Bulletin Vol 51 No 1

Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin

Volume 51 Number 1 2021

Bulletin of the Saddleworth Historical Society

Volume 51 Number 1 2021

The Whiteheads of Dobcross - A Family of Painters and Congregationalists - Part 1 1 Phil Wild

War and Wrecks - Delph Man’s Exciting Seafaring Experiences 25 Neil Barrow

Newspaper Extracts 32 Howard Lambert

Cover Illustration: Sandy Lane Congregational Church, Dobcross, Architect’s Drawing, c.1869. (SHS Archives, H/D.CONG/1)

Edited by Mike Buckley Printed by Taylor & Clifton, Uppermill

© 2021 Saddleworth Historical Society and individual contributors and creators of images.

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ii THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS - A FAMILY OF PAINTERS AND CONGREGATIONALISTS - PART 1 Phil Wild In March 1844 my great (x5) grandfather, John Whitehead, Plasterer, died in Dobcross, at the age of 80. He was baptised on 21st August 1763 in St Chad’s Church, Saddleworth, the son of Robert Whitehead, Clothier, and Sarah his wife of Hill End, Delph. This article explores the background to his family and the several generations of Dobcross painters and plasterers in the firm that he and his son established. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY BACKGROUND The Whiteheads of Delph were an important Saddleworth family and could trace their lineage back to the era of Henry VIII. The first mention of the Whiteheads in connection with Delph was a survey of Roche Abbey’s property taken by Henry VIII in 1535 where it was recorded that Henry Whitehead was bailiff of the Abbey’s land at Hillbrighthope (Friarmere) and that he was paid 20s annually for his services.1 Another survey taken after the Dissolution in 1539 gives more details of the Friarmere tenants and their holdings. Among these it was recorded that ‘Henry Whitehede holds a tenement in the territory of Hillbrighthope called the Delfe, and a moiety of the stone quarry there called Blackstone Delf ... by indenture under the common seal of the said late monastery dated the seventh day of September, in the year of our lord 1526, for the term of 30 years.’ 2 He paid an annual rental of 23s for his tenement and 8s for his mining rights to half of the Delph quarry. Another member of the family, Ralph Whitehead, paid 10s annually for half of a pasture called Knothill. Quarrying bakestones was an ancient industry centred on Delph.3 Evidence for the industry can be found as early as the fourteenth century in the 1377 Poll Tax return where Robert Lasceles is recorded as constable and William Bakstoneman and Robert Bakstoneman, as ‘honest men’ (probably assistant collectors) of the town of Qwyk.4 It is conceivable that at least one of these men was a distant Whitehead ancestor of Henry Whitehead who had the rights to extract these stones 150 years or so later. Following the Dissolution, Arthur Assheton of Rochdale purchased Friarmere from the Crown 5 and the will of his son, William Assheton, in 1583, mentions his Delph tenants as Rauffe Whitehead, Eliza Whitehead and Robert Whitehead. The Assheton holdings in Friarmere were sold in 1617 by Arthur Assheton’s grandson, Theophilus Assheton, a lawyer of Gray’s Inn, London, and most of the leasehold tenants availed themselves of this rare opportunity to purchase their freeholds. Among them was Henry Whitehead, likely grandson (or great grandson of Henry Whitehead in 1539) who purchased ‘the Delfe’, for £200. See Pedigree A.

1 J. Caley and J. Hunter (eds), Record Commission, Valor Ecclesiasticus, (London, 1825) Vol. 5, p. 41; The National Archives (TNA), E 344/21/7. 2 J. M. Hunt, ‘Henry VIII Grant of Friarmere to Arthur Assheton 5th June 1543’, SHSB, Vol. 16, No. 2, (Summer 1986), p. 22. 3 Delph takes its name from ‘Delf’ - an old English term for a quarry. Bakestones were fired, flat heat-retentive stones, they were placed on fires or in ovens to make traditional oatcakes, muffins or ‘havercakes’, which were staples in Saddleworth diets for centuries. Beckett Whitehead asserts that the expertise for the industry was brought via Roche Abbey, Oldham Chronicle, 21 April 1962. 4 TNA, E 179/206/44/26. 5 J. M. Hunt, ‘Henry VIII Grant of Friarmere to Arthur Assheton 5 June 1543’, Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin (SHSB), Vol. 16, No. 2, (Summer 1986), pp. 22-5.

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In the Almondbury Court Leet of 1632 this Henry Whitehead was appointed as a ‘neighbour’, responsible for presenting misdemeanors to the Court.6 Following his purchase of Delph he added to his holdings by acquiring an adjoining manorial property from Sir John Ramsden in 1636; this was later to become known as Delph Barn and was enclosed pasture land, with a barn, which he had apparently formerly leased. He also acquired the freehold of part of Knotthill (Woodhouse) and possibly the lease on another part (Woodmans). It is also possible that he had leased another manorial tenement adjacent to the Delph Barn estate, then referred to as Brownknotthill, but later known as Dale. Figure 1 illustrates these various properties.

Mike Buckley

Figure 1. Seventeenth Century Estates in Delph. The birth of Henry’s sons spanned many decades and at least two wives, and when he wrote his will in 1648, he described himself as ‘ancient in years.’ Henry’s eventual death occurred during the Interregnum period after the execution of King Charles I and his will was proved in 1651 in London.7 He left ‘the Delfe’ to his eldest son, Ralph Whitehead, but he stipulated conditions by a codicil to his will, as follows: ‘I Henry Whitehead bynd the said Raphe Whytehead my son and heire by this my last will and testament to buyld as good an house in every respect as hee now dwelleth in for the use of all his brethren for their use for ever.’ He had earlier settled Woodhouse on his youngest son Daniel, then in his infancy, in 1639 8 and Brownknothill (Delph Barn) on his son Richard in 1644.9 The will indicates that he had built ‘one Mancion and dwellinge house standinge and beeinge uppon the premisses’. He had possibly also earlier assigned the lease on Woodmans to another son John. See Pedigree B.

6 P. Hurst (ed), ‘Extracts for Quick and Saddleworth from Almondbury Court Rolls (1627-1760)’, B1/m7 - 23 October 1632, Sadelworth, Garsomes, Rents and Gould, (Privately Printed, 2011), p. 37. 7 TNA, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1651, PROB 10/732. 8 Deed of Feoffment dated 17 September 1639 recited in the will. 9 Deed of Feoffment dated 21 May 1644 recited in Sandbed deeds. See Saddleworth Historical Society Archives (SHSA), H/JH/Delph Barn; Abstract of Sandbed deeds of Mr Williamson, H/JH/Delph Barn.

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THE WHITEHEADS OF DELPH BARN Henry’s son, Richard Whitehead died only a few years after his father, his will being proved in 1656. In the will he left all his property to his eldest son Richard (Junior), not least because his other sons had not yet reached adulthood. Under the terms of the will, however, the estate profits were to be charged for ten years for the maintenance and upbringing of all his (unnamed) children and, upon reaching the age of 21, these children were each to be given the sum of £20 by their eldest brother.10 Richard (Junior) subsequently transferred the Delph Barn estate to a younger brother James Whitehead in 1671.11 The leasehold tenement at Dale appears to have been occupied after the father’s death by another son John and Richard’s widow Anne.12 In 1677 the said John Whitehead, husbandman, purchased the freehold of an intake on Harrop Edge, measuring 1 acre, 1 rood and 20 perches, from James Farrer for £2- 15s, to adjoin his neighbouring leasehold tenement at Dale.13 In 1689, described as John Whitehead of Browne-knothill, yeoman, aged 49 years, he deposed in a chancery case concerning bakestone rights.14 His brother, James Whitehead, the inheritor of Delph Barn, earlier in 1675, had also purchased an intake on Harrop Edge which adjoined that purchased by John.15 The two intakes together formed what was to become a new settlement at Sandbed. With his brother John, James was also a witness in the 1689 chancery case concerning bakestone rights and was there described as James Whitehead of Delf, blacksmith, aged 45 years. He testifies that he lived ‘very near to the messuage and lands called Delf.’ The occupation of blacksmith was also followed by his second son Henry who later moved to carry on this trade at Dobcross. James died in 1701 and his will was proved on 24th May of that year. His descendants occupied Delph Barn estate throughout the next century and John Whitehead, the head of the family in 1745, was a prime mover in the building of Delph Independent Chapel on the Delph Barn estate.16 The family remained staunch Congregationalists throughout the eighteenth century. See Pedigree C. THE WHITEHEADS OF DALE As noted above, my great (x6) grandfather, Robert Whitehead, Clothier, and Sarah, his wife occupied one of the cottages at Hill End, which formed part of his second cousin John Whitehead (d.1776)’s estate in Delph Barn. Being the youngest of at least nine children born to his father James Whitehead, the laws of primogeniture meant that Robert had no claim to his father’s freehold land at Harrop Edge or his manorial tenement at Dale, which passed to his eldest brother, John Whitehead. Even though John died without issue in 1780, Robert, as one of his executors, was then bound by the terms of his brother’s will to ensure the land at Dale and the freehold at Sandbed passed to his nephew, Henry Whitehead, the illegitimate son of his sister Anna Whitehead (Pedigree D).17 Henry’s biological father was the infamous

10 TNA, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Will, 1657, PROB 10/868. 11 Deed of Feoffment dated 14 Feb 1671 recited in Sandbed deeds, H/JH/Delph Barn. 12 John Whitehead paid tax on 2 hearth in 1664 but from 1666-1672 the tax was paid by Anne Whithead. As ‘Anne Whitehead de Delf, vid’ in 1669 she was assessed for tithe on 1a 1r 0p of oats. For details of the Dale tenement see M. Buckley, D. Harrison, V. Khadem, A. Petford and J. Widdall (eds), Mapping Saddleworth, Vol. 2, (Uppermill, 2010), p. 38 & p. 90. 13 SHSA, H/JH/Delph Barn. Indenture dated 7 December 1677. 14 TNA, C 22/290/45. 15 SHSA, H/JH/Delph Barn. Indenture dated 15 July 1675 recited in a deed of 6 & 7 May 1772 between John Whitehead, of Delph, clothier, and Patience, his wife, and the The Governors of Queen Anne’s Bounty. 16 Mike Buckley, ‘Delph Independent Chapel: An Account and Some Historical Notes’. SHSB, Vol. 50, No. 3 (2020), p. 89. 17 Lancashire Archives (LA), WCW Supra 1780.

