Introduction.
This scanned transcription of "The Pictorial History of the County of
Lancaster," published by George Routledge, London, in 1854, is made
available through the generous loan of the book by Mr Jack Newton,
B.Sc., of Sydney, N.S.W., (formerly of Otley, Yorkshire), to whom I
extend a sincere thank you.
The book gives an eye witness account of the industrial revolution in
Lancashire. It is made available for an individual's personal research
purposes ONLY, and MUST NOT be copied, sold, or used for commercial or
profit purposes.© Credits should be given to the original publication
when references to, or quotations from this work, are used.
I apologise in advance for the poor quality of the graphics, however, it
was necessary to reduce them to a third of the original size, to included
them in this scanned edition. By doing so, the quality suffered, but to
omit them, would have meant the real value of the publication would have
been lost. As far as possible, subject to formatting requirements, this
scanned copy is exactly as as the original, and the graphics have been
placed on the same pages, therefore the "Index of Illustrations" shown at
the front will locate them.
Please Note. The footnotes in this volume often extend over two pages, so
when one appear incomplete, look at the bottom of the following
Page.
Some charts e.g. pages x & xi; xii & xii etc,, need to be read
across, as if on one page, for reason which should be obvious it
was not possible to scan them together.
Preface to Page 8.
Pages 9 to 63.
Pages 64 to 125.
Pages 126 to 175.
Pages 176 to 225.
Pages 226 to 274.
Pages 275 to 338.
Pages i to xxii.
Pages xxiii to xlviii.
Index
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THE
PlCTORlAL HISTORY
OF THE
COUNTY OF LANCASTER:
WITH
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS
AND A MAP.
TIME HONOURED LANCASTER.
LONDON:
GEORGE ROUTLEDGITE, 36, SOHO SQUARE.
MDCCCXLIV
LONDON.
PRINTED BY MANNING AND MASON, IVY LANE
PATERNOSTER ROW.
PREFACE.
The description of the County of Lancaster will be found completed in the
present volume in as concise a manner as possible for a district so rich,
extensive, and important in its manufacturing relations. As an illustrated
work, it will still impart a correct idea of not a few interesting objects,
particular of the relies of many of the dwellings of our ancestors in that
part of England, which have not until now been presented to the reader.
Some of these habitations belonging to the olden time have been sketched
in their existing state, which is one of rapidly increasing decay. 0thers
there are upon which time has less prominently his seal; but which, as many
before them have been, may soon be annihilated by the march of improvement
or the more pressing demands of manufacturing necessity. The reader
therefore not believe it a disadvantage, nor an unworthy reflection upon
the pages of the present work, if, in many portraits of what it has thus
included, some are found which have already disappeared for ever.
The assistance which the Editor has received in completing the present
volume, demands acknowledgment. The details respecting the cotton
manufacture, with the account of Manchester ----- excepting of the
Collegiate Church, ---- the mode of glass-making, and the process followed
in forging chain cables,* are Dr. W. C. Taylor. For the faithful sketches
of the hundreds of the hundreds of Salford and Blackburn, more particularly
----ð thus dividing with himself the heavier part of his task ---- the
Editor is indebted to Dr. Beard of Manchester, not previously unknown in
topographical literature. Various county and local publications consulted,
have for the most part been acknowledged in the pages where the information
obtained is to be found.
It only remain that the Editor solicit indulgence towards any defect which
the local critic may discover in this work.
* Commencing at page 4; ib, 89; ib, 131.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
SUBJECT DRAWN BY ENGRAVED BY PAGE.
1. MAP OF LANCASTER. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. PENDLE HILL. . . . . Sargent . . Armstrong 2
3. PATRICROFT. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 8
4. THE EXCHANGE, MANCHESTER. . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 9
5. BLOWING FAN. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 11
6. LAPPING MACHINE. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 12
7. HARD CARDS. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 13
8. CARDING MACHINE. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 14
9. DOFFING MACHINE. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 14
10. FIRST DRAWING. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 16
11. ROVING. . . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 17
12. BOBBIN AND FLY FRAME. . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 17
13. BOBBINS PERFORMING. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 18
14. DELIVERING FINGER. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 18
15. MULE ROOM. . . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 20
16. WARPING MACHINE. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 24
17. DRESSING AND PARTING ENGINE.. Sly . . . Sly . . . . 25
18. COMMON LOOM. . . . . S1y . . . Sly . . . . 25
19. REED. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 26
20. COMMON SHUTTLE. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 26
21. HEALD AND REED WORK.. . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 27
22. DRAWING-IN. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 28
23. POWER LOOM ROOM. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 29
24. THE HOIST. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 30
25. THE VICTORIA BRIDGE, MANCHESTER.Sargent . . Nicholls . . . 33
26. NAT. HIST. SOCIETY'S HALL, MANCHESTER.Sargent. Evans . . . . 37
27. TOWN HALL, MANCHESTER. . . Sargent . . Wakefield . . . 38
28. APPARATUS FOR MOVING BOBBINS. Sly . . . Sly . . . . 47
29. THE DASH WHEEL. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 51
30. CALENDARING. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 53
31. BLIND ASYLUM & DEAF & DUMB SCHOOL.Sargent. . Nicholls . . . 54
32. CHETHAM COLLEGE. . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 55
33. COLLEGIATE CHURCH. . . . Sargent . . Jackson . . . 56
34. INTERIOR OF COLLEGIATE CHURCH. Sargent . . Evans . . . . 57
35. CALICO PRINTING. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 62
36. LANE'S NET PATTERNS.. . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 63
37. EMBROIDERY MACHINE . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 70
38. THE ATHENAEUM, MANCHESTER. . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 71
39. MANCHESTER INFIRMARY & LUNATIC ASY.Sargent . Evans . . . . 73
40. HULME HALL. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 74
41. CLAYTON HALL. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 75
42. FAIRFIELD. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 76
43. ASHTON TOWN HALL. . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 78
44. WARRINGTON MARKET-PLACE . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 8l
45. FUSTIAN CUTTER. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 82
46. SANKEY VIADUCT. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 87
47. WORSLEY HALL. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 88
48. ST. HELEN'S. . . . . Franklin. . . Jackson. . . . 89
49. SEAL OF THE PLATE GLASS COMPANY,1773 Fairholt. Sly . . . . 90
50. DITTO, 1798. . . . . Fairholt . . Sly . . . . 90
51. RAVENHEAD GLASS WORKS. . . Anelay . . . Sly . . . . 90
52. INTERIOR OF DITTO. . . . Franklin . . Sly . . . . 93
53. CASTING GLASS. . . . . Anelay . . . Sly . . . . 95
54. SILVERING TABLE. . . . . Sly . . . Sly . . . . 98
55. ENTRANCE TO RAILWAY AT LIVERPOOL.Franklin. . Williams . . . 1O1
56. OLD LIVERPOOL. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 103
57. GOREE BUILDINGS. . . . . Sargent . . Armstrong . . . 105
58. BATHS. . . . . . . Franklin . . Williams . . . 106
59. THE EXCHANGE. . . . . Franklin . . Warmsley . . . 110
60. TOWN HALL. . . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . . 111
61. CUSTOM HOUSE. . . . . Sargent . . Nicholls . . . 111
62. ROYAL BANK. . . . . Sargent . . Wakefield . . . 113
63. ST. JAMES'S CEMETERY. . . Franklin . . Sly . . . . 115
64. HUSKISSON'S MONUMENT. . . Franklin . . Sly . . . . 115
65. THE INFIRMARY. . . . . Franklin . . Gilks . . . . 117
66. ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. . . . Franklin . . Jackson. . . . 118
67. PRlNCE RUPERT'S QUARTERS. . Delamotte . . Delamotte . . . 119
68. ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, EVERTON. Franklin . . Green . . . 120
69. ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH, LIVERPOOL.Franklin . . Jackson . . . 121
70. ST. LUKE'S CHURCH. . . . Franklin . . Walmsley . . . 122
71. DR. RAFFLES CHAPEL. . . . Sargent . . Mason . . . 123
72. ST. JOHN'S MARKET . . . . Sargent . . Mason . . . 124
73. MR, ROSCOE'S BIRTH-PLACE. . Franklin . . Armstrong . . . 127
74. LIGHTHOUSE AND FORT. . . Sargent . . Nicholls . . . 129
75. DUKE'S DOCK. . . . . Franklin . . Armstrong . . . 129
76. SPE1KE HALL*. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 133
77. INTERIOR OF SPEKE HALL* . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 133
78. HALE HALL . . . . Delamotte . . Evans . . . 134
79. ALLERTON HALL. . . . . Franklin . . Bastin . . . 135
80. J.P. KEMBLE'S BIRTH PLACE. . Sargent . . Evans . . . 136
81. FARNWORTH CHURCH. . . . Sargent . . Mason . . . 137
82. KNOWSLEY HALL. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 139
83. SEFTON CHURCH. . . . . Franklin . . Evans . . . 141
84. LYDIATE ABBEY. . . . . Delamotte . . Delamotte . . . 142
85. ORMSKIRK CHURCH. . . . . Sargent . . Armstrong . . . 143
86. RUFFORD OLD HALL. . . . Franklin . . Landells . . . 147
87. ANCIENT CANOE. . . . . Redding . . Evans . . . 148
88. MAB'S CROSS, WIGAN. . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 153
89. MARKETðPLACE, PRESTON. . . Sargent . . Nicholls . . . 158
90. BOGGART'S CLOUGH. . . . Dodd . . Walmsley . . . 160
91. ENTRANCE TO DITTO. . . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 162
92. MIDDLETON CHURCH. . . . Dodd . . Bastin . . . 163
93. THE THRUTCH. . . . . Dodd . . Armstrong . . . 167
94. THE FAIRIES CHAPEL. . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 168
95. INSCRIPTION AT STEANER BOTTAM. Dodd . . Wakefield . . . 174
96. THE EAGLES' CRAG. . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 177
97. HOLME CHAPEL. . . . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 183
98. HOLME HALL. . . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 184
99. HOLME CROSS. . . . . Dodd . . Wakefield . . . 185
100. TOWNELEY HALL. . . . . Dodd . . Kirchner . . . 186
101. DOORWAY, TOWNELEY. . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 186
102. WHALLEY ABBEY. . . . . Dodd . . Gray . . . 193
103. THE ABBOT'S STALL. . . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 198
104. ANCIENT CARVING ON SEAT. . Dodd . . Mason . . . 198
105. BRASSES. . . . . . Dodd . . Mason . . . 199
106. GATEWAY. . . . . . Dodd . . Gilks . . . 202
107. REMAINS OF CHARTER HOUSE. . Dodd . . Nicholls . . . 203
108. -------- PRIVATE, CHAPEL. . Dodd . . Landells . . . 204
109. CLITHERO CASTLE. . . . Delamotte . . Delamotte . . . 205
110. PEGGY'S WELL. . . . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 209
111. "DULE UPON DEN".. . . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 211
112. WADDINGTON BRIDGE. . . . Dodd . . Walmsley . . . 213
113. WADDINGTON HALL. . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 215
114. GARDEN VIEW OF DITTO. . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 216
115. GREAT MITTON CHURCH. . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 217
* From Drawings by W.H. Pyne, engraved in "Fisher's Lancashire."
116. MITTON CROSS. . . . . Dodd . . Mason . . . 218
117. ANCIENT CHEST. . . . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 218
118. LITTLE MITTON HALL. . . . Franklin . . Landells . . . 219
119. BRIDGES AT STONYHURST. . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 220
120. STONYHURST. . . . . . Dodd . . Walmsley . . . 225
121. THE HIGH ALTAR AT STONYHURST. Dodd . . Evans . . . 228
122. ROMAN ATLAS. . . . . Dodd . . Dodd . . . 231
123. GARDEN AT STONEYHURST. . . Dodd . . Landells . . . 231
124. AVENUE AT STONYHURST. . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 232
125. RIBCHESTER. . . . . . Dodd . . Whimper . . . 233
126. SAMLESBURY HALL. . . . Cardwell . . Evans . . . 233
127. ANCIENT SCULPTURE AT RIBCHESTER.Cardwell . . Gilks . . . 234
128. ALMSHOUSES, STYDD. . . . Cardwell . . Landells . . . 236
129. STYDD CHAPEL. . . . . Cardwell . . Gray . . . 236
130. GRAVESONES AT STYDD. . . Cardwell . . Evans . . . 237
131. FONT AT STYDD. . . . . Cardwell . . Mason . . . 238
132. NORMAN DOOR, STUDD. . . . Cardwell . . Gilks . . . 238
133. ANCIENT SCULPTURE AT RIBCHESTER.Dodd . . Evans . . . 238
134. ROMANS REMAINS. . . . . Cardwell . . Gilks . . . 239
135. RIBCHESTER CHURCH. . . . Dodd . . Mason . . . 240
136. GRANT'S TOWER. . . . . Dodd . . Mason . . . 244
137. RAMSBOTTOM CHURCH. . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 246
138. BRANDLESHOLME HALL. . . . Dodd . . Gray . . . 247
139. RUSH-BEARING. . . . . Dodd . . Andrews . . . 249
140. CHAMBER HALL. . . . . Dodd . . Jackson . . . 250
141. SIR ROBERT PEEL'S BIRTH PLACE. Dodd . . Landells . . . 251
142. THE UNSWORTH ARMS. . . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 252
143. THREE ILLUST. OF THE DRAGON LEGEND.Dodd . . Evans . . . 253
144. ENTRANCE TO BURY. . . . Dodd . . Evans . . . 254
145. ROOF OF RADCLIFFE CHURCH. . Dodd . . Evans . . . 258
146. WINDOW OF RADCLIFFE CHURCH. . Dodd . . Evans . . . 259
147. REMAINS OF RADCLIFFE TOWER. . Dodd . . Evans . . . 260
148. PRESTWICH CHURCH. . . . Dodd . . Whimper . . . 261
149. EXECUTION OF LORD DURY AT BOLTON.Dodd . . Evans . . . 267
150. HALL IN WOOD. . . . . Dodd . . Mason . . . 269
151. TURTON TOWER. . . . . Dodd . . Gilks . . . 271
152. TURTON TOWER. . . . . Dodd . . Gilks . . . 275
153. RIVINGTON PIKE. . . . . Dodd . . Whimper . . . 280
154. GREAT HALL. . . . . Dodd . . Nicholls . . . 284
155. HOUSE OF LATE SIR HENRY PEEL.
BLACKBURN. . . Cardwell . . Evans . . . 290
156. SAMPLESBURY HALL. . . . Cardwell . . Walmsley . . . 292
157. FLEETWOOD. . . . . . Franklin . . Evans . . . 296
158. LANCASTER TOWN HALL.. . . Sargent . . Walmsley . . . 300
159. LANCASTER CASTLE. . . . Sargent . . Nicholls . . . 302
160. HORNBY CASTLE IN 1643. . . Sargent . . Walmsley . . . 305
161. --------------- 1842. . . Sargent . . Walmsley . . . 305
162. CARTMEL PRIORY. . . . . Sargent . . Wakefield . . . 311
163. NEWBY BRIDGE. . . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 313
164. STORRS HALL, WINDERMERE. . Sargent . . Landells . . . 316
165. OLD MAN MOUNTAIN. . . . Sargent . . Landells . . . 319
166. BROUGHTON CHURCH. . . . Sargent . . Landells . . . 323
167. DALTON CROSS. . . . . Sargent . . Mason . . . 324
168. DALTON TOWER. . . . . Sargent . . Mason . . . 325
169. ANCIENT ARCH. FURNESS ABBEY. Franklin . . Evans . . . 328
170. PILE OF FOULDREY. . . . Sargent . . Evans . . . 332
171. ULVERSTON CHURCH. . . . Sargent . . Landells . . . 335
The drawings on the wood are by MR. G.E. Sargent and Mr. J. Franklin.
LANCASTER.
LANCASTER,* one of the most important territorial divisions of England.
extending over a large superficies, take rank among the counties the first
in population and the first in extent of surface. Cheshire, and Derbyshire
limit this county southward, Cumberland and Westmoreland northward, and
Yorkshire upon the east. On the western side, bordering upon the Irish
Channel, the boundary line is extremely irregular, from the indentations
of the coast.
We were struck with the remarkable difference the county exhibits in the
northern and southern districts, and the same may be observed of the
eastern and western, as well its in its peculiar adaptation to the
development of the wonderful manufacturing energies it has called into
action. In an agricultural sense, the indifferent nature of the soil over
a large part of the surface effectually prevents its holding more than
secondary rank. The waste lands are still very considerable,
notwithstanding the consumption of a population which has been augmented
with a rapidity unexampled in any other district of the same extent in the
world. The returns of 1831 shewed that the increase had been eight-foldŸ
since the first year of the eighteenth century, and that in the last ten
years of that term it had augmented twenty-seven per cent. The returns of
1841, shew an increase of 24.7 per cent. The cause of this phenomenon is
found in the astonishing magnitude of its manufactures and the wonderful
activity of its commercial relations. Possessing a fine port and
exhaustless coal mines, the additions to the population and wealth of Lan-
cashire arise, as in almost all, similar cases, from the use of those of
its natural resources which are most accessible, and are to be procured
with the smallest outlay of capital.
* Or county of Lancaster, other name is said to be derived from the Saxon
Lancasterscyre, after the county town. Antiquaries say that the name of
the county town itself came from Alauna, Lancaster being situated upon
the river Lan. The latitude of Manchester, near the southern extremity
of the county, is 53 degrees 29' n.; the longitude 2ø 42 w.; the
northern end lies in about 54ø 24' N. and 3ø 7' w. The superficies
cover 1765 square miles, or about 1,129,600 acres. It is divided into
the hundreds of Amounderness, containing 145,110 acres; Blackburn,
17i,590; Leyland, 79,990; Lonsdale, 267,970; Salford 214,870; and West
Derby, 284,780.
Ÿ From 166,200 to 1,386,854; and in 1841, 1,667,064
Page 2.
One portion of Lancashire & Lonsdale, north of the Sands & presents a
superficies so different from the rest, that it belongs, from its natural
constitution, to Cumberland and Westmoreland. It is marked by very
elevated mountain summits, by deep glens and narrow lakes, by savage
wilds, and by much of the most beautiful scenery in the island. South of
the sands, the banks of the Lune are fine, yet their extent is small, and
the higher and more extended landscapes in the eastern part of the county
are indebted to Yorkshire for their noble distances. Yet there is some
bold scenery upon this border, as we see exemplified in Pendle Hill.
In the hundreds of Blackburn and Rochdale, still keeping upon the eastern
border, there are scenes which are very beautiful, particularly on the
banks of the Ribble; but these are confined to a few particular spots, and
are not sufficiently extensive to impart their own character to the county
generally. The western part of Lancashire, from Lancaster to the banks of
the Mersey, is flat and uninteresting, and near the sea exhibits more than
ordinary want of the finer sea-shore character. No bold rocks and towering
cliffs mark the ocean boundary; but in their place are treeless wastes,
bleak moors, and unprofitable and wearisome sands. It will thus be seen
that the elevated land,i s confined to the eastern side, south of Furness,
that the western is level; and that though here and there detached
portions of the surface are interesting and even beautiful, they are not
numerous enough to class the surface south of the sands very high in
picturesque beauty any more than in fertility of production.
The climate of Lancashire is mild, and may be styled wet rather than
moist. The Roman name of the Segantii, signifying, according to Whittaker,
"the country of water,"ðthough that writer presumes this was in reference
to the sea is by no means inappropriate in reference to the climate. The
temperature of the summer is rarely otherwise than low. The mean has been
taken on the average of eight years at fifty-one and half degrees of
Fahrenheit. During west and south-west winds, a considerable degree of
damp cold is
Page 3.
experienced, and in the northern and eastern districts the spring season
comes in very late.*
The geological aspect of Lancashire displays little variety of formation
compared with many counties of much less extent Sandstone, of the red
species, was the most conspicuous formation which we encountered;
underneath which lies the vast bed of rock salt so well known a little
more to the south in that part of England. This sandstone spreads along the
shores of the Mersey towards Manchester, and may be detected upon the
western side of the county as far north as Lancaster and the vale of the
Lune. Over this bed of stone in many parts, particularly westward, peat-
mosses are spread, clay and marle likewise cover it to a considerable
thickness. The general appearance of the surface over this sandstone
stratum is level, or the elevations encountered are but trivial. North of
Preston the covering of peat-moss is less marked than to the westward of a
line drawn from Liverpool to Preston by Ormskirk. These depositions of
peat, called "mosses" in this county, have been brought into cultivation,
except in a few places, where they still retain their natural appearance.
Large timber trees, black as ebony, are discovered in these peat-beds, the
remnants of the primeval forests of the island; they will be more
particularly noticed hereafter under their local names. Under the sandstone
formation repose the treasures of Lancashire, in the great coal measures
upon which are laid the foundations of the wonderful superstructure of
manufactures that renders the county so reknowned. The principal coalfield
is of irregular extent, and lies between the Mersey and Ribble, extending
itself by Colne and Burn1ey, south-westwards to Blackburn, Chorley,
Upholland, Wigan, northerly to Ormskirk, and afterwards by Prescot to
Warrington. It describes a very irregular line of boundary, by Newton to
Worsley and Manchester, extending round the last-named place for a
distance of five miles, and going afterwards to the boundary of the county,
but not traversing it into Yorkshire. The high land upon the Yorkshire
limit consists of what is locally termed "millstone grit," and is found to
come out from under the coal measures. This grit is discovered also in the
basins of the Mersey and Ribble, and even in the valley of the Erwell.
Carboniferous lime-stone occurs north of the Lune, while near Kirkby
Lonsdale the red sandstone shews itself. The lofty hills of Furness,
rising in the "Old Man" mountain and others, to the height of between two
and three thousand feet above the sea, are composed of schistose, or
mountain an carboniferous slate. Sand and sand-beaches are common to the
whole of the extreme west of the county, and cover a large tract in the
bays of Morecombe and of the Leven. Traces of the metals are discoverable
in several places in Furness. Dalton possesses
* The mean annual temperature for Manchester, as observed by Dr.
Dalton for fourteen years, is 49' 52'. This is low for a maritime
county not situated further northwards. From observations made in the
same town for seven years, the mean annual quantity of rain is 36.14
inches, which is perhaps a fair average for the entire county south of
the sands, beyond which it is probable that 53.944 inches, being that
of Kendal, bordering on Furness, may approximate to the correct average.
Page 4.
rich mines of iron, the ore from which is exported. There are workings of
copper and lead, but they return only a small profit. The Cannel coal
raised in Lancashire is remarkable for bearing to be turned in a lathe,
and trinkets of it are thus made; its peculiarities in burning, are well
known. The quantity raised is not great.
Having thus briefly touched upon two or three subjects connected with the
county generally, which cannot well be attached to the description of any
particular locality, we have only to add that the Duchy and Palatinate of
Lancaster include estates and property out of that county. This Duchy was
given at the Conquest to Roger de Poitou, and by subsequent forfeiture
came into the possession of the crown. Henry III. appointed his youngest
son Earl of Lancaster. Passing afterwards through several hands, the Duchy
and estates were ultimately vested in Edward IV. as Duke of Lancaster,
being settled by act of parliament upon the prince and his heirs for ever.
Considerable additions were made to the possessions of the Duchy by Henry
VIII. out of the estates he seized at the dissolution of the monasteries;
but this situation of things did not long continue, since succeeding
monarchs greatly deteriorated the property by granting leases. The larger
part consists at present of what are called the forests of Myerscough,
Fullwood, Blaesdale, Wyersdale, and Quernmore, all in the northern part of
the county, containing respectively 2200, 907, 9000, 20,000, and 3000 acres.
The Duchy of Lancaster, being a County Palatine, or, in other words,
possessing royal privileges, contains a Court of Chancery founded by
Edward III., having an equity jurisdiction within the palatinate. The
appointments of all officers, and even of the sheriffs, emanate from the
Duchy.
We shall now, after this succinct notice of what is connected more imme-
diately with the county at large, postpone every other topic to enter upon
a description of the Cotton Manufacture that object of primary importance
in this district of gigantic industry.
A tourist in Lancashire has to search for objects of interest, different
from those which excited his attention in other lands: he has to
contemplate stupendous triumphs of science and art, instead of the
wondrous works of nature; he has to deal with the present and the future,
scarcely finding time to bestow inquiry or reflection on the past.
Whatever it may have been, Lancashire is now the home of a system of
manufactures which has revolutionized the trade of the entire world,
baffled the calculations of the wisest, falsified the predictions of the
most far-sighted, and both in its good and in its evil consequences
evolved results which contradict almost every principle received as an
aphorism in a past generation. He who visits a manufacturing district for
the first time, must prepare himself to meet a social system absolutely
new not merely in its phases, but its elements to which his past
experience furnishes no guide, and history offers, no analogy.
The steam-engine had no precedent; locomotives are equally destitute of
Page 5.
a parentage and an infancy; the rude machines which are doubtfully
exhibited as parents of the power-loom and the mule-spinner, are at best
but dwarfs that became the parents of giants. A commander in William's
army at the battle of Hastings, would be as well qualified to manoeuvre
the household brigade of Queen Victoria, or superintend the arrangement
of a park of artillery, as an agriculturist or even a merchant to
understand at the first glance the economy of mills and manufactories
"The Factory System," as it is generally called, is not only new in
itself, but it is the prolific parent of many other novelties which have
not yet received their full development; no person can contemplate the
vast interval which separates the rising generation of operatives from
that beginning to disappear from the stage, without perceiving that the
factory population is in a state of transition, and that there is a
steady progress towards further changes, the nature of which will probably
be undiscovered until they have attained their maturity.
It will be well for the traveller, as he is hurried onwards by the
railroad to those districts where brass and iron are apparently opposed to
the thews and sinews of man, but where in reality they work together in
increasing harmony, to prepare himself by reflection for the novelties he
is about to encounter. Let him remember that he is about to see a new
state of society establishing itself in an old nation. The factory system
suddenly developed itself in a land already crowded to excess with forms
and institutions its rapidity was incalculable, its energies resistless
pushing aside every thing which was likely to impede its securing for
itself a place in social existence, and it did not always exhibit delicacy
or tenderness in thrusting out and removing its opponents From the very
beginning it did not, nor does it yet wholly, harmonize with all the
ancient and hereditary institutions of the land; it has therefore
incommoded and inconvenienced many whose positions were fixed by that
system, and has received annoyances from them in turn; it resembles "the
big man forcing his way through a crowd," elbowing, jostling? and
thrusting aside his weaker neighbours, and receiving many a sly pinch in
revenge.
The factory system is established, but not yet accommodated; its existence
is recognised, but its relations to all that was previously existing have
not been settled they are indeed in the process of arrangement, but such
weighty interests are involved in the terms of agreement, that the
negotiations are not likely to be terminated by legislation or diplomacy,
but will wait the resistless current of events.
From these considerations, the traveller will see that the factory system
is in a greater or less degree intertwined with every political question
which engages public attention in the present day; and if he be weary of
the contests and struggles of parties, he will act wisely if he adopts a
firm resolution to confine his attention entirely to facts, and to leave
the opinions which will be offered to him by thousands in the quiet
possession of their natural owners.
Page 6.
He is about to investigate a subject of the deepest and yet of increasing
important, not merely to England but to the civilized world; there can be
no doubt that the system of society about to be offered to his view, will
be the agent most potent in modifying the course and progress of the next
and, many succeeding generations, and guiding their destinies, whether for
good or evil.
It is not to be expected that any traveller can give a complete account of
all the circumstances connected with the manufacturing districts of
Lancashire, and all their influences on public polity and domestic life;
for such a task no human powers of observation would be adequate. Some
influences are too extensive, others too minute, and all are in such
constant action, that it is scarcely possible to find the moment of repose
when an examination of their constituent parts might be attempted. Even
those who have resided in the manufacturing districts all their lives, and
who have been neither incurious nor uninterested spectators of the changes
which machinery has wrought, are ready to confess that there is much in
the system which either escapes their ken or baffles their comprehension;
that there are agencies at work, viewless as the wind---"they hear the
sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth;" and
this must necessarily be the ease; for, until machinery has worked out all
its results, the condition of society which it produces must be regarded
as in a state of transition.
Transition is necessarily associated with doubt we know what we are, but
know not what we may be, there are those who hope for change, and there
are those who fear it. These feelings are not always the dictates of self-
interest: hope from change often arises from nobler causes than
dissatisfaction with the existing state of things, and fear of change must
not always be attributed to the dread of seeing advantages afforded to the
many, which are now monopolized by the few; men on all sides are actuated
by better motives than those for which their opponents give them credit:
the errors most commonly attributed to principles will in the great
majority of instances be found to arise from false or imperfect perceptions
of facts.
In these preliminary observations, we have embodied the reflections which
passed through our minds while the train carried us from Birmingham
towards Manchester. We reflected how various and how contradictory were
the accounts given of a manufacturing population. The pictures which we
had seen were drawn either entirely with chalk or entirely with charcoal;
they were either all light or all dark, without a single neutral tint. But
we made these reflections without at all impugning the honesty of those
who had given these opposite delineations; we could not but remember that
our own views had been greatly modified by every successive visit to
Manchester, and that we were most positive at the time when we knew least
about the matter. There needed not the errors of others to give us a
lesson of warning; we had errors of our own in abundance for so useful a
purpose.
Page 7.
As Manchester is the capital of the manufacturing districts of Lancashire,
it will be the first place to engage the attention of a traveller. It is
the centre of a system of railroads, which soon connect it with all the
great marts of England. There are already five of these great channels of
communication radiating from the town, and measures are in preparation for
connecting them together by a junction link which will give Manchester
greater facilities of communication than London itself possesses. The
Grand Junction Railway, the route most usually traversed by visitors from
the south, enters the county by a bridge over the river Mersey, not far
from the town of Warrington. A cotton mill close to the Warrington
station announces the limits of the spinning districts on that side more
forcibly than any other landmark that could be erected; at no great
distance, a new manufactory for the construction of locomotive engines
similarly bears evidence that is the native and of steam-carriages; while
the lofty chimney of Muspratt's chemical works in the distance, explains
at the very outset the reason why church spires and monumental columns are
scarcely to be found within the precincts of Lancashire.
About four miles from Warrington the Grand Junction joins the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway at the Parkside station. Here also is North Union
(Preston and Lancaster) Railway comes upon the same line, so that Parkside
would seem likely to flourish as a railway village; but from some cause or
other its capabilities are neglected, and those who are compelled to stop
at it when changing from one line of railway to another, will find it like
"the Baron of Bucklivie's town," which had neither " horse's meat nor
man's meat, nor a place to sit down."
Few railroads have any charms for the lovers of the picturesque, and that
between Parkside and Manchester may compete in dullness with any in the
kingdom. A great part of it passes over Chat Moss, which, until the
formation of the railroad, was one of the most dangerous and treacherous
bogs in the three kingdoms. Indeed, when the railroad was first proposed
to be made between Liverpool and Manchester, the notion of carrying it over
Chat Moss was scouted by several of the most eminent surveyors and
engineers, who spoke of the attempt was little short of insanity. Just
where the railroad crosses the Duke of Bridgewater's Committee, a foundry
has been erected by Messrs Nasmyth and Gaskell, which is perhaps the most
favourably situated of any such establishment in Europe. It has a frontage
both to the railway and the canal; it is built on a level that admits of
minor railway communication between its several workshop, and thus averts
the danger of accidents which arise from the removal of heavy engines from
one part of an establishment to another, according to the several processes
required for their completion; and it is surrounded by green fields, which
from their situation are not likely to attract speculators in brick and
mortar. Neat cottages for the workmen are erected in the vicinity, and
slight as in a glance which the
Page 8.
traveller catches of the establishment as the train sweeps past, it is
sufficient to impress him with a belief that in such a locality
manufacturing horrors must be greatly abated in their intensity.
A visit to the establishment at Patricroft, or the Bridgewater Foundry, as
it is called from its vicinity to the canal, may easily be effected, as
the second-class trains from Manchester stop at a station in the
immediate neighbourhood. The proprietors liberally afford access to every
respectable stranger, and the overseers willingly explain those processes
which are most perplexing to the uninitiated.
From Patricroft into Manchester there is scarcely anything to attract
notice. The train stops on an eminence, just above the junction of the
Irwell and the Medlock, whence there is a pretty extensive view over the
townships of Hulme and Chorlton. The prospect is anything but cheering.
Forests of chimneys, clouds of smoke and volumes of vapour, like the
seething of some stupendous cauldron, occupy the entire landscape; there
is no sky, but a dark gray haze, variegated by masses of smoke more dense
than the rest, which look like fleeces of black wool, or clouds of
sublimated ink. It would seem as if fire and water, proverbially the best
servants and the worst masters, were here the recognised despots of
humanity, and that smoke and steam were the visible signs of the tyranny
they exercised over suffering victims. There is little in the Liverpool-
road to dissipate these gloomy illusions; it is not until the traveller
reaches Mosley-street, that he begins to think that Manchester is a place
which may possibly be inhabited from choice.
Page 9.
The Exchange is the first great object of 
curiosity to a visitor of
Manchester. It stands at the lower
end of Market street, which is the
best street in town not unworthy of
ranking as a provincial Regent
street: the front is a semi-circle
of ample dimension, erected in a
bold but chaste style, an
surrounded by an open space, which
enables the visitor to appreciate
the noble proportions of the
building. The lower put of the
building is almost exclusively
occupied by the room in which the
merchants meet; its area is more
than four thousand square feet, and
it is lighted principally by a
semicircular dome. The Exchange may
be regarded as the parliament house of the lords of cotton; it is their
legislative assembly: the affairs of the executive are entrusted to a
smaller body, which meets in the Chamber of Commerce, located in a
different part of the town. This parliament assembles every Tuesday, and
the attendance is greatest at about one o'clock, being the hour of "high
change." There is perhaps no part of the world in which so much is done
and so little said in the same space of time. A stranger sees nothing at
first but a collection of gentlemen with thoughtful intelligent faces, who
converse with each other in laconic whispers, supply the defects of words
by nods and signs, move noiselessly from one part of the room to another,
guided as if by some hidden instinct to the precise person in the crowd
with whom they have business to transact. A phrenologist will nowhere meet
such a collection of decidedly clever heads; and the physiognomist who
declared he could find traces of stupidity in the faces of the wisest
philosophers, would be at a loss to find any of its presence in the
countenance assembled on the Exchange at Manchester. Genius appears to be
not less rare than folly; the characteristic features of the meeting
collectively and individually, are those of talent in high working order.
Whether trade be brisk or dull, "high change" is equally crowded, and the
difference of its aspect at the two periods is sufficiently striking. In
stirring times, every man on change seems as if he belongs to a community
of dancing dervishes, being utterly incapable of remaining for a single
second in one place: it is the principle of a Manchester man, that "nought
is done while aught remains to do;" let him but have the
Page 10.
opportunity, and he will undertake to supply all the markets between China
and Peru, and will be exceedingly vexed if he has lost an opportunity of
selling some yarn at Japan on his way. When trade is dull, the merchants
and factors stand motionless as statues, or move about as slowly as if they
followed a funeral; the look of eagerness is exchanged for that of dogged
obstinacy; it seems to say, "my mind is made up to lose so much, but I am
resolved to lose no more." An increase of sternness and inflexibility
accompanies the decline of the Manchester trade, and foreigners declare
that the worst time to expect a bargain is a season of distress. "High
change" lasts little more than an hour; after the clock has struck two the
meeting gradually melts away, and before three the building is as silent
and deserted as one of the catacombs of Egypt.
Suppose, gentle reader, what is not very far from the fact, that we have
made an appointment with a mill-owner to see his factory this evening. We
are to spend some days in Manchester together, and as the entire social
economy of the town depends on its cotton manufactures, we must endeavour
to form some adequate notion of their nature, in order to prepare ourselves
for rightly comprehending their effects.
More than one visit to a cotton mill is necessary to overcome the
confusion created by its novelty and its complication, so as to obtain any
notion of the several processes to which the material is subjected before
it assumes the shape of yarn. The din of the machinery, which, if there
be any power-looms at work, beats the Falls of Niagara all to nothing; the
rapid motions of the several wheels and shafts the variety and
complication of the several processes which pass under view, distract the
mind, and at first produce a sense of weariness which it is not easy for a
visitor to overcome. On the present occasion it will be better not to
distract ourselves by entering into an examination of the Steam-Engine;
its only connexion with cotton spinning is as a moving power, and its
place is often beneficially supplied by the water-wheel. We need only
remember that steam, or water, turns the horizontal shafts which we shall
see revolving close to the ceiling of every room, and that the straps
which play over these shafts communicate motion to the several machines
we shall inspect.
Silk, flax, wool, and cotton, may be regarded as the basis of all textile
or woven fabrics: the process of weaving is in principle the same for all,
but there is a great variety in the spinning of these several substances,
occasioned by the great difference of their staple. Silk indeed, of which
the substance is already one of continuous thread, is more properly said
to be thrown than spun; cotton has the shortest staple of any material
used in spinning, and consequently there is most difficulty in procuring
from it a perfectly smooth yarn. Mechanical ingenuity is therefore taxed,
not merely to increase the amount, but also to secure uniformity of
production, and the contrivances for the latter purpose are far more
minute and curious than those for increasing the quantity.
Page 11.
Cotton is a vegetable wool, which adheres to the seeds of certain plants,
shrubs, and trees the cotton produced from annual vegetables is far the
most valuable, on account of the length and fineness of its staple, but
shrubs yield the most abundant produce The plants may, with very little
attention, be grown in this country, and the yellow flower of the cotton
is no despicable ornament to the greenhouse. It is indeed frequently
cultivated by horticulturists, and need not therefore be further described.
The seeds round which the wool grows are very oily, and were they packed
with the wool they would render it mouldy and dirty It is therefore
necessary that the seeds should be removed before the cotton is packed for
exportation; and the inferiority of the Hindoos in this process is one of
the reasons why Indian cotton bears so low a price when compared with
American.
Those immense wagons, that are met incessantly traversing the streets of
Manchester, drawn by horses which can alone be matched by the drays of
London, are for the most part laden with bales of cotton in the raw or
manufactured state. Our present concern is with the former; and as some of
the loose particles constantly fall from the bags into the street, it may
be advisable to cast a brief glance at the raw material.
The relative value of raw cotton depends on the length of its staple, the
delicacy of its fibre, and its freedom from dirt and seeds. An unpractised
eye does not easily detect the differences which a manufacturer perceives
at a single glance, and one is apt to conclude that in the sale of cotton
there is great scope for fraud, by mixing the inferior kinds with these of
superior quality. On inquiry, we were informed that there were many
opportunities for such deception, but that it was rarely if ever practised.
Raw cotton is sold by sample, and so high is the sense of commercial
honour among the cotton dealers that a contract is rarely voided by
supplying an article inferior to the sample. Previous to the opening of
the railroad the cotton dealers formed an important part of the merchants
of Manchester, but since that period many manufacturers prefer making
their purchases in Liverpool.
However careful the Americans may be, cotton never comes to England in a
state fit for immediate use; some seeds remain after the most careful
cleaning, and the pressure to which it is subjected in packing, forms hard
matted lumps, and some of the coarser and heavier wool is unavoidably
mixed with that of superior quality. The first operation in the process
of manufacture is consequently the cleaning of the cotton.
It is put into the blowing machine, where the cotton is
torn open by revolving spikes, and subjected to the action
of a very powerful blast, produced by the rapid turnings
of a fan; the light wool is thus blown to some distance
from the heavier portions, the dirt, seeds, etc. This
process is continued in the scutching machine, where the
cotton is beaten by metallic blades making from 3000 to 5000
Page 12.
revolutions in the minute; these completely open the fibre, and separate
the fine wool from the waste, which falls to the ground through a frame of
wire work.
The cleaning process is generally called "willowing," which is either a
corruption of winnowing, or perhaps derived from the willow frame's on
which the cotton was cleaned by beating, before blowing machines were
invented. Previous to this improvement the cotton was placed upon willow
hurdles, or upon cords stretched over a wooden frame, and then beaten with
smooth switches. This operation, technically called batting, though very
fatiguing, and we believe unwholesome, from the dust, etc. which was
scattered about, was usually performed by women: it is now very rarely
practised, except when some remarkably fine cotton is required for the
manufacture of lace, when it is of importance to preserve the length of
the staple, which might be injured by machinery.
The Hindoos open the fibres of their cotton by a bow similar to that which
hatters use in raising wool; the same contrivance appears to have been em-
ployed in America, for we find the term "bowed cotton" still employed in
the language of commerce. Judging from its effects on wool and fur, we
should think that the bow is an effective machine for cleaning and opening
the fibres, but it would be far slower and less productive than the willow.
When cleaned the cotton is brought to the lapping or spreading machine,
where a given weight of the wool is spread over a determinate surface of
cloth, and being then slightly compressed by a cylinder, it is lapped
round a cylindrical roller so as to be in a fit
state for feeding the carding machine. It is a
singular fact, illustrating the accuracy with
which machinery works, that the weight of the
cotton spread on the cloth in this process
regulates the fineness of the thread
ultimately produced, and that there is rarely
any great amount of error in the calculation.
The next process, that of carding, is one of the most beautiful in the
whole of the cotton manufacture. An explanation of the object to be
attained, is necessary for those who have not paid some attention to the
subject. In order that any material should be spun, that is, should have
its fibres twisted together, it is essential that these fibres should be
straight and parallel with each other. After having been subjected to the
action of the willow, the
Page 13.
fibres of the cotton are blown about in every direction, and if compressed
would be entangled with each other. This, which is the object to be gained
for the process of felting, is precisely that which must be carefully
avoided for spinning. In order to straighten the fibre, the cotton is made
to pass between cards or brushes of wire, one of which is stationary and
the other in motion, the wire teeth catch the fibres, and by their
continued action pull them into nearly parallel directions.
This process was anciently, and in same rural districts both of England
and Ireland is still, effected by hand-cards, which might be described as
two brushes with handles, having short wires instead of hairs. 
The labour
was usually performed by women, who placed one of the
cards on the knee, holding it firm with the left hand;
and then spreading the cotton or wool in small
quantities over the wire, drew the other card
repeatedly over it with the right hand until the
fibres were deemed sufficiently straight. When thus
prepared, the cardings were taken off in a roll by
the hand, and laid so as to be united into a
continuous roving by the spinning wheel.
The first great improvement in this process was to fix one of the card to
a table and suspend the other from the ceiling, so that the workman could
move it without having to sustain its weight. Such a contrivance allowed
"stock-cards," as they were called, to be made of double the size of hand-
cards, and consequently to double the quantity of work produced. We have
seen stock-cards in some rural districts, where there is still a domestic
manufacture of woollens, but they are daily becoming of more rare
occurrence. In nearly all manufactures, they have been superseded by the
cylindrical cards, which Mr. Baines has shewn to be the invention of Mr.
Lewis Paul of Birmingham, about the year 1748. About 1760, the process,
which seems to have been either neglected or disused, was revived by Mr.
Morris of Wigan, and applied to the carding of cotton. The perfecting of
the machine has been claimed for Sir Richard Arkwright, but the
originality of his invention has been very fiercely contested. Without
entering into the controversy, we shall proceed to describe briefly the
machine in its present state.
The carding machine has the appearance of a cylindrical box, into which
cotton is given by the roller, round which it was wrapped in the spreading
operation. Its wooden covering is a series of narrow pannels; and if one
of these be lifted, it will be seen that each of them is a card, and that
a cylinder covered with cards occupies the interior of the box, between
which and the
Page 14.
pannel-cards the cotton is rapidly passed. At the opposite side of the box
is a second cylinder, the cards on which, instead of being placed
horizontally,
are wound spirally round the cylinder, which is called a doffer, so as to
remove the carded cotton in a continuous fleece. The cotton is slipped
from the doffer by the action of a slip of metal, finally toothed like a
comb, which being worked against the cylinder by means of a crank, beats
or brushes off the cotton in a fine filmy fleece. The cloud-like appearance
of the carded cotton, as it is brushed from
the doffer or finishing cylinder by the
crank and comb, is singularly beautiful a
breath seems to disturb the delicacy of its
texture, and to the touch it is all but
impalpable. The filmy fleece is gradually
contracted as it passes through a funnel,
by which it is forced to assume the shape
of a roll or sliver. It then passes between
two rollers, by which it is compressed into
the shape of a riband of considerable
tenacity, in which state it coils itself up
in a deep tin can.
Looking at the various parts of this interesting machine, the attention is
first engaged by the feeding cylinder, which supplies the cotton to the
cards
Page 15.
more regularly and continuously than could be effected by hands. The
successive cards on the concave and convex cylinder are seen to subject
the wool to several successive cardings at each revolution of the wheel;
and to prevent the necessity of stopping the machine to remove the carded
cotton, it is stripped off by the doffer, which removes the cotton, not in
successive portions, but in one continuous fleece. Again, the removal of
this fleece from the doffer, which would be both tedious and imperfect if
attempted by hand-cards, is completely accomplished by the simple agency
of the crank and comb.
The construction of the cards well deserves the attention of the visitor.
Each card consists of a band of leather, pierced with teeth of iron wire,
each bit of wire bearing two teeth l-l. The teeth must be perfectly alike
in size and shape, and they must be equally distributed over the surface
of the leather. It may be deemed easy to bend the wire at right angles, so
as to make it penetrate the leather, but a second and more difficult
operation remains; each tooth must be bent to a given obtuse angle \ \,
which must not have the slightest variation in the whole of the same l-l
system of cards. Were any one tooth to vary from the angle formed by the
rest, it would lay hold of more or less cotton, and thus render the
carding irregular. Again, the leather must be of uniform thickness, for
any inequalities would be equivalent to a variation in the length of the
teeth; the holes with which it is pierced to receive the double tooth must
also have the same inclination to the plane of the leather; and finally,
the cross part of the wire at the back must be held fast, so as to prevent
the teeth from easily shifting their position.
A card-making machine, invented by Mr. Dyer of Manchester, was exhibited
at the meeting of the British Association in Birmingham in 1839; it split
the leather, pierced it, cut the wire, formed the teeth, gave them the
requisite inclination, and fixed them in the leather, with a precision and
rapidity which excited the admiration of all the mechanists who saw it.
The cards which it produces, are not however so highly valued as those in
which machinery is more partially employed, but its inventor does not
despair of bringing it to complete perfection.
Carding is not the only operation employed to straighten the fibre of the
cotton. It may easily be conceived that the teeth of the cards will
frequently lay hold of a fibre by the middle, and thus double it together,
in which state it is unfit for spinning. This evil is corrected in the
drawing frame an important part of the spinning machinery, for it executes
work which could scarcely have been effected by human hands. The essential
parts of the drawing frame may be easily understood from description. Each
drawing head consists of three pairs of rollers; the upper one of each pair
being smooth and covered with leather, the lower being fluted
longitudinally. They are placed at a distance from each other, which is
regulated by the staple of the cotton; that is to say, the distance
between each pair of wheels is generally a very little more than the
length of the fibres subjected to their action. The
Page 16.
loose riband formed by the carding machine is pulled through these rollers
and as they revolve with different velocities the fibres pull out each
other, and reciprocally extend each other to their full length.
But not less important object of the drawing frame is to equalize the
consistency of the cardings. One
carding, notwithstanding all the
precautions that have been taken, will
be found to have more or less of
substance than another, and it is
necessary to counteract this
inequality by combining several of
the carded ribands, technically called
"card-ends" into one sliver. Eight
card-ends are usually brought to the
first drawing head, and after passing
through the rollers they combine to
from one sliver of the same density
as each of them separately, thus
increasing eight-fold the chances of
uniformity in the sliver. Four of these slivers are again subjected to
the same process, and thus the chances of uniformity are thirty-two-fold
those of the original card-ends; and this is continued until the last
sliver may be regarded as containing parts of 300 card-ends but for very
fine spinning, the doubling of the fibres, as the process is called, is
multiplied more than 60,000 times.
The drawing frames are fed from the tin cans containing the card-ends, and
the chief duty of those who attend them is to mend or piece the feeding
slivers when one of them is broken, or when one of the cylindrical cans is
exhausted. A contrivance has been recently introduced to abbreviate this
labour; a cylindrical weight is made to fall at intervals into the
receiving can, and by pressing down the sliver, to force it to hold more
than double the quantity which it would contain if the sliver were left to
coil itself loosely. In the mills for fine spinning, great attention is
paid to this process, because any defects left by the drawing frame cannot
be cured in subsequent operations. The labour of attending to the machines
is the lightest in the cotton mill, but there are few parts which require
more violence and care.
As a casual visitor is very likely to pass by a drawing frame without
perceiving its construction, it may be well to mention that there is a
mahogany bar faced with flannel over every drawing head, and a similar bar
pressed
Page 17.
gently by a weight against the lower tier of rollers; these remove all
loose fibres, and it is necessary to displace the upper bar in order to
see the action of the machinery.
The next operation is the making of a roving or thin sliver, about the
thickness of candlewick, and giving it only so much of a twist as 
will
enable it to hold together. The attenuation of
the sliver is accomplished by rollers acting
in the same way as in the drawing process, but
various contrivances have devised to give the
roving just so much tension as is necessary
and no more. Arkwright invented the can-roving
frame, in which a slight twist was given to
the roving by making the receiving can revolve
upon a pivot. It is as necessary that the
rovings after this operation should be wound
off upon bobbins, a process injurious to
their delicate texture; to obviate this evil,
the jack-frame, or jack in the box was
contrived, which wound the roving on a bobbin
as it received its twist instead of leaving
it to coil in the can. At present the process
of roving is generally performed by the bobbin and fly frame, an ingenious
but complex piece of mechanism, though its principles admit of easy
explanation.
Page 18.
Two objects are to be effected: first, the roving is to receive a slight
twist, and, secondly, it is to be then wound on the bobbin. For the first
purpose the motion of the spindle is
sufficient, the chief difficulty lies in
effecting the second. The sliver passes from
the roller to the bobbin through the hollow
arm of a flyer attached to the spindle, the
other arm of the spindle is solid, and serves
only to balance the machinery. In the most
perfect spindles there is a brass ring
attached to the end of the hollow arm of the
flyer, acted upon by a spring, for the
purpose of compressing the roving; there is
also a delivering finger, round which the roving takes a turn which
prevents its being improperly stretched by the centrifugal force produced
by the rotation of the flyer. The amount of twist given to the roving
depends upon the ratio between the speed of the roller by which it is
delivered and that of the spindle, and this ratio, of course, is
invariable during the process. The winding-up however presents many
difficulties fiche delivering finger of the flyer must glide up and down
under regulated pressure, so as to lay the roving evenly over
the entire surface of the bobbin; and as each coil of roving
increases the periphery or thickness of the bobbin, there is
a necessity for a corresponding change of motion to
accommodate the receiving powers of the bobbin to the quantity
of roving given out by the delivering arm of the flyer.
Were the bobbin at rest, every revolution of the spindle would
wind round it a length of roving equal to its circumference;
but as the revolutions of the spindle are determined by the
degree of twist necessary to be given to the roving, and not by
the amount which the bobbin can take up at each revolution,
it becomes necessary to make the bobbin revolve in the same
direction with the flyer, but at a speed so much less as will
enable it to take up the exact amount of roving given out by
the feeding rollers. Suppose that quantity to be six inches,
and that the circumference of the bobbin is at the same time
six inches, if the spindle makes nine revolutions while the bobbin makes
only eights it will have gained one revolution, and by that means will
have wound round the bobbin the exact quantity of roving issued by the
delivering rollers; now as the circumference of the bobbins is constantly
increased by the roving
Page 19.
wound upon it, there is a perpetually recurring necessity for a series of
adjustments, which were found in practice to be beyond the capacity of the
persons employed to superintend the working of these frames. The thicker
that the bobbin becomes in consequence of the roving wound upon it, the
more must its motion be increased in order to diminish the difference of
velocity between it and the spindle: this is effected by causing the
driving strap to act on a conical, instead of a cylindrical drum, thus
giving to the movement a variable instead of an equable velocity. It is
not necessary to enter into any examination of the many ingenious
contrivances which have been devised to render the roving machines more
perfect and automatic; the reader will best appreciate the difficulty of
the operation, by bearing in mind that the process of twisting by the
spindle, and winding on the bobbin, though connected in fact, are quite
independent in principle, and that there is therefore a necessity for the
nicest adjustment, in order that the one should be accommodated to the
other.
It may be noticed that two slivers from the drawing frame are combined in
a roving, and consequently that we are, after this, to double the amount
of the combinations from the original cardings. We may add that the
compressing apparatus attached to the delivering arm of the flyer is not
yet universally used, but is chiefly found in new mills. The roving process
is repeated for the finer kinds, or as they are technically called, the
higher numbers, of yarn. When it is completed, the rovings are taken to be
spun either by the throstle or the mule; but the rovings for higher
numbers are previously worked on the stretching frame, which in all its
essential parts is the same as the mule, and may therefore be included in
the description of that machine.
Twist of low numbers, called water-twist, because it was originally worked
in Arkwright's water-frame, is spun by the throstle, a machine probably
deriving its name from its singing noise. It is in principle nearly the
same as the drawing frame which has been just described; it extends the
rovings by the action of rollers into slender threads, and twists them by
the rotation of spindles and flyers. The machinery however is far more
simple, because the hard-twisted throstle thread does not require such
tender manipulation as the delicate roving. The chief interruption which
takes place in throstle spinning is caused by the necessity of removing
the full bobbins and supplying empty bobbins in their place. The person
employed in this duty is called a "doffer;" and if he is very dexterous
the delay will not average more than half an hour per day. The Danforth
throstle, for which a patent was obtained some years ago, has been
rejected by many eminent spinners, because the bobbins of yarn it affords
being smaller than those turned off by the common throstle, there is a
greater delay in the doffing. It is also objectionable for another reason;
the yarn it produces is softly wound, and is liable to considerable waste
when reeled upon the bobbins in the warping mill. The yarn, however, is
said to possess a greater degree of elasticity, and is therefore
preferred for the weaving of certain kinds of calico.
Page 20.
Mule-spinning is both more common and more interesting than throstle-
spinning. Let the reader imagine himself in the room, a part of which is
represented in the accompanying cut, and it is probable that the
circumstances
worthy of his notice will present themselves in nearly the following order.
He will see a carriage about a yard in height, and of very considerable
length, varying in different mills, bearing a row of spindles between its
upper rails: it has generally three wheels, which traverse on the same
number of iron guiding bars, so as to allow of its drawing out to a
distance of more than four feet from the stationary frame; as it recedes
from the frame, it draws with it, and elongates the threads or rather
rovings delivered to it through rollers, by a series of bobbins in the
creels or stationary rails. The threads as they are elongated are twisted
by the spindles; and should any of them break, it is the duty of a boy or
girl, called a piecer, to join the disunited ends as the carriage moves
from the upright frame. A girl in the act of piecing the yarn is
represented in the cat. When the carriage has receded to its full extent,
the spindles continue to revolve until the requisite quantity of twist is
communicated to the yarn. The spinner then causes the spindles to revolve
backwards until he has unwound the portion of thread which has coiled
spirally round it from the point to the nose of the cop, and at the same
time he lowers a faller wire, supported by hooks, as seen in the cut, so
as to regulate the winding of the yarn on the cop in a proper spiral. There
is great nicety required in regulating the pushing back of the carriage,
for it is necessary that its rate of travelling should be commensurate
with the revolution of the
Page 21.
spindle. Three simultaneous and delicate movements have thus to be
effected by the spinner as the carriage returns: he must guide the faller
wire so as to ensure the regular winding of the yarn one cop; he must
regulate the rotation of the spindles, of which there are often a thousand
to one mule; and he push the carriage at such a rate as to supply
precisely the exact amount of yarn that the spindles can take up.
The little piecers can only take up the ends when the carriage is within a
foot or two of the delivering roller, and they have therefore an interval
of rest while the carriages traverse backwards and forwards. The spinner
too has a brief respite while the carriage is moving outwards from the
frame. The time taken to make a stretch, that is to draw out a thread
equal in length to the range of the carriage, increases with the fineness
of the yarn, and varies also according to the completeness of the machinery
and the skill of the operative. The breaking of the threads depends not
merely on the machinery, but to a very great extent on the atmosphere and
temperature. We were in a mill during the prevalence of a sharp drying
east wind, and found that it produced such an effect on the fibres of the
cotton that the threads broke faster than the piecers could mend them, and
that the spinning of very high numbers at such a time was all but
impossible. The rooms in which fine yarn is spun are kept at a temperature
of from 70 f to 80 f which is not so high as to produce much inconvenience.
It is obvious that the spinner is a very important workman when such
mules as that we have described are employed on him depend not merely the
machinery and its work, but the employment of the young piecers and the
"scavengers" or "cleaners," do are constantly employed removing the waste
cotton or "fly" as is shewn in the cut. The spinners knew their strength,
and though they received very large remuneration, frequently turned out
for higher wages, by which they not only threw their assistants, ie
piecers and cleaners, out of employment, but also the operatives engaged
in the several processes for preparing the cotton previous to its being
spun. To remedy this evil, many attempts were made to construct self-facing
mules, that is, mules which would not require the attention of a spinner,
but could be wholly managed by his subordinates Mr. Roberts, of the firm
of Sharp, Roberts and Co, was the first, and is still the only inventor
that can be said to have succeeded in this desirable object; his self-
acting mules are very generally used in the mill where low-numbers are
span, but I believe that they have not been found applicable to the
spinning of the finer yarns. After being spun, the yarn, if not destined
for weft or doubling, is wound of on a hexagon reel, one yard and a half
in circumference; the reel strikes a check after every eighty revolutions,
which form a what is called a ley, that is 120 yards of yarn, seven leys
form a hank of 840 yards of yarn, and the thread is known by the number of
these hanks that weigh a pound.
The finest yarn ever yet produced was spun in the mill of T. Hoddsworth,
Page 22.
Esq.: there were 450 hanks in the pound, which at 840 yards to the hank
gives a length of 378,000 yards, or about 215 miles. This is, however, a
very unusual degree of fineness: it is very rare that higher numbers than
300 are used in any manufacture.
The hanks of yarn are ranged according to their numbers, and are packed
in cubical bundles of from five to ten pounds weight. These packages are
closely compressed by a simple machine called the bundling-press, and being
neatly wrapped in paper are ready to be sent to market.
The yarn designed for making bobbin-net lace and the finer species of
hosiery, is subjected to another process called gassing, which is in fact
the singeing off the loose fibres, or any other unevenness of the thread,
by a flame of gas. The machine consists of a series of jet flames of gas,
through each of which the thread passes several times with a velocity
proportioned to the number of the yarn. The machinery is set in motion by
the winding and unwinding of bobbins, each of which revolves from 2000 to
3500 times per minute. Each thread passes through a cleaner, slit in a
lever; and when a knot or rough point occurs too large to pass through the
slit, the whole mechanism for singeing and winding that thread is thrown
out of gear by the jerk given to the lever. The attention of the gasser or
tenter of the machine, who is generally a female, being thus directed to
the defect, an instant remedy is applied without stopping the action of the
rest of the machinery.
The ashes of the fibres singed off form a red and almost impalpable powder
like Spanish snuff, which it would be perilous to inhale; the operation is
therefore conducted in a room protected from the effects of sudden drafts
by double doors and a long entrance passage secured by an additional door.
The gassing process is usually carried on in a detached building, partly
to prevent the danger of fire, and partly to guard against any disturbance
by the opening or shutting of doors.
Yarn is formed into thread by the doubling process: two or more mule-
spindle cops, or throstle bobbins, deliver their yarn through a pair of
rollers to a spindle and fly, similar to that of the common throstle, which
twists the double yarn in a direction opposite to the twist which the yarn
received in spinning. The operation is usually facilitated by previously
passing the yarn through a weak solution of starch, which renders it more
tenacious and compact. Doubling, until within the last few years, was a
business distinct from spinning, but it is now common in the mills where
high numbers are spun. The process is most delicate when applied to the
very fine yarns used in the manufacture of lace, varying from number 140
to number 350, the extreme delicacy of which requires the most tender
manipulation.
Having now reached the conclusion of the spinning processes, it will be
convenient to recapitulate them briefly, and point out the general
principle that pervades the whole. In all the machines, from the carding
frame to the mule, it will be seen that the cotton is continually
attenuated by being passed
Page 23.
through rollers, until a roving is made perfectly even and continuous,
after which it receives the torsion or twist that makes it into yarn. The
card end is like a thick rope, which is reduced more and more as it passes
through each successive system of rollers, until it becomes as fine or
even finer than a human hair. It is precisely on the same principle that
plates of metal are made smooth and thin, by being passed successively
through several systems of cylinders. Before the invention of spinning by
rollers, this process of attenuation, now so complex, was effected by the
finger and thumb of the spinner. Hence arose the great superiority of the
Hindoos, especially in the finer fabrics, such as muslins; they possess a
delicacy of touch, which apparently compensates for their want of muscular
strength, beyond any other nation on the face of the earth. We possess a
piece of Dacca muslin woven of hand-spun yarn, and it requires the
assistance of the microscope to discover that the sensitive fingers of the
Hindoo spinner have failed to produce a thread equal in evenness and
regularity to that wrought by the multitudinous rollers of a Manchester
factory.
A power-loom shed, or room, is very commonly attached to spinning mills,
so that the visitor may see the two processes of spinning and weaving in
one establishment. We should, however, recommend the examination of the
processes on different days, because the multitude and variety of their
several details are likely to fatigue the mind and perplex the memory. The
first step in the process of weaving is the formation of the warps, that
is, the longitudinal threads of the web which lie parallel to each other
through the breadth of the cloth. Warp yarn, or twist, is more firmly
twisted and harder than the weft, which is shot through it horizontally by
the shuttle; and hence we find in the economy of Indian manufactures that
the warp yarn was usually prepared by the Mohammedans and weft by the
Hindoos. The warp yarn is wound from off the cops of the mule, or the
bobbins of the throstle, on very large bobbins, by means of the winding
frame. The threads pass through glass hooks fixed on the guiding frame,
which traverses laterally to the right and left, so as to distribute the
yarn evenly over the surface of the bobbin In this operation the yarn is
passed through water to increase its tenacity.
The bobbins are then transferred to the warping mill, and their yarns are
wound off on a wooden cylinder. The working of the warping machine
requires very little explanation. As the yarns are unrolled from the system
of bobbins, they pass over and under a set of cylinders which bring all the
threads into one horizontal plane; they are then conducted through guide
wires, fixed like the teeth of a comb to the receiving cylinder, which, in
addition to its rotatory motion is capable of being raised or depressed as
diameter of its barrel is increased or diminished by the winding on or
off of the yarn. Great care is requisite in this process to take up and
join any threads which may be accidentally broken; hence the machinery is
painted black, so that the warper, usually a female, can at once perceive
the
Page 24.
deficiency of any of the white threads on the dark ground. If she allows a
broken thread to escape, she must unwind the warp again until she discovers
it; and though machinery is provided to facilitate this process, and
prevent any of the other threads receiving injury while she is searching
for the broken thread, yet there is much delay if the unwinding has to go
far back, and as the warper is paid by the piece, neglect or delay sadly
impairs her wages.
Though this is really a very simple process, yet it is one which always
attracts the notice of strangers, because the number of bobbins giving out
yarn from the bobbin frame produces a very pleasing pictorial effect. The
simplicity of the mechanism does not, however, diminish the interest of
the operation. A visitor who is anxious to witness skill and training in
the attendant, as well as power and ingenuity in the machine, will be
struck with the extraordinary vigilance and quickness of sight displayed
by the warper. Though perhaps a thousand threads are winding before her,
if one, whether near or remote, should happen to break, she at once throws
the machinery out of gear, and proceeds to piece the ends together. In the
warping machine, the entire warp is distributed on eight cylinders, and
from them it is rolled upon a single cylinder in the dressing frame.
In the dressing frame, the warp is wound from the eight cylinders on to
the weaving beam. In its progress it passes through a warp reed of brass
wires, and by means of a small roller is spread into a horizontal plane.
Sizing, that is, paste or starch, is then applied to it by a cylinder
turning in a wooden trough filled with cold paste, the superfluous
moisture is squeezed out by the action of a second cylinder, and the
moisture which it had imbibed with the sizing is squeezed out; as the warp
advances it passes between flat brushes, so
Page 25.
constructed they only touch the yarn in one direction of their movement.
It is then dried by being passed over a series of tin cylinders heated by
steam,
and the process is accelerated by a fan of three wings, which directs a
powerful stream of hot air against the warp. When dry, the threads pass
through a system of looped twines, called heddles, and through a reed to
the weaving beam. The dressing machine is double, four warping cylinders
giving out the yarn at one end and four at the other, but the threads from
both pass through the same heddles and reed to the weaving beam. The
general outline of the operation of weaving is familiar to most persons;
but it will perhaps be best to explain it by reference to a common loom.
The warp is wound round a weaving beam placed
at the extremity of the loom, remote from the
operative. The alternate threads of the warp
are kept separate by rods, and each alternate
set of warp yarns passes through a heddle. In
very complicated work, several heddles are
employed, but only two sets are used for the
weaving of common cloth. Heddles are thin slips
of
Page 26.
wood from which twines looped in the middle are suspended, through which
the warp yarns are alternately drawn, half through the front and half
through the back heddle. They are so suspended from the framework of the
loom as to be alternately raised or depressed by treddles, or levers,
connected with the heddles, which the weaver moves by the pressure of the
foot. In front of the heddles is a light wooden frame suspended from the
top of the loom so as to swing freely;
this is called the batten or lay.
The lower bar of the frame is the reed, an oblong frame
divided into numerous compartments, by brass or heavy
iron wires wires fixed at equal intervals. These divisions were formerly
made of split reeds, and hence the instrument takes its name. One thread
of the warp passes through each interval or dent of the reed. In front of
the weaver is the cylinder round which the cloth is wound as fast as it is
woven. The weaver is provided with a shuttle, which is shaped like a
canoe, and holds within it a cop or bobbin of weft yarn, which revolves
and gives out thread as it is wanted through a hole in the side. This
side. This is placed between the alternate yarns of the warp, and a string
being fastened to each end, in the middle of which is a
kind of handle called the picking peg, it can be shot
backward and forward by a jerk.* The weaver sitting down
at the front of the loom presses with one of his feet on the treddle,
which brings down the corresponding heddle with its share of warp and
raises the other. He then, by a smart jerk, drives the shuttle between the
warp yarns from one side of the loom to the other, and the cop of yarn
within the shuttle gives out a shoot of weft in its passage. He then
depresses the other treddle, which of course reverses the position of the
heddles, and then yarns and jerks the shuttle back again, throwing out in
its passage a second shoot of yarn. After every cast of the shuttle, he
pulls toward him the batten, or lay, with its reed, which drives home to
the rest of the web the weft yarn given out by the preceding easts of the
shuttle. As the web is woven it is wound off on the cylinder.
The fineness or coarseness of the web is obviously measurable by the
number of dents in the reed; and it is equally obvious that any
irregularity in the intervals between the dents would produce an unsightly
inequality in the cloth. Hence the reedmaker is a very important mechanist
in furnishing the implements for weaving, particularly for very fine and
close textures. A
* The shuttle was formerly thrown by the hand as it still is in
the finer processes of weaving. The picking-peg was invented by
Mr. John Kay of Bury, in 1738, and simple as the contrivance may
appear, it more than doubled the productiveness of the loom. Instead
of being rewarded for his invention, Kay was persecuted as a
dangerous innovator; he was driven from his native land by those who
thought that his invention would diminish the demand for labour, and
he died in Paris a heartbroken exile.
Page 27.
very ingenious machine for the construction of reeds has been recently
made by Mr. Chapman of Manchester. It supplies the wire, cuts it to the
requisite length, fixes and binds it at the required intervals with the
most perfect accuracy, and performs all this with a rapidity and precision
which can scarcely be surpassed by any other machinery. As it is necessary
that the wires for the dents should be of equal thickness throughout, the
machine draws and flattens the wire through cylindrical rollers; and there
is a contrivance for throwing the machinery out of gear when any
imperfection or inequality occurs in the wire. The mode of counting the
dents in a reed varies in different localities; Mr. Chapman distinguishes
his by the number of hundred dents in a yard. He shewed us one reed which
contained the amazing number of 4800 dents in the yard, that is to say,
133 in an inch so that his machine had actually made 266 divisions of a
single inch, mathematically exact, both in parallelism and equality.
In order that the weaving should be perfect, great care is necessary in
all the preliminary arrangements of the warp yarn, which must be extended
on the loom in parallel lines, and with an equal degree of tension. The
rods which separate the alternate threads, technically called lease-rods,
are to be set so as to keep the threads which are to go through one heddle
quite distinct from those belonging to the other. Having received his yarn
in a bundle, the weaver first rolls it regularly on the yarn cylinder,
keeping the threads distinct by an instrument called a ravel, which is in
fact a coarse kind of reed. After the warp is wound on the cylinder, the
operation of "drawing-in" commences; that is, the alternate threads are to
be drawn through their respective healds or heddles, and all the threads
through the dents of the reed. The instrument used in this process is
called a sley, or reed-hook, and is so constructed as to take two
threads through every dent or interval of the reed. In
reeds of very high number, for weaving the finest muslins,
the "drawing-in" is an operation of great nicety, requiring
both sharpness of sight and delicacy of manipulation; and the
reed-hooks employed are made of the finest and best tempered
steel; but in ordinary cloth the process is simple, and is
usually performed by women.
The lease, or separation of the alternate threads in the warp yarn, is
made by the pins in the warping mill, and is preserved by the lease rods.
These rods being tied together at the ends, secure the permanency of the
lease and the operative in drawing the alternate yarns through the heddles.
To facilitate the process the beam on which the warp yarn has been wound
is suspended a little above the heddles, so as to allow the yarn to hang
down perpendicularly. The operative then opens the loop in each of the
twines of
Page 28.
the heddles successively, and through each draws a warp thread. This is
therefore an operation not very unlike threading a needle, having its eye
in the middle instead of the end. After the threads have
been passed singly through the loops or eyes of the
heddles, they are drawn in pairs through the dents of
the reed. The heddles are then mounted with the cords
by which they are moved, and the reed being placed in
the batten, every thing is ready for the weaver to
commence his operations.
The power-loom is now generally used for the weaving of
plain cloth, and for various kinds of twilled and
figured goods Mr Roberts is the patentee of the power-
loom most commonly used; but many other mechanists have produced various
contrivances for weaving by machinery, and there can be no doubt that
manual labour, at least for the coarser kinds of goods, must rapidly fall
into disuse. In one respect the power-loom has a very obvious advantage
over the hand-loom the batten, lay or lathe, to which the reed is attached,
drives home the weft to the rest of the web after it has been shot from
the spindle; now a weaker or stronger blow of this lathe alters the
thickness of the cloth, and after any interruption, the most experienced
weaver finds it difficult to commence with a blow of precisely the same
force as that with which he left off. In the power-loom the lathe is
easily adjusted to give a steady certain blow, and when once regulated
by the engineer, it moves with unvarying precision from the beginning to
the end of the piece. Hence power-loom cloth is always of a more equable
and regular texture than that woven by hand.
Power-looms are generally placed in sheds, and lighted from the top by a
single range of windows to every row of looms. The weavers, or rather the
tenters, have very little to do besides watching the machinery and
correcting any defects in the materials to be woven. As the labour is
light, it is usually performed by women or young persons; and we were
informed that the business is so simple as to be easily learned in a month
or six weeks.
The cloth when woven is either made up for sale in an unbleached state, or
sent to the bleach-works, where, as we shall hereafter see, it goes through
a
Page 29.
series of processes not less ingenious, and scarcely less complicated than
those which have been just described. Having noticed the several processes
displayed in a cotton mill, it remains to examine the structure of the
edifice in is various and complicated machinery is contained. This is a
subject of much greater importance than is generally supposed, for the
architectural arrangements of the mill exercise very great influence, not
only on the perfection of the manufacture, but also of the health and
morals of operatives. Mr. Fairbairn of Manchester, in addition to his
great eminence as an engineer, is the most distinguished authority in
factory architecture, and the mills erected under his superintendence may
fairly be taken as models.
The moving power may either be the steam-engine or the water-wheel, or
a combination of both. There are few opportunities for the erection of
water-wheels in the immediate vicinity of Manchester, and I believe that
all the town mills are set in motion by steam. But in the romantic valleys
and dales, north and east of the town, at a distance of some ten to thirty
miles, waterfalls are brought to aid steam and save the consumption of
coals. Formerly, the steam-engine was imbedded in the structure of the
building in which it was placed, so that when it was necessary to be
removed, a great part of the masonry had to be taken down; modern engines
are usually constructed more like those used in steam-packets, they are
secured by bolts to the floor and walls, and can be taken away without
any displacement of the structure. The boilers which supply steam are
usually placed in an external shed. The engine or engines, for two are
sometimes combined, work by cranks and cogs,
Page 30.
so as to set in motion the horizontal shaft to which the fly-wheel belongs.
From this shaft, motion is communicated to the main upright shaft, which
extends from the foundation to the upper story of the mill. This again sets
in motion horizontal shafts extending along the ceiling of each story in
the building. The advantage of having two engines arises from the working
of them in such a way that the one exerts its greatest force when the
other has the least, so that the joint operation of both gives an equable
motion to the shafts, which being smooth, highly polished, and fixed in
firm bearings of brass work, silently and evenly, without producing any of
those vibrations which those who only know the working of steam-engines
from the experience of a steam-packet might expect, and which I am
informed was frequently felt in the older factories.
Though water may not be wanting to drive a wheel, the vicinity of a river
or canal is almost essential to a mill, in order to facilitate the
conveyance of fuel, to supply the boilers, and to afford good drainage.
Hence, most of the mills in Manchester are close either to the Irwell or
the Medlock; and the noble Mersey is studded with factories for miles upon
miles of its course.
Compactness is a very important consideration in the construction of a mill.
It is desirable that as little time as possible should be lost in removing
the cotton from the scene of one set of operations to the stage of its
next process. Hence, mills are erected of seven or eight stories in
height, even in those localities where the saving of ground need not be
taken into consideration.
The stairs are now, almost without exception, of
stone; the staircase is of the kind usually called a well,
that is, it winds spirally round a hollow shaft in the
centre. As communication by the stairs would in many cases
be tedious and fatiguing, the centre of the well is
occupied by a contrivance called the hoist, which may be
briefly described as a movable closet that can ascend or
descend at pleasure through the shaft of the well, and
land the persons in it on any of the floors of the mill,
through doors which open from the shaft on the lobbies:
A A and B B are the walls of the well shaft, C is part
of a door in the wall B, leading to the floor or some
lobby of the mill; E is the hoist, which is raised by the rope G. This
rope passes
Page 31.
over a system of wheels and pulleys, being worked by the counterbalancing
weight F, which ascends as the hoist descends, and vice versa. H is a
passage leading to apartments in the mill; I I is the double rope pulley,
by pressing on which the persons in the hoist can either ascend or descend
as they please. This very economic and benevolent contrivance for saving
the fatigue of ascending and descending stairs, was the joint invention of
Messrs. W. Strut and Frost, of Derby.
The most scrupulous attention is paid to cleanliness in almost every mill;
those which were exceptions are fast disappearing. But cleanliness is found
in Manchester where it would be least expected, among the firemen and
attendants on the boilers. The coals are raised from their bins in a yard
by a series of buckets, similar to those of the dredging machines used for
deepening the beds of rivers, thence they are emptied into a wagon with a
drop-bottom, which moves on a railway over the feeding-hoppers attached to
each furnace, and are supplied to the fires in the exact proportion
required to generate steam necessary for the work.
