Bignall End – The
Changing Face of Ravens
Lane
Researched by Clive
Millington
Last updated: 28 October 2009
In this view taken around 1900 Audley station
bridge marks the beginning of Ravens
Lane, at its junction with Boon Hill to left, Bignall End Road to right, and
Bignall Hill behind camera. The bridge carried the Audley Branch Line from
Alsager in Cheshire to Keele in Staffordshire, a distance of 7½
miles. It joined the Crewe to Derby main line at Alsager and the
Newcastle-under-Lyme to Market Drayton line at Keele and opened on 24 July
1870 as a goods railway to serve local collieries, but on 28 June 1880 a
passenger service was introduced on the line. This resulted in connections to
the national railway network for local people. Stations opened at Audley and
Halmerend to serve the local area. Passenger traffic later declined and the
stations closed on 27 April 1931 with the railway reverting to goods traffic
only. Following the gradual closure of collieries in the area, the Audley to
Keele section of the railway closed on 18 June 1962 with total closure of the
line on 7 January 1963. (See “The Audley Railway” in Audley Historian
no. 4)
Following the closure of the railway, the
bridge was demolished in 1966. The same view in 2007 shows the Plough Inn at
right.
The stationmaster’s house, no.
1 Ravens Lane, stands on the left of this
view. Opposite stand nos. 8-24 in the first terrace. Beyond are nos. 26-60.
When this photograph was taken, around 1900, there were no properties built
beyond no. 60 until the other end of Ravens Lane.
Fact file: No. 9 Ravens Lane
This is the small brick building which appears
on the left of the above photograph just beyond the stationmaster’s house. It
is recorded as the boot repair shop of Thomas Taylor from 1916 until 1940.
Next door in a wooden building was the joinery business of Rowley and Taylor.
(Roy Taylor’s father was the manager of Newcastle Sawmills.) This is also the
building in which Doris Johnson (see also no. 22) is known to have had a fruit
shop.
The same view in 1996 with no. 9 long since
demolished
Station House
The first recorded stationmaster at Audley
Station was Holland Steventon from 1880 until his death in February 1914. The
only other recorded is William Poyser from 1914 until 1924.
The Plough Inn and nos. 2-6 Ravens Lane seen
in 2007
Fact file: The Plough Inn
Samuel White is listed in a trade directory of
1834 as having a beer house in Ravens
Lane. This is identified in the 1837 Tithe Award of Audley parish as a
building in the same position as the Plough Inn of today. However, the inn is
not mentioned by name until the 1871 census. When numbers were given to the
properties, the inn was no. 2 Ravens Lane, but now no. 2 is next door. It is
likely, therefore, that the inn was larger in the past.
Licensees: Dates are those for which records
have been found. The intervening years could be covered by those listed or by
an unrecorded licensee.
Samuel White 1834-1845
Mrs Martha White 1845-1851 (widow of above)
William White 1860-1861 (son of above)
George Wood 1871-1881
Wilmot White 1885-1891 (son of above William)
Holloway Stone 1892-1900
Charles F.H. Hargreaves 1901
Mrs Alice Stone 1904
Alfred Bunn 1906
John Steele 1908-1916
A. Pitchford 1924
Thomas Morris 1928-1932
Miss Jessie M. Morris 1933-1940
Arthur Morgan 1950
William Sumner 1960
Patrick Conway 1970-1978
Michael McNicholas 1979-1981
Derek Boulton-Lear 1982-1984
Patrick Jepson 1985
Roland Chidlow 1986-1987
Edwin Cope 1990
Les Holt
Paul & Lisa Holt 2005-2007
Julie Grindey 2008-
No. 8 at left of entry
Fact file: No. 8 Ravens Lane
This was the grocer’s shop of John Proctor in
1900, continuing until 1912. The property was then sold at auction by Heywood
and Son at the Butcher’s Arms in Audley on 16 July 1913. The lot was described
as:
“All that valuable corner shop, being no.8
Ravens Lane, Audley, for many years
occupied by Mr John Proctor. Rental £14 per year. There is a roomy grocer and
provision dealer’s shop, sitting-room, back-kitchen and two bedrooms, also
storeroom and good yard. Gas and water laid on.”
Joseph Daniel Barker took over and is recorded
from 1916 until 1928, followed by Mrs Mary Ellen Barker in 1932. By 1936 Mrs
Rosa Edwards was a grocer, hosier, stationer and photographic dealer. Her
husband Jack was the photographer. In 1948 the photographic business moved to
the old Audley station building, at the bottom of Bignall Hill, which became
Edwards Photographic Studio. The grocery business passed to George Sumnall,
who at the time had a shop at no. 176 (see later entry) as well as one in
Church Street, Audley (see Audley –
The Changing Face of Church Street). The last business at no. 8 was a
hairdresser’s run first by Valerie Sellers and finally by Erica Stephens. It
is now a private house.
