This page is dedicated to my 19th century Marsden family relatives, who continued a family tradition of running local public houses.
Hannah Taylor and Jonathan Marsden were both residents of Mill Lane in Tockholes when they tied the knot in September 1863.
The following year, Hannah and Jonathan moved to Bethesda Row in Tockholes, where they celebrated the arrival of their first son, John James Marsden, born at the home of Hannah’s aunt, Elizabeth.
Just two years later, they found a new home on Hollinshead Terrace, still in Tockholes, where they welcomed their second son, William Henry Marsden.
Over the next fourteen years the couple had five more children – Elizabeth, Thomas, Mary, Dinah and their last child Phoebe born in 1880.
The family eventually moved into a cottage near Hannah’s relatives at Brinscall Mill Farm in Heapey.
The Marsden family living at Hoole Cottage, 1871
By 1871, Jonathan, who worked as a weaver, had also started selling beer. In several records, his job is listed as “beer shop keeper” or “beer house keeper.” It is likely he was selling small quantities of beer from his cottage for consumption off the premises.
‘Beer selling’ was a common side employment at the time and wasn’t unusual within this family. Hannah’s father Henry Taylor also worked at this occupation whilst attending his farm of 26 acres. So too did her late grandfather John, who was a long standing landlord of the Black Bull Inn, Longton.
Tragedy
Sad news hit the family when Hannah and Jonathan’s son Thomas Marsden sadly passed away aged just eighteen months old in 1873.
Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the Rose Bud beerhouse, Wheelton, before Miles Myres Esq, touching the death of Thomas Marsden aged 18 months, son of Jonathan Marsden, beerhouse-keeper of Wheelton. Mrs. Marsden stated that at a little before twelve o’clock on Wednesday, she placed the child, along with another, next to the door. A short time afterwards she missed it and was unable to find it. She obtained the assistance of a man who was in the house at the time, and he found it in a brook, which runs at the back of the house, dead. The child must have got in at one end of the brook, and have been washed down a distance of about 60 yards.—The Jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death”. – Chorley Guardian – Saturday 14 June 1873
Court Tavern – Chorley
Local news shows that Jonathan had a license to serve beer at the Court Tavern, Chorley in the year 1877. The Court Tavern, was located on St Thomas’s Road in Chorley.
Another newspaper article from the Chorley Standard, published in March 1880, names Jonathan Marsden shows that Jonathan applied for a license to sell beer at the Railway Hotel in Heapey, but his request was denied because he hadn’t found a suitable tenant to take over the Court Tavern.
Jonathan complied with the instructions and soon after, he and his family made themselves comfortable at the Railway Hotel.
A Terrible Gale
The move to Heapey was perfectly timed. Just a couple of years later severe winds hit Chorley, causing significant damage to buildings, including the Court Tavern.
Chorley – The destruction to property in the district has been immense, debris from dismembered roofs and chimney stacks lying in every street…The rear part of the Court Tavern, in St. Thomas-road, was rendered a complete wreck by the fall of two chimneys, and the furniture was destroyed. – Liverpool Mercury – Thursday 13 December 1883
The Railway Hotel
The Railway Hotel was located right by the railway station, at the intersection of White Coppice and Barn Lane. It closed its doors in 1998 and has since been converted into a residential property; although its former life can be remembered by the old brewery lamp still located above the front door.
Jonathan, like many other innkeepers of the time, continued his work as a cotton weaver whilst his wife, Hannah, took on responsibilities in the Public House. Their sons, John, who was sixteen, and fourteen-year-old William, found jobs as labourers at the Heapey Bleachworks.
The 1881 census shows the family at 3 Lane Ends, Railway Hotel. There is also Thomas Fielding from Blackburn, who appears to be a visitor staying at the hotel.
Next door to the house, was 3 Lane Ends Cottage.
Accident on the railway
In August 1881, Jonathan was walking home to the Railway Hotel after having a few drinks. Unfortunately, he was involved in a serious accident that led to the loss of his arm.
Early on Sunday, Jonathan Marsden, landlord of the Railway Hotel, Heapey, near Chorley met with a serious accident. It appears that on Saturday night he was determined to walk home about three miles along the railway track, and when about half distance he was overcome with sleep, and he lay down by the side of the line with one arm resting on the rails. During the night a train passed, and his arm was cut off. Marsden thankful for his life, afterwards walked home. The amputated limb was found on the track on Sunday. – Manchester Evening News – Tuesday 09 August 1881
It’s unclear how long the family stayed at the Railway Hotel following Jonathan’s accident. Tragically, Phoebe Marsden passed away at the young age of five from pneumonia in 1885. Her death certificate indicates that the family was living at 81 Heapey Road at that time, and it lists Jonathan as a power loom weaver. This suggests that despite losing his arm, he was still able to continue working and supporting his family.
1890
Jonathan and Hannah made one last move to the Derby Arms on Eaves Lane in Chorley. The public house dates back to the early 19th century and is still open today.
In September of 1890, Jonathan Marsden sadly passed away at the age of forty-nine. The death certificate records that he died of Bronchitis and that his occupation was Innkeeper.
After Jonathan’s passing, Hannah took over the ‘Derby Arms.’ She lived there with her three daughters: Elizabeth, Mary, and fourteen-year-old Dinah, who worked as a weaver in a local mill.
Hannah remained at the Derby Arms as landlady for nine years, until her son William took over in 1901. William continued as landlord until his death in 1923.
After William became landlord, Hannah stayed nearby, living just a stone’s throw away at 199 Eaves Lane. During this time, her daughter Mary, along with her husband William Sandham and their daughter Edith, also resided there for a while. Hannah’s other daughter, Dinah, continued to live with her mother and eventually left her job to help take care of her.
In 1903 aged sixty-three, Hannah re-married Joseph Berry a joiner living a few doors along on Eaves Lane. Joseph was also a widower.
Just five years into their marriage, Joseph passed away at the age of sixty-seven.
1911
The 1911 census shows Hannah living alone at the same address on Eaves Lane.
Dinah Marsden married a local coal merchant and set up home further along Eaves Lane and had three sons. In 1917 Dinah committed suicide in the Leed’s and Liverpool Canal. Her husband and her mother, Hannah, were the ones who found her.
Hannahs death came three years later in 1920, aged seventy-nine years.
What happened to the rest of the family?
Click on ‘Page 2’ to read more.