer, Leonard Rodmell became the first tenant of Wold View Dairy Farm, sited on Leads Road, now the corner of Midmere Avenue. Built in 1912, it comprised 54 acres, 18 of which were contiguous with the farm, and the remaining 36 acres adjoined 'Hospital Lane' (also known as Pool's Road or Green Lane). Dr John Lamplugh Kirk was the owner.

In 1927 the Smith family moved to Wold View, father and son George. George Smith recalled the early years:

"I remember delivering the milk in churns, from horse-drawn carts. They were hard years for farmers; apart from the economic problems, there were several wet summers and the crops were lost. Many farmers, who tended to be arable, went over to dairy. It was safer because you collected a steady income. The dairy farms tended to be on the main roads, and crops grown further out. We would leave the churns at the farm gate where they were collected, and the milk taken to Hull. As more farmers turned to dairy from arable, the locals would remark, 'He's on his way out,' when they saw the milk churns outside the farm gate.

                 Wold View Farm c1912

"We ploughed the land with horses. I remember the excitement when Carlam Hill Farm in Wawne got the first tractor in the area. Another Wawne farm created a 'first' as well; Ings Farm was the first to 'marl' the land (a process which prevents the top layer of soil from blowing away).

"We bought our first petrol-driven milk van in 1932, instead of the horses. We employed two roundsmen then. When we got bottles, Edith (his wife) would wash them all by hand, about 400, from the copper in the kitchen."

Mr and Mrs Smith were still working Wold View when, in 1965, the Council bought the acreage from Dr Kirk's daughter. The Smiths stayed on in the house, and watched the building of Truro Close, Wendron Close and Redruth Close on their farmland. Midmere Primary School was built on one of the fields. The old farmhouse survived, happily in use as a children's nursery.

Part of the plan of Sutton House Estate, 1890 (click it twice)

Dr John Kirk's father, Thomas, purchased land in High Street between 1853 and 1855, and built 12 messuages comprising the twin terraces of Church Mount.

Church Mount c1905

Around 1860, he built a farmstead in the High Street, in Georgian brick⁷  (Kirk Close is built on the site). 

 

 

John William Kirk, son of Thomas, who built Church Mount, died in 1872 aged only 27. His widow, Mary, married Benjamin West, stockbroker.⁸  Together with her young, son John L Kirk, they went to live firstly in Church Mount and later to Springfield, situated on the corner of Leads Road. The couple had one son, Arthur.

Springfield c1905

Some time in the 1890s, Abraham Rodmell (apparently unrelated to the Abraham of Mount Pleasant) became the tenant of Kirk's Farm, later purchasing the farm. His wife, Polly, established a new name - Holm Oak - by virtue of the splendid tree in the garden.

Abraham and Polly Rodmell at Holm Oak     

Abraham gave up farming in the 1920s, and sold the land, comprising about 80 acres, to the Hakeney family. After Jack Hakeney died, Abraham's son-in-law, Con Calvert, bought back the land, and re-let it.  The farmhouse was demolished in the late 1970s. Only the old cowshed remains, and the original name, Kirk Close.

Springfield, the home of the Wests, was built by shipowner Benjamin Holland, in the 1820s, and occupied a site of more than six acres. When he died in 1847, it passed to his daughter, Eliza Graburn. Benjamin West bought it from John Storry. Mr West was well-known in the village for his assortment of vehicles. His son Arthur, was a colourful character in Sutton, remembered for his penchant for clocks, especially other people's. Aptly nicknamed 'Clocky', his house on Wawne Road was found to be 'jammed with clocks' after he died.

                        'Clocky' West

When Thomas Bell's property was broken up after 1851, a good deal of re-building took place in that part of the parish during the next decade. Wincolmlea was demolished, and two separate residences were built - The Elms and Beech Lawn, both similar architecturally. The line of houses opposite, Victoria Terrace, was built, and cottages in Watson Street, site of Bell's kitchen garden, still bear the datestone, 1864. Albert and Rutland Terraces were constructed, with the house on the corner (later Singleton's) bearing the datestone, 1856.

Horace Waterhouse lived at The Elms by 1881, and as his family grew, so did the servants, there being a cook, nurse, housemaid and governess by the census of 1891. After the Waterhouses moved to Woodside, the Cocklands moved into The Elms.  British Gas Light & Coke Co acquired the house by 1925, and the manager, Harold Copp, was resident. His successor in 1939 was Mr Arthur Higham. He was awarded the MBE for his work during the War, being constantly called on both day and night to deal with fractured pipes and leakages. The land-mine on Watson Street, 25 March 1941, blew in all the doors of The Elms, and the window panes were thrown onto the lawn, incredibly remaining intact.

Mr Higham's daughter remembers The Elms as being a lovely home with a large lounge and billiard room. The gardens were extensive, reaching as far as Jessamine Cottage. The grounds boasted a tennis court, stabling, carriage house, pig sties and chicken houses. Masses of bluebells filled the driveway in spring.