The terrace from no. 12 at right along to no.
24 which stands on the corner of Tibb
Street
No. 24 on the corner of Tibb Street
Fact file: No. 20 Ravens Lane
William Riley, a hairdresser, is recorded here
from 1921 until 1932. Now a private house.
Fact file: No. 22 Ravens Lane
This was the butcher’s shop of Frank Scrivens
& Son from 1932 until 1940. Doris Johnson followed with a fruit and vegetable
shop from about 1950 until 1966. Now a private house.
Fact file: No. 24 Ravens Lane
George Wood, a grocer, was here from 1900
until 1921, followed by Louis Taylor, a confectioner from 1928 until 1933. A
shop was here later, run by Maurice May, who repaired cycles and sold paraffin
and bundles of sticks for lighting fires, amongst other items. Now a private
house.
No. 15 is in the centre of this view
Fact file: No. 15 Ravens Lane
This was the home of John Billington, a
greengrocer who is also recorded at no. 13 from 1910 until 1932. The map of
1924 shows a small building adjacent to no. 15 which could have been the shop
at no. 13. It was demolished when the present nos. 11 and 13 were built.
Audley Funeral Home of funeral director Dennis
Cartledge now stands between nos. 17 and 21. A firm was based here before
which painted markings on roads, and then Wemyss Haulage was here.
The nearest section of these buildings was
reconstructed from the former garage of Frank Proctor, becoming no. 21 with
the house next door. Beyond is a single storey building, which was formerly
two buildings, nos. 37 and 39. The building furthest from camera is no. 41.
Fact file: No. 21 Ravens Lane
This was the shop and garage of Isaac and Mary
Proctor from 1913 (see also no. 46). Isaac, who died in 1922, had been a
contractor at Jamage Colliery and owned transport. His son Frank ran the
garage and his charabancs were used by local people on outings, but he died
suddenly in 1932 at the age of 41, leaving his mother Mary and sister Marion
to run the business. The shop had sold radios, cycles and accessories, and at
a time when there was no electricity supply in
Ravens Lane,
the business generated its own electricity, along with charging accumulators
for customers. In 1940 Frank Scrivens, a butcher, purchased the premises and
continued until 1975. The business was sold to Frederick Douglas Moss, also a
butcher, but he re-sold the property in 1978 to John and Barbara Johnson and
it became a wool shop. The following year David and Lynn Nixon purchased the
shop which became Bignall End Wine and Wool. They continued until 1999 when
they sold the business to Jan and Phil Moreau. They joined the buying group
Londis (hence the name) and sold mainly groceries, wines and spirits. In 2003
they acquired the newsagents business at no. 48 and transferred it to no. 21.
A Frank Proctor charabanc and an outing
photographed at “The Pump”, where
Ravens Lane joins
New Road and Chapel Street
Fact file: No. 37 Ravens Lane
Arthur Riley, a boot maker, is recorded here
from 1912 until 1940. He repaired shoes in this small building. A chiropodist
was here later and then Marion Hassall, a hairdresser.
Fact file: No. 41 Ravens Lane
This was Arthur Riley’s shoe shop in which he
displayed and sold his products. It was a clothes shop later.
On the opposite side of the road, on the
corner of Tibb Street, stands no. 26. The terrace continues to no. 48 on the
corner of Hope Street.
Fact file: No. 26 Ravens Lane
This was the grocer’s shop of Frederick Rhodes
from 1900 until 1939 with a bakery at the rear. By 1960 it was the grocer’s of
George Hart. In 1982 it was Hooper’s Cycle Centre and in 1984 Village Crafts,
run by Angie Stubbs. By 2002 it was Bignall End Barbers and remains so today.
Fact file: No. 28 Ravens Lane
Frank Brindley, a fried fish dealer was here
from 1921 until 1937, but the shop was run by his wife Esther, as Frank was
blind. Esther was also a local postwoman. By the 1950’s it had changed to J.S.
Condliffe & Co., who sold fireplaces, crockery and fancy goods. Joseph Spencer
Condliffe, following service in World War II, worked for a Chesterton tile
firm and learned how to make fireplaces. His first fireplace was made behind
“Lynton” in Ravens Lane, where
relatives lived, and fitted into a house in Chapel Street, Bignall End. Later,
whilst living at no. 11 Tibb Street, he was in partnership with Peter Gatley.
No. 28 Ravens Lane was purchased later. In 1957 the business moved to no.
130/132 Ravens Lane (see later entry) and no. 28 was sold to Proctor & Lowe
(see also no. 155). They sold cycles, radios, televisions and other electrical
items. The shop closed around 1990 and the property became a private house.
