New Series - A House through Time

[Martin Briscoe]

In episode 2 much was made of the death of John Bowes from cholera in 1854, and how horrified the residents of Falkner Street must have been at a cholera death in their street.

There is a problem with this. John Bowes did not die in Liverpool. He died in Poulton-Le-Sands and is buried there, at Holy Trinity.   

Not as horrified as the inhabitants of a small village when someone brings cholera to the area from a large town.

I see it can take several days for the symptoms to appear so it could be quite possible for someone to travel that distance without realising they were infected.

[ShaunJ]

This wasn't the only death from cholera in Poulton in September 1854 - there were 3 deaths earlier that month amongst excursionists from Yorkshire

[Martin Briscoe]

This wasn't the only death from cholera in Poulton in September 1854 - there were 3 deaths earlier that month amongst excursionists from Yorkshire

There was an excursion from a silk factory in Wray on the 9th September 1854.  They heard there had been five deaths from cholera in Poulton on the previous day so they did not go further than Lancaster. ( Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 16 September 1854)

There were 953 deaths from cholera in Liverpool and West Derby over a three month period, in 1849 there had been 4545 deaths over a similar period.

There is a report on cholera in  Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 23 September 1854, it has quite a bit about Poulton and says there was an old cesspool behind the houses.  The smell was so bad that it made several people sick so in a period of hot weather it was carted away, the smell was so strong that some people were sick as the effluvia passed.  The cholera outbreak followed soon afterwards.

[stanmapstone]

So it could be that John Bowes caught the cholera in Poulton and not Liverpool, so the program was mistaken. There was a hotel on Peddar Street, which is where he could have been staying. Interestingly Poulton-le-Sands School was founded by a Francis Bowes in 1745 so there was a connection.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

Of course there is the possibility that John Bowes brought the infection from Liverpool and was responsible for the outbreak.

Stan

[Mowsehowse]

So it could be that John Bowes caught the cholera in Poulton and not Liverpool, so the program was mistaken. There was a hotel on Peddar Street, which is where he could have been staying. Interestingly Poulton-le-Sands School was founded by a Francis Bowes in 1745 so there was a connection. Stan

Very interesting.

[ShaunJ]

Did I really hear him say "the RAF's Fleet Air Arm" in the final episode?. That's not great from a professional historian.

[Martin Briscoe]

Did I really hear him say "the RAF's Fleet Air Arm" in the final episode?. That's not great from a professional historian.

I suspect it was not the only mistake he made!

He was on The One Show earlier in the evening and was asked how they chose the house.  He said they looked at various and houses but claimed Liverpool was the obvious choice for the location.

I wonder if they had a big checklist and that one "ticked all the boxes"!

[cristeen]

The program does not say he died in Liverpool, it says he died from cholera probably caught in Liverpool. David Olusoga  has the death certificate in his hand and you can see the place of death as Pedder Street Poulton.

Stan
[/quote]

Gosh, I missed that snippet, my 4xG grandfather's burial is on the next page of the parish records!
Francis Bowes was the village blacksmith who died in 1732 & bequeathed his land in the village to trustees for the purpose of building a chapel of ease which was completed circa 1745. The school was also built on this land, next to Poulton Square, the original heart of Morecambe