The Elms 1950s

Beech Lawn was acquired by Thomas Kidd Bulmer (1834-1902) a seed crusher in partnership with Mr Field. He lived there with his wife and eight children.

Henry Frederick Smith (1836-1914) was the next owner, who came from Lamwath after selling to Charles Hellyer in 1896. Henry's family had lived in Sutton for many years, his father being John Lee Smith JP, of Elm Tree Cottage, a tea merchant. His grandmother was also of Sutton. Henry Smith was head of the firm of Messrs H F & Lee Smith Ltd., seed crushers of Wincolmlee. He and his wife Ada, had ten children, all adopting the middle name of Lee.

John Lee Smith (1875-1968), a Major in World War I, inherited Beech Lawn

Both these gracious houses were converted in recent years into residential homes for the elderly.

The Lawn, sited between Watson Street and Tween Dykes, stands on ground formerly owned by Thomas Barnby, later his daughter Mary. Built around 1880, it had six good-sized bedrooms, large drawing and dining rooms, kitchen, pantry and cellar. The splendid pigeon cote was inherited from the Barnbys. By 1899 the house was occupied by Mr and Mrs Fenton. The house has rather unusual galleries at the top, which apparently became the downfall of two maids who, when the mistress was out, went up to "take the air and admire the view. Mrs Fenton was not amused, and they were sacked.⁹ By 1913 the Fentons had built an extension for billiards at the side opposite the conservatory. There was also a tennis court.

The Lawn, 1905

Thomas Pentith and his family moved from The Limes to The Lawn for a few years. Colonel Alfred John Downs of Rose, Downs & Thompson, engineers, was the owner possibly up to the Second War. The Government took over the house then, no doubt relishing the roof galleries for signalling purposes. After the War, the Singletons bought the house, intending it for flats, but instead it was converted into a Club.

Mr Thomas Riley bought The Lawn, c1952, and had an extension built on. When the family sold much of the land, garages were errected close up to the original frontage.¹⁰

Elm Tree Cottage, the residence of Henry F Smith's father, was situated opposite to where the vicarage now stands. The kitchen garden was the site of one of the ancient manor houses, 'the remains of which were pulled down in 1847 by Mr Smith'.¹¹ The pleasure grounds were extensive, extending all the way down to Tween Dykes, and on the west, to the railway. The front lawn alone was 30 acres!

William Walker and Henry Hodge, both seed crushers, occupied the house, and by the census of 1881, George and Zilpah Hodge were there.  He employed 61 men and three boys, presumably in his business as a seed crusher.

By 1889, Dickinson Hurtley, corn miller at Wilmington, owned Elm Tree Cottage. He demolished the house c1907,¹² and built the present mansion of red brick and tiles. It was of fine workmanship, each brick being wrapped individually.¹³ It was re-named Elmtrees.

Sutton Village Care Home, formerly Elmtrees

Mr Hurtley died soon afterwards, at the age of 86, and his sons Joseph and Edward, also corn millers, inherited the house. It was put up for auction in 1917,¹⁴ when the buildings and land still comprised about 20 acres. The frontage was to the south, the rear facing High Street. The house contained about 44 rooms, including ten bed and dressing rooms, billiard room and library. There was stabling for ten horses, coach house, and numerous outbuildings.

In addition to the main residence, there was another house with five rooms and bathroom; a farm house with buildings and land; three four-roomed cottages; and a site for two further cottages. The property passed to Robert Williams, who filled the rooms very well, having a family of 21 children.

Later in the 1920s, the Sutton building firm of Sewell bought some of the land, and Highfield was built.

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, 30 to 40 Basque children lived in the big house. In World War Two it was used by the Army and as a fire station.

Since the 1940s, the house has undergone a variety of changes, including being let as separate offices. It is now a residential home, Sutton Village Care Home.

All these large houses in Sutton, and their owners, provided regular entertainment and enjoyment in the early years of the century, with a round of garden parties, fêtes and bazaars in spacious grounds - a gentle way of life that many of us would envy today.

Garden party at Elmtrees, early 1900s

. . . next                   

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Home Page

CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4

Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 8 ~

Chapter 9 ~ Chapter 10   ~ Chapter 11 ~ Chapter 12

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Notes

1     Letter in Borthwick, York

2     Hull City Archives

3     Thanks to James' granddaughter who has supplied photographs of several Robson carriages

4     Harold W Brace: History of Seed Crushing in Great Britain

5     Thanks to Ursula, their daughter, for information and photographs.

6  I am indebted to Heather Clubley (née Calvert) for this, and much more information, many photographs she has borrowed for the church's education department, and for her continued interest and friendship.

7     Ibid.

8     Thanks to Miss Kathleen West, granddaughter.

9     Mary Salvidge tells this tale, her aunt being one of the maids.

10    Thanks to Jack Riley of The Lawns

11    Sheahan & Whellan, 1856

12    Notice of Sale

13    Mary Marsters, Sutton resident, remembered this.

14    Notice of Sale 1917

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