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A SITE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED BY A MANCUNIAN MANCHESTER FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH FOR METHODICAL THOROUGH AND EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH mail@manchester-family-history-research.co.uk PUT THE KETTLE ON...AND SETTLE DOWN FOR A READ
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CONTENTS A MANCHESTER RESEARCHER'S TALE MANCHESTER AND STOCKPORT CERTIFIED INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS MANCHESTER MARTYRS' PRISON RECORDS PRESS REACTION TO THE MANCHESTER EXECUTIONS PART I WHAT DID HAPPEN TO THE REMAINS OF THE PRISONERS EXECUTED AT MANCHESTER? THE MANCHESTER FELONY REGISTER GREATER MANCHESTER RIOTS IN 1868 MANCHESTER AND LANCASHIRE STRAYS IN MILL BANK PRISON MANCHESTER POOR LAW AND WORKHOUSE RECORDS CHORLTON AND SOUTH MANCHESTER REGISTRATION DISTRICT VOTING REGISTERS AND ELIGIBILITY IN MANCHESTER 1831 POPULATION FIGURES FOR MANCHESTER MANCHESTER CENSUS COLLECTION DETAILS PLACES OF WORSHIP IN MANCHESTER AND SALFORD MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE CHURCHES MANCHESTER AND GENERAL INFORMATION TRANSPORT IN MANCHESTER PART ONE THE RELOCATION OF MANCHESTER ARCHIVES MANCHESTER FAMILY HISTORY CONTACT PAGE
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MANCHESTER AND GENERAL INFORMATION
DOWN YOUR STREET?
DID you,
your parents, your grandparents or great grandparents live in the
http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/
THE
This is
a brief selection of articles appearing in the above newspaper on 22nd
June 1850. This typical of the Courier's style of reporting. It was not
known for its liberal views. More extreme examples of The Courier's
reporting can be seen
here.
SEIZING
AN OPPORTUNITY - On Saturday night last, at about half past 11 o'clock,
a row took place in Smithfield Market, owing to the misconduct of some
drunken men, when a young fellow named Power, taking advantage of the
confusion, slipped his hand into the pocket of Elizabeth Cooke, a
huckster in the market, and robbed her of 11s 2d, with which he ran
away. he was pursued, however, with the cry of "Stop thief !" and was
chased into Oldham St by a policeman, who ran him into the shop of Mr.
Owen, toy dealer, where he was apprehended with the exact sum of 11s 2d,
in his pocket. On Monday the prisoner was brought up before the
SUPPOSED
WAREHOUSE ROBBERY. - On Thursday a young man giving the name of john
Leary, but who was known to the police by the name of Challender, was
brought up before the
ROBBERY
BY A SOLDIER. - A private soldier of 3rd Dragoon Guards, now lying in
Manchester, named John Stewart Grant, was on Monday brought up before
the Borough Court, and was committed for trial at the Sessions, charged
with having stolen 4s 6d in money from the house of Mrs Smethurst,
beerseller, Chester Rd, Hulme. the robbery took place about three weeks
previously , when the prisoner, who was drinking in the house, was seen
to take the money out of a pint pot in the bar, after which he left the
place. The man's regimental character (a very bad one) was handed to the
bench for inspection by an officer of the regiment in attendance, on
seeing which Mr Hodgson said he could not treat the case summarily, and
he committed the prisoner for trial.
SERIOUS
ROBBERIES BY WORKPEOPLE. - On Monday, an Irish tailor, named Michael
Walsh, along with his wife Julia Walsh was brought up at the
BIGAMY
PREVENTED. - On Monday morning last, a circumstance occurred in the
district of St Philip's,
SERIOUS
CHARGE OF WILFUL DAMAGE. - On Friday evening, 14 inst., about 11
o'clock, a number of men visited a brickfield in Rusholme, belonging to
a person named James Farr, and deliberately set to and threw down and
damaged about £7 worth of soft bricks. A man stationed to watch the
bricks fired a gun at the depredators, who fire two shots in return;
when Farr and his wife, hearing the noise, got out of bed and went to
the place, on which the men at once decamped. They were followed,
however, by a large and savage dog of Farr's, which seemed to be
recognised by one of the men, as he called out its name, "Boxer," and so
escaped him being worried. On hearing the dog being called by its name,
Mrs Farr recognised the voice of the man who formerly worked for her
husband, and calling out "That's thee, Smelter," was answered by the
man, "Yes; we've left you summat to look at." On Thursday, Smelter was
brought up at the New Bailey, having been apprehended on the charge by
one of the
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ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE STYAL LINE AND HEALD GREEN STATION
THE railway line that most people knew as the Styal Line is 100
hundred years old this year. Perhaps more people today know it as the
Airport Line. Of all the villages and districts that this line passes
through, possibly the greatest impact has been on Heald Green
To many of us who live in Heald Green, one of the most important
things about the village is the railway station. Whether we use it for
commuting to and from work, or for pleasure trips to
The authority to commence construction of the line came with The
London & North Western Railway (New Railways) Act 1899. Initially it was
only planned to have one station between
What was Heald Green like in the 1901 when work began on the line?
