The Annals and History of Leeds and Other Places in the County York (1860) by John Mayhall

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THE

ANNALS AND HISTORY

LEEDS,

AND OTHER PLACES

IN THE

County of Pork,

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME.

COMPILED BY

JOHN MAYHALL.

Still on it creeps, Each little moment at another’s heels,

Till Hours, Days, Years, and Ages are made up Of such small parts as these, and men look back, Worn and bewildered, wond’ring how it is. Thou trav’Llest like a Ship in the wide ocean, Which hath no bounding shore to mark its progress.

Joanna Baillie,

LEEDS :

PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH JOHNSON, ROTATION: OFFICE YARD, KIRKGATE.

1860.

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JOHNSON.

PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH

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PREFACE.

TT OOOO”

This volume contains in chronological order, the principal local and historical events that have occurred in, or relate to Leeds and other places in Yorkshire, from the date of the most remote authentic histories, down to the close of the year 1859.

The events have been selected and condensed from every source of information within the reach of the compiler, and through the kindness of friends, several curious and in- teresting particulars are now published for the first time.

Great care has been taken to avoid giving a party or political bias to the work, so that it will be found interest- ing to all classes of readers.

The compiler feels grateful to Mr. Kemplay, for the loan of the Intelligencer from 1830 to 1834 inclusive, and to other gentlemen who have favoured him with books and manu- scripts.

Where so many subjects are treated upon, notwith- standing that the utmost attention has been paid to accuracy, mistakes will doubtless have been made; but the compiler hopes for the reader’s iudulgence, and would state in palliation of faults, both of omission and commissions

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iv.

that the compilation was commenced simultaneously with the publication in weekly numbers, and that besides the correction of proofs, and the perusal of many works con- nected with the subjects introduced, he has had to wade through thirty years of local newspapers, (the Mercury and Intelligencer,) and that after the toil of the day, and in hours stolen from recreation, etc.

The favour with which the weekly and monthly sub- scribers have received the work, has induced the publisher to embellish it with a few engravings. The view of Leeds has been photographed and engraved from Thoresby’s Duca- ‘tus Leodiensis, published in the year 1715. The beautiful view of Kirkstall Abbey, taken in 1769, has been copied from a scarce and valuable engraving in the possession of James Hargrave, Esq., of Burley near Leeds, kindly lent - by him for that purpose. The other views consist of York Minster, the Leeds old Moot Hall, the Parish Church before it was rebuilt, the Town Hall, the Crimean Monument, recently erected in the Leeds Parish Church, and views of Skipton and Huddersfield.

With these explanations the work is committed to the public, in the hope that it will receive that favour, of which the compiler and the publisher have endeavoured to make it worthy.

May, 1860.

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ESS << <<

ANNALS

LEEDS, YORK, AND THE SURROUNDING I DISTRICT ;

CONTAINING, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, ALL THE MOST IN- TERESTING EVENTS, THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN, OR RELATE TO THIS IMPORTANT PART OF THE KINGDOM ; FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME, COLLECTED FROM THE WORKS OF NUMEROUS AUTHORS, NEWSPAPERS, &c., &c.

EARLY history is necessarily involved in great obscurity. The memory of the human race extends back only to about 3000 years from the present date, leaving an indefinite period before that, during the infancy of the species a total blank. Nor does the scriptural account of the crea- tion settle the point. As many as two hundred different calculations as to the age of our species have been founded, by different divines, on the statements of thesacred records, the discrepancy arising from the uncertainty of those texts of the Old Testament in which numbers occur. The long- est of these calculations dates the creation of man at abort 8800 years from the present time, or about 7000 years before the birth of Christ ; the shortest at about 5300 years from the present time, or 3500 years before the birth of Christ ; the system usually adopted by historians is that of Arch- bishop Usher, which fixes the event at B.c. 4004, or 5864 years from the present date. No.1 O, I.

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2 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND B.C. 1856.-45. 1856. B.C. Memnon invented the letters of the alphabet. —Prometheus first struck fire from flints. 1021. In this year antiquarians say that York, or Eboracum, was built by Abraucus, the son of Mempricius, a British king, who reigned about the time when David held the sceptre of Judea, and Gad, Nathan, and Asaph prophesied in Israel. The origin of York being involved in the obscu- rity of more than twenty centuries, various conjectures have been formed respecting its ancient name, which is generally believed to have been Caer-ebrauc ; though Hum- phrey Lhuyd, the learned Welsh antiquarian, says, Eboracum is well known to be the very same city that the Britons called Caer-Effroc, and is now contracted into York. 55. Julius Cesar, after having conquered Egypt, Asia, Spain, and France, sent no fewer than 800 vessels With his troops to invade Britain. The British Islands were at this time occupied by barbarous tribes, who lived exactly as the Indians now do, upon animals caught in hunting, and fruits which grew spontaneously. They stained and tattooed their bodies, and wore personal ornaments and trinkets made of iron. They had no religion, but a bloody idolatry called Druidism. 45. Julius Cesar, being led by Sosigenes, an astronomer of his time, to believe that there was an error in the calen- dar of six hours in a year, (the year at this time was estima- ted at exactly 365 days, no notice being taken of the extra dh. 48m. 49s.) ordained that six hours should be set aside for four years, and then added. This was done by doubling the 24th Feb; and in order to commence aright the first year was to be called a ‘ year of confusion,’ made up of 15 months, so as to cover the 90 days which had then been lost. (See 1582 and 1751.) ‘“ The towns of the Britons’”’ says Cesar “ were inac- cessible woods by ditches and thus, ‘forests served them for cities; they cut down a number of trees to inclose a large circle, within which they erected huts and stalls for their cattle, which were not designed for continued use.’”” A rampart of earth, aided by trees cut down for that purpose formed generally their whole defence, both from the warlike incursions of neighbouring tribes, and the attacks of the wild beasts, with which the country in these early times abounded. The Romans ex- perienced great difficulty in subduing the Britons ; but when the conquest was in a great measure completed, the country was governed in the usual manner of a Roman province ; and towns began to rise in the course of time, being gener-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 3 45.-A D. 61. ally those whose names are now found to end in Chester ; as Manchester, Winchester, &c., a termination derived from Castra, the latin word fora camp. There was a Castrwm or an entrenched camp at Leeds on the hill lying between Charles Street and High Street ; then called * Wall-flatt.” A Trajectus, or ford crossed the Aire, a short distance on the east side of the present old bridge. The Roman Roads which intersected Yorkshire can occasionally be traced with considerable accuracy. There was first the road from Doncaster, through what is called Pontefract Park, to Cast‘eford, to Tadcaster, and thence to York. Second: the road from Tadcaster, through Slack near Huddersfield, to Manchester, passed through Leeds in a line a little to the east of Briggate, and its line is traceable in the neigh- bourhood of Morley and Gildersome. (The word Street is derived from the latin word Stratum which indicates the course of a Roman road, hence Gildersome-street, near Morley, and Street-lane, and Street-houses, on the moors near Shad well indicate the course ofa Romanroad.) Third: a road from Castleford, ran through Adel, towards Ilkley. 44. Ten years after the invasion of Britain by Julius Cesar, Brutus and Cassius attacked and murdered himin the senate-house, at the foot of Pompey’s statue in Rome. 25. Coin was first used in Britain. Our Saviour Jesus Christ was born on Monday, Dec. 25, four years before the common era, and was crucified on April 3rd, at 3 o’clock, P.M. A.D. 33. A.D. 4 A Mint was erected at Colchester, where gold, silver, and copper coins were made ; previous to which iron bullion was used. 43. The Emperor Claudius sent a large army into Britain. 49. London is said to have been founded by the Romans. , Ostorius Scapula, the Roman general in England sent to Rome as a prisoner, a British prince called Caradoc, or Caractacus, whose noble behaviour, moved Claudius to grant him his pardon. 59. St. Peter and St. Paul were put to death about June 29th, being in the same year that Linus was made first Bishop of Rome. 61. In this year a-Roman general Suetonius did much to reduce the Britons, by destroying the numerous Druidical temples in the Isle of Anglesea. The Britons, taking ad- vantage of his absence, were all in arms, headed by Boa- dicea, queen of the Iceni, on whom and her fair daughters had been committed the most nameless indignity, by certain

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4 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 61.-211. of the Roman tribunes. Suetonius hastened to the protec- tion of London, which was now a flourishing Roman colony. Two fearful engagements followed. London was reduced to ashes ; its inhabitants cruelly massacred ; the Romans and others to the number of 70,000 were put to the sword without distinction ; while to avenge this cruelty Suetonius waged a most decisive war in which 80,000 of the Britons perished, and Boadicea rather than fall into the hands of the enraged victor, put an end to her life by oison. P 7s. Julius Agricola was advanced to the government of Britain in this year. He introduced the pleasures and luxuries of Rome, and was the first to sail round the island. He built a line of forts between the rivers Forth and Clyde, and defeated the Caledonians under Galgacus, on the Gram- pian hills. , 124. The Roman emperor Adrian came to England, and took up his station at York, which had been fortitied by Agricola, and was now garrisoned by the Legio Sexta, Vic- tric, brought over from Rome, to assist in the conquest of Caledonia. York, which had been previously the seat of British kings, now became the occasional residence of Roman emperors. 180. York was constituted a metropolitan see by king Lucius. 208. The emperor Severus on hearing that the Britons had besieged York under Fulgenius, a Scythian general, immediately came over to Britain, accompanied by his two sons Caracalla and Geta, and his whole court. He was then sixty-years old, and very infirm. Severus lived more than three years in the city, where he stamped upon his coin the title of Britannicus Maximus, as conqueror of Britain. During this time York shone in its full splendour. . 211. Severus died at York Feb. 5th, and on his death-bed called for an Urn, in which his ashes were to be deposited, after the Roman custom, and gazing steadfastly on it, he said,—‘ Thoushalt hold what the whole world could scarce- ly contain,’’ soon after speaking these emphatic words, he calmly breathed his last, after reigning sixteen years. A short time before his death, the Caledonians again took up arms, and attacked the Roman garrisons on the borders, which threw the emperor into such unfeeling rage, that he sent out his legions, with orders to put every man, woman, and child amongst the insurgents to the sword ; but before his bloody purpose could be fully executed, death overtook him, and his funeral obsequies were celebrated at a short

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 211.-326. distance from the city, near the three large tumuli, at Hold - gate, which still bear the name of Severus’s Hills. His body, habited in his general’s costume, was brought out in military array, and laid ona magnificent pile, which was lighted by his sons ; and his remains, after being reduced to ashes, were placed in an urn of porphyry, to be carried to Rome, where they were deposited in the monument of the Antonines, and the extraordinary ceremony of deification was conferred upon the deceased emperor, to whose mem- ory Drake says the three hills near York were raised by his grateful army. 212. York became the scene of the most inhuman cruel- ties, committed by Caracalla, who, perceiving that Geta had a powerful party in the army, ordered 20,000 soldiers to be put to death, under a pretence of mutiny ; and mur- dered his brother Geta with his own hands, in the arms of his mother . 272. Constantine the Great, born at York, travelled into Asia Minor, whence he returned on hearing of his father’s illness, and arrived at the imperial palace at York, in time to embrace Constantius, his father, who, in 307, appointed him his successor. Upon the demise of Constantius, the Roman army in York invested Constantine with the imper- ial purple, and York, being at this period in the zenith of its splendour, was thence called Altera Roma, and Britain remained tranquil under the mild influence of Constantine’s pacific sway. After dividing his extensive dominions into our prefectures, he removed the seat of government from Rome to Byzantium, from which period may be dated the decline of the Roman power iu Britain, and the consequent decay of York. Constantine died in 337: Camden says this emperor built the walls of London. 287. C'arausius, who had been sent with a fleet to guard the Belgic coast, passed over into Britain, and was pro- claimed emperor at York: he entered into a league with the Picts and Scots, by whose assistance he overcame Quintus Bassianus a Roman lieutenant, whom Dioclesian sent from Rome to dis-possess Carausius, who it is believed was slain at York by his friend Alectus. 298. Constantius Chlorus ordered his ruined fortresses, &c., on the Rhine, to be repaired by British artificers, whom he considered superior to the Gauls. 326. OCTAVIUS, king of the Britons, rebelling against the Romans, was demanded by the Roman general to be given up as a rebel, but he, courting the assistance of Fincomark, king of Scotland, gave battle to the Romans, who were

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6 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 326.-515. defeated. The city of York was taken by the Scots, and Octavius was there crowned king of All Britain. 347. The Bishops of York and London attended the Council of Arles. 440. At this time the Romans could no longer defend their Own native country against the nations in the north of Europe. They withdrew their soldiers and left the people to govern themselves. As soon as the Romans had left, the Caledonians from the north, poured in upon the Britons, and despoiled them of their lives and goods. The Britons called in as protectors, the Saxons, a warlike people who lived in the north of Germany, and the Jutes and Angles whoinhabited Denmark. In the year 450 the Saxons landed in the isle of Thanet to the number of 1600 men, and did at first protect, and fight for the Britons. Having once however acquired a footing in the island they threw off the mask, and proceeded to make it a subject of conquest. They drove the Britons into Wales. 1n course of time so completely was the population changed and saxonised, that excepting in the names of some of the hills and rivers, the sritish language was and even the name of the country was altered to Angle-land, or England, a term taken from the Angles. 448. York at this period partook largely in the vicissitudes to which the island was exposed. The Picts and the Scots, the Saxons and the Danes, each in succession, erected their standards before its gates ; yet still it was the seat of trade and letters. 458. A great storm was experienced at York, which blew . down several houses, and killed many persons. 466. Hengist was slain at Conisbrough by the Britons, under their king Ambrosius, who summoned all the princes and nobility to appear at York. Octa and Kosa, the two sons of Hengist, surrendered to the victor, but in 490, when Uter succeeded his brother Ambrosius ; they revolted, and invested York, where the British king defeated them. The Christian church, which had been suppressed by the Saxons, was restored by Ambrosius before his death. 485. Vortigern being pursued by Ambrosius as an enemy to his country fled to a castle in Wales, where he was besieged ; the castle took fire and was burnt to the ground, and the unhappy Vortigern perished in the flames. 508. Gregory the Great sent Augustine with forty mis- sionaries into Kent, to convert the people to Christianity. 515. This winter was so intensely cold, that the wildest birds allowed themselves to be taken by the hand.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 7

The following places, so familiar to the people of Leeds, are mostly derived from the language of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Leeds is supposed by Thoresby to be derived from the British cair loid coit, a townin the wood ; by Bede from the first Saxon possessor named Loidi, others suppose it to be derived from our German ancestors, as there is a town called Leeds, on the river Dender in Austria Flanders, near which is the village of Holbeck. Briggate, the Bridge- gate, —Kirkgate, the Church-gate,—Swinegate, so called from leading to a beck or stream where those animals were washed. Boar-lame had probably a similar derivation.

ALLERTON a tree, and ton town.

ARMLEY or Orm, a proper name, and ley, field. Bexston _-_.___-Bede, a proper name, and fon, town. BraMLey-_-__-_-__ Bram or Bramble, a wild shrub, and ley, field. --.-.-.-Bur, a tree, and ley, field. CoLpcoaTss--__ -_ Cold, and cotes, houses. CoTTINGLEY_-_--_- Cot, house, ing, and ley, field. F aRNLEY ____..__ Fern, a wild plant, and Jey, field _____-__ Furze, e wild plant, and dey, field. GLepHow-_-_-.__._.Gled, hawk, and how, hill GIPTON Gip, a proper name, and Zon, town. _-.-Heath, woor, tng, meadow, and ley, field. _-_-.~.-Hol, a low place, and beck, stream. hound, and leet, a meeting. KIRKSTALL_-____- Kirk, church, and séall, place. KwowstHorPe ~-Knovwl, the brow of a hill, and village. M _--_. Mense, in common, and wood.

OsMUNDTHORPE __Osmund, a proper name, and ¢horpe, village. _New-town, near the pottery. Ropiey Rood, a cress, and ley, field.

SKELTON. __-.._.Skel, water, and ton, town. stone, ing, meadow, and ley, field. Swin, swine, and how, hill. W -....Weet, wet, or marshy, and wood. WORTLEY Wort, a wild plant, and dey, field.

Ataplacein Armley formerly called Giants’-hill, was anex- tensive earth work described by Thoresby as being thrown up and used by the Danes, as a fort, or place of security, whence they might issue at leisure to lay waste and plunder the surrounding country. It must have been avery strong and advantageous post, the northern side thereof being defend~- ed by a high and precipitous hill, at the foot of which ran the river Aire; like the other.camps of this people, it was of circular form, measuring twenty perches in circumfer- ence ; the rampart being about eighteen, or twenty feet gh. !

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8 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 616.-627, 516. The computing of time by the Christian w2ra, was in use at this time, and was applied to historical events in 784. 520. King Arthur, the most celebrated of all the British monarchs, expelled the Saxons from York, and almost from the kingdom, by the sanguinary battle of Baden Hills, (521) in which 90,000 of the enemy were slain. Being deter- mined to destroy the ancient seat of enmity, he prepared for an expedition against Scotland, but was dissuaded from his purpose by the bishops, who represented to him that the Scots had just received the gospel, and that in the true spirit of religion which he professed, “Christians ought not to spill the blood of This great monarch and his clergy, with the nobility and the soldiers, kept their Christmas at York, being the first festival of the kind ever celebrated in Britain. Arthur was slain by the hands of his own nephew, in 542 ; and the Saxons soon afterwards prevailed. 547. Ida and Ella, two Anglo-Saxons, having Janded at Flamborough, and subdued the Britons, the former assumed the sovereignty of Bernicia, extending from the Tyne to Edinburgh Frith; and the latter became king of Deiri, of which York was the capital, as it was afterwards of Nor- thumbria, which included all the six northern countics of England, and formed the largest of the seven kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy, and received, during the reign of Edwin, tribute from the rest. 593. Ethelfrid, having ascended the Bernician throne, expelled his infant brother-in-law Edwin from Deiri, and became the first king of Northumberland, which however was several times divided under two petty monarchs, and as often united under one. 620. In this year Berwick-in-E]lmet near Leeds, was ruled by a British king named Cereticus, and was con- quered by Edwin, king of Northumbria. 627. A small oratory of wood was erected on the site of the present Cathedral at York, and dedicated to St. Peter. On Easter day, in the same year, Edwin, king of Northum- bria, with his two sons and a number of nobles, were solemnly baptized in that primitive Christian place of worship, which soon gave place toa more magnificent fabric, under the auspices of the newly converted monarch, who had previously raised Paulinus, a Roman missionary, to the dignity of Archbishop of York. In the same year, this Paulinus(commonly called the Northumbrian apostle) erect- ed a cross as a point of assembly for divine worship at

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 9 633. -655. Dewsbury. A fac-simile of this cross bears the inscription * Paclines hic predicavit, et celebravit. 633. Edwin, king of Northumbria, slain in a most san- guinary battle, fought against Penda, king of Mercia, and Cadwallader, the British king of Wales, at the village of Hatfield, seven miles from Doncaster. His head was buried in the porch of his own church of St. Gregory at York, but the rest of his remains were deposited in the monastery at Whitby. 634. Edwin and his only son were slain, near Don- easter, the victors ravaged Yorkshire, in a most dreadful manner. Osric, one of the nearest relations of Edwin, immediately ventured to besiege York, then in possession of Cadwallader, the Welsh king : who, sallying out defeated his forces and slew Osric. Eanfrid, Osric’s brother, hast- ened to York, to treat for peace; instead of obtaining which, he was cruelly and treacherously put to death by Cadwallader, who himself died in this year.—During the reign of Edwin, he ordered stakes to be fixed on the high- ways, where he had seen clear springs, and brazen dishes were chained to them, to refresh the thirsty traveller. 642. After Penda had slain Oswald, king of Northumbria, he marched his army northward, and besides committing other spoliation, almost destroyed the newly erected Cathe- dral of York. 655. The hoary-headed Penda, king of Mercia, who had so long evinced the most inveterate enmity against the Northumbrians, hastened (in the eightieth year of bis age) with his veterans against Oswy, who now held the sover- eignty of Bernicia, as he did afterwards of the rest of Northumbria, called Deiri. To meet this pagan foe, who, on the verge of the grave, continued to court the smiles of Woden, Oswy advanced with his warriors to Winmoor, pear Seacroft, in the neighbourhood of Leeds, where the two armies engaged in bloody conflict, in which the Nor- thumbrian Christians defeated and nearly destroyed the Pagans, who were much more numerous than themselves, and left the haughty Penda with thirty of his officers dead on the field. The conquering Oswy, pursuing his victorious career, subdued the kingdom of Mercia, and having prevailed with Peada, the son of Penda, to become a Christian, he ve him the government of the southern part of Mercia, bounded by the Trent, but he was soon afterwrads murdered his wife, and the Mercians, revolting, threw off the Northumbrian yoke. Before the battle of Winmoor, Osweo, or Oswy, made a vow, that if he gained the battle, and

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10 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 655.-741. became victorious, his infant daughter should be consecrated to religious duties, and lead a life of celibacy. She was committed to the care of St. Hilda, Abbess of Whitby whom she succeeded. 664. On the death of Aldewald, king of Deiri, Oswy be- came sole monarch of Northumbria, over which he reigned till his death in 670. 665. Venerable Bede, (of Jarrow,) the historian, born. He mentions Leeds, styling it ‘ Loidis.”’ 674. The art of glass-making, and a taste for ecclesiastical magnificence was introduced into Northumbria, by Benedict Biscop, who built Wearmouth Abbey, with stone, after the Roman style of architecture, having brought workmen from the continent for that purpose. York Cathedral, which had been nearly destroyed by Penda, was now restored by Arch- bishop Wilfrid. 679. Egfrid, who had now become king of all Northum- bria, in which the County of York was included, endeav- oured to preserve and enlarge hisdominions He repulsed with great slaughter an invasion of the Picts, and in the same year invaded Mercia. An action took place on the banks of the Trent, but the interposition of Theodorus, archbishop of York, prevented the further effusion of blood. 700. In this year there was no fewer than fifteen kings or chiefs within the island, while Ireland was nearly in the same situation. 709. Died Wilfrid, archbishop of York. He was of an obscure family, but possessed great genius; was the 3rd archbishop of that Province, succeeding Chadda in 669. He resigned the mitre in 678, but was restored in 686, after which he wasexpelledin 698. He founded Riponmonastery, where he was buried.——_——_Ima king of Wessex, published about this time his laws of the Saxons, soon after which he laid on the tax of “ Peter Pence” for the support of a college at Rome. 731. Alcuinus, who was keeper of the noble library at York, founded by Archbishop Egbert, speaks of it in several of his letters, as one of the most choice and valuable col- lections of books then in the world. ‘Oh! that I had,’’ says he in a letter to the emperor Charlemagne, “the use of those admirable books on all parts of learning, which I enjoyed in my native country, collected by the industry of my beloved master 741. York Cathedral suffered so much by fire this year, that Archbishop Egbert, assisted by Albert, a learned native, took it entirely down. Albert, who was promoted to the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. il 741.-867. see in 767, assisted by Alcuinus, Egbert’s librarian, and Eanbald, who succeeded Albert, rebuilt it in the most magnificent style. 759. Eadbert, king of Northumbria, having, since he ascended the throne in 737, roused his subjects from their lethargic stupor, quelled their petty factions, and subdued their enemies, resigned his sceptre to his son Oswulfe, and retired tu.a monastery at York; thus, like seven of his predecessors, resigning the crown for the cowl. His son was slain in the first year of his reign ; for some time after which, Northumbria was agitated with factions, usurpers, aud dissolute menarchs —————A dreadful fire broke out at Doncaster, by which not ouly the castle, but the whole town was reduced to ashes. The castle was never after re-built. 781. Nov. 8. Died Albert, archbishop of York, ten days after the consecration of the Cathedral, which he was the principal means of rebuilding. He also added greatly to the valuable library that Egbert had founded, especially such books as he had procured in his travels abroad in his younger days. I 792. Ethelred, whose vicious and treacherous propensities had driven him from the throne in the 5th year of his reign, now returned from his twelve years’ exile, and been again invested with the sceptre of Northumbria by the voice of the people, he decoyed the two children of Alfwold from the sanctuary at York, and murdered them to prevent their setting up any claim to the throne, which during his exile had been some time occupied by their father, who was treacherously killed by Siga, a nobleman retained about his person. 800. The Saxon Heptarchy, (or seven kingdoms) pre- vailed from 585 to 800, when Egbert king of Wessex, acquired a paramount influence over the other states, which he reduced to one common Jurisdiction, and became the first king of England, to the throne of which his descen- dants succeeded in the male line to Edward the Confessor. SH. St. Swithin(the weeping saint) Bishop of Winchester, aud an English died this year. 867. A dreadful battle foughtnear York, between Osbert, who had been raised to the throne of Northumbria, and the two Danish generals and brothers, Hinguar and Hubba, which terminated in favour of the invaders—Osbert being slain in the retreat with a great number of men. Asser Menevensis thus describes the sufferings of the inhabitants of York on this occasion :—“ By the general’s cruel orders

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12 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 867.-936. they knocked down all the boys, young and old men, they met with in the city, and cut their throats. Matrons and virgins were ravished at pleasure. The husband and wife, either dead or dying, were tossed together; the infant, suatched from its mother’s breast, was carried to the threshold, and there left butchered at its parent’s door, to make the general outcry more hideous.” 871. Alfred the grandson of Egbert began to reign in this year. At this time the Danes, a nation of pirates and hea- thens committed such dreadful ravages on the shores of Britain, that for some time they completely overturned the sovereignty of Alfred and he was compelled to live in obscu- rity in the centre of a marsh. He at length regained the greater part of his kingdom, and spent the rest of his life in literary study, of which he was very fond, and in form- ing laws and regulations for the good of his people. He was anexcellent historian, understood music, and acknow- ledged to be the best Saxon poet of the age, leaving many works behind him. He was perhaps, the most able, most virtuous, and most popular prince that ever reigned in Britain ; and all this is the more surprising when we find that his predecessors and successors for many ages were extremely cruel, and ignorant. He died in the year 901, in the 53rd year of his age. 872. The Danes in their ravaging excursious, fired the city of York.———The first mention of Clocks occurs at this period. Sun dials had been in use long before. 936. King Athelstan, on his expedition to Scotland, visited York, where he requested the benefit of devout prayers from the citizens on his behalf, promising that if he succeeded well therein he would abundantly recompense them. He did succeed—returned to York, and in the minster offered thanks to God and St. Peter. He also granted to God, St. Peter, and a fraternity called Colledei, and their successors, for ever, one thrave of corn out of every caracute of land, or every ploughing within the bishopric of York. He also gave them a piece of waste ground, which, with the income of corn, called Peter corn, euabled them to found for them- selves an hospital in thecity. William the Conqueror con- firmed the thraves to them; William Rufus removed the site of the hospital into the precincts of the royal palace, and built them a small church; Henry I. granted to them ‘the enlargement of the close in which their house was situated ; confirmed to the hospital certain lands; freed them from gelds and customs, and granted to them many

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 13 936-1002. other privileges, besides taking to himself the name of a brother and warden of this hospital. 937. Aunlaff, a Dane, entered the Humber with a fleet of 615 sail, whilst Athelstan was absent ; he landed his forces and marched to York before the king was advised of this invasion. On hearing that Atheletan was approaching the city, the confederated princes, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh, went out to meet him, when a bloody engagement took place at Bromford, where the king gained a slaying Constantine, king of Scotland, six petty kings of Ireland and Wales, and twelve general officers ; and, destroy- ed their whole army. He then proceeded to York, and razed the castle to the ground, inorder to prevent future rebellion. 948. King Edred destroyed Ripon by a general conflag- ration. 955. Dec. 26. Died Wulstan, archbishop of York, who, for espousing the cause of Anlaff, the Danish king of North- umbria, against Edred, the king of England, was by him committed to prison, but was soon released and restored to his office. 981. London was burnt down by accident. 991. This year the winter continued so long, and with such intensity, that vegetation was suspended or totally destroyed by the frost. The crops failed on the continent, as well as in England, and famine and pestilence closed the figures in Arithmetic brought into Europe by the Saracens from Arabia. 1000. Early in the beginning of the 11th century, Seleth the shepherd, wandered from the south, pursuant to his Visions, and fixed his hermitage at Kirkstall, where an Abbey was afterwards built. 1002. November 13th was the day on which king Ethelred Il. secretly ordered all the Danes to be massacred, and great was the slaughter committed in the southern parts of England; but in Northumbria the Danes were too numerously intermingled with the Saxons to be sentenced to assassination, and the detestable act so much inflamed them, that in a little time the Anglo-Saxons became the sport of their indignant enemies, and in 1010 Sweyn, king ef Denmark, successfully undertook the conquest of Eng- land with a powerful army, which, after lying in camp on the banks of the Ouse, was engaged near York by the English, strengthened by a number of Scots. The battle was bloody and well contested, but victory declared for the Danes, and subsequently Ethelred with a few of his followers seized a boat and fied to Normandy, leaving his 2.

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14 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1002.-1066. crown and kingdom to the conquerors. The Danish viceroys, or Comites Northumbria, fixed their residence at York, where their sovereigns occasionally dwelt amongst them, till 1041, when the Saxons aguin succeeded to the throne, but were soon afterwards dispossessed by the Normans. 1005. All the old churches were re-built about this time in a ‘new style” of architecture. 1015. Children were forbidden by law to besold by their parents in England. 1060. Dec. 22. Died Kinsius, archbishop of York. He was a man of such austere habits that, for the most part, he walked barefoot in his visitations. 1065. Jan. 5th. Died Edward the Confessor. He col- lected the laws made by his predecessors into one code, and called it the Common Law of England. 1066. Harfager, king of Norway, at the instance of Tosti, Earl of Northumberland, entered the Humber with a nu- merous army, and sailed up the river as far as Riccall, within ten miles of York, which city they took by storm after a battle fought at Fulford. On the 23rd September, Harold,king of England with astrong body of forces, met the invaders at Stamford Bridge where Tosti and the Norwe- gian king, were both slain; but Harold did not long enjoy his triumph, for, on the following day he was informed by an express, as he sat in state at a magnificent entertainment in York, that William, Duke of Normandy,( whom Edward, the late king, had nominated as his successor) had landed at Pevensey, in Sussex. Harold immediately marched to meet the invaders, whom he encountered at Hastings, on the 14th of October, when he lost both his life and his crown, with 60,000 men. One of the chroniclers of the Norman conquest, says, that weapons of stone were used by some of the Anglo Saxon troops at the battle of Hastings. Numerous rude implements of various kinds have from time to time been discovered at Flambro’, Bridlington, and other places, clearly belonging to this period of English history. They are made of chipped flint, among which the most common are arrow-heads, and heads of spears or javelins, knives, chisels, &c., fish hooks, so delicately formed that we cannot but feel astonished at the labour it must have required to chip them out of a piece of flint. William the Conqueror, having established himself on the throne, dispossessed the English of their estates and offices of trust,and gave them to his numerous followers. The bar- ony of Pontefract he gave to Ilbert de Laci, who built Ponte- fract castle. After so greatan agitation as that produced by the Norman Conquest, some yearsnecessarily elapsed before

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 15 1966.-1081. the country could be restored to harmony ; and the inhabit- ants of the North of England, stil! cherishing their wonted spirit of independence and liberty, were amongst the last to bow their necks to the Norman yoke ; a violent struggle was made against the proud Conqueror, and York was the rallying point of the patriot army, but in 1067, William marched into that city, and garrisoned it with Norman soldiers, the Saxon nobles having fied into Scotland, where they were joined by king Malcolm, as they were also by the Danes in 1069, when they with their allies attacked York, where they put 3000 Normans to Though William soon arrived before the city, and bribed the Danes to leave the country, the English gallantly defended the city about six months, and were only compelled by famine to surrender under stipulations which the Conqueror im- mediately violated, and butchered nearly all the nobility and gentry, and laid waste all the country from York to Durham. The inhabitants set fire to the suburbs, and the flames extended to the city and cathedral, and involved all in one common ruin. The valiant Waltheof, Earl of Nor- thumberland, and governor of York, suffered by the hands of the executioner, and is mentioned as the first example of beheading in England. Those of the inhabitants, who now escaped the edge of the sword, were reserved for a more deplorable fate, being hunted by the Normans, and “obliged to eat horses, dogs, cats, and even their own species, to preserve their miserable Aldred, the last Saxon archbishop of York, performed the religious ceremony at the coronation of William the Conqueror, and is said to have retained his rank by bribes. 1070. Henry the I., the youngest son of William the Conqueror, was bornat Sclby. He was crowned by Maurice, bishop of London, at Westminster, Aug. 5th, 1100. Knaresborough castle was founded by Serlode Burgh, who eame into England with the Conqueror. He was succeeded m his possessions by Eustace Fitz John, the great favourite of Henry I. 1080. Leeds, Holbeck, and Woodhouse were given by the Conqueror to Ibert de Laci. Leeds was then only a farm- ing village, with an estimated population of somewhat less - than 300, and not more than 900 in the whole parish, including a priest, a church, and a mill. The circumference of the borough of Leeds is 32 miles, and one furlong, and its superficial contents are 21,470 acres and 9 perches. 1081. The Domesday Book, containing an exact account,

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16 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1081. of all the landed property in England, was now finished after a labour of six years. THE CASTLE OF LEEDS.—It is probable that the Castle of Leeds was erected about this time by the De Lacies of Pontefract. It occupied the site at present surrounded by Mill-hill, Bishopgate, and the western part of Boar Lane. It was in all probability surrounded by a moat, and an ex- tensive park, as we may gather from the names Park Row, Park Square, &c.— In excavating for the foundations of the warehouses on the south side of West Bar, (in 1&36,) the workmen employed by J. Kendell, Esq., discovered the remains of the Castle Moat. It sppeared to have had a semicircular form, and to have terminated in the Mill Goit, extending considerably on each side of Scarborough’s Hotel, on which site the castle is supposed to have stood. A tower also stood near Lydgate, in Woodhouse Lane, called Tower Hill; which was probably connected with the castle ; but not a vestige of either fabric remains. The LEEDS PARISH CHURCH, (St. Peters) is mentioned in Domesday Book, and was therefore in existence at a very early period. On taking down the old Parish Church of Leeds in 1838, a most interesting discovery was made of several sculptured stone Crosses of the Anglo Saxon period. The largest cross was thirteen feet in height ; the others were less, and broken into fragments. One of the erosses contained in Runic characters the name of a king. The inscription was Cunt Onlaf: that is king Onlaf. Onlaf the Dane entered the Humber in 937, and subsequently became king of Northumbria, and a christian. His residence was probably the “ Villa Regia’ at Osmund- thorpe, and this cross was no doubt erected to his memory in the cem- etery of the Leeds Parish Church about the year 950. Ancient frag- ments were discovered of the Norman Church of Leeds; not the one mentioned in the Domesday Survey, but the church renewed about the Jatter end of the 11th, or the commencement of the 12th century, Behind the altar piece was a mural monument to the memory of a family named Hardewycke, of the 16th century, and in taking up the floor under the communion table, a tablet was found in excellent preser- vation, containing a brass plate inscribed to the memory of Thomas Darrell, Vicar of Leeds, who was a benefactor to the church and died in 1469. On taking up the floor of the choir a fine effigy was discovered in chain mail with plate knee caps, sword and shield, beautifully earved in limestone, the coat of arms or quarterings of the shield denoting the knight to have been of the family of Stainton or Steynton. The legs had been off close under the knee. This effigy is cross-legged, and cannot be latvr than Edward the II’s time, or about the year 1300. In the succeeding reign, Elizabeth Stainton was prioress of Kirkstall, and probably of the same family. The Chapel at Holbeck was probably founded about

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 17 1081.-1108. I the same period. It was given by Ralph Paganel, along with the Church at Leeds, to the priory of the Holy Trinity at York. It is now demolished, but the site is shown bya stone obelisk, in the burial ground attached to the new erection. The Chapel of St. Helen at Holbeck, is supposed to have stood near to Sheepbridge, with which, and a medicinal well, formerly in the neighbourhood, it may have been connected, but no remains exist. The Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, at Beeston, is believed to have been erected at a very early period. It has been rebuilt, and its only remains of antiquity are ;—the east window, apparently of the time of Henry III, surmounted by the crowned monogram of the virgin, and some fragments of stained glass, consisting of a head of our Saviour, and another of the virgin, a mutilated figure of a saint, and the arms of the families of Beeston, Mauleverer, and Nevile, all of which are also much mutilated. 1088. Wm. Rufus, commenced the building of St. Mary’s Abbey, in York, which was afterwards destroyed by fire, and rebuilt from 1270 to 1292, by Simon de Warwick, the Abbot. 1089. The advowson of the Church of Leeds and the Chapel of Holbeck, was given to the Priory of Holy Trinity at York, by Ralph Paganell, who was a follower of William the Conqueror. 1090. Skipton Castle built by Robert de Romille, who also founded the original church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. In the civil wars, this place was garrisoned for king Charles I., the command devolving on Sir John Mallory, of Studley. It was surrendered December 20th, 1645, haviug held out longer than any other castle in the north of England. The castle chapel was in existence subse- quent to the death of Thomas, Earl of Thauet. The Clifford family have, with only one exception of attainder, held the barony 500 years. 1098. The river Aire was made navigable this year at Kirkstall] Bridge. 1100. Nov. 18. Died Thomas, archbishop of York. He was a Norman by birth, and succeeded Aldred, the last of the Saxon race of archbishops of that diocese. Thomas died at Ripon, but was interred at York minster. It was during the time he held this see, that the long contested point, whether the see of Canterbury or York should have pre-eminence, was determined in favour of the former. 1108. May 21. Died, Gerrard, archbishop of York, who

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18 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1108.-1137. was interred in the minster. He dignity eight years, part of which time, he, like Thurston and Thomas, the Norman, refused obedience to Canterbury. ‘1115. Henry 1st, the third son of the Conqueror, gave the manors of Conisburgh, Thornes, and Wakefield, and the lordship of Normanton, to Wm. de Placitis, Earl of Warren and Surrey. 1118. The Order of Knights Templars instituted—extin- guished March 22nd, 1312. 1120. About this date the lordship of Bingley was pos- sessed by W. Paganell, founder of the Priory of Drax ; his suecessors were the Gaunts, one of whom obtained a charter for a market from king John, in the twelfth year of that monarch’s reign. In the time of Dodsworth, (1621) . there was a park at Bingley, and a castle near the church at Bailey hill, of which little more than the name and tradition now remain. The church dedicated to All Saints or All Souls, was re-built Temp. Henry VIII. -The free grammar school was founded 20th of the same reign, and is now of the annual] value of £400. By a decree of the Lord Chancellor in 1820, it was determined that the learn- ed languages should be taught at the free grammar school, for the benefit of the children of the parish of Bingley. 1121. Embsay Priory, afterwards removed to Bolton, where it is still magnificent in ruins, was this year founded by Wm. de Meschiens and his wife Cecilia de Romille, baroness of Skipton. Its original site was near the place called the Strid, where their son had been drowned in the river Wharfe. 1126. About this period died Alwred of Beverley, a cele- . brated divine and historian—he wrote“ The Annals”’ of the British, Saxon, and Norman eras. 1132. Fountains Abbey, in Studley Park, near Ripon, was built, and spread, with its appendages, over 12 acres of ground, two of which are occupied by the present magnifi- cent and picturesque ruins. It was surrendered in 1537. 1133. Eustace Fitz John sent a basket of bread from Knaresborough castle, when the monks of Fountains Abbey were in distress for want of food. 1137. A casual fire broke out in the city of York, and burnt down the cathedral, St. Mary’s abbey, and forty — churches. This dreadful fire was scarcely when the Scots under David their king, entered England, in support of his niece Matilda, and laid the country waste to the very gates of York. Thurstan, archbishop of York, assembled the neighbouring barons, and promised the ab-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT 19 1137.-1147. solution of sins to aJl who should fall in the war against these invaders. A tall mast, having at the top a pwanda cross, from which were suspended the banners of St. Peter, St. John of Beverley, and St Wilfred, was tixed in a huge chariot, and taken into the field of battle, which so excited the soldiers, that the enemy was totally routed with the loss of 10,000 men. This was the celebrated Battle of the Standard, fought Aug. 23rd, 1138, on Cowton moor, near Northallerton, the place is still called Standard Hill, and the holes in which the dead were thrown, the Scots Pits. 1139. Feb. 5th. Died, at Pontefract, where he had retired in his old age, Thurston, archbishop of York, which elevated station he filled twenty years. He was inflexible in not submitting to the archbishop of Canterbury, and was buried at Pontefract.——In this year Leeds castle was be- sieged and taken-by king Stephen, in his march against the Scots. 1140. Adel church is supposed to have been erected about this time. It is a most-interesting and venerable structure, of Norman design and one of the most perfect specimens of the kind in the kingdom. The south door-way is highly enriched, and many of its details of great elegance. The interior is adorned with very curious ancient sculpture. The east window is filled with stained glass of a monu- mental character, by Giles, dated 1601. There are three intings by Vanderbank, representing The Crucifixion, Ascension, and The Agony in the Garden. The village of Adel is termed Adhillin the Liber Regis, which, probably, gives the true etymology, the Hill of Ada, the first Saxon colonist of the place. On the slope of the hill, a little north of the village, are the remains of a Roman Camp, where a number of ancient monuments, three altars, (one inscribed “to the goddess Brigantia’’) several urns, statues, coins, &c., have been found, many of which are deposited at the Vicarage, and others are in the possession of Captain Cham~ berlain, of Bramhope. 1147. Kirkstall Abbey was founded between 1147, and 1153, by Henry de Lacie, baron of Pontefract, for monks of the Cistercian order. It had from its foundation to its dissolution in the year 1540, a succession of twenty-seven abbots, and was attended with various vicissitudes of for- tune. The abbey was prosperous and opulent under the superintendence of some of its abbots, and under that of others its affairs were in such a deplorable condition that the monks kad to solicit through their patron Henry de La- cie, the interposition of the king, (Ed. I.) to prevent its

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20 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1147.-1154. ruin by the creditors who became impatient for the payment of their debts. The live stock on the estates of the abbey in 1301, were: draught oxen 216, cows 160, yearlings and bullocks 152, calves 90, sheep and lambs 4000. In 1539 all monasteries in England were dissolved by act of parliament. Kirkstall abbey was then surrendered to the crown. (Henry VIII.) Its revenues are said to have been at the dissolu- tion, of the value of £8000 to £10,000 per annum, and this was exclusive of the value of the cattle, corn, plate, &c , on the estates. The buildings were soon a mass of ruins. The roof was taken from the church, the bells from the tower, and the lead and timber from the other buildings, and all were sold for the benefit of the crown. Iu 1583 it seems to have been used as a sort of quarry for building materials, for in an entry in the churchwardens books of Leeds at this date it is said ;—that a number of labourers were employed at sixpence a day, in removing the materi- als of “ Christall Abbye”’ to assist in the erection of edifices in that town. The site of the abbey, and some of the ad- . Joining estates, were granted by Henry VIII., to archbishop Cranmer, in exchange for other lands, and were by him settled upon Peter Hammond, in trust for his younger son. The estates must have subsequently passed to the crown ; for in the 26th of Elizabeth, they were granted by the Queen to Edmund Downynge and Peter Asheton, and their heirs for ever. Ata later period, but at what precise time has not been ascertained, the site and demesnes with the manor of Bramley, were purchased by the Savilles of How- ley, and then passed by marriage, through the Duke of Montagu to the Brudenells, Earls of Cardigan, in whose possession they still remain. These ruins form the most beautiful object in this district, and are now happily pre- served with great care. 1150. The practice of deciding legal claims by the sword, and of hiring champions for that purpose, was common in England at this time and long after. 1153 Oct. 14. Died Henry Murdac, archbishop of York, who was never permitted to enter the minster during his life, in consequence of having quarrelled with king Stephen, whose part the canons and citizens warmly espoused. He was interred in York minster. 1154. On the 25th day of October this year, king Stephen died. The Saxon chronicler says :—“ In this king’s time, all was dissension, and evil, and rapine. Against him soon rose the rich men. They had sworn oaths but no truth maintained. They built castles which they held out against

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 21 1154.-1181. him. They cruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle-work. They filled the castles with devils and evil men. They seized those whum they supposed to have any goods, and threw them into prison, for their gold and silver, and inflicted on them unutterable tortures. Some they hanged up by the feet, and smoked with foul smoke ; some by the thumbs, or by the beard, and hung coats of mail on their feet. They put them into dungeons with adders, and snakes, and toads. They burned all the towns ;—thou mightest go a days journey, and not find a Inan sitting in a town, noranacre of land tilled. Wretched men starved of hunger :—to till the ground was to plough the sea.”’ 1159. Died at Rome, Pope Adrian IV., the only English- man who filled the papal chair. Adrian’s name was Nicholas Breakspear. He was choked by a fly in the fifth year of his pontificate. 1160. The first Parliament, mentioned in history by that name, was held in York by Henry II., when Malcolm, king of Scotland, appeared to do homage for the territories he held under the king of England. 1170. The four knights who murdered Thomas-a-Becket took refuge in Knaresborough castle, where they remained prisoners many months, but were subsequently pardoned on condition of their performing a pilgrimage to Jeru- salem. At Hampale, two miles S.W. of Robin Hood’s well, near Doncaster, William de Clairfac, and Avicia, his wife, founded a priory of Cistercian nuns, which at the dissolution was granted to Francis Aislabie. 1171. The choir of the cathedral at York re-built by Archbishop Roger. 1174. Henry II., resolved to do penance at the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury. As soon as he came within sight of the church of Canterbury, he alighted from his horse, walked barefoot to the town, prostrated himself before the shrine of the saint, and allowed himeelf to be scourged. He passed the whole day and night fasting on the bare stones A convention of bishops and barons was held at York, where William, the successor of Malcolm, did homage to king Henry for the whole kingdom of Scot- land. In token of his subjection, he deposited on the altar of St. Peter, his spear, breast-plate, and saddle. 1176 The dispensing of justice by circuits first estab- lished in England. 1181. The laws of England digested about this time by Glanville. A Preceptory of KNIGHTS TEMPLARS was

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22 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1181.-1190. established at Temple Newsam as early as this year, the manor having been presented to that order by William de Villiers. These knights, who afterwards sunk to thelow- est state of depravity, were established in thé early part of the twelfth century, by Baldwin II., king of Jerusalem, for the defence of the Holy Sepulchre, and the protection of christian pilgrims. 1182. Ralph Hageth, succeeded Alexander as abbot of Kirkstall, and was reputed a religious man, renowned for sauctity, a lover of justice, and a most zealous upholder of his order; but he followed the dictates of an ambitious disposition, and forgot that poverty was ill calculated to support extravagance. 1186. Paulinus de Leedes refused thesee of Carlisle, though Henry LI., offered to augment its revenues 300 marks annual rent. About this time Henry, under pretence of raising money for the holy wars, imposed upon his subjects a con- tribution of one-tenth of their moveables, and demanded from the city of York half the sum that he required from London, York being then eminent for trade. 1189. This year Richard I., commenced his reign. Coats of arms were not in use in England until this time, the custom being derived from the Crusades. 1190. PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS.—Richard I., the day previous to his coronation, issued a proclamation for- bidding Jews to be present at Westminster, lest he might suffer by their magical arts. But his command was dis- obeyed. A few of them “eager to offer to a newruler the gifts and congratulations of an afticted people in a strange land, on a day of general grace and joy, according to the immemorial usage of the East, forced their way into the hall with the rest of the people, and were permitted to lay their presents before him, with their humble suit for the continuance of that connivance at their residevce, and of that precarious exemption from plunder and slaughter, which they had obtained from his predecessors.” As soon as it was discovered that they were present in the hall, the people attacked them without reserve or distinc- tion, beat and pillaged and drove them out. The example of this violence at court spread through the city; and, believing that the king had ordered the extermination of this hated people, the inhabitants treated them with crush- ing severity. They forced their way into their houses; first plundered, and then put to death their possessors. Those who barricaded their dwellings were burnt to death ; the feeble, the sick, aud the dying, were thrown into the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 23 1190.-1201. fires which had been kindled in the streets. The example of the metropolis was followed in many of the principal towns of England. At York, the Jews took refuge in the castle; but unable to defend themselves, they shared the same or rather a worse fate than their brethren in the capital. The castle was besieged for several days. On the night before the expected assault, a rabbi, lately arrived from the Hebrew schools abroad, addressed his assembled countrymen in these words :—‘‘ Men of Israel! God com- mands us to die for his law, as our glorious forefathers have done in all ages. If we fall into the hands of our enemies they may cruelly torment us. That life which our Creator gave us, let us return to him willingly and devoutl with our own hands.’’ No sooner had the rabbi finished, than the men murdered their wives and children, threw the dead bodies over the walls upon the populace; set fire to the building, and perished in the flames. It is said that nearly 2000 Jews in York alone fell victims to this sanguin- ary persecution. 1192. Geoffrey Plantagenet, archbishop of York, gave the nunnery of St. Clement to the abbey of Godstowe. Alicia, then prioress, refusing to obey the order, went to Rome to appeal to the Pope, regardless of which the Archbishop excommunicated the whole sisterhood. 1198. It was agreed between the monks of Kirkstall and the church of Addle, that the former should pay the iatter £1 per annum, in lieu of tithes in the parish of Addle. 1199. King John and the monarch of Scotland, with their nobles, held a convention at York, and it was agreed that John’s two sons should marry the Scotch king’s two daughters. . 1200. That great discovery, so highly interesting to this and all other maritime countries, the use of the Magnetic Needle, was made this year, and was improved and brought into general use in 1302, by Givia, of Naples. 1201. This year Eustace, abbot of Hay, in Normandy, came to England, and preached the duty of extending the Sabbath from three o’clock on Saturday afternoon, to sun- rise on Monday morning, pleading the authority of an epistle, written by Christ himself, and found on the altar of St. Simonat Golgotha. This fanatic was treated with contempt by the shrewd people of Yorkshire; and the Miller of Wakefield persisted in grinding his corn after the hour of cessation, for which it is gravely said, “that his corn was

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24 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1201.-1228. turned into blood, while the mill wheel stood immoveable against all the waters of the Calder!” 1204. That disgrace to the Inquisition, began. 1205. In the Pipe Roll there is a charge in the sheriff’s accounts, made under the authority of the king’s writ, of 14s. 1ld., for the expenses of conveying the king’s wines from Hull to York. 1213. One Peter of Pomfret, (Pontefract,) a poor hermit, had foretold that the king (John) should lose his crown this very year ; for which rash prediction he was thrown into Corte castle, the king being resolved to punish him as an impostor, and the unfortunate hermit was in consequence ‘“ at the tails of horses to the town of Warham, where he was hung upon a gibbet, together with his son. 1214. This year Roger Bacon was born, a monk celebrated for learning, and the invention of the magic lanthorn, mag- nifying glasses, and gunpowder, which latter, however, is by some authors ascribed to Swartz, a monk of Cologne, who first caused it to be used in leathern guns, in 1330. Friar Bacon was imprisoned in his cell ten years, after which he spent six years in tranquility in the college of his order at Oxford, and died on the 11th January, 1294, aged 80 years. Robert de Lindesay, abbot of Peterborough, beautified thirty monastic windows with glass, which had previously been stuffed with straw to keep out the cold and rain. 1215. Magna Charta signed June 15th, by king John and the barons, at Runnemede, between Windsor and Staines. 1216. Registers began to be kept in York, supposed to be of an older date than any in the kingdom. They begin with the rolls of Walter de Gray, whereas those in the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth do not commence before 1307. The northern barons, having taken arms against king John, in the last year of his disordered reign, be- sieged York, but left it on receiving 1000 marks from the

citizens. . 1222, There are said to have been 1115 castles at this

time in England 1227. An Indulgence granted by Walter Gray, archbishop of York, of forty days relaxation, to those benefactors who should contribute liberally towards the erection of the south part of the cross aisle in the metropolitan church. 1228. After the commencement of the Registers of the see of York, Henry de Gray appears to be the the first Rector of Gargrave, and was inducted 15th February in this year. In the endowment of this benefice, is one article

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 25 1228.-1250. of very rare occurrence, viz., an ancient personal tithe, levied upon the wages of all labourers and artificers, to be paid in silver. 1234. Coal is said to have been discovered at Newcastle upon Tyne. 1242. Leeds constituted a Vicarage, which was first en- joyed by Dns. Alanus de Shirburn, nominated to the living y the prior and convent of Holy Trinity, at York, who were then its patrons. 1244. Died at Paris, John de Sacro Bosco, of Halifax, an eminent mathematician. 1247. ROBIN HOOD, the bold outlaw and skilful archer of the 13th century, resided occasionally at Kirklees, near Huddersfield, where it is said he died on the 20th of Decem- ber, 1247, being suffered to bleed to death by a nun of the adjacent convent, to whom he had applied to take from him a portion of his redundant blood. That his remains lie under an ancient cross at Kirklees, beyond the precincts of the nunnery which stood there is by some admitted, but whether he was of noble parentage, or an outlaw of humbler birth, is not equally clear. Robin Hood was a “forester good as ever drew bow in the merrie green wood.” He was a thoroughly brave and generous man. We learn that though Robin was an outlaw, yet that “he was no lover of blood ; nay, he delighted in sparing those who sought his own life when they fell into his power; and he was beyond all examples even of knighthood, tender and thoughtful about women. Next to the ladies, he loved the yeomanry of England ; he molested no hind at the plough, no thresher in the barn, no shepherd with his flocks; he was the friend and protector of the husbandman and hind, and woe to the priest who fleeced or the noble that oppress- ed them.”” The cross over his grave bears no inscription, but the epitaph may have been engraved upon a tombstone, which has now disappeared. It was as follows :—

‘Hear, undernead dis lati] stean, Laiz Robert, Earl of Huntington ; Nea areir vir as him sa geud, An pip! kauld him Robin Heud ; Sick utlauz az hi, an iz men, Vil Inglande nivr si agen ; Obit 24, Kal. Dekembris, 1247.”

