Border History is a Society made up of smaller societies involved in some way with Family or Local History. This year Audley was asked to host the event and the Audley Family History Society took on the challenge, not without some apprehension it must be said!
More than 20 groups were invited to share the day, not all Family or Local history groups but associative groups with connecting interests. There was the Apedale Heritage Centre, Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum, the North Staffs Railway Group, Parish Registers, Archive Groups, Sir Thomas Boughey High School and many more. All were more than happy with the organisation and events.
We arranged the day so that we used two halls, the Pensioner’s hall and St. James’ Church Hall. This presented a few problems, not insurmountable though, We had to borrow tables from three venues, but Barry James, with trailer and his band of willing helpers, fetched and carried from Halmer End School, Bignall End Cricket Club and the Community Centre. At the end of the day they did it all again in reverse order!!
The day got off to a good start with the Church bells ringing for three quarters of an hour and throughout the day the halls were very busy. We estimated that 290 people had passed through the doors, which had exceeded numbers from last year’s Fair.
The Church itself was opened and three invited speakers attracted a good audience. There was an average of 50 people who sat down to listen to each one. The speakers themselves were pleasantly surprised at the response and the Society was thrilled to have encouraged so many.
The ladies of the Society provided excellent refreshments and the amount raised helped to pay for expenses, speakers and donations and we still made a profit for our Society.
We felt that we had had a most successful day and proved that a little village like Audley was more than capable of taking on the challenge of hosting a big event. Many made complimentary comments, many came to know of Audley’s existence for the first time and many, we hope, will visit again
(Thanks go to our chair, Anne James for this review)
Miranda began by introducing a slide of OZZIE THE OWL. perhaps the most recognisable of the Museum's collection of figures. This was produced in approximately 1690 and was one of the first Staffordshire figures manufactured. Collections at the Museum include Wood figures, pre 1840 (not flat back), and the Pugh collection.
Making figures was, and still is, a very complex operation. The potter begins with modelling in the round and then the clay figure is sent to the mould maker to be cut into pieces. From this mould the various individual casts are made. The clay pieces are then removed and the leather hard components are stuck together so that no joins are to be seen, this is a process known as repairing. Firing is the next stage. The biscuit figures are then decorated and glazed. The finished pieces are complete replicas of the originals. The early, simple figures were often made in two parts, but as time went by they became more and more complicated and, therefore, more expensive.
Making figures in Staffordshire began in the late 1700's and by the end of 1770 many factories were producing them. Subjects were numerous and varied, classical, allegorical and pastoral scenes being very popular. Many were decorated in the round and by 1820 one directional figures were introduced, these were staged pieces meant to be viewed as if by an audience. Some were large and complicated reflecting the attitudes and interests of the time e.g. bull baiting tableaux, the travelling circus, religious figures and portrait figures. One of the most interesting was of John Wesley produced by the Enoch Wood factory and considered to be an excellent likeness. This was an appropriate piece, as Methodism was fast becoming the new religion of the workers. Many of these early wares were functional, manufactured to be spill or watch holders.
Throughout the 19th Century the cult of celebrity was the vogue, just as it is today! The age of Victoria and Albert brought an outpouring of figurines, especially as the Queen and her Consort soon produced such a large family. Many of these figures were crudely made and easily manufactured; they became very popular and were affordable by the working classes. The Image Seller became a familiar peddler in the streets. Figures were often produced in pairs so that they could sit either end of the mantelshelf, they were flat backed and decorated on the front only. By 1897 the effort put into the manufacture of these figures was declining, possibly the potters had become a little tired of the subject matter, particularly as the Royal breeding programme was now at an end! The newspaper was available to all and the camera had been invented, it was so easy to look at an accurate image. That being so the age of the flat back declined, but the ones that survive have left a wealth of information about particular individuals and events of the time. The Museum has examples of historical figures such as The Duke of Wellington, Robert Peel, Florence Nightingale and General Gordon. In Victoria's England India was a very important country and events such as the Indian Mutiny are well chronicled, as is the Crimean War.
Other popular past times and events were commemorated in clay, so there are figurines of heroes and heroines e.g. Grace Darling and her father; murderers and villains were popular e.g. William Palmer the Rugeley murderer and there were many theatrical characters portrayed egg. Jennie Lind, the Swedish Nightingale. Figures of famous sportsmen appeared, one of the most sought after being W.G. Grace the cricketer. A cautionary note crept in here as many of these figures are still available today at a ridiculously low price, they are fakes being manufactured elsewhere and sold as the real thing.
Perhaps the most popular figures to have been seen were, and are, the pairs of King Charles spaniels, most homes afforded these and they still decorate many fireplaces today.
