Mystery House (possibly Judge Cohens)

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This is a picture of my Great Aunt Elsie (Lenham), and I believe one of five siblings to the second wife of my great grandfather (not sure how many children he had to his first wife who sadly died, but my grandfather Thomas Arthur was one of them. My great grandfather and grandfather at one point in time lived next door to each other in Lawson Street, Stockton). Great Aunt Elsie worked as a housekeeper and is said to have worked for Judge Cohen who I believe lived on the corner of Yarm Road and Hartburn Avenue which is now the site of a nursing home called Saint Mark’s I think. This will obviously by stretching people’s memories but can anyone confirm this please.

Photograph and details courtesy of Hazel Lenham.

46 thoughts on “Mystery House (possibly Judge Cohens)”

  1. I remember this home very very well, One of the first families living in it in the mid 60’s, we used to go on the roof from the fire escape on the rear right corner bedroom, and sit and make a den on the front of the roof in the flat part at the front above the front door way. The celler was spooky with its old water hand pump and the ghosts in the x2 rooms top left of the stairs. Apple trees and pear trees all over and in the early days a sunny house in the garden to the right of the Sphere, we even made a underground den in the rear garden and used a dustbin lid as the opening we stayed in it for 3 days once they thought we had ran away. Awesome times in the bricky, 6 fields and Ropner Park. Aunt Mary was the best there was.

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  4. According to a neighbour who used to be a postman there was an army Mayor or Colonel also by the name Cohen who lived on the left hand side of Richmond Road some years ago.

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      • No idea arch1vist , I only vaguely remember visiting her in New Marske. Presumably before about 1954 unless she worked beyond the age of 65. Why the interest?

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  5. A couple of further references from the Jewish Community Press Reports pointing to the Cohens residing at 18 Richmond Road / “Lynwood”.

    (I live on Richmond Road myself and the house name Lynwood rings a bell, currently away working otherwise I would walk a few yards from my gate and check!)

    UK Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960

    Departure Southampton, 8 April 1949. Destination Penang, Malaysia. Ship: Carthage. Nathan Leslie Cohen, ‘Lynwood’, Richmond Road, Stockton. Legal Officer.

    Jewish Chronicle, 28 February 1958 page 2

    Death on 19 February of Reuben Cohen aged 77, 18 Richmond Road, Stockton.
    [Death. Reuben Cohen March 1958 aged 77 Durham SE 1a 696]

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    • HI Lewis, I can’t see any name on the outside of No.18.
      No.14 is called LynnDale, so maybe that’s why its ringing a bell? 🙂

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    • Visiting the Google Maps link in my previous post and then swapping it into globe view (3d), the appearance of the rear of 18 Richmond Road matches this photo. The design of No.s 16 & 18 is unique on Richmond Rd, so probably not going to be found elsewhere?

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      • Well spotted, good old Google Earth to the rescue again! So Elsie Lenham was housekeeper to Judge Cohen, but at his Richmond Road property.

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      • Jmayuk/Cliff, I have to applaud the ingenuity you have applied here, it’s another clever tool to use in search’s and what makes this site so interesting, cheers.

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  7. Hi Hazel. I am from the Lenham family. My mother was Amy Lenham and her father lived in Lawson Street, Stockton. You can email me (email the Picture Stockton team – pictures@stockton.gov.uk and they will forward on my email address) or let me know if you get this message.

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  8. Judge Nat Cohen lived in Richmond Road in the 60/70s about three doors down from myself and family. He used to walk up and down the road once a week checking vehicle tax discs to see if they were taxed. One memory from my childhood.

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    • When I was in the Police Force he’d always walk from his home into Town and check if cars had the upto date tax discs and then go into The Police Station with a list of out of date ones and where they were.

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  9. Charles Lenham married Clara Jane Trenholm and they had 6 children. Charles later married Eleanor Coy and they had 4 children, one of whom was Thomas.

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    • Cheers John, I thought that my grandfather (Thomas Arthur) was from my great grandfathers first marriage but your information has corrected this. I do know that Eleanor Coy was initially employed by my great grandfather to look after his children/house after the death of his first wife Clara, and that they then married and had children.

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      • Just for your interest Hazel. According to my records your great grandfather Charles had 3 wives… Clara. Mary and Eleanor and 14 children! Busy Man!

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      • On checking with the information I have Thomas Arthur was from 1st marriage of Charles and Eleanor, he had 5 siblings. Charles 2nd wife Clara Jane had 8 children, no Thomas in 2nd family to my knowledge. I have no knowledge of a third wife named Mary although I may be wrong. However I can possibly explain why the confusion around “Mary” may have arisen. Charles according to my Aunt had 16 children in total as opposed to the 14 we can account for, I have found possible names but nothing to solidly connect them to the family. Charle’s two wives died at an early age (possibly exhaustion from child birth).

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  10. I remember the house on the corner of Hartburn Lane, as I used to pass it every day going to school. From what I recall the front was built of high quality, very red bricks, not those that appear in the photo, but then the photo is of the rear of the house, where it was not unusual to find bricks of lesser quality. I also remember parts of the front being extensively rendered. There was some timbering above the first floor, as shown in the photo. To me the photo suggests a semi-detached house, rather than the very large detached house that stood on the corner.

