Migration to Earby (MIXMAN)
Posted: 22 Apr 2012, 08:22
Migration to earby
Topic: http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/link ... IC_ID=4534
Date: 23 March 2006
Topic author: Mixman
Subject: Families That Migrated to Border Town
Posted on: 21 March 2006 12:48:54
Message:
Earby Through 60 Years (13)
LINKS WITH GARGRAVE
Families That Migrated to Border Town
(by John Hartley) 30/12/1938
A short time ago I was reminded of the community of interest which has existed between Earby and Gargrave for nigh a hundred years. That association seems to have had its origin about 1850, soon after the opening of the railway in 1848, when Earby began to develop as an industrial village.
My maternal grandfather, John Green, with his family, were among the first to transfer their place of abode from the Aire-side village to Earby. Another family was that of Thomas Pattinson Burrow, who was a brother of my grandmother, and for many years the two families occupied the two topmost cottages on the Green End.
Another family named Aldersley followed; Mrs. Aldersley was the sister of my grandfather. They had three sons, Dick, Tom and Jack; Jack was well known as the "striker", at the mill forge. His mates always called him "Stepper." It is a notable fact that settlers in our village were rarely given "nicknames," that "honour" being usually reserved for natives of the place.
Among later families who removed from Gargrave to Earby was another family of Aldersleys, the head of which was called "Nat." Mrs. Aldersley had a brother, Harry Birtwistle, who for a time settled in Earby and occupied part of Sam Hartley's premises in Colne Road as a cycle establishment. He also, with his wife, managed a small grocery business in John Street, immediately behind the other premises. Mrs. Steele, a widow with seven children, also settled in Earby, and they all worked at "Hugh" Curra's," the familiar name for Earby Manufacturing Company. The girls were referred to in our last article, and the boys were named Levi, Jacob (Jake)! Joe and Arthur. Another notable family was that of "Mick Wharton's," with several sons and daughters. - There were also three brothers, named John, Ben and Willie Walker. John had a large family – Albert, Percy, John, Alice, Nellie, and they later removed to Barnoldswick. Then there was James Lofthouse, whose wife belonged to the Walker group, and a few families who bore the name of Knight, perhaps the best known of whom is Joseph William Knight. His wife was the daughter of Mrs. Child, a widow, who, with another daughter, joined the Gargrave colony in Earby. Another settler in Earby was Thomas Foulds, who became the caretaker at Earby Baptist Church.
Industrial Link.
Undoubtedly the main feature of the relationship between Earby and Gargrave was the connection between the Victoria Mill, Earby, and the Airebank Mill at Gargrave. About 70 years ago these mills were run by a firm known as Bracewell Bros. (Christopher, Henry, Edmund and Thomas), all sons of Christopher Bracewell, Green End. The eldest son, William, established himself at Barnoldswick, and built the Butts and Wellhouse Mills. After the death of Thomas and Edmund Bracewell the partnership between the two remaining brothers was dissolved, Henry taking charge of the Gargrave Mill, and Christopher, with his sons, retaining control at Earby.
Their sister, Jane Bracewell, also removed to Gargrave, but she had considerable cottage property in Earby.
The two families were staunch Wesleyans, and the two chapels at Earby and Gargrave were both built in the Gothic style, after the same pattern, to the erection of which they contributed handsomely.
At both villages the Bracewell families did much to stimulate interest in cricket, and there was as much interest in the periodic encounters between Earby and Gargrave as between Earby and "Barlick." It was a common saying that "Old Kit" didn't mind who beat Earby so long as it wasn't Gargrave! The rivalry was as keen among the villagers, and the Gargrave people knew all the "bye-names" of the Earby players. That practice did not obtain as much among the men of Gargrave. But who, that can recall those memorable days, does not feel a thrill of pride in those associations, for there was a genuine feeling of goodwill and sportsmanship behind the competitive spirit.
Earby to Gargrave.
