Sources
London Gazette
Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser
Cumbria BMD
Ancestry
Place
Walks
William & Eleanor Beesley
This is behind a large, and often ivy-covered, grave to William’s parents Lawrence and Elizabeth Beesley, and more importantly William’s brother James Beesley, next to the Catholic Chapel.
At the foot of the other grave is a memorial to Robert McClean, died 31st December 1985. Aged 71 years
Sweet Jesus
HAVE MERCY ON THE SOUL
OF
WILLIAM BEESLEY
WHO DIED JANUARY 25TH 1898
AGED 49 YEARS
ALSO ALICE HIS BELOVED WIFE
WHO DIED JUNE 27TH 1926 AGED 72 YEARS
R.I.P.
ALSO MAUD TURLEY THEIR DAUGHTER
WHO DIED MAY 16TH 1923
AGED 40 YEARS
INTERRED IN GRAVE No 961 SEC 7 B
ALSO THEIR DAUGHTER ELEANOR
(MOTHER ST. AGNES)
DIED 14TH BURIED 17TH JULY 1943
IN SEAFIELD CONVENT GREAT CROSBY
R.I.P.
ALSO THEIR DAUGHTER ELIZABETH
DIED 22ND BURIED 26TH SEPTEMBER 1943
AT ST. MARY’S BROWNEDGE
1871 Census
The 1871 Census shows the Beesleys living at 18 Keith Street, Barrow. In the household were Lawrence Beesley (49), Boiler Maker, born Lea, nr. Preston, Lancs; Betty Beesley (48), born Accrington, Lancs; William Beesley (24), Son, Boiler Maker, born Preston; James Beesley (22), Son, Boiler Maker, born Preston; Mary A. Beesley (19), Daughter, born Preston; Bernard Entwistle (26), Married, Nephew, Boiler Maker, born Blackburn; Alice Entwistle (28), Married, Neice (sic), [probably Bernard’s wife], born Preston.
1861 Census
Ten years earlier (1861 Census) the family had been in Over Darwen: at 2 Bugburn(?). Lawrence Beesley (39), Head, Boiler Maker, born Leigh (note how the spelling has changed over the census decades); Betty Beesley (38), born Church, Lancs; William Beesley (13), Boiler Maker, born Preston; James Beesley (11), Cotton Weaver, born Preston; Anne Beesley (9), Scholar, born Preston.
1851 Census
In the 1851 Census they are at 164 North Road, Preston. Lawrence’s name has been oddly transcribed as Susanna by Ancestry.
The Beesley’s boilermaking company was on Iron Works Road. They must have been innovative, and appear in trade journals:
gracesguide.co.uk/Beesley_and_Sons
Dated January 1888.
London Gazette 29 Nov 1889
They applied for a US Patent for a Punching and Shearing Machine:
The sons of Lawrence and Elizabeth: William & James
1881 Census
In the 1881 Census William Beesley (34), Master Boiler Maker, was living at 1 Coulton Street, Barrow. His wife Alice (30), born Preston had four children, all born in Barrow: Elizabeth (5), Hannah (4), Mary A. (2) and Eleanor (1).
1891 Census
By the 1891 Census they had moved to 3 Dalkeith Street, Barrow (Interestingly, no 1 is listed as “Old Workhouse”), next to the Trevelyan Hotel, and had had 3 more daughters: Maud (8); Josephine L. (6) and Alice (1 month).
The National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1898 has:
BEESLEY William of 3 Dalkeith-street, Barrow-in-Furness Lancashire boiler-maker died 25 January 1898 Probate Lancaster 24 March to Alice Beesley widow Effects £6488 16s 9d.
The daughters of William & Alice:
The National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1958 has:
BEESLEY Eleanor of Convent of the Sacred Heart of Mary Seafield Great Crosby Liverpool spinster died 14 July 1943 at St. Joseph’s Hospital Manchester 16 Administration Manchester 3 September to Mary Agnes McClean married woman. Effects £408 7s 7d.
I have no idea why it took 15 years to grant probate. Presumably the Mary McClean is a link to the Robert McClean referred to earlier.
A brief history of the Convent & School can be found at sacredheartofmary.net/about/school-history/. Cherie Blair attended in her youth.
1911 Census
The 1911 Census provided more information about William Beesley’s family: Alice Beesley (60), Widow, was earning a living as a Confectioner. All her daughters were Assistants in the Business, and all single: Elizabeth (35); Mary Ann (32); Josephine Lily (26) and Alice (20).
1901 Census
Through this route I found their 1901 Census entry: still living at 3 Dalkeith Street were Alice Beesley (50), Proprietor of Steam Boiler Works; Elizabeth (25), Dressmaker; Hannah (24), no occupation recorded; Mary A. (22), no occupation recorded; Eleanor (20), Assistant teacher, Elementary School; Maud (18), Apprentice Confectioner and Baker; Josephine L. (16), Pupil Teacher, Elementary School; and Alice (10), no occupation recorded.
1939 Register
In the 1939 Register (compiled for Ration Book and employment/conscription purposes) four of the sisters were living at 56 Duddle Lane, Walton-le-Dale, nr. Preston. They were Elizabeth Beesley (DoB 24 Feb 1876), Retired; Mary A. Beesley (DoB 1 June 1878), Retired; Josephine L. Beesley (DoB 28 October 1884), Retired; Alice Beesley (DoB 10 March 1891), Retired Cook and Housekeeper. Against the first three has been added later, Confectioner & Baker.
Maud Beesley married Cornelius Turley in Barrow in Q3 1910. They had 2 sons: Joseph Gerard (1911 – died 1911) and Robert Vincent (1917), and a daughter, Agnes (1913). Cornelius died in 1943. (Cumbria BMD) According to the 1911 Census, Cornelius was a Shipwright in the Shipyard, living with his wife at 20 Westmorland Street. In the 1921 Census, Cornelius, Maud, together with daughter Agnes and son Robert, were living at 19 Hibbert Road, Barrow.
When Maud Turley died the National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1923 gives her address as 19 Hibbert Road. Probate was granted to Thomas Smith Miller and Elizabeth Beesley spinster. Effects £996 16s 8d.
Cornelius remarried, to Mary M. E. Kennedy, in Barrow in Q3 1926. In the 1939 Register he (DoB 13 October 1884), a Plan? Clerk, is still at 19 Hibbert Road with wife Eveline (DoB 9 May 1882), Domestic Duties and Robert V. Turley (DoB 19 April 1917), a Fitter (General).
Robert V. Turley married Mary McClean in Durham in Q2 1940, and his death was registered in Gateshead in Q1 1975.
Information from Newspapers
Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive we can also identify the following information:
In the Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser (BHFA) 19 August 1879 James Beesley, of 22 Keith Street, Barrow applied for a Licence to sell Intoxicating Liquor, viz. Spirits, Liquor, Wines and Beer, to be sold at premises owned by Lawrence Beesley, gentleman, of 11 Forshaw Street, and situated at the corner of Dalkeith Street and High Street.
A similar application was published in the BHFA 13 August 1887, by John Walmsley “situate at No. 1, Dalkeith-street, of which premises William Beesley, James Beesley, myself, and John Walmsley (sic) all of Barrow-in-Furness aforesaid are the owners, and which premises were lately as to part thereof occupied by me as a Temperance Hotel under the sign of the “Trevelyan”, and as to the other part thereof by William Beesley as a Dwelling-House.
JOHN WALMSLEY
