By Roy Fallows
Ok, not the most inspiring photograph of the year but, it has a bit of local history attached which I thought was worth investigating.
The posts are in cast iron and the gate, possibly more recent wrought iron, are located outside a house at the top of Old Road in Handsacre, opposite the Old Peculiar pub. Most of that row of houses still have their gate posts which are over 100 years old.
A closer look into the background of this old photograph shows the gates when they were just a few years old. Cast into the gate posts is the name R J HARRIS & SON RUGELEY. This name sounded familiar and worthy of a spot of research.
A quick dip into Around Rugeley compiled by Thea Randall and Joan Anslow got the ball rolling with some great old photographs.
Robert J Harris was born in 1834 in Hamstall Ridware (or Pipe Ridware according to some records). It appears he was part of a catholic family and was baptised at St Frances de Sales catholic chapel which is in Woodlane (A515) between Yoxall and the Foresters Arms. His parents were George (born in Abbots Bromley) and Elizabeth Sherwood from Hamstall Ridware. By 1855 he had established himself as an ironmonger in Market Place in Rugeley. He lived above the shop with his wife Emma, also born in Hamstall Ridware, and son Robert J. By the time of the 1901 Census he had two daughters, Mary aged 35 and a clerk, and Veronica 28 a cotton spinner. There was also a 22yrs old son James, described as an imbecile.
The business was a typical old fashioned ironmongers that supplied anything and everything for the rural community in and around Rugeley. They were very successful and began making their own products in the Phoenix Ironworks in nearby Market Street.
This photograph shows the men and boys who may have made our gateposts. The only remains left of the Phoenix works is a wall immediately across the road from the former Rugeley Magistrates Court in Market Street.
They manufactured brass and ironwork for the dairy and agricultural market. One of their lines was garden rollers which were sold through Selfridges and Harrods in London.
One of Harris’ rivals in the town was Woodruffe’s Foundry which has now completely gone. It was situated at the corner of Queen Street and Forge Road. The area, opposite the council car park and Morrisons car park, was redeveloped some years ago and new houses and bungalows built. A few years later Harris’s took over Woodruffe’s Albion Foundry in the town who were also mechanical engineers.
RJ Harris became a fixture for many years in Rugeley and provided employment for a lot of local men. Like today, skilled labour seemed to be hard to find as evidenced by an advertisement in the Birmingham Daily post for 3rd June 1889 where Harris asked for 2 men, experienced in mowers and horse rakes. In 1900, the Staffordshire Advertiser carried an advertisement for the company indicating their skills at drilling wells and installing pumps.
Throughout the first half of the 20th Century Harris’s continued with their usual trade and expanded into engines and other machinery. They advertised their services and products throughout the local area and beyond. They even advertised in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser on 16th December 1920.
In 1940, Bernard Aloysius Harris, the managing director of RJ Harris at that time died. As an indication of the prosperity of the company he left over £5000 in his will. Nearly £300,000 in today’s money.
Although Harris’s ceased trading some time ago there is one of their products, a clothes mangle, in the County Museum stores. When the museum reopens in its new location it may be on display for all to see and remind us of the type of industry which used to take place in Rugeley.
Marion Kettle from the Landor Local History Society has kindly assisted me by providing a copy of an interview from some years ago with Miss Cecile Harris. I have attached it here as it makes interesting reading in its own right, as well as adding to my story of the company.
Below are a further selection of images relating to RJ Harris of Rugeley.
