The House On The Bridge

North Bridge Villa, abandoned (image, Google Streetview)

North Bridge Villa

I hope you will forgive me for straying outside the confines of Bentley for this one-off article in which we visit the Marsh Gate area of Doncaster.

Following my article on Town End in 2017 I was contacted by someone wanting to know the history of North Bridge Villa. Never one to turn down a researching challenge, I obliged and uncovered quite an interesting story, so I thought I would publish it more widely. Hence our stray into Doncaster history.

Contents

• The Out-Of-Place House
• Marsh Gate Uncovered
• A Hive Of Industry
• The Building Of North Bridge
• Proposal For A New Bridge
• John 'Knacker' Lindley
• Lindley Residences
• North Bridge Villa
• The Villa Re-purposed
• The Changing Face Of Marsh Gate
• Demolition And Clearance
• Marsh Gate And North Bridge Photos

The Out-of-Place House

Anyone who has ever crossed North Bridge in the Marsh Gate area of town will have passed this imposing red brick house (pictured above), sandwiched between two commercial buildings, and wondered how on earth it came to be there, on an extremely busy main road and wedged into such an industrial area of town. Well Marsh Gate wasn't always just about industry, and if we turn the clock back to the turn of the 20th century we will see what the area was like and what led up to the building of North Bridge Villa.

Marsh Gate Uncovered

Northern end of Marsh Gate looking towards St Mary's Bridge, about 1905.

Marsh Gate followed the route of the Great North Road and was the original gateway into Doncaster. Stretching roughly from St Mary's Bridge over the River Don, to Friar's Bridge over the River Cheswold, the road then joined French Gate. 

1769 map of the Marsh Gate area

This low-lying area near the river was prone to flooding and home to some of the poorest dwellings in the town. Proving dangerous to ride through when flooded, the road level was eventually raised to above the high water mark.

Flooded Marsh Gate from a sketch of 1854

A Hive Of Industry

Despite the problems with flooding Marsh Gate became a thriving industrial area. Positioned close to the river it was ideal for corn mills, warehouses and factories, served by a busy wharf bringing goods in and out via the river.

With an influx of labourers to the area, lodging houses, low quality tenements and public houses sprang up to accommodate the local and visiting workers. 

 Southern end Marsh Gate in 1906, 

The New River Inn is on the left and the Greyfriars building (1843) is on the right.

One can imagine Marsh Gate in the 18th and 19th centuries being quite a rough area of town. It was here in 1832 that two incidents of cholera began. The first, an isolated case, was of a traveller who died whilst lodging in Marsh Gate; but the following summer a major outbreak was triggered by a sailor on board a boat moored in Marsh Gate. His death generated much interest and many local inhabitants went on board to see him. Unsurprisingly, a terrible outbreak occurred after this resulting in around forty deaths. 

For more on the cholera outbreak go to At the Foot of the Bridge.

The Building Of North Bridge

The beginning of the 20th century brought many changes to Marsh Gate, and most of the changes were due to transport needs. By now the railways were well established and since the opening of Doncaster Railway Station, Marsh Gate had been intersected by a level crossing close to where it joined French Gate.

Marsh Gate Crossing in 1909

Marsh Gate practically formed the only entrance to Doncaster from the north, and at only thirty five feet wide, was not designed to carry the increasing amounts of traffic in and out of town. Added to this was the growth in the railway, and as it was now the Great North Eastern Railway and the main line between London and the north, use of this mode of transport was likely to increase further, adding pressure and hold-ups at the level crossing. Capacity had become a real issue for this area of town. 

Proposal For A New Bridge

A solution in the form of a road bridge was presented in 1908. Despite much local opposition a poll returned a small majority in favour of proceeding. 

Marsh Gate in 1906 prior to the bridge being built

The bridge, which would be built to the east of Marsh Gate, would cut through the rear of many properties on the north-east side and this resulted in compensation being paid to many property owners. Certain properties had to be demolished before the bridge building began, this included The Labour in Vain public house, the licence of which was transferred to another site, which was to become The Bridge Hotel. 

18th century buildings in Marsh Gate 1908. 
Photo courtesy of Tom Beardsley

The photo above shows eighteenth century buildings in Marsh Gate waiting to be demolished in 1908. The stables on the left belonged to the Falcon Inn, which survived demolition until 1934.

The Bridge Hotel

Workers homes which needed to be demolished caused lots of controversy. In an already overcrowded town, finding new accommodation in the area was not easy. After much debate and many changes of location, temporary dwellings were erected to the rear of the gas works. This area became known as 'White City'. In 1911 when plans fell through for new housing north of Marsh Gate, on grounds of 'unsuitability for health', the tenants were eventually found accommodation elsewhere.

