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Kelly's Directories of Sheffield 1949-1962


Trevor Warrs

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I wonder if anyone can help me?

I am trying to trace the occupants of the part of Hodgson Street 3 that was between Clarence Street and Hanover Street for these years which is when I lived there before that part of the street was demolished to make room for Hanover Way and Exeter Drive.I have a digital copy of the 1957 Kelly's but frustratingly the odd numbers for that part of the street are missing although the even numbers are complete. I can remember most of the people listed.

I now live in Bedfordshire so a trip to the Local Studies library demands a special visit and I don't want to undertake a 220 mile round trip to find that these numbers are missing in all the directories I'm interested in. I'd be grateful if someone has a copy of one of the directories for these years could let me know if the odd numbers for this part of the street are covered. I lived at number 123.

I do have some information from the 1939 register supplied by Edmund on this forum which confirms that my parents were there in that year and some others that I member from my childhood.(I was born 1949).

Many thanks in advance. 

 

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3 hours ago, Trevor Warrs said:

I wonder if anyone can help me?

I am trying to trace the occupants of the part of Hodgson Street 3 that was between Clarence Street and Hanover Street for these years which is when I lived there before that part of the street was demolished to make room for Hanover Way and Exeter Drive.I have a digital copy of the 1957 Kelly's but frustratingly the odd numbers for that part of the street are missing although the even numbers are complete. I can remember most of the people listed.

I now live in Bedfordshire so a trip to the Local Studies library demands a special visit and I don't want to undertake a 220 mile round trip to find that these numbers are missing in all the directories I'm interested in. I'd be grateful if someone has a copy of one of the directories for these years could let me know if the odd numbers for this part of the street are covered. I lived at number 123.

I do have some information from the 1939 register supplied by Edmund on this forum which confirms that my parents were there in that year and some others that I member from my childhood.(I was born 1949).

Many thanks in advance. 

 

1948, a bit tatty the Kelly,s is on it's last legs,

hodgson st.jpg

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2 hours ago, neddy said:

1948, a bit tatty the Kelly,s is on it's last legs,

hodgson st.jpg

Thanks for this. This edition is exactly the same as the 1957 version all the odd house numbers are missing and just the court numbers quoted. It looks like it could be a fault with all of them. I may have to investigate electoral rolls instead.

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I believe that you had to pay for your entry in the directories, so if there was no benefit to you, or you were skint, you didn't appear. Also, after WW2, the directories faced competition from telephone directories - if you were entered in one of those, you would be less likely to need to be in a Kellys or similar. These likely explain the missing households.  The Council Rate Books will have all households though (you still can't opt out of that!) - possibly an email or call to the Local History section of the Library would provide you with a scan of the appropriate page of the Rate Book?   

0114 273 4753 (Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat) -  https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/form/your-city-council/enquiry-form

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Thanks again Edmund. I'm a bit puzzled about that because I think we were all fairly skint at the time. I can't see why residents would pay to be in the directory so wondered where Kelly's got their information from. Of course in the early 1950s very few people, certainly those in back to backs, would have a telephone so coverage would be patchy at best.

The rate books are a good idea, I was also thinking of the electoral rolls but of course you have register to vote so they could be incomplete. BTW the Sheffield Archives want £15 for a digital image plus a £5 handling fee. That makes a trip to Sheffield worthwhile if I can establish that the data that I want exists. Ten copies would cost me £155! I was told by a member of staff that they don't copy fragile documents or books because of potential damage in the copying process but they do photograph them.

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I'm pretty certain that you didn't have to pay for the basic entry: "14 Boller Miss Florence".  I think even the trade of the householder was carried free: "12 Howarth Japh. boilerman".  Where you did have to pay was for any sort of display or advertising, just as with the phone book.  Each volume could cost up to 30/- in 1905, which is a heck of a lot of money in today's terms.  See http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/275074/rec/52 for en example.

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Did you ever get a piece of fruit from the nice Mrs. Lawson?

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t00497&action=zoom&pos=11&id=30985&continueUrl=

lots of named people in the sequence of photos on PS, so maybe some ring a bell? Link below for you....

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?&searchterms=Hodgson_street&action=search&keywords=all%3BCONTAINS%3B%Hodgson_street%%3B#rowNumber10

your house, centre one?

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t00498&pos=12&action=zoom&id=30986

did you move out in ‘62 after the Gales, as the people in this photo? Just 4 doors down from yours... the house with the wooden picket fence is 123. Any names here familiar?

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s17414&pos=5&action=zoom&id=20049

happy hunting!

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Thanks RLongden. I don't remember Mrs Lawson but I can add some more information.

s20962 the building in the foreground with the debris on top I think was an air raid shelter built in the war. When I was young it was used as a storeroom by Burgon the grocers whose warehouse backed on to court 23. My mates and I used to climb on top of it and regularly got chased off by the storeman. We also had to walk all the way round this to get to our outside toilet which was in a row backing on to a wall behind Burgons. The young girl in the photograph is almost certainly Carol Hodder who lived at the first house which I think was court 23/3. The next house 23/2 was Mrs Clara Marshall who was a widow and had three sons all much older than me. She used to babysit us when my brother and I were small. 23/1 was the Whiteheads' there granddaughter Kay/Kate? was in the same class as my brother Mel at St Silas.

t00498 You're right I lived at 123 the centre house at 125 were the Priests, I think Herbert and Mary it's his motorbike you can see on the picture with Mrs Lawson in it. At 121 were either the Furniss family or the Crossleys. Might have been the Furnisses as I vaguely remember them having a child and not long after they moved. Somewhere I have a photo of my brother's 7th birthday party (Feb 1959) which Rolin Crossley from next door came to.so they must have moved before then.

t00497 we used to climb over the wall and play on the bomb site it was also used as a dumping site for old mattresses and other stuff.. There was also bomb damage on the other side of the street but no wall to climb over!

s31826 Primitive Methodist Chapel we used to play on this. There was a family further up the street call West I can't remember what number. There oldest son, Geoff, who was a year or two older than me was mad about the navy/sea so this doubled as a submarine, pirate ship or warship depending in what took his fancy on the day. He had a brother called Trevor who was the same age as my brother Melvyn and in the same class at St Silas.

s33116 Hodgson Strret meeting room used to go to Sunday School here but only to get enough points to get on the summer picnic!

s25001 St Silas school attended this from 1954-60. Three of us from there passed our 11+ in 1960 Peter Levitt went to King Ted's, Kathleen? Moseley went to King Egberts and me to Abbeydale Boys (this was a major shock for the Headteacher Mr Hill, and me) who thought any school I went to would be Approved as I was always in trouble for something!

And finally s17414 the woman with the blonde hair is my mother Violet Warrs (nee Machin). I think they moved onto the street when they got married in 1936 and lived there until we were moved in 1962 to Nottingham Cliff at Pitsmoor. I first came across this by accident my brother-in-law had been reading a book "More images of Sheffield" by Keith Farnsworth and this image is in there. There is also a picture of court 23 with the washing hanging out to dry. The other lady in the picture was Mrs Jackson who was quite elderly and frail at the time. Of course the Council in its wisdom moved her to a block of high rise flats. I can remember mum taking us to see her, she was very unhappy. The cars in the street all belonged to the Funeral Director. 

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A very late response. This16964204028921781416811504953122.thumb.jpg.1d3bb191a0c737f201f0e36408e3b243.jpg photo is from 1961 Kelly's and just lists Courts 17 19 21 23 25 between Clarence Street and Hanover Street. I do hope you've been able to solve your riddle.

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