Not only are the floors and walls kept free from the slightest impurity,
but the overseers take care that the children should keep themselves neat.
They go around every morning and reprove those who have failed to wash
themselves after breakfast; the delinquents are without excuse, as soap,
water and towels were provided gratuitously for their use. In many mills,
boxes and nests of drawers are provided, in which the female operatives
deposit their street dresses, and put on their working clothes before they
begin their labours. There is also a separate washing and dressing room for
the women, from which as well as from their other places of retirement, the
male operatives are carefully excluded. We have been much interested by
observing the difference of appearance between the females when at work,
and when they are going home to dinner; they do not exhibit any trace of
their occupation when they appear in the street; many of them indeed
display in the arrangement of their dress and person a neatness and taste
not unbecoming a higher walk of life.
The proper ventilation of the rooms is now regarded as an object of
primary importance in the construction of mills Taylor's mill, near
Preston, is in this respect a perfect model; it has in every room a double
system of ventilators; the series at the top of each room removing the foul
air, while fresh air is supplied by those near the floor.
The mills are warmed by steam-pipes, from which some portion of the steam
is permitted to escape and mix with the surrounding atmosphere. We have
already noticed that a moist warm temperature is essential to the perfec-
tion of cotton manufactures, and especially to the spinning of the finer
yarns; but the influence of such an atmosphere on the health of the
operatives appearing questionable, we have sought information from various
medical gentlemen who had enjoyed long opportunities for observing the
vital statistics of factories. They unanimously condemned the system of
warming apartments by stoves or
Page 32
hot-air pipes; they declared that a dry, heated atmosphere is pernicious, and
referred to the experience of the calico-printers, and of those who are in
the habit of using Arnott's stoves. We subsequently found that bleachers
and calico-printers have generally adopted the system of heating by steam,
in consequence of the ill effects produced by dry hot air on the health of
the operatives.
Regularity and precision are required in all the operations of a cotton
mill, and these are enforced by the accurate working of the machinery.
Accidents from the machinery are of very rare occurrence; the most
dangerous parts of the turning shafts, which almost alone are perilous to
the incautious, are either protected by wooden boxes or placed where there
is rarely occasion to pass them. The driving-straps are dangerous only to
those who voluntarily encounter peril. Were the proprietors to leave the
dangerous parts of their machinery so exposed as to produce great liability
to accident, they would not only be needlessly cruel, but stupidly blind
to their own interests. Any accident would produce a derangement of
machinery, the repairing of which would cost infinitely more than the cases
or boxes necessary to prevent its occurrence. In one mill, we are told
that slight cuts and bruises were frequently occasioned by the tricks
which young operatives played upon each other when employed to oil the
machinery, but in most of the instances in our inquiry from the operatives
respecting the frequency of accidents, they laughingly asked if we thought
workpeople were such fools as to hurt themselves designedly.
Most modern mills are built fire-proof; those which are not so, have gene-
rally a fire-engine of their own, in the use of which the operatives are
occasionally exercised. It is now also the favourite plan to have the
cotton raised by a crane in its raw state to the upper story; it then
descends from floor to floor in the successive stages of its manufacture,
until on the ground-floor it is woven into cloth by the power-loom.
The amount of capital invested in a spinning mill is usually calculated by
the number of spindles required, which not unfrequently amounts to one
hundred thousand. Some years ago the cost of a mill was estimated at a
pound per spindle; but in consequence of the progress of mechanical
improvement, the cost is not now rated higher than 13s. 4d. per spindle.
The rapidity with which the great engineering houses can stock a mill with
all its engines and machinery is scarcely credible; they are enabled to do
so by having accurate wooden models of all the several parts, from which
castings are easily taken, and the framework is thus got ready with the
greatest expedition.
Having gone through a cotton mill, let us now breathe a little fresh air,
or at least the atmosphere that bears the name in the manufacturing
districts. Manchester is watered by the Irwell and its tributaries, the
Medlock and the Irk, and no three streams in the universe are forced to do
such an amount of work and scavengering in proportion to their size. The
Irwell separates Manchester from the borough of Salford, as the Thames
divides Southwark from
Page 33.
London; but the connexion between Manchester and Salford almost amounts
to identity; the same occupations are pursued in both; many who have
places of business in one, reside in the other, and the boundary between
them is so narrow that it is crossed in a moment. This facility did not
always exist: the old bridge over the Irwell, which was steep, narrow, and
inconvenient, was continued from the fourteenth century until the
September of 1837, when it was stopped by order of the authorities, and a
temporary wooden bridge erected preparatory to the taking down of the
ancient structure, and the building of a new bridge more suited to the
exigencies of the locality. This was chiefly owing to the exertions of the
Manchester Improvement Committee: at their instigation the venerable bridge
was indicted at the Quarter Sessions of Salford, October 1836, for
insufficiency of footway, roadway, and water-way; not a single legal
antiquarian appeared to plead for the antique pile; it was taken down, and
the new bridge was opened on the 20th of March 1839, the anniversary of
her Majesty's accession, in whose honour the bridge received the name of
Victoria.
The view of and from the Victoria Bridge offers many objects of interest
to the spectator. On the Manchester side we catch a glance of
the old
Collegiate Church and Cheetham College, both of which
we shall subsequently visit; while in the direction of
Salford we see the best constructed and tallest
chimneys of factories that are to be found in the
district. Indeed some of them have a good
architectural effect, and were they built of stone
instead of brick, when they cease to vomit forth
smoke they might pass for triumphal columns.
The river is really unsightly. Gas draining, the refuse of factories,
unite with countless other abominations to contaminate the stream, and
render it equally fatal to animal and vegetable life. The barges which
pass up and down add to the sombre effect of its dark colour, they are
clumsy, heavily constructed vessels, and are generally propelled by poles
or shafts. The eye accustomed to the dashing steamers and trim-built
wherries of the Thames, receives little pleasure from contemplating the
navigation of the Irwell. The aspect of the Medlock is still worse,-ðas
seen from the bridge leading into Chorlton, it is like nothing but an
overgrown puddle. It is, however, unfair to judge of these rivers in their
artificial state. The upper vale of the Med
Page 34
lock offers a most tempting excursion to geologists. If we cross the
bridge and visit the crescent of Salford, we shall have a delightful
landscape view, exhibiting what the Irwell might have been had not its
waters been enslaved to cotton.
Manufactures haunt us even here; but the immense pile of building seen to
the right is not a cotton mill, it is a bleach-work, erected there on
account of the valuable supply of water afforded by the river. In spite of
our tolerance, or rather our liking for manufactures, we could wish that
the Dales Bleach-works were erected in any other place. The entire plain
formed by the winding of the Irwell at this spot, would have formed a
noble park for the recreation of the wearied operatives af Manchester and
Salford; they would have been enabled to compare their condition with that
of rural life for a considerable farm and many detached cottages are
within the field of view while their love of picturesque landscape, which
strange as it may seem is stronger in no class than the operatives of
Manchester, would have been gratified by the rising grounds of Kersall and
Broughton, studded as they are with mansions and villas of varied
architecture.
There are a number of book-stalls in Manchester. One of great celebrity
stood near the entrance into Salford, which is now chiefly remembered on
account of its connexion with an interesting personal history we shall
take the liberty to narrate, suppressing, for obvious reasons, the name of
the hero.
Some thirty or forty years ago a young carpenter, in a Welsh county, was
drawn for the militia; he had no taste for a soldier's life, with its great
dangers and small pay. In addition to the ordinary mysteries of his own
trade, he had acquired great skill in turning, was a tolerable wheelwright,
and when no more experienced workman could be had, was found able to mend
the machinery of a mill, and even to suggest some mechanical improvements
which his neighbours were too obstinate to adopt. After a very brief
period of service he deserted and came to London, where he obtained
employment in a lathe manufactory. Here he soon became conspicuous for his
mechanical skill, and the ingenuity of his contrivances to diminish labour
and perfect the machines he constructed. While he was rapidly advancing in
the confidence of his employer and the estimation of his comrades, he
happened to meet in the street a sergeant belonging to his former
regiment, by whom he was recognised. It was necessary for him to quit
London in order to escape the consequences of his desertion; he sought
shelter and employment in several provincial towns, and at length came to
Manchester. He had no acquaintances in the town, and was for some time
unable to procure work; during this interval of reluctant leisure, his
attention was attracted by the sight of some mathematical books on the old
stall in Salford; he stopped to look at them, entered into conversation
with the proprietor, who was an intelligent humourist, and soon inspired
him with an interest in his fortunes.
One morning as the adventurer went to consult his friend at the book-stall
Page 35.
on his chances of obtaining employment, a gentleman came up to purchase
some work on practical mechanics. As he turned over the plates, which
appeared complex, he got a little puzzled, and said to himself in a half-
whisper, "I cannot understand this!" His perplexity and anxiety were so
evident that the young stranger was induced to come to his assistance; he
explained the diagrams in such lucid and simple language, that the
gentleman was prompted to inquire into his history. The tale was soon
told; and the keeper of the book-stall added to it, that since the young
man had come to Manchester he had been very anxious to procure work, and
that he had employed the interval in the study of mathematics.
"Do you understand anything of the management of lathes, young man?"
asked the gentleman.
"Yes, sir, for lathe-making was the business in which I was engaged."
"Well; come to my house to-morronv. I have got down a lathe from one of
the first makers in London, but owing to some peculiarities in its construc-
tion, I fear that I cannot easily find a person qualified to set it up."
On the morrow the young man went at the appointed time to the house of
his new employer. The lathe was unpacked, and he at once recognised it as
one of his own construction. He mentioned the fact to the gentleman, and
identified his work by specifying some private marks on the machinery.
When his task was accomplished, the young man solicited and obtained
leave to try some experiments on turning spindles. He produced some
specimens so obviously superior to the spindles then in use, that his
patron was influenced to advance him a sum sufficient to set him up in the
turnery business. The new spindles were soon eagerly sought; their maker
at the same time gained opportunities of becoming acquainted with the
several processes of a cotton mill, and as he studied them, improvement
after improvement was opened to his mind. His fame as a mechanist rapidly
increased; men of wealth sought a partnership with the man of talent;
capital was supplied to carry out the suggestions of ingenuity; and at the
present moment the hero of this history is at the head of an
establishment, the future of which extends through both hemispheres. After
having heard this history, it was impossible to avoid feeling some regret
for the disappearance of the old book-stall in Salford.
In rambling through the old streets round the Collegiate Church, the
traveller will be amused to find that one of them bears the ominous name
of "Hanging Ditch." Local tradition declares that it derived this name
from having been the scene of the execution of several Romish clergy and
recusants in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is now chiefly remarkable
for the Corn Exchange, one of the most chaste and elegant of the many
structures for which Manchester is indebted to the taste of Mr. Lane. It
is an Ionic structure, adapted from the Temple of Ceres in Attica;
unfortunately, its situation, in a narrow street, prevents it receiving
all the admiration which it merits.
Page 36.
At the dining hour in Manchester one o'clock mills are closed, warehouses
deserted, shops turned into solitudes, and business of every kind
suspended. Many writers have attempted to delineate the impetuous rush
which at the stroke of the single hour takes place in the streets; to us
it appeared a living picture of the French in the Russian campaign flying
before the hourras of the Cossacks, or speeding in their half-famished
state to plunder the magazines of Smolensko. The rush is fierce while it
lasts, but in a few minutes it is over, and Manchester for half-an-hour is
the City of the Silent. As two o'clock approaches the diners are seen
returning, individually or in groups, with slow and measured steps, to
their respective duties; but it is full three o'clock before the full
career of business is resumed, and thus the two best hours of the day are
all but wholly wasted in Manchester.
Some efforts have been made and are making to conquer this tyrant custom,
but it appears inveterate, for it is regularly observed by many of those
who condemn it most loudly. It cannot be ascribed to indolent or luxurious
habits: in no part of the world do men of business allow themselves such
little recreation as in Manchester; they commence their toil at an early
hour in the morning, they continue it to a late hour of the night: the
dining hour is their only interval of relaxation, and though it is
productive of many inconveniences, it will, we think, be found unalterable.
Entering Piccadilly from Market-street, attention is directed to the im-
mense warehouses just behind the Infirmary, in George-street and Mosley-
street: the largest, and most appropriate in its style of architecture,
being a plain substantial building of brick, belongs to Sir T. Potter and
Co.
Oldham-road is nearly a continuous street the whole way to Oldham, a dis-
tance of about seven miles, but since the opening of the Leeds and
Manchester railway, its importance as a thoroughfare has been greatly
diminished. The road or street passes through the district of Ancoats,
which is the chief abode of the operative population, and is therefore
worthy of a visit, which shall be paid at a future opportunity. Continuing
along the London-road, we reach the new terminus of the Manchester and
Birmingham railway, which is now in process of erection. No railroad on
which we have travelled possesses a terminus so favourably circumstanced;
it is almost in the centre of the business part of the town, and yet it
has facilities of ingress and egress, equal if not superior to those which
are located in the outskirts. This railway is a singular monument of
enterprise and speculation: Manchester has already a railway communication
with Birmingham by the Grand Junction line, and the saving of time by the
new line will not at most exceed an hour.
In the centre of Ardwick Green, there is a pretty miniature lake; the
houses round the green are plain substantial dwellings, but those on the
south side are detached buildings, each surrounded with a little
ornamental plantation, which with the like produces a very pleasing effect.
At Victoria Park, an attempt has been made to combine domestic comfort
Page 37.
with architecture taste. The rapid conversion of the private residences in
Mosley-street and many other parts of Manchester into warehouses, induced a
company of gentlemen to purchase this park, which contains about 140 acres
of land, in order to stud it with villas, which would unite the advantage
of vicinity to the town with a freedom from the smoke of factories and with
the privacy of a country residence. The plan was well arranged; the park
has been laid out so as to make the most of the space, for it contains
five miles of walks, and the villas already erected are for the most part
in good taste.
The Oxford-road, adjoining Victoria Park, is adorned on each side with
villas and private residences, superior on the whole to those on any other
outlet from the town. At some short distance from it, is the suburb of
Green Heys, occupied for the most part by a colony of Germans.
Oxford-strect deteriorates as we get back towards Manchester, and near its
upper end reveals a nest of filthy hovels, called Little Ireland. A large
brick building near All-Souls Church is used as a college, principally for
the education of Unitarian ministers.
Oxford-road leads us into Mosley-street, near St. Peter's Church and the
Scottish Kirk, which are so placed as to destroy their architectural
effect. The hall of the Natural History Society, in Peter-steet, contains
the finest zoological collection of any museum in the
empire, and probably Europe. It is particularly rich
ornithology: the birds are well preserved, and arranged
with great taste and skill.
The field of Peterloo, now covered with buildings in the
immediate vicinity of the museum; was the scene of a collision between the
yeomanry cavalry and a multitude assembled to hear Mr. Henry Hunt in the
year 1817. Though many years have since elapsed. the angry feelings to
which the sad event gave rise have not yet wholly subsided, and the
stranger who makes
inquiries on the subject will be pained to find that any reference to it
awakes a bitterness of tone and sentiment which he could not have
anticipated.
The Town-hall of Manchester is a very-handsome stone building, from a
design of the late Mr. Goodwin. The interior arrangements have been
sacrificed to obtain one large room for public meetings. This hall is 180
long by 38 feet wide. Its central dome is copied from the Athenian Temple
of the Winds, and is a truly classical structure. The walls and dome are
covered with fresco paintings, executed by Mr. Aglio. The first view of
the frescoes is very striking, but they will not bear a close
examination; the drawing
Page 38.
is generally incorrect, and the designs verge on the very consummation of
absurdity. Some are allegorical, some mythological, and some historical,
while in others, the three styles are incongruously blended.
For instance, the dome represents Britannia commanding
Peace to descend on Europe and restore the reign of
Art and Virtue. We have a young urchin with a little
ship in his hand, such as a boy might take to float
in a pond and this is the allegorical representation
of the commercial enterprise of Manchester! A female
bearing the fasces overthrows two figures; and this is not, as we
should have supposed, a village maid terrifying impudent assailants with a
fagot, but represents constitutional liberty defeating tyranny and
hypocrisy! It will be sufficient to enumerate the subjects of some of the
other paintings: we have Lord Macartney and the Emperor of China; the
Argonautic Expedition; the supposed discovery of America by Sebastian
Cabot; the British Empire protected by Strength, Wisdom, and Justice,
really embodies Mrs. Malaprop's "allegory on the banks of the Nile," that
river appearing in the group under the significant symbol of an African
mounted on a sphynx; Nadir-Shah giving audience to an English Embassy; the
Deities of Olympus in council; the four Cardinal Virtues; and the
formation of Man by Prometheus! These frescoes are not the only nor even
the worst defect of the hall: it has been built with such a disregard to
acoustics, that in whatever position a speaker may be placed, his voice
can only be heard at a short distance.
Our attention was directed more than once to the number of wholesale
houses for the sale of "small wares." On inquiry we found that by this
phrase was meant tapes, bobbins, etc.; for the manufacture of which,
several mills exist in Manchester. The machinery used does not differ
materially from that employed in other cotton factories; but the
quantities produced are truly surprising. We have been assured that one
mill alone weaves more than 1,000,000 yards of tape every week, which in
the course of a year would give a length of above 30,000 miles,
considerably more than the equatorial circumference of the earth.
The Old Bailey Prison, in Salford, covers several acres of ground, and is
one of the best conducted prisons in England; visitors are not very
readily admitted, but a good view of its extent and the general
arrangement of the buildings can be obtained from the Bolton railway.
Page 39.
In Salford we see evidences in every direction that it is a place of very
recent growth, and one in which population has increased with greater
rapidity than the means of accommodation. The number of low lodging houses
in several districts is truly calamitous, and the anecdotes related of the
amount of individuals found living in one crowded apartment are frightful.
We shall again have occasion to refer to this pregnant source of social
evils, at present we must content ourselves with noting the evidence that
both the wealth and the misery of Manchester have been of recent and of
rapid growth. Hence there exist abundant materials for the history of its
staple trade, and it will be interesting to glance at the particulars of
its rise and progress before investigation the few remnants of a more
remote antiquity preserved in the neighbourhood.
It has been already observed that certain woollen goods called cottons (a
corruption of "coatings") and fustians were manufactured in Manchester and
its neighbourhood before the reign of Elizabeth. Indeed so celebrated
even in that age were the Lancashire weavers, that linen yarn was imported
from Ireland and sent back after it had been woven into cloth. Cotton wool
was probably introduced as a substitute for animal wool by the Flemings
who sought shelter in England from the tyranny of the Duke of Alva, many
of whom settled in and round Manchester. During a long period linen warps
were used for all the goods in which cotton was employed, and in
consequence great quantities of linen yarn were imported from Ireland,
Scotland, and Northern Germany. The cotton weft was however usually spun
in Lancashire, generally by the family and neighbours of the weaver. About
the year 1760, though nothing but the coarse kinds of cotton, such as
fustians and dimities, were produced, yet the demand for these goods began
to exceed the supply, and the weaver became dependent on the spinner.
We have conversed with very old persons who remember when the weavers or
their factors travelled about from cottage to cottage with their
packhorses to collect yarn from the spinsters, often paying a most
exorbitant price for it, which absorbed the profits of weaving. This was
the commencement of the system of infant labour, which was at its worst
and greatest height before anybody thought of a factory. Spinning was so
profitable that every child in the cottage was forced to help in the
process picking the cotton, winding the yarn, and arranging the card-ends.
When the father was a weaver, and the mother a spinner, which was very
commonly the case, the tasks imposed upon the children were most onerous
one of my informants, a man over eighty years, declared that he never
thought of his infancy without shuddering.
The invention of the fly-shuttle by Mr. John Kay of Bury, already ment-
ioned, gave a great impulse to weaving, which was increased in 1760, when
his son, Mr. Robert Kay, added to it the invention of "the drop box," by
means of which a weaver could at pleasure use any one of three shuttles,
each containing a different coloured weft. The one-thread wheel, where
each
Page 40.
spinner could only make one roving or one thread, was inadequate to supply
the rapidly increasing demand for yarn, and the improvements in weaving
directed the inventive faculties of English mechanists to search for the
means of obtaining similar facilities in spinning.
The elongation of metal bars and plates by passing them between cylinders
appears to have first suggested the idea that carded rolls of wool and
cotton might be lengthened into rovings by the same means. This
application of the principle was first made by Mr. John Wyatt of
Birmingham, who took out a patent for the invention, in the name of his
partner Mr. Paul, in 1738. The machines constructed by Mr. Wyatt, however
excellent in principle, were so imperfect in their details, that they
could not be profitably worked; Wyatt had not the capital necessary to
carry out his plans, nor the steady application to conduct the varied
experiments by which a mechanical principle can alone be brought into
complete operation. Moreover, Wyatt was quite unacquainted with the cotton
business, and was therefore very likely to follow the analogy of
laminating metals too far, without sufficiently allowing for the great
difference of materials.
We do not pretend to such a knowledge of mechanism as would enable us to
pronounce positively on this subject; but so far as we can judge, Wyatt
does not seem to have taken into account the modifieations of his
principle required by the peculiar staple of cotton. The machine as first
constructed had but one pair of rollers, and could not therefore remedy
any defect in the arrangement of the fibre which remained after carding;
even when two pairs of rollers were used, they appear to have been
employed merely to elongate the roving without any reference to improving
the regularity of the fibres. The arranging of the spindles and bobbins in
a frame, and the turning of the bobbins and spindles by distinct wheels,
was an invention of the Italian silk-throwsters, which Sir T. Lombe had
introduced into his great mill at Derby; but in silk spinning, rollers are
not necessary, because the filament spun by the worm is a continuous
thread, incapable of being further attenuated.
It may be right to repeat what has been before stated, that the difficulty
to be overcome in mechanical cotton-spinning is not the twisting of the
yarn, for this process, or at least one very analogous to it, had been long
familiar to the silk-throwsters; the real difficulty was to get a roving
evenly attenuated, ready to receive the twist by which it was converted
into yarn. Wyatt's principle of employing rollers to effect this object,
no doubt excited the attention of many mechanists, who tried to apply it
in various forms. Thomas Highs, a reel-maker of Leigh, appears to have
made a machine in which rollers were employed for spinning cotton in the
year 1767, and he communicated his invention to John Kay, a clockmaker,
whom he employed to make a model of the machine, with brass wheels and
less clumsy contrivances than those he had himself devised. Kay is said to
have communicated this invention to Arkwright, who saw its value, and
devoted all his energies to perfect its application.
Page 41.
There is no question more disputed in the history of invention than the
relative claims of Highs and Arkwright, yet to a cool inquirer it does not
appear of very difficult solution. There is a wide distinction between the
discovery of a principle and the practical application of that principle
it is the latter that gives any principle its marketable value. The
polarity of the magnet appears to have been known long before anybody
dreamed of applying it to the purposes of navigation, and countless
experiments were tried before some fortunate inventor produced the
mariner's compass. In like manner, the principle of spinning cotton by
rollers unquestionably was first brought forward by Wyatt it only remains
then to determine whether Highs or Arkwright had the better claim to the
practical application of the principle after it had remained dormant for
more than thirty years.
Taking Arkright's case exclusively on the hostile evidence given by High
and Kay when Arkwright's patent was contested, in 1785, the matter
resolves itself into the very simple question, whether had Highs or
Arkwright the clearer perception of the value of Wyatt's principle? It is
admitted on all hands that Highs never completed a spinning machine, that
he never exhibited the model said to have been made by Kay, and that he
did not communicate his invention to any manufacturer who would have
advanced the capital necessary to give it a fair trial. At most then,
Highs can only lay claim to a project, which most probably would have
perished in his hands; for had he known its value or utility, he had more
available means than Arkwright for obtaining aid to bring it to perfection.
High had some reputation as a mechanist; he was a reed-maker, and
therefore known to many cotton-manufacturers; indeed in 1772 his
mechanical ingenuity was rewarded by a present of two hundred guineas from
the manufactures of Manchester, for his invention of a spinning machine
which was exhibited at the Exchange. Had such a man been convinced of the
practicability of his project, he would easily have found means for
bringing it into actual work. A loose notion floating through the mind,
followed by two or three imperfect, and confessedly imperfect, attempts
for its realization, may give a man a title to ingenuity, but are far from
establishing a claim to invention.
Arkright was a barber at Bolton he possessed the secret of some chemical
or process for dyeing the hair, which was of some value at a time when
wigs were universally worn; but he was so fond of making mechanical
experiments that he neglected his trade and injured his circumstances. It
is said that he was engaged in an attempt to produce perpetual motion:
this, however, is no imputation on his intelligence, for he shared the
folly with the greatest mechanics of his day. It is very probable that he
first heard of the principle of spinning rollers from Kay; but the
conception of the entire process for giving effect to that principle was
indisputably Arkright's own. He shewed his knowledge of its value by
abandoning his former business, by perseverance
Page 42.
in obtaining means to set up his first spinning machine as an experimental
model in the parlour of the Free Grammar School of Preston, and by his
abandoning Lancashire, where a marked hostility to machinery was at this
time evinced, in order to establish his cotton spinning at Nottingham.
Arkwright first applied to Messrs. Wright the bankers, for some pecuniary
aid, which was granted on the condition of a share in the profits. The per-
fecting of the machine, however, required more time and a greater outlay
of capital than the bankers had anticipated; they therefore advised the
adventurer to obtain other assistance, and introduced him to Mr. Need, the
partner of Mr. Geared Strut, who had some time before obtained a patent
for a most ingenious improvement of the stocking frame.
Mr. Strut was one of the most remarkable and estimable men of his day;
originally educated as a farmer, he had directed his attention to mechanic
AL improvements, and had discovered the means of weaving ribbed
stockings in the stocking frame. He saw at a glance the merits of
Arkwright's invention, and the defects in the adjustment of the parts
which impeded its working. A partnership was proposed and accepted; the
capital of Messrs. Need and Strutt relieved Arkwright from pecuniary
difficulties; he soon made his machine practicable, and in 1769 he secured
his invention by a patent. There is reason to believe that Arkwright was
more deeply indebted to the mechanical genius of Mr. Jedediah Strutt than
his friends have been willing to acknowledge; but Mr. Strutt was already
too rich in unquestioned fame to envy a small share to others.
Arkwright's machine was the origin of the modern Throstle: it was first
set in motion by horse power, but it was subsequently driven by a water-
wheel, whence it received the name of the "water-frame." Some of Ark-
wright's original water-frames are, it is said, still in use at Crompton
in Derbyshire, the first extensive mill erected by him and his partners;
but the jealousy with which strangers are excluded from the establishment,
renders it difficult to obtain any positive knowledge on the subject.
The specification annexed to Arkwright's patent shews that his water
frame, in its principles, includes both the modern drawing frame and
throstle. The original purpose of the machine was to convert the rovings
into yarn; but it was so obviously applicable to the formation of the
rovings themselves, that the drawing frame can scarcely be considered a
separate invention. Arkwright applied his mind to every process used in
the preparation of cotton, and introduced improvements into them all. He
may indeed be regarded as the founder of the Factory system, for he
established such a continuous union between all the processes, and so
multiplied the processes themselves, that it was requisite to have the
whole conducted in a single building.
It is now necessary to go back and examine a very different invention for
spinning, having no connexion in principle with that which has been just
described, though it has been united to it in the happiest combination. The
Page 43.
old principle of wool spinning was to draw out a definite length of roving
during the revolution of the spindle to which the end of the roving had
been previously attached, and this was effected by the hand-wheel, which
the spinner turned with one hand, while she drew out the roving and
afterwards wound it on the horizontal spindle with the other. About the
year 1764, James Hargreaves, a weaver, near Blackburn, having a wife and
seven young children to support from his earnings, felt very acutely the
difficulty of obtaining weft, the labours of his family being far from
sufficient to procure him an adequate supply. It happened that he observed
a one-thread wheel overturned upon the loor, when the wheel and spindle
continued to revolve. This led him to consider what would be the effect of
placing the spindles perpendicularly instead of horizontally, and he
rightly concluded that it would be possible to make several spindles thus
placed in a row, revolve by the turning of a single wheel. In other words,
he conceived the possibility of spinning several threads at once. The
machine which he invented was called the "Spinning Jenny," probably
because "Jenny" was a cant name for the old hand-wheel which it
superseded. A brief description of it may be interesting, for though it
has been long since superseded by the mule in the cotton manufacture, it
is still sometimes used in the spinning of coarse wool.
On the left side of the wooden frame is a system of spindles, set nearly
upright in horizontal bars, and secured by brass steps and rings. Each
spindle has at the lower end a whorl or whirl, round which a band passes
to set it in motion. This band also passes over a drum or cylinder placed
just in front of the lower extremity of the spindles, and the drum by a
driving-band receives motion from the large wheel which the spinner turns.
Over the spindles is a guiding wire, directed by a small wheel, round
which a cord passes to the farther end of the machine; by this cord the
spinner moves the guiding wire so as to regulate the winding of the yarn
on the cops.
To the right of the drum or cylinder is a slanting frame, containing the
bobbins of rovings which are to be spun. On the frame is a carriage which
traverses backwards and forwards in groves, aided by friction-wheels, and
this carriage supports two notched cross rails, the upper of which is
moveable, so as to form a clasp. Through the notches of these rails the
rovings pass to the spindles.
The carriage being placed close to the spindles, and the rovings having
been drawn through the notches of the clasp, the spinner pulls the
carriage backwards until a sufficient length of rovings has been unrolled
from the bobbins; he then fastens the clasp, and turning the wheel sets
all the spindles in motion by the driving band which goes over the drum.
The drawing out of the thread by pulling back the carriage and the
spinning go on simultaneously, and the proportion between the two
operations depends on the relative action of the right and left hand of
the spinner. When the threads are spun, the clasp carriage is again pushed
forward, and the spindles set in motion to
Page 44.
take up the yarn under the guidance of the faller wire. The clasp is then
raised, a new series of rovings given out, and the former process repeated.
The spinning jenny is merely a multiple of the hand-wheel it did not, like
the machines of Wyatt and Arkwright, establish any new principle, and it
was only applicable to the last stage of the process, the conversion of
the roving into yarn. It was besides a domestic implement, and was soon
introduced into the houses and cottages of the Lancashire weavers by its
aid a woman was enabled to spin as much yarn as sixteen or even twenty
persons could produce with the common wheel, and the deficiency of weft
which had hitherto impeded the progress of the loom was supplied.
Hargreaves for some time kept his invention secret, using the jenny only
to obtain weft for his own loom. The vanity of his wife induced her to
betray the secret, the neighbouring spinners were alarmed-they feared that
such an invention would deprive them of employment-a mob assembled, forced
Hargreaves' house, broke his machinery to pieces, and menaced his life. He
removed to Nottingham, where he entered into partnership with Mr John
James, and took out a patent for his invention, But having sold some
jennies before leaving Lancashire, to obtain clothing for his children,
the patent could not be sustained, and he lost all the fruits of his
discovery. It has been erroneously asserted, that he died in great
distress; but though he did not acquire a great fortune, his industry and
activity enabled him to earn a moderate competence, and bequeath a decent
provision to his widow and children.
Several circumstances contributed to retard the growth of the cotton
manufacture, particularly the laws made to protect the silk and woollen
trades, the hostility of the operatives to machinery, and the league which
the Lancashire manufacturers formed against Arkwright.
For the protection of the silk and woollen manufactures, an act was passed
in the reign of George I prohibiting the use of printed or dyed calicoes,
which were then imported from India, under very heavy penalties in the
following reign this was so far relaxed as to allow the printing of mixed
goods having a warp entirely of linen yarn; the prohibition however
against goods made wholly of cotton was rigorously renewed.
It was not until yarn was spun by Arkwright's water-frame, that cotton
thread proper for warping could be obtained in England; the act which had
been directed against Indian goods, was now, contrary to the intention of
its framers, made to operate against English manufactures. The officers of
excise refused to let Arkwright's plain calicoes pass, unless they paid
the same rate of duty as Indian goods, and his printed calicoes were
altogether prohibited. Application was made to Parliament for relief; but
strange to relate, the proposal to put English-made calicoes on a
legislative equality with other domestic manufactures was opposed by all
the cotton manufacturers of Lancashire. This opposition was so utterly
without an object, that it has been
Page 45.
justly stigmatized as "one of the most signal instances on record of the
blinding effects of commercial jealousy."
Hostility to machinery was not confined to the working classes: many
persons in the middle and higher ranks shared in the delusion, that
machinery would lessen the demand for labour, and throw multitudes out of
employment. They forgot that no combination of brass and iron, of wheels
and screws, can possibly think, and therefore that machines can only work
under human superintendence. In 1799, at a period •when wages were high
and work plenty, a furious mob scoured the country round Blackburn,
destroyed every jenny which worked more than twenty spindles, and
demolished carding engines, water frames, and every machine worked by
horses, or by water power. Mr. Peel, among other individuals, was a severe
sufferer on this occasion; his works for cotton spinning and calico
printing at Altham were destroyed, the machinery thrown into the river, and
his personal safety endangered. A mill which Arkwright had erected near
Chorley, was pulled down in the presence of a large body of the police and
military without any of the authorities interfering for its protection. It
was useless for the injured parties to seek legal redress, for several
powerful persons had combined to screen the rioters from punishment. Their
motive appears to have been a dread that machinery, by superseding manual
labour, would throw a heavy burthen on the poor-rates, and deteriorate the
value of land in Lancashire. Experience has since shewn the fallacy of
such an idea and that machinery has increased the amount of employment
more than twenty-fold, and it would not be easy to calculate how much the
demand for building ground has added to the rental of the landowners.
Blackburn long suffered from the pernicious effects of these outrages; the
cotton manufacturers migrated to other districts; and Blackburn, which bid
fair to be the metropolis of the new trade, ceded its honours and
advantages to Manchester. It is gratifying to add, that few traces of this
hostility to machinery can now be found among the operatives of Lancashire;
we have conversed with many operatives in the factories, both male and
female, old and young; all were equally convinced that machinery ensured
them steady employment and high wages. They reasoned thus:-when a large
capital is invested, the proprietor cannot afford to let it remain idle;
and he will pay high wages, both on account of the great amount of
property he entrusts to those he employs, and because in a very large
business wages bear but a small proportion to the amount of other expenses.
In 1785, Arkwright's patents were set aside, after one of the most intere-
sting trials recorded in commercial history; all the machines which he had
perfected, if not invented, were thrown open to the public; and the cotton
trade advanced with a rapidity far beyond what has ever been known in any
other branch of industry. Capital and labour rushed to it in torrents;
mills were erected and filled with machinery; workmen were engaged at
extravagant
Page 46.
wages, which it was impossible to sustain, but which it was necessary to
offer in the first instance, to induce them to abandon other employments.
"Wages were high in those days," said an old operative to me, " because
two masters were looking for one man; they were lowered since, because two
men began to look for one master." We quote his words, because they
contain the whole theory of wages in a single sentence.
The invention of the Mule, which combined the processes of Arkwright and
Hargreaves, as has been already mentioned, gave fresh vigour to the cotton
trade. This machine was invented by Samuel Crompton, a weaver of
respectable character and moderate circumstances, who lived at a cottage
called Hall in the Wood, near Bolton, not far from the extensive cotton
works of the Messrs. Ashworth. Crompton completed a machine in the year
1779, and set it to work in his garret, content to earn by his manual
labour the reward of his perseverance and ingenuity. The excellence of his
yarn drew persons from all quarters to ascertain the means by which it was
produced; they would not take a refusal; some even procured ladders, and
climbed to the windows to see him at his work. Among his visitors were
master manufacturers, to whom the poor man, for a trifling reward,
explained the principle of his machine, and shewed the nature of its
operations. They knew the value of the discovery better than he did
himself; they made immense fortunes by it immediate and extensive adoption;
he continued his humble course, and never secured his invention by patent.
About the year 1802, Mr. Kennedy, a gentleman of Manchester equally
distinguished by intelligence, philanthropy, and love of justice, in
conjunction with Mr. Lee, commenced raising a subscription for Crompton,
which produced about 500L., and enabled him to enlarge his little
establishment for spinning and weaving, at Bolton. In 1812, he made a
circuit through the cotton districts, and collected evidence to prove that
the number of spindles worked on his principle amounted to four or five
millions-a number which has since been doubled. He submitted the result to
his kind friends, Messrs. Lee and Kennedy; by their advice a memorial to
Parliament was prepared, which was signed by the principal manufacturers
of the kingdom. The miserable sum of five thousand pounds was granted to a
man who had added millions to the wealth of the empire! With this sum
Crompton established his sons in the bleaching business; but a series of
misfortunes blighted his hopes, the establishment failed, his sons
dispersed, leaving him with his daughter reduced to poverty. Messrs. Hicks
and Rothwell, of Bolton, the indefatigable Mr. Kennedy, and some others,
raised a second subscription, and purchased for Crompton a life annuity
producing 63L. per annum. He only enjoyed it two years: he died January
26, 1827, leaving his daughter in circumstances of great distress.
Far different was the fate of Arkwright. He was the first to organize a
factory on a complete system, and he was long regarded as the most skilful
Page 47.
manager of such an extensive concern. The mill at Cromford became his own
when his partnership with the Messrs. Strutt terminated; but he had but he
had besides large shares in extensive mills in Derbyshire, Lancashire, and
Scotland. He received knighthood from George III.; he accumulated one of
the largest fortunes ever acquired by an individual in England; and what
probably gratified him still more, he compelled the Lancashire spinners to
confess his superiority, and submit to his dictation. For several years he
fixed the price of cotton twist, no one venturing to vary from his prices.
Among the more recent improvements in spinning machinery, bobbin and fly frame
is one of the most interesting, if not one of the most important.
When first introduced, the construction of these frames was very
complicated, and required the employment of three or four
conical cylinders to produce the several variable motions which
have been previously described. The construction has been much
simplified, chiefly by the mechanical ingenuity of Mr. Henry
Houldsworth, who introduced a very simple system of adjustments
for the relative speed of the bobbin and the fly. He shewed that
motion could be communicated, as in the annexed engraving, by
simple rotatory means; and obtained a patent for his admirable
invention in January 1826. Since that time many additional
improvements have been made in the construction of the machinery;
and to the man of science it affords the most perfect example of
an equating principle, thoroughly accomplished, which is to be found in
the whole range of the mechanical arts.
Spinning machinery was at first set in motion by horses or by water-power.
We have even heard of an apparatus which was turned by a donkey. Water-
power was however the principal means employed, and it is still used to a
considerable extent. Its disadvantages, however, are obvious: the mill
must be built where there is an available waterfall, without reference to
any other circumstances of convenience; the number of such falls is
limited, and the supply in Lancashire must soon have been exhausted;
streams are exposed to droughts and floods-opposite evils, but equally
injurious to regular work. Improvements in agriculture also are
destructive to mill property; they deprive the soil of its sponginess, and
prevent it from retaining the water, thus increasing the alternation of
drought and flood. Hence the millowners who use water-power in the
neighbourhood of Bolton have been obliged to unite in constructing
immense reservoirs, to receive the superabundance of one season and supply
the deficiency of another. The application of the steam
Page 48.
engine to spinning machinery gave the manufacturers inexhaustible power and
uniform motion. From the moment of its adoption the apparatus for manufact-
uring cotton became susceptible of almost any extension. Mills could be
erected wherever fuel was abundant; and coal overthrew the supremacy of
water. The first steam-engine erected in Manchester was put up by Messrs.
Arkwright and Simpson, for their mill on Shude-hill, in 1783; but it was
an atmospheric engine, and not so successful as to encourage imitation.
Far different was the effect produced by the steam-engine which Messrs.
Boulton and Watt erected for Mr. Drinkwater, in 1783; its work excited
universal admiration, and led to the application of power to many
processes which had hitherto been wrought by hand. Mr. Kelly of Lanark was
the first to apply power to the working of mules, and the success of his
experiment gave a final blow to the system of domestic labour. The mules,
which had hitherto been chiefly worked in houses, were removed to the mill;
and thus the factory system was completed.
Weaving had given the first impulse to spinning, and it soon began to
participate in the advantages of machinery. The first rough outline of the
power-loom was devised by the Rev. Dr. Cartwright, in the year 1787; his
ingenuity was rewarded by a parliamentary grant of 10,000L. in 1809. But
the invention was in too rude a state to be worked with profit until it
was perfected by the successive improvements of Messrs. Radcliffe, Ross,
Horrocks and Marsland. Of these gentlemen, Mr. Radcliffe was the most
eminent inventor; he devised the dressing frame, without which the power-
loom must have been nearly useless; but his unremitting attention to the
perfecting his invention seriously injured his circumstances. Horrocks
also failed to reap the reward of his ingenuity, though both appear to
have had as strong a claim on the gratitude of the country as the Rev. Dr.
Cartwright.
Some of the results of the series of inventions just described may be
briefly enumerated. The labour of one man, aided by power and machinery,
produce as much yarn as 250 men could spin without such assistance.
Every spindle in a mill-and some contain one hundred thousand-can produce
from two to three hanks of yarn, each of 840 yards, in a day. Taking the
average at two hanks and a half, all the spindles would, in the course of
a day, spin about 120,000 miles of yarn, which would very nearly go five
times round the equatorial circumference of the earth.
Before machinery was employed, there were not more than 30,000 persons
engaged in the cotton manufacture; the mills now afford employment to more
than eight times that number-a sufficiently striking proof that the
progress machinery has not diminished the demand for labour. But if we add
to those the persons engaged in all the trades connected with spinning and
weaving; in the carriage, export, and sale of the goods produced, and in
the import of the raw materials, the amount of persons dependent on the
cotton trade for their Support will be found at the lowest estimate
considerably above a million.
Page 49.
There are about 100,000 power-looms and dressing-frames in the three
kingdoms: each of the latter consumes on an average five pounds' weight of
flour weekly, so that the total amount of flour consumed in power-loom
weaving annually is 26,600,0001bs. or 92,860 loads. The agricultural
labourers employed in the production of this flour must be added to the
amount of the population dependent for support on the cotton manufacture.
An attentive consideration of all the available documents, and of the
estimates made by various statisticians, shews that the value of cottons
annually manufactured in this country exceeds thirty-six millions
sterling; and that more than a million and a half of persons are directly
or indirectly dependent on this branch of industry for their subsistence.
Having fixed these important facts in the mind, and considered their
connexion with the national prosperity, the visitor of Manchester will
renew his inspection of its streets with more anxious feelings than those
which first directed his inquiries. The factories will be the chief
objects of his curiosity; he will be anxious to learn their influence on
the health, morals, and well-being of the population. But before entering
upon this inquiry, he has to learn that the factory system is not confined
to the spinning and weaving of cotton: it extends to bleaching and dyeing;
to the manufactures of wool, flax, and silk; and is rapidly extending its
influence to other branches of industry.
Bleaching, almost within the memory of man, could only be effected during
the summer months, and required several weeks for its completion. It was
common in the last century to send cottons and linens in the spring to be
bleached on the level plains of Holland, and to receive them back late in
the autumn. When cloth was bleached at home, the quantity of ground it
occupied for such a length of time was very considerable; its exposed
state attracted the cupidity of thieves, and the means taken for its
protection multiplied capital punishments, led to a dangerous extension of
mantraps and spring guns and placed deadly weapons in the hands of
unskilful and imprudent persons. The horror excited by the execution of a
lad for robbing a bleach-ground, on what is said to have been rather
unsufficient evidence, is not yet forgotten in Manchester; tradition tells
of the general sympathy excited by his condemnation, of the efforts made
to procure a pardon, of its refusal on the ground that he robbery of
bleach-grounds had become a very common crime, of the lad's agonizing
protestations of innocence on the scaffold, and of the multitudinous groan
of the spectators when the law fulfilled its vengeance on its victim.
Another and if possible a darker story is told of the ancient system. The
son of an extensive bleacher went to sea at an early age; he voyaged into
distant lands, and for many weary years had not set his foot on British
ground. His ship at length arrived in Liverpool; he took his place on the
coach, which then quitted Liverpool in the morning and reached Manchester
in the evening. His father's place was a few miles from the latter town,
but he was too impatient
Page 50.
to wait for the coming of another morning; he set out on foot, and when he
came near home took a short cut to his paternal house through the bleach-
field. There had been a robbery in the neighbourhood some time before; the
lad's father was himself on the watch; he saw the supposed robber going
directly to the cloth, levelled his rifle, fired, and his own son fell
mortally wounded. The shot collected a crowd; the dying youth was
recognised by his family-the veil must cover the rest of the picture. We
give this story as we heard it, from the mouth of an old man who said that
he remembered the circumstance; it certainly is a possible occurrence, for
our own memory supplies us with a parallel catastrophe in another part of
the empire.
An accident led the Swedish philosopher Schele to observe the effect of
chloride, or oxymuriatic acid, in removing the colouring matter of
vegetables. The French chemist Berthollet extended Schele's experiments,
and in 1785 published an account of the eflicacy of the new acid in
bleaching vegetable fibres. Mr. Thomas Henry of Manchester, who was then
rising into fame by his skill as a practical chemist, his abilities as a
lecturer, and his accomplishments as a general scholar, repeated and
extended the experiments of Berthollet. In 1788 he exhibited to the trade
a yard of cotton cloth bleached by chemical means. The process was first
extensively used by the Messrs. Ridgway of Bolton; it was gradually
rendered more complete by the continued application of Dr. Henry, and by
the labours of Watt, the improver of the steam-engine, and Mr. Tennant of
Glasgow.
Bleaching and calico-printing are generally united in the same establish-
ment; as a large supply of water is required for both processes. The
bleaching and printing factories are therefore erected in the vicinity of
Manchester rather than in the town; but they are most numerous in the
valleys between Bury, Blackburn, and Clitheroe.
When cotton cloth is brought to the bleachers, it is looked over very care-
fully and picked, it is then measured, and taken to be rolled evenly on a
cylinder. The rolling of the cloth, both for bleaching and printing,
requires great accuracy to prevent any crease; for this purpose it passes
over a jointed cylinder having an eccentric motion, which smooths out the
cloth by the lateral movement of the parts. The first process is singeing:
the cloth passes rapidly over a red-hot copper cylinder, which burns off
loose "fly," broken threads, and any other inequalities on its surface,
without injuring the texture of the cloth. During this operation a very
pungent smell is given out from the burning particles of cotton, but it
produces no ill effect on the workmen, because they are chiefly engaged at
the front of the furnace where the smell is least sensibly observed, and
because the process is usually conducted in an open shed, through which
there is a constant current of fresh air.
After having been singed, the cloth is thrown loose into water, and after
some time is taken to be more effectually washed by the dash-wheel.
This is a very large hollow wheel, usually divided into four compartments,
Page 51.
in each of which is a bundle of cloth. It is supplied with a jet of the
purest spring water that can be obtained, through a circular aperture in
the side, and the wheel in order to receive
this water revolves close to
the end of a flattened pipe. The flow of the water
can be regulated with the greatest precision, and
the case with which it is turned off and on, is
calculated to excite the attention of the visitor.
The cloth being thrown backwards and forwards by
the rapid revolutions of the wheel.
The washing does not remove all the gluten and oil
which the cloth received when it was subjected to
the dressing process by the weaver; for this purpose it must be boiled in
lime. The boiler has a false bottom perforated with holes, over which the
cloth is laid in alternate layers with cream of lime. A stream of boiling
water jets from a pipe in the upper part of the boiler over the layers and
sinks through them into the part below the false bottom; here, as it is
again heated to the boiling point, it is forced up through a pipe in the
middle of the boiler, and again spouted over the cloth. This process is
usually continued for eight hours, when the paste-dressing, grease, etc.
being effectually removed, it is once more washed in the dash-wheel.
In the next process the cloth is steeped in a weak solution of sulphuric
acid, which forms a sulphate of lime with the lime of the former operation.
After this it goes back to the dash-wheel. It is next boiled in a weak
solution of carbonate of soda, to remove any oil or grease left by the
lime, and again washed by the dash-wheel.
The cloth is now ready to be subjected to the action of the bleaching-
fluid, that is chloride of lime dissolved in water. About a gallon and a
half of this liquid is allowed for every pound weight of cloth, and about
one pound of bleaching powder for two pounds of cloth. In this mixture the
goods are steeped for about six hours; when they are taken out they appear
sufficiently bleached to an unpractised eye, especially after they receive
another washing in the dash-wheel. But the experienced eye soon discovers
that the colouring matter of the fibre is not yet completely removed.
Page 52.
Again the cloth is steeped in a weak solution of sulphuric acid, the
mixture having one gallon of acid for every twenty-five gallons of water.
The chlorine disengaged during this operation would render the process
unwholesome with-out care and vigilance, but it is conducted with such
caution that all danger is averted. In this process the oxide of iron
which may have been deposited on the cloth is removed, and the lime
disengaged from the chlorine forms sulphate of lime with the acid.
Sulphate of lime being in fact soft alabaster is capable of being applied
to ornamental purposes; we have seen some pretty toys at Mr. Thompson's
great works at Primrose, near Clitheroe, made from the sulphate which had
been deposited on the sides of the vats.
After having been washed, the cloth is again boiled in a solution of
carbonate of soda, then washed and passed through a weaker bleaching fluid
than was first used; washed again, and a third time passed through the
solution of sulphuric acid. The bleaching process is now complete, and the
cloth receives its last washing previous to its being dried.
The first steeping in sulphuric acid, and the first boiling in the ley
made of carbonate of soda, in the order of our enumeration, are not
invariably employed; they are, however, rarely neglected by those
bleachers who prepare cotton for their own printing.
After the cloth is washed, a great part of the water is squeezed out by
passing it between two rollers; in this damp state, it is straightened and
mangled. If the cloth is designed for sale without being printed, it is
smoothed and stiffened by being passed through weak starch, made of
wheaten flour, to which some add a little porcelain clay and calcined
sulphate of lime. These substances render the cloth stiffer and apparently
stronger than it really is; they also improve the gloss which is imparted
to it in the process of calendering. The cloth is then passed through the
drying machine, which consists of several copper cylinders heated by steam.
The calender (a corruption of cylinder) consists of several cylindrical
rollers which play against each other. The cloth slightly damped, passing
between these is very tightly pressed, and its surface becomes smooth and
glossy. It is sometimes made to assume a wiry appearance, by passing two
pieces together through the roller, so that the warp threads of one should
be impressed upon the other. After being calendered, the cloths are folded
in pieces; each of which receives a distinctive mark; they are then
compressed in Bramah's patent press, packed and sent to the merchant.
The cost of bleaching is about one halfpenny per yard, and the time
occupied in the process is from one to two days; but if any object were to
gained by greater speed, the process might easily be accelerated.
Bleach-works require engines of considerable power: those who undertake
their management must combine chemical with mechanical skill, for every
process is effected either by chemical agents or by machinery; human
hands are employed only to convey the cloth from one series of operations
to
Page 53.
another. Very large capitals are invested in bleaching establishments, and
considerable sums are annually spent in chemical experiments. The mere
arrangement of the vats, boilers and machines require extraordinary care; 
and the strictest method and order must be
preserved in the entire establishment. The
managers are always men of science, many of them
taking the rank with the first chemists of the
day; when printing is superadded to bleaching,
the range of their acquirements must be further
extended, and in fact they are, taken as a body,
among the most scientific and well informed o
of any class in England.
The destructive effect of chemical works on the trees and plants in their
neighbourhood, is very generally known; there is an entire grove near
Bolton, in which every tree has been killed by the effluviae of a chemical
manufactory in the neighbourhood. But on the other hand, we never saw a
more thriving collection of water-plants than that which exists in one of
the reservoirs of Mayfield, the water-lilies are particularly fine.
There is no question connected with the manufactures of Manchester, on
which the public has evinced a deeper interest, and received more
inconsistent information, than that of juvenile labour in the mills and
the bleaching establishments. Several mill-owners had made very ample
provision for the education of the young persons in their employment, long
before they were compelled to do so by law. Many of these schools are not
less worthy of a visit, than the factories to which they are attached. We
cannot avoid mentioning one, which we accidentally visited. The children
sung several hymns and innocent songs, with great taste and feeling; among
others, Moore's little melody, "Those Evening Bells," was executed with
perfect harmony, and with a manifest perception of its pathos, quite
wonderful in such young choristers. We examined the children in reading,
writing, mental arithmetic, geography, and Scripture history; the
answering far surpassed all we could have anticipated, it would have been
highly creditable to children of the same age in the best academy in
England.
Page 54.
There is no part of England in which better instruction is afforded to the
children of the lower ranks than Manchester and the surrounding districts.
The Lancasterian schools of Manchester are admirably conducted, and the
Sunday schools are very numerous, and managed with great care. But the
institutions most worthy of a stranger's visit are the Blind Asylum and
School for the Deaf and Dumb, which are united in one
building, on the Shelford road, in the immediate
vicinity of the Botanical and Horticultural Gardens.
The building is in the Tudor style of architecture, and
produces a very happy effect by its numerous octagonal
towers and chimneys. The centre of the structure is
a church, designed for the use of the two institutions: the wing next
Manchester is devoted to the Blind Asylum; the other wing is laid out as a
school for the deaf and dumb.
The Blind Asylum originated in the munificence of Mr. Thomas Henshaw, an
eminent hat-manufacturer in Oldham, who at his death, in 1810, bequeathed
20,000L. to endow a Blue-Coat School in Oldham, and the like sum for a
Blind Asylum at Manchester. By a singular clause in the will, it was pro-
vided "that the said money should not be applied in the purchase of lands,
or the erection of buildings, it being his expectation that other persons
would at their expense purchase lands and buildings for these purposes."
Eighteen years elapsed before the bequest was made available in Oldham,
but five and twenty years passed before means were collected for erecting
the Blind Asylum in Manchester. The subject, however, was zealously taken
up in 1835; the sum of 9000L. was very speedily collected, ground was
purchased, and a building commenced in connexion with the committee for
the Deaf and Dumb School, who had about the same time collected 10,000L.
for the erection of suitable accommodations for their own institution.
The Blind Asylum was opened in 1839, and its subsequent progress has been
most satisfactory. The children are taught to read from the works printed
in raised Roman characters under the direction of Mr. Alston of Glasgow,
whose exertions for the education of the blind have been justly celebrated
throughout Europe and America. The boys are employed in the manufacture of
wicker-work, such as baskets, cradles, cages, etc.; the girls are engaged
in needlework, knitting, and netting. Both are instructed in music, and
every Sunday the full cathedral service of the Church of England
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is chanted or sung by a choir composed entirely of blind persons. Until a
very recent period the blind were taught music entirely by the ear, but Mr.
Alston has recently introduced a system of printing music with raised
characters which has enabled them to acquire a very competent knowledge of
notation. Though not so large as the Blind Asylum of Liverpool-the first
which was established in Great Britain-Henshaw's Institution is equally
well managed, and has already produced the most beneficial results.
The School for the Deaf and Dumb was established in the year 1825, and was
conducted in an inconvenient building in Stanley-street, Salford, until
the present edifice was erected. The course of instruction extends over
five years, and is justly celebrated for its practical utility and
efficiency.
Chetham College or Hospital is a chartered institution founded by Humphrey
Chetham, who acquired a large fortune in trade during the early part of
the seventeenth century, and was one of the first "merchant princes" of
Lancashire.
A royal charter gave effect to the stipulations of his will in 1665; a
body corporate of twenty-four feoffees was appointed, with powers to
supply the vacancies in their number as they occurred, and to them the
entire management of the funds bequeathed by the benevolent founder was
entrusted. Eighty boys are now received into the school in the following
proportions:-from Manchester 28, from Salford 12, from Droylsden 6, from
Crumpsall 4, from Bolton 20, and from Turton 10. They are educated,
clothed, and lodged gratuitously. Their dress is singularly unbecoming, as
indeed are the dresses of most similar institutions in England; it
consists of a blue frock, cap, and stockings, with a yellow under-coat or
vest. At a proper age the boys are put apprentice; four pounds are given
with them as a fee, and they receive each two suits of clothes as an
outfit.
The college is a curious and very ancient building. It was at first
occupied by the clergy of the Collegiate Church, and afterwards became one
of the baronial halls of the Earl of Derby: it was given to the feoffees
of Chetham's charity by the Parliamentary Sequestrators, but the transfer
was not finally completed until after the Restoration.
A very excellent library, containing about 25,000 volumes is attached to
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the institution; several of the works are rare and valuable, and there are
also some curious manuscripts. The regulations under which readers are
admitted to the use of the library are liberal and judicious.
The Free Grammar School of Manchester was founded in the early part of the
sixteenth century, and is so richly endowed that its funds are adequate to
the education of all the children in Manchester. It is however so conducted
as to prepare boys for some of the learned professions rather than the
pursuits of commercial life, and hence its utility to a trading and
manufacturing community is much restricted. Several exhibitions are in the
gift of the Warden and High Master: there are also fifteen exhibitions for
pupils of this school founded at Brazennose College Oxford, together with
a portion of certain scholarships in Brazennose and Magdalen Colleges
Oxford, and St. John's College Cambridge.
The ecclesiastical government of Manchester is vested in the wardens and
four fellows of the Collegiate Church, but the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
have recommended that Lancashire shall be formed into a
Bishopric, and the Collegiate Church elevated to the rank of
a Cathedral. The building is not unworthy of such dignity;
it is a venerable Gothic pile, erected in a commanding
situation, so that its architectural merits are not lost, as
is the case with too many of our ecclesiastical edifices.
Only a portion of the capacious interior is devoted to the
purpose of public worship. The rest is divided into chapels,
filled with monumental effigies and mural tablets, which,
together with the inscriptions on the windows of stained
glass, would furnish materials for an interesting family history of this
part of Lancashire. In the older tombs are laid the remains of barons bold
and gallant knights, who would have looked upon trade and commerce as the
greatest of all degradations; beside them repose those who regarded
honourable industry as more than an equivalent for patents of nobility-the
architects of their own fortunes-the founders of their own families. But
this church affords us less gloomy associations; it is the most popular
church in the county for the solemnization of marriage; and indeed so
numerous are the parties coming to be united at the expiration of Lent,
that weddings are performed by wholesale.
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The Collegiate Church of Manchester ranks among the first of those
ecclesiastical edifices which were erected when the florid style of our
Pointed architecture was in full development. Its date and style belong to
the same class of religious structures as Bath Abbey Church, King's
College Chapel, Cambridge, and others remarkable 
for airy and slender supports and ornamental profusion,
while it would puzzle the most fastidious to point out
a disproportion in the one case, or indicate where a
single attribute in the other could be emmitted with
advantage. The "dim religious light," which seemed so
carefully preserved in the edifices of the preceding
ages, even in those of the early Saxon times, here is
exchanged for "day's garish eye" without stint. The
delicacy of the ornaments, the slenderness of the
columns, and the lightness of the groins and arches,
which excite wonder, as in the King's College, at
the enormous weights they seem to suspend in the air,
give this style a character of grace and a delicacy
quite feminine, contrasted with the Herculean masses
and solid arches of our earlier ecclesiastical structures.
The Collegiate Church of Manchester, then, belonging to this period of our
architectural history, may compete with any of its class under its own
peculiar plan. It is disadvantageously situated, amidst the smoke of
countless manufacturing volcanoes, in an atmosphere continually clouded,
and built of a red soft stone, in its qualities of colour and duration
unworthy of so beautiful a building. The sharpness of the angles,
externally, is corroded by time and miserably blackened, so that the
aspect on the outside may not at first sight strike the unpractised eye
with its excellence of proportion and elegance of design, though to
individuals at all acquainted with the different "orders," if we may so
speak, which exist in the religious edifices of England down to the
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date of this church, its merits must be at once apparent. It was begun by
Lord de la Warre in 1421; but it appears that the entire fabric was not
worked out until 1485, and that considerable additions were made in the
sixteenth century. Many alterations and additions are of recent origin.
There are also numerous chapels in this church, all but one of which are
private property. Upon entering, the admirable adjustment and symmetry of
the parts are at once disclosed. From the nave, the impression which the
architect designed to produce is complete, exhibiting great lightness,
beauty, and even playfulness of design and execution. The columns sustain
light arches constructed with great skill; the spandrels are ornamented
with cinquefoil vaultings containing shields of a dark colour, and the
walls over them pierced with small windows of five lights; the roof is
lofty and highly decorated. From the capitals of the lower columns slender
pillars shoot up, ornamented with trefoils, supporting half-lengths of
angels holding musical instruments. From the capitals of these, a third
row of columns rises from behind the angel-effigies, and sustains the roof.
The choir is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. The ceiling is
flat, divided ornamentally into squares and supported by light rafters,
which at the terminations are sustained by angular buttresses rising
between the windows, perforated laterally, and of a very elegant pattern
and appearance. At the east end is a broad window, of seven divisions,
filled with painted glass of modern date. The windows on both sides of the
choir are more elaborately executed than those of the nave. The stalls are
finely carved, and some of the panel work is wonderfully executed. Most of
the stalls in this rich choir are adorned with those designs so utterly
inconsistent in an edifice dedicated to religious purposes, which have
often been made the subject of remark, and do not yet seem to be
satisfactorily explained.
In one is the representation of a fox running away with a goose, and an
old woman sallying after the marauder, with a child dragging at her
garments. This is in the schoolmaster's stall. There is, in addition to
the same design, an old fox sitting with a large rod over his shoulders,
teaching two cubs to read; opposite to him is another old fox, perhaps
designed as the usher. There is a party of monkeys, one administering
extreme unction to a dying man, and the rest plundering him of his
property and eating his provisions. Another monkey is nursing an infant
in swaddling clothes. A different stall is decorated with a bear-baiting;
and one represents a boar upon his hind legs, playing the bagpipes, with
four young pigs behind their trough, dancing on their hind legs to his
notes. There is backgammon-playing and music, and a dog bearing away a fox
on his back, which carries in its turn a pole with a dead hare at the end.
Another shews a huntsman at a fire roasting something, and using his pole
as a spit, while four pots are seen on the fire; three with lids on, and
on the fourth a hare putting a lid over a seething dog.
The remnant of the ancient screen of this church exhibits some fine wood-
carving. A piece of tapestry, curious from its age rather than quality, is
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placed over it. The chapter-house windows are mutilated, but the house
itself is in a tolerable state of repair. The painted glass exhibits a
number of portraits. *
The tower of this church, the upper portion of which is very beautiful, is
supposed to have been erected at different periods of time. In the upper
part there is a good deal of rich tracery. The principal entrance formerly
led through this tower into the body of the church. It is much to be
lamented that the modern alterations and additions are not all in harmony
with the date of the original building. In the reign of Elizabeth (1578),
a renewed charter of foundation was given to this church, appointing a
warden, four fellows, two chaplains, four laymen, and four children
skilled in music; also changing the name of the college from that of the
Virgin previously, to Christ's College.
The monuments in the church are for the most part in a good state of
preservation; and though in some places rather crowded, they are generally
so arranged as to form very impressive groups. The chapel of the Derby
family is that which possesses the greatest share of historic interest: it
is said to have been erected for the purpose of enclosing the remains of
one of the barons bold of the house of Stanley, whose body was refused the
honour of sepulture within the church, because he had not obtained
absolution from ecclesiastical censure previous to his death. St. Mary's
Chapel contains several interesting monuments of the family of the
Chethams: and the Trafford Chapel, in addition to the memorials of the
ancient family from which it takes its name, possesses a very handsome
monument to the memory of Dauntsey Hulme, Esq., erected by the trustees of
the Royal Infirmary; he bequeathed a large sum of money to that
institution, in addition to many other benefactions to the poor of the
town. The effect of these chapels is at first a little distracting, but
after a visitor has gone through them once or twice, he begins to perceive
their harmony with the entire edifice, and to feel that "the long-drawn
aisles" are appropriate accompaniments to "the fretted vault."
The influence of factory labour on health is a subject which has given rise
to much controversy. It is commonly believed that bleach and print works
are the most unhealthy of any, but so far as accurate information can be
derived from statistical returns, this opinion appears decidedly erroneous.
Having already described the bleaching processes, we shall now give an
account of calico printing, an art in which England is yet unrivalled.
Calico printing in England may be said to have been created by the rivalry
of the woollen and silk manufacturers. In the year 1700 the silk and
woollen manufacturers obtained an act of parliament prohibiting the
introduction of the beautiful prints of India and the adjacent countries.
But instead of
* There is a curious Diary extant, written by a sexton of this
church, in which he gives an account of all burials from 1678
to 1680; "How deepe the Lye, and wht place they cum ffrom, Boothe
in town and parish"-This worthy's name was Philip Burnell.
Page 60.
people returning to their old materials of dress, the taste for chintzes
remained as strong as ever-plain calicoes were imported from India and
printed in England. So rapidly did the business increase, that it
attracted the notice of the administration, and was of course made to
contribute to the revenue. The woollen manufacturers were not daunted;
they obtained in 1720 a law prohibiting the wear of any printed or dyed
goods of which cotton formed a part, with the exceptions of blue calicoes,
muslins, and fustians. Ten years afterwards this statute was so far
relaxed as to allow the printing of cloths with a linen warp and a cotton
weft; but it was not until 1774 that the printing of cloths manufactured
wholly of cotton was legalized in England.
The printing business was at first confined to London and its vicinity;
but it was introduced into Lancashire about the middle of the last
century, where the local advantages of vicinity to the cotton
manufacturers, cheapness of fuel, abundance of water, and a rate of wages
more moderate than that of the metropolis, soon enabled it to triumph over
all competition.
The success of calico printing in Lancashire must, in a great degree, be
attributed to the late Sir Robert Peel. It is recorded as a curious proof
of the humble means with which he commenced laying the foundation of his
fortune, that when he began to try experiments, the cloth, instead of
being calendered, was ironed by a female of the family, and that the
pattern was a parsley leaf. From this time the progress of calico printing
in Lancashire is identified with the rise of the Peel family; the
establishments which they founded have for the most part passed into other
hands, but they still rank among the largest in the north of England.
The oldest form of calico printing, which is still continued for several
kinds of goods, is block printing. The pattern is carved in relief on an
engraved block of sycamore, to which a handle is attached; the workman
applies the surface of the block to a woollen cloth, kept saturated with
the colour, and then placing the block on the piece to be printed strikes
it with an iron mallet so as to leave an impress of the figure. There are
wire points at the corner of the block, which enable the printer to apply
it with exactness, and to make different blocks "justify," or fall in the
same place, when several are required to produce a single pattern. If
there be more colours than one in the pattern, it is necessary to have a
separate block for every colour, and to repeat the stamping with every
block. The skill of the workman is shewn in the accuracy with which the
several blocks fall into their proper places on the pattern. This is a
slow and tedious operation; the printing of a single piece of calico,
twenty-eight yards in length, requires the application of the block 448
times.
A nearer approach to the process of letter-press or rather stereotype
printing is sometimes used with great advantage in small patterns. Instead
of cutting the block, the pattern is raised on it by the insertion of bits
of copper, which are firmly fixed in it at a uniform height, and form in
effect
Page 61.
a stereotype plate. This invention, which some time since was applied to
the printing of music, and subsequently abandoned, appears, if we may
judge from its application at Mayfield, to be of great value in cotton
printing; the copper is more easily cleaned than the wood, there is less
chance of blotching the pattern, and a greater facility of making several
blocks "justify" with each other when it is necessary to combine them for
the production of a figure with several colours. When any error was made
in this respect with the ordinary process, it was necessary to destroy the
block and cut a new one; in the newer process, when an alteration is
requisite, the copper points are easily moved to their proper place, a
pincers draws them out, and a hammer drives them in without delay or
difficulty.
The use of the blocks with raised points has led to the invention of a
species of press, also to be seen at Mayfield, which prints several
colours at once. The cloth to be printed unrols only the breadth of a
single colour-block at a time as it passes successively under the blocks,
which are placed in close contact, it receives of course a separate
impression from each, and is given out from the press with all the colours
of the pattern complete. This invention, it is believed, is capable of
being extended and improved, and we have heard of attempts made to apply
it to letter-press printing.
As delicate patterns could not be easily engraved on wood, copper-plate
were introduced, chiefly we believe in the neighbourhood of London, and
they were applied by means of the ordinary copper-plate press. This was
the most tedious of all the processes employed, and the goods thus
produced were consequently very dear; it is now we believe almost wholly
disused.
Cylinder printing is far the most important improvement made in this art,
bearing nearly the same relation to block and plate printing that the mule
does to the old spinning wheels. It is said to have been invented by a
Scotch man named Bell, and was first applied to printing in Lancashire
about the year 1785. The patterns are engraved on a polished copper
cylinder, round the whole circumference, and from one end to the other;
the diameter of the cylinder is about three inches, and its length varies
according to the breadth of the cloth to be printed. The cylinder revolves
horizontally in a press, the lower part turning over a trough containing
the colouring matter, which it of course takes up; an elastic knife-blade
working against the cylinder, some thing like the crank and comb in the
carding machine, removes the colour from the smooth surface of the
cylinder, leaving only the portions contained in the engraved lines of the
pattern. The piece of cloth being passed over and pressed against the
upper surface of the cylinder, takes up the pattern, and then, as fast as
printed, it is turned over several cylindrical boxes heated by steam,
which remove from it every particle of moisture.
The most ingenious and at the same time the most simple contrivance, in
this beautiful and most wondrous piece of mechanism, is the knife-blade,
which is technically called "the doctor." It is said to have obtained its
name
Page 62.
from the following circumstance. When Mr Hargreaves, a partner in the
factory of Mosney near Preston, where cylindrical printing was first
introduced, was making some experiments with the process, one of his
workmen who stood by said, "Al1 this is very well Sir, but how will you
remove the superfluous
colour from the surface of the cylinder ?" Mr Hargreaves took up a common
knife which was near, and placing it horizontally against the revolving
cylinder, at once shewed its action in removing the colour, asking the
operative "What do you say to this ?" After a moment's pause of surprise
and pleasure, the man replied, "O Sir, you have doctored it!" -a common
phrase for "you have cured it;" and the contrivance has ever since
retained the name of "doctor."
Cylinders, like blocks, may be engraved with different portions of the
same pattern, and made to justify with each other, and as each cylinder
revolves in a trough of a different colour, the resulting pattern will
have as many colours as there are cylinders. It is not uneommon to see
from three to six cylinders in one press, each cylinder engraved with a
different part of the pattern, and printing a different colour on the
cloth. A man and boy, at such a press, can do more work than a hundred
men, attended by a hundred boys, could by block printing.
The preparation of patterns is an increasing branch of industry, but does
not yet hold so high a rank as might be expected in England. It is not
easy to estimate the cost of a design; some are purchased for a few
shillings, and
Page 63.
others bring as high a price as twenty pounds. Mr. Thomson of Clitheroe,
has stated in his evidence before the House of Commons, that he would have
sought designs for furniture cotton from some of the most eminent artists
in Europe, at an unlimited price, if he could have obtained such an
extension of copyright as would secure him adequate remuneration.
Simple and inartificial designs are generally the greatest favourites with
the public: Lane's net, of which an engraving is given, was one of the
most successful ever produced. It will be seen that it is nothing more
than a simple arrangement of right lines. But it also deserves to be
remarked, that every
original pattern which is successful, becomes the source of a new style,
and suggests variations of the original combination, which are in fact new
patterns. We have given some specimens of the variety of patterns derived
from Lane's original net, but they form only a small proportion of the
entire amount. There is a constant demand for novelty and variety of
patterns, not only in the home market, but in every country to which
English calicoes are exported; and we have been assured by a gentleman
most extensively engaged in the trade, that a printer is seldom able to
sell the same design a second time to the we individual. Neither purity of
taste nor excellence of design can com-
Page 64.
pete with the charm of novelty, and this compels extensive printers to
produce fresh varieties every week, and frequently within the week. It has
been calculated that out of five hundred designs, one hundred will be
decidedly successful, fifty moderately so, and the rest nearly complete
failures. There is, however, a greater permanence in the oriental taste,
and the same patterns are exported year after year to Asiatic countries.
A curious anecdote will shew the great importance of a new and successful
pattern. Messrs. Simpson and Co. of Fox-hill Bank, had to print a
quantity of cloth in parallel stripes; by some accident a portion of the
cloth was creased, and-the stripes being thrown angularly on each other,
produced a new effect, which received the name of the Diorama pattern.
Such a favourite was this novelty, that the unprecedented number of
25,000 pieces was sold in one day. Novelty of effect, however, was its
only recommendation, and it is now little valued.
There are two classes of production in calico printing which differ con-
siderably in their application and generally in their designs though some
styles are common to both; these are "garment printing" and "furniture
printing." It is difficult to draw a precise line between these two
branches; for some patterns are applied both to garments and furniture in
Great Britain, and some patterns which are exclusively applied to
furniture at home, are exported for dresses to foreign markets. Some of
the richly flowered and gaudy patterns for instance meet with a ready sale
on the coast of Africa. In general it may be stated that the patterns for
furniture are more elaborate and expensive than those for dress. We have
seen some which, for the mere drawing and engraving, cost from fifty to a
hundred pounds. A still greater expense is incurred in what is called the
"making-out" of the pattern; that is reducing it to such a scale, and
making such a distribution of its parts, as will make the several portions
"justify" or harmonise with each other when engraved on separate blocks or
cylinders. Patterns have been exhibited which had to be drawn over again
five or six times, because the least imperfection in furniture designs is
at once detected even by an unpractised eye.
The patterns were originally engraved on the copper cylinder by the hand;
they are now transferred to it by mechanical pressure from a small steel
cylinder, similar in principle to the invention which Mr. Perkins devised
for multiplying the plates of bank-notes. It is generally difficult to
determine the claims of a disputed invention; it is, however, certain that
Mr. Joseph Lockitt of Manchester, practised this process in 1808, before
Mr. Perkins had come from America to settle in London, and he brought it,
almost unaided, to the very high degree of perfection which it has now
attained. The pattern having been drawn so as to fit the circumference of
the copper, is engraved on a cylinder of softened steel about four inches
in length and one in diameter. The steel is then tempered and pressed
against a second cylinder of softened steel, to which of course the lines
of the pattern are transferred in relief. This
Page 65.
again is tempered or hardened, after which it is applied to the copper
cylinder, on which it impresses even the most delicate lines of the
pattern as finely and accurately as if they had been cut by the graver.
Another process is frequently employed, which may be called "etching,"-
the copper cylinder is covered with a thin coat of varnish, such as is
used in the ordinary etching, and on this the pattern is drawn with a
diamond-pointed tracer. The cylinder is then immersed in aquafortis, and
of course the parts from which the varnish has been removed by the tracer,
are corroded or engraved. The most wondrous part remains to be told; the
diamond tracer is generally applied by a process similar to the eccentric
chuck of a lathe, and thus the entire surface of the cylinder is covered
with patterns, or ground works of patterns, without any exercise of human
skill or ingenuity.
The eccentric designs, as the patterns thus produced are called, from the
eccentric chuck employed in the process, admit of incalculable varieties of
form, and some of them are exquisitely beautiful. Nothing in machinery is
more calculated to impress a visitor with feelings of wonder and admiration
than a visit to the manufactory of the Messrs. Locket; the patterns
produced by the eccentrics appear to rival the finished labours of an
accomplished artist, while the apparent simplicity of the means is so
disproportionate to the complicated results produced, that a stranger is
almost tempted to doubt the evidence of his senses.
When the cylinders are thus covered with ground-work, an additional
pattern may be engraved upon them either by the hand or the steel
cylinder. In consequence of these obvious advantages, cylinders
eccentrically engraved are largely exported from Manchester both to the
Continent and North America. The Prussians and Germans send their own
designs to be engraved on the cylinders, having previously selected the
ground-work; but very frequently the rollers are exported, simply with the
eccentric ground, and the foreign manufacturer superadds the pattern
according to his fancy.
