The memorials of All Saints Oakham. Photographs and brief descriptions of the wall mounted memorials at All Saints church in Oakham (May 19th 2025)
From Oakham to Mandalay. The story of a young curate from Oakham and his brief service as a missionary in Burma before his early death (April 29th 2025)
Kinetic Water Power – some odd words on a memorial in All Saints Oakham led to some interesting findings about how church organs were powered at the start of the 20th century (25th April 2025)
Recently, whilst researching some aspects of the history of All Saints Church in Oakham, I found some really useful articles in the Rutland Magazine and County Historical Record from the early years of the 20th century. It seems that this magazine had only a limited life span, but the volumes that were published contain some interesting and in depth articles on aspects of Rutland history. As I was browsing the contents, I found, in the very first edition, an article by A J Waterfield of Stamford, in which he reviews a 1902 reprint of a 1763 book that sets out an alternative history of England, and in particular describes the reign of King George VI of Britain between 1900 and 1925. In reviewing the book, Mr Waterfield was delighted to find that it contains a description of King George’s new capital – the City of Stanley just south of Uppingham in Rutland! I shared his delight and enjoyment, so I thought I would share his article here. This is set out in the next section. This is followed by some further notes on the eventful reign of King George VI as foreseen from 1763, more on the city of Stanley, and a short discussion on the authorship of the original book.
The City of Stanley, Rutland by Mr A J Waterfield
Rutland Magazine and County Historical Record, 1, 34-36
Having got over the first flush of tempestuous joy, which followed the arrival of the prospectus of the Rutland Magazine, I am now able to read through the same in a spirit of almost judicial calm, in a manner dispassionate, and again with ‘ Pleasure at the helm.’ In the list of articles shown as intended for publication, I observe, that one of the many good things promised is styled, ” The Lost Villages of Rutland.” Now the purpose of my present endeavour is to set down a few rambling remarks respecting a City of Rutland which was never founded. It is just a hundred and forty years since there was issued anonymously—printed in London—a little book of about a hundred leaves, bearing title, “The Reign of George VI.” As the name barely affords a glimmer as to the drift of the work,
taken up at a what’s-to-come period, and begun at an era that will not begin these hundred years,
I may be allowed to use the words of the Editor of a reprint, sent out three years ago. Mr. Oman, the well-known author, and Fellow of All Souls’ College, Oxford, says :
The author was intending to influence the men of his own day, by pointing out, in the actions of his puppets what ought to be done and what avoided in the Year of Grace 1763.
The author himself, begins with a reference to Swift’s History of Captain Lemuel Gulliver [written 1726], and goes on to say,
The modesty which is ever the companion of true merit, would by no means admit your author to think of a parallel between this history and the travels of Captain Gulliver.
Briefly then, the volume, under present notice, is a forecast—the years of the ‘ action ‘ being 1900-1925,—and at this stage, that part of the subject concerning the nature and tendency of “The Reign of George VI” may be dismissed. The part played by the gallant little county which the Saxons called Roteland, will presently be discerned. Our author writes:
London, though the wonder of the world, never pleased the King. The meanness of his Majesty’s palace disgusted him; he had a taste for architecture, and determined to exert it in raising an edifice, that should at once do honour to his kingdom, and add splendour to his court.
In Rutlandshire, near Uppingham, was a small hunting box of the late King’s, which George admired ; not for the building, but its beautiful situation. Few parts of his dominions could afford a more desirable spot for such a purpose. The old seat stood on an elevated situation which commanded an extensive prospect over the adjacent country. It was almost surrounded with extensive woods ; which having been artfully planted, added the greatest beauty to the prospect, without intercepting the view. On one side there was an easy descent of about three miles, which led into an extensive plain, through which a river took its meandering course. Many villages seemed to rise here and there from out the woods, which gave a great variety to the scene, and the fertile plain was one continued prospect of villages, groves, meadows, and rivulets, and all was in the neighbourhood of a noble and capacious forest.
Stoke Dry, 2009 – WikipediaThe lcation of Stanley – Digimap
The landscape here described is that seen from Stoke Dry, the river the peaceful Welland, and the neighbouring forest, that of Rockingham. I remember reading, some years since, an ecstatic description of this quite charming spot, by an American visitor (perhaps Elihu Burritt, but I am not sure), whose opinion was that this viewpoint was one of the most delightful in the United Kingdom. Hereabout then, it is written, was begun, (one of several plans having been chosen), the building of a palace for his Majesty, to the exceeding wonder, no doubt, of the whole countryside. Toward the cost, a generous Parliament voted a first grant of a million sterling.
Nothing was spared to make this palace the wonder of the world,
and without touching details this bare statement is, in itself, quite sufficient to engage our interest, if not wonderment. Then followed, through the accident of an afterthought, the raising of some public edifices, Saint Stephen’s church and the Academy of Architecture being the first two ; of the latter, Gilbert, the King’s architect, was the first President. Later,
most of the nobility and many of the rich commoners, in imitation of their sovereign, erected magnificent palaces at Stanley,
by which name the fast uprising city became known.
What gave a prodigious increase to this noble city was the erection of the Senate House : that noble building . . . . the admiration of all Europe.
To hark back a little, I should before have mentioned that, by Act of Parliament, the Welland was made navigable
to the very plain at the bottom of the hill
on which the city was growing, for the purpose of the conveyance of the material required. Portland stone only was used, and
” the houses were all built to form one general front on each side of every street,”
a regularity which might very easily have proved wearisome. An Academy of Painting was formed, on a grand scale, and about the same time the King’s palace was finished, eight years after its commencement. We read that the shell of the building alone cost eight millions sterling, and that the Spanish Escurial and Versailles were each
infinitely exceeded by Stanley
More than a dozen pages of the book are given up to the description of the city of Stanley to name the wonders and outstanding features of which would be, as it were, to compile a catalogue. By the year 1921, it is written, Stanley possessed a Cathedral which
in architecture, grandeur and extent far exceeded Saint Peters’ at Rome,
while the gardens of the King’s palace were become an eighth wonder in the land. The city had grown to be four miles square ; it had its University,
and was evidently become the metropolis of the three, or rather, four kingdoms.
And here we must take our leave of the amazing City of Stanley, Rutland, having in no appreciable degree exhausted the written account of its glories.
As a pendant to the foregoing, I proceed to add that, in regard to the authorship of “George VI” Mr. Oman, in his Editorial preface, invited information. I sought the aid of Mr. Joseph Phillips, F.S.A., that Admirable Crichton in everything relating to the history and records of Stamford and the district around. One learned that the author was the Rev. William Hanbury, an eighteenth century Rector of Church Langton, Leicestershire, an account of whose by no means Lilliputian achievements, not less than his gigantic (Brobdingnagian is quite too unwieldy) schemes form a really remarkable chapter, in what may be termed local history. Then some pleasant correspondence with Mr. Oman, to whom was given (as a matter of course), the name of my informant, the sterling gentleman whose recent death we all deplore.
