The Cowlishaw Family
"The name of the 'Cowlishaws of Manor' is quite a household word amongst the Sheffield Methodists" - Reverend Luke Tyerman, 1896
Reverend Luke Tyerman recorded in the late 19th Century, the Cowlishaw family have a long recognised history in the Manor area. The family – some of whom still live nearby Manor Castle today – have ancestry stretching back to the mid 18th Century, when "Praying William" Cowlishaw, born in Hathersage in 1784 and recorded living in Manor Castle Yard by the 1841 census - found the village's Wesleyan Chapel. His memoirs, alongside family trees, photographs and recounted memories have helped us build a picture of the living and working environment of the Cowlishaws and their neighbours throughout different eras.
As one family member today has commented, her Cowlishaw descendents "were a prolific bunch" (Sue Somers). Integral to the development of the Manor Castle community, a quick scan through the Cowlishaw's photographic archive sees sombre Victorian portraiture, May Day festivities through the ages, war-time weddings and Colliery workers. It is interesting to track the progress of individuals from babies to working individuals and through to old age, especially when you note how the scenery in the background both changes and stays the same!
Scroll down for themed explorations of the Cowlishaw collections...
"Praying William" Cowlishaw
'A memoir of the late Mr. William Cowlishaw (of Sheffield Manory) by the late Rev. Luke Tyerman', was a short biography of the life and religious activities of William, who moved to the Manor area when young and was instrumental in establishing the building and running of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel - a very prominant community centre in many photographs and recollections.
Browse through the memoirs for an understanding of William's "spiritual enlightenment and Christian enthusiasm". Rev. Tyerman's lively writing vividly portrays how William's pious dedication to praying saved the community from the"wicknessness" of fighting and gambling. The memoirs are also an interesting source of socio-cultural preservation: it describes the "mean", yet clean and pious cottages in the 1800s and descriptions of life and leisure activities within the "mouldering ruins" of Manor House.
Click here to read "Praying William"'s Memoirs
Childhood and Leisure
The assortment of images we have collected so far could better be labelled "Children's clothing throughout the ages". For more knowledge on how individual Cowlishaw's fit into the censuses - and so their geneological position, where and when they lived in Manor - click here
George William and Thomas Cowlishaw, pictured around 1880; eldest sons of William and Jane Cowlishaw (and the uncles of John "Jack" Cowlishaw, whose 
family have donated a lot of images to the archives)
Ethel and Mary Cowlishaw, pictured around 1904-5, and above their elder sister Ann - the three eldest daughters of Walter James (b. 1861)and Isabella Cowlishaw: when she grew up Ethel became a dressmaker and a sweetshop owner in the Manor area- scroll further down for more images of Ethel
Skipping ahead into the twentieth century, this fantasic photograph shows two Cowlishaw children playing in the harvest - Jack and Ethel Cowlishaw - at Nunnery Farm.
To the right, the babies in the prams are Patricia and Sue Somers
(nee Cowlishaw); behind them Jack Cowlishaw and Jack and Joan Avery (nee Cowlishaw). The photo was taken at the 'Whit Sing', held at Norfolk Park every Whitsuntide
Trips to the seaside became more of a possibility for working communities as Labour Acts enforced regular working and holiday hours. Here are just a few representatives of the many images of Cowlishaws and their neighbours on the beach at Scarborough and gathered outside their transport - as you can see, the Manor community tended to go on daytrips in huge residential or church outings
Living and Working in Manor Village
The descendants of John "Jack" Cowlishaw, born to James Cowlishaw in 1924, have donated a number of photographs and memories of Jack's life and ancestrywhich provide an insight into the layout of the Manor cottages and the colliery and farm surroundings. These glimpses are valuable as few photographs have been unearthed of how the Manor families earned a living day-to-day. Compare these images with those in the Manor Cottagesand Manor Oaks picture archives to see how the buildings developed through the 19th Century and up until their demolition in the 1960s.
To the far left is Walter James Cowlishaw, pictured with his great nephew and niece Jack and Joan Cowlishaw in the garden at Nunnery Farm. William, Jack's grandfather father, was born in 1874 and established a contract haulage and milk business; this was taken over by his son James, and Jack worked as a coal merchant for the firm.
The photo in the middle is Jack at around the same age inside the kitchen at Nunnery Farm, and to the right, Jack on a horse outside thecolliery - Sue Somers, Jack's niece, remembers being told how his mother Mary was furious Jack was allowed up on such a high horse!
Tracing the family tree back slightly (look at the censuses from the Manor Castle Village links to understand precisely how everyone is related), we have a number of interesting images relating to Ethel Cowlishaw (Walter James and Isabella's daughter). Born 1896, she and her sister Ann never married and lived together at 201 Manor Lane (see the picture to the left). Ethel instead was quitepioneering in her status as an independent working woman at the turn of the century: she worked firstly in the Manor sweet shop (to the right) as a young woman...
...and as you can see from the below business card, became a successful dressmaker.
Skipping forward to the mid 20th Century, the importance of the Manor Chapel in wartime Sheffield is obvious in the number of wedding photographs we have archived. The chapel, which was originally founded by "Praying William" in the ruins of Manor Lodge, was in 1914 rebuilt across the road (the 'William Temple' association continues on the same site today). Amongst these images is the marriage of Jack Avery and Joan Cowlishaw (sister to the aforementioned Jack Cowlishaw) in 1946 - the photo to the left shows
the married couple, and behind them their parents. If you look closely, you can see the name 'Cowlishaw' on the foundation stone. Jack wears his demob suit, and Joan's dress personifies the postwar unifed spirit: it was sewen by Ethel, of dressmaker fame, from coupons donated to the bride by family members.
The second image is of Joan in her ATS uniform during the war, taken around 1941. The Auxiliary Territorial Service, which by 1942 had attracted 217,000 women wanting escape from the drudgery of housework: but woman like Joan were actually recruited to undertake distinctly unglamourous jobs like driving, cleaners and mess hall cooks.
The final images in the Cowlishaw archives are of a more miscellaneous nature, but deserved to be included! As integral members of the Manor Village neighbourhood, there are many photographs of the Cowlishaws, young and old, playing and socialising with other families. In particular, three images personify this community spirit and the new group leisure pursuits enjoyed from the 1920s onwards. The first 
image below features a number of Cowlishaws: pulling the 'Nunnery Farm' handcart is Harry, Jack Cowlishaw's cousin, and amongst the many faces in the cart are Jack's mother Mary (fourth from left) and Ethel - a different Ethel to the dressmaker, born to William and Jane Cowlishaw in 1886) - second from right.
These two images, as yet unlabelled, are of two community activities: firstly a Manor outing by bus in the 1950s, presumably to the seaside, and secondly, representing the community theatre productions connected to the local school and church are four very dashing pantomine characters, dated around 1975. If you know more about either of these anonymous images, or would like to find out more abouth the Cowlishaw archives, please contact us at the Discovery Centre.
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