Mexborough and Swinton Times, April 29th, 1932
Wath’s Oldest
Memories Of A Nonogenarian
Mrs. M. A. Wright
“Montgomery” writes: Congratulations to Mrs. Mary Ann Wright, High Street, Wath, on the attainment of her 90th birthday on Monday last. On Sunday I called to see the old lady and offer her my felicitations. Although upstairs in bed, I found her very chatty.
Mrs. Wright was born on April 15th, 1842, at Worle, five miles from King’s Lynn. At the age of four she went to Doncaster with her parents and at the age of nine assisted her father in a greengrocery business in the market place. A few years later she came to Wath as maid to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Adams, at the Wath Corn Mill, and here she met her first husband Mr. John Say, who was corn miller’s manager. She married him when she was 18, at Doncaster Parish Church. Her husband she said, used to work from 5 in the morning to 8 and 9 at night when the mill was working. He loved his work, “And,” she added, “our John (John Say) is exactly like his father.” He began working at Stanley Oil Works when he was only 11, and will have been there 60 years in June.
Mrs. Wright recalled that neither Manvers Main nor Wath Main pits were sunk when she first came to Wath, the only works being those founded by the late Mr. Charles Stanley. She had seen them burned down twice. “There was a big chimney on the premises,” she added. “I never liked this, and I kept telling my husband it was out of plumb, but he wouldn’t have it, and said it was my fancy. One day we heard a crash and sure enough the chimney had collapsed, and when we arrived on the scene, we found it had cut the “Press” shop in two. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Mrs. Wright told me that her second son, William Say, was clerk and traveller at Huddersfield to Messrs. Stanley until his death. The youngest son, Robert, was licensee of the Cross Keys Hotel, Wath for 22 years. One daughter, Mrs. John Burton, died in Canada and Mrs. Doyle, another daughter, died in London. After being a widow six years, Mrs. Say married Mr. Arthur Wright at Wath Parish Church in 1885. There were no children of this marriage. Mrs. Arundel, the other daughter, now manages the greengrocery business of which Mrs. Wright has carried on for the past 37 years. Mrs. Wright has seven grandchildren and three great-grand-children.
When Mrs. Wright came to Wath, Fitzwilliam Street had not been thought of. Winterwell had not a single house on it, neither had Sandymount, and there was not a house between the old Cross Keys and Adams’s Mill. “I attended the Wesleyan Chapel when I was at the Mill, “added Mrs. Wright, “and didn’t I leg it when passing the old drift field. It always gave us a fright. One never knew who might be popping out of the old shed, and the streets were not very well lighted either. Now it is so different. The old mill pond where the children used to fish – and fell in many a time – has been filled up and a portion of the old mill is now used as houses; but there are still the two old cottages near where we lived when we were first married.”
You’ve led a very active life” I remarked, having known Mrs. Wright for the past 60 years. “Yes,” was the reply. “I always tried to do a bit of good if I could. During the war I knitted 68 pairs of socks for the soldiers, besides mittens, even at my time of life.”
Although not born in Wath, Mrs. Wright is the oldest resident and within a few yards of Mrs. Wright’s I believe we have the oldest native, namely, Miss Firth, of Fitzwilliam Street.