n ^

REMINISCENCES

OF

OLD SHEFFIELD,

ITS STREETS AND ITS PEOPLE.

Edited by
Robert Eadon Leader, B.A.

Sheffield :
leader and sons, independent office.

1875-

PREFACE.

This book does not claim to be anything so dignified as history.
It is only a gathering together of the various threads out of which
history is woven — threads which, if not seized and put into tan-
gible shape, quickly escape altogether. Our local annals afford
many illustrations of the loss that has been sustained through
want of persons who would take the trouble carefully to chronicle
small details, and no one can be fully conscious of that misfortune
until he rises from the compilation of such a work as this. If
each past generation for (say) a hundred and fifty years, had pos-
sessed its Cap'n Cuttle, who would not only have made a note of
what he found, but have left that note where others could find it,
my labours would have been greatly lightened.

I used the word " compilation " advisedly just now, for this
book is nothing more ambitious. It had its origin in a very
widely expressed wish that a number of articles and letters
which appeared in The Sheffield and llotherham Independent in
1872 and 1873, should, as contributions to our local folk-lore,
be reproduced in a form more readily accessible, than scattered
through the files of a newspaper.

My duty has thus been the modest one of collating, arrang-
ing, and (wherever that was possible) of verifying what more
competent hands had written. To them, in the first instance,
belongs any merit the book may possess. If I have thrown too
flimsy a veil over the individuality of any member of this amicable
confraternity, I must trust that the exigencies of editorship will
form a sufficient excuse.

But Hallamshire men will feel that an additional value has
been given to this gossip by the fact that most of the proof

IV

sheets have had the advantage of careful revision by the late
Mr. William Swift, the one man best fitted to enrich by the
suggestions, and to test by the resources, of his accurate mind.
To his memory I venture to dedicate a volume, in whose progress
he took a very lively interest.

I am quite conscious that not unfrequently events are men-
tioned in these pages which can hardly be considered properly to
belong to " Old " Sheffield. Some of them have occurred within
the memory of those amongst us who have not yet reached middle
age. I have thought it better to err on this side rather than on
the other ; not to draw a line too hard and fast between the
Sheffield of our own day and the Sheffield of our ancestors, con-
scious that each succeeding year will further remove any reproach
that can be urged on this score.

E. E. LEADER.

EEEATA.

p. 27. — Isaac Barnes lived in the house at the corner of Carnpo lane and Hawley
Croft, not of Lee Croft.

p. 31.— 16 lines from bottom: dele the comma after " builder," and read "Joseph

Oakes, the builder of Washington Works."

p. 31. — 10 lines from bottom : for " assize," read " assay."

p. 44.-3 lines from bottom : for Sutcliffe, read Sutliffe.

p. 46.— line 22: for Silvester, read Sylvester.

P- 71. — 14 lines from bottom : for Younge and Eimington's, read Eimingtons and
Younges'.

p. 87— line 31 : for George Smith, read George Glanville Smith.

p. 98.— line 7 : for Peach, read Peech.

p. 103. — line 26 : for Laing, read Lang.

p. 110.— line 12 : for Eawmarsh, read Bramley.

p. 111.— line 6: the name of Mr. Huntsman, as a steel converter, is omitted.

p. 192. — line 7 : for comparing, read confusing.

p. 202.— bottom line but one : for Eiley, Carr & Co., read Eiley Carr & Co.

REMINISCENCES OF OLD SHEFFIELD.

CHAPTER I.

Paradise Squabe, Campo Lane, Hartshead, and Watson's

Walk.

Dramatis Persona — Mr. William \\ ragg, \ , • .,.-,■ f

-., ,, T Ancient < itizens uj

Mr. George Leightox, )■ „, ,. , ,

Mr. Samuel Everard, J

Mr. F. Twiss, The Antiquary.

[a Modern Citizen of

Mr. Richard Leonard, j Sheffield.

Period— A.D. 1872-3.

Scene — A room in Leonard's house.

LEIGHTON : 80 the old steps in Paradise square have
gone at last. Have you secured the top stone for your
collection, Mr. Twiss ?

Twiss : No, it would have heen rather too large ; but I
wish it could he preserved somewhere ; otherwise, like so
many other things that disappear, it will he consigned to
oblivion.

Everard : What eloquence has rung from that stone !

Leonard : And what nonsense !

Everard : Brougham, Morpeth, Bethel, Milton, Elliott,
Dunn, Roebuck, and Mundella have thence charmed thou-
sands of eager listeners.

Leonard : And others have thence uttered rant enough
to cause the very stones to cry out.

Leighton : There were few finer sights in Sheffield than
a great meeting in " t' Pot square," when the people were
really in earnest and the speaker a man of power.

Leonard : The finest sight of all was when Mr. Henry
Hoole, flourishing his arms in a burst of exuberant elo-
quence, brought down his fist on Mr. Leader's hat and

B

2 PARADISE SQUARE.

knocked it over his eyes. That was a notable time, too,
when Eoebuck, sitting in his carriage at the bottom of the
steps, listened to Campbell Foster's fnlminations against
him. There has seldom been so much use made of a white
waistcoat and a loud voice. But this is not "Old Sheffield."

Wragg : The eloquence from the steps has often been
exceeded by the wit from the crowd, which always displayed
a keen sense of the humorous and a quick perception of
humbug.

Leonard : Does anyone know when meetings were first
held in the Square ?

Twiss : The first on record that I have found was in
1779, July 15, when Wesley preached "to the largest con-
gregation he ever saw on a week-day." Then, in 1798,.
Rowland Hill came down and preached there one Sunday
evening, after an afternoon service in Queen Street Chapel.
He had an immense congregation, and confusion was caused
towards the end by some fellow drawing his sword upon the
people. Before that, out-door meetings were held on the
Castle hill, or at the Church gates before the old Town
Hall; sometimes on Crookes moor, or pieces of waste land —
anywhere handy.

Leonard : Pray spare us the old story about somebody
who knew somebody else who remembered the Square as
a corn-field.

Wragg : Why should we ? There are people still living,
or were not long ago, who remembered it a field of oats,
entered from the top by Hicks' stile. An elderly lady, who
died not many years ago, had gone with the maid to milk
her father's cows, which were pastured there. There seems
always to have been a footpath across, which was, indeed, the
only thoroughfare from that side of the town. Pedestrians
going up Silver street head (busier then, I believe, than
High street) had to cross to Wheat's passage by Mr. Ryalls'
office, if they were going to the Market ; or if to the old
Town Hall, they went over Hicks' stile, up St. James's
row (or West row, or Virgin's row, for it has borne all three
names) — there were steps at the bottom the whole width of
the row — and then across the Churchyard.

Everard : The lamp in the centre of the Square has
taken the place of the old cross shaft, removed there from
Snig hill head ; but the steps up to it are, I should think,
unchanged. The stocks were removed there from the Church
gates.

THE STOCKS — THOMAS BROADBEXT. '3

Wragg : And drunken men were placed in them on
Sundays for punishment. The practice had to be dropped
because of the disturbances it caused. The last instance
of a drunken man being placed in the stocks was forty-
three or forty-four years ago.

Leightox : What became of the stocks in the Square ?

Wragg : When they got out of order, the two pieces
of wood that confined the delinquents' feet became loose, and
the late Mr. W. H. Clayton, the broker under the steps
in the Square, removed them into his back yard for safety.
There they remained for years, and no one ever inquired for
them.

Everard : There were stocks also at Bridgehouses, oppo-
site the end of the iron bridge ; at Attercliffe ; near Ecclesall
Chapel ; and near the old Sugar House, Sheffield moor.

Wragg : Paradise square was the residence of notable
men. I believe it was the first suburban place to which
tradesmen retired away from their works.

Leonard : Do you think so ? There were surely sub-
urban residences before that, and further out than that. I
have been told by a gentleman still living, whose father
resided there when he was a boy, that the Square has
scarcely changed at all in appearance since very early in
the century. It was then built all round as it is now, and
with the same buildings, except a few which have been
modernised on the east side.

Wragg : Well, at any rate, many of the first families
in the town lived there.

Leonard : Dr. Gatty, in a note at p. 177 of his Edition
of Hunter, says that " Thomas Broadbent took a lease of
the field in 1776, and built the houses on the east side."
Now, I happen to know that the lease to Thomas Broad-
bent — so far at least as concerns the land at the top of that
side of the Square — is dated 173G. He had five daughters,
and he built the five houses at the top— afterwards Bram-
ley and Gainsford's offices and the adjoining ones — for them.
On his death, they came into their possession. The date
1776 must be a clerical or a printer's error.

Everard : But that date suits better the corn-field recol-
lections of the old inhabitants who have now passed away;
unless, indeed, the Square remained a field after the houses
on the east side were built. And this is very possible.

Wragg : I have been told by a man who was in the
service of her father, whose business was in Hollis croft,

4 PARADISE SQUARE.

that Miss Harrison was born in one of the houses at the top
side of the Square. Then Chantrey set up here, m what was
then No. 14, as an artist, and advertised that he took por-
traits in crayons. That was in 1802. Two years later he
made a step nearer his proper vocation, for he had com-
menced taking models from life.

Everard : It would he interesting to know if many of his
crayon portraits are extant.

Leonard : Yes, numbers. You will find a long list of
them in Mr. John Holland's Memorials of Chantrey. The
whereabouts of most of them was known when that was pub-
lished, in 1850.

Everard : You may see in the Old Church his first piece
of sculpture, the monument to Justice Wilkinson, which the
Iris, shrewd enough to predict the future celebrity of "the
young artist," praised as a " faithful and affecting resem-
blance." The bust of Dr. Browne, in the board-room of
the Infirmary, is also by Chantrey, executed in 1810— four
years after the Wilkinson monument.

Leighton : Another worthy who lived in the Square up
to the time of his death, in 1817, was the Rev. George
Smith, curate of Ecclesall, and assistant-minister at the
Parish Church — the father of Mr. Albert Smith. He lived
near the bottom on the east side.

Leonard : I see a window has been inserted in place of the
old door at the top of the steps, but the pillasters remain
to show where the door entered Mr. Hebblethwaite's school.
Wragg : That room was originally built as a Freemasons'
lodge. It was afterwards put to various uses — a dancing-
school and a preaching-room. I remember hearing the noto-
rious Robert Owen lecture there. At one time a consider-
able congregation of Independents assembled there, under
the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Parish. They contemplated
building a chapel, but they let the opportunity slip, and
much they regretted it afterwards. The last three survivors
of that congregation were Mr. Spear, of the firm of Spear
and Jackson ; Mr. Peter Spurr, tobacconist, father of Mr.
Spurr, chemist and druggist ; and the late Mr. Joseph Brit-
tlebank, scale-cutter. The leases have now fallen in, or are
falling in, so that possibly it may not remain long in its
old state.

Twiss : Yes ; the lease of part fell in two years ago (not
of the other part, for it is built on two leases), and that
shows that it is just over a century old, as the lease would

THE BLIND FIDDLERS. 0

no doubt be a ninety-nine years' one. The room was built by
Mr. Nowill, who had a shop in High street, opposite George
street.

Everard : The pot market that was held in the Square
on market days has quite disappeared, or is only represented
by the crockery shops on the north side.

Twiss : There was a sort of pot market formerly by the
Church gates.

Wragg : The Square has been the scene of degrading
transactions, as well as of honourable ones. Some brute
once, for a wager, ate a live cat on the steps. I knew a
person who bought his wife in the Square, whither she had
been led in a halter.

Leighton : "Q in the Corner" was an old public-house
much frequented by fiddlers, since it was kept by Sam Grood-
lad, first fiddler on all important occasions.

Wragg : The blind fiddlers were quite an institution.
At one time there were six of them, several of whom were
excellent performers on the violin. Their names were James
Knight, Samuel Hawke, Thomas Booth, Alexander Clayton
(brother of the late W. H. Clayton, broker), William Brumby,
and Joseph Ward. They bad their circuits, chiefly on
the outskirts of the town, to which they went in pairs, play-
ing firsts and seconds, and they kept to their own districts.
At Christmas they went round " a Christmas-boxing," drop-
ping into public-houses, and being liberally rewarded for the
tunes they played.

Leonard : There is a good story of a blind fiddler in
John Wilson's edition of Mather's Sungs, p. ~>o. This was
"Blind Stephen," who was, I imagine, of earlier date than
those you have mentioned.

Everard : The house at the top corner of Paradise square
and Campo lane, now a dram-shop, was, sixty years ago, a
respectable grocer's shop, kept by Mr. Xewtou (who was suc-
ceeded by Mr. Benjamin Ellis), and at that time was much
celebrated amongst the grinders, both in town and country,
for the quality of the articles of emery, crocus, and glue.

Wragg: Yes, that shop had almost the monopoly of the
trade.

Twiss: More recently the shop, was occupied by Mr.
Crossland, noted for his regular and punctual attendance to
it the whole day long. His only recreation was a walk up
Glossop road after his shop was closed at night.

Everard : Then came, as now, the barber's shop, at that

(> CAMPO LANE.

time occupied by the father and predecessor of the Mr. Cop-
ley who was recently burnt to death in a shocking manner by
an explosion of gunpowder. The "Ball" Inn, next door,
then the " Golden Ball," was kept in my youthful days by
Antipas Stevens, a very intelligent and respectable man, who
kept his house in proper order. I believe he took to it at the
time Mr. Crich removed to the " Black Swan," Snighill.
Mr. Stevens was by trade a silversmith ; and I have an im-
pression that he had been apprenticed to Ashforth, Ellis, and
Co., or, at least, had worked for them. The Braziers' Sick
Club met at his house, and the inn was, moreover, at that
time, much frequented by country people on the market days,
and more especially by the grinders from the neighbourhoods
of Wadsley, Loxley, and Rivelin. After refreshing themselves
there with the good " home-brewed," they would call at the
adjoining shop of Mr. Ellis for their weekly supply of emery,
and crocus, and groceries. In the watchmaker's shop a little
further on, long occupied by Mr. David Johnson, and now by
his son, was Mr. Zaccheus Dyson, whose active figure, dressed
in a brown coat, drab small clothes, and broad-brimmed hat —
for he belonged to the Society of Friends — still lives in the re-
spectful remembrance of many of our townsmen. Mr. Dyson, it
is related, once received a letter from a Quaker correspondent
addressed "For Zaccheus Dyson, clock and watchmaker,
Sheffield, near to a great heap of stones called a church."

Twiss : Mr. Dyson retired to Handsworth Woodhouse,
and died there 4th June, 1861.

Wragg : Narrow as Campo lane is, it was once still nar-
rower, a slice having been taken from the Churchyard to
widen it.

Leonard : On the site of the offices of Burbeary and
Smith, at the corner of North Church street, a worthy lady
named Ward kept a school. She was much respected by
her pupils and her friends, and she now enjoys a quiet old
age in the Shrewsbury Hospital.

[Mrs. Ward died after this conversation took place, on
the 31st December, 1872, aged 86. It is recorded that she
enjoyed almost uninterrupted good health up to the hour of
her death.]

Everard : The first shop past that was long occupied by
the late Mr. John Innocent, bookseller. Before that it had
been the lawyer's office of Mr. Brookfield, uncle of the late Mr.
Charles Brookfield ; and in 1839 Mr. Innocent there found
the legal documents which were issued for the first prosecu-

Montgomery's prosecutions — the scantleburys. 7

tion of Montgomery in 1795. Mr. Innocent placed in Mont-
gomery's hands the papers he found, and from them he first
learnt, and possessed certain proof, that he had been the
victim of a state prosecution. These documents stated,
amongst other things, that "briefs were to be given to
Counsel with the Attorney- General's compliments;" and
"that this prosecution is carried on chiefly with p view to
put a stop to the associated clubs in Sheffield ; and it is to
be hoped, if we are fortunate enough to succeed in convict-
ing the prisoner, it will go a great way towards curbing the
insolence they have uniformly manifested." The papers,
which were shown at an exhibition at the Music Hall, in
1848, were given to Mr. Innocent by Mrs. Brookfield, and
he gave them to Montgomery, refusing all payment, although
the poet offered any money for them.

Leonard : I have heard that a third and still more bitter
prosecution of Mr. Montgomery was threatened.

Everard : This was in 1806. Montgomery actually
received the legal notices for a prosecution, based on his
strictures on the campaign in Germany, when General Mack
and 39,000 Austrians laid down their arms. He himself said,
" I never knew how the blow missed me, for it was aimed with
a cordiality that meant no repetition of the stroke. The death
of Nelson probably saved me, for in the next Iris I spoke of
that event in a strain of such patriotism that my former dis-
loyalty was perhaps overlooked."'

Twiss : A fortunate escape.

Everard : A few doors further on the lane were the Scantle-
burys, worthy Quakers, who dealt in looking-glasses. There
was old Thomas Scantlebury, of The Hills; and he had three
sons, John Barlow Scantlebury, Joseph Scantlebury, and
Samuel Scantlebury. Thomas Scantlebury and his eldest
son, John Barlow, were very prominent opponents of Church
rates. Meetings used to be held in the Churchyard adjoin-
ing, and the speakers stood on the tombstones. Some of the
family emigrated to America.

Leonard: Yes; the two younger sons, Joseph and Samuel.
The latter is still living in Chicago, and retains his connec-
tion with the Society of Friends ; as I see from a letter to the
Independent respecting the opposition to the church rates.
"Thomas Scantlebury," ke says, "was the adviser, chiefly;
while his son, John Barlow Scantlebury, took the more pro-
minent part. I well remember that, on one occasion, the
opponents of the church rates would have fatally committed

8 CABIPO LANE.

themselves but for my father. The momentous question had
been put and seconded in his absence, but the people refused
to vote on it until they had heard his views. When he came
in, he very briefly stated his opposition to the motion, show-
ing that it would form a very dangerous precedent. The
motion was then withdrawn. The people said that the Vicar
and his set could get on the blind side of everybody but old
Thomas Scantlebury. I remember old Thomas Rawson was
at that meeting, as active as ever. I believe I never saw him
afterwards."

Twiss: Mr. Thomas Scantlebury died at " The Hills,"
on the G-rimesthorpe road, August 14, 1821 ; his son, John
Barlow Scantlebury, died April 28, 1837. Old Mrs. Scantle-
bury was the daughter of John Barlow, the last of the family
that had carried- on the old business of manufacturers of pen
and pocket cutlery on the premises in Campo lane, just be-
yond Mr. Scantlebury's, the east front of which looks down
the Hartshead. They had been there as owners and occu-
piers of the property ever since the year 1679, "and I can-
not tell how long previous," says Mr. Samuel Scantlebury
in the letter Mr. Leonard has just quoted. It was Oba-
diah Barlow, the great-great-grandfather of Samuel Scantle-
bury, who had the premises in 1679. Whether the Barlow
of Neepsend, who died in 1740, was of the same family or
not is doubtful. John Barlow died in 1798, and one of the
best businesses in Sheffield died with him. The trade mark
was the simple name thus — low

Leonard : I have spoken of old Mrs. Ward. Before her
time there was another lady of the same name, some six or
eight doors from the Barlow property. She had been house-
keeper to the John Barlow who has been mentioned, and he
set her up in the grocery business. Her shop looked more
like a greenhouse than a grocer's shop. She always had her
window and every bit of spare room filled with some beautiful
flower or plant. Mr. Samuel Scantlebury writes, " If I re-
member right she had a geranium that used nearly to fill her
front windows. It was there I first saw the hydrangea.
There cannot be many who remember her ; she must have
been dead more than 65 years. The dear old woman remem-
bered me in her will. She left me a guinea for pocket-money ! "

Wragg : Well, this brings us in our journey along the
lane to the Hartshead, and to the Broadbents' house fronting
York street, a few years ago occupied by Messrs. Pye- Smith
and Wightman, and now by Messrs. J. and G-. Webster.

THE BROADBENTS. '.»

Everard : Before you tell us the history of that house,
let me just say that in the workshops at the hack of Mr.
Scantlebury's premises yet another member of the Society of
Friends, Mr. William Chapman, carried on for many years
the business of an engraver.

TwiSS : I well remember his burial (one of the last inter-
ments in the graveyard of the Friends' Meeting-house), and
the solitary sentence uttered by Friend E. Baines — " After
death the judgment."

Everard : He was a very amiable and intelligent man,
highly esteemed in his denomination, and at one time he
was actively engaged in promoting the welfare of its members
by visiting the country districts. His grave and Christian
deportment, combined with his kindly disposition and cour-
teous maimers, secured the confidence and respect of those
who had any intercourse with him.

Twiss : We shall still keep among the Friends, for Joseph
Broadbent, who died in 1684, was one of the first generation
of the Society in the town. I believe it was his son Nicholas
who built the house in the Hartshead. He died in 1736, and
was father of Joseph Broadbent, merchant, said to have been
the first banker in Sheffield, who died in 1761.

Leonard : Is it worth while to go into matters that may
be found by any of us in Gatty's " Hunter ?"

Twiss : No ; but the point I want to get at is. were the
Broadbents the first bankers in the town ? "I have been told
that the first person who practised this profession in Shef-
field was one of the fraternity of pawnbrokers. In the "Hal-
lamshire," it is said, "In 1778, Messrs. J. and T. Broadbent
opened a bank in Hartshead, on the failure of Mr. Roebuck's
bank, which was the first known in Sheffield, and only lasted
eight years ; and in 1780 the Broadbents failed."

Leonard : If Joseph Broadbent died in 1761, how could
he be a banker in 1778 ? Your information and Hunter's
do not seem to agree.

Twiss: They were the sons of Joseph — Joseph and
Thomas, who were the bankers of 1778; but had their father
been a banker before them ? I saw the other day an early
Sheffield bank note, of which I took a copy :

No. R t O 6

Sheffield Old Bank, January -2 1. 1783.

We promise t<> /i'ii/ the bearer on demand /'ire Guineas. At Shef-
field, value received.

Han. Haslehurst and Sun.
A'."). 5s. R t O 6

10 THE HARTSHEAD.

Haslehurst and Son, it seems, became unfortunate ; for the
note was endorsed with an exhibit under a commission in
bankruptcy, 23rd June, 1785. But in the fact that it is
called the Sheffield Old Bank, I am led to inquire : Did the
bank, afterwards carried on by Messrs. Parker, Shore and
Co., arise from the ashes of this one, for it bore the same
name ?

Wragg : Whether Mr. Joseph Broadbent was the first
banker or not, he was, at any rate, the first merchant who
traded with America. There is a good story told of one of
the Broadbents, at the time of the suspension of the bank.
That suspension took place on a Monday morning. On the
preceding Sunday, some Derbyshire man came knocking at
the bank door. A voice from within asked what he wanted.
The countryman replied, " I have come to the bank." "We
do not transact business on Sundays," was the answer. Then
the countryman said, "I have not come for money, but I
have brought some." The other replied, " That is quite a
different thing." So the door was opened, and the Derby-
shire man left his money.

Leonard : That would be called by a hard name now-a-
days.

Wragg : The Messrs. Binney were afterwards in the
Hartshead premises.

Twiss : Yes, but the first successor of the Broadbents was
Mr. John Turner, a merchant, who died in 1796. He was
uncle to Henry Longden and to Mrs. Binney ; and thus we
see how the premises came into the occupation of the Binneys.

Wragg : I have been told that the Binneys had at one
time the best country trade in the town as merchants, and
the largest steel furnaces (they have just been pulled down,
and the bricks are in heaps in the yard). I believe they
were the first steel manufacturers who had a tilt. One of
their best travellers was the father of Mr. Joseph Haywood.
I had the impression that the father of the late Mr. G. W.
Hinchliffe, of Eyre street, was also a traveller for the Bin-
neys, but that, I find, was a mistake.

Leonard : So long ago as 1825, the building had been
turned into lawyers' offices. In that year it was occupied by
Mr. Copeland, solicitor.

Wragg : While we are among the Friends, and so near
their Meeting-house, permit me to say, one of them told me
that, in his recollection, he can count more than a score who
have left Sheffield and gone to America and become minis-

THE DOVE /VXD RAINBOW. 11

ters, who, had they remained in the town, would never have
heen able to open their mouths.

Leonard : I thought there were no ministers among the
Quakers.

Leighton : You must forgive the abrupt transition when
I say — Now, hail to thee, old "Dove and Rainbow!"
Sixty years ago, the drum and fife were scarcely ever absent
from thy door, when Sergeant Kenyon and Sergeant Barber
were on the look-out for recruits. Well do I remember see-
iug one of them come forth with his corporal, two or three
rank and file, with drum and fife, and march boldly to Water
lane, and there draw up his detachment in line. Then did
the sergeant, with streamers flying in the air, sheathe his
sword, and he and his men marched boldly into the public-
house, and, like a gallant warrior as he was, called for his
" tankard " of foaming ale. The sergeant had ready for each
recruit a spade-ace guinea, with his Majesty's portrait im-
pressed upon it, pigtail and all. The warlike song was —

Eoll up, so merrily, march away ;

Soldier's glory lives in story :
His laurels are green when bis locks are grey,

And it's heigh for the life of a soldier.

In my youth, I and others of my own age were in the habit
of singing songs about " Lord Wellington in Spain," and
Campo lane sent out its quota both for the navy and the
army. I could mention names, were it necessary — John
Dawson, himself the son of a soldier who died fip-htiim- in
India, and Artilleryman Dixon, and others.

Wragg : I have heard very old people say that the Dove
and Rainbow was once on fire. The landlady had made her
escape from the flames, but she turned back to rescue a con-
siderable sum of money, and perished.

Twiss : That, I imagine, would be in 1782. The land-
lord's name was Thomas Oates, and a servant girl perished
as well as his wife.

Wragc; : The old Iris office was at one time the largest
shop in the town, and had the two largest windows — rounded
so as to form the arc of a circle, like a few that are still to be
seen, with small panes, unsupplanted as yet by big squares
of plate glass.

Everard : Montgomery's last apprentice, Mr. Robert
Leader, has spoken feelingly of the shutters which he
had to put up and take down. They were " very many, very
heavy, and had to be carried a considerable distance. When

12 THE HARTSHEAD.

work in the office closed, at 6.30 or 7 p.m., the unfortunate
apprentice had to return to the place at 8 or 9, to put up the
shutters."

Twiss: Apprentices in newspaper offices have not to sub-
mit to such tasks now.

Wragg : Before Mr. Gales's time this house was the
residence of Dr. Buchan, who wrote there his celebrated work,
Domestic Medicine. At one time the book was in the hands
of almost every one on both sides of the Atlantic, wherever
the English language is spoken.

Twiss : Another of Montgomery's apprentices, years ear-
lier, was the eldest son of the Rev. George Smith. He was
named Matthewman, after his maternal grandfather, and he
became a partner of Montgomery's. He afterwards entered
the East India Company's army and died in India.

Leonard : I have heard Mr. Montgomery's sanctum de-
scribed as an upper room behind the shop, over the office
coal-place. It had a most depressing out-look upon back
premises and dingy walls and roofs. The editor-poet had a
standing office-desk in the room, but his favourite writing
place was a round table which stood near the fire. At the
time my informant best remembers the room, Montgomery
was compiling his collection of hymns, and the table was
covered with the books that he used in his work.

Leighton : It has often been told how the poet sometimes
served customers, but it was simply an accidental or excep-
tional thing. My feeling towards him when I was sent to
make a purchase was one of fear — he was so curt. Then,
of course, I was only young, and so great a man could not
be expected to be civil to a boy !

Leonard : Numbers of incidents connected with Mont-
gomery's life might be mentioned, but most of them would
be such as have already been published ; and I take it the
great object of our conversations is to gather together un-
written folk-lore.

Wragg : I suppose there's no great harm if one does tell
a story twice over ?

Everard : At any rate, the subsequent history of the
Gales family, which is second only in interest to that of
Montgomery himself, has not often been told, and I should
suggest that Mr. Leonard read it to us.

Leonard : I've no objection whatever. This is it : —
" When •Mr. Joseph Gales, printer, bookseller, auctioneer,
and editor of the then popular Sheffield Register, left the

JOSEPH GALES. 13

town in 1794, lie went, as you all know, to America. The
fact is, Mr. Gales had to flee. A meeting held on Castle hill
in April of that year had passed strong resolutions and spoken
fierce words against the Government, which led to a prosecu-
tion. Mr. Gales was present at that meeting, and appears to
have sympathised with its objects, but he w-as not included in
the prosecution. In June, a letter from a Sheffield printer
to Hardy, the secretary of the London Corresponding Society,
was seized, and Gales was suspected, though unjustly, of
being the writer. A warrant was issued against him, and he
only escaped arrest from the officers sent to execute it by a
prompt flight. In the following week's Register Mr. Gales
took a formal leave of his friends and readers, denying most
distinctly that he had written, dictated, or been privy to the
letter addressed to Hardy. If his imprisonment, or death,
would serve the cause which he had espoused — the cause
of peace, liberty, and justice, it would, he said, be coward-
ice to fly ; ' but, convinced that by ruining my family and
distressing my friends by risking either would only gratify the
ignorant and the malignant, I shall seek that livelihood in
another land which I cannot peaceably obtain in this.' Under
such circumstances and with such feelings, Joseph Gales,
after sundry concealments, got out of the country. After a
short stay in Germany, he went to America and began life
afresh. He was a clever, forcible writer and a keen politician,
and his proclivities speedily drew him to his old profession.
Arrived at Philadelphia, in August, 1795, he began business
as a printer there. In about a year, judging from the num-
bering of one of his papers which is in our possession, dated
June, 1797, he became the proprietor, by purchase from Mr.
Oswald, of the Independent Gazetteer of that city. He called
it ' Gates's Independent Gazetteer ;' but he did not keep it
long, re-selling it at the end of the first year to Mr. S. H.
Smith, of whom we shall hear again. In September, 1799,
Mr. Gales went to North Carolina, and there he established
the Raleigh Register, which he published for forty years, only
retiring from the concern a year or two before his death,
which took place at Raleigh, on the 24th August, 1811, at
the advanced age of eighty years. His youngest son, who
was born in North Carolina, succeeded to the newspaper.
When Mr. Gales arrived in America he had wTith him a son,
also named Joseph Gales, then about nine years of age. This
Joseph Gales, Junior, kept in the journalistic track. In 1806
he joined, as reporter, the National Intelligencer^ a paper

14 THE HARTBHEAD.

that bad been established in Washington, in 1800, by the
Samuel H. Smith previously mentioned, with the object of
maintaining a newspaper in the capital, Republican in poli-
tics, which should yield to the Administration a vigorous
support. In 1809 Gales was made a partner, and in 1810
he became sole proprietor of this journal. It lived until the
year 1869, when the New York Evening Post, noticing its
death, said :— ' Mr. William W. Seaton, a brother-in-law of
Mr. Gales, and previously editor of the Petersburg Republican
and North Carolina Register, became associated with him in
the enterprise in 1812. The Intelligencer was a vigorous
supporter of the war with Great Britain, and enjoyed a high
reputation as a public journal. Messrs. Gales and Seaton
used to do their own reporting of debates in Congress, one
always sitting in the Senate and the other in the House of
Representatives, during the sessions. Their Register of De-
bates is regarded as a standard source of American history.
The tone of the paper under their management was firm,
moderate, and cautious. With a rearrangement of parties,
the National Intelligencer adhered to Mr. Clay, and was a
Conservative- Whig journal so long as the Whig party had an
existence. The proprietors stood high in public confidence,
and in 1840 Mr. Seaton was elected mayor of Washington, and
held the office for twelve consecutive years. Mr. Gales died
in 1860. The style of the Intelligencer's editorial manage-
ment deserves a mention. There used to be often a sparse-
ness of leading articles, succeeded at intervals by the produc-
tion of a paper covering a page or more, always written with
force and ability, but at the same time rather too solid for
the general reader.' Into the cause of the death of the In-
telligencer we need not here inquire. It was prosperous
under the son of our old townsman, Mr. Gales, who, in the
free atmosphere of the New World, followed out the career
his father had begun here. After he ceased his labours and
went to his rest, the paper grew more and more out of har-
mony with the spirit of the times, and paid the penalty that
all newspapers so managed must pay — death. In the autumn
of 1868 an old contributor to the Intelligencer visited Shef-
field, and being curious — as so many Americans are — to see
the place from which his former employer went forth, visited
the antique shop in the Hartshead where Gales commenced
and Montgomery continued the then dangerous trade of editor
and publisher. The poetic nine have long deserted the nar-
row alley. Where flowers of Parnassus once bloomed, the

THE GALES FAMILY. 15

votaries of Bacchus then revelled. In short, the building
had been turned into a heershop. Joiners were removing the
quaintly-carved door-case with the ancient fan-light, to replace
them with some more convenient structure in plain and vul-
gar deal. The stranger was horrified at the desecration, and,
inquiring, found that the old wood was being removed, with
some lumber, for lighting tires. His plea for mercy was ad-
mitted ; triumphant, he carried off the old door-case, and out
of it had constructed a number of boxes, one of which is placed
in the National Museum at AVashington, suitably inscribed,
and bearing a photograph of the premises rendered sacred by
the memory of Gales and Montgomery."

Twiss : It should be added that Montgomery's Hartshead
shop is, at the present time, not a beershop, but a grocer's.
The Gales family lived at Eckington for many years ; the
first of the name of whom there is record, Timothy, was ap-
pointed parish clerk in 1707. His son Timothy married
Sarah Clay, of Eckington, in 1735, and their eldest son,
Thomas, was the father of Joseph Gales, of the Hartshead,
the proprietor of the Sheffield Register. He was born Feb-
ruary 4, 1761. I have here a copy of the inscription on the
tombstone of the family in Eckington churchyard : —

Under this Stone

Lie the Remains of three Daughters of

Thomas and Sabah Gales, of Eckington,

and sisters of Josepu Gales, who died at Raleigh,

Ninth Carolina, U.S., August 24, 1841, aged 80 years.

Elizabeth Gad 3,

Departed this life, February 1G, 1821,

Aged 49 years.

Farewell, beloved, we meet again.

Anne Gales,

Died January 17, 1838, aged 70 year<.

" Jesus saith unto her, I am the Resurrection and the Life."

Sabah Gales,

Died February 18, 1857, aged 84 years.

With these sisters, together and severally, lived for more than sixty

years (dying in the presence of the last-named, at Sheffield, April 30, 1854),

James Montgomery,
The Christian Poet, Patriot, and Philanthropist.
Requiescat in pa

W'kagg : It was in the Hartshead and Watson's walk (so
called from Messrs. Watson's silversmiths' factory) that the
first eating-houses were established ; now there is not one left.

Leonard : Yes, I understand the name of the proprietor
of one of the cook-shops there was Thornhill. He lived at
a house down Harvest lane, popularly called "T' hen hole,"

l(\ THE HARTSHEAD.

because there was a tradition that poultry feloniously obtained
was pushed through a hole into his cellar at night.

Leighton: A little below, too, in Hartshead, Matthias
D'Amour kept a " cook-shop " — the first, I believe, in the
town.

Leonard: D' Amour's "Autobiography" was written for
him by the late Mr. Paul Eodgers. if you will excuse the
bull, which is not mine, but theirs. It is an interesting story
of his adventures as a kind of confidential servant to various
gentlemen, and as valet to the Duchess of Gordon : but the
strangest part of all is that he should settle down at last in
the Hartshead. in Sheffield, as the keeper of " an eating-
house and poulterer's shop."

Leightox : That is accounted for by his wife, who had
also been in the service of the Duchess of Gordon, having
connections in the neighbourhood.

Leonard : In the course of the book we are not once told
what was her maiden name, but her mother lived at Wood-
hall, some eleven miles from Sheffield, and she had a brother
in Cheney row. whose name also is omitted. At first,
D'Amour set up a canal boat, and conveyed coal from Whit-

gton and Norwood collieries to Retford; but jealousies
arising, he sold his boat. He came to Sheffield on the verv
last day of the eighteenth centurv. began his eating-house at
1, Market - lid well there, and in four years removed to

the Hartshead. where he remained until 1826, when, "'trade
being much depressed after the panic of 18'2o, he and his
wife willingly retired from all kind of business." In point
of fact, they seem to have lost their money. D'Amour was
a native of Antwerp, and was ei^rhtv-six years of age when
- life was published. He lived to the great age of ninety-
three, not dying until 18-12.

Leighton: In the Hartshead. some sixty years a o. the
Mr. Thoi 3 ] rson carried on business - wine mer-
chant, and there -. . - rge fortune.

Wragg : I: is said that on his late premises there are

two cellars cv. - lid rock, one underneath the

now occnpic ' \ ss •-. J. S. and T.

- ad wuu

ighton i there a "oil i' t 'Wall " (The Hole in

se now occupied by Mr. Allcroft. with

entn 5 boi shead and Watson's walk, was kept

- di Tmrnei " Gin Sam," as lie was called, to dis-

" '■ ' - he draper. " Gin Sam"

r

• , _ ■

-"::~~ z ill ■:"

;

■ .
- — - - ~ - i_-i ._ _ ■ ~~

3XEE - -

2. iZ.1

i 7 -__.-_ :-r -__: was tak

■ "

e^iyn -

--'JUL I

-

-

famed :__"_• :
: Iz

;

-

-
-

[ami : z_-- u:

_ - _ e5L"

- .- :_ : : :

-

_r : iz. I -•-_: lz c

-

18 A CURIOUS CONFIRMATION STORY.

a distance they had come in consequence of having heard
of his fondness for boxing, and buoyed by the fond hope
that he would not disdain, as a particular favour, to give
them a display of his skill. Nothing could please the old
Justice better. With great urbanity he at once assented, the
gloves were procured, and were used with a " science " that
convinced the visitors they had not taken their journey
fruitlessly; and in the end they left well pleased with the
success of their mission.

Everard : A good story, which I will cap with another,
also appropriate to the locality, and also with a clerical flavour.
About the middle of the last century there lived at Malin
Bridge a working man, in humble circumstances, but who
bore a good character amongst his neighbours for integrity
and moral worth, and who was, moreover, a strict Church-
man. He had a son named William, who had attained to an
age suitable to receive the rite of confirmation, according to
the ritual of the Church of England, and his father became
very solicitous that this matter should be attended to without
any unnecessary delay. On a certain day the Archbishop of
York held a Confirmation service in the Parish Church, and
this worthy man accompanied his son to Sheffield for the pur-
pose of attending it. From some misunderstanding as to the
time, it so happened that on their arrival at the Old Church,
the Confirmation service was over, and the Archbishop,
clergy, and congregation were dispersed. What was to be
done ? A man of ordinary character would just have returned
home. But, instead of doing so, he ascertained that the Arch-
bishop had gone down to the house Mr. Leighton has spoken of,
in Watson's walk, and thither the father and son followed him.
The servants refused them access to the Archbishop, as he
was just sitting down to dinner ; but, happening to overhear
the altercation, his lordship came to the top of the stairs and
asked what was the matter. The father explained the circum-
stances, and the Archbishop, after asking some questions,
and hearing young William repeat the Lord's Prayer and the
Creed, confirmed him on the stairhead of the public-house !
The father and the boy, we may well suppose, trudged home
highly gratified with the enjoyment of so special a privilege.
The son was afterwards the grandfather of a highly esteemed
magistrate recently deceased.

Leonard : I do not see why you should hesitate to add
that the boy so confirmed was the grandfather of the late
Mr. Thomas Dunn. He who had shown so much determina-

THE YOUNG PEETEXDEE. 19

tion to get the rite administered to his son was the first of
the Dunns— the first also of the Thomas Dunns — resident in
this neighbourhood. He had come from Boston about the
year 1730, to be apprenticed to an ancestor of the late Col.
Fenton. His Malm Bridge house was a neat, substantial
cottage, with a pointed gable, covered with a fruit-tree. It
was swept away, along with adjacent buildings, by the great
flood of 1864. The son, William Dunn, the hero of the
confirmation story, was, as that sufficiently shows, brought
up a Churchman ; but, as he subsequently married a strict
Dissenter, his son Thomas, father of the late Mr. Dunn, was
educated as a holder of Nonconformist tenets, and, with his
family, he attended Queen Street Chapel for many years. He
was a self-taught man, of much natural ability, and his tastes
are indicated by the fact that he was the first person who lec-
tured in Sheffield on electricity. His wife was a Holland, the
daughter of a resident at Shiregreen. She was eight months
old in 1745, when the Young Pretender and his followers
were marching south ; and, as it was confidently affirmed and
implicitly believed that the rebels would impale every baby on
their swords, she was hidden in a holly bush. The rebels
are said to have been within a mile of her father's house at
that time, and every man in the hamlet had gone out to fight.

Leighton : The fighting may be problematical.

Leonaed : Yes ; it is possible that curiosity, rather than
valour, had taken the men away, for we know, as a matter of
history, what an unopposed march the rebels had. This
story, however, reminds one of the tradition that, on his
return northwards, Prince Charles Edward visited Sheffield,
and was a guest of the Heatons, in the Pickle. I went into
that question once (as Mr. Brooke, in " Middleniarch," would
say), and I came to the conclusion that the evidence in sup-
port of the story was very feeble. It consisted chiefly of dim
remembrances of mysterious transactions, handed down by
old Mrs. Heaton, who was a little girl in 1745, to her descen-
dants, and the cherished belief of the family that a harpsi-
chord, a sword, a wine-glass, and other articles were presents
from the "Prince. On the other hand, the known facts of the
Young Pretender's progress and retreat lend no countenance
whatever to the legend.

Eveeaed : Mr. Leighton has mentioned the Mechanics'
Library, and I think perhaps you may be interested in hear-
ing some account of an institution very popular and useful in
its day, that has been drawn up by one who was intimately

20 THE MECHANICS' LIBRARY.

associated with its management. Do you care to hear it?

All : Much.

Everard (reads) : "Half a century has nearly elapsed
since the Mechanics' Library was first established, by resolu-
tions passed at a public meeting, held in the Town Hall, on
December 27th, 1823. Most of the individuals who took a
prominent part in that meeting have passed away, including
Montgomery, the Kev. Dr. Sutton, Sir Arnold Knight, Mr.
Edward Smith, Mr. Asline Ward, the Rev. Thos. Smith, and
others.

"From a small beginning the institution went steadily
forward, advancing year by year in public esteem, and strictly
adhering to its original intention of the purchase and circula-
tion of books, without allowing its funds to be diverted to any
other object. In the course of thirty years it had accumu-
lated 8,01)0 volumes, enrolled six hundred members, and had
a weekly issue of six hundred books. Of the general charac-
ter of these works Mr. Montgomery, who was from the first
the president, on a certain occasion bore this testimony : —
' I offer it as my deliberate opinion that there does not exist
in this kingdom a public library of miscellaneous literature in
which will be found a smaller proportion of objectionable
volumes than in this of the Sheffield Mechanics. Without
meaning the smallest disparagement to what is called the
Gentlemen's Library here, the proportion of books not cal-
culated to be particularly profitable to the reader, or perma-
nently enhancing the value of the property itself, is far
greater ;' and which difference he attributed to the large ad-
mission of novels, romances, and plays.

"By a certain clause in the 24th rule of the Mechanics'
Library, ' novels and plays ' were excluded. After things had
gone on quietly for some years, at length the abrogation of
this law became the subject of animated and even stormy de-
bates at the annual meetings. On the one side the ' Ee-
pealers ' asserted that to exclude so large a portion of the
current and popular literature of the day was inconsistent
with the library being regarded as a public institution, and
also with the fact of the actual admission of works of ' fiction '
at all; and that it was unfair towards those members who
possessed the taste for that kind of reading, and was opposed
to the entire spirit, freedom, and liberality of the age. To
all this, on the other hand, the ' Constitutionalists ' stoutly
maintained that the clause in question was a fundamental
principle of the institution, and could not be repealed without

THE MECHANICS' LIBRARY. 21

a breach of faith with the original donors of money and books,
which had been solicited and given on that express under-
standing ; that to make the change required would be to alter
the entire character of the library, and to lessen it in public
esteem and confidence ; that the funds were much more wisely
and profitably expended in solid standard works, which would
tend to improve the intellectual and moral character much
more effectually than the reading such ephemeral productions
as 'novels;' and that, whatever the library might happen to
lose in subscriptions by adhering to the rule, it would be likely
to lose much more by cancelling it.

" So the controversy went on at the annual meetings with
more or less of acrimony, common sense, wit, and logic on
both sides ; but, on the whole, it was carried on in the spirit
of fairness. This yearly breeze did the institution no harm,
but rather good. It tended to purify the atmosphere and in-
vigorate the life, and was not the occasion of anything worse
than a very slight and temporary interruption of the general
good feeling prevalent amongst the members.

" In 1853 a soiree was held in the Cutlers' Hall, on which
occasion the Mayor, Francis Hoole, Esq., was in the chair, and
the late Earl Fitzwilliam was present and made an excellent
speech. The object in view in holding this meeting was of a
strictly practical nature, namely, that of placing more promi-
nently before the public the claims and privileges of the in-
stitution. One thing that especially commended it to favour
was that it was not sectarian either in religion or politics.
Its members consisted of every class qf religion and all shades
of politics.

" The Mechanics' Library thus went on year by year in
its unostentatious course of practical usefulness, furnishing
the means of self-improvement and intellectual gratification
to hundreds who, without such provision, would not have en-
tered on the course of life with the same advantages, and
many of whom now, in middle life or advanced in years, look
back upon the institution with no ordinary feelings of kindly
regard and thankfulness.

■"The Mechanics' Library bad been establishe 1 about
seven years when Mr. Hebblethwaite was appointed secretary,
which office he sustained, with only a brief interruption, for
nearly thirty years. He had been a member from its com-
mencement, and, in a speech delivered on the occasion of the
presentation of a testimonial at the close of his services, he
remarked : — ' I was present at the origin of this library, at a

22 ITS SECRETARY.

meeting in the old Town Hall, on Saturday morning in
Christmas week. It was an inauspicious time, but yet the
room was crowded to excess. I have now before me the
names of those who addressed the meeting. I was then a
stripling, but I was intensely interested in the proceedings.
I stood for three hours— for I could not get a seat— to hear
the addresses, and none made a greater impression upon me
than a speech of the late Kev. T. Smith, who was then at his
best. It had a great influence on me at the time. He beau-
tifully depicted the benefits such an institution might confer
on the working men of Sheffield, and he mentioned the case
of a working man of his acquaintance who, though spending
forty years of his life in a cotton manufactory, had mastered
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, was well versed in mathematics,
and had considerable knowledge of medicine. This man had
had a wife and seven children to maintain by his own labour,
but no family in the town was more respectable, no children
were better fed, clothed, and educated, and several of them
were reading Latin, Greek, and Hebrew with their father.
This account of what a working man had done stimulated me
to desire to do likewise, and renewed my ardour in the studies
in which I was engaged. Thus the institution has imparted
a bias to my life and character, and no doubt it has done the
same thing for many others. It was no slight privilege as
secretary of this institution to enjoy intercourse with its late
president, Mr. Montgomery. I frequently saw him, and
received from him such kindness as was most important to a
young man in the position I was called to. The benefits that
have resulted from this library, directly and indirectly, have
been great. It has been the pioneer of some other institu-
tions that have since flourished.'

" The office of secretary, to which Mr. Hebblethwaite
was appointed and which he so long satisfactorily filled, was
not one of honorary distinction, but required much time,
thought, and work. These duties he discharged with a punc-
tuality that seldom failed, and with uniform courtesy. One
of his chief qualities was that of aptitude in matters of busi-
ness. In fact, he may justly be said to have been a ' model '
secretary. All that he advised and did bore a certain impress
of clear-sightedness, promptitude, and despatch. At the com-
mittee meetings (at which Montgomery, as long as he could,
attended) there was scarcely ever a document wanting, an
account incompleted, or minutes unentered, or any special
business that he had engaged to do unattended to. All the

ITS LIBRARIAN.

23

matters to be considered and determined were clearly and or-
derly arranged. The discharge of these duties involved an
amount of time and labour, cheerfully devoted to them, of
which few can form any adequate conception. There can be
no question that the institution was greatly indebted to his
steady attentions and personal influence for the extent of its
usefulness and the estimation in which it was held by the
public. Besides his connection with the library, Mr. Hebble-
thwaite, for not less than thirty years, was the teacher of a
large and efficient day school, and also, for more than the
same period, the superintendent of a Sunday school ; so that
it may be safely affirmed that few men— perhaps no man —
ever exerted a greater or more beneficial influence on the
minds of the youth in this town. Highly and generally
esteemed by the members, as well as by the rest of the com-
munity, after a long course of honorary service, Mr. Hebble-
thwaite retired a short time before the institution was merged
into the Free Library.

" On the formation of the Free Library it became quite
evident that an institution supported by a public rate levied
on all householders must seriously injure, and eventually de-
stroy, one sustained by voluntary subscription. Such was the
result. The Mechanics' Library became absorbed into the
Free Library, and now only exists as a pleasant memory of
the past.

" But as naturally identified and long connected with that
institution, we now proceed to notice the librarian. Mr.
Alfred Smith was as much a Sheffield notability, and in cer-
tain respects of a similar old-fashioned type, as the late Mr.
John Holland. His father was a currier, for some time living
in Queen street, but afterwards he removed to Fig Tree lane.
Mr. Smith brought up his two sons, Alfred and Frederick, to
the business ; and I have myself often seen Alfred with his
apron on and shirt sleeves turned up above the elbows, stand-
ing at the shop-door. That shop was a stone building, ap-
parently two centuries old, with small leaded window-panes,
a little above Mr. Haxworth's surgery, in Fig Tree lane.
Alfred's father was a respectable and shrewd man, possess-
ing more than an ordinary share of information, and well
known to the public men of that day. He greatly admired,
and was intimately acquainted with, Montgomery, and stood
by the poet on one of the occasions when he was examined
and committed to prison by the magistrates, and went to
fetch the persons who became his sureties.

24 the mechanics' library.

" Mr. Smith, the father, was a stanch Liberal in politics,
and the old 'currier shop' was a kind of meeting-place, where
the most active local politicians of the time used frequently
to resort for the purpose of learning the news and discussing
public affairs. To that spot the late vicar, Dr. Sutton, used
to repair to obtain information as to any event that was excit-
ing public interest. It must be remembered that at that
time there were no daily penny newspapers, or railway convey-
ance, or transmission of communications by telegraph. Young
Alfred, as he listened to these discussions with attentive ears
and eager interest, imbibed those political views and prin-
ciples which, in a modified form, he ever afterwards held and
believed in. He became in early life well known to Mont-
gomery, and ever entertained for the poet a profound respect.
He often spoke of Mr. Montgomery in such terms of high
eulogy as seemed almost to amount to a kind of idolatry.

" For some time after the Mechanics' Library was first
established, the work of librarian was done by voluntary
services. Afterwards, Mr. Clegg was appointed to that office,
and, on his resignation, Mr. Alfred Smith. On the occasion
of the election Montgomery spoke of him in very kindly and
favourable terms. On being duly installed into the office, his
manners of old-fashioned politeness and efforts to oblige soon
won the good-will and esteem of the generality of the mem-
bers. With kindly feelings will many of them recall to me-
mory his personal appearance. There was certainly some-
thing striking about it, including the bald head, high forehead,
and long, pale, and unwhiskered face. His countenance, it
will be remembered, was naturally grave, and on certain spe-
cial occasions it was apt to assume that stronger expression of
gravity that approached very nearly to the stolid and impassive.

" But, unlike this outward appearance, he was of a very
cheerful, kind-hearted, and genial disposition. He had an
extensive knowledge of books of a certain kind, and his ordi-
nary conversation was rendered interesting by curious scraps
and quaint conceits. His memory was very extraordinary,
and, indeed, was the chief faculty of his mental constitution.
He knew the greater part of Hudibras by heart, and could
give citations to any length. Montgomery, of course, was a
very favourite author; and he often repeated passages both
from his published poems and also from some others, which
I suspect have escaped even the keen scrutinising search of the
late Mr. Holland. In his younger days he had himself com-
posed a considerable amount of poetry, which he could repeat

ITS LIBRARIAN. 25

to any extent. But it was in the doggerel style and Hudi-
brastic vein ; and it is very doubtful whether he possessed
the requisite literary taste and ability to have written anything
that would at all have stood the critical ordeal if printed in a
volume.

" Notwithstanding some manifest imperfections, he yet
succeeded to a considerable extent in giving satisfaction ; aud
it may be questioned whether a more clever business man
would, on the whole, have served the interests of the library
better than the good-tempered, humorous, gossiping, and
somewhat eccentric ' librarian.' He certainly had often to
manifest a great deal of patience ; but, on the other hand, it
is only fair to say he frequently required a large exercise of
that said excellent quality towards himself. On certain occa-
sions, whilst he was reciting poetry or telling some queer
story, might be seen more than half-a-dozen youngsters wait-
ing for an exchange of books, who, with eager looks were
listening with delight to what he was saying ; whilst amongst
them might be a man who thought his time of some value,
who would, with signs of anger and impatience, remonstrate
against such delay. Instantly the tale would be cut short,
and the applicant's wishes attended to, with many apologies
and efforts to conciliate and oblige.

" On the occasion of Montgomery's funeral, with a large
scarf around his hat, Alfred Smith was mounted on the box
beside the driver of the carriage in which were the secretary,
vice-president, and other officers of the Mechanics' Library
leading up the procession. All along the road lined with
spectators he was quietly recognised, and thus, by mere acci-
dent, occupied a prominent position in paying his tribute of
respect to the venerated poet. Soon after this event his health
began visibly to fail, and he gradually sank into a debilitated
condition ; but still, notwithstanding all persuasions to the
contrary, he resolutely attended, to almost the last day of
his life, at the library, thus finishing his twenty-five years of
faithful and conscientious service. During that period it was
the writer's privilege to enjoy very frequent and pleasant in-
tercourse, and also at the end to follow him to his grave, and
see his mortal remains interred in the Pitsmoor Churchyard.

" With his name the remembrance of the Sheffield Me-
chanics' Library will ever remain closely associated — an insti-
tution which may fairly claim to have fulfilled its original
design for about forty years, by furnishing the means, at little
cost, of reading valuable works on arts, science, literature,

26 CAMPO LANE.

and religion, which were adapted to improve the intellect and
to form and establish the moral and religious character."

Wragg : Thank you. Our friend Leighton has, I see,
fallen asleep, which is a reminder that we ought to be going
home. [Exeunt.]

CHAPTER II.

Campo Lane, the Old Grammar School, the Townhead.

Scene — The same.

Period — Two days later.

Present — Everard, Wragg, Leighton, Twiss, and Leonard.

LEIGrHTON : When last we met we mentally repeopled
Campo lane with its old inhabitants, from the top of
Paradise square to the bottom of the Hartshead and Watson's
walk. Suppose we now go in the opposite direction, taking
the Lane from Virgin's row to the Townhead.

Wragg : Yes, that part is full of interest, though you
moderns, Mr. Leonard, will scarcely credit it.

Leonard : Well, it is difficult to find much romance there
now, amid its dingy second-hand clothes shops and its squalid
tenements. The only thing of interest about it I remember
is a ghost story connected with the dreadful row of shops we
come to first, going from St. James's row, on the left, that
look as if they had started life with great pretensions, but the
force of adverse circumstances has brought them to a worse
plight than that of their older neighbours. The latter, if
poor, have an air of decent poverty about them ; but these
have nothing but a seedy look of decayed snobbishness.

Twiss : WThat you refer to was not really a ghost story,
but only a great hoax, perpetrated by the aid of a magic
lantern.

Leonard : At any rate, a lot of people were well fright-
ened, and one woman lost her life.

Everard : At the corner of St. James's row and Campo
lane was a public-house. That part of the building which
came to the front, forming a line with the Girls' Charity
School, was, I believe, a comparatively modern projection,

CAMPO LANE. 27

built of brick, and joined to the gable end of the old original
house, which fronted Campo lane. The lower room of this
new part was used as a " dram-shop," or kind of "bar," and
the room over it was occupied as a store-room. The public -
house proper was, I think, built of stone, or, if not, at all
events with very old-looking bricks, and had small windows.
The chief entrance then was in the very narrow part of
Campo lane. I recollect that, when a youth, I went once or
twice into this public-house, and noticed that the room in
which we sat was very clean, the floor well rubbed and sanded,
the ceiling low, and the window small. I do not remember
what the sign was, or whether the old part of the house was
"thatched." But it might have been so, and certainly was
old enough to have been so at some previous period of its
existence.

Leightox : Let us get on. Among the low and dilapi-
dated premises opposite is the cooper's shop where Mr. John
Hall carried on the business of cooper, which Mr. Edward
Hall has continued for so many years. At the corner of Lee
croft, on the east side, now a broker's shop, is a fine old
building with its grand staircase. It was, sixty years since,
occupied by a retired merchant, a most respectable man —
Mr. Parkin. On the opposite side of the lane, at the corner
of St. James's hill, was his garden. I remember seeing
gooseberry bushes in it. Now it is occupied as a sort of shed,
used for storing horns, or something of the kind. I should
like to know who changed St. James's hill into Vicar lane,
and Virgin's walk into St. James's row. Whoever he was,
he ought to have been whipped out of the town.

Wiugg : The house you speak of was afterwards the fac-
tory of Mr. Thomas Harrison, who had previously been burnt
out of premises on the site of a portion of the Gas Works.
At that time he was, I believe, a dealer in horns and hard
woods ; but in Campo lane, where he was, I dare say, twenty
years, he got up table knives. He removed into Holly street.
He was a worthy and honourable man in all his dealings, but,
I am sorry to add, he never recovered from the sad disaster
connected with his fire.

Twiss : The house at the corner of Campo lane and Lee
croft, now the Cup Inn, is an interesting old place.

Wragg : Over the door it bears the date, 1726, and
the initials, J-TJ3 or perhaps -^-q

Leighton : That was the residence of Mr. Isaac Barnes,
one of the old school of manufacturers. His workshops were

28 THE WARM HEARTHSTONE.

just above. He was universally respected as an upright
tradesman and an honest man.

Leonard : The house was subsequently the residence of
his son, Mr. George Barnes, who carried on this, one of the
oldest cutlery trades in the town. Ultimately, however, the
business was allowed to expire. Mr. George Barnes built
himself a residence at Ranmoor, and the Campo lane house
then reverted to what it is suspected to have been at first —
a beer shop.

Leighton : Methinks I see old Isaac Barnes now, walk-
ing up to his old friend "Whit.," to smoke his pipe and enjoy
his pint of strong ale at the "Warm Hearthstone," still, as
of old, looking down the lane. Its then occupier and owner,
Whittington Souter, bore a name renowned in the local an-
nals. He was a good and charitable man, and highly respected
by all.

Everard : When his customers called upon him for his
song, he used to give these two lines : —

There was a bee, and it lived in a wall,
It just said " hum," and that's all.

Leighton : Every Sunday forenoon he had a large piece
of beef or mutton roasting, and his near customers were en-
couraged to bring their quarters of oatcake or slice of bread
to clip in the capacious dripping-pan. He brewed the best
ale in the county, a relative of mine being his maltster. They
both got rich, and well they deserved it.

Wragg : You only do justice to Mr. Souter's character.
He was not only an upright, honourable man, but a sincere
Christian. He attended Garden street Chapel, under the
ministry of the Rev. Mark Docker, and when he died was its
mortgagee. I believe he had purchased it from the Method-
ists when they removed to Carver street. He and his family
are buried in the graveyard of Howard street Chapel.

Leighton : He had a room in which tradesmen met for
friendly chat, and they were served in silver pints.

Wragg : Behind the public-house is a large door, and the
yard is higher than the street. Mr. Souter had a carter, who
had backed his cart towards this door, and was standing be-
tween the cart and the wall below the door, lifting something
either into or out of the cart ; the horse moved backwards,
and so the carter was killed, from the cart pressing against
him. Some time after, the horse, being taken to Mr. Sou-
ter's field, near Mushroom Hall, fell into an old quarry
and was killed. Mr. Souter was a kind and conside-

THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 29

rate man ; he did not close his connection with his carter's
widow and family, but he continued their steadfast friend
until his death. There was a son whom he educated, and
who obtained a situation in the office of Mr. Albert Smith,
the magistrates' clerk. After some years of faithful service
he was articled to Mr. A. Smith, and became a solicitor. He
was the late George "Wells, who was nicely established in
Church street, next to the Sheffield and Eotherham Bank,
when he died of an inflammation caught, if I remember
rightly, from a cold taken in London while promoting, as
solicitor to the Company, the passing of the Manchester and
Sheffield Eailway Bill. He resided at the top of Cornhill,
where the late Thomas Dunn previously resided. Mr. Wells
had made many friends, and died deeply regretted.

Leighton : Well, here on our right, at the top of School
croft, stood the old Grammar or Latin School. In those
days the presiding genius was the Rev. C. Chadwick, who, in
1800, " concerned to observe that persons are persuaded to
consider the language and learning of the great models of
antiquity of little use to boys not intended for a learned pro-
fession," advertised the commencement of classes for instruc-
tion in the English language. The school had been built
two hundred years, and well do I remember the rev. gentle-
man emerging from the steps (for the school was below the
level of the lane), with his gold-headed cane and three-cor-
nered hat, to the awe and admiration of "the boys. Part of
the house he lived in is now the Burns Tavern, which stands
at the western corner of School croft. It was generally be-
lieved by us that the young gents had raised the devil in the
old porch of the school, but had been so alarmed they never
tried it again. They were a bold and warlike race, and looked
down with scorn on the schools below them, with which they
were ever at war. Their most determined enemies were from
Figtree lane, where a school was conducted by Mr. Cowley.
The contending hosts generally met about the top of Lee
croft. I have seen the " advance," the " charge," the " re-
treat," and the "rally," when, happily, the bell of the clas-
sicals was sounded, and a truce was made.

Twiss : Mr. Chadwick's son, the Rev. C. Chadwick, Jun.,
M.A., was for a short time — from November, 1801, to Janu-
ary, 1803, when he died — under master. Mr. Chadwick was
for many years the president of the Town Library. In 1807,
his old scholars presented him with a silver cup, bearing a
Latin inscription. He had been head master for more than

gO THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

thirty years when he died, in 1809. Mr. Chadwick was also
vicar of Tinsley ; and it is he who is said to have given the
magistrates so deserved a rebuke when, coming out from then-
duties in the old Cutlers' Hall one day, they were struck with
the horse on which he was just passing. " Here's Mr. Chad-
wick," said one, "riding a fine Wood horse, while his Master
was contented with an ass." " Your worship," said the rider
to the speaker, " forgets that asses are scarcer now." 'How
so ?" asked the magistrate. " Government gets all it can to
make justices of," retorted Mr. Chadwick; and no doubt he
rode on his way with the complacency of a man who has had
his revenge. The story is told in Wilson's edition of Mather.
Leonard : The Grammar School was a low building, with
high pitched roof, lead-framed windows, and a porch. Its shape
was a capital L, the main part running from east to west, fac-
ing nearly southward, but being much below the street. This
part was occupied by the classes under the first and second
masters. The minor part of the building ran from the west
end northward, and was large enough for one long table, at
which perhaps twenty boys could sit on each side, under the
care of the writing master. The floor was of stone. The
furniture of the school consisted of low oak benches, three
to each class, forming three sides of a square, with a stool
for the propositus.

Twiss : Before that, the boys' seats were more like stalls,
or the seats in cathedral choirs ; and against the walls was a
high wainscoting of dark oak, panelled. There was a second
row of stalls, with narrow desks before them, and in front a
broad way up the centre of the school from end to end. The
head master's seat, placed in the centre of the east end, was
composed of two massive oak sides, upwards of seven feet
high, and at least six inches thick, and terminating in
" Fleurs-de-lys " cut out of the solid. The boys' stalls ran
up to this seat on either hand. At the other end, the second
master's desk, among the junior boys, was the exact counter-
part of this ; and on the left of the junior school was the
projecting space towards the croft, where were the writing-
desks over which " Old Jacky " — as the venerable mathema-
tician, John Eadon, was disrespectfully called — presided
every morning from eight o'clock to nine, before the classical
work of the day began. The front door, leading out into the
yard, was in the centre of one of the sides of the building.

Leonard : The school was indifferently lighted, and owed
its warming to one large fire-place in the main building,

THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 31

mid another in the writing master's domain. The head
master's house was at the west end of the building, facing
the street. It was roomy, but dilapidated ; and in the later
years of the old school was unoccupied. The school building
stood as much below the level of the street on one side as the
Baptist Chapel stands above it on the other, the builders of
the school having apparently dug its site out of the naturally
steep hill- side at the head of the School croft, which sloped
down the hill behind it to Tenter street.

Twiss : Among the boys who attended the school from
1808 to 1812 were the following, who have passed away : —
John Staniforth, solicitor, and clerk to the Town Trustees ;
Frank Fenton, solicitor, London, (he obtained a celebrity in
defending John Thurtell, who was executed for the murder
of Weare, near St. Albans) ; Luke Palfreyman, solicitor, of
considerable practice, and for many years of great influence ;
Francis Hoole, solicitor, Mayor 1853, Town Trustee ; E. B.
Tattershall, solicitor, London ; John Dixon, solicitor, Shef-
field ; Broomhead Ward, 1VLA., beneficed clergyman in
Wiltshire ; Charles Brownill, J. P. West Riding, merchant,
Liverpool ; Samuel Mitchell, merchant, Sheffield, a distin-
guished antiquarian ; Robert Naylor, accidentally killed at
Roche Abbey, merchant ; John Fenton, captain East India
Service, brother to F. Fenton, and son of Colonel Fenton ;
Richard Ogle, nephew to R. Blakelock, Esq., died at Derne-
rara ; John Harwood, M.D., died in Sheffield ; John Stern-
dale, M.D., died in East India Service ; Samuel Staniforth,
brother of John Staniforth, died in Paris ; John Ward, mer-
chant, Sheffield ; Joseph Oakes, builder, of Washington
Works, Sheffield. There are living at the present time : —
Albert Smith, solicitor, and magistrates' clerk ; Samuel
Roberts, J.P. West Riding, Town Trustee ; Charles Atkin-
son, J.P. West Riding, Mayor 1858, Master Cutler 1864 ;
James Tillotson, J.P. West Biding ; Thomas James Parker,
solicitor, Sheffield ; Lewis 0. Sayles, late Assize Master,
Leamington ; Robert Younge, Church Burgess, wine mer-
chant; Benjamin Yickers, merchant, Sheffield; Charles Rad-
ford, M.A., late Fellow of Brazennose College, now living at
Bath ; William Tickers, merchant, first chairman and prin-
cipal promoter of Sheffield and Rotherham Railway. One
of these survivors has said how well he remembers the tall
figure of the Rev. Charles Chadwick, who held sway up to
his death in the year 1809, entering the school from the
centre door, with his clerical three-cornered cocked hat, and

32 THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

walking with stately step to the cushioned throne whence, in
all the majesty of might and right, he looked around with
scrutinising eye for some delinquent,

At Chadwick's frown all tremblingly alive,

on whom he contemplated bestowing his favourite "custard,"
that lay on the broad table before him, with these memorable
words deeply cut in the wood, "I forgot it," so frequently
impressed with biting effect on the open hand of many an
unlucky offender. Over his chair were the emblems of scho-
lastic punishment — the rod, the cane, the ferrule with " cus-
tard " at the end — most artistically painted, with some me-
morable Latin lines.

" The second master," the same " Old Boy " goes on to
say, "was named Wheatcroft ; we generally called him
" Little Widdy," a man of very small stature but of great
conceit. During the time that intervened between the death
of Mr. Chadwick and the appointment of the Rev. Joseph
Wilson, he transferred the school to the house occupied by
the late master. The school had got very small, and under
his management it grew beautifully less. We had scarcely
twenty boys when the Rev. J. Wilson came into residence.
Mr. Wilson was a man of strong mind and determined cha-
racter, being an excellent classical scholar, who had taken a
high degree at his college. Under his system and method
of teaching the school soon recovered the ground it had lost,
and, ere twelve months had passed, had increased to more
than eighty boys — a sufficient number to claim and maintain
the supremacy over every other school in the town, both
mentally and physically, to which the numerous battles we
fought during the snowballing season can testify. It was the
practice in those days to settle the disputes as to supremacy
in that practical manner.

" Mr. W. Wright was about that time appointed our
writing master, after the decease of Mr. Eadon, whose pupil
and assistant he had beem Between him and Mr. Wilson
a very friendly feeling arose, which matured to the very ser-
viceable but unusual extent of the head master giving Mr.
Wright instruction in classical knowledge, which enabled him
to fill, to the satisfaction of all parties, the appointment of
second classical master, which he afterwards obtained on the
next vacancy in 1821 or 1822. Mr. Wilson, although a man
above the ordinary stature, and firm in manner, was not
really so powerful as he looked, since he was incapacitated

THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 33

from taking active exercise by having, either from accident
or some other cause, had his left leg taken off below the
knee, and a cork limb substituted. I believe he was the last
person in Sheffield who used a sedan chair in visiting his
friends. This was obtained from the Old Assembly Rooms,
and had formerly been used by ladies only. At that period
no hackney coach or cab was in existence. Among the few
carriages kept in the town and immediate neighbourhood was
one at Goddard Hall, by Philip Smilter, Esq., an old Catho-
lic gentleman, who visited the town occasionally in a quaint
old chaise, drawn by two light-brown, heavy, Flemish-bred
horses with long manes and tails. Their speed was between
a jog-trot and a walk. His postilion, in red, with bell-button,
buckskins, and top boots, black velvet cap, and long straight
whip ; the harness with breast collar and large square plated
buckles, completed this unique set-out. The venerable man
was a picture of the old squire in the costume of the early
period of George III., so graphically delineated by Hogarth
and other painters of his day. Poor Mr. Wilson had a sad
end. One morning in 1818 Mr. Wright was hastily sum-
moned from the school to the head master's house, and, on
entering the library, found the unfortunate gentleman lying
face downward on his secretaire, grasping a pistol just dis-
charged. That terminated his life and position as head
master of the Sheffield Grammar School. The Rev. W.
White succeeded him."

Leonard : At this point it is better that another former
Grammar School boy, of somewhat later date than he whom
you have been quoting, should take up the narrative : —

" In 1821, the Rev. William White, who had been
elected in 1818, was head master, the Rev. G. Harrison
second master, and Mr. William Wright writing master ;
but he succeeded Mr. Harrison in 1822, and was him-
self succeeded in the writing department by Mr. William
Kirk. This school, as it was at that day, is especially in-
teresting now, from the well-known men of later days who
were then among the scholars. Indisputably, the first boy
in the first or highest class was Thomas Goodison, who be-
came an attorney, and practised in a very quiet way in George
street. His signal abilities as a boy never developed them-
selves in his after career. Among his class-fellows was the
late Wilson Overend, a fine youth, of great abilities and
high spirit, but somewhat volatile, who became eminent as a
surgeon, and was an important public man in the town.

D

34 THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Wm. Pashley Milner, now of Meersbrook, was another of this
class ; as was also Robert C. Mather, who has passed many
years of his life as a missionary in India. In the second
class, at the same time, was William Overend, now Q.C., who
at over sixty years of age retains much of the countenance of
his boyhood. In the same class was Kay Fenton, youngest
son of Colonel Fenton, of Woodhill, on the Gritnesthorpe
road, our first superintendent of police under the Act of
1818. The Colonel held office till his death, when he was
succeeded by Mr. Thomas Eaynor, who was our first chief
constable, and the immediate predecessor of Mr. John Jack-
son. Urban Smith, the youngest brother of Mr. Albert
Smith, and now the vicar of Stoney Middleton, where he has
passed a quiet life in the discharge of the unostentatious
duties of a country clergyman, was in the second class. So
also were Astley Foulds, son of Mr. Samuel Foulds, surgeon,
Change alley, and himself the father of another generation of
surgeons ; Nathaniel 11. Philipps, of Broomhall, now recorder
of Pontefract ; and Edward Hoyland, the elder son of a not-
able Quaker chemist, whose shop was next the Cutlers.' Hall.
William Bell Mackenzie, lately deceased, for many years a
highly-popular clergyman at Holloway, London, was a Gram-
mar School boy with some of the above, but had left the
school shortly before the period we speak of. The first and
second classes were under the especial charge of the head
master ; but in his division of the school was also a junior
class, over which the boys of the first and second classes were
set as propositi (Anglicc, monitors). Here were Samuel
Eadon, now Dr. Eadon, the great-nephew of the fine old ma-
thematician who, two generations before, was master of the
Free Writing School, and teacher of writing, arithmetic, &c,
in the Grammar School. Among his class-mates were John
Crosland Milner, now of Thurlstone, J. P., brother of Mr.
W. P. Milner before mentioned; Robert Leader, who has
been connected with Sheffield journalism for nearly fifty years ;
Thomas Hewitt, who achieved an unhappy notoriety and died
in his prime ; Robert Stopford Taylor, surgeon, recently de-
ceased. These names will show that the Grammar School
of those clays contained a group of boys destined to be well
known in their manhood. Mr. White, the head master, is
worth preserving in one's memory. He was a little, lightly-
made, brisk man, quick and energetic in all his movements,
with a stern face, pitted by the small-pox, and with a sono-
rous and awful voice, never so terrible as in his sarcastic

THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 35

moods. The exactest punctuality was his rule. In the first
portion of his mastership, Mr. White had acquired a name
for great severity in his punishments ; hut on one occasion he
so much overstepped the mark that there was a row, and the
result was that, at the time we speak of, his cane was almost
disused, though he was none the less formidable on that
account. Four or five boys who came from Attercliffe, and
generally arrived in a group, had fallen into the habit at one
time of being rather late. ' Here come the Attercliffians,' was
their sarcastic greeting from the head master one morning,
and the delinquents were cured. "We never knew him to give
to any one the slightest mark of familiarity ; but, severe and
unbending as he was, the boys had a sort of love for him, as
was shown by the familiar name they had given to him —
' Daddy White.' Now and then he would summon a junior
class before him for a sharp viva voce examination, and these
occasions were very pleasant to boys who had done their work
well. The riddling of the brains of a class by the ' Daddy '
was a capital test of quality ; and it was fun to see how a big
hulking fellow, who ordinarily kept an unfairly high place,
would go tumbling down in stupid amazement, while others
went above him. And here it may be worth while to place on
record the sort of education given in the school. It was nar-
row, but thorough. Excepting an hour a day under the writ-
ing master, the classes going to him by turns, Latin and
Greek absorbed all the time of the higher classes, and Latin
only that of the lower. Each lesson was repeated and written
on slates in class. Incessant repetition was the order of the
day, till a boy knew all the declensions and conjugations,
regular and irregular, and all the rules of syntax with their
examples, as perfectly as his A B C. It was terrible drudgery
for a time ; but many a young mind which had revolted at it,
asking why he was to spend all his days over a dead language,
at last learned to like the sense of power and mastery it gave
him, when he looked on a page and there was not a word he
did not know in all its parts, all its relations, and its shades
of meaning. This system did not give boys much know-
ledge, but it gave mental tools, and taught a style of using
them for which many an one has honoured the memory of his
old master and his old school. In these days, when so much
is said of the imperative necessity of leavening all teaching
with religion, we may recall what was then the practice in a
school of which the vicar and the church burgesses are the
governors, and a clergyman was the head master. The only

36 THE FREE WRITING SCHOOL.

religious book in the school was a Prayer-book, which lay on
the head master's desk. From it he read three or four brief
prayers at the opening of school in the morning, and then the
religious teaching of the day was done. Mr. Wright, whom
we knew both as writing and second master, was a remarkable
self-made man. He had been brought up in humble circum-
stances to one of the Sheffield trades ; but, by indomitable
study he attained to proficiency in mathematics, and very
respectable classical learning. About 1823 he gave up his
office in the Grammar School, and opened a school on his
own account in a yard in Bank street, where the office of Mr.
Smilter, high bailiff of the County Court, now is. A few
years later he built Howard Hill (afterwards purchased for the
Roman Catholic Reformatory for Girls), and there he con-
ducted a successful school to the end of his life. He was
a rather heavy, ungainly man, with a hot temper and weighty
arm, but of genial disposition and kindly heart. Many Shef-
field men have an honourable niche for the memory of Wil-
liam Wright. ' I like that ; it shows your head is at work;'
this is a sample of the encouraging remarks he would address
to a boy who showed an inclination to understand the reason
of things."

Everarp : The Free Writing School down School croft
only takes us a little out of our way, and should be mentioned
here, not only as a kindred subject, but because he who was
its head master for so many years— Mr. John Eadon— also
taught writing daily in the Grammar School. The art of
writing was in those days an accomplishment, and not the
every-day commodity of the present time.

Twiss : I possess, and prize very highly, an old ex-
ercise-book written by Grammar School boys of the earlier
half of the last century. We sometimes hear writing de-
scribed as being like copper-plate, but it is literally true of
this beautiful caligraphy. The exercises consist of Latin
verses, and are headed " Musse Sheffieldienses, 1737." The
names of the writers may be interesting to you. First comes
"Geo. Steer," afterwards a mercer in the town, who is buried
in St. Paul's Church, near the communion rails. " Thomas
Younge," or as he variously spells his name, " Young," was
in the school 1737-39. He was born in 1721, and, after leav-
ng the Grammar School, took his M.A. at Cambridge, and
then went to study medicine at Edinburgh, where he took
his medical degree in 1752. He returned to Sheffield, where
he practised as a physician until his sudden death, in 1784.

JOHN EADON, THE MATHEMATICIAN. 37

He was the father of Dr. William Younge, who also was a
physician of repute among us. A curious contemporary eulogy
on Dr. Thomas Younge that I possess speaks of him as having
a figure higher than middle stature, corpulent, sanguineous,
and says " his countenance hespoke thought, sagacity, and
penetration ; his health appeared to be uninterrupted, either
from a fortunate constitution or his great skill." The most
beautiful writer in the book I am speaking of is " Daniel
Boote," but of him I know nothing ; nor can I trace " Geo.
Ibotson." " Walter Oborne " was afterwards a magistrate.
" Thomas Cawthorn, 1739," was probably the brother of
James Cawthorn, the poet (also a Grammar School boy),
whose memoir was written by the Rev. E. Goodwin.

Weagg : Mr. Jobn Eadon wrote the " Arithmetician's
Guide," published in 1756, and he dedicated it to the trustees
of the Writing School; and in 1793 and 1794 he published the
first and second editions of the first volume of his " Arith-
metical and Mathematical Repository." Had he published
the other three volumes, which, he said, were nearly ready for
the press, he would have taken his place in the front rank
as a mathematician. He died in 1810, at the age of eighty.
I should like to see some good account of him.

Leonakd : Should you ? I can read to you, if you like,
an account of him and his family, written by one of his
descendants.

Weagg : It will interest me exceedingly.

Leonaed (reads): "John Eadon, the mathematician, was
the first of a family some of the members of which, without
any intermission, have been instructing and educating the
rising generation of Sheffield for nearly 120 years, and are
doing so still. He lived, during his youth, at Ecclesfield,
and was one of four brothers. Their father was a ' famous
woodman of renown,' and his five sons, at all events for some
time, followed the same occupation. Being tall and naturally
muscular, strength and virtue — in its primitive meaning, viz.,
physical valour — were their characteristics. On these quali-
ties they prided themselves, and, although kind in their na-
tures, and tender in the extreme to protect the weak, woe be
to him who offered an insult, or attempted to trample on the
defenceless. In such circumstances they knew of no argu-
ment but the argumentum ad pugnam, and right skilfully was
it brought into operation. One of them, in particular, was
noted for his pugilistic tendencies. This was Matthias, after-
wards known as Captain Eadon, the father of the late Mr.

38 THE FREE WRITING SCHOOL.

John Eadon, who lived and died on his own freehold, at
Boston, in Lincolnshire.

" In those days the road from Sheffield to Ecclesiield was
infested hy thieves. Every night robberies were committed,
and on that part called < Sheffield lane,' after a certain hour,
no person escaped scot free. Strange to say, none of these
brothers were ever stopped. This Matthias courted attacks,
for he came home at all hours of the night for the very pur-
pose—but in vain. This was to him a mystery, as people were
robbed half-an-hour before and an hour after he had passed
along. Having, however, a law-suit at York, the riddle was
solved. He there was told by one of the robbers, who had been
taken, that they dare not attack him, and they used to say,
' Here comes Matt Ayton ; we must let him pass, or he will
thrash us all together.' Being tall and powerful, and with
the spirit of a lion, these men acted wisely in making ' dis-
cretion the better part of valour.'

"These five brothers, it seems, followed the occupation
mentioned for some years, till circumstances broke in upon
the even tenor of their way. Being an out-door employ-
ment, the weather would often interfere and prevent them
from going on with their work. On one occasion the rain was
so heavy that, there being no likelihood of its abating that
day, the father and sons took shelter in a neighbouring inn ;
others had done the same, and the room was full. Whilst
drinking the ' nut-brown ale,' many were the topics of con-
versation. Some talked about themselves, others about their
children — how clever Susan was, and what a sharp chap
Tommy was ; and as for Bill, the village schoolmaster had
never had his like. Every man appeared to have a clever lad
in some way or other ; but old Ayton (Eden, now Eadon)
heard all this with a sorrowful heart, and at length, breaking
silence, he said, ' See,' pointing his finger, 'there is a thick-
head ; that lad of mine is nineteen years of age, and he does
not know A from B.' This was enough. The shame of
being exposed in a public company, and by his father, too,
raised the pride and kindled a spark in that young man's
breast which never went out till the spirit left the body.
Whilst he sat in that room abashed amid his compeers, he
determined that he would know not only A from B, but some-
thing more. He began next day, bought a penny primer,
found out an old woman who knew the letters — these he soon
mastered — made out little words, and soon he laid the foun-
dation of all knowledge — the acquirement of the art of read-

THE EADON FAMILY. 39

ing. He found some one to assist him in writing and arith-
metic ; and in this way his leisure time was spent, till he
began to think he knew more than most people about him.

" At this juncture the mastership of the Free Writing
School became vacant. He offered himself and was elected,
and held the post till his death. From the time of his pub-
lishing the 'Arithmetician's Guide,' in 1756, to his death in
1810, would make his tutorship of that school fifty years, at
least.

"It is evident from that there must have been natural
quickness of intellect and great aptitude in John Eadon, in
learning whatever came before him. It is said that when he
went to learn writing he imitated the copies so well that the
master said he must have come to make fun of him, as he
could copy them better than he could himself.

" Another story recorded of him is that, on one occasion,
when he was attending at the Grammar School in perform-
ance of his duties as writing master, a boy was brought up
for punishment before the rev. principal (Mr. Chadwick) for
having broken a pane. ' "Well, sir,' said the master, 'I un-
derstand you have broken a pane.' ' No, I have not sir ; I
only cracked it.' ' Well,' roared out the reverend divine,
' what's the difference between cracking a commandment and
breaking it ? Go to your seat, sir, and neither crack a pane
nor a commandment.' The time, the place, the tone, the
manner, and the silence of all present made such an impres-
sion on the mind of old John Eadon that, for a quarter of a
century, he was in the habit of telling the story of the lad
and the pane with great glee and gusto.

"He married Hannah Smith, of Tankersley, and had by
her three children, two sons and a daughter. His daughter
Mary married Mr. Joseph Bailey, one of the first merchants
in Sheffield who traded with America, and the late Samuel
Bailey was their youngest child. His sons were John and
George. John was a partner in the firm of Bailey and
Eadon, and became the father of Mr. Thomas Brownell
Eadon, of Western Bank. George died unmarried in the
house at the corner of Norfolk street and Charles street, now
used as a Turkish bath.

" Besides the two brothers, John and Matthias, of whom
we have spoken, there were Moses and William. From Wil-
liam spring the Eadons of Attercliffe, and the late Mr. George
Eadon, the carver and gilder, and his sons, the auctioneers.
The spelling of the name was altered from Eden into Eadon

40 THE FREE WRITING SCHOOL.

about one hundred years ago, by John Eadon, the mathe-
matician."

Wragg : A most interesting account of a remarkable
man. Ecclesfield was also the birthplace of Joseph Hunter,
the historian of Hallamshire ; and Grenoside, in the same
parish, was the birth-place of the Walkers, of Kotherham.
In fact, many distinguished men have come from out-of-the-
way places— as Chantrey from Norton, and George Wilson,
of the Anti-Corn-Law League, from Hathersage. Some
people would not think such villages likely to foster genius.

Twiss : John Eadon's brother William lived at Atter-
cliffe, and was a joiner and lath-river. A very old gentleman
is still living who remembers him, and who has said, " He
and my father were very friendly, and had many an argument,
for they were both fond of it, and were what was then consi-
dered scholars. William Eadon worked for my father, and
often came to our house in Derbyshire lane. Smithy Wood
was near, and while the work of enlarging Mr. William
Shore's house at Tapton Grove was going on — it had been
erected by a person named Badger as a speculation, and
when Mr. Shore bought it he made considerable additions ;
Mr. Edward Vickers afterwards rebuilt the house — some
trees were felled in that wood. My father was anxious to buy
one particularly fine oak, for the laundry over the stable at
Tapton had to be laid with a plaster floor, and he wanted
some good oak laths to lay it on. There were several people
after this tree, and to decide the rivalry it was arranged that
the one who could get first to the tree from a particular part
of the wood should be the purchaser. My father knew the
ground well, and laid his plans. When the signal to be off
was given, his competitors plunged into the brushwood,
while he slipped over a wall into a field, ran quickly down
opposite to where the tree stood, and was back in the wood,
standing by the trunk, while his rivals were struggling and
scratching themselves among the brambles. He got the
tree, and William Eadon rove it into laths, and those laths
were laid down under the laundry floor at Tapton."

Leighton : The site of the old Free Writing School is
noAv occupied by a modern and substantially-built successor,
erected in 1827, the old building, which had stood for 106
years, having fallen into decay. Mr. Worth was the archi-
tect. The yard or play-ground is, however, the same, though
of less size than formerly. There used to be — for we are
speaking of the time when the street called School croft was

TRIPPET LANE AND RED CROFT. 41

really a green field — a communication between the yards of
the two schools. Job Cawood was the master in the days
when I attended the Free Writing School. I think he must
have been Mr. John Eadon's successor.

Leonard : The late Mr. Samuel Bailey was a pupil at
this school. It is said that, even in those days, there were
observable in him all the elements of the after-man — reserve,
reticence, and pride. He was not like any other boy. The
pranks of lads had no charm for him. What would excite
the merry giggle in others was looked down upon with silent
indifference by him. He used to amuse himself in the
play hours in riding on the back of a schoolfellow called
Wilgous, who was always ready to play the horse for the boy-
philosopher.

Wragg : Several very old houses formerly stood about
here, some on the site of the Baptist Chapel, and others were
pulled down a year or two before the Temperance Hall was
built. One of them bore a date early in the last century, and
had a projecting window, with a second window at the side
somewhat less than the former. A person looking through
the latter could see the steps below, in Townhead street. I
should not be surprised to learn that this was the first shop
in the town having two windows. At the corner of Blind
lane and Trippet lane was the shop of Mr. Brady, a respect-
able draper, whose daughters, members of the Society of
Friends, will be remembered by you all. Trippet lane, as
its width indicates, is greatly altered from the old days.
Facing you, above the end of Blind lane, used to be Red
croft, a cul de sac, with dwellings all round it. The
" Brown Cow," and all the other houses on the left, up to
Mr. Reynolds' mortar mill, were in Red croft.

Leonard : In Gosling's plan, Red croft stands between
a lane running on either side — the one following the course
of the present street (then called Red lane), the other appa-
rently being that narrow but ancient " twitchell," West Bank
lane, by which you can get up into West street.

Everard : The street, from the top of Bailey field nearly
to the end of Blind lane, was so narrow that two carts could
not pass ; but, like a single-line railway, one of them had to
wait until the other had come through. Hence this part of
the way commonly went by the name of the " Narrow lane."

Leighton : In Pinfold street there are yet remaining a
few of the old cottage houses. Of such, I suppose, the streets
used mainly to consist.

42 THE TOWNHEAD.

Leonard : Yes ; when one looks at them it is impossible
to help feeling that, interesting as are the reminiscences in
which we are indulging, and tempted as we sometimes feel
to long for power to sweep away innovations, it is just as well
that we can't. Such houses show us to be far better off as

we are.

Twiss : The original water-house of the Water Company
is still standing, at the sharp angle between Pinfold street
and Campo lane. It has just come into the possession of
the Town Trustees, and will doubtless soon be sacrificed on
the altar of street improvements. A comparison of this
with the present handsome premises of the Company, in
Barker Pool, exhibits very strikingly the contrast between
the old order of things and the new.

Leighton : In the angular space at the top of Townhead
street, formed by the meeting of Church street, Bow street,
Pinfold street, and Townhead street, stood formerly the
Townhead cross. None of us can remember it — I doubt
whether any of us know when it disappeared, or whither it
went ; but that is no reason for passing it by without notice.

Twiss : The premises at the top of Townhead street now
occupied by Mr. Jackson, pork-butcher, have a history. Here
resided, more than a century ago, Mr. Matthewman, who was
one of the originators of the Water Company. In 1744, he
and Mr. Battie succeeded to the powers granted in 1713 to
Messrs. Goodwin and Littlewood by the Lord of the Manor,
and constructed the first works at Crookes moor. He was
the maternal grandfather of Mr. Albert Smith.

Everard : This house was occupied for some years by
Mr. Moorhouse, surgeon, who got killed by a fall from his
horse. On his decease, Mr. James Kay, who had served his
time with him, purchased the business of the widow ; and,
after living and carrying on his profession on the premises
for a considerable period, he built and removed to the house
in Victoria street, Glossop road. At the time it was gene-
rally thought he was going too far out into the country. Mr.
Kay was a tall and noble-looking man, more especially when
on horseback.

Wragg : Then Mr. John Turton practised here as a sur-
geon, and his son George also. The latter died in this
house. They had both been cutlers in the employment of
the Spurrs, in the neighbouring factory in Church street,
the house which looks up Pinfold street. In Surrey street
Chapel is a mural tablet to the memory of the late Mr.

THE MITCHELLS AND BRIGHTMORE S. 43

George Turton. In the house looking up Bow street was
Mr. James Wild. He was a presser. A more feeling,
honourable, and upright man there never was ; but I am
sorry to say he was not so successful in business as some of
his neighbours. Later in life he was a dealer in horns in
White croft. Near here, too, was Mr. Robert Brightmore,
the maternal uncle of the late Mr. Samuel Mitchell. He
had a large cutlery business, and was a merchant in the
country trade. A portion of his business premises was cut
through to make Bow street, when Glossop road was con-
structed. He built the large brick house on Brookhill, now
surrounded by houses, part of which was the residence of the
late Alderman Saunders. The father of Mr. S. Mitchell married
the sister of Mr. Robert Brightmore ; and there was to have
been a double marriage of Mr. Brightmore to Miss Mitchell,
but it never came off. Mr. Mitchell lived in the old house
some of you may remember, just above Mr. Brightmore's, on
Brookhill, where Brightmore street now is, then a garden walk.
There was a large weeping willow in front of the house, with
a watch-box underneath, where watchmen retired for shelter
on stormy nights.