3 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS philanderer Abel Buckley, of Stones, at least eleven of whose progeny were baptised out of wedlock to at least four different mothers.18 Born at Hill End, Delph, in 1763, John Whitehead was the youngest son of Robert and accordingly had no tenement or land interests to inherit from his father. It is not clear to what trade John was apprenticed. Control of the local bakestone industry had long since passed out of the family, so it is probable he would have followed the long established pattern in Saddleworth of becoming a clothier. At the time of his marriage to Mary Lawton in St Chad’s on 8th December 1788 the register entries were so sparse that the only details recorded were the names of the marriage parties and witnesses.19 Both parties and their witnesses applied their respective marks to the register. It is possible that John and Mary Whitehead remained as tenants at Hill End after their marriage but they may have found it necessary to move on in search of a new home for their expanding family. By the late eighteenth century, unfortunately, the name of John Whitehead was so prolific in Saddleworth that it is difficult to ascertain the offspring of John and Mary with any certainty. Baptisms at St Thomas, Friarmere of two children, Betty and John Whitehead can be identified with reasonable certainty, but again, the father’s occupation was not recorded. A likely brother, Henry Whitehead, served with 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards between 1816 and 1824. Betty Whitehead was probably born in 1796 at Hulwood and her brother, John born in 1805 in Delph. It was John who established a family trade in painting and decorating and settled his home and business in Dobcross. See Pedigree E. THE PAINTING AND PLASTERING TRADE - JOHN WHITEHEAD & SONS ‘John Whitehead, aged 75, Plasterer’ was recorded in the 1841 census of Dobcross, almost certainly employed in his son, John’s business. His residence was a property in the centre of Dobcross. Residing with him were four Whitehead grandsons: Henry (illegitimate son of his daughter Betty), aged 15; Plasterer’s Apprentice, Robert, aged 12; William, aged 10 and James, aged 8. It is evident that the premises afforded insufficient room to accommodate all the family as ‘John Whitehead, aged 35, Plasterer’, was recorded in a separate property on Platt Lane with infant sons, Thomas and Henry, whilst ‘Mary Whitehead, aged 35, Baker’, presumed to have been John’s wife, was billeted on her own in a different property on Woods Lane.20 John Whitehead (Junior) had married Mary Wood in St Chad’s on 19 July 1824, witnessed by John’s sister, Betty Whitehead. All three were illiterate and applied their respective marks to the register. The banns of their marriage indicate that John was still resident in Delph and Mary was from Mytham.21 Subsequent entries in St Chad baptism registers for all their twelve children record John Whitehead’s trade as a Plasterer and abode as Dobcross. John Whitehead (Junior) must have observed the rapid growth in prosperity in Dobcross and had sufficient entrepreneurial acumen to identify opportunity to diversify into a new trade. The Industrial Revolution and the expansion of village accommodation, both domestic and commercial, would have varied the nature of building methods from the vernacular use of stone to more extensive use of bricks and, as such, expanded the need for plastering skills. It is not clear how and from whom he learned his trade. Writing around 1910, Joseph Thornton wrote of John Whitehead:

18 J. Radcliffe (ed.), Parish Registers of St Chad, Saddleworth, 1613 - 1751, (Uppermill, 1887), p. 204. 19 J. Radcliffe, Saddleworth Church Registers, 1751 - 1799, (Uppermill, 1891), p. 90. 20 TNA, 1841 Census, HO107, 1279/4, pp. 42, 45 & 52. 21 Ancestry.com, Manchester C. of E. Marriages and Banns (1754-1930), O9/1/6/1,911 and O9/1/3/8,909 (accessed online 15 Nov 2018).

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‘John Whitehead was quite unassuming in character …. for some time Sexton at the [Holy Trinity, Dobcross] Church. In his regular daily occupation he excelled as a plasterer and lime washer, and as his sons grew up he took up the business as painter. He had five sons, William, James, Thomas, Benjamin, Henry The last named is the only survivor. James was apprenticed [as a Cordwainer] to George Burgess in the Square. ….. William Whitehead was particularly gifted by nature …. he was as good a grainer as ever took hold of a white rag.’ 22 Early Trade Directory entries for plasterers are quite sparse, but two tradesmen, John Shaw and James Wood, both of Delph, listed in Baines’ 1822 directory, may provide a clue to John Whitehead’s apprenticeship. The first mention traced of Whitehead in his own business is an entry in White’s 1853 directory of ‘Whitehead, J’ under the category of ‘Painters’.23 Some forty years after his death, John Whitehead was remembered by another contemporary as ‘commonly called Jack i’ th’ Parlour…. a very fine man who brought up his family of stalwart sons’.24 The memoir, recalling village members in the 1840s, noted that John Whitehead’s house and business premises as a plasterer was located ‘down behind the school’ [a dame school run by a maiden sister of Joseph Hesslegreave in Manor House]. By 1851 John Whitehead (Senior) had died and his son’s family were accommodated in Woods Lane, this time in a single household adjacent to Nudger Inn. John was described as a ‘Plasterer Master employing two men’. His eldest son, William, aged 20, was employed as a Painter, and Thomas, aged 14, as a Plasterer’s Labourer.25 By 1861 William Whitehead was married and his trade as a Painter had enabled him to set up his own household in Dobcross. Unlike his wife, Elizabeth Burgess, William Whitehead was able to sign the marriage register in 1853. He evidently had some of his father’s entrepreneurial instincts, for by the time of the 1871 census he had diversified his income, identifying himself as a ‘Painter & Grocer’.26 Around 1870, coinciding with the passing of the Education Act but largely prompted by private subscription from middle class benefactors, there was a rapid upsurge in building new school facilities. John Whitehead & Sons were contracted for plastering work at the new school in Friarmere parish, which opened in Delph in October 1870.27 Simultaneously the firm secured an important commission from Dobcross Congregational Church for plastering and pointing work on the new combined Chapel and Sunday School in Sandy Lane. This was completed in 1871 and the church accounting records identify sums in excess of £200 being made to William Whitehead during and shortly after the period of construction, which probably indicates that William took on a broader project management role in fitting out the interior of the new building.28 The firm’s partnership was dissolved in March 1872 when one son, Thomas Whitehead, withdrew from the business to trade on his own account.29 Dobcross was a prosperous district, however, and there was plenty of scope for family members to compete amicably.

22 Joseph Thornton, New Saddleworth Sketches, (Uppermill, 1967) pp. 40-41. 23 White’s Trade Directory, 1853, p. 714. 24 William Wood?, ‘Dobcross - as I remembered it 70 years ago’, signed by ‘WW’, transcribed by F.G. Battye, JP, from a letter to Oldham Chronicle, c. December 1913, SHSA, FGB/105. The memoir was partially reproduced in Oldham Chronicle, 2 July 1960. 25 TNA, 1851 census, HO107, 2290, p.19. 26 TNA, 1871 census, RG10, 4337, 7, p.7; See also Worrall Trade Directories: Saddleworth, Shopkeepers: 1871, p. 313; 1875, p. 320; 1880, p. 273; 1884, p. 369. 27 Huddersfield Chronicle, 15 October, 1870. 28 SHSA, Dobcross Congregational Church (DCC) Sunday School Secretary’s Book (1869-85), H/D CONG/13. Payments are noted in the Secretary’s book, the Treasurer’s Bank Pass book (1870-4) and other accounting records. Repeat entries relating to the building project were sometimes simply entered as ‘Whitehead’, but it is implicit that these payments were made to William Whitehead, rather than the firm John Whitehead & Sons, supporting the hypothesis that William managed other sub- contractors. 29 London Gazette, 19 March 1872 and Huddersfield Chronicle, 23 March 1872.

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The business founder John reconfigured the partnership with three of his sons, William, Henry Ainsworth and Benjamin Whitehead, and John Whitehead & Sons resumed trade immediately. The firm’s work at the Sandy Lane Chapel demonstrated their capability and this, together with their denominational affiliation, enabled them to secure similar work at Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, whose managers commissioned a similar project in Uppermill with a budget of £1900. Tenders were submitted and at a fund-raising bazaar in aid of the project an announcement was made, entrusting ‘…the plastery to Messrs John Whitehead & Sons, Dobcross’.30 The work was completed in 1873 and John Whitehead & Sons received payment of £60-10s.31 On 12th June 1873 the firm’s founder John Whitehead died in Platt Lane, Dobcross. His eldest son William took over the leadership of the business which continued to trade in part under the name John Whitehead & Sons. There is further evidence of William’s entrepreneurial instinct in the expansion of services provided by the firm to improve homes and institutions. The trade listing in White’s Directory in 1875 under the category of ‘Painters’ read ‘William Whitehead & Brothers, Painters, Plasterers and Plumbers’, whilst Worrall’s directory for the same year carried three separate listings for John Whitehead & Sons under the categories ‘Painters’, ‘Plasterers’ and ‘Plumbers, Glaziers and Gas Fitters’. It seems likely that, for a while at least, the plumbing and gas fitting work was carried out by his second cousin, John Whitehead (1850-1922), the eldest son of Henry Whitehead of Bridge House, who had almost certainly been employed by John Whitehead & Sons as a plasterer until his death in 1872. See Pedigree E.

Figure 2. Ashlea, Churchfields, Dobcross

SHSA, H/ELE 13/1, p. 233. Securing these lucrative contracts from local churches was undoubtedly a crucial factor in the increased prosperity of the Whiteheads. In January 1877 William attended an auction at the Commercial Inn in Uppermill and acquired a commodious eighteenth-century house located on Church Fields in Dobcross, being the highest bidder in the sum of £110 at a time when much of the village was owned by the industrialist John Hirst and his family.32 At the time of acquisition the house was co-tenanted by his wife’s mother, Mary and her stepfather, William Brierley. See Figure 2.

30 Huddersfield Chronicle, 13 April 1872. 31 B.G. Whitehead, The Ebenezer Chronicle: The History of Ebenezer Congregational Church, Uppermill, Saddleworth, (Saddleworth, 2008), p. 149. 32 West Riding Registry of Deeds, Wakefield (WRD), 773 566 662; I am grateful to Mike Buckley for the additional information from an abstract of title of 12 Church Fields, Dobcross.

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DOBCROSS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ASSOCIATIONS The relationship between the Whiteheads and Dobcross Congregational Church was multi- faceted. Extant minutes, accounting ledgers and other records of the Dobcross Congregational Sunday School dating from 1864 are now held in the archives of Saddleworth Historical Society. These reveal that the family partners and close kinsmen of John Whitehead & Sons were long-standing committee members and protagonists in the management of its school which became an important customer of the firm for a range of painting and building maintenance services.

Saddleworth Museum Archives

Figure 3 Bridgehouse, Nicker Brow, Dobcross According to Morgan Brierley:- ‘the Congregational Sunday School at Dobcross owed its origin to a split, or secession, from the Dobcross, or Wharmton, Church School ..... in 1839. At first it was categorised ‘undenominational’, and was held in a small room at Bridge House, on the northern edge of the village, for which a rent of £4 a year was paid. The school started with 54 scholars - 30 boys, and 24 girls...... The school so increased in numbers that in 1851 some additional room was obtained, and the rent increased to £6 a year.’ 33 In 1852 Bridge House School was registered as a place of worship and regular evening services were held in addition to the Sunday School classes.34 Collections, tea parties and entertainments were the main source of income to sustain the school. Morgan Brierley again:- ‘The first ‘Charity Sermons’ for the school were preached in 1854, when the collections amounted to £3. In this year a Young Men's Improvement Society was started in association with the Sunday School. This was sustained for some years, but eventually ceased, and the library of 200 volumes it had acquired was presented to the Sunday School.’ 35

33 M. Brierley, ‘History of Saddleworth Schools’ in A Chapter of a M.S. History of Saddleworth, (Oldham, 1891), p. 83. 34 'The Story of Dobcross Congregational Church', Oldham Chronicle, 1 August 1970 & 8 August 1970. 35 M. Brierley, ‘History of Saddleworth Schools.’ p. 84.

