Billinge History Society

Billinge families

SIMM

By Hugh Mather (extracted from the main text)

John Simm was born 10/3/1832 at Billinge and died on 21/2/1897, the fourth child of Joseph and Anne Simm. He married Mary Ann Melling, who was born around 1829 and died on 27/10/1891. Her older brother, James Melling, born around 1822, owned a stone quarry (Coppice Wood quarry) on Billinge Hill around the years 1850-90 and made a considerable amount of money. He built the rows of houses in Longshaw, around 1845 onwards, from rough stone from his quarries. He was unmarried and lived for many years with John and Mary Simm and their two children. At the 1861 Census, they were living in Brownlow and farming 14 acres. At this stage, the household consisted of John, his wife Mary Anne, his mother Anne (aged 58), his sister (Jane Wadsworth, 30), and James Melling (aged 39), described as a lodger and stonemason. In 1871 Longshaw House Farm, as Wiswalls was then termed, was home to Thomas Melling, 'farmer of 33 acres, employing 2 boys'. The relation of Thomas Melling to James is unclear, and may be non-existent.

In 1881 John and Mary Simm are recorded as living at the 'City', Longshaw, with their children Mary Anne (12) and John James (7), and James Melling. John is described as 'farmer of 30 acres'. It is not clear whether they were living at Wiswalls at that time. James Melling bought the farm from the Gerard family on 9/8/1888 for £3000, after renting it for an unknown period. The farm included the triangle of land behind the Hare and Hounds. He died on 28/12/89 at Wiswalls. His estate was valued at £1701-13s-1d. Most of his estate, including Wiswalls Farm, was bequeathed to the children of his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Anne and John Simm, who were confusingly also named Mary Ann and John James Simm. His will was made on 17/12/1889 and he died on 28/12/1889. James Melling had another sister named Jane, who died prior to 1889, married to a man named Laithwaite. They had a son named James (or Joseph) Laithwaite, who was nicknamed 'Old Paider'. By all accounts he was a severe drinker and lived a rather erratic life, although said to be kind-hearted. He was left a row of houses to the left of Moore's shop but in effect was cut out of most of his uncle's will. He had a sister, Anne, who married William Barton. James Melling thus had several nephews and nieces and the two Simm children, Mary Anne and John James, seem fortunate to have inherited most of the estate.