Leonard : Most of the streets that have been made
around are called by the names of the Mitchell and Bright-
more families — Mitchell street, Brightmore street, Robert
street, Sarah street, Bolsover street, and so on.

Everard : The house, the garden, with the beautiful
willow tree at the corner, and the entrance gate, were objects
with which I was familiar from childhood, and will ever live
as an interesting picture in my memory. The personal
appearance and deportment of Mrs. Mitchell always struck
me as affording the best idea of " a lady of quality" of the
last century of any person I remember to have seen. She
usually wore a black silk or satin gown, a white stomacher
with an abundance of frills, and a remarkable turban cap or
head-dress, which seemed to indicate somewhat of an Oriental
taste. On a hot summer's day she might often be seen sit-
ting in a latticed alcove partly screened by climbing plants
and flowers, knitting or reading. This was the grandmother
of the present Mr. Mitchell-Withers. His grandfather was
a stout, good-looking man ; and his father, Mr. Brightmore
Mitchell, was a schoolfellow of mine. Grosvenor terrace
now fills the site then occupied by the old house and garden.

Leighton (rising) :

" And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part." [Exeunt.

CHAPTER III.

Church Street and the Old Church, — St. James's Street,
the Old Cutlers' Hall.

Scene and Time — After supper at Mr. Everard's.

Present — Wragg, Twiss, Leighton, Everard, and Leonard.

WRAGG : Suppose from this hospitable board we get
back to Church street ?
Leonard : —

* * * Church lane, that poor narrow place,
With wood buildings projecting ; 'twas quite a disgrace ;
The roofs nearly meeting, a dark dreary street,
Might justly be styled the " robbers' retreat,"
Where shops werfe so darkened for want of true light,
Appeared quite at noontide as though it were night.

Leighton : Ah, you have got hold of James Wills's
doggrel ; you should go on to quote his description of the
street's improvement into " fine shops for each tradesman,"
and the "beautiful road into Bow street," where "coaches
come down with the Manchester trade."

Everard : That widening took place in 1785, and was to
the extent of about three yards.

Twiss : And it was still further widened in 1866-7 by
another slice from the churchyard.

Leonard : As we go clown the street, we meet with
various sites of much interest. There is, for instance, what
was once the residence of Mr. Hall Overend, one of the most
celebrated medical men of Sheffield in the early part of this
century ; afterwards of his son, Mr. Wilson Overend ; and
now the boot shop of Mr. Brown. Mr. Hall Overend died
in May, 1831, at the age of fifty-nine. His medical know-
ledge had been acquired under the great disadvantages inci-
dent to that period. He served an apprenticeship to a noted
druggist and apothecary, named Sutcliffe, who dispensed
medicine and advice largely at a shop near the Bay Horse,
on Sheffield Moor. Hall Overend was a diligent student,

ME. HALL OVEBEND. 45

and when he left Mr. Sutliffe, acquired a medical qualifica-
tion, and began practice in Broad lane. Thence he removed
to Church street, where his house and surgery occupied the
frontage from Orchard street to the corner of Smith street,
excepting the shop of North, the butcher. Mr. Hall Over-
end's skill, quickness, and diligence were rewarded by great
success. He had a most extensive and laborious, but profit-
able practice. At that time our medical men made their
rounds on horseback, and they began by degrees to seek
relief by the partial use of gigs. For some years Mr. Hall
Overend rode a mule — very handsome, fleet, and enduring,
but subject to fits of obstinacy, in which the animal would
fight long battles with his rider for the mastery. The urgency
of Mr. Overend's practice could not brook loss of time, and
the mule had to repair, by extra speed, the delay he had
occasioned. Mr. Hall Overend had felt so much the want of
facilities for a professional education, that he gave his eldest
son, John (who died early)? and his second son, Wilson, the
highest training as physician and surgeon that the schools of
England and the Continent could afford. Mr. Overend also
established a school of anatomy and medicine for the medical
pupils of Sheffield. At that time the only human bodies
that could be legally dissected were those of people who had
been qualified by the hangman, and they were not obtainable
in Sheffield. Mr. Overend had to supply his school with
"subjects " by the agency of " resurrection men," and it was un-
derstood he did this at considerable personal risk, both from the
law and the populace. Mr. Hall Overend collected, at much
expense, a valuable museum of natural history, which his
family ultimately presented to the Literary and Philosophical
Society. Excessive labours had so much impaired Mr. Hall
Overend's health, that when Mr. Wilson Overend was pre-
pared to assume the weight of the practice, his father with-
drew very much from it, and lived at Bolsover Hill, on the
Barnsley road, until his death. His surviving sons — of whom
we spoke in connection with the Grammar School — both
attained to eminence. Mr. Wilson Overend was a distin-
guished surgeon, and became an active magistrate and public
man. Mr. Wm. Overend, the youngest son, was a barrister,
and rose to the leadership of the circuit in Yorkshire. He
twice contested Sheffield, and once East Derbyshire, in the
Conservative interest. In 1859 he was returned for Ponte-
fract, but had to resign his seat on petition. Mr. William
Overend has recently given up the practice of his profession

46 CHURCH STREET.

to enjoy the life of a country gentleman. Mr. Hall Overend
was a Quaker — not very observant, however, of the rules of
the " Society," though Mrs. Overend and her daughters wore
the Quaker dress of the time and attended " meeting." The
brother of Mr. Hall Overend was the founder of the great
discount house in London, which acquired a degree of credit
second only to the Bank of England. It was familiarly
known in the City as the " Corner House." When, many
years after the death of its founder, its management had.
passed into less honest and prudent hands, its failure shook
the commercial world, and the day of its stoppage was called
"Black Friday." Mr. Hall Overend's children acquired a
considerable accession of fortune on the death of the widow
of their uncle.

Twiss : A very few yards further down the street, on the
other side — that is, at the corner of Vicar lane, where is now
Mr. Thomas, surgeon, Mr. Jonathan Barber, the father of
the present Mr. Jonathan Barber, surgeon, and of Mr.
James Henry Barber, banker, learnt pharmacy with the
same Mr. Bichard Sutliffe whom Mr. Leonard has men-
tioned. Mr. Barber and Mr. Hall Overend married sisters.
At this corner he and Mr. Silvester frequently met to carry on
their scientific experiments, in the early days of the discovery
of electricity, and they are even said to have invented an
electric battery. Afterwards Mr. Barber commenced practice
in Scarborough ; thence he removed to London, and sub-
sequently he went to Montreal. Mr. Barber, in addition to
his scientific attainments, was a man of great elocutionary
power ; and a speech he made at Scarborough, in 1813, on
behalf of the Bible Society, attracted so much attention that
it was printed as a pamphlet. While in London, he was
secretary to the Royal Humane Society, and distinguished
himself by his eloquence at its annual banquets.

Leighton : We must not linger round the most promi-
nent object in the street, the Old Church and the churchyard,
for Hunter, as to the former, and Mr. Holland's pamphlet,
as to the latter, give us all information.

Leonard : Yet I do not see in either of them a state-
ment of the curious fact that when, in 1800, the Church was
being repaired and altered, it was found that the east end
stood on a vast bed of bones. This has been taken by some
as a confirmation of the tradition that the Ptomans had a
camp here — hence Campa or Campo lane ; but these philo-
logical guesses are very hazardous.

THE OLD CHURCH. 47

Wragg : I fancy Campo lane means the lane leading to
the country.

Leonard : It is no use theorising about etymologies ; let
us rather record that we do know. Mr. Samuel Roberts's
Autobiography has fortunately perpetuated for us a graphic
account of the Church before the improvements made at the
beginning of this century. He wrote : " The Church itself
was one of the most gloomy, irregularly-pewed places in the
kingdom. It seemed as if, after the work of pewing had
begun, every person who chose had formed a pew for himself
in his own way, to his own size, height, and shape. There
were several galleries, but all formed, as it seemed, in the
same way as the pews — some of them on pillars, and some
hung in chains. The Lord's closet was a gloomy structure.
High under the lofty centre arch spanned from side to side
the massive rood loft, behind which, filling up the apex of
the arch, were the king's arms, painted most gloriously, and
magnificently large. Under the clock, in a large glass case,
yet scarcely perceptible in the gloom, was the pendulum, bla-
zoned with an enormous staring gilt sun, solemnly and
mysteriously moving from side to side with a loud, head-
piercing tick or tack at each vibration. * * Glad in-
deed was I always when the service was over ; when pattens
began to clatter, and Johnny Lee, the clerk, was called to on
all sides for a light to the lanterns."

Everard : One of the pews which Mr. Roberts speaks of
as being "hung in chains " was fixed in the north gallery,
over the stair head, and at the time went by the nickname of
either the "coal cart," or the "coal barge," I forget which.
Into this place my father, with other youngsters, used to
climb ; and when perched up there, they could do very much
as they pleased whilst looking down on the congregation
below.

Twiss : You make no mention of the thirty fire-buckets
which hung in the chancel ready (in the then primitive ab-
sence of engines) for use in the event of a fire breaking out
in the town. The buckets and the hooks to hang them on
were, as the inscription in the quire to his memory used to
tell, given by Robert Rollinson, mercer, the maker of Barker
pool. Perhaps you do not remember them or their succes-
sors (for Mr. Rollinson died in 1631), but they must have
been there in the time spoken of by the late Mr. Roberts.

Wragg : Mr. Roberts's mention of the great pendulum
reminds me of a singular use to which it was once put.

48 THE CHIMES.

Martha Wright, who afterwards became the wife of William
Cutler Nadin, was a singer at the Parish Church, and on one
occasion she fell asleep there during service. When she
awoke, she found everybody gone, the church locked up and
deserted. She tried in vain to make herself heard, when a
very clever idea, suggested by the pendulum, struck her.
She arrested its swing, and stopped the clock. The absence
of the usual indications of the flight of time attracted the
attention of the clerk. He went to ascertain the cause, and
the girl obtained her liberation.

Leonaed : The present bells were put up in 1798, and
the new clock, with its chimes, was erected in 1867. Sixty
years hence our descendants will perhaps thank us for put-
ting on record that the tunes played are: Sunday, "Easter
Hymn;" Monday, "Home, sweet home;" Tuesday, "Blue
bells of Scotland;" Wednesday, " The heavens are telling;"
Thursday, " Life let us cherish ; " Friday, The 104th
Psalm ; Saturday, " Caller Herring." You have no idea
how difficult — indeed, impossible — I have found it to obtain
a complete list of the old chimes. All I can get together
are these : Sunday, 104th Psalm ; Monday, " Blue bells of
Scotland ;" Wednesday, " See the conquering hero comes ;"
Saturday, " Happy clown," from Allan Ramsay's " Gentle
Shepherd," a tune that was popularly known as " Tang
Ends."

Eveeaed : One of the tunes played was " There's nae
luck about the house."

Leighton : If old 'Siah Carr had been alive he could
have told you not only the tunes of the late chimes, but of
their predecessors, whose beauty he never ceased to lament.
He was a great worshipper of them, and would sit on the
" alablaster " stone listening to the airs most devoutly.

Twiss : Let us not forget to mention that the old clock
turret in front of the steeple was removed when the new
clock was erected, that being set into the steeple itself. In
doing this a stone was found, which had evidently formed a
portion of an arch in the Norman church. The pattern
upon the stone fixes the date of the church as in the 12th
century, and proves that this is not the original Norman
tower.

Everaed : I am sorry to see that our favourite Hallam-
shire legend about the origin of the Tuesday evening's peal
— that it was established in gratitude by a wanderer who,
belated on the moors beyond Ringinglow, was saved by hear-

THE CHURCH BELLS. 49

ing their sound wafted to him through the still night air— is
believed to be mythical.

Twiss : Yes, it is a beautiful story, but there is nothing
to show that any legacy was ever left to defray the cost of
ringing the bells on Tuesday evenings ; at least, neither the
Town Trustees who pay for the ringing, nor the ringers who
receive the payment, know anything of such a bequest.

Leonard : I fear this is another of your etymologies,
Mr. Wragg. The story must have been concocted to fit the
name of Ringinglow, which we know to have existed at least
as long ago as 1574, when it was " a great heap of stones
called Ringinglawe."* At any rate, the legend only shows
that the bells were rung on Tuesday evenings before the
legacy — if there was one.

Everard : This Tuesday ringing is only in the winter
months. It begins on the Tuesday after Doncaster races —
rather a curious calendar for church bells— and continues until
Shrove Tuesday. It is no doubt an immemorial custom, con-
nected possibly with the market day. The bells, by the way,
are not now rung with the regularity or frequency that was for-
merly observed. We used always to have a bell at six in the
morning, at noon, and at eight o'clock in the evening, on
week-days ; and there was an early Sunday morning bell at
seven o'clock, which was also the time on saints' days ; but
these are dropped now. We only have the peals on "Queen's
days" and special occasions — the three days following Christ-
mas, the last day in the old year, and New Year's Day.

Leighton : It is a pity they should be discontinued ; but
I think I remember business men complaining of the twelve
o'clock peal as interrupting.

Wragg : Money-grubbers !

Leonard : I have been told by the ringers that the dis-
continuance of the bells arose thus : When Mrs. Sutton, the
wife of the late vicar, was ill, they disturbed her, living as
she did in the old Vicarage, so the Doctor ordered them to
stop ; and as no one ever commanded them to be resumed,
the custom fell into disuse. But I believe the eight o'clock
curfew bell had been discontinued before that.

Twiss: Here is a contribution to our ringing recollec-
tions : " May 2, 1809, died, a few days ago, Mr. Richard
Owen, much lamented, particularly by the Society of Change
Ringers, to whom he had belonged nearly sixty years. They

* " Hunter's Hallamshire," new edition, p. 18.

E

50 THE CHURCH STEEPLE.

will always bear in mind how cheerfully he led off the first
peal that was ever rung of ten new bells, on the 29th April,
1799. He was interred at St. Peter's Church on the 29th
April, 1809, being exactly ten years after the bells were first
rung."

Leighton : An interesting chapter might be written on
the Old Church steeple. Here is a jotting for it, extracted
from Mr. Gales's Sheffield Register, of July 18, 1789 : " It
has been judged expedient, from its being in a decayed state,
to take down a few yards of the steeple of our parish church.
The person employed for this purpose has fixed ladders to
effect it, and on Thursday he took down the weathercock,
amidst the acclamations of an immense concourse of specta-
tors, who had assembled on the occasion. In the evening,
after this had been effected, a slater, in a state of intoxica-
tion, ascended the ladders, to the terror of the spectators,
who every moment expected he would be dashed to atoms.
When he was within a few yards of the top, their fears were
heightened by his hat blowing oft1; he, however, reached the
summit, and came down again remarkably swift and perfectly
safe, to the relief of those who witnessed the foolhardy
attempt."

Wragg : It is said that Mr. William Battie, who lived in
Townhead street, in the house now occupied by Mr. Parkin,
tailor, the James Wills who has been quoted lived, a door
or two below, who once played a similar mad freak.

Leonard : Yes ; the story is that in his younger days he,
for a wager, climbed up to the top of the old steeple by the
projections, took hold of the weathercock, waved his hat,
came down again by the same way, and reached the bottom
in safety. " Billy Battie " was " quite a character."

Everard : I have sufficient evidence for believing it was
not Mr. William Battie who did that piece of folly, but
another man, who was, at the time he undertook it, half
drunk. What Mr. Battie did was this : On the occasion
when a certain portion of the church steeple was taken down
and rebuilt (possibly the time referred to in that extract from
the Register), several persons climbed up before the ladders
were removed, as a sort of opening ceremony. Among them
was Mr. Battie. As previously arranged, he stood upright
upon the base, where the weathercock had to be fixed, with
nothing to hold by, and played the National Anthem on his
French horn. My father was present, and saw him thus
standing, and heard this musical performance.

CLIMBING THE STEEPLE. 51

Twiss : I have heard Mr. Battie tell the story himself.

Wragg : That better accords with the character and posi-
tion of Mr. Battie than the other story. He was a Town
Trustee, and a person of considerable influence in that body.
It was he who caused the opening to be made at the bottom
of Broad lane and Townhead street, by the destruction of
Radford row. In his younger days he was a cooper, but
afterwards he was a successful ivory merchant.

Everard : I have forgotten the name of the man who
actually accomplished the feat attributed to Mr. Battie, but
he was a table-blade forger, and at the time was working
for Messrs. Broomhead Ward and Thomas Asline Ward,
brothers, who carried on business in Howard street, the
latter living in the house adjoining, the whole now form-
ing part of the premises of Messrs. Walker and Hall.
This man (who, if I remember right, had been a sailor)
was one evening drinking with his mates at a public-
house, when the question of the possibility of climbing
up to the top of the Old Church steeple by the projecting
stones outside was mooted, discussed, and disputed. He
thereupon laid a wager that he could do it, and started off,
accompanied by some of his comrades. He successfully
accomplished the feat ; but he told my mother, who knew the
man and had the relation from his own lips, that though he
did not experience much difficulty in getting to the top, yet,
having arrived there, the extreme peril of his position so
struck his mind as completely to sober him. When he
reached the ground, without speaking to any one, he ran
home half frightened out of his wits.

Leonard : I have always understood that the man's name
was Thomas South. He was well known in the town. One
version of the story says he turned the weathercock round.

Leighton : Let us take a glance into St. James's street,
once the Vicarage croft, "a small field amidst gardens," with
an old dry draw-well in it. You all remember the yellow
Vicarage, now supplanted by the auction-room of Messrs.
W. H. and J. A. Eadon, and the adjoining buildings.

Leonard : Yes, even I remember that unartistic build-
ing, with its plain rounded windows. I used to have a feel-
ing of something like awe for the mysteries of the yard,
entered from St. James's street by double doors, and to
wonder how the space between the Vicarage itself and the
high wall abutting on St. James's row was occupied.

Twiss : I have a rough drawing of the old place as it

52 st. james's street.

appeared in process of demolition, in 1854. There was no
upper story over the centre part — the oldest portion of the
building — though it was long ago that the two ends had been
added. Its combinations of lath, beams, plaster, and rubble
were very antique. There is one relic of it still to be seen,
but in an altered form and serving a new purpose. The
large stone of the step leading into Messrs. Eadon's auction
room by the door in St. James's street is the identical stone
that served as mantel shelf in the oldest part of the Vicarage.

Wragg : The street was long famous in another way —
as the chosen home of the Scotch drapery business. Here,
fifty years ago, Mr. John Brown, who subsequently built
Columbia Works, first introduced that trade.

Leonard : For good or for evil — a point on which opinions
greatly vary.

Leighton : It was here that the militia of the town used
to be drilled and paraded. A soldierly-looking body of men
they were, and they extended five or ten deep the whole
length of the street.

Everard : In St. James's street was the house where Mr.
Robert Hadfield lived, the warehouse being at the back. He
had a family of four sons and two daughters : Robert, the
youngest, died many years ago ; Joseph and Samuel were
partners with the father ; Mr. George Hadfield, the present
venerable M.P. for Sheffield, in early life removed to Man-
chester, where for many years he practised as an attorney.
He, I am told, still signs cheques in the names of " Robert
Hadfield and Sons." Mr. Robert Hadfield built the house
at Crookes moor side for a country residence. Mr. Ray,
surgeon, married one of the daughters, and the other died
unmarried. Mr. Robert Hadfield's tombstone may be seen
by passers-by in the yard of Howard street Chapel.

Twiss : There is an interesting point in connection with
St. James's street. It is — from footpath to footpath, I be-
lieve— an exact proportion of a mile, and may thus be consi-
dered our Hallamshire standard of long measure.

Leonard : Do you know anything, Mr. Twiss, of the
history of the corner house to which inquirers after Sheffield
folk-lore do much resort for interviews with that devoted and
accurate antiquary, Mr. William Swift ?

Twiss : Now the Stamp office, you mean ? It was built
by Mr. Stacey, who supplied the woodwork for the reno-
vated Parish Church and for St. James's Church ; and it
is fitted in a style similar to the latter. Mr. T. N. Bardwell,

CHURCH STREET. 53

father of the present Mr. Frederick Bardwell, subsequently
lived in it ; and after that, Mr. John Brown, of the firm of
Parker, Brown and Parker, solicitors. When the firm dis-
solved, Mr. Brown, for inany years stamp distributor, retained
the premises, which are now occupied by his son, Mr. Walter
Brown, attorney, and Major Fawkes, stamp distributor.

Wragg : In St. James's row was Mr. Carr, staymaker,
a nice elderly gentleman of the old style. He can still be
remembered, clothed as well-to-do men were a century ago —
in breeches and leggings. Sometimes he wore a spencer over
his coat, or a top coat like those now worn by the inmates of
the Shrewsbury Hospital.

Twiss : In the house adjoining the Stamp Office, the
residence of that skilful surgeon, the late Mr. Henry Jack-
son, and now of his son, Mr. Arthur Jackson, formerly lived
Mr. Brookfield, solicitor. Then at the corner of the row and
Church street — now Mr. Wiltshire's, late Mr. Reedal's — was
Dr. William Younge, the well-known physician, who died in
1838. I believe his father, Dr. Thomas Younge, to whom I
made reference when we were speaking of the Grammar
School, was there before him.

Everard : The premises in Church Street now occu-
pied by the Bible Society were once the residence of Dr.
Hodgson, father of Mr. John Hodgson, of Goddard Hall.
Then Mr. Geo. Turton, surgeon, was their tenant ; after-
wards Mr. Aldam, Mr. Timothy Scott, and Mr. Algar.
Dr. Hodgson entered into partnership with Mr. Joseph
Waterhouse, and they built Portobello place, carrying on
the silver plated manufacture there, under the firm of
" Waterhouse, Hodgson, and Co." Mr. Waterhouse's son
John married one of Dr. Hodgson's daughters, who is still
living, having been a widow for many years. The Doctor built
the house on Western Bank, the residence of the late Alder-
man W. A. Matthews; and he performed a still more Dotable
building feat in the erection of Bell Hagg Inn, then and still
popularly known as " Hodgson's Folly." He died in 1832.

Wragg : The mention of Mr. Aldam reminds me of
Mr. Daniel Wheeler, who was in partnership with him.

Everard : I question whether the partnership existed
here. Daniel Wheeler had his porter vaults under the
Quakers' Meeting House ; and, subsequently, Mr. Aldam
had the same. I remember seeing the sign of "Daniel
Wrheeler" over the entry of what is now the Thatched House
Tavern. That Mr. Aldam was in partnership with Daniel

54 DANIEL WHEELEE.

Wheeler in some place is certain, but whether in Church
street is uncertain. For my part, I do not believe he was.

Weagg : At any rate, they were in partnership. I want,
however, to mention Daniel Wheeler, not as Mr. Aldam's
partner, but as the celebrated Quaker missionary, noticed
by the poet Whittier. Just before the Kussian war many
people were quite astounded that " the three Quakers " should
have had the presumption to visit the Emperor of Russia to
endeavour to prevail on him not to go to war ; but had they
known the close and intimate relations that had existed be-
tween the late Daniel Wheeler and the Czar Nicholas, and
also the previous Emperor, they would not have been sur-
prised at the visit of Messrs. Sturge, Peace, and Carleton.
Mr. Wheeler " went about doing good."

Eveeaed : Mr. Wheeler oi'iginally went out to Russia to
manage a model farm for the Emperor Alexander, who, about
the year 1824 or 1825 had visited England. He was a little,
broad-built man, and he wore a grey Quakers' suit and
broad-brimmed hat. He was away from England about ten
years. Soon after his return, the Society sent him, with one
or two others, to visit the mission stations in the South Seas,
New Zealand, and other places. The journal he kept was
not published, but it was handed round among the Friends
for private perusal.

Leighton : The site on which Mr. Aldam built the pre-
sent wine and spirit establishment was previously a public-
house, with the sign of the " Grapes." It was a respectable
place of the kind, and was kept by a person of the name of
Hall. The house front projected halfway across the cause-
way, beyond the line of the other buildings. It had three
windows in the front, and also a window in each of the gable
ends, one of them facing up the street and the other down.
The Sheffield local band used to assemble here for practice.
It included William Taylor, the French horn player, and his
son John, the celebrated bugler ; together with the Cleggs,
father and son, the trumpeters.

Eveeaed : The Sheffield and Hallamshire Bank was
built on the site of the house below the " Grapes." That
was a Avell-built and respectable-looking house, with palisades
in front.

Twiss : It was a house with a fine old staircase, and was
at one time the property of the Fisher family, by whom it
was sold to the Staceys, who, in turn, sold it for the purposes
of the Bank.

THE OLD CUTLERS' HALL. 55

Leonard : The grandfather of the present Mr. William
Fisher lived there. The house was an extremely good one.
Behind it was a productive garden, in Avhich, in addition to
the commoner fruits, grapes were grown upon the walls.
Then behind the garden were the horn-pressing works of Mr.
Fisher — works still occupied by his descendants, though the
trade has changed its character — in Orchard place. By the
gates was, as I have been told, a very fine pear tree. After Mr.
John Fisher, who died in 1820, his sons, Robert and William
(the latter a fine old politician and reformer, remembered by
all of us), occupied the house ; and then, as Mr. Twiss has
said, it passed into other hands, although the works remained,
and do still remain, the property of the Fisher family.

Twiss : There is a curious story about an old barber who
had a shop about here. He was tall and spindle-shanked.
His door was divided in the middle into two halves, and at
night his window was lighted by a tallow candle stuck in a
pint bottle. A number of mischievous youths — one of whom
when an old man told me the story — fastened the lower half
of the door on the outside, and then, through the upper half,
threw in a number of lighted jumping crackers. They could
see the poor barber sitting alone, and they watched the alarm
and dismay with which he found himself suddenly in the
midst of a fusillade. The antics of the tall and " ungain "
barber, as he skipped about to avoid the crackers, and his
futile attempts to open the door and so escape, amused his
tormentors greatly.

Leighton : Now we come to the old Cutlers' Hall, erected
in 1726, demolished 1832, its predecessor dating as far back
as 1638, when the Company built it on the site of some old
" burbage houses." The second was a very unpretentious
building compared with that which has now taken its place.
It was a structure of three stories, with finished stone corners
and a broad stone border round the windows, of which there
were only two on the ground floor — between two doors, each
of which was surmounted by a pediment. The two ground
floor windows were protected by a low circular railing adorned
with the cross-daggers ; while above, in the centre, between
two upper rows of windows, four in number, was the coat of
arms of the Company.

Twiss : Which still may be seen preserved in the wall at
the back of the present edifice.

Everard : Adjoining the Hall was the " Bird in the
Hand," kept by old Tommy Rose, the chief resort of the

56 THE OLD CUTLERS' HALL.

" chaps " who visited the town for trading purposes with
their pack-horses.

Twiss : The ground floor of the old hall was used as a
justice-room, and there for many years the magistrates sat.
Some odd doings were enacted there in the days of Justice
Wilkinson.

Everard : In that lower room one good thing, at any
rate, was done, in the establishment of the Sheffield and
Hallamshire Savings' Bank, in 1819. On that occasion I was
a depositor of a small sum on the first day, and, I believe,
the first hour of its opening. I have very distinctly before
my mind's eye the countenances and figures of those who
sat at the table covered with green baize, including the Kev.
Thomas Sutton, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. George Bennet, Mr.
Thomas Rawson, the Rev. Mark Docker, and others.

Leonard : I have read in an old number of the Courant
that there was a curious scene in 1795, when so much
trouble occurred about the high price of flour. A relief com-
mittee had been formed to supply the poor with cheap flour,
and they sold at so low a price that there were public rejoic-
ings. A number of women with ribbons and cockades en-
tered the room at the Cutlers' Hall, in which the gentlemen
of the Corn Committee had assembled. After thanking them
they marched in a body up to the head of the table, and
told Dr. Browne, the chairman, that they had brought a
chaise to the door, and begged leave to draw him through the
principal streets of the town. The Doctor escaped by plead-
ing that this would be inverting the order of things, and
would be ungallant ; and as he would not allow himself to
be importuned into it, the women at length retired.

Twiss : That would be soon after the time when Dr.
Browne wrote to Wilberforce the letter that appears in the
" Life " of the latter, dated July, 1795 : " There was a
numerous meeting at the Cutlers' Hall yesterday, when I
opened business by reading your letters. They were so struck
by the propriety of your recommendation, that they agreed
to sign a resolution pledging themselves to the greatest,
economy in the use of flour. I was particularly desired by
the whole meeting to reiterate their warmest thanks to you
for your uniform attention to their interests. Price of wheat
at Nottingham, 12s. per barrel."

Leighton : A story has been told of a workman who
could never agree with his strikers. He summoned his
masters before the magistrates because they would find him

cutlers' feasts. 57

neither single-hand work nor a striker. The man said the
masters always found strikers ; on the other side, evidence
was given showing that they never found strikers ; and Dr.
Corbett, who heard the case (it was in the old justice-room of
the Cutlers' Hall), said, "If men don't find strikers, and
masters don't find strikers, who the devil does find strikers?"

Everaed : A curious chapter might he written on the
changes that have taken place in the Cutlers' feasts, as well
as in the rooms in which those feasts have been held. The
historian would find ample scope in tracing the gradual in-
crease in sumptuousness from the days of good old George
Smith, who was Master Cutler in 1749, when the total cost
of the feast was £2. 2s. 9d., to the present day, when I
should be afraid to say how much the feasts cost.

Leonard : Even then the drink formed a very large pro-
portion of the expense, though they were content with "ale
and punch," instead of the champagne and hock of their de-
generate descendants. Of the £2. 2s. 9d., almost one half,
or 20s. 7d., went in ale and punch.

Twiss : How much one would like to know who were the
guests there, and to have a description of the proceedings
" from our own reporter."

Leonard : We know that even then, or at any rate not
long after, the feast was a great occasion, for in 1771, when
Mr. Wm. Trickett was Master, there was a better show of
dukes and earls and lords than can ever be attracted now.
And in the town itself the occasion was a sort of fair ; for
we read in the Courant that " The Cutlers' feast was ob-
served as a great holiday; the bells were kept constantly
ringing during the three days it lasted, booths were erected
in the Churchyard, High street, and Church street, for the
sale of fruit, spices, &c, and all business was generally sus-
pended."

Everard : At the feast this year (1872), Mr. William
Overend complained that ladies were excluded from the
tables. Why do they not in revenge revive the festival of the
Mistress Cutler, which used to be held on the day following?

Leonard : What ! to eat up the broken victuals ?

Everard : No, you cynic ; I am sure the ladies' feast
would be much more entertaining than the gentlemen's.
There would be no unseemly manifestations of political feel-
ing. If I were the Mistress Cutler, I would exclude reporters
and every male person, and the revenge would be complete.
The gentlemen would be racked with envy.

58 CHURCH STREET.

Leonard : Pray when were these interesting ceremonials
observed ?

Everard : Oh, in 1791 and other years.

Twiss : " The good old times !"

Everard : In 1807, Mrs. Brownell, the Mistress Cutler,
"gave an elegant dinner to the ladies; and in the evening,
an assembly at the rooms in Norfolk street." Mrs. Ebenezer
Khodes did the same in the following year ; but the year
following that, Mr. Robert Brightmore being Master, times
had become so bad that the Corporation announced that, "in
consequence of the state of their finances, they suspend the
annual feast and dine by tickets, 15s. each." Even earlier
than that, in 1798, the feast had been paid for by tickets,
10s. 6d. each, for another reason, "the money usually applied
to defray the expenses of the feast having by vote been ap-
propriated to the subscription in aid of the exigencies of the
Government."

Leonard : We get a glimpse at the jolly doings at the
old Cutlers' feasts from Mr. Holland's " Memorials of Chan-
trey." Speaking of Mr. Nicholas Jackson, the filemaker, of
Shemeld croft, with one of whose daughters Chantrey had a
love affair, he says, " Ancient guests at the Cutlers' feast
will remember how his loyal songs formerly divided with
those of another local worthy, Billy Battie " (of whom we
have just been speaking), "the applause of the Corporation,
when sung in the old Hall, in Church street." Fancy the
manufacturers singing songs now-a-days on that grand occa-
sion !

Wragg : The handsome building of the Sheffield and
Rotherham Bank, erected in 1866 in place of the plain brick
structure, occupies the site of the premises once the residence
and factory of the Roebucks. The history of Dr. Roebuck,
the most distinguished member of the family, you all know.

Twiss : His brothers first opened correspondences with
the Continent, and one of them was possibly the first Shef-
field banker (1770); on whose failure, eight years afterwards,
the Broadbents' bank was established.

Leonard : When the Roebucks died, they had not a long
journey to take. A tomb opposite the Sheffield and Rother-
ham Bank, dated 1752, bears the names of Roebuck and
Fenton ; and Mr. Holland tells us that " in the month of
May, 1785, Church lane was made wider by taking into it
about three yards of the churchyard and removing a certain
number of coffins, bodies, and gravestones, the last mostly

THE ROEBUCKS. 59

bearing the name of Roebuck, and forming at present (1869)
part of the floors in the cellars and kitchens of the houses
opposite."

Twiss : In making that sweeping observation Mr. Hol-
land did not display the accuracy that is desirable in such
matters. The fact is, he has multiplied one single grave-
stone into a wholesale collection. The only basis for his
statement is the following : When the Sheffield and Bother-
ham Bank made certain alterations in their premises, some
years before the rebuilding, it was found necessary to remove
the flooring in a cottage at the back, in which the bank mes-
senger resided, and among the pavers so taken up was one
which had been a gravestone, of which this is a copy : "Here
was interred the Body of Bogger Bobuck, late of Sheffield,
joiner : he departed this life the 25th day of October, Anno
Dora. 16 and in the 70th year of his age." The date is
imperfect, only a portion of the third figure, which may be
0 or 6 or 9, remaining. The full date may be 1600, or any
year between that and 1609 inclusive ; or it may be 1660, or
any year between that and 1669 ; or it may be 1690, or any
year between that and 1699. I have made a careful search
in the parish register, but cannot find any entry of the burial
of such a person. It probably belongs to the period between
1660 and 1669, if the following extract from "Depositions
from York Castle," published by the Surtees Society, relates
to the same person: "A true bill against Henry Bright,
of Wharlow (Whirlow), gen., Stephen Bright, of the same,
yeo., Boger Bobuck, of the same, joiner, and Cornelius
Clerk, of Cathorpe (Cutthorpe), co. Derby, gen., for breaking
into the forest of Thomas Earle of Arundell, called Biveling
Forrest, on 21 July, 1659, and killing a stag." I think it
not impossible that the stone may have come from Nether
Chapel, rather than from the Parish Churchyard.

Leighton : Mr. Webb, a well-known Sheffield surgeon, lived
from about 1813 to 1818, in a house on a part of the site now
occupied by the Sheffield and Botherham Bank. He was a
stout-built, dapper little man, fond of dress, and he rode a
good horse. He had removed to Church street from Norfolk
street, and thence he went to Market street ; but he was not
in the latter place long, for he died at Broomhall Mill, where
he had gone for the benefit of his health, about 1820.

Twiss : I believe at one time he lived in Fargate, by
" the Lord's house."

Leonard : Mr. Webb was one of the first surgeons to the

60 CHURCH STREET.

Infirmary, and an amusing story has been told me of a
quarrel he had with the Eev. Alex. Mackenzie, of St. Paul's.
It was the custom in those days for the medical staff of the
Infirmary to assemble for prayers before commencing their
duties ; and Mr. Webb being invariably late, kept his col-
leagues waiting. At length this became so intolerable that
Mr. Mackenzie took him to task, which the Doctor resented
so warmly as to threaten to horse- whip "the black-coated
scoundrel " for having the impudence to dictate to him. A
few days afterwards, when about to mount his horse at his
own door, Mr. Webb, seeing Mr. Mackenzie coming up the
street, made a rush, and began to carry his threat into execu-
tion. The curate of St. Paul's ran for protection into the
bank and sped upstairs, pursued by the irate doctor, both being
followed by a number of clerks and others, astonished by
this strange incursion. To appreciate fully the ridiculous
sight, you must remember that Mr. Mackenzie was an exces-
sively tall man — over six feet — and that his assailant was
considerably under middle height. Mr. Mackenzie did not
live long after that. He went up to London to undergo an
operation for the stone, and he died there— in 1816. Mr.
Webb had a garden at Harvest Grove, the end of Harvest
lane, where Mr. Waterhouse afterwards built a house. He
had a farm at Park Wood Springs, on land belonging to Par-
son Bland, of Bolsterstone, which was afterwards sold to the
building society. Mr. Webb was accustomed to give lectures
on surgery to medical students ; and a list of his pupils would
include such names as Wilson Overend, Jackson, France.
But meetings of another kind were held at his house. Dr.
Younge, Dr. Ernest, James Montgomery, Robert Hadfield,
and others used to meet there to discuss politics. The
Government of that day was very jealous of such meetings,
and Mr. Webb's servants had instructions to represent to any
callers at such times that he was engaged in lecturing upon
surgery. Mr. Webb had himself been a pupil of his uncle,
Mr. Charles Hawksley, whose surgery was in High street,
near where Messrs. Foster, the tailors, are now ; and he was
succeeded in practice by Mr. Nelson.

Leighton : Mr. Webb has been credited with being the
hero of a curious adventure among the colliers.

Leonard : Yes ; but the assertion that the adventure
happened to him is denied with much emphasis and some
indignation by one who knew him well, and who asserts that
he was not at all addicted to intemperance. I am told that

MR. WEBB. 61

it is more likely to have happened to his brother, Parson
Webb, who was curate of Dore before the Rev. Frank Parker.

Wragg : What is the story ?

Leonard : Its hero, whoever he may have been, having
been drinking in the neighbourhood of Intake, lay on the
ground helplessly drunk. Some colliers going to work at a
neighbouring pit, partly as a practical joke, and partly out of
consideration for his safety, picked him up and took him
down the pit with them. After some time the inebriate came
to himself, and seeing a number of black visages around,
and a place quite different from any he had ever seen, thought
he was dead and in another world. The men had got with
them a pitcher of ale, and gave their visitor some. He
drank, and said it was very much like what he had the night
before he died. This was likely enough, as it had come from
the very public-house where he had been drinking. One of
the men asked him who and what he was. He told what his
name and profession had been in the former state of exist-
ence, but accommodatingly said he would there be anything
the gentlemen pleased.

Leighton : Se non e vero e ben trovato. And at any
rate this brings us to the bottom of Church street, leaving us
to contemplate the changed aspect of affairs where, on the
one side, the big establishment of Messrs. Cole Brothers has
sprung up — one hardly knows how many stories high; while
on the other, the old Town Hall has long since disappeared.

Everard : I'm sorry to interrupt on the threshold of so
interesting a theme, but had we not better reserve "the
lobby " for our next meeting ?

Omnes : Agreed. [Exeunt.

CHAPTER IV.

The Old Town Hall, High Street.

Scene — The " Beehive." Host, Mr. Leighton.
Period— 1873.

Present — Leighton, Twiss, Leonard, Everard and Wragg.

LEONAED : A very old gentleman of my acquaintance,
aged 91, lias given me an interesting account of the
old Town Hall, at the Church gates. "I rememher it," he
said, " very well. It was not a large huilding. On the
ground floor was the ■ lobby, ' or gaol, called Sam Hall's
parlour. There culprits used to be confined, and you could
go and talk to them through a round hole in the door, such
as you may now see in the doors of country pinfolds. Sam
Hall was the gaoler, and he also sold pots and such like to
make out his living. Above the lobby was the hall itself,
approached by an external flight of steps facing down High
street. I remember Wilberforce coming to address the
electors of Yorkshire from those steps. A silly man, named
Josiah, or 'Jesse,' from Grenoside, was among the crowd,
and somebody put him on a great wig. This made a lot of
fun, and caused some confusion ; and Tom Smith, the con-
stable, who kept the 'Blue Boar,' down Westbar, 'nobbled'
the disorderly ones to keep them quiet."

Twiss : I have no doubt that speech of Wilberforce's
was the one delivered on the 9th of May, 1807, when he was
accompanied by Mr. Lascelles.

Eveeaed : "Jesse," to whom Leonard refers, was a well-
known and popular character in Sheffield in those days. His
proper name was "Josiah," but he generally went by the
soubriquet of "Jesse;" and, from some of his unreasonable
doings, the remark is still current and applicable to a person
who has done any foolish thing, " What a Jesse he must

1 .

JESSE." 63

needs be ! " He was a tall, well-built, and powerful man,
living at Grenoside, near Greno wood. His visits to Sheffield
were very frequent. At that time the coaches to Hudders-
field and Halifax ran that way ; and Jesse, on an evening,
when tired with his day's rambles in the town, decidedly
preferred riding home on the coach to walking. But then,
there was the "fare," which he neither could nor would pay;
so the coachman, until he learnt better, left him behind burn-
ing with indignation and threatening revenge. After such
altercation, it was not unfrequently found that in the night
time large stones had been placed on the road in the most
awkward places, with the evident design of upsetting the
coach. The act could never be traced to the perpetrator,
but so shrewd a suspicion was entertained, that it was
deemed a prudent thing to let Jesse ride home ; and as
long as this was done, no large stones were found on
the road, and the passengers were amused by his talk.
One of his peculiarities was that he always carried a
lengthy walking staff of some kind ; but he more especially
preferred a long broom-handle. On coming to Sheffield
without a staff, he would walk into some house, look out the
sweeping-brush, and in an instant would be seen striding off
at great pace with the " brush-steale," a number of women
and children raising the hue and cry at his heels. Another
of his eccentricities was his attendance on all the funerals he
heard of. He was very impartial in paying this mark of
respect, whether he happened to know the family or not.
The attraction was the custom of giving to those invited
to the funeral a "burial cake," being a large plum cake,
before " biscuits " came into general use. This privi-
lege of a " mourner " was always accorded to Jesse. One
day, after attending a funeral in the neighbourhood of
Broad lane, having one of these large cakes in each of
his coat pockets, he asked a carter, who had just been de-
livering a load of coals, to allow him to ride in the cart.
Jesse got in, and as he sat on the edge of the door, the man
slyly uncottered it, so that he had not ridden far before the
door came down, and Jesse fell on his back ; and whilst he
was gathering up his cakes the man drove off. This little
incident was related to me by one who witnessed it. Another
of Jesse's peculiarities was his extreme fondness for singing
and music. At that time the "oratorios" were often held
in the Parish Church, on which occasions he was sure to put
in an appearance slnd attempt to get into the place — of course

64 THE OLD TOWN HALL.

without payment. On being repulsed by the doorkeepers, he
would walk about in front of the church, and when the per-
formance was fairly begun, with his very powerful voice he
struck up at the church doors the chorus, " Lift up your
heads, 0 ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors ;
and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of
Glory ? The Lord of Hosts ; He is the King of Glory."
This had the effect of disturbing the audience and embarras-
sing the performers, so that the doorkeepers soon received
orders to let poor " Jesse " come in ; on which he at once
became silent and absorbed, and seemed to enjoy the musical
treat with great satisfaction. But I ought to apologise, my
friends, for taking up so much of your time.

Leighton : That old Town Hall was built in 1700, and
was pulled down in 1808. It stood slightly within the church-
yard, and projected right out into the middle of the way,
where the open space at the entrance to East Parade now is.
Leonaed : Before it was " Sam Hall's parlour," it was
"Sam Wibberley's." We get some idea of its limited dimen-
sions from Nield's "Remarks on the prisons of Yorkshire"
(Gentleman's Mag. lxxv. 301), which say : " The lobbies
under the Town Hall are three dark cells, which open into a
narrow passage, the largest eight feet square by six feet high.
Each door has an aperture of six inches diameter. There is
an offensive sewer in the corner of each cell." Since Nield
adds that, although it was daylight when he went in, he
needed a lighted candle, we may conclude that these were not
very pleasant places in which to be confined.

Leighton : Adjoining the Town Hall, facing down High
street, were the stocks, afterwards removed to Paradise square ;
and the pillory.

Twiss : There was a curious illustration of the use of
the stocks in 1790, when " nine men were put into them for
tippling in a public-house during church time ; and two boys
were made to do penance in the church for playing at ' trip '
during divine service, by standing in the midst of the church
with their ' trip sticks ' erect."

Leonard : Well, we punish the former offence now, but
in a different way. I'm not quite sure that we are wise in
winking at the playing that goes off.

Twiss : There is another good story of the stocks, in
connection with old Justice Wilkinson. A little girl in the
street was incited by some mischievous fellow to go up to a
gentleman walking along, and to say :

THE FIRING OF BROOMHALL. 65

" They burnt bis books,
And scar'd bis rooks,

And set bis stacks on fire " —

the well-known doggrel relating to the rioters' attack on
Broomhall. The child innocently went in front of the gen-
tleman and, bobbing a curtsey, lisped out the lines. "What,
my dear ?" asked the Vicar — for it was none other. The
child repeated it. "Yes, my dear, " said he, "come along
with me;" and leading her by the hand, took her to the
stocks, to her great distress.

Leighton : Justice Wilkinson had a patriotic sympathy
with the fathers and mothers of illegitimate children, from an
idea that, considering the drain of the war, it was a public
benefit to add to the population. Some sayings of his, a
little too broad for reproduction in print, are yet told by the
choicest of our old story-tellers.

Leonard : It was in 1791 that that attack on Broomhall
was made. The ringleader, one Bennett, was executed for it
at York.

Everard : I have always understood that the individual
executed was a poor, half-witted young man, whom the mob
purposely incited and pushed forward through the library
window, to commit the incendiary act of setting the books
and papers on fire. Had the event taken place now, the un-
fortunate lad, instead of being hanged, would in all proba-
bility have been sent to an asylum during her Majesty's
pleasure. This case, I have been told, produced at the time
such an impression on the public mind as led to the doing
away with the law, or custom, of giving " blood-money." I
say law or custom, because I have heard it denied that any
such law was ever enacted by the British Parliament. As
matter of fact, however, it must have possessed some shadow
of legal authority, as it was a thing practised in two in-
stances, at least, in " Old Sheffield ;" and after the Broom-
hall riot the practice ceased to exist. My father was one of
those who, out of curiosity, went as an on-looker to that
scene of outrage, but, believing that the military would soon
put in an appearance, he began to make his way homewards.
In Black Lamb lane (now Broomhall street, but then a nar-
row country road), his retreat was, however, intercepted by
the approach, at full speed, with noise of jingling scab-
bards, mingled with oaths and curses, of a detachment of
cavalry. He jumped over the field wall and lay hidden until
they had passed. Then, concluding that there would certainly

F

66 JUSTICE WILKINSON.

be another troop soon following, he decided to go down the
lane (now Hanover street) towards Sheffield moor, and by
that roundabout way get home. He had not, however, gone
far in that direction, before another party of soldiers made
their appearance, headed by the colonel and Justice Wilkin-
son himself. He had then with agility again to perform the
climbing and hiding feat, and thus managed to escape the
dangers of his nocturnal ramble on that clear moonlight
night.

Leonaed : It appears from the Sheffield Register's ac-
count of the affair that the cavalry in question consisted of a
detachment of Light Dragoons, sent over from Nottingham
" in consequence of an application to Government for them ;"
and it seems very probable that if the unwonted arrival of the
soldiery had not suggested rioting to the mob, none would
have taken place. At the Cutlers' Feast that year the guests
"were almost frantic in their expressions of approbation
of Mr. Wilkinson's conduct ;" and the Mistress Cutler's
party on the following day, "with that rapturous joy which
females only elate in a cause worthy of their sex can express,
not only drank his health * ' • but nothing less than
acclamations of applause would satisfy their ardour and zeal."

Twiss : There are other anecdotes about Justice Wilkin-
son's doings as a magistrate which may as well be mentioned
in connection with the old Town Hall. Being called upon
on one occasion to arbitrate between a quarrelsome husband
and wife, he ordered that they should be locked up together
until they could agree. The discipline proved efficacious,
for, after a show of obstinacy, the refractory couple came to
terms, and announced their contrition by knocking upon the
walls, as had been arranged. Another is this : A lady,
having quarrelled with her servant, was required to appear
before the Justice. She refused to go before " Old Niddlety
Nod " (a nickname given owing to a peculiar shaking of the
head caused by paralysis), and. had to be fetched by a con-
stable. "So you refused to come before 'Old Niddlety Nod,'
did you ? You are here now, however, and ' Old Niddlety
Nod ' orders you to pay the servant her wages and the costs
of the court."

Leonard : That nickname reminds me of the description
of Mr. Wilkinson given by one living Avho remembers him.
"He was," said he, "a fine, venerable-looking old man; very
stately, but rather palsied when I saw him. His head shook
a little. He drove about in a large old family carriage with

THE CHURCH GATES. 67

a pair of horses, and Joshua Gregory, his clerk, used to stand
behiud like a footman. I was at school at Chesterfield when
the rioters went to Broornhall and ' burnt his books, and
scared his rooks, and set his stacks on fire.' My father sent
me word what mischief had been done at the Hall. After
Justice Wilkinson died, Joshua Gregory went into a table-
knife concern. The firm was Wostenholni and Gregory, but
it did not continue long."

Leighton : At the top of High street (now Pawson and
Brailsford's, stationers) was the confectionery shop of Mr.
Benjamin Walker, who was universally respected.

Twiss : You might go further back and speak of that
corner when it was in the occupation of the Heatons. The
inscription on their gravestone — which is the top slab of a
tombstone — may still be read, near to the Vicarage. The
most prominent member of the family mentioned upon it is
" Thomas Heaton, late of this town, ironmonger, who died
Dec. 19, 1734, in the 48th year of his age. He was easy
and agreeable in every path of private life, and useful to the
publick as a member of the three governing bodyes of the
Town, the Church, and the Free School, and died generally
lamented." Then follow the names of his wife and of a
number of their daughters, ending in " Hellen, the last sur-
vivor of this truly Respectable Family, who departed this
life, the 18th June, 1795." There were formerly, in front of
the premises of which we are speaking, posts and chains,
extending from below the church gates to the corner of York
street.

Leighton : There is a tragic history connected with the
daughter of Benjamin Walker, of whom he was exceedingly
fond. She was admired by all who knew her. It was " the
old, old story "— she loved not wisely but too well. At
the time when the South Devon Militia was quartered in
the town the officers frequented the father's shop, and a
broken heart was the end. On the premises next below,
where Mr. Robinson and his father have been established as
watch and clock makers for many years, was the post-office,
Nathaniel Lister being Post Master. I cannot fix the date
nearer than this — that it would be after 1810 and before
1815. At that time London letters were brought by horse
mail round by Worksop, and the rider fired his pistol at the
Market-place to notify his arrival. There was then only one
letter-carrier for the whole town — a female who lived in Lee
croft, and she carried the letters in a small hand basket,
covered with a white napkin.

68 HIGH STREET.

Wragg : I think her name was Taylor. We must not
consider her duties to have been light simply from the small-
ness of the town. It was the price of the postage that was
the cause.

Leonard : I find recorded, on the 17th December, 1819,
the death of Thos. Taylor, of Lee croft, aged 71. " He had
been for upwards of thirty years the principal letter-carrier
in this town;" and the obituary notice bestows on him a
warm eulogy. I presume your female letter-carrier would be
his daughter.

Twiss : Taylor was the publisher of the " Antiquities of
Sheffield," an early attempt at topography, to which is added
an account of the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of
the Infirmary. The imprint is, " Sheffield, printed for and
sold by T. Taylor, No. 7, Lee Croft, and may be had at the
Post Office; A. and E. Gales, in the Hart's-head ; Slater,
Bacon and Co., Snig Hill." It has no date, but it must have
been published about the end of the last century. Taylor
was accustomed to go into the country with a newsman's horn,
selling newspapers.

Wragg : At that time a letter to or from London cost
tenpence. Supposing the postage was to be raised to this
sum now, we should not see the present number of letter-
carriers. In travelling now, a person can go to London, or
anywhere else, whenever he thinks proper, by railway ; not
so in coaching days. Then he would go to the coach-office a
few days or a week beforehand to bespeak a seat, and deposit
a part or the whole of the fare. When he went to London,
some person or persons invariably turned up to ask him, as a
particular favour, to take a letter to drop in the post-office at
the place of his destination. Many people discovered friends
they did not know of but for this. One manufacturer had
letters enclosed in his to other manufacturers, to save the
cost of postage. About a century back — nay, even less time
— it was considered more dangerous to reach London than
now Australia. At that time, a young man just out of his
time who bought a top coat would wear it as long as he
lived, and then one of his sons would wear it for years.
There was then no old cloth Avorked up into new — the stuff
was strong and durable.

Everard : Yes, things are greatly changed.

Wragg : The other part of Mr. Kobinson's shop was Mr.
Saunders' auction mart, before he removed into the premises
in East Parade now occupied by Mr. Bush. Mr. Saunders

HIGH STEEET. 69

lived at the corner of Wilkinson street until his flight to
America. Then at the corner of York street, now Mr.
Stacey's pianoforte •warehouse, was Mr. Butcher's draper's
shop. It would look strangely old-fashioned with its bowed
windows, small panes, and steps leading up into it, now; but
at that time it was the largest draper's shoj) in the town.

Leighton : In those days there was no " selling off at an
immense sacrifice;" no bankrupt stock amounting to "£2320.
17s. 6fd.;" in fact, there was no humbug. Mr. Butcher
knew that if his customers did not come one day they would
another. He prospered, and died a rich man.

Wragg : Mr. Vennor, one of the founders of Queen
Street Chapel, and particular friend of the Rev. Jehoiada
Brewer, was Mr. Butcher's predecessor in the shop.

Leonard : I believe that, in 1828, the shops between East
Parade and York street were occupied in the following order :
Benjamin Walker, confectioner; Thomas Robinson, watch-
maker ; William Saxton, bookseller ; and John Butcher,
linen draper. With the exception of Mr. Saxton they had
all been there many years before that. Mr. Saxton was suc-
ceeded by the late Mr. Samuel Harrison ; Mr. Walker (some
time between 1833 and 1837) by John Clarbour, and Mr.
Clarbour in turn by Samuel Thompson, so that the shop
remained in the confectionery business for many years. In
Mr. Thompson's time it was, however, divided, and the upper
portion was occupied by Mrs. Lewis, hosier and staymaker.
She was a daughter of the Mr. Outram, of whom we shall have
to speak lower down.

Twiss : In a shop at the lower corner of York street,
(on the site of that now occupied by Mr. Tomlinson, iron-
monger), was, in 1787, Ezra Ridgard, the well-known book-
seller. It was Ridgard and Bennet, in 1797.

Leighton: Afterwards (in 1817) Mr. Polack, a jeweller,
was there; but his end was very different from Mr. Butcher's,
as he died in great poverty. Next below was a carver and
gilder, named Robert Henderson, to whom old Mr. George
Eadon was apprenticed. Henderson had himself been a
fellow-apprentice with Chantrey, at Ramsay's, an earlier car-
ver and gilder in High street. Chantrey painted Hender-
son's portrait. Ramsay's shop was lower down, where
Rimington and Younge's bank was afterwards built ; but
subsequently he occupied one higher up on the opposite side
of the street. During his apprenticeship Chantrey rented
and used as a studio a little chamber at the top of what is

70 HIGH STEEET.

now Hutton's yard. Later he had a room at a High street
confectioner's, named Botham.

Wragg : And about here, too, earlier, was the shop of
Nathan Andrews, the watchmaker, murdered by Frank Fearn
in 1782. But I shall have more to say of this murderer
when we get to another part of the town. There is some
question, however, as to whether his victim's shop was in
High street or in Church street.

Everard : I had the impression that it was at the top of
the Old Haymarket, about the middle of the street by the
new Post-office, running down to Sheaf street.

Twiss : And I have the belief that it was in Fargate,
opposite the Old Bed House.

Leighton : Another High street worthy, who had his
shop here, close to the thoroughfare into Hartshead, still
called Hawksworth's yard, was Mr. George Hawksworth,
quite a gentleman in position and manners. He was accus-
tomed to lend his family plate for the adornment of the Cut-
lers' feasts of those days. He was one of the founders, and
for many years one of the principal directors of the original
gas company. The unlucky scheme for erecting the Com-
mercial Buildings (now Messrs. Levy's) for a post-office,
newsroom, and offices was of his origination. The building
was sold by the mortgagee, and the shareholders got about
Is. 6d. for each .£25 share. Mr. Hawksworth had " The
Hills " on the Grimesthorpe road for his country house, and
was distinguished for his successful gardening.

Twiss : Gosling's plan, 1736, is the chief authority for
saying that High street was formerly called Prior gate ; and
it is probable that hereabouts was the Priory. It was said in
1800, " There are no remains of the Priory, and its existence
can only be known from old deeds, and the right side of
High street, coming from the market, still retaining among
the oldest inhabitants the name of Prior row."

Leonard : Pretty nearly every yard branching out of High
street has a history of its own ; and there are, or have been,
quaint old places in them little heeded by the passer-by.
There is the old "Grey Horse," for instance, which one of
our local traditions represents as having been the resting-
place of King John when once he passed through Sheffield.

Twiss : It is simply a tradition. The house was, perhaps
is now, the property of the family of the Girdler's.

Leighton : In Wilson's tobacco shop was the circulating
library kept by Mr. Woollen — low and gloomy — which gave

HIGH STREET. 71

Young Sheffield of those days the opportunity of reading the
"Old English Baron," the "Mysteries of Udolpho," and
the " Castle of Otranto," for free lihraries were not.

Twiss : I have an idea that Hawksworth's yard was once
called Trippet's yard. James Woollen, the stationer, who
died in 1814, married Ann Trippet. His daughter, Mrs.
Wade, afterwards had a circulating library in West street.

Leighton : Next door lived Mr. Candow, the last leather-
breeches maker. Then there was Mr. Colquhoun, tinner and
brazier, who afterwards became engineer to the new Gas
Company formed in 1834. Adjoining his workshops was the
malthouse of Mr. Thomas Wreaks, whose sister kept a toy
shop in front, which was then 35, High street. Opposite the
end of George street was Mr. Nowill's, once Kippax and
Nowill. He was the merchant and manufacturer who built
the Freemasons' Hall in Paradise square; and he erected for
himself a house at East Bank, and planted the line of tall
poplar trees on each side the road still to be seen there. He
was succeeded in his shop by Mr. James Crawshaw, father of
Mr. Crawshaw, now registrar for the Sheffield West district.

Leighton : The " Blue Bell " should not be passed with-
out mentioning it as one of the old public houses of the town.

Wragg : In the shop of Miss Fishbourne was Mr. Owen*
the draper, a leading Wesleyan during many years. A
daughter of his married the Rev. J. Rattenbury, afterwards
President of the Wesleyan Conference. One of his sons was
the first to attempt to trade as a merchant to Australia.

Everard : The jeweller's shop of Mr. Charles Younge
was that above the "Star" Inn gateway. It has been in
various hands lately, but its present occupant is Mr. Hyam,
tailor. On the other side of the gateway was Younge and
Rimington's bank. Then came the draper's shop of Cowen
and Dixon.

Wragg : Mr. Thos. Cowen was one of the early teachers
of the Wicker Sunday School, afterwards in Andrew street ;
and Mr. Dixon married, firstly, one of the sisters of the late
Mr. Robert Waterhouse, and secondly, Anne, daughter of
Mr. Joseph Cowley, an eminent Wesleyan, who was a manu-
facturer in Pinstone street. Mr. Cowley's daughters Anne,
Elizabeth and Sarah, are immortalised in many of the writ-
ings of Mr. John Holland, bachelor poet, recently deceased
(December, 187'2).

Leonard : Next below, now part of Mr. Wheelan's cloth
shop (No. 41), were the premises to which the Iris office was

72 HIGH STREET.

removed, in 1825, by Mr. Blackwell, after he had purchased
that paper from Mr. Montgomery. In 1832, the late Mr. Robt.
Leader succeeded Mr. Blackwell in the occupation, removing
thither the office of the Independent from 30, Angel street.
The printing-office was afterwards in Mulberry street, in the
building that — originally a factor's warehouse — became the
preaching-room of the early Methodists, after their chapel in
Pinstone lane had been destroyed and their place of worship
in Union street abandoned.

Everard : Mr. Everitt, in his history of " Methodism in
Sheffield," gives an account of the persistent and ruffianly
persecution to which the persons who attended that chapel
were subjected. But that was a hundred years ago.

Wragg : At the bottom of the street was Mr. Robert
Carver, woollen draper, one of the six tall men of the town.

Leighton : Without touching the Market place for the
present, we now cross the street, and take the places of busi-
ness on the left-hand side, going towards the Parish Church.
There we strike another post-office site, little changed since
the days when Mr. William Todd, the founder of the high
Tory Slicffield Mercury, presided over the arrival and despatch
of mails.

Leonard : He had removed from Market street (where he
had begun the Mercury in 1807) in 1811 ; and he was ap-
pointed Post-master, May, 1815.

Leighton : In the passage between Messrs. Cutts, Sutton
and Son's shop and that until lately Jackson's toy shop, we
used to wait for letters. Mr. Todd was a gentlemanly-looking
man, wore breeches and black silk stockings ; but he got
deeply into the books of Parker, Shore and Company's Bank,
and disappeared. Mr. George Ridge succeeded him in the
ownership of the Mercury, (1826) and removed it to his shop
in King street, then the third from the Angel street corner,
and Mr. Wreaks was at the same time appointed to the post-
mastership, and the Post-office was removed to the lower
corner of Norfolk street and Arundel street, now a tinner and
brazier's shop ; but thence it was in 1835 brought back into
High street, to the Commercial Buildings already mentioned.
The shop of Mr. Cooper, confectioner, was the next above
Todd's, a curious old gabled place, built with beams and
baulks, the upper story projecting right over the causeway.
I have seen the time when a load of hay has stuck fast and
been unable to pass the projecting gable. Mr. Cliff had a
rope and twine shop above Cooper's.

THE STORY OF THE ALABASTER TOMB. 73

Twiss : His rope-walk was up West street, by the Hal-
lamshire Hotel public house, and on the post of the yard
adjoining that house might very recently be read the words
" Cliff's Rope Walk." His daughter married Mr. Wm. Out-
ram, cabinet maker, also of High street ; and their daugh-
ters married into several well-known Sheffield families.

Leighton : The present glass-fronted " Clarence " Hotel
and Turnell's spirit stores have supplanted (for the worse,
pictorially) the antique premises so long occupied as a dram
shop, up to 1839 by Ward and Bawer, and then for many
years by George Bawer alone. The enhanced rent required
of Mr. Bawer was too much for his resources, and he ended
his long tenancy unfortunately. It is a thousand pities that
the frontage was not set back to the level of the " Stone
House," in this, the narrowest part of the High street. It
was not for want of efforts on the part of the Town Trustees
that this was not done.

Twriss : When we were talking about the Old Church-
yard, mention was made of the "alabaster" stone, or "t'alli,"
as it used to be called, and this part of High street reminds
me of its history. There was, hereabouts, an inn, to which
one night an unknown traveller came. The bedroom allotted
to him had, besides the door communicating with the landing,
an unused door which had formerly opened upon the yard
behind, but at a considerable elevation above it. The travel-
ler arose during the night and sought to leave his room, but
he got to the wrong door, forced it open, stepped out, and
falling to the ground was killed. All attempts to ascertain
his name or to communicate with his friends failed ; but he
had a considerable sum of money in his possession, so a
handsome tombstone was erected over his nameless grave —
which unwritten tombstone you may see to this day near the
chancel door. The top marble slab has, as you all know,
been broken. It is a part of my story to add that the frac-
ture was done in an attempt to rifle the tomb of the treasures
that were popularly believed to have been buried with the
unknown stranger.

Wragg : The old Stone House, now occupied by Messrs.
Prest, wine merchants, and as offices, must have a history.
I should like to know it.

Twiss : It has a history, but who shall tell it ? I, for
one, have been unable to recover the clue. On the hopper
of the spout at the back of the house are the initials and

date i 3vr What do these signify, and how are they to

74 HIGH STEEET.

be read? Elmsall? Marriott? I cannot tell. The house
was at one time in the possession of the Greaves family (of
Page Hall). To them it came through the Clays, who may
have got it from the Elmsalls. Or one may speculate on its
being a Marriott, through a connection between them and
the Greaves family. Its builder must, however, remain a
mystery until some further light is thrown upon the subject.
In later, but still distant years, it was in the possession of
the Watson family, who also had a public house in Watson's
Avalk. They put into it the grandfather and grandmother of
Mr. Stirling Howard, one of whom had, I think, been in
their service.

Everard : This brings the Stone House within reach of
my personal memory. When I was a little boy it was kept
as a very respectable wine and spirit merchant's store, with a
large country trade, by Mrs. Howard, her husband having
died in 1785. Her son, the late Mr. Thomas Howard, suc-
ceeded his mother on her death in 1822, The other son,
the late Mr. William Howard, was brought up to the
silver-plating business, and his son, Mr. Stirling Howard,
in due time joined him, until they retired from business.
Mr. Thomas Howard will be remembered by you all in his
later days, living in the little cottage near The Hills, and
finishing his career in the Stamp Office. After him Mr. John
Porter (father to Mr. John Taylor Porter, surgeon) took to
the business in the old Stone House. Mr. Prest joined him
as partner, succeeded to the business, and transferred it to
his son, by whom it is now carried on.

Leonard : Between Mulberry street and George street,
but entered by a passage from High street, is the "Victoria "
inn, formerly the "Bay Childers," which wras kept by Thomas
Amory, who died in 1772, and by his wife after him. There
may be no better opportunity than this of noticing the recent
stoppage of the old thoroughfare across the yard at the back
of the " Victoria," leading from Mulberry street into George
street. No doubt the name of the inn was changed about the
time of Her Majesty's accession. There was a ' ' Bay Childers ' '
in Bridge street also, which disappeared about the same time.

Twiss : I am not sure that you are correct in saying that
Mr. Amory kept the Bay Childers ; I have always understood
that it was the Blue Bell. However, in front of what is now
the Victoria, where are the shops of Mr. Gray, saddler, and
Mr. Travell, clothier, there was in the last century a saddler
named Heald. His daughter married in 1776 a workman of

HIGH STREET. 75

her father's, Joseph Cecil, who afterwards, through some pro-
perty left to him, became Lord of the Manor of Dronfield.

Wragg : The shop at the lower corner of George street was
occupied in 1797 by Mr. Caesar Jones, druggist, a well known
citizen of his day. Two doors above George street, Thomas
Hardcastle published the Sheffield Chronicle in 1837-8. That
shop was afterwards occupied, by the late Alderman Saunders
when he dealt in music and musical instruments, and it is
now absorbed in the china shop of Messrs. Parkin, formerly
for many years kept Mr. Riley, who had before that been a
grocer at the corner of Meadow street and Allen street.

Twiss : Behind that was an old building where, in 1797,
lived William Lee, a cordwainer. The yard was in those days
called " Truelove's yard," no doubt from the fact of the True-
loves keeping a locksmith's shop there up to at least 1817,
Maria Truelove being the last. Mr. Lee was a frequent
visitor at the "Bay Childers" public house, and was much
given to betting — so inveterate indeed was the habit that
when, on his way to Doncaster races, he saw a vehicle in
front, in which were his wife and only son, swaying violently,
ho called out "Five to four that our Jim's killed." The
late Mr. William Ibbitt made a sketch of a very old fire-place
in one of the buildings here — whether that in which Mr. Lee
lived or not I cannot say — but doubtless it was one of the old
High street houses, erected before uniformity of frontage was
cared for. It is a large open brick fire-place, with large
carved stone front, supported by pillars for jambs. I believe
that in the old days there was, behind this place, a croft, ex-
tending to what is now Norfolk street, and that it belonged to
the Waterhouses, who are buried in the Parish Church
(Gatty's "Hunter," p. 251). Miss Ann Waterhouse, who died
in 1787, was the last lady in the town who wore the once
fashionable hoops. Her capacious skirts could not be steered
into church without some difficulty, and the hoops which
expanded them were destined to be the bender of the kite
of Thomas Howard, then a boy. Her brother, the Rev.
Robert Waterhouse, who died in 1778, left a small legacy to
Marmaduke Wreaks, peruke maker, High street, and be-
queathed some money in trust for Barbara Wreaks, the
mother of Mrs. Hofland. The father of the Ann and Robert
Waterhouse mentioned was Henry Waterhouse, a solicitor in
extensive practice in the town, who died in 1719.

Leighton : A celebrated firm was that of Green and
Pickslay, on the site referred to just now as subsequently the

76 HIGH STREET.

Post-office, and more recently Levy's. They were, perhaps,
the first and most extensive ironmongers in Yorkshire, and
were noted for a peculiarly excellent cast steel, which they
called " Peruvian." Mr. Green was a gentleman fond of
field sports, and having the entree of very good houses.
But he had to give his great friends long credit, and was
not the man to ask for payment, so that the inevitable end
resulted, and Mr. Green came to poverty. He was a fine-
looking man, and wore a wig. I remember him saying to
me, "If ever you should become bald, Mr. Leighton, never
wear a wig ; I have regretted it ever since I began one."
And well he might ; for when he took off his wig I never
saw a more splendid head than he displayed. The business
was afterwards (in 1828) carried on by Pickslay, Appleby and
Bertram. On the lower side of the entrance to Mr. Nichol-
son's (once Bardwell's) auction room, is the shop of Mr.
Harrison, hosier. It was, in recent days, Mr. Joseph
Pearce's, bookseller, and there he started the Sheffield l>a:ly
Telegraph, in 1855, afterwards removing to the other side of
the street, where Little wood's stay shop formerly was, and
where the paper is still published.

Twiss : Hereabouts, at the close of the last century, was
Mr. Geo. Brown, druggist, who was the owner of the pre-
mises in the Hartshead occupied by Montgomery and the
Misses Gales.

Leonard : We learn from one of Montgomery's letters,
written from York Castle, that the annual rent of the pre-
mises was i>27. 3s. ; and in another letter (May 9, 1796,) the
poet suggests that Mr. Brown should be asked to fulfil a pro-
mise to paint the front of the shop and house before Sheffield
Fair; adding, "I think if Miss Bessy [Gales] would call upon
Brown, she could wheedle him" into it.

Twiss : Mr. Brown was the great-grandson of the Kev.
Cuthbert Browne, curate of Attercliffe and assistant-minister
at the Parish Church from 1662 to 1673. Mention is made
of him by Hunter (Gatty's edition, p. 413) as having come to
great poverty. The family is related to that of Bevel, and its
present representatives are claiming the Revel estates.

Leighton : Above Bardwell's passage was Snidall, the
watch-maker, well known not only in the town, but on the
trout streams of Derbyshire. Then came Thos. Cooper, grocer,
a Quaker, and the father of Mr. Cooper, of Neepsend, tanner.

Wragg : He was specially celebrated for making the best
candles in the town.

HIGH STREET. 77

Leighton : I have paid at his shop 4£d. for a pound
of salt. There is an amusing story told of Mr. Cooper and
Mr. Wm. Hoyland, a druggist in Church street. They both
dealt in nutmegs, and Thos. Cooper getting to know that
there was about to be a great advance in price, and that Mr.
Hoyland had a large stock, paid a friendly visit to his neigh-
bour. ' ' I know thou hast a large stock of nutmegs, friend
William," said he, " and I have an opportunity of selling
them. If thou wilt let me have them, we can do business."
Hoyland fell into the trap, and, discovering afterwards that
he had been " done," he stood at Cooper's door and called
to him in his shop, " Thomas, thou'rt a rogue." Thomas,
in return, passing by Hoyland's shop, remarked to his friend
from the door, " William, thou'rt a fool." The premises
of Mr. Tinker were, many years since, a public-house, the
" Spread Eagle." When I knew it, about 1821, it was kept
by Thomas Pattinson, a nephew of Sam Turner, in Watson
Walk.

Wragg : After that William Clifton had it, but it was
the lower shop of Messrs. Foster, tailors, not the shop of
Mr. Tinker. When Mr. Foster, wished to enlarge his shop
Clifton bought the " Sportsman's Group," at the top of
Chapel walk, displacing one Eoberts, and he carried the
" Spread Eagle" sign with him. I cannot say how long the
Fosters have had a tailor's shop in High street, but I believe
the grandfather opened the first ready-made clothes shop in
the town.

Leighton : I believe there is now a George Foster of the
fourth generation. Old Mr. Foster was a real man of busi-
ness. At the close of the great French war, the Government
advertised for sale a vast stock of old equipments given up by
the soldiers when disbanded. Mr. Foster went up to London
and bought large quantities of soldiers' jackets and belts, and
I remember big crates of them standing in front of his door.
There was hardly a grinder in Sheffield but bought one of
the jackets, for they just suited their trade, and the wheels all
looked as if a regiment of soldiers were at work. The belts
were made of excellent leather, and they were largely used
by the cutlers for buffing and for similar purposes. Mr.
Foster realised a large sum of money by that transaction.
He left his family wealthy. He was afflicted with a disease
whose chief symptom was falling instantaneously asleep. I
went once to him, as a boy, to be measured for a jacket.
Standing behind, he made me hold my arm horizontally,

78 HIGH STEEET.

with the elbow bent, and I thought he seemed very long in
measuring it. A person on the other side of the street, at
York street corner, was watching the operation, and, seeing
him laughing, I looked round, and found that the old man
had fallen fast asleep.

Eveeaed : I, too, have seen Mr. Foster, who was a very-
stout man, fall asleep whilst seated on the hampers of sol-
diers' clothes. They stood on the edge of the pavement, and
there Mr. Foster sold their contents, so long as he could
keep awake.

Wragg : There are various points about High street that
need elucidating, if only some one could do it. Where, for
instance, was the " Crooked Billet yard," said to have been
the residence of Thos. Wild, who was credited with having
made the knife which stabbed the Duke of Buckingham ?
(Gatty's Hunter's Hallamshire, p. 166.)

Twiss : There can, I believe, be no doubt that the yard
so called was that at the top of High street, running between
Messrs. Cubley and Preston's druggist's shop and the
" Thatched House Tavern." It is now called Foster's Court.

Leonaed : And where was the sign of the Cock, opposite
which was the printing office of Revil Homfray, publisher of
that early Sheffield newspaper, Homfray's Sheffield Weekly
Journal'}" Francis Lister, who began the Sheffield Weekly
Jowrnal, April 28, 1754, described his office as " near the
Shambles," and " opposite the Cross Daggers," and we know
that the Cross Daggers was on the site of or behind Mr.
Colley's shop, in the Market place. In August, 1755, Revil
Homfray, who in the previous year had circulated in Sheffield
a newspaper printed in Doncaster and called the Sheffield
Weekly Register, or Doncaster Flying Post, advertised that
he had bought the Journal of Lister's widow ; and he con-
tinued to issue it from " his printing office opposite to the
Cock in the High street." Where was this ?

Twiss: I do not know where the "Cock" was, but I
think I can throw some light on the Mr. Simmons, bookseller,
one of the persons of whom it is announced the Journal can be
bought ; but that must be when we speak of the Market place.

Eveeaed : WThich let us postpone until our next meeting.

CHAPTER V.

The Market Place, King Street, Angel Street.

Scene — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton and Everard are discovered as
the guests of Mr. Wragg. To them enters Mr. Leonard,
introducing a new member of the fellowship, Mr. John-
son, a townsman of middle age.

Period— A.D. 1873.

WRAGG : Now for our old Market Place ; and first as to
the shops facing the Shambles, from the bottom of
High street to the Hartshead passage.

Twiss : I will attempt now to fulfil the promise I gave
when last we met. The property on the site now occupied by
Messrs. Richards and Son, tailors, was formerly — 1607-1621
— in the hands of the Blythes, who were yeomen at Norton
Lees. Johan Blythe married Thos. Bright, yeoman, of Brad-
way, and surviving her husband, transferred this property to
her third son James, a mercer in Sheffield. (See Gatty's
Hunter, pp. 417 and 414, note.) Now, Thomas Bretland was
a grocer occupying a part of this property, and Nevill Sim-
mons, or Symmonds, stationer and bookseller, was also a
tenant, and married Bretland's daughter. He has been
called " the father of Sheffield bibliography." The name
which he bore appears on publications in such different parts
of the country that it is impossible to avoid some confusion.
(See "Notes and Queries," 3rd s. Vol. iii. p. 93.) But it
seems probable that he was a native of Sheffield, since he was
married here and buried in the Parish Church (died 17th
July, 1735). But either he, or another man of the same
name, was a bookseller in London. One of his daughters,
Mary, married the Rev. Timothy Jollie, of the Upper Chapel
(1681-1714), and he had sons Nevill and Samuel. The for-
mer died before his father, but the latter was also a bookseller
in Sheffield, and possibly succeeded his father in the Market
place. I strongly believe that he was postmaster, and most
likely he was the "Mr. Simmons, bookseller, in Sheffield,"
one of the persons appointed to receive subscriptions and
advertisements for Homfray's newspaper.

80 THE MABKET PLACE.

Leonard : And I have always understood that his was
the business to which Mr. John Smith, bookseller, of Angel
street, succeeded.

Twiss : At the same time that the Blythes held the pro-
perty of which I have been speaking, the Rollinsons belonged
to that next below it, where Mr. Jones is now. Robert Rol-
linson, he who improved Barker's Pool and who died in 1631,
had his shop here ; his son Thomas Rollinson succeeded him,
and the family continued in possession of the property through-
out the greater part of the last century.

Leighton : Seventy years ago and more Mr. Richards' shop
was kept by a hatter, Samuel Daniels. James Daniels, his
nephew, succeeded him, but he did not prosper in business.
There was a well-known discounter here — Francis Wright
Everitt. At that time the shop of Mr. Brookes, hosier, was
a circulating library, kept by Thomas Cockburn. First above
the Hartshead entrance were Thomas and John Willey,
drapers (afterwards Willey and Judd).

Wragg : In the shop of Mr. Jones, who removed there
from King street, was another draper, named Cooper. I am
sorry to say he failed in business ; and it was not a case
of mere plastering and whitewashing, as bankruptcies are at
present, for he was necessitated to enter the workhouse. He
rose to be the governor, and was a kind and considerate
man — not like many who, having had to endure adversity,
try how harshly and cruelly they can treat others. There
were a few old shops here that would perhaps resemble those
still remaining at the top of High street, now occupied by
Messrs. Foster, Cooper and Shilcock.

Leighton : The " George " Inn is unchanged ; it is now
just as it was fifty or sixty years ago, when kept by Mr. and
Mrs. Lawton, whose property it was. They did well at it.
At that time, too, the shop below, Mather's, was, as now, a
hatter's, one of the very few hat shops in the town — White-
ley's. The druggist's shop below, now kept by Mr. Radley, is
unchanged too. It was a druggist's then, kept by Mr. Gillatt.
At the corner of Change Alley was Mr. Robert Wiley, father
of the late proprietor of " Old No. 12." He died in 1825.

Wragg : He was a draper. The son Thomas was, for
some cause, discarded by the family ; but subsequently, after
passing through many vicissitudes, he became a wealthy man,
and a helper of those who had once despised him.

Johnson: What an institution "Wiley's window" —
meaning " Old No. 12 " — was ! It was almost a substitute

CHANGE ALLEY. 81

for the daily papers of the present time. All, or nearly all,
the events of the day were chronicled there — the deaths from
cholera, the debates in Parliament, the elections — anything
out of the ordinary course. I remember going down daily,
during the debates on the first Reform Bill, to get the names
of the speakers for my father.

Leighton : Mr. Wiley displayed great enterprise, and made
wonderful exertions to get his news.

Johnson : Yes, when Earl Grey resigned, Mr. Wiley
showed his public spirit by having the Sun newspaper express
sent to him. The news travelled from London to Sheffield
in 14i hours — a great advance on 180G, when the news of the
death of Mr. Pitt took three days to reach Sheffield. Mr.
Wiley died October 14th, 1851. '

Twiss : Change Alley, I believe, was formerly the site of
a bowling green ; and I somehow associate the name with the
London Royal Exchange. The Websters, who had a house
there and in the Park (with which they became connected
through the marriage of Leonard Webster, cutler, with the
widow of one of the Wrights of the Park), had relatives in
London ; and possibly in this may be found a glimmering of
the origin of the name. The summer-house formerly stand-
ing on the ridge of the Park, was built by Leonard Webster
as a study for his son, afterwards the Rev. John Webster,
who was senior wrangler and senior chancellor's medalist in
1756.

Leighton : Let us just take a peep into Change Alley in
the lively days when coaches were coming to and going from
the "King's' Head," then kept by " Billy Wright." He was
one of the old school of landlords, and had universally a
good name. Mr. Wright drove the first coach from Sheffield
to Glossop ; and I had the honour of sitting behind him. It
was entering a country which had hitherto been sealed to all
but a few sportsmen. The first view of Win Hill and the five
miles of the Woodlands from Ashopton to the " Snake" is
one of the most beautiful drives in England, and can never
be forgotten. On that day, the sun shining brightly, the
jovial coachman, the splendid greys, the cheery notes of the
bugle, heard for the first time in those solitudes, caused the
blood to dance merrily through the veins of all that goodly
company, and was a portion of the sunshine of life.

" How sweet in the woodlands, with fleet hound and horn,
To waken dull echo and taste the fresh morn."

G

82 the king's head.

Another of my coaching experiences from the "King's Head"
was taking my seat, more than fifty years ago, for London ;
and for years afterwards I could remember all the different
towns on the route. But I will not dilate now on the plea-
sures of travelling by coach.

Wragg : Your friend Mr. Wright was not such a model
character as you think. About half a century ago, the coach
was about to start, but was overloaded, and Wright ordered
two additional horses to be put to, telling one of his men to
get ready to ride postilion. When he was ready, Mr. Wright
complained how long he had been, when the man replied he
had been as quick as he could. The master, without more
ado, began to horsewhip him. The passengers and lookers-
on cried shame, and after more delay, another man was sent
instead.

Twiss : We can trace back the occupiers of the " King's
Head " for a long series of years. Samuel Tompson, who
died in 1716, had held it. He, I think, had married the
widow of Mr. Dickenson, a previous occupier, and father of
the Rev. John Dickenson, an assistant minister at the Parish
Church and curate of Ecclesall from 1752 to 1766. Mrs.
Tompson took a third husband, Mr. Richard Yeomans, from
Buxton, who, when he brought Derbyshire produce to market,
had been accustomed to put up at the King's Head. He
died in 1729; and the house in 1773 is described as occupied
by Henry Hancocks. The next year we find it tenanted by
James Kay, or Key, and he kept it for nearly the remainder
of the century. After him came "Billy Wright," who
retired from the management in 1824, and was succeeded
by Mr. Wm. Woodhead, a name which brings us to modern
times. He married the daughter of Mr. Wright.

Everaed : The shop at the lower corner of Change Alley,
until just now occupied by Mr. Stables, is, perhaps, the oldest
in the town, and the only one now remaining with a project-
ing gabled front. When I was a boy, it was kept by Mr.
Newton, brother to the Mr. Newton of the firm of Porter
and Newton, in King street. On a certain occasion this
building and its residents had a narrow escape from destruc-
tion. Mr. Newton had lately got a fresh apprentice out of
the country, and one evening at dusk, the boy went to fetch
some goods out of the storeroom, which was the garret,
taking, instead of a lantern, a lighted candle in his hand.
Observing that he returned without a light, Mr. Newton
ascertained that not only had he committed this indiscretion,

THE OLD MAEKET PLACE. 83

but that, to make the matter worse, having 110 candlestick,
he had stuck the candle in what he called a barrel of "rape
seed." " Kape seed," exclaimed Mr. Newton, " why there
is none there." It then, in a moment, struck him that
it must have been left burning in a barrel of gunpowder !
As life or death and destruction hung on every moment's
delay, Mr. Newton, with that prompt and decisive courage
with which some men are inspired on perilous occasions,
immediately, without saying another word, went up the
stairs, and, on arriving in the garret, there saw the lighted
candle stuck in a barrel of gunpowder containing sufficient in
quantity to have blown down the house, and perhaps the ad-
joining property. Treading as softly on the floor as possible,
in order to avoid any shake which might send a spark from
the wick, he then very carefully got the candle between the
second and third fingers of the one hand, and, placing the
other hand beneath to catch any falling sparks, he slowly
drew it out of the powder and carried it down-stairs. This
hazardous feat was accomplished before the inmates below
were aware of the extreme peril in which they had been
placed. The courage, coolness, and presence of mind which
had hitherto possessed him then gave way under a sense of
the frightful danger that had been incurred and providen-
tially escaped. No wonder that he swooned away. This
account Mr. Newton gave to my grandfather with his owtu lips.
Leighton : We must not forget to conjure up once more
the different scene presented aforetime, when this now deco-
rous triangle was really the Market Place, fenced round with
posts and chains. The corn market was still held here up
to 1830, when the present Corn Exchange was opened. All
the vegetables were thrown in the middle of the street by
loads. The corn market was held first — till twelve o'clock, I
think ; then the market keeper rang a bell, and the vegetable
market began. The Barkers — there wrere three of them,
little men in top boots — and other shoemakers were accus-
tomed to bring wooden shops and fix them up ; and other
people used to have baskets of different things. Besides
that, it was a regular market for fish and everything else.
Old Mr. Cade, quite a celebrated man, kept a book stall by
the right-hand gateway.

Weagg : Yes ; James Cade was well known. He resided
in the "King and Miller" yard, Norfolk street. In his
lifetime he was always considered to be a man of some
wealth, but it was not so ; he was one of those very good

84

THE MARKET STALLS.

men that we hear of now and then in whom every person
feels sure he could place implicit confidence, but on whose
death the public and their friends find to their sorrow that
they have been deceived. Not only did Cade not die a rich
man, but he was worth " less than nothing," for his debts
and liabilities were greater than his effects. I am sorry to
say that his character for honesty was sadly impeached, as he
mistook a sick club's money for his own. He died, I be-
lieve, about 1829.

_ Leonard (reads) : " At the bottom of High street you
might have been accommodated with a pair of 'leather
dicks' (breeches), either for yourself or 'prentice lad, at
Davenport's ; or have gone for them to Ellis Grant's stall, at
the top of the Market, within the chains. You would have
found Old Milly Lowther's fish stall at the top of King
street (Pudding lane), and Molly Kawson's fish stall facing
Change Alley end ; and Billy Wright, mending old buckles
or matching an odd one, facing Hartshead. Then there were
the old women with their meal tubs, with their great coats
and leather pockets, selling meal by the peck ; and now and
then a lad saying, ' Dame, will yo gie me a bit o' meal, if you
please ?' 'Aye, lad, tak thee a bit.' New shoe stalls were
plentifully arranged, facing the front shops at the top of the
Shambles, the dealers crying, ' Naa, can oi suit yo wi' a
pair ? they're hoam-made uns— cum, try these on, oi think
they'll abaat fit yo ; they looken yore soize.' "

Leonard : James Wills describes a similar scene, and
contrasts the old Shambles, which formerly were " near the
silk-draper's shop, now the Fruit Market," and which, most
dismal, were then made of wood,

" The sheds of the stalls almost closing amain,
Formed an archway for customers out of the rain,"

with the time when

-'Tis commodious, and forms a good square,

\\ ith abundance of fruit and potatoes sold there."

He adds : —

" Not fifty years since, at the Market Place head,

Were the broad shallow tubs to sell oatmeal for bread ;
And near them the slaughter-house stood in disgrace,
Being a nuisance to all who passed by the place.

* * * *

But now, who of shambles can make equal boast ? "
Leighton : The shambles which excited his admiration
(opened in 1786) were re-fronted, re-roofed, and altogether

THE FIGURE OF JUSTICE. 85

renewed in the interior, about 1855, and it is no longer true
that

" On the outside the figure of Justice doth stand,
With sword in the right, and scales in left hand."

What, T wonder, has become of her ? The shopkeepers
around could hardly help being honest and honourable, for
they could not look from their shops, morning, noon, or
night, without seeing her to remind them of their duties be-
tween man and man. That beautiful statue was a silent
monitor to them, and was worth a hundred sermons. If the
figure was thrown on the lumber heap, it was the act of a
Vandal ; if it was broken up, that of an Iconoclast. But
why not condone the deed by elevating our friend Ebenezer
Elliott to that higher sphere ? Too long has he had his
lodgings " on the cold ground." The position he occupies is
degrading to his memory, and disgraceful to the town. Place
him on the site formerly occupied by Justice, and let his
figure be turned towards the three valleys which he loved so
well, and which he has immortalised by his verse. Then, in
imagination, will "the poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling, glance
from earth to heaven" without interruption from the ground-
lings below him.

Wragg : I do not know what has become of the figure of
Justice. I should have said it was over the Corn Exchange,
(which was completed in 1830) behind the New Market, but
I find that is a larger figure.

Leonard : No, you would be quite right. I have the
authority of the Duke of Norfolk's 'architect for saying that
it is the identical figure which stands over the now doomed
Corn Exchange. I say doomed because that building is soon
to be swept away, its entire area to be thrown into the whole-
sale vegetable market, and a magnificent Corn Exchange to
be erected beyond it, on the site of the present Hay Market.
But even there a niche has been prepared in which "Justice"
is still to stand. She was executed by Waterworth, of Don-
caster.

Leighton : Below the figure, and under the cornice,
there used to be a Latin inscription which I have tried in
vain to recover. It began, " Hie forum, cum laniaris juxta
fiumen " but I cannot get the rest.

Leonard : Justice gave way to the Post-office, and the
Post-office has in turn once more given place to shops.

Twiss : Let us take this opportunity of recapitulating the
old Post-office sites and make the best list of postmasters

86 POST MASTERS AND POST OFFICES.

we can. It is not an easy task to get it complete, as anyone

who tries will find.

George Carr, postmaster, as his gravestone in the Parish
Churchyard tells us, " departed this life April ye 20th,
1701, in ye 68th yeare of his age."

The same stone (which would seem to indicate relationship)
records the death of his successor, Jonathan Turner, post-
master, who died 12th January, 1713, aged 36 years.

Samuel Simmons was postmaster in 1742. His shop, as we
have seen, was most probably in the Market Place, opposite
the head of the Shambles. He had a salary of £43 per
annum. He died at Pitsmoor, April 18, 1790, aged 87.

Francis Lister is the next name we find, and the dates render
it quite possible that he was the same man who printed
the Sheffield Weekly Journal (see ante p. 78). He died
in 1755.

In 1787, Miss Lister was postmistress, and at that time the
office was in a similar position to that which I suppose it
to have occupied under Samuel Simmons — in the Market
Place, opposite where is now Elliott's monument. In
1782, the salary of the postmaster had been raised to £50
per annum, and the single letter carrier had £12 a year
as wages.

