THE MEMOIRS OF ATHERTON OVER 82 YEARS
This was given to me by the late great Steve Glover of Chowbent Chapel. It was written by Athertonian Robert Greenhalgh in 1936 when he was 82 years old and is a fantastic look at the history of Atherton as he remembered it. Mr. Greenhalgh's grandson, Mr. Ken Greenhalgh of Anglesey, gave it to the chapel for their archives. What is almost unbelievable is that Robert remembers talking to his great grandfather who was born just before the American Declaration of Independence was signed!
"I am now in my 83rd year and was born in Atherton in the year 1855 during the Crimean War. I have thought that I could record some historical facts and reminiscences that would be interesting to Athertonians and bring back to their memories many events that have been forgotten.
Atherton at this time consisted of one long straggling street: Bolton Old Road, Church Street and Market Street. Bolton New Road had been made 40 or 50 years before and was very sparsely built on.
At this time, and for many years after, the name of the village was Chowbent although the station on the Bolton & Kenyon railway line, which had been opened about 20 years before, was called Atherton.
One feature of Bolton Old Road which must strike one very forcibly was the number of public houses. This is probably accounted for by the fact that it was one of the principal stagecoach roads from Yorkshire through Bolton to Liverpool, Chester and North Wales and it seems to me that, with the evolution of the road motor it is once more resuming this traffic. In my time there were, in the following order: The Blue Bell, Lord Nelson, Rope and Anchor, Farriers Arms, Brown Cow, Beehive, Another and Then, Travellers Rest, Swan, Bears Paw, Bulls Head, Queens Head, Kings Head, Woolpack, Jolly Nailor, Wheatsheaf, Punch Bowl and Rampant Lion. Eight of the above houses have been closed and perhaps as many new ones opened. The population at present must be at least 10 times as great.
At the period I am writing about, the houses could be open all the hours of the week, night and day. I well remember an incident that occurred in my apprentice days just after the restriction of the 11 o'clock closing time. We were repairing a colliery winding engine which had broken down and, as was usual in those days, the manager sent one of the labourers with a two gallon bottle for the allowance beer to the Bull & Butcher at Dangerous Corner just before closing time. In a short time the labourer, who had a serious impediment in his speech, came staggering back with only the handle of the bottle in his hand and managed to say incoherently "I've fawn un broken t'bottle" The managers words were "tha has .… fire as like," I don't like to quote the exact words but needless to say they were most emphatic. The missing H was perfectly aspirated and, after some very pungent criticisms of the government, work was resumed and the repairs finished.
Chowbent at this time could, I feel sure, be described as being, if not a lovely village, a very quaint one with quite a decent rivulet running through a ravine known as The Valley. It had a few very good houses in its midst.
The first two after leaving the junction of the old and new roads, on a site now covered by the Iron Church, were occupied by the Fletcher and Sanderson families. These houses were finely situated with extensive grounds, gardens and vineries in which there was an abundance of grapes grown at that time, more of a luxury than they are today.
One of the houses had what I thought was a fine entrance portico which, on dismantling, was sold to Dr Sephton of Culcheth and it stands there today. The Fletchers, who lived at the Laburnums, I remember possessed a sledge, not one put together out of an old orange box and a few nails, but one that had evidently been brought up in a more favourable climate for sledging. It must have felt a bit undignified when being driven, as I have seen it, on the foundry dam. The foundry dam was then an attractive sheet of water. It supplied the water wheel that was the motive power for working the old foundry. I can remember on one or two occasions in a dry summer going with a messenger to ask Mr Hulton to let some water out of the Hulton Dam, which was on the same stream.
The Hulton Dam at that time was as picturesque and was as well surrounded by trees and shrubs as any lake I have seen in the Lake District. At this time the Foundry Dam was filled with pure clear water in which vegetation flourished and was well supplied with fish. I have seen bucketsful caught when the dam had to be run off for cleaning the sludge and usually these fish were taken to Mr A. Sylvesters, Alder House, a very good house overlooking the valley where he had a fishpond. He had also a vinery in which he grew pineapples, the only place in this neighbourhood where I have seen them growing. Alder House is now a welfare home owned by the Urban District Council given, I believe, by Messrs Fletcher Burrows & Co.
I have a copy of a plan of the Alfred Mort Estate, which was extracted by the late T. Hoyle Hope from a deed of early 18th century which shows the position of Alder Fold. I think it is worthwhile to make a copy of this as ii shows Chows Tenement which Mr Hope always contended was the origin of the name Chowbent. I have heard him say that it was a corruption of Chows Bend. This plan also shows how well wooded the estate was. In 1861 the postmaster general refused to change the name of the post office from Chowbent to Atherton. It remained for another generation to effect this change.
