THE ALLERTON CONNECTION

My Grandmother, Lilly Allerton, is my connection with the Allerton clan.

She was born in Buxton, Derbyshire at 3 Bennett Street.

Her father, Charles Allerton was born in Longton, Staffordshire.

Charles was the son of Charles who worked in the pottery industry in Longton.

His father was a “Potters fireman”, but Charles became a baker of bread.

Charles’ parents died young and he came to live with his aunt Elizabeth (then Chappell) at 26 South Street, in Buxton.

Charles was still listed as a “Baker” in the 1891 census, while Joseph Chappell, his aunts husband was listed as a “Bathchairman”. This could explain why Charles is known to have been a “Bathchairman” at some time, but no records of this are available to date.

Charles married soon after his aunts death and moved to Bennett Street where they started a family. Charles was listed at this address in the 1901 census and was still a “Journeyman Baker”.

He later moved on to own a shop at 44 High Street where he lived with his family and sold Allerton pottery along with other household goods. He seems to have been quite influential, as pictures of the day always depicted him as a gentleman. He was not known to act as a shopkeeper, as he left the serving of customers to his wife Sarah and his daughters. He owned a stable with 2 horses and a cart that was used by his son Benjamin to sell pottery, fruit, vegetables and tobacco to people in nearby villages.

Most of the vegetables were grown on his allotments and kept in a store a short distance away.

Many Allerton families came from the potteries and the most famous would be that of Charles Allerton who ran a pottery at Park Works in Longton. As much as I would like to find a link to this famous family, I have yet to establish one.

As is usual in genealogy, the more information you get, the more questions arise:

1. If Charles was not related to the famous Charles, why did he sell his pottery?

2. Could it have been that his father worked for the famous Charles (we know he was a potter)?

My research goes on………….

Generation Chart Link

“BATHCHAIRMAN”

These were the men who collected the well-to-do folk from the local hotels in Buxton and transported them to take the waters and undergo spa treatment, which was thought to ease the pain of rheumatism and gout.

The chairs were like a large three-wheeled pram, which was steered by the passenger via a long arm attached to the single front wheel. The Chairman pushed from behind and it was not uncommon for the Chairman to enlist help from someone else to pull a rope at the front where heavy passengers had to be transported up the notorious Buxton hills.

Weekend day trips to the countryside were not uncommon and as anyone who knows Buxton will realise, the Chairmen must have been super fit to carry out such tasks over many miles of rough hilly road.

Bathchair in Buxton Pavilion Gardens