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On 29 May 1856 a large civic procession was organised for the people of Saddleworth to celebrate the proclamation of peace following the Crimean War. Nearly 2000 Sunday School children participated in the parade.36 Amongst those representing the village of Dobcross were members of both its Sunday schools and 10 bandsmen of Dobcross Band. By this time Bridge House Sunday School was larger than Wharmton School and had 144 scholars on its roll and 68 teachers. Approximately 104 Bridge House scholars participated in the procession and 46 teachers. Amongst its rank of teachers were William Whitehead, of Dobcross, and his brothers Thomas and James, accompanied by their sister, Eliza and their cousin Henry Whitehead, of Bridge House (Pedigree E).37 Each received a payment of one shilling from the organising committee.38 As an illegitimate child of Betty Whitehead and born in humble circumstances, it seems unlikely that Henry would have had access to any formal education beyond his apprenticeship with John Whitehead & Sons as a plasterer. It is remarkable that Henry Whitehead was able to contribute to his community as a voluntary teacher, in the light of evidence that as late as 1862, on the occasion of his marriage as a widower to Elizabeth Greaves, he was only able to apply his mark to the register. Nevertheless, over and above his own contribution to the school, Henry nurtured the commitment of his eldest son John Whitehead, born at Bridge House in 1850, who served Dobcross Congregational Church and School in various leadership capacities for his entire adult lifetime. As well as providing their services as teachers, William and Thomas Whitehead were prominent managers of Bridge House Sunday School and committed to its plans for expansion. The earliest extant minute was for a Committee meeting on 4th April 1864 resolving to initiate a voluntary subscription box during school hours in aid of a new school. The minutes were signed by its Chairman, William Whitehead.39 The Committee managed a series of tasks associated with the school, including the provision of learning materials, appointment of teachers and a warden, organising fund-raising collections and bazaars. On special occasions, particularly the important celebrations of Whitsuntide, the Committee hired a local band to accompany organised processions of scholars and teachers through the district, and invited guest ministers to provide sermons for the school and its wider community. Anniversary recitations and sermons, and services after Whit processions were often organised at Ebenezer Congregational Chapel in Uppermill, followed by hearty tea parties held in the Bridge House schoolroom, which was once an upper-floor weaving room, and accessed from an external staircase (Figure 3).40 In the light of their prominent teaching associations, it seems certain the Whiteheads would have been well represented at the soirée of Bridge House Sunday School held in the Mechanics Institute Lecture Room in January 1862.41 Some 300 attended and the room was crowded to excess. During the event decayed wooden beams caused part of the structure to

36 P. Fox, ‘Saddleworth’s Crimean Peace Demonstration 1856’, SHSB, Vol. 41, No.2, (Summer 2011), pp. 33-42. 37 G.F. Hewkin, Correspondence, Crimean Peace Celebration Collection, 1856, Saddleworth Museum Archives (SMA), M/CPC/18. 38 Committee’s disbursements analysis, Crimean Peace Celebration Collection, 1856, SMA, M/CPC/24. 39 SHSA, DCC Minute Book (1864-75), H/D.CONG/7. 40 B. Barnes, Saddleworth Heritage (Saddleworth Historical Society, 1975), p. 29; see also Frank Ackroyd's memoirs from 1924 which indicate that the room used by the Congregationalists was the 'large chamber over the block of buildings known as ‘Higher Nickus’ occupied by John Platt, machine maker’, SHSB, Vol. 29. No. 4, p. 18. 41 This room was situated at the end of Saddleworth Bank, and was a day-school belonging to Holy Trinity church before Platt Lane School was built, Joseph Thornton, New Saddleworth Sketches, (Uppermill, 1967), pp. 64-5.

8 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS collapse, precipitating at least 100 attendees a depth of 10ft into the cellar below.42 Recalling his eye-witness experience 50 years later, Joseph Thornton marvelled that no one had been killed and praised ‘some of the men teachers who had escaped obtained ladders and rescued the injured.’43 Fortunately there were no fatalities or lasting injuries. The annual meeting was rescheduled elsewhere to ensure scholars were able to recite the pieces memorised and a report noted ‘the school is in a flourishing condition; that the managers are short of room and anxious…to obtain a new one’.44 During this decade William and Thomas Whitehead frequently chaired committee meetings. Their brother Henry Ainsworth Whitehead also served periodically, as well as acting alongside other brothers, Ben and James, in various other capacities, e.g. as school warden, inspector, librarian, fund raiser and sub-committee leader. Maintaining a supply of competent teachers to keep pace with demand for schooling for working class children was vital to the school’s objectives. In July 1865 the Sunday School Committee appointed William Whitehead amongst its Superintendants, vesting powers in them to ‘examine the scholars and select them to become teachers of their respective days .’45 The demand for schooling at Bridge House continued to increase, and in about 1866 plans to build new larger premises were advanced. Gentlemen connected with the Independent Chapels of Delph and Uppermill were approached for financial support, and one of them - Mr. Hervey Kershaw, cashier of the Saddleworth Banking Company - promised a subscription of £20 to the building - fund if in future the School should be conducted on Congregational principles, rather than for all denominations as it had hitherto.46 In July 1868 John Brierley was appointed Treasurer of the Buildings Fund. Joseph Woodcock (Junior), Secretary, made an application to Mr Winterbottom, owner of some neighbouring land at Bridge House, for a plot upon which to erect new school premises. Winterbottom declined to ‘sell it at any price, and particularly for a School, having been for some time sufficiently annoyed by trespassing and mischief by scholars of the present School, which I should be glad to see removed.’ 47 However, alternative land was identified on Sandy Lane in Dobcross and on 11 November 1868 a Special Committee Meeting resolved that 20 yards by 30 yards of land belonging to Hesslegrave would be purchased for a school to be known as ‘Congregational Sunday School Dobcross’ at 3s. per yard. In 1869 one benefactor, F. Midwood Esq., of Furlane, Superintendent of Ebenezer Chapel, addressed attendees at a bazaar held in the school, highlighting both the pressing need for the project and commitment to its realisation: ‘There was a spirit of energy and singleness of heart displayed ….They had made up their minds to work, and it always afforded him pleasure to give a helping hand to those who helped themselves.’ 48 The bazaar raised £108 15s 11d towards an apparent budget cost for the combined chapel and school of £600-700, but an analysis of archived payment records indicates it was duly built at an estimated cost of £1350. Amongst Sunday School Committee members who helped build it were the Hewkins (Joiners) and the Whiteheads (Plasterers). The Committee appointed Thomas Whitehead and Ben Whitehead as Trustees for the project.

42 Ashton Weekly Reporter, 18 January 1862 and Huddersfield Chronicle, 18 January 1862. 43 New Saddleworth Sketches, pp. 64-5. 44 Huddersfield Chronicle, 15 February 1862. 45 SHSA, DCC Minute Book (1864-75), H/D.CONG/7. 46 M. Brierley, ‘History of Saddleworth Schools’, p. 85. 47 SHSA, DCC Church Record Book, H/D.CONG/5. 48 Huddersfield Chronicle, 17 April 1869; SHSA, DCC Treasurer’s Pass Book (1870-74), H/D.CONG/15.

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On 11th June 1871 a Special Committee Meeting of Teachers assigned teaching roles from their leadership ranks (perhaps for a special opening curriculum?) William Whitehead was appointed to teach the males (first class) whilst his brother Thomas Whitehead and brother-in- law, John Brierley were appointed to teach males (second class) and others were delegated to teach the third and fourth class males and equivalent female categories.49 On 17th July 1871 the first baptism ceremony was conducted in the new chapel. The child baptised was Annie, the youngest daughter of William and Elizabeth Whitehead.50 This appears to have been an exceptional event for it was several years before baptisms were conducted more regularly in the chapel.

Phil Wild Collection

Figure 4. Dobcross Congregational Church, Sandy Lane, Dobcross, 2018.

Congregationalists belong to a non-conformist Protestant tradition. Amongst the doctrines that distinguish them from other movements is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or autonomous. Thus, for example, a minister serves the church members in guiding their worship rather than governing their church. In his absence, however, an elected deacon from within the membership can preside at a communion service or other church rituals. A Church Member’s Register was established in 1872. For Congregationalists, formal commitment to the life of the church and its faith in Jesus Christ is expressed in two stages - Baptism and Membership. Baptism celebrates the initiative of God’s grace towards mankind, and Membership, usually formally professed before other members in communion, constitutes an individual’s response to grace. Membership is accepted and registered according to a formal vote amongst members. Membership admissions in Dobcross were formally minuted, and it is implicit from these minutes that some applications were accepted unconditionally and others were first interviewed by a trusted member of the church as, for example, Mrs William Whitehead and Martha Gill were asked to do in the case of Mrs William Mellor’s application in March 1886.51

49 SHSA, DCC Minute Book (1864-75), H/D.CONG/7. 50 SHSA, DCC Church Record Book, H/D.CONG/5. 51 Ibid.

10 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

Amongst the early members recorded in the register were John Brierley, aged 29 and his mother Mary, aged 72, followed by Mary’s daughter, Elizabeth (née Burgess), wife of William Whitehead.

The first two church deacons, elected on 23rd December 1873, were the earlier noted John Whitehead, Plumber and John Brierley, Joiner.52 The former was born in 1850 at Bridge House, son of Henry Whitehead, Painter, earlier-noted as the illegitimate son of Betty Whitehead. See Pedigree E. There is, however, no link between Betty or Henry and the letting of the room at Bridge House for use as a school since 1839. Henry’s residence there was probably coincidental. There was a distant Whitehead connection, however, as the school cash books reveal rental payments of £2 12s to Mrs Whitehead (and £3 to Mrs Wrigley) on 1st September 1869 and 1st September 1870, which would be the last rental payments before the school moved from Bridge House to Sandy Lane.53

Figure 5: The New Congregational Chapel and School Opening, 7th May 1871.

After the new building opened there was a gradual separation of church and school affairs, although Messrs John Whitehead and John Brierley held office in both the respective committees and mutual funding support continued as well as coordination of efforts at special occasions. As a deacon, John Whitehead assumed a central management role in the affairs of the church. He also took on the role of choir master, and was later authorised under the Marriage Act (1898) as an official appointed to register non-conformist marriages in certified places of worship. After the new combined school and chapel was opened, Thomas and William Whitehead continued to be actively involved in the Committee and its management of the school,

52 Ibid. 53 SHSA, DCC Sunday School Secretary’s Cash Book (1869-85), H/D.CONG/13. The lessors were the granddaughters of Ralph Whitehead, of Leecross, who had acquired Bridge House from the Platts. (Martha, one of Ralph’s daughters, married Thomas Buckley, and they sold their interest in Bridgehouse back to the Whiteheads before emigrating to to Cherry Valley, Mass., USA). See also the Mallalieu of High Style Deeds H/MHS for more details of the Whiteheads of Leecross and their business interests with the Platts of Bridgehouse.

11 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS teaching and church events. Modern day protocols over managing conflict of interest were not evident in those days; in 1872 William Whitehead chaired a meeting that resolved that he should receive interest at 5% p.a. on money he had advanced of £4 15s.54 By the late 1870s however others were chairing the Sunday School Committee meetings and the baton of responsibility passed to members of the next generation of the Whitehead family as Thomas’ son John Robert, and William’s sons, Robert, John William and, later, Herbert Whitehead, all painters, became regular committee members. In 1879 Robert Whitehead, my great (x2) grandfather, was also appointed as a Sunday School teacher, a couple of months after he married Congregationalist member, Rebecca Woodcock.55 The Sunday School Committee combined the provision of education and recreation for its community as funds were provided for a Cricket Club to be formed in association, and Whit Saturday trips for teachers included excursions by train to Liverpool and Wagon and Horse outings to picnic in the park. Over the first decade of the new chapel periodic payments for building maintenance and other services were made to John Whitehead & Sons (£11 6s 6d for painting in 1873, £9 17s for cementing in 1875 and £3 6s 9½d for outside painting in 1877) and in 1878/9 separate payments were made of £14 each to Thomas and William Whitehead, as the committee had resolved that the school and chapel ‘be coloured and varnished and beautified throughout’.56 In 1883/4 an extension to the church was commissioned. Although the contractors for this project, totalling some £700, are not identified in the summary retained in the church archives, it is likely that Thomas and William Whitehead shared the contract valued £62 17s for plastering, painting and varnishing. 57 An archived invoice indicates John Whitehead was commissioned for plumbing and glazing work totalling £39 17s (Figure 6). Even after withdrawing from the routine management of Sunday School affairs, William Whitehead’s knowledge of the local community was evidently still valued. In 1884 he was asked to join his friends and kinsmen, John Whitehead, Joseph and John Brierley on a sub- committee, charged with ‘selecting the characters’ for a poetic drama that was to be performed by scholars on Christmas Day. ‘Search for Happiness’ was an eighteenth-century pastoral drama, written by a Sunday School movement pioneer, Hannah More, for an all- female cast. Its selection reveals a glimpse of the role assumed by Sunday Schools in Victorian society in imparting moral values to young girls in their community, but also epitomised More’s ‘Hints on how to run a Sunday School’, in which she advocated learning programmes containing variety and singing, and an approach to get the best out of children by engaging their affections with kindness.58

In December 1873 Thomas Whitehead was thanked by the committee for his many years service as church warden, and he resumed the role of treasurer. In the next few years William’s sons Robert and John William Whitehead took on the role of church warden, which commanded a quarterly salary of £1. See Pedigree F. In 1877 John William Whitehead resigned as warden and the role passed to a non family member, Robert Platt. The minutes of 5th January 1880 record shortcomings identified in dusting the chapel seats and an instruction that the matter be brought to the attention of the warden. One must assume the rebuke was ignored as a minute the following month calls for the warden to appear before the committee and explain himself. Platt was probably relieved of his post as, within a few months, Thomas Whitehead had resumed the role. In June 1882 the post of chapel keeper was re-advertised and when no applicants came forward, the committee asked John Brierley to ‘make it known

54 SHSA, DCC Minute Book (1864-75), H/D.CONG/7. 55 SHSA, DCC Sunday School Minute Book (1875-85), H/D.CONG/8; Marriage Registers, Holy Trinity, Dobcross. 56 SHSA, DCC Sunday School Secretary’s Cash Book (1869-85) and Minute Book (1875-85), H/D.CONG/13 & 8 respectively. 57 SHSA, DCC Treasurer’s Accounts (1882-84), H/D CONG/30. 58 infed.org/mobi/hannah-more-sunday-schools-education-and-youth-work (accessed 29 Mar 2021).

12 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS to anyone whom he thinks proper that we are in want of one’. William Whitehead applied and was duly appointed by the committee as warden and chapel keeper at a salary of £5 p.a. In November 1883 a request was made to increase the salary to £6, but the proposal was amended and approved at a revised salary of £6 10s.59 William was re-elected to the role, which he performed until his death on 14th May 1885.

SHSA, H/D.CONG/32

Figure 6. John Whitehead’s Invoice for Work on the Extensions of 1883. William Whitehead’s death certificate indicates that he died of chronic meningitis, which he had contracted a month earlier.60 William appointed his friends John Brierley and John Whitehead, the above-noted church deacons, as executors and left all his personal and real estate to his wife, Elizabeth, with instructions for it to be divided equally amongst all his children following her death.61 It seems likely that William suffered serious complications with his meningitis, perhaps some form of seizure, as he was only able to apply his mark to his will drawn up ten days before his death - it is clear from the Sunday School minute records and his other business and community activities that he had been competent at reading and writing. Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth Whitehead took over the trade directory listing of her husband’s shop as well as his role as warden and chapel keeper, with the minuted agreement of the church committee, and she remained a prominent member of the church community.62 Amongst ephemera to be found in the records of Dobcross Congregational

59 SHSA, DCC Sunday School Minute Book (1875-85), H/D CONG/8. 60 England & Wales Birth Marriage and Death Registers (BMD), Saddleworth 9a 188, June 1885. 61 Probate Registry, Wakefield, January 1886. 62 Worrall Trade Directory, Saddleworth: Shopkeepers, 1888/9, p502; see also SHSA, DCC Church Record Book, H/D CONG. /5.

13 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

Church which span over 100 years was an admission ticket to a Coronation Celebration Dinner in 1902, issued to Mrs William Whitehead (Figure 11).63 In May 1885, at the very time of William’s fatal contraction of meningitis, a crisis arose in the church, which exemplified its democratic principles. John Whitehead and John Brierley and one other of the four deacons resigned over a disagreement with the Pastor, a Mr Taylor.64 A large majority of the members of Dobcross Congregational Church agreed with the deacons and, after (or despite) mediation by delegates from the Yorkshire Congregational Union, the matter was only resolved by the enforced resignation of the Pastor without compensation.65 Following the satisfactory resolution Messrs Whitehead and Brierley duly ‘unresigned’ and their reinstatement as deacons was approved by the Congregational Church Committee.66 Accounting records after 1885 do not survive in the church archives, but a series of payments for brushes that year make it apparent that William’s youngest son, Arthur Whitehead, Painter, would perpetuate the family’s involvement in regular maintenance of the chapel and school.67

Evelyn Mee (née Whitehead) Collection

Figure 7. Elizabeth Whitehead (née Burgess), (1828-1908), widow of William Whitehead (1830-85)

63 SHSA, DCC Coronation Dinner Admission Ticket H/D.CONG/44. 64 Contemporary minutes, if any, detailing the dispute do not appear in the extant DCC Church Record Book. 65 Huddersfield Chronicle, 11 June 1885. 66 SHSA, DCC Church Record Book, H/D.CONG/5. 67 SHSA, DCC Sunday School Secretary’s Cash Book (1869-85), H/D.CONG/13.

14 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

At the anniversary meeting in 1885 John Whitehead reported a ‘school free of debt, with 251 pupils, a good supply of teachers and 414 books …… a place of worship of which they were proud, and fit for anyone to enter.’68 In 1886 the Congregational Church’s Members register was, for reasons unknown, re-written, in hierarchical sequence of continuous membership. John Brierley and John Whitehead, deacons, were first and fourth respectively; Elizabeth Whitehead was sixth and her daughter- in-law Rebecca Whitehead (née Woodcock) was seventh.69 The following year Benjamin’s eldest son Harry Whitehead, Painter, aged 18, became a member, and two years later he was elected to maintain the Communion Attendance Register of members.70 In August 1889 the church held a special Jubilee celebration and commemorative medals were struck to mark the fiftieth anniversary of schooling provided by the church (Figure 8). A medal was given to all the members, teachers, pupils and alumni who marched in procession through the district behind their church banner and a brass band.

SHSA, H.CONG/38 Figure 8. Dobcross Congregational Sunday School Jubilee Medal, 1889. Brass bands provide a central component of local Saddleworth culture. Henry Livings noted the important co-operation between the churches and the band: ‘I've hardly mentioned the churches of Dobcross so far….. you may imagine that the Holy Trinity and the Congregational churches are very important, both as social centres and of course as places of worship. The church councillors, the vicar and the senior members of the Congregational can represent village opinion with an accuracy that an MP might envy. Such people have always offered a leadership that has been hearkened, and weighed and possibly followed.’ 71 Whit processions originated with Robert Raikes’ Sunday School movement and its gathering of children to hear Divine Service.72 Traditions of music and pageantry evolved which bound together social and religious rituals comprising the solemnity of each village’s ‘Procession of Witness’ through the district before a church service, followed by communal singing, eating

68 Huddersfield Chronicle, 14 January 1885. 69 SHSA, DCC Church Record Book, H/D.CONG/5. 70 Ibid. 71 H. Livings, That the Medals and the Baton be put on View: The Story of a Village Band (1875 to 1975), (London, 1975), p. 61. 72 Canon J. Burns, The History and Memory of the Whit Walks in and around Manchester with Banners and Bands (2013, Birkenhead), p. 12.

15 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS and recreational games. Nineteenth century images reveal the extent to which attendees dressed in new suits and white dresses for the occasion. Dobcross Congregational Committee supported a variety of bands when organising Whit parades and other anniversary events. Amongst those hired were Holme Band, Wooldale Band, 34th West Yorkshire Regiment Volunteers Band, Wyke Temperance Band and a Band of Hope, which appears to have been an initiative to found a band from members of their own church. The committee determined that the extended festivities for the teachers would remain under control and regularly resolved that no strong beer would be served although in 1870, for example, William Whitehead undertook to brew and supply the ‘small beer’ for the Whit celebrations. Musical accompaniment to the parades was not limited to the sound of traditional brass bands, as the Committee provided a fiddle and a harmonium and organised singers as, for example, in May 1887 when singing was co-ordinated with members of Holy Trinity Church of England School: “The Congregationalists at Dobcross have secured the services of the Dobcross Band and they have entered into a compact with the managers of the church school, to have a united sing in the village square…… one of the tunes to be sung has been specially composed by a Mr Mark Berry.’73 The interrelationship is illuminated by the parallel role of Robert Whitehead. For the Congregational Sunday School, as well as volunteering as a teacher, Robert performed a number of committee roles in the 1870s in support of the school, including those of librarian, fund raiser, and entertainments officer. During a similar period Robert and his uncle, Henry Ainsworth Whitehead, were committee members of Dobcross Band Club. On 16th July 1875 the Congregational Church Treasurer recorded income of £5 received from William Whitehead as a ‘Balance from the late Dobcross Amateur Brass Band’.74 Livings’ assertion that Dobcross Band’s continuous history must therefore start from after that date appears sound.75 However, there is no evidence from Congregational School minutes that the band had been contracted to appear in that year’s Whit parades, and the entry therefore provides some evidence that Dobcross Amateur Brass Band may have been supported financially by some form of foundation loan from the Congregational Church. The Whit Parade engagement of the 34th West Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers Band in 1877 and 1878 was vital to the financial survival of the Band Club, and Robert Whitehead would have been an influential, if not impartial, voice in securing such support from the Congregational Committee. Dobcross Band Club minutes revealed that, in the absence of its own home and secure finances, the band had ‘inserted itself into the establishment of the local Rifle Volunteers’, which enabled them to acquire both a uniform and a hall for practice on Woods Lane.76 In 1883 the Band Committee resolved ‘to hereby agree to serve in the Corps for 2 years for the sum of £60 0 0 together with the Rifle Cloths - on a respectable engagement …. that if the Corps will not accept the above terms, we will give up the services altogether.’77 See Figure 9. When that ‘respectable engagement’ ran out, Livings discerned signs of a band ‘in full flounder’, citing resolutions from minutes of a Band Committee meeting chaired by Robert Whitehead at the Kings Head Inn, Dobcross in January 1886: 78 1. That the Contribution be two pence per week, 2. That we give 1/6 per week for Band Room at Tamewater rates all cleared, 3. That all spare instruments be brought in to I M Treasurer.

73 M. & P. Fox, A Saddleworth Whitsuntide, (Uppermill, 1990), p. 12. 74 DCC Sunday School Secretary’s Cash Book (1869-85), SHSA, H/D.CONG/13. 75 H. Livings, p. 10. 76 Ibid., p. 12. 77 Ibid., p. 15. 78 Ibid., p. 19.

16 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

Oldham Chronicle, Saddleworth Edition, 5 July 1957

Figure 9. Dobcross (34th West Riding Volunteers) Band. Cpl. Robert Whitehead (Back Row, 4th from L., alongside his brother-in-law Dyson Woodcock), and Sgt. Henry A Whitehead (Back Row, end of Row), c.1888.

Peter Fox Collection

Figure 10. Dobcross Congregational Sunday School: Whit Procession on Woods Lane, c.1910

17 THE WHITEHEADS OF DOBCROSS

Nevertheless the band continued to function, and in July 1888 Robert Whitehead played the solo tenor horn and his uncle Henry A. Whitehead played the BB-flat bass when Dobcross Band entered a contest in Belle Vue, Manchester, performing a grand selection from Verdi's opera ‘Luisa Miller.’79

SHSA, H/D.CONG/44 Figure 11. Elizabeth Whitehead’s invitation to Dobcross Coronation Dinner, 26 June 1902. Livings’ observation of an up-turn in the band’s fortunes a few years later highlighted their former dependency: ‘Suddenly in 1892 the tone of the minutes changes completely …. no more minutes about tea pourers and begging the Congregational Church to put on a benefit for the band….’ 80 The population of Dobcross continued to increase, as firms such as John Hirst & Sons and Hutchinson & Hollingworth expanded their manufacturing in the district. By 1891 Dobcross Congregational Sunday School accommodated 181 pupils (91 girls and 90 boys), taught by 19 teachers (11 female and 8 male).81

79 Oldham Chronicle, 2 July 1960. 80 H. Livings, p. 23. 81 M. Brierley, ‘History of Saddleworth Schools’ Appendix (Table II).

18 PEDIGREE A. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DELPH, SADDLEWORTH, YORKSHIRE (A)

Henry Whitehead. Ralph Whitehead. of the Delfe of the Delfe In 1535 Bailiff of Roche Abbey b.c. 1504 at a wage of 20s per annum. Held a moiety of Knotthill in 1539 by lease for 30 Held Delfe and a moiety of the years dated 10th January 1535 at paying 10s per year. Bakestone Mine in 1539 by lease Witness in two tithe causes in 1563-4, describing for 30 years dated 7th September himself as of the parish of Sadleworth firthe, and aged 1526 and paying 29s 8d per year. about 59 years old.

Ralph Whitehead. Thomas Whitehead. of the Delfe. Described as brother of Ralph Will proved 1585 Whitehead in Ralph’s inventory Tenant of William Assheton in 1585. Tenant at Lydgate 1579? 1583

Robert Whitehead. son of Ralph Whitehead Tenant of William Assheton in 1583 Tenant of William Ramsden 1591?

Henry Whitehead. of the Delfe, yeoman Purchased Delph from Theophilus Assheton, 2 Mar 1617 and Brownknothill from Sir John Ramsden,4 Jan 1636. Will proved 14 May 1651 ‘Ancient in Years’

Pedigree B © Compiled by P.M. Buckley 2015 PEDIGREE B. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DELPH, SADDLEWORTH, YORKSHIRE (B)

Henry Whitehead. 1. ? of the Delfe, yeoman d. before c.1636 Purchased Delph from Theophilus 2. Mary Nield = Assheton, 2 Mar 1617 and Delph living 1650 Barn from Sir John Ramsden, sister of John Neild 4 Jan 1636. Will proved 14 May 1651 ‘Ancient in Years’

Ralph Whitehead Anne Gartside Henry Whitehead Robert Whitehead Richard Whitehead John Whitehead Edmund Whitehead Daniel Whitehead (2) of Delfe, yeoman = sister of Henry Admin 20 May 1656 mentioned by brother of Brownknotthill alias Ward of Grange of Knotthill (Woodhouse) Will proved Gartside Anne Whitehead Henry Whitehead in (Dale?), yeoman of Harrop, clothier appointed executor of b. c.1636 12 Nov 1656 Will proved living 1680 his will proved 1661. Inherited Delph Barn Bur. 16 Mar 1679/80 his father’s will 1651 In 1689 then, aged 53, 16 Apr 1660 wife of Lawrence from his father by deed Nuncupative will and overseer in will of deposed in court case Scholefield of Grange, dated 21 May 1644 proved 10 Apr 1680 brother Richard 1657. concerning bakestone yeoman Bur. 29 Oct 1656 but contested by half Admin. 15 Apr 1658 rights. Inherited Knotthill Will proved 30 Dec 1657 brother Daniel Bur. 26th Aug 1657 from his father by deed of Whitehead enfeoffment 17 Sep 1639. = Admin. 7 May 1692 Anne Lees = m. 13 Feb 1636 Isabel ...... = living 1680 Sarah ...... administrator of Daniel Whitehead, 1692 Henry Whitehead Pedigree C living 1650

Robert Whitehead 1. Esther Chadwick Henry Whitehead John Whitehead Miriam Whitehead Margery Whitehead of Delph, yeoman. m. 5 Dec 1653 = husbandman b. after 1632 Bur. 26 Sep 1654 b. after 1632 Will proved at Rochdale b. after 1632. living 1660 Wife of Robert Gartside of Admin 1665 24 Mar 1707 2. Sarah ...... Will proved Denshaw, schoolmaster living 1704 5 Aug 1661 In 1689 he deposed in court case concerning bakestone rights.

Whitehead of Delph © Compiled by P.M.Buckley 2015 PEDIGREE C. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DELPH BARN & DALE, SADDLEWORTH, YORKSHIRE

Richard Whitehead Anne Lees of Brownknotthill (Dale), yeoman m. 13 Feb 1636 Inherited Delph Barn from his 1669 Corn Tithe father by deed dated 21 May 1644. = assessment 3s 2d Bur. 29 Oct 1656 Two hearths in Hearth Will proved 30 Dec 1657 Tax 1669-74 Occupied Woodman’s 1639, then Bur 23 Oct 1677? in mortgage to Abel Buckley?

Richard Whitehead John Whitehead Cicely ...... James Whitehead Jane ...... Other children yeoman of Brownknott Hill (Dale), Blacksmith & living 1702 of Delfe (Delph Barn), blacksmith, yeoman living 1700 born after 1635 Granted Delph Barn to Yeoman. Bap. 26 Dec 1640. b. c. 1644 = = brother James Mentioned in grandfather Henry’s will Granted Delph Barn by his brother Richard Whitehead 14 Feb 1671 in 1648. Corn Tithe assessment of 3s 2d Whitehead 14 Feb 1671. in 1669. Purchased intake on Harrop Edge Purchased waste land at Sandbedyate from William Farrer 1677 (chief rent 2d). from William Farrer 15 Jul 1675. (2d chief rent? In 1689, aged 49, deposed in court case In 1689, aged 45, deposed in court case concerning bakestone rights. Bur 30 Jan 1703 concerning bakestone rights. and will proved October 1703. Held Lease on Woodman’s. Will proved 24 May 1701

Pedigree D

John Whitehead 1. ? Henry Whitehead Ann Jane Whitehead Mary Whitehead Ann Whitehead of Delph Barn, yeoman. 2. Mary ...... of Dobcross, blacksmith living 1724 Bap. 23 Apr 1681. b. after 1679 b. after 1679 Bap. 23 Feb 1678/9 (?) Bur. 6 Jun 1753 b. c. 1694. Granted lease of d. before 1707. Bur. 15 Jun 1762 aged aged 83 years Woodman’s at Knotthill and Wife of William Buckley = = near 85 years at the reversion of closes called the Park of Stones, yeoman. Independent Chapel, Delph. and the Wood by his father’s will. (Bur. 22 Feb 1740) Will proved 12 Jul 1762. Left these to second son John Paid Chief Rent 4d 1712 Whitehead. Granted closes called the Park and Leased estate at Dobcross the Wood, part of a tenement at from Farrer. Knottthill, by father’s will. d. 31 May 1724 in 31st year. Granted part of estate at Delph to Will proved 17th October 1724. son John Whitehead 2 Feb 1739.