The 1901 Census which was conducted 31st March/1st
April shows that the inhabitants of Heald Green were mainly enumerated
amongst the people living in the civil parish of Stockport Etchells. A
few people from Heald Green (at the
In 1910 there were ten passenger trains per weekday to
Recently rail traffic on the line has increased dramatically with
the opening of the Airport Station. That meant that two new junctions
had to created .One called Heald Green North and the other Heald Green
South. Stockport Central Library has several pictures of Heald Green
Station from earlier times, and they are certainly worth looking at.
They can be viewed in the Local Heritage Library on the first floor.
The 2001 Census showed that 12,640 people were living in Heald
Green in some 5,189 dwellings. In the year 2005/06 approximately 264,000
passenger journeys were made through Heald Green station. I suspect that
by now all these figures have now increased. I wonder if Heald Green
will continue to grow in the next 100 years?
RUBBER PRODUCTION IN
SCOTTISH chemist, Charles Macintosh and
English engineer Thomas Hancock experimented with the rubber manufacture
process in the later and early part of the first two decades of the
nineteenth century. At that time the solvents used to prepare the gum,
normally turpentine and camphene, were expensive and imperfect, only
allowing the dissolved rubber to be added to the cloth without the use
of machinery.
In about 1820 Macintosh discovered, or more
accurately re-discovered the use of coal tar oil as a cheap and
effective solvent. This enabled him to place the solution between two
fabrics. Also in the 1820's Hancock invented the "pickle" or rubber
kneading machine which aided the process of rubber manufacture.
The double texture cloth which Macintosh
produced in his factory at
Macintosh wanted to get his factory in a
location closer to the centre of production of the fabric needed in the
manufacture process so he came to
Although at first Hancock and Macintosh
kept their business ventures separate, Hancock became a partner in the
business in 1831. In 1843 when Charles died, his son George Macintosh
joined the Board, but he left after a couple years and was the last
family member to be associated with the company. So it was that in 1845
that when George Macintosh and Henry Birley both retired, Richard Birley,
Thomas Hornby Birley, Herbert Birley, Thomas Hancock and William
Brockedon continued the partnership.
The company remained in business until 1923
when it was taken over by Dunlop. Between 1939 and 1945 the Dunlop
factory was at full production. They manufactured the very large barrage
balloons that were a feature of the skyline during that period. More
bizarrely they produced inflatable
WYTHENSHAWE - THE GARDEN CITY
It seems
hard to believe but Wythenshawe, the place of my birth, only became
incorporated in the City of
ENGLAND AND WALES
ENUMERATOR'S SCHEDULE
Ref: HO 107/103/1 folio 4
County
of Cheshire. Hundred of Macclesfield.
Parish
of Northenden.
Township
of Northern Etchells (part of)
Superintendent Registrar's District: Altrincham.
Registrar's District: Wilmslow.
Number
of Enumeration District: 14
Description of Ditto: All that part of Northern Etchells comprising
Thomas Adshead's farm, Woodhouse Lane, Hey-Head, Joshua Bayley's house
near Styall, Peter Smith's farm, Shadow Moss, [Moss] Nook and Chamber
Hall.
Included
in the above were areas known as Balshaw Outwood and Heald Green. There
were only about 340 people living in this sizeable area.
Township
of Northern Etchells (part of)
District
15 (Ref: HO 107/103/2 folio 4)
All that
part of the township of Northern Etchells extending from Royle Thorn to
Mr Baxter's at Gatley, thence by Wiggins Hill to Peel Hall, Cross Acres
and Brownlow Green to Sharston Green and by John Royle's house to
Halfley Hey to Thomas Dickins' house.
Other
place names used include Poundswick, Holly Hedge, Benchill, Sharston,
Sharston Hall, Sharston Mount, Peel Lane and Stone Pale. About 380
people were living in this area.
