Hi everyone - first time posting :)

I don't know if any of you can help me but I am researching my family tree and would like to know a little bit about the area where they came from.

My grandfather, Wilfred Kitson was born on Bernard Street in Sheffield in 1925 and his father, Frank, was born in Wadsley Bridge although moved around a couple times and by 1911 he was living at 23 Clun Street, 20 doors up from his parents Tom and Annie Kitson.

Finding pictures online from 1930 of Bernard Street, I was a bit taken aback as it was described as slums and ready for demolition at that time. My great-grandfather, Frank, was a "steel moulder" and I got the impression that, while they weren't rich, those working in steel would have had at least a stable lifestyle. What kind of job was a steel moulder, what would he have been paid and what would his lifestyle have been like if he was living in the "slums" of Bernard street? What was Bernard street like?

Just any information you can give me about Bernard street, the Kitsons mentioned (or possible links you might have to others), steel moulders, etc... would be GREATLY appreciated. This forum seems really active with a nice bunch of people, so I hope at least one person knows something! :)

Not sure it is the same one, but I used to live next door to a Wilf Kitson, who would have been born about that time. He worked in hospital adminsitration at Lodge Moor hospital and was an avid coin collector.

What time was it that he worked in hospital administration? Because he emigrated to Canada sometime in the 1950s (I think) either with his wife Margaret or he might have met her in Canada soon after he moved there. I've not heard anything about coins, but I know (at least later in his life) he took a big interest in birds.

Have done a very quick search and have come up with 3 Wilfred Kitsons born in Sheffield 1922, 1924, and 1926 - that may cause some confusion for you.
Have you any idea what his mothers maiden name was ?

Yes, I also had the same problem in my initial searches! Fortunately I know he was born December 2nd 1925 and was registered in Jan 1926, so he's the last one you found there. Thank you for doing a search for me, that's so kind of you :)

No problem ! I wish I could be more helpful.
Have you tried contacting the Sheffield Archives or the Local History Library within Sheffield City Library? I notice that you're not near to Sheffield so you should google the places and try e-mailing them for information about life in Sheffield in the 1930's.
I have always found them very helpful. They would be able to do a search for you, for a charge, for any specific items or articles you may be interested in.

I've heard of them in my searches but I always assumed I would have to go there in person, that they wouldn't be able to help via email. I wouldn't mind paying a charge for them to look up some information for me, though, depending on how much it would be.

Either that or I am planning on coming home for the October half-term (I am from England, just studying in Denmark at the moment so it makes much of this difficult for me!) so I might make a trip up to Sheffield and go on a hunt in person. It would be nice to visit the Archives and the Local History Library in person and take my time :)

They are fascinating places but you do need to give yourself LOADS of time !
Check out the opening times and the registering protocol.
Why not give them a ring to find out what info they have available ? You can order documents and books from the vaults to be available on the day you visit which cuts down on the waiting around.
If you are wanting to look at microfilms/ fiches of cemetery/ burial records or Parish Registers in the Archives you are best booking the machines in advance as some days are very busy - Tuesday seem to be busiest day for some strange reason !
Good luck with your search !

Excellent advice, thank you. I will be sure to pre-book anything that I might use! I look forward to seeing Sheffield again, as I have not been there since I was about 11 years old - it made a lasting impression on me clearly, as I remember so much from my short visit there!

Hi everyone - first time posting :) .... My great-grandfather, Frank, was a "steel moulder" and I got the impression that, while they weren't rich, those working in steel would have had at least a stable lifestyle. What kind of job was a steel moulder, what would he have been paid... What was Bernard street like?

Welcome to the Forum!.:) ..A steel moulder would have made castings by pouring molten steel into moulds. A physically demanding job, the pay would have been commensurate with this and probably quite good in artisan terms. Bernard Street was by no means the most salubrious part of Sheffield but its inhabitants would have formed the usual close-knit community of those days. In case it's of interest, here is a scan from the 1925 directory showing inhabitants of Bernard Street (http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/BernardStreet.jpg):

Thank you! :)

And thanks for the insight into what it really meant to be a steel moulder. I can imagine how hard it would be on the body, very tiring work.

