SUTTONBRANSHOLME & WAWNE Church & People - a celebration by Merrill Rhodes |
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CHAPTER 11
The Railway - Shops and Trade at
A century ago, everyone in the villages of Sutton and
Wawne 'knew their place'. The people who lived 'in the
big houses' employed gardeners and servants.
It was a way of life and was accepted.
Despite the disparity in terms of wealth, the villages were close-knit
communities. On leaving school, the girls often went into 'service', and the boys worked as gardeners or
handymen. Jobs were plentiful. Many people never ventured outside the
village for goods, services or entertainment, particularly the
inhabitants of Sutton. Here there were three butchers;
grocery and provision shops, and those selling clothes and hardware. The village had a police station; two public
houses; Post Office and Telephone Exchange; its doctors and chemist; dressmakers,
tailors and shoemakers; blacksmiths and joiners; plumbers, decorators
and bricklayers; piano teachers and elocutionists; and, at the end, undertakers.
The majority of villagers worked hard for their living;
they loved their village, and knew and respected their neighbours. Sutton
and Wawne were closely integrated; tradesmen served both
places, the postman delivered letters to both, and folk took a
leisurely stroll 'down to the ferry' from Sutton on Sunday mornings after service.
The farms and market gardens between the villages served both communities, and were dependent on them.
Postman Robert Smith, who lived at Jessamine Cottage,
The railway not only provided passenger transport - it was indispensable
to many traders. The Hull to Hornsea line was officially opened in 1864, with a station in Sutton-on-Hull.1 George Liddell and a partner had raised
£20,000 for the Railway Company in 1833, so George's son must have been
elated to have the station almost on his doorstep. No longer was the annual run to
Hornsea in the phaeton confined to the likes of Thomas Bell, the Priestmans or the Revd. Nicholas Walton - now
even the poor could enjoy one glorious day out at the seaside.
Not that Hornsea welcomed the intrusion at first - they were
scathing about the day trippers - but of course, the Victorian heyday
of the railways was here to stay, at least for a while.
The two Sutton schools organised an annual trip for
children, parents, grandparents, friends, a tradition that continued for almost a century. At first the line was only single track, but the trains made good time, and there were plenty of them; on Monday 20 October 1884 records show that the last train from Hull at 10.50pm reached Hornsea and 11.40pm. taking just thirteen minutes to arrive in Sutton.2
The track was doubled around 1902
Sutton Booking Office c1905 - 'every boy's dream'
Tween Dykes Railway Crossing c1907
The line operated for just 100 years, and was left derelict for several years, but is now a much-used cycle track and walkway from Hull to Hornsea.
Two families well remembered today were already established in Sutton long before the turn of the century, George Calvert, blacksmith, and Robert Holmes, butcher, both appearing in records of the 1820s. The blacksmith had his yard opposite the church, on land owned by John Lee Smith.3
Blacksmith's yard 1892, George's grandson James, in foreground. 
The Board on the House by the Yard  When Miss Potterill died in 1910, aged 92, James and his wife, Kate, bought the properties at the top of Potterill Lane, transferring the business there. The lane then, not much more than a cart track, was almost devoid of houses, apart from three bungalows on one side. Later, James often worked in conjunction with Jack Fletcher, joiner and wheelwright, then of 77 Church Street, who had served his apprenticeship with Arthur Carrick. Jack and Edith Fletcher, 85 Church Street, 1950s 
James was very much involved in the life of the village, and it was rare that the smithy was empty of a companion. His work as a shoesmith alone kept him busy, in the years before mechanisation, with working horses on the roads and fields being the natural way of life. He lived with his family in Laburnum Cottage. He was made a J.P. in 1927. James stands centre back with a group from the village. 
