Northumberland Archives

Piecing together the Penroses Part Three: The New Era

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The idea of community seems to have changed over the years. Being part of one meant being part of a pseudo-family; everyone helped everyone out and supported them whether it be in business or with a special event. The Penroses were part of the fabric of the Alnwick community, and thanks to a contract, are still written into that fabric; their name standing proudly above 23 Bondgate Within.

Jane ‘Penny’ Penrose was the only child of William and Jane and was born in August 1922. She was brought up in the family business, but due to the unfortunate falling out between her father and his siblings, had no contact with her familial cousins even though they resided in Amble.

Her job in the shop was to listen to and write down the music charts so that customers were aware of what was what in the music world. She was a well-known face in Alnwick, and, as she grew older, she enjoyed dramatic arts, taking part in a dramatic society that would eventually become Alnwick Theatre Club.

She joined the war effort as a Nurse, starting at Lemmington Hall and later finding herself stationed in Londonderry. It was here she met Kenneth Lewis, a Navigator for the Fleet Air Arm. The story goes that Ken was due to fly out, having just met and fallen for Penny. He asked his Commanding Officer if he could stay another day as he’d just met the woman he wanted to marry. In a rather sad twist, the man who took his place as Navigator was shot down and killed. So, if Ken hadn’t made this plea, then I wouldn’t be writing this blog now!

The two married in 1944 at St. Michael’s Church, Alnwick and took over the running of the shop after the war. They soon produced a son, Michael in 1945, a daughter Jill in 1948 and finally another son, Peter in 1951.

Ken taught himself how to make and fix radios and in 1953, he had a go at building a television on which to watch the Coronation. The business went from strength to strength as technology developed, moving from LP to cassette tape, radio to television, batteries to charging cables and so on. The pair were hugely involved in the community – they were members of Alnwick Theatre Club, Round Table and Ladies Circle, The Alnwick Fair Committee (Ken was the first Chairman of the event in 1969), the Alnwick Chamber of Trade and the Rotary Club.

In 1976, their youngest son Peter left a career in teaching and re-trained as an Electronics Engineer, becoming a part of the Penrose empire. He repaired countless electricals over the years including: a Falcon tracker, an electromagnetic sheep feeder, a grain moisture tester, a Racing Pigeon weighing machine and a Bull ejaculator! The job also involved climbing ladders and sorting out aerials and satellite dishes; one of their clients being the Duke of Northumberland. The shop had a fantastic group of electricians over the years, but the stalwart remains David Darling, an Amble lad who began his apprenticeship for George Penrose and Sons at the age of 15 in 1964, semi-retiring in 2018 after 54 years.  

Peter married Ann Bell in 1980 and they have two children, a son Nicholas (whose middle name is Penrose) and a daughter Sophie, the author of this blog.

At age 15, I worked in the shop as an assistant (albeit not a very good one!) helping at the counter and answering the phone. Fast forward 10 years and I learned a small part of the repair trade from my dad, fixing G.H.D hair straighteners. It was wonderful to feel part of the business in the way my father, grandfather and great grandfathers were.

In their final years, Ken and Penny could be seen behind the counter or in the office, chatting with customers and friends alike, appearing on the Playhouse stage to great aplomb and laughing and enjoying their grandchildren and great grandchildren in their house on the hill. Penny passed away in 2000 and a huge presence disappeared from our lives. With her and Ken went the generation that saw and did so much. They lived through wars but brought peace wherever they went.

Of course, technology has its advantages, but with progress comes huge change. Small businesses suffer when customers can find what they need online. It’s certainly cheaper to ‘buy a new one’ rather than get it repaired.

The final Penrose, Peter, retired from the business in 2017 and passed it into the very capable hands of Guy Filer and his wife Sarah. They continued to trade from the premises under the name ‘Penroses’ for two years before it became impossible to continue. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case now for many local and family businesses and it has had a huge impact on a town that was once a thriving and vibrant community.  Their business has however continued in a different vein, focussing just on aerial and satellite work.

The Penrose family have reconnected on occasion; Peter visited his Great-Uncle Fred at his house in Amble when he moved back to the area in the 70s. He also met family again in later years at the funeral of a cousin and Fred’s great-grand-daughter joined Alnwick Theatre Club, taking part in their annual pantomime. Penny would have been proud.

