The recent talk to Lancaster Family History Group on this subject by Dave Joy attracted a good deal of interest, and it was suggested that I might offer a short article on the involvement of Lancaster district farmers, if any, in this remarkable business during the past two centuries.
When I first started looking into my own family history in about 1990, I was lucky that my parents were still alive and able to shed some light on who my ancestors were. My mother Lilian Rushton was brought up on a farm in Hala Road, Scotforth, no longer existing, but roughly where Booths supermarket now stands. Known as Friends’ Farm after its owners the Society of Friends, and situated adjacent to the Burrow Beck, it was in the early years of the 20th century run by my grandfather Samuel Rushton in partnership with his uncle Richard (Dick) Parrington, who at that time lived at Sandfield opposite. One of the things that my mother told me was that in some past generation two young men from this farm had driven cows from Scotforth all the way to Liverpool. No more than that! But, how extraordinary! Could this really be true, and why would this be?
William Parrington (1804-75), originally from Dent, moved his family from their previous farm at Golgotha, close by the present day Williamson Park, to this farm in East (later Hala) Road, Scotforth, not long before the 1851 census. Ten years later the 1861 census shows his eldest son GEORGE PARRINGTON (1827-93) and his wife Betsy (nee Taylor), from Ashton-with-Stodday, living at 5 PEMBROKE STREET, Liverpool, even then quite a central location, and now situated within the University of Liverpool campus. What was interesting was that George was stated to be a cowkeeper, and that a shippon or cowhouse to accommodate his dairy cows was adjacent! So, I seem to have had a Liverpool cowkeeper in my family; but did George actually drive his father’s cows all the way from Scotforth, or was the truth of the matter somewhat different? At this time cows were already being transported to Liverpool from the country areas by rail to cattle stations at Edge Hill and at Old Swan, where there was a cattle market; most would have been destined for slaughter, but there would have been milk cows too. Dairy cattle would have been a common sight in the streets of Liverpool, and other British towns and cities in the days before they began to be transported to their new destination by lorry – indeed there are a few photographs of cows being driven through Liverpool in the early 20th century.
It was also quite common for cows to ‘commute’ between their urban shippon and nearby fields for grazing, though by no means all cowkeepers had such arrangements for local grazing and instead had to rely on hay being bought in. I was told that my grandfather purchased his cattle from the market at Hellifield, from where they were delivered by train to Lancaster; he then drove them from the holding pens at Green Ayre station through the town centre and along the main road (A6) to Scotforth – this task would have been beyond the capability of one man, and would have involved farmhands and other members of the family, no doubt assisted by dogs. So, in the earlier case the likelihood is that the cattle from Hala Road were driven by George from Scotforth to one of the L&NW railway yards in Lancaster, transported by train from there to one of the Liverpool cattle stations and then driven through the city streets to their new home at Pembroke Street. He may well have accompanied his cows on their train travels, in order to attend to them during their journey. George was a cowkeeper in Liverpool for about five years only – around 1864 the Pembroke Street business was taken over by a farmer from Ravenstonedale, Westmorland, and the 1871 census shows George still in Liverpool, but now working as a carter and living in Toxteth. Perhaps there were better prospects in carting, or perhaps he just preferred working with horses. He was by no means the only cow keeper to make this choice. Either way it was a hard way of earning a living.
When I first started looking into my own family history in about 1990, I was lucky that my parents were still alive and able to shed some light on who my ancestors were. My mother Lilian Rushton was brought up on a farm in Hala Road, Scotforth, no longer existing, but roughly where Booths supermarket now stands. Known as Friends’ Farm after its owners the Society of Friends, and situated adjacent to the Burrow Beck, it was in the early years of the 20th century run by my grandfather Samuel Rushton in partnership with his uncle Richard (Dick) Parrington, who at that time lived at Sandfield opposite. One of the things that my mother told me was that in some past generation two young men from this farm had driven cows from Scotforth all the way to Liverpool. No more than that! But, how extraordinary! Could this really be true, and why would this be?
William Parrington (1804-75), originally from Dent, moved his family from their previous farm at Golgotha, close by the present day Williamson Park, to this farm in East (later Hala) Road, Scotforth, not long before the 1851 census. Ten years later the 1861 census shows his eldest son GEORGE PARRINGTON (1827-93) and his wife Betsy (nee Taylor), from Ashton-with-Stodday, living at 5 PEMBROKE STREET, Liverpool, even then quite a central location, and now situated within the University of Liverpool campus. What was interesting was that George was stated to be a cowkeeper, and that a shippon or cowhouse to accommodate his dairy cows was adjacent! So, I seem to have had a Liverpool cowkeeper in my family; but did George actually drive his father’s cows all the way from Scotforth, or was the truth of the matter somewhat different? At this time cows were already being transported to Liverpool from the country areas by rail to cattle stations at Edge Hill and at Old Swan, where there was a cattle market; most would have been destined for slaughter, but there would have been milk cows too. Dairy cattle would have been a common sight in the streets of Liverpool, and other British towns and cities in the days before they began to be transported to their new destination by lorry – indeed there are a few photographs of cows being driven through Liverpool in the early 20th century.
It was also quite common for cows to ‘commute’ between their urban shippon and nearby fields for grazing, though by no means all cowkeepers had such arrangements for local grazing and instead had to rely on hay being bought in. I was told that my grandfather purchased his cattle from the market at Hellifield, from where they were delivered by train to Lancaster; he then drove them from the holding pens at Green Ayre station through the town centre and along the main road (A6) to Scotforth – this task would have been beyond the capability of one man, and would have involved farmhands and other members of the family, no doubt assisted by dogs. So, in the earlier case the likelihood is that the cattle from Hala Road were driven by George from Scotforth to one of the L&NW railway yards in Lancaster, transported by train from there to one of the Liverpool cattle stations and then driven through the city streets to their new home at Pembroke Street. He may well have accompanied his cows on their train travels, in order to attend to them during their journey. George was a cowkeeper in Liverpool for about five years only – around 1864 the Pembroke Street business was taken over by a farmer from Ravenstonedale, Westmorland, and the 1871 census shows George still in Liverpool, but now working as a carter and living in Toxteth. Perhaps there were better prospects in carting, or perhaps he just preferred working with horses. He was by no means the only cow keeper to make this choice. Either way it was a hard way of earning a living.
