Hello Everyone, I am a new member to this forum and wonder if anyone can help me.

On the 1881 census i have found my great great grandparents a John and Mary Buckley living at 14 Hills LANE Lodging House, in brackets it then says Registered? Does anyone know who the lodging house would have been registered with ? they have 10 lodgers with them.
Is 14 HILLS LANE still standing ?

In 1901 they are living in York House Town walls , Does that still exist ?

Both john and mary were born in Ireland and i think they probably came to England during the potato famine some of their lodgers were also Irish . Any suggestions how i could find out if many irish people settled in shrewsbury at this time?

Thanks Chris

Hi Chris

I've had a walk around both Town Walls and Hill's Lane this evening (it's not far!). The buidlings on one side of Hill's Lane are still standing, the buildings on the other side were demolished in the 1960s to make way for a car park. Unfortunately 14 Hill's Lane was one of the houses demolished - it was on the corner of Hill's Lane and Bridge Street. At the time, Bridge Street and Frankwell, on either side of the river and close to river quays and industry, were lined with lodging houses. Googling for registered loging houses - I think this may be of some relevance -

"Under the Act of 1851 the keepers of common lodging-houses have to register their names and addresses, to give the police inspector appointed for the duty free access at all times, to cleanse the premises, to limewash the walls and ceilings twice a year, and to give immediate notice of an outbreak of infectious disease. The police also require that the house should provide 300 cubic feet to every bed, and they demand of the keeper a certificate of character. In addition to these regulations which concern the lodging-house keeper, the local District Board of Works looks carefully after the drainage and sanitary arrangements, for which the owner is responsible."

It's not easy to pin down where York House would have been. From the census, it appears to have been somewhere between Belmont and Belmont Bank on Town Walls. From evidence on the ground, and from the District Council and Royal Mail websites, the name 'York House' is no longer in use, so I suspect that either the house has been re-named or it has been demolished. There is a modern York House elsewhere in the town centre.

In terms of Irish migrants - there were quite a number in Shrewsbury from the 1850s onwards; as new arrivals, they tended at first to live around the industrial areas by the river and the railway works.

Hope this is useful, it's interesting to me anyway, even though my lot didn't arrive in Shrewsbury until the 1890s!

town-walls
THANKYOU so much for taking time to help me with my research.

I found it very interesting what you knew about lodging houses of the time. I will certainly try googling later today. The family had 8 children and several of them died in childhood one of an accidental scalding ! (ah) and another of scarlet fever so i suppose sanitary arrangements would have meant numerous outbreaks of desease at this time. in that sort of area.

Thankyou for the information about Irish immigrants John Buckleys father was a Farmer so i would assume they would have been greatly affected by the potato famine in Ireland. They were Catholics and john and mary married at st Marys catholic chapel . I remember there was a catholic church on townwalls shrewsbury . Is it called st marys?

Were your ancesters irish ? best wishes for now chris

http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/ar...y_feature.shtml

s.g.d.

s.g d Wow thankyou so much for the website. The video was brilliant. My great great grandparents were married in 1852 so as the cathedral was not built then, it must have been on the site shown on the video where Catholics worshipped previously to that. Thanks again Chris

I've had a chance to have a look at these locations in the daylight this morning. 14 Hill's Lane - the registered lodging house - was I think in the apex between Hill's Lane and Bridge Street (other side of the cars queueing at the lights - Saturday morning is not a good time if you want a traffic-free view! Originally there was no direct through route from Bridge Street to Hill's Lane (access was from Mardol only or along a few shuts).



Now, I may be getting carried away now, but this old watercolour on the Darwin Country website looks like it was done in the same area.



For a general idea of what this area used to look like



For the link to Town Walls, again there isn't much to go on at street level. The first generally recognised Catholic chapel in Shrewsbury opened in the 1770s on a site on the corner of Belmont Bank and Town Walls. It was pulled down in the late 19th century and replaced with a pair of semi-detached houses, which are still there.



According to the IGI, there was a St Mary's RC somewhere in Shrewsbury in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and it may well have been the same place. In 1856 the Catholic Cathedral (Our Lady and St Peter) opened a short distance away on Town Walls.

Anyway, my feeling is that York House was almost next door to the Catholic chapel, and has now been replaced by the flat-roofed building on the left of the photograph.



Bishopstone Mansions (on the left of the photograph, closest to the camera), next door along Town Walls, he site of a Catholic school, which has now been relocated to Belmont.

In terms of your last question - the Shrewsbury branches of my family weren't Irish, they were originally from Wellington, Newport and Montgomeryshire, so hadn't travelled far! I have got some distant Irish relatives, although on my Dad's side instead. Shrewsbury's position on the main road from Holyhead to London was a factor in encouraging Irish settlement during and after the famine.

excellent detective work Town_walls,you could put Cadfael to shame :D

s.g.d.

I have competition?? And on a religious / historical question as well! I'm losing my grip...

you dunna do bad for an owd un owd lad. you must be 927 this year.

s.g.d.

THANKYOU THANKYOU
It is often very difficult to do research when you no longer live in( Gods Country) Shropshire Although born in Shrewsbury i left in 1980 returned in 1990 and left again in 1996 it's still home though !!!
I am amazed how helpful you all are !!!!I Particularly liked the pictures of how Hills lane used to be.

I have loads more queries but don't want to push my luck with you all But

Is there anyone on here who is good at dating photographs?( photo of people outside mystery building)

bye for now Chris

ask away Chris we love a challenge.

it would be good if you could post the picture on here.

s.g.d.

Now don' t laugh but how the devil do i put my picture on here? have read your guide and have tried but with no success. Could i have an idiot guide please .!!!!!
Chris