“Rhyl’s Popular Town Crier”

Rhyl History Club member Sandra Williams has kindly shared information and photographs of her grandfather, Thomas Watkin Roose.  Mr Roose (1863-1939) was Rhyl’s last official Town Crier.  Sandra says that the bell he used is still in the family (see photograph), it is 13″ (33 cm) high and is quite heavy.  Apparently the bell is an old ship’s bell  as Mr Roose’s father was a Sea Captain and was from an old seafaring family originating from Anglesey.  Sandra and her brothers have fond memories of going to their Nain’s house every Sunday after Sunday School and trying to lift the heavy bell off the floor.  The original picture of Thomas in his uniform hung on the wall.

Wikipedia describes a town crier as a person who is employed by a town council to make public announcements in the streets.  Criers often dress elaborately, a tradition known from the eighteenth century.  They carry a handbell to make a loud noise and they shout the words “Oyez, oyez, oyez” before making their announcements.  The word oyez means “hear ye”, which is a call for silence and attention. Read more: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_crier

Sandra is not sure exactly when her grandfather became the Town Crier.  In 1901 the census listed him living with his first wife, Jane, and his occupation then was Bellman (the old name for Town Crier).  The 1911 census showed him living in Hope Place with his second wife, Ellen, his occupation being listed as Town Crier.

Interestingly, a letter was received by the Editor of the Rhyl Journal in August 1896 which reads:

“Sir, I think it is high time that the Rhyl Council should set above (sic) appointing an official town crier.  At present the office is filled by anyone who cares to take a bell round the town and their “cries” are not always pleasant.  Some rush about and ring their bells violently, here there and everywhere.  Even the promenade is not sacred from their din and noise, nor any hour of the evening exempted.  The other day one of the criers was heard pitching into an opponent, and altogether the performance of a town crier’s duty in Rhyl is by no means satisfactorily performed.  Yours, a Quiet Man.”

Mr Roose was born in Greenfield in 1863, one of four children.  His mother Martha died when the children were very young, and because  their father was a Sea Captain and away most of the time, they all moved to live with relatives in Rhyl.  Mr Roose married Jane Roberts in Rhyl in 1888, they had no children and Jane died in 1907.  He went on to marry Ellen Moulton nee Littler in Rhyl in 1908 and had six children, Tennyson, Robson and Stephen (Sandra’s father), also Ruby, Eleanor and Reader all of whom died in infancy.  Thomas died in 1939, still living in Hope Place, and his wife died in 1961, also still living in Hope Place.  Thomas’s brother, John William Roose, opened a grocer’s shop in Queen Street, married and had nine children. One of the nine children was William Stanley Roose,  Councillor and Headmaster in Rhyl.

Lastly, here is an amusing little report from the Rhyl Journal of November 25th, 1893.  The date seems to suggest that Mr Roose was an unofficial town crier before his appointment to official Town Crier.

“Mr Gladstone rode through the streets of Rhyl yesterday mounted on a donkey.  The animal was drawing a cart in which were seated Lord Salisbury, Mr John Bright and several other Parliamentary luminaries.  Such were the impressions of pedestrians yesterday; but it was only a roose (ruse) on the part of the Town Crier to draw attention to the Town Hall Concert in the evening.  He had chartered a donkey and cart and loaded both with boys who wore masks which had before seen service in Rhyl.  It is not known whether the Town Crier received special instructions to mount the moke or not; but they were together”.

More Rhyl Streets…

This first photograph shows Edward Henry Street:

Below is a photograph of Water Street:

Next, a photograph of Wellington Road:

Lastly, another view of Abbey Street:

Dates unknown.

More on Edith Vizard

A recent post on this blog described the huge contribution that Edith Vizard made as Lady Superintendent (Matron) of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Convalescent Home.

https://rhylhistoryclub.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/edith-vizard/

Research has revealed some sources saying that  Miss Vizard had trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital, another suggested she had actually been the Matron there.  After contacting the Archives at Great Ormond Street we now know that Edith Vizard was indeed a former Lady Superintendent (Matron) at the renowned Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Thanks to Sue Hawkins of Kingston University who has sent us the following information and also a link to a website dedicated to The History of Children’s Hospitals:

www.hharp.org

Edith Maria Vizard: Lady Superintendent at Great Ormond street, 1869-1871.

