accrington town
 

Hi Folks. My Mother used to work at J L Haworths in the Steinway building back in 1950 to 1954. It was a record shop. Does anyone have any photos of it and also any other photos of interest around that time.
Many thanks...John.

Re: accrington town
 

Look at post 359 on this thread for a very old photo of Steinway House. Keep clicking on the pic and it will enlarge. Don't bother with the rest of the thread, it's mostly people falling out over the addresses of various buildings. Lots of folks on Accyweb remember Haworths with the piano in the window, and buying their first records there.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...-55269-24.html

If you look on google streetview you will see that the building is till there today, opposite the bottom of Water Street on the map. You mum might like to see it. You will also see the road (Eastgate) that was carved through the town in the eighties (?) and in many eyes ruined the town centre for good.

Re: accrington town
 

Eastgate occupies what was Moore St and Melbourne St. I think the ship next door to JL's , which was the Douro Wine Shop, is still an off-licence. They probably remember your mum going in for her favourite sherry and Babychams.

J L Haworth, Steinway House, Whalley Road
 

Hi John, I've just come across this website after typing a Google search for "Steinway House Whalley Road Accrington"

J L (John Luther) Haworth was my Great Grandfather, with my Grandfather being Fred Haworth. My Grandparents (Fred and Alma) and father (Ken) emigrated to Australia in the late 40's. Dad had been a Merchant seaman during the war. They moved to Tasmania and purchased several properties at the township of Paper Beach, on the banks of the Tamar River, about 30kms from Launceston (lots of familiar place names for you guys no doubt).

Regrettably, we never talked much about the family history, nor the business history, although I was aware of the business name etc. I do have a newspaper clipping of the 1888 - 1938 Jubilee of the business that was from The Observer, Saturday March 26 1938. This has photos of the 3 JL Haworth & Co premises, with 11 Whalley Rd being the last. I found this in dad's effects after he passed away quite a few years ago. The other thing I can recall was an HMV wall plaque , which I understand was presented to them as the first HMV dealer outside of London. Unfortunately this was destroyed in an arson fire attack at my grandparents's old house at Paper Beach, which had become our holiday home.

From your comment that your mother worked there in the 50's, I presume the business must have been sold when my grandparents emigrated to Australia.

Dad never wanted to go back to the UK, so after he passed away my wife and I used some of the funds from my inheritance to have a trip to the UK in the late 90's. I specifically wanted to visit Accrington, and to try to trace the house where dad grew up, and to see whether Steinway house was still there, after seeing the shop Jubilee Newspaper clipping. The shop was still there, but at the time occupied by (from memory) David Sprent (or Spruce?) Shoes. I think the Steinway House facade may have been removed by then. With some help from the historian at the local library and the old census details we were able to work out the address of the house in Union Street I think it was - The house was called Rosador, and there was still a carving of this name at the front entrance gate. What impressed us more was the fact that there was a "Haworth Street" quite close by.

cheers

Peter

Re: accrington town
 

There isn't a Haworth St in Accy. There is a Haworth Ave, which is named after the Haworth family who lived nearby in what is now the Art Gallery. Your John Haworth gave his name to Haworth terrace, which is a block of houses ( 87 to 119) on Plantation Street . One thing that someone on here might be able to find for you is a 78rpm record cover bearing Haworth's name - there will still be some around . In a book I published, there was a photo of a Haworth's van in a carnival day procession. The library will have a copy of the photo. I haven't....There was a Haworth family prominent in Oswaldtwistsle. Haworth is a very common name in these parts....An Edward Haworth of Union St was a chapel keeper and Sunday School teacher ( possibly Union St Methodist) He died 292.9.1878 aged 61. In the 1950s I attended Union St chapel and SS. One of the teachers was Theresa Haworth, a very good singer. I would not have thought that any of the properties on Union St had a name- mostly it was terraced housing. Someone will check the census

Re: accrington town
 

In the 1914 Burgess Rolls John Luther Haworth resides at 7 Major St, Accrington. As for Plantation St, Acc, there are 4 Haworth families residing in that street.
1911 Cenus John Luther Haworth, Pianoforte Dealer, is residing wth his wife Amelia and chidren at 1 St James St Accrington.
I would rule out they lived in Union St, poor housing compared to the other places they resided.

Re: accrington town
 

Hello Haworth descendant. Just reading your post and it is all ringing a bell for some reason. I know for example that the house in question your family lived in, is opposite the Church on Plantation Street. That means I must have some local history information somewhere in my house. Bear with me, and I will have a search. Atarah

Re: accrington town
 

Thanks for the replies everyone. It is about 15 years since we visited, so my memory for place names must have faded :confused:

After visiting we became aware how common the name Haworth was, the lady at the library said it was as common as Jones would be in any town in Wales :-) Having said that, there is another Peter John Haworth married to Dianne in Launceston, where we live. We've never traced back any common ancestry, just really coincidental!

I'm sure I have a photo of Haworth Street somewhere, but my wife is conducting childbirth classes in the lounge room at the moment, so I can't check.

