FORWARDFORWARDISSUE No. 21 SPRING 1999

The Newsletter of Wigan Heritage Service FREE

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Past Forward has come ofage! This is the 21st issueof the newsletter. It hascome a very long way sinceits birth back in 1991, as theworldwide mailing list, thehuge number ofcontributions (both writtenand financial) and numerouscomments (fortunatelyvirtually all favourable!)clearly demonstrate. Asever, I could easily producethree or four issues from thematerial to hand. Myapologies to all those whohave contributed articleswhich have as yet notappeared in print - please bepatient.

Another highly satisfyingaspect of Past Forward is itssuccess in putting people incontact with each other. Onmany occasions, readershave asked to be put intouch with a contributor of anarticle, or have sometimescontacted the person direct,and a new friendship hasbegun. I have also oftenbeen told how someonelooked at a photograph inPast Forward, and therewas an ancestor from manyyears ago looking back atthem. There are furtherexamples of this spin-offservice in this issue.

Thanks to all those readerswho have expressed theirviews on the projectedFriends of Wigan HeritageService - plans areprogressing, and full detailsappear on p15. Doremember that this is beingset up on a worldwide basis- regardless of where youlive in the world, please dobecome a Friend.

All comments andcorrespondence shouldbe addressed to:

Editor, ‘Past Forward’,Wigan Heritage Service,Market Suite,The Galleries,Wigan WN1 1PX

Cover: Wigan Parish Church,from the corner of Bishopgateand Crawford street, 1892.

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HERITAGE SERVICE CONTACTSWigan

Market Suite, The Galleries -Heritage Services Manager (and Editor of Past Forward)Alastair Gillies ........................................................................................................... (01942) 708354

Fax: ...... (01942) 704727

History Shop -Visitor Services Manager Philip Butler ..................................................................... (01942) 827594Education and Outreach Manager (and Local History, West) Bob Blakeman ............ (01942) 827580Collections Development Manager Yvonne Webb ..................................................... (01942) 828123Heritage Officer (Industrial History) Mike Haddon .................................................... (01942) 828121Heritage Officer (Social History) Dawn Wadsworth .................................................. (01942) 828124Heritage Assistant Hilary Fairclough ......................................................................... (01942) 828122Heritage Assistant Barbara Miller ............................................................................. (01942) 828122Heritage Assistant Stephanie Tsang .......................................................................... (01942) 828122Local History enquiry desk ....................................................................................... (01942) 828020

Fax: ....... (01942) 827645Wigan Pier -Technician Denise Glassbrook-Byrne ........................................................................ (01942) 828564

LeighArchives, Town Hall -Heritage Officer (Archives) Nicholas Webb ............................................................... (01942) 404430Senior Technician Len Hudson ................................................................................. (01942) 404432

Fax: ....... (01942) 404425

Turnpike Centre, Leigh Library -Heritage Officer (Local History) Tony Ashcroft ......................................................... (01942) 404559

Fax: ....... (01942) 404567

If you have an enquiry, and are not sure who the most appropriate person is to contact,please ring the History Shop, Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1NU (01942) 828128.You can also send an email: heritage@wiganmbc.gov.uk

News from the Archives

ANSWER to letter from Eileen Jolly in Past

Forward 19 re Almond’s Brewery and the

number of houses it owned:

Dear Mrs. Jolly,

In the Archives we have a volume of rate

assessments for all licensed premises within

the Wigan Poor Law Union area, compiled

between 1914 and 1931. This lists all pubs

under each brewery or other owner.

J.B. Almond owned the following

houses in Standish:

Black Bull, Market Street

Black Horse, Church Street

Horse Shoe, Wigan Road

Boars Head Inn, Wigan Road

Original Seven Stars, Preston Road

[New] Seven Stars, Preston Road

Wheatsheaf Hotel, Preston Road

White Duck, High Street.

All the above had full licences except

the Horse Shoe and the White Duck which

were beer houses.

Almond’s had many other houses in the

district: in Ashton, 7 pubs and 4 off

licences; in Billinge, the Forester’s Arms;

in Dalton, the Ashurst Beacon Inn; 3 pubs

each in Hindley, Ince and Orrell; the

Bowling Green Inn at Digmoor; the

Scarisbrick Arms in Wrightington; and no

less than 10 pubs and 3 off licences in

Wigan, including the Cherry Gardens and

Buck i’th’ Vine.

Regarding your grandmother Jane

Blundell, she is certainly listed in the

Wigan Directory (1925/26) as licensee of

the ‘New’ Seven Stars, the address of which

was 225 Preston Road. In the 1932

Standish rate book (here at Archives), the

occupier of New Seven Stars is shown as

Edward Blundell up to 7 February 1932.

To find out precisely when Jane held the

licence you would have to look at the

licensing registers. Although we have the

Wigan licensing records, Standish at that

time came under Leyland Petty Sessional

Court, and the licensing registers for that

court are available at Lancashire Record

Office, Bow Lane, Preston.

3

Recent AccessionsAMONGST notable additions toour holdings are the following:

Ac. 3148: photograph of LeighCorporation bus decorated forSilver Jubilee of George V, 1935.

Acc. 3149: letter from JamesEckersely & Sons re wage ratesfor cotton spinners, 1854.

Acc. 3151: planning registers forInce 1895-1974 and Standish1957-74.

Acc. 3152: photograph ofGidlow Athletic F.C. 1911/12.

Acc. 3154: sale catalogue forBrook Villa, Golborne, 1897(kindly deposited by Mr.Mitchell of Arizona).

Acc. 3156: papers reentertainments staged byTyldesley Home Guard. (Seeillustration below).

Acc. 3157: photograph of groupat Whelley Hospital, 1938.

Acc. 3158: printed schedules oflicensed premises andconvictions, Leigh PettySessional Division, 1880.

N.B. This last document isparticularly valuable. It waspublished to coincide with theestablishment of Leigh as a PettySessional Division, separatefrom Warrington. The newDivision included Leigh, Astley,Atherton, Culcheth, Kenyon,Lowton and Tyldesley. The courtregisters (available at theArchives) date from 1880, butthe licensing registers only from1903, so this comprehensive listadds to our knowledge ofVictorian pubs. For each housethe name of the licensee and thedate he or she commenced at thepub are given, as well as the typeof licence and value of the house.Some of those listed began theiroccupation as early as the 1850’s;Richard Greenough had been atthe Rope & Anchor in Leighsince 1834. Convictions during1879 and 1880 are also recordedin the list. For example WilliamBennett at the King’s Arms inLowton was find 20s. for sellinggin that was 50% under proof.The list gives a dramatic pictureof the importance of pubs inVictorian times: there were 85fully licensed houses and nofewer than 150 beer houses (afew of which were licensed forbilliards and bagatelle), besides82 beer off licences! The

summary at the end of the listrecords that no less than 374people were summoned fordrunkenness in 1879-80, morethan one per day! It was thisproblem of drunkenness that ledto the reform of the licensinglaws and the decline of the beerhouse in the early 1900’s.

Important documentconserved

A document of great value tothe students of local railways, aswell as family historians, hasbeen repaired and is nowavailable for study. Entered onthe official forms for ‘Particularsof Staff Return’, it is a list ofemployees at Springs Branchstation, Lower Ince, of theLondon & North WesternRailway Company. Kindlydonated by Mr. A. Taylor ofWigan, the paper was so fragiledue to water damage that anyattempt to turn the pages causedit to crumble to dust.

Compiled in the mid-1890’s,the document lists about 400men, some of whom had beenengaged as far back as the1850’s. For example ThomasHeaton, born 2 March 1835 andengaged in 1851, was still at

Springs Branch nearly 50 yearslater; James Leigh, an engineman at the rate of 7s. [per day],had originally been engaged in1863 at the age of 15. Each entryrecords date of birth, occupation(e.g. engine man, fireman,cleaner), date of engagement,wage rate, and other ‘remarks’such as death or transfer. It isunlikely that the information willbe recorded elsewhere, theCompany archives at the P.R.O.for instance. Occasionaldismissals are recorded, forinstance John Leach, a turnerdismissed in 1898 for neglect ofduty.

The conservation work wascarried out by R-Craft ofWakefield.

More inscriptionspublished

In Past Forward 17 wedescribed Graham Normansell’sproject to record memorialinscriptions at EmmanuelChurch, Wargrave. He has nowcompleted similar volumes forother churches in the area, andhas donated copies to theArchives: St. Peter’s, Newton-le-Willows (burials from 1737;earliest stone 1741);

Congregational Church,Newton-le-Willows (burialsfrom 1842)’ Hollinfare chapelry,Warrington (oldest stone 1714);St. Werbergh old church,Warburton, Cheshire (oldeststone 1683).

Recent researchtopics

The type of research carriedout by people at the Archivesvaries greatly. Readers may bestudents, academics, familyhistorians, council officers,commercial interests, andindividuals pursuing privateresearch or legal matters.

Recent research includes:nailmakers’ cottages andworkshops at Atherton (EnglishHeritage); Westleigh - detailedstudy of population, land-holding, family reconstitutionand topography; land use inDalton; health in Wigan; rightsof way; civil war; AstleyHospital site; war memorials;South Lancs. Tramways;Douglas Navigation; St. John’sHindley Green centenary;hedgerows; adoptions; househistories; Wigan vehiclelicences.

N.W.

News From the ArchivesNews From the Archives

JOHN Fairclough JP was the eldest son ofWilliam Fairclough of Leigh. Born at StoneHouse on 19 July 1854, he was baptised atSt. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church byFather Middlehurst just two days later.

His education took place at LeighGrammar School during the period of RalphPasse’s headship. After leaving school hebecame a partner in the firm of FaircloughBrothers, builders merchants, which hadbeen established by his grandfather JohnFairclough some 70 years earlier.

On 21 October 1879 he married MaggieUnsworth (daughter of William Unsworth,Bond Street, Leigh). The marriage wassolemnized at St. Joseph’s by Rev. FatherFanning.

The ceremony was then followed byHigh Mass before the couple departed fortheir honeymoon on the Isle of Wight.Although nothing extraordinary occurred atthe wedding at which Father Fanning wasassisted by Fathers Kavanagh, Wright andHopkins, the event inspired Gerard ManleyHopkins to pen his poem ‘At the WeddingMarch’:

At the Wedding MarchGod with honour hang your head,Groom, and grace you, bride, your bedWith lisson scions, sweet scions,Out of hallowed bodies bred.

Each be other’s comfort kind:Deep, deeper than divined,Divine charity, dear charity,Fast you ever, fast bind.

Then let the march tread our ears:I to him turn with tearsWho to wedlock, his wonder wedlock,Deals triumphant and immortal years.

First Mayor of Leigh

In May 1888 John Fairclough becamefirst associated with Leigh Local Boardwhen he was elected in place of ThomasNorbury. He represented Pennington Warduntil 1984 when the Leigh Urban DistrictCouncil was formed. He continued amember for the Central Ward until 1989when the Borough was incorporated. Afterthis he was elected member for LilfordWard until 9 November 1899 when he wasunanimously appointed the first Mayor ofthe Borough.

The first Mayor’s Sunday occurred on12 November 1899 when John Faircloughattended a service at St. Joseph’s RomanCatholic Church. The procession startedfrom Leigh Technical School at 10.30 am. Itwas headed by St. Joseph’s Brass Band,following on came about 40 members of the

JOHNFAIRCLOUGH

(1854-1923)

Gerard ManleyHopkins

HOPKINS had been born at Stratford,Essex, on 28 July 1844 to Anglicanparents. He eventually converted toRoman Catholicism during hisundergraduate days at Balliol College,Oxford, when the second wave ofconversions to Roman Catholicism,inspired by John Henry Newman andthe Oxford Movement, took hold. Hewas eventually received into theCatholic Church by Cardinal Newmanhimself on 21 October 1866. By May1868 he had entered the Society ofJesus. Although up to this date he hadbeen a prolific poet, Hopkinsceremoniously burned his poems torenounce his career as a poet and itwas not until December 1875 that hebegan writing poetry again with ‘TheWreck of the Deutschland’, tocommemorate the loss of life of 99 crewand 113 passengers (including fiveFranciscan nuns) in a storm.

Following his ordination inSeptember 1877, Hopkins becamesomewhat a peripatetic priest,eventually moving to St. Joseph’s atBedford for three months betweenOctober and December 1879, beforetransferring to St. Xavier’s at Liverpool.His final move was to Dublin where hewas appointed Fellow in Classics at theRoyal University of Ireland andProfessor at University College, St.Stephen’s Green. He contacted typhoidfever and died on 8 June 1889.Although virtually unknown poeticallyin his lifetime it was through hiscorrespondence with Robert Bridgesand Bridges’ edited version of Hopkins’poems, which first appeared in January1919, that the public became aware ofthis unique poetic voice.

police force under SuperintendentHigginbotham. The Fire Brigade was nextin the procession in their new uniforms,under the command of SuperintendentStainton. Behind them came all theCorporation officials. They walked to thechurch by way of Railway Road,Bradshawgate, Queen Street and ChapelStreet.

On 14 August 1900 AldermanGreenough CC, Deputy Mayor, presentedMr. Fairclough with a badge and medallion(from an anonymous donor) which formedthe nucleus of a mayoral chain. The badgeconsisted of “a large gold medallion bearingthe borough coat of arms and enamelledpictures of Leigh Parish Church, MarketPlace and Technical School. In the upperpart is the Mayor’s monogram ‘JF’surmounted by a gold crown. A mace andsword jut out from the main portion of themedallion and at the foot are the words‘Incorporated 1899’. Medallion encircledby blue ribbon. The makers being theGoldsmiths and Silversmiths Co, 112Regent Street, London.”

Freeman of the Borough

For his commitment to a long publicservice career in which he served on most ofall the important committees AldermanFairclough was conferred a Freeman of the

Borough in January 1919. For many yearshe had been organist at St. Joseph’s Church,a Grand Knight of the Knights of Columba,the first President of Leigh Catholic Cluband a member of the Council of the St.Vincent de Paul Society. By 1903 AldermanFairclough had become one of the firstBorough Magistrates and in 1912 waselected to the County Bench. In thefollowing year during the Royal Tour ofLancashire he had the honour of beingpresented to the King and Queen.

John Fairclough finally died at his home(55 Church Street, Leigh) in July 1923 aftera heart attack.

T.A.

John Fairclough

4

5

The illustrious ‘Little’ SteveIN 1868 a policeman patrollingalong Chapel Street, Liverpool,saw a small boy near St. Nicholas’sChurch trying to shelter from thebitter January weather. He waspoorly clad and when asked wherehe lived said that he did not know.The policeman took him in charge,carrying him on his shoulders,“ . . . meanwhile”, the boy was towrite later, “chatting to me somerrily that I forgot my troublesand enjoyed the ride.” The officercould hardly have been expectedto know that he was carrying afuture cabinet minister on hisshoulders!

Stephen was first taken to theworkhouse. The register gives hisnumber as 9747. He was admittedto the Kirkdale Industrial Schoolon 31 January 1868, his age beinggiven as eight, his father dead andhis being deserted by his mother“. . .who was not resident in aworkhouse”. He was happy there,and wrote later, “I was well caredfor and, without strainingimagination too far, I think I maysay that I became a politician. Theteachers used to be kind enoughto lend me illustrated papers andI vividly remember beingfascinated by a portrait of Mr.Gladstone. From that time on Mr.Gladstone was my hero and Ifollowed his career with absorbedinterest. In later years I forsookLiberalism but Mr. Gladstone wascertainly one of the most potentinfluences on my early life.”

Born with great gifts

Such was his progress at theschool that he wished to stay on tobecome a teacher but the principalconsidered him to be too small tocontrol the children. The KirkdaleCommittee minutes of 10December 1873 contain thefollowing: “an application hasbeen received from John Walsh ofDownall Green, Ashton-in-Makerfield, for his brotherStephen”. It is not known howJohn Walsh reached DownallGreen from Liverpool and at 19years of age would not beconsidered. However Stephen wasdischarged on 7 January 1874 “tofriends”. The 1881 census showsStephen Walsh living at 43Downall Green with MatthewPicton, a coal miner and his wifeAnne, both aged 40. Stephen wentto work in the pits, earning 1d anhour for a 60 hour week, “. . .lessthan a £1 a month to keep bodyand soul together”. He had beenborn with great gifts and foundthat his education, elementary

though it was, gave him a greatadvantage over his fellow miners,most of whom were illiterate.