Township
of Northenden (part of)
District
16 (Ref: HO 107/103/3 folio 4)
All that
part of the township of Northenden from the Boat House to Kennedy,
thence by the chapel, including all the Houses on the Northenden
side of Gilbert Lane to Mr Wilson's, Royle Green and Mr Wadkin's house.
Most of
the people were living in the village, other places mentioned are
Ravenswood, Hill Gate, Northern Moor End, Royle Green, Rose Hill and
Bradley Gate. They were 470 residents listed.
Township
of Northenden (part of)
District
17 (Ref: HO 107/103/4 folio 4)
All that
part of the township of Northenden from Piper Hill to the end of
Northern Moor, thence to Lawton Moor and the Royal Oak in Baguley, and
by Withinshaw hall to the Rackhouse.
Just
under 190 people were living in this area.
MANCHESTER'S FIRST ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS?
NOW here
is a question for residents or former residents of Greater Manchester.
Where were the first zoological gardens in Manchester located? Belle Vue
Gardens I hear you cry. Well they were certainly extensive and in their
time acted as a lung to the area, but they were not the first. There was
an earlier collection of animals in Lower Broughton.
They
opened on May 31st 1838.They were run by a company who
ventured a large sum of money in the enterprise. They occupied nearly
all the land from Northumberland St to Broom Lane and went back a
considerable distance from the road. In addition to the usual attraction
of the tea gardens of the day they had a small collection of animals.
About the time of Queen Victoria's coronation there was a serious mishap
with one of the animals. The various places of amusement were open for
free to all the people. At the Zoological Gardens a large crowd
attended, as the animals were something of a novelty. Many people
gathered around the lion's cage and an unfortunate man was forced
towards the bars after a crush in the crowd. Instantly the lion sprang
upon the poor soul and mauled him. Sadly amputation of his arm was
necessary. The owners tried to drum up business by advertising in The
Manchester Guardian.
Zoological Gardens, Manchester. The Board of Directors of the above
establishment, in order to give all classes of society an opportunity of
viewing the gardens and splendid collection of animals have concluded to
open them during the following week, from the 31st of
December 1838 to the 5th of January 1839, at half price. For
adults, 6d; Children, under twelve years of age, 3d. Officers will be
stationed to prevent the intrusion of improper or disorderly persons.
The
adverts did not work. Public interest in the gardens was not forthcoming
and after about four years they were closed. The gardens were sold by
auction on November 23rd 1842. Most of the animals were
purchased by a certain Mr Jennison, who in 1836 had opened his tea
gardens in
Hyde
Road.
However
there was an even more humble version before that. In an advertisement
in The Manchester Guardian a Mr Joseph Lodge invites one and all to
visit his public house and gardens to see his menagerie. It appeared on
July 28th 1832 and it gives some idea what that part of
Broughton was like at that time.
Broughton Grove Inn Zoological Gardens. The inhabitants of Manchester
and its neighbourhood are respectfully informed that these interesting
and rural gardens are now opened to the public. The proprietor Mr Joseph
Lodge, begs leave to inform gentlemen, subscribers, and others that the
bowling-green, billiard room and quoiting-ground are now in complete
order, and will be set apart for their exclusive use every Wednesday and
Friday; and to the public generally on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays. The ladies and younger branches of the family will find in
these retired gardens everything that can contribute to their health and
amusement. Tea, coffee, salad, fruit etc, will be provided on the most
reasonable terms. J. Lodge hopes by unremitting attention to the comfort
of his visitors, keeping only the choicest wines and spirits, together
with his home brewed ale and London porter etc, to make this the most
pleasant lounge in the neighbourhood, being only one mile from town on
the Bury New Road.
I do not
know as much as I would like about this chap as he had the temerity to
die before the 1851 Census. I have him and his family living at The
Grove in the 1841 Census which states that he was not born in the
county. The public house and gardens are clearly shown on the 1848
Ordnance Survey map. I do have a trip planned to Lancashire Records
Office to read his will and this may give some more information about
him and his family.
The
Grove Hotel and its gardens boarder Bury New Road and on the opposite
side of the road was a nursery which can also be seen on the 1848 map.
This nursery and another one a short distance away at Singleton Brook
were owned by a William Lodge who hailed from Uley in Gloucestershire.
