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Cobridge and Bennett
“A house stood on a hill. And that hill was Bleakridge,
the summit of the little billow of land between Bursley and Hanbridge.
Trafalgar Road passed over the crest of the billow."
Arnold
Bennett was very familiar with Cobridge and the little station there
-because he lived there from 1880 to 1888 ....
Bennett's
father
Enoch, 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, he designed other streets and houses on the
Meakin estate and was likely
the model for Osmond Orgreave, the architect in Bennett's novel 'Clayhanger'
In Clayhanger the Orgreave family, of which the head
(Osmond, the architect) is essential to the development of Edwin’s
maturity.
1898 map showing where Arnold
Bennett lived
The red circle on Waterloo Road was
Bennett's home from 1880 to 1888, the blue line was originally to be named
Station Road - because the footpath at the end lead to Cobridge Station.
It became Rushton Road acknowledging the ancient 'Rushton Grange' estate.
The green square opposite Bennett's
house was the home of George Ford the architect
who designed many local houses - he was likely
the model for Osmond Orgreave, the architect in Bennett's novel 'Clayhanger'.
The Cobridge Territorial Army Centre now occupies this ground.
Marked in light blue is Bleak Street
and in purple the location of Bleak Hill House - these are the names
Bennett took when he named Cobridge as Bleakridge.
In the mid 1950's Bleak Street was renamed Orgreave Street after the
architect in Bennett's Clayhanger.
Bleak
Hill House has since been demolished and a Mosque now occupies this
ground.
Bleak Hill House in 1955
Warrillow Collection - Keele University Library
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