Fireplaces at the rear of no. 28
Fact file: No. 30 Ravens Lane
In 1901 this was the butcher’s shop of Arthur
Rowley. By 1909 Alfred Joseph Banks had taken it over, continuing until at
least 1932, before moving to no. 45. In 1940 it is recorded as the fruit shop
of Samuel Johnson. Next was a Mr Jackson, an ironmonger and hardware dealer
whose business was continued in 1950 by Francis G. Newman. The shop was also a
pet store then. In 1968 Bignall End Post Office was transferred from Boon Hill
to here and remains so today.
Fact file: No. 32 Ravens Lane
The only business recorded here is that of Mrs
Hannah Wood, a confectioner and general dealer, from 1928 to 1936.
Fact file: No. 34 Ravens Lane
From 1928 until at least 1940 Mrs Eleanor
Harrison was another confectioner and general dealer. In the 1950’s it was the
grocery, drapery and general store of William Allen. The grocer’s shop of
David and Cynthia Roberts, called Maid Marion’s Store, followed (see also no.
48). Finally it was the grocer’s shop of Margaret and Arthur Clarke from 1977.
It is now a private house.
No. 48 on the corner of Hope Street with no.
46 next door
Fact file: No. 46 Ravens Lane
Isaac and Mary Proctor, grocers, were here in
1900, continuing until 1913 (see also no. 21). From 1928 until 1940 it was the
fruit shop of Frederick Poole then Mrs Louisa Poole, a greengrocer. Now a
private house.
Fact file: No. 48 Ravens Lane
In 1928 Mrs Florence Henshall is recorded here
as a shopkeeper. By 1936 Miss Ada Henshall had taken over as a newsagent,
tobacconist and confectioner. By 1940 it is recorded as Henshall & Smith,
(Abraham and Alfred) who also ran a taxi service and coal merchant’s business.
In 1974 David and Cynthia Roberts took over as newsagents, continuing until
August 1986 (see also no. 34). The business was sold to Dennis and Sheila Hand
and then to Malcolm and Josephine Haynes in 1989. The newsagents closed in
2003 following purchase and transfer to no. 21. K. Singh was the last
newsagent there. It is now a private house.
On the opposite corner of Hope Street stands
no. 50, then along to no. 60
Fact file: No. 50 Ravens Lane
John Rowson was recorded as a baker here in
the 1891 census and as a confectioner in a trade directory. He died later that
year and his wife Alice Jane continued the business until her death in 1926.
It has been a private house since then.
No. 43A at left, followed by no. 43 onwards
Fact file: No. 43 Ravens Lane
This was the home of the Howell family for
many years. John Howell, a draper, is recorded here during the 1920’s.
Fact file: No. 43A Ravens Lane
In 1936 Arthur Edward England is recorded here
as a fried fish dealer. By 1950 John Layland had taken over, also selling wet
fish. It was later Bourne’s fish and chip shop and in 1983 it is recorded as
Village Fish & Chips, a title it still has today. E. & L. Cornes were the
proprietors in 1983. Another building once stood alongside no. 43A, at the
left of the above view. It stood sideways to the road and can just be seen on
the far left in the old black and white photograph above, which includes the
stationmaster’s house.
Fact file: No. 45 Ravens Lane
This was the home of the Warburton family and
Wilmot Warburton was a corn dealer, recorded as such from 1921 until 1932. By
1936 it was the butcher’s shop of Alfred Joseph Banks, followed by Frank
Stanley Banks until the 1950’s. Now a private house.
The terraces from no. 96 (left) onwards
Fact file: No. 76 Ravens Lane
This is also recorded as The Dorren or The
Doreen in records. It was the home and shop of Daniel Scott, a milliner and
his wife Alice, a haberdasher. Their daughter Lilian was married to Arthur
Allman and they also lived at no. 76. Daniel Scott and Arthur Allman were
builders and contractors who built a pair of semi-detached houses, nos. 102
and 104 Ravens Lane. Arthur Allman and
Lilian moved into no. 102.
Fact file: No. 96 Ravens Lane
Ada Ollier is recorded here as a shopkeeper
from 1916 until 1940, followed by Gleaves’ sweet shop in the 1950’s and
1960’s. Now a private house.
A view of old
Ravens Lane
which shows no. 79 at left. The two thatched cottages are nos. 81-83. No. 79
was the birthplace of twins Victor and Arthur Burgess, both of local
cricketing fame.
No. 79 stands at the left in this view. The
thatched cottages have long since been demolished and replaced by the
bungalow.
No. 118 is nearest camera with no. 100
immediately behind the telegraph pole to the right of view
No. 132 at left along to no. 120
Fact file: No. 130 (later 132) Ravens Lane
This was the bakery of Joseph Heath, first
recorded in 1928. By the 1940s it was the sweet shop of Mrs Gatley. In 1957
J.S. Condliffe & Co. moved here from no. 28, continuing with their fireplace
business. About 1964 part of the property was converted into a laundrette and
dry cleaners whilst upstairs, toys and fancy goods were sold. The business
closed in 1985. No. 130 is now no. 132, following re-numbering of this row of
houses.