When James died in 1928, his son, Conan4 was 28, and already following in his father's footsteps as a blacksmith. He was a leading light in the village and everyone knew and loved him. He and his wife, Emily, had four children, and all surviving retain their links with Sutton, Frank's family still continuing the Calvert name. Con was churchwarden for many years. When Emily died in 1967, he had the vestry at Sutton completely re-furbished by 'Mousie' Thompson in her memory. Con Calvert at work in the Blacksmith's Shop, 1950s 
Another blacksmith whose name appears in the Directory of 1823 is Daniel Robinson. Before 1883 John Robinson owned the poorhouse cottages by the church. After the Poor Law Act, Sutton poorhouse was converted into six cottages; three faced High Street, backed by the other three, divided by a narrow passageway. They were variously called Old Poorhouse, Poorhouse Yard or Row. John Robinson occupied the cottage on the left and had his smithy at the back.5 Plan of John Robinson's Smithy, 1883 
Joseph Robinson followed his father as blacksmith for many years. He had a large family. Holley worked in Thornton-Varley's, later becoming a buyer; and Carrie was well respected as the kindly infants' teacher at St James' School. Poorhouse in the right foreground, c1910 
By 1919 George Dearing occupied the cottage, using the former smithy as a workshop for making and repairing cycles. Behind the cottages, a communal tap was affixed to the wall, and in the yard were built six earth closets. Although the former poorhouse was of three storeys, the upper floor appears to have been used only for storing hay.6 The poorhouse was demolished about 1936, and the bricks used to build the Waterhouse garden wall. One of the occupants of the poorhouse in the 1920s was Robert Marsters, the plumber. Like many men, he had an aversion for shopping, and would let down from his window a basket with a list and money, to any kind-hearted lady who was passing. The job done, he would haul up the basket the same way. He had a little shop, which now serves as someone's garage, on the north of Church Street just going out of the village. Mr Marsters the Plumber 
John Robinson had another son, Alf, who became a blacksmith. He set up business in the smithy in Fairholme Lane (Often called Blacksmith's Lane, or Bargate Lane), Wawne. Alf Robinson, Wawne blacksmith, c1905 
The joiner's shop was next door, and in 1902 George Westerdale Blakey, also from Sutton, began work there. He worked on farm machinery, rulleys and carts. Often he and Alf would work together.7 He lived with his family in the old school. His son, Percy, succeeded him. G W Blakey, Wawne joiner, on right 
The joiner with whom Jack Fletcher learnt his trade in Sutton was Arthur Carrick. He lived at 2A High Street, and it is thought his father, Thomas, built the house with the two adjacent cottages around the mid-19th century. The two cottages were let to the Police. Old Police Houses, 1999 
Although the complex now houses a doctors' practice, the cells can still be discerned just beyond the entrance. George and John Long, father and son, were constables in the 1870s and '80s, followed by PC Jackson, coincidentally a joiner by trade himself.8 PC Jackson and family, police house, Sutton, c1898 
After Thomas Carrick died in 1908, Arthur carried on a
thriving trade. Two of his sons worked with him, alongside four or five other workers. The board on the wall announced:
They were also undertakers. Their business covered a wide area, the staff often away for some time, restoring large houses.9
Arthur Carrick and family, The other family whose roots go back to the early 1800s,
was that of Holmes, the butchers' family. It appears that Robert ran his business from Lowgate,10 but his
son James, born 1838, had his shop in High Street (now William Hill). His
granddaughter, Brenda, born 1904, recalled a very different Butcher's
life:
"Some time in the 1870s my grandfather moved to 5
College Street, then called St Winifred's Villa. It had been a Brewery,
I think. The house had five bedrooms, and our staff slept in the largest, when I was small. I
always got up first to slice two loaves for breakfast, which we
served with cold salt beef. In those days our assistant butcher,
Charles Kennington, lived in 1 Butcher's Row, which James owned as well. I had
a little basket with a white cloth, and I took the ladies of the College their
lamb chop or piece of steak they had ordered. Everything was delivered daily as required.’
Holmes' Butcher's Shop, College Street 1905
‘James and his wife, Elizabeth, had eight children, but she died aged 52.11
My father, Arthur, took on the business. He is on the right of the
picture. The trestle table was only there for the photograph;
you were not allowed to have tables on the pavement.
We had a big slaughterhouse and killed the animals once a week. It is now a Pottery.12 We had three horses and kept them in a field in which there was a large shed.