In 1791, Rice James was postmaster. The office was removed
to Castle street, near the end of Castle green. James died
May 3rd, 1800. He is buried in St. James's churchyard.

The period which follows is vague. A person named Hall,
who died March 5th, 1813, was postmaster, I am told, at
the Church Gates.

Nathaniel Lister, as I have good oral authority for saying,
had the post office at the Church Gates, but I cannot give
you the dates.

Richard Griffiths followed him, the office being in Church
street, in the premises now occupied by the Religious
Tract Society. Griffiths left to become agent for the
Government packets at Holyhead, and was succeeded by

"William Todd, May 6, 1815. The next week the Post-office
was removed to Mr. Todd's premises in the Market Place,
and there it remained until 1828. It is stated in the in-
troduction to White's Sheffield Directory for 1833, that
the office was, in Mr. Todd's time, worth £500 a year.
Mr. Todd having left the town,

Mr. Joseph Wreaks was appointed Nov. 25th, 1826. He re-
mained in the Market Place until Feb. 4th, 1828, when

THE shambles' head* 87

lie removed to the lower corner of Arundel street and
Norfolk street, opposite the Assembly Kooms. In 1833,
the premises of Pickslay and Co., in High street, were pur-
chased for the erection of a Post-office, news room, &c,
and thither Mr. Wreaks went in 1835. He died October
25th, 1843, and was succeeded by
Ellen Wreaks, his daughter. In 1845, the office was removed
to the bottom of Angel street, and from thence in 1850 to
the Market Place, the head of the Shambles. There it
remained until March 19, 1871, when it was removed to
the top of the Old Haymarket, and in July, 1872, Miss
Wreaks resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. T. Mawson,
the present postmaster.

Leighton : Below Justice, at the top of the Shambles,
were four shops, two in the middle, under that figure, and
two at the corners. In one of the middle shops Messrs.
Thompson, of Westbar, sold books. One Burdon had the
other as a toy shop ; and when he left it he went into the
shop which is now Mr. Roberts' carpet warehouse. He after-
wards went to America.

Evekahd : Mr. Burdon was succeeded in the latter
shop by the Rev. James Everitt, at that time, on account
of his health, a supernumerary Methodist preacher. He
dealt more especially in old and curious books. He re-
moved from Sheffield to Manchester, and kept a similar
shop there. On recovering his health, he resumed his
place in the Wesleyan body, and being eventually expelled,
was one of the chief instruments in establishing the
" Methodist Free Church." Below that shop, at the
corner of Market street, was a very respectable drapery
establishment, kept by Mr. George Smith, who, on account of
his diminutive stature, commonly went by the name of
"Little Smith." He often, in the summer time, wore nan-
keen trousers, white or light-coloured figured vest, and dis-
played a full ruffled shirt front as he very courteously showed
the ladies into the shop, he usually standing near the door.
At one time he had a partner, of the name of Mr. Joseph
Carr (brother to the late Mr. Riley Carr, of the Glossop
road), who in height was as much above the ordinary size as
Mr. Smith was below it. Afterwards, Mr. Ridal (who had
been his apprentice) became his partner ; and for many years
the business was carried on under the firm of " Smith and
Ridal." They afterwards removed to the shop at the lower
corner of Market street, and the business is now carried on
by Messrs. Arnison and Co.

88 THE SHAMBLES.

TwiSS : There is a tradition that Mr. Smith was once
actually apprehended, being mistaken for Napoleon Buonaparte.
He died unmarried in 1846, aged 77. His grandfather, George
Smith, died ten months after his marriage with Mary Greaves,
and his grandmother was married for the second time, to
Samuel Glanville, of whom we shall hear in connection with
Angel street. But we are digressing.

Johnson : At the King street corner, on the site now
occupied by Alderman Michael Beal, jeweller, was the flax
shop of Mr. Wm. Cockayne, the grandfather of the present
drapers in Angel street. Mr. Cockayne had a number of
knowing friends who met to talk over monetary affairs, and
chatted so much of the concerns of their neighbours, that his
shop was called the "weigh-house." A cheesefactor, named
Stoakes, occupied the premises after Mr. Cockayne's removal
to a shop in Angel street, which was his own property. It is
now occupied by Mr. Watson, druggist. At the Market
street corner of the Shambles' head, was a butcher's shop.
Much later, these two corners were occupied by Fisher,
Holmes and Co., and Fisher Godwin, as seed shops.

Leonard : Inside the Shambles the butchers wTere then,
as now, in possession ; but outside there were fruiterers'
stalls running down the exterior, were there not ?

Leighton : Yes. Inside the Shambles, at the bottom,
used to be the butter, egg and poultry market. There was a
building above, at the back of Mr. Younge's spirit vaults,
supported by pillars. Up the middle of the Shambles were
two rows of wooden shops. In these the inferior kinds of
meat were sold, and on both sides were other butchers' shops,
as now. At the right-hand corner was a very respectable
man, named Middleton.

"Wragg : Sixty years ago, there were butchers in the
Shambles who could open their shops first thing on Satur-
day morning, and not have a bit of meat left by dinner time,
when they would close their shops and go home. Then their
shops were worth dtlOO goodwill; now the goodwill has quite
vanished.

Leonard : This description of the Shambles, as they
existed from 1786 to 1855, gives as good an idea of them,
both outside and in, as we could wish : " The Shambles are
extensive and convenient, being 100 yards in length and 40
in breadth, and having covered walks in front of the various
rows of butchers' stalls ; at the lower end a commodious
market for butter, eggs and poultry ; and round its exterior

THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKETS. 89

shops for the sale of fruit, vegetables, &c. It is approached
by several gateways, one of which opens into the market for
shoes, tinware, &c, and another into the vegetable and fruit
market on the opposite side of King street." When the last
alterations were made, the whole interior area was cleared for
the poultry, butter, and game dealers, the butchers' shops
running all round.

Leighton : The arrangement outside the Shambles was
very different from now. Down Market place, or the fruit
market, from the top to the bottom, outside, were sold fruit
and such things. This lasted until the opening of the Market
Hall on Christmas-eve, 1851, when the shops were closed.
They were afterwards removed to widen the streets.

Twiss : A colonnade ran all round, the pillars supporting
a projecting upper room, which at the same time afforded
protection to the sellers and purchasers below.

Leighton : Mr. Nicholson, market gardener, had the
centre shop in the Fruit market ; it corresponded with the
market-keeper's house on the King street side ; the others
were little fruit shops. Opposite Nicholson's was the old-
established "Cross Daggers. ': It is now converted into Mr.
Colley's leather shop, new fronted, but with the old rooms be-
hind still. The stabling was up the yard, with an exit into
Norfolk street. Down King street were the market gardeners'
and vegetable shops. At the bottom of the Shambles, in
the Bull Stake, was Mr. Gregory, cheesemonger, father, I
think, of the late Mr. James Gregory, surgeon, Eyre street.

Johnson : In the lower part of King street, where is now
Mr. Hunt's flour shop, was formerly the father of Mr. John
Jones, before he removed into the premises still occupied by
his son in the Market Place.

Leonard : I remember the square just above there, now
represented by Garside and Shaw's timber yard and Castle
court, where fruit and fish dealers congregated. It was
called " The Green Market," and was disused after December,
1851.

Everard : Ah, that market was formed on the site of the
old debtors' gaol, taken down in 1818. A curious place,
indeed, according to our notions. It was a stone building,
not very large, the gaoler being Godfrey Fox. People were
incarcerated there for ridiculously small debts, and often for
alehouse scores. The prisoners used to work at their trades,
and you might hear cutlers and file-cutters hammering away
as if they had been in their shops. Friends brought the work

90 THE OLD DEBTORS* GAOL.

and took it back again, and also supplied the prisoners with
food.

Leonard : The debtors then made themselves tolerably
comfortable ?

Everard : Oh dear yes. It was a queer kind of impri-
sonment. The gaol was often thronged with visitors until
nine o'clock. There was a prisoner in each room, above and
below, who solicited the passers-by to " remember the poor
prisoners." The one above had a tin box suspended by a
string ; and the other, in the lower room, with his hand
through the window, held a similar box.

Twiss : In 1791, at the same time that Broomhall was
attacked, the mob destroyed the doors and windows of the
gaol and the house of Godfrey Fox, and liberated the pri-
soners. It was the prison for the liberty of Hallamshire,
and the property of the Duke of Norfolk.

Everard : There were two classes of prisoners, the fees
in what was called the "High Court" being 25s.; in the
" Low Court," only 6d. There was, in addition, "garnish,"
2s. 6d. for the High Court, and Is. 2d. for the Low, with
which coals, candles and soap were bought for the common
benefit of the prisoners. Nield, in his "Kemarks on the
Prisons of Yorkshire," describes his visits to the place in
1802. There was, he reported, no chaplain, nor any religious
attention paid to the prisoners. Mr. Moorhouse, the
surgeon to the overseers of the poor, attended to the sick.
The High Court prisoners had a room about five yards
square, which had two windows looking into the street.
Up-stairs there were four rooms, two for men to sleep in, and
one for women, the fourth being used as a workshop. The
keeper furnished beds at 10^d. per week, two sleeping in a
bed. The Low Court prisoners, or those detained for debts
under 40s. (three months' imprisonment being held to release
them from their debt and costs), had two rooms, about five
yards by four, with a fire-place, and iron-grated windows
looking into the court. In these they worked and slept,
which made them " filthy beyond description." Four rooms
had lately been added at the top of the house, one of which
was used for the women at night.

Twiss : When Howard, the prison philanthropist, visited
the place some time before, it would seem that these upper
rooms were not in existence, for he reported that there were
only two rooms, which were also used as night rooms for
debtors of both sexes.

KING STEEET. 91

Leonard : Nield adds that the Low Court prisoners
found their own straw and firing. The courtyard had a damp
earthen floor, and was about ten yards by six. Both sexes
associated together in it ; and at his visit on Sunday, the
15th August, 1802, the Low Court prisoners were busy sift-
ing cinders in it, the ashes of which they sold for three
shillings a load.

Everard : After Godfrey Fox, Thomas Smith, constable,
was gaoler, and at the same time kept the " Royal Oak,"
which was next to the gaol. On the gaol being pulled down,
he and the prisoners removed to the premises in Scotland
street, formerly a merchant's warehouse, with the house
adjoining as his residence. Mr. Joseph Kirk succeeded him.

Wragg : Thirty years ago, in one of the little market
shops that then stood on the site of the old gaol, was
Mrs. Horsfield, the mother of two Unitarian ministers, the
Rev. T. W. Horsfield, the historian of Lewes, and the Rev.
Frederick Horsfield.

Leighton : Above this was the grocers' shop of Messrs.
Porter and Newton, now carried on by the sons of the former,
who have since removed one door lower down. Their assist-
ants are credited with the perpetration of a practical joke,
which became famous in local annals through a popular song
with a jingling chorus being composed upon it. Opposite
Mr. Porter's shop (about where is now the King street en-
trance to the Shambles) was the house of Joseph Eyre, con-
stable and market-keeper, popularly known as " Buggy," or
" Fussy." The lively young grocers contrived to tie a rope
to the market bell, and one night when — the place being shut
up — all was quiet, and "Fussy" was placidly enjoying the
repose to which so great a dignitary was well entitled, he was
startled and horrified to hear his bell— his own particular
bell — begin ringing. With his dog " Turk," he went round
the Shambles, breathing vengeance against the disturbers of
his peace ; and when this was fruitless, he took up his station
by the gate, assured that the ringers must be in, and must
come out that way, so as to give him a chance of revenge.
But he waited in vain. The bell went on tolling, to the
great entertainment of the crowd that had by this time
collected, until the string (which was stretched across the
street) at length breaking, it fell among the bystanders, and
they kept up the fun. Eyre at length discovered the trick,
and breaking the cord short, stopped the game. "Hey,
Turk," became a bye-word. It was written up in large letters

92 " HEY, TUKK."

everywhere, and then the following song was heard in the
mouths of all the street boys at every corner : —

" One night of late, at ten o'clock, as I was sat reflecting

On the sacks of wheat and bags of flour that I had been collecting,
Toll goes the market bell, just as I was a-thinking
I'd smoke my pipe and merry be, and end the night in drinking.
Hey, my dog Turk, go thee and lurk !

He howl'd with joy to hear me ;
For in such awe I have him now,
That he both loves and fears me.

" I'll fetch the lantern and candle out, and search where I suspect 'em,
Amongst the stalls and on the walls, for there Turk may detect 'em ;
I cried ' Hallo,' you're there I know, cannot I hear you prating ?
I'll lock you up until the morn, for I am tired of waiting.
Hey, my dog Turk, go thee and lurk !

For thou art very cunning ;
I'll stop at the gates and break their pates
As fast as they come running.

" Since Buggy got me this place, each night I do undress me,

So fat I'm grown, I can't bend down, my flesh does so oppress me.
One night, when they'd put me to bed, arose a mighty squabble :
They called me up again with speed to go and quell the rabble.
I called for Turk and bid him lurk,
He howled with joy to hear me ;
For in such awe I have him now,
That he both loves and fears me.

" I've beat thee, love, says Bet to Joe, and won thy guinea fairly,

Thou ate too much pudding in thy youth, or thou'd have run most rarely.
A barrel of porter we will have, and drink it at our leisure ;
Fat Joe replies, ' Some ducks and peas,' as I was just a-thinking,
Then we'll agree and merry be, and end the night in drinking.
I called for Turk and bid him lurk,
He howled with joy to hear me ;
For in such awe I have him now,
That he both loves and fears me."

Leonard : I fail to find much sense in the last two verses,
and the lines limp so that there must he something wrong in
them. Another version runs :

" One night of late, at ten o'clock,

As I was sat inspecting
The bags of wheat and pecks of meal

That I had been collecting,
Toll goes the market bell just then,

And I was sore astounded,
I puffed and blew, but no one knew
That I was so confounded.
I caught a Turk, and bid him lurk,

For he is very cunning,
And I'd stop at the gates, and break their pates,
As soon as they came running."

KING STREET. 93

Twiss : That song has been attributed to Mather, but
his editor has not credited him with it. Mr. Wilson refers
to the song as one which seemed lost, all but the second
chorus, which he gives somewhat differently : —

" Hey ! Turk, go catch that lurk,
For thou art very cunning ;
And I'll stand at the gate and crack his pate
As soon as he comes running."

The event to which the song refers took place in the days of
the last Shambles but one, which used to be called " The
Roundabout House." The perpetrator of the trick on
"Buggy "Eyre, or, at least, its leader, was one Stephen-
son, who came into Mr. Porter's service from Grenoside,
and I believe he also was the author of the song.

Leonard : "I called for Turk" seems much better sense
than " I caught a Turk," just as "Go thee and lurk" is more
to the point than " Go catch that lurk." But oral tradition
has evidently much corrupted the song.

Everard : Next above Mr. Porter's, in King street, came
the bookseller's shop of Mr. George Ridge, where he pub-
lished the Sheffield Mercury, after buying it on Mr. Todd's
failure.

Leighton : Yes ; but before that it was the shop of Mr.
Pierson, also a bookseller and printer, grandfather of the
present Mr. Pierson, solicitor. He died a rich man. It was
a peculiarity of his always to wear a large ruffled shirt. His
wife helped him in the shop, and he always called " Milly "
when any difficulty occurred, leaving her to settle it. A
story is told that on one occasion he invited an articled clerk
of Mr. Robert Rodgers', named Froggatt, to take a glass of
wine. The offer was accepted. Mr. Pierson, predicting that
his friend would find the vintage good, placed the liquor be-
fore him. Froggatt tasted, and looked dismayed. " I think
it is not quite right, Mr. Pierson," said he, as mildly as
might be. "Oh," said the other, "it must be; I gave
such and such a price for it." Said Froggatt, " Well, just

taste for yourself." He did so. " My ," he cried, " it's

Turkey rhubarb ; Milly ! "

Everard : That is the shop, now much changed, occupied
by Messrs. G. and J, S. Burrell.

Leighton : Yes ; it stood further back than the drug-
gist's shop above, then Mr. Hodgkinson's ; afterwards, in
succession, Mr. Fred. Machon's, Mr. Forrest's, and now Mr.
Geo. Bennett's.

94 MARKET STREET.

Twiss : Mr. Ealph Hodgkinson's father was, I imagine,
the first Sheffield druggist. He was accustomed to go about
from town to town on market days, selling his drugs, and he
was in King street in 1775-1792, when he gave up business,
and was succeeded by his son. The old man lived until 1810,
in which year he died at Eckington.

Leighton : At the corner, now Mr. Muddiman's boot shop,
was Mr. Gillott, the hatter, who has already been mentioned.

Twiss : But before this time, certainly in 1774, and even
for some years earlier than that, Mr. Jonathan Whitham
occupied that site with his watchmaker's shop, his wife also
carrying on a millinery business there. Mr. Whitham died
about the year 1808.

Johnson: Leaving King street we have now to cross
the Shambles to Market street. It was here that Northall's
Courant, that thorn in Montgomery's flesh, had its birth,
June 10, 1793, but it was removed to King street, March
1, 1794, and expired there August 1, 1797. The Mercury—
another great trouble to the editor-poet, was also started in
this street, in May, 1807, by Mr. Win. Todd, afterwards
post-master in the Market Place, who had his shop here.
His wife was a sister of the late Mr. Scholefield, M.P. for
Birmingham ; and Mr. Holland mentions that Chantrey exe-
cuted his bust of the Kev. Jas. Wilkinson, now in the Parish
Church, under Mr. Todd's roof, " the curiosity, the expec-
tation, and the wonder of the public being largely excited
during the important process of carving."*

Leonard : In Market street was the manufactory of
Messrs. Proctor and Beilby, opticians, of whom I have com-
piled the following account from one of the late Mr. John
Holland's numerous anonymous papers. The firm had
been in Milk street, on the site of part of Messrs. Kodgers
and Sons' premises now; but when the old butchers' shops
were removed from Market street, the firm established them-
selves there, on the west side, with workrooms and dwelling-
house in front, and workshops behind. The " Cup " inn is
there still, unchanged ; but everything else is altered.
The principals in the firm were Luke and Charles Proctor,
natives of the town, and originally makers, if not actually
grinders, of lancets. Beilby was a Birmingham man, and
was a teacher of drawing in Sheffield. " Luke Proctor was
an agreeable man of fashion, an accomplished violinist, and

* "Memorial of Chantrey," p. 203.

PROCTOR AND BEILBY. 95

lie soon fiddled himself out of the firm. Charles, a lover
of music too, was a quiet, assiduous and successful man of
business," writes Mr. Holland, "and I remember how I used
to look for his white wig opposite one of the windows in the
old Cutlers' Hall, at the 'Feast,' where he sat 'above the
salt.' He was a widower when first I knew him. His
family consisted of himself, his three sons — Luke, George
and William — his daughter, Deborah, and last, but not
least, in those days, his sister, ' Miss Nancy ' — a sharp little
consequential woman, who did a great part of the familiar
book-keeping of the concern, including especially the enter-
ing of the men's work and wages. Of the children, Luke
died young ; George went to Birmingham, where he married
and died ; "William, of whom more hereafter, married Miss
Deakin, a sister of the founder of the Deakin Institution ;
Deborah married Thomas, a son of the original Beilby. He
ultimately went to Birmingham, entered into the stationery
business, and became the leading partner in the well-known
firm of Beilby and Knott, publishers of Aris's Gazette.
Charles Proctor, the head of the firm, died July 4th, 1808,
and was carried by six faithful workmen to his grave in St.
Paul's Church, where his wife was also buried. He left
behind him, according to the ' Gossip's Gazette,' property
to the amount of £30,000. The concern in Market street
had now reached its culminating period of prosperity ;
thenceforth its fortunes were downward. This was apparently
due to several causes." At length the late Mr. Holland
alone was left on the premises to make, as far as the brass
work was concerned, whatever might be wanted in the entire
range of the pattern book. "And although," says he, "it
is long since I laid down, and shall never again take up, the
tools of the optical instrument maker, I would not wil-
lingly lose the consciousness that I could still alternate the
cutting of a fine screw with the using of a bad pen." Mr.
Holland once gave an account of the more prominent work-
men in this establishment. There were his father, also John
Holland, and his uncle Amos, who made accurate imitations
of the Dolland telescopes. Both lived in the country, and
were not only bird fanciers, but bee farmers. The sycamore
and mahogany outsides of the telescopes were made at a
wheel on the Ptivelin by William Chadburn, grandfather of
Chadburn Brothers, the well-known opticians, of Nursery
street, and it seems probable that his father had been there
before him. Besides optical instruments, there were made

96 opticians' workmen.

tinder-boxes and inkpots in large quantities. " Excisemen's"
inkbottles were made of brass, and were polished by old
Daniel Vaughan, a Chelsea pensioner, who, after doing duty
as a recruiting sergeant in Sheffield, went abroad and fought
beside General Wolfe, at Quebec. "His extra-workboard
forte was telling stories of soldier life, and especially a re-
hearsal of the loyal speech he used to make in our Market
Place, while a handful of spade-ace guineas was kept danc-
ing on the drum-head for the too successful temptation of
many a mother's son." Then there was Ben Wright, another
pensioner, who " treddled " his lathe with a wooden leg ;
and George Hadfield, not less remarkable as a toper than as
a turner; old Billy Egginton, somewhat of a birdcatcher,
who, living on the banks of the Don, had secured a crested
grebe ; John Taylor, a member of an old Sheffield musical
family, his instrument being the French horn ; little Jemmy
Johnson, who beat the big drum in the Volunteer band.
Then there was Dicky Hobson, a Birmingham man, in some
way related to Mrs. Sally Booth, the actress, who used to
visit Sheffield with Macready, and whose graceful performance
with the skipping rope was so much admired. Another
member of the Volunteer band was Johnny Coe, a little
knock-kneed man, whose military status was to march before
the leader with an open music sheet pinned on his back. He
had been with the Proctors from the first, and was early em-
ployed by them in making ring dials, which some [though
not Dr. Gatty — see his '"'Lecture to the Literary and Philo-
sophical Society," Dec, 1872] think to have been Touch-
stone's dial. From Coe's account, these must have been
common and cheap enough during the earlier half of the
last century. They consisted of a brass ring, four inches in
diameter. On being suspended from the hand by a string,
the sun shone through a small hole in the rim, and indicated
the time by a dot of light falling on the hour figure and its
fractions inside. Two of the workmen, Clarke and Han-
cock, were members of the Volunteer force. William Padley
was the brass caster, and Thomas Stovin the glass caster.
Stovin's hobby was to keep cows, and he did it profitably.
The chief of the spectacle makers was Thomas Bird, a bro-
ther of the well-known Bristol artist of that name. The
bead-roll would be incomplete without the names of Ben
Sayles and Grayson. " I regret," said Mr. Holland, whose
words I have, for the most part, been adopting, "to be
unable to recollect that religion was ever the subject of work-

ANGEL STREET. 97

day conversation, or, so far as I know, church-going the
Sunday habit of these men. I believe Jonathan Knight, a
glass grinder, and Thomas Wilson, a telescope hand, were
chapel-goers. They spoke of having seen, and had possibly
heard, John Wesley, during one of the latter visits of that
remarkable man to this town. Excessive drinking was then,
as now, the vice of the artisan."

Wragg : Proctor's firm erected the first steam-engine in
the town, in 1786. Boulton and Watt at that time let out
engines by way of bringing them into use ; but whether
Beilby and Proctor had theirs on loan, or bought it, I cannot
say. Their wheel has just been pulled down, and a wooden
circus occupies its site — adjoining Sheaf street. The late
Mr. I. P. Cutts served his time with them, and my impres-
sion of the issue of the firm is different from Mr. Holland's;
for I have understood that he was taken into partnership, and
ultimately had the trade in his sole possession.

Twiss : Beilby and Proctor were not the first opticians in
the town. That honour is ascribed by the Local Register to
Mr. Samuel Froggatt, who died in 1787. His works were at
Ptoyd's Mill ; and his son had a room at Walk Mills, now
the Albion Wrorks, opposite the " Twelve o'Clock." His
grandson still carries on the business in the same neighbour-
hood.

Leonard : I think Ave have now completed the circuit of
the Market Place, and are ready to descend Angel street.

Wragg : In Angel street was Mr. Turner, draper, knowrn
as "Flannel Sam," to distinguish him from his neighbour,
the publican, of the Hartshead, of whom mention has been
made before — " Gin Sam." He was the father of the late
Mr. S. W. Turner, solicitor.

Twiss : Both the grandfather and the father of Mr. S.
W. Turner were there. The former Samuel Turner, who
died in 1791, had no fewer than twenty-two children, one of
whom succeeded to the business, and afterwards resided at
Chesterfield, dying in 1832. He, I imagine, was the
"Flannel Sam" of wdiom'you speak. There was another
Turner, who was a mercer, in Angel street, on the other side
of the way, where Mr. Heppenstall afterwards was, and where
Mr. Tasker is now. His Christian name was John, and he
was related to the Scholeys, of Coal Aston. He would be a
contemporary of the first Samuel Turner, if not even earlier
than that, as he died about the year 1796.

H

98 LIGHTING BY GAS,

Leighton : Down Angel street, where is now Mr. Carter's,
shoemaker, there was an obstruction in the road. It was
at the bottom of the "Angel" yard, and Mr. Wormall's
shop is part of it. It formed the Volunteer rendezvous, or
guard-room, and I have seen the men stand there to receive
their loaves. It made a regular corner, or bend, in the
street. After Mr. Peach, of the "Angel," died, Mr. Walker,
tinman, altered it into its present form. He rebuilt, or new-
fronted, the "Angel " inn.

Wragg : Mr. Walker occupied the shop that was lately
Messrs. Wilson and Sons, and is now a part of Mr. Hovey's
drapery establishment. I think he was the first man who made
coal gas, and it was to be seen in his shop — of course, very dif-
ferent in quality from what we see now, for it made great clouds
of smoke. He had the contract for lighting the town with oil.

Johnson : Forty years ago gas had become common in
sales-hops, though there were many to be seen without it ;
but it was very rare in houses, and rarer still in workshops.
We managed to see to read and write with only one candle,
but how I cannot imagine, after being accustomed to gas.

Wragg : I am speaking of longer ago than that, though
it is only about that length of time since the old oil lamps,
which used to make "darkness visible" in our miserably-paved
streets, disappeared. The last, I believe, were in Hanover
street and Broomspring lane. One night they were all
smashed; their fragments must have been trampled upon,
as there was not a piece left on the ground the size of a six-
pence ; so they were replaced with gas.

Twiss : I have met with a record that the first gas lamp
lighted in Sheffield was at the corner of Benjamin Walker's
shop, Church Gates, on September 19th, 1819. The same
authority gives Howard Street Chapel credit for having been
the first public place of worship lighted by gas in Sheffield.
That took place on the 13th December, 1819. Queen Street
Chapel was partly lighted on the same evening.

Leonard: I recently spent some weeks in a small out-of-
the-way German town, amusingly quaint and primitive in
some of its habits. There was no gas, and the oil lamps
hung from a cord swung across the narrow streets, and could
be lowered by a pulley to be lighted. That experience en-
ables me to imagine pretty clearly the state in which our
English towns must have been before gas was invented.

Everard : Yes ; one must go abroad to appreciate some
of the inconveniences of the old days. The open gutter

THE ANGEL INN. £9

down the middle of the street, for both rain and sewage, can
still be seen on the Continent ; and the projecting spouts
which, having no fall-pipes, discharged douches on the heads
of passers-by, are only to be found in hidden nooks.
Johnson : As Wills sings —

" You remember the sinks in the midst of the streets,
"When the rain poured in torrents ; each passenger greets
His fellow with ' What a wide channel is here,
We all shall bo drowned, I'm greatly in fear.'

*****

" Yet, with all their good sense, still did none of them know
How to light streets with gas lamps as we have them now ;
While that ignis fatuus that hung in our street
Would scarcely discover the wretch we might meet."

Leonard : And here is another quotation, as a contribu-
tion on the same point : " The town was then in a very rude
state in every respect, it being only partially flagged, with
many of the stones loose ; there were very few lamps, and.
those feeble and far apart — often not lighted, or blown out.
There were also projecting spouts from between the gutters
of the roofs, from which, during rain, the water flowed in
streams. Lanterns were dimly seen in the streets, like fire-
flies, flitting about. Umbrellas were then unknown. A
farthing candle was stuck in some of the shop windows, just
serving to make darkness more dark."*

Johnson: Horace Walpole, in a letter dated 1760, speaks
of Sheffield, through which he had passed, as "one of the
foulest towns in England, in the most charming situation."

Leighton : The mention of old Sam Peech, of the
"Angel," reminds us again, like the "King's Head," how
with the past coaching days has disappeared the lustre from
these houses. Still, at the "Angel," the coaching depart-
ment was carried on with great spirit by Mr. Wm. Bradley
(of the Soho Brewery, lately deceased), up to the time that
railways destroyed coaching. The arrival and departure of
coaches running between Leeds and London, and on various
other roads, made the neighbourhood of the "Angel" very
lively.

Wragg : Mr. Peech kept the "Angel" for about thirty
years. In running opposition to other coach proprietors, he
was known not only to take persons to London for nothing,
but to give a bottle of wine into the bargain. He died in
1809. It was his predecessor, Mr. Samuel Glanville, who set
up the first stage to London, in 1760, when pack-horses were

* " Autobiography of the late Samuel Roberts."

100 SAMUEL GLANVILLE'S COACHES.

superseded. The following announcement, relating to Mr.
Glanville's coaches, appeared in the Sheffield Public Adver-
tiser, of November 4th, 1760, and it may interest you : —
"Nov. 2: Notice is hereby given, that the London, Leeds,
Wakefield, Chesterfield, Mansfield and Nottingham machines
on steel springs, in four days, sets off from the ' Swan with
Two Necks,' inn, in Lad lane, London, and from the ' Old
King's Arms ' inn, in Leeds, every Monday and Wednesday
morning, at five o'clock ; breakfasts at the ' Angel ' inn, in
St. Alban's ; dines at the 'White Horse' inn, in Hockley;
and lies at the * Red Lion,' at Northampton, the first night;
breakfasts at the ' Three Crowns,' in Market Harborough ;
dines at the 'Bull's Head,' in Loughborough; and lies at
the ' Crown ' inn, in the Long Row, Nottingham, the second
night; breakfasts at the ' Swan,' in Mansfield; dines at the
' Falcon,' in Chesterfield ; and lies at the ' Angel,' in Shef-
field, the third night ; breakfasts at the ' White Bear,' in
Barnsley ; dines at the 'Coach and Horses,' in Wakefield,
and lies at Leeds the fourth night. And from Leeds to
London : Breakfasts at the ' Coach and Horses,' Wakefield ;
dines at the 'White Bear,' in Barnsley ; and lies in Sheffield
the first night ; breakfasts at the ' Falcon,' in Chesterfield ;
dines at the ' Swan,' in Mansfield ; and lies at the ' Blacka-
moor's Head,' in Nottingham, the second night; breakfasts
at the ' Bull's Head,' in Loughborough; dines at the 'Three
Crowns,' in Market Harborough; and lies at the 'Red Lion,'
in Northampton, the third night ; breakfasts at the ' Sara-
cen's Head,' in Newport; dines at the ' Angel,' in St. Al-
bans ; and lies in London the fourth night. Passengers and
parcels are taken in at the above places. Two places reserved
in each coach for Nottingham. Performed, if God permit, by
John Handforth, Samuel Glanvilie, and Wm. Richardson."

Twiss : Mr. Glanvilie died in 1803, in the Duke of Nor-
folk's Almshouse, at the age of 83.

Eveeard: There is a very interesting memorial of him —
one of the few heirlooms Sheffield possesses— in the Mayor's
Parlour, at the Council Hall. This is his portrait, in crayon,
presented to the Mechanics' Library by Mr. B; Sayle, of
Brightside ; and beneath it his history is thus given : —
" Samuel Glanvilie, born at Exeter about the year 1720 ;
entered early into the army, and was present as a drummer
in the battle of Dettingen. He afterwards came with a
recruiting party to Sheffield, and was billeted at the house of
Mrs. Smith, in Church street ; married her, and afterwards

SAMUEL GLANVILLE. 101

kept the 'Angel' inn, to which house, about the year 1760,
he worked the first stage coach from London. He died at
Sheffield, in 1803."

Twiss : The artist was Raphael Smith. There is also
another crayon portrait of Mr. Grlanville in existence. It was
in the possession of Mr. Charles Ridal, of the late firm of
Smith and Ridal, already mentioned (see p. 87), until he
left the town, when it was sold by auction. It was from the
pencil of Chantrey.

Leonard : At the time the portrait was presented by
Mr. Sayle to the Mechanics' Library (would that more of our
townsmen would follow his excellent example), Mr. Mont-
gomery wrote, in the Iris, of Mr. Glanville as "no mean
benefactor to the town;" and he quoted from the Iris of
July 21, 1803, the following interesting sketch of his life : —
" He was born about 1720, near Exeter ; was apprenticed to
a surgeon, but entered early in life into the army as a private.
In 1741 he came to Sheffield, upon a recruiting party, and
married Mrs. Smith, who kept a public-house in Church
street. In a course of time he became master of the 'Angel'
inn, and, about 1760, was a partner in the first stage coach
from Leeds to London. After some years, he retired from
the public line to a farm at the Edge, near this town, where
he was noticed by Mr. Arthur Young as an excellent agricul-
turist. But, becoming at length weary of agriculture, he
returned to his former occupation, and kept an inn at the
'Cross Keys,' in Wood street; and some time after removed
to the 'Black Bull,' in Stamford. Here he buried his wife,
and married a second. Business there, however, not answer-
ing his expectations, he came back to Sheffield, and opened a
public-house at the Hermitage ; soon after buried his second
wife ; and, not long after, was admitted into the Duke of
Norfolk's Hospital, where he found a comfortable asylum
during several years. In his early days, and in public life,
he was steady, active [the writer of this memoir has seen
him carry out three dishes at once upon his right arm from
a public entertainment] , attentive and obliging to his cus-
tomers; cheerful, rational, and intelligent in private conversa-
tion ; wras looked up to with great respect by all his acquaint-
ance, and closed his days with a constant serious attention to
the duties of religion." I presume the " Wood street "
mentioned would-be in London.

Twiss : Mr. Samuel Peech also lived to be an old man.
He was 70 when he died, in 1809, having kept the "Angel "

102 ANGEL STREET.

for thirty years. He had heen succeeded hy William Peech,
in the previous year. Samuel Peech is credited with heing
the author of a large fund of shrewd sayings, and is the hero
of many quaint anecdotes. Reproached once with having
been originally only a stable-boy, he made the scathing
retort, " If thou hadst been a stable-boy, thou'd be a stable-
boy still."

Johnson: The last Sheffield mail coach, the "Halifax
Mail," performed the journey from London to Sheffield in
sixteen hours, arriving here at noon. After this Avas taken
off, a coach called the "Brilliant" started about 5a.m.,
meeting the railroad at some point, and reaching London in,
I believe, about twelve hours.

Leonard : The sculptor, Rossi, when a youth, lived with
his father, opposite the " Angel " inn. He executed that
"Angel," in terra cotta, which has been blowing so persist-
ently on her brazen trumpet all these years, without produc-
ing a sound.

Twiss : In Angel street, too, was the druggist's shop of
Mrs. Mary Handley, one of whose daughters became the wife of
Mr. John Sterndale, surgeon, who lived in Norfolk street, in the
house now occupied by Miss Barry, dressmaker. Mrs. Hand-
ley lived, before the Sorbys' time, in the old house on Spital
hill, just beyond what was afterwards the Wicker Station,
called in the maps Hallcar. Mrs. Handley was succeeded in
the druggist's shop in Angel street by Benjamin Rose.

Everard : Amongst the earliest of the silver-plate manu-
facturers in the town, was the firm of Messrs. Ashforth, Ellis
and Co., whose works were in Angel street, up the passage
adjoining the shop now occupied by Mr. John Tasker, the
workshops extending so far back that some of the windows
overlooked what was, at a subsequent time, the fish and
vegetable market, situate between King street and Castle
street. This company carried on an extensive trade in various
parts of the kingdom. They had an establishment in Paris,
in common with the celebrated Wedgwoods, of Staffordshire,
their silver-plated goods being exhibited in one window, and
the china and porcelain in the other. At the first French
Revolution, the mob broke into the shop, and destroyed or
stole what was valuable, from which they sustained a heavy
loss. About the beginning of the present, century, the pre-
mises in Angel street being found to be too small, the firm
built works at the top of Red hill.

THE SOUTH DEVON MILITIA? 103

Wkagg : Your mention of Mr. Tasker reminds me that
we are indebted to the South Devon Militia for the presence
of his family amongst us. Mr. Leighton mentioned the other
day one of the bitter remembrances the Militia left behind
them ; suppose we mention some of the sweet ones ? They
were considered a very respectable class of men, not like the
generality of militia regiments. They conducted themselves
with propriety, and made themselves generally useful where
they were billeted. One of the officers, Captain Toll, mar-
ried the daughter of the Rev. Alex. Mackenzie, of St. Paul's,
and so became possessed of the property at Sharrow-head,
which he held until his death, when it was sold. His wife,
on her death-bed, advised him to marry a friend of hers, and
recommended her friend to marry him. Many of the men
followed his example by marrying Sheffield women ; and
when the regiment was broken up, not a few returned and
settled in the town. The father of Mr. John Tasker was
one ; and his brother, the father of Alderman Tasker, was
another. William Melluish, who was also one of them, is
the only survivor. He worked for George Addy and Son, in
Pea croft, until their unfortunate failure.

Leighton : The South Devon Militia came from that
beautiful county, Avhere "all the men are brave, and all the
women fair," which produced the gallant sea kings, Drake,
Ptaleigh, Gilbert, Frobisher, Winter, and a host of others
renowned in history. The commander, Colonel Laing, was
not a popular man. He pronounced the word " march " as
" mairch," and was so often reminded of it that, on one occa-
sion, he sent a file of his men into the gallery of the theatre
to bring one or two of the culprits out. This resulted in the
regiment being ordered elsewhere.

Twiss : Speaking of the Ptev. Mr. Mackenzie, he had
himself come into possession of the Sharrow-head estate
through marriage with the niece of Mr. Batty, the former
owner. You will remember that the narrow country lane
surrounded by gardens, now supplanted by the Cemetery
road, was called Mackenzie Walk.

Leighton : Mr. Mackenzie was one of the six men in the
town, fifty years ago, who were above six feet high. Mr.
Carver, who lived at the bottom of High street, was another. ,

Wragg : Mr. Hutchinson, the coachmaker, of Ladies'
Walk (Porter street), would, I believe, be a third. He was
so tall that he had a coach built expressly, with a recess for
his legs. Waterfall, constable, would, I think, be the fourth.

104 JOHN PYE-SMITH.

He had the largest foot of any man in Sheffield. I knew a
person who once put his own foot, shoe and all, inside the
constable's shoe, and he could move it freely about inside. I
cannot remember who the other two would be.

Everard : Mr. Holland, brother to the Doctor, certainly
one of the best-proportioned men in Sheffield, was of later
date. He kept the " Castle " inn, at the top of Snig hill
and Water lane.

Leighton : Besides being tall, Mr. Mackenzie was also
very strong. It is said that, on one occasion, when painting
at his house, the workmen went away to seek assistance in
raising a ladder. When they got back, they found that Mr.
Mackenzie had reared it himself.

Leonard : In Angel street (now No. 30), nearly opposite
the " Angel" inn, was the shop of John Smith, bookseller.
He was a great dealer in old books ; but his misfortune as a
tradesman was, that he loved his books too well to sell them.
He was the father of Dr. John Pye-Smith, the celebrated
Nonconformist scholar and divine, who was brought up in his
father's place as a bookseller and bookbinder, but had such a
greed for learning that, at an early age, he completed his
education at Eotherham College, under Dr. Williams, and
then became classical and mathematical tutor of Homerton
College, where he spent more than fifty years of his life.
John Pye-Smith was one of the young friends of James
Montgomery, and edited the Iris for him when Mr. Mont-
gomery was twice in prison for what were then called " sedi-
tious libels." John Smith (described by a gentleman still
living, of the same surname — who sees a resemblance to him
in one of his great-grandsons — -as a tall, thin, grave man,
wearing spectacles with a round horn rim) died in 1810, and
was succeeded in the business by his son-in-law, Ptobert
Leader, who in 1830 became proprietor and publisher of the
Independent. After occupying the shop in Angel street for
22 vears, Mr. Leader removed to High street to the shop now
No."' 41.

Twiss : John Pye-Smith, so called in memory of his
great-uncle, the Rev. John Pye, minister of Nether Chapel
from 1748 to 1773, was born lower down, in Snig hill, on
premises we shall come to presently, adjoining the old Black
Lion.

Wragg : He was the most scholarly man Sheffield has
produced. The preface to his Latin Grammar, published in
1814, is a most masterly production.

THE REV. JAMES CAWTHORN. 105

Leonard : An old bookbinder, named James Brown, who
had formerly worked for Mr. John Smith, used to tell how
the young apprentice (the future Doctor) used to escape from
his bookbinding and get away to his reading in a quiet corner
where he was removed from any chance of disturbance.

Everard : In the Brocco, just below Edward street,
through a gateway entrance, there was in my early recollec-
tion a day school, and here my father had the honour of hav-
ing for a school-fellow John Pye Smith, who on that spot
acquired the first rudiments of that learning for which in
after life he became so distinguished. Dr. Pye Smith was
esteemed alike for his erudition and his amiable and Christian
character. The most important theological work he published
was the " Scripture Testimony to the Messiah," which was
adopted by one of the universities — I think Cambridge — as
the text book on the subject. The late much respected Mr.
John William Pye- Smith, who in 1856 occupied the position
of Mayor of Sheffield, was his younger son.

Leonard : Your mention, Twiss, of old Mr. Pye reminds
me of his curious and systematic account-book, which is still
in existence, and some extracts from which were published a
few years ago. It is an instructive commentary on the cost
of living in those days. Although Mr. Pye had an income of
only .£100, yet he kept a horse and saved considerable sums.
Up to the year 1757, in which he was married, he paid the
modest sum of <£13 per annum for board and lodgings, and
after his marriage his household expenses ranged from £2. 2s.
to £4:. 4s. per month. He appears to have paid his servant
£Z per year in wages, and such entries as this occur : " For
the keeping of my mare 6 weeks, 15s." Tea, however, is not
the costly luxury it then was ; for 1Mb. he paid 12s. 4d.

Wragg : Another Angel street worthy was the first Shef-
field poet — the Kev. James Cawthorn. He was killed in 1761
from the effects of a fall from his horse. I thought his father
was a bookseller, but I see it stated that he was an upholsterer.

Leonard : Yes, his grandfather was William Cawthorn,
of Thurgoland, of whom his father was the second son. At
the age of fourteen, James Cawthorn wrote a paraphrase on
the 139th Psalm, some other poems at fifteen, and at the age
of seventeen, his "Perjured Lover, or the Adventures of Alexis
Brima." His works were collected and published in 1771,
ten years after his death. The Rev. Edwd. Goodwin, per-
petual curate of Attercliffe — 1776 to 1817 — married one of
his sisters ; and Mr. Goodwin, his wife, their sons, and her

i

106 ANGEL STREET.

sister, are all interred at Hill top, Attercliffe. John, the
eldest son of William Cawthorn, and uncle to the poet, was
the first tenant of a farm in Sheffield Park, where he planted
a row of crab trees, and sold the verjuice to the medical men
of Sheffield. There may perhaps be still some old men
living who remember filling their pockets with the crabs.
The last tree was taken down about fifty years ago.

Twiss : The Rev. James Cawthorn does not appear to
have held any living here. He is spoken of as a person
whose " acquired knowledge is allowed to have been con-
siderable ; but his literary talents, it is said, bore but an in-
significant proportion to his moral excellence."

Wragg : I think we have almost exhausted the interest
of Angel street — unless we recall the more modern name of
Maugham, and are thereby reminded of a shocking accident
which excited much commiseration. Mr. Maugham, draper,
who occupied shops here, one of which is now Dick's shoe
shop, was driving into town one morning with his wife, from
Wadsley Park, when their horse took fright, and they were
both thrown from the carriage and killed. This was on the
10th of May, 1848.

Twiss : Although we have previously (p. 87) spoken of
the Post Office occupying, from 1845 to 1850, the site below
that — in front of the Old Bank — we should not omit to men-
tion it here. The one-storied shops which now stand there,
occupy that Post Office site, and before the Post Office the
triangular area was a vacant piece of ground, in front of the
Bank, fenced off by an iron railing.

Note. Mr. C. Eidal, mentioned at pp. 87 and 101, died at Liverpool
on the 10th February, 1874, aged 80.

CHAPTER VI.

Snig Hill and Westbak.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everard,Wragg, Leonard

and Johnson.
Period— A.D. 1873.

LEONARD : In the space where Angel street, Snig hill,
Castle street, Bank street, and Water lane converge,
stood previously the Irish Cross. We have spoken of it he-
fore as having been removed— at least the shaft of it — into
Paradise square.

Twiss : I have reason to believe that the Irish Cross stood
rather within, or at any rate on the confines of the triangular
area we mentioned when last together — in fact just where Mr.
Dixon's shop now is, at the corner of Angel street and Bank
street.

Leonard : Bank street was, of course, unmade at that
time.

Twiss : This locality possesses a very interesting associa-
tion, as the site of one of Sheffield's earliest printing offices.
I prize highly a series of ballads, or as they are called on
one of the title-pages, " all sorts of new songs and penny
histories;" "Printed by John Garnet, at the Castle green
head, near the Irish Cross." They are not dated, but we
know from other sources that Garnet was there at any rate
between the years 1736, when he printed Cawthorn's " Per-
jured Lover," mentioned before, and 1745, when he printed a
" Covenant agreed on by Nether Chapel." He also issued
"A new Historical Catechism, by W. L., S. P., 1737." These
ballads of mine answer somewhat to our present street songs,
though more elaborate. They have such titles as these : —
" The Golden Bull, or the Crafty Princess, in four parts;"
" The Irish Stroller's Garland ;" "The Petticoat loose Gar-
land ;" "The Extravagant Youth's Garland." Others are
religious publications. The dates I have given, 1736-1745,
are, you will remember, a few years earlier than the time
(1754) when Francis Lister had his printing office " near the
Shambles;" or 1755, when Revel Homfray had his "Oppo-
site to the Cock in the High street." *

* See ante p. 78.

108 WATER LANE HEAD.

Leighton : On the Castle street side of Water lane, in
premises now destroyed for the erection of a new building, lived
the Staniforths — father, son, and grandson. Both the latter
were distinguished surgeons. Chantrey, who was a great
friend of Mr. William Staniforth, of the middle generation,
had to adopt a ruse in order to obtain a portrait for the family
of the old gentleman, Mr. Samuel Staniforth. However, he
produced an excellent likeness.*

Wragg : Mr. William Staniforth was considered the best
operative surgeon and oculist in the town. " Staniforth 's eye
ointment" was very celebrated. Mr. Cheney, Mr. C. H.
Webb, and Mr. William Staniforth, senr., were the first
Infirmary surgeons, and Mr. William Staniforth, junr., be-
came a colleague of his father in that official capacity, on Mr.
Cheney's retirement in 1812. William Staniforth, the elder,
retired in 1819, and died, August 21st, 1833, aged 83 years.
There is a marble medallion of him in the Board-room of the
Infirmary.

Everard : He had a brother named Samuel, a linen-
draper, in Castle street — in the shop, I believe, afterwards
long occupied by Mr. Roebuck, currier. He lived in the
house adjoining the shop ; his brother, the surgeon, living
next door to him, nearer Water lane. When I remember
him after his retirement from business, he was a tall, thin,
and sedate old gentleman, wearing a white cravat, full-ruffled
shirt front, and a tail. In the drapery business he would be
coeval with Mr. Vennor, of High street. He spent a large
portion of his time in cultivating the flowers and fruits of his
garden, which was a large piece of ground enclosed with
high brick walls, opposite Mr. Bailey's gates at Burn Greave,
in what was formerly Grimesthorpe road. He might often be
met in the summer time in the Wicker, walking home, slow
and stately, with a large bouquet of flowers, or a small
basket of fruit, in his hand.

Leighton : The Castle Inn still occupies its old position
at the other corner of Water lane. O'Brien, the Irish Giant,
had rooms there and received visitors. He used to light
his pipe in the streets by taking off the top of the lamps.
Joesy Eyre, the constable, insisted on entering O'Brien's
room without payment, by virtue of his office, but when he
wished to retire, O'Brien refused to allow him to do so,
unless he paid, the alternative offered to him being an exit
through the window. Fussy chose the more ignominious

* "Holland's Memorials of Chantrey," p. 168.

THE INDEPENDENT. 109

course of paying his money to be liberated. In Water lane,
too, "Old Crownshaw" kept the "All Nations" public-house.
The old politicians used to meet there. It was a most re-
spectable part of the town then, but look at it now ! Though
it is improved since the Police Offices demolished a whole
row of houses.

Wkagg : In Snig hill was Michael Raybould, the money-
changer. At that time there was scarcely anything but cop-
per money. Butchers and others took their copper to him
for something more portable when they went to market, for
which he charged 2d. per pound.

Leonard : Just as you may see in Eastern towns now.

Wragg : Besides this, other people went to him for
change, and he charged them also 2d., so that he got 4d.
each pound by the transactions. Mr. Stoakes, who has been
mentioned as a cheese factor, at the top of King street, was
the last person who changed money in this manner.

Twiss : It is recorded, on the 27th February, 1801, " The
bellman has been crying that the inhabitants of Sheffield may
be supplied with the best fine flour, at Michael Eaybould's,
Snig hill, at 10s. 6d. per stone of 141bs." This was thought
wonderfully cheap.

Leighton : Opposite Michael Eaybould's, the old Black
Lion and another building, a shop, projected into the street,
just below the gateway of the Black Swan. I remember a
shoemaker and leather seller having the shop, and Mr. Twi-
bell was there before he went to his late premises on the
opposite side.

Everard : It was there that Dr. John Pye Smith was
born. The premises were pulled down some years ago (1849)
to widen the street.

Leonard : A little below that, where is now Barker's
shoe shop, the Independent first saw the light, for those were
the premises occupied by Mr. H. A. Bacon, its originator.
The printing office was in an attic, where a man could hardly
stand upright, and the staff consisted of four apprentices and
three or four journeymen, and the paper was printed on a small
hand-press. The first copy was " pulled " by George Blyth-
man, and was " flyed " by George Rogers, who has been inti-
mately connected with the paper from that day to this. The
first editor was an Lishman, named Fanning, the second
Ebenezer Rhodes, the third Thomas Asline "Ward ; then the
paper was bought by the late Robert Leader. Henry Andrew
Bacon's father, Mr. Clay Bacon, had himself been a printer,

110 SNIG HILL.

but at that time lie was a partner in the firm of Bower and
Bacon, type-founders, in the Nursery, just by Messrs. Chad-
burn's wheel, in what is now Nursery street. They were the
first type-founders in Sheffield, and one of the earliest firms in
the provinces — at any rate, there was none other at that time
nearer than London. Mr. H. A. Bacon married the niece of
"Neddy Furniss," the shoemaker in Westbar green, and
with her obtained a comfortable fortune. Mrs. Bacon sur-
vived him, changed her name a second time to that of Briggs,
and is still living. One of her daughters married Mr. Atkin-
son, formerly a draper at the bottom of Angel street (now
Mr. Hovey's), and the other Mr. Barlow, of Bawmarsh.

Twiss : We have now traced this newspaper to all its
locations — Snig hill, Angel street, High street (with Mul-
berry street), corner of Bank street and Snig hill, and, lastly,
Bank street. So that it has not wandered many hundred
yards.

Leonard : The premises standing near the bottom of
Snig hill, on the right, just before the street makes the
gradual bend towards Newhall street, shame their neighbours
by their antiquity. There we see again the gables, the small
windows and inconvenient low rooms that used to be the
characteristics of Sheffield architecture.

Twiss : You mean the house now divided in occupation
between Mr. Jones, butcher, and Mr. Samuel Parker Hall,
cutler ?

Leonard : Yes, and the narrow gable above which is a
fruiterer's, between them being the lower premises of a hair-
dresser.

Twiss : The house I speak of is the last before the street
bends, and it must have a curious history, but I have not
been able to get at it. There is a fine broad staircase going
right up to the top. There is a tradition that it was once an
inn — the Snigh or Snig, and hence the name. But you will
say — what is a Snigh or Snig? It is an old Saxon name for
the eel, and daring philologists connect this with the water
at the bottom of Newhall street. Another derivation, you
know, attempts to connect the name with the steepness of
the declivity, which necessitated the application of a snag or
brake to wheeled vehicles descending it.

Leighton : At the bottom of Snig hill, the uncle of
Jonathan Marshall used to keep an iron and steel shop. He
left his nephew a good sum of money, with which he set up
the steel converting business in Millsands, and died enor-

THE BROWN HOSPITAL. Ill

mously rich. He and Benjamin Eose, the druggist, of Angel
street, were great companions. They both had plenty of
money, but they walked to Doncaster races rather than hire
a horse. Marshall had frequent losses, for hardly anybody
ever failed but he was a creditor. It didn't matter, however,
for he and the Walkers of Masbro' were the only people in
the steel trade, so they had it and all its great profits to
themselves.

Everard : It was in the service of Jonathan Marshall
that the progenitor of the great firm of Thomas Firth and
Sons acquired that practical skill as a steel converter which
he handed down to his son, and which was the chief cause of
the first success of the firm. His son besides being with
Mr. Marshall was, before he started in business for himself,
with the Sandersons.

Leighton : Standing with its side to Newhall street and
facing Millsands is Hollis's Hospital, or, as it used commonly
to be called, Brown Hospital, built on the site of the first
Dissenters' chapel in the town. Its history is to be found in
Hunter's Hallamshire ; but the inscription on the Newhall
street- side, over a blocked up doorway, may be recorded here,
for although there seems to be no present prospect of its
obliteration, when such things do disappear there is no re-
covering them : —

"This Hospital,

For sixteen poor aged Inhabitants of

Sheffield or within two Miles round it,

And School for fifty children, were founded by

Thomas Hollis, of London, Cutler,

1703,

And further endowed by his Sons,

Thomas Hollis, 1724, and John Hollis, 1726,

And rebuilt more commodiously by the Trustees,

1776."

Everard : While almost everything else round here has
changed, this building remains the same, close to busy
thoroughfares, and yet, as it were, removed from them.
Stepping down here, only a few yards from the noisy streets,
has to some extent the effect of getting into a Cathedral
close.

Leonard : At the bottom of Newhall street, are the offices
erected some years ago by Naylor, Vickers & Co. They oc-
cupy the site of the old " horse dyke," in which lads used to
bathe and paddle, and where the street watering carts were
filled.

112 TOMMY HOTBEEAD.

Weagg : This part of Bridge street was called " Under
the water" or " T 'under watter," and " The Isle" was where
Tennant's brewery now stands. In Water lane, were some
troughs, or rather a well — hence the name.

Leonard : Was it not hereabouts that the celebrated ad-
venture of Tommy Hotbread took place ?

Weagg : Yes. " Tommy Hotbread," took his name
from calling hot cakes, "halfpenny rolls," on a morning.
At that time, sixty years ago, all the spring-knife cutlers were
knock-kneed from being underfed, and had long arms from the
peculiar manner in which they worked; but Tommy was worst
of all, and since he was a little feeble old man besides, it
was as much as he could do to walk, let alone taking any one
into custody. Besides, he had an impediment in his speech.
One night he was fast asleep in his box, near Newhall street,
when some fellows leaving a public-house, carried it and
Tommy into the goit in Millsands. On Tommy awaking and
observing the water in it, he said, " Be me thoul there's a
thorm." He then cried out to his jokers, who were waiting
to see the result, " Athihtance, gentlemen," and on discover-
ing his true position he threatened, it is said, that if they did
not get him out he would take them into " cuthdody."

Leonaed : The story is told in several different forms and
with sundry variations. One account makes Tommy's watch
box to have been near the Castle Inn, facing up Angel street.
According to this version, the watchman did not wait to be in
the water before he awoke, but as he was being carried down
Snig hill, box and all, he roared out vigorously, "If yo doan't
thet me doan, o'le tak yo all up." The grinders, however,
went straight a-head and placed the box in the middle of the
horse dyke, not the goit as Mr. Wragg said.

Twiss : The version given in a note in Mr. John Wilson's
edition of Mather is, that the jokers were a party of scissor-
grinders who had been at a trade meeting at Mr. Hinehliffe's,
the Greyhound, Gibraltar, and they, on peeping into the box,
at the bottom of Snig hill, found Tommy asleep. One of them
went to " borrow" a clothes line which some good woman
had left out at night, and with this cord they tied the watch-
man in his box and bore him off notwithstanding his shouts.
This account agrees with Mr. Wragg in making the goit the
scene of the immersion. Mr. Wilson tells another practical joke
that was played on Hotbread by the workmen of Holy, Wilkinson
and Co., when he was selling fruit in Mulberry street. They
called to him out of the window for some apples, and made

WATCHMEN AND CONSTABLES. 113

the coppers hot before throwing them out to him. On going
up the stairs to complain to Mr. Holy, they poured a mixture
of whiting and water on to his head.

Leighton : The watchmen of those days would have pre-
sented a wonderful sight to a Government Inspector. The
whole "posse" for the entire town did not exceed above half
a score. Besides Tommy Hotbread, there were " Sammy
Suck-thumb," "Neddy Jennings," and others. They were
accustomed to announce the time and the state of the
weather, and one great part of their duty was to call up
people who had to rise early. Any lateness was sure to be
excused on the ground that the watchman had forgotten his
promise to rouse them. The watch boxes that protected the
watchmen were put up by the Town Trustees.

Wragg : Yes, we mentioned that under the willow tree,
on Brookhill, once before.

Johnson : The Hotbreads and the Suck-thumbs, the
Eyres, Woollens, Halls, and Hinchliffes, flourished about the
end of the last century. But forty years ago we were still
under the constable regime, for policemen had not yet reached
us. There were Flather, Wild, Waterfall, and Bland for
Sheffield, and Birks for Ecclesall. It was as common in those
days to speak of fetching Bland, as it is now to go for a police-
man. I saw Bland take past my father's shop, George Sandys,
a butcher in Pinstone street, who had murdered his wife.

Wragg : I fear you are not quite accurate in your facts.
There never were more than three constables, but they had
their " runners." Bland was first an assistant of Thomas
Smith, to execute the warrants on debtors, and put them in
gaol, in Scotland street. Nor was Birks a constable at first,
he was " runner" to Marples, his wife's father, whom he sub-
sequently succeeded. Wild had a runner named Wildgoose,
" Jim Goose," and it was he who apprehended Sandys and
took him to York. " Goose" and " Old Crookes," the
watchman, generally did the work now assigned to detectives ;
but as Wildgoose couldn't read, he had no chance of becom-
ing a constable, so he ceased to be a "runner" and worked
at his trade — file cutting — until his death. In 1825, the
constables were Thomas Smith, keeper of Scotland street
Gaol ; Thomas Flather and John Waterfall. The assistant-
constables were John Waterfall, jun., James Wild and
William Bland.

Leighton : Wild, the constable, lived at one time in a
house at the bottom of North Church street, opposite the old

114 WESTBAR.

Queen street chapel school-room ; and subsequently in Queen
street, opposite the chapel.

Everard : It is a little curious and very creditable that
sons of both Wild and Waterfall became bank managers.

Wragg : Tom Smith, whom I have named, subsequently
kept the Blue Boar, in Westbar, and afterwards the Royal
Oak, King street. He accumulated considerable wealth ; but
Hinchliffe, his senior, a fellow constable and fellow pub-
lican, the father of "Jemmy Queer," was not so success-
ful. He ended his days in the Shrewsbury Hospital. His
family appears to have been in the scissor trade for more
than a century, one of them, Mr. Robert Hinchliffe, having
produced the first pair of hand polished scissors in 1761.

Leonard : The story is that he was induced to attempt to
make them in order to ingratiate himself in the affections of
the girl who afterwards became his wife.

Johnson : Smith and Hinchliffe were the proprietors of
the bowling green further on, from which the present street
takes its name.

Leighton : The Blue Boar had been Mr. Hagger's house,
with a coat of arms over it, and Smith new-fronted it. On
the side nearest Snig hill — now the three shops between
Woollen's and Raby's, was a grand house, belonging to Mr.
Norris — Sammy Norris he was called. There were steps
leading up to it, and the workshops of Norris, who was a
razor maker, were up the yard behind. He was Master
Cutler in 1777. Norris had two sons and one daughter,
Catherine, who married Richard Ince, a solicitor at Wirks-
worth, of whom came the late Mr. T. N. Ince, of Wakefield.
The elder son of Mr. Norris married the daughter of the
Rev. James Dixon, vicar of Ecclesfield. The younger son,
Thomas, became a clergyman, and was for some time chaplain
to the Forces, and died at Chelsea in 1816.

Wragg : The case of old Mr. Norris was a very sad one.
He traded to Germany, and one year, by great exertions, took
an unusually large stock of razors to Leipsic fair, expecting to
reap the due reward of his efforts. Instead of customers to
the fair came the French invading army, the city was fired,
and Mr. Norris, it was said, had to secrete himself in a pig-stye.
The disaster ruined him, for notwithstanding the commisera-
tion of his creditors and the public, he never recovered his
former position. He died an inmate of the Shrewsbury Hos-
pital, July 16th, 1817.

EARLY TRADE ADVENTURERS. 115

Leonard : I have just a shade of doubt whether it was
the old gentleman or the son Thomas who went to Leipsic,
for although afterwards a clergyman, the latter was at one
time in his father's business. It is certain, however, that it
was the old man who died in the Shrewsbury Hospital.

Leighton : On the opposite side of Westbar, up a pas-
sage, the father of the late Peter Frith began business as an
optician, 70 years ago. He prospered, devoting himself more
to the fancy branches than his competitors, and saved a large
sum of money. The father of old Mr. Oakes, the tobacco-
nist, still living in Westbar three doors from the corner of
Colson street, had a meal and flour shop on the same (south)
side of the street, belonging to the late Benj. Withers'
father. The rent was £9 per annum ; it has since been re-
fronted and is now occupied by Mr. Barlow, saddler, and a
tobacconist, at a very much higher rental. At the corner of
Colson style was Mr. Denton, grocer, of Fox hill. He was
brother to the late William Denton, of Pitsmoor.

Leonard : Old Mr. Oakes, who has been mentioned, is 86
years' old, yet he relates that Westbar has not greatly
altered in his lifetime. In the part of it nearest to Snig hill,
the buildings are much the same, though most of the shops
have been refronted.

Leonard : Westbar had the honour of producing the first
Sheffield manufacturer who ventured to open direct business
communication with London. The story is thus told : —
About the middle of the last century, Mr. Fox, of Westbar —
he who built the lofty houses near West court, in one of
which he afterwards lived, and Mr. Samuel Fowler in the
other — was the first person to undertake a journey to Lon-
don for the purpose of selling his wares. It was necessary
to go on foot, and before starting he made his will and gave
a large farewell party to his friends. Nothing that his wife
or friends could say to him could dissuade him from encoun-
tering all the fatigue, hazard, and difficulty of the journey.
He started on foot, carrying his treasure on his back. The
first day he walked as far as Mansfield, where he rested for
the night. The next day he had to wait until a sufficient
number of travellers met together to venture across Notting-
ham forest, on account of the numerous robberies that were
committed on travellers there, and also because of the intri-
cacies of the road. He reached Nottingham in safety, and
ultimately he reached London, sold his goods to his satisfac-
tion, and obtained plenty of orders for more. His example

116 SPENCE BROUGHTON.

was soon followed by others, who went upon similar business,
but this is believed to have been the first instance of personal
intercourse with the metropolis.

Everard : Business journeys must have been made to
London earlier than that, though doubtless they would be
great and rare occasions. An ancestor of my own, in the
cutlery trade, went up, I believe in the reign of Queen Anne,
and I have a copper-plate, engraved by my great-grandfather,
to perpetuate the memory of that event.

Wragg : In New street, lived Spence Broughton, who
was hung and gibbeted on Attercliffe Common in 1792, for
robbing the mail-cart there. " He was," says Mr. Oakes,
who remembers, as a boy six years old, seeing the gibbet-post
being made by a man named Gregory, in the Nursery, " a
fine fellow, standing six feet high." The Sunday after he
was gibbeted, the road through Attercliffe was one mass of
people going to see the wretched spectacle. It seemed as if
everybody from Sheffield and Rotherham and all around had
gone to visit the scene.

Leonard : There is none of the uncertainty which attaches
to Frank Fearn's gibbet- post in connection with the ultimate
destination of Spence Broughton's. A few years ago — in
May, 18G7, large crowds were attracted to the Yellow Lion,
in Clifton street, Attercliffe Common, to see an upright piece
of solid black oak, 4ft. 6in. long and 18in. square, fixed in
and passing through a massive framework, 10ft. long and 1ft.
deep, firmly imbedded in the ground. The post was bolted
to this latter. This relic was found by a person named Hol-
roycl, while making excavations for cellars opposite the Yellow
Lion, and I suppose there can be no doubt that they were the
socket and lower part of the gibbet-post put up in 1792, the
upper part having been cut away and removed some years
before. I am not aware what became of them.

Johnson : The fragment of the post is still kept at the
Yellow Lion.

Twiss : It was Mr. Henry Sorby, of Woodburn, who
took down the gibbet when the land on which it was erected
became his property. His chief motive was to put a stop to
the injury done by trespassers visiting this relic of a bar-
barous custom. I suppose he must have cut it off instead of
taking it up out of the ground. The gibbet was deposited
in his coach-house, where I saw it. I am not clear what
afterwards became of the post, but I am under the impression
that it was used for a beam in a cottage, and that it was re-

LETTER TO HIS WIFE. 117

moved in consequence of the prejudice it caused against the
house.

Leighton : As an instance of the absurd stories that get
abroad about such matters, I may say it has been solemnly
affirmed, in print, that Spence Broughton's gibbet-post was
set on fire and burned down by women who were collecting
rubbish in the field. Solid oak like that would take more
than casual burning.

Everard : I have seen an extract from the Mercury, of
Oct. 6, 1827, which shows that Broughton's gibbet-post was
removed on the 27th of September in that year. I visited it
about 1817, when the clothes were fluttering rags, and the
whitened bones could be seen.

Leonard : Have you ever seen the touching letter which
Spence Broughton is said to have addressed to his wife on
the eve of his execution ? It is as follows :—

" My dear Eliza, — This is the last affectionate token thou
will ever receive from my hand, a hand that trembles at my
approaching dissolution, so soon, so soon, so very soon to
ensue. Before thou wilt open this last epistle of thine unfortu-
nate husband, these eyes, which overflow with tears of con-
trition, shall have ceased to weep, and this heart now flutter-
ing on the very verge of eternity shall beat no more. I have
prepared my mind to meet death without horror, and ah, how
happy, had that death been the common visitation of
nature. Be not discomfited ; God will be your friend.
In the solitude of my cell, I have sought Him, His spirit
hath supported me, hath assisted me in my prayers, and
many a time in the moment of remorseful anguish hath
whispered peace ; for, my dear Eliza, I never added cruelty
to injustice. Yet, tho' I have resolved to meet death without
fear, one part of my awful sentence, a sentence aggravated
by being merited, chills me with horror when I reflect that
my poor remains, the tokens of mortality, must not sleep in
peace, but be buffeted about by the storms of heaven and
parched by the summer's sun, while the traveller shrinks
at the sight with disgust and terror. This consideration
freezes my blood. This cell, this awful gloom, these irons,
yea, death itself is not so grievous. Why will the laws con-
tinue to sport with the wretched after life is at an end ?

" My Eliza, my friend, my wife, the last sad scene ap-
proaches when I shall be no more ; leave the world and thee,
my dear, to its mercy. Not only thee, but my unprotected
children, the pledges of a love, through misfortune, through

118 WESTBAR.

dissipation, through vice and infamy, on thy part unchanged.
Ah, fool that I was to think friendship could exist hut with
virtue.

" Had I listened to the advice thou hast so often given
me, we had been a family respectable and respected, but it is
past. That advice hath been slighted. I am doomed to an
ignominious death, and thou and my children, horrid thought !
to infamy. To thee alone I trust the education of those ill-
fated creatures, whom I now more than ever love and weep
for. Warn them to avoid gaming of every description, that
baneful vice which has caused their father to be suspended, a
long and lasting spectacle to feed the eye of curiosity. Teach
them the ways of religion in their early years. Cause them
to learn some trade, that business and time may occupy the
mind and leave no room for dissipation. When seated round
your winter's fire, when the little innocents inquire after
their unfortunate father, tell them gaming was his ruin ; he
neglected all religious duties ; he never conversed with his
heart in solitude ; he stilled the upbraidings of conscience in
the company of the lewd and profligate, and is hung on high,
a sad and dismal warning to after times. I see thee em-
ployed, while tears trickle down that face which I have so ill
deserved.

" Adieu, my Eliza, adieu for ever, the morning appears
for the last time to these sad eyes. Pleasant would death be
on a sick bed after my soul had made her peace with God.
With God I hope her peace is made. He is not a God of all
terror, but a God of mercy. On that mercy I rely, and on
the interposition of a Saviour. May my tears, my penitence,
and deep contrition be acceptable to that Almighty Being be-
fore whom I am shortly to appear.

" Adieu, my Eliza, adieu, farewell ; the pen falls from my
hand and slumber overtakes me, the next will be the sleep of
death. Farewell.

" Yours in love. Spence Broughton."

Twiss : It is a touching letter and I see no reason to
doubt its authenticity.

Wragg : There used to be some little shops at the bot-
tom of New street, which have been rebuilt. A great
guinea buyer lived at the bottom of that street. He let in
Walker's bank for a large amount, and as that was followed
by the burning down of the cotton mill it was a bad year for
them. At the top of Hicks' lane was Wilkinson, a tooth
drawer. A miser named Smith lived near, the beginning of

DR. GEORGE CALVERT HOLLAND. 119

whose wealth was receiving compensation for a boy who was
killed in a coalpit. In North street was, 70 years ago,
Daniel Hemming, who worked for Spurrs the cutlers. He
was the first man who invented oval shields for pen-knife
handles.

Johnson : New street boasted the possession of one of
the town pumps ; it still stands in the bend, up the street.

Wragg : On a part of the site of the Surrey Music Hall
(still standing in the ruin caused by the fire in 1865) was
the uncle of the late Dr. Gr. C. Holland. To his trade the
Doctor was at first brought up, and as a youth he might be
seen there making wigs.

Everard : George Calvert Holland was too remarkable
a man to be passed over with a mere mention of that kind.
The perseverance which enabled him to triumph over the
disadvantages of a lowly origin, the scholarship which he
snatched by his own hard industry, the romantic though
painful vicissitudes of his life, and his genial personal
presence alike point to him as an illustrious figure in the
history of Sheffield during the earlier half of the present
century. I do not know that his physical bearing can be
better hit off than in the appreciative biographical sketch
which appeared in the Independent at the time of his death — ■
March, 1865. I should just like to read these sentences
from among others : —

" The graceful courtesy of the man, the courtly kindli-
ness of his greeting, and his never-failing refinement of
thought, expression, and bearing marked him wherever he
was as one who, despite his humble lineage, had received from
Nature herself, and under her own hand and seal, the patent
of a gentleman. His great acquirements as a scholar were
borne without any of the scholar's pedantry. His arduous
labours as an author, whose works are characterized by rare
originality of thought, did not import into his manners any
taint of the literary churl. Eeverses of fortune that would
have crushed a man of less powerful and less active intellect
had no power either to crush or to sour him. His philoso-
phic spirit stood by him through his declining health and
ruined fortunes. The sentient marble of which he was
moulded was of all too fine a grain to receive any stain from
extrinsic surroundings, and when his duties as a public man
called him to sit in an assembly notorious for the irritating
acrimony and offensive coarseness in which some of its mem-
bers indulged, his unruffled urbanity and unaffected elegance

120 DR. HOLLAND.

never failed to exhibit him in admirable relief as one who
could better brook insult than brook the idea that any word
or action of his should be unworthy of a gentleman and a
scholar. When circumstances were against him he rose
superior to circumstances. Those even whose acquaintance
with him was of the slightest, will think of him with most
respectful regret. His full grey eye, and thin intellectual
face that spoke, before his tongue could speak it, a cordial
greeting, will live in the memory of hundreds who were
privileged with his acquaintance, and who felt in his society
that when a man is moulded and tempered and endowed like
him, the advantages of worldly circumstances are but as the
tinselled rags which the superstitious hang upon the images
of the saints in a misjudged attempt to do them honour."

Leighton : That is an admirable description of the man.
I should like much to have my remembrance of the other
parts of that notice revived.

Everard : Mr. Leonard showed it to me and I doubt not
he will read it to us.

Leonard : I will chiefly give you those parts which
sketch Dr. Holland's personal history : — " Holland was born
at Pitsmoor sixty-four years ago (this, you will remember,
was written in 1865), when Pitsmoor was an outlying
hamlet, and salmon were speared in the then clear waters
of the Don. His father, a sawmaker, working with Kenyon
and Co., gave the boy a fair education. The lad was not pre-
cocious. He was, happily for his future distinction, a child
delighting in boyish sports, and manifesting no special apti-
tude either for learning or books. Nobody suspected him of
superior ability, nor did he suspect it himself. At an early
age he was apprenticed to an uncle, whose humble but honest
business we need not indicate ; suffice it to mention that it
was a business of small profits and quick returns, and one
which gave young Holland a fine opportunity for the study of
physiognomy and for observing the remarkable variety which
exists in the size and formation of human heads. In the
olden times the perruquier was often a little of the surgeon
— in modern times even he sometimes lapses into the ancient
trade — and the boy who was to become an accomplished
physician, made his first approach to the profession through
the antique gateway. At sixteen an accident led him to test
his mental powers. One Sunday morning he was taking a
walk with a companion, who told him he had composed a
hymn, and who read the verses to him for the purpose of ob-

DK. G. C. HOLLAND. 121

taming bis opinion on their merits. Young Holland was
surprised at the talent of his youthful companion. The germ
of a worthy ambition was quickened within him, and partly
from curiosity as to his own qualifications and partly from a
dimly dawning consciousness of dormant power, be resolved
to try to write verses too. The result of this first essay in
composition astonished himself as much as it did his friends ;
and from that time he became a regular contributor to the
Poet's Corner in one of those weekly journals which were at
that period the only newspapers published in the town. This
was the turning point in his life. New aspirations were
awakened within him, new tastes took posession of him. With
all the ardour of youth and all the vivid appreciation which
is felt by lads who are realising for the first time the flatter-
ing sense of superiority to their fellows, he became a reader.
But no reader of novels was he. The most ponderous tomes
of history, travel, and science were as novels to him, and he
ransacked libraries with the delighted eye of an explorer who
is meeting at every turn some new feature of what to him is
a new world. His love of the classics caused him often to
prolong his readings through the night. But he became
dissatisfied with translations ; he burned to read Virgil and
Petrarch in their native tongue. Under difficulties which had
about them strange elements of the grotesque, he — the saw-
maker's son — set himself to acquire Latin, French, and
Italian, and made such extraordinary progress as to become a
marvel amongst all his acquaintances. His was the faith
that worked miracles. He voyaged among strange fields of
knowledge in the spirit of a discoverer, and valued most the
acquisitions which at first seemed most remote. The uncle
was by no means pleased with the boy's bravery. The love
of knowledge had become an absorbing passion, and the plain
tradesman gravely shook his head, and uttered his fears that
no good would ever come of such a voracious consumption of
books. But the youth had wiser friends, who lent him books,
and frankly told him that he would wrong himself if he did
not seek employment in some worthier calling than in his
uncle's lowly trade. The first scheme of his friends was to
procure for him an admission to the Unitarian College, but
the want of the needful resources caused that project to break
down. Happily he had a relation, a surgeon, who took a
creditable interest in the splendid efforts at self- elevation that
were being made by so promising a youth. It was arranged
that the accomplished lad should go to Edinburgh and pre-

K

122 WESTBAE.

pare himself for taking his degree as Doctor of Medicine, and
to Edinburgh he went. He spent three years in that city,
making great progress in his studies, and becoming ac-
quainted with and esteemed by the most rising men of the
University. From the modern Athens he removed to Paris,
where he diligently pursued his studies in anatomy, physi-
ology, and pathology. Sensible of his vantage as a man of
letters, he presented himself in Paris before the examiners
for the degree of Bachelor of Letters, and was personally ex-
amined by the eminent Gruizot, who bestowed on him special
praise for his intimate acquaintance with the classics. After
spending a year in Paris he returned to Edinburgh, where he
completed his studies, and obtained his diploma as M.D.
with great eclat. He then commenced practice in Manchester,
became an active member of the learned bodies in that city,
and made many friends among men of scientific and literary
eminence. We have thus traced the sawmaker's son from
the school to the shop — from the shop to the study — and
from the study to the examination in which he earned the ap-
plause of the gifted professors of the Sorbonne, and we must
now briefly sketch his professional life.

"Young Gr. C. Holland, now M.D. and Bachelor of Letters,
did not remain long in Manchester. His youthful suscepti-
bility was wounded by a malignant allusion in one of the
local papers to his humble antecedents, and he moved for a
while to Edinburgh, where he pursued his experiments and
researches for his first physiological work, 'An Experimental
Inquiry into the Laws of Life.' After committing this im-
portant work to the press, he came to Sheffield, and com-
menced practising in his native town. The flattering recep-
tion his book met with in the medical reviews and the public
press raised him in the estimation of his townsmen, and in
the course of a few years his practice brought him in about
£1400 a year. During this time he was elected one of the
physicians to the Infirmary — often lectured before the mem-
bers of the Mechanics' Institution — was an active member of
the Philosophical Society, and became its president. At the
first borough election he was chairman for Mr. T. A. Ward ;
and at the second borough election he appeared on the hust-
ings for Mr. S. Bailey, that gentleman having personally
declined to contest the borough again. On all these occa-
sions Dr. Holland displayed great activity of mind and often
rose to a pitch of eloquence which surprised his contempo-
raries, and threw their oratorical efforts into the shade.

DE. G. C. HOLLAND. 123

During the agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws the
Doctor made the serious mistake of joining the Protectionists.
He became one of the lecturers, and had a discussion with
Mr. Ackland, in the Theatre of this town. He had also a
discussion with the veteran Free-trader, Mr. "William Ibbot-
son, in the same place. This erratic course alienated the
Doctor from many of his old friends, hut the farmers around
Doncaster acknowledged his brilliant services by presenting
him with a purse containing 500 guineas.

" When the railway speculation commenced in 1843 the
Doctor went into it with all the spirit of his sanguine nature,
and with considerable success. He was chairman of several
companies, and a director of many more. He was also a
director in the Sheffield and Retford Bank, and of another at
Leeds. Unlike some other speculators, he held his stock too
long. The crash came, and with it a writ from the London
and Westminster Bank for £54,000. He had then given up
his practice, and was living at Wadsley Hall in the style of a
country gentleman. He was driven into bankruptcy, and
retired to a small cottage near Worksop until his affairs were
settled. There, in poverty and distress, he wrote his 'Philo-
sophy of Animated Nature,' a work which he always con-
sidered as his best. He then tried his fortune in the
metropolis, and, although a gentleman in manners, an author
whose works had received the highest compliments from the
highest authorities on the questions of which he had treated,
he was lost in the modern Babylon, and, mortified at his ill-
success, he returned to Sheffield in 1851. On his return to
his native town, it told against him that he countenanced and
partially practised homoeopathy. Homoeopathy was heresy,
and the orthodox in medicine, like the orthodox in divinity,
look coldly on the heretically wicked. Indeed it is to be feared
that an independence of mind which would not permit itself
to be trammelled by routine, and a temperament which re-
tained to the last the speculative and sanguine cast of his
youth, did much to impede that practical recognition to which
his extensive attainments and brilliant natural powers en-
titled him. Indeed a shade of sadness comes over us when we
think of how much he has done for his age and how little the
age has done for him We can count our doctors by the thou-
sand, but when we are called upon to bury the author of ' The
Philosophy of Animated Nature,' we are reminded that men
so amiable, so learned, so gifted, and so passionately fond of
curious research are public benefactors whose thoughts do not

124 THE MELLON FAMILY.

perish with them, and whose labours entitle them to be re-
garded as the philanthropists who bequeath to the world — ■
not silver and gold indeed, but the mature fruits of the in-
tellect with which they were endowed. Dr. G. Calvert Hol-
land, formerly President of the Hunterian and Royal Physical
Societies, Edinburgh, Bachelor of Letters of the University
of Paris, author of ' An Experimental Inquiry into the Laws
of Life,' ' Inquiry into the Principles and Practice of
Medicine,' ' The Physiology of the Liver and Spleen,' ' The
Vital Statistics of Sheffield,' ' The Philosophy of the Moving
Powers of the Blood,' ' The Philosophy of Animated Nature,'
and a little library of other works of the same high class,
was no ordinary man. His address was worthy of his
appearance, his bearing became his reputation, his reputation
realized more than could even have been anticipated from his
youthful promise, and the only thing to be regretted is, that
when laden with honours and with years he did not reap a
greater material reward."

Leighton : Thank you, I have enjoyed that much, for it
is all very true.

Weagg : Robert Holland, the sawmaker, became at a late
period of his life, after the manner of so many Sheffield
artizans, the landlord of the Blue Boar, which has already
been mentioned. George Holland, his brother, built the
property at the top of Hicks lane.

Johnson : In Hicks lane, lived a family that for several
reasons must be noticed — the Mellons. Michael Mellon,
the chimney sweeper, was well known ; his grandson, Henry
Mellon, gave us a remarkable instance of a selfmade man ;
while the romantic story of one of the family becoming raised
to the peerage as Duchess of St. Albans is too good to be
lost. Mr. Holland* tells us that he was unable to remem-
ber the street in which Michael Mellon's rhyming invita-
tion to customers was hung out on a swinging sign-board,
but he fancied it was True Love's Gutter. Whether Mellon
ever lived there or not he was certainly at one time a
" character " in Westbar, with his bow-legs and his habits
of insobriety, living, as I have said, in Hicks lane. The
gravestone in the Churchyard, which Mr. Holland mentions,
is over his wife Sarah, who died the 6th October, 1807,
aged 42. There is some little vagueness as to the rela-
tionship of Harriet, the actress, who is said to have risen
so high in the world, to this chimney-sweep, but the proba-

* " Our Old Churchyard," p. 18.

HARRIET, DUCHESS OF ST. ALBANS. 125

bility seems to be that she was his sister. It has been said
she was his aunt, but that would make her too old to be the
consort of the Duke of St. Albans, who was born in 1801.

Twiss : Is not the story altogether apocryphal '?

Johnson : I think not ; at all events it is a very curious
one, none the less curious from the doubt that hangs over it.
If by any means the identity of Harriet, Duchess of St.
Albans, with Harriet Mellon, of Hicks lane, could have been
tested by a law court, the case would certainly have been re-
markable.

Leighton : The Mellon family believed very firmly in the
identity — though that, to be sure, is not much to go by.

Twiss : And it was repudiated by the " other side."

Everard : Mr. Holland, in the paper already mentioned,
speaks of the relationship as an established fact, and the Rev.
C. Collier in a " Notice of the Rev. Henry Mellon," in the
Reliquary for January, 1872 (Vol. xii., p. 152), says that
" of the relationship there can be but little doubt."

Johnson : He also speaks of the Duchess as Henry Mel-
Ion's great-aunt, which, since Michael was Henry's grand-
father, confirms my belief that Harriet Mellon was Michael's
sister. However, the story goes thus : Harriet Mellon went
on the stage, and achieved a great success. A fine tribute to
her acting is said to have occurred once at Liverpool. The
character she was playing — that of a woman in the depths of
poverty and distress — had to appeal for help against a remorse-
less bailiff. She acted the part with such feeling that a sailor
in the audience rushed upon the stage to her assistance.

Twiss : Similar stories have been told of many actors.

Leonard : What a sceptical mood you are in to-night !

Johnson : On the London boards Miss Mellon made a
conquest of Thomas Coutts, the banker, grandfather of the
present Baroness Burdett Coutts, and after his death she — ■

Twiss : (aside) Being no doubt very wealthy —

Johnson : — Formed a second alliance with William
Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St. Albans, the
father of the present Duke.

Everard : Then was she the mother of the present Duke ?

Johnson : No. There was no issue. The Duchess died
August 6th, 1837. The Duke married again, and the present
Duke and Lady Diana Huddlestone are the result of the
alliance.

Leonard : I see Debrett describes the first Duchess as
" daughter of Matthew Mellon, gent." The marriage took
place 16th June, 1827.

126 THE EEV. HENRY MELLON.

Everard : It seems to me that Henry Mellon's career has
something in it much worthier of family pride than this ill-
matched alliance with the aristocracy, and this relative who
would never acknowledge the pit from which she was digged,
nor lend a helping hand to those who were still floundering
in it. But Henry Mellon did without her, though her persis-
tent refusal to notice his application for the help necessary to
obtain a university training was a great disappointment to him.

Twiss : That he succeeded by self-help is all the more to
his credit, and adds another to the eminent pupils who have
conferred honour upon the Sheffield Boys' Charity School.

Everard : The source of the following sketch of Henry
Mellon's career I have already acknowledged. Mr. Collier
tells us that Michael, the wit and public character, begat John,
and John, " a good steady man, who followed his father's
trade," begat Henry in 1818. His father dying early, the
boy was placed in the Charity School. His studiousness and
love of learning made its mark, and he became the head boy.
He was, on leaving, apprenticed as silversmith to Mr. Samuel
Roberts, the great patron of that school, but during his
apprenticeship he showed a strong ecclesiastical bent, teaching
in Garden street Sunday School, and helping the clergymen
at the Parish Church at the Sunday afternoon baptisms.
What was of more importance, he studiously increased the
knowledge already acquired, devoted himself to Hebrew, and
ransacked the Mechanics' Library for works on poetry and
history. Ultimately he became a student at the Church
Missionary College, Islington ; passed through the course with
diligence, and was ordained by the Bishop of London after a
creditable examination. " What a strange transformation in
a few years," says Mr. Collier — "a chimney sweeper's child
— a poor charity boy, with his yellow stockings and leather
breeches — an apprentice boy, with an apron tied round his
waist — now the accomplished Rev. Henry Mellon. He was
in every way worthy of his position. With an open, ruddy
countenance, and a clear brow, he had a voice of fair compass,
a graceful bearing, an entire absence of patois in his speech,
an unassuming manner, and remarkable powers of conversa-
tion. I shall never forget when he occupied the pulpit in the
church where he had sat as a charity boy, and where I heard
his first sermon in his native town. Those who knew him as a
boy, and many such were present, could hardly realise in the
graceful preacher the poor lad born in the depths of obscurity
and poverty." After a brief missionary career in India, where

WESTBAR WORTHIES. 127

he lost his wife, the Rev. Henry Mellon returned to England,
held curacies in Cornwall and Oxford, and eventually settled
at Wadsley. "Poor fellow! His day was soon over. His
sun set early. He died in his 32nd year (1849), and was
buried in the churchyard of Wadsley." I have omitted Mr.
Collier's estimate of his characteristics as a preacher, and the
description of his keen appreciation of nature, since the work
in which these occur is readily accessible.

Wragg : It is hardy needful, I suppose, to recall the old
Workhouse, standing out between the bottom of the croft or
lane to which it gave a name, and Silver street. Yet one
ought not to pass over that old and familiar landmark of bye-
gone days, any more than we should omit to shed a tear in
sympathy with the adjacent pump, bereft of all its utility, ex-
cept as a preaching rostrum.

Johnson : It was put up by the Town Trustees, who
wisely purchased the site of the old workhouse, to keep the
space open.

Wragg : " Neddy Furniss" was a Westbar worthy. He
was a prosperous shoemaker, who left his property to his
niece, already spoken of as the wife of Mr. H. A. Bacon,
of Snig hill.

Leonard : Near Furniss's shop was a celebrated gardener,
named Thomas Burgin, who died in 1819.

Wragg : He was, I believe, the father of the late Mr.
William Burgin, the gardener, whose shop stood on the site
of Mr. Sharman's grocery shop at the top of Corporation
street. His was the garden near Brightside Vestry Hall, and
his the orchard in Harvest lane that was such a grand sight
when its fruit trees were in blossom. The Burgins were a
family of gardeners. I have counted as many as four of
them in the Directory published 1828. One of the buildings
destroyed in making Corporation street was the shop of the
late Mr. John Gaunt, grocer. On his retirement from busi-
ness he removed to Darnall. He gave the site of St. Jude's
Church, and afterwards paid largely towards its erection. He
was from the neighbourhood of Penistone — I think Denby,
where there are now some of the family. It is said one of the
Gaunts at Denby can show the family descent from John of
Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Mr. Joseph Gaunt, the scale
cutter, of Pea croft, is a cousin of the late grocer, and I would
also add, the Gaunts of Leeds, are of the same family.

Johnson : There are many other names well known in
Sheffield that might be mentioned in connection with West-

128 WESTBAR.

bar, though this would bring us to times more recent than
we profess to take cognizance of. There was Mr. John
Turton, the surgeon (see p. 42.) ; John Spink, the pawnbroker,
who, marrying the niece of the owner of the property, turned
Benjamin Fox out of the shop where the ruined Casino now
stands ; Benjamin Smilter, father of the present High
Bailiff; Francis Cluley, the earliest surgical instrument
maker, who was next door to the " Old Tankard," removing
thence to Surrey street.

Wragg : The " Old Tankard," by the way, was once kept
by Jonathan Moore, one of the subjects of Mather's virulent
songs.

Twiss : And it is pertinent to the locality to remark that
Mather himself is said to have been born about the year
1737, in Cack Alley, a passage or "jennel" leading from
Westbar green to Lambert street.

Leonard : The house of Mr. Popplewell, currier, close to
the " Old Tankard," bears date 1794.

Johnson : Then there was William Marshall, ironmonger
and paper dealer, on the site of the Surrey Vaults, at the
head of Workhouse lane ; the Dickensons and the Spurrs,
connected by marriage with the Mellon s ; Christopher
Marshall, the pawnbroker ; George Shallcross, the miller, so
long and honourably associated with Red Hill Sunday school.
These and many others might be dwelt on were it not going
too far out of the record.