Palace of VersailleThe EscurialSt Peter’s Rome
King George VI
“The reign of George VI” was written in 1763, three years into the reign of the real George III. In the alternate history he is followed by George IV, George V. George VI then came to the throne in 1900. This suggests long reigns for the first three of these Georges, implying either that at least one of them fathered a child in his old age, or they were not necessarily all fathers and sons. By 1900, when George VI came to the throne, Britain was faced with an aggressive, expansionist Russian Empire that had taken over much of northern Europe. In the first year of his reign, the Russians invaded Britain, engaging in major land and sea battles. The nature of warfare was very much that of the 18th century – based on infantry and cavalry, with the leaders of the army being Earls and Dukes. Parliament refused at first to sanction money for the nation’s defence, partly because the Czar
had conveyed immense sums into England, and had most politically distributed them to the most advantageous purposes
but under pressure from the mob, parliament
they now offered to address his Majesty to take the state under his protection,
which in effect meant royal control over the exchequer, with which he properly equipped the army. The Russians were defeated at Wetherby under the field leadership of the king. The description given of the battle would not out of place in War and Peace. But this was not the end, and ongoing skirmishes with France tipped over into full scale warfare, with the army and the navy of the French king being supplemented by the remains of the Russian forces. George then led a small army into Flanders and northern France and forced the French into submission and a peace treaty was signed. The ensuring peace, in 1903, enabled George to turn to more peaceful interests in building up his country, and in particular in the building of his city of Stanley. The peace lasted until 1917, when the Russians attacked the German Empire, assisted, naturally enough, by the French. George took his army to assist Germany, and helped fight of the Russians, and defeat the French armies. In 1919 he entered Paris in triumph. Europe by this time was in a state of political and economic confusion, and George fought minor skirmishes and military actions throughout the next year, to subdue the Spanish in particular. The American colonists, still loyal to the crown, played their part in the defeat and overrunning of Mexico. It culminated with a victorious George being crowned King of France in 1920.
Entertaining as all of this alternative history is, it is of course, simply a reflection of the period in which it was written and of the concerns of that time. The armies were those of the 18th century, the countries and empires that threatened George were similarly those of that period. Monarchs and aristocracies still ruled and the French and American revolutions hadn’t happened. The huge changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution simply weren’t foreseen. The editor of the revised edition, Charles Oman has much more to say in his preface about the nature of the book’s predictions and how they relate to the politics of the original author’s own day.
The City of Stanley
As noted by Mr. Waterfield, he only gives the briefest of accounts of the City of Stanley, and the book contains much more information than that which he included. Rather than trying to summarise it, I have extracted the Stanley material and this can be accessed through the button below.
But here I would make one or two further points. Firstly, I presume the name of the city comes from the Stanleys who were of course the Earls of Derby and very prominent in politics and intrigue for many centuries before the book was written, But as far as I can see, the choice of name is not made explicit anywhere. I fear that I struggle to take the name seriously, Stanley being forever associated in my mind with Stanley Unwin, Stanly Baxter and Stan(ley) Laurel. But that is my problem.
Secondly it is clear that, as with the political situation that is supposed, in architectural and planning terms, the author is reflecting his own time, and the city he envisages is essentially Georgian. I find it has a slightly nightmarish quality to it – grand, but rather soulless buildings, with no indication of commercial or domestic life. Indeed one wonders where all those who will provide for the aristocratic occupants of Stanley will live and where its food will come from – cities do not exists in a vacuum. At the very least the surrounding areas of Rutland would have been wholly changed in nature.
Similarly there is nothing about transport. One might have expected something about a grand road connecting Stanley with London – the author must have surely been aware of John Ogilby’s Britannia from 1675, which showed strip maps starting in London (see the map for our area to the left). Two years before the book was written, in 1761, the Bridgewater canal had been opened in the northwest and was seen as a major technological achievement. That is perhaps reflected in the mention of the canalisation of the Welland. Elsewhere in the book, where King George’s munificence to the general population is described, it is stated that canals connected every city in the realm – more or less the only transportation development that is described.
The City of Stanley – from Gemeni 2 AI
Who was the author?
Charles Oman, the editor of the reprint of 1902, was of the view that the author of “The reign of George VI” was clearly local to Rutland, because of his knowledge of the topography on which Stanley was built, and it is hard ot disagree with that. There are a couple of other indications pointing in that direction. Firstly, the canalisation of the Welland had been achieved in some fashion 100 years before in 1670 by the building of the Stamford Canal from Market Deeping to Stamford bypassing a stretch of the Welland that was used by mills and was not navigable. This predated the building of the first modern canal (the Bridgwater mentioned above) by 100 years and contributed greatly to the commercial success of Stamford. It is plausible to suppose that the author was aware of this attempt to make the Welland navigable in the development of his ideas.
The second point also relates to Stamford. Stanley is said to have 25 parish churches. In this of course, it resembles London, but Stamford also had a multiplicity of small parishes and their churches within the town. Again, this was an idea on which the author might have drawn.
As can be seen from Mr Waterfield’s article, he identified the author as the Rev. William Hanbury, Rector of Church Langton in Leicestershire (1725-1778), and he was certainly an interesting character – a clergyman, garden and plantation creator, music festival organiser and philanthropist. But there seems to be little indication that he authored books and pamphlets such as the Reign of King George VI. Neither was he particularly local to Rutland.
On the edition of the book on Google Books, there is a note “Maddon?” which seems to refer to the Irish author Rev. Samuel Maddon (1686-1765). One of Maddon’s early works, from 1733, was what has been described as the first science fiction book “Memoirs of the 20th century” which included the first recorded depiction of time travel and consisted of diplomatic letters from between 1997 and 1999 in the reign of King George VI. The political situation depicted is however very much of his own time, with international relations mirroring those of 1733. The parallels are obvious, but there is no indication that Maddon was familiar with Rutland, and it may be that his book simply served as the inspiration for “The Reign of King George VI”.
To my mind, neither Hanbury or Maddon has a convincing case for being the author of the work considered here. I would look for somebody who lived in the Rutland / Stamford area, but as to who that might be I have no idea at all.
The painting of the Holy Family shown below has hung in the Vicar’s Vestry at All Saints church in Oakham for many years, and has, until recently, never been properly identified. Recent expert advice suggests it is a late 18th / early 19th century copy of a composition by Francesco Albani of between 1608 and 1610. It is believed that it was produced by a workshop in Italy, or perhaps the Netherlands, to satisfy the demands of those on the “Grand Tour” for devotional works. Whilst thus not of any great value, it thus does have an interesting back story.
After a composition by Francesco Albani, paint on metal, late 17th / early 18th century
It’s detailed provenance is not known, but a difficult to read caption on the painting frame (below) has the inscription
“Presented to Oakham Church in memory of Harry Ellingworth”.
The Ellingworth family were prosperous shopkeepers in Oakham in the late 19th and early 20th century, and a number of them were named Harry. The most significant of these seems to have been a Harry Ellingworth who was a Town Crier in Oakham in 1881.
Painting in frame (with window reflections)
Dedication label
Interestingly a number of similar copies of the painting can be traced – either painted in Albani’s workshop or elsewhere (see below). The details vary, but the basic composition is the same. The market for such paintings was clearly buoyant.
Print of the original by Francesco Albani housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. 1608-1610
Dulwich Art Gallery Holy Family by Studio of Francesco Albani 1610-60
The painting shows a somewhat weary and pensive looking Madonna in a red dress with a dark blue shawl, The Christ child sits on a golden cushion on her lap, partly surrounded by a blue sheet. Joseph looks on from the right, with an open book in front of him, that seems to be placed on a stone chest or altar or perhaps a tomb. It may be that the directions in which the Madonna and her husband are pointing is of some iconographic significance – Joseph, in his contemplation of scripture pointing upwards to God, and Mary, with the Christ child on her lap, pointing down to earth, the direction, if that is an appropriate word, of the incarnation. Two angelic figures look on from the left. There is a figure carved on the stone chest, that, from the original, appears to be some sort of Bachannalia, with wine being poured out for small dancing child like figures. Again there may be some iconographic significance here with a representation of Christ’s blood being poured out at the Eucharist. The mixture of biblical and classical themese seems to have been common at the period of the original composition.