It was in Lowgate next to 'The Lawns' at the corner of Watson Street and went
right down to Tween Dykes Road. Arthur went to Hull Cattle Market every week and bought the bullocks and sheep and
kept them in the field until required.’ "We had another butcher's shop in Stoneferry, so we had two butchers' carts. When I was
four, I was sometimes allowed to go with my father to all the farms we
visited with the meat. Our last call before home was Wawne Ferry, to see Mr and
Mrs Don Brewer. James used to go in the pub for a drink and Mrs Brewer always
came to see me and brought me a homemade bun and glass of lemonade, a great treat."
Brenda's brother, Arthur, began work as a butcher, but
died of kidney disease in 1932, aged only 24.
Arthur Holmes junior, aged 16, 
Brenda, then married to Douglas Hamilton, and with qualifications from Hull Art College, founded The Sutton School of Art & Crafts, at their large old home in Chamberlain Street. This came to an end before World War Two.13 Syllabus of Sutton School of Art & Crafts 
As well as Holmes' butcher's in the early years, there were two other butchers' shops. Rodmell's near the corner of College Street, also had a farm and sold milk; when Mr Rodmell died, his daughter Renée ran a sweet shop for several years, which many older inhabitants frequented. The other butcher's, opposite Beech Lawn, belonged to John Hakeney.14 In due course, the business passed to the Hickey family, who were still trading in the 1960s.
The new petrol-driven Morris butcher's van, c1930.
Hickeys' Family Butcher, c1959 Renée Rodmell's sister, Nellie, married a Mr Wheelhouse from Stoneferry, and they took over William Hart's grocer's shop opposite the church, when Mr Hart retired. William Hart's shop with delivery cart, High Street, 1870s 16 
The Wheelhouses ran the shop for many years, their daughter Nancy, running part as a hairdresser's salon at one time. The 'Brewery' to which Brenda Holmes referred, was connected to The Duke of York public house. This was probably built or re-built on the site of an ale-house at the end of the 18th century, Peter Killin being the owner at that time. It was a popular name for an inn, for the later George IV was commander in chief of the British forces. Robert Spicer, farmer, was the landlord by 1840, and by 1851 17 he owned the inn and also the land south of it, having built messuages and outbuildings on the site.18 He rented the corner part to the Revd J.A. Eldridge for his school. The messuage and beer shop adjoining, was known as the Albert Brewery, and it is probable that, as licensee of The Duke, Robert Spicer supplied the beer shop which he owned out at the back. The year after died, 1876, James Holmes purchased "the messuage and beer shop, the brewery adjoining, and the malthouse, granary and buildings called the Albert Brewery." Duke of York, c1905 16 
The Duke of York was of modest size then, that of an average house, as were most inns. In the photograph, a small shop stands to the left of The Duke, long since forgotten. According to a Directory of 1890, it belonged to Mr Rickwood, grocer, whose window boasts an array of fruit, nuts, dates and sweets. Mr Rickwood, c1895 
The Duke was under the auspices of the Websters for nearly 40 years until 1920, when it was acquired by the Hull Brewery Company. Mr Rickwood's old shop vanished in the resulting extension, and the public house was re-modelled in mock Tudor style. Andrew Murphy is the present licensee; it presents an attractive frontage, and good food! The Duke of York, July 1999 
The shop on the other side of The Duke in the photograph of 1905 was the Post Office. Even before the Railway, Sutton had a postmaster, Thomas Campey, who was also a grocer, and boot and shoe maker. Letters arrived from Hull and were despatched daily. In 1892, John Forfitt was grocer and postmaster, and also ran the telegraph office and savings bank. Probably by that time it operated from Poorhouse Yard.19 Soon after 1897 the postmaster, Wilson Labourn Smith, transferred the business to 68 Church Street. W L Smith was also a keen photographer, and the back room of the shop was fitted out as a studio.20 His other hobby was repairing and building cycles, and he would bring parts by train from Hull. For the most part, he left the running of the Post Office to a Mrs Coates, as he worked in Insurance in Hull.
Sutton Post Office 1913 
After the First War, the Post Office was run by Arthur Taylor, and moved to 42 Church Street.
Former Post Office in 1994, prior to the recently-built units. 
