When I first came across references to the Sowerby cowkeepers, I was uncertain whether their property was called Ivy Dairy Farm or Ivy Farm Dairy. It was only when I delved further into the Sowerby family history that I came to realise that these were two different, but related, properties.
‘Ivy Dairy Farm’, located on the corner of East Prescot Road and Thomas Lane in Knotty Ash, was one of those farms that found itself in the ‘goldilocks zone’, on the edge of the city. It was still a traditional dairy farm in that it had access to fields for grazing cattle, but it was close enough to the city population to have a local and demanding market for its liquid milk — it could combine production and retailing in a most profitable way. Business proved to be so good that a satellite outlet was acquired at 2 Fernleigh Road, to serve an adjacent customer base in Old Swan. This new facility was not a milk-producing farm, but rather a milk-selling dairy. So, in a moment of inspiration (or, not), the farm name was inverted and the new dairy was christened ‘Ivy Farm Dairy’.
‘Ivy Dairy Farm’, located on the corner of East Prescot Road and Thomas Lane in Knotty Ash, was one of those farms that found itself in the ‘goldilocks zone’, on the edge of the city. It was still a traditional dairy farm in that it had access to fields for grazing cattle, but it was close enough to the city population to have a local and demanding market for its liquid milk — it could combine production and retailing in a most profitable way. Business proved to be so good that a satellite outlet was acquired at 2 Fernleigh Road, to serve an adjacent customer base in Old Swan. This new facility was not a milk-producing farm, but rather a milk-selling dairy. So, in a moment of inspiration (or, not), the farm name was inverted and the new dairy was christened ‘Ivy Farm Dairy’.
Here follows a potted history of the cowkeeping Sowerby family in Liverpool, which spans three generations through the first half of the twentieth century. Some of this material was rescued from a house clearance by Geoff Cannon — thanks to Geoff for sharing.
the sowerby family in liverpool
Thomas Sowerby (1865—1938) was born in Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland. He was the son of Thomas Sowerby (1827-1871) and Elizabeth Wallace (1836 – 1922), who farmed 47 acres at ‘Ackers’ in Raisbeck, Westmorland. His younger brother was Wallace Sowerby (1869-1914). Both brothers spent time in Liverpool as cowkeepers and dairymen.
In October 1890 Thomas married Letitia Ann McGlinchey (1864-1905), and then, in September 1891, Wallace married Mary Ann Richardson. Whereas Wallace’s marriage took place in Kirkby Stephen, Thomas had already moved away from his home parish and was married in Liverpool. A year after his marriage, the 1891 census has Thomas as a ‘Cowkeeper and Milk Dealer’ living at 54-56 Compton Street, along with his wife and her parents: Thomas Sowerby (26) Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland; Letitia Sowerby (26), Liverpool; Nichol McGlinchey (father-in-law), Ireland; Mary McGlinchey (mother-in-law), Ireland; plus, Assistant Milkman, James Hodson, Liverpool.
Thomas and Letitia made their home in Liverpool and their six children were all born there: Thomas (b.1894), Bessie (b.1894), Andrew (b.1895), Matilda (b.1897), Letitia (b.1899) and Francis Vincent (b.1905).
By the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to 119 Red Rock Street and Thomas’s occupation is given as ‘Dairyman’. Sadly, Thomas’s wife passed away in 1905; she was buried at West Derby Cemetery. The now-widower, Thomas, was still at Red Rock Street for the 1911 census, along with all six children: Thomas (17), Bessie (16), Matilda (13), Letitia (12), Andrew (10) and Francis (5). Thomas was still a Dairyman and his two older children were already assisting him in running the dairy.
After marrying, Wallace Sowerby had moved to Gateshead, where he worked as a Railway Porter (1901 Census), but by 1911 he had followed his brother’s example and had moved to Liverpool to be a ‘Cowkeeper and Dairyman’. The census of that year records him and his family at 98 Pecksniff Street: Wallace (42), Mary Ann (40), Mary Elizabeth (16), Wallace (14), Ruth (13), John (9) and Irene (1). Although at that time his wife and his two eldest children were assisting in running the business, it seems they did not continue to do so after Wallace died, in 1914.
Thomas’s three elder children all married (his younger three did not): In 1915, Thomas jnr., married Alice Gertrude Harris; in 1919 Bessie married George Edward Blease; and, in 1925, Matilda married Thomas Duckers.
In 1916, Thomas had acquired an interest in a larger property at 25 Prescot Road, on the corner of Thomas Lane, and soon after relocated his family there. This property was known as Ivy Dairy Farm, and as its name suggests it was well suited to accommodating a dairying business, with an access to a large yard at the rear from Thomas Lane. It was ideally situated to provide milk to the expanding village of Knotty Ash and had easy access to nearby fields for grazing. It was also close to a cattle station on the Cheshire Lines railway. Eventually, when the properties on the Prescot turnpike were renumbered, the farmhouse would become 256 East Prescot Road.
