Two new publications on Stokesley
The first volume was originally published in 1995 but this new revised edition has been updated with new illustrations. The second book, although written some time ago has never been published until now.
Stokesley – Aspects of Victorian Everyday Life
Stokesley in the 1860s a North Yorkshire Market Town
(originally published in 1995 as Stokesley in the 1860s)
Price £5.95 each (+£1 p&p)
Special offer price buy 2 books for £10 (+£2 pp)
Pages 82 with 27 illustrations & Index of Stokesley Surnames
Both these books paint a picture of Stokesley, far removed from today. True the outward appearance has changed very little but the use is very different. ‘Stokesley, the Metropolis of Cleveland’ so quotes a newspaper of the day and so it was with 13 grocers, 21 butchers, 7 dressmakers, 6drapers,10 tailors,13 shoemakers a Hatter, 5 solicitors and 2 watchmakers, one doubling up as the local dentist! It contains a fascinating insight into everyday life in Stokesley in the 1860s. Where else could one read about Mr Mosley, sole inventor and Patenter of an Improvement in the Construction of Artificial Teeth, Gums and Plate and for which Her Majesty had granted him Her Royal Letters Patent who claimed “restoration of decayed and tender teeth to their former glory” and where this was impossible, “beautiful new dentures free from wires or springs.” New illustrations drawn by our member Estelle Scott, who is a retired art teacher, enhance the text.
Stokesley Further Aspects of Victorian Everyday Life
Stokesley in the 1860s – a North Yorkshire Market Town
Price £5.95 (+£1 p&p)
Special offer buy 2 books for £10 (+£2 p&p)
Pages 92 with 27 illustrations & Index of Stokesley Surnames
Chapters include: Art & Entertainment, Poverty, Education, Law & Order, Freemasonry, Friendly Societies, Religion
The research that has gone into this publication is tremendous with quotations from newspapers of the time. Where else could one read of “JM, carter, Great Ayton, was charged by PC Lowther with riding his wagon without reins, after having been cautioned. Fined 10s including costs.” Or of “John Layton, Innkeeper at Ingleby Greenhow was found guilty of furious driving at Great Ayton” Or “Joseph Grey, late of the Black Swan Inn was charged by George Harker, Superintendent of the Railway Police, with having been smoking on the platform of Stokesley Station.” Stokesley was ahead of its time in education with a schoolhouse, built by public subscription on land given by Bradshaw Pierson in 1734 even though education was not compulsory until the 1870s. Another Stokesley resident, John Preston, decreed in his will of 1805 the sum of £2000 to be invested in Government Bonds and the annual income from it used ‘in building a new school or enlarging the old one and afterwards in paying the schoolmaster duly qualified in teaching the classics, English, writing and arithmetic.’ This caused quite a bit of contention in his family when he died in 1814 but the Trustees carried out his wishes and when the court case was finally settled the investment had increased to over £4000. Quite a lot of money even by today’s standards but in the 1860s it would have been a small fortune. The school is still standing and is now a fast food outlet. Stokesley also saw the prelude to the establishment of the origins of local government in the formation of a Friendly Society in 1744. By 1833 the Oddfellows had opened a lodge in Stokesley and by the 1860s the lodge was prosperous and played an important part in helping one another. A collection at a local church raised £12.13s.2d for the widows and orphans – a substantial sum in those days. Beautiful illustrations again drawn by member Estelle Scott complement the text and although it could be a valuable asset to local and family historians, it will also appeal to anyone who wants a ‘good’ read.