In conclusion Miranda made the point that, as a general guide, the collector should look for small, carefully decorated figures to be sure that they stand a good chance of being genuine.
Bastardy increased in England between the 16th to the 19th centuries. Justices were empowered in 1575-76 to charge either the mother or the putative father with the child’s upkeep, either directly or by bursary with the parish.
The father often discharged himself by paying a lump sum, but by the 18th century this had been made illegal. If the parents married up to a month before the birth the child was considered to be legitimate.
In 1597-98 pauper children were apprenticed. Overseers of the poor decided where the child was to be placed. Parents who objected could have their poor relief docked. So, at the age of 7 boys were generally apprenticed to husbandry and girls to house wifery – ‘Cinderella like’. Hand-me-downs clothed them. Between 1699-10 a mother may have been sent to a House of Correction for one year, after a second bastard child she would be sent there.
After 1750, illegitimacy rose sharply. If the parents married during pregnancy the child had a paternal settlement. Bastards were variously known as By Blow, Chancling, Merrybegot, Base Born and Chance Child.
Thomas Coram was an Englishman who travelled to Massachusetts, became very rich, returned back to England and, noticing the awful state of poor children, in 1741, he started a foundling hospital for orphaned and abandoned children in Holborn, London. For this venture he needed the permission of George II. Queen Caroline also supported him. The composer Handel became interested in raising money, along with many other artists. Annual concerts were held to raise money. Such was the need five hospitals were opened.
A child would enter the hospital under the age of 12 months, be given a number and be re-baptised. Then put to a paid wet nurse where bonds were often created. Naming a child would often relate to where the youngster was found, by a church, stile, forest porch field, or the child would be given a saints name. Occasionally puritanical names were used e.g. Livewell, Muchmercy etc. were given.
Cheap labour was rife. Mill workers would be taken by the cartload from the workhouse and given a pauper’s apprenticeship, not a proper apprenticeship, just cleaning up. They were poorly fed and often sold by mothers on the promise of good food in the mills. When anyone died in the mills a death certificate was not necessarily issued. Anatomists often took bodies for scientific research.
An appreciative audience enjoyed Sandra’s informative talk.
(The editor is grateful to Joan Tomkinson for this review)
I really would encourage you to attend these very entertaining and informative talks especially when you consider that they are free to members. Just turn up to St James Church Hall (right opposite the Church, in Audley) at 7.30pm.
Don’t forget that there is a research meeting on the first Wednesday afternoon of the month.
The Prerogative & Exchequer
Courts of York are now available on British Origins (www.britishorigins.com)
Prior to 1858, wills were proved in an ecclesiastical court, which court dealt
with a particular will depended on where property was held.
The parishes of the Church of England were grouped into archdeaconries and a
group of archdeaconries formed a diocese (i.e. the area of a bishop's
jurisdiction). Each diocese belonged either to the ecclesiastical province of
York or of Canterbury. The province of York had jurisdiction in the counties of
Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire,
Westmoreland and Yorkshire. Canterbury had jurisdiction over the rest of England
and Wales.
If a person's property lay wholly within one archdeaconry, the will was
generally proved in that archdeacon's court, but if property worth £5 or more
were owned elsewhere then the will would be proved in a higher court, that of a
bishop or archbishop.
The Prerogative & Exchequer Court of York Probate Index gives:
1- testator’s name
2- places associated with person, usually the place of death, but sometimes
other places
where the testator lived
are mentioned
3- date of probate year & month
4- type(s) of documents (there is often more than one document)
5- court concerned
6- Borthwick Institute reference to the original document(s)
7- Reference to original index
The Origins Network in association with the Borthwick Institute for Archives are
completing the computerisation of the indexes to the Prerogative & Exchequer
Court of York probate material; only the Medieval part (1267-1500) of these
indexes had previously been computerised. This work is being done in reverse
chronological order, starting from 1858, and the first batch of index records,
covering over 16,000 grants of probate for the period September 1853 to January
1858 is now available online exclusively on British Origins. About two thirds of
the wills were proved in the Prerogative Court. This index complements the
indexes to the York Medieval and York Peculiars probate material.
The original documents provide a great deal of valuable information to the
family historian and copies of these can be ordered online (www.originsnetwork.com)
via British Origins.
· www.1837online.com have added more records to their growing database and now includes the 1841 and 1871 censuses. Not only will these new census records prove a valuable asset in your search for your ancestors, they have also included new BMD and Census subscription packages.
· Our enquiries become more technical and ambitious! From an email recently received:
''I have it on record, and seek to confirm, that my ancestor Sir Adam FitzWulfric or
Wolriche was the youngest son of Henry de Aldithley, late C12. Please can you
confirm and add some dates and details.'' If you can help please contact
§ Percy Embrey emigrated to America in 1913. The single man was a resident of Halmerend and, travelling on the Majestic from Southampton, reached Ellis Island on the 28th August 1913.
