Audley - The Changing Face of Church Street

Researched by Clive Millington

This 1960’s view shows Church Street at its junction with Nantwich Road. The shop on the left is no. 1 Church Street which sold antiques at the time. On the right is the former market hall with its main entrance in Nantwich Road.

The view in 2007 with nos. 1 and 3 on the corner of Church Bank at left

Fact file: No.1 Church Street

This was formerly the boot and shoemaker’s shop of John & Eliza Hilditch, who lived in the adjoining no. 3. John died in 1898 and the business was continued by Eliza, who by 1910 must have been a very wealthy woman, owning every property from no. 1 to no. 15 Church Street. The premises passed to John & Eliza’s son-in-law Percy Warburton who had a tobacconist and sweet shop there in which he also sold sheet music. It continued as a sweet shop later and many Audley children over the years would have stopped off here to spend their pennies on their way home from Ravens Lane School. Nesta Johnson had the sweet shop in the years around 1960. It was then a gun shop and an antique shop at some time in the 1960’s when the above photo was taken. By 1983 it was a gift shop called Something Special. The last shop there was the gunsmith’s of James Fawcett called Audley Small Arms. It is now a private house.

The market hall, built in the early 20^th century, was short lived, but although retaining its name was used as a village hall for dances, and performances by travelling theatre groups as well as local groups. After standing empty for several years, it took on a new lease of life in 1948 when it was taken over by a Macclesfield firm to become the Castle Works factory of Audley Knitwear, providing work for local people. This also lasted for only a few years and the building was again left empty. But in 1954 the hall was restored and re-opened officially on 31 December 1954 as Audley Village Hall. From 1955 until 1968 it was home to the Hall Players theatre group who now perform as the Audley Players in Audley Theatre in Hall Street (see website www.audleytheatre.co.uk). There was a basement in the building which was used as a youth club in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Access to the basement was via a now bricked-up entrance on the corner of the building. The hall later became the Boughey Arms Hall for use as a function room by the next door Boughey Arms public house in Nantwich Road. Today it is awaiting a decision on its future.

The first building on the left is the school house (no. 14 Church Street) of what was at the time Audley Infants’ School. All of the buildings on the left hand side are recorded as having been built in 1855. They replaced a row of old houses and gardens which are shown on the 1837 Tithe Map of Audley. The large group of three storey Gothic-design shops and houses (nos. 8-12) along with the out-of-view smaller section (nos. 4-6) were designed by the architect William White. The building in the centre is Castle Hill farm in Nantwich Road. On the right are another group of shops (nos. 15-19). No. 17 was Audley’s first post office of the Penny Post era. These buildings back on to the area known as Church Bank. It was in this area that Audley village first developed, between Castle Hill and the parish church.

The buildings on the right hand side in the old photo were demolished which enabled the road to be widened in the 1960’s. This opened up the view of Church Bank and also the private houses (nos. 5-13) in Church Street. This 1988 view shows the Trustees Savings Bank at no. 12.

Fact file: The William White Buildings

They appeared in the 11 August 1855 edition of The Builder (a weekly journal of the construction industry, founded in 1842 by the architect Joseph Hansom, who designed the Hansom cab).

Extract:

“... The row forms the side of a very narrow street (16 feet wide) and, to make the most of the space, the ground-floor is made to recede beneath an arcade, thus forming a covered way 3 feet 2 inches wide for the protection of foot-passengers, somewhat after the fashion of the rows at Chester. Between the third and fourth houses is an arched entrance to the stable-yard. The whole is built of red brick, with a few bands of black headers, the arches being relieved by the introduction of a few black and buff bricks … The roofs are covered with red tiles …”

In 1890 the buildings were offered for sale by auction:

Fact file: No. 8 Church Street

In 1890 it is recorded as being in the occupation of F. Dean. From 1891 until 1901 this was either the home or shop of William Millington, a butcher. He died in 1912. By 1915 it was the sweet shop of Edmund Swann and his wife Hannah and continued to 1947. Edmund was a coal miner and the shop was run by Hannah (see also no. 12). Arthur Riley, a butcher, then moved into no. 8 from no. 15. During the 1960’s it was Reg Pepper’s greengrocery, fishmongers and florists shop which changed in the 1970’s to Sadler’s, and again, but only briefly, to Lily’s in 2003. It is now Archway Hair Design.

