I have been searching for Judith Kay late 1700's to 1848 also son Henry. I am also interested in learning anything about
Handsworth in the very early days. Is there an older section of Handsworth and am I to understand that it is part of Sheffield
or is it a town or city on its own? Any information would be
interesting to hear.

Handsworth was originally a village totally separate from Sheffield - apparently it's mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. Hundreds of years ago it had a lot of woodland around it, also farmland - this was the land that much more recently was built up with housing estates - Richmond, Ballifield, etc. It must have changed quite a lot when coal mining started at Orgreave - not sure when that would have been - early 1800s? There were quite a lot of well-off families and big houses in the area - Handsworth Hall, Richmond Hall, Bramley Hall, Ballifield Hall - also big houses belonging to some of the wealthy industrialists with factories in Darnall/Attercliffe - Craven family had a big factory in Darnall and a house up the hill in Handsworth. This house was later taken over by Sutherlands (potted meat makers) - it's just below where the Triangle estate now is. I think the oldest part of the village was up at the top of the hill, around St Mary's church - from there, it's downhill to Darnall and Sheffield one way and to Woodhouse the other - but I think it was a long thin village and the houses straggled down the main road towards Darnall. The road up to Handsworth from Darnall is called Main Road but generally known locally as Handsworth Hill. It used to be much narrower than the road is now - it would probably have been late 1950s/early 60s that the width of the road was doubled when it was made into a dual carriageway. Early 1960s the Parkway was a new road built to link the city centre to the M1. It came through a plot of land that we always called 'the nurseries' - used to belong to Fisher, Son & Sibrays who were a gardening company. Moore & Wright's factory was also built on some of that land and that has now been replaced by Asda. A lot of older people in Handsworth still talk about 'the village'. Apparently it officially became part of Sheffield in 1921. There is a Handsworth book in the 'Images of England' series with loads of old photos - published in 1999 but I think it is still available.

Thank you for your reply, it has given me a mental picture to
have. St.Mary's Church is where my relatives are buried.
Thanks you very much.Sincerely Elizabeth

Regarding Handsworth Church.

Please check your PM box.

Is this a possible,
Henry Kay born 26 jan 1819
christ.22 feb 1819
father Robert Kay mother Judith
Brunswick and Park Chapels Norfolk Street Sheffield

retep when you see this message please PM me your e-mail adress so we can discuss this more.I do not have the PM ability yet until I post 5 messages.


Thank you so much for your reply.

Originally posted by elizzi51
I have been searching for Judith Kay late 1700's to 1848 also son Henry.

i used to sing in the quoir at st mary's and i was in the scouts:blush:

Originally posted by kirky
i used to sing in the quoir at st mary's and i was in the scouts:blush:

Are there any pictures to prove that ? I want to keep the dogs of my garden :P

Originally posted by owdlad
Are there any pictures to prove that ? I want to keep the dogs of my garden :P
i'm so glad we couldn't afford a camera in them days:D :D :D but just to tell you why i was in the quoir....i used to get 2p a day for some spice everyday.......on a sunday i'd get 20p for singing in the church and 50p if there were a wedding on....that was serious dosh i can tell ya...i was only 10

Originally posted by kirky
i'm so glad we couldn't afford a camera in them days:D :D :D but just to tell you why i was in the quoir....i used to get 2p a day for some spice everyday.......on a sunday i'd get 20p for singing in the church and 50p if there were a wedding on....that was serious dosh i can tell ya...i was only 10

Don't tell me ya didn't do a bit of kiddy fiddling as well, just for a drink of the communion wine :P

My surname is Kay,my father was Douglas Victor Ely Kay and he worked as a scythe grinder at the Abbeydale works until it closed.

I was a Kay until marriage, but maybe the Kay's you are looking for came from Woodhouse. There was quite a well known family of that name in Woodhouse and I believe of many generations. Probably worth checking out.

Hi I have seen an old post of yours. I attend St marys church in Handsworth if you wanted some info. Thanks Kerry