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From
Nidderdale to Todmorden...
The
Blackas; a family of plasterers and publicans. |
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Blacka
is an unusual name and is thought to be derived from Blackey,
a Scottish name that has evolved into various derivatives
such as Blackah, Blacka, Blacker and Blackey. For simplicity
I will use Blacka for all surnames. |
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Miners
Arms |
The
Blacka family of Todmorden has its roots in the lead
mining village of Greenhow Hill, near Pateley Bridge
in Yorkshire. It is thought that they came down from
Scotland to this small Yorkshire village and settled
as early as the 1680's, the parish records giving evidence
of them living there at that time.
Greenhow
Hill is not so much the archetypal village with a centre
and a cluster of houses around the main street, but
more of a spread of cottages and farms, with the central
focus being the Miner's Arms. |
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The
lead mining industry in the 1700 and mid 1800's was
a very lucrative one with lead being needed for most
building jobs, and work was easy to come by so the Blackas
soon got established in the lead mining work. |
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The
mining of lead was carried out on exposed open moorland
and the working conditions must have been appalling
in the winter time. A view of the sort of area where
the mines were situated gives an idea of just how hard
it must have been for the miners. It is a lovely view
on a nice summer day, but picture it in the middle of
winter if you can. |
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During
the years of 1845-1870 the United Kingdom was producing
half of the world's lead, even though there had been
a depression in the 1830's, which saw many miners leaving
to find work in the coalmines and textile mills of Australia
and America as well as the neighbouring counties.
Maybe
the harsh climate of Nidderdale also played a part in
their moving down to the kindlier weather conditions
of the lower valleys. Greenhow is a very exposed village
and evidence of the ferocity of the climate can be judged
by the fact that very few of the doors on the houses
face north or west. |
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St.
Mary's church in the village was built by the lead miners
themselves with local quarried stone. It was opened
in 1858 and so would save the villagers the long trek
to either Pateley Bridge or Linton when the need for
the churches ministrations became necessary. It complimented
the existing Wesleyan Chapel. This is the chapel where
Rudyard Kipling's grandfather was once the minister. |
The
graveyard at St. Mary's has very few graves to be seen
and most are very weatherworn, again a testament to
the weather conditions. |
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Francis
Blacka was one of these emigrants, leaving Greenhow to marry
a girl from Barnoldswick, called Margaret Tillotson. Francis
had been baptised at Linton-in-Craven in 1791 to James and
Margaret Blacka. James was a Slater, an occupation that was
to be carried down in one way or another through the generations
that followed. |
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St.
Michael's and All Angels
Linton-in-Craven |
Francis became a plasterer and married Margaret at Barnoldswick
in 1814 where he found his trade much in demand in this area.
He and Margaret had three children born in Barnoldswick, James
in 1814, Ellen in 1816 and John in 1819, but they returned
for a time in the 1820's to Linton-in-Craven, as they had
two daughters, Nancy and Roseannah, and two sons, both named
Francis, baptised there. |
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The
Blacka family had regularly used the church at Linton and
a grave of one of their family is still to be found there,
with the inscription:
In
loving memory of William Blakey late of Grassington who departed
this life July 9th 1854 in the 50th year of his life. |
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Neither
of these Francis boys survived childhood, which must have
been a harsh disappointment as the name Francis had been passed
down the Blacka family since the late 1600's. Maybe
work had taken the family back to Linton, but eventually they
returned to Barnoldswick and a daughter was born in 1831,
who was named Jane Tillotson, and then their youngest son,
Tillotson was born there in 1833. Both these children were
carrying their mother's maiden name proudly forward. In 1836,
a daughter, Eden, was born. This unusual name is quite a common
name in the Nidderdale area and the family were no doubt remembering
their roots.
By 1838, Francis and his family
had made the journey to Todmorden and were living at Frieldhurst
mill, Cornholme, which is where poor little Eden died aged
only 16 months. She was the first of the Blacka family to
be buried in Todmorden and was interred at St. Mary's on a
cold January day in 1838. Not a good beginning for the new
residents, but things would improve and the family would find
themselves going upwards and their hard work would have its
rewards. |
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By
the time of the census taken in 1841 he, his wife, four daughters,
eldest son James, married son John, youngest son Tillotson
and three grandchildren were all living in the well populated
industrial area known as Canteen in Todmorden.