From Earby a few families returned the compliment. There was William Moorhouse, a mill overlooker, who was also a Wesleyan local preacher, and who eventually settled in Morecambe, where he was very well known and highly respected. Police Sergeant White, after a long spell at Earby, removed to Stirton-with-Thorlby, and then to Gargrave.
On a few occasions when I had the privilege of staying with him at Gargrave we had some delightful conversations, and it was amazing to see how, he seemed to know everybody in Earby, with their eccentricities and comicalities.
Perhaps the most outstanding example of this village relationship is that of Mr. Jonathan Dodgson, the Gargrave village blacksmith for over 50 years.
It is 65 years since he left his native village to settle in Gargrave, and he is still in fair health, despite his 90 years. His grandfather was Thomas Dodgson who was the blacksmith on the estate at Gledstone Hall, West Marton, and he had succeeded his father in the same responsible position. Thomas Dodgson was an outstanding character in the village, being held in high regard by the villagers, and also by the family at the "Hall." He was the leader of a Methodist Society connected with the Skipton Circuit and the class meetings and services for worship were held in his dwelling-house.
The preachers mostly came from Skipton, and either had to walk to Marton, or secure a "lift" by the trap which conveyed the post office mails to Gisburn, which was the custom before the opening of the railway. As long as Thomas Dodgson lived the Marton Society maintained its place in the Skipton Circuit. His son, James, who was brought up in the family tradition, migrated to Kelbrook and established himself there for a few years. He married a maid, Mary Wilkinson, who was in service at the Vicarage. (Her brother, John, was the Earby carrier to Colne). After his marriage he removed to Earby, and he had a blacksmith's shop at the end of a row of cottages (which had a barn and a farmhouse attached) at Lane Ends. A few years ago that old block of property was pulled down and the garage of Messrs. Wild Bros, now occupies the site. The first Christopher Bracewell, of Green End, became interested in the young blacksmith, and he built a new shop for him, near the bottom of New Road, on the Colne to Skipton highway.
Popular Footpath.
The shop has been enlarged time after time, but the aspect of the area around has changed completely during the past 50 years. In my young days the shop stood alone, on the edge of the village cricket field, and a cinder footpath from near Seal Bridge cut across the corner of the cricket field to "Dodgson's Smithy," which provided a short cut to the railway station. How people used to linger on that public footpath when there was an exciting cricket match in progress like Earby and "Barlick."
In the rainy seasons that low-lying ground was subject to serious floods, and the smithy, with the water swirling round it, was an object of desolation. With the exception of Lane Ends, the nearest house in the village would be a quarter of a mile away. Jonathan Dodgson was born at Lane Ends, but the family removed to a cottage in Water Street, then known as "the bottom of Earby." It was in the first row of houses entering the old village, and Nathan Watson lived on one side and William Varley on the other.
Next to Varley's was a shop with a block of cottages which was built by John Wilkinson (John o' Dick o' Quart John's), and the Wilkinsons occupied the shop. Rare old Earby families they were ! Mr. Elihu Wilkinson, of Eastby, belongs to that family of Wilkinsons.
In James Dodgson's family there were six sons (Thomas, William, Jonathan, Henry, John and Alfred) and two daughters, one of whom married John Hodgson (mill overlooker and dentist) and the other married Mason Moorhouse. Along with other villagers, James Dodgson built a row of houses in Water Street—perhaps the best block of houses in the village at the time—and every family owned and occupied their own house.
Smith to Science Master.
Four of the sons adopted the blacksmith's craft as their life calling, Thomas, Jonathan, Henry and Alfred. William served a short time in the blacksmith's shop, and he was later apprenticed to Bracewell and Griffiths, of Burnley, a firm which was afterwards known as the Burnley Ironworks. He attended science classes at the Burnley Mechanics Institute, and became a brilliant pupil, ultimately winning a scholarship, tenable at Own's College, Manchester, the forerunner of the Manchester University. The scholarship entitled him to free tuition in addition to £100 a year for three years. He had a fine record at the workshop, too, and the men used to say that when William had done a job it could not be mended. At the close of his collegiate career he settled down in Manchester, and he became a science teacher in the city and in some of the surrounding towns.