The works in Chowbent, as far as I can remember, consisted of 3 spinning mills: Bag Lane, Barracks and Bridgefoot, each of which I have seen burnt down. Dan Lane Mill at present a doubling mill was used for making textile machinery. There were 4 bolt works, the old foundry, two or three works making spindles and flys, a clay pipe works and a goodly number of small nailmakers whose workplaces were for some reason or other were called Rocks, which were very often in cellars. Chowbent was famous for making boot nails which were known in the trade as sparrowbills. I do not know how they became associated with Chowbent and also Chowbent Sparrowbill Dumplings which became familiar to people in districts situate in long radiuses from Chowbent. It always appeared to me a marvellous craftsmanship which enabled the nailers to make two sparrowbills in one hammering; it always fascinated me.
There were many collieries belonging to Messrs John Fletcher and others. Some of these mines were quite shallow. I remember one near Chanters Farm which was called the ladder pit. The inlet and exit was by means of ladders.
The places of worship at this time, say 1859, were, The Parish Church, The Unitarian Chapel, The Baptist Chapel and I remember Mr J. Rawlinson conducted a sort of missionary service in his ironmongers shop on the site very nearly where the church tower stands today. In 1859 a few gentlemen got together and decided to start a cotton mill. I think it was one of the first mills built within a radius of some miles to take advantage of the Limited Liability Act and so The Atherton Spinning Co Ltd was formed. Amongst the first directors were:
Mr John Warburton - Atherton Mr Thomas Silcock - Tyldesley
Mr Jonathan Hesketh - Atherton Mr Peter Greenhalgh - Atherton
Mr Isaac Bolton - Bolton Mr Phillip Manley - Atherton Secretary
Names nearly all forgotten by the present generation.
My earliest recollection was the building of the foundations for the engines. Mr Chadwick of Leigh was the contractor for this work. I well remember the huge ponderous stones that were required. Today no stones would be used as cement is entirely used for this purpose. As I lived not more than 100 yds from this work, one Saturday afternoon when I was about 5 years old, I must have been so interested and curious that I went when all was quiet to investigate what was going on and, unfortunately, I fell down in the foundations and cut a piece out of my leg, giving me a reminder that exists today. I suppose I made as big a noise as I could and somebody came and rescued me out of my difficulty.
The engines that were put in were very fine specimens of engineering made by John Hick of Bolton. They were a pair of high-pressure beam engines about 800 horsepower. These a few years after were what engineers called McNaughted, that is two additional cylinders were added and made into compound engines. Of the other engines which subsequently the company had to acquire I had a good deal to do with. First the replacement of the beam engines with a pair of horizontal engines by John Musgrave and Sons. A pair of triple expansion engines by Woods about 1000 horse power and another pair by Yates & Thorn about 1000 horse power also a pair of compound engines by John Musgrave & Sons about 800 horse power. I think the above was a group of mill engineers that were unequalled in the world but, strange to say, with the exception of Hick Hargreaves have, for one reason or another, gone Out of existence. I can only account for it by the development of the steam turbine, electric driving and the diesel engine. My own firm, who have made scores of engines, principally winding and hauling engines, have not made an engine for at least 20 years. The first large winding engine we made was ordered by Mr John Gregory at Dangerous Corner but, for some reason that I forget, it was completed for Mr John Speakman and is working at the Woodend Colliery today although it is about 65 years since it was built.
But to revert to the Atherton Spinning Co. For the first few years they went through a precarious time. Just as they were about to start spinning, the fierce American Civil War started so for a long period there was no supply of cotton, the mill did no spinning and there was great distress in Atherton. A relief fund was started and, as I happen to have a balance sheet of this fund, it may be of interest if I give an extract showing a list of those who subscribed sums of overGBP6. Altogether a sum of GBP1,354.7s 2d was subscribed.
Lord Lilford 300.00 John Norbury 50.00
Lady Lilford 20.00 Mrs Diggle 36.00
Dowager Lady Lilford 60.00 Alfred Sylvester 30.00
Manchester Relief 230.00 MiIIar Selby 30.00
Mansion House Comm. 150.00 Thos. Lee 30.00
J. Fletcher & Others 120.00 John Hall 20.00
Jas Burton & Sons 75.00 Carr & Nichols 12.00
A Friend per Mr. Sylvester 10.00 T.E. Withington 10.00
Jonathan Hesketh 6.00 John Warburton 6.00
Win. Hesketh 6.00 Win. Shakeshaft 6.00
J.D. Selby 6.00 Thos. Carr 6.00
Ralph Pool 6.00 Ralph Unsworth 6.00
Richard Manley 6.00 George Marsland 6.00
Thos. Carr, Auditor Geo. Marsland, Auditor Thos. Lee, Secretary
The Atherton Spinning Co passed through many vicissitudes and trials. I may be excused in mentioning that my father was a promoter of the mills and was a director for nearly 50 years and chairman for many years and I was a director for 27 years until the concern was taken over by the new company changing its name to Atherton Mills.