From the age of 14 he passedthrough all the gradesunderground from haulage handto coal-face worker. When he firstbecame connected with miningtrade unionism there was nocounty federation, only a numberof local unions. In time he waselected check-weighman atGarswood Hall Collieries andwhen Sam Wood became theMember of Parliament for Ince in1892, Walsh was his trustedlieutenant. In 1885 he marriedAnnie Adamson, a “pit-browlassie”, at the colliery where heworked and they were to have tenchildren. In 1901 he became theminers’ agent for Wigan, whichmeant leaving Downall Green andliving in Swinley Road, Wigan, acondition of the appointmentbeing that the successful candidatemust reside in the area.

Caused a sensation inthe House

In 1906, as a LabourRepresentation Committeecandidate he won the Ince Divisionfrom Colonel Blundell, a localcolliery owner, by a large majority.In all he was to win seven electionsbefore retiring in 1929 and today,

over 90 years later, the seat - nowthe Makerfield Division - is the

safest of the Labour strongholds.His maiden speech, delivered onlydays after taking his place in

Parliament, was received withgreat approval on both sides of theHouse. In 1908, a private

member’s bill introduced byWalsh won for the miners, for the

first time ever, an eight-hour day.

In 1912 during a miners’ strike fora minimum wage, Mr. Asquith, the

Prime Minister, brought in a bill

establishing the principle. Walshfought hard to have amounts

inserted but when his

amendments failed he urged hiscolleagues to support the bill. He

caused a sensation in the House

saying, “I am a citizen before I ama trade unionist and if the national

interests were in danger I would

support the State”.

During the 1914-18 war he

campaigned vigorously on behalfof the war effort and served in the

wartime coalition, first as

Parliamentary Secretary ofNational Service from 1917-19 as

Secretary to the Local

Government Board. It was a bitter

blow to the Walsh family when, in

April 1917, Captain ArthurWalsh, M.C. their eldest son, was

killed in France. When the Labour

Government took office for the

first time in 1924, Mr. Walshbecame Secretary of State for Warwith a seat in the Cabinet. Therewas something incongruous aboutthis Minister, who was only fivefeet tall, giving orders to stiff,beribboned generals. However, hisintelligence and personalityquickly won over the Army chiefs.Although small in stature,mentally he was a giant. As aminers’ agent it was said that ifStephen Walsh could not get aconcession from the coal-ownersthere was no concession to be had.He was a Shakespearean scholarand could pick up any quotationgiven him and carry on until askedto stop.

Apt quotations andliterary allusions

In the House of Commons, hisspeeches always contained aptquotations and literary allusions.It was said that Arthur(afterwards Lord) Balfour, theTory Leader, listened intently tothis man who was born in theslums of Liverpool, untrained inthe Parliamentary arts,addressing the greatest assemblyin the world in a manner equaland sometimes superior to manyof those around him. His speechesmay have been flavoured withclassical allusions and quotations,but always the substance was thecondition of the people and theurgent necessity for improvement.

Walsh died in March 1929.Telegrams were received from theKing and Queen, the War Office,Lloyd George and countlessothers. When the cortege leftSwinley Road, Wigan on its five-mile, one-and-a-half hoursjourney to Downall Green, longranks of bare-headed miners whohad left the coal face early to paytheir last respects, lined the street.In an inspiring graveside address,Canon Raven, who representedthe Bishop of Liverpool, said“living under conditions whichexisted in parts of thisneighbourhood, with its wastageof human life, its tragedies,poverty, suffering and enduranceand knowing how enormouslycomplex were the causes of thoseevils, it was difficult not to despair.There were those who claimedthat they could not turn poor stockinto good and that nothing couldbe got out of a slum but a slummind. Thank God Stephen Walshstands as a witness that both ofthose statements are untrue.”

© James Fairhurst

King George V and Queen Mary with Mr. Stephen Walsh,

Secretary of State for War in the first Socialist Government, 1924.

6➯

which carried a Letter ofMarque. This meant that inany successful engagementswith the enemy there was theprospect of a share of prizemoney for himself. Brave andenterprising he took a numberof prizes against Americanships in the Caribbean andreturned safely to Lancasterwhere he received manycongratulations. Songswere composed in hishonour and sung inL a n c a s t e r ’s

streets; the songsters onoccasions stopping outside hishome at the top of Church Streetto proclaim repeated cheers.

During this period his wifebore him four children:Edward was the first born whodied aged three, next was

Nelly. The name was chosenby Mrs Weeton because herhusband was en voyage in theNelly at the time of her birth.Their third child was Margaretwho lived but a fortnight andfourth was Thomas who wasborn in January 1781.

Captain Weeton’s suc-cesses at sea had, by the year1782, accumulated for himselfthe colossal sum of £12,000.He then decided to give up hisseafaring activities but theidea was over-ruled by hisemployers. They promisedhim that if he would go to sea

A Privateer. Armed merchantmen carrying at least 18 guns and

40 men were licensed to attack and capture ships of enemy coun-

tries. The above sketch is of the Lancaster-built 22 gun priva-

teer, the ‘Thetis’, based on a model in Lancaster Maritime

Museum. The ‘Nelly’ commanded by Thomas Weeton in 1776

would have been very similar.

1999 commemorates 150 years since the death of Miss Weeton, Governess, of

Upholland. After his introduction to Miss Weeton in Past Forward 20, Alan Roby

continues with the story of Miss Weeton’s parentage and her early life at Lancaster

and why, along with her mother and brother, she came to settle at Upholland,

near Wigan:

ELLEN WEETON(1776-1849)

GOVERNESSFrom Lancaster to Upholland

once more, on his return hewould find all his debts settledand his prize money awaitinghim. Unfortunately heacquiesced and never againreturned to England. Newseventually reached Lancasterthat in an engagement with anAmerican ship of superior

strength, Captain Weeton washit by a “chain shot” which“ripped off the side of his facewhilst he was shouting ordersthrough a trumpet to his menin the shrouds.” Soonafterwards the American shipmade off in a sinking state butthe Nelly somehow remainedafloat. The crew took him tonearby Jamaica where he livedfor a few days. He was buriedthere on 11 September, 1782.

Defrauded

Mary Weeton’s great losswas compounded bysubsequently being defraudedof all her husband’s prizemoney, as well as otherproperty gained through hisvoyages. Though makingmany applications to theRawlinsons, she neverreceived a single pound, nor

any information regardingthe manner in which hisproperty was disposedof. Suffering a deepdepression of spirits andher health impairedthrough an accumulationof losses - in a period ofsix months she had losther husband, her ownmother and a fortune of

at least £12,000. She thendecided to plan a new life forherself and her two remainingchildren.

Now it so happened thatMrs. Weeton had, through hermother, a connection with theancient village of Upholland,near Wigan. Mrs. Weeton’smother was a sister to anUpholland brewer by thename of Randal Smith. Shehad married a Preston butcherby the name of Richard

A BRIEF entry of baptism

in the registers of St. John’s

Parish Church, Lancaster,

states: “Nelly, daughter of

Captain Weeton, 29

January, 1777”. Ellen

Weeton (christened Nelly)

was born on Christmas

Day 1776. Thomas Weeton,

her father, was born at

Scale Hall, near Lancaster

in 1748 and had married in

1770(?) Mary Rawlinson of

Preston.

At the time of Ellen’sbirth Thomas was in theemploy of the Rawlinsons (avery distant relation to hiswife’s family), who were aLancaster family ofshipowners and of no littleimportance in the city.

Before the American War ofIndependence, Thomas Weetonwas captain of a merchantmanemployed in the African slavetrade. At the outbreak of war in1776 he was commissioned tocommand a privateer (aprivately equipped war ship),with permission to engage theenemy. His ship’s name was theNelly.

Brave andenterprising

Captain Weeton clearlyexcelled in his captaincy,

7

Rawlinson with whom she hadthree daughters: Elizabethwho married Mr. T. Ditchfieldof Preston, Mary who marriedMr. T.Weeton of Lancaster andMargaret who married Mr. T.Wigan of Wigan.

Last days inUpholland

Prior to her death, old Mrs.Rawlinson (Mrs. Weeton’smother), had expressed a desireto spend her last days inUpholland, the place of herbirth. Shortly beforehand Mrs.Weeton had promised that shewould go to Upholland with her,but now alone she decided tocontinue with this plan. She wassomewhat encouraged in this byher sister, Margaret, then livingin Upholland who told her that“both rents and coals weremuch lower than in Lancaster.”

Mrs. Weeton, with Ellenaged seven and Thomas agedthree, came to begin their newlife in Upholland in May 1784and rented a little cottage inChurch Street.

Church Street, Upholland c.1913. Mrs Weeton, together with

her daughter, Ellen and son Thomas came to live in what Ellen

later described as “A pretty cottage, elevated from the road by

a flight of steps to the front door, and a kind of gallery across

the front of the house guarded on the open side by a row of

white rails. At one end of the house was a little gate which

opened into a pretty little garden on the side of a hill . . .”

Edward Hall, editor of

Miss Weeton: Journal of a

Governess suggests that ‘the

cottage’ pictured right (now

demolished) with the white

front, answers the description.

It was sited immediately

opposite the garden of ‘The

Priory’, home of Rev and Mrs

J Braithwaite.

The three-storey building

in the foreground is thought to

have been taken at some stage

by Mrs Weeton who started her

dame school after four years in

the village shortly before its

demolition earlier this century

it was known as ‘the ghost

house’. The site is now the car

park to the White Lion inn.

Mary Weeton and her twosisters, Elizabeth andMargaret had, considering thetime in which they lived,received a good education.Mary in particular had beenfortunate enough to have hada good grounding in the socialgraces. In an effort to improveher mind and manners she hadread much and became alady’s maid to a MissHoghton, sister to Sir HenryHoghton of Walton Hall, nearPreston. For 12 months sheand Lady Hoghton hadtravelled together to varioussouthern counties of England.

Pretty cottagegarden

Now drawing on her pastexperience, Mary Weetonsoon became acquainted withthe principal families ofUpholland and neighbour-hood. In her pretty cottagegarden, which was on a steepincline at the rear of theproperty, on “many occasionsshe entertained Mr.Braithwaite, a clergyman and

his wife; Mr. J. Clayton,likewise a clergyman and hiswife (a sister of Mrs.Braithwaite); the Rev. R.Braithwaite and CaptainTaylor and his wife.”

The views from the cottageand garden “were extensive,romantic and beautiful”, sowrote Ellen Weeton in herRetrospect in 1809. Both Ellenand Thomas were very happybut Mrs. Weeton wasincreasingly unhappy. Her littleincome, which had been via avery small estate at Sunderland,near Heysham, Lancashire,even with the strictest economy, Continued on page 8.

was found inadequate to supportthe three of them.

Thomas had been sent toMr. Braithwaite’s nearby“most excellent” school forboys at. He was a day scholarthere until his education wascomplete. Ellen herself did notattend a school but was an avidreader and was also taught byher mother. In addition anusher from Mr. Braithwaite’sschool regularly attended Mrs.Weeton’s home to teachwriting, grammar, arithmeticand a little geography. Ellen

8

MARGARET Barton was one of MissWeeton’s two aunts on her mother’s side ofthe family. She was the youngest of threesisters born to Mr and Mrs RichardRawlinson of Preston. Margaret marriedfirstly Mr T Wigan, a solicitor, of Wigan, whopredeceased her. There was no offspring.She married secondly Mr T Barton, asaddler by trade, of Wigan, who, uponretirement, decided to settle at Upholland.Again there was no offspring.

It is clear from Miss Weeton’s lettersthat her Aunt Barton was financially verycomfortably off and loved money for itsown sake. The fact that she had no childrenof her own meant that her “concerns werebut small”. At a time of personal crisis forMiss Weeton, through no fault of her own,and in need of moral and financial support,her Aunt was not very helpful. After thedeath of her mother, Miss Weeton hadbeen playing with some little children, atwhich time she received a violent bruise toher ankle. After a few days the woundbegan to “gather”. Her Aunt went to seeher niece and said: “Why do you not get apoultice?” Miss Weeton blushed andconfessed that she had no money. At this

her Aunt loaned her a penny. Unfortunatelythe wound became badly infected andcaused her to be confined for four monthswith thoughts that she might have to loseher leg. During this period her Aunt onlyvery occasionally called to see her andnever once suggested that she shouldreceive medical assistance. That would, ofcourse, have meant her providing themoney for doctor’s fees.

Miss Weeton ultimately benefited in herAunt’s will by receiving the sum of £5.Margaret Barton died at the age of 61 in1813 and was buried alongside MrsWeeton, her sister. Her gravestoneremoved from its original position, is nowone of many old gravestones relaid asflagstones to form a paved area at the footof the main entrance steps of Uphollandchurchyard. (See photograph below).

Thomas Barton outlived his wife by 17years. He died on 21 October 1820, aged78. Thomas had been more charitabletowards his niece than was his wife. MissWeeton benefited in his will by the sum of£60 (less legacy duty). The whole amountwas immediately forfeited to her thenhusband, Aaron Stock.

BOB DOBSONPublisher and Book Dealer

LANCASHIRE

YORKSHIRE & CHESHIRE

I buy, sell and search for second-handbooks relating to these counties: I searchfor books: I issue lists. I buy quantities ofother books.

LIST OF MY NEW PUBLICATIONSON REQUEST

BOB DOBSON

“Acorns”

3 STAINING RISE,

STAINING,

BLACKPOOL, FY3 0BU.

Tel: (01253) 895678

showed a natural ability forreading and scribbling rhymes.

The family had been residentin Upholland for four years whenMrs. Weeton was forced toincrease her income. Shedecided to start a dame school.From then on mother anddaughter began a life of “virtualslavery”.

● The next issue of Past

Forward will detail Miss

Weeton’s life in Upholland

and her temporary removal

from 1808-1809 to Liverpool.

In addition will be a profile

on Miss Weeton the great

walker; also two of Miss

Weeton’s loyal Upholland

friends, the good, but worldly

Rev. and Mrs. J. Braithwaite,

of ‘The Priory’.

ELLEN WEETON(1776-1849)

GOVERNESSFrom Lancaster to Upholland

–––––Continued from page 7

MARGARET BARTON (1752-1813)

A POOLSTOCK CHILDHOODc.1920

9

I WAS born in 1919 on the‘island’ of Poolstock with asister two years older thanI. We lived in a rented,Victorian house which hadthree bedrooms, bathroom,front room, middle room,kitchen and scullery.

In the kitchen there wasa large black range (whichneeded black leading) witha steel fender and largefireguard. There was a largescrub topped dresser, asimilar table and a cornercupboard. Most of thecooking was done on thefire and in the oven of therange but we did have a gasring in the scullery wherethere was also a large sink,a slop stone, copper boilerand a mangle for washingclothes.

From the scullery doorfour steps led down to theback yard where there wasan out-house in which acockerel and hens werekept. I was terrified of thecockerel who seemed tostrut about menacingly andalways appeared to have hisbeady eye on me.

In front of the housethere was a long gardenwith a path from the gate tothe front door runningalong one side. To the left ofthis path my fatherattempted to grow a lawn,and a family story goes that,on coming home fromwork one day, he found mysister leading me by thehand and walking all overhis newly planted grassseed. On being admonishedshe replied that she hadonly been showing mewhere I had not to go!

Next door but one to uswas a brewery, and every sooften water would bedischarged from thebuilding and with it camedozens of rubber bandswhich we collected - thoughwhat for remains a mystery!

There was a cornershop which sold nearlyeverything. My motherwould send us with oldnewspapers which wereused to wrap vegetables,and the shopkeeper wouldgive us a twist of papercontaining sweets - usuallydolly mixtures orsometimes aniseed ballswhich I preferred becausethey lasted longer.

