Reported by Derek Chambers

The House at 10 Wilmslow Road (1877)

Although we don’t know precisely when the house at 10 Wilmslow Road was acquired, it’s pretty clear that Louisa and Eduard were thinking of a future with many children and serving staff. It’s also clear that Eduard’s business must have been doing very well so there was money.

The house they bought was four stories, with plenty of bedrooms for children and servants. It lacked indoor plumbing, and although later an indoor lavatory was added, it was on the third floor of the house. Ultimately 10 Wilmslow had 13 residents. As well there was an additional bedroom for guests, typically McLaren cousins or the West nephews. The house no longer exists, it and the church beside it having been torn down and replaced by a petrol station and stores.

Lady Barn House School

Despite the Elementary Education Act 1870 and the beginning of Public Grants for education facilities and operating costs, the ensuing public system was ill equipped to provide high quality primary education – it lacked trained teachers, proper facilities and its focus was on the lower class. Moreover the school leaving/finishing age was 12.

Schools concentrating more on meeting the desires expressed by the parents of the children of the emergent middle class and professional families, for whom fees would be charged, began to be established. This was the case for Lady Barn House School. Started in 1873 by William Henry Herford and his wife, the school enabled them to put into practice the ideals promoted by Fröbel and Pestalozzi.  “The Day School for Boys and Girls” began in a house on Wilmslow Road, Withington, in April 1873, but within a few years moved to Lady Barn House nearby which gave the school its current name.

In its early years the school was strongly supported by the German community of Manchester: 111 pupils joined the school in the first 10 years and 42 of them had German names.

Louisa and Eduard were married in 1877 and for Louisa, that began a decade of baby production: Franziska (1878), Marion (1879), Juliet (1880), Helene (1882), Alick (1883), Russell (1886), and Arnold (1887).

Since Caroline Herford, William Herford’s daughter, was a good friend of Louisa’s and, from 1886 until 1907, was Headmistress of Lady Barn House School, it is unsurprising that, as Louisa’s children came of age to attend school, all four girls were to be found at Lady Barn House School in 1889, to be joined, in 1891 by Russell and Arnold.

While there were plenty of Day and Boarding schools for boys who, at 12, aged out of the primary schools, such was not the case for girls. And there were no schools which would carry on the ideas of Frobel and Pestalozzi. So, in the late 1880’s, Louisa joined with others to create such a school, and took on the position of Secretary for the founding Governing Board of the new school, Withington Girls’ School; she remained a Governor until her death in 1936, a total of 47 years.

The founding Governors of WGS included C.P. Scott, famous Editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1872 until 1929 and who later became a close and intimate friend of Louisa’s.

While WGS’s first class, in April 1890, had only 4 students, the academic year, starting in September, 1890 began with 15 students. Although none were Lejeune children – they were still too young, it did contain: the Enke twin girls, Paula and Adeline; Isabel Lunt, who would later marry Max Enke’s brother Peter; Madeline Scott; Ethel Platt; and other daughters of important Manchester residents. In 1891 Franziska and Marion attended; 1892 Juliet was added. And Helene joined WGS in 1894 when she became 12.

During the 1890’s Louisa was not only busy with Withington Girls’ School and Lady Barn House School, she also managed the large household at 10 Wilmslow Road, consisting of a husband, seven children, a Cook, housemaid and Lizzie who catered to the children’s needs. On Sunday afternoons Louisa and Eduard kept a tradition of Open House, being visited by friends and acquaintances. Much sharing of ideas and differing view points on current affairs would be aired. In 1897 another baby came along – Caroline Alice.

In 1899 tragedy struck: Eduard, who had suffered from heart problems for a number of years, died while on a business trip to Zurich. Louisa was left as a single parent of eight children, the oldest, Franziska age 22 and the youngest Caroline, just 2. Nevertheless, Louisa carried on, As Caroline noted “Mother was in charge of everything: paid all the bills, arranged the Family holidays, held morning prayers, sat at the head of the long dining-table and carved the Sunday joint, dealt deftly with the vast turkey and blazing plum pudding at Christmas.”

Caroline wrote later in life “Mother was a most unusual woman …She influenced a great many people without their knowledge. She never asked questions, never interfered, but somehow what she intended would be done … she had the sort of lively mind which never stultifies, but seeks for and finds its own education. She grew with the changing times: was keenly aware of current concepts, although she did not always conform to them; she could keep her counsel. She was the repository of many secrets. I can guess now at the gravity of some of them but they remain secrets to this day.”