© Compiled by P.M.Buckley 2015 Whitehead of Delph Barn Whitehead of Dobcross PEDIGREE D. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DALE, SADDLEWORTH, YORKSHIRE

John Whitehead Cicely …... of Brownknott Hill (Dale), Blacksmith & Yeoman living 1702 Bap. 26 Dec 1640 Mentioned in grandfather Henry’s will in 1648 = Corn Tithe assessment of 3s 2d in 1669 Purchased intake on Harrop Edge from William Farrer 1677 (chief rent 2d) In 1689, aged 49, deposed in court case concerning bakestone rights. Bur 30 Jan 1703 and will proved October 1703

John Whitehead James Whitehead Mary ...... Robert Whitehead Eldest son, bequeathed a of Dale, alias Delph Hill, Carpenter, Clothier & Bur. 9 Nov 1763 (St Chad’s) cow and 10s per annum Husbandman, Possibly bap. 1 May1677 Josiah Whitehead by his father. Inherited father’s tenement at Dale and intake of land at Bap 1678/9 = Harrop Edge. Paid 2d manorial chief rent, 1712. Mary Whitehead Bur 18 Jul 1741 (St Chad’s). Will proved 17 July 1742 All living 1703

John Whitehead Anna Whitehead Mary Whitehead James Whitehead Henry Whitehead Robert Whitehead Sarah Shaw of Brownknothill, Clothier. of Delph Hill living 1741 of Dale, Clothier living 1780 Bap 5 Jan 1729 (of Dale) of Delph Slack = m. 13 Oct 1748 Inherited father’s leasehold tenement & Dobcross, Sarah Whitehead = = of Hill End, Delph, and freehold estate at Dale Bur. July 1741? Elizabeth Armitage Clothier. Co-executor of Bur. 27 Jul 1802 living 1780 Hannah Wood Church Warden 1768 m. 24 Nov 1748 brother John. m. 7 Aug 1743 Paid 2d of manorial chief rent, 1745. Martha Whitehead Bur. 1 May 1801 Bur. 17 Jan 1780 living 1780 Will proved 24 Feb 1780 Jane Whitehead Died without issue living 1780

Henry Whitehead Hannah Gartside James Whitehead Robert Whitehead Mary Whitehead John Whitehead of Sandbed, Clothier m. 31 Mar 1768 Bap. 1749 (of Dale) Bap. 1758 Anna Whitehead of Hill End, Delph b. 1739 (of Delph Hill - bastard widow Whitehead on (of Hill End) Plasterer Bathsheba Whitehead son of Abel Buckley of Stones) = 1810 auction sale of land (1763-1844) Inherited from uncle ‘two closes lying at Harrop Edge Sarah Whitehead and being near Brownknotthill…’ Bur. 31 Jan 1818, Jane Whitehead Paid 2d of manorial chief rent, 1787. aged 78 years Bur. 18 Sep 1807, aged 69 Admin granted 9 Mar 1808 Pedigree E Whitehead of © Compiled by P.A. Wild 2018 Dobcross A PEDIGREE E. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DOBCROSS, YORKSHIRE (A)

John Whitehead Mary Lawton Plasterer Bap. St Chad 9 Aug 1767 at St Chad’s Bap. 21 Aug 1763 (of Hill End, Delph) = dau. of James Lawton of Knarr Barn Bur. 17 Mar 1844 at Friarmere, aged 80 m. 8 Dec 1788 Bur. 8 Jan 1829 at Friarmere, aged 61

Nanny Whitehead? Henry Whitehead John Whitehead John Whitehead Mary Wood Betty Whitehead 1791-? Bap. Friarmere 2 Oct 1793 1795-7? Bap. Friarmere 9 Mar 1805 Dau of Joseph Wood, Clothier, (1796- ?) Sally Whitehead? Bur. 25 Oct 1825 aged 32 yrs. Mary Ann d. 12 Jun 1873 Platt Lane, Dobcross, aged 69 of Ambrose and Mytham Witnessed brother John’s 1792- ? at Friarmere Whitehead? Plasterer and Whitelimer; Sexton of Holy Trinity; = m. 19 Jul 1824 marriage 1st King’s Dragoon Guards 1797-9? Established John Whitehead & Sons d. 27 Dec 1892 Probate 10 Jul 1873 (supp grant Dec 1897) Probate 23 Feb1893

William Whitehead James Whitehead Thomas Whitehead Henry Ainsworth Whitehead 5 Other Children Henry Whitehead Of Ashlea, Painter and Plasterer of Church House, Cordwainer (1836-1903) (1840-1913) See Pedigree H of Bridge House, Plasterer, (1830-1885) (1832-1905) of Platt Lane, Painter and of East View & Bridge House, Benjamin Whitehead Bur. 29 Oct 1872 Partner John Whitehead & Sons apprenticed to George Burgess Plasterer; Plasterer and Painter; Plasterer at St Chad’s, aged 50 Co-Chairman Dobcross m. 21 Feb 1860 at Dobcross Partner John Whitehead & m. 21 Jul 1862 at St Chad’s (1844-1885) Admin 1872 Congregational Sunday School Member Dobcross Cong’l Sons until 1872 Sgt Saddleworth Reserves, 1912 Partner John Whitehead & Sons = Committee 1864-72 Church, 1892 Co-Chairman Dobcross Co-Chairman Dobcross Bur. 25 May 1885 at St Chad’s Co-executor of father’s will Probate 4 Jul 1905 Congregational Sunday Congregational Sunday School 1. Hannah Wood = Probate 2 Jan 1886 School Committee 1864-73; Committee 1866-71 (1813-61) Probate 25 Mar 1904 Probate 3 Jan 1914 Maria Byrom m. 14 Jun 1847 at St Chad’s = (1844-1899) 2. Elizabeth Greaves = = = Mary Greaves m. June 1867 at St Chad’s (1827-1908) Elizabeth Burgess (1832-1905) Jane Amanda Hopkinson Elizabeth Wood m. 14 Jun 1862 at Holy Grocer (1828-1908) dau. of John Greaves, (1838-1915) (1841-1908) Trinity, Dobcross Illeg. dau. of Mary Burgess, Plasterer, and Annis Lawton dau. of Thomas Hopkinson, Died without issue m. 20 Apr 1853 at Rochdale Whitesmith, of Hey Top Pedigree H Member Dobcross Cong’l m. 8 Aug 1859 at Christ Church, 1872 Church Friezland Admin 27 Feb 1909 John Whitehead (1) Alice Bromley Hannah Whitehead (2) James Heywood Whitehead (2) of Ash Grove, Plumber (1850-1920) = (1850-1925) (1862-1943) (1864-1914) Pedigree G Deacon & Sup’t Dobcross Congr’l Died without issue wife of Wilson Pedigree F Church, m. 30 Sep 1879 at Dobcross Barrowclough; Tom Whitehead(2) Congr’l Church, Probate 5 Jan 1921 (1867-1915) © Compiled by P.A.Wild 2018 PEDIGREE F. THE WHITEHEAD FAMILY OF DOBCROSS, YORKSHIRE (B)

William Whitehead Elizabeth Burgess Of Ashlea Grocer Painter and Plasterer (1828-1908) (1830-1885) Illeg. dau. of Mary Burgess, Partner John Whitehead & Sons = m. Rochdale 20 Apr 1853 Co-Chairman Dobcross Member Dobcross Cong’l Congregational Sunday School Church, 1872 Committee 1864-72 Trade Dir: Worrall 1889, Co-exor of father’s will 1891 Probate 2 Jan 1886 Admin 27 Feb 1909

Robert Whitehead Rebecca Woodcock John William Whitehead Herbert Whitehead Clara Whitehead Arthur Whitehead Annie Whitehead of Dobcross and Denshaw, (1855-1921) of Shaws, Uppermill, Of Ashlea, Painter, (1860-1944) Painter (1871-1887) Painter; dau. of Joseph Woodcock Painter, Auctioneer (1864-1939) m. 29 Aug 1887 at (1867-1910) First baptism in Dobcross Landlord (Printer’s Arms) of Manor House (1858-1923) m. 21 Aug 1890 at Dobcross Cong’l Probate 11 Nov 1910 Congr’l Churchl, 1871 (1855-1927) Member Dobcross Congr’l Treasurer & Warden Dobcross Cong’l Church Church = Mary Ann Whitehead Committee member & Warden Church, 1873 Dobcross Congr’l Church Admin 24 Oct 1939 Probate 31 Jul 1944 (1858-94) Dobcross Congr’l Church m. 11 Aug 1879 Admin 10 May 1923 Chair: Dobcross Band 1886 at Holy Trinity, Dobcross = Hannah Whitehead = = (1862-4) Probate 1 Jun 1928 Admin 11 Nov 1921 Emily Whitehead Ellen Moorhouse John S. Ashworth (1856-1911) No issue (1863-1920) dau. of Joel Whitehead Probate 5 May 1921

Fergus Cyril Whitehead Frank Radcliffe Whitehead Clement Eugene Whitehead Esther Alice Whitehead Ina Whitehead Nora Whitehead (1883-1951) (1888-?) (1889-1892) (1894-1996) (1896-1998) (1899-1995) emigrated to Canada emigrated to Canada Joel Whitehead wife of Frederick wife of Albert Roseblade (1892-1893) William Carter emigrated to Canada

© Compiled by P.A.Wild 2018 SHSB, VOL. 51, No. 1, 2021

‘WAR AND WRECKS DELPH MAN’S EXCITING SEAFARING EXPERIENCES’ 1 NEIL BARROW Robert Bilkey was born in Manchester in 1842. He had moved to Delph before his marriage in 1868 to a local woman Mary Ann Shaw and was buried at Delph Wesleyan chapel some fifty-three years later. His experiences away from Delph were such that the Oldham Chronicle on January 8th 1921 published an account of his adventurous early life with the above attention grabbing headines. Robert's father Robert and uncle John had moved from Truro in Cornwall in the late 1830s. Both in their mid-twenties, Robert was a joiner and John a cabinet maker skills they had perhaps been taught by their wheelwright father, also Robert. In 1841 the two brothers were living in Chorlton-cum- Medlock and Robert was married with two young sons William and Charles.2 Robert was born on 6th November 1842 and baptised nine years later at Manchester Cathedral. There seems to have been a family crisis. Eliza died in 1848 and Robert cannot be found in the 1851 census and only the uncle John is recorded in the trade directories in the 1850s3 In 1851 Robert was living with his grandmother in Truro but she died in 1854.4 At some point he came to Saddleworth and as a boy was intended for the woollen business with the late Mr. James Shaw. The life, however, did not appeal to his adventurous spirit. If there was one thing which he liked when he was at school, it was geography and then reading of travels hand loom weaving did not fit in with his aspirations. The more he read of foreign countries the greater was his desire to visit them, and one summer morning in 1857 found him on the way to Liverpool with but a shilling in his pocket. By the time he reached Warrington he had eaten a good portion of his shilling, but he was able to realise another sixpence by the sale of a good slop he was wearing. His first aim was to reach the home of his brother in Liverpool and when he got there, he was very footsore and weary but not at all discouraged. It took him several days to recover from his exhaustion and he then found work as an errand boy for a tailor which unexpectedly helped in the carrying out of his great scheme. He was still living with William, a porter, and his wife in 1861 but described himself as weaver. He seems to have continued as an errand boy where one of his multifarious duties was to carry parcels of cloths to officers on ships and, on these visits, he was able to make inquiries as to whether a boy was needed on board. Through the kindly offices of a boy he obtained an interview with the captain of the Hermione just loading for a voyage to Rio de Janeiro and was soon engaged signing on at the Sailors Home. So began his first and to him, most wonderful voyage. He describes in detail the duties of the old sea faring life and the use the old sailing vessels had to make of the trade winds. The first sighting was Tenerife and thence to Brazil where for the first time he saw real slaves at work carrying bales of cotton. The return voyage to Liverpool was marked with an exciting experience. The ship was stuck by a squall and a man who was at the jib was washed overboard. Fortunately, he was a powerful swimmer and was able to keep himself afloat until a boat reached him. Shark fishing was one of the amusements in fine weather and he had interest in watching the shoals of fish through which they passed, particularly the flying fish, the prey of the dolphin. Reverting to Rio he mentions that he saw the opening of the first dock there by his Majesty Dom Pedro, this being a very gay function. An English steamer passed into the dock as the Royal barge came out and thereafter that

1 This article is based on Robert Bilkey’s published story in the Oldham Chronicle of 8 January 1921 along with extensive additional material from his application for a US war pension. I am most grateful to Michael Hammerson for locating Bilkey's file at U.S. National Archives, Washington, D.C, RG 15, Disapproved Pension Application File for Robert Bilkey (Application Number 38224), also for allowing me to use his notes. 2 Here and later family information has been taken from censuses and church registers available at www.ancestry.co.uk 3 Slater Manchester & Salford Directory, 1850; Slater Manchester and Salford Directory, 1855. 4 Royal Cornwall Gazette. 24 March 1854.