The principle of the electrotype, discovered by Mr. Spencer of Liverpool,
has been recently applied with great success by the Messrs. Lockett to the
engraving of copper cylinders. As this process will enable artists to
transfer very elaborate designs to the copper at a trifling expense, it
will probably lead to a great improvement in the art of design, which has
retrograded rather than advanced in England. When the printing trade was
confined to the vicinity of London, pattern-drawing flourished. Mr.
Thomson of Clitheroe says, "The designs of several distinguished artists
are still remembered with admiration; and Raymond, Kilburn, Wagner, and
Edwards, are regarded as the old masters of the English school of design
in calico printing. I have the good fortune to possess a volume of
drawings of this period, in which pattern drawing is elevated to the
dignity of a fine art. The art of printing since that period has made
gigantic strides, and is now one of the most beautiful and refined of the
chemical arts. The art of designing has at the same time
Page 66.
retrograded." We must, however, add that within the last two years
attention has been paid to the preparation of patterns particularly those
for mousselines-de-laine and Chine silks; and no doubt English calico
printing will soon exhibit the most happy combination of the fine with the
useful arts.
Having described the machinery used in calico printing, we must endeavour
to give a general notion of the process, and for this purpose we must warn
the reader that the foundation of the whole may be said to be the proper
application of mordants. The nature of these is admirably explained by Dr.
Thomson, in the article on dyeing in the last edition of the
'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' "The term mordant is applied by dyers to
certain substances with which the cloth to be dyed must be impregnated,
otherwise the colouring matter would not adhere to the cloth but would be
removed by washing. Thus the red colour given to cotton by madder would
not be fixed, unless the cloth were previously steeped in a solution of
salt of alumina. It has been ascertained that the cloth has the property
of decomposing the salt of alumina, and of combining with and of retaining
a portion of alumina. The red colouring principle of the madder has an
affinity for this alumina and combines with it. The consequence is, that
the alumina being firmly retained by the cloth and the colouring matter by
the alumina, the dye becomes fast, or cannot be removed by washing the
cloth with water, even by the assistance of soap though simple water is
sufficient to remove the red colouring matter from the cloth, unless the
alum mordant has been previously applied. The term mordant (from the Latin
word mordere to bite) was applied to these substance by the French writers
on dyeing, from a notion entertained by them that the action of the
mordants was mechanical; that they were of a corrosive or biting nature,
and served merely to open pores in the fibres of the cloth, into which
the colouring matter might insinuate itself. And after the inaccuracy of
this notion was discovered, and the real use of mordants ascertained, the
term we still continued as sufficiently appropriate, or rather as a proper
name, without any allusion to its original signification. The term mordant,
however, is not limited to those substances merely which serve like alumina
to fix the colour. It is applied also to certain substances which have the
property of altering the shade of colour, or brightening the colour, as it
is called."
Most commonly the printing process is employed for fixing the mordants on
the cloth, which is then dyed in the ordinary way. When the cloth is
washed, those parts only retain the colour which have imbibed the mordant
and the other parts remain white. It is generally believed that this
process was discovered in India, where it was undoubtedly practised at a
very early period; but from the description given by Pliny,* it is evident
that in the
* There exists in Egypt a wondrous method of dyeing. The white cloth
is stained in various place not with dye stuffs, but with substances
which have naturally the property of absorbing (fixing) colours.
These applications are not visible on the cloth; but when the pieces
are dipped into a hot cauldron containing the dye, they are in an
instant after drawn out, dyed. The remarkable circumstance is, that
though there be only one dye in the cauldron, yet different colours
appear on the cloth, nor can the colours be afterwards removed.-
National History, Book xxxv.
Page 67.
first century of the Christian era calico printing was understood and
practised in Egypt.
The most common mordant is the aluminate, formed by the mixture of three
parts of acetate of lead (vulgarly called "sugar of lead") with four of
alum. When this is applied by the block or cylinder, it is usually
thickened with starch or gum, according to the nature and style of the
cloth. In some cases the mordants formed from the chloride of tin are
mixed with the colouring matter, and both applied to the cloth together;
but the colours thus produced, though originally very beautiful, soon fade
when exposed to the action of light and air.
The mordants, as we have said, are employed to combine with the dyes, and
thus produce a permanent colour; but this effect would not follow if the
entire mordant entered into a perfect chemical combination with the dye:
it is necessary that a portion of the mordant should be held suspended and
undecomposed in the cloth. This is effected by a process called "dunging:"
the cloth tinged with the mordant is passed through a mixture of cow-dung
and water, which has the property of holding the aluminates in suspense.
Such, at least, is the explanation of the process most commonly given by
chemists; but we have not seen any satisfactory reason assigned for the
failure of the various attempts that have been made to produce the same
result by a more direct chemical process.
The use of the dung-bath was probably first suggested to calico printers
by their observing that animal fibres, such as silk and wool, received
dyes more perfectly than vegetable fibres, such as flax and cotton; they
therefore sought out means to animalize the vegetable fibre, and the
success of their experiments induced them to persevere in the practice.
Many have supposed that it was some peculiarity in this process which-
rendered the colours of the Indian chintzes so superior to any produced
in Europe; but on inquiry from persons intimately acquainted with the
manufactures of Hindostan, we have not been able to discover any plausible
ground for such a supposition.
It would be impossible within our limits to give even an outline of the
different chemical combinations by which colour is produced; in fact, the
chemistry of dyes is now recognised as a separate branch of science, and
has been the subject of many large and elaborate treatises. We shall only
mention a few processes, which can be described with sufficient generality
to render them interesting to unscientific readers. From what we have
said, it is clear that the use of the mordants is to fix the colours of
the pattern. If then the whole ground be coloured, the cloth must be
immersed in the mordant, and the white must be produced by something which
will neutralize or counteract its efficacy.
This counteraction of the mordants is produced by what are called "dis-
chargers;" that is, by printing the parts designed to be kept white with
an acid which will neutralize or destroy the mordant, and consequently the
colour
Page 68.
which the cloth in that place had imbibed. The citric acid is chiefly used
for this purpose; and, according to circumstances, it is either applied
before the cloth is dipped in the mordant, so as to prevent its action, or
it is applied afterwards, to counteract its agency. This reverse of the
original process of calico printing is said to have been first introduced
in Scotland, but it was not practised successfully and extensively until
it was adopted by the Peels of Church, about the commencement of the
present century.
"Resisters," or "resist pastes," are scarcely of less value than "dis-
chargers" in all the variety of dyes which indigo is employed to produce.
While "Mordants" fix colours and "Dischargers" remove them, " Resisters"
prevent the indigo dye from leaving a trace of its presence. This process
is said to have been discovered by a commercial traveller, who had so
little knowledge of its value that he sold his secret for five pounds. The
process was first extensively employed by the late Sir Robert Peel, in his
works near Bury, and the beauty of its effects, and the extreme precision
of outline in the patterns produced, at once placed his establishment at
the head of all the factories for calico printing in the country.
No part of the chemistry o£ calico printing is more interesting than the
process of dyeing Turkey-reds, but it is unfortunately very complicated,
and in many of its parts apparently tentative. On one operation of a
series, and one of the longest and most complicated series that exists in
the whole range of the art, depends the perfect or imperfect success of
the entire work. At which stage of the series this decisive effect is
produced, has yet eluded the investigations of science. At one time it was
attributed to the effect of climate, and the air and water of Elberfield
were assigned as the cause of the superiority which Elberfield attained.
But Mr. Steiner, the proprietor of the great establishment at Church, one
of the original manufactories of the Peels, produces the most brilliant
dye without any exposure to the sun and air. This dye was restricted to
yarn, until M. Koechlin, of Mulhausen in Alsace, applied it to cloth in
the year 1810, and soon after discovered the means by which patterns could
be printed on this beautiful ground. The process is simply to print a
pattern on the Turkey red, or any other dyed colour, with a powerful acid,
and then to immerse the cloth in a solution of chloride of lime. Neither
of these agents separately would discharge the colour, but the chloride
being liberated in the parts which have received the acid, performs its
usual bleaching functions, and renders the parts so affected purely white.
The various applications of manganese and the chromic dyes have given to
English colours a richness and variety which bid fair to establish as
great a superiority in colours as we have hitherto had in yarns and
cloths. It is a fact which ought not to be forgotten, that many of the
greatest discoveries in modern chemistry have been derived from
experiments for the improvement of colours, and that the leading calico
printers spare neither time, trouble, nor expense, in their endeavours
still further to promote the science. The labora-
Page 69.
tories and scientific libraries attached to most of the printing factories
are full equal to those of our best public institutions, and among the
chemists they employ are to be found names that have shed the brightest
lustre on the annals of modern science.
We have given merely a general outline of calico printing; it is a
business which to be well and successfully carried out, requires a
combination of the highest mechanical attainments, the most extensive
chemical knowledge, and no small acquaintance with the art of design. Some
of the print works employ more than a thousand operatives; they are all
conducted with extreme order, cleanliness, and punctuality; they exhibit
at once the greatest triumphs of mechanical art and chemical science, both
kept under the control of human agency, and working for the advancement of
human comfort.
The silk trade is a modern branch of industry in Manchester, but it has
extended itself so rapidly that it is now second only to the cotton
manufacture. The town of Middleton, near Manchester, is indeed principally
inhabited by silk-weavers. As we shall have to describe the silk trade in
connexion with other localities, we shall here only notice a few of those
branches which are peculiar, or nearly so, to the Lancastrian districts.
It is in the weaving, rather than the spinning or throwing, that the silk
manufacture becomes deeply interesting, and in some of the weaving
branches Manchester is unrivalled. No one who has visited the
establishment of Mr. Lewis Schwabe, can ever forget the extraordinary
beauty of the fabrics wrought in his jacquard looms. The richness and
beauty of the patterns surpass all that the imagination could previously
have conceived: the flowers wrought into the silks and satins appear more
like the work of the best painter than of the weaver. He has also some of
the finest specimens yet produced, of the interweaving of glass thread
with textile fabrics. But nothing in this establishment is more likely to
engage the attention of a scientific visitor, than the application of the
Pantagraph to the art of embroidery. The embroidery loom is an upright
frame, on the top of which is a moveable rod attached to one arm of the
pantagraph. The material to be embroidered passes over this rod to a
roller beneath. On each side are carriages having a horizontal motion
backwards and forwards, supplied with a system of clippers, and also of
needles having the eye in the middle, these needles are threaded with the
various coloured silks that are to be embroidered on the suspended piece.
The tenter, sitting at one end, moves the long arm of the pantagraph to a
point marked in a copy of the pattern, and the other arm of the
pantagraph gives a corresponding motion to the rod from which the piece
is suspended; one of the carriages moving forward drives its needles into
the suspended cloth; they are then caught and drawn through by the
clippers in the carriage at the other side; this process is repeated at
every change of the pantagraph, and thus several copies are embroidered
with mathematical accuracy on the piece at the same time. So
Page 70.
simple is this very ingenious contrivance, that the frame may be worked by
a woman and two girls; the woman guiding the pantagraph to the points
marked on the pattern, and the girls directing the motion of the
carriages. The figure at the side of the machine represents, on an
enlarged seale, the apparatus for passing the needles.
Mr. Sehwabe has several jacquard looms at work, and in these are produced
some varieties of figured satin, such as we have not seen in any other
establishment. Among these, a pattern differing from the ground-work only
by a shade of tint is particularly remarkable; the effect produced is that
of the finest penciling, and both in beauty of design and accuracy of
execution not unworthy of the first artist.
The manufacture of engines and machinery is necessarily a very important
branch of industry in Manchester, but as the subject must elsewhere engage
our attention we shall not dwell upon it here, further than to remark that
this is a business which requires not only mechanical skill but also great
intelligence and science in those by whom it is conducted. Modern trade
and commerce daily increase in their demands on mental acquirements, and
this is particularly the case in Manchester, where a very slight
improvement in manipulation confers an immense advantage, on account of
the vast amount of production over which it spreads, and where for the
same reason a slight error or miscalculation must produce incalculable
injury.
The merchants and manufacturers, aware that their own interests are inti-
mately connected with the general diffusion of intelligence, have not only
aided in securing primary instruction for the young in their schools, but
have encouraged the establishment of several institutions where adults can
on very moderate terms obtain a knowledge of science, and at the same time
enjoy the advantages of literary relaxation. Of these institutions, the
Athenaeum in Bond-street holds the first rank. It is a splendid building,
erected from the
Page 71.
designs of Mr. Barry, the architect of the new Houses of Parliament. The
members, who are principally young men, have the use of a well-supplied
news-room, a select library, and the privilege of attending lectures.
There are also classes for instruction in the modern languages, and in
music. Concerts and balls are occasionally given, and
conversational meetings held for the purpose, There
are Mechanics' Institute both in Manchester and
Salford: that of Manchester, situated in Cooper-
street, was the first building erected in England for
such a purpose. It has a fine library, containing
about 6000 volumes, and the members have the privilege
of attending lectures and classes. At both of these institutions there
have been public exhibitions of the wonders of nature and art,
contributed for the purpose from the private collections of noblemen and
gentlemen in the neighbourhood. In each of these exhibitions there were
more than 25,000 articles of various kinds; they remained open for several
months, and were each visited by more than 120,000 persons, and on no
occasion was there a single instance of wanton mischief or material damage
to the articles displayed.
A school of design has been recently opened in one of the rooms of the
Royal Institution, where lectures are delivered on painting and sculpture,
and on the sciences more immediately connected with these arts, such as
anatomy, zoology, botany, etc.; competent masters give instruction in the
various branches of drawing, and preparations are in progress for
establishing a museum of models, and a library of books and engravings.
The Lyceums, which owe their origin to Manchester, are the cheapest
institutions for adult instruction which have yet been founded. For eight
shillings a year the members have the use of a news-room, coffee-room, and
library, the privilege of attending classes and lectures, and of holding
friendly meetings for conversation, music, and other rational recreations.
Social Hall has been recently erected by some of the followers of Mr.
Robert Owen, but as it is much used for political meetings and the pro=
pagation of peculiar opinions, it cannot be considered an ordinary
educational institution.
There is no town in England, the inhabitants of which display a greater
Page 72.
taste for music than Manchester. Several societies and clubs have been
formed for its cultivation, at the head of which is the proprietary body
of the New Concert Hall. This hall is modern structure with a plain
exterior, but its internal arrangements and ornaments deserve the highest
praise. There are about 600 subscribers, and about half as many candidates
for admission. Persons have frequently to wait for several years before
they can become members, as the number is limited.
The Glee Club, the Madrigal Society, and the Choral Society, are on a
smaller scale than the society of the Concert Hall; but they are very
efficiently conducted, and the first musical composers in England are
honorary members of the Glee Club. The Choral Society is not an
institution for mere amusement, it is in fact a school of music, and most
of the members of its choir are singers professionally engaged in churches
and chapels. Chiefly in consequence of this institution, sacred music at
Manchester, in the various places of worship, has a higher and more
scientific character than in most parts of the kingdom. This musical taste
descends to the operative classes; there are several associations of the
work-people for the enjoyment of vocal and instrumental music, and in many
of the large factories the operatives have been aided by their employers
in forming musical bands, which afford the people means of innocent
enjoyment, and have a very powerful effect in preventing dissipation.
The Zoological Gardens, on the New Bury Road, are capable of being made
the means of affording both amusement and instruction. They are
delightfully situated, and the grounds, fifteen acres in extent, have been
laid out with great taste and skill. Unfortunately these gardens are not
sufficiently open at the times when they could be visited by the
operatives, or by persons engaged in active business, so that, like the
Botanic Gardens, their utility is comparatively circumscribed by narrow
limits.
Although the exertions of the "Foot-path Protection Society" have pre-
served many beautiful rural walks to the people of Manchester, yet it is
to be lamented that there is no public park or green in which the
labouring population can enjoy healthy exercise and recreation. Nowhere
are these elements of public health more necessary, because in the poorer
districts of Manchester, such as Ancoats, Angel Meadow, and Little
Ireland, the population is out of all proportion beyond the means of
accommodation, and children can neither be conveniently kept in the small
lodging-room, nor safely permitted to be out of doors. The peasants of
Lancashire were anciently celebrated for their skill and agility in
athletic sports, and they still display the taste whenever they have an
opportunity of exercising it. But there is no spot expressly set apart
where the operatives can enjoy the old healthy sports of England, which
would be so grateful after the monotony of the factory, and an antidote to
the injurious effects produced by crowded lodgings and damp cellars. These
cellars are necessarily chosen by the poor hand-loom weavers, because a
moist atmosphere is required for weaving cotton, but poverty often
Page 73.
compels them to share these miserable abodes with others still more
wretched than themselves. No better proof can be given of the deficiency
of lodging for the destitute poor in Manchester, than the report of that
excellent institution, the Night Asylum: in the first year of its
existence it afforded shelter to 11,006 men, 3877 women, and 2523
children, making a total of 17,406 cases of persons rescued from sleeping
on the stones of the street.
There are three public cemeteries connected with Manchester; they are
laid out with great taste, and very carefully watched. The oldest, that of
Rusholme road, is particularly worthy of notice; it is open to visitors at
proper hours, and the registration of the burials is so perfect as to
afford every advantage which persons interested in statistical inquiries
can desire.
The finest pile of building in Manchester is the noble range which
includes the Royal Infirmary, the Dispensary, and the Lunatic Asylam. It
stands in almost the only open space to be found within the town,
and has
a large sheet of water in front which is every day
renewed. Six physicians and six surgeons, elected
by the ballot of the entire body of trustees, are
attached to this institution, and there are besides
a resident surgeon and apothecary. Its annual income
is about 9000L., and the average expenditure
amounts to very nearly the same sum.
It is interesting to go from Piccadilly, where modern Manchester appears
to the best advantage, to one of the few remains of the Old Halls which
recal the memory of its ancient condition. Dr. Aikin enumerates seventeen
of these structures, some of which were as old as the Conquest. Most of
them however have disappeared; but Ordsall Hall, with its ancient moat, is
still in a state of tolerable preservation; and the still more interesting
remains of Hulme Hall, on the Irwell, are well deserving of a visit from
the antiquarian.
Hulme Hall was the seat of the Prestwich family; but Sir Thomas Prestwich
was so impoverished by fines and sequestrations during the Civil Wars,
that in 1660 he was compelled to sell the mansion, which was purchased by
Sir Edward Mosley. Tradition states that Sir Thomas was induced by his
mother to make large pecuniary sacrifices in the cause of Charles I., by
the assurance that she had an immense treasure concealed, which would more
than repay his expenditure. It is generally believed that this treasure
was hidden in Hulme Hall, or its immediate vicinity, and superstition
added that it was
Page 74.
protected by unhallowed charms, which could only be dissolved by a spell
known to the Dowager Lady Prestwich alone. Unfortunately for her son she
was suddenly attacked by apoplexy, and struck speachless, nor did she ever
again recover the use the use of her tongue. Fortune
tellers-a race of impostors that once flourished in
Manchester-are said to have often cheated credulous
people in the last century, by holding out hopes of
discovering the depository of this treasure, and the
means of obtaining it from the demons under whose
guardianship it was supposed to be placed. After
passing through several hands, Hulme Hall was finally sold to the Duke
of Bridgewater; it is fast losing its ancient character, being now in a
dilapidated state, and occupied by a number of poor cottagers.
Ancoats Hall was the principal seat of the Mosleys, the lords of the manor
of Manchester. Its chief historic interest arises from its having afforded
shelter to the young Pretender when he visited the north of England in
secret, previous to his invasion of Scotland in 1745. This visit is not
noticed in most histories, but it was authenticated by persons who
recognised him again when he entered Manchester at the head of the
Scottish army. Collyhurst Hall and Hough Hall were also seats of the
Mosleys.
Birch Hall was the property of the Birch family. They took the side of the
Parliament in the civil war, and were principal agents in securing
Manchester against the Earl of Derby. The patronage of Birch Chapel is
vested in the proprietors of the Hall. This chapel is singularly placed in
the midst of fields not long since remote from any habitations, and has,
even since the alterations and improvements made by the reverend
incumbent, little the appearance of an ecclesiastical edifice.
There were many other halls, of which the situations can now be scarcely
traced; we may mention one, as an anecdote connected with it will serve
to illustrate the vast change in the value of landed property consequent
on the increase of manufactures. In 1644, Chorlton Hall and the adjoining
estate were sold to an apothecary of Manchester for 300L.; the same
property at the close of the last century brought at a sale more than
60,000L. !
Page 75.
In every road leading out of Manchester there are signs of the great
improvements derived from applying the profits of the gas-works to
widening streets and making good approaches to the principal marts of
business. The water-works are managed with equal skill and wisdom. From
the immense reservoir at Beswick, a million and a half gallons of water
are daily supplied to the inhabitants of the town through seventy miles of
iron pipes. Not far from the reservoir is Clayton Hall, once the residence
of the munificent
Humphrey Chetham; the moat has been restored, but unfortunately the house
has been modernised, and scarcely retains a trace of its ancient state,
except the old belfry and the windows which light the kitchen.
At no great distance are the new mills erected in the township of Droyls-
den, where very recently there was not a single manufactory. But in the
later stages of its growth, the cotton trade began to increase more
rapidly in the adjoining towns and villages than in Manchester itself, and
that metropolis of the trade is now more important as a central mart and
warehousing depot than as an actually manufacturing place.
The advantages of coal and water have led to a vast extension of the
spinning, bleaching, weaving, and printing trades in the direction of
Ashton-under-Lyne and Stayley Bridge, from whence these trades have spread
into the adjoining county of Chester, so that Duckinfield, Mottram, Hyde,
Stockport, etc., may be regarded as dependent on Manchester.
On the road to Ashton we pass near the interesting village of Fairfield,
a Moravian settlement, established in 1783. The Moravians, or United
Brethren, when forced by persecution to take refuge in England, were recog-
Page 76.
nised by the Statute of 1749, as an "ancient Protestant Episcopal Church."
Few of the present community are descended from the early emigrants; the
settlement is composed principally of English families who have embraced
their belief, and the number is small, because they conscientiously
abstain from making proselytes.
The village consists of two main streets. The centre of the front facing
the Ashton-road is occupied by the chapel; a plain but neat brick edifice.
On the right is the house occupied by the sisters of the community, who
live under conventual rule, without being bound by monastic vows. They are
principally engaged in preparing a variety of pieces of embroidery and
ornamental needlework, which are sold for the benefit of the society. The
unmarried brethren occupy a corresponding building to the left of the
chapel, and undertake the education of a limited number of boys.
The entire front, which extends from one end of the village to the other,
is laid out as a garden; it is well stocked with fruit trees; on the
cultivation of which extraordinary care is bestowed, and the produce is
consequently abundant. The burial-ground lies beyond the garden: here the
males and females are interred in separate plots, with no monumental
epitaphs beyond the record of their names, ages, and dates of decease, on
a small square stone at the head of each grave. The village is remarkable
for cleanliness, order, and an air of substantial comfort.
There are several large factories at each side of the turnpike-road, and
their numbers increase rapidly as we approach Ashton. A peat-moss close to
them is chiefly used for the supply of fuel. The undertaking has been com-
menced, and is supported by the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, a great
proprietor of the surrounding country.
Page 77.
The aspect of Ashton-under-Lyne is very striking when viewed from a
distance; the town is built on a hill rising rather abruptly from the
north bank of the river Tame. Like Manchester, it has grown very rapidly
from an insignificant country town into a populous and thriving borough;
but the suddenness of its growth has prevented attention being paid to
architectural beauty, or to the regularity and convenience of the streets.
Most of the inhabitants are engaged in the cotton trade, or the branches
of industry connected with it. The weaving of ginghams, nankeens, and
calicoes, employs great numbers; the ginghams are chiefly woven by hand,
while the jacquard loom has been applied to the production of figured
ginghams with great success.
The prosperity of Ashton must be chiefly attributed to its coal and canals.
A branch of the great Lancashire coal-field extends from Ashton-under-Lyne
to Macclesfield, and the scam of workable coal is said to average thirty
feet.
Ashton-under-Lyne was a place of great importance even in the Saxon times.
Soon after the Conquest it became the stronghold of a Norman baron, who,
according to tradition, was the scourge of the neighbouring counties. His
marauding expeditions are said to have been pushed to the very gates of
Chester, and it was impossible to retaliate on him, as the passes through
the marshes were known only to his followers. The castle of Ashton was
founded by this "moss-trooper," but was greatly altered in the days of the
Plantagenets.
Very little care is bestowed on the preservation of this interesting
building. The donjon keep is tolerably perfect, and so are some of the
flanking walls which protected the court. At some distance from the castle
is "the gallows-field," where, anciently, a gibbet was erected, to shew
that the lords of Ashton had the power of life and death within their
domains. This privilege was so freely exercised by Sir Ralph of Ashton-
sometimes confounded with the moss-trooper already mentioned, but who
really lived in the reign of Henry VI.-that it was commonly said,
Sweet Jesu, for thy mercy sake,
And for thy bitter passion,
Save us from the axe of the Tower,
And from Sir Ralph of Asheton.*
There are two churches in Ashton; the oldest is a venerable structure,
marked by considerable antiquity.
ã The cruelties of Sir Ralph are annually commemorated at Ashton
by the singular custom of "riding the black lad." A straw figure
of the tyrant, not unlike the London representation of Guy Fawkes,
is paraded round the town, and then ignominiously destroyed. It
appears that his cruelty was chiefly occasioned by his zeal for
agricultural improvements: the fields round Ashton were infested
by a mischievous weed called the "corn-marygold," to ensure its
extirpation, Sir Ralph declared that any person on whose ground
the plant should be found growing, should forfeit a fat sheep to
the lord of the soil. Resistance was made to the payment of this
exorbitant penalty, and he punished his opponents with all the
severity of feudal law.
ã The following epitaph may be seen on a tomb in Ashton
churchyard:-"Have resteth the body of John Leech of Hurst, buried
the l6th day of October 1689, aged 90 years, who by Anne, his
wife, had issue twelve children, and in his lifetime was father to
twelve, grandfather to seventy-five, great grandfather to ninety-
two, great great grandfather to two; in all one hundred and eighty
one persons."
Page 78.
The New Town Hall, recently erected from designs by Messrs. Young and Lee
of Manchester, was publicly opened in January 1842. it is an elegant stone
edifice, but the material of which it is constructed, a coarse grit stone,
is very unfavourable to the developement of the design. The order of 
architecture is Corinthian; presenting in front an
attached colonnade in antis, raised considerably
above the level of the street upon a continuous
pedestal, or stylobate, and surmounted by a
balustrade-parapet, the central compartment of
which is charged with an inscription, and is
designed to be crowned with an emblematic figure
of justice. The interior is approached by an
enclosed porch or plazza, formed by the three central apertures of the
arcade, composing the lower order story of the order; and comprises a
spacious hall, thirty feet square and sixteen feet high, adorned with
Ionic columns and pilasters; attached, are committee rooms and other
public offices, and beyond is the grand staircase, leading to a noble
public room, eighty feet-three feet long, and forty feet wide, and
nearly thirty feet high. *
Stayley Bridge, in the vicinity of Ashton, is one of the most remarkable
instances of the rapid accumulation of wealth, populations, and buildings,
produced by cotton manufacture. Some years ago it was a miserable hamlet,
remarkable only for the picturesque views of the Old Bank, a steep hill
which rises boldly above the north bank of the river; and before the
prospect was shut out by building, commanded an extensive view of very rich
scenery. The cottagers, in addition to their agricultural pursuits,
employed themselves in spinning woollen yarns for the manufacture of
stocking; there was only one dyer in the place, and he possessed the
solitary piece of workmanship which could be said to make any approach to
machinery, which consisted of two wheels turned by mastiffs, similar to
the dog-wheels anciently used in kitchens.
*Several hamlets which formerly stood at a distance, now
form part of Ashton; the most remarkable of which was
Boston and Charleston, built at the beginnings of the
American war, and called after names in the United States.
Page 79.
tutions of its own, and extends to some distance on the Cheshire side of
the river. The persons employed in the mills and factories have come at
different times from the agricultural counties and districts; they are in
fact colonists, not connected with Lancashire by birth or relationship,
and are therefore very slightly influenced by local attachments.
The village of Mosley, and the hamlet of Hartshead, have shared in the
general improvement of the district. It is remarkable that in no place was
the introduction of machinery more vehemently opposed than in the
localities which it has subsequently most enriched. When Mr. Hall erected
the first steam-engine for spinning by power, in 1796, he was obliged to
convert his mill into a garrison, and keep the gates locked both by day
and night. Time dissipated these alarms, and now some of the finest
specimens of machinery are found in Stayley Bridge and its neighbourhood.
Along the Mersey most of the flourishing manufactories are on the Cheshire
side, until we come to Warrington, one of the oldest, if not the very
oldest town in Lancashire. It was a station of the Romans, and was named
Veritanum, from two British words, signifying the "town of the ford or
ferry," because the Mersey was fordable in its neighbourhood at a spot
which gives name to the present village of Latchford. A bridge having been
built by the first Earl of Derby, for the purpose of enabling Henry VII.
to pay him a visit with greater convenience, the eastern part of the town
was deserted for the vicinity of the bridge, and thus the parish church
was left, as old Leland expresses it, "at the tail end of all the town."
There is no bridge over the Mersey between Warrington and Liverpool, nor
for many miles up between it and Manchester; hence Warrington was looked
upon as a place of considerable importance in the time of the civil wars,
and Charles I. originally intended to have raised his standard there
instead of at Nottingham. Ill-founded suspicions of the loyalty of Lord
Strange, led to the abandonment of this design. Warrington, however, was
garrisoned for the king; and when the walls were stormed the royalists
took post in the church, where they made a resolute defence. The injuries
which this venerable edifice received have destroyed most of the traces of
its great antiquity, for it is of Saxon origin, and existed at the period
of the Conquest. A crypt, which is supposed to have been of Saxon origin,
has been recently discovered under the eastern part of the church, and the
inhabitants of the town have had it cleared out, and restored as nearly as
possible to its ancient state.
The most remarkable monument in the church is that of Sir Thomas Boteler
and his lady. The knight is sheathed in armour, and the dress of the lady
is different from any found on our ancient tombs; the principal
peculiarity is a-cap shaped like a mitre, which appears to have had the
ornaments usually confined to ecclesiastical dignitaries.
The Butlers of Bewsey were lords of Warrington, and the rivals of the
Stanleys, in the west of Lancashire. It was as much for the purpose of
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depriving Sir Thomas Butler of the profits of the ferry, as for opening a
convenient access to the King, that the Earl of Derby bought ground from
the Norris family to build the bridge over the Mersey. A bitter feud arose
between the families; and the Earl of Derby, or, as he was then, Lord
Stanley, resolved to murder his great opponent. As the castle of Bewsey
was strongly fortified and secured by a wide moat, this was a difficult
enterprise; but having bribed one of the knight's chamberlains to place a
light in his master's chamber window, Lord Stanley, accompanied by Sir
Piers Legh and some others, crossed the moat in leather boats, climbed to
the window, forced an entrance, and seized Sir Thomas Butler, or, as he is
called in some versions of the legend, Sir John Butler, in his bed. They
then, with many circumstances of barbarity, hanged him on a tree in his
own park. They would also have murdered his infant son, had not a servant
maid carried off the child in her apron, while a negro servant kept the
assassins at bay.*
* A different version of this legend is given in a spirited ballad, which
Mr. Roby has introduced into his "Legends of Lancashire." According to
him, the heir of Bewsey was conveyed away by a page in a basket, and the
treacherous porter was deceived by the stratagem described in the
following extract:-
"Now whither away, thou little page;
Now whither away so fast?"
"They have slain Sir John," said the little page,
"And his head in the wicker cast."
"And whither goest thou with that grisly head?"
Cried the grim porter again.
"To Warrington Bridge they bid me run,
And set it up amain."
"There may it hang," cried that loathly knave,
"And grin till its teeth be dry;
White every day with jeer and taunt
Will I mock it till I die."
The porter open'd the wicket straight,
And the messenger went his way;
For he little guess'd of the head that now
In that basket of wicker lay.
"We've kill'd the bird, but where's the egg?"
Then cried these ruffians three.
"Where is thy child?" The lady mourn'd,
But never a word spoke she.
But swift, as an arrow, to his bed
The lady in terror sprung,
When, oh! a sorrowful dame was she,
And her hands she madly wrung.
"The babe is gone! oh! spare my child,
And strike my heart in twain."
To those ruthless men the lady knelt,
But her piteous suit was vain.
The ballad then describes the rage of the murderers, and the revived hopes
of the mother when the absence of the babe was discovered. This leads to
the catastrophe; for the ruffians, suspecting that the porter had been
guilty of double treachery, wreck their vengeance on him.
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Though the most ancient part of Warrington was near the church, the most
striking remains of antiquity are in the vicinity of the market-place. Or
the west side of it are two fine specimens of the ornamental
exterior of
ancient wood architecture; and a cottage in the
vicinity has a room in an admirable state of
preservation, which is the most perfect speciman
of English domestic architecture in the age of
the Tudors to be found in any of the northern
counties.
Many circumstances contribute to determine the geographical distribution
of the various branches of the cotton trade. Calico printing, for
instance, is most conveniently conducted in rural districts, and in the
vicinity of milk-farms; because the cloth after receiving the mordants,
must be passed through a mixture of cow-dung and water, which, as we have
already said, fixes the mordants in the cloth better than any preparation
yet discovered. Cheapness of ground is an object of great importance in
weaving by machinery, on account of the large extent of the power-loom
sheds. Hand-loom weaving is the branch most independent of localities, and
is therefore the most widely distributed.
Fustian weaving appears to flourish most on the southern and eastern
frontiers of Lancashire, from Warrington round to Oldham. It is woven both
by power and hand; and there are some peculiarities in the process which
merit a description. Common fustian is a coarse, thick-twilled cotton,
commonly called pillow; but corduroys, velverets, velveteens, and
thicksetts, belong to the same fabric, differing only in the fineness of
the material, and the greater care bestowed on the superior article. In
the process of twilling, the weft, instead of passing alternately under
and over each thread of the warp, alternates at certain intervals, so as
to bring three or more threads of the warp together, like the strands of
a rope, at the determined spots, and bind them into one cord. The
resulting texture is, consequently, thicker than cloth woven in the
ordinary manner; but it is not necessarily much stronger, because the
parts are less perfectly held together.
Ordinary cotton would be obviously too thin for outside clothing except in
tropical climates, and the process of twilling has been therefore
introduced, in order to accumulate a large quantity of material in a given
space. Flushing is another process, originally borrowed from silk-weaving,
sometimes applied to plain, but much more usually to twilled goods. Its
effects are best seen in
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velvets and in corduroys, which are in fact coarse striped velvets.
Flushings are weft threads, which pass over certain parts of the warp
without being decussated, and which, therefore, when the piece is woven,
form loops on its surface. The patterns of the flushings may be almost
infinitely varied by the use of extra warp or extra web, and by the
introduction of different colours; but, in most cases, they are raised by
additional shots of weft. In the weaving of the plain or tabby-backed
velvets and velveteens, it is usual to throw in two shots of flushing for
each shot of ground. Cords or corduroys are always twilled fabrics, and
velveteens plain.
When the piece is woven, the weft threads intended to form the pile are
spread over the surface in a series of loops, which must be cut through
with a knife. This is a very delicate operation, whether performed by hand
or by machine. The cloth is spread upon a table about six feet in length,
and held in a state of tension by two rollers with ratchet wheels, one of
which gives out the cloth, and the other folds it up, as the cutting of
each six-foot length is completed. The knife is made of steel, about two
feet in length, having a square handle at one end, and tapering at the
other into a blade as thin as paper; a guide is fixed at the lower side,
which prevents it from turning and cutting the cloth, and at the same time
checks its elasticity. The operative, holding the knife in the right hand,
places the projecting point under the extreme loop of the weft, and
balancing his body on the left foot, like a dancer about to execute a
difficult pirouette, pushes the knife straight through the entire length
of the table, and repeats the operation until every loop is cut through;
the cut portion is then taken up on the receiving roller, and the
operation is repeated on a similar portion, which is at the same time
given out by the delivering roller. Cords or corduroys are generally
stiffened with glue previously to their being cut.
The machine for cutting fustians reverses the operation of the hand: Its
superiority consists in its having a series of knives,
which cut all the loops simultaneously, while an
operative can only cut one row at a time. The cloth
is drawn up an inclined plane, on which the series of
knives is fixed at a proper angle. The handle of each knife is inserted
into the socket of a circular spring connected with a transverse bar,
which, by means of the levers and arms attached to it, will throw the
machine out of geer when the operation of the knife is impeded by any
obstruction, such as a knot in the cord. Should the knife cut through
the cord, its weight will fall on a transverse bar with similar
appurtenances,
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and the action of the machine will be immediately stopped. There is also a
third contrivance of the same kind, in the possible case of the knife
jumping up out of the series of loops which it is cutting. From this brief
description it is evident-that the great merit of this machine consists in
its security against accidents; there are few machines, indeed, which
equal it in the ingenuity of the contrivances for stopping the work when
any thing goes wrong.
The loops being cut, the next operation is to raise the pile, and give it
uniformity of appearance: for this purpose it is passed through the
brushing or teazling machine, which consists of a series of wooden
rollers, covered over with tin-plate, the surface of which has been burred
or rendered rough by a punch. Over each of these rollers there is a block
of wood, the under surface of which is hollowed out into a concavity
corresponding with the roller. These concaves are lined with card-brushes;
and being moved by a crank backwards and forwards in the direction of the
axles of the rollers, they brush and raise the shaggy surface of the
fustian as it passes over the rollers, and by their continued action
render the pile uniform and smooth.
The pile or flushing adds not only to the warmth and beauty of the fabric,
but by its resistance to friction greatly increases its durability. In
order to perfect the smoothness of the pile, the cut surface of the cloth
is singed by being passed rapidly over an iron cylinder kept red-hot. Both
processes are repeated three or four times, until the surface of the cord
is quite smooth and polished.
The bleaching and dyeing of the cloths are not different in principle from
the processes already described, if anything they are more simple, as
there are no printed patterns used. After being dyed they are stiffened
with glue, and then rapidly dried by being passed over hollow cylinders
kept heated by steam. Before they are ready for delivery it is necessary
that both cords and velveteens should be polished: the former are well
rubbed with a bar of wood on which coarse emery has been glued; the latter
are finished by being slightly run over with bees-wax and then polished
with a wedge of hard wood.
When smooth fustians are cut before dyeing they are called "moleskins,"
but if cut after being dyed, they are named "beaverteens." There are many
other varieties of this fabric, but their description would only be
interesting to persons engaged in trade. Enough has been said to shew how
this peculiar process of weaving accomplishes the desirable results of
increased warmth, durability, and susceptibility of ornament. Warrington
also possesses manufactures of hardware goods, and the files made there
are celebrated throughout Europe; they are fabricated of all sizes, from
the coarsest rasp to the delicate tools employed for watches and
mathematical instruments.
There is scarcely any provincial place which holds so high a rank in the
literary history of England as Warrington. From its press the first
newspaper ever-published in Lancashire was issued; and it was also the
first town in the
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country from which a stage-coach was started. In the middle of the last
century it was not unjustly called the Athens of the north of England. In
1757 an academy was established; which rapidly rose into celebrity under
the direction of Dr. Aikin, Dr. Priestley, Dr. Taylor (author of the
"Hebrew Concordance"), Dr. Enfield, and the Rev. Gilbert Wakefield. Mrs.
Barbauld celebrated its opening in one of her best poems, which Enfield
has preserved in his "Speaker;" a collection of pieces originally made for
the use of the students in Warrington Academy. The anticipations of the
poetess were unfortunately not realized: some disputes arose between the
trustees and the professors; the establishment was broken up in 1783, and
from its fragments a college was formed at York, which has been recently
transferred to Manchester.
The literary tastes created during the flourishing days of the Academy led
to the establishment of a library, which is still excellent; and to an
extent of publication almost unparalleled in the provincial press.
Howard's great work on Prisons was printed at Warrington, under the
superintendence of Dr. Aikin; and from the same press were issued most of
Mrs. Barbauld's poems, the earlier writings of the late Thomas Roscoe, the
works of Dr. Ferrier, Gibson, and many others. The taste thus created is
not extinct.
Before taking leave of Warrington, it should be added that the town has a
well-conducted grammar school, and a blue-coat school which, from the
number of bequests made to it, appears to be an established favourite with
the inhabitants.
Warrington has the advantages of an agricultural mart, and there is a
greater appearance of comfort and neatness in the habitations of the poor
than we have found in most towns of Lancashire.
Bradley Hall, in the neighbourhood of Warrington, is supposed to occupy
the site of one of the castles of the Haydocks, a powerful family in
Lancashire at the time of the Plantagenets. The moat and the remains of
the gateway still attest its former greatness.
At the distance of three miles north from Warrington all traces of manu-
facturing proximity are lost; we are close to the village of Winwick: this
sequestered spot, which forms almost a rural oasis in the manufacturing
districts, is supposed by Archbishop Usher and other eminent antiquarians
to have been the site of Cair-Guintguic, one of the twenty-eight British
cities which according to Gildas existed at the time of the Roman
invasion. Traces have been discovered which seem to prove that the great
Roman road between Warrington and Wigan was constructed in this direction.
A better authenticated tradition identifies Winwick with the favourite-
residence of Oswald, King of Northumbria, and points out the vicinity of
its, venerable church as the spot in which he fell fighting against the
pagans of Mercia, A.D. 642. This church, belonging to the richest rectory
in the kingdom, stands on a little hill adjoining the wood and rookery. It
is a large
Page 85.
irregular building, built, or more probably repaired, at different ages,
but still having sufficient unity amid the varieties of its styles to shew
that it represents a structure of very remote antiquity. The edifice
consists of a tower, nave, aisles, two private chapels and a chancel. The
tower is built in a massive style of architecture, but is much disfiguued
by a buttress on one side, which rises above the castellated parapet. This
appears to have been an addition of a later period than the original
structure, and it was probably erected to remedy some defect in the
foundation on that side. Above the parapet rises an octagonal spire, of
light and, elegant proportions, surmounted by a vane, which is a
conspicuous object to the surrounding neighbourhood, and very useful as a
land-mark for the boundaries of adjoining properties. The body of the
church is entered by a massive porch, over which there is an inscription,
so injured by time as to be quite illegible. There is however a Latin
inscription, in Saxon letters, on the cornice of the south wall, which can
be deciphered, though not without some difficulty. It is to the following
effect:-
THIS PLACE, O OSWALD, FORMERLY DELIGHTED YOU MUCH.
YOU WERE KING OF THE NORTHUMBRIANS, NOW IN HEAVEN.
YOU POSSESS A KINGDOM, HAVING FALLEN IN THE FIELD OF MARCEFELD.
WE BESEECH THEE, BLESSED SAINT, TO REMEMBER US . . .
The rest is very much defaced, but it intimates that this part of the
edifice was rebuilt about the middle of the fourteenth century.
The roof, which is supported by beautiful frame-work, was erected in 1701,
but the gentlemen who superintended the structure had the good taste to
preserve the character of the older roof, and to introduce several of its
ornaments: the most conspicuous of these is "the eagle and child," the
well-known cognizance of the Stanley family; the valuable patronage of
this church having been granted to Sir John Stanley in the reign of Henry
VI., and it has ever since been enjoyed by his descendants. The nave is
separated from the aisles by five indented arches, supported by clustered
columns and fluted capitals. There is a beautiful organ in the west
gallery, which though a modern gift to the church, has been so judiciously
placed as to harmonize with the antique character of the building. The
windows are very inferior in architectural beauty to the rest of the
edifice, and the buttresses between them are quite dilapidated.
The chapel on the south side belongs to the family of the Leghs. It
contains several monuments: one of which has a male and a female figure of
brass, representing Sir Peter Legh and his lady; and records that the
knight, after the death of the lady, took vows of celibacy, and entered
into holy orders. He survived her nearly thirty years, and died at the
beginning of the sixteenth century.
The chapel of the Gerards contains several curious monuments, the most
Page 86.
ancient of which has the following inscription, in church text, on the
bottom of a fringe of brass which borders the tombstone:-
HERE LIETH PEERS GERARD ESQUYER, SON AND HEIRE OF THOMAS GERARD, KNYGHT
OF THE BRYNE, WHICH MARRIED MARGARET, DAUGHTER TO WILLIAM STANLEY OF
HOTON, KNYGHTE, AND ONE OF THE HEIRES OF JOHN BROMLEY KNYGHTE, WHICH
DIED THE 19TH OF JUNE 1492, ON WHOSE SOWLE GOD HAVE MERCY. AMEN.
A full-length figure of the knight sheathed in plate armour is recumbent
on the tomb; it is made of brass, and is executed with a greater degree of
artistic skill than most monuments of the fifteenth century.
Winwick Church is very rich in monumental brasses, some of which are very
curious. We were informed that one of these, with an inscription in
Hebrew, had been found about twenty years ago in the churchyard, but we
were unable to discover the subsequent fate of this unique curiosity.
Few parishes in England have so large a number of endowed charities as
Winwick. There are no less than thirty-seven enumerated in the Report of
the Charitable Commissioners. There was some years ago a laudable custom
of remitting the year's rent of their cottages to six poor labouring
families, selected for industry, piety, and general good conduct. A
painted board stating this fact used to be exhibited outside the cottages
of the families thus distinguished, and was regarded justly as an
honourable mark of distinction by the inhabitants.
St. Oswald's Well is about half a mile to the north of Winwick church, and
affords the strongest corroboration of the identity of this place with
Marcefeld (battle-field), where Oswald fell twelve centuries ago,
defending his religion and country against the sanguinary pagans of
Mercia. Bede says, that this Well was originally formed by the piety of
pilgrims who visited the spot where the Christian champion fell. Each was
anxious to obtain a portion of the earth which had been consecrated by his
blood, until at length a deep fosse was scraped in the ground, and that
this, finally, was deepened into a well. An examination of the spot
renders this legend far from improbable; even at the present day the earth
and water are supposed to be possessed of peculiar sanctity, and from it
all the neighbouring Catholic chapels are supplied with holy water. The
peasantry are said to attribute great sanctity to the old communion
service preserved in Winwick church. The flagons and cups are of pewter,
covered with red paint, but nothing is known of their history.
At Winwick, the Scottish army under Baillie, after the defeat of the Duke
of Hamilton near Wigan, made a vain attempt to stop the progress of
Cromwell. After a brief resistance, the Scotch were forced to yield
themselves prisoners, on the single condition of having their lives
spared: they were carried prisoners to Warrington.
From Red Hill to Newton the road presents nothing remarkable, but Newton
itself has been changed by the railway from a decayed borough into a
thriving village.
Page 87.
Some of the most interesting and stupendous works connected with the
Manchester and Liverpool Railway are in the immediate vicinity of Newton.
We may particularly notice the Sankey Viaduct, which carries the railway
over a considerable valley, and also over the canal. It is supported by
nine arches of brick and stone, each of fifty feet diameter, and from
fifty to seventy feet in height. There is a smaller viaduct over Newton
valley, under the arches of which the Newton river and the Warrington
turnpike-road pass.
There is nothing remarkable in Newton itself, save some ancient houses of
frame-work, round one of which, dignified by the name of "The Hall,"
there are still faint traces of the old moat. At a distance of about
three-quarters of a mile to the north there is an ancient barrow, nearly
thirty yards in diameter, and nine to height. It is covered in oaks, the
age of which must be manifestly be counted by centuries, and is supposed
by antiquarians to be the memorial of the great battle between Saxon and
the native Britons. There are large glass and vitrol works in the neigh-
bourhood, and extensive iron foundries, with several establishments for
the weaving of fustians and corduroys.
There is a good turnpike-road from Newton to Leigh, which passes through a
rich and interesting country, though much diversified by hill and dale.
The chief landed proprietors are the Legh family, whose seat is at Lowton.
Leigh Church, in the township of West Leigh, is very similar in its con-
struction to the church of Winwick, but the architecture is inferior. A
private chapel on the north belongs to the Tildesley family, and contains,
the remains of Sir Thomas Tildesley, the most distinguished of the royalist
leaders at the battle of Wigan Lane.
Page 88.
The town of Leigh enjoys a considerable share of the cotton trade, and a
portion-of the silk. We have already mentioned that very plausible claims
to the invention of the spinning jenny have been made on behalf of Thomas
Highs, a native of this town. But having already noticed this claim in a
preceding page, it is unnecessary to say more upon the subject in this
place.
To the north of Leigh is the township of Atherton, containing several
manufacturing establishments, and the thriving village, or rather town of
Chowbent. In the early stages of the cotton-manufacture, the best spinning-
jennies and carding-machines were said to be made at Chowbent.
Approaching Worsley, the rich meadows of Leigh gradually disappear, and
the country offers to view chiefly tracts of pasture land and peat-moss.
But the principal objects of attraction here are the wonders of art,
rather than the beauties of nature.
Worsley Hall is a modern edifice; but the Old Hall, though much dilapi-
dated, is still in existence, and it contains some very extraordinary
specimens of ancient carvings in wood, brought from Hulme Hall in
Manchester. The date of the original foundation is assigned to the age of
the Conquest, when this demesne belonged to an eminent hero of ancient
romance, Elizeus de Workesley or Worsley, the first Anglo-Norman baron who
volunteered to join in the first crusade; induced, it is said, by personal
friendship for Robert Duke of Normandy, who abandoned his claims on the
English crown and his paternal duchy to join in recovering Palestine. The
hero of Worsley was famed for his numerous combats with Giants, Saracens,
Dragons, etc., and is said to have been slain in an encounter with a
venomous serpent at Rhodes, where he was buried.
Wardley Hall, partially occupied as a farm-house, has little to remind a
visitor of its former greatness. It was anciently the seat of a family
named Downes, which became extinct in the seventeenth century. Roger
Downes, the last male representative of the family, is said in tradition
to have been one
Page 89.
of the wildest and most licentious of the courtiers of Charles II. Once in
a drunken frolic he declared to his companions that he would murder the
first person he met. Sallying forth from the tavern he met a poor tailor,
and ran him through with his sword. After several adventures of the same
kind, he was killed by a blow of a bill on London Bridge. His head was
severed from his body, and the latter thrown into the river; but the head,
carefully packed in straw, was sent to his sister at Wardley House.
Superstition now took up the tale: it was declared that the head could not
be removed from the Hall; whenever it was carried away it was sure to
return, and the individuals engaged in its removal were punished very
severely.
St. Helens, originally an inconsiderable village, is now a very thriving
town, and is likely to rise into a place of very considerable importance.
Its prosperity must chiefly be attributed to the great abundance of
excellent coal found in its neighbourhood, and its easy communication with
the port of Liverpool, by railway and canal. In addition to the facilities
afforded by the Manchester' and Liverpool railway, there is a railway
between the St. Helens coal-field and Runcorn-Gap, which affords a direct
and cheap communication with the navigation of the Mersey. These
advantages early pointed out the place as a favourable locality for the
establishment of works in which great heat, and consequently a large
consumption of coals, would be required, such as the smelting and refining
of copper ores, the manufacture
of glass and vetrified pottery-ware, etc. Our artist has here given a
distant view of St Helens. Fomerley, the establishments erected for
smelting copper were on a very large scale; but they have now been for the
most part discontinued, and the staple manufacture of the place is plate
glass, which is carried on at Ravenhead, and is the largest establishment
of the kind in England, affording employment to more than three hundred
workmen. The first company for the manufacture of British plate glass was
incorporated in 1773, and commenced its operations at Ravenhead; on its
failure, the concerns were transferred, in 1798, to a new company, under
the management of which the establishment has thriven beyond all
expectation or precedent,
Page 90.
so as to render the British plate glass superior to that of any other
country.
The seals of each company, shewing a portion of their mode of working at
the several periods, are annexed.
The establishment at Ravenhead covers about thirty acres of ground, and
is enclosed by a lofty stone wall, and secured by gates. Beyond the wall
are the cottages occupied by the work-people, which are for the most part
neat
and convenient, though not quite equal in comfort and appearance to the
cottages of the operatives in other parts of Lancashire. At the first
establishment of this manufactory, the workmen were brought over from
France, as
Page 91.
they were from Venice when plate-glass works were established, at Lambeth
under the patronage of the Duke of Buckingham, in the preceding century.
But now the great majority of the persons employed are Englishmen, and they
have acquired a proficiency in the manufacture, superior to that of either
the French or the Venetian artisans. This superiority arises not from the
dexterity of the workmen, but from the application of chemical and
mechanical science to the improvement of the several processes. Great
jealousy is manifested by the proprietors in keeping secret the details of
their processes, and although admission is granted by the manager on
giving in names, yet questions are answered with caution, and any very
minute inquiry is evaded. This proceeds more from a dread of foreign, than
domestic rivalry; we were informed that emissaries from France and Germany
are constantly on the watch, to obtain an insight into the methods by
which the British have carried the manufacture to such high perfection,
and that workmen supposed to possess secrets were enticed to emigrate by
the proffer of very large rewards. The general principles of the
manufacture cannot however be kept secret, and they are quite sufficient
for a popular description.
Glass may be described as the compound of silex and alkali, formed by the
fusing of both substances together; silex is flint or sand, and the
principal alkalies are potash and soda. Great obscurity rests on the
history of its invention, which appears principally to have arisen from
authors confounding together perfect glass, and substances imperfectly
vitrified. Although silex, under ordinary circumstances, cannot be
perfectly melted alone, yet every one is aware that the stones and bricks
of furnaces in which an intense heat is employed, assume more or less of a
vitrified appearance; and this is more especially the case where wood is
used for fuel. Some knowledge of the process of vitrification must
therefore have been obtained when men became acquainted with the art of
smelting metals, that is, at a period anterior to all existing records.
The next step in the process would be the discovery of what is called a
"a flux"-that is, some substance which will liquify more readily than the
material primarily designed to be melted, and the action of which will
render it more sensible of the operation of heat. Fluxes are used in
melting metals difficult of fusion, but they are generally separated again
from the metal. In the manufacture of glass, on the contrary, it is
necessary that the silex should be intimately blended with the alkali, and
the latter therefore is both a flux and an ingredient; lime, or litharge,
is added to increase the fusibility of the metal, and may therefore be
properly regarded as a flux. In the manufacture of plate glass, manganese
and the oxide of cobalt are used merely to ensure perfect transparency by
neutralizing the slight tint of yellow which would result from the other
ingredients. This is counteracted by the red tinge of the manganese and
the delicate blue of the cobalt.
The efficacy of the alkalies, or rather the necessity of employing
alkaline
Page 92.
substances, in order to effect the liquifaction of silex, is said to have
been discovered by accident. Pliny relates that some mariners being driven
by stress of weather into the mouth of the river Belus on the Phaenician
coast, where the plant kali grew in abundance, kindled a fire on the shore
to dress their food. The ashes of the plant were by the force of the heat
incorporated with the silicious sand, and the sailors were surprised to
discover transparent stones where their fire had been. It has been
objected to the truth of this anecdote, that specimens of glass have been
found in some of the oldest Egyptian tombs but this might have arisen
from the active intercourse between the Tyrians and Egyptians; and
besides, it is notorious that the sands of the Belus were long supposed to
be superior to any other for the purpose of making glass.
Sidon and Alexandria were the most celebrated marts for glass in the age
of the Roman Empire, but their fame was eclipsed by Venice, in the Middle
Ages, which for several centuries had almost a complete monopoly of he
manufacture. The Venetian glass was blown, and¢ was therefore of limited
dimensions: the method of casting plates was commenced in France, by
Thevart, towards the close of the seventeenth century, and being
patronized by the government, it soon arrived at great eminence. The
founders of the British Plate Glass Company imported their first workmen
from France, but they have now surpassed their teachers, for the English
mirror plates are produced larger than the French, and are universally
confessed to be superior; and moreover, in consequence of the easier supply
of fuel, they could be produced at a cheaper rate but for the duty, which
exceeds 2s. 9d. per superficial foot.
In the manufacture of plate glass, the first great consideration is the
preparation of the flux, and in this kind of glass, soda is the alkali
preferred. The soda is obtained from common salt (muriate of soda), a
plentiful supply of which can always be obtained at St. Helens, from the
salt-works of Cheshire. The salt is decomposed by being dissolved with the
sub-carbonate of potash and exposed to heat. The muriate of potash formed
during the process is separated by priority of crystallization, and the
requisite alkaline salt is then obtained by the ordinary process of
evaporation. It is then analyzed, to real alkali it contains, and
consequently how much sand it will require. According to Mr. Parkes, the
following are the proportions of the materials necessary to produce a good
plate, which will resist the action of air, water, and the common mineral
acids-
Silicious sand washed and sifted 720 lbs
Alkaline salt prepared as above 450
Quick-Lime slacked and sifted 80
Nitre 25
Cullet, or broken plate glass 425
Total ...........1700 Ibs.
and this mixture will give on the average 12001bs. of good glass.
Page 93.
The furnace in which the glass is melted, occupies the centre of a large
building, called the Foundry. The foundry at Ravenhead is the largest
apartment under one roof in Great Britain, being 113 yards in length, by
a
little over 5O in breadth. The glass is fused in earthen pots or
crucibles, which are placed in the central furnace, and exposed to the
most intense heat. They have not only to endure the action of the fire,
but also the solvent power of the glass itself, and of the fluxes which
are used for liquifying the silex. In fact, the best crucibles gradually
dissolve and mix a portion of their earth with the glass which they
contain, and hence it is necessary not only that they should be composed
of materials difficult to fuse, but also of earths sufficiently pure not
to injure the glass should a portion of them combine with it. The
crucibles or pots are commonly made of five parts of the finest
Stourbridge clay and one part of old crucibles ground to powder. These
materials are kneaded together by the feet of the workmen, a process which
it has been found impossible to supersede by machinery.
The materials are prepared for the crucibles by a process called
"fritting." They are calcined together by being exposed to a degree of
heat sufficient to bring them to a consistence like paste. All moisture is
thus effectually removed for a drop of water in the materials, or a
globule of air in the crucibles, would by its expansion produce an
injurious explosion in the furnace. The carbonic acid in the alkalies and
chalk is at the same time expelled, and an amalgamation of the different
materials begins to take place, which gives uniformity to subsequent
process of melting.
The frit is cut into square cakes, and put into the crucibles in
successive portions until they are quite filled. This is rather a tedious
operation, because the frit is more bulky than the fused metal, and no new
portion can be added until the charge is melted down. As the materials
melt and fuse
Page 94.
together, and opaque white scum rises to the surface which is carefully
skimmed away. This scum is called "glass-gall," and is useful as a flux to
the refiners of metals. If not removed the glass-gall would be volatized,
and in its form of vapour greatly injure the furnace and the crucibles. As
the heat continues the glass-gall disappears, and the glass throws to its
surface minute bubbles, which burst on the top and become beautifully
brilliant. The process from the cessation of the vapour of the glass-gall
to the time when no more bubbles are thrown up, is called "refining." When
it terminates, the metal has become uniformly liquid, clear, transparent,
and colourless; and it is tested by taking out samples with an iron rod,
and allowing them to cool.
When the glass is thoroughly refined, it is transferred in its liquid
state from the pots or crucibles into a vessel or cistern.* This transfer
is effected by means of a copper ladle about-a foot in diameter, fixed
into an iron handle seven feet long. As the cistern has been previously
heated to a temperature equal to that of the glass, there is obviously a
great danger that the copper would give way under the great heat and
weight of the melted glass. To prevent such an accident, the bottom of the
ladle is supported by an iron bar held by two other workmen. This process
is one of the most severe on the persons employed, both on account of the
heat and the fatigue. After the cistern has been filled it must remain for
several hours in the furnace, that the air bubbles which were formed by
pouring the liquid metal from one vessel to another should have time to
rise and disperse. In many of the olden mirrors it is not unusual to find
one or two air flaws, which greatly disfigure the plate, and render the
reflections imperfect. The metal in the cistern is examined by taking out
samples until it is ascertained that all the air-bubbles have been
dispersed, and it is then ready to be removed to the casting-table.
The casting-table in France, and formerly in Ravenhead, was made of copper,
supported by solid masonry. It was supposed that copper would have less
effect in discolouring the hot melted glass than iron; and many persons
still retain this opinion. But copper is found liable to crack under the
sudden accession of heat which arises from pouring over them the molten
mass of liquid fire: the tables were thus rendered useless, after the vast
expense which had been incurred in grinding and polishing them. Having met
with several accidents of this kind, the British Plate Glass Company
resolved to make a trial of cast-iron. It was not easy to obtain an iron
plate of the dimensions they required; but at length they were able to
cast one, fifteen feet in length, nine in breadth, and six inches in
thickness. This massive table, including its frame, weighs fourteen tons;
and it was necessary to construct a carriage purposely for its conveyance
from the iron-foundry to the glass-house. It is supported on castors, for
the convenience of readily moving it towards the mouths of the different
annealing ovens. These ovens are placed in two rows on each
*The term for this vessel is when small a cuvette, the large a
mullion.
Page 95.
side of the foundry, and are each sixteen feet wide, and forty feet deep.
There floors are exactly on the level of the casting-table.
Notwithstanding the vast size of the apartment in which these operations
are conducted, the greatest precautions are necessary to prevent any dis-
turbance of the atmosphere from the time that a casting is commenced until
the surface of the glass is hardened. The opening or shutting of a door,
or a current of air through a window, would produce a disturbance of the
atmosphere which would ripple the surface of the plate and impair its
value. Hence it is very rarely that strangers are permitted to view this
operation, and we must therefore be contented to describe it from the
accounts furnished by others.
When by inspection of the samples it is found that the melted glass in the
cistern is in that state which experience has shewn to be most favourable
to its flowing readily and equably, a signal is given, to ensure the
perfect tranquillity necessary to the complete success of the operation.
The cistern is
then drawn from the furnace and removed to the casting-table, which has
been previously heated with hot ashes and perfectly cleaned. The melted
glass also is carefully skimmed, to remove any impurities which may have
collected on the surface; for the mixture of any foreign surface would
infallibly spoil the plate. As soon as this is done the cistern is raised
by a crane, so as to be at a small height above the upper end of the
casting-table. It is then tilted over, and the melted glass pours out like
a flood of fire, flowing and spreading in every direction upon the table
between two iron ribs, the
Page 96.
intervals between which determine its breadth, and their height above the
table its thickness. While the glass is still fluid, or nearly so, a heavy
copper roller, turned very true in a lathe, passes over it, resting on the
ribs by which it is confined, and it rolls out the glass into an equable
thickness through its entire length. Should the cistern contain more
melted glass than is necessary to fill the table, the surplus is received
in a vessel of water placed at the extreme end for the purpose; but if the
glass falls short of the required quantity, a moveable rib is shifted up
the table, so as to give a square termination to the plate, and prevent
unnecessary waste. Those who have seen this operation describe it as very
splendid and interesting. The flow of the molten glass over the metallic
table appears like a lava flood issuing from a volcano. The plate, as the
copper roller passes over it, exhibits a great variety of rich hues; and
the gradual disappearance of these as the metal cools is one of the most
beautiful optical effects that can be produced. This operation requires
the aid of about twenty workmen, each of whom has his particular duty
assigned him.
As soon as the plates are sufficiently cooled, they are pushed by main
force from the table into the annealing oven, and spread out one by one in
a horizontal position. As each oven is filled, the mouth is closed with an
iron door, and the crevices stopped with clay, until the annealing process
is completed, which it usually is in fourteen or fifteen days. Without the
process of annealing, glass of any kind would be liable to fly with the
smallest changes of temperature, and would break with the slightest scratch
or touch, or even without any apparent cause of external injury. In cast
glass the annealing requires more care and time than in blown glass, and
the slightest inattention would infallibly produce ruinous results. The
extreme fragility of unannealed glass is ascribed by some to mechanical,
and by others to electrical causes. The well-known experiments of Rupert's
drop and the Bologna phial seem to prove that it arises from the external
portion being disproportionately contracted when the glass is suddenly
cooled; and hence, when air is by any means admitted into the porous
interior, the atoms near the surface, being placed in a position of
mechanical disadvantage, are unable to resist its foree and pressure.
When the plates are thoroughly annealed they are taken out and squared,
carefully inspected, and should any flaws or bubbles appear, the plate is
divided by cutting through the places where they occur. They are cut with
a rough diamond guided by a rule, similar to that used by glaziers; but as
the plate is thicker than ordinary window glass, the diamond requires to
be managed with more skill. After the diamond has cut a line sufficiently
deep to guide the fracture, the rough ends are broken off by the hand or
by a hammer, and any splinters which may adhere to the plate are removed
by pincers. Flaws and inequalities are most common near the extreme, and
therefore in squaring the glass care is taken that the line of
Page 97.
fracture should pass through them, because imperfections near the edge
will be concealed by the frame.
The smoothness of the table and the perfect surface of the copper cylinder
are not sufficient to ensure a true face to the plates; for this purpose
they must be ground. The machinery constructed for this process at
Ravenhead is the most perfect of its kind in existence, and is worked by a
steam-engine. The operation consists in rubbing one plate horizontally
over another, the grinding substance being placed between them. Common
sand was the first material used, but this was found to wear away too
large a portion of the glass, and also to diminish its lustre, from the
admixture of ferruginous particles with the glass. Powdered flint,
thoroughly purified, is now used instead of sand; and we were informed
that this has produced a saving of more than fifty per cent. The rough
action of the powdered flint is subsequently corrected by grinding the
plates with charges of emery. The next process is similar to the grinding,
but termed smoothing; the emery dust increasing in tenuity until the last
charge used is an almost impalpable powder. Polishing is the completion of
the grinding process, and is also worked by a steam engine. Great
dexterity, watchfulness, and judgment are essential to the success of the
operation. The plates of glass are firmly imbedded in plaster-of-Paris,
and placed under polishers formed by compact wool-padding upon blocks of
wood. These are constantly traversing up and down; and the machinery, by
giving the plate a slow lateral movement, causes it ultimately to be
polished all over. The material used in polishing is cachomar, or crocus
martis, which not only is the best substance that can be employed for the
purpose, but has also the additional merit of enabling the workman to
judge of his progress and success, by the aid he receives from its colour.
The plates are again carefully inspected before they are transmitted to
the warehouse. They are always divided with a reference to keeping any
flaws or imperfections at the edges of the squares, and also with a view
to keeping the plates as large as possible. This latter purpose is closely
connected with the profits of the business, for the prices of the plates
per square inch, rise in proportion as the plates increase in size, as may
be seen by referring to the Company's list of prices. It is indeed very
difficult to obtain a perfect plate of the largest size. In spite of all
the care and caution that may be employed, there will be flaws and
imperfections in the great majority of castings. Air bubbles will escape
the ken of the most practised eye, and they very often remain undetected
until the plate has come into the hands of the polisher.
The broken pieces of glass and uneven ends cannot exactly be called waste,
because, as we have seen, cullet or broken glass always forms an
ingredient in the original frit. There is, however, always a waste in the
re-melting, and consequently a necessity for preventing an accumulation of
cullet. Some years ago an effort was made to turn the refuse and scoriae
of glass to account by pressing them into the shape of bricks. The
experiment succeeded to a
Page 98.
considerable extent; but the bricks were found very costly, and the use of
them entailed an additional expense in cement, as they could not be well
held together by common mortar, and the project is now virtually abandoned.
The last process connected with the manufacture of plate glass is that
which is usually called "silvering," but which should rather be named
"tinning," since it consists in covering one side of the plate with an
amalgamation of tin and quicksilver, so as to reflect the rays of light.
This is a very simple operation, but great nicety and dexterity are
requisite in the manipulation. A table of slate or stone is provided:
round this table there is
a groove or channel to carry of the surplus
quicksilver; and the table rests on a pivot, so
that it can, when necessary be changed from a
horizontal into an inclined plane. This slab or
table is first fixed horizontally. A sheet of
tinfoil, rather larger than the plate, is spread
and carefully smoothed. As much quicksilver, in
its liquid form, is then spread over the foil as
will lie steadily on its surface without overflowing; and a linen cloth,
the width of the plate of glass, is spread upon that end of the table.
The plate is then brought to the table, and made to slide steadily on to
the foil charged with quicksilver. Great care is required in this
operation, because the plate must dip in the quicksilver and push the
metal before it, in order to remove any impurities or oxides which may
rest on the surface of the quicksilver, and also to prevent the formation
of air bubbles between the amalgam and the plate; but at the same time it
is necessary to prevent the plate from coming into immediate contact with
the sheet of tinfoil, which would infallibly be torn by the slightest
touch. When the entire plate has been brought into its position, and has
dropped gently on the foil, it is heavily loaded with weights covered with
flannel, to squeeze out the superfluous quicksilver, the escape of which
is further facilitated by giving the slab a gentle slope, and increasing
the inclination by slow degrees. A day or two afterwards the plate is
carefully lifted up and turned over; its under side is thus covered over
with a very soft amalgam made by the quicksilver and foil. Several days
however elapse before the amalgam has acquired the proper degree of
hardness; and during this period globules of quicksilver drop from the
lower edge of the plate. So long as the amalgam is in an imperfect state,
portions of it are liable to be
Page 99.
detached from it by any electrical changes in the atmosphere or violent
concussions of the air, such as a thunder-storm, a very high wind, or the
firing of artillery. It is impossible to apply an adequate remedy to such
an accident, for patching is immediately detected by the wheat-seam which
marks the line of contact between the old and the new amalgam. In most
cases, when an imperfection is detected, the amalgam is removed and the
process of silvering repeated from the very beginning.
Before the Ravenhead Company had perfected the manufacture, the action of
light on plate glass long exposed to the solar rays was very remarkable,
which may be clearly seen in some windows to this day; it acquired a
violet or purple tinge, arising from some chemical used in the mixture. If
portions were taken from the same plate, and some of them exposed for a
few months to the light while others were kept covered, the difference
between them became so great, that persons unacquainted with the
circumstances could hardly be persuaded to believe in their former
identity. Digerent plates exhibit a great difference in their
susceptibility of this action. It may however be said that blown plates
are more readily acted upon than east plates; and the French and some
other glasses even now in time acquire a yellow tint, whilst that
manufactured by the British Company does not change.
The blowing of plate glass differs from the ordinary glass manufacture
chiefly in the workman blowing it into the shape of a cylinder instead of
a globe. While yet soft, the cylinder is cut open with a shears, and
flattened out. Plates of a larger size than fifty inches by thirty, cannot
be produced by blowing; but by casting, plates have been obtained
measuring one hundred and sixty inches by eighty, or nearly ninety square
feet of glass. One now at the Reform Club-house in Pall Mall is about one
hundred and fifty inches by ninety, and supposed to be the most perfect
plate in the world.
St. Helens is a township in the parish of Prescot mentioned hereafter, and
may be said to contain the four townships of Sutton, Parr, Windle, and
Eccleston. It is uninteresting in appearance-straggling and irregular;
built of red brick; is ill-paved, dirty, and lies low. It has a neat town-
hall, which contains a news' room, magistrates' court, and police office.
The church of St. Mary is a large building erected of brick; the other
churches are St. Thomas, built by Mr. Greenall, M.P. for Wigan, provided
for by a small endowment; one at Eccleston, outside the town, built by Mr.
Taylor, of Eccleston Hall, and a chapel of ease to St. Helens at Parr. A
canal runs from St. Helens to Runcorn Gap, passing close to Warrington,
and joining the Mersey: it is one of the oldest in England. Of the
railroad from St. Helens to Runcorn, about three miles is used as a branch
to the great Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and numerous colliery
railways run into the line, connecting with it different works.
There are many Irish in St. Helens, and about four thousand Catholics,
also an Independents' chapel, and a Quakers' meeting-house of great
antiquity.
Page 100.
All sides of the place exhibit tall chimneys and dense smoke; the chemical
works around exhale sulphurous vapours, and many of the inhabitants have
their houses-out of the town in consequence.
Parr, a straggling outlet of St. Helens, contains a great proportion of
the coal pits. Some of the houses have sunk ten or twelve feet below the
surface, others have the walls leaning or tottering. These townships owe
their rapid rise to the coal, situated over part of a "field," extending
to perhaps fourteen or fifteen square miles; and being of excellent
quality. There are great numbers employed in the pits; in some nearly as
many as two hundred people, about a third of whom are women. A proprietor
engages a collier, who himself excavates the coal alone, and he employs
either his own family (if he have any), or pays assistants, generally
women and children, to convey the coal which he has cut out to the foot of
the shaft; these are called wagoners, who push it in baskets on a kind of
railway laid along the different levels. A collier would pay twelve or
thirteen shillings a week to these assistants; but if they are of his own
family]y he saves money, as generally his wife and all his children are
employed in the pits, and he can thus make on an average forty shillings
a week, if he have two or more assistants in his own family. He gets ten
and sixpence for what is called a "work," which is seven tons, and thus
acts more in the character of a contractor with the proprietor for the
delivery of coal than as a regular labourer. The hours of work here are
generally seven or eight, or from three or four A.M. to eleven A.M.
In the pits the women wear men's dresses, and are indistinguishable from
the other sex except by their hair or earrings! The moral condition of the
people is low, owing to the system of bringing children into the pits at
eight years of age; they are in many cases totally uneducated: a child too
once set at work never leaves the employment; the mass are very ignorant,
and although not uncivil, are still rude and uncouth in their address.
Infant schools have been instituted, but these are of triffling use. There
are a few "night schools" where some of the older children and adults
attend; but a system of education, encouraged by the proprietors, is much
wanted. The health of the colliers is generally good, as the pits are of
an even temperature, and accidents from explosions are rare.
The principal manufacture of St. Helens, as already shewn, is glass. A
species intended to supersede the plate, has been lately manufactured in
the town, and is called German glass, made by foreign workmen, principally
Belgians, introduced by Mr. Pilkington in 1841. This glass is not cast, as
plate glass is, but made somewhat in the mode of window or crown glass,
and intended as a cheap substitute for plate.
In one of the opening pages on entering upon this account of Lancashire;
we alluded to the prevalence of red sandstone along the shores of the
Mersey, which upon approaching Liverpool by the railway will be seen cut
into deeply a good part of the way from Newton. In this formation the
great tunnel is
Page 101.
excavated, which passes under the town, commencing at Edgehill, and
looking as if it led to the shores of Avernus. Here we imagined the
fictions of Eastern romance were about to be realized; we mean those which
relate, how from dark and mysterious caverns descending towards the heart of
the earth some magician leads the hero of the tale, or he is conducted by a
talisman in his possession, until he suddenly finds himself in a palace of
enchantment, or in delightful gardens where the trees bear emeralds and
rubies more valuable than the golden apples of the Hesperides. We are
carried along by invisible agency, through or rather under the earth, and
know not what country is above our heads in our state of purgatorial
darkness, which we imagine is to prepare us for something out of the
common way. All at once, when we think we are approaching the centre of
"the great globe itself," we emerge into day, and find, it is true, no
enchanted palaces around us-no Hesperian gardens-but one of the finest
towns in the world; the abode of industry and of opulence; the home of
commerce and magnificence, familiar to those far sojourners who inhabit
"realms that Caesar never knew,"-whose merchants are princes, and whose
name is borne in ocean leagues "thrice from the centre to the uttermost
pole" by all the winds that blow-we are in Liverpool!