In recent years, the owners have been Pam and Keith Vickers.21 In the 1990s, wishing to extend the business, they began looking for a suitable site. An old building on Church Street appeared an unlikely venue, but in better days it had been a farmhouse built soon after Enclosure, in 1792. It was 'a perfect example of Georgian symmetry', each of six rooms being 15 feet square. A certain Thomas Ross had lived there (the very churchwarden who caused a rumpus in church in 1803). The house passed to his son, Charles. He and his wife, Isabella, had a son (whom they called Thomas) and a daughter, also named Isabella. She is the lady whom older villagers remember, who lived with her companion, Miss McAllister, in what was known as Poplar House. Miss Ross died in 1937. It is thought that the farmhouse was used in World War Two for homeless people. In 1968 the house and garden were 'listed' by virtue of their historic value, but in course of time the property became derelict. Old Farmhouse 96/98 Church Street, c1990 
Fortunately, Pam and Keith Vickers rescued the dilapidated dwelling, and on 3 February 1994, the handsome new Post Office opened. At present it stocks stationery and a large selection of cards. It serves an ever-growing community, for the former garden now comprises a small estate, Priestgate, built by the firm of Sewell. Sutton Post Office, July 1999  The row of shops 
Opposite the Post Office stands a line of shops and cottages. On the left is William Hill, the shop which was occupied in the 19th century by butcher James Holmes. When he moved his premises in 1876, the shop was taken over by Miss Emma Heron, a dressmaker of 32. She was an extremely able lady, small in stature, but assertive. She sold materials and haberdashery, and continued making clothes. Mary Marsters, who worked for her for 14 years, recalled: "The shop was originally two houses, with a double door at the front, but Miss Heron had the front made into a shop. We had a step outside the door and a little bell which would ring when anyone came into the shop. We had a staircase from the shop to the upstairs. Of course I lived in, just the two of us, with Miss Heron's Old English sheepdog.
"The shop went right back to a long garden, where the toilet was, and we had to fetch water from outside too. There was a huge place behind, which Miss Heron called the warehouse. She kept all the coal in there. She used to buy it once a year. Every Tuesday and Friday, the Sutton carrier, Mr Edward Rodmell, would come to the shop in the morning, take Miss Heron's order, and go into Hull to the Hudson Smith warehouses, bringing the goods back by cart in the evening. Once a month she went to pay her bills. "She would sell materials - best calico was 2½d a yard; cottons, silks and wools. We made men's shirts ourselves in those days, with separate collars. Cotton was 1d a reel. She used to sell wool and oilcloth; best black cashmere stockings at 11½d; hessian aprons; boys' laced boots at 5/11d a pair. She bought boots and shoes from a traveller who came from the Bull Ring in Birmingham. "Customers would come from Wawne and all the district. I remember Arthur West used to come in a lot to buy big rolls of hessian for coarse aprons. I got paid 3/6d a month at the shop." Miss Heron is remembered as being quite an acerbic old lady, demurring to sell a bra to a young girl on account of her 'not having a boosom'. But she ran a successful shop for many years until she died in 1927 at the age of 83. Mary Marsters moved away, but after she retired, she returned to Sutton, and recorded her memories at the grand age of 97. Miss Heron's Draper's Shop early 1900s (now no.71 Church Street) 
In this photograph can be seen a typical parlour shop, advertising its Tea and Cocoa from the front window. The store next door was also run by a lady - Miss Moody - who sold wallpaper and hardware. She had one table set as a mini-café. Her companion with whom she lived was Sarah Harrison, sister-in-law of Jack Hakeney, and an expert needlewoman. Miss Moody's Hardware and Hakeneys' Grocer's Shops, early 1900s 
Cliff Hakeney, born 1907, recalled his parents' shop: "What is now a hardware store was the shop and front sitting room. I remember the bins of flour and the cask of vinegar. Sugar and sweets were sold in blue, cone-shaped bags. Everything had to be weighed and packed. Butter was stamped, bacon sliced and cheese cut. We also sold firelighters and tobacco." Yet another shop was situated on the corner of Albert Terrace where Martha Cross (née Sewell) had a haberdashery and general store, next to the Primitive Chapel (photo chapter 6). She also did dressmaking. Thomas Cross repaired and sold bicycles there in his spare time. However, Martha died in 1921, and shortly afterwards the two daughters, Mary and Marjorie, were living with their grandparents.22 Many villagers remember the later owners of this shop, Misses Mabel and Eva Singleton. It has been boarded up for many years now.
