THOMAS, CHARLOTTE AND MARY ANN

Thomas was the eldest son of Alexander Scott and Mary Scholefield and is listed in the census record of 1851 as living with his parents in Middlethorpe, now known as Queen Street, Morley. In 1853 Thomas bought Cross Hall, Britannia Road, Morley with a gentleman called John Johnson Mallinson. Thomas had married Charlotte Holdroyd a year earlier in 1852 but it was the Mallinsons who moved into Cross Hall. Charlotte and Thomas lived in a house in Middlethorpe.

Taken around 1881 this is a view of Middlethorpe (Queen Street) or Scratcherd Hill as it was known viewed from its beginning in Morley Bottoms. Number 1/1A is on the left. Queen Street is a long road running through the centre of Morley and past the Town Hall. Many of the old buildings have been demolished and it is impossible to know just where the Scotts lived.

I have little information about John Johnson Mallinson and how he came to know Thomas Scott. It is known that he had a grocer's shop at Market Place, Dewsbury (Pigot's Directory 1834) and that it must have been a successful business as by the age of 59 he is listed as 'Retired Grocer'.

On 6 January 1841 Ruth Banks, an employee of his, was found guilty of stealing from his shop and on 14 June 1841 she was put on the convict transportation vessel the Garland Grove for transportation to the Van Diemen's Land colony in Tasmania, Australia 15,000 miles away to serve out her seven year sentence. The journey took 4 months arriving on 10 October 1841. Whether she returned to the UK after serving her sentence is not known. Australian records show that she applied for a licence to marry fellow convict, Thomas Bradburn, in 1843.

Charlotte and Thomas continued to live in Middlethorpe with their children. In 1849 Thomas and Alexander trading as Messrs A Scott and Son, had founded the Valley Mills, a hugely successful enterprise making superfine union cloth and Thomas and Charlotte must have enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle until Charlotte's death in 1863.

Thomas and Mary Ann, John Johnson Mallinson's daughter, were married on May 30 1865. Their daughter Mary E E Scott was born in 1868. The census return of 1871 lists Thomas and the Mallinsons as living at Cross Hall.

Thomas died on 4 December 1871 in Southport after a long illness and a couple of weeks before the death of his father Alexander.

The Mallinson family continued to live on at Cross Hall and indeed their fortunes seemed to flourish. In the 1881 census the details are as follows:

Mary E E Scott, Thomas and Mary's daughter, does not show in the 1881 census as she was away at Scarisbrick Hall boarding school at North Meols, Talbot, Southport.

It would seem that the family was now living a comfortable life with James already retired at only 52 years old and George E Mallinson and Annie Scott at only 26 and 24 living from interest on invested income.

In 1891 the family is listed as comprising of Mary Ann Scott, Alexander Scott, Annie L Scott, Mary E E Scott and Emily Scott and also Mary's brother James E Mallinson. All are listed as 'living on their own means'. The 1901 census shows Mary Ann Scott, Annie L Scott, Emily Scott and Alexander Scott, all living on their own means and all unmarried.

Sadly the Valley Mills were demolished after a fire in the 1960's though textile production had ceased many years previously. Cross Hall, now a listed building, can still be seen at the side of the A650, Britannia Road, opposite the junction with Scotchman Lane (B6123).