Thomas Dodgson started in business at Duke Bar, Burnley, and later removed to Whitefield, Nelson. His sons and grandsons have continued the well established business. Henry Dodgson remained with his father at Earby for several years, and he was especially noted as an enthusiastic pioneer cyclist. He constructed his own machine, and cyclists from East Lancashire towns often brought their machines to him for repairs at the Lane Ends shop. As a young man he was a keen competitor at the galas and sports held on the Earby Cricket Field. How well I remember seeing him riding his "penny-farthing" machine at some of those events, and the thrills which we had as we watched his daring swerves round the cricket crease.
A friend of his, James Wilkinson, junr. ("Young Tit") was also a keen cyclist on the same type of machine, and he sustained a serious accident at the bottom of Wysick hill, being pitched over the brook and the hedge into the adjoining field. Henry eventually removed to Colne, and has only recently retired from business.
Other Craftsmen.
John Dodgson was apprenticed to William Gill, a well-known Earby joiner and cabinet maker, and after completing his period of probation he built a joiner's chop at the end of his father's premises. After some years he removed to Colne, where he was very well known for his skill in cabinet making. John's son, Angelo, established a good business as a blacksmith at the "Boundary," between Colne and Nelson.
The blacksmith's business at Earby has also developed into a modern garage for motor service, which is well managed by James Dodgson's grandson, James, who is the son of Alfred, the youngest of the six brothers, who succeeded his father.
Jonathan Dodgson remained in his native village until he was 26 years of age. He received his education, at the Earby "Grammar School." The scholars had to pay "school pence" for the support of the master, Mr. Bentley, and in winter time they had to pay extra for coal for the stove.
His chum at school was Harry Brown, who later became a mechanic and founded the engineering firm of Henry Brown & Sons.
When James Dodgson settled in Earby he identified himself with the Methodist community. In a conversation I had with the old gentleman 30 years ago he told me that the old chapel was at that time an upper room, with cottages underneath. The entrance was by a flight of steps outside the end of the building. At a later date the chapel was internally reconstructed, with a gallery and singing pew in the upper part of the structure, and a front entrance. (After the new chapel was built in 1861, Mr. Wm. Crowther bought the old chapel, and the building was made into three almshouses which he endowed).
James Dodgson was a faithful supporter of the Wesleyan cause to the end of his life, and though he was of a retiring disposition, he rendered long service as Sunday School teacher and treasurer. He also held the offices of society steward, trustee and chapel steward. He celebrated his golden wedding on the day of his youngest son's marriage, and he lived to the ripe old age of 95 years. He and his wife were both interred at Marton Parish Church. He lived under six sovereigns—George III, George IV, William. IV, Queen Victoria and Edward VII.
Unassuming Fidelity.
Jonathan Dodgson removed to Gargrave when he was 25 years of age. He was well known to all the estate owners and farmers in the district, and he was held in the highest esteem by them all. During his long residence in the village he was intimately connected with the Wesleyan Chapel and School. He had a long term of office as Class Leader and Superintendent of the Sunday School, his unassuming fidelity being the distinguishing feature of his life. He was no aspirant of public honours, but his long services as a manager of the Wesleyan Day School are deserving of honourable mention. He retired from active participation in the business 15 years ago.
Another of our village blacksmiths, Hartley Wilkinson, served his apprenticeship with Mr. James Dodgson, senr., and John Taylor, the mill blacksmith, more than half a century ago was trained at the Marton smithy.
In the annals of our village no name is entitled to more honourable tribute than that of Dodgson.
