Mineral Water Manufacturers, Pearl St, Denton
The 1901 census records that William Procter Stafford was resident on Pearl St and his occupation was given as a mineral water manufacturer.
He was born in the village Ashley, Northamptonshire, in 1871 and he married his first wife, Clara Marsland Royds of Haughton, in 1898.
The couple had one son, William Royds Stafford, who was born at Denton in 1900. His first wife died prematurely in 1907, aged 32 years, and in 1908 he married Florence Sutton.
William Procter Stafford died at Audenshaw in 1954, aged 83 years, and son, William Royds Stafford, married Janet Eaton at Hope Congregational Chapel on Stockport Rd in 1926.
The works was situated off the east side of Ruby St, between Pearl St and Emerald St, Denton.
Early History
In 1881 William Procter Stafford was resident with his parents and siblings on Stockport Rd and his father, Wilson Stafford, was a baker. By 1891 the family had moved to Hyde Rd, on the corner of Saxon St,
where Wilson Stafford had a baker’s shop and William Procter Stafford was a mineral water bottler, the mineral water being manufactured on the premises. By 1901 both Wilson Stafford and his son had moved to Pearl St.
William Procter was now married and a mineral water manufacturer and his father, Wilson, was an herb beer brewer employed by his son.
The shop on Hyde Rd, where the business started, is no longer extant and the site is occupied by the car park of Morrison’s Superstore.
The stoneware bottle and flagon were made by Pearson & Co (Chesterfield) Ltd. This company can be traced back to 1810 when the Oldfield Pottery at Brampton, Chesterfield, was in operation. Thomas Oldfield, Catherine Johnson née Pearson and two others were in partnership there, although there is evidence of a pottery on or close to the site in 1784. In 1826 the firm became known as Oldfield & Co but in 1884 it was taken over by James Pearson. In 1905 he died and the firm was then run by Dr Goodfellow on behalf of James Pearson's widow and family. The name was changed to James Pearson Ltd in 1907 and in 1922 it was absorbed into the Pearson business at Whittington to become Pearson & Co (Chesterfield) Ltd, whose address was: The Potteries, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. This company also owned the Newbold Coal Mine. Although this firm closed in 1939, there were other potteries in the vicinity, the last one of which closed in 1994.
The stoneware maker's name was impressed on the reverse of bottles and flagons.
The Codd bottle was introduced by Hiram Codd, a soft drink manufacturer, in 1872. It was made to contain carbonated drinks and its design enabled it to enclose a marble and a rubber washer in the neck. These bottles were filled upside down and the pressure of the gas in the bottle forced the marble against the washer, thus sealing the bottle. Bottles were opened using a special wooden Codd bottle opener. This was placed over the top of the bottle and pushed down so that the internal dowel forced the marble into the neck of the bottle, thus releasing the pressure.
Ebonite, Lignum Vitae and War Grade Screw Stoppers
Ebonite is the brand name for vulcanised rubber discovered and patented by Charles Goodyear. Vulcanisation involves heating natural rubber with sulphur to 140-150˚C. The red sealing washer around the stopper is made of India rubber (Indiarubber), which is a form of natural rubber.
Riley’s Patent Screw Stopper was invented by Frederic George Riley (1855-1 Nov 1941) of Lambeth, London, and it was patented on the 7 Jul 1885.
Bank Bridge Works Ltd of Bank St, Clayton, Manchester, was a manufacturer of ebonite screw stoppers of both types. A further manufacturer of these was Barrett & Elers Ltd of Goswell Rd, London, and the proprietors were Henry Barrett and Charles George Elers. Henry Barrett was the inventor of screw stoppers in 1872 and he patented his invention. Stoppers of this type were in use until the 1970s.
As well as ebonite screw stoppers, they were also made of lignum vitae wood and A Harrison Ltd of Bootle, Liverpool, was a manufacturer of this type of stopper.
During the Second World War rubber was in short supply and most of it was required for the war effort and the manufacture of gas masks. Consequently, War Grade screw stoppers were introduced made from inferior quality rubber. These were designed with a spherical hollow in them to save rubber.