Margaret James Ramsey Hood Stafford (nee Clark) (1875-1967)

Margaret Stafford nee Clark aged about 35

This photograph of Margaret Stafford (nee Clark) reminds me of the photograph of her mother Margaret Clark (nee Hood), in that it shows Margaret looking a lot older than thirty five. Again hard work has taken its toll.

I think this photograph was taken behind 6 Rose Terrace, Folly, Greenside.  

Shortly after they married Alfred and Margaret moved from Gateshead to Winlaton, where he took up employment as a miner. This would be a better paid job, albeit, even more back breaking and dangerous than that of an iron-worker, but, by then, they had three of their five children to house feed and clothe - Albert b 1902, Barbara b 1904, twins born 1907 - sadly one twin was still-born and the other, Lillian, died in 1908. After this, they moved to 6 Rose Terrace, Folly, Greenside, when Alfred took another job as a miner with Stella Coal Company, working at Greenside Pit. The remaining two children - Norman b 1910 (my dad) and the youngest Eleanor b 1912 were both born in Rose Terrace.

6 Rose Terrace Today

I remember my dad telling me how hard grandma worked before she married.  She had worked in a rope works in Gateshead known as Hood Haggies.  This was a place with a notorious reputation.  Its mainly female workforce were all believed to be rough and crude, and were given the nick-name of 'Haggie's Angel's'. However, today it is acknowledged that these women were doing a job that was physically hard, demanding and dirty but also required skill; and is seen as women doing an equivalent job to men. Margaret probably made thick rope hawsers for ships etc. This job was better paid than most women's jobs at the time.

'Hood Haggies Angels' Haggies Ropeworks (Shields Gazette)

I can't imagine Margaret was happy working at Haggies, as she was neither crude nor rough, she was a good, strong, practical, hardworking woman with great common sense. 

In 1946, when I was a tiny baby the doctor said grandma saved my life, I had inturssusception, a collapsed/blocked bowel, apparently she placed a hot poultice in the right place at the right time (thank you grandma!)

Life didn't deal Margaret an easy hand, like many of the poor of her era, she was from a large poor, hardworking family, and no doubt from an early age would have had to do a great deal of work in the home, as well as looking after her siblings. She went to school, but how often I have no idea, as her husband (my grandpa) Alfred Stafford taught her to read and write. Reading the newspaper became one of her great pleasures.