Allonby Charcters - 1

JJ Heskett

Joseph J. Heskett was Allonby's village shoemaker in the early 1900s. He was also a prize-winning bass vocalist, a reciter and writer in Cumberland dialect as well as a poet and a photographer.

A photograph by JJ. The subject is thought
to be his father.

He was born in Allonby in 1865. His father was also a shoemaker, his mother was Francis Costin. In 1891, he married Eleanor Litt at the Wesleyan Chapel in Cockermouth and, around 1903, emigrated to Vancouver with his family. After settling in Canada, he continued to write poems about Allonby in the 'West Cumberland Times' for many years.

His masterpiece is 'Allonby - Sixty Years Ago' which he first recited at a Widow's Benefit Concert in 1901. This epic, of some thirty-nine verses mentions many Allonby families and names the boats they owned:-

"You've heard of the 'Favourite Sally',
"And Dan Saul's 'Good Intent',
"Of Beeby's 'Black Duck' and Boustead's 'Aid',
"That to sea for herrings went."

"And also of Lowse's 'Dinah',
"Edgar's 'Mary' and Costin's 'Delight',
"Musgraves 'Laal Ann' and 'Friendship',
"Which sailed from our shores each night"

CLICK ON THE PAGES TO READ THE POEM IN FULL

After settling in Vancouver, JJ Heskett continued his trades as both a shoemaker and a poet. He traded as 'The Shoe Doctor' and is seen above, outside the shop, with his son Thomas William.

He used his poetic talents to advertise the business and published a calendar each year. The 1926 edition can be seen below.

Amos Hayton Bookless

Amos was born in 1877. His mother was Mary Hayton, a farmer's daughter from Edderside but his father seems to have been an
'off-comer'.

He lost both parents when he was three-years-old and was raised by relatives in Allonby.

Amos and other members of the Allonby Golf Club outside
the 'Club House'

He was the leading light in the village's social set and a keen sportsman. He was a member of Allonby's tennis club, played cricket, and was captain of the Golf Club. He also liked fishing and followed the hunt.

He took part in musical concerts in the village hall, often singing humorous songs. His many friends organised a dinner in his honour at the Ship Hotel before he left to serve in France during the First World War.

The 1901 Census records Amos's occupation as a draper but he also chauffeured part-time for Squire Richmond from Clifton Hall, who spent the summer months at Belmont, Bankmill.

He certainly wasn't camera-shy. He seems to pop-up in many of the Allonby photographs, often wearing a striped blazer, straw hat and (slightly short) white trousers.