One of my recent tasks as a member of the committee of the Black Country Society has been to help organise an exhibition of photographs and other material at Dudley Archives entitled “From Agenoria to Beeching – the first and last days of steam in Dudley”, which ran from October 2025 to January 2026. This brought together material on the first Railway in the area (the Shutt End or Kingswinford Railway) and its locomotive, the Agenoria, with photos from the 1950s and 1960s that illustrate the last days of steam in the area. As the exhibition drew to a close, I prepared a web version which included the majority of the material in the exhibition and gave it some sort of long term presence. When this online exhibition went live, it resulted in some very interesting email exchanges and conversations with a number of those who looked at it. One of these was with Mr. David Marlow from Northumbria who provided two items that are now actually included in the online exhibition. The first is a photograph of a plaque on the wall on the old (and then derelict) John Bradley and Company factory in Stourbridge (now renovated as the Lion Health Centre), which commemorated the locomotives Agenoria and its sister locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, that were built there. The second was a copy of a posed picture of the Agenoria with a number of workmen / managers. The original was donated to the National Railway Museum in the 1990s. From Mr. Marlow’s perspective, this photograph was particularly interesting as the “driver” of the locomotive was his great great grandfather Edward Stockton. Both these items raise some interesting chronological questions about the timelines of the Agenoria and the Stourbridge Lion, and these issues are probed in what follows.
Construction and operation
Figure 1. The derelict John Bradley factory in the early 2000s and the renovated building, now the Lion Health Centre
The Agenoria and the Stourbridge Lion were built at the John Bradley factory in Stourbridge in the 1820s (figure 1). The first was to run on the Shutt End Railway in Kingswinford for over 30 years, and is now preserved in the National Railway Museum in York. The second became the first locomotive to run under steam in the USA, although it was not much used because the tracks provided were not sufficiently robust. The careers of both locomotives are well outlined in “Two Stourbridge Locomotives” by Bill Pardoe and Michael Hale, Black Country Society Studies in Industrial Archaeology No. 3, published by the Black Country Society.
On a Black Country Society Industrial Archaeology Group visit to the derelict John Bradley foundry in 2005, Keith Hodgkins took a photo of a plaque that had been placed there by the Newcomen Society in 1959, commemorating the Stourbridge Lion and the Agenoria (Figure 2a). In our recent correspondence Mr. Marlow sent a photo of another plaque from the same building, apparently placed there to replace the Newcomen Society plaque by the Stourbridge Locomotives Celebrations Committee in 1988 (Figure 2b). The current whereabouts of these plaques is not known. But my interest was aroused by the dates on the plaques – Stourbridge Lion 1828 and Agenoria 1829 on the first, and Agenoria 1828 and Stourbridge Lion 1829 on the latter. There is clearly some chronological confusion here – which of the two engines should have the chronological priority?
a
b
Figure 2. Plaques celebrating the Agenoria and the Stourbridge Lion
From the historical record, we can trace the timeline of the construction and operation of the locomotives to some extent. The Shutt End Railway was first proposed in the early 1820s to connect the mines and the developing Iron Works in the area to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to the west, to enable coal and iron products to be shipped to market. Eventually in January1827 an agreement to build the line was signed between the Dudley Estate and James Foster of the Shutt End Iron Works, which was itself owned by John Bradley and Company, coal and iron masters of Stourbridge. Construction took place soon after the signing of the agreement and the line was opened with great celebrations on June 2nd 1829. The Agenoria locomotive was built by Foster Rastrick and Co at Stourbridge (at the works of Figure 1). The Foster was the same James Foster who owned the Shutt End works, and John Rastrick was a noted locomotive engineer and builder.
In 1828 Horatio Allen, went on a railroad research tour of England on behalf of the Delaware and Hudson Railway in the USA. By July 1828 he had ordered four locomotives – three from Foster, Rastrick and Company and one from Robert Stephenson and Company. Stourbridge Lion was one of these three locomotives built by Rastrick, but Stephenson’s shop completed their locomotive, the Pride of Newcastle, before any of Rastrick’s locomotives, and it arrived in America nearly two months before the Stourbridge Lion, which was transported from Liverpool aboard the ship John Jay, arriving at New York in mid-May 1829. The two other Foster, Rastrick & Co locomotives that had been ordered by Allen, Delaware and Hudson, arrived in New York in August and September 1829. The Lion however was the first to be used, running on the Delaware and Hudson Railway on August 8th 1829. Although the locomotive performed well, the track laid for it was unable to adequately take its weight and it never found operational use.
So which of the Agenoria and Stourbridge Lion should have priority. Certainly the Agenoria ran along tracks at Shut End in June 1829 a few months before the Lion did the same in the USA. But the Lion is the first recorded in the historical record on its shipment to the US in May that year. But, in my mind it is likely that the Agenoria was under construction and seen by Allen before he placed his order in July 1828. Certainly the Agenoria must have been complete by early 1829, as it is almost certain that there would have been extensive trials on the Shutt End line before the public opening in June that year. So I would suggest that Agenoria was probably completed first, sometime in late 1828, and the Lion a few months after that. Thus of the two plaques, the second, from 1988, is probably correct, although it would be fairer to say that both were probably constructed if not completed in 1828, and first ran in operation in 1829. But Agenoria should have the historical priority in both construction and operation.
Retirement and Restoration
The Agenoria ran along the Kingswinford Railway from the top of the incline at Ashwood Basin in the west to the bottom of two inclines close to Kingswinford church in the east. See the map from “Two Stourbridge Locomotives” shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3.The Shutt End Railway – from “Two Stourbridge Locomotives” by Bill Pardoe and Michael Hale, Black Country Society Studies in Industrial Archaeology No. 3
One incline (shown in Figure 3) took the railway itself to the mines around Corbyn’s Hall in Pensnett, and one (not shown on the Figure) provided access to and from the works of John Bradley and Co. Both inclines can be assumed to have been cable hauled. The Engine Shed and presumably other maintenance facilities was close to the foot of the two inclines. The Kingswinford Railway was only connected to the wider Earl of Dudley’s Railway network (the Pensnett Railway) in 1865, through a junction several hundred yards to the west of the bottom of the inclines. Correspondence in 1864 between the mineral agent of the Dudley Estate (Frederick Smith) and William Orme Foster who had taken over control of John Bradley and Co Iron Works from his uncle James Foster, implies that Agenoria was owned by John Bradley and Co, rather than by the Dudley Estate, as was the Locomotive Shed and the maintenance facilities. The correspondence was about the state of the Kingswinford Railway infrastructure and led to improvements being made and a new locomotive being purchased by Foster in 1865 – a Manning Wardle 0-4-0 saddle tank. It is generally assumed that it was around that time that the Agenoria was taken out of service.
The next mention of Agenoria in the historical record is in 1880, when Edward Marten (Chief Engineer at the Midland Steam boiler Inspection and Insurance Co in the 1860s, and later the engineer in connection with the South Staffordshire Mines Drainage and Improvement Act of 1873) sought to gain support for restoring and preserving the locomotive whose components by that time seem to have been scattered around Shut End Iron Works. This led to a restored Agenoria being exhibited at Wolverhampton Fine Arts & Industrial Exhibition in 1884, before being formally donated to the Science Museum in 1885 by William Orme Foster. The implication here is that, after the Agenoria had been taken out of service, it was taken into the Iron Works, either by being hauled up the incline or (possibly more likely) taken around a less steep but more circuitous connection into the works that was in place by 1880 and possibly a couple of decades earlier.