Passing out under a fine gateway constructed of freestone,-part of the
elegant architectural front of the railway station here exhibited,
measuring above three hundred feet in extents-we hailed the sunbeams with
double pleasure after our mole-like inhumation, proceeding to the well-
known street of hotels, Dale-street, and "ensconcing ourselves at the
sign," or perhaps we should say hotel, of the Victor of Waterloo.
The first half-hour on entering a large place is passed in resolving, re-
resolving, and frequently making up the mind to nothing at all; and in
this plight we commenced our rambles about the second commercial town in
the kingdom. Liverpool is not without those great lines, or principal
thorough-fares, which are the best guides to the stranger, and are not
only acquired by a single glance at a map, but recognised afterwards with
facility by the multiplicity of passengers and the display of elegant
shops which they are certain
Page 102.
to exhibit. The parliamentary boundary of Liverpool, returning two
members, comprises the townships of Liverpool, Everyone, Circulate, and part
of Toted and West Derby; but the township and parish of Liverpool, which
are the same in superficial extent, cover only 2202 acres.* Dale-street,
terminating on the south at the Meres and Docks, and continued up Shahs-
brow to the eastward, along the London-road, Pembroke-place, West Derby-
street, Edge hill, and the Wavertree-road, constitutes with them a central
line of division, running east and west. This line is crossed at the end
of Dale-street, before ascending Shaws'-brow, by Byrom-street upon the
left hand, leading into New Scotland-road, and then into the Kirkdale-
road, by which the suburb of Everton is attained. On the right, where the
Old Haymarket once stood, a street, generally thronged with people, called
Whitechapel, curving to the right at its farther extremity, and crossing
the end of Lord-steet, enters Paradise-street, this last terminating in
Hanover-street near the Custom-house. Thus we mapped the town in our
"mind's eye" in four grand divisions, carrying the last line of street,
though not without an obtuse angle, into Dale-street on the left from
Paradise-street, and so up to the Cemetery of St. James.
Liverpool stands partly upon the red sandstone formation and partly upon
loam and sand; the climate is subject to rain, and the atmosphere is
consequently moist. It ranges along the northern shore of the Mersey in
magnificent docks, communicating with that river by intermediate basins.
The Mersey is about 1200 yards broad between the Lancashire and Cheshire
shores opposite to the docks, but higher and lower down it is much
broader. This river rises from the union of several small streams within
the borders of Yorkshire, receiving the waters of the Goyt, Bollin,
Irwell, and Weaver, and is first called the Tame; it forms a wide though
shallow stream, in which mud-banks accumulate and shift continually. The
height of the tides which rise here, fifteen at neap, and thirty feet at
spring, obviates much inconvenience from this cause; and vessels of
seventy or eighty tons can ascend the river to Warrington, the spring
tides rising nine feet at the bridge in that town. The scenery in the
vicinity, except about Toxteth Park and Everton, is monotonous,
everywhere exhibiting a noble town lying in the foreground, with distant
views of sea and hilly land. Whoever desires a knowledge of Liverpool and
its vicinity should ascend the tower of St. George's Church at Everton.
The more distant scenery, towards Wales, will be found the most attractive
part of the prospect, for we visited this spot; and although compared to
Liverpool beneath, it is airy and pleasing, we prefer the higher part of
Toxteth Park looking down the Mersey, the interesting part of the view
from Everton being too distant; but of Everton and its vicinity we shall
say more presently; it suffices now to observe that it lies in the north-
eastern quarter
* According to Mr. Butterworth's most usefill and carefully compiled
"Statistical Sketch of Lancashire," containing much valuable
information.
Page 103.
of the old town of Liverpool. Toxteth Park, partly within the borough,
once belonged to the Earls of Derby, in 1591 was disparked, and the Sefton
family got possession of it in l640 when it was subsequently occupied by
farms; a large portion is now let by Lord Sefton in building lots. It lies
on the south-east of Liverpool, along the shore of the Mersey, in the
Kirkdale division of West Derby hundred, and extends over 2397 acres. The
portion within the borough of Liverpool is called Harrington. Edge-hill
and Low-hill, on the east within the borough, are in the township of West
Derby and parish of Walton-on-the-Hill; Kirkdale, on the north within the
borough, is a township in the parish of Walton.
The rapid progress of Liverpool in commercial opulence and extent of
building is without a parallel in the history of towns. In 1700 the
population was only 4240; and the marriages were in that year but 34;
christenings 131; burials 125. Leland speaks of Lyrpole, alias Lyverpole,
as a paved town, probably as many of the turnpike-roads in its vicinity
are now paved, having only a chapel, its parish church being at Walton.
There were only 138 householders living there in 1565; but it increased
so considerably as to resist Prince Rupert in 1644, being on the side of
the Parliament, and having round it a mud wall and a ditch with a castle.
Of what Liverpool was after the chapel of St
Nicholas was made a parish church, and before a
second church was erected, the following engraving
of old Liverpool will give a correct idea.
In 1730 the inhabitants had increased to 12,000;
and the first vessel, except a small sloop, sailed
to Africa on the piratical traffic in slaves, now abolished, happily for
humanity. One dock had been made, and an Act was, applied for to make a
second in 1738; and in 1740 the population had reached 18,000. The slave-
ships increased from 15 in 1730, to 74 in 1760, when the town had 25,787
inhabitants; and a new dock was finished in 1771; while in that year 105
ships sailed for Africa. The internal canal navigation, belonging to the
Duke of Bridgewater, now began to benefit the town. A Theatre was built
in 1772; and in the following year a census was taken, and the houses
inhabited found to be 5928, having 8002 families and 34,407
Page 104.
inhabitants; the deaths annually being one in 272 of the population. In
1774 no less than 989 British and 61 foreign vessels entered Liverpool,
and about the same number cleared outwards; and in 1784 there were of
British 1217, and of foreign vessels 1446. In 1793 they had increased to
1704 British and 1739 foreign; and in 1805 the number of vessels of all
kinds was 4618. In 1815 the number was 6440; and in 1819 the dock duties
had reached 117,962L annually, and the ships 7849; while in 1840 the number
of vessels attained 15,998; and the dock dues (in 1752 only 17761. 8s.
2d.), reached 197,4771. 18s. 6d. The customs dues are between four and
five millions sterling, the cotton imported reaching a million and a half
of bags. The imports approach a value of twenty millions: the exports
exceeding that sum by a fourth; and it is calculated that 1800 tons of
goods pass daily between Liverpool and Manchester. This will furnish an
idea of the magnitude of the trade of this mighty town which is said to
possess a traffic equal to one-half of London, one-fourth of all the
foreign trade of the empire, one-twelfth of the shipping, and one-sixth of
the general commerce. During the war it sent to sea one-third more armed
vessels with licenses to sail without convoy than all the other British
ports put together.
The site of Liverpool is low, and we regret that upon examining the
returns of the population for 1841, and comparing them with those of the
births, marriages, and deaths, we should have found such a startling
result-a result not so surprising to us as it would be had we not seen
some of the older returns. In 1662, the baptisms were 30, and burials 30;
in 1700, as above, the former 131, the burials 125; in 1800, the baptisms
3033, burials 3157. The births registered in 1839, when a close
approximation to correctness in the returns took place, were 7128, deaths
7437; in 1840, with a population of 223,054, the returns shewed 9990
deaths to 9925 births. We then went further, and made calculations upon a
basis every way favourable; for we applied to the Population Returns of
1841 the Registrar-General's return of births and deaths for 1840 in
Liverpool, consequently we applied them to nearly the tenth part of a
clear increase more than we ought, and the result, compared with the
totality of England exclusively of Wales, made from a table in which the
decimal surplus population was deducted from England alone, gives the
following figures:
Birth to Pop. Deaths to Pop. Marr. to Pop. Births to Marr.
Population of all )
England reduced to} 1 to 31.07 1 to 44.45 1 to 125.29 1.03
June 30, 1840 )
14,767,751 )
Liverpool 223,054) 1 to 22.47 1 to 22.82 1 to 60.6 2.6
Here are puzzling anomalies; double the deaths and marriages, and little
more than half the number of births averaged in the totality of England.
This statement we have been the first to give so minutely on the returns
of 1841, and we submit it with regret to the high-minded and public-
spirited inhabitants of Liverpool, for they may perhaps probe the cause.
It is evident
Page 105.
that the increase of 4821 inhabitants in the last ten years, must have
arisen from the influx of new residents. Manchester and Safford increased
nearly 26,000 in the same space of time on a population of 262,000.*
Before the Municipal Act, Liverpool was governed by a Mayor, Recorder,
Aldermen, and a Council of forty-one burgesses; but the present Council
under the Municipal Act, elected in sixteen wards, consists of forty-
eight, who elect a Mayor and sixteen Aldermen. There are regular borough
sessions, and a common and fire police establishment. In 1838-9, the
Corporation income was 246,0001. and 101,0001. were expended in street
improvements; and between 1786 and 1838, 1,688,496l. Their revenue is now
300,0001.; and it is a singular circumstance in the history of this
wonderful town, that in 1793, though now so enormously rich, they were
obliged to apply to Parliament for relief; and when they did this, the
statement of their income for 1792 was only 25,000L., the value of their
property 1,046,776L.: and it may be concluded as the most flattering view
they could take of their affairs, they were in debt 367,8161. The number
of burgesses who elect the Town Council is 9406. The parliamentary
electors, 3727 freemen included, were, in 1836-12,492.
We walked up Dale-street into Water-street opposite St. George's Dock,
passing those extensive warehouses, with their long arcade called Gorce
Buildings, large enough to contain the cargoes of a navy of merchantmen.
They were erected in 1802, in place of other warehouses that were
destroyed by a disastrous fire, which consumed merchandise stored up in
them to the value of nearly a million sterling.
These warehouses are five stories high above the
arcade beneath; they perform a uniform and
extensive front of most imposing appearance and
proportions, and face Saint George's dock, towards
which we were given going, presenting the aspect
here displayed by the artist.
From this point we set out to visit the northern most division of the
docks, and passing by the north battery, round the Clarence Docks, to take
a glance
* This subject may be investigated by the reader himself through
the Returns which we shall give at the end of this Itinerary.
Page 106.
at the lower part of the Mersey, and the entire port, over against what
has been called New Brighton, on the Cheshire shore; in imitation, we
presume, of the famed time-killing place of that name in Sussex. We first
crossed an iron bridge at the end of St. George's dock; which dock was
made in 1762, and covers 26,793 square yards of surface; having a
communication with Canning dock, once denominated the " dry dock," on the
east, built in 1738, and principally occupied with north country vessels.
Canning dock has a quay 500 yards long, and communicates with Salthouse
dock, yet more to the southward, which possesses an area of 2025 square
yards, and a quay called Cornhill, having a building yard between that and
the sea. We continued our route to the edge of the river where passengers
were embarking and landing from the steamers; always an amusing scene. The
ladies, not all heroines, and some, we hope we are not ill-natured in the
remark, evidently affecting a fear they did not really feel, could not but
attract attention in the way of condolence and kind offices. On the edge of
the quay, behind St. George's Dock, are situated some
of the most commodious and handsome baths we have ever
seen, measuring 239 feet in length, divided into wings,
one for each sex, replete with every convenience. The
front forms a handsome sheltered colonnade of coupled
columns, are here exhibited.
We next coasted the basin, having opposite to us the church of St.
Nicholas erected on the site of the former chapel, and crossing sundry
drawbridges passed down Prince's terrace, on the river side of the dock of
that name. Prince's dock is 500 yards long, and covers 57,129 square
yards; it was completed in 1821. The gates are forty-five feet wide, and
thirty-four deep, and it is surrounded by a high brick wall, which seems
to have been constructed with the utmost possible degree of durability;
for, on the end next St. George's dock, they were taking down a portion of
the wall but a perch or two in extent, and we observed that they cut the
wall into pieces of a yard square, and carried away the portions entire,
depositing them the flat way, one upon another, as if they had been single
stones; an experiment by which modern brickwork in some larger and richer
places than even Liverpool will not bear to be tested. We examined this
dock internally, and then walked the whole length on the outside by the
Mersey, watching the busy scene on the river where numberless vessels were
moving. This walk measures 750 yards in length, and ends at a basin which
we were obliged to walk a good part round to continue our march.
Page 107.
Of the foreign vessels in these docks those of the United States struck us
before all others for their great beauty of form and superior neatness of
condition. In Prince's dock they ate seen to great advantage; their
starred or striped ensigns waving peacefully in the breeze by the sides of
those of the parent nation; and may they ever so wave! The accommodations
they afford to passengers are not merely elegant but luxurious; and though
in the strength of our vessels we may surpass them, in beauty of form, and
capability of sailing, our ships are seldom their equals. The docks of
Liverpool are a sight of never-ending novelty, and the busy scenes they
continually present afford excellent studies of individual character from
all countries-for what flag is not found there?- and of the capabilities
and fruits of human industry. Here is the vessel deeply laden, just passing
out of the dock gates for a voyage to the antipodes; there is another,
destined perhaps to the "Indus," and afterwards to "the Pole." Now the
weather-beaten rigging and patched sails of a ship, preparing to enter,
speak of tempests encountered beyond the equator, or amid the icebergs and
snowy coves of Greenland. It is not in the metropolis after all, where so
much exists to distract attention, in which thousands must needs live who
do not know where the West India Docks are, or that the Isle of Dogs
possesses a canal, who see the colliers in the Thames, and believe they
are the ships of traffic of which the newspapers speak-it is not in the
metropolis, where all are so much occupied, so divided and scattered over
so vast a surface, that our commercial relations in their visible
material, are to be comprehended with most facility. At Liverpool, the
second commercial place in the empire, all is compact, immense though it
be, and the surface comparatively small, so that although the results are
great, they are under the glance. Liverpool led the way in the system of
docks, placing the merchants' property beyond the reach of depredation;
and she has proved by her great career the soundness of the maxim, that
commerce, to flourish, must be left free, and not pampered by restrictions
or laws enacted by those who have no just comprehension of trade or of the
basis of its essential principle. The character of the Liverpool merchant
has become well established for probity, another great element of success.
"We may succeed for a time by fraud, by surprise, by violence; we can
succeed permanently only by means directly opposite. It is not alone the
courage, the intelligence, the activity of the merchant and the
manufacturer, which maintain the superiority of their productions and the
commerce of their country; it is far more their wisdom, their; economy,
and, above all, their probity. If ever in the British islands the useful
citizen should lose these virtues, we may be sure that for England, as
well as for any other country, the vessels of a degenerate commerce,
repulsed from every shore, would speedily disappear from those seas whose
surface they now cover with the treasures of the universe, bartered for
the treasures of the industry of the three kingdoms. *
* Baron Dupin.
Page 108.
It was impossible for us to look down that line of docks-so prolonged, so
substantially constructed, so numerous, the quays covered with crowds of
people, and the flags in the capacious basins displaying their many-
coloured insignia-to see the north and south, and east and west, thus
brought together in one pacific pursuit, and not feel that something must
be due to the unflagging perseverance, bold adventure, and sound
commercial judgment which concentrated so great a mass of wealth, such vast
stores of the fruits of industry in a town a few years ago so
insignificant as that its existence was scarcely known. It was no light
effort, no fallible calculation in the way of trade, that raised such a
place to be the second port of England, for such is the rank held and
merited too by the British Tyre.
Such were our thoughts as we passed Waterloo Dock, comprehending 30,764
square yards of surface; and close by it Victoria Dock, but a few yards
less in size, and next succeeding that of Trafalgar, larger than either of
the other two, covering no less than 33,000 square yards. We finally
reached Clarence Dock, the principal resort of the steam-vessels, opened
in 1830, and having 29,313 square yards of surface. Beyond Clarence Dock
are two new graving docks; and there this magnificent line of maritime
receptacles terminates; a fort and battery, protecting the entrance of the
river, being a very little way beyond. It must be remembered that we have
only enumerated the northern half of the line of docks from St. George's,
and that others remain of all sizes to the southward, extending as far as
the Borough limits.*
The Spaniards have a saying that he who has not seen Seville has seen
nothing; and it may be said that he who has not seen Liverpool has not
seen England. This town, vast in its commercial relations and full of hand-
some building and warehouses, that seem formed to receive the stores of
empires, is like no other that we know, having something peculiarly its
own, that marks a strong distinction. It is not like Bristol, with its
antiquity and dirt; nor like Hull, nor Yarmouth, nor the Metropolis. Its
appearance stamps it with a character wholly modern, while its gigantic
constructions along the Mersey proclaim the triumph of modern science
called into action by the wealth of commerce, producing results which in a
country merely agricultural could never have so developed the capabilities
of industry and science in powerful union-the law of commerce being that
of progression in all things. Thus we continued to meditate as we beheld
the Clarence Docks filled with vessels navigated upon a principle that is
destined in process of time to supersede every other, and literally render
Britons rulers of the waves.
Our attention being drawn to the side of the river by a group of steamers
*The dry basins of Liverpoo1 cover 99,107 square yards. The
different wet docks occupy a water superficies of 448,995
square yards; and bordering upon them are 15,613 yards of
quay. In other terms the area of water in these magnificent
works is 90 acres 3384 yards, and the quays measure seven
miles 156 yards in length.
Page 109.
which had just arrived, we went over to them, and were much amused by the
odd scene their decks exhibited. The stern part raised beyond the waist,
as usual contained a freight of bipeds, old and young, some decently
clothed, others in looped and windowed garments conversing in a jargon
that for what we knew might be Chaldee. The prolific virtues of the
potatoe-to the horror of those economists who would subject nature to
mechanical rules, that the few might profit by the self-denial and
unhappiness of the many-was here shewn in the numerous progeny that
accompanied the squalid but good-humoured passengers. The deck, from the
waist forward, was crowded with sheep and pigs; so that it was difficult,
without seeing it, to conceive the medley of living creatures and
disgusting filth. While the animals on the deck were slowly driven along
a plank up to the wharf, which was considerably higher than the vessel,
sailors were busily engaged at the windlass, and presently we saw a large
bullock emerge from the hatchway, like a lifeless log, suspended in the
air by a rope round the body. The poor beast seemed paralyzed, for on
being lowered upon the dirty deck he sunk down as if he had never known
the use of his legs; but, on the sling upon which he was raised being
pulled from under him, he rose as if he recollected himself, and "moved
aft" as is the sea phrase. A second animal then slowly ascended to the
light of day in the same manner, the sailors treating them all as
unconcernedly as if they had been bags of cotton.*
The docks and quays next the river are bounded by a wall of: hewn stones
of great solidity and massy workmanship: unfortunately, the material
employed is not the most durable. The red sandstone is perishable; and we
were happy to see that in the repairs recently made, granite has been
introduced. Had all the works here been constructed of this material,
though costly from carriage, repairs not being required, it would in the
end have been great economy. The docks have each a dock-master, and there
is one harbour-master over all. The docks and quays are under the care of
a police especially appointed for that purpose; and those who compose that
body prove themselves both vigilant and able, as there is but little loss
by plunder. The rules for regulating the dock business are rigidly
enforced; and the government is vested by Act of Parliament in a committee
of twenty-one, thirteen trustees and eight ratepayers. The trustees are
appointed by the common council, and all retire in turn at the end of a
given term, four at a time, but are eligible for re-election.
Keeping within the same quarter, namely, that we have described as
situated between Dale-street on the east, and New Scotland-road
northwards, we proceeded by the Mersey until we were nearly opposite the
North Battery, when turning to the right we crossed into the Victoria-road,
and passed along Great Howard-street to the gaol belonging to the borough,
* As far back as 1832, the value of the stock, grain, pork,
and butter imported into Liverpool, was no less than
4,444,500L. within the year.
Page 110.
erected on the plan of the philanthropist Howard. It seems airy and well-
constructed; but we were sorry to learn that its inmates were mostly unfor-
tunate debtors. Here we caught a glimpse of the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal; and glancing at St. Paul's church, we turned round, and going down
Old Hall-street entered the Exchange under the arcade at the back part.
This fabric was begun in 1803, and cost 110,8481., and is a handsome
structure, forming three sides of a square, built upon an arcade of rustic
work. The centre of the western side is composed of coupled three-quarter
Corinthian columns, supporting caryatides. The wings and two other fronts
have Corinthian pilasters over the basement. The arcade extends 197 feet
by 178; and in the centre of the piazza, better decorated with a statue of
the hero than the allegorical composition it contains, is a monument to
the memory of Nelson, by Westmacott. As Commerce and Peace are twin-
sisters, the piazza of a commercial exchange can hardly be deemed in
character with a warlike monument decorated with trophies. The defect of
the Exchange buildings is, that the Town-hall stands in the way of a
substitute for one side, which it does not sufficiently fill: and the
observer cannot exclude the idea that it is an unfinished work.
The Town-hall, a handsome Palladian building, was erected by Wood of Bath
in 1749. The front has Corinthian columns upon a rustic basement, and is a
beautiful and tasteful work; but over the top stands a cupola, which, when
viewed from St. George's-crescent, seems to crush the building, being much
too large to be sightly, although it has been considerably reduced
subsequent to the original erection of the edifice. The interior, besides
the rooms on the basement story, contains a saloon, opening from the
staircase, thirty feet long; two drawing-rooms, about the same length and
twenty-five high. There is also a ball-room, eighty-nine feet by forty-
one; and a second, sixty-one by twenty-eight; a banqueting-room, fifty by
thirty; and a refectory, thirty-six by twenty-one. The whole is elegantly
fitted up; and on the landing
Page 111.
of the staircase there is a statue of Canning, by Chantrey, who had much
attached himself to the town, as the town had to him. The external dome
is crowned with a figure of Britannia, seen in the engraving.
Not far from the Town-hall in the Session-house,
where the assizes are held for the hundred of West
Derby. It is a plain building, extending in front
174 feet, construction of stone, and used also by
the Court of Requests. Crossing Dale-street into
South Castle-street, the New Custom-house is seen
directly in front. This building, by far the
finest in Liverpool, both in magnitude and architectural execution,
was begun in 1828, by Mr. Foster, the architect to the corporation,
and was erected by that body, who presented the land and completed
the work-the cost, 150,000L., being repaid from Government by
instalments of 25,000L annually. The basement is
vaulted for the reception of goods in bond; all the western portion is
devoted to the customs, and the southern part is occupied by the General
Post-office, above which is the Excise-office. The remainder of the
building contains the Stamp-office, the Dock Treasurer's and Secretary's
offices, the
Page 112.
Board-room and offices of the Dock Committee. This spacious and handsome
edifice is built in the form of a double cross, one front facing Castle-
street and the other Canning-place; and both fronts are of the Ionic
order, on a rustic basement. It stands near where the old dock was
situated, the walls being brought up from the bottom thirty feet and
upwards below the street level. The material is a warm-coloured freestone
from Cheshire; the extreme length 466 feet, and the width at the wings
ninety-four. The columns are above fifty feet high, and five in diameter;
there is nothing superfluous about the design; all is simple and grand,
resting for effect, as may be seen, upon the magnitude of the parts and
the harmony of the proportions.
The Royal Institution has nothing to boast of in its architectural details,
having been originally a private house, which was purchased and altered
for the objects that the founders had in view,-the promotion of
literature, science, and the arts, by means of academic schools and public
lectures; the encouragement of societies who may unite for similar
objects; the collection of books, objects of art, and natural history; the
formation of a chemical laboratory and philosophical apparatus, and the
association of proprietors for these purposes; and it was opened in 1817,
with a discourse from the venerable William Roscoe. The house with the
wings extends 146 feet in front, and contains suitable apartments for such
an institution, with an excellent Museum, consisting of objects of natural
history, casts from antique sculptures, and everything that can contribute
to extend the bounds of knowledge in a large and opulent town.
The Athenaeum was the first thing of the kind established in this country.
The building is neat and plain, possessing a library and newsroom,
belonging to a body of 500 subscribing proprietors, and opened in 1799.
The number of volumes in the library is 14,000: they do not circulate, but
every accommodation for reading is provided in the building, which is in
Bold-street.
The Lyceum, also in Bold-street, was established by subscription, and
reckons 800 subscribers. The building was erected for the purpose, at an
expense of 11,000L.; and the library reckons 30,000 volumes: there are
separate rooms for reading newspapers and for periodical literature.
The Union Newsroom in Duke-street, and the Exchange Newsroom in the
Exchange-buildings, are elegant saloons, devoted to the purposes which
their names imply. There is also what is called the Underwriters-room in
the Exchange-buildings, which is provided with newspapers and all kinds of
publications relative to the shipping interest, resembling Lloyds in the
metropolis. These are the principal, out of many establishments of a
similar character, but of comparatively trivial extent. Among other
scientific institutions, that called the Medical Institution, at Mount
Pleasant, having a circular front, the curve of which is 198 feet,
furnished with a lecture-room and museum, struck us as having a very
pleasing effect; and bears a character of considerable utility. There is
also an Apothecaries' Hall, erected at an
Page 113.
expense of 20,000L.; but it would appear that it is no more than a
mercantile dispensary of drugs, unconnected with any direct scientific
purpose.
A Mechanics' Institution was opened in Mount-street in 1835; the first
stone of the building being laid in the same year, constructed of the Ionic
order, but not completed; and possessing ample accommodations for every
thing connected with such an establishment. The interior was nearly con-
sumed by fire in 1837. The land was given by the corporation; and the
edifice covers nearly an acre of ground. A Polytechnic School has been
established recently in connexion with this institution. There is also an
institution in St. Anne-street, founded in 1835, for supplying useful
information and instruction to young men connected with professional or
commercial pursuits.
The Royal Bank is an entirely new building, in the Grecian taste, which,
while its exterior is remarkable for its handsome and chaste appearance,
it is internally adapted with more than common
ingenuity to the object for which it was erected.
With public amusements Liverpool may be considered
amply provided; and before the decline of the stage
generally, from the falling off in actors or the
change in public feeling, which dwelling upon the
realities of existence can find entertainment no
longer in what is merely imaginative, and little beneficial either in the
way of instruction or amusement-in fact, in the better times of the drama,
Liverpool was celebrated for its patronage of the sock and buskin. The Old
Theatre, built in 1772, situated on the east side of Williamson-square, is
open from May to December. It has a stone semi-circular front, adorned
with figures in relief, and the royal arms; the interior is convenient. The
Liver Theatre in Church-street is opened only during the winter months, and
is neatly fitted up for representations of the same kind as are given in
the minor theatres of the metropolis. The royal amphitheatre in Great
Charlotte-street, near St. John's-market, is an elegant edifice, well
adapted to its object of exhibiting equestrian feats, pantomimes, and
melodramatic pieces; the front covered with Roman cement, plain and
Page 114.
unornamented. There are ball-rooms, the principal called the Wellington
Rooms, convenient in every respect for large assemblies, but characterized
by nothing more than the better kind of accommodation required for such
edifices.
Chancing to visit the Post-office for our letters, the day being fine we
directed our steps to the contiguous southern dock, which we have already
mentioned, passing the end of the Duke's Dock, which belonged to the Duke
of Bridgewater, and is now the property of his trustees. It was made to
receive the flat canal vessels, and possesses large warehouses for the
reception of the goods thus conveyed. From Wapping, we entered the King's
Dock, to see the extensive tobacco warehouses which are built there
parallel with the Mersey. These buildings are 575 feet long by 238 wide,
and cover more than three acres and a quarter within the walls, being a
huge house for the receipt of a duty that operates as a bonus to the
smuggler; it is rented by the government. King's Dock covers 37,776 square
yards, and has 875 yards of quay, the part nearest the Mersey forming a
pleasant promenade opposite the broader part of the river. On the eastern
side of the King's Dock is a basin which communicates both with that and a
dock situated further in on the east, called Queen's Dock, much larger, for
it covers 51,501 square yards, and has 1255 yards of quay. This dock is
principally filled with timber ships and Dutch vessels, and it
communicates with a dry dock, called Brunswick Half-tide Dock, and through
that with Brunswick Dock, built in 1832; the two latter having together a
superficies of 70,069 square yards, admitting vessels of 1000 tons. It is
principally used by shipping in the timber trade. Brunswick Dock also
communicates with the Mersey by a basin of its own; and further south,
between Sefton-street and the river, are the Harrington Docks, applied
principally to the timber trade, consisting of two wet open docks, 600
feet long. There are various basins or docks higher up the river, but in
size they are insignificant in comparison with those we have enumerated.
In this quarter of Liverpool, keeping in mind the four divisions to which
we before alluded, and in which the Custom-house and Post-office stand,
are St. James's-street and Mill-street, leading to Toxteth Park, of which
all that is within the borough is laid out for streets, some completed,
and many others begun. The high ground here affords a fine prospect across
the Mersey into Cheshire, as well as over Lancashire. On the top of James-
street taking Upper Parliament-street, situated upon the left hand; and on
the left again, in the last-named street, we came upon St. James's
Cemetery.
The proper approach to this last resting-place of mortality is along Duke-
street, which is easily found from the Exchange, by going up Castle-street
and turning to the left-hand at the Custom-house. This cemetery was once a
quarry of red sandstone, and comprises altogether 44,000 square yards of
ground, which is not as much as the Queen's Dock. It is surrounded by a
wall and iron railings, and on the western side has rather incongruously
Page 115.
a public esplanade; but the peculiarity of the cemetery is, that it
consists principally of catacombs, having ample doorways, amounting in all
to one hundred
and five. There are four entrances; the interior is planted and laid out
neatly, a chapel erected on a conspicuous part of the ground in the
Grecian taste rising over all, the whole being very appropriate. Mr.
Huskisson's remains rest near the centre of the ground, and a circular
monument with ten columns surmounted by a dome is placed over them, and
the statue of the deceased by Gibson in the centre beneath, habited in a
toga. The fault of this cemetery in our view is, that it
displays too much of art; it is an ornament of death
formed in the midst of streets densely populated as if
the King of Terrors in this thrifty nation must be made
the most of, in a way of pecuniary return. In one spot
in the cemetery we saw the site of a grave marked by a
bed of flowers, and were told that this singular memorial
had been a last request of the youthful tenant, a young
lady, who fell a victim to consumption-"the fairest still
the fleetest." There are several monuments in the ground displaying
considerable taste, and a few which to us seemed offensive by the
Page 116.
fulsomeness of their laudations. As we left this last sojourn of mortals
we were more than ever in the mind to agree with the author of the
Minstrel:
Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down,
Where a green grassy turf is all I crave,
With here and there a violet bestrewn,
Fast by a brook or fountain's murmuring wave-
The esplanade we have alluded to above, before the quarry was made into a
cemetery, was a place of public resort, shaped for that purpose by one of
the chief magistrates, and previously called Quarry Hill. His worship
thoughtlessly, it being out of name for a public promenade, called it
Mount Zion, thinking perhaps that there was no reason why a pleasant walk
should not have a good name, upon the principle of a late divine, who
applied to song tunes the words of the psalms, because it was "a pity that
the devil should have all the good tunes." Thus Quarry Hill was exalted
into "Mount Zion," but his worship's well meaning was misinterpreted by a
fastidious Welch clergyman, who was "horrified" as the ladies say, at
seeing the words, "bottled beer to be had," recorded upon the door leading
to the Mount Zion of Liverpool. This was not all; the reverend gentleman
invoked the Muse of Satire to his aid, and wrote some verses, which, after
alluding to a sign of bottled beer upon the door of Mount Zion, concluded-
But thou who hear'st the poor man's prayer,
Protect the innocent and guard the fair,
And, if thou can'st forgive, forgive the Mayor!
The Mayor, evidently the best practical Christian of the two, had employed
the poor out of work during a hard winter to make the walk. The name was
next changed to the Mount; and then, to heal the breach entirely, it was
placed under the tutelage of St. James, and is named at present St.
James's Walk. The river, the verdant coast of Cheshire opposite, and
sometimes the mountains of Wales, are visible from it, shipping and houses
composing the foreground of the picture; but the finest objects are too
far distant; while what is wanting in picturesque effect, being
artificial, is too near to lay claim to more than a pleasing relief in the
way of picture from the monotony of the street houses. But then this is so
close at home as to be of inestimable value to those who can step upon it
almost from their own doors, and it presents the town in all its expansion
close at hand.*
* It is scarcely possible to look down upon the streets and
structures between the Mount and the Mersey without calling
to mind the late Lord Erskine's description of the effect
produced by a similar prospect of this town. In his happiest
vein of eloquence he says: "If I were capable of painting in
words the impression Liverpool made on my imagination, it
would form a beautiful picture indeed! I had before often been
at the principal seaports in this island, and believing that
having seen Bristol and those other towns that deservedly pass
for great ones, I had seen everything in this great nation of
navigators on which a subject should pride himself; I own I was
astonished and astounded, when, after passing a distant ferry
and ascending a hill, I was told by my guide,-All you see spread
beneath
Page 117.
The Liverpool Infirmary in Brownilow- street, opened in 1824, having been
removed from another site, is a handsome building, the front narrower than
the back part, which is thrown out in wings. This front consists of two
antae and a cell, the cornice six Ionic columns, the antae, having
pilasters. The depth from the front to the back is
above a hundred feet, and the width from the extremity
of one wing to another above two hundred. There are
twenty rooms on the entrance floor, below which there
is a suite of ground apartments. It contains twenty
wards in all, with 234 beds; and the management is in
a committee of gentlemen; a surgeon, matron, and four
apprentices reside in the infirmary.
A Lunatic Asylum stands on Brownlow-hill, erected in 1829; an extensive
building, which appears to be well regulated.
The other charitable institutions of Liverpool are numerous. There is an
Opthalmic hospital, which has relieved nearly 30,000 patients; a
"Northern Hospital," accommodating sixty patients; a Lock hospital; and
two Dispensaries, one of which is a handsome building, situated in the
Vauxhall-road; both conducted by a general committee of the same
individuals. We can only enumerate the principal of the other charitable
establishments in this wealthy and magnificent town: namely, a blue-coat
school, founded in 1709, having 250 boys and 100 girls; a school for the
indigent blind; a house of recovery; a strangers' friend society; a Welch
charitable society; a penitentiary, and a county refuge for the destitute;
a marine society; Liverpool charitable, ladies' lying-in, and district
provident, societies; an institution for instructing the deaf and dumb,
and numerous others. One other establishment, peculiar we
you-that immense plain which stands like another Venice upon the
waters-which is intersected by those numerous docks-which
glitters with those cheerful habitations of well-protected men-
which is the busy seat of trade and the gay scene of elegant
amusements, growing out of its prosperity-where there is the most
cheerful face of industry-where there are riches overflowing, and
everything that can delight a man who wishes to see the prosperity
of a great community and a great empire,-all this has been created
by the industry and well-disciplined management of a handful of
men since you were a boy. I must have been a stick or a stone not
to be affected by such a picture.
The blue-coat school has an hospital attached to it; a plain
building, constructed of brick and stone, erected in 1726.
Page 118.
believe to Liverpool, deserves to be honourably mentioned; it is the
Charitable Institution House, erected for the accommodation of the
committees of the different charitable societies connected with the town.
Opportunities are thus afforded to the members of the different
institutions of becoming acquainted with the proceedings of each other,
by which mutual interference is prevented, and abuses of the charities
rendered easy of detection.
Passing along Dale-street up Shaw's-brow, and keeping to the left through
Islington and Brunswick-road, we came into the Derby-road in the north-
eastern quarter of the town, and following this road for some distance
reached the Zoological Gardens, which are upon the right just within the
borough limit, near the West Derby Workhouse, and beyond the Necropolis.
These gardens are laid out with a good deal of taste; and the ground being
adapted by nature for such a purpose, irregular and spacious, comprising
no less than ten acres, affords a variety of surface which admits of
considerable picturesque display.
Nothing has been omitted here in the way ornament; the trees, shrubs, and
flowers are manifold in their varieties, and grouped
with judgement. The animals are well accommodated,
numerous, and apparently in good condition.
Entertainments are given occasionally of the same
nature as those in the Surrey Zoological Gardens of
the metropolis; while Liverpool possesses, besides
this interesting and valuable establishment, a
Botanic Garden at the top of Edge-hill, extending
over eleven acres, laid out with exact attention to the objects for which
it was created. The cost of these extensive and useful undertakings is
defrayed by subscription, abundantly indicating the munificence of the
townspeople, as well as the great extent of their pecuniary resources, to
which no other place out of the metropolis affords a parallel example.
The Necropolis is a cemetery of considerable extent, called locally the
Low-hill Cemetery; and is surrounded by a lofty wall, enclosing an oblong
square of about five acres in superficial extent. A portion, ten feet from
the wall all round on the interior side, is set apart for a colonnade, to
receive tombs and inscriptions; but only a part of this, on one of the
sides, is yet
Page 119.
completed; and the centre is laid out in an ornamental shrubbery. The
entrance consists of a stone front, Laving two lodges, with Doric pillars
between, supporting a cornice of the same order, remarkably neat and well
proportioned. The service of the Church of England, or any other, may be
read here by the clergyman of the denomination to which the deceased may
happen to belong; and a chaplain is appointed, who reads the service when
desired without any fees, which service is that of the Church of England,
with a slight alteration of one or two passages. The arrangements and care
of the cemetery are under the management of a committee of gentlemen, who
suffer nothing savouring of bad taste, indecorous or ludicrous, to appear
in the mortuary inscriptions.
The Everton-road passes along the western side of the Necropolis leading
into Everton village; an agreeable place, out of the bustle of Liverpool;
and here, down what is called Rupert-place, yet stands the cottage
occupied by Prince Rupert as his head-quarters during the siege of
Liverpool in 1644. It consists of one story, and most probably stood alone
in the fields at that period, though now surrounded by dwellings. It is
whitewashed, and presents to the passenger the following aspect, appearing
to be carefully preserved as a relic of the contest for absolute power in
this part of the country between a monarch and his people.
It appears that Prince Rupert and the Earl of Derby, after having taken
Bolton, went to make Liverpool an easy conquest, but found it defended by
a mud wall on the east and north, having a deep ditch;
and upon the wall, bags of Irish wool were piled, of
which a large importation happened just before to have
taken place. A wide marsh inundated from the Mersey
rendered the town inaccessible on the south-east side,
and the streets in that direction were closed by gates
defended with cannon; while on the south side was a strong castle
surrounded with a wide and very deep ditch, well defended by artillery.
Prince Rupert was repulsed again and again for above a month, with great
slaughter; but at last, some accounts say by the treachery of the
commandant, others by neglect in defending the side next the marshes, the
place was entered, and all who were met put to the sword, except those in
the castle, who capitulated. The town was very soon after retaken by
Colonel Birch, and continued to remain true to the popular cause.
Everton is older than Liverpool, and not long ago was at some considerable
distance from the buildings of the present town; standing upon
Page 120.
lofty land compared to Liverpool itself, and more than a mile from the
boundary of-the old town. The manor once belonged to John of Gaunt; by
whose son, Henry IV., it became vested in the Crown, and there remained
until in 1629 Charles I. sold it, as he did much of the Crown property, to
raise money for his private purposes; and it afterwards was resold to Lord
Stanley and Strange. Here was an ancient beacon, erected in the reign of
Henry III., blown down in 1803, the site of which is occupied by the
church of St. George. This beacon consisted of three stories: the lowest
was a kitchen, the upper rooms were described as
spacious; and on an angle of the fort was a stone
hollow for placing combustibles to be kindled in case
of an enemy's landing, as it was conspicuous as far
north-east as Rivington Pike and Ancient Beacon. St
George's Church is a neat edifice, opened in 1814; the
view from the top of the tower is well worth the ascent.
Everton is now connected with Liverpool by several
streets, which run parallel with Church-street and
Domingo-road, having cross lines. Everton-brow and
Brunswick-crescent run up from the town into the village, as well as
Brunswick-road. Proceeding along the hill summit, and going northward,
while passing a large house called St. Domingo, built with the spoils of
privateering obtained from a ship belonging to what was then a French
colony, a perfect view is obtained of Liverpool, the Mersey down to its
mouth, and the more distant sea. In clear weather the higher Welch
mountains are visible, as well as those of Cumberland, but in faint
outline only. This eminence is about 200 feet above the Mersey, but the
country round being low, with a good deal of water, this height will be
found enough to afford a pretty extensive prospect. Following the road a
little further, the village of Kirkdale appears; through and almost up to
which streets are planned or completed in more than one line; the
principal of these is called New Scotland-road, and terminates in Byrom-
street on the south, and on the north crossing a parallel road called the
Boundary-road, going through Kirkdale, and intersecting the Everton road
nearly at the northern end of that village. Out of the Kirkdale-road on
the left, along Castle or Smith streets, is the way to the Gaol for the
Page 121.
hundred of West Derby. This building is very large, stands in a healthful
situation, covers 28,648 square yards of ground, and is adapted for 800
prisoners, who can be divided into twenty-two classes; possessing too an
enormous treadmill, capable of admitting 130 prisoners upon it at once.
The form of the building is circular, terminating in wings of a square
figure, the chapel in the centre. The arrangements are considered to be of
the best kind, particularly for apportioning punishments, and for
separating offenders of different shades of guilt from intercourse with
each other, which is effected by means exceedingly judicious. Kirkdale is
a township of a very ancient date, and was the property of the De la More
family in 1280. Their Kirkdale residence, a curious relic of antiquity,
was lately pulled down; the name was Bankhall; it was surrounded by a
moat, over which was a bridge leading to a turreted gateway, decorated
with stone carvings; and this led to the inner court. The hall was open to
the roof, and the beams and rafters covered with old carved work;
representing implements of war, heraldic designs, and family shields.
The structures of Liverpool, applied to the purposes of religious worship,
are numerous, as we have before observed. The only church that possessed
a claim to antiquity was that of St. Nicholas, the earliest parish records
belonging to which do not date before 1681: it was a chapel of case under
Walton-on-the-Hill, until 1699, when the town of Liverpool was made a
distinct parish. There was onee a statue of St. Nicholas in the church-
yard; regarded as the tutelar guardian of seamen on proceeding upon their
outward-bound voyages. This church is seen in its pristine state in the
wood engraving of old Liverpool; it was
rebuilt in 1774, except the tower, and stands
nearly opposite St. George's Dock. In 1810,
as the congregation were assembling on a
Sunday for divine worship, and about ten
minutes before it usually commenced, the
spire fell through the roof along the
centre aisle of the church, owing to the
ringing of the bells loosening the stones
of the arches on which it rested. The
children of the Moorfields charity were
entering at the moment-the girls preceding
the boys; but the latter all escaped, while
of the others, twenty-eight were buried under
the fallen mass, twenty-three killed, and five taken to the
Page 122.
hospital, of which number one died subsequently. The present tower was
soon afterwards erected, so that no trace of the ancient church now
remains.
None of the churches of Liverpool have any pretensions to extraordinary
beauty or novelty of design, some being constructed with little regard to
purity or simplicity, others with too much of pretension to what they
evidently do not possess; but the same circumstances are only observable
here in common with the metropolis.
St. Peter's church, built in 1704, is a plain and inelegant, but solid
structure, having a heavy square tower terminating octagonally with a
pinnacle at each angle: it stands in Church-street, and contains one or
two monuments to individuals of the town; that to Mr. Cunliffe, a merchant
of Liverpool, being marked by expense rather than beauty. St. George's
church, built originally in 1732, has been rebuilt by Mr. Foster, the town
architect, in the Doric style, with tasteful simplicity; though the lower
part of the tower, supporting a double row of columns, is so sufficiently
substantial, as almost to border upon heaviness.
St. Thomas's church is a very tasteless affair: it had originally a fine
spire, but as it would appear that the noisy resonance of bells is almost
a part of orthodoxy in Liverpool, and the ringing made it vibrate, the
spire was sacrificed to the bells, and a heavy cupola ensures the safety
of as much ringing as the pullers of the ropes choose to inflict upon the
surrounding inhabitants. St. Paul's was erected in 1769; and compared to
most of the other churches in the town, has an
imposing appearance and an air of elegance; but
it possesses none of the grandeur which the
architect was solicitous of conifering upon it,
by making it a copy of St. Paul, London. The
frog cannot success fully compete with the
ox in architecture any more than in fable. St.
Luke in the Anglo-Gothic, or pointed style, is
exceeding well wrought out by Mr. Foster, the
corporation architect, of which his is a
representation. St. Ann's church, placed north
and south- stark heterodoxy in ecclesiastical
architecture-was built in 1770, at the expense
of two private gentlemen: the galleries are supported by cast-iron pillars,
said to be the first ever used for a similar purpose. Christ-church is a
roomy and handsome edifice, built by a private individuaI, Mr.
Page 123.
Houghton, endowed by him, and opened for divine worship in 1800. The
church of St. John was erected at the public expense in 1784. St. Philip's,
St. Ann's, St. Michael's, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, St. James, and those
of St. Stephen, St. Matthew, All Saints, St. Andrew, St. Mark, Christ,
Trinity, St. David, St. Catherine; St. Bride, St. Matthias, St. Augustine
at Everton, St. Jude; and the church of the indigent blind, built of
stone, a copy of the temple of Jupiter in Egina, in the early Doric style;
St. Peter's, and a floating church, are the principal places of worship
belonging to the Establishment; besides which, there are several Episcopal
chapels.
The Catholics have five chapels; the Wesleyans nine, the Baptists five,
the Independents nine; the dissenters in all fifty-nine. We have only
enumerated by name the principal churches belonging to the Establishment,
which, including chapels, number together thirty-two: and including the
places of public worship considered as attached to Liverpool on the
Cheshire shore, the total number, belonging to all creeds, is 102, of
which one is a Jews synagogue. The dissenting chapel recently erected by
the congregation of the Rev. Dr. Raffles is remarkable
for simplicity of design and chasteness of ornament.
The Scotch kirk in Rodney-street is also a pleasing
specimen of Grecian architecture; and the Wesleyan
chapel in Harrigton possesses a fine window of stained
glass.
There are 75 Sunday-schools, with 16,000 scholars;
evening schools, 43, with 548 scholars; day schools,
including charity and infant, 648, having 28,916 scholars. There are
thirteen medical charities: twelve provident, and twenty-three religious.
There are fifteen literary institutions, twelve places of public
amusement, and ten prisons.*
In the Corn Exchange in Brunswick-street an immense business is trans-
acted. It is the great northern depot for the agricultural produce of
Ireland; destined to supply the demand of the manufacturing districts.
Large quantities of corn are also brought coastwise from the ports of
England and Scotland, so that the number of ships bringing corn to the
port of Liverpool has been said to average one hundred per week.
* We copy here from Butterworth's Statistical Sketch.
Page 124.
The markets of Liverpool are remarkable structures. It was after dark on a
Saturday evening that we entered that of St. John; a magnificent
undertaking, sixty-nine feet longer than St. Paul's cathedral, and 135
feet wide-in fact an immense chamber, lighted by 136 windows, occupying
two acres of ground; and supported by 116 iron pillars; having fifty-eight
small shops along the walls, which have fire-places; 160 provision stalls,
stands innumerable, and the whole lit up by 144 gas-lights, branching out
of iron pillars. It was naturally crowded at the time we visited it; and
the vast expanse, the lights, the buzz of voices, and the medley of
people, young and old-here chaffing and haggling, there. storing their
purchases-while a river of existence continually flowed along each avenue,
struck us more than anything at all approximating to it in character that
we ever saw. St. John's is a vast brick building; but St. Martin's-market
is handsomer and better proportioned; still the imposing magnitude of the
first is wanting; for to us there is much more effect produced upon the
mind by an ill-proportioned giant than by an every-day man. All these
magnificent works were designed and completed by the active and public-
spirited corporation of the town; which, in these respects has no equal,
even where wealth is equally abounding, of which the metropolis affords a
striking example.* St. John's Market is here represented.
There is nothing contributing to aid the main object of a great commercial
population that is not carried into effect in Liverpool; all that wealth
can command being directed to facilitate the acquirement of more wealth;
not upon the principle of hoarding money acquired in every possible
manner, as misers dispose of their riches, but the liberal employment of
capital, based on the indisputable maxim that money must not be spared to
clear the channels by which
* The houses of Liverpool are constructed both of brick and
stone, and some of the streets are very spacious. Lord-street
is a noble avenue, and the view towards the town-hall from St.
George's-crescent.
Page 125.
more money is acquired. The moment it was found advantageous, for example,
that intelligence should be conveyed from Holyhead to Liverpool of the
arrival of vessels off the former place, seventy-two miles distant,
telegraphs were established at eleven stations, much more perfect in
operation than those used by government, expressing any number up to 9999
at one signal; and a question is often asked and a reply made in a minute,
the distance being 144 miles; and ordinary communications on reporting
vessels occupy only five minutes. In this spirit it was that the railway
with Manchester was projected and carried into execution, and that the
great undertakings in the way of docks followed one another with such
rapidity: it was the stirring of the great and true principle upon which a
successful commerce is based, meeting in a new and rising port with none
of those narrow prejudices and mischievous predilections that abounded in
the old mode of carrying on trade, but readily seizing upon every thing
new that is beneficial on the demonstration of its advantage. It is
impossible to contemplate without a smile the history of the ancient
trading voyages of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and the king who sent
his ships to Ophir for gold, so magnified and extolled for ages, upon
turning to a modern town of the growth but of a century, and upon consider-
ing that the habitable globe alone bounds the extent of the voyages which
its vessels undertake, with a hundred times less notice than the
navigation of an inland sea excited among the ancients-it is impossible to
turn to the narrations thus handed down to us, and not to feel that
Liverpool must become the Tyre of modern history. The navy of Carthage,
the vessels of the Pheonicians, and the ships of Solomon together, were
not equal in consideration, either from
is a fine perspective. The streets near the river are still narrow,
but in other parts are spacious and well built, and this will apply]y
to all the thoroughfares of recent date.
The number and classification of houses in tile borough, assessed to the
poor-rate two or three years ago, were as follow :-
64 at £ 3 . . £192 | 461 at £]5 £ 6,915
153 " £ 4 . . £612 | 76I " £16 £12,176
628 " £ 5 . . £3,140 | 220 " £17 £ 3,740
3,337 " £ 6 . . £20,022 | 576 " £18 £10,368
3,303 " £ 7 . . £23,121 | 351 " £19 £ 6,669
2,795 " £ 8 . . £22,360 | 296 " £20 £ 5,920
1,755 " £ 9 . . £15,795 |6,132 above £20 £247,300
2,026 " £10 . . £20,260 | ----- -------
1,056 " £11 . . £11,616 |28,685 471,896
1,372 " £12 . . £16,464 | 1,092 Warehouses 118,616
2,450 " £13 . . £31,850 |3,425 { Breweries, work }
940 " £14 . . £13,286 | -------( shops, etc., ) 129,865
|33,202 Total £720,377
No town in England has received greater improvement during the past half-
century than Liverpool]. Before that time the streets were narrow and
inconvenient, and the buildings were wholly devoid of architectural
beauty, but the alterations have given to the town a commodiousness and
elegance not to be met with in any other port. This altered condition has
been produced by the exertions of the corporation, in whom is vested the
property of a great proportion of the houses. As the leases of these have
progressively fallen in, they have been renewed only on the condition of
expending the sums necessary for the required embellishment.
Page 126.
force or burthen, to the array of streamers we saw upon the breeze during
one hour in the port of Liverpool. The advantage of Liverpool over Bristol
was mainly attributable to a disregard of long-acquired habits of thinking
in traffic, to a more liberal and generous spirit among the merchants, and
to speculations which were limited only by calculations based upon those
dictates of human prudence that must be generally successful, though still
felt not to be beyond the possibility of solitary failure. When Liverpool
flung off the inhuman traffic in slaves, which the government so long
fostered and encouraged, she came forth like a giant refreshed; as if
Justice were grateful for the renunciation of a traffic so disgraceful,
and at once threw into her docks and warehouses, by an activity without
parallel, the merchandise and riches of empires.
There is a statue of George III. on horseback, in Roman costume, near
Pembroke-place and the London-road, which is of no great merit on the
score of art, and is the work of Westmacott; its situation is exceedingly
well chosen. There is something ludicrous to those who remember the King's
person and manner in thus dressing him up like Julius Caesar; it almost
recals the lines of Peter Pindar.
A street parallel with Rodney-street, terminating one end in Mount
Pleasant and the other in Duke-street, bears the venerable name of
Roscoe. The historian of Lorenzo de Medici is always coupled by
foreigners with the town to which in his lifetime he was so attached. His
celebrated collection of Italian authors, about three hundred volumes, is
deposited in the library of the Athenaeum, through a trait of character
in a well known merchant of Liverpool, Mr. Rathbone, most honourable to
his head and heart; for knowing that Roscoe regretted the loss of those
works more than of any other books he possessed, he made the purchase of
them at the sale of Roscoe's library, and presented them to his friend.
Who would not envy Mr. Rathbone his feelings upon that occasion! Roscoe
declined the present, unless upon the condition that they should be
afterwards deposited in the Library of the Athenaeum, where they now
remain, in an establishment to form which we believe Roscoe was one of
the chief instruments. No one knew this truly good and learned man but
must have his fine Roman portraiture indelibly impressed upon his memory.
We shall not easily forget the last time we were in his company, four
individuals only being present, among them Ugo Foscolo, the great
literary name of modern Italy; when Roscoe's equanimity of temper and
firm bearing contrasted well with the fiery temperament of the Italian or
Greek, as Foscolo at times affected to consider himself. Both have now
slept for years with their fathers. Roscoe, born March 8, 1753, died June
30, 1831, and was of humble parentage, and self-taught, for he would not
submit to the mechanical drudgery of the schoolmaster, even in the
limited way in which his parents could alone afford him the elements of
an education, since he possessed a better key to instruction than the rod
of the pedagogue, having acquired the art of thinking for himself in his
earlier years. At sixteen he was employed
Page 127.
in the office of an attorney as an articled clerk, when he wrote verses,
and contrived to acquire the Latin, French, and Italian languages. On the
expiration of his articles he went into partnership with an eminent
attorney of Liverpool, and soon managed the whole business, which obtained
a high reputation. Giving up business with a competency, he entered himself
in 1805 at Gray's Inn, intending to go to the bar, and was induced about
the same time to join in a Liverpool banking-house, which failed and
involved him in its ruins, when he resigned all his property to his
creditors, but retained to the last day of his life the esteem and respect
of every rank and degree of mankind, both in and out of England, for his
fame was not confined to his native shores. Here is the house in which he
was born, yet standing upon Mount Pleasant, a spot of ground which must
have been apart from, and have commanded a fine view of,
Liverpool fourscore years ago.
Although Roscoe is the great literary name of Liverpool,
it is not the only one distinguished in a similar
pursuit. Dr. Curry of that place, wrote an excellent
life of Burns, the first and the best we have ever read;
and Dr. Shepherd published a life of Bracciolini.
Stubbs, the animal painter, connects Liverpool with the pictorial art by an
excellence which no one is inclined to dispute; and Deare, a very promising
sculptor, was a native of the town; while in mathematics it was an honour
to produce so distinguished an individual as Horrox. We believe the late Mrs.
Hemans was also a native of Liverpool. The number and excellence of the
literary institutions of Liverpool prove at least a fondness for the
cultivation of the mind to be prevalent there.
Of the character of the inhabitants it does not become us to speak, from
wanting a sufficient personal knowledge of the subject; but we may form
some opinion of what it may be, from the elegance of the town, from the
liberality of the institutions, the probity of the citizens, and corporate
body, and from the absence in society of the ridiculous exclusiveness
exhibited so much in other places, the offspring of pride and ignorance.
Where commercial intercourse, personal and by correspondence, is continual
with the inhabitants
Page 128.
of all countries, there must be less prejudice, greater civility, fewer of
the pretensions of class, more open and kindly manners, and a more frank
and manly bearing than in places not so happily circumstanced for imbibing
the sterling humanities of life, and for extinguishing the miserable spirit
of bigotry and illiberality in private intercourse. Those who are
solicitous for that of which they cannot estimate the worthlessness, and
are content to exchange the weighty gold of simple warm manners for the
hollowness of overwrought refinement, or the servility that chills while
paying the compliment it secretly repudiates, must not, it appears to us,
expect to find their social beau ideal in Liverpool.
The market days in Liverpool are Wednesday and Saturday; but, as in other
large places, merchandise and wares of every sort required by the
population are purchaseable daily in all quarters of the town. Means of
water communication exist, both by canals and rivers as well as on land by
railways and roads, for the conveyance of all kinds of goods at easy and
cheap rates. The exports consist principally of the manufactures of the
counties of Lancaster, Stafford, York, Warwick, and Chester; while the
imports are of all kinds, but principally colonial; and the coasting trade
extends to every part of the United Kingdom. Small vessels can ascend on
the Mersey and Irwell for thirty-five miles above Liverpool, by which much
agricultural produce is conveyed.
The steam-vessels plying at the different ferries across the Mersey, to
the Isle of Man, to the north of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland,
are very numerous; so long ago as 1830, no less than thirty-six sailed to
and from Ireland alone, and the number now must be greatly increased. The
limits of the port are "from the Redstones in Hoylelake at the point of
Wirral, southerly, to the foot of the river called Ribble Water, in a
direct line northerly; and so upon the south side of that river to Hesketh
Bank easterly, and to the rivers Astland and Douglas there, and so all
along the sea-eoasts of Meals and Formby unto the river Mersey, all over
the rivers Mersey, Irwell, and Weaver." *
Towards the mouth of the Mersey, from Runcorn downwards, there are
commodious steam ferries, and many individuals whose business is in Liver-
pool reside on the Cheshire shore, passing backwards and forwards
continually. The New ferry, Rockhouse ferry, Birkenhead ferry, Woodside
and Seacombe, are the points in communication more immediately with
Liverpool; Woodside being the most ancient. North of Seacombe ferry is the
magazine where the vessels inward-bound deposit their gunpowder. Near to
the Cheshire shore, opposite Kirkdale, in the borough of Liverpool, but
west of it, is the fort on Rock point, protecting the entrance of the
Mersey. The principal face of the work is about 200 yards in extent,
rising twenty-five feet above the water, mounting six thirty-two pound
guns, with others at the angles which flank the faces, mounted on towers
commanding the fronts respectively. This fort covers the entrance
perfectly, as the channel by which vessels are obliged to
* Liverpool stands in lat. 53 22, N and 2 30, W. long.
Page 129.
pass is not more than 900 yards wide, owing to the Burbo Sand, so that
they must come within range of the guns. There are barracks for 100 men
within the fort, which is completely insulated at spring tide. Heavy seas
frequently break against the north-east and north-west faces, but these are
defended from the spray by a strong course of masonry. Near the fort stands
a fine lighthouse, exhibiting a revolving light of
great intensity. It is built on the plan Smeaton
followed at the Eddystone; the material being a very
durable marble from the Isle of Anglesey, carried up
solid for a considerable height, and the stones
dovetailed into each other, and cemented with puzzolano
from the territory of Naples: the expense, defrayed by the Liverpool
corporation, was 27,000L.
We have not before given the reader a representation of the entrance to a
dock basin, and for this purpose introduce to his notice the gates of
Duke's Dock, which, though by no means so large as those belonging to the
docks of a later date in point of erection, are more picturesque, and
admit over them a view of distant scenery. There lies beyond them,
including the river, shipping,
and the Cheshire shore for a considerable extent, a prospect of novelty and
interest, situated at no great distance from one of the ferries, and
embracing an extended line of country.
Page 130.
From the Lancashire side, north of Liverpool, the fort and lighthouse are
seen to great advantage; and in fine weather the vessels passing and
repassing present a lively scene of very high interest. Smoking steamers,
proceeding on their courses without regard to the wind; fishing-boats,
busy at their vocation; vessels, large and small, crossing each other,
working in or out, some apparently making fourteen knots in fifteen hours,
while others, finding the breeze auspicious, spread all their bellying
sails to catch its full impulse: in one, as Campbell beautifully expresses
it, waves "the flag that braved a thousand years the battle and the
breeze;" and in another the ensign of some foreigner floating peacefully
on the gale in the pursuit of a traffic mutually beneficial through the
advantages of a profitable commerce. We could not but feel pleasure at
such a sight; and hope that, though every empire; and with it all
commercial traffic, must have its cycle, the scenes which are thus so
beautifully displayed might exist to the utmost verge of a prolonged
season.
The manufactures carried on in Liverpool are not important; for it is in
the import of raw cotton and its export in a manufactured state, the
dealing with goods in the condition in which they come to hand, rather
than the transformation of the materials from one state to another, in
fact the supplying all parts of the globe, that the business of Liverpool
consists. The pent-up regular toil of the cotton factory, and the habits
of seafaring men, and labourers in docks and warehouses, would not, it is
probable, harmonize with each other; the independence of labour in the
open all; where much must depend upon will-and the dependence of the
factory, where man is wholly a machine, would be found to interfere
continually, did they coexist together to any extent. The few goods
manufactured in Liverpool are principally subsidiary to the demands of the
merchant for his shipping. There are several sugar refineries, some small
foundries, a good deal of ship-building in wood and iron, a manufactory of
steam-engines for vessels, and manufactories of anchors, chain cables, and
similar articles, naturally in demand in a large seaport. Of these the most
important, are the establishments for the manufacture of chain cables, of
machinery for steam-engines, locomotive and marine, and of common anchors.
The links of the chain cables are forged of an oval form; and, while they
are red hot, a stay is introduced, being a broad ended band of cold cast-
iron, to which the sides of the link are drawn close by the hammer; and, as
the ring contracts in cooling, the stay is held on as firmly as if it
formed part of the substance of the ring. When the chain is complete, it
is taken to be proved; this is done by extending it in portions upon a
very long and narrow table, and subjecting it to an enormous strain,
produced either by leverage or the wheel and axle. We were informed that
few chains are ever perfect when first wrought, and that generally five or
six links must be renewed before the manufacturer can certify to its
perfect security.
Fawcett's engine-manufactory is one of the largest in the kingdom, and we
Page 131.
shall take advantage of a visit to it to describe the outlines of some of
the processes in the manufacture of steam machinery, which has now become
a branch of industry in Lancashire scarcely second in importance to the
cotton manufacture.
All the heavier parts of steam-machinery are made of cast-iron, and hence
their perfection must mainly depend on that of the wooden models from which
their moulds are shaped. In fact, the preparation of models is the most
important and expensive part of the business; and in large establishments
the collections of them are valued at several thousand pounds. The frame-
work of the various machines used in mills is rarely susceptible of
ornament; the great object is to combine lightness with strength, and to
occupy as small a space as possible; the models of these frames have
therefore no interest except for the professional engineer. It is far
otherwise with the framework in which the engines of steam-vessels are
set: the engine-room, between the two cylinders, is altogether formed of
cast-iron; and in general, considerable taste and fancy are displayed in
its decoration. We saw one at Mr. Fawcett's which, when set up, would form
a Gothic chapel in the richest style of florid architecture; and another,
which was modelled from a Grecian temple. These are cast by piecemeal, but
with such accuracy that the joinings cannot be detected by an unpractised
eye.
As motion is communicated from the steam-engine to the machinery by means
of turning shafts, it is necessary, to save the waste of power by
friction, that these shafts should be perfectly true and smooth. It was
formerly usual to give a level surface to iron by using the chisel and
file; but this process, besides being very tedious and expensive, was also
deficient in accuracy, especially when applied to shafts of very
considerable length. The planing of iron became therefore a problem which
has long exercised the ingenuity of the best engineers, and it is now
generally effected by an application of the lathe. There are two ways by
which the process may be effected: the plane, which is a piece of the
hardest steel, may be made to traverse horizontally over the iron shaft
kept revolving beneath it; or the shaft may be gradually pushed forward
under the plane, fixed stationary at the proper angle, being propelled by
a screw, so as to secure its gradual advance, and also to prevent any
change in its true direction. The latter is the plan most generally
adopted, and few mechanical processes are more likely to fill the mind of
a visitor with wonder than to see iron planed apparently with as much
facility as the softest wood, and throwing off rolls of shaving as lightly
folded as those in the shop of the cabinet-maker. In this way the largest
surfaces are planed with the assistance of a single workman.
The smoothing of shafts, and of similar parts of machinery, is here
brought to the highest perfection, and may be considered a part of the art
of turning. Cannons were at first made of iron hoops or bars, welded or
brazed together. They were afterwards cast hollow, with a cavity as nearly
cylindrical as could
Page 132.
be obtained by casting, and then the surface was smoothed by a boring
machine, with steel cutters. In this way it was almost impossible to
obtain a true bore; balls of a smaller size than would otherwise be
necessary were used, occasioning great windage and loss of powder. They
are now cast perfectly solid; and care is taken, by melting pig-iron of
different qualities together, that the cast-iron should not be too hard to
be acted upon by the borer. In general, the boring-bar is fixed, and the
revolving gun exposed to the action of a steel-cutter constantly impelled
towards the gun. The cutters in this process become highly magnetic, so
that the boring-dust is seen adhering, and hanging from their edges when
they are drawn out. When the boring is completed, the touchhole is drilled.
In the boring of steam cylinders, the steel-cutters revolve, and the
cylinder is fixed. The cylinder is placed horizontally, while the cutters
are forced forward by a steam-engine or water-wheel. The operation is
commonly repeated three times; and in the finishing process it is thought
essential to keep the machine continually at work from the beginning to
the end of the operation, without any regard to meal-times, or to day and
night. Were it discontinued, the cylinder would lose the heat acquired by
the friction, and a ridge would be formed at the spot where the boring was
suspended, which would be highly injurious to its proportion.
Iron is not only turned and bored with as much ease and accuracy as wood,
but, by means of shears, moved by a lever and wheel worked by steam, it is
cut through as if it were paper. We saw a piece of iron, three-fourths of
an inch thick, so divided at Messrs. Sharp and Roberts's manufactory. The
shock on the person holding the bar is not very great, provided he holds
the bar near the axle of the shears; but if he applies it near the edge the
jerk is considerable; and is likely, not only to wrest the bar from his
hand, but to do injury to the machine.
In all the establishments for the manufacture of machines, the
contrivances for the transmission and conversion of motion are multiplied
and various, but it would be impossible to describe them in a popular form.
The chief objects of attraction are the processes of casting, turning,
planing, boring, and welding; and these in their general features do not
essentially differ from the applications of the same operations with which
all are familiar. Wonder, in fact, is excited chiefly by seeing common
operations working on materials which might be supposed far removed beyond
their sphere.
The country round Liverpool abounds in every direction with fine resid-
ences, scattered through the neighbouring parishes. To the southward, at
no great distance, is Childwall, a large parish and vicarage, that
includes the chapelries of Hall, Speke, Garston, Wavertree, Atherton, and
Woolton, containing numerous seats and old halls. Childwall Abbey is a
house belonging to the Marquis of Salisbury, who obtained it by marriage
with the daughter of Mr. Bamber Gascoigne: it is about four miles south-
east from Liverpool, and
Page 133.
was built, after a design by Wash, by the brother of the late General
Gascoigne, who was member of parliament for Liverpool. The style is
Gothic, of that character which neither antiquity nor taste combine to
recommend; it is a heavy looking edifice, but the prospect from the towers,
of which there are two-one surmounted with a
smaller turret at Caernarvon-is very extensive,
commanding plain stretching from Ormskirk in one
direction away to Cheshire in another. This
neighbourhood is the haunt of the Liverpool
holiday keepers, and possesses an excellent inn,
to which they resort in considerable numbers. In
this parish is Speke Hall, a view of which, as well as an interior of one
of the rooms, is here given; it was built about 350 years ago, is
surrounded by a ditch or moat, and possesses every trait interesting to 
the lover of antiquity. Gigantic yews shed their
gloom over an antique court; the old hall is
decorated with a wainscot mantle-piece, said to
have been brought from Edinburgh castle after the
victory at Flodden Field; and Sir William Norris
brought here a part of the Scotch king's library
from Holyrood House. In some of the volumes now
in the Athenaeum at Liverpool, it is recorded in
the hand-writing of Sir William himself: "that Edyes Borow wasse wone ye
VIIIth daye of Maye, ano XXXVI H. VIII. et ano dni MCCCCCXLIII and yt
yis boke was gotty and
Page 134.
brought awaye by me Will'm Norres of ye Speike K. thys XI daye of Maye."
On the wainscoting is inscribed, " Sleep not till thou hast well consid-
ered how thou spent the day past: if thou hast done well; thank God for't;
if otherwise, repent." The Norris family resided at Speke for many genera-
tions before the time when the battle of Flodden Field was fought, in 1513.
The old carving affords an example of the taste of the age in which it was
done, and is by no means deficient in merit. This ancient house belongs to
Mr. Watt, to whose father it was sold by the son of the late Mr. Topham
Beauclerk; to whom it descended from the family of Norris.
Wavertree Village, lying on the east of Liverpool upon proceeding by the
Edge-hill road, is distant about two miles. This village contains between
two and three thousand inhabitants; the manor was called Vauretrea at the
Conquest. And here is Wavertree Hall, the residence of Mr. Lawrence;
characterized by somewhat of antiquity in its appearance, and this feeling
is more strongly impressed by the cawing of the numerous rooks that
inhabit a number of large elm trees contiguous to the mansion.
Hale Hall is a very ancient house; the estate on which it stands belonged
to the Lord of Hale as far back as the Conquest: it next became the
property of the Columber family, and from them descended to the Hollands,
and thence to the Irelands, with whom it remained until the middle of the
last century, when it came into the possession of the Blackburne family,
of Orford near Warrington, by marriage, and is now the seat of Mr.
Blackburne, who
for many years represented Lancashire in parliament. The house is built of
brick, a good deal of it covered with ivy. Upon the tower in front of the
house here seen is the date 1674, and the inscription "built by Sir
Gilbert
Page 135.
Ireland and Dame Margaret his wife." A new front has been added on the
south by Mr. Blackburne, commanding a fine view of the Mersey, three miles
across, and part of Cheshire, with several of the Welch mountains. The
present view represents the oldest front.
In this chapelry was born, in 1578, the giant called the "Child of Hale,"
named John Middleton, who was possessed of extraordinary strength. He
visited the court of James I., and a portrait of him is preserved in
Brazennose College, Oxford. His hand was seventeen inches from the carpus
to the end of the middle finger, his palm was eight inches and a half, and
his height nine feet three inches! It appears that some Lancashire
gentlemen dressed him "with large ruffs about his neck and hands, a
striped doublet of crimson and white round his waist, a blue girdle
embroidered with gold, large white plush breeches powdered with blue
flowers; green stockings; broad shoes of a light colour, having red heels,
and tied with large bows of red ribbon; and just below his knees bandages
of the same colour, with large bows; and by his side a sword, suspended by
a broad belt over his shoulder, and embroidered, as his girdle, with blue
and gold, with the addition of gold fringe upon the edge." In such a
costume, he must have been a fit match for Gog and Magog in the London
Guildhall. His amazing size is said to have frightened away some thieves
who came to rob his mother's house.
In Garston chapelry is Aidburgh Hall, once the seat of the Tarleton
family; and in the same chapelry Allerton Hall, the residence of Mr.
Roscoe during one part of his life, but which ceased to be such long
before his decease, owing to the position in which this learned and
excellent man was placed by adverse circumstances. The house commands a
fine view over the Mersey at its widest part, and the
high lands about Runcorn. The estate formerly
belonged to the Latham family, of Parbold, near the
town of Ormskirk, and was sold to an alderman of
Liverpool, from whom Mr. Roscoe purchased it. The
connexion with Allerton Hall of a name so
distinguished will always make it remembered, for
wherever the sons of Genius inhabited, even
"----- the wilderness is beautiful,
And hallowed in all time."
Page 136.
Woolton Hall is a fine mansion, once the property of the Molyneuxs, and
situated in the chapelry known by that name. There is a house called Roby
Hall, near Childwall Abbey, occupied by Mr. Edwards, a merchant of Liver-
pool, said to stand in the place of one very old, which was there
previously; and the present mansion was built by Mr. John Williamson of
Liverpool, and was sold not a great while ago to William Leigh, Esq., to
whose son it now belongs. Mr. Roby, author of those amusing and clever
volumes, the "Traditions of Lancashire," is reported to have had an
ancestral residence at this place.
North of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway is the parish of Prescot,
which contains, with the town and township of that name, the townships of
Eccleston, Parr, Windle-with-Hardshaw, and St. Helens town. In Windle
township are the remains of a chapel, now called Windleshaw Abbey. Prescot
was made a living by royal charter in 1445, is eight miles from Liverpool
north-eastward, and contains eleven almshouses, which have an income of
172L.; and a grammar-school, endowed with 159L.; a town-hall, prison,
mechanics' institution, and several subscription charities. The site of
the town is high, and much coal is raised in its vicinity; it has
manufactories of earthenware, but is more celebrated for manufactures of
small files, watch tools and movements, carried on also in the surrounding
townships. The church here has a tower which, at no great height above the
level of the roof-ridge of the body of the church-up to that point being
Gothic, with a window having a pointed arch-meets a broad 
cornice, and is
carried with Doric pilasters, having a semi-gothic
window between them, to the base of a spire with a
Palladian balustrade at the top, and urns at the at the
angles; then commences Gothic again in a spire with
small windows. This tower and spire, the most
extraordinary examples of bad taste we ever saw, were
erected, the spire in 1799, the body in 1820. Prescot
was born John Philip Kemble, the greatest actor on the
English stage after Garrick; the house in which he first
saw the light is here represented. John Kemble was born in February, 1757,
the son of the manager of a company of actors who itinerated the country, Page 137.
Page 137.
and died February 26, 1823, at Lausanne, where he is buried. South of the
railway line, bounded by the Mersey in the opposite direction, are the
townships of Cronton, Whiston, Rainhill, Widness, Appleton, Bold, Penketh,
Great Sankey and Ditton. A railway from St Helens to the
Mersey, opposite Runcorn, passes through several of
these townships. In Widness the church, or rather the
chapel of Farnworth, built before 1433, is dedicated to
St. Wilfred; it possesses some ancient memorials; and is
here represented.
Great Sankey church in that township was re-built in
1768, and is a neat structure; that of Rainhill was erected in 1838.
The parish of Walton-on-the-Hill, in the Kirkdale division of West Derby,
contains the township of Walton, the church of which is said to be of
Saxon origin, situated three miles north of Liverpool, and West Derby,
Fazakerly, Bootle-with-Linaere, Everton, Kirkdale, Formby, Simonswood, and
Kirkby townships. The church at Walton was rebuilt in 1326, and in 1742;
and contains a very ancient font; the parish also includes eleven chapels;
a market, with a fair, was granted to it in 1212. There are endowed schools
at Walton, Formby, West Derby, and Kirkby. Adjoining West Derby is the
extra-parochial district of Croxteth Park, containing 840 acres, and
Croxteth Hall, a seat of Lord Sefton. East of Croxteth is Knowsley Hall
and Park, in the chapelry of Huyton, in which also is the district of
Roby: Knowsley is a seat of the Earl of Derby, erected of brick at
different periods, and of great size, though an heterogeneous mixture of
architectural styles. The park is extensive and well wooded, but the trees
exhibit the effect of the prevalent winds, many of them sloping to the
north east. The more ancient part of the house is Gothic, and once had
round towers, said to have been built by the first Earl of Derby for the
reception of Henry VII., but according to other accounts only repaired by
the first Earl for that purpose. Henry, who owed so much to the Earl's
politic conduct at Bosworth Field, and in gratitude for his services
beheaded his brother Sir William Stanley, under the pretext that he was
concerned in the conspiracy that caused the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck,
although the sordid tyrant
Page 138.
knew that Sir William had two years before raised 3000 men at his own
private expense, and greatly contributed to place the crown upon his head.
