52 residents #47 Joseph Taylor

Joseph Harold Taylor, another young man who dies reasonably close to the end of the war.

He is recorded on Pozieres Memorial, France as being the 'son of Mr and Mrs E Taylor of Edge Lane Farm, Higher Cloughfold' where indeed we find him in 1911. He was a house painter and had one sister at home. Interestingly on the census his age is given as '10' under the 'age of females' column - a bit young for a house painter. It is corrected by the enumerator. Interesting also that his father Elijah is given as 'house painter' when Edge Lane Farm was almost certainly a working farm at that time.

His father Eli figures in various deeds relating to Springhill Farm where the latter's usage of the water pipes from Saunder Heights should not deprive Eli of water to the farm, with complicated arrangements for fair ratios in times of drought…

He served as private (35136) 2nd btn East Lancashire Regiment. He died on 2/4/1918, probably as a consequence of the action on the west bank of the Somme in March 1918.

Sadly there are 630 'Joseph Taylor's commemorated or buried in France according to the CWGC. Tragic.

The CWGC records that Joseph was 'husband of Annie Ashworth, (formerly Taylor) of Ash Lea, Manor Drive, Cleveleys, Blackpool'. I haven't found that marriage, but confess to not having looked very hard…

Sources:
1911 census 1911Census RG14 PN 24709 RD 471 SD1 ED 15 SN 333

Commemorated Panel 42 and 43 Pozieres Memorial. (CGWC)


52 residents #46 Hubert Taylor

Hubert Taylor and his wife Ada bought Springhill House from Doris Hartley in 1948. Interestingly their purchase seems to have been financed by a loan for £2000 from Hilda Haworth of Caernarvon, Widow. I am not sure about the connection. This was repaid in 1960 when they borrowed from Barclays and the Halifax.

In 1964 the Taylors registered a memorandum of association establishing Springhill Nursing Home Ltd. Its terms of reference were very wide including:

'carry on a Private Nursing or Maternity Home'…
to 'employ medical, surgical and pharmaceutical officers'…
to 'educate and train medical students'…
to 'carry on business in…Ambulance and other Motor Vehicle Proprietors and Merchants of and Dealers in Stretchers…Respiratory Apparatus…'…
to 'organise social parties'…
to 'construct, maintain, alter…factories, mills, works, wharves…[NB 40 miles from the sea and no navigable river]…
to 'apply for, promote and obtain any Act of Parliament…for enabling the Company to carry out its objects'…
basically to do whatever it liked. It also made Hubert and Ada Taylor and her parents Harold and Marjorie Lawrence Co-Directors for life.

Nothing like thinking big, and there is no evidence that it ever acted other than as a nursing home for the elderly despite all the options in the founding document.

The property was sold to Portman Registers Ltd in 1970 and Springhill Nursing Home Ltd was wound up in 1972. it appears that the Nursing Home ever made much money and was managed by a succession of matrons who rarely lasted more than 18 months. I remember visiting someone there in the late '70s/early '80s (date deliberately vague!) and standards were not high…


As an aside, Taylor's daughter, Muriel, was good friend with my mother Eileen Taylor - no relation!

National Archives, really!

Nothing to do with Springhill but I enjoyed these…

ladies dresses 200 corset 200



sani belt 200 pantaloons 200

52 residents #45 Fred Taylor

I wanted in this project to honour all the men of Springhill and the immediate environment who died in WW1. There were eight.

It is perhaps fitting that this week brings me to Fred Taylor (no known relation of Elieen, the #44th resident). It is remembrance week, we visited the garden of remembrance in Westminster Abbey last Saturday, the Imperial War Museum North today and I'm writing this in the context of the loss of life in Paris yesterday and the ongoing deaths due to terror and war throughout the world.

Fred was born ~ 1900 in Rossendale, the son of John Taylor, cotton weaver, and Elizabeth his wife. He had an elder sister, Amy, and a younger brother, George. He was living in Patrick Square in 1911.

He enlisted in 2nd Bttn, Loyal North Lancs (pte, 30886) - must have been late in the war or he lied about his age. His battalion joined the 101 brigade 34th division in June 1918 when they were involved in the battles of the Marne and the final advance in Flanders. He was possibly injured in Ypres or Croutrai.

He died 20/10/1918, just 22 days before the end of the war and 11 days before his division was relieved.

This was meant to be the war to end all wars. Every year we stand and remember, but continue to act out of fear and violence.

There has to be a better way.

peace poppy thumbnail

RIP Fred.

Duke of Lancaster's regiment

Memorial at Westminster Abbey. Not all the Springhill residents who fell served in the Lancashire regiments, but many did.

RIP gentlemen.

Duke of Lancasters 600

52 residents #44 Elieen Taylor

Eileen Taylor (23/3/1933-12/5/2007) lived pretty much all her life in Springhill, and her entire living and working life was conducted within a one mile radius.

When the estate was subdivided in 1934 her father, Harry Taylor, first rented then bought one of the subdivisions of Springhill House. He did this so the family may have room to grow up, but had to take lodgers for most of Eileen's early life to help pay for it - from relatives to evacuees to overseas cricket professionals…

She was educated in Cloughfold school and worshipped as a child in Sion Baptist. Cloughfold to the core.

When Harry died in 1972 she returned to her family home with her own family and lived there until 1996, when she, together with her husband, moved across the road and round the corner…

She knew much about Springhill and is the source of much of the information which kick started this study.

She knew why the lamppost is in one of the gardens - because the council asked for it to go there as the light would illuminate the path better

She knew which way the drains/water supply access the properties - across New Cross Meadow from Marl Pits, i.e. through the field not along the road, because the houses on the roadside weren't built then. United Utilities didn't know this, Eileen did.

She knew the restrictive covenants, the rights of way, the details of which trees were protected, which fields Patrick owned…

She is the 'little girl' in '
The little girl and the Capting'. I am the daughter.

RIP Mum.




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