The family in Hartlepool

 

The Judges from Whitby and the Dagleishs from Berwick arrived in Hartlepool at a time when it was growing rapidly thanks to the Victorian industrialist Christopher Tennant.  People were attracted by increased employment opportunities in the ship building industry and by new housing, possibly of a better quality than that which they were leaving. 

 

John Dagleish and Ann Elizabeth Judge were married on 12 February 1898 at St Mary’s RC Church, Hartlepool.  At the time of the wedding John was a 24 year old iron driller, Ann was 22 and they were both living at 8 Raby Street.  The wedding was witnessed by Ann’s dad, Fred, and John’s sister Margaret.  Their eldest child, John (aka Jack) was born four months later on 15th June 1898.  Their third child, Ralph, was born at 12 Blake Street, West Hartlepool on 7th December 1900.

 

Ann’s father, Frederick William Judge, and his father, John Judge, both died at 8 Raby Street, Hartlepool.  John was found dead in bed on 1st August 1895, he had died at 80 of old age.  Fred died of hepatic carcinoma and exhaustion on 12 March 1904 at the age of 56.  His wife Ann was with him when he died.  At the time of his death he is described as a ship painters labourer, but three years earlier during the 1901 census he was still a jet ornament manufacturer, a distinctly Whitby trade, despite having moved to Hartlepool.  The jet industry was failing at this time, fashions had moved on but the industry failed to changes from the clunky styles that had gone out of fashion.

 

One hundred years ago there were two Raby Streets in Hartlepool.  On the northern side of the headland in Throston Ward is the one where our ancestors, the Judges, lived.  Throston Ward has been extensively redeveloped and the street plan is now slightly different with some of the smaller streets having gone, including Raby Street.  The other Raby Street in South Ward on the southern tip of the headland close to the harbour entrance is still there but the houses have been rebuilt. 

 

During the mid 1800s Hartlepool underwent massive growth.  Because the old town is on a headland it could not accommodate this growth so most of the new build happened to the west of the harbour entrance and was hence named West Hartlepool.  Blake Street is still there, close to the main cemetery, although the houses are not the original Victorian stock. 

 

Blake Street and Raby Street were about 1˝ miles apart and most of the route was covered by the Cleveland Road/Millbank Terrace tramway.

 

Below is an exert from the Alan Godfrey map of Hartlepool 1914 showing Thorston Ward with Raby Street highlighted.

 

 

The 1901 census shows the Judges, five of them, living in two rooms at 8 Raby Street, another family (Shadforths) had the

other two rooms.  Before he died in 1895 John Judge lived here and at the time of their marriage in 1898 both John Dagleish and Ann Elizabeth lived here too.  John Dagleish may have moved in after John Judge died but it still seems very crowded by today’s standards.  It could well be that the Dagleish’s lived in the two rooms later occupied by the Shadforth family.  This could explain John & Ann “living together” at the time of their marriage, a rather racy concept in the 1890s!  Having said that their eldest was born a remarkable four months after their marriage.

 

The street plan shows a public house in Raby Street.  The Raby Hotel at 9 Raby Street is the nearest thing to a public house mentioned on the census.  By my reckoning number 8 is the house shaded yellow .

 

The 1901 census shows John and Ann Dagleish living in 3 rooms at 12 Blake Street with their eldest three children, John (aka Jack), Hilda and Ralph.  

 

 

 

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