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The Wooster Chairmakers Expand North

By Nick Wooster

Charles Wooster and his wife Jane Bellinger were the subject of an article by great granddaughter Mary Dandy in the July 1999 newsletter entitled "Jack of all Trades and Master of One". In the December 2000 issue, Joyce Taylor wrote a follow up article "Grandmother's Photograph - Lost and Found" in which she and Mary had discovered they were second cousins through Charles and Jane's daughters, Fanny being Joyce's grandmother and Jane, Mary's grandmother.

Joyce's article alluded to the Leeds connection where both Fanny and Jane were born and to another Wooster family living in Leeds at the time. Thanks to the wonders of modern websites and the availability of a whole plethora of records we can now say that this was all part of something akin to an invasion of northern cities by Wooster chairmakers. The family mentioned by Joyce did in fact belong to Charles's brother James, but the family connection didn't end there as their cousin Robert also moved to Leeds before moving on to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

Charles in Gateshead   Tree
It does appear that it was Joyce and Mary's great grandfather Charles who led the charge north since on the 1851 census he appeared as a visitor at the Moulders Arms in Gateshead, just south of the Tyne and also present was a William Birch aged 31 from Hampden in Buckinghamshire and also a chairmaker¹. Why Charles was in Gateshead is unknown, but it is very likely that he spotted a business opportunity to use his skills and those of his brother and cousin.

The Woosters in Leeds, Newcastle and Hull
By 1852 both Charles and his cousin Robert were in Leeds^2,3 and very likely his brother James, who was definitely there by 1853 when he married Hannah Robinson from Castleford⁴. What happened next is a little uncertain, but it appears that cousins Charles and Robert went into business together at Jacob's Well in Leeds⁵ and in 1856 opened a furniture warehouse on Pilgrim Street in Newcastle⁶. Indeed the following advert suggests that High Wycombe was gaining an excellent reputation for furniture manufacture.

James meanwhile, possibly spent a little time in Stockton-On-Tees where his second daughter was born in 1858, but certainly lived in Hull between 1860 and 1868 where four more daughters were born⁷. Did the Woosters have a business interest in Hull or was James just working for someone else?

It would appear that Charles and Robert continued in Leeds and Newcastle respectively. Their reputation was spreading and in 1857 an advert in the Illustrated Berwick Journal for W Clark's Furniture Store in the town stated that "W.C. begs to acquaint his friends and members of the public in general that he has been appointed sole agent for the sale of Mr Wooster's far-famed chairs."⁸

Charles remained at Jacob's Well in Leeds until at least 1868 and Robert, now with a new or additional business partner, Alexander Molteni continued in Newcastle. When Robert and Alexander moved premises in 1860, an advert for the sale of their stock claimed this to be "decidedly the largest stock to select from ever offered in Newcastle"!⁹

Robert's new workshop was in Gallowgate and in August of the following year he suffered a terrible fire which started in an adjoining building, destroying all his stock, his workmen's tools as well as the buildings, and killing two of his dogs, thankfully the only lives lost in the blaze.^10,11

Robert's side of the business survived for another five years and in October 1866 he was declared bankrupt¹².

The Next Generation
In Victorian times it would very often be the way that sons would follow their fathers into the family business and the Wooster chairmakers were no different.

Charlie in Hull and Manchester
Perhaps the most intriguing one was Charles who moved back to his native High Wycombe around 1869 and had two sons, Charlie and Mark Remington. Son Charlie then moved back to what was his native north of England, and was in Hull as a chair manufacturer in 1881¹³. Was there a connection to his uncle James being in Hull? Maybe not, since his uncle had left Hull over ten years before, but intriguing nonetheless. In 1891 Charlie had expanded into yet another northern city, namely Manchester with his younger brother Mark Remington Wooster and traded as Wooster Brothers at Great Ancoats Street^14,15. Sadly Mark died in 1903 aged only 33.

In July 1905 there was a Royal Visit to Manchester by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and the local papers were awash with adverts for rooms and windows and just about every available vantage point from which to view the royal procession. Not to miss out, Charlie had his advert in there as well!¹⁵

James moved back to Leeds from Hull between 1868 and 1871⁷, and this probably coincided with his brother Charles moving back to High Wycombe. By 1871, James's son, also called James was a chairmaker like his father, but in 1876, the business, now based in Meadow Lane in Leeds was liquidated¹⁶. James snr. died the following year and James jnr., now with a young family of his own must have restarted the business and was at Meadow Lane until his death in 1907. The continuance of chairmaking in this line extended another generation with the grandson James (1874-1920)¹⁷.

