Rachel Annie Magnall was born born on 30th October 1894 (VRI & RoB Burnley 1894 Q4 8e 219) and christened on the 22nd November 1894 (VRI). She was the daughter of Thomas Magnall (FM021) and Sarah Blakey (FM022).

At the time of the 1901 Census Rachel was seven years old and living with her parents at the grocer shop at 198 Accrington Road.

Rachel Annie, Mary Maud and Minnie Magnall c.1901

The 1911 Census shows that Rachel was living with her widowed mother still at the grocer shop at 198 Accrington Road and she was “Assisting in the business”. The photo below shows the shop around 1912, we think that it shows Rachel on the right and her mother on the left.

Grocer shop at 198 Accrington Road c.1912


Rachel, Maud and Minnie Magnall in a coloured photo

Rachel married Fred Beanland (born 8 June 1889) in 1919 and they had the following children:

  • James Magnall Beanland, born 2nd July 1920, died 1986;
  • Florence Maud Beanland, born 17th July 1921, died 15th May 1978;
  • Joyce Beanland, born 20 January 1926, died 1 October 2001;
  • Harry Beanland, born 22 January 1929, died 1996;
  • Jack Beanland, born 27 July 1931.

Rachel and Fred Beanland

Fred had served as a private (service number 35758) in the Lancashire Fusiliers during World War 1.

In 1939 the family were living at 15 Marine Avenue in what was the relatively new Stoops housing estate, built to rehouse people from areas of poor housing in Burnley. Fred was working as a builders labourer (possibly on the new housing estates around Burnley!), Rachel was a housewife, James worked as a “Coal Colliery Gob Tenter” (a Gob Tenter looked after the Gob, the area behind the coal face where the props have been drawn and the roof allowed to fall in), Florence was a cotton weaver, Joyce, Harry and Jack were all at school.

The World War II Home Guard records 1940-1945 show that James, the oldest son, enlisted in the Home Guard on 16 August 1942 and that the family were now living at 23 Barclay Avenue in Burnley, not far from their previous home in Marine Avenue.

Fred died in 1949.

Rachel died on the 10th June 1980 and was buried in Burnley Cemetery on the 13th June. At the time of her death she was living at 23 Barclay Avenue.


[Last updated 26 Nov 2021]