Sir William was one of the richest men in England; and the king, in his
ruling passion, which was avarice, lusted after the possession of his
wealth, and as the means of obtaining it, beheaded the brother of his
mother's husband, his own chamberlain, wholly unsuspicious of offence, and
actually pattered with a traitor named Clifford to procure evidence
against him, hypocritically affected to believe the evidence untrue,
pretended to scruples he did not feel, and then impatient of longer
delaying the possession of the property of an innocent man, to whom he in
a great measure owed his crown, put him to death. Hume, ever the apologist
of despotic power, while he admits the desire of Henry to seize Stanley's
property, says that the only thing ever resembling proof brought against
Stanley, in the farce denominated a state trial of those times, was, that
he said, if Warbeck was really the son of Prince Edward, he would not bear
arms against him; although the unfortunate man had been long surrounded by
the king's spies, who were endeavouring to entrap him-without one shadow
of other proof, and with these admissions, Hume insinuates that it was
probable Stanley was a traitor, and had assisted Warbeck with money, "as
some assert! " After this murder of Stanley by Henry, he paid a visit in
the following year to his father-in-law, grieving, report says, that the
truth about Stanley had come too late! This visit, according to some, was
accompanied with the following incident. When the king had gone over the
house at Lathom, his host conducted him to the leads to see the prospect,
and the Earl's jester was present; who, observing the king near the verge
of the roof, which was unprovided with a railing or parapet, went up to
his master, and directing his attention to the fact, said, "Tom, remember
Will."* The king heard the words, hastened down, and speedily left his
father-in-law's residence. The jester afterwards seemed concerned that the
opportunity was omitted of thus punishing the despot-a punishment which
would have been well merited; and this was not the only lesson of royal
gratitude for almost unparalleled devotion that the Stanley family were
destined to learn. When the front of Knowsley was re-erected by the Earl
of Derby, who died in 1735; to which house this nobleman made great
additions, though not in very good taste, as he built an Ionic and Doric
front, with coupled columns, attached to an edifice partially in the old
Gothic. He had engraved upon the front the following inscription, comme-
morative of the treatment the family had received from Charles II. Besides
the destruction and loss of property, in the gallant defence of Lathom by
the lady of James Earl of Derby in behalf of Charles I., when his son
invaded England to try and obtain the throne by arms, the gallant Earl
risked his life and joined Charles, certain to be punished as a traitor if
taken in a contest that was virtually a rebellion against the established
government, had the
* Kennett's MS.
Page 139.
Earl not been before obnoxious to the ruling powers; and after the battle
of Worcester, being made prisoner, was ultimately beheaded at Bolton. When
the Restoration occurred, both houses of Parliament agreed to restore the
Earl of Derby's property to his family; for even those who might not have
liked the cause, admired the single-heartedness and devotion of the man
who had sealed his principles with his blood; but Charles II. refused to
sanction the return of the Derby property, perhaps to favour some
courtezan intrigue. "James Earl of Derby, Lord of Blan and the Isles,
grandson of James Earl of Derby, by Charlotte, daughter of Claude Duke of
Tremouille, was beheaded at Bolton, the 13th of October 1651, for
strenuously adhering to King Charles II., who refused a bill unanimously
passed by both houses of Parliament for restoring to the family the estates
which he had lost by his loyalty to him." Such is the inscription to which
we made allusion above. Mr. Pennant, in his zeal for the deservedly
outcast Stuart race, has declared the inscription "calumniating;" though
it would be difficult to prove truth in this or any other case to be
calumny.
There are paintings here of members of the Stanley family, and among them
a portrait of Thomas Lord Stanley, whose conduct at the field of Bosworth
decided the fate of the day, and obtained for him the earldom which the
family now possesses, he died in 1504. He is represented dressed in black,
with a bonnet and a ruff, holding a white wand. The portraits of the
mother of Henry VII., and of the third Earl of Derby, renowned for his
hospitality, who kept 220 individuals in his pay, and, fed threescore
daily, besides all comers three times a week, and every Good Friday 2200,
"with meat, drink, money, and money's worth;" and the portrait of James
Earl of Derby who was beheaded at Bolton, and of his heroic lady, are all
here.
There are many interesting historical portraits besides in this
princely
mansion, and some good pictures by the Italian
masters. Annexed is a representation of one of the
fronts of Knowsley Hall.
Knowsley possesses a collection of Flemish pictures,
that were purchased by James Earl of Derby, who
sent Mr. Winstanly, an artist, abroad for the
purpose of collecting them, about the commencement of the last century.
Page 140.
Returning into Liverpool, and passing out through the village of Kirkdale,
we proceeded along a paved road-for all the roads here are paved with
small stones for miles together, and cause the most disagreeable jolting
in a carriage, and to the pedestrian a sensation in the feet by no means
agreeable-we soon reached the village of Walton, with its church and new
tower, having a pleasant view of the country on the right-hand side,
stretching far away, well wooded, and relieved by many abodes of
mercantile opulence. As we proceeded, the right-hand side of the road
increased in interest, until we reached the turnpike-gate on the road to
Ormskirk, where some distant scenery burst upon the view; and objects on
the left of the road, which before were of little interest, began to mend
in some degree, and add to an agreeable though far from striking view of
the country. Rivington-Pike, near Chorley, was distinctly visible, and the
country about the shallow valley and chapelry of Fazakerly, with Knowsley
Hall, the latter embosomed in dense woods. At length we came to the race-
ground, between four and five miles from Liverpool, where a commodious inn
is situated, called the Sefton Arms, close to the ground. The stand was
built in 1829, and is a handsome structure, apparently well adapted for
its object, four stories high, and capable of containing a great many
spectators, for the leads will hold above two thousand, and must afford a
very extensive prospect; the course is a mile and a half round, railed the
whole distance. Six thousand persons are accommodated in the interior
stands; and we were informed that 20,000L. had been expended upon the
course and buildings, which are in the parish of Aintree.
Farther upon the left, is Sephton, or Sefton church, "bosomed in tufted
trees," on the border of some fine meadow land. This parish contains the
townships of Aintree on the right of the road at about the sixth milestone,
Great and Little Crosby close to the sea shore, Litherland, Orrel and Ford,
Thornton, Ince Blundell, Netherton, and Lunt, all of which lie on the left
of the Liverpool road to Ormskirk, except Aintree. Ince Blundell church,
erected in 1111, was rebuilt 1520, and is a very handsome edifice,
containing monuments of the Molyneux and Blundell families. There are
three episcopal and four catholic chapels in the parish of Sefton; much of
the land in which is marsh, yet it lets for sixty shillings an acre. In
Great Crosby there are two endowed schools; one for grammar, and one for
girls; this parish is visited as a bathing place. Sefton itself is seven
miles north from Liverpool, and is both a parish and manor, once belonging
to the Molyneux family by inheritance from William de Moulin, an ancestor.
The church is large and handsome, consisting of a nave, two aisles, and a
tower with a steeple, owing its erection to Anthony Molyneux, a rector
here about the time of Henry VIII. This church is separated from the nave
by a screen, and contains sixteen stalls, remarkably well executed in
carved work, and ornamented with grotesque figures; and there is a fine
carved canopy remaining over the pulpit, the workmanship of which is
exceedingly beautiful, though much injured by
Page 141.
time. Many of the Molyneux family are interred in this church, which con-
tains a number of fine monuments erected to different members of the
family. The following is a faithful representation of a part of the
interior of this edifice.
There are two figures of knights templars here, cross - legged, with
triangular shields; and there is an altar tomb to the memory of Sir
Richard Molyneux and his wife, who died in 1439: Sir Richard was a
distinguished combatant at the battle of Agincourt, where he was knighted
by Henry V. Sir William Molyneux, who distinguished himself at Flodden
Field, with his two wives, also lies interred here; he died in 1548; and
here, on brass plates, are recorded the deaths of his son, his two wives,
and their children. There is some painted glass yet remaining, inscribed to
members of the family.*
* The oldest of these monuments is that to the memory of
Richard Molyneux and Joanna his wife. The two monuments
of the knights templars exhibit them in chain armour; by
their armorial shields they are members of the same family.
The monument upon Sir Richard Molyneux who died in 1568,
exhibits him placed between his two wives; by the first of
whom he had five sons and eight daughters, and by the second,
five sons and one daughter, who are all ranged in order near
their respective mothers. This tomb has the following
inscription:-
Dame Worshope was my guide in life,
And did my doings guide;
Dame Wertue left me not alone,
When soule from bodye dyed.
And thoughe that deathe with dinte of darte
Hath brought my corps on sleepe,
The eternall God, my eternall soule,
Eternally doethe keepe.
Page 142.
Melling and Maghull, on the right of the road, are townships, together
with Lydiate and Down Holland, in the parish of Halsall, the village of
which lies three miles west of Ormskirk. The church of Halsall is a rich
living, in the gift of the Blundell family, dedicated to St. Cuthbert,
erected in 1424, and containing some effigies and oaken stalls. At Lydiate
are the picaresque ruins of a chapel built in 1520, and locally denominated
the Abbey, of which the engraving will give the
correct idea. It was erected by one of Ireland
family in the time of Henry VIII. This ruin is
richly clothed with ivy, the area is overgrown with
brambles, and the long rank grass bends in wild
luxuriance upon gravestones which time has rendered
illegible, although it was used as a burying-place
down to the early part of the last century:-thus
--comes oblivion, and o'er strewn remains
And marr'd resemblances of earth and heaven,
Time strides, and mocks man and his monuments!
Bordering upon Halsall is the obscure parish of Altcar, situated among
marshes. The church was erected in 1746, and exhibits nothing worthy of
remark, while the parishioners in this miasmatic district are wholly
occupied in agricultural pursuits. There is one school and two charities
here, and in Halsall there are three endowed schools; which parish is
further remarkable for its extent of peat mosses.
Aughton is a parish situated about two miles from Ormskirk, divided into
Aughton and Uplitherland. The church, built of stone, in the sixteenth
century, stands near the road, and the roof, adorned with old carved work,
is decorated with a spire; upon Aughton Common there are remnants of
considerable entrenchments. The road, which all the way from Liverpool
had been flat, and only occasionally possessed of interest, here begun to
ascend, in fact the entire parish of Aughton stands upon ground higher
than that to the southward. At the distance from Ormskirk of about two
miles, the
Page 143.
western side of the road here and there exhibited a good many trees, and
looked better all the way as it trended to the eastward, or in a direction
further from the sea. Along the coast, the flat shore terminates in a line
of sand-hills, dreary and monotonous beyond idea, but they do not spread
so far inland as they would otherwise do, from the care taken to plant
rushes, and to preserve them from being cut. Some of the sandhills here
are large, measuring half a mile at the base, the openings between them
looking miserably desolate; and just within these hills, which afford some
little shelter in their vicinity, moss or peat land commences. Trees are
rarely seen singly; and when grouped, are shorn on one side by the keen
western blast; large quantities of timber have notwithstanding been dug up
in the peat mosses, and oaks are found embedded just below the surface,
with their heads lying in one direction, the whole district abounding with
them. It would appear as if the sea had once covered the land here, and
that afterwards the land had gained upon the sea. A less interesting line
of coast we never saw; while the sea, from its shallowness to a great
distance from the shore, exhibits few of its customary attractions.
We entered Ormskirk, thirteen miles from Liverpool, a little after noon,
and found it to consist of one principal street, from which the main
thoroughfares branch off somewhat like the last letter but one of the
alphabet; while there is a fourth small street, joining one of the other
three near the termination. It is a parish, township, and market town, in
a district considered particularly healthy, and contains besides its
own
township those of Lathom, Scarisbrick, Burscough,
Bickerstaffe, and Skelmersdale. The church was greatly
repaired in 1729; it stands on the site of another that
existed before the Conquest. The square tower, bold,
broad, and massy, probably remained from the ancient
edifice, for it is much timeworn, and carries marks of
considerable antiquity. The tower and spire, it will be
seen, stand separate, if the lower part of what most
people would call a spire, can be deemed a tower. Still,
whenever erected, no satisfactory statement can be given to justify the
above monstrosity in architecture.
"Who built this odd-looking church ?" we asked a decent-looking farmer-
like individual who was reading the tombstones.
Page 144.
"That's more en I naw; connaw zay, nor no mon elze I spoze." " You do not
know much more about the matter than I do, I perceive, friend; you are not
of this part of the county ?" "Naw, Ize be fro' o'er Morcom zands."
This was no satisfactory answer; and directing our steps to a second and
more intelligent person, we were informed that two maiden ladies repaired
or reconstructed the church in the present grotesque manner, because they
could not agree about connecting the towers together. Some of the windows
have circular arches and the window-frames terminate in Gothic points,
evidently of recent date, while over each is a narrow rim, sculptured with
angels and cupids; from which execrable taste we suspect that the steeple
was placed as it stands, under the idea that it was a happy thought, "a
grace beyond the reach of art." There is a burial vault in this church in
a chapel belonging to the Derby family, built after the dissolution of
Burscough Priory; some of the monuments of the Stanleys, first erected at
Burscough, are said to have been brought here; and there are effigies of
ladies, supposed to be of that house. This church is dedicated to St.
Peter and St. Paul; the chapel of the Stanleys is on the south-east part.
There is much modern work in the way of repair mixed up with the old, in
architectural confusion; here an old Saxon door, and there a pointed or a
modern round arch. The bells were brought from Burscough Priory, being
divided between this church and Cronton. The spire has been several times
rebuilt. There are many dilapidated monuments; and near the stairs of the
pulpit is a memorial to Mr. Ashton of Panketh, who died in 1707, and was
six feet seven inches in height; and besides the effigies of the ladies
already alluded to in the Stanley chapel, there is the figure of a knight
recumbent, half destroyed by time. Here lies too the heroic Charlotte de
Tremouille and her brave and headless husband. There is a free grammar
school in Ormskirk, and an English one established by the Earl of Derby,
together with several charitable benefactions; a town-hall, market, and
court-house, are among the other public buildings.
The township of Bickerstaffe in this parish contains nothing worthy of
remark, and is entirely agricultural; the same may be said of
Skelmersdale and Scarisbrick. Lathom also, in Ormskirk parish, was the
source of great disappointment to us. We went to the spot of which we had
read an account with the hope of seeing some traces of the house
distinguished for the defence made by the Countess of Derby, Charlotte de
Tremouille, on behalf of the Stuarts, for which the Stanleys were so right
royally requited; we expected to find some fragment upon which to connect
an association with female heroism, but we were never more disappointed in
any day-dream of our lives. The site of Lathom House, once the seat of the
ancient family of that name, who professed it before the Stanleys, stood
on an uninteresting, extensive flat, upon which there is now a modern
house with wings connected by a colonnade, erected by Sir Thomas Boothe,
who obtained the land by purchase, about the
Page 145.
year 1424, the very antithesis of the picturesque or antique, than which
we had rather have met with one fragment of the old building, one solitary
turret, that might have cemented in some degree the present and the past.
One tower did stand until 1714, when Lathom passed by marriage to those
who seem to have had no feeling for its celebrity, and no value for ground
hallowed by proud recollections of female spirit. We speak not here of the
side espoused by the defenders of Lathom, it is enough that the sincerity
of the actors in the deed performed was not to be impugned. It was in 1644
that Sir Thomas Fairfax, on the part of the people of England, summoned
Lathom, the seat of the Earl of Derby, the Countess alone being at home.
She demanded a week to consider, wondering "Sir Thomas Fairfax should
require her to give up her lord's house in his absence," and she employed
that time in strengthening the defences, continuing to parley, and
rejecting ultimately all the conditions tendered. Fairfax at last insisted
that the house should be evacuated by ten o'clock the next morning, and a
flat refusal was the result; the Countess declaring that though "a woman
and a stranger, divorced from her friends and robbed of her estate, she
was ready to receive their utmost violence, trusting in God for protection
and deliverance." The siege endured from the commencement of March to the
twenty-third of May without success; the besieged making effective
sallies, and the besiegers displaying a want of skill in the use of their
artillery which seems unaccountable. Fairfax had left the conduct of the
siege to Colonel Rigby, and, on sending in a summons to the Countess, she
ordered the messenger to her presence, and told him he deserved to be
hanged up at the gate. "Carry," said she, "this answer back to Rigby
(tearing the paper), and tell that insolent rebel, he shall have neither
persons, goods, nor house. When our strength and provisions are spent, we
shall find a fire more merciful than Rigby; and then, if the providence of
God prevent it not, my goods and house shall burn in his sight; and
myself, children, and soldiers, rather than fall into his hands will seal
our religion and loyalty in the same flames." The last summons was sent to
this heroic woman on the twenty-third of May, after nearly three months of
alarm and danger. She replied, "the mercies of the wicked are cruel," and
that unless they treated with her lord, "they should never take her, nor
any of her friends alive." Prince Rupert raised the siege soon afterwards,
and the Countess with her family withdrew to the Isle of Man. The house
was taken in the following year by General Egerton, and its defences
ruined. It stood upon a mossy flat, surrounded by a wall six feet thick,
having nine towers, and in each tower six cannons; and there was a high
tower called "the eagle tower" in the centre. The gatehouse was strong and
high, upon all the towers were placed the best marksmen of the Earl, with
their fowling-pieces, taking off the officers'; the besiegers were unable
to make any impression upon the walls; and it is said they suffered
severely. A good deal of the township of Lathom still belongs to-the
Stanleys, the residence of some of that family having been once
Page 146.
at Cross Hall. Blythe Hall, in Ormskirk township, is the residence of Mr
Bootle Wilbraham, whose father, Lord Skelmersdale, resides at Lathom.
The north-west end of the town of Ormskirk commands an extensive prospect
over level fertile country. The principal manufactories are for cotton
weaving, silk winding and hat making. The best potatoes and carrots in
Lancashire are said to be grown here, and we can vouch for the fabrication
of the best gingerbread, for scarcely had we alighted at the Talbot inn,
when we were offered by half-a dozen fair hands together, little packets
of gingerbread in the way of purchase. "Buy my fine Ormskirk gingerbread
the best is made here," was an appeal impossible to be resisted; and we,
in confessing its excellence later in Preston, were told that it was a
confection of wide spread notoriety. Some of the females who offered it
too, came nearer the idea we had formed of Lancashire witches, from their
witchery, than any of the sex we had seen north of the Mersey, rather than
their positive beauty. The Lancasterians may content with the Yorkist for
crowns and be victors, but must submit to be rivalled by them in the
question of roses.
Burscough Township is chiefly noted for a priory of black canons of that
name, which stood there on the foundation of the Earls of Derby. It was
delapidated by Henry VIII. with the other religious houses, for the sake
of it revenues; but the Prior was fortunate enough to secure a pension,
which refutes the story of the king's having desolved the house because
its Prior was declared to be incontinent-the crime charged on almost all
the heads of houses to disguise the real object: that unprincipled
despot would have been glad to plead against the Prior, to refuse him a
provision afterwards, had it been sustainable. The revenues were 129L
1s 10d., and the establishment had existed for three hundred and fifty
years. Previously to the dissolution the ancestry of the Derby family had
made Burscough their burying place, but they, as well as the brotherhood
of Burscough, slept too soundly to be disturbed by the pickaxe of the royal
plunderer, as the fragments of walls and monuments fell from the position
of ages upon their unconscious ashes.
It was evening when we walked from Ormskirk to Burscough, along the road
that lead towards Preston, paved with round stones, the ground being too
spongy, from its ancient moorland character, to sustain heavy carriages and
remain in a tolerable state of repair. We though of the "Pilgrim and
the Peas" just after we left Ormskirk, looking in vain for a smooth track
of mother earth, if only six inches wide, as a relief to feet defended
with something much more susceptible of the inconvenience than a Lancashire
sabot. The weather was calm and autumnal almost to sadness- the foliage
"in the sear yellow leaf;" the shadows projected far into the road, and
the sun was near the horizon; in short it was an evening formed for a
visit where "Ruin, ruthless king," mocked man and his monuments. At less
than two miles from Ormskirk we discovered all that was left of the Priory,
standing in a very agreeable seclusion, not far from a little stream of
water, and
Page 147.
observed the grass growing as verdantly, and sheep feeding as undisturbedly
upon what had- been hallowed ground, as they did upon the vulgar surface
elsewhere; upon ground hallowed for 350 years before the reign of the
"Defender of the Faith," by generation after generation of voices raised
in worship to the skies. There too had been chanted for an equal time, in
behalf of the long train of departed lords of that soil, as they were
deposited in succession in the last resting-place of their fathers, the
solemn soul-thrilling hymn for the departed used by the Catholics, of
which Sir Walter Scott was so fond. *
From the time of Richard Coeur de Lion to the reign of Henry VIII. had
those sounds been heard, incense ascended, and the pomp of the Catholic
worship been displayed here; and of all this circumstance and locality, we
found remaining but two mouldering fragments of walls, left like
sepulchral stones in seclusion and solitude, to tell a tale of departed
men and things! they were but a few feet high, and they east a shadow in
the evening sun, diminutive and weak indeed to the mass of gloom and
grandeur once flung down by tower and pinnacle, pointed arch and solid
buttress. These remains are so slight as not to be worth a visit for
themselves, but mighty for recalling those undying recollections of the
past that cling to the heart and intertwine in every fibre of being.
The parish Rufford lies to the northward of Ormskirk, bounded on
the west
by that of North Meols, while the river Douglas limits it
on the east; the whole, with the exception of some church
property, belonging to Sir Thomas Hesketh of Rufford Hall.
The church, once a chapel, is an ancient building,
containing several monuments to the Heskeths. The
improvements of late years in draining land have reduced
to comparatively narrow boundaries the existence of the
agues and intermittents with which, from the marshy soil,
this parish was once much afflicted.
Rufford Old Hall, a remnant of Elizabethan architecture,
built of wood filled in with brick and plastered, is a very picturesque
object; the rooms are paneled and ornamented with wood carving: it is
the residence
* Dies irae, dies illa.
Crucis expandens vexilla,
Solvet seclum in favilla!
Page 148.
of Mr. Thomas Henry Hesketh. The New Hall, occupied by Sir Thomas the
father, was built in 1708, and has nothing remarkable in its appearance;
the entrance is by a portico of four Ionic columns. There is another fine
old house in this parish, called Holmeswood House, occupied by a farmer.
This flat country consists for the most part of drained mosses covered
with vegetable loam, beneath which lie large trees, many seeming as if
they had been burned, all as if they had been torn up by the roots, and
laid across each other ill every direction. North of Rugord is Tarleton
parish, which contains no object worthy of notice. Hesketh and Becconsall
parish lie north-west of Tarleton, bounded itself north-west by the Ribble
river, which at high water is full three miles across, but fordable when
the tide is out. The parish church is best known as Becconsall Chapel.
Fleetwood, recorder of London in 1560, was born in this parish; he
published "Ducatus Lancastrea," and several law works. North Meols is a
villaye by the sea side, and a parish nine miles north-west from Ormskirk,
and scath of Hesketh and Becconsall, containing a division called Birkdale.
The church, built in 1571, is small, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, and
possesses memorials of the Hesketh and Fleetwood families. That the sea
covered this part of Lancashire formerly is evident, as layers of shells
are found only four or five feet beneath the surface in digging the graves
in the churchyard. Meols Hall, a fine old building here, is tenanted by a
farmer. Two miles from North Meols is Southport, a bathing place, nearly
opposite to Lytham, on the northern bank of the Ribble. This town, now a
fashionable bathing-place among the Lancastrians, is situated amid dreary
sand-banks, having no recommendation from nature beyond a pure sea air.
The houses have increased from 38 in 1809, to 350, and the population to
about 1000. Birkdale is the southern division of North Meols, the coast of
which is covered with sand-hills, and contains a part of Merton, vulgarly
"Martin Meer," once an extensive morass passing into five or six
neighbouring parishes. In Leland's time, it was four miles long and two
broad, and emptied itself into the sea. About 1692, Mr. Fleetwood of Bank
Hall commenced draining this meer by a sluice shutting and opening with
the tide, and died with the idea that he had completed the work.
When the
water was drained off, eight canoes were found, scooped
out of the trunks of trees in the same mode as they are
made among the Indians of the Pacific at this day, one
of them had plates of iron fixed upon it, and all were
anterior perhaps to the wicker boats covered with skins, found to be used
by the natives of these islands upon their invasion by the Romans. We have
given a sketch of one of these rude barks, constructed when the
Page 149.
war-ship of a hundred guns, made by the descendants of the same natives,
could not have been imaged in the wildest dream of those who fabricated
such rude craft. The connexion between the two occupying a space of 1800
years of progressive art, co-extensive with the march from barbarism to
civilization-from naked painted bodies, or raw sheepskin clothing, to
robes of cotton and satin, Indian muslins and Cashmere shawls.
In 1755 the Meer was again inundated by a very high tide, owing to the
insufficiency of the sluice gates, and Mr. Eccleston, of Scarisbrick,
made a second attempt to drain it and succeeded, until 1789, when a
partial inundation happened from a breach in the banks of the river
Douglas, but extensive injury was prevented by the action of some
stopgates, which had been providentially set up to guard against such an
accident. In 1813 the sea gates were swept away, and the stopgates again
saved the land. Since that year a great deal has been effectually done for
a portion of the Meer, which is become good land. The landowners were not
for a long time able to agree so as to undertake the task themselves, or
to accept the terms of others, who offered to undertake the task upon
having the land granted to them for a term of years.
Returning to Ormskirk, and passing by Skelmersdale, leaving Dalton, a
township of Wigan, upon the left of our route, in which the principal
building is Ashhurst Hall, with an ancient gateway, now held by a farmer,
we reached Upholland, another township in Wigan parish; one of the most
old-fashioned looking places, with breakneck streets, down which we were
ever driven. It stands on the side of a steep hill, which the streets
descend, and where the carriage road zigzags in no manner agreeable.
Upholland is thought to have been once the seat of a Saxon chief; and some
antiquities, believed to be Roman, particularly the figure of an idol,
have been found here. In the reign of Edward I. it was held of Edmund Earl
of Lancaster, and the Earls successor gave it to Sir Robert de Holland,
who endowed a chapel here, dedicated to St.. Thomas, afterwards changed
into a priory of Benedictine monks. Passing from the Hollands to the
Lovells, by whom being forfeited, it came to the Earl of Derby; it was
sold by the daughter of the ninth earl of that name to the Ashurst family,
and subsequently purchased by Sir Thomas Bootle. Leland speaks of the
Priory as one of "Blake Monkes, a two miles from Wigan. The Wottons were
founders there." The Hollands were a family marked out by misfortune: the
last of the race, during the first depositions of Henry VI., became a
fugitive in Flanders, though just before he was possessed of great power;
and is said to have been seen running barefooted to ask alms in a foreign
land.' He fought for his master at the battle of Barnet, became dependent
upon a servant for subsistence, and at last was picked up a corpse
floating in the sea off Dover. The present ruins of the Priory consist of
ivied walls, in which some of the stone-work of the windows yet remains
shrouded in the richest green. Here and there around, in many places,
Page 150.
are to be traced foundations, with fragments of arches. The church or
chapel which is extra-parochial, is a fine old building, having a solid
tower, over which the ivy creeps, and renders it a highly picturesque
object. One of the windows is a beautiful specimen of skill and taste,
most ingeniously designed and filled with painted glass put together in
confusion, it is probable, from all parts of the Priory; the windows are
all more or less adorned with this material, and some of the colours are
exceedingly rich. The interior exhibits a nave, side aisles, and chancel;
and before it was deteriorated by modern additions, must have had a very
striking effect, from the loftiness and massive construction of the
different parts.
A little north of Upholland is the township of Orrel, lying on the Douglas
river, which rises near Wigan, and falls into the estuary of the Ribble.
There are extensive coal mines in this parish, which contains a mansion of
Elizabeth's time, called Orrel Hall, used as a farmhouse; and a nunnery of
forty-two French ladies, who, flying to England during the Revolution,
first settled in Yorkshire, and then removed to Orrel. Pemberton is
another township near Wigan, very populous; to the marvel of our
forefathers it contained a well, the site of which is now unknown, like
that at Hindley, near Hindley Hall, renowned for taking fire upon a
lighted candle being brought in contact with the surface. As there are at
present one or two places whence carburetted hydrogen issues from the
ground, which will take fire in the same manner, the phenomenon was, in
all probability, precisely similar in origin. Winstanley, a district lying
south-west of Wigan, and rich in coal mines, has on its border the
township of Billinge, composed of two hamlets, and possessing, from the
top of an eminence called Billinge chapel, a prospect extending over
sixteen counties, serving too as a landmark for shipping. South-east of
this township lie those of Ashton in Makerfield, and Haydock; the latter
calling for no particular notice, other than that it was partly the
property of the unfortunate family of Holland. Ashton in Makerfield is the
largest township in Winwick parish, and this whole township once belonged
to the Bryns of Bryn Hall, from whence it came to the present Sir John
Gerard, whose family is one of the oldest in England. The hall is said to
have been a fine old place of residence, and is connected with the
persecution of a Roman Catholic priest, and his execution by hanging,
drawing and quartering, as late as the reign of Charles I. in 1628.* He
was executed on the charge of crediting the
* Mr. Roby, in his Traditions of Lancashire, professing to give the
fact upon which he founded one of his tales, accuses the unfortunate
priest of rape, and states that he was executed for that crime in
the reign of William III. That gentleman says-"not less devoid of
truth is the tradition that Arrowsmith was hanged for making a good
confession. Having been found guilty of a rape, in all probability
this story of his martyrdom and miraculous attestation to the truth
of the cause for which he suffered, were contrived for the purpose
of preventing the scandal that might come upon the church through
the delinquency of an unworthy member." All this Mr. Roby gives as
from himself, and mentions a curse pronounced by Father Arrowsmith
upon the under-sheriff, who executed him, in the reign of William
III. Now Arrowsmith was hung, under sanction of an atrocious law,
for no other
Page 151.
faith of his forefathers, and of prevailing upon others to give credit to
the same belief. The hand of the Father Arrowsmith thus executed, for that
was his name, was believed by the vulgar in Lancashire to be as capable of
working cures as the royal touch, and is said to have been applied to that
superstitious purpose at a later period; and truly if any miserable fragment
of mutilated humanity were capable-of performing such absurdities upon the
ground of perfect freedom from stain, in the sight of heaven, for what a
flagitious act of legislation had constituted a crime, it would be that of
one judicially assassinated for his conscientious belief in his own creed-
a creed too which had been that of his country for more than a thousand
preceding years. We were spared, owing to a want of room in another part
of this work,* from giving the revolting details of a similar case,
involving the fate of a man of consideration in the days of Queen
Elizabeth, whose fortune was the marked prey of rapacious courtiers,-when
we too truly observed that the only difference between the parties of
those times was, that one of them burned and the other only hung their
victims.
We entered the town of Wigan on a market-day, when the weather was warm
and the hue of the houses anything but cheerful, the coal smoke being
amply seconded in dinginess by the pavement covered thickly with dark dust
which the feet of the crowd of passengers kept continually in motion.
Although a place of considerable antiquity, and remarkable, more particu-
larly, as the arena of several contests during the wars between the
Stuarts and the people. Wigan is now chiefly known as a seat of peaceful
manufacture, both of cotton and metals, being situated among coal mines.
The neighbourhood is noted for producing the species well known as Cannal
or Gannal coal, which may be turned in a lathe, and gives out a bright
light when burning; it is found in beds about three feet thick, deep in
the earth, compared with other kinds of the same mineral.
The parish of Wigan, ten miles long and six broad, once afforded a
singular proof of the abuses of the old times in the administration of the
law when committing temporal authority to spiritual men. The rector being
lord of the manor of Wigan, was cited to the assizes for acts committed in
the latter character, which he had carried beyond all bounds of justice,
and it would appear of common decency, in matters of that nature, even in
those days.
reason but because he had taken orders as a Catholic priest, and
had endeavoured to prevail upon others to be of his own faith. For
this offence, and for this offence alone, in 1628, in the reign,
not of William III., but of Charles I., was he tried at Lancaster
assizes, and hanged, drawn and quartered, in the same year that
Edmund Ashton, Esq. was sheriff. Mr. Roby might have seen what was
the real state of the case in the same History of Lancashire as
that which he repeatedly quotes. It is no unfounded charge against
modern novel writing that it tends to invalidate the truths of
history. Those who read books superficially, or merely for
amusement at first, and tarn afterwards from romance to cold fact,
find it difficult to divest the mind of what has been previously
impressed upon it in the warm colouring of the writer of fiction.
* Southern Division-Cornwall, p. 77.
Page 152.
He took assize of bread and beer, tried men out of the jurisdiction of a
lord of the manor, by whom he pleased, acquitting felons and condemning
the innocent. The rector pleaded the charters, and a jury of five knights
and seven gentlemen was impaneled, by whose verdict it was shewn that the
rector had accepted as surety for a man who had stolen a bull, another man
called Crowe, and that when the time of trial came, the thief was
acquitted, and the surety hanged in his place, by the suitors of the court
and the town burgesses, who let the thief go unpunished. For this the
borough and liberties were seized into the king's hands, and the rector,
de Waleton, adjudged to the king's mercy; the liberties of the borough
were afterwards restored.
There is a commercial hall at Wigan, situated in the market-place, having
a number of shops on each side, and a large room over all for the sale of
cloth, while in the front is a newsroom, well adapted for that object, but
during fairs applied to commercial purposes. The church is a very fine pile
of building, erected about the commencement of the fifteenth century, in
the place of one which stood there before the year 1246. The tower, broad
and massy, is admirably proportioned, having fine arched windows just
beneath the battlements: the body consists of two side aisles, a nave, and
chancel; and contains two chapels belonging to the Bradshaighe and Gerard
families. This church exhibits a fine interior, in the style of
architecture common about the time of its erection; strong pillars support
the arches; the roof is lofty, and lighted north and south by ranges of
small pointed windows. There is some tapestry at the altar representing
the story of Ananias; and two mutilated figures are shewn, said to be
those of Sir William Bradshaighe and Mabell his wife. The customary
exhibition of parochial bad taste is exhibited here in the removal of the
beautifully carved font into a cellar of rubbish. There are several other
places of worship in Wigan, including an Episcopal chapel, two Catholic
chapels, a Presbyterian, Wesleyan, two Independent, two Baptist chapels,
and an Independent Methodist, and Swedenborgian place of worship. There
are one or two mansions yet left in this town of the Elizabethan date.
During the last civil war a remarkable instance took place at Wigan of the
profligacy of the Cavaliers, which in the west of England, under Goring
and others of the generals of Charles, was yet more notorious. At Wigan
the Cavaliers obtained an advantage over their opponents, and entered the
chapel at Hindley, pulled down the pulpit, played cards in the pews, tore
the Bible to pieces, and stuck the leaves on posts about the town. Near
Wigan the supporters of the Stuart party under the Earl of Derby, who was
on his way from the Isle of Man to join Charles II., were routed by
Colonel Lilburne, when Sir. Thomas Tildesley was slain; the Earl of Derby
escaped, and fled towards Worchester with only two or three followers: and
a pillar in Wigan-lane still marks the place where Sir Thomas fell,
erected by one of his officers in 1679, with an appropriate inscription.
Sir Thomas appears to have been a chivalrous gentleman, as well as a
determined friend of the Stuarts: his last supposed
Page 153.
male heir joined the Pretender's standard in 1745. There is a picture of
him extant, dressed in a cuirass with a buff jacket, his hair over his
shoulders in the manner of his time. It bears the stamp of a gentlemanly
carriage, with agreeable and good features, the very sight of which causes
regret that such men should have ever been arrayed against each other on
their own ground. In the contest in Wigan-lane, besides Sir Thomas
Tyldesley, Lord Widdrington, one colonel, two majors, and a number of
other officers, fell; and five colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, a
major, four captains, two lieutenants and four hundred men, were made
prisoners. The Pretender remained in Wigan for one night in 1745, and
levied contributions; but it does not appear that any other occurrences of
moment took place, as he was on his retreat to the North, with the Duke of
Cumberland moving in pursuit.
The charities of Wigan are numerous, and do great honour to the inhabit-
ants, being directed to almost every praiseworthy object; and there are
among them no less than thirty-five Sunday and Charity schools,
instructing nearly 8000 children. The town-hall, which is built of brick,
was erected in 1720; the sessions-house was rebuilt in 1829; while the
borough gaol bears as old a date as the reign of Henry VIII. Wigan has a
public dispensary, a barrack formed out of the old Cloth-hall, and a
hundred and fifteen steam-engines, with a united power of 2113 horses; it
keeps two weekly markets and three annual fairs.
Near Standish Gate, on the left-hand side going out of the town, is the
remnant of an ancient cross, which seems, from some engravings of
no very
old date, to be recently altered, or the pavement
raised round it and the houses behind it reconstructed.
We have given the representation as it now stands. This
is a remnant of Mab's Cross, connected with a singular
story. We have already alluded to a mutilated monument
in Wigan church over the remains of Sir William
Bradfield, a military man, and his lady Mabell. Sir
William, who was fond of travelling, lived in the reign of Edward III., and
having gone away from home as it was supposed to the wars, and nothing
being heard of him for ten years, his wife Mabell, heiress of Hugh Norris
de Haighe and
Page 154.
Blackrode, having given up her husband for dead, as she very well might
have done, married a Welch knight. At length Sir William made his appear-
ance at home in a pilgrim's garb, and came to Haighe among the poor who
were in the habit of going there for alms. The Lady Mabell seeing him, his
resemblance to her husband, whom she thought dead, struck her so much that
she wept; for which very natural feeling her new spouse chastised her in
that choler to which Welchmen are said to be rather prone. Upon this Sir
William went round to his tenantry and made himself known to them, when
the Welch knight betook himself to his heels, was overtaken by Sir William
near Newton Park, and killed. The confessor of Dame Mabell, in consequence
of her involuntary offence, enjoined her to go once a week while she
lived, barefooted and barelegged, from the Haighe where she resided to the
cross which is called Mab's Cross to this day, in memory of the circum-
stance. This, it must be confessed, was a hard sentence after a ten years
supposed widowhood, at least it would be thought so in modern times, when
the grief of widowhood is generally much shorter lived. It is said that
Sir William and Lady Mabell, the weekly pilgrimage notwithstanding, lived
very happily together afterwards. Haighe, the place of their residence, is
called Hawe by Leland, who says, "Mr. Bradeshau hath a place called Hawe
about a myle from Wigan. He hath founde moche canel like se coole, in his
grounde, very profitable to him, and Gerade of Ynse dwelleth in that
paroch." Haighe Hall had been the seat of the Norris family down to the
reign of Edward III., the heiress of which family marrying Sir William
Bradshaighe, it came by a more recent marriage to the sixth Earl of
Bralcarras, Baron Wigan, and is the property of the present earl. There is
an old picture extant of the hall and gardens, as laid out in the Flemish
fashion, at the beginning of the last century.*
Proceeding towards Preston town, we find on the western side of the
railroad going northward from Wigan, part of the parish of Standish, in
Leyland hundred, containing in all ten townships. Standish Hall, the seat
of the family of that name, has been modernized, and is remarkable as
being the place where the "Lancashire Plot " of 1694 was concocted, for
replacing the Stuarts on the British throne. There were once thirty-two
halls in this parish, of which Langtree and Bradley are the principal that
are left. There are some antique crosses here, and the church is a
handsome structure, in the Tuscan order of architecture, erected in 1584,
by Richard Moodi, who had been a monk, and whose figure lies recumbent
upon a tomb within. The advowson of this church has been in the Standish
family for 700 years. The church spire was blown down in 1806, there is a
chapel of the Standishes within the church, and numerous monuments and
inscriptions, one of which, to the memory of Mr. Watt of Oakhill, executed
by the elder Bacon, is a pleasing piece of sculpture. The townships in
this parish do not call for
* Baines' Lancashire, vol. iii.
Page 155.
particular notice, but in that of Coppull is Blainsco Hall, once the
residence of the ancient family of the name. Eccleston parish, to the
north of Standish, comprises the townships of Parbold, Heskin, and
Wrightington, and is watered by the Yarrow river, which rises near-
Chorley, and joining the Lostock more to the northward, falls into the
Douglas. It has a church of considerable antiquity lying in some flat
meadows a little way from the village, having one aisle, a nave, and
chancel-the eastern window decorated with painted glass; the date of its
erection it is difficult to discover amid the modern reparations. Here the
curfew continues to be rung. Parbold and Wrightington townships contain
good coal mines and stone quarries;-Wrightington Hall is almost wholly an
edifice of the last century, with a few portions of the ancient house,
standing in a fine park. Horrock Hall, the seat of the Rigby family, is an
old stone edifice, and belonged to the Colonel Rigby distinguished during
the wars in the time of Charles I. Croston parish lies on the north-west,
clipped of the township of Hoole in 1642, which was made a distinct
parish; of Chorley, cut off in 1793, at the instance of the rector, as
well as Rufford, to provide two livings for two of his sons; of Tarleton,
and of Hesketh, with Becconsall, taken away in 1821, by which means the
rector and vicar of Croston was enabled to hold these parishes for his
life. Croston parish, beside its own township, was reduced to those of
Bispham, Bretherton, Mawdsley, and Ulnes Walton. Croston borders on the
river Douglas, which falls into the estuary of the Ribble; the parish
church is a large building, containing the two chapels of Rufford and
Becconsall, with a square tower of a construction exceedingly solid; the
roof within is flat and paneled. This church was built upon the site of
one of an older date, in the 16th century. The village of Croston stands
on the banks of the river Yarrow, and there is much low land in its
vicinity. The townships of Mawdsley, Bispham, Bretherton, and Ulnes, do
not possess any object worthy of remark, except Bank Hall, a fine old
brick mansion in the style of Elizabeth, erected in 1608, once the
residence of the family of Banastre, and now the property of Mr. Leigh
Keck. Much Hoole parish contains nothing of interest, and the same may be
said of Little Hoole; agues are prevalent over all this district, from
the marshy nature of the soil.
Leyland, which lies north of Eccleston, gives name to the hundred of
Leyland, and contains nine townships: of these, Euxton stands on the high
road to Preston from Wigan, having the river Yarrow on the south; the
manor belonging to Mr. Longworth of Liverpool, by purchase; the other
townships in this parish lying to the eastward of the road to Preston, we
pass over for the moment. Edward the Confessor is said to have held the
manor of Leyland: the church stands on high ground on one side of the
village, a roomy fabric, the body in the modern taste, erected in 1816,
but the tower is a remnant of the former structure, which was of old
English architecture more than commonly imposing. A stone in the
churchyard marks where rest the ashes of
Page 156.
the last of the family of the Weardens, and is dated in the 10th century.
There were two Edward Shakespearian, vicars here. The principal old
residences are Warden Hall, belonging to the Farrington family, erected in
1509; an old hall, a seat of the Charnocks, of whom the divine Edward
Charnock was one. Penwortham is a township and parish comprising those of
Longton, Howick, Farrington, and Hutton. The parish church is within a
mile and a half of the populous town of Preston, and there was here a
monastery of Benedictines established from Evesham very soon after the
Norman Conquest, which came into the Fleetwood family upon the suppression
of the monastic establishments in the 15th century, and was fitted up and
inhabited by them until they sold it. After passing through several hands,
it came to the Rev. A. Rawstone by purchase. The church is dedicated to
St. Mary, and was erected about the commencement of the 15th century; it
has been recently repaired in the modern taste, we had rather it had been
restored to its pristine architectural state. Penwortham Hall is a modern
edifice, erected by Mr. Lawrence Rawstone, in 1832, and commands a fine
view of the Ribble, with the adjacent shores. Howick is a small township,
and with Hutton, Farrington, and Langton, exhibits nothing remarkable; but
some Roman antiquities and part of a Roman road have been found in the
vicinity of these townships. The buried timber, or more properly
subterranean forest, to which we have already adverted as existing in the
west of Lancashire, is frequently disclosed by the removal of the sand,
and trees are abstracted from beneath it, but not of so large a size as
those found more to the southward.
Passing Walton le Dale, after crossing the Derwent, the road leading over
rich low meadow ground, we come to the Ribble, here a noble stream, flow-
ing along parallel with, and not far from the hill which, rising abruptly
from the level beneath, carries upon its summit Preston, or as the
Lancastrians term it "Proud Preston." The site is imposing and beautiful
from the southern approach, even the chimneys of the cotton manufactories,
that rival the church tower in height, do not appear so unsightly as in
other places; the smoke too, from the elevated situation of the town,
seems to hang about it much less than about other manufacturing places not
so happy in position. On entering the town, the streets are found to be
spacious and well built, but the customary hue of a southern Lancashire
town is everywhere discovered, as if the blackness of the coal and the
whiteness of the cotton were blended, to form that prevalent dinginess of
external objects, which is so unsightly, monotonous, and wearisome to the
vision, in the towns of this county.
Preston, in the centre of Lancashire and hundred of Amounderness, is a
piece of great antiquity, and until the commencement of the last century
appears to have stood first in the county for wealth, although inferior to
Manchester in population. Charles I. made a greater demand upon Preston
for ship-money, than upon any other town in the county. It derives its
name from having been once much occupied by ecclesiastics, at the time
when the
Page 157.
hundred of Amounderness belonged to the Cathedral of York. The celebrated
guild of merchants, called Preston Guild, had its origin about 1329, though
some think it to be of a much older date; and the Custumale of this town
is a curious document, securing privileges, some of them of a very
singular kind, nor are the penalties annexed much less so. Debtors, being
burgesses, were it appears to be ducked on the cuckstool for the fourth
offence; but to be at mercy for the sum of twelvepence for three offences,
provided the debt were incurred for bread and ale. If a man's wife be
lying-in of a son, and he pleaded it, he was excused from obeying a
justice's summons to go upon an expedition. If any one called a married
woman a naughty name, and no witnesses were forthcoming, she might clear
herself upon oath; and then he who was guilty of so calling her, was "to
take himself by the nose, and say he had spoken a lie."* The document, 700
years old, declares it to be the law of Preston "which they have from the
law of the Bretons." There were formerly two monastic institutions in
Preston, one called the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, the other a
monastery of grey friars; the last was a prison until about fifty years
ago, and traces of it yet remain. In the war between Charles I. and the
people of England, Preston was first occupied by the royal party, but was
quickly captured by the Parliament forces, and the mayor killed in the
storm. The Earl of Derby afterwards retook it, and demolished the
defences, and it was close to Preston that Cromwell routed the Scotch army
in 1648, after Sir Marmaduke Longdale had joined. The battle was fought by
the Ribble, and though Cromwell's strength was not half that of his
opponents, they lost in two days 15,000 men out of 26,000, the remainder
being nearly all takes or slain soon afterwards.
Preston received several charters, and two in the reign of Charles II.
Among other superstitions of the time, the corporation in 1680 voted five
shillings to support the expense of two daughters of indigent burgesses
going to Chester to get cured by the royal touch. In 1715, the town being
occupied by the Pretender's forces, it was attacked and partly carried by
storm, when the garrison surrendered. In 1745, the Pretender remained but
a very short time at Preston on his retreat.
There was once established in Preston a Jacobite club, under the name of
the "Mayor and Corporation of the Ancient Borough of Walton;" it possessed
all the insignia of a corporate body, and was continued long after the
political object which created it had ceased,* most probably out of good
fellowship. Richard Arkwright was born at Preston in 1732; and here, in a
tattered dress, he commenced in conjunction with a mechanic named John
Kay, in 1768, some of his improvements in the cotton-spinning mechanism,
which afterwards he followed up with so much success. The first cotton
manufactory in Preston was established in 1777. There are fifty-two steam-
engines in the town, having an aggregate power of about fifteen hundred
horses. There is also a good deal of flax spinning executed here.
* Baines' Lancashire, vol. iv.
Page 158.
Preston consisted originally of a good street, running nearly east and
west, on the right side of which, going westwards, was the market-place,
and out of this Fryer-street led north westwards. The main street was
called Fisher street, and eastwards entered Church-street, which was a
continuation of the right line, having the church at the commencement,
below which edifice, on the opposite side, is the
present goal. Time has not changed the plan of the
town, for the great additions made are only
branches from this centre; the streets are wide
and commodious, the houses well built, and the
approaches good in all directions. The engraving
shews the market place.
The gaol is a large building, seemingly well
adapted for the purposes for which it was erected,
and contains a hundred and eighty cells, there is
a chapel and treadmill, and adjoining are a convenient court-house and
sessions- hall. This prison is said to be very well regulated; but we were
somewhat startled in seeing cannon mounted upon the angles of the building, and pointed up and down the streets. We were told that they were placed there some time ago, upon
an apprehension of violence in the town; but that apprehension over, they
should have been removed from a building where the moral force of the laws
alone should be exhibited, not instruments of violence.
There are several churches in Preston; the old, or parish church, is
dedicated to St. Wilfred; and we never saw an ecclesiastical structure
with so little about it that is interesting; the registers are of no
earlier date than 1611. In all there are four churches and one Episcopal
chapel, two Roman Catholic, and thirteen other chapels belonging to
different denominations of dissenters.
There is a guildhall, built about 1762; the town-hall was completed in
1782; and there is a corn exchange, a cloth and a market hall. There are
gas and water works, by which the town is well lit and supplied with
water; and it possesses a library, called the "Palatine" library; a
"Preston Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge," with a library and
museum; a law library, an agricultural society, a theatre, and public
walks. Preston is a port; vessels of 150 tons ascending nearly to the
town, and about 30,000 tons of goods are entered, both inwards and
outwards, annually. There is a fishery too in
Page 159.
the Ribble, belonging to the borough; the population of which is reckoned
about 40,000.
Preston possessed no less than seven charters, including the two before
mentioned, some of which seem to have conferred upon it the impolitic and
tyrannical power, too common, of excluding from living towns or cities and
carrying on business in them, all not freemen, or who not pay large sums of
money for the permission, to be expended in corporation feastings. In
matters connected with municipal affairs, Preston was long distinguished
before the Municipal Reform Act. What are called the Guilds of Preston, at
which the corporation enacted bye-laws and confirmed their privileges, is
peculiar. These are held every twenty years, when the Trades, as they are
called, meet with banners and music, form a procession, and keep up a
species of carnival, at considerable cost to the town. The ladies of all
degrees equally partake in the festival; and balls and feastings are the
order of the day. It is said that this species of municipal jubilee has
been kept up for two centuries and half, and that it is wholly a local
custom. The different companies or trades, after the amusements of the
time are over, attend to some formalities before the corporation officers,
and the guild adjourns for twenty years.
The inhabitants of Preston, according to rumour, assume an air of the ton
and of high breeding, which has conferred upon the town the epithet of
"proud," already mentioned; even beardless young gentlemen make an effort
to appear something, and among both sexes there is a perpetual effort to
walk upon stilts. We saw nothing of the kind in the place, and must
attribute the slander to the jealousy of those domiciliated in some less
fortunate town of the county than Preston in building and situation, and
in addition perhaps to a rival feeling, where cotton is less successfully
manufactured.
The borough of Preston, comprising Fishwick, returns two members to
Parliament; the parish includes nine townships, namely-Preston, Barton,
Fishwick, Elston, Broughton, Grimsargh with Brockholes, Haighton, Lea,
Ashton, Ingol and Cottam, and Ribbleton. In the town are fifty-five day,
seventeen Sunday, and nine boarding schools; and the Sunday scholars, gra-
tuitously educated, are said to be 10,000 in number; there are also several
charities, and societies for charitable purposes, in the town and parish.
We shall now change our ground a little south-eastwards, in order to finish
our itinerary of the hundreds of Salford and Leyland, and then proceed
northwards into those of Blackburn and Amounderness. For this purpose we
set out early in the dusk of a February morning, from the northern suburb
of Manchester, intending to survey a district comprehended by a line drawn
from Manchester to Colne, from Colne to Clitheroe, from Clitheroe to Black
burn, from Blackburn to Chorley, and thence to Wigan, including Haslingden,
Bury, and Bolton-a part of Lancashire which has other claims to attention,
besides being the great seat of the cotton manufacture, and in which the
antiquarian, the historian, and the lover of the picturesque, may find
abundant
Page 160.
sources of gratification. As we passed along the streets we were much
struck by thousands of lights proceeding from the windows of the
factories, which opened out before us in the shape of a crescent, skirting
the dark horizon. The streets themselves were bare and silent, except that
every now and then we came upon a gin-shop-last to close and first to open
of all the other marts-which shone bright and looked invitingly, but
mostly presented a dark contrast in the squalid figures and sad
countenances of the pitiable frequenters. Passing on we saw a group, which
is no unusual sight in this manufacturing metropolisy a family of Irish
peasants just entering the town. It consisted of father, mother, and three
children. Like the ancient philosopher, they, in appearance, carried all
their treasures with them. The man-a gaunt figure, trod on before, with a
huge stick for his support, and rags alone for his covering; barefooted,
and looking as keen with fasting and hoping as his own mountain air. The
woman, scarcely above four feet, bore in the hood of her tattered cloak, a
huge fat child of two years old, who was devouring a lump of bread. The
little creature, short, thin, and wan, seemed to totter under her load.
Some distance behind, almost naked and footworn, came a boy of ten years
of age, followed by a girl somewhat his senior, equally weary, and nearly
as badly clad. There they were, going to establish themselves in some dark
damp cellar, and make another painful experiment in the art of subsisting
on the least possible sustenance, and in the worst possible condition.
It was pleasing to find ourselves drawing near to the fresh air of the
country, and ere long we found other and more pleasing objects of
contemplation. Pursuing an agreeable walk, through a country diversified
with well wooded inequalities, rivulets, and handsome
mansions, we arrived at a gate on the right of the
road, which, not far from the village of Blakeley,
led to the "Boggart's clough," or as it is generally
termed by the natives "Boggart's-hole." The word
appears to be a corruption of "Burgheist."* Certainly
the ideal being itself is even still well known, and no
little feared in the rural districts of Lancashire. The "clough" is
a long cleft or dell between two rocks,
* The etymology of Boggart is uncertain. Bug and Bogle are
probably other forms of it. Both of these words are of
Celtic origin, and signify to frighten. In Matthew's Bible,
Psalm xci. 5, is
Page 161.
the sides of which rise abruptly, and leave a narrow pass, widening a
little here and there, through which flows a small brook. In spite of the
repeated invasions of trade, with its unpicturesque accompaniments, the
place presents some interesting not to say romantic points of view, and
affords in the midst of summer a cool shady retreat, which the good people
of Manchester seem strangely to neglect. In days of yore however, an
honest farmer, who resided on the top of the "Clough," was sorely annoyed
by its unearthly tenant. Night after night the sprite paid his unwelcome
visits. Tricks of all kinds were played; sometimes the milk was churned,
at others it was overset; the beds-were stripped of their covering; the
maids found themselves in the morning either on the floor, or with their
heels on the pillows;
rendered, "Thou shalt not be afraid for any Bugs by night."
Boh was the name of a fierce Gothic general, son of Odin.
The hob goblin mentioned in the text bears some resemblance
to Robin-Good-Fellow, concerning whose pranks there is an
eminently beautiful poem ascribed to Ben Jonson ("Reliques of
Ancient Poetry, vo1. iv.), a stanza or two of which we quote,
if only to shew how admirably the rhythm is adapted to the
subject-
From Oberon, in fairye land,
The king of ghosts and shadows there,
Mad Robin I, at his command,
Am sent to view the night-sports here.
What revell rout
Is kept about,
In every corner where I go,
I will o'er see
And merry bee,
And make good sport, with ho, ho, ho!
More swift than lightening can I flye
About this aery welkin soone,
And in a minute's space deserye
Each thing that's done belowe the moone,
There's not a hag
Or ghost shall wag,
Or ery, "ware goblins," where I go;
But Robin I
There feates will spy,
And send them home, with ho, ho, ho !
Then follows a description of his doings, which shew that he could tease
and terrify as well as amuse. The sprite in our legend, however, seems
more like a brother of his-not so generally known-Robin-Bad-Fellow, thus
set forth in an old tract:
We meet with Robin-Bad-Fellow a-nights,
That enters houses secret in the dark,
And only comes to pilfer, steale and sharke,
And as the one made dishes clean (they say)
The other takes them quite and cleane away.
What'ere it be that is within his reach,
The filching tricke he doth his fingers teach.
Page 162.
the children started in their sleep, their hair bristled up, their eyeballs
rolled, they woke and wept! The master of the house tried every remedy,
patience last of all; and when this failed him, he made up his mind to
"flit." All was soon ready for the removal; the wagons were loaded over
night, only a few more fearful hours and they would be far enough from the
goblin and his "hole." The family for once contented themselves with straw
beds. In the morning they were surprised to find how comfortably they had
all slept, and now congratulated each other that as the Boggart saw they
were in earnest, he had made up his mind to part company in a quiet,
friendly manner. Breakfast was soon over, the horses were yoked, the
carriages move. "Thank God," said the farmer, "we are fiitting at last."
"Yes," cried a voice (but too well known) as from the top of the first
wagon, "and I 'm flitting wi' ye."
We entered the cleft, and looked in vain for the for the abode of the
Boggart, but the beauty of the scenery. Coming
from the other end of the dell, a boy met us of
the true Lancashire breed, his breast uncovered,
his head bare and uncombed, his eyes and mouth
full of broad quiet fun, with something like
cunning in his look, and signs of health and
strength from head to foot. "Hast thou seen the
Boggart?" we inquired. "There's noa Boggart neaw,"
replied he, with an archness of meaning that
language is quite unable to convey.
We next reached Middleton, a neat village, with a
picturesque church well situated on the brow of a hill by the road side,
forming an interesting object from many points of the surrounding country.
The manor of Middleton, originally part of the honor of Clitheroe, and
held by the Lacies, passed in the reign of Henry VI. into the family of
Assheton.
The parish church of Middleton, here shewn, is of great antiquity. In this
churchyard the gravestones are not erect, as is customary in the more
southern counties, but lie on the ground, as is generally the case
throughout Lancashire and the North. Brand says,* referring to a passage
in Cicero,
* Popular Antiquities, p. 202, vol. ii.
Page 163.
that " this custom has been derived from very ancient times." We wish it
were honoured in the breach rather than the observance, for more than any
other thing the practice derogates from picturesque effect, and perhaps is
that which constitutes the great difference between the churchyards of the
South and those of the North.
The church tower is surmounted by a structure of wood; some have imagined
from deficiency in the strength of the substratum-which is of clay, and
could bear anything; others have assigned considerations of economy-but
why lay out any money, unless some reason required the tower to be
heightened? We have no doubt the addition was made to improve the
proportions and appearance of the building. There remains in the north
windows of this church a group of figures, representing persons of note in
the neighbourhood, to whom is assigned the honour of having led the famous
Middleton bowmen in the battle of Flodden Field. On the floor of a niche
in the north wall, now covered, may be traced the outlines of an ancient
cross. The stained glass, which forms the ornament of the chancel window,
was removed hither from an ancient room in the rectory house, called "The
Hall," where may be seen a very curious specimen of a carved oak screen.
This house is an antique structure, supported in part by buttresses. Some
of the old inhabitants of the last generation remembered when it was sur-
rounded by a moat with a drawbridge; part of the moat remains, and loop-
holes for the discharge of arrows are still visible in the walls of the
house. In the year 1812, when the spirit of Luddism, having for its object
the destruction of machinery, spread from the county of Nottingham into
Yorkshire and Lancashire, it broke out with great violence in Middleton. A
factory here was surrounded by several thousands of persons in menacing
array. Loss of life did not deter the rioters, and peace was restored only
by the arrival of a large body of cavalry from Manchester.
Dr. Assheton, rector of Middleton, born 1641, was the first projector of
Page 164.
the scheme for providing a maintenance for clergymen's widows; which may
be considered as the origin of many systems of assurance in this kingdom.
Crossing the country towards the east, we came to Oldham. The road leading
hence to Manchester we found lined with carts conveying coal to Manchester
from Oldham, where the best house coal of the neighbourhood is obtained.
Oldham is a parochial chapelry in the parish of Prestwich. The church
placed on an eminence near the centre of the town, overlooks the
surrounding country. A Saxon origin is claimed for the first erection. In
this place marriages were proclaimed by a magistrate in the market-place,
during the time of the Commonwealth.
Oldham has the distinction of giving name, if not birth, to Hugh Oldham,
Bishop of Exeter, collated in 1501. He founded and endowed the Free
Grammar School of Manchester.
No town in this vicinity has grown in size and numbers more rapidly than
Oldham. Its vicinity to Manchester, the advantages of water carriage, the
industry of the inhabitants, and above all, its mineral resources, have
constituted this one of tho most extensive seats of the staple manufacture
in the county. An improvement in manners and intellectual cultivation is
beginning to be visible. The goods chiefly made here are fustians,
velveteens, calicoes, and cotton and woollen cords. The silk manufacture is
making progress. The original staple trade is the manufacture of hats,
which still prevails to a very large extent. The town is situated on an
eminence, near the source of the Irk, and is washed on the east by a
branch of the Medlock. In Plumpton and Plumpton Clough, a woody glen, the
remains of an iron forge were found, supposed to be the work of the
Saxons.
In the township of Chadderton, lying to the west of Oldham, near the front
door of the Hall, is a tumulus, near which a number of ancient relics have
been found.
A few miles brought us to Rochdale, and we found ourselves entering on a
more elevated country; in fact the high hills, which branch off from the
English Apennines, run down near Rochdale in long ridges into the level
country of Manchester and its vicinity. Now for the first time we became
sensible of the cold keen air we should have to encounter in skirting, as
was our intention, the base of the mountains which separate Yorkshire from
Lancashire, and form part of that extensive range which has been not
inaptly
* It is the inhabitants of this district whom Camden had
chiefly in view, when, in his prefatory remarks lo his
account of Lancashire, he says: "Whom I feel some secret
reluctance to visit, if they will forgive me the
expression. I fear I shall give little satisfaction to
myself or my readers here, so little encouragement did I
meet with when I surveyed much the greater part of this
county, so completely has time destroyed the original
names everywhere. But that I may not seem to neglect
Lancashire, I must attempt the task, not doubting but
Providence, which has hitherto favoured me, will assist
me here." How different is Lancashire "in the nineteenth
century" from this unknown and barbarous land on which
the hardy topographer trembled to set his foot!
Page 165.
denominated "the backbone of the island." On drawing near to the town we
were struck by the hard cold appearance which the custom of covering the
dwellings with stone, instead of slates or tiles, gives to all the places
in this part of the county. Nor, on entering it did we find any beauty in
the buildings, or arrangements of the streets, to remove the unfavourable
effect. On our right we passed the Roch, a river which gives its name to
the town. On a height, to our left, was the church. If the building which
it replaced had no better architectural pretensions than the present
edifice, it was hardly worth the while for spiritual beings to take the
trouble they are said to have given themselves in fixing its site.* The
materials laid for the building on the spot fixed upon by Gamel the Saxon
thane, are said to have been removed by supernatural agency. This Gamel,
it appears, held two hides in Recedham or Rochdale, under Edward the
Confessor, and afterwards, by a gift of Roger de Poictou, he had two
carucates of land: he is conjectured to be the progenitor of Agnes de
Rachdale, who married Sir John Saville, according to the pedigree of the
Saville family; but to proceed-the necessary preparations were made, the
banks of the river groaned under the huge beams and massy stones, and all
seemed to promise a speedy and successful termination. But there were
those-not the less powerful because invisible to eyes of flesh and blood-
who did not approve of the site, having resolved that the edifice should
raise its head on the neighbouring hill. Accordingly, in one night all was
transferred to its summit; The spectacle was beheld in the morning with
universal dismay! But the lord was not a man to be easily foiled; at his
command the materials were brought down to their former station. A watch
was set, and all now appeared safe. In the morning, however, the ground
was once more bare! Another attempt was rewarded by another failure. The
spirits had conquered. One who knew more of them than he should have done,
made his appearance, and after detailing what he chose of the doings of the
sprites, presented to the lord a massy ring, bearing an inscription of
this purport:
The Norman shall rule on the Saxon's heel,
And the stranger shall rule o'er England's weal;
Through castle and hall, by night or by day,
The stranger shall thrive for ever and aye;
But in Racheds above the rest,
The stranger shall thrive the best!
In accordance with this ratiocination runs the old and now nearly obsolete
remark, that "strangers prosper, but natives are unfortunate."
Rochdale came into the possession of the Byron family in the reign of
Elizabeth, who demised it to Sir John Byron. After undergoing some change
of masters, the manor is found in 1660 in the hands of Richard Lord Byron.
William, the fifth Lord Byron, killed William Chaworth, esq. in a duel,
for which he was tried before the House of Peers, and convicted of
manslaughter.
* Roby's Traditions of Lancashire, vol. i.
History of Lancashire, vol. ii.
Page 166.
He obtained his discharge by pleading his privilege as a Peer, under the
statute of Edward VI. Admiral John Byron, the brother of the Baron, sailed
in his youth with Commodore Anson, the circumnavigator, and was cast away
on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, where for five years he
endured hardships unheard of, except in the pages of romance. His son John
married Catherine Gordon, lineally descended from the Earl of Huntley and
the Princess Jane Stuart. The issue of this marriage was George Gordon,
the late Lord Byron, who died at Missolonghi on the 19th April, 1824. His
cousin, George Anson, succeeded to the title, and is the present Baron of
Rochdale. The title is all that remains; since the illustrious poet sold
the manor and estate of Rochdale, the rights of which extend over 82,000
statute acres of land, to the late James Dearden, esq., whose son, bearing
his father's name, now holds these princely domains.
There are many spots in the neighbourhood of Rochdale which will repay a
visit. Among these we selected one near "Healey Hall," and bending our
steps towards the township of Spotland, were not long in arriving at our
destination. We had to ascend and pass through a hilly and unsheltered
tract of country, and soon became aware that we had now got into a
district where the leaven of the old Saxon tongue, customs, and character,
is less adulterated than in most other parts of Lancashire. As we passed
on, these words, on a placard, struck our eye, "A Motty for Women held
here." "A Motty" is Lancashire for a club. The mills were just "loosing,"
and the clatter made by the clogs of the workmen as they hurried to their
dinner, reminded us of France, and assured us that Baines* was not correct
in saying, in relation to Rochdale, "wooden shoes, since called clogs, now
so general in this neighbourhood, are gradually falling into disuse."
Indeed, it is not many years ago that, on entering the house, we might
have said mansion, of a very wealthy manufacturer residing not far from
this place, we had our ears saluted by that which was at first an
inexplicable noise within such walls, but which proved to be the sound and
echoes of his children's clogs as they scampered through the hall into
their nursery, scared at the unusual sight of a stranger.
The cottages which we passed on our road, though unpicturesque, as all
Lancashire cottages are, gave signs, both within and without, of good
housewifery. Oaten cake was to be seen everywhere, suspended by lines from
the ceilings. This species of food is to be found in perfection in the
east of Lancashire, and is in high repute with the natives. Nor can we
affirm that its fame is wholly undeserved. A regiment of soldiers raised
in those parts, and in the west of Yorkshire, at the beginning of the last
war, took the name of the "Oatencake Lads," assuming as their badge an
oat-cake, which was placed, for the purpose of attraction, on the point of
the recruiting serjeant's sword.
Proceeding along, up a hilly country, we suddenly came to a most beauti-
* History of Lancashire, vol. iv. p. 635.
Page 167.
ful spot, on the left side of the road. It was the place of which we were
in search, "The Thrutch." The name is descriptive of the character of the
spot. To thrutch, in the Lancashire patios, is to 
thrust with violence,
and the division between the two sides of the rock has
the appearance of having been produced by a sudden and
resistless thrust of nature. On the top, as you turn in
from the road , stands Healy Hall which like many houses
dignified by the name Hall, in these parts, has little
but age, size, and solidity, to distinguish it from an
ordinary farmhouse. It is now inhabited by Mr. Tweedale
a partner in the firm of Leech and Tweedale, woollen
manufacturers, whose works, together with those of
another tradesman, occupy this cleft. In running the eye over the map
which accompanies Dr. Whitaker's History of Whalley, one is surprised to
mark the great number of Halls scattered over the district we are now
surveying. Relics of most of these remain, but in general the houses are
turned to manufacturing or agricultural purposes. The fear expressed by
that learned, acute, but prejudiced writer, has to a great extent been
realised.* "A new principle is now introduced, which threatens gradually
to absorb the whole property of the district within its own vortex. I mean
the principle of manufactures, aided by the discoveries lately made in the
two dangerous(!) sciences of Chemistry and Mechanics. The operation of
this principle is accompanied with another effect, of which it is
impossible to speak but in the language of sorrow and indignation. In
great manufactories human corruption, accumulated in large masses, seems
to undergo a kind of fermentation, which sublimes it to a degree of
malignity not to be exceeded out of hell."* The property has changed
hands; socially, the change is, we think, for the better, for we entirely
disapprove of the unqualified terms in which the historian condemns
manufactures; at the same time we have too often been painfully struck
with the devastations which "the principle of manufactures" has committed
on many, if not most of the venerable or picturesque spots in the
Manchester district, not to lament the good old days when neither steam,
nor smoke, nor tall chimneys, nor "unwashed artificers," defiled the
beauties of nature. As it is, however, one finds it an almost impos
* Hist. Whit. p. 484.
Page 168.
sibility to escape from the unsightly objects which manufactures have
pilanted alike in the lowest dell and on the loftiest mountain of the
country. Dr. Whitaker himself, however, seems to admit that the picture
has its lights. As an instance of the inconvenience arising' from the
dispersion of society, he speaks of a blacksmith having been called to
bleed a Duchess. There is no fear that so lamentable an event should take
place in any part of Lancashire in these days.
But never were we more grieved at witnessing how manufactures have
disfigured and destroyed the fairer features of our mother earth, than
when we stood near Healey Hall and cast our eyes over "The Thrutch."
Nevertheless, the place is still lovely. Wood and water combine with the
position of the rocks to surprise and enchant the spectator. At the top
the land wears the appearance of having been separated by a different kind
of influence from that which forced apart the bottom; for it slopes,
especially on the right side, easily down for some distance, when the
rocks are suddenly riven, and stand in long succession one over against
the other, in huge and threatening projections. Down this lengthened cleft
the river Spodden, which rises in the mountains some two miles higher up,
bursts, hurries and falls, forming more than one cascade, and, with its
sparkling white foam, presenting a strong contrast against the dark grey
sides of the ravine and the deep foliage of the trees.
It is said that the monks shewed, by the localities which they chose for
their abodes, that they had a true and vivid sense of natural beauty. This
is at least equally true with beings who were once yet more spiritual than
they. Some way or other. all the pretty spots, at least
in Lancashire, were haunted by ideal beings. The noise
of the steam-engine seems to have scared them away; but
he loves to study human nature,-in what it is, and who
knows that the present is only the past over again-the
garb, not the of body, being altered,-will not disdain
to linger around the places to which our ancestors
attached a feeling little less respectable than that of
religious awe. Under the influence of some such
sentiment as this we went in search of the "Fairies' Chapel," shewn in the
above cut. We found it hidden behind a ledge of rocks, at the base of which
it lies, a sort of natural
Page 169.
excavation formed by the attrition of the waters undermining the rock; and
like other spots of the same secluded character, it has its "legendary
lore."
Returning from the glen in order to pursue our journey, we were arrested
by observing the extent of view which presents itself from the height on
which the mansion stands. There, on one side, we saw Lime Park, in
Cheshire; there, Cloud End, in Staffordshire; and there, the Derbyshire
Hills. Nay, even Moel Famma, truly Mother of Mountains, darkened on the
sight. On a bleak moor; called Monstone Edge, in this hamlet, is a huge
stone which is said to have been quoited hither by Robin Hood, from his
bed on Blackstone Edge, about six miles off. Were it not a pity to spoil
so romantic a story, one would be tempted to pronounce the stone a simple
boundary mark. In the township in which we have now detained the reader
(Spotland), there prevails an old primitive custom which the "Temperance
Movement" of the present day may soon deprive of its peculiarity. On the
first Sunday in May the young people assemble at Knott Hill annually, for
the purpose of presenting to each other their mutual greetings on the
return of the season, and of pledging each other in the pure beverage
which flows from the mountain springs.
Along the high and barren ridge of hills which separate the valley of the
Roch from that of Spodden, extending from the spot to which we have
brought our narrative to Todmorden and Cliviger, and forming the line
which we had to follow in our journey, are several elevations whose names
or appearances indicate their situation, or the uses to which they were
anciently applied. "Wardle" was evidently the hill where "watch and ward"
was kept. "Tooter Hill" is a local name for the Hornblower's Hill. "Hades
Hill" sends its waters to the "great gulf" of the Eastern and the Western
Sea. We may so far anticipate our narrative as to add that Hades Hill and
Thieveley Pike, formed the connecting links between Pendle Hill and
Buckton Castle; the beacons on which were all successively fired in the
"Pilgrimage of Grace;" an event which was the immediate occasion of the
ignominious death of Paslew, the last abbot of Whalley, and of the
destruction of the magnificent "House" over which he presided.
Returning into the centre of Rochdale, we paid a visit to the churchyard
in order to see the stone placed above the remains of Tim Bobbin* and his
wife. We read and copied the following:-
"Here lies John, and with him Mary,
Check-by-jowl, and never vary;
No wonder that they so agree,
John wants no punch and Moll no tea."
* The works of Tim Bobbin, Esq., in prose and verse, with
a Memoir of the Author by John Corry, Rochdale, 1819.
"This is the best edition of Tim Bobbin's works, but it
is not a complete collection, and is moreover very scarce;
A new and critical edition of this sole Lancashire classic
is a desideratum. The original plates are in existence,
whence the illustrations of "Tummus and Meary," as well as
of the "Human Passions" were taken, and may, we have reason
to know, be purchased for no very large
Page 170.
John Collier, bearing the sobriquet of Tim Bobbin, who united in himself
the qualities of Hogarth and those of Swift-
A man so various that he seemed to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome;
And in the course of one revolving moon
Was teacher, piper, patriot, and buffoon;
Then all for painting, quipping, rhyming, drinking,
Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking-
was born at a house called, according to the peculiar manner of the
country, Richard o' Jones's, in Urmston, near Manchester, December 16th,
1708. His father, a clergyman, intended him for the church, but was unable
from want of pecuniary means to fulfil his purpose. The boy accordingly,
to quote his own words, "went 'prentice in May 1772, to one Johnson, a
Dutch loom-weaver, on Newton Moor, in the parish of Mottram; but hating
slavery in all shapes, I by Divine Providence (railing my old scull-hat to
the mitres), on November 19th, 1729, commenced schoolmaster at Milnrow."
Here in time he became a man of some consequence. He studied drawing and
music, and soon began to teach these accomplishments to others. He
excelled in painting landscapes and caricatures. His superior knowledge,
and the skill he displayed in the decoration of his person, made him the
"envy and admiration" of his neighbourhood. The young farmers courted and
imitated him. On one occasion he appeared at the church with a necklace,
put on in jest, and retained through forgetfulness. Shortly after, the
beaux of the place shewed themselves bedecked with similar ornaments.
Like greater men, he appears to have commenced authorship with satire.*
From the ease and humour of some of his letters to his friends, it is
evident that he was an entertaining companion as well as humourist; but as
in many other cases, his conviviality cost him dearly, leading as it did,
to habits of intemperance which never left him. A rising family induced
him to try sum. We add the full title of Tim Bobbin's chief work just now
referred to, "A View of the Lancashire Dialect by way of Dialogue,
between Tumious o' Willims's, o' Margit o' Roaph's, an o' Meary o' Dick's,
o' Tummoy' o'Peggy's," (such is the pedigree on both sides), "showing in
that speech the comical adventures and misfortunes of a Lancashire clown.