1250. About this period Knaresborough Priory was founded.

3.

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26 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1251.-1269. 1251. “ By a statute this year, a brewer may sell two gallons of ale for a penny in cities, and three or four for the same price in the country.”—Henry III., and his Queen met Alexander king of Scotland im the city of York, to present their daughter in marriage to that monarch. The ceremony was performed with a magnificence and grandeur suitable to the nuptials of such exalted persons. 1256. Sewal de Bovil succeeded Walter Gray in the Arch- bishopric of York, but was excommunicated for opposition respecting the preferment to the ecclesiastical dignities. He received absolution on his death-bed, and died May 10th, 1258. 1259. Matthew Paris, the celebrated historian, died. 1260. John le Romain, treasurer of the church, and father of the archbishop of York, of that name, built the north transept of York cathedral, and raised a handsome steeple in the place which the lantern tower now occupies. 1261. Up to this period, Mirfield formed a part of the Saxon parish of Dewsbury, and the cause of its separation, as appears from a latin M.S., in Hopkinson’s collection of documents, is curious :—“ As the Lady of Sir John Heton, the baroness of Mirfield, was going to mass before dawn on Christmas-day, to the parish church of Dewsbury, a distance of three miles, she was waylaid and robbed. and her principal attendant murdered, at a place called Ravens- brook-layne. On the same day, while she was at dinner, at nine o’clock in the morning, that being then the fashionable time, two mendicant ecclesiastics came tocrave her charity, telling her at the same time that they were going to Rome, where her husband, Sir John, was then residing. On this intimation she sat down and wrote a letter to her husband, narrating to him the horrid scene she had so recently wit- nessed, and requested him to make interest with the pope to erect the chapel of Mirfield into a parochial church. The letter she confided to the priests, who duly delivered it to the knight, whose suit was so successful, that his holiness elevated Mirfield into a rectory.” 1264. The Commons of England are said to have been first summoned to parliament at this date. There was a regular succession of parliaments from the year 1293. Knights and burgesses first sat together in 1342. January 12th, died Godfrey de Kinton, archbishop of York, who appropriated Mexborough to his church, which, ever since, has been annexed to the deanery of York. He was

interred in the minster. 1269. By a statute of Henry III., brewers and bakers

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 27 1269 -1291. committing frauds were sentenced to be ducked in stinking water. In the same reign there was an ancient mode of punishing scolding women, by subjecting them {to the oper- ation of the ducking stool ; one of which was established at the village of Morley, near Leeds, for the punishment of brawling women. 1274. Ingolard Furbard was inducted first vicar of Hali- fax, the rectory being then appropriated to the priory of Lewes, in Sussex. In his year was born Robert, lord Clifford, first lord of the honour of Skipton. He lived about forty years, and was a person eminent for his services to this kingdom. 1279. Died William de Langueton, dean of York, whose tomb was inlaid with brass and gilt, but was destroyed in the rebellion. 1280. The cruel and arbitrary Gibbet Law of Halifax is first mentioned this year; it remained in force till 1650. 1281. Edward I., demanded of many of the monastic houses one-half of all their revenues, which they were obliged to pay, and acknowledge as a free gift. To such as paid it, he readily granted particular protection. 1284. By an inqnest taken this year, it appears that the village of Rastrick was rated at 13s., and contained onl six freemen; the rest were, according to the inquest, “native tenantes, villains or bondsmen.’’————The price of a Bible, withacommentary, fairly written, was thirty pounds ; the pay of a labouring man, was three half-pence a day. Nicholas Poteman granted to the prioress of St. Clements and to the nuns there, two messuages in Clementhorpeé, with a toft, a croft, and half an acre of land, which were confirmed to them by Edward III. 1285. A staple of wool, &c., was settled at Boston, in Lincolnshire, and the merchants of the Hanseatic League established there their guild, and a tax of a mark was laid on every sack of wool exported, and a mark on every three hundred skins. By 13th Edward I., stat. 2, chap. 6, “The king commandeth that from henceforth neither fairs nor markets be kept in church-yards, for the honor of the church.” 1291. Edward the first stayed some time in York, (on his way into Scotland,) when the famous Welshman, Rees-ap- Meredith, was conveyed to that city, tried for high treason, condemned and drawn through the town to the gallows, where he was hung and quartered. The first stone of the nave of the cathedral at York was, on the 7thof April,

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28 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1291.-1306. laid by John le Romain The nave was completed by Wil- liam de Melton, his successor, in 1330. 1292. A grant was made for the family of Wiliam Lord Latimer, who was then on the king’s service in Gas- cony, to reside in Skipton castle, with allowance of fuel out of the woods there. 1298. William de Hameltone appointed dean of York, and on January 16th, 1305, had the great seal delivered to him as Lord Chancellor of England. He died in 1314. In this year was born Roger Lord Clifford, who died in the prime of his youth, in 1326. He was second lord of the honour of Skipton. Edward aspecial parliament to meet at York, and required his mutinous. arons to attend to it, without excuse or delay, accounting those rebels that should disobey. At this parliament the commons of the realm granted the king the ninth penny of their goods, the archbishop of Canterbury with the clergy of his province the tenth penny, and the archbishop of York with his clergy a fifth. Soon after this Edward removed his courts of justice from London to York, until the battle of Falkirk. This ancient city then ranked amongst the English ports, and furnished one vessel to Edward’s fleet ; but when vessels began to be built on a larger scale its commerce decreased, and Hull became possessed of that trade which had previously attached to the northern me- tropolis. 1300. June lst, the Queen of Edward I., was taken sud-~ denly in labour, as she was hunting in the neighbourhood of Brotherton, and not far from the church of that town, is a place surrounded by a trench-and a wall, in which the house was, where she was delivered of prince Thomas. Wool in Craven, at this time, sold for more than £6 a sack, consisting of twenty-six stones, of fourteen pounds to the stone. At the same time the price of a cow was 7s. 4d. This year the prior and canons of Bolton purchased the manor of Appletrewic from James de Eshton, ut before they could take possession of it the prior was .obliged to undertake a journey to Rome for a papal bull. 1305. COALS began to be so generally used that parlia- ment complained to the king that the air was infected ; in consequence of which two proclamations were issued, prohibiting their further use in the containing strict orders to inflict fines, aud destroy all furnaces and kilns where coals should be found. I 1306. WOLVES, though rare, were not extinct in Craven at this period.—The last wolf killed in the neighbourhood

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THE SURROUNDING DisThict. 29 1306.-1314. of Leeds, tradition says, fell in a hunt, by the duke of Lancaster, commonly called “John o’Gaunt.” A _public- house, called the John o’Gaunt Inn, is said to be built on a plot of ground where the last wolf was killed. This house is on the new road between Leeds and Pontefract, httle more than three miles from the former town. Nine stones weight of butter were made at Malham from the milk of sheep. 1310. There were this year consumed at Bolton, in Craven, 147 stones of cheese made from ewes’ milk. 1311. Edward II., kept his Christmas at York, with great festivity, 1312. Peers Gaveston and his followers, who had been banished by Edward I., joined Edward II., at York, by whom they were received as “a gift from heaven.”’ Gaves- ton had excited the resentment of the barons, who had formed a powerful conspiracy against him, in consequence of which the king caused the walls of the city to be strongly fortified, and put into a posture of defence. Thomas, earl of Lancaster, first prince of the blood, was at the head of the barons, who, by oath, had bound themselves to expel Gaveston. He therefore raised an army suddenly, and marched to York, whence he found Edward had removed with Gaveston, to Newcastle; thither he hastened, when the king and his favourite had just time to escape to Tyne- mouth, and the pursuit being continued he and Gaveston embarked and sailed to Scarborough, the castle of which port he made his favourite the governor. Alice Laci, relict of the earl of Lincoln, “ quit-claimed”’ the advowson of the church of Leeds, to the prior and monks of Holy Trinity in York. 1314. After the fatal battle of Bannockburn, in which Edward II., lost about 50,000 men, he narrowly escaped to York, where he immediately called his nobles together for consultation, but nothing was then determined. Of the value of money about this period, some idea may be formed from the maximum prices, fixed by the king’s writs, on the following articles of food :~—an Ox, stall] or. corn fed, 24s., one grass fed, 16s. A fat stalled Cow, 12s., any other fed Cow, 10s. A fat Sheep, 1s. 8d., ditto, shorn, ls. 2d. A fat Hog, 2 years old, 3s. 4d. A fat Goose, 3d. A fat Capon, 24d. A fat Hen, l4d. 24 Eggs, ld. The Scots, after gaining the above-named battle, which occurred on the 25th July, 1314, overran the north of Eng- land, and in that and the three following years, they several I times visited, plundered, and devastated the rich pastorial

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80 _ ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1314-1321. districts of Craven, and alao Bolton Priory. At their first irruption the prior fled into Blackburushire ; several of the canons took refuge in Skipton castle, where part of their cattle were preserved; the granges of Embsay, Carlton, Halton, and Stede were destroyed, and all the cattle driven away from Halton, where the corn lands lay untilled the next year. +A survey of all the lands, freehold and copyhold, in the manor of Wakefield, was taken by William of Thimbleby and Thomas of Sheffield 1316. This year Edward II., granted a free market (on Tuesday) and two fairs to John de Ealand, at his manor of Ealand. . 1818. Douglas, one of Robert Bruce’s generals, burned the towns of Northallerton and Boroughbridge, andimposed a contribution upon the inhabitants of Ripon. He then reduced Scarborough and Skipton to ashes, and, with much plunder, carried off a great number of prisoners to Scotland. 1319. Edward II., desirous of raising an army to oppose Robert Bruce, came down into Yorkshire for that purpose, but found the country so thinly inhabited, that he was obliged to have recourse to the southern and western parts of the kingdom to complete his forces.— During the inroads of the Scots, the town and church of Ripon were burnt, but re-built principally by the munificence of Edward III., and William de Melton, archbishop of York. The courts of Justice, with the Domesday-Book, and other national records, which, with provisions, loaded 21 carts, were removed to York for six months. The Scots entering England laid waste the country with fire and sword, and continuing their depredations, advanced to the walls of York ; after burning the suburbs of that city, they returned northwards, on which William de Melton, archbishop of York, immediately raised an army, composed of clergymen, monks, canons, husbandmen, labourers, and tradesmen, to the amount of 10,000 men. With this undis- ciplined band the archbishop overtook the Scots at Myton- on-Swale; a battle ensued, the Yorkshiremen were defeated and upwards of 2000 of them slain, including the mayor of York. 1321. A battle was fought this year at Boroughbridge between the discontented barons, headed by the earl of Lancaster, and the forces of Edward II., commanded by Sir Andrew de Harkeley (or Harcla,) warden of Carlisle. The king was at Pontefract when this battle took place ‘and sent orders for Lancaster (who was taken prisoner)

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 31 and others to be brought tohim. The third day after their arrival sentence of death was passed upon Lancaster, who was not permitted to speak in his own defence ; but after sentence had an old hat put on his head, and they set him ona lean horse, without a bridle. Attended by a confessor, he was thus carried out of the town suffering the insults of the people. At length he reached the hill where he was doomed to suffer, and having kneeled down towards the east, he was desired to turn his face towards Scotland, after which the executioner severed his head from his body. The priors and monks begged the body and buried it in the church of the priory. Thus fell Thomas, ear] of Lancaster, on the 11th of April, the first prince of the blood, and one of the most powerful noblemen that had ever been in England. 1322. A division of the Scottish army who spread devas- tation wherever they came, wintered at Morley; and a large deposit of coins belonging to that period, found near a house occupied by Thoresby, the antiquarian, in Kirkgate, Leeds, proves the terror and confusion which must have then prevailed. In this year Edward II., was so closely pursued by the Scots, that he was surprised whilst at dinner in Byland abbey, about 14 miles from York, which city he fortunately reached before the enemy, owing to the fleetness of his horse. In York his eldest son was created prince of Wales, and duke of Aquitain, and he there issued commissions of array, one of which was to raise all the defensible men in the Wapentake of Skyrack, between the ages of sixteen and sixty to march against the Scots. William de Melton, archbishop of York, consecrated a new parish church at Wakefield, which was most probably the present parish church. Whether it was placed on the site of the old one, which existed in 1080, is very doubtful. Leland says, “ the principal church that now is in Wake- feld is of a new work, but it is exceedingly fair and rge.”” 1394. John Wyckliff, “ the morning star of the Reforma- tion,» was born in the parish of Wyckliff this year, and, after being twice struck with the alsy, expired in the church at Lutterworth, in the month of December, 1384. “To this intuitive genius,” says Gilpin, “Christianity was unquestionably more obliged than to any name in the list of Reformers. He not only loosed prejudices, but advanced such clear incontestible truths, as having once obtained footing, still kept their ground.” 1327. Edward III., who had just ascended the throne,

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32 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1327. . ordered his whole army to rendezvous in the city of York, in order to oppose Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, who, with an army of 25,000 men, was ravaging the northern parts of the kingdom. While Edward lay at York, prepar- ing for this expedition, there came to his aid John Lord Beaumont, of Hainault. one of the bravest knights of the age, accompanied with other gallant knights and gen- tlemen, who, with his retinue, composed a band of 500, or according to Knightson, of 2000 men. For six weeks Edward had his court at York, with an army of 60,000 men, which, notwithstanding its numbers, was well supplied with provisions. During this time, ambassadors arrived in York from Scotland to treat for peace, but after some weeks the negociations broke off, and the king with all his barons marched at the head of the whole army against the Scots, in all the martial pomp of those chivalrous times. After a keen pursuit the Scotch army was at last overtaken, aud cooped up by the English in Stanhope park, from which they were suffered to escape wy the treachery of Lord Mortimer, at the moment when they were ready to surren- der from the cravings of famine. Edward, chagrined at the loss of his prey, when it seemed within his grasp, returned to York, and afterwards to London, having pre- viously dismissed Lord John of Hainault, to the continent, bounteously rewarded for his services. The next year lord John returned with his niece Philippa, the most celebrated beauty of the age, aud with a great retinue conducted her to York, where the court then was, in order to her marriage with the king in that city. On the Sunday before the eve of St. Paul’s conversion, in the year 1329, the marriage was publicly solemnized in the cathedral, by the archbishop. Upon these happy nuptials, says Froissart, the whole kingdom teemed with joy, and the court at York expressed these feelingsin a more than ordinary manner, for three weeks the feastings were contmued without intermission ; there was nothing but jousts and tournaments in the day time, and maskings, revels, and interludes, with songs and dances, inthenight. The Hainault soldiery, actuated by a licenticus and revengeful spirit, took advantage of this carnival to — treat the inhabitants with outrage and violence, and to such an excess did they carry their misconduct, that they ravished several of the wives, daughters, and maid-servants of the inhabitants, and set fire to the suburbs of the city, by which a whole parish was nearly destroyed. The citizens, scan- dalized by these proceedings, challenged the Hainaulters to battle; this challenge was accepted, and the battle was

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 33 1327. fought in a street called Watling-gate, with such desperate fary, that five hundred and twenty-seven of the foreigners were slain or drowned in the Ouse, and two hundred and forty-two fell of the English. 1327. The chantry of St. Mary the Virgin, in Leeds was founded, when the Leeds bridge was erected about this time. It was situated at the north-east end of the bridge, and after the dissolution was used as a private grammar school, subsequently as a warehouse, and finally demolished in the year 1760. In the reign of Edward III., Sir John Elland, of Elland, instigated by some unexplained cause of hostility, raised a body of his friends and tenantry, and placing himself at their head, sallied forth by night from the “ Manor-hall,’’ and attacked and slew Hugh of Quarmby, Lockwood of Lockwood, and Sir Robert Beau- mont of Crossland, the latter of whom was torn from his wife, and beheaded in the hall of his own house ; the whole of these were murdered in the presence of their families. On the perpetration of these sanguinary murders, the younger branches of the Beaumonts, the Quarmbys, and the Lockwoods, fled into Lancashire, and found an asylum under the roofs of the Towneleys and the Breretons. It was not till the eldest sons of the three outraged families had grown up tomanhood, that retribution was sought and obtained for the blood of their parents. With this purpose the three young men placed themselves in a wood, at Crom- well-bottom, and as Sir John Elland was returning from Rastrick, they met him beneath Brook-foot, and slew him. Not satisfied with this act of justice, they determined to extirpate the name of Elland, with which sanguinary inten- tion they placed themselves in a mill, near which the young knight with his lady and their son had to pass to church. On the approach of the family over the dam, the murderers rushed forth and shot an arrow through the head of the father, and wounded his only child so desperately, that he died soon after in Elland hall. The name of Elland now became extinct, and the daughter of Sir John, having con- tracted marriage with one of the Saviles, the property passed into that family. The murder of the young knight and his infant son, roused the town of Elland to arms, aud they advanced en masse to punish the murderers. For some time Beaumont, Quarmby, and Lockwood, whose arms. vengeance had nerved, stood their ground, and defended themselves with distinguished valour against the unequal numbers by which they were assailed, but being at length overpowered, Quarmby fell dead on the field, and his

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34 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1327.-1339. comrades only escaped the same fate by the fleetness of their horses. 1330. Edward III., ordered every county in England, to send him a certain number of masons, tilers, and carpenters, to assist in building his castle at Windsor. 1333. Sanda] castle, which is said to have been built b John earl of Warren and Surrey, inorder to secure to himself the beautiful and meretricious countess of Lancaster, Isavet Fitz Hugh, wife to Thomas ear] of Lancaster, was in this year assigned to Baliol, king of Scotland, by Edward III., as the place of his residence, until Edward had got ready a fleet and army, to be employed in restoring Baliol to that throne from which Robert Bruce had driven him. Here the exiled monarch of Scotland: resided, with thé countess of Vesay, in that peaceful serenity seldom witnessed in the precincts ofa court, during the six months in which Edward was preparing for the expedition, the result of which proved fatal to the unfortunate Baliol, who perished in the field of carnage, contending for a crown. 1336. Edward III., granted his protection to two Brabant weavers, to settle at York, and carry on their trade there. They were stiled in the letters of protection ‘‘ Willielmus de Brabant, and Hanckeinus de Brabant, textores,’? and probably laid the foundation of the woollen manufactures, which have so amazingly increased in the West-Riding. It is not improbable, that the manufacturer Hanckeinus gave the name of hank to the skein of worsted and other thread so called to the present time. Before this period the Eng- lish were chiefly “ shepherds and wool merchants, and the king received few other imposts but from wool exported.” 1338. By an indenture of this date, one Robert, a glazier, contracted with Thomas Boneston, custos of the fabric of York cathedral, to glaze and paint the great western win- dow, the glazier to find the glass, and to be paid at the rate of 6d., per foot for plain, and ls., per foot for coloured glass. Edward III., “ having solicited a great many men from the Netherlands, well skilled in cloth making,” sent colonies of them to Kendal, and other places. Before this period all the wool grown in the country was exported, and manufactured in the Netherlands. The manufacturers of Flanders, afterwards, seeking refuge from the persecutions with which they were assailed in their own country, repaired in great numbers to England, and many of them settled at Halifax, and the neighbouring places. 1339. The parliament granted Edward III., a duty of forty shillings on each sack of wool exported. Also the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 35 1339.- 1354. same amount on each three hundred wool-fells, and on each last of leather, for two years. The act of parliament, which passed the preceeding year for the encouragement of foreign weavers, prohibited the importation of foreign cloth, which it was declared should be worn by none but the king and queen, and their children. 1342. May 20th, died Robert de Clifford, third lord of the honour of Skipton, and brother to thelastlord. The valne of the castle and manor of Skipton was at this time com- puted at £107 los. 9d. 1347. Thos. lord Wake gave to the Crouched Friars of York, 1 toft and 10 acres of land, for building an oratory and habitation on. During the wars in France, David Bruce, the competitor of John Baliol, king of Scotland, undertoook to invade England, which was then left to the sole government of the Queen. Bruce penetrated to the gates of York, and burnt part of the suburbs, having laid waste the country through which he passed with fire and sword. Phillippa, the queen regent, then at York, having collected a powerful army, repulsed the invaders, and pur- sued them to Neville’s Cross, in the county of Durham, where, on the 17th of October, 1347, she gained a signal victory, having slain fifteen thousand of the Scots, and taken Bruce prisoner. The Woollen Manufacturers sent a petition to the king and lords, praying “ that the new custom lately set upon cloth” exported from England, “may be taken This duty was on “every cloth carried forth by English 14d., by strangers 21d.,” except worsted cloth, on which the English merchants paid 1d, per piece, and strangers I3d. 1349. A destructwe pestilence, which first discovered itself in the northern part of Asia, made its progress from one end of Europe to the other, and, according to computation, swept away one third of the inhabitants. 1352. John Thoresby, was elected archbishop of York. It was in his time that the archbishop of York was made by the pope primate of England, and the archbishop of Can- terbury primate of all England. Dissatisfaction had existed on this point upwards of 250 years. July 19th, died Wm dela Zouch, archbishop of York, who commanded the 2nd division of the English army at the memorable battle of Neville’s Cross, in the county of Durham, where he dis- layed such heroism and conduct, as greatly redounded to bis onour. He was buried at York. 1354. YORK, which had long been famous for trade, ‘obtained by an act, passed this.year, the staple trade of Wool,

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36 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1354.-1381. which had before been at Bruges, in Flanders. Many of the York merchants were subsequently members of the “Corporation of the Staple” at Calais. The woollen manu- facture flourished at York, so late as the reign of Henry II. 1357. Edward III., by a charter of this date, at Wake- field, granted to Wm. Kay, Wm. Bull, and their successors for ever, the annual sum of £10., to perform divine service in the chapel of St. Mary, on the bridge at Wakefield. The revenue was secured and made payable out of the produce of the towns of Wakefield, Stanley, Ossett, Pontefract, Purston-Jackling, and Water-Fryston. When this chapel and its two chantries were suppressed, its revenue was valued at £14. 15s. 34d. 1361. The choir of York cathedral, which had been erected. in 1171, by archbishop Roger, was taken down aud re-built by archbishop Thoresby, in a style more suited to the nave, which was completed in 1330, by Wm. de Melton. The wages of workmen at this period were 3d a day to a master mason or carpenter, and lid. a day to their journeymen. A pound’s worth of silver was then a pound weight, which is equal to four pounds of our present money, and one penny then would purchase as much corn as twenty-pence now. 1371. The castle, manor, and honour of Knaresborough were granted by Edward III., to his fourth son, Jchn of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. 1372. The Fulling Mills, near the castle of Leeds, (47 Edw. III.,) were in the occupation of Thomas Bargers, at 33s. 4d., per annum rent. The “ Two CORN MILLS of the Queen’s Majesty were then held by Letters Patent, under the seals of the Duchy of Lancaster, by John Lindley, Esq., of Leathley, at the yearly rent of £13. 6s. 8d., but the clear early value was £126. 13s. 4d. The law pleadings in England were changed from the French to the English language, as a favour by Edward III., to his people, in the 50th or jubilee year of his reign. 1377. The office of champion of England first introduced at the coronation of Richard II. It has continued in the Dymock family ever since. 1380. This year is memorable for the-insurrection under Wat Tyler, which was suppressed by the courage of Sir William Walworth, lord mayor of London, and the presence of mind of Richard II., then a mere youth. 1381. Bills of Exchange were first introduced into the commerce of England about this year.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 37 1385.-1399. 1385. During the time Richard II., resided at York, his half-brother, Sir John Holland, and lord Ralph Stafford, had a quarrel, which produced a duel, when the latter was slain. 1390. The plague at York swept away 1,100 inhabitants, and in the following yearit raged with such dreadful effect in England, that no fewer than 11,000 persons fell under its infectious influence. This year two species of English woollen cloth were manufactured under an assize of length and breadth, viz: the fine plain cloth of the western coun- ties, and the coarse cloth of Kendal, the latter of which were called Kendal Cottons, though made wholly of wool ; for the real cotton manufacture did not exist in England till the middle of the 17th century. For several centuries the buckram or green druggets, made at Kendal, and in Yorkshire, was the common clothing of the poor in London, and other towns. 1392. Died in May, in exile at Louvaine, in extreme poverty, Alexander Neville, archbishop of York, who was a great favourite with Richard II. He was translated to the see of St. Andrews in 1388, but was obliged to flee his country, to avoid the malice of his enemies. 1396. King Richard II., appointed John Snagtall to the vicarage of Leeds. 1398. May 29th, died Robert Waldby, archbishop of York, of which city he was a native, and a friar in the monastery of St. Augustine there. 1399 The unfortunate Richard II., was confined some time in Leeds castle, till his removal to Pontefract, where he was murdered in cold blood, or starved to death, within the fatal walls of the fortress there, which was so often the scene of the foulest deeds of cruelty. In Hardynge’s chronicle, the circumstance is thus noticed :—

“The kyng then sent kyng Richard to Ledis There to be kept surely in privitee ; Fro thens after to Pyckering went he needis, And to Knaresbro’ after led was he ; But to Pomfret last, where he did dee.”

The fate of Richard II., has been described as follows :— “One Sir Piers, of Exton, departing from court, came to Pomfret, commanding that the esquire who was used to serve Richard should let him eat well now, as not long would he eat. King Richard sat down to dinner, and was served without curtesie or assay, when he, marvelling at

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38 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1400 -1405. the sudden change, demanded of the esquire, why he did not do his duty? Sir, said he, I am otherwise commanded by Sir Piers of Exton, who, is newly come from king Henry ; when he heard that word, he took the carving-knife in his hand, and struck the esquire on his head, saying, “ The . devil take thee ana Henry of Lancaster together,” and with that word, Sir Piers entered into the chamber well armed, with eight tall men in harness ; every man having a bill in his hand. King Richard, perceiving them armed, knew well that they came to his confusion, and, putting the table I from him, valiantly took the bill out of the first man’s hand, and manfully defended himself, slaying four of them in a short space of time. Sir Piers, dismayed, leaped into Richard’s chair, the other four assailing and chasing him about the chamber, till he came by the knight, who, with a stroke of his pole-axe felled him to the ground, after which he was shortly rid out of the world, without either con- fession, or receipt of sacrament.” I 1400. John Froissart, the celebrated chronicler, died this ear. 1401. The detestable act of parliament, for “ burning ob- stinate heretics,” was passed, and William Sautree, a parish priest of St. Osyth, in the city of London, was the first who suffered under it. 1402. Blair’schronology says—“ John Gower, of Stitenham, Yorkshire, the first English poet, died this year.” 1405. The inhabitants of York and some other places, having received many favours from Richard II., (the last monarch of the Plantagenet) showed their gratitude by forming a conspiracy to depose the usurper of his throne. Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, who lost bis brother and son in the battle of Shrewsbury, Richard Scroop, arch- bishop of York, whose brother the king (Henry IV.,) had beheaded, and Thomas Mowbray, ear] Marshal of England, whose father died in exile, united with lords Falconberge, Bardolf, Hastings, and others, were found in this league. The archbishop’s impatience precipitated the disclosure of the plot. Scroop framed several articles of impeachment against the king, which he caused to be fixed upon the doors of the churches in his own diocese, and sent them in the fourm of a circular into other counties in the kingdom, invi- ting the people to take up arms to reform abuses. To strengthen this call, he preached a sermon to three congre- gations assembled for religious worship in the cathedral, and roused 20,000 men suddenly to arms, who joined his standard at York, on which was painted the five wounds

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 39 1405.-1412. of our Saviour.— To subdue this rebellion Henry sent an army of 30,000 men into Yorkshire, under the command of the earl of Westmoreland and the prince John. On the arri- val of the king’s forces at York, they found the archbishop encamped out of the gates of the city, on the forest of Galtres, so advantageously, that if was not judged advis- able to attack him. The wily earl, affecting to favour the views of the insurgents, solicited an interview with the archbishop, who took with him the earl Marshal. Having got them into his toils, and plied them well with wine, he arrested them on the spot for high treason, and their lives paid the forfeit of their precipitancy and misplaced confi- dence. The archbishop was beheaded in a field betwixt Bishopthorpe and York, and interred in the cathedral, where, being regarded as a martyr, his tomb was visited by crowds of devotees. He was the first instance of a clergyman suffering by thecivillaw. In 1408 the earl of Northumber- land again appeared in arms, and was defeated and slain on Bramham Moor, by Sir Thomas Rokeby, high sheriff of Yorkshire. 1405. Aug. 10th. By indenture John Thornton, of Coventry, glazier, contracted with the dean and chapter of York, for glazing aud painting the great eastern window: the work to be finished in three years, for which he was to receive 4s. per week, and £5 at the end of each of the three years. If he performed the work to the satisfaction of his em- ployers, he was to receive the further sum of £10 in silver. 1408 Henry IV., granted to Sir T. Rokeby, the manor of Spofforth, in the West-Riding, with all its appurtenan- ces, during his life. 1410. The parish church at Normanton was by the pope’s bull appropriated to the prior of the hospital of St. John, of Jerusalem, in England, reserving out of the fruits of the said church, a competent portion for a secular vicar per- petually to be instituted therein. 1412. Henry V., when prince of Wales, was committed to prison, for striking Chief-justice Gascoygne, on the bench, before whom one of his companions was indicted for a riot.»———In the reign of Henry V., a mandate was received by the lord mayor of York from that monarch, to seize and confiscate the estates and effects of Henry lord Scrope, of Masham, beheaded for high treason, at South- ampton, in the first year of his reign. His head, with the mandate, was ordered to be placed on the top of Mickle- gate bar. Thecity of London was first lighted at night

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40 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1412.-1455. wi th lanthorns 3 also a public granary was erected at Lead- enhall. 1414. Richard de Sunderland, and Joan his wife, surrend~ ered into the hands of the lord of the manor, an inclosure at Halifax called the Tenter Croft. Woollen goods were manufactured long before this period. . 1415. The memorable battle of Agincourt was fought be- tween the French and English, Oct. 25th, and gained by Henry V., of England, whose army was not more than one- fourth as numerous as the French, who had 10,000 slain, and 14,000 made prisoners, while the loss of the English few indeed,—some accounts say not more than orty. 1417. The chantry, or chapel at Farnley, is supposed to have been founded by Sir William Harrington, knight, about this time. No remains exist, and the site is occupied by a modern erection. 1430. The chantry in Kirkgate, Leeds, was founded by . Thomas Clarell, to pray for the “souls of the founder, king Edward IV., Elizabeth his queen, and all christian souls, and to do divine service,” and was situate below the old vicarage ; but every vestige of it is gone, and the site included in that of Kirkgate market. 1435. In this year printing was invented by John Gut- temberg. . The credit of introducing the art into England was long believed to be due to Wm. Caxton, a mercer and citizen of London, who set up a printing press in West- minster abbey about the year 1471; but itis now established beyond a doubt, that books were printed at Oxford by Corsellis several years before Caxton set his press to work, and therefore that city has the honour of having been the first seat of the art in England. Caxton however was the first who introduced printing with moulded metal types, the works by his predecessors having been executed merely with wooden ones. 1440. Geoffrey Chaucer, of Woodstock, died. 1450. A rebellion broke out, headed by Jack Cade, in favour of the duke of York. . 1454. Thomas lord Clifford, eighth lord of the honour of Skipton, was slain in the first battle of St. Alban’s on the 22nd of May, in the 41st year of his age, and was ifterred there with his uncle, Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, and the other noblemen who fell on that occasion, in the lady chapel of the monastery. 1455. The firstinstance of debt contracted upon parliamen- tary security occurred in the reign of Henry VI., and per-

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THE SURROUNDING DisTrRict. = 41 1455.-1460. mission was given by government for the exportation of corn, when it should be below a certain price. 1458. The Fraternity of Corpus Christi at York, was incor- porated by letters patent, dated 6th November, this year. t was instituted for a master and six priests, who were termed the keepers of the guild, and served without fee or reward, being annually renewed by the brotherhood. Nevertheless they were bound to make a solemn annual procession through the city of York on the Friday after Corpus Christi day ; and the day after to perform a solemn dirge, and mass, to pray for the prosperity of brothers and sisters living, and the souls departed, and to keep yearly ten poor folks. 1459. September 23rd, the armies of Henry VI., and the duke of York met at Bloreheath, on the borders of Stafford- shire, where the Yorkists gained: some advantages; but the night before an intended general engagement Sir Andrew Trollop, who commanded a body of veterans for the duke, deserted to the king, taking with him ali his forces, which dismayed the Plantagenet army, and the duke of York ffed to Ireland ; the earl of Warwick escaped to Calais, but on returning to England soon after, he was joined by such a host of Yorkists as to be in a condition to face the royal army, then advancing from Coventry, in order to give him battle, which took place on July 10th, 1460, near North+ ampton, when the king’s army was completely defeated, with a loss of more than 10,000 men.—The queen, the young prince of Wales, and the dnke of Somerset, fled into the county of Durham, thence into Wales, and afterwards into Scotland. 1460. The bloody conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster had now commenced, and Yorkshire was doomed to experience that scourge of nations, civil war, in its greatest horrors. After Henry VI., had been taken prisoner at the battle of Northampton, his masculine and warlike queen, Margaret of Anjou, repaired to the north, where she soon drew together 20,000 men. The duke of York, hearing of her appearance in Yorkshire, hastened to Wakefield, and being informed that the enemy’s forces were greatly superior to his own, he resolved to shut him- self up in tbe neighbouring castle of Sandal, till his eldest son, the earl of March, should arrive with a reinforcement ; but the bold queen soon appeared before the walls of the fortress, with the main body of her army, led by the dukes of Somerset and Exeter, and, by calling on him as a coward who durst not encounter a woman, she forced him to lead

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42 ANNALS Of LEEDS, YoRK, AND 1460.-1461. out his troops to Wakefield Green, where he offered battle to the Lancasterians, though he had only 5,000 men. The inequality of numbers was of itself sufficient to decide the victory, but the queen, having placed a body of troops in ambush, under lord Clifford and the earl of Wiltshire, they fell upon the duke’s rear, while he was attacked in front by the main body, and in less than half an hour himself was slain, and his little army nearly annihilated. His body was soon recognized among the slain ; his head was cut off by Margaret's orders, and fixed upon the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it, in derision of his pretended title. The earl of Rutland, the second son of the duke of York, was forced into the presence of lord Clifford, who basely murdered the youth in cold blood. This battle of Wakefield was fought December 24th, 1460. Amongst the slain Margaret’s army, was Richard Hanson, Esq., mayor of Hull. I 1461. Young Edward, the late duke of York’s eldest son, having now gained both popularity and strength, and the assistance of the earl of Warwick, (afterwards called the king-maker,) declared his title to the crown, and inveighed publicly against the tyranny and usurpation of the house of Lancaster, the hopes of which he ultimately overthrew at the battle of Towton, fought near Tadcaster, on Palm Sunday, 1461, when no fewer than one hundred thousand men of the same country drew their swords against each other, to satisfy the ambition of the weakest or the worst of mankind. While the army of Edward was advancing to the charge, there happened a great fall of snow, which, driving full in the faces of the Lancasterians, blinded them ; and this advantage, seconded by an impetuous onset, de- cided the victory in favour of Edward, whose orders to give no quarter were so fully executed, that 40,000 of the Lancasterians were slain, or drowned in the Cock rivulet, which, in the confusion of their retreat, was filled with human bodies, forming a bridge for the pursued and the pursuers to pass over. Henry and Margaret remained at York during the battle, but, on hearing of its disastrous result, they fled to Scotland.—Margaret succeeded in es- caping out of the kingdom, but the weak and unfortunate Henry was taken prisoner, while Edward. after visiting York, returned to London, and was crowned on the 29th of July following. The heads of the duke of York and some of his followers, which had been placed on Micklegate bar, at York, after the battle of Wakefield, were now removed, and replaced by the heads of the Lancasterian

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 43 1461.-1483. nobles, Devon and Kime. Thus was the city made the theatre on which was displayed the memorials of royal revenge. John Clapham, of Cottingley, near Bradford was a general in these wars, under the great earl of Warwick, and cut off the heads of the earl of Pembroke and the duke of Bedford, in the church porch at Banbury. 1464. By an extraordinary grant from Edward IV., to the citizens of York, it appears they had been friendly to him and his cause. The patent is dated at York, June 10th, and expresses the king’s great concern for the sufferings and hardships the city had undergone during the wars, in consideration of which he not only relinquished his usual demands upon it, but assigned it for the twelve succeeding years an annnal rent of £40, to. be paid out of his customs in the port of Hull. ° 1467. It was fashionable at this time to wear the points of the shoes so long, that it was necessary to tie them up to the knees with laces or chains. Gentlemen used for this urpose, chains made of silver. The ladies wore ofty steeple head dresses, consisting of a roll of linen covered with fine lawn, which hung to the ground, or was mostly tucked under the arm. 1471. Edward the IV., after an absence of nine months in Holland, ventured to make a descent at Ravenspurn, in Yorkshire, on the 14th of March, aided by a small body of troops, granted him by the duke of Burgundy. At first he was but coolly received, yet, as he marched along through the country, his forces rapidly increased, while his extreme moderation, and seeming humility, endeared him to his partisans. The gates of Lundon were readily opened to receive him, and the weak Henry VI., was again dethroned and committed to the tower of London. 1480. During this year Thomas Scott, archbishop of York, usually called ‘‘ Thomas Rotherham,” who was then bishop of Lincoln, founded a college in the town of Rotherham, and dedicated it to the Holy Jesus: of this structure, which subsisted for nearly a century, there remains the Inn, in Jesus-gate, and the opposite buildings now used as stables. 1482. By statute 22nd, Edward IV. ordained and enacted, that no manner of person under the estate of a lord, shall wear any gown or mantell, unless it be of such length, that hee being upright, it shall cover his buttocks, upon pain to forfeit twenty shillings.” 1483. Thomas Parr, (old Parr) was born this year, at Alderbury, Shropshire. At the age of 80 years, he married

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44 _ ANNALS OF LEEDS, YorK, AND 1483.-1503 his first wife Jane. At the age of 120, he married Katherine Milton. Helived during the reign of ten English sovereigns. He died in the Strand, London, in 1635, aged 152 years, in the midst of his children, down to the fourth generation. He had been blind for 16 years. His food through life consisted exclusively of milk, chéese, bread, and small eer. 1490. Thomas Savile, Esq., late af Hollingedge, by his will gave his soul to Almighty Ged; and his body to be buried in Sandal church, and ordained that a chaplain do yearly celebrate theve for ever prayers for his soul, and the souls of Elizabeth his wife and Henry his brother, for the sustenance of which said chaplain and his successors be appointed lands and tenements in Heaton of the yearly value of £4 and upwards. 1494. Algebra was first known in Europe. 1497. The first grammar printed in England was publish- ed by John Holt, of Magdalen college, and usher of Mag- dalen schoolin Oxford. It was entituled, “ Lac Puerorum,”’ and dedicated to Morton, archbishop of Canterbury. 1500. May 29th, died at an advanced age, of the plague, at Cawood, Thomas Scot de Rotherham, archbishop of York, who was a native of Rotherham. In September, 1480, he was translated from Lincoln; was made lord High Chancellor but was afterwards committed to prison. He was interred in York minster. The chapelat Headingley near Leeds; was built about this period. 1501. The last mention of the family of Rockley, who built the hall bearing their name in Lowerhead row, Leeda, Occurs in a deed of this date. 1503. The princess Margaret, Henry’s eldest daughter, when on her journey into Scotland in order to consummate hermarriage withJames the IV., visited York, accompanied by 500 lords, ladies and esquires. llth, died in childbed (and, soon after the princess to whom she gave birth,) Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward the IVth., and queen of Henry VII., by whose marriage the long- contending houses of York and Lancaster were united, and Eugland saved from those sanguinary conflicts which had so often deluged the kingdom in blood. Murderers were allowed at this time the “benefit of clergy,” and in Henry VIII.’sdays, murders were compounded for in Wales. Duriitg the Saxon heptarchy this crime was only punished by fines. Christopher Baynbrigge, LL D., was appoint- ed dean of York. In 1507, he became bishop of Durham, and in 1508, archbishop of York, which diocese he held till

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 45 1503.-1517. 1514, when he was sent ambassador to Rome, made cardinal, and poisoned by his steward, an Italian priest, whom he had disgraced with a blow. 1506. This year died Christopher Columbus, the great navigator, aged 64. 1507. Dr. Thomas Robertson, celebrated for his learning, was born at Wakefield this year. In 1546 he succeeded Dr. Thomas Knolles in the vicarage of his own native place, and was afterwards appointed dean of Durham. 1509. About this time kitchen gardens began to be culti- vated in England ; vegetables hitherto having been brought from the Netherlands. Previous to this date sugar was eaten with animal food, to correct its putrescency. Sir John de Normamnwille sold the manor of Coniston, in Craven, to William Malham, rector of Marton, and one of the clerks or masters in Chancery. On the north-west side of Coniston mooris a place called Sweet Gap, where tradition reports that the inhabitants of Gargrave made a stand agaiust a party of Scottish invaders, and were cut off almost toa man: Gargrave, according to the same tradition, had then seven churches, six of which these destroyers burnt, and spared the seventh, for the merit of being dedi- cated to their own national St. Andrew. Hugo Goes established the first printing press at York, where his first production was the Pica or Pie, (an old book of liturgy) of the cathedral. Hugo Goes, who so early practised the typographic art in the city of York, was the son of an ingenious printer at Antwerp. 1513. Before the battle of Flodden field 500 soldiers were raised in the city and ainsty of York, to march against the Scots, during the absence of Henry VIII., then at the siege of Tournay in France. In the great battle which ensued, the Scottish king, James IV., was slain, and his body brought to York, and exposed to public view. To the fatal field of Flodden in Northumberland the York regiment was led by Sir John Maundeville. 1514. Cannon balls of stone were in use at this time— cannon were first made of iron in 1547; of brass in 1635; cannon shot made from iron are first mentioned in 1550. 1515 Dec. 22. Henry VIII., appointed the archbishop of York (Cardinal Wolsey) to the chancellorship of England ; he being the pope’s legate, became prime minister, and held at the same time the sees of York, Westminster, and Durham, with the abbeys of St. Alban’s and Lincoln. 1517. Martin Luther began that reformation in the church which Wickliff, nearly a century and a half before, had

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46 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1517.-1533. laboured so assiduously to effect, but which was not estab — lished till March 30th, 1534, when Henry VIIL., sanctioned the “‘ Protestants,’’ a name which originated in the Diet of Spires, A.D., 1529. Luther died in 15-46. 1520. The tobacco plant is said to have been found by the Spaniards in this year, in the island of Jucatan; first brought into England by Ralph Lane, 1583; planted im many parts of England till prohibited by an act of par- liament. It was allowed to be cultivated in Ireland in 1779. 1521. Bows and arrows superseded by muskets, which were now generally introduced into the army. 1525. Illingworth chapel, in Ovenden, built on one acre of waste land granted by Henry Savile, lord of Ovenden, to certain feoffees, in trust, that they should pay yearly to the lord one red rose. 1526. The chapel at Sowerby Bridge was built this year, and enlarged in 1632. 1529. The Attorney general, on the 9th of October, pre- pared a bill of indictment against Cardinal Wolsey, who was the pope’s legate, archbishop of York, &c. He was in consequence ordered to depart from York-place palace, having first been commanded to resign the great seal. His furniture and plate were converted to the king’s use. Amongst other things, when an inventory was taken of the archbishop’s goods, were found 1,000 pieces of fine Holland. His palace walls were covered with cloth of gold and silver. He had a cupboard of plate of massy gold, and all the rest of his riches and furniture were in proportion. I 1530. Nov. 4th, Cardinal Wolsey was apprehended at York, on a charge of high treason, by order of Henry the VIII., but as that tyrant had sent Wolsey a ring, accom- panied by a gracious message, he, being on horseback when e met the king’s messenger, instantly alighted, and throw- ing himself upon his knees in the mire, received in that abject condition that fallacious mark of his master’s con- descension. The Spinning wheel invented at Bruns- wick by Jurgen. The convent of Esholt, (the Ashwood,) in the parish of Otley, founded by Simon de Ward, in the middle of the 12th century, was about this time abolished, with the smaller religious houses, and now only a few pointed arches remain in some of the offices to attest that such an edifice once occupied the site. 1533. Leeds is described at this time as :—‘‘two miles lower than Christal Abbay, on Aire river, is a praty market,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 47 1533.-1540. having one paroche churche, reasonably well buildid, and as large as Bradeford, but not so quik as it.” 1536. York suffered a severe shock in the 27th of Henry VIII., when eighteen of its churches and all its chapels, hospitals, and monasteries were suppressed, and their materials and revenues converted to secular uses; the priests, the nuns, the sick and the old, being all turned out of their asylums, to starve, or beg their bread. In conse- uence of these sequestrations, and the alteration made in the established religion, a formidable insurrection was by Robert Aske, of Aughton, of great courage and influence, who, with his colleagues, professing to take up arms in the cause of religion, called their march the pilgrimage of grace, and soon collected 40,000 men under,their standard. After taking York, Pontefract, and Hull, they were obliged to capitulate at Doncaster, where they received a general pardon, but several of their leaders again tried to excite new commo- tions, and were executed. Aske, the commander-in-chief, was hanged at York, on Clifford’s Tower, and lord Darcy was beheaded, and his estates given to the earl of Lenox. 1537. In order to make some amends for the devastation caused in the city of York by the suppressiou of religious houses, the court of the lord President of the North was established in York, in the 28th of Henry VIII. This court was to determine all cases on the north side of the Trent, but was annihilated by the civil wars in the reign of Charles I. At the dissoJution of monasteries, the amount of tithes paid by the different townships and estates in the parish of Leeds, was £48. 2s. 1540. January 29th. The surrender of the priory of Bolton inCraven, by Richard Moone, the prior, and the fourteen can~ ons,bearsthisdate. After this Bolton remained in the king’s hands till April 3rd, 1542, when the site and demesnes, together with many other estates, including the advowsons of the rectories of Keighley and Marton, were sold to Henry earl of Cumberland, for the sum of £2,490. Henry VIII., suppressed in England and Wales, 643 monasteries, 90 colleges, 2,374 churches and chapels, and 110 hospitals, and had the abbots of Reading, Glastonbury, and St. John’s, Colchester, hanged and quartered, for re- fusing to surrender their abbeys, and for denying his supremacy. Arthington priory, near Harewood, was surrendered by Elizabeth Hall and nine nuns, November 26th. This priory stood very pleasantly in a deep vale,

