Hall Family

From Limby Hall To Hough Hill And Beyond

The coal mining family Hall from Limby Hall, lived in Swannington for more than a century while coal mining in the village was at its peak.

Where the Hall family lived

Limby Hall –  As the family lived in Limby Hall for about a century the balance of possibilities is that they owned the house.

• 1861 – John Hall 35, wife Elizabeth 34 and children William 15, Theresa 13, Emma 11, George 8, Herbert 6, John 3, Joseph 1 month.
• 1871 – John Hall 46, wife Elizabeth 44 and children Theresa 22, George 18, Herbert 16, John 14, James 10, Francis 8, Agnes Mary 5, Elizabeth 2, Joseph Charles 2 months.
• 1881 – John Hall 55, wife Elizabeth 53 and children James 20, Frank 17, Mary 14, Betsy 12, Joseph 10.
• 1891 – John Hall 65 and children Betsy 22, Joseph 20.
• 1901 – James Hall 40, wife Mary A 39, children Sarah A 16, Frank 11, Carey 9, James 6, Clarice M 4, Arthur 2 and father John 75
• 1911 – James Hall 50, wife Mary Ann 49 and children Frank 21, Carey 19, James 16, Clarice May 14
• 1939 – James Hall 78, wife Mary Ann 77 and son Frank 49
• 1943 – James Hall dies 7th September

From Limby Hall To Hough Hill And Beyond - Hall Family

Board at corner of Main Street and Jeffcoats Lane, the Hall family lived at Limby Hall 1850s to 1943 or later

Hall Family Tree

A simplified family tree is shown below, a more extensive tree is the Swannington – Hall + Fowkes Family Tree on the Ancestry website.  Interesting elements of the tree are:

• John Hall 1825-1904 – Children – John and his wife Elizabeth had at least 11 children.  There may have been more but there is an element of confusion where children with two names are sometimes called one name and other times the other,  not aided by inconsistencies in birth dates.
• John Hall 1825-1904 – Grandchildren – John and his wife Elizabeth’s 11 children between them had 56 children.  They helped populate Swannington and the local area!
• Marriage into other families – Members of the Hall family married into other families with a long history in the Swannington area such as Fowkes, Richards, Slattery and Ward.

James (Jim) Hall 1894-1977

Jim was born at Limby Hall and lived there until his marriage.  In 1911 Jim was a coal miner operating a haulage rope underground.

During the First World War Jim served in the army.  He was injured in France and returned to the UK to convalesce in Sheffield.  Jim sent embroidered cards to his family, especially his sister Clarice who was two years younger than him.   Jim wrote brief messages on the reverse, usually “To Clarice, From your everloving brother Jim”.

After the war Jim returned to coal mining.  In 1920 Jim married Gertrude Ward who in 1911 had been an elastic factory hand living with her family in Station Row.  They moved to Mount Pleasant on Hough Hill.

While in the army during World War I Jim sent embroidered cards to his family, especially his sister Clarice

Jim Hall (centre) and two army colleagues during convalescence in Sheffield

60 Hough Hill, built for the Hall family.

1961 Jim with his wife and grandchildren at 60 Hough Hill - rear Gertrude Hall + David Hall + Jim Hall - front Linda Fowkes + Judith Fowkes + Lesley Hall

Jim Hall during convalescence in Sheffield

Jim Hall as a young man before WWI

The Hall family in 1904 - Carey 1892, Frank 1890, George Harry 1903 (baby on lap), Mary Ann 1862 (mother, nee Brown), Clarice M 1896 (front - married name Slattery, lived on Hough Hill), Arthur Ernest 1902 (behind), James 1861 (father), Sarah Ann 1885, James 1894 (lived on Hough Hill until 1960s)

Wedding of (Joyce) Margaret Hall and George Harold Fowkes

Margaret Hall married George Harold Fowkes on the 27th March 1948 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Main Street Swannington.  Both families had lived in Swannington and the surrounding villages for generations.  Read more about the groom’s family on the Fowkes family page.

Wedding party photograph, left to right:

1. Wright Fowkes – groom’s father
2. Pat Morris – bridesmaid
3. Annie Fowkes (nee Glover) – groom’s mother
4. Norma Hinds – bridesmaid
5. Ray Fowkes – groom’s brother
6. George Harold Fowkes – groom
7. (Joyce) Margaret Hall – bride
8. Jim (James) Hall – bride’s father
9. Marian Hinds – bridesmaid
10. Gertrude Hall (nee Ward) – bride’s mother
11. Mary Bird – bridesmaid and cousin

Arriving at the wedding, important to be there before the bride!

(Joyce) Margaret Hall and her father Jim (James) Hall on the Wesleyan Chapel steps

George Harold Fowkes and (Joyce) Margaret Hall, the happy couple

The four bridesmaids

The wedding families on the 27th March 1948