Edith Vizard was born in 1835/6 in Torrington Square, Bloomsbury, the daughter of a London-based solicitor, William. William and his wife had at least 8 children (7 girls of which Edith appears to be the eldest) and one son. The family was obviously well-situated. By 1851 they had moved from Bloomsbury to Hampstead and the household included a nurse, a nursemaid, a cook and housemaid. Although her siblings were all being educated at home 16-year-old Edith was away at Miss Puddicombe’s school in Reading at the time of the 1851 census. By 1861 she was back home with the family, who had relocated again from Hampstead to Ewell in Surrey.

The first mention of Miss Vizard in the Great Ormond Street records is in January 1869 in the Management Committee Minute Books. She is referred to as a lady ‘taking the place of’ Miss Summers, who has gone on leave. At this time the Children’s Hospital was staffed by ward nurses (usually working-class women) supervised by ‘lady nurses’. None were trained nurses – the ward nurses learnt on the job while the ‘lady nurses’ were of much more elevated class. They were present more to instill order and maintain discipline than for their nursing knowledge and prowess. All the Lady Nurses gave their time freely, they were not paid and most drifted in and out of the hospital as their social life permitted.

photo shows The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in 1870

Miss Vizard and a few others were exceptions, being drawn into the work they did and developing a dedication to the hospital and the small patients. These women became regular workers at the hospital and by the mid 1870s, all such women received a salary, in recognition of their dedication. After several stints in the hospital in the first half of 1869, Miss Babb, the Lady Superintendent (who managed the nurses and the housekeeping roles within the hospital) announced her intention to retire and recommended Miss Vizard as her replacement. Miss Vizard took up her post officially on 1 November that year, although it seems she had been standing in for Miss Babb from time to time before that.

In this photo (taken in 1871), from Great Omrond Street Hospital Archive, Miss Vizard is thought to be the lady seated on the right. An annotation on the back of the photograph names the women as: Miss Annie Balderson [a lady pupil],  Mrs Dacre [who is not mentioned in any hospital nursing records], Miss Elizabeth Laishley, who later became Lady Superintendent of the convalescent home at Highgate, and Miss Anne Dalrymple Hay, who became Lady Superintendent of the main hospital on Miss Vizard’s departure later that year. Miss Dalrymple Hay was probably the Hospital’s most distinguished Lady Superintendent. She was the daughter of a Scottish baronet, Sir James Dalrymple Hay.

On 11 October 1871 (two years after acceding to the post) Miss Vizard’s intention to resign was noted in the Management Committee minutes. A special meeting was called to discuss her discision but unfortunately no record of that meeting, or the reasons for her resignation, have survived. On 25 october (I suspect very reluctantly) the Committee accepted her resignation and in a reflection of the high regard in which their Lady Superintendent was held was to be made a Life Governor of the Hospital. Vote thanks followed for her service over 2 yrs as Lady Superintendent.   

Whatever her reasons for leaving, only months later she was to join forces with another Great Ormond Street ‘lady nurse’, Charlotte Cunninghame Graham (who also happened to be the aunt of the Hospital’s Secretary in the 1880s, Adrian Hope. Together, the two women established a convalescent home for children at Rhyl, in North Wales: The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Convalescent Home.

 In 1902 a short piece about the hospital appears in Nursing Record (3 May) in which Miss Vizard is described as a ‘lady who has devoted her life to the furthering of the interest of the hospital, not only as has she given her services but has also contributed largely to the funds’. In the 1901 census she was still listed as the Matron of the establishment, and in 1907, when she died, a notice of her death in the Times of 1 May 1908 indicates she was still living within the hospital. She left a considerable sum of money £4,961 in her will, to her brother Herbert, a solicitor.