In October 1890 Thomas married Letitia Ann McGlinchey (1864-1905), and then, in September 1891, Wallace married Mary Ann Richardson. Whereas Wallace’s marriage took place in Kirkby Stephen, Thomas had already moved away from his home parish and was married in Liverpool. A year after his marriage, the 1891 census has Thomas as a ‘Cowkeeper and Milk Dealer’ living at 54-56 Compton Street, along with his wife and her parents: Thomas Sowerby (26) Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland; Letitia Sowerby (26), Liverpool; Nichol McGlinchey (father-in-law), Ireland; Mary McGlinchey (mother-in-law), Ireland; plus, Assistant Milkman, James Hodson, Liverpool.
Thomas and Letitia made their home in Liverpool and their six children were all born there: Thomas (b.1894), Bessie (b.1894), Andrew (b.1895), Matilda (b.1897), Letitia (b.1899) and Francis Vincent (b.1905).
By the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to 119 Red Rock Street and Thomas’s occupation is given as ‘Dairyman’. Sadly, Thomas’s wife passed away in 1905; she was buried at West Derby Cemetery. The now-widower, Thomas, was still at Red Rock Street for the 1911 census, along with all six children: Thomas (17), Bessie (16), Matilda (13), Letitia (12), Andrew (10) and Francis (5). Thomas was still a Dairyman and his two older children were already assisting him in running the dairy.
After marrying, Wallace Sowerby had moved to Gateshead, where he worked as a Railway Porter (1901 Census), but by 1911 he had followed his brother’s example and had moved to Liverpool to be a ‘Cowkeeper and Dairyman’. The census of that year records him and his family at 98 Pecksniff Street: Wallace (42), Mary Ann (40), Mary Elizabeth (16), Wallace (14), Ruth (13), John (9) and Irene (1). Although at that time his wife and his two eldest children were assisting in running the business, it seems they did not continue to do so after Wallace died, in 1914.
Thomas’s three elder children all married (his younger three did not): In 1915, Thomas jnr., married Alice Gertrude Harris; in 1919 Bessie married George Edward Blease; and, in 1925, Matilda married Thomas Duckers.
In 1916, Thomas had acquired an interest in a larger property at 25 Prescot Road, on the corner of Thomas Lane, and soon after relocated his family there. This property was known as Ivy Dairy Farm, and as its name suggests it was well suited to accommodating a dairying business, with an access to a large yard at the rear from Thomas Lane. It was ideally situated to provide milk to the expanding village of Knotty Ash and had easy access to nearby fields for grazing. It was also close to a cattle station on the Cheshire Lines railway. Eventually, when the properties on the Prescot turnpike were renumbered, the farmhouse would become 256 East Prescot Road.
After his marriage, Thomas jnr. moved to 53 Milroy Street. In July 1919, his wife, Gertrude, gave birth to a baby son, Kenneth. Sadly, in 1927, at the age of just 34, Gertrude died. She was buried at Anfield Cemetery in the April.
Business at Ivy Dairy Farm continued to boom. In 1922 Thomas bought not only the property that was 25 Prescot Road, but also the adjacent properties at 27 and 29 Prescot Road. A condition of the acquisition of the farm property was that the shippon must be renovated to comply with modern standards. The following year, Thomas employed local builder James Beattie & Sons to undertake this work, in the sum of £545.
An insurance document from 1940 includes a plan of the three properties and a description of the function of each of the buildings; by then the properties were numbered 252, 254 and 256 East Prescot Road.
1. 256 East Prescot Road: Dwelling House, Dairy, Provender Store
2. Wash house
2a. Hen run
2b. Cart shed
3. 254 East Prescot Road: Sweet shop/tobacconist and Dwelling house
4. 252 East Prescot Road: Ladies outfitter, Sub-post office and Dwelling house
5. Kitchen
6. Larder
7. Stable
8. Shippon
9. Milk Cooling Shed
10. Bakehouse
2. Wash house
2a. Hen run
2b. Cart shed
3. 254 East Prescot Road: Sweet shop/tobacconist and Dwelling house
4. 252 East Prescot Road: Ladies outfitter, Sub-post office and Dwelling house
5. Kitchen
6. Larder
7. Stable
8. Shippon
9. Milk Cooling Shed
10. Bakehouse
The total landholding and its contents were insured for £3,515. An interesting clause in the policy refers to Lightening claims: “Accidents by lightening to horses and cattle must be IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED BY TELEGRAM to the company at the address shown hereon and the carcases must be kept for inspection by a representative of the company.” None compliance with this requirement to notify would absolve the insurance company from liability.
The additional properties were shops with accommodation above and these would have provided a good rent income for Thomas. Indeed, by 1930 Thomas expanded his dairy operation by acquiring the property at 2 Fernleigh Road, located less than a mile along Prescot Road. This property would function as a satellite dairy outlet, selling milk produced at Ivy Dairy Farm and it was taken on and run very successfully by Thomas’s daughter, Letitia. On the gable-end, facing Prescot Road, was painted in large white letters: L. SOWERBY – IVY FARM DAIRY.
