Fellmonger House 1876 - 1915

Fellmonger House 1876 - 1915

Fellmonger and chicken fancier
One of William Papworth's 3 employees was his nephew, William Hinson. William moved from Sutton to St Ives in his early teens, and lodged with his uncle. When William Papworth died in 1876, William Hinson took over the business. In 1881 he was fellmonger and woolstapler, employing 4 men. A woolstapler grades wool and sells on to a maker of woollen goods. In the 1885 Kelly's Directory for St Ives, William had one of the largest entries:

Hinson, William, fellmonger and woolstapler, agent for Thorley's cattle food and lactifer, Simpson's cattle spices & calf meal, Ayer's calf meal, Waterloo oil cake &c., Bullock market.

By 1891, William was a fellmonger and farmer, employing a housemaid and dairymaid. He was also a poultry fancier, with a model poultry farm in Pig Lane. He displayed duckwing leghorn chickens all over England, winning many prizes. Serving as a Town Councillor, many thought he should have been Town Mayor.

William suffered from illness for the last few years of his life. He underwent an operation in London, but worsened on his return. He died in 1906, aged 61 years.

Change in the Bullock Market
The old Bullock Market was subject to periodic closure to prevent the spread of disease. In 1867 rinderpest caused closure for weeks. Unsanitary conditions from muck and gore became unacceptable to public health. It risked spreading disease in both animals and people. In 1886, Cambridge questioned the viability of continuing the old market at St Ives. The aim was to remove competition to its own newly opened cattle market. The Privy Council threatened St Ives market with closure unless it made radical changes.

The Town Council debated options for a new market. One suggestion was to purchase and demolish all the buildings on the north side of the Bullock Market. This would make more room at the current location. It would also have meant a dramatic change in appearance from the front door of Fellmonger House.

The two men responsible for St Ives new market.
The Duke of Manchester and Mayor Frank Warren, 1886.

In less than a year, St Ives planned & built a new market near the railway station, opened in 1886. The newspapers carried extensive reports. The cost was £15,000 (today £2 million). Described as the best market in England, so ended 700 years of selling cattle in the Bullock Market. Irish traders finally deserted St Ives in the 1890s for Cambridge. It had better railway links. St Ives cattle market struggled on for a further 90 years until the pens were finally closed in 1976.

The Town Council removed the Bullock Market's posts and rails. John Bingham and John Kidman had charged drovers for the posts and rails. Each received compensation of £100 (today £10,000).

Overnight, the old Bullock Market lost its purpose. Suggestions arose about what to do. There was news some residents were keen to plant trees. Should the Town Council rename the Bullock Market? Before 1867, none of the streets in St Ives had an official name. People randomly assigned names. Cromwell-place applied to 4 locations. Water-lane to 5. Back-street was called Backside. Other streets had more than one name. No surprise much confusion arose.

In 1867, the Improvement Commissioners erected zinc nameplates around the town. This fixed the street names as we know them today, and proved a boon conferred on the townspeople in general. You can still see many of these original old zinc nameplates, now over 150 years old (there are later ones too).

The Bullock Market, c1900.  One of the earliest photos of Fellmonger House. 

The Bullock Market changed name until 1887. This was after trade in cattle had moved to the newly built cattle market at the other end of town. Suggestions were to rename it The Avenue, or Cromwell-street. There was opposition to The Broadway because it sounded too American. The name finally settled on was the Broadway.

The Dellar Dynasty
George and William Dellar came from Oakington. George moved to St Ives in 1879, aged 15 years. He worked as a fellmonger's labourer for William Hinson. George boarded with widow Elizabeth Mason in Cow and Hare Passage.

In 1887, George married Nellie Culpin, a dressmaker from Darwood Place. They moved into Olive Cottage, in Crown Walk. Two sons followed. In 1891, Olive Cottage was full of relatives. Brother William moved to St Ives and lodged with George's family. Also in the house were George's mother in law and sister in law. George and Nellie had a further 2 children, both daughters.

George & Nellie Dellar at Olive Cottage, c1910.
With Doris, George, Harold & Marjorie.

William also worked as a fellmonger for William Hinson. In 1894, William married Ada Crawford, a milliner from a small village in Lincolnshire. Quite how they met is a mystery. By 1901, they lived less than 100 yards from Olive Cottage, at 7 Orchard Terrace. Squashed into the two up two down with their 4 young children.

William & Ada Dellar at Fellmonger House, c1910.
With Horace & Hilda, their 2 youngest children at that time.

George and William Dellar took over the business in 1906 when William Hinson died. William and his wife moved into Fellmonger House with their growing family. Three further children followed. George moved to a larger home, at North Lynne, Tenterleas. The Dellars advertised themselves on a stylish sign at Fellmonger House. A replica of the original held by the Norris Museum is today displayed at the house. 

Copy of G & W Dellar sign outside Fellmonger House.
The original is with the Norris Museum.

Mrs Phillis Smith is the granddaughter of George Dellar. She remembers visiting her grandfather's yard at Fellmonger House.

I remember going as a child with my twin and experiencing the smells and sights of the skins on the wooden slatted boards in the passage. I found visits horrible but slightly fascinating.

Plan of Fellmonger House site, early 1900s.

About 1916, William extended Fellmonger House. He added a 2 floor extension to the rear. This included a kitchen, scullery and 2 bedrooms.

One of many interesting parts of the house is its baffle entry. This is a feature from timber framed buildings of the Tudor and Jacobean periods. For many dwellings of this time, entrance would be straight into a room. With a baffle entry, when the front door is fully open, access to the interior is closed. In the case of Fellmonger House, the front door seals off the dining room. One prime advantage explains why Fellmonger House had a baffle entry. It stopped dirt, dust and muck blowing into the house from the Bullock Market. It stopped cold drafts entering the interior. Also, there was greater security and privacy.

Tragedy in the river
In 1915, George listened to the distressing details of one of St Ives' greatest tragedies. He served as foreman for the inquest into the deaths of Violet Watson and Arthur Watson (unrelated). Violet, 17, was cycling from her Brampton home to a job interview in St Ives along the Thicket path when she encountered pupils from St Ives Grammar School under Arthur Watson's supervision.

To avoid the boys, Violet swerved and fell into the river, screaming. Although Arthur couldn't swim, he immediately entered the river fully clothed, including a heavy overcoat, and extended his stick to her. He stepped into a deep hole and was swept away by the current toward Nobles Field. Violet drifted to the middle of the river, sank three times, and disappeared.

Violet's body was recovered the same day; Arthur's was found a month later.

To read more articles about this house, click Fellmonger House. To view stories of other interesting houses and their residents in St Ives in the style of David Olusoga's BBC television programme, click A House Through Time. To access more topics on the social history of St Ives, its resident and the surrounding area, click St Ives 100 Years Ago.