Figure 4. The Agenoria and workers (from Mr. D. Marlow)
Now consider the photograph that was sent to me by Mr Marlow, shown in Figure 4 above. Mr. Marlow believes the figure closest to the boiler on the photograph, in the driver’s position, is his great great grandfather, Edward Stockton, and family tradition has it that he was one of the drivers of the locomotive. Figure 5a shows an expanded version of Figure 4 where the driver is shown in better definition, whilst figure 5b shows an (admittedly poor) photograph that is certainly of Edward Stockton and his wife Ellen from the 18890s or later, also supplied by Mr. Marlow. These both, in my view, seem to show the same person, and I am reasonably confident that the driver of the footplate is indeed Edward Stockton.
a
b
Figure 5 Edward Stockton – (a) from Figure 4 and (b) showing Edward and his wife Ellen
Edward Stockton was born at Moreton Cobbett in Shropshire in 1824, Some time before the 1851 census he had moved to the Pensnett area as he married an Eliza Farringdon at Dudley Parish Church in November 1847. She died within a very short time and Edward then married her sister Ellen two years later, this time at Kingswinford Parish Church. In the 1851 census he is identified as a Furnace Man, in 1861 as a Labourer, in 1871 as a Labourer in Iron Works and in 1881 as a Farm Labourer, always living in the vicinity of the Shutt End Iron Works. Nowhere is he identified as an Engine Driver as might be expected. Of course this might simply be due to the idiosyncrasies of how he completed the census returns, but it seems to me more likely that Stockton became an Engine Driver sometime after the 1871 census. This suggests that the Agenoria, after being withdrawn from the Kingswinford Railway, had a brief afterlife as a locomotive in the Shutt End works, where an extensive railway system was developing in the 1870. Supposing the photo to have been taken between 1871 and 1875, this would put Edward in his late 40’s / early 50’s at the time, which seems consistent with the photograph. The occasion of the photo might be to mark the start of Agenoria’s Iron Work’s career (which would imply that it was not moved into the works till the 1870s, or perhaps we have here a picture of the reconstructed engine in 1880 or early 1881 before the census of that year. However at this time Edward was a farm labourer and presumably working elsewhere. The first occasion seems to me to be more likely.
Recently I have come across a number of old Church Guides and Histories for All Saints Church in Oakham- from 1932, 1972 and 1980. PDFS of these can be found on the History and Heritage page of the church website. There comes a time of course when old guides and histories become historical documents in their own right, revealing how the church was thought of and communicated at the time of writing, and in their description of their contemporary activities, give an indication of the nature of the church’s worship and other activities. This is particularly true of the 1932 guide – The Story of Oakham Church, School and Castle by the then vicar, A. Edward Fraser. In what follows I post just a few pages from this this guide – the adverts it contained for local businesses that paid for its publication. These are given below, and I suspect that Oakham readers will find them of considerable interest.
In 1996, All Saints church in Oakham, organised a flower festival. Some photographs from this event were deposited in the church safe for safe keeping, and I have recently come across these whilst searching the safe for other items. It seems to me that these photos are well worth sharing – both for the flower displays but also for the glimpse they give of the church from 30 years ago. Pleas click on the photos below for larger versions of the pictures. The colours aren’t marvellous – they can only be as good as the prints – but they will be of interest to some.
Holy Trinity ChapelHoly Trinity ChapelNorth TranseptHigh altarSouth TranseptSouth TranseptSouth TranseptLady ChapelLady ChapelArea near north doorCentral CrossingCEntral CrossingNorth TranseptNear pulpitEntrance to Lady ChapelWest End
The Lady Chapel at All Saints Church in Oakham is to the south of the chancel and is entered from the south transept. It is a high roofed open space dating from around 1480, that has had a number of functions in the recent past – as a location for the organ, as a choir vestry, and as a small side chapel. Indeed there is still an altar with its associated communion rails at the east end of the chapel. It is currently mainly used as an area for after church coffee, small meetings etc.
The floor of the chapel consists of memorial slabs from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries, a number of which contain inscriptions indicating that there are burials beneath them. Thus it would seem that in the 18th century this area was an internal burial space of some sort. Why this area was used in this way and what determined who was buried in this area is not clear. Now over the years some of the memorials have been worn down very badly, particularly those between the priest’s entrance and the vicar’s vestry on the south side of the chapel and the entrance to the chancel on the north side. With its current use as a fellowship area, it is likely that the other memorial slabs will experience a rapid deterioration over the coming years. Thus the purpose of this post is twofold – firstly to record the current layout and inscriptions that are still visible, and secondly to try to come to some understanding as to why the area was used as a mortuary space.
The layout of the Lady Chapel
Figure 1 shows a view of the Lady Chapel from its entrance from the south transept, looking east. The altar and communion rail can be seen in the background. It can be seen that the floor consists of a regular grid of memorial slabs, separated by a pattern of tiles. In total there are seven rows of slabs between the entrance and the communion rail (which will be denoted by the letters A to G, with A being at the transept entrance. There are five columns of slabs, which will be denoted by the letters A to E, with A being on the south side to the right of the view of Figure 1. Thus, for example, slab AC is the one in the near centre of figure 1 – row A and column C. Most of the slabs are a soft brown stone, with the exception of AA and BA (to the right of the view in Figure 1) which are of a darker colour, although they are both badly worn.. The grid of memorials is regular in columns B, C and D, but the rows are displaced somewhat in columns A and E due to the presence of structural columns at the transept end.
Figure 1. The layout of the Lady Chapel
Figure 2 shows a view of columns B to D in rows F and G from just in front of the altar rail at the east end of the chancel. It can be seen that the rail cuts across a number of slabs, and there is a carpeted area that obscures part of columns B and D and all of columns A and E. Indeed very little can be seen of the slabs in row G, which extend beneath the altar. In this region the regularity of the grid in columns B to D is lost and the slabs become staggered – presumably to fit into the space available at the east end of the chapel beneath the current altar.
Figure 2 Detailed view of the slabs in front of the Lady Chapel altar
The memorials
The layout of the meorials is shown in Figure 3 below. The photos of the slabs are in roughly the correct position relative to each other, although the correspondence with the actual layout in the Chapel is not exact. They are identified using the notation given above. The discontinuity in the photographs of slabs FB, FC and FD indicates the position of the altar rail.
AABACADAEA
ABBBCBDBEBFB
ACBCCCDCECFC
ADBDCDDDEDFD
AE BECEDEEEFE
Figure 3. The layout of the memorial slabs
The inscriptions
In the inscriptions that follow, I have (deliberately) not reproduced the details of the typogrpahy on the memorials (capitalisation, punctuation etc.) but have tried to put them in a form where they are more easily read with modern typography. The texts in italics are not on the memorials.
AA. …Bradford….Widow of … of Henley in Ox… departed this life .. 20th May 1802 aged 66 years ….. Undecipherable verse AB. … body of …. 12th 1772…. AC. Here lieth the body of Mary Lawrence, late wife of Mr William Lawrence, dec., one of ye daughters of Mr William Maxon, who died March 5th MDCCLXXIV (1774) aged 39 years. Also the body of Anne Maxon…her sister who died February 2nd MDCCLXXIII (1773) aged XXXIII (33) years. AD. Sacred to the memory of Elizabeatha Doris Bullivant, wife of Thomas Bullivant who departed this life on the ….. 1798 aged 42 Years………. AE. … remains … Benjamin Cramp Esq. He served the office of High Sheriff for the County of Rutland in the year … departed this life on the 2nd February 1800 aged 59 years. Time flies; Eternity succeeds; of bliss or woe; according to our deeds.