Leighton : You are all familiar with the palisaded house
at the bottom of Lambert street, now occupied by Mr. Watts,
clasp manufacturer — a business carried on there for many
years. Long ago it was the residence of Capt. Chisholm.
The workshops behind have been long used by coffin makers,
and there is a story of an escaped debtor from Scotland street
gaol finding secure refuge in one of those ghastly structures.
And this reminds me of other whimsicalities of the neigh-
bourhood— of the old lady living at the top of Bower spring,
who had such a mania for storing farthings, that after her
death they were found hidden about the house in barrows
full ; or of "Sally Platts," the robust gardener's wife of 16
stone weight and 87 years of age, who began life as the only
survivor of ten children produced at one birth, and who was
currently reported to have been put into a quart pot in those
days of innocent infancy. The name of her mother who
achieved the feat of ten children at a birth was Ann Birch.
Then there was Molly Revill, the celebrated oat-cake maker,

BOWER SPRING. 129

on the site of the shops now occupied by Councillor Searle
and Mr. Miller, chemist.

Everard : George Harrison, a table-blade forger in Lam-
bert street, was long a local preacher among the Indepen-
dents— indeed he and "Bishop" Bower were the last of the
old generation on the " plan." He was a member of Garden
street chapel when the Rev. Mark Docker was there, and was
one of the founders of Mount Zion chapel.

Wragg : In Lambert street, or Lambert croft (Scotland
street was formerly called Lambert Knott) the Tillotson
family were located before they removed to Coalpit lane.

Twiss : There is a curious story told of the manner in
which the further part of Westbar was raised to its present
level. At one time, it is said, that portion between Westbar
green and Gibraltar street was so low, that a person standing
at the bottom of Furnace hill might with ease have leapt
upon a load of hay passing down the street. There was then
a converting furnace at the bottom of the hill, which was
worked with only one box or pot. By some mismanagement
the whole mass of iron was melted together in one huge solid
block of steel, there being in the furnace at the time some
ten tons of metal. Nothing could be done with this when
it was cold, and after it had lain in the yard a great number of
years, proceedings began to be taken for filling up the road
below. The best employment that could be thought of for
the mass of steel, was to let it go towards filling up the road.
The tradition has been handed down by very old men, and if
there be any truth in it the steel is still there, waiting to as-
tonish some antiquaries of the future.

Wragg : The Bower spring troughs were reputed to
contain the best drinking water in the town. It came from
Furnace hill, as was proved when Messrs. Hudson & Clarke
erected their engine. That stopped the water, and Messrs.
Gaunt & Turton's works were then built where the troughs
had been.

Johnson : It was Mr. Turton who built the Bower spring
works in the old Workhouse gardens, leaving Mr. Gaunt on
Furnace hill. This would be between the years 1825-8.
The history of Mr. Gaunt 's business is worth tracing. It
was sold to Richard Griffiths, who, having come to the town
from his native Wales as a carter to Brittain and Wilkinson's,
of Carver street, got initiated into the mysteries of steel
converting, and ultimately became manager at Sanderson's.
His son, for whom the business was intended, died ; his son-

130 WESTBAE.

in-law let it slip, and. it was sold to Thomas Gatley, the son
of a gardener at Attercliffe who had kept one of the stalls
on the King street side of the market. Young Gatley was
himself apprenticed to Isaac Deakin, penblade maker (son-
in-law of George Merrill, fork maker, Harvest lane), and
afterwards had a scrap shop in Gibraltar street, near " The
Cherry Tree." Then he was at the bottom of Furnace hill,
late Mr. Joshua Wortley's. Having acquired money he
bought Gaunt's business, and subsequently sold it to Mr.
Wm. Jackson, Sheaf Island Works. He acquired much of
the property about here. Like so many other worthies whom
we have had to notice, Mr. Gatley was connected with Queen
street chapel — until 1834, when he seceded and was the means
of establishing Mount Zion chapel, the congregation of which
met in a room over a shop in Carver lane while the chapel
was building.

Leighton : Furnace hill was formerly called " t' Cock
Tail ;" I haven't the remotest notion why. " The Cock Tail
lady" was celebrated by Mather ; and " Buck Hathard,"
the son of a tailor, was also one of the "characters" it
produced. Mr. Peech, a scissor manufacturer here, was the
father-in-law of Henry Steel, who has made himself a name
among the frequenters of the turf, and " t' Cocktail" had the
honour of contributing a soldier to the Life Guards in the
person of Samuel Wragg, who, and his son as well, was a
cutler here.

Wragg : The Quaker family, the Broadheads, have been
associated with Westbar and the neighbourhood throughout
the present century. Mr. John Broadhead, then a maltster,
was in Scotland street, next door to the chapel. Then he
came to the bottom of Furnace hill, subsequently crossing to
the other side of Westbar, where the grocer's shop has been
ever since. Mr. John Broadhead died in 1838. It is a little
singular that not only did his son Alfred succeed to his own
grocery business, but that four of his five daughters married
grocers.

Johnson : Two trade notes may be made here. One is
that " frame polishing" may be said to have had its birth in
Furnace hill — that is polishing spring knives without the aid
of steam or water power. It was originated by Mark Black-
well (landlord of " The Grapes") and his brother George, by
way of resisting a strike of the grinders. And it succeeded
too. The other is that the first nail cut in Sheffield is said
to have been made down the yard by the " Dog and Part-

THE ANDEEWS AND DONCASTEES. 131

ridge," the old public-bouse almost opposite to tbe bottom of
the hill.

Weagg : The Andrew family is closely identified with this
locality. Old Joseph Andrew was a prosperous grocer and
tallow chandler in Furnace hill before this century began.
Three of his sons, Isaac, Matthew and Joseph, were grocers,
the first-named in Westbar at the corner of Hicks lane, the
second in Charles street, and the third, first (1825) in Para-
dise square and afterwards (1833) in Westbar green. Two
other sons, twins, were William Henry and Albert George.
They succeeded to the business of Messrs. George Butler
and Co., spring knife cutlers, in Trinity street, which was after-
wards removed to Trinity works, Eyre street, the old premises
becoming Mr. Longden's foundry. Isaac Andrew was, in his
later years, blind. His brother Joseph was the father of
John Henry Andrew, steel manufacturer, a member of the
present Corporation, and of Mrs. Crowther, Fargate. The
Butlers employed a larger number of men than any other
house in the trade when the " statements" of 1810 and 1814
were made.

Twiss : Towards the end of the last century all these
streets running up the hill were thickly occupied by manu-
facturers. A familiar name among them is that of Daniel
Doncaster, who, in 1787, was a filesmith in Copper street.
In 1817 he was carrying on the same business in Allen street,
while in 1821 the names of William and John take the place
of that of Daniel, and in 1828 William alone. Then, in 1833
another Daniel had joined William, and in 1841 he carried on
the business alone in Doncaster street and Copper street, and
continued to do so until joined by his sons. It is said that
Daniel Doncaster the elder bought a field opposite his Allen
street works for a sum far below what one year's ground rents
now amount to ; while you are no doubt aware that Daniel
Doncaster the younger married the daughter of him who
owned so much property in that neighbourhood that his name,
Allen, was given to the street.

Weagg : In Cross Smithfield was established, somewhere
about the middle of last century, the business now carried on
in Sycamore street by Mr. Thomas Wilson, the grandson of
its founder. The germs of the business seem to have been laid
by old Thomas Wilson at Ran Moor or Hallam. He was one
of the enterprising men who first saw the possibility of dis-
pensing with factors and of opening up connections of his
own without the intervention of a middle-man. Determining

132 THOMAS WILSON. EBENEZER ELLIOTT.

to offer his knives — shoemakers' and butchers' — for sale him-
self, he packed up his goods and took them on his back into
Lancashire. Wherever he sold any knives, he told the pur-
chasers he should come again at a fixed period of time, and
if the article did not suit he would return the money. On
his next journey he had no complaints, but so much greater
demand that some of the retail shops would have purchased
the whole of his stock, but he kept to his promise to the
others. He readily sold all he had taken, and soon returned
home to manufacture more goods with which to complete his
journey. This was the first time that the trade mark of the
Four Peppercorns and a Diamond with the name " Wilson"
went into the market ; now it is a guarantee of good quality
in all the countries of the world.

Leighton : Steadfast to their old localities in Snow hill
are Richard Groves & Sons, perhaps the oldest saw manufac-
turers in the town. Mr. Groves, the grandfather of the
present firm, always had an open Bible before him on his
work-board.

Johnson : A very old workman for that firm was the
father of the late Mr. Hebblethwaite, who survived his son
and lived to a great age.

Leonard : Talking of saw-makers reminds me that Spear
and Jackson were in Gibraltar street — a few doors on the town
side of the old Lancasterian schools — before they went into
Saville street.

Everard : All book-worms will remember that favourite
resort just by— Mr. Joseph Pearce's book shop. At one time
it was on the premises now occupied by John Gartside Elliott,
a son of Ebenezer Elliott, the druggist, who is famed for his
prescriptions for children's disorders. Afterwards Mr. Pearce
went into the shop which is now Hardy's furniture store.

Leonard : The name of Ebenezer Elliott calls up remem-
brances of those days when he occupied the steel warehouse
between the bottom of Snow hill and Trinity street. It was
in 1833 that Elliott came to Gibraltar street, removing from
Burgess street, where he had been in business as an iron and
steel merchant since 1821. While here he built himself a
house at Upperthorpe. In 1837, a commercial revulsion
began, and Elliott used to say that he ought to have retired
from business then, as he once intended. But being afraid
of leading an idle life, "which being interpreted," said he,
" means my unwillingness to resign the profits of business,"
he waited for the crash and " lost fully one-third of his

EBENEZEK ELLIOTT. 133

savings, and after enabling his six sons to quit the nest, got
out of the fracas with about £6000." However, as he
pleasantly explained, he had his compensations, for " Had I
built my house on my land at Foxley, three miles from
Sheffield, as I proposed to do in 1836, I should now have
been liable to be dragged into public meetings, subscriptions,
&c, and deluged with the visits of casual strangers, as I was
at Upperthorpe. Here, out of the way of great temptations,
and visited only by persons who respect me (alas, by how few
of them !) I can perhaps live within my reduced income."
That was written from Argilt hill, Great Houghton, whither,
as you all know, he had retired in 1841. He reckoned that
he had paid about £18 per acre for his land, and that his
rental did not stand at more than twenty guineas. In a letter
to Mr. Tait, which shows the poet in one of his pleasantest
moods, he gave a lively description of his household and his
family. " My establishment is illustrious for a St. Bernard
dog, and a Welsh pony, the observed of all observers, which,
in its green old age of twenty years, draws a small gig, both
untaxed. I also run my only Sheffield carriage, the wheel-
barrow, besides a pony cart ; and I have set up a grindstone.
Conceive of me, then, possessed of a mare, gig and harness,
which with repairs cost altogether £8. 10s. Od. ; a dog almost
as big as the mare and much wiser than his master ; a pony
cart, a wheelbarrow, and a grindstone — and turn up your nose
if you like !"

Leighton : One sometimes thinks of Elliott as having
retired rather early, since he was only twenty years in business
in Sheffield. But that is because one forgets he was forty
years of age when he came here.

Johnson : That was a very sad story that appeared some
time ago about the death of one of his sons.

Leonard : Yes, that was his second son, Benjamin
Gartside, of whom, in the letter I have before quoted from,
Elliott wrote : " My son Benjamin, unwarned by his father's
losses, is carrying on a steel trade in Sheffield in my old
premises, where (as he thinks, poor fellow ! for he is a great
hoper) he has some prospect ; in any other country he would
already have made an independency. He endures privations
such as no man of his pretensions ought to endure anywhere,
and such as no man will here endure if free-trade be obtained
before all is lost. He is a fine young man, upwards of six
feet high, of superior abilities and the highest moral worth —
but, alas ! not unindebted to his grandmother !"

134 BENJAMIN GARTSIDE ELLIOTT.

Eveeakd : That last reference is to a nervous tempera-
ment and "body-consuming sensibilities" which Elliott him-
self always said he derived from his mother, whose life was
" a continuous disease."

Leighton : Do you remember the particulars of Benjamin
Elliott's death ?

Leonard : It occurred in December. 1867. Eleven years
previously, on the death of his aunt Grartside, who left him
her property, he gave up business and went to live in her
house at Shiregreen — as charming a country retreat as could
be desired. But it would seem his solitary life at the steel
warehouse, where he had lived entirely by himself, had engen-
dered in him misanthropic habits which he could not shake
off — possibly he had no disposition to try. The garden was
entirely neglected. Little by little every vestage of glass
disappeared from the windows, the shutters were kept con-
stantly closed, and \lr. Elliott lived in a small kitchen at the
back, his only companion being a dog. His milk and other
necessaries were handed in to him at the door, which he
opened no further than to admit them. On two mornings in
the winter of the year I have named, the door never opened
for the reception of the milk, and on the night of the second
the place was forced open, and there the recluse was found,
stark and stiff, under the sinkstone, dressed only partially in
trousers and shirt, his boots unlaced and without stockings.
The room was covered in all directions with papers and memo-
randa. His seat had been a cast iron chair, his bed a sofa.
An old printing press, some old arms, crockery, tools and
other articles were strewn around in admired confusion, while
on the mantelpiece was a memorandum, " That the Greeks
were an intellectual but not a polite nation." Near the
couch was a copy of Mrs. Shelley's " Frankenstein," so worn
as to lead to the supposition that its gloomy fancies had been
congenial to him. The other part of the house, with its
books, its furniture and its paintings, was in good order and
condition. It is said that Benjamin Elliott bore a strong re-
semblance to his celebrated father, and he had the reputation
among his friends of being a man of superior attainments
and some cultivation. Formerly he had been a contributor of
both prose and poetry to a serial publication. An old friend
who visited him a few months before his death, and who
excited intense amazement among the neighbours by obtain-
ing, after some delay, admission to the house, wrote : " If I
had seen poor Ben in a forest I should have taken him to be

THE WATEK-HOUSE, ALLEN LANE. 135

a wild man — bis hair and beard I should say had not come
in contact with comb and scissors for years ; his apparel was
a pair of very shabby trousers, destitute of buttons and
fastened with twine, and a coloured woollen shirt. He wore
no coat or waistcoat. I stayed with him a little over an hour,
and was much surprised at his cheerful and jocular conversa-
tion. He told me many anecdotes of his father, such as how
he thrashed a certain reverend gentleman who insulted him
in his office in Gibraltar street, &c. I asked him how he
passed his time ? He replied, chiefly in meditation, as his
eyes were so bad he could not comfortably either read or write
for long together. I told him I thought he was doing very
wrong, both to himself and others, to shut himself from
society in the way he did. He replied he was quite happy
and comfortable, and he wished people to let him alone." I
should acid that he was sometimes heard humming cheerful
airs or singing " Auld Lang Syne," and that he had not
altogether lost interest in the affairs of the outer world, since
he was a regular reader of newspapers, and he had journeyed
to Sheffield at the county election of 1865 to vote for Milton
and Beaumont.

Leighton : The old Lancasterian school — before that a
riding school, as its rough interior will enable you readily to
believe — has broken out into shops since the new schools
were built in Bowling green street. Some seventy or eighty
years ago, or so, that building and the " Water-house" at the
bottom of Allen lane, where the Burkinshaws were accus-
tomed to preside over the sale of water by the bucketful,
were the extremity of the town in this direction. On the
premises last mentioned, the wooden water pipes, which may
occasionally be seen when the Company is making repairs,
wrere bored by hand. Some of them were taken up from
Broad lane only a short time ago.

Johnson : That property was sold by the Duke of Norfolk
to Mr. Matthewman and the original proprietors of the Water
Company, and it was in their possession in 1741. It was
afterwards sold to Lawyer Hoyle, and then to its present oc-
cupier, Mr. Laycock.

Leonakd : We have been traversing Westbar and the
streets which run down the hill to the left, and have neces-
sarily had to leave, for the time being, the district on the
right, which includes Spring street and other places produc-
tive of much old-world gossip. Suppose, therefore, we now
turn back to that ?

136 THE BAILEYS.

Wragg : A prominent firm in Spring street was that of the
Baileys. The late Mr. Samuel Bailey's father, Mr. Joseph
Bailey, carried on business at the top of Workhouse lane, now
the Surrey Vaults.

Leonard : Suppose we go further back still — to the time
of Mr. Samuel Bailey's grandfather — Matthias Bailey, who
married Elizabeth Wood, at Ecclesfield, on Christmas day,
1733, and who, for many years afterwards lived at Masbro',
and was employed in some responsible capacity in the works
of the Messrs. Walker of that town. " They were" it has
been written "plain, honest, hardworking people; their
lasses went out to service, and the lad Joseph was put ap-
prentice to a scissor-smith. When he had served his time he
commenced business in Sands pavours, in Bow street, after-
wards removed to the premises in Workhouse lane, and
finally built the works in Spring street, the firm being then
Bailey, Eadon and Bailey, factors and merchants." Joseph
Bailey married Mary, the daughter of old John Eadon, of the
Free Writing School, and Samuel Bailey was their youngest
child. The Eadon in the firm was John, the elder son of
the same John Eadon, and was consequently Joseph Bailey's
brother-in-law.

Wragg : The Spring street premises of the Baileys were
at the corner of Love street. Spring street, once called Brick
lane (1736), took its name from a well in Bailey's yard,
and people used to fetch the water to boil greens, &c, as
there was believed to be none like it. From little to more
Joseph Bailey increased in wealth, built Burn Greave, and in
the year 1801 was Master Cutler. He was one of the first
merchants in Sheffield who traded with America. By thrift,
economy, and industry, he amassed a fortune, which, with
good using, has enabled his youngest son to leave ,£100,000
to his native town. It is not necessary to dwell on that son's
achievements as a philosophical writer.

Leighton : Nor on his poetic effusions !

Everard : How ? Samuel Bailey a poet ?

Leonard : There is very good reason for believing that
he was the author of " Maro," an anonymous poem published
by Longmans, in 1845. It is a satire in verse, for it can
hardly be called a poem. It has none of the imagination of
poetry, as you may well suppose.

Wragg : Samuel Bailey ought to have been the first
parliamentary representative of Sheffield. I once asked a
table blade forger, who was perhaps the most intelligent man

THE STUFFING SYSTEM. 137

in the trade, how he could account for Mr. Bailey having
only 812 votes, instead of being, as he ought to have been, at
the head of the poll, or close behind the late Thos. Asline
Ward, with the distant candidates nowhere. He replied that
he believed the circumstance of Mr. Bailey's having been
a factor prejudiced the townsfolks' minds against him.

Leonard : How could that be ?

Wragg : There had been a system, which was then just
about dying out, of factors forcing stuff, that is to say goods,
which they had themselves taken in exchange from manufac-
turers instead of payment in money. It was called " stuff-
ing," or " taking up," and related chiefly to drapery and tea.
The Baileys had, rightly or wrongly, the reputation of carry-
ing tHe obnoxious system to a great extent.

Leighton : The evil of the plan was the severity and in-
justice with which it pressed on the workmen. It was a
system of "passing on" from one to another, and the people
who could not " pass it on" any further were the victims.

Johnson : I see. The customers passed goods on to the
factors, the factors to the manufacturers, and the manufac-
turers to the workmen.

Wragg : Quite so.

Leonard : The late Mr. John Holland has recorded, in
one of his numerous anonymous papers, that the practice
existed at Beilby and Proctor's, as well as at other firms.
" Taking up," he explained, was obtaining on credit, with
the employer's order, various articles of food, especially cheese
and tea, and every description of clothing. This " stuffing"
was not only compulsory, but the prices charged were generally
exorbitant; of course they were paid for by a " setting-up," or
weekly instalments, or stoppages on the cash side of the wages'
book. This was convenient to the employer as a mode of
barter between him and the merchant with whom he dealt,
and both made an unfair profit by it, and it tethered the
workman by a perpetual debt.

Wragg : In those days merchants, or rather factors, for
that was their name then, had signs on their premises stating
that they held licences to sell tea or spirits. The last signs
in the town were those of Hoult, Kowbotham, Wingfield and
Wade, (it was over the archway), and on the premises of Mr.
Lockwood, in Arundel street ; and these were kept up long
after the practice had fallen into abeyance. The firm of Har-
wood and Thomas, whose premises were in George street, now

L

138 SWAG- SHOPS.

the Sheffield Banking Co., had a room properly fitted up with
shelves and counter like a regular draper's shop.

Twiss : I am sure nothing disreputable could be affirmed
either of that firm, or of Hoult, Rowbotham and Co.

Leonard : There were, I have been told, special circum-
stances connected with Harwood and Thomas's business — for
instance, that Mr. Lewis Thomas, who was for many years a
member of Queen street Church, was brought up as a draper.
It is true that they had a large room (corresponding, I believe,
in size with the principal business room of the Bank before
it was enlarged — it used to be called the Old Coffee House)
fitted up as a draper's shop.

Wragg : My father has taken tea in this way at twelve
shillings per pound.

Leonard : No doubt there would be unscrupulous firms
then as ever, and I do not defend the system, for it was open
to the abuses we still see in districts where "truck" persists
in surviving. It was well that it should be stopped, but it is
only fair to show that something, as I heard from a friend a
few days ago, can be said in defence, and that some of the
houses were honourable enough to act fairly. My informant
said, " The house in which I was an apprentice was in the
country trade, as distinguished from the foreign merchants,
and had a good share of the Sheffield trade with Belfast.
To promote it they frequently had one or more hogsheads of
hams or boxes of linen. We also kept black and green tea.
All these were sold at fair prices, with very little pressure,
if any, on the cutlers to buy them."

Leighton : Bad as it was there is more to be said for
this system than for the " swag-shops," whose operation was
irredeemably evil. These were simply establishments that
preyed on the misfortunes of others, their chief victims being
" little mesters" in difficulties. When short of ready money,
and without any immediate market for their goods, they sold
them to the swag- shops at, of course, a large per centage of
loss. But what was worse than this, unscrupulous factors'
buyers or " devils," would make excuses to reject goods they
had ordered when brought in, with the deliberate purpose of
forcing the makers to the swag-shops, and of buying them
thence themselves at a lower price.

Everard : The " stuffing" system was an abominable
one, and it was carried out with a great amount of fraud and
extortion ; but it may be said that commercial intercourse
was not then out of swaddling clothes. The system was to

EARLY TRADING. 139

some extent a natural result of the infancy of trade, and was
an artificial attempt to overcome the difficulties of circulating
goods. In these days it has been long superannuated.

Johnson : Our present complicated and wonderful trading
system was not made in a day. It is going further back than
the " stuffing" system, but let me read you this description
of the infancy of the Sheffield trade : — " Formerly the manu-
facturers had no trade connections, but depended entirely
upon persons coming to the town to purchase the articles
manufactured. These traders were called ' chaps or chap-
men,' and were mostly Scotch or Irish, with some English.
Their chief resort was Tommy Eose's, The Bird-in-hand,
Church lane. The house stood where the Cutlers' Hall in
part now stands. They generally had with them two, three,
or more packhorses for the conveyance of the goods pur-
chased. When a ' chap' arrived, the ostler went round to
each of the manufacturers to inform him of the fact, and
each gave him a penny for his information and trouble. An
old man said, ' Oive been raand wi' him mony a toime, when
oi war a lad, aboon 70 year sin. ' Sometimes there were two,
three, or four ' chaps' in the house at one time, and each had
a separate room for business. The cutlers waited until all
was ready and then went upstairs ' i' their kales.' If they
bargained they left the goods and took the money home with
them. The house was sometimes quite crowded. There
were other houses in the town which travellers or ' chaps'
frequented upon the same business, but none was as popular
as Tommy Rose's. This was a very precarious way of doing
business. As the makers had the materials to find, as well
as the labour, it put them to great inconvenience and caused
many families to suffer great privations during the time they
had the goods in hand. To remove this difficulty the Cutlers'
Company frequently advanced money on goods deposited with
them without any interest being charged. This was always
thankfully accepted until the goods could find a market. In
1768, the Town Trustees let out .£200 to twenty scissor-
smiths, upon bond in small sums. In 1741, Sir Fras. Sitwell
bequeathed £400 to the Cutlers' Company, to be let out in
sums not exceeding £5 to any necessitous member or other
inhabitant. It is remarkable there is no account of this in
the Company's books, although there are persons now living
who can remember their fathers having received money from
this source. These benevolences assisted the trade a great
deal, for if a person had a stock of goods he could not dispose

140 PACK-HORSES.

of, lie could take them to the Cutlers' Hall and deposit them
there until he found a market. Tommy Eose's being next
the Cutlers' Hall, where the ' chaps' usually put up, the goods
were easily removed if wanted.

" In the year 1710, a person of the name of Wright
introduced the first stage waggon. Before that all public
travelling was equestrian, and the conveyance of all bulk and
weight was effected by carriage as distinguished from draught.
The burden was fitted to the animal's back — which not unfre-
quently was ill-fitted to bear it — and shambling along cross
roads, fording rivers, and climbing steeps, the jaded brute
day by day pursued his wearied route. In those days a busy
street at dawn would present an appearance only now to be
seen in Cairo, or some other Eastern city, when a caravan is
preparing to start on its journey — only here, horses or mules,
instead of camels or asses, were the beasts. Often a train
of not fewer than fifty in number were being laden — the
majority with the heavy produce of the manufactories, others
with market stock, live and dead — grain and poultry, and
vegetables, and even pigs. At last when all was ready, the
bells tinkled, and human beings poured forth from the inn.
These consisted of travellers and their friends, and merchants
who, either accompanying their wares or on some other busi-
ness, were journeying to the capital. Perched on high,
amidst boxes and bundles, were children and women, old men
and maidens, leaving amidst the tears of their acquaintance ;
whilst the more active of the men were either starting on
foot, or more easily bestriding a beast which had some appear-
ance of saddle and pillion on its back. The orders for march
being given, onward they moved through the town, into the
country, over roads on which a track was paved for the especial
use of the pack-horse train ; but lanes also had to be traversed,
in which holes constantly occurred, producing violent shocks.
Across swamps, where the sagacity of the animals had to be
trusted, across swollen rivers where the women and the live
stock were alike alarmed, the cavalcade at last reached its
longed-for halting place for the night. Until 1747, or there-
abouts, there was no travelling from hence to sell goods or
solicit orders."

Wragg : But we are wandering away from Spring street.
It runs through what was once " Norris' field" — so called
from the owner, Mr. Norris, who lived, as has been said, in
Westbar. Old Mr. Oakes, who has been mentioned as still
living, and keeping a tobacconists' shop in Westbar, was

SPRING STREET. 141

formerly a whitesmith, in Spring street, as was his father
before him. Their shop was under Hirst's school, and from
thence he can remember to have seen right across Norris'
field and Colson crofts — then really fields, with a footpath
through them — to the river, over which he could see persons
crossing by a wooden bridge into the Bridgehouses, before the
old iron bridge was erected. I have mentioned Hirst's school.
It was opposite the bottom of Hicks lane, and was kept by the
late Mr. Thomas Hirst, surveyor, who died in Fargate, and
by his father. Between Hicks lane and Workhouse lane was
Mr. Benjamin Vickers, who was Master Cutler in 1799. He
was uncle to the then Mr. Vickers of Mill Sands, and grand-
uncle to the late (1872-3) Master Cutler, Mr. T. E. Vickers.

Leighton : The " Blue Pig," in Spring street, formerly
the Boar, is an old public-house. It was kept many years
ago by Mr. John Hawke, whom Mather attacked. Subse-
quently it was occupied by Mr. Webster and Mr. John Ellis.

Leonard : It has been stated that at one time the late
James Dixon, of Page Hall, lived in Spring street, next door
to the Ball Inn, in a house the rent of which was £9 per
annum. That was before he went into partnership with Mr.
Smith — Smith and Dixon the firm was at first.

Wragg : Spring street was the birthplace of a man
whose history is a curious illustration of the vicissitudes of
families — I mean the late Mr. William Stratford. He was
born on the property of the Mr. Hirst already mentioned, in
what is now the back part of the Bird-in-the-Haiid beerhouse.
He was the nineteenth in descent from John Stratford of the
Parliament of Edward H., 1320, and the head of the pedigree ;
and by a subsequent marriage of John Stratford, who died in
1533, with a lineal descendant of William de Traci, one of
the four knights who murdered Thomas A'Becket, the late
William Stratford was descended both from the Dukes of
Normandy and the ancient Saxon Kings of England.

Twiss : How is that ?

Wragg : William de Traci was a descendant of Ethelred
the Unready, and of Queen Emma, daughter of the third
Duke of Normandy, and by a series of strange events, the
William Stratford in whom we are interested came to be the
male representative of all the other Stratfords. The family
decline began with Walter Stratford, of Farm Cote, Gloucester,
William Stratford's great grandfather. There have been
several causes assigned for his becoming reduced — as that he
re-built the family mansion in a style too costly for his means,

f

142 THE STRATFORD FAMILY.

considering the largeness of his family, for by his first wife
he had three children, and by the second ten. Only three of
the thirteen children married, and of these the ninth and
youngest son alone, George Stratford, continued the family
line.

Everard : William Stratford's grandfather ?

Wragg: Yes. Leaving the neighbourhood of his birth
when his father got into straitened circumstances, he sold the
estate, and, after living at various places, settled in Henley-in-
Arden, where he had a corn-mill. But nothing prospered with
him. He had two sons, Thomas and John, both of whom were
apprenticed to the well-known Matthew Boulton, of the Soho,
Birmingham. John served his legal apprenticeship, and was
at the Soho when the celebrated James Watt joined Boulton,
and it is said that John Stratford was the only person who
could understand Watt's curious pronunciation of English.
Boulton and Watt sent him to the Gregory Mine, Ashover,
with one of their engines, to drain a lead mine on the estate
of the late celebrated Sir Joseph Banks. This was in 1783,
and after remaining at Ashover until 1800, he removed to
London, and became the engineer to the New River Company.

Leonard : But how about Spring street ?

Wragg : I now come to that in the person of Thomas
Stratford, the other apprentice of Boulton's, and with him
our local interest in the family begins. Before his term of
apprenticeship had expired he enlisted — not from dissipation,
but because he was a man of lofty spirit and keen sensibilities.
Mr. Boulton obtained his discharge, but he enlisted again in
the artillery, and was discharged on the peace that resulted
in the declaration of American Independence. He married a
Birmingham woman, named Kelsey, and came to live in
Sheffield — in Spring street, as already stated. From what I
have heard, he and his wife would seem to have been the
most singularly matched couple in the town. He was a well-
formed man, 5 feet 10 inches, with red hair, and quite a
gentleman in appearance, whilst his wife was a little, stumpy,
thick-set woman, the darkest complexion ever seen not
actually black, yet all their children were light complexioned.
Mrs. Stratford, however, was very kind-hearted and amiable.
Her husband worked for the firm of Barber and Genn, fender
manufacturers, Spring street, and did jobs at home for Mr.
George Oates, of the Wicker, and also for Mr. Linley, of
Spring street, in ornamenting scissors, now done by grinders
at the wheel. He was one of the first to join the Sheffield

WILLIAM STEATFORD. 143

Volunteers, at their original formation, and he was one of those
who found their own clothes. Mr. Linley, for whom he
worked at home, was Master Cutler in 1797. On the feast-
day he remarked that Mr. Linley had not invited him to the
feast. His wife replied, "Thee works for Mr. Linley, and as
such thee't a working man." He sharply replied, "I'm as
good as any man who will be there." His wife was ac-
customed to remark to her children that their father looked
what he ought to be — a gentleman, and she seems to have
cherished the hope that the family would be restored to its
former position.

Everard : I should imagine that his family pride would
keep him somewhat aloof from his fellow- workmen.

Wragg : It did, and his respectable manner of conducting
himself seems to have been specially offensive to some of them.
In a very depressed state of trade, when Barber and Genn gave
numbers of people warning, Thomas Stratford was amongst
them. This discharge from employment sorely pinched him,
and as a last resort, he undertook the menial work of assisting
masons. Not being accustomed to the labour, and getting
wet, he was seized with rheumatic fever, and never perfectly
recovered. He died in 1808, in the 48th year of his age, and
was buried in the Parish Churchyard, near to the Girls'
Charity School.

Everard : It is a very sad history.

Wragg : Now for the late William Stratford. He was
the eldest son of this Thomas Stratford, and was brought up
as a silver-smith. He served his time as a candlestick hand,
but afterwards he was a spinner. He had a brother, Thomas,
who, although he had lost a leg, was the leader of all lands of
rough play. He died a young man. Their sister married
Mr. B. Hinchliffe, whose son, Mr. T. 0. Hinchliffe, is now
in Garden street. William Stratford married a daughter of
William Gray, and had a son and a daughter; 'the son a silver-
smith in New Church street ; the daughter married Frederick
Withy Horsfield, the son of an ap'prentice of the late Robert
Waterhouse's father, and the nephew of the historian of
Lewes. The Horsfield family, which has been several times
mentioned, is an old one. It was seated at Halifax, and had
a grant of arms. I believe the Waterhouse family sprang
from a person in Lincolnshire, and removed to Halifax. The
present representative of the family is Major Waterhouse, of
Well head, Halifax, the Tory M.P. for Pontefract. William
Stratford was established in Bramall lane, but towards the

144 SHALES MOOR.

end of his life he went to live at Mosborough. He died on the
18th of April, 1859, aged 72, and was interred at Eckington.

Leighton : It is a little difficult to follow your descrip-
tion of the descent. One almost needs a genealogical table.

Leonard : Beyond Bower spring, the footpath — Cotton-
mill walk — was the continuation of Spring street. It ran
in the direction now taken by Bussell street, across " Long
croft," as the open space was called in 1771, towards Green
lane. Of course it took its name from the cotton mill of
Mr. Midclleton. An open stream ran from the top of Cor-
nish street, in front of Green lane, and emptied itself in
the Don, below where Green lane works now stand. On the
other side of the stream were cottage gardens. Middleton's
silk mill — built in 1758, burnt down in 1792, and the cotton
mill, re-erected on the same site only in turn to be burnt
down in 1810, and again built only to become the Poor-house
in 1829 — stood alone in its glory, its nearest neighbour being
Kelham Wheel, still there, as it had been at least as long
before as in 1674, on the now covered-in " Goit." Across the
river was the suburb of Bridgehouses, and all around was
verdure. Those were the days when "The old cherry tree,"
whose name is now perpetuated only by the public-house and
the yard where it stood, was still young, and when Allen
"lane" and the Bowling green marked the extremity of the
inhabited region of Gibraltar. Beyond, the road ran between
fields — "Moorfields" — and on to the distant rural haunts of
Philadelphia and Upperthorpe. There was Lawyer Hoyle's
house up on the left ; and the little barber's shop, just before you
come to Roscoe place, near the junction of the Infirmary and
Penistone roads, was alone in its glory until 1806, when Mr.
Shaw built the stove-grate works just named, and with his
partner, Mr. Jobson, laid the foundations of that trade which
has obtained for Sheffield the manufacture of stoves and fen-
ders previously claimed by Edinburgh and London. Two
personal notes may be made as to Mr. Shaw and Mr. Jobson.
The former was a Baptist, and he not only held service in his
works on Sundays, but established a Sunday-school as well.
Mr. Jobson was the last person in Sheffield who retained the
old-fashioned queue, and a great scandal was occasioned by
some officers cutting it off in St. Philip's Church, one Sunday.

Johnson : In Green lane, in the clays we are speaking of,
and even much later, the works had not become sufficiently
numerous to interfere with bathing in the river. The Cleek-
ham Inn and a grinding wheel occupied part of Messrs. Dixon's

OLD SHEFFIELD GARDENS. 145

works at Cornish place, while Watery street was a rural lane
with a stream running down it. Dr. Buchan, usually spoken
of as living in the Hartshead, is said to have lodged at one
time in a house at the bottom of Ball street.

Leighton : We have had so long a talk to-night that we
can hardly now enter upon the enticing suburban topics of
which we are on the verge. Let us defer them.

CHAPTER VII.
Old Sheffield Gardens.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everard,Wragg, Leonard

and Johnson.
Period— A.D. 1873.

WE were all sitting, one charming and warm evening, in
the cosy summer-house of our friend Twiss. It was
not in the garden attached to his residence, for he dwelt in
the recesses of a dingy town, with a melancholy grave-yard
for his outlook. But he was old-fashioned enough and wise
enough to stick to the traditional Hallamshire custom of
keeping a small garden-plot out in the suburbs, to which he
could retire in the intervals from business, in which he could
delight his horticultural soul, and, above all, which gave him
an object for a walk after the toils of the day. It was a treat
to see him in the fading twilight of a summer night, wending
his way back to his sooty brick dwelling, laden with rural
spoils, with which to enliven it — a huge "posy" of lupines
and sweet-williams, and pinks, of cabbage-roses and pansies,
and other good old English flowers, now despised and rejected,
in obedience to the "bedding out" mania, for masses of scarlet
geraniums and yellow calceolarias. Nor was he above bear-
ing through the crowded streets products of even a humbler
kind — big-headed cauliflowers or juicy lettuces, or large-
hearted cabbages — or some other palatable form of the much-

146 OLD SHEFFIELD GARDENS.

embracing genus "greens." Of course, being in the country —
so to speak, though we were by no means out of the reach or
out of sight of the smoke — our talk was of country things.
One told how his grandfather, a great garden -smith, used to
delight to get away from his shop to his little plot down
Bramall lane way — a walk among the hedges and through
pleasant shady lanes ; and another remembered being sent,
in 1825, with a message to Montgomery, who had retired
from his sanctum upstairs in the dingy Hartshead— over the
coal place, and with depressing outlook on to brick walls and
dilapidated roofs — to refresh himself for a time among the
polyanthuses and daffodils of his garden, between Glossop
road and Leavygreave. That is where Hounsfield road is now,
for most of the space from Glossop road to Brook hill, belong-
iDg to the Water Company, was divided into these little plots.
The town in those days Was literally surrounded with
groups of neatly-partitioned gardens. The late Mr. Edward
Baines (M.P. for Leeds from 1834 to 1841) was accustomed
to remark that the multitude of small, nicely-kept gardens in
its suburbs was a characteristic of Sheffield, in which it was in
advance of any other large town he knew. Look which way
you would, or go in what direction you would, there they were.
Besides the celebrated gardens in the neighbourhood of
Hanover street, there were similar gardens higher up Broom-
spring lane and Wilkinson street, and on the site of the Baptist
Church on Glossop road, and up to Northumberland road and
opposite Mushroom hall to Westbourne, Mr. Cadman's house,
near which are a few remaining. From Glossop road the
Water Company's land extended into Brook hill, and the
gardens on this piece were always considered some of the best
in the town. Near to and behind the late Aid. Saunders'
house in Brook hill, were gardens, behind which were others,
reaching down by Brightmore street, Bellefield street, Port-
mahon, Bedford street, and Waterloo houses (commenced
building by the father of James Levick, the dahlia grower,
and finished by his mother), to the river Don. Then on the
opposite side of the river, the site of Neepsend brewery, and
right up to the wood and Woodside lane ; also on the oppo-
site side of Woodside lane, under Pye bank, to the mouth
of the railway tunnel. Harvest lane, and Green lane to
Colson crofts were occupied in a similar way ; and another
plot of small gardens is now the site of the old Midland
Station in the Wicker. These, as originally intended, were
to have been the basin of the Sheffield canal. On the oppo-

SUBURBAN GARDENS. 147

site side of the road, between Twelve o' Clock Wheel, or the
Albion Ironworks, and the Norfolk bridge, was another lot of
gardens, destroyed about 25 years ago. There were small
gardens in the Park, part of which is St. John's churchyard.
There were some others at Skye edge, down to Duke street, or
the Intake road. At the end of Clough lane, down to the
river Sheaf (Sheaf gardens), were gardens considered second
to none in the neighbourhood, some containing good double
houses, not like those in Club gardens, Sharrow lane. From
these were others extending across Suffolk road, down to
Harmer lane. There were also the gardens just destroyed at
the end of Bramall lane, opposite Sheaf House, on the path
to Highfield ; and about 25 years ago was destroyed a plot of
gardens that had extended from the top of Young street to
Broomhall street. There were some others that have disap-
peared, to make room for buildings about the General Ceme-
tery and Broomhall Mill.

"When all the above gardens were in existence," said
Mr. Wragg, " I believe one out of every three working men
had a garden, which he cultivated more for pleasure than
profit. This was far better than his present gambling pro-
pensities ; but further, there were not a few instances in which
the working man's garden assisted him to clothe his family,
or to pay off debts, unavoidably contracted, by the sale of the
fruit from his pear or apple trees. Now, there are no such
places for a working man to resort to in his spare time, ex-
cept for those who are members of some Land Society outside
the town. It is said he may resort to the Library, or peruse
his book at home ; that he can amuse himself by holding
communication with the great men of past ages ; but all
such talk is a delusion. Bodily toil and mental discipline
will not go hand in hand, or blend. The garden plots remain-
ing are, alas, but few ; they may be almost counted on the
fingers of one hand, some under the wood at Hillfoot, and
some in Neepsend lane to the river ; the Water Company's
piece, Hanging bank, and in the flat below the site of the old
dams, commonly called Upper and Lower Canada; some
around Younge's Silver Boiling Mill ; some, comparatively
speaking recently made, between Hyde Park and the Manor.
There are a few left in Ecclesall road. In Sharrow lane are
the Club gardens, that have always been remarkable for the
number of houses occupied by the tenants. Fenton Ville
gardens and South View gardens, extending down into the
Abbeydale road, are noted for the number of their florists,

148 SUBURBAN GARDENS.

the most successful of whom is William Allsebrook, famous
for rearing new kinds of polyanthuses. I am sorry to say I
believe all these gardens will soon be like the others men-
tioned— demolished . ' '

Leonard : Yes, they are fast being engulphed by the
omnivorous builders ; and the robberies to which they are
exposed are a great discouragement to the enthusiastic ama-
teurs who compete at pink shows, or dahlia contests, or who
strive to raise gigantic gooseberries, to be weighed at Florists'
Inns, and celebrated with a supper. Let us hope that this
annihilation of garden allotments does not indicate that the
healthy delight in floriculture that has always been a charac-
teristic of Hallamshire is dying out. You may still see the
grinder returning from a pop visit to his little country delight,
laden with early spring rhubarb, or with roots of celery,
according to the season of the year ; and freehold building
societies have altered life so much as to give working men an
opportunity of having their homes standing in their own gar-
dens, which is not only healthier but handier.

A member of our company mentioned the splendid bed of
ranunculuses which a resident in one of the houses still
standing opposite the top of Broomhall street, used to show,
and reminded us of the celebrated garden which the Stani-
forths, father and son, the eminent surgeons in Castle street,
had in the Grimesthorpe road, the present Gardeners' Arms
being their garden house. Mr. Wragg recalled that kind,
genial old man, Edward Middleton, baker, who kept the
Barleycorn Tavern, in Coalpit lane — the most obliging of
neighbours among amateur gardeners. The vicinity of
Hanover street used to be marked out like a chess board by
these gardens, and Middleton had one, near the corner of
Broomspring lane and Hanover street. The top part of it
forms now part of Hanover street, and the bottom extended
behind the houses of Mr. Owen, the draper, which face to
Broomspring lane. Afterwards, he showed his skill in one of
those previously spoken of, on Glossop road — where Charles
Thompson's cab premises are now, then belonging to the
Water Company — having gone there by reason of his neigh-
bour, John Burton, the Quaker, buying a garden for him.
Mr. Wragg believed that the last possessor of Middleton's
garden, near Mr. Owen's houses, was the late Mr. Bennett,
grocer, Church street, elder brother of the present Mr.
Bennett, who succeeded him in his business. Joshua Wil-
kinson had the next garden above, and he sold it to William

JAMES LEVICK, THE DAHLIA GROWER. 149

Melluish, the last survivor among the many South Devon
Militiamen who settled in Sheffield after the disbanding of the
regiment. The garden above was Mr. Swift's, the father of
Mr. G. E. Swift, in the steel trade, in Blonk street. At the
front of Spring lane was Samuel Padley's (a Quaker), the
father of Mr. Padley, of the firm of Padley, Parkin, & Co.,
silversmiths, in Watson's walk. The late Mr. Bramhall, one
of the managers of Messrs. Piodgers and Sons, and Mr.
Staniforth, grocer, of Broad lane, had gardens hereabouts.
Mr. Ptoger Brown was the last who had Mr. Staniforth's.
Just below, and behind Josh. Ingle's house, an old woman of
the name of Savage had a garden, and did all the gardening
herself. The late Mr. B. Hinchcliffe had a garden in this
piece, and there is a tradition that the late Mr. John Holland
occupied a garden here, but his nearest friends are incredu-
lous about it. The story is that an old man, a relative, did
the gardening for him, in which case it may possibly have
been his uncle Amos. A file cutter, afterwards a silver
stamper, named William Hague, had the first garden oppo-
site old Mrs. Savage's. Being a frugal man he saved money,
by means of which he built the houses at the bottom of
Broomspring lane, and opened a grocer's shop at the corner.
The last person who had Mr. Hague's garden was Mr.
Worth, the joiner and builder. Mr. Turner, the Sheriff's
officer in Campo lane, had also a garden ; so had Mr. Taylor,
of the Commercial Inn, Haymarket, now destroyed by the
making of the new street into Norfolk street ; and Mr. Theaker
just by, for many years the only coffee-house keeper in the
town, had two up to the time of their destruction.

James Levick, the ivory merchant, of Pinstone street, was a
well-known dahlia grower. He raised from seed a dahlia which
was named "Levick's Incomparable," the beauty of which
was that the petals were tipped with white in so peculiar a
manner that many persons supposed they were subjected to
some chemical process. But this peculiarity was not at all of
regular occurrence ; and many growers, disappointed by ob-
taining flowers without the white tips, poured out their woes
in the " Floricultural Cabinet," then published by Mr. Ridge,
in King street, and conducted by Mr. Harrison, Lord Wharn-
cliffe's gardener. They besought Mr. Levick to give them
details of cultivation, and in reply, he could only say that
the flowering was very eccentric, sometimes he produced the
flowers with tips and sometimes without ; and Mr. Paxton,
having one year obtained most beautifully tipped blooms, set

150 CLUB GARDENS,

a large quantity the next year in most conspicuous places,
and had not a single bloom tipped. The secret seemed to be
to check a too luxuriant growth of the plant. Mr. Levick
also produced a handsome crimson dahlia — Commander-in-
Chief — which was honoured with a coloured engraving in the
work named. Mr. Thomas Tyson, who kept the "Fountain,'
in Coalpit lane, was a distinguished florist, and a man
evidently much respected by his brethren, for " his funeral
was attended by the florists of the town, who strewed his
coffin with a profusion of most beautiful flowers."

Club Gardens, as has been said, were remarkable for the
number of the houses occupied by the tenants. In one house
resided the late Mr. Paul Smith, a well-to-do-man, said to
have been worth six or eight thousand pounds ; but he was
induced to enter into partnership with some firm which
shortly afterwards failed. The creditors seized all the pro-
perty of Mr. Smith to pay the debts of the firm, so he became
a poor man, and died a recipient of the Iron and Hardware
Pensions. Another resident in these gardens was the late Mr.
Charles Unwin, of Westbar, the broker. Previously he had a
garden in Brook hill, in the piece behind Mr. Brightmore's
house. After the death of Mr. Thomas Nowill, Mr. Unwin
bought his garden, and there he resided at the time of his disas-
trous fire, in which some thousands of pounds worth of his pro-
perty and stock-in-trade was destroyed. It gave such a shock
to his nervous system that soon after he died, about 16 or 18
years ago. Mr. Unwin was a native of Anston, and originally
was a labouring man ; but he turned sawyer, and was a very
hard worker. Another native of Anston was the late Mr.
Henry Broomhead, the solicitor, whose father was a tanner.

Some of the best gardens in the neighbourhood were the
Sheaf Gardens. About thirty years ago the late Mr. William
Stratford had a garden that was remarkable for the neat
manner in which it was kept by Mr. Stratford himself; and
his tulip bed was the admiration of all beholders.

Hanging Bank Gardens, when in existence, were notable
for the number of those tenants who exhibited gooseberries at
shows (" berry showers",, the chief of wdiom, and the most
successful, was the late Piobert Green. He resided in one of
the houses, probably built by himself or a former tenant,
since it is not the work of a mason. He had another garden
lower down, but one or two others intervened, and up a walk
nearer where the stream of water ran from the Water Com-
pany's dams. From his success as an exhibitor of goose-

MARKET GAEDENEES. 151

berries, lie obtained many copper kettles as prizes. When
the time of exhibiting was about to take place, his garden had
to be watched from the Saturday night to Monday morning
to prevent his trees being stripped. Green was a spring-
knife cutler, and worked for the late Mr. B. Micklethwaite,
whose workmen were very respectable, honourable, and up-
right. Amongst them there were none of the coarse jokes,
indecent conversation, or unmeaning, empty, and profane
jests, so common among workmen in the workshops of the
present day. They talked Avhen they had something to say,
and years after, when one would casually meet another in the
street it was always with kindness and respect, something like
one gentleman meeting another.

About 40 years ago, in one of the gardens near what is
now the top of Fawcett street, just before Bellefield house,
was a whitewashed house, with sash windows, in which
resided the late John Milner, who in his day was said to have
been one of the best, if not the best spring-knife cutler in the
trade, and notable for his great powers of debate. He was
born in Spring street or the immediate vicinity, and in his
youth or childhood was a companion of the late Mr. Win.
Stratford. He was the last survivor of his early associates.
When John Milner left the house it was not afterwards occu-
pied. It dwindled away — lads first broke the windows, and
next it gradually disappeared.

In Watery lane was a very good house standing back in
a garden. For some time it was unoccupied, and from being
untenanted it got into a dilapidated condition. A few* years
ago, a portion of one of its walls fell on some children, and
one of them was killed. The last occupier was a person of
the name of Ross, who left the town and afterwards died.
Ross was a man who was going to get every one his fortune.
People who believed they or their ancestors had been deprived
or dispossessed of property flocked to him in crowds. Some-
where in the vicinity Ross had a rival, a woman, who had two
strings to her bow, for in addition to being a fortune-hunter
she was a fortune-teller.

The market gardeners' grounds ranged, for the most
part, from Neepsend and the Old Park Wood to Hall Carr.
There was George Stubbing, whose garden, kept before him
by Mr. Thornhill, who had a cook shop in the Hartshead, ex-
tended from Woodside lane to Old Park Wood, being bounded
on the north by Cook Wood. Part of his garden in Harvest
lane is now the depot of the Board of Health, while the

152 SUBURBAN DEGENERATION.

southern part, including the site of his original house, was
taken for the Manchester Railway. Before beginning a gar-
den on his own account, Mr. Stubbing had been in the service
of Dr. Webb, of whose garden in Harvest lane he had charge.
There was James Andrews, who had an orchard at Neepsend,
where the Neepsend Nursery now is ; and the orchard in
Harvest lane of William Burgin, now displaced by the various
works in Mowbray street, was one of the finest sights in the
town in spring time. Who does not remember, too, that
other orchard on the slope below Burn Greave, which every-
body would stop and admire even so late as 1855-60 ? There
were two other Burgins besides William, but he was not re-
lated to them. They were brothers, George and Jonathan.
The former was the last inhabitant of the Clay's house, in
Bridgehouses ; the latter had a fruit shop in Bower spring.
From Pitsmoor Church to Burn Greave, and to where the
Railway crosses Tom Cross lane, market gardeners had
their grounds, and a pleasant walk it was through them,
for the Burngreave road and Rock street were not made then.
The orchard and grounds between these two roads, where
Catherine street now is, were occupied long ago by John
Pearson. His family were table-knife cutlers at Neepsend,
but he was fonder of gardening than cutlering. Afterwards
the land was in the hands of Mr. John Garnett for many
years. Then it got into Chancery and was in a lost-looking
state until it was built upon. Mr. Garnett removed to the
land between the Wicker Congregational Church and Carlisle
streeV, Gower street having been made across it near to where
what was his house still stands. Gardens of similar kind
extended to Hall Carr lane, where, not many years ago, gyp-
sies might sometimes be Feen. On the other side of the town
was Mr. Hatfield's nursery, on the Glossop road, adjoining
Wesley College, which often attracted passers by its beauty.
From gardens and gardening we got to talk generally of
the changes that have taken place in what may be called the
nearer suburban surroundings of the town. The youngest
member of our friendly group could, we found, call to mind
surprising changes ; as for the eldest, the wondrous trans-
mutations to which he could bear witness were endless.
Within a very small radius of the Parish Church — say Carver
street Chapel — he had walked in green fields, or traversed
woods whose sites are now occupied by whole colonies of
houses, and it was told how tradition affirmed that a resident
at the top of Coalpit lane had shown his children Judge

BROOMHALL SPRING AND SHEFFIELD MOOR. 153

Wilkinson's stacks burning at Broornliall from the field on
which Carver street Chapel now stands, then called " Cad-
man's-in-the-fields." That was in 1791 ; a more recent story
was that in 1817, two ears of wheat were plucked in a field at
Roscoe place, each seven inches long. One of them con-
tained 69 and the other 70 corns. Our old friend's descrip-
tion of Broomhall Spring, which he remembered when he was
about 10 years old — in 1791 — was very interesting. " I very
well remember," said he, " coming with my father through
the wood called Broomhall Spring. It extended from about
Wilkinson street to Broomhall Park. It was full of very fine
oak trees, with very little underwood, and the turf was soft
like that of a park. I remember very well seeing the trees
and the grass, and the sunlight gleaming among them. Not
long afterwards the wood was cut down. The Government
was then wanting a great deal of oak timber for ship-building,
and the trees in Broomhall Spring were sold for that purpose.
The roots were dug up, and the land turned into the gardens
of which we have been speaking." The inscription on the
stone over the trough was still there up to 1836. It ran : —
" Spring Garden Well. To the public use, by the Rev.
James Wilkinson and Philip Gell, Esq. Freely take — freely
communicate — thank God ;" its site is now enclosed in the
garden of the house at the corner of Gell street and Conway
street. "Sheffield Moor," continued our nonagenarian friend,
" was a shocking road for coaches. There was quite a steep
hill from the Horse Dyke to the Moor head, and the heavy
coaches had something to do to get up it. Very often two extra
horses were sent as far as lleeley bridge to bring the coach
up Goose green to Highfield, and then up Sheffield moor.
The footpaths were a great deal higher than the road, which
did not run straight as it does now, but turned rather towards
the right. There were few houses about. One, I remember,
in Button lane, was occupied by Mr. Kirkby, a retired butcher,
a very nice man, who wore a wig. He was the father of
James Kirkby, the silver plater, and Samuel Kirkby, the pen-
knife manufacturer. Samuel had a large business, and was
fond of horses. One day he was riding a spirited horse when
he was thrown at the bottom of Waingate and killed. Near
Sheffield Moor, William Jessop, father of Thomas Jessop, had
a steel furnace. Porter street was a pleasant field-road called
Ladies' Walk. There were trees on one side of it, and you
crossed the Porter by a foot bridge. That led into Bramall
lane and forward across fields to Heeley. The London road

M

X

154 LITTLE SHEFFIELD.

in those days, after passing Heeley, ran close to Meersbrook
house, and up Derbyshire lane to Bolehill, then through
what is now Norton Park to Little Norton, forward to Green-
hill Moor. All goods leaving Sheffield southwards went
that way. The only road westwards was up Sharrow lane
and so to Ecclesall, Bent's green, and Ringinglowe. There
was no Chesterfield turnpike, nor Abbeydale road, nor Eccle-
sall new road, nor Glossop road." Mr. Twiss reminded us
of the fact that it was in 1821 that the new road to Glossop
was opened for carriages ; and Leonard read a description
Avhich had been written in connection with the house of old
Seth Cadraan, the comb maker, in Young street. " From it
there was a really charming outlook. Between Young street
and the Moor head on the one side, up far beyond Broomhall
street in front, and towards Sharrow lane in the other direc-
tion, there was little to be seen but well-kept gardens and
equally well-tilled fields. Close to Fitzwilliam street I have
seen growing as fine a crop of wheat as ever gladdened the
heart of a Yorkshire farmer ; and at that time Broomhall
street, or 'Black Lamb's lane,' as it was called, was con-
sidered rather a dangerous place to go along at night. Seth's
garden was opposite to his house, and over the footpath hung
two splendid pear trees. At that time, as now, the neigh-
bourhood of Young street was called 'Little Sheffield,' and
gardens and fields divided it from ' Big Sheffield.' " Mr.
Everard told us how he remembered a clear space between
the bottom of Red hill and West street, including what was
then Mr. Carr's house, now the Hospital and Dispensary.
Said he, " The intervening space was occupied by the brick-
yard, and by ' Marsh's field' (in which Mr. Marsh's cows
pastured, the cottage and cow-house being situate in one
corner), together with the site on which Messrs. Sanderson
Brothers' works now stand. Mr. Marsh did not bear at all a
good name amongst us youngsters, for he very strictly main-
tained his ' manorial rights,' and hotly pursued and inflicted
summary punishment on any of the youthful trespassers who
had the ill-luck to fall into his hands. And so it was that
whether engaged in playing at football, cricket, or kite-flying,
as soon as ' Old Marsh' made his appearance, we knew it was
high time to be off. At that period there were no houses on
either side of ' Portobello' (with one exception) from the ' Bri-
tannia' public-house, opposite Messrs. Newton Bros., Porto-
bello Works, up to Victoria street ; but all was open space, in-
cluding gardens, the brick-field, and the 'Burial Ground,' now

THE BEE HIVE. 155

St. George's Church and churchyard. The exception referred
to was the two houses, yet standing, ahout half-way between
Charlotte street and Regent street, with a flight of stone
steps out of 'Portobello lane.' In one of these houses lived
a venerable man named Dr. Cheney, one of the ' old school'
as to dress and wig, and who was totally blind. In the other
house resided Mr. Mellor, the ropemaker. The gardens at
the back reached down to a cross walk, now Glossop road,
near the Bee Hive. Between these gardens there was a broad
walk to their full extent, which Mr. Mellor used as a rope
walk, where he spun his twine and ropes. Subsequently, in
the lower of these two houses, not the uppermost as I once
thought, resided for several years the late Mr. Leader, pro-
prietor of the Sheffield Independent. In the upper one (now
Mr. Joseph Kirk's) Dr. Cheney spent the last years of his
life. From a house just above Sir John Brown made his
start in the successful career he has run, his father building
a number of houses on Dr. Cheney's land and occupying one
of them.

" I well remember the time when the house, now enlarged
and occupied as the Bee Hive public-house, was built in the
cross garden walk just mentioned, which terminated at the
top of Broomhall street. It was erected by a shoemaker,
named Thomas Rose. He was a little man, wore top boots,
and kept a hive of bees in the garden beside the house. He
got a license for the house and called it the Bee Hive. His
pear tree on the front yet retains enough vitality to show
yearly a few leaves. With the exception of the old houses
with gardens and palisades at the top of West street, and the
large house in Broomhall street, beside which until lately the
rooks have built, there were, I believe, no houses (except
some garden cottages) from Portobello down to Holy Green,
and the top of Bright, Gaol, and Young streets. All the
intervening space was occupied with fields and gardens.
Hanover street was then a narrow country lane, with fields
on each side ; and I have myself pursued and tried to kill a
weasel very near the spot where Hanover Chapel now stands.
The 'burial ground,' so called years before it was enclosed
and used, is now St. George's churchyard. This was a
general play and cricket ground ; and on a summer's evening
many groups of men and boys might be seen engaged in the
game and enjoying the fresh air and the healthful exercise."

Mr. Wragg added to these remembrances by a reference
to Black Lamb's lane, now Broomhall street. If, said he, a

156 VANISHED WOODS.

person stood at the corner of Fitzwilliam street, with the
hotel behind him, he could see the hack of South street
chapel on Sheffield Moor. The only shop in the neigh-
bourhood, was kept by Mr. Hardcastle in Holly street — he
who died sexton of St. George's Church. Mr. Sidebottom
opened the next at the corner of Convent walk — now the
Post Office. The oldest house on Glossop road is that above
Mr. Sharman's, at the corner of Gell street, now occupied by
Mr. Ward. For many years, indeed until his death, it was
the residence of an old gentleman, Mr. Thomas Broadhurst.
In the old days, Black Lamb's lane was quite a country walk.

Leighton reminded us that the houso at the corner, where
Broomhall street and Devonshire street intersect, noted for
the solitary ash tree in which the rooks persisted in building
for so many years, was the residence of William Fairbank,
one of the surveyors who planned Glossop road. His brother,
Josiah Fairbank, lived in what is now the West End Hotel,
at the bottom of Northumberland road — a house in those
days with a charming garden both before and behind.

With such reminiscences as these the quiet evening slipped
on, and we sat in silence for some time, lazily watching the
smoke as it curled upwards from our pipes in the still air, as
mentally we dwelt in the past. Leonard broke upon our
reverie with one of his abrupt speeches. The worst of it is,
said he, that with all this much boasted extension and growth,
the town is losing so much of its old beauty. Ten minutes'
walk or so in any direction from the Old Church would have
brought us, thirty or forty years ago, into charming country
lanes. What a distance we have to go now before we get rid
of the smoky blackness ! Even Wincobank is losing its fresh-
ness, and is invaded by dull rows of houses. Heeley is re-
pulsive, and as for Attercliffe, or Brightside, or Grimesthorpe,
ugh ! And how our woods have gone. Without going so
far back as Clay Wood (so called from the Bridgehouses
family) or Bamforth Wood, there were Cook Wood, and the
Old Park Wood, and Hallcarr Wood, where such delightful
rambles were to be had — "how fallen, how changed." Bam-
forth Wood reached from Hillfoot almost to Owlerton. It
belonged to Madame Bamforth, and there was a well in it,
the water of which it was pretended would cure every disease.
People used to fetch the water from miles and miles.

Leighton : Attercliffe has long been on the road to
(pictorial) ruin, yet within the time you mention, though de-
generating from country into town, it was not without its

THE DON'S DEPARTED GLORIES. 157

rural features. So late as 1836 it was still matter for remark
that " Sheffield and Attercliffe appeared not unlikely soon to
shake hands." Within a few years of that time two or three
otters had been caught in the Don there — one of them in
that very year ; and it was then written by one who has but
lately departed from amongst us, " From Brightside lane we
have a pleasing view of the village ; the houses appearing as
if intermingled with the intervening trees.
There is a bridge over the Don. from the wall of which we
look upon a short reach of the river, as it flows along the
tree-fringed lawn in front of Newhall, which is not perhaps
surpassed for its quiet, simple character. Here was formerly
a pleasant walk along the river side — not yet quite obliterated
— on this path the villager was once accustomed to meet a
local poetess — Barbara Hoole, at the period referred to an
interesting young widow, but subsequently much better known
in the literary world as Mrs. Hofiand, having become the wife
of the painter of that name. While a resident at Attercliffe
she published, in 1804, a volume of poems of a pleasing
character, containing allusions to various persons, circum-
stances, and scenes well-known in the neighbourhood."

Leonard : I see Mr. Holland, in the same book, speaks of
the Attercliffe Parsonage, then occupied by the Kev. J.
Blackburn, as " snug as a finch's nest in the adjoining trees."
The trees are a melancholy spectacle now, all smoke-begrimed
and a caution to finches.

Twiss : Catching otters in the Don at Attercliffe is
almost as curious a notion as baptising converts at Neepsend,
opposite Cornish place, yet that was done about the same
time. " On these occasions the boats have been filled with
spectators, while others crowded the banks — the singing of
hymns, a sermon, and immersing the neophytes in the water
in such a spot, forming, in connection with the scenery about
Neepsend, a spectacle of a striking character."

Everard : This was rendered still more " striking" on
one such occasion by an incident that occurred. The Min-
ister and the intended subjects of baptism had the accommo-
dation of the sheds of the public baths, partly open to the
stream, for the purpose of making suitable preparations.
Besides the banks being well lined several boats were filled
with spectators. Just when the officiating Minister and the
persons to be baptised were gone down into the water, and
he was in the very act of pronouncing the sacred formula, —
" I baptise thee, &c," the occupants of one of the boats were

158 BATHS IN THE STREAMS.

so eager to witness that part of the ceremony that they pressed
to one side, and lo ! the boat was instantly capsized, and they
were plunged over-head into the river. They were, however,
soon rescued without any particular harm beyond a great
fright and a thorough soaking. An old friend of mine who
witnessed the transaction, and possessed a vein of dry
humour, used to delight in puzzling his Baptist acquaintances
with the following query : — " That as the persons in the boat
were voluntarily attending a religious service, the nature of
which they understood, and that just at the moment and in
the hearing of the Minister's scriptural words of consecration,
they ivere certainly immersed; the question was, — whether
they did not as really receive ' Christian Baptism' on that
occasion as the others ?"

Leonard : It was at an earlier period that Mr. Wesley
used to bathe in the Don at Walk Mill.

Johnson : William White, in his "Directory of Sheffield,
1833," has the following :— " Though the rivers of Sheffield
afford ample means for the establishment of a large and com-
modious suite of cold baths, we have not yet such a desirable
institution ; those who wish to enjoy the salubrious exercise
of bathing being obliged either to immerse themselves in the
open river near Green lane (where there are a number of
dressing booths), or in the small and inconvenient baths in
Bridge street, Younge street, Ball street, Pond street Gar-
dens, and Upperthorpe." Can any one imagine for himself
" a large and commodious suite of cold baths" in our Sheffield
rivers as we know them ?

Johnson : The Upperthorpe baths were in what is now
Addy street, and were kept by one Couldwell. The water
that supplied them and adjacent troughs was splendidly clear
and cold. It was used also by the Infirmary. The baths in
Colson crofts were known as Brocksopp's. That was before
the " Goit" was arched over, and I remember the sign in-
forming the inhabitants that here were " baths in the run-
ning stream."

Leonard : The extract I quoted just now shows what an
immense deterioration our rivers have undergone. Forty
years ago they were not the semi-sewers they are now. And
the change is not only in the matter of cleanliness and purity,
but in beauty also. In a small poem, published in 1838, by
Frederick Horsfield, brother of the Eev. T. W. Horsfield,
the historian of Lewes, entitled " A Rural Walk in June, in

BURN GREAVE AND THE HILLS. 159

the neighbourhood of Sheffield," Mr. Horsfield having tracked
the Don to " Sheffield, my birth-place and pride," says —

" Here oft I've caught thy finny brood,
And sail'd thy weir-bound waters o'er."

The " finny braod" is, I am afraid, not now oft caught here.
One can scarcely imagine fish in connection with the foul
stream, once a beautiful river. In a note, Mr. Horsfield
says : — " The river Don in its course through Sheffield is, in
many parts, adorned with gardens along its banks." We,
who see the rivers of Sheffield in their present sad plight, are
in danger of forgetting what they once were.

Everard : Yes ; it was then, too, that Mr. Bailey's
residence at Burn Greave, now so completely smothered by
surrounding houses that it is absolutely invisible from the
road, was spoken of as "a pleasant villa, standing on a gentle
rise north of Sheffield, and about a mile from the town."
There was no house between it and Mr. Sorby's on Spital hill.

Twiss : " The Hills" beyond Burn Greave, once the resi-
dence of old Thomas Scantlebury, the Quaker of Campo lane,
was, in those days, a charming place. It has also been the
residence of Mr. George Hawksworth, of High street, who
was distinguished for his successful gardening. One of Mr.
Scantlebury 's sons once wrote : — "A. and E. Gales and James
Montgomery used to call on us there. The poet generally
preferred to sit on the rustic seat on the ' Common,' as it
used to be called, to enjoy the beautiful view. And well he
might. I once heard an enthusiastic Frenchman, who had
travelled extensively in England, say it was the most beau-
tiful prospect he had seen in the country."

Leighton : It used to be said that there was no street in
the town from which the country could not be seen. It was
not, perhaps, strictly true, but it very closely approximated
to the truth — and very pretty country peeps many of them
were.

Leonard : They were charming. " The scenery in the di-
rection of Attercliffe," looking from High street, was noticed
as " especially striking when the atmosphere happened to be
more or less favourable, or even by moonlight." *

Leighton : It is something that we still retain names
indicating what many of our streets may once have been,
and we should all most earnestly protest against the absurd
mania for altering good old characteristic names. Harvest

* Holland's Tour of the Don.

160 the town's outskirts.

lane and. Daisy walk, Orchard street (Brins worth's orchard),
Nursery street and Cornhill, Mulberry street and Sycamore
street (hill), Figtree lane, and many others, tell us what once
was.

Leonard : The idiots who change old names — Tom Cross
lane to stupid Brunswick road, and Coalpit lane to Cambridge
street — ought to be ostracised. They cannot have been
native-born Sheffielders.

Leighton : I am reminded of Elliott's lines : —

" Scenes rural once ! ye still retain sweet names,
That tell of blossoms and the wandering bee :

In black Pea croft no lark its lone nest frames ;
Balm green, the thrush hath ceased to visit thee.

When shall Bower spring her annual corncrake see,
Or start the woodcock if the storm be near?"

Everard : As to the outskirts we should have to make a
complete circuit of the town to give even an idea of the
changes. There is an article in the Independent which
glances at something of this kind.

All : Read !

Everard : The writer has been speaking of the devoted
loyalty of native Sheffielders to the town of their birth, and
the charms that even its dingy streets have in their retro-
spective eyes. He has referred to the regrets one must feel
" at the neglected opportunities almost all of us have had of
recording and treasuring up our local folk-lore as it dropped
from time to time from the lips of that generation now, alas,
almost passed away, which was blossoming into manhood and
womanhood when the Directorate had been abolished and
Napoleon made Consul. Is there," asks the writer, "no
Boswell in our midst who has made Sheffield his Johnson ;
no local Crabbe Robinson or Mrs. Burney who has hordes of
reminiscences and recollections that might be given to a grate-
ful world ? Did Sheffield never possess some fertile letter
writer whose correspondence would throw interesting light on
the lives of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers?" But
the following is the part of the article I wish specially to
quote : "In the absence of more systematic chronicles, we
must be as satisfied as possible with what we can get, and
we must see to it that those who are now children may not
hereafter have to complain of any lack of material. And,
indeed, it requires no great age to expatiate from personal
recollection on changes that have taken place in Hallamshire,
curious now and that will seem still more remarkable fifty
years hence. A contemplation of the alterations in our town

DEPARTED RURAL SCENES. 161

within the last (say) forty years, presents contrasts that are of
striking interest, although 1832 is a point of time not suffi-
ciently removed to enjoy the attractions of antiquity. It
takes us back, at all events, to the pre-railroad era. In those
days there was no difficulty in having your residence in the
midst of charming rural scenes, and yet living within a
quarter of an hour's walk of your business. Mr. Sorby's
house on Spital hill was altogether free from the dinginess
which set in some years later, and which was succeeded by a
period of melancholy decrepitude preceding the now effected
dissolution. Its gardens were still pleasant, for the smoke
was not yet pronounced enough materially to injure vegeta-
tion. As for Burn Greave and The Hills, they were empha-
tically country residences, whose retirement was in no appa-
rent danger of being infringed upon for years to come.
Fields were where now stands the already deserted Midland
Station, and Hallcarr, on the slope below the top corner of
Spital hill, had its garden extending as far as Saville street.
Saville street East and its long ranges of works were not,
and it was only when Royds Mill was reached on the Atter-
cliffe road that the pastoral character of the neighbourhood
was disturbed by manufacturing industry. Newhall, built by
Mr. Fell, was still an abode for a gentleman to desire, its
grounds enjoying a stately seclusion that was the antipodes
of rabbit coursing, pigeon shooting, and foot racing crowds ;
and Hallcarr wood from the hill side looked down with its
fresh waving trees upon a fertile valley, whose agricultural
character was scarce broken. Attercliffe, Brightside, and
Griruesthorpe were villages an excursion to which was a
country ' out ;' even Pitsmoor was a rural retreat, still sepa-
rated by a respectable fringe of hedge rows and meadows
from the growing town. To it the only road was by Pyebank,
or if you wanted a longer country walk by Harvest lane, or
by the footpath from Tomcross lane; for the Burngreave road
was unmade, and Rock street, beyond the old Brightside
Workhouse, was a thing of the future. Pyebank could still
sustain the country residences known as West Grove and
Grove House ; Cook Wood was intact in its verdure, and as
for the Old Park Wood, its sylvan recesses were endless and
charming. The Infirmary enjoyed a delightful exemption
from smoky neighbours, although there were indications of
what was coming in projected streets behind it and in Roscoe
place and Globe works, forerunners of the manufactories
that have now seized upon the Penistone road. Beyond the

162 SUBURBAN COLONIES.

Infirmary, on the low side, was Philadelphia, and on the top
side Upperthorpe, pleasant suburban colonies. The Nether
Hallam Workhouse was alone in its glory in the lower part of
the Crookes moor road, backed by the farmstead of Barber
Nook, and looking down upon the four small reservoirs that
occupied the valley below the Great Dam. Addy street, and
the long rows of brick houses which are prolongations of it
up the steep hill side, were as yet unimagined, but the upper
part of Crookes Moor road— above Barber road, was much as
it is now, though Butcher's dam had not become the neglected
and grass-grown hollow it is, nor had the small, triangular
sheet of water called Godfrey's Dam been as yet superseded
by the large reservoir on the upper side of Dam road.
Broomhill scorned houses that did not stand on their own
grounds ; Broomfield had not yet been invaded by hordes of
builders ; and as for Broomhall Park, the old Hall still stood
alone in its glory, the only house within the domain, its
nearest neighbours being the houses in Park lane. Broom
Grove was not a road but a solitary house, the old footpath
opposite the bottom of Newbould lane being still a thorough-
fare to Ecclesall road. The Cemetery had not yet sprung
into existence, but there were footpaths leading up to the re-
mote region of Sharrow head. Across Sharrow lane, where
Wostenholm road intersects it now, was still to be traced
the old pack-horse road to Beauchieff. Mount Pleasant and
the other residences at Highfield and Lowfield, together with
Sheaf House, Clough House, East Bank, The Farm, and
a number of others to the south-east of the town, enjoyed a
delicious atmosphere and beautiful gardens. We need not
remind our readers of the state of things now."

Leonard : Kows upon rows of brick cottage houses !

Leighton : Speaking of Newbould lane, the writer might
have mentioned the old house of Benjamin Withers in Broom
Park, with the magnificent weeping Willow in front, and the
field sloping down to Clarkehouse lane. That ancient and
decrepit-looking residence may well have been startled out of
existence by the Congregrational Church and the modern
villas which have usurped its place.

Twiss: And as to Sharrow lane, the old house by the
Pack-horse road, or " bridle sty," should not be omitted. It
is a good specimen of the gentleman's house of the period,
with an inscription over the doorway, G 1633 L — that is to
say, George Lee. The family of Lee is very ancient in Little
Sheffield, although no pedigree of it appears in the " Hallam-

OLD HOUSE IN SHAEROW LANE. 163

shire." There was a Roger Lee, of Sheffield, butcher, who
was living in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, and probably
the same with a Eoger Lee, who died about 1614. In the
" Reliquary," vol. 2, there is printed a copy of "An inven-
torie of the goods and chattells, rights, and creditts of Roger
Lee, late of Sheffield, deceased, priced by William Blith,
"William Bamford, John Quicksall, and Francis Barlow, the
xvth daye of June, 1614." The amount is <£307. 4s. 4d.
Roger Lee was father to George Lee, who was dead in 1649,
and left a widow, Anne, living in that year. In the same
volume to which reference has just been made, there is also
printed a copy of " The inventorie of the goodes, chattells,
and creditts of George Lee, late of Little Sheffield, yeoman,
deceased, taken and priced the three and twentieth daie of
Aprill, Anno Dom., 1649, by Nicholas Stones, William Lee,
Robert Bright, and George Ludlam." The amount in this
case is £670. 13s. 4d. The next we meet with is Roger
Lee, of Little Sheffield, gent., who seems to be referred to in
one of the items in the last document. He was father to
Jonathan Lee, of Little Sheffield, gent., living 1712, who had
issue — George Lee, of Little Sheffield, Bachelor of Physic,
identified in the initials on the old house, which was probably
built by him. He died about 1719, leaving a widow and two
sisters his co-heirs: — 1. Elizabeth, married first to Daniel
Gascoigne, of Sheffield, apothecary, and secondly (about 1721)
to Christopher Cowley, of Sheffield, gent., and died without
issue. 2. Ann, who married in 1715 John Fenton, of Little
Sheffield, gent., and had issue a daughter, Elizabeth, who
was wife to John Rotheram, of Dronfield, Esq., Sheriff of
Derbyshire in 1750, by whom she had Samuel Rotheram, of
Dronfield, Esq., Sheriff of Derbyshire 1773, who died un-
married in 1795 ; John Fenton Rotheram, who died un-
married in 1794 ; and an only daughter, Elizabeth, who also
died unmarried in 1797. After her death the estate devolved
to Mr. Joseph Cecil, in whose descendants it has continued
to the present time.*

Johnson : About fifty yards higher up Sharrow lane is
another house of less architectural pretensions, but still, in its
decay, preserving some of the dignity of its former state.
This appears to have been the house of some substantial
yeoman at a time when the yeomanry were the strength of
England. Over the door of one of the tenements into which

* See ante, pp. 74-75.

164 PAGE HALL.

the house is now divided, appears the inscription, IDS 1638.
Inside, the floors are still supported by oak beams and rafters,
black with age. There is a fine oak staircase, and traces are
distinct of a large open fireplace, extending along the entire
breadth of the room.

Twiss : I do not know to whom that house belonged.

Leonaed : Our notice of the suburbs of Sheffield would
be incomplete if we failed to glance at Page Hall in the days
when Mr. George Bustard Greaves, with his bag-wig, and his
portly person, did the honours of Sheffield to visitors of dis-
tinction, or rolled into the town in his yellow carriage (a phe-
nomenon then) with sky blue liveries. It is just over one
hundred years since Page Hall was built on land, described
in the early deeds as " Page Field," and " Page Greave," by
Thomas Broadbent, the banker of the Hartshead.* It was a
notable place, for it was the first great outcome of the increas-
ing wealth of the town. Many as have been the magnificent
houses since built by our manufacturers, Page Hall stood
alone then, and there were not wanting birds of ill-omen who,
Cassandra like, prophesied a bad end to such unprecedented
extravagance. There was some foundation for their gloomy
views, for before the hall was finished, Thomas Broadbent,
who must have been a man of large ideas, found that he had
not sufficiently counted the cost, and that his plans were too
grand for his purse ; so he curtailed the dimensions of the
house in a way plainly to be seen in the entrance hall to this
day. Nor was this all, for within .a very few years (the house
was built in 1773, and the event I now relate took place in
1780) the banking firm of the Hartshead had to suspend pay-
ment, and Page Hall was mortgaged to Mr. James Mimes, of
Thornes House, Wakefield, the trustee under the bankruptcy.
In 1786, it was conveyed to Mr. George Bustard Greaves,
who had married the heiress of the Clays, of Bridgehouses.
He, as I have said, kept high state there until his death in
1835, when Mr. James Dixon, t whose biography is one of the
striking manufacturing episodes of the town, became the pur-
chaser. It remained in the possession of his son, the late
Mr. William Frederick Dixon, until his death, and the estate
has just been sold (May, 1874) to Mr. Mark Firth, who in-
tends to give a portion of it for the purposes of a public park.

Leighton : Which reminds me that since we began these
conversations, the lady of Weston Hall has laid down her

* Ante, pp. 9-10. + Ante, p. 141.

Harrison's saws. 165

benevolent life (May 3, 1873), and her property has been
bought by the town for the recreation of the public.

Twiss : A word or two as to the earlier history of the
" Page Greave" estate may not be uninteresting. Prior to
1717, it was in the possession of a family of Rawsons, and in
that year James Rawson conveyed it to John Potter, of Beigh-
ton. It was in 1759 that the then representative of the
Potters, described as a brushmaker of Pagefield, sold the
estate to Joseph Broadbent, the father of Thomas, the builder
of the Hall. Included in the estate recently sold, is Skin-
nerthorpe. Part of this formerly belonged to the Bournes,
afterwards to the Mellands ; the other part to the Barkers (of
Bakewell) and the Lees, who, in 1775, assumed the name of
Carril Worstley. I should not omit to mention that the
Dixon family claims to have sprung from the immediate
neighbourhood of the estate, the late Mr. James Dixon hav-
ing been the grandson of William Dixon, of Shiregreen.

Wragg : I do not know that, after the event Mr. Leighton
has referred to, there is any impropriety in my telling the
following anecdote of the father of the late Miss Harrison : —
Mr. Harrison laid the foundation of his fame as a saw-maker
thus. He sent a man, dressed like a working carpenter, in
his shirt sleeves and apparently fresh from his work-bench,
among the London shops, asking for "Harrison's saws."
None of the shopkeepers had ever heard of such a maker.
They had, of course, saws by this eminent firm and the other
which they recommended to the customer, but he would have
none of them, declaring that no saws were like Harrison's,
and he must have them or none. This, from a practical man,
made its due impression, and a few days afterwards, when
Mr. Harrison happened to call soliciting orders, he found no
difficulty in obtaining them. The story comes from an old
workman of Mr. Harrison's and is, I am assured, authentic.

Everard : The night air gets chilly to old men. I shall
go home.

Leighton : And my pipe's out.

CHAPTER VIII.
Bank Street, The Crofts, Broad Lane.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everard, Wragg, Leonard

and Johnson.
Period— A.D. 1874.

WRAGGr : We might very well devote this evening's con-
versation to a tour in " low latitudes" — as they are
now. They were not always so, as a glance at some of the
houses will show. Any one can easily pick out the old resi-
dences of the old substantial manufacturers of the last cen-
tury, many of them now turned into public houses.

Leonard : Suppose we begin at Bank street and work our
way onwards.

Everard : We shall, then, commence with the corner,
which was the Independent office from 1846 to 1863.

Leonard : These premises were built by Mr. Luke
Palfreyman, hosier, Snig hill, father of the late Mr. Palfrey-
man, solicitor. Opposite is the Old Bank, now Mr. Waddy's
auction room. It was here that Parker, Shores & Blakelock
carried on business, and here that they failed in the year
1843, to the consternation of the town. One of the Shores
lived in the house attached. Subsequently the premises were
used for the Union Bank, until it was removed further on the
street.

Wragg : Proceeding, on the right we reach what was the
leather-currier's shop of the late Mr. Elias Lowe — one which
retained its old-fashioned character until the death of its
long occupant, when it was turned into the offices now oc-
cupied by Mr. William Fretson. Mr. Lowe, as most of us
remember him in his later days — portly, rosy-faced, and
feeble, was far different from the Elias Lowe of the olden
time. Then he was active and a busy public man. He was
one of Sheffield's first Aldermen.

Johnson : His memory went far enough back to remember
the figtrees, from which Figtree lane takes its name.

Everard : In confirmation of that fact, I myself well
recollect, when a little boy, seeing the front of one of the
houses covered with a figtree. It was either the same, or

BANK STREET. 167

the next house to that in which " blind Jonathan," the fiddler,
lived. He was a respectable man of that class in those days.
Wragg : Mr. Lowe's brother, Isaac, was the keeper of a
well-conducted beer-house in Bridge street.

Twiss : Next conies the Independent office of the present
day. There formerly was a large garden, which must have
had a terrace wall overlooking the precipitous hill side down
to Snig hill. A part of the old wall was found during the
building of Mr. Leader's present printing offices.

Leighton : Opposite are the offices of Messrs. Smith and
Hinde, the present partners being the sons of the original
firm. What a profound impression the loss of Mr. Hinde,
when crossing the Atlantic in the ill-fated Arctic, in 1854,
made on the town ! Mr. James Sykes, late of the Victoria
corn mill, was another Sheffield man on board.

Wragg : The new Union Bank, on the left, was erected
on the site of the Saynors' factory. They, prior to 1810,
employed more hands than any other firm in the cutlery
trade.

Leonard : How completely workshops in this street have
now given place to lawyers' offices.

Johnson : Thomas Saynor, lived at 14, Bank street, and
carried on business at the back of Alderman Vickers' offices,
The original Saynors were Samuel and John. They were
both factors and manufacturers, their chief business being
done in London in all kinds of knives, swords, shoe buckles,
skates, scissors, and razors. The business subsequently
came into the hands of Thomas Saynor, Scargill croft, who
manufactured the sportsman's knife, scissors, razors, and
pen machine knife. After the steel pen came into use,
trade began to be bad. In sailing from London to Hull,
a drunken sailor fell out of his hammock on to Mr. Saynor,
and injured him for life. He lay for a long time in Hull, and
after he came home he was unable to attend to his business.
The mark which he struck was "Kainbow," and his eldest
son strikes the same mark. At Whitby, Yorkshire, another
brother, Jeremiah Saynor, was town beadle. John kept the
Old Barrack Tavern Bowling Green, and another Saynor
drove the coach to Doncaster and Thorne from Waingate.
A branch of the family is still in Edward street and has been
there for more than 50 years.

Twiss : We should not pass that old hostelry the George
and Dragon without a mention.

1-

168 BANK STREET.

Johnson : No, it was a noted market-house in the days
when it was kept by John Cooper. I have seen on a Tues-
day and Saturday a line of carts reaching from Figtree lane
to the bottom of Bank street, and I believe the late Aid.
Hoole was the cause of prohibiting their standing in the
street.

Twiss : Let us take a peep up the adjoining lane at the
Quakers' Meeting-house. It was re-built in 1806.

Everard : Either at the time when the Meeting-house
was re-built, or during the period of some subsequent altera-
tions, the Friends assembled in the large upper room of Mr.
Hoyland's iron warehouse, now occupied by Mrs. G. Tucker,
No. 7, York street.

Twiss : An important contribution to local biography
would be an account of the worthy men who have been
prominently connected with the Quakers' Meeting-house.

Wragg : We have met with some already, and we shall
yet meet with more.

Leonard : On its site formerly were gardens, running
down to and across what is now Bank street. The old
Quakers' Meeting-house was, according to Gosling's plan,
on the other side of Meeting-house lane, where are now the
offices of the late Mr. Francis Hoole, formerly Mr. Tatter-
shall' s, and now again another Mr. Tattershall's.

Everard : Those offices were once of the school of the
Bev. Matthew Preston, when he lived in the house in Figtree
lane, now the Hospital for Women ; and afterwards of Stephen
Eversfield. Then on the other side of Figtree lane, occupy-
ing the site of the synagogue of the Jews that they have
deserted recently (in 1872) in favour of a new one behind it
with a frontage to North Church street, was Mr. William
Cowley's English Grammar school.,

Johnson : That room in the course of its existence has
been put to very various uses, for it was the meeting place of
the Chartists. Mr. Cowley's son married the daughter of
John Cooper, of the George and Dragon. Bank street and
Queen street fairly bristled with schoolmasters in those days.
Besides those who have been mentioned, and Mr. John
Eadon, of whom we shall have to speak presently, William
Wright had a school in the room behind Mr. Smilter's office,
before him occupied by John Addy, to say nothing of old Nanny
Bashforth, who lived in the passage past Queen street chapel.

Wragg : Mr. Addy was better known as a teacher of
drawing. After Mr. Wright succeeded him in the room just

SCARGILL CROFT. 169

spoken of, he lived and continued his profession in the house
in front, now occupied by Mr. Barker, barrister.

Leonard : It is rather a digression from Bank street, yet
there may not be a better opportunity of adding that the
Parish Churchyard used to be a common play-ground for all
the boys who chose to use it. Numbers constantly availed
themselves of the privilege and fraternized with the Charity
School boys in all their youthful gambols. Their great amuse-
ment used to be vaulting over the tombstones. One feat in
particular was to leap " o'er t'alli" — a so-called alabaster
slab, but really of Derbyshire marble, forming the top of a
tomb near the vestry door.* When the churchyard was
closed to these pranks (1830), the late Mr. Samuel Roberts
devised for the Charity boys the elevated playground high
up above York street, where they may be heard romping
any day.

Twiss : The Boys' Charity School would be a questionable
" charity" in days written of by the gentleman whose name
you have just mentioned, when its management was "farmed,"
and when the sleeping room of the poor little creatures was
let for dancing parties and assemblies.

Wragg : A past master of that school ought not to pass
unmentioned — Mr. Joseph Youle, who published the " Arith-
metical Preceptor," in 1813. As a tutor it has never been
surpassed.

Everard : Returning to Bank street, one may remark
that Meeting house lane and its precipitous continuation on
the other side of Bank street, Scargill croft (at one time
called Dover hill by some), and New street, the continuation
of Figtree lane (once it was all Figtree lane), must be two
of the oldest thoroughfares in the town. The cottages down
there are very ancient.

Twiss : Scargill croft takes its name from the family of
the Skargells (as it was then spelled), who were in possession
of the property there some 250 years ago. I have seen the
will of one of them, William, which distinctly referred to
this property, distinguishing it into two parts, an upper and
a lower. The will of Joshua Skargell, son of William, is
dated February 12th, 1G25, and he leaves in turn the pro-
perty to his son William, together with " one cupboard with
boxes and one iron deske which are in the chamber over the
house wherein I now dwell, with all the writings in the same.

* Ante, p. 73.

N

170 NEW STREET.

And also all such goods as are in the said house and were
given and bequeathed unto me by William Skargell, my late
father, deceased." To his second son, Thomas, he left the
Cow close and the Cow close head, two closes of land in
Brightside "Bierley;" and " also those my ffoure cottages at
or near the West-barr end, which I purchased of John Bayes,
with one croft thereto adjoyneing." He had also land at
Upperthorpe, which he bequeathed to his daughter, so that
Joshua Skargell, yeoman, was quite a man of property.

Leonard : There was still a representative of the family
in the town towards the end of the last century, for, as we
shall have to remark presently, Thomas Scargil, or Scargill,
was an original member of Queen street Chapel, being one of
the thirteen who left Nether Chapel to found it.

Twiss : New street must have been a very different
place when houses were provided in it as residences for the
assistant ministers of the Parish Church. The Eev. George
Bayliffe was one who lived there up to the time of his death in
1804. He had been assistant minister for 44 years, holding
also the curacy of Ecclesall for 34 of them ; and before that
he had been curate to the Eev. W. Steer, of Ecclesfield, for
15 years. Born in 1721, he was, of course, a very old man
when this century came in. Mr. Hunter has described him
as low in stature, wearing a white curled wig and cocked hat,
and accustomed to take early country walks before breakfast.
The Gentleman's Magazine, in a notice probably written
by his colleague, the Rev. Edward Goodwin, speaks of Mr.
Bayliffe in his domestic relations in the highest terms, and
says that " he was economical without parsimony, of the
strictest integrity and ready to do every good work. In the
discharge of his office as a clergyman he was piously regular
and punctual on every occasion. His discourses were judicious
and instructive, and accompanied with a proper degree of
animation. In his clerical visits he was unwearied and diligent,
and spared no pains to maintain that happy harmony which
subsisted between him and his brethren."