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48 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1640.-1547. near the river Wharf. The site was granted to Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury. 1541. Henry VIII., spent twelve days in York. On his approach to the city he was met by the archbishop, and 300 of his clergy, in Barnesdale, who, on their knees, presented him with £600. 1542. The church of Barnoldswick bears this date, and is dedicated to St. Mary. It stands-upon the brink ofa deep glen, whence it has obtained the name of Gill church. Ina ditch near this edifice was found several years ago, an old English tankard of wood, with a broad rim of copper, gilt, and richly chased, together with a small jar of bell metal. These were probably thrown there, in some of the plunder- ing incursions of the Scots. In the 34thof Henry VIII., an act was passed in favour of the citizens of York, which act recites, ‘“ that the poor of that city were daily employed in spinning, carding, dyeing, weaving, &c., for the making of coverlets, and that the same have,not been made else- where in the same country till of late; that this manufac- ture had spread itself into other parts of the county, and was thereby debased and discredited, and therefore it is enacted, that none shall make coverlets in Yorkshire but the people of York.” 1543. By statute 34 and 35 Henry VIII., chap 6.—‘ No person shall put to sale any pins, but only such as shall be double-headed, and have their heads soldered fast to the shank, and well smoothed; the shank well shaven; the point well and round filed, and sharpened.” 1544. Robert Holgate, archbishop of York, founded an hospital for ten men and ten women, at Hemsworth, six miles from Pontefract. The archbishop was deprived of his see by queen Mary, because he was married. He was a native of Hemsworth. 1545. Sir John Savile was born this year at Bradley, in Stainland. He was called to the bar in 1586, was made oue of the barons of the exchequer in 1598, and about the same time one of the justices of assize. King James I., conferred on him the order of knighthood on July 23rd, 1603 ; being then one of the judges who attended the king’s cor- onation. Died Feb. 2nd, 1606. Needles were first made in England this year by a native of India: the art was lost at his death, but recovered by Christopher Green- ing, who was settled at Long Grendon, (Bucks) where the manufacture is still carried on. 1547. In a certificate of the archbishop of York, and others, (bearing this date,) concerning chantries, &c., it is

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 49 1547.-1552. said, ‘‘in the parrysh of Hallifaxe the nomber of houslyng people is eight thousand five hundred, and is a great wide parrysh.’? Camden says, in 1574 there were about 12,000 inhabitants in the parish, and “there were init more human beings than beasts of every kind. During the reign of Henry VIII., laws were passed directing that cloth of gold and tissue should be used only for dukcs and marquises, and that purple should be kept for the royal family. Earls might use embroidery, and commoners of distinction, silks and velvets; the commonalty and serving-men were re- stricted to cloth of a certain price and Jamb’s fur, and were forbidden from wearing any ornaments, or even buttons, save the badge of their lord or master. The king likewise forbade his courtiers wearing long hair, according to the general fashion, and made them poll their heads, which led to the introduction of the peruke, after wards written periwig, and more shortly, wig. 1550. ‘The Sweating Sickness, which either “mended or ended” its victims in twenty-four hours, carried off in this year many hundreds of the inhabitants of Leeds, York, and their neighbourhoods ;—the funerals at Swillington were increased from 4 to 25, and augmented in the same ratio at Leeds and other places —_——_It was recommended, in a survey of the duke of Northumberland’s estates, that the glass in the windows should be taken down and laid by in safety during the absence of the duke and his family, and be replaced on his return, as this would be attended with smaller cost than the repair rendered necessary by damage or decay. 1551. The first regular comedy performed in England was in this year. The first that we read of was at Athens, on a stage, 562 years before Christ ; 27 years after which, the first tragedy was acted on a waggon by Thespis, and the first theatre ever erected was that of Bacchus, at the same classic city. 1552. The first endowment of the Free Grammar School, at Leeds, is contained in the will of Sir William Sheatield, priest, dated the 6th of March this year, by which he vested in Sir John Neville, knight, and sixteen others, as co-feofees, (co-possessors ), certain copyhold lands, situate near Sheepscar bridge, ‘for fiuding sustentation and living of one honest, substantial, and learned man to be a schoole maister,to teach and instruct freely for ever, all such yonge scholars, youths, and children, as shall come and resort to him from time to time, to be taught, instructed, and in- 5

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50 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1552.-1553. 4 formed in such a school-house, as shall be founded, erected, and builded by the paryshioners of the said town and parish of Leedes’ s\upon condition, that if the parishioners should not find a school-house, and also purchase unto the school- master for the time being, a sufficient living of other lands, together with his gift, to the clear yearly value of £10 for ever, within four years after his decease, then the feoffees should stand seized to the use of the poorinhabitants of Leeds. The testator directed, that his feoffees and their heirs for ever, should have the nomination, election, and appoint- ment of the said schoolmaster ; and gave them power to ut him out for reasonable cause at their discretion. ‘The best man’s voice to take no more place than the honest poorest man of them.’ In 1544, certain copyhold premises were surrendered by Richard Bank and his wife for the use and support of the school. In 1555 a feoffment was made by Sir William Armistead, with this curious declaration annexed to it, that ‘“ the feoffees should employ the profits towards the finding of one priest, sufficiently learned to teach a free grammar school within the town of Leeds, for ever, for all such as should repair thereto, without taking any money moreor less, for teaching of the said children or scholars, saving of one penny of every scholar, to mention his name in the master’s book, if the scholar have a penny, and if not, to enterand continue freely without any paying.” In 1595. certain copyhold premises were surrendered by John Moore and others, for the use and support of the same institution; and Christopher Hopton and others also sur- rendered a close, denominated the Calls, containing three acres, for the same purpose. Subsequent endowments in houses and lands were made by other parties. When the grammar school was first founded by Sir William Sheafield, the building, which was used for the purpose, was in a very incommodioussituation, where the pinfold some years since stood, by the workhouse. Six years after, viz., in 1558, the ‘“New chapel,’’ which, in spite of its name, was a very old building, was purchased of queen Elizabeth, and used as the grammar school, and there the operations of the in- stitution were carried ou for the period of sixty-six years. (See 1624.) 1553. By an act of parliament passed this year, the num- ber of taverns or public-houses in the city and liberties of London was limited to forty, and those in Westminster to three. Michael Servetus, a French physician, first nacerted the circulation of the blood; which was fully con- firmed by our own countryman Harvey, in 1628.—— When

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. _ 61 Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII. became queen, she repealed the acts of her brother and fathe® and restored the Catholics to power, but they were turned out again in 1558 by her sister Elizabeth, who attempted to extirpate the Catholic priests from her dominions, by making it death for them to be found in England, death to harbour them, and death for them to exe.cise their functions, so that about the 20th year of her reign, the old priesthood was nearly extinct. During the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary, the flat round bonnet, or cap, of plain velvet or cloth was fashionable, and was worn on one side of the head, and decorated with a jewel and single ostrich feather. The bonnet itself is preserved in the caps worn at the present day by the boys of Christ’s Hospital, and their blue coats and yellow stockings are such as were worn by the London apprentices at the date of the founda- tion of the hospital, by the youthful Edward. 1554 A law, enacted in the reign of Edward VI., which prohibited every one from making cloth, unless he had served an «pprenticeship of seven years, was now repealed, and this plain reason given, “that it had occasioned the decay of the woollen manufacture, and had ruincd several towns’’; but this law, injurious as it is represented to have then been, was revived during the reign of Elizabeth. 1555. Died Robert Farrar, the martyr, who was born at Ewood, in Midgley. When a young man, he became a canon regular of the order of St. Austin. About 1533 he became chaplain to archbishop Cranmer, after whose ex- ample he married. He was the last prior of Nostel, in Yorkshire, to which was annexed the prebend of Bramham, in York cathedral. He surrendered his convent in 1540, ‘and had a pension of £100 per annum allowed him, which he received until his promotion to the Bishopric of St. David’s. When Mary ascended the throne, he was ex- amined for his faith and doctrine by the bishop of Win- chester and Dr. Morgan, and, refusing to renounce his heresies, schisms, and errors, as Morgan called them, he was condemned and burned at Caermarthen. 1555. On May 10, wasinterred Robert Holdesworth, LL.D., vicar of Halifax, who was murdered by thieves in the bight. 1557-8. In the reign of Philip and Mary, an act was passed in favour of Halifax, which recites that, the town of Halifax being planted in the great waste and moors, where the fertility of the ground is not apt to bring forth any corn, nor good grass, but in rare places, and by

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62 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1558. exceeding and great industry of the inhabitants, who al- together live by cloth making, and the greater part of them neither getteth corn, nor is able to keep a horse to carry wools, nor yet to buy much wool at once, but hath ever used to repair to the town of Halifax, and there to buy two or three stone, according to their ability, and to carry the same to their houses, three, four, or five miles off, upon their heads and backs, and so to make either into yarn or cloth, and to sell the same, and so to buy more wool of the wool-driver ; by means of which industry, the barren grounds in those parts be much inhabited, and above five hundred householders there newly increased within these forty years past, which are like now to be undone, and driven to beggary by reason of the late statute, (37th Henry VIII), that taketh away the wool-driver, so that now they cannot have their wool by the same small quantity or portions as they were wont to have; and that also they are not able to keep any horses whereupon to ride, or fetc their wools further from them in other places, unless some remedy may be It was therefore enacted, “That it should be lawful to any person or persons, inhabiting within the parish of Halifax, to buy any wool or wools at such time as the clothiers may buy the same, otherwise than by engrossing and forestalling, so that the persons buying the same do carry the said wools to the town of Halifax, and there to sell the same to such poor folks of that and other parishes adjoining, as shall work the same in cloth or yarn, to their knowledge, and not to the rich and wealthy clothier, or any other to sell again ; offending against this act to forfeit double the value of the wool so sold.” - 1558. The ‘“ New which stood near the North bar, in Leeds, and which was a very old building was pur- chased of queen Elizabeth, and used for a public grammar school till 1624, when Mr. Harrison ‘removed the school to a pleasant, field of his own, which he surrounded with a substantial is supposed to have been the chantry of St. Mary, from which Lady-lane and Lady-well have their names. Jn the 37th Henry VIII., it was valued at £8 13s. per annum, and its last priest of which there is any notice, was Ipofer Bradley, who, according to the register, was buried in St. Peter’s church, the 26th of October, 1563. At this period the common bakehouse (Commune Furnum) in the old square, Kirkgate, Leeds, was in existence, and is thus spoken of by Thoresby and his commen- tators:—‘‘At the upper end of Kirkgate, over against

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 53 1558.- 1563.

the prison, was that necessary evil in a populus town, a common bakehouse, which John Metcalf farmed of queen Elizabeth at £12 per annum, but which by. the survey ap- peared to yield £120 per annum. 1559. Jan. Ist. Soon after Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, the church service was ordered to be performed in Euglish, and 2 complete reformation of the church imme- diately followed. Queen Elizabeth first appeared in silk The glory of the Elizabethan era of female costume, as well as its most remarkable character- istics in the sixteenth century, was the ruff of plaited linen or cambric, which arose from the tront of the shoulders behind the head, nearly to its full height; from the bosom descended a huge stomacher, on each side of which projected the immense farthingale or hooped petti- coat. At this time the material of the ruff having been changed from holland to lawn or cambric,a difficulty arose as to starching or stiffening it, instead of the clumsy mode of supporting it by poking-sticks of ivory, wood, or gilt metal. At length the art of starching was brought from Flanders, and taught in London for a fee of four or tive uuds. The ruff was fashionable long after this time, for we find it anathematised from the pulpit in a sermon preached before the king at Whitehall, in 1607-8, as ‘her French, her Spanish, and her foolish fashions ; her plumes, her fannes, and a silken vizard ; with aruff like a sail, yea, a ruff like a rainbow ; with a feather in her cap likea flag in her top, to tell which way the wind will blow.’ “ Divers noble personages (says honest John Stowe) made them ruffs a full quarter of a yard deep, and two lengths in one ruff.”” To correspond with the ladies’ farthingales, the bucks of the day stuffed out their breeches with rags, feathers, and other light matters, till they brought them out toa most enormous size, resembling woolpacks. In the pre- ceeding reign of Mary, the fashion ran on square toes; in- somuch that a proclamation was issued, that no person should wear shoes above six inches square at the toes! Then succeeded pricked-pointed shoes. Christopher Ashburn was inducted vicar of Halifax; he was the first Protestant who held that benefice. 1562. April 23rd. Shakespere was this day born at Strat- ford-upon Avon, in Warwickshire. He died on his birth- day in 1614, aged fifty-two years. 1563. By 5th Elizabeth, chap. 40, *‘ Whoever shall by preaching, teaching, writing, or open speech, notify that eating fish, or any forbearing of flesh, 1s of any ne-

.

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61 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND

1563.-1569. cessity for saving the soul of man, shall be punished as

spreaders of false news are and ought to be.” 1564. This year died John Calvin aged fifty-five. A great flood in the Ouse at York, swept away two arches of the bridge with twelve houses that stood upon them. Several lives were lost in this inundation. 1565. Matthew Inster, M.D. was born at Thornton, in Craven, and became physician in ordinary to queen Anne of Denmark, by the recommendation of the illustrious Anne, countess of Pembroke, and afterwards to king Charles I. from whom he received the honour of knighthood. in 1636: lastly he attained to the summit of medical honours, by being appointed President of the college of Physicians. He died in 1657, at Burwell, in Lincolnshire, aged ninety-two.—Sir John Clarke buried December 9th, was priest of the ancient chapel which stood at the north end of Leeds bridge. 1568. Roger Askham, a native of one of the Askhams, near York, died January 5th. He was celebrated for his learning, and was tutor and latin secretary to queen Elizabeth. His work, called ‘‘The Schoolmaster,’? was published after his death by his widow, whom, with her children, he left in great distress. On October 11th; this year, died “Roger Brook, of Halifax, aged 133 years. —October4. Ataconference held at York, the cause of Mary queen of Scots, was examined into. In January, 1569, she was imprisoned in Tutbury castle ; in 1586, it is said, she conspired against the life of her cousin, queen Elizabeth ; was removed to Fotheringay castle in the same year, and was sentenced on the 25th of October to die. She was be- headed at Fotheringay, February 8th, 1587. 1569. An insurrection broke out in the north, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, under the leading of the earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. The professed objects of the conspirators were to restore the Roman Catholic religion, and advance Mary queen of Scots to the throne of England. Their first demonstration was at Durham, where they tore in pieces the bibles and prayer books in the English tongue which they found in the churches. They next marched southward, and arrived at Ripon on the 18th November. After putting Sir William Ingilby to flight, they marched to Knaresborough, thence to Wetherby, and at length to Clifford-moor, when they found their army numbered but 1,600 horse and 4,000 foot. They afterwards besieged and took Barnard castle. A force of 7,000 men marched from York against the rebels, who were soon

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 30 1569.-1582. dispersed ; but many of them were killed or captured in their fiight. Sixty-six of the prisoners were hanged at Durham, amongst whom was Plomtree, a noted priest. Among the prisoners were Simon Digby, of Aisken ; John Fulthorpe, of Islebeck; Robert Pennyman, of Stockesly ; and Thomas Bishop, of Pocklington; all of whom were, on the Good Friday following, (1570) hanged, beheaded, and quartered, and their heads were set upon the four principal gates of the city. Not less than 800 persons are said in the whole to have suffered by the hands of the exe- cutioner. The earl of Westmoreland escaped; but North- ‘umberland was afterwards taken, and beheaded Aug. 22, 1572, on a scaffold in the Pavement, at York. This was the last open attempt made to restore the Roman Catholic religion in this kingdom.—————“ A rule to knowe how many dayes euery moneth in the yere hath. Thirty dayes hath Nouember, Aprill, June, and September—February hath xxviii. alone, and all the rest have xxxi.; but in the leape you must adde one.’ Gafton’s Chronicles of England, 1570). 8vo. 1571. By statute 13th Elizabeth, chap. 19, “All persops above the age of seven years, shall wear upon Sabbath and Holy days upon their heads, a cap of wool, knit, thicked, and dressed in England, upon pain to forfeit, for every day not wearing, three shillings and fourpence.” 1572. The Leeds Church register of burials, baptisms, and marriages, commences on the 20th of May,. this year. 1573. The head of the earl of Northumberland, who had. suffered decapitation in 1572, was stolen in the night from Micklegate bar, in the city of York. During this year a considerable earthquake was experienced in York. A prison was erected on Ouse bridge, York, about this. time. 1577. The following passage is in Harrison’s description. of Great Britain, printed in 1577 :—“ In the reign of Henry VIIL, there were hanged seventy-two thousaud thieves and rogues, (besides other malefactors) ; this makes about two- thousand a year. But in queen Elizabeth’s time, the same author says, there were only between three and four hun- dred a year hanged for theft and robbery. Silver ore was found in the township of Rimington, in Craven, which yielded after the rate of 26 lbs. of silver per ton. Captain Drake first discovered California. 1582. In order to further correct the calendar, (see 45 B.c.) Gregory XIII., after deep study and calculation,.

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56 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1582 -1584. ordained that ten days should be deducted from this year, by calling what according to the old calendar, would have been reckoned the 5th of October, the 15th of October, 1532. The Catholic nations in general adopted this purely scientific improvement; but the Protestants adhered to the old style for nearly two centuries. (see 1751.) 1533. In the Birch collections at the British museum, referénce is made to the age of the countess of Desmond, as follows :—‘* The olde countess of Desmund was a mar- ryed woman in Edward I1V’s time, of England, and lived till towards the end of queen Elizabeth: soe as she needes must be 140 yeares old—she had a new sett of teeth not long before her death; for she must needes climb a nutt tree to gather nutts,soe falling downe,she hurt her thigh, which brought a fever, and that fever brought The advowson of the vicarage of Leedes purchased by the parisioners of Oliver Darneley, for £130. —The stone stairs, or “‘Griece on the west syde of the bridge at Ledes,” were built this year with stone brought from ‘ Christall Abbaye,’? when labourers’ wages were 6d. a day, whereas now, says Thoresby, “they are hardly content with the double.”’ Thesestairs led to “ the Tentures.’” A pair of tentcrs were then about twenty-six or twenty- eight yards long—cloth being generally made into ‘*dozens’’ or short cloths, but about the year 1700, pieces of cloth upwards of sixty yards long were made. Near the “‘ Griece,”” was Embsey bridge, crossing to the land now insulated, and called the “Isle of Cinder.” 1584. Dec. The following extract from the register of at the Leeds Parish Church, is curious and characteristic of this time: —“Rychard Lumbye, of the Chappilltoune, being a Papist, not comying to the church the space of xij years, being indyeted at the gen’all and peace sessions, vpo the statute, pscuted as the... . of Papists; excommunycate, Dyed at Chappilltoune the third day of December, and was by hys kynsfolk and neighbours brought towards the churche to be buryed, but at the church yerd gate stopped by the vicar and churchwardeners; the corps remaned till the tenthe day of the same moneth at night, and hys frends could not gett lycens to burye hym, guing to York for yt purpose, hys said corpse was in the night conveyed and buryed.” The register of burials at the Leeds Parish Church contains the following :— 1592, Aprill 28. Grace Birckhead, bothe meke and mylde, in one chiste she and her child ” Corpus Christi Plays were annually performed at York till this year (1584) by the ancient Guild or Fraternity of Corpus Christi, and the other free companies of that city. These theatrical exhibitions were performed on the festival

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 57 1584.-1603

of Corpus Christi in most of the cities and principal towns of England. 1585. The free grammar school of queen Elizabeth, at Halifax, was founded this year. 1586. Farnley-hall, erected by Sir William Denby, was taken down in 1756, and the materials sold. 1587. This year the burials at Leeds were tripled by the Plague. At Rothwell, in the following year, they increased from 34 to 127. 1588. The Spanish Armada, consisting of 130 ships, with 50,000 men, arrived in the English channel, but were dis- persed by a storm, July 27th, when many were wrecked, and others burnt and taken. The first English news- paper was printed this year, called “The English Mercury.”’ 1589. John Thornburgh, S. T. P., appointed Dean of York. He held the bishopricks of Limerick and Bristol in commendam, and was removed to the bishoprick of Worcester, in 1617.— ——Coaches first brought into England. 1590. HAtt, in Batley parish, built by Sir John Savile, the first honorary alderman of Leeds. After standing for a century and a halt, the pride and admiration of the neighbourhood, it was, at the instigation of a faithless agent, blown up with gunpowder by order of the earl of Cardigan, in 1730. The thermometer was invented about this time, by Sanctorie. 1591. Henry, the fifth and last earl of Cumberland, was born at Londesborough. He had the misfortune to see the beginning of the great rebellion, and the happiness to be taken from the calamities which followed. He was much favoured by king James and king Charles I., and died of a burning fever at one of the prebends’ houses in York, 1643, and was interred at Skipton, amidst the ‘‘roar of arms,’’ when his castle was held for the king, against all the assaults of the rebels. 1592. Wakefield grammar school founded. 1600. About this time Beeston, near Leeds, was famous for the manufacture of bone lace. I 1603. Queen Elizabeth commanded the Roman catholics in York, to be present at three sermons preached in the cathedral of that city, by archbishop, Matthew Hutton. At the first two sermons, they behaved so obstreperously, that it was found necessary to stop the mouths of some of them before silence could be obtained. At the third sermon, there was a very great audience: the lord presi-

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58 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1603.-1604. dent, the queen’s council, the lord mayor and aldermen, and the principal gentry of the county being present, yet the catholics stopped their ears, rather than listen to the venerable prelate’s discourse. ————— By statute lst, James 1, chap. 9, “If any alehouse-keeper shall sell less than a full quart of ale for a penny, or of the smull ale two quarts for one penny, he shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of twenty shillings.’”’-———Queen Eliza- beth died at one o’clock of the morning of Thursday, the 24th of March, 1603. Between nine and ten, Sir Robert Carey left London (after having been up all night) for the purpose of conveying the intelligence to her successor James, at Edinburgh. That night he rode to Doncaster, 155 miles; next night he reached Witherington, near Morpeth; early on Saturday morning he proceeded by Norham across the border; and that evening, at no late hour, kneeled beside the king’s bed at Holyrood, and saluted him as king of England, France, and Ireland. He had thus travelled 400 miles in three days. resting during the two intermediate nights. Wm Witham, of Led- ston, (who died in 1593), was popularly supposed to be bewitched to death by one Mary Pannel, who, haviug been long celebrated for supposed sorceries, was accused and convicted at York in 1603, and executed on a hill near Ledston-hall, to this day called Mary Pannel hill. In the reign of James I. nine tenths of the commerce of the kingdom consisted of woollen goods. Most of the cloth was exported raw, and was dyed and dressed by the Dutch, who it is said gained £700,000 a year by this employment. A proclamation against exporting cloth ina raw state had succeeded so ill during one year, by the refusal of the Dutch to buy the dressed cloth, that great murmurs arose against it. The plague re-appeared in London, in this and the following year no less than 68,596 persons died from that. visitation. 1604. The Yorkshire Tragedy, attributed to the pen of Shakespeare, is ‘‘founded on facts’? which occurred this year at CALVERLEY HALL, near Bradford, the residence for six centuries of a family of its own name. The story is as follows :—Walter Calverley, the son and heir of William Calverley, Esq. married at the close of the 16th century, Philippa, daughter of Sir John Brooke, by whom he had three sous, William, Walter, and Henry. Dissipation and other vices of the head of this ill-fated family, had plunged them into extreme embarrassments, and under the influence of intoxication, jealousy, or intolerable apprehension that

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 59 1604. his children would become beggars, he came to the des- perate resolution to be himself their murderer. The intel- igence that his brother had been committed to prison in consequence of a security given for Walter, brought on the crisis which he had contemplated, and observing his eldest son, a boy four years old, at play in the gallery of Calver- ley hall, the unnatural father rushed upon him, and inflict- ed two or three wounds with his dagger. He then seized upon the bleeding child, and carried him to the room of his mother, who was asleep, while the nurse was dressing another of the children in the room. The unhappy mother roused from her slumbers by the violent entry of her husband, soon became aware of the danger which threatened her children, and endeavoured to save the second child from his fury, but all her efforts were in vain, and he plunged the reeking dagger into its heart, while clasped in its mother’s arms. His fury was then directed against his lady, and he inflicted upon her several severe wounds. Still unsatiated with blood, he took his horse and rode off for the village where his infant. child was at nurse, but as he entered the place, he was thrown from his horse, and secured by a servant, who had been despatched after him. On the following day he was taken before Sir John Savile, of Howley, and Sir Thomas Bland, knights, two of the magistrates of the West-Riding, in whose presence he confessed his crime, adding, that he had harboured the intention of killing his children for two years past, and that ‘“‘ the reason that moved him thereunto was, for that his wife had many times heretofore uttered speeches and given signs and tokens unto him whereby he might easily erceive and conjecture, that the said children were not by him begotten, and that he had found himself to be in danger of his life sundry times by his said wife.”’ At the close of the examination, he was committed to gaol, but as the plague then raged in York, he was sent to Wakefield. Subsequently he was removed to York, where he was. brought to trial, but refused to plead either guilty or not guilty; “che was adjudged to be pressed to death ; accord- ing to which judgment he was executed in the castle, at York, the 5th of August, 1604.” The innocent lady of this high-born malefactor recovered from-Her wounds, and his son Henry succeeded to the estate and chattels, the latter of which, his father, by refusing to plead on his trial, had saved from forfeiture. The. estate remained in the Calverley family till the year 1754, whep Sir Walter Calverley, who took the name of Blackett, sold the manor

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60 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1604.-1607. and estate of Calverley to Thomas Thornhill, of Fixby, Esq., by whose heir, Thomas Thornhill, Esq., of Fixby, in Yorkshire, and Riddlesworth, in Norfolk, it is still pos- sessed. The hall is now occupied by a number of labouring families in seperate tenements. In York, 3,512 persons dicd of the plague. In consequence of this con- tagion, the assizes were held at Wakefield, and prince Charles passed through Leeds to London instead of going by York.——tThe vicar of Calverley and five of his parishioners executed a certificate which was presented to the judges of assize at York, wherein they declared “that Robert Hare, Isabella Hare his mother, Ann Brigg and Elizabeth Birkenshaye, all of their own parish, were vehemently suspected of the devilish art, of witchcraft,” and that they had done much hurt and mischief to their neighbours for the space of twenty years past. The object of this deposition was to “root out abominable witchcraft,’’ but whether it had any reference to the horrid murders just committed by their landlord at Calverley hall, is not recorded. 1605. The disappointment of the Catholics on finding that the severe laws against them were not to be relaxed, led to a conspiracy called the gunpowder plot, which was to have been put in force on the meeting of parliament, Nov. 5th, this year. It was arranged that the House of Lords should be blown up by gunpowder, at the moment when the king, lords, and commons, were all assembled in it, thus, destroying as they thought, all their chief enemies at one blow, and making way for a new govern- ment which should be more favourable to them, Accord- ingly, thirty-four barrels of powder were deposited in the cellars beneath the House, and a person named Guy Fawkes was prepared to kindle it at the proper time. The plot was discovered in consequence of the receipt of a letter by lord Monteagle, warning him not to attend the meeting of parliament. 1607. A terrible flood devastated the south-western counties of England and Wales, whereby twenty-six parishes in Monmouthshire were entirely swept away, and the counties of Somerset, Gloucester, Glamorgan, Cardigan, and Caermarthen, were fearfully overflown by the sea: 500 persons perished, and many thousands were utterly ruined. The counties of Norfolk, Bedford, Cam- bridge, Lincoln, Huntingdon, and Kent, were also visited in the most sudden manner at the same time, with a simi- Jarly fatal calamity. At Wisbeach, the sea inundated the

on re

. jhe & 4

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 61 1607.-1612. town, overthrowing an inn called the Cross Keys, in which numerous guests were assemhled. At Yarmouth, the bridge was carried away; and off the coast, numberless vessels were wrecked and their crews lost. At Numby Chapel, the whole town was lost except three houses; and so deep was the water here, that a ship was driven in from the sea upon a house, the sailors thinking it had been a rock. The crew were saved by clinging to the ruins of the house. At Grimsby, the salt-works were rendered useless ; and the bridge at Wentworth, a model piece of architecture in those times, was swept away. The greatest destruction was amongst the sheep: several thousands being totally lost. A number of Roman cons and moulds were this year found at Lingwellgate, near Wakefield. 1608. “ A new stall in the old church at Leeds made for Thomas and Peter Jackson, as they had no room anywhere in the church to sit.”,—Churchwarden’s 1609. In this year the Leeds soke originated, by letters patent, granted by James I. to Edward Ferrers, of London, mercer, and Francis Phelips, of the same place, gentleman. The mills to which this grant applied, are supposed to have stood in Swinegate, at the place known by the name of the “Mill Goit.”’ The origin of this custom is very remote. In ancient times, each family ground its corn in hand-mills. When water-mills were invented, their introduction was eagerly desired, and no one being found able to build them in some poor districts, the king was petitioned to erect mills in various places, to which he consented, on condition that the inhabitants would bind themselves and their heirs for ever, to grind at such mills, on the terms then agreed on. During the Crusades, many privileges and immunities were granted to the Knights Templars; and among these were the exemption of their lands from certain taxes, and from the soke of the mills. The houses thus exempt, were marked by frost which commenced in October, lasted four months: the Thames being so frozen over, that heavy carriages were driven over it. 1610. June 4th. A terrible fire broke out at Bury St. Ed- monds, in Suffolk, which destroyed 160 houses, and reduced several people to great extremities. About this time, also, a malignant and putrid fever raged throughout the country, which carried off vast numbers of the people. 1612. The church of Burngal, in Craven, was repaired and beautified by Siz William Craven, knight, and alderman of the city of London, and late lord mayor of the same. He also erected and endowed a grammar school in the village.

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62 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1612.-1614. He was born at Appletrewick, in the parish of Burnsal, of oor parents, who consigned him to a common carrier for his conveyance to London, where he entered into the service of a mercer-draper, and, by diligence and frugality, raised himself to wealth and honour. In 1611 he was chosen lord mayor.——In 1612, twelve persons were executed at Lancaster for witchcraft; in 1622, six at York; in 1634, seventeen in Lancashire; in 1644, sixteen at Yarmouth; in 1645, fifteen at Chelmsford; and in 1645-6, one hundred and twenty in Suffolk and Huntingdon. The monster Matthew Hopkins and his assistants were regular authorized witch-finders, and undertook to clear any locality of witches for the sum of 20s., bringing them to confession and the stake in the following manner :—he stripped them naked, shaved them, and thrust pins into their bodies to discover: the witch’s mark; he wrapped them in sheets, with the great toes and thumbs tied together, and dragged them through ponds or rivers, when, if they sunk, it was held as a sign that the baptismal element did not reject them, and they were clearcd; but, if they floated, (as they usually would do for a time), they were then set down as guilty, and doomed. He kept them tasting and awake, and sometimes incessantly walking for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, as an inducement to confession. If a witch could not shed tears at command, or if ste hesitated at a single word in repeating the Lord’s prayer, she was held to be in league with the evil one. The results of these and such like tests, were actually and universally admitted as evidence by the administrators of the law, who, acting upon them, con- demned a!l such as had the amazing constancy to hold out against the tortures inflicted. Butler has described Hop- kins in his ‘Hudibras’ as one

“Fully empowered to treat about Finding revolted witches out, And has he not within this year Hanged three score of them in one shire ? Some only for not being drowned ; And some for sitting above ground.”’

After Jfopkins had pursued his trade of witch-finding for a many years, he was subjected to his own favourite test of swimming—he escaped with his life, hut was never heard of more. 1614. Robert Cooke, B.D., (otherwise Gale) said to have been the most noted disputant of his time, was vicar of Leeds, and died January Ist, this year. Of hi: brother

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 63 1614.-1619. successor, Alexander Cooke, B.D., Wood, the author of Athenze Oxoniensis, says, “that he was admirably read in the controversies between the Protestants and Papists, versed in the fathers and schoolmen, witty and ingenious, bat a great Calvanist!’’ He died in June, 1632. 1615. A Bill of Complaint was exhibited in Chancery on the 3rd of November, in the names of some of the most wealthy and influential inhabitants of the district ; in which, it is said, that the town and parish of Leeds had become very large and populous, and contained more than 5000 com- municants, and that, although some of them were three or four niles distant from the church, yet three or four thousand of them ordinarily resorted thither every Sabbath day. 1617. This year James I. issued his royal proclamation, called “ The Book of Sports,” which he ordered to be read in all churches, for the purpose of legalising and en- couraging the exercise of gymnastic and other sports and games after divine service on Sunday afternoons. The inhabitants of the city and county petitioned in vain for the establishment of an wniversity in York. 1618. July 5th, James Hay, first Baron Hay, by patent, was created Viscount Doncaster, a title which became ex- tinct in 1660; but in 1663, James Fitz Roy, (who assumed the name of Scot), natural son of Charles II., was created Earl of Doncaster, by patent, February He was be- headed in 1685, when the title was forfeited, but was restored to his heir, Francis Scot, third carl of Dalkeith, March 23rd, 1743. At this time there was a park at Bingley, and a castle near the church, on a hill called Baily-hill. 1619. A commission which sat this year for the purpose of enquiring into the duc administration of public chari- ties, 1t was found that the several messuages, lands, annual rent charges, and sums of money in the inquisi- tion particularly specified, were given by the persons, or acquired in the manner in the inquisition meutioned, for the reparation of the highways in and near Leeds, the use of the poor of the parish of Leeds, and the mainten- ance and support of the free grammar school of Leeds. It was also found that the Moot Hall, then lately erected in the town, was built out of the money belonging to the poor; but that John Metcalf, the under bailiff of the town, had converted the rent of part of the building to his own use. It was also found, that by a decree of the court of the Duchy of Lancaster, toll was taken of all corn exposed in the market for sale, called the “Toll dish,”

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64 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1619.-1623. which was distributed as follows :—one third to the bailiff, then the principal officer in the town for his own use; one third for the use of the poor; and the other third was used to repair the highways. These tolls were collected by the said John Metcalf and also appropriated to his own use. The Commissioners by their Decree ordered a committee to be appointed to manage the said charities, and to see that the profits arising therefrom should be apportioned in manner before mentioned. ‘The collection of the toll was abandoned about the close of the last century, on account of its being only about £70 per aunum, and the great opposition expe- rienced by the officers in its collection. The duke of Buckingham, in 1619, first used a coach with six horses,— a piece of pomp which the duke of Northumberland thought proper to ridicule by setting up one with eight. Charles I. was the first British sovereign who had a state carriage. 1620. Dr. Williams, dean of Westminster,and subsequently archbishop of York, received the sea's of office, which were taken from the learned lord chancellor Bacon, who was con- victed of bribery, sentenced to pay a fine of £40,009, and to be imprisoned during the king’s pleasure. Adam Baynes, Esq. of Knostrop, “ Parliament man for Leeds,”’ during the Commonwealth, was born Dec. 22nd, this year, obit Dec. 1670.- A board of Trade was instituted by James I. One of the reasons assigned in the commission was “ to remedy the low price of wool, which begat complai- nts of the decay of the woollen manufacture.”’ Though the rice of wool afterwards rose to thirty-three shillings a tod 28lbs.) nine-tenths of the commerce of the kingdom con- sisted of woollen goods. The exportation of wool was forbidden by proclamation, and the company of Merchant Adventurers, by patent, possessed the sole commerce of the woollen manufacture. 1621. The power of licensing public houses was first granted to Sir Giles Montpesson and Sir Francis Michel. 1622. Feb. 14. A terrible accident occurred at Blackfriars in London, which obtained the name of the ‘ Fatal Vespers.’ The Roman catholics had met in considerable numbers to celebrate the mass, when the floor giving way, the whole congregation were suddenly engu phed, and upwards of a hundred persons lost their lives. 1623. March 10th. Died Dr. John Favour, for thirty years vicar of Halifax, and author of antiquity triumphing over novelty. “In this vicar’s time there lived in the town, one Richard Commons, an, Irishman, by occupation a goldsmith, a common drunkard and blasphemer of God’s holy word, .

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT.’ 65 1623.-1626. ‘ when he had spent all he cou’d make, he set fire to some straw in the four corners of his house, (now the Angel Inn, and hanged himself in the midst. ‘Thus desperately he died, but by God’s merciful providence the straw took not fire, and so both house and town were preserv’d, which he pur- pos’d to burn. He was buried a little above the town, in a place where four ways meet, now well known by the name of Goldsmith’s Grave.’”’—Wright’s antiquities of Halifax, printed at Leeds in 1738. 1624. John Lake was born at Halifax, where he received his first education at the grammar school; thence he was sent to St. John’s college, Cambridge, where, before he was thirteen years of age, he took the degree of B.A. In 1660 he was, after much opposition, inducted vicar of Leeds. On October 9th, 1680, he was installed archdeacon of Cleve- land, and consecrated bishop of Sodor and Man, in 1682. He was translated to Bristol in 1684, aud to Chichester in 1685. He died August 30th, 1689, and was buried in St. Botolph’s church, London. In this year the benevolent John Harrison “ built the Leeds grammar school in North- street, in the middle of half an acre of his own land, and enclosed it with a fair stone wall.’ The following is an extract from his w'l], in which he refers to this beneficial endowment :—‘“‘ Whereas, I have of my own charge and upon my own land, erected and one new house, now used and employed for a grammar school, and walled the yard thereunto belonging with a stone wall, as the same abutteth upon the lands of Henry Royds upon the north, and upon my own lands upon the south-east and west—my mind and will is, that the same shall be for a master and ushers to teach scholars in for ever, and for that end and purpose, I do give the said house, garth, and wall, &c.’’ An apart- meut, used as a library, was added by Godfrey Lawson, Esq., in 1792. The library comprised several ancient books, in- cluding folio editions of some of the works of the fathers. The Rev. Samuel Puilen, afterwards archbishop of Tuam, was first master of this seminary. 1625. March 27th. Charles I. ascended the throne, and in June of the same year, London was again visited with the plague, which swept away 35,417 persons. An act assed for the incorporation of the manufacturers of Sheffield, by the name of the company of Cutlers of Hallamshire. 1626. The borough of Leeds was incorporated by Charles © I. The first mayor was Sir John Savile, afterwards lord Savile, whose arms, known by the name of “ Hullarts,”’ was adopted by the town. John Clayton, Esq. was the

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66 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1626.-1633. . first recorder, and George Bannister the first town clerk. By this charter it is seen that the market was formerly held on a Monday. Lord Bacon died this year, aged sixty- five. He rose from a comparatively humble position, to be lord high chancellor of England. 1628. June 5th, The south-east pinnacle and corner of the steeple of Halifax Church were struck off by lightning, and the stones which fell broke down much of the timber, slate, and battlement. 1629. The Leeds Workhouse, then called the house of cor- ection, was built this year, and enlarged in 1636, and again in 1736. 163). Armley chapel of Ease was built about this time, but was not consecrated as a burial place till 1674. In 1765 the vicar of Leeds and the inhabitants had a long contest for the presentation to this chapel, and the Jord chancellor decreed in favour of the former in 1766.—-——Sir John Savile, of Howley, died August 31st, this year, aged seventy-four. 1631. The manor of Wakefield was granted by the crown to the earl of Holland, whose daughter, about twenty years afterwards, was married to Sir Gervase Clifton, knight and bart., to whom he gave the manor of Wakefield as her marriage portion. Not long afterwards Sir Gervase Clifton sold it to Sir Christopher Clapham, whose heirs again dis- posed of it in 1709, to the duke of Leeds, in the possession of whose family it still remains. 1632. March 15th, Henry Ramsden, vicar of Halifax, grant- ed Richard Sunderland, Esq., of Copley, a license to eat flesh during the time of h.s illness, as the law of the land in that case provided, and on the 18th March, the same license was granted to Abraham Sunderland, of high Sun- derland. In the Leeds parish reg ster of this date, (November ii. or xx.) is this note, “ Richard Sawer, of Vicar-lane, had two strange children baptized, named fiichards: Duere et Mirare.’ Tradition reports them to have been joined together, having but one body below the navel. 1633. The contests hetween king Charles I. and the Par- liament shook Yorkshire to its centre, but before they had commenced, the king was entertained three days in York, on his way from Scotland. While in York he knighted the lord mayor, the recorder, and the archbishop’s son. Charles I. visited Pontefract, when he created Sir John Savile, knight, high steward of the honour of Pontefract, and, by letters patent, advanced him to the dignity of a baron of the realm, by the title of baron Savile of Pontefract.,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 67 1633.-1638, His son inherited the title, and was. created earl of Sussex, but the family became extinct in his grandson James. The corporation of Hull sent two casks of sturgeon, with a butt of sack, to the archbishop of York, who, in return, sent “two lovely bucks,” as venison for the mayor and aldermen. 1634. St. John’s church, in Leeds, was built by John Harrison, Esy., of Pawdmyre, who commenced it in 1631, and finished it in 1634, having endowed it with £80 per annum, besides £10 a year for repairs. It was consecrated September 21st, 1634, by archbishop Neile. The first min- ister was the Rev. Robert Todd, M.A., who was suspended on the very day he commenced his function. ‘This year the Corporation Charter of Halifax parish and the gov- ernment of the workhouse was granted. In 1635 orders were made for such strangers as were likely to become chargeable to the town to be removed. Such as kept them in their families contrary to order were fined or compelled to give security that they should not become chargeable to the town. Those who were convicted of swearing, using or keeping gaming houses, and tippling at unseasonable hours, were fined; such as embezzled or spoiled their work, or were idle, unruty, or made a prac- tice of begging, were whipped, set to work, or sent to their place of settlement. 1635. Sir Arthur Ingram’s house at Temple Newsome was burnt down and “household stuff’? worth £4000 consumed. plague raged at Hull till 1638, and carried off 2,730 persons, besides leaving as many more in extreme want. Collections were made for the sur- viving sufferers throughout England. 1636. Hunslet chapel was built this year, and enlarged in 1774. 1638. In the chapel-yard of Ribston, is placed a very curious sepulchral monument of a standard bearer of the 9th Roman Legion, which was dug up in the year 1630 in Trinity gardens, near Micklegate, in York. The stone is six feet high, and two feet in breadth—the top of an angular form: near the bottom of the stone is a Latin inscription, above which stands the figure of a Roman soldier, with the ensign of a cohort or manipulus in his right hand, and a corn meter in his left, (corn being once part of the pay of a Roman soldier). The inscription is thus translated :—“L. Lucius Rufinus, of Vienne, son of Lucius of the Voltinian tribe, (and) Standard-bearer of the 9th Legion for twenty-eight years, is buried here.’

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68 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1638.-1639., Brian Fairfax, Esq., rescued this antique relic from being demolished by the workmen, who had broken it in the middie, and were about to prepare it for building-stone. It appears from the household book at Skipton Castle, that the luxuries of life were extremely dear at this time; there is an item which says, “paid for four score lb. of sugar for my lady £4’’; but all the common necessaries of life were very cheap; animal food, in particular, bore a low price; a fat wether would not have purchased two pounds of sugar. Another item in 1633-4 says, “ paid to Captayne Robinson, by my lord’s command for writing letters of news to his lordship for half-a-year £5.” Before the introduction of printed newspapers, it appears that the great families had gazettecrs in London, who transmitted to them the news of the day in written letters, and the practice was continued by this family till the year 1687———John Harrison, Esq., having founded, erected, and endowed the church or chapel of St. John the Evangelist, in Leeds, by indenture dated the 6th September, this year, vested the patronage or advowson thereof, in the vicar of the parish church, and the alderman and three of the senior principal burgesses of the town and borough for the time being. By the 73rd sec. of the Municipal Corporation Act, any four members of the council of the borough are eligible to be elected trustees along with the vicar. In 1638, the alderman of the borough received a writ sent at the suggestion of the king for Leeds to pay its quota of ship money, namely, £70, to provide a fleet to protect the trade of the kingdom. The directions for the levying of the money were :— “First, ther is required expedic’on; secondly, that noe poore labouring people be assessed, but such as have estates in lands or goods, or live by some gainful trade, for it is con- ceived that the assessing poore people will cause a clamour and p’judice the service, which, in itself, is most honour- able and just ; thirdly, that the clergie be used with all favour.” 1639. About this time, John Harrison, Esq., the great benefactor to Leeds, purchased Rockley -hall, in that town, which was made of wood, and of a very antique form; instead of deal boards for floors, oak planks were used, and of such a thickness that joists were made of them for part of the new brick building that succeeded it in name and place. This he gave to pious uses. Alderman Harrison also founded the hospital near St. John’s, in Leeds.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 69 1639. In the reign of Charles I., a Mrs. Isabel Denton, of Beeston, near Leeds, invented straw hats and bonnets. Necessity in this case was truly the mother of invention, for this woman was cursed with a prodigal husband, and had to provide for a numerous family by her own skill and labour. Her hats and bonnets had a ready and profitable sale, and thus she was able to maintain her family in comfort and respectability until her death. At this time one firm in Leeds sold £7000 worth of bonnets in a year. 1639 to 1644.—CiviL Wars —Eight years after Charles I. had mounted the British throne, and before evil advisers had embroiled him with his parliament and people, he visi- ted the city of York, on his way from Scotland to London, and received a loyal and cordial welcome. Six years afterwards, on the 30th of March, 1639, the Scots having broken out into open rebellion, the king came down to York, on an expedition against the insurgents. During the king’s residence in York, he kept the festival, called “ Maunday Thursday,” in the cathedral.

The king of England was accustomed on Maunday Thursday, (the day before Good Friday, called also Shere Thursday, from the practice which the priests had of shearing their hair on this day to make themselves as trim as possible for Easter,) to have brought before him as many poor men as he was years old whose feet he washed with his own hands, after which his majesty’s maunds, con- sisting of clothes, and money were distrihuted amongst them, This strange ceremonial, was last performed in its full extent by James I]. King William left the washing to his Almoner; and such was the arrangement many years afterwards. ‘ Thursday, April 15th, (1731,) being Maunday Thursday, there was distributed at Whitehall to forty-eight poor men, and forty-eight poor wu:nen, (the king’s [Geo. M1. age being forty-eight,) hoiled beef and shoulders of mutton, and small bowls of ale; after that large wooden platters of fish, and loaves. After which were distributed to them shoes, stockings, linen and woollen cloth, and leathern bags, with one penny, twopenny, threepenny, and fourpenny pieces of silver and shillings, —to each about £4 in value. His grace the lord arch- bishop of York, lord high Almoner, performed the annual ceremony of washing the feet of a certain number of poor in the royal chapel, Whitehall, which was formerly done by the king’s themselves, in imitation of our Saviour’s pattern of humility. For a number of years the washing of the feet and other ceremonies has been given up, and since the beginning of the reign of queen Victoria, an additional sam of money has been given in lieu of provisions.

Having spent a month in York, his majesty and his nobles at the head of the army marched towards Scotland. On his approach the Scots laid down their arms, and

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10° ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1639.-1642. swore allegiance. Next year, when the king had dis- banded his army, the earl of Leven, and the marquis of Montrose entered England, at the head of a Scotch army, on hearing of which, the king left London and came to York, where he convened a great council of all the peers of England, to meet and attend his majesty there. 1640. The long parliament assembled on the third day of November, and immediately proceeded to vote down the Council Court of York, and committed the king's first ministers, the earl of Strafford and archbishop Laud, upon charges of high treason. They reversed the sentences formerly passed against Hampden and others; obtained the king’s assent to their bill for triennial parliaments ; procured the abolition of monopolies; and an answer from his majesty relative to his method of raising supplies by forced loans, tonnage and poundage, ship money, and other expedients. They sent commissioners into the several counties “for the defacing, demolishing, and quite taking away all images, altars, or tables turned altarwise, crucifixes, superstitious pictures, monuments, and reliques of idolatry, out of all churches and The speeches of members of parliament were now tirst published. This parliament was brought to a close on the 9th day of Sep- ‘tember, 1641. 1642. The king with his son Charles, prince of Wales, the duke of York, and several noblemen, left London, and. on the 18th of March arrived at York, where most of the nobility and gentry of the north received him with suitable demonstrations of loyalty. His majesty’s first care, on his arrival in Yorkshire, was to secure the vast magazines in the fortress of Hull, consisting of all the arms and ammu- nition of the forces levied against the Scots; with this view he repaired to that port in person, and required Sir John Hotham, the governor, who had received his com- mission from the parliament, to deliver up the possession. Sir John, perceiving that matters were drawing toa crisis, shut the gates, and refused to admit the king, though he requested leave to enter with twelve persons only. The king afterwards determined to form the siege of Hull, for this purpose he mustered 3,000 foot and 800 horse, and marched towards the obnoxous town. On hearing of his approach, Hotham determined that the surrounding country shonld be laid under water. The sluices were immediately pulled up, and the banks of the Humber cut, so that the next day by the aid of the spring tides, the meadows and pastures, to the extent of two miles on every

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 71 1642. side of Hull were inundated with water. The king soon after resolved to raise the siege and clear off his forces. Civil war seemed now inevitable. Every county, city, village, and hamlet of England resounded with the din of warlike preparation. The queen, Henrietta of France, was sped to Holland to pawn the crown jewels for arms and ammunition. The great mass of the nobility, gentry, and populace, except that of London, were gathering, or preparing to gather, round the king. The burgess class and the yeomanry, especially of the south, west, and midland counties, were arming for the parlia- ment. In London, four thousand men enlisted in one day. Hampden was down in Buckinghamshire at the first signal, and soon got together two thousand men, dressed in green coats. The earl of Essex, Sir William Waller, the earl of Manchester, (lord Kimbolton), held chief commands in the parliamentary army. The king constituted the earl of Cumberland supreme commander of his forces, and appointed Sir Thomas Glemham governor of York. He then marched southward, and erected the royal standard at Nottingham, August 22nd. The chief strength of the parliament in Yorkshire lay in the large manufacturing towns of the West-Riding. The parliamentary army being now increased to 1,000 men, marched to Tadcaster, in order to guard the passes of -the Wharf, and thus protect the friendly districts of the west. Figut at WETHERBy.—Sir Thomas Fairfax was sent with 300 foot and 40 horse to take possession of Wetherby. This small force was surprised early one morning by a body of 800 men under Sir Thomas Glemham, governor of York. The guards being asleep at their posts, enabled the enemy to steal partially into the town without being discovered. The brave Sir Thomas, with but four men at their arms, withstood the shock of the enemy, and re- pulsed them, when major Carr, of the royalists, was slain. The attack was soon renewed, but in the midst of the conflict Fairfax’s magazine was blown up, and produced so tremendous an explosion, that the royalists, believing the parliamentary forces had cannon, began to retreat towards York, and were pursued by Sir Thomas with his small body of horse, who took some prisoners. Sir Thomas lost eight or ten men, whereof seven were blown up with the powder. Ficut aT TapcasTErR.—The fears and apprehensions of of the royalists caused them to solicit the aid of the carl of Newcastle, who speedily marched from the north to

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72 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1642. York with an army of 6,000 men, furnished with ten pieces of artillery, where he arrived on the 30th of November. Three days afterwards, he proceeded with 4,000 men and seven pieces of cannon to attack the enemy at Tadcaster. At the same time, the earl of Newport, with 2,000 men, was sent to attack Wetherby. Fairfax collected all his forces at Tadcaster. The earl began his attack about eleven o’clock in the morning, and continued until five in the evening, during which time more than 40,000 musket shots are said to have heen discharged, besides the fire from the artillery ; but the slaughter bore no proportion to the shot expended, as the number killed on both sides did not exceed 300. The parliamentarians, seeing no prospect of holding their position, withdrew in the night to Selby, and the following morning the royalists marched into Tadcaster without opposition. Captain Lister, a valuable officer under Fairfax, was killed during the battle.