But, what of the other young man? This would have been George’s younger brother JOHN PARRINGTON (1834-1903). The 1861 census finds him also in Liverpool – he was then a licensed victualler, living at the public house at 259-261 SCOTLAND ROAD, later known as the Bevington Arms, with his wife Mary Jane Hall, a local woman, and three children under 3; also living with them was his sister Agnes, working as their maid. It would seem that both brothers (and their sister) arrived in Liverpool around the same time, so it is quite possible that they travelled to Liverpool and started the dairy business together, but on marrying decided to pursue separate careers. Soon afterwards John entered into a partnership with a brewer Thomas Harding at Juvenal St and later went on to establish a very successful brewery business at new premises in St James Street – Harding & Parrington Ltd – later they also acquired Joule’s brewery of Stone, Staffs. Harding & Parrington were bought out in the earlier 1920s, but Joule’s remained in the family until it too was taken over in the 1950s. In recent years the name of this much respected business has been resurrected. As for Agnes (1837-1913), she married James Law, from Dent, who later became a Liverpool police constable. One of their descendants became a merchant seaman with the Blue Funnel line and ended his career as captain of the QEII.
George Parrington was by no means the only farmer (or farmer’s son) from the Lancaster district to become a Liverpool cowkeeper (nor was he the only Parrington to do so, for a number of his distant relatives made the same choice of career). A few examples are given below:
HENRY HEARGREAVES was another young farmer from the Lancaster district who was a Liverpool cowkeeper at the time when George Parrington was running his business at Pembroke Street (i.e. 1861). Henry (24), from Overton, who as a lad had been working on his parents’ farm at Sunderland in 1851, had arrived in the city about 1857 with his wife Ann Croskell; they took on the dairy business at 66-68 ANTHONY STREET, Everton, and were still running it in 1871; however, the family appears to have disappeared after this point – I can only think that they may have decided to emigrate. Perhaps a reader can help.
Also in 1861 RICHARD SKIRROW (43), from Middleton, Lancaster, and his wife Agnes Cleasby (43), from Lunds, Wensleydale, were running an urban dairy farm at 45 BACK LANE in West Derby Village. He was a son of farmers John and Jennet Skirrow of Downey Field, Middleton, and in 1851 was labouring for his elder brother ROBERT HAYTHORNTHWAITE SKIRROW at his dairy at 8 JUBILEE STREET, Toxteth. The dairy business at this address seems to have been the third that he had managed in this area, since he had married in Liverpool in 1853. Agnes was also from a cowkeeping family, her father Thomas having previously run the dairy at 10 FRANK STREET, Toxteth. Richard Skirrow died in 1877, but Agnes lived on in West Derby Village with her family until 1900.
Richard’s brother Robert was already in Liverpool in 1841, when he was living in lodgings in Cable Street and working as a carter; his children were currently staying with his parents at Middleton, but the whereabouts of his wife at this time is not known. He was the cowkeeper at 8 JUBILEE STREET from at least 1851 until around 1870, as the next census finds him at Priory Road, Everton and describes him now as a retired cowkeeper. He had been christened at St Paul’s Church, Caton, on 19 February 1811 and married Margaret Nickson at Lancaster on 28 December 1840; she appears to have died, probably in childbirth, in West Derby (Toxteth) in late 1846. Five years later he married Mary Molyneux as his second wife; she was the daughter of THOMAS MOLYNEUX, the cowkeeper at 4-6 RIDING STREET. Robert Haythornthwaite Skirrow died in Everton in 1880; his widow Mary in 1897.
Another local man who was a Liverpool cowkeeper in 1861 was THOMAS PARKINSON. He was the long-term proprietor of the dairy at 63-65 TROUGHTON STREET, Edge Hill. At that time he was said to be aged 33 and from Caton, while his wife Margaret (30) was from Bentham, Yorks. They currently had three infant children: Jane (4), Ellen (2) and Thomas (7 mths), all born in Liverpool, so had probably been in Liverpool since about 1856, if not before. The 1841 census finds Thomas, at the age of 13, working as farm servant to the elderly Andrew Fox and his family at Deep Clough farm, Caton, but his whereabouts in 1841/51 have not been traced. It seems that Thomas Parkinson married Margaret Brown in the Lancaster district during the 3rd quarter of 1854; but she appears to have died during the first quarter of 1867 at the age of 35; and Thomas subsequently married his late wife’s sister Jane Brown in West Derby during the final quarter of 1868. The 1871 census confirms the Parkinson family now as currently resident here as: Thomas (43), his wife Jane (40), born at Bentham, plus children Thomas (10), William (8), Margaret (6), John (4), James (2) and Henry (7 months), together with grandmother Sarah Parkinson (63), born at Caton, retired domestic servant. According to the 1881 census the cowkeeper Thomas Parkinson was now aged 53 and his second wife Jane 48. At this time they had 7 unmarried children living with them aged between 2 and 22 years, all born at Liverpool, none apparently employed in the dairy business at this stage – though two of them, John and James may have become cowkeepers themselves in due course. It seems that Thomas Parkinson may have died in the West Derby area, aged 62, during the final quarter of 1890. His widow Jane appears to have continued to run this business for a time, possibly until her death in 1900 at the age of 66.