Leighton : Between New street and Scargill croft is now
the County Court. To build it were removed the old houses
where formerly was Mr. John Parker, solicitor, brother of
Mr. Adamson Parker and of the Rev. Frank Parker, of Dore.
Mr. Parker built the large house on the other side of New
street, formerly the Highway office, now occupied as solicitors'
chambers, where the celebrated Luke Palfreyman lived.

BANK STREET. 171

Johnson : William Wood, spirit merchant, lived at the
top of Scargill croft. There was a large skittle alley attached
to the house. Mr. Wood was one of the largest spirit mer-
chants in the town. In this croft, too, were John Owen's
malt kilns; and after him Mr. Parkin succeeded to them. His
son now carries on the same business in Coulson street.
William Walmsley, blacking manufacturer, was here also.
He had a good trade, and at night he used to spend his time
playing the dulcimer. He was a great favourite with the
ladies, and he was in request at parties and balls along with
blind Jonathan, the fiddler and wait, who lived in Figtreo
lane. Then there was Mrs. Binns, who kept the Nelson Inn,
New street. It was one of the most respectable houses in
Sheffield fifty years ago. When the notorious Peter Foden
married and commenced business on his own account, he took
the shop which then had a bow window in Bank street, since
converted into offices, and now occupied by Mr. Henry Vickers.
Patience Davy, the quakeress, kept a noted worsted shop next
to the County Court, and a fine business she did. There was
no knitting by machinery then, and no worsted like Patience
Davy's. She was skilled in curing wounds and bruises, and
people came from all parts of the town for her help. Her
charge was " Thou art welcome." She retired with an inde-
pendence to the better regions of Glossop road, where she
died at a green old age. On the other side of the street, in
one of "Lawyer Tattershall's houses," was William Nadin,
stay maker, who lived and made his fortune in Fargate,
opposite the Exchange drapery establishment, and retired to
Bank street. His son William was apprenticed to the father
of the late Joseph Woodcock, brushmaker. This son was a
great politician and Jacobin. He married Martha Wright, of
whom Mr. Wragg told us a curious anecdote in connection
with the Parish Church, and Mr. Joseph Nadin, who repre-
sents St. Philip's Ward in the Town Council, is their son.
John Bland, the late chief-constable of Rotherham, lived
next door to Messrs. Clegg and Son's office. He was the
son of William Bland, mentioned once before (p.113). Then
in the house occupied by the firm of solicitors just men-
tioned, lived Samuel Broadhead— afterwards Broadhead and
Atkin, Britannia metal and fine scissors manufacturers.
The title deeds do not state how old this property is,
but it was standing in 1787, when Henry Tudor bought it
from John Nodder ; and Mr. William Tattershall bought it
from the trustee of Henry Tudor, in 1824. Then the late

172 QUEEN STREET.

Aid. Francis Hoole bought it from the executors of the late
William Tattershall.

Leonard : Before leaving Bank street we ought, at least,
to mention the names of Kobert Rodgers, solicitor, father of
the present Mr. T. W. Rodgers, J. P. ; and John Watson, 3,
Bank street, brother of Thomas Watson, silverplater, who
educated eight poor boys at the charity school. He was one
of the old Sheffield worthies. There was, too, the prede-
cessor of the late Mr. Thomas Badger, as coroner, Andrew
Allan Hardy, who lived at No. 19. Strange tales have been
told of him when Lord Cochrane was wanted on a charge of
high treason, but he was so much respected that the Secretary
of State could not find any one who would give information
as to his whereabouts.

Wragg : At the corner of Figtree lane, is the beginning
of Queen street, and the oldest house in the street, now oc-
cupied by Mr. Haxworth, surgeon. It was built in 1784 by
one of the Hounsfields, of Pond hill.

Twiss : It has usually been said that Messrs. Rayner and
Turner built the house. At that time the ground was covered
with trees and was called Wade's Orchard. There seems to
have been some hesitation whether to call the new street
Queen street or Fig street.

Wragg : It was in the same year that Queen street chapel
was built by Thomas Vennor and John Read. As Mr. Twiss
said of the Quakers' Meeting house so I might say of this —
a biography of those who attended it would include some of
the oldest and best families in the town.

Everard : This chapel, as no doubt most of you are
aware, was founded by some members of the Nether or Lower
Chapel, who "apprehended several things to be exceptionable
in the ministry and conduct" of the Rev. John Harmer, its
then pastor. As early as 1782 communications were ex-
changed between them and the Rev. Jehoiada Brewer, and
eventually (March 26, 1783) he accepted their invitation. On
the 28th of the same month, " Messrs. Vennor, Read and
Smith agreed with Mr. Wheat, the attorney, for a piece of
ground situate in Queen street, for the term of 99 years, at
l^d. per yard, for the purpose of erecting a place of worship
thereon." Mr. Brewer came to Sheffield July 13, 1783,
preached for a time in " the long room" in Norfolk street,
and his first sermon in the new chapel (though not yet com-
pleted), December the 3rd. Meantime Mr. Harmer, declin-
ing to give the seceders their dismissal, expelled them from

QUEEN STREET CHAPEL. 173

the communion of his church, and on the 26th November
they made and signed a " Covenant" among themselves.
There were thirteen of them and their names are of interest :

Samuel Ostliff,
Jonathan Loy,
William Grubb,
Lydia Keee,
Charles Clayton,
Mary Clayton,
Sarah Broomhead,

Thomas Scargill,
Joseph Bradshaw,
John Smith,
Martha Smith,
William Beardshaw,
John Holland.

Of these, Bradshaw and Beardshaw, as will be seen, by no
means acted up to the spirit of their covenant. Two per-
sons were appointed deacons in 1783, but the Church book
does not give their names. A pamphlet, "printed by order
of the church" in 1796, explains that owing to Mr. Read's
position, as sole surviving lessee after the death of Mr.
Vennor in 1787, and his determined " maintenance of power
and sway," no formal separation of them took place. That
pamphlet is entitled "A defence of the Principles and Con-
duct of the Independent Church assembling at Queen street
Chapel, Sheffield, occasioned by the calumnious misrepresen-
tations of a pamphlet called ' A Caution to all Independent
Churches' " — which was issued under the name of the above
William Beardshaw, who, with Mr. John Read, the lessee,
Joseph Bradshaw, and others, fomented so much discord
that they were expelled. Before this the property had been
formally vested in trustees, and Mr. Read's power being thus
ended, Samuel Ostliff, John Smith (the bookseller of Angel
street), William Room, and Robert Marsden were elected
deacons.

Leonard : There is one circumstance that may be borne
in mind to the credit of this chapel — the few changes that
have been made in its ministry. The Rev. Peter Whyte is
only the sixth pastor in ninety years. In this respect Queen
street presents a marked contrast to Howard street Chapel,
for example.

Everard : My father heard the Rev. Jehoiada Brewer
preach his first sermon in the school-room in Milk street.
After the chapel was opened, Mr. Brewer attracted large
and overflowing congregations, for his vigorous preaching
was something new in the town, and he exercised a power-
ful influence during the important years 1783 to 1796.
There was at that time no evangelical preaching in con-
nection with the Established Church; and amongst the
Evangelical Dissenters there were no indications of vigorous

174 THE REV. JEHOIADA BREWER.

spiritual life. The chief manifestation of the power of such
life existed amongst the Wesleyan Methodists. Howard
street, Garden street, Lee croft, and Attercliffe chapels were
non-existent — not to mention those that have been erected
during the present century. In fact, Nether Chapel and
Coalpit lane Chapel (then recently erected, in 1780, in con-
sequence of a secession from the former on the appointment
of the Rev. John Harmer), were the only two Independent
places of worship in Sheffield. Mr. Brewer was a man of no
ordinary stamp. In person he was well built, possessing a
bodily constitution capable of sustaining a great amount of
physical labour and mental effort ; as the fact that he regu-
larly preached six times a week, besides attending to his
other engagements, may sufficiently attest. He had a voice
of great compass, power, and flexibility ; and a countenance
indicative of energy and decision, deriving in part its expres-
siveness from a dark, piercing eye, which, as he gave utterance
to the stronger emotions of the soul, was wont to flash with
the fire of intense animation. As a preacher he was emi-
nently practical and searching. He was a man of action
rather than of speculation ; the popular preacher rather than
the profound metaphysician or learned divine. His forte
consisted in the clear comprehension and statement of scrip-
tural truth. The interest and charm of his discourses chiefly
consisted in their being pervaded by the essential element of
strong common sense, rendered attractive by familiar illustra-
tions, and enforced by a popular logic. As a pastor, he was
exemplary and faithful in the discharge of the duties of his
office. The theological system which he embraced and ex-
pounded was that which I may denominate as a scriptural
Calvinism. In political sentiment Mr. Brewer entertained
somewhat ultra Liberal opinions. His views and preferences
in this respect he boldly and openly declared, at a time when
such avowal rendered a man liable to be reproached with being
associated with infidels in the assertion of the necessity of
parliamentary reform ; and in the advocacy of the claims of
civil and religious liberty. Decided in all his views, he was
from principle and conviction a stanch Nonconformist. The
distinguishing characteristic of his ministry was its earnest-
ness. After a successful course of nearly thirteen years, some
unpleasant circumstances arose in the church, which even-
tually issued in Mr. Brewer's removal to Birmingham in
1796. He concluded his work in this town by preaching a
farewell sermon to a crowded and deeply impressed con-

QUEEN STREET CHAPEL. 175

gregation. On that special occasion he took for his text the
words : — " Finally, brethren, farewell !" After giving out
these words he burst into tears ; and although a man of great
self-possession, he was so deeply affected that he had to sit
down before he could sufficiently recover himself to be able
to proceed. Mr. Brewer had laboured at Birmingham for
about twenty years when a new and much larger chapel was
begun. He was in feeble health when he laid the foundation
stone of the building, and on that occasion remarked that
when the chapel was opened they would have to walk over his
grave ! This proved to be the fact. He died on St. Bar-
tholomew's-Day, the 24th August, 1817, aged sixty-six years ;
and the late Rev. John Hammond, one of his converts at
Sheffield, gave the funeral address.

Leonard : Was there not some peculiar circumstance in
connection with Mr. Brewer coming to Sheffield ?

Everard : Yes. His first settlement was at Rodborough,
in Gloucestershire, and the event to which you refer happened
there. It may be of much interest to any of you who are
attracted by the philosophy of dreams. It is reported by
most credible witnesses, who had it from Mr. Brewer's own
lips. One Saturday night he dreamt it was the Sabbath ;
and that after he had ascended the pulpit and commenced the
service, he saw a stranger, whom he had never seen before,
enter the chapel, and sit down in a certain pew. He thought
that after the service, this person came into the vestry to
speak to him, and gave him an invitation to Sheffield. That
was his dream. The next day whilst engaged in the public
service, he actually saw the gentleman whose likeness had
been presented to him in his dream walk into the chapel, and
take his seat in the identical pew. This proved to be no
other person than Mr. John Read, who, at the conclusion of
the service, went into the vestry and informed Mr. Brewer
that his business was to propose to him a journey to Sheffield.
It is certain that Mr. Brewer regarded this as an extraor-
dinary circumstance, and it practically contributed to free his
mind from all doubt or hesitation in accepting this "call."

Leonard : The Rev. James Boden, who followed Mr.
Brewer, was minister of the chapel from 1796 to 1839, with
the Rev. Joseph Augustus Miller as co-pastor from 1836.
Mr. Boden contented himself with keeping a mere list of
members in the Church book during his time, so that we
cannot trace the changes in the deacons more accurately than
to say that Wm. Alsop, 1785-1830; Wm. Smith, 1803-1817 ;

176 QUEEN STREET.

William Andrews, 1803-1830 ; William Eagle, 1804-1820 ;
Lewis Thomas, 1805-1832 ; all filled the office somewhere
between the figures appended to each name, the first being
the year in which they joined the church, the second the
year of their death. In 1834, the list was : Robert Mars-
den, Pitsmoor hill side (the only survivor of the earliest
four) ; Thomas Dunn, Cornhill ; Robert Leader, Portobello ;
John Greaves, Glossop road ; George Merrill, Harvest lane ;
John Eadon, Broad lane ; Richard Thomas Taylor, Sheffield
Moor. Mr. Marsden died in 1834, and in 1844 (minister,
the Rev. John Hope Muir), Mr. Dunn and Mr. Taylor having
left the chapel, the places of these three had been supplied
by Edward Hall, Edward Hebblethwaite, and Robert Water-
house. It is not worth while to bring down the record later
than this. With regard to Attercliffe Independent Chapel,
which Mr. Everard has mentioned, its origin elates from 1793,
when the Queen street people took an empty house at Atter-
cliffe, and there Mr. Brewer preached every Wednesday even-
ing. This was soon found too small, whereupon a chapel
was built, and opened in October of the same year.

Leighton : Queen street Chapel is altered now. " I well
remember," wrote a minister who visited the town in 1859,
after many years absence, "when that chapel was fronted
with a dead brick wall, with a wooden gate ; no porch over
the doors, all within as plain- as the simplest white-wash, a
narrow vestry at the lower end, and the Sabbath school con-
ducted on the other side of the street, in the rooms where
Mr. John Eadon had his academy."

Everard : It was afterwards Farnsworth's, at the bottom
of North Church street. Mr. Eadon lived in the corner
house of that street and Queen street. But North Church
street was not opened through in those days. Below Wheat's
passage, leading from Paradise square, was a precipitous bank,
which had not then been cut away. Below that bank and im-
mediately above the school, were the steps descending into
the wood-yard, as at this day. That yard belonged to Mr.
Fox, who lived at the house at the other end, facing Paradise
square. Projecting into the yard from Wheat's passage was
the house of Mr. Axe, round which the thoroughfare wound,
emerging into Wheat's passage by another flight of steps.
Below were the backs of the Queen street houses, in which
lived (next to Mr. Eadon's) William Knowles, then Quaker
Gurney, and at the corner, as now, was Mr. Bowman's, pawn-
broker. The yard exists now just as it did then ; but it

WILLIAM EVATT. — THE GURNEYS. 177

has been superseded as a thoroughfare by the more direct

route, since North Church street was opened through. The

present Queen street school-rooms, behind the chapel, had

not then been built.

Johnson : The school-room in North Church street was

built by Mr. Knowles in 1779. The following lines are cut

out in stone at the entrance of the door : —

" Where grace and virtue mutually shine,
Rich is the blossom, and the fruit Divine."

The school is and has been in the possession of Mr. Farns-
worth for the last thirty years. William Evatt, dentist, lived
where Mr. William Nodder's offices are, at the corner of North
street. There was a large tooth hanging before the door,
and I have seen both old and young when they have got to
the door turn back again, the pain having ceased in fear of
the dreadful operator. Mr. Evatt was a noted character, a
member of the Society of Friends —

Leighton : Whose house was a great gathering place for
certain gossips.

Johnson : John Alcock, manufacturer of shot belts, pow-
der flasks, and razor strops, removing from Pea croft, carried
on his business where is now Mr. Hoyland, brush maker.
Charles Alcock, who was formerly a member of the Town
Council and an extreme Liberal, took to the business, and re-
moved to Pond street, where it is still carried on by some
member of the family. George Gurney, who belonged to the
Society of Friends, kept the grocer's shop at the corner of
Queen street, now a public-house ; and next door below he
kept a large store for cocoa and ebony woods ; but he and his
brothers emigrated to America.

Wragg : Is there not some mistake here ? It was
Edmund Gurney who kept the corner shop, and he had a
brother Joseph who dealt in ebony and ivory next door, and
went to America. I am sorry to state that the last time I
saw Edmund Gurney he was clerking a money club, or else
it was in Mr. Watson's shop, in Fargate, where he assisted
on Saturday nights. I believe he died in an asylum. I can-
not say anything respecting his brother Joseph, the ivory
merchant. The Gurney family is a very old one, and took
the name from a place in France. The family pedigree be-
gins in 912. There was a Hugh Gurney and his son at the
battle of Mortimer in 1054, and also at the battle of Hastings.
Another of the family was Sir Thomas de Gurney, one of the

178 SILVEE STREET.

murderers of Edward II. A third son of one of the Gurneys
became a Quaker under the preaching of George Fox, and the
family has long been seated in Norfolk. The late Mrs. Fry
was a Gurney. I am sorry I cannot show the connection of
the Sheffield Gurneys with the Gurneys of Norwich, but, not-
withstanding, they are of the same family.

Leonard : Cousins, I believe.

Wragg : Continuing along Queen street, we get into quite
a new region, caused by the opening through of the street
from "Workhouse lane (Paradise street) to Westbar green, and
Scotland street. On the right, near Silver street, have re-
cently disappeared some old cottages that were below the level
of the street. A few yards up Silver street is the Star inn,
bearing the inscription — First house in Silver street, 1742, jSM
Fifty or sixty years ago, that was a good double house. In
Silver street, too, the Messrs. Dixon carried on business be-
fore they removed to Cornish place. At that time a man who
lived in Workhouse lane had his letters directed to Silver
street, because it sounded more respectable. At the top cor-
ner of Silver street there was a grocer's shop which did a
good business, its occupier being Mr. Thompson, who unfor-
tunately failed about 87 years ago. Since then the house has
gone through a variety of experiences, inclusive, of course,
of a beerhouse. It is now occupied by a renovator of old
shoes.

Everard : I have heard it said that this Mr. Thompson
got his nickname of " Sponty Thompson," from having used
the word " spontaneous" in a speech at some meeting. But
I should rather think it was given to him as descriptive, in
a single word, of his marvellous powers of speech and con-
versation. When very young I once spent an evening in his
company, and was very much struck and interested by him.
His words came in one continuous flow, and his language was
far more pure and refined, and exempt from provincialisms,
than it is usual to hear in the course of conversation.

Leonard : Jonathan Watkinson, who was so unmercifully
satirized by Mather that he is said to have died of a broken
heart, was a Silver street resident. He was one of the prin-
cipal manufacturers of the day, and was Master Cutler in
1787. His supposed offence was that he first exacted from
workmen thirteen to the dozen ; but it is doubtful whether he
deserved the abuse he got, as may be seen from the notes in
John Wilson's edition of Mather's Songs, pp. C3-67.

FRANK FEARN. 179

Wragg : In Silver street head, near the Square, the grand-
father of Mr. John Clayton, the auctioneer, changed his busi-
ness from a leather breeches maker to a broker and auctioneer,
and soon removed next door, to a much larger shop that was
previously kept by a grocer, a well-known man, whose name
I have forgotten. Mr. Clayton's second shop was the one
lately occupied by Mr. Neal. He had not been in business
more than ten years when he retired. He died in the house
at the top of Convent walk, afterwards occupied by Mr. W.
S. Brittain. Down at the corner was "Neddy" Maden, a
shoemaker, who at his death had accumulated more than
£80,000. He died on some of his property at the corner of
Duke street and Porter street. In Westbar green, where is
now the bottom of Scotland street (before it was opened
through to Queen street, and when the only issue was through
the crooked Grindle gate, opposite Silver street head), was
the residence and manufactory of Mr. Ellis, file manufac-
turer. The house stood backward, with palisades, and occu-
pied the breadth of the now street. He was a very respect-
able man, but I am sorry to say one of his apprentices was
Frank Fearn, who was gibbeted on Loxley chase for the mur-
der of Nathan Andrews. Frank Fearn was naturally of a
depraved disposition, and Mr. Ellis often predicted he would
die with his shoes on. A story is told, that when on the
scaffold he said : " My master has often told me I should die
with my shoes on, so I shall pull them off and make him a
liar."

Leonard : Mather, in his song on Frank Fearn, makes
him penitent on the scaffold, but possibly with more poetical
licence than historical truth.

Twiss : There has been a good deal of speculation as to
what became of Frank Fearn's gibbet post. It is commonly
believed that it was used as a foot bridge over the Rivelin or
the Loxley ; and it has been stated that, having been washed
down to Sheffield by a flood, it came into the possession of a
builder, and was used by him, along with a quantity of other
old material obtained by the removal of the Shrewsbury
Hospital, in erecting a row of cottages which stand in a
street that still bears the builder's name.

Wragg : In Grindle gate lived the grandfather of the late
Mr. Thomas Dunn.

Leighton : At the corner of Westbar green and Grindle
gate was the grocer's shop of Joseph Haywood, father of the
late lawyer and magistrate. It is still in the same trade.

180 PEA CROFT. — GEORGE SMITH.

Everard : When I went to school with Thomas Haywood,
the younger son of the grocer mentioned, the family kept and
lived at a shop in Scotland street, opposite Nowill and Son's
warehouse.

Wragg : In Scotland street was Mr. Benjamin Parkin,
a large spring knife manufacturer. He turned the front of
the premises into a dram shop and carried on the business of
a spirit merchant. The place is now Messrs. Mower and
Pearson's. Near where is the pawnbroker's shop of Mr.
Hides was, 60 or 70 years ago, Mr. Samuel Peace, grocer.
He afterwards became a saw-manufacturer and acquired an
ample competency. He was father of the late Mr. Charles
Peace, one of our early aldermen.

Leighton : One improvement here is that the " Scotland
street feast," which had degenerated into an excuse for drink-
ing and immorality, is a thing of the past, but it died hard,
and has not long since disappeared.

Everard : At the bottom of Pea croft was (and is) a
baker's shop, kept by Goodison, the father of Mr. Goodison,
the attorney.

Leonard : The house is still standing in Pea croft that
was built by the grandfather of Mr. Albert Smith — George
Smith, who was Master Cutler in 1749, and whose feast, as
already told, cost ,£2. 2s. 9d. That was in the days when
the apprentices lived in the house with their masters ; and as
Mr. Smith had besides a large family of children, he used to
lead rather a long procession when he went, wearing his
cocked hat, down the Croft, up Silver street head, and across
Hick's stile field to the- Parish Church, of which one of his
sons was afterwards to be assistant-minister. There they
occupied two pews. It is a family tradition that on a Sunday
to be remembered, one of the apprentices ventured to com-
plain about the pudding. Mrs. Smith got up and boxed his
ears, saying : " Thou grumbles at such pudding as this !
Better flour and better watter were never put together."

Leighton : We have changed all that by the modern sys-
tem of apprentices. The alteration was beginning at the
close of the last century and attracted the attention of Wilber-
force, who remarked, in his diary, " An increasing evil at
Sheffield is that the apprentices used to live with the masters
and be of the family ; now wives are grown too fine ladies to
like it ; they lodge out, and are much less orderly."

Leonard : But under the old system, apprentices, if not
left so much to themselves, had very hard times of it. There

APPRENTICES. 181

is a wonderful difference between the duties they have to per-
form now and those of the old times. The last apprentice
of Montgomery has said: "Mr. Montgomery's apprentices
used to take down and put up the shutters of the Misses
Gales' shop, which were very many, very heavy, and had to
be carried a considerable distance. When work in the office
closed at 6.30 or 7 p.m., the unfortunate apprentice had to
return to the place at 8 or 9 to put up the shutters." And I
have heard one who was an apprentice in another printing
office — that of Mr. Bacon, the founder of the Independent,
and who helped to pull the first copy of that journal, contrast
his duties with those of printers' apprentices in these days.
When his work at the office was done, he was a sort of body-
servant to his master's wife, running her errands or weeding
her garden.

Leighton : Those were cases in which the apprentices
were non-resident. Some amazing stories are told of the
treatment the apprentices in the staple trades met with, in
the shape of board and lodging, at the hands of their mis-
tresses. This story was told by an old man named Dawson,
who worked at Scythe wheel, Loxley bottom, and who was
apprenticed to "Johnny Jackson," the keeper of a public-
house in the middle of Crookes. He was the youngest
apprentice of four. He related that they never had anything
to their supper but grout porridge — which was made from
the refuse of brewings, and may be described as the essence
of grains — and were allowed neither fire nor light. One
night, when they were going home from the wheel in the
Eivelin valley, the oldest apprentice, whose name was Uckler,
said to his companions, " Now my lads, if it is grout por-
ridge to-night, I tell you what I shall do. I shall throw my
piggin (a wooden vessel with a handle holding about a quart)
under the ass-nook, and you must all follow the same tack."
This was agreed to, and when they got home, sure enough
there was the inevitable grout porridge in a large "piggin,"
with a wooden spoon. Uckler seized his piggin and threw it
away ; and the three others did the same and ran up stairs.
The master came, armed with a stout stick, and gave each a
good "hiding;" but the result was porridge. They were
never offered grout again.

Wragg : Talking of apprentices, there was a man in
Allen street who had sixteen. He was a cutler of the name
of Barber, and he belonged to the property opposite Kadford
street. Oat-cake was then the constant fare, and people with

182 TREATMENT OF APPRENTICES.

apprentices always had a batch beforehand, that the lads
might eat less. It is not therefore, specially surprising,
that when they had an opportunity they snatched a cake
from the bakestone. One lad was known to put an oat-cake
in a coal basket, with the coal over it, while another concealed
one under his shirt, and though instantly missed it was de-
voured before recovery was possible. On one occasion they
had brewis or brewes for dinner. One of the lads, thought
to be somewhat deficient in intellect, was seen to be pulling
off his jacket. When asked what he was going to do he
replied, " I'm going to jump into the pancheon to fetch that
big piece of cake out on the other side." Barber, with all
his parsimony, died in the Workhouse.

Leonard : What is brewis ?

Wragg : Oat-cakes, mixed with dripping and hot water
poured on, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Everard : It is the traditional dish when the Cutlers'
Company lunch together before the annual swearing in of the
Master Cutler. It is an old Saxon dish. In " Gareth and
Lynette" we read : " He had not beef and brewis enow."

Leonard : A Sheffield rhymster, named Senior, has sung
the woes of the apprentices : —

" When t' prentice lad ate green wort cake,
Ta milk an' porridge blue,
An' if at neet lie dar'd ta rake,
Theze turn'd a darker hue.

E t' morn be t'larum clock struck six,

If t' Eosco bell 'ad dun,
E Lord Mayor shoes an' leather dicks,

E t' smithy he were fun,

A wurkin fur his daily bread,

That came at braikfast time,
Grac'd wi' a fringe, az green a tinge

Az t' faantin o' this rhyme."

Twiss : Another Sheffield man, in describing the former
condition of apprentices, said that the bad treatment to which
they were subjected originated the saying, " He's treated as
bad as ony 'prentice lad." " They were," said this writer,
" indifferently fed and worse clothed, but it must be admitted
that some good old ' dames' behaved well to them. The
masters, however, kept them in the smithy all the time pos-
sible from early in the morning till almost bed time. This
confinement was very injurious to young lads, and from stand-

OLD SHEFFIELD APPRENTICES. 183

ing in awkward positions to do their work a great number of
them became knock or ' knocker'-kneed. The growing 'pren-
tice in his smithy attire was a picture. Tall and thin, with
looks that bespoke hard work and poor feeding, he would be
encased in leather breeches that had been big enough three
or four years before, but with which now he was on bad
terms, they having run in and he having run out. The conse-
quence was garments that did not cover to the knees, ludi-
crously tight, and shining with oil and grease. Or if they
were of fustian, they were less constraining than the leather,
and consequently needed a constant 'hitch' to keep them from
slipping down altogether — for braces were not. On his head
he would have an old hat crown, or a brown paper cap ; his
shirt sleeves 'doubled' up would probably reveal a pair of old
stocking legs on his arms. Sometimes, but not always, he
enjoyed the luxury of stockings on their proper members,
with a pair of old shoes of the ' mester's' or ' dame's,' by way
of saving his own for Sundays. Add to these things a shirt
unbuttoned at the neck, and a leather apron, and you have a
picture of a cutler's 'prentice of former days. The regular
diet of the lads was, in the morning a quarter of ' what (oat)
cake,' and milk porridge, with not too much milk. To dinner
there would be broth and meat from fat mutton or coarse
parts of beef. A quarter of oat-cake to ' drinking' at four
o'clock, and supper as breakfast. It was considered the
height of extravagance to eat oat-cakes that were not a week
old. Monday was baking day, and a week's batch was done
at a time, so that by the time they were eaten they were quite
mouldy, and before the batch was finished they were nearly a
fortnight old. The lads then called them biscuit. It used
to be said that to let the lads eat new bread would ruin a man
with a hundred a year. After supper, the 'prentices had to
fetch, on their heads, water for the house supply (sometimes
from a considerable distance) ; to feed the pigs ; and then, if
there were no errands to run, they might play till bed time.
Before a lad was bound he generally ' went a liking' to his
proposed master, and if this led to satisfaction on both sides
he was taken to the Cutlers' Hall, where he was bound
apprentice until he had attained the full age of twenty-one,
the binding fee being half a crown, which was paid by the
lad's friends or the master. His seven years' service was no
pleasant thing to look forward to, but there was the encou-
raging prospect of having a good trade in his fingers at the
end of the time. That over he had to take out his mark and

184 DAMES AND MADAMS.

freedom before he could begin working as a journeyman with
safety. His mark was registered by the Cutlers' Company
for a fee of 2s. 6d., with 2d, annually as 'mark rent.' If he
neglected paying this for seven years any other person might
take the mark. Otherwise it was piracy for any person to
strike a mark without the consent of the owner. Sometimes
a mark was let for a sort of royalty — say Is. per gross if it
were a profitable one. There have been instances of the
right of mark being sold for as much as ^150, when it was
in good repute."

Leonard : I do not think we ought to dismiss the subject
of apprentices without a glance at the "Dames," who had
so much to do with them. There used to be a saying that
there have been no good doings in Sheffield since so many
fine mistresses came into fashion and the good old dames
were supplanted. Dames were always looked upon as matrons,
and claimed respect. The 'prentice lad regarded his dame
as a mother, and she acted a motherly part to him. Dames
had all the management of the affairs of the house and family,
"t'mester" never interfering in them. "There were," said
a writer now dead, " a great many dames when I was a boy,
and they would have taken offence if any one had given them
title of mistress, since that word was then used only in its bad
meaning. Ladies of higher rank were ' Madams,' as Madams
Shore, Fell, Bamforth, Hutton, &c. Some of these madams
wore hoops of cane near the bottom of their gowns, 40 inches
or more in diameter, and to enter a door they had to pull
their gown bottoms aslant to obtain entrance. Nothing so
ridiculous had ever been seen until crinolines came into vogue
a few years ago. There was a wonderful difference in the
appearance of these madams and the dames. The latter, on
a working day, had a linsey-wolsey or checked bed-gown, in
which to do her household work; a woollen or blue apron be-
fore her, and her plain cap fitting close to her head. The
house was a model of brightness and order. Everything in its
proper place, 'clean as a new pin,' the pewter and pewter-case
a credit to her care. The trenchers as clean, the fire-irons,
candlesticks, brasses, coppers, &c, as bright as hands could
make them. In the evening you would see her daughter and
the servant girl — should one be kept — at a spinning wheel.
All the dame's bed and table linen had been spun thus : each
had her task of spinning to accomplish by the end of the
week, and the noise was such as would not now be tolerated
by the male members of the family. On a Sunday, the dame

DAMES AND SMITHIES. 185

was a model of cleanliness and neatness. Not a pin out of its
proper place; her gcwn-body and sleeves as tight as her skin,
the gown skirt (open in front) displaying an excellent quilted
petticoat, three or four thicknesses of calamanca. Nor was
she ashamed of a line Irish linen apron, as white as the driven
snow. On her head she would have her best mob-cap, neatly
plaited and tied close under her chin. Her gown came up to
her neck, and then appeared a white muslin kerchief. Her
hair was turned up in front over a roll an inch and a half
broad, and behind her head her hair was turned up close.
No flowing ringlets about her face, and nothing to hide a full
view of it. Her stockings were of white thread, knitted by
herself in intervals of leisure ; her shoe heels an inch high,
her shoe fronts adorned with a pair of bright buckles. In fine
weather she would wear a short silk cloak, with lace upon the
cape and bottom, two inches broad ; in wet weather, an oil-
case hood and tippet. A pair of good pattens were necessary
to keep her out of the dirt, and she took care to hold her
petticoats up to the calves of her legs, to prevent any chance
of them being ' drabbled.' When umbrellas came into vogue
she wondered how people could have the pride and assurance
to walk under them. She wore no preposterous stays that
laced behind, but a pair of good 'jumps,' with three or four
buckles and straps in front — which were invariably slackened
upon the hearthstone, and the stomacher taken out a little
time before going to bed. Then was the time when, with
garters also taken off her stockings, the good dame unbent.
' Mester' and dame would have their pipes upon the hearth,
with a quiet talk over family matters. The good dame was
noted throughout the neighbourhood of her house for her
good and charitable disposition ; she was always ready to give
help to those in sickness or distress. Dame Hoult, who lived
at the sign of the Parrot for many years, was, perhaps, the
last person who went by the old name. That was 70 years
ago."

Twiss : So much for the 'prentices' natural task-mistress.
Now for the shops in which they worked: — "Smithy, in
Sheffield, is becoming an obsolete term ; instead of speaking
of ' ahr smithy,' our cutlery makers have 'my factory,' or
' warehouse,' or ' workshops.' To realise the Old Sheffield
smithy you must picture to yourself a stone building, of
similar workmanship to common field walls, seven or eight
yards long by four wide, and seven feet high to the rise of the
roof. It is open to the slates or thatch. The door is in the

o

186 PEA CROFT.

middle of one side, with the fireplace facing it; and at either
end is a hearth, with the bellows in the corner, and the
' stithy stocks' in their proper situations. The walls are
plastered over with clay or ' wheel swarf,' to keep the wind out
of the crevices ; sometimes the luxury of a rough coat of lime
may even be indulged in. The floor is of mud, the windows,
about half a yard wide and a yard long, have white paper,
well saturated in boiled oil, instead of glass, or in summer
are open to the air. In one corner is a place partitioned off
' for t'mester' as a warehouse or store room, and on each side
are the work-boards with vices for hafters, putters together,
&c. Over the fireplace is a paddywack almanack, and the
walls are covered with last dying speeches and confessions,
' Death and the Lady,' wilful murders, Christmas carols, lists
of all the running horses, and so forth. Hens use the smithy
for their roosting place, and some times other live stock have
a harbour there — -as rabbits, guinea pigs, or ducks, while the
walls are not destitute of singing birds' cages. There are
odorous out-offices close adjoining, and it is essential that the
whole should be within easy call from the back door of
't' mester's' house."

Wragg : We must not pass Pea croft without a mention
of that old and respectable firm, Matthias Spencer and Son.
In 1787, it was simply Matthias Spencer, file smith; but
later the son was added to the firm, and they became steel
converters and refiners; and, instead of the simple "file
smith," they were " manufacturers of files, edge tools, saws,
&c." The descendants of the original firm are still there,
and old Mr. John Spencer, who lives at Rotherham and has
not discarded breeches for such new-fangled things as trou-
sers, is the senior past Master of the Cutlers' Company. He
held the office in 1835.

Leighton : Another Master Cutler of Pea croft fame was
George Wood, scissors maker. His was the house with the
palisades, now a beer-house. His year of office was 1791,
and the previous year having been distinguished by a dispute
between the masters and their workmen, in which Mr. Wood
took a prominent part, he came in for a share of Mather's un-
sparing abuse.

Wragg : In Hawley croft were located the Messrs. Rodgers,
now of Norfolk street. In the same street is a stone building,
with quoins and string courses, and two bow windows —
having evidently been shops. The date of this is 1724, with
the initials tMm. The door above is a very large house ; when

HAWLEY CROFT. 187

it was built it would perhaps be the largest house iu the towu.
It was a beer-house for a number of years.

Everard : The house consists of 24 rooms, one of which
is built up, and it is now used as a lodging house. Over the
fire place is a sort of shield bearing the date of 1721 and the
initials DTS ; (the S is somewhat doubtful — it may be some other
letter). My father has often told me that when he was a
little boy and lived in the neighbourhood, " Squire Bright,"
as he was then called, lived in this house. He was described
as a goodly-looking personage, with powdered wig, cocked-hat,
golden-headed cane, and silver shoe-buckles, who might often
be seen standing at the entrance ; whilst the young urchins
were wont to gaze upon him with admiration and wonder, and
would occasionally get a peep at his flock of beautiful pigeons,
and at the green grass-plot at the back of the house, together
with the gardens. These comprised the land extending to
" Lee croft," and, I believe, included the site on which Lee
croft Chapel now stands.

Leonard : Mr. Holland has it that one of these Hawley
croft houses — probably he means that of 1724, was built and
occupied by Jonathan Watkinson, of whom we spoke in con-
nection with Silver street. I do not know on what evidence.

Leighton : In Hawley croft, too, was Jonathan Beard-
shaw. He kept an inn, the very house above described, with
the passage that leads into Lee croft, and he made much
money there.

Wragg : Yes, it was the Ball he kept, and he did it with
profit and credit to himself. He was the father of the late
Alderman Beardshaw, and the grandfather of the present
Messrs. Beardshaw, of Baltic "Works, Attercliffe.

Leighton : He was by trade a silversmith, but on his
only surviving son, George, coming of age, he set him up,
and entered into partnership in the saw trade.

Wragg : In White croft were Mr. James Wild (of whom
I spoke in connection with his residence at the top of Town-
head street) and the Jervises, descended from the Dutch cut-
lers who were amongst the artisans that quitted the Nether-
lands to avoid the cruelty of the Duke of Alva, and who came
to Sheffield through the instrumentality of the Earl of Shrews-
bury.

Everard : " Lawyer Jervis," the Bev. Mr. Jervis, for-
merly of the Collegiate School, and Mr. Jervis, late druggist
in Glossop road (who had been apprenticed to Messrs. Carr,
Woodhouse, and Carr), were of this family.

188 SIMS CROFT AND HOLLIS CROFT.

Wragg : In Sims croft — No. 6 — the grandfather of the

late Mr. Rowbotham, grocer, carried on business before he

removed into Tenter street, opposite the bottom of Sims croft,

about 80 years ago. It is easy in all these streets still to

spot out the houses of the old manufacturers. They are

mostly now public or beer houses. At the top of Sims croft,

for instance, there is one. Formerly it was occupied by a

person named Bee, in the brace-bit line. In his day, it was

said, he was making money fast by possessing a valuable

secret in gilding. There, 60 years ago, one of his sons kept

a hunter, which was considered a wonderful thing at that time.

In Hollis croft, on the premises now occupied by the Messrs.

Elliot, were the Greaveses, before they removed into Division

street (now I. P. Cutts, Sutton and Co.'s premises) prior to

building Sheaf works. Higher up in the street were Messrs.

Kenyon's file works, afterwards occupied by Charles Burgin ;

and at the top, at the corner of Red hill, was the residence

of Mr. Gardner, a partner in the firm. It was near to Mr.

Dunn's, and was as good a house.

Wragg : Next to the Kenyons' works, in Hollis croft,
were those of the Harrison family, of whom Miss Harrison,
of Weston, was the last representative. There, too, were fixed
the Shepherds, razor manufacturers. The last survivor died
on Crookes moor, late the residence of Mr. Edwin Hunter.
Higher up resided John Knott, who claimed to be a poet. I
never saw him but once. He was a poor old man, with
somewhat curious features, dressed in a Hanby's Charity
coat. When I saw him he had one of his productions, which
he appeared to be offering for sale. The price, he said, was
twopence ; and he boasted that it was equal to any of Mont-
gomery's. He wrote two nautical songs that possessed fire
equal to Dibden's. I should like to see his effusions printed
in a collected form, as Mather's have been. If I am not mis-
taken he married the sister of Thomas Smith, the constable,
— at any rate there was some relationship. He was by trade
a working hatter — now, I believe, there is not a hat made in
Sheffield — but one of the eccentricities of genius he possessed
was a love of drink, and he ended his days in the Kelham
street Workhouse. At the top of Hollis croft was an exten-
sive table-knife manufacturer, named Brownhill, who had the
premises now occupied by Mr. Stephen Bacon. He had the
character of being ready to second anything at the meetings
of the Masters' committee ; so on one occasion it was moved
that all the table-blade grinders should be hung. Mr. Brown-

HOLLIS CROFT. 189

hill, either unintentionally or for the sake of the joke, main-
tained his character by seconding it, and he got in conse-
quence a cognomen of " Second-the-motion-Brownhill," to
distinguish him from his brother Jonathan, at the Red hill
works. That name stuck to him until his death. On the
opposite side were Makin and Sanderson, fork manufacturers,
the latter of whom was subsequently in business lower down
in the same street. Mr. Makin, better known as " Makin in
the Brick-hole" (Carr lane), died on the 10th of March in the
present year, in his 91st year, having become a recipient of
the pensions of the Iron and Hardware Charity, as was also
his partner, Mr. Sanderson. He was one of the Makins of
the Pickle, and I have heard him say that he believed he was
the only one living in the town or neighbourhood who heard
John Wesley preach on his last visit to Sheffield in 1788.

Leonard : I fancy he may have been mistaken, for a
venerable friend to whom I have had previously to refer, Mr.
William Ash, remembers to have heard Wesley — though
possibly not at his last visit. It was when he preached in
old Garden street Chapel, which then belonged to the Metho-
dists. The women sat on one side, and the men on the other.
The same old man once heard Dr. Coke preach in Carver
street Chapel, and the celebrated Mr. Benson, the contempo-
rary of Wesley, preach at his grandfather's house at Heeley.

Twiss : And up to a few years ago — 1867 — there was an
old lady living who not only heard Wesley preach, but had
his hand laid on her head, and who received sixpence from
him. It is appropriate to mention the story here (you will
find its details in Gatty's Hunter's Hallamshire, p. 302),
since she married in 1791, Richard Howlden, a cutler in this
Hollis croft we are speaking of. He died in 1807. She re-
mained his widow, and died not long after Dr. Gatty saw her,
aged near 100.

Wragg : The mention of Mr. John Hawksley, dealer in
stag horns, another Hollis croft worthy, should not be omitted.
Messrs. G. and J. W. Hawksley, until lately powder flask
manufacturers, Carver street, are his relatives.

Leighton : An old Hollis croft public-house was "The
Cock."

Wragg : Yes, it was once kept by the father of the Mr.
Jonathan Beardshaw, who has been mentioned as landlord of
the Ball, Hawley croft. His widow and his daughter's hus-
band, named Henderson, also kept it.

Leighton : Passing down the street, a few days ago, I

190 st. thomas's day in hollis croft.

found myself standing opposite to the house. I was sorry to
see that the cock had lost some of the gay plumage which
adorned him so well 40 or 50 years ago ; yet he still holds up
his crest as proud as ever, and is ready to do battle as in the
days of yore against all who shall presume to poach upon his
domestic domain. I thought of the days that are long gone
by, and of the old song : —

Again,

"Bright Chanticleer proclaims the dawn,
And spangles deck the sky."

" My Lord, the early village cock hath thrice
Bid salutation to the morn."

And again, that it was St. Thomas's Day. All hail to the
founders of the Hollis Hospital, from whom the croft takes
its name. They are to be found recorded within the grounds
at the bottom of Snig hill, and a full history is given in
Hunter's Hallamshire. The trustees in their wisdom, and
no doubt with the best intentions, let the ground in Hollis
croft on building leases for 900 years, the front at Is. per
yard, and large pieces of ground at the back for nothing.
That they were generous souls is sufficiently proved by their
allowing three guineas to the tenantry to enable them to
enjoy a good old English dinner. It was held at the " Cock,"
on St. Thomas's Day, and these are the names of some
of those who took a delight in attending. There were three
brothers of the name of Shepherd, two of whom I knew.
They were invariably together, one of them walking about a
yard in advance of the other. Other two brothers were
Samuel and Benjamin Marples. I had the pleasure of know-
ing them well — honesty and truth were in them, and when
one died the other could not live ; he did not long survive
his friend, his companion, his brother. Now, whatever I
have said in praise of the above applies equally to those I
shall mention below — Mr. Philip Law, Mr. John Spencer
(Matthias Spencer and Son, Pea croft) ; and oh, what delight
I feel when I meet his venerable figure, and look upon his
cheerful countenance. He will long be remembered. Mr.
Jonathan Beardshaw, of whom more anon ; Mr. John Hawks-
ley, Mr. James Wild (of whom you have heard before),
Messrs. Shirtcliffe, Skinner, Barraclough (Messrs. Wingfield
and Rowbotham), Benjamin Leathley, Thomas Makin, Charles
Sanderson, and various others. Their descendants are still
amongst us, keeping up the good names of their families.
The dinner is over, the usual loyal toasts are given, the land-

THE COCK, HOLLIS CROFT. 191

lord is ordered ; the spirits, the lemons, the sugar, &c, are
brought in, and Mr, Beardshaw, in accordance with the time-
honoured custom, is called to mix the punch. He consults
his friends. A little more lemon, says Mr. Wild ; a little
more sugar, says another; and the mirth begins. Mr. Beard-
shaw is called upon to sing his song of the "Flat Backs": —

" To mak 'em we are willin,
A basket full for a shillin,
Red herrins and potatoes
Our bellies to be fillin."

But though times were bad with them, they could still be

generous with the ale, and " Pray the' gie Steen (Stephen) a

sup, for he is varry dry, his throat is full of smithy sleek, the

wind has been so high." Other songs followed. The old

warlike ones were not forgotten.

" Let the song go round, let the shouts resound,
Let the trumpet sound on Spanish ground ;
Let the cvmbals bang, with a merry, merry clang,
To the joys of the next campaign —
To the joys of the next campaign."

Amidst all the mirth and jollity which prevailed, one thing-
was never forgotten, a subscription for the poor widows of the
street. It was always a liberal one, and I have no doubt car-
ried comfort and consolation along with it. It is not always
a pleasure to recall the past, but in the course of a pretty
long life I have experienced a full share of bright sunshine,
to which I can look back with pleasure; and some of the
moments I passed on St. Thomas's Day, at the sign of the
" Cock," are among these. Several of those whom I have
named above could well afford to ride in their own carriages,
but they were plain men, and would have felt ashamed to
have been seen in them ; but in these days, when wealth is
accumulated by leaps and bounds,

" Some drive along with four in hand,
While others drive at random,
In wisky-buggy, gig or dog-cart,
Curricle or tandem."

Twiss : When speaking of fraternal affection of Samuel
and Benjamin Marples you might have added that, inseparable
as they were, it was the rarest thing in the world to see them
without their wives. The four were always together, and
formed a most harmonious quartette.

Wragg : In Bailey street we may again see what I have
noticed before — the houses of substantial manufacturers
turned into taverns. Behind they had their workshops. The

t

192 BAILEY STREET.

top house, No. 12, until recently a beer-house, was the resi-
dence of one of the Wing family, who carried on a good file
trade in the yard. In this street, about 50 years ago, resided
" Jemmy Frith," the first money-club defaulter in the town ;
and his relative, John Wright, " Honest John," who followed
his example in 1833, was born here.

Leonard : You are certainily comparing the father with
the son. It was James Frith, the son of Jemmy, who
defrauded the money clubs. The original Jemmy Frith was
for many years leader of singing in Carver street Chapel — ■
indeed from the opening of the chapel until his death. He
gathered together a large company of vocal and instrumental
performers for Christmas Day, nearly filling the whole front
part of the gallery. For many years this was at five o'clock
in the morning, but subsequently it was held at six o'clock,
in Norfolk street Chapel ; and at half-past ten, and six in the
evening, in Carver street. Occasionally he secured the ser-
vices of his cousins — I think they were — Sam and Tom Frith,
both of whom Were accustomed to discourse sweet sounds in
Queen street Chapel. If I recollect aright, all three had
almost unsurpassed voices and capacity of modulation.

Wragg : At any rate, the Frith I mean slipped away to
America to evade the consequences of his delinquencies, but
Wright was transported from Pontefract sessions (1833). He
was defended by counsel, but he made a speech of so much
ability in defence, that it was noticed by the first Lord
Wharncliffe in passing sentence. His Lordship told him
that he appeared to be a person of no ordinary abilities, and
a man of some considerable education, but on that very ac-
count he was all the more dangerous. None of the learned
counsel present, could, his Lordship added, have made a
better speech. His clubs were held at 56, Orchard street.
A few years after his transportation, a memorial was got up
to the Government, which enabled his wife and family to re-
join him. They were residing at No. 32 in this street — the
door below James Frith's residence. The men avIio were
members of " Honest John's" clubs are now very few. Out
of the 36 witnesses who appeared against him at Pontefract
I believe there is only one left — a gentleman who has been
Mayor and who is still an Alderman. It was on Mr. IB.
Hinchliffe's case that Wright was convicted. Hinchliffe paid
Wright five pounds, two shillings and a penny. Wright
scratched out the five and put the money in his pocket. Chi
his trial he put forth the plea of ill health, which had placed

BROAD LANE. 193

him under the necessity of engaging other clerks, and this
might be the cause of the irregularities or deficiencies. At
the time it was always thought other people also had a finger
in the pie.

Twiss : So far as Broad lane is concerned, I don't think
we can improve upon the interesting and exhaustive account
of it that has appeared lately under the title of ' ■ Personal
Recollections of Broad lane and its Vicinity ;" and fancy I
am not far wrong in imputing its authorship to our friend,
Mr. Everard ; so I think he cannot do better than read it
to us.

Everard : I decline to plead either guilty or not guilty
to the imputation, but I have no objection to read the " Re-
collections," premising only that they are by one who is a
native of the place. (Reads)

" About the beginning of the present century, Messrs.
Ashforth, Ellis and Co., silver-plate manufacturers, having
found their works situated behind Angel street too small,
they built and removed to the manufactory now belonging to
Messrs. Horrabin Brothers, at the top of Red hill. One of
the partners, Mr. Samuel Ellis, had a number of years pre-
viously built and resided in the house in Broad lane, the
garden and orchard extending to the top of Red hill, and
which is now occupied as a Roman Catholic presbytery. He
was somewhat remarkable in his personal appearance, being
tall, with a nose and profile not unlike the Duke of Welling-
ton's. He wore a brown wig, Quaker-shaped coat, white
cravat, and shoes with large buckles. He was so exceed-
ingly fond of flowers that he was scarcely ever seen abroad
without having a flower or sprig in his button-hole ; and was
known by scores of people only as ' the old gentleman with
a flower in his coat." Mr. Ellis afterwards sold the house
and land in question to Mr. Henry Longden (grandfather to
the present Mr. Longden, of the Phoenix foundry), who was
one of the original Methodists ; and an account of his life and
labours was published many years ago by his son. The
Orchard was the plot of ground on which Red hill terrace
now stands, and which was built by Mr. John Vickers, who
bought the property of the late Mr. Henry Longden, and for
many years resided there.

" Mr. Vickers was the first, I believe, who began the
Britannia metal teapot manufacture in Sheffield. His works
were in Garden street, or ' Garden Walk,' as it was at that
time named. This trade he had for a while to himself, and

194 THE INTRODUCTION OF BRITANNIA METAL.

was celebrated for the excellence of Ills wares ; until at length
others, amongst whom were Messrs. Dixon and Smith, estab-
lished in Silver street up to the time of their removal to
' Cornish place,' began to rival him."

Leighton: Excuse the interruption, but is that statement
that Mr. Vickers was the first manufacturer of Britannia metal
teapots quite correct ? I have heard the honour claimed for
Mr. Constantine, then carrying on business in Scotland street,
who was uncle to Mr. Edwin Smith, sculptor, Cemetery road.

Everard : I know that the question, "Who was the
first?" is a disputed point, but it is my conviction (in the
absence of stronger evidence to the contrary than I have yet
seen), that to Mr. John Vickers, in partnership with his father
Mr. James Vickers, the honour is due. As a boy I knew him as
far back as 1814, when his father was dead, and he was carry-
ing on the business probably at the period of its greatest
success. Mr. Kogers Broadhead, the successor of his father's
firm, has confirmed me in my opinion, and has fully admitted
the priority of the Messrs. Vickers to Messrs. Broadhead and
Co. As for Mr. James Dixon, he was an apprentice, I believe,
with Messrs. Broadhead and Co., and afterwards worked as a
journeyman both for them and for Mr. Constantine.

Twiss : I have an account of the origin of the manufac-
ture from the pen of an elderly gentleman, now deceased,
which quite confirms your view ; and since his father had
something to do with the matter, he had good opportunity
for forming an opinion. This is his story : — " I have heard
it said that Mr, Nathaniel Cower was the first person Avho
began the Britannia, or white metal trade, but I differ in
opinion, because of circumstances which have been known to
me from childhood, and from proof in my father's memo-
randa. Mr. Nathaniel Gower was an early manufacturer, and
a very respectable person in the trade in its infancy [he was
in partnership with Mr. Georgius Smith, and died in 1813,
aged 83] ; but Mr. James Vickers, of Garden street, was the
first person who began manufacturing white metal articles in
Sheffield. About the year 1769, a person was taken very ill,
and Mr. Vickers visited him in his sickness. This man
was in possession of the recipe for making white metal.
Mr. Vickers bid him 5s. for the recipe, and the offer was ac-
cepted. Having experimented and found the metal to be of
very good colour, Mr. Vickers purchased seme spoon moulds,
and began casting spoons. Getting them well finished, he
obtained a tolerable sale for them. He then got moulds made

RED HILL. 195

of vegetable forks, and these assisted the variety on the mar-
ket. My father was visiting him in a friendly manner one
night, when Vickers said, ' Well, Charles, if I had but £10,
I would get up a stock of goods and go to Lunnon with them.'
My father lent him the money, and a short time afterwards,
in another conversation, Vickers says, ' Well, Charles, I
thought if I was in possession of £10 I could have done any-
thing, but now I find myself as fast as ever I was.' My
father replied, ' Well, James, I can lend thee another £10, if
thou thinks it will do thee any good.' He did so. Vickers
went to London, and his journey was successful. He sold
his articles, and got orders in excess of the material he could
obtain to execute them with. He kept the money until after
his second journey, when he repaid my father. He then
began making a different kind of article, as tobacco boxes,
beakers, tea and coffee pots, sugar basins, cream jugs, &c,
and got on rapidly in business. Froggatt, Coldwell, and Co.,
Spoiles and Gurney, and Parkins, in Campo lane, were all old
houses in that line."

Everaed : During this break off, permit me just to remark
that Messrs. Broadhead, Gurney, Spoiles and Co., were
established as manufacturers in Bank street, in 1789. I will
now proceed with the reading of the paper :

" At the top of Pied hill, some years subsequently, lived
Mr. Morton, who had formerly carried on a large silver-plated
business, and was the grandfather of the late Mr. Thomas
Dunn. The celebrated Independent preacher, the Reverend
William Thorpe, of Bristol, had been one of his apprentices ;
and never came to Sheffield without visiting his old master.
In the large house in Solly street, or Corn hill, fronting Bed
hill, lived for many years Mr. Thomas Dunn, senior : and
this was the home in which our late highly esteemed and
able magistrate was brought up.

" The ground on which Red hill School now stands was a
garden, in which, as a child, I have gathered flowers. It was
then occupied, and I believe owned, by Mr. Binney, the father
of Mr. Binney, the attorney. In 1811, this school was built
as a Methodist Sunday School ; the upper rooms being let off
as a day school. The first schoolmaster was M. Guion, a
person of French extraction, who was an able teacher, and
carried on for many years this respectable commercial academy.
At this school were educated, as my schoolfellows, the late W.
F. Dixon, Esq., of Page Hall; the late Mr. Brightmore
Mitchell ; Mr. Henry Elliot Hoole, of Green lane Works ;

*

196 BROAD LANE.

the late Messrs. Morgan and Henry Armitage, of the Mouse-
hole Forge ; Mr. Henry Pickford, ' the learned grinder,' who
acquired a knowledge of French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew,
by nearly his unaided efforts, and who died in early life ; and
Mr. William Ibbitt, Avho at one time represented the St.
George's Ward in the Town Council, and was well known by
the publication of a series of coloured prints, being - Views of
Sheffield and the neighbourhood.'

" The school in question was afterwards kept for a num-
ber of years by the late Mr. John Eadon (who had previously
occupied the school belonging to Queen street Chapel), the
nephew and assistant of the celebrated John Eadon, the
mathematician.

" A few yards from Bed hill, down Broad lane, there is
a blank space enclosed with a high and substantial wall. Few
persons of the present generation will be aware of that spot
having been a Cemetery. At the commencement of this
century it was the only Quakers' burial ground in the town ;
though they had several places in the country. I myself have
seen two persons interred in this plot, both of them adult
females.

" The next building below was a large and respectable
house, with a clock in front of it. This was the residence
of Mr. Samuel Hill, who was much celebrated in his day for
his proficiency in clock making and repairing. Many of his
clocks may be seen in the town, but more especially in the
neighbouring villages, with his name on the face. He was
a tall man, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, long coat, with
breeches and leggings. He kept a stout pony on which to go
his rounds in the country, with his case of tools ; and at their
own houses cleaned and repaired the clocks of the farmers
and villagers. He was a respectable man, and very widely
and generally esteemed.

"Although at a period earlier than my recollection, yet
the late Samuel Hadfield, Esq., told me that his parents had
at one time resided in one of the three houses at the corner
of Bed hill and Broad lane (I forget which), when himself
and his brother George — afterwards M.P. for Sheffield — were
young boys.

" The Broad lane of my early days was very different in
appearance to what it is now. At that time the lane proper
was the highway, but sunk lower than the present causeway
by four or five feet, from St. Thomas street to Newcastle
street — and to some extent to Bockingham street. The

AN UNSUCCESSFUL INVENTOR. 197

opposite side was a rough bank of red earth (from whence the
name) partially covered with grass, with footpaths from the
lower to the higher ground. After remaining a number of
years in that state, the late Mr. James Dixon, being appointed
overseer of the highways, lowered the Red hill from top to
bottom, and with the soil filled up the road to its present level,
and sloped the bank to its actual state.

" In the neighbourhood of Broad lane there lived a man,
whom I well knew, named Michael Davenport, by trade a
table-knife cutler, but possessing great genius for mechanical
inventions. He got a boat about three feet long, and fitted
it up with a little steam-engine which he himself had made.
When he thought the thing was complete, one day at noon
he brought it to Mr. Harrison's brick pond, to put it to the
practical test. He had a fair number of spectators, young
and old ; but in consequence of something the matter with the
engine, or the fixings, the boat would not move. After try-
ing for some time to remedy this defect, certain of the young
rascals present added to poor Michael's chagrin at the failure
by mockingly advising him to give the boat a good push, and
then it would swim over the pond right enough, at the same
time well knowing that it was not for that mode of sailing he
had brought it there. But notwithstanding the failure of
this experiment, Michael was perfectly right in his idea and
in his firm belief, that boats and ships might, and certainly
would, be so constructed as to be propelled by steam power.
Since that time what progress has been made in this respect,
what thousands of steam vessels have been built, and what
numbers are now ploughing the ocean in every part of the
world !

"At the commencement of the present century, in the
bottom house in Red hill, now occupied by Mr. Skinner, sur-
geon, there lived the R-ev. Benjamin Naylor, the assistant
minister of the Upper Chapel, and at one time partner with
Montgomery in the Sheffield Iris. The son of that gentle-
man was the first inoculated for the cow pox in Sheffield; and
the late Offiey Shore, Esq., of Meersbrook, was the first in
the immediate neighbourhood. In the former of these cases
the vaccine matter, enclosed in a quill, was obtained direct
from Dr. Jenner, the celebrated discoverer of this preventive
of that dreadful disease, the small-pox, which at that time
made very fearful and extensive ravages throughout the king-
dom. The operation in both instances was performed by Mr.
William Staniforth, of Castle street, at that time in full
medical practice.

198 st. George's churchyard.

" On the opposite side of Broad lane, in the first house
above St. Thomas's street, lived Mr. Ibbotson, the father
of the late Mr. William Ibbotson, who married his cousin
Mary. Mr. William Ibbotson was consequently brother-in-
law as well as cousin to Mr. Henry ; and they took to the
old gentleman's business, which I believe was the saw trade,
and entered into partnership as ' Ibbotson Brothers.' As is
generally known, they built the Globe Works ; and were
one of the first firms in Sheffield which established an exten-
sive trade in saws and cutlery with America.

" During that dreadful time of bad trade, about 1812 or
1814, when flour was six and seven shillings per stone, and
even at that price much of it so unsound as to run out of the
oven bottom in baking, there were some twelve hundred able-
bodied men on the parish, who were sent to the 'burial
ground' (now St. George's churchyard) to get clay and to
level it. They all wore wooden clogs, partly as a badge of
receiving parish relief ; and this, I believe, was the first intro-
duction of the wear of wooden clogs in Sheffield, the custom
being imported from Lancashire. Many of these men were
honest, industrious, and respectable artizans ; and the sound
of their daily tramp in wooden clogs up and down Broad lane
was very sad and ominous ; more especially in the ears of
such as were themselves expecting soon to be reduced to the
like deplorable condition. I believe the spirit and feeling
prevalent amongst this mass of working men, at that time, was
discontent with the Government, and despondency as to future
prospects. They were as men almost driven by the force of,
circumstances to the verge of despair and revolution. Never
in my memory has there been in Sheffield so bad and dis-
tressing a time.

" The burial ground above referred to, at length actually
became what its name indicated it had been reserved and in-
tended for, by the erection, in 1821, of St. George's Church,
at the laying of the foundation of which I was present. It
honoured the day of the coronation of George IV. On this
occasion there Avas a triumphal arch erected from the old
church gates to the opposite side, illuminated by the lately
introduced light of gas.

" In my school-days I have had the honour of playing at
cricket, on the burial ground, with the late Mr. Thomas
Dunn, being at that time boys residing in the same neigh-
bourhood.

THE BRICKHOLE S. 199

" Let me now add a brief description of what was at the
time generally known as the ' Brickholes.' This comprised
the large brickfield that extended from St. John's street,
nearly to Bailey lane. This was the property of the late Mr.
Thomas Harrison, of Weston. The chief manager of this
brickyard was old Joseph Marsden, the father of Tom Marsden,
afterwards the celebrated cricket player, but who then worked
with his father at making bricks.

" A large space out of which the clay had been dug be-
came, by supplies from various sources, rilled with water, so
as to form a pond extending from Newcastle street to a little
beyond Bockingham street. In the winter seasons this was a
noted place for sliding and skating. In one part the water
was of such a depth that I once saw a person have a very
narrow escape from drowning. It was a winter's day, the ice
being of great thickness, when, just at dusk, a man who was
coming from Trippet lane to Broad lane, in crossing over did
not happen to see that there was a hole broken in the ice, and
in he went over head ! With his hands grasping the edge of
the ice he cried out loudly and piteously for help, when a tall
young man, snatching a knur stick out of my hand, and
another similarly provided, rushed to his aid, and rescued the
poor fellow from his extreme peril. The part of Rockingham
street Avhere this occurrence took place is, of course, made
ground across the 'Brickhole;' and certain portions of New-
castle street and St. Thomas's street are the same.

" It may, perhaps, be a fact interesting to some to know,
that the said ' Brickhole' was the spot from whence Sir
Francis Chantrey got the clay with which he made his first
attempts at modelling busts and figures. He lodged for some
time with Mr. Outram, (father of the late Mr. Outram of
High street), who carried on the business of cabinet-maker
and joiner, living in the house next to the Sovereign inn,
the yard and workshops occupying the space now filled up by
the said inn, and the houses in Rockingham street extending
down to the narrow lane. There was a shop window fronting
Trippet lane, in which he exhibited his furniture for sale.
One of the first attempts, I believe, of Chantrey at crayon
portraits, was the execution of a likeness of old Mr. Outram.
This was framed and hung up, and I have often examined it
with great interest when a boy. The fact of the great sculp-
tor, who acquired a reputation in that department of art
second to none in the kingdom, or perhaps in the world, hav-
ing dug the materials for his first efforts of plastic skill out

200 BROAD LANE FEAST.

of this spot, is, I think, quite enough to make it interesting,
at least to the minds of some old enough to remember the
place as it then existed, and who admire the genius of Chan-
trey.

"It will hardly do to conclude these personal recollections
of Broad lane Avithout some brief reference to its annual
festival — an event long anticipated and much enjoyed, espe-
cially by the young folks. It was held on Holy Thursday,
and was regarded as a general holiday. In preparation for it
during the previous week, there was a great stir of white-
washing and cleaning, so as to put on the very best appearance.
On that day the Sunday clothes were worn. The best thing
about that festival, as it now appears to me, was that it
partook very much of the spirit and character of a social
gathering of relatives and friends — when the married daughter
came to her former home with her children to see ' grand-
mother,' and aunts and uncles, while youthful cousins of both
sexes, met in kindly association, indulged in joke and laughter,
keenly enjoying ball-play and all other innocent amusements.
Such, at least, was my home experience ; and, from all I saw,
my impression was that the experience of our neighbours Avas
of a similar kind.

"But the great attraction for us youngsters Avas the gin-
gerbread stalls, the crankies, the swings, the puppet shows,
and the races. The open space, not so large then as uoav, at
the bottom of Townhead street and Broad lane AA'as just like
a fair. Amidst all this life and animation, restless activity,
din, and turmoil, in perfect contrast might be seen the
'blacksmith,' with pipe in his mouth, and bare brawny arms
resting on the smithy door, looking on the busy scene, with
countenance calm and complacent.

"But the grand expectation and sight Avere the races.
These were run by donkeys and ponies ; the jockeys being
generally milk boys out of the country, avIio, disencumber-
ing their asses of saddles and milk barrels, prepared for the
contest. The prizes usually were a hat, a smock-frock, or a
teapot ; and the courses Bailey-field, Bailey-lane, and Broad
lane. Hoav the riders managed to rush up and down the
steepness of Bailey-field, and the narrowness of Bailey-lane
without some breaking of the necks or limbs, either of them-
selves or the spectators, is to me up to this day a mystery.
Wearing the new hat, adorned with flying colours, his ruddy
face and bright eyes beaming with conscious triumph, the
victor, after re-saddling his ass, was then accompanied a short

FEASTS AND WAKES. 201

*

distance homeward, amidst shrill and loud, and hearty accla-
mations. Such, in 'auld lang syne,' was Broad lane Feast."
Leonard : Those town feasts, innocent and desirable as
they no doubt were when originally instituted as convenient
opportunities for family gatherings and so forth, degenerated
into mere occasions for drinking; just as fairs, necessary once
for business as feasts for social purposes, have outlived their
day and are now simply nuisances to all but a few shopkeepers
and showmen.

Twiss : Crookes feast is still kept up and should perhaps
rank as a village, as distinguished from a town feast. It came
usually earlier in the year than any other held in the neigh-
bourhood; but it is recorded that in 1818, through some
peculiarity of the calendar into which I have not dived, Broad
lane took precedence, being held on the 30th April, while
Crookes followed on the 1st May — its usual day. Scotland
street feast was held on the 29th of May.

Leonard : The explanation of the circumstance you
mention is that Crookes is a feast fixed on the 1st of May,
and Broad lane feast was on the moveable festival of Ascen-
sion-day or Holy Thursday. In 1818, Easter was remarkably
early (March 22,) and Holy Thursday fell that year on the
29th of April. Easter had not been so early since 1761, and
it will not again fall so early for many more than the 100
years mentioned — not until beyond the year 1999.

Twiss : The other town feasts were the Wicker, held on
the second Sunday in July ; Little Sheffield, September 29 ;
and Attercliffe, on the Sunday nearest to St. James's day.

Leonard: The old fixtures for Sheffield Fair were the
Tuesday after Trinity Sunday and the 28th November.
Since 1849, the summer fair has been held a week sooner —
that is in Whit-week, so as to kill two holidays with one
stone. You are aware that an attempt to combine the winter
fair with the Christmas holiday has lately been revived.

Leighton : The village feasts and wakes were very popu-
lar about half a century ago, and in many places they were
kept up with remarkable spirit. They became, however, a
great tax upon those who resided in villages near towns, for
on such occasions they were sure to be visited by nearly all,
if not all of their relatives, friends, and acquaintances, who
seldom omitted availing themselves of a jaunt into the
country. And they always took care to be at the village in
time for dinner on the feast day. It was formerly a maxim
that Sheffielders would go a dozen miles, at least, to see their

p

202 VILLAGE FEASTS.

country cousins for a bellyful of meat. There were no small
numbers, however, who went solely for recreation, or to see
the stirrings at the place or in the public-houses.

Everard : Were the town feasts instituted to give an
opportunity of returning the hospitality of the country people ?
Twiss : I do not know. Wakes were, in the Catholic
times, a dedication of a church, which was kept by watching
all night, or what was better known in those days by the
appellation of "the vigil " Eeasts were originally instituted
when there was but a small population in the country, and
so on an appointed day the relatives and friends by common
consent met together ; and at parting an invitation was given
to them to return the visit on a fixed day at their respective
residences, which might then be in some new formed village.
This was called the village feast-day, and caused a great in-
flux of visitors; and being repeated periodically, eventually
obtained a degree of notoriety. The parties who thus assem-
bled generally required something to amuse them. The
fiddler was engaged for the dancing of the young people, who,
with juvenile hilarity, "tripped it on the light fantastic toe,"
whilst the bull or bear was obtained by the landlord of the
public-house (if there was one in the village) for the trial of
dogs — a good dog being of considerable value. Matches at
football, too, not unfrequently took place, as well as other
athletic games. Family affairs were, for the most part, talked
over on Sunday. On the following day the sports began.
The feast dinner did not consist so much of the delicacies of
the season as in the quantity of good, substantial food. The
poorest person took care to brew a met of malt ready for the
wakes or feast ; and it was a practice the night before the
feast for neighbours to go to each other's houses to taste
their respective "taps" of home-brewed.

Wragg : There are one or two points not touched on in
Mr. Everard's account of Broad lane that I should like to add.
The George and Dragon was the residence of the late Rev.
Mark Docker's father-in-law, Mr. Brammer, and behind were
his pressing shops. When Sanderson Brothers and Co. were
in one of the lanes behind the National School, Carver street,
they got up more table-knives than any one else in the town,
and cut their own bone hafts and scales. The nog ends of
the bones were led away as rubbish, and innumerable cart
loads of them were thrown into the river at Green lane, and
in the brickholes — between Messrs. Riley, Carr and Co.'s
works and Rockingham street. Great quantities of them

BROAD LANE. 203

have been dug up in making and enlarging the common
sewer. The house mentioned as the residence of Mr. Ibbot-
son (first above St. Thomas' street), was afterwards occupied
by Mr. Guion, the schoolmaster. The door above, now part
of the Florist inn, was built by one of the sons-in-law of the
late Mr. John Nicholson, of Darnall, who had, before his
marriage, been coachman to Mr. Read, of Attercliffe, but who
was, when in Broad lane, a scale presser. He attended
Howard street Chapel, and an amusing story was told to me
about him by a person who was with him on the occasion.
The minister, in the course of his discourse, remarked that
the time was getting on faster than his sermon. Mr. Nichol-
son's son-in-law called out from beneath one of the galleries,
" Oh, never mind the time ; go on." Mr. Boothroyd, who
died a few months ago in an accidental manner, was one
of his apprentices. Close on the Brickhole was Newton's
band-spinning walk. He was better known as " Old Pack-
thread ;" and having, by rigid industry and frugality, amassed
a competency for each of his children, he went to reside in
the bottom house but one in Wilkinson street. With reference
to Tom Marsden, the cricketer, he lived in the Jericho, and
it was there, and in the Brocco, that he was to be seen,
whenever he could get any one to join him at cricket. His
wife, when a girl, attended the Garden street Independent
Sunday School : her parents lived in the yard above the
Florist inn. The father's name was James Garside, who
was for many years employed at Younge's spirit vaults, and
from that occupation obtained the soubriquet of " Brandy
Jemmy." In the yard below St. Thomas' street, Mr. George
Bowden had some workshops. He got up table-knives, and,
travelling on foot, he visited gentlemen's houses and small
country towns, and on his return brought back bones and
stag horns, being also in the horn and stag cutting line. In
this humble way he acquired a competency, and lived for
many years at Ranmoor, where he died not long ago.

Everard : There is a resident of Broad lane, once some-
what prominent, who has not been noticed — I mean Joseph
Barker, then a New Connexion minister stationed in Sheffield, J

who resided in Red hill terrace. I understand he gave out
the hymns when the first stone of Mount Zion Chapel was
laid. He was afterwards excluded from the New Connexion,
and was the occasion of a great deal of trouble and some dis-
ruption in that body. He then went about the country as an
infidel lecturer, and passed through a strange and miserable

204 WILLIAM GRAY, THE JUMPER.

course of life in England and America. He was eventually
reclaimed, and publicly renouncing infidelity in aH its forms,
he has tried to undo, as far as possible, the mischief he had
done. He published an interesting book, with the title of
" Teachings of Experience," in which he gave a very strik-
ing account of the phases of doubt, scepticism and atheism,
through which he had passed ; together with the means and
process by which he had been restored to his "right mind"
and to the Christian faith.

Wragg : There was also William Gray, boot and shoe
maker, the great "jumper," who lived in Broad lane, the
fourth door below Rockingham street. He was, perhaps, the
most celebrated jumper that ever travelled with equestrians.
One of his feats was to jump over a stage mail coach, with
the passengers seated on the top. The way in which he be-
came connected with the horse-riders was that his friend,
John Milner, was in the fair when there were two equestrian
establishments, namely, Ryan's and Adam's. One of these
persons had a leaper, called the " Flying Hussar," from his
having been in the army, and the proprietor challenged the
production of his equal. John Milner went up to him and
said that he could find a man that would surpass him. The
proprietor replied that he could not be bothered with him or
his application. This circumstance got to the ear of the
rival proprietor, who sought out William Gray and engaged
him. This, of course, made his establishment the most
popular; people flocked in crowds to see a man jump who
was a native of the town. Wherever the establishment with
the " Flying Hussar" went, the other invariably followed.
At one of the towns in Lancashire, of which the "Flying
Hussar" was a native, it was arranged they should contest
their jumping powers. Twelve horses were set side by side ;
the " Flying Hussar" had the first jump, when he alighted
on the back of the sixth horse ; but Gray went over them all.
The Lancashire people were so exasperated at the defeat of
their townsman, that they used threats of violence against
Gray, and it was feared they would carry them out. He got
away from the booth in some unusual manner — I forget how.
He was not only one of the best and quickest makers of boots
and shoes, but, had he been disposed, he might have equally
distinguished himself as a pugilist, or race runner; but he
possessed more respect for himself than to enter on such a
course. That he was a man of great muscular power the
following simple instance may be sufficient to show. His

IRELAND, THE LEAPER. 205

wife having complained that she could not use a large maiden-
ing pot because it leaked, he told her to fill it with water.
She having done so, he lifted the pot over his head, to see
where the leakage was, with the greatest ease, and then re-
placed it on the floor. He possessed considerable conversa-
tional powers, and was a good debater. He lived in Broad
lane about fifty years. He was a native of Cottingham, near
Hull, and his father, I believe, was a market gardener.

Leonard : Your account of Gray's marvellous jumping
powers, reminds one of the still more wonderful doings of
Ireland, a Yorkshireman, who exhibited in Sheffield in 1802.
An old gentleman of my acquaintance has seen him kick a dis-
tended bladder suspended on a pole exceeding twenty feet in
height. He also saw him jump over a coach, with four
volunteers, having their guns and fixed bayonets in their
arms, on the top ; but my informant has some diffidence in
telling what seems so incredible.

Twiss : Oh, things quite as extraordinary and difficult of
belief are told. As for instance, that he leapt over three men
seated on horseback ; over a corn waggon ; that he hopped,
and kicked with the same foot, the sign-board of the Grey-
hound public-house, in Westbar ; and that he thought nothing
of clearing a turnpike gate, if it happened to come in his way,
as easier than going through a turnstile. One peculiarity with
him, indeed, seems to have been that he did not treasure up
his powers for the circus and the spring-board, but delighted
to do them on all occasions for the fun of the thing. He
was a Driffield man, and his "mates" used to win many
wagers from strangers by backing him to leap over their gigs
or carts. In Tickhill, once, he is said to have leaped over a
horse at a stand, and then to have cleared it back again with-
out turning round. At Hull he sprang over a number of
soldiers standing with fixed bayonets, and to prove his strength
of arm, it is related that he has lifted up a chair with a man
sitting in it, and has held them out at arm's length. His
sister is said to have possessed similar powers, and often
amused herself by leaping gates and hedges.

Everard : It is probable that some of those stories may
be just a shade overdrawn, "distance lending enchantment to
the view." But my father witnessed most of the feats now
described, performed by Ireland in the Lancasterian school.

Twiss : The Brocco, in this part of the town, alone now
remains to claim our attention, and we cannot do better than
again trouble our friend Everard for his account of it.

206 THE BROCCO.

Everard (reads) : " The Brocco of my early boyhood was
a wide and steep declivity, not very easy to describe. What-
ever features of beauty the scene might possess, lay in the
landscape beyond it. What those were one of the late Mr.
Ibbitt's published views, entitled ' The Valley of the Don,'
will convey a clearer idea than any verbal description. Stand-
ing by the house occupied by the late Mr. H. A. Bacon (the
first publisher of the Sheffield Independent), at the top of
Garden street (Garden walk it was formerly called) the Brocco
consisted of a steep and very rugged bankside. It reached in
its steepness as far as Edward street, and then extended in a
slope and a comparative flat as far as Allen street. The
ground was red earth and stones ; from whence the boys used
to dig 'raddle,' with which they often transformed their faces
into a resemblance of the war-painted Red Indians, or the
mountebank harlequin. There was a thin covering of grass
on the fiats ; but only in certain parts sufficient depth of soil
to form sod. The appearance, as seen from the bottom, was
that of a number of little hillocks and knolls of red earth of
various shapes, partially green. There was a footpath from
the top of Garden street down the steep incline to Edward
street, East ; and another sloping road, now built upon, as a
cross street. Allen street, at the point of it that crossed the
Brocco, was only a highway without any houses, so that there
was a clear space and view from the top of Garden street to
the Jericho.

" This view included Mr. Hoyle's house (Hoyle street),
which then stood enclosed in what, perhaps, might be de-
scribed as a small park. At the back of this house was a
row of high trees, serving as a rookery, where the birds built
their nests, and around which they might be seen taking their
aerial flights. The narrow lane, now called Burnt Tree lane,
was then the road from Allen street to Portmahon, in which
there was a white painted pair of gates, with the carriage way
running in a straight line to the front door of the house. In
the same lane stood an oak tree, which, during a severe thun-
derstorm, was struck and scathed by the lightning. Hence
the name it acquired."

Wragg : From Radford street downwards was, sixty years
ago, quite in the country, there being only the houses of Mr.
Hoyle and of several cowkeepers — well-to-do men, of some
property.

Leighton : Old lawyer Hoyle was a great man, with his
cocked hat.

EADFORD STREET. 207

Wragg : There was in Radford street Mr. Dounes, the
first Baptist minister in the town ; also Mr. Dixon, a cutler,
the father of James Dixon, the founder of Cornish place, and
of the Kev. Francis Dixon, for many years the consistent
minister of Lee Croft Chapel, who, besides, was said to be
the best auditor of accounts in Sheffield. It is reported of
the late Mr. Robert Rodgers, solicitor, that he often declared
there would never be another " Frankey Dixon" at accounts.
It is said that the late Hugh Parker was a sleeping partner
in some colliery, and when the firm was dissolved, Mr. Parker
was not satisfied with what he had to receive, so he suggested
that Mr. Dixon should audit the accounts, to which it was
agreed, the result to be final. A cart load of books was taken
to him, and this is said to have been the greatest job Mr.
Dixon ever had, and he had many. As the result of Mr.
Dixon's labours, it appeared Mr. Parker, as he had firmly
anticipated, had a large sum to receive. Mr. Dixon was paid
what he charged, and Mr. Parker gave him, in addition, one
hundred pounds. Mr. Dixon was the maternal grandfather
of Mr. Alfred Allott. At the corner of Radford street and
Allen street, was Mr. Beardshaw, cutler, the grandfather of
Mr. Beardshaw, the engraver. Out of his shop was an un-
interrupted view of the Cotton Mill, and when that building
was on fire, one of his apprentices saw the flames. Running
down the yard to a scale and spring maker, who was working
there, he cried that the Cotton Mill was on fire, would he go ?
The man could have seen the conflagration from his window,
by simply raising his head, but he quietly went on with his
work without taking the trouble to look, as he answered :
" No, lad, there will be now't put down for it on Saturday
neet." In more modern times, in the same neighbourhood,
were Messrs. Richard and William Jessop, whose parents
were in Pond street. They lived next door to each other, in
what is now 245 and 247, Western Bank. In their business
they were both together in one room, and for years did not
speak to each other. When one wanted the other's opinion,
he wrote a question on a bit of paper and passed it over to
his brother, who wrote a reply underneath. They said they
were of the family of Jessops, of Broomhall, and when the
Rev. James Wilkinson died, advertisements appeared for
claimants to his property. I have heard Mr. William say
they sent in a claim among others.

Leonard : You remind me of a story of two other
brothers, named Glossop, who lived at Sturnperlowe Hall.

<

208 THE BROCCO.

They were bachelors, and their nephew gave himself the airs
of their heir-at-law. One day as they sat smoking their
pipes over the fire, Tom, after much musing, spoke : "I say,
John, there's ahr Fred been saying what he'll do when he
gets ahr money, as he's ahr heir." " Well," asked John,
after a long pause, " what's to be done ?" " Why," replied
Tom, "one on us must get married." "Which shall it be ?"
faltered John, conscious of impending misery. " Don't
know," said his brother, " let's toss up." They tossed up,
and matrimony fell to John's lot. Putting his finger in his
eye, he whined, " Thah's bet me again, Tom. There's never
anything nasty to do but thou maks me do it." However, he
pocketed his chagrin, took a wife, and there was issue one
daughter, who married a solicitor, named Sargeant.

Everard (severely) : The prospect from the top of Brocco,
about which I was speaking when interrupted, embraced a
sight of the Infirmary, then standing amidst fields and gar-
dens ; the old Barracks, rendered conspicuous by their white-
washed walls ; the Club Mill, ensconced in the valley beside
the stream of the Don ; the house at Wardsend, on the mar-
gin of the wood ; and above all, the Old Park Wood and
Cook Wood, then existing in much of their primeval beauty;
their sylvan solitudes undisturbed by the shriek of the rail-
way whistle, as the trains now, by day and night, rush and
thunder through.

Leonard : I have seen a water-colour drawing in the
possession of Mr. Samuel Gardner, taken from his father's
house at the top of Red hill in 1802, which embraces just
such a view as you describe. Anything more completely rural
could not be imagined.

Everard (continuing to read) : "Ona dark November
night, in the year 1817, 1 remember standing with my father
on the top of the Brocco, from eleven o'clock until midnight.
It was on the occasion, and at the very time, of the inter-
ment of the lamented Princess Charlotte. The hillside was
partially covered with groups of spectators, who stood to
watch the firing of the minute guns in the Barrack yard during
the hour of the funeral procession. The flash of each dis-
charge illuminated for an instant the entire valley, succeeded
by a sense of deeper darkness, as the sound boomed up to
where we stood and reverberated amongst the woods and
hills. This midnight darkness and the firing, together with
the solemn ' dumb peal' that fell upon the ear from the bells

MEETING IN THE BROCCO. 209

of the Parish Church, produced on my mind a lasting im-
pression.

" In 1819, there was assembled in the Brocco one of the
largest public meetings — certainly the largest I ever saw —
held in Sheffield. The occasion was what was then termed
the ' Manchester Massacre,' where a public meeting, met to
petition Parliament, was, by order of the magistrates, attacked
and dispersed by a troop of Yeomanry. Many persons were
wounded, and some lives lost. This violation of English
liberty roused such a feeling of indignation throughout the
country that numerous town and county meetings were held
to enter solemn and emphatic protests against it. The meet-
ing in the Brocco was for the purpose of addressing the Prince
Regent, and petitioning parliament to institute an inquiry
into this outrage on constitutional law and order. The pro-
cession was formed in the Wicker, and included almost all
the clubs and friendly societies in the town and neighbour-
hood, with their respective banners and bands of music. On
arriving at the ground they were marshalled in their appointed
order. The platform was erected on the fiat part near Allen
street. The late venerable Samuel Shore, Esq., was the
chairman, and the late Earl Fitzwilliam was one of the
speakers. That vast assemblage, numbering many thousands,
and standing rank above rank on the slopes of that natural
amphitheatre, together with the display of flags and symbols,
presented a magnificent and deeply impressive spectacle.
The resolutions having been passed with unanimity, the great
meeting dispersed peaceably and in order. More than half
a century has passed away since that day ; and during this
period what changes in the way of improvement have taken
place in our political, social, and commercial condition as a
nation !

" Adjacent to the Brocco, and almost forming a part of
it, was a vacant space much used as a play and cricket ground,
named Jericho. On that spot I once witnessed an assemblage
met for the purpose of either taking an active part in, or look-
ing on at the cruel and barbarous old English sport of ' bull-
baiting.' At that time a man had lately been imported into
this neighbourhood, whose proper name I have forgotten, but
who went by that of Runcorn, the place from whence he
came. He was a strong-built, broad-chested man, with a
somewhat surly countenance. He was accompanied and
assisted in his vocation by his wife, who at that time was a
handsome young woman, but after a very decided type of

210 BULL-BAITING.

rustic beauty. With cheeks like roses, and her strong red
arms, bare above the elbows, she was dressed in a gown of
showy pattern, and on her head she wore a white cap, adorned
with ribbons. Perched on a high wall, and full of boyish
curiosity, I had a perfect view of the whole scene and proceed-
ings. The crowd assembled included some of the choicest
specimens of blackguardism to be found in the town and
neighbourhood. Amidst noise and clamour, passing jibes,
and cursings, together with the yelpings of impatient dogs,
the ring was at length formed, and the sport began. ' Mis-
tress Runcorn,' armed with a hedgestake, which she wielded
with effect, kept the ring, and received the toll for the dogs
at the rate of threepence a slip ; Avhilst her husband attended
to the bull, to see that he had fair play. The animal thus
brought to the stake to torture was a fine, young, and active
one; being, in the current slang of the ring, 'good game.'
There he stood at bay, moving his head from side to side, and
watching the point of attack. The dogs, one after another,
were then slipped, and flew at him. Some of them the bull
managed at the first rush to catch with his horns, and either
gored or tossed them high into the air. Certain of their
masters, on seeing their dogs thus flung, ran to catch them
in their aprons or arms ; whilst others allowed them unaided
to run the risk of crippled limbs, or broken backs. The high-
trained dogs appeared generally to aim at the nose or^throat
of the animal. One of them fastened and hung on the poor
brute's nether lip, whilst he ramped about in agony and rage,
as far as the tether would allow. And as the climax, at
length a savage dog seized the bull's nose, causing the blood
to flow, and kept his hold until the noble, ill-used creature
was brought down upon his knees to the ground. The event
of the bull being pinned was immediately hailed with a shout
of ferocious delight and triumph, and with loud expressions
of brutal merriment. So the cruel and degrading ' sport'
went on to the end.

" This, I believe, was the last bull-bait in Sheffield. As
a sad, though fitting sequel, I may add that this man, Run-
corn, was eventually (May, 1824), so fearfully worried by his
own bear, in a field on the Intake road, that he died in con-
sequence, in the Sheffield Infirmary."

Leighton : Runcorn's real name was William Ladsley.
I believe the circumstances of his death were these. He had
unmuzzled the bear, which was usually a very peaceable
animal, and set it at liberty by way of a treat, on "Bellows

STORIES OF BEAR-WARDS. 211

plain," near his residence in the Park. In some way, never
explained, the bear becoming suddenly enraged against its
master, turned upon him, kuocked him down, and worried
him on the spot. The poor man's body was taken up in a
shockingly mutilated state, though it was with difficulty it
could be liberated by slipping dogs at the bear. The mur-
derer was shortly afterwards shot; the hind paws of the
animal were fourteen inches long.

Leonard : Bears seem subject to those fits of anger. A
similar case, most of you will remember as occurring within
the last few months at the " Welsh Harp," Hendon.

Twiss : Another local case happened at or near Eccles-
field. A bear, kept by a person there, got at liberty and
worried the owner's wife.

Wragg : A noted Sheffield bear- ward was old Arnold
Kirk. Like Ladsley he was accustomed to take his bear to
the different wakes, for the purpose of baiting. The follow-
ing is one of his adventures : — Going with his bear to the
Derwent wakes, he had reached the middle of the moors,
when bruin turned sulky and would .proceed no further. At
last, when it was quite dark he got into motion again, and
Kirk, guided by a light, managed to conduct him to a cottage.
The old couple who dwelt there were quite willing to give
Kirk a lodging ; but how about his unwieldly companion ?
If they had only, said the old woman, sold their calf, which
was to be fetched next morning by the butcher, a day before,
bruin might have occupied the shed. Arnold was equal to
the occasion, and it was arranged that the calf should be
brought into the kitchen, the bear to take its place in the
"crib." This was done, and sleep fell upon the mixed house-
hold. . About midnight Arnold was disturbed by Dick, the
bear, making a great noise and growling. Going to investi-
gate the cause, he found that bruin had got a man under
him. Arnold called out, " Hold him fast, Dick." He went
and informed the old people, who came immediately ; and as
soon as the old woman saw the man she exclaimed, "Way,
Lord bless me, if it is'nt t' butcher we seld t'coaf to 'en he
wor to a fetched it and paid for it it mornin'." Arnold says,
" So th'art cum'd a coaf stealing, art thou, and thou's getting
a fine 'un there; squeeze him again, Dick." The bear did as
he was told, and roared out " boukh," again. " Now then,
rascal," said Arnold, " if thou does not agree to pay 't price
of t' coaf, I will unmuzzle him, and he shall worry thee."
He had to purchase liberty from his awkward antagonist by

212 BEARS AND BULLS.

paying his money and receiving no calf in return. The
inhabitants of the cottage thus made a good thing out of
their hospitality.

Johnson : Let me cap that with a bull-baiting story. On
one occasion a bull had been procured at Bradwell wakes for
the purpose of baiting, but no stake to fasten him to had been
provided. Old Mr. Bagshawe, of the Hazlebadge pastures,
so far entered into the spirit of the sport that he exclaimed,
" Tey him to mey, tey him to mey. We'll neer loost' beit
for t'wont on a steek" — supposing, no doubt, that he was
sufficiently strong to hold the bull. They did so, and upon
the first dog being slipped at the bull, he set off and took Mr.
Bagshawe with him at the rope's end through the adjacent
brook, and it was with great difficulty that he escaped with
his life.

Leonard : The following " nomine" or proclamation by
the bull or bear ward when the ring was formed may, perhaps,
wind up our gossip on these obsolete cruelties : "0 yes, 0
yes, 0 yes ; one dog one bull, or one bitch one bull. Three
rebukes and a wind. Everybody keep twenty feet from t'
stake or take what comes. Now for t' first dog."

