John Ernest

John Ernest Beardmore was born on December 3rd 1871. He married Martha Jane Dickinson (1875-1934) in St James’ Church, Buxton, Derbyshire on September 14th 1905.

Martha Jane, who was known as Pattie, whose family were high-class grocers in Buxton, had previously been engaged to Ernest’s brother Edward Henry. Ernest and Pattie lived in Congleton and then Rode Heath and had three children: Helen who died aged in her teens, (although Margaret, writing in the 1970s, thought Helen had died only about ten years earlier), Jean who married Colonel Rigby and lived in Mere, Cheshire, and John Barker who also lived in Congleton with his wife Helen.

The 1921 census shows the family at West Street, Congleton. Ernest, then 49, gave his occupation as ironmonger and iron merchant, with the business in Market Place, Burslem. Helen was 14, Jean 9 and John 8, and Ernest’s widowed sister May Marsden and her daughter Joan were staying with them.

John Ernest and his brother took over Pidduck and Beardmore which became a limited company in 1919. They finally ceased trading in October 2003 at which time John Ernest’s grandson, Richard John Beardmore, and his wife Anita were listed among the directors.

John Ernest died on January 28th 1937 in The War Memorial Hospital at Congleton just three months after his brother Frank. They appear on the same page of the 1937 Probate Calendar.

Pattie died at Congleton on April 7th 1934 and was buried at Odd Rode Church