Across the road livedthe headmistress of St.James’ Infants School; her

daughter taught dancing inthe front room and shewould arrange concerts atthe school. I rememberbeing taught the “Sailor’sHornpipe”. When I was twoyears old I was taught asimple dance at the end ofwhich I was told to “bow toMargaret”. On the night ofthe concert Margaret was inthe wings at the back of thestage - so, of course, Iturned my back on theaudience and bowed to her!

Behind the housesopposite was the canal. Oneday my sister and somefriends were attempting tocatch ‘cockies’ by running

along the tow path danglinga jam jar on a piece ofstring into the water andshe fell in. Fortunately therewas a canal boat in the areaand the owner fished herout. I think that this wasprobably why my motherwas determined that herdaughters should learn toswim. Firstly she taughtherself and then she taughtus.

There was quite a gangof boys and girls who livedin the area, not much trafficand very little crime - onecould leave the door ‘on thelatch’.

I haven’t mentioned myfather yet. He was workinglong hours in order that wemight have a reasonablelife. I remember his takingus to collect eggs from thehens and for walks alongthe canal. He waspersuaded to stand forelection to the TownCouncil and four of uschildren walked arm in armalong the road on electionday with his photograph

and election addresspinned to our frockssinging -

Vote, vote, vote forSidney Wild.He is the best man forthe job,and if you don’t gethim in,we will kick your doorin,and you won’t seeyour mother anymore(We didn’t mean it!)We attended church

and Sunday School. Therewas a great community spiritsurrounding the church. Ivaguely remember a fancydress party in which I wasdressed as a bride, togetherwith Leslie Duckworth whowas my ‘bridegroom’. Ithink his hat only stayed onhis head courtesy of his ears.My sister won a leathermusic case dressed asa crinoline lady. (Seephotographs above).

At day school, which Iattended at five years old, welearned multiplication tablesparrot fashion - I can still saythem all to this day. We hadslates and chalk to write with

and on each desk there wasa small sponge. When it wastime to erase our workingsthe teacher would comealong with a large spongeand a bowl of water andsqueeze a little water ontoeach pupil’s slate.

Mother always bakedthe bread - 6 lbs of flour, 2oz. of yeast - which shewould knead on the rug infront of the fire. She seemedto bake every other day andwe were allowed to have thescrapings from the bowlwhich we would mould intosomething recognisable -but by the time we hadfinished the dough was greyin colour.

When I was four yearsold I contracted typhoidfever and was admitted toWhelley Sanatorium. As theambulance took me awaymy mother wonderedwhether she would see meagain. I can recall someinstances of my time in thehospital - seeing my parentslooking at me through awindow and having to standto attention by my cot whenthe Medical Officer, Dr.Whitehead, did his rounds.When I was getting better Iwas allowed to walk toMatron’s house in thegrounds to take the post. AtChristmas I helped the sisterto string up autumn leaveswhich had been collectedand dried. They made acolourful decoration.

In 1925 our parents toldus that we were moving to abrand new house. This wasnear the ‘New Road’ asMesnes Road was called atthat time. We would go to anew school and have newfriends, so we had to getused to a fresh environment.It was exciting but that isanother story!

Pauline WalkerAspullWigan

10

IN the October of 1932, on the Saturday before

the Harvest Sunday at the Chapel, I had taken

Mary Taylor out for the first time; I had

known her for years at the Chapel, but had

steadfastly refused earlier involvement

because of home circumstances and having

little to look forward to in way of a future. As

soon as I knew that I was ‘on my way’, and

that I could and would succeed in becoming a

teacher, we joined forces, and never looked

back!

In the third extract from the Memories from the life of James Albert Davies, the author

recalls his experiences as a young teacher during the 1930’s.

Memories from the life of

James Albert Davies

I had a major problemposed by the final year ofmy course at the Tech; afull-time year, which wouldinclude an essential sixmonths teaching practicebefore sitting, was the usualprocedure, but I couldafford neither the timeaway from home nor theexpense. Instead, I electedto take a correspondencecourse and arranged to dothe six months teachingpractice in a nearby school(unpaid) in Babylon Lanein Adlington, whichenabled me to cope withhousehold matters pre-9.00 am and during thelunch period, and be homein time after close of schoolto have everything readyfor the workers’ return.

I was summoned to attendon the Director of Educationat County Hall, Preston, whowanted me to wait until theycould find me a paid post inwhich to fulfil the six monthsteaching practice requirement,but this would have meant ayear’s delay to which I wastotally opposed, and in the endI carried out my original

arrangements (with hisagreement, as I couldn’totherwise enter schoolpremises).

Very demanding

The correspondencecourse proved verydemanding of time, and I soonfound myself behindschedule; rules were strict rereturning Instruction andQuestion papers on time,otherwise no furtherdispatches, and on more thanone occasion I had to getMarjorie to copy them for meto deal with later (and toreturn the originals on time!).There was little time forpleasure, and Mary suffered,but we survived. Lack of timedue to studying meant that Icouldn’t get out to make themoney for my Final fees (tenguineas), so I had to borrowthe money and repay it frommy first month’s pay as ateacher.

It was during this periodthat I bought my first bicycle,as it was obvious thattravelling was about toincrease - I entered into a hire-purchase arrangement withthe local dealer, and from thenon life became a bit easier.

When I visited County Hall todiscuss my future, I hadbecome one of their statistics,and a few weeks before myfinal exam I was approachedby the County Organiser witha request to take over theteaching of WorkshopPractice at Worsley Tech, nearManchester, for the durationof the Summer Term (Easterto July). I leapt at the chance,providing I was released formy Final exam dates. It meanta longer day away from home(I cycled there of course, butit wasn’t just across thefields), but I was determinedto look to my own affairs a bitmore; Marjorie was well intoher teens and able to fend forherself a lot more, and I wasstill around in the eveningsand weekends to help out.

* * * * * *

Once I was through myexams and so a qualifiedteacher of Workshop Practice,I promptly started looking fora position. For a time I was inlimbo, but soon was kept busy‘filling-in’ for absent teachers,arranged by the CountyOrganiser. One such jobcovered a joint appointment atAbbey Village/Shevington,where the teacher had been‘played off’ with a nervousbreakdown. When I arrived atAbbey Village on the Mondaymorning to take over (20February 1936) I found thatthe school had been burntdown on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and quiteliterally I entered the place onmy backside. I had cycledover from home in Coppull,and met no problems on theroads, even though it was

winter, but water from thefire-engines had frozen andturned the area into a hugeskating rink which I didn’tnotice quickly enough onturning into the entrance, andmy bike went one way and Iwent another!

The workshop was in apart of the school whichwasn’t touched by the fire, andmost of my time there wasspent on dividing the chapelfor use as a school, withportable screens as the chapelwas needed for Sundayworship (it was a MethodistChurch and day school). Thelads learned a lot, but notperhaps the normal tuitionprovided in a schoolworkshop.

The ‘other half’ of that jobin Shevington had itsproblems also; I was supposedto teach bee-keeping as wellas woodwork - hives in anarea out in the school grounds- but as I knew nothing ofbees, and didn’t want to knowanything, we played a lot offootball that month. Theworkshop doubled up as adomestic science room on thealternate days, and Iremember going into thestoreroom for my bike at theend of the day and finding ayoung woman (the DomesticScience teacher) changinginto riding habit - she came toschool on a horse!

* * * * * *

The following school yearwas bleak in regard toteaching work, but I wasn’tidle; Marjorie was at home,leaving me free to go aboutand earn enough as a

➯

11

journeyman to keep us in whatwe really needed. Fatherthought that holidays andanything which wasn’tessential were a completewaste of money, but Marjorieneeded more than basics andgot some of the pleasuresthrough my help. Like meshe’d little to thank father forduring this still difficultperiod of our lives, butbetween us we kept thingsticking over fairly well.

Sunday School and Chapelwere involving us to a greaterextent; I had undertaken thesecretarial work, and Marywas the School pianist. Thesocial life was much strongerthen than it is now, with fewfree weekends and manymidweek activities - the timepassed quickly. I had aworkshop at home where Istarted to think about futureneeds, in between working topay the bills.

Much of our leisure wasspent on our bikes. Maryhadn’t much after a full weekin the mill and again it was acase of making the most ofwhat we had and striving for abetter future.

Towards the end of thesummer of 1937 the Countyoffered me a three-day perweek teaching job(permanent) at HaslingdenGrammar School, and thoughit wasn’t really what I wanted,after due consideration Iaccepted the post pending amore suitable positiontranspiring. WorkshopPractice wasn’t takenseriously in grammar schoolsat that time, being more or lessregarded as light relief fromthe more important academicsubjects, but there were signsof change and expressedintentions of it becoming asimportant as most othersubjects. Originally the localjoiner was brought in tosupervise this light relief -uncertificated, and thus not onthe official payscale but paidby the hour. By now most ofthem had been replaced bycertificated Workshop

Practice teachers, eitherthrough retirement (enforced)or death. Haslingden had sucha teacher, who had diedsuddenly during the Summerholidays, hence the urgentappeal to me!

Wasn’t happy

I made it perfectly clear tothem that I wasn’t happy withthe situation, but as they hadhelped me in the past, I wouldtake the job on theunderstanding that I was freeto leave it if and when what Ireally wanted appeared - noties. The Director assured methat they also were dissatisfiedwith the three-day post, andthat they were looking for twodays elsewhere to make it theregular full-time appointment,on the Burnham Scale. Afteranother week’s holiday in OldColwyn, I took up the positionof Woodwork teacher atHaslingden Grammar at thebeginning of the 1937/8school year, for ‘as long as Iwanted it’. The hourly rate ofpay was far in excess of thescale rate for teachers, almosttwice as much for three daysas the rate was for five days.No pay for days off orholidays, sickness, etc, sothough it seemed an attractivesituation it obviously didn’thave any future and the soonerI was out of it and in a regularsituation, the better.

The Head made it clear tome that he wanted WorkshopPractice putting on aprofessional footing andprepared for external examslike all other subjects,thinking that it would be ofbenefit to his less academicpupils. I worked hard there toget rid of the play-roomimage, and enjoyed the workeven though it meant almost a12 hour day. Haslingden wasa difficult place to get to fromCoppull (three buses,sometimes four); the long andexpensive journey soon beganto pall!

Early in 1938 I receivedword from Wakefield thatthere was a vacancy arising in

the West Riding, and true totheir promise they wereoffering me the job if I wasstill interested and available. Iimmediately informed theHead and told him that I wasgoing over there the followingday to see what was on offer;he was none too pleased,pointing out that teachersusually stayed on a job forthree years. Naturally Ipointed out that my situationwasn’t a usual one, and that Iwasn’t bound to the job in anyway. Later in the morning amessage came through to theworkshop to say that I waswanted on the phone - an irateDirector of Education fromCounty Hall demanding that Ibe in attendance there thefollowing morning at 9.00 am.

I agreed to see him, buthad already made up my mindthat I was going on toWakefield after the interview;he was angry about me eventhinking of going over to theWest Riding, and wanted toknow why - he had promisedto regularise my post but Ihadn’t given him enough time,and there were ‘things in thepipeline’. I pointed out thatthere were other difficulties,such as a long, tedious andexpensive journey and that Icouldn’t move up there on athree-day basis, that the longdays meant costly eating out,and on top of all the hasslethere wasn’t enough of mypay left to make the jobworthwhile - and that I hadtaken the job on pendingsomething better, andWakefield was offering mejust that.

Listened quietly

To all this he listenedquietly, and before I knewwhat was happening a clerkhad been sent for to take notes- that I was to be paid alltravelling expenses, also agenerous meals allowance,and that in a matter of weekshe would find me another twodays in another school toregularise my position as acertificated teacher, assuring

me that the LancashireEducation Authority could domore for me than the WestRiding. As he hadsurprisingly agreed to remedysome of the unsatisfactoryconditions (the ones overwhich he had control) Icouldn’t refuse the newpromises and agreed to wait alittle while longer. Withinweeks I was notified that I wasto take over the workshop atHindley & Abram GrammarSchool on the two days perweek, which would put me onthe Burnham Scale. I laterlearned that the joiner/teacherat Hindley had been sacked bythe Head and I often wonderedwhether my interview with theDirector had any bearing onthe decision.

Two grammar schools, 40miles apart, was hardly anideal situation, but as I livedin between and the journey toHindley was easy, the hasslewasn’t much worse than whatI was already suffering. Iimmediately claimed the extraallowance for keeping twosets of equipment in order, andcoupled with the travellingand meals allowances, wasbetter off financially at least -and was still free to lookaround for something moreconvenient.

I was very soon ‘introuble’ at Hindley; the Headtried to insist that I wore a hatto school - he’d seen me arrivewithout, and it was a strict rulethat they be worn! I repliedpolitely that I never wore ahat, and couldn’t see how Icould possibly be subjected tosuch a rule - I was a memberof staff, not a pupil, and wasimmediately threatened with aGovernors’ Meeting. Icouldn’t believe what I washearing, and asked him to callan immediate meeting andsettle the issue. After a bit ofblustering on his part heclimbed down and admittedthat he couldn’t have medismissed for such a reason (Iknew full well that hecouldn’t) but he would have

Continued on page 12

12

seen to it that I wouldn’t havebeen appointed if he’d knownI wasn’t going to wear a hat!

First round to me, but itwas only the first of many. Imade it clear in the beginningthat the workshop was a classroom, like any other, and nota repair shop for the school.There were many favours tothe school which I wouldundertake as long as theyserved some purpose in theteaching of boys, but theregular routine work (untilnow) of repairing smasheddesks, doors, etc, was ‘out’from now on. I was employedas a teacher, not ajourneyman, and firms in thetown would undertake suchwork.

Tyrannical fads

Another of the Head’styrannical fads was insistingon open windows, even inwinter, something else Iwouldn’t accept. I pointed outthat I was responsible forsafety in the workshop andwas not having boys handlingrazor-sharp tools in a ‘fridge’- and I won that one, and manymore as they cropped upduring the course of normalschool practice. When theothers learned of the ‘war’ Iwas fighting they gave me aweek before the ‘chop’,pointing out that he’d sackedmy predecessor; but I assuredthem that there was no dangerof the same fate befalling meas I was a certificated teacher,not a journeyman in the directemploy of the Head, and thathe couldn’t sack me, and thatI would never give him thechance of reporting me to thehigher authorities formisdemeanour or defaulting

in my work as a teacher - thework for which I wasemployed.

It was a good school,staffed by teachers who hadbeen there a long time andwho knew how to get goodexam results, and I was soonconformed to their routine(mostly) and traditions,including the post-lunch‘wander’ up the road to thepark - every male member(except the Head) with acourtesy apology to the SeniorMaster if you missed it forsome reason! Withexperience I learned that theHead’s bark was worse thanhis bite; he enjoyedquarrelling with staff!

* * * * * *

Life began to take on a bitmore shape; we were heavilyinvolved in Church activityand able to get around moreon pleasure. All the hard workand sacrifices were bringingtheir rewards and we started tomake amends for all that wehad to forgo during the yearsof struggling. It hadn’t beeneasy for Mary during thatperiod, living as she was withguardians, and working in themill which she dislikedintensely.

In the July of 1938 we hadmade coach and accom-modation reservations againfor a holiday in Old Colwyn,but on the Tuesday before wewere due to leave I purchaseda tandem bicycle (snapdecision) and after one trial runwe decided to go down to OldColwyn on it and abandon thecoach booking - a ‘maddecision’ apparently (herguardians certainly thought soand did their best to dissuadeus, to no avail!). We had awonderful holiday, after takingall day to get there, stopping atevery place of interest (thoughtI would never get her pastChester at one stage) and manywayside tea-and-cake roadsidecottages. We ran into rainbeyond Chester and got soaked- we were riding in shorts and

shirts - but on reaching Rhylthe weather was glorious andwe lay in the sun and driedout. We finally arrived atColwyn about 10 pm, butknew our accommodation wassafe, and spent all weekroaming the ranges, free as thewind, whereas previously wehad always been tied to coachand mealtimes and the‘tourist’ ways.