Piecing together the Penroses Part Two: George Junior and the beginnings of the business

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George Junior is the business’ namesake. The second son of Owl Pen and Hannah was born in 1864. The story of his elder brother, Thomas, is a sad and rather morbid one. In terms of our own passed down memories, nothing was really known of Thomas. Born in 1859, he disappeared from the census; his last mention was in 1881 age 22. He is detailed as being blind and then all trace vanishes. Rumour was he ended up in an asylum, but the reasons why were unknown, or at least not spoken of. After some digging at Northumberland Archives, he was discovered as having ended up in St George’s, Morpeth in 1891 aged 32.

NRO 3680/185

It seems as well as being blind, he was epileptic, which is maybe why he ‘was violent, shouting, swearing threatening to injure others his father in particular…’  He died in 1903 aged 44 and was buried in Morpeth.

As with all family history, the truths we uncover are not always happy ones.

George Junior began his apprenticeship as a hairdresser with Mr Mark Patterson of Narrowgate, Alnwick. This then led to him opening his own Hairdressing business in Wellwood Street, Amble in 1883, later moving to a larger premises in Queen Street.

He married Charlotte Gibson in 1885, and, as well as starting a rather large family, George expanded his business portfolio to include tobacconists, sweetshops and penny bazaars, as well as a facility for charging accumulator batteries.  These were very heavy, plastic batteries full of acid. The acid gradually turned to alkaline as the battery ran down. When people bought a radio, it came with two batteries so that one would always be charged. This was a very popular service.

He opened new branches in Radcliffe, Broomhill, Red Row and of course, Alnwick. He and Charlotte had 14 children, only five of whom survived.

George’s eldest son, William, left to join the war effort in 1916, as a clerk in the Northumberland Fusiliers.

After a posting to Bombay, he contracted smallpox and malaria, returning home in 1919.  He joined the family business and began making radio sets for family and friends in the 1920s but realising the potential for this ‘wireless telegraph’, he began to go on to sell them. This was only the beginning as soon, with high demand, he had to source them from suppliers such as HMV and Columbia and thus, the family diversified into electrical goods.

Nipper the Dog joined the business in 1937 & is still a well-loved member of the family today!

In 1935, George Penrose died, six years after his wife Charlotte. They are buried together in West Cemetery, Amble.

After his death, George left the businesses in the very capable hands of William. However, his siblings were not too happy with this idea, and this then led to a rather big falling out. To combat the resentment felt, William gave his younger brother, Fred, the business in Amble and to his sisters, the other shops in the surrounding areas. The family house in Amble, Farndale, became the home of Fred and his wife, Dorothy (nee McKay). The name itself comes from a valley located in the North York Moors, a tribute, perhaps, to their Yorkshire ancestry. Fred’s business was passed onto his son, another George after his death in 1987. This George was a familiar face in Amble, known for his haircutting abilities and his frequent visits to the betting shop!

Of all the businesses left by George Junior, William’s shop in Alnwick outlasted them all. William met and married Jane Douglass in 1920. Jane took an active role in the business and was fondly remembered for always having a fresh vase of flowers on the countertop every day. They had one daughter, Jane, born in 1922, who affectionately became known as Penny.

BERWICK NEWSPAPERS

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BERWICK ADVERTISER, 3RD APRIL 1924

BERWICK NEW STATION

(FROM THE BERWICK DEBATING SOCIETY MAGAZINE)

Much ink has been spilt and hot air wasted over the necessity of having a new bridge over the river Tweed at Berwick, and while all are agreed that this proposal is of vital importance to the future development of the town, many differences of opinion are noted as to the location of the structure. The many expressions of interest in the scheme from all sections of the community is indeed gratifying and angers well for the future of the borough. This, however, regrettable that during all the discussions on the future welfare of the town, little or no comment has been made on the proposed new Railway Station at Berwick.

The front of Berwick Railway Station
An early 20th Century postcard of the front of the railway station