About the time of the building of the first mill, King Edward VII, then the Prince of Wales, was married to Queen Alexandria. To celebrate this event the only floral arch that I remember in Atherton was erected across the street from the mill offices. I do not know who was responsible for its erection.
I am very foggy about any laws which governed the attendance at schools in my young days but, as far as my recollection goes, there did not seem to be any control or compulsion at all. You could please yourself whether you went to school or not. I started my literary training by attending an academy when I was about 4 years old so that I had a pretty early start. I dare say there were very good reasons for this. One was that my brother, Richard, was a student there and most likely my parents thought it was a cheap way of keeping me out of mischief. I am not sure whether the fee was one penny or two pence per week. However, this important event must have left a deep impression on my mind as I distinctly remember, on entering the school, seeing the late Mr. Thomas Hamer sitting by the fire peeling potatoes for the mistresses dinner. I suppose that, because he was the senior scholar, it would entitle him to be promoted to this high post. I was destined in later years to work and play with him in a great many capacities; in holiday travel, educational and social work and lastly, until his death, on judicial work on the bench at the Leigh Courts.
The school was conducted by Miss Green. It was simply a cottage at the top end of a street that was always known as the Barracks, now called Cannon Street. Just as I am writing it is being dismantled under the slum clearance act. So far as I can remember the scholastic needs of Chowbent were served by the following schools: The Lane Top, always called by this name up to a few years ago, is now known as Hesketh Fletcher Senior School and the head of this school was Mr Broadbent; Miss Green's School in the Barracks; Mr Ralph Dunster's School in Bolton Old Road; Miss Davies at the corner of the Walk which was at that time a rather pretentious house but the school was behind over a stable and, by a singular coincidence, is also being dismantled. Miss Davies's School was looked on as a rather high class academy for what you may call finishing off. I can recall many names of ladies who passed through this school afterwards became well known in society in both Tyldesley and Atherton. I recall that the art of knitting was one of the prominent accomplishments in the curriculum. I must not omit to mention a school that was conducted by Miss Hesketh in the house now used as the Atherton Estate Office. Miss Hesketh was most urbane and a gracious lady and one to whom many people in Atherton were greatly indebted for her many kindnesses. Her brother, who I as a lad used to regard as the most courteous gentleman that I had ever met, but he suffered I think from locomotive ataxia and he had many other troubles but Miss Hesketh gave him a home and comfort to the end.
After leaving Miss Green's I was put for a time under the care of Mr Dunster who was a man of many parts, combining his rather limited literary attainments with that of lettering gravestones at which he was certainly an expert as can be seen today in the nearby chapel graveyard, as I think he carved most of them. He also regarded himself as an artist but I think most of his critics did not give him very high rank in his painting. However, I do know that he brought to a friend of mine for criticism a portrait supposed to be Mrs Esther Cowsil but he explained that he was not quite satisfied with it so he put on a few whiskers and converted it into a good likeness of Mr James Croft.
In due course I was put under the care of Miss Davies for a year or two until a new school was opened by Mr Elliot in the lower schoolroom of the Unitarian School. This was a fairly good school which attracted boys from the surrounding districts - a good number coming from Tyldesley but I think it was not a financial success as we had three different masters in about 4 years.
I commenced work at the foundry when I was 13 years of age at a salary of two shillings and sixpence per week. When I was 14 years old the first science and art school for a radius of a good many miles was opened at Tyldesley under the auspices of Mr W. Lomax who spent for years endless of time in promoting the welfare of these classes. The first subject taught was geometrical and mechanical drawing taught by Mr Stott. This class was attended by students of variable ages ranging from 14 to 50 years of age. I was the youngest. In the first exam in 1869 I got a first class certificate and obtained a prize. I attended this class for a few years and afterwards became a teacher in the class.
When I look back I am surprised that several students tramped from Atherton to Tyldesley at night when there were no vehicles, no lamps on the Tyldesley Old Road, a walk of at least 3 miles in all sorts of weather. We must have had a stronger incentive to improve ourselves than prevails today. It astonishes me that with the better conditions and facilities given now and with all the inducements there are so few comparatively who take advantage of the excellent schools that exist today.
But to resume my own educational course. When I was 17 years old, the Rev M.C. Frankland suggested it would be a good idea if Mr Phillip Peake and myself could have a course at Owens College and if our parents would consent he would prepare us for the entrance exam. We got consent and for several months we went to Mr Frankland's house at 6 o'clock in the morning once a week but when the time came to go to college it was found that Phillip could not go. I disliked the idea of staying in lodgings in Manchester and, as the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway had not even been thought of then, I had to walk to Tyldesley station and by rail to Ordsall Lane then to walk to college, making a walk of about 7 miles per day. This made a rather strenuous day. After three sessions at college some of my friends suggested that I could compete for a Whitworth Scholarship, which I did, and succeeded in 1876. At this period, besides the theoretical exam, the competitors had to compete in practical work at the works of Sir Joseph Whitworth and it was in this practical work that I was able to excel my competitors.