Fact file: No. 10 Church Street

In 1890 Thomas Espley was there as a grocer, baker and confectioner. By 1910 it was the grocer’s shop of Cyril Alfred Norman, continuing as Norman’s until 1951, but with George Sumnall as proprietor from 1947 until 1951. The business was taken over by A. Hudson in 1951, continued under Mrs Berks in 1956, and N. & H.R. Davies in 1960. It was then Rushton furnishers; Lisa Martine bridal centre around 1977; and a clothes shop, first as Marcus Fashions around 1984, then Turn-Style around 1990. It is now a private residence. Cyril Norman’s shop has been described as a high class grocer’s with carefully arranged displays. He ground his own coffee and there was always the smell of coffee in the shop. There were Hessian bags full of produce, with scoops in each of the bags.

Fact file: No.12 Church Street

In 1890 this was the home of Miss Mary Brill, who was recorded later as secretary to the vicar of Audley. By 1900 it was the grocer’s shop of John Hughes and by 1905 the sweet shop of Edmund and Hannah Swann, before they moved to no. 8. By 1928 it was the butcher’s shop of Arthur Millington. He died in 1940 and his son William continued the business there until 1950 (see also no. 66). It then became the Trustees Savings Bank, which opened in August 1950 and continued until closure around 1990. The manager was Mr Wells. It is now a private residence.

This was the sweet shop of Edmund and Hannah Swann when they were at no. 12 Church Street. Their children, Dolly (Dorothy, born 1902), Hilda (born 1904) and Lena Swann (born 1909) are standing with Molly Kendrick who was Hannah Swann’s sister.

Fact file: No. 13 Church Street

This was a private house until around 1990 when it became another property to be used by Emlyn Owen the opticians (see later entries). It is now a private house again.

Fact file: No. 15 Church Street

This was a lock-up butcher’s shop of William Millington (died 1912), Fred Scrivens from 1932 to 1940 and Arthur Riley in the 1940’s. Finally it was the fishmonger’s of Reg Pepper. The building was demolished around 1960.

Fact file: No. 17 Church Street

Following the closure of the post office in (or soon after) 1905 and its move further along Church Street, the Dean & Co. grocery business is recorded as being managed by Joseph Shemilt in 1916, Percy Fryer in 1932 and Mary Kirkham in 1940. During the 1940’s it was used by Emlyn Owen, opticians. Finally in 1950 it became the electrical and cycle shop of W.H. Bowers & Sons. It was demolished soon after 1960.

The photo was taken outside Dean’s Post Office and grocer’s shop at no. 17.

Can anyone identify any of the people? (See article on The Postal Service in Audley Community News no. 5)

Fact file: No. 19 Church Street

This large three storey building is shown on the 1837 Tithe Map. It is recorded as a house and garden in the occupation of John Dean. The post office was built alongside it soon after. It appears to have been a house on the upper floors and a storeroom for the grocery business on the ground floor. It was later Fryer’s café whilst Percy Fryer was managing the Dean’s store, but was run by Mrs Fryer who also offered lodgings. It is known to have been used by travellers coming into the village. The building was demolished in the 1940’s.

Recent years have seen a decline in shops and services in this part of the village, resulting in conversions to housing for several of the shops. However, this has resulted in shop windows being replaced and the buildings being restored to a much closer appearance to their original designs.

William White Buildings of 1855 during recent restoration work. These photos show the rest of the buildings (nos. 4 & 6 Church Street), on the right of the archway which led to a coach house at the rear.

Fact file: No. 4 Church Street

In 1890 it was the barber’s shop of Enoch Sherwin. He died in 1898 and his wife Sarah, who was a hairdresser, continued the business. By 1910 it was the greengrocery shop of Robert Davies and by 1928 the confectionery shop of Thomas Smith. By 1932 the Brown family had taken it over and incorporated it into no. 6. However, by 1963 it was again separate and in use by Emlyn Owen, opticians. Today it is once again part of no. 6.