25 WAR AND WRECKS ship was never charged dock dues. The ship reached Liverpool after a voyage of five months and nineteen days. He also made his second voyage on the Hermione, the destination being Pernambuco, on the Brazilian coast. The sensation of that voyage was the firing of the ship by the spontaneous combustion of its cargo of cotton. Fortunately, no great amount of damage was done. His third voyage was to Newfoundland with general cargo, when he had his experience of real fogs which would come on suddenly and as suddenly disappear. As there was not much freight to be picked up the captain decided to pass on to New York. In 1861 the war between the North and South had broken out and recruits were being asked for for the Northern navy. After medical examination on 6th October 1862 Robert enlisted on an old battleship the North Carolina, there being a crew of all nationalities.5 Three weeks later he was picked for service on a gun boat which had previously been a blockade runner. It was named the Stetting.6 Its armaments comprised five guns, four of which were 24 pounders, and on the forecastle was a 24- pounder rifled pivot gun which could be trained in any direction and carry a shot for 6 miles. Armour plates were unknown in those days. The Stetting was dispatched to Charleston, South Carolina to prevent blockade running. He had the privilege of seeing the historic fight between the Merrimac (South) and Monitor (North). 7 The Merrimac had played sad havoc with the Northern fleet on account of its size and heavy armaments. One of the most notable ships to suffer from its attack was the Cumberland which went down with the Stars and Stripes flag nailed to the mast, and the crew cheering and waving their caps as the vessel went under the water. But, says the writer, the Merrimac had not a very long career. There was on the stocks in one of the Northern shipbuilding yards a new class of fighting ship, the invention of a Swedish gentleman. Formed like a cigar, the Monitor had on her deck a revolving turret containing two 10in. guns. She was heavily plated. When ready this ship was sent to try conclusions with the Merrimac, the Southern Goliath. One afternoon as the ship was off Hampton Roads, with the backing of smaller craft the Merrimac sailed proudly out. A short battle was ended by darkness, leaving a drawn game. The fight resumed the next morning. The Monitor sailed round and round her antagonist delivering well directed shots into her vitals, and these soon began to tell. Ultimately, she ceased firing, and the crew ran her ashore to prevent her sinking. The lesson of the battle was that the days of the wooden ship for fighting purposes were over. Mr Bilkey was at Charleston when the exploits of the two Rams against the Northern fleet gave hopes in this country that this blockade had been raised. A ship was captured trying to run the blockade with a cargo of war material, and he was picked as one of the prize crew, having the pleasure of being put at the wheel on her voyage to Boston.8 In April 1863 Robert then transferred to the USS Ohio then to the USS Montgomery blockading Wilmington the main port of North Carolina and finally USS Sacremento.9

5 The sloop USS North Carolina was no longer fit for active service and served as a receiving ship for new recruits. 6 The correct name was the USS Stettin. An English steam ship, she had been captured by the Union side in May 1862 running the blockade into Charleston, South Carolina and was recommissioned in November; Bilkey must have been part of the first Union crew. 7 The battle of Hampton Roads took place on 8-9 March 1862. The USS Merrimack had been a steam frigate, but was renamed the CSS Virginia after being remodelled as a ram, an ironclad warship. Like many ironclad ships she was designed specifically to ram opponents: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Virginia (accessed 29 March 2021 and similarly later references). USS Monitor was an ironclad warship built for the Union Navy and completed in early 1862. The design of the ship was distinguished by its revolving turret, which was designed by American inventor Theodore Timby; it was quickly duplicated and established the monitor class and type of armored warship built for the American Navy over the next several decades. https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/USS_Monitor. 8 Possibly the capture of the Anglo-Confederate steamer SS Aries by USS Stettin of Bull’s Bay, near Charleston on 28 March 1863. 9 The USS Ohio was another receiving ship. The USS Montgomery, built in 1858, was a steam gunboat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Montgomery_(1858). The USS Sacremento, a steam sloop, launched in 1862, was also engaged in blockading Wilmington: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sacramento_(1862).

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Louis Prang & Co.; lithograph. signed Jo Davidson

Figure 1. Battle of Hampton Roads, USS Merrimack (Virginia) (L) and USS Monitor (R)

Library of Congress

Figure 2. Crew of USS Monito, c.1862

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Frank Leslie ‘Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War’ (New York, 1896)

Figure 3. Capture of the Anglo-Confederate steamer SS Aries by the gunboat USS Stettin off Bull's Bay, near Charleston, S.C., 28 March 1863

https://docplayer.net/160839190-The-sailing.html Figure 4. Ship-of-the-line USS Ohio as a receiving ship at Boston during the 1870s.

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U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph Figure 5. USS Sacremento, at Kingston, Ireland, July 1865

Soon afterwards his term of service expired; he was honourably discharged at Boston on 5th October 1863 and took ship to St. John’s, New Brunswick, thence getting a passage to Liverpool on the Mary Richards, which took in so much water that there was for long a danger of her sinking. It was a great relief when the ship at length made Liverpool in safety. Robert spent the next ten years at sea. On the Artizan he made some coasting trips, and later went to South America on the Recorder for guano. The crew had such pleasant times there that they did not wish to leave, and there was almost a mutiny. On the return journey the second mate, Mr Studdam, fell overboard, and was drowned, and there was a serious outbreak of scurvy only cured by putting into port and obtaining supplies of fresh meat and vegetables. On reaching Liverpool he returned to Delph and tried his hand at weaving at Slackcote Mill. It did not, however, suit, and he was quickly back at Liverpool getting a berth on the White Squall bound for Singapore. It was a fine iron ship but afforded a sensation when it took fire. No great amount of damage was done. On another occasion the water tank sprang a leak and caused great anxiety. It was in sailor’s parlance an unlucky ship, and finally ran ashore, and was wrecked on Cape Cod making for Boston in February 1867. All hands escaped by boat. They subsisted by selling or bartering presents they had purchased at Singapore for home friends. Arriving at Boston he was pleased, indeed, to find a sum equal to £50 awaiting him, prize money for the capture of the vessel two years previous. Reaching Liverpool, he paid another visit to Delph, where he married Mary Ann Shaw in 1868 and his son John Frederick was born in 1872. He made the acquaintance of John Shaw, of Knotthill Farm, who had served in the Royal Navy. Together they formed the scheme of going out to the States, and bade farewell to the late Charles W. Shaw oatcake baker. They boarded the sailing ship W.F. Storer full of emigrants from all parts of Europe. This ship landed on a mud bank. The two chose Walden, New York State as their settlement having read glowing accounts from a Delph man of the state of the weaving trade there. They hunted this man, known locally as Phillip o’ Laddies, but he failed to verify the statements he had made – professed, indeed, that he did not remember ever having made

29 WAR AND WRECKS them. Still another man Giles Andrew, was in Walden.10 He was working a good-sized mill, making satinetts for the navy. They became his guests and passed an enjoyable time in his company. He told them that he formerly ran Gatehead Mill, Delph, and was very fond of hunting. Shaw found work with a butcher, and the writer with a farmer, receiving five dollars weekly with board. Their engagements ended at the end of the season. Work was obtained on the railway, and they had an opportunity of seeing much of the country. Any other work which came to hand was done, and after many other wanderings and experiences he once more reached home. Back in England Robert lived in Liverpool where his two sons were baptised in 1878. He took as job on a Mersey tug boat. Around 1880 he was injured and was no longer able to work. As Robert relates ‘...whiles I was engaged on the Tug Lord Lyons in getting the anchor ready, and that the said injuries or disabilities are not due to vicious habits and are permanent in character.’ A medical report gave further details:- ‘Left hand: Has lost phalanges of little finger due to trapping by ship’s cable in 1884 when on Lord Lyon steam tug, belonging to Liverpool. Ulnar nerve has evidently been injured as he cannot flex the ring finger. The whole hand is weak, and the man cannot grasp with any degree of firmness, so can’t be of any use to him for manual labour.’ The family had moved back to Delph by 1881; Robert being employed as a woollen weaver. In September 1895, during the Bailey Mill strike, forty policemen were quartered in the mill. They attacked a crowd of strikers and their supporters including Robert Bilkey who ‘was knocked down and very severely beaten.’ His euphonium was broken and he was presented with a new one at a tea in support of the strikers at Delph Mechanics Institute.11 A few years earlier Robert had started his long battle to receive an American pension. He had appointed an American attorney, Herbert Schofield of Brooklyn to act for him and submitted a medical examination:- ‘I hereby Certify that I have carefully examined Robert Bilkey of Tame View, Delph, who is suffering from crippled hand, and is quite unfit to follow his usual employment. George F. Bird, L.S.A. Lond.’ He also received support from prominent from local men:- ‘We the undersigned having known the claimant (Robert Bilkey) a great number of years can testify to his character being good, and further that he is unable by reason of a crippled hand to earn a livelihood. We therefore respectfully request you to take his case into your thoughtful consideration. Thos. E. Moorhouse, Stationer, Delph Clarence Hudson, F.G.S., Government Schoolmaster, Delph Joseph Cliffe farmer Delph Jesse Oldham, Secretary, Delph & District Woollen Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Delph His claim was rejected in January 1894. His service and honourable discharge were noted. He seems to have believed that his British citizenship was an issue stating:- ‘That in the late ‘War of Rebellion’ I entered the U. States Navy as a Seaman and that I gave in as my place of birth Manchester, Engd. and I enclose copy of certificate of such. That I was entered on the ships books as an Englishman. That I conformed to the ‘Oath of Allegiance’ during my one year of service, namely, to defend the flag of the ‘Republic’ against all Enemies, above all others, the ‘Forces of Queen Victoria’ thereby disowning any allegiance to the British Throne. That I had no opportunity of applying for citizenship, I, having to go away to sea immediately on my Discharge from the Navy.’ Despite this seemingly conclusive rejection Robert persisted with his claim for a pension. He was now, he stated in 1896, ‘... wholly dependant on his wife and son not having had permanent work since 1884’. He became increasingly frustrated:

10 Giles Andrew operated a woollen mill on Water Street, Walden from 1845 until his death in 1869: http://www.thewaldenhouse.org/OUTLINE%20Development%20of%20the%20Textile%20Industry%20in%20 Walden. 11 Huddersfield Examiner, 28 September 1895.