The
Ravens Lane Branch of the Butt Lane Industrial Co-operative Society. The store
was built in 1911 and is seen here in the 1940s. To the right of view is no.
130 (later 132) when it was a sweet shop.
The former Butt Lane Industrial Co-operative
Society store. The store closed in the late 1960’s and several different
businesses used the premises afterwards, including one which sold seeds and
another which made moulds for the pottery industry, before final closure and
conversion to a house.
Fact file: No. 153 Ravens Lane
Charles Whalley, a grocer and draper, is
recorded in 1880. He died in 1889 and his wife Betsy continued the business.
She appears in the 1901 census as a grocer and her son Frederick as a draper.
Frederick took over the business and is
recorded from 1904 until 1932 as a draper. The building was later demolished.
Fact file: No. 155 Ravens Lane
This was also Whalley’s draper’s shop before
becoming the main shop of Proctor & Lowe from about 1940 until closure in
1982. Proctor & Lowe sold radios and cycles when the business started, and
televisions later.
No. 155 Ravens Lane seen in the 1980’s shortly
before demolition
An advertisement from 1949 (left), and from
1982 (right) just before closure of the shop at no. 155.
Ravens Lane at its junction with
Chapel Street (to right) and New Road (to
left). At the right of view is no. 170. The final property on that side of
Ravens Lane is no. 178 (by the cart) which stands on the corner of Diglake
Street. The premises on the left hand side in this view could be Whalley’s
grocery and drapery business.
The same view in 1988, by which time all of
the old buildings on the left of the previous photograph had been demolished
and replaced by new properties set back from the road.
Fact file: No. 170 Ravens Lane
Charles Whitehurst, a butcher, was here from
1921 until 1962. It was a grocer’s afterwards and by 1984 it was Ravens Lane
Stores run by Irene and Malcolm Heath. Now a private house.
Fact file: No. 172 Ravens Lane
Mrs Edith Smith, a confectioner, was here from
1924 until 1928, then Mrs Annie Smith until at least 1940. In the 1950’s the
shop was a branch of J.H. McEllin, chemist. From 1962 to 1967 it was Wendy’s,
run by Mrs Wendy Jessop. She sold ‘Wendy’ wool and children’s clothing. By
1972 it was the butcher’s shop of Frederick Douglas Moss, then Harry
Hodgkinson from 1980 until 1987. Mike Doig managed the shop at no. 172
followed by John Jackson, allowing Harry to run his other shop in Audley. In
1987 John Jackson took over the business and is still there today.
Fact file: No. 176 Ravens Lane
The fruit shop of George Sayers was here
followed by George Sumnall, a grocer and provision merchant, recorded in 1949,
then T. Robinson in 1953. It was also a café for a short period. Now a private
house.
Fact file: No. 178 Ravens Lane
In 1916 this is recorded as Swettenham
Brothers grocer’s store. From 1921 until 1962 it is Swettenham Ltd, grocers
and provision merchants. It was in fact another co-operative store, offering
dividend to members, in direct competition with the nearby
Butt Lane store. By 1967 the store had been
taken over by Victor Value and became a supermarket, albeit short-lived. It
was Sally Robinson Studio Pottery later and the Denise
Moore Dance School before becoming a
pre-school nursery by 1992, known as Nurserytime. By 2006 it was Little Scamps
Day Nursery but closed suddenly in 2007.
Looking back in the opposite direction from
Chapel Street shows Ravens Lane on the
right of view. The row of terraced houses on the left is in Chapel Street. The
occasion could be the visit in 1911 of King George V as he passed through
Audley and Ravens Lane by car.
The same view in 2008 shows new buildings to
the right along Ravens Lane
Ravens Lane viewed from New Road in the mid 20th
century with no. 169 at right
Fact file: No. 171
The final property in
Ravens Lane was occupied by the Carter family
in 1900. Mrs Sarah Carter is recorded as running a business as a joiner,
ironmonger and furniture dealer. Later entries record only a furniture
business, with John and Joseph Carter continuing until 1921. Edgar Hughes is
believed to have had his boot repair business in part of the property which
was later an office of the Ancient Order of Foresters Friendly Society.
For details of Audley Historian and
other available publications go to the Publications page on this website.
Additional information and recollections about
any of the buildings and businesses would be greatly appreciated, as would any
photographs of individual buildings or occupiers, which could be incorporated
into the article. Please email the society with any information.
Several of the old photographs are reproduced
from the Thomas Warham Collection by kind permission. The recent colour
photographs are by Clive Millington. Other photographs have been kindly
donated.
Many thanks to all concerned for the
information and photographs received for insertion into this article.