The Liverpool Connection
Not to be outdone by their male relatives, two of Charles and Jane's daughters, Agnes* and Fanny married chairmakers, Benjamin Williams and George Tilling respectively and then invaded yet another northern city of their own, namely Liverpool. Indeed on the 1881 census Agnes and Fanny were living next door to each other at Benson Street in the Mount Pleasant area of the city¹⁸. Their children must have known each other very well, living so close as cousins and it is perhaps not surprising that many of them also became chair and cabinet makers.

The Woosters Continue in Newcastle
What about the Newcastle branch? I hear you ask. Well, Robert must have restarted the business and he had two sons, Robert and William Thomas. Robert snr. died in 1882 aged 52¹⁹ and it seems that the younger brother William Thomas took more of a leading role. Robert jnr. was described as an upholsterer²⁰ and then a cabinet maker, skills very closely linked, and was retired by 1901 when he was only 45²¹. He was living with his sisters in Grove Street in the city and there is a possibility that the business was doing exceptionally well and he perhaps sold his share to his brother. The other possibility is that he was suffering from ill health, although he did live until 1938 when he was 82.

The younger brother William Thomas ran the business until his death in 1952 and was described as a cabinet maker²⁰ and later a house furnisher²². This part of the family very likely retained connections with their cousins in Leeds as William married Clara Taylor from Leeds⁴ and their son Robert was born there. William and Clara lived in Jesmond Park West and their business was at 20-22 Pudding Char in the city, described in William's will as "Woosters Buildings." During their time the business morphed into a draper's business, selling clothing and household furnishings and seems to have survived until the early 1970's and was passed on to their son and grandson. I suppose the following advert from 1973²³ shows that the firm were drifting back to their roots with furniture, even though they were now just selling it rather than making it!

* There is considerable doubt that Agnes is Charles's daughter. She was born in the same quarter as Charles and Jane's marriage and her birth was registered as Agnes Bellinger (her mother's maiden name) with no maiden name for the mother given. She was also Christened in Leeds at the age of twelve, along with her siblings, but was again Christened with the name Agnes Bellinger.

Sources:

1. 1851 England Census, Registration district Gateshead, Sub-registration district Gateshead, ED, institution, or vessel 13, Household schedule number 82, Piece 2402, Folio 477, Page number 19
2. Ancestry, West Yorkshire, Non-Conformist Records, 1646-1985. Baptism record for Annie Wooster, daughter of Charles.
3. Ancestry, West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910. Baptism record for Emily Wooster, daughter of Robert Wooster
4. Ancestry, West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1813-1935.
5. Leeds Times - Saturday 06 December 1856, Page 4
6. Newcastle Courant - Friday 27 June 1856, Page 1
7. 1871 England Census, Registration district: Leeds, Sub-registration district: North Leeds, ED, institution, or vessel: 64, Household schedule number: 79, Piece: 4557, Folio: 78, Page Number: 14
8. Illustrated Berwick Journal - Saturday 26 September 1857, Page 1
9. Newcastle Daily Chronicle - Tuesday 05 June 1860, Page 4
10. Newcastle Journal - Monday 05 August 1861, Page 3
11. Newcastle Daily Chronicle - Monday 05 August 1861, Page 2
12. Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury - Saturday 24 November 1866, Page 1
13. 1881 England Census, Registration district Hull, Sub registration district Myton, ED, institution, or vessel 43, Piece 4774, Folio 10, Page number 14
14. 1891 England Census, Registration district Manchester, Sub registration district St George, ED, Institution or Vessel 5, Piece 3242, Folio 98.
15. Manchester Evening News - Tuesday 27 June 1905, Page 1.
16. Ossett Observer - Saturday 18 March 1876, Page 3
17. Registration District Number 501, Sub-registration district Hunslet, ED, institution, or vessel 30, Piece 27147
18. 1881 England Census, PRO Ref: RG11/3624 Folio: 102 Page: 33
19. Newcastle Journal, Thurs 12th Oct 1882, Page 1
20. 1891 England Census, Sub registration district Westgate, ED, Institution or Vessel 36, Piece 4198, Folio 33
21. 1901 England Census, Registration district Newcastle upon Tyne, Sub-registration district Westgate, ED, institution, or vessel 44, Piece 4773, Folio 11, Page number 14, Household schedule number 79
22. 1939 England and Wales Register, Schedule Number: 208, Enumeration District: GALU, Registration district: 558-3
23. Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Monday 26 November 1973, Page 14

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  06 October 2023