Whatmore Family History

Sometimes genealogical research turns into a debunking of long held family myths – the famous surgeon who turns out to have been a country vet, the disinherited son whose family were actually paupers and the treasured photo of great great granddad which is actually a picture of Lord Kitchener. This post pursues the tale which my grandmother told of the forge which her family had once had at Abbeydale, Sheffield.

Mary Ann (Polly) Whatmore nee Dyson knew more about her family than anyone else and her knowledge was usually fairly accurate. If only I could have met her, how much more would I now know about the Dyson family, but sadly she died some ten years before I was born. Many of her reminiscences were, however, passed on to me by my father. One of the things which she told him was that the Dyson family had owned a forge on the southern outskirts of Sheffield, at Abbeydale.

Famous to industrial archaeologists through Britain, the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet makes for a fantastic day out. Easily accessible by car or bus the restored complex includes a dam, water wheel, blacksmiths shop, a manager’s house, forges, workers’ cottages and much more. Amazingly there is no charge for admission.

  Click to enlarge

The Water wheel      Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

Details of the Hamlet can be found at this link: 

http://www.simt.co.uk/abbeydale/index.html

  For a virtual tour, go to this link:  http://www.tilthammer.com/hamlet/tour.html

  The helpful information on the Hamlet website provided evidence that there had been a forge at Abbeydale since early times  originally belonging to nearby Beauchief Abbey. The ‘New Wheel’ on this site was rented by a Hugh Stephenson in 1685. By 1777 the tenants of the forge were the Goddard family who enlarged the dam.

In 1785 the Tilt Forge was built by a John Dyson – showing an early Dyson family link to the forge, but it was not until 1823 that the Dyson family started its tenancy in partnership with Bishop. From 1827 – 1830 the forge was in the hands of Thomas and John  Dyson and from 1830 onwards – John Dyson on his own. During the Dyson tenancy the forge was known as the ‘Dyson Scythe Works’

 Click to enlarge

The Tilt Forge   Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

John Dyson ran into trouble with the Grinders’ Union by employing non-union employers and in 1842 the Union showed its disapproval by blowing up the Grinding Hull with gunpowder. In 1849, John Dyson gave up the struggle with the Union and sold his interest in the Forge to the Tysack family. Trouble with the Union continued and some twenty years later Joshua Tysack, the then Manager was shot at five times on his way to Abbeydale.

A fictitious account of the troubles of 1842 is provided by ‘The Cellar Lad’ by Theresa Tomlinson:

 The Cellar Lad uses Sheffield in 1842 as the backdrop to the story of Ben Sterndale, who lives in one of the worker’s cottages on the Abbeydale Hamlet site. He is employed as a cellar lad at the beck and call of the workers at Dyson’s Scythe Works. Ben’s father, Frank, is employed at the works as the Pot Man, responsible for making the special crucible pots used in the steel making process.The story involves Ben in the events in Sheffield at the time of the Chartist Movement’s attempts to achieve political change and also in the struggles of the local union movement to protect the interests of its members. This struggle involved the ratteners who removed the driving belts from water powered grinding wheels to encourage support for the union. It also uses the more serious and violent actions taken by some clandestine activists against the workshops and the employers. These events led to the setting up of a Royal Commission to investigate the Sheffield Outrages.Theresa Tomlinson has used the real events in Sheffield to produce a lively and enjoyable story which also gives a useful insight into the social and industrial history of the time.The Cellar Lad is probably most appropriate for children in the 9 to 12 age range (UK Key Stages 2 and 3) but could also be enjoyed by older readers.The Cellar Lad is published in hardback by Julia MacRae Books, an imprint of Random House, (20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, UK, SW1V 2SA)
(ISBN 1-85681-581-1) price in the UK UKP9.99and also in paperback by Red Fox
price in the UK UKP3.50Source: www.tilthammer.com

In 1933 the firm of Tysack and Turner finally ceased production at the site and in 1935 it was purchased by the Graves Trust and donated to the City of Sheffield. The site was opened to the public in 1970.

Mary Ann Whatmore was right then. The Dyson family had run a forge at Abbeydale – but were the family her branch? This was the next thing to investigate.

The 1841 census shows that a John Dyson aged 50 was living with his wife Ann at Abbeydale and that he was a Scythe manufacturer. This is clearly the John Dyson of the Scythe Works. Also living there is a Sarah Dyson aged 60. John Dyson is shown as born outside Yorkshire.

  Click to enlarge

The Manager’s House     Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

Turning to the 1851 census, when John Dyson had given up the Scythe Works, we find a John Dyson aged 62 with a wife Ann, working as a Beerhouse Keeper and living at 67 Fitzwilliam Street Sheffield. This John was born at Norton, Derbyshire, on the outskirts of Sheffield and close to Abbeydale.

Looking at the IGI for Norton we find a John Dyson baptised there on 4 August 1788 with a brother Thomas baptised at Norton on 27 August 1783 and a sister Sarah baptised at Norton  on 1 March 1788.

The family tree is set out below:

These baptism records and the census returns seem to tie up well – so I believe I have discovered the family who were the tenants of the Abbeydale forge. But were they ancestors of Mary Ann Whatmore?

Mary Ann’s Dyson ancestors were from Staveley in Derbyshire, a few miles away from Norton. Unfortunately, however, Mary’s Ann’s direct line does not link with the family at Norton, although they could be descendants of one of the early Dysons at Staveley. So I have debunked a direct link of Mary Ann to the Dyson Scythe Works – but there could have been a link earlier on.

If anyone knows more about the Dyson family of Norton, please do contact me at rhyswhatmore@btinternet.com

If you like doing jigsaw puzzles there are some on-line (with pictures of the Abbeydale forge) at this link: http://www.tilthammer.com/jigsaws/index.html