The
beginnings of a family tradition were beginning to emerge
at that time, with Francis being a plasterer, eldest son James
also a plasterer and John the middle son, a painter. |
Canteen
area in the 1880's. Photo by kind permission of Roger Birch |
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Francis
died before 1851, leaving his widow Margaret living at Lower
Naze Bottom, Stansfield with two unmarried children and two
grandchildren in her household. The two unmarried children
were working, so things weren't too bad, daughter Jane was
a winder in the cotton mill and son Tillotson was a plasterer
like his father before him.
Margaret
continued to live at Nazebottom and in 1861 she was 68, but
still head of a household which had three grandchildren, Francis
24, Margaret 20 and Richard 11, who all worked in the cotton
mill, plus daughter Jane, who had married a Crowther and was
left a widow at only 30 with two children, Fielding aged 6
and Eden Ellen aged 2. She also took in boarders, so with
only the two younger grandchildren at home and Margaret earning
money from the lodgers, they wouldn't be doing too badly.
The
three sons of Francis and Margaret went on to become prominent
in the building industry and their children also became involved
in the trade with one branch evolving as publicans.
James
Blacka 1814-1885
The
eldest son, James, became a slater and plasterer. He married
lass called Mary but she died on June 29th 1840 aged only
25. She was buried at St. Mary's with their baby son, Richard,
who had died two weeks before his mother at the tender age
of 9 months. This left James a widower, so he went back to
live with his parents. No record shows of him until 1881 when
he was living at 12, Canteen Street and was a former slater.
He died aged 71 in 1885.
John
Blacka 1819-1888
John,
the middle son, married a girl called Mary and they had six
children, three boys and three girls. John became a plasterer
and eventually his business grew to such an extent that he
was employing four men by the 1860's. The
three daughters were Alice Hannah who died in 1872 aged 20,
Lucy Emma 1854 who married Mathew Smith and Eden Emily the
youngest of their children born in 1857. It was a nice touch
that John had named his youngest daughter after his sister
who had died so young. |
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John's
wife died in the February of 1880 and was buried at Cross
Stone Church. John then went to live with his married daughter
Lucy Smith and her husband at Blind Lane. He died in 1888
and was buried with his wife and daughter Alice Hannah at
Cross Stone Church.
Alice
Hannah, daughter of John and Mary Blacka who died Jan. 27th
1872
aged 20yrs.
Also
of the above named Mary
who died Feb. 13th 1880
Also
of John, died Nov. 6th 1888
aged 69 yrs |
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John
and Mary's three sons, James, John Richard and William all
followed the family tradition and became workers in the building
trade. |
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James
the eldest born in 1840 became a plasterer and by the time
he was 41 he was running his own business and employing eight
men. He was living on Victoria Road at Major Villas, with
his wife Alice, daughter of William Fort of Whirlaw, and judging
by the looks of the house he was making a good living at his
trade. He prospered and became a building contractor and ten
years later he had moved to the house next door, Victoria
Villas, which was a little larger, and still in the select
area of town. |
Major
Villas, Victoria Road |
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James
and Alice had ten children in all, but only five survived
to adulthood. Sons, Arthur, Herbert and Frank all died young
along with two other babies, all buried at Cross Stone Church.
This left James and Alice with four daughters and one son.
James carried on a successful building contractor's business
into the 20th century and his son Fort became an architect,
so had progressed even further and was obviously a well-educated
man. |
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Mary Alice Blacka
kindly submitted
by Roger Barton |
Their daughter Mary Alice married Alfred Greenwood in 1887. They lived at Glen Wold, Queens Road, Accrington later in their marriage, when Alfred was a cotton salesman for Messrs. Bury Bros. at Fountain Mill in Accrington. An extract from her obituary reads:
"An interesting personality, Mrs. Greenwood was held in much esteem. She was known for her keen interest in art and antiquities. Her home at Glen Wold contained a valuable collection of paintings, old furniture, and statuary."