The Ship Inn was probably re-built around 1804. The trustees of Leonard Chamberlain, who owned the land,23 erected a house for four people, and papers24 of 1815 record the lease of the Public House, buildings, stables and garden, to David Habbershaw, tenant. The document refers to the messuage as 'now used as Public House'. Three stables were erected in 1856 with roof spaces for corn and hay (these are still standing). Two almshouses, one for six widows, one for four, were also held by the trustees. Eric Wales, whose grandparents, the Tindills, kept The Ship Inn in the 1920s, recollected: "The pub was very much like a house, with the living quarters on the left. The kitchen was on the left of the steps, and a door from there led into the tap-room, and through the back into the yard. Fifty yards from the back door of the pub were three stables, and a smaller stable where a pig was kept; and the rulley. Outside the back door was a gents' toilet. Round the corner a beer cellar, where the barrels were kept; then the ladies' toilet. The copper-house was next, and a coal-house. Upstairs were three bedrooms, and two attics with a fanlight in the roof." The Chamberlain Trust sold the Ship Inn in 1953.
The Ship gardens at the rear before the car park became a necessity. 
It was probably at this time that the name became The Ship, and when the cottages next to the inn were acquired by the new owners in order to enlarge the premises, for it was in 1954 that the new Chamberlain Homes were built to the rear of the pub next to the car park. These have just been demolished. The Ship is another beautifully-kept public house in Sutton. The Ship, July 1999 
The name of Easingwood was familiar at the turn of the century. Thomas Easingwood was a builder and bricklayer. It is thought by the family that as a young apprentice he assisted with the building of Victoria Terrace in the mid-1850s, soon after Thomas Bell's estate was divided. In later years, he owned this terrace. Victoria Terrace, College Street 
Thomas Easingwood re-built the church room fronting the school in 1867. This has had many uses over the years, including premises for the Trustee Savings Bank. In 1896, Thomas erected the four cottages of Providence Row, and also built four houses near the top of Potterill Lane. In 1918, then aged 78 (it was a time when many working people did not 'retire'), he planned two houses opposite the church. Sadly, only one was completed before he died - The Nook - but happily, Thomas' wife Rachel, settled there for her last 12 years, and the house is still in the family. The Nook, 1918 
Thomas Easingwood lived in West Parade, but his relative, Harry, lived in Providence Cottages, working as a shoemaker and repairer. William Easingwood junior, occupied a cottage in Victoria Terrace. He was a joiner. Next door but one, occupying the gabled end-of-terrace house in the foreground was Charles Pickering, painter and decorator. In 1895 he sent Charles Hellyer an estimate for painting Westfield Cottage - a fair amount of work for £6.18.0d. Tender for painting farmhouse, 1895 
Many villagers remember Charles Pickering's son, Bert; the plaque on the wall advertises the business. Several of the descendants of George Sonley, of Beech Cottage, were still in Sutton around 1900. John Blenkin Sonley, born in 1838, established a multi-skilled business as wheelwright, joiner, builder and undertaker. He built Fern Cottage (opposite 12 Church Mount). His son, of the same name, was born in 1876, and worked hard like his father. Working at Addison House one day, he met Bertha Massam, who had taught at Lambert Street School, specialising in music, but at that time was governess to the Winkley girls. The couple married. John helped Thomas Easingwood build The Nook and the former Post Office (no.42). When his father retired, he moved to West Parade, and John junior, and Bertha moved into Fern Cottage.
Fern Cottage, home of the Sonleys. 