BA. Not readable BB. Beneath this stone rests he mortal remains of Mary Ann, daughter of the late Adam and Mary Ann Hicks of this place who died April 3rd 1835 aged 62 years, BC. Sacred to the mortal remains of Mrs Dorothy Twentyman, consort of Mr William Twentyman who departed this life February … 1809 in the ,,, year of her age after a very long and severe illness which…..Christianity can alone inspire. This stone is here deposited by an only child as the last but perishable memorial of one who has seldom been surpassed, as a tender parent, an affectionate wife and a virtuous woman. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord! BD. In memory of Mrs Elizabeth Whitehead, widow of the Revd William Whitehead MA, Rector of Stanground in the county of Huntingdon. She was ye youngest daughter of Andrew Love Esq. formerly of this place, and died on the 10th of October 1789, in the 75th year of her age. BE. …. Hind Gent who died February the 17th MDCCLXXI (1771) aged LXXIX (79) years. Likewise ….are buried the remains of Elizabeth …who was buried March …MDCCII (1702) Also five … sons if the above died…infants
CA. No inscription visible CB. Beneath this stone are deposited the mortal remains of Edward Hicks, Gentleman who departed this life December 3rd, 1812 aged 56 years. CC. In memory of Ann, daughter of Thomas and Ann Exton, who departed this life August the 22nd 1808 aged .9 years. Also in memory of Thomas Exton who departed this life April the 17th 1809 aged 73 years. Also in memory of Ann, wife of Thomas Exton, who departed this life November …18… aged 88 years. CD. Here lieth the body of Frances Davie, the wife of Thomas Davie Senior who died January 12th 1721 aged 67 years. Full happy man that dies in faith, His good works follow him…; …….are his saints …. to be; To live with Christ his face to see. Also the remains of Frances Ashby, who died September 6th 1792 aged 66 years, The sweet remembrance of the just … shall flow … they sleep….. CE. ….year 1706 .. year of his age ….peace
DA. No inscription visible DB. No inscription visible DC. No inscription visible DD. No inscription visible DE. No inscription visible
EA. …memory of ….. wife of … John Bellaers of Barleythorpe, who died the 12th May MDCCLXXXVI (1786) age 37 years, Her lies beneath…; A tender mother, a loving wife; A quiet neighbour, to the poor a friend; Happy is he who finds a …. Also in memory of John Bellaers who died the … of September 1787 in the 49th year of his age. EB. Here lies the body of John Bellaers who died August 18th MDCCCIX (1789) aged .2 years. Affliction … long time I bore; Physician skill was vain; Till Christ the chief sent me relief; And cured me of my pain. EC. Underneath are deposited the remains of John Healy, Gent.. who departed this life on 13th August in the year of our Lord 1767 aged 57 years. ED. Underneath are deposited the remains of Mr Mary Burton, wife of the Reverend Bartin Burton, who departed this life November 8th 1750 aged 47 years. EE. ……forti et constanti …….opptimiissii vertutis studies…..quibus finerlis est… obit aprilis …4th Anno Domini 1732…19…21. Recordare creatoris tin in oliebus. Juventulis tiroe……Jun 1815 (latin text very uncertain)
FA. Covered by altar rail and carpet FB. Part covered by altar rail and carpet. In memory of Martha Ades wife of …..this day .. year 1846 … years. FC. Part covered by altar rail. Sacred to the memory of Thomas …on the …. April … Aged 37 years. Vain in our pleasures…..; Bound on the wheel of time … and ….; Yet present wrong eternity repairs; The mighty empires and the …. of all FD. Part covered by altar rail and carpet. Here lieth the body of … Drury, Gent., who died January 15th 1775 ….. FE. Part covered by altar rail and carpet …lieth the body of William Pante the younger, Gent. who departed this life the second of June Ann. Dom 1672
GA. Covered by carpet. GB. Partially covered by carpet and altar. …. remains of Healy …. Edward Ealy…. GC. Mostly covered by altar. No inscription visible. GD. Parially covered by carpet and altar. Inscription not legible GE. Covered by carpet
When and Who
Two questions arise in association with the floor memorials. Firstly, when was the Lady Chapel used for burials and secondly what sort of people were buried there? To answer the first consider Table 1 below which shows the dates from the memorial slabs where they could be found. The pattern is not wholly consistent, but it is clear that the earlier graves are on the north side next to the chancel and the later ones on the south side next to the outside wall. The earliest grave of all – FE- dates from 1672, and the latest – FA – from 1846. The larger majority date from the 18th century. The pattern suggests that the early graves might have been a continuation of graves in the chancel. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the chancel was configured very differently and was rebuilt in the restoration of 1858, so if there were similar graves there, the memorial slabs have been lost.
AA 1802
AB 1772
AC 1773
AD 1798
AE 1800
BA
BB 1835
BC 1809
BD 1789
BE 1702
CA
CB 1812
CC 1808
CD 1721
CE 1706
DA
DB
DC
DD
DE
EA 1786
EB 1789
EC 1767
ED 1750
EE 1732
FA
FB 1846
FC
FD 1775
FE 1672
GA
GB
GC
GD
GE
Table 1. Memorial dates
In terms of who is commemorated on the memorials, on the eighteen inscriptions where one might expect to find some designation, there are four identified as Gent., two as Esq. and two as clergy (not necessarily referring to the one who is buried). A web search revealed that there are the memorials of four High Sherrifs – William Lawrence 1765, Thomas Bullivant 1771, John Bellaers 1783 and Benjamin Cramp 1789. In addition William Twentyman was the Supervisor of Excise in Oakham Lordshold in 1787. Thus it is clear that those interred in the Lady Chapel were, as one might expect, members of the Rutland Gentry.
Finally it is worth noting that the family of Rev Bartin Burton, whose wife is interred in ED, also has a wall memorial in the south transept (figure 4). It may be that Burton himself and his son are also interred in one of the plots in the Lady Chapel with an illegible memorial inscription.
William Baker worked at Woodside Iron Works, which was founded in 1840 by Alexander Brodie Cochrane and his son. It became very well known and respected and produced components for many significant structures, including girders for the Runcorn Bridge over the River Mersey and the Farringdon Street Viaduct in London; ironwork for the Rochester Road Bridge, the Swing Bridge over the River Medway and the Clifton Suspension Bridge; and a wrought iron bridge for New Street Railway Station in Birmingham. In the early years of the 20th century it was owned and operated by Alexander’s grandson, Walter Cochrane.
The works were situated between the Dudley and Pensnett Canals , with the Earl of Dudley’s Round Oak Steelworks being on the other side of the Dudley Canal (Figure 1). Woodside was connected to the Great Western Railway which ran to its west (given by its earlier name of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway on the map). It was supplied with coal from mines on the other side of the railway, through a series of inclines and tramways. A view of the works, roughly from the point marked by a red circle in Figure 1, is given by an engraving in Dudley Archives (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Location of Woodside works from the 1910 OS Map
Figure 2. Engraving of Woodside Iron Works from Dudley Archives
Furnace operation
There are 148 entries in the diary that describe the operation of the Blast Furnace. These are mainly in the earlier period covered by the diaries and become very sporadic after 1913. On the cover of Book 2 we find a list of when the two furnaces (numbers 2 and 3) were “blown” i.e. when they started to produce cast iron.
Dates of Furnaces Blown. No 2 Dec 14 1904; No 3 Aug 15 1906; No 2 Dec 3 1909; No 3 Sept 19 1911; No 2 May 19 1916
There were periods when both were in operation, but also periods when one of the furnaces was being rebuilt or relined. Furnaces would be in operation for several years before being rebuilt. The starting process for the furnaces was lengthy and extended over several days. As an example consider the start up of Number 3 Furnace in August 1906.
9/8/1906 Started to fill No 3 Furnace. 12/8/1906 Finished filling No 3 Furnace. 12/8/1906 No 3 Furnace fired off 6.18pm. 15/8/1906 Blast put to No 3 Furnace at 9.40am…… 17/8/1906 First cast of iron from No 3 Furnace. 17/8/1906 ?? blow out No 3 Furnace at 8.50pm. 2½ lbs.
I am not familiar with the terms used here, and readers might be able to say more, but presumably the “filling” was with coke and ironstone (with the use of the hoist engine), the “firing” was the lighting of the fire, and the “blast was the turning on of the Blast Engine to provide a through flow of air. The 2½ lbs mentioned in the last entry is the pressure of the blast air flow – which should properly be in lbs / square inch. Sometimes at start up the increase in this pressure over several days is recorded.