Many thanks also to Archives at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.

 

 

 

 

Rhyl Streets

Lovely photographs of Rhyl’s streets, from the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.  They are from the top, High Street c.1900, Abbey Street date n/k, Bath Street c. 1905, Bodfor Street c.1880, Kings Avenue c.1901, High Street c.1909, Victoria Avenue c. 1906. (click on images to enlarge)

Photos kindly shared with us by Mr Lewis.

This ‘n that.

Some time ago members of the public were invited, by Sustrans, to nominate local people to appear on the “Portrait Bench” which is situated on the Rhyl side of the new walking and cycling “Pont y Ddraig” bridge. See photograph.

The people selected are L.- R. Don Spendlove, Sir John Houghton and Mike Peters.

Don Spendlove and Mike Peters will, I’m sure, need no introduction to our readers.  Sir John Houghton may need more of an introduction and here is the link to learn more about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Houghton

Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport.  It is working on projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people ways of “travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment”.  More information about their portrait benches can be seen here:

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/information/national-cycle-network/art/whats-new/portrait-bench

September quiz solution:

The big house is of course “Ty’n Rhyl”, photographed from the Coronation Gardens.  The plaque is from the Madryn Avenue entrance to the Coronation Gardens:

King George’s Field aka “the coros”.

Re. the quiz, this is now going to a quarterly post instead of monthly.

Gertrude Ffoulkes

Researching local history always throws up more questions than answers.

To read about the beginnings of the Royal Alexandra Hospital click on “A Seaside Nursery for the little ones of our land”.

As a result of this research, obvious questions spring to mind, such as: who was Archdeacon Ffoulkes, why did he decide to set up a children’s convalescent home in Rhyl, and who was Gertrude Ffoulkes?

Those of us who were either patients or staff at the “Alex” will remember “G.F.” ward (Gertrude Ffoulkes) but who was she?  Why was a ward named after her?

The 1871 census shows Gertrude Mary Frances Ffoulkes, aged 7, living with her parents the Archdeacon and Mrs Ffoulkes at the Vicarage, Llandysil, Montgomery.  Notice that Gertrude’s place of birth St. Asaph.

(Image by permission – www.findmypast.co.uk)

Gertrude was their only child, and was born to them at the relatively late ages of 49 and 40.  In their household they had several servants: a housekeeper, a laundry maid, two general servants and a lady’s maid.  Interestingly they also employed two nurses.  Was Gertrude a sick child?  Is this what inspired the Archdeacon to set up a home for sick children?

Gertrude’s father was the Rev. Henry Powell Ffoulkes, Archdeacon of Montgomery, Canon Residentiary of St Asaph and Rector of Whittington, near Oswestry.  Archdeacon Ffoulkes established the Children’s Convalescent Home in 1872, which later became the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Convalescent Home.

In the hospital report for 1876 we find this:

“In presenting their report for the year 1876, the Committee have to express their deep regret that they have been deprived of the invaluable assistance of their friend and colleague Archdeacon Ffoulkes.  The cause of his absence must be known to all the supporters of the institution, who will, no doubt, be anxious to join with the Committee in their expression of their heartfelt sympathy in the sorrow which has fallen on him and Mrs Ffoulkes.  Some of their more intimate personal friends being anxious to testify their appreciation of the sacrifices and exertions made by Archdeacon and Mrs Ffoulkes towards the foundation and support of this institution, have raised a subscription to found a new children’s ward in memory of their beloved child who always took so warm an interest in the children of the home.  This is to be named The Gertrude Ward.”

Gertrude was 12 when she died, her death certificate gives no clues as to whether she was chronically sick.  The cause of death is given simply as “inflammation of the bowels”.

The photograph below shows the Gertrude Ffoulkes ward in the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Archdeacon Ffoulkes died ten years after Gertrude, in 1886, and was buried with his only child at St Asaph Cathedral.

photograph shows a part of the stained glass window of the Chapel at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.