Notes on Pendleton
Taken from Pendleton The rise and fall of a northern township by Don Lingard
It is hard to visualise Pendleton as a rural backwater, with farms, orchards, country mansions and a village green with a maypole, but until the first quarter of the 19th century this is exactly what it was. It was then part of the ancient parish of Eccles and all inhabitants were expected to attend St Mary's parish church for divine service, baptism, marriage and burials.
In 1801 Pendleton had a population of 3,611 and a field map of 1815 shows that the whole area was still very sparsely populated although some of the major roads were beginning to take shape. ....There was a fold of cottages around the green with more in the Whit Lane area. There were now houses, both modest and large, along Broad Street.....Farms such as Summerville, Bank Lane, ......Acresfield Farm, were dominating the landscape. There were orchards at Brindleheath and Strawberry fields near the Wallness.
Towards the end ot the 18th century the new industrial age had began to encroach on rural Pendleton. At this time and for the previous two and a half centuries a great number of people were self-employed in hand loom weaving where the whole family could help. In an earlier age wool and flax would have been the material woven but by the 1800's in Lancashire cotton was the main thread, usually used as weft with a warp of linen. Amongst the farmers, yeomen, husbandmen, handloom weavers, small holders, whisters or bleachers, dyers and craftsmen such as joiners, blacksmiths and shoemakers, there were also budding merchants. They in the main were enterprising men who emerged from the working classes to become merchants who would buy the woven cloth pieces and then sell on to an ever-expanding market.
By the 1770's although all people were expected to attend church on Sundays this was not practical for many, as there were so few churches and chapels in south Lancashire. Pendleton was in the parish of St Mary's Eccles and although people did attend for baptism, marriage and burial, maybe because of the distance many of the lower ranks did not attend regular services. By the efforts of two Pendleton men Samuel Brierly and Thomas Fletcher a simple chuch building was completed in 1773. However it wasn't consecrated as a Church of England until 1776. By this time John Wesley had preached in the building in 1774. The church was dedicated to St Thomas and stood on Brindleheath Road becoming the first of the 22 daughter churches of Eccles Parish Church.
By 1818 the population of Pendleton had swelled to 8000 and a new bigger church was required. Raising the money was a problem but providently, after the Napoleonic Wars, the government set aside a large sum of money for established churches to be built where needed. The new St Thomas's was a church to benefit and was erected on its present site, formerly the village green, and consecrated in 1831.
William Douglas, later to be known as Black Douglas because of his harsh treatment of pauper children, set up water powered hoist mill at the Pendleton Old Hall Site in 1780. Freedom from Arkwright restrictions resulted in an increase in the size of water powered mills. A letter in 1792 mentions 3,000 to 4,000 spindles at Douglas Mills. Douglas chiefly supplied the master manufacturers with twist and warps, which were then distributed to the handloom weavers. In 1782 the Douglas Mills were constructing textile looms.
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Given as background information for Christopher Steele the weaver who lived in Pendleton at the time of his marriage.
It looks like Manchester library have film of records of St Thomas Pendleton, will have to go after Christmas and check them ;
Baptisms from 1776 (film no. 139 then 1612)
Burials from 1776 (film no. 139, then 1621)
Marriages from 1839.
Hope they are not missing.
It is hard to visualise Pendleton as a rural backwater, with farms, orchards, country mansions and a village green with a maypole, but until the first quarter of the 19th century this is exactly what it was. It was then part of the ancient parish of Eccles and all inhabitants were expected to attend St Mary's parish church for divine service, baptism, marriage and burials.
In 1801 Pendleton had a population of 3,611 and a field map of 1815 shows that the whole area was still very sparsely populated although some of the major roads were beginning to take shape. ....There was a fold of cottages around the green with more in the Whit Lane area. There were now houses, both modest and large, along Broad Street.....Farms such as Summerville, Bank Lane, ......Acresfield Farm, were dominating the landscape. There were orchards at Brindleheath and Strawberry fields near the Wallness.
Towards the end ot the 18th century the new industrial age had began to encroach on rural Pendleton. At this time and for the previous two and a half centuries a great number of people were self-employed in hand loom weaving where the whole family could help. In an earlier age wool and flax would have been the material woven but by the 1800's in Lancashire cotton was the main thread, usually used as weft with a warp of linen. Amongst the farmers, yeomen, husbandmen, handloom weavers, small holders, whisters or bleachers, dyers and craftsmen such as joiners, blacksmiths and shoemakers, there were also budding merchants. They in the main were enterprising men who emerged from the working classes to become merchants who would buy the woven cloth pieces and then sell on to an ever-expanding market.
By the 1770's although all people were expected to attend church on Sundays this was not practical for many, as there were so few churches and chapels in south Lancashire. Pendleton was in the parish of St Mary's Eccles and although people did attend for baptism, marriage and burial, maybe because of the distance many of the lower ranks did not attend regular services. By the efforts of two Pendleton men Samuel Brierly and Thomas Fletcher a simple chuch building was completed in 1773. However it wasn't consecrated as a Church of England until 1776. By this time John Wesley had preached in the building in 1774. The church was dedicated to St Thomas and stood on Brindleheath Road becoming the first of the 22 daughter churches of Eccles Parish Church.
By 1818 the population of Pendleton had swelled to 8000 and a new bigger church was required. Raising the money was a problem but providently, after the Napoleonic Wars, the government set aside a large sum of money for established churches to be built where needed. The new St Thomas's was a church to benefit and was erected on its present site, formerly the village green, and consecrated in 1831.
William Douglas, later to be known as Black Douglas because of his harsh treatment of pauper children, set up water powered hoist mill at the Pendleton Old Hall Site in 1780. Freedom from Arkwright restrictions resulted in an increase in the size of water powered mills. A letter in 1792 mentions 3,000 to 4,000 spindles at Douglas Mills. Douglas chiefly supplied the master manufacturers with twist and warps, which were then distributed to the handloom weavers. In 1782 the Douglas Mills were constructing textile looms.
************************************************************************
Given as background information for Christopher Steele the weaver who lived in Pendleton at the time of his marriage.
It looks like Manchester library have film of records of St Thomas Pendleton, will have to go after Christmas and check them ;
Baptisms from 1776 (film no. 139 then 1612)
Burials from 1776 (film no. 139, then 1621)
Marriages from 1839.
Hope they are not missing.
posted by Steele-Golborne | 1:22 AM
1 Comments:
William Douglas was the son of John Douglas, innkeeper at Hercules Pillars, in Hyde Park Road, London, which was frequented by Fielding's Tom Jones. His brother, James, was still young when their father died, so he took him in. James went on to become a soldier and and then an antiquarian of note.
William apparently amassed a fortune.
A third brother was also involved in the cloth trade.
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