Fact file: No. 6 Church Street

In 1890 it was the greengrocer’s of James Taylor then Elijah Bossons in 1900. By 1910 it was the fishmonger’s of Herbert Sidney Howard. Thomas Brown was there in 1916 as a cab proprietor, using the stables at the rear (see article in Audley Historian no. 5 and also page 105 of Audley Historian no. 7 in which Thomas Brown is described but not mentioned by name). By 1928 he was a fishmonger and by 1936 a fruiterer. It was later a private residence.

A view in the opposite direction shows St James’ Church and Church Bank Cottage. The cottage was another building hidden from view until the café and old shops were demolished. The wall from left, up to the higher churchyard wall, marks the position of the old buildings. A flight of steps leads from Church Street up to Church Bank Cottage. This was School Passage which led originally past the cottage to Audley Grammar School which once stood in a corner of the churchyard.

This view, taken from outside Audley Church, shows the Infants’ School at the left on the corner of Wilbraham’s Walk. The wall on the immediate left fronts the vicarage, and the entrance to St James’ Church and churchyard is on the immediate right. Wilbraham’s Walk, for many years an unadopted road (and as a result un-surfaced), was named after Charles Philip Wilbraham, vicar of Audley from 1844 until 1874 (see article in Audley Historian no. 5).

The major addition to the scene is the war memorial at left. It was erected in a corner of the vicarage garden and unveiled in a ceremony on 4 April 1923, following an appeal for funding and an appeal for information about the local men who died in the Great War of 1914-1918. Following World War II, 1939-1945, the names of the local men who died in that war were added to the memorial (see Never to Return, first edition published in 2000, and the new edition published in 2007).

The school block of 1855

War memorial

The school block was built in 1855 as Audley Boys’ National School and remained as such until 1901. In that year, following a re-organisation of the local schools, Audley Girls’ National School in the centre of Church Street, became a mixed school, taking in pupils from the Boys’ School. At the same time the Boys’ School became Audley Infants’ School. The school closed in 1938, following another re-organisation of local schools, and the building became St James’ Church Parish Hall. The school house became the parish office. In 1940, following conversion work, the hall became the new home of the St James Players theatre group, the forerunners of the Hall Players (see article in Audley Historian no. 11). The front view of the school buildings is virtually unchanged, but alterations and additions have much altered the side and rear, especially the building of a new hall at the rear which opened in December 1978. The buildings today are used regularly by local groups including our family history society.

Fact file: Boys’ School

The following are listed in records as headmasters of the National Boys’ School:

1861-1872     Samuel Goodland Gwynne

1880               Frederick William Martin

1881-1884     Henry Hewitt

1887-1901     Alfred Norman (see article in Audley Historian no. 1)

The school, built in 1855 for 130 pupils, had an average attendance in 1884 of 120. By 1892 this figure had risen to 143.

Following re-organisation in 1901, the school became Audley Infants’ School and its first headmistress was Miss Annie McEllin, who had transferred from the old infants’ school.

The school was now able to hold 170 pupils, but by 1904 the average attendance was only 144, reducing to 140 by 1912.

See also Audley Community News issue nos. 12-14 for article on the school re-organisations of 1938.

The Church Hall seen in January 1978 as work was about to commence on a new lower hall. This view shows the Wilbraham’s Walk side of the hall. The lower section (nearest camera) was demolished to make way for the new hall.

The rear of the Church Hall seen in April 1978, following demolition of the rear section. The buildings in the background are at the rear of the William White Buildings. The building far left is the Boughey Arms public house in Nantwich Road. The square building in the centre with the conical roof is the former coach house and stables at the rear of nos. 4 and 6 Church Street (see earlier entry), also built in 1855.

The May/June 1978 issue of Audley Parish Magazine reported:

The outcome of the application is unknown.

A further report in the July/August 1978 Audley Parish Magazine stated:

The final report on the completed hall was in the January/February 1979 issue of Audley Parish Magazine: