The family story
Houghton's basket making business began in 1867 and lasted more or less on the same site until the 1950s.
Esau Houghton (1846-1924) was born in Newmarket and married Sudbury born Mary-Ann Elliot (1845-1935) in 1867, the year Esau set up his basket making business. At various times he advertised himself as a cooper, sieve maker and coal and firewood merchant trading from 4, St Johns Street, the premises of Edis of Ely, pork butchers, today.
He also had a manufacturing works in St Andrews Street North somewhere between Bishops Road and Blomfield Street. This was not too far away from their Osier willow beds in the Tayfen Road meadows much prized in the making of baskets which were still used in recent times by delivery tradesmen such as bakers.
In January, 1868, Mary-Ann gave birth to a son, George Esau. He was christened at St Johns Church, with which he had a long association with, first as a chorister, onto being married by the Rev Dr Stantial and latterly as a churchwarden. His Diamond Wedding to Ellen Louise Brinkley was celebrated in 1941. Sadly, he died on Christmas Day 1951, his wife following him twelve days later.
George Esau had taken over the Basket making business in the first decade of the 20th century. He employed George Henry Ridgeon, who was born in 1896. With the coming of WWI, Mr Ridgeon joined the 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment but was tragically killed in action at the battle of the Somme in 1916 and was buried in Ovillers military cemetery in France. The photograph showing the Basket Works has George Ridgeon on the right.
It is currently unclear if this works had been in existence in Esau's time, but it was certainly closer to the osier beds at Tayfen than was the shop. The shop and works were also recorded in Kelly's Directory for 1925/26 and for 1937. In 1946 the business passed to George Hayter, son-in-law of George Esau Houghton.
Ethel, the daughter of George and Ellen had married George Hayter and it was he who carried on the business from 1946.
In 1952 a new gasholder had been erected on Tayfen Road. (This was the gas holder demolished in 2016).
Just next door to the new gasholder there still remained a remnant of former times. In January, 1952, osier beds were still being cropped to make willow baskets. One basket maker, Sidney Craggs, had been working on the osier beds in Tayfen Meadows, when he was fatally run down by a tractor as he returned to his home in Blomfield Street.
On a wall at the rear of the Edis shop is a stone plaque with G E H 1927 on and strangely enough on a wall the bottom of St Andrews St North /Tayfen Road is another plaque with G E H 1889. The basket works may well have extended down to as far as this.
In the 1960’s British Rail purchased some of the osier meadows, levelling it with waste soil from the Sugar Beet factory to create a sports ground for their employees. Only the name Osier Road, just off Tayfen Road, remains to tell of this once important industry.