Thomas Quine was a joiner, builder, decorator and general contractor, he had started his business around 1878 and by 1914 his two sons had joined him in the business. His yard was located in the village on Ford Road, opposite the junction with Moreton Road.
To relieve the congestion in Upton Village and Rake Lane it was proposed in 1933 to build a by-pass. The new road was to run from Ford Road near its junction with Moreton Road and rejoin Rake Lane near Upton Motors (now the Shell filling station)..
Few properties would be affected by new road, the main casualty being Quine’s yard. It was located just where the new by-pass was to be built. The Quines offered their yard to the Corporation for £10,000 to include the land and compensation for disruption of their business.
The Corporation felt this was much to high and asked for the Borough Engineer to value the property, he described the site as follows:
He estimated the value of the property to be in the region of £2,250, not including trade disturbance.
The Quines also owned land on Moreton Road, behind The Stonehouse, they proposed that if the Corporation contributed to the costs, the yard could be relocated to this land, this would a cheaper option as the cost would be:
Purchase of the Quines' original yard | £1,000 |
Preparing site, laying drains cables etc., new buildings for offices, stores etc. | 800 |
Moving the three mortar mills | 150 |
New access road, demolition of an existing building to provide access, new gable ends on remaining parts of the building | 500 |
Total | £2,450 |
Negotiations continued for almost four years, the main sticking point being that the Quines were worried that their new neighbours on Moreton Road would get an injunction to stop them using the mortar mills due to the noise. Their sale of mortar was an important source of income, in each of the years 1933, 1934 and 1935 had been around 2,500 tons, giving an annual profit of around £500.
The Quines wanted the corporation to provide an indemnity should the neighbours obtain their injunction.
Eventually, in June 1937, the Corporation agreed to pay £2,950 including a contribution towards the cost of enclosing the mortar mills in brick buildings to reduce the noise.
Other land required for the new road caused less problems, in fact Mr D W Roberts gave the part of his land required free of charge.
The new Rake Lane bypass, now called Arrowe Park Road, was opened the following year in 1938.
The Quine family have a stained glass memorial window in St Mary’s Church, and the short lane which led into their ‘new’ yard, and now leads to St Joseph’s Primary School, is still called Quines Way.
Do you have any pictures of Upton, or of events in and around Upton either old or not so old?
Do you have any documents, newspaper cuttings or other information relating to Upton or the surrounding area?
Do you have any stories about Upton or the surrounding area?
If you do, please contact me by e-mail at frank@upton.cx