Stories of my Life from 1901 to 1990 by J.T. Dennis (in www.blythebridge.org.uk/memories/)
I managed to get work at Callow Hill farm, near Dilhorne, owned by a Mr T W Stones. I soon began to take to this kind of work and I learned much about farming. In a few months Mr Stones told me that he was leaving the farm and going to a place called Park Manor farm at Mill End, which was a small village on the outskirts of Audley. The year was 1915. January 15th of that year was the day appointed for the removal, so together with the other farm labourer - a man named Charles Thorley, I went to harness two horses into two carts and to prepare for the journey by road to Audley, a distance of 18 miles. When we started out Mr Thorley led the way, the route being through Forsbrook, Dresden, Trentham, Newcastle, Chesterton, and Bignall Hill and on to our destination, Mill End. Soon after we started, snow began to fall and when I reached Dresden, proceeding up the hill near to Longton Park, my horse, which I was leading, slipped in the middle of the tram track.
At the same time a tram was descending the hill but fortunately, the driver seeing my predicament, just managed to bring the tram to a standstill. With the assistance of two passers-by, we got the horse back on to its feet again. Mr Thorley, being ahead of me, had gone out of sight, not knowing what had happened. It was not until we reached Trentham where we halted for a short time for refreshment that he was aware of our mishap. As I had been given no food or money, Mr Thorley gave me sixpence, which enabled me to buy a few cakes and a drink of water. After a short rest, we then proceeded on our way passing through Newcastle, Chesterton and down Bignall Hill, through Audley until we reached Mill End, our final destination. After we unloaded our vehicles and stabled the two horses, Mr Thorley, who was returning home the same night, made his way to catch the train at Alsager station. I slept for my first night at a nearby farm, ready for arrival next day of my boss, Mr Stones and family.
With springtime approaching a great deal of work had to be done right away and I was soon taught how to plough the fields as well as other kinds of farm work. It was not long before I could plough 1¼ acres a day with my two horses. A total of 45 acres had to be ploughed before we could start sowing corn and vegetables. As I mentioned, in my first job after leaving school, my weekly wage was only six shillings (30p). I soon discovered that I had not improved myself financially, as I was only going receive £28 per year, which included my keep. I had to work long hours, sometimes as long as sixteen hours each day, mostly during the hay and corn harvest. Labour was very scarce at this time during the First World War and additional help was impossible. I was the only person to work at the farm but somehow Mr Stones and I managed to carry out the necessary jobs.
I shall never forget the sound of the factory sirens on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1918 at 11am, when I was alone in the fields.
Charles Wodsworth was born in Balasor, India in 1790. He was the 3rd son of William Dudley Wodsworth, formerly H.M. Consul at Balasor. He entered Sidney College, Cambridge on the 10th June 1809 and got he BA in 1814 and his MA in 1817.
Charles Wodsworth was Vicar of Audley for the two years (1842 – 1844) prior to the arrival of Charles Philip Wilbraham. As might be expected this was a minor part of his Ecclesiastical career. He was:
§ Ordinated deacon (Norwich), June 12, 1812.
§ 1815, he was curate at Northbourn and Chaplain of Shoulden, Kent
§ In 1819 he was Licensed evening Lecturer at Saint Vedast, Foster Lane and Saint Michael le Querne, London;
§ Rector of Ingoldisthorpe, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. 1827, apparently for a short time.
§ Alternate Preacher at St Georges, Camberwell 1827 and afternoon Lecturer of St Johns, Westminster.
Note: In the 17th and 18th centuries people dissatisfied with the incumbent's
preaching or churchmanship would sometimes endow a post to pay a man of their
own views, to preach a regular or occasional sermon. These posts were known as
lectureships, special preacher and the like. It was cheaper than building a proprietary
chapel, which was another route taken.
Note: The rich would employ private chaplains - very few now other than the
royal household
Note: Cathedrals have a small number of permanent, residentiary canons, and a
larger number of honorary canons (also called prebendaries in some dioceses, such
as London). Originally prependary posts carried extra income, but they are now
purely an honorary title. The only official duty left to come together to freely elect the
Crown's only nominee to a bishopric.
Charles died 28th March 1844, at the residence of his friend, Dr Day, in Southwick Street, London. The sales of his effects was reported in the Staffordshire Advertiser on the 6th April 1844.
Though RILEY remains the most popular name recorded in our Members Interest List, there are many others, which may be of use to our members. Here are just a few: BAILEY, BILLINGTON, GIBSON, MADEW, RHODES and PROCTER.
