History

Moorhouse Lane, Whiston

In 1841 William Wainwright, aged 45 was farming here, he lived with wife Sarah and children Ann and Sarah. Agricultural labourers were Thomas Flint, Thomas Goucher, William Philpott and Thomas Lee. James Banks, the wheelwright lived here.

John Dobb Styring, Auctioneer And Farmer, was at the Manor House in 1891. Farming at Manor Farm was John Smith, from Stainton.

Agricultural labourers lived at Moorhouse Cottages next to Manor Farm: Frank E. Rotherforth, was living at 3 Moorhouse Cottages, with his wife Sarah (born Hatfield, Doncaster) and children. At 4 Moorhouse cottages lived Thomas Redfern, and his wife Evelina. These cottages were on the corner where there are now bungalows and were demolished in the early 1950s.

From about 1924 until the development of the Greystones Estate, Joseph Rhodes farmed at Manor Farm.

Moorhouse Cottages, Moorhouse Lane, shown above - once 2 buildings - on the left was an old Cobblers work shop.

The 1911 directory, records a Charles Grey living there in four rooms, a self employed cobbler and bootmaker.

In 1950 Gerald Shaw, an antique dealer, bought and renovated Moorhouse Cottage, doing away with one the front doors and building an extension upstairs at the back of the property, as it was on higher ground. Mr. Shaw altered the house to the very olde worlde style, digging a well at the front. He covered the original name, carved on a cement plaque, he renamed it Delft Cottage.

Mr. Shaw was married and had a son called David who now lives in Scotland. Gerald Shaw lived in Delft Cottage until his death in 1990

The following image shows Moorhouse Lane in 1955, one of the cottages was the home of Percy Foers.

Doris Salmon lived at 7 Moorhouse Lane. She used to catch trout in the brook after school and sold them at 3d. a time. Amy Salmon lived at 3 Moorhouse Lane - a 300 year old cottage. In 1953 her memories of Whiston were recorded. She used to go 'canoeing' on the brook, in a washtub - some 65 years before. The stream became a torrent in the spring and flood the house and garden - the water knocking the ornaments of the sideboard.

On St. Swithin's day, 1973, Whiston had what was then, the heaviest rainfall in one day. It was the time when the development of the Greystones Estate had commenced. Earthworks had just been placed for the new road, across the dyke, with just one small pipe for the stream. On that Sunday, it held water behind like a giant lake near the Churchfields gate. On the Monday morning the water was released and it flooded all the properties at the side of the dyke, reaching as far as the houses on Chaff Lane which were flooded for the first time. Delft Cottage and another house further up Moorhouse Lane were flooded.

Only a week later after another weekend of heavy rain the dyke flooded yet again, a giant beech tree blew down from across the road at Vanstone Cottage and just missed demolishing Delft Cottage.

In 1974 a new bridge was built to replace the old arched one, outside Delft Cottage to prevent flooding.

Vanstone Cottage, was occupied by Joseph John Bartholomew and wife Mary Ann (Nee Vanstone).