John St. Lawrence Beaufort had been born in Ireland in 1818, the 4th son of the late Reverend W.L. Beaufort at Glanmore, Cork and had graduated from Dublin University with a B.A. He was preparing to study for the Bar, when a stroke of fate changed the course of his life.

In 1839 he was offered a position in the Postal Service, just as Rowland Hills grand scheme of Postal Improvement "The Penny Post" was initiated, and so John was in at the birth of the new service, he worked in various parts of the UK, first in the far North and then in North Wales, followed by a spell in the Midlands then London, but in 1860 he accepted the position of Postmaster of Manchester upon the retirement of the previous Postmaster Mr. Willock.

John lived the Roost on Rectory Lane in Prestwich, close by to where a property of the same name stands today. John remained a bachelor but lived in his house with a Housekeeper, Cook, Housemaid, and Gardener.

The Roost, Rectory Lane.

He was elected to be a Guardian of the Prestwich Union and in time, became its chairman, and was a generous contributor to charities and secured employment for numerous local people in the postal service. He even wrote messages and sent gifts if a member of staff was off work due to sickness.
John grew more ill and reclusive during his later years suffering from asthma, and died at his home on the 1st December 1887. On the day of his internment which took place on the 6th of December at St Mary's Prestwich, the weather was the most miserable that it could be.

The rain was coming down in torrents nearly all the time. The cortege set off in a heavy shower of rain and sleet, notwithstanding this the route was lined with people.

To give you some idea of those attending, there were 40 messengers and 50 postmen in full uniform, 50 female clerks ( he had been one of the earliest to employ female labour in the Telegraph service)and 100 telegraph clerks and 15 surveyors assistants, there were family and friends and the local Conservative club turned out, The M.P. Mr. R.J. Mobray was there and many others formed the procession at the Railway Station.

The procession headed to the Roost and then preceded the coffin to the church. The coffin was borne through lines of Telegraph boys into the quaint old church, which was filled to capacity. He was a man held in very high regard.

A fund of £500 raised in 1890 to commemorate John was invested in exhibitions for the scholars of Bury New Road National School, of which he was a manager.

John's monument in St Mary's Churchyard

By the census of 1891, Sarah Barrat widow and Smallware Manufacturer, was living at The Roost with her son Walter who also worked at the family business, and daughter Florence.

In the census of 1881, Sarah Barratt and her husband Peter had lived at Hawthorn Cottage on Wash Lane - now Clifton Lane - in Prestwich. Peter was Governing Director of Barratt & Bradbury a Smallwares manufacturer which had been established by his grandfather Allen Barratt, and William Bradbury of Poppythorn Cottage, in 1870. The original partnership ended upon the death of William (d:1882) but continued under sole ownership of Peter. Both Peter and William had been members of the Grand Jury of Salford(1878), alongside William Grimshaw the Gramophone King.

Britannia Mill (White roofs) to the left of the co-op yard

Barratt & Bradbury owned the Britannia Mill on Sherbourne Street, Prestwich (130 looms), specialising in Ribbons, Tapes, Stitching Floss (Silk Cotton and Worsted), Twines, and Bronze Colours.

Peter died in 1885, and is buried at St Mary's in Prestwich. Business must have gone well under the steerage of his widow and son, as in 1895 the Roost was rebuilt in the gardens of the previous property, slightly nearer Deyne Avenue. This building was the work of the Manchester architect J.L. Langham, and Sarah and her two children took up residence shortly after.

Architectural sketch of the 1895 Roost.