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Elvin & Co, plumbers

by Ruth Gatenby

Elvin & Co, plumbers

Elvin & Co, plumbers

Aswell Street during demolition

Aswell Street during demolition

When this early 20th century photo of a building on a street corner was given to us, I did not recognise it.  It looks unfamiliar because it no longer exists.

Elvin & Co, plumbers, were located at the bottom of Aswell Street, opposite the Turks Head.  In 1967, as part of Louth’s Slum Clearance Scheme, all the buildings on the western side of this part of Aswell Street were demolished, and replaced by what are now Andy’s Children’s Hospice Shop, Turkish Delight Kebab House, and Don Noble Bookmaker.  The old buildings were demolished partly because they were in a poor condition and the small houses were considered unfit for habitation, but also because Aswell Street was narrow; the new buildings were set back, and the road became wider.  In fact, the Elvin & Co building would have been in the centre of the modern road junction.

The address of the plumbing business was 8 and 10 Queen Street.  It was run by James Elvin in partnership with Thomas Wyers.  Elvin was an established shopkeeper, who had a hairdressing business in Upgate.  Wyers was a young plumber, who was also a talented amateur footballer.  The Elvin-Wyers partnership lasted from 1911 to 1917, and then Wyers set up his own plumbing business at 23 Queen Street, which is now a dental practice.

Elvin & Co’s letterhead proudly displays images of a hand pump (to raise water from an underground source), a flush toilet, a large bath and an electric bell – these were presumably particularly desirable items at that time.

If you are interested in finding out more about who lived in Louth in past years, and the businesses they ran, read Richard Gurnham’s series of books, Louth History Around Us.

We are grateful to Andy Cooper for donating both these photos to the museum.