SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY

E-mails. Page 19.

LOUISA TABERNER, BROTTON AND SKELTON FISH SHOP MAGNATE.
Louisa age 39.
John Dobson, who spent his childhood at 8 North Terrace, Skelton relates the following story of how his Grandmother, beginning from hardship and less than nothing, started a chain of local shops for her family.

Louisa Taberner was born Louisa Carlin in Burnley, Lancashire in 1883. She was the daughter of Abraham Carlin, who came to this area with his family in 1885 to find work in the Ironstone Mines. They lived in various addresses in the "Brickyard" at Brotton, before finally settling there in Broadbent St. Another Lancashire migrant living close by was Thomas Taberner. He married Louisa at the young age of 16 in 1899. They lived in Abbey Street, and despite local speculation about the reason for the marriage it was in 1901 when their first child, Lilian, was born. Louisa went on to have ten children whilst living in their two bedroomed terrace house. Thomas worked at Lumpsey mine,but, at a young age, he was badly injured - a broken back was the diagnosis. Whatever it was, he stopped working and never worked again apart from helping Louisa. To earn some kind of living, Tom would make clothes pegs, which Louisa would sell around Brotton. This gave rise to gossip that they were from Gypsy stock. Louisa's next venture was into pigs and hens.Louisa had worked at a Fish and Chip shop at the bottom of Broadbent St, some way along the Railway Track to Lumpsey Pit. About 1925 Louisa was given the chance to buy it,for £50 plus a sow and litter of piglets.

Louisa age 76.
The £50 pound, two year loan, was paid off in 6 months. She continued with this business throughout the war years and must have prospered, using her gains wisely. From the beginning, she set about buying houses. At the time, a two bed roomed terrace cottage was about £150. As her family grew up, she set about providing them with houses and businesses. All of them were Fish and Chip shops. She bought a cafe in Whitby, near the market in Church Street, remembered as the Silver Grid. She set up Lilian in a fish and chip shop at Haverton Hill, Phoebe in North Skelton. Then Florrie (my mother ) in North Terrace Skelton, which was followed by Eadie. Her husband George Agar later established a potato crisp business from the same premises, called "Cottage Crisps". I wonder if anyone remembers them. After Phoebe, Ruby took over the shop in North Skelton. Then Arthur opened a Fish and Chip shop in Loftus which was taken over by his son David and remained open until about 2004. This was the last and a sad occasion to see the "Taberner2 sign disappear after all those years. After Florrie died her husband Bill Dobson continued the business, opening a further two Fish and Chip shops in Guisborough. He retired in 1967. Tom died in 1953 and Louisa in 1973 aged 90 years. She had a hard life, always working even though she raised ten children and an invalid husband. It is said that hard work never killed anybody and to a large extent, in the case of Louisa it is right. One of her sons, Samuel, was a part share holder in a fishing coble at Saltburn. This became the provider in fish for Louisa. To get the fish, she used the United bus service. She had a large raffier bag, which she would fill and it leaked fishy water during the journey.
Eadie Agar.
The bus must have reeked to high heaven.
I went to Saltburn with her once and also remember the acute embarrassment even though I was only seven at the time. If you go to New Skelton cemetery and go up the central path, you will find on the left at the top, the graves of Thomas and Louisa Taberner.
If you look around you, you will see the domain of the Taberners. You can look across to Saltburn where one of her grandchildren Ruby Charlton lives to this day. To Hollybush where Phoebe lived with her children Ruby, Betty and Eadie. To North Skelton where Phoebe had a fish and chip shop, later run by daughter Ruby, who lives in Vaughan Street to this day and where Bill Taberner lived. And of course you can see Brotton where it all began and Tom Taberner lived until recent years. Loftus is just out of view as is Old Skelton. Its almost as if Tom and Louisa are looking over their domain. They certainly had an influence in the area. There are many direct descendants of Tom and Louisa still living in East Cleveland and other parts of North Yorkshire. Regrettably only a handful with the name Taberner.
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