Furnace “stands” when presumably the blast is turned off, are frequently recorded. In addition we have entries of the following type t roughly annual intervals.
3/10/1907 Mine load On No 3 Furnace……. 30/10/1907 Mine load taken off about 4.00am
I am not at all sure what such entries describe – again reader input would be useful. Other work in the vicinity was obviously of interest to William Baker, and he may well have been involved in some way – there seems to be some flexibility in the use of manpower across different tasks. For example
19/3/1909 The three new Sankey and Sons boilers put to work. The new reducing valve put to work …… 1/8/1910 Preparing to start new colliery
Repairs
There are 244 entries in the diaries that relate to what might be described as ongoing maintenance or repairs. These cover the entire period of the diaries, but there are more in the period up to about 1914 than afterwards. At roughly three month intervals we have series of entries of the similar to this example from late 1910.
11/11/1910 Steam valve packed with 5 rolls of 3/8” white packing. 14/11/1910 Steam Valve packed 2 rolls 3/8” by 1″ Lapped elastic. 23/11/1910 New rope put on right hand cage . Stand from 9 till 12. 3 hours stand. 30/11/1910 New rope put on left hand cage. Screw loosened out on right hand band. Stand from 9.20am till 11.40am 2 hours 20 mins 1/12/1910 Left hand band taken up 1½” 4/12/1910 New lamp put on over engines No 32 9/12/1910 Right hand band taken up 1″. 13/12/1910Small steam box packed to back 14/12/1910 Large steam boxes packed to back 16/12/1910 Right hand band taken up 1¼” 21/12/1910 New joints put in lubricator
Again, reader input would be useful. What were these steam boxes and steam valves and what did packing them entail? Presumably they were some part of the hoist engine. The bands seem to have been part of the hoist mechanism and expanded with use and needed to be taken up by an inch or so at regular intervals. Similarly new ropes were required for the “cages” – were these to transport workers to the tops of the furnaces?
Less frequently we have a number of other tasks – the whitewashing of the Engine House (at intervals between 6 months and 2 year); repairs to the “Nelson” locomotive used to move material around the site; and occasionally (recorded only two times) the drainage of a stretch of canal to repair the loading wharfs. Some examples are shown below.
28/5/1908 Engine house whitewashed
17/5/1909 The Nelson loco put in for repairs 31/5/1909 The Nelson loco came out of repairs at 9.00
5/8/1911Started to empty the water out of canal at 4.00am. Started pumps to feed ….. at 5.30am 11/8/1911 Canal started to be refilled 12/8/1911 Pumps stopped at 4.0am
The Nelson locomotive might be a mis-wrting of Neilsen – Neilson and Co. were a Glasgow based locomotive manufacturer in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
People
The diaries mention a large number of individuals in the context of Woodside Iron Works, but most only once or twice. There are 192 such entries in total from across the period covered by the diaries. In this section we mention a few who occurred in many entries. First of all there is J. Lewis, the foreman over the Blast Furnace Men. There is also mention of his son, another J. Lewis, although the entries usually refer to the former.
15/10/1907 J Lewis foreman (in place of) Mr Hughes. 15/12/1907 J Lewis Jun started to work at No 1 Furnace with H Pearson. 1/1/1909 Mr Lewis has … that his house cost £260 8/2/1909 Mr J. Lewes bought a house in Scotts Green. The amount asked was…… 1/3/1909 Mr J. Lewis removed to Scotts Green to live in his own house 20/8/1909 J. Lewis went on his holiday 28/6/1913 Mr J. Lewis went on his holiday 2/7/1913 Mr J. Lewis came back from his holiday 6/4/1914 J. Lewis left Woodside for Pitt and Co, Shut End Colliery 8/8/1914 Mr J. Lewis went on his holiday 24/8/1914 Mr J. Lewis came back from his holiday 24/9/1914 J. Lewis was buried at the New Cemetery Dudley Thursday 28/9/1914 ? Stockton and W. Baker paid a visit to the Guest Hospital to see Mr J. Lewis. They allowed us 2 mins only. The late John Lewis compensation award £75 to the widow, £100 to the sons 26/4/1915 Mr Lewis came to work after his accident 31 weeks
Clearly the early mentions are quite mundane, with a particular interest in living arrangements and holidays, but in September 1914 there was clearly some (unrecorded) major incident that resulted in the death of John Lewis senior, and a significant compensation payment, and serious injury to the son.
Mr D Colley was a colleague of William Baker’s that clearly suffered significant periods of ill health.
21/2/1907 Mr D Colley was admitted into the Corbett Hospital 25/3/1907 Mr D Colley admitted into the convalescent home at Clent 3/7/1907 Mr D Colley admitted into the Corbet Hospital 4/8/1907 Mr D Colley came out of Corbetts Hospital Sunday after having all his teeth drawn 2/9/1907 Mr D Colley has gone to convalescent home at Clent 16/9/1907 Mr D Colley comes back home from Clent 24/9/1907 Mr D Colley started to work after his second illness 29/3/1908 Mr D Colley was taken ill down the pit and was taken to Corbett Hospital and an operation was performed. 14/5/1908 Mr D Colley admitted into the Convalescent home at Rhyl 17/08/1908 D Colley started to work at his old job.
Mr W Shuker seems to have been a long term colleague of William’s and again the entries express much interest in his holidays. At this point it is perhaps worth saying that William makes no mention of his own holidays at all.
24/3/1907 William Shuker was married at St Luke’s Dudley 14/8/1909 Mr Shuker went on his holiday 23/12/1909 W. Shuker finished on Thursday morning 16/1/1910 W. Shuker started to drive the loco Sunday nights on a night turn 7/8/1910 Mr Shuker went on his holiday for 8 days 12/8/1912 Mr Shuker went on his holiday 17/8/1912 Mr Shuker came back from holiday Saturday night 20/9/1913 Mr Shuker went on his holiday 27/9/1913 Mr Shuker came back from his holiday 26/12/1913 W. Shuker suspended 5/1/1914 W. Shuker started to work after being suspended 24/8/1914 Mr Shuker went on his holiday 2/9/1914 Mr Shuker came back from his holiday 30/1/1915 Mr Shuker sent J Young home and said he was drunk on Saturday night 9/2/1915 …. and Mr Shuker were burned about the face and were taken to the Guest Hospital. Shuker was allowed out 13/3/1915 Saturday night. Had a few words with W Shuker for not telling the bone man where I was going away from about 9.20am. . Realised 9.50am. He accused me that we were paid better than anyone else on the ground . I told him either him or someone else was tampering with the books in the offices if he knew what we were having 11/3/1919 W. Shuker left Woodside. J. Bagger took his place
It may be that the entries refer to more than one person as there seems to be more than one marriage recorded. Clearly Shuker came to hold some position of authority, in that he could send someone home for being drunk. In February 1915 he suffered from an accident that burned his face and the month after he and William seemed to have some sort of altercation.
S. Powell was another colleague of William’s that we will meet again in the next section. His working career seems to have been relatively uneventful.
19/8/1907 S. Powell started to work on the Hoist Engine in J. Lewis place 28/8/1908 S. Powell went on his holidays to Blackpool 4 days 5/1/1909 S. Powell had his strong book 11/1/1909 S. Powell was taken ill and went on the sick fund till Jan 19 6/2/1913 S. Powell moved to 40 St Andrews St Netherton 11/3/1914 S. Powell left the shop
The war impinged little on the activities at the Iron Works, but inevitably a number left to enlist in the army. From an entry of late 1914
Embarked for the war from Woodside Furnaces and Colliery. J Mills enlisted August; H Sumner enlisted August; Round enlisted Nov 7; Mr Hughes enlisted Nov 9; S Edwards enlisted December 28; G Shaw enlisted December 28; J Dean enlisted December 28; W Marten enlisted September 1st
Employment
There were approximately 120 entries associated with employment practices and concerns. Whilst these are mostly concentrated in the period after 1913, from 1909 the issue of meal time working was clearly of concern.