“Captain Lister’s son,”’ says Thoresby, “ passing through Tadcaster some years after, had the curiosity to inquire of the sexton where his father was buried? To which the sexton replied by showing hima skull, just dug up, which he averred was the head of the captain. On examining the skull, a bullet was found lodged in it, and this testimony to the truth of the grave digger’s words so struck the young man, that he sickened at the sight, and died soon after.”

By the defeat at Tadcaster, the parliamentary army was cut off from its friends and supplies in the West-Riding, for Newcastle’s army occupied the towns of Sherburn,- Ferrybridge, and Pontefract—however, Sir Thomas, in a night march, eluded all their vigilance, passed all their posts, and reached Bradford with three troops of horse, ‘300 foot, and some arms, about the end of the year 1642. 1642. Dec. First Stece or Braprorp.—Before the arrival of Sir Thomas Fairfax, a body of the king’s forces, num- bering about 800 men, were sent from the garrison at Leeds to occupy the town. They encamped at Undercliff, about a mile distant from the town, whence they marched to the assault; the townsmen met this attack with great resolution, and soon caused the assailants to retreat in great hurry and confusion back to Leedse On the 18th day of December, the attempt was repeated by-a larger force from Leeds, consisting of five troops of horse, six troops of dragoons, and 200 foot, commanded by colonel Goring, colonel Evans, Sir William Saville, and Sir John Good- ricke. About 80 of the inhabitants had muskets, the rest were armed with clubs, spits, flails, halbards, scythes, and such like rustic weapons. The church was turned into a

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 73 1642.-1643. fortress ; the walls being hung round with packs of wool, while their choicest marksmen were placed upon the tower. The royalists made repeated attempts to enter the town by storm; but were as often repulsed. About noon the inhabitants received a reinforcement from Halifax, and determined at once to make a general sally; therefore, watching their opportunity, they rushed out of the church, seconded by those in the lanes, and met the enemy face to face. The clubs, scythes, and rustic weapons of the towns- men did great execution; and such was their fury that they would neither give nor take quarter. During the heat of this action, a young nobleman of the name of Sir John Hope, at the head ofa company of foot, being inadvance of his men was taken prisoner, asked for quarter, and was told he should have Bradford quarter: he was instantly slain, and his men seeing the fall of their leader, fled. At length the royalists retreated, having had more than 100 men killed and wounded in the contest. On the side of the town, not more than five were killed and about twelve wounded. 1643. At the beginning of this year, the greatest part of Yorkshire, with the capital, York, and the towns and’ fortresses of Leeds, Knaresborough, were in the hands of the royalists. LEEDS TAKEN BY Sir Tuomas Farrrax.—On the 23rd of January, Sir Thomas Fairfax determined to attack the garrison at Leeds, and accordingly marched from Bradford with six troops of horse, three companies of dragoons, one thousand musketeers, and 2000 clubmen. A trumpeter was dispatched to Sir William Savile, requiring the town to be delivered into the hands of Fairfax for the parlia- ment, to which Sir William returned a disdainful answer. The parliamentary general now approached the town on the south-west side, with colours flying, to begin the assault, which commenced about one o’clock in the after- noon; and in two hours the royalists were driven from their works and their cannoniers killed. Sir Thomas, and his brother, Sir William Fairfax, with Sir Henry Fowlis and Captain Forbes, cut their way through all opposition, and, entering the town sword in hand, at the head of their troops, soon got possession of the place, where they found two brass cannon, with a good store of ammunition, and took 500 prisoners, among whom were six officers. There is said to have been about forty slain. Sir William Savile fled and escaped being taken by crossing the river;

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74 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1643. but Sergeant-major Beaumont was drowned in making the attempt. The following memorandum occurs in the register of burials at the Leeds Parish Church :—

“93rd January, 1643. This was the day when Leeds was taken by Sir Thomas Fairfax. Eleven soldiers slayne, buried 24th January—ten unpaid for; five more slain two or three days after; six more died of their wounds.”

The same register contains the following :—

“Buried Ist April, 1643. Captain Boswell slain at Seacroft battel, and six soldiers. A gentleman and two common soldiers slain in Robert Williamscn’s house, of Hunslet: buried 13th April, 1643. Five soldiers more slain— nine more in May; sixteen more in June ; twelve more in July. 26 soldiers buried July and August, 1644,”

After the storming of Leeds, the royalists assumed a position at Seacroft, ‘where they were assailed by the par- jiamentarians, about the end of Mar ch, but they maintained their post, and the assailants were defeated with the slaughter of a few of their men. The town of Leeds in these turbulent times often changed masters ; but was never the scene of much bloodshed. 1643. Charles’s queen, Uenrietta Maria, of France, landed at Bridlington quay, on the 20th of February, with 38 pieces of cannon, and 10,000 stand of small arms. The earl of Newcastle set out from York to meet the queen, and conveyed her majesty with the military stores to that eity, where she arrived on the Sth of March. Tor this service he was created a marquis. . WAKEFIELD TAKEN BY SiR Tuomas’ Fairrax.— The elder Fairfax being compelled to retreat from Selby, and Leeds and Bradford being the only places of strength held by the parliamentarians northward of Hull, Sir Thomas Fairfax determined to take the garrison of Wakefield, then in the possession of the king’s forces, held by about 3,000 men; and, accordingly on the morning of the 21th of May, 1643, he, at the head of 1,100 horse and foot, marched from Leeds to attempt the reduction of that town. The battle commenced about four o’clock in the morning, and, after an hour and a half’s hard fighting, Sir Thomas entered the town, took 590 prisoners, with 80 officers, 27 colours, and a large quantity of ammunition. A copy of a letter from lord Fairfax to the speaker, of the House of Commons giving particulars of this vic- tory has been kindly lent to the compiler by Mr. Denny, of Leeds. It is dated Leeds, 23rd May, 1643, and is signed

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 75 1643. ‘Fer Fairfax.’ The letter, after stating ‘that the earl of Newcastle had possessed himself of Rotherham and Sheffield,’ goes on to say that :—

“The earl of Newcastle’s army do now range over all the south- west part of this country, pillaging and cruelly using the well-affected party; and here about Leeds, Bradford, and Hallifax, being a moun tainous barren country, the people now beyin to be sensible of want, their last year provisions being spent, and the enemies garrisons, stopping all the provisions both of corn and other necessaries that were wont to come from the more fruitful countries to them; their trade utterly taken away, their poor grow innumerable, and great scarcity to relieve them; and this army, which now lyes amongst them to defend them from the enemy, cannot defend them from want, which causeth much murmure and lamentation amongst the people; and for the army itself, it is so far in arreare, and no way appearing how they shall either be supplied with money or succours as they grow very mutinous. Yet upon Saturday last, in the night, I caused to be drawn out of the garrisons in Leeds, Bradlord, Hallifax, and Howley, some horse, foot, and dragooners, in all about 1,500 men, and sent them ainst Wakefield, commanded by my son. and assisted by Major- generall Gifford, Sir Henry Fowles, and Sir Willian Fairfax, with divers other commanders ; they appeared before Wakefield about four o’clock on Sunday in the morning, where they fonnd the enemies (who had intelligence of their designe) ready to receive them; there was in the towne general Goring, Sergeant-major generall Mackworth, the lord Goring, with many other principall commanders, and eminent persons, with about seven troops of horse, and six regiments, con- taining 3,000 foot; the towne well fortified with works and four pieces of ordinance, yet our men, both commanders and common souldiers, went on with undaunte! courages, and notwithstanding the thick volleys of xmall and great shots from the enemie, charged up to their works, which they entered, seized upon their ordinance, and turned them upon themselves, and pursued the enemy so close as they beate quite out of the towne the most part of the horse, and a great number of the foot, and made all the rest prisoners, and with them took four piece of ordinance, and all the then in the towne, and a great number of arms, and amongst the prisoners generall Goring himselfe, with divers other commanders, and other common souldiers, in all about 1,500 men, and 27 colours of’ foot, and three cornets of horse. When the towne was thus taken, they found their number and strength too weak to keep it and their prisoners, xo they left the place and marcht away with their booty. in taking the towne, we lost no man of note, and not above seven men in all; but many of our men were shot and wounded.”

1643. June 380th.—Batrie or Moor. — The marquis of Newcastle with an army of ten or twelve thousand men, advanced towards Bradford for the purpose of punishing the inhabitants for their former disloyalty. The Fairfaxc’s with a force of but 3000 men, met the

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76 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1643. royalists upon an open plain called Adderton moor, and determined to give battle. The contest was severe, and bloody. The parliamentarians were defeated with great loss. 20090 men were killed and wounded on both sides, and that day and the next, about as many of Fairfax’s army were taken prisoners Lord Fairfax fled to Brad- ford. Sir Thomas with a small body of horse escaped to Halifax, but next day joined his father in Bradford. July 16th.—Seconbd Siege or situation of the Fairfaxe’s was now most perilous. Sir Thomas had but 800 foot, and 60 horse to make the best defence he could against the large force of Newcastle. The church and steeple were again manned, and the latter again hung round with sheets of wool; the royalist cannon were soon brought to bear upon it, and with such effect, “that the shot cut the cords whereon the sheets of wool hung, and down they fell, which the enemy immediately perceiving Jouldy huzzaed their fall.” Two assaults were made aud were beaten off. ‘The be- sieged finding it impossible to defend the place, and not liking to fall into Newcastle’s hands, Sir Thomas with only fifty horsemen charged upon the enemy and cut his way through sword in hand. The wife and children of Fairfax were by his side when he took this dauntless resolution, the former was taken prisoner, but was shortly after sent back to her husband by the marquis of New- castle in his own coach. Sir Thomas got safe to Leeds ; about 80 of the foot also broke through and arrived there mounted on horses, which they had taken from the enemy. The lord Fairfax determined to retreat to Hull; after a most fatiguing march of sixty miles, harassed on all sides by the royalists, and a severe skirmish at Selby in which Sir Tnomas was wounded, being shot through the wrist, they arrived at Hull in a miserable condition. Sir John Hotham the governor and hisson having entered into a conspiracy to deliver up Hull to the king, were arrested and sent to London, and were subsequently exe- cuted on Tower Hill. After his success at Bradford, Newcastle made a kind of triumphal march through Yorkshire ; took Wakefield, Rotherham, and Sheffield. He then marched into Lin- colnshire where he took Gainsborough, and Lincoln, then marched through the associated counties and blocked up London on the side of Essex. Here he was stopped by the armies under the earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. v7 1643.-1644. 1643. This year Ripon was taken posyession of and garrisoned for the parliament by Sir Thomas Mauleverer who had raised a regiment of foot and another of horse at hisownexpense. The parliamentarians having destroy- ed several of the monuments and other ornamental parts of the minster, and treated some of the inhabitants with great cruelty ; Sir John Mallory an active royalist then governor of Skipton castle, at the head of a cetachment of the king’s horse, surprised Mauleverer’s main guard then stationed in the market place, and routed the whole of his forces, took several prisoners, and drove the rest with precipitation from the town. 1644. Siece or Yorx.—Sir Thomas Fairfax having gained a considcrable victory over the royalist force at Selby, and being joined by the Scots at Wetherby, under the ear] of Leven, with the united forces, to the number of 16,000 foot and 4,000 horse, advanced to besiege York, which city they invested, except the north side on the 19th of April. The earl of Manchester with 6,000 foot and 3,000 horse, of the last of which Oliver Cromwell was heutenant- general, soon after arrived at. York to assist the besiegers, and the siege was pushed with vigour. Numerous assaults were made, and bravely repelled ; sallies were made by the be- sieged in which they were defeated and driven back with great loss ; their convoys of provisions were interccpted ; batteries were erected from which an almost inccssant fre was maintained, the walls were breached and partially destroyed ; mines were sprung with considerable effect, anda scarcity of provisions began to be felt by the garrison and citizens. The king seeing that matters were drawing to a crisis sent off a pressing order to prince Rupert to hasten to the relief of the city. On the evening of the 30th of June, intelligence was received that the prince with an army of 20,000 men was advancing towards the place, and that the same night his forces would be quartered in the towns of Boroughbridge and Knaresborough. BaTtLe or Marston Moor.—On the approach of prince Rupert the siege of York was raised. He with the com- bined royalists marched in pursuit of the Scotch and English forces. They soon overtook them, drawn up in grim array on Marston moor, in a position excellent as a defensive one, bnt not suitable for attack. Along the front of the parliamentarians ran a deep, wide drain ; their left, where Cromwell commanded, was protected, and at the same time held back, by an extensive tract of broken and difficult ground. The right was free and clear. Rupert

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73 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1644. hesitated to attack men so strongly posted, and the two armies together perhaps about 60,000 men, stood gazing at each other till a quarter past seven o’clock in the evening of the 2nd of July 1644. Cromwell could remain inactive no longer, and with a brief, passionate address to his Ironsides, he went off to makea circuit on the left, in order to fall upon the flank of the ‘ dissolute Goring.’ Manches- ter and Loudon, seeing this, advanced their infantry, and the battle on the right commenced at the same time. The fight in the centre was terrific: the infantry and cavalry of Newcastle and Goring sweeping the men as they emerged from the drain they were compelled to pass, with fiery destruction Accounts vary with respect to this attack of the main body of the Scotch and English infautry. Some writers assert that the parliamentary troops were after prodigious efforts, thrown into irretreviable confusion, and that Manchester, Loudon, Fairfax, and others, abandoned, or were about to abandon the field. Others say that the fight in the centre was obstinately and equally disputed. It is, however, quite certain that the right, where Fairfax commanded, was broken through, defeated and dispersed. It was more than half-past eight o’clock when the dark squadrons of the Ironsides, having at last extricated them- selves from the broken and tangled ground, were seen charging upon Newcastle’s flank. In brief space the aspect of affairs changed, and the royalist infantry were either dispersed or slain. But the battle was not yet ended. There was Rupert’s triumphant cavalry returned from yic- torious pursuit, and far more numerous than Cromwell’s horsemen to encounter. The ranks of the Ironsides, slightly disordered by victory, closed sternly up at the call of Crom- well, and again his piercing tones, echoed by thousands of voices, ran along the The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’—and prince Rupert was literally swept from the field, with frightful carnage. Rupert himself only escaping by the fleetness of his horse. Cromwell in his letter to the Speaker of the Commons, dated July 5th,

1644, says :—

‘We never charged but we routed the enemy. The left wing which I commanded being our own horse, saving a few Scots in our rear, beat. all the princes’ hurse. God made them as stubble to our swords: We eharged their regiments of foot with our horse, and routed all we eharged; and of the large army the prince brought into the field, ‘Oliver, though he was too hurried to give the particulars, is of opinion ‘that Rupert has not more than 4,000 men remaining with him.’

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 79 1644. It was ten o’clock before the battle and pursuit had ended, and the summer moon, as she arose threw her pale, melancholy light upon the white death-faces of 5,000 Scotch and Englishmen, slain there by kindred hands! The con- querors had good right to be proud of their dear bought victory ; 4000 of their enemies lay slain upon the field; 1,500, mostly men of note, taken prisoners ; the capture of all the prince’s material of war, consisting of 25 pieces of ordnance, 47 colours, 10,000 stand of arms, two waggons loaded with carbines and pistols, 130 barrels of powder, and all their bag and baggage.

In the year 1857 as some navvies were making a drain at a con- siderable depth through Marston moor they cut into the burial pits of the slain in this hattle. The foreman of the work says “ We cut twelve yards long and about eight feet wide through the grave, and found most bodies about four feet from the surface, but I consider that we got to the bottom of it, as we took two‘ draws’ (diggings) through it after and the ground below seemed untouched. At one place bodies, about 20 or 25 of them, were laid one over the other in all directions and postures,—the forms of many were left in the clay. At this place there was much of a sort of deposit that looked like soot, not slime, but damp; the smell at first was intolerable, and could be felt at some distance ; it was so had that the men could only work short spells. The skulls had preserved their shape, but crumbled away when ex- posed to the air. There was a bullet in one skull, which dropped out when the skull fell to pieces ; the bones especially, the large ones did not crumble away, but were very brittle when touched with the spade. The teeth were quite perfect, and many of them were taken away by the drainers.”

On the 16th of July, York surrendered to the forces of parliament on the most favourable terms to the besieged. The siege had continued nearly thirteen weeks, in which the garrison repulsed twenty-two attempts to carry the city by storm and four countermines ; and 4,000 or 5000 of the enemy had fallen before its walls. On its surrender, the parliamentary generals entered the city in solemn procession, and went directly to the cathedral, where a psalm was sung, and the following day was observed as a day of general thanksgiving. York, being thus subjected to the parliament, lord Ferdinand Fairfax was made its governor; and he, and his son Sir Thomas, received com- missions to reduce all the garrisons in this county that still held out for the king—a commission which in a short time they effected. After the whole kingdom was brought under subjection to the parliament, York was dismantled of its garrison, with the exception of Clifford’s tower, of

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80 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1640.-1644. which the lord mayor was appointed governor, and con- tinued to hold that commission for several years. 1640. Feb. 10. Judge Berkley was arrested on his seat in the court of king’s bench, and sent to prison for giving his opinion in favour of ship money, and was fined £10,000. 1642. In lord Clarendon’s history, Leeds, Halifax, and Bradford are called three very populous and rich towns, depending whoily on clothiers. 1643. Jenkinson’s and Dally’s almshouses, the most ancient of their kind in the town, were founded this year by Josias Jenkinson, and were formerly situated at Quebec, Mill-hill, but have since been rebuilt at Woodhouse. Eight poor widows, nominated by the trustees, reccive about £5 each yearly. The messuage and lands at great Woodhouse, the site on which the houses now stand, were also devised by Josias Jenkinson. Elizabeth Dally, by will in 1800, gave the vicar of Leeds, the minister of St. John’s, the Holy Trinity and St. Paul’s, and their successors, £200 to be placed at interest for the benefit of the poor widows re- siding in Jenkinson’s almshouses; but, owing to the principal acting executor dying in 1809, in embarrased circumstances, no part of this legacy was received till November, 1823, when the sum of £110 3s. 7d. was paid, which sum is invested in the three-per-cents reduced an- nuities, and the dividends distributed among the alms- people. Jan. 4th, two soldiers were hanged at Halifax, on a gallows made near the gibbet, for deserting from the parliament army at Halifax to the king’s forces at Heptonstall; they were taken by Sir Francis Mack- worth’s company, and executed thesame night. About this time an obstinate action took place at the top of Halifax bank, adjoining the road to Wakefield: this gave the place the name of Bloody Field. 1644, Archbishop Sharp was born at Bradford, on the 16th of February. Dr. Richard Richardson, of Bierley, built the second hothouse known in the north of England, in which he for some time kept a seedling of one of the first cedars of Libanus ever planted in England. This cedar had when Dr. Whitaker wrote, attained the cir- cumference of twelve feet four inches. Tickhill castle, (between Doncaster and Rotherham), after a siege of only two days, was taken by the parliamentary forces. The earl of Manchester sent a large force to reduce Sheffield castle, but, in order to preveut the effusion of blood, a summons was sent to major Beaumont, requiring him to

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 81 1644. surrender it, which was answered by a volley of shot, and a reply that the garrison ‘“‘ would hold no parley.” The besiegers now erected two batteries, and kept their cannon playing upon the fortress for twenty-four hours, without any visible effect. .Finding that the siege would be pro- tracted, major Crawford sent to lord Fairfax for the ‘““queen’s pocket pistol,” and a whole culverin, which being brought to the spot, played with such fatal effect, that the garrison was forced to capitulate, and the castle was surrendered to the parliamentary general on the 11th of August. The castle was soon afterwards rendered un- tenable, by order of parliament. On the 20th December, after a siege of more than three weeks, Knaresbro’ castle also surrendered. In the castle were found four pieces of fine ordnance, a large store of arms, powder, and ammunition ; a considerable quantity of specie and plate to the value of £1,500, with other valuable booty. About this time, the privilege of re- turning a member to serve in parliament, was conferred on Leeds. Adam Baynes, Esq., of Knostrop, au officer in the parliamentary army was returned, and was the only re- presentative the borough had till the passing of the reform act in 1832. A terrible plague raged in Leeds for nine months, during the year 1644-5, by which 1,335 persons died ; ‘ probably, says Dr. Whitaker, ‘‘a fifth part of the entire population of the town.” It raged most violently in Vicar-lane. It was also very bad in Marsh-lane, the Calls, Call-lane, lower Briggate, and Mill-hill. The streets were grass grown, the markets were removed to Woodhouse moor, and divine service was suspended. ‘The air in June, when the greatest number died, was very warm, and so infectious that dogs and cats, mice and rats, died ; also several birds in their flight over the town dropped down dead.” Alice, the wife of John Musgrave, of Vicar-lane, is supposed to have been the first victim—she was buried at the Leeds parish church. 11th March, 1644. The register of burials at the parish church could not be kept during the plague, and the following memorandum in the register explains the reason :—

“ These were all the names which came to our notice since the ould church doores were shut up for all the rest have died in plague time. You may take them in general, as they are brought in weekly to major Carter, who was then governor of the town.”

Here follow the weekly returns from the 12th March to the 25th December, making a total of 1,325. The register

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82 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1644. also says that three persons were buried in the Mr. Vicar’s croft.

In November, 1790, as some workmen were digging clay ina field now occupied by part of George’s-street, they discovered fifty oak coffins coutaining human bones, and supposed to have been denosited there at the time of the plague.

1644. First Srece or PoNrerract CastLe.—Immediately after the surrender of York, detachments of troops were sent to besiege the castle at Pontefract, then occupied by the king’s friends. "The garrison kept the enemy at bay for several months, and were at times reduced to the greatest distress for want of provisions. On the 19th of January, 1645, after an incessant cannonade against the walls of the castle, the Pix tower gave way, and by its fall carried part of the walls along with it, by whicha breach was made; but whilst the castle was thus assailed its defenders were not inactive. <A shot from the castle ‘ struck a match belonging to the enemy, and some sparks falling into the powder, it instantly exploded and killed twenty-seven men. By a well directed fire of musketry, the besieged obliged their enemy to keep their distance, and frequently did considerable execution. 1645. On the 21st of January, general Langdale, one of the royalist generals, at the head of 2000 horse came to the relief of the garrison. He attacked the besiegers, and compelled them to retire from the place in great disorder, and with considerable loss. SECOND Sigeck or PonTerracr.—On general Langdale’s departure, the parliamentarian troops again besieged Pon- tefract castle. On the 2Ist of March, 1645, the enemy took possession of the town, and after four months of in- cessant cannonades, attacks, and sorties, the garrison, being reduced to a state of famine, surrendered the castle by an honourable capitulation on the 20th of July. Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed governor, but as he was sufliciently employed in the field, he placed colonel Cotterel in the castle as his substitute. In the month of October, Sandal castle, near Wakefield, which had been for some time held for the king by colonel Bonivant, surrendered to the arms of parliament, and was soon after dismantled. On the 22nd of December, Skipton castle surrendered to the arms of the parliament after a blockade of three years, by the parliamentary generals Lambert, Poyntz, and Rossiter; the earl of Cumberland, its owner being

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 83 1645.-1646. then lord-lieutenant of Yorkshire, and Sir John Mallory, of Studley; an old and faithful royalist the governor. 1645. June 3rd. Died Mr. Nathaniel Waterhouse, of Halifax, a great benefactor to the poor of that town. His gravestone bore this inscription :—

The church and poor I left my heirs, My friends to order my affairs : My soul I sent before to try What is provided in eternity ; My earthly part lies here, you see, Hoping to rise; that’s best for me.

The king, having constituted secretary lord Digby lieutenant-general of all his forces north of the river Trent, his lordship advanced by the route of Doncaster towards York. On his arrival at Sherburn, near Ferrybridge, he stopped to refresh his troops, where information reached him that colonel Copley, an officer in the service of parlia- ment, was advancing with a body of troops. Digby presently ‘‘summoned to horse,’”” aad marched with a party of his troops out of the town to meet the enemy, whom he fell upon and put to flight. Copley’s discomfited followers fied through Sherburn, pell mell, when that part of the royal army which had not been engaged in the fight, supposing that the fugitives were their comrades, and that they had suffered a defeat, mounted their horses and dis- persed in every direction. At this critical moment, a troop of the parliamentary forces which had remained upon the field unbroken, fell upon lord Digby and those around him, aud drove them to Skipton castle. By this fatal catas- trophe, Digby’s army, which had raised high expectations, was broken up; his baggage, containing his cabinet papers, fell into the hands of the enemy, to the high gratification of the parliamentary party. Sir Richard Hutton, high sheriff of Yorkshire, who had espoused the royal cause, was left dead upon the field. 1646. King Charles, having surrendered himself to the Scots, was takeu by them to Newcastle-upon-Tyuc, and on his road lodged in the Red-hall, at Leeds, so called because of its being the first house in Leeds built of brick. The window which lighted the room in which he was confined, is that to the extreme right in the second story on the north side of the house. A maid servant of the house entreated him to put on her clothes, and make his escape, assuring him that she would conduct him in the dark out of the garden door, into a back alley, called

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84 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1646.-1648. Land’s-lane, and thence to a friend’s house, whence he might escape to France. The king, however, declined the woman’s offer, but with many thanks, and gave her for a token “ The Garter,” saying, that if it were never in his power, on sight of that token, his son would reward her. After the Restoration, the woman presented the token to the king, and told him the story. The king enquired whence she came? She said, from Leeds, in Yorkshire. Whether she had a husband? Shereplied, yes —What was his calling? She said, an under bailiff. Then, said the king, he shall be chief bailiff in Yorkshire. The man afterwards built Crosby-house, in Upperhead-row, Leeds. 16146. An anecdote is related of the celebrated Harrison, that he obtained permission to present to his majesty during his stay in the Red-hall, a tankard ale, but on the king opening the lid of the tankard, he found, instead of the expected beverage, that the vessel was filled with gold, which he immediately contrived with great dexterity to hide about his person. 1647. Matthew Broadley, of London, gentleman, by will, dated 15th of October, this year, left £500 to establish a free grammar school, at Hipperholme-cum- Brighouse, which is now called ‘“ Sunderland’s charity.” 1648.-9. On Tuesday morning the 30th of January, this year—Charles I. was beheaded in the open street before Whitehall. The death-warrant was as follows :—

“To colonel Francis Hacker, colonel Hunks, and lieutenant-colonel Phayr, and to every of them.” At the high court of Justice for the. the trying and judging Charles Stuart, king of England, 29th January, 1648.-9. ““ Whereas Charles Stuart, king of England, is, and standeth convicted, attained, and condemned of High Treason, and other high crimes, and sentence upon Saturday last was pronounced against him by this court, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body ; of which sentence execution yet remains to be done: These are therefore to will and require you to see the said sentence executed in the open street before Whitehall, upon the morrow, being the 30th day of this instant, month of January, between the hours of ten in the morning and five in the afternoon of the same day, with full effect : And for so doing this shall be your warrant. And these are to require all officers and soldiers, and other the good people of this nation in England, to be assisting unto you in this service.” Given under our hands and seals, JOHN BRADSHAWE. Tuomas GREY, (lord Groby. OLIVER CROMWBLL. (and 56 others.)

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 85 1648.-1649. 1648. In January, the money, in bags of £1000 each, began to be counted at York, into the hands of the Scottish receiver, on Tuesday, the 5th, and was completed on the 16th, being the payment of the first £200,000 for the arrears of the Scottish army—————October 29th, General Rais- borough, a zealous and avowed republican, was assassinated at Doncaster, by three desperadoes of the royal:st party. June 3rd. The governor of Pontefract castle, having given orders for some beds and provisions out of the country, colonel Morrice, commissioned by geveral Langdale, and accompanied by nineroyalist officers, disguised like peasants, having pistols, &c., concealed beneath their clothes, appeared at the castle-gate, with carts laden with beds, prov sions, &c. The draw-bridge was let down, and the beds, &c., delivered to the main guard ; money was then given to the soldiers to fetch some ale, in whose absence, Morrice and his party attacked and mastered the main guard, making way for their contederates to enter; they made the deputy- governor prisoner, and soon made themselves masters of the castle, after which, they were Joined by 30 horse and 500 foot, part of the king’s shattered troops, and Sir John Digby was made governor. In the month of Octcber, the third siege of Pontefract castle commenced. Oliver Crom- well undertook to superintend the operations in person, and remained a month before the fortress, without being able to make any impression on its massy walls. He then gave the command to general Lambert, who ultinately succeeded in reducing it to submission; but not before the garrison had been reduced from 600 men to 100, and some of them unfit for duty. On the 25th of Ngrch, 1649, the garrison surrendered by capitulation, having fifst proclaimed Charles Il. ; and done all that a brave garrison of men could do. With the surrender of this fortress concludes the annals of the civil wars in England. At the demol tion of Pontefract castle, in 1649, was found a very anc‘ent M.S. on the subject of free masonry, which in the year 17388 was presented to one of the lodges in the city of York, by Mr. Drake, the celebrated antiquary, who was the master in 1761. In this and subsequent years, several of the inhabitants of Halifax issued penny and half-peuny tokens. Persons in trade found themselves under the necessity of assuming this power of coinage, owing to the want of copper money coined by authority. They were cr.ed down by pro- clamation in 1672. 1649. The pulpit in Armley chapel bore this date, when Thoresby wrote his history of Leeds, which says, “Armley

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86 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1649.- 1650. hall, the scat of the Hoptons, was sure a spacious place, be ore the six-and-twenty rooms were taken down, to re- duce it to a farm-house.”’ 1650. Hatirax Gippet LAw was a cruel mode of trial and execution, which existed in the forest of Hardwick, (a district comprising the principal part of the parish of Halifax), till the year 1650, when the last of its victims were Abraham Wilkinson and Anthony Mitchell. ‘“ The inhabitants within the forest of Hardwick had a custom,”’ says Bentley in his history of Halifax, “from time im- memorial, that if a felon was taken within their hberty, with goods, stolen out or within the liberty of the said forest, either hand-habend, back-berand, or confessand, any commodity of the value of thirteen-pcnce half-penny, he should, after three markets or meeting days, within the town of Halifax, next after such apprehension, and being condemned, be taken to the gibbet, and have his head cut off from his body.”’ The felon was, however, to be publicly and deliberately tried, by a sort of jury, consisting of the frith-burghers within the liberty. When the felon was ap- rehended, he was immediately brought before the lord’s bailiff at Halifax, who kept the common gaol in the town, had the custody of the axe, and was the legal executioner. The bailiff then issued his summons to the constables of four several townships within the liberty, to require four frith-burghers within each to appear before him on a certain day, to examine into the truth of the charge. At the trial, the accuser and the accused were confronted before the jury, and the goods stolen were produced. If the party accused was acquitted, he was instantly liberated; if con- demned, he was either exccuted immediately, if that was. the principal market day, or set in the stocks on the less meeting days with the stolen goods on his back, if portable, or if not, they were placed hefore him.’”’ The execution always took place on the great market day, in order to strike more terror into the neighbourhood. When the criminal was brought to the gibbet, which stood a little way out of the town, on the west end. the execution was performed by means of an engine, called a gibbet, which was raised upon a platform four feet high, and thirteen feet square, faced on every side with stone, and ascended by a flight of steps. In the middle of this platform were placed two upright pieces of timber, fifteen feet high, joined at the top by a transverse beam. Within these were a square block of wood, four feet and a half long, which moved up and down by means of grooves made for that purposc; to

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 87 1650.-1651. the lower part of this sliding block was fastened an iron axe, of the weight of seven pounds twelve ounces. The axe thus fixed, was drawn up to the top by a cord and pulley. At the end of the cord was a pin, which, being fixed to the block, kept it suspended till the moment of exe- cution, when the culprit, having placed his head on the block, the pin was withdrawn, and his head was instantly severed from his body. If the offender was condemned for stealing an ox, a sheep, or a horse, the end of the rope was fastened tu the beast, which, being driven,: pulled out the pin, and thus became the executioner. Remains of these fata] instruxents may still be seen at the gaol at Halifax. The number of persons executed in Halifax, under the opera- tion of the gibbet, during little more than a century, namely, between 1541 and 1650, amounted to no less than 49. Hunslet in this year contained 200 families, and was famous for the manufacture of woollen cloth. Holbeck contained 400 families at the same period. Oliver Cromwell, the Protector, was at York on the 4th of July, and partook of the mayor’s hospitality, after which he proceeded on his journey to Scotland, having first dis- placed the royal arms, and substituted those of the existing was first introduced into England about this time. 1450-60. Between these two dates an ordinance of par- liament was issued to prohibit the exportation of wool and fullers’ earth, on pain of forfeiture of the wool, and a penalty of 3s. per lb. on every pound of fullers’ earth. 1651. On October 1st died Peter Saxton, M.A., vicar of Leeds, to which benefice he was preferred in 1646, on his return from America, whither he went in 1640, and was amongst the first of those who enlightened the dark regions of that extensive continent, being at that time dissatisfied with the ceremonies of the Church of England, and the troubles of the realm. He was a learned man, and a great Hebraist. Christopher Saxton, the great chrorographer, was probably one of the vicar’s ancestors, for Camden supposes him to have been a native of Leeds parish, where he frequently resided amongst his relations. Thoresby, in allusion to Camden’s Christopher Saxton, says, “as long as that celebrated author 1s owned the prince of our English antiquaries, and his Britannica the common sun whereat our modern writers lighted their little torches, the fame of Saxton will survive; for he sty'es him the most excellent chrorographer.’ Saxton’s maps were highly esteemed little more than a century

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88 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1651.-1654. ago. September 8rd. The famous battle of Worcester was fought, in which Charles II’s forces were routed ; 3000 killed, and 6000 or 7000 taken prisoners. 1652. The taxes in England during the Commonwealth consisted chiefly of the monthly assessments, the customs, and the excise, the latter of which was levied on bread, . flesh-meat, beer, ‘“ There was a great eclipse of the sun about nine hours of the forenoon, on a Monday. The earth was. much darkened ; the like, as thought by astrologers, was not since the darkness at our Lord’s passion. The country people, tilling, loosed their ploughs, and thought it had been the latter day ; some of the stars were seen; and the birds clapped to the ground.”’ 1653. Richard Thompson, D.D., a native of Wakefield, was born about this time, and educated at the grammar school there. He was a very zealous churchman, and died in 1685, at Bristcl. The Register Office at Wakefield for the West-Riding of Yorkshire was insti- tuted this year.——By an indenture dated the 2lst August this year, John Harrison, Esq. conveyed certain estates to trustees therein named, for the endowment of an hos- pital, at present known by the name of ‘ Harrison’s ospital.”” The mayor of the borough possesses the right of nominating to this charity, in turn with the vicar, the incumbent of the church of St. John’s, and the two trus- tees appointed by the said indenture, respectively for the time being. 1654. On the 9th of August in this year, William Farrer, Esq., of Ewood, near Halifax, purchased a share of the Jands of SapoLEwortTa, (the whole of which, tradition says, were anciently sold for a saddle, hence Saddle worth,) from William Ramsden, Esq., of Longley Hall, for £2,950. These lands, in 1775, brought in an annual rent of £1,500, to James Farrer, Esq., of Bamborough Grange. In 1780 he sold off land to the amount of £10,000, and, by ad- vancing the remainder, still kept up the rent of £1,500 a year. At his death, in 1791, it had increased to £2,000 a year, much of it in leases for lives, and the estate being sold in small parcels to the occupiers and others, it pro- duced nearly £70,000, making an actual protit in the sales, exclusive of the rents, upwards of £77,090, upon less than a £3,000 purchase. Jeremy Bentley, Esq., was returned member of parliament for Halifax. On December 6th, in this year, died Joshua Hoyle, D.D. He was born at Sowerby, and received his first academical

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 89 1654 - 1656. education in Magdalen hall, Oxford, being afterwards in- vited to Ireland, was made fellow of Trinity College, Dublin ; there he took the degree of D.D., and was elected divinity professor in that university. On the breaking out of the rebellion in Ireland, in 1641, he came into England, and soon afterwards was made master of university college, Oxford, and the king’s professor of divinity, and at that period published several works. By indenture dated the 30th January, this year, John Harrison, Esq., and others therein named, conveyed to trustees for the use of the Leeds corporation, five ninths of the Bailiwick, or manor of Leeds, with the appurtenances, including the common oven and bakehouse, (subject to a fee farm rent.) 1655. The old prison of the borough was removed from ‘“ Cross Parish” in Briggate to the south side of Kirkgate. It was a wretched place with five or six dark and miserable rooms, without even a sewer or fire place and the windows were not glazed. Opposite the prison was the common bakehouse, which had existed from an early period. At this time owing to the great scarcity of money, merchants and tradesmen in Leeds, obtained, or assumed the privilege of coining penny and halfpenny pieces of brass and copper, known as tokens. This species of money continued in circulation until 1672, when it was discontinued by royal proclama~ tion. 1656. February 6th, Queen Anne was born ; subsequently married to the prince of Denmark, 1683; succeeded her brother-in-law, William III., on the British throne, March Sth, 1702; crowned and settled the first fruits and tenths on the poor clergy, in 1704, and died August Ist, 1714, aged OS years. John Harrison, Esq., the great ben- efactor of Leeds, died at his house, (formerly the ‘“ Leeds Mercury Office’’) Briggate, aged 77 years, leaving in various charities, an imperishable memorial. He was interred in his own orchard, then situate on the site of the present free market, Kirkgate. After six years he was disin- terred by the descendants of his sisters, and his remains

were removed to St. John’s Church, Leeds, where there is an epitaph as follows :—

“Here resteth the body of Mr. John Harrison, the wonder of his own, and pattern of ages. Eminent for prudence, piety, loyalty, charity, who, (beside other works of a pious munificence, and great instances of an excellent vertue), founded an hospital for the relief of indigent: persons of good conversation, and formerly in-

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90 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND

1656.-1658. dustrious. Built the free school of this town for the encouragement of learning, together with a chappell ; this church (which most m ty eavie,) for the exercise of religion, and endowed it with eighty pounds per annum. Also that he might do good in all his capacities, he erected a stately cross for convenience of the market, an! having given these pledges of a joyful resurrection, fell asleep. Oct. 29. Anno Dom. 1656, gwtatis suze 77.

Richard Fawcett, A.M. who was incumbent of St. John’s in 1768, filed a bill in chancery against the trustees, for witholding from the minister al] the increased rents and profits above £80. He obtained a decree in his favour, so that the yearly value of the benefice was increased to six times its original value. 1657. Skipton castle was this year re-built by lady Clifford, countess dowager of Pembroke, having laid in ruins from December, 1648, when it was demolished by order of Parliament. Sarah Gledhill, (niece to the benefactor) by will dated 13th Oct. bequeathed £200 to purchase lands to endow a free school in Barkisland, for twelve poor chil- dren. The produce of the estate, purchased by the trustees, is £31 103. per annum. George Savile was created by king Charles II. baron Savile, of Elland, and viscount Halifax ; and, in 1682, he was created marquis of Halifax, a title’ which became extinct with his son, August 3lst, 1700. on the 4th December, 1700, Charles Montague, of Horton, in Northamptonshire, was created baron Halifax, in the county of York,and in 1714, earl of Halifax, and viscount Sunbury, with limitation to his nephew, Edward Montague, Esq. About this period, a gentleman newly converted to the tenets of George Fox, gave a piece of ground, at Monk Bretton, near Barnsley, for the use of the Friends, in the neighbourhood of Leeds. Their first meeting place was near Gildersome, where they had a society about 1661. 1658. On the 16th of August, was born in Kirkgate, at Leeds, Ralph Thoresby, the learned antiquary and historian, who died Oct. 16th, 1725, and lies interred in the parish church of that town. A memorial stone within the altar rail at the south-east side of the church, bears this inscription :—‘‘ Sacred to the memory of Ralph Thoresby, F.R.S., a member of the ancient corporation of Leeds. He was born 16th August, 1658. He died 16th Oct. 1725, and was interred within these walls. His name known in the annals of literature as that of an historian and antiquary, is recorded here as that of an humble christian. He was educated a Nonconformist, but the wish of his maturer

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 91 1658.-1660. years was guided to seek the church. Within her fold he attended with a salutary diligence the ordinances of our holy faith; hence he was enabled to dispense the benefits of a respected example, and to receive the blessings of that pure and undefiled religion which led him to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep him- self unspotted from the world.”————Sir Henry Slingsby was beheaded on Tower Hill, for conspiring against Oliver Cromwell, June Sth. Joseph Bingham, whose works have obtained for him the name of “ the learned Bingham,” was born at Wakefield in this year. He was collated to the rectory of Havant, near Portsmouth, in 1712, and died August 17th, 1723. He wrote the “ Antiquities of the Christian Church.” September 3rd. Oliver Cromwell, Protector of England, died this day, being the anniversary of his two most famous battles. He was born at Hunting- don, April 25th, 1599. His son Richard, succeeded to the Protectorate, which in a few months, dropped from his feeble hands. On receiving the news of the approach of Charles II., he abdicated of his own accord (1659), and until his death (1712), lived in seclusion. 1660. On the 8th of May, king Charles II. was restored to the throne of his ancestors, and on the 29th of the same month made his grand entry into London. Wool was prohibited from being exported, at the instance of the man- ufacturers, though the Lincolnshire graziers cried out against the restriction for more than a century afterwards. John Lake, D.D., afterwards bishop of Chichester, was presented to the vicarage of Leeds, but was obliged to em- ploy a party of soldiers to secure his induction, the church doors having been barred against him by a furious mob, composed of the friends of his competitor, Mr. Bowles, of York. James Naylor a native of East Ardsley, near Wakefield, died in October this year. He was born about 1616, and was the son of a farmer of property, but re- ceived only a plain English education. From 1641 to 1647, he served in the parliamentary army, and professed the presbyterian faith till 1651, when he became a convert to George Fox, the founder of Quakerism. In 1655, he dis- tinguished himself amongst a ‘Society of Friends’’ in London, whcre the female part of his hearers attributed to him such piety and divinity, from his likeness, it is said, to the prints and other representations of our Saviour, that his naturally weak aud romantic brain became der- anged with flattery, and he assumed the character of the Messiah, in which he affected to heal the sick and raise the

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92 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1660.-1662. dead, believing that he was transformed into Christ him- self, an idea in which he was supported by many of his deluded followers, who, in his progress from Exeter gaol to Bristol, strewed their garments in his path, and escort~ ed him into the city, singing, ‘“‘ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of He was immediately seized by the Bristol magistrates, and after a long examination, sent to London, where the parliament condemned him to have his tongue bored, a brand set upon his forehead, and to be whipped from the palace-yard to the old Exchange, after being in the pillory two hours at both places. He was afterwards whipped twice through the streets of Bristol. This severe punishment brought him to his senses, and being released from prison, the unfortunate man died on his way home- ward. Thegreat centre steeple of St. Wilfred’s church at Ripon, which was forty yards high, was blown down, and fell into the chancel. The other two steeples were removed, soon after. The old chapel at Ripponden, was built in 1660, and the present one consecrated Sep- tember 9th, 1737. Inthe tower are four bells, one of which is thus whimsically inscribed,

“OQ may their souls in heaven dwell, ‘“ Who made the least a tenor bell.’’—1701.

1661. In this year Charles II. granted a new charter to Leeds. By this charter, the corporation was to consist first, of a mayor to be elected annually by the mayor, aldermen, and assistants forthe time being. Secondly, twelve alder- men, twenty-four assistants, one recorder, and one town- clerk, who were to hold the office for life unless by “ their evil behaviour, or evil carriage, or for some other reason- able cause,” they should be removed from their place, by the mayor, and the rest of the common council of the bor- ough. The charter also enacted that the mayor, aldermen, recorder and deputy-recorder should be justices of the peace. _ A penalty was imposed upon any person in the town of Leeds, who killed flesh meat, or who suffered it to be eaten in their houses during Lent. An epitaph in the Leeds arish church, to the memory of Mr. John Thoresby, who vied Sept. 20th, 1661, aged sixty-nine years, is as follows:

“Here lies lamented precious dust, A tradesman true, a justice just; A husband kind, a parent dear, Who walked with God in faith and

1662. The firat law for making turnpike roads was enacted.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 93 1662 -1663. On the 3rd February, this year, the Leeds corporation authorized the churchwardens to lay ‘ an eight-fold assess- ment upon the inhabitants of the borough, to re-imburse themselves for the severall great summes of money ex- pended and laid out about the repayres of the parish church of the said towne and about the erecting of a font for the more reverent administring the holy sacrament of baptisme.” On the 26th of March, the corporation of Leeds ap- ointed Thomas Gorst to be their cook, and ordered that he should “ from tyme to tyme, upon any publique occa- tion, dresse, or order to be dressed, the several! dishes appoynted for any such meeting or solemnitye. The cor- poration had at this time occasion to complain that “m many masters of familyes and parents of children doe give libertye to their servants and others, to profane ‘the Sabbath, by their open playing in the streets, sitting in publique places in great companyes, to the great dishonour of God in poynte of divine worshippe, in seandall to christian profession, and to the bad example of the younger sort in poynte of education.” The milling of coin was first introduced; and ten years afterwards copper coin was first made current in England. The first sterling money was issued in 1216; before which time rents were pa d in kind, and gold and silver was only found in the coffers of the barons: coins was however used in Britain 25 years before the birth of Christ.————June 14. Sir Henry Vane beheaded for taking a lead amongst the republ’cans during the Civil Wars. He was the last who suffered in that cause 1663. A contemptible insurrection called the Farnley Wood Plot broke out in October in this year, but was quickly suppressed. The rendezvous of the conspirators was in Farnley Wood, near Leeds, and their objects were to “re-establish a gospel ministry and magistracy ; to restore the long parliament; to relieve themselves from the excise and all subsidies; and to reform all orders and degrees of men, especially the lawyers and clergy.” The conspirators were tried at York by a special commission, in Jan., 1653-4, when tweuty-one were convicted and executed. Of these three suffered on Chapeltown moor, near Leeds, Jan. 19th of that year, as appears by the parish register, which says, ‘ Robert Atkins, John Errington, and Henry Watson, hanged at Chapeltown.” Robert Atkins was a salter and oil-drawer, in great business at Timble-bridge, and was buried in his own garden, with a gravestone over his body, which

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94 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1663 -1664. was broken in 1720, by order of Samuel Walker, when he purchased the premises. The rebellion was headed by one Oates, an old officer in the parliamentary army, whose son, Ralph Oates, in the trial of the consp-rators, deposed that they never exceeded thirty persons. Lord Clarendon says, their intention was to seize upon the city of York, had they not been disappointed in an ex- pected co-operation. The first newspaper printed in England bore this date, (1663), and appeared under the title of the “ Public Intelligencer,” by Sir Roger L’Estrange, which was two years previous to the first French paper, “Des Savans.”’ ‘The Public Intelligencer’? was dropped on the first appearance of the “London Gazette,” which was first published at Oxford, on the 7th of November, 1665. In 1630 newspapers and pamphlets were prohibited by royal proclamation—In this year, a subsidy, called “hearth money,’ was granted to the crown by act of parliament, as an additional revenue. It amounted to the sum of two shillings on every hearth, in houses paying to the church and poor. From a return made at the time, it would seem that there were in Leeds 1431 inhabitants, (a list of whom will be found in Wardell’s Municipal History of the Borough of Leeds), possessing 2,845 hearths or stoves in the borough, which would realise the sum of £300, to be contributed by th:s town. This Hearth Tax, commonly called “ Chimney Money,”’ was an old tax revived under a new name. The hint at least, was taken from the duty on fumage, laid upon his Norman subjects, by the Black Prince, after the dukedom of Aquitain was granted to him, and consisted of twelvepence upon every fire; which duty was again de- rived from the well known tax formerly paid to the Popes, under the name of “ Peter pence,” heing one penny for every chimney that smoked. This tax, so grievous to the people, ws repealed by 1st William and Mary, cap. 10. 1664. Died March 28, Accepted Frewen, archbishop of York, who was appointed to that see, after it had re- mained vacant ten years. He was eccentric in his ways, lived in a state of celibacy, and would not even have a female servant about his palace. The sect called Quakers was founded by George Fox, in which year sixty were transported tu America by order of the council. In 1695 their affirmation was adopted by act of parlia- ment instead of an oath. One of their body, John Arch- dale, was chosen a member of parliament, notwithstand- ing which, his election was made void, on his refusing to take the oaths, 1698.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 95 1665.- 1667. 1665. In the summer of this year London was visited by a plague which swept off about 100,009 people, and did not ex- perience any abatement till the approach of cold weather. On this occasion the city presented a wide and heart- rending scene of misery and desolation. Rows of houses stood tenantless, and open to the winds; the chief thoroughfares were overgrown with grass. The few in- dividuals who ventured abroad, walked in the middle of the streets, and when they met, declined on opposite sides to avoid the contact of each other. At one moment were heard the ravings of delirium, or the wail of sorrow, from the infected dwelling; at another, the merry song or careless laugh from the tavern, where men were seeking tu drown in debauchery all sense of their awful situation. 1666. On the 26th of April, this year, a plot was dis- covered for taking the tower and firing the city, which was to have been put in execution on the 3rd of Sep- tember. It is worthy of remark, that the ‘Great Fire of London’ broke out on the night of Sunday, the 2nd of September in that year, the very day before that ap- pointed by the conspirators, The fire broke out in the eastern and more crowded part of the city. The direction and violence of the wind, the combustible nature of the houses, ard the defective arrangements of that age for extinguishing fires, combined to favour the progress of the flames, which raged during the whole of the week, and burit all that part of the city which lies between the tower and the temple. By this calamity St. Paul’s cathedral, together with 1°,200 houses and 89 churches covering in all 480 acres of ground, were destroyed. The flame at one time formed a column a mile in diameter, and seemed to mingle with the clouds. It rendered the night as clear as day for ten miles around, the city, and is said to have produced an effect upon the sky which was ob- served on the borders of Scotland.m————On the 5th of August, the duke and duchess of York visited that city, and were received with every demonstration of loyalty and affection. This year the notorious Jefferies attended at York, as one of the judges of assize. 1667. At the York assizes this year, Henry Jenkins ap- ared as a witness in a cause, and deposed that the tithes of wool, lamb, &c., had been paid to his knowledge 120 years or more! Jenkins had appeared at York two years before, to prove the existence of an ancient road to a mill 120 years! He remembered the dissolution of the monasteries,

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96 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1667. and said that great lamentation was made on that occasion. In early life he was butler to lord Conyers, of Hornby castle, and was often at Fountain’s abbey during the residence of the last abbot, who, he said, frequently visited his lord, and drank a hearty glass with him. He was born at Ellerton-upon-Swale, in this county, hefore parish registers were in use; but bishop Littleton com- municated to the society of antiquarians, on the 1lith of December, 1766, a paper copied from an old household book of Sir Richard Graham, bart., of Norton Conyers, the writing of which says, that upon his going to live at Bolton, Jenkins was said to be about 150 years cld, that he had often examined him in his sister’s kitchen, where he came to beg alms, and found facts and chronicles agree in his account. He was then 162 years of age, and said that he went to Northallerton with a horse load of arrows for the battle of Flodten Field, with which a bigger boy went forward to the army, under the earl of Surrey, king Henry being at that time at Tournay, and he believed himself then 11 or 12 years old. This was in 1513, and four or five people of the same parish, said to be 100 years old or near it, de- clared Jeukins to have been an old man ever since they knew him. He died in December, 1670, at Bolton-on- Swale, aged onc hundred and sixty-nine years, where a monument is erected to his memory, the epitaph of which was composed by Dr. Thomas Chapman, master of Mag- dalen colleve, Cambridge. Jenkins was co-temporary with Old Parr, who ded in the 152nd year of his age, a.p. 1635, and lies buried among the cminent dead in Westminster abbey, where the ashes of old Jenkins should have borne him company. On the Ist of April, this year, the Lees corporation, “haveing due respect to the lawes and and canons of holy church,” ordered that the mayor, vicar, several members of the corporation, and two churchwardens, should enter into contracts for repairing and restoring the leads and windows of the parish church, and to take suffi- cient security for the due performance of the work. In the Whitkirk register are some curious entries under this date, showing the condition of the poor clergy, as follows :—

“1667. Given to a poore old minister who preached here, June 2nd, 3s. Gd. Bestowed in ale upon a poore preacher that preached here, 6d. April 10th, 1670. Given then, by the neighbours, to a poore mendicant minister, one Mr. John Rhodes, who then preached here; and after sermon stood in the middle ile to receive the charity of the people, the summe of 12s. 3d.”