To which is prefixed (by way of preface) a Dialogue between the Author and
his Pamphlet; with a few Observations for the better Pronunciation of the
Dialect; with a Glossary of all the Lancashire Words and Phrases therein
used: By Tim Bobbin, Fellow of the Sisyphain Society of Dutch Loom
Weavers, and all old adept in the Dialect.
---Heaw arse wood wur I, eh this Wark!-Glooar o' monny o' Beck.
The edition from which we transcribe (Rochdale, 16l9) is itself a reprint.
There is another, "Manchester, 1819." These two differ in their contents,
but are the only ones that are worth purchasing; the Manchester edition is
much inferior to the Rochdale. Some London publisher has lately put out an
edition which has no literary value. We have never been able to meet with
an entire copy of an edition published under the supervision of Tim
himself.
* -----me quoque pectoris
Tentavit in dulei juverta
Frevor et in celeres iambos
Misit furentem.
Horatius Restitutus, by James Tate, M. A., p. 46, Prelim. Diss.
Page 171.
his skill in oil painting, and he gained much provincial celebrity. In
time, indeed, his pictures were sought for, even from the West Indies and
North America. He principally excelled in painting the ludicrous. In the
midst of his fame and dissipation, he put forth his famous work, the "View
of the Lancashire Dialect;" the popularity of which the author saw and
enjoyed.* Tim Bobbin, as he was now called, had attained the zenith of
his fame; his society was sought by persons of station. Prompted by the
hope of bettering his worldly condition, he migrated over the hills to
Yorkshire; but finding the employment irksome, he soon returned to
Milnrow, resuming his old armchair, and with it his freedom and
authority. He now began to put forth his "Human Passions;" in which, if he
has outraged nature, he has also taught many useful lessons. Squibs and
satires also engaged the attention of his ambling Muse. Occasionally he
gratified his friends by an epistle in rhyme. We subjoin, as a specimen,
an extract from a letter to his friend Mr. Cowper, a wine merchant in
Liverpool.
Perhaps your pictures you expect, I from my cot, this Christmas-eve,
Before I feel the warm effect Write with a troubled mind-believe,
Of your care-killing liquor! And wife in doleful dumps;
But hark you, sir! the days are dark, For who can merry be, that's wise,
And cold; on then I hete aw wark, While what he wants in Lerpo lies,
As ill as any vicar. And vexed with jeers and frumps?
But in a month, or two, at least, Pray send a line, that I may say,
Except the sun wheel back to th' east, To my crook'd rib, on such a day,
You may expect your beauties; Your gossip's nose shall job in
But in the meantime must I fast? A tankard made of mountain wine,
Or guzzle ale not to my taste? Sweet water, nutmeg, sugar fine,
Nay, hang me on some yew trees! And set at rest.
TIM BOBBIN.
He retained his humour, and continued a facetious companion in his old
age, the infirmities of which he bore with equanimity, though the free
life he had led, made them in his case very numerous and severe.
One piece he wrote, entitled "A Codicil to the last Will and Testament of
James Clegg, Conjuror," contains directions which serve to illustrate, not
only his own peculiar vein, but the customs and habits of the county.
* He lived to see a fifth edition.
Lancashire for-and then I hate all work. Liverpool.
"I will that they invite to my funeral sixty of my friends, or best
acquaintance, and also five fiddlers, to be there exactly at two
o'clock.
That no women be invited, no man that wears a white cap or apron; that no
tobacco or snuff be there, to prevent any sneezing.
That they provide sixty-two spiced cakes, value two shillings, and twenty
shillings' worth of the best ale that is within two miles, allowing the
best ruby-noses present, Roger Taylor and John Booth, to be judges. (" O
monstrous! but one halfpenny worth of bread to this intolerable deal of
sack.")
That if my next relations think a wooden jump too chargeable, then I will
that my executors cause me to he dressed in my roast-meat clothes, lay
me on a bier, stangs, or the like; give all present a sprig of rosemary,
hollies, or gorses, and a cake. That no tears be shed, but be merry for
two hours.
That all shall drink a gill bumper, and the fiddlers play Britons strike
Home, whilst they are bring -
Page 172.
At the end of the codicil come sundry bequests, conceived in a still more
openly satirical mood. One of these bequests is so good humouredly
satirical that we may be pardoned for quoting it:-"Item, I give my forty-
five minute sand-glass (on which is painted old Time sleeping) unto that
clergyman living within three miles of my house who is most noted for
preaching long-winded, tautologizing sermons, provided he never turn it
twice at one heat."
Collier's satire has not eradicated the practice of feasting at funerals.
Entertainments at burial are of ancient date. "Juvenal," says Brand in his
Popular Antiquities, "mentions the Caena feralis, which was intended to
appease the ghosts of the dead. The modern arvals, however, are intended
to appease the appetites of the living." And certainly the sight of such a
feast among the people in Lancashire cannot fail to impress the beholder
with the feeling that the main concern is care for the living under the
pretext of bewailing the dead. Nor is it possible to see the handsome
manner in which, not seldom funeral carriages are decorated without
suspecting that ostentation has its share in the ceremony. Nor, if more is
now eaten than the allowance in the "codicil" would seem to imply, is
there any diminution in the quantity drunk, while tobacco is a luxury that
is never wanting. And not seldom have we experienced to our cost that no
less incongruity still prevails between the music and the occasion, than
is implied in Britons strike Home and O clap your Hands performed at an
interment.
Dr. Whitaker observes, speaking of the Lancashire gentry in the "good old
times," "It required the economy of half a life, to enable men in this
rank to afford to die, for their funerals were scenes of prodigality not
to be described. I have seen the accounts of an executor in the 'sober'
times of
ing me out and covering me. Then the bier and attendants, none riding
on horseback but face to tail, except Mr. George Standfield of
Sowerby (which privilege I allow him, for reasons best known to
myself), then the C--- of S---- C---I shall bring up the rear,
dressed in his pontificalibus, and riding on an ass; the which
if he duly and honestly perform, and also read the usual office,
then my executors shall nem. con. pay him twenty-one shillings.
If the singers at Shaw meet me fifty yards from the chapel, and
sing the anthem O clap your Hands, pay them five shillings.
Next I will that I be laid near the huge ruins of James Wolfenden,
late landlord of Shaw Chapel, which done, pay the sexton half-a-crown.
Then let all go to the alehouse I most frequented, and eat, drink, and
be merry, till the shot amount to thirty shillings; the fiddlers playing
the Conjurors gone Home, with other tunes at discretion, to which I leave
them; and then pay the fiddlers two shillings and sixpence each.
If my next relations think it worth their cost and pains to lay a stone
over me, then I will that John Collier of Milnrow cut the following
epitaph on it:-
Here Conjuror Clegg, beneath this stone,
By his best friends was laid;
Weep, O ye fiddlers, now he's gone,
Who loved the tweedling trade!
Mourn all ye brewers of good ale,
Sellers of books and news;
But smile ye jolly priests-he's pale,
Who grudged your power and dues!
Page 173.
the Commonwealth, from which it appears that at the funeral of an ordinary
gentleman in the chapelry of Burnley, 471. (more than treble that sum at
present), were consumed almost entirely in meat and drink; 10s. indeed
were allowed to the preacher for a sermon, by which his congregation no
doubt were well prepared to edify in the evening; and 5s. to scholars for
verses on the deceased."*
The following lines by a living poet, poet in truth, though of the same
craft as Bobbin himself, are worthy both of the subject on whom they are
written and of the writer. They are also eminently characteristic,
certainly of the first, perhaps of the second as well; and, being written
in the Lancashire tongue, may serve as a less unintelligible specimen of
it than many we have seen:
TIM BOBBIN' GRAVE.
I stoode beside Tim Bobbin' grave,
'At looks o'er Ratchda' teawn,
An' th' owd lad 'woke within his yerth,
An' sed wheer arto' beawn.
Om gooin' into th' Packer street,
As far as th' Gowden Bell,
To taste o' Daniel Kesmus ale.
Tim.- I cud like a saup mysel'.
An' by this Hont o' my reet arm,
If fro' that hole theaw'll reawk,
Theaw'st have a saup o' th' best breawn ale
'At ever lips did seawk.
The greawn'd it sturr'd beneath my feet,
An' then I yerd a groan,
He shook the dust fro' off his skull,
An' rowlt away the stone.
I brought him op o' a deep breawn jug,
'At a gallon did contain,
An' he took it at one blessed draught,
'An laid him deawn again.
BAMFORD.
On a bleak hill, to the north of Milnrow, is the scattered village of
Gallows? formerly the site of the ancient baronial executions. Many old
family mansions, more or less in a state of decay, are found in the
vicinity of Rochdale. We name Howard Hall, in Hundersfield, anciently a
stately mansion, but now a plain substantial stone building, because it
has the reputation of being the noble spring whence came
"All the blood of all the Howards."
We left Rochdale by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, which connecting
together the Irish Sea and German Ocean, allows a journey from Liverpool
to Hull to be performed in a few hours. The features of the
* Hist. Whalley, p. 479.
Page 174.
country began to improve. The unsightly symbols of manufacturing industry
became "few and far between." A noble range of hills stretched along on
our right, at the base of which wc were hurrying along, ascending as we
went, through a pleasant vale. The celebrated Blackstone-edge soon broke
on our view, one of the haunts of Robin Hood, and, since his time, of more
of the "minions of the moon" than we should choose to encounter. From the
top of this mountain there is an extensive and magnificent view both of
Yorkshire and of Lancashire; but we have more than once found ourselves
disappointed, owing to the prevalence of bad weather, for the moisture
which is drawn up out of both the eastern and western seas, being
intercepted by this lofty ridge, is condensed into fogs, or falls in rain,
and leaves but comparatively few days on which the traveller can enjoy the
fine prospects to be had from it. On the summit of Blackstone-edge is a
reservoir of great capacity, which serves as a feeder of the Rochdale
Canal; and near its eastern extremity runs the division line between York
and Lancaster.
Near the summit of the Rochdale Canal, at a place called Steaner Bottom,
stands an old house now in decay, of some antiquity, attracting notice
from its carved inscription in relief, running the whole length of the
building, and expressed in these terms:
We shortly arrived at Littleborough, which is celebrated as a Roman
station. The remains of the Roman camp have nearly disappeared; but the
site of the works rears its lofty front a little to the east of the
village, and bears on its summit the ancient mansion of Windy-Bank,
overlooking the numerous picturesque objects which present themselves in
the valley near the junction of the roads at the foot of Blackstone-edge.
Towards the close of the last century a number of coins, some of them as
early as Claudius, were dug up at Castlemeer, in this vicinity.
About two miles to the north-east, the right arm of a silver statue of
Victory was discovered in the year 1793, supposed by Dr. Whitaker to have
been the arm of a votive statue of Valerius Rufus, broken off, and lost by
the Roman army in one of their marches from York to Manchester.
One of the first chapels in the parish of Rochdale was built at Little-
borough. It was licensed for mass by the Abbes of Whalley in 1476. In the
year 1815 this venerable edifice was replaced by a neat modern erection,
whose site, placed as it is, just in front of two well wooded brows, with
lofty mountains for a background, is peculiarly striking.
Page 175.
On our left lay Stubley Hall, originally built by Nicholas de Stubley, an
early residence of the Holts. The name of Holt has for centuries been
associated with dignity and opulence in this parish. The Holts were
strongly attached to the cause of the Stuarts; and, in the list of knights
in the projected order of the "Royal Oak," on the restoration of Charles
I., the names both of Thomas and of Robert Holte appear.
The general decay of native woods occasioned an universal disuse of timber
in buildings about the latter end of Henry VIII's time. The first
instance of an entire hall-house of brick and stone is Stubley. The reigns
of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth constituted a new era in domestic
architecture; numbers of old timber halls having gone to decay, were
replaced by strong and plain mansions of stone. Stubley Hall, in the time
of Whitaker, contained much carving in wood. He particularises a rich and
beautiful screen between the hall and parlour, with a number of crests,
ciphers, and cognizances, belonging to the Holts and other families of the
neighbourhood.
Quitting Littleborough we found ourselves almost flying up and through the
mountains. The country became bolder. We had entered the vale of
Todmorden, whose beauty has not been improved by the formation of the
Railway. Nor do we think that the Lancashire portion ever justified the
high encomiums which have been lavished upon it. Our passage through the
"Summit Tunnel" was attended by most impressive circumstances. The
rapidity of our flight, the screech of the warning-signal from the engine,
the overhanging column of mingled smoke and steam, the rush of air,
together with the lurid glare and innumerable sparks thrown by the
flambeaux which the train carried, and others borne by persons stationed
in the tunnel, conspired, with the feeling that we were passing through
the body of a huge mountain, to excite and to awe our mind; for there were
we, if out of peril, yet in the very midst of the stupendous works of
nature, and the highest triumphs of human enterprise.
The formation of this tunnel was a long, costly, and perilous work,
involving the loss of twenty-eight lives.
We came out of the tunnel not far from Todmorden, when we found ourselves
surrounded by lofty and precipitous mountains, with the town lying
between them, on the eastern and western banks of the Calder. This river,
which takes its rise on the margin of the forest of Rossendale, at the
north-western extremity of the township, serves to divide the two
counties. The stream hurries through the midst of the place, which is
irregularly built, being scattered up and down on the two opposite sides
of the mountain in a straggling manner, which accords not amiss with the
wild appearance of the country.
The three great requisites for manufacturing prosperity are found in the
vale of Todmorden in perfection-building materials, coal and water commu-
nication. Under these favourable circumstances Todmorden has become a
Page 176.
place of great importance in the manufacture of cotton, and can offer more
than one instance, among thousands to be found in other localities, of the
elevation to opulence of persons whose intellectual culture was no less
humble than their origin.
In order to find a position whence we might take a full view of Todmorden
and its immediate vicinity, we climbed up what is termed "The Ridge,"
rising directly above the railway. We were repaid for our trouble. In the
bottom, on our left, the road to Burnley took its gently sweeping course.
Following the line of the railway, our eyes were met by the river and the
canal, which conducted our view up to the lofty hills leading into
Yorkshire. In our front, and on our right, lay the disjecta membra of the
town itself, with the Church, the Hall, the Unitarian Chapel, and the
works of Mr. Fielden, as prominent and striking objects. One feature must
not be omitted. A factory chimney rose out of the mountain far up its side-
no unusual sight in these parts; the chimney is run up the hill for a
considerable length, when it takes a vertical position, and ascends to the
necessary height. By this singular contrivance a more powerful draft is
obtained, in consequence of the facility with which the chimney can be
lengthened out.
Immediately above the town the mountains rose in long, high, and succes-
sive sweeps, the summits being finely rounded, and vegetation stretching
along the sides nearly up to the very top.
Turning round on our left, we entered on the road leading from Todmorden
to Burnley, and found ourselves in a lengthened winding gorge, running
between the Lancashire mountains on the left, and the Yorkshire on the
right side. We had now, of a truth, got into Cliviger, the rocky district,
as the word implies. The mountains on the Lancashire side rise
precipitously to a great height, are broken by deep ravines, and form, by
the peculiar curves which they take, a series of huge bowls. At present,
the road on both sides is well covered with vegetation; larch, mountain-
ash, and birch trees appear at every step-the result, for the most part,
of a laudable effort, on the part of Dr. Whitaker, who, in the interval
between the years 1784 and 1799, planted 422,000 trees on his estate of
Holme, cutting, at the same time, pathways along the plantations several
miles in circuit, which exhibit many interesting views. As the district
abounds in coal, the works which are built, and the employments which
proceed for procuring that mineral, have in a measure driven away the
crowds of hawks which had from time immemorial inhabited there as a secure
retreat; and even the pair of noble "rock eagles," mentioned by Whitaker
as having, far "longer than the memory of man runneth," defied what time,
age, and yet more destructive sportsmen could do against them, have
disappeared before the unsparing spirit of trade.
In travelling through this most picturesque vale, we met at every bend of
the hills new groups and combinations of sublime or pleasing objects. Some-
times the mountains closed in and seemed to intercept our passage. The
Page 177.
next minute they opened, and winding round, threw before our sight a wide
circular plain, with the narrow Calder trickling at their base. Still more
remarkable was the bold and sudden sweep with which the mountains ran down
one upon another, or into the strips of plain below-now in one vast
unbroken curve, and now riven into clefts, which gave pathways to
cascades, whose waters contrasted pleasingly with the deep blue around them.
The most imposing of all was the mountain commonly
termed "The Eagle's Crag," which rose almost
perpendicularly above us, clothed with vegetation. A
slender mist overspread the hillside and aided the
imagination in conceiving the shape of a huge eagle
(hence the name), whose half uplifted wings the
dark foliage aided the fancy to shadow out. It was
impossible to stand below the tremendous crag, whilst feeling the
loneliness and impressive silence of the place, calling also to mind how
many a traveller had looked on the scene with fears that chilled his frame,
without being conscious of emotions which, if akin to superstition, partook
of the awful and the sublime.
Most suitable spot, we exclaimed, for the haunts and revels of evil
spirits. And in this witching place, accordingly, tradition has placed a
legend-
Wearily had Giles Robinson been toiling all night long through the narrow
pass we have attempted to describe. Most unwillingly had he undertaken the
journey; but a payment which he had to make by nine o'clock in the morning
had deprived him of all choice. His destination was a few miles on the
road towards Burnley, and he hoped, as it was All Saints Day, that he
should be able to reach his home in Pendle Forest by nightfall. Vexed by
the difficulties he had experienced in procuring the money which he
carried, and enraged at what he accounted an injustice, in relation to the
claim he was about to liquidate, the worthy farmer-such was his
profession-pursued his lonely and rugged path in no very amiable state of
mind, when, of a sudden, a flash of light passed across his eyes, and
immediately after a crash, as if the mountain at his side were of a sudden
rent, passed through his ears, striking him with amazement. The first idea
which came into his confused mind was that he was beset by robbers. He
folded his arms round his body,
Page 178.
and seemed by his action, to imply that the enemy should take his life
before they found their way to his carefully hidden treasure.
Recovering in a degree from his alarm, he directed his eyes up was on the
left, and there beheld that which all but smote him to the earth in dismay.
It was Loynd, indeed, the witch, whose name was a terror throughout the
forest of Blackburnshire. Before he could again raise his trembling eyes,
he found himself in a terrific storm. The thunder roared and echoed on all
sides, around, through, and over the mountains. The rain fell in torrents.
Poor Giles was near sinking with fatigue and dread. He was just on the
point of returning, in hope of finding shelter, when he felt something
hard and smooth rub against his legs. Looking down, he saw a huge black
cat, whose eyes emitted sparks of fire. On a sudden, a voice came forth,
as if from his mouth-"Thou cursed my mistress two days ago, she will meet
thee again at Malkin Tower." The familiar disappeared, darting more quickly
than thought to the top of the precipice, when Robinson, in following his
flight, saw him alight immediately on the shoulders of "Loynd Wife," who
was sitting astride the Eagle's crag. The moment the cat had taken his
place, the witch drew a huge flambeau, as it were, from the beak of the
eagle, and waving it round and round in her hand, flew away as swiftly and
securely as an eagle itself, in a north-west direction.
"True enough," ejaculated Giles, "she is gone to Pendle Forest. Horrid
scenes, doubtless, will take place there before the sun is high in the
heavens."
On the previous evening Giles' son had left his home, and wandered forth
in an idle mood. Meeting a neighbour, he asked of him to go and gather
berries in his small enclosure. Obtaining permission, he darted into the
thicket and was soon lost from sight. After proceeding a few hundred yards,
he saw two greyhounds come running towards him over the next field. They
approached and fawned on him; and then he saw with astonishment that their
collars were of gold. Gratified at so fine an opportunity, he determined
to hunt with them. Most opportunely a hare at that moment rose just in
front. "Loo! loo!" he shouted, but not a step would the animals take. He
was naturally enraged, and, having a cudgel in his hand, he did not
hesitate to bestow it upon them. The stick produced a miraculous effect;
for, instead of one hound, he saw, with his own eyes, Moll Dickenson; and,
instead of the other, a little boy. Ned-such was the appellation by which
he usually went-endeavoured to take to his heels, but the woman's hand was
east on his shoulder, and seemed to pin him to the ground. "Here," said
she, offering him a purse of silver, "take this, and hold thy peace."
"Aroint thee, witch!" replied the boy, "thinkest I know thee not?" On
which Moll took from her pocket a string, and threw it on her attendant's
neck, who at once was changed into a white horse. Poor Ned felt himself
the next moment on the neck of the horse, seated before the witch. Before
he had recovered from his surprise he found they had arrived at a new
house
Page 179.
called Hoarestones, higher up the mountain. The door was beset by beings
human in shape but demoniacal in aspect. Others of similar appearance were
coming up on fiery horses from all quarters, but in greatest number from
the Cliviger side of the county. The boy had heard of "the Witches'
Sabbath," and he was now convinced he was about to witness their horrid
rites. Alas! he witnessed more that night than it befitted a boy to see or
any modest tongue to tell. Threescore hags crowded the place. They first
prepared a feast. At a word fires were kindled, and whole carcases were
roasting before them. Ere he could well turn his eyes to the table the
meat was ready for the carver's knife, and the witches were in the midst
of their carnival. Not two minutes had elapsed before they all arose as if
at a secret signal, and uttered a shriek which might have been heard down
to the lowest depths of the mountain's base. "Feed him, feed the wretch!"
cried she who had brought him. A young comely woman forthwith tripped up
to him bearing a delicious steak in a golden dish. Ned's eyes glistened,
and his mouth watered. He took a portion within his lips and fell
backward, overcome with disgust. What was his astonishment to find himself
the next minute on his legs in a barn! Before him six hags knelt, and
pulled at six ropes fastened to the roof. Down the ropes immediately ran
roasted lambs, lumps of butter, and the richest cream, falling into dishes
and basins placed to receive them. These witches were soon replaced by six
others, who applied themselves to the same work. But who can describe the
hideous features which they all wore, or the horrid discord, which came as-
from twelve church-bells all broken, while owls hooted in secluded corners
of the barn, and shrieks and groans thickened around it from without.
Of a sudden a vast cauldron rose upon the barn floor, surrounded both on
the inside and the out with lurid and scorching flames. A number of the
foulest hags appeared, who, acting under the order of one whom he recog-
nised as "Loynd Wife," threw various things into the caldron, as they said-
1st Witch. Here's the blood of a bat.
Loynd. Put in that, O put in that.
2d Witch. Here's libbard's bane.
Loynd. Put in again.
1st Witch. The juice of toad, the oil of adder.
2d Witch. That will make the yonker madder.
Loynd. Put in; there's all, and rid the stench.
Firegone. Nay here's three ounces of the red-hair'd wench.
All. Round, around, around.
"It takes!" they all suddenly shrieked. "Her flesh has done it." On which
the trembling boy saw his father and his mother rise in the opposite
corner of the room.
"Wretches!" exclaimed Loynd, "we know, and can punish our enemies. You are
here to see the fate of your own boy;"-but before the sentence was
terminated Ned had darted from the barn, and was hurrying towards his home
Page 180.
at his utmost speed, "Could I," he thought, "but get past the 'Boggart-
hole' I should be safe." After him, however, came a troop of witches, led
by Loynd. She was nearly on his heels, and had stretched out her long bony
hand to seize him, when he leaped like a wounded deer, and sunk full two
yards lower down the mountain than the Boggart-hole. That moment two
horsemen came up; the witches scampered into the forest, and Ned was con-
ducted to his home. For a whole week the poor boy did nothing but rave.
His father arrived a short time after Ned, and found that one object of
the gathering of the witches had indeed been to punish him and his house.
For days did Giles remain unemployed, and almost speechless, plotting
revenge; till at last he suddenly broke forth, "Wife, there is law against
these demons, and I will have it; the lad is getting better, and his
evidence with mine will hang them all."
In truth eighteen persons were brought up for trial at Lancaster,
seventeen of whom were found guilty on the oath of Giles and his son, and
condemned to suffer death. For some reason, however, the judge thought fit
to grant the prisoners a reprieve, and reported the case to the king in
council. They were next remitted to the Bishop of Chester. His opinion was
given, and four of them were sent to London, and there examined, first by
the king's physicians, and afterwards by Charles I. in person.
Suspicions arose, Giles and his son were subjected to a very searching
investigation, when it appeared that whether the father had been scared by
a thunder-storm or not, certainly the boy had been suborned to give false
witness, in order to serve as an instrument of revenge.
Not the least extraordinary fact remains to be mentioned. One of the
accused, by name Margaret Johnson, had actually confessed her guilt,
stating in the most particular manner how, when, where, and for what
purpose, and with what experience she had of her own free will become a
witch.* So overpowering is the force of popular prejudice when arrayed in
the awful power of the invisible world; and so small is the worth of
confessions of guilt when the mind is full of false notions, the
imagination morbid, and the passions in a flame.
* Dodsworth's MSS. vol. 1xi. p. 47
"This story," Dr. Whitaker informs us, " made so much noise,
that in the following year (1634) was acted and published a
play, entitled the 'Witches of Lancashire,' which has been
applied by Mr. Stephens to the illustration of Shakespeare. The
term has since been transferred to a gentler species of
fascination, which my fair countrywomen still continue to exert
in full force, without any apprehension of the county magistrate
or even of the king in council." The females of these parts
deserve their reputation, which indeed is not of recent date.
Drayton thus speaks of the "Lancashire Witches " of his day-
First that most precious thing and pleasing most to man,
Who from him (made of earth) immediately began,
His sheself, woman; which the goodliest of this isle
This county hath brought forth, that much doth grace my stile;
Why should those ancients else, which so much knowing were,
When they the Blazons gave to every several shire,
Faire woman as mine own, have titled due to me?
Page 181.
The whole of this part of the country was eminently fitted to originate
and foster superstition among an ignorant people. With forests extending
on all sides, lofty mountains, deep and shady glens, dark and unsightly
dwellings, the imaginary beings which alarmed and harassed our forefathers
may well have found a refuge and a shelter here, when they had been
compelled to retire from other parts of the country by the increasing
light of day. Nor was it a mere inspiration of fancy that prevailed. In
these times we can form no idea of the terrible power which the belief in
goblins and witches carried with it of old, productive as it was of the
most slavish disquietude. Every principal house had a ghost, and every
death was preceded by secret signs and warnings. Whitaker mentions what he
designates "one practical superstition," as being peculiar to the district.
"The hydrocephalus is a disease incident to adolescent animals, and is
supposed by the shepherds and herdsmen to be contagious; but in order to
arrest the progress of the disease, whenever a young beast had died of
this complaint, it was usual, and it has I believe been practised by
farmers yet alive, to cut off the head, and convey it for interment into
the nearest part of the adjoining county. Stiperden, a desert plain upon
the border of Yorkshire, was the place of skulls." The learned historian
accounts for the disappearance of witches on the ground, not of the spread
of increased intelligence, but of an alleged diminution of social
intercourse, and of the friendly feelings which it originates; seeming to
point to what is the great
Nor is it possible to see the fine straight well-proportioned
frames of the present girls of the county without admiration.
A bevy of Lancashire girls issuing from a factory, or beheld
at their employment, provided it be in the country, for the
town populations are of the most medley character, cannot fail
both to strike and gratify the spectator.
It is one among a thousand of the acts of injustice done by "the
lord of the creation" against his weaker but better self, that
the violence of superstition should have been made to fall with
peculiar and almost exclusive force upon females. The very name
witchcraft, not wizardcraft, shews that women have had to bear
this grievous burden. And by a sort of superfluity of wrong doing,
the aged were almost the sole parties against whom the popular
disfavour was directed.
That pattern of wisdom and paragon of philosophy, King James, in
his "Demonology," assigns the following as his explanation of the
supposed fact, that witches exist to wizards, in the proportion of
twenty to one:
"The reason-is easy, for as the sex is frailer than man is, so is it
easier to be entrapped in these grosse snares of the devill, as was
over well proved to be true, by the Serpent's deceiving of Eve, at
the beginning which makes him the homelier with that sex sensine."
The events of which we have given above the leading features,
happened in 1633. Previous to this, another similar tragedy had been
enacted. This county-we quote the curious and learned old antiquarian
work, " British Topography, 1780,"-so fertile in sorcery and
witchcraft, produced." The wonderful discoverie, with the
arrainment and trial of nineteen notorious witches, at the assizes
and general gaol delivery, holden at Lancaster Castle, Munday, Aug.
6, 1612, before Sir James Altham and Sir Edw. Bromley, with the
arrainment and trial of Janet Preston at the assizes held at Yorke,
with her execution for the murther of master Lister by witchcraft,
published by command of his Majesty's justices of assize in the
northern parte, by Thomas Potts, Esq." 1613, 4to.: and "A par-
ticular declaration of the most barbarous and damnable practises,
murtherous, wicked, and devilish conspiracies practised and
exercised by the most dangerous and malicious witch Elizabeth
Sowthernes, alias Demdike, of the forest of Pendle, in the county of
Lancaster, widow, who died in Lancaster Castle before her trial."
1612, 4to.
Page 182.
object of his dislike, and which had in his day begun to make palpable
inroads on the seclusion if not the beauty of the country, namely,
manufactures; and certainly, while it may admit of a question whether
manufactures on the whole have not softened as well as enlightened private
life, they have indirectly served to liberate society from many
distressing illusions. Commerce has, however; still a work, in the way of
disenchantment, to perform among the rural population, and in the
mountainous parts of the country. The number is not small, whom no
consideration could induce either to trust themselves to the perils of a
railway carriage, or dispense with that sure protection against
witchcraft, a horse-shoe nailed over the entrance door of their houses.
Having fallen into conversation with a working man on our road near Holme
Chapel, we asked him if people in those parts were now ever annoyed by
beings of another world. Affecting the esprit fort, he boldly answered
"Noa, the country is too full of folk;" while his whole manner, and
especially his countenance, as plainly said "Yes." A boy who stood near
was more honest: "O yes!" he exclaimed, turning pale, "the Boggart has
driven William Clarke out of his house; he flitted last Friday."
"Why," I asked, what did the Boggart do ? "
"O, he wouldn't let 'em sleep: he stript off the clothes."
"Was that all?"
"I canna say," answered the lad, in a tone which shewed he was afraid to
repeat all he had heard; "but they are gone, and the house is empty. You
can go and see for yoursell if ye loike: Will is a plasterer, and the
house is in Burnley Wood, on Brown Hills." So particular an account,
however, required no investigation.
In this neighbourhood we arrived at the spot where the Calder takes its
rise, sending off one branch to the east, another to the west. The
fountain was not long since visible; but the person who farms the land
having found the water dangerous to his lambs, had covered it over, but we
experienced no difficulty in discovering its site by the superior
freshness of the greensward.
A short ride brought us to Portsmouth, a place which lies just under a
side of the mountain, rising abruptly in a precipice from its very base,
and a little farther on, descending in a series of lesser mountains,
formed in the shape of bastions. We had felt some curiosity to see this
Portsmouth among the mountains. We found it to be a solitary inn. Near at
hand are also Whitehaven and Chatham. What could this mean? This is the
interpretation:-Each place was but a house or two. A sailor, returning to
the spot where he drew his birth, after many long years spent in the
service of his king and country, pleased his fancy by giving these names
to places as dis-similar as can be conceived to those which bear them of
right; and while he gratified his whim, astounded the villagers by the
wondrous tales he told, occasionally chuckling at the thought that
tradition would give him a sort of immortality by bearing down the names,
if not their origin, to distant ages.
Pages 183.
Glad were we, however, to put into port, without being too critical as to
the propriety of the borrowed appellation. The Roebuck gave us hospitality
-such hospitality as can be experienced nowhere but in Cliviger. Shivering
with cold, we entered a large kitchen, where was a true Lancashire fire;
and stools, tables, platters, nay, the floor itself, of a shining whiteness
resembling the purest snow. But what language can do justice to the ham?
Not fewer than fifty fine hams hung suspended from the ceiling! And then,
who would know how delicious a flavour a well cooked potatoe has, must
first visit Lancashire, and then proceed to Cliviger. Lancashire is said
to be the first English county which grew the potatoe. The finest kinds
it still produces. The oxnoble potatoe, though it has had its day, retains
a celebrity which even a Wellington does not disown, for the memorial of
the one may be seen suspended not far from that of the other before many a
village inn in Lancashire.
We passed one or two fine sheets of water, in which is good fishing, and
came to Holme Chapel.
The scenery here is less wild, and has a warmer as well as a more pleasing
aspect. Looking towards Burnley we saw a number of interesting objects,
spread over a country gradually opening and sinking down into the plains.
The vegetation was rich; the brook, whose head we had just passed, was
here and there confined and dammed up, making good pools for the angler,
and adding to the beauty of the country. A small hill lying somewhat to
the left attracted our attention. It was in shape something like a large
truncated cone, and being planted with a tuft of trees, made a singular
and pleasing object in the prospect. Its name is Dyneley Knoll.
Holme Chapel is a comparatively modern building erected in 1788, on the 
spot where a rude but picturesque edifice formerly stood.
This was originally a chancery, founded upon the
dissolution of Whalley Abbey, which came into the
possession of the Whitaker family in the reign of
Elizabeth. The chantry was soon dissolved, and the place,
by a singular fate, remained without a minister for the
space of two hundred years. In 1796, Thomas Dunham Whitaker was licensed to
it on his own petition. The old structure
Page 184.
was diminutive but venerable, and was surrounded by a grove of sycamores
swarming with rooks; "so," to cite the words of Dr. Whitaker himself,
"that when there was any competition of voices at all, cawing drowned the
parson's saw." The parents of the historian of Whalley lie buried in this
chapel. Dr. William Whitaker, his father, was a clergyman of multifarious
learning, a rigid Calvinist, and a most prolific writer on controversial
and dogmatical subjects. These are the terms in which Bishop Hall
characterises him:-"The honour of our schools, and the angel of our church,
than whom our age saw nothing more memorable;_what clearness of judgment,
what sweetness of style, what gravity of person, what grace of carriage
was in that man! Who ever saw him without reverence, or heard him without
wonder?" The Whitakers are descended from the first families of
Lancashire-the Sherburnes, Townleys, Stanleys, and Harringtons.
The hall was originally of wood. The centre and eastern wing were rebuilt
in 1603. The west remained of wood till 1717, and had one or more private
closets for the concealing of priests, the family
having continued recusants, at least to the latter
end of the reign of Elizabeth. The accompanying
sketch will afford an idea of what the house is at
present.
From Holme we passed through a less elevated but pleasing district to
Ormerod. "In this township," relates Dr. Whitaker, "is still preserved an
instrument of ancient and approved efficacy in suppressing the license of
female tongues, namely a Brank. With this unenviable head-dress the
culprit in the olden time wasted about in a disgraceful state of penal
silence.
In passing along we made diligent inquiry for this extraordinary machine,
but to no purpose; all with whom we spoke, declared that use for many such
instruments could be found in the neighbourhood, and seemed to regret that
it was not within their reach. According to Plott, this "artifice is much
to be preferred to the ducking-stool, which not only endangers the health
of the party, but also gives the tongue liberty 'twixt every dip; to
neither of which is this at all liable, it being such a bridle for the
tongue as not only quite deprives them of speech, but brings shame for the
transgression and humility thereupon before 'tis taken off; which being
put upon the offender
Page 185.
by order of the magistrate, and fastened with a padlock behind, she is led
round the town by an officer, to her shame; nor is it taken off till after
the party begins to shew all external signs imaginable of humiliation and
amendment."*
The Cross of Holme yet remains, of which the annexed cut
is a
representation. It has escaped the ravages of time with less
detriment than many similar objects of the same kind in that
neighbourhood, some of which; have received more injury from
wanton bad usage than from a long course of years; it is
pleasing to reflect, that a better spirit seems now to have
arisen, and we sincerely hope it will become universal.
The next hamlet we entered was Habergham Eaves, where the
scenery, yet remaining agreeable, has lost its mountainous character. This
place was once the residence of a respectable family, the last
representative of which wasted the patrimonial property, came to ruin, and
was not joined to his ancestors in burial. His wife has left a memorial of
herself and her sorrows in some not inelegant verses, in which, under the
emblem of flowers, she strove to commemorate her experience and soothe her
grief.
The gardener standing by, In June the led rose spring,
Proferred to choose for me, But was no flower for me
The pink, the primrose, and the rose, I plucked it up, lo! by the stalk,
But I refused the three. And planted the willow tree.
The primrose I forsook, The willow I now must wear,
Because it came too soon, With sorrows twined among
The violet I overlooked, That all the world may know
And vowed to wait till June. I falsehood loved too long.
We turned off the high road on the right, and came into Towneley Park. It
is a spacious inclosure, wearing a rather neglected aspect, but presenting
beautiful views, and knolls of fine trees, especially many venerable oaks.
The hall lies in a well sheltered spot under cover of a hill at the back,
and is enclosed nearly all round with high land. The original site was a
tall and
* Since writing the above, we have learned that the late Dr. Whitaker
was in possession of a "Brank, ar Lucy's Muzzle," when he wrote the
History of Whalley, but the present occupier of Holme, T. H.
Whitaker, Esq., a grandson of Dr. Whitaker, is ignorant of what has
become of it.
There is a classical fable which wears a similar aspect as the
machine mentioned in the text. Poor Chione! She was not: satisfied
with being loved by Apollo; she must needs allow her tongue a license
against Diana. The goddess would not endure the scorn, and shot an
arrow right through the peccant member. The expedient was more
effective than merciful.
Page 186.
shapely knoll, southward from the present mansion, still named Castlehill,
on the eastern side of which are obscure remains of trenches. The mansion
wears a noble aspect, worthy of the family to whom it belongs.
Till some hundred years ago, it was a complete quadrangle, with two
turrets at the angles, of which the south side, still remaining, has walls
more than six feet thick. In the eastern wing we noticed a doorway with an
arch of singular construction.
Entering the house by a curious old door made of carved oak, we found
ourselves in a fine hall, furnished with a billiard table, sofas, and
other conveniences, and adorned by casts from the antique,
antlers, etc. In the drawing-room, besides some good
pictures, are four busts; two of the late Charles Towneley,
father of the present occupant, and the fourth, a copy of
Isis rising out of a sunflower, by Nollekens. In the
dining room is a very fine portrait by Vandyke, of Lord
Widdington, who was killed in the battle of Wigan-lane.
There have also recently been brought to the house from
Stella, near Newcastle, nearly sixty portraits, chiefly
of the Widdington branch of the family, painted by Lely,
Kneller, Dobson, Van Loo, Wessing, and Houseman. One, that of a female in
rich silk drapery, by Lely, is admirably executed. A sort of picture
gallery running the whole length of the eastern wing, contains a great
number of family portraits inserted in the panels of the wainscot, offering
in the successive changes of costume and of expression, an interesting
subject of contemplation to the philosophical student of history. Among
these we
Page 187.
noticed particularly John Towneley, the translator into French of Hudibras,
who lived so long in France that, but for his bearing an English name, he
would from his dress and air, be undoubtedly-taken by a spectator for a
Frenchman. As if to make his peculiarities more striking, there is placed
by the side of him a good-humoured rubicund countenance, of the true
English gentleman sort, whose wearer looks no less well satisfied with
himself than with all about him. We must name Richard Towneley also, born
in 1528, who was so long in foreign countries that it was only by his dog
that he was recognised on his return, and this faithful companion is
painted at his side. Charles Towneley, the celebrated antiquary, we cannot
in justice pass without a brief record.
The premature death of his father, William Towneley, caused him to succeed
to the family estate when quite a child, and in combination with religious
considerations, induced his guardians to send him for education to the
College of Douay in France; the chief resort of young men of rank, heirs
of the Catholic gentry in England. His progress was distinguished. Under
the auspices of Chevalier Towneley, whom we have before named as the
translator of Hudibras, and who was also a friend of Voltaire, young
Towneley was initiated into most of the graces and some of the follies of
the French capital. About 1758 he took possession of the family residence,
and gained no small acceptance by bearing part in the athletic sports
of the field, and the boisterous hospitality for which country gentlemen
were then often distinguished.
In 1765 he visited Rome and Florence, and commenced those researches and
studies which raised him to the first rank among connoisseurs, and gave
him at once the desire and the skill to make the collection of Marbles by
which he has connected his name permanently with the history of his
country. The ardour with which he gave himself to this laudable pursuit,
may be conjectured from the fact, that on arriving at Syracuse, after a
long and fatiguing journey, he could take neither rest nor refreshment
till he had visited the fountain of Arethusa.
The strong attachment of his family for the Pretender, secured Mr.
Towneley a favourable reception in Rome, and greatly facilitated his re-
searches. The era was, next to that of Leo X., the most interesting and
propitious in relation to the discovery of antiquities. Aided by Gavin
Hamilton, and others, Mr. Towneley accumulated the best assemblage of
Grecian and Roman marbles which had been seen in England. These precious
treasures he exhibited in a residence which he purchased in Park-street;-
Westminster, where the favoured visitor might contemplate a scene
realized iirom the descriptions of Cicero and Pliny, being at the same time
gratified by the urbanity and intelligence of the accomplished owner. His
collection comprised, in addition to splendid marbles, ancient bronze
figures and utensils, coins, gems, antique pastes, drawings, a Greek
manuscript of the
Page 188.
Biad of the twelfth century. On his decease his executors offered to the
nation his marbles and terracottas, which by authority of Parliament were
purchased for the sum of 20,000L., and received into a building at the
British Museum, erected for the purpose. A second purchase was made under
the sanction of another act of Parliament, at a cost of 8200L.
From this Gallery of Portraits, we were conducted into a bedchamber, where
stand an ancient chest of drawers and an ancient bedstead of carved oak,
the latter executed in a very bold style, and both in good preservation.
Before quitting the house, we paid a visit to the chapel, a small neat room
fitted up with what is requisite for the celebration of the Catholic rites.
Large portions of the mansion are unoccupied, or resigned to menials.
On reviewing our impressions of the interior of this truly baronial hall,
we agree with the historian of Whalley, in the opinion that the chief
object of interest is to be found in "the noble woods, principally of
ancient oak, finely disposed and scattered over the park and demesnes to a
great extent."
There seems reason to think that some rigour may have been of old employed
in widening the lands which surround this mansion, as an old tradition
bears on the point.*
Sir John Towneley was neither a hard hearted nor a bad man. No one could
justly impute to him any infraction of the laws of his country. On
occasions he was even capable of performing acts of generosity. Yet he was
not beloved by his neighbours, and the poor feared rather than respected
him. As a boy, he was known for a love of making petty accumulations.
When he grew up to the period of youth, he seemed beset by a restlessness
of disposition which never let him remain contented with what he
possessed. If he saw a superior hound, or a high-spirited horse, he
scarcely slept by night, or rested by day, till he had made them his own.
Nor, in the opinion of rigid judges, was he over scrupulous about the
means of procuring these gratifications. If persuasion sufficed, to
persuasion he limited his efforts. When, however, good words and solid
gold had proved ineffectual, threats were not spared; nor were suspicions
wanting which hinted that some way or other evil befel those who resisted
his inclinations. Certain it is, that he had the reputation of being the
best at a bargain in the whole country, while the largesses he bestowed
were not always free from the taint of selfishness.
Those who knew him best, remarked that his love of acquisition became
stronger in his breast every passing year;- and but that he had a large
family, and possessed some warm feelings, they would have expected him to
prove a thorough miser at the last. After he had passed the age of fifty,
he manifested a most determined disposition to enlarge his paternal
domains. Ready money was procured, negotiations set on foot, lawyers
employed, every resource called into request, in order to effect his
purpose.
* Whitaker.
Page 189.
A large tract of land in the vicinity of his residence, remained unappro-
priated. The peasantry enjoyed it in common; cottages were scattered up
and down it; the cows and the swine of the people found subsistence there;
and in truth it was not without valuable qualities. Master John had long
known its capabilities, and seen its lovely scenery with an envious eye.
At length he resolved to "lay it in," as the phrase went. Procuring the
needful authority, he issued notice that the property was his; that the
people should no longer, under any pretext, feed their cattle thereon; and
that they must all have quitted their houses within the space of three
months.
This behest created the greatest discontent in Horelaw and Hollinhey
Clough. Resistance was contemplated; in whatever direction Master John
took his way, he met with sullen or threatening looks. " They had,"
declared a-village Hampden, "as much right to their bits of land, as John
Towneley had to his acres. Nay, the ancestors of most of them had been
there long before his name was known, at least in those parts. Would they
yield their own without a struggle?"
It was all in vain: not a family removed indeed; but just three days after
the limited day, all were alarmed in the dead of the night by noises of
operations they could not comprehend. It was a band of labourers, brought
from a distance, who, attended by a number of men at arms, were busily
engaged in demolishing the cottages. The next morning saw a dismal ruin.
The land was taken in, and made a part of Towneley Park. But who can tell
the dislike, not to say detestation, which this act called forth against
its author? Bitterly painful were the feelings of the fathers, mothers, and
children, who were thus rudely driven from their homesteads. A poor woman
above sixty years of age died of the fright and grief which the expulsion
occasioned her. She had buried her husband a week before, with whom she
had lived on that spot eight and thirty years, and whom she had known from
her earliest childhood. "It was hard," she said, "to quit the auld place;
father and mother were here before me; and my poor auld man not yet cold
in his grave."
It was noticed by those who knew Sir John best, that he never after this
transaction seemed quite at his ease. He was heard to talk to himself. He
gave over superintending the alterations required by the appropriation. He
died calling out, "lay out, lay out," that is "disappropriate."
No wonder the credulous peasantry should have formed the conviction, and
given out the report that the old knight's spirit, being unable to rest,
wandered about the mansion, and might be heard over the very parts that
had been taken in, crying in most piteous tones-
Be warned! lay out! lay out! be warned!
Around Horelaw and Hollinhey Clough;
To her children give back the widow's cot,
For you and yours there's still enough!*
* Whitaker's Whalley.
Page 190.
We next proceeded to Burnley-most unpicturesque of towns, with a hard,
cold appearance, tall chimneys, smoke, and a population looking as little
pleasing as their place of residence; though parts of the town lie in
situations which afford scope for much architectural effect, were the taste
and the resources furnished which are essential for so desirable a result.
With the true antiquarian spirit, we at once made our way to the "Old
Church," but found nothing to suit our purpose. We had heard of an old
cross, and knowing that no few Catholics were still found in Burnley, we
expected to find a choice relic of antiquity; but in this too we were
destined to meet with disappointment. Something which was once a cross, a
nearly unshapen stone eight feet in height, bearing marks of having stood
much rough weather, was all that remained-unless indeed we add the stories
we heard by its side, of bones being discovered, and other evidences that
we were standing on the site of an old Catholic chapel.
Burnley-an important division of the parish of Whalley-stands on a tongue
of land formed by the confluence of the Burn, or Brun, with the Calder,
which passing on through Paliham and Whalley, falls into the Ribble. This
town appears to have been a Roman station, lying on a vicinal way, between
Ribchester and Almondbury.
From Burnley we drove in a SS.E. direction, over high, bleak moors,
towards Padiham, passing, as we quitted the town, the barracks, lately
erected for an aid in preserving the peace. Leaving a place termed
Cheapside, we reached Padiham, not long since the poorest village in
Lancashire, having for years been dependent for its support almost
entirely on handloom weaving, and that of the coarsest and worst paid
fabrics. The introduction of "power," to use the technical term for mills
driven by steam, has partially improved the condition of the inhabitants,
but the place still wears a mean appearance. Indeed no few of the
Lancashire villages have the unsightly, not to say squalid, look of too
many of its towns, without the indications of their opulence. No sight is
more refreshing than the sight of a village in Lancashire, as all villages
ought to be, and as they mostly are in the southern counties, with
cottages of brick and thatch, small gardens before the door, a bright
stream trickling through or near the place, and a sprinkling of good old
houses, betokening cultivation if not gentility; not to omit the neat old
church, and a smiling parsonage.
Glad were we to leave behind us the cold tract and poor vegetation we had
just passed, and descend into this warm bosom of the earth. The country
had indeed improved in appearance as we drew nearer Whalley, and
immediately above it presented some highly interesting views; but we were
too wearied with our day's labour to give them any particular attention,
or record the seats and halls-most of which deserve the neglect in which
we left them-that we passed on our road.
Pinched with cold and famished with hunger, we alighted at the Swan
Page 191.
Inn, kept by Mrs. Francis Silverwood, which we particularise thus for the
benefit of those who, like ourselves, may hereafter wish for the comforts
of a home when far from their own firesides. We shall not attempt to
describe our sensations on finding our foot once more on this spot,
rendered venerable and almost sacred by so many historical memories. At
first, however, other demands required satisfaction than those of the head
or the heart. No sooner had we partaken of the good things of "mine
hostess," than we sallied out, late as it was, if only to assure ourselves
that the abbey and the church were in reality where we had left them some
twelvemonth since, and to resume our acquaintance with the most
intelligent and obliging of all village clerks in the kingdom. The moon
was up, the village still, the air, for the season of the year, soft and
agreeable; the hills lay in immense shadows; and the Abbey and the
Church-yes, there they were, immediately under the light of the moon. We
stood gazing in calm satisfaction, ideas and feelings crowding on our
mind, which was sensible even to a footfall, yet left in almost unbroken
tranquillity, when of a sudden the church bells broke into a peal, and
with their silver notes broke up the charm. We proceeded to our inn, and
soon retired to our chamber, but though fatigued were for hours unable to
sink to sleep, so busily occupied was our imagination under the immediate
influence of the genius of the place. Monks in their cowls, barons in
their armour, all "the pomp and pride" of chivalry, and all the gorgeous
ceremonial of the old religion in its palmy state, passed in review before
us, image after image succeeding each other, till our fancy was fairly
wearied out, and we slept-and in sleeping, again lived in the very press
and bustle of the "olden time."
We were up with the sun. It was a fine spring morning, rather frosty. Our
intention was to ascend some height, and take a view of the surrounding
country. As the church lay in our way-the road to it up an entrance to the
right as you go towards the little picturesque bridge-we could not resist
the inclination to look into its venerable cemetery. A few sheep were
nibbling a surface of luxuriant grass, thickly covered with mounds, the
separate resting-places of long generations. And how tranquilly the
sleepers rest-Protestant and Catholic, regular and secular, men of all
ages and many conditions, side by side till the last great day! How brief
was each one's span of life! How idle many of his solicitudes, and his
joys how hollow! Yet did they experience deep, real, and satisfactory
emotions; at least those who had undergone the gentle passion, and from
lovers had passed into parents. Even those who never knew the delights,
fears, and pains which the parental relation brings, may still have felt
the pure gratification of earnest devotion or of self-denying
philanthropy. All true feeling is satisfactory, all true and intense
feeling approaches the sublime-
"Not a hillock moulders near that spot
By one of dishonour'd, or all forgot."
Page 192.
Those are the Crosses;-yes, there Paulinus stood and taught the gospel of
peace and love. This humble churchyard is a memorial of a great national
event.
These interesting remains commemorate the preaching in this place of
Paulinus, and the conversion of Northumbria, in which Whalley was
included, to the faith of Christ. It was a difficult labour that the
missionary undertook. It is never easy, especially when religion has
intertwined itself with the influences of even a low degree of
civilization; but in this case the teachers and the faith itself, the
whole circle of ideas and appliances, were of foreign extraction, and wore
a foreign appearance. The upper classes, indeed, appear to have outgrown
the existing system. In a conference which Edwin held with his great men,
in order to learn their opinion as to the adoption of the new religion,
Coife, the high-priest, seems to have played the philosophe. "No one,"
said he in substance, "has served the gods more sedulously than myself; no
one has received fewer favours from them. My opinion is, that they are not
worth the attention they receive. Is the new religion better ?" The
council determines in its favour-but who should signify the same to the
people? Coife offers himself. It was impious for the high-priest to ride
on anything but a mare. He demands of the king a war-horse and a spear,
gallops to the idol fane, transfixes the image, profanes the temple, and
thus breaks the charm. A stone church is erected on the spot where the
temple had stood.
And what were the arms which they brought for effecting the conquest of
the nation? Augustin was in England. To his aid Pope Gregory sent four
priests, Milletus, Justus, Rufinianus, and Paulinus; and, with them,* in
plain English, he sent a pastoral letter to Augustin, and ordered for the
Missionaries a goodly assortment of canonicals, relics, censers, etc. with
special request not to forget "the parchments." Yes, mark the emphasis in
the last words of our quotation, "especially very many manuscripts."
Paulinus reaped success. He converted Edwin, king of Northumberland.
Cautious were his steps, and wise his plan. Edwin was, as yet, not king,
but an exile; his life was in peril; his breast was full of solicitude.
While in this mood, he was addressed, under cover of the shades of
evening, "What wilt thou give to have thy wishes fulfilled?" "The highest
rewards in my power." Thrice was the question put, and thrice answered,
with increasing emphasis. A hand fell on Edwin's head, while he heard the
words" remember that sign." Edwin then knew that the being he had
conversed with was not a man but a spirit. He overcame, and ascended the
throne. Still he is not a Christian. Paulinus procures him a wife-but no
conversion ensues.
* Not-Arma virosque-but-Quae ad cultum erant ac ministerium
Ecclesiae neeessaria, vasa videlicet sacra, et vestimenta
altarium, ornamenta quoque Ecclesiarum, et sacerdotalia
vel clericalia indumenta, sanctorum etiam apostolorum et
martyrum reliquias, nee non et codices plurimos.-Besle
Historia Eccles. lib, i.
Page 193.
Eumer, an assassin, is sent by a killing of Essex to kill Edwin with a
poisoned dagger. The blow is received-by a noble, who saw the villain's
aim, but the king is wounded. His wife, at the same time, is delivered of
a daughter. This rescue, and this blessing, Paulinus assures the king he
had obtained of the Almighty by his prayers. Edwin begins to give way, and
promises to become a Christian if his life is saved from the effects of
the poison, and victory given him over his royal but base assailant. These
favours are also granted, but the king is yet a Pagan. However, he begins
to study Christianity, consults his wise men-but state policy probably
stood in his way, and he hesitates still. "Hours together," says Bede,
"would he sit in solitude, deliberating what he ought to do. On one such
occasion the man of God, entering to the king, placed his right hand on
the king's head, and asked him if he recognised the sign. The king fell,
trembling, at the Missionary's feet, who raised him, and addressed him in
a friendly voice, "Lo! thou hast escaped from the hands of the enemies
whom thou didst fear, through the grace of God: Lo! by his favour thou
hast received the kingdom which thou didst desire; remember thy promise,
and receive the faith of Him who has snatched thee from thy adversities,
and will, if thou obey Him, save thee from the perpetual torments of the
wicked, and make thee a partaker with himself in the heavens of his
eternal kingdom." Edwin now knew from what source the divine oracle had
come to him, and, on consulting his nobles, became Christian (627). His
subjects followed their monarch. Paulinus baptized twelve thousand
converts in one day, and became Archbishop of York. This was the Paulinus
whose preaching here, in Whalley, is commemorated by the crosses that you
behold.
"There stands the messenger of truth; there stands
The legate of the skies! His theme divine,
His office sacred, his credentials clear;
By him the violated law speaks out
Its thunders; and by him, in strains as sweet
As angels use, the Gospel whispers peace:'
Paulinus appears, from the description of him left by the Venerable Bede,
to have had the power to alarm as well as to soothe, to terrify and to
conciliate. '"He was" says the graphic old chronicler, "a man tall of
stature, slightly bent, with black hair, emaciated countenance, a curved
and very slender nose, alike venerable and terrible in his aspect." This
literal translation from the Ecclesiastical historian will aid the
visitor's imagination to body forth the figure of the preacher, and the
details into which we have gone may serve to bring up before him somewhat
of the form and manners of the age. Paulinus, measured by his
contemporaries, was in himself a great man, and the work which he
performed was likewise great.
We left the pleasure of exploring the interior of the small and venerable
building for another opportunity, and proceeded towards Nab's Hill. We
passed two or three good houses on our right; but Whalley is celebrated
not
Page 194.
for its grandeur but its antiquity; and a truly neat village-like place it
is, with a pure atmosphere and balmy air. One from the south country finds
in it most of the features which make up his idea of an English village;
and but for the clatter, worse than the croaking of Homer's frogs-of those
abominable clogs, coming from that group of boys at play-could easily
fancy himself in some sequestered nook of Sussex or Kent.
We were now making our way up Nab's Hill; and heavy work we found, though
we literally circumvented it, in order to gain our purpose, ascending
through a narrow sort of cleft which had the appearance of being "a water-
gait," as a watercourse is called in Lancashire. Beguiling our way, in
conversation with our guide, we learned that Whalley was almost
exclusively dependent on calico-weaving. We knew, therefore, that its
population must be wretchedly poor. The average earnings of a weaver here
is three shillings and sixpence a-week, not more than four men in the
place can make five shillings. And yet see how rich a land it is! what
signs of abundance! what noble mansions and "broad acres," loaded with the
bounties of Providence! Nor here, at least, is there any foreign or
redundant population to bring down wages-the population has long been on
the decrease.
We had more than one fine view in ascending Nab's Hill, which amply repaid
our labour. The hill is intersected with lines of trees, which much
improve its appearance. It is indeed a fine object from the plains below,
though of small account as compared with other hills in its neighbourhood.
If planting should proceed as rapidly and well as it has done within the
last half century? this country may regain something of its old character,
and be once more a forest. Nab's Hill has been planted, Cliviger has been
planted, Langridge Fell, away yonder to the north west, has been planted.
We scarcely need add, that the beauty of the scenery has been immeasurably
enhanced.
Equally improved has agriculture been in those parts of late; the breed of
cattle also; doubtless, the happy result of the residence on their estates
of a number of country gentlemen, who are thus occupying their time and
talents in a way which benefits the nation, while it augments their own
resources.
Making our way through a thicket of trees we at last reached the top of
the hill, and choosing our position carefully, were gratified by the
subjoined view of the northern part of Ribblesdale.
In the bottom, and at our feet, ran the Calder-a sweet bubbling stream.
Carrying the eye to the right, we passed the sole street, a curved one, of
the village of Whalley. Just above it, in the same direction, runs the
road to Manchester. Wiswall Moor then rises up, with the mansion of Clark
Hill, the residence of Mr. Whalley. But will old Pendle look on us? Wait;
yes, the mist is gone, you now see his hunchback, and, further to the left,
his brawny nose. Well may the inhabitants of the country be proud of this
splendid hill. It is one of those which are celebrated in the following rude
distich:
"Pendlehill and Pennygent, and little Ingleborough,
Are three such hills as you'll not find by searching England thorough."
Page 195.
Follow Pendle as he runs suddenly down, and before you get to his base you
meet with Langridge Fell, a descriptive name, for it is a long ridge and
high. Immediately in front of Langridge stands the princely Stonyhurst,
with its fine new chapel and new seminary. In a line stretching south, in
the midst of the scene, is Clithero Castle, placed on a piece of limestone
rock heaved abruptly out of the surrounding plain. Bring your eye back to
the river and you are again at Whalley, the church lying to the north
east, the
body of the abbey on the margin of the Calder below, and its north-west
entrance on your extreme left. A finer champaign country, hills with nobler
sweeps, objects of deeper interest, you have rarely seen. You there behold
the type of almost all the states of civilization that our country has
passed through down to the present. The church may carry your mind back to
the period when our forefathers worshipped stocks and stones; for where it
stands there was, beyond a doubt, a Saxon church, since, agreeably to the
instructions
Page 196.
of Pope Gregory, Augustin and his associates, who brought over the island
to Christianity, were accustomed to convert the old Pagan edifices to the
purposes of the new religion, or to supplant them when decayed by buildings
raised on the same spot. Clithero reminds us of the Norman Barons and the
days of chivalry-Stonyhurst, of new Roman Catholicism; and the Abbey of
the old. What changes has old Pendle there witnessed, "himself unchanged;"
what joyous shows and sad arrays, "knightes fair and ladies gay;" splendid
retinues of gallant chevaliers, a hawking; country gentlemen, well fed and
thick, a hunting; the cowl and the crown; the bridal festivity, and "the
passing bell;" horse dashed against horse, and man breasting man!!-but
there is no end of the story, so we will at once stop with a sigh and a
"so passes away the world's glory:" only we beg the courteous reader to
observe, that it was glory. "The dark ages," forsooth! It is time we knew
enough to eschew these vulgar prejudices. We believe and grant that
chemistry was not known, nor animal magnetism. The world suffered for want
of the first; but how much it was better off by knowing nought of the
second, and a herd of other kindred "sciences," we will not attempt to
determine; nor will we affirm that "the days of old" were better than the
present; enough for us that they are allowed to have had their light and
done their work, and contributed something to the ever increasing volume
of human good.
If, however, you would find some things to put into the scale against the
evils of by-gone times, you need only seat yourself on that coach-the
emblem of that important and disdainful abstraction, "the present times;"
you will soon be in Manchester, and may in a few hours find more sorrows
than you will like to witness.
We did our duty that morning at the breakfast table. Mountain air and a
long walk are excellent sharpeners of the appetite. So good a breakfast
naturally reminded us of dinner; the rather as we intended to labour till
nightfall for the special benefit of the reader.
"Let us," we said, to the comely mistress of the house, "have a couple of
chickens and a bit of bacon for dinner, at six o'clock."
"I have," she replied, "plenty of bacon, but no fowls."
"What! no poultry in this country place?"
"No, sir; was there time, I could get it by sending to Manchester or
Preston."
"What! send from here to Manchester for poultry! Why I thought they were
born and bred here?"
"Yes, sir, but like our girls and boys, they are off as soon as they can
run."
"Times are changed!" we added, "and we must do as well as we can."
"Beg your pardon, sir," she added, looking with all her eyes, "what did
you say you would have instead?"
"O anything;" but I merely remarked it was not so in the days of the monks;
there was no lack of fowls in Whalley under their reign.
Quitting our inn, we first made a survey of the village. "What a small
place," said our companion.
Page 197.
"Yes; but this is the mere village."
Whalley is a name which once covered, and indeed still covers, a vast
extent of ground. The word Whalley, in its Saxon original, signifies the
Field of Wells, an allusion to its more restricted locality, as placed
"upon the skirts of Pendle." Whalley is a parish, township, and village,
in the hundred and wapentake of Blackburn, and the honour of Clithero. It
is the largest parish in the county, and one of the most considerable in
the kingdom. It contains forty-seven townships; has an area of one hundred
and eighty square miles, or nearly a ninth part of Lancashire. The
original parish, from its formation about A. D. 628, to its dismemberment
before 1220, comprised the parishes of Blackburn, Rochdale, Ribchester,
Chipping, Mitton, and Slaidburn, an area of four hundred square miles. The
original of the church there was founded about A.D. 628, rebuilt 1100, and
in the fifteenth century dedicated to All Saints. The parish church was at
first styled "the White Church under the Leigh." The early clergymen were
styled deans, not as now, vicars; but the church has suffered both in
honour and in emoluments by being under the shade of the abbey.
But let us enter the venerable pile. The interior is in keeping with what
you have already seen. There is the nave, there the choir; here are side
aisles, and above, the galleries; notice also that neatly carved screen.
But if you would see splendid carving, turn to this lofty pew, which stands
like a monarch apart from the vulgar herd. It was built in 1610 by Roger
Nowell, of Read Hall. You see on it the inscription:
J F I T
R M
1830 1830
These cyphers record a sort of judicial decision. The first set signify
John Fort of Read; the second John Taylor of Morton. The pew belonged of
old to the Hall, but the father of Mr. Fort and the uncle of Mr. Taylor
are said to have consented to divide it. This Mr. Fort would not consent
to, alleging it went with his property. A reference was made to the Bishop
of Chester, who decided it should be divided; and tradition says, the then
clerk tossed up a penny, in order to determine which of the two should
have the preference in choosing his side. The inscription on the mural
monument is elegant. It was composed by the Rev. Thomas Wilson, late
Master of Clithero Grammar School. It is, you see, in memory of Elizabeth,
wife of James Whalley, Esq. of Clark Hill, daughter of Dr. Assheton, of
Manchester:
Here sleeps Eliza-let the marble tell
How young, how sudden, and how dear she fell;
How bless'd and blessing in the nuptial tie,
How form'd for every gentle sympathy.
Her life, by Heaven approved, by earth admired,
Amidst the brightest happiness-expired.
Short was the nuptial gleam, the hour that gave
A parent's name consigned her to the grave.
Page 198.
And left her husband fix'd in grief to mourn,
Widoxv'd of all her virtues-o'er her urn.
Yet whilst he feels and bends beneath the rod,
Meek resignation lifts his eye to God,
And shews within the blest, eternal sphere,
The partner of his bosom sainted there.
He bows, and breathes (so Faith has train'd her son),
"Great Sovereign of the world-Thy will be done."
Those stalls are beautiful; they were taken from the abbey, and are at
least four hundred years old. We give a delincation of the
Abbot's stall.
There are four stalls (but destitute of the fine work above the
choir, these four also taken from the Abbey) in Blackburn
church. This seat, where sat the abbot, will repay your
attention. Mark the admirable carving, and the old letters.
The subject is a man forcibly shoeing a goose. These holy men
seemed to have loved a joke. This is the inscription:
Whoso melles of wat men dos,
Let hym cum hier and shoe the ghos.
Which may be rendered thus, keeping the spirit of the original:
That fool to shoe a goose should try
Who pokes his nose in each man's pie.
On another seat are these Latin words:
Semper gaudenles sint ista sede sedentes.
In the venacular tougue:
Good luck betide you all
That sit within this stall.
The seats in other stalls are similarly decorated. Here in a singular one;
a figure part man and part beast, making love to an unwilling female; the
expression on both faces how characteristic; he labours to win, she is
determined to repulse. That inscription, carved on the side of the pew, is
simple and touching:
Orate pro anima Thomae Cawe Monachi.
"Pray for the soul of Father Thomas." Of a similar character is the stone
over the remains of Paslew, the last abbot:
Jesu, Fili Dei, Miseri mei. J. P
Page 199.
Need had he of pity on high, for he found none below. Having been con-
cerned in an insurrection designed to resist the proceedings of Henry
VIII. against religious houses, he was convicted of high treason at
Lancaster, and executed in his native place, March 12, 1536-7.
Over that pew against the wall is not the least curious piece of
antiquity; a brass plate, with father and mother and twenty children, nine
boys and eleven girls. Be careful, or you will hardly
make out the
inscription. It is however the old story, "a family
picture". The date is 1515. "Raffe Caterall,
Esquyre, and Elizabeth, hys wyfe, had long
disappeared from the church. Dr. Whitaker, however,
had a good antiquarian nose, and found the plate
in Garstang church. It is now replaced; and there
it is, in what is termed Little Mitton Chapel.
Before we leave, go and observe that very fine window, executed in a
masterly style of workmanship, at the east end of the church. All the
titles are in old black letter. The ornamental paintings are various.
Next to Dr. Whitaker's coat-of-arms, near the top of the window, is the
rebus of Ashton-an ash in a tun; on the opposite side is that of Bolton-a
bolt in a tun. The four Apostles are in the four central compartments. At
the top of the compartment on the left is the Lancastrian rose, crowned
upon four azure leaves; and corresponding on the right is the portcullis,
crowned on an azure ground. Immediately beneath the window stand a
beautiful picture of our Saviour by Northcote, presented as an altar-piece
by Adam Cottam of Whalley, who had previously given a fine-toned organ.*
Quitting the church we proceeded to our inn, in order to make preparations
for visiting the Abbey. It was a Cistertian establishment.
The Cistertians were a branch of the Benedictines, and denominated Cis-
tertians, from Cistertium, the Latin name for Cisteaux in Burgundy, where
the order was instituted A.D. 1098, by Robert, abbot of Molesme. The order
was brought into repute in England by Stephen Harding, an Englishman,
third abbot of Cisteaux, who on that account is considered the principal
founder. They were also called White Monks, from the colour of their
garments, which were a white cassock with a narrow scapulary, and over that
a black gown
* Gregson's Fragments.
Page 200.
worn when they went abroad, but a white one when they went to church.
Their monasteries, which became very numerous in a short time, were gene-
rally founded in solitary and uncultivated places; nor is it now easy to
say how much they contributed to redeem from their abandoned and unfruitful
condition the large tracts of country given them in the north east of Lan-
cashire. Their houses were dedicated to the Virgin.
These monks came into England in 1128, and had their first house at
Waverley in Surrey. Before the violent dissolution of religious houses
under Henry VIII., they numbered eighty-five establishments in this
kingdom. The depredations committed by Henry VIII., were certainly of a
regal magnitude. Tanner, in his Notitia Monastica,* tells us that no fewer
than 608 establishments, having the annual income of 140,785L., were
destroyed and devoured by him and his courtiers. But even this legalized
plunder we could forgive them, in comparison of the devatatations in art
and antiquity which they ruthlessly perpetrated.
Immediately after the suppression, under Henry VIII., of the minor
religious houses (those whose net income was under 200L. a year) two re-
bellions broke out, which in their issue and more indirect results
hastened and facilitated the downfall of the rest. The first was in
Lincolnshire, where Dr. Makerel, disguised like a cobbler, and calling
himself Captain Cobbler, drew after him a great body of men, who were
dispersed by the Duke of Suffolk. Within six days the second broke out, in
Yorkshire. It was designated "The Pilgrimage of Grace." This grew to be
very formidable, and was not easily put down. The part taken in this
outbreak by Paslew, then abbot of Whalley, was the immediate occasion of
the suppression of the house over which he presided.
In 1172, John Constable of Chester, founded a monastery of Cistertians at
Stanlaw in Cheshire. But it little merited the name he gave it, of Locus
Benedictus, the situation being low and unpleasant, and liable to floods
both from the river and the sea. The monks, with true native instinct,
looked abroad for a better site. Whalley was the object of their choice, a
place as they describe it-"greatly convenient for a habitation." What
indeed could they well want more than they found here? The glebe was
fertile, warm and spacious; the fishery extensive and productive; the
forests full of excellent game; and withal the patron bountiful. Whalley
was even then venerable for ecclesiastical antiquity, it now became
distinguished as the seat of a splendid monastic institution; "which
continued," says its historian, "for two centuries and a half to exercise
unbounded hospitality and charity, to adorn the site which had been chosen
with a succession of magnificent buildings, to protect the tenants of its
ample domains in the enjoyment of independence and
* Notitia Monastica, or an Account of all the Abbies, Priories,
and Houses of Friers formerly in England and Wales," etc. etc.
1787, p. 23 of the Preface.
"Habitationi admodum idoeum.
Page 201.
plenty, to employ, clothe, feed, and pay many labourers, herdsmen, and
shepherds, to exercise the arts, and cultivate the learning of the times;
"the arts unsurpassable, if the learning was obscure-yet though obscure,
still useful, as the seed in the soil.*
The claims upon the hospitality of the establishment were great. The
peculiar situation of Whalley, almost at an equal distance between
Manchester and Lancaster, in the great route of pilgrims from north to
south, rendered these demands no little oppressive. Nor were the largesses
inconsiderable which its Superiors bestowed. Strange, yet characteristic
of the times! shewing who then had the upper hand-the nobility and gentry
of the county received pensions from the monks. Some curious facts are
preserved in accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the
establishment. Under the head "given away,"* occur the names of many of
the chief families of the county as recipients, and an ancestor of the
Stanleys, Lord Stanley, stands convicted of having accepted the sum of 6L.
13s. 4d. And curious to note, just before is a record, stating how that
4s. had been given to four friars. Yes, the lord's influence at the court
in London was worth far more than that of even four friars in the court of
Heaven! Between these two items stands one, 36s. 7d. for minstrels!-4s.
for charity; 36s. for music; 133s. for ambition! We fear these holy men,
do what they could, were after all unable to keep the world out of their
heads, and satan out of their hearts. But what shall we say, when we learn
that even the boisterous and cruel sports of the bear garden were not
unknown to them? Plenty of good venison does it appear they eat, since the
forests in general were theirs at a period when a large part of the country
was nothing but forest. Evidences also appear in these accounts of the
gradual relaxation of discipline. Travelling was a great luxury to monks;
and the last abbot, Paslew, seems to have spent most of his time abroad.
In 1504, the mean consumption of the Abbey in wine was eight pipes per
annum, besides white wine; about a bottle a-day to each monk! Then of malt
150 quarters were annually brewed; nor was there any lack of other
substantials, wheat 200 quarters. Merely for the abbot's table were
slaughtered each year seventy-five oxen, eighty sheep, forty calves,
twenty lambs, and four porkers. For the refectory and inferior tables,
fifty seven oxen, forty sheep, twenty calves, ten lambs; the total number
of mouths was 120. Certainly they must have been well employed. Nor could
so large a proportion of animal food have been anything but detrimental to
health. Fasting would indeed be necessary from time to time-if only to
gain an appetite. But health would require it in the case of men who fed
so grossly, especially since cleanliness was not within the virtues
recognised by the order; for, to quote Dr. Whitaker, "they had no sheets
to their beds, nor shirts to their backs, and they slept in their
ordinary dresses of woollen;" nor did they frequent the bath. "In us," he
adds, "it would produce a strange
* De donis.
Page 202.
mixture of feelings to be repelled from the conversation of a man of
learning or elegance by stench and vermin."
The monastery was not erected at once, but by degrees, as the house found
resources. The original cost was 3000L., at a time when the wages of an
artisan were twopence a-day, when much of the timber used in the erection
was obtained in the neighbouring woods, and when the stone was supplied
in abundance near at hand in the quarries of Read and Lymstone. There
could be no difficulty in obtaining labourers, for the people were serfs.
Gregory de Norbury, the abbot who died in 1309, made merchandise of his
property in the native families, and conveyed the transfer of one of them
in the following terms, which we cite as being a curiosity to Englishmen.
"To all, etc., Gregory, Abbot of the Convent of Whalley, etc., health. You
shall know that we for ourselves and each of our successors have given,
granted, and delivered to our beloved in Christ, John G. and his assignees
R. son of I. son of A. de W., our native, with all his family and all his
effects, for 100 shillings sterling, to us by the said John delivered and
paid; so that the said John with all his family be free, discharged, and
quit of all challenge; so that neither we nor our successors, for the
future, shall be able to claim any right in the aforesaid, on account of
his nativity, saving to us our right and challenge with respect to any
others our natives. In witness whereof, we have affixed our seals."
In order to give the visitor of the abbey a just idea of these interesting
remains, and make him independent of ignorant or misinformed guides,* we
ask him to bear us company from our inn to the ruin.
Proceeding in a westerly direction, winding to the
left, we soon come upon the spot. You enter by a
noble archway. A still more stately gateway, the
outer entrance, lies 200 yards to the north west
in advance. On passing within the inclosure, you
see opposite to you an old respectable-looking house.
This was the abbot's own abode. It was renovated and
inhabited by the Asshetons. A suite of rooms used to be
* Even Baines, in his "History of Lancashire," is incorrect when
he leaves off quoting Whitaker. Vol. iii. p. 191.
Page 203.
reserved here for the occasional residence of Earl Howe. His Lordship, not
long since, sold a portion of the abbey remains to John Taylor, Esq., of
Morten House, whose tenant, Mr. Hargreaves, is the present occupant.
Notice that handsome flight of steps; and see over the door, the Whalley
arms. And now say, do you not join in the indignation which we felt when,
some time ago, we first surveyed this comparatively modern building? What!
must everything in this country be appropriated? Cannot Englishmen con-
template even the ruins of the land-of their own land, without having the
idea of mine and thine thrust before them?