A long weekend inLlangollen was a furtherventure by tandem, but whenwe arrived we weren’t veryimpressed with the area anddecided to go on to OldColwyn, only another 50miles - but we’d overlookedthe notorious Horse Shoe Passen route. We had to ‘walk’ along way to the summit, andagain arrived very late inColwyn where we luckilyfound our usualaccommodation was open tous even without a booking.

‘Four-in-hand’

driver

A further long weekendventure was a visit toPenmaenmawr, during whichwe rode the Sychnant pass; theclimb up from Conway wasn’tas bad as other ‘mounts’ we’dmade, but the ride down intoPenmaenmawr was anightmare - much too steepand winding for a tandem,which is faster and moredifficult to control roundbends than a solo machine.Luckily for us we met nothingon the road down - we neededall of it, not just our own half,and were travelling much toofast for comfort when wepassed through a little hamletat the bottom, again withoutmishap as the road was clear,and we arrived back at ourdigs in one piece. Our hostthere was a ‘four-in-hand’driver in his younger days,and took a lot of convincingthat we really had ‘ridden thepass’. He believed it to beimpossible and told us thatcoaches often went off theroad at the worst bends and

finished up smashed in thevalley below, often withfatalities.

Another memorable eventwas a weekend inMorecambe, when we decidedto go by the scenic route viathe Trough of Bowland, andagain it was a much harderride than we’d anticipated -we were faced with a verystrong head-wind all the waythrough and the climbs weresteep. At the time there weregates across the road atintervals (sheep control) andwe were on and off likegrasshoppers to open them forprogress and close thembehind us to keep sheep flocksseparated, with sheep all overthe road on either side of them.The scenery was magnificent,but we couldn’t give it ourindividual attention.

We had another mad caperwhen once again we were enroute for Wales; I taughtWednesday and Thursday atHindley Grammar and beingfree of my Fridaycommitment at Haslingden,we decided to get off straightafter school from Hindley andhead for Colwyn on a longweekend. I went to school onthe tandem on Thursdaymorning and arranged to meetMary on Wigan Station tocatch a train to Warrington aswe were making a late start.We changed into riding gear inthe guard’s van and packed thepanniers when we suddenlyrealised that we were stoppedat Warrington and needed toexit quickly (with the tandem)or be taken on to Crewe. Therisky exit won the vote, andwith the help of a porter whosaw what was happening wegot away with it - jumping amoving train, with a tandem intow, wasn’t easy but at leastMary wouldn’t have beeninjured - she was out first!The venture gave us a goodlong weekend, and as usualwe enjoyed every minute of it.She loved that bike (exceptwhen it was windy) and thefreedom it gave us - we hadbeen tied down for too long!

Memories from the

life of

James AlbertDavies

–––––Continued from page 11

13

Cover and jacket of Edwardian Rambles andPreface page showing the author’s skilful artistry and

calligraphy.

Henry Josiah Atty’s Wonderful Bookby Jen DarlingTHE story started near Wigan,

then moved to nearbyWarrington. Henry Josiah Attywas born on 17 November,1874 in Crow Lane, Newton-le-Willows, the eldest son ofGeorge (a printer’scompositor) and Elizabeth(nee Malbrow). George Attyhad several brothers, one ofwhom was Richard HughesAtty, inventor of Atty’s MintBalls - precursor of the worldfamous Wigan manufacturedUncle Joe’s Mint Balls.

Henry had a younger brother,Lawrence, but after their motherdied, George married Alice andthey had a son, Colin. There is amystery here as the first timeColin knew of his half-brotherswas when Henry turned up attheir father’s funeral. Colin’s son,Michael, who still lives in Wigan,provided this information and hasa painting by Henry Atty of WiganParish Church and Cenotaph.

We wonder whether Henrydid not get on with his step-mother, for the next we hear heis in Warrington, penniless.Befriended by Jack Leech (Pop),he worked opposite him as acompositor at the printing worksof the Co-op Wholesale Society(CWS), in Barbauld Street,Warrington. Eventually, however,Henry started his own businessat 28 White Street, Warrington,trading as a ‘General andCommercial Printer andStationer’. He produced businesscards, posters and scrolls forspecial occasions, alwaysexquisitely designed withbeautiful lettering.

On 7 November 1900 Henrymarried Margaret Eccleston(Maggie) at St. Paul’s Church,Marston, near Northwich, and by1908 Henry and Margaret wereliving at 64 Legh Street,Warrington, where they remainedfor the rest of their lives.

The Booth family, their next-door neighbours for over 40 years,remember them as a kindlycouple. They describe Henry as aquietly spoken gentleman, whowore a long overcoat, scarf andtrilby in winter and, on spring andsummer weekends, would go out,often on his bicycle, withsketchpad and pencils in a roll.Of an evening he would pull outhis easel from a corner of theliving room in order to paint,sometimes by gaslight. The couplewere so poor that he often usedcardboard boxes as a canvas.

This is the story of an unassuming, talented man who produced a manuscript - a magi-cal manuscript - which wasted away at the back of a wardrobe for over half a century.

Painting was Henry Atty’srelaxation. As far as we know henever sold his work but gave hispictures away as presents andlocal paintings as weddingpresents.

Henry also used to paint andinscribe individual Christmascards for his friends. One of theancient Barley Mow pub inWarrington has come to light,which bears the words:

A healthy and happyChristmas and New YearFriendsFor these this prayer ofthankfulness I raise,For Friends whose presencecheers the passing days;Whose kindness helps me onmy Pilgrim way;Whose courage strengthens,more than words can say.I cannot pay this debt ingold or gem,

So make me ever worthyLord, of them!

From M. & H. Atty, 64 LeghStreet, Warrington

In his later years Henry wasknown affectionately as ‘OldAtty’. He died at home on 12 April1961, at the ripe old age of 86.

* * * * * *

I first heard about Henry Attywhen a friend told me about thiswonderful book with copper-plate handwriting and watercolours of local scenes, ownedby a neighbour. EdwardianRambles had lain at the backof Jeanette Morgan’s wardrobesince the 1950’s. Henry Atty hadgiven the manuscript to hergrand-father, Jack Leech, as apresent and, as a little girl,

Jeanette can remember gettingit out to look at the pictures.

You too can enjoy thiscraftsman’s superb work withpaintbrush and pencil, hisknowledgeable asides about thehistorical and literary connectionsof the area, his visual and writtendescriptions of the flora andfauna, churches, public houses,and so much more along the way.

Each page is designed,individually illustrated andhandwritten by Henry Atty, whowould almost certainly beastonished and, we hopedelighted, to see his workavailable now for all to enjoy.

• Edwardian Rambles isavailable from all bookshops at£14.95. Otherwise contact JenDarling of Alfresco Books at 7Pineways, Appleton, Warrington,WA4 5EJ (Tel/Fax 01925267503).

Henry Josiah Atty inthe 1940’s.

14

HISTORY SHOP NEWS HISTOR

THE TAYLOR GALLERY

14 December - 27 February - ThePeople’s Music

8 March - 10 April - The Parish Map

19 April - 22 May - The North West SoundArchive

THE WICKHAM GALLERY

• Charter ‘96 - A Celebration of 750 Yearsof Local Government in Wigan.• Reverend William Wickham - AVictorian Photographer

THE DERBY ROOM, LEIGH

8 March - 16 April - The People’s Music

17 May - 25 June - Old Halls

The People’s Music, our very ownexhibition on brass bands, tracing thedevelopment of the music, the instruments,the personalities and the local bands wentvery well. Visually the exhibition was set off

EXHIBITIONS IN THEHISTORY SHOP

by some stunning early brass instrumentsfrom our own collection. Donated in the1920’s by eminent local bandsman WilliamRimmer the five instruments on showillustrated a bygone age of banding. Theserpent, hand horn, comopean and slide

trumpet are all strange to us now. Even thekeyed bugle on display looked old-fashionedwhen compared to the modern instrumentsset out in the adjoining bay. These werekindly loaned to us for the exhibition by theWigan Instrument Teaching Provision, basedat the Park Centre Hindley, and were set outon chairs as if left during a break in rehearsalsor a concert. Other fascinating objects andphotographs were lent to us by local peoplewith a passion for banding and many talesto tell. A special thanks to four bands; Leigh,Trinity Girls, Pemberton Old Wigan andTyldesley for their help in providinginformation.

The new exhibition in the Taylor Galleryis The Parish Map. An exhibition organizedin conjunction with the Wigan Soroptomists,the display will showcase the exciting ParishMap Project. Finished pieces from aroundthe borough will be the main focal point, butthese will be supplemented by an overalllook at the project and what the map willlook like. Information panels, unfinishedpieces, materials and possibly even a projectstable will be on display to explain about thisexciting celebration of the Millennium.

In April the gallery will show a smalltravelling exhibition from the North West

Sound Archive based at Clitheroe Castle.Hopefully this show will be added to withsome interesting themes from our owncollection, either on oral history recordingor an altogether older form of recording thepast, the written word. (See panel this page).

Following the success of showing oneof our exhibitions (A Good Send Off) overat the Derby Rooms in Leigh last year, weare hoping to repeat the exercise. In fact wehave three slots booked for our exhibitionsthis year, so those of you living on that sideof the Borough will not miss out. Firstly inMarch and April the panels from The

People’s Music will be on display - althoughthe venue unfortunately does not at presentallow us to put any of the objects on show.Then in the summer, the exhibition on Old

Halls project will be on show. Look out inthe next Past Forward for an announcementabout another exhibition in the autumn.

NORTH WESTSOUND ARCHIVEPreserving the Past for the FutureSOUND recordings often compliment theprinted word, written word and other traditionalsources of information but there are still manygaps in the written testimony that can be filledwith the use of oral history. The introduction ofreel-to-reel tape recorders meant that, for thefirst time, there was an easy and practical wayto record memories and reminiscences. Thearrival of the cassette recorder in the early1970’s made recording even easier leading tomany organisations and individuals building upcollections of oral history material. In the late 1970’s the North West SoundArchive was established to ‘record, collectand preserve sound recordings the life,character, history and traditions of the northwest of England’. Although the tape-recording of oral historyis still a principal objective, it soon becameevident that there were many other soundrecordings worthy of permanent retentionincluding dialect, music, local radio programmesand the sounds of the region (textile machinery,railway engines etc.). Preserved, amongst others, are thememories of cotton mill workers, engineers,canal workers, railway workers, colliers, evenconversations with prisoners at Strangeways.Important collections include the Survey ofEnglish Dialects, Folk Music, Jodrell Bank RadioAstronomy Collection, Manchester JewishMuseum Oral History Collection, Children’sPlaysongs, Manchester Ship Canal Memories,Bolton Oral History Survey, Birdsong and anextensive collection of 78rpm shellacgramophone records. Most of the recordings are available tothe public either for research purposes orgeneral interest and can be listened to atthe Archive [by appointment] or on a loanbasis.CAN YOU HELP? The Sound Archive is currently looking torecord people who worked in the health industryprior to the formation of the National HealthService in 1948. We are always interested to hear about anyperson who you may feel would make a suitableinterviewee for the Archive - whatever walk oflife - including farming, politics, World War 2(especially the Home Front) etc. We are alwayslooking for additions to our database ofchildren’s playsongs and playground chants - ifyou can remember any that you used to sing/chant please let us know. We are alsocontinually adding to our collection of dialect/technical terms. If you do know of any suchwords common to your locality, once againplease contact us.North West Sound Archive,Old Steward’s Office, Clitheroe Castle,Clitheroe, Lancs. BB7 1AZTelephone/Fax: 01200 427897

The History Shop has aMeeting Room, with acapacity for 36. This is

available for hire by localgroups and societies at a

very reasonable cost:

£6.20PER MORNING OR

AFTERNOON SESSION

£9.30PER EVENING SESSION

COMMERCIAL RATE

£12.40

REFRESHMENTS ARE ALSOAVAILABLE

If you are interested, contactPhilip Butler

(01942) 827594

15

RY SHOP NEWS HISTORY SHOP

F R I E N D SOF THE HERITAGE SERVICETHE Friends officially came into being at the start of the year and already the ideahas proved a great success. Over 100 of you have already expressed an interest,many having signed up and paid your subs. To add to this great start we are planningto have an official launch to the initiative and our first full meeting of Friends duringMay.

Remember, by becoming a Friend you are entitled to a copy of Past Forwardsent to your home three times a year and invitations to attend Friends meetings,activities, private viewings at the History Shop and other events on a priority basis.All for just £5 per year. Please fill in the registration form below and send it alongwith a cheque made payable to Wigan MBC Heritage Service at The History Shop,Library Street, Wigan. WN1 1NU.

If you do not live near enough to attend any meetings in person we would stilllike to welcome you as a Friend. With a regular issue of Past Forward, Friendsupdates and possibly a website for information exchange, we are sure it will bepopular, if nothing else we do want to recognize our Friends no matter how far awaythey live, and we want them to feel close to the area they love.

Back at The History Shop we are busily going through the process of setting upa new Friends database and mailing list. This is unfortunately taking longer thanexpected with the added complication of transferring people off the old mailing list.So that there is no confusion about this the old mailing list will remain in operationthroughout 1999. So those of you who have given us your name and address andmade a donation towards costs will continue to receive Past Forward up until theAutumn 1999 edition. After that all names will be converted to the Friends mailinglist, subs being due on the first of January each year.

RECENTADDITIONS TO THE

LOCAL STUDIESCOLLECTION AT

THE HISTORY SHOP942.76 Crosby, Alan, A History of Lancashire,Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. 1998. 144pp.ISBN 1 86077 070 3 [A concise history whichreplaces J.J. Bagley’s classic work of the sametitle].942.736 Blakeman, Bob. Around Hindley andAbram. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. 1998.128pp. ISBN 0 7524 11950. [A collection of oldphotographs with informative captions. Writtenby members of the Wigan Heritage Services staff].942.736. Winstanley, Ray. Winstanley andHighfield: further history. Charnock Richard. TheAuthor. 1998. 206pp [A collection of articles andextracts from earlier works about these twocommunities].796.3520942763 Winstanley, Jack. The WiganCentury. Standish. The Author. 1998. 186pp. [Acomprehensive history of Wigan Golf Club].942.736 Miller, Dr. Allan. Upholland in OldPicture Postcards. Zaltbommel, The Netherlands.European Library. Vol.1. 1996 78pp ISBN 9028862269; Vol.2. 1998 79pp ISBN 90 288 09546 [Two collections of old photographs withinformative captions].929.1 Grenham, John. Tracing your Irishancestors. Dublin. Gill and MacMillan. 1992281pp ISBN 0 7171 1898 3 [A comprehensivereference work covering most aspects of thisdifficult subject].929.1 Cole, Jean, and John Titford. Tracing yourfamily Tree. 2nd edn. Rev. Newbury. CountrysideBooks. 1998 256pp. ISBN 1 85306 448 3 [writtenby two regular contributors to Family TreeMagazine, this is both a guide for beginners, anda reference work for experienced researchers].

PUBLIC LECTURESIN THE

HISTORY SHOP14 April

Cavalier of Contrasts - A Portrait of

Prince Rupert

Irene Jones

12 May

A Civil War Soldier

Neil Howlett

9 June

The Bayeux Tapestry and the Invasion

of England

Fred Holcroft

All lectures begin at 7.30 pmAdmission £1 (numbers limited)

STOP PRESSWigan Heritage Service’s Guide to Genealogical Sources Guide to Genealogical Sources Guide to Genealogical Sources Guide to Genealogical Sources Guide to Genealogical Sources has been an

invaluable aid to our many users who are tracing their family tree. A

new and enlarged edition is now available from the History Shop and

other Heritage Service outlets @ only £2.50, plus 50p postage and packing.

A must for all genealogists.A must for all genealogists.A must for all genealogists.A must for all genealogists.A must for all genealogists.

