From Dudley to Gijon
Shortly after 1891 my Gt Grandmother, Alice Naylor (nee Currell) b1853 in Devon saw an advert in a newspaper seeking persons who could make "agricultural implements" to work in Spain. as he was a "shovel maker"(1891 census) she persuaded my Dudley born Gt Granfather John Naylor(1852,Shavers End) to apply which he duly did and shortly afterwards they set off for Espania!
They took three children, Kate (12), Maude(8) and Blanche(10) with them but left behind Ruth(11) who stayed behind with her grandmother Esther Naylor ,who with her husband Samuel kept the "Struggling Man" pub on Salop Street, Dudley for 30 years. At some point later Ruth used to pull pints standing on a wooden crate as she was so small!
John must have prospered because he was partner in the company Mouton,Naylor & Company of Gijon whose price list for 1895 has survived. My grandmother (Maria) Victoria was born in 1895 as evidenced by her birth certificate issued by the consulate in Gijon & she was joined by her brother Willam Amelio in 1896 with little more than 13months between them!
My grandma maintained that Mrs Rimmel of the cosmetics family was a neighbour ,indeed she said she was her godmother. We were also told of an amorous guitar playing Spaniard who serenaded under the balcony of one of the older girl's rooms and promised undying love if only he would marry her!
They had returned to Birmingham by 1901 but what an enterprise it must have been for those times and what an adventure for ordinary working people from the" Black Country".
Phil Moran
August 2005
'taken by my cousin in the Midlands (my g'ma & his were Naylor sisters) . When he visited the pub it had just been taken over by a new landlord who was very interested & took the time to show him round including the living quarters. Clive said no major work had been done & a lot of the original features remain.' Phil Moran