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James'
wife Alice left him a widower in 1912 and he lived on for
another ten years after her, dying at the age of 82. He is
buried at Cross Stone Church beside Alice and their five children.
The grave is so overgrown that it is virtually impossible
to get a photograph of it. The
inscription reads:
In
memory of Herbert, son of James and Alice Blacka of Harley
Bank
who died April 16th 1868 aged 16 mths.
Also
of Arthur, their son
who died August 31st 1860 aged
3 years and 4 mths.
Also
of Frank their son who died Nov. 27th 1871 aged 3 years 10mths.
Also
of two infants.
Also of Alice the beloved wife of James and Mother of the
above,
who passed away on March 15th 1912 in her 71st year
Peace
perfect peace.
Also of James Blacka, the husband of the above
who
died May 4th 1922 aged 82yrs. |
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John
Richard Blacka.
Photo kindly supplied by Curt Lehman |
John
Richard, the second child of John and Mary, was born in 1845
and also followed the family tradition by becoming a plasterer.
He married Mary Elizabeth Wilkings in 1875. Mary came from
Birmingham and her sister Louisa was living with them for
a time in the 1880's. |
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John
Richard and Mary lived at Harley Street for a while and John
progressed from being a plasterer to work as an architect
and surveyor by the time he was 36. He had obviously worked
hard to better himself and to provide a better life for his
wife and children. |
Harley Street |
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The
1890's found them moving to Garden Street, a much nicer looking
street and newly built, but still in the same area. They were
obviously going up a little bit in the world. |
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John
Richard and Mary had five children, two daughters and three
sons, Vera (1877), Inez Louise (1879), Walter (1881), Charles
(1884) and Ernest Roy (1893) were their names. |
Mary
with Ernest Roy shortly before her death in 1893 |
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Walter
and Charles Blacka in 1893.
Photograph
kindly provided by Curt Lehman |
Charles
also took up the family occupation, becoming an architect's
pupil after he left school. Presumably he went on to become
a qualified architect.
Mary
Elizabeth, wife of John Richard, died in 1893 at 15, Garden
Street and is buried at Christ Church. She was 42. Her husband
lived on to be 78 and had moved to Blackpool, which is where
he died at 246, Palatine Road in 1923. He was brought back
to Todmorden and was buried with his late wife in Christ Church |
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William,
the youngest son of John and Mary was born in 1848 and also
became a plasterer. He married Sarah Haigh in 1870, the daughter
of John and Mary Haigh of Goshen. They had three children,
Elizabeth born in 1871, Annie Mary 1880, and James Henry born
in 1882, who sadly died in 1887 whilst they were living at
Boardman Street. |
Boardman Street |
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William
and Sarah then went to live at Spring Bank, Toad Carr and
later moved to Wood Street. Their daughter Elizabeth became
a dressmaker and married Harry Cunliffe but died in 1895 aged
just 25. Annie, their only surviving child, went to work as
a weaver in the cotton mill.
William
died in the June of 1901 at Harley Bank, leaving Sarah and
daughter Annie on their own. He is buried with his son James
Henry and daughter Elizabeth in Christ Church graveyard. |
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In
Loving Memory of James Henry son of William and Sarah Blacka
of Harley Bank, Todmorden who died December 1st 1887 in his
6th year.
Also
of Elizabeth their daughter,
beloved wife of Harry Cunliffe,
who died December 3rd 1895 aged 25 years.
Also
of the above named William Blacka
who died June 1st 1901 aged
54 years.
Sarah
and her daughter Annie must have been a comfort to each other,
each having lost precious souls at early ages and finally
a husband and father at whose funeral, painful memories of
two earlier cold December days would have been awakened as
they stood there at the graveside and watched William lowered
to his rest with his two young children. |
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Tillotson
Blacka 1833-1908
Tillotson
was the youngest son of Francis and Margaret, and was baptised
in 1833 at Barnoldswick with his mother's maiden name. He
grew up in Todmorden in the Canteen area, with his brothers
and sisters and various nieces and nephews who also lived
with them. |
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He
attended school and when he left he followed in the family
trade as a plasterer. He married Mary Marshall of Hipperholme
in 1852 and they continued to live at Canteen where they raised
five children.