Margaret Grant, who was Head Mistress of WGS from 1908 until 1938, wrote of Louisa “I stayed with her on my first visit to Manchester, and as the years passed I appreciated increasingly her counsel and her friendship. I sought her advice over much business and in many difficulties and always felt—such was her sympathy, judgment and discretion—that I could clear and ease my mind by any statement of opinion and feeling and have no qualms afterwards regarding what I had said.”

And “Her mind had wide range. She was both highly critical and warmly appreciative, and her sense of humour was acute. Her letters were a delight—conveying mood, reflection and most perceptive descriptions. I think she would allow me to quote a few passages.

” I did not want to write you a dismal letter or one from a distracted mind—I have kept putting off, waiting for the springs of joy to rise. But they won’t, so its no use waiting any longer.”

” I wonder whether it’s a weakness to be unable to live a sane mental life unless one comes into contact with a number of people—to feel so strongly ‘ the need of a world of men ‘ ” ;

But on another occasion she wrote— ” I beat a retreat, not being in a gregarious mood.”

The family group began changing in the early days of the first decade of the 20^th Century. 1901 and 1902 saw first Russell and then Arnold go away to attend boarding schools. Meanwhile the older girls were attending Oxford then onto employment: Franziska in 1903, Marion in 1904, Juliet in 1906. Also in 1906, Russell left for Western Australia and in 1907 Arnold left for British Columbia in Canada.

At Christmas time in 1906, Marion became engaged to Max Enke and the intention was that they too would go out to British Columbia. In October, 1907 Louisa and Marion travelled to Quebec City where Max was waiting to meet them and be married, having earlier been to Galiano Island where he purchased a number of adjoining farms and set the 13 Belgian workers who had accompanied him working on further development of the properties.

Clearly the house at 10 Wilmslow Road was now far too large for the reduced family so in 1909 they moved into a smaller home, at 8 Burlington Road, Withington.

In October of 1909 Franziska married Laurence Meade. In May, 1910 Louisa’s father, the Reverend Alexander Maclaren died. But life renews: Marion announced she was expecting a child in December. As a result, Louisa, who had borne eight children, travelled out to Galiano Island in BC to support Marion, who was about to be delivered of her first, and Louisa’s first grandchild, Ruth Enke. Louisa was also able to see Arnold who was working in BC.

In 1912, Marion, baby Ruth and Arnold visited Manchester from BC and in 1914 Arnold returned to the UK to marry a girl from Edinburgh whom he had met in BC; the couple then returned to BC and Galiano Island.

The First World War brought tension to Louisa’s life once again – Arnold returned to England to enlist. He subsequently was sent to the front, was gassed and ultimately medically discharged from the army. Russell was safe in Australia, and Alick was attached to a railway mission in South Africa. Nevertheless, a nephew Graeme West, son of her deceased sister Marion, was killed.

Let’s jump back a bit, to the first decade and Louisa’s close friendship with C.P.Scott, the great editor of the Manchester Guardian. “Scottie” was a frequent visitor to 8 Burlington Rd. Louisa had been a close friend of Scott’s wife Rachel who died in late 1905. Subsequently Scott and Louisa developed a close intimate relationship – he would drop in for tea two or three times a week. As Caroline describes it:

“Mother’s relationship with Mr. Scott was very close and very durable. It was perhaps unusual, but they were both unusual people. Each summer they would go away together, and spend a fortnight in the Lake District, or a fortnight in Devonshire. They set great store by these quiet annual holidays, and seemed to find strength and refreshment in each other’s company.”

Meanwhile Caroline had fallen in love with the theatre and writing and, because she was good at it, developed her analytical skill. While still at university, she began to have anonymous pieces of journalism published in the Manchester Guardian. At some point Caroline, now captured by the newly emerging cinema, decided she was going to be film critic reviewing films as they came out. She pitched the idea to C.P. Scott of a regular column of film criticism in the Manchester Guardian. He listened gravely but said, “I think that would have to be from the London end.” So Caroline had to get to London and Louisa supported her, agreeing that they would move there. It’s probable that Louisa, then 64 and having essentially spent her entire life to date in Manchester, didn’t think it would last because they took only some suitcases. Ultimately, however, in 1921 they ended up at 10 St Loo Mansions in Chelsea.