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 97 1669.-1671. 1669. Thoresby, the antiquary, says, “it is very mem- orable that in of thirty years, séven of the natives of this county were archbishops, (and five of them also primates), namely, Dr. John Bramhall, archbishop of Armagh, who was born at Pontefract; Dr. James Marget- son, successor to the same primacy, at Drighlington; Dr. Samuel Pullen, (master of the Leeds free grammar school), archbishop of Tuam, at Ripley; Dr. Wm. Palliser, arch- bishop of Cashel, at Kirkby Wisk, where also were born the noted Richard Ascham, and the learned George Hickes; Dr. John Tillotson, archbishop of Canterbury, at Sowerby, near Halifax ; and Dr. John Sharp, archbishop of York, af the poet, was born at Bardsey grange, seven miles north of Leeds, as appears by the register of his baptism there; hence it seems that the date (1672) upon his monument in Westminster abbe is erroneous.— Isaac Bowcock by will bequeathe to the townships of Halifax and Ovenden, his lands in Ossett, that the rents might be yearly bestowed by his seven feofees, “for preferring and putting forth five poor men’s sons to trade, yearly, as are not to be put forth town iprentices, or for the relief of such as are in necessity, (not: through wasteful expense, or such as have relief from the parish), or for setting up in trade, or stocking hopeful young persons to make good use of it, at the discretion of the said trustees, and that £6 thereof shall yearly be given to Ovenden.” 1670. The Rev. John Lake, residentiary of York, by endeavouring to stop the citizens and others from prome- nading the minster during divine service, brought a mob “abayt his who robbed the cathedral of many of its goods and assaulted him in his own house, where he was rescued by Captain Honey wood.’ A Board of Trade was established, and the commerce and riches of England never at any period increased so fast as from the Restora- tion to the Revolution. During these forty years the shipping of England nearly doubled. Several new manu- factures in iron, brass, silk, hats, glags, paper, &c., were established ; and one Brewer brought the art of dyeing woollen cloth from the low countries.’”,———The Leeds Corporation, with the consent of the vicar, ordered the pew in the parish church, commonly called the ‘‘ Aldresses ew,’’ to be enlarged and rendered more commodious, in order that the ladies attending divine service there, might, more freedome exercise their devotions.”’ 1671. General Thomas Lord Fairfax died at Denton on the 12th of November. 9

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98 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1672 -1674. 1672. The Old Mill-hill chapel, at the bottom of Park- row, was built about this time. Thoresby says, that ‘it was the first, and certainly one of the most stately fabrics, (supported by a row of pillars and arches), built after the first indulgence in the north of England.” After doctrinal changes in 1767, the distinguished philosopher, Dr. Priestley became minister of that chapel, and resided in a small house in Basinghall-street. Here, the doctor, among other literary labours, wrote his “ Institutes,’’—2 vols. 8vo. This year half-pence and farthings were first coined in England. 29th Dec. Several parts of England suf- fered from floods and inundation. In Yorkshire and other counties, great damage was done, the water standing as deep as ten feet in many parts. Thoresby mentions the only inscription in Armley chapel as bearing this date, and sacred to the memory of Neriah Simpson, A.M., who “always kept a purse of £20 to lend to the poor, honest, necessitated clothmakers at Armley, without interest, and always had it returned after their advancement in trade.’’ The Bank of England, consisting of forty merchants, was incorporated by the name of the Governor and Com- pany of the Bank of England, under a proviso that at any time after the first day of August, in the year 1705, upon a year’s notice, and the re-payment of twelve hundred thousand pounds, subscribed by the company, the said corporation should cease and determine. 1673. Dec. 18th. The commission appointed to enquire into the administration of the several charities within the borough of Leeds, and appointing trustees for the manage- ment thereof, ordered that all deeds and writings relating thereto should be safely laid up in a strong chest, to be provided for that purpose in the registry of the parish church of Leeds, which chest should be locked with three keys. These documents, with others collected by the corporation, and many of a later date, are at present de- osited in an iron safe in the vestry of St. Peter’s church, secured by three seperate locks, of which one key is kept by the mayor, another by the vicar, and a third by the churchwardens. 1674. Feb. 25th. A great snow began to fall about eight in the morning, and continued for four days with little intermission ; the frost at the same time being very severe. The whole country was covered several feet deep, and and every description of business was brought to a stand- still. Many persons were frozen to their saddles, and, according to the record of the time, saddle and man were

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 99 1674.-1675.

removed from the horse together. John Milton, the author of “Paradise died this year. He was born in 1608. 1674. Jan. 2nd. Curious inscription on a brass plate in the Leeds parish church :—

“Here lies his father’s eldest son, Whose name was Edward Waddington ; Close by his grandfather, John Thwaites, Both suatcht away by cruel fates ; Whom God above, (wee hope), has blest, To live with Him in endlesse rest. Buried the 2nd Janvarie, 1674.”

The following memorandums are taken from the register of the same church :—

“1674. Feb 8th. The 8th day came the order for suppressing the popish and schismatical assemblies, dated from the Council Table, Febrnary the 3rd, (74).

1674. June 15th. The 15th day the first time, Messrs. Streeton Moss and Armitage, with their schismatical assemblies, was convicted by

the oathes of Lawson and Halliwell apparatours. The second time, July the 19th.”

“1674. Nov. 8th. The 8th day, Geo. D. of Buckingham, with his Countiss, was at the church with L. ffairfax, who came to compromise the contentions betwixt the clothiers of Dewsbury and others,”

1679. “Aug. About the middle of this month, the chime first begun togoe: Brian Tesseman, churchwarden, principal promoter of it.”

1675. In December, an epidemic distemper prevailed at Leeds, York, Halifax, Hull, and other places. This disease was a severe cold and violent cough, the latter of which so interrupted the divine service, that Thoresby says, “it was almost impossible to hear distinctly an entire sentence of a sermon.’’———-Henry Lord Fairfax restored the Horn given by Ulphus to York cathedral, after it had been missing a number of years. The dean and chapter decora- ted it anew, but with brass instead of gold. It is an elephant’s tusk twenty-nine inches in length, and curiously carved, and was, till stolen from the minster, adorned with gold, hanging pendant from a chain of the same metal. On the 11th of January was buried John King, of Hipperholme, near Halifax, aged 73. He was esteemed the best archer in England, was sent for to court in the time of Charles I. and “won great wagers,’’ as he did alsa during the civil wars at Manchester, where he was carried on men’s shoulders as the victor of the field, some of the

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100 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1675.-1678. geutry crying after him “a king, a king!’’? which alarmed the republicans, who cried out, ‘Treason, treason, a plot.” Archery was highly esteemed by the Romans, and it is said that the emperor Domitian was so sure a marks- man that he could shoot his arrows between the fingers of a boy without hurting his hand. 1675. A demand of toll was made about this time by the inhabitants of Wakefield from those of Leeds. The cor- poration of Leeds granted £50 for the purpose of defending any action at law which might be brought for the nonpay- ment thereof. The first stone for the re-building of St. Paul’s cathedral, London, was laid this year, and was finished in 1710, at the cost of £1,000,000. 1676. Feb. 15th. Died, aged 85, Gervas Nevile, Esq., of Holbeck, who was quarter master general to the marquis of Newcastle, in the rebellion of 1645, and was interred in St. John’s church, clocks and watches invented. Clocks made to strike were invented by the Italians about the year 1300; and by the Arabians in 851. Clocks afterwards were set up in churches. In 1677, Langdale Sunderland conveyed to five trustees certain messuages and land, upon trust, to employ the rents to teach the children of Wortley to read English or Latin. To this endowment William Farrar subsequently added a rood of land. 1678. James Margetson, archbishop of Armagh, a native of Drighlington, by will, dated 1678, endowed a school at Drighlington, with £60 a year, from an estate there, where he had previously built a school—~——Herre we have to narrate one of the most tragical events recorded in Yorkshire history, which took place at Beeston, near Leeds. A colliery owner, named Leonard Scurr, who had filled the office of minister of Beeston chapel during the time of Cromwell; having collected a considerable sum of money to take with him to London for the pur- pose of trade, the fact was made known to some of his neighbours, and on the night previous to his intended journey, being on the 19th of January, two ruffians of the name of Holroyd and Littlewood, with some other ersons, entered his house at the early hour of eleven o’clock, and murdered the whole family, consisting of Mr. Scurr, his aged mother, and a servant girl, the latter of whom they beheaded, at the instigation of a wretched woman of the party. They then stripped the house and set fire to it, with the hope of concealing their delin- quency. Holroyd soon after set off for Ireland, taking

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 101 1678.- 1680. with him a woman with whom he cohabited. While in that kingdom, suspicion fell upon the woman, who wore a gown and scarlet petticoat belonging to Mrs. Scurr, and which an old servant in the family saw and identified. In consequence of this discovery, both the woman and her paramour were apprehended and lodged in York castle, along with Littlewood, on whom sus- picion had also fallen. At the Lammas assizes of 1682, the two men were tried and convicted, and Holroyd, who died a hardened and impenitent siuner, was executed for the offence on Holbeck moor, in the presence of 30,000 spectators. After the execution, his body was removed and hung in chains on the spot. Littlewood was re- prieved in the hope that he would give some informa- tion, but what became of him afterwards is not known. The woman, who had probably not been engaged in the murder, does not appear to have been put upon her trial. 1679. There is an epitaph in the Leeds parish church to the memory of “Mrs. Jane, the truly dear and vertuous wife of Mr. Thomas Potter, of Leeds, merchant, who departed this life the 22nd Nov., 1679, aged 24 years.’ ’—

“This homely case a jewel doth contain, But shew’d the world, and so laid up again; With meek and chaste behaviour every grace Inrich’d, which beautifies the mind and face.”

1680. In this year appeared the most celebrated comet upon record. Its head did not exceed in brightness a star of the second magnitude, and its tail was 160,000,000° of miles in length, covering 70 degrees of the heavens. “It was first seen onthe 14th December, being the fourthday of the moon, the night being clear and frosty. It had a great blazing tail from the root of it, which was pointed as it came from the star, and then spread itself. It was of a broad and large ascent up to the heavens, so that when it was set in the west, and out of sight, et did the stream of it mount near to our zenith. It is doubted if the like comet has been seen since the creation, and it is certainly prodigious of great altera- tions and of great judgments on these lands for our sins ; for never was the Lord more provoked by a people than by us in these lands, and that by persons of all ranks.’—Laws memorials. This comet struck a great fear into the minds of the people of Europe, in the

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102 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1680.-1684. Catholic countries particularly. Kepler, the astronomer, had foretold long before that the conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter in Leo, which occurs but once in 800 years, would, at the conjunction which hap- pened at the time of the appearance of this comet, have a malign influence on the church of Rome. The alarm was furthermore increased by the Romish mathematicians declaring that the train of the comet was six times longer than that which portended the death of pope Alexander VII. Wakefield experienced a dreadful storm and flood on August 26th, when Thoresby, the antiquary, being in the town, waded up to his midleg iu water, to get to his quarters. 1681. The following proceedings took place at a court held in Leeds on the 20th of June, 1681, relative to the redemption of a son of Mr. Alderman Foxcroft, who had been taken prisoner by the Turks, and was then in captivity :— “Forasmuch as this court hath bene credibly enformed by Mr. Alderman Foxcroft, a member thereof, that he hath a sonne lately taken by the Turkes, who was putt apprentice to one Mr. Robert Newport, captaine and owner of the good shipp the Adriatique, and in that voige was burser to the said shipp, his master having lost his life with his vessell, and the young man taken captive and carried prisoner to Algiers; and there sold for seaven hundred dollars. And that the some required for his redempc’on will amount to £350 sterling att the least, and his father not being in a condic’on to raise the same, hath craved the advice aud assistance of this court; thp’on it is therefore ordered, that a gen’all collec’on be made from house to house in all constabeleryes and places in the said Borough. And that all p’sons,

“both householders, and others, will be pleased to give theire charitable

contribuc’ons to soe pious a worke, as the Redempc’un of a Christian soule out of the hands of those barborous infidells. Ordered that a letter be writ to Hull in the name of the Corporac’on, to request theire charitable contribuc’ons to the furtherance of this pious worke.”

1683. Thoresby says there was upon a brass plate in St. John’s church, Leeds, the following notice :—‘ Elizabeth, wife of John Gibson, of Leeds, vintner, aged 39, was de: livered of two daughters, baptized Elizabeth and Sarah, the 13th December, 1683, and all three lie in one coffin here interred.”’ 1684. In the beginning of December, this year, the ‘Great Frost’ commenced, and continued till the 5th of February, without any intermission. The Thames was frozen over, and during Hilary Term, coaches ran on the river between the Temple and Westminster. A fair was also held on

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 103 1684.-1686. the ice, booths erected, an ox roasted whole, and bull- baiting, and other sports took place. The frost was so intense, that the sea was frozen several miles from the shore, and, of course, all shipping transactions were brought toaclose. On the 6th day of February, the day after the break-up of this great frost, Charles II. died, and James IJ. ascended the throne.————The Market for Woollen Cloth, formerly held on Leeds bridge, was re- moved into Briggate, June 14th, where it continued to be held until the erection of the cloth halls. This market was closed by the ringing of the bell at the old chapel, near the bridge, when the cloth and benches were im- mediately removed, and the street occupied by country linen drapers, shoemakers, hardwaremen, and sellers of wood vessels, wicker baskets, wanded chairs, flaskets, &c. The charter of king James II. to the borough of Leeds bears date this year, January Ist., under which charter, Gervase Nevile, Esq., was first mayor. This year died Sir Geo. Rawden, of Rawden, who, in 1641, with 200 Englishmen, repulsed Sir Phelim O’Neal, and 2000 Irish at Lisburne, in Ireland. Of the precise time when the present family became seized of the manor of Hudders- field we are not informed, but it is certain that John Ramsden, Esq., of Byrom, had a grant of a market here, by patent, dated Nov. Ist, 23 Chas. II. The parish church appears to have been re-built about the time of Henry III. The old font has the arms of France and England quarterly within the garter, and the initials E. R. in the character of Edward VI. April 23rd, a dreadful fire

happened within Clifford’s tower, in York, and consumed ~ -

all the interior to ashes, leaving nothing standing except the walls. Fortunately, only oue life was lost, occasioned by the falling of a piece of timber, that had been blown up, probably by gunpowder lodged in the tower. It was generally believed to be designedly done, as the soldiers would not suffer the citizens to enter till it was too late to stop the prvgress of the flames, and the gunner had got out all his goods before it was discovered. 1685. The following is extracted from the register of the Leeds parish church :—

“John Thompson, dying at Hillows Bancke, was excommun’d, and was brought into the churche yaerde, and ther left in hys wynding shete, the fift day of August, and afts. buryed by some of hys frends in the nettles under the churche wall, out of the common place of buryall.”

1686. On the 18th of Feb., the whole of England was visited by a tempest, accompanied with thunder, which

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104 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1686.-1691. committed general devastation. The inhabitants of Kettle- well and Starbotton, in Craven, were almost all drowned flood. These villages are situate under a great hill, whence the rain descended with such violence for an hour and a half, that the hill on one side opened, and casting up water into the air to the height of an ordinary church steeple, demolished several houses, and carried away the stones entirely! 1688. James II. displaced the lord mayor of York, Thomas Raynes, with several of the aldermen and others, and, on the 5th of October, appointed in their places Roman catholics, who were not even freemen of the city. This was a pretext for Raynes not delivering up the sword and mace. The office of lord mayor was, however, de- clared vacant till the 24th of the same month. December, watch and ward were kept every night by the principal inhabitants of Leeds and other places, and heralds were flying about the country with despatches concerning king James II., and William of Nassau, prince of Orange. On the 23rd of December, James II. left the country for France; and on the 13th February, in the ensuing year, James being held to have abdicated, William and Mary, prince and princess of Denmark, were proclaimed king and queen of England. 1689. On the 30th of August this year died Dr. John Lake, sometime vicar of Leeds, and afterwards bishop of Chi- chester. He was one of the seven bishops who were committed to the tower of London in the reign of James Il., but positively refused to take the oaths of allegiance to William III., and prepared for a deprivation, but was removed by death in his 66th year. In the winter was a remarkably long frost, and booths and sports upon the river Aire at Leeds. During this year the charter of king Charles I1., to the borough of Leeds was restored by William and Mary, and is yet in force excepting where it is inconsistent with the Municipal Corporation act. 1691. The large bell in the steeple at Halifax was cast this year, on which are the following words :—

‘All you that hear my mournful sound, ‘“‘ Repent before you lye in ground.”

On the 30th of August a mortal sickness broke out in the city of York, by which 11,000 persons died. The Call Lane chapel was built this year. The rev. and pious Mr. Thos. Whitaker, was the pastor, descended from the deservedly famous Dr. Wm. Whitaker.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 105 1693.-1694. 1693. On the 8th of September, a severe shock of an earthquake was felt in England ; and on the same day the chief town in Jamaica was wholly destroyed from a similar cause, and about 3,000 persons killed. In this year John Harrison was born at Foulby near Pontefract, He was the son of a carpenter, and brought up to the same trade. Drawn on by his natural taste, he applied himself to practical mechanics and clockmaking, and succeeded in constructing instruments of a then un- attained excellence. To him the world owes the com- pensator, a pendulum composed of metals, which, being unequal in the degrees of their dilation by heat, compen- sate and correct each other. He also invented a clock for ship-board, which the motion of the vessel could not disturb. He made a chronometer to determine the longi- tude at sea within the limits required by act of parliament, 12th of Anne. For this last invention the Royal Society of London gave him a prize of £20,000. He died in 1776. 1694. On the 3rd of March, this year, the common council of Leeds gave the sum of £40 as an encouragement and in consideration of Henry Gillert, of Leicester; and

. George “orocold, of Derby; for laying an engine to convey

water from the river Aire through the streets to all the houses in the town of Leeds, who should wish to purchase the same of them, and exempted them from taxes. April 3rd. A most lamentable fire broke out in a flax- man’s house in Ousegate, York, which consumed about thirty houses. Archbishop Tillotson died November 22nd, aged 65. He was born at Sowerby, near Halifax. He was the son of a respectable clothier, who initiated him in nonconformity, which, however, in maturer years he rejected. His first employment in the church was that of curate of Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire. In 1662 he was offered the parish of St. Mary, Almondbury. In 1666 he took the degree of doctor in divinity, previous to which he had married a niece of Oliver Cromwell. In 1670 he was made prebendary of Canterbury, and two years after dean of that church, having previously obtained a stall in St. Paul’s cathedral. He was seven years on the list of chaplains to Charles II., and was the means of converting the earl of Shrewsbury to the Protestant faith, He was cousulted by the princess Anne of Denmark, on the claim she had on the British crown. In May, 1691, he was con- secrated archbishop of Canterbury, and was immediately afterwards sworn a member of his majesty's privy council. Thomas Osborne, marquis of Caermarthen, &c., was

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106 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1694. created duke of Leeds, by William and Mary, on the 4th of March, 1694. Near to Kiveton park is Harthill church, under which, in a spacious vault, are arranged in splendid coffins, the remains of many of the ancestors of this noble family. The following epitaph was once legible in Armley chapel yard :—‘‘Susanna Vevers, died July 22nd, 1694.

Since she is gone, why should we weep or cry ? It was God’s will to give and tak, and try The parent’s patience, and if good he see, He can give nine if that his pleasure be.”

At the court of quarter sessions, at Leeds, about this. time, it was ordered that Anne, the wife of Philip Saule, a person of lewd behaviour, be ducked for daily making strife and discord amongst her neighbours. The like order was made against Jane Milner and Elizabeth Wooller. The punishment of the ‘“ Ducking Stool” is very ancient. The Saxons called it the “Scealping Stole,” or ‘‘Scolding _ Stool.” In the time of Henry III. it was styled “Tom- berell,”’ or “Tumbrill.” It was afterwards called the ‘““Trebucket,” or ‘‘Cucking Stool. There was a Ducking Stool at Quarry-hill, Leeds, near the spa. At Morley, near Leeds, there was one which was originally situate somewhere about where the ‘Pinfold’? now is, and was removed to Morley hole, upon the opening of the quarry for repairs of the roads. Its final remove was to the “Flush Pond,’’ at the other end of the town, and near “Ratten-row.’’—“ Riding the Stang,” upon a fight between husband and wife, was another mode of correcting man- ners. This custom was very common during the last century, and may even now (1859) be occasionally wit- nessed in the neighbouring villages. A wanton wag, with plenty of gab, is carried through the street on a stang or pole, followed by all the rag-tag of the village with old tin cans and sticks, drumming and shouting as they march along. When the “nomine” is to be repeated they holt, while the wag aforesaid pronounces aloud some doggeril lines, beginning,

“ Ran—tan—tan—tan— ; It’s neither your cause nor ours that we should ride the stang ; For you may hear by the sound of my frying-pan That Mistress has beat her good man,”’ &c., &c.

At the conclusion of which the youngsters give a tremen-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 107 1694.-1697. I dous shout and march off to the next street. This practice is continued for three nights, then the effigy of the offender is burnt in front of his or her own door, amidst the ex- clamation of neighbours that it ‘ sarves her reight.’’ Another curious custom now little practised, was that of or pelting common people with old shoes on their return from church, upon the wedding day.: 1694. Committees were appointed by the corporation of Leeds, to ‘‘swear at any time and place within the town any person whatsoever, a free man of the town and borough, upon such terms and considerations as to them should seem reasonable.” The sum of £60 lls. was paid to Mr. Arthur Monjoy, goldsmith, Briggate, for making the mace now used by the mayor of Leeds. He was executed at York in 1696, for counterfeiting coin. The mace is of silver gilt, and measures four feet eight inches in length. The shaft is beautifully engraved and ornamented. The head is encircled by a border of foliage, and is divided into four compartments, containing the na- tional insignia of England, France, Scotland, and Ireland, surmounted by the royal crowns of these kingdoms. The whole is surmounted by the imperial crown of great Britain. The weight of the head of the mace is 123 ounces. 1695. The window tax in England was first established this year.——Robert Taylor, first clerk of St. John’s church, in Leeds, died, aged 92 years. He is supposed to have held the appointment upwards of sixty years. The archbishop of York presented Mr. Thoresby, of Leeds, with several brass coins of Osbright and Ella, two Northumbrian princes, who both of them fell in the year 867, warring against the Danes. ‘These coins were taken out of a remarkable tumulus at the north-east end of the town of Ripon, and at a short distance from the minster. The tumulus, commonly called Ellshaw, or Alice-hill, is nearly of a conical form, the circumference at the base being about 900 feet, and the height of the slope 72 yards. From the base to the summit, it is wholly composed of sand, gravel, and human bones. 1696. One of the king’s mints was established in the manor house, in York, without Bootham bar, and bullion and plate coined there to the amount of £380,621, which was issued in consequence of the old coin being called in. 1697, Ripon demanded tolls from the inhabitants of Leeds, which, being refused, Thoresby, the antiquarian, was requested to consult his manuscript collections, to see

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108 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1697.-1700. if he could find any document to justify the demand. After diligent search, he found the copy of the charter of Henry VIII, and a reference where the original was lodged, which, being borrowed of the vicar, was produced at the assizes, and gained the victory, their’s of Ripon being only granted by queen Mary. 1699. The river Aire was made navigable to Leeds, and the Calder to Wakefleld, by an act of parliament obtained by the “Aire and Calder Navigation Company,” who in 1760 extended the navigation of the Calder to Salterhebble, (since by a canal to Halifax.) A canal has been cut from the Aire at Knottingley, which saves a distance of seven- teen miles in the navigation from Leeds to Hull. The Aire hasits source near Malham,(withintwenty miles of the source of the Wharfe), and flows for thirty miles through the ro- mantic and fertile valley of Airedale, passing Skipton, Keigh- ley, and Bradford, to Leeds, where it begins to be navigable. It then proceeds to Castleford, where it is joined by the Calder; the united streams then pass on by Ferrybridge and Suaith, and flow into the Ouse, near Howden, which lastriver, having become augmented by the Wharfe, the Nidd, the Ure, the Swale, the Deriwwent, and the Aire and Calder, enters the Humber near Blacktoft, and the vast accumula- tion of waters roll into the German ocean. The Leeds Friends’ meeting house and school erected. Thoresby says, the Friends had a burial-place at Leeds as early as 1673, their original cemetery at Morley being too remote from the town. It appears that there was also part of an orchard at Knostrop devoted to the same purpose, by Mr. John Stable, who resided there, and was “tainted with quakerism, then new sprung up in these parts.””> Two tombs und there in Thoresby’s time, bore the dates 1692. The old chapel in Leeds falling into decay, was pulled down, and the present edifice was erected on its site in 1788. 1699. Jan. 27th. Thomas Sawer, being elected an assistant of the Leeds corporation, declined to accept office on the ground “that his father had laid an injunc’on upon him to the whereupon he was fined £20. 1700. About this time the lord of the manor claimed a penny for every piece of undressed cloth sold in the hall at Halifax, and received weekly from that impost thirty and sometimes forty shillings. Great quantities of eoloured cloth were then sold in the butchers’ shambles, and the cloth market began at six in the morning in summer, and eight in the winter. This year the church at Keighle was modernized, and made uniform; the body of the chureh by the parish, and the choir by Mr. Gale, the 1 rector.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 109 1700.-1702. About this time the Callg..in Leeds, is said to have “consisted of a footway thr verdant fields and flowery gardens,”’ and Thoresby says, “that alderman Cookson had erected here a very pleasant seat with terras, walks, &c.”’ 1701. At Waddington, in Craven, Robert Parker, of Brows- holme, founded an hospital for ten widows; the trustees to choose one sober and orthodox person to read daily morning and evening prayers; also to take care that the chapel of the hospital never be converted into a school, or to any other use but to the worship and service of God, &c. In 1719, the rental of the estate belonging to this hospital was £66 8s.; in 1799 it amounted to £254.—————_ York castle, which was founded hy William the Conqueror, was now so decayed by age, that if was wholly taken down, and a new structure erected for the county prison, to which consider- able additions have been made, at the cost of several hun- dred thousand pounds. Mary Law, by will dated Feb. 4th of this year, devised her estates at Lower Woodhouse and Rastrick, in trust for the maintenance of four poor widows, in the township of Rastrick, and to the use of a school for teaching twenty poor children to read and write, to be chosen within the townships of Rastrick and Brig- house. At a court held at Leeds on the 10th May, this I year, it was ordered that “every member, assistant, or common councell man” of the corporation, except “old Mr. Hargreave,” should provide himself with a suitable gown under a penalty of £5; and also attend the mayor to church I upon festival days and other public and solemn occasions, under a penalty of one shilling. The gowns were ordered to be black, faced and trimmed with black veivet, or plush, and with long hanging sleeves. In the philosophical transactions for this year, is the following remarkable passage from Leigh’s history of Cheshire :—‘‘In draining Martin meer, afew years ago, were found multitudes of roots and bodies of great firs in their natural position, with great quantities of their cores and eight canoes, such as the old Britons sailed in; and in another meer was found a brass or bronze kettle, beads of amber, a small millstone, the whole head of an hippopotamus, and human bodies entire and uncorrupted.” 1702. At Lofthouse, near Leeds, a smith worked with two hammers, one of which, by an ingenious contrivance, he moved with his foot, enabling him to have the use of his left hand to hold the iron, while he struck with his right: thus saving the expense of a labourer. In the

neighbourhood of Eccup moor and Addle, near Leeds, 10

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110 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND

1702 -1704. were discovered the ruins of a Roman town, which seems . to have been very consider for, in digging no deeper than necessity obliged to ce way for the plough, as

many stones were extracted as served to build two walls, the one a yard high and twenty-seven roods long: the other a yard and a half high, and fifty-two roods long. They were rough stones, the foundations of houses, many of which were three or four courses high. Fragments of urns of a very large size were also found; and the re- mains of two funeral monuments, one inscribed PIEN- TISSIMA, another D, M, 8S. CADIDINIA, FORTUNA PIA V, A, X, (Viait Ann, X.) In November, this year, the Leeds corporation ordered the sum of £12 to be allowed out of the public stock, to be expended at a treat, to commemorate the successes of the British army abroad, with a proviso “that whoever stayes to spend above that, they shall pay it out of their own pockets.”,—————John Milner, B.D., an eminent scholar, sometime vicar of Leeds, died this year (Feb. 16) at St. John’s college, Cambridge, whither he had retired, being dissatisfied with the oaths imposed on the accession of William III. 1703. A card, of which the following is a copy, is pre- served at York, in the house or inn to which it refers, and which may serve to show the accelerated speed with which we travel now, compared with that of our fore- fathers:—“York four days coach, begins the 18th of April, 1703.”" “All that are desirous to pass from London to York, or from York to London, or any other place on that road, let them repair to the Black Swan in Hol- bourne, in London, and the Black Swan, in Coney-street, York, at each of which places they may be received in a atage coach every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which performs the whole journey in four days, if God permit.’”>——_Nov. 26. A remarkable storm of wind through the whole of this night, was particularly de- structive in the metropolis, the damage which it oc- casioned in the city alone, was estimated at two millions sterling, and the suburbs equally suffered. Several persons were killed by the fall of buildings, and near 200 were wounded. All the ships in the river but four were driven from their moorings, and the destruction at sea far ex- ceeded that on land, twelve men of war, with 1800 men on board, were lost within sight of the shore, and the Eddystone lighthouse was swept away by this storm. 1704. About this time the new French fashions were adopted by courtiers, physicians, and other professional

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 111 1704.-1707. persons in England, also the higher order of gentry, and continued during the reigns: of Geo. I. and II. This dress of the old English gentleman, as it afterwards came to be called, consisted of a periwig in formal curls, partly con- tained in a silk bag on the shoulder, a small cocked hat, fall bottomed coat, short breeches, blue or scarlet stock- ings drawn over the knee, and square-toed shoes, with small buckles and high red heels. Coats were made of velvet, silk, or satin, as well as broad cloth, and their colours were very fanciful. The female attire of the eighteenth century was formal and tasteless. The most odious piece of attire introduced in the early part of the century, was the large whalebone petticoat, which de- generated into the hooped petticoat, and made a lady to appear as if standing in an inverted tub. In the reigns of Geo. I. and II., straw bonnets, loose gowns, called sacques, hooded silk cloaks, small muffs, and ornamental aprous were worn, with the watch, necklace, and the fan, which was sometimes from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and beautifully made. Spanish broad-cloth, trimmed with gold lace, was used for ladies’ dresses, and fur-belowed scarfs were worn from the duchess to the peasant. 1705. Sir William Lowther, who was born in Leeds, near the church, in Kirkgate, died this year. He was high sheriff of the county in 1681. Died this year, the Rev. Christopher Nesse, M.A., who had been ejected from the parish church of Leeds, where he had heen lecturer first to Mr. Stiles,and afterwards to Dr. Lake. The Bartholomew act obliged him to preach privately, and then the five-mile act banished him from Leeds, but when the times grew more favourable, he returned and preached at his own house in Hunslet. David Hartley, M.D., author of “Observations on was horn at Armley, August 30th, and died at Bath, in 1757, aged 52. He was the son of a clergyman, and the pupil of Dr. Saunderson, Sir Isaac Newton, and Mr. Locke, after receiving an academical education at Cambridge. 1707. May 1st. England and Scotland became united, and the island thence called Great Britain. The union of Great Britain with Ireland took place in 1804. Sylvester Petyt, Esq., by his will, left £24,048, Old South Sea annuities, and a library at Skipton. The ob- jects of which donation are, persons, wherever resident, standing in need of immediate relief, according to the discretion of the trustees, and amongst whom the re-

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‘112 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1707.-1710 mainder of the income ‘s annually distributed, after paying £20 a year to Christ’s college, Cambridge, small salaries to a schoolmaster and librarian at Skipton, and for putting out annually about fourteen poor children apprentices. in the county of York, and for buying books for the use of the school. Boys are admitted free of expense indefinitely throughout the parish. The Rev. Thomas Wright, B.A., author of the antiquities of Halifax, was born at Black- burn, in Lancashire, in this year: he was several years curate of Halifax, and afterwards perpetual curate of Ripponden. 1708. A very interesting collection of Roman coins were found this year at Cookridge, near Otley. A contested election for the return to parliament of two members for Yorkshire, took place this year, The result of the po!l was as follows :—

Lord Viscount Downe, . . . . . . 4,787. Sir William Strickland, . . . . 8,452. Colonel D’Arcy, . . .. ... . 98,257. Sir Arthur Raze, . . ..... . 93,139. Mr. Wentworth, ....... . 958.

1709. The 22nd Nov., being a day of thanksgiving for the success of the British forces, the Leeds corporation attended divine service at the parish church, after which, they agreed to “meet againe att Mrs. Owen’s, att 5 of the clocke in the evening, to drinck to her majesty’s health and further good success’’; the expenses of the evening to be at the “corporac’on’s charge.” 1710. October 9th, the great court leet and court baron were held in the free school at Leeds, which was fitted up accordingly, with conveniences for both juries. On the 12th October, 1710, Richard Wilson, Esq., bar- rister-at-law, was elected recorder of Leeds; but her Majesty refused to asseut to the election, and John Walker, Esq., of Headingley, was elected in his stead, by her majesty’s letters patent. The ancient Moot Hall was rebuilt, in front of which stood the pillory and the stocks. It was sold along with the shops and rooms beneath it, under the authority of an act of parliament for the improvement of the town of Leeds, passed in 1824. The purchase money, which amounted to £3,043 6s. 8d., was laid out in the purchase of stock, to be ap- propriated to the use of the poor. It was demolished in 1825. The White Cloth Hall was erected where the old hospital stood.

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17 THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 113 11. I 1711. In the Leeds parish church there is an epitaph to the memory of Mr. Jer. Barstow, who died 25th of April, this year, as follows :— I

Death neither youth nor age doth spare, Therefore, to follow me prepare ; Whilst life doth last, let piety (As if was mine) your practice be :— Let virtue crown your days, and then We happily shall meet again.

An attempt was made to prevent merchants sitting as representatives in the House of Commons.———John Atkinson, Esq., was mayor of Leeds this year. He subse- quently built the house at the corner of Call-lane and Duncan-street, which Thoresby says “is a delicate house ; that for the exquisite workmanship of the stone work, and for a painted staircase, excellently performed by Mons. Parmentier, excels all in the town.” This building was many years the post office, and residence of Mark Temple, Esq., then postmaster of Leeds. It was purchased and taken down to make room for the Central Market, whieh now occupies the site. The following list of miscellaneous henefactions was formerly preserved in the old church, at Leeds, and was made out in the year 1711:—

1600. Baron Savile’s decree concerning the toll-dish, was a third part to the bailiff (now to the mayor) of Leeds, a third part to the poor, and a third part to repair the market-stead and highways. 1616. William Rushworth gave the moiety of a shop in the Shambles, of the yearly rent of 18+. 4d., to the poor of Leeds, and the other moiety to the poor of Whitkirk. 1620, The Town Hall was built with monies belonging to the poor, which now yields them £22 16s. 8d. 1633. John Marshall gave out of the close, called Well Ing, in Sheepscar- lane, 30s. to the poor of the town and parish of Leeds. 1636. Ewan Story gave a close at Cross-Green, called Poorfolks Close, of the yearly rent of 50s.; the overseer of the poor paying out of the said profits 10s. yearly to the lecturer of the old church 1636. John Swanson gave two houses rear the Park-Butts, of the yearly rent of 30s., another house near the same, of the rent of 18s. per annum, which is to be paid by the overseers to four of the poorest shoemakers in Leeds town and Kirk-gate. Mr. James Cotes, who built the chapel at Headingley, left £28, the interest to be paid to the minister of that chapel. 1638. Mr. Henry Watkinson left £10, the interest to be paid to the lecturer of the old church. 1638. Mrs. Alice Lodge gave the profits of a close in Woodhouse-fields, called Cringles, of the yearly rent of £5, for the good of the town of Leeds, to be disposed of by her executors. 1639. Mr. John Harrison, alderman, (the noble founder of the new church) gave the hospital near the said church for

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114 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1711. poor indigent people to dwell in, leaving towards their maintenance houses aid lands in the New-street and Tenters, of the yearly rent of £52 5s., and also the undivided moiety of Flay-crow mill, in the Tenters. He gave also his houses and lands in the Head-row and Vicar-lane, of the yearly rent of £30, the profits thereof to go for the preferment of his sister’s children, and their issue; and for want of such, to the better maintenance of the poor in the abovesaid hospital. 1642. Mr. Samuel Casson gave the undivided moiety of a farm, called Mankland’s farm, at Brome-hill, of the yearly rent of £6 15s. 8d., to the poor of the town and parish of Leeds. He gave also £100 for ever, to be lent by the aldermen and vicar to twenty poor tradesmen, such as have charge of wife and children, gratis, for one year or longer, they giving good security for the true payment of the same again. 1644, Mr. Josias Jenkinson (who built the almhouses upon the Mill- hill) gave a farm in Great Woodhouse, of the yearly rent of £10, to be distributed at Christmas by his trustees, for ever. 1653. Mrs. Isabel Leighten, gave, for the benefit of the poor, and for poor chil- dren’s learning, the profits of three closes in Woodhouse, of the yearly rent of £6 10s., to be disposed of by her trustees. 1658. Mr. Joseph Hillary gave £20 to increase the stock of the company of Cloth- workers. Mr. John Thoresby, alderman, gave a rent-charge of 20s. per annum to the poor, out of a piece of ground at the town-en4, called the Paddock. 1665. Captain Thomas Ambler gave £30, and (1676) Mr. Christopher Watkinson, alderman, £20, which two sums are put together and lent out for the benefit of the poor, and are to be dis- osed of by the mayor, aldermen, and common-council of Leeds. 1671. Benjamin Wade, Esq., gave £200, with which was purchased a rent-charge of £10 per annum, which is yearly given to the minister of Headingley chapel, the Rev. Mr. John Killingbeck, trustee. 1673. Money paid unto the committee of pious uses, upon the redemption of Mr. Hazle’s mortgage for the use of the poor, the sum of £150. 1676. Samuel Sunderland, Esq., gave several tenements, to the value of £6 per annum, to a school in Wortley, with power to erect upon the Com- mon a school, which was done at the charge of the inhabitants. 1679. Mr. Thomas Idle gave £100, the yearly profits to be paid to a preaching minister at Holbeck chapel, or, if there be a vacancy for six months, to Armley chapel : Thomas Lee, Mr. Robert Hethering- ton, Mr. Martin Huntington, and William Lambert, trustees. 1687. Mrs. Elizabeth Atkinson gave £50 to the poor ot Leeds, which is in the hands of Edward Atkinson, Esq. 1696. Mr. Jobn Robinson gave a house, which, being unfinished, was sold for which sum was employed towards the erection of a new house for the minister of Armley chapel; he also gave three cottages to the poor. 1699. Mr. William Calverley, alderman, gave £110, the interest to be yearly distributed by the mayor, vicar, and two senior aldermen, to the poor of Leeds. 1703. Mrs. Ann Moxon gave £100 to the poor of Leeds. 170— Mrs. Eleanor Scudamore gave £50 to the poor; with which two sums, and £10 paid by the committee, were purchased two closes in Pontefract-lane, of the annual rent of £8. 1708. Mary Bland, widow, left a rent-charge of £3 per annum out of her houses in

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 115 1711.-1713. Cripplegate, to the Charity-school, or other pious uses; Mr. Bryan Dixon, Mr. Ralph Thoresby, Mr. Jacob Sympson, trustees. 1708. George Ellis, ot gent., gave £50 to the Charity- school, to be laid out in lands. ~-— Mr. George Banister, of North- hall Grange, gave the rents of a farm of £6 per annum, clear rent, at Sutton, near Ferrybridge, to take place after his death, for a salary to an organist, when an organ shall be set up in the parish church of Leeds, or St. John’s chapel there; and till then, to be disposed of to such charity as his trustees, viz, two of his nearest relations, in con- junction with the mayor, recorder, one of the eldest alderméh, the -vicar of Leeds, and the minister of St. John’s chapel, all for the time being, shall think most meet. 1710. Bryan Dixon, of Hunslet-lane, gent., bequeathed 10 to the Charity-school. 1711. Mr. Samuel Cookson, of Leeds, merchant, gave by will £20; and, 1711. Mrs Mary Calverley £10: both to the Charity-school. Mr. William Cotton, merchant, gave £50 to the same some years ago.

1712. July 2nd, the mayor of Leeds, &c., delivered an address to queen Anne, at Kensington, which her majesty received very kindly, looking very pleasantly on all present, and curtsying, as his grace the duke of Leeds told her he cou!d assure her majesty it came from a populous and loyal corporation, that was both willing and able to ass‘st her majesty, if there was occasion, but which he hoped there never would be. Died the Rev. Mr. Stretton, who had been domestic chaplain to lord Fairfax, after which he was minister at Mill-hill chapel, Leeds, till the year 1677, when he removed to London, where he died. ‘The celebrated Matthew Henry preached his funeral sermon, in which he gave him a very high character. 1713. The white marble statue of queen Anne, executed by Carpenter, was, at the expense of alderman William Milner, erected in front of the Moot hall, in the year 1713; and the following inscription in letters of gold upon black marble, was suhsequently ordered by the corporation to be placed thereunder, at their expense :-—

“ECCE! INSIGNEM STATUAM LONDINENSI (ULTRA IPSAM PAULINAM LONDI-« NENSEM) INSIGNISSIMA ANNA® OMNI LICET IMAGINE LONGE MAJORI PIC CONSECRATEM. Ef A GULIELMO MILNER, ARMIGERO, PRUDENTI JUSTI- CIARIO, FIDELI SUBITO GENEROSO CIVE OPULENTO MERCATORE, PENITUS EXTRUCTAM.”

(Translation,)

THIS ELEGANT STATUE, (SUPERIOR EVEN TO THAT OF ST. PAUL'S IN LONDON), PIOUSLY CONSECRATED TO OUR MOST ILLUSTRIOUS QUEEN ANNE, (THOUGH FAR SURPASSING EVERY REPRESENTATION ;) AND ERECTED AT THE SOLE EXPENSE OF WILLIAM MILNER, KNIGHT, A PRUDENT JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, A FAITHFUL SUBJECT, A NOBLE CITIZEN, AND AN OPULENT MERCHANT.”

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116 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1713.-1715. This statue was removed to the Corn Exchange at the top of Briggate in 1828, and the following is the in- scription now beneath it :— THIS STATUE OF QUEEN ANNE WAS ERECTED AT THE COST OF ALDERMAN MILNER IN THE FRONT OF THE ANCIENT MOOT HALL, A.D., 1712; WAS RESTOEED AT THE EXPENSE OF THE CORPORATION 3 AND TRANSFERRED TO THIS SITE, A.D., 1828; ® THE MOOT HALL HAVING BEEN PURCHASED BY THE TOWN AND DEMOLISHED, A-De, 18295.

There were great reioicings at Leeds, and a splended pro- cession and festival in honour of the queen, on the day when her statue was erected. 1714. The interest of money in England was fixed by act of parliament at 5 per cent. George Ist, the first king of the house of Hanover, ascended the British throne, August Ist, this year. On November Ist died John Radcliffe, M.D., a native of Wakefield, and the most celebrated physician of the British court, though remark- ably blunt and unreserved in his conversation, even before his royal patients, and detesting, through his whole life, the character of a sycophant. On going to London he found his reputation had arrived there before him, and such was his success that he soon amassed a large fortune ; and his apothecary by his means accumulated £50,000. Being sent for to Kensington, to see William III., his majesty showed him his swelled ancles, saying, well doctor, what do you think of these? ‘ Why truly,” replied the Yorkshireman, bluntly, “I would not have your majesty’s two legs for your three kingdoms.” His frankness also gave much offence to Queen Anne, whom he refused to attend during her last illness: this brought upon him so much censure, that he was obliged to confine himself to his country seat, where he soon afterwards died, having for many years been as free with his bottle as his tongue. He was buried at Oxford, having left a large portion of his property to the university there. The organ in Leeds parish church set up and first used on Sunday, August 29th; Mr. John Carr, from Norwich, organist. The south gallery was also erected this year. 1715. Thoresby’s Ducatus Leodiensis, containing the his- tory and antiquities of Leeds, in one folio volume, was published this year. Appended to his history is a copious catalogue and description of his collection of curiosities. At this time there were in Boar-lane, several good houses belonging to Sir William Lowther, but they were sold in

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 117 1715.-1718. 1732 to Sir William Rooke, and re-built in 1750 by Mr. J. Dixon. In the same street was also another good mansion, belonging to Sandford Arthington, M.B., in right of his wife, whose father, Marmaduke Hickes, Esq. was four times chief magistrate of Leeds. Keighley grammar school was founded by John Drake. The vane and one-third of the spire of the church at Wakefield, having been blown down, were partially restored this year. A considerable quantity of Roman coins were found at Beeston.——John Kellingbeck, B.D., vicar of Leeds from 1690 to 1715, was a native of Headingley, and eldest son of John Kellingbeck, Esq., who was mayor of Leeds, in 1677. ‘‘ He was,” says Thoresby, “a singular blessing to this populous parish and parts His ministerial abilities were so conspicuous, that Archbishop Sharp (who collated him to a prebend of York,) publicly at a visitation proposed him as an example to the clergy both in preach- ing and practice. He first introduced in this parish a monthly communion, which still continues. He died universally lamented, Feb. 12th, 1715-16, aged 66 years. A volume of his sermons has been published. It is said he was so habitually generous that his spouse found it necessary frequently to remove money from his pocket by night, and place it in her own safe keeping. 1716. About this time a curious antique stone, five inches high by four broad, representing the head of a female, (supposed to be Lucretia’s) was found in digging a cellar near the ruins of St. Mary’s abbey, York. 1718. The Leeds Mercury, then published weekly, on Tuesdays, was first printed this year, July Ist, by “ John Hirst, over-against Kirkgate-end.”’ During the first two years of its existence this now popular journal consisted of twelve small quarfo pages, the first of which is orna- mented with a rude wood cut, representing the Golden Fleece, and a fat old postman, with a wig, and a low-~ crowned and broad-brimmed haf, blowing a straight horn, and appearing to gallop on a heavy bob-tailed horse, under which was printed, in large type, ‘‘ THE LEEDS MER- CURY, being the freshest advices, Foreign and Domestick, together with an account of trade,’ &c., &c.—The paper then sold for three-half-pence, and the editor of that day appears to have considered the local affairs of his own town and neighbourhood to be too well kuown to require noticing: during the whole of the period alluded to, the Mercury contained nothing but brief extracts from the London papers, with the weekly metropolitan bills of

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118 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1718 -1721. mortality, and casualties. The Mercury was afterwards published by James Lister, in New-Street; the price was 2d., and the stamp a halfpenny ; it was discoutinued on the 17th of June, 1755, and, after an interval of eleven years and a half, was resumed by Jas. Bowling, in January, 1767. On the 4th of October, 1794, the Mercury devolved into the hands of Messrs. Binns and Brown, by whom if was transferred, on the 7th of March, 1801, to the late Edward Baines. The present proprietors and editors are Messrs. Edward and Frederick Baines, and the paper is now published three times a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at their office in Albion Street. 1719. Oct. Sth. Mrs. Rachel Dixon, by will, devised a messuage in Briggate, and two houses in Lowerhead-row, in trust, (in case of a contingency, which has since hap- pened) the rents and profits to be yearly equally divided amongst three necessitous clergymen’s widows, whose husbands should have died heneficed, in some of the ad- joining parishes to that of Leeds; the dispensing of the ounty to be in the hands of the vicar, and the minister of St. John’s for the time being and for ever. 1720. Jan. 28rd. Mr. Robertson, in the presence of the magistrates of Leeds, and about 5000 spectators, swam upon the river Aire in his leathern boat, which, before he inflated it with a pair of bellows, was so small and pliable, as to be folded up in a handkerchief, if not put into the pocket. Mr. Robertson was born in France, of Scotch parents. At a short distance above the great gateway of Bolton priory, stood the “ Priors’ Oak,’’ which was felled about this time, and sold for £70. According to the price of wood at that time, it could not contain less than 1400 feet of timber. At a court held at Leeds, on the 7th of May, it was “agreed and ordered by a majority of votes, that no more money shall for the future be expended at any publick or com’on treat out of the corporac’on’s stock, until the corporac’on is out of debt.” 1721. Inoculation for the small pox first used on criminals. Vaccine Inoculation (cow pox) first known in 1799. The South Sea Scheme, which ruined many Yorkshire and other families, was now exploded, and John Aislabie, a member for Ripon, was expel‘ed the House of Commons, for secretly burning a ledger, containing accounts to the amount of £842,000, belonging to the unfortunate dupes of the projectors of this monstrous bubble, the bursting of which reduced many to beggary, and ought to become a lasting caution to future speculators. The outlines of this

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 119 1721.-1723. notorious scheme are as follows :—Ever since the Revolu- tion, the government had continued to borrow money from several trading companies, and among the rest, from the South Sea Company, who, under the pretence of being satisfied with less interest, proposed to buy up all the debts of the nation, and for this purpose were allowed to raise money by opening a subscription to a scheme for trading to the South Seas. Such was the rage for purchasing shares, that, under the expectation of great gains, the government creditors hastened to exchange their stock for that of the South Sea Company, whilst others sold their estates, and called in their mortgages, &c., to become shareholders in this vile scheme, which succeeded far beyond the anticipa- tion of its projectors, many of whom were afterwards pun- ished by parliament, who also took some care to redress the sufferers. 1722. At Ripponden, near Halifax, there happened on May the 18th, 1793, ‘a most remarkable flood, which, with great violence did break into the chapel, aud by its weight and pressure bear down and carry away the greatest part of the north side, with the stones and timber thereof, and pews therein, and tore up the graves and carried away many dead bodies, and left their parts scatter’d in the river and on the banks, a great many miles distance; and so under- mined the remainder of the chapel, and shook and damaged the walls, that it was absolutely necessary to re-build it on higher ground, to prevent the like danger for the future. Accordingly, a new fabric was erected, and consecrated September the 9th, 1737, by Dr. Martin Benson, then lord bishop of Between the hours of three and five in the afternoon, the water had risen seven yards per- peudicular in Ripponden vale, and bore down in its course several bridges, mills, and a number of houses; many per- sons also lost their lives.——The first stone of Trinity church, Leeds; was laid on the 27th of August, by the Rev. Henry Robinson, son of Henry Robinsou, vicar of Leeds, and great nephew to “the Benefactor,” who endowed it with £80 in iand; the church was consecrated by arch- bishop Blackburn, on August 10th, 1727. The fabric cost £4,563 9s. 6d., towards which, lady Elizabeth Hastings, of Ledstone Hall, gave £1000. The stone, which was got at Black moor, was given by Mr. Killingheck, a Roman catholic, of Hooton Pagnell. 1723. The summer of this year was remarkable for an extreme drought, which prevailed generally: at York, the waters of the Ouse were reduced, till the base of the

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120 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1724.-1727. middle arch of Ouse bridge was completely dry for several yards. round. 1724. John Smeaton, the celebrated mechanic and civil engineer, was born at Austhorpe, near Leeds, June 8th. When the Eddystone Light house was burnt down in 1754, he was selected to superintend the buiiding of another, and he accomplished this great monument to his abilities and perseverance in 1759. He was afterwards employed in a great number of uscful undertakings, and among other things, he made the Calder navigable. He died at Aus- thorpe, October 28th, 1792. The inscription on the monument in Whitkirk church, near Leeds, to this celebrated man is as follows :—

“Sacred to the memory of John Smeaton, F.R.S, a man whom God had endowed with the most extraordinary abilities, which he in- defatigably exerted for the benefit of mankind, in works of science and hilosophical research ; more especially as an engineer, and a mechanic. His principal work, the Eddystone Lighthouse, erected on a rock in the open sea, (where one had been washed away by the violence of a storm, and another had been consumed by the rage of fire,) secure in its own stability and the wise precautions for its safety, seems not unlikely to convey to distant ages, as it does to every nation of the globe, the name of its constructor. He was born at Austhorpe, June 8th, 1724, and departed this life October 28th, 1792.”