The additional properties were shops with accommodation above and these would have provided a good rent income for Thomas. Indeed, by 1930 Thomas expanded his dairy operation by acquiring the property at 2 Fernleigh Road, located less than a mile along Prescot Road. This property would function as a satellite dairy outlet, selling milk produced at Ivy Dairy Farm and it was taken on and run very successfully by Thomas’s daughter, Letitia. On the gable-end, facing Prescot Road, was painted in large white letters: L. SOWERBY – IVY FARM DAIRY.
When Thomas died, on 18th March 1938, he left a substantial business legacy for his children: Thomas Sowerby & Sons. Andrew and Francis were based at the farm at 256 East Prescot Road (supplying milk to the Knotty Ash area), and Letitia was joined at 2 Fernleigh Road by Thomas jnr. and his son, Kenneth (supplying milk to the Old Swan area). The 1939 Register describes Thomas as a ‘Dairyman’ and twenty-year-old Kenneth as a ‘Cowman’.
The Sowerby’s dairies still hold a special place in the memories of local residents (though not always for the best of reasons it would seem!):
Pete Holding:
“The Sowerby dairy in Knotty Ash was on the corner of East Prescot Road and Thomas Lane. If you went for an extra bottle of milk, you went round the back and rang a bell on a string that always seemed too high for a child, and you had to jump to reach it. Mr Sowerby always seemed putout by you giving him your custom. I used to dread my mother running out of milk!!!!”
Polly Potter:
“I remember Mr Sowerby — he was a miserable old sod! My sister and I would sometimes ring that bell and buy a little bottle of orange juice after leaving school for the day. He was never happy to open that farmhouse door for his customers; he used to frighten me as a child. The other dairy at the side of the Masons pub in Old Swan, used to sell fresh fish on a big slab in the window — and apparently, had a cow in the back yard for the fresh milk.”
Rae McGrath:
“As a boy from about 9 years old (around 1956) until probably 13, I worked on the milk round for the Sowerbys in Thomas Lane. There were two brothers: Francis, who everyone called “Shannie”, and Andy. Shannie was the grumpy one — although he had quite a humour on him — who drove the big electric float and covered the Dovecot area. Andy had a Bedford QF van with sliding doors and he covered West Derby and Knotty Ash. I would get fried bread and tea out in the cowshed from Mrs Sowerby and usually collect the eggs from the hens in the barn. Then we’d load up the float and head out, sat on the back. Shannie rarely stopped, unless to chat up a housewife, so I had to jump off and grab the hand crates then dash around four or five houses, deliver the milk and pick up the empties, then jump back on the float and load up again. Occasionally there’d be another boy, but he wouldn’t know the round so wasn’t much help. I’d drop off at the end of Pilch Lane and run home — I lived in Dovecot Avenue — get changed and head off to school. On Saturdays I’d either collect bills or, my preference, help Andy on the long round. It was exciting (and potentially lethal) standing on the back of the Bedford between the open doors with the wind in your hair — crossing the tram lines you often ended up swinging on the door to avoid falling off!”
Amongst the documents rescued by Geoff Cannon, were records pertaining to the former T Sowerby & Sons dairy business. A record of accounts from 1952 provides a fascinating insight as to how the business was operating at that time. The Profit & Loss Account for year ended 31st March 1952 contains the following information:
- Value of stock held, in the form of: Provender (cattle feed), Dairy Produce (milk/cheese/butter), Bottles (bespoke milk bottles), Discs (bespoke, waxed cardboard bottle tops) and Manure (cow muck, to be sold as fertiliser).
- Number of cows bought and sold (an illustration of the ‘flying herd’ approach).
- Annual expenditure on cows (38 in number), cattle feed (provender) and business overheads (building running costs are proportioned between business and domestic use).
- Payment of a producer-retailer levy to the Milk Marketing Board and receipt of a subsidy from the same source.
- Annual income from sales of dairy produce and of manure.
- Depreciation on equipment used in the business, including: Refrigerator, Milking Machine, Bottle Washer, Dairy Utensils, Stable/Farm Utensils and delivery vehicles (Cycle, Motor Van and Motor Car).
- Previous sale of Horse, Float and Harness (as the business modernises and moves from horse-drawn to motorised delivery).
By that time the business was a partnership between Andrew and Francis, so the annual profit of £767 was split equally between them.
Eventually, of course, the Sowerby siblings grew old, retired and passed away: Andrew on 5th January 1962, Letitia on 28th December 1962 and Francis on 12th March 1985. After Andrew’s death, the following article appeared in the West Derby Reporter (12th January 1962):
Footnote:
In March 1975, the farmhouse at 256 East Prescot Road achieved Grade II listed status (Listing NGR: SJ4069691572) as IVY DAIRY FARM. Its official listing describes this Georgian building as follows:
Early 19th Century house, constructed of brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. It has two storeys and extends for three bays. Stone base and top cornice. Windows have wedge lintels and are sashed with glazing bars. The central, round-headed entrance has Doric doorcase, complete fan, and six-panel door. Left hand return side to Thomas Lane has a doorway, two sashes on each floor (one now blocked) and outshut at the rear with a sliding sash and a catslide roof.