Who lived in Bennett Street? In the early days most of the residents of Bennett Street, Buxton, rented their houses and it was only from the 1920s it appears that people were starting to buy in order to occupy the houses themselves. Bennett Street was one of the few streets in Buxton to be built for the working classes and throughout its early history there were seldom houses that remained empty for any length of time. Most of the occupants were engaged in the building trade as this was secure and well-paid work whilst Buxton was undergoing a huge property boom. In the 1891 Census Bennett Street listed 71 building workers, including 15 stonemasons. In the 1901 Census there were 14 stonemasons, 2 stonemason’s apprentices and 25 stonemason’s labourers. In 1901 there were 20 domestic servants (mainly women) living in the street to meet the demand of the wealthy families who lived in the big houses. Many affluent families now lived in Buxton and together with a constant stream of visitors led to opportunities to expand the choice of luxury items available in the town. So in Bennett Street there is a cane seat chair repairer, a watchmaker, a toy shop assistant and a French polisher. Entertainment became big business and as well as several musicians listed we even have our own Punch and Judy Performer called Henry (‘Harry’) Bailey who lived at number 22 in 1891 and then at number 72 by 1901. It was common in Buxton to take in lodgers in the season to supplement the family income. In some cases women were widowed and needed the extra money. However in other cases families were so large that the head of the household was unable to meet the demands of his growing brood. Many children from the age of 14 were sent out to work after they had completed their basic schooling; sons often became errand boys whilst their sisters went into service in the big houses. There are several houses containing 14 occupants at the time of all the relevant census returns and it is hard to imagine such a large number of people (or beds) fitting into one small terraced house. However at the time of this study bathrooms did not exist and so one of the bedrooms would probably have been twice the size it is now! In 1901 Henry Edward Hutton lives at number 76 with his family. At 33 years of age Henry is employed as a Stonemason and his wife Hannah (34) seems to have her hands full bringing up their large brood of children: 3 daughters aged 11, 9 and 3, together with 2 small sons aged 5 and 2 months. It is assumed that all the children except for the youngest are at school although this is not indicated on the census return. Henry’s younger brother Frederick (30) is lodging with them together with 2 other males, Edward Jones and Edward Hilton both 29 years of age. All 3 are employed as stonemasons and could quite possibly be all working for the same employer as Henry. Many lodgers moved to the area at the time of the building boom looking for work and the 1901 Census indicates that many of these people were born in places such as Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There is even a musician who came from a German spa town to work in Buxton. People were prepared to travel great distances to find work.. Looking at the census and local trade directories it is easy to make links with surnames and it is obvious that many families moved into Bennett Street in order to live near one another. Brothers, sisters, cousins formed their own small communities and became extended families, helping one another out in times of trouble and looking after each other’s children. Between 1881 and 1942 it is possible to track families moving around in Bennett Street. Many families inter-married and so family names extended widely into the street. For instance, by speaking with a former resident of Bennett Street, Helen Gregory, I discovered that the Wilsons, the Gregorys and the Fearns were related through marriage. And several families stayed in the same house for decades. Some occupants were probably newly married and only left the street when they died. My next-door neighbour (David Keeling) at number 83, has lived there all his life, so did his father, and so did his father before him. The Keelings were the first family to live in the house after it was built in 1899 and over a hundred years later a Keeling still lives there. In 1901 Frederick Wildgoose (30 years) was living at number 71 and he is still registered in 1942 at the same address. At number 19, George Wheeldon is registered from 1908 onwards. Likewise Matthew Pickering (number 13) and Frederick Lomas (number 40). It just goes to show that people were very happy living in Bennett Street! This article was kindly contributed by Elizabeth Wildgoose. To find the information she used Census returns, Derbyshire Trade Directories & Buxton Directories at Buxton Library plus oral history from her neighbours. More Information Neighbour from Hell