Rushden Research Group: Fitzwilliam Street

Fitzwilliam Street

Fitzwilliam Street is numbered from the top of the street where it joins Wellingborough Road. These two cottages at the foot of the hill have another house behind accessed above no 20.

Grape-Vine Cottage	No 22 Grape-Vine Cottage built in 1892 and No 20	No 18
In 1882 John Wood took out a mortgage to purchase land from the Duchy of Lancaster on the west side of Duck Street, and here his son William John (baptised 20th June 1869), a carpenter and joiner, built his family home - No. 22 Fitzwilliam Street, which had an orchard adjoining into Duck Street.



The old Primitive Methodist Church built in 1890	This development built in 2004
The building above has had several owners since it was built in 1890 as a place of worship. When the church joined the Park Road Methodists in 1937 the building was sold to the British Legion, later St John Ambulance took over when their building in Station Road was closed to make room for the Splash Pool.	The datestone on Fitzwilliam Court built where Building & Homemaker had their the shop and yard.


The old stone property once the premsies of George Chettle, horse slaughterer. In later years George sold pet food in one half, and his daughters Vi and Minnie sold sweets in the other. 2007 after 'Bantin the Tailor' had renovated the property. The yard behind was where Edgar Cox began an engineering company. He was son of Albert Cox of Messrs Cox & Wright.
right: Cobbled floor discovered under one of the outhouses associated with the building above. Coutresy of Tim Burt

	Frederick Skeeles lived at 21, and took over the factory behind. The factory (right) has been used by several business.

Sweetbriar Cottages built in 1890 - Nos 19 & 21.	Name and Date Plaque

Horrell offices

Fitzwilliam Street Offices of
C W Horrell the factory being
on the corner with Moor Road

Workshop

Behind No 6 Fitzwilliam Street - the property
formerly the workshop of William Lockie.


No 1 - Lyndale Built in 1924

The Rushden Echo, 21^st April 1916, transcribed by Gill Hollis

Runaway Horse - On Friday afternoon last, no little alarm was caused in Fitzwilliam-street by an incident that might well have been fraught with serious consequences. A horse, belonging to the Rushden Co-operative Society , and which was attached to a coal trolley, whilst standing at the top of Fitzwilliam-hill, took fright at something or other, and bolted down the steep declivity. A passing pedestrian made a plucky attempt to stop the animal and partially succeeded, but the heavily loaded vehicle on the steep gradient compelled him to abandon the attempt, and the horse and vehicle proceeded down the hill at a furious pace, and crashed into Mr. Jervis’s hairdresser’s shop at the bottom, smashing the window. The shafts of the dray were snapped off at this point, and the horse then bolted up Duck-street hill and along High-street to the station coal yard where the company has an office. The horse was quite uninjured and the damage to the dray was confined to the broken shafts. It is a fortunate thing that the driver was not on the dray when the horse commenced its mad career.

Formerly the Primitve Methodist Church

former church

British Legion premises 1937

new HQ

St John HQ 1988

map

Map 1926
Fitzwilliam Street marked pink

WWI Street Shrine

Surveys & notes

Fitzwilliam Street, Dayton Street, Lancaster Street