BURIED AT WEASTE CEMETERY
WILLIAM PERCIVAL POCHIN (1875 – 1881)
William Percival Pochin was only in his sixth year when he died, and you may wonder why I write about this 5 year old boy. It's because he had some interesting relatives, in particular, Weaste's link with a Mayor of Salford who was buried in North Wales.
Willian Percival was born in 1875 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland. His father was William Pochin (born 1841 in Wigston, Leicestershire), who was a Manu-facturing Chemist and Managing Director of a Colliery. His mother was Sarah Frances (nee Edwards) Pochin (born 1848 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent). They were married in 1871 in Tunbridge Wells, and their other children were: Walter Power (born 1872 in Cheetham, Manchester and died 1872 in Cheetham aged 6 weeks), Lillee Mabel (born 1873 in Manchester), Albert Henry (born 1874 in Manchester), Alethea Frances Zenobia (born Prestwich) and Arthur Whitwell (born 1886 in Broughton, Salford).
In 1881 their address was Holyrood, Prestwich, where William snr was aged 40 and a Manufacturing Chemist. William Percival was age 5. However, within weeks, William Percival died age 5 and was buried at Weaste Cemetery in grave A5/DISS/32 on 31st May 1881. There are six other people recorded as buried in this grave, but the only other person inscribed on the memorial is William Percival's brother Walter Power Pochin who died in 1872 aged 6 weeks.
William Percival's father's eldest brother was Henry Davis Pochin (born 1824 in Wigston, Leicestershire), who became Mayor of Salford from 1866 to 1868 and became MP for Stafford in 1868. He was an Industrial Chemist of note and invented a process that enabled white soap to be made by clarifying rosin (a brown substance) by steam distillation to turn it white. He sold the patent to raise money for his second invention to make a cheaper alternative of alumstone, used to make white paper. The process required using china clay and Henry bought several china clay quarries in Cornwall. He also had other ventures, in particular Tredegar Iron and Coal Company in Wales. He was also Deputy Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway Co. and a Director of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Co. Between 1871 and 1876 Henry Pochin resided at Llandudno, and in 1874 purchased the Bodnant estate in the Conwy Valley, where he lived in retirement. He died in 1895, aged 71.
William Percival's father's other brothers were Samuel Davenport Pochin, who owned a granite quarry in Leicestershire employing 230 men in 1881, and Alfred and John Pochin who owned a hosiery manufacturing mill in Leicester.
William Percival's older brother Albert Henry became a Director of the Manufacturing Chemist business and China Clay Company. His youngest brother, Arthur Whitwell Pochin, (born 1886 in Salford) became part of the family Manufacturing Chemist business. Arthur's two sons Cedric William Pochin (born 1907 in Southport, Lancs) and Arthur Caron Pochin (born 1912 in Southport) formed the Pochin Construction Company in 1934. It specialised in building offices, warehouses and residential schemes. The family business was taken over in 2014, but went bust in 2019.