Thomas Arthur Banks of Middlesbrough 1868-1957

A reminder of times past, and a celebration of a long and busy life.  From the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, 22 March 1957:-

HE WORKED 75 YEARS FOR THE SAME FIRM 

The death occurred yesterday at the age of 88, of Mr Tom Banks, of 35, Lothian Road, Middlesbrough, one of the best-known figures in legal and church circles in the district. He had the remarkable record of having spent 75 years with the same firm of solicitors.

It was at the age of 18 that he got a job as office boy with the firm which was then Bainbridge & Barnley and is now Meek, Stubbs & Barnley. 

In his early days, one of his chiefs, Mr George Bainbridge, was Town Clerk of Middlesbrough before it became a full-time appointment and Mr Banks spent much of his time at the Town Hall – the old one in the Market-place. 

He had vivid memories of the opening the present Town Hall in 1889 when he was a junior clerk of 20.  He became chief clerk with his firm and that led to a long association with the Tees Port Health Authority.  One of his principals was clerk to the authority, and in 1907 Mr Banks was appointed deputy clerk. 

Service to church 

Mr Banks devoted a lifetime of service to St John's Church, Middlesbrough, over half a century of it as sidesman or warden. 

Three times after passing the 80 milestone, Mr Banks had been in hospital with broken limbs, but though he returned to work twice, the third time acute arthritis set in and though he had been able to get about a little he had not been able to work at the officee for the past 18 months. 

He was a widower and leaves no children.

What happened to the Hutton Rudby Paper Mill?

At last!  A chance discovery tells us more about the Hutton Rudby Paper Mill - production moved to Yarm in about 1829:-

Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail, 23 August 1886 

The Tees Mills, Yarm 

The following article appears in this week's British and Colonial Stationer:

Whilst in Yorkshire a few days ago, we visited Yarm and called at the Tees Paper Mills, which are carried on under the style of C T Bainbridge and Sons.  The mill was originally a flour mill, but in the early days of the Fourdrinier paper machine Mr C T Bainbridge, a paper-maker and proprietor of a small vat mill at Hutton Rudby, about six miles from Yarm, not content with the slow process of making browns and purples by the vat, removed part of the plant, etc., from Hutton Rudby, to the then Tees Flour Mill 57 years ago, and put down one of the first Fourdrinier paper machines in Yorkshire. 

The old wooden screw press, which was worked by hand at the Hutton Rudby vat mill, was used for some time at the new mill, and the manufacture was confined to browns, purples, and grocery papers. 

In 1867, however, the mill was reconstructed, and the original Fourdrinier was abandoned for a new 62-inch paper machine, by James Bertram and Son, which is still working, and has five cylinders, and bears the date of 1868. 

In conversation with one of the finishers, who has served for nearly half-a-century, we learned that great changes had occurred in the proprietorship at this time, when, through the ill-health of the founder, Mr C T Bainbridge, the loss of his son, and soon after of his nephews, the mill was bought by Mr Wm Henry Benington, who was subsequently joined in partnership by his son, and the firm at present consists of Wm H Benington and Son. 

The management is entrusted to Mr Wm Brougham Benington, a son of the principal.  The trading name, C T Bainbridge and Son remains unchanged. 

Recently some additions and improvements have been made.  Bag machines have been introduced, and a small printing plant and cylinder printing machine are on the premises for printing names and trade marks on the bags if required by the wholesale buyer.  The bag machines have been manufactured by Mr Burnsted, of Hadnesford, one of them being the new Burnsted Patent Machine; and another of a quite new construction, and the first of its kind made by this manufacturer and patented.  The machines are kept running on bags from a 1lb.lump sugar bag up to a 4lb. moist sugar, and the large machine from 4lb. up to a half-stone flour bag.  And bags of a larger size are also made at this mill. 

The firm manufacture browns, purples, and grocery papers, and they have taken up the manufacture of grocery bags at the request of their customers, and are able to supply about eight tons of paper, and bags per week. 

The mill is close to the Yarm station, and is completely surrounded by river, road, and rail, so that there is no outlay on cartage of raw material, or on the manufactured article.  The firm deal with the wholesale, and local trade, and have confidence in both the price, and quality of their productions, and take a pride in the reputation of their old established mill.

A video of a Fourdrinier mill at the Frogmore Paper Mill can be seen here on youtube; its website is here/

New Close Farm, Hutton Rudby in 1806

York Herald, 8 March 1806

CLEVELAND

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION 

On TUESDAY the FIRST day of April next, at THOMAS SMITH'S, the GOLDEN LION, Stokesley, in the county of York, at FOUR o'clock in the afternoon 

A VALUABLE and DESIRABLE FREEHOLD ESTATE, situate at HUTTON RUDBY, in Cleveland, in the county of York, at an easy distance from Cleveland Port, the Town and Port of Stockton on Tees, the Market Towns of Northallerton, Thirsk, Stokesley, and Yarm; late the residence of Mr JAMES APPLETON, and now in the occupation of THOMAS KELSEY, consisting of a genteel, modern, well-built DWELLING-HOUSE, with convenient and extensive Barns, Stables, and Outoffices, all in most excellent repair, and ONE HUNDRED and FORTY-TWO Acres, by estimation, of valuable Arable, Meadow, and Pasture LAND; the whole forming a most desirable residence for a Gentleman Farmer. 