Craven Herald and Pioneer 30th December 1938
Transcribed by John Turner February, 06
2612
jct
Topic: http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/link ... IC_ID=4534
Date: 23 March 2006
Topic author: Mixman
Subject: Families That Migrated to Border Town
Posted on: 21 March 2006 12:48:54
Message:
Earby Through 60 Years (13)
LINKS WITH GARGRAVE
Families That Migrated to Border Town
(by John Hartley) 30/12/1938
A short time ago I was reminded of the community of interest which has existed between Earby and Gargrave for nigh a hundred years. That association seems to have had its origin about 1850, soon after the opening of the railway in 1848, when Earby began to develop as an industrial village.
My maternal grandfather, John Green, with his family, were among the first to transfer their place of abode from the Aire-side village to Earby. Another family was that of Thomas Pattinson Burrow, who was a brother of my grandmother, and for many years the two families occupied the two topmost cottages on the Green End.
Another family named Aldersley followed; Mrs. Aldersley was the sister of my grandfather. They had three sons, Dick, Tom and Jack; Jack was well known as the "striker", at the mill forge. His mates always called him "Stepper." It is a notable fact that settlers in our village were rarely given "nicknames," that "honour" being usually reserved for natives of the place.
Among later families who removed from Gargrave to Earby was another family of Aldersleys, the head of which was called "Nat." Mrs. Aldersley had a brother, Harry Birtwistle, who for a time settled in Earby and occupied part of Sam Hartley's premises in Colne Road as a cycle establishment. He also, with his wife, managed a small grocery business in John Street, immediately behind the other premises. Mrs. Steele, a widow with seven children, also settled in Earby, and they all worked at "Hugh" Curra's," the familiar name for Earby Manufacturing Company. The girls were referred to in our last article, and the boys were named Levi, Jacob (Jake)! Joe and Arthur. Another notable family was that of "Mick Wharton's," with several sons and daughters. - There were also three brothers, named John, Ben and Willie Walker. John had a large family – Albert, Percy, John, Alice, Nellie, and they later removed to Barnoldswick. Then there was James Lofthouse, whose wife belonged to the Walker group, and a few families who bore the name of Knight, perhaps the best known of whom is Joseph William Knight. His wife was the daughter of Mrs. Child, a widow, who, with another daughter, joined the Gargrave colony in Earby. Another settler in Earby was Thomas Foulds, who became the caretaker at Earby Baptist Church.
Industrial Link.
Undoubtedly the main feature of the relationship between Earby and Gargrave was the connection between the Victoria Mill, Earby, and the Airebank Mill at Gargrave. About 70 years ago these mills were run by a firm known as Bracewell Bros. (Christopher, Henry, Edmund and Thomas), all sons of Christopher Bracewell, Green End. The eldest son, William, established himself at Barnoldswick, and built the Butts and Wellhouse Mills. After the death of Thomas and Edmund Bracewell the partnership between the two remaining brothers was dissolved, Henry taking charge of the Gargrave Mill, and Christopher, with his sons, retaining control at Earby.
Their sister, Jane Bracewell, also removed to Gargrave, but she had considerable cottage property in Earby.
The two families were staunch Wesleyans, and the two chapels at Earby and Gargrave were both built in the Gothic style, after the same pattern, to the erection of which they contributed handsomely.
At both villages the Bracewell families did much to stimulate interest in cricket, and there was as much interest in the periodic encounters between Earby and Gargrave as between Earby and "Barlick." It was a common saying that "Old Kit" didn't mind who beat Earby so long as it wasn't Gargrave! The rivalry was as keen among the villagers, and the Gargrave people knew all the "bye-names" of the Earby players. That practice did not obtain as much among the men of Gargrave. But who, that can recall those memorable days, does not feel a thrill of pride in those associations, for there was a genuine feeling of goodwill and sportsmanship behind the competitive spirit.
Earby to Gargrave.
