Explore Your Archive: The End of the Dandy Row Tale…

15th November 2014

After Thomas Boyce died in 1920, Dandy Row, Pleasant Row and three houses in Chestnut Street were left to his son Rowland.

In July 1936 it was proposed that the city council purchase Dandy Row, Pleasant Row and the land between from Rowland O’Hara Boyce for the purposes of widening Severn Street. Demolition orders had already been served on 20th May.

By January 1937 the majority of the tenants had been re-housed with the exception of 6 Dandy Row and 2 Pleasant Row. The occupier of 6 Dandy Row was George Sanders.

Julia at the area of Dandy Row as it is today

The land was purchased in April 1937 for a total of £367 by the Health Committee, with a portion transferred to the Streets Committee for road widening.

The tender for buildings was advertised in September 1937, but due to high prices it was deferred until the market was more stable for building work. Tenders were again called for in February 1938 and sixteen flats were built by Thomas Alfred Simpkins, a builder and contractor of High Street, Pershore. The land where the houses in Dandy Row stood was used for widening Severn Street.

Taken from The Worcester City Archives held at Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service. Ref: 496.5/BA9360/Cab23/228

Teresa and Angie at the area of Dandy Row as it is today

Explore Your Archive

The past week has shown what it is possible to achieve from one photograph and the use of your local archive. But it doesn’t have to end here as we hope that we have inspired you to do some research of your own. There are many more people who lived in Dandy Row, not just those who lived there in the 1900 directory. There are also more sources that haven’t been explored yet and they may have equally interesting stories to tell. If we have whetted your appetite, here is a recap of some of the sources we used that are all available at your local archive:

Available in our Original Archive Area during staffed hours:

Worcester City Archives

St Peter’s School Admission Register (closure periods apply to records less than one hundred years old)

Available on microfilm in our Self Service Area

Astwood Road Cemetery Records

St Peter’s Church, Worcester Parish Registers

Worcester Probate Records

Available in the local studies reference library, in our Self Service Area

Littlebury’s Directory of the City of Worcester, 1896, 1898, 1900 (ref: 900.1896, 900.1898, 900.1900 respectively)

The Worcester Daily Times Trade and Industrial Edition, 1903 (ref: oversize 609.42448)

Jones, Ray, Porcelain in Worcester 1751-1951: An Illustrated Social History (ref: 738.27)

Clarke, A, The History of the Net Fishermen of Worcester, (ref 799.13).

Measom, George, Guide to the Great Western Railway,1860. (ref 942.4)

Lyes, D.C., The Leather Glove Industry of Worcester in the Nineteenth Century. (ref 338.476854)

Available through the free subscription to the website Ancestry.co.uk, which is available at any Worcestershire library

Census records for 1871,1901 and 1911

General Register Office Index to birth, marriage and death.

Service Records for Henry William Martin

Please see our website for more information about visiting us.

Keep searching!

By Teresa Jones

A special thanks go to Angie, Julia and Teresa who have spent months researching the history of Dandy Row in order to bring this series of posts to the Blog. Their initial discovery sparked their interest and inspired research that has taken them across the full range of records held by Worcestershire Archives. Their joint research demonstrates just how much one can find out about an area by digging through our records.

If you would like to start your own research then why not come along to The Hive to find out more? We have an ongoing programme of courses available to help new users, including classes on family, local and house history. To find out more please see our Events Guide. You can sign up to hear about updates on future courses available by emailing explorethepast@worcestershire.gov.uk.