FRIENDS OF WIGAN HERITAGE SERVICE

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16

IF you asked churchgoers

in Wigan how many bricks

were needed to build their

church or chapel, I don’t

think many could give you

an answer. At Jireh Baptist

Chapel, Chapel Street,

Orrell, we know exactly

how many were used,

because the original

receipts for the materials

used in the building of the

chapel in 1864 have

survived. These receipts

provide an interesting

window into trade in

Wigan in the mid 19th

century.

Although the chapel wasbuilt in 1864, the church hasits origins over 10 yearspreviously, when we read inthe original church book,“Several persons whoattended the Church ofEngland became dissatified(sic) with the preaching theywere accustomed (sic) to hearand for truths sake alone wehope they felt constrained tocome out from that Body ofprofessing Christians”. At firstthey met in a house and then

Jireh Baptist Chapel c.1940. ➯

rented a room from March1849. The National ReligiousCensus of Sunday March 301851 has an entry forPemberton, “Ebenezer SchoolRoom, Particular Baptist.Total seats 120. Morningattendance 40, afternoon 60,evening 30.” This appears tobe the earliest record of thechurch which later becameJireh Baptist Church. It isinteresting to note that rightfrom the earliest days thechurch had decided where itstood theologically.

By 1851 five of thoseattending wanted to bebaptised as believers and Mr.Vaughn of Liverpool, a wellknown minister, baptised themon 31 March 1851, but it is notknown where. These 5 peopleformed the first and onlyBaptist Church in Orrell onSunday 6 April 1851. The 5original members were: JamesWinward, Samuel Grimshaw,George Clough, HenryPennington and MargaretPennington. Over the years

several other members wereadded either by baptism or bytransferring from other BaptistChurches.

Praying about thematter

By 1862 it was felt that thehired room was no longersuitable as numbers hadincreased and because, as thechurch minutes record, theroom was “small, close andbadly ventilated, under whichthere were a brew house and astable, pigs asses, horses, badsmells, noises and beside wewere at the mercy of a publicanevery three months.” The ideaof building a chapel had beenthought of before but it was notuntil a church meeting on 6July 1864 that the churchdecided to approach JaneFarrimond, the sister of Henry,one of the members, to see ifshe would give some land forthe chapel. The minutes recordthat Henry Farrimond afterpraying about the matter wentwith his brother George to seeJames Howarth, anothermember. “He (Henry) says

well James (with quite apleasant smile on his face andwithout a doubt on his heartalso) we will give the land forthe chapel and for a school alsoas much is required and £30with it.” Immediately theywent to measure and look attwo other chapels. “Wedetermined to proceed with itat once, got the ground stakedout, ordered brick and gota brick setter, WilliamDerbyshire of New Town nearWigan, joiner AaronWinstanley of Wigan, plumberand glazier Joseph Dean,Pemberton, committee ofmanagement Henry Farri-mond, William Marsden,William Derbyshire, JamesHartley and James Howarth.We went to work like men ofbusiness determined to finish...... in about 9 weeks afterstaking out the ground thechapel was opened, Trust Deedsigned every mite of themoney promised paid and wefound when we came tobalance up at the last that thetotal cost of the chapel was£302. 11s. 9d. furniture incl-uded”. A small debt of£68. 19s. 5d. remained.

Project wasimpressive

The speed of the projectwas impressive. On 12 Augustthey went to the solicitorThomas T. Taylor to startdrawing up the Title Deeds;the legal work cost £24. 8s. 0d.On 16 August the first load ofsand arrived from ThomasGaskell of Billinge. Hedelivered regular loads up to 9September at a total cost of£1. 17s. 6d. Thomas seems tohave been illiterate as his billhas his X mark on it. He alsogave a donation to the chapel,as did several other suppliers.The next day, 17 August, thefirst load of lime arrived fromWigan Lime Works, JohnStephen and Son. On the bill of£5-15s.-6d, discount was

RECORD BREAKING CHAPELby Pam Thomas & Christine Berry

Address

62 Market Place

Lamberhead Green

121 Wallgate

4 Millgate

132 Wallgate

Chapel Lane

58/59 Wallgate

Wallgate

Upholland

Chapel Lane &Rodney Street

2 StandishgateWigan SubscriptionLibrary

Supplies

Air Bricks

Window Sills

Painted & glazed

Timber

Guttering, down spouts, tiles

Bricks

Roof Tiles

All plastering work

Installed gas lights

Chair, carpet, table

Chimney pot, sewerage pipes,joinery work

Timber, pine, spruce screws,bolts, hinges

2 barrels of cement

Cards & posters for opening ofchapel

Present Site

Halifax Bank

Part of Office World

Old Salvation Army Citadel

M & S Ford(?)

Entrance to Station car park

National Westminster Bank

Firm

Leyland & Roper

George Rick & Co.

Joseph DeanPainter & Glazier

John FaircloughTimber Merchant

Matthew BartonIron Monger

James Topping

Samuel Liptrot

Patrick Denn(?)Plasterer

Wigan Gas Co.

A & H BarlowCabinet Makers& Upholsterers

A.A. WinstanleyJoiner Builder

Wm. HeatonWoodmerchant

John Lea & Son

S.G. BucknellStationer, Printer

The bricks were invoiced for 1 October and there were 41,000 at 21s. perthousand.

The total bill was:

41,000 bricks @ 21s. £43-1-0

received on account £20-0-0

subscription to chapel £ 2-1-0

£21-0-0

17

allowed. On 22 August stonearrived from Old Hey Delph, aquarry in the Upholland area.The manager, John Harrison,is listed in the 1869 tradedirectory as Quarry Master.The exact whereabouts of thisquarry is not known and it mayhave been short lived. Otherlocal firms supplied timber,nails, drain pipes, seweragepipes, tiles, furniture etc. Asshown on the table below:

Some of the present members of the chapel.

Spittoon!

Amongst the necessities for achapel in the mid 19th centurywere two ornamental umbrellastands, two door scrapers, a setof fire irons for the stove and aspittoon! The chapel was lit bythe latest gas lighting and evenhad toilets. The pulpit wasbrought from Rawtenstall bythe Lancashire and YorkshireRailway, which is now theSouthport and Manchester linethrough Wallgate Station. Thebuilding would have been veryplain inside, and the seatingwas 9 forms 9ft. 6 ins. long and11 forms 6ft. 6 ins. long. Therewas also one form at 4ft. 3 ins.long.

The chapel was opened onSunday 23 October by Mr.John Forster of Witham,Essex. The time taken from thefirst visit to the solicitors to theopening day was ten weeksand two days, no mean feat! Asthe chapel was being used by adenomination other than theChurch of England it had to beregistered for worship. Thiswas done nearly a year later on1 September 1865, and the

original document still exists.It was signed by HenryFarrimond who describedhimself as a Trustee and hisoccupation as a tanner.

The Farrimond family wasintimately involved in thechapel for about a century. Theland the chapel is built on wasprovided free by JaneFarrimond and it is because ofthis it is called Jireh whichmeans Provider. HenryFarrimond became a memberon 4 October 1852 by baptismand later a deacon and pastorof the church, although stillworking at a secular job. Theirbrother George was the firstperson to be baptised in the

new chapel on 13 December1865. The church book states:“On Lord’s Day 10 DecemberHenry Farrimond stated to thechurch that his Brother Georgewished to join the church andat close of the afternoonservice he came before thechurch and gave in hisexperience to their satisfactionwhen it was agreed that heshould be received in amongus: and on Wednesday evening

the 13th Mr. Freeman, then ofLiverpool baptised him in thepresence of a goodcongregation. [This was thefirst time that ever theordinance of Believer’sBaptism was administered inthis village.] On Lord’s Day 7January 1866 he was receivedinto the church by Mr. T.Clough, then of Leeds, givingthe right hand of fellowship onbehalf of the church.”

Relatively well off

It has been possible to findout some further details of theFarrimond family but there arestill gaps which readers maybe able to fill. The Farrimondsseem to have been relativelywell off and appear in the 1841Census as farming land near tothe bottom of the present CityRoad, at Baiting Houses, KittGreen. This is now the site ofthe Heinz Factory. In 1851they were farming 20 acres onthe same site. The head of thefamily in 1841 was Ellen awidow of about 55 years ofage. There were two daughterslisted, Jane aged 30 and Alice25, also two sons, Henry and

Continued on page 18

18

George only 15 and 10 years ofage respectively and twomanservants were employed forthe farm work, ThomasRothwell 25 years and ThomasRigby 15 years.

Henry and George went intobusiness together as tanners andare listed in the trade directories,1858-1876, in Upholland andthen Tontine. In the 1871Census, Ellen, aged 86, Henryaged 45 and George aged 40were living on Clap Lane,Tontine near Sefton Farm, witha servant Betty Hanton 62 years.This road is now Tontine Road.It would appear that they hadmoved nearer the business.Henry married ElizabethWilliams about 1879. She hadjoined the Church in 1878 andbeen baptised by Henry on thefirst Sunday in October 1878along with a Margaret Hartley.They seem to have had threechildren, Ellen, George andJane. Elizabeth Farrimond livedto the grand old age of 81 anddied on 9 March 1927 andwas buried in Uphollandchurchyard.

In the 1881 Trade Directorytheir business is no longer listedand the Census for that year hasthe family still living in ClapLane and consisting of Henry,listed as a farmer of 8 acres and apreacher, Elizabeth, his wifeaged 35, Ellen his daughter agedone year and George his brotheraged 50 years. The servant BettyHanton, now 75 years old wasstill with them. By 1884 Henrywas living in Fleet Street,Pemberton where he died on 10March 1884 of cancer of thelower jaw. George later movedto 30 City Road and died in1921 aged 81 years.

Very big influence

Henry had a very biginfluence on the first 30 years ofthe chapel. He joined in 1852,

RECORDBREAKING

CHAPEL

Just three of the many purchase receipts from local tradesmen for the building of Jireh Chapel.➯

–––––Continued from page 17

19

became a deacon in 1860. Afterthe opening of the chapel heformally welcomed intomembership the first two newmembers. Jane Darbyshire andMary Ellen Eastham on 16November 1864, they hadpreviously been baptisedelsewhere. He continued towelcome most new members,until his death. By 10 April 1870he was preaching and the churchminutes record “the churchwarmly sanctions HenryFarrimond’s way and manner ofspeaking from the word of Goddesiring that he would enter thepulpit.” Another entry inFebruary 1872 states “It wasagreed by the church to askBrother Henry Farrimond to gointo the pulpit to speak thereinstead of standing before thetable believing that his services

IN the early part of this

century now approaching

the Millennium, most

adult males were ex-

Servicemen. Grandads

(having fought in the Boer

War) constantly regaled

us with tales of how they

(with the help of their

mates of course) had

relieved sieges of

Ladysmith or Mafeking.

Older brothers, fathers

and uncles relived past

experiences of the latest

war against Germany

1914/18 when names like

Ypres, Mons and

Passchendale became

quite familiar in daily

conversation. The early

volunteers never failed to

remind others of their

membership of “The Old

Contemptibles”. (That

“contemptible little army”

was so christened by the

Kaiser Wilhelm himself,

This contribution by Ernie Taberner describes the difficulties of life, and especially for

ex-Servicemen, in the years soon after World War I.

I remember when . . .Dear Alastair,

With the approach of theMillennium I thought it fittingto recall the earlier part ofthe century, prior to the1939-45 war which is welldocumented elsewhere.

I would like to take thisopportunity to thank “PastForward”, yourself and allyour capable assistants for

when he was advised that

a British contingent was

being sent to Belgium to

help her to stem the

German invasion).

It was 1921 when massdemobilisation took placeand most ex-Servicemen hada gratuity of a few hundredpound with which to resumenormal life. As most Wiganex-servicemen were formerminers, the initial euphoriaof being reunited withfamilies after long wearyyears of uncertainty soon Continued on page 20

are really acceptable.” Thiswould appear to be thebeginning of his pastorate,although there is no mention ofa special service or any otherofficial recognition of hisduties. In 1873 the church triedto give him a gift of 15sovereigns for his labours, buthe declined. In 1874 hebaptised Alice Mather and fromthen on regularly baptised allnew members.

Seldom left hispeople

On his death the church bookrecords “Henry Farrimond diedhaving preached the gospelfaithfully in this place for 16years.” His memory is alsorecorded in the Gospel StandardMagazine in Memories ofMinisters. “During the time of

his ministry, which was about14 years, it pleased the Lord tomake his labours very useful ingathering in many to HisChrist. He was a humble, plainman, of very retiring habits andhis life was in accordance withhis profession. He seldom lefthis people. He was anexperimental preacher: and hisgifts having become known, hewas invited to London; but thishe refused preferring to remainwith his own people andamongst the little circle offriends at Pemberton. His heartwas much with the people atSouthport and so desirous washe to serve them that hepreached there his last sermonon the first Lord’s Day in Julylast year, although at the timehe was suffering much and hisspeech was affected. His text at

the time was Nahum 1 v.7: “TheLord is good, a stronghold in theday of trouble: and He knoweththem that trust in Him.”

It must have been a sore trialfor a preacher to have cancer ofthe jaw and not be able to speakproperly. Henry was obviouslymuch loved and greatly missed.The story of the founding ofJireh Baptist Church cannot betold without acknowledging hiscontribution of time, effort,enthusiasm and financialsupport. I am sure he would bepleased to know that the churchhe played such a large part inand in which he worked so hardto serve the Lord he loved, isstill going strong over ahundred years after his death.

wore thin, when theyreturned to a coal strike inthe local coalfields. Allschool-children knew of the1926 General Strike in whichall organised workers intransport, engineering, andrailways participated andwas well documented, butsurprisingly the 1921 coalstrike was less well known,except locally.

Jam butties

One of my earliestrecollections was going with

the local schoolchildren toschool yards where trestletables had been set up andlocal ladies were slicing uploaves of bread, donated bylocal bakers, whilst otherswere spreading jam, donatedby Deakins of Princess Streetto make jam butties for thechildren. Then on returninghome to collect jugs and canswe would join the queue atimprovised soup-kitchensfor allocations of pea soup.

Ours was part of JackLowe’s Temperance Bar inChapel Lane, and after ourlunch of jam butties and pea

soup we children would curlup on the warm pavementsand sleep it off. Thus becamethe daily pattern until the endof the strike when thehorrible truth had to be facedthat there were more ex-miners in the local coalfieldsthan there were jobs for them.

helping me maintain mylinks with “Ye Ancient andLoyal Borough.”

Best wishes to allSincerely

Ernie Taberner62 Westwood RoadEarlsdon, Coventry

CV5 6GEPhone: 01203 678142

20

This economic fact of lifecaused many of them toconsider how best to usetheir capital to “buythemselves out of the pits forall time”. Many of them tookthe gamble of becomingbusinessmen by openingshops, buying ex-servicevehicles and becominghauliers, buying ponies andcars for light hauling,becoming greengrocers orcoal dealers, buying,bagging and selling coal in 1cwt. bags. The moreadventurous, having hadexperience of driving trucksand buses in war time,became pioneers of longdistance passenger transport,eg. James Smith ofStandishgate, and WebsterBros. of Darlington Streetreadily come to mind amongthe bigger ones, whilst WilfGarvin of Frog Lane andHarold Fairhurst of JollyMill were two of the smallerones.

Time of doom and

gloom

The early ‘20’s, althoughcausing a trade revival, wasfor many Wiganers a time ofdoom and gloom, and manysought an outlet by a visit tothe old Hippodrome in KingStreet. Here the varietyproduced was for the mostpart uplifting although Iremember (even though onlya boy) one artist with his ownversion of the aftermath ofwar presenting his owncreation of “hitting back” byhis own song which went asfollows:-

We won the war, we won

the war

You can ask Lloyd

George or Bonar Law

We fought the German,

the Austrian, and the

Turk

That’s why we’re all

walking’round and out of

work

But what is it for?

We won the war!

* * * * * *

It was becoming popularin the Twenties to produce asentertainment anything anti-German and another ditty Ican recall was:-

On the day those

Germans pay

On the day those

Germans pay

Hair will grow on

wooden legs

Elephants will be laying

eggs

And your children’s

children’s children

Will be all old and grey

And the Shakespeare

Hotel will be packed like

h—

On the day those

German’s pay!

Here I would apologisefor the digression but whilstmany old Hippodromecustomers would easilyrecall Florrie Ford or GeorgeFormby (old) and youngGeorge (of ‘Leaning on aLamp’ fame) I suspect veryfew will remember the dittiesproduced here.

(The Shakespeare Hotelwas next door to the oldHippodrome and waspopular with the artistsappearing there).

* * * * * *

I commenced this resumeof the early part of thiscentury to remind olderreaders of Past Forward oftheir trials and tribulations ofthe period, and to reassureyounger readers also thattheir parents andgrandparents were in fact

being truthful when theyrelated their tales of hardship.

Doorstep callers

However to many itbecame a blessing indisguise, since the decisionto get out of the pits andcreate a job for themselves“on top”, especially sincethey now for the first time intheir lives had capital, wasmade for them. So formerminers, now ex-Servicemen,became businessmen in avariety of ways. Milkmen,butchers, grocery vendors,hardware dealers, odd jobmen, became regulardoorstep callers whilst otherswould rent premises to selltheir skills in many diverseways.

Disabled ex-Servicemenaided by the British Legionbecame boot and shoerepairers and cloggers. Therewere travelling coopers whowould make a steel hoop andfit it on the dolly tubs. Theowner of the small groceryshop would call and take thehousewife’s order during themorning, and deliver it thesame afternoon.

If a plumber was neededit only needed a knock on hisdoor and he would be aroundin the hour or as soon as hehad finished the job he wasalready doing. So it was thebeginning of a service erawhere the customer wasalways right and the customerwas the beneficiary. Unlikenowadays when a tradesmanwill keep a housewife waitingall day indoors then still notturn up nor even apologise fora missed appointment!

Money was a very rarecommodity indeed in theearly part of the century. Sono-one would miss out fromchoice on making a shillingor two (5p or 10p) if theopportunity presented itself,and would work all day andinto the night if necessary togive customer satisfaction!

In an earlier Past

Forward contribution Iwrote of one man who wasone of the homesteaders inmy feature - Mr. Simmondswho farmed at Springfieldbehind the old running track.(See issue 10) I knew Mr.Simmonds but I didn’t knowhis background until a Past

Forward reader advised methat as a teenager he hadwalked from Cornwall toYorkshire then to CrawfordVillage on his way to Wiganto work as first a miner then afarmsteader. (For thisinformation I am grateful toan ex-Wiganer fromSpringfield Mr. Frank Brownnow of Droitwich, Worcs.Another one of us!)

The customer was

always right

I include this story forpresent Past Forward

readers to illustrate thelengths their grandfatherswere prepared to encounterto get their hands on a fewshillings, and to illustratewhy, when they did set up inbusiness themselves, “thecustomer was always right”.

To conclude this featureand since I have mentionedSpringfield I was an oldWigan Borough supporter(sorry you rugby supporters,although I did know of JimSullivan and Bert Jenkinsand Morley on the wing),and the Boro team in my daywere Preedy, Moran andDennis Humpish Wilson andRobb, Welsby, Welch, Smith,Harris and Hughes. I alsovividly remember seeing theincident when Frank Barsonwas sent off for a foul andnever played again as hiscase was adjourned “sinedie” by the adjudicators. Ahwell, perhaps I should nowsay

I REMEMBER WELL!

© E. Taberner, 1999

I rememberwhen . . .

–––––Continued from page 19

21

SECOND WORLD WAR MEMORIALSIN METROPOLITAN WIGAN

by Dr. Eric McPhersonMOST of the population of theUnited Kingdom clearlywishes to see our war deadhonoured and their namescherished for all time. Thereinstatement of the nationalsilence on Armistice Day andthe increased interest in thecondition of our warmemorials are therefore bothto be welcomed. The ImperialWar Museum is conducting anational survey, and theurgency of the matter isindicated by the recentestablishment of Friends ofWar Memorials which reportsthat memorials fromredundant buildings havebeen scrapped, sold as curiosand even exported.

In this area there havebeen losses. Severalmemorials have not survivedthe demolition of the buildingsin which they were installed,and at least three now onlyexist in the form ofphotographs. One had erodedso badly that it was nottransferred to the new church,and the Ashton-in-MakerfieldGrammar School plaque andmemorial book have been‘lost’. With the changingindustrial scene some sited inclosed works, offices andcollieries will have goneforever, but happily the Lord& Sharman Ltd. Memorial isnow in St. Matthew’sChurchyard, Highfield, and

the one at Anchor Works is stillin place.

In spite of particularsorrows, the situation is verysatisfactory. In the course ofresearch into deaths in theSecond World War, I havemanaged to locate 71memorials within the areawhich makes up MetropolitanWigan. There are considerablevariations in both form andcontent. In that reflectiveperiod just after the war, therewere many plans andsuggestions as to how thesacrifice of local servicemenand women should berecognised by gratefulcommunities. New casualtydepartments, swimming baths,

homes for disabled veterans,peals of bells and memorialgardens were just some of theproposals, but eventually lackof drive (or more probablylack of funds) resulted in civicmemorials taking the familiarform.

The range is from simpleframed lists, books ofremembrance and lecternsthrough to elaborateenamelled brass or cast bronzepanels mounted on impressivemonuments. Some are paintedon wood, while others arecarved in stone, oak ormarble. Many have beenadded to existing First WorldWar commemorations or

Wigan War Memorial: Unveiling Ceremony and Dedication, 17 October 1925.

Continued on page 22

22

matched sympathetically toearlier ones. Although anumber are to be found inchurchyards or gardens, mostare to be found inside churchbuildings with 39 out of thetotal of 71 in Church ofEngland premises, withanother 14 in churches andchapels of other de-nominations. Civic memorialsexist in eleven townships, buteven some of these are locatedon or near churches.

Some names appear onseveral memorials, but themajority of those who fell inthe Second World Warbelonging to Abram, PlattBridge, Billinge, Haigh,Bickershaw, Hindley, HindleyGreen, Orrell, Poolstock andPemberton are com-memorated in the localitysolely in the Parish Church.One from a closed RoyalBritish Legion building is nowhoused in BamfurlongMethodist Church, and inaddition there are memorialsin works, sports clubs andlocal authority premises alongwith a number of works andcivic ones (especially PlattBridge and Hindley) withoutnames.

As part of itsresponsibilities, the Common-wealth War GravesCommission (CWGC) keepsregisters of graves andmemorials of the armedservices war dead if death ofthe individual occurred before31 December 1947. Some localmemorials contain the namesof men who died of war-related illness or injuries butwere no longer in the services,or men who had beendischarged shortly before theirdeath. These circumstancescan lead to confusion becausethese men are not rated as‘official’ war dead even ifrelatives and communitiesrightly regard them ascasualties of war.

The number of namescommemorated locally varies

from a single name in Orrell’sUnited Reformed Church to480 on the Wigan Cenotaph.In all some 1800 men andwomen have been identifiedas having close ties with thearea and thus qualify forcommemoration, but thisnumber generally does notinclude those who were bornin the area but moved awaybefore the war. On the 71memorials there are, however,over 2300 names, thedifference being accounted forby the fact that some peopleare named on more than onelocal memorial - in many caseson four and in one case five.Sadly, over 300 are not to befound on even one, and ifthese individually were tohave been shown on theirlocal memorials the number ofnames commemorated wouldhave approached 3000.

One memorial (HindsfordSt. Anne’s) gives rank, name,regiment and place of death -but this is extremely unusual,and in the main they comprisesimply initials and name, witha few giving rank and/orbranch of the services. Someinclude Home Guard, NFS andARP personnel, and at leastone (Platt Bridge St.Nathaniel’s) is known tocommemorate a civilian whowas killed.

Two foreign nationals

serving in the British servicesare listed. Both were Belgiansand both are on memorials inLeigh. One was a Royal AirForce pilot who came here asa refugee in 1940 and waskilled in action in 1944. Hewas obviously well integratedinto Leigh for he iscommemorated on no fewerthan three memorials. Theother, a merchant seaman,died as a result of injuries andwas a member of the smallBelgian community which hadexisted in the town since theFirst World War. In additionthere are several servicemencommemorated who hademigrated from Englandbefore the War and werekilled while serving withCommonwealth or U.K. forcesand who still had relatives inthis area.

There is considerableconfusion as to how thenames were gathered. Therewas no central register or (asone regimental archivist insistson believing) no lists providedto local authorities by the WarDepartment either during orafter the War. The names wereobtained from relatives,friends, congregations andassociations, as well as fromthe general public by meansof advertisements placed inlocal newspapers. Butintriguing questions arise.

Why, for example have S.Anderton and A. Johnsonbeen omitted from Golborne’sLegh Street memorial - theonly difference between thecontent of that and the one inSt. Thomas’s Church? All thenames in St. Thomas’s Church,Upholland are replicated onthe civic memorial except forJames Fyles. Why? Why is onlyone of two brotherscommemorated? Somerelatives have been successfulin getting names added whichwere omitted at the time -although in one case this hasbeen added to the wrongmemorial.

Inevitably other mistakeshave occurred. Misspelling ofnames and incorrect initialsare not uncommon. Familyfirst names may vary fromofficial ones (e.g. Frank forFrancis and Harry for Henry)and, because of the confusionof wartime and the needs ofthe armed services, men weremoved from one regiment toanother at short notice. Thishas resulted in men beingshown as having died as amember of the ‘wrong’regiment, and in at least onecase a soldier is shown twiceon one cenotaph in twodifferent regiments at the timehe was killed. Some who wereprisoners of war haveappeared as deaths and somenames have been amendedsubsequently by relatives toaccommodate later familychanges.

It is a sad fact that over 300men who fulfilled everyqualification and reason to becommemorated are not to befound on any local memorial.It is intriguing to speculatewhy. In some cases this maybe by the choice of relatives,but many, of course, had noliving relatives or they hadmoved away during the War.Some who died had marriedduring the War to peopleliving in other parts of thecountry and some thereforewill be on memorials in distanttowns and cities. Tragically itis likely that most are missingbecause at the time of thecollection of details of deathsthere was no-one living locallyable to provide theinformation. Just one morevisible effect of the turmoil towhich families are subjectedby war.

Sir,I am researching the

Servicemen and womenfrom this area who died inthe Second World War. Ihave completed the work onover 1700 individuals, buthave been unable to makepositive identification ofaround 50 more - some ofwhom I have listed below intwo broad geographicalgroupings. I would begrateful for any informationon these. Any fact (rank,service, place of death etc.)would be welcomed, as it isoften just one such detailwhich provided theconfirmatory evidenceneeded.

Leigh area: William P.Baxter; Eric Boardman;Peter Dempsey; JosephDunn; W. Fazackerley; J.R.Hardle; A. Johnson; Harry

Johnson; Joseph McDowell;J.J. O’Hagan; Arthur Smith;W.J. Ward; F.A. Whittle; JohnWilman. Wigan area: JohnCassidy; John Close; ArthurCunliffe; Richard F.Davidson; SydneyDavidson; John Dean; JerryHaddock; K. Harrison;Robert Hughes; B. Johnson;Richard Johnson; EdwardJames; James Kelly;Gordon Lawrence; Eric Lee;T.J. Logh; John Massey;Walter Meadows; HarryRigby; Harold Roberts; JohnT. Roberts; Harold Singleton;John Speak; Richard Sutton;Harold Twiss.

Dr. Eric McPherson99 Walton Road

SaleCheshire M33 4DWTel: 0161 962 3039

–––––Continued from page 21

SECONDWORLD WAR

MEMORIALS INMETROPOLITAN

WIGAN

23

Harold Knowles concludes his memories of

ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELDDURING THE 1930’s

Others, though cominground on a regular basis,offered optional goods orservices. There were icecream vendors, rag and bonemen, fruit and vegetablevendors, fishmongers, saltvendors with their largeblocks of white salt fromwhich they would cut, with asaw, the amount required.Lamp lighters with their longpoles came round to turn thegas lamps on when darknessfell, dustmen came weekly toempty the bins - a dirty, dustybusiness in the days of almostuniversal coal fires and opendustcarts. Although adeclining service because ofcheap alarm clocks,knockers-up still plied theirtrade in some areas.

The paraffin man who cameround where I lived had a motorlorry with a large tank of paraffinon the back. Mr Billingham, ashe was called, had anironmongers shop in Bryn Street,Ashton and, from his lorry, inaddition to the paraffin, he sold aselection of hardware goodssuch as brushes, soaps, polishes,mops and buckets etc. Peoplewould bring out their containers,usually a metal drum, which Mr.Billingham, using a large funnelwould fill from a brass tap on theside of the paraffin tank. The saleof paraffin was a most essentialservice in the days when somehouses didn’t even have gas laidon let alone electricity, and all

lighting in the house was byparaffin lamp or candles.

The ‘pop’ man

The ‘pop’ man came round ina motor lorry with large glassbottles of lemonade, Tizer,American Cream Soda,Dandelion and Burdock etc. He

would collect your empties andleave your regular order of,perhaps, three or four bottles.Fishmongers had horse-drawncarts and small motor lorries orvans; the fish was kept fresh onblocks of ice or on heaps ofcrushed ice. In the days beforegeneral ownership of domesticrefrigerators the fishmongercould be relied on to sell a freshproduct for lunch or tea on theday he came round.

Coal men, for the most part,used motor lorries with flatbodies on which one or twolayers of 1 cwt. sacks of coalwere stacked upright with apronounced forward lean so thatthe forward motion of the lorrydidn’t cause them to fall off. Thesacks of coal were open at the topand the coal man would standwith his back to the lorry and,

reaching back over hisshoulders, would pull a sackforward onto his back on whichhe wore a large piece of thickstiff leather reinforced withmetal studs to protect his backagainst the jagged edges of thecoal.

One unique trader who cameround the area in the mid to lateevening was the mobile fish andchip cart, known to everyone as‘Chip Billy’. The cart, or van,was horse drawn on fourwooden, iron-shod wheels.Inside was a solid fuel fire whichheated the fat boiler for fryingthe fish and chips. In fact, theinside of the van was virtually ascaled-down fish and chip shop.Billy would arrive in our street atabout 9 p.m. - not every night -and announce his presence byringing a large hand bell. Hewould serve you from a counterbuilt into the side of the van andhe would normally stay in ourstreet for about 10 minutes, orlonger if demand so warranted. Idon’t suppose Chip Billy wouldeven get a licence to trade theseday. He would probablycontravene every regulation inthe book!

“Knives to grind”

At much less frequentintervals, though still on aregular basis, we had the visits ofthe knife and scissor grinders.They had a type of bicycle orhand cart which was equippedwith a large grindstone operatedby a treadle arrangement. Theywould make their presenceknown by shouting in the middleof the street, very loudly, suchappropriate calls as ‘knives togrind!’ or ‘scissors to grind!’Word would quickly pass aroundthe streets that the knife grinderwas here and people would bringout their kitchen knives andscissors to be sharpened for acopper or two. The knifegrinder’s visits were verypopular with us kids because heused to put on a bit of a show forus by sending up showers of

The Market and Street Traders

During my childhood many different hawkers

came round the streets peddling their wares or

offering services. Some vendors came on a regular

basis calling on customers who would have placed

a standing order for goods or services. These would

include the milkman, the paper boy, the postman,

the baker with bread, cakes and pies, the butcher,

the coal man, the window cleaner, the grocer’s boy,

the paraffin man and the ‘pop’ man.

Dear Mr. Gillies, I write to say how greatly obliged Iam to your colleague, Nicholas Webb,for the information he has given aboutAshton Baths in Issue No. 20 of PastForward, Mr. Webb has filled in manygaps in my knowledge of thecircumstances relating to the “rise andfall” of the Baths. A few months ago, WilliamRobinson from Abram was kindenough to write to me with someinformation, which had been passed tohim about his Uncle Frank. His UncleFrank had been swimming in the Bathsduring the First World War, probablyshortly before the closure. Mr.Robinson also knew of the Baths Hallbeing used during the 1926 GeneralStrike for the provision of dinners(presumably free) for localschoolchildren. My own recollection isthe Baths Hall also being used, duringthe 1930’s, for the provision of freedinners for the children of men whowere unemployed. Whilst it was, undoubtedly, a verygreat loss to Ashton that there was noplace where local people could swim insafety, the Council did their very best tomaximise the Public Hall use of thebuilding, and weekly dances to themusic of Ronnie Hall and his Band, andBert Webb and his Hawaiian Serenaders(yes, really!) were very popular,particularly during the war years.