Rightly or wrongly, a traveller arriving at a town on his first visit, sizes up the importance of that town at the moment he steps off the train. It is, therefore, most essential that this ancient and prosperous Border town should have a railway station fitting the importance of the locality served. It will be agreed that the necessity of having a modern station at Berwick has been apparent for many years past. The low, dark platforms of inadequate length for modern through East Coast trains, the ill-lit waiting rooms and other conveniences, the acute curves whereby passenger trains entering the station from either direction are compelled to travel at a greatly reduced speed, and the “back street” entrance to the present structure do not give the town the status it deserves. The proposed alterations, is gratifying to note, will dispense with many of these very serios disabilities. Platforms are to be lengthened, extra waiting rooms introduced, and the acute curves minimised to such an extent that non-stopping trains will be able to pass Berwick at a much greater speed. No notice, however, appears to have been taken of the present station entrance, and no proposals have apparently been made whereby the new station will have the imposing main street entrance so essential to a railway station of first-class importance. Those of us who have visited Alnwick cannot fail to have noted the splendid railway station at that town. No necessity to enquire the way to the station at Alnwick, and no unsightly hoardings reminding us that “Boxo” puts a man on his feet, and that “Crushem” salts makes grandad an athlete of no mean ability. It is, of course, agreed that the proposals of the Railway Company are admirable so far as utility in railway working is concerned. Local trains will, it is understood, be started from a suitable platform for that class of train, thereby obviating the present method whereby passengers for different trains are frequently seen threading their way along narrow platforms among innumerable fish and luggage barrows.

Berwick Railway Station early 1900s. © Berwick Record Office – BRO 1636-10-013

Utility, however, from the viewpoint of the Railway Company is quite a different matter to the utility of the residents of the town served by the railway station. Representation should be made urging the necessity of having an entrance to the new station direct from the top of Castlegate. The plan obtaining at the present moment appears to be, a front street entrance to cattle docks, and a back passage entrance for the passengers. This order of things should, of course, be reversed in the new station. Another sore point to the artistic eye at Berwick Station is the disorderly array of shacks and huts of all descriptions which, in many cases, obstruct what would be one of the most beautiful views in this country. Some months ago, the writer was in conversation with a gentleman who had arrived at Berwick Station from the South at 4am on a beautiful summer morning. Glancing westwards from the train in crossing the Royal Border Bridge the sight that met his eye was the most gorgeous it was possible to imagine, and it was made clear from the traveller’s remarks and in all his travels which, by the way, extended to many countries, he had never experienced the thrill which he experienced on glancing up the silvery Tweed that morning. Now, Mr Editor, except from passing trains, how many of us have been privileged to view this most wonderful landscape. The placid silvery Tweed at high-tide, the surrounding country one mass of colour, away in the West can be seen the Eildon Hills and Hume Castle, while to the South, Cheviot and Hedgehope Mountains stand grim and forbidding. All this grandeur is. However, unfortunately obscured to the visitors at Berwick Station by an array of shacks built near the end of the Royal Border Bridge. In the building of the new station, it would be gratifying to know that these unsightly little buildings were to be removed with a view of leaving an unobstructed view of the river Tweed and surrounding country from the end of the platforms.

Royal Border Bridge early 1990s. Ref: BRO 515 377

Another anomaly in the present arrangements is the system whereby the exit from the goods warehouse and coal sidings also serves as the ordinary passenger exit from the station to the town, but this would, of course, be obviated if the Castlegate entrance were adopted.

Another very urgent reform necessary in the building of the new station at Berwick is the necessity of affording sufficient room for the standage of cars and taxis at the station entrance. At present the cars are obliged to line up any old how as near to the station portico as circumstances will permit, with the result that the turning of a car or taxi while foot passengers are passing to and from the station is a hair-raising thrill for the spectators who view the feat from a safe point of vantage. This, Mr Editor, is an antiquated and obsolete arrangement, suitable no doubt for ancient horse-drawn vehicles, but quite up safe for the present means of road transport using the railway station premises. In the new station we should therefore insist that the entrance from the town be made sufficiently wide to accommodate the large number of vehicles which meet all the East Coast express trains. Another item of importance, although not directly connected with the actual structure of the station, is the complete absence of a Sunday passenger train from Berwick to stations North. Can you name another town of equal importance so served, Mr Editor? Surely if towns like Kelso, Alnwick, and Hexham are worthy of a Sunday service, then, in an even greater degree, must out town need a service.

Another matter the visitor to our railway station must surely notice is the absence of train destination indicator boards on the platforms. The system adopted at Berwick, of lusty-lunged individuals bawling the destination or next stop of the train is, to say the least, reminiscent of the small wayside stations, and misleading when more than one train occupies the platforms.

I hold that the inhabitants of Berwick, who are justly proud of their town, should have a say in the very important work that is about to be undertaken at Berwick Station. Let us make it clear that any make-shift will not meet with our approval, and that our ancient town, which is one of the most famous on the great East Coast route, is well worthy of a railway station harmonising with the natural grandeur of the famous Borders.

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