In 1891 GEORGE FRANKLAND (c1860-1927) and his wife Nancy Pye (c1859-1931), originally from Tatham and Wyresdale respectively, were running a dairy at 10 ADDISON STREET, Bootle. George appears to have been brought up in the family of his maternal grandparents George and Susannah Wildman, both from the Wray area, who were farming at Broadgate farm, Bleasdale, in the Wyresdale district, in 1861/71. By 1901, however, he had returned to his adopted district of Bleasdale and was employed there as a cowman; he and Nancy now had a daughter, born in Bootle and named Susannah after his grandmother. In 1911 the family were at Valentine House, Cottam, to the west of Preston; George was now employed as a farm bailiff. George died in the Preston area in 1927.
Another cowkeeper from Lunesdale was CHARLES NICHOLAS NEWTON, from Tunstall; he was the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth B Newton, who in 1881 were running Lane Foot farm, Newton (by Whittington); this census states Charles’ place of birth as Cowdber Farm, Cowan Bridge, in the parish of Leck. The Newton family had all moved to Liverpool by 1901, when most were to be found living at 34 Kelso Road, West Derby: his mother Elizabeth B (50) and sister Florence (21), domestic cook, both born at Tunstall, brother Joseph E (19), warehouseman (cotton), brother Thomas N (17), provision merchant’s clerk, and sister Amy E (13), all born at Leck; his father Thomas Newton (48) was at this time staying with his parents at the neighbouring Overtown farm, Burrow-with-Burrow, maybe sorting out with his father Nicholas details of cattle for shipment to Liverpool. Charles too was already in Liverpool by 1901, when he was working as a cattle herdsman for cowkeeper Henry Morphet (also from Lunesdale – see below) at 2 GARMOYLE ROAD, Wavertree; he married Mary Holmes in the West Derby district during the 3rd quarter of 1906. The 1911 census finds him, aged 33, living as cowkeeper at 17 MOSEDALE ROAD, Orrell Park, Walton, with his wife Mary (29), from Aintree, and three young daughters: Doris Mary (3), Hilda Elizabeth (2) and Ann E Evelyn (6 mths), all born at Aintree. Also, with them was the cowkeeper’s mother Elizabeth Bargh Newton (60), born at Tunstall, his brother Joseph Edwin Newton (29), driver for the dairy, born at Leck, and his sister Amy Elizabeth Newton (23), dairy maid, also born at Leck. Charles Newton died in the West Derby district of Liverpool in spring 1919, aged 41, possibly a victim of the influenza epidemic which caused so many deaths about this time. The 1920 directory shows his youngest brother THOMAS NELSON NEWTON now in charge of this business, though he and his wife Georgina (nee Turtle) soon went on to run a dairy business in CROSBY ROAD NORTH, Waterloo, until retiring about the end of WW2.
George Parrington was by no means the only farmer (or farmer’s son) from the Lancaster district to become a Liverpool cowkeeper (nor was he the only Parrington to do so, for a number of his distant relatives made the same choice of career). A few examples are given below:
HENRY HEARGREAVES was another young farmer from the Lancaster district who was a Liverpool cowkeeper at the time when George Parrington was running his business at Pembroke Street (i.e. 1861). Henry (24), from Overton, who as a lad had been working on his parents’ farm at Sunderland in 1851, had arrived in the city about 1857 with his wife Ann Croskell; they took on the dairy business at 66-68 ANTHONY STREET, Everton, and were still running it in 1871; however, the family appears to have disappeared after this point – I can only think that they may have decided to emigrate. Perhaps a reader can help.
Also in 1861 RICHARD SKIRROW (43), from Middleton, Lancaster, and his wife Agnes Cleasby (43), from Lunds, Wensleydale, were running an urban dairy farm at 45 BACK LANE in West Derby Village. He was a son of farmers John and Jennet Skirrow of Downey Field, Middleton, and in 1851 was labouring for his elder brother ROBERT HAYTHORNTHWAITE SKIRROW at his dairy at 8 JUBILEE STREET, Toxteth. The dairy business at this address seems to have been the third that he had managed in this area, since he had married in Liverpool in 1853. Agnes was also from a cowkeeping family, her father Thomas having previously run the dairy at 10 FRANK STREET, Toxteth. Richard Skirrow died in 1877, but Agnes lived on in West Derby Village with her family until 1900.
Richard’s brother Robert was already in Liverpool in 1841, when he was living in lodgings in Cable Street and working as a carter; his children were currently staying with his parents at Middleton, but the whereabouts of his wife at this time is not known. He was the cowkeeper at 8 JUBILEE STREET from at least 1851 until around 1870, as the next census finds him at Priory Road, Everton and describes him now as a retired cowkeeper. He had been christened at St Paul’s Church, Caton, on 19 February 1811 and married Margaret Nickson at Lancaster on 28 December 1840; she appears to have died, probably in childbirth, in West Derby (Toxteth) in late 1846. Five years later he married Mary Molyneux as his second wife; she was the daughter of THOMAS MOLYNEUX, the cowkeeper at 4-6 RIDING STREET. Robert Haythornthwaite Skirrow died in Everton in 1880; his widow Mary in 1897.
Another local man who was a Liverpool cowkeeper in 1861 was THOMAS PARKINSON. He was the long-term proprietor of the dairy at 63-65 TROUGHTON STREET, Edge Hill. At that time he was said to be aged 33 and from Caton, while his wife Margaret (30) was from Bentham, Yorks. They currently had three infant children: Jane (4), Ellen (2) and Thomas (7 mths), all born in Liverpool, so had probably been in Liverpool since about 1856, if not before. The 1841 census finds Thomas, at the age of 13, working as farm servant to the elderly Andrew Fox and his family at Deep Clough farm, Caton, but his whereabouts in 1841/51 have not been traced. It seems that Thomas Parkinson married Margaret Brown in the Lancaster district during the 3rd quarter of 1854; but she appears to have died during the first quarter of 1867 at the age of 35; and Thomas subsequently married his late wife’s sister Jane Brown in West Derby during the final quarter of 1868. The 1871 census confirms the Parkinson family now as currently resident here as: Thomas (43), his wife Jane (40), born at Bentham, plus children Thomas (10), William (8), Margaret (6), John (4), James (2) and Henry (7 months), together with grandmother Sarah Parkinson (63), born at Caton, retired domestic servant. According to the 1881 census the cowkeeper Thomas Parkinson was now aged 53 and his second wife Jane 48. At this time they had 7 unmarried children living with them aged between 2 and 22 years, all born at Liverpool, none apparently employed in the dairy business at this stage – though two of them, John and James may have become cowkeepers themselves in due course. It seems that Thomas Parkinson may have died in the West Derby area, aged 62, during the final quarter of 1890. His widow Jane appears to have continued to run this business for a time, possibly until her death in 1900 at the age of 66.