Construction of the brick arches for the North Bridge 1909.
Photo courtesy of Colin Hardisty

The road and bridge which became North Bridge Road, was over three-quarters of a mile in length. Brick arches at each end carried the road up on to a bridge constructed of steel girders which crossed both the railway lines and the Don Navigation. 

  

Map of 1929 showing the completed North Bridge Road

     

North Bridge opened in 1910. The completed bridge allowed traffic of all kinds safe and unhindered passage into and out of town. Previously trams had terminated at the Marsh Gate level crossing and passengers had no option but to use a subway to reach a feeder service at Clock Corner; now those same trams were able to run right into town from the north side of Doncaster via the bridge.

North Bridge Grand Opening 1910

John 'Knacker' Lindley  

Having explored the early history and changes in the Marsh Gate area we now return to the origins of North Bridge Villa and what became of it.

The first building to be erected on the lower slope of North Bridge's north east side was a horse repository. It was owned by the Schapiro family, who supplied horses for buses, carriages and the meat trade throughout Europe and Africa. Head of the family, Hyman Schapiro was born in Russia in 1855, he lived with his large family in Regent Square, Doncaster. The Schapiro's wealth and success led to a friendship with the Saudi royal family. Hyman died in 1921 and presumably his sons carried on the family business.

Hyman Schapiro. 
Photo courtesy of Carol Weston

The photo below shows the Bridge Hotel dominating the corner of North Bridge Road and Marsh Gate around 1912. Schapiro's Horse Repository can be seen on the left side of the road.

Schapiro's Horse Repository to the left of the Bridge Hotel

The Schapiro's interest in horses may have brought them into contact with a Mr John Lindley. John was born in North Cave near Hull in 1852. The family moved to Doncaster around 1862 and by 1871 were living at Waterloo Row on Cherry Lane, near the River Don. John's father worked in the nearby corn mill and John was a labourer at the age of 18.

Northern end of the Marsh Gate area in 1906

In 1873 John married Elizabeth North (b.1854) of Doncaster, at St Georges Parish church. The couple made their home in nearby Marsh Gate. They had six children, Emma (b.1874) Herbert (b.1876), John William (b.1877), Walter (b.1880), Annie (b.1882) and Arthur (b.1883). Two of the children died in infancy, Emma at less than a year old, and Arthur at two years old. John William died in 1902 when he is said to have hung himself with a neck tie on a bed, either accidentally or otherwise, at his home in Elwis Street. John was 24, married and had three young children. 

John 'knacker' Lindley

By 1891 John had founded Doncaster Knackers Yard and now listed his occupation as 'horse slaughterer'. Money for the knackers yard was rumoured to have been put up by the North family, Elizabeth's parents. The location of the knackers yard is unclear as Kelly's Directory of 1893 only lists John at his home address of 84 Marsh Gate, however, a descendant of the Lindley's believes it was opposite the horse repository, roughly where the Warehouse nightclub is now. Of course his yard could have been at 84 Marsh Gate, but the family moved twice more in the next twenty years; in 1901 they were living at 115 Marsh Gate, then in 1911 they were located at 107 Marsh Gate, which must have been of comfortable size as it is listed as having nine rooms. Apparently John Lindley owned half the houses in Marsh Gate at one time.

Lindley's slaughter yard

Lindley's business involved slaughtering the horses, packing them in dry ice and transporting them to Hull docks, where they would be shipped to Belgium to be sold as meat. 

At the time John Lindley was working in the horse meat trade he crossed paths with another animal products operation, that of the De Mulder family of Bentley. The De Mulders unsuccessfully tried to buy Lindley's business several times, but John refused. The story goes that one particular time John took his meat to Belgium but there was a strike at the docks which lasted three weeks. Subsequently the ice melted and the meat went rotten. It was believed De Mulder instigated the strike and John ended up selling out to him. 

The De Mulder family founded their own animal rendering operation in 1926, with son Prosper De Mulder joining in 1933. The De Mulder Group became one of Bentley's best known businesses, mainly due to the pungent aromas the factory pumped out. 

Lindley Residences 

After 1911 the census records run out (until the 1921 returns are released). So to find John after 1911 the electoral records are the place to look. 

John remained at 107 Marsh Gate up to 1915 then there is a gap in the available records of two years, so the next year we find John is 1918, and his address is listed as North Bridge Villa.