1726. The Old Chapel, near St. John’s church, in Leeds, was converted into a charity school. John Smythe, Esq., formerly of Heath, near Wakefield, left by will, certain messuages, &c., in Halifax, the income of which is paid by the governors to a schoolmaster, appomted by them, for teaching as free scholars, six children to read and write, and the surplus is appropriated to supplying an allowance of 16s. a year to the schoolmaster, for every child beyond the six, whom he instructs in the same way. 1727. Sir Isaac Newton died, aged 85. The Leeds vicarage house, which, with the ]and it stood upon, was given in 1453 by William Scott, of Potternewton, was re- built this year by the Rev. Mr. Cookson, and after standing nearly a century, it was taken down, and the site and croft converted into a large free market. The inhabitants pur- chased a handsome house in Park-place, as the future vicarage house. Tong Church, in the parish of Birstal, was re-built by subscription in 1727. The honourable Thomas Watson Wentworth was elected representative for Yorkshire, with Sir George Savile ; but being created Baron Malton in 1728 he was succeeded by Cholmley Turner, Esq.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 121 1728.-1733. 1728. On the 8th of May, this year, it was ordered that the Mace supplied to the Leeds corporation by Mr. Arthur Monjoy, should be re-gilded, and the old silver mace sold to defray the expenses thereof. The work was performed by Mr. Isaac Hancock, whose bill amounted to £15 13s. 5d., and the old Mace was ordered to be sold to him at the rate of 5s. per ounce. Another coat of gold was given to this badge of office in 1771, in addition to which it has a few years ago undergone a complete repair. 1729. Mrs. Mary Potter died May 3lst, and bequeathed £2000 for the erection and endowment of the alms houses, near St. John’s church, in Leeds, which, pursuant to her will, were built in 1738. 1730. Leeds bridge was enlarged for double carriages, and two men were killed during the alteration. 1733. Sept. 8th. Some workmen digging a well at Carlton, discovered a vaulted sepulchre, eight feet long and five feet broad, about eighteen feet beneath the surface, wherein was found a set of large human bones, as white as ivory, and a helmet standing over the head, in a niche. On the wall were sculptured some Saxon characters, and the date ‘‘992,” being 74 years previous to the Norman conquest.—————The Rev. James Scott, D.D., rector of Simonburn, a descendent of the benevolent Mr. Harrison, was born at Leeds, in 1733. His fame as an orator was such, that whenever he preached, the church was crowded toexcess. This was the case whenever he occupied the uni- versity pulpit at Cambridge, which he frequently did during his residence there. Noblemen, bishops, heads of houses, professors, tutors, masters of arts, undergraduates, all flocked to St. Mary’s to hear him. His first employment in the church was the lectureship of St. John’s, Leeds. He was afterwards lecturer at the Trinity church, which he vacated at the end of the year. Some time after he was presented to the rectory of Simonburn, in Northum- berland, which he held till his death, which took place on the 10th of December, 1814, in his 81st year. The following Springs in Leeds are noticed in the Magna Britannia, (published in 1733), as follows :—“ St. Peter’s Spring, intensely cold, but beneficial to such as are troubled with rheumatism, rickets, &c.; Eye-bright Well, near the Monk-pits, celebrated as a cure for sore eyes; a spring at the High Dam, ‘whose water, by the powder of galls, will turn into a purple colour’; and the Spaw on Quarry-hill, which surpasses all the rest, ‘being a Panacea,’ and the Ducking Stool, for the cure of scolds, being near it.’’ ll

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122 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1734.-1735. 1734. A contested election for the return of two re- presentatives for Yorkshire, commenced on Wednesday, May 15th, and closed on Wednesday, May 22nd, when the numbers polled were as follows :—

Sir Miles Stapylton,. . . . . . . 47,896. Cholmley Turner, . . . . 7,379. Sir Rowland Winn, ..... . 7,699. Hon. Mr. Wortley, . . . . . . 5,898.

In the city of York, an elegant figure of Saturn, formed of mixed metal, was discovered in Walmgate, supposed to have been one of the Penates, or household gods of the Romans.————July 2nd. Fifty sheriffs of London were chosen in one day: thirty-five of whom paid their’ fines. In 1414, owing to the wars, there were not respectable persons enough toserve the office. Anciently, in England, ladies were appointed sheriffs. They were first nominated by William the Conqueror, in 1079. The present mode of appointing them has been followed since about 1161. The inhabitants of Ossett, a village three miles from Waketield, have been employed in making broad woollen cloth from time out of mind. In this year, the weavers, &c , employed in that trade, had to work fifteen hours every day for eightpence. A horn was blown at five o’clock in the morning, the time for beginning, and at eight at night, the time for leaving their work. The clothiers had to take their goods to Leeds to sell, and had to stand in Briggate in all sorts of weather. About the year 1736, Richard Wilson, a resident of Ossett, made two pieces of broad cloth; he carried one of them on his head to Leeds, and sold it—the merchant being in want of the fellow piece, he went from Leeds to Ossett, then carried the other piece to Leeds, and then walked to Ossett again; he walked about forty miles that day. The following is a copy of an inscription in the church yard of Heyden, in Yorkshire :—* Here lieth the body of William Strutton, of Padrington, buried the 18th of May, 1734, aged 97; who had by his first wife, 28 children, and by a second wife, 17; was father to 45, grandfather to 86, great grand- father to 97, and great great grandfather to 23, in all 1735. On the 9th of February,died Mr. Thomas Bridges, of Leeds, whom Dr. Whitaker designates a “true anti- uary,” remarkable for industry and exactness in recording the transactions of this town for a series of years. In consequence of petitions from the woollen manu-

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THE SWRROUNDING DISTRICT. 123 1735.-1739. facturers of Yorkshire and Westmoreland, two bills were passed by which the ports of Lancaster and Great Yar- mouth were opened for the importation of wool and woollen yarn from Ireland. The price of bread and other provisions being greatly advanced, owing to an ex- portation of corn, on which there appears to have been a ounty, tumults in various parts of the kingdom. took place, and at Leeds a detachment of the king’s troops were obliged to fire on the rioters, eight or nine of whom were killed. July. At the Northampton assizes, Mary Fasson was condemned to be burnt for poisoning her husband ; and Elizabeth Wilson to be hanged for picking a farmer’s pocket of 30s. 1736. It was resolved by parliament, “ that those per- sons whose freeholds lie within that part of the city of York, called Ainsty, have a right to vote for knights of the shire ’ ————— This year Francis Drake published his ‘‘Eboracum, or the history and autiquities of York, from its origin to the present time.’’ 1739. Lady Elizabeth Hastings, of pious and benevolent memory, died December 22nd, at Ledston. In 1721 she gave £1000 towards building Trinity church, in Leeds. ‘This excellent lady bequeathed at her death considerable sums for charitable and public uses; amongst which were five scholarships in Queen’s college, Oxford, for students in divinity, of £28 a year each, to be enjoyed for five years, and, as the rents should rise, some of her scholars to be capable, in time, of having £60 per annum, for one or two years after the first term. ‘The Free Grammar School, at Leeds, is entitled to send one poor scholars to be nom- inated, in common with the following similar establish- ments, viz., Wakefield, Bradford, Beverley, Skipton, Sed- berg, Ripon, and Sherburn, in Yorkshire; Appleby and Haversham, in Westmoreland; and St. Bees and Penrith, in Cumberlaud. A stately monument in Ledsham church, augmented with the statucs of her two amiable sisters, records in elegant Latin the character of this orna- ment of her sex. Her own figure is placed on a sarco- phagus reclining, and reading a book of devotion, and the countenance, which is a portrait, is handsome and spirited. Lady Frances and lady Ann Hastings are placed on ped- estals at the sides, and are represented with the emblems of piety and prudence. Nicholas Saunderson, LL.D., who was born in the year 1682, at Thurston, near Penistonc, died this year, and was buried in the chancel at Boxworth. When only twelve

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124 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1739. months old, he lost not only his sight, but his eyes, which came away by abscess, occasioned by the small pox, so that he retained no more idea of colours or light than if he had been born blind; yet he became mathematical pro- fessor in Cambridge university, and a fellow of the royal society. He frequently delivered lectures on optics, ex- plaining the theory of vision, the nature of light and colours, the effects of glasses, the phenomenon of the rain- bow, &c. Such was the strength of his memory, and the acuteness of his perception, that whatever was read to him, or explained, though the subject was ever so abstruse, I he soon became master of it. Having been at several celebrated schools, and obtained a familiar knowledge of mathematics, logic, and metaphysics, he went to Cam- bridge not asascholar but a master. Being introduced at Christ college by his friend Mr. Dunn, a commoner there, the “fellows”? were so much pleased with his extraordinary genius, that they allotted him a chamber, and granted him the use of their library, and every other privilege of the college, where his lectures were first read by Professor Whiston, on whose removal he was made Master of Arts and chosen Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1711. He made an excellent inaugura- tion speech in elegant latin, being well versed in Tully, Virgil, and Horace. He was created LL.D. by George 1J., in the senate-house of the university, and continued to rise in learning and fame till his death, in the 57th year of his age. Richard Turpin, the notorious highwayman, was hanged at York, in April, 1739, and on the following morning his body was interred in St. George’s church yard; but on Tuesday morning, about three o’clock, it was taken up by “resurrection men,” and secreted in a garden, where it was found by a mob of citizens and the mourners of the deceased, who carried it off in triumph through the city, and having replaced it in the coffin, covered it with unslacked lime, so as to render it unfit for the dissecting room, and then filled up the grave. This daring thief frequently levied contributions as near London as the back of Islington, and in a few hours after was robbing in a distant county, and by his equestrian agility, he long evaded the strong hand of justice. A bill passed, fy prohibiting the exportation of wool and corn. igging a cellar, near Ouse bridge, on the west vide ‘of York, a gold coin of Con- stantius Junia was found. The head was armed with

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 125 1739. a helmet, and the figure held a spear in one hand; on the reverse side, a priest and priestess seated. The following curious memorandums are copied from the register of the Leeds parish church :—

“1735. June. Mr. John Burton, a merchant in this town, whose uncle, one of the Tellers of the Exchequer, made him his executor to a fortune of 90,000 pounds—married Mrs. Sarah Reveley, of this town, whose fortune he gave to her sister, Mrs. Rachel Reveley.’’ “ N.B. Sir Miles Stapylton, of Myton, bart., being chosen county member of parliament in the late election, had more votes of both clergy and laity out of this parish than out of any one parish in the county.”’ “ June 3rd. Burial. Israel Benjamin, Vicar-lane; he was born of Jewish parentage, at Breslaw, in Germany, became a Christian, and was baptized at Dublin, in Ireland, in the 45th year of his age.”’ “1737. Aug. 28th. Burial. Richard Turner, a taylor, Kirkgate, this used to preach extempory in the church porch.” “1739. Jan. A sheep was roasted whole upon the ice in the river. Feb. 22nd. The frost broke when the ice in the river was 15 inches thick in some places. Nov. War declared against Spain.” “1740. May 5th. On the 5th of this month was a great snow. Dec. A great scarcity of provisions: hay sold in some places at 18d. astone; butter, 9d. a pound; malt, 40s a quarter; wheat, 24s. a “1741. Aug. The most plentiful corn harvest ever known.” “1743. Jan. A comet appeared very fair for about six weeks, which caused various speculations :—

“If comets portend dismal Fates, When visible to divers States ; Now various nations disagree, What strange confusions must there he? When the British Lyons begin to roar, Then France and Spain shall their power ; Then all conventions soon shall cease, And Britons win a lasting peace.”

This comet was one of the finest bodies which had occurred since 1680. It had as many as six tails; each 4 degrees in breadth, and 30 to 44 degrees in length.

“1743. July 25th. Burial. William Cookson, Esquire and Alder- man N.B.—He was thrice mayor of this corporation of which he was the greatest ornament.— His vertues shined with an amiable !ustre, thro’ the various scenes of life. He was a pious christian, a generous bene- factor, an honest tradesman, a tender husband, an indulgent parent, a sincere friend, and a complete gentleman. Sept. The most plentiful harvest that ever was known.” “1744. April 10th. War declared against France.” “1745. July, the last day, Charles, the eldest son of Chivalier de St. George landed in Scotland, and was soon joined with about 6 or

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126 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 17 39 -1740. 7000 men, who came into England as far as Derby, bnt upon the ad ° vance of the king’s army, they marched back into Scotland.” “Dec. For two nights, about 13,000 of the king’s foot, (with 20 pieces of brass cannon), encamped in the closes on the west side of Shipscar-lane, English, Dutch, and Swiss. Rebellion is a plague: when broke out, it has no bounds; fury triumphs, and the Devil the postillion, and knows how and when to throw his charioteer into a snare ”’ “1747. April 23rd. Lodged that night inthe Moot Hall 68 Jacobite captives: 61 men and 7 women, in they’r passage from York (where they had been imprisoned about twelve months) to Liverpool, to be

transported.” “May 16th. His Grace Archbishop Herring confirmed about 5000

young persons.” “1748. Sept. Mr. Moses Vanderbank painted the Ascension in

the church.” “1749, On the sixth of February, and the sixth of March, the

citizens of London were surprized by two earthquakes.”

1739. In the year 1443 there were in Halifax but 13 houses; in 1556 there were 140; and in 1739 there were above 1100 families in the town. The name of Halifax, if we are to believe Cambden, cannot boast of any great an- tiquity. He says, (in his Britannia London edit. 1587.) “« that not many ages since it was called Horton, as the natives say, and tell this story for the change of the name. A certain clergyman, being passionately in love witha young woman, when he cou’d by no means gain his point, cut off her head in a mad fit, which was afterwards hung up ina yew-tree, and esteem’d and visited by the people as holy, so that every one pluck’d a bough off, to keep as a relick. By this means, the tree grew a mere trunk, but still the fictions of the priests kept up the opinion of its honour and sanctity : for they made the people believe that the little veins, which, like hairs or threads, were spread between the bark and the tree, were the very hairs of the young woman. This caus’d such a great resort of pilgrims to it, that from the little village of Horton it became a large town, and assum’d the name of Halifax, ie., holy hair, for fax is us’d by the English on the north side of Trent to signify hair; and hence the noble family of Fair- fac, in Yorkshire, is so called from their fair hair.”’ 1740. At this period, two very curious Roman urns were dug up near the Mount, without Micklegate bar, York; one of glass was broken by accident, and found to be coated inside similar to a looking glass, with a blueish sil- ver colour; the other was of lead, and was sold by the workmen toa plumber, who beat it tugether and melted

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 127 1740 -1742. it down. Wm. Sheephanks was born March 18th this year, in the village of Linton, Craven, and was educated at the grammar school of the parish. In 1771-2 he served the office of moderator at the university ; in 1777 he re- moved to Leeds, and in the same year, by the active friend- ship of Dr. John Law, he was presented to the living of Sebergham, in Cumberland. In 1783 he was appointed to the cure of St. John’s church, Leeds; in 1792 he was col- lated to a prebend in Lincoln cathedral, which he ex- changed in 1794 for a much more valuable stall at Carlisle. He died at Leeds, July 26th, 1810, and was interred at St. John’s. Sir Miles Stapylton and lord viscount Morpeth were re- turned for Yorkshire without opposition. In consequence of the death of lord Morpeth, a contested election took place in December, 1741. The poll was open eight days, and the result was as follows :—

Cholmley Turner, . . . . . . . 8,003. George Fox, 6,940.

1741. An old granary, formerly belonging to Kirkstall abbey, was this year taken down. It was covered with slate, brought 500 years before from Elland, near Halifax, which was almost as hard as steel. In an enclosure adjoining to Blackhill, near Cookridge, was found an urn, containing about 500 Roman coins, all copper, and mostly of Constantius and Constantine his son. It is supposed they were buried there when the Romans left the island. 1742. July 14th, died, aged 80 years, Richard Bentley, a native of Oulton, who received his education at Waketield free grammar school. He was master of the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Syriac, and Chaldee languages. In 1689 he was atronized by the bishop of Worcester, and soon after egan to favour the world with the fruits of his extra- ordinary erudition. In 1692 he was installed a prebend of Worcester, by bishop Stillingfleet, and in little more than a year after he was made keeper of the Royal library, at St. James’s. In 1700, he was advanced by the crown to the mastership of Trinity college, Cambridge. In 1701 he was made archdeacon of Ely, and in 1716 or 1717 he was raised to the dignity of Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge ; which chair he filled with great honor and most splended talents, though not to the satisfaction of the envious. The Rev John Wesley arrived May 26th at Birstal, (the first place where he stayed in this county), and preached

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128 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1742.-1743. “at noon on the top of Birstal hill, to several hundreds of plain people.’ At eight he preached on the side of Dews- bury moor; went to Newcastle, and returning came to Beeston. June 3rd, he preached at Mirfield, the same evening at Adwalton, and the 8th of April following, at Leeds. Mr. Wesley informs us in his journal, “ May 29th, 1743, that, not a year before, he had come to Leeds, and found no man cared for the things of God: ‘but,’ he observes, ‘a spark has now fallen in this place also, aud it will kindle a great flame. I met the infant society, about fifty in number, most of them justified, and exhorted them to walk circumspectly. At seven o’clock, I stood before Mr. Shent’s door, and cried to thousands, ‘Ho! every one that thursteth, come ye to the waters!’ The word took place. They gave diligent heed to it, and seemed a people pre- pared for the Lord. I went to the great church, (parish church), and was shewed to the minister’s pew. Five clergymen were there, who a little confounded me, by making me take place of my elders and betters. They obliged me to help in administering th: sacrament. I assisted with eight morc ministers, for whom my soul was much drawn out in prayer. But I dreaded their favour, more than the stones at Sheffield.” The following copy of a letter addressed by this cele- brated man to his brother at Leeds, is curious :—

‘London, Dec. 9th, 1758. ‘“‘My dear brother,—From time to time I have had more trouble with the town of Leeds than with all the societies in Yorkshire. And I now hear that the /eaders insist that such and such persons be put out of the society! I desire the leaders may know their places, and not stretch themselves beyond their line. Pray let me judge who should be put out of a Metholist society, and who should not. I desire Faith and Ann Har/wick may not be put of the society, unless some matter appear against them; and if any new matter does appear, let it be laid before me. He shall have judgment without mercy who hath shewn no mercy.” ““T am your affectionate Brother,

“J. WESLEY.”

1743. March 7th. At Huddersfield, the foundations of a Roman temple were found, with many beautifully orna- mented bricks, and an altar, having a patera at the summit, on one side a cornucopia, and an augural staff on the other. The edifice had been dedicated to the goddess Fortune, by one Antonius Modestus, or Modestinus, of the sixth con- quering legion.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 129° 1744.-1745. 1744. This year, Eugene Aram, a schoolmaster, residing at Knaresborough, murdered a shoemaker named Daniel Clark, and concealed his body in St. Robert’s cave. The foul deed remained enveloped in mystery till fourteen years afterwards, when the skeleton of the murdered man was discovered. An accompliee named Houseman, being apprehended and examined, confessed his participation in the crime, addivg however, that Aram perpetrated the deed. Aram was forthwith arrested at a grammar school, at Lynn, in Norfolk, and being brought into Yorkshire, he was tried and found guilty of the offence, notwithstanding an ingenious defence more remarkable for subtlety of argument than for force of reasoning. Sentence of death followed immediately on conviction. In the interval betweeu the trial and execution, Aram wrote a paper claiming a right to dispose of his own life. This privilege he exercised ; and when on the morning of the execution he was roused from his bed to be conducted to the gallows, if was found that he had inflicted upon his arm two such desperate wounds with a razor, that the performance of the executioner was scarcely necessary to terminate a life that was fast ebbing out at his veins. He was exe- cuted at Tyburn, a mile from York, and his body was con- veyed to Knaresbro’ forest, where he was hung in chains. 1745. In this year, a carpenter discovered in a field near the top of Briggate, in Leeds, at the depth of about two feet, an urn, containing ashes, calcined bones, and a stone axe perforated for a shaft. It was of rude formation, im- perfectly baked, and ornamented after the usual manner of the Britons, with encircling rows of indentations: it measured about twelve inches in height, and was placed with its mouth upwards, having a cover, which was broken by the workmen. These relics are unfortunately ost. The rebellion of this year, when the kingdom was invaded by prince Charles Edward, eldest son of the pre- tender, threw the town of Leeds into great alarm, and many of the inhabitants fled and others concealed their most valuable effects. Marshal Wade’s army was en- camped at this period between Leeds, Sheepscar, and Woodhouse, (about Wade-lane, Camp road, &c.) General Wade, is said to have quartered during the encampment in Wade hall—an old stone building of the Elizabethan style of architecture, situate opposite the top of Merrion- street, in Wade-lane. This was the last encampment which in time of actual war on English ground has

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130 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1745.-1746. taken place in this island. The alarm fortunately proved groundless, the march of the Pretender’s army being directed towards Derby by way of Manchester. At this momentuous crisis, the whole county of York gave the most unequivocal proofs of loyalty to the rcigning dynasty, and attachment to the reformed religion. The archbishop, the nobility, gentry, and clergy, formed a military association, and, having subscribed about £34,000, raised several regiments of soldiers. GENERAL GUEST, who commanded the king’s troops at Edinburgh, during the rebellion, was a native of Leeds, and the son of a cloth-dresser, a business at which he himself laboured in the early part of his life. His judicious defence of Edinburgh castle contributed to retard, in a very con- siderable degree, the progress of the arms of Stuart, and thereby rendered a very essential service to his country. 1746. August 18th. Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino were beheaded on Tower-hill, for their participation in the project for the restoration of the house of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain; and on the 7th of April, in the next year, Simon, lord Lovat suffercd at the same place, when twenty persons were killed, and many others injured by the falling of a scaffold. -The duke of Cumberland visited York, after the defeat of the rebels at Culloden, where the hopes of the house of Stuart were annihilated. The citizens had previously raised a subscription, amounting to £2,345, with which four com- panies of men, called the York Blues, were embodied for the safeguard of the city during the rebellion. Tweuty- two of the rebels were executed at York, and two of their heads placed on Micklegate bar. In the winter of this year, the dormitory of Kirkstall abbey fell down.- After the death of the Rev. Joseph Cookson, vicar of Leeds, a contest and litigation of six years cnsued, owing to one of the twenty-five trustees nominated under a decree of lord Bacon having died, aud the remaining twenty-four divided their votes equally between two candidates, viz. James Scott, M.A. and Richard Kirshaw, M.A. ‘Thus the matter rested till one of the twenty-four died, and the twelve friends of Mr. Scott strove to enforce his election, which the other eleven trustees rejected, and demandeil a popular election. Mr. Kirshaw was chosen by the major part of the parish- loners. Several bills were now filed in Chancery, where at length i1¢ waz ordered that the trustees should fill up their number to twenty-five, which was done, and Mr. Korshaw was re-elected, and inducted in 1751.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 131 1746.-1748. In this year the grass withered in the fields, leaves fell rematurely from the trees, and neither rain nor dew fell or several months. Prayers were offered up in the churches, to implore the bounty of refreshing showers. 1747. This year the cell of the noted hermit, Wm. of Lind- holme, was remaining on Hatfield Chase, near Thorne, also his well of clear spring water was to be seen; at the east end of the cell stood an altar of hewn stone, and at the west end was the hermit’s grave, covered with a free stone slab, eight inches thick. Under it were found the skull, leg, and thigh bones, and a small piece of beaten copper. Oct. 10. Died, aged 73, the Rev. John Potter, a native of Wakefield, and the son of Mr. Thomas Potter, linen draper. At the age of 19, he published a critical work, which attracted the attention cf men of Jearning, ana soon afterwards wrote the antiquities of Greece,y. which gained him much celebrity. In 1704, he was chaplain to archbishop Tenison; and in 1706 chaplain to the queen. In 1715, he was bishop of Oxford, and in 1736 archbishop of Canterbury. In each of these stations he published works of great utility: he was the highest dig- nitary in the church for ten years. Sir Miles Stapylton and Sir Conyers D’Arcy were elected representatives for Yorkshire without opposition. 1748. The following has been copied from a manuscript written at the time of the occurrence :—“ 1748. March. Thos. Grave was most barborously murdered in his own house by a domineering villanous lord of the manor, Josiah Fearne, 24th Feb., 1748, with four wounds in his body of which he died 2ud Mar. Fearne was taken and com- mitted to York castle, and tryed before Sir Thos. Burnett, was committed and hanged 25th March, 1749. Soon after Fearne was condemned, he sent an attorney to Mrs. Grave to offer her twenty pounds a year for her life, or for twenty yeurs to come, at her own option, in case she wou’d sign a petition to the judge in his favour, (which Fearne said, was a sufficient recompense for the injury he had done to herand her eight children) but she prudently declin’d the offer, well knowing there is no satisfaction to be made for the blood of a murderer. This probably is the first lord of the manor of Leeds that made his exit on the gallows, and God grant that he may be the last. Fearne’s temper was extremely rigid to the poor and his dependents, that he was dreaded by all and beloved by none. He was buried at Clifton, near York, 3lst March.’? —————Sir Henry Ibbetson, of the Red Hall, Leeds, as a reward for

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132 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1748.-1753. his loyalty, was created a baronet, and had, as an honour- able addition to his armorial bearings, the Golden Fleece, the arms of his native town of Leeds, ingrafted on his paternal coat. 1749. In this year the Leeds corporation purchased a pew in Trinity church, for the sum of £24. In 1793 a large pew in St. Paul’s church was purchased at a cost of £147. In 1801 a pew was purchased in St. James’s church, ata cost of £29. 88s. ‘Ihe corporate body subsequently appear to have had pews in St. Mary’s church, Quarry-hill; Christ’s church, Meadow-lane; and St. Mark’s church, Woodhouse. 1750. The Wesleyan Methodists obtained a lease for ninety-nine years of an old house and piece of land, on which they erected their first chapel in Leeds. Lord Viscount Downe was elected for Yorkshire in the place of Sir M. Stapylton, who was appointed one of bis majesty’s commissioners of the customs. 1751. Mrs. Catherine Parker, of Leeds, left by will, dated September 3rd, this year, the sum of £500, for the benefit of the poor inhabitants of Harrison’s hospital, in Leeds. In this year there was an act passed (24 Geo. II.) for making the calendar in England correspond with that used in other countries of Europe. It was enacted that eleven days should be omitted after the 2nd of September, 1752, so that the ensuing day should be the 14th; and in‘order to counteract a certain minute overplus of time, that the years, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, or any other hundredth year which shall happen in time to come, shall not be con- sidered as leap years: except only every fourth hun- dredth year, whereof the year 2000 shall be the first. Christmas day was the ecclesiastical beginning of the - year, till pope Gregory XIII., in 1552, ordered it to begin on the Ist of January. In France and England, the same practice commenced about the same time; but in the latter country, it was not till 1752 that legal writs and in- struments ceased to consider the 25th of March as the be- ginning of the year; hence, whenit was necessary to express a date between the Ist of January, which was the com- mencement of the historical year, and the 25th of March, which opened the legal one, error and confusion were sure to occur, unless if were given in the following awkward fashion: 1648-9. 1753. In June, a serious riot took place at Leeds, in con- sequence of an attempt being made to improve the public roads, and several turnpike bars were demolished. Some

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 133 1753.-1754. persons were wounded, in an attempt to demolish the turnpike house at Harewood bridge, which was defended by Edwin Lascelles, Esq., witha number of his tenants and workmen. On the following Saturday, a carter refusing to pay the toll at Beeston turnpike, was seized by the soldiery, but rescued by the populace, before he could be conveyed before the trustees of the turnpike, at the King’s Arms Inn, in Briggate. The mob assembled again in the evening, for the purpose of rescuing three other prisoners, apprehended the night before, and proceeded to break the windows and shutters of the King’s Arms, and to tear up the stones of the pavement, to throw at the soldiers. Having already knocked down the sentinel, the military received orders to fire, which they did, first with powder, and on this producing no intimidation, with ball, by which two or three persons were killed, and twenty-two wounded. —On the 5th of November, this year, the Leeds corporation ordered one hundred guineas to be paid towards obtaining an act of parliament for “erecting a court of conscience, for the recovery of small debts within the borough of Leeds, and for making a common sewer, and for paving, cleansing, and enlightening the said

town of British Museum was estab- lished this year. George IV. gave his father’s library to it in 1827——_—_The corporation of Leeds chose Mr.

Barstow to be town clerk, but the king ordered Mr. Atkinson to have the place, then worth £200 a year. 1754. The ‘“‘Leedes Intelligencer’? was commenced on Tuesday, July 2nd, this year. The office at that time was in Lowerhead-row. It has thus had an uninterrupted existence of more than 105 years. For several years it was published on Tuesday; afterwards the publication day was changed to Monday; then to Thursday; and, lastly, to Saturday. Its original proprietor was Mr. Griffith Wright, who was succeeded by his son, Mr. Thomas Wright, and he again by the late Mr. Griffith Wright, the grandson of the first-named gentleman. After existing in the family of its founder for nearly 65 years, the Intelli- gencer was transferred to other hands at the close of 1818, and its proprietorship passed through various hands, till it solely came into those of Mr. Kemplay, in April, 1849. Count Zinzendorf, who had afforded an asylum on one of his estates in Germany to a company of persecuted descendants from the ancient Moravian church, visited Pudsey, in the township of which some persons, both natives of Britain and foreigners, who had formed a con- 12

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134 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1754. with that church, were building a settlement, which they called Grace Hall, or Lamb’s Hall, but which soon after received the name of Fulneck. It was com- pleted in 1758, and was intended for a centre of evan- gelical usefulness, a temporary residence for the mis- sionaries on their way from Germany to heathen countries, and a place for educational institutions. The principal buildings are erected in a line on the side of a rather steep hill facing the south, and consists of the chapel—a neat stonestructure, with the minister’s dwelling aud ladies’ school attached ; the boy’s school ; and houses for single men, single women, and widows. In front of these is a terrace, upwards of one-eighth of a mile in length, bordered by gardens, and commanding a very beautiful view of a richly wooded valley, on the opposite side of which lie the hall and grounds of the Tong estate. The chapel, handsomely built in the Italian style, accom- modates about 600, and has a very good organ. The burial-ground, often inspected by strangers, is remarkable for its pleasant situation, and the symmetry and plainness observed in it, nothing being allowed to mark each grave but a small head-stone. In the schools, the children of the Moravian ministers are educated, forming, however, the smaller portion of the total boarders. The boys num- ber in general about 60, and the young ladies about 50. There are besides, separate and flourishing day-scliools. In the sister’s house the well-known beautifully executed Moravian needlework is made. The settlement contains also a comfortable board and lodging-house, where con- veyances may be had on hire. The White Chapel, in Hunslet-lane, Leeds, was built this year. The Rev. J. Edwards, the first minister, was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Parsons, who was afterwards appointed to Salem chapel, of which he was long the pastor. After much opposition, the Rev. Mr. Fawcett, on the fourth attempt, succeeded in reading prayers at the chapel at Holbeck, guarded by a party of dragoons. The Rev. gentleman subsequently resigned the curacy. The commissioners of charitable uses advertised at Leeds July 9th, to receive complaints of breaches of trust, &c. Elias Patefield, of Northowram, aged 100, and his wife, aged 99, died nearly at the same timé: they had been married 60 years,

He tirst departed, she for one hour tried To live without him ; lik’d it not and died.

April 19th, about 11 at night, the shock of an earthquake,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 135 1754. or a great explosion in the air, was felt at York and ten miles round. At Whitby, Hull, and several parts on the sea-coast, the same trembling was sensibly experienced by the astonished inhabitants, during a few seconds of time. Scatchard says, that “in the early, and even middle part of this century, in the neighbourhood of Batley, and such hilly grounds, manure was carried into the fields by what were called ‘Hotts,’’ square boxes or crates, which hung like panniers over the backs of the horses, and which were, generally, managed by women. They had opening doors in the underside, through which the tillage was discharged upon the land; and while one box or pannier was emptying, the other was borne up by an assistant, or else by, what we call in Yorkshire, ‘‘a Buck.’’? This account I received from very respectable old people at Batley, and I have since met with an article in Brocket’s glossary, which corro- borates it by shewing that such usage prevailed in other parts. “I have heard old people say,’ writes Mr. Brocket, ‘that between the contines of Yorkshire and Westmoreland, it was common for the-men to employ themselves in knitting, while the women were engaged in the servile employments of carrying these ‘“ Hotts”’ upon their backs.’”” It has been remarked to me that Hott is Hod, but I would prefer deducing it from the French word Hotte, signifying a scuttle, dosser, or bas- ket, to carry on the back. Thesame writer says, there were a description of travellers, formerly very numerous in these parts, which deserve notice here, viz. :—the “ Bell Horses.”” I have a faint recollection of them passing through Morley twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays as I am told. They were called pack horses, from carrying large packs of cloth, &c., on their backs. These bell horses and their drivers were the chief conveyances during the middle ages, and down to the times of the great civil war. By means of them, not only various goods, but letters, and even young Oxford and Cam- bridge students, were passed from various parts of the kingdom. We have an interesting account of them in the 25th volume of the Archzologia, Just come out. ‘‘Imedyatly after that comunycacion (says the writer), we mete one Stephen Amore, a man of Nottyngh’en comyn from Stamfford, dryving horses lodden with cloth before him,” &c. Stephen, it appears, had been at Bury, (probably Bury in Lancashire, or Bury St. Edmonds, in

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136 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1754.-1755. Suffolk), and like all his brother carriers, was a famous newsmonger and politician. ‘‘ When I saw the bell horses at Morley, passing on to Dewsbury aud Thornhill, the first horse only wore a bell. The roads were then narrow and rugged, with deep ruts, and the causeways, generally, were single and uneven. The bell horses always kept this foot path, and forced therefrom travellers of every description, so that on dark nights, and especially in the wiuter time, the bell of the proud leader was a most useful ap- pendage. These roadsters ceased to travel, sometime, as I fancy, about 1794, but I cannot ascertain the pre- cise date.” Sir Conyers D’Arcy and Lord Viscount Downe were returned as members for Yorkshire without opposition. 1755. In this year the act of parliament of the 28th Geo. II., cap. 41, was passed, entitled “au act for en- lightening the streets and lanes, and regulating the pave- ment in the town of Leeds.” The preamble of this act is as follows:—‘ Whereas the town of Leeds, in the county of York, is a place of great trade and large ex- tent, consisting of many streets, narrow lanes and alleys, inhabited by great numbers of tradesmen, manufacturers, artificers, and others, who, in the prosecution of and carrying on their respective trades and manufactures, are obliged to pass and repass through the same as well in the night as in the day time: and whereas several burglaries, robberies, and other outrages and disorders have lately been committed, aud many more attempted within the said town, &c., and the enlightening the said streets and lanes, and regulating the pavements thereof would be of great advantage, and tend not only to the security and preservation of the person and properties of the inhabitants of the said town, but to the benefit and convenience of strangers and persons resorting to the several markets within the said town, &c.’’ ‘The first streets which were lighted under this act were Cross- parish and New-street—so called because if was the first place in Leeds upon which the word street was im- poses The system of lighting was by means of oil amps, which were uscd for 28 years after, when a gas company was incorporated by act of parliament. When the Wesleyan Conference was held at Leeds, May 6th, 1755, the question was agitated, whether the Methodists were to retain their connexion with the es- tablishment, or finally to secede from it? Upon this

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7 THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 137 1755. occasion Mr. Wesley says, “The point on which we desired all the preachers to speak their minds at large, was, Whether we ought to separate from the Church ? Whatever was advanced on one side or the other, was seriously and calmly considered ; and on the third day we were all fully agreed in that general conclusion, That whether it was LAWFUL or not, it was no ways EXx- PEDIENT.’—In a multitude of counsellors there is safety. Henry Hanson, Esq., in 1755, left, for the benefit of the poor of Moortown and Chapeltown, £100, the interest to be distributed in bread, the first Sunday in every month. John Gledhill, Esq., in 1806, left to the poor of Chapel-Allerton £100, the interest to be distributed in bread. Wade Brown, Esq., of Ludlow, in Shropshire, left, by will, in 1821, to the minister and chapelwarden for the time being, to the poor of this chapelry, £100, being a share in the Leeds water-works, the interest to be distributed in coals, yearly, at Christmas, by the minister and chapelwarden. The following bequests are for the benefit of the Sunday school :—£10U left by Mrs. Bywater, and in the hands of Wade Brown, Esq.; £10 left by Luke Priestly, Esq., in the hands of his widow ; and £50 left by John Gledhill, Esq., and in the hands of James Brown, Esq. Interest is paid upon each donation at the rate of five per cent. per annum; and the amount is applied towards the support of a Sunday school at Chapel-Allerton. Allerton Hall was upwards of four centuries the property and residence of the Kitchingman family. It was the largest and most ancient mansion in Chapeltown, consisting of about sixty rooms, with gar- dens and pleasure grounds. It was sold about this year by James Kitchingman, Esq., to Josiah Oates, a merchant of Leeds. ‘The Kkitchingman family, for upwards of 400 years, were carried from this hall by torch light, to be interred in the choir of St. Peter’s church, in Leeds ; at the interment of any of the family, the great chandelier, consisting of 36 branches, was always lighted. In the year 1716, Mr. Robert Kitchingman died, May 7th, aged 100 years. He ordered his body to be buried with torch lights, at Chapel-Allerton ; he was interred on the 16th May, when 100 torches were carried; the room where the body was laid was hung with black, and a velvet pall, with escutcheons, was borne by the chief gentry; the pall bearers had all scarves, biscuits, and sack; the whole company had gloves. Fifty pounds was given among the poor, in the chapel yard, on the day of

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138 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1755. his interment. Mary, his wife, died July 28th, 1716, aged 97 years. She was interred precisely in the same way. She was daughter of Alexander Robinson, merchant, of Leeds, and Grace, his wife, sister of the illustrious Harrison. Part of the house where Mr. Rt. Kitchingman lived is yet standing, although the greatest part of it was taken down about the year 1730. When Sir Thomas Fair- fax took Leeds, Henry Robinson, vicar of Leeds, »nd brother of Mary Kitchingman, fled to this house, after having narrowly escaped with his life, in cruss‘ng the Aire, below St. Peter’s church. He afterwards made his escape to Methley Hall. Tradition says, that king Charles I. was concealed at this house before he went to Leeds. Mr. Ilarrison, the benefactor, spent the summer of 1515 here, when the plague raged in Leeds. The estate of the Sunderlands, in Chapel-Allertcn, was left by Samuel Sun- derland, Esq., of Harding Hall, in the year 167s, to his nephew, Robert Parker,Esq., of Marlow Hal, at Brows- holme, who erected and endowed ten alms-houses at Wad- dington, in Craven. ‘The estate was sold in allotments, by John (or Robert) Parker, about the year 1788. A curious circumstance which occurred in the family of the Sunderlands, is as follows :—

“Samuel Sunderland, Esq., who flourished in the reign of Charles I. and in the Commonwealth, resided at Arthing Hall, not far from Bingley. He wax one of the richest men of his age, and had accu- mulated an immense quantity of gold coin, which he preserved in bags place} on two shelves in a private part of his house. Two individuals who resided at Collingham, and who wer: in circumstances ahove want, though not above temptation, determined to rob Mr Sunderland of the whol-, or at any rate uf a considerable quantity, of his gold; and in order to prevent the chance of successful pursuit, they persuaded a blacksmith at Collingham to put shozs on their horses’ feet backwards way. They arrived at Arthing Hall according to their purpose; took away as much gold in bags as they could carry off, and notwithstanding the of an alarm to the family before they left the house, succeeded in accomplishing their retreat. The weight of the gold they took away was too heavy for their jaded horses, and they were compelled to leave part of it on Blackmoor, where it was after- wards found by some persons of Chapeltown. It so happened, that the robbers had taken a dog with them on their expedition, and thiy animal, in the hurry of their retreat, they left behind them, fistened up in the piace from which they had taken the gold. The friends and neigh- ours of Mr. Sunderland, who had determined upon pursuit, imme- diately saw in this dog the means of detecting the offenders. Having broken one of its legs, to prevent its running too fast for their horses, they turned it loose; it proceeded, notwithstanding its excruciating pain, to Collingham, and went directly to the house of its owners. The

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 139 1755.-1756. pursuers arrived, burst open the door, and found the thieves in the very act of counting the :.oney. ‘They were sent to York, tried, condemned to die, and their own apprentice was compelled to act the part of their executioner. This young man, though innocent of any capital partici- pation in the robbery, was so horror-struck by the deed he had been compelled to perform, that he criminated himself, and followed the fate of his masters.