May we remind you that we ONLY exchange addresses between members. We do
not give members interests to non members
A major benefit of the Society is the opportunity to contact people with similar research interests. If you are a new member, please submit your research interests (contact address below) or if you have been a member for a while, then please keep your research interests up to date. If you have already got your interests on the last list sent out at the end of 2003, check to see if they are correct, as some errors have been found. We need --surname—period [e.g. C17th] and location [e.g., Keele, Audley, Wolstanton etc.] Contact Pat: famhist147@hotmail.co.uk, This will be on show at the Research Meetings and will be added to when new interests are received.
It’s worth reminding members that another benefit of membership of the Society is that Pat: famhist147@hotmail.co.uk, will do, free of charge, moderate amounts of research on your behalf.
Audley Historian No. 12, 2006.
This year’s journal is now available. It contains the usual mixture of articles in its 116 pages, from brief items from the Staffordshire Advertiser to important and well-researched articles on the history of Audley and surrounding villages.
The Betley, Audley and Balterley Volunteers of the Napoleonic wars were investigated by Paul Anderton as part of his wider research into the subject.
There are two articles on mining. Clive Millington has completed the first part of his study of the Old Hayswood Colliery. It is unusual to have such a detailed history of a colliery and Clive has a collection of original documents. Hayswood Colliery is highly unusual in another respect… but you’ll have to read the second part next year to find out more about that!
There is an interesting story behind the second mining article also. The MacGowans of Talke were an important family of mining engineers who are now largely forgotten in the area. The last of the family donated a good collection of family and mining documents to Hanley library in 1967 and they have mostly remained on the shelf and unavailable to the public since then. Kate Box is a member of the North Staffs Mining Group who took on the cataloguing of the collection and it is hoped that it will be accessible soon. However, Kate developed a great interest in the family and her ‘MacGowans of Talke’ is the product of her familiarity with the archive.
On to a farming family: the Webbs, who have long-standing connections with the area. Jack Meads has produced another of his elegant essays based around his memories of the area. It is also good to report some recollections of Butt Lane by Audrey Fitzpatrick. The Audley Historian is not just concerned with Audley village!
Another article from the recent past is a brief biography on Nurse Eardley’s career by Robert Mayer. Readers of this article may have had the benefit of her services.
Many people have left Audley, strange as that decision may seem. Frederick William Taylor, a member of another interesting local family, sailed to join others of his family in New Zealand in 1923 and his account of the voyage adds to the knowledge of emigrants we are accumulating.
The cover shows Ravens Lane Farm, demolished in 1985, and a recent view of Church St showing the bricks!
All in all, an interesting contribution to our local history I think.
Ian Bailey
(Audley Historian No. 12, 2006. is available from Mark Casewell, 6 Macbeth House, Barrie Gardens, Talke, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 1PB. Mark.Casewell@btinternet.com)
· JJ Heath-Caldwell has contacted us with an important and interesting request.
JJ wrote an article a couple of years ago on his family who lived at Linley Hall, Talke. He
also has a really good website on the family.
Well, he has received a bequest, which, among other things, contains 12 diaries written
by James Caldwell covering the years 1808-38. He envisages that it will take a couple of
years to transcribe them, as they are so substantial, so he is trying to get volunteers to
transribe them and they will then become freely available on his website.
Caldwell was well connected. He was an executor of Josiah Wedgwood and friend of
Josiah Wedwood II and his family. He was a partner in Bent's Brewery of Newcastle and
in the major potting firm of Wood & Caldwell in Burslem (the partnership ended in 1818).
He was involved in the North Staffs Infirmary and knew and visited Heathcotes, Sneyds
and other local notables. All these are mentioned in the diaries, as are people who lived
on the Linley Hall estate.
From a local and family history viewpoint these are exciting documents - and they haven't
been used by historians before: they have been in a trunk in the family's possession till
now.
JJ is going to send me a sample in the next few weeks just to see what is involved. Then
it is over to us. I certainly want to be involved. If you are as well you might like to contact
me. Members will be kept informed of progress. Ian Bailey, 20 Hillside Ave, Endon,
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, ST9 9HH. Email: ibail1sc@stokecoll.ac.uk
· Members are aware of the ongoing wills project and the initial publication of the Wills and Probate Inventories of the people of the Parish of Audley, (1650 –1700) has been transcribed and is available CD, please see the publications listing below. If you would like to take part in this project please contact Robert Mayer on: MayerFam@aol.com
· A further project is being developed around the 1910 LAND TAX SURVEY. It is clear that the Land Tax Survey is an absolute goldmine of information and anyone interested in taking part should contact Roger Wood at the next meeting.