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    • Cheers Cliff, Some interesting comments from your good self and jmayuk about the house location. I agree that judging by the way the photo has been taken that it’s probably semi-detached and would fit well with some of those in Richmond Road which over look the lake in Ropner Park. I’ve always thought that this looked like the front of a house which would again suit the Richmond Road location as when travelling down this road those on the right hand side appear to have the rear of the houses facing the road, also the slope of the garden may be another clue.

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  11. Charles Lenham married Clara Jane Renholm and they had 6 children. Charles later married Eleanor Coy and they had 4 children, one of whom was Thomas.

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  12. Yes this seems to be the house that was situated on the corner of Hartburn Lane (not avenue as stated) and Yarm Road.
    I live at no. 4, Hartburn Lane, directly opposite where the house used to be and remember it being there. I was living here when it was burnt down and woke up in the night to see it go up in flames…. with the loss of one life – a young girl in her 20’s who was a nurse I seem to recall.

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  13. Judge Cohen lived at 1, Hartburn Road The Laurels. If your trying to trace some family history on the Cohen family I have attached some information below. The Cohen family have been prominent in the law society for many generations as you may find below.
    I hope this is of some help to you.

    Jewish Chronicle, 8 March 1946 page 8

    Award for Gallantry. Military Cross. Mr Clifford T. Cohen son of Mr and Mrs Reuben Cohen, Stockton

    Jewish Chronicle, 19 July 1946 page 5

    Bar Mitzvah. Martin Leon Cohen, only son of Mr and Mrs Harry Cohen, ‘The Laurels’, 1 Hartburn Lane, Stockton, will read portion of the Law at Stockton synagogue on 27 July. 
    [Birth. Martin L. Cohen September 1933 Stockton 10a 92. Mother Kaufman

    Jewish Chronicle, 3 February 1950 page 6

    Mr Reuben Cohen has been appointed Registrar of West Hartlepool. [Then repetition of legal positions above 12 January 1940 page 15] Reference to son Lt Col N.L. Cohen, Public Prosecutor in the Federated State of Malaya. Before then was military judge for 3 years to the British Control Commission of Austria.

    Jewish Chronicle, 3 July 1953 page 6

    Mr Clifford Cohen of Newcastle has been appointed a judge of the County Courts of South Durham and North Yorkshire Circuits. He is a son of Mr Reuben Cohen of Stockton.

    Jewish Chronicle, 1 November 1957 page 5

    Judge Clifford T. Cohen of Stockton has accepted the invitation of the National Executive of the Association of Jewish Ex-Service Men and Women to become a Vice-president of the Association.

    Jewish Chronicle, 29 November 1957 page 7

    Engagement. Martin, only son of Mr and Mrs Harry Cohen, of ‘The Laurels’, Hartburn Lane, Stockton, to Estelle, only daughter of Mrs Myer Herman and the late Mr Isaac Adlestone and step-daughter of Mr Myer Herman of St Anne’s on Sea. 
    [Marriage. Martin L. Cohen June 1958 Fylde 10e 457//Estelle Adlestone]

    Jewish Chronicle, 28 February 1958 page 9

    Obituary of Reuben Cohen. Born Darlington. First Jewish lawyer on Tees-side. Registrar of several County Courts. Deputy Chairman of Durham Quarter Sessions. For 16 years a magistrate. Served 12 years on Stockton Town Council. President of Stockton Stage Society and Stockton Literary and Philosophical Society. Founder member and past Master of the Freedom Lodge of Freemasons. [&c]

    Jewish Chronicle, 26 September 1958 page 6

    LtCol N. L. Cohen, younger son of Reuben Cohen JP, and brother of Judge Clifford T. Cohen of Stockton, has been appointed a judge in Cyprus. He is one of the special judges recently appointed for the emergency in Cyprus. Until a few months ago, LtCol Cohen, aged 50 and a bachelor, was President of the Court of Sessions in Malaya. He was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for services in training of police for fighting terrorists in the jungle. He had a distinguished military career in the Far East and Europe. It is noteworthy that Mr Reuben Cohen and his two sons are judges at the same time. Both Judge Cohen and LtCol Cohen are members of Stockton Hebrew Congregation.

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    • Cheers Paul but not interested in Cohen family, just the location and authorisation that this was Judge Cohens residence along with LENHAM family history

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      • Hazel. I am part of the Lenham family. My mother was Amy Lenham… Her father lived in Lawson Street, Stockton. Have to have a look at he family tree but believe your gt/grandfather had 3 wives. I’m George Morris.

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  14. It does look like the house you are asking about. I used to pass the corner regularly either on my way to Ropner Park where we spent lots of time hanging around. Also walking to school with my friends and heading to the six fields or sunnyside this was in the 50’s

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  15. When was your great aunt born and died? If you Google Clifford Cohen MC you will discover a number of addresses associated with him and his family.

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  16. This is The Laurels on the corner of Hartburn Lane Stockton. It was a children’s home in the 70s and 80s. I was one of the children who lived there. The girls shared the circular bedroom.

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