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A recent view of the terrace
The terrace is located on Valley Road, Cinderford, between Cinderford Bridge and the junction with Victoria Street. It is just south of the area that was known as the Furnaces where houses were built for workers at the Cinderford Iron Works which was located slightly further north.
It might be assumed Tyler's Terrace was also built for the same reason but, even without any other information, there are reasons to believe it was not part of the Furnaces development. The terrace is located away from the other houses built for the workers. It is also built in a different style with dressed sandstone frontage and stone lintels and window cills compared to the more basic rendered finish of the houses at the Furnaces. Originally, there was a separate building behind the terrace, always referred to as 'the back kitchen', with communal facilities including fire-powered 'coppers' to heat water for washing clothes and ovens, heated from the same fires, for baking. In comparison to the back-to-back terraces built for the workers at the Furnaces, the houses in Tyler's Terrace were larger and were built to higher standards and the general impression is that economy was not of the highest importance in the design. So if the terrace was not built for workers at the iron works, that leaves us with the questions of why it was built, when and by whom.
It's not been possible to find an exact date of construction but a conveyance record of 1855 shows the land was acquired by a John Roberts along with five other pieces of land around Cinderford. He exchanged, with the Crown, three pieces of land he already owned at Lea Bailey for the five pieces of land in Cinderford. Land tax records of 1856 (see map below) show, by then, the land was owned by Henry Tyler so John Roberts presumably sold the land to Henry.
The completed building appears on a map surveyed in 1878 (see map below) so we know the construction happend prior to that date. The 1871 census has no sign of the terrace itself and the number of properties listed in the area is insufficient to account for the six houses in the terrace. That suggests the terrace, if it existed in 1871, was not occupied (though unoccupied houses are usually noted on census records and none appear in the 1871 census). The conclusion is that the terrace was constructed certainly after 1856 and probably after 1871 but before 1878 with the first occupation sometime after 1871.
Section of plan from 1855 Conveyance record
1856 map of land ownership showing land aquired but no building
1878 map showing building complete
Finding the likely original owner of the terrace, not surprisingly, started with the name 'Tyler'. With Henry Tyler already identified as a one time owner of the land, a search of the census records showed one family of that name resident in the terrace in 1891.
Mary Ann Tyler and her son Henry James are listed in the 1891 census as living in the Furnaces area. Census records rarely identify individual buildings other than named buildings such as hotels and public houses so comparison with other records was necessary to identify the individual house. Fortunately, the 1901 census and also the 1909 land value records identify Tyler's Terrace and by comparing residents names it's possible to confirm Mary Ann and Henry James were living in the terrace in 1891. It seemed likely that Henry Tyler was Mary Ann's husband and father of her son and research of the family proved this to be the case. It also seemed likely that Henry and Mary Ann were responsible for building the terrace and further research supports this though it was Mary Ann rather than Henry as he had died before the terrace was built.
Mary Ann Tyler (née Cowmeadow) 1815-1895
Mary Ann was born in 1815 to James Cowmeadow and his wife Elizabeth (née Williams). James was a blacksmith but also had interests in a number of mines and quarries at various times. He also had a succesful boiler making business providing boilers for the increasing number of steam engines being used in the local mines.
The first record we have of Mary Ann was her baptism at Abenhall on the 15th October 1815. Her 'abode' was recorded as the Forest of Dean so we don't know exactly where her parents were living at the time though some later census records say she was born in Drybrook.
The next record we have is when she gave birth to an illigitimate daughter on the 26th June, 1839. Her daughter was baptised Ann Allaway Cowmeadow on the 18th August of the same year at Abenhall. Separate pages of this website tell of Ann and her father who was identified as Stephen Allaway who, at the time, was the works Manager at the nearby Cinderford Iron Works. Neither seem to have any connection to the terrace.
The next record we have is in the 1841 census. Mary Ann was living at the Victoria Hotel in Cinderford with her parents, her brother John and her daughter. Her father, James, is described as a Licensed Victualler so appears to be running the hotel but, given his other interests, it's more likely his wife and daughter were actually running it. It's possible he was responsible for the construction of the Victoria Hotel having seen an opportunity with the revival of the iron works close by which was now becoming succesful. James died in 1844. His Will mentions mines and quarries as well as houses and land and also the boiler making business. In the 1851 census, Elizabeth is described as the Inn Keeper.
On the 19th March 1855, Mary Ann married Henry Tyler. Henry was not local, he was born in Capel in Surrey in 1814. He was a railway contractor and, as such, it seems he travelled around the country probably to find work. In 1851 he was lodging in Worcestershire. He probably came to Cinderford to work on the growing network of railways that served the mines and quarries and brought raw materials to the iron works. He may have used the Victoria Hotel and, that way, met Mary Ann. Mary Ann and Henry had one son, Henry James, who was born in July, 1855, just a few months after Mary Ann's and Henry's marriage.
In 1857, Mary Ann's mother married William Meek who ran the Barley Corn beer house on Bilson Green and moved out of the Victoria Hotel leaving Mary Ann and Henry to run the business. In the 1861 census, Henry is listed as the Inn Keeper. It's likely the title was bestowed on him purely as the man of the house. Henry died in 1863 of delirium tremens (alcohol withdraw symptoms). Living in an inn was probably not ideal.