This is the first reference to the Villa in records, so it must have been built between 1915 and 1918. 

John and Elizabeth Lindley

The Villa's story starts just a couple of years before John Lindley died, so to round off John's story before we pick up on the story of the Villa, he died in November 1919, aged 67 years. His widow Elizabeth remarried in June 1923, to a retired clergyman, John Wilson and they went to live at 43a Bentley Road. Elizabeth died in January 1931. She and her first husband are buried in Hyde Park Cemetery. 

Elizabeth Lindley at 43a Bentley Road

The Lindley memorial in Hyde Park Cemetery

The Lindley photos were kindly supplied by Mo Elwiss.

North Bridge Villa

So far we have ascertained that the Villa was built between 1915 and 1918. John Lindley's Great Great Grandaughter Mo Elwiss confirmed that John had the house built for him. It is interesting that the site chosen for the house was right next to Schapiro's horse repository. At the time the house was built there were no other buildings fronting that stretch of road at all, so maybe there was a reason for building a house in that particular location, if, for instance, the Schapiro's had moved their business elsewhere then John could have taken over the stables too. The map below shows the Villa adjacent to the repository.

Map of 1929 with North Bridge Villa highlighted

After John Lindley died in 1919 his widow Elizabeth stayed on in the house until 1921, in 1922 she was back at her old home of 107 Marsh Gate and the following year she had moved to 43a Bentley Road where she would live with her new husband. 

Elizabeth's daughter Annie and son-in-law John William Donald stayed on at the Villa for another year, but from 1923 to 1926 it was occupied by a Charles Middleton.

The Villa Re-purposed

It appears that after 1926 the Villa ceased to be used as a residence as no occupants were listed in the electoral registers right up to 1936, where the search was terminated.

A very busy North Bridge Road scene in the 1960's
with North Bridge Villa just visible on the centre right, behind the bus.

As the twentieth century reached its middle years North Bridge Road saw more development and gradually North Bridge Villa was surrounded and almost swallowed up by large imposing buildings. 

Another large building had been erected on the north side of the Villa and this appears in a photo of the 1960's. It was the offices of the Askern Brick and Tile Company. The Mitchell's Builder's Merchant sign seems to indicate premises down the next left turn (see photo below). After it was wound up in 1970 it was amalgamated into the Yorkshire Brick and Tile Company, who also owned North Bridge Villa. Most people remember this building being used as a club for bus drivers which is what it was latterly used for. Schapiro's buildings were taken over by a tyre company.  

Buildings almost hiding North Bridge Villa (within white oval) in the 1960's. 
Photo courtesy of Symeon Waller

It was in 1970 that a family moved into part of the Villa as caretakers. Zara Jackson was just a baby when her mother, a nurse, took on the extra job of caretaker at the Villa while her father was recovering from illness. 

Aerial view of North Bridge Road in the 1950's. North Bridge Villa is indicated by the red arrow

They lived at the Villa for five years and Zara recalls a strong room on the ground floor where the wages were kept. There was also a switchboard and a lady called 'Janet Jones' who wore a headset and put the calls through. The corridors had parquet flooring which was polished every night. The Villa was connected to the brick company offices by internal doors. In the back garden there were two stables and a brick yard. There was also a bust of a man on an ornate brick pedestal. The brick yard had a side line in terracotta busts and ornate pottery, which is probably where the bust came from. It appears in a photo of Zara with her mother from 1970 (see below).

Zara, her mother and the bust of a man,
taken at the rear of North Bridge Villa in 1970.
Photo courtesy of Zara Head

   

   

Zara also recalls the Villa grounds having a slope down to an underground garage with a door which led to a tunnel, which in turn emerged on the Don bank. When the river was high the garage would flood.

Zara Jackson in 1973 at the rear of North Bridge Villa, the stables were on the right.

Photo courtesy of Zara Head

By the mid 1980's the tyre company had moved out of Schapiro's buildings and it was largely left empty except for a portion of the building that was used by the Doncaster Evening Post Camera Club. The building was eventually demolished and was replaced by a new building for Boots Opticians.

Building originally Schapiro's Horse Repository. Pictured in 1986 prior to demolition. 
Photo courtesy of Tony Canning

Schapiro's  building, North Bridge Villa and the bus club in 1986. 
Photo courtesy of Tony Canning

The Changing Face Of Marsh Gate

Following the construction of North Bridge, Marsh Gate found itself on the sidelines. No longer on the route into Doncaster it became the focus for residential housing. Terraced housing had replaced the ramshackle eighteenth century buildings pulled down at the time the North Bridge was built. 