It may be pure coincidence that these two men having the same surname,
lived in properties only separated by the width of a road. I know that
in 1841 William had a brother called Charles, also a nurseryman, who
lived very close by.
The area
was quite popular with people who wanted to get away from the grimy,
smoke filled air of Manchester as illustrated in this next extract from
Reminiscences of Manchester by Louis M Hayes.
In
Manchester, about the year 1840 and onwards, the middle classes began to
realise that town life was not very desirable, and families began
migrating and settling in the various suburbs. In the summer of 1845 we
removed from Faulkner St to Teneriffe St, Broughton, and it was very
pleasant to get away from town with all its dingy and uninviting
surroundings, and to breathe the pure, fresh country air. The country
began at that time around Sherbourne St, fields being on both sides of
the road, and as you walked along and turned down Broughton Lane it was
sweet and nice, and you realised that you had said good-bye to the town.
The lane had its hedgerows thick with and wild flowers peeping out from
beneath with gay profusion whilst the gardens about were gay with bloom.
A few yards down the lane you came to Lodge’s Nursery Gardens,
approached by a long, wide pathway, bordered by, a small running brook.
Inside the Nurseries there was an extensive orchard of pear, apple and
plum trees. Scattered about were summerhouses and arbours, where people
could sit and have their tea, with water-cress. In the spring time it
was quite a sight to stand on the higher ground on Bury New Road, and
look across to Lodge's Gardens, at the wide expanse of fruit trees laden
with bloom.
PARISH REGISTERS
TO
SOME people trawling through Parish Registers is akin to the ancient art
of watching paint dry. True it can very tedious and also very time
consuming, but there are times when you can find some gems of
information, whether it be footnotes in the margins, corrections or just
unusual entries. Beside baptisms, marriages and burials there are many
other records available.
The
following is taken from the baptisms from Wynbury Parish Church, and
little to do with the birth of a child. It dates from the early part of
the seventeenth century.
Madam
Mary Delves Ladie and weif of Sir Thomas Delves Knigte and Baronet
describing to me Morice Gwyn vicar of the Parishe, by her often
experience, the qualitie of her information to be such that when she
eateth some fishe, cheese and such like it putteth her to extreme
pain, in respect of which [pains] I could no lesse in ????? and equitie
according to the statute in that behalf but allow lycence and dispence
with the said Lady Delves for neccesitie sake to eat of fleshe at or in
the tymes prohibited. And this allowance and lycence after eighte daies
to be recorded in the Register Booke of the Parish of Winbury with the
privitie of one of the churchwardens, my allowance and lycence I have
confimed with the subscription of my name, the fourth of May 1632.
Morice
Gwyn and Thomas Cooper
Below
this was an entry noting that Lady Delve had paid into the Poor Fund the
sum of eighteen shillings and four pence, which seems a vast amount of
money for the time. Were the two things connected? Well it was only a
small price to pay if you wanted to eat meat on Fridays and other days
of abstinence, at least for the Lady of the Manor
I found
this entry in the Parish records of Wallasey, St Hilda.
Memorandum that on the 23rd of December in the year of our
Lord 1630, we George Snell the parson, Henry Birde and Richard Hill
Churchwardens of the Parish of Wallasey being assembled in the church
with 10 or 12 more sufficient parishioners and examining the
christening register in the year 1606 did find Hellen Younge mistaken
and entered in stead of John Younge on the 20th November
which was verily judged to be so, because none of the parish can
remember any such Hellen; and because the parents and neighbour[s]
certainly affirm that John Younge omitted in the book was christened on
that month and about that day: so far as in us [
] with full consent agreed that the said John Younge son [of]
Henry Younge of Seacomb: shall be registered at the foot of the leafe in
1606: to have been christened on the 20th day of November.
This was
taken from the baptismal records for Budworth, St Mary and All Saints.
March 21st
1861. Esther dau of Sarah Jeffs. (Abode) Crossley. Illegitimate.
N. B.
The Mother Sarah Jeffs was illegally married to Daniel Percival, farmer
of Crossley-who was the daughter of the sister of his first wife.
SANCTUARY
MANCHESTER Parish Church was one of only a very few selected churches
that had the privilege of Sanctuary. In fact it was one of only eight
that were bestowed by Henry VIII. This questionable distinction drew
into the area many villains and thieves, which to a town with a growing
trade, was not an ideal scenario. In early times yarns were exposed to
the air to be bleached. Woollen cloths were also dried in the same way.
