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back to "The Grand Tour" index
Neville Malkin's "Grand Tour" of the Potteries
buildings of
Cobridge
next: Christ Church,
Cobridge
previous: Ford
Green Hall, Smallthorne
contents: index of buildings outlying the town centres
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No 53 - Arnold Bennett's Home, Cobridge
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The Bennett family home,
Cobridge
pen drawing by Neville Malkin -
July 1974
Arnold Bennett's home No 205 Waterloo Road
The home of the writer Arnold Bennett between 1880 and 1888.
| Enoch
Bennett, the father of Arnold Bennett, had bought a building site on Henry
Meakin’s estate for £200 in 1879 where he built a house at a cost of £900,
No 205 Waterloo Road. This is a large three-storey red brick house with a
façade much embellished with terra cotta. It has two bay windows at the
front and six bedrooms. There is no information about the architect but there is a good possibility that it was designed by George Ford, who was living on the other side of Waterloo Road. |
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"The
renowned occupant of this house, 205, Waterloo Road, Cobridge, was
Arnold Bennett, novelist and playwright. His early life in the
Potteries affected him deeply, and his personal memories are depicted
in his powerful novels about the "Five Towns". He was born on May
27th, 1867, at 90-92, Hope Street, Hanley, over a draper's shop that
his father, Enoch, ran in order to pursue his legal studies. He was
the eldest of six children, with two brothers, Frank and Septimus, and
three sisters, Cissie, Emily and Tertia; Tertia was his closest
confidante. In 1875 his father graduated to the position of
solicitor's clerk and, in 1876, at the age of 33, qualified as a
solicitor. After certain vicissitudes Enoch's financial worries eased
and they took a house at 198, Waterloo Road and, while living there,
Enoch commissioned the house to be built which is now known as Arnold
Bennett's Museum. The family moved in in 1881 when Arnold was 14. It
cost £1,001 and was a great step up the social ladder. Meanwhile, Arnold was being well educated and Enoch becoming more successful as a solicitor. When Arnold reached 18 he qualified for a place at university, but his father, who was by now the senior partner in Bennett and Baddeley, had other ideas about his future. So, on his 18th birthday, he began work in his father's office. He remained there until nearly 22, when he confronted his father and asked for a proper wage, which was promptly refused. He then took the greatest decision of his life and left the Potteries to take lodgings in London and work for a firm of solicitors as a clerk. This action was the first of a series of events that eventually brought him fame and fortune. In 1953, Stoke-on-Trent City Council bought the house with the sole intention of using it as a museum to the memory of Arnold Bennett. In 1960 it was officially opened to the public by Richard Bennett, Arnold's nephew."
[note: this house is no longer a museum,
it reverted back to a private dwelling
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next: Christ Church,
Cobridge
previous: Ford
Green Hall, Smallthorne
contents: index of buildings outlying the town centres
|