Assize of Bread established in Leeds, May 27th, by John Brooke, Esq., mayor, when the peuny horse loaf weighed 2lbs. loz. lldr., and the threepenny maslin loaf 4lbs. 5oz. 8dr. In this and the previous year a distemper very fatal to cattle raged to an alarming extent, in and about Leeds. A special sessions ordered the inhabitants of Briggate, in Leeds, to repair the pavement fronting their respective houses, shops, &c.————At a court held in Leeds, on the 10th of October, 1755, it was agreed “ That the town clerk do dine as usual with the mayor.” 1756. Richird Wilson, Esq., sold part of “ the Parks”’ to the clothiers for £400. A public brewhouse was built this year, in Meadow-lane, wherein was brewed about 50 quarters of malt weekly. In May, in th’s year, in the false loft of an ancicnt house, used as a chapcl, at the bot- tom of Northgate, in Wakefield, a number of statues were found by a workman. They wereadmirab:y executed, in va- rious metals, as well asin wood and alabaster, cach adorned with appropriate emblems, and are supposed to have been conveyed from Sandal castle, and the chapel on Wakefield bridge, by the religious, in the reign of Henry VIII. They represented Moses and Aaron, kings David and Solomon, Christ, the twelve Apostles with their respective emblems, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist, and the three magi, Jasper, Melchior, Balthazar; St. Anne, mother of the virgin Mary, teaching her to read; St. William, archbishop of York, with his pastoral staff and mitre, and a monk at his feet praying; a figure with a mitre; a fine represcutation of of two saints suffering martyrdom, in Alto Relievo, in ala- haster; St. Johu the Evangelist was represented in the surrounded by St. Polycarp, St. Ignatius, the principal Roman magistrates, and the executioners ; and another group consisted of a saint lying on a board, whilst his intestines are twisted gradually out, bya spit turned round by two lictors. Waworth chureh, in Bradford parish, rebuilt. There appears to have been a church here so early as A.p. 6090. Farneley hall was built in the reign of Elizabeth, by Sir Thomas Uanby, and wasa “stately fabric, of its architecture and age. Upon the front was

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140 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1756.-1757. this inscription: ‘ Builded in the year of our Lord 1586, and in the reign of the Queen 28, by Sir Thomas Danby, knight.” It was pulled down in 1756, the materials were sold, and a very inferior mansion was erected on its site. It is not known when the ancient park was destroyed. Farneley may be regarded as the last place in the parish of Leeds which continued to be the abode of aristocracy, and Dr. Whitaker says, “It is owing unquestionably to the aristoc- ratical genius of the place, that in the neighbourhood of a population rapidly increasing, where every rood of land when leased was sure of a tenant, little less than four hun- dred acres of native wood, such as in Doomsday is des- cribed as Silva Pascua, should have been permitted to remain to the present day.”” Farneley wood has,;within the last few years been cut down. 1757. The new regulations for levying the militia pro- duced such a spirit of insubordination in Yorkshire, that a vast body of farmers, artizans, and labourers, from up- wards of thirty parishes, assembled at York and de- molished two houses, without Monk bar, in one of which the deputy-lieutenants were expected to assemble to re- ceive the constable’s returns. By deed, dated Jul 7th, 1757, it was declared that the inhabitants of Garforth had agreed to erect a school-house in the town of Garforth, on the promise of Sir Edward Gascoigne, lord of the manor, to settle upon and annex to the school as much of the commou or waste lands of Garforth, as would produce the annual value of fifty shillings. Five acres were con- sequently given upon a lease of ninety-nine years, at the rent of one shilling. In 1774 arrangements were made for the erection of a house for the master.————Dawid Hartley, M.A., died 29th September, 1757, aged 53 years. This well known writer was born at Illingworth, near Halifax. His father was curate there, and married May 25th, 1707, a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Edward Wilkinson, his predecessor. This curacy, Mr. Hartley afterwards re- signed for the chapel of Armley, in the parish of Leeds, where he died, and left behind him eight children. His son David was brought up by one Mrs. Brooksbank, near Halifax, and received his academical education at Jesus college, Cambridge, of which he was fellow. He first began to practice physic at Newark, in Nottinghamshire, from whence he removed to St. Edmund’s Bury, in Suffolk. After this, he settled for some time in London, and lastly, went to live at Bath, where he died. He acquired great reputation for his medical and mathematical writings.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 141 1757.-1758. Mr. Wesley, in his journal, mentions Huddersfield, under the date June 9th, 1757, as follows :—“‘I rode over the mountains to Huddersfield. A wilder pcople I never saw in England: the men, women, and children, filled the street as we rode along, and appeared jnst ready to de- vourus. They were, however, tolerably quiet while I preached ; only a few pieces of dirt were thrown; and the bellman came in the middle of the sermon, but was stopped by a gentleman of the town. I had almost done, when they began to ring the bells; so that it did us small disservice. How intolerable a thing is the Gospel of Christ to them who are resolvea the Devil.”” And again, in 1759, he says, “I preached near Huddersfield, to the wildest congregation I have seen in Yorkshire; yet they were restrained by an unseen hand, and I believe some felt the sharpness of His word.’———John Ilirth, of Sowerby, had seven sons and daughters living and well, though the eldcst was 87 years old, and the youngest 69. 1758. A very handsome chapel was erected at Horsforth on the site of the ancient editice, under the auspices of the Stanhope family —————The coloured or mixed Cloth Hall in Wellington-street, Leeds, was built this year by subscription. ,The department principally used for the sale of ladies’ cloth in an undyed state, was added in 1810. The building is of brick, of a quadrangular form, enclosing an open area of considerable extent. It is 380 feet long and 200 broad, and contains 1,780 freehold stalls, divided into six compartments, which are appropriately called streets. Each street, or avenue, contains two rows of stalls, and each stand measures 22 inches in front, having affixed thereon the name of the clothier to wiom it belongs. The octagonal building near the entrance, is called ‘“ The Rotunda,” and is used by the trustees of the hall. It is now greatly improved at the entrance by the removal of part of the wall, and the erection of iron gates and palisading. ‘The opening of the hall is jndicated by the ringing of a bell, at half-past nine o’clock, after which operations commence. Bargains are made with great quickness. The buyers pace up and down the avenues, look at the stalls as they pass, listen to the invitations of the sellers, examine the specimens offered, and make a short contest about price, the chaffering being speedily brought to a close either by one party or the other. All the sellers know the buyers; and the discussions about olives, or browns, or pilots; about 6-quarters or §-quarters ; about English or Foreign; about high quality and low

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142 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1758.-1759. quality, are heard on every side. The hall is kept open one hour and a quarter, and a bell announces the ap- proaching close of the market, and the ringing of another soon after terminates the business of the day. In the short time allotted, very extensive transactions take place, amounting from £20,000 to £30,000. The merchants are fined 5s. for remaining after the ringing of the last bell. The Leeds corporation commenced an action-at-law against William Denison, Esquire, one of the aldermen of the borough, for refusing to take upon himself the office of mayor, to which he had been elected no less than four times, namely, in 1754, 1755, 1757, and 1758. The cause was afterwards compromised by Mr. Denison engaging to accept office, on condition that the duties thereof might be discharged by his brother. Mr. Denison paid the cor- poration as costs in the action, £12 17d. 3d. 1759. Sir George Savile was returned for Yorkshire in the place of Sir Conyers D’Arcy, Joseph Midgley, of Leeds, clothier, who died this year, left the interest of £800 to be paid quarterly to the poor of Harrison’s hospital, in Leeds. It appears from Mr. Wesley’s journal, that the parish of Halifax was agitated with an earthquake. It occurs under the date of May 18th, 1759. ‘I rode in the afternoon from Halifax, over the huge, but extremely pleasant and fruitful mountains, to Heptoustall. A large congregation was waiting for us, not only on the ground, but on the side and tops of the neigh- bouring houses ; but no scoffer or trifler was seen among them. It rained in the adjoining valley, all or most of the time that I was preaching ; but it was fair with us on the top of the mountain. Whatan emblem of God’s taking up his people into a place of safety, while the storm falls on all below! Here I was informed of the earthquake the day before. On Tuesday, May the 17th, many persons, in several parts, within five or six miles. heard a strange noise under the ground, which some compared to thunder, others to the rumbling of carts: quickly after, they felt the earth rock under them and wave to and fro: many, who were within doors, heard their pewter and glass clatter; many in the tields felt the ground shake under their feet; and all agreed as to the time, though they knew nothing of each other’s account. Thursday, the 19th, I preached at Ewood, about seven, not intending to reach again till the evening ; but Mr. Grimshaw begged would give them one sermon at Gawksham; after which we climbed up the enormous mountain, I think

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 143 1759 -1760. equal to any I saw in Germany, on the brow of which we were saluted by a severe shower, which a high wind drove full in our faces, almost till we came to Haslenden. Here I learned, that the earthquake observed near Heptonstall, had been sensibly felt by very many persons from Bingley, three miles eastward of Keighley, to the neighbourhood of Preston. It was everywhere preceded by a hoarse rumbling, about three o’clock ; so that in a few minutes it had run from east to west, between fifty and sixty miles.”’ 1760. The foundation stone of Harewood house was laid by Henry Lascelles, Esq. on the 23rd of March this year. The length of the building is 250 feet, and the width 89 feet, displaying all therichness of Corinthian architecture. It is said to have cost upwards of £100,000. It stands on an elevated position, in a park of great beauty and extent, consisting of 1,800 acres. The taste displayed in the pleasure grounds, gardens, and lake, corresponds with the magnificence of the house. ‘They comprise nearly 150 acres. ‘The terrace erected by the late earl will vie with the best of the kind in the country. The interioris very ele- gantand costly. Theentrance hall is supported at the sides by sixteen Doric columns and pilasters, and the walls are enriched with basso relievos by Rose. In six niches are placed busts of various members of the family. From the centre of the ceiling is suspended a beautiful lamp. The old ivy-mantled castle adds greatly to the beauty of the scenery of Harewood.———Mr. Benjamin Wilson, an eminent painter, flourished about this time. He native of Leeds, and particularly distinguished for his etchings in imitation of Rembrandt, which are said to have completely deceived the connoisseurs of that day. The celebrated painting of the raising of Jairus’s daughter, valued at £500, is an honourable proof both of his abilities as an artist, and of his generosity. It is now in the Leeds general infirmary. Two stone coffins were dug up at Black-hill, in the parish of Harewood, containing human bones. Foundations of buildings, urns, and coins, have been frequently found at the same place. George III. succeeded his grandfather George I1., Oct. 26th, 1760, and died Jan. 29th, 1820, thus reigning nearly sixty years, which is the longest reign in our history. In this year the act of parliament of the 33rd Geo. II., cap. 54, was passed, entitled “An act for raising money for finishing and completing the repairs of Leeds bridge, in the county of York; and for the purchasing and taking

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144 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1760 -1763. down the houses and buildings which straiten and obstruct the passage tu and over the said bridge.’ The act authorized the erection of “a stone arch over that part of the mill stream or goit passing under one arch of Leeds bridge aforesaid, which runs between master Green’s house and the old school,” the latter being the chantry of St. Mary, previously mentioned in this work. 1761. Ou the 3lst of August, the city of York was visited by the king of Denmark, being attended by many of his nobles and a numerons retinue. ‘The following day, after visiting the cathedral and the assembly rooms, he departed for London, by way of Leeds and Manchester. Sir George Savile, and Edwin Lascelles, Esqrs. were returned as members for Yorkshire without opposition. They were also returned at the elections of 1768, and 1774 without opposition. 1762. June 19th. Several moors in this county caught fire, to the great consternation and loss of the inhabi- tants in the respective neighbourhoods.- Dec. Ist. A hurricane in York raged from nine o’clock at night till cight o’clock on the following night; blowing down the weather cock and part of the battlement at the west end of the minster, and very seriously damaging numerous houses. 1763. Angust 16th was born Frederick, second son of George III., and eleventh duke of York he was advanced to the dignity of the duke of York and Albany, in Great Britain, ear] of Ulster, in Jreland. His royal high- ness was also many years commander-in-chief of all the land forces of the united kingdom, colonel of the first regiment of foot guards, colonel-in-chief of the 60th regi- ment of infantry. He was the soldiers’ friend, by whom he was venerated when living, and by whom his memory is still cherished with enthusiasm. He died January 5th, 1827, aud was buried in the royal vault at Windsor, on the 20th of the same month. Dec. 26th. Owing to a sudden thaw and heavy rain after a great fall of snow, the river Aire rose to such a height at Leeds that it forced down its banks at the head of the high dam, where it formed a new channel, and swept away an acre of soil out of School-close, besides washing down several large trees at the Parks, close to the banks of the river. The damage was estimated at £1000. The church at Sowerby is a neat edifice, and was built in this year: it is dedicated to St. Peter, and valued in the parliamen- tary returns at £28. It is in the patronage of the vicar

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 146 1763.-1765. of Halifax. The chapel has a chancel, in which is a statue of Archbishop Tiliotson, erected in compliance with the will of his surviving grand-nicce, between sixty and seventy years ago. Thiscelebrated person was born at Haugh-End, in October, 1630. 1764. The Rev. Samuel Brooke, A.M., rector of Gamston, Notts, was this year electcd master of the Leeds grammar school: died September Sth, 1778. He was distinguished for the point aud neatness of his epigrams in Latiu and English. June 2dth, an-exceilent dinner was given at the Green Dragon, Harrogate, by 21 of the neighbouring gentry, to Mr. and Mrs. Liddal, on their taking the * OF Bacon Oats,’’ inserted in the 607th number of the Spectator, and appointed to be taken by such happy couples as wish to be rewarded for having lived one year and a day (or more) in wedlock, without strife, or wishing the “ silken cord”’ untied. October 2nd. An advertisement bearing this date, says, ‘“‘ Safe and expeditious travelling with machines on steel springs in four days to London from the Old King’s Arms, in Leeds, every Monday and In this year wigs were fast becoming unfashionable, and the wig-makers of London petitioned Geo. III. to compel gentlemen to wear wigs by law, for the benefit of their trade. 1765. Mrs. Barbara Chantrill bequeathed the interest of £100 to the poor widows of Mrs. Potter’s alms houses, in Camp-road, Leeds. The father of Richard Wilson, Esq. recorder, built a large house on a part of the site of Leeds castle (Scarborough's hotel). On the 27th of March was held the first fortnight sheep and cattle fair at Wakefield, and on the 2nd of April following, the inhabi- tants of Adwalton advertised it as illegal, and that they should bring actions at law “ against all persons by whom such intended meetings at Waketield shall be as the same would be highly prejudicial to the neighbouring fairs and markets at Adwalton, which are held by virtue of a “Royal Charter.” On the 8th of September, died Sir Thomas Dennison, the son of a clothier, at North-town- end, Leeds, who by his merit as a lawyer was elevated to a seat in the king’s bench. The isle of Man was an- nexed to the crown of Eugland, having been purchased from the duke of Athol The following curious notices of business to be attended to in each year, occur in e@ memorandum book formerly belonging to Mr. Thomas Barstow’, the younger, town clerk of the borough of Leeds, this year :-— 13

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146 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1765.-1767. “627 Sept. To give notice of a court of mayor, ald’men, and assist ants, to choose a new mayor, (and assists. if wanting,) on the 29th, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon ; afterwards the old mayor, the mayor elect, and the rest of the court go and drink a glass. The old mayor pays a guinea, the mayor elect 10s. 6d., the aldermen 2s. a piece, and the assistants ls. each. What is spent above is paid by the treasurer out of the corporation stock. Sunday after the last mentioned day, the new mayor goes to church with the old mayor, the former in a black and the latter in a scarlet gown, and dine together at the old mayor's. The first Sunday after the new mayor is sworn in, is a Gown day. The first whole week after Michaelmas, the quarter sessions, dine with the old mayor, go to court after dinner to swear the new mayor. Sup with the new mayor. Waites playing before them from court. New mayor gives the old church ringers 10s., St. John’s 5s., and Trinity ls. 1766. Huddersfield Cloth Hall, or Piece Hall, was erected this year. This edifice was built by Sir John Ramsden, and was enlarged by his son in 1780. It is an extensive circular edifice, two stories high, divided on one side into separate compartments or shops, and on the other into open stalls for the accommodation of country manufac- turers of woollen cloths. There are two central avenues of stalls for the same purpose, and about six hundred manufacturers now attend here every market day. The doors are opened early in the morning of the market day; they are closed at half-past twelve o’clock at noon; and they are again opened at half-past three for the removal of cloth, &c. A cupola and bell are placed above the en- ‘trance for the purpose of regulating the time allowed for doing business. Edward, duke of York, this year visited the earl of Mexbro’. 1767. Ann Sowerby was burnt at York for murdering her husband. The walls of the venerable church of Dews- bury gave way, and were rebuilt with a laudable regard to the preservation of the works of antiquity. Thomas Hudson, a native of Leeds, who was reduced from affluence to beggary by the “South Sea Bubble,” died this year at a very advanced age. In the early part of his life he was clerk in a government office, and by the death of an aunt obtained a large fortune, which he boldly ventured in the South Sea Scheme, after the failure of which, he left his country seat in Staffordshire, where he had just buried an affectionate wife, and became a wandering lunatic mendi- cant. He was frequently seen perambulating the fields about Chelsea, bare-footed, wrapped in a rug, and sup-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 147 1767.-1768. : ported by a crutch, under the name of ‘Tom of ten thousand,’’ as he used to call himself. Between the years 1767 and 1787 the average cost of manufacturing a pack of long wool into yarn was as follows :—1 ¥ pack of Lincoln or Kent wool would cost £7.10s. The washing and combing would cost £2. 10s.; the spinning, £9.; the carrying out, £2.; the average Norwich profit would be £3.; making a total of £20. About the same time, a wool-comber with three thou- sand pounds capital, would make four hundred and six- teen packs in one year, or twelve hundred pounds profit. His return would be eight thousand seven hunbred and thirty-six pounds. The state of things in this manufac- ture, before machinery was introduced to any extent, may be ascertained from the fact that in 1738, a pack of long wool made into fine stuffs, would employ one hundred and fifty-eight persons a week, who earned thirty-two pounds twelve shillings. In 1788 the spinners were old men, women, and children of both sexes; and at that time in sixteen counties, their average earnings was sixpence farthing per day. 1768. The first stone uf the Leeds General Infirmary was laid this year. It is a spacious but plain building of red brick, with stone facings. It was originally of two stories. The two large wings have been added at different times, and the body of the building raised to the same elevation, besides other improvements; the whole forming three sides of a quadrangle. The length of the building is 150 feet, the width 38; the court is 186 feet by 30 feet ; the back court, with the offices and gardens, 186 feet by 120 feet. In 1817, R. F. Wilson, Esq., of Ingmanthorp, munificently presented the trustees with a plot of land on the south front, consisting of 4,000 square yards, valued at £1,500, which extends from the ground on the south front to Wellington-road. The land is tastefully laid out as a garden and pleasure ground, and is enclosed bya substantial wall, surmounted with iron palisades, and forms an ornament to the western part of the town. It contains 143 beds, in part devoted to surgical, and in part to medical cases. Upwards of 2,000 in and 3,000 out-patients receive the benefit of this institution yearly : 247,911 patients have been treated within its walls since the opening. As a surgical school it is unsurpassed by any hospital in the kingdom. . lt is supported by annual subscriptions, benefactions, legacies, and public collections, chiefly from the town.

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148 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1768. The subscriptions and collections amount to about £2,500 per annum: the dividends on £3,000 three per cent consols, purchased with the amount of various bequests, are also available for the general expenditure, the annual amount of which is something approaching £5,000. The Leeds Library was commenced under the recom- mendation of Dr. Priestley, and was then on the ground- floor of the Rotation-Office, in Kirkgate. The present building, erected at a cost of £5,000, is situated in Com- mercial-street ; the basement story is rusticated, and is at present occupied as shops, which produce a considerable rental. The front consists entirely of stone, and is divided above the rusticated base into tive compartments by Ionic illars, with windows of the same order in each division, he whole finishing in a bold cornice and entablature. The Nibrary is approached by a staircase at the west end; the books, consisting of 30,000 volumes are systematically arranged on the upper floor, in one principal and three smaller rooms, the dimensions of which are, the large room, 180 feet by 90; lst. smaller, 57 by 54; 2nd. smaller same size; 3rd. smaller, 51 by 42; which together, gives 634 feet of available wall space for displaying the books. The library consists of a well-selected collection of books, many of which are extremely valuable, comprising the best editions of the standard authors, both English and foreign, in every branch of literature ; also a rare collec- tion of quarto tracts relating to the civil wars. It is acknowledged to be one of the most spacious and beautiful libraries in the north of England. Dr. Whittaker says of it, ‘a splendid apartment which would not disgrace a college.’”? The number of subscribers is limited to 500. Strangers can obtain admission on application toa member. On the 6th of September, the king of Denmark passed through Leeds with a splendid retinue, and after visiting the Cloth Hall, was sumptuously entertained by the cor- oration. On October 7th, the Rev. Richard Fawcett, .M., was chosen incumbent of St. John’s, in Leeds. He held the living fifteeen years. By a suit in chancer agsinst the trustees of that church he increaxed the yearly value of the benefice to six times its former amount. He was a very acute man, and master of a neat clear con- troversial style. This year Pontefract was distracted by two violent parties, viz., lord Galloway’s and Sir Rowland Winn’s, who each elected a mayor, and kept the fown some time in great confusion, till one of the two gave up the mace. Bridge Frodsham, the “ York

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 149 1768.-1769. Roscius,’”’ breathed his Jast on the 26th of October, 1768, in the city of York, where he had so long been the idol of the stage, and received such unqualified flattery, that he fancied himself equal in many tragic parts to the great Garrick, and would not have exchanged the applause of a York for that of a London audience. He was only once in the metropolis, and then only for a few days, during which he visited Garrick, whom, as well as Mrs. Garrick, he surprised and baffled with his freedom and airs, saying that he was a Roscius in his own quarters, and neither wanted nor wished for an engagement in London, but came there merely to see a few plays, and visit a brother genius. In July, this year, a great flood carried away three bridges, and did much damage at Leeds and Bradford, where the cellars near the river were inundated, and at the latter place, great quantities of cloth, wool, &c., were carried away by the stream, into which a man and a boy fell with the bridge on which they were standing. Near the walls of the city of York, some labourers discovered a Roman sepulchre, formed of tiles 20 inches long, 154% broad, and 3 inches thick, with rominent edges, and a cover resembling the roof of a ouse, formed with semicircular tiles of a small diameter, fitting very close. Each end of the dormitory was closed with a tile like those of the sides; on each of which were these letters and figures, ‘Leg. IX. HIS.”’ In the cavity were found the remains of a human body, which seemed to have been burnt, particularly part of a thigh bone, and the lower jaw, which was broken, but contained all its teeth. There was also an urn, of a blueish grey colonr, containing ashes, covered witha slate. Near to this was found another earthen vessel of red clay, with a handle to it; there were likewise a few coins and a medal; one of the coins was a Domitan, well preserved, having on the reverse, “Fidei Publice.”’ 1769. October. Between Gillygate and the walls of the city of York, was found by some workmen, a Roman silver coin. Qn one side was a head in profile, and this inscrip-~ tion, “Capit cxur.’? On the reverse two oxen, with the yoke on their necks, but no plough; above them was in- scribed “CXIII.’’; and under their feet ‘“C. Mari.” Major Bradley, of Leeds, advertised his wife having left him for the 14th time! ! Two coaches carried pas- from ‘ Leeds to London in two days aud a half,”’ for £1. lls. 6d. inside, or £1. ls. outside. A man at Leeds was indicted for paying a bad “six and thirty,” and

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150 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1769 -1770. Many persons in Halifax and other places were appre- bended for clipping and sweating the 36s., 183., and 6s. 9d., and other gold pieces, and for counterfeiting the Portugnese coin then current in England. At the York Spring assizes, about forty coiners and clippers were tried, but ouly two were executed, viz.: James Oldfield, of Warley, and David Hartly, of Erringden. The latter was called “ King David,” by his illicit fraternity, who had another chief distinguished with the title of * Duke of Ediuburgh.” The favourite haunt of this desperate gang, was the wild and mountanions parish of Halifax, of which many of them were natives. After David their “king ’’ had been apprehended in the town of Halifax, some of the gang murdered Mr. Deighton, a supervisor, within one hundred yards of his own house, for which crime, Robert Thomas was executed at York on the 6th of August, 1774, and gibbeted on the Beacon-hill, with his right hand pointing to the scene of the murder. Matthew Normantun also suffered death as an accomplice in the bloody deed. Mectings were held at various times in Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax, to consult on the best means to be used for suppressing this numerous gang of Yorkshire coiners, whose frauds and violesce had increased to a very alarm- ing extent. The widow of Mr. Deighton, being recom- mended by the Yorkshire gentry as an object of royal bounty, received from his majesty a gift of £200, and an annuity of £50 for life. On the third of February, this year, there were at Lecds and Bradford grand sep- tennial processious of the wool-combers in honour of their patron bishop Blaise—————In August, the Rev. John Vesley held at Leeds a kind of * Visitation,” which he called a a name by which the yearly syuods of his followers have since been distinguished. At the village of ‘Thornton, in the parish of Bradford, a most eccentric character, George Kirton, Esq., of Oxuop Hall, died in 1769, aged one hundred and twenty-five. He was a most remarkable fox-hunter, following the chase on horseback till he was cighty years of age; from that period to one hundred years, he regularly attended the aokennelling the fox in his single chair. 1770. She construction of the Leeds and Liverpool canal was commenced this year, and was not completed to Liverpool till 1316. The whole length of the canal is 129 miles. In its course it passes Ormskirk, Wigan, Blackburn, Burnley, and Colne, in Lancashire, and Skipton, - Keighley, Bingley, aud Bradford to Leeds in Yorkshire.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 151 1770. I It joins the Aire at Leeds, thus opening a direct line of navi- gation between Hull and Liverpool, and the principal towns in the kingdom. It communicates with the Ribble by the Douglas navigation, and a brauch from Wigan to Leigh connects it with the Bridgewater canal. The Aire and Calder Canal has its junction with the Leeds and Liverpool, at Leeds. It extends tou Weeland, from thence to the Ouse, near Goole ; and from Haddlesey to the same river at Selby. During the first ten years of the reign of George III.,some discoveries and inventions were made, by which the prosperity of the whole empire received a newimpulse. By the improvements effected in the steam- engine by Mr. James Watt, a superior mechanic power was obtained for the driving of machinery and other pur- poses. Mr. James Hargreaves, of Blackburn, invented the a contrivance for abridging the use of hand labour in the cotton manufacture. Upon this an improve- ment was afterwards made by Mr. Richard Arkwright, who invented what was called the spinning: frame, by which a vastnumber of threads of the utmust fineness were spun with very little aid from hand labour. A third invention called the mule jenny, by Mr. Crompton, of Bolton, came into use some years later; and finally the power-loom was invented by Dr. Cartwright for superseding hand labour in weaving. Mr. Watt was in his early days; Mr. llargreaves was a carpenter; and Mr. Arkwright a dresser of hair. The last, who was knighted by George IIL, left at his death nearly a million sterling, realised by the profit of his invention. On the banks of the Ouse, about a mile and a half from York, ina piece of ground opened for a gravel pit, were discovered several fragments of Roman earthenware, such as pateras, urns, aud some very large, vessels, ornamented with vine leaves, and one inscribed “Ophilas’’; also part of a urn of crystal, an iron flesh fork, and a piece of brass. A stratum of oys'er shells ap- peared to have been laid from two five feet below the surface of the ground, and above them was a rich black earth, like soot mixed with oil, amongst which were Pieces of burnt wood; over these were scattered great numbers of heads of beasts, and in several others were bones mixed with earth, and fragments of earthen vessels. Not. far from these, the earth, about three feet beluw the surface, was discoloured and greasy, as though it had been soaked with blood. In digging a drain from the north-cast of Davygate to the corner of Lendal, iu York, the foundations of three walls were discovered,

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152 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1770.-1771. about seven feet below the ground. They were from nine and a half to eleven and a half feet broad, about three feet distant from each other, and were composed of pebbles strongly cemented; the space between the walls being securely filled with clay. October 4th, died Mrs. Peckham, the celebrated cook; and, on the 6th, Mary Dobson, alias ‘ Match Mary,” who kept her coffin, shroud, &c., 17 years in her house previous to her death. In August, this year, part of the foundation of a temple, of Roman brick work, was found iu Friar’s garden, in York, about two feet below the surface of the earth, of a semicircular form, the other half being under an adjoining house. Under this fragment was a flat grit stone, three feet long, two feet one inch broad, and seven inches thick, on which was an inscription, and some curious carved work, in fine preservation. Some Roman foundations were discovered near St. Helen’s church, St. Helen’s- square, York; the origin of which church can be traced back to the ages of heathen idolatry, when a temple dedi- cated to Diana was erected here. Wilks, the popular champion of the people’s rights, being liberated from his long imprisonment on the 18th of April, in this year, the event was honoured in Yorkshire with great rejoicings ; the towns of Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Halifax, &c., heing enlivened with ringing of bells, fireworks, illumina- tions, and other demonstrations of joy. “ Wilks and and ‘No. 45,” were seen in almost every window. This year died Anthony Herridance, a baker, of Shad- well, supposed to have been the heaviest man then in Europe. In September, this year, 11,000 freeholders of Yorkshire petitioned his majesty for a dissolution of par- liament. July 3rd, the relict of the Rev. William Whitaker, instead of expending £50 in funeral pomp, gave that sum to the Leeds infirmary, then building. In September, Sir James Ibbetson, bart., was chosen common councilman of Leeds, being then resident in Kirkgate. 1771. Cuthbert Shaw, the son of a shoemaker at Ravens- ‘worth, near Richmond, was horn in 1738, and died this year; was some time usher to the grammar school at Darlington, where he published his first poem, entitled “Liberty.” He took to the stage. Wrote a satire, en- titled the “Four Farthing Candles,’’ with a view to ridicule Coleman, Churchill, Lloyd, and Shirley ; and next made Churchill the object of single attack, in a heroic poem, called the “ Race of Mercurius Spur, with notes by

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 153 1771.-1774. ! Faustinus Scriblerus.’’ He had the instruction for some time of the son of Philip Dormer Stanhope, the earl of Chesterfield. This year were opened the J.eeds general Infirmary, the Theatre, Hunslet-lane, and the Methodist chapel, in Low-street, St. Peter’s-street. 1772. August 8th, four persons were tried at York for murdering a boy who was afflicted with that dreadful malady hydrophobia, but they were acquitted fur want of evidence. Negroes were adjudzed to be free whilst in this country. August 27th, a county meeting was held at the castle of York, when Archbishop Drummond was called to the chair, and proposed that a subscription should be commenced for the erection of an asylum in the city, expressly for pauper lunatics, or such as helonged to indigent families: £2,500 was quickly subscribed. Judges were this year appointed for life, instead of during pleasure. June 20th, at Leeds, hailstones fell as large as nutmegs, doing immense damage while the storm continued. This year 210,119 pieces of broad and narrow cloth were sold at Leeds. 1773. June 8th, ten plays advertised to be performed by subscription, at the theatre, Leeds. Box tickets, 15s.; p t, 10s., for the course. In May 10th, of the following year, the same plan was resorted to. June 15th, a self- moving phaeton was advertised to be exhibited at the sign of the Red Bear, (now the Bull and Mouth,) Brig- gate, Leeds. February 9th, the Quakers in Leeds subscribed £70 for bread for the poor, an example (says the editor of the Mercury) “in these pinching times noé unworthy the imitation of the afflucnt.” In March, the merchants and tradesmen of Leeds agreed, at a public meeting, {o take all kinds of Portugal gold. provid ng it was good, anil of sufficient weizht. Foster Powell, the celebrated pedestrian, a native of Horsforth, com- pleted his first walk from London to York and hack, in 5 days and 18 hours; this task he repeated in 1787, and subsequently, in 1792, in 5 days, 13 hours, 15 minutes, being then in his 58th year. The first manufactory for cast plate glass, according to the process invented by Abraham The’vart, was established at Prescot, in Lanca- shire, by a society of gentlemen, to whom a royal charter was granted, under the name of the “ British Plate Glass 1774. On Sunday, July 3lst, the sails of the windmill belonging to tho Leeds pottery fell down with a tremen- dous crash, which, being looked upon as a judgment for

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154 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1774 -1775. . desecrating the Sabbath, the proprietors resolved that the mill should never be allowed to be worked afterwards on the Lord’s day. In this year great distress prevailed amongst the poor of Leeds, when ‘not less than 6,000 persons were relieved weekly for sometime.’’ Inclemency of the weather, dearness of provisions, and bad trade, were assigned as the causes. A gold coin of Justinian, weighing twenty-one grains, was found at Osmondthorpe, near Leeds, which is supposed to have been the royal resi- dence of some of the kings of Northumbria. On the 14th of August, Isabella Cryer, died suddenly at Leeds, aged 41: she measured three yards round, and is supposed to have weighed forty stone. She was borne to the grave by ten men. In this year the Leeds corporation sub- scribed £100 towards the building of a new White Cloth Hall in the town. 1775. The American war of independence commenced in the summer of this year, occasioned by the colonists having refused to submit to the imposition of taxes by the English government. On the 4th of July, 1776, the American congress took the decisive step of a declaration of their independence, embodying their sentiments in a document remarkable for its pathos and solemnity. France, Spain, and Holland joined their arms with those of America against England; while Russia, Sweden, and Denmark remained an “armed neutrality,’ decidedly hostile to Britain. So tremendous was the force raised against Britain in 1779, that it required about 300,000 armed men, 300 armed vessels, and twenty millions of money annually, merely to protect herself from her enemies. On the 3rd of September, 1783, treaties of peace were signed between Great Britain, France, Spain, and the United States of America. By these treaties Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States, and restored to France and Spain a part of the possessions which had been taken from them. In this year, a farmer near Bingley, digging in his tield, discovered a copper chest, containing about one hundred weight of Roman silver coins, some of the date of Julius Ceesar. A very high flood occurred in the river Aire on the 2lst of October, this year. Water-lane, together with all the other streets and lanes near the Leeds bridge, were rendered impassable to anything but boats. The bridges of Calverley and Swillington, above and below Leeds, were destroyed, and a singular circumstance is related of a hare, which escaped alive on the body of a

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 155 1775 -1776. drowned sheep. The height to which the water rose is preserved by a notice at the end of Water-lane, entering rom the bridge, thus :—‘ 1775, October 21st, Flood,’’ under which is a line showing that the water rose seven feet above the crown of the paving. There is a monument in the chancel of the parish church at Halifax, of Dr. Leigh, who distinguished himself in the Bangorian controversy, bearing the following inscription :— “Near this place, in the same vault, are deposited the remains of the Rev. GEoRGE LeicH, LL.D. and his two beloved wives, Frances and Elizabeth, to whose ‘joint memory this monument is erected; he was vicar of this parish of Halifax above forty-four years: during which time he interested himself with laudable zeal in the cause of liberty and sincerity, being the last survivor of those worthy men who distinguish’d themselves by their opposi- tion to ecclesiastical tyranny, he defended the rights of mankind in that memorable Hoadlian The bible he consider’d as the only standard of faith and prac- tice, to the poor and distress’d and public charity’s, he was a generous benefactor, by his will order’d bibles to be given for the benefit of the poor. He did honour to his profession as a clergyman and christian. Esteem’d when liveing, in death lamented. He died compos’d on the 6th of Decemb’r, 1775, in the 82d year of his age; his wife Frances died Decemb’r 9th, 1749; Elizabeth, Feb. 8th, 1765.” The population of Leeds was, at this time, 17,117; Man- chester, 42,937. On the 21st of September, Miss Carr, of Swinegate, Leeds, was unfortuately killed by lightning. Before the act of parliament of this date, country banks issued notes for sums so small as 10s. and 5s. Some banks im Yorkshire even circulated notes of the value of 6d. The manufactures of England, &c., were greatly facili- tated by the inventions of Mr. James Watt, a Glasgow mechanic, who this year obtained a patent for his rotative steam-engine, which is now so generally used in all parts of the kingdom, propelling nearly all kinds of machinery, from the heaviest hammers of the fulling mill and forge to the shuttle of the newly invented power-loom. Leeds White Cloth Hall, in the Calls. was opened on the 17th of October, this year, and was built on the site of an ancient hospital. 1776. Janu. 11th. William Dennison, Esq. gave thirty loads of corn and four hundred corves of coal to the poor of Kirkgate division.— The following memorandum was written ina bible, now in the possession of a family at

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156 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1776.-1777. Rishton, near Blackburn:—“ Thos. Dixbury, of Rishton, near Blackburn, sold to Messrs. Peel, Yates, and Co., Church bank, two common fine calico pieces for £5. 9s. 8d. These were the first pieces ever manufactured in this king- dom.”’ This year, the market cross, Leeds, was erected to replace a more ancient one-—-——The report of woollens manufactured in the West-Riding this year, states that the following were produced from Easter, 1775, to Easter, 1776, viz., of narrow cloth, 99,586; and of broad cloth, 99,773 pieces ; being an increase of 6,687 pieces above the pre- ceding year. No fewer than 925 patients were ad- mitted into the Leeds infirmary this year. Thomas Aikney and Elizabeth Boardingham were executed at York, March 25th, for the murder of the husband of the latter at Flamborough. ‘The body of Aikney was brought to Leeds for dissection. A new post coach was advertised to go to London in thirty-nine hours from the old King’s Arms, Leeds. The Doncaster St. Leger was established by Colonel St. Leger this year. Francis Fawkes, a poet, was born in Yorkshire about 1721; and took his master’s degree at Cambridge, in 1745; and, on entering into orders, became curate of Bramham, where he wrote “ Bramham Park,’ a poem. He obtained the curacy of Croydon in 1754, where he became known to archbishop Herring, who gave him the vicarage of Orpington, with St. Mary Cray, in Kent, which, in 1774, he exchanged for the rectory of Hayes. Published a volume of original poems and translations, and an eclogue on “partridge and other works. Died in 1777. 1777. The County Hall, or Court House, in York castle yard, was built this year. There is an epitaph as follower, in Birstal church yard :—

“This is to the memory of old Amos, Who was when alive for hunting famous; But now his chases are all o’er, And here he’s earth’d of years four score. Upon this tomb he’s often sat And tried to read hig epitaph; And thou who dost so at this moment Shall ere long like him be dormant.

Amos Street, of Birstal, Huntsman to Mr. Fearnley, of Oak- well, who died Oct. 38rd, 1777.” June 9th. The Assembly Rooms, (in Assembly-court), Leeds, was opened with a minuet by lady Effingham and Sir George Savile, bart., on which occasion upwards of two

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Ra ae TH) iit a ORE at Hii H

LHS eA

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 157 1777.-1779. hundred and twenty of the neighbouring nobility and gen- try were present. Sept. 14th. The shock of an earth- quake was felt in Leeds and to the westward. York Lunatic Asylum being nearly completed, apartments were opened on the 20th of September for ten patients, at 8s. per week. Dr. Hunter was appointed physician. In January, the citizens of York were much exasperated by the appearance of a “ Press Gang,”’ and on the 26th the lord mayor received a letter bearing the York postmark on it, threatening ‘‘ that if those men were not removed from the city on or before the 28th, his lordship’s own dwelling and the mansion house also should be burned to the ground.”’ 1778. The baptisms, marriages, and funerals at the parish church of Leeds, from January, 1777, to January, 1778, were as follows :—baptisms, 1025; marriages, 360; funerals, 945. On June 14th, was a total eclipse of the sun. On December 31st a great storm of wind occurred, by which much damage was done in the town and neighbourhood of Leeds. The inhabitants of Wakefield empowered the churchwardens to contract with Messrs. Pack and Chapman, of London, to exchange the old bells that were hung in 1739, for a new peal of eight ; the tenor to weigh 24 cwt., the rgst in proportion. This year Paul Jones. a bold adventurer, kept all the western coast of the island in continualalarm. He landed at Whitehaven, where he burned the ships in the harbour, and attempted to burn the town. He afterwards landed in Scotland, where he continued his depredatious. On the 20th of September in the following year, asea fight took place off Flamborough Head, between Paul Jones anda British fleet under the command of Captain Pearson. The battle commenced about half-past seven o’clock in the evening, and raged with great fury for two hours, when Captain Pearson was compelled to surrender. The enemy purchased his victory at a prodigious price, not less than 300 of his men being killed and wounded. 1779. Jan. 27th. On this day the venerable abbey, at Kirkstall, suffered the loss of two sides of its fine tower, and a part of a third, when several little smoking pipes, such as were used in the time of James I. were found em- bedded in the mortar, whence it is argued that smoking was practised in England before the introduction of American tobacco in 1586. Parliament granted £5000 to James Berkenhout and Thomas Clarke, of Halton, near Leeds, on condition that they should make known to the 14

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158 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1779. public their newly-discovered method of dyeing linen and cotton cloth, in scarlet, crimson, and other colours varie- gated. The secret was attempted to be divulged, but no hues could ever be produced like the specimens, which in all probability were the effect of accident rather than skill, as had been the case eight years before at Barnard castle, where a dyer’s boiling kettles were in 1771 suddenly inundated by the overflowing of the Tees, which struck such a beautiful shade upon the cloth then in process, that it sold in London at a greatly advanced price, and orders poured in for more of the same hue, which the poor dyer could never again produce, the genius of the river not deigning to pay him another visit. Mr. Berkenhout was the descendant of a Dutch merchant, who settled at Leeds. A descendant of his partner, Mr. Peter Clarke, occupied the White Bridge Mill, at Halton, until 1857, where he manufactured bunting for ship’s colours, and where the first power-loom in England was at work long before the public became acquainted with the steam power-loom of the present day. The mill is now converted into two dweliings, and a water-wheel is (1859) being erected near the reservoir, to supply Halton, Temple-Newsam, and Whitkirk with water. About this time, a man passing by Hathershelf Scout, observed his dog enter a narrow aperture: supposing him to have caught the scent of a fox, he pursued and found the opening gradually expand into a small cave, where he found, not a fox but a savage, who barred all further approach by a pistol. The astonished discoverer withdrew, but quickly returned with some assistants, one of whom boldly entered, and secured the inhabitant of the cave. The reason for his choice of this unknown retire- ment now appeared. It was a repository of stolen goods; among which were two surplices taken from the parish church of Rochdale, with the scarlet hood of a doctor in divinity. The plate stolen at the same time had been pre- viously discovered in another place. The cave was not large enough for the reception of living oxen, but it was copiously stored with slaughtered animal food, properly cured for a long concealment. The ruffian thus extricated from his lurking place was transported for life. Destructive riots took place in London, when at least 50,000 persons from one meeting took their route over London bridge, bearing flags inscribed ‘“‘ No Popery,’’ headed by lord George Gordon. They burnt the furniture, ornaments, and altars of two Roman Catholic chapels, set

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 159 1779. fire to the house of the keeper of Newgate, also to the prison, which was soon entered and destroyed, and the risoners were liberated. The king’s Bench prison and the new Bridewell, together with some adjoining houses were set on fire and nearly consumed. Attempts were twice made on the bank of England on the same day. The rioters were repulsed after many of them had fallen by the fire of the military. The total of killed and wounded was 285. Several of the prisoners were afterwards exe- cuted. Lord George Gordon was tried for high treason, but acquitted. This year was discovered near Morton, in the parish of Bingley, one of the most valuable deposits of Roman Coin ever seen in Britain. It consisted of a very large quantity of Denarii in excellent preservation, for the mos: part of Septimus Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla, and Geta, all con- tained in the remains of a brass chest, which had probably been the military chest of a Roman legion, and buried there upon some sudden alarm. In this year, a few persons at Leeds, of the Baptist denomination, hired a part of the Old Assembly Rooms; and Mr., afterwards Dr. Fawcett and the Rev. J. Parker, of Barnoldswick, preached on the occasion of its being opened for public worship. This may be considered as the commencement of the Baptist interest in Leeds. Two years afterwards the chapel, commonly called the Stone chapel, was opened. ‘The resent edifice in South: parade was built in 1826. “In the year 1779, a countryman,” says Whitaker, “ digging peat on Mixenden moor, struck his spade through a black polished stone, resembling a hone or whet-stone ; adjoining to this stone was a most beautiful brass celt, in excellent preservation. ‘These remains were accompanied by four arrow heads of black flint ; by a light battle-axe head of a beautiful green pebble ; and lastly, by a hollow gouge, or scoop, of hard grey stone, evidently intended for the excavation of canoes and other wooden vessels. The last is unique, no implement for this purpose having ever been discovered before. ‘Together they seem to have formed the imperishable part of the arms of a British soldier, who, by some other means than in battle, had perished, perhaps two thousand years ago, amongst these wastes, where all remains of the body, together with the handles of the weapons, had long been decomposed, and mixed with the common earth.” Cook, a celebrated English navigator, was born on the 27th of October, 1728, at Marton, in Yorkshire.

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160 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1779. His father was an agricultural labourer, or farm servant. His mother’s christian name was Grace; and he was one of nine ch:ldren. Before Cook was thirteen years old, he was apprenticed to a haberdasher at Staiths, near Whitby, but the daily sight of vessels and the conversation of seamen, so filled his mind with a desire to become a sailor, that he obtained his discharge from the shop and bound himself for seven years to John and Henry Walker, of Whitby, who were extensively en- gaged in the coal trade. After the expiration of his marine apprenticeship, he continued to serve as a com- mon sailor in the coasting trade. During all this period, he was very assiduous in the study of his profession, having, without a master, acquired such a knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, as to enable him subse- uently to make three voyages round the globe. In 1768 Cook was recommended to government as a fit person to undertake an expedition to the South Sea. He was appointed to command the expedition with the rank of a lieutenant in the royal navy, his commission bearing date the 25th of May, 1768. In this first voyage he was accompanied by Mr. (afterwards Sir Joseph) Banks and Dr. Solander, as naturalists and students of life and manners, and by Mr. Green, the astronomer. The object of the expedition was to observe at Otaheite the passage of Venus over the Sun’s disk. In this voyage he recognised the coasts of New Zealand, and discovered the strait which divides New Zealand into two islands.—(Cook’s strait) In the second voyage which he made in 1772, and which lasted three years, he had for his task to verify the existence of Australian lands. Having advanced as far as 71 deg. of south latitude, he satisfied himself that there existed no land of any great extent in these regions. In his course he discovered New Caledonia. In 1776 he undertook a third voyage in order to ascertain if there existed a commu- nication between Europe and Asia, by the north of America. He made the circuit of the new world, gained the north-west of America, and attempted to pass into Hudson’s bay through Bering’s straits; but was com- pelled to give up the undertaking in consequence of the advanced season. Cook steered sonthward with a design of wintering among the Sandwich islands, and returning to Kamschatka the following spring. It was on the 30th of November, 1778, that he discovered the fatal Owhyhee. Several weeks elapsed in sailing round and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 161 1779.-1781. examining its coasts. On the 17th January, 1779, he anchored in Karakatooa bay, where occurred the quarrel in which he perished. A chieftain of rank was shot by the crew of an English boat, and in revenge, the captain was attacked on all sides. His men strove in vain to assist him, but they were overpowered by numbers; he was stabbed in the back and fell. His life is his char- acter and panegyric: it ceased abruptly, but it will never be forgotten. Jan. 16th. Admiral Sir George Rodney took twenty-two sail of Spanish ships, defeating their fleet, near Cape St. Vincent, and on the 12th of April, 1782, obtained a signal victory over the French fleet. In December, this year, a press gang com- menced operations in Leeds, and seized a cropper named John Baldwin. He was so affected by the occurrence that he afterwards hanged himself. 1780. Leeds and the neighbouring towns were illumina- ted on the taking of Charlestown, June 19th. Ou Wednesday, Sep. 27th, Sir George Savile and Henry Dun- combe, Esq., were returned members for the county of York without opposition. A slight shock of an earth- quake was felt in Leeds, Dec. 9th. John Fothergill, a physician, died this year, and was born at Carr-end, in Yorkshire,in 1712. His parents were quakers, and he was put apprentice to an apothecary of that denomination at Bradford. He studicd two years under Sir Edward Wilmot, at St. Thomas’s hospital; after which he visited the continent, returned, and then settled in London, where he became a licentiate of the college. He was at Edinburgh, where he took his doctor’s degree. Became a member of the Royal Antiquarian Society. He acquired a large fortune, of which he nade good use. 1781]. The York Emanucl established about this time, for the benefit of ministers, either members of the Church of England or Dissenters,, and the wives, widows, and children of ministers, in any part of the kingdom. The capital of this at the period of the com- missioner’s survey, amounted to £12,400 three per cent. conscls. The following observations on the view from Bramham moor, were made by John Watson, Esq., of Malton, in this year :—“ Upon the middle of this moor, a man may sce for ten miles around him; within those teu miles there is as much free-stone as would build teu cities, each as large as York; within those ten miles there is as much good oak timber as would build those ten cities; there is as much limestone and coal to burn it into lime as

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162 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1781.-1782. the building of those ten cities would require; there is also as much clay and sand and coals to burn them into bricks and tiles as would build those ten cities; within those ten miles there are two iron forges, sufficient for those ten cities, and 10,000 fodders to spare ; within those ten miles there is a good coal seam sufficient to furnish those ten cities with firing for 10,000 years; within those teu miles there are three navigable rivers, from any of which a man may take shipping, and sail to any part of the world ; within those ten miles there are seventy gentle- men’s Louses, all keeping coaches, and the least of them wn esquire, and ten parks and forests well stocked with deer; within those ten miles there are ten market towns, one of which may be supposed to return £10,000 per Captain Donnellan was executed at York for the murder of Theodosius Boughton. Wm. Meek Meyer, Esq., tried at York for the murder of Joseph Spink, (a bailiff’s assistant), and found guilty on the 20th March; respited until the 29th, and further until the 6th of April, when he was executed at Tyburn, near York. April 10th. A large meteor passed over Horsforth, emittiug a heat equal to that of summer A Torque, or ancient British chain of gold, was found at Rawden, near Leeds, worth sixteen guineas. From the 25th of March, 1780, to the same date, 1781, 98,721 pieces of narrow and 102,018 pieces of broad cloth were made in the West-Riding of Yorkshire, being an increase in the former of 11,412, and of the latter of 7,393 pieces above the quantity made the year before. An extraordiuary crop of oats this year, one stalk plucked at Lower Wortley contained 520 corns. On Feb. 20th, was born at Keighley, Isaac Butterfield, who, at the age of twenty months, was three fect in height, and weighed nearly eight stone! He was exhibited as a gigantic child at Spring Gardens, London, where he died Feb. Ist, 1783. 1782. A slip from the Glastonbury Thorn, planted at Birstal twenty years previously, is stated to have bud- ded on old Christmas day this year, the weather being remarkably warm for the season. Respecting the original thorn, tradition says, that Joseph, of Arimathea, preach- ing at Glastonbury on a Christmas day, spoke of the birth of Christ, which his hearers, being backward in believing, he proposed to strike his staff into the ground, as a test of the truth of what he had related, when it immediately put forth buds and blossoms. The Leeds

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 163 1782. Mercury, Janu. 15th, contains a cautionary advertisement, stating that considerable quantities of tobacco had been grown in the previous year about York, contrary to an act of the 15th of Charles JI. Died in Feb., the Rev. James Scott, M.A., vicar of Bardsey, and fifty-five years minister of Trinity church, in Lecds. He was nephew to its munificent benefactor, the Rev. Henry Robinson. March 17th. The Rev. Jonathan Colton, curate of Headingley, destroyed himself by cutting his throat and then leaping into the river Aire. In March, this year, a man named Frank Fern was gibbcted on edge, near Sheffield, for the murder of Nathan Andrews, a respectable watchmaker. Masborough, about half-a mile from Rotherham. of which it forms part of the suburbs, is a place of con- siderable importance, and has long been distinguished as the seat of numerous works connected with the manufactures of the district, whereof, a few years since, the principal were the extensive foundry of iron works of the late Samuel Walker, Esq. The history of this worthy aud enterprising man is short but instructive. At twelve years of age, he was left an orphan, with two brothers aud four sisters, without property, and almost without education. His industry and talents, however, soon supplied these deticiencies, and qualified him for keeping a school. He afterwards, in conjunction with his brothers, established a small foundry, which, under his fostering genius, became one of the most ex- tensive and flourishing of the kind in Europe. He died on the 12th of May, 1782, in the 66th year of his age, rich in property, and aboundiug in Christian virtue. At these great iron works, there were manufactured, during the wars with America and France, immense quantities of cannon of the largest calibre, and almost every kind of cast-iron articles, as well as many of wrought iron. The large iron bridges of Sunderland, Yarm, and Staines, and also Southwark bridge, London, were cast here. The Walkers commenced a bank in sheffield and Roth- erham in 1792, but in 1836, it was transferred to a Joint Stock Company. April llth, died at Bath, William Denison, Esq., a merchant of Leeds, where for some years he was a great benefactor to the poor. He died worth half a million of money. In May, the earl of Sherburn, one of the secretaries of state, sent a letter to the mayor of Leeds, recommending an associatiou of young

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164 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1782.-1784. men to be formed in that town, for the purpose of learning the military exercise. A corps of volunteers was soon raised. On the 12th of October, the 5lst, or 2nd West York regiment of foot, commanded by the earl of Eglintoun, arrived in Leeds from Minorca, in the celebrated defence of which they had been honour- ably engaged. 1733. About the month of June in this year, the distress of the people was very great at Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Rochdale; riotous mobs de- mauded an immediate reduction in the price of corn, and ou the markct days, they compelled the dealers to sell at such prices as they chose to fix; but at Halifax, they robbed the farmers both of corn and meal, for which offence two of the ringleaders, Thomas Spencer and Mark Saltonstall, were executed on Beacon hill, which overlooks the town of Halifax The price of wheat in Leeds market at this time was 7s. 6d. per bushel. Sir George Armitage, of Kirklees,hall, died January 21st. The house and warehouse of Mr. Fisher, of Meadow-lane, Leeds, was destroyed by fire, February 6th. A cessation of arms proclaimed at Leeds, between England, Spain, and America, on March 4th. Sir George Savile’s Ist battalion of the West York Militia was disembodied, after five years service, on March 15th. On the 30th of August died the Rev. James Sykes, A.M., thirty years vicar of Bradford. March 5th. The Hon. Francis Rawdon was created baron Rawdon by patent this year, and earl Rawdon in 1816. 1784. A meeting of the freecholders of the county of York, was held at the castle, January Ist, to petition for parliamentary reform. March 25th. Another county meeting was held.at York castle, to address his majesty on the distracted state of public affairs, and advise the dissolution of parliament, which took place in the following month. In this year, Sunday schools became general in Leeds and the neighbouring towns. During a rapid thaw in winter, after a long frost, the waters of the Ouse inundated all the lower streets of York. Dr. Samuel Johnson, the celebrated English lexicographer, died Sep. 18th, in this year. Jan. Ist. Francis Ferrand Ful- jambe was returned as member for Yorkshire in the place of Sir George Saville, resigned. About a fortnight after the clection, Sir George Saville died at his house,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 165 1784.-1786. in Brompton’s- row, near London, in the 53th year of his age. A general election took place in April, this year. On the 2nd of April, Francis Ferrand Ful- jambe, William Weddal, Henry Duncombe, and William Wilberforce, were nominated for the county of York, but the two former declined the contest on the evening before the election. The first practical idea of ap- plying steam power to wheeled carriages is due to Dr. Robison, by whom it was communicated to Watt in 1759. The latter afterwards made a model of a high- pressure locomotive, and described its principle in his fourth patent in 1784, which among certain improve- ments, specified a portable steam-engine and machinery for moving wheel-carriages. 1785. The Rev. Mr. Edwards, founder of the Indepen- dents, in Leeds, died Feb. 17th, this year, aged 71. He was a man of very respectable abilities, of fervent piety, and of great theological knowledge, and his mettod of preaching was distinguished by perspicuity and elo- quence. The place in which he preached was the Old White Chapel, near the South market, Hunslet-lane, now entirely abandoned as a place of worship, in a situa- tion, perhaps the least eligible which could be found in the town, surrounded by houses, and in an unwhole- some atmosphere. Feb. 10th. A great county meeting was held at the castle of York, to petition for parliamentary reform. 1785. Wortley Chapel of Ease, near Leeds, though built about this time, was not consecrated and brought under episcopal jurisdiction till 1813. Lunardi, the first aeronaut in Britain, ascended in his balloon from the area of the White Cloth Hall, in Leeds, on December 4th, and, after remaining in the air about forty minutes, descended at Thorparch. In August, this year, an attempt was made upon the life of George III., by an insane woman, named Margaret Nicholson, who, under the pretence of presenting a petition, struck at him with a knife, as he was alighting from his carriage at St. James’s palace. The blow was warded off by a page, and the woman seized. She was afterwards confined during life. “On the Thursday in Whitsun week, 1786,” says Scratchard, “ there was a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning, which, in its course over Batley, struck the south east pinnacle of the church tower, about five o’c!ock in the evening. The inconceivable power of the electric fluid has seldom been more conspicuous than it was in this instance.