In 1891 GEORGE FRANKLAND (c1860-1927) and his wife Nancy Pye (c1859-1931), originally from Tatham and Wyresdale respectively, were running a dairy at 10 ADDISON STREET, Bootle. George appears to have been brought up in the family of his maternal grandparents George and Susannah Wildman, both from the Wray area, who were farming at Broadgate farm, Bleasdale, in the Wyresdale district, in 1861/71. By 1901, however, he had returned to his adopted district of Bleasdale and was employed there as a cowman; he and Nancy now had a daughter, born in Bootle and named Susannah after his grandmother. In 1911 the family were at Valentine House, Cottam, to the west of Preston; George was now employed as a farm bailiff. George died in the Preston area in 1927.
Another cowkeeper from Lunesdale was CHARLES NICHOLAS NEWTON, from Tunstall; he was the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth B Newton, who in 1881 were running Lane Foot farm, Newton (by Whittington); this census states Charles’ place of birth as Cowdber Farm, Cowan Bridge, in the parish of Leck. The Newton family had all moved to Liverpool by 1901, when most were to be found living at 34 Kelso Road, West Derby: his mother Elizabeth B (50) and sister Florence (21), domestic cook, both born at Tunstall, brother Joseph E (19), warehouseman (cotton), brother Thomas N (17), provision merchant’s clerk, and sister Amy E (13), all born at Leck; his father Thomas Newton (48) was at this time staying with his parents at the neighbouring Overtown farm, Burrow-with-Burrow, maybe sorting out with his father Nicholas details of cattle for shipment to Liverpool. Charles too was already in Liverpool by 1901, when he was working as a cattle herdsman for cowkeeper Henry Morphet (also from Lunesdale – see below) at 2 GARMOYLE ROAD, Wavertree; he married Mary Holmes in the West Derby district during the 3rd quarter of 1906. The 1911 census finds him, aged 33, living as cowkeeper at 17 MOSEDALE ROAD, Orrell Park, Walton, with his wife Mary (29), from Aintree, and three young daughters: Doris Mary (3), Hilda Elizabeth (2) and Ann E Evelyn (6 mths), all born at Aintree. Also, with them was the cowkeeper’s mother Elizabeth Bargh Newton (60), born at Tunstall, his brother Joseph Edwin Newton (29), driver for the dairy, born at Leck, and his sister Amy Elizabeth Newton (23), dairy maid, also born at Leck. Charles Newton died in the West Derby district of Liverpool in spring 1919, aged 41, possibly a victim of the influenza epidemic which caused so many deaths about this time. The 1920 directory shows his youngest brother THOMAS NELSON NEWTON now in charge of this business, though he and his wife Georgina (nee Turtle) soon went on to run a dairy business in CROSBY ROAD NORTH, Waterloo, until retiring about the end of WW2.
The former dairy at 4-8 Garmoyle Road, Wavertree
© Alan Passmore
Between 1896 and 1902 the Liverpool directories show that a cowkeeper originally from the Lancaster district was running the dairy at 4-8 GARMOYLE ROAD, Wavertree. The 1901 census states that HENRY MORPHET (30) had been born at Hornby, Lunesdale, while his wife Elizabeth (29) was from Salwick, near Preston, Lancs. According to the 1871 census Henry was the son of William and Betsy Morphet, the farmers of 350 acres at Launds Farm, Hornby; however, by 1891 he and two younger brothers were now working for their parents at Salwick Hall farm; he then appears to have married Elizabeth Melling in the Fylde district of Lancashire during the 1st quarter of 1894. By 1911 Henry and Elizabeth Morphet had returned north and now had a son Frank (6), born at Broughton, Lancs; they were now farming at Newton, by Whittington – in 1939 the farm was stated as Lane Foot, Newton. Henry Morphet appears to have died at the age of 83 in the Amounderness district of Lancashire during the first quarter of 1954; his wife Elizabeth had pre-deceased him in the same district during the 2nd quarter of 1949, aged 79.
In 1871 JOHN PARKER (31), from Roeburndale, Wray, and his wife Ann Winn (32), from Barbon, were running adairy on a corner site at 39 ALMOND STREET & 38 LONSDALE STREET, Abercromby. John appears to have died before the census of 1881, but his widow Ann continued to run the family dairy business first here, and then at 30-34 LONGFELLOW STREET, Toxteth, until her own death in 1914. John seems to have been just one of many Liverpool cowkeepers to die in their 30s from the various diseases that were prevalent at the time.
The Bargh family of Lunesdale provided a number of Liverpool cowkeepers over the years. The 1891 census finds THOMAS J BARGH (33), the youngest son of farmer George Bargh of Cantsfield Hall, Lunesdale, with his wife Agnes Slater (34), from Cartmel, working as a cowkeeper at 61 KENDRICK STREET, Seaforth. They went on to run another business at 152 SEAFORTH ROAD, but by 1911 had returned to his native Lunesdale to farm at Gill Head, Chapel-le-Dale, Ingleton. Thomas lived to the ripe old age of 83.