23/6/1909 Meal time work increased to 4 rounds per meal hour 3/7/1909 Machine men received 9d extra for mealtime work. Make 440 tons 24/7/1909 Received payment of 1s per meal time work 19/4/1913 Payment stopped for meal times
Many entries concern wage advances (increases) and reductions. For his own wages, he recorded these in some detail and these are included in the table below from 1912 to 1915. Wages were changed at regular intervals of around 2 to 3 months. The table shows the annual change in each year and compares this with the national inflation rate. It can be seen that broadly wages fell below inflation from 1912 to 1914, but far exceeded inflation in 1915. Overall in the period wages increase by 36.7% against a national inflation rate of 14.7%.
Change in pay
Inflation
17/02/12
15/06/12
10/08/12
1912
1912
-2.50%
+2.50%
+2.50%
+2.4%
+3.13%
04/07/13
14/06/13
18/10/13
20/12/13
1913
1913
+2.50%
+2.50%
-2.50%
-5%
-2.7%
-1.01%
14/02/14
18/04/14
13/06/14
15/08/14
12/12/14
1914
1914
-2.50%
-2.50%
-2.50%
-2.50%
+5%
-5.1%
0%
20/02/15
01/04/15
19/06/15
14/08/15
16/10/15
11/12/15
1915
1915
+2.50%
+0%
+2.50%
7.50%
+10%
+10%
+36.7%
+12.14%
Overall
+29.2%
+14.7%
Some indication of the absolute values of these wages can be judged from the entries below from April 1913 and July 1917. The latter shows how these wages were agreed – through discussion between J. Lewis the foreman and Mr. Cochrane, the Iron Works owner. The wages shown are for one 8 to 10 hour shift in a 6 shift working week.
7/4/1913 2 ……. Blast Furnace Men 6-2, Stokers 4-2, Labourers 3-5 1/7/1916 Blast Engine Men and stokers 7-3, Loco Engine men and stokers 7-3. Hoist Engine stokers 6-330/5/1913 Friday. Hoist Engine. Mr J. Lewis had an interview with Mr Cochrane and he agreed to give us 10% advance on our present wages and to go up and down with the …. but not to go below the mark of 4d per day
As the years passed, the entries concerning employment practice become more regular. Discussion between workers and the owner are frequently recorded.
12/6/1913 Deputation … Mr Cochrane those drivers and labourers and he agreed to give 10% 14/1/1914 Mr Walter Cochrane called a meeting with the Furnacemen about the advances and extra service 29/5/1914 A deputation of Furness Men was sent for by Mr Cochrane and he agreed to give 1% extra for Sundays 11/10/1915 A delegation out of the works waited on Mr Cochrane for advances in wages. He agreed to put the war bonus on the wages 6d per day permanent 13/12/1915 Mr Powel spoke to Mr Bach about the 10% advance. He said he would pay the … workers which he did 6/6/1916 W Baker had interview with Mr Bach about the 10% due to us
Union activity also seems to have increased from 1914 onwards, with the Blast Furnace Workers joining the Midland Blast Furnace Association, and strikes being recorded.
14/3/1914 The Blast Furnace men and engine men joined the Midland BF Association first payment 4/11/1915 Moulders came out on strike for 4 advances on wages instead of War bonus 29/4/ 1915 The moulders started to work again from strike . The firm sent for them
William himself seems to have become involved in union activities, although this is nowhere made explicit. He had responsibility for distributing collections and for setting up a fund to support disabled ex-soldiers.
2/12/1915 Paid to J Hill the sum of £1-0-2 collected for Mrs Hill’s memorial fund . W Baker 1/3/1916 Started to pay 1 penny to … fund to help the soldiers who come home disabled 1/4/1916 It was agreed by W. Foster and seconded by B. Hutchinson that Mister Shuker be appointed on the committee of the penny a week fund and E. Clowes suspended
From April 1916 we have entries of the following rom at roughly three month intervals
21/4/1916 Received payment as President 7-3
I read these as indicating that William had become President of a local union branch and was paid roughly the equivalent of one working shift every three months from the union funds. I could however have completely mis-interpreted these entries.
The 1921 census identifies William as a hoist engine driver at the Woodside Iron Works. However in that year the factory closed after a strike and was bought by John Cashmore’s Limited and used to manufacture a number of products including street lamps. What part William played in the strike and what happened to him and his family afterwards is not known. Did he play some sort of role, for good or bad, in the demise of his place of employment?
The diary entries that record national events are every bit as variable as those that describe events in William’s locality. Most of them were undoubtedly derived from reports in newspapers that simply took his fancy. Firstly there are simple reports of the birthdays of the great and the good – Henry Asquith in 1915 and 1917, David Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour in 1917, and the Earl of Dudley in 1918. The death of Joseph Chamberlain and Lord Frederick Roberts the soldier in 1914.
Secondly a number of “disasters” are noted.
24/8/1907 John Goldie the famous steeple jack fell from the highest stack in Great Britain which is 488 feet at Glasgow was …… smashed. (More details can be found here.) 4/3/1908 Hamstead Colliery Disaster (More details can be found here.) 14/4/1912 The Titanic struck an iceberg and was sunk (More here, and of course in very many other places.) 9/7/1912 Cadeby colliery disaster 87 lives lost including 3 government inspectors (More details can be found here.) 16/10/1913 The Welsh Mine Disaster (More details here of the Senghenydd colliery disaster.) 30/5/1914 Empress of Ireland sinking (More details can be found here.)
Figure 1 The Hamstead, Cadeby and Senghenydd disasters
There are surprisingly few mentions of the events of the Great War apart from those outlined in Part 3 about those who enlisted and those who died. There are three other mentions in total.
7/5/1915 The Lusitania was torpedoes and sunk about 2.30. 8/9/1915 Public Houses and clubs not to be opened till 10.30am Morning and closed at 9.00pm. Ordered in August in the Dudley district 11/1/1918 Armistice accepted by Germany
Murders and executions also clearly made an impression,
26/3/1907 Joseph Jones was executed at Stafford Gaol for the murder of Edmund Clark of Quarry Bank (More details can be found here.) 14/4/1909 Wednesday Joseph Edwin Jones was executed at Stafford at 8.00am for murdering Charlotte Jones his wife (More details can be found here.) 23/11/1910 Doctor Crippen was executed (More details can be found here.) 18/4/1912 H. Seddon was executed at Pentonville Prison (More details can be found here.) 26/2/1914 Ball was arrested at Liverpool for the murder of Miss Bradfield. The murder at Bilston near Wolverhampton was about January 2 (More details can be found here although the murder occurred in Liverpool and not Bilston.) 3/8/1916 Roger Casement was executed at Pentonville prison for Tuesday (More details of the Irish Nationalist who was executed for treason can be found here.) 22/12/1916 J. Ashman murdered his father
Figure 2 Dr. Crippen, Henry Seddon and Roger Casement
Finally there are a range of random facts that William clearly found interesting. A few examples.
18/5/1907 Music. The Organ in the Town Hall Birmingham belongs to the General Hospital but the Corporation undertake to look after it and pay the city organist. Weekly Post. 27/3/1909 The cost of a Dreadnaught ship is about £1,800,000 with her guns. Displacement 17,900 tons, when loaded 20,000 tons. 3/4/1909 Metal used for casting bells is 17 parts copper and 5 parts tin. 26/8/1909 It takes about 16000 pennies to the ton. 1/3/1912 National Strike. The colliers came out on strike.