For particulars apply to Mr JAMES APPLETON, of Nunthorpe, near Stokesley, or of Mr WARDELL, Attorney, Guisbrough*.

March 6, 1806

New Close Farm, which is still a Valuable and Desirable residence but no longer a working farm, as it has only 20 acres, lies south of Hutton Rudby, off Black Horse Lane.

*Not so much a typo as one of the variant spelling of Guisborough during the C19

Richard Carass

Another photograph from John Carass.  He comments, "A well-dressed gentleman complete with billy-can!"  I think Richard carries himself well; there's a confidence about that stance!  The photo probably dates from the 1920s.

Richard Carass 1843-1934

Richard Carass was a few years younger than John Richard Stubbs, who predeceased him.  I noticed Dr Dagget in the list of people attending Richard's funeral - he was married to John's niece.

Richard Carass, butcher & farmer of Boroughbridge

John Carass has very kindly provided me with this photograph and transcriptions of newspaper articles about Richard Carass.  A lovely glimpse of the past in Boroughbridge.

From l. to r., Richard, William & George Denis Carass

The Carass butcher's shop on St James Square

Richard Carass is on the left, his son William is centre, and William's son George Denis is on the right.  Photograph taken about 1918.

BOROUGHBRIDGE'S OLDEST MAN 

Daily Walks at 90 

MEMORIES OF MR R. CARASS

A wonderfully active nonagenarian is Boroughbridge's oldest inhabitant, Mr Richard Carass, who, although he will be 91 in June, still likes to take a stroll of three or four miles every day, and is a familiar figure about the old township. The Carass family have been butchers in Boroughbridge for many generations, and the shop in St. James Square, where Mr. Carass was born, has been a butcher's shop since 1770. It is the only one in Boroughbridge that has remained in the same name for such a great number of years. Mr. Carass retired from active participation in the business about 16 years ago, and it is now carried on by his son. Mr. William Carass.

 "More Townlike"

He recalls that in his grandfather's time, St James Square used to be the butchers' shambles, and said he could just remember the days when Boroughbridge was an important coaching centre, and the post-horses were changed amid great bustle at the 'Crown'. Before the coming of the railway, which was first extended as a branch line from Pilmoor, he could remember barges coming up from York with coal and other supplies. Mr. Carass is the oldest member of Boroughbridge Methodist Chapel, with which he has been associated all his life.

[Copied from a newspaper cutting dated around May 1934. John Carass. Jan 1995,] 

 FUNERAL OF MR R. CARASS 

OLDEST INHABITANT OF BOROUGHBRIDGE 

Long Service for Methodism 

WELL-KNOWN BUTCHER

The funeral of Mr. Richard Carass of Holme Lea, Boroughbridge, who died at the age of 91, took place on Tuesday. Mr. Carass was the town's oldest inhabitant, and up to 17 years ago carried on business as family butcher, cattle dealer, and farmer, and was a familiar figure in the Leeds and local cattle markets. The shop in St. James' Square has been in the Carass family since the business was established in 1770, and in now carried on by the son, Mr. Wm. Carass. 

All his life he has been associated with Methodism, and was at one time a Sunday school teacher and member of the choir in the Wesleyan Church. He remembered the present church being built, and was Chapel Steward when the fiftieth anniversary was celebrated. Up to the last, he attended the Sunday evening service. 

He is survived by four sons and a daughter. 

The funeral service in the Methodist Church was conducted by the Rev. W. H. Pritchard, and the hymns "Jesu, Lover of my Soul" and "Rock of Ages" were sung. Miss A. E. Jebson officiated at the organ, and played "Be thou Faithful unto Death" (Mendelssohn) before the service, and "I know that my Redeemer Iiveth" (Handel) as the cortege left the church. The interment followed at Boroughbridge cemetery. 

The chief mourners were :-  Miss Carass (daughter), Mr. Wm. Carass (son), Mr. H. Carass (Leeds, son), Mr. and Mrs. R. Carass (son and daughter-in-law), Mr. A. Carass (Leeds, son), Mr. D. Carass (grandson), Misses M. and V. Carass (grand-daughters), Mr H. Carass (Leeds, grandson), Mr. and Mrs.Walker (Green Hammerton) Mrs Hodgson (Leeds,Niece) Miss Webster (Leeds, niece), Mrs F.Fawell (Sand Hutton, niece)  

Others present were Mr Wm Bacon and Miss Bacon, Mr. H. Hawking, Mr J.J. Webster, Mr. D. Green, Mr. J. Smith (Scriven), Mr. and Mrs. E. Kitching (Knaresborough), Dr. H. I. Daggett, Mr. and Mrs. S. G. Pagett, Mr. and Mrs. W. Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Jebson and Miss Jebson, Mrs. J. Stevenson, Mr. R. and Miss Hawking, Mr. Webster; Mr. C. Clarke, Miss Lockwood, Mr. B. Johnson, Mr. D. 