It was a large complex of buildings, with a joinery and another large building which the army took over during World War One for fumigating purposes (blankets, etc). Bertha did the book-keeping and helped build up the business, and the couple owned many houses in Sutton. However, John often waived the fee if a child died, and lined the little coffins with satin, decorating them with ribbon. He remembered with grief making coffins for three of Emily Pitcher's children. 25 John Blenkin Sonley had a hearse, and a pony and trap 
The old occupation of Carrier has disappeared now, never to return. Roads and communications improved slowly after Enclosure, and Sutton had a regular carrier service from the beginning of the 19th century. Richard Clappison, whose descendants still live locally, departed from 'Mrs Jenkinson's Pot Shop, Lowgate' on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1810. As Mary Marsters remembered, Edward Rodmell was the Sutton carrier by the 1890s, and also a coal merchant. His grandson, Cliff Wright, remembers: "My grandfather would go to Hull every Tuesday and Friday. The previous evening people would bring goods they wanted to sell, dairy produce or parcels, and give lists of things they wanted to sell in the shops. They could travel in the horse-drawn cart if they wished. They went to the market-place by Holy Trinity. For the return journey, boys with hand carts would bring produce that was to go to Sutton, and my grandfather would return to Sutton.
"My father started in the business, but after the War, in 1918, there was no call for it, and he became a corn factor." 'Carrier Cottage' was in Chamberlain Street. The cottage still stands, though with three additional bedrooms in the roof. Edward Rodmell, Sutton Carrier, early 1900s 
Noel Thompson and Brian Lazenby ran a horse bus service from The Duke of York to Hull around 1900, and later the latter aspired to a taxi service, acquiring a fine new Darracq for the purpose. Brian Lazenby and Taxi, c1910 
Wawne village, too, had a carrier service in the 19th century, and Police Constables served there; George Long was in Wawne from 1875.26 PC Hobson, who had previously worked as a farm labourer for Ashe Windham, was killed in a motor cycle accident in Pocklington. PC Roantree was specially commended for apprehending a thief. PC Roantree at home in Kenley Cottages, c1910 
He retired to Little Weighton, built himself a house there, across the lane from the school, and gave over part of his large garden to the school for gardening lessons.
Around 1900, there were in Wawne the blacksmith and joiner, Mr J Brown the grocer, and Mr Brown the tailor, and a shoemaker. Wawne: tailor's shop in foreground, next to general store 
Thus, the villagers depended mostly on tradesmen from Sutton and the surrounding area. James Farnaby, who lost his Post Office in 1911, was the shoemaker. The Post Office was transferred to Church Row, in the little cottage opposite the church. It was run by Mabel Richardson. (Below) 
Muriel Blakey's grandfather became sub-postmaster in 1916, but her mother looked after the office. They lived in a cottage in Greens Lane, next to the school. In 1942, Clara Blakey was appointed as sub-postmistress, and four years later moved to 21 Main Street, where the business was run from a table in the hall. She retired in 1966, and the Post Office moved to its present shop in Main Street. Various references have been made to the ancient Wawne Ferry, and traders from Beverley and Dunswell took advantage of the river crossing to sell their wares. Slightly later in the century, Frank Norton remembers 'Tin Hat Man' who lived in a houseboat moored at Thearne. He came to Wawne with his tin box crammed with lace and handkerchiefs, pins and needles, buttons and bootlaces. In the 19th century, the ferry was operated by successive tenants of the former public house close to the landing stage on the east bank of the river. In 1840 this was known as Ferry House, with William Breeding as the victualler. William Breeding, junior, was still operating the ferry in 1872, but his house was also known as Anchor Inn at least as early as 1853, when it was so named on the OS map. By 1879 the landlord was James Brewer, originally from Little Weighton, who had nine sons and three daughters. In the graveyard of St Peter's church there stands a memorial stone to James Hall Brewer, who died in 1889, aged 55. The 1892 Directory shows Anchor Inn as being occupied by William Gray, victualler and farmer, but by 1895 it had been taken over by John Wood, who stayed about a decade. Donald Brewer, who appears to be the seventh of James' children, took over the Windham Arms, as it was then called, in 1909.27 Residents of Wawne recall paying one penny to cross the river and back, twopence for a cycle; sixpence for pony and trap. Donald Brewer ran the ferry to Thearne almost until the time it ceased to operate in 1946. Wawne Ferry 1922; Donald Brewer ferryman 
Sutton High St, looking west. 
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