Leighton : Well, we have had a long but very interesting
sitting. G-ood night, f Exeunt. J

CHAPTER IX.

The Old Haymarket — The Wicker— The Nursery —

Bridgehouses.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everard, Wragg, Leonard

and Johnson.
Period— A. D. 1874.

LEIGHTON : Before the Old Haymarket was used for the
purpose that its name denotes, a cattle market was held
there. That, in 1786, was removed into the Wicker. There
it remained until 1830, when it went to its present site be-
tween the river and the Victoria Station road.

Leonard : Wonderful changes have taken place during
the last few years at the top of the Old Haymarket, in the
way of opening it out, first by way of Jehu lane (Commercial
street) to the bottom of Norfolk street, and then by demolish-
ing the buildings in the corner to make the new road to the
Midland Station. And here we come upon the newest and
latest location of the General Post Office. We have found
its changes to be many.

Wragg : Yes, the Nag's Head is an old hostelry that has
disappeared to make way for these improvements. It was
once kept by the Heatons, one of whom became a barrister.
He was employed in Harwood and Thomas's warehouse, as a
clerk or manager. Some dispute arose, and, regarding him
as their servant, they gave him his dismissal. But he
claimed to be a partner, and he had so well studied law and
had secured for himself so strong a legal position, that in
a law-suit the firm lost, and had to compromise the matter
for a large sum.

Leonard : Do you know what is said to be the origin of
the name Jehu lane ? The tradition is, that when Mary
Queen of Scots arrived in Sheffield for imprisonment at the
Manor, this lane was the main road, and through it she had
to pass. The streets had not been planned in expectation of
such things as coaches rolling through them, and the lane

214 THE TONTINE.

astonished the Queen's coachman to such an extent that he
ejaculated "Jehu!" — by way, I suppose, of invoking the
tutelary genius of drivers in his difficulty.

Everard : Credat Judcsus !

Leighton : How the glories of the Old Haymarket have
departed since the suppression of the fine old Tontine, and
since the rattle of coaches and the galloping of post chaises,
and the cracking of postilions' whips gave way to "Water-
loos," which, in turn, have been supplanted by ignominious
omnibuses and innovating tramways.

Wragg : The Tontine, built on the site of the Castle
barns, was finished in 1785, James Watson being the first
landlord, and James Bickley the last. People stared with
amazement at the erection of such an hotel and considered
its promoters dreaming, but the year after it was acknow-
ledged to be the first in the kingdom.

Leighton : 0, why was it pulled down ? How well I
remember the older Charles Clegg, trumpet-major to the
Yeomanry Cavalry, being ordered by the magistrates to sound
" the call" for the corps to assemble. Like a brave man as
he was he mounted and sounded, first at the front of the
Tontine, and then on the flat above the Commercial inn, at
that time the vegetable market. There a potato, thrown with
great force and unerring aim, entered the mouth of the trum-
pet, knocked out two of his upper teeth, and he ceased sound-
ing for ever. My old friend had blown his last blast, and
never more did he at early morn sound the reveille, or the
tattoo at dewy eve.

Everard : At this same Potato riot, or at one about the
same time, the following incident was witnessed by my father.
The mob was standing near the Yellow Lion inn, and the late
Justice Parker, with the constables, stood opposite the Ton-
tine, when a large potato was thrown with great force by an
athletic man, wearing a leathern apron, as if by trade a black-
smith or blade forger. The missile struck the magistrate on
the chest, and he, lifting his hand to his breast, staggered
back. It would appear that as soon as the man saw what he
had done his heart smote him (for the justice was a favourite
magistrate), and, standing forth a space in front of the mob,
he shouted out — " Mester Parker, I didn't intend that to hit
yo ; I meant it to hit Tom Smith." Thomas Smith, the
constable, was standing near Mr. Parker at the moment, and
thus escaped being the victim of this very sincere, if not good,
intention.

THE TOWN HALL. 215

Twiss : The Tontine's history is so well known that we
need not go through the old story. Dr. Gatty gives a good
description of what it was in its glory, when " twenty horses
and five postboys were always ready when the yard bell rang,"
and how suddenly it collapsed on the opening of the Midland
railway. " Twenty pairs of horses were wanted one day; on
the morrow the road was forsaken. Thus one of the fine old
English inns, in the court-yard of which a carriage and pair
could be easily driven round, came to grief." It was in 1850
that the Duke of Norfolk purchased the hotel for the erection
of the New Market Hall.

Leonard : I don't know what Wills means by —

" The old Laiths [barns] in Bullstake, that dismal retreat,
Where hearses and stalls very often did meet,
Is now a large Tontine — the length of a street."

Leonard : The site of the Koyal hotel has been occupied
for the purposes of a public-house for great numbers of
years. It was as long ago as 1779 that " Mr. Godfrey Fox
purchased of Mr. Barlow the old public-house and black-
smith's shop, and on the ground whereon they stood, built
the Rein Deer tavern."

Wragg : Ah, Godfrey Fox occupied that house something
like fifty years, and then he went into New Church street.
He seems to have been a man of education, for I have a book
of his. It consists of a number of pamphlets bound to-
gether— comprising Burke's Speech in 1780, and his Reflec-
tions on the French Revolution ; also a letter to a Noble Lord
(Earl Fitzwilliam), and a reply to this by Mr. C. Browne.
On the leaf of the book is written, " From the Author to his
friend Godfrey Fox, " and on the fly-leaf is written, in a good,
clear hand, " Godfrey Fox, Sheffield."

Leighton : We have previously spoken of " Old No. 12"
and its spirited proprietor, Mr. Thomas Wiley.

Leonard : I remember that for many years, in the wood-
work below one of the windows, was preserved the hole made
by a bullet fired by the soldiers during the riot at the first
borough election, in 1832. Mr. Wiley had the date painted
round the hole.

Wragg : A passing glance at the Town Hall, erected on
the Castle hill, the foundation of which was laid in 1808
(altered and enlarged in 1833, and again in 1867), must
suffice. Many Sheffielders, indeed, have been glad enough
to fight shy of the unpleasant holes " under t' clock," in the
days when the new police offices were yet unbuilt.

216 THE HORSLEYS AND NICHOLSONS.

Leonard : Some day, perhaps, it may be of interest to
remember that the deserted drinking fountain inserted in the
wall of the Town Hall, facing Castle street, was the first
erected in Sheffield when the fashion arose for supplying
these useful places for quenching the thirst. It was erected
by the Town Trustees, and was opened by the late Mr. Wm.
Fisher, in 1859.

Leighton : These drinking fountains were not a brilliant
success here. They were put up by various patriotic indi-
viduals, at the Church gates, the bottom of Spital hill, the
Moor head, Broad lane, and Gibraltar street, but there soon
arose a difficulty about a constant supply of water ; the stream
stopped and the fountains were abominably disfigured by mis-
chievous boys and roughs. In fact they became nuisances.

Leonard : Here is Castle street, or True Lovers' gutter: —

" For lately two lovers were sat on a rail,
On the edge of the sink, fondly telling their tale,
When the flood washed them down in each other's emhrace,
For no longer the lovers could sit in that place ;
And hence, True Lovers' gutter, the name that was given,
Because by the flood these two lovers were driven."

Wragg: At the top of Castle green was Mr. Samuel
Horsley's shoe shop. He married the sister of the late Mrs.
John Nicholson, of Darnall, and one of his nieces lived with
him, as he had no children. Mr. Horsley had a nephew on
his side, named Glossop, who also lived with him. From this
circumstance an attachment was formed between the two, but
the young man died, and was buried at Queen street chapel.
Mr. Nicholson's daughter became chambermaid at Page Hall,
and married Mr. Greaves's coachman. Two of their children,
if not three, died in their infancy, and were buried at the old
Chapel of Ease at Attercliffe. Then the husband died, and
was buried with the children. When the widow (Mr. Nichol-
son's daughter) died, she requested to be buried with her
uncle Horsley, and asked that a walking stick that belonged
to the young man Glossop, her uncle's nephew, might be put
in her coffin, and buried with her. This shows how strong
was her attachment. Mr. Horsley, although a Baptist,
attended Queen street chapel, and greatly resembled old
Joshua Stephenson. There was a curious circumstance in
connection with Mr. Horsley's will. When in his death-ill-
ness it was being written, he desired that what he had to leave
should be equally divided among the children of his wife's
sister. His wife then put in, "excepting John and Elizabeth ;"
so these two had nothing, although the niece was the one

THE NICHOLSONS. 217

whom they had brought up, and the John was the grandfather
of the Messrs. Nicholson, of Mowbray street. Perhaps some
particulars of John Nicholson, of Darnall, may not be out of
place here. You will remember the brook on coming out of
the fields by the pathway to Darnall ? Instead of turning up
the lane to the village, pedestrians cross it and follow the
course of the brook. There is a row of houses in front, and
at the far end, somewhat detached, is an old shop — there
Mr. Nicholson carried on business, and in one of the houses
he lived. He was descended from the widow Nicholson, men-
tioned by Hunter in his Hallamshire, as being at the forma-
tion of the Nonconformist Church at Attercliffe. His wife
was one of the Wadsworths, whose name is mentioned in the
same way by Hunter. Mrs. Nicholson, previous to her mar-
riage, was lady's maid to Lady Bute, at Wharncliffe Lodge.
They had one son and five daughters. The son was father of
Mr. William Nicholson, late of Sycamore street, and grand-
father of the Messrs. Nicholson, of Mowbray street. Of the
daughters, it was said there were not five finer young women in
the neighbourhood. Four out of the five married. One has
been already spoken of as chambermaid at Page Hall, and as
having married Mr. Greaves's coachman. Another was ser-
vant at Mr. Read's, Attercliffe, and she married the coach-
man of Mr. Read. All Mr. Nicholson's daughters married
men who, after their marriage, learnt the trade of a presser.
Two were coachmen, as I have said, one a collier, the fourth
— I don't know what. The collier soon left pressing, and
turned butcher. He opened the second butcher's shop in
Attercliffe (the first butcher in Attercliffe was named Fawley),
and was also the constable. Now as no one could then be
connected with any branch in the cutlery trade except he had
served a legal apprenticeship, these sons-in-law of Mr. Nichol-
son must have been bound after their marriage. I know for
a fact that one of them was bound to Mr. Nicholson, as the
indenture still exists. It states that he was to learn the
trade of a maker of knives, and bears the date of 10th
January, 1784. It is signed John Nicholson, the attesting
witnesses being Ben Broomhead, the then Master Cutler, and
George Wood. There must be some irregularity in the inden-
ture, as it does not contain the signature of the man appren-
ticed. What the Master Cutler was I do not knoAv, but
George Wood we noticed in connection with Pea croft. He
writes a beautiful hand; not so Ben Broomhead. Mr. Nichol-
son's son-in-law (apprentice) took out his freedom on the 25th

Q

•

218 SHEFFIELD CASTLE.

day of March, in 1791, and it bears the signature of Joseph
Ward, the Master Cutler, whom I presume would be the
father of Thomas Asline Ward. At that time this mature
apprentice was the father of four children. Mrs. Nicholson
used to taunt or joke her three married daughters for marry-
ing men who had to learn a trade after their marriage, and
told them there was a gentleman who courted one of the
other two. They wondered who he could be, and desired to
see him ; when, lo and behold, he turned out to be a collier,
and turned presser like the other three, but only for a time.
In those days the trade of a presser was a good one. We
came across one of these sons-in-law as residing in Broad
lane. Mr. Nicholson removed to Sheffield to be near his
children, and lived at the top of Broad street, between New
street and the street above, where he died. The property is
destroyed by the railway. His son or grandsons carried on
in Pond street, now 129, lately occupied by Mr. Allcock. In
1804, William Nicholson was Master Cutler. He was a file
maker in Pond street, but he was not son of the foregoing.

Twiss : Passing on to Waingate we stand on classic
ground, but it is a little foreign to the tenor of our usual con-
versation to go so far back as to try to conjure up an imagi-
nary picture of what the old Castle used to be. The materials
for such a picture are very scanty, and all that remains to us
above ground is the name. " We know that the Castle stood
on rather more than four acres of land, in the angle formed
by the confluence of the Sheaf and the Don, that it was fairly
built of stone and very spacious, and stood around an inward
court and an outward court. Antiquaries may show a stone
in their museums that once formed part of its fabric. Men
who work in what we now call Castle Folds, tell a somewhat
doubtful story of the ground sounding hollow beneath their
hammers, an indication of the existence of cellars. But the
castle itself is nowhere to be seen. Its site is defiled with
killing shambles; its court-yards, barns, stables, and servants'
rooms, its state apartments and its great dining hall, have
given place to shops and works, public-houses, cottages, and
stables. Sheffield Castle, once so massive and strong, has
become a tradition and nothing more."*

Leonard : That hollow sound beneath the hammers is
not so apochryphal as might be supposed. Some interesting
results could be obtained if only we could carry out such ex-
plorations as the Palestine Fund has been engaged upon in

* " Sheffield Castle and Manor Lodge in 1582," by J. D. Leader.

THE WICKER. 219

Jerusalem ; but instead of that we actually have opportunities
for investigation, when they are thrown in our way, hidden
from us. Take, for instance, the narrative that was laid be-
fore the Sheffield Arclweological Society, in October, 1872, of
an interesting discovery and an absurd concealment.

Wragg : Let us get down into the Wicker, and among
the things and people within the memory of living men.

Twiss : What ! without even a passing mention of the
four alms-houses for poor widows, that were at the foot of
the Lady's bridge until 1767 ?

Wragg : At the old tilt, across the Lady's bridge, which
has been so long at work in hammering out the glowing
metal, once worked and lived the father of the late Alderman
Edwin Unwin. Mr. Unwin was once himself with a man of
very different character, Joseph Dewsnap, better known as
" Pimpey," who lived in the house now occupied in part by
Mr. Leeds, surgeon, and in part by Mr. Aitchison. Dewsnap
was originally a razor blade striker, but he became a rent and
debt collector, and was the first defaulter in that line. He
reigned about seven years, his career being short but "merry,"
for he made a grand flourish. There are many stories of his
extravagance. You may remember that in his latter days he
was employed to go round to the grocers, telling them when
to raise the price of flour.

Leonard : Quoting from a notice of Mr. Unwin, which
appeared at the time of his death, it may be truly said that
great responsibilities were thrown upon him by this default of
his employer, but " his genius for figures, his strong good
sense and his integrity enabled him so to bear this ordeal that
he early established a high character, and laid the foundations
for success in life. Mr. Unwin first came into public life as
one of the Improvement Commissioners, a body constituted
under a local Act in 1818, for lighting, cleansing, watching,
&c, the town within a circle of three-quarters of a mile from
the Parish Church." Mr. Unwin was elected a commissioner,
in August, 1830, and he continued in the office, acting as
auditor to the Commissioners, until 1865, until the powers of
the body were transferred to the Corporation. In July, 1830,
Mr. Unwin became one of the directors of the New Gas Com-
pany, and three years later he accepted the office of managing
director, retiring from his profession as accountant. When,
in 1844, the two companies amalgamated, Mr. Unwin assumed
the management of the united concern. Under his control
the company was highly efficient and very successful. Mr.

T

220 WICKER WORTHIES.

Unwin was a very useful and consistent member of the Town
Council. He was first elected in 1845, for Ecclesall Ward;
afterwards he represented Upper Hallain, and he was an
Alderman from 1856 to his decease. In 1868, a flattering
requisition was presented to him by a large majority of the
council, requesting him to stand for the mayoralty, but in
deference to his medical adviser he was compelled to decline.
Mr. Unwin died in London, on the 7th of February, 1870.

Wragg : Near the bridge was Ebenezer Rhodes, the
graphic author of "Peak Scenery," the best literateur Shef-
field has yet produced. He was a man of consequence, as he
was Master Cutler in 1808 ; but I am sorry so say he was not
successful in business. The firm was Rhodes and Champion.
Mr. Rhodes died December 16th, 1839, in Victoria street.
At the far end of Stanley street, opposite Clay gardens, was
John Skinner, who, 40 years ago, had the best steel pen trade
in the country, but somehow or other the family let the trade
slip out of their hands, and it seems to have taken flight and
settled in Birmingham, and enriched the late Joseph Gillott,
once a pen blade grinder at the Kelham wheel, now Mr.
Crossland's corn mill. In connection with this neighbour-
hood, it would not be right to pass over the late Edward
Smith, for he came of an old Wicker family. His grand-
father, Stephen Smith, who died in 1809, at the age of 78,
was established in the Wicker. Edward Smith was a man of
sterling abilities, but of no ambition, as he might have entered
Parliament when he thought proper, under the auspices of the
Anti-Corn Law League. As chairman of a meeting, Sheffield
never had his equal. He was a man Avhom a lawyer would
call the League's chamber council, as they resorted to him for
advice in any doubt or difficulty, and he always encouraged
them never to despair, as he had no doubt of the ultimate
issue — that success would sooner or later crown their efforts.
There are people who can remember Mr. Smith as a lad at
home with his parents, at 66, Wicker, then at 114, now the
shop of Mr. Simmons ; and finally at Fir vale, with a flower
garden second to none in Yorkshire.

Everard : Edward Smith took lessons in drawing and
water colours, of the same master and at the same time as
myself.

Wragg : The " Station inn," at the corner of Stanley
street, was the manufactory of fine scissors and the residence
of Mr. Francis Oates (whose family, I believe, came from
Stannington), father of the late Mr. Thomas Oates, who be-

THE WICKER SUNDAY SCHOOL. 221

came master of the Lancasterian school, and was for many
years an Alderman of the town. Another son, George, com-
menced the Wicker Sunday school — one of the most success-
ful institutions of the kind the town has ever seen, and with
which many memorahle men among the Independents have
been connected. Its beginning was extremely humble, for
George Oates began it with only one scholar, an apprentice of
his father. He then induced about half a dozen of his neigh-
bours to send their lads, and they met in his father's kitchen.
That becoming too small, they removed into the late Mr.
Brelsforth's day-school, up the lane, close by. Brelsforth was
a diminutive man, quite a cripple, for he could neither stand
nor walk without crutches. Under one part of the room was
a "midden," and under the other a bear was kept. What with
the stench and what with the grunting of the bear, you may
well conceive that it was school-keeping under difficulties ;
but, after great efforts and self-denial, the school in Andrew
street was erected (now an omnibus shed for the Carriage
Company), and more recently, in 1855, it culminated in the
church and schools erected near Burngreave, but keeping the
old name of " Wicker." Connected with this school was
Joseph Whittington, penblade grinder, an honourable, up-
right man without any ostentation; the late Edward Hebble-
thwaite who, Mr. Sissons the president of the Sunday-school
Union was not afraid to say, was the best superintendent in
Sheffield, Samuel Biggin, Christopher Hyde, James Taylor,
Robert Waterhouse, George Tucker, and his brother-in-law,
Thomas Birks, who was Mayor in 1849, and Joshua Biggin —
the last five were all members of the Corporation. Mr.
Joshua Biggin died on the 7th of January, 1873, and Mr.
Christopher Hyde is the only survivor.

Leighton : The Bull inn, Wicker, was, if tradition does
wrong them, a favourite meeting place of Ebenezer Rhodes,
Joseph Gales, James Montgomery, and such men. It was
known as " Billy Hill's parlour."

Twiss : That must have been the old 'Sembly house, for
in 1775 it is recorded, that it was kept by Hill as a public-
house, and that "there were no houses beyond, excepting Mr.
Smelter's, between that and the Occupation road, then a foot-
path. The ground was open to Tomcross lane, where was a
large pasture, kept by a person named Handley, of Old Carr,
who took in a great many cows ; hither the lasses came in
great numbers every night to milk them."

222 THE PICKLE.

Everard: I think it was not the "Bull inn," but the
"White Lion inn," on the opposite side of the street, a short
distance before you come to Stanley street, which was the
favourite meeting place of Montgomery and his friends. It
was next door to Ebenezer Rhodes' premises, and, I believe,
was kept by a person of the name of Wood, whose son
married the eldest daughter of Mr. Rhodes. John Holland
(Life of Montgomery) gives an account of the evening when
Montgomery suddenly " dropt " going. He had got on his
top coat, and was just about to set of, when he asked himself
— why he might not just as well stop at home as go ? He
decided to stay at home, and never went again. It is my im-
pression, that Montgomery had been subject to certain doubts
and qualms of conscience, at least as to the waste of time and
probably dissipating influence of such convivial meetings.

Leonard : We have on a previous occasion had some talk
about the manner in which the neighbourhood beyond this
has changed, within far more recent times than that — within
forty years, indeed.

Wragg : The date when the cattle market was brought
down here has already been mentioned. Some of the posts,
remnants of the old pens, were remaining up to the time the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway viaduct was
built, between the Falstaff inn and the public-house below.

Leighton : We must not forget to mention the old resi-
dence of the Heatons, in The Pickle — where, the family
tradition says, the Young Pretender once came. Pickle house,
which still stood within the memory of persons yet living, was
where Mr. John Hobson's steel works are now, the Pickle
being the name for the district from the entrance to the old
Midland station to the Twelve o'clock. The district near the
latter, on the town side, was called Jerusalem. Beyond, all
was open country, including what were at the beginning of
this century called the Local Fields — where the local Militia
was reviewed. These extended towards Royds Mill. Colonel
Fenton, the first commissioner of police, living at Wood hill
house, on the Grimesthorpe road, could thus have a good view
of his review ground in the valley below.

Everard : In the Pickle were the silver refining works of
the father of the present Mr. Joseph Dixon, afterwards re-
moved to Mowbray street.

Wragg : We should not leave the neighbourhood of the
Wicker without remarking on the learned attempts that have
been made to arrive at the correct etymology of the name.

CLAYS OP BRIDGEHOUSES. 223

There seems to be little doubt, however, that it was once a
marshy place, and that the osiers growing there, and used
in basket making, gave it the name.*

Leonard : The branches of trees, hazel twigs, and so
forth, have been found in digging in various places in the
neighbourhood of the White Rails, and the sandy deposits
tend to show that in these parts the river was once very apt
to overflow its possibly not very accurately defined banks.
The whole vicinity of the Nursery and the Wicker would, in
early times, be swampy.

Wragg : At the Bridgehouses end of Nursery street, near
the Iron bridge and destroyed by the railway, was the Bridge-
house, the residence of the Clay family. Robert Clay, who
died in 1737, came from Chesterfield to Sheffield, and for
some time resided at Walkley. His granddaughter married
Mr. George Bustard Greaves, of Page Hall —

Leighton : Who was extremely wealthy, since the pro-
perty of the two families was joined by his marriage with the
heiress of the Clays.

Wragg : Mr. Greaves had a warehouse and town residence
in Norfolk street, and, previous to his purchase of Page Hall,
he lived, I believe, in a large house on Oaks green, Atter-
cliffe. He was the only person in the town who kept a car-
riage with coachman and footman. Hunter's pedigree repre-
sents the Clay family as having expired in an heiress, as a
genealogist would say, but this is not so, as Joseph Clay, the
father of Mr. Greaves' s wife, was twice married. By his
first wife, Elizabeth Speight, he had a son, who went to
America. From some cause Mr. Clay discarded him, and left
him only £10, all his property going to Mrs. Greaves. This
disinherited son, however, left issue in America, one of whom
was the founder of the Clays of Kentucky, from whom de-
scended the celebrated American senator, Henry Clay. His
head, according to phrenologists, was the best developed or
most equally balanced on record.

Leonard : Mr. Clay was the only gentleman in the neigh-
bourhood who was eulogised by Mather — all the rest he
satirised or vilified. But this must have been Joseph Clay,
not Robert Clay, his father, with whom Mr. John Wilson has
confused him. Robert Clay died in the year in which Mather
was born.

* Hunter's derivation is quite different, but equally doubtful. See for
this and other particulars respecting the Wicker, Hunter's Hallamshire,
Gatty's edition, 403.

224

BRIDGEHOUSES.

Wragg : The last inhabitant of the Clays' house was
George Burgin, who had entered Mr. Clay's service in boy-
hood. His son was a printer.

Leight.on : The Brightside Bierlow stocks were formerly
on the Bridgehouses side of the old Iron bridge.
Everard : I well recollect them.

Leonard : Yes, even I call to mind the remnant of them,
and old Mr. Oakes, still living in Westbar,* remembers
being incarcerated in them— as he told me with much amuse-
ment one day. His offence, I grieve to add, was playing
at pitch and toss on a Sunday. Sam Hall, the constable,
caught him, and kept him there for an hour. " My mother,"
said the old man, "came to see me, and didn't she call the
fellow for putting me in." He remembers, too, to have seen
a man (Bill Jones) tied in a cart and flogged by the beadle on
its progress from Castle street to the Town Hall. At Kother-
ham he saw a man put in the pillory, and subjected to the
operation of being pelted with rotten eggs. That was Dick
Crown.

Wragg : As to Bill Jones, there must be some mistake
there—he was the whipper, not the whipped, for he was the
beadle at the Town Hall ; so that instead of receiving, he in-
flicted the punishment. This Bill Jones took persons to
Wakefield House of Correction after their commitment by
the magistrates. Hence arose a very common saying at one
time in the town, when one person saw another deviating from
the path of rectitude — "Bill Jones will soon have thee, with-
out thou mindest." From the road to Wakefield being then
up Pye bank, one person would threaten another he would
" Send him up Pye bank." The prisoners had to walk,
fastened together by a long chain, like a slave gang.

Leighton : Bridgehouses was, in 1789, associated with a
tragedy which caused much excitement at the time. The
story has been variously told, and it is difficult to get at its
exact merits now. A leg of mutton had been taken from a
man's basket as he went over Lady's bridge, and one version
is that the thieves asked the person who carried it to go with
them and get it cooked for supper. One of the men turned
King's evidence, for there was ±100 (blood money it was
called) given to anybody who got a man hanged. The people
would have torn him in pieces, but he escaped— it was from

* Mr. Oakes (see also pp. 115, 116) has died while these sheets have been
passing through the press (Sept. 2, 1874), aged 88.

A BRIDGEHOUSES' TRAGEDY. 225

that butcher's shop at the corner of Chapel street, Bridge-
houses — by putting on women's clothes.

Everard : I think it must have been the prosecutor who
had to escape from the anger of the people, as it was against
him that public anger was chiefly directed. His name was
Wharton, and the story, as I have heard my father tell it,
was that the men did the act as a rough and foolish joke, the
prosecutor well knowing them and they him. When they
saw that he took the matter seriously, they went and tried to
persuade him to take back the leg of mutton, but he posi-
tively refused, probably having an eye to the "blood money."
Instead of taking the mutton to a constable or a magistrate,
the jokers foolishly took it to a public-house and had it cooked
for supper. It has been said that Wharton himself partook
of that supper, but I never heard that before, and I do not
believe it.

Leonard : The Sheffield Register, in April, 1790, in
which month the unfortunate men were executed, said — "The
behaviour of these unhappy men, since their condemnation,
manifested a hearty contrition for their crimes and a becoming
resignation to their ignominious fate. * * * Much dis-
turbance has arisen in this town since the execution of Ste-
vens and Lastley, from an idea that the prosecutor swore to
aggravated circumstances which really did not happen. This
suspicion has gathered strength from the solemn assevera-
tions of the two unfortunate men, communicated in a letter
to their shopmates, dated the evening previous to the execu-
tion. The populace have several times beset Wharton's
house, and hung the figure of a man on a gibbet before his
door, but yesterday they were so violent as to break every
window, and otherwise so much damage the house as to
render it scarcely habitable. The current report when our
paper went to press, was that Wharton had escaped in woman's
clothes." The popular sentiment is reflected in Mather's
song on the execution of the men, and his denunciation of
Wharton — " Thou villain, most base, thy name must eter-
nally rot."

Johnson : The neighbourhood of Bridgehouses reminds
me of " Silly Luke," whom I often used to see there ; and
he, in turn, calls to my remembrance how many eccentrics
we had formerly about the town ; now any that we have seem
to be hidden. Besides " Silly Luke" there used to be " Mr.
Bowman," " Jack Burton," " Soft Charley" and his brother
George, " Belper Joe," and others.

226 ECCENTRICS.

Everard : It was a very painful thing to see the poor
creatures pursued by a crowd of thoughtless boys, " making
game" of them, as they called it. But we had no Idiot Asy-
lums then in which they might have been trained to more
usefulness.

Leighton : There was an earlier eccentric than these —
Thomas Calver, an inmate of the Brightside workhouse, whom
the children dubbed "Billy Bed- waistcoat."

Johnson : " Silly Luke" had a solid substratum of sense
beneath his folly ; he was quite shrewd where shirking work
or getting food were concerned. Many of his sayings have
been handed down. He told the workhouse officials they
might make him work, but they couldn't make him like it.
He said also " that he liked neither nuts nor nut-shells, but
real-down, good-eating roast beef and plum pudding." When
teased by the grinders who, in those days, worked with water
power instead of steam, and were consequently dependent
on rain for the means of working, Luke wished we had a
" sow-metal" sky, with a round hole for the sun to peep
through — for he wanted to keep the rain from his enemies
but not to lose the sun for himself.

Leighton : Luke gave Dr. Sutton, the vicar, the name of
" Old Jog-my-eye," because he would not give him money or
pudding; of the latter he was very fond. The vicar had a
cast in his eye, and Luke followed him about saying, " If
thou won't give me pudding I'll call thee Old Jog-my-eye."
The Doctor got Luke's liberty somewhat restricted after that.
Nothing frightened Luke so much as to be told he should
be a grinder — for the grinders had ground his fingers.

Johnson : Mr. Bowman's peculiarity was an affected style
of walking, varied every few yards with a skip, and " Soft
Charley," when told by the boys to "walk proud," put on a
ridiculous strut. Miss Hall, the miser, was a very familiar
figure in our streets and about the market at one time, in
her search for dirty scraps with which to make a cheap
dinner. It used to be said that her bonnet was renewed by
being rubbed over with coal-tar, or " oily-coil" as the vulgate
hath it. She was quite wealthy, and her will greatly disap-
pointed some who had diligently paid court to her for it.
Among the eccentrics of about forty years ago, two of the
most prominent were Edward Price, known as "Lord John
Kussell," and John Shaw, known as " Magnet Jack." "Lord
John Bussell" was a working brush maker. His speciality
was going about making political Reform speeches to a large

THE CORN EXCHANGE. 227

following of boys, and he always rounded off his address with
some word ending in " ation," which he pronounced ore
rotundo. Magnet Jack, too, was fond of spouting when in
his cups, and was a well-known maker of magnets and fire-
works. Both these men in their sober moments were men
of high intelligence. They were very well-meaning men,
doing most harm to themselves. I believe Price, in his
latter days, became a reformed character.

Leighton : "Jack Burton" was still in the workhouse a
few years ago. One of his favourite antics was to stare
through the windows of the houses in St. James's row. He
generally chose dinner time for his appearance, and Jack's
long face, suddenly pressed against the window when Mr.
Reedall had a dinner party, has often frightened the ladies.

Twiss : I believe the late Mr. Henry Jackson cured him
of that trick.

CHAPTER X.

The Ponds — Norfolk Street — Sheffield Moor-
Barker Pool— Fargate.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everard, Wragg, Leonard

and Johnson.
Period— A. D. 1874.

LEIGHTON : Old townsmen, revisiting Sheffield after an
absence of some fifty years, are as much struck by the
changes in the Corn Exchange and New Haymarket as any-
thing else. The old Hospital Chapel was then just over the
Sheaf bridge, with its adjacent rows of tenements for decayed
tradesmen or their widows, which were reached by a descend-
ing flight of steps.

Leonard : They will be still more struck in a few years
more, should the plans that have been prepared for sweeping
away the present Corn Exchange and throwing its area into
the wholesale vegetable market, and erecting a new Exchange
that will occupy the larger part of the new Haymarket, be
carried out. Though there does not seem much chance of
that.

228 BAKERS' HILL.

Twiss : It was in 1827 that the New Hospital was opened.
When the old Hospital Chapel was taken down, in 1829, the
foundation stone was found to contain this inscription : " This
foundation stone to the Hospitals of Gilbert, Earl of Shrews-
bury, laid this 20th Oct., 1774, by Henry Howard, Esq."
That part was not, therefore, very old; possibly it represented
the re-building after the flood, caused by the rapid rising of
the Sheaf, had destroyed part of the Hospital and drowned
four inmates.

Eveeard : Turning towards Pond street we come upon
Shemeld croft, the site of the old file manufactory of Nicholas
Jackson, who has been mentioned as giving evidence of his
vocal powers at the old Cutlers' Feasts. His ancestors were
Norton men, and at his residence young Chantrey was a fre-
quent and intimate visitor. The practical jokes which he and
the young ladies played upon one another led not unnaturally
to an affair de cceur between him and Susanna Jackson. She
seems to have been one of his first sitters for a crayon por-
trait, which was still in the family a few years ago, and may
be yet.

Twiss : The poet Mather worked for Nicholas Jackson.

Leonard : On Bakers' hill a dame's school was kept by
Mrs. White, a Wesleyan, who is still remembered by some old
inhabitants. One of her former scholars wrote a few years
ago with much gratitude for her early instruction, and he
added that the house was still standing. "I went down," he
also wrote, "to Barrel yard dam, because, when a boy, I almost
lost my life there one winter, through the breaking of the
ice. I found it a dirty ditch in comparison with the lake-like
dimensions and appearance which it had in my early imagi-
nation. I had not a few reminiscences of Pond street, and
of the localities down Harmer lane, and along by the Lead
mill and Burton bridge fields. But how changed are they !
The hill where the coke fires blazed covered with houses ;
Balmforth dam, where in my youth I once suffered inexpres-
sible agony at the sight of a drowning man, dwindled almost
to the insignificance of its neighbour of the Barrel yard ; and
a ducal residence planted where, in my earliest days, I had
gathered daisies and acorns."

Wragg : At the Lead works lived and died the celebrated
Dr. Browne ; a man of a kind heart, and a general bene-
factor to the poor : when he died (in 1810) they felt they
had lost their best friend.

THE LEAD WORKS. 229

Twiss : I am unable to give the exact date of the com-
mencement of the Sheffield Lead Works, but they were in
active operation on the 2nd February, 1763, when the stock
was valued at £5278, and the buildings at £2600. At that
time the partners were Dennis Browne, James De la Pryme,
Samuel Turner, William Cooper, and James Allott, and the
works were situated in Shude hill. During that year Mr.
De la Pryme left the firm, and Mr. James Greatrex took his
place. During 1768, Messrs. Allott and Turner acquired Wm.
Cooper's share of the business, and in the stock-taking of
January 14th, 1769, Dennis Browne's executors take the
place of Dennis Browne. During that year James Greatrex
also died, leaving Messrs. Allott and Turner the only survi-
ving partners ; but the representatives of the deceased partners
retained their interest in the business until the end of 1774,
when a new arrangement was entered into. The new firm
carried on business under the style of Allott, Gunning and
Co., and the partners were James Allott, [Doctor] John Browne,
Wm. Harrison, Thos. Gunning, Thos. Rawson, Jas. Wheat,
John Shirecliffe, and Wm. Bullock. Before the stock-taking
of March, 1781, Mr. Bullock had disposed of his interest in
the business to Messrs. Gunning, Rawson, AVheat and Browne,
who, with Messrs. Allott and Shirecliffe, then comprised the
firm. In 1782, a partnership for 21 years was entered into,
which continued by agreement until 25th November, 1811,
when Dr. Browne's executors sold their interest, and on the
coming of age of Carlos Wheat, the Wheat family sold their
shares to Thomas Bawson and John Barker, so that at this
date the only partners were Messrs. Rawson and Barker and
Elizabeth Gunning. On the 1st May, 1821, Thos. Rawson
and John Barker purchased of Captain and Mrs. Gunning all
their interest in the works.

Leonard : Dr. Browne never held the office of physician
to the Infirmary, but he took a very active part in establish-
ing it, and was the first chairman of its weekly Board. He
was a man who played a very prominent and useful part in
the affairs of the town. Like Justice Wilkinson, he had the
honour of a public funeral, and his features too, were per-
petuated in marble by the hand of Chantrey.

Everard : At the establishment of the Infirmary a warm
discussion arose, as to whether the benefits of the institution
should be limited to the ordinary inhabitants of the town, or
be extended to persons coming from other places. Doctor
Browne, on that occasion, took a very decided part in advo-

230 THE LEAD WORKS.

eating the latter; and it was through his influence, in a great
measure, that the institution took the name of " The Sheffield
General Infirmary," affording help to whomsoever might need
it, coming from what quarter of the world they might. Mr.
Job Fretson, the grandfather of Mr. Wm. Fretson, the solici-
tor, being well aware of the worthy Doctor's strong feelings on
this subject, on presenting a request for an order of admission
for some poor person, took care to head the paper in a distinct
hand, " To the Board of the Sheffield General Infirmary."
The Doctor, on taking the paper and seeing the heading,
marched about the room repeating the words, "The Sheffield
General Infirmary ; yes, Sir, perfectly correct, the General
Infirmary — I have great pleasure indeed in giving the person
a recommendation."

Twiss : Dr. Browne is spoken of in Hunter's Hallamshire
as " a gentleman of no great depth, but he had good address,
very plausible manners, and withal a very generous and
bountiful disposition." He is satirized in a political squib,
written at the time of the great Yorkshire election of 1807,
in the following lines : —

" For shame, Dr. Browne,
So soon to disown

All the friendly but fulsome professions,
Which to Lascelles you made
But to break, I'm afraid,

And to increase your small store of transgressions,

John Browne."

The town went into mourning for Dr. Browne for one day ;
and Miss Seward has preserved his memory in one of her
published letters: — "Dr. Browne, of Sheffield, who lives to
promote the good and the pleasure of others, brought us for
one day the two younger and twin sisters of Miss Bogers."
This was said in 1783. Possibly a few particulars as to the
other partners named may not be uninteresting to you.

Everard : Most acceptable.

Twiss : Dennis Browne was a surgeon, a relation of Dr.
Browne. He died in 1767, and was buried in the chancel of
the Parish Church. Samuel Turner was most probably the
mercer in Angel street, who was the father of 22 children, and
died in 1791.* James Allott, who became the principal part-
ner in the firm, was the son of James Allott, of Chrigleston,
near Wakefield, by Margaret Clay, of Bridgehouses. He re-
sided at Attercliffe, and married Esther, daughter of William
Burton, of Boycls Mill, and died without issue, 30th August,

* See ante p. 97.

POND STREET. 231

1783, when the bulk of his property passed to the Greaveses,
of Page Hall and Banner Cross. Thomas Gunning was the
son of John Gunning, of Turney's court, Cold Ashton, Glou-
cestershire. He married Mary Shirecliffe, by whom he left an
only daughter, Elizabeth, who married her cousin, Capt.
Matthew Gunning. It was this Captain and Mrs. Gunning
who sold their share in the lead works to Messrs. Rawson and
Barker in 1821. John Shirecliffe lived at Whitley Hall, was
father of Mrs. Gunning, and died 13th May, 1789. The
pedigree of the family is given in Gatty's edition of Hunter,
p. 446. Thomas Rawson, of Wardsencl, married for his first
wife a daughter of John Barker, of Bakewell, and died without
issue 24th March, 1826. He was also the founder of Pond
street Brewery, and was commemorated in the political squib
already referred to in a coarse verse beginning —

" Tom Eawson, Tom Kawson,
Thou mash tub, Tom Eawson."

His position in the Rawson pedigree will be seen on reference
to Gatty's Hunter, p. 451. James Wheat was a solicitor,
clerk to the Church Burgesses and Town Trustees, and the
first member of the Wheat family who settled in Sheffield.
Mr. John James Wheat, of Norwood, is his grandson. Carlos
Wheat, on whose coming of age the Wheat family sold their
interest in the business, was the youngest son of James
Wheat, and became the Rev. Carlos Coney Wheat, vicar of
Timberland, near Sleaford. He was born in 1792.

Wragg : In Paternoster row were the Messrs. Creswicks,
the silversmiths. A person in their employment was for-
merly one of the unfortunate people who, in a time of very
bad trade, were employed by the parish authorities in levelling
the " berrin' ground," now the site of St. George's Church.
Fortunately, better times came, and some of those persons
were prosperous. The one I have mentioned opened the
first pawnbroker's shop in Rotherham. Of several others
who afterwards held up their heads in the town, only one
is surviving. Mr. William Holmes, an old gentleman, then
over 70, who, in 1836, said he could remember corn growing
in Paradise square, carried on business as a table-knife manu-
facturer at 154, Pond street. He remembered the walk
across the field. The Holmes's were previously in Broad
street, Park. At 173, Pond street, was a cutler named
Micklethwaite, who left two sons. One opened a shop in
London, and soon lost what his father left him. He then
went to Hamburg, and prepared some razors, which he sold

232 THE " HAWLE AT THE POANDES,

»i

with a few other things. He made his boxes to hold a pair
of razors. Having previously cut up the wood into proper
lengths, breadths, and thicknesses, they were glued together,
and their corners rubbed down on the sinkstone ; and then
the boxes were lined by his wife. He carried on in this way
until he returned to Sheffield ; and at one time he had a
good German trade conducted in several different places in
the town. He died in Glossop road, on the premises which
he built, now occupied by Mr. Alexander Patteson. At one
time, George Crookes, the watchman, was his scale and spring
maker, at Crookes. In Pond street, too, is the celebrated
brewery of Thomas Rawson and Co., established in 1780.
Thomas Rawson, of whom Mr. Twiss was just speaking in
connection with the lead works, may be called the father of
the radical reformers in Sheffield. At the corner of Pond hill
is the warehouse of Messrs. Stephenson and Mawwood, late
Hounsfield's. One of that family, the Doctor, with whom Mr.
HaxAvorth was apprenticed, built the first house in Queen
street, in 1784, now occupied by Mr. Haxworth, the surgeon.

Twiss: A small portion of the old "Hawle at the
Poandes" may still be seen between Pond street and the road
to the new Midland station. The inventory, found among
the Talbot papers, of Lord Shrewsbury's possessions at
Sheffield (1582), mentions painted canvas hangings for win-
dows and chimneys, boards, stools, flagons and so forth, but
the enumeration does not throw much light on the use to
which this building was applied, or help to prove or disprove
the tradition that it was a laundry.

Leighton : The road to the new Midland railway station
has wrought great changes in the neighbourhood of " The
Ponds."

Leonard : The streets lying between the further end of
Pond street and Norfolk street are striking, after many of the
old localities we have been speaking of, for their symmetry.
It is evident, at a glance, that they must have been carried
out on a definite plan.

Wragg : Yes. They were already projected so early as
1771.

Everard : Towards the close of the last century that dis-
trict, now so sooty and grimy, was quite suburban. The late
Mr. Samuel Roberts cut down a field of corn to build his
silver-plating manufactory in Eyre street, on the premises
now occupied by Messrs. W. Sissons and Sons, his successors
in business.

MR. R. J. GAINSFORD. 233

Leonard : The Rev. Jehoiada Brewer lived in Eyre street,
just below the Howard street crossing. The Rev. George
Bennet, so well known for his benevolence and his missionary
travels, occupied the house at the corner of Eyre street and
Charles street, and the Rev. James Boden, Mr. Brewer's suc-
cessor at Queen street Chapel, lived in the same street, as did
also the Rev. James Knight, for so long a period the incum-
bent of St. Paul's Church.

Wragg : In Eyre street were the silver shops of Messrs.
Gainsford, Fenton and Nicholson. Mr. Robert Gainsford
was the father of the late Mr. Robert John Gainsford, solicitor.

Leonard : Who died at Rome, where he was spending
the winter, on the 6th February, 1870. He was educated at
the Roman Catholic College, of Oscott, near Birmingham,
and was articled to the late Mr. Henry Owen, solicitor, of
Worksop. He commenced the practice of his profession in
Sheffield, in 1831, in the midst of the popular agitation to
support the Reform Bill of Earl Grey. Mr. Gainsford ever
took a lively interest in Liberal politics, and a prominent part
in our local elections. In 1844, he became a partner in the
firm of Haywood, Bramley and Gainsford, and he went
through enormous labours in the legal and parliamentary
business connected with the railway mania. Mr. Gainsford
was a frequent writer on social and political topics, and the
education controversy largely occupied his time and thoughts.
He was a regular contributor to the Dublin Revieiv and the
Tablet, and other organs of his own (the Roman Catholic)
church, and many letters from him also appeared in the Inde-
pendent.

Wragg : Lower down Eyre street was Mr. Sykes, the
powder-flask manufacturer, a somewhat singular man. The
Messrs. Fenton have the works now. In Furnival street, at
the corner of Eyre street, was Mr. Samuel Mitchell, who
carried on the edge tool and file trades, besides being a mer-
chant. He was also, though not very successfully, at White-
ley Wood works, erected by his relative, Mr. Thos. Bolsover,
to whom is usually credited the invention of silver-plating.
At those works was the first rolling mill erected here, and
Mr. Mitchell used to tell of Mr. Bolsover saying that when he
began to build, people said he had a purse with a long neck,
but when he finished it was all neck. As an antiquary and
genealogist Mr. Mitchell had not his equal in this part of the
country. He issued the prospectus of a History of the Hun-

R

234 HOWARD STREET.

dred of Scarsdale, or North Derbyshire ; but the work was
never brought out.

Leonard : In his later years Mr. Mitchell was carrying
on works at Wootlhouse Mill, near Handsworth.

Wragg : In Furnival street, too, is the warehouse of
Messrs. Parkin and Marshall, but previously of Messrs.
Smith, Moorhouse, and Smith. One of the Messrs. Smith
has attended Carver street Chapel for so long a period that a
singer, who visited it after an absence of forty years, said
Mr. Smith was the only person he recognized. Lower down
are the works of Messrs. Koberts and Belk, the silversmiths.
This place was first occupied by Messrs. Furniss, Poles and
Furniss. Mr. Henry Furniss, of the firm of Sanderson
Brothers and Co., who recently died, was one of the sons.
In Charles street was Mr. Broadhurst, table-knife manufac-
turer, whose life contains an incident of splendid devotion,
worthy of comparison with the noblest self-sacrifices history
chronicles. Forty years ago, in a passage from Liverpool to
the Isle of Man, the vessel on which he and his daughters
were crossing was wrecked, from the drunken stupidity of the
captain. He and two of his daughters had clung to some
vestige of the vessel, when on observing it would not hold all
three, the daughters voluntarily stepped off to save their
father, that he might be spared to the younger children. Mr.
Broadhurst had been Master Cutler in 1842.

Johnson : One of my earliest recollections is standing in
Howard street on a summer's night, and seeing the funerals
of cholera victims in the Cholera Ground at Clay Wood in
1832, and I recollect few things that seemed more appalling
than this, and the sight of the " Cholera Basket," as the con-
veyance used to transport patients to the hospital, was called.

Wragg : The premises now occupied by Walker and
Hall, were the warehouse of the late Thomas Asline Ward,
who was a candidate for the representation of Sheffield in
Parliament, in 1832. He was Master Cutler in 1816, and
was one of Sheffield's most prominent men for many years.

Everard : He was a fast and early friend of Chantrey,
and a member of the circle of refined men of literary and
scientific tastes, which Sheffield then could boast.

Wragg: Joseph Ward, Master Cutler in 1790, and Samuel
Broomhead Ward, his son, in 1798, were of the same family.
Messrs. Cammell and Johnson, afterwards of Cyclops works,
first commenced business in this street. You know that the
congregation of Howard street Chapel removed from Coalpit

THE REV. R. .8. BAYLEY. 235

lane in 1790. The Chapel was attended by the Tillotson
family, the late W. and S. Butcher, when young men, the
Mappin families, Samuel and Joseph Hadfield, also by George
Hadfield, when young. Mr. Hadfield's father is buried
here; and the father of Mr. George Wostenholm, one of its
deacons, is also interred in the Chapel yard. One of its
most talented ministers was the late Rev. R. S. Bayley, who
established the People's College, to give not only a sound,
but a higher education to those who toil for their living.
There are many who have derived great benefit from the
College.

Leonard : Mr. Bayley was so noteworthy a man that pos-
sibly you may like to hear an extract or two from a biogra-
phical sketch published at the time of his death — November
15th, 1859. He was born at Lichfield, and was an instance
of what may be accomplished by resolution in the pursuit of
knowledge. He was a man of indomitable self-will, and he
carried into all his objects the same resolution that he showed
in self-culture. But he was not always judicious in the
choice of his objects ; and while his talents procured him
many friends, his inflexible self-will often broke his friend-
ships and interfered with his usefulness. Though always
well-meaning he was often imprudent, and not sufficiently
careful of his ministerial standing and character. This
brought him into collision with the members of his church,
and resulted in those unhappy differences which led to their
separation, and ultimately to his removal from Sheffield.
And while his friends mourned his failings, even his oppo-
nents were ever ready to testify to his pre-eminent ability.
But it was as the founder of the People's College that he
established his claim to grateful remembrance. While Govern-
ment and the various sections of the church were squabbling
over the question of education, and doing nothing for it, he,
boldly and single-handed, entered upon the task of "seeing
how far the education of the youth of both sexes of the mid-
dle and working classes could be carried on compatibly with
their engagements in trade." His ability would not have
availed him in this work unless it had been accompanied by
that indomitable perseverance which sustained him through
such labours as but few men could undergo. * * He was
thoroughly adapted to the work he had undertaken. Com-
pletely master of his task he gained the confidence of his
students ; and dull indeed must they have been not to have
taken knowledge in some of the varied forms in which he

236 THE REV. R. S. BAYLEY.

presented it to them. He sought to develop the minds of his
students and teach them to think, that being according to his
idea the ultimate object — in fact education. None but those
who had the good fortune to be his students can fully appre-
ciate his excellences as principal of the College. If at times
they found in him the imperiousness of a despot, they also
found in him the kindness of a friend and the tenderness of a
parent. Ever ready to communicate, it was his delight to
teach, and he loved those who sat at his feet for instruction.
Mr. Bayley never sought to influence the religious views of
his students to his own ideas of the truth. Always reverent
of sacred things, he held the domain of conscience too sacred
for human interference. Mr. Bayley was a man of many
faults, but to us they appear greatly diminished by the time
he has been removed from Sheffield ; while his excellencies,
which were likewise many and best worth remembrance, are
present with us. He impressed his spirit on some of the
rising youths of Sheffield, and the benefit of his labours will
be felt through all time. They will be no less effective be-
cause not seen, nor less real though unacknowledged.

Johnson : It was in 1836 that Mr. Bayley came to Shef-
field, from Louth, Lincolnshire, and in 1846 that he left for
a chapel in Ratcliffe Highway, London. Thence he went to
Hereford, where he had been about two years at the time of
his death. He was the author of " Nature considered as a
Revelation," "History of Louth," "Lectures on the Early
History of the Christian Church," and other books. For some
years prior to his death he had been engaged on a life of
Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, for which he had made
most extensive researches among the State papers, the records
of the Wentworth family, and similar sources.

Everard : There are some other points in the history of
Howard street Chapel that I should like to mention. You
can get a list of its ministers from the ordinary sources of
information. The fourth, the Rev. J. Reece (1797) was a
very amiable and exemplary Christian man, characterised by
a singular simplicity and originality in his preaching. Mont-
gomery related how he heard him preach a funeral sermon,
which produced a great impression on his mind. After four
years' ministry he died, January 8, 1801, universally re-
spected ; and a handsome subscription was raised to make
provision for his widow and children. The next minister was
the Rev. Samuel Barnard, and he was succeeded by the Rev.
James Mather, a very energetic preacher and useful man,

HOWARD STREET CHAPEL. 237

who regarded it as one special part of his ministerial duty to
endeavour to neutralise, and, if possible, to extirpate from the
minds of his flock, the " hyper-Calvinistic" views which his
immediate predecessor had promulgated and instilled. In
this he was to a great extent successful. Mr. Mather re-
moved from Sheffield to Birmingham in 1827, and died in
London in 1840. He was the father of the Rev. Dr.
Robert Cotton Mather, who was for nearly forty years a
Missionary in India, where he acquired a high reputation as
an oriental linguist. He has lately returned to his native
country, and is at present engaged in writing a " Commen-
tary" on the New Testament, in the Hindustane language.
Mr. Mather was, in 1830, succeeded in the pulpit of Howard
street Chapel by the Rev. Thomas Rawson Taylor, a young
man of exemplary piety and distinguished talents. To the
great grief and disappointment of that church, and of others
in the town, he had scarcely entered on his ministerial duties
before his health entirely broke down. He resigned, and
afterwards became the classical tutor, for a short time, of
Airedale College. He was a poet of no mean promise. His
" Memoirs and Select Remains," including his Poems, were
published, and a second edition being required, Montgomery
wrote for it an introductory preface. He died of consump-
tion, in March, 1835, in the 26th year of his age. Then
came the Rev. Joseph Fox, of Hull, the Rev. Robert Slater
Bayley, and so we get to modern times.

Wragg : Near to the premises of Messrs. John Sellers
and Sons, partly occupied by Mr. Richard Elliott, in Arundel
street, were the works of the Messrs. Laycock, manufacturers
of hair seating. Their father was a journeyman to Mr. Wild-
smith, in Bridge street, a carpet weaver, and then hair weaver.
Mr. Laycock left him and began for himself. His family was
noted for its industry, and success was the result. Mr. Lay-
cock gave up business in favour of his sons, and retired into
Gell street, to the house now occupied by Mr. George Deakin,
and died at a great age in 1836. On his right and on his
left he could see the residences of two of his sons, one at the
corner of Leavy greave, and the other at the corner of Glossop
road. The mayor of Sheffield in 1865, Mr. W. E. Laycock,
of Stumperlow grange and Portobello works, was one of his
grandsons. On the opposite side to Messrs. Laycock, in
Arundel street, and further on, were the works of Mr. Dew-
snap, whose son, Mr. Thomas Dewsnap, of Clarke House,
died in 1864, leaving a remarkable will.

\

238 ARUNDEL STREET.

Everard : I forget its provisions ?

Twiss : After various charitable and other bequests, he
left all his real and leasehold estates, and all the residue of
his personal estates, to his executors, declaring it to be his
earnest wish and desire that they should devote the whole of
it to building and endowing churches, chapels, and schools, or
to any other charitable purposes. Up to the present time
Mr. Dewsnap's " earnest desire" has not been gratified.

Wragg : The Dewsnaps were pressers. A few years ago,
for a short time resided at 91, Thomas Longworth, the
brother of the celebrated Mrs. Yelverton. Just beyond Mr.
Cowlishaw's was Mr. Stones, presser, father of the late Mr.
Frederick Stones, edge-tool manufacturer. On the site of the
School of Art were the silver shops of Messrs. Smith and
Hoult. I think one of the partners resided in the house now
occupied by Dr. J. C. Hall. At the other side was Mr. Spurr,
the cutler, who left Church street. It is now Messrs. Brad-
burys, silversmiths. At the end of Arundel street are the
works of the late Thomas Ellin. He came out of the country
as apprentice to a person of the name of Oldale, married his
master's daughter, and was in partnership with his mother-
in-law in one of the lanes near Howard street Chapel. Mr.
Ellin attended to business, and as the result business attended
to him ; but his brother-in-law fell into poverty and obscurity,
and his grandchildren are now table-knife hafters. In Syca-
more street died Mr. Francis Chambers, who previously kept
a public-house in Water lane. Some of his customers were
Charles and Matthew Shirtcliffe, William Gray, and John
Milner. William Gray will be remembered in connection
with Broad lane, as the great jumper and a boot and shoe
maker. Of John Milner, it was said that he was the best
spring-knife cutler in the town, and as a debater he was con-
sidered unequalled in argument. On some occasion he was
examined before a select committee of the House of Com-
mons. These were accustomed to meet at Mr. Chambers's
to discuss and argue.

Leonard: Here is the Theatre Royal, with its "spirited"
profile of Shakspeare and some dramatic symbols in the pedi-
ment. That was executed by "a poor wandering tramp,"
named Renilowe.

Leighton : In the days of the South Devon Militia, of
whom we talked once before, Messrs. Manley and Robertson
were the lessees of the Theatre. " Oh, rare Jemmy Robert-
son," what a favourite were you, the darling and delight of

THE THEATRE ROYAL. — TUDOR PLACE. 239

the gods of the gallery ; your appearance was at all times
welcome. The orchestra consisted of Charles Clegg and his
son, " Old Foster," " Billy Taylor" and his son, and others
whose names I have forgotten. On the opening night they
knew well who was behind them and what was expected from
them. On the first flourish of their fiddles, previous to the
drawing up of the curtain, the cry was for " Poor Jack" —
" There's a sweet little cherub sits smiling aloft, to keep
watch o'er the life of poor Jack." There was great enthu-
siasm, the pit rising as one man to do homage to the song
and to Dibden, its writer. It was the custom then to have a
professional singer, who sang between the play and the farce,
and such songs were sung as tended to elevate the public
taste — not Nigger melodies. The first song I heard on the
stage was " He was famed for deeds of daring."

Twiss : The boards of our Theatre, humble as they are,
have been trodden by distinguished feet — Mrs. Siddons, and
her brother Kemble (who was the lessee for several seasons),
and Charles Kean, and the elder Macready and his son.

Leonard : The present state of Tudor place is very
melancholy. Grimy black walls, whose monotony is increased
by tattered shreds of flaming posting bills, stare at the once
considerable residence of old Henry Tudor, while its ancient
adornments of wreathed flowers contemplate with an aspect of
profound melancholy the deep puddles, the chaotic boulders,
the piles of stones, the layers of timber, and general waste-
heap look that have invaded the sacred precincts of its
once charming garden. The parade ground of the Artillery
Volunteers, and the other buildings that intervene between
Tudor place and Arundel street, have usurped the place of
the flower beds and fruit trees of Henry Tudor, and the syca-
mores that surrounded his domain have their memory per-
petuated in the adjoining street, once Sycamore hill, that
breathes a fragrance of anything but bright flowers and green
trees. There lived Henry Tudor, head of the firm of Tudor
Leader and Nicholson, one of the first, if not the first, that
engaged in the manufacture of the then newly -invented pro-
cess of silver-plating. The business had begun somewhat
before 1758, in the manufacture of snuff boxes, and it de-
veloped into the silver-plating trade. There is a tradition
that it was in one of the garrets of Tudor house that the acci-
dental discovery of the possibility of coating copper with sil-
ver was discovered, on the site now occupied by the manufac-
tory of Messrs. Round and Son ; and it was only as late as

^

240 HENRY TUDOR.

May, 1865, that the last portion of the old buildings was
pulled down. In doing this a considerable quantity of scrap
metal was found, hidden away in the roof, the unremoved
booty of some unknown thief.

Everard : I have seen a memorandum left by one who
at a later period was a member of the firm, which speaks of
Henry Tudor and Thomas Leader as two silversmiths who
came from London. They had a sleeping partner, a medical
gentleman, named Sherburn, and, says the writer, he resided
in Tudor House, the two working partners living in the house
adjoining, which was taken down when the Free Library was
built.

Leonard : If Mr. Tudor did not live in the house called
by his name at first, he did soon afterwards, and Daniel
Leader, who, having been apprenticed to the firm as " box-
maker," i. e. snuff box, in 1762, and afterwards became a
partner, lived iii the now demolished house adjoining, which
too had a fruitful garden.

Twiss : Mr. Tudor was a man of wealth, and he must
have had some taste, for he was one of our earliest local
patrons of the fine arts. I fear, however, he may have been
deceived, as plenty of other people have been, in the genuine-
ness of his purchases, for Chantrey had no very lofty opinion
of them. His friend, Mr. T. A. Ward, seems to have written
to ask his friendly opinion, and Chantrey replied — " There
are only three pictures in Tudor's collection which I can
recommend you to purchase. The first is one of the pictures
which I cleaned — the binding of Christ, by Old Franks : it
is one of the best pictures of that master, worth twenty
guineas. The second is an Italian picture ; subject — figures
and architecture, and has a good effect. I don't know the
artist : it may be worth about fifteen guineas. The third is
a head by Wright, of Derby ; Mr. Tudor gave twelve guineas
for it, which I conceive to be its full value. The Guido,
Watteaus, Wouvermans, &c. — as they are pleased to call
them — are, in my opinion, very indifferent imitations of those
masters : I.advise you by all means not to purchase."* That
was in 1808.

Leonard : Henry Tudor was a stately gentleman, of tho
old school, rather dogmatic, and —

Leighton : Very proud. He had the character of being
the proudest man in Sheffield, and he went by the name of

* Memorials of Chantrey, 85.

A GRETNA GREEN ROMANCE. 241

"My Lord Harry Tudor." There was a notion that he be-
lieved himself to be descended from the Koyal Tudors.

Leonard : He was certainly proud of his name, for find-
ing that another Tudor had set up in Sheffield in the person
of a journeyman comb-maker, he was greatly offended. Re-
monstrance being of no avail, for the comb-maker held him-
self to have as good right to the name as the silver-plater, he
was offered a pecuniary inducement to change his patronymic.
This, however, was rejected, and " Lord Harry" had to endure
the presence of a second Kichmond in the field. Mr. Tudor
was twice married, first to Elizabeth Dodworth, 6th June,
1758, who died 8th June, 1781 ; and secondly, to Elizabeth
Rimington, whom he married 6th January, 1783, and who
died 22nd March, 1800. By his second marriage he had six
children — two sons, Henry and George, and four daughters.
Harriet became the wife of Rowland Hodgson, and Charlotte
the wife ot Mr. B. Fernell, solicitor, of Chesterfield.

Leighton : Mr. Fernell lived afterwards in the White
House, Bramall lane, and it is said that for amusement he
sometimes went to blow the bellows at Bramall's file works.
George Tudor, who was as proud as his father, was articled
to Mr. B. J. Wake, solicitor. He visited the United States,
and published a book on the subject.

Leonard : The firm we have been talking about had its
romances as well as its more prosaic trade. Thomas Leader,
one of the dashing young men of the time, no sooner came
of age than he improved the occasion by eloping with the
daughter of John Henfrey, scissor smith, who lived in the
house that stands askew at the top of Eyre street. The
runaway couple were married at Gretna Green on the 2nd
December, 1791. Mr. Henfrey was Master Cutler the next
year. He built for himself a country mansion at Highfield,
and being asked by his friends if he was not afraid of going
home over Sheffield Moor after dark, he replied that he took
good care always to get home by daylight.

Everard : In one of our former conversations we heard
what Sheffield Moor was like in those days.

Leonard : We catch a glimpse, too, of Daniel Leader in
the remembrance of him, possessed by an old gentleman, Mr.
William Ash,* who has recently completed his ninety-second
year, and who sees some resemblance to him in one of his

* While the proof of this sheet is yet in the Editor's hands, the an-
nouncement of Mr. Ash's death, in his 93rd year (Oct. 10, 1874), meets his
eye. Mr. Ash's recollections are referred to on pp. 40, 56, 62, 66, 153.

242 THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS.

great-grandsons. Mr. Ash remembers Daniel Leader as he
used to see him in his knee-breeches, long waistcoat, large
cuffed coat, ribbed worsted stockings, and large buckles on
his shoes, at the famous hostelry of the Three Stags, in
Carver street, kept by Mrs. Wilson. There, with his old
chum, Quaker Abraham Wigram, Daniel Leader, who is de-
scribed as " a little stiff man, built like an oak," was wont
to discuss local matters, and drink his pint of home brewed,
in the days when our venerable friend of to-day was a youth,
eating his bread and cheese, and adapting his palate to the
flavour of the Sheffield ale. Abraham Wigram was a bit of a
poet, and somewhat of a wit, and when old Bishop, the factor
from Sharrow lane, was buried, he made some verses descrip-
tive of his screwing habits, and moralising on his end.

Leighton : Entering Norfolk street from Arundel street
we have on our left, back to back with the Theatre Royal, the
Assembly Rooms, and on the right a tinner's shop, once the
building to which Mr. Wreaks removed the Post Office, in
1828. But the inconvenience of this situation was too great,
and a move was made to the Commercial Buildings in High
street, now occupied by Messrs. Levy.

Twiss : And would you actually pass over the Assembly
Rooms, the scene of the most notable feature in the social
life of Sheffield a century ago, with that bare mention ?
" From the year 1773," Hunter tells us, " the assemblies
were held in two rooms of the Boys' Charity School, where
the company enjoyed conversation or the mazy dance by light,
not of wax, which beamed from sconces of tin." The rooms
of which we are now speaking were built in 1762, and the
Town Council became tenants of them in 1846. In that
year (November 28) the Independent published some very
interesting documents relating to these gatherings, which I
happen to know were contributed by the most competent pen.
These comprised lists of subscribers, with an attempt at
identifying the persons whose names appeared ; a list of a
few of the earlier Queens ; the terms of admission and the
rules. These contain much curious information, but they are
too long to inflict upon you now.

Leonard : A different and perhaps older set of rules was
published in the Sheffield Times of December 27th, 1851.

Everard : Opposite us is Nether Chapel — the new Nether
Chapel we old men should call it, since it supplanted the old
building we remember so well. Amongst the seceders from
the " Upper Chapel," and one who took a great interest in

NETHER CHAPEL. 243

and was a large subscriber to the building of the Old Netlier
Chapel, in 1715, was a Mr. John Smith. On the authority
of Mr. Hunter's "Gens Sylvestrinae," we learn that this Mr.
Smith was born at Bell House, August 28th, 1684, and was
baptised at Ecclesfield. He was apprenticed to John Winter,
a considerable manufacturer in Sheffield, was admitted to the
freedom of the Cutlers' Company in 1705, and became the
Master Cutler in 1722. He was deeply engaged in the efforts
of the Cutlers' Company to obtain powers to make the Don a
navigable river by which Sheffield might be connected with
the Humber. On that occasion the interests of the town
were committed into his hands ; and he went to London and
so far brought over members of both Houses of Parliament to
approve and vote for the design, that the object was attained
in 1726. Mr. Smith was a person of a remarkably religious
spirit. He died November 15th, 1753, atthe age of sixty-nine,
and was buried in the chapel yard. He was the great grand-
father of the late Mr. Ebenezer Smith, who married a daughter
of the Rev. John Harmer, the minister of Nether Chapel, and
was the father of Harmer, Joshua, F. E. and Sydney Smith,
now amongst us. Some years ago a curious old relic, in
the form of a scrap of writing, came into my hands, which
afforded a vivid glimpse of the state of feeling entertained by the
Nonconformists of that day with regard to Popery. It is in the
form of an announcement made by the clerk officiating at the
Nether Chapel, (Jeremiah Marshall byname,) on Sunday, the
4th November, 1750, informing the congregation that a public
service would be held on the next day in the chapel on a special
occasion. The Rev. John Pye, the uncle of the late Rev. John
Pye Smith, was at that time the minister. The following is
a copy of the notice in question: — "Please to take notice,
that to-morrow will be the return of the 5th of November.
There will be a Sermon preached here in commemoration of
two remarkable deliverances in our favour, both as Protestants
and Englishmen. The one was the Powder Plot, in the reign
of King James the First, 1605, now 145 years ago ; a plot
that could be contrived by none but the Devil and his younger
brother, the Pope of Rome, and his accursed crew. The
other was the ' Revolution' in the person of the renowned
Prince of Orange, 1688, now 62 years ago. He, as an in-
strument under God, delivered us from Popery and Slavery ;
and the memory of the great William the III. will be sweet
and valuable to every true Briton while the world endures."
From what I happen to know, I have little doubt that a

244 NETHER CHAPEL.

worthy ancestor of mine (one of the seceders from the Upper
Chapel) would relish and endorse the good old clerk's an-
nouncement, and duly attend, with his family, the appointed
service. Although I should not like to undertake to defend
every word of Mr. Jeremiah Marshall's trenchant phraseology,
yet I do admire the spirit of sturdy Protestantism and love of
civil and religious liberty, that it expresses.

Leonard : I was reading, the other day, in the Sheffield
Mercury, of May 12, 1827, a long account of the foundation
stone laying on the previous Monday, May 7. It gives in
full the " oration" pronounced by the Kev. Thomas Smith on
the occasion, which is interesting as containing a sketch of
the history of the chapel and of his predecessors in the
ministry. The inscription was as follows : —

The Lower Chapel
built 1715;
Re-built by Public Subscription
1827.
Thomas Smith, A.M., Minister.
William Parker, ]
James Bakton, I Deacons.

David Haslehurst, j
Watson, Pritchard and Watson, of York, Architects.

Below, this inscription, with a few verbal alterations, was
repeated in Latin. On a roll of parchment, enclosed in a
bottle and deposited under the stone, was the following his-
tory : " The Nether Chapel having stood 112 years had be-
come inconvenient to the congregation ; and is therefore re-
built by public subscription at an expense of about £4000,
including £700 paid for additional land. A considerable
part of this sum has been raised by weekly contributions since

April, 1821, chiefly collected by " "Here," says the

Mercury, "follows a list of twenty-one names, but we for-
bear inserting them from motives of delicacy." Eeading the
report now we can only regret that the newspaper, in having
such a tender respect for the modesty of the collectors, de-
prives us of a useful bit of town-lore.

Twiss : We can get the names of the successive minis-
ters from Hunter and other sources, but no one ever thinks
of recording the deacons' names. Yet such a list would
suggest many memories to old Sheffield dissenters.

Everard : A reminiscence I have of the opening of
Nether Chapel in 1828, enables me to give you a glimpse of
one who possesses a fair claim to rank among the Old Shef-
field Worthies — the Rev. William Thorpe. He took part in
the opening services, and that was his last appearance in his

THE REV. TO. THORPE. 245

native town, since his death followed not very long after. I
have often thought that there could scarcely he a more majes-
tic and dignified appearance in the pulpit, or a nobler speci-
men of popular pulpit eloquence. William Thorpe was born
at Masbro'. His father was the subject of a remarkable con-
version.* Assembled with some boon companions one even-
ing at the public-house, the conversation led to the agreement
that each of them should take a text at random from the
Bible, and try which could best imitate the preaching of the
Rev. Charles Wesley, who had been lately visiting the
neighbourhood. Three of his companions had successively
ridiculed all things sacred, when it came to John Thorpe's
turn. He mounted the table, opened the Bible, and his eye
fell on the text — " Except ye repent ye shall all likewise
perish." He was sobered in a moment. The impression
made upon him was profound, and he proceeded to deliver a
solemn and earnest discourse to the no small chagrin of his
auditors. He was accustomed to say afterwards, " If ever I
preached in my life, by the assistance of God, it was at that
time." Having finished, he left the room without another
word, and from that hour was a changed man. At first he
joined the Methodists and was one of their preachers, but
afterwards he became the minister of the Independent chapel
at Masbro'. He died there, November 8th, 1776, aged 46,
whereupon his widow removed to Sheffield with the children,
and she became on intimate terms with my grandmother and
family. My father described her as a stout, noble-looking
woman ; with bright dark eyes, a Roman nose, and hair of
raven gloss and blackness. William was very much like his
mother, inheriting her features and expression ; and, as he
advanced in manhood, assumed a similar portly form and
dignified mien. At a suitable age he was apprenticed to the
" silver-plated" business with a firm, the exact name of which
I have forgotten, but of which Mr. Morton, the late Thomas
Dunn's maternal grandfather, was a principal partner. William
was a very lively youth, full of fun and practical joke ; but,
at the same time, was clever, intelligent, and well-informed ;
a great reader, more especially of history, and possessing a
memory of an extraordinary kind. On one occasion he was
ordered to make a teapot according to the size and pattern of
an old one that had been sent with special directions from the
owner that the new was not to differ in any respect from the

* Evangelical Magazine, February, 1794.

246 THE REV. WM. THORPE.

old. Young Thorpe carried out the instructions to the letter,
rubbing off the plate and bruising exactly as the old one was
bruised. Many of Thorpe's fellow workmen were imbued
with the extreme views of Jacobinism, and at their instance
he challenged Mr. Macready, the father of the great trage-
dian, who was at that time the lessee and manager of the
Sheffield Theatre, to a public discussion on the causes and
principles of the French Revolution. This Mr. Macready
accepted ; and the meeting took place in the Freemasons'
Lodge, in Paradise square (recently Mr. Hebblethwaite's
school-room), which was crowded to excess. The late Mr.
William Ibbitt's father belonged to the same trade, and was
present on that occasion. According to his account William
had quite the mastery over his opponent, and at the end the
meeting, by a large majority, voted the youthful champion of
political freedom the victor. The Rev. Jehoiada Brewer was
at that time the minister of the Queen street Chapel ; and he
held similar political views. William Thorpe was happily
brought under his influence, and became a decidedly religious
character. At length he entered on the regular discharge of
the duties of the Christian ministry, though without passing
through the process of an academical training. The first
place in which William Thorpe was located was as the pastor
of the Independent Church at Shelley, a Yorkshire village,
whence, after about a year, he went to Chester. In 1796, he
became the minister of Netherfield Chapel, Penistone. In
1800 he removed to London, and thence to Bristol, where he
remained to the end of his life. On the memorable occasion
of the opening services of the new Nether Chapel, in the
month of August, 1828, the chapel was crowded to excess.
The preacher was a tall, big man, and very corpulent, but
without anything heavy or vulgar about the form and expres-
sion of the face. On the contrary, his features, rising above
a remarkable double chin, were finely and even delicately
formed, more especially the nose and mouth. His high fore-
head was bald, and what portion of hair he had was of a
dark colour, with a touch of grey on his short, slight whiskers,
His nose was somewhat of the Roman type ; his eyes were
black and piercing ; with a small mouth and arched eye-
brows. His voice was remarkable for its compass and power,
and was apt to swell into thunder tones as he denounced, in
awful terms, the doom of the impenitent ; or become modu-
lated into accents of the most persuasive tenderness, in urg-
ing sinners to repent and believe in the Saviour. The sub-

NORFOLK STREET. 247

ject was the Christian doctrine of the Atonement. This he
treated in his own peculiar style, and with a fulness of illus-
tration, and a clearness and force of argument that I never
heard exceeded ; nor, indeed, so much matter on that subject
compressed within the limits of a single sermon. It is true
he preached for above an hour and a half, hut the attention
of the people was riveted from first to last. The impression
produced on the minds of his hearers by this discourse was
very great. Himself the son of the Eev. John Thorpe, he
was the father of another Independent minister of the same
name, who was for some years the minister of Mount Zion
Chapel.

Leighton : Chapel walk, between Nether Chapel and the
Wesleyan Chapel below (built in 1780), formerly came into
Norfolk street by a series of steps. They were removed at
the same time as those in Virgins' walk and East parade,
descending into Campo lane, by a person named Marriott, a
filesmith, who had the control of the highways.

Wragg : Chapel walk is one of our old thoroughfares.
It formerly contained, with their backs to it, some very
old frame houses, built of lath and plaster. In George
street, the Mechanics' Institution was commenced in 1832,
and conducted on the premises of the late Messrs. Pickslay,
now the site of the offices of Messrs. Broomhead, Wightman
and Moore, the solicitors. This was the first attempt made
in the town for the labouring classes to receive instruction in
evenings, after their daily toil.

Leonard : You spoke once before of Harwood and Thomas,
who were on the site of the Sheffield Banking Company's
premises.

Wragg : At the lower corner of Change alley were the
Messrs. Deakin, merchants, one of whom founded the charity
that bears his name. At the other corner, until recently,
were the Messrs. Woodcock, the brushmakers, who must
have been people of taste, as some very valuable pictures were
sold at their sale. It almost looked as if they had studied
the science of astronomy. Opposite, in Norfolk street, are
the Messrs. Rodgers, the cutlers, who, as formerly noticed,
came from Hawley croft. I have heard it stated that originally
they came from Stannington. Near, in Milk street, is Mr.
Bowling's school, celebrated as being kept by the late Mr. J.
H. Abraham, who, besides having the best school in the
town, was of a mechanical turn of mind, for in 1822 he in-

248 NORFOLK STREET.

vented a magnetic apparatus for the protection of persons
employed in dry grinding.

Twiss : A testimonial was presented to him in that year,
" in token of respect for his talents, and in acknowledgment
of his services to an afflicted class of workmen by his inge-
nious invention ;" and he also received the gold medal of the
Society of Arts for the same invention.

Johnson : Like many other things that are theoretically
sound, the magnetic apparatus was practically useless. The
great complaint against it was, I believe, that it was speedily
choked with the fragments of metal attracted, and then the
respiration of the workman was distressingly hindered.

Wragg : Messrs. Sansom, in Norfolk street (now Harrison
Brothers and Howson), had a table-blade forger, named Mus-
croft, who was a man of great ingenuity. He had been a
collier. He made and repaired clocks, some of which I have
seen, and I believe he contrived a small gas apparatus. I
think I could almost positively say that General Grainger,
one of the confederate officers in the United States rebellion,
was born in the Park, and was the son of one of Mr. Mus-
croft's daughters.

Leonard : The public-house at the bottom of the street,
now the Norfolk Arms, was, John Wilson tells us in a note
to Mather's song of "Shout 'em down's barn," called " The
Hullett," or Owl, and about the end of the last century it
was kept by Mr. Michael Waterhouse. Its pseudonym was
" Shout 'em down's," and it was a favourite rendezvous for
recruiting parties.

Everard : At No. 14, Norfolk street, Chantrey had apart-
ments during the recess of the Royal Academy in 1804, when
he solicited the patronage of the ladies and gentlemen of
Sheffield in sculpture and portrait painting. "As models
from life are not generally attempted in the country," his
advertisement said, " F. C. hopes to meet the liberal senti-
ments of an impartial public."

Leonard : Chantrey, too, was a frequent visitor at another
house in this street, that which is now occupied by Miss
Barry, dressmaker, then the residence of Mr. Sterndale, sur-
geon, who had married Mary Handley, of whom we spoke
when talking of Angel street. In his Memorials of Chantrey,
Mr. Holland tells that Chantrey and Mrs. Sterndale (who was
a local authoress) once met at a party at Mr. Revell's, in
Norfolk street, and during the evening, a violent thunderstorm
came on. Mrs. Sterndale and Chantrey disappeared in succes-

THE REV. JOSEPH EVANS. 249

sion from the drawing room and were found taking refuge in
the cellar, whither the lady had fled because of a constitu-
tional dread of lightning.

Johnson : We have previously spoken of Chantrey's early
sculptures. I am told that the figures which stand on either
side of the entrance door of the Infirmary are the work of
his chisel.

Everard : Histories of the Upper Chapel, or of St. Paul's
Church, do not come within the scope of our conversations,
since we long ago agreed that we would avoid as much as
possible details that may be found in " Hunter."

Leighton : Yet we should not omit any small touches
that are beneath the dignity of his history. In connection
with St. Paul's for instance, why should we not call to mind
the name of "Dr. Inkbottle," whose large letters so long
adorned or rather marred the alcove of the Pinstone street
entrance? "Dr. Inkbottle" was a medical gentleman, named
Frith, and he obtained his nick-name thus — Having been
present at a public dinner, at the Tontine, he so far forgot
himself as to carry away a bottle, supposing it to contain wine.
It proved, however, to be simply a bottle of ink, and the
mistake becoming known he was popularly christened " Dr.
Inkbottle." He was surgeon to the " Blues," and lived in
Norfolk row. He afterwards lived and died in Surrey street.
Alderman Carr was apprenticed to him.

Leonard : As to Mr. Everard's remark, it is to be ob-
served that Hunter's notices of the Upper Chapel ministers
are so brief, through "considerations which to many persons
will be obvious," that it is well to add to them whenever we
can. Of the Rev. Joseph Evans, for instance, his particular
friend and whom he enthusiastically admired, Mr. Hunter's
published account is very meagre, although he left a more
extended MS. notice. From this I glean the following facts :
Mr. Evans was born in April, 1728, his father being Mr.
Roger Evans, a Manchester tradesman, and his mother the
daughter of an eminent minister, the Rev. Josh. Dawson, of
Morley. His maternal grandfather was one of the divines
ejected by the Act of Uniformity, 1662. Mr. Evans studied
under Dr. David Jennings, who kept a flourishing academy
in London for the bringing up of young persons for the
ministry, and elicited the warmest commendation from his
tutor, as expressed in a letter to Dr. Doddridge. But Mr.
Evans dissented from the orthodox Calvinistic tenets, which
involved the loss of support from Coward's fund and removal

s

250 NORFOLK STREET.

from the academy. Thereupon he succeeded the Eev. Mr.
Barber as pastor of a small congregation at Burntwood, in
Essex, and after a few years became assistant to Dr. Eaton,
High Pavement Meeting, Nottingham. After four years he
was invited, on the death of the Rev. Thomas Haynes, to the
Upper Chapel, Sheffield, and he settled there in 1759. He
married, on the 29th July, 1762, Susanna, eldest of the
three daughters of his predecessor, Mr. Haynes. For nearly
forty years he presided over the Sheffield congregation, and
one at Fulwood, in conjunction with the Rev. John Dickenson
for half that period, and the Rev. Benjamin Naylor for the
latter half. In November, 1798, he resigned the pastoral
office, and he died on the last day of the year 1803. The Iris
of the 5th January, 1804, contained a brief obituary notice
from the pen of " his worthy late coadjutor," and another,
fuller and more accurate, appeared in the Monthly Magazine
for February of the same year. I have confined myself in
this epitome to the bare facts, omitting the affectionate and
eulogistic language which Mr. Hunter employed.

Wragg : On the side of the street opposite Upper Chapel,
were the warehouse and town residence of Mr. Bustard
Greaves, of Page Hall. The warehouse is occupied by Mr.
Hay, the spirit merchant, and the site of the house is now
the Savings' Bank.

Leighton : Concerning the same premises and the same
firm, it has been related how a young man, named Wood-
head, became a partner of Mr. Greaves's. He was appren-
ticed to Mr. Greaves, and being sharp and steady he was
offered a partnership, after he came of age, if he could find
iilOOO. Having no money of his own he went to one of the
Rimingtons, an old friend of his employer, and told his story.
Mr. Rimington, with a generosity so unexplained that I fancy
some essential point may have been omitted from the narra-
tive, advanced .£1000, wishing young Woodhead every suc-
cess, and telling him that if he failed the repayment of the
loan would never be asked for. Mr. Woodhead became a
wealthy man, built himself a mansion at Highfield, and lived
to a good old age. It is said that manufacturers liked to do
business with the Woodheads, who were factors. So long as
the article was good no objection was raised to the price.

Wragg : In Norfolk street were the warehouse and works of
Blonk, Silcock and Co. — in the gates next to No. 143. Their
shops extended to Norfolk lane and are now turned into tene-
ments. At the top of the street, next to the Turkish Baths,

ladies' walk. 251

are the Messrs. Barlow, whose family have been in the scissor
trade for more than a century.

Everard : In the house now occupied by the Turkish
Baths, at the corner of Charles street, died, unmarried,
George Eadon, one of the sons of John Eadon, the master of
the Free Writing school.

Twiss : In Union street was the second Methodist Chapel
erected in the town, put up after the first in Pinstone lane
had been destroyed by a mob. But that was long ago —
about the middle of the last century.

Wragg : At the top of Porter street, or as it used to be
called, Ladies' walk, was Mr. Hutchinson, the coachmaker,
who, as I mentioned once before, was so tall that he had a
gig made expressly for himself, with a recess for his legs.
His family, in Norfolk street, had been many years in the
wheelwright and carriage business. He was the father of the
late Mr. William Hutchinson, of the firm of Naylor, Vickers
and Hutchinson.

Leighton : A stroll down Ladies' walk would, at one
time, have taken us into a colony of pleasant gardens. Down
there was the famous file factory of Mr. Daniel Bramall, who,
in 1816, built Sheaf House, afterwards the residence of Mr.
George Younge. His name has been given to the street.

Leonard : Chantrey adorned that house and took portraits
of a large number of the Bramalls, and as at that other file-
smith's in Shemeld croft — Nicholas Jackson's — so here, at the
file-smith's in Bramall lane, he had an affaire-de-coeur with
one of the daughters — Mary.

Wragg : The factory was close to what is now the Cricket
ground ; 50 or 60 years ago these were the largest file works
in the neighbourhood. In 1805, Mr. Daniel Bramall obtained
a verdict of £2000 damages against a Birmingham file maker
for violating his mark. Now, I believe, it is quite valueless.

Everard : Since we have wandered away from the town,
suppose we get back to it by another route, taking in Little
Sheffield and the Moor ?

Johnson : Good. I have no doubt Little Sheffield may
produce some interesting gossip, since the manufactory of
George Jeeves and Son, brush-makers, was situated there.
It has been said that there probably never was any one about
whom so many amusing stories were told as Mr. George
Jeeves, and the following have been related : — He had, be-
sides his own workmen, a large number of apprentices, and
he would station himself at his gates at six o'clock in the

252 MR. GEORGE JEEVES.

morning and pull the ears of any lads who were late. One
of these lads was very lazy and troublesome to his master.
Old Jeeves used to keep a six-and-sixpenny whip for the pur-
pose of correction, and Jack S got a large share of this

kind of attention. While under punishment he would loudly
promise to do better, but would quickly relapse into his old
listless ways. He was a great trouble to his employer, who was
really a good master to good servants. The lad often caused
his master to swear, of which he would bitterly repent after-
wards, and he has been heard to say to the tiresome appren-
tice, " Thah makes me run into more sin than a little." Mr.
Jeeves had a pew at St. Paul's Church, and expected his lads
to attend there, and in time. One Sunday morning, on his

way to church down the Moor, he saw George , an

apprentice, playing at marbles on some waste ground. He
called out in passing, "Now, thah'll be in time, lad ; thah' 11
be in time." " Yes, Sir," was the reply : but he stayed too
long, and was late at church. Old Jeeves waited his oppor-
tunity, and during the prayers sidled up to the offender, and
gave his ear a tremendous wring. George, partly from pain
and partly to serve his master out, set up a yell that re-
sounded through the church. Another of these lads, not
liking to go to church, tried to annoy his master by going-
very shabbily dressed; and Mr. Jeeves quite audibly remarked,

" Go thee to 't bottom, thah shabby d 1." As a proof of

his regard for the decencies of worship, he was heard to say
to another lad, " D — you, kneel in a praying posture."

Wragg : With some of the best stories told of Mr.
Jeeves, the Kev. Frank Parker, incumbent of Dore, is asso-
ciated. Jeeves very frequently accompanied the minister to
his Sunday labours, and when, one feast Sunday, the incum-
bent took for his text, " It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven," Mr. Jeeves rose, and turning round to the con-
gregation with his hand lifted, exclaimed, " There, you poor
ragged devils, did you hear that? There's good news for
you."

Leighton : A good dinner used to be one of the accom-
paniments of the Dore excursions. It is said that sometimes,
if the sermon was rather too long for his taste, Mr. Jeeves
would go to the bottom of the pulpit steps and call out in a
stage whisper, " Frank, Frank, t' goose is ready, cut it short,
man." Messrs. Jeeves had some very respectable boys, and
amongst them Mr. Thomas Marshall, afterwards a butcher in

GOOD OLD TIMES. 253

Barkerpool, well known as " Tommy Marshall," and a very
excellent man ; and also Mr. Jonathan Hoyland, brush manu-
facturer.

Leonard : One whose father was an apprentice of Messrs.
Jeeves's tells that it was his father's duty to fetch home Mrs.
Jeeves when she had been out to visit her friends. At that
time the streets were miserably paved and lighted. " I re-
member," he says, "my father in particular referring to
Pinstone street as being very bad. Instead of a channel on
each side of the street as now, our grandfathers had one
channel in the middle. The sides were highest, and sloped
down to this channel. The whole of what is now the west
end of Sheffield was in the open country, and contained
nothing more than lanes or garden walks. Mrs. Jeeves used to
visit at one of the few houses then existing, I believe, at
Leavy Greave, and my father would be sent with a lantern to
fetch her home, and a long dreary walk it was. During his
apprenticeship flour was five, six, and seven shillings a stone,
and wheaten bread a luxury. He paid sixteen shillings a
week to an aunt for his board, but for a long time never tasted
white bread, but had instead thick oat-cakes, often sour be-
fore they were eaten. Many a time he would have no better
dinner than milk porridge. The hours of work in these
' good old times' were from six in the morning till eight at
night. At that time, owing to dirt and bad drainage, it was
quite a common thing for the town to be visited with fevers
almost every autumn. During my father's apprenticeship a
fever broke out, which was terribly fatal in Little Sheffield,
particularly in Young street and Jail street. My father, his
uncle, and a young cousin, all took the fever in their house,
and the poor girl died. I remember walking up Mackenzie
walk — a pretty country lane in those days, leading from Shef-
field Moor to Sharrow — when my father showed me a place
where he was walking out on beginning to recover, and saw
two little children crying bitterly and calling for their father
and mother, both dead of the fever. There were no weekly
returns of mortality in Sheffield in those days, or it would
have shown a higher rate than our worst times."

Leighton : Another notable inhabitant of Little Shef-
field was old Seth Cadman, the combmaker. What Shef-
fielder, whose recollection goes back forty years or so, does
not remember him as he used to sit, with his stall of combs,
near the Old Church gates ? He was something of a cele-
brity in his day, and was born at Sky Edge. He became the

254 SETH CADMAN.

tenant of the old bouse still standing at the corner of Young
street and Hodgson street, on the 23rd August, 1803. At
that time the building must have been considerably more
than fifty years old, but it presented no sign that it would one
day be the dilapidated place it is ; or that it would be closed
in by streets teeming with a hard working population. The
premises were divided into house and workshop, and from
the latter there was really a charming outlook. " Old Seth"
took a lively interest in the stirring events of his time, and
kept a diary, of which the intention was better than the spel-
ling. Its records begin with 1807, and it is now in the pos-
session of Seth's granddaughter, Mrs. Gillott, of Egerton
street. "Evintful Times to Future Ages" is the heading of
each page, and the entries relate to all manner of events,
private, domestic, local, national and foreign. In December,
1823, " a great flood of water came into Little Sheffield. It
was one yard Ighe in our house in Young street, did great
damige. Largest ever noung." Seth Cadman died in 1832,
aged 77. In the words of a " sampler," worked by a grand-
daughter, " He was followed to his grave by upwards of sixty
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren." His son,
Seth Cadman, died in 1849, at the age of 67, the third Seth
having died two months before, aged 26. One of the sisters
of the latter had married Mr. Gillott, and a second Mr. Cross-
land, spring-knife cutler, who, twenty years ago, emigrated
to America and settled in Buffalo. There he fell ill and was
in great distress, but his wife, who had had some training as
a dress-maker and was a woman of much energy, sold a
watch, and with the proceeds bought materials which she
made up into a baby's dress. That was the beginning of a
prosperous career, for the dress being displayed and sold,
other orders followed, and now she is the head of a large
establishment, and drives her carriage. Two brothers, who
continued the comb-making trade in the old house until
about ten years ago, also went out to Buffalo, and were started
in business by their sister as stationers and news agents.