Mary Ann's mother, Elizabeth, died in 1868. In her Will she left the Victoria Hotel to Mary Ann who continued living at the hotel, with her son, until she sold it in 1888.
Mary Ann died on the 3rd January 1895. The cause of death was 'failure of the heart accelerated by cold'. She was buried on the 9th January at Drybrook.
Western Daily Press, 9th January, 1895
Mr M. F. Carter, coroner, held an inquest touching the death of Mary Ann Tyler, 80 years of age, a widow, of the Furnaces, at Cinderford. Deceased resided with her son, Henry James Tyler, and during the recent severe weather had spent the greater part of her time in bed. She was well on the 3rd inst, as usual, and ate her food well. Next morning, the 4th, when breakfast was taken to her at 9 o'clock, she was found dead and cold. The verdict was that the deceased died from failure of the action of the heart, which had been much impaired owing to old age, and her death was accelerated by the very cold weather.
Conclusion
Knowing Mary Ann was married to Henry Tyler who, records show, owned the land where the terrace was built, that Mary Ann would have inherited the land (though she, and not Henry, probably bought it originally) and that she appears to have retired to the terrace after selling the hotel, leads to the conclusion that Mary Ann was responsible for building the terrace and she most likely did that to provide for herself later in life, probably having already seen a decline in trade at the hotel. The terrace would provide an income from the rental of the other five houses while living in one herself. And that is exactly what she did.
Tyler's Terrace Sold
When Mary Ann died in 1895, the terrace passed to her son, Henry. He sold the terrace, sometime between 1901 and 1909, to James Beddis of Lightmoor. Henry and his family moved to Wagstaff House which was originally built as offices for Cinderford Bridge mine by the then owner, a Mr Wagstaff. When the mine closed, the offices were converted to a house which still stands.
New Owners
In 1909, six cottages are recorded at Lightmoor. Four are occupied by workers at the mine and two appear to be used by the mine, maybe as offices. Of the four occupiers, two are recorded as engine drivers, one is a night watchman and one is a night inspector. One of the engine drivers is James Beddis who lives with his wife, his father, three children from his marriage and one from his wife's previous marriage. In the 1909 survey, James is recorded as the owner of Tyler's Terrace presumably having bought it from Henry Tyler. How he was able to buy the terrace or why he bought it is unknown. In 1921 he is living at Bilson Green so seems to have had no intention of living in the terrace himself.
James died in 1929 and the terrace passed to two of his children with each inheriting three of the houses. One of the children, Emma, married Frederick Wood and they took residence in number 122. Emma continued to own numbers 122, 124 and 126 until her death in 1974 when they passed to her son Hedley who subsequently sold them individually with numbers 124 and 126 being sold to their respective tenants. The other three houses went to James' son William then, on his death in 1952, to his wife Edith (née Grindle).
William and Edith had no children leaving Edith with the problem of who to leave the three houses to. Edith chose to leave her estate, it seems, to those who mattered to her rather than just dividing it up equally between relatives. Edith belonged to the Grindle family, probably best known through Percy and Roy Grindle who both ran coach businesses. Edith had seven siblings and a large number of nieces and nephews of which she named just a few in her Will along with a few friends. The three houses she chose to leave, in trust, to Wilfred Probert.
Wilfred was only distantly related to Edith through marriage. He married Annie May White who was the grand daughter of James Beddis' wife, Keziah, from her first marriage to William Williams. A descendant of Wilfred's told of remembering Wilfred helping Edith later in life with chores around her house. She clearly chose to reward him for that.
Wilfred and the trustees later sold the three houses, individually, to the tenants.
Valley Road
The section of Valley Road that passes the terrace didn't exist until 1898 when Victoria Street and the section of Valley Road from the bottom of Victoria Street to Cinderford Bridge was completed. Previously it was a tramway being part of the tramway running from Shakemantle to the Iron Works used for transporting iron ore to the works. Once Valley Road was established, the houses of Tyler's Terrace were numbered 122 to 132 Valley Road. But the residents still used the old numbers of 1 to 6 Tyler's Terrace. The first record found using the new numbers is the 1909 survey of land values whereas, in the 1911 census, the old Tyler's terrace numbers are still used.
Gloucester Journal, 4th September, 1897
"The next road which will be taken up is a length which commences at Mr. Dykin's and terminates at Cinderford Bridge. This, when completed, will be a very useful highway. There is a large population in that neighbourhood, and it will afford a much shorter route for persons travelling between Cinderford and the Speech House."
Building Materials
Tyler's Terrace is built of local sandstone which may have been sourced from a quarry located just below St John's Square and approximately 150m South East of the terrace. The quarry is now barely recognisable due to the heavy covering of vegetation. In 1856, this quarry was owned by Elizabeth Cowmeadow, presumably inherited from her husband James. It may have subsequently been sold by Elizabeth as she had sold James' mines and there is no mention of the quarries in Elizabeth's Will. But it would be an obvious choice as a source of stone being so close. Elizabeth also owned a smaller quarry located about 70m or 80m due South of the terrace. One source suggests this was a gravel pit and it may also have been a source of building materials. This quarry is right on the side of the road and is still visible but is little more than a small hollow and, also covered in vegetation, is easily missed. Both quarries are marked on the above 1856 map circled in red.
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