This meant that valuable items were left out in the open day and night
and therefore very tempting to light fingered people. In 1541 Manchester
Parish Church "lost" this privilege to Chester after only a year.
LOST HEADSTONES
OVER
recent times there has been controversy concerning the removal of
headstones from cemeteries and their relocation. This is not something
new and in the past the headstones have not always been treated with the
reverence or respect they deserved. This is letter printed in one of the
local newspapers at the latter end of the 19th century.
Manchester City News May 5th 1883. To the Editor
Sir,
- In reflagging Rumford St, Chorlton on Medlock, a flag was turned over
Tuesday morning May 1st bearing the following inscription:-
"Here resteth the bodies of Ellen daughter of William and Mary
Gerrard who departed this life June 17th 1787 aged 5 weeks;
also their son William, who departed this life Dec 24th 1792,
aged 2 years; also John their son who departed this life 27th
June 1808 aged 14 years". This may be interesting to some of your
readers. How came the stone to be claimed by the Corporation? Is it to
be laid in the same place in front of the Welsh Chapel house, Rumford
St? No one has ever been buried there.
S.
ROBERTS, Lorne St, Moss Side
ROMAN CATHOLIC MARRIAGES
ARE you
a Roman Catholic and do you have family members who prior to the early
1900s did not marry in the church? I have come upon this on several
occasions and some people have been upset by this. However not many
people are aware of the fact that until Easter 1908, to get married
outside of the Catholic church did not go against the teachings of the
church in this country. It was only after the decree Ne Temere
was proposed in 1907 that it became a condition of having a valid
marriage in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
For the
details, take a look at a search engine, but before 1908 a (Catholic)
marriage between a couple did not have to have any ceremony to be valid
in the eyes of the Church. All they needed to do was to consent to the
marriage themselves. I have no idea how many people were aware of this
prior to 1908. One thing for certain is that the clergy would possibly
have not wanted this to be common knowledge as it would have had some
affect on their earnings from marriage fees.
Even
today under the present Catholic Marriage Legislation the blessing of a
union by a priest, in certain circumstances, is not essential to the
marriage sacrament. If a Catholic couple wish to marry in a place where,
for a month, there will be no priest qualified to join them in marriage,
they may simply express their mutual consent before a couple of
witnesses, and thereby they are validly married in the eyes of the
Church. If a couple is in danger of death, they can also marry even when
there is no delay in the arrival of a priest.
If you
happen to look for some of your relatives marriages on one of the county
BMD sites you may see an entry for the location of the marriages as
"Registrar Office or Registrar Attended". This means that the wedding
took place at the Register Office or at an unlicensed church or chapel
where the Registrar had to attend to make the marriage legal in the eyes
of the law. The chapel would more than likely have been Catholic or
non-conformist.
ODD ADVERTISEMENTS
In the
course of my research I have to often wade through old newspapers. I
often get side tracked by the adverts which, especially those dealing
with medical remedies, make incredible claims about the virtues of the
particular product being advertised. The following extracts appeared in
the Britannia published on Saturday 21st March 1835. The advert was a
full column advert almost the full length of the page and was backed up
by recommendations from satisfied customers.
Lamb's
Vegetable Compound the only effectual cure for all descriptions of
wombs, indigestion, bilious and liver complaints, early stages of
consumption, and delicate constitutions, whether arising from worms or
not. The Vegetable Compound may be taken at any season of the year,
without any hindrance of business, or change in the diet, and warranted
free of any preparation of Mercury or Turpentine. - To be had at 22
Bridge-street, Manchester.
There
followed many examples of cures, the most exorbitant one is below.
Extraordinary Case
December
14th 1834
Martin
Middleton, butcher of 53 Lower Brook-street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock,
while taking Lamb's Vegetable Compound, passed a tape worm thirty yards
and a quarter long, weighs twelve ounces, and has 2,494 joints. The
principal symptoms that effected him for several years were as follows:
bad taste in mouth in a morning, giddiness, heaviness over the eyes,
drowsiness, lowness of spirits, loss of appetite, particularly in the
morning; violent gnawings, pain in the stomach and bowels, pain in the
small of the back, feebleness and listlessness of the limbs, very
nervous, griping pains in the bowel, and much troubled with wind. this
surprising worm may be seen in Mr Lamb's shop window, 22 Bridge-street,
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Copyright: Gerard Lodge (www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk) 2007-2010 All Rights Reserved Do Not Reproduce Any Material Without The Prior Permission Of The Author. Last update: 1st January 2010
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