Leonard : You should not forget to add that posterity
owes a debt of gratitude to old Seth, as the first to manufac-
ture here the small-tooth comb.

Everard : In those days, from Little Sheffield to the
Sugar House, at the bottom of Coalpit lane there was scarcely
a house. It was then Sheffield Moor in reality, where tall
Mr. Hutchinson used to break in and train carriage horses.

Wragg : The old house of Mr. Kirkby, in Button lane,

LITTLE SHEFFIELD. 255

would be one of the few in the neighbourhood. It is dated
1705, and part of it is now occupied as the " Blacksmith's
Cottage" public-house. Miserable shops have been built in
front of part of it.

Leighton : Sheffield Moor originally was not much better
than a swamp, through which a path was made by two em-
bankments being thrown up, between which was a deep ditch.
The present road was made at great cost by filling up this
ditch. But we have mentioned these things before.

Leonard : The Moor has been described as " a wild com-
mon, adorned with gorse bushes and foxgloves, and possessing
a bowling green."

Wragg : The Woodman public-house on the Moor is one
of the oldest dwelling-houses in the neighbourhood.

Leonard : I think the " Kose and Crown," at Highfields,
is still older. It is worth any one's while to go and look at it.
I am told that there is a bedstead in one room that has never
been taken down for nearly eighty years, and if it were re-
moved now the ceiling would come down too, for it is supported
by the bedstead.

Everard : Bather an uncomfortable place to sleep in.
As we pass Bright street, Fitzwilliam street and Rockingham
street, let us notice them as illustrations of the origin of our
street names. They at once indicate the ownership of the
soil by the house of Wentworth. The last Marquis of Rock-
ingham married the daughter of the last Ecclesall Bright,
and so came into possession of the property. As he died
without issue it descended to his nephew, Earl Fitzwilliam.
It is said that the Marquis, when taunted with marrying a
woman of no blood, replied, that "if she had no blood she
had plenty of suet."

Johnson : In my own recollection, about 40 years ago, the
whole of the district comprising Devonshire, Hanover, Fitz-
william, Broomhall, and other streets, has been laid out.
Division street then extended no further than Canning street,
and the houses on the Sheffield side of this dingy little street
were open to the fields. In going to school at Western bank
there was scarcely a house beyond the Bee Hive. Convent
walk was a pleasant country lane, and on the left-hand side
was what we called the Old Orchard, being an orchard only
just broken up. In passing Mrs. Bayley's house, now the
Public Hospital, we were greatly alarmed, for the house was
haunted ; at least so we were told.

256 COALPIT LANE.

Leonakd : We learn from old Seth Cadman's diary, that
on the 1st July, 1825, " Part of Coalpit lane was brought to
rise Sheffield Moor." I confess I don't quite know what it
means, unless formerly the only exit from Coalpit lane was
into Button lane.

Twiss : The late Mr. Samuel Roberts (born 1763, died
1848) speaks of having heard Mr. Whitefield preach from the
top of the cask at the Sugar house.

Wragg : It is worthy of note that the houses on the
Ecclesall side of Coalpit lane are older than those on the
town side. In that lane was Miss Patten, whose father was
in the cutlery trade. The house is now Mr. Kent's mattress
shop. Up the yard were Mr. Patten's workshops. On the
site of the Primitive Methodist Chapel is a large building
divided into tenements, said to have been a farm house.
Below was the old chapel, built by Mr. Bennet, about 1775,
for a congregation of seceders from Nether Chapel, who re-
moved to Howard street Chapel in 1790. Another congrega-
tion of Independents removed from it in 1803 to Garden street
Chapel. For eight years previous to 1814 it had been occu-
pied by the Baptists, until they removed to Townhead street
Chapel. A few people, who held baptismal notions among
the various Independent churches, separated from it and
formed themselves into a distinct congregation or church,
and chose one from among themselves to be the minister, Mr.
Downes. He was said to be the most knock-kneed man in
the town, even surpassing, in that respect, Tommy Hotbread.
The chief man in this movement was Mr. Bowman, the pawn-
broker. There is a tablet to his memory in Townhead street
Chapel, stating that he was mainly instrumental in the erec-
tion of the place. In Coalpit lane, I believe, the Newboulds
had been located before they went on to Sheffield Moor, and
there, too, was Philip Law, edge-tool maker, where his ances-
tors had been about a century. Edward Middleton, of whom
I spoke once before as an amateur gardener, had the Barley-
corn tavern here. If all innkeepers had carried on their busi-
ness as he did, the present conflict between teetotallers and
publicans would not have existed, for there would have been
neither drunkards nor total abstainers. He was the brother
of John Middleton, the cooper, of Vicar lane.

Everard : We ought not to rest satisfied without a fuller
notice of Mr. Edward Bennet. He was a sugar refiner, and
carried on his business at the old Sugar-house, at the bottom
of Coalpit lane, or Moorhead. He was a Christian man and

MR. EDWARD BENNET. 257

a diligent and energetic tradesman ; and by a course of suc-
cessful industry he accumulated a considerable fortune. He
was a Nonconformist, and for some years was a member of
the Independent Church, at the Nether Chapel. In 1780,
he, together with some of the congregation, seceded, and
the Coalpit lane Chapel was built chiefly, if not altogether, at
his cost. He officiated as the pastor during the eight years
of his life, but without receiving any emolument for his ser-
vices ; but instead thereof, the sums contributed by the con-
gregation were laid up for the erection of a chapel, to which
Mr. Bennet added .£250. The chapel at Howard street was
built, and the congregation removed to it, in 1790. Mr.
Bennet died on November 29th, 1788, two years before the
opening of the new chapel in Howard street, and he left his
wealth to his nephew, Mr. George Bennet, of Sunday-school
and missionary celebrity. The type of Mr. Edward Bennet's
character seems to have been a somewhat original one. He
was possessed of strong common sense and no ordinary
shrewdness. He was of a benevolent disposition, which
especially manifested itself in various acts of private charity.
One of his pecularities was that he had great faith in dreams.
This may be in a great measure accounted for from his per-
sonal experience of one of a very singular and advantageous
kind, which proved a reality, and exerted an influence on his
circumstances and position through life. This is the story: —
At a certain time in the last century, in consequence of war,
or some other cause, sugar became so very scarce that Mr.
Bennet found it quite difficult to obtain a sufficient supply to
carry on his business. One night he dreamt that a large
cargo of that produce had arrived, or was just about to arrive,
at Liverpool, and that he went and bought the whole lot,
which was to so large an amount that he had to set his wits to
work to know how to raise the money to pay for it, but that,
some way or other, he did raise it and secured the bargain.
The next morning his mind was so impressed with this
dream, that he set out to Liverpool on the strength of it.
There he found the vessel had just arrived (but, I think, only
still on the river, not in port) with the sugar on board. He
bargained for and purchased the entire cargo, experiencing
the difficulty in raising the cash to pay for it ; but either by
loan on security of the goods, or in some other way, he did
raise it, and thus accomplished his purpose. This eventually
proved so profitable a speculation that he ever looked upon it
asa" special providence," by means of which the foundation

258 MR. EDWARD BENNET.

was laid of his subsequent success, fortune, and position.
Mr. Bennet, in bis acts of charity, was especially kind to poor
ministers in the neighbourhood. A late friend of mine,
likely to be well informed in the matter, used to relate an
instance of this kind that occurred as the result of an inti-
mation received in a dream. But while correct as to the
circumstances, he must have been mistaken as to the person,
for he told it of the Kev. Daniel Dunkerly,* of Loxley,
whereas Mr. Dunkerly only became the minister at that place
in 1802, fourteen years after Mr. Bennet's death. I think it
possible that the recipient of Mr. Bennet's bounty was the
Rev. Josiah Bhodes, Independent Minister at Stannington
from 1779 to 1785. However, to the story. The good man
in question, whoever he may have been, was poor, having but
a small stipend, and was often in straits ; but he was of a
modest and withal independent spirit, that would silently
suffer much rather than complain or ask for assistance. He
was at the time referred to in a special pecuniary difficulty,
and did not know which way to look for deliverance, but only
to that great source from whence he had often derived help
and consolation before. He, therefore, prayed earnestly.
The same night Mr. Bennet dreamt that his friend was in
great perplexity and distress of mind for want of money.
Under the impression of this dream, the next morning he
sent him, anonymously, a <£10 note (I think the sum was),
which just came at the nick of time, and at once delivered
the good man in his hour of extremity. Suspecting that it
must have come from Mr. Bennet, he called upon him and
ascertained the fact. The minister then asked how he could
possibly know of his distress, as he had not breathed a word
to a single human being on the matter ? Mr. Bennet
answered that he had not been told by anybody, but that he
knew it by a means which convinced him, whether it might
satisfy any one else or not, that God, even now, is not
limited as to the mode in which information may be acquired
when necessary for the relief of His suffering and praying
people. He told him that he had dreamt in the night of the
fact of his distress, though without the particulars, and in
the morning had simply acted on the suggestion.

* The Rev. Daniel Dunkerly was succeeded, in 1821, by the Rev. David
Dunkerly, no relation, who married the eldest daughter of the Rev. James
Mather, and who, after a pastorate of 8 or 9 years, went to Cauada, and
lately died there, aged 80 years.

ENOCH TRICKETT. 259

Twiss : There are other stories of a similar kind about
Mr. Bennet, but I am sorry to say I do not accurately re-
member the details.

Leonard : There is an admirable story told of a Coalpit
lane file manufacturer, who was in business here about the
middle of last century, in partnership with his brother William
— Master Cutler in 1771 — while yet communication between
Sheffield and London was in its infancy. Enoch Trickett
was a genuine broad " Old Shevvielder." His shirt sleeves
rolled up, wearing a leather apron whose bib was up to his
throat, without neckerchief, he was not to be distinguished
from his workmen. When the commercial spirit extended
itself in the town, Enoch said he would go to " Lunnon"
and see if he could sell some files and obtain orders, thinking
he should get better prices there than in Sheffield. He went
into a merchant's warehouse, and asked if they were in want
of any files, producing his patterns, which they examined.
They asked prices, and what discount was allowed. "Dis-
count," he says, "What's that? Oi ne'er heard tell on it
afore." They explained that by making them an allowance
of so much per cent., he would get their order, and upon the
receipt of the goods they would remit him the money in pay-
ment. " Way, oi've telled yo t'proice on 'em, an' beloike
oi'st expect t'brass for 'em." Further explanations only re-
sulted in the reply, " Soa yo wanten me to gi yo so much
money to buy t'foiles ?" The terms on which they would give
him a good order were explained, but Enoch's patience was
exhausted, and, " lapping" up his files, he said, " Nay, lad,
nay ; oi can sell 'em for moor nor that at Breetmoor's onny
toime, and tak t' brass hoam wi' me when ween Tivered." It
is currently reported that Enoch never again tried his hand as
a commercial traveller. When umbrellas first came into
vogue in Sheffield, Enoch's brother got one. " See thee, see
thee," said Enoch, " ahr Bill has getten a waukin stick wi'
petticots on."

■ Everard : The father of Mr. George Hadfield, ex-M.P.
for Sheffield, was one of the first to introduce the use of the
umbrella into Sheffield. I have heard the late Mr. Samuel
Hadfield say, that as boys he and his brother were so ashamed
of it that they would not walk the same way to chapel with
him on rainy Sundays.

Leighton : That is almost as good as the reception ac-
corded to the first pair of those new-fangled garments called
trousers which found their way to the town. It was reserved

260 THE FIRST UMBRELLAS.

for Mr. Marriott (Marriott and Atkinson) to introduce these
garments, and when he revealed himself to his astonished
townsmen in them, after a visit to London, he was greeted
with the exclamation — " Why, lad, thou's gotten breeches wi'
chimbley poipes on 'em. Where didst get 'em ?" The ridicule
was so merciless that Mr. Marriott thought it prudent to have
these garments put away in a drawer until more enlightened
times dawned. But, one day, when he was at work, some of
his frolicsome friends went to Mrs. Marriott, and, by profess-
ing they had her " Mester's" authority, got possession of the
" breeches with chimney pipes" and pawned them. So when
Mr. Marriott wanted to pay his next visit to London he found
out the joke that had been played him.

Leonard : There are several claimants to the honour of
having first introduced umbrellas into the town — Mr. Samuel
Newbould and Mr. Holy (who are said to have brought them
from Ireland), and Mr. John Greaves, merchant, of Fargate.
The residence of Mr. Greaves stood where Mr. Proctor,
draper, is now — a dingy old house, where he was succeeded
by his son, who, as his epitaph in the Parish Church has it,
was " the last survivor of a numerous and respectable family."
The umbrella of Mr. Greaves the elder is still in existence,
and is in the possession of his descendant, Miss* Law, of
Western bank. The tradition is that he brought it to Shef-
field about the year 1742. He was born about 1708, and
died 6th March, 1779. The ribs of the umbrella are jointed
in the middle, so that they and the cover attached to them
double back ; and the upper part of the stick being propor-
tionately short, the whole when folded is only about 14 inches
in length, though the bulk is considerable. The idea evidently
was to construct an umbrella that could be put into the capa-
cious pockets of those days. When it had to be hoisted
there was a jointed stick to fit into the upper part, thus
making the whole of a suitable length.

Johnson : The writer on Sheffield as it was forty years
ago, from whom I have previously quoted, says that at that
period " The whole of Fargate from Orchard street corner to
Balm green, and on the opposite side also, consisted of small
tumble-down, two-story houses, which must have been some
of the oldest in Sheffield. Our fathers were not so particular
as to the look of their houses as their children are. My
father had a good business in Fargate, but on his marriage
took a house in Rockingham lane, a little above Button lane,
as a sort of country house."

EBENEZER ELLIOTT. 261

Leighton : There was formerly an obstruction in the
thoroughfare from Barker pool into Division street. It was
at the corner of Blind lane (Holly street), and it consisted of
an old building that used to project into the road. It was at
length taken down, and butcher Marshall built "Pool place,"
the row of shops extending from Blind lane to the fire bri-
gade station. The building was old and dilapidated, and it
was used as a meeting-house by some religious body on Sun-
days, and for other purposes on week-days. This was about
the year 1811.

Wragg : On a part of the site of the new Albert Hall
were the residence and retail steel shop of the late Ebenezer
Elliott, the poet ; and lower down resided Mr. Foster, who
died in 1846, aged 70. He was about the last survivor of the
musicians that composed the local band.

Leonard: It was at 61, Burgess street, that Ebenezer
Elliott set up as an iron and steel merchant when he came to
Sheffield in 1821, having been unsuccessful in business at
Eotherham. His house adjoined his warehouse. He began
with £100 of borrowed money, with which he bought a stock
of iron, and he was wont to tell with glee how his success was
such that this " tippled right over its head" — in other words,
produced double the amount he gave for it. At one time so
successful were his operations that, as he told Mr. Howitt, he
used to sit in his chair and make £20 a day without even
seeing the iron he sold. His warehouse was a dingy place.
He had only one chair to offer to visitors — which had no
bottom and only three legs. It was a favourite joke of his to
liken this crazy chair to the British Constitution. In 1833,
Elliott removed to Gibraltar street.

Leighton : Burgess street is also to be remembered as
the locality where the founder of the firm which afterwards
built Sheaf works was established. Mr. William Greaves
commenced his career as a resident in Burgess street, about
the year 1775, his premises being near the top. In the first
year of the present century the business was carried on by
Wm. Greaves and Sons, in Cheney square.

Everard : We must not pass without a mention the site
of the beginning of Sheffield's Water Works, when springs
were found to be no longer adequate. Although its history
is so well known that we need not dwell on it, suffer me to re-
mark that in its later days it was a square wralled-in pool, and
that it was allowed to remain until, instead of a benefit, it
had become a stagnant nuisance.

262 BARKER POOL.

Leighton : The first house erected on its site was built
in 1793, by Mrs. Hannah Potter, as a public-house, with the
odd sign of " Well run Dimple"— an exclamation of commen-
dation addressed to a horse that distinguished itself on
Crookes Moor racecourse.

Johnson : Forgive me for once more quoting James Wills,

as he not only describes the old pool, but narrates an incident

of some interest : —

" The Barker's Pool, noted for nuisance indeed,
Green over with venom, where insects did breed,
And forming a square, with large gates in the wall,
Where the Rev. Charles Wesley to sinners did call.
Once when he was preaching, an officer bold
March'd up through his audience, adorned with gold.
Mr. Wesley perceived him with drawn sword in hand,
And opeu'd his waistcoat as he saw him stand,
Being fill'd by repentance by hearing the word.
In those days persecution, that giant of hell,
Stalk'd along in mad frolic ; and, strange for to tell,
Pursued the poor Christians, abused them sore,
Resolv'd that those people should never preach more;
But the Wesleys and Whitfields, being fraught with pure zeal,
Not fearing their lives, for sinners did feel ;
And tbe Mulberry street preaching house being too small,
Wesley stood with his back against Barker's Pool wall."

Leonard : Mr. Samuel Roberts gives a curious account
of one of the uses to which Barker pool was put in his young
days. "It was," he says, "well walled round. In the
event of a fire (happily a very rare one) the water, on being
let off, could be directed to most parts of the town. All the
channels were then in the middle of the streets, which were
generally " in a very disorderly state ; manure heaps often
lying in them for a week together. About once every quarter
the water was let out of Barker pool, to run into all those
streets into which it could be turned, for the purpose of
cleansing them. The bellman gave notice of the exact time,
and the favoured streets were all bustle, with a row of men,
women, and children on each side of the channel, anxiously
and joyfully awaiting, with mops, brooms and pails, the
arrival of the cleansing flood, whose first appearance was
announced by a loud continuous shout : all below was anxious
expectation — all above a most amusing scene of bustling ani-
mation. Some people were throwing the water up against
their houses and windows ; some raking the garbage into the
kennel ; some washing their pigs ; some sweeping the pave-
ment ; youngsters throwing water over their companions or
pushing them into the wide-spread torrent. Meanwhile a
constant Babel-like uproar, mixed with the barking of dogs

SHEFFIELD WELLS. 263

and the grunting of pigs, was heard both above and below,
till the waters, after about half an hour, had become ex-
hausted."

Leighton : As connected with the supply of water you
will also remember that Mr. Roberts speaks of the supply of
water brought in pipes to a receptacle in Townhead street,
from which it was the business of a number of men to take
it in casks, fixed on the body of a wheelbarrow, holding about
fifty gallons, to all parts of the town to sell. " Water Isaac"
was a well-known member of this band of barrel men. Mr.
Roberts mentions too a large water reservoir belonging to
Mr. Matthewman, over Mr. Winter's candlestick factory —
subsequently Mr. Bardwell's auction room — for supplying the
town with Crookes Moor water.

Wragg : On the site of the houses where the Fire brigade
now reside, in Balm green, there used to be some very old
houses, bearing the date of erection as in the seventeenth
century. In 1671, there were the following public wells :
Burnt tree well, Water lane well, Workhouse well (the "pump,"
in Westbar, is no doubt its modern representative), Webster
well, and Flint well. There were also the troughs in Water
lane.

Leonard : We have come across other sources of water
supply in the course of our rambles — Bower spring, and the
spring in Bailey's yard, Broomhall spring, and the rest. It
is not so very many years since some of these were still used.
The Mercury, of January 27, 1827, records that " A cast
iron pump has been recently placed at the bottom of Sheffield
Moor, chiefly through the exertions of the Overseers of
Ecclesall Bierlow. This pump will be a great accommodation
to that part of the town, they having had to procure their
supply of water from an open well, which was often subject
to nuisance. A reservoir has been made connected with the
pump, capable of containing about 10,000 gallons, which will
afford a supply for the summer months. At the head of the
subscription list we see the name of Earl Fitzwilliam for £20,
and that of Rowland Hodgson, Esq., for <£5."

Wragg : James Levick, the dahlia grower, was an ivory
merchant in Pinstone street. He frequented Coxon's public-
house, and at the election of 1836, when a Mr. Bell came down
as candidate in opposition to Mr. John Parker, some one there
said that he would get no one to support him. James Levick
bet a guinea that he would be supported, and he won the
wager by supporting him himself. I remember seeing him

264 PINSTONE STREET.

introduce Mr. Bell to the public from the Koyal Hotel. In
his rough and rugged way he said, "I beg to introduce to you
Mr. John Bell." In Pinstone street resided the Withers'
family, cutlers, one of whom, Benjamin Withers, was Master
Cutler in 1756 ; a second Benjamin Withers, in 1794 ; and
a Joseph Withers, in 1802. I believe the warehouse in Bar-
ker pool was never occupied for trade purposes, and the late
Mr. Withers positively declined to let it when applied to.
Lower down in Pinstone street is the shop of Mr. Turnell,
the cabinet maker ; on the passage over his kitchen window
is a stone containing the following, "T. I. S., 1777." It was
in this street that the first Methodist chapel was built, and
demolished by a mob in 1743.

Leonard : Forty years ago, there were one or two trees
growing on the property of Mr. Withers, in Pinstone street.
A passage leading from Fargate to New Church street was a
favourite play-ground of the boys of those days, and boasted
the name of " Sow Mouth." In 1825, the Town Trustees
purchased some property in Pinstone lane for the purpose of
widening it.

Johnson : Its present width makes us wonder what it
must have been before. Its old name was Pin stone -croft
lane, or in the vulgate, " Pincher-croft lane."

Wragg : In New Church street resided Godfrey Fox, who
has been previously noticed as occupying the Rein Deer, now
the Royal Hotel, Waingate. At the corner of Cheney square
resided Mr. Cheney, who was one of the first surgeons to the
Infirmary, and who lived afterwards in Portobello. I think
he had but one child, a daughter, who should have married
Dr. Ernest, but there was some scandal and the match was
broken off. This may account for the doctor spending all
his life as house surgeon at the Infirmary. I would add that
when a lad, he went to some one at Shire green, whose name
I have forgotten, to be a fork maker.

Leonard : The tenure of office of the modern house sur-
geons at the Infirmary contrasts very strangely with Dr.
Ernest's 44 years' service.

Wragg : Dr. Ernest, and old Mr. Tillotson who resided
at Broomhall, were two of the last men in the town to have
their hair powdered. In one of the old Sheffield directories,
Cheney square is always printed China square. It looks as if
the compiler fancied Cheney was a vulgarism for China.

Leighton : In Fargate, near the shop of Mr. Johnson,
cabinet maker, was, forty years ago, a projecting window,

FARGATE. 265

where a dealer in rotten-stone resided. Renwick's shop, at
the corner of Orchard street, was there then, but far more
modern.

Johnson : The upper part of Fargate, from Orchard
street up to Balm green, consisted at that time, on both sides,
of old tumble-down two-story houses, which must have been
some of the oldest in Sheffield. I feel certain that 40 years
ago there was more sociableness amongst shopkeepers than
there is now. At that time they made longer days, and there
was less hurry and scuffle in business. A thoroughly friendly
and social set of shopkeepers occurs to my recollection in the
neighbourhood of Fargate. Amongst these were William
Wakefield, grocer; William Meggitt, shoemaker; Adam Ren-
wick, basket maker ; Ellis Eyre, grocer ; together with the
once well-knowu Benjamin Withers, and others. These were
in the habit of indulging in daily gossip at each other's shops,
and discussing the politics of the day. Retail shops were
then much more gossiping places than now. But the head-
quarters of this kind of intelligence was the barber's shop,
which almost every one frequented.

Everard : A Fargate shopkeeper of high respectability
was Mr. Ebenezer Birks, grocer. Young Chantrey was at
first sent to him, but he quickly resented being put to such
uncongenial employment.

Leighton : At the end of Norfolk row, opposite the old
Cutlers' Arms, was the building called the old Lord's House.
It formed the corner of Fargate and Norfolk row, and stood
where are the shop so long occupied by Mr. Holden, watch-
maker (now Mr. Rennie's, hosier), and the adjacent ones, as
as far the " Old Red House." There was a double flight of
steps, leading to a balcony on the level of the first floor. Mr.
Rimmer, the Catholic priest, had a small room in the house,
used as a chapel. The entrance was from the Norfolk row side,
and there were two or three steps up to the chapel. About
the time I am speaking of (1815), the building was taken
down, and the land was quite open from Fargate to the Assem-
bly Rooms in Norfolk street, and it continued open for years.
Mr. Rimmer got a chapel built upon the ground, right at the
back (in 1816), and that continued to be the Roman Catholic
place of worship until the present St. Marie's Church was
built (1816-50). We used to play on the ground, and " Old
Rimmer," did not like it, and drove us off. He was a nice
old gentleman — " a cheerful old chap." For a long time the
ground was unfenced, but ultimately a palisade was put up

T

266 FAR GATE.

to keep people from the chapel, and to form a bit of a grave-
ground. It was used for burying, and when the new church
was built there was bother about the foundation.

Wragg : Henry Howard, Esq., the great grandfather of
the present Duke of Norfolk, resided in the Lord's House.
He appears to have acted as steward to the previous Duke.

Leonard : The lion over the door of the Assay office, in
Fargate, was the work of a man named Mozley, who was
employed by Ramsay, Chantrey's master.

Wragg : The Fleur-de-lis opposite, just below the corner
of Orchard street, was, sixty years ago, the residence of Mr.
Jennings, who, when he retired from business, went to live
at Hackenthorpe.

Leighton : It has gone through many stages since then.
Not many years ago it was a doctor's house.

Wragg : On the site of the Exchange Drapery establish-
ment— built as somewhat ambitious "commercial buildings" —
were some very old brick shops, almost as old, I should think,
as the " first brick house in Sheffield," built at the end of
Pepper alley, according to the Rev. Edwin Goodwin, about
the year 1696.

Everard : In one of the shops opposite was William
Nadin, stay-maker, of whom mention was made in connection
with Bank street. He was the only stay-maker of any note
in the town. In those days stays were made that would last
a life-time almost.

Wragg : In the shop now occupied by Messrs. Watson,
was a grocer named Greaves, who engaged the bellman to cry
down Younge and Deakin's copper tokens. When he returned
for payment Mr. Greaves paid him in the same token he had
just cried down ; so the bellman stood on the footpath before
the door, rang his bell, and proclaimed aloud that Younge and
Deakin's money was paid again.

Leonard : And thus we complete another circuit, and
find ourselves once more at the Parish Church.

CHAPTER XI.

Forty Years Ago.

Present — Messrs. Twiss, Leighton, Everaed, Wbagg, Leonaed

and Johnson.
Period— A.D. 1874.

JOHNSON : I cannot, like most of you, speak of sixty
years since and upwards ; I only profess to speak of
forty years ago, from my own knowledge. Forty-three years
ago the population of Sheffield was a little short of 92,000,
as compared with 240,000 in 1871. In 1832, England, prac-
tically, was without railroads, there being only three lines
opened in alt England ; and Sheffield had none, except her
coal railways, for some years after this time. We had four
coaches daily to London, four to Birmingham, four to Man-
chester, and five to Leeds. We had about four-and-twenty
coaches in all, from and to Sheffield daily, and, supposing
these averaged ten passengers per journey, there would
be the astounding number of 240 persons leaving our old
town every day ! Hansoms and cabs were, of course, un-
known ; but we had hackney coaches at the one " stand" at
the head of High street. To Kotherham we had a vehicle,
unknown to the present generation, a kind of car, called a
"Waterloo ;" the race is quite extinct. I believe we wrote
a good many letters in those days, but letter- writing was an
expensive luxury, only to be indulged in upon the following
rates : — For a place not exceeding 15 miles distance, 4d. ;
30, 6d.; 50, 7d.; 80, 8d.; 120, 9d.; 170, 10d.; 230, lid.;
300, 12d. ; 400, 13d. ; 500, 14d. A letter containing an en-
closure was charged double, and one exceeding an ounce, but
not exceeding 14; oz., was charged four single rates! Thus a
letter to London, weighing a fraction over an ounce would be
three shillings and fourpence. Without railways and penny
postage, the business of to-day could not be carried on. In
addition to the hackney coaches, the head of the High street
was favoured by the presence of a row of second-hand shoe
dealers' stalls. The shoes they sold were called Lord Mayor's.
The shopkeepers naturally enough objected to these shoe-

268 FLYING STATIONERS.

stalls being fixed opposite their shops, but they were allowed
to remain there for some years after this time.

Forty years ago there were no daily papers in Sheffield,
but there were four weekly. News, then, if not scarce, was
dear ; and people after buying the small sheet of news, price
sevenpence, passed it from one to another, and it was a cus-
tomary thing for three or four tradesmen to join at a news-
paper. As might be expected, at this high price the number
of readers was comparatively few. Hence arose another in-
stitution that has entirely died out — what we used to call
"crying-papers in the streets." These formed a means of
livelihood to a good many persons, both men and women.
These small slips of paper were generally extracts from the
newspapers of the town. Very often they were "full, true, and
particular accounts" of executions and last dying speeches;
sometimes the calendar of York Assizes ; and often, es-
pecially during a dearth of news, mere catch-pennies made to
sell. I remember hearing a fellow crying one of these about
some wonderful appearances in the heavens, when a whole
army had been seen — fully accoutred — in the sky. Even a
cricket match on the ice at Little London, when Tom Mars-
den stood umpire, or some doggrel on the winner of the St.
Leger, would sometimes serve the purpose of these wander-
ing newsmen ; they were not over nice, and it was always
" all for the low charge of one halfpenny." I remember, at
the time of what was called the " Resurrection Riot" in Eyre
street, in 1835, one of these gentry allowed his imagination
to run wild, and informed his townsmen that during the riot
" the landlord (the late Samuel Roberts, Esq.) was present,
and cried, with a loud voice, 'Burn and destroy.' " But for
this the man was committed to the sessions : he had gone
a little too far.

Wragg : These flying stationers generally made their
appearance after some murder, or soon after the conclusion
of some remarkable trial. Their " Last Dying Speeches"
were long narrow slips of paper, containing about half the
matter of a modern newspaper column, and the price one
halfpenny. If I mistake not, they were mostly printed in
York street, by a person named Ford ; then a rival named
Burgin started, up one of the Market place passages —
Watson's walk, I think. Sometimes they contained wood-
cuts, as was the case at "Honest John's" trial. Those who
knew him said it was a fair likeness, and it was certainly the
best half-pennyworth I ever saw.

riots. 269

Johnson : Talking of riots, these are happily gone out of
fashion. Formerly, they were too plentiful. I can just re-
member the riot at our first borough election. Fortunately
I was kept at home on that night, but I well recollect going
down the next day and seeing the devastation that had taken
place. Three men and two boys were shot dead on the occa-
sion, and another young fellow died of his wounds shortly
afterwards. Then, as I have already mentioned, we had
the riot in Eyre street, which took place in January, 1835.
At this time, a second medical school which had been es-
tablished in Eyre street, corner of Charles lane, was com-
pletely gutted, and the building set on fire. The mob got an
impression that it was a place where "resurrection men" sold
the bodies they stole. I recollect that a small case contain-
ing the body or skeleton of a child found on the premises, was
nailed up by the mob on a house opposite, to serve as an in-
centive to the work of destruction. The origin of the riot
was a quarrel that took place on the previous day (Sunday),
between the keeper of the school and his wife. This caused
a disturbance, and the place bore such an evil name that the
quarrel of these two persons ended in the destruction of the
building, excepting the walls, on the following day. I recol-
lect on the Monday night a great part of the mob, crying
"All in a mind for Overend's," passed my father's shop, and
went along Orchard street to Mr. Wilson Overend's house
and surgery, causing much alarm, but doing little mischief.

For the next ten years or so, Chartist riots, more or less
serious, were quite common. On the 12th September, 1839,
the Chartists held a " silent" meeting in Paradise square,
which was dispersed by the soldiers and police. The Chartists
reassembled in "Doctor's field," at the bottom of Duke street,
Sheffield moor, where they were followed by the soldiers and
police, and 36 prisoners taken. At the Town Hall, next day,
which was guarded by the dragoons, and the doors kept
by policemen armed with cutlasses, I saw several anxious
mothers inquiring for their missing ones. Amongst the rest
was the mother of a young man who has since been an in-
fluential citizen in St. George's ward. He was tried at the
assizes and acquitted. A night or two after the Doctor's
field meeting, hearing there was to be a Chartist meeting at
Skye edge in the Park, my brother and I tried to find Skye
edge, but not succeeding, met the Chartists coming away.
They marched down Duke street, singing lustily a Chartist
melody —

270 FORTY YEARS AGO.

" Press forward, press forward,
There's nothing to fear,
We will have the Charter, be it ever so dear."

But, alas ! on turning the corner at the bottom of Duke
street, they caught sight of the helmets of the 1st Dragoons,
who were coming to meet them. Instead of "pressing for-
ward" we all "pressed" every way but that, and in two
minutes not a Chartist was to be seen. The dragoons on
that occasion were under no less a person than Sir Charles
Napier, at that time Commander of the Northern District ;
and I believe the incident is referred to in his life.

Leighton : Going further back than you do, I recollect
that 1809 or 1810 were troublous times. Flour and other
necessaries were very dear, and we used to have many riots.
Jacky Blacker was a leading man. I have seen a consider-
able mob of people following him up High street. He had a
penny loaf dipped in blood, and he carried it on a spike about
the streets. I remember one riot in particular. Flour was
about 7s. or 7s. 6d. per stone, and the mob broke into the flour
shops and distributed the flour to the people. The consta-
bles were out and the soldiers were fetched from the Barracks,
and there was martial law in the town. Tradesmen Avere
called out of their shops at night to form part of the patrol
through the streets and the districts outside the town. I
recollect my father being out in this way many a time. I
once saw the soldiers come from the Barracks. There was a
terrible riot going on in the Market place, the mob throwing
things about, when the Hussars came up with their spears,
rode right up into the Market place and dispersed the people..
Folks could scarcely carry on business in those days. They
had to shut up the moment the rabble were coming, if they
did not wish to have their windows broken. People have no
idea now what sort of times those were to live in.

Twiss : I remember being fetched home from school in
1816, when there was a riot. The rioters had made a pro-
cession and marched up Angel street. Afterwards I saw the
soldiers go by, with Mr. Hugh Parker at their head.

Leonard : My old friend, to whom I have had to acknow-
ledge my indebtedness for so much information, said to me
the other day : " I have seen several riots in Sheffield, and
one particularly I remember. At the bottom of Spital hill
was an old building that had been occupied by Jonathan
Hobson as a warehouse, and when he gave it up it was used
as a store for the Volunteers. At the time I speak of there
was a riot about dear bread, or something of the kind. I was

RIOTS. 271

in 'the Pickle,' when down came the mob to the Volunteer
store. The doors were soon smashed in, and the fellows
pitched out guns and all sorts of things. Most of the mus-
kets were smashed by striking them across a low wall on the
opposite side of the road, but a few were shouldered by the
rioters, and they tried to march. As they were going up the
Wicker, a troop of cavalry from the Barracks met them, and
didn't they run ! It was fine to see drums, trumpets, cloth-
ing, and all sorts of military odds and ends tumbling out of
the chamber windows at the store, and the mob kicking them
about, and shouting and yelling like mad things ; but the
soldiers brought them to their senses very soon."

Everard : I, too, recollect that riot, and was also an eye-
witness of it. Being in the Wicker at the time, I saw the troop
of Hussars sweep down to the scene of action. It was in
1812, a dreadfully distressing time of bad trade and high
prices, of which mention was made when we were speaking of
the large number of able-bodied men who were employed on
the new burial ground.

Leonard : The account of the affair given in the Iris is
that it originated with those men. They came down in a
body, it says, and paraded the Market place "for no imagi-
nable purpose than to expose a spectacle of wretchedness
which should work upon the passions of the indigent manu-
facturers" [we do not use the word in that sense of artizans
now] "and excite indignation against the provision sellers."
Having marched up the Market these men set up a great
shout and then returned to their occupation, leaving the
crowd ready to commit any mischief. Accordingly they fell
upon the stores of the potato dealers, scattering, destroy-
ing, or carrying off those vegetables, breaking windows and
doing other mischief. The riot act had been read, and the
mob seemed pausing as if not knowing what else to do,
when a voice shouted, "All in a mind for the store-room in
the Wicker ;" and there they went with the result that has
been described.

Everard : A little later than that period another " flour
riot" took place ; when I saw the rioters, armed with thick
sticks and bludgeons, march up Broad lane, headed by John
Blackwell, alias Jackey Blacker, with a drawn sword in his
hand, a penny loaf dipped in blood stuck on its point, and
with a large placard borne beside him, with the inscription
" Bread or Blood !" This man was a tailor of very dissolute
habits, and the acknowledged " king" of the " gallery" at

272 THE CHARTIST CONSPIRACY OF 1840 :

the Theatre. For this exploit he was tried and incarcerated
in York Castle ; eventually he ended his days in the Sheffield
Workhouse.

Leonard : This talk about the riots, and Mr. Johnson's
reference to the Chartists, remind me of a very interesting ac-
count that was prepared nine years ago by Mr. John Taylor.
It was reprinted from the newspaper in the form of a little
pamphlet ; but as possibly none of you have copies, except
our friend Twiss, and as conversation is not very brisk this
evening, suppose I read it ?

Everard : By all means.

Leonard (reads) : "The Chartist conspiracy, which culmi-
nated in the audacious attempt, in January, 1840, to give the
town over to pillage, anarchy, and fire, is an event of which
most of us have some recollection. The number of the con-
spirators and their dupes has never been accurately ascer-
tained, but probably amounted to several hundreds, exclusive
of the much larger body of the moral-force Chartists, who
shrank from the wild extremes of their hot-headed leaders,
and also exclusive of the armed contingents expected from
Eotherham, Eckington, and other places. The programme
of the Chartists, and the arrangements made for carrying it
out, are matters of history. Taking a hint from the Wes-
leyans, the Chartists met in ' classes ' at the houses of their
respective ' leaders,' scattered over the town. They had a
general assembly-room in Figtree lane, and a secret council-
room at a public-house at the top of Lambert street. Guns,
cartridges, daggers, pikes, hand grenades, and ' cats ' were
provided in considerable quantities by the leaders and mem-
bers of the council ; and the equipment of the conspirators
was to be completed by pillaging the gun shops of the town,
-when the proper time came. The ' cats ' were small spiked
implements to scatter in the streets for the purpose of laming
the cavalry horses, being so made that however thrown on the
ground one spike pointed upwards. The conspirators were
to meet in their class rooms on the night of the rising, pro-
ceed thence under the command of their leaders to a few
general meeting places in the outskirts of the town, and then
move in bodies to execute their atrocious designs. Some of
the more daring classes were deputed to take possession of
the Town Hall and the Tontine, which were to be the head-
quarters; others were detailed to fire the Barracks as soon as
the military had been called out, and to burn other obnoxious
places in the town. The rest were to fire the houses of the

HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED. 273

magistrates, their clerk, and other gentlemen of position
living in the outskirts, the notion being that this would draw
the authorities from the town to look after their own affairs.
It was supposed that, thus deserted, the general body of the
population would concede all that was asked, and that a de-
cided success in the outset would so swell the ranks of the
Chartists as to give them complete control over the town and
district. The poor policemen were special objects of ven-
geance, all the conspirators having instructions to murder
every policeman they met with.

"Though the information published at the time on all these
points is full and complete, the circumstances attending the
discovery and frustration of the plot, constitute an unpub-
lished chapter in the annals of Sheffield ; and the men to
whom the town owes its rescue from a terrible danger are not
only unrewarded, but to this day unknown to the general
public as the detectors of the conspiracy. The object of my
paper is not to recapitulate the facts published at the time,
but to recount the yet unpublished details of this, for Shef-
field, most fortunate detection.

" The instrument in the great discovery was James Allen,
then the keeper of the Station inn beerhouse in Westgate,
Rotherham, [and not to be confounded with James Allan, who
at a later period was landlord of the Station inn in that town] .
He was shrewd and intelligent, a superior workman as a
stove-grate fitter, and was employed by Messrs. Yates, Hay-
wood and Co. The man who used that instrument was not
the respected chief of the Sheffield police, nor any of his
subordinates, but Mr. John Bland, then, and for many years
afterwards, the active and intelligent chief-constable of Rother-
ham. For some time before the plot was fully hatched, wild
rumours spread of the intention of the Chartists to possess
themselves by force of the entire neighbourhood, drive out
the rich, and divide the spoil. By many the rumours were
regarded as the ravings of maniacs, and utterly disbelieved.
But the reports that reached Mr. Bland as to the intentions
of the Chartists at Rotherham, assumed such consistency and
pointed so persistently to one end, that he, happily for Shef-
field and the entire neighbourhood, determined to investigate
them. Unsuccessful in his first efforts, he went at length to
Allen. Partly, no doubt, from fear on his own account, but
mainly because, though an ardent Chartist, he shrank from
the horrible measures in contemplation, Allen admitted that
a Chartist organisation was being established at Rotherham,

274 THE CHAKTIST CONSPIRACY OF 1840 :

in conjunction with the more extensive organisation having
its head- quarters at Sheffield ; and that the directors of the
whole movement, in order to avoid the suspicion that would
be likely to arise from too frequent meetings at Sheffield,
occasionally came down to Rotherham and held their secret
councils at his house. He added that they had begun to de-
spair of peaceable measures ; and that though he and others
strenuously opposed all resort to violence, the whole tendency
of their deliberations was towards a determined physical force
movement. As yet the conspiracy was a mere unshaped de-
sign. It gradually ripened, however, into a definite plot
against life and property, as well as against law and order.
The results of the repeated conferences were regularly re-
ported to Mr. Bland by Allen, and the conspiracy no sooner
assumed a distinct shape than Mr. Bland took Allen's report
of it in writing. With Allen's consent he communicated it
personally to the present Earl of Effingham, then Lord
Howard, resident at the time at Barbot Hall, near Rother-
ham, and a West Riding magistrate. On the advice of his
Lordship, Mr. Bland, and Mr. Oxley, the magistrates' clerk,
privately visited Mr. Hugh Parker, then the leading Sheffield
magistrate, and read the statement to him. The statement
was to the effect that delegates from Huddersfield and other
places had met those of Sheffield and Rotherham at Allen's
house ; that they had finally resolved to carry the charter by
violence ; that the delegates from a distance had guaranteed
the assistance of their respective districts to Sheffield ; that
the Tontine and Town Hall at Sheffield were first to be
seized as head quarters ; and that the town itself was to be
taken possession of as a step to ulterior measures. The
houses and places of business of obnoxious persons were to
be sacked and burnt, no atrocity being thought too great that
could pave the way for the charter. The story was laughed
at and pooh-poohed by Mr. Parker and the Sheffield authori-
ties, who refused to believe that any scheme so wild and atro-
cious could possibly be entertained. Still the Chartists held
their sworn councils day by day, chiefly in Figtree lane and
Lambert street, Sheffield. Allen's moderation having excited
their suspicion of him, they met less frequently at his house,
and took him less into their secrets. He was, however,
sufficiently acquainted with their designs to know that a force
was to be mustered at Rotherham as well as at Sheffield, and
that that force was to strike their first blow by seizing the
Court House, and then sacking the residence of Mr. Henry

HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED. 275

Walker, at Clifton, and Lord Howard, at Barbot Hall. When
things had- reached this* pass, Mr. Bland urged Allen again
and again to ascertain where the ammunition and arms were
collected for the final uprising. All Allen's efforts to do this,
however, were vain ; he only knew that there were to be a
number of such depots, and that the Chartists, when they
rose, were to be plentifully armed with ' cats,' to protect
them from the cavalry. The time for the execution of the
plot was evidently drawing near, but Allen was still kept
ignorant of those details upon which alone the police could
act in anticipation of the rising. It became clear that Allen
must either go the whole hog as a Chartist or break down as
an informant ; and Mr. Bland, whose duty was plain — to
fathom and frustrate the conspiracy at any cost — urged that
a man could not possibly play the traitor in a better cause
than in the frustration of so hopeless and atrocious a design.
Allen at length strung himself up to the emergency, and it
was arranged that he should go to the next council, declare
himself a convert to the absolute necessity of the physical
force movement, and offer to be ready at any time with 150
men upon a day or two days' notice. This bold course re-
established Allen in the. confidence of the council. It was
about the beginning of January, 1840. On the Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday evenings of the same week Allen
attended sworn councils. On the Friday evening, January
the 10th, he reported that the crisis was to come on the fol-
lowing night, but that the Council of delegates were to meet
at Sheffield at three o'clock on the Saturday to determine the
precise hour of the rising, and the several rendezvous from
which the various bands of insurgents were to start on their
errands of death and destruction. The information most
desired by Mr. Bland all this time was the names of the lead-
ing conspirators, their meeting places, and their arms and
ammunition stores. Allen left Rotherham at one o'clock on
Saturday to attend the final council meeting, — the under-
standing with Mr. Bland being that he was to return as
quickly as pi'acticable to Rotherham after the meeting, with
the details which were so much longed for and by the posses-
sion of which alone the rising could be stopped before mis-
chief was done. Lord Howard reached Rotherham at three
o'clock, remaining with Mr. Bland in readiness to act upon a
moment's notice. Anxiously they waited hour after hour
until past seven o'clock, and began to be terribly afraid that
Allen's pluck had failed him at the last push. Between seven

276 THE CHARTIST CONSPIRACY OF 1840.

and eight o'clock, however, he arrived almost breathless with
haste and trembling with fear. No wonder Allen was terrified ;
the ferocious character of the plot gave him little reason to
hope for mercy at the hands of his old friends if it were dis-
covered that he was the betrayer. He must never again show
his head in this part of the country, for his life would not
have been worth an hour's purchase. Faithless to his
wretched comrades, Allen was true to the active and ener-
getic officer who had so cleverly turned him into an instru-
ment for the frustration of the conspiracy. He had brought
all the required information. The 'classes' were to meet at
their leaders' houses at ten o'clock on Saturday night ; were
to carefully arm themselves ; were to repair to three or four
specified, points, and march thence to their appointed work,
each class detailing a few of its number to empty the gun
shops, in order to arm their comrades. For a few moments
the recipients of this information anxiously debated the ques-
tion, 'What is to be done?' Evidently the great rising was
to be at Sheffield. Its authorities had been aroused from
their dream of incredulity by the further information which
had been communicated to them from Rotherham, after their
rejection of the first statement, and by the evident stir and
excitement among the Chartists. But they were still in a
great measure ignorant when and how the rising was to be
effected ; and it was of the most vital consequence that the
intended rising should be frustrated before it had been made,
not because there was the least chance of its ultimately suc-
ceeding, but because a temporary and partial success must
necessarily be attended with the most dreadful results. The
Rotherham police were not charged with the safety of Shef-
field, but the conspirators were one body, and their success in
the greater must have been dangerous to the lesser town.
The plot was discovered, and for humanity's sake, if for no
other reason, Sheffield must be made aware of the extent and
nearness of its danger and the means of preventing it. So
reasoned Lord Howard, and manfully determined to be him-
self the messenger of mercy. Provided with a copy of the
particulars of Allen's information, he mounted his horse and
galloped at full speed to Sheffield, leaving Mr. Bland to take
all necessary precautions to frustrate the Rotherham contin-
gents, which were to arm at the gun shops and assemble near
Brightside at twelve o'clock, under the command of Allen,
or, in his absence, of such other leader as they might choose.
His Lordship reached Sheffield towards ten o'clock, and found

CAPTURE OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 277

the police authorities on the qui vive, though quite unpro-
vided with definite information. The intelligence was alarm-
ing but welcome. There was no time to waste in idle fears,
a few hours only remaining before the mischief would begin.
A detachment of soldiers was called out immediately, and,
with the aid of the civil power and the remarkably accurate
information supplied from Rotherham of the full details of
the conspiracy, happily succeeded in frustrating it. Holberry,
the principal leader, was apprehended at his own house, No.
19, Eyre lane, before he left home to head the conspirators,
considerable quantities of arms and ammunition being found
in the garret of his house. Booker, Peter Foden, Thompson,
and other leaders, were taken in the streets or at their own
homes. The general meeting places of the conspirators were
visited, and the 'classes' chased and dispersed as they arrived.
All was confusion and dismay in the ranks of the baffled
plotters ; they fled in all directions, throwing away or hiding
their arms, quantities of which were found in the neighbour-
hood of the dams and Crookes moor. Thus ended, with the
wounding of a few policemen and two or three innocent citi-
zens, whom necessity had forced into the streets, a conspi-
racy which, but for its timely discovery, would probably have
resulted in enormous mischief.

"Allen, who was at once suspected by his comrades, was
kept under the care of an armed guard at Rotherham for several
days, until Earl Fitzwilliam had communicated with the Home
Secretary, and procured his removal from this part of the
country. Government, as was their duty, offered to provide
Allen with the means of emigrating and setting up in life in
the colonies, but he declined to leave England. Employ-
ment was found for him at his oavii trade in the South of
England, where he remained for some time under an assumed
name. At length he was recognised by a man who had known
him at Rotherham, and his removal became necessary. Go-
vernment provided for him elsewhere, but he never, after
leaving the southern fender manufactory, communicated with
Mr. Bland, or his friends here, and his fate is unknown.

"Praises and rewards were bestowed on the Sheffield police
and other officials, for their ability aud zeal in the discovery
and frustration of the plot. They monopolised the credit
due of right to Mr. Bland in the main, and to his officers in
a minor degree. Mr. Bland and his associates were tongue-
tied. Though the conspiracy was defeated, Chartism was
still a dangerous element in society. Lady Howard was so

278 PETER FODEN.

alarmed, that Lord Howard, yielding to her natural fears,
bound Mr. Bland and his officers beforehand in a solemn
promise to conceal the part he and they might take in the
matter, in order to avoid the vengeance of the Chartists.
Galling as must have been the knowledge that others were
reaping the honours and rewards due to them, Mr. Bland
ancl his subordinates religiously kept their promise until Lord
Howard had left the neighbourhood and Chartism had died
out. Sheffield officials in positions of the highest trust knew
that there was some secret about the discovery, but could
never fathom it. It was not until the resignation of Mr.
Raynor, that the least hint was publicly given that it was to
Mr. Bland, Sheffield was so much indebted in 1840."

Johnson : There is one little inaccuracy there — the refe-
rence to Peter Foden being captured with the rest. He had
been apprehended in the early part of August for taking part
in riotous meetings and processions, and he did not obtain
bail until the 3rd September, when Ebenezer Elliott, the
corn-law rhymer, and Mr. Wostenholm, file manufacturer,
Dunfields, were his sureties. For a while he kept aloof from
the meetings, but he was at last prevailed upon to attend,
and although he took no active part in speaking, yet he was
believed to be in the secrets of the physical force party.
Peter Foden was not seen in the proceedings connected with
the collapse of the conspiracy, but he was suspected of being
connected in them, and a warrant was issued for his appre-
hension. He concealed himself in the town for some time,
and at last went into Wales and stayed as long as possible in
various towns. He did not surrender at the Spring Assizes,
at which he was indicted for conspiracy, sedition, and riot,
and the recognisances of his sureties were forfeited. At last,
tired of dwelling in fear of arrest, and encouraged by the
collapse of the Chartist movement, he ventured to come to
Sheffield, and in order to see if the authorities would notice
him, he took some commodities of his own making and
hawked them in various public-houses. A good living he
would have earned had he not been arrested in December,
1840, at Paul Ashley's, in Watson's walk. He was tried at
York, and having been advised to plead guilty by his counsel,
he was committed to Wakefield for two years. He had
already been in prison three months, which was taken into
consideration. He served one year and nine months after
his conviction. He affected an odd demeanour in prison,
but ultimately being made schoolmaster, he attained more

THE END OF THE CHAETISTS. 279

liberty and had books to read. At one time he wanted to write
a detailed account of his proceedings to his family, and he
secreted bits of paper and a pen, but how to obtain ink to
write was a matter of difficulty. So at last he hit upon the
singular plan of writing with his own blood, and concealed the
document in the neck-handkerchief of a discharged prisoner.
One of his children, of the name of Feargus O'Connor, died
while his father was in gaol. Foden, released from prison,
went to Staleybridge, where he commenced business, and got
on well ; but he could not settle, and removed to Doncaster.
Then he sold all off and went to St. Louis, in America, and
died a few years ago. The citizens made a public funeral,
and presented his wife with a framed document, setting forth
the respect they had for him and his family.

Johnson : The sentences those men received seem to me
to have been light, when the magnitude of their crime is con-
sidered— Holberry, four years' imprisonment ; Thos. Booker,
three years' ; Wm. Booker and others, two years' ; others
again, one year ; and a large part of these sentences was re-
mitted.

Wragg : Holberry's was practically imprisonment for
life, since he died in York Castle, in 1842, before his sentence
had expired. His body was brought to Sheffield for inter-
ment, and the funeral, on the 27th of June in that year, was
the excuse for a great demonstration. Another of these men,
John Clayton, also died in gaol, in 1841, but he was buried
at Northallerton.

Twiss : We might have mentioned two of these people
when we were speaking of the Hartshead, for Peter Foden
and Julian Harney were residents of that classic neighbour-
hood. Harney, after he had, along with Richard Otley, es-
caped punishment on a charge of conspiracy, went to America.

Everard : We have been talking of riots, and no men-
tion can be made of such disturbances in Sheffield without
recalling that famous Norfolk street outbreak which was
lamentable through two of the crowd being killed, but most
memorable through its being the cause of Montgomery's
second incarceration in York Castle. It occurred on the 4th
of August, 1795, and the events of that day are matter of
local history.

Leonard: The mildness and indirectness of Montgomery's
references to Col. Athorpe's doings on that day, show that
his persecution was a piece of political hostility. How Mather
scathed the colonel, nick-naming him ''Beef-headed Bob,"

280 SHEFFIELD VOLUNTEERS.

while he satirised the volunteers who took part in the affair
as " Ruddle-neck'd tups !'

Leighton : Those first volunteers were unpopular before
that, because they were necessarily obnoxious to the preva-
lent Jacobinical opinions of the masses ; but the affair of
that day greatly increased their unpopularity.

Leonard : My nonogenarian friend says he remembers
these " Blues." He saw them going as far as Bolehill to
meet their guns, and they had a sort of field-day at Norton.
They were fine fellows, with their blue coats, red facings,
white waistcoats, and black leggings. Mr. Athorpe was
colonel, and Mr. Fenton, lieutenant-colonel or major. Mr.
Carver, a woollen draper in High street, a tall handsome man,
was one of the captains, and Dr. Frith, in Norfolk row, was
the surgeon.

Twiss : Here is an account of the old Sheffield Volun-
teers, drawn up by an officer in the corps : —

"In the year 1794, the Sheffield Volunteer corps was insti-
tuted, under the title of the Loyal Independent Sheffield
Volunteers. When first begun upwards of 150 individuals
offered to furnish themselves with arms, accoutrements, and
clothing. The furnishing of arms was objected to, and
Government agreed to find arms and accoutrements, and a
certain number of days' pay, with ammunition for the service
of the regiment. A subscription was entered into by some
of the town's gentlemen to furnish clothing for those to whom
it was inconvenient to find the whole of their own. By this
means the number was increased to about 500. In 1795, the
lady of Thomas Walker, Esq., of Rotherham, made an offer
of two iron guns to the Volunteers, but they were too un-
wieldly for field service. She then proposed presenting the
corps with the amount equal to their value, and two brass
six-pounder field pieces were ordered from Woolwich, and the
extra expense was paid out of the regimental stock purse.
This corps, under the management of Adjutant Ratcliffe,
Captain Goodison, Drum-Major Potts (strict disciplinarians),
and a few town's gentlemen who had served as volunteers in
the American war, acquired a character for discipline, good
conduct, and soldier- like appearance which did credit to the
town they belonged to, and it was generally allowed they were
equal to any of this description of military.

" This corps was originally instituted in the month of April,
1794, for the defence of the town and neighbourhood of Shef-
field during a time of the greatest difficulty and danger. It

SHEFFIELD VOLUNTEEK-INFANTRY. 281

consisted of upwards of 490 effective men, and was disbanded
on the 21st May, 1802. In 1803, on the re-commencement
of hostilities, the loyal inhabitants of Sheffield were again
called upon to offer their services to their country. A new
corps was raised, under the title of the Sheffield Volunteer
Infantry. This regiment was raised upon a different prin-
ciple from the former. It was supplied with arms, accoutre-
ments, clothing, &c, by the Government. The men and
officers were obliged to attend duty a certain number of days
in the year, for which they were paid after the rate of the
regular militia. They were several times called up on per-
manent duty, and while on that duty were subject to martial
law. On the 15th of August, 1805, one of the attendants
at the beacon at Grenoside came between five and six o'clock
in the morning to Mr. Thomas Smith, constable, to inform
him the beacons were lighted, the signal that the French
were landed. The drummers were immediately ordered to
beat to arms, and in a very short time the whole regiment
was assembled under arms. In consequence of the difficulty
in preparing waggons and horses requisite for the service, a
considerable time elapsed before they could march, and it was
nine o'clock in the evening before they arrived at Doncaster,
the first stage on their route. There they halted for refresh-
ment and further orders, an officer having been dispatched to
Beverley to General Fergusson, under whose command the
regiment was to be placed. On the messenger's return, the
whole turned out to be a false alarm. On the 16th, the regi-
ment, along with several others, infantry and yeomanry, were
inspected by General Hodgson, and on the 17th returned to
Sheffield without loss of life or limb, every man receiving two
guineas besides regular pay for his services. They were
greeted by a great part of the population of the town, many
of whom had been left in painful anxiety.

"It is but just to the regiment to add that so great was
their alacrity and zeal on this notable event that out of near
700 men not more than 14 or 16 were absent. Of these,
several were on the moors grouse shooting, and on hearing of
the departure of the regiment they immediately followed to
Doncaster. One officer, being in Dublin, on hearing the first
report, left his business unsettled and came home to join his
regiment. One had a broken leg, two others were lame,
others sick. To the whole the greatest commendation was
due ; indeed it is correctly ascertained there was only one
man absent who could possibly attend, and that was a non-

u

282 LOYAL INDEPENDENT VOLUNTEERS.

commissioned officer who knew, as he says, this affair was all
a hoax, and, regardless of the orders of his commanding
officer, took the opportunity of a walk to Baslow a-fishing.

" The conduct of the regiment on this occasion needs no
comment. On the 26th they again marched to Doncaster for
fifteen days' permanent duty. On the 15th of October, being
the day fixed, nearly the whole of the regiment transferred
their services to local Militia under nearly the same regula-
tions as the Regular Militia. The last permanent duty per-
formed by this regiment was at Wakefield, in August, 1813.
In April, 1816, the whole of the local Militia was suspended,
the officers retaining their commissions, that, in the event of
their being again wanted, they might hold their rank and
seniority accordingly. The following is a list of the officers
of that period. Those marked * belonged to the Volunteers
of 1794 :—

* Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant F. Fenton.

* Second Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Leader.

Major John Shore.
Adjutant W. W. Darling.

* Quarter-Master Saml. Tompkin.

* Surgeon John Sterndale.
Captain T. Newbould.

„ T. A. Ward.
,, C. Pickslay.
,, J. Brown.
,, J. Wheat.

Captain E. Clarke.

,, J. Blake.
Lieutenant J. Hall.

,, T. Bradbury.

,, J. Drabble.

„ J. Yeomans.

,, T. B. Jackson.

Ensign S. Young.
,, J. Binney."

The following inscription is engraved on one of the field
pieces : —

" This piece of artillery, with another of equal calibre,
was purchased in 1795 for the use of the regiment of Shef-
field Loyal Independent Volunteers in defence of their country,
then disturbed by internal commotions and threatened with
foreign invasion, and through a long and perilous period
passed under the successive command of Lieutenant-Colonel
R. A. Athorpe, Colonel Richard Earl of Effingham, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Fenton, by the latter of whom,
and the surviving officers and privates, in a time of profound
peace, after firing a royal salute in honour of the coronation
of King George the Fourth, on the 19th day of July, 1821,
they were transferred to the Trustees of the estates of the
town of Sheffield and to their successors for ever.

" God save the King.
"Trustees of the town at the time being Robert Turner, col-
lector ; John Shore, Peter Brownell, John Greaves, Rowland
Hodgson, Francis Fenton, Benjamin Withers, Jun., Samuel

THE OLD VOLUNTEERS. 283

Staniforth, Thos. Asline Ward, Vincent Hy. Eyre, Samuel
Mitchell."

Leighton : When the Volunteers marched northwards,
on the false alarm in 1805, the well-known Dr. Browne
accompanied them as far as Attercliffe Common, where he
took leave of them in a speech in which he made the some-
what left-handed promise to be a husband to their wives and
a father to their children during their absence. One of the
Volunteers, whose name was Carnelly, used to tell how splen-
didly the men were regaled on the road, being called " brave
fellows," and "the pillars of the nation." When they re-
turned they expected to be treated in a similar manner ; but
with the alarm had vanished the enthusiasm, and they met
with but a cool reception. On remonstrance being made, and
a reminder given that they had been called "pillars of the
nation," the rejoinder was, " Yes, eater-pillars."

Leonard : I recently had in my hands the original parch-
ment documents relating to the enrolment of the Volunteers
of 1803. It is an interesting collection of the autographs of
our grandfathers — of such of them as could write, at least,
for there are not wanting instances where a cross had to take
the place of a signature.

CHAPTER XII.

Mr. William Swift.

Scene. — A room in Leonard's house. The chair usually occupied
by Mr. Twiss stands at its customary corner — empty. The
other friends are in their accustomed places.

Period.— The 16th of December, 1874.

L

EONARD

" The sequel of to-day unsolders all
The goodliest fellowship of old-world lore
Whereof this town holds record."

Leighton (pointing to the empty chair) :

" There sat the shadow, fear'd of man,
Who broke our fair companionship
And spread his mantle dark and cold."

EvERARD :

" 'Tis common ; all that live must die,
Passing through nature to eternity."

Leighton :

" Ay, Sir, it is common."

Everard : Therefore, instead of further lamentations on

our friend's departure, let us take up the moral of his life,

and hope that we may be as honestly mourned.

" The man we celebrate must find a tomb,
And we that worship him, ignoble graves."

Who can tell the story ?

Leonard : Mr. William Swift died on Thursday evening,
December 10, 1874, at Ash Cottage, near Staveley, where a
few weeks before he retired from his usual residence in St.
James' street, for the benefit of change of air. He had all
but completed his 56th year; having been born on the 13th
December, in 1818. "Mr. Swift was a remarkable man,
whose avocation in life as assistant distributor of stamps con-
veys no idea of the esteem in which he was held, or the ex-
tent of his erudition as a genealogist and topographer. Born
in a modest cottage near Chesterfield, of humble but respect-
able parents, he succeeded by his own perseverance in
amassing a store of information in his own special field of

MR. WILLIAM SWIFT. 285

study not equalled by any other collector ; and it is not too
much to say that no man knew so much of the History of
the Hundred of Scarsdale, or of South Yorkshire, as he did.
For many generations the Swifts have lived in Staveley and
the neighbourhood, but probably none of them ever knew so
much of themselves and their progenitors as did the late
William Swift ; who, happily, is not the last of his race, but,
by his marriage with another Swift, unites, in the persons of
his two sons, two branches of a genealogical tree that sprung
from the common root of John Swift, of Inkersall, in Stave-
ley parish, six generations ago.

" After passing through the ordinary curriculum of a
country school, he began the active duties of life as a clerk
in a lawyer's office in Chesterfield, but at the age of 18 re-
moved to Sheffield to enter the service of the late Mr. Brown,
of St. James's street, and for 38 years he has remained in
the same occupation, though not under the same employer.
Mr. Brown was distributor of stamps as well as a solicitor,
and, finding how valuable a servant he had in Mr. Swift, he
gave him the entire management of his stamp business ; and
some years ago, when Mr. Brown was succeeded as stamp
distributor by Major Fawkes, Mr. Swift retained his old place,
and in the office at the corner of St. James's row, he might
be seen until the end of September, when his health broke
down.

" It was not his social position that gave our late friend a
name and a place in the annals of Sheffield ; nor was it even
the kindly good nature with which he answered all inquiries ;
nor the humble simplicity and piety of his private life ; but
his marvellous industry and care as a genealogical and topo-
graphical collector. A career less eventful than his could
scarcely be imagined. He lived in a house adjoining his
office, and when business was over, he much too rarely went
out for fresh air and exercise. Far into the night, he would
pore over manuscripts, sometimes copying old parish regis-
ters, sometimes making abstracts, or copies of documents
that had been lent to him, or entering up his volumes of
pedigrees. His mind was ever intent on the acquisition of
genealogical facts, and whether they came under his notice in
written papers, or in conversation, he carefully noted them,
and systematically stored them away in the volumes to which
they belonged. The desire to be accurate was with him a
passion. He could not endure a false date, and smiled when
he observed the vanity, that, in pedigrees, could not call a

286

MR. WILLIAM SWIFT.

spade a spade, but turned a cutler, a grinder, or something
humbler, into a gentleman. During the thirty-eight years
he lived in Sheffield he had been carefully accumulating
fact upon fact, and there is probably not a family in the town,
save the most recent importations, of whom he had not a
more or less complete account. He was the Old Mortality of
Sheffield, and carefully copied the gravestones in the church
and chapel yards. The parish registers were more familiar
to him than to the parish clerk. He knew the genealogical
value of wills and deeds, and had made himself master of
those old handwritings under which our forefathers have
shrouded so much valuable information. Not having enjoyed
the advantage of a classical education, he yet so far mastered
the difficulties of Latin and Norman French as to be able to
translate intelligibly such mediaeval documents as were couched
in those languages ; and of late years, so vast was the fund
of information which he possessed, that he was able at once
to appreciate the value of new facts that might come under
his notice, and to see meanings in entries and items that to
an ordinary observer appeared to have no special significance.
For years past he has been the oracle to which all inquirers
into Sheffield history resorted. The antiquarian student per-
petually made use of his kindly advice and counsel ; the law-
yers flocked to him regularly when any question arose affect-
ing family history ; and to one and all he was alike ready to
tell what he knew, and in return to accept any crumbs of
information his visitors might be able to impart. In this way
his store of facts grew. Persons who had learned the value
of his information were glad to be able to offer him some re-
turn in kind, when anything came under their notice. His
fame as a collector of information spread, and from far and
near matters found their way into his hands that would not
have been entrusted to one less discreet. He was scrupulous
in preserving and returning everything that was lent to him ;
and exercised a marvellous reticence in dealing with subjects
that might have given pain to families or individuals. He
never spoke unkindly, and, though his mind was the deposi-
tory of more family secrets than that of any man in Sheffield,
we never heard of an instance where an unfair or unkind use
had been made of what he knew. Like many great collec-
tors of information, Mr. Swift seemed to lack the aptitude
for collating, arranging, and editing his materials. He
shrank from the task of composition, fancying, very mista-
kenly, that he could not compose ; and yet we have had in

MR. WILLIAM SWIFT. 287

our hands fragments of his that would have been no discredit
to so lucid and interesting a writer as the late Joseph Hunter.
Our own columns" [it is the Independent from which I am
quoting] "have not unfrequently contained most valuable
scraps from his pen ; but he would more frequently give his
information verbally, and leave others to clothe it in set words.
Under the signature ' St.' he sometimes contributed to Notes
and Queries. Several papers of his have appeared in the
Reliquary : and he has also enriched the Chesterfield news-
papers from the stores of his Derbyshire lore ; but we never
heard of his publishing a book, nor ever knew a man more
capable of doing so. In connection with the inquiries arising
out of the bequest to the town of the property of the late
Samuel Bailey, Mr. Swift rendered great service ; and the
Rev. Dr. Gatty, in his preface to the new edition of Hunter's
Hallamshire, thus acknowledges his obligations : — ' The ser-
vices of Mr. William Swift, well known for his genealogical
studies, experience and accuracy, as well as for his accumu-
lated stores of information relating to the various properties
of the neighbourhood, have been especially great throughout
the latter part of the w7ork, and deserve my warmest appre-
ciation. He has extended the pedigrees writh a careful hand,
and by an old deed or memorandum has often contributed
what the antiquarian will value.' Among his friends might
be mentioned every name of note in Sheffield ; but it is enough
to say that he was on intimate terms with Joseph Hunter,
James Montgomery, John Holland, Samuel Mitchell, and
Henry Jackson ; without particularising those who have lived
to feel his loss. When the late Samuel Mitchell's papers had
to be arranged for the British Museum, Mr. Swift was selected
to perform the task, and very ably he discharged it. He had
a pure and simple mind, inexpensive tastes and habits, and
if there was a thing he erred in, it was in taking too little
care of his own health. At one time he paid some attention
to a garden at Steel Bank, with a view to obtain out-door ex-
ercise and recreation ; but of late that has been much neg-
lected, and sometimes for a week together he never left St.
James's street. On the occasion of the funeral of Mr. John
Holland, now nearly two years ago, Mr. Swift took a severe
cold, which clung to him for many months ; and over a year
ago he suffered greatly from a carbuncle on the leg. During
the past twelve months he has not looked well, and many
times have friends given him good advice in vain. He seemed
unequal to the effort of tearing himself away from his favourite

288 MR. WILLIAM SWIFT.

home and occupations. A short visit to the sea- side in the early
autumn did but little to restore tone to his system, and for
two months or more he has been unable to attend to business,
though up to the last few days of his life his mind retained
all its clearness. A few weeks ago, in the hope of deriving
benefit from change of air, he went on a visit to friends in
his native district of Staveley, but nature was too far exhausted
to revive, and he there gradually grew worse and passed
away, leaving many sincere friends to mourn him, and not a
single enemy to throw obloquy on his memory. His wife,
who has been the attached companion of his life, and two sons
survive, and in their bereavement it may be some small con-
solation to know how universally the deceased husband and
father was esteemed. Some time ago Mr. Swift purchased
for himself a family burial place in the new Cemetery at
Norton, within the confines of that county of Derby he loved
so well."

Everard : Let me read to you also what Dr. Gatty says
of our late friend : — "I cannot allow Mr. Swift to pass away
from us without expressing my personal regret for his depar-
ture, and my conviction also that Sheffield has lost in him
one of its most useful though least self-asserting citizens.
So far as my opinion has any value, I am certainly entitled
to speak of him, for circumstances threw me into frequent
communication with him ; and there was something so
genuine and truthful in his character that acquaintance soon
ripened into friendly regard. During the four years that my
leisure time was occupied in enlarging Mr. Hunter's ' History
of Hallamshire,' my intercourse with Mr. Swift was frequent
and intimate. I had known him long before, and regarded
him as a curiosity ; and I found him a treasure, when I
needed his help. I applied to three other gentlemen for co-
operation, with whom I was also acquainted — Mr. Henry
Jackson, Mr. Samuel Mitchell, and Mr. John Holland — but
was too late, for death removed the two former before they
could render substantial aid, and the several sheets written
by good, kind John Holland were not of the slightest use to
me ; and I only name this because the contrary has been
assumed in his recent biography. Mr. Swift, on the other
hand, was a true and worthy disciple of Hunter. He cared
and knew, I believe, little of the present, while he loved and
lived in the past. Kemarkably sensitive and fearful of giving
offence, he seemed scarcely to like even to talk of the living,
but of their ancestry he often knew more than they them-

ME. WILLIAM SWIFT. 289

selves did, and he always used his knowledge with discretion
and kindness. It is as a local genealogist that Sheffield may
deplore his death. Whilst I was husy over ' Hallamshire,'
he passed several Sundays at my house — coming here on
Saturday afternoon, and going home on the following even-
ing. We all liked him, and there was one then present who
thoroughly estimated the simplicity of his character, and the
reverent spirit which was a marked feature in it. He always
liked our Church Service, but the hymns were the portion
that seemed to interest him most. He was a good listener,
and I suspect always carried away what was worth remember-
ing. I always felt that Pegasus was harnessed to a cart,
when I saw him called away from a genealogical memorandum
on his desk, or an open County History in which he had dis-
covered some ancestral link with some South Yorkshire or
Derbyshire family, and that to attend at his counter to a
question of stamps or licenses. His proper place would
have been the Record Office or the Heralds' College ; but his
scholarship being self-acquired had no warranty, and his
native modesty stood in his way. From his office window in
St. James's row, he kept a watchful eye on the Parish Church
and churchyard, which he deeply reverenced ; and he himself
told me that he was the means of preserving the single stone
of Norman Carving which was found in the rubble of the tower
in 1867, when the new clock was fixed ; also of rescuing the
dial slab from destruction when it was taken down, and which
Dr. Sale restored at his own cost. Let me add that he
possessed that generosity of feeling which is common amongst
all really scientific men ; whatever he knew he was ready to
impart, provided the information was sought for a good pur-
pose, and not from vulgar or mischievous curiosity. I repeat
my regret that poor Swift is no longer amongst us, and I
throw this small flower of appreciation on his grave."

Leighton : And so this is the grievous end of our many
dialogues.

Everard : Yes, it is no use continuing them now.
Farewell !

Omnes : Farewell !

[Exeunt.

CHAPTER XIII.

Self-made Men. — The Rev. Daniel Chapman and
Henry Pickford.

THE account given in Chapter VI. (p. 126), of the Rev.
Henry Mellon, who worked his way up from the Boys'
Charity School and became a clergyman of the Church of
England, ought not to stand alone, for two other prominent
examples of self-made men call for notice — The Rev. Daniel
Chapman and Henry Pickford, " the learned grinder." The
following accounts are compiled from the statements of three
different writers : —

Daniel Chapman's birth takes us back seventy-five years —
to the old Sheffield of 1799. He could not have been born with
a silver spoon in his mouth, for at 14 years of age you could
any day see him with hands and face as black as a tinker's,
at the stove-grate manufactory, Roscoe place. But although
spending twelve hours every day at his employment, he found
a little spare time for the pursuit of knowledge, which must
have been in those days, and in those circumstances of obscu-
rity, a pursuit under great difficulties. He obtained a little
private instruction two evenings a week, and was soon pro-
nounced by his teacher " one of the best grammarians in
Sheffield." Having laid this good foundation, we find him
in an evening, after the day's work is done, at one time with
a Rev. Mr. Whiteley, a Unitarian minister; then with a Rev.
Mr. Harrison, and subsequently with Rev. Thomas Smith,
one of the Professors of Rotherham Independent College.
Trade becoming very depressed, his father-in-law (through
whose self-denying kindness he had been assisted to the
needful funds) said, " Thou must, child, stop awhile, and
then begin again ; thou knows Rome was not built in a day."
" True, father," replied the boy ; "but they always kept on
building, until it was finished." One evening, a gentleman
was delivering a lecture in the Assembly Room, Norfolk
street, and gave at the close an invitation for questions.
Daniel Chapman, who was behind the audience in very hum-
ble attire, solicited the lecturer's opinion on a subject to
which he had not referred. The lecturer stated that it be-

THE REV. DANIEL CHAPMAN. 291

longed to one of the most abstruse mysteries of astronomy,
and as he was unable to throw any light on it, requested the
youth to give the audience the benefit of his own thoughts.
These he clearly explained in a way which convinced his
hearers that he was more than superficially conversant with
the subject. The late James Montgomery, the poet, was
present on the occasion, and having sought out the obscure
youth, there commenced a friendship which only terminated
with death. Daniel Chapman had arrived at the age of 20
when he met in class with the Wesleyan community. The
Rev. James Everett was at that time stationed in Sheffield,
and met for the quarterly renewal of tickets the class of
which Mr. Chapman was a member. This was on a week
evening, and earlier than the usual time, so that the minister
could do double duty the same evening. Daniel was therefore
obliged to appear in his working dress, and face and hands
bearing evidence of the nature of his employment. On being
questioned in the usual way, he related his experience in
language so much superior to what his apparent condition
justified, that the preacher's godly jealousy was awakened,
and he mingled caution against vanity and self-conceit with
his counsels, and especially against indulgence in these, under
such circumstances. On the following day, Daniel sent Mr.
Everett a scholarly letter. Mr. Everett's surprise may be
easily conjectured. He promptly waited upon Mr. Chapman,
and mutual explanations and a good understanding ever
afterwards resulted. About this time we find that the Rev.
Thomas Smith had introduced Mr. Chapman to Dr. Bennett,
professor of theology in the Rotherham College. That was
an important link in the chain of events which led to his
being sent to the Edinburgh University. On one frosty
morning, about nine o'clock, Daniel knocked at the back door
of the Rotherham College. The servant observing his hum-
ble habiliments announced him as an Irish lad wanting to
speak to her master. Mrs. Bennett came to know the lad's
business, supposing he was asking charity. The reply was
characteristic — " Please, Madam, be so kind as to present
this note (Rev. Thomas Smith's) to Mr. Bennett." The re-
sult of that interview was that Dr. Bennett made Mr. Chap-
man an offer to become private tutor to his children. As,
however, the pulpit was the goal of Mr. Chapman's ambition,
the offer was declined, and a committee of clergymen, Inde-
pendent ministers, and laymen (upon which Mr. Montgomery
was very active) agreed that he should go to Edinburgh, and

292 SELF-MADE MEN.

so be left at perfect liberty to shape out his after course. In
the University he rose to a first-class position, and carried off
the prizes both in natural and moral philosophy, and also in
Greek. On leaving the University he became a Wesleyan
minister of good note. His discourses were full of vigour
and originality. He was emphatically an independent thinker.
It is reported that he was taken publicly to task by one of
his seniors at the Conference for the exuberance of his beard.
Mr. Chapman's reply to the inquisition was a clear proof that
they were dealing with a true Sheffield blade, " If the grow-
ing of my beard maketh my weak brother to offend, let him
take a pair of scissors and cut it off." His uniform kindness
was a ruling trait of character : few houses that he visited
but in them he was regarded with almost enthusiastic affec •
tion. Nor was his kindness circumscribed by the limit of his
acquaintances. An incident that occurred in the streets is
but one of many that might be mentioned. He overtook an
aged woman who obtained her living by the selling of apples.
Her too heavily-laden baskets and their contents were, by a
simple accident, upset ; immediately stepping off the pave-
ment, he assisted with the utmost alacrity in collecting the
scattered fruit ; nor was the old woman more delighted than
he in seeing the apples restored to their proper place. He
was not a little remarkable for the singularity of his ap-
pearance. His clothes hung loosely about his person, as if
they were made for a much larger man. His white cravat
was folded in a roll and tie so loosely as to rest on his bosom,
exposing the whole of the throat. His hat sloped backwards
at a very unusual angle. His warm cloak, always worn ex-
cept in very hot weather, was thrown in a slovenly manner
over his shoulders. His gait was measured and slow, and
seemed incapable of being quickened. His by-the-way re-
marks and conversational replies were often very remarkable.
In one of the circuits where he laboured he was obliged to
decline an invitation to preach in a London chapel; and
he was thereupon visited by two ladies, who had gone in the
hope of prevailing on him to consent. After much fruitless
entreaty, one of them said playfully but earnestly, " Mr.
Chapman, I am determined not to leave your house until
you promise to oblige us." The reply was instantaneous,
" Madam, you do me infinite honour; for you will abide with
me always." It is commonly reported of him that once he
went to a small village to preach, for which journey he took
a hired conveyance. On pulling up at the destination, where

THE REV. DANIEL CHAPMAN. 293

the horse was to be housed, seeing the ostler's boy coming
towards him, the following scene transpired. Mr. Chapman:
" Extricate this quadruped from the vehicle, stabulate him,
apportion him an adequate supply of nutritious aliment, and
when the solar orb shall again illumine the eastern horizon
I will reward your hospitality by the needful pecuniary advan-
tage." Boy all this time, with eyes fixed and mouth open —
now precipitates himself into the presence of his employer,
with the exclamation, " Eh, Mester, there's a Frenchman
wants you." The kindliness of his nature extended itself
also to the lower creation. He would never himself put any
living thing to death. The writer was informed the other day
by a Wesleyan minister who followed him in one of his cir-
cuits, that for some weeks after he arrived at the Chapel
house, a colony of cats would come every Thursday mewing
to the door for something to eat. On making inquiries about
this queer phenomenon, he was informed that Mr. Chapman
had been in the habit of feeding them regularly for some
time, on that day of the week. The studied politeness which
he manifested on all occasions was shown just as much to the
poor beggar who came to the door as to the visitor who came
in his carriage. He was often laughed at on this account;
but in him it had all the force of a deeply-rooted principle.
He used to say — " All men are naturally equal in the sight
of God ; and as God is no respecter of persons I must not
be." This noteworthy life of our fellow-townsman came to
its close on the 10th November, 1857. The event which
gave a decidedly beneficial character to his after life — Mr.
Chapman was accustomed to relate thus : "It was the death
of my father. I well remember the scene. My father died
in the midst of a terrific storm of thunder and lightning ;
and every time the artillery of heaven exploded with a tre-
mendous crash, which made all round the bed shudder, my
dying father, like an immortal spirit winging its flight to
heaven on pinions of fire, exclaimed ' Glory be to God.' "

Another writer says : — My first knowledge of Daniel
Chapman was hearing of his going to purchase Latin and
Greek books at the shop of Mr. Pearce, the bookseller in Gib-
raltar street. He was often a visitor at that large depot of
learned lore, and nothing seemed to afford him more pleasure
than to be allowed, for hours together, to take down and ex-
amine the contents of the different shelves. He always came
in his working dress, and almost as black as a sweep. The
highflown language and correct pronunciation made use of

294 SELF-MADE MEN.

by this swarthy son of the workshop roused the bookseller's
wonderment to the highest pitch, and he began to cast
glances into the future as to the probabilities of this young
man's ultimate destiny.

The next time Daniel's name attracted my attention was
when he came like a naming star from the north — i.e., as a
distinguished student from the Metropolitan University of
Scotland. At this time he was announced to preach in Carver
street Chapel, and my curiosity had been too keenly awakened
in bygone days not to attend ; the more so, indeed, as the
young man from Roscoe place came forth in the new attire of
a minister of the gospel, with the laurels of a university
student. Long before the usual time the chapel was crowded
to excess — not even standing room. The clock struck six ;
at that moment the door behind the pulpit opened, and the
Rev. Daniel Chapman was at once the object of every eye.
The stillness was awful. To him the audience must either
have been appaling in the extreme, or else highly stimulating ;
but this would depend on the susceptibility of his mental
calibre, and the preparation he felt for meeting the require-
ments of so trying an occasion. His appearance at this time
was nervous bilious ; head, somewhat small but compact ;
hair, black ; forehead, rather narrow but high ; the coronal
region well developed ; the organs of the inferior sentiments
being small, they would not have force enough to give to the
intellect high emotional and thrilling power. Never shall I
forget the manner, intonation, and beautiful enunciation with
which he uttered the words, " The first hymn on the paper"
— not to mention the exquisite style in which the hymn itself
was read, so different from what we had been accustomed to
hear. The time for prayer arrived. It was a splendid invoca-
tion to the Deity. He ranged through the universe, making
planets and suns the mere footsteps to the throne of God —
lightning, the gleam of his eye ; thunder, the voice of his
displeasure; and Christ, the all-in-all for humanity's redemp-
tion. The service went on ; the time for the sermon arrived;
the book opened, and the text read was, " On his thigh and
on his vestments shall be written — King of Kings, and Lord
of Lords." The utterance of these words was transcendently
exquisite, and an uncommon oration was delivered. In one
part of a burst of eloquence, in which he quoted, for effect,
his text in Greek, an old woman, roused to the top of her
wonderment and the acme of her piety by these uncommon
sounds, unconsciously exclaimed, " Glory ! Hallelujah !"

THE REV. DANIEL CHAPMAN. 295

Daniel having, by his classical stratagem, put the crowning
stone on the good lady's emotion.

For a time Daniel Chapman was very popular with the
Wesleyans ; his style, ornate language, and other pecularities
drew overflowing congregations. Of his mental capacities
verbal memory was the salient characteristic. Every other
power was made the most of by the tenacity of his memory
for words. Without this aid many of his faculties would
have had only a sort of common-place manifestation. He
had the power — whether naturally or acquired it is hard to
say — of investing thoughts at the spur of the moment in
language at once verbose, rotund, or singularly unique. It
almost amounted to a natural aptitude to express thoughts in
ornate language. This kind of style sounds grand, startles
for a time, but at length ceases to have its attractions even
on the public ear. As for committing it to the press, think-
ing it good English composition, nothing could be further
from the standard of excellence. The writer was a student
at the University of Edinburgh two or three years after
Daniel Chapman left it. Although four years a student at
the same alma mater, he never heard Daniel Chapman's
name mentioned till within two months of his final gradua-
tion. Conversing one evening with the celebrated Professor
Wilson (the Christopher North of Blackwood) on Sheffield,
her poets and her scholars, Montgomery, Elliott, and Bailey
having been on the tapis, he suddenly turned the subject and
said, "By the bye, did you know a person called Daniel Chap-
man, who came from your town. He attended my moral
philosophy class for a session. He was a man of some genius,
but was sorely disappointed at not carrying off the moral phi-
losophy gold medal ; but his style of composition was peculiar
and inflated ; and as there were better men against whom he
had to contend, he failed necessarily in what he aimed at.
I was very sorry : he was an amiable man ; but I have a duty
to perform, and the best men alone carry off the highest
honours. At that time," continued the Professor, "it was my
custom to meet the students on the Saturday morning to
hear them read the most brilliant passages of their prize
essays. On one of these occasions I called upon Mr. Daniel
Chapman to read his essay, or portions of it. What with
the gravity of his manner, the peculiar stiffness of his utter-
ance, and the grandiloquent language in which the essay was
couched, it was not long before the whole class was convulsed
with laughter — and I laughed too, for I could not help it. I

296 HENRY PICKFORD, THE LEARNED GRINDER.

never had so much difficulty in restoring the students to
order ; and, in fact, this could not be done till I had called up
another student to read his essay."

Notwithstanding all this, Daniel Chapman was a remark-
able man, and for him to do what he did redounded to his
infinite credit. To be able to throw aside the Sheffield slang,
and attain the polish and perfection that he did, shows a
power of perseverance truly Demosthenic. His enunciation,
in spite of what the Scotch students might think, was highly
nervous, and consequently exquisitely distinct, and his pro-
nunciation of words, on the whole, beautiful in the extreme.
The manner of his sounding the vowel I, and all words con-
taining it, in any syllable, was worthy of all imitation, for it
fell upon the ear with a peculiar fascination. With a little
more of the anime in his composition— that which gives the
motive power to all the faculties — Daniel Chapman might
have become the impassioned orator, and, at will, have "Ruled
the fierce Democracy." As it was, the impression he pro-
duced on all audiences was of no ordinary character.

Personal Recollections of Mr. Henry Pickford.

Henry Pickford was born in Sheffield about 1806. His
father, Mr. James Pickford, was an industrious, respectable,
and pious man, by trade a saw grinder. Leaving school when
about thirteen years of age, Henry Pickford began to work
with his father at the trade of saw grinding. From that
period he was " self educated," except some little assistance
rendered by the late Rev. Thos. Smith, A.M., Classical Tutor
of Rotherham College, and one or two other persons. His
natural taste was for the acquisition of languages. He was,
I believe, in a great degree animated in these pursuits by
the laudable ambition of imitating that remarkable Sheffield
man of whom we have just been hearing, the late Rev.
Daniel Chapman. He pursued his studies, early and late,
with characteristic ardour and considerable success. One
day he very much astonished the attendants of the Bible
Society's depot by applying to purchase a Chaldo-Syriac
Testament. This led to inquiries which, I believe, were
the means of his introduction to some of the clergy. He
had been brought up at the Queen street Chapel, and was a
member of Mr. Boden's church, and, for some time, his
thoughts had been directed towards the work of the Christian

SELF-MADE MEN. 297

ministry amongst the Independents. Certain circumstances,
however, at length occurred that led him to examine the
principles and formularies of the Established Church, and
having by this means arrived at certain definite views and
convictions, he joined that communion under the ministry of
the late Rev. Thomas Best, M.A., at St. James's Church.
He was thus led to make the acquaintance of the Rev. T. D.
Atkinson, at that time the esteemed incumbent of St. Philip's.
From the pen of that gentleman a short notice appeared,
which, as a document written at the time, furnishes a clearer
and more authentic account by a competent judge of his
literary attainments than could now have been supplied from
memory. The following is an extract : —

" This young man, though moving in the inferior walks
of life, had, by persevering industry and diligence, attained
to a considerable knowledge of various languages. The writer
of this article well recollects the pleasing surprise which was
created in his mind some two years since by the following
circumstance, which led him to make further inquiries re-
specting him, and ever after to feel a lively interest about his
progress and future prospects. Mr. Pickford happened to call
upon him. Amongst other inquiries one was made whether
he had ever read any of the Greek dramatic writers ? He
replied in the negative ; but wishing to ascertain his pro-
ficiency in the reading of Greek, a request was made that he
would recite a few lines from Sophocles, which was lying on
the table. He did so ; not only correctly as it regarded the
reading, but, after a little attention, rendered the passage
into English in a manner very creditable to him. This cir-
cumstance is mentioned to show that the mind of this young
man was of no ordinary kind, when, without friends, almost
without assistance of any sort, and certainly without any
regular or efficient education, in the midst too of a laborious
daily occupation, he could attain to such a proficiency. He
had acquired considerable knowledge of the Latin language.
The writer has now in his possession many of his translations
from various authors, several books of Juvenal, the whole of
Persius, &c. To Hebrew and to several of the Oriental lan-
guages he had paid much attention. Professor Lee (of Cam-
bridge University), who had seen some of his translations,
pronounced that they did him much credit. French, Italian,
German, Spanish, also obtained a share of his attention.
Under such circumstances a proposition was made, and
through the kindness of friends nearly brought to a suc-

x

298 HENRY PICKFORD.

cessful conclusion, that he should be sent to the University of
Cambridge, and put in a way of honourably distinguishing
himself by the fair exercise of those talents which God had
bestowed upon him." One of the papers above referred to
by Mr. Atkinson as having been sent to Professor Lee, con-
sisted of a translation into one of the Oriental languages of
a well-known personification of one of the four Seasons, I
think " Spring," by Mrs. Barbauld.

Henry Pickford was of a very amiable and cheerful dispo-
sition. Indeed, his exuberance of spirits, united with great
fluency of speech, was apt, at seasons, to explode in un-
controllable fits of mirth, fun, and laughter. Some per-
sons were inclined to regard such outbursts as indicative and
proof of real habitual levity of mind. Such an opinion would
certainly be a great mistake. Such occasions were simply
the outward manifestation of one of Nature's kindly gifts.
In fact it acted as a safety-valve.