I find myself also indebted toNicholas Webb for his article on theclosure of Stubshaw Cross St. LukesC. Of E. School. I was a pupil at St.Lukes in, roughly, 1931/32 althoughmy recollections of my time there arevery vague. I am very glad to say that,in 1997, I took the opportunity to call atthe school and the Head Teacher waskind enough to allow me to look at theregister. I was able to find my name inthe register but, unfortunately, thepunishment book for 1931/2 was notavailable so I wasn’t able to see if I wasin it. I expect I was. I did, however, findthe names of two of my uncles in the1901-1908 punishment book - theirnames appeared with ratherdepressing frequency, mainly forcarelessness and laziness. As I mentioned when I last spoke toyou the Past Forward 17 magazine isachieving great popularity in the area ofthe Metropolitan Borough of Tamesidewhere I live, at least among my circle offriends and acquaintances. I have lentmy copy to a number of people, all ofwhom have said how much they arelooking forward to reading futureissues, and the final instalment of myarticle, as, indeed, am I.

Harold Knowles30 Drayfields

DroylsdenManchester

M43 7ET

24

sparks from the grindstone. Itwas good business practice toobecause we would pester ourmums to bring out knives andscissors to be sharpened so thatwe could see more sparks.

Another irregular ‘regular’was the pot-man. As with theknife sharpener his mode oftransport would be hand cart ortricycle. He was another of thevendors who solicited trade byshouting in the middle of thestreet, in his case, ‘Pots to mend!’as loudly as he could. We kidsdidn’t bother much about thepot-man - he didn’t strike sparks!

The ice cream vendors camewith a variety of forms oftransport. The most basic was atype of two-wheeled hand cart,the wheels being wooden withiron ‘tyres’ about two feet indiameter. This hand cart wouldbe pushed around the streets,trade being drummed up bymeans of a hand bell. The icecream was in a container whichsat on a bed of dry ice and was ofthe soft variety. I spent a fewdays of one summer holidayhelping an older lad I knew topush his hand cart around but thenovelty soon faded. There werealso tricycle ice cream carts, verysimilar to the hand carts but withthree wheels and pedals. Thetop of the range was themotorised van but we didn’t seemany of those.

Gimcrack shoddygoods

There were also the door todoor salesmen. Some of thesewere regular and, indeed, oftenwelcome having been calling foryears. Mostly they sold brushes,cotton, needles etc. fromsuitcases which they carriedfrom door to door. There wereother callers who were ratherless welcome, selling gimcrackshoddy goods by means of a glibtongue and slick patter. Therewere the con-men - the ‘We’llgive you a good price for your

old gold and silver’ merchantswho then doled out a fewshillings to bemused old ladiesfor quite valuable familyheirlooms. Posh looking chaps ina smart suit and collar and tiewould sell you spectacleswhether or not you needed them.Enough patent medicine wassold by door to door salesmen tofloat the QE II - much of it wassugar and water with a bit ofcolouring and flavouring butthey swore it would cureeverything from pneumonia toarthritis!

In the early 1930’s fullemployment was a dream ratherthan a reality and many menwere unable to find work. Thissocial problem was reflected onthe streets in the number ofbeggars, street singers andbuskers to be found in mosttowns. Men would stand onstreet corners, literally cap inhand, singing popular ballads ofthe day. The most popular werethe hugely sentimental favouritessuch as ‘Danny Boy’, ‘My AinFolk’ and other music hall songs.Mouth organs were very commonbut those with any pretence tomusical skill went a step furtherwith the trumpet, concertina, and,very popular, the pianoaccordion. Solo singers weremore likely to be found in theresidential streets where theymight be given food instead of, oras well as, money. Sometimes, onmarket days and in the towncentre where large numbers ofpeople might be found, a group ofbuskers would put on a bit of ashow with music, singing, andperhaps a display of clog dancingwhich was always very popular.

The 1930’s was, in manyways, a great time to be a youngboy. In those days children ofseven or eight years old couldroam and play in the streetswithout a great deal of danger.There was always something tosee, some entertainment to watchor listen to and, as kids, weweren’t expected to pay - it wasall free.

The Market

The open market in Ashtonwas held every Saturday; in the1930’s it consisted of a numberof permanent enclosed stallswhich could be locked during theweek, the remainder being openstalls which were erected and

dismantled the same day. Therewould be the usual type ofmarket goods ranging fromclothes, food of all types, fruitand vegetables, second-handgoods, floor coverings, toys andnovelty goods to books,magazines and newspapers. Onestall was devoted entirely to thesale of tripe of all kinds. Therewas black and white tripe pluscow heels, pig’s trotters, brawnor ‘pigs head’, elder, savoury‘ducks’ and black puddings. Justbefore the market closed, kidswould go to the tripe stall for a‘haporth’ of tripe bits. Thesewere the off-cut pieces whichhad been cut from tripe as it wasbeing weighed during the dayand for a halfpenny you couldget quite a lot of tripe bitswrapped in greaseproof paper.With lashings of vinegar and saltand pepper they were very tasty.

In the winter when it wentdark the stalls of the traderswould be illuminated by napthalamps which gave a strange andevocative, almost surreal, glow.The evening was in some waysthe busiest time on the marketand large crowds would gatheraround the china and crockerystalls and the linoleum sellers.The latter used to operate fromthe back of a large van and theywould sell rolls of linoleum bythe ‘Dutch Auction’ method.This is where the price is calledby the auctioneer and isprogressively reduced untilsomeone in the crowd shouts outto pay the last price called. Thelinoleum sellers would stand inthe open tailboard of their vanand, holding one end of a roll oflinoleum, they would throw therolled end off the tailboardletting it unroll in front of thecrowd. With each price reductionthe auctioneer would give theflat linoleum a loud slappurposely to heighten the tensionso that someone in the crowdmight bid at a higher price so asnot to lose the lino to anotherbidder. It was of course, the firstbidder (or person who shoutedacceptance of the latest price),who got the lino. The trick was totry to hold ones nerve until theprice came down really low,taking a chance that no one elsewould jump in first, and ofcourse the auctioneer had arepertoire of jokes and patter to

jolly the crowd along and keepthem in a good mood. Theatmosphere with the crowd, theauctioneer slapping the lino andcracking his jokes, the tensionand the naptha lamps, combinedto create a picture which even solong afterwards, I can see clearlyas I write.

Knick knacksgalore

The same was true of thechina and crockery merchants.They worked from large stallswhere they would set up adisplay of the goods they wereselling. They had tea sets anddinner services, both china andearthenware, fruit sets of glassand china, tea pots fancy andplain, ornaments and knick-knacks galore together withpacking cases packed to the brimwith mundane items of crockerysuch as pudding basins and plainwhite earthenware cups, saucersand plates. The china sellersoperated on the same basis as thelinoleum chaps i.e. by ‘DutchAuction’ but they had morescope for entertaining the crowdsbecause of the more diverserange of their goods. They wouldhold a full tea set in their handsand half juggle with it, throwingit up in the air and catching itagain with no breakages. For uskids it was great entertainmentalthough the show wassometimes so fascinating wedidn’t leave and would catch it inthe neck for getting home late.

Finally

I have just proof-read myarticle and I’m astonished at howmuch I’ve remembered. I’meven more astonished at howmuch I’ve left out! But I thinkI’ve included the important stuffand, hopefully, managed tocapture the essence of growing upin a Lancashire town in the 1930’s.

When I began this article I

intended it to be an account of

my years at Ashton Grammar

School but it grew into more,

much more. It is fitting that I

acknowledge here the debt I

owe to the school. I have

enjoyed a successful career as a

Chartered Civil Engineer. The

first steps towards that career

were taken at Ashton

Grammar School.

ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELDDURING THE

1930’s–––––

Continued from page 23

25

SOCIETY NEWSAspull & Haigh Historical SocietyMeetings are held in the Village Centre, BoltonRoad, Aspull, on the second Thursday of themonth at 8.00 p.m. Further details from theSecretary, Mrs. Rosalie Naylor, 3 PenningtonClose, Aspull, Wigan (01942 256145)

Death of Mr. J. Sherriff andMrs. D. DootsonI have had a letter from Mrs. Rosalie Naylor,Secretary of the Aspull & Haigh HistoricalSociety, stating that two of their foundermembers had died - both on the same dayin early January.Mrs. Dorothy Dootson was founder Secretaryof the Society. She held the office until sheresigned three years ago due to ill-health.Mrs. Naylor writes that she was a “staunchsupporter of Past Forward, and she delightedin distributing it around Aspull and Haigh.”Mr. Joe Sherriff was founder Chairman of theSociety. He was well known in Aspull, bothfor his work on behalf of the Society, and ofthe Catholic church there. He was a verygood friend of Wigan Heritage Service. Ed.

Atherton Heritage SocietyMonthly meetings with talks on local history heldat St. Richard’s Jubilee Hall, Crabtree Lane,Atherton, on Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. Non-members £1.50, including refreshments.Everyone welcome. Visits throughout the yearto places of historical interest. Information fromHon. Sec. (01204 651478).13 April‘Women in the Mines’ by M. StirrupAtherton was known for its Pit Brow lassies, butour speaker will tell the whole story of womenin the coal industry.11 May‘Literary Lakeland’ by Miss M. CurryMargaret’s talks have become an annual event- they are so good. Tonight she will tell us allabout the connections between the Lake Districtand writers.8 June‘The History of The Co-op’ by Mr. N. HindleyThe idea of having a share in a companyappealed to hard-working Lancashire folk andchecks were carefully collected to be cashedon divi-day. The success story is told tonight.

JulyNo Meeting, HOLIDAYS.10 August‘Rivington’ by Mr. D. SmithOne of our favourite local walking places. Mr.Smith will tell us all we need to know of its longhistory and brings along his book on the subject.

Golborne & Lowton Local HistorySocietyFounded in 1984 the society now has anaverage monthly attendance of over 20.Meetings are held at Golborne Library on thesecond Tuesday of the month at 7.00 p.m. Non-members welcome. Further details from RonMarsh, P.R. Officer (01942 726027).13 April TuesdayA.G.M.

Leigh & District Family HistorySocietyMeetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of everymonth in the Derby Room of Leigh Library. Forfurther details contact the Secretary, Mrs. O.Hughes (01942 741594).20 April‘Wills for the Family Historians’ by DavidLambert.18 May‘Publishing your Family History’ by Dan Muir.15 JuneVisit to Wigan Record Office, Leigh.20 JulyVisit to Leigh Library.17 AugustGetting started and Question time.

Leigh Literary SocietyMeetings are held in The Derby Room, LeighLibrary on Mondays at 7.30 p.m. Subscription£10. Visitors £1. Secretary: Mrs. H. Gaskell(01942 801743).

Leigh Local History SocietyMeetings are held in The Derby Room, LeighLibrary, on the last Wednesday of the month.

For further details contact the Secretary. Mrs.Norma Ackers (01942 865488).

Tyldesley & District HistoricalSocietyMeetings are held at Tyldesley Pensioners Club.Milk Street, Tyldesley, on the third Thursday ofthe month at 7.30 p.m. Entrance is FREE. Furtherdetails from the Secretary (01942 514271).15 April‘The Good Old Days?’ by Tony Rydings.Part 2 of a talk given last year will take the historyof medicine from the Renaissance to the 19thcentury.20 MayAnnual visit. To be arranged.

Wigan Archaeological SocietyThe Society meets in the History Shop on thefirst Wednesday of the month at 7.30 p.m. Newmembers are always welcome.

Wigan Civic TrustThe Trust meets at 7.30 p.m. on the secondMonday of the month at Drumcroon Arts Centre,Parsons Walk, Wigan. For further informationcontact Anthony Grimshaw, Secretary (01942245777). New members are always welcome.12 April‘The History of Standish Well’ by Cllr. JohnO’Neill.10MayVisit to Rawtenstall Civic Trust.14 June‘A History of Haigh Hall’ by Mrs. Carole Banks.

Wigan Family History SocietyMeetings are now held on the first and thirdTuesday of the month, at the Springfield Hotel,Springfield Road, Wigan, at 7.30 p.m. For furtherinformation contact Mrs. Lynne Kearns, 28Wareing Street, Tyldesley, Manchester, M298HS (01942 878549).20 AprilManchester Record Office - Sources Availableto the Family and Local Historian.18 May‘Deportation of a Relative’ by Russell Young15 June‘Postcards: An Edwardian Story’ by Ron Severs.

AnyonerememberJimmy Cain’scake shop?Dear Mr. Gillies,

Past Forward issue 19 arrivedtoday, always a source of pleasureto receive each issue, but two lettersin the latest publication have spurredme into writing, in the hope you canfind space to print what is ultimatelya plea for help.

The letter from J. Harold Smithin Sutton Coalfield mentions “a chapresiding in Leicester’ who sent him

his first copy of Past Forward. I thinkhe must mean me. My recollectionsare that we first made contactregarding the former Wigan,England and Great Britain rugbyleague player Johnnie Lawrenson.My late father Jack Cain grew up withJohnnie in the streets below the oldKirkless Iron and Steel Works at thetop end of Belle Green Lane, Ince.My grandfather, Jimmy Cain, kept thecake shop at 10 Belle Green Lane,near Manchester Road, in the 1930’sand 40’s. Would any readersremember him, or the shop, laterkept by Edna Ashurst, nowdemolished and replaced by the newbuilding near Smithy Green, Ince,which I believe is a clinic? I wouldbe overjoyed to hear from anyonewho might remember my family inInce. As an aside, I have beensearching unsuccessfully for aphotograph of the area at the top ofBelle Green Lane, specifically FrancisStreet, where the new houses nowstand. I would pay the costs incurred

by anyone who could loan me aphotograph of the area for thepurposes of copying it.

Reading the articles and lettersin the current issue it struck me howyou can trace similarities in the livesof families and I cite two examples.

The article by Mr. James Daviesrelated how his father took on agrocery business as mining declined.My aforementioned grandfatherJimmy Cain, took on theconfectionery business as theKirkless site shut down.

That must have been quitecommon where families had ‘putsomething by’ and could try theirhand at something different. Mysecond example may spurcorrespondence to your office frompeople descended from ancestorsthat came to Wigan in the last centuryfrom Shropshire and Staffordshire.

Yvonne Morris’s letterconcerning her Perkins ancestor’sarrival in Wigan, or rather Ince, inthe 1880’s from Shrewsbury

mirrored my own family’s travels.Jimmy Cain married Mary ElizabethStone who was born in Lower Incein 1884, the first child to be born inInce to Richard and Ann Stone. Herelder brothers and sisters were bornin Wolverhampton and fatherRichard was born in Ironbridge,Shropshire in 1854 to parent from.... Shrewsbury. Richard was a‘puddler’ and came to work in theiron industry in Ince, from the factthat Mary was born in Lower Ince Iconjecture that it was at the MossSide Ironworks. Richard lost his wifein 1898 at the age of 42 having givenbirth to 13 children! They now lie inInce Cemetery. Richard, a reputedlyhard man like James Davies’ father,later lived in Belle Green Lane at theKing Street junction, then near toJackson Street or Manchester Roadwhere he would let the pigs loose torun amok on the highway forcing hisdaughters Sarah and Mary to roundthem up in the dark. As the ReverendHibbert’s letter in issue 19 says “A

way of life has completelydisappeared from our midst, timeschange”. How many of us aredescended from ancestors that hada common furrow?

Later this year I hope tostart on a project analysing the1891 Census for Ince.Breaking down the populationby county of origin. Shouldanyone wish me to keep alookout for their forebearsthey are welcome to contactme.

Please accept my best wishesfor the continued health of PastForward - it brings many people alot of pleasure.

