The Clegg Family and Furness Vale Printworks.

 Rosemary Hurley has been researching the Clegg family which had connections with Furness Vale. Ernest Bernulf Clegg managed the Printworks and lived at Furness Lodge. He became President in 1912, of the newly opened Institute. 

 

William Clegg

The Cleggs were an extensive family living in and around Oldham in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. William Clegg of Westwood, Oldham, a cotton manufacturer, had a son also named William Clegg who became a cotton manufacturer and merchant. William Clegg junior’s early working life was unusual in that he moved away from Lancashire and as a young man was a business associate of Robert Owen in New Lanark, Scotland. Robert Owen was the philanthropic and socialist Welsh textile manufacturer who is credited with founding the cooperative movement. William Clegg married Isabella Grindlay while he was living in Scotland. A few letters survive between Robert Owen and William Clegg in the New Lanark collection and in the National Cooperative Archive but it has not been possible to identify what exactly was William Clegg’s employment status in New Lanark, nor his relationship with Robert Owen.

William Clegg returned to Lancashire and eventually settled in Pendleton near Manchester. He was in partnership in textile businesses with various others during his career and according to his great-granddaughter he ‘lost three fortunes’. He left under £1000 when he died intestate in 1866.

William and Isabella Clegg raised a large family of which there were two sons, Benson William, born in New Lanark, and Neville, born in Hollinwood near Oldham.

Reddish Farm

 Reddish Farm was in Whaley Bridge on the southern bank of Toddbrook Reservoir. The buildings have recently been converted into housing.

 These notes from our archive date from  September 10th 1968 when Mr. A. Slack was interviewed by George Tomlinson.

An historic photograph of Reddish Farm. Comparison with more recent photographs shows considerable alterations to the building on the left.

Mr and Mrs Slack came in 1924, he was at Combs for a year before, came as a tenant on the Jodrell Estate. The farm was sold by the estate in 1947 when Mr A Slack bought it. The house is very old; wash house built in 1896, Major Toller had the porch built. Shippon built from an old cottage about 1930. An old shippon has a dry stone wall with a date on the stone which looks like 1625. An old cheese press is built into the wall, inside one building. The wall is plasteered and appears to have been lived in. The barn has been altered many times.  Whaley Bridge Memorial Park has been taken off Reddish land just after the 1914 - 18 war. Hedges were planted. The acreage is now 53, inthe 1923 sale catalogue it was 35. Land behind Yarkers belonged to Dowery.
"Lomas Knob" name given to by Slacks to hay field on the left hand side of Linglongs. This belonged to the Royal Oak. Cotrell and G Hill of Crowhill had field below the Lodge Field with Botany Works belonging to Butcher who used it for grazing (called Morton?).
Reddish increased in acreage about 1930.

The Driven Gipsies

 

I don't know where the German Gipsies started their journey nor where it finished but in 1906 they weren't given a very friendly welcome by either the Derbyshire or Cheshire police.
One Friday night in October the Sheffield police tried to drive them across the border into Derbyshire; the Derbys police sent them back. Eventually the police tired of this game and the gipsies, 60 of them with horses and caravans were allowed to camp in a field a few miles from Sheffield.

Saturday morning and 20 or so Derbyshire police  were ready to drive them over the moors through Hathersage, Hope, Castleton and Chapel-en-le-Frith.  It was late at night by the time they crossed the river at Whaley Bridge and so into Cheshire.  At that time the Cheshire Police didn't know of their progress so they were able to set up camp at the roadside.  The bridge was guarded on the Derbyshire side to prevent their return and it was reported that the encampment looked like  a fair.  The people of Whaley made them welcome and feeling sorry for their treatment even gave them money.  The gipsies even did some trade in cheap jewellery.  They declared that they liked the country and intended to stay for two years.

The Cheshire police however, got wind of their presence and a contingent from the Macclesfield force, 30 officers strong, led them through Bollington and Adlington and so on to the Stockport Road.  There was some disorder here. One of the gipsies threw his hat into a field and was prevented from going after it. The gipsies then threw sticks at the police to show their resentment but were soon persuaded to continue their journey.  The Stockport police joined the Macclesfield contingent on reaching Hazel Grove and the band was kept on the move along Buxton Road. At the Stockport boundary, 2 inspectors and 25 officers took charge.  They were not allowed to go into shops but occassionally dashed in to beg but were quickly brought out again.

The group were disappointed at not being allowed to stop in Stockport. At Heaton Lane, they were turned off of the main road towards Heaton Mersey where the Lancashire police were telephoned and a force of 20 were sent to meet them .  As darkness fell, the gipsy leader pointed to the children and indicated that they were becoming tired and needed sleep. Inspector Moore of Stockport insisted that they continue.  "You bad inspector" shouted the gipsy leader, "we come back when you gone". The inspector replied "if you come back, we shall lock you up" The Stockport men escorted them along the Didsbury Road until a little way beyond Barnes Homes, the body sent out from Old Trafford took charge. They were allowed to turn into a field for the night, very glad to get some rest.

This is the last we hear of them, presumably they were allowed to settle at some stage or they would be wandering still.

Back to School in New Mills

Tony Beswick has supplied a selection of photographs mostly featurning New Mills School. 

 

Church Lane in the early 20th century, looking towards St.George's Church. In the centre is St.George's Primary School and on the left, Beech House. The empty fields to the right of Church Lane are the site of New Mills Grammar School. The school opened in 1912 and is a Grade II listed building.  St George's is the Anglican parish church and was built in 1829-1830 to the design of  R. D. Chantrell.  The Chancel was rebuilt in 1898.

 

                               The North East corner is the nearest to Church Lane