Tillotson
became a master plasterer and Slater and moved to Crescent
Street. |
Crescent
Street |
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He
later moved to Stansfield Road. His work was highly sought
after and on The 27th of February 1901 at the fortnightly
meeting of the Todmorden Board of Guardians they accepted
his tender for the slating of the new offices on Todmorden
Hall estate. The tenders
that were accepted are as follows:
Mason's
work, Messrs. Dryland & Preston of Littleborough
Joiners,
Messrs. Halstead Bros. of Eastwood
Plumber,
Mr. Thos. Law of Todmorden
Painter,
Mr. J. W. Smallwood of Todmorden
Slater,
Mr. Tillotson Blacka
Plasterers,
Messrs. Wrigley & sons of Todmorden and Hebden Bridge
Heating,
Mr. John King Ltd. of Liverpool
He
was widowed by 1891 but continued to live in Stansfield Road
with his married daughter Alice Ann. She had married Tom Sutcliffe,
who was also a slater and plasterer and probably employed
by her father. When they were first married they lived at
Swan Place, Stansfield and their first-born son was William
T who arrived towards the end of 1880. They had two more sons
by 1891, James and Wilfred aged 7 and 4. Maybe Tom and Alice
moved in with her father after his wife Mary died. Their son,
James became a plasterer's apprentice, probably working for
his father and grandfather. Their youngest son, Wilfred opted
for a different trade and became an iron moulder's apprentice.
In
1904 Tillotson needed more room for his business, so he leased
1560 square yards of land in Stansfield Street from the Lancashire
and Yorkshire Railway Company for stables and storage purposes.
This was at a cost of £25 per year with certain conditions
attached. He had to fence the land at his own cost and keep
them in good repair. He wasn't allowed to put any form of
advertisement on the land and could only use it for stables
and storage. He couldn't sub let any part of the land and
any goods to be transported by him had to be transported by
the railway company.
Tillotson
died on the 28th of December 1908 at the age of 76, still
living at Stansfield Road.
In
1921 the rent for this land rose to £40 per year and
it would appear that a great grandson also named Tillotson
could have taken over the lease, as an agreement form sent
to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company on which he
stated his occupation as decorator of Stansfield Road, Todmorden
and signed himself Tillotson Blacka, was witnessed by William
Taylor of the RAILWAY INN, Walsden.
Tillotson
and Mary's five children also did very well for themselves
in various ways. Their three daughters, Ellen, 1855, Alice
Ann, 1858 and Emma 1861 married and went the way of their
husbands as is usual. They had all left home by 1881, leaving
only the youngest son, James, at home with his parents. James
married a girl called Ellen Jane around 1888 and they had
a son who they named John Tillotson, named after James' grandmother
and father. James also became a plasterer.
The
eldest son of Tillotson and Mary, John William, became very
well known in Todmorden as the landlord of the Castle Inn.
He started his working life as a doffer in the cotton mill,
but was destined to follow the family trade as a plasterer
and settled down to married life with his wife Hannah Mackriel
who he had wed in 1874. They had three sons, Frank in 1875,
William Tillotson in 1879 and James 1884. John William was
contented with his lot but in the late 1880's the chance came
for him to become the landlord of the Castle Inn at Longfield
Road, Todmorden. He saw this as an opportunity to carry on
with his work as a plasterer and also run the pub, which could
also take in lodgers as it had about eleven rooms. A very
shrewd chap. He had money coming in from all sides. |
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The
Castle was a large building up Hanging Ditch Road, as Longfield
Road was known in those days, and was near to the UNITARIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL. No trade from there to be had, but that wouldn't
have worried John William. He was doing well with lodgers
from various towns like Halifax, Oldham, Liverpool, Houghton
and also some locals. |
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At
that time entertainment was home made and many bets of varying
kinds were always good for a bit of fun, usually when the
participants had partaken of a few drinks. The cold light
of day may have found them wondering why on earth they had
been tempted to wager such daft bets. Pride had to be upheld
though and the bet had to be carried out. One such wager took
place in December1895 when George Ingham bet four gallons
of beer that he could wheel a sixpenny toy barrow from the
Castle Inn to the New Inn on Halifax Road, by way of Stackhills.