We make no apology for this warmth, because we care not to have you as a
companion unless you "feel it too." You see yonder small gate to the
right. Let us try if we can get through it without being apprehended as
tresspassers. Well, you now behold before you
the remains of the Chapter-
house and Vestry, mark those three beautiful arches,
and tell me were men ignorant or ill-employed who could
give birth to such work.
Mark the sword you tread on-how deep and rich the green!
That cherry tree on the left has the reputation of
being the finest in England. What soil too have we
here-how full of vegetable matter!-the product and
gift of ages of cultivation. Look at the ivy-what
splendid branches and width of leaf! those old ivy roots too; did you ever
see any so fine? Let us pace the distance between these two walls. The
divisions by which different apartments were once made, have been
destroyed; and now what a fine double arcade! Fifty yards in length! The
last generation made use of this place for their rustic balls and other
amusements. Now pass through the arches you have admired; you are in the
Cloister Court. Not a vestige of the church is now left; though it is
true you may by digging and close inspection, discover the foundations of
the parts which have perished, and trace out the whole area of the Close;
it contained thirty-six acres, three roods, and fourteen poles.
The spot on which you are standing was the monks' cemetery. Turn to your
left, towards the river, and you behold the remains of a tomb; what a span
the arch has, eighteen feet at the least! Truly these monks were as
splendid in their burials as in their hospitalities.
Page 204.
A different sight will strike your eyes if you look at these corbels just
at your back in the chapter-house building. What! even near their tombs
and under the wing of their church, to shew that they could unite the
grotesque with the lascivious, as well as the sublime with the tender.
Follow us through that old door. This garden looks well; there is the
river. Take care you do not slip from the plank. Well, you have crossed
the Calder. What a fine row of old yew trees! Listen to the noise from
yonder rookery. There is a beautiful bit of dilapidated wall and broken
arches; we must sketch that.
This was the abbot's private chapel. Good man! he performed his devotion
very near his kitchen, for there it is. Pray pace the
length of those fireplaces. What smoking hecatombs
were here offered up! Before you leave, cast your eyes
in the direction of the river, towards the east; is that
not a fine view? How tranquil is every thing-air, water,
meadow, mountain. But for the crowing of these rooks,
some of whose voices sound so hoarse as to make you
think they were contemporaneous with the monks, one
would hardly have a consciousness of life.
A hermitage once existed near the monastery, too near probably for the
morals of its holy inhabitants. Under the general description of a
recluse, votaries of both sexes were included. The lady hermits, however,
do not appear to have been always spotless in their lives. Of such a
character was Isold de Heton. A representation of her conduct was made to
the king, from which we cite as follows:
"Be hit remembryd that the please and habitacion of the seid recluse is
within place halowed and nere to the gate of the seyd monastre, and that
the weemen that have been attendyng to the seyd recluse have recorse
dailly into the seyd monastre for the levere of brede, ale, kychin and
other thyngs: the whyche is not accordying to be had withyn such
religyous plases: and how that dyvers that been anchores in the seyd
plase have broken owte and departed: and in especyal how that now Isold of
Heton is broken owte, and so livyng at her own liberte by this
Page 205.
two yere and mor, like as she had never bin professyd;-and that divers of
the wymen that have been servants there, have byn misgovernyd and gotten
with chyld within the seyd plase halowyd, to the great displeasaunce of
hurt and disclander of the abbeye aforeseyd," etc.
The consequence was the hermitage was dissolved by letters patent, and
two chaplains appointed in its place, whose business it was to say mass
daily in the church for the soul of Duke Henry of Lancaster, who had
endowed the establishment. The hermitage, however, had been useful in its
day.
We took a chaise, determined to make the most of our time, and ordered the
postillion to drive to Clithero. On leaving Whalley we passed a pleasing
house on our right hand, rode through an interesting country, admired the
frowning aspect of Pendle on the east, left on the same side a printing
establishment with its tall chimney, and soon came in sight of Clithero
Castle, which appeared directly in our front, rising at once out of the
plain as if cast up by some sudden volcanic force.
We were soon at its base, as it lies on the south side of the town towards
which our course lay. No site can be well conceived to exist in a plain
more fitted, either for self-defence or for harbouring assailants, in the
days when cannons were not, and gunpowder yet existed only in "the harmless
bowels of the earth." The keep-which is nearly all that now remains-stands
on the summit of a small precipitous limestone rock, and with a few brave
men must have been impregnable. The crags of the rock partly covered with
small trees, partly embroiled by the atmosphere,-now covered, now boldly
jutting out-here overrun with roots, the source of whose nourishment it is
not easy to conjecture-there left bare and exposed to the weather, looking
not
Page 206.
unlike the hard, worn and furrowed countenance of a sexagenarian mariner,-
presented objects of pleasing meditation, and awakened more thoughts and
feelings than we can stop to record. Being without a guide, we followed in
vain more than one narrow gravelled walk that seemed to promise a path
into the enclosure. Still we did not lose our trouble, as it gave us an
opportunity of surveying the surrounding country, much to our
gratification.
Arrived within the Castle, as it is termed, we found a comparatively
modern building where the castle should have been, with coach-house,
stables, and every other appurtenance that can betoken substance and
comfort. We inquired fruitlessly for this and for that, recorded in
topographical works, finding, after the most careful search, nothing but
the Keep. What created most disappointment was to discover, instead of an
antique chapel, an attorney's office belonging to the proprietor of the
house, Mr. Dixon Robinson, and a sort of petty court-house, in which the
wapentake court for the Blackburne hundred is held. The keep is a mere
ruin, with grouted walls of huge thickness, which being interspersed with
shrubs, and flanked by Pendle, presents some interesting views. A flight of
broken stairs still remain in it, which are used occasionally for hoisting
a flag; but owing to an accident which a boy suffered in climbing, they
are generally kept closed by a door.
The borough of Clithero comprehends about 28,000 acres. The picturesque
Ribble runs on the west from north to south, and the Lancashire Calder-
"the forked Calder"-descending by Whalley, falls into the Ribble below
Little Mitton; while Mearley and Herethorn brooks, uniting beneath
Clithero on the south, yield their tributary streams to the Ribble at Low
Moor; and in wet seasons, Chatburn brook (Chatburn lies higher up the
stream on the Yorkshire border), issuing from the wild fissures of Pendle
Hill, increases the Ribble below Chatburn. Thus situated, Clithero is
appropriately named, the word signifying the Hill by the Waters. Limestone
abounds in the neighbourhood; and there are many limekilns. There is a
petrifying spring near the Ribble, and a sulphur spring at Shaw-brook. In
the vicinity are large cotton-spinning, weaving, and calico-printing works.
The town being built of stone, has a cold but not uninteresting aspect,
and seems to be a place of considerable trade. The Lacies possessed
Clithero. Of Norman origin, they came over with the Conqueror, and
obtained as their share of the booty sixty knights' fees, principally in
the counties of Lancaster, York, and Lincoln. For the maintenance of these
possessions they built two castles; one at Pontefract, the baronial
residence, the other here at Clithero. The male line of this family became
extinct in 1193. The possessions passed to Richard Fitz-Eustace, lord of
Halton and constable of Chester, whose son John founded the abbey of
Stanlaw, the parent of Whalley. The honor of Clithero afterwards passed by
marriage into the hands of Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, who
rebelling against Edward II., was executed at Pontefract for high treason.
The attainder having been reversed, the property fell
Page 207.
to Henry Duke of Lancaster, and from him went to John of Gaunt, in right
of his wife. His son became Henry IV., on which the honor of Clithero
vested in the crown, remaining so till Charles II. gave it as a reward to
General Monk. From him it passed, by the bequest of his son's second wife,
to Ralph Duke of Montague, and thence came into possession of the Buccleugh
family: the Duke of Buccleugh has that portion of the honor which lies
north of the Ribble, and his brother, Lord Montague, that to the south.
The old domain was kept entire from the time of the donation to Monk; but
the forest of Bowland has been lately sold by the Duke of Buccleugh to Mr.
Towneley of Towneley. In the early period of the Commonwealth, Clithero
castle was dismantled by order of parliament. The work of destruction has
been going on ever since. Its stones contributed to build the mansion
which stands within the precincts: not long since materials were taken from
it to erect an inn. The lower part of the walls are much dilapidated, and
though the place is still strong, must ere many years be undermined by the
action of natural agencies, and fall to irretrievable decay.
Among the mural monuments in the church is one inscribed on a brass plate
to the memory of Dr. John Webster, the astrologer, and the intrepid
detector of witchcraft, who was master of the Free School in Clithero in
1643, and died 1682. The monument is embellished by a horoscope, in which
it is sapiently indicated that they who understand the diagram will
understand that the doctor understood it. We know not what methods Doctor
Webster may have pursued in his business of witch-finding, and should hope
that a man of learning was above the ordinary arts that were practised.
Butler alludes to some of these, referring to one Matthew Hopkins, of
great celebrity in his day:
Has not the present Parliament
A ledger to the devil sent,
Fully empowered to treat about
Finding revolted witches out?
And has not he, within a year,
Hang'd threescore of 'em in a shire?
Some only for not being drown'd;
And some for sitting above ground.
In 1649 the magistrates of Newcastle-upon-Tyne sent into Scotland with a
view of making a bargain with a Scotchman, who professed the art of
finding out witches. His plan was the simple one of pricking them with
pins. The magistrates agreed to give this disgraceful practitioner twenty
shillings a piece for all he could condemn; and, moreover, bear his
travelling expenses. On his arrival the bellman was sent through the town
to invite persons to bring the suspected forward. Thirty women were led
into the town-hall, stripped, and subjected to the test; twenty-seven were
found guilty. One wizard and fourteen witches were, on this evidence,
tried at the assizes, convicted, and executed.*
* Bland-s Popular Antiquities, vol. ii.
Page 208.
A more pleasing memorial is the monument by Westmacott, with an elaborate
inscription, erected at the expense of his pupils, in honour of Thomas
Wilson, for nearly forty years head-master of the Clithero Grammar School.
A hospital for lepers, called the Hospital of Edisforth, stood within this
borough, but shared the fate of the smaller monasteries in the reign of
Henry VIII.
A gallant stand was made at Clithero against the invaders under the com-
mand of William, son of the bastard brother of David king of Scotland, in
1138. The English were defeated.
In the Grammar School an annual present at Shrovetide is expected from the
scholars, varying in amount according to the circumstances of the parents.
With the exception of this Cock Penny, the school is free. The origin of
this custom it is now difficult to trace. Shrove Tuesday, indeed, was a
sad day for cocks. Cock-fighting, and throwing at cocks, were among its
barbarous sports. School-boys used to bring game-cocks to their master,
and delight themselves in cock-fighting all the forenoon. In Scotland, the
masters presided at the fight, and claimed the runaway cocks, called
Fugees, as their perquisites. "The cock penny" may have been the
substitute devised by a less cruel age for the ordinary gratuity.
James King, captain in the Royal Navy, the friend and companion of Captain
Cook in his third voyage of circumnavigation, the second son of Dr. James
King, was born at Clithero during his father's curacy there in 1750.
The family of Sir William Dugdale, the celebrated antiquary, had their
origin in Clithero. John, the father of Sir William, was matriculated at
St. John's College Oxford, by the name of "John Dugdale, a Lancashire man
borne."
Passing through Clithero, we crossed the Ribble and came to Waddow Hall,
standing on the Yorkshire side of the river. This is an old building
modernised. Its site is transcendently beautiful, lying at the foot of an
eminence covered with trees, having in front a fine sloping lawn, at the
bottom of which the Ribble dashes, while on the high ground, on the Lan-
cashire side of the river, fine well-wooded sweeps present themselves,
which are crowned by Clithero with its square keep, and in the distance by
the never-failing Pendle. The country is rich, covered with fine trees,
and will in itself well repay the visitor. Something besides natural
beauty, however, we confess had drawn us to the spot.
The first question we put on entering the hall was, "Where is Peggy?" the
answer was given by a neat, intelligent young woman, to whose obliging
manners-as her master, Jeremiah Garnett, Esq., had gone to a hunt held in
Craven that day, we were much indebted.
"Peg o' th' Well, you mean, sir, I suppose."
" Yes."
Page 209.
"O, I have lately brought her out of those gloomy rooms at the top of the
house, washed her face, and she now lives in the larder." She uttered
these last words with an arch expression of look and word, which told us
that my informant was far beyond the weakness of ordinary superstitious
fears.
"Pray let me see her," we added. We were conducted into a large bright-
looking pantry, and there in truth was Peggy's head. It lay-bearing on the
neck marks of violence-with the features upward, on a long table, shining
with a purity and cleanness like the atmosphere of the locality.
"Does she ever plague you now?"
"No, sir; there is not a better girl in all the parish. I fear she was
much slandered."
"And where is her body?"
"By yon well i' th' field. Would you like to see what we servants call
Pegg's Place?"
"Certainly." We were accordingly conducted up to an attic floor consisting
of several apartments, filled with fishing tackle, rubbish, etc. This was
evidently a part of the house that the hand of modern improvement had
spared.
"Does your master fish then?" we asked.
"O yes, he is very fond of it, and very fine salmon (and plenty too) he
often gets."
"And so here Peggy lived?" we said, looking, as directed, into a small
dark room.
"Yes, here I found her. They told me many strange tales about her, and
warned me against having aught to do with her-but I ne'er heeded 'em, and
took her down stairs."
Page 210.
Peggy's story is in substance as follows:
The old religion had been supplanted in most parts of the county yet had
left memorials of itself and its rites in no few places, nor least in those
which were in the vicinity of an old Catholic family, or a monastic
institutions. Some such relic may Peggy originally have been. The
scrupulous proprietors of Waddow Hall regarded the innocuous imagine
with distrust and aversion, nor did they think themselves otherwise than
justified in ascribing to Peggy all the evils and mischances that befel in
the house. If a storm struck and damaged a house, Peggy was the author of
the damages. If the wind whistled or moaned through the ill-fitting doors
and casements, it was "Peggy at her work," requiring to be appeased, else
some sad accident was sure to come. On one occasion, Master Starkie-so was
the host named-returned home very late with a broken leg. He had been
hunting that day, and report said made too free with the ale afterwards.
But, as usual, Peggy bore the blame; from some dissatisfaction she had
waylaid the master of the house, and caused his horse to fall. Even this
was forgiven. A short time after, a Puritan preacher was overtaken by a
fresh in the river in attempting to cross over on the "steppin' stones,"
which lay just above the hall the very stones on which poor King Henry was
captured. Now Mistress Starkie had a great attachment to those preachers;
and had indeed sent for the one in question, for him to exorcise and
dispossess her youngest son, a boy of ten years of age, who was grievously
afflicted with a demon, or as was suspected tormented by Peggy. "Why does
he not come?" asked the lady, as she sat that night in her best apparel,
before a blazing fire, and near a well-furnished table. "The storm seems
to get worse. Hark heard ye no cry? Yes! there again! Oh, if the dear man
is in the river. Run all of ye to his rescue!" In a few minutes two lusty
men-servants returned, panting under the huge weight of the dripping
parson. He told his tale "'Tis Peg," she suddenly exclaimed, "at her old
tricks; this way, all!" She hurried from the apartment, rushed into the
garden, where Peggy stood quiet enough, near a spring, and with on blow
of an axe, which she had seized in her passage, severed Peggy's head from
her body.
* Now authority for introducing into the above sketch, a
Puritan minister, may be found i in some old tracts,
the titles of which are given in vol i, page 307, of
"British Topography,"of which, for the sake of
illustration, we transcribe as follows:
"The Surry Demoniack; or, so account of Satan's strange
and dreadful actions in and about body of Richard
Dugdale, of Surrey, near Whalley in Lancashire: and how
he was depossessed by God's blessing, on the fasting and
prayers of divers ministers and people. The matter of
fact attested by the oath of several creditable persons,
before some of his Majesty's justices of the peace in
the said county 1604, 4to." "The Puritain party," adds
the learned compiler, "being the dupes, and charged with
being the managers, were attacked in ' The Surrey Imposter;
being an answer to a late fanatical pamphlet, entitled
'The Surry Demoniack.' By Zach. Taylor, A.M., and one of
the King's preachers for the county palatine of Lancaster,
1697 4to. Other publications ensued, conceived in a very
angry tome, see the work before cited; also in the same
p.504, vol i., for a no less great imposter work of in the
year 1600.
Page 211.
The interior of Waddow Hall presents little to the antiquarian. The rooms
are good, but of modern aspect. Some superior family pictures hang in the
dining-room; we may mention one of Mr. Weddel, to whom the place formerly
belonged, and one of a lady, by Mercier, 1742, who died in consequence of
pricking her finger while engaged in sewing, the implements for which she
holds in her hands. There are also some good fancy pictures: cupids with
wreaths of flowers; cupids at play, etc., in which the attitudes are
admirable, and the light and shade well contrasted. Other paintings may be
found in the drawing and in the green room.
On leaving the house we were consigned by Peggy's friend, Jane, to the
care of "the keeper." The dignity, we found, was borne by a short spare
old man, whose legs and long gaiters had not for many years come into
contact. His civility, however, was better than his appointments. He took
us to Peggy's Well, or rather fountain; shewed us the Weir, lying a little
down the river; pointed out "Bungerley Hippin Stones," stones for fording
the river, where Henry VI. was taken; and above all excited our curiosity
by remarking that "if ould James Driver were heer, he cud tell yea
summut." We questioned the worthy keeper, and learned that the story was a
legend of the devil upon the dun-horse. Particulars, however, our
informant could not give; restrained to all appearance by a species of
superstitious fear. At this moment, however, James Driver appeared in
sight-a tall, bony, but emaciated person, who had seen some eighty years.
After accosting him, and getting his tongue fairly in motion, we learned
the substance of the following narrative. The spot
where the public-house once was, bearing-the sign
which commemorated the event, old James pointed
out to us as we stood in Waddow grounds. It lies
just above the bridge we had passed in crossing
the Ribble. In his early days our aged friend had
often seen the sign.
The story has a truly Lancashire flavour, savouring as it does of that
rude wit and broad practical joking for which the native peasantry are
still characterised. The idea of having outwitted the "ould on',"
doubtless, in former days, endangered many a good stout pair of ribs.
"Nicholas Gosford was a tailor by trade, and in times gone by, occupied
Page 212.
part of the house whose locality we have described. Nicholas was honest,
for he cabbaged only a quarter of the cloth entrusted to him, and
good-natured, but he had a great fault, that of being too fond of drink.
The money which should have supplied him and his wife with the necessaries
of life never could get past the door of the Spread Eagle, so that
Nicholas was always miserably poor. One evening as he, with some of his
drunken companions, was sitting at the kitchen fire of the Spread Eagle, a
stranger was announced. He was bronzed by travel, and indeed he had seen
much of the world, for many were the wonderful tales he told the
astonished villagers. In course of conversation he mentioned a young man
of Lower Saxony who had gained immense riches through the devil, and told
them the incantations he had used. This appeared to strike Nicholas
greatly, for he dropped several hints about it afterwards. The next
morning, taking advantage of his wife's absence at a neighbour's, he
performed the wonderful operation, and the tempter, with two attendant
imps, stood before him. With a terrific voice he asked Nicholas what he
wanted with him. The poor tailor in a fright declared that he wanted
nothing. The demon in a rage said that he would punish him most severely
if he did not tell him what he raised him for. Nicholas then exclaimed,
'Make me rich, my lord.' 'Now you speak reasonably,' said the demon: 'I
will give you three wishes, which must be the first that either your wife
or yourself make after you meet; but for this you must give me your soul
at the end of twenty years!' Nicholas would fain have refused, but on the
attendant devils beginning to torture him, he assented, and the bond was
written with his blood, and regularly signed and sealed. When his wife
came back, she could give him nothing but oat-cake and butter for his tea.
Nicholas could not eat, and his wife observed, 'I wish we had a nice
backstone of our own, for I can bake much better cakes than I can buy.' A
good backstone was immediately placed on the fire by some invisible hand.
Nicholas flew in a passion, and wished it was broken into a thousand
pieces.: it was immediately done. Nicholas now revealed the whole story to
his wife, who requested him to consult the Prior of Whalley. He refused to
do this, saying, 'They would burn me for having intercourse with the devil,
and it is better to go to hell in twenty years than directly.' The next
morning when Nicholas got up he saw that he wanted to shave very badly,
and he said, 'I wish I had a can of warm water here.' A can was
immediately placed on the table, and Nicholas was as far from riches as
ever. In despair, he and his wife consulted what they should do, and they
resolved to ask the Hermit of Pendle, whom Nicholas had once saved from
drowning, to give them his advice. He did so; and the hermit told him to
lead a reformed life, and be assured that God would not forsake one who
had served him faithfully. Time rolled rapidly on. Nicholas reformed in
character, became the father of two children, a boy and a girl. His
business increased, and he was employed by the first families of the
neighbourhood. But at last the time came, and the hermit of Pendle and
Nicholas's wife
Page 213.
remained praying in an inner room, while Nicholas himself, armed with holy
water and a missal, courageously waited in the shop for the arrival of the
fiend. He came, and claimed Nicholas, shewing him the bond: 'I do not,'
said Gosford, 'deny my signature, but you must allow that you used me very
scurvily about those three wishes, which never did me any manner of good.'
The demon demanded the due fulfilment of the bond. Nicholas tried to evade
it, and at last succeeded, for the devil allowed him one wish more,
advising him to wish something good for his family. The door was open, and
Nicholas seeing a dun horse grazing in the lane, said, My lord, I take
thee at thy word; I therefore wish that thou wert riding into hell upon
yonder dun horse, and never be able to return to earth again to plague
either me or any other poor mortal.' The demon uttered a yell that was
heard as far as Colne; the bond dropped from his hands; an invisible power
placed him on the dun horse, and he was carried away with the swiftness of
the wind. Nicholas, after he had got rid of his unwelcome visitor, set up
an inn, and thousands of persons came from all parts of the world to see
the only man who had ever fairly outwitted the devil."
Two short miles brought us to Waddington. It is a neat, white-looking
village, with a clear rivulet running through it, over which is a small
picturesque bridge, with an old house or two near it, combining to make a
scene we thought worth sketching.
Our arrival in this place produced a suspension, not of hostilities, but
of labour. The appearance of two well-dressed strangers in a chaise was
evidently no every-day event. The smith ceased his heavy blows, leaned on
his sledge-hammer, and surveyed us and our proceedings narrowly; a
farmer's man who wished to have his horse shod, stopped in the midst while
unharnessing the animal, and fairly gaped in staring; the village barber
hastened to the smithy,
Page 214.
and began to talk most glibly; three or four clodhopper boys stood with
their hands in their pockets, eagerly bending forward to catch the
conversation. A chandler's shop higher up the street was the meeting-place
of some half-dozen village gossips, who soon gathered together, some with
children in their arms or at their side, and all without covering for the
head or shoulders. And along both sides of the village, doors were
opening, or eyes straining through the casement. We meanwhile quietly
pursued our course; here asking a question, there contemplating an object;
in a third place taking a sketch, and in the fourth consulting about
future operations. But surely ours was enviable popularity, if there is
any sense in the Roman's preference, that he would rather be the first man
in a village than the second man in Rome! After all, the wisdom was
perhaps not all on our side; for we know not that we could charge the
simple-minded villagers with folly, if they chanced to wonder what
sufficient reason there was for such a visit to their poor, humble, and
secluded spot.
Just beyond the bridge is an enclosure of almshouses, entered by a good
archway, bearing an inscription to the effect that the "hospital" was
built and endowed in the year 1700 by Robert Parker of Mosley Hall,
Yorkshire, for the reception of poor widows. They consist of twenty-seven
small but comfortable dwellings, with a large garden in front, and a
chapel in the centre, where "prayers are read by Mr. Pearson, who lives in
the village." At present there are twenty-three widows dwelling in the
place, one is absent from illness. The widows assist each other in
sickness. They are divided into two classes: one class receives 10/- a-
year, the other 18/-. It would be difficult for any one to view the place,
marking the neatness and propriety which reign there, and the kind of
inmates which it has, without gratefully admitting that Mr. Parker had
made a wise as well as a benevolent use of his superfluity in founding
this pious retreat.
Our next object was Waddington Hall. For this indeed it was that we had
paid the visit. And "to what base uses may we come!" such was our
reflection as we went under a roof which had given shelter and hospitality
to a king. Meanness and dirt, cows and cowhouses, dogs and stables, with
shattered implements of husbandry, alone saluted our sight; and even after
we were within a part where human beings we thought might dwell, we still
doubted if we were where we should find any one of our own species.
Turning a little to the right, however, we found that it was "feeding
time" for others besides the quadrupedal live stock. There, around a
clothless table, and up and down a filthy room, sat or stood grandfather
and his wife, master and his wife, a serving woman and several brawny
lads, with one intelligent-looking girl, literally devouring fried fat
bacon and boiled potatoes, with a gusto which an epicure could not fail to
envy. The condition of their persons we pass, lest we should be charged
with caricature. The character of the group was as singular as their
appearance. We saluted them and received no
Page 215.
reply. We put a question, and was answered by a simpie "Yes." Another
interrogatory brought forth a "No." Clearly were we defeated in our
purpose of getting information. "Passive resistance," we thought, is no
contemptible weapon of defence. In time, however, the old man's muscles
began to relax a little, the rather we suspect as he saw us give a
gratuity to his grand-daughter, who was shewing signs of possessing some
other faculty besides that of eating. And at length, having finished his
meal and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grandfather became
communicative.
The Hall-of which we here delincate the front-consists of a centre with
two gables, could never have been very large, and is in a most dilapidated
condition. Its sole interest is connected with one of the most pitiable of
kings. Henry VI. had the misfortune to come into possession of a throne
while yet a minor. He was surrounded by wily relations, and served by
ambitious and disquiet nobles. A war in France kept in nearly one unbroken
course of failure, under the enthusiastic pressure and fervid onslaught of
Joan of Arc. A jacquerie broke out at home. Not least among his evils, he
married a queen who had a stout mind and an iron will, while Henry was the
slenderest of reeds. Worst of all, there was a rival that claimed his
crown. Civil wars broke out. The roses were dyed in blood. Henry was
deposed. Under the auspices of the queen, fighting was more than once
resumed, carried on with various issue, but always to the injury of the
imbecile Henry. At last the king was obliged to flee for his life, and
conceal himself wherever he could find a lurking place. The North afforded
him friends. In the mountainous and thinly populated parts of Lancashire
he was harboured with something like affection; but it is not to be
supposed, whatever the fidelity of tried friends may have been, that even
a king, whose distempered body inflicted maladies, and at times almost
idiocy on his mind, could in any case have excited any strong feelings of
respect; though it is not to be denied that Whitaker has conjectured from
certain expressions in the records of the house, that Henry was sainted by
the authorities of Whalley Abbey. He was however betrayed, July 1464, while
sitting at dinner in Waddington Hall,
Page 216.
by the servants of Sir James Harrington, who despatched him towards London.
At Islington he was met by the Earl of Warwick, and lodged in the Tower,
where either from pity or contempt he was allowed to live unmolested.
On finding himself betrayed the king made his escape, which was facili-
tated by the structure of the house. The present occupant shewed us what
is still called "the king's room;" in our engraving it is that in the right
gable, with the large window-and explained how the king got away down one
staircase-the remains of it are seen pictured in the left angle-while his
pursuers ascended another. We give also a back view of the hall, as it
displays the window by which he got out of the house. His pursuers,
however, were too numerous and too eager for him. He reached the Ribble,
hoping to put that between himself and his enemies; he attempted to ford
it, and was captured midway.
The hall, as we have intimated, has lost all outward appearance of great-
ness. The king's room, however, has an old oak floor, the walls are very
thick, "Henry's staircase" is narrow and winding, built of stone. The
house, till within the last forty years, had a flat lead roof A stone
coffin stands at the back door, the rudeness of whose masonry not unaptly
corresponds with the actual condition of this perishing edifice.
From Waddington we took a southerly route, and kept on our right Langridge
Fell, which from our position strikingly resembled the back of a huge
whale; while along our course ran the beautiful Ribble, and on our left
stood Clithero, overtopped by the majestic Pendle. The country was well
wooded, and we rejoiced to find signs that we had at last got into parts
where corn was wont to be grown. We crossed the river over a fine bridge
with five arches; passed Lowfield House, placed in a choice spot; caught a
glimpse of the pinnacles of Stonyhurst, and rejoiced to behold hedges of
thorn and bramble instead of stone, and, not least welcome sight, thatched
cottages. Thus we reached Mitton. An old saw declares:
"The Hodder, the Calder, the Ribble and rain,
All meet in a point on Mitton's domain."
Page 217.
We at least were spared the last unpleasant companion. The Calder had kept
us company from its fountain-head in Cliviger. The Ribble is thus
described by Harrison, chaplain to Lord Cobham, with a quotation from
Drayton.
"The Rybell, a river verie rich of salmon and lampreie, dooth in manner
inviron Preston in Andernesse, and it riseth neere to Ribbesdale, above
Gisburne (in Yorkshire):
From Penigent's proud foot, as from my source I slide.
That mountain my proud syre, in height of al1 his pride,
Takes pleasure in my course, as in his first-borne flood;
And Ingleborrow Hill of that Olympian brood,
With Pendie, of the north the highest hills that be,
Doe wistly me behold, and are beheld by me."
The Hodder also comes out of Yorkshire. "Going," says Harrison, " to
Shilburne, Newton, Radholme Parke, and Stonyhirst, it falleth ere long
into the Ribble water."
Mitton Magna, or Great Mitton, is singularly situated on a tapering tongue
of land, formed by the confluence into the Ribble of the Hodder and the
Calder, terminating at their point of union the boundaries of Yorkshire,
which thus darts, as it were, into the body of Lancashire. The church
stands on an eminence, commanding a fine view of a fine
country. It is a
low building, with an embattled tower. As we entered
the church-yard, we saw a recumbent figure cut in
stone, and learned that it was the counter-part of
the marble figure of a knight lying within the
edifice. A village mason, surprised at the cost
of the marble memorial, and piqued that strangers
had been trusted with the execution of it, determined
to shew what could be done at home, and produced this-which after all
is but a copy-receiving for his pains, if we may judge from the place
where lies the triumph of his skill, little more than cold thanks or
absolute neglect. A cross also stands in the yard, which may once have
decorated the top of the outside of the chancel. The cross was lost
for many years, and was dug up by the former clerk, William
Page 218.
Harrison. We here present the cross, the other face of which may be seen
in the view of a part of Mitton church.
The interior of the church is very plain, except the part which is termed
the Sherburne Chapel. Near the screen, which separates this chapel
from the channel, is a curios old chest. 
On the top of the chest, are a few old volumes
fastened to it by chains. This appears to have
been at one time of day the village library,
and the chains afford a marked contrast with
the "circulating" and "travelling" libraries of the present
hour. The books are mostly works in explanation and defence
of the doctrines and liturgy of the Anglican Church. In one of
them, "Burkitt's Expository Notes," there is on the title page, an
autograph in these words, "Bought by Wm. Johnson, Vicar of Mitton, for the
use of ye parishioners." On "Bennet's Paraphrase upon the Book of Common
Prayer," we read, "Ex Libris Ecclesiae Parochialis de Mitton, 1722." It
thus appears that parochial libraries are not a new thought.
The Sherburne Chapel, containing marble monuments and figures as large as
life, memorials of a knightly family, is a sight the more impressive from
the bare simplicity with which it stands in immediate juxta position in
the church. Who could, however, help feeling that man here was more
thought of and honoured than God? In the decoration of their chapel and
display of themselves, the Sherburnes spared no expense, and have left
behind them costly and magnificent memorials; but for the temple of the
Creator, they let that take its chance at the hands of an uncultivated
peasantry. Nor are your surprise and regrets abated when you have read,
supposing you have patience to get through the task, the long and minute
recital of the meritorious deeds, splendid achievements, and high honours
of these same "rulers of the land." As we stood there, before this
blazonry of human greatness, our thoughts were carried back many hundred
years to the memorials which are left us of the first Christians and early
martyrs. Let the reader
Page 219.
carry his mind into the catacombs in and about Rome, and he will soon
learn in the inscriptions he reads, that he has to do with real and not
fictitious feeling-with human nature-with genuine Christian emotion. How
simple, often how inexpressibly touching the memorial! A parent briefly
names the age of his beloved child, or a husband that of his wife, and the
years they had lived in wedlock. Or it is a wish of peace, or a rough
emblem of the believer's hope; no long drawn catalogue of virtues, no self-
laudation under the thin guise of panegyrising a departed member of the
family; all is as natural and as affecting as the first promulgation of
that Gospel in whose faith they lived, suffered, and died. We translate an
instance or two. "The resting-place of Domitian." " Severus to Jemima his
wife, who lived twenty years and two months, of which she passed two years
with her husband." "Her mourning parents had this made in memory of
Leopardes, a virgin, who lived seventeen years and two days. In peace."*
A very short walk brought us to Little Mitton, whos Hall
was a choice
piece of architecture, being a specimen of the sort of
houses in which the gentry lived in the days of the
Seventh Harry. Whitaker declares the "hall, with its
embayed window, screen, and gallery over it, one of the
finest Gothic rooms" he had "seen in a private house." The
screen-work which is extremely rich, he pronounes to be of
later date than the rest of the wood-work. Upon the panels
of the screen are carved, in pretty bold relief, ten heads,
male and female, within medallions, which have a rude kind
of character, and were evidently intended for portraits.
The historian of Whalley thus concludes what he says
touching this architectural gem. "I cannot take leave of this venerable
room without a wish that it may never fall into hands who have less
respect for it than its present owner; and that no painter's brush or
carpenter's hammer may ever come near it, excepting to arrest the
progress of otherwise inevitable decay. If thou lift up thy tool upon
it thou hast defiled it." This forcible passage rushed into our mind as
we drew near the hall, and beheld signs of change, repair and
restoration, rife on every side. It seemed as if the enemies of the place
had beleaguered it on every side, and
* Italy, by Spaldillg, vol. ii.
Page 220.
that its ruin was inevitable. We entered the house; our sight, our hearing,
and even our sense of smell was assailed by tokens of alteration. The very
evil that the antiquarian enthusiast had deprecated had come in all its
force upon the place. The hall may, for aught we know, prove a very good
hall for the purposes of the present proprietor-which, however, we rather
doubt; but let no lover of art approach it with the memory of what it was;
let no antiquarian enter therein to behold that of which he had read-the
glory has departed; and in its place, new and old, exquisite work and very
bad, this colour and that, blend together in this speciman of what the
moderns can do, presenting a motley and almost grotesque spectacle. What
"the painter's brush" and the burnisher's hand (the carpenter's hammer at
the time we write has done its best and its worst, as well as the graver's
tool) may with infinite and thankless labour effect, we do not predict;
and in good sooth, after the devastation committed, future changes are of
small account. It should however be in justice added, that Mr. Aspinall,
of Standen Hall, has rescued the place from the degradation and the damage
which it previously suffered in being an ordinary farm-house.
Our road was now towards Stonyhurst-princely Stonyhurst-taking, among the
creations of man in this fine district, the rank which Pendle holds among
the works of the Almighty. It was a short journey, two miles, but one
never to be forgotten. Yes, these narrow lanes, with tall, thick, tangled
hedges, this moss, and these moss-grown trees, this deep-coloured
vegetation, those luxuriant fields of corn-truly this is England, our own
dear south country. As if to add singularity to loveliness, two bridges
cross the river at
this point: one a modern stone erection, with parapet walls and bold piers;
the other, also of stone, very old, covered with ivy, steep, no wall, and
extremely narrow. We thought they were not altogether unapt symbols of the
days of our forefathers, and of our own days-both very good days
Page 221.
in their way, yet with a difference: those having more of the poetry of
life; these eminently fitted for its solid utilities. What forbids the
union of two influences, which never ought to have been kept asunder? The
cottages that dotted the scene, the old stumps of broken railing (no more
stone walls), the rustic wain and the heavy horse, we could have called
them all old friends, and for a moment believe we had seen each in our
boyhood. Then the trees-truly these are trees; a rare sight in Lancashire,
where something little better than shrubs often go by the name. And as we
ascended the sort of ridge on which the edifice is placed, every now and
then we caught a glimpse of its two noble turrets glancing through the
woods with which the hill sides are covered; while our eyes were delighted
and our ears regaled by the bright stream of the Hodder, which ran
gurgling on our left. A relic of the olden time presented itself to our
notice as we made our way to the mansion, in the great number of persons
whom we met wearing the appearance of beggars, no few with the impress on
them of genuine Irish features. We afterwards learned that hospitality is
so far considered a duty by the authorities of the establishment, that
they refuse relief to no applicants;-with one exception, they prohibit
alms to all comers who bear on their persons the disqualifying stains of
manufacturing manipulations.
Well, here we are, at Stonyhurst. This is the building we have seen from
so many points in the surrounding country. These are the cupolas that now
glistened in the sun, and now looked like watch-towers keeping an eye over
what was done in the plains below, and under the shades of coming night
were the last objects to fade from the eye. It was with mingled feelings
we entered beneath the great archway, and stood within the quadrangle,
which forms an inner court, on whose sides the main body of the edifice is
built. The dwellers here, quiet as all seems, had left through the pages
of history memories in our mind, in which the painful preponderated, and
was blended with no small leaven of mystery and awe. True, we know they
had always been the friends of education; we had just gone over in our
mind what they had done for its higher branches, especially in classical
literature, at a period when the merit of their doings in this was very
great. But we were unable to resist the impression produced by far
different engagements. Even the power-once so immense, yet so secret in
its operations-of the society pressed heavily on our thoughts: a certain
feeling of greatness, however, and of consequent admiration, sprang up as
we dwelt on scenes in their early history. Was not Xavier (a greater man
than Loyola, their founder) with seeming propriety designated "the Apostle
of India and Japan? " This Xavier has thrown around the society the lustre
of poetry in action, and the mists of the wonderful, if not the dignity of
historic heroism. An old writers declares that "he extended the kingdom of
Jesus Christ beyond the conquests of Alexander, and surpassed in courage
Alexander himself; that he
* La Vic de Saint Francois Xavier. Paris, 1715.
Page 222.
subjected numberless nations to the empire of the Cross, and brought them
into obedience to the Holy See." He had moreover, it seems, the gift of
miracles par excellence.
The recollections that we brought with us served to raise a very lively
curiosity to survey the house, and to behold members of the order. Our
wish was gratified, and our expectations far surpassed. The review of the
impressions made on us, indeed, does not leave unqualified satisfaction.
There prevails for the most part a tranquillity about the place which
approaches to gloom. The porter who in part attended on us, though civil,
was uncommunicative. We were honoured by the company of one of the
brethren; but his looks were not prepossessing, nor his communications
either free or abundant, though his manners were easy and courteous. It is
possible that the hospitalities of the establishment may have been
somewhat of late restricted, as we learn that the reverend brethren hold
that their confidence has been abused, and the secresy of their home in a
measure profaned. On other occasions, as we have been informed, these self-
made bachelors have found their hospitable inclinations bring
inconvenience. It is a mistake to imagine that the domestic duties of the
establishment are performed by males. Seeing a number of servant-looking
girls issue from the back part of the building as the evening shades had
nearly become extinct, we inquired what their office was, and learned that
no fewer than nineteen female servants were employed in the house. Beyond
a question, however, the strictest propriety, as well as pure and lofty
morals, prevail in the establishment. Few places, we believe, could more
safely endure a strict scrutiny. The adults are men of a high moral tone,
who deserve the respect in which they are held among those who know them,
by the holiness and benevolence of their lives. Nor can we deny that there
is something which conciliates regard in the spectacle of a body of men
devoted for the length of their days to the tuition of the young, the
guidance of the mature, and the solace of the aged, apart from the
rivalries, and unrewarded by the honours of social life. Doubtless every
member of the order feels a pleasure in witnessing and promoting its
advancement, and is specially gratified at every step made in a prosperous
course by the institution with which he is immediately connected; but then
let it be admitted that such feelings are of a high rank in the scale of
virtue, and tend, when properly regulated, to refine and elevate the
character. Nothing of a grossly selfish nature can effect a lodgment in
the breasts of men who study and toil, not for their own individual ends,
but for the furtherance of a corporation whose weal they believe to be
identified with the great and enduring interests of their religion.
Morality among the pupils is maintained by ceaseless and most diligent
supervision. Four Prefects are charged to keep watch night and day. The
scholars are never left to themselves. Their private studies are
superintended; superintended also are their sports; in the refectory and
the dormitory alike,
Page 223.
the vigilant eye of friendly supervision is on the youths. Not less
important is the constant occupation, varying as needs may be, between
labour and recreation, in which the pupils are kept engaged from morn to
nightfall. A busy youth has few temptations, and fewer opportunities to
fall into vice. The scholars themselves recognise the importance of
virtue, and evince a manly independence by keeping up among their own body
a sort of moral police. A former student at Stonyhurst describes this
institution, denominated the Sodality:-"It consisted of the majority of
the boys, who voluntarily enrolled themselves in a corporation, which was
instituted in honour of the 'Blessed Virgin.' They selected a certain
number of individuals amongst themselves who are called admonitors, and
who bound themselves to disclose to the heads of the school every mal-
practice which should fall under their cognizance." *
A natural consequence of the care bestowed on the morals of the scholars
is that the establishment has earned the confidence of the first Catholic
families, not only of the neighbourhood but the kingdom, who are
accustomed to send their boys to Stonyhurst for their education.
Equally good is the intellectual discipline through which the scholars are
conducted. No labour, no care, no expense is spared. Whatever can be
effected by means of competent masters, oral instruction, well composed
works, a good library, an extensive apparatus, an observatory-all is done
for the advancement of the mental discipline of the pupils. The course of
instruction is extensive and complete. It is spread over a space of seven
years. One peculiarity is remarkable-the same master conducts each set of
students through all the classes, beginning with the rudiments, and
ascending to the highest subjects taught. Having gone round this
corriculum, he begins again with a new body of scholars, whom he does not
quit till he has gone over the course and completed the septennial period.
One advantage at least attends such an arrangement-that the instructor
becomes thoroughly acquainted with the condition and wants of his pupils'
minds, and can adapt his teachings to the peculiarities of each. Besides,
on the supposition that the teacher is a moral and accomplished man, what
can be more conducive to the virtue and the cultivation of youth, than so
intimate and so lengthened an intercourse?
The number of the boys varies. At present there are in the institution 183,
including sons of Lord Clifford and Lord Arundel. Our attendant stated that
there were 248 when he was a scholar. Besides these, there are many
students training for spiritual occupations. Of priests, professors, and
teachers, there are forty resident adults.
* Recollections of the Jesuits. New Monthly Magazine, 1829, p. 356.
Pector, Rev. Francis Daniel. Minister, Rev. Joseph Johnson. Prefects
of Studies, Rev. Charles Brooke and Rev. George Connell. Spiritual
Instructor, Rev. William Rowe.
Professors: Rev. Robert Korsak, divinity; Rev. Richard Caroll,
logic and metaphysies; Rev. Matthew MeCann, mathematics; Rev. Henry
McCann, natural philosophy and chemistry; Mr. Edward Bird, natural
history; Rev. Thomas Tracy Clarke, history; Rev. Thomas Seed, Greek;
Page 224.
The French Revolution grievously afflicted, and almost destroyed the
Society of Jesus; but the first free act of Pope Pius VII. was to restore
it, which he effected by a Bull, dated August 7th, 1814. In 1824, the
order again opened its college in Rome, and so increased that there was
need to find room for them out of the city. In 1829, Father Roothan was
chosen their general, who appointed Father Jansens his secretary.
The only establishment of Jesuits in England is, we believe, this at
Stonyhurst. It is out of our power to imagine any possible, harm that
could accrue to the country from the existence within it of such
institutions as this at Stonyhurst, devoted as it is in the main, to
purely educational purposes. And if, as is the fact, it is regarded with
trust and even affection by the first
The Abbe' Gaillard, French; Rev. William Cobb, Latin (senior
class); Ditto, English literature; Rev. Maurice Maun, Latin
(junior class).
Masters: Mr. William Johnson, rhetoric; Mr. Thomas Cooper,
poetry; Mr. Peter Galwey, syntax; Mr. William Cardwell, grammar;
Mr. Thomas Ullathorne, rudiments; Mr. Walter Clifford, figures;
Mr. Langmeason, elements; Rev. John Baron, elocution.
I. Regulations concerning the Admission of Students.
The age of admission is from seven to fourteen. Children who have
been at any other house of education, must have, from the Superior
of that house, an attestation of their morals and docility.
There is an Establishment at HODDER, a short distance from the
College and Connected with it, for the Elementary education of the
younger children, where they receive that indulgent and constant
attention which their tender age may require. This Establishment has
recently been considerably enlarged and improved.
II. Course of Education.
The scholars are instructed with great care in the duties of religion
and morality. They are always under the immediate inspection of one
or more of the Superiors.
The Course of Classical Education comprises the study of the chief
Greek and Latin Classic authors, of Composition in Greek and Latin
prose and verse, and of the English, French, and Italian languages.
Regular instruction is also given in Reading, Elocution, History,
Sacred and Profane, Geography, Writing, Arithmetic, Book-keeping,
Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry.
The College is affiliated to the London University, and distinct
Professors are appropriated for each of the following branches: for
Greek, for Latin, for English Literature, for the Pure and Mixed
Mathematics, for Experimental Philosophy and Chemistry, for Natural
History, for Logic and Philosophy of the Mind, and for History.
There is in the College an extensive apparatus for experimental
philosophy, an astronomical observatory, a chemical laboratory, a
collection of minerals, etc. There is also a considerable and
increasing library of approved works of history, and of general
information, of which the scholars have the use on paying a small
monthly subscription. Masters of music, drawing, dancing, and fencing,
give lessons to those whose parents may desire it.
All are closely examined four times a-year, in what they have learned
during the preceding quarter. At the annual exhibition, a considerable
number of prizes, consisting of books and silver medals, is
distributed among those who have made the most distinguished progress.
III. Terms.
Children under twelve years of age, pay forty guineas a-year. Those
above that age, fifty guineas a-year. The students in the under-
graduate course, whether they have matriculated or not, pay sixty
guineas a-year. Under-graduates and students regularly attending the
lectures of any of the professors of the under-graduate course, may
have private apartments and a separate table, but then they must pay
a hundred guineas a-year. The students of the under-graduate course,
and of the class of rhetoric, must provide their own clothes.
Page 225.
Catholic families of the realm, this of itself is a sufficient guarantee
that it is actuated by no unpatriotic feelings, nor aims at any anti-
ational purposes. In truth no part of the community is more loyal, none
takes a deeper interest
in whatever concerns the welfare or the honour of Great Britain. Even
while labouring under unmerited and unjust disqualifications, they
remained faithful to all that endears his country to an Englishman. An
eyewitness thus describes the manner in which the news of the battle of
the Nile was received within the walls of Stonyhurst. "The students were
assembled in order to witness some experiments in galvanism. In the midst
of profound attention, a person rushed in and exclaimed that Nelson had
obtained a great victory. An immediate cheer was given by the Jesuits,
and re-echoed by the boys. Presently a newspaper was received, and the
whole college gathered round the reader with avidity; and when the details
of the battle of Trafalgar were heard, there were repeated acclamations at
almost every sentence; and the narrative being concluded, continued shouts
for 'Old England,' were sent up, and every cap was thrown into the air.
Several days for rejoicing were given to the students, and a poem, which I
then at least considered a fine one, was composed in honour of the event
by one of the Jesuits, and admirably recited in the great hall."
Yet the law of England still looks with a suspicious eye on men of this
temper. The legal condition of the Jesuits in this country was determined
by 10 Geo. IV. cap. 7, commonly called the Emancipation Act.
The mansion in which this college is founded, has an imposing aspect, both
from the commanding position in which it is placed, and the general
outline of the building. It is an edifice of the days of Elizabeth,
though not pure in its style; additions have been made to the original
structure; it is in contemplation to add another part or wing to the left
side, which will much improve the proportions and appearance. The house is
approached up a very
Page 226.
long avenue, leading from a village, and near a Catholic cemetery, in which
we found several objects of interest. Swans were sailing along a very fine
sheet of water, as we drew near the outer entrance, which lies through a
handsome pair of stone pillars, and then through a massive gate. As we
entered on the avenue we were much delighted at the prospect, embracing
not only a full view of the mansion, but fine and diversified foliage on
each side, presenting also on the right a spacious building, which we found
to be the seminary, or ecclesiastical college, where the candidates for
holy orders carry on their studies. Another building is found, lower down
on the banks of the Hodder, which is used in part as an elementary school,
in part also as a place of retreat for the young priests. Among them we
believe it is that the real society of the Virgin exists.
We were received at the gateway by the porter, who introducing us to a
waiting-room, asked for our letters of introduction. We had, we replied,
not furnished ourselves with any, having on a prior occasion been admitted
with-out. It was the rule, he rejoined, but would, if we pleased, take our
card to the Principal of the establishment. We sent it, and added an
intimation of the object of our visit, hoping that some one better
informed than an ordinary servant might be permitted to accompany us
through the house.
It was in 1794 that a few persons, flying from Liege in consequence of
the severe proscriptions of the French Revolution, came into England,
whose penal laws against religious dissidents had undergone some
relaxation, and proceeded to establish themselves in this neighbourhood.
Whatever opinion we may entertain of the principles and aims of the
Jesuits as a body, it is impossible to deny that many of them were men of
high intellectual, moral, and personal accomplishments. Those judge them
by a very false standard who take their ideas from the Irish Roman
Catholic priests, or even the priests of that communion who are settled
with congregations in England. The Jesuits, educated abroad, were often
members of distinguished families, and had generally received such a
training in science and literature, and been so conversant with good
society, that they were in their manners, tone of thought, and ordinary
pursuits, gentlemen in the best senses the term. And the nature of their
obligatory discipline would naturally tend to beget a concentration of
thought and vigour of intellect. Meditation and solitude are emphatically
the parents of mental strength; whilst the severance of their energies
from the ordinary pursuits and affections of the world, and the intense
action of the religious sentiment on the mind, could have no other result
than to augment the power, increase the efficiency, and enhance the
refinement of the understanding. Even the self-denial and mortifications
of the flesh which the rules of the order imposed, might tend to cleanse
the breast of the idols of sense, make life to be regarded in truth as a
scene of trial and a "vale of tears," and enable the sincere devotee to
lose (at least by times) the idea of earth, and send, with an entire
collectedness of mind, all his thoughts upward
Page 227.
to the great Source of Light, good, and consolation. And this position of
mind it is that we find figured in what is called the symbol of the
society.
The originators of the institution found the mansion-the dwelling-place
for long of the Sherburnes, who are so glorified in Mitton church-in a
very neglected condition. They succeeded in obtaining, on moderate terms,
a long lease of the house and farm from Thomas Weld, Esq., its owner, and
proceeded to take effectual steps for repairing the dilapidations, and
converting the place into an educational establishment. The estate we
believe is now for the most part property of the order. Connected with the
house are about 1100 acres of land, which are under the care of a steward
of their own. They have extensive offices attached to the house, in which
ordinary trades and pursuits are carried on; so that when their income
from the parents of their pupils is taken into account, it will be seen
that they have not only great resources at their command, but means also
of augmenting their opulence. The expenditure of their resources is under
strict control, and, as far as we know, judiciously managed. They have of
late erected, at right angles with the north wing of the house, a handsome
church, which cost above 10,000L. The first stone of the building was laid
in 1832. It is dedicated to St. Peter.
While waiting for the return of our messenger, we occupied our time in
surveying the ornaments of the room in which we were. It is a good-sized
apartment, well lined with paintings of different kinds and various merit.
We shall not attempt an enumeration of things which the eye only can form
an adequate idea of-at least if we may venture to judge others by our own
experience, having generally found mere verbal-descriptions of pictures
the most tedious of tedious things. We must however refer to a case
containing some exquisite paintings in vellum, said to be by Rubens,
though we cannot help suspecting that some of them at least are rather
copies than originals. The subjects are for the most part of a Roman
Catholic character; and there are both among these, and in other parts of
the house, paintings on religious matters, which, in our opinion, neither
correct religious feeling nor good taste can approve; such for instance as
a representation of the Almighty in person raining brimstone and fire on
the devoted "cities of the plain."
The porter returned and took us under his guidance. We passed over the
spacious quadrangle, with its handsome flight of steps, and traversed a
long stone gallery or cloisters, the walls of which bore monumental
tablets in memory of benefactors and eminent servants of the institution,
the inscriptions on which breathe a religious character; so brief, simple,
and unassuming are they. As we entered the sacred edifice we saw a
venerable old man, in his sacerdotal robes, kneeling before one of the
side altars, wrapped in devotion. Our steps did not rouse him; and his
apparent unconsciousness of our presence, together with the devotional
attitude of a few other persons scattered up and down the place, made us
cautious in every step we set, and every question we asked. We have been
in this church at two different times, and experienced
Page 228.
on both occasions the tranquilising and elevating effect it is fitted to
excite. Behind the high altar is a fine window of stained glass, bearing in
its several compartments figures of our Saviour, the Virgin, and the
Twelve Apostles, etc.
The altar itself is beautifully decorated with a fine
crucifix of silver, and bronze candlesticks. It is
consecrated to St. Peter. On each side is a private
altar; that on the right being surmounted by a by a
full-length portraiture of Ignatius Loyola; that on
the left, of Francis Xavier. The altar on the right
is that at which prayers are offered to the dead. The
elevation of the interior is in excellent style, with
its elegant oak roof, and is wells set off by a fine
and beautiful-tones organ. The edifice will accommodate
1500 worshippers, and is generally quite full. The
students constitute the choir. There is divine service
twice every Sunday, and on both occasions a sermon.
Some few persons were standing at the west end, and
contemplating the place with evident satisfaction; and we were led to
reflect how grateful so imposing a sight must be to the mind of an English
Roman Catholic, who is not only conscious of being disesteemed by his
countrymen, but in general beholds his religious observances under mean
and, in his estimation, unworthy accompaniments.
We passed through fine galleries and handsome apartments, which we
purposely omit, as we have no idea of giving a kind of auctioneer's
inventory of the place. Glad, however, were we to catch sight as we went,
of a large cupboard or press, replete with musical instruments, which on
inquiry we found were made use of by the students in their hours of
recreation. One great recommendation of the establishment as a place of
education, is found in the numerous opportunities which it affords for
innocent and healthful
Page 229.
amusements. If walking or riding over a fine rich and picturesque country-
if fishing where there are fish worth the trouble of catching; if a pure
air and a spacious playground are valuable, they are all united here. With
the size and convenience of the playground, with its wall for tennis,
filled as it was with students enjoying their several games, and
professors and proctors in their gowns, parading up and down engaged in
friendly converse-all apparently happy, we were very highly gratified, and
the sight went far to relieve a certain gloom which had some way taken
possession of our mind. The sound of a gong' struck repeatedly, startled
us in our passage from one part to another. It was the customary signal
for attention to some of the duties of the students.
When we reached the refectory, the lRev. Mr. Bridge did us the honour to
replace our guide, the porter, and we have pleasure in thus acknowledging
the courteousness of that gentleman. The refectory, sixty feet by twenty,
was the baronial hall of the Sherburnes; its ceiling, frieze, and floor
are handsome. Dinner apparatus was on the several tables, made of oak,
twenty-five in number, capable of accommodating 150 scholars. Some good
portraits adorn this apartment.
The dressing-room for the pupils, fitted up with small compartments
holding clothes, brushes, etc., was no small curiosity in its way-but the
dormitories are still more worthy of notice. Each student has a separate
bed, over the head of which, for the most part, we saw a small crucifix.
The arrangement is such, that each may also be said to have in some sense
a separate bed-room, while an outer range of curtained apartments opens
into one long gallery, enabling the night-proctors to exert an effectual
supervision over the boys, during their hours of retirement and rest.
One room into which we were introduced, fitted up with desks, and having a
kind of pulpit placed in the middle of the side which faces you as you
enter at the door, is, we were informed, appropriated exclusively for
study; the pupils spend in it four hours every day, under supervision of a
Prefect, whose sole business is to preserve entire silence, and to enforce
order, in the preparation of their several tasks or lessons, for the
recital of which they go into separate class rooms, each according to his
division.
The picture gallery, or recreation room, is a spacious apartment well
furnished with paintings. It contains no less than ten portraits of the
Stuarts. Over the fireplace is a painting which groups together portraits
of the great men of the Society of Jesus during the early period of its
history. We were much struck with a fine Ecee Homo. An interior, presented
Jesus with Mary and Martha; the effect of which is very beautiful. Another
painting of merit is a St. Catherine attending the sick; indeed the
collection is one of great value and much interest.
The library, consisting of 16,000 volumes, is found in a room built in the
shape of a cross, with a gallery round it supported on columns. On
entering,
Page 230.
the first object which fixed our attention was a splendid circular
electrical machine. So far as a cursory inspection on two occasions would
enable us to judge, we feel warranted in stating that the books have been
selected with a laudable regard to impartiality; and if the young men who
are educated in the institution, prove bigots at the last, it is certainly
not for the want of an opportunity of reading the best works which have
been written on the leading points in dispute, whether in history,
theology, or science. A cabinet in the museum contains some relies of more
than ordinary interest; we may mention a Prayer-book, which once belonged
to the unhappy Mary Queen of Scots, richly covered with crimson velvet.
Here also we saw a silk cap, formerly the property of that learned man,
and excellent father, Sir Thomas Moore. Near it lies his seal. A crucifix
of gold has perhaps more market able value, but was less precious in our
eyes than a Latin manuscript on vellum of the Gospel of St. John; said to
have been found in the seventh century in St. Cuthbert's tomb. The same
glasscase contains also some beautifully carved crucifixes; a crucifix of
crystal, another of rosewood, with a Christ painted on it, reported to be
by the hand of Rubens; the workmanship is not unworthy his reputation. The
Museum is very rich in curiosities, in consequence probably of the
numerous and extensive connexions of the Order with all parts of the world.
Here may you see lying or hanging near each other, a suit of armour, with
other memorials of our Middle Ages; and Indian bows and arrows, Indian
aprons, cradles, and shoes; canoes, Chinese slippers; a cast of
Talleyrand, another of Greenacre, and another of Brougham; two casts of
Indian chiefs, even more ugly than those we have just named; portraits
executed on wood by a red-hot iron; a collection of coins, casts of early
martyrdoms, a crystal cross set with precious stones, a grotesque group of
apes, a bust of Cardinal Weld, the twelve Caesars, an Adoration of the Wise
Men; with minerals, shells, birds, feathers without number. The most
valuable article is a cabinet of lapis lazuli profusely adorned, which
formerly belonged to the learned Queen Christina of Sweden.
Not least curious and interesting are the gardens, though now diminished
in size by encroachments for the accommodation of the pupils. They remain
pretty much in the stiff and angular style in which they were originally
laid out. They are well kept, and furnish the house with many luxuries.
Our eyes soon fell and fixed themselves on a Roman altar, one of the
finest remains of classical antiquity which have been dug from the soil of
our land. Camden, in 1603, saw this altar at Ribchester, where it was
found. It is dedicated to the divine matrons, by a captain of the
Asturians. The inscription we copied verbatim et literatim from a brass
plate on one-of its sides:
Deis Matribus
M. Ingenui
us Asiaticus
Dec. al. Ast.
SS. I.L. M
Page 231.
It is, as the reader will see by our engraving, in a good state of
preservation. Pieces of broken sculpture of a different
age from its own,
and suggesting very dissimilar ideas, lie near
and around it.
The most extraordinary feature in the gardens is,
perhaps, the lofty, solid, well-trimmed walls of
yew, which stretch out in great lengths, adding
more, we confess, to the singularity than the
beauty of the place. And yet they have a certain
antique air which accords well with the general
character of the establishment. On one side, that
sheltered from the Irish sea, the foliage is
luxuriant, and of a very deep rich green. The
exposed side has never recovered from the injury
which it suffered by the storm in January 1839;
the salt water brought from the west on
that occasion, almost ruined the walls, distant though they are from the
ocean. The gardens are adorned by two handsome summerhouses, built of
brick, with stone coigns and very heavy eorniees, like some found at
Hampton Court, after the manner of Inigo Jones. They are embellished with
handsomely carved flowers and fruit, and surmounted each by the figure of
an eagle. We were pleased to behold a fine bowling green,
Page 232.
surrounded by yew trees and hedges. Lengthened avenues of firs and cedars,
terminated by square pedestals, bearing fruits and flowers executed in a
very bold style of carving, had the finer effect because of the long
shadows of evening, and the figures which were gently
pacing up and down them, attired in long black robes.
We lingered in the garden as long as propriety would
permit, unwilling to quit deeply interesting a spot.
The sound of the gong, however, warned us of the
approach of night, for it was a summons to the vesper
prayers. Immediately individuals and groups in friendly
converse, all wearing the habiliments peculiar to the
Order, were seen gathering near the church, or indistinctly observed
passing down the cloisters. Presently the gently pealing organ and a choir
of swelling voices came upon our ears, as we stood pleasurably
contemplating the mansion, and bade us think of shelter for the night, and
the distance we had to go. Accordingly with a feeling of softened regret we
removed ourselves from she pleasing spectacle and the sacred and soothing
harmony, resumed our seat in the carriage, quitted this "gem of
Ribblesdale," and ere long were busily engaged with the substantials of a
comfortable dinner.
From Stonyhurst a short and most agreeable drive brought us near to
Ribchester. Keeping the Ribble on our right, we had a good opportunity of
witnessing the richess of its scenery. We passed several houses on our
road, which, more or less, merited the epithet of "Halls" applied to them.
At length, taking a turn towards the west, we came in sight of that part
of the vale of the Ribble in which Ribchester lies. It was with no
ordinary sensations we fixed our eyes on this lovely scene. The village is
endeared to the lover of the antique by a host of recollections-memories
embracing centuries-and the most diversified types of civilization. And
then to find the Ribchester of the Romans, which books had taught us to
expect a poor wretched place, situated in the midst of one of the richest
and most smiling prospects we ever saw, added the delight of surprise to
the gratification of at length realising long cherished wishes. We stopped
the carriage to gaze on the scene, ere we left the height from which we
beheld it to so great an advantage. A more
Page 233.
complete bosom than this cannot well be conceived. The hills on all sides
retire as if expressly to form it, appearing in the extreme north and
south to curve gently round in order to inclose the vale. Rising boldly
from the plain to-a considerable height, varied-in shape and-diversified
in hue, they offer splendid triumphs of the art of agriculture, presenting
woods, arable, pasture land, and woods again with constant interchange.
The Ribble serpentines through the plain, making a 
noble sweep to leave land for Ribchester; and over
the river, as you descend from the eminence on the
Preston road, stands a handsome bridge, spanning
one hundred yards with three arches, and
affording fine views both up and down the stream.
The moment we set our eyes on this locality, we
believed the tradition that Ribchester had been
a seaport. The opportunities of birth have given us some knowledge of the
signs which accompany the influence of the sea, and we are free to assert
that we never saw anything look more like sea shore than the banks of the
Ribble at this spot. Content with recording our 
impression, we leave to
others the geological difficulties which are said
to explode the claim of Ribchester to having once
been a bay of the sea.
The first object to which our attention was
directed was Salesbury Hall, lying on the eastern
side of the Ribble, under shelter of a hill to the
north. The view above the
Page 234.
house is romantic and charming. The Ribble bursts from its confined
channel between two rocks, beautifully shaded with trees. Its waters gush
with impetuosity through a narrow strait, and form a deep whirlpool,
denominated Sale Wheel. Above, the banks are high and confined, the
country rising and wooded; and the distance is terminated by the bold
mountain scenery of "the Olympian brood." This hall was successively the
property of the Salesburys, Clitheroes, and Talbots, and is entitled to
peculiar respect from an antiquary as being the birthplace of Thomas
Talbot.
A fine sculpture found at Ribchester was built up in one of its walls. It
is an altar dedicated to Apollo. On one side the deity is
represented as elegantly leaning on one elbow, with a quiver
on his back, and a lyre in his hand, and a long loose mantle
flowing gracefully behind him. On the other front appear two
of his priests, attired in long robes, and a peplum, with
the head of a bull between them ready to be sacrificed. It
has been conjectured this was a votive altar, erected either
to acknowledge or to obtain a safe voyage to the port of
Ribchester. This fine piece or Roman antiquity Dr. Whitaker,
by favour of Lord Bulkeley, was allowed to detach from the
wall in the year 1814.
Of what a variety of scenes has this part of the Ribble been the witness!
Here Agricola placed an encampment on the northern bank of the river. This,
however, was not a mere military post. Tradition and discoveries concur in
proving it to have been a place of magnitude and wealth. Brass was
probably manufactured here. "Military roads" says Camden, "led to and
from it; one from York, the other from the north by the spacious forest of
Bowland, still visible." Then there was the road hence to Manchester,
called Bride or Broad-street. A spectator placed upon a commanding point
of Ribblesdale might have seen these noble achievements of the Romans
running through otherwise impenetrable forests north and south by the
town; and the river, then a far more splendid object than now, with the
hill-sides up to the summits of the fells covered with native oak, beech,
pine, ash, and alder; the sea, too, washing the shore, and sails flapping
in the breeze. What noble forms have those soldiers! Behold their
industry. Listen to the sounds
Page 235.
of their military preparation. And here and there you may with an effort
descry a naked and painted Barbarian, impelled by a curiosity he could not
resist, secretly watching what is going forward.
The scene changes: you may now behold a more tranquil condition. A
Christian church raises its modest head on the bank, deserted by the
ocean, and enriched by pagan remains. Marshes are redeemed, solid ground
appears, cultivation spreads, and lo! a procession according to the rites
of Mother Church is winding in pomp along the banks of the river, taking
in their way back to Ribchester the ancient chapel of Stydd. It is the
commemoration of a saint.
How dissimilar the next scene: the clang of arms, the clash of swords, the
flight and the pursuit. They are brothers and fellow-countrymen who thus
engage in deadly strife. That noble form is the Earl of Derby; his
opponent a Shuttleworth. They have now met; and see how they run and
fight, past Ribchester down as far as the eye can penetrate to Salesbury,
the position of which, at the foot of high mountains and narrow passes,
has defeated the Royalist general. We conclude this rapid review of events
with the impressive words of Whitaker: "It is impossible to take leave
without a sigh for the decay of our ancient gentry. In traversing the left
bank of the Ribble from Walton to Salesbury, we have surveyed a tract of
warm and fertile country, once possessed by five knightly families, all
resident on their own estates, allied by perpetual intermarriages, and
forming a society of equals among themselves. In this tract were four
parks, as many manor-houses of first rank, three of them furnished with
domestic chapels; and the vale shaded and enriched by woods of ancient
oak. All these families are now gone: one only replaced by a second of
equal rank; but with respect to the rest, the houses are decaying or
decayed, the parks divided, and the woods destroyed." The regrets of the
accomplished writer would not be less, could he now survey the changes
which have taken place since his day, under the influence of wealth
acquired by manufacturing labour and enterprise. Regrets, however, are
fruitless; yet may we ask, will the successors of the old gentry leave to
posterity, as our forefathers did, an inheritance, not only of chivalrous
deeds, but also of lofty conceptions and noble structures? What new style
of architecture, what specimens of pure taste, are the opulent and the
religious of this age preparing as a legacy for ages to come? The best we
seem capable of doing, is to imitate without spoiling the works of our
ancestors. Let us descend into the vale. Turn to the right, now, down that
narrow path; the building you see in front is Stydd Chapel, the oldest
entire building throughout the north-east of Lancashire. Before you
approach nearer to it, mark that curious edifice on the left, with the
fine old yew-tree by its side. It is a Roman Catholic foundation, an
almshouse. A Catholic chapel is near, whose minister, the Rev. Mr.
Wagstaffe, is a venerable man, with white hair, above eighty years of age,
beloved and respected by his flock for having spent his long life in deeds
of benevolence.
Page 236.
Stydd chapel (represented below) seems to have belonged to a guild or
hospital of high antiquity. Deeds of bequests carry us back to a very
early period for its foundation. We specify one on account
of its singularity: Nicholas Talbot appoints, 1501, a
priest to sing for twelve months at Stydd, "where Fader
and Moder are buried." The chapel is an interesting
object, in the midst of an interesting country; the
windows somewhat dissimilar, lancet - shaped, partly
built up and plastered, with the zigzag ornament over the
top of two; the arch of the main entrance, a fine piece
of Norman architecture, hidden and disfigured by an ugly
porch, which we have taken leave to omit in our drawing.
Dr. Whitaker says the mixed style in which the place is executed indicates
the age of Stephen. "The inside"
(as it was in Whitaker's day) " of this small neglected edifice is still
more interesting, having had divine service only twice since the
Reformation. No reading desk was ever erected, and prayers are read out of
the pulpit, which is durably elevated on a basis of stone; opposite
appears a stone coffin-tomb of high antiquity, broken open, and the
fragments lying in most picturesque disorder -the floor strewed with
ancient gravestones, some inscribed with Longobardic
Page 237.
letters, now too obscure to be retrieved; and by way of contrast to this
scene of squalid antiquity, here lies under a slab of beautiful white
marble the late Catholic Bishop Petre. The stone which was removed on
occasion of his interment yet remains; and the Longobardic characters
inscribed around it have been originally relieved by sinking the surface
of the stone around them, after which the cavity has again been filled by
fluid mortar, extremely white, which gives it the appearance of a rude
cameo of two colours. I do not remember to have seen anything like this on
other ancient gravestones." The place, however, has been cleansed and
fitted up for divine service, which is regularly performed by that
excellent clergyman the Rev. Mr. Hazlewood, vicar of Ribchester, on the
last Sunday in every month, in the afternoon. Occasionally, indeed, the
place seems to be well filled. James Rigley, the farmer near whose house
the chapel is situated, told us that when a certain Boanerges came, who
"had geet fearfu' weel loiked," they were obliged to take forms into the
chapel for the accommodation of the hearers. The edifice is plain and rude
in the interior, with a pulpit on the south side, a broken railing in
order to make something like a division between the chancel and the nave,
a stone floor, hard benches, oak beams bearing the anagram I.H.S.; nor
least noticeable is the ivy, which has broken 
in at the east end, and
usurped nearly the whole of the place where the window ought to be
seen, looking both here and on the exterior, not only picturesque,
but almost as aged as the structure itself. Under the pendent
festoons of the ivy stands the communion table, of plain oak. The
marble gravestone mentioned above remains. We present two
gravestones, lying just below the pulpit. Above this simple
rostra,
hang a few links of a chain, shewing that "a sounding board" had
once graced (it could not be for use) this tiny place of worship.
The pulpit is ascended by a few broken stone steps, and forms a
part of the rails which parcel off the communion table from the
rest of the building. Near the communion table is a recess in
the wall, designed to hold holy water. The accounts we had read
of this antique building had excited a great interest in our
minds in connexion with it; and we lingered near the place
unwilling to depart, though the untrained eye might pass it by unnoticed,
standing as it does, with somewhat a barn-like appearance, in a common field, near a poor
Page 238.
farmhouse. With our feelings engaged in what we actually saw, we had
nearly overlooked a fine old octagon font, with armorial bearings
beautifully carved; and neglected to survey the north side of Stydd Chapel
with more than a cursory glance. An inspection of it, however,
was rewarded by the sight of this fine old arch.
And now for Ribchester, which has proved so
prolific in the remains of Roman art. The
inhabitants have a jingling proverb, not far
from the truth in substance:
"It is written upon a wall in Rome,
Ribchester was as rich as any town in
Christendom."
We cannot detail all the discoveries that have been made here;
the rarest and latest must suffice. We refer to a figure to be
found in Pennant,* as an enigma for the legend. Pennant
mentions having seen a sculpture, discovered in digging a grave
in the church-yard, which as being little known, we present a
drawing of. It represents a Roman soldier carrying the Labarum
vevillum, or standard of cavalry. Many valuable objects have
been lost for want of proper custody. This we fear has been the
case with a ring seen at the beginning of
* "Tour to Alston Moor," p. 94
Page 239.
the century, in possession of a poor man who picked it up near the river.
The metal was gold, the stone a cornelian, with a bird engraven, and this
tender motto, Ave, mea vita-adieu, my life.
In 1811, some workmen employed to arrest the encroachments of the river
came to some remains, which proved on investigation to be of a fine
temple, erected in the beginning of the third century in honour of
Minerva. Shortly after, the sexton in digging in the cemetery met with
ruins of columns, fragments of which stand now
in the in the vicarage yard,
having been portions of this temple. Further
search proved that the structure had been of an
oblong shape, with sixteen columns in front, and
one hundred and twelve feet in length. In the
above drawing two objects appear; the one a hand
millstone, one foot four inches in diameter, and
two inches and a half thick. The other object is a
stone, whose use we do not profess to know; it is six inches square, with
an aperture from four to five inches deep. These were discovered not long
since by Mr. Patchett, surgeon, of Ribchester, while excavating for the
foundations of a house: he turned up at the same time a number of broken
tiles and earthenware, some having figures on them. About two years ago,
while digging in his garden, which adjoins the spot where the principal
coins have been found, Mr. Patchett discovered an old wall, which appeared
to be the foundation of some edifice now destroyed. On turning over the
earth, however, a square place was laid open, about one yard and a half
deep, and four and a half square. The bottom was flagged on a sort of clay
or cement substratum. The walls were three-fourths of a yard thick, and
filled with similar cement of about half a yard thick. It was a Roman bath.
There were a lead delivery-pipe and an overflow-pipe. Two beautifully paved
footpaths led to the bath, of about one yard and a half in width, and one
foot six inches below the surface of the soil. Prior to the discovery of
this bath, a party of labourers turned up a portion of one of the footpaths
when excavating a neighbouring cellar. We regret to add that the whole of
the materials of this interesting object have been used in erecting a new
house.
Christianity was introduced into this place by Paulinus. Ribchester
Page 240.
originally belonged to the parish of Whalley, but was soon separated from
the parent stock. It now forms a parish in the deanery of Amounderness.
The church is an irregular pile. The tower is castellated, and in itself a
fine object. The roof is supported by stout antique
beams, one of which, a tye-beam, bears an inscription
written in very singular characters. The pulpit bears
date 1636, and is adorned with curious wood work.
The chief employment is weaving, which in some cases
is carried on in connexion with farming operations.
But we heard heavy complaints of rack-rents and
miserably low wages, with uncertain work; and in truth
the place has every appearance of poverty, and offers a
painful contrast with the historical recollections which it awakens, and
the beautiful scenery which invites the eye and gratifies the taste on
every side around it.
"I shall catch none to-day," we heard a man advanced in life exclaim in a
melancholy tone, who was angling in the river.
"Why?" we asked; "the day is not inauspicious."
" No; but do you not see that magpie?"
In fact, pynots, that is magpies, according to an old Lancashire super-
stition, are considered birds of ill-omen; hence the saying, "One's anger,
two 's mirth, three 's a wedding, four 's a birth." In spring it is
considered by old-fashioned anglers unlucky to see a single magpie; but two
are a favourable auspice, because in cold weather one bird only leaves the
nest in search of food, the other remaining to keep the eggs or the young
ones warm; but when both are out together, the weather is warm, mild, and
favourable for fishing.*
Deep was our regret when we found the time had arrived for quitting the
"blessed place," as the monks termed Whalley. Mounting the coach we
ascended Wiswall Moor, leaving the place, with its own and the surrounding
* We owe this explanation, and other information relating to less
generally known Lancashire customs, to Mr. J. Lee of Manchester,
who has made, we are glad to say, considerable collections
towards a new and improved edition of the works of Tim Bobbin.
Locus benedictus.