Rosador was a conjoined terrace (you probably have a specific name for that style of house) - it appeared to be 2 houses sharing a common wall, probably mirror image I would imagine, but there were only 2 houses on the block, with gardens around. I do recall thinking that it did appear to be of a higher standard than may of the other houses we had seen closer to the town centre

I do have a very good condition copy of the J L Haworth 78 record sleeve, so thankfully that is something I have to hang on to.

Any further info anyone has would be appreciated

cheers from Oz

Peter

Re: accrington town
 

Was/Is the house Rosador not in Whalley Road, Accrington?

Music shop
 

Hi hope this may be the first time you have seen this photo?
Are you aware your great grandfather J L lost his sight at the age of 6 after a bad illness? In his teens he was sent to be trained at the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, London? Here he leant to be a pianoforte tuner. If you are not aware of this info, I will gladly sent you what I have now found.

Re: Music shop
 

Atarah, that's fantastic. I think I have seen that photo - it was the third JL Haworth shop in Piccadilly, Blackburn Road. It looks like the photo that was used in the Jubilee newspaper article in 1938. I was aware JL was blind, but otherwise I haven't got a lot of other detail.

And yes, now that I think of it, Rosador was in Whalley Road. I have dug through some info that dad's cousin Thelma had provided - her and dad's mothers were sisters. This makes reference to Rosador being in Whalley Road. I've also picked up on something else, being that after Rosador, they lived at "The Grove" in Livingstone Road. I know they moved to Gunnislake in Devon prior to moving out to Australia, but I presume Livingstone Road is in Accrington too.

Thelma's info also makes mention of the Music Emporium partnership (being between grandfather Fred and his brother Roland) being dissolved. I wonder whether there was some tension between the 2 that led to that??? Roland and his family emigrated to the USA, following other relatives that had also emigrated. I am in touch with some of Roland's descendants on an occasional basis too.

So, more interesting information....

cheers

Peter

Re: Music shop
 

Hi, will be in touch tomorrow. I think you may find Union Street, should read Union Road in Oswaldtwistle. I am led to believe the business was started in a small shop at the corner of Union Road and Chapel Street, Oswaldtwistle, near to Mount Pleasant Chapel, Osw. From there, Mr Haworth moved to premises at the corner of Abbey Street and Stanley Street, Accrington. Later the business was transferred to Piccadilly, Blackburn Road, Accrington (across from Town hall) - where Mr Haworth remained for 23 years until 1926, when the property was pulled down by the Corporation, for the purpose of carrying out road widening in front of the Town Hall. More to follow
Atarah

Re: Music shop
 

I believe Mr Haworth's two sons, Frederick (your granddad) and Roland A, became involved with the business, which had "grown to great magnitude, embracing practically every branch of the musical instrument industry". After having to leave Piccadilly area of town, (for which they were most probably compensated) - they had built the "handsome building" on Whalley Road, known as Steinway House. Until he came ill in August 1934, Mr Haworth Snr., continued to take a very active part in the business, which since the development of wireless, had added this service to its activities. and was carried on by his sons. Mr Haworth had been associated with the Accrington & District Institution for the Blind ever since its formation (and its still going strong to this day!) - for many years he had been one of its directors. Along with Mr Richard Bond and Mr James Townson, he helped to found the organisation. More to follow

Re: Music shop
 

Here is another postcard view of the Town Centre, showing Haworth's music shop

Atarah

Re: accrington town
 

I have this as 11 Whalley Road

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rossen.../in/photolist-

Re: accrington town
 

You have lost me Wadey? Sorry

Re: accrington town
 

That's where it located to from Piccadilly -= bottom of Water St next to Douro Wine where you buy your sherry and cider.

Re: accrington town
 

But that photo is nothing whatsoever to do with Steinway House

accrington town
 

Have been out tonight to take a photograph of the final site that J L Haworth's used for their music business. In times past there was a large stone slab on the top of the building, in the centre, which had STEINWAY HOUSE on it, in very large letters. All gone I am afraid. I believe that around the back of the premises, they had a lift installed, when deliveries of piano's would taking place.

(What made me smile is the blue door to the right of the photo, was the entrance, a long time ago, to "The Disco" where we danced the night away to Tamla Motown records. Unbeknown to me, who was not in the least interested in local history then, I was on J L Haworth's premises! Fancy that!

Re: accrington town
 

I put a link to my photo because of this " I do have a newspaper clipping of the 1888 - 1938 Jubilee of the business that was from The Observer, Saturday March 26 1938. This has photos of the 3 JL Haworth & Co premises, with 11 Whalley Rd being the last. I found this in dad's effects after he passed away quite a few years ago."

Re: accrington town
 

Obviously the Shoe shop that was there when we visited in 1999 has now gone, and this confirms that the Steinway House plinth from the top of the building definitely was removed a long time ago. Pity about the condition of the building, looks like a little bit of TLC is needed.

Interesting story about the blue door :)

Thanks Peter