FOLLOWING last week’s feature on Sigley’s Steam Confectionery works, we’ve heard some lovely anecdotes form local people, sharing their memories of the Blockhouse in Worcester.
This once bustling neighbourhood all but disappeared in the mid-20th century, when large swathes of houses were condemned and demolished.
These 19th-century streets were packed with back-to-back and terraced housing, interspersed with the factories, light industry, public houses and grocery shops that made this a vibrant community.
Living standards for many were harsh, but there seem to be many fond memories of life in the Blockhouse.
Some of the names recalled by readers, were well-known across the country and beyond.
Hardy & Padmore Iron works during demolition in 1971
Hardy & Padmore’s Iron Works in Foundry Street produced decorative iron products that were shipped far and wide, and include the ornamental dolphin lamp standards on the embankment of the Thames, while closer to home the lamps on Worcester bridge as well as many of the decorative benches around the city were produced by them.
Pictures: Memories of places and faces in Worcester
Fownes Gloves, a building that still survives as Fownes Hotel, produced thousands of pairs of high quality gloves throughout the 19th and into the mid-20th century, and while gloves are no longer produced in Worcester, this company still exists internationally.
These businesses and many others employed thousands of local people in the area.
Williamson’s Providence Works in the 1960s, showing the Charles Street/ Temperance Street corner
Over the coming months, the Worcester Life Stories project team will be working to make many of the photographs that we’ve been sharing and thousands more besides, available online. A number of videos are available on our YouTube channel, including our latest ‘Around the Blockhouse’ giving a virtual walking tour around some of the streets of the neighbourhood, via historic maps and photographs.
Worcester Life Stories is a collaborative project bringing local people together through shared stories of the City of Worcester. It is co-led by Dr Natasha Lord, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and Sheena Payne-Lunn, Worcester City Council and funded thanks to National Lottery players. For further information or to share your stories, visit worcesterlifestories.org.uk, our Facebook page or Twitter @worlifestories.
You can also email worcesterlifestories@gmail.com or call 01905 721133. Copies of our 2021 calendar are also still available – please get in touch if you would like to order a copy.
And why not visit the We grew up in Worcester page on Facebook?
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