Clara Rowbotham/concert pianist in 1900/1920

Hi

Am new to this site, could anyone put me on the right track to find out information about Clara Rowbotham who lived in Washington Street, Birmingham in 1920s and apparently she was a pianist with, I presume, one of the music halls. They played before King George V at Buckingham Palace. Where and how would I find out where Clara played at and for and when they went to the palace?

Thanks

molly

Hi molly

I'm afraid I'm not in to genealogy, but we have a couple of members on here that may be able to help you. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum and say hello.

Phil

Molly
I have had a look, and not much luck. The online electoral rolls for 1920, 1922,1925,1927,1930,1935,and 1939 show no Clara Rowbotham listed. In those years there was only one case of a female rowbotham with initial C, a charlotte at 42 High St Aston in 1920, and I don't see Charlotte being altered to Clara.(Note no 42 High st is the Malt shovel pub). In those years there are also no Rowbothams listed in Washington St. The 1901 census gives only one Clara Rowbotham (29) living in Birmingham , at 48 Brighton road, with her parents ( father a carpenter & joiner) . She is listed as having her own dressmaking business at home, which doesn't sound very musical, but you never know. There is also one in wolverhampton, her husband a railway shunter and her at home. Around the country there are listed another 12, butof these all are are not close to Birmingham, none seem to be someone one might expect to play for the queen, and at least 3 would have been over 60 in 1920.
I don't yet have access to the1911 census.
The University of Kent theatre collections ( http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/specialcol...atre/index.html) don't throw up anything usable on searching for Rowbotham.
The arthur Lloyd site (http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/BritainsProvincialTheatres.htm ) doesn't come up with anything either#
So I've run out of ideas at the moment.
Mike

tx everyone

yes, i have found clara in 1911 living in balsall heath with her son, who she lists as a lodger, and again says she is a dress maker. i have obtained her death cert. and she was living in 1927 at 6 washington street, birmingham, her son registered the death. again her occupatipion was down as 'dressmaker'. her grand daughter and one of the older cousins (grand daughter is 74) they are still adamant that clara played as a 'concert pianist' and they (I say they because i suppose she played with others) before the king george v at buckingham palace.

i hve posted on arthurlloyd site.

do you know if washington street is still in existence today, i know it was up by granville street in holloway head.

thanks and lovely site, have only just found it.

molly,

Washington St is still in existence but in a much changed manner. Where at one time it was mostly residential, then the houses were replaced by commercial premises. It now seems to be reverting back to residential properties.

I have this one photo of a pub in Washington St on the corner of Commercial St. Oddly enough the owner of the brewery that owned the pub John Holder was also a music hall proprietor. It might be a connection worth investigation. The are quite a few threads on the forum concerning Mr John Holder.

Phil

Washington st is still there, and can be see at
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Washingt...8028&t=h&z=16.I would estimate that standing outside what was no 6 today you would be looking as at http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Washingt...p=12,77.15,,0,0
The electoral roll shows no one living at 6 Washington st in 1925 or 1927, though there is a family there in 1920 (Alice 7 George Batchler. The layout of the buildings (in outline , does not seem to have changed much in the period 1890-1927. On the map below is shown in red what must be no 6 Washington St.

This thread has partly cleared up one little mystery for me. I have worked many times in the building on the corner of Washington Street and Bath Row and have always wondered, yet never investigated, what the old building in the park was.
Now I see it is what is left of a church and the "park" is in fact an old graveyard. The google walk shows that it has been cleaned up enormously from when I was last there. It was a hangout for drunken tramps for years.
Does anyone know what happened to the church that it should become so small? Bombed perhaps, along with the house in question?


Phil,
I thnk you forgot to upload the photo of the pub.

VM

Volty

Yes I did forget to post the photo of the pub, so I've done it now. Also some photos of St Thomas's throughout the years, yes it was bombed during the war and it was never rebuilt just converted to a peace garden. When the built the New Rep theatre on Broad street they move the colonnade that had stood there for years and resited it in the peace garden.

Phil

The mystery is solved completely, thank you Phil.
The shot of the bombed church leaves no room for doubt

I always wondered about the thing with the columns.
There are some good views of the surrounding buildings in those pictures, the only one I would have ever seen and remembered is the Davenports brewery.
I used to go and look in through the windows there and watch the bottling plant in action.

Volty

Take a look in the Birmingham Pubs thread I'll put a couple of photos of Davenports up.

Phil

Having searched the web a little for references re the subject of this thread, most of the stuff I come up with is in regard to the request for help.

The contents of this thread on another forum may be a great help to anyone looking into this.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php...&topic=545948.0

I trust this reference to another forum isn't out of order.

Volty

I see no harm in mentioning other forums, in fact most of our numbers here are members of other forum. Another forum that I am a member of has a policy of allowing no links to other forums a policy that even though I don't agree with I have to enforce because I am a moderator.

Though even I will admit it is sometimes useful when we have people blatantly trying to poach members. Thankfully we have had no such problems here, yet!!!

Phil

thanks to everyone for this, yes i am on rootschat aswell.

was it not the case that some women did not get the vote until 1931 or thereabouts, if so clara would not be on the electora registers. i have her death cert in front of me and it states that she was at 6 washington street and died 3 november 1927 and that her son reg morgan registered the death in 4th november 1927 at the same address. wil look into the pub proprietor being involved int he music business.

i was not, in fact, born in birmingham, but chester, but still love the old birmingham having attended matthew boulton technical college (the new one down belgrave road) athough i do remember the old one in stephenson street (I think).

are there are on line archives for birmingham newspapers during the 1900/1920 as i am sure if clara or anyone else was being asked to play before the king at the palace they would have written about it.

i know not this thread but i have signed the petition to stop the re naming of the gun quarter (how silly)

I am digressing a lot must be my age and the fact that i have just cut the grass. if clara died in washington street would it be likely that her funeral was at st thomas and would she have been buried there. where there cremations in those days.

molly

The 1918 Qualification of Women Act enfranchised only women who were over the age of 30 ( providing they were householders), married to a householder or if they held a university degree. this was altered to giv equal representation in 1928

hi

i suppose clara might not have been able to vote then if she died nov 1927 and her son would have only been 19. they may not even have registered to vote.

this is a strange mystery. do we have a census coming out for 1921 or did they miss that year

molly