Thomas’ son GEORGE BARGH, who was born at Seaforth in 1886, also became a cowkeeper. In 1901 he was working for his parents’ business at Seaforth Road and, ten years later, after his parents had re-located to Ingleton, he was employed as cowman by GEORGE INGHAM at 419 STANLEY ROAD, Bootle. In 1923 he married Jane Hesleton at Ingleton and then became the cowkeeper at 72 WALTON VILLAGE; they appear to have had no children. In the mid-1930s George took on a larger and more modern DAIRY at 134 CARISBROOKE RAOD, Walton, which he ran for about 15 years. Like his father he retired to the Settle area, in this case about 1950, where he died at the age of 70 in 1956; his widow Jane died in the Lancaster district in 1975 at the age of 90.
The Bargh family of Lunesdale provided a number of Liverpool cowkeepers over the years. The 1891 census finds THOMAS J BARGH (33), the youngest son of farmer George Bargh of Cantsfield Hall, Lunesdale, with his wife Agnes Slater (34), from Cartmel, working as a cowkeeper at 61 KENDRICK STREET, Seaforth. They went on to run another business at 152 SEAFORTH ROAD, but by 1911 had returned to his native Lunesdale to farm at Gill Head, Chapel-le-Dale, Ingleton. Thomas lived to the ripe old age of 83.
Thomas’ son GEORGE BARGH, who was born at Seaforth in 1886, also became a cowkeeper. In 1901 he was working for his parents’ business at Seaforth Road and, ten years later, after his parents had re-located to Ingleton, he was employed as cowman by GEORGE INGHAM at 419 STANLEY ROAD, Bootle. In 1923 he married Jane Hesleton at Ingleton and then became the cowkeeper at 72 WALTON VILLAGE; they appear to have had no children. In the mid-1930s George took on a larger and more modern DAIRY at 134 CARISBROOKE RAOD, Walton, which he ran for about 15 years. Like his father he retired to the Settle area, in this case about 1950, where he died at the age of 70 in 1956; his widow Jane died in the Lancaster district in 1975 at the age of 90.
George Bargh posing with one of his cows at Glebe Farm Dairy, 72 Walton Village
This is 134 Carisbrooke Road, Walton, probably before WW2; note the substantial farm buildings in the yard behind. Access to the yard was from Peter Street, which joins Carisbrooke Road to the left of the cowkeeper’s house.
134 Carisbrooke Road, Walton, in 2014 © Alan Passmore
The previous cowkeeper at 134 Carisbrooke Road had been EDWARD MASON, born at Wray in 1872, though his father, also Edward, the cowkeeper here before him, was from Killington, Westmorland. Young Edward’s wife Mary Ewbank was from Coverdale, Wensleydale; they were married in the West Derby area of Liverpool in 1899. George Bargh seems to have taken over this business following the death of Edward Mason in early 1934, seeing this move as an opportunity to improve his income.
In 1901 THOMAS HENRY BARGH (27) was the cowkeeper at 1 HELENA STREET, close to the former Walton Workhouse (later, Walton Hospital); he was from Melling, Lunesdale, the son of Samuel Bargh of Melling Farm, while his wife Clara Jane Capstick (26) was from Marthwaite, in Sedbergh; at this time they were newly married; ten years later they were still at the same address, and had a son Samuel (7), born in Liverpool. By 1939 Thomas was retired and living in Church Road, Formby, with his wife Clara and a daughter Mary, born in 1912. Thomas lived through the war and died in Crosby, aged 80, in 1953, his widow Clara two years later.
The dairy in Blenheim Street, in the area of Scotland Road, was the workplace of two young farmers from the Wray area. The 1901 census shows RICHARD FOX (29), from Roeburndale, as the cowkeeper at 55/59 BLENHEIM STREET; he was the third son of Richard and Alice Fox of Cragg Hall Farm, and appears to have been in Liverpool from about 1895, for he married Mary Jane Briardale, from Newport, Salop, in the West Derby area in 1898. In 1901 census they had an infant child, but in 1911 they were newly arrived at Huyton, for they now had 7 children, all born in Liverpool; he was now working as a carter. They seem to have moved from Blenheim Street some years previously, for the 1906 directory states that the cowkeeper here was now SAMUEL BARGH; born at Wennington, he was the son of farmers William and Dorothy Bargh, who were running a farm at Low Houses, Wray, in 1881; he married Constance Hannah Laird, originally from Gateshead, Co Durham, at Bolton in 1903 (she had been in Bootle in 1901), so they probably took over the Blenheim Street business in that year. They did not stay long, however, as they were farming near Penrith in 1911. By 1939 they had returned close to his area of origin, as they were back in Lunesdale, running a dairy farm at Turner Ford, Clapham. He died in that area, aged 80, in 1951; she in the same area, aged 88, in 1967.
In 1901 ROBERT BURROW (27) was the cowkeeper at 65-67 HAWKSTONE STREET, Toxteth, where he lived with his wife Mary J (26) and two infant sons Robin (1) and James (2 wks) – the parents were from Halton, while the children had both been born in Liverpool. Robert was a son of Robert and Margaret Burrow, who in 1881/91 had been farming 130 acres at Halton Green. He had married Mary Jane Aldren in the Lancaster district during the 3rd quarter of 1896; she was actually born at Chapel Street, Lancaster, the daughter of a livery stable keeper. This family moved on and were running the dairy business at 27-29 BOWRING STREET, Toxteth, in 1911. After Robert’s death in 1936 at the age of 60, the business continued to be run by this family, his son ROBIN BURROW being in charge in 1939; he had married Gladys Dickey in the West Derby in 1931 – they currently had no children, and were living here on their own. After the war, however, Robin appears to have moved to north Wales, as his death at the age of 50 was recorded in the St Asaph district, Denbighshire, in 1950. Gladys survived her husband by nearly 40 years, her death registered in the Colwyn district in early 1997, aged 97.