From Earby a few families returned the compliment. There was William Moorhouse, a mill overlooker, who was also a Wesleyan local preacher, and who eventually settled in Morecambe, where he was very well known and highly respected. Police Sergeant White, after a long spell at Earby, removed to Stirton-with-Thorlby, and then to Gargrave.
On a few occasions when I had the privilege of staying with him at Gargrave we had some delightful conversations, and it was amazing to see how, he seemed to know everybody in Earby, with their eccentricities and comicalities.
Perhaps the most outstanding example of this village relationship is that of Mr. Jonathan Dodgson, the Gargrave village blacksmith for over 50 years.
It is 65 years since he left his native village to settle in Gargrave, and he is still in fair health, despite his 90 years. His grandfather was Thomas Dodgson who was the blacksmith on the estate at Gledstone Hall, West Marton, and he had succeeded his father in the same responsible position. Thomas Dodgson was an outstanding character in the village, being held in high regard by the villagers, and also by the family at the "Hall." He was the leader of a Methodist Society connected with the Skipton Circuit and the class meetings and services for worship were held in his dwelling-house.
The preachers mostly came from Skipton, and either had to walk to Marton, or secure a "lift" by the trap which conveyed the post office mails to Gisburn, which was the custom before the opening of the railway. As long as Thomas Dodgson lived the Marton Society maintained its place in the Skipton Circuit. His son, James, who was brought up in the family tradition, migrated to Kelbrook and established himself there for a few years. He married a maid, Mary Wilkinson, who was in service at the Vicarage. (Her brother, John, was the Earby carrier to Colne). After his marriage he removed to Earby, and he had a blacksmith's shop at the end of a row of cottages (which had a barn and a farmhouse attached) at Lane Ends. A few years ago that old block of property was pulled down and the garage of Messrs. Wild Bros, now occupies the site. The first Christopher Bracewell, of Green End, became interested in the young blacksmith, and he built a new shop for him, near the bottom of New Road, on the Colne to Skipton highway.
Popular Footpath.
The shop has been enlarged time after time, but the aspect of the area around has changed completely during the past 50 years. In my young days the shop stood alone, on the edge of the village cricket field, and a cinder footpath from near Seal Bridge cut across the corner of the cricket field to "Dodgson's Smithy," which provided a short cut to the railway station. How people used to linger on that public footpath when there was an exciting cricket match in progress like Earby and "Barlick."
In the rainy seasons that low-lying ground was subject to serious floods, and the smithy, with the water swirling round it, was an object of desolation. With the exception of Lane Ends, the nearest house in the village would be a quarter of a mile away. Jonathan Dodgson was born at Lane Ends, but the family removed to a cottage in Water Street, then known as "the bottom of Earby." It was in the first row of houses entering the old village, and Nathan Watson lived on one side and William Varley on the other.
Next to Varley's was a shop with a block of cottages which was built by John Wilkinson (John o' Dick o' Quart John's), and the Wilkinsons occupied the shop. Rare old Earby families they were ! Mr. Elihu Wilkinson, of Eastby, belongs to that family of Wilkinsons.
In James Dodgson's family there were six sons (Thomas, William, Jonathan, Henry, John and Alfred) and two daughters, one of whom married John Hodgson (mill overlooker and dentist) and the other married Mason Moorhouse. Along with other villagers, James Dodgson built a row of houses in Water Street—perhaps the best block of houses in the village at the time—and every family owned and occupied their own house.
Smith to Science Master.
Four of the sons adopted the blacksmith's craft as their life calling, Thomas, Jonathan, Henry and Alfred. William served a short time in the blacksmith's shop, and he was later apprenticed to Bracewell and Griffiths, of Burnley, a firm which was afterwards known as the Burnley Ironworks. He attended science classes at the Burnley Mechanics Institute, and became a brilliant pupil, ultimately winning a scholarship, tenable at Own's College, Manchester, the forerunner of the Manchester University. The scholarship entitled him to free tuition in addition to £100 a year for three years. He had a fine record at the workshop, too, and the men used to say that when William had done a job it could not be mended. At the close of his collegiate career he settled down in Manchester, and he became a science teacher in the city and in some of the surrounding towns.
