Warder's Alley

by Steve Goodchild
Late 19c
Late 19cClick Image
 to Expand

Warder’s Alley is one of Tewkesbury’s most used alleys, but one of the saddest. The entrance of the alley was destroyed when the High St frontage was pulled down to make way for a new Post Office. The alley was replaced by a brutal concrete tunnel through the Post Office building, now M& Co. On Oldbury Road, the streetscape was sacrificed to ‘in’ and ‘out’ drives to the sorting office, on either side of a retained and rather stranded house.

Richard Warder was a cordwainer (shoe maker) who lived in the demolished front house in the early nineteenth century. John Rogers remembers the alley from that period; ‘It is a very old alley and contains some old cottages, very small, like holes in the wall; very dark and gloomy and built mostly of timber and lath and plaster in the old Tewkesbury style’.  An intriguing picture of times long gone.

Warder's Alley today
Warder's Alley todayClick Image
 to Expand

There is little written about Warder’s Alley, despite its age, because only life on the main streets is recorded, except for the occasional sale of properties. Nothing dramatic happened.  In 1855, two ‘neat brick-built’ cottages, occupied by James Bray and Thomas Deveraux were sold by auction.

There were problems reported by the health board and instructions given to resolve them. Mr White, who lived in Gloucester owned two cottages which he was instructed to repair because they were in a dangerous condition. He needed reminding, and threatening with ‘proceedings’. In 1885, a case of overcrowding was reported, where Richard Forth’s large family were crowded into a cottage with just one bedroom. No help was offered, just an order to do something about it. The problem was resolved, presumably with the help of friends and relatives. There were tragedies; Mr and Mrs Avery’s nine week old daughter died in the night, unexpectedly, of unknown causes.

Compared with others, Warder’s Alley was quiet and well-behaved. There were occasional reports of illegal gambling, but little else to upset the equilibrium until 1922, when   William Wilkins took to making regular drunken assaults on his wife.

There was no wholesale demolition. The co-op pulled some down to build a warehouse in 1914; a clearance order for others was made in 1938. In 1940, they were almost reprieved because of the acute housing shortage, but were the only properties not considered suitable for repair and occupation. Demolition went ahead, though there were still some cottages occupied in the late nineteen-forties. The alley died slowly, but with the Post Office arrival it died almost completely.

Project Alleycat wants to bring some interest back to Warder’s Alley. We have had talks with County Highways about installing alley lighting (there isn’t any) and improvements to the pavement. More immediately we have a couple of surprises which we hope will bring a bit of joy to alley users.

Census Data 1841-1891

1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41151
Henry Forder; Head; ; Male; 35; Horse Keeper; ;no
Ann F Forder; ; ; Female; 20; ; ;no
Elizabeth Forder; ; ; Female; 6; ; ;yes
Henry Forder; ; ; Male; 14; ; ;no
Mary Forder; ; ; Female; 7; ; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41152
John Lewis; Head; ; Male; 50; Needle Maker; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41153
Edward Davis; Head; ; Male; 35; Policeman; ;yes
Mary Davis; ?wife; ; Female; 25; ; ;yes
Emma Davis; ; ; Female; 1; ; ;yes
James Davis; ; ; Male; 7; ; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41154
Henry Wagstaf; Head; ; Male; 30; Lab; ;yes
William Wagstaf; ; ; Male; 1; ; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41155
Ann Rice; Head; ; Female; 35; Stocking; ;yes
Anne Rice; ; ; Female; 11; Stocking; ;yes
Mary Rice; ; ; Female; 15; Stocking; ;yes
Mary Rice; ; ; Female; 72; Stocking; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41156
Benjamin Mann; Head; ; Male; 50; Stocking M; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41157
Sarah Newman; Head; ; Female; 64; ; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41158
Morison Hodges; Head; ; Male; 30; Needlemaker; ;yes
Ann Hodges; ?wife; ; Female; 30; ; ;yes
Alfred Hodges; ; ; Male; 0; ; ;yes
Eliza Hodges; ; ; Female; 7; ; ;yes
Hannah Hodges; ; ; Female; 5; ; ;yes
Henry Hodges; ; ; Male; 12; Needlemaker; ;yes
Mary Hodges; ; ; Female; 9; ; ;yes
Morison Hodges; ; ; Male; 3; ; ;yes
Mary Newman; ; ; Female; 20; Fs; ;no
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41159
Samuel Knight; Head; ; Male; 50; Waterman; ;no
Maria Knight; ?wife; ; Female; 50; ; ;no
Eliza Knight; ; ; Female; 20; ; ;yes
1841
Warders Alley
1841-b41160
James Devereux; Head; ; Male; 60; Stone Mason; ;yes
Elizabeth Devereux; ?wife; ; Female; 50; Stocking M; ;yes
George Devereux; ; ; Male; 18; Waterman; ;yes
Mary Devereux; ; ; Female; 4; ; ;yes
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51065
Harriet Devereux; Head; Married; Female; 27; Seamstress; Twyning;glos
Jane Devereux; Daughter; ; Female; 3; ; Twyning;glos
William Devereux; Son; ; Male; 1; ; Tewkesbury;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51144
Henry Forde; Head; Widowed; Male; 47; Ostler; Tewkesbury;glos
Elizabeth Forde; Daughter; Unmarried; Female; 16; Silk Weaver; Tewkesbury;glos
Frederick Forde; Son; ; Male; 6; Scholar; Tewkesbury;glos
Mary Forde; Daughter; Unmarried; Female; 17; Housekeeper; Tewkesbury;glos
Sarah Forde; Daughter; ; Female; 9; Scholar; Tewkesbury;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51145
Esther Tippin; Head; Widowed; Female; 74; Pauper Formerly Weaver; Barnwood;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51146
Aletha Collins; Head; Widowed; Female; 70; Pauper Formerly Weaver; Ashchurch;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51147
Thomas Ashwin; Head; Unmarried; Male; 46; Fishmonger; Tewkesbury;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51148
Ann Rice; Head; Widowed; Female; 44; Frame Work Knitter; Tewkesbury;glos
Harriett Rice; Daughter; Unmarried; Female; 20; Dressmaker; Tewkesbury;glos
Mary Ricketts; Mother; Widowed; Female; 86; Pauper Nk; Tewkesbury;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51149
William Stokes; Head; Widowed; Male; 77; Pauper Shoeing Smith; ?;worcs
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51151
Elizabeth Bullock; Head; Widowed; Female; 57; Dressmaker; Tewkesbury;glos
Henry Bullock; Son; Unmarried; Male; 18; Groom; Tewkesbury;glos
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51152
Samuel Knight; Head; Married; Male; 67; Waterman; Nk;
1851
Warders Alley
1851-b51153
Charles Woodward; Head; Married; Male; 29; Cordwainer; Tewkesbury;glos
Eliza Woodward; Wife; Married; Female; 26; ; Tewkesbury;glos
Ellen Woodward; Daughter; ; Female; 0; ; Tewkesbury;glos
George Woodward; Son; ; Male; 6; Scholar; Tewkesbury;glos
James Woodward; Son; ; Male; 4; Scholar; Tewkesbury;glos
1861
Warders Alley
1861-b61156
John Griffiths; Head; Married; Male; 77; Ag Lab; Tewkesbury;glos
Displaying the 20 property records. There are more, but the search output is limited (paging has not been developed).
Number of records found: 21


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