Page 241.
treasures, on our right; and as object after object faded away, or was
hidden by the intervention of a mansion or a bend of the road, we
literally cast many
"A longing, lingering look behind."
A different species of country soon opened before and around us. On our
left, high and barren hills ran up, then expanded into moors, with here
and there a clump of poor stone cottages by their side, or a sort of
substantial house, also of stone, erected in the bottom, but in a bleak
situation, and being in reality as cold as it looked. On our right ran the
Irwell, which, taking its rise in the high country of which we have
spoken, runs through a picturesque vale by Haslingden, Bury, Bolton, and
falls into the Mersey below Manchester.
We were on the point of entering Haslingden, when a sudden "hurrah!
bravo!" burst around us, and called off our attention from a beautiful
view we were contemplating in the vale below. The coachman at the same
time pulled up, and we perceived, a hundred yards in advance, a number of
rude-looking people intently and silently beholding two men, who were
grappled and locked in each other, leg with leg, arm with arm; now lying
as still as death, now rolling with fearful struggles on the high road. It
was, we saw, a Lancashire fight; and a Lancashire fight is something far
worse than the Pancratium of old. The native peasantry know nothing of
boxing, as such. In their quarrels they literally fall foul of and maul
each other in every possible manner with the fists, teeth, and feet.
Instances have been known in which a nose has been lost, or a rib broken,
or a jaw knocked in, during the scuffle. We ourselves once saw a brutal
fellow, after having mastered his antagonist, and rescued himself from his
gripe, jump suddenly on his legs, and begin to kick his ribs with his huge
wooden clogs. The subject has been sketched by one who, to the advantage
of a life passed among these people, unites an easy, flowing, and graphic
style. Let Bamford, the Middleton poet, describe to our readers the
details of a species of conflict with which few of them perhaps are
familiar. The passage is extracted from his interesting and, by snatches,
poetic little volume, entitled "The Life of a Radical," a work which ought
not to be limited to a provincial circulation.
"The combatants were our friend the poacher, and another man, younger and
heavier, who chiefly earned his living by dog breaking, and under-strap-
ping to gamekeepers and their masters. Betwixt the men there had been an
unfriendly feeling for some time, and now, over this potent ale, for it
was good though new, their hostility was again excited and probably
decided. The ring was formed with as much silence as possible. The men
stripped to their waists, and then kneeled down and tied their shoes fast
on their feet. They then dogged for the first grip, much as game cocks do
for the first fly; and after about a minute so spent, they rushed together
and grappled, and in a moment the dog-man gave the poacher a heavy kick on
the knee, and was at the same time thrown violently on the ground on his
back, his antagonist
Page 242.
alighting on him like "a bag of bones." It was now a ground fight for
some time, and exhibited all the feats of a Lancashire battle, which I
take to have been derived from a very remote date, long before the 'Art of
Self-defence,' or indeed, almost any other art was known in these islands.
There was not, however, any of that gouging of the eyes, or biting the
flesh, or tearing, or lacerating other parts, which are often imputed to
Lancashire fighters by cockney sportsmen and others, who know little about
them. It was all fair play, though certainly of a very rough sort, and as
thorough a thing of the kind as I had ever seen. Doggy, after gaining
breath, tried to turn on his belly, which Poacher aimed to prevent,
pressing the wind out of him by his weight upon the chest as he lay across
him, and, at times, throttling him until his eyes started as if they were
looking into another world. In one of those suffocating agonies, Doggy
flung round one leg, and locked it in one of his opponent's, and in a
moment they were twisted together like the knot of a boa constrictor; and
the next, Doggy turned on his belly, and got on his knees. There was a
loud shout, and much cursing and swearing; and several bets were offered
and taken as to the issue of the contest. Poacher now laid all the weight
he could on Doggy's head and neck, to prevent him from getting upright. He
grasped him below the arms, and kept clutching his throat; and the latter,
for want of breath to carry on with, kept tearing his hands from their
gripe; both snorted like porpoises, and it began to appear that our friend
Poacher was the worst for wind. Some heavy kicking now ensued, until the
white bones were seen grinning through the gashes in their legs, and their
stockings were soaked in blood. Poacher was evidently a brave man, though
now coming second; in one of his struggles, Doggy freed himself, and
rushed on Poacher, with a kick that made the crew set their teeth, and
look for splintered bones; 'and Poacher stood it, though he felt it. There
was another clutch, and a sudden fling, in which Poacher was uppermost,
and Doggy falling, with his neck doubled under, he rolled over, and lay
without breath or motion, black in the face, and with blood oozing from his
ears and nostrils. All said he was killed."
These descriptions must not be considered as presenting a fair specimen of
the Lancashire peasantry. It is very true that they are uncivil, nay, rough
in their manners; that their dress is coarse and unsightly; that they seem
to pride themselves rather on a certain broad rude form of intellect, than
the exhibition of gentle or kind affections;-but under this repulsive
exterior, there lives and prevails much genuine excellence; dislike of
deceit, aversion to hypocrisy, honesty in ordinary transactions, truth in
word, in thought, in action; so that when you can once get to a real
Lancashire man's heart, you find something to repay you for your trouble;
and if you are invited to partake of his viands, you will meet with a
welcome not the less sincere and hearty because accompanied with harsh
accents and uncouth phraseology. Within their homes the people are
truthful, generous, and affectionate. The
Page 243.
hearth is bright; the simple articles of furniture bright too; a good
eight-day clock; with a well-polished case, is rarely wanting; the
mistress, though she does wear that ugly check handkerchief over her head
and down round her neck, is neat and thrifty; and long and wearying shall
be your journey ere you shall meet with stouter "lads" or better made
"lasses" than she has around her. In some districts we have seen even
mahogany chairs and tables adorn the cottage.
The race is indeed fast deteriorating, and their mother Saxon becoming
polluted under the multifarious influences which the several tides of
population, coming from all parts of the kingdom in quest of employment,
and under the attraction of (to the incomers) high wages, have poured
throughout the whole of the country. Nor is it possible to find the pure
manners or pure tongue of this fine race of people, unless in here and
there a scattered cottage placed on the moors and highlands.
In passing from Whalley over the heights down towards the low country, we
from time to time peeped into a cottage, or saw a face, or heard a tongue
which we recognised as of the genuine kind; but it was impossible, on
witnessing the tokens of poverty which met our sight, emaciated wan
countenances, children unshod, almost unclad, neglected huts,-not to
lament that influences had been at work to break down the strength and
impair the moral worth of the peasantry. Still one or two domestic sights
presented themselves to our notice, which shewed that of a truth
"-----------love is indestructible,"
and that even poverty and want cannot expel parental affection from the
bosom.
Haslingden-that is, the town of Hazels, lies on the margin of the forest
of Rossendale;-would it were a forest now, as of old! Both Haslingden and
Rossendale are within the manor of Acrington, which belongs to the lord of
the honor of Clithero. The land is nearly all in pasture. Manufactures,
both of wool and cotton, have spread throughout the district, prodigiously
augmented the population, and accumulated wealth in the hands of a few
successful tradesmen.
The dialect spoken in these parts is considered to vie with that of the
rural environs of Rochdale in classical purity. We give a brief specimen:-
"I wun at th' riggin oth' woard!-at th' riggin oth' woard, for th' wetur
oth' tone yeeosing faws into th' yeeost, on th' tother into th' west sees;"
-which may be thus ' done into English:'-"I live at the ridge (or apex) of
the world!-at the ridge of the world, because the water from one of the
eaves (of the house) falls into the east, and from the other (side) into
the west sea."
In this neighbourhood-so runs the saying-"there are neither men nor
horses," for they are all "fellys" (fellows) and "tits."
Passing through Tottington we came to Walmesley, on the banks of the
Irwell, which exhibits the remains of a beacon, erected in the days of
Eliza-
Page 244.
beth to rouse the country against the threatened Spanish invasion. In fine
weather, Runcorn, at the estuary of the Mersey, can be descried from this
lofty station. A tower stands on an eminence to the left, erected by the
Grants, who were the first manufacturers of the district. William, the
eldest, has lately deceased. Him and Charles we have seen now for some
fifteen years come in their carriage into Manchester on market-days,
seated side by side, looking of all things like a pair of brothers, happy
in themselves and in each other. The sight is changed: Charles comes now
alone, looking bereft and downcast.
The father was a farmer in Inverness-shire. A flood stripped his farm of
its stock and very soil, compelling a change of place. He and his son
William made their way southwards, and found employment in a print-works
near Bury, where the youth served his apprenticeship. It is said that when
they reached the spot where they settled, they were in doubt as to what
course was best. They stood on a hill, which overlooked the surrounding
country, and gave them every opportunity for making a judicious choice.
The valley was at their feet, and through it the Irwell was making its
circuitous way. Their well-practised eye saw the advantages which the spot
offered, yet other localities had their recommendations. What was to be
done? A stick was put up, and where that fell, in that
direction would they betake themselves for a home. In
commemoration of this event, or not improbably as a
kind of public thank-offering for the signal prosperity
they reaped, they caused this monument to be erected,
which we present as it now appears.
In this place these remarkable men pitched their tent,
and by years and days of industry, enterprise and
benevolence, accumulated a million sterling of money,*
earning
* We subjoin two or three trustworthy anecdotes, which will
exemplify the character of William Grant:-
In company with a gentleman who had written and lectured on
the advantages of early religious, moral, and intellectual
training, Mr. Grant asked "Well, how do you go on in
establishing schools for infants?" The reply was, "Very
encouragingly indeed. Wherever I have gone, I have succeeded
either in inducing good people to establish them, or in
procuring better support to those that are already
established. But I must give over my labours; for what with
printing bills, coach fare, and
page 245.
meanwhile the good-will of thousands, the gratitude of many, and the
respect of all who knew them.
The village of Ramsbottom deserves express commemoration as the scene of
the industry and benevolence of this remarkable family, two of whom
Dickens has made universally known under the name of "The Cheeryble
Brothers." This spot must always have been beautiful, favoured so
eminently as it is by nature. We wish our readers could see it covered as
we saw it,
other expenses, every lecture I deliver in any neighbouring town
costs me a sovereign, and I cannot afford to ride my hobby at
such a rate." He said: "You must not give over your labours. GOD
has blessed them with success. HE has blessed you with talents,
and HE has blessed me with wealth. If you give your time, I ought
to give my money. You must oblige me by taking this twenty-pound
note, and spending it in promoting the education of the poor." The
twenty-pound note was taken and so spent, and probably one thousand
children are now enjoying the benefit of the impulse that was thus
given to a mode of instruction as delightful as it is useful.
He was waited on by two gentlemen who were raising a subscription
for the widow of a respectable man, who some years before his death
had been unfortunate in business. "We lost 200L. by him," said Mr.
Grant; "and how do you expect that I should subscribe for his
widow?" "Because," answered one of them, "what you lost by the
husband does not alter the widow's claim on your benevolence."
"Neither it shall," said he. "Here are five pounds. If you cannot
make up the sum you want for her, come back to me, and I'll give you
five more."
A young student was consumptive, and his only chance for life was
removal into a warmer climate, which he could not afford. It was Mr.
Grant's object to devise a pious fraud, by which he could serve
the young man without offending his pride. He said, "We have a
vessel which is to touch at M------. The captain will be glad to
have your company so far, and our correspondent will find you
lodgings for the winter at a cheap rate." The student resolved to
go. A few days before he sailed, Mr. Grant said, " We are sending
a young man to our agent by the vessel you sail in. Will you be
kind enough to pay him some attention on the voyage?" The young
man was really sent as his nurse! On their arrival at M----, the
agent invited the student to his house till he could procure
lodgings for him, but day after day had to invent fresh excuses
for not finding them. At last he said, "It is such a comfort to me
to have an Englishman to talk to, that you would do me a great
favour if you would take up your abode with me." All this had
been arranged beforehand. But death came notwithstanding. "Poor
fellow," said Mr. Grant; "but I have the consolation of thinking
that he never found out how we had managed for him."
Many years ago a warehouseman published a scurrilous pamphlet, in
which he endeavoured, but very unsuccessfully, to hold up the
house of Grant Brothers, to public ridicule. William remarked
that the man would live to repent what he had done, and this was
conveyed by some talebearer to the libeller, who said, "O, I
suppose he thinks I shall some time or other be in his debt, but
I will take good care of that." It happens, however, that a man
in business cannot always choose who shall be his creditors. The
pamphleteer became a bankrupt, and the Brothers held an acceptance
of his which had been indorsed to them by the drawer, who bad also
become a bankrupt. The wantonly-libelled men had thus become
creditors of the libeller. They now had it in their power to make
him repent of his audacity. He could not obtain his certificate
without their signature, and without it he could not enter into
business again. He had obtained the number of signatures required
by the bankrupt law except one. It seemed folly to hope that the
firm of "the Brothers" would supply the deficiency. What! they
who had cruelly been made the laughing-stocks of the public,
forget the wrong and favour the wrongdoer! He despaired; Mr.
Grant was there alone, and his first words to the delinquent
were, "Shut the door, Sir!" sternly uttered. The door was shut,
and the libeller stood trembling before the libelled. He told his
tale and produced his certificate. which was instantly clutched by
the injured merchant. "You wrote a pamphlet against us once,"
exclaimed Mr. Grant. The supplicant expected to see his parchment
thrown into the fire! But this was not its destination. Mr. Grant
took a pen, and writing something upon the document, handed it back
to the bankrupt. He, poor wretch, expected to see "rogue, scoundrel,
libeller," inscribed; but there was, in fair round characters,
Page 246.
with a beautiful grey mist, which gave a peculiar effect to the loftier
parts. The vale is quite flat, and in curvature not unlike a spacious
basin. Mark the singular and beautiful course which the Irwell takes! Mark
also the bold background made by Holcome Hill. Carry your eye to the extreme
left, and you see what is termed Grant's Farm; in front of which stand
Grant's Cotton Mills. Their church is seen in the direction of the smoke
from the factory. The large quadrangular building in the bottom is their
printing establishment. The village of Ramsbottom
lies a above, a little to the right of these works.
Just above the village is a wool-factory, belonging
to Mr. Grundy of Bury; and immediately below is a
cotton-pinning establishment, the property of
Messrs. Ashton. But when the Grants first cast
their eyes upon it, the scene was very different
from what it is now; less interesting to the lover
of the picturesque, and far less important as a dwelling-place for man. The
quiet operations of husbandry proceeded with no stimulus for the mind, and
but a small comparative creation of industrial wealth. At present, activity,
diligence, health, joy and opulence, have made this valley their own. The
result may serve to shew what manufacturing enterprise may, under
favourable circumstances, achieve for all the better purposes of life. These
benevolent brothers knew what they owed to their fellow-men, whose hands
the signature of the firm! "We make it a rule," said Mr. Grant,
"never to refuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman,
and we have never heard that you were anything else." The tears
started into the poor man's eyes. " Ah," said Mr. Grant, "my
saying was true. I said you would live to repent writing that
pamphlet. I did not mean it as a threat, I only meant that some
day you would know us better, and repent you had tried to injure
us. I see you repent of it now." "I do, I do," said the grateful
man, "I bitterly repent it." "Well, well, my dear fellow, you
know us now. How do you get on? What are you going to do?" The
poor man stated, that he had friends who could assist him when
his certificate was obtained. "But how are you off in the
meantime?" And the answer was, that having given up every
farthing to his creditors, he had been compelled to stint his
family of even common necessaries, that he might be enabled
to pay the cost of his certificate.. "My dear fellow, this
will not do, your family must not suffer. Be kind enough to
take this ten pound note to your wife from me-there, there,
my dear fellow-nay, don't cry-it will be all well with you
yet. Keep up your spirits, set to work like a man, and you
will raise your head amongst us yet." The overpowered man
endeavoured in vain to express his thanks. The swelling in
his throat forbade words, He put his handkerchief to his
face, and went out of the door crying like a child.
Page 247.
had mainly contributed to their aggrandisement, and therefore they spared
no expense in the promotion of the moral, intellectual, as well as
physical interests of their workmen. They recognised also His agency and
favour, without whom nothing is good or durable, and accordingly erected a
building for his service, consecrating it to the solemnities of the Scotch
church.
We next-proceeded to Spring Side, the residence of the late William Grant,
and where the surviving of THE two brothers still resides. It is a
very neat modern building entirely surrounded by trees, and cannot be seen
until you are close to it. The spot is very tranquil, and its beauty is
much heightened by the water in the neighbourhood. In this dwelling for
many years had these two men lived, discharging every duty which one
brother can owe or pay to another, and though ordinarily leading a quiet
and retired life, yet occasionally indulging in hospitalities, which for
substance and heartiness did something to recall the festive
entertainments of the olden days of "merry England." The furniture of the
mansion and the whole appearance of the interior are gorgeous even to an
excess, considering the humble origin and uncultivated minds of its
masters.
Crossing Brandlesholme Moss we came to a hall of that name, which is here
depicted. Our survey did not disclose to us any date, but parts are
obviously very old. The gables seem to have formerly been adorned with
tracery, some vestige of which still remains. The chimneys are both very
ancient and very ample. Modern repairs detract from the uniformity and
beauty of the edifice. If we may judge by a piece of old wall forming part
of an outhouse, it was formerly much more spacious than it is at present.
It is about 800 yards out of the road on the right-hand side as you go from
Ramsbottom to Bury. This edifice is in the township of Elton, in the
parish of Bury, and was the ancient seat of the Greenhalghes. Thomas
Greenhalgh, a man of exalted character, served the office of high sheriff
for Lancashire in
Page 248.
1668, and again in 1669 in the reign of Charles the Second.* John Green-
halgh governed and maintained tranquillity in the Isle of Man in the civil
wars from 1640 to 1651, and was saved during the earthquake that occurred
in the island of Juan Fernandez. He was held in high esteem by the valiant
James Earl of Derby.
The next morning we proceeded to walk into Bury to take rest for the day,
for topographers may no less justifiably than others claim for themselves
one day in seven. Much were we struck in seeing the road well lined with
people dressed in their "holiday clothes." Our attention was excited, and
ascending a height to survey the country, we saw other paths alive with
human beings in a similar manner. Vehicles of all descriptions, containing
from three to fifteen merry souls each, were hastening towards the town,
and equestrians in motley groups were wending on in the same direction. We
entered the town before divine service had begun, and were surprised to
find it also filled with persons who looked like visitors; still more, to
see here and there shops open, displaying most temptingly cakes of a brown
hue, well sugared over, and of all dimensions. It was, we learned on
inquiry, Simnel Sunday, and these simnel cakes. It is a custom which Bury
alone has the merit of preserving. On Midlent Sunday, not unfrequently
surnamed Mothering Sunday, children, parents, and other relatives, who
have left Bury to settle in some neighbouring town or village, pay a visit
to their native place, there to see their friends again, to greet old
acquaintances, and, not least important act in the drama, to eat Simnel
cake and drink ale.
At Newchurch and Haslingden, what are termed "fag pies" and "mulled ale,"
are the dainties which are distributed among the middle and lower classes.
These "fag" or in ordinary English, fig pies, are made substantial by the
addition of bacon, and the "mulled ale," or ale heated and spiced, is
sometimes replaced by "egg-flip." A similar observance is still preserved
at Eccles in this county, where "braggot" is the favourite beverage, that
is ale with eggs and spices. Midlent Sunday is there denominated "Braggot
Sunday."
Her mouth was sweet as bracket, or the nieth or hord of apples,
Laid in hey or heth.-Chaucer.
Whether these festivities now lead to disorders in other places we do not
know, but in Bury the peace is seldom broken, and the town has in general
resumed its ordinary quiet by the early hour of nine in the evening.
The custom arose from the practice of our Roman Catholic forefathers, who
were wont to visit Mother Church on Midlent Sunday, and make their
offerings at the high altar. On these occasions it became usual for
relatives to make-each other small presents: children gave their parents a
sum of money, a trinket or some eatable; parents prepared a simnel, a cake
for the entertainment of their children. In some places, particularly in
Yorkshire,
* Glegson's Flagments.
Page 249.
furmetys,* that is, unground wheat boiled in milk, sweetened and spiced,
became the customary treat. The following is cited from Brand:
"I'le to thee a simnell bring,
Gainst thou go'st a mothering;
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou'lt give me."
Almost every village or hamlet within six miles of Bury has its rush-
bearing; the custom is easily accounted for, the churches formerly having
neither boards nor flags, and the floor being composed of clay well
trodden down; rushes were therefore strewed on the aisles to prevent them
being too cold, hence the taking away the old rushes and bringing in fresh
ones grew
at last quite into a periodical festival. A well-built rushcart is very
difficult to accomplish, and the whole pageant itself is a very
picturesque sight. First come the band of musicians all gaily dressed, and
a smart new banner with some quaint device upon it; then the fool or half-
wit of the village dressed in the most absurd manner possible, generally a
cocked hat, scarlet hunting coat and boots, sword in hand, and mounted on
a donky; then the cart with the rushes built in a peculiar fashion like
the roof of a house, the gable being to the front and sloping down over
the wheels, beautifully cut, the edges being closely shaved, and the
triangular space in front adorned with rosettes of ribbon and streamers,
tinsel ornaments, and even watches-the top is surmounted with a small flag
or banner, and astride of all, holding the said banner, a little boy or a
young man, sometimes both. The cart is drawn by thirty or forty young men,
two and two, holding high above their heads, poles, which are fastened
by ropes on each side to the cart, there being to each pole about half a
dozen bells. The young men, and in fact all the persons forming the
procession, are most gaily dressed, the favourite style being straw hats
with light blue ribbons, white shirt sleeves tied with many-coloured
ribbons, the brightest handkerchiefs
* Frumentum. Popular Antiquities, vol. i. p. 93.
Page 250.
possible for sashes, and ribbons again below the knee. The cart and its
drawers are flanked by ten or twelve similarly dressed countrymen, each
with a huge new cart whip, which they ply lustily about, and crack loudly
in time to the merry tune of the musicians.
There are but slight differences in the detail of the rushbearings in
other villages, at Rochdale, the neighbourhood being very populous, there
are sometimes eight or nine rush carts, each having its band, etc., and
they not unfrequently meet in one of the narrow streets, when generally a
pretty stout battle takes place for precedence, as it is well known that
those who arrive the first at the church always receive a donation of five
shillings. It must not be supposed that these processions occur on the
Sabbath day; the rushes are procured for the Sunday, but the procession
usually takes place a few days before, the dates of each rushbearing being
calculated by the Sunday previous. Instead of men, horses now frequently
draw the cart; and in most places the rushes are sold after the festivity,
which, from having no small portion of a religious character, has
degenerated into a mere holiday-making.
Connected with rushbearings, there is what is called the Skedlock cart,
used by children in a small cart, wagon or wheelbarrow, made of the yellow
flowers of the large weed charlock, kedlack, or cadlock, in imitation of
the rush cart.
Chamber Hall, in the vicinity of Bury, was formerly the residence of Sir
Robert Peel, father of the present Premier. It is a square red building
with sash windows. The remains of the old hall are at the back part of it,
and are partially covered with ivy. The windows
are large, with bold mullions. The house is at
present in the occupation or Mr. Hardman, who
was formerly foreman to the first Baronet.
The settlement in Bury of this family conduced
very much to its prosperity. Its head was a man
who eminently possessed the qualities which in
general secure commercial prosperity; and having
by his steady industry, economy, and well-
tempered enterprise amassed a large fortune, he
in the ordinary course of things encouraged the
trade and augmented the opulence of the neighbourhood. Of his father, Sir
Robert Peel
Page 251.
has remarked-"He moved in a confined sphere, and employed his talents in
improving the cotton trade. He had neither wish nor opportunity of making
himself acquainted with his native country, or society far removed from
his native county Lancaster. I lived under his roof till I attained the
age of manhood, and had many opportunities of discovering that he
possessed in an eminent degree a mechanical genius and a good heart. He
had many sons, and placed them all in situations that they might be useful
to each other. The cotton trade was preferred as best calculated to secure
this object; and by habits of industry and imparting to his offspring an
intimate knowledge of the various branches of the cotton manufacture, he
lived to see his children connected together in business, and by their
successful exertions to become, without one exception, opulent and happy.
My father may be truly said to have been the founder of our family; and he
so accurately appreciated the importance of commercial wealth in a
national point of view, that he was often heard to say that the gains to
individuals were small, compared with the national gains arising from
trade." *
It is usually stated that Chamber Hall was the birthplace of the present
Baronet. This is incorrect. At the time of his birth, his father's
residence was undergoing repairs, and the family had in consequence
removed into a neighbouring cottage; and accordingly under the humble roof
which the reader may here contemplate, he first saw the light who is now
the prime
minister of the British empire, the chief servant of the most powerful
sovereign in the world; a ruler of nobles, and to no small extent, master
of the lives and fortunes of myriads of human beings. This wonderful
elevation is the achievement of the cotton trade! The cottage is built of
brick, very limited in size, and at present in a dilapidated state.
One of the most interesting places in this part of the country, at
Goshen,
Baines's Lancashire, vol. ii. p. 670.
Page 252.
about a mile and a half on the south side of Bury, is an old farm-house,
the residence in former times of a family of some note, and still occupied
by a lineal descendant. The family of Unsworth has possessed this
property, according to tradition, ever since the time of the Conquest, and
there are certainly relics to prove its antiquity. The house itself is
little worth notice, but amongst other curiosities that it contains is a
carved oak table, which is a source of some interest as being connected
with an old legend. The story is, that in olden times there lived near
here a fierce and terrible dragon, which resolutely defied the prowess of
sundry brave heroes, who would fain have immortalized their names by
freeing the country from such a scourge. One Thomas Unsworth, a warrior of
the beforementioned family, more courageous or more fortunate than the
rest, at last succeeded in the attempt; which he accomplished in a manner
that certainly did much credit to his ingenuity. Finding that bullets were
of no avail, he inserted his dagger in a petronel, and, rousing the anger
of the dragon, shot it under the throat at the moment of raising its head.
The table was made after this event, and it is said, carved with the
dagger by which the monster was shot. Round the table are St. George and
the dragon, the lion and unicorn, the Derby crest (this family being one
of the oldest tenants of the Earls of Derby), and the veritable dragon
which the aforesaid Thomas killed, and certainly if it at all resembled
its "likeness" it must have been a ferocious looking creature. There is
also hung over the table in the old parlour, a painting of the Unsworth
Arms, which were given them in former times for deeds of honour,
surmounted by another carving of the dragon. The crest is a man
in black armour, holding a hatchet in his hand, and it is said
to be the portrait of the renowned family ancestor in the
armour which he wore during battle, and in which he was
encased at the time he performed the celebrated feat which won
him so much fame. The armour was in the possession of the family a few
years since, but not being considered of much value it was partly spoilt
and lost. Whatever credence may be given to this story (and the present
family firmly believe in its truth), it is certain that a portion of land
was once granted to one of their ancestors for having freed the country
from some dire monster, of whatever kind it might be, and of course the
property granted was that said to be the favourite resort of the dragon;
nor is it improbable that the large and adjoining township of Unsworth has
originally derived its name from some one of this family. They also
possess several very old books, treasured with due ancestral pride, and
other relics more or less interesting.
We here subjoin drawings illustrative of this legend. Number one is a
Page 253.
rude representation of the dragon cut in wood, about two feet long, and
one inch thick; it hangs on nails. The part shaded is painted green; the
tongue
(1)
and eye are red; the body brown, with spots or scales. Number two, is the
(2)
same animal, as cut on an antique chest, alongside other devices which
seem to be about as exact copies of nature. Number three, gives
the same
favourite monster of the Unsworth, on a panel of the same
chest.
The entrance to Bury from the north is not uninteresting; (3)
several good buildings present themselves, the road is wide, and lies on
an easy slope. The view, given on the next page, shews as a prominent
object a new stone building in progress, designed for a Catholic chapel. On
one side it has a school; on the other a residence for the priest. It is a
large building, in the florid style of English church architecture, with an
octagon tower, or lantern. The buttresses, which support the tower, have a
very singular effect, projecting as they do a considerable distance beyond
the wall, and making the lower part appear too small to support the weight.
The window over the door consists of a row of arcades with a niche in the
centre. There is a niche on each side the door, with a richly wrought
canopy, intended, we presume, to receive some sculptured figure. Large
grotesque heads project from different parts of the building. The top of
the tower, resembling that of Ely cathedral, is light and pretty. The two
side buildings are furnished with labelled windows. We found little in the
general appearance of the town itself to excite our interest or detain our
steps, though we must not leave its hospitalities without allusion. We
made our way to the church, and found the exterior unsightly. Within we
saw a mural tablet of white marble, with Britannia in bas-relief,
Page 254.
holding an urn. On the right hand of the figure is n sea-horse, behind
which icebergs fill up the scene. On the right of the tablet is the stern
of the vessel in the distance, and an elephant's head coming into the
tomb. This monument, erected by the inhabitants of the town, bears the
following inscription:-"Sacred to the memory of Robert and George Hood,
R.N., sons of the Rev. Richard Hood, LL. D., of this town. The former of
whom, while engaged in the Arctic overland expedition, under the command
of Captain Franklin, R.N., after having with unshaken fortitude endured
unparalleled dangers and privations, and by his skill in science
essentially contributed to the utility of the enterprise, was assassinated
by an Iroquois, Oct. 20th, 1841; thus terminating at the early age of
twenty-four, a short but brilliant career, distinguished by varied talent
and steady determination, which were rapidly opening a path to the highest
honours of his profession. The latter, under Captain Owen, R.N., employed
also in the cause of science off the eastern coast of Africa, perished by
a fever, Feb. 6th, 1823, being twenty years of age. If his services were
less distinguished, and his fate attracted less public sympathy than that
of his brother, he required only a more prominent situation."
A tombstone near the pulpit attracted our attention, and promoted
inquiries, which led to the following information. The inscription stands
thus:
John Partington, died March 14th, 1794, aged 70.
Richard M'Mellon, June 10th, 1830, aged 76.
William Searle, March 22d, 1838, aged 48.
The first was originally a cobbler
---------"who lived in a stall,
Which served him for parlour, kitchen, and all."
Having however saved a little money, he removed from his single apartment,
took a house, opened a small chandler's shop, was very industrious, and
had very considerable success. By accident he met with the person whose
name
Page 255.
stands second in the inscription. M'Mellon was in great distress, and
received an invitation to take a share in Partington's property. They
lived happily together till Partington died. The second becoming possessor
of the property, met with, and received into his house, the third. The
first expressed a wish that the second should like in the same tomb with
himself; the second did the same in regard to the third; and, accordingly,
all three lie within the same narrow enclosure. In the midst of the stone
inscription is another, on a brass plate, bearing the same statements,
executed by the direction of the last, in the fear that the stone cutting
might too soon be worn away. Like Saul and Jonathan, they were to each
other "pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided."
Bury is a considerable manufacturing town, in the hundred of Salford,
situated on an eminence between the rivers Irwell and Roach, the former
skirting the town on the west, and the latter flowing to the south-east of
the place. The two rivers unite near Radcliffe, whence under the name of
the Irwell they flow to Manchester. Bury lies to the north-west of
Manchester, at the distance of little more than eight miles, and is a
thoroughfare from Manchester to Blackburn, Burnley, and Skipton. Although
its present importance is of modern origin, yet Bury is a place of
considerable antiquity. However doubtful it may be whether it was ever a
Roman station, there is little question of its having been a Saxon town,
as its name implies; the Saxon word "byri," signifying a fortified place.
Leland tells us, that near the church in Castlecroft, stood one of the
twelve baronial castles of Lancashire, which was destroyed by the
Parliamentary troops in 1644; fragments of the building are still
occasionally discovered upon digging near its site.
Not far from Bury is a place called Castle Hill, where the court of the
royal manor of Tottington was held, in which the power of imprisonment
and the execution of criminals existed. On the heath near this place, Lord
Strange is said to have mustered 20,000 men in favour of the royal cause,
in 1642. In the reign of Henry II. the estates here belonged to John de
Lacy, from whose family they passed to the Burys and the Pilkingtons, and
on the attainder of the latter in the reign of Henry VII., to the
Stanleys, who hold them now.
The land about Bury is generally a stiff loam, and the town is well sup-
plied with coal and excellent stone, from the immediate vicinity. The
general appearance of the town has been considerably improved by the
widening of its streets, and the removal of many old dilapidated buildings
for erections of a modern style.
There are a public subscription library, a news-room, a botanical institu-
tion, a medical library, a dispensary, for which a neat new building was
erected in 1841, and a mechanics' institution, which has also a news-room.
The staple manufacture of woollen, which is of ancient date, having been
carried on here by the emigrant Flemings, is still prosecuted, though not
on
Page 256.
so extensive a scale of late years as the cotton manufacture. There are
also in and near Bury, several extensive establishments for bleaching,
calico-printing, iron foundry, and machine making. In consequence of this
variety of branches of trade, and the absence of a speculative character
among its commercial men, distress is seldom so severe in seasons of
commercial embarrassment in this, as in other manufacturing towns. Bury
being situated on the banks of one river, the Irwell, and skirted by
another, the Roach, and being supplied likewise abundantly with coal,
possesses considerable advantages as a manufacturing station. The canal
from this town to Manchester and Bolton conduces materially to its trading
prosperity.
Some very important improvements in abridging the labour of the operatives
have been effected here. In 1738, John Kay, a native of Bury, but at the
time residing at Colchester, invented the mode of throwing the shuttle
by means of the picking peg instead of the hand; and in 1760, his son
Robert invented the drop-box, by which the weaver can, at pleasure, use
any one of three shuttles, and thereby produce a fabric of various
colours, with almost the same facility as he can weave common calico. The
invention of setting cards by machinery also belongs to this place, and to
the ingenious family of the Kays.
Bury is generally a healthy town, though its climate is humid, in conse-
quence of its being situated in the neighbourhood of the lofty mountains
which separate Yorkshire from Lancashire; the average quantity of rain
which falls here, is found to be forty inches in the year. Among the
modern improvements in the town, may be mentioned the erection of a
spacious and handsome market of a triangular form, with an open area, and
having fifty shops, roofed over.
The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester. The
oldest dissenting congregation is the English Presbyterian, who in 1837
rebuilt their chapel in Silver-street, the date of which was 1719. The
Roman Catholics, as we have seen, are erecting a handsome chapel to be
called St. Mary's.
The Free Grammar School was founded in 1726, by the Rev. Mr. Kay, and
endowed by him with estates which produce 442L. 0s. 9d. per annum. It has
two exhibitions of 25L. per annum each, continued six years, during
residence at either of the universities. At this school, the late dean of
Ely, Dr. Wood, the eminent algebraist, received his early education, and
evinced his regard for the school by a legacy of 500L. in aid of the
exhibitions. Ten girls receive instruction at this school, 71. per annum
being paid to a mistress. Another school was founded and endowed in 1748,
by the Hon. and Rev. E. Stanley (formerly rector), for the instruction of
eighty boys and thirty girls.
On our road from Bury to Radcliffe, we were somewhat puzzled by hearing
one boy say to another, "Now Tom, here's a craddy for thee." Immediately
the speaker was on the other side of a high hedge. We subsequently learnt
that
Page 257.
to "set a craddy," was to shew or lead the way in some bold or daring
trick. This sport was formerly much in use among the Lancashire rustics,
but is now for the most part the exclusive portion of the boys. As may be
gathered from what we have said, it consists of jumping wide ditches,
walking on the top of palings or high walls-any gambol or mad trick that
can be thought of, so as to cause sport at the expense of clumsy novices
on failure of their rash attempts.
The two lads before mentioned were soon joined by others. In a good rough
game of romps which ensued, we frequently heard the words, "greadly," and
"fettle." Both are in very common use in the county. The first is
equivalent to properly, well, handsomely; sometimes it is used as an
adjective; it is also pronounced "gradely." Ritson, in his Metrical
Romances, uses the word "graythley." To "fettle" is to put to rights, to
repair, cure, improve. "Fettled ale," is ale warmed with sugar, lemon, and
spices; it is used as a funeral beverage, and taken with currant bread
made into small cakes, denominated "top cakes." We hear also in Lancashire
of fettling a horse, that is grooming it; fettling a clog, namely mending
it; fettling a wound, q.d. dressing it.
An agreeable walk of about three miles being accomplished, we turned off
the high road leading from Bury to Manchester on the right, and pursuing
nearly a straight line, in the course of which we passed an interesting
old farm-house lying some distance from the road side, in the midst of a
meadow, shortly found ourselves near the church of Radcliffe. The parish
is Saxon; Edward the Confessor held Radcliffe for a manor with two hides
of land. A De Radclive appears to have been its proprietor before the
reign of Henry II. The family was distinguished as well as ancient. The
chiefs of the family held the high honour of being sheriffs of the county
for several reigns in succession. The village lies in a curve of land
formed by a sweep taken by the Irwell, which, though the banks on the side
opposite to the place present some degree of boldness with their red
fronts, whence the name Red-clif, is much less engaging in its scenery
than it is somewhat lower down, where it offers views which, though
contracted, are eminently pretty.
Though the exterior of the church possesses little attraction, we obtained
entrance into it, and were in a measure repaid for our trouble. An air of
antiquity pervades the place, tending to infuse a feeling of solemnity into
the bosom. "There," said the sexton, pointing to the north side of the
church, "lies fair Ellen;" "and what, "we asked," is her story?" "O, I do
not believe it." "I asked you not what you believe, but what people say."
"Why, they say, she was put into a pie." "Do they say so now ?" " Yes, I
have heard the story ever since I was a boy; but I don't think many folk
believe it." The legend runs somewhat thus:
"In times long past, Sir William de Radclyffe possessed Radclyffe Tower.
His first wife had died in giving birth to her first child, a girl, who
when she grew up became remarkable for her beauty. But in the meantime Sir
William
Page 258.
had married again, and the stepmother, a haughty and ambitious woman,
cordially hated the only person who divided her husband's affections with
herself. One day, when Ellen was about eighteen years of age, Sir William
went out hunting. This seemed to the stepmother a good opportunity for the
execution of a nefarious design she had long cherished. Calling her
daughter to her, she said, 'Fair daughter, go, I beseech thee, and tell
the master cook that he must dress the white doe he knows of for dinner.'
The damsel, unconscious of any harm, did as she was requested. When she
had delivered her message, the cook said, 'You are the white doe my lady
means; and it is you I must kill.' In vain did the unhappy victim implore
and entreat; and in vain did a scullion boy offer himself in her place;
the damsel was killed and made into a PIE. In the mean time Sir William's
chase had been long and animated, but he was unable to drive away a
foreboding of ill that kept crossing his mind, and at last he felt
impelled to order his retinue to return. At dinner he called for his
daughter to carve for him, as was her wont, but she appeared not. On
asking his wife where she was, she urged as an excuse that she was gone
into a nunnery, but the scullion boy exclaimed, "Tis false; cut open that
pie, and there you will find your daughter." He then related the sad
catastrophe, and the cruel stepmother was condemned to be burned at a
stake, and the cook to stand in boiling lead. The scullion boy was
declared the heir of all his lord's possessions.*
"And so she was buried in that corner, was she?' we asked.
"Ay, though nought of her was found when they rebuilt the chancel."
We here present a view of part of the roof, which is sustained by carved
squares of oak, with tracery at the intersections. Round the pulpit are
raised
letters. Near the pulpit is a flat stone, beneath which lies the Rev. R.
Wroe, born here 1641, who earned by his eloquence the epithet of "silver-
tongued." The windows of the church present some stained glass, with
figures, as for instance the Radcliffe arms. One of these windows, that
in what is called
* Percy's Reliques.
Page 259.
the Sun Chapel, is so curious in its construction that we have had it
engraved. This Sun Chapel was not filled with seats
till about thirty
years ago.
But the glory of this place are the ruins of the famous tower,
the hall of which was built in the reign of Henry IV. The hall
was of wood, and is described so late as the year 1818, by Dr.
Whitaker, retaining its essential features. "The old hall" (he
says) adjoining the tower is forty-five feet two inches in
length; in one part twenty feet, and in another twenty eight
feet in width. Two massive principals which support the roof are the most
curious specimens of carved work we have ever seen. The broadest piece of
timber is two feet seven inches by ten inches. A wall-plate, on the outside
of one beam, from end to end measures two feet by ten inches. The walls are finished at the squares with a moulded cornice
of oak. The pillar at the right has neither capital nor moulding, and
appears to have been inserted at a later period, when the hall underwent
repair. On the left side of the hall are the remains of a very curious
window-frame of oak, wrought in Gothic tracery, but square at the top.
Near the top of the hall, on the right, are the remains of a doorway,
opening into what was once a staircase, and leading to a large chamber
above the kitchen, the approach to which was by a door of massy oak,
pointed at the top." The hall has now totally disappeared. An eye-witness
described to us the process of its demolition with an indifference of the
same nature as led to its removal. The only thing which seems to have
excited his mind, was the massiveness of the timber which its destruction
brought before his eyes. We can never cease to regret that these splendid
relics and interesting memorials of a mode of social existence now for
ever vanished, yet recommended, if not endeared to the cultivated mind by
the fact, not only of any intrinsic merits it may have had, but-and
chiefly-by the relationship of blood, soil, and institutions which we of
this day have with those Englishmen who were its subjects, should not, in
the course of the vicissitudes of property, have come into the possession
of persons more fitted to appreciate their worth, and more wish to
preserve their existence. And when one calls to mind the amount of wealth
which their manufacturing owners of the present day possess, one is
tempted to yield to a severer feeling than that of regret on the subject;
for small to these opulent proprietors would have been the cost of taking
effectual measures to transmit, to some extent unimpaired, to coming ages
the precious monuments of the past. Nor are we sure that some claim on the
score of morality might not be established by the English people,
requiring the fortunate inheritors of these relics to preserve
Page 260.
them for the general good. The land of England belongs to its people. The
civilisation and the civilising influence of the land are equally theirs.
It is enough for wealth to build its mansions, gather in the harvests, and
cut up the fair spots of the land for coal and steam. There is a limit to
its rights. They do not extend to the destruction of our history, whether
written on parchment or on the ivied battlement. The country is ours, its
battle-fields, its abbeys, its halls. If the English people yield to the
novi homines of the day, what these same self-made men consider the
substantials of the feast, surely it may be required as a condition that
they shall leave uninjured to posterity the garniture and the graces, the
evergreens and the wild-flowers by which the repast is embellished.
Radcliffe Tower also has been subject to depredations, in order to supply
materials for building cottages for manufacturing workmen, but is
nevertheless a fine old ruin. The graver will give a better idea of what it
is than the pen, and we therefore ask the reader's attention to the view of
the interior which is here represented. As if to make this ruin appear more
ruinous, there
stands, at the distance of a few yards, a very handsome modern edifice,
appropriated to the purposes of the Wesleyan Methodists; the elegance of
which is the more noticeable from being in the midst of buildings of an
ordinary, not to say mean appearance. This building, the cost of which was
above 5000L., was erected and presented to the Conference by Mrs. Bailey,
bleacher, of Radcliffe.
Passing a turnpike, we turned on the left, and came to a part of the
village which runs curiously up two sides of a steep hill. We then came to
Stand, a village which is interesting no less from its scenery than from
being
Page 261.
the spot where rich Manchester merchants have built mansions, whose
solidity appropriately typifies the opulence of their owners. We thought
"the Park," the residence of Mark Philips, Esq., M.P. for Manchester,
eminently beautiful. For fine home views, with bold undulations of the
surface-undulations so harmoniously arranged as to excite a momentary
suspicion that they are artificial-we have seldom seen these grounds
surpassed. And great is the pleasure with which we record the fact, that
the venerable father of the "honest member" has spent a life extended
beyond the usual measure in a course of integrity and wise beneficence,
which have deservedly gained for him the respect of his equals, and the
esteem and heartfelt gratitude of the poor of his neighbourhood. A fact
may be named which redounds to his credit. The late ministry offered Mr.
Philips a baronetcy. He declined the honour, not only because he had no
ambition to gratify, but also lest the acceptance of it might, by any
possible misconstruction, tend to diminish the usefulness of his son as an
independent member of the legislature.
We followed the course of the Irwell, over rugged ground, but with that
lightness of step which lovely scenery always gives, and arrived at
Prestwich. A more picturesque spot we have rarely seen than "Prestwich
clough." A number of eminences throw up their finely rounded heads in well
arranged grouping, and through the midst runs a woody tangled glen. The
well-proportioned church stands just above the "clough," overlooking the
uplands from more than one spot, on which it appears to a great advantage,
as this picture shews. In the churchyard lie the remains of the beloved
wife of that
distinguished actor, Charles Young; who, during nearly thirty years, never
paid a professional visit to Manchester without resorting to the spot-a
pious pilgrimage in honour of the worthiest of beings, a worthy and loving
wife. Here also rests Henry Wyatt, interred not long since by two brother
artists, on a bright sunny day, the birds singing in the heavens; a
burial, such as a
Page 262.
true lover of art would desire. We noticed in the churchyard a curious
tombstone, bearing date A O D M I, 1611, which told us, "Here lyeth the
bodies of the children of Thomas Collier, Richard, Mary, John, and Martha;
who were buried between the 1st and 12th of December." The words are few,
their substance commonplace; yet twhat an amount of human feeling do they
imply; four children dead and buried within eleven days! That was a
mournful house. How much suffering of body on the part of the young, thus
swept away in the joy and vigour of the springtide of life: how much
distress of mind on the part of the parents, thus doomed to be suddenly
reft of those whom nature and affection had riveted to their heart.
Entering the venerable structure our eye fell on a mural monument, which
recorded the decease of one who reached "a good old age," serving his
Divine Master faithfully till his day's work was done, and the virtue of
his character was matured. The inscription tells a tale no less true than
honourable. "On the 22nd day of March, 1833, the Rev. James Lyon, M.A., of
Brasenose College, Oxford, completed the 50th year of his resident
incumbency as rector of this parish. In commemoration of which event, and
in testimony of the affectionate regard and attachment of his
parishioners, this tablet, erected by public subscription, is placed here
to record their estimation of a character distinguished alike for
simplicity of manners, and integrity of principle, by the peaceable and
conscientious discharge of his duties as a Christian pastor." The monument
is surmounted by a bust of the truly reverend man; and at the bottom he is
sculptured as administering the sacrament. The workmanship is well-
conceived, and chastely executed. Those who had been accustomed to see the
rector himself-his spare figure, his bland countenance, his few grey
hairs, his slightly bending frame, will not cease to be glad that they
find in this monument a means of perpetuating their recollections, and of
reviving their feelings. Nor is it easy to look on such a memorial without
feeling a satisfaction in the thought, that the moral beauty of those
features will, now that they are entrusted to the safe custody of marble,
pass down through many generations; and as they pass, inert and lifeless
though they are, silently but effectually tend to call forth, encourage,
and strengthen feelings in human hearts, congenial with those which that
look displays. And it is by holding and presenting to public view, in many
a monument, the ripened fruits of Christian holiness; as well as by
consecrating and perpetuating the sacred emotions of piety, charity, and
truth, for the furtherance of which they are designed,-that the churches
of this land of ours, England, (heart-thrilling word!) are to be held
among the best bequests of the past to the present; and cannot be
contemplated otherwise than with respectful regard by those who love
their country, or honour their faith with an enlightened and cultivated
mind. To us certainly this same village church of Prestwich has long been
an object of deep respect. In what various moods of feeling have we been
pleased to cast our eye upon its interesting outline. In
Page 263.
joy and in sorrow, in hope and despondency; with a heavy and with an
elastic step; at the earliest matin of the lark, and under the lengthened
shadows of departing day; we have been wont to greet Prestwich church. And
yet its exterior is easily surpassed. What then is the secret of the
charm? To us there is something in its proximity to a large and unsightly
city; it is the first truly rustic sight on which the eye, dimmed by the
smoke of Manchester, falls, as you pass on to the North. There is something
also in old and frequently renewed associations. The edifice serves as a
link to bind together different parts of our moral being. It serves also as
a memento of early as well as of recent emotions; early and recent, those
of the youth, and those of the mature man, all now, alas! irrevocably gone.
But chiefly is the church venerable from the holy purposes for which it is
designed, and the sacred results which it has secured. It is a Christian
church in a retired village of our own mother country.
We pursued the leading of the aforenamed cleft which brought us over many
a pretty view to Agecroft bridge, near which is Kersall Hall, a by no
means inconsiderable relic of the past. Every town and village at least in
these parts of the country have annual celebrations termed wakes. The
custom originated with the old religion of the country. Brand says, "it
has been an ancient custom among the people of this island to keep a feast
every year upon a certain week or day, in remembrance of the finishing of
the building of the parish church, and of the first solemn dedicating of
it to the service of God, and committing it to the protection of some
guardian saint or angel." As now observed, the wakes are scenes of riotous
festivity, accompanied by much gaudy show. They still subsist in vigorous
life, and serve to shew that there are cases in which evil has a better
tenure of existence than good. True, the wakes may be of use in
occasioning visits between scattered members of a family; but the low and
unworthy enjoyments which ensue are a great drawback, if they do not even
make the ill effects preponderate.
We found the railway train proceeding from Manchester to Bolton. The line
runs through the vale of the Irwell, which for several miles offers many
a pleasant resting-place for the eye. The scenery on the right hand is set
off by mansions and plantations which line and crown the sides of the
hills. The Park, Prestwich church, and the new church at Stand, come into
view in immediate succession, to engage and gratify the mind. As we
approached nigher to Bolton, other steam chimneys besides its own arose
before us; and at Ringley, and other places, coal-pits are numerous along
the line. It was curious to observe running side by side of each other
these methods of communication and intercourse-the river, the canal, and
the railway, not unfitly representing three very dissimilar and distant
states of society.
Reciprocity seems blended with Easter. In the rural parts of Yorkshire it
used to be customary for the young men on Easter Sunday to disburden their
sweethearts of their shoes. The compliment was returned by the girls the
Page 264.
next day. Wednesday brought restitution, but not unaccompanied with small
pecuniary penalties, which were expended in providing an entertainment
termed a tansey cake. A less poetic instance of reciprocity was that which
we find in the old, we hope now obsolete, usage, namely, that on Easter
Tuesday wives flogged their husbands, who on the following day flogged*
their wives. This " tit-for-tat" sort of observance we saw duly honoured
on Easter Monday between Radcliffe and Bolton.
A number of females surrounded a male, whom they mastered, and fairly
lifted aloft in the air. It was a merry scene. What humour in the faces of
these Lancashire witches. What a hearty laugh. What gratification in their
eyes! The next day would bring reprisals; the girls were then the party
subjected to this rude treatment.
Still rougher is the practise of what is designated stang-riding. When a
man is known to have been guilty of domestic unfaithfulness, he is seized by
some of his acquaintances, placed in a chair, fastened to a ladder, and
carried on men's shoulders up and down the place. Something of this kind
we saw ourselves in the present month of April, in a neighbouring town.
The wife of a dealer in potatoes and herrings became jealous, and
immediately a set of lads, urged on by the woman, procured two effigies
stuffed with straw, which they paraded about the streets, preceded by one
boy with a horn, and another beating an old can; some whistled and shouted,
whilst two others bore sticks with potatoes and herrings stuck on the top.
"Buck-thanging," a corruption of Buck-thwanging, is another Lancashire
punishment. The person is taken by the arms and feet, and lifted up and
down with occasional heavy bumps on the ground.
There is still another custom of this kind called "Packsheeting." When
two persons have been united in wedlock, if either party has had other
sweethearts, the unsuccessful are taken by their companions and tossed in
a wool packsheet, with a few hearty knocks on the ground purposely
inflicted, until the patients consent to pay a small fine to be spent for
the general good. This imposition is termed "paying socket."
The eve of All Fool's day is not without its appropriate rites, though the
custom we are about to mention is fast dying away. The amusements are,
tying fast the latch of the door, and blowing the fumes of burning
asafoetida through the keyhole, smearing the handle with tar, stopping the
chimneys with straw, etc. This time is, with good reason, called "mischief
night."
Bolton was given by William the Conqueror to Roger de Poictou. The parish
however is modern. It contains about 12,938 acres, lying in the hundred of
Salford. The town is said to be of Saxon origin. It suffered severely in
the civil wars. The principal trade is the cotton manufacture and
subsidiary branches, as bleaching, calico-printing, machine-making, etc.
There are in the parish above thirty coal mines. A lead mine is found at
Anglezark, and
* Durand, lib. vi. e. 86. Verberant is the word employed
in the Latin original.
Page 265.
Blackrod contains a sulphur spring. The public buildings are not numerous,
and the town in general has an air of substance rather than elegance.
The country for six miles round this town has undergone very considerable
improvements within the last few years, in common with the whole manufac-
turing district, of which Manchester may be considered the centre.
Villages have sprung up where there was not a dwelling, and hamlets have
become the seats of a dense population. Egerton, on the Walmsley side, is
an example of the first; as Farnworth and Halshaw Moor, on the Manchester
side, are of the second. Indeed, few of the circumjacent villages do not
shew an extraordinary increase. The result has been to introduce various
improvements in roads, bridges, institutions, churches, and chapels.
Some idea of the changes that have taken place in this district may be had
from this fact, that within six years new churches have been built by sub-
scription in the following places: at Astley Bridge; at Walmsley, a
beautiful structure in a most picturesque spot; at Turton, a handsome
building on the site of a former church, commanding an extensive view of
one of the most picturesque hill scenes in Lancashire; at Harwood, on the
north east; at Halliwell; not to name two or three others which are
projected within the same district in other directions.
In the town of Bolton itself a new church, Immanuel, has been opened on
Bolton Moor, Cannon-street, the history of which is creditable to the
vicar. A public subscription was opened to present him with some plate, as
a present for his services in the Sunday-school, etc., about four years
since. It soon amounted to six or seven hundred pounds, which he proposed
should be made the basis of a subscription for a new church. The plan was
speedily carried into effect, and a very good building, at the cost of
about 2000L., or less, has been consecrated and endowed. Large Sunday and
Infant schools are now erecting opposite to the church. The new churches
above mentioned, and several others in this town and neighbourhood, have
been benefited by a grant, made last year, out of the fund for the
improvement of small incomes, etc., under Lord John Russell's Bill. A new
ecclesiastical district has also just been apportioned, and published by
the Bishop of the diocese. It divides the whole borough into as many
districts as there are churches and chapelries, but not to take effect
during the life of the present vicar. Among the new churches we ought to
have mentioned Christchurch, formerly a chapel belonging to the Methodist
New Connexion, the minister of which conformed last year, and persuaded
his congregation to conform along with him. The chapel was mortgaged to
its value, and the father-in-law of the minister was its high-priest. No
new dissenting chapels have been opened for many years, but a splendid
Catholic chapel and schools are about erecting, and it is also reported
that a site is purchased for a Scotch chapel.
The chief alterations in the town, not noticed in former accounts, are
connected with the railway from Bolton to Preston, which was opened as far
Page 266.
as Chorley at Christmas. The first mile of it, from the junction with the
Manchester, Bolton and Bury Railway, is considered a fine specimen of
engineering skill. It runs through the south-west side of the town in a
curve, and crosses nine streets, under as many bridges. It is not a
tunnel, but open where it is possible at the top. The construction of the
roof of the bridges is much admired. They consist of cast iron beams, and
present a flat surface to the eye of the spectator, underneath. The only
stations are at Horwich, Chorley, and Euxton; at which latter place,
three-and-a-half miles beyond Chorley, it makes a junction with North Union
to Preston. The whole line is expected to be completed before the end of
this year. A tunnel of considerable depth, a mile north of Chorley, is
the part which remains to be completed. When this is finished, there will
be a direct line of railway due north to Lancaster, from Manchester to
Bolton.
We strolled into the churchyard, and copied the following inscription from
a gravestone-
"John Okey the servant of God was borne in London 1608 came to this towne
in 1629 married Mary daughter of James Crompton of Breightmet in 1635 with
whom he lived comfortably 2O years & begot 4 sons & 6 daughters since then
he has lived sole till the day of his death. In his time were many great
changes & terrible alterations 18 years of wars in England besides many
dreadfull sea fights the crown or command of England changed 8 times
episcopacy laid aside 14 yeares London burst by papists & more stately
builte againe. Germany wasted 300 miles. 200,000 protestant murdered in
Ireland by papists. This towne thrice stormed once and taken & plundered.
He went through through many terrible & divers condition found rest joy &
happiness only in holiness the faith fears and love of God in Jesus Christ.
He dyed the 29th of Ap & lieth here buried 1684.
Come Lord Jesus O come quickly.
After the death of this "servant of God," the great siege took place, when
the Earl of Derby stormed the town and dislodged the Republican troops.
This achievement was the cause of his being beheaded in the town. We give
a drawing of his execution taken from an old print. Lancashire bore no
mean part in the wars between Charles and the Parliament.
We have spoken in our notice of Wigan, of the gallant bearing of the Earl
of Derty in that place,* and also that of Knowsley, of his co-
* The following graphic account we transcribe from a rare work,
'A Description of the Memorable Sieges and Battles in the North
of England, that happened during the Civil War in 1642, 1643.
Bolton 1785.'His lordship had two horses killed under him, and
was seconded and remounted both times by his faithful servant,
a Frenchman, who then lost his life by his masters side; on the
third charge, upon the fall of Lord Withrington, his Lordship
mounted his horse, and being seconded by six gentlemen of his
party, fought his way through a great body of enemy into the
town; when his lordship quitting his horse, leapt in a door that
stood open, and immediately shut it before the enemy could reach
it, and the woman of the house kept it shut until such time that
his lordship was conveyed to a place of privacy, where he lay
concealed for many hours, notwithstanding the most industrious
search of the enemy.
"Of the six hundred (at beginning of the fight) gentlemen with
with his lordship, he lost at least the half, himself having
received seven shote upon his breastplate, and thirteen cuts
upon his beaver, which he wore over a cap of steel, which was
taken up the lane after the battle. He also received five or
six slight wounds in his arms and shoulders, but none very
dangerous. Perhaps this age has not seen or known an action of
greater bravery where 600 horse fought 3000 horse and foot, in
a disadvantageous place for two hours together, leaving 700 dead
upon the spot, besides the wounded, with the loss of 309 only."
p. 182.
Page 267.
demnation. An account of his capture the Earl gives in a deeply
interesting letter to his lady, then in the Isle of Man. "I escaped a great
danger at Wigan, but met with a worse at Worcester; being not so fortunate
as to meet with any one that would kill me, and thereby have put me out of
the reach of envy and malice. Lord Lauderdale and I having escaped, hired
horses, and falling into the enemy's hands were not thought worth killing,
but had quarter given us by one Edge, a Lancashire man."He adds with simple
pathos, "I thought myself happy in being sent prisoner to Chester, where I
might have the comfort of seeing my two daughters, and to find means of
sending to you; but I fear my coming here may cost me dear, unless
Almighty God, in whom I trust, will please to help me some other way: but
whatsoever come of me, I have peace in my own breast, and have no
discomfort at all but the afflictive sense I have of your grief, and that
of my poor children."
His progress from Chester to the seaffold at Bolton was attended by
numerous displays of respect, affection, and regrets. In the town the
people refused to strike a nail in preparation for the execution, which
was therefore delayed till late in the day. "On his going towards the
scaffold, the people cryed and prayed on every side." He calmly ascended
it, sat himself down, and began to address those who were assembled. On
his uttering the words, 'I die for God, the king, and the laws,' he was
interrupted by a brutal trooper, who exclaimed; 'We have no king, and will
have no lords.' A disturbance ensued, the soldiers fell upon the
spectators; and fearful of the consequences, the noble-minded Earl desisted
from speaking, and handed his papers to his servant, with a command that
he would make their contents known. The uproar
Page 268.
was now over. The Earl asked for his executioner, and extending his hand
for the axe, said, 'Come, friend, give it into my hands, I'll neither hurt
thee nor it; and it cannot hurt me, for I am not afraid of it.' He kissed
and returned the instrument. He asked to see the block; it was not ready:
lifting his eyes towards heaven, he said, 'How long, good Lord! how long?'
Giving the headsman two pieces of gold, he added, 'This is all I have,
take it and do thy work well, and when I am upon the block and lifting up
my hands, then do your business; but I fear your great coat will hinder or
trouble you, pray put it of.' Passing to the side where his coffin stood,
he saw one of his chaplains, and said, 'Sir, remember me to your brother
and friend. You see I am ready, but the block is not.' He then said, 'Good
people, I thank you for your prayers and your tears. I have heard the one
and seen the other.' He then desired the block to be turned towards the
church, declaring, 'I will look towards thy sanctuary while I am here, and
hope to live in the heavenly sanctuary for ever hereafter.' After this he
took off his doublet, and saying, 'how must I lie; I never saw any one's
head cut off, but I'll try how it fits,' laid himself down on the block,
and rising, bade the executioner 'do his work' with care. Imploring the
prayers of his friends who were near, and having made a short supplication
in private, he bowed himself and added? 'the Lord bless my wife and
children, and the Lord bless us all.' Finally he laid his neck on the
block, saying, 'blessed be God's holy name for ever and ever. Amen. Let
the whole earth be filled with his glory.' He gave the signal; his. head
was severed from his body; nothing was heard in the town but sighs, sobs,
and prayers.
When his body was laid in the coffin, there were thrown into it the
following lines by an unknown hand:
"Wit, bounty, courage; all three here in one lie dead,
A Stanley's hand, Vere's heart, and Cecill's head."
The next day his corpse was conveyed to Ormskirk, and there deposited with
his renowned ancestors, to mingle his ashes with theirs.*
As we passed down the main street in Bolton, we heard a tall, stout, clog-
footed man say to one who walked beside him, "Noa wonder he betrayed thee,
he is not jannock." Inquiring as to the meaning of the term jannock, he
informed us that it is a loaf made of oatmeal leavened; as this kind of
food is considered good and nutritious, the word has come to signify that
which is morally excellent; that which is sound, firm, unflinching; that
which is fair and honest. We may here mention another favourite Lancashire
edible, "Thar-cake," probably hearth-cake, which is made of oatmeal,
treacle, butter and seeds. In Yorkshire it is termed sweet-parkin.
The halls in this neighbourhood must have been numerous at the time of the
contest between the Stuarts and the Republicans. One of the regicides,
* This account is given from "A Description of the Sieges," etc.
before mentioned, which has also furnished us with the original
of our wood-cut of the execution.
Page 269.
Colonel Bradshaw, had a seat about one mile and a half north-east of the
town, at Bradshaw Chapel. This was not the place where he generally
resided. It might have fallen into his hands amid the confiscations of the
times. Bradshaw Hall is an interesting square building, with narrow windows
divided by stone mullions. The outbuildings have long been converted to
purposes more akin to the character of our own days and the vicinity in
which it stands, being devoted to the cotton trade. About twenty years ago
they were bleach works, but now the block and cylinder printing trade is
carried on in them to a great extent. The occupants are Messrs. Bitcham
and Callender.
Hall-in-the-Wood (formerly the seat of the Starkies), one mile from
Bolton, is at present used as a farm-house and cottages. It is a good
specimen of the Elizabethan style of architecture, and has been taken as a
model for modern buildings of that school.
We proceeded, as previously advised, to a spot termed after the true
Lancashire fashion, Back o' th' Bank," and certainly found the view very
good, but too large for our purpose. It would make a fine panorama in a
picture. At a short distance we saw a hall standing on a bold piece of
rocky ground. The position is admirable, and the approach to it very
picturesque. After following a green shady lane for about a mile, we
descended a steep hill, at the bottom of which is an avenue of trees; on
the right a wide stream of water, and on the left broken ground, covered
with briers and fern. The stream is crossed by a long wooden bridge, just
wide enough for a horse to pass. The principal feature in the house from
this point is a large bow-window, with mouldings, balls, and other
ornaments, of a later date than the house itself.
The hall is a superior
specimen of the half-timbered style. The road up
to the house appears to have been cut from the
solid rock, is very steep and circuitous; but we
were well repaid for our trouble. The oldest part
of the edifice which we here shew, seems never to
have suffered by improvements of any kind; no
square sash windows in apertures which should
contain leaded lights, although the square entrance, with its stone-
mullioned
Page 270.
windows, has evidently been built since the original erection of the house
itself. There is here a stack of chimneys consisting of three square
shafts, placed lozengeways, with a bold moulding on the top. We direct the
reader's eye to a very wide window, having twenty-four lights. This is
called Crompton's window; the open part shews where his bench was. In that
room one of the greatest improvements was devised and effected in the
spinning of cotton. Samuel Crompton, residing in this old part of Hall-in-
the-Wood, there invented the mule, a machine so called from combining the
principles of the spinning-jenny and the water-frame.* That window and that
room cannot be regarded without a deep interest. Of how many human beings
did the lives and fortunes hang in suspense, as the thoughts and expedients
of Crompton's mind there came, went, trembled, grew firm, and finally were
carried into effect. We regard the spot as one far more interesting than
the sanguinary battle-fields on which our fellow-creatures have been so
often immolated, wives widowed, children orphaned, the resources of nations
destroyed, to gratify the caprice of demented rulers, or serve the purposes
of individual ambition.
We could not discover any date on the hall or arms. In a panel over the
arch is a sundial, and below it a labelled window of eight lights. From
the door we enjoyed a beautiful view of Bolton and the surrounding
country. In the garden we found some fine beech trees; one very high, and
almost perfect in shape, below which is an old stump of a tree used for a
seat. With the exception of this beech, the trees are small. The hall
stands at the northern extremity of the township of Tonge, and was once
the seat of the Norrises.
Proceeding out of Bolton in a northerly direction, we passed through
Astley Bridge, and having Smithills Hall on our left, Sharples and
Bradshaw Hall on our right, soon became aware of making our way into an
elevated region. Turning off the road and keeping onward for about two
miles, we came to the object of our search-Turton Tower. Turton is a
large-township within the parish of Bolton. The prospects throughout the
district are extensive, and often romantic. A large hill, called Turton
Height, runs nearly through it, dividing it into two parts. This hill is
seen from a considerable distance; and from several spots on its summit we
enjoyed some fine prospects. The whole township was given by William the
Conqueror to a person named Orrell, as a reward for military services. One
of that family built Turton Tower, and gave the workmen a penny a day
each. The expense, it is said, was so exorbitant as to cripple the Orrell
family, and they were never able to recover from its effects. After many
struggles, they first mortgaged the township, and subsequently sold it to
the celebrated Humphrey Chetham, in whose honour it has long been, and is
still contemplated to erect a monument on these heights. Few worthies of
past ages are more deserving of the distinction. Several of the Orrells
still reside in the neighbourhood.
* See page 46.
Page 271.
It was late in the evening when we came near the tower. We found the
scenery in its immediate vicinity eminently picturesque. The country is
mostly moorland, with a few sheep nibbling here and there. A tall chimney
rising occasionally in the vales had a curious effect. We had the
gratification of beholding a fine sunset here. The hills in the extreme
distance wore a beautiful crimson colour; the middle parts were in deep
brown, with a few purple tints from the heath. The tower was lighted up by
the sun, and had its appearance much improved, as the black of the timbers
was mellowed, and the cold white plaster warmed. The harsh, crude effect
which houses of this kind in the North present was thus destroyed. Turton
Tower is a fine old turreted building, with a farmhouse adjoining. Its
square form gives a great appearance of solidity to the whole of the
building. A part has been restored by the present proprietor, but with
strict regard to the original style of architecture. The same taste is
displayed in the restorations within. It has one fine and noble old room,
in which the only furniture some time since-a friend informs us-was a
large and heavy old coffer, lined inside with iron, respecting which
various tales have been told. At present the place is well and
appropriately furnished. There is a tradition of its being haunted. It is
now in the possession of James Kay, Esq., formerly of Pendleton near Man-
chester, who purchased it of Messrs. Hoare. Mr. Kay has fitted up the
place in a very judicious and liberal manner, and makes it his residence.
The door
at the main entrance is of massive oak, with long hinges and large nails:
a sort of portlet in it serves for the ordinary purposes of ingress and
egress. In the entrance-hall the eye is arrested by two large bronzed
figures on pedestals,
Page 272.
and a fine old chair or porter's seat. The dining-room we found
wainscoted; the panels over the chimney-piece are very deep. What most
struck us was a splendid sideboard of carved oak. All the furniture and
adornments here, even to the paper on the walls, are in character with the
style of the building. A noble staircase, with banisters in the boldest
fashion of polished oak, conducted us up stairs. We were highly gratified
on entering the drawing-room. It appears in our engraving with a window
open. It has now a very different appearance from that which it wore when
our friend saw it with an old chest for its sole furniture. A most
beautiful ceiling here has been well restored. It is a series of panels in
the Elizabethan manner, worked in a bold and flowing style of tracery. In
the centre of every alternate panel there is an elegant pointed pendent,
about eighteen inches long. The cornice also is very rich. The walls are
paneled in a correspondingly noble manner. Cabinets, tables covered with
articles of vertu', all of oak and richly carved, together with oak
chairs, high-backed and set off with crimson damask, conspire to enhance
the singular beauty of this apartment. We next entered what is termed
"Humphrey Chetham's room," in which we saw the finest old bedstead that
our eyes were ever gratified with a sight of, bearing date 1593. It is of
massive carved oak. The posts are cut in gorgeous patterns, and contain
each in the pedestal at the bottom a sort of capacious cupboard or press.
At the head is a handsome carved ornament, supported by caryatides
beautifully sculptured. We can find room only to specify "Ann Chetham's
boudoir," with its carved oak ceiling, oak octagon loo-table (what a rich
pillar!) Gothic chairs, bearing Mr. Kay's crest, a griffin with a key,
another handsome antique bedstead, etc.
How different a scene does the place present under the care of its present
estimable owner from what it bore no long time ago, when it was
appropriated, as it had been for many years, to the uncongenial purposes
of an ordinary farmhouse.
About half a mile from the town is a village named Chapel Town, in which
an annual fair for cattle is held-too commonly a scene of very great
disorder.
A little above Chapel Town an immense reservoir has recently been formed,
as a feeder for different mills between there and Manchester. Though
lying partly in Turton it goes by the name of the Entwistle reservoir.
On the south side of Turton height we saw some remains of a Roman road. A
friend had traced it for several miles. It appears as if it came from Man-
chester, and stretches forward in a direction between Preston and Ormskirk.
Within about 200 yards of this road in Turton-higher-end, a resident,
whilst draining, found about thirty years ago, a curious relic in copper,
shaped something like an axe, which an antiquary of our acquaintance
immediately recognised to be the head of an old British standard. Its
weight is fourteen ounces and a half; it was evidently heavier when
perfect, as the ring on its side, through which the cord of the flag ran,
is broken off, and the lower end of the double groove has been also
mutilated.
Page 273.
On Turton Height, and on the south-east end of it, is a large sheep
pasture, which is named Chetham's Close. Nearly on the summit of this
close, but inclining to the north east, are the remains of a Bardic
temple, the diameter of which is about seventeen yards. There are only six
stones of the circle remaining, and these are sorely mutilated. The circle
is as perfect as if traced by the compass; and, what is rather singular,
an upright stone stands about thirty-seven yards, nearly east, from its
outward range; and another about seventeen yards, due south.
An account has been given to the publics of the Scull House, otherwise
Timberbottom, in Turton. We went thither, and examined the skulls. One of
them is much mutilated, but the other is whole, with the exception of the
left side, which is cut through as if by a blow from an axe. The farmer's
wife told us that they are obliged to keep these skulls in the house in
order to have peace; that the said skulls have been buried in Bradshaw
chapel yard, and even thrown into the adjacent river, but that they were
compelled to bring them back; for that whenever they were sent away, there
was no rest in the house on account of frightful noises; as soon however as
the skulls return, quiet is restored. The owner of the skull that is cut,
doubtless met with an untimely end; but whether in battle or by wilful
murder no one now can pretend to say.
There used to exist in Turton an edifice called Egerton Hall, but it has
been pulled down, and the remains of it converted into a modern cottage.
Curious tales are told in the neighbourhood about its being infested by
some unearthly being-an old lady dressed in silk, who passes generally
under the appellation of Old Madam. On the Egerton estate, Mr. Novelli, of
Manchester, built a large cotton-mill, and a handsome house in the French
style of architecture, named Egerton Hall. It is now the property and seat
of Edmund Ashworth, Esq. The works here are considered very superior. The
watermill is one of the largest in the county. The masters deserve high
commendation for encouraging schools and rational pursuits among their
work-people. The scenery in this direction, comprehending Belmont, where
the edges are which supply Bolton with excellent water, and the before-
mentioned reservoir, a lake a mile long, comprehending also the valley of
Hulton and the Turton Heights, together with the intervening lowlands, can
scarcely be exceeded for picturesque effect by any scenery of a similar
kind.
In pulling down an old church chapel in Turton, about five years ago, the
workmen came to a sort of grave, about half a yard square, surrounded with
upright flags and covered with a large stone. Within were a few bones that
had been subject to the action of fire. This probably was the grave of some
old British chief.
We had an agreeable ride in the morning on our return to Bolton, from
Turton tower. It was market-day for cattle in Bolton, and through our
* Roby's Traditions of Lancashire.
Page 274.
ignorance of the town we found we had to take our breakfast in company
with a number of dealers in 'live stock.' Hunger, after a cold ride,
pressed too much to allow us to be over particular, and so we were
compelled to make up for any deficiency in companions by doing justice to
the fare, which, in sooth, was not despicable. The quantity too at first
seemed abundant; but when drover after drover came in, and, to use the
Lancashire phrase, 'fell to,' the disappearances were far swifter than
the supplies. The men were as eager and as devouring as one of their own
bulls fresh from the mountains. The prospect at one time was alarming;
however, by patience, and importunity with 'mine host,' we contrived to
make a breakfast.
These cattle dealers are a hardy, free-spirited, and to some extent, fine-
hearted set of men. Some of them possess considerable substance; and here
and there one affects airs of something like gentility. This, however, is
a hazardous attempt, for the weight of ridicule which any such aspirant
has at first to bear would crush ordinary shoulders. Their mode of life,
in riding up and down the country buying and selling cattle, exposed to
all kinds of weather, mingling incessantly with various sorts of men,
always chaffering, bargaining, and sharpening their wits by assault or
defence in the warfare of words, has a tendency to create a 'free and
easy' kind of character, with high animal spirits and robust health. And
then for their patois, it is motley indeed, made up of all the local
peculiarities of the rural districts and town-market phraseology, in the
midst of which they have been born and bred. Scarcely more than one-half
that passed between these men at the breakfast table could a friend of
ours comprehend.
From Bolton we proceeded to Smithills Hall, at present the seat of Peter
Ainsworth, Esq., M.P. for Bolton. It is rendered celebrated by having
secreted George Marsh, commonly termed The Martyr. Curiosity led us to
survey the print said to have been made in a stone floor, at the bottom of
the staircase, by the stamp of his foot. We saw an impression certainly,
but if produced as is asserted, the worthy man must have had a foot of no
common length. Some of Marsh's descendants still live in Turton. The hall
has an interesting, not to say elegant appearance.
Our way lay through Doffcocker, where we saw a neat new stone church. In a
short time we were at Lostock. The tower lies about a mile from the
turnpike road. The only entire portion that remains is the gateway shewn
in the engraving. It consists of brick and stone, with bold stone
mouldings and string courses. The windows are very large, having stone
mullions. Over the upper window is a deep panel bearing a coat of arms.
The front bears the date 1591. Over the door on an iron plate are the
letters SFA with the date 1702-obviously modern. Its present occupant is a
farmer, who has partly built up the entrance arch on each side of it.
Parts of it are covered with ivy. No architectural chimneys are now to be
seen, but there are relics and marks which shew where they once were. The
style in which the front