Alex Smith

Alex Smith circa 1920

One time Chester publican turned builder, plumber and later in life, baker and confectioner, Alexander Roylance Shepherd Smith was 22yrs old when he married local girl Jane Chesworth; they were married for 40 years and had 12 children in 25 years, between 1872 and 1897. Amongst the well known buildings he was taken on to build were:

the Old Police HQ (designed by John Douglas) at 142 Foregate Street built in 1884 - now Grade II listed and still standing.

the Dee Restaurant, 136 Foregate Street - on the corner with Grosvenor Park Road - where Alex worked as a baker and confectioner in his later years, with his wife and daughter, also Jane. His trademark black and white turret style visable on the picture the of Smith’s Restaurant photo below. It was demolished when the road junction was widened and an underpass added.

Another familiar landmark of Alex’s building work is the black and white building on the Tarvin Road (when leaving Chester), where the road splits and the Christleton Road comes in from the right. For many years, this building was a toy shop, owned by one of Alex and Jane’s grandsons, Bert Smith.

He owned all the Dee Banks land (opposite the Earls Eye) and built many of the houses by the river, namely the great Dee Fords House, now apartments and Kenwyn (now Deva Heights), where again his black and white turret can still be seen; both large properties remain standing today. Another large home called Riversdale has all but disappeared, except for an old newspaper discovery. Another familiar landmark of Alex’s handiwork is the black and white and red brick building if leaving Chester on the Tarvin Road where the road splits, the Christleton Road coming in from the right. The Model Shop - a very fine toy shop in its time occupied this position for many years. It was owned by one of Alex's grandsons, Bert.

His life:

Born in 1850, he lived with his Scottish parents in Milton Street, close to where the Mill Hotel is now. The 1861 census shows he was a ‘Scholar’, aged 11. At 21yrs old on the 1871 census, he’s still living at home with his parents now at 26 Suffolk Street Boughton; his occupation is given as ‘’Joiner’ and in 1872 he marries Jane Chesworth. Suffolk Street was demolished to make room for the flats near Edgerton and Crewe Streets.

The 1881 census mentions he’d moved to 135 Francis Street with Jane, 4 children and his mother-in-law; his occupation: ‘House Carpenter and Publican’.

By the 1891 census he’d moved into the Old Queen’s Head pub with Jane and 9 children plus 2 servants; his occupation: Licenced victualler. In the Chester Castle Petty Sessions Court, the Cheshire Observer 6 May 1893 edition mentions Alex:

"occupied a public house, the Old Queen’s Head, 97 Foregate Street and having recently bought the White House, wished to sell (to eldest son Duncan), the goodwill of the Queen’s Head and take possession of The White House."

In 1896 before the birth of his last child and 2 years before he retired, Alex Smith built and moved into the large house called Rudale, on Dee Banks. The name Rudale is the name of a small farm and croft in Kilmartin, Alex’s grandfather rented from the Malcolms of Poltalloch and which his father was brought up on before moving to Chester in about 1840; it's in Kilmartin Glen, Argyllshire, over 330 miles away. On the 1901 census Alex is 51 years old; Jane and all 12 children – aged between 28 and 3 - are living with him at Rudale; his occupation is given as ‘House Carpenter’. Alex’s daughter Jane was the last family member to live at Rudale until she died in 1964, aged 78.

Kelly’s Trade Directory of 1906 mentions his occupation as ‘Plumber’ and in October 1907, he’s elected to represent Boughton in the Municipal Elections.

Alex Smith was formerly a well-known member of the Chester Town Council, the Chester Rural District Council and Chester Board of Guardians, being one of the rural representatives on the Board. He was the first elected unopposed to the Town Council for Boughton ward on 1st November 1907. He was re-elected in 1910 and 1913. As Chairman of the Rural District Council in 1907, he was ex-officio a Justice of the Peace for the Castle Petty Sessional Division.

The 1911 census - now 61 years old – shows Jane and 7 of his 12 children - aged between 36 and 13 - living with him at Rudale. Having built the Dee Restaurant at 136 Foregate Street, his occupation is ‘Baker and Confectioner’; he, his wife Jane and daughter of the same name, run the shop together.

After his wife Jane died in 1912, he left some of his children living in Rudale and moved to 11 Lord Street with his new wife, where he died in 1923. He was survived by 8 of his 12 children.

Wife Jane died in 1912 and Alex retired from business a year later, aged 63, leaving his daughter to run the bakery and restaurant. Kelly’s 1914 Trade Directory shows his occupations as ‘Plumber of 161 Boughton’ and ‘Confectioner, 138 Foregate Street’.

He married again in 1918 and moved into 11 Lord Street, where he died in 1923, aged 73. He's buried in Overleigh Cemetery (plot P2344) with his first wife and 2 of their sons along with many other Smith family members nearby.

According to his obituary, Alex Smith was "a man of a genial and kindly disposition and highly respected, was interested in building enterprises".