Clark Street to Morecambe, and the EidsforthFamily ConnectionThe popular seaside town of Poulton (renamed by the railway company as Morecambe after thebetter known Bay) was first recorded in Domesday Book. For centuries it was a small fishing and farming community centred around Poulton Hall. From 1323 to 1328 Poulton was held by William Gentil, Sheriff of Lancashire, by service of 15/- per annum. Later owners included the Washington family, ancestors of the first American President. ln 1799 Anthony Helm, Governor of Lancaster Castle, bequeathed the Manor House, by then known as Poulton Hall, to his nephew Anthony Eidsfor*r.l An 1824 map of Poulton and district shows that Anthony then owned an extensive area, including Hall Croft, on which Clark Street would later be built, but which was then open.(Map 1). The tithe map of 1839 shows that the Eidsforth tithes were f,l15 per annum.2Anthony Eidsfor*r was a notable citizen of Lancaster. He was a Freeman of Lancaster and in 1823 his son Thomas, of London, was also admitted. One of the rights of a Freeman was exemption from toll on crossing Skerton bridge. He took a leading part in organising the annual Lancaster Regatta. One reference refers to leading the organisation of the Regatta in 18293 while in 1835 hegave alarge dinner party at the hall in association with it.+Anthony died in July 1840 leaving his property to his seven children. According to the terms of his will unma:ried sons and daughters could continue to live at the Hall as long as there were two or more but the last surviving unmarried child had then to offer the property to be sold to his sons Thomas and John in succession. Should the sons refuse or decline to become the said pruchaser of the said premises then the same offer should be made to all his daughters, beginning with the eldest. Should all the children decline to purchase, only then should the estate go to public auction.S The 1841 census records three members of the Eidsforth family, Francis, aged 25, described as independent, Grace 20, and Mary 15. Their address is not given but as they were unmarried they may be presumed to have been living at the Hall.The estate was finally broken up and sold in 1848. The Farm, thifly other lots of land and the Eidsforth family pew were sold at auction at the Kings Arms in Lancaster on August 8th.6 ln the same year the second son John, on returning from the West Indies and before he was due to sail to China, ceded his right to sell the estate to the eldest daughter Margaret.2 The other sisters assigned their rights to Margaret. The estate was then sold to the Govemors of Queen Annes Bounty and the Rev. Edward Manby.The 1851 censusT lists only one member of the family, John Eidsforth, described as a planter in the West lndies and as a Lodger. John died on the 3l st of May 1853 at the early age of 338 leaving his monies and Property and effects to his half sister Margaret , who was charged with ensuring that his two illegitimate children in Delamare each receivedf20 when they reached2t.e An indenture of 1852 in the Land Registry at Lytham St. Arures confirms that the will of Anthony Eidsforth was proved and mentions the documents of 1848 confirming that Margaret became the sole owner.3 This document also shows that four parcels of land were sold to a Thomas Ripley for f79 12s 6d for the sole purpose of building properties, within strict guidelines set by a covenant, and that these properties were to form part of a street named Clark Street. The parcels of land were part ofHall Field Clark Street would start from Green Street, which was to be renamed Margaret Steet. As Green Street is still so named this part of the agreement was not implemented and Margaret lost her memorial. The document also records the sale of the plot on which our present house, no.5, now stands. The census records of 1871 and 1881 show that Thomas Ripley took up residence in one of the houses he had built. These developments took place at the time when Poulton was changing from a small hamlet to a fashionable seaside resort. Between 1821 and 1831 the population grew from 177 to 540. By 1840 marine villas were being built along the front, some with a bathing house adjoining the sea.With the arrival of the railway growth accelerated, all of which would help to increase the value of theestate and make the sale more profitable. The terrace parallel to Clark Street, also built on part of the same Hall Croft owned by Margaret, is today known as Eidsforth Terrace. Today it consists mainly of large family hotels, one of which is called the Eidsforth Hotel and of self contained holiday apartments. Eidsforth Terrace has recently been renumbered as part of Marine Road but it is to be hoped that the name will survive. An Eidsforth family tree shows that Margaret never married but was still living in 1865.Poulton Hall was later bought by Morecambe Corporation. For a while the gardens were used as a nrusery for the town parks but in 1932 the house was demolished and the site converted into an open air market and a coach park. Later it was used for housing and a recreation ground was built on the site of the Hall. The only surviving relic of this building is the west doorway which acts as a climbing frame for the younger generation and is not protected from graffiti.The identity of the eponymous Clark of Clark Street is uncertain but he may well have been C. J. Clark, then a prominent citizen and benefactor. He donated the land on which the Victoria Hospital now stands and laid the foundation stone in 1898, and also gave the hospital one of the first X ray machines in the district.3 He also laid one of the foundation stones on the Bare Promenade. He lived at various times at Cross Hill and Anstable Holme on the Skerton Torrisholme boundary and was Chairman of the Local Board in Bare for many years.By the 1860s Clark Street was well established. Mannixs Directory of 1866 shows that many of the houses were lodging houses, probably tourist residences during the season but many of the houses were the residences of stonemasons and carpenters, no doubt employed in building the expanding resort. Many of the families came from Yorkshire, a link that has continued to the present.Sources1. R C. Quick. History of Morecambe and HeyshamI J.R. Spalding. Poulton le Sands; A History of Morecambe. 3. R. J. Bingham. Last Resort.4. B.A. Pape, Morecambe Visitor.5. Land Registry. Land Title LA755574.6. Morecambe Visitor, April 23 1997.7. 1851 Census, Kelly Transcripts, Morecambe Library.8. John Eidsforth will. Morecambe Library.9. Eidsforth Family Tree. Morecambe Library.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:10:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015