In 1901 THOMAS HENRY BARGH (27) was the cowkeeper at 1 HELENA STREET, close to the former Walton Workhouse (later, Walton Hospital); he was from Melling, Lunesdale, the son of Samuel Bargh of Melling Farm, while his wife Clara Jane Capstick (26) was from Marthwaite, in Sedbergh; at this time they were newly married; ten years later they were still at the same address, and had a son Samuel (7), born in Liverpool. By 1939 Thomas was retired and living in Church Road, Formby, with his wife Clara and a daughter Mary, born in 1912. Thomas lived through the war and died in Crosby, aged 80, in 1953, his widow Clara two years later.
The dairy in Blenheim Street, in the area of Scotland Road, was the workplace of two young farmers from the Wray area. The 1901 census shows RICHARD FOX (29), from Roeburndale, as the cowkeeper at 55/59 BLENHEIM STREET; he was the third son of Richard and Alice Fox of Cragg Hall Farm, and appears to have been in Liverpool from about 1895, for he married Mary Jane Briardale, from Newport, Salop, in the West Derby area in 1898. In 1901 census they had an infant child, but in 1911 they were newly arrived at Huyton, for they now had 7 children, all born in Liverpool; he was now working as a carter. They seem to have moved from Blenheim Street some years previously, for the 1906 directory states that the cowkeeper here was now SAMUEL BARGH; born at Wennington, he was the son of farmers William and Dorothy Bargh, who were running a farm at Low Houses, Wray, in 1881; he married Constance Hannah Laird, originally from Gateshead, Co Durham, at Bolton in 1903 (she had been in Bootle in 1901), so they probably took over the Blenheim Street business in that year. They did not stay long, however, as they were farming near Penrith in 1911. By 1939 they had returned close to his area of origin, as they were back in Lunesdale, running a dairy farm at Turner Ford, Clapham. He died in that area, aged 80, in 1951; she in the same area, aged 88, in 1967.
In 1901 ROBERT BURROW (27) was the cowkeeper at 65-67 HAWKSTONE STREET, Toxteth, where he lived with his wife Mary J (26) and two infant sons Robin (1) and James (2 wks) – the parents were from Halton, while the children had both been born in Liverpool. Robert was a son of Robert and Margaret Burrow, who in 1881/91 had been farming 130 acres at Halton Green. He had married Mary Jane Aldren in the Lancaster district during the 3rd quarter of 1896; she was actually born at Chapel Street, Lancaster, the daughter of a livery stable keeper. This family moved on and were running the dairy business at 27-29 BOWRING STREET, Toxteth, in 1911. After Robert’s death in 1936 at the age of 60, the business continued to be run by this family, his son ROBIN BURROW being in charge in 1939; he had married Gladys Dickey in the West Derby in 1931 – they currently had no children, and were living here on their own. After the war, however, Robin appears to have moved to north Wales, as his death at the age of 50 was recorded in the St Asaph district, Denbighshire, in 1950. Gladys survived her husband by nearly 40 years, her death registered in the Colwyn district in early 1997, aged 97.
These premises at 42-44 Trevor Road were newly built for George Mason to take over in 1910. Note the former cobbled access to the yard and farm building (shippon) to the right. © Alan Passmore
The 1939 register finds GEORGE MASON, born in 1869 at Wray, as dairyman at 42-44 TREVOR ROAD, Orrell Park, Walton. He was the elder brother of Edward Mason, referred to above, and he came as cowkeeper to these new premises in about 1910. By this time he had already been in Liverpool for about 20 years, as he had married Esther Houghton there in 1894; they then took on the management of her parents’ premises in Orrell Lane from about 1896. By 1901 George was cowkeeper at 31-33 GUILDHALL STREET, Walton; he was probably there for about ten years. He was still listed as cowkeeper at Trevor Road in 1949, when he would have been almost 80. It seems that it was probably Esther’s death in 1950 or his son’s the following year that prompted his retirement; he died at the age of 90 in the Liverpool South district ten years later in 1960.
The 1939 register also identifies George’s son THOMAS H. MASON, born in 1899, as a dairy farmer resident at 54 Selby Road, Orrell Park. He was almost certainly working for his parents at nearby Trevor Road rather than running his own business from these premises. He had married Jenny M Ormesher in late 1924, and they now had two teenage children. He died in the Liverpool North district in 1951, aged 52, while his wife Jenny Muriel outlived him for some years and died in the Ormskirk district, aged 70, in 1969.
The 1939 register also identifies George’s son THOMAS H. MASON, born in 1899, as a dairy farmer resident at 54 Selby Road, Orrell Park. He was almost certainly working for his parents at nearby Trevor Road rather than running his own business from these premises. He had married Jenny M Ormesher in late 1924, and they now had two teenage children. He died in the Liverpool North district in 1951, aged 52, while his wife Jenny Muriel outlived him for some years and died in the Ormskirk district, aged 70, in 1969.
The former cowkeeper’s house at 3-5 Langton St, Wavertree, now divided into apartments. The former farm buildings at the rear have been demolished; entrance to the yard at the rear was just beyond the car to the right. © Alan Passmore
The Goss family from Lunesdale were cowkeepers in Liverpool for over 100 years. It starts around 1861, when ROBERT GOSS (27), a son of William and Mary Goss of Holmes Farm, Arkholme, was a cowkeeper living in a cottage at 78 LODGE LANE, Toxteth; he was unmarried and was helped in the running of his business by his younger sister Ann (23). By 1871 he was married and living elsewhere, the Lodge Lane business having been taken over by his brother-in-law WILLIAM MANSERGH, who had married Ann Goss as his second wife – he had previously been farming at Newton Gate Farm, Whittington, and a number of the Goss family were assisting him at Lodge Lane. Robert Goss had married Esther Lowes, a woman from Cumberland, in Liverpool in 1863, and they took over the dairy at 3-5 LANGTON ROAD, Wavertree, in the 1870s. Robert died in 1877, but the business was kept going by the same family until 1966, firstly under Esther, then her son THOMAS GOSS, who married Elizabeth J Bainbridge from Priest Hutton. From about 1925 the cowkeeper was JAMES CLARE, who was the son-in-law of Robert’s brother WILLIAM GOSS, cowkeeper at 403 MILL STREET, Toxteth. James’ son ROBERT CLARE (born 1893) was in charge from 1929 to 1966.
