Regent Street

[leachimm]

Hello, I wonder if anyone can clear up a mystery for my wife. Her mother was born in Ferndale in 1918 and the address given for her birth was "under 61 Regent St." On a recent visit to Ferndale we had no trouble finding Regent Street but could not find a number 61 let alone an under 61 and as far as we could see the church in Regent Street would be about the location but had been built by the time of my mother-in-law's birth.

Can anyone throw any light on the likely location of "under 61 Regent St"?

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance.

Best regards

Leachimm

[mochyn]

It looks like 61 and 62 Regent Street are gone, but would have stood on the patch of ground between Ayron Street and 63 Regent Street. So that's the other side of Ayron Street from the chapel you mentioned.

The description "Under ..." is not uncommon from the days when one house would have been occupied by more than one family, the "under" referring to the partial basement of the property. Above ground at the lower side of the slope and below ground to the other side, often street level. Someone else with better knowledge of Ferndale might be able to give you a view as to why some of these properties came to be demolished when the rest of the street reamained?

Incidentally, my mother was Phyllis Thomas and she was born at 2 Union Street. Union Street is a continuation of Regent Street (or vice versa depending on your viewpoint). Who was your wife's mother?

Regards

Alan

[mochyn]

Sorry, meant to say that my mother was born in 1919, so close to the time of your wife's mother.

[leachimm]

Thanks for the quick reply. It confirms one of the theories we had and will stop a lot of head scratching! My wife's mother was Gwendoline Vaughan

leachimm