George
was quite a tall man, so it wouldn't have been an easy task
for him to stoop low to push a small barrow so far. A large
crowd gathered to see him carry out the wager and make sure
there was no cheating. All agreed that he won the bet fairly
and they had to honour the bet and supply George with his
four gallons of ale. No doubt he had plenty of help in drinking
it.
Another
case of putting your money where your mouth is occurred in
the March of 1899. There was a layer of deep snow all around
the area, but that made no difference to Thomas Farrar of
Cockpit when he bet 5 shillings that he could go from the
Castle Inn to Kebcote and back in two hours. This seemed like
a good bet for folk to make a bit of money on, so bets followed
in quick succession. Thomas set off and amazed everyone by
doing it in just 1 hour and 40 minutes. Obviously they had
underestimated Thomas' talent for walking in deep snow!
John
William had handed the running of the Castle Inn over to his
son William Tillotson Blacka, after 19 years and he went to
live in Harehill Street. His wife Hannah died in 1910 and
a year later, on Wednesday November 22 nd 1911, John was visiting
Luddendenfoot when he had an accident at the railway station.
John managed to get home but sadly he died on Sunday 26 th
as a result of his injuries. He was noted as a master plasterer
and he was 59. A sad end for one of Todmorden's well known
residents. |
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Of
John William and Hannah's three sons, Frank, the eldest became
a slater and plasterer and in 1906 he married Hannah Ingham
of the Shoulder of Mutton Inn at Toad Carr at All Saints,
Harley Wood. |
All
Saints, Harley Wood |
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Frank
also later became a publican like his father and brother William.
He moved to Caldermoor, near Littleborough and took over the
licence of the Dog and Partridge, which is where he died in
1935. He left his widow, Hannah all his worldly goods and
made bequests to his nephews, Tillotson and James William
Blacka. He owned three
freehold properties in Harehill St. Todmorden and also at
Naze View, Todmorden as well as 5, Gauxholme Place. |
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William
Tillotson, John William and Hannah's second son took over
the licence of the Castle Inn from his father around 1907
and married a girl named Mary Ann. They ran a thriving business
at the Castle Inn, his father having left him a good trade
which he had built up over the years he had been there as
landlord. |
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William's
wife, Mary Ann died in 1920 at Wellfield Terrace and was buried
at Cross Stone Church.
In
Loving Memory of Mary Ann, wife of William Tillotson Blacka
of 11,Wellfield Terrace who died April 5th 1920
aged
37 years
"Gone
but not forgotten" |
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Not
much is known about John William and Hannah's youngest son
James, except that he became a clerk to an architect by the
time he was 17, so it looks like he also followed into the
"family business" carrying it still further into the twentieth
century.
It
is a remarkable story of how one family, starting with James
in the eighteenth century who began as a slater, has followed
the trade through two centuries, and maybe even a third, as
we don't know if there are still any of the Blacka family
in Todmorden who still carry on in the building industry.
We
would love to hear of them if there are.
As
a postscript to this story, information received from Curt
Lehman, a Blacka descendent in America, can be added. It seems
that the first mentioned James and Margaret Blacka, parents
of Francis, had another son who they named Richard, born at
Linton in 1800. He later married a girl called Eden. In 1833
the couple emigrated to America and started new generation
of the Blacka family over there. |
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Copy
sent by Curt Lehman |
The
descendents of this family kept in touch with John Richard
Blacka of Todmorden who was born in 1845. John Richard sent
over an album of photographs with the inscription shown
here:
Presented
to Miss Susannah Blacka, East Bethlehem, Washington County,
Pennsylvania, North America. By her cousin John Richard
Blacka of Todmorden, Yorkshire, England.
Oct.
26th. 1868
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