Heywood Notes & Queries
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HEYWOOD NOTES & QUERIES. (Reprinted from the "Heywood Advertiser .") CONDUCTED BY . A. GREEN . VOL. I .] [No. I . { ribav, 3 rnuar 13th, 1905. These Notes and Queries are intended as a means of communication between persons in- terested in the bygones of Heywood and dis- trict . The present times, however, will not be neglected, as we shall welcome any items of interest . Notes on local worthies, past events, paragraphs from old papers, folk-lore, epitaphs, .and poems will be most acceptable . Old Heywoodites who are squandered about the world may send us their recollections of old days and descriptions of their present snr- reundings . Such notes are sure to be perused with sympathetic interest by readers of our Notes and Queries . 2 NOTES. We think it a fitting opening to reprint the following homely poem by the late John Hey- wood, who also wrote several hymns accom- panied by his own tunes . The best known is "Sabbath schools are England's glory," which bas achieved a wide reputation . A fuller note ork the author may be written for a future number . [1 .]-ST . LUKE'S OLD CHURCH . By JOHN HEYWOOD . Some fifty years it's been my lot, To pass life's somewhat chequered scene, A little distance from the spot Where lately stood, with modest mien, St . Luke's Old Church . No lofty spire sprang from its base, No Gothic sculpture marked its walls ; Yet much I loved the humble place, For first I heard sweet gospel calls In that Old Church . It's Sabbath bell, with usage meet- Calling for worship to prepare- Has seemed to bid my willing feet To enter oft, for praise and prayer, St . Luke's Old Church . The holy vow from humble heart Uplifted by a prayerful tongue, Has often made the tear to start When Heaven's high praises have been sung In that Old Church . How oft on Old December's Eve Thy bell hath toli'd a farewell note- The waning year has made me grieve, While all my soul was wrapt in thought In that Old Church . Beside my door in thoughtful mood I heard the knell of '59- Knell of the parting year-I stood, Regretting that 'twos also thine* St . Luke's Old Church . I grieve to see a noble tree Uprooted from its native earth, Nor could I less regret to see, Thy walls thrown down as little worth St . Luke's Old Church . S But many relics which exist In cottage homes I love to see- . 7 A picture, cupboard, shelf, or chest, As heirlooms of respect for theet St . Luke's Old Church . Nor can I disregard the dust Which "rests in hope" of full reward- The silent dead, whose hope and trust Was firmly fixed in Christ their Lord- Now buried here . Here sleep the generations passed ;** The men who toiled in days of yore- Who courted wealth, or honour chased, Or clothed and fed the village poor- Rest in this yard . Twelve years have only run their round And swell'd the tide of years before, Since one was laid beneath the ground Whose fame was known in village lore, Near this churchyard. His homestead was a whiten'd cot, Well stored with birds of varied hue ; Where loitering schoolboys often sought To take a stol'u, yet welcome, view, Near this churchyard . On summer days I've often stroll'd Under the hawthorn's welcome shade, '+ Noting the newly-shifted mould, 'Neath which some friend had just been laid In this churchyard . Fond mem'ry still recalls the scenes Of bounding joy or deep distress Which, alternating, were the means My spirits to lighten or depress i In this churchyard . What though no "Village Hampden's" grave May grace the dust around the place ; Or hero proud, or warrior brave, Engraved on headstone now we trace, In this churchyard. Yet, here rest those whose virtuous worth Was honour'd, ere they came to die,- Whose ardent faith and love of truth Were proved by those who near them lie, In this churchyard . 1 4 Here sleep in peace the pious dead, Here too could I contented rest, With those I lov'd to lay my head, And with their blessing to be blest In this churchyard. Let others, who are fond of change, Expatiate in all things new ; My thoughts will still delight to range With those who lov'd, however few, St. Luke's Old Church . *It was for a long time customary for the bell of St . Luke's to ring from a quarter to twelve to a quarter past on New Year's Eve, and it thus rang for the last time on New Year's Eve, 1859 . ±Many parishioners secured portions of wood when the Church was taken down, and had various articles of furniture made from them . **There are 37,915 interments registered in the burial registers of St . Luke's Church . 