The local entries in the diaries are very heterogeneous, but for the sake of convenience we divide them into three categories – Pensnett People, The Earl of Dudley’s Railway, and Accidents and Disasters.
Pensnett People
Most of the entries in this category are simple records of marriages and deaths, and I suspect many of them are simply those whom William knew as neighbours and friends However there are some entries whose names I recognize from elsewhere. From September 1st 1906
The Rev C H Cole-Webb died at Holyhead in his 70th year. He came to Pensnett in the year 1875 and left in1883 to go to Penn.
Cole-Webb was the incumbent who followed Rev Charles Atherton. I have written extensively about the events of his incumbency, and the events that shook the village at that time. Cole-Webbs role would thus have been to bring some stability – and to continue the efforts to stop St. Mark’s church falling down old mine workings.
On January 24th 1907 we read of William Barlow, formerly of the Tiled House, a stalwart of St. James New Connexion chapel on Chapel Street, and, in his role as a liberal member of the National School board, was often a vociferous opponent to the tory views of Cole-Webb.
Mr. W Barlow celebrated his 93 birthday and he’s quite well considering his great age.
And two weeks later, on February 12th.
Mr. W Barlow, late of Pensnett, died at Stourbridge Aged 93.
On 20th November of the same year we read of the death of another old Pensnett worthy, Cornelius Chambers.
Mr C Chambers died at Moss Grove Kingswinford aged 69 years.
Chambers was one of the chief characters in the Atherton saga noted above, and I would consider him the chief villain, although that may be unjust. He was an Iron Works Manager and a liberal councilor.
Another to get a mention was David Clark (Figure 1), a pioneering teacher in the area, whom I have written about here. From October 10th 1914
Mr David Clarke of Kingswinford died at the age of 83 years. Late Headmaster of Bromley School
Figure 1 David Clark at the age of 80 in 1911
The deaths of the owners of local engineering firms is also noted – David Parsons of Shut End and the Parsons Engineering Works at the Hollies on May 19th 1909; John Glaze of Glazes Tin Works who lived at Asquith House on Commonside on March 5th 1915; H S Pitt of Shut End Colliery on the 5th April of that year; and George Hingley of N. Hingley and Sons, and Harts Hill Iron Co.
On October 30th 1906 the marriage of a relative of William’s employer, Walter Cochrane, is also noted.
The marriage of Mr J B Cochrane’s oldest daughter Alice Beatrice to Mr R H Boyd Parnall, Solicitor (Christ Church, Monmouth). Married at Pedmore
The later entries from 1915 onwards report those who have enlisted in the army and, more somberly, those who were killed in action. Just one example, from Christmas Day 1917.
Fred Higgins died from being gassed, in base hospital in France. His brother James was wired for as he was in France when he passed away but he did not see him die.
Not all the personal entries related to deaths however, and there are a few that relate to St. James Chapel, which suggest that William and his family were part of that congregation. From August 18th 1907
Mr Jones of Dudley approved organist of St James, Pensnett
It would seem he didn’t last long and from 24th January 1909.
Mr Tart appointed organist at St James Pensnett ….. house costs £255
Earl of Dudley’s Railway
A significant number of entries relate to accidents on the Earl of Dudley’s railway (or the Pensnett Railway) . I have written about accidents on this system here, but did not include those below. Details of some of them however can be found in the British Newspaper Archive if the correct search terms are used, and I will probably put these into a blog sometime in the future.
5/4/1909 Richard Salters while working on a Lord Dudley Engine slipped and had his two legs cut off and died while going to the hospital. 28/1/1911 A Runaway from Baggeridge New Colliery, which a collision with the Countess Engine. A youth injured and taken to the General hospital. 6/1/1913 Hiram Plant, son of G Plant Church St, Pensnett, was killed on the ED railway Sunday. 27/1/1913 Runaway at Himley with the Countess Engine. ED Driver W Mase 17/11/1913 Ada Granger had her left leg cut off with the wagon on the ED railway by the Sampson Bridge. 3/4/1914 Railway accident. Near Sampson Bridge. 4 wagons smashed and one damaged. E.D. 20/11/1914 Robinson Albert of Pensnett had his leg cut on the ED railway coming back from taking his father’s dinner. 17/10/1915 Harry Southall aged 12 had one of his legs crushed very bad. He had it amputated at the Guest Hospital and the other foot was ….. on the EDR…… 29/3/1917 Railway Accident on Barrow Incline with No 13 Engine and 26 wagons. The engine crashed into the Goods shed and was badly damaged. Some wagons damaged.
ED of course refers to the Earl of Dudley’s Railway. The railway was clearly a dangerous place for both those who worked on it and those who crossed it, and safety considerations were not taken as seriously as today. It was also an organization where there was sporadic industrial unrest. From the 9th of January 1918.
The ED loco drivers and stokers went on strike for the 12½% they were informed of by a man from London that they should either have the 12½% wages advanced so they agreed to go on from day to day.
The exact sense is not clear, but there was clearly some national level involvement in the decision to strike.
Other accidents
William seemed to have a particular fondness for noting accidents of different types, as well as those on the Earl of Dudley’s railway, the more spectacular the better. Firstly there were industrial accidents.
7/7/1906 Cradley Heath Boiler Explosion (More details can be found here.) 3/4/1913 Two sinkers killed in Himley Colliery. 17/9/1913 Samuel Elgeton died from his accident at the Oak Brickyard. 2/12/1913 No 17 pit fired and 4 horses ……. had to be left in the pits. 26/1/1914 Thomas Jones had his hand crushed and was taken to the Guest Hospital. 24/4/1914 Accident at Shut End colliery overwinding. 10/10/1914 Accident at Harts Hill Ironworks. Engine man fell off boiler side and died in the Guest hospital. 3/12/1914 George Burton Engine Driver at No 6 pit Himley Colliery was scalded when the hooks ….. the roofs lid off at the pump. He lived at 41 High St Pensnett and died in the Guest Hospital. He was 51 years of age. 22/10/1915 A mine explosion at Pennant Hill Colliery Rowley. 5 victims. (More details here.)
Then there were drownings in the canal or the feeder pools.
15/7/1906 Mrs Plovey, the wife of J Plovey, was found drowned in the canal at 5 o’clock am, the right side of Hadley’s Bridge. She was pulled out by J Harries and S Young. 12/12/1906 A son of Mr Oliver of Pensnett aged … was drowned in Brockmoor Canal. 17/2/1909 John Oakley was found drowned in the canal by No 5 bridge Woodside. 8/8/1911 Man the name of Cooper was drowned in the Middle Pool and got out. 31/1/1913 Two girls Sally Hill and Elizabeth Jevons were dragged out of canal….Brettell. 7/2/1913 Woman found in canal at …. Lane bridge. 27/6/1913 Sarah Ann Green from New Chapel St was drowned in Middle Pool
Suicides were also noted.
2/3/1911 Joseph Whise of Church St Pensnett committed suicide by cutting his throat and was buried at Pensnett Church on March 8. 26/5/1913 The wife of G Dean of Kingswinford hung herself and son cut her down
Finally a couple of tram accidents are reported.
16/1/1916 Tram smash at Dudley near to the Guest Hospital. One died at Guest Hospital and one at Wolverhampton hospital 2/2/1917 Dudley. Tram accident at Scotts Green with J Thompson going to Dudley ….. One coming from Kingswinford. The driver of the Kingswinford was killed . John Morgan aged 53 from Kingswinford. The driver of the…. was Joseph Wright of Round Oak
A number of the above incidents can again be found in the British Newspaper Archive, and may well be the subject of future blog posts.
Engineering, history and ecclesiology 