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‘... the bitterness of disapppoins [sic] comes harder, when I think of my Wife who has kept our little home together, through her labour. She is now in her 57th year. It is unfair to discriminate against ‘aliens’ as ... at the time of enlistment your Navy was in urgent need of Seamen, and that no question of Citizenship was asked.’ He repeated the account of his accident and again submitted a medical assessment; this time from Herbert Ramsden, M.D. Lond, ChB MRCS. along with letters of support from a list of prominent local men: Harry Pollentine Edwards, Curate of Holy Trinity Dobcross, Charles William Clarke, Congregational Minister Delph, Thos. S. Platt, A Justice of the Peace for West Riding of York, T. J. Wild, A Justice of the Peace for West Riding of York, H. Moorhouse, Chairman Saddleworth Board of Guardians, Yorkshire, England, James Wm. Hugh, Vice-Chairman, Rural District Council, W. H. F. Ramsden, LRCP MRCS Med Officer of Health. In February 1907 the granting of service pensions was extended and now old age, of itself was considered a disability. By April Robert was already pursuing his claim. Once again Robert was required to submit medical evidence. He was now aged 64 and his health was deteriorating: his light brown hair was turning grey, he weighed less than eight stone and was suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Robert's claim was quickly processed and he was granted a pension of $6 per month backdated to 1883 which was increased to $12 from February 1907. After his wife died in 1911 Robert moved from Diggle to Longsight, Manchester. .He died in 1920 at his son's home, Turner's Buildings in Delph and his extensive file closes with John's unsuccessful attempt to claim for his father's medical and funeral expenses. Robert Bilkey was buried at Delph Wesleyan Chapel in an unmarked grave. The position of the family grave is shown on a 1910 plan of the graveyard (Figure 6)

SHS Archives, H/DCG/12

Figure 6. The position of the Bilkey family grave on a plan of the Delph Wesleyan Graveyard dated 1910. Although the Bilkey grave is unmarked there are still existing gravestones on the adjoining Seville and Bray graves.

31 SHSB, VOL. 51, NO. 1, 2021

NEWSPAPER EXTRACTS1 Howard Lambert

AN EARLY MENTION OF OLDHAM (London Gazette, 6-10th June 1695) ‘Run away from Captain Dally’s company of Grenadeers in Colonel Farrington’s Regiment of Foot at Leeds - John Gartside, aged about 24, middle stature, well set, lank brown Hair, something long visaged, and a sharp nose; John Whittaker, carrier, aged 24, near 6ft high, well made, round visaged, dark brown Hair a little curly, both of Ouldham in Lancashire; John Marseland a husbandman, near Ouldham.’ They are bidden to return to their regiment within so many days; otherwise a reward is offered for their apprehension. From issues of the same paper (14-17th December 1696) it appears that the uniform of this Regiment was as follows:- ‘Red Coats, with brass Buttons, lined and faced with Yellow, blue Breeches, and White Stockings.’ LOCAL RECRUITING FOR THE GUARDS (Manchester Mercury, 9th February 1762) In the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, commanded by the Marquis of Granby. Any young man, well made and a good character, from 5ft 1in to 6ft 1in high, may be entertained, by applying to Mr John Platt at the ‘White Horse’ in Manchester on Saturdays, to the ‘Roe Buck’ in Rochdale on Mondays, to Austerlands in Saddleworth the rest of the week, or to Mr James Mortimer, Corporal in Bradford. SADDLEWORTH WORKHOUSE, 1773 (Manchester Mercury, 30th November 1773) On Thursday last a child about a year and a quarter old was drowned in a pail of water, which contained about three quarts, in Saddleworth Workhouse. On Thursday last was married at the Parochial Chapel of Saddleworth, the Rev’d Mr Bellas, Curate of Heights Chapel, to Miss Mary Shaw, of the same place, an agreeable young lady, with a handsome fortune. SADDLEWORTH TOLLS (Manchester Mercury, 30th June 1801) Tolls to be let, upon Saddleworth Turnpike Roads. There will be a meeting of the Trustees for making and maintaining the Turnpike from Standedge to Mumps Brook, Oldham, also a road leading through Dobcross to Wallhill in Saddleworth, and another road leading out of the said Turnpike road at Shaw Hall to a place called Hollins. Were the tolls to be collected at the two Tollgates erected, called Lees Gate and Shaw Hall Gate or French Top Gate, will be let by auction to the best bidder for a term not exceeding three years. Which tolls produced last year, above the expenses of collecting the same:- Lees Gate £146, Shaw Hall Gate £70. (Signed) James Ingham, Dobcross. LOCAL DUELS PREVENTED (Manchester Mercury, 17th May 1808) On Friday week Major Young and Lieutenant Upton, with their seconds, met at Old Tame, in Saddleworth. to fight a duel. They were on the ground so early as 5 in the morning, but by the vigilance of Mr Nadin [Deputy Constable of Manchester] he and his attendants took all the parties into custody. The major had come nearly 300 miles for this purpose. W. Hay Esq, a magistrate for Yorkshire West Riding, bound the parties to keep the peace for 3 years, themselves in £1000, and the two sureties in £500 each. Kersal Moor was the appointed place

1 These newspaper extracts were re-published in the Oldham Chronicle during the 1920s and the headlines were added by the Oldham Chronicle.

32 NEWSPAPER EXTRACTS of meeting, but the affair having been communicated to Mr Nadin it was there first prevented, and finally by persevering efforts as above stated. (Manchester Mercury (4th October 1808) In consequence of a few words uttered in warmth of debate, on Friday evening, between 2 non-commissioned officers of the Dragoons, then quartered at Oldham (to Imitate the manner of their superiors), they parted and dispatched billets to each other containing a challenge to decide the dispute at 9.30 o’clock that evening. Oldham Edge was the place fixed on to purge themselves of all dishonourable stains by flash of gunpowder. Mr Samuel Wrigley one of the Constables of Oldham, however, arrived with his staff of office and decided by his appearance every point of honour. A GRAND FAMILY (Manchester Mercury, 14th February 1809) There are now living at Heights in Saddleworth, William and Mary Heginbottom whose joint ages amount to 166 years. They are both in good health, and will on the 26th of this month have been married 60 years. They are grandparents to 116 and great-grandparents to 67. This venerable couple are well known for their musical abilities and whose sons and grandsons in that science are not to be exceeded, perhaps in the United Kingdom. A BAD STORM (Manchester Mercury, 29th August 1809) On the morning of Friday week, about 5 o’clock, came on at Oldham and its vicinity one of the most dreadful storms of thunder and lightning within our recollection. The electric fluid entered the chimney of a house at High Moor, near Austerlands, throwing down flags of stone, whereof the chimney was composed, splitting the doors and breaking every square of glass in the house. The master of the house, Garlic by name, standing on the stairs was struck dead. The gable end of the house was shattered and the house a complete wreck.2 STANDEDGE CANAL (Manchester Mercury, 31st October 1809) The hill called Standedge, on the line of the Huddersfield Canal is now perforated, forming a tunnel of nearly 3 miles in length through a rocky mountain. The Yorkshire hills, which were with difficulty passed a century ago on horseback, are now crossed by 3 navigable canals, on which not less than a million of money hath been expended. A FESTIVAL CASUALTY (Manchester Mercury, 14th September 1813) On the 6th Instant, aged 18 years, at her brother’s cottage near Shaw Hall, Saddleworth, died Maria, the youngest daughter of the late Ralph Whitehead, of the above place. Her death was occasioned by the bursting of a small cannon, fired by herself on 30th August, which had been procured as an appendage to a patriotic entertainment, intended to be given in this neighbourhood to celebrate the recent successes of our countrymen in Spain, under the Marquess of Wellington. The cannon had been frequently tried immediately before the catastrophe, and although there were present many young persons of both sexes, she was the only sufferer by the accident. LIGHTING THE STREETS (Huddersfield Chronicle, 4th October 1851) Some time ago, we believe during the summer of 1850, a subscription was entered into by some of the public spirited inhabitants of Uppermill with the laudable purpose of lighting the street with gas during the winter. Nearly £90 was raised, which sufficed for the erection of lamps and providing gas for them during last week. It was now decided in future to raise the necessary money by rate, 7d. in the £ being considered fully adequate.

2 John Garlick of High Moor, killed by Lightening and buried 13 August 1809, at St John the Baptist, Hey, (St John’s Registers).

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GREAT SNOWSTORM (Huddersfield Chronicle, 7th January 1854) One of the severest, if not the severest, storms ever know in the memory of man commenced on Wednesday. The snow came down incessantly during the day, accompanied by a brisk wind, which blocked up the roads and railway. About noon the trains ceased running, the great numbers of passengers had to remain over-night in Marsden. Many of the snow drifts were yards in depth. A boy was found in a drift of snow near Uppermill; he would not have been living, if he had not been found, and it was sometime before he was brought to himself again. Two boys were frozen to death on the Glossop Moors. COCKFIGHTERS BEWARE (Oldham Chronicle, 19th April 1856) At the petty sessions at Uppermill on Wednesday, 8 persons from Ashton, Holmfirth and Halifax way were cited to appear for having on the 10th March last, encouraged, aided and assisted at certain cock fights at Bill’s o’ Jack’s. The defendants were all fined in various penalties and costs amounting to £10 17s 6d. EXHIBITION OF DISSOLVING VIEWS3 (Oldham Chronicle, 3rd May 1856) On Monday an Exhibition of Dissolving Views was exhibited in the Lecture Room of the Mechanics Institution, Uppermill. The powerful dissolving apparatus used on this occasion had been constructed at great expense by the Committee of the Institution. The views shown embodied some of the most striking incidents of the late war; and judging by the repeated rounds of applause given by a very respectable audience, we should infer that the exhibition gave general satisfaction. SACRILEGE (Oldham Chronicle, 10th May 1856) On Tuesday night, Christ Church, Friezland, was broken into and 11 brass branches from the side wall gas lights, and 9 brown holland cushion-covers, were stolen therefrom. SPORTS AT THE WAKES (Oldham Chronicle, 30th August 1856) On Monday, a pigeon shooting took place at the Marquis of Granby Inn, Uppermill; the shooters entered their names to contend for the free sovereign given by the landlord. As a result seven of them had to share the prize, each killing 5 birds. At the Farrars’ Arms, Shawhall, the usual rural sports, consisting of hound, dog trail, foot races, and climbing the pole, were kept up for three days, to the amusement of all persons present AN APPRECIATION OF LOCAL TALENT (Oldham Chronicle, 7th March 1857) On Saturday last a miscellaneous concert was given in a large room of the Swan Hotel, Dobcross. The district was duly placarded, announcing a very choice ..... stating that the principal vocalists would be Mr Hirst and Mrs Moore and that Mr Hanson would preside at the pianoforte; all of who are very good performers, as is well known in the neighbourhood. But because they were all local residents and had not any ‘foreign’ names associated with them, the concert was comparatively speaking a failure. This is a reflection on the musical public of Saddleworth, who would have gone to the concert in shoals if some strange Italian or German names had appeared in the programme.

3 See Peter Fox, ‘A Local Showing - The Magic Lantern’ SHSB, Vol. 23, No. 2. (1993), pp. 17-21.

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