Wigan Album

He was held in high esteem by all of the residents of Spring View, and Lower Ince, The vicarage was opposite the school, in quite large grounds. Reverend David. I remember sometime later, a family named Taylor lived there. Were they Rev. Bryson’s relations?. When I went to senior school in April, 1945, the son of the family, Gerald, became a pupil.

Albert - the Hall belonged to Pearson and Knowles, then Wigan Coal & Iron, then the NCB. There are a number of photographs under Lower Ince of it in the 1930s - and the captions and comments give some names of folk who lived there over the years. In Bryson's time it was divided into three units - he occupied the middle one.
As to relatives - the story I was told was that he was estranged from his wife, who never lived in Ince. They had two sons, one of which, Crawford Hubert Henry, was married from 'St Mary's Vicarage' - not The Hall of Ince - in September 1936. I don't know whether he actually lived at the Vicarage, or simply stayed there for the requisite number of weeks to qualify to be married by his father in his father's church. He was 28, and a Doctor, and married money (his bride's father's occupation was 'Gentleman'). I once tracked him to a Practice in Derbyshire.

Oops - should have read 'Wigan Coal Corporation' after Pearson & Knowles. Bryson's other son was Francis Samuel - he was Witness, and so presumably Best Man, at his brother's wedding.

Thank you Reverend David. I know definitely that a family named Taylor, lived in one of the units in the early forties. Gerald, was in my year at school.

David is there any information as to where the Rev Bryson was born or lived before he lived in Wigan ? Bryson is a Scottish surname, my grandfather was Thomas Bryson & he came to Wigan from Lanarkshire.

Helen, as far as I know Sam Bryson had no local connections. I don't have the clerical directory from 1936 to hand - that gives a potted biography, including where he'd served before moving to Ince. It also gives his degree details - as far as I remember he had a Law degree from Dublin, and came from Ireland.