Is Bernard street and the houses of that time (1925) still there today or have they been demolished for newer buildings? My grandfather's address was "21 Court House 1 Bernard Street", which I found confusing when looking through that directory link you gave me as I couldn't find that exact address combination. Even still, I couldn't find their last name "Kitson" so could I assume that they might've been renting from someone in that directory listing?

For some reason, the occupants of "court houses" (I was born in one!) are not usually included in directories. All the houses in Bernard Street were demolished long ago; the street is still there but of course it looks completely different:

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=bernard+street+sheffield&countryCode=GB#map=53.38227,-1.4554|19|256&be=7716228|West&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:53.38197:-1.45544:17|bernard street sheffield|Bernard Street (B6071), Norton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, S2 5

Here are a couple of old photos: http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/zoom.pl?picture=http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/s04264.jpg ....
http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=s04265

Whoa, it looks so different today! I went crazy on Picture Sheffield earlier today and really got an image of what Bernard St. was like back then... was the train line you see in the modern satellite photo there in the 30s or is that newer?

What is a court house? I've never heard of one before I saw the address on my grandfather's birth certificate. Is it like an apartment block of flats?

The railway line has been there since the 1800s but this is crossed by the (curved) "Supertram" lines which date from the 1990s.

A "court house" was usually a smaller type of terraced house, like the ones in the old photos. It could have been a "back to back" house that was just one room deep. In size it would perhaps have been midway between a tenement flat and a two-up, two-down terraced house. The "court house" I was born in was basically "one down, one up and one further up" plus a cellar!

My maiden name is Kitson. I have pm'd you.

I dont know if we are part of the same family. Although luckily its not as popular name as say 'smith'.

What was your grandmothers name who was married to your grandad Wilfred?

If your grandad Wilfred had children what were they called?

hope I can help.

Do you know what your grandads brothers were called if he had any?

The Wilf Kitson I knew did not emigrate - he worked in Sheffield all his life.

BladeDD - His married a Margaret Kinnaird and he had one brother called Eric and a sister called Kate. He had only one child, a boy, called Frank. I haven't received any PMs :S

Yerman - Ah yeah then it's definitely not him. I was hopeful, but I'd never heard anything about hospital work from my family.

Not my family of Kitsons then.

Sent pm to wrong person lol but doesnt matter now cos seems its not the same family :) Good luck with your search.

... What was Bernard street like?
I just noticed this postcard for sale on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sheffield-postcard-Long-Steps-Bernard-Street-1904_W0QQitemZ370245402387QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Co llectables_Postcards_MJ?hash=item5634587f13&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14) - it reproduces a watercolour of a view in Bernard Street in 1904.:)

hi all..iv a relative called HERBERT BERRIMAN/ KITSON born approx 1900-1925 married to rose lived in attercliffe on lee st around 1962-1970 may have been adopted from the kitsons to the berrimans..any info please...

Hi HATHER-SAGE - using "freebmd" and www.findmypast.com (http://www.findmypast.com) I found a Herbert Berriman born in Sheffield 9 November 1915 (mother's maiden name Kitson), died in Sheffield March 1994. The marriage index shows that a Herbert Berriman married a Rose Lincoln in Sheffield in Jan-Mar 1939. A son, Alan, was born in the last quarter of 1939. Rose Berriman, née Lincoln, born born 7 February 1919, died in Sheffield in June 1988. The 2004 electoral roll lists an Alan & June Berriman at an address in S9. Hope this is helpful!.:)

There was a Kathleen whose maiden name was Kitson who lived at intake in the 50's.
Married name was Bostock husband - Ron with children Jenifer and Roger.

hazel

Hi all did herbert berriman have any brothers and sisters please

Herbert's parents were evidently William John Berriman and Mary Ellen Kitson, who were married in Sheffield in Jan-Mar 1907. Possible children are John Berriman, born Jul-Sep 1907, Rose Ann born Jan-Mar 1909 and William born Apr-Jun 1910. As the mother's maiden name is not given in early 1900s indexes, it isn't possible to confirm these from the index entries (so it would be necessary to obtain birth certificates). After Herbert's entry in 1915, no more Berriman births are recorded by 'freebmd' with the mother's maiden name Kitson.

John Berriman, born 1907 may well have been the John Berriman who died aged 2 in Sheffield in Apri-Jun 1910.