Comment on 'Hand & Bottle Yard' and share your thoughts with the thousands of monthly visitors to this website. Opinions, discussions, suggestions, additions, questions, corrections, obmissions, are all welcome in fact we positively encourage it! Leave your contribution to the 'Hand & Bottle Yard' page by filling in the form below.
My father Oswald Albrighton and his twin sister were born in Hand & bottle yard in 1915.
I dont have much info about them or the rest of the family & would be grateful for anything anyone can tell me.
Hi Atherstone
I’m trying to do some family history on my fathers side of the family and found out that he was born in Hand and Bottle yard in 1915. The family name is Albrighton and as I have no living relatives that I know of
I was wondering if there is anybody out there that can tell me where I might find some info on what this yard was and living conditions etc etc.
Phillip,
You are related to all Albrightons as they all derive from one source. It is too long a story to try and type up. Do I take it Oswalds parents were William and Mary? If not I’ll do some digging for you. Once I know that I should be able to get you back, hopefully to join my tree. Then I’ll take you back.
indeed william and mary were my grandparents although i have never met them or seen any photos. its great to know that there might be others out there that figure in my tree
For Philip
Living conditions in the yards went from poor to appalling. In 1911 there were 14 houses in the Hand & Bottle Yard, housing 45 people.
These figures are taken from The History of Atherstone Street names by John D Austin.
The yard was at the rear of what is now the Raj Mahal restaurant 83 Long St.
The houses were very small,cramped together, with no rear exit. They opened onto a common walkway where washing was hung, pigs may be kept, rubbish thrown etc. Washing and toilet facilities were shared. If the yard ran from Long St through to a back street it became a common thoroughfare. Shorter ones that had no exit tended to be nicer as the residents had a degree of privacy.
Though conditions were poor the residents kept up punishing regimes of cleanliness and doorsteps and children scrubbed regularly.
Photos of some of the yards are on http://www.nnwfhs.org.uk
A campaign by Doctor Herring, a local GP, led to the gradual re housing of the residents of the yards into social housing.
Thankyou Valerie, I,m now able to build up a picture in my mind as to where my dad was born. Will be visiting Atherstone soon so will try and find where the yard actually was
Philip,
It appears that Oswald Albrighton had at least 4 brothers to carry on the Albrighton name.( Online on http://www.freebmd.org )
I can’t believe that you have no relatives left here as there are still Albrightons. Most came fron the nearby village of Baddesley Ensor. Nuneaton & North Warwickshire Family History Society covers this area and will give you help in seeing where William Albrighton & Mary Bostock fit in.