Neil Cain26 Sheridan TerraceWhitton Avenue West

NortholtMiddlesex

UB5 4JS

26

AninspirationalwonderfuleveningDear Sir,

On Friday 2 October1998 I was privileged toattend a wonderful reunionorganised by Mrs. JeanMcNamara (nee Haddock)and her brother Frank. It wasa reunion of people who livedin Ingram Street andMoorfield Street before theold terraced houses weredemolished in 1963.

I have been away fromWigan for some 34 years andit is over 40 years since I hadmet some of my old friendsand neighbours. Despitecommon sense dictatingotherwise my picture was oneof 16 to 20 year old

teenagers. It was somethingof a pleasant learningexperience trying to identifysome of the elegant matronsas those young ladies forwhom I may have hadromantic yearnings in thepast. Or some of therespectable mature gentle-men as the hooligans and ripsnorters with whom I ranamok. It would be nice to listthe people included in over200 people who attended.Some still young and mereslips of things, othersoctogenarians. There werealso one or two craftysneaker-ins from WoodhouseLane and Holt Street. Somewere hardly changed andeasily recognisable, otherswith some difficulty.

There were discussionsabout the air raids, JohnnyWood’s coal wagon rippingdown washing by accident onthe Monday wash day.Adventures on the taggy nearKing’s Wood, at WalthewHouse Lane, interspersedwith details of the latest hipor knee replacement. Thebookies runner being allowedaccess into houses to avoidBobby Blinker the cycling

policeman.The walls of the Latics

club were covered in oldphotographs. Was that reallyT—S— and J— H—— insatin breeches on CoronationDay? It was a great night andone that everyone enjoyedvery much. What a pity forthose who couldn’t or didn’tmanage to get there. Theywere remembered withaffection in manyconversations.

Again, I would likethrough your pages, to thankthose who had the inspirationto do it and to make it such asuccessful evening. Inparticular Jean and Frank andthe ladies who ensured thatdespite all the reminiscing westill had something to eatduring the evening.

H. Haddock, B.A. QFSM

FiFireE

8 Repton Court

The Arbours

Northampton

NN3 3RQ

Tel: 01604 404338

E-mail:-

refire@mail.globalnet.co.uk.

Ashcroft, Grady andTaylor families

I am trying to locaterelatives of my father,Francis Joseph Ashcroft,who was born on 6 January1911, at 66 DarlingtonStreet East, the son ofJoseph and Margaret (neeGrady) Ashcroft.

Dad’s father Josephwas the son of Joseph andEsther (nee Taylor)Ashcroft, and was born on6 January 1889. Josephand Esther had severalother children, includingJane, who was born about1890; Robert about 1893,and another son, whosename may have beenWilliam.

When Esther (Taylor)Ashcroft died in 1905 herhusband Joseph remarriedin 1911, to MargaretFerguson, who died in1916. Esther had twosisters; Elizabeth Annmarried James Moore in1909. Jane Moore was stillliving in the 1920’s.

Dad’s mother Margaretwas born in 1879 in Wigan,

the daughter of Martin,who worked as a gasstoker and died in 1902,and Ann (Carroll/Hinchley)O’Grady, Irish immigrantswho came to Wigan fromCounty Clare in about1876. Margaret’s brotherMichael, who was born inIreland, married HannahTaylor in 1903. When, in1911, my grandparentsemigrated to the UnitedState, it appears that all ofthe surviving Grady family,with the exception ofMichael, also left forAmerica.

I would very much liketo hear from anyone in anyof these families, and whomight have information. Itwould be wonderful to addliving relatives to ourfamily tree!

Mary Ann Ashcroft1229 Vista del Lago

San Luis Obispo,California 93405

U.S.A.

‘Marriage at Atherton’article stirred memoriesDear Sir,

I was particularly

interested in the article in Past

Forward 19 ‘Interesting

Marriage at Atherton’. The

Rev. W. Nuttall who officiated

was father of my late

husband’s uncle by marriage.

Cyril B. Nuttall was, I think,

the eldest son of the Rev. W.

Nuttall and he was married to

my husband’s Aunt Elizabeth

Irlam at Flixton Parish

Church,. They are both buried

in Flixton Churchyard. When

the Atherton Church was

vandalised a few years ago, an

article in, I think, the Leigh

Journal [I have a copy

somewhere] told about the

three vicars who had held the

living at Atherton; the Rev.

Nuttall was the one who had

held it the longest.

A daughter of Mr. Nuttall

married a Mr. Edwards,

Managing Director of

Lancashire United Transport,;

later she died quite young and

another daughter Lucy kept

house for her brother-in-law

and family. Nora Edwards

married one of the Gardner’s

from the engine works at

Patricroft and up to two years

ago she was still alive and

living in Worsley. It was

strange I should marry

someone with even a distant

connection with the Edwards/

Nuttall family as my first job

was in the Partington Lane

Swinton Depot office of

L.U.T. I moved to live in

Astley/Tyldesley in 1986, and

when the Depot at Atherton

closed and the Leigh Journal

asked for any memories of

working for L.U.T., a friend

persuaded me to send in my

memory.

Thanks for Past Forward

which eventually goes to an

83 year old Leigh born and

bred friend who now lives

near his family in Sussex, and

sometimes on to his brother

on the Moray Firth.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks again.

Mrs May Platt

12 Brindlehurst Drive

Astley

Tyldesley

M29 7NG

Thank you

Mr.

BlakemanDear Mr. Blakeman

Thank you forshowing us aroundthe History Shop onTuesday 2 February1999 telling us aboutWigan and itssurrounding villages.It was very interestingand we enjoyedlooking around andlearning about Wiganof old. We likedlooking at slides andthe old maps andpictures of Standishand Upholland.

We hope to visitthem soon.

Class 11

Montrose School

Montrose Avenue

Pemberton

Wigan

WN5 9XN

Father recognisedDear Sir,

Regarding the photograph on Page 10 of issue 20 of Past

Forward Autumn/Winter.The person on the second row 3rd from right is my father

Joseph Latham who worked in the Menswear Department atthe Co-op in Standishgate. He died in 1985.

The team played on Wednesdays because that was a halfday off for most shops in those days.

Mrs Mollie Ryding

16 Cartmel Avenue

Danesway

Wigan

WN1 2HD

RichardForshaw,bellringersandboatyardsDear Sir,

I have a copy of an articlefor the funeral of my greatgrandfather Richard Forshaw.It was published in the WiganExaminer 17 July 1926. In thearticle it says that he workedfor the Leeds & LiverpoolCanal Co. for 51 years (hewas 83 when he died) and heserved his apprenticeship inthe Parbold Boat Yard. Itseems he had only been

retired for two years and wasthe Company’s foreman boatbuilder; he was living inCygnet Street. It alsomentions amongst the floraltributes, one from theBellringers, St. JamesChurch, Poolstock.

I would like to know ifanyone has any connection toRichard and his family and ifanyone knows if there are anyrecords held which refer tothe St. James’ ChurchBellringers. Also the localboat yards both at Parboldand Wigan.

Margaret Hegan

61 Chester Lane

Stevenage

Herts.

SG1 4JY

Tel: 01438 233687

27

Memoriesof waryears inLeighDear Sir,

I enclose a letter ofmemories of Leigh. Ienjoyed reading your Past

Forward magazine whileon holiday in Finland.

I wish you success inthis magazine.

ELLEN SCOTSON

(Nellie Collinge)

b. 6 Feb. 1916

I lived in BrideoakeStreet, Bedford, Leigh. Asa girl I attended St.

Thomas’s Church and DaySchool. In my young daysBedford Cinema was verypopular in the same streetwhere I lived. We also usedto enjoy the church dancesin Leigh. The most popularSaturday evening danceswere those of Leigh ParishChurch Institute and in St.Joseph’s Dance Hall. I metmy late husband, RobertScotson, at a St. Peter’sChurch dance. As a boy helived in Byrom Hall,Lowton. (He also had abrother, Abraham, who wasa well-known local figureas the shop manager atLeigh Meadow Dairy, andafter the War as the ownerof a grocer’s shop on theWigan Road. He waspresident of the Leigh &District GrocersAssociation, 1961-2).

My occupation onleaving school at 14 yearsold, was at Ogden’s SweetFactory in West Leigh. Ileft this work a year later tolearn a trade in weaving at

the Leigh ManufacturingCo. Unfortunately theirtwo mills closed down atthe beginning of the slumpin the cotton trade, and Imoved to Stanley Mill inDuke Street where Iworked only for threeweeks, following which Iwent to Welch Hill Factoryin Twist Lane. After twohappy years there, myfather, Wilfred Collinge,suggested I go toCourtaulds Brook Mill as asilk weaver, animprovement from myprevious work. A newweaving shed was openedat Bedford Square wherewe weavers were eachgiven 10 to 14 looms tooperate on shift work, andfive years I was employedweaving parachutematerial during wartime.My husband and I wereseparated by the War afterone month of marriage -Robert Scotson enlisted forthe Army AirborneDivision (later Parachute

Published by Wigan Heritage Service, Leisure ServicesDepartment, Market Suite, Market Hall, The Galleries, WiganWN1 1PX.

The views expressed in this issue are not necessarilysupported by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, or by itsRecreation and Amenities Committee. Nothing printed may beconstrued as policy or an official announcement unless sostated.

Neither Wigan Council, nor the Editor, accept liability for anymatter in this publication.

Contributions are welcome but no responsibility can be takenfor loss or damage to contributors’ material.

© Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

March 1999

H.A.G.S. -1946intakerecollectionsDear Sir,

I have recently had theloan of several copies ofPast Forward, primarily sothat I could read the lettersand articles on Hindley &Abram Grammar School. Iwas at H.A.G.S., in the1946 intake, and you maybe interested in severalrecollections which no-oneelse seems to havementioned.

The first is MissNicholas’s car. Very fewpeople had cars in 1946,but Nick had one - a large,much pre-war model, ofthe square box on wirewheels variety which,shortly before nineo’clock each morning,made its stately progressinto the school yard anddisgorged Miss Nicholas,Miss Craig, Miss Moodyand Miss Unsworth. As Iremember, it, this machinewas dark blue with blacktrim and curious yellow-

Regt.) in which he servedfor five years.

The war years werelong but we were able tofind entertainment in thecinemas of Leigh: ‘TheRegal’ in Spinning JennyStreet, ‘The Empire’ inBradshawgate, ‘ThePalace’ and ‘Sems’ inRailway Road. I stillremember the first talkingpictures at a cinema onLeigh Road, and across theway was LeighHippodrome with the liveshows. The ‘Theatre Royal’in Lord Street had all kindsof variety - I wonder whatthis building is now? I alsobelonged to an amateurdramatic group at St.Thomas’s Church inBedford. Harry Heap wasthe producer of Gilbert &Sullivan operettas.

In 1946 we came tolive in Coventry. Myhusband had worked inStanley Mill, Leigh butdue to the slump there, hefound work in silk spinning

at Courtaulds, Coventrywhere he worked for 34years and eventuallybecame a supervisor. I havebeen a pianist for theCoventry Keep FitAssociation for over 30years, and still play thepiano for a local ladieschoir, for elderly people’shomes and clubs, and forSalvation Army Seniorcitizens. My daughter alsoteaches the piano inCoventry to school children.

My son, Allan, worksas a Free EvangelicalChurch minister in Finlandand he introduced me toPast Forward during myrecent visit in his home.Now having read the pastfive editions I wanted toexpress my appreciationfor many happy memoriesthey gave me. I thank Godfor all these.

Ellen Scotson

235 Middlemarch Road

Radford, Coventry

Warwickshire

CV6 3GJ

tinted windows. My form did not do

cookery but for the firsttwo years we had thebenefit of Miss Moody’sneedlework classes. Thefirst term we made atraycloth, but next came amore ambitious project - apair of wincyette pyjamaseach. Miss Moodyinformed us that theHeadmaster wouldcertainly wish to see usmodel the finishedgarments. They took solong to make that we’dgrown out of them beforethey were finished, butthankfully Mr. Brittenshowed no interest.

A friend suggested weshould volunteer to makethe cricket tea for theSaturday afternoon match.It was supposed to be goodfun but we only did it once.In a back room in thepavilion was an enormousmound of sliced bread, asmall tin of salmon, half apound or so of butter and abig old tea urn. We weresupposed to feed twocricket teams! Mind you, Ithink food was rationed atthe time.

No-one seems to have

mentioned Mr. Marsden,known as Moses. He wasthe Divinity teacher andalso did third formGeography. An absolutelydarling man, he was aCongregational ministerwho apparently had servedfor many years in theChina mission. If youcould get him talkingabout his time in Chinathere was no formal lessonthat day. He was alsoreputed to have a ‘plasticear’ to replace one whichhad been cut off byunspecified ‘natives’.

Then there was‘Stinks’ Beaumont. Hetaught Chemistry and wasalso the Scout Master. Hehad magic reflectiveglasses which enabled himto see what was going onbehind his back when hewas writing on the board.He wore a hefty leatherbelt with a large bucklebearing the Scout motto‘Be Prepared’. As he wasalso wearing braces thiswas a source of greatamusement to the coarserones amongst us.

I first saw the schoolwhen I was taken out for awalk by my grandad. I was

about three years old at thetime, but the placecaptured my imaginationand my ambition from thatday was to go to the‘granny’ school. From apresent-day standpoint it isdifficult to envisage allthose kids, mostly frompoor households, beingprivileged to attend such asuperb school withexcellent teachers andfacilities. Many of theteachers were admittedly alittle eccentric in someways but so much thebetter for it. The gym wasstate-of-the-art, the halland library were a dream -

all now spoiled. Most of uswere the first in ourfamilies to have such asplendid opportunity, withall doors open to the ableand willing. Sadly theschool as such, like manysimilar schools, is nomore. One wonders whatwe have thrown away inthe name of progress.

Edna Booth (nee

Pennington)

12 Chapel Walk

Lowton St. Mary’s

Warrington, Cheshire

WA3 1EE

There was a good response to last issue’s Who?

Where? particularly with regard to the middle twophotographs. Osbourne House is still standing, onBillinge Road, Highfield, Wigan. One suggestionfor the photograph of the bridge and houses was PlattBridge, but there was an overwhelming identificationas Union Bridge, Newtown, Wigan. Mr FrederickSim, writing from Wyoming, USA, provided suchdetail that extracts from his letter are reproducedbelow:

Gentlemen, I have just received the Past Forward, issue

20. As usual your magazine is excellent, interestingand a great reviver of wonderful memories.

The photos on the last page (photo No. 4) is ofUnion Bridge, Newtown, Pemberton and was usedto carry coal from Norley Pit. The shop with theawning down was a toffee shop and was owned oroperated by a family by the name of Sedwick (Ihope I have spelt the name correct). Lookingthrough the bridge opening there are (left side)several light standards; about the second onewould be where Mr. Ashurst had his photographicstudio. However, the studio where he actually tookpictures was a little further up towards Spring Bank.Also not shown in the picture are Mitchell andManor Streets and Dr. Benson’s dental office. As ayoungster we boys used to joke about the sign infront of his office - “Painless Dentistry”, we used tosay, sure doesn’t hurt the dentist. Another pointabout the picture - at the end of the row, goingtowards Wigan, was McLeod’s bakery.

Thanks for your fine publication, as a greatmany of your articles are things-and-times I canlook back on, and Ernie Taberner’s articles are asalways right on the dot, very accurate.

Frederick Sims

Referring back to issue no 19, details of themystery funeral have been found in the LeighChronicle. The deceased was Ernest Henry Holding,a Sergeant in the Boer War who became a driverwith South Lancashire Tramways. This, of course,accounts for the flag draped over the coffin and thetramcars in the procession. Ernest Holding died inMay 1912 of double pneumonia, aged only 32.

This time, the photographs for identification,

apart from one of a mystery house, all have a

religious theme. One is of the interior of a church

c. 1906; the other two are more recent, and feature

Archbishops Downey and Heenan of Liverpool.

Any suggestions? If so please contact Len Hudson

in Leigh Town Hall (01942 404432)

Who?

Where?