Family Of Four: 2 - William And Sarah Hirst And Family
...The working hours in those far off days were 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. which overtime often extended to eight or nine o'clock for a wage of a few shillings a week!,,,
Vivien Hirst was one of a family of four children who grew up in large house in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. She wrote a warm and vivid memoir of her childhood days. Vivien could claim descent from Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the illegitimate but politically important son of Henry I, and therefore grandson of William the Conqueror.
Raymond Prior, Vivien's nephew, arranged for the memoirs to be publshed.
My Grandfather Hirst was a wool merchant, known in his day as a wool stapler. He had a large family of ten, seven girls and three boys, and they lived happily and in some style, adoring their mother and enjoying a very satisfying home life. It was a busy household, but they always had good servants, and the older ones helped with the little ones so that the size of the family, instead of being overwhelming as it would be today, became interesting, and exciting, and companionable.
It was open house, and when friends called, or were invited, they would roll back the carpet and dance, often until the small hours, or gather round the piano for a musical evening. There were always enough members of the family to play games and entertain themselves. Gay, affectionate and united, all went very well until the Franco-Prussian War.
My grandfather had many connections in Germany, indeed, the major part of his business was conducted between the two countries, and the war brought this to an end. Following the peace, the past connections were never again successfully renewed. Difficulties were also encountered over here in finding new markets. These factors, together with Grandfather's too trusting nature in this period of uncertainty, when firms were tardy in paying their debts, caused the business to fail.
Eventually, Grandfather was given a position with the Yorkshire Penny Bank, and the family were always grateful and never forgot the kindness shown to him.
The elder girls, still at home, were now faced with an urgent necessity to work and to keep themselves. They were entirely unprepared, with no training other than a very sound education, and this was a time of great crisis for them. Their school was run by the Misses Parratt, sisters of Sir Walter Parratt, who in 1893 was appointed Master of the Queen's Music, and private organist to Queen Victoria. The sisters were very understanding and helpful, and it was decided that Fanny should remain at the school as a teacher, and Flo as a pupil-teacher. Elsie, I believe, was offered a position as a teacher at Miss Jessop's. Later the three girls built up their own school.
Nellie, the eldest of the family, was married to Albert Wright, a young, progressive builder, and their house was in Southport. Emily died young, only thirteen years old, and Clare always remained her mother's right hand, and became an artist in housewifery, cookery, and needlework. Edith was, but yet, a child.
Of the boys, John Henry, always called Jack, became a tea taster. He worked for several firms, chiefly in the Midlands, returning home only at the week-end.
Tea tasting was a most unusual occupation to take up and required a very good palate. Uncle worked with an array of special cups, without handles, and a spittoon. He would mix some leaves into a few of the cups from prepared samples, all carefully separated and named, add boiling water, allow to brew for two minutes, then grasping a cup firmly would sip the liquid, roll it against his palate, and quickly spit it out. Shaking other samples into the unused cups, he began the process anew, until he was quite satisfied which were the best tasting brands of tea for a given district; the water of a district making a great difference to the flavour of the tea.
Will, my father, went to a mill at Holme, some ten miles from Huddersfield, to learn the varying stages of cloth manufacture in order to become a manufacturer's agent. Holme lay at the foot of wild moorland country and was lonely and desolate, and, to the young man used to a bustling family life, was an aching misery. His landlady half-starved him, and all his life he was to remember these days as a nightmare. Never could he bear to see food wasted. "Waste not, want not" was a maxim constantly on his lips in my childhood. He returned home each week-end, and was quite convinced that if this had not been possible he would have succumbed!
Fortunately, he was able to leave Holme and continue his apprenticeship with that very well-known Huddersfield woollen manufacturing firm of Liddell and Brierley Ltd. He was happy there, having an affectionate regard for Mr. Sydney Brierley, whose name he passed on, many years later, to his younger son. Even so, life was tough as he had to walk from his home, "Ash Villa", at Birkby, cross-country to Marsh, and to be at the mill at 6 a.m. The working hours in those far off days were 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. which overtime often extended to eight or nine o'clock for a wage of a few shillings a week!