Thomas Dodgson started in business at Duke Bar, Burnley, and later removed to Whitefield, Nelson. His sons and grandsons have continued the well established business. Henry Dodgson remained with his father at Earby for several years, and he was especially noted as an enthusiastic pioneer cyclist. He constructed his own machine, and cyclists from East Lancashire towns often brought their machines to him for repairs at the Lane Ends shop. As a young man he was a keen competitor at the galas and sports held on the Earby Cricket Field. How well I remember seeing him riding his "penny-farthing" machine at some of those events, and the thrills which we had as we watched his daring swerves round the cricket crease.
A friend of his, James Wilkinson, junr. ("Young Tit") was also a keen cyclist on the same type of machine, and he sustained a serious accident at the bottom of Wysick hill, being pitched over the brook and the hedge into the adjoining field. Henry eventually removed to Colne, and has only recently retired from business.
Other Craftsmen.
John Dodgson was apprenticed to William Gill, a well-known Earby joiner and cabinet maker, and after completing his period of probation he built a joiner's chop at the end of his father's premises. After some years he removed to Colne, where he was very well known for his skill in cabinet making. John's son, Angelo, established a good business as a blacksmith at the "Boundary," between Colne and Nelson.
The blacksmith's business at Earby has also developed into a modern garage for motor service, which is well managed by James Dodgson's grandson, James, who is the son of Alfred, the youngest of the six brothers, who succeeded his father.
Jonathan Dodgson remained in his native village until he was 26 years of age. He received his education, at the Earby "Grammar School." The scholars had to pay "school pence" for the support of the master, Mr. Bentley, and in winter time they had to pay extra for coal for the stove.
His chum at school was Harry Brown, who later became a mechanic and founded the engineering firm of Henry Brown & Sons.
When James Dodgson settled in Earby he identified himself with the Methodist community. In a conversation I had with the old gentleman 30 years ago he told me that the old chapel was at that time an upper room, with cottages underneath. The entrance was by a flight of steps outside the end of the building. At a later date the chapel was internally reconstructed, with a gallery and singing pew in the upper part of the structure, and a front entrance. (After the new chapel was built in 1861, Mr. Wm. Crowther bought the old chapel, and the building was made into three almshouses which he endowed).
James Dodgson was a faithful supporter of the Wesleyan cause to the end of his life, and though he was of a retiring disposition, he rendered long service as Sunday School teacher and treasurer. He also held the offices of society steward, trustee and chapel steward. He celebrated his golden wedding on the day of his youngest son's marriage, and he lived to the ripe old age of 95 years. He and his wife were both interred at Marton Parish Church. He lived under six sovereigns—George III, George IV, William. IV, Queen Victoria and Edward VII.
Unassuming Fidelity.
Jonathan Dodgson removed to Gargrave when he was 25 years of age. He was well known to all the estate owners and farmers in the district, and he was held in the highest esteem by them all. During his long residence in the village he was intimately connected with the Wesleyan Chapel and School. He had a long term of office as Class Leader and Superintendent of the Sunday School, his unassuming fidelity being the distinguishing feature of his life. He was no aspirant of public honours, but his long services as a manager of the Wesleyan Day School are deserving of honourable mention. He retired from active participation in the business 15 years ago.
Another of our village blacksmiths, Hartley Wilkinson, served his apprenticeship with Mr. James Dodgson, senr., and John Taylor, the mill blacksmith, more than half a century ago was trained at the Marton smithy.
In the annals of our village no name is entitled to more honourable tribute than that of Dodgson.
Craven Herald and Pioneer 30th December 1938
Transcribed by John Turner February, 06
2612
jct