Terraced housing in Marsh Gate in the 1960's

Businesses were changing too, gone were the mills, factories and wharves, and in their place a variety of new concerns opened, which we will look at below. This included a power station at nearby Crimpsall which opened in 1953. 

Doncaster Power Station from St Mary's Bridge 1957.
Photo courtesy of George Fettis

Marsh Gate continued as a residential area well into the mid twentieth century. In 1925 a hostel was built behind the Bridge Hotel; the New Model Lodging House was owned by Jack and Florrie Temple, and had forty five residents listed in 1936. The premises were a lodging house for single, homeless people. Another hostel, the Bridge Hostel was built a little further south and wasn't seen as quite as up-market as the Temple's hostel. The Bridge Hostel later became used as a warehouse for furniture retailers, Wades. In 1989 it opened as The Warehouse nightclub and remains a dance venue to this day.

Temple's Lodging House.

Marsh Gate 1925
North Bridge Road is near the top, the Bridge Hostel is the tall building on the left. 

Photo courtesy of Mick Dutchak

St Andrew's church occupied a corner plot on the junction of Marsh Gate and Cherry Lane. Unfortunately, very little information exists about this building today, just a few photos (see below).

St Andrew's church in 1911

The area in front of the Bridge Hostel was cleared in the 1950's and opened as a station for Corporation buses in 1958. The buses eventually moved to the North Bus Station, next to the railway station when it opened in 1967.

The Marsh Gate bus station with the Bridge Hostel behind in 1961

Across from the hostel, on North Bridge Road British Road Services occupied a site next to the Askern Brick and Tile Company (Schapiro's buildings) during the 1950's. BRS were a British haulage and road transport company when the industry was nationalized. By 1961 the name over the building had changed to 'Curriers's General Carriers', but nothing could be found out about this company. 

British Road Services building in 1955. Photo courtesy of Tom Beardsley

In 1967 the old BRS building had been taken over by Doncaster Evening Post as an office and print works. This much loved newspaper closed in 1983 and the Sheffield based Star took over. The building was demolished in around 1990 and the site is now occupied by a Halfords store. 

The Doncaster Evening Post print works

The Evening Post building being demolished in 1984

The old horse repository, latterly used by the Doncaster Evening Post being demolished in 1984

Demolition And Clearance

The terraced houses of Marsh Gate and its surrounding streets were gradually demolished after the 1960's and the cleared area saw an influx of businesses. The Bridge Hotel was demolished in 1972 and all that remains is a triangular patch of grass. Today, car dealerships dominate the area, while the power station at Crimpsall has been replaced by Doncaster H.M.P. 

The Bridge Hotel being demolished in 1972

Not much is left to say the old buildings of Marsh Gate and North Bridge Road were ever there. Only North Bridge Villa and the old bus club next door remain, now sealed up and unused one wonders how long it will be before these last vestiges of times gone are also erased from the landscape of an ever changing Doncaster.

Sealed and forgotten, North Bridge Villa and the old bus club in 2014

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Marsh Gate And North Bridge Photos

Bridge Hotel 1910

Buses parked at the side of the Bridge Hotel, possibly 1940's

Bridge Hotel during the 1932 floods

Bridge Hotel and tenants, unknown year

Marsh Gate level crossing, north side in 1908

Marsh Gate level crossing, north side in 1908

Last trip across the level crossing on 7th Feb 1910

Locking the level crossing gates 7th Feb 1910

North Bridge construction in 1910

North Bridge just before opening 1910

North Bridge in 1910

North Bridge bus stop 1955

North Bridge Road about 1970

Marsh Gate 1967.
Photo courtesy of Colin Hardisty

Marsh Gate bus depot, 1950's.
Photo courtesy of Colin Hardisty

St Andrew's church

St Andrew's church interior

The Toby Jug public house

__________

Notes and Acknowledgements

Thank you to all contributors of photos and information. Those found on various Facebook groups have been credited with the persons who posted them, unless the images have been shared on multiple groups or the original poster could not be located.

The photo of Hyman Schapiro was found on Ancestry.co.uk and was posted by Carol Weston. A message asking for permission to use the photo has so far not been responded to. I post the photo in anticipation of permission being granted.

Thank you to Mo Elwiss for family information and permission to use the Lindley photos.

Thank you to Margaret Forbes for family information.

Thank you to Zara Head for information and photos. 

Thank you to Michelle Carlin for research carried out.

Alison Vainlo 

First written 2018, updated 2020