E-mails. Page 19.
LOUISA TABERNER,
BROTTON AND SKELTON FISH SHOP MAGNATE.
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Louisa age 39.
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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.
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Louisa age 76.
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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.
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Eadie Agar.
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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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