Wellhouse Mill and Well House Cottages

[barnoldswick51]

In the Census for 1881 Amos Adams (great grandfather) is listed as living at 201 Well House Cottages. I can find Wellhouse Street and Road on the current map but not cottages. Any idea where they may have been.
Were they owned by the Wellhouse Mill and did the Mill give preference to its own workers as tenants ? I believe the owner of the Mill, William Bracewell, also owned mills and other factories in Burnley. Was there any formal way that a person working in Barnoldswick for him would could apply for work in one of his Burnley premises ?

[Stanley]

'Wellhouse Cottages' almost certainly refers to what is now called Wellhouse Square. Built by Billycock Bracewell as tied occupation for workers at the nearby Wellhouse Mill. His Burnley interests were mainly engineering and I doubt if there would be any natural transfers of workers between the two other than the general ease of flitting in those days due to easy rail communication and the widespread availability of rented accommodation with agents to help find it. The evidence for this ease is how rapidly the town emptied when Bracewell Brothers collapsed after Billycock's death. The Craven Herald reported at the time that grass was growing on the streets. Billycock's biggest problem at that time was getting enough workers for his two mills in Barlick, he imported children from workhouses, a common ploy at that time. (See Gregg's at Styal doing exactly the same thing) I doubt if he would have encouraged anyone to leave.
One small point, '201 Wellhouse Cottages' sounds like a transcription error to me. There are approximately 40 dwellings in the Square.

[Wendyf]

Welcome to the site.
201 is the schedule number not a house number. I've been having a look at the census and the houses in Well House Square are listed separately before Well House Cottages. There are 42 households listed, the "Barnoldswick & Coates County School" appears in the middle of them and the road that follows is Hill Street. I'm not familiar enough with Barlick to say where they were exactly but someone should be able to!

[barnoldswick51]

Thanks very much for both those speedy replies. Amos , who had been an agricultural worker, moved from Earl Stonham in Suffolk sometime between the Census of 1871 and 1875. He and his family (wife and 8 children) must have had some surety/strong expectation of work, perhaps as you suggest through knowing about work available at Wellhouse or other Mills . I had originally thought that the Poor Law Commission may have helped them moved. ( I believe it was a practice to spend money to "save money" from the Poor Rates ?) as moving that size family cannot have been simple or cheap.
I have been doing a virtual tour of the existing streets around Millhouse Square (care of Google - I live in Albuquerque and cannot afford the bus fare) trying to see if there are any likely candidates for the cottages and finding where the school is located. I see in your book Stanley "Old Barlick" that the Barnoldswick & Coates County School was also known as the Brick House School and, thanks to the photograph, found it half way down Fountain street. Small joys ! And it sounds like I need to do more homework on that number to see what the actual street number was.
Thanks again.

[Stanley]

Bracewell advertised in poor farming areas for workers and may have contributed to removal costs. Amos' story a very common one.

[Wendyf]

Unfortunately there are no house numbers given on that census return, but there are only 2 households between the Adams and the school, so they must have been very close to it.

[David Whipp]

Is it what's now called Wellhouse Street that's being referred to?

[Wendyf]

I think its Wellhouse Street and Railway Street. There are about 40 households on the census, so that seems to fit the 2 streets. I've been looking at the 1894 1:2500 OS map on the Old-Maps website and as late as 1894 there was very little in that area. Fountain Street doesn't exist and the school is standing alone in an open space opposite the end of Railway Street. As the Adam family are living at 3 Railway Street in both 1891 & 1901 I wonder if that's where they were in 1881? Which way does the numbering go on Railway Street?

[David Whipp]

Low numbers of both rows are at the Rainhall Road end ie closest to the school.

However, Railway Street is even numbers (2 to 38), whilst Wellhouse Street is odds (1 to 39). 39 houses in total.

[PanBiker]

If separate streets now carry the odds and evens of the range, it would make sense that they were a previously named as a single cluster.

[David Whipp]

...and the front doors of each street face each other across gardens where you might have expected a front street to be.

[David Whipp]

'Wellhouse Street' is odd, in that it's the back street of Turner Street; I wonder if it was renamed as part of BUDC's rationalisation and the odd numbered row was given the 'new' name?

[Wendyf]

In the 1891 census the numbers on Railway Street run from 1 to 19 inclusive, and Wellhouse Street 1 to 20 inclusive. The only other properties in the area appear to be Wellhouse Square, East Hill Street, Hill Street & Earl Street.
In 1901 no numbers are given for Railway Street but Wellhouse Street is odd numbers 1 - 41. No sign of Turner Street.

[Stanley]

That block of houses on the west of Railway Street is a good candidate. Old Barlickers call them 19 and 20 Rows and they were erected as one build by Billycock with garden fronts between them.