Johnson, Mr. Westerman (Leeds), Miss Harrison, Mr. A. Pickering (Scriven), Mr. J. Wilkinson, Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Pickering (Kirby Hill), Mr. J.K. Pickering, Mr. Willis (Cundall) Mr and Mrs. Gill, Miss Parlour, Mr. and Mrs. Winpenny, Mr. and Mrs, R. Dearlove Dishforth, Mr. T. Reed., Mr. Curry, 

Mr. B. Dickenson, Mr. H. Crayke (Tanfield), Miss M. Knowles, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Knowles (Broom Close), Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, Mr. and Mrs Topham, Mr. A. Ramsdale, Mr. Crispin, Mr. and Mrs. W. Steele, Mr. T. Walker (Knaresborough), Mr. H. Mawtus, Mr. E. Mawtus, Mr. Ellis, Mrs. Summers, 

Mrs. Darnton, Mrs. E. Umpleby, Mr. Rust, Mrs. Pritchard, Mr. Morris, Mr. Nicholson (Minskip), Mr. Clayton, Mr. Buckle, Mr. and Mrs. F. Buck, Mr. S Smith, Mr. W. Mudd, Mr. Monkman, Mr. Nicholsnn. (Aldborough), Mr. R. Bentley (Roecliffe), Mr. Wynne, Mr. G. Sadler, Mr G. Dean, Mr. W. Roe, Mr. Waid, Mr. W. Dickenson, Mr: Clayton. Mr H. Reed Mr. W Robinson, Mr. Kershaw, Mr. H. Sixty, Mrs. Waterhouse, Mrs. Lofthouse, Mr. Lumley, Mr. J. Pickering, Mr. Skaife, Miss. Robinson. , 

There was a beautiful floral wreath from "The Family," and a cross from Dennis, May and Vera. Other tributes were from Alfred and Annie; Mrs Fawell; Jennie and Annie; Fannie; Emest; Mr and Mrs Jebson and daughters; Mr and Mrs Westerman; Mr and Miss Bacon; Mrs Stephenson; Mrs C.H. Knowles; Mary and Carrie; Mr and Mrs J . Wilkinson; Mr and Mrs J . Palmer; Mr and Mrs S.G. Pagett; Mr and Mrs Topham and Family; Mrs Brewer; Mr and Mrs Cambell; Mr and MrsE.B.Morten; Mr and Mrs W. Steele; Mr and Mrs G.W.Mudd: Kelly Brothers; Mr and Mrs G.H.Sixty; Mrs Beedham; Methodist 

[Copied from a newspaper of November 1934.  John Carass (Great grandson)]


Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 12 November 1934

CARASS. - November 11, at Holme Lea, Langthorpe, Boroughbridge, aged 91 years, RICHARD CARASS.  Interment at Boroughbridge Cemetery to-morrow (Tuesday), November 13.  Service at Methodist Church at 2.30pm.  Friends please accept this (the only) intimation 

The wrecks of HMS Aboukir, Cressy & Hogue

The vessels HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue have been designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act – which means that, at long last, the site is a War Grave.

The story of their loss on 22 September 1914 is told here on this blog.  Families of the 1,459 men and boys who died that day owe a great debt to the hard work and commitment of Dutch author Henk van der Linden, without whose dedication it is hard to see how this could ever have been achieved.

This documentary film takes us down to the wrecks, where the grim remains have turned into a small world of colour and life under the North Sea.

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
                                             Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell. 

Hutton Rudby Spinning Mill, 1860

Such a find.  This little piece in a Newcastle newspaper, tells us at last what George Wilson was up to with the old mill premises on the Hutton side of the River Leven – a combination of the old (handlooms) and the new (gas laid on, and steam-powered looms installed). 

Newcastle Guardian & Tyne Mercury, 18 February 1860

HUTTON RUDBY SPINNING MILL 

This neat establishment, once the property of Messrs Blackett and Mease, and which stood so long idle, seems, in the hands of Mr George Wilson, likely to enjoy a good share of prosperity.  Gas has been attached to the premises, and eight sail cloth steam power-looms have been put into operation, besides a number of hand-looms that are dependant [sic] upon the establishment for employment.  The mill has been regularly at work during the past year, and there is every prospect of its future being still more successful.  It has been a great blessing to many poor families in Hutton and has found employment for a large number of hands in the locality.

NB:  John Mease, not Messrs Blackett and Mease, owned the spinning mill - and there was no gas.

[29 February 2020: for a full account of the Mease mills, see the series of posts that begin here]