In July, 1830, seeing that his bodily and mental powers
were kept at too great and constant a strain, I persuaded him,
and he actually made arrangements, to accompany me to the
"Western coast, in order to enjoy what at the time he very
much needed, an entire relaxation for some weeks. Unfor-
tunately for him the saw trade, which had been dull, became
brisk. His employers, therefore, pressed him very hard and
earnestly to do all the work he possibly could ; and he, being
anxious to get all the money he was able in prospect of the
University, instead of going with me to the sea-side and in-
haling the invigorating breezes of the ocean, stayed at home
and exerted himself to the utmost; in one instance working
all night, during a season of remarkably hot weather. He
ere long found that he had to pay the penalty which physical
laws exact on all, without distinction, who disregard or in-
fringe them. That great exertion did him an irreparable
injury, having eventually the effect of developing a latent ten-
dency to consumption, so that from that time he only lived a
year. Although during the succeeding months there were
the usual alternations of hope and fear, cloud and sunshine,
yet his earthly expectations were in reality blasted. His
medical advisers were Dr. (afterwards Sir Arnold) Knight, and
the late Mr. Wilson Overend ; but from the first they gave to
his parents but slender hopes as to his recovery.

It was my privilege to visit him during the whole course
of his illness. He died in July, 1831, about 25 years of age.
Amidst the eager and successful pursuit of literature he had

nENRY PICKFORD.

299

not neglected the

one thing needful.

He was a

younc

&»

intelligent, and sincere Christian, and purposed devoting his
talents and his life to the service of his Lord and Master.
Relying on Divine mercy through the atonement and inter-
cession of Christ, his end was peace. Respecting him nothing
can be more appropriate than the lines of Mrs. Hemans :

" The ethereal fire hath shivered
The fragile censer in whose mould it quivered,
Brightly, consumingly."

APPENDIX.

Samuel Scantlebury. p. 7.
Mr. Samuel Scantlebury died at Chicago, U.S., the 31st
December, 1874, aged 74. He was born 1st September, 1800.

Early Bankers, p. 9.
There is still standing in the Hartshead, immediately
above where the Ked Lion Inn crosses the passage, a poor
house occupied by a working jeweller. The door opens out
of the Hartshead, and the window in the side looks out into
a little yard. In the wall over this is a stone with the in-
scription— H.

Haslehurst & Son,
1783.

Mr. Hall Overend and the Resurrectionists.

p. 45.
Leonard : Mr. Hall Overend was an enthusiast in the
cause of surgical science, which in his day was carried on
amid great disadvantages and hazards, since the law provided
only for the dissection of criminals who had been hanged,
and the supply was altogether inadequate for the medical
schools. This gave rise to the horrible practice of employing
"resurrection men" to disinter clandestinely bodies which
relatives supposed had been borne to their last home. Mr.
Overend established the Sheffield Medical School, and was its
most zealous promoter. The duty of obtaining "subjects"
rested mainly upon him, and he carried it out Avith charac-
teristic vigour and success. None but a man standing so
high as he did, professionally and socially, could have sus-
tained himself against the prejudice which the suspicion of
the employment of " resurrection men " brought upon him,
for not only were the feelings of families grievously wounded,
by fears or realities, but there existed an ever-smouldering
popular indignation, which the slightest incident might any
day have caused to break out in riot and outrage. Besides
this, was the constant risk of the capture or injury of some
of the agents employed, or the search of the premises of the

ME. HALL OVEEEND. 301

school, which might have resulted in the discovery of some
body capable of being identified. It certainly was not a sub-
ject favourable to the humour of Hood's lines, representing
the ghost of a departed wife as coming to her husband's bed-
side and saying —

" The body-snatchers, they have come,

And made a snatch at me ;

It's very odd that kind of men

Can't let a body be."

Mr. Hall Overend had not even the benefit of that rule of
political economy that occupations are highly paid in propor-
tion to their disagreeableness and danger. Both in money and
in mental anxiety and worry, he lost largely by the war he
waged against antiquated law in the interest of science and
humanity. The students had the "subjects" for the mere
sum paid to the men who procured them, while the sacrifices
and costs of Mr. Overend himself were utterly unrequited.
There were rumours that Mr. Overend personally took part
in the lifting of bodies and their conveyance to the medical
school, and it was a popular belief that his death was
hastened by injuries received in one of these nocturnal ex-
peditions. It was improbable enough that a gentleman over
50 years of age, whose clays were intensely occupied in a most
laborious practice, could personally give up his nights to the
labours, risks, and exposure incident to body-snatching ; but
I had the opportunity lately of conversing with a surgeon, in
his student days one of the young gentlemen, of the most
respectable families in the neighbourhood, who sought the
advantage of being Mr. Overend's pupils. This gentleman
holds in unbounded honour the memory of his old master,
and on my naming to him the rumour I have mentioned, it
gave rise to a very interesting conversation, which perhaps I
had better record in its original form of dialogue.

Doctoe : Mr. Overend did not go out, but he knew what
was done, and on almost the last occasion when we brought
in a body, he happened to be in Church street, and was in a
state of extreme perturbation lest the constables should search
the house and find it. I satisfied him at last by showing
that the body could not be identified.

Leonaed : "What sort of men were employed in this work ?

Doctoe : There were two men employed, but we pupils
were active accomplices, planning the operations, keeping
watch, giving signals, drawing off the watchers, and carrying
away the bodies. When we had got a corpse in the bottom
of the gig, or dressed up in cloak, bonnet, and veil, supported

302 APPENDIX.

between two of us, we were not long in driving to Sheffield.
Mr. Overend kept good horses, and anybody who tried to
catch us after we had got off, must have looked sharp.

Leonard : I suppose you did not often venture on the
town grave yards ?

Doctor : No ; unless there was some special reason for
it, in the singularity of a case. I remember a deformed
woman who had died in childbirth. We were very anxious
to examine her, and we got her. But we preferred the quiet
village churchyards — most of these within 12 or 14 miles
were visited at times.

Leonard : When your men got to work on a newly-filled
grave, they would soon get at the body ?

Doctor : Well, not always. They sometimes found ob-
stacles put in their way, or graves made deep. I remember
one case where the men had excavated, and came back to us
saying there was neither body nor coffin there. We had to
give it up for a time ; but we were so sure that we tried again,
and we found that the sexton, when he had gone low enough,
had made a sort of cave along one side of the grave, and the
coffin had been pushed in there.

Leonard : You would not like now to run such a risk as
you did then ?

Doctor : Oh, the excitement totally overbore the risk.
You will quite understand how the expeditions would arouse
the adventurous spirits of young medical students, who had
to plan and conduct them. The greater the difficulty the more
we tried to overcome it. Most of the adventures were of our
own planning.

Leonard : How did you go about them ?

Doctor : We went out " prospecting," to borrow a word
unknown then. When we heard of a death in one of the
villages, one or two of us would go out for a country walk,
with a piece of bread and cheese in our pockets, and a silver
coin or two, not of the largest. We rested in a little village
alehouse, and of course we must look at the church or copy
curious epitaphs in the churchyard. Sextons were usually
communicative. We ascertained where some poor body was
to be buried in a day or two, perhaps saw the sexton at work,
noted the points it was necessary to watch, marked the line
of retreat, and settled the best time to come. When the
time arrived, we walked to the place by different ways, and
the gig came after, to diminish the risk of its being observed
waiting.

THE RESURRECTIONISTS. 303

Leonard : Of course it would be a great object with you,
when you had rifled a grave, to have it filled up so as to show
no trace of disturbance, but you must sometimes have had to
escape in a hurry.

Doctor : Oh, yes. I remember one very funny case. It
happened in a village that had -been infested by fowl-stealers,
who had made the people very vigilant, and we knew several
of them kept their guns in readiness loaded with slugs. All
had gone right with us. The night was dark. We had got
the body removed to a little distance, and the men were
rapidly completing the grave, when unluckily the sky cleared
and the moon shone out. A young couple had been married
that day, and lived in a cottage overlooking the churchyard.
The bride happened to get out of bed during the night, just
too soon for us, and to look out of the window. Of course
she shrieked when she saw us, and her cry brought her
husband to the window. She screamed " Shoot ! shoot ! "
and if we had seen the husband turn from the window and
come back again, we should have supposed he had got his
gun, and have expected a charge of slugs. Of course we
could not stay to finish the work, though we got clear off with
the body. We had a narrow escape at another village where
the church and the rectory were adjacent. Instead of finding
all quiet at the usual time as we expected, we perceived that
some of the rectory family were up. The rector had gone
out to dinner, and besides the servants in the house, a man
was in the out premises, waiting to assist the coachman in
putting up the carriage horses. We were just ready to be off,
when the carriage came up, but we had to bring away a fellow
pupil, whom I had put on the rectory yard wall, where he lay
to watch. Our usual mode of signalling was by throwing
stones in the direction of the party to be warned, but in this
case our watcher was too far off, and I had no chance but to
run across the rectory lawn and bring him away. On another
occasion a strict watch had been set over a grave. We got
the watchers into the public-house, and so entertained them
with our songs and stories that our object was accomplished
quietly, and we left the watchers boasting what they would
have done if the body-snatchers had dared to come there.

Wragg : I think I can tell a story how one of the two
professional resurrectionists once got into trouble. About
the year 1830, a young man died of consumption and was
buried in Bradfield churchyard, close to the east end of the
church. Some one near the church hearing a gig, and the feet

304 APPENDIX.

of a horse pacing about, got up to learn the cause of so
unusual a noise, and saw what was going on in the church-
yard. Those in the gig made a precipitate retreat towards
Sheffield. One man was caught in endeavouring to make
his escape from the churchyard, in which he would have
succeeded, but his course was*impeded by a deep snow drift.
This man suffered twelve months' imprisonment.

Campo Lane. p. 46.

Mr. Hunter, in an unpublished MS., says: — "In this
name (Campo lane) is preserved the memory of the ancient
game of camping or foot ball, which was known by this
name, camping, in the time when the Promptorium was
compiled, and is still in use in that sense in the counties of
Norfolk and Suffolk. See the Promptorium in Mr. Way's
edition, p. 60, and the Eastern Counties Glossaries, by Moore
and Forby. * * The ' Campar field' occurs several times
in the returns of their Sheffield estates by the Dukes of
Norfolk, under the Acts 1 and 10 Geo. I., compelling Koman
Catholics to register their estates with the Clerk of the Peace.
This proves that there was once a field in Sheffield appro-
priated to this sport, and what more probable than that it was
the open space now called Paradise square ? Campo lane, so
called, as leading to it — in full, the Camper field lane."

Charles Sylvester, p. 46.

See "Local Notes and Queries" (Sheffield Independent,
Dec. 14, 1874).

Daniel Wheeler, pp. 53, 54.

For further particulars of Mr. Wheeler's life, see a Note
by Mr. T. 0. Hinchliffe, in "Local Notes and Queries"
(Sheffield Independent, July 1, 1875). The date of Mr.
Wheeler's departure for Russia is there given as 1818, and
his return 1832. He died in New York, June 12, 1840,
* wed 69.

Early Sheffield Printers, pp. 78, 79, 107.
The following is from Mr. Hunter's MSS. : —
" The first book I have met with, published at Sheffield,
is Bagshaw's small 12mo. De Spiritualis Pecci, &c.,byNevill

EAELY SHEFFIELD PRINTERS. 305

Syinmons, 1708. This Mr. Simmons seems to have been of
a family well known in the annals of printing as purchasers
of Paradise Lost, and as printers of the works of many of
the Noncon. Divines in the latter half of the 17th century.
They were of Worcester and London. See in the works of
Baxter, or in Baxter's Life of Sylvester, an apology for him-
self touching some remarks which had been illiberally cast
upon him as having by an exorbitant demand for his works
contributed to bring ruin upon his printer, Nevill Simmons.
This Mr. Simmons seems to have settled at Sheffield in con-
sequence of his marriage with a lady of that place. He had
many children, one of them a dissenting minister of some
eminence, and another who succeeded to his business, and at
the time of his death was post-master in Sheffield. Many of
the family are buried in the chancel of the parish church
there, but Mr. Simmons the elder's name does not appear
among the rest who are upon the plate. I am therefore in-
clined to think that he was not buried here, but that the
Nevill Simmons, who died in 1722, and is buried in Wake-
field churchyard, is this gentleman.

" John Garnet, who had been a soldier, began printing
here 39 years ago, that year the hospital was first taken
down, but never printed a newspaper. Lister set up in oppo-
sition to him ; he gave out and died at Dronfield.

" The first newspaper printed in Sheffield was called the
Sheffield Weekly [Journal] . The first number was published
on Tuesday, 30th April, 1754. Revel Homphrey was pro-
prietor and printer. I know not how long it existed.

"Ward began the Sheffield [Public Advertiser in 1770.]

" In 1787, Messrs. Gales and Martin issued another weekly
paper, under the title of ' the Sheffield Register.' The part-
nership was soon after dissolved, and the paper continued
with great spirit by Mr. Gales. It became one of the prints
obnoxious to Government in the darkest days of Mr. Pitt's
administration, and the editor not being very careful of his
conduct with respect to political affairs, found it convenient
to retire to America, and thus escaped a prosecution and con-
viction with his friend Redhead Yorke. This was in the
year 1794. Mr. Montgomery, who had been for some time
his foreman, took up the paper, and published it under the
title of the 'Iris,' or Sheffield Advertiser for the northern
counties. He has conducted it upon the same principles on
which Mr. Gales did, and once suffered imprisonment for a
paragraph which appeared in it.

306 APPENDIX.

" Ward gave up his paper in 17 [93], when another was
set up, professing a line of politics opposite to those of the
Register, printed hy Northall under the title of the Sheffield
Courant. This paper had not a long existence.

" From this time to 1807 the Iris was the only newspaper
published in Sheffield. In consequence of a quarrel between
the Editor and a printer in the town, ' The Sheffield Mer-
cury' was set up in opposition to it. The first number was
published by Wm. Todd, on Saturday, March 28th, 1807."

Ebenezer Elliott's Monument, p. 85.
Removed for the purpose of re-erection in Weston Park,
July 1st, 1875.

Angel Street, p. 98.

While these sheets have been passing through the press,
the whole of the property mentioned at the top of p. 98
["where is now Mr. Carter's, shoemaker, there was an ob-
struction in the road. It was at the bottom of the Angel
yard, and Mr. Wormall's shop is part of it"], from the
Angel gateway up to Messrs. Cockayne's has been demolished
to make room for the expansion of that firm. In the pro-
cess of destruction the workmen, on the 30th April, 1874,
laid bare the upper side wall of the shop until then occupied
by Mr. Wormall, next above the Angel inn, exposing for a
short time to daylight a fragment of an old Sheffield house.
The front was modern, but the side wall exposed was built of
rubble stone, as was the fashion in Sheffield, and was much
decayed. There were several old windows, of more than
ordinary size, with stone stanchions, years ago bricked up,
the style of which suggested that the building was erected in
the 17th century. An old chimney still remained, built with
large dressed stones. Was this part of the projecting build-
ing mentioned on p. 98 as being altered by Mr. Walker ?

There is a suspicion that the first Sheffield Theatre was
up the Angel Inn yard, behind the property above referred to,
and now used as stabling.

Houses in Portobello. p. 155.

The two houses here spoken of as "yet standing," have
iust been demolished (June, 1875).

MR. JOHN SPENCER. 307

Madam Fell, p. 184.

See "Local Notes and Queries" in the Sheffield Inde-
pendent for July 6, 1874.

Mr. John Spencer, pp. 186, 190.

Mr. Spencer died at Masbro' Cottage, Masbro', November
24th, 1874, in his 84th year. He deserves to be remembered
as a worthy relic of what we may almost call mediaeval Shef-
field. A Sheffield manufacturer of the old school, he re-
tained knee breeches, stockings, and shoes, together with the
vernacular in all its purity ; but he yet had something of re-
finement both in language and manner. When urged to
push his trade by sending out more travellers, he would re-
ply with a confident smile — "Nay lad; we'll put in a bit
better stuff if it be possible, and have a bit better work-
manship, and that'll sell Spencer's files, without more travel-
lers." Many of his quaint and shrewd sayings are commonly
quoted by his old associates, workmen, and neighbours. He
lived on terms of hearty familiarity with his workmen and
poor neighbours, and was known among the urchins of Pea-
croft, for whom he always had kindly words and looks, as
"Daddy Spencer." Straightforwardness, urbanity of manner,
and kindness of heart were his characteristics. As a boy
Mr. Spencer commenced working as a file cutter, at the early
age of seven years. When he was 17 years old his uncle,
who was a file manufacturer, died, leaving him the business,
which he, under the guidance of his mother, carried on.
Being in London when the war between this country and
France was brought to a close, and being unable to obtain
any orders owing to the badness of trade, Mr. Spencer deter-
mined to cross the Channel and try what he could do in
France. He succeeded in gaining customers, and there are
houses in France who gave Mr. Spencer orders nearly sixty
years ago that still continue to do business with his sons.
Mr. Spencer was a man of great industry. It was his inva-
riable rule to manufacture a good article, and to treat his
workmen with kindness, and when depression came, instead
of taking advantage of the times, he kept his men on full
work, and stocked the goods until there was a revival, when
he soon cleared off his accumulation of stock. Having him-
self experienced the difficulties of travelling on horseback,
carrying his patterns in saddle bags, before there were even
coaches, Mr. Spencer knew fully the value of improved means

308 MR. JOHN SPENCER.

of communication, and be accordingly threw himself heartily
into various schemes to this end when the times were ripe.
He was an active promoter of the "Humber Steam Ship Com-
pany," which, every Tuesday and Friday night, ran light
boats, drawn by several horses, to Thorne, and thence by
steam to Hull, London, and other places. In 1835-6, Mr.
John Spencer was Master Cutler. His term of office was a
very important and exciting year, abounding in joint-stock
schemes of all sorts. As we had then no Mayor, the Master
Cutler was by courtesy the authority to call and preside over
public meetings; and the Reform Act of 1832 appointed him
Returning Officer. The first bill for the Sheffield and Rother-
ham line (of which Mr. Spencer was a warm supporter) had
been lost, and it was resolved to apply again ; the North
Midland scheme was brought forward, and a great effort,
which many of the supporters of the Sheffield and Rotherham
helped to defeat, was made by Mr. Spencer and others to
secure Sheffield a station on the main line. The carrying of
the line by Masbrough was followed by various schemes for
improving the position of Sheffield, and prospectuses for lines
to Manchester and also to Goole and Hull were issued. Mr.
Spencer may, indeed, be credited with the initiation of the
Sheffield and Manchester railway. He pressed the subject
upon the late Mr. T. A. Ward, Mr. Deakin, and Mr. E.
Smith, when it was decided that if the manufacturers of
Manchester would co-operate with them they would form a
company to start a railway between the two towns. Mr.
Spencer immediately put himself in communication with the
Sidebottoms and other influential gentlemen of Manchester,
and with what success the traffic upon the railway now tes-
tifies. In the year in which Mr. Spencer was Master Cutler,
the Company over which he presided, the Town Trustees, and
the Church Burgesses had the honour to present an address
to the Duchess of Kent, on the occasion of her visit, with the
Princess Victoria, to Wentworth House ; and Mr. Spencer
also presided as returning officer at Mr. John Parker's re-
election for the borough, on the occasion of his becoming one
of the Lords of the Treasury. Mr. Spencer continued to
carry on successfully the business in Pea croft until the year
1849, when he gave it up to two of his sons. On retiring
from business Mr. Spencer went to live on an estate he had
at Masbro', where he died.

INDEX.

Abbeydale, 154
Abraham, J. H., 247
Ackland, Mr., 123
Addy, John, 168
Addy, Geo. & Son, 103
Addy street, 158, 162
Albert Hall, 261
Alcock, John & Charles,

177, 218
Aldam, Thos., 53
Alexander, Emperor, 54
Algar, T., 53
Allcroft, Watson walk, 16
Allen, Mr., 131
Allen, James, Rother-

ham, 273-8
Allen street, or lane, 75,

131,135,144,181,206
Allott, Alfred, 207
Allott, James, 229-30
Allsebrook, Wm., 148
Alsop, Wm., 175
Amory, Thos., 74
Andrew family, The, 131
Andrew street, 221
Andrews, James, 152
Andrews, Nathan, 70,

179
Andrews, William, 176
Arjgel Inn, 98, 99, 306
Angel street, 72, 88, 97-

106, 193,248,270,306
Anston, 150
Apprentices, 180
Argilt hill, 133
Armitages of Mousehole,

196
Arnison & Co., 87
Arundel street, 72, 237-

212
Arundell, Thomas Earl,

59
Ash, William, 40, 56, 62,

66, 153, 189, 241, 270,

280
Ashforth, Ellis, & Co.,

6, 102, 193
Ashley, Paul, 278
Assay Office, 31, 266

Assemblies, Sheffield,

242
Assembly Eooms, 33,

242, 290
Athorpe, Col., 279-80,

282
Atkinson, Charles, 31
Atkinson (& Lee), dra-
per, 110
Atkinson, Eev. T. D.,

297
Attercliffe, 3, 40, 156,

161
Attercliffe Chapel, 176
Attercliffe Common, 1 16
Axe, Mr., Wheat's pas-
sage, 176
Bacon, Clay, 109
Bacon, H. A., 109, 127,

181, 206
Bacon Stephen, 188
Badger, builder, 40
Badger, Thomas, 172
Bagshawe, of Hazle-

badge, 212
Bailey, Eadon & Bailey,

136
Bailey, Joseph, 39, 136,

159
Bailey, Samuel, 39, 41,

108, 122, 136, 287
Bailey family, 136
Bailey field, 41, 191,199,

200
Bailey's yard, 136, 263
Baines, E., 9, 146
Baker's hill, 228
Ball, Campo lane, 6
Ball, Hawley croft, 187,

189
Ball, Spring street, 141
Ball street, 145, 158
Balm Green, 263, 265
Balmforth dam, 228
Bamforth, Madame, 156,

184
Bamforth Wood, 156
Bank, Sheffield & Hal-

lamshire, 54

Bank, Sheffield & Eo-

therham, 58
Bank street, 36, 107,166-

172, 195, 266
Bankers, The first, 9,

300
Banner Cross, 230
Baptisms in the Don,

157
Barber, A Church street,

55
Barber, cutler, 181
Barber & Genn, 142
Barber Jonathan, 46
Barber Nook, 162
Barber, Sergt., 11
Bardwell, Fredk., 53
Bardwell, T. N., 52, 76,

263
Barker, J. E., barrister,

169
Barker, John, Lead

works, 229
Barker, Eev. Jos., 203
Barker pool, 42, 47, 80,

253, 261-2
Barkers, shoemakers, 83
Barkers, of Bakewell,

165
Barleycorn Tavern, 148,

256
Barlow, saddler, 115
Barlows, The, 8, 251
Barnard, Eev. Saml., 236
Barnes, George, 28
Barnes, Isaac, 27, 28
Barracks, 208, 272
Barraclough, Hollis

croft, 190
Barrel yard dam, 228
Barry, Miss, 248
Barton, James, 244
Bashforth, Nanny, 168
Baths in the streams,

158
Battie, Wm., 42, 50, 58
Batty of Sharrow, 103
Bay Childers inn, 74, 75
Bay Horse, 44

310

INDEX.

Bayes. John, 170
Bayley, Mrs., 255
Bayley, Rev. Robt. Sla-
ter, 235
Bayliffe, Eev. Geo., 170
Bawer, Geo., 73
Beal, Michael, 88
Bearclshaw, cutler, 207
Beardshaw, Jonathan,

187, 189, 190
Beardshaw, Wm., 173
Beauchieff, 162
Bee, brace-bit maker,

188
Bee Hive, The, 155, 255
" Beef-headed Bob," 279
Beilby & Knott, 95
Beilbv & Proctor, 137
Bell Hagg, 53
Bell-house, 243
Bell, John, parliamen-
tary candidate, 263
Bellefield, street, 146
Bells, Church, 48, 49
"Belper Joe," 225
Bennet, Edward, Coal-
pit lane, 256-8
Bennet, Geo., 56, 69, 233,

257
Bennett, Dr., 291
Bennett, George, drug-
gist, 93
Bennett, grocer, 148
Bennett, rioter, 65
Benson, Mr., 189
Bent's Green, 154
Best, Rev. Thos., 297
Bethel, Sir Richard, 1
Bickley, James, 214
Biggin, Joshua, 221
Biggin, Samuel, 221
Billy Hill's parlour, 221
Billy Red waistcoat, 226
Binuey, attorney, 195
Binney, Ensign J., 282
Binney, Messrs., 10
Binns, Mrs., New street,

171
Birch Ann (ten children

at a birth), 128
Bird-in-the-hand,

Church lane, 55, 139
Bird-in-the-hand, Spring

street, 141
Bird, Thomas, spectacle

maker, 96
Birks, constable, 113
Birks, Ebenezer, 265

Birks, J. S. & T., 16, 17
Birks, Thomas, 221
Bishop, factor, 242
Black Lamb lane, 65,

154, 155
Black Lion, 104, 109
Black Swan, 6, 109
Blackburn, Rev. J., 157
Blacker, Jacky, 270-1
Blackwell, John, 72
Blackwell, Mark, 130
Blake, Capt. J., 282
Bland, John, constable,

171, 273
Bland, William, con-
stable, 113, 171
Bland, Parson, 60
Blind Fiddlers, 5, 167
Blind lane, 41, 261
Blonk.Silcock, & Co.,250
Blonk street, 149
Blue Bell, 71, 74
Blue Boar, 62, 114, 141
Blues, The, 249, 280
Blythes,of Norton Lees,

79, 80
Blythman, Geo., 109
Boden, Rev. James, 175,

233, 296
Bole hill, 154, 280
Bolsover hill, 45
Bolsover, Thomas, 233
Booker, Thos. & Wm.,

chartists, 277, 279
Boote Daniel, 37
Booth, Mrs. Sally, ac-
tress, 96
Booth, Thomas, 5
Boothroyd, 203
Botbam, confectioner,70
Boulton & Watt, 97, 142
Bournes, The, 165
Bow street, 43
Bowden, Geo., 203
Bower & Bacon, 110
Bower, "Bishop," 129
Bower spring, 128, 129,

144, 152, 263
Bowling Green street,

135
Bowling, Richard, 247
"Bowman, Mr.," 225-6
Bowman, pawnbroker,

176, 256
Boys' Charity School,

126, 169, 242, 290
Bradbury, silversmith,
238

Bradbury, Lieut. T., 282
Bradfield churchyard,

304
Bradley, Wm. brewer, 99
Bradshaw, Joseph, 172
Bradwell wakes, 212
Brady, Quaker, 41
Bramall, Daniel, file-
maker, 241, 251
Bramall lane, 143, 146,

147, 153, 241
Bramhall, 149
Bramley & Gainsford, 3,

233
Brammer, Broad lane,

202
Brelsforth's school, 221
Bretland, Thos., 79
Brewer, Rev. Jehoiada,

69, 172-175, 233, 246
Brewis, 182

Brickholes.The, 199, 202
Brick lane, 136
Bridge street, 112, 158,

237
Bridgehouses, 3, 144,

152, 223-5
Bridgehouses' tragedy,

224
Bridle-sty, 162
Bright, Henry, Whirlow,

59
Bright, Squire, 187
Bright, Stephen, 59
Bright, Thos., yeoman,

79
Bright street, 155, 255
Brightmore, Robt., 43,

58, 150
Brightmore street, 146
Brights, of Ecclesall,

255
Brightside, 156, 161
Brightside lane, 157
Brightside Vestry Hall,

127
Brittain, W. S., 179
Brittain & Wilkinson,

129
Britannia Metal-teapots,

first makers of, 194
Brittlebank, Joseph, 4
Broad lane, 44, 45, 51,

63, 135, 193-205, 238,

271
Broad street, 218, 231
Broadbents, The, 8, 9,

10, 165

INDEX.

311

Broadbent, Thos., 3, 164
Broadheads, of Westbar,

130
Broadhead, Gurney,

Spoiles & Co., 195
Broadhead, Bogers, 194
Broadhead, Samuel (and

Atkin), 171, 194
Broadhurst, table-knife

manufacturer, 234
Broadhurst, Thos., 156
Brocco, The, 105, 203,

206, 208
Brocksopp's Baths, 158
Brookes, Alfred, 80
Brookfield, — , 6, 53
Brookhill, 43, 113, 146,

150
Broomfield, 162
Broomgrove, 162
Broomhall, 65, 90, 153,

162, 264
Broomhall Mill, 59, 147
Broomhall Spring, 153,

263
Broomhall street, 154,

155, 255
Broomhead Benj., 217
Broomhead, Henry, 150
Broomhead, Sarah, 173
Broomhead, Wightman,

& Moore, 247
Broomhill, 162
Broomspring lane, 98,

146, 148, 149
Brougbam, Lord, 1
Broughton, Spence, 116

(his last letter), 117
Brown, Capt. J., 282
Brown Cow, 41
Brown, Geo., druggist, 76
Brown, James, book-
binder, 105
Brown, John, Stamp

office, 53, 285
Brown, John, draper, 52
Brown, Sir John, 155
Brown, Boger, 149
Brown, Walter, 53
Browne, Bev. Cuthbert,

76
Browne, Dennis, 229-30
Browne, Dr., 4, 56, 228,

283
Brownell, Mrs., 58
Brownell, Peter, 282
Brownhill, " Second-the-

motion," 188

Brownhill, Jonathan, 189
Brownill, Chas., 31
Brumby, Wm., 5
Buchan, Dr., 12, 145
Buckingham, Duke of, 78
Bull baiting, 209
Bull Inn, Wicker, 221
Bullock, William, 229
Bullstake, 89
Buonaparte, Napoleon,

88
Burbeary & Smith, 6
Burdon's toy shop, 87
Burgess street, 132, 261
Burgin, Charles, 188
Burgin, George & Jona-
than, 152, 224
Burgin, printer, 268
Burgin, Thos., gardener,

127
Burgin, Wm., gardener,

127, 157
Burial ground, 154, 198,

231
Burkinshaw family, 135
Burn Greave, 108, 136,

152, 159, 161
Burngreave road, 152,

161
Burns tavern, 29
Burnt Tree lane & well,

206, 263
Burrell, G. & J. S., 93
Burton Jack, 225, 227
Burton, John, 148
Burton, William, Boyd's

Mill, 230
Burton-bridge fields, 228
Bush, Wm., 68
Butcher, John, 69
Butcher, Wm. & S., 235
Butler, Geo. & Co., 131
Button lane, 153, 256,

260
Cack Alley, 128
Cade, James, 83
Cadman, Seth, 154, 253,

256
Cadman's-in-the-Fields,

153
Calver, Thos., 226
Cammellcte Johnson, 234
Campo lane, 6-10, 26-28,

46, 47, 304
Canada, Upper & Lower,

147
Canal, 146
Candow, Mr., 71

Canning street, 255
Carlisle street, 152
Carnelly, volunteer, 283
Carr, Aid. John, 249
Carr, Geo., post-master,

86
Carr, Joseph, draper, 87
Carr, Mr., 154
Carr, Biley, 87, 202
Carr, 'Siah, 48
Carr, staymaker, 53
Carr, Woodhouse & Carr,

187
Carter, shoemaker, 98,

306
Carver, Eobt., 72, 103,

280
Carver street, 129, 189
Carver street Chapel,

152, 192, 234, 294
Castle court, 89
Castle folds, 218
Castle green head, 107
Castle hill, 2
Castle Inn, 104, 112
Castle street, 108, 197,

216
Catherine street, 152
Cattle Market, 213, 222
Cawthorne, James, 37,

105, 107
Cawthorne, John, 106
Cawthorne, Thomas, 37
Cawthorne, William, 105
Cawood, Job, 41
Cecil, Joseph, 75, 163
Cemetery, General, 162
Cemetery road, 103, 194
Chadburn, William, 95
Chadwick, Bev. C, 29,

30, 39
Chadwick, Bev. C, jun.,

29
Chambers, Fras., 238
Change alley, 34, 80, 81,

247
Chantrey, Sir Francis, 4,

40,58,69,94,101,108,

199,228,234,240,248,

251, 265
Chapel Walk, 247
Chapman, Bev. Daniel,

290-6
Chapman, William, 9
Chaps or Chapmen, 139
Charles street, 131, 233,

234 251
Charley, Soft, 225-6

312

INDEX.

Charlotte, Princess, 208
Charlotte street, 155
Chartist Conspiracy :

how it was discovered,

272-279
Chartists, 168, 269-279
Cheney, Dr., 108, 155,

264
Cheney row and square,

16, 261, 264
Cherry Tree, Old, 130
Chesterfield road, 154
Chimes, 48
China square, 264
Chisholm, Captain, 128
Cholera Ground, 234
Chronicle, Sheffield, 75
Church Gates, 2
Church street, 29, 42-46,

53-61, 139
Clarbour, John, 69
Clarke, Captain B., 282
Clarkehouse lane, 162,

237
Clay Wood, 156, 234
Clays, Bridgehouses, 74,

164, 223, 224, 230
Clays, of Kentucky, 223
Clayton, Alex., 5
Clayton, Chas. & Mary,

173
Clayton, John, 179
Clayton, John, Chartist,

279
Clayton, W. H., 3, 5
Cleekhani Inn, 144
Clegg, — 24
Clegg, William, 171
Cleggs, the trumpeters,

54, 214, 239
Clerk, Cornelius, 59
Cliff, High street, 72
Clifton, William, 77
Clough House, 162
Clough lane, 147
Club Gardens, 147, 150
Club Mill, 208
Cluley, Francis, 123
Coaches, 63, 81, 99, 100,

102, 107, 267
Coalpit lane, 129, 152,

160, 234, 254, 256
Cochrane, Lord, 172
Cock, The, High street,

78, 107
Cock, The, Hollis croft,

189
Cock Tail Lady, 130

Cockayne, William, 88
Cockaynes, 17, 88, 306
Cockburn, Thomas, 80
Coe, Johnny, the knock-
kneed, 96
Coke, Dr., 189
Cole Brothers, 61
Colley, Fras., 78, 89
Collier, Eev. C, 125, 126
Colquhoun, 71
Colson Style, 115, 146,

158, 171
Columbia Works, 52
Commercial Buildings,

70, 72
Commercial street, 213
Constables, 113
Constantine, Scotland

street 194
Convent Walk, 156, 179,

255
Conway street, 153
Cook shops, 15
Cook wood, 151, 156, 161,

208
Cooper, confectioner, 72
Cooper, draper, 80
Cooper, John, 168
Cooper, Thos., grocer,

76, 77
Cooper, William, 229
Copeland, Mr., solicitor,

10
Copley, 6
Copper street, 131
Corbett, Dr., 57
Corn Exchange, 227
Comhill, 29, 160, 195
Cornish place, 157, 194
Cornish street, 144
Cotton Mill burnt, 118,

207
Cotton Mill Walk, 144
Couldwell, 158
Courant, She field, 56, 57,

94, 306
Coutts, Baroness Bur-

dett, 125
Coutts, Thomas, banker,

125
Cowley, Chris., 163
Cowley, Wm., school-
master, 29, 168
Cowen & Dixon, 71
Cowen, Thomas, 71
Cowley, Joseph, 71
Cowlishaw, J. Y., 238
Crawshaw, James, 71

Creswicks, silversmiths?

231
Crich, publican, 6
Crooked Billet yard, 78
Crookes, 181, 232
Crookes Feast, 201
Crookes, Geo., constable,

113, 232
Crookes Moor, 2, 42,162,

188, 262, 277
Crookes Moor Dams, 162
Cross Daggers, 78, 89
Cross Smithfield, 131
Crossland, 5
Crossland, spring knife

cutler, 254
Crossland's corn mill,

220
Crown, Dick, 224
Crownshaw, publican,

109
Crowther, Mrs., 131
Cubley & Preston, 77
Cup Iun, 27, 94
Cutlers' Arms, 265
Cutlers' Company, 139,

182, 184, 243
Cutlers' Feasts, 57, 66,

95, 228
Cutlers' Hall, Old, 55,

139
Cutts, I. P., 97, 188
Daisy walk, 160
Dames, 184
D'Amour, Matthias, 16
Dam road, 162
Daniels, James, 80
Daniels, Samuel, 80
Darling, Adjutant, 282
Darnall, 127, 217
Davenport, Michael, 197
Davenport's stall, 84
Davy, Patience, 171
Dawson, John, 11
Dawson, Eev. Josh., 249
Dawson, scythe grinder,

181
Deakin, Change alley,

247, 308
Deakin, George, 237
Deakin, Isaac, 130
Deakin, Miss, 95
De la Pryme, James, 229
Denton, grocer, 115
Denton, Wm., Pitsmoor,

115
Derbyshire lane, 40, 154
"Devils," 138

INDEX.

313

Devonshire street, 255
Dewsnap, Joseph, 219
Dewsnap, Thomas, 237
Dickenson, Rev. John,

82, 250
Dickensons, of Westbar,

128
Directories, 86, 127
Dissenters' Chapel, first,

111
Division street, 255
Dixon, artilleryman, 11
Dixon, Charles, 182, 184,

194
Dixon, (Cowen &), 71
Dixon, Rev. Francis, 207
Dixon, Rev. James, 114
Dixon, James, 141, 164,

194, 196, 207
Dixon, John, 31
Dixon, Joseph, 222
Dixon & Sons, 144, 178
Dixon, William, of Shire-
green, 165
Dixon, Wm. Freak., 164,

195
Docker, Rev. Mark, 28,

56, 129, 202
Doctor's field, 269
Doddridge, Dr., 249
Dodworth, Elizabeth,

(Mrs. Tudor), 241
Dog and Partridge, Fur-
nace hill, 130
Don, river, 157
Doncaster family, The,

131
Dore, 252
Dounes, Rev. Mr., 207,

256
Dove and Rainbow, The,

11
Dover hill, 169
Drabble, Lieut. J., 282
Drinking Fountains, 216
Dronfield, Lord of Manor

of, 75
Druggist, first Sheffield,

94
Duke street, Moor, 179,

269
Duke street, Park, 147
Dunkerly, Revs. Daniel

and David, 258
Dunn, Thomas, 1, 195,

198, 245
Dunn, Thomas, jun., 18,

19, 29, 176, 195

Dunn, William, 18, 19,

179
Dyson, Zaccheus, 6
Eadon family, 39
Eadon, George, 69
Eadon, George, 251
Eadon, Jobn, the mathe-
matician, 30, 32, 36-9,

196, 251
Eadon, John, 33, 136,

168, 176, 196
Eadon, Dr. Samuel, 34
Eadon, Matthias, 37
Eadon, William, 40
Eadon, W. H. &J.A..51
Eagle, William, 176
East Bank, 71, 162
East Parade, 64, 247
Eccentrics, 225
Ecclesall, 3, 154, 170
Ecclesall road, 147, 154,

162
Ecclesfield, 37, 38, 40,

136, 170,243
Eckington, 144, 272
Edward street, 167, 206
Effingham, Earl of, 274,

282
Egerton street, 254
Eggington, Billy, bird

catcher, 96
Election (Yorkshire) of

1807, 230
Ellin, Thomas, 238
Elliots of Hollis croft,

188
Elliott, Benj. Gartside,

133
Elliott, Ebenezer, 1, 85,

132, 160, 261, 278, 306
Elliott, John Gartside,

132
Elliott, Richard, 237
Ellis, Benjamin, 5
Ellis, John, 141
Ellis, Samuel, 193
Ellis, Westbar green, 179
Elmsalls, The, 74
Ernest, Dr., 60, 264
Evans, Rev. Joseph, 249
Evans, Roger, 249
Evatt, Wm., 177
Everett, Rev. James, 87,

291
Everitt, F. W., 80
Eversfield, Stephen, 168
Exchange Drapery, 266
Eyre, Ellis, Fargate, 265

Eyre, Joseph (Buggy or

Fussy), 91, 108
Eyre lane, 277
Eyre street, 131, 232-3,

241, 268-9
Eyre,Vincent Henry,283
Factors, 131
Fair, Sheffield, 201
Fair bank, Wm. & Josiah,

156
Falstaff inn, 222
Fanning, Editor, 109
Fargate, 59, 171, 260,

265-6
Farm, The, 162
Farns worth's Acadamy,

176-7
Fawcett street, 151
Fawkes, Major, 53, 285
Fearn, Frank, 70, 116,

179
Feasts and Wakes,. 200,

202
Fell, Madam, 184, 307
Fell,Mr.,ofNewhall, 161
Fenton, Colonel, 31, 34,

222, 280, 282
Fenton, 58
Fenton, Frank, 31
Fenton, John, Capt., 31
Fenton, John, of Little

Sheffield, 163
Fenton, Kay, 34
Fenton & Sons, 233
Fentonville Gardens,147
Fergusson, General, 281
Fernell, B., 241
Fiddlers, The blind, 5
Figtree lane, 23, 29, 160,

166, 168, 171, 272
Fir Vale, 220
Firth, Mark, 164
Firth, T. & Sons, 111
Fishbourne, Miss, 71
Fisher, Holmes & Co. ,88
Fisher, William, 216
Fishers, The, 54-5
Fitzwilliam, Earl, 21,

209, 255, 263, 277
Fitzwilliam street, 154,

156, 255
"Flannel Sam.," 16, 97
Flat-backs, 191
Flather, Thos., consta-
ble, 113
Fleur-de-Lis, 266
Flint well, 263
Florist inn, 203

314

INDEX.

Flour riots, 270
Flying Stationers, 268
Foden, Peter, Chartist,

171, 277-9
Ford, printer, 268
Forrest, druggist, 93
Foster, local band, 261
Foster, Campbell, 2
Foster, George, 77
Foster, Wm. & Son, 60,

77
Foster's court, 78
Foulds, Astley, 34
Foulds, Samuel, 34
Fountain, The, Coalpit

lane, 150
Fox, Benj.,Westbar, 128
Fox, Godfrey, gaol-
keeper, 89, 215, 264
Fox, Rev. Joseph, 237
Fox, North Church st.,

176
Fox, Westbar, 115
Fowler, Samuel, 115
Frame polishing, 130
France, surgeon, 60
Free Library, 23, 240
Free Writing School, 36,

41, 251
Fretson, Job, 230
Fretson, Wm., 166, 230
Friends, The, 9, 10, 168
Frith, Jemmy, 192
Frith, Mr. (Dr. Ink-
bottle), 249, 280
Frith Peter, optician, 115
Frith, Sam and Tom, 192
Froggatt, Coldwell & Co.,

195
Froggatt, Samuel, op-
tician, 97
Froggatt, solicitor's elk.,

93
Fruit Market, 89
Fulwood, 250
Furnace Hill, 129, 130
Furniss, Henry, 234
Furniss, Neddy, 110, 127
Furniss, Poles & Fur-
niss, 234
Furnival street, 233-4
Gainsford, Fenton &

Nicholson, 233
Gainsford, Robt. John,

233
Gales, A. & E., 68, 76,

159, 181
Gales, family, 13-15

Gales, Joseph, 12, 221,

305
Gaol, Old debtors', King

street, 89
Garden street Chapel,28,

126, 129,189,203,256
Garden walk, 193, 206
Gardeners' Arms, 148
Gardens, Old Sheffield,

145 et seq.
Gardner, Samuel, 188,

208
Garnet, John, printer,

107, 305
Garnett, John, nursery-
man, 152
Garside, James, 203
Garside & Shaw, 89
Gas coal, The first, 98
Gas Company, 71
Gascoigne, Daniel,

apothecary, 163
Gatley, Thomas, 130
Gatty, Dr., 96
Gatty's " Hunter," 3, 9,

75,76,77,79,189,215,

223, 230, 231, 287-8
Gaunt, John, grocer, 127
Gaunt, Joseph, scale

cutter, 127
Gaunt & Turton, 129
Gell, Philip, 153
Gell street, 153, 237
George & Dragon, Bank

street, 167
George & Dragon, Broad

lane, 202
George inn, 80
George street, 247
Gentleman's Magazine,

170
Gibbet posts, 116, 179
Gibraltar street, 129,

130, 132,144,261, 293
Gilbert, Earl of Shrews-
bury, 228
Gillatt, druggist, 80
Gillott, hatter, 94
Gillott, Joseph, 220
Gillott, Mrs., Egerton

street, 254
"Gin Sam," 16, 77
Girdlers, The, 70
Girls' Charity School,26,

143
Glanville, Samuel, 88,

99
Globe Works, 161, 198

Glossop, 216

Glossop road, 43, 146,

148,152,154,156,171,

232, 237
Glossops, of Stumper-

lowe, 207
Goddard Hall, 33, 53
Godwin, Fisher, 88
Godwin «fe Littlewood, 42
Golden Ball, 6
Goodison, Capt., 280
Goodison, Thos.,33, 180
Goodlad, Sam, 5
Goodwin, Rev. E., 37,

105, 170, 266
Gordon, Duchess of, 16
Gosling's plan, 70, 168
Gower, Nathaniel, 194
Gower street, 152
Grainger, General, 248
Grammar School Boys,

31, 33, 34
Grammar School, The

old, 29-36, 53
Grant, Joseph, scale

cutter, 127
Grant's (Ellis) stall, 84
Grapes, Church st., 54
Grapes, Westbar, 130
Gray, E., saddler, 74
Gray, William, 143, 204,

238
Grayson, optician's

workman, 96
Greatrex, James, 229
Greaves, of Sheaf works,

188, 261
Greaves,George Bustard,

of Page Hall, 74, 164,

216, 223, 230, 250
Greaves, John, Fargate,

260
Greaves, John, Glossop

road, 176
Greaves, John, grocer,

266 282
Green' Market, 89, 102
Green lane, 144, 146,

158, 202
Green lane works, 144
Green & Pickslay, 75
Green Robert, 150
Greenhill moor, 154
Gregory, cheesemonger,

89
Gregory, James, surgeon,

89
Gregory, Joshua, 67

INDEX.

315

Grenoside, 40, 63, 281
Grey Horse, 70
Greyhound, 112, 205
Griffiths, Kichard, 129
Griffiths, Richard, post-
master, 86
Grimesthorpe, 156, 161,
Grimesthorpe road, 148,

222
Grinders, Apparatus for

protection of, 248
Grindle gate, 179
Grout porridge, 181
Groves, R. & Son, 134
Grubb, William, 173
Guinea buyer, 118
Guion, Mr., 195, 203
Gunning, Matthew, 229,

231
Gunning, Thos., 229-30
Gurneys, The, 176-7
Hackney coaches, 267
Hadfield, George, 52,196,

235, 259
Hadfield, George, op-
tician, 96
Hadfield, Joseph, 235
Hadfield, Robert, 52, 60
Hadfield, Samuel, 196,

235, 259
Hagger, Mr., Westbar,

114
Hague, William, silver

stamper, 149;
Hall, Church street, 54
Hall, Dr. J. C, 238
Hall, Edward, 27, 176
Hall, John, 27
Hall, Lieut. J., 282
Hall, Miss, miser, 226
Hall, postmaster, 86
Hall, Sam, 62, 224
Hall, Samuel Parker,110
Hallam, 131
Hallamshire Hotel, 73
Hallamshire standard of

long measure, 52
Hallcar, 102, 151, 161
Hallcar lane, 152
Hallcar wood, 156, 161
Hammond, Rev. John,

175
Hancocks, Henry, 82
Handley, cowkeeper, 221
Handley, Mary, 102, 248
Hanging bank gardens,

147, 150
Hanover street, 98

Hanover street gardens,

146, 148, 155, 255
Hardcastle, sexton, 156
Hardcastle, Thomas, 75
Hardy, Andrew Allen,

coroner, 172
Hardy, furniture maker,

132
Harmer lane, 147, 228
Harmer, Rev. John, 172
Harney, Julian, 279
Harrison Bros. & How-
son, 248
Harrison George, table-
blade forger, and local

preacher, 129
Harrison, gardener to

Lord Wharncliffe, 149
Harrison, J. T., 76
Harrison, Miss, 4, 164,

188
Harrison, Rev. G., 33
Harrison, Rev. Mr., 290
Harrison, Samuel, 69
Harrison, Thomas, 27,

165, 197, 199
Harrison, William, 229
Hartshead, 9-16, 68, 76,

79, 145, 146, 164, 279,

300
Harvest lane, 15, 60,

127, 130, 146, 151,

160, 161
Harwood, John, M.D.,31
Harwood & Thomas, 137

213, 247
Haslehurst, David, 214
Haslehurst, Han. & Son,

9, 300
Hatfield's nursery, 152
Hathard, Buck, 130
Hathersage, 40
Hawke, John, 141
Hawke, Samuel, 5
Hawksley, Charles, 60
Hawksley, G. & J. W.,

189
Hawksley, John, 189, 190
Hawksworth, Geo., 70,

159
Hawksworth's yard, 70,

71
" Hawle at the Poandes,"

232
Hawley croft, 186, 247
Haxworth, surgeon, 23,

172, 232
Hay, wine merchant, 250

Haynes, Rev. Thos., 250
Haywood, Bramley &

Gainsford, 233
Haywood, Joseph, 10,

179
Heald, saddler, 74
Heatons, The, High st.,

67
Heatons, The (Pickle),

19, 213, 222
Hebblethwaite, Edwd.,

4, 21, 23, 176, 221
Hebblethwaite, Rt., 132
Heeley, 153, 156
Hemming, Daniel, in-
ventor of oval shields,

119
Henderson, Hollis croft,

189
Henderson, Robert, 69
Henfrey, John, 241
Heppenstall, Philip, 97
Hewitt, Thos., 34
" Hey, Turk," 92
Hicks' lane, 118, 131, 141
Hicks' stile, 2, 180
Hides, pawnbroker, 180
High street, 60, 67-78,

104, 159, 242, 270
Highfield, 147, 153, 162,

241, 250
Hill, Billy, 221
Hill, Rowland, 2
Hill, Samuel, clock

maker, 196
Hill-foot, 147, 156
Hills, The, 7, 70,74,159,

161
Hinde, H., 167
Hinchliffe, B., 149, 192
Hinchliffe, constable and

publican, 112, 114
Hinchliffe, G. W., 10
Hinchliffe, Robert, 114
Hinchliffe, T. O., 143,

304
Hirst, Thomas, 141
Hirst's school, 141
Hobson, Dicky, 96
Hobson, John, 222
Hobson, Jonathan, 270
Hodgkinson, Ralph,

druggist, 93
Hodgson, Dr., 53
Hodgson, General, 281
Hodgson, John, 53
Hodgson, Rowland, 241,

263, 282

316

INDEX.

Hodgson street, 254
Hodgson's Folly, 53
Hofland, Mrs., 75, 157
Holberry, Sam, Chartist,

277, 279
Holden, watchmaker,

265
Holland, George, 124
Holland, Geo. Calvert,

119-124
Holland, Amos, 95, 149
Holland, John, 173
Holland, John, 4, 23, 24,

46, 58, 71,94, 10a, 124,

137,149,157,159,187,

222, 248, 287
Holland, John, pere, 95
Holland (Mrs. Dunn), 19
Holland,Robt., publican,

104, 124
Hollis croft, 188-191
Hollis's (or Brown) Hos-
pital, 111, 190
Holly street, 156, 261
Holy green, 155
Holy, Mr., 260
Holy, Wilkinson & Co.,

112
Holmes, William, 231
Homfray, Revil, 78, 107,

305
Homfray's Sheffield

Weekly Journal, 78-9
"Honest John," 191,

268
Hoole, Barbara, 157
Hoole, Fras., 21, 31, 168
Hoole, Henry Elliott, 1,

195
Horrabin Brothers, 193
Horse Dyke, 153
Horsfield family, 91, 143,

158
Horsley, Samuel, 216
Hospital Chapel, 227
Hospital for Women, 168
Hospital, The old

Shrewsbury, 228
Hotbread, Tommy, 112,

256
Hoult, Dame, 185
Hoult, Robothain & Co.,

137
Hounsfields, of Pond

hill, 172, 232
House, an Old Sheffield,

306
Hovey, draper, 98, 110

Howard hill, 36
Howard street Chapel,
28, 52, 98, 173, 203,
234-7, 256-7
Howard street, 51, 234
Howard, Henry, 228, 266
Howard, John, prison

philanthropist, 90
Howard, Lord, 274-8
Howard, Stirling, 74
Howard, Thomas, 74, 75
Howard, William, 74
Howlden, Richard, 189
Hoyland, Edward, 34
Hoyland, iron merchant,

168
Hoyland, Jonathan,

brush maker, 177,253
Hoyland, Win., Church

street, 77
Hoyle, Lawyer, 135, 144,

206
Hudson & Clarke, 129
Hullett, The, 248
Hunt, flour dealer, 89
Hunter, Edwin, 188
Hunter, Rev. Joseph, 40,
46, 170, 217, 242-4,
249, 287-8, 304, 305
Hutchinson, coach-
maker, 103, 251, 254
Hutchinson, Win., 251
Hutton, Madam, 184
Hyam, tailor, 71
Hyde, Christopher, 221
Hyde Park, 147
Ibbitt,Wm.,75,196, 206,

246
Ibbotson, of Globe

Works, 198
Ibbotson, Wm., 123, 198,

203
Ibotson, Geo., 37
Improvement Commis-
sioners, 219
Ince, Richd., 114
Ince, T. N., 114
Independent, Sheffield,
72, 104, 109, 119, 160,
166,206,233,242,287
Infirmary, 60, 68, 108,
122,161,208,229,249,
264
Infirmary road, 144
Ingle Joshua, 149
" Inkbottle, Dr.," 249
Innocent, John, 6
Intake, The, 61, 147

Ireland, The jumper,205
Iris, The, 11, 71, 101,
104,197,250,271,305
Irish Cross, 2, 107
Iron bridge, 224
Isle, The, 112
Jackson, Arthur, 53
Jackson, Henry, 53, 60,

227, 287-8
Jackson, John, 34
Jackson, Johnny, 181
Jackson, Lieut. T. B.,

282
Jackson, Nicholas, 58,

228, 251
Jackson, Susanna, 228
Jackson, Thos., 42
Jackson, William, Sheaf

Island, 130
Jail street, 155, 253
James, Rice, postmaster,

86
Jeeves, Geo., 252
Jeeves, Geo. & Son, 251
Jehu lane, 213
Jenner, Dr., 197
Jennings, Dr. David, 249
Jennings, Mr., Fargate,

266
Jennings, Neddy, 113
Jericho, 203, 206, 209
Jerusalem, 222
Jervises, The, 187
Jesse, of Grenoside, 62
Jessop, Richd. & Wm,,

207
Jessop, Wm., 153
Jews' Synagogue, 168
Jobson, Mr., Roscoe

place, 144
John, King, in Sheffield,

70
Johnson, David, 6
Johnson, Fargate, 264
Johnson, Jemmy, drum-
mer, 96
Jollie, Rev. Timothy, 79
Jonathan, Blind, 167,

171
Jones, Bill, beadle, 224
Jones, Caesar, 75
Jones, John, draper, 80,

89
Justice, Figure of, 85,

87
Kay, or Key, James, 82
Kean, Charles, 239
Keats' Eating-house, 17

INDEX.

317

Kelham Wheel, 144, 220
Kelsey, Mrs. Stratford,

nee, 142
Kemble, John, 239
Kent, Coalpit lane, 256
Kenyon, Sergt., 11
Kenyon & Co., 120, 188
Kerr, Lydia, 173
King and Miller yard, 83
King street, 72, 84, 88,

89-94
King's Head, 81, 99
Kippax & Nowill, 71
Kirk, Arnold, bear ward,

211
Kirk, Joseph, 91, 155
Kirk, Wm., 33
Kirkby, Jos. & Samuel,

153, 254
Knight, James, blind

fiddler, 5
Knight, Jonathan, glass

grinder, 97
Knight, Kev. James, 233
Knight, Sir Arnold, 20,

298
Knott, John, 188
Knowles, Wm., 176-7
Ladies' walk, 103, 153,

251
Ladsley, William, 210
Lady's bridge, 219
Lambert street, 128, 129,

272
Lambert knott, 129
Lancasterian Schools,

132, 135, 205
Lang, Col., 103
Lascelles, Mr., 62
Law, Miss, Western

bank, 260
Law, Philip, 190, 256
Lawton, George inn, 80
Laycock, Allen st., 135
Laycock, Messrs., 237
Laycock, W. E., 237
Lead Works, 228
Leader, Daniel, 240-2
Leader, Robert, 1, 11,

34, 167
Leader, Robert, sen., 72,

104, 109, 155, 176
Leader, Thomas, 240-1,

282
Leather dicks, 84
Leathley, Benj., 190
Leavy Greave, 146, 237,

253

Lee croft, 27, 67, 187

Lee croft Chapel, 187,
207

Lee, Johnny, 47

Lee, Wm, cordwainer,75

Leeds, surgeon, 219

Lees, of Little Sheffield,
163

Letters, fortv years ago,
267

Levick, James, dalilia
grower, 146, 149, 263

Levy, 70, 242

Lewis, Mrs., 69

Linley, scissor maker,
142

Lister, Francis, 78, post-
master 86, 107

Lister, Miss, postmis-
tress, 86

Lister, Nathaniel, post-
master, 67, 86

Literary and Philoso-
phical Society, 122

Little Sheffield, 154, 251,
253

Littlewood, staymaker,
76

Local fields, 222

Lockwood, Arundel
street, 72

London, Early journeys
to, 115

Long croft, 144

Longdeu, Henry, 10,131,
193

Longworth, Thos., 238

Lord Mayor's shoes, 267

Lord's House, 59, 265

Love street, 136

Lowe, Elias, 166

Lowe, Isaac, 167

Lowfield, 162

Lowther, Milly, 84

Loxley Bottom, 181

Loxley Chapel, 258

Loxley river, 179

Loy, Joseph, 173

Luke, Silly, 225-6

Machon, Fred., druggist,
93

Mackenzie, Rev. Alex.,
60, 103, 104

Mackenzie, Rev. W. B.,
34

Mackenzie walk, 103, 253

Macready, 96, 239, 246

Madams, 184

Maden, Neddy, 179
Magnet Jack, 226
Mails, 68
Makin & Sanderson, 189,

190
Makins, of the Pickle,

189
Manchester Massacre,

209
Manchester, Sheffield &

Lincolnshire Railway,

222
Manley & Robertson,238
Manor, The, 147, 213
Mappins, The, 235
Market street, 59, 72, 94
Market place, 67, 78, 79,

83-87, 97, 270-1
Market Gardeners, 151
Market Hall opened, 89
Market stalls, 84, 130
" Maro," a poem, 136
Marples, constable, 113
Marples, Samuel & Ben].

190, 191
Marriott, filesmith, 247,

260
Marriotts, The, 74
Marsden, Joseph & Tom,

199, 203, 268
Marsden, Robt., 173, 176
Marsh's field, 154
Marshall, Chris., 128
Marshall, Jeremiah, 243
Marshall, Jonathan, 110
Marshall, Thomas,

butcher, 252, 261
Marshall, Wm., iron-
monger, 128
Mary Queen of Scots,

213
Masbro', 136, 245
Master Cutlers, 57
Matber, Dr. Robert

Cotton, 34, 237
Mather, hatter, 80
Mather, poet, 93, 128,

130,141,178,179,186,

188,223,225,228,245,

279
Mather, Rev. James,

236, 258
Matthewman, Mr., 42,

135, 263
Matthews, W. A., 53
Maugham, T., 106
Mawson, T., postmaster,

87

318

INDEX.

Meadow street, 75
Meal tubs in Market, 84
Mechanics' Institute,

122, 247
Mechanics' Library, 17,

19efseg.,101,126
Meersbrook, 34, 154
Meeting House lane, 169
Meggitt, Win., Fargate,

265
Mellands, The, 165
Mellon, Harriet,

Duchess of St. Albans,

124
Mellon, Eev. Henry, 124,

126, 290
Mellon, Michael, 124
Mellon, Sarah, 124
Mellor, ropemaker, 155
Melluish.Wm., 103, 149
Merchants, First, 10
Mercury, Sheffield, 72, 93,

94, 117, 244, 263, 306
Merrill, Geo., 130, 176
Methodism, 72, 251,264
Micklethwaite, B., 151
Micklethwaite, cutler,

231
Midland Railway, 222,

232
Midland Station road,

213
Middleton, butcher, 88
Middleton, Edw., baker,

148,256
Middleton, John, cooper,

256
Middleton's Cotton Mill,

144
Militia, 52
Mill Sands, 112
Milk street, 94, 247
Miller, chemist, 129
Miller, Eev. Joseph

Augustus, 175
Milner, J. C, 34
Miner, John, 151, 204,

238
Milner, W. P., 34
Milnes, James, Thornes

House, 164
Milton, Lord, 1
Mistress Cutler, 57, 66
Mitchell,Brightmore, 43,

195
Mitchell, Mrs., 43
Mitchell, SamL, 31, 43,
233, 282, 287-8

Mitchell-Withers, 43
Montgomery, James, 7,
12, 20, 22, 23, 24, 56,
60, 72, 76, 94, 101,
104, 146, 159, 181,
197, 221, 222, 237,
279, 287, 291, 305
Montgomery's funeral,

25
Moore, Jonthn., 128
Moorfields, 144
Moor Head, 153, 154
Moorhouse, Mr., surgeon,

42, 90
Morpeth, Lord, 1
Morton, silverplater,195,

245
Mosborough, 144
Mount Pleasant, 162
Mount Zion Chapel,129,

130, 203, 247
Mowbray street, 152, 222
Mower & Pearson, 180
Mozley, sculptor, 266
Muddiman, bootmaker,

94
Muir, Eev. John Hope,

176
Mulberry street, 72, 74,

112, 160
Mundella, A. J., 1
Muscroft, table-blade

forger, 248
Mushroom Hall, 146
Nadin, Win., 171, 266
Nadin, Wm. cutler, 48
Nag's Head, 213
Nail, first cut in Shef-
field, 130
Name changing, 159
Napier, Sir Charles, 270
Naylor, Eev. Benjamin,

197, 250
Naylor, Eobert, 31
Naylor, Vickers & Co.,

Ill, 251
Neepsend, 146, 147, 151,

157
Nelson inn, 171
Nelson, Mr., surgeon, 60
Nether Chapel, 59, 104,
108, 170, 242-7, 256-
257
Nether Hallam Work-
house, 162
Newbould, Capt. T., 282
Newbould family, 256
Newbould lane, 162

Newbould, Samuel, 260
Newcastle st., 196, 199
New Church street, 143,

215, 264
New Hall, 157, 161
Newhall street, 110
New Haymarket, 227
New Market hall, 215
New street, 116, 118,

169, 170
Newspapers, Sheffield,

305
News sheets, 268
Newton, Broad lane, 203
Newton, Campo lane, 5
Newton, F., merchant,

154
Newton, grocer, 82
Nicholas, Emperor, 54
Nicholson, Joseph, 75
Nicholson, market gar-
dener, 89
Nicholson, Wm., Master

Cutler, 218
Nicholsons, The, of

Darnall, 203, 216, 217
" Niddlety Nod," 66
Nield's Prisons of York-
shire, 64, 90, 91
Nodder, John, 171
Nodder. William, 177
Norfolk bridge, 146
Norfolk, Duke of, 266
Norfolk row, 249, 265,

280
Norfolk street, 17, 59,
72, 75, 149, 172, 213,
223, 242, 250
Norfolk st. Chapel, 192
Norris Field, 140
Norris, Samuel, West-
bar, 114
Norris, Thos., Westbar,

114
North Church street,

113, 168, 176
North street, 119
Northall, printer, 94, 306
Northumberland road,

146, 156
Norton, 40, 154, 228,280,

288
Norton Lees, 79
Nowill, High street, 5,

71, 150
Nowill & Sons, 180
Nursery, 110, 160, 223
Oaks green, 223

INDEX.

319

Oakes, Edward.Westbar,

115, 116, 140, 224
Oakes, Joseph, 31
Oates, Francis, 220
Oates, Geo., 142, 221
Oates, Thomas, Harts-
head, 11
Oates, Aid. Thomas, 221
Oborne, Walter, 37
O'Brien, Giant, 108
Occupation road, 221
Ogle, Richard, 31
Old Bank, 166
Old Barrack Tavern, 167
Old Brick houses, 266
Old Carr, 221
Old Cherry Tree, 144
Old Church, 46, 47, 63,

126, 170,180,230,260
Old Church steeple, 50
Old Churchyard, 46, 58,

143, 169, 253
Old Coffee house, 138
Old Haymarket, 213
" Old Packthread," 203
Old Park Wood, 151,156,

161, 208
Old Bed House, 263
Old Tankard, 128
Optician, The first, 97
Orchard place, 55
Orchard street, 160,192,

260, 265, 269
Orchards, 152
Ostliff, Samuel, 173
Otley, Richard, 279
Otters in the Don, 157
Outran), High street,

69, 73, 199
Overend, Gurney, & Co.,

46
Overend Hall, 44-46, 300
Overend, John, 45
Overend, William, 34,45,

57
Overend, Wilson, 33,44,

60, 269, 298
Owen, Henry, solicitor,

233
Owen, John, maltster,

171
Owen, Mr., draper, 71,

148
Owen, Richard, 49
Owen, Robt., 4
Owlerton, 156
Oxley, Mr., Rotherham,

274

Pack-horse road, 162
Pack-horses, 99, 139,140
Padley, Samuel, 149
Padley, William, brass

caster, 96
Page Hall, 141, 164, 216,

223, 230, 250
Palfreyman, Luke, 31,

166, 170
Paradise square, 1-5, 64,

71, 131, 176, 231,246,

269, 304
Parish, Rev. Mr., 4
Park lane, 162

Park, Sheffield, 211, 248

Parker, Adamson <fe
John, 170

Parker, Brown & Par-
ker, 53

Parker, Hugh, 207, 214,

270, 274

Parker, Rev. Frank, 61,

170, 252
Parker, Rt. Hon. John,

263, 308
Parker, Shore & Co., 10

72, 166

Parker, Thos. James, 31
Parker, William, 244
Parkin, Benjamin, Scot-
land street, 180
Parkin, Messrs., High

street, 75
Parkin, Mr., Campo

lane, 27
Parkin & Marshall, 234
Parkwood Springs, 60
Paternoster row, 231
Patten, Miss, 256
Patteson, Alex., 232
Pattinson, Thos., 77
Pawson & Brailsford, 67
Paxton, Sir Joseph, 149
Pea croft, 177, 180, 186
Peace, Saml. & Charles,

180
Pearce, .foseph, 132, 293
Pearce, Joseph, junr., 76
Pearson, John, 152
Pearson, Thomas, 16
Peech, Saml., Augel inn,

98, 99, 101
Peech, William, 102
Peech, scissor maker,130
Penistone, 246
Penistone road, 144, 161
People's College, 235
Pepper alley, 266

Philadelphia, 144, 162
Philipps, R. N., 34
Pickford, Henry, 196,

290, 296-9
Pickle, The, 19, 189, 222,

271
Pickslay, Appleby &

Bertram, 76, 247, 282
Pierson, bookseller, 93
Pinfold street, 41
Pinstone street (Pin-

cher croft lane), 71,

113, 251, 253, 263-4
Pitsmoor, 120, 152, 161
Pitt's death, 81
Platts, Sally, 128
Polack, jeweller, 69
Pond bill, 232
Pond street, 158, 218,

228-232
Pool place, 261
Popplewell, currier, 128
Portar, John, 74
Porter, John Taylor, 74
Porter (Thomas) and

Newton, 91, 93
Porter river, 153
Porter st., 153, 179, 251
Portmahon, 146, 206
Portobello, 53, 154, 155,

237, 264, 306
Post Office, 67, 72, 76,

86, 106, 213, 242
Potato riots, 214
Potter, Hannah, 262
Potter, John, Beighton,

165
Potts, Drum Major, 280
Prest, Messrs., 73
Preston, Rev. Matthew,

168
Pretender The young,

19, 222
Price, Edward, 226
Printers, Early Shef-
field, 78, 79, 107, 304
Prior gate, Priory or

Prior row, 70
Proctor and Beilby, op-
ticians, 94
Proctor, draper, 260
Public Hospital and

Dispensary, 154, 255
Pumps, Town, 119, 127,

263
Pye Bank, 146, 161, 224
Pye, Rev. John, 104,

105, 243

320

INDEX.

-v-

Pye-Smith and Wight-
man, 8
Pye-Smith, John Wil-
liam, 105
Q in the Corner, 5
Quakers, 9, 54
Quakers' Burial Ground,

196
Quakers' Meeting House,

168
Queen street, 23, 168,

172, 177, 232
Queen Street Chapel,

2, 69, 98, 114, 130,

170, 172, 192, 216,

233, 246, 296
Queer, Jemmy, 114
Radford, Charles, 31
Radford row, 51
Radford street, 184, 206
Radley, druggist, 80
Ramsay, 69, 266
Ran Moor, 131, 203
Ratcliffe, Adjutant, 280
Rattenbury, Rev. J., 71
Rawson, Molly, 84
Rawson, Thomas, 8, 56,

229, 231
Rawson, Thomas & Co.,

232
Rawsons,of Page Greave,

165
Ray, James, 42, 52
Raybould, Michael, 109
Rayner & Turner, 172
Raynor, Thomas, Chief

Constable, 34, 278
Read, John, Attercliffe,

172, 175, 203, 217
Red Croft, 41
Red Hill, 154, 188, 193,

195
Red hill Sunday school,

128
Reece, Rev. J., 236
Reedal, Gabriel, 53, 227
Regent street, 155
Register, The Sheffield,

12, 50, 66, 305
Reindeer tavern, 215
Reliquary, The, 125
Renilowe, sculptor, 238
Rennie, hosier, 265
Renwick, Orchard street,

265
Resurrection riot, 268
Resurrectionists, 300-

304

Revel family & estates,

76
Revell, Norfolk street,

248
Revill, Molly, 128
Rhodes, Ebenezer, 109,

220, 221, 222
Rhodes, Mrs. Ebenezer,

58
Rhodes, Rev. Josiah,

258
Richards & Son, 79, 80
Ridal Charles, draper,

87, 101, 106
Ridgard & Bennet, 69
Ridgard, Ezra, 69
Ridge, George, 72, 93,

149
Riley (& Parkin), 75
Rimington, Elizabeth

(Mrs. Tudor), 241
Rimington, Mr., 250
Rimington & Younge, 69
Rirnmer, Father, 265
Ring dials, 96
Ringinglow, 48, 154
Riots, 268, 272, 279
Rivelin, 179, 181
Rivelin forest, 59
Roberts & Belk, 234
Roberts, Samuel, 31
Roberts, Samuel, senr.,

47, (autobiography),

99, 126, 169, 232, 256,

262, 268
Robertson, Jemmy, 238
Robinson, Richd., 67, 69
Rock street, 152, 161
Rockingham, Marquis

of, 255
Rockingham street and

lane, 196, 199, 202,

255, 260
Rodgers, Joseph & Sons,

94, 186, 247
Rodgers, Paul, 16
Rodgers, Robarfc, solici-
tor, 93, 172, 207
Robuck, Roger, 59
Roebuck, currier, 108
Roebuck, Dr., 58
Roebuck, J. A., 1-2
Roebuck's Bauk, 9, 58
Rogers, George, 109
Rollinson, Robert, 47, 80
Rollinson, Thomas, 80
Roman Catholic Chapel,
265

Room, William, 173
Roscoe place, 144, 153,

161, 290, 294
Rose and Crown, High-
field, 255
Rose, Beuj., 102, 111
Rose, Thos., 155
Rose, Tommy, 55, 139
Ross, fortune teller, 151
Rossi, sculptor, 102
Rotherams, The, of

Dronfield, 163
Rotherham, 272
Rotherham College,

290-1
Round-about-house, 93
Round & Son, 239
Rowbotham, grocer, 188
Royal hotel, 215, 264
Royal Oak, 91, 114
Royd's Mill, 97, 161,222
Runcorn, bear-ward, 209
Russell street, 144
Sale, Dr., 289
Sam Hall's parlour, 62
Sanderson, Chas., 190
Sanderson's steel wrks.,

129, 154, 202, 234
Sands paviours, 136
Sandys, Geo., murderer,

113
Sansom, Thos. & Son,

248
Sargeant, solicitor, 208
Saunders, Aid. G. L.,

43, 75, 146
Saunders, auctioneer, 68
Savage, gardener, 149
Saville street, 132, 161
Savings' Bank, 56, 250
Saxton, Win., 69
Sayle, B., 100
Sayles, Ben, opticians'

workman, 96
Sayles, Lewis O., 31
Saynors, The, 167
Scantleburys, The, 7, 8,

159, 300
Scargill croft, 167-171
Scargill, or Skargell,

family, 169, 173
Scholefield, M.P., 94
Scholeys, of Coal Aston,

97
School croft, 29, 31
School of Art, 238
Scotland street, 91, 113,

178, 180, 194

INDEX.

321

Scotland street feast,180
Scott, Timothy, 53
Searle, Westbar, 129
Sellers & Sons, 237
'Sembly house, 221
Seward, Miss, 230
Shallcross, Geo., 128
Shambles, 79, 84, 88, 91
Sharman, grocer, 127
Sharman, Isaac, grocer,

156
Sharrow head, 103, 162,

253
Sharrow lane, 147, 154,

162, 242
Shaw & Jobson, Eoscoe

place, 144
Shaw, John (Magnet

Jack), 226
Sheaf flood, 228
Sheaf gardens, 147, 150
Sheaf house, 162, 251
Sheaf street, wheel in,

97
Sheaf works, 188, 261
Sheffield and Retford

Bank, 123
Sheffield Banking Co.,

138, 247
Sheffield Castle, 218
Sheffield local band, 54
Sheffield Moor, '44, 66,

153, 156, 241, 253-6,

263
Sheffield Old Bank, 9, 10
Shemeld croft, 58, 228,

251
Shepherds, of Hollis

croft, 188, 190
Sherbonm, Mr., 240
Shirecliffe, John, 229,

231
Shirecliffe, Mary and

Elizabeth, 231
Shiregreen, 134, 264
Shirtcliffe, Hollis croft,

190, 238
Shoe stalls, 267
Shore family, 166
Shore, Madam, 184
Shore, Major John, 282
Shore, Offley, 197
Shore, Samuel, 209
Shore, Wm,, Tapton

grove, 40
Shrewsbury, Hospital, 6,

53, 101, 114, 179
Shude hill, 229

Siddons, Mrs., 239
Sidebottom, 156
Silver plating, 233, 239
Silver street, 127, 178
Silver street head, 2, 179
Silvester, Charles, 46
Simmons (or Sym-

monds), Nevill, 78, 79,

305
Simmons, Samuel, 79,86
Sims croft, 188
Sissons, Wm., 221
Sissons, Wm. & Sons,

232
Sitwell, Sir Fras., 139
Skinner, Hollis croft,190
Skinner, John, 220
Skinner, surgeon, 197
Skye edge, 147, 253, 269
Slater, Bacon & Co., 68
Small-tooth comb, 254
Smelter, Spital hill, 221
Smilter, Benj., 128
Smilter, Philip, 33
Smilter, Wm., 36, 128,

168
Smith, Albert, 4, 29, 31,

42, 180
Smith, Alfred & Frede-
rick, 23-25
Smith & Dixon, 141, 194
Smith, Ebenezer, 243
Smith, Edward, 20, 220,

308
Smith, Edwin, 194
Smith, Fras. Ebenezer,

243
Smith, George, Master

Cutler, 57
Smith, George Glan-

ville, draper, 87
Smith, Georgius, 194
Smith, Hannah, 39
Smith, Harmer, 243 -
Smith & Hinde, 167
Smith & Hoult, 238
Smith, John, Angel st.,

80, 104, 172, 173
Smith, John, Master

Cutler, 243
Smith, Joshua, 243
Smith, Matthewman, 12
Smith, Miser, 118
Smith, Moorhouse &

Smith, 234
Smith, Mrs. (Mrs. Glan-

ville), 100-101
Smith, Paul, 150

Smith, Raphael, 101
Smith, Rev. George, 4
Smith, Rev. John Pye,

104, 109, 243
Smith, Rev. Thomas, 20,

22, 244, 290-1, 296
Smith, Rev. Urban, 34
Smith & Ridal, 87
Smith, Stephen, 220
Smith, Sydney, 243
Smith, Tom, constable,

62, 91, 113, 114, 188,

214, 281.
Smith, William, 175
" Smithies," 185
Snidall, watchmaker, 76
Snighill, 68, 104, 109,

167
Snighill head, 2
Snow hill, 132
Sorby, Henry, of Wood-
burn, 116
Sorby, Spital hill, 159,

161
Souter, Whittington, 28
South Devon Militia, 67,

103, 149, 238
South street Chapel, 156
South, Thomas, 51
South view gardens, 147
Sovereign inn, 199
Sow Mouth, 264
Spear & Jackson, 132
Spear, Mr., 4
Speight, Elizabeth, 223
Spencer, John, 186, 190,

307-8
Spencer, Matthias &

Son, 186, 190
Spink, John, pawn-
broker, 128
Spital hill, 102, 159, 161,

270
Spoiles & Gurney, 195
" Sportsman's Group,"

77
Spread Eagle, 77
Spring st., 135, 140, 151
Spurr, Peter, 4
Spurrs, of Westbar, 128
Spurrs, The, cutlers, 42,

119, 238
St. Albans, Duke of, 125
St. George's Church,

155, 156, 193, 231
St. James's Church, 52,

297
St. James's hill, 27

322

INDEX.

St. James's row, 2, 26, 51
St. James's street, 51,

52, 287
St. John's Church, 147
St. Jude's Church, 127
St. Marie's (R. Catholic),

265
St. Paul's, 233, 249, 252
St. Philip's Church, 144,

297
St. Thomas street, 196,

203
Stables, grocer, 82
Stacey, builder, 52
Stacey, Wm, 69
Staceys of Church st., 54
Stage-wagon, First, 140
Stamp Office, 52, 74
Staniforth, Broad In, 149
Staniforth, John, 31
Staniforth, Samuel, 31,

108, 282
Staniforth, William, 108

148, 197
Stanley street, 220, 222
Stannington, 247, 258
Star, inn, 71
Star inn, Silver st., 178
Station inn, Wicker, 220
Steam Engine, first, 97
Steel bank, 287
Steel, Henry, 130
Steer, George, 36
Steer, Rev. W., 170
Stephen, Blind, 5
Stephenson, his trick on

Buggy Eyre, 93
Stephenson & Mawwood,

232
Stephenson, Joshua, 216
Sterndale, John, M.D.,

31, 102, 248, 282
Stevens, Antipas, 6
Stoakes, cheese factor,

88, 109
Stocks, 2, 3, 64, 224
Stone house, Old, High

street, 73, 74 ■
Stones, Frederick, 238
Stovin, Thomas, glass

caster, 96
Stratford family, The,

141, 150, 151
Streets, darkness of, 99
Stubbing, George, 151
Stuffing system, The, 137
Stumperlowe, 207, 237
Suckthumb, Sammy, 113

Sugar house, Old, 3,

254, 256
Sun Express, 81
Surgical instrument ma-
ker, The first, 128
Surrey Music Hall, 119
Surrey street, 42, 249
Surrey Vaults, 128
Sutcliffe, Richard, 44, 46
Sutton, Dr., 20, 24, 49,

56, 226
Swag shops, 138
Swift, G. E., 149
Swift, William, 52, 284,

289
Sycamore street, 131,

160, 238, 239
Sykes, Eyre street, 233
Sykes, James, miller, 167
Talbot papers, 232
T'alli Stone, 48, 73, 169
Tapton, 40
Tasker, John, 97, 102,

103
Tattershall, E. B., 31
Tattershalls, The, 168,

171
Taylor, Commercial Inn,

149
Taylor, James, 221
Taylor, John, 272
Taylor JoIid (French

hornplaver), 54, 96
Taylor, Rd. Thos., 176
Taylor, Robt.Stopford,34
Taylor, Thomas, letter

carrier, 68
Taylor, Rev. Thomas

Rawson, 237
Taylor, William, 54, 239
Telegraph, Sheffield, 76
Temperance, Hall, 41
Tenter street, 188
Thatched House Tavern,

27, 53, 78
Theaker's coffee house,

149
Theatre Royal, 238, 246
Theatre, first Sheffield,

306
Thomas, Lewis, draper,

138, 176
Thompson, Charles, 148
Thompson, Chartist, 277
Thompson, Samuel, 69
Thompson, Sponty, 178
Thompsons, booksellers,
87

Thornhill's cook shop,

15, 151
Thorpe, Rev. John, 245

247
Thorpe, Rev. William,

195, 244-7
Three Stags, Carver

street, 242
Tillotson family, 235,264
Tillotson, James, 31
Times, Sheffield, 242
Tinker, Charles, 77
Todd, William, 72, 86,

93, 94, 306
T'oil i' t' Wall, 16
Toll, Captain, 103
Tom Cross lane, 152,

160, 161, 221
Tomlinson, J., 69
Tompkin, quarter-
master, 282
Tom p son, Samuel, 82
Tontine, The, 214, 215

249, 272
Town Council, 242
Town Hall, 17, 215, 269,

272
Town Hall (01d),22,61,62
Town Trustees, 49, 127,

139, 216, 264, 282
Townhead Cross, 42
Townhead street, 51
Townhead street Chapel,

41, 256
Townhead, The, 42
Trading, Early, 139
Travell, J. A., clothier, 74
Trickett, William, 57, &

Enoch, 258
Trinity street, 131, 132
Trippet Ann, Trippet's

yard, 71
Trippet lane, 41, 199
Trousers, introduction

of, 259-60
Tucker, George, 168, 221
Tudor, George, 241
Tudor, Henry, 171, 239-

41
Tudor, Leader, & Nichol-
son, 239
Tudor place, 239
Turf Tavern, 17
Truelove, Maria, 75
Truelove's Gutter, 124,

216
Truelove's yard, 75
Turk, Dog, 91, 92

INDEX.

323

Turkish baths, 250
Turaell, cabinet maker,

264
Turner, John, mercer, 97
Turner, John, merchant,

10
Turner, Jonathan, post

master, 86
Turner Robert, 282
Turner, Sam, publican,

16, 77, 97
Turner, Samuel, draper,

16, 97, 229-30
Turner, Sheriff's officer,

149
Turner, S. W., 97
Turton, George, 42, 53
Turton, John, surgeon,

42, 128
Twelve o'Clock, 97,147,

222
Twibell, John, 109
Type founders, Sheffield,

110
Tyson, Thomas, 150
Umbrellas, 99, 259
"Under the Water," 112
Union Bank, 166
Union street, 251
Unwin, Charles, 150
Unwin, Edwin, 219
Upper Chapel, 197, 242,

249
Upperthome, 132, 144,

158, 162, 170
Vaughan, Daniel, brass

polisher, 96
Vennor, Thomas, 69,

108, 172
Vicar lane, 27, 256
Vicarage cvoft, 51
Vickers, Benj., 31, 141
Vickers, Edward, 40
Vickers, Henry, 167, 171
Vickers, John & James,

193-5
Vickers, T. E., 141
Vickers, William, 31
Victoria Inn, 74
Victoria Station road, 213
Victoria street, 154, 220
Virgin's row, 2, 26, 247
Volunteers, 98, 142, 239,

270, 280-3
Volunteers, Loyal Inde-
pendent, 280
Volunteers, Sheffield In-
fantry, 281

Waddy, I. D., 166
Wade Mrs., 71
Wade's orchard, 172
Wadsley, 127
Wadsley Hall, 123
Wadsworths of Atter-

cliffe, 217
Wain gate, 153, 167,218
Wake, B. J., 17, 241
Wakefield, Win., grocer,

265
Walk mill, 158
Walk Mills, 97
Walker, Benjamin, 67,

69, 98
Walker & Hall, 51, 234
Walker, Henry, Clifton,

275
Walker, tinman, 98
Walker's bank, 118
Walkers of Rotherham,

40, 136, 280
Walkley, 223
Walmsley, William, 171
Walpole, Horace, in

Sbefneld, 99
Ward & Bawer, 73
Ward, Broomhead, 51,

234
Ward, druggist, 156
Ward, John, 31
Ward, Joseph, fiddler, 5
Ward Joseph, master

cutler, 218, 234
Ward, Mrs., 6, 8
Ward, Bev. Broomhead,

31
Ward's Sheffield Public

Advertiser, 305
Ward, Thomas Asline,

20, 51, 109, 122, 137,

234, 240, 282, 308
Wardsend, 208
Warm Hearthstone, 28
Watchmen and watch

boxes, 113
Water Company, 42, 135,

146, 148, 261
Water House, 42, 135
Water lane head, 108,

238
Water lane well, 263
Water Isaac, 263
Waterfall, John, con-
stable, 103, 113
Waterfall, John, jun.,

constable, 113
Waterhouse, Ann, 75

Waterhouse, family of

Halifax, 143
Waterhouse, Henry, 75
Waterhouse, Hodgson,

& Co., 53
Waterhouse, Joseph, 53
Waterhouse, Michael,

248
Waterhouse, Bev. Eobt.,

75
Waterhouse, Eobert, 60,

71, 143, 176, 221
Waterloo houses, 146
Waterloo tavern, 17
Waterloos, 267
Watery street, 145, 151
Watkinson, Jonathan,

178, 187
Watson, druggist, 88
Watson, grocer, 177, 266
Watson James, Tontine,

214
Watson, John, Bank

street, 172
Watson, Pritchard &

Watson, 244
Watson's walk, 17 et

seq., 149, 278
Watsons, silversmiths,

15, 17, 73, 172
Watts, clasp maker, 128
Webb, surgeon, 59, 108,

152
Webb, Parson, 61
Webster, Blue Pig, 141
Webster, J. & G., 8
Webster, Leonard, 81
Webster, Bev. John, 81
Webster well, 263
Webster3 (Change Alley),

81
Weekly Journal, Shef-
field, 78, 305
Weekly Register, Shef-
field, 78
Wells, George, 29
Wells & Pumps, 263
"Well Bun Dimple,"

262
Wesley, Bev. Charles,

215
Wesley, Bev. John, 2,

97, 158, 189
West bar, 114, 150, 170
West bar green, 128, 131,

178, 179
West street, 41, 73, 154,

155

324

INDEX.

Westbank lane, 41
Westbourne, 146
West-end hotel, 156
Western bank, 53, 207,

255, 260
Weston hall & park, 164,

306
Wharncliffe, Lord, 192
Wharton's Tragedy, 225
Wheat, Carlos, 229-31
Wheat, James, 229-31,

282
Wheat's passage, 176
Wheatcroft, Mr., 32
Wheelan, 71
Wheeler, Daniel, 53, 54,

304
White croft, 43, 187
White House, 241
White Lion, Wicker, 222
White, Mrs., Baker's hill,

228
White Kails, 223
White, Rev. William, 33,

34, 35
White's, William, Direc-
tory, 86, 158
Whit'efield, Eev. Wil-
liam, 256
Whiteley, hatter, 80
Whiteley, Rev. Mr., 290
Whiteley wood works,

233
Whitham, Jonathan,

watchmaker, 94
Whitley Hall, 231
Whittier, poet, 54
Whittington, Joseph, 221
Whyte Rev. Peter, 173
Wibberley, Sam, 64
Wicker, 108, 146, 213,

219, 271
Wicker Congregational

Church, 152
Wicker Sunday school,

221
Wigram, Abraham, 242
Wilberforce, 56, 62, 180
Wild, James (constable),

113
Wild, James, presser, 43,

187, 190
Wild, Thomas, 77
Wildgoose, Jim (consta-
ble), 113
Wildsmith, carpet wea-
ver, 17, 237
Wiley, Robert, 80

Wiley, Thomas, 80, 81,

215
Wiley's window, 80, 81
Wilkinson, Joshua, 148
Wilkinson, Justice, 4,
17, 56, 64, 67, 94, 153,
207, 229
Wilkinson street, 69, 146,

153, 203
Wilkinson, tooth drawer,

118
Willey & Judd, 80
Williams, Dr., Rother-

ham College, 104
Wills, James, 44, 50, 84,

99, 215, 262
Wilson, George, 40
Wilson, Mrs., 242
Wilson, Professor, 295
Wilson, Rev. Joseph, 32
Wilson & Sou, ironmon-
gers, 98
Wilson, Thomas, 131
Wilson, Thomas, tele-
scope maker, 97
Wilson's " Mather," 5,
30, 93, 112, 178, 223,
248
Wiltshire, Mr., 53
Wiucobauk, 156
Wingfield & Rowbotham,

190
Winter, John, 243
Winter's candlestick fac-
tory, 263
Withers, Benjamin, 115,

162, 264-5, 282
Wolfe, General, 96
Wood, Elizabetb, 136
Wood, George, 186, 217
Wood, William, 171
Wood, Wicker, 222
Woods, Old Sheffield,

156
Woodcock, Joseph, 171,

247
Woodhead, factor, 250
Woodhead, Wm, 82
Woodhill, 34, 222
Woodman inn, 255
Woodside lane, 146, 151
Woollen's Library, 70
Workhouse lane, 128,

136, 141, 178
Workhouse, The old, 127
Workhouse well, 263
Worth, Samuel, 40, 149
Wormall, grocer, 98, 3U6

Worstley, Carril, 165
Wortley, Joshua, 130
Wostenholm, George,

235
Wostenholm & Gregory,

67
Wostenholm, Mr., Dun-
fields, 278
Wostenholm road, 162
Wragg, Samuel, Life-
guardsman, 130
Wreaks, Barbara, 75
Wreaks, Ellen, postmis-
tress, 87
Wreaks, Joseph, post-
master, 72, 86, 242
Wreaks, Marmaduke, 75
Wreaks, Thos., 71
Wright, Ben, optician,

96
Wright, Billy, Change

alley, 81
Wright, Billy (shoe

buckles), 84
Wright, first stage-
wagon driver, 140
Wright, John, " Honest

John," 191
Wright, Martha, 48, 171
Wright, Wm., 32, 33, 36

168
Wrights, The Park, 81
Yates, Haywood & Co.,

273
Yellow Lion, Attercliffe,

116
Yellow Lion, Old Hay-
market, 214
Yelverton, Mrs., 238
Yeomans, Lieut. J., 282
Yeomans, Richard, 82
York street, 69, 169, 268
Yorke, Redhead, 305
Youle, Joseph, 169
Young, Arthur, 101
Young, Ensign S., 282
Younge & Deakin, 266
Younge & Rimington's

Bank, 71
Younge, Charles, 71
Younge, Dr. Thomas, 36,

37,53
Younge, Dr. William,

37, 53, 60
Younge, George, 251
Younge, Robert, 31, 88
Younge street, 147, 154,
158, 253-4

LEADER AND SONS, PEINTEUS, INDEPENDENT OFFICE, SHEFFIELD.

L

/

wC

o

■3

«H

<D

XJ

--sCO

£ °

cd CQ

, °

f C
<D o

O .H

ft C

•H

d

<u

►J

0)

University of Toronto
Library

DO NOT

REMOVE

THE

CARD

FROM

THIS

POCKET

Acme Library Card Pocket
LOWE-MARTIN CO. limited

vfr

:

.»•■

pi
r

•X*"

tit*

IE. Y;