WATER PROBLEMS
In early days Chowbent's only water supply was by means of wells. These were dotted all over the place. To name the principal ones: a pump in Park Street, a well with a windlass over it at Gib Fold Farm; a well in Water Street near where the Fire Station is now; a well and pump in what was then known as "Pump Fowt" but today named Lord Street; three wells in the Valley and a few pumps in private houses:one in the Parsonage where Mr Frankland ( a Chowbent Minister) lived, one in Manor House where I lived for a few years.
The business of carrying water was a very formidable one but about the year 1766 an arrangement was being made by the authorities for a supply from Manchester but I think Tyldesley, after investigating the possibility of making a reservoir at "Cut Acre Clough" about 1866, stepped in and made an agreement with Manchester on the understanding that they were to supply a certain quantity to Atherton and an agreement was made between the two townships but in this agreement I believe there was nothing said in it about pressure and this lapse was the cause of an expensive law suit.
As time went on, the Tyldesley supply began to run short but, as Tyldesley got the first pull, they could get enough and Atherton had to go short as the pressure at the boundary was so small that it could not find its way into Atherton only occasionally when Tyldesley was not using much. Of course the state of things led to trouble and irritation on both sides so at last it was decided to test the problem in the Law Courts.
The judge ruled that the word quality mentioned in the agreement did not mean that there need be pressure in the water. He said if it would only run out of a teacup it would fulfil the contract. This led to a very serious position for Atherton and much cogitation as to what should be done.
The result of this was that I was appointed as engineer to get out some scheme to get over the difficulty. We got out levels and found, fortunately, that at the point where the water had to be delivered was the very lowest level that it could get to in Tyldesley, so the conclusion came to was to construct a tank at this lowest level and let the water in without requiring any pressure and then to pump it at our leisure and get any pressure that we desired. I made plans for this scheme. For I suppose financial reasons a deputation had to interview the powers that be in London, so the Chairman of the Board, Mr A. Hope, Mr Crippin, Mr T. Smith, Mr D. Schofield and myself had this interview and got consent to proceed.
The scheme, after many difficulties, was complete and Atherton could get as much water as she required and at an adequate pressure which soon aroused much consternation amongst our Tyldesley neighbours, so much so that they decided that it would be as well if a new agreement between Atherton, Tyldesley and Manchester should be negotiated and this was done and thus made the Hindsford pumping station obsolete. It now lies there today most likely rusting away. During the time all this trouble was going on an additional supply from Bolton was arranged and so Atherton is today fairly well supplied with water. I seem to have been involved a good deal with water difficulties in Atherton.
The Atherton Spinning Co were for many years at cross purposes with the Hulton Colliery Co on the matter of pollution of the Carr Brook which supplied their reservoirs and, as a director, I had to take part in solving this problem. The parties involved in this case were Laburnum Spg Co, Gamble & Smith, Bouth & Co, Leigh Dying Go, Jones Bros, all of whose works were on this stream. We appointed Mr Stephens of Banks Fairclough to make investigation and report. I should like here to testify to his ability as an expert in assembling all the necessary facts. He was a man who it was most desirable to have on your side rather than against you. It will be remembered that he represented Tyldesley against Atherton and I should think it would be he who would persuade the judge in that action that the quality of the water supply did not include pressure. After years of protest we went to the court for redress before Vice Chancellor Smith. It was, I remember, about the most anxious time I ever experienced. I was in the witness box about 5 hours explaining to the court, amongst other things, how I had in my young days seen trout caught in the Foundry Dam half the length of my arm.
This statement apparently gave our opposing counsel an opportunity to air his forensic sarcasm by several references to Mr Greenhalgh's fish story. However, the result of the action was that we got an injunction with a recommendation that we should, under the circumstances of the war which had just started, contrive to prevent the closing of the pits and we did come to an arrangement that if it were necessary we could use towns water and that the Hulton Colliery Co were to pay a certain portion of the expenses, the defendants to pay damages and costs. This arrangement continued for about 20 years when trouble started again, Hulton Colliery maintaining that, as they had ceased polluting the stream, the charges should be dropped.
In conclusion I would like to record a rather interesting account and unusual fact that I knew personally two of my great grandfathers.
One was my grandfather's father, Mr. Wright Greenhalgh, who is buried in the chapel graveyard in Bolton Old Road. He was 84 years of age and I attended his funeral in 1862 so he must have been born in 1778. It seems strange that I must have talked with a person who was two years of age when the American Declaration of Independence was declared also that he would be a youth at the time of the French Revolution. Another rather curious thing, he lived within two hundred yards from where I reside today.