In 1911 JOHN CREIGHTON DUGDALE (30) was the cowkeeper at GREAT GEORGE’S ROAD, Waterloo; he was born at Priest Hutton, near Carnforth, the son of Joshua Dugdale and Anne Ellen Ireland, who by 1881 had moved on from there to another farm at Garsdale Foot, Sedbergh, before bringing their family to Liverpool about 1895 to take on the dairy at Marlborough Road, Tuebrook (later managed by the Capstick family – see final section below) – JOSHUA DUGDALE had been born at Damside St, Lancaster, in 1854; he died in Liverpool in early 1900, aged 45, and in 1901 the Tuebrook dairy was being run by his widow Anne Ellen. John Creighton’s wife Margaret was the daughter of EDWARD CAPSTICK, who was a cowkeeper at 27 AIGBURTH ROAD and later at 42 HANDFIELD ROAD, Waterloo. John C Dugdale was not long a cowkeeper in Liverpool, for he was not listed as such in 1917; the 1939 register finds the family farming at Brook House, Whiston; a son Joshua C was working for his father as a farm labourer. John died in the Westmorland South district in 1961, aged 80, while Margaret died in the same district aged about 91 in 1971. John’s younger brother MARTIN IRELAND DUGDALE, born at Garsdale in 1892, married Annie Hogg, whose parents ran Jericho Farm, Otterspool, and he was listed as running WOODEND FARM, Aigburth Road, 1929/43; he died in the Liverpool south district in 1953.
The 1871 census reveals that there was a Lancaster family running the dairy at 28 WINDSOR VIEW and 18 ISIS STREET, Lodge Lane, Toxteth. The cowkeeper ROGER HODGSON (70) was from Slyne, though his wife Mary (61) was from Witherslack, Westmorland. They were assisted by five unmarried children, all listed as cowkeepers: Sarah (41), born at Witherslack, plus Robert (33), Jane (30), William (28) and Roger (23), all born at Hest Bank, near Lancaster. Roger Hodgson had married Mary Matti(n)son at St Mary’s parish church, Lancaster, on 8 June 1829, and in 1841 they were farming at Hest Bank with four surviving children: Sarah (11), Mary (6), Robert (4) and Jane (10 months). By 1851 Roger and Mary Hodgson were farming 33 acres in the village of Nether Kellet; seven children were then living with them. It would appear that in 1861 the family was split between those with Mary running their farm at Nether Kellet and those working with her husband in Liverpool. It seems that Roger died in the West Derby area (Toxteth), aged 71, during the 3rd quarter of 1872 and Mary in the new district of Toxteth Park, aged 80, during the 1st quarter of 1890; the business had been in her name since the death of her husband. Of their five children only Robert married, but he had died before 1891, when the census reveals the surviving four children William, Roger, Sarah, and Jane still at the same dairy in Toxteth. In the early years of the 20th century the business was W & R Hodgson, but William died in 1913, and Roger was in sole charge in 1914. He appears to have retired shortly after this – the business was not listed in 1917 – but he survived for a number of further years, before he died in Liverpool North at the age of 89 in 1936.
The 1881 census finds THOMAS CARR (28), from Botton (Wray), Lancs, as cowkeeper and dairyman at 26 LETITIA STREET, Toxteth; his wife Cathie (28) was from Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland; they currently had no children, but employed two 15-year-old youngsters in the dairy. According to the 1861 census Thomas was the eldest son of farmers John and Hannah Carr of Higher Park House, Botton, in the parish of Wray-with-Botton, Lunesdale; he seems to have married Catherine Halpin in the West Derby district during the 3rd quarter of 1877. Catherine Carr died in the Toxteth area at the age of 36 during the 2nd quarter of 1889, and the 1891 census shows Thomas, now widowed as cowkeeper at 6 MILLER STREET, Toxteth, with a daughter Mary (7), born in Liverpool. The 1901 census reveals that by that time Thomas (48) had remarried and gone back to farming – he had in fact married Anna Radcliffe at Toxteth during the 3rd quarter of 1893, and was now at Hampson Carrs Farm, near Galgate, in the parish of Ellel, with his second wife Anna (39), born at Andreas, Isle of Man, and children: Mary (17) and John H (6), born in Toxteth, plus Thomas R (4) and Gerald R (1), born at Ellel; Thomas’ brother John Carr (45), born at Wray with Botton, also a farmer, was also living at this address. The two brothers were still running this farm in 1911, but by then Thomas was again widowed, Anna having died at the age of 48 in 1910. Thomas himself appears to have died in the Lancaster district either, aged 73, in 1924 or, perhaps more likely, aged 75, in 1927.
The majority of cowkeepers who ran the dairy business at 5-7 BACK ROSCOMMON STREET, Everton, were from Yorkshire, but the 1871 census finds HENRY CROFT (24), from Aughton Green, Lunesdale, as the current cowkeeper at this address; his wife Mary A (24) was born at Ingleton, Yorks, and they had an infant son John (I month), born in Everton. The 1851 census shows that Henry (4), born at Halton (on Lune), was the second son of James and Elizabeth Croft who were then farming at Caton Green in the township of Caton with Littledale; ten years later they were farming 100 acres at Green Bank, Caton. Henry Croft then appears to have married Mary Ann Preston in the West Derby area during the final quarter of 1869; she appears to have died before 1881, as the census for that year shows two sons James (10) and Joseph Preston (7), both born in Liverpool, living with their grandparents at Caton Green Farm, while Henry himself was working and lodging with another farm labourer at Bleasdale in the Wyresdale area. By 1891 Henry was back in Caton, working as an agricultural labourer at Green Bank, the family farm, where his elder brother Lawrence was now in charge, their father still living on there in retirement. Henry Croft died in the Lunesdale district, aged 52, during the 3rd quarter of 1898.
