Biography of Sarah Swinnerton

Malcolm Smith's Family History Archive

Biography of

Sarah SWINNERTON

[Ref. R.1]

Sarah Swinnerton was born at 30 Whittier Street in Liverpool on 16 June 1901. She was the second child and eldest daughter of John and Rose Swinnerton and would always be known as Sally. She was baptised together with her older brother Leslie at St.Peter's church on 4 August 1901. By the time the census of 1911 was taken, the family had moved to 101 Ponsonby Street in Liverpool which would remain the family home.

Sally first attended St.Silas Church of England primary school then went on to Tiber Street school for the remainder of her education which was completed in 1915. Her name appears in some of the school registers that have survived.

Having left school, Sally had a job in service at a house in Sefton Park. Her location has not been found in the 1921 census. She did have a number of jobs, it is said between 40 and 50, but kept losing them as she was forever arriving late because she would not get up on time in the mornings. She did look after children and was very good at that. She was trained as a Milliner and used to make her own hats.

She became housekeeper to William Albion Howgate who had a shop at 44 Birkenhead Road in Hoylake selling wines and spirits and also ice cream. He was known as Bill and also ran a taxi service. His wife had died in 1925 leaving him with two sons and three daughters so Sally looked after them as well. Two years later on 18 April 1927, she married Bill at the Baptish Church in Hoylake, her sister Emmie and husband Stan being witnesses. Bill was 22 years older than Sally.

In 1937, Edward A Howgate was born to Sally but unfortunately the child did not survive. The 1939 register shows the family living at The Cross in Neston on the Wirral. William is listed as a Wine & Spirit Dealer and Sally as Tobacconist & Sweet Dealer. Sally's father and mother are living with them and there is also a shop assistant, Ena Jary, who was one of Bill's daughters.

Whilst thay were living in Hoylake a new slide was built at the swimming pool and Sally is credited as being the first person down it. Sally liked her food. There is a story that, being tempted to buy a cream cake, was heard to say "I suppose four or five won't hurt". She used to visit her mother each week and would stop for Turkish Bath at the Adelphi Hotel the take tea at Lewis' store.

At some stage they moved to Old Colwyn where they bought Voryn Hall situated off Tan Y Lan Road. It was run as a holiday camp having a lovely elevated view overlooking Penmaenhead. The site was cleared to make way to build Hotel 70° in 1972, then that in turn was demolished in 2007 and replaced with housing where the road is named Voryn Avenue.

Bill passed away in 1952 after which Sally came back to Liverpool where she purchased and ran a guest house at 29 Cumberland Avenue in the Greenbank area of Liverpool. One of her guests was Gwen Frankland and she met Sally's nephew Tony McClure who used to visit and they married in 1968.

Sally sold the house in Cumberland Avenue and moved to a small end of terrace house 22 Walmsley Street in Wallasey. The house was not in best condition but her view was that she would go before the house and she would spend her money before that happened. She was followed there by a man called Jack who had been a chauffeur to her late husband and he became her boyfriend. Unfortunately he was a heavy drinker and spent much of Sally's savings. She made a trip to Australia to visit her sister Eva but it did not go as planned. Firstly she got onto the wrong plane when changing flights in Singapore and finished up in Indonesia. When she did get to Australia she did not get on too well with Eva.

Sally passed away on 22 October 1976 having sustained a brain haemorrhage after declining from cancer for a few years. Her brother Bill registered the death. She was buried in Neston Cemetery on 27 October 1976. Sally had made her Will and Probate was granted at Liverpool on her estate of Ł2,947 on 22 October 1976.

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