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Cup and saucer
Cup and saucer which was presented to Mr & Mrs Rider, Shifnal, Salop, 1905
Shifnal People: Mr. & Mrs Rider at the Plough
A recent donation to the Shifnal Local History Exhibition comprises a pair of cups and saucers which were presented to Mr & Mrs Rider, Shifnal, Salop, 1905. The Kelly’s Directory for Shropshire, 1905, lists Mr. Alfred Rider as the landlord of the Plough, Broadway. Mr Rider obviously wore a moustache, hence the moustache guard on the inside of his cup.
Alfred James Rider was born in Wrockwardine Wood in 1871. His parents were John and Emma, and he had at least three brothers, William, Fred and Harry and a sister Florence. The family lived in School Street, St. Georges. John Rider was a foreman in a brickyard. William followed his father into the brickyard to work, but Alfred became a clerk.
On 25 February 1896, Alfred married Martha Farrington at St. Andrew’s Church, Shifnal. Her father also worked at a brickyard and Martha herself was a dressmaker. They had three children – Winifred (1899), Hilda (1901) and Eric (1912).
By the time of the 1901 census, Alfred was the licenced victualler at the Plough, Broadway, Shifnal. The previous landlord had sold on the business in October 1900. Martha is listed in the 1901 census with Alfred and baby Hilda, but Winifred was living with her grandparents in St. George’s, possibly because of the very recent birth of her sister. According to the County Return of Licensed Premises, 1901, the Plough had three rooms downstairs, four upstairs and stabling for three horses.
Mr. & Mrs. Rider did not stay long at the Plough. Sometime during 1905, they left and possibly the cups were a leaving present from their customers. According to the 1911 census, Martha Rider and her two daughters were living at 28 Broadway, next to the Plough, in Shifnal with her parents, while Alfred was lodging with a family in Whitchurch. His worked as a carter for an aerated water company, perhaps the Stretton Water Company, which was expanding at that time due to the influence of Queen Victoria. She had been so impressed by the quality of the water that she decreed that all colonial governors should receive and enjoy a regular supply.
Despite the separation, the family grew with the birth of a son, Eric Alfred, in Shifnal, in 1912. The last record that I could find of the family was in the 1939 census at which time they were living in Edward Street, Dudley. Alfred was listed as a retired carter salesman, Martha as being occupied with domestic duties, Hilda as a glass manufacturing operative and Eric as a water diviner.
The cups and saucers are on display at the Local History Exhibition in the Old Fire Station, Shrewsbury Road. The Exhibition is open every Friday, 2 – 4pm and Saturday 10am – 12 noon.