Another cowkeeper from Lunesdale was the occupant of these premises in 1891. GEORGE BARGH (39), stated to be from Lancaster, was now the proprietor of this Everton dairy business; he was recently married (3rd quarter of 1890 at West Derby) to Lucy Annie James (27), originally from Sunderland, Co Durham. According to the 1861 census George Bargh was in fact born (in the Settle district) at Burton (in Lonsdale), Yorkshire; he was the eldest son of Samuel and Rebecca Bargh, who were then farming 224 acres at Robinson House, Parkside, Burrow with Burrow, Lunesdale. The 1901 census then finds George and Lucy Bargh running the Stanley Arms Hotel, Liverpool Road, Aughton, in the Ormskirk district, his occupation hotel proprietor and cattle dealer – they had two children; Rebecca A (9) and George J (1), both born in Liverpool, plus three resident servants. The 1911 census finds them back in Liverpool, living at 16 Clarence Grove, Everton; George was now a cattle salesman. George Bargh died in the West Derby district, aged 69, during the first quarter of 1920; his widow Lucy A survived him for almost 20 years and died in the Lancaster district, aged 74, during the 3rd quarter of 1939.
Another Liverpool cowkeeper with a connection with Aughton (Lunesdale) was ANTHONY HIRD, who was found running the dairy at 15 BARLOW LANE, Kirkdale, in 1901. This census gives Anthony Hird’s age as 28 and states his place of birth as Liverpool; his wife Mary (28) was born in Liverpool. According to the 1881 census Anthony was the eldest son of James and Ellen Hird, who were currently farming 200 acres at Whinney Hill, Aughton with Halton, Lunesdale – coincidently a farm where William Parrington had spent some of his early years with his parents George and Isabella; ten years later, by 1891, the Hird family had moved by way of Whittingham to Mitton Old Hall, Great Mitton, near Clitheroe, Anthony (18) now the eldest of nine children. Anthony Hird married Mary Ewbank in the Settle district during the first quarter of 1901, so the census of that year finds them newly married at this address, having taken on the business which her parents had run for the previous 20 years or so. By the time of the 1911 census the family had left Liverpool, however, and were now farming at Newby Cote, Clapham; this census confirms that Anthony (38) was from Aughton, while Mary (38) and two children: Robert (7) and Ellen (4) had been born in Liverpool. By 1939 Anthony, born May 1872, was a widower and retired; he was then living with his son Robert and his family, who were farming at Rawlinshaw farm at Lawkland, near Clapham. Anthony’s wife Mary had died in 1936, aged 63, while he was 78, when he died in 1950.
A number of Liverpool cowkeepers came from the area to the south of Lancaster. For example, in 1881 THOMAS HOGGARTH (31) was running a ‘milk house’ at 29-31 TORR STREET, Everton; he appears to have arrived in Liverpool about ten years previously with an elder brother John, who was listed as cowkeeper at this address in 1876; in 1871 he had married Ann Lloyd, from Corwen, Denbighshire, and ten years later they had 6 children, all born in Liverpool. These brothers were younger sons of Robert and Elizabeth Hoggarth of the Blue Anchor Inn, Garstang, but appear to have gained their farming experience on their grandparents’ farm in Wyresdale. Thomas seems not to have been very successful as a cowkeeper, as the 1891 census finds him as an ordinary labourer and in 1901 a dock porter. He died in Toxteth in 1920, aged 70, survived by his wife Ann.
The Capsticks’ former urban farm at 2a/4 Marlborough Road, Tuebrook, in April 2014, following renovation of the cowkeeper’s house as apartments. ‘Dairy’ is still inscribed on the archway. © Alan Passmore
The last true cowkeepers operating in Liverpool were believed to be the Capstick family, whose ancestors were from Howgill in the parish of Sedbergh, an area that provided many cowkeeping families over the years. Since 1944 they had been running the dairy at 2-4 MARLBOROUGH ROAD, just off West Derby Road, in the Tuebrook area; JOSEPH CAPSTICK had previously worked as cowman to EDWARD HARPER at the Rose Brae farm in Mossley Hill. It was during the school summer holiday 1975 that his son JOSEPH NICHOLSON CAPSTICK loaded up his herd of 20 Friesian cows into a cattle truck for the long journey to Brantbeck Farm, Burrow Heights, just to the south of Lancaster. The cows had been milked at Tuebrook in the morning and the next milking was at their new home at Scotforth in the afternoon. The Capstick family still run this farm today, but have just recently changed from dairy to beef cattle; their former home in Liverpool still exists, but without the former shippon and stables, that were the hallmark of a city dairy, situated in the yard to the rear. The later cowkeeper Capsticks, though born in Liverpool, are buried with their ancestors in the churchyard of the tiny Trinity Church at Howgill.
With the relocation of the Capsticks and their herd of dairy cattle from Tuebrook to Lancaster in 1975 came the end of urban cowkeeping in Liverpool, a practice that had continued for a least 200 years. This did not necessarily mean an end to these families’ attachment to the dairy industry; many who gave up their cows continued to sell ‘railway milk’, milk brought from the countryside into the city by rail, and kept on serving the same customers they had dealt with over the years. Such was the story of the Harpers at Rose Brae, Mossley Hill, and, as you will have heard from Dave Joy, of his family at Wellington Dairy, Garston.
Alan Passmore, 2018.
With the relocation of the Capsticks and their herd of dairy cattle from Tuebrook to Lancaster in 1975 came the end of urban cowkeeping in Liverpool, a practice that had continued for a least 200 years. This did not necessarily mean an end to these families’ attachment to the dairy industry; many who gave up their cows continued to sell ‘railway milk’, milk brought from the countryside into the city by rail, and kept on serving the same customers they had dealt with over the years. Such was the story of the Harpers at Rose Brae, Mossley Hill, and, as you will have heard from Dave Joy, of his family at Wellington Dairy, Garston.
Alan Passmore, 2018.