'The writer well remembers a large haw- thorn which formerly grew at the east end of the churchyard, and distinctly recollects stand- ing by the side of it in the year 1812, when a mob passed along Church-street on their way to the Middleton fight . [2 .]-AN OLD H EYWOOD WORTHY was Josiah Nuttall, naturalist, or ornithologist as he fondly called himself . His excellence as a taxidermist attracted the notice of William Bullock, the renowned Mexican traveller and naturalist, who had a museum at Liverpool about 1810. 11r. Bullock engaged Josiah as "'bird stuffer," and his great skill in giving a life-like appearance to any bird he preserved brought him the notice of Royalty. After the dispersal of Mr. Bullock's collection Mr . Nut- tall remained in Liverpool till he had realised a competency, when he retired to his native - town, where he settled next door to the Queen Anne Inn, Heywood . He possessed a good collection of British and foreign birds, which was a great attraction to residents and visi- tors . Leo H . Grindon, in a passage comment- ing on the longevity of naturalists, names Josiah Nuttall of Heywood as an instance . As Mr. Nuttall grew older he devoted much time s to reading, and, after various attempts at writ- ing in metre, at last persuaded himself that he was a poet . He wrote in ten cantos "A wild rhapsody and incoherent remonstrance, abruptly written on seeing Haydon's cele- brated picture of Belshazzar's Feast ." Hey- wood : 1845 . 8vo., pp . 140 . There is a copy of this curious work in the Manchester Refer- ence Library. The author himself calls the papers "uncouth and unique," and, to be ap- preciated, he would require a reader as deter- mined as Charles Lamb, who blessed his star for a taste so catholic that he could read almost anything . Nuttall died at Heywood, September 6th, 1849, aged 78. John Heywood referred to Nuttalt in his poem on St . Luke's Old Church in the ten lines commencing : "Twelve years have only run their round ." J . A. GREEN. [3.]-HEXWOOD'S LARGEST MAN . In the "Heywood Advertiser" of July 25th, 1890, it is stated that "last Friday there died at Mine-street, Hooley Bridge, James Ash- worth, who had gained for himself the notoriety of being the largest man in Hey- wood. He was 60 years of age, and a tarter by trade ; and his weight was nearly 20 score (28 stone) . His coffin, which was of polished oak, measured 6ft . Tin . long, 2ft. Tin . wide, and lft. 111n. deep. The interment took place at Bamford Chapel, and was witnessed by a large number of persons . Mr . J. Twelves was the undertaker ." I QUERIES. r [4.]-FIRE AT THE CANAL WHARF . I Will some reader of Heywood Notes and k Queries kindly give me the particulars of the dir-astrous fire at the Canal Wharf which took 0 place about 1S70 ; the extent - of the damage, and the length of time during which the fire burned? ALTS VOLO. 6 [5.]-REV . CHARLES ELY . I possess a copy of "A sermon, preached in the Independent Chapel, at Bury, in Lanca- sbire, December 24th, 1797, on the death of Mrs. Mary Chadwick, aged 36 years . By Charles Ely . Bury : 1798." Is anything known of the author? J . A . GEEEN . [6.]-WOLF AT LARGE IN HEYWOOD. The scare caused recently by the exploits of the Hexham wolf has excited various corre- spondents to relate other stories of animals escaping from menageries . I have some recol- lection of a wolf escaping from a travelling menagerie in Heywood aver twenty years ago . I should be glad to have an account of this incident. G. J . 7 Aftthai, 3anitnrg 27th, 1905. NOTES. [7.]_MIDDLETON FIGHT, 1812 . "Middleton Fight," which is referred to in one of the footnotes to Mr. Heywood's poem on St . Luke's Old Church, is graphically des- cribed in "Early Days" by Samuel Bamford. This work was printed by John Heywood, Market-street, Heywood, in 1849. Bamford was working in Manchester at the time of the fight,, but as he lived in Middleton he was able to get full particulars of the riot . He gives 20th of April, 181.2, as the date of the fight, which was renewed the day after, and much loss of life and property resulted . The following extract from the account of the second day's fight shows the murderous inten- tion of the rioters :- "On my way to Middleton that evening, I met individuals on the road who were re- turning to Manchester with fragments of picture frames and mahogany goods in their hands .