G. Godson, coffin maker

A trade directory for 1902 lists a George Godson 'undertaker' at 187 Gorton Road, Reddish, near Stockport [now in Greater Manchester]. And one for 1910 lists the same man, now a 'coffin maker' at 557, Gorton Road, Reddish.

Godson appears on the 1901 census, living with his family at 187 Gorton Road. Born in Manchester, he was 47 years old and described himself as a 'Joiner and Builder'. He and his wife Martha had seven children, ranging from 20-year-old George Junior, an apprentice joiner, to the youngest, Elsie, aged 5. Also living in the house were Martha's widowed brother, Horatio Nelson Boyd, and his young son. All these people, plus the undertaking business - the house must have been very crowded!

Photographer unidentified.