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166 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1786.-1787. The finial of the pinnacle rested upon four stones, each weighing (upon an average), 112 pounds. These were driven away in different directions, so suddenly, and so wonderfully, that the finial, as if unaffected by the shock, never lost its perpendicular, but was actually found resting upon the course of stone below, as though it had been set thereon by the original builders. The stricken four stones were cast as follows, viz.:— one upon an old barn below the vicarage, one upon the stone steps on the south side of the burial ground, (next upper Batley), which it broke; one into another part of the ground; and one fell upon the church, This account I have from several very creditable persons still living, and it induces me to mention a similar wonder, equally well authenticated, which occurred at Harewood, a few years ago. “ A very worthy person, one George Fawcett, a hatter, at at Birstai, whom I well knew, especially as an excellent singer, happened to call at Harewood for payment of a bill whena thunder storm came on. A number of sovereigns were laid, with notes, upon a table, when an awful flash alarmed the reckoners, and caused them to retire. Upon re-approach- ing the money, it was discovered that a guinea or a sovereign was gone, and it occasioned some explanation, Fawcett denying that he had touched the cash, aud his customer averring that he had counted it out and left it. The former, I believe, with his usual generosity, good teniper, and for- bearance, gave up the point, and the other had no qualm of conscience; for, upon reaching down the candle snuffers, the same evening, which hung upon a nail, the good house- wife discovered them to be almost as ‘finely gilded, as though a working goldsmith had done the job. These snuffers so gilded, are, I understand, still shown at Hare- wood. An equal astonishment was once excited at Hors- forth, but I forget the particulars.” 1787. The carpet weavers of Leeds, after a “ turn-out”’ of several weeks, obtained an advance of wages in January, during which month robberies of the most daring and alarm- ing description were perpetrated in that town and neigh- bourhood. On the 14th of February, died Lier White- head, of Bramham, a celebrated runner, in his 95th year. Ou the 27th of March was tried at York, the Leeds Soke Cause, which terminated in the exemption from suit and service at the King’s Mills, of all the tenants of the manor of Whitkirk-cum-Membris, which belonged tothe dissolved monastery of St. John of Jerusalem. Mr. Johu Peart, the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 167 1787.-1788. defendant in this trial, gained a signal victory over the miller. At a meeting in the Rotation Office, at Leeds, it was resolved that no new “alehouse licenses’’ should be granted in the borough, until the “present number be great!y diminished.’”’ Similar resolutions were passed at other places “for the suppression of vice.” Crispin Scarlet, who had murdered a washerwoman at Leeds, evaded the gallows by cutting his throat in York cas'le, May 29th. June 16th, Mr. Samuel Gawthorpe, treasurer of the Leeds workhouse, received in August two mysterious letters from an unknown writer, demanding £50 to be left in a certain place by a certain time, threatening him if he should not comply (which he did not) with some dreadful ven- geance on himself and family. Though a reward of £40 was offered in the London Gazette, the offender was never dis- covered. On the 10th of October, a new peal of eight hells was opened at Halifax.tEdmund Barker, of Thorne, was committed for three months to York castle, for exporting ninety tods of wool from Goxhill, in Lincoln- shire to Dunkirk, in France, besides forfeiting all his goods and chattels, and 3s. for every pound weight of wool so ex- ported, amounting to £378. 1788. On the 15th of April, this year, the Court of King’s _ Bench determined that a woman was competent to serve the office of overseer for the poor. Commodore Phillips arrived at Botany bay, from England, with the first convicts: on landing he assumed the office of governor of the new settlement. Three Sweedish ships were seized at Hull, “for smuggling wool out of the kingdom ;”’ for some time they had taken out 1300 ‘packs annually. In January, the philanthropic Mr. Howard, after visiting the principal lazarettos and prisons of Europe, and the coasts of Asia and Egypt, arrived in Leeds, where he inspected the infir- mary, the workhouse, and the prison, and expressed himself highly pleased with the two former. Many political meetings were held at Leeds this year for reform and the abolition of slavery, and on July Ist, there were great rejoicings, and a grand procession of workmen asa testimony of gratitude for the passing of the bill to prevent the exportation of live sheep and wool, in which the French had encouraged an illicit trade, for the purpose of robbing the English clothier of his staple. A speech, written for the occasion, and delivered by a woolcomber on horseback, at the head of the procession, concluded with “may we never want a Pitt for the French to fall into!”’ The iron works in the neighbourhood of Bradford are

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168 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1788 -1789. universally known. The manor of Royds hall, together with the minerals under the estate, was purchased from the last proprietor in 1788, by the ancestors of Messrs. Hird, Dawson, and Hardy, who originally established the cele- brated Low Moor Iron and Coal Works, now the most im- portant in the north of England. The works comprise furnaces, forges, tilts, and mills, on a very extensive scale, both for the manufacture of pig and bar iron, and for rolling and slitting it into sheets, hars, and rods, with foundries for the casting of cannon and ordnance of all kinds, in which several steam engines of great power are also em- ployed. In addition to these, boilers for steam engines, sugar pans for the East and West Indies, water pipes of large calibre, and castings of every kind are manufactured, in which more than 2000 persons are employed day and night. The Bierley Iron Works were commenced in 1810, by Henry Leah and James Marshall, Esqrs. These works, conducted on an extensive scale, are confined solely to the manufacture of pig iron, which, being the produce of ore from the same mine, is equal in quality with that of the Low Moor? At Bowling, the substratum abounds with coal and iron ore, which have been wrought for more than half a century by the Bowling Iron Company, whose works are very extensive. ‘The accumulated heaps of refuse from the mines, forming huge mounds surrounding the excavations, have been planted with trees, which adds greatly to the aspect of the neighbourhood. In October, the duke of Leeds gave £100, and Mr. Ridsdale £500, towards building a new church at Wakefield. In November, the centenary of the “ glorious Revolution” was honoured at Leeds with every demonstration of public joy, and, amongst a brilliant assembly of near 300 ladies and gentlemen, were present earl Fitzwilliam, lord Scar- borough, and other distinguished personages. 1789. About the year 1709, a piece of land, containing tive acres, was enclosed from Bramley-Common, and conveyed to trustees, upon trust, that they should apply the rents towards the better support and maintenance of the poor of Bramley. The rents were applied for a great length of time to the support of a free-school, and, on the enclosure of the common in 1789, an allotment of two acres, twenty perches, was awarded in respect of Bramley school, to be applied to such uses as the ancient school-land was intended to be. On the enclosure of the commons of Bramley, four allotments, containing nine acres, three roods, twenty- eight perches, were awarded to the curate, churchwardens,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 169 1789. and overseers, “upon trust, to apply the rents for the benefit of such inhabitants within the township as belong thereto, but do not receive relief from the poor assessments, and do not occupy any land or tenements of more than the yearly value of £5, and wha have no allotment under the enclosure act.”? The rent of this land, £34. 5s. per annum, is laid out in the purchase of cloth for shirting, which is distributed among the poor people on St. Thomas’s day. Also, on the enclosure of the common, an allotment of six perches of Jand, on which a dwelling-house and buildings. were erected, was awarded to the curate, churchwardens, and overseers, the rents to be applied for teaching poor girls. These premises are let at the yearly rent of £6, being the fair annual value; and the rent is paid to a schoolmistress for teaching six girls to read, knit, and sew. There being a trifling accumulation, it has been regularly applied to the paying of £3 a year for teaching three addi- tional girls, until the fund shall be exhausted. Benjamin Green left £10, the interest to be paid on the 25th of March, for a charity sermon to be preached on that day. This sum remains in the hands of the perpetual curate of Bramley for the time being. William Clough, in 1710, devised one-third part of seven closes in Bramley, called the West Royds, to the poor, the rent to be distributed at the discretion of four trustees. The three closes are now comprised in one, containing six acres two roods, and the yearly rent, amounting to £18, is distributed among the poor of the township, in small sums varying from 3s. to 6s. 6d. In January, subscriptions were opened in most of the towns of the West Riding, for the relief of the numerous distressed poor ;—about Wakefield highway robberies were so frequent as to create a general alarm. On March 16th there were great rejoicings in Leeds and the sur- rounding villages, for the recovery of George I1I. from severe mental indisposition: fat oxen and sheep were roasted in various places, and with of ale and punch were given to the joyful populace. The night was enlivened with bonfires and illuminated windows; but the people of Horbury, as a more useful and lasting testimony of their loyalty and gladness, erected a Sunday school for the benefit of their township. In May, a curious gold ring, weighing more than an ounce, was found on Towton field, near Tadcaster, where it is supposed to have fallen from the finger of a slain chief, in the memorable battle fought there between the houses of Lancaster and York. 1

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170 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1789.-1790. The prince of Wales and duke of York were present at York races, and visited Wentworth house, where a grand entertainment was given to the royal brothers, and 700 nobility and gentry, who banqueted in sight of 40,000 spectators assembled in front of the house. Previously to leaving the city of York, the'princes ordered lieutenant- colonel St. Leger to pay into the hands of Walter Fawkes, Esq., then high sheriff of the county, 200 guineas for the relief of debtors in the castle. They also gave twenty’ guineas to the gaol, in order to clothe some female con- victs under sentence of transportation ; they discharged the debts of three prisoners in Ouse bridge gaol, and per- formed several other acts of charity. In November, a beautiful statue, in memory of Sir George Savile, bart., who died in 1784, was erected in York minster, at the ex- pense of his constituents, whom he had faithfully served in five successive parliaments. In this year com- menced the French revolution. At first the proceedings of the French were justified by the principal leaders of opposition in the English parliament and by a numerous class of the community ; but, ere long, the violence shown at the destruction of the Bastile, the abolition of heredi- tary privileges, the open disrespect for religion, and other symptoms of an extravagant spirit, produced a consider- able change in the sentiments of the British people. The coalition of Austria and Prussia with the fugitive noblesse, having excited the spirit of the French people to a species of frenzy, and led to the establishment of a Republic, and the death of the king, the British government were roused to a sense of danger which hung over all ancient institu- tions, and found a pretext for declaring war against France in January, 1793. 1790. On the 5th of February, in his 70th year, at Ribton, near Otley, died Joseph Holmes, popularly called Joe Rogue, a begging miser, who died worth £550, never having, during his whole life, spent one farthing for food or raiment. Horbury church, near Wakefield, was built this year, at the sole expense of alderman Carr, of York. The noted wiseman of Romalds moor, near Keighley, was consulted professionally by the Kendal and Penrith carrier, who made a pilgrimage to this popular soothsayer, in order to detect a thief, who had robbed his waggon. Having asked his question, and paid his offering, he was dismissed with this consolatory assurance, that, ‘if the thief did not restore the property before a certain day, w# should be worse for him.” The carrier’s report of these

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 171 1790. oracular words had a wonderful effect, and, as it happened, a beneficial result with his credulous neighbours, for be- lieving that the Seer would certainly raise the devil, to revenge the wronged, and that Satan, vexed at being dis- turbed for such a trifle, might probably raise the wind in his fury, they prevented their thatched roofs from being torn off their houses, by placing upon them harrows and other heavy articles. Early in the day fixed for the resti- tution, namely, March 25th, a casual hurricane took place, that did much damage, and served to increase the high opinion previously entertained of ‘“ Wise Robin of Romald’s I moor.’’————In November, as some workmen were digging clay in a field in Leeds, now occupied by part of George- street, they discovered about fifty oak coffins, containing human bones, supposed to have lain there since 1672, when the plague raged, and the parish register says, ‘1,400 persons were buried in the Vicar’s croft and crofts ad- joining :”’ the coffins were quite fresh, but the bodies were reduced to dust. In December, the snow was a yard deep. John Howard, a celebrated English philanthropist, born in 1726, the son of an upholsterer, who left him a fortune. Having been made prisoner on the sea, and held for some time in captivity, he was so moved by the condition of prisoners, that he resolved to consecrate his life to their service and relief. He travelled over nearly all Europe, every where visiting the prisons, lazarettos, and hospitals, in order to discover means for abating their insalubrity, and to extend to their inmates the most effectual atten- tions. He died in 1790 of a malignant fever, which he caught at Kherson, in Russia, while visiting a sick person. His fellow-countrymen erected a statue in his honour. After a sudden thaw and heavy rain, the Aire and other rivers rose higher than they had ever done since the mem- orable flood of 1775, when several bridges were destroyed. In the flood this year, Mr. Gilyard’s dyehouse, on Sheepscar beck, near Leeds, was washed away, witha large quantity of cloth. The Leeds Benevolent or Strangers’ Friend Society, was founded this year, and is an extensively useful and beneficial institution, and entitled to the good wishes of all classes. Its object is the relief of the distressed, the friendless, and the strangers of all denominations, who are suffering from poverty or disease. The objects of pity recommended to this society are visited and reported to the committee before receiving relief. The applicants average about 1,000 annually. The society is wholly sup-

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172 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1790.-1791. I ported by annual subscriptions, voluntary donations, and public collections. The well-known tune called Don- ‘caster was composed this year by Dr. Edward Miller, for 51 years organist of Doncaster church, but better known as the Author of the History and Antiquities of Doncaster. Henry Duncombe and William Wilberforce were re- turned for Yorkshire without opposition. In this year the act of parliament of the 30th Geo. III. cap. 68, was passed, entitled “an act for better supplying the town and neighbourhood of Leeds, in the county of York, with water; and for more effectually lighting and cleansing the streets and other places within the said town and neighbourhood, and removing and preventing nuisances, annoyances, encroachments, and obstructions therein.” When the act for the water-works was obtained, (1790) it extended the provisions of the former act for lighting, &c., to those parts of the town which had hitherto re- mained without the privilege of nocturnal lights, and to the distance of a thousand yards from the bars. The _ superintendance of the whole system of lighting, was vested in the commissioners of the water-works. 179’. On January 24th, died that eminent Leeds merchant and alderman, Joseph Fountaine, Esq. Ann Green, a pauper, of Sprotbro’, but a native of Kirkheaton, died March 6th, at the advanced age of 118 years. For two hours on the 15th of August, a most dreadful storm of thunder and lightning prevailed, which destroyed a house at Fewston, set fire to the furze on Sicklinhall moor, deprived a girl of sight at Barnsley, killed a boy at Wake- field, and burnt down a hayrick and cottage at Summer- scales, near Skipton. On August 22nd, the Right Hon. Charles James Fox, accompanied by earl Fitzwilliam, arrived at York, where he was presented with the free- dom of the city in a gold box worth fifty guineas. The first stone of St. Paul’s church, Park-square, in Leeds, was laid September 26th, by Dr. Wilson, the bishop of Bristol, who had previously presented to the founder, the Rev. Miles Atkinson, the ground upon which it is built. The church was consecrated by Dr. Markham, archbishop of York, September 10th, 1793. The style of architecture is Grecian. The east and west ends display four pilasters of the Ionic order, supporting their respective entablature and pediment ; a light square tower also rises at the west end, decorated by vases and Ionic windows. The whole is surmounted with a dome, finishing in a ball and cross. The interior is neatly fitted with a gallery extending round

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 173 1791. the entire edifice. A good toned organ was erected in 1801, by subscription. The church cost £10,000, and con- tains 1,500 sittings. The perpetual curacy, valued at £133, is inthe gift of the vicar. The Rev. J. R. Stratton, M.A., is the incumbent. Salem chapel, Hunslet-lane, occupied by the Independents or Congregationalists, was erected this year, and is the oldest chapel in the town belonging to this body of Christians. It is a substantial stone structure. The exterior is rusticated, with the facade terminating in a pediment and balustrade: the lower win- dows are large, and have circular heads, the upper ones smaller, and square. The gallery runs along three sides of the chapel, with seats for about 1,000 persons. The Rev. Edward Parsons was formerly minister at this chapel: the present minister is the Rev. W. Hudswell. John Berkenhout was born at Leeds, and intended for the mercantile profession, which he quitted, and entered into the military service of Prussia, and next into that of England. In 1760 he went to Edinburgh, and studied physic; but took his doctor’s degree at Leyden, in 1765. Attended the British commissioners to America in 1778, and, on his return, obtained a pension. His works, pub- lished at different times, on history, literature, biography, medicine, and chemistry, comprise nineteen volumes. He died this year, in the 60th year of his age. In this year much discontent prevailed amongst the working classes of Sheffield; for in July, the doors aud windows of the gaol, in King-street, were des- troyed by a riotous mob, who liberated the prisoners, and afterwards proceeded to Broomhall, the residence of the vicar, (the Rev. James Wilkinson), where they damaged the library and furniture, and burnt down ricks of hay. On this charge, five men were apprehended, and one of them named John Bennett, was executed at York, in Sep- tember. In the same month, Dr. Graham delivered a lecture at the Tontine, on the efficacy of “ earth-bathing,”’ and afterwards exhibited himself and a female patient ‘‘buried up to the lips in earth, in the garden of Mr. Bet, at the Elephant!” John Wesley, son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Ep- worth, in 1703. He was a scholar of the Charter house, and thence went to Christchurch college, Oxford. In 1724 he was elected a Fellow of Lincoln college, was made Greek lecturer, and took pupils. In the following year he was ordained. Wesley was noted for his classical learning, his skill in argument, and his poetical powers. In 1729,

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174 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1791. having been led to serious reflection by reading some re- ligious works, he formed a society of 15 persons, who met together to read the scripture and to pray. They em- ployed their time in visiting the poor, and other good works, without loosing a moment of the day. This mode of life gained for them the name of Methodists, and the appellation which had been given them in derision they retained. Another authority says, that they were first called ‘‘ Methodists”? by a member of the University of Cambridge, who gave them that name after some surgeons at Rome, who were styled ‘‘ Methodisto,” from placing their patients under a peculiar regimen. In 1735 John Wesley and his brother Charles accompanied some other missionaries to Georgia, where they remained for some time preaching the gospel. to England, he began to imagine that he himself had never been converted. According to his own account, his conver- sion took place suddenly, May 24th, 1738, at a quarter before nine in the evening. Soon after this he visited the Moravian brethren in Germany, and became ac~« quainted with their system and organisation. On his return, in the autumn of 1738, he began the foundation of the Methodist society. He employed his time in ex- hortation and preaching, and soon collected a large number of followers. He then formed a connection with Whitefield, and joined him in Bristol, where a Methodist meeting-house was erected in 1739. The friendship be- tween the two preachers did not, however, last long, and their separation was followed by the disunion of the bodies to which they belonged. Wesley now arranged the government and system of Methodism. He was fond of power, and would share it with no one. He was exceedingly zealous, diligent, and energetic. Besides ex- hortations, he would preach twice, and even four or five times every day. He travelled a great deal, and was unremitting in his labours till within a week of his death. His style, both in preaching and writing, was clear and dispassionate; he was agreeable in his manners, and mild and grave in his appearance. This extraordinary man died March 2nd, 1791, in the 88th year of his age. Besides his pulpit labours, he wrote a great number of works on religious and other subjects. The corporation of York this year suspended their toll on corn, for the purpose of trying whether the re- moval of that impost would improve the market of the city. May 6th. In the course of an angry debate

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 175 1791.-1792. on the French revolution in the House of Commons, Mr. Burke rushed from the side of Mr. Fox, to the Min- isterial benches, declaring his final secession from the Opposition, and that his friendship for Mr. Fox was at an 10th. Died at Hackney, aged 68 ears, Dr. Richard Price, F.R.S., a man well known for is writings and political opinions. September 29th. Frederick, second son to George III., and the eleventh duke of York, was married at Berlin, to the princess Frederica, daughter of the king of Prussia. Dec. 2lst. The buckle makers of Birmingham sent a deputation to the prince of Wales to represent their distressed situation, in consequence of the prevailing fashion of wearing shoe strings instead of buckles. 1792. On Feb. 25th, the shock of an earthquake was felt at Doncaster, and on the coasts of Yorkshire and Lincoln- shire. On April 14th, were executed at York, John Lucas, and Thomas Stearman, of Leeds, for burglary, and Spence Broughton, of Sheffield, for robbing the Rotherham postman, on Attercliffe common, where his hody was hung in chains ; the gibbet post remained till 1827. The French nation renounced conquests as the object of their wars. The Methodist preachers of the Leeds, Wakefield, and Sheffield, Bradford, Birstal, Dewsbury, and Otley circuits, met at Leeds, in May, and resolved, “ not to separate from the church.” In the following year, the subject again came before the Conference held in Leeds, when it was resolved by the preachers, that their societies should still remain members of the established church, and that the sacrament should not be administered by their preachers, ‘“‘except where the whole society is unanimous for it, and will not be contented without it,” and then only in the evening, “and according to the forms of the church of England.”’ In July, Foster Powell, the pedes- trian, in his 58th year, walked from London to York and back, (394 miles) in five days and 13 hours. This year at the Lewes wool fair, the price of wool was. from 56s. to 65s. per tod of 32lbs. That cruel sport, Bull Baiting, was very prevalent at this period, though greatly deprecated by the Leeds journalists, one of whom, after describing a grand “ Roaratorio,” at Rochdale, where 5,000 people witnessed a bull baited, a whole day, in the middle of the river, says, “surely the amateurs of such inhuman amusements want nothing but hoofs and horns to make them far more beastly than the wretched torture.” At Birstal feast, this year,

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176 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1792. the enraged Taurus broke the rope that held him -to the stake, and pursued several of his inhuman torturers into a brick pond, where they deservedly got a good ducking ; having dispersed the crowd of spectators, the poor bull was released from further insult. A gang of thieves having clandestinely introduced themselves into the draw- ing-room at St. James’s palace, London, in dress clothes, tried to hustle and rob the prince of Wales. Feb. 23rd. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the celebrated paiuter, died in his 66th year.——August 10th. Storming of the Tuilleries, The inhabitants of most of the towns in Yorkshire met, in December, and made public declarations of their firm attachment to the constitution and the reigning monarch. At Leeds the effigy of Tom Paine, (holding a pair of stays in one hand, and his Rights of Man in the other) was carried through the streets with a halter round his neck, and (having been well whipped and hanged at the market cross) thrown into a large bonfire, amidst the shouts of the surrounding multitude. The Piece Hall at Halifax was first opened about the year 1780; and the intervening time, from thence to the year 1792, or the breaking out of the French war, may be regarded as one of the most flourishing eras of the worsted trade in Yorkshire. Though the cheapness of calicoes as an article of female dress, since the improve- ments in the cotton manufacture, materially abridged the sale for some kinds of worsted goods in England, this was more than compensated by the increased demand for carpets with worsted warps, and other articles of luxury, in which worsted yarn was employed. The demand in foreign markets, from the year 1782 to 1792, for English worsted goods, greatly exceeded that of any former period; but after the breaking out of the French war, the worsted trade at Halifax began to decline. About this time the spinning of worsted by machinery was established at Bradford, and the vicinity ; and continu- ing to increase, drew round that place the manufacturers of worsted goods on the decline of the Halifax trade. Brad- ford is now the principal seat of the worsted manufacture in Yorkshire ; and some of the proprietors of the worsted mills, besides supplying the smaller manufacturers with yarn, employ a very great number of looms themselves, and carry on this branch of trade on a scale of extent never before known in the worsted manufacture. The worsted manufactory has been the means of increas- ing the prosperity and population of the town of Bradford, in a manner altogether unprecedented in British history

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 177 1792. It now presents an astonishing scene of active and success- ful industry, its market is one of the greatest in the kingdom, and its manufacturers and merchants are distinguished by their skill, diligence, and enterprise. The Piece Hall, at Bradford, is a tolerably commodious mart for stuffed goods ; it is one hundred and forty-four feet long by thirty-six broad, and is divided into two apartments—the upper and the lower chamber. The Music Hall, in Albion-street, Leeds, was erected in 1792; and the first stone was laid July 2nd. The ground floor was for some years occupied as a hall for woollen manufactures, especially for blankets, and afforded accommodation to those clothiers who were excluded from the Cloth halls. It received, and for some time retained, the ignominious appellation of Tom Paine’s Hall. It is a plain, but commodious building of brick, contains four rooms on one floor, reached by steps running right and left from the vestibule. The largest room is the music saloon, 70 feet by 30, and has an orchestra and gallery, with lofty coved ceiling, from which severa] handsome glass chandeliers are suspended. The next room in size is the picture gallery, 60 feet long, at one end of which is the ante-room, and at the other the cabinet, all lighted from the ceiling; the three last can be thrown into one suite. In these rooms “The northern society for the encouragement of the fine arts”? held their annual exhibitions for many years; and it would be gratifying to see them again used for the same purpose. The principal public meet- ings are generally held in the saloon. It has for some years back been used for the concerts, under the man- agement of “ The Leeds Choral and Recreation Societies,”’ which have been conducted with great spirit and success. The hall has considerably diminished in im- portance since the erection of the Town hall. About this time associations were formed in England, for the protection of liberty and property. Feb. 18th. The trial of Thomas Paine came on before lord Kenyon and a special jury, at Guildhall, for writing and pub- lishing a seditious pamphlet, entitled “ The second part of the rights of man.” Mr. Erskine (afterwards lord Erskine) was counsel for Mr. Paine. He was found guilty, but had previously absconded to France, where he was elected a member of the Natioual Convention. Feb. 19th. The Alien bill was brought into the House of Lords by lord Grenville, and read a first time, and,

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178 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1792.-1793. having gone through the usual forms, it soon passed into law. Sir Richard Arkwright was born on the 23rd of December, 1732, at Preston, in Lancashire. He was the youngest of a family of thirteen children, and his parents were very poor. He was brought up to the business of a barber, which he continued to follow until he was 35 years of age. In the latter part of the year 1767, Arkwright became acquainted with a person of the name of John Kay, a clockmaker, at Warrington. In the followiug year he and Kay went to Preston, and began to construct a machine for the spinning of cotton thread, which drew out the cotton from a coarse to a fine and harder twisted thread, so that it was iit to be used for warp as well as weft. A Mr. Smaley found the capital, and the machine was set to work; but it caused so much dissatisfaction amongst the workers on the old plan, that Arkwright deemed it necessary in 1769 to leave Preston, and fixed himself at Nottingham. He then took out a patent for the machine as its in- ventor, and by the aid of Messrs. Need and Strut, (who became his partners), commenced a spinning mill driven by horse power. In 1771 Arkwright and his partners established another mill at Cromford, in the parish of Wirksworth, in Derbyshire, which was turned by water. Here Arkwright formed a complete system of carding and roving by machinery, for which, in 1775, he took out a second patent. He had much difficulty in de- fending his inventions against invasions; but neverthe- less, he rapidly made his way to fortune and influence. In 1786, when Margaret Nicholson attempted to as- sassinate Geo. III., Arkwright presented an address from Wirksworth, and received the honour of knighthood. In the year following he was made high sheriff of Derby- shire. Sir Richard Arkwright died at his seat at Crom- ford, August 3rd, 1792, leaving property worth at least half a million sterling. Arkwright has the merit of so improving the mechanical resources of his country, as to provide work and subsistence for tens of thousands of is fellow men, not only in England, but in many parts of the world. 1793. Jan 17th. The memorable trial of the king of France, Louis XVI. terminated ; at the end of which the president made the following report, that out of 721 voters, 336 were for death, 319 for imprisonment during the war, two for perpetual imprisonment ; eight for a suspension of his execu- tion after sentence, until the expulsion of the Bourbon

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 179 1793. family ; 23 were not for putting him to death, unless the French territory was invaded by any foreign power; and one was for death, but with commutation of punishment. The president then took off his hat, and said, “In con- sequence of this, I declare that the punishment pronounced by the National Convention agaiust Jouis Capet is Death.”’ It is worthy of recording, that the duke of Orleans, voted for death, while Thomas Paine, the decided foe to regal power, more humanely voted for banishment. The unfortu- nate monarch, was guillotined at the Place de Louis Quinze, in Paris, since called the Place de la Revolution. ‘The king was in the 39th year of his age. Oct, 26th, his beautiful and ill-fated consort, after a mock trial before the revolutionary tribunal, was beheaded, and her body interred in the same manner with that of her husband, in a grave filled with quick lime. Marie Antoinette possessed both talents and virtues ; but proud, indiscreet, vindicitive, rash, and petu- lant, she had exercised a political influence that hastened the fall of the monarchy. It is related of her that when laid on the fatal block, she turned her head aside to take a last look at the Tuilleries. This accomplished woman, a model of grace and beauty, was in her 38th year. Nov. 8th. The celebrated Madame Roland was guillotined. This able and accomplished woman died with Roman forti- tude, exclaiming on the scaffold, “O, Inberty ! how many crimes are committed in thy name !” New year’s day was enlivened at Leeds hy a peal of 5,040 changes, rung in three hours and twelve minutes at the parish church, by eight old men, whose united ages amounted to 577 years, averaging 72 years, the eldest being 82, and the youngest 65. On the 28th January this year the Leeds corporation, at a court held on that day, declared by a resolution, “that Monopolies are inconsistent with the true principles of commerce, because they restrain at once the spirit of enter- prise and the freedom of competition ; and injurious to the country where they exist, because the Monopolist by fixing the rate of both purchase and sale, can oppress the public at discretion.”’ This declaration was ordered to be printed in the Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool newspapers. Feb. 26th. His majesty George III. reviewed three battal- ions of guards, being the first division destined against France, after the declaration of war; other branches of the royal family attended the review, after which they accom- panied the troops to Greenwich, whence they embarked for the continent, and landed at Helvoet Sluys, in Holland, on

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180 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1793.-1794. the 1st of March, and who, together with our British troops, under the command of the duke of York, were engaged for the first time in these wars, and suffered severely. The action was fought near St. Amand, and was very sanguinary, when the French general Dampiere, (who succeeded Dum- ourier) was mortally wounded, and expired in the course of three days. Dec. 19th. Of thirty-one ships of the line, in the har- bour of Toulon, nine were burned, and two carried away by the British, who evacuted that place with precipitation. This year a debating society was established at Leeds, for the discussion of literary and moral subjects, but the perverse temper of the times to everything that wore the aspect of political inquiry caused it to droop and die in a few years, and subse- quently such institutious amongst the lower classes were suppressed by the jealous legislature The Ist regiment of West York Militia were em- bodied at Wakefield, Feb 11th, and the second regiment at York, Feb. 22nd. The first stone of the Leeds Catholic chapel, Lady-lane, was laid April 12th, by Miss Tancred, of Brampton. The United Methodist Free Church have now a chapel erected on the site thereof. On the Ist of July, in this year, the price of the Leeds newspapers was advanced from 3d. to 4d.; the stamp duty was then 2d., the paper ¥d., and the newsman’s commission d., so that before this advance, there was only left for printing each paper. The weather was so hot on July 16th, that the thermometer stood at 93 degrees, when exposed to the north and in the shade. In December, the bole of a large tree was found in a quarry at Coulton, near Leeds, buried under seven feet of solid rock, and measuring twelve feet in length; the rest of it, being petrified, formed part of the rock. 1794. On January 25th, Mrs. Tarburton, of Potter- newton, was frozen to death in a severe storm on Chapeltown moor. Mr. Applepard’s dyehouse, Mill- hill, Leeds, was burnt down March 8th, damage £1,000. James Hindley, of Leeds, was sentenced to two years imprisonment at York for selling seditious papers, en- titled, “The Tithe and Tax Club.”’ Among many persons who died of that dreadful malady, Hydrophobia, in April, were, Thomas Austin, of Armley, and Mr. Clegg, of Dewsbury.——Corps of volunteers were established at Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, and other towns,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 181 1794. for internal defence against insurrections or other com- motions; liberal substriptions were obtained for the pur- pose, to which earl Fitzwilliam gave £1000, and many gentlemen £100 each. St. James’s church, York-street, Leeds, was built and opened this year, by the countess of Huntingdon’s connexion, under the name of Zion chapel, has for many years been used by the established church. The building is octagonal, and at each angle is a column rising to the roof, and supporting a small cornice. In the west front is a portico. The interior has a gallery, and over the front entrance is an organ. It has 1,3 sittings, and isin the gift of the vicar and incumbency of the Rev. Edward Jackson, M.A. On June Ist, in this year, a desperate action was fought between the British fleet, commanded by lord Howe, and the French fleet under admiral Villaret. The British fleet consisted of 25 ships, and that of the French of 26. Le Vengeur, 74 guns, was sunk, and six ships of the line were taken. Charles Henry Neville, son of John Pate Neville, Esq., of Badsworth, in the West-Riding of York- shire, was at this time a lieutenant in the queen’s or 2nd regiment of foot, and was killed by a grape shot at the age of 19, on board earl Howe’s ship, ‘after fighting gal- lantly in the engagement between the English and French fleets for three days. July 23rd. A calamitous fire broke out at Cock-hill, Ratcliffe-highway, London, occasioned by the boiling over of a pitch-kettle on a boat-builder’s premises, from whose warehouses, which were soon consumed, the flames spread to a barge laden with saltpetre and other combustible stores, and thence communicated to several small craft that were lying near, and could not be got off. By this melancholy event, nearly 700 houses were destroyed, and the distress of the population was immense. Government provided tents from the tower, aud the public soon raised near £20,000 to afford immediate relief to the sufferers. Jan. 16th. Died in his 57th year, Edward Gibbon, the celebrated historian. May 9th. A bill to enable his majesty to take French subjects into British pay was passed into a law. Aug. 14th. Died George Colman, senior, the celebrated dramatic writer. May 17th. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended. Aug. 3rd. The marriage between prince Augustus Frederick, son of George III., with lady Augusta Murray, was determined in the Arches Court, Doctors’ Commons, London, to be uull and void. Nov. 5th. Thomas Hardy, indicted for 1

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182 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1794.-1795. high treason, was acquitted, after a trial of eight days, at the Old Bailey, London. He was defended by Mr. Thomas Erskine and Mr. Gibbs. John Thelwall, John Horne Tooke, Thomas Holcroft, &c., were afterwards tried for the same crime, and all acquitted. Dec. 6th. The duke of York quitted the British army, and returned to London, leaving the command with general Sir Ralph Abercrombie and general Walmoden. Nov. 22nd. A treaty of commerce and navigation between Great Britain and the United States of America was signed at London. Dec. 30th. The king (George III.) announced to parliament the marriage of the prince of Wales with the princess Caroline, (his own cousin) daughter of the duke ef Brunswick. On the 29th of September, this year, the Leeds corpora- tion passed a vote of thanks to the volunteer corps of this borough, for their readiness in enrolling themselves for its defence, and also ordered an elegant sword to be purchased and presented by the mayor in the name of the corpora- tion, Thomas Lloyd, Esq., colonel-commandant of the said volunteers.’’ The cost of the sword was £84. 1795. In this year a female who was cook to Mrs. Metcalf, a widow lady, residing opposite the church at Northallerton, in cutting a turnip, found in the heart of it a gold ring, which turned out to be the wedding ring of Mrs. Wood, the gardener’s wife, who had lost it when weeding in the garden ten or twelve years before. Jan. 23rd. Died at his seat in Staffordshire, Mr. Josiah Wedgwood, famous for his improvements in earthenware and porcelain. Earl Fitzwilliam landed in Dublin on the 4th of January, as successor to lord Westmorland, in the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, but was recalled from that exalted office on the 21st of February following, to the great regret of the Irish public, especially the Catholics, who appeared in deep mourning on the day of his de- parture from Dublin. March 19th, the Roman Catholic delegates from Ireland presented a petition to the king on the subject of his recall. The Right Hon. Edwin Lord Harewood, who was created a peer July 9th, 1790, died this year, January 25th: his loss was greatly deplored, especially by the peasantry of Harewood, who, having often experienced his benevolence, considered him as a father. The fulling mills at Poole, near Otley, belong- ing to Close and Co. were destroyed by fire Jan. 27th: damage £2000. On the 9th of February, the river Aire, which had been frozen for a considerable time, exhibited a most appalling scene, occasioned by a rapid thaw and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 183 1795. heavy rain, which broke up the ice and swelled the river so as to inundate all the lower streets in Leeds, where incalculable mischief was done by the foaming torrent and the immense blocks of floating ice, which carried away cloth and tenters from the fields, threw down walls, dye- houses, and several dwelling-houses, and greatly injured the bridge, across one of the arches of which a boat was forced on its broad side, and at length broken to pieces by a vast accumulation of ice and water, which, if the vessel had not given way, would .have soon overthrown the bridge itself, as was feared by the anxious spectators of this destructive flood, which drowned three men in Hun- slet dam, and floated down the river, horses, carts, timber, furniture, &c., &c., in rapid succession. ll the principal rivers in the county of York exhibited a similar spectacle, and the roads in various places were laid so deep in water, as to stop the mails and coaches several days; a man was drowned at Dewsbury mills; three at Aldborough: and Mr. John Robinson, of Frizinghall mills, lost his life in at- tempting to cross the road near his own dwelling ; a boat laden with coal was sunk with its crew in the Calder, and several bridges were carried away in various parts of the county. In March, Leeds raised its quota of 27 men for the service of his majesty’s navy, and Bradford raised its number by a sort of recruiting procession of the gentle- men and tradesmen who paraded the town, accompanied by of music. In May, seven quakers from Lothersdale were committed to York castle for refusing to pay tithes to the Rev. George Markham, vicar of Carlton, who obtained a decree against them, both for several years arrears of tithes, and the costs of an expensive law-suit ; but, true to their conscience, they would pay neither. On June 27th, general Cameron reviewed the Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Wakefield volunteers upon Chapeltown moor: at this grand military spectacle were present 60,000 spectators and 300 carriages. The wise system of inclosing productive land and rendering it conducive to the support of an immensely increasing popu- lation, rendered it necessary that this plot of ground con- taining more than 300 acres, should be applied to other purposes, and Chapeltown moor has long since disappeared. On July 26th, admiral Pasley visited Bradford, where he had his loss repaired by one of Mr. Mann’s patent legs. Similar ones have since been worn by the marquis of of Anglesea, and several other heroes, who were maimed

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184 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1795. in the late wars. Employment was at this time scarce, (wheat sold at from twelve to fourteen shillings per bushel) but the evil was in some measure alleviated by subscrip- tions for supplying the poor at reduced prices; the 3d. loaf of wheaten bread weighed only 140z.1 dr. During the dearth, Walter Fawkes, Esq., of Farnley hall, dis- tributed weekly twenty loads of wheat amongst the poor on his estate and its neighbourhood ; at the same time he used the most rigid economy in his own house, aud his benevolent example so affected the neighbouring millers, that they offered to grind for the poor gratis. Such was the distress, that for some time the manufacturing districts were the frequent scenes of riots, and clamorous cries for bread, and these disturbances sometimes occured even in the agricultural villages. At Castleford, the starving in- habitants seized a vessel laden with corn, and did not give her up till the riot act was read, and the military on the spot had captured a dozen of their leaders. Henry Redhead Yorke, a notorious agitator of the public mind, was convicted at the York assizes on a charge of sedition, uttered by him in a speech at Sheffield; he died in 1813. In Sheffield flour was 5s. 6d. per stone, but after a liberal subscription of £8,100, and the appointment of a committee to supply the poor at a cheap rate, it fell to 2s. 6d. Died on the llth of August, in his 65th year, that eminent self-taught glass stainer and painter, Wm. Peckett, Esq., of York, who, by many ingenious and noble designs executed for cathedrals, churches, and noblemen’s seats, has distinguished and immortalized his name in the school of art. Some of his most admired productions may be seen in the windows of the cathedrals of York, Lincoln, and Exeter, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He had the honour of reviving that elegant art, in the study and practice of which he spent upwards of forty years, and on which subject he left behind him a manuscript treatise, containing drawings illustrative of the furnace, with receipts for producing every colour and shade, especially that rare and beautiful hue, the ruby, so seldom seen in perfection on stained glass. This manuscript was offered for publication by his late relict, but the price being considered too high, (ten guineas a copy) subscribers could not be obtained to warrant its going to press. After a daring attack had been made on the life of his majesty George III., a county meeting was held at York, for the purpose of discussing the merits of two bills I

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 185 1796. -1796. brought into parliament, “for the safety and preservation of his majesty’s person and government,’’ and “for the suppression of seditious meetings.” The meeting held in the Guildhall consisted of two parties, who each elected a chairman, viz.: Sir Thomas Gascoigne, bart., whose party remained in the hall, and petitioned against the bills, and Bacon Frank, Esq., whose party adjourned to the castle yard, and petitioned for the bills. In Nov., prince Wm. Frederick, of Gloucester, was at York, and received the freedom of the city in a gold box. 1796. In January, wheat sold at from 12s. to 13s. per bushel, and the principal inhabitants of Leeds and Brad-. ford entered intv a solemn agreement to reduce its con- sumption in their families, at least one-third, till it should fall to 8s. per bushel. On Jan. 4th, the Leeds volun- teers were reviewed on Chapeltown moor by the royal duke of Gloucester. Jan. 10th, died, aged 34, Thomas Close, Esq., of Leeds, adjutant of the corps of Leeds gen- tlemen volunteer infantry, commanded by lieutenant- colonel Lloyd. ‘The high esteem in which Mr. Close was held by the corps induced the non-commissioned officers, who were anxious to show their respect, and pay a tribute of gratitude to his memory, to erect a tablet expressive of the same, in the parish church of his native town. In the same month died Wm. Fowler, who, during 37 years, drove “Mr. Nicholson’s machine”’ from York to Sheffield and back without ever being obstructed in his journeys by sickness, till the fatal illness which carried him off in a few weeks. The extensive linen manu- factory of Messrs. Marsha]] and Benyons, at Leeds, was destroyed by fire, Feb. 13th, when eight persons were killed and twenty wounded, by the falling of a wall; the property destroyed was estimated at £8000. May 6th. Died, aged 52, Mr. John Binns, of Leeds, an extensive bookseller, and one of the proprietors of the Leeds Mercury. Mr. Binns was a tory in politics, and the Mercury, under his management, was a tory paper. He was the son of Mr. Nathaniel Binns, bookseller, of Halifax. He became a partner in the banking-house of Scott, Binns, Nicholson, and Smith, in Leeds. He left his business of a bookseller, to his widow and children, from whom if was purchased some years after by Mr. John Heaton, who used to manage the bookselling de- partment of Mr. Binns’ business. An epitaph in the Leeds parish church to the memory of John Iles, who died 25th May, this year, is as follows :—

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186 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1796. was my stay in this frail world, All’s but a seeming laughter ; Therefore, mark well thy words and ways, For thou comes posting after.” /Etatis, sue, 19.

On Sunday, the 29th of May, as Mr. Thoresby was holding a lovefeast in an upper room of a brushmaker’s establishment in Nelson-street, Leeds, the place being filled with his admirers, the beam that supported the floor gave way, and the great bulk of the congregation were precipitated to the ground, bursting through the floor of the second story. On the ground floor was a deep saw-pit, in which no fewer than sixteen women, a man, and a boy, were there found all suffocated. Upwards of thirty others were so dreadfully crushed and bruised, that some of them died soon after. Mr. Thoresby, the preacher, suffered a severe contusion of the right arm. June 29th. William Wilberforce and the Hon. Henry Lascelles were returned for Yorkshire without opposition. They were also returned at the general election of 1802. Aug. Sth, died at the age of 93 years, the well-known Christopher Pivett, a carver and gilder of York, who was at the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, and Culloden, and some time in the retinue of the duke of Cumberland. In 1746, he settled at York, where soon afterwards his house was burnt down, in consequence of which, he tormed the singular resolution of never lying in a bed in future, which he did not during the last 38 years of his life, but slept on the floor, or in a chair with his clothes on, and no person - but himself in the house, to which he seldom admitted a visitor. The Albion chapel, Dickenson’s-court, in Leeds, was opened September 25th, at which time the ritual of the church of England was used. It is a plain brick building. The first minister was the Rev. J. Price. It was afterwards purchased for the use of the Scotch church, and was re-opened by the Rev. R. Jack in 1802, under the inspection of the presbytery of Edinburgh. The Rev. P. Thompson was pastor in 1804. In 1807, after it was used by the Independents; the late Rev. Dr. R, W. Hamilton was the stated minister up to the opening of Belgrave chapel. The chapel is now used by the Swedenborgians: the Rev. Richard Edleston is minister. The Plymouth Brethren worship in a large room top of Park-square, east side. The

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 187 1796.-1797. Mormons, or Latter Day Saints, meet in Cheapside. The Jews have their Synagogue in Rockingham-street. Ann Keighley, of Hunslet, died Sept. 21st, aged 100 years. She was mother, grandmother, and great grand- mother to 253 children. Leeds bridge was repaired and widened this year. A horse, cattle, and swine fair was established at Heckmondwike, to be held an- nually, on the first Monday in April and November. The Waketield volunteers addressed his majesty with. an offer to serve him in any part of the kingdom, and the loyal example was soon followed by the other volunteer corps of Yorkshire. On Oct. 16th, about six o’clock in the morning, the inhabitants of Ripon were greatly alarmed by a violent earthquake, which shook almost every house in the town; a mile from which, near Littlethorpe, about three roods of ground sunk nineteen fathoms, and a large ash tree, growing on the spot, entirely disappeared. For some time the gulph continued to increase, and an immense body of water issued from it, which filled the inhabitants with fear, for.as there were no coal pits in the neighbourhood, it was evidently a great natural convulsion. Arthur Young, in his annals of agriculture, gives a curious picture of the state of machinery in the cloth manufacture in Leeds, in 1796. He informs us that in that year Leeds had six or seven steam engines for mills, and one for a dying-house. Spinners in Leeds earned about tenpence per day, some of them a shilling. Croppers, shearmen, and knappers earned from a guinea to thirty shillings per week; and he adds, “the machines which have done so much for the cotton trade are fast in- troducing At the same time weavers in cottages I earned generally 12s. a week, and some of them so low as nine shillings. 1797. Feb. 16th. Sir J. Jervis defeated the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent. Owing to the threatened invasion of Britain by France, which was the all- absorbing topic in England at this time, the credit of the Bank of England was shaken; a run was made upon it for gold in exchange for its notes, which it could not meet. On the 25th of February, 1797, the bank was obliged, wiih the sanction of the privy council, to suspend cash payments, that is, to refuse giving coin for the paper money which had been issued. This step led to a great depreciation in the value of Bank of England notes; and was followed by a very

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188 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1797. serious derangement of the currency for a number of years. On the 3rd of March, this year, an act was passed, authorising the issue of notes under £5, and by the 10th of the same month notes for £1. and £2. were ready for delivery. These notes were rough and even rude in their execution. Easily imitated, they were also easily circulated, and from 1797 the executions for forgery greatly increased. During six years prior to their issue, there was but one capital conviction; during the four following years 85 occurred. An invasion being at this time expected, three regiments of sup- plementary militia with local volunteers, provisional cavalry, &c., were raised in the West-Riding. April 19th. Thirteen men and boys were killed by an explosion of ‘fire damp,’’ in one of the coal mines, at Rothwell Haigh; amongst the sufferers, were a father and four sons.— In consequence of an additional stamp duty, the price of the Leeds newspapers was raised from 4d. to 6d. on July 10th. During the night of Nov. 20th, there was a most outrageous riot at Beeston, and a nu- merous body of workmen indulged their enmity towards machinery, by completely destroying a mill used for “raising cloth,’ by Messrs. Johnson, of Holbeck. None of the rioters could afterwards be identified, as the night was dark, and they would not permit lights to be brought to the spot. In opening a qnarry, at Rastrick, near Hudderstield, were found about twenty urns, from four to fifteen inches in diameter, containing ashes and fragments of burnt human bones, supposed to be Roman. The large urns were three feet, and the small ones 14 feet below the surface, and they were surrounded by a black sub- stauce, supposed to be the remains of the fires in which the bodies had been burnt. Some of the urns: were curiously ornamented, but most of them fell to pieces before they could be got out of the earth. One of them was inverted, and the bones it contained were munch better preserved than those found in the others. March 15th. Died Mrs. Pope, a celebrated actress, aged 52, July 9th. That great orator and statesman, Edmund Burke, aged 69. July 25th. Admiral Nelson lost his right arm by a cannon ball, in an unsuccessful attack on the Isle of Teneriffe. Oct 11th. Admiral Duncan with sixteen sail of the line, after a most gallant action, defeated the Dutch Admiral de Winter, who had sixteen sail of the line, and five frigates ; ten sail of the line and two frigates were captured, and but

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 189 1797. for the circumstance of the Dutch fleet being so near their own coast (5 miles) the whole must have fallen into the hands of the British Admiral, who was soon after created baron Duncan and viscount Camperdown, the name by which the hattle was designated. At this time there were great rejoicings at Leeds and other places, and subscriptions opened for the relief of the widows and children of those who fell in the engagement. Nov. 15th, died the Rev. Joseph Milner. He was horn in the neighbourhood of Leeds, January 2nd, in 1744, and was the son of a poor weaver. He was educated at the Leeds grammar school ; where he made great proficiency in Greek and Latin. At the age of 18 he was appointed to the office of chapel clerk, at Catherine Hall, Cambridge, where he took his bachelor’s degree in 1766 and obtained one of the chancellor’s medals. He afterwards became head master of the grammar school at Hull, worth £200 a year; was soon after chosen afternoon lecturer in the principal church in that town. On obtaining this situation he sent for his mother (then living at Leeds in poverty) to Hull, where she became the manager of his house. He also sent for two poor orphans, the children of his eldest brother. He also removed his hrother Isaac from Leeds where he was humbly employed in a woollen manufactory, and made him his assistant. This brother, afterwards became master of queen college, Cambridge, professor of mathematics and ean of Carlisle (See date 1820.) He was presented to the vicarage of north Ferraby, and latterly to that of Holy Trinity church, in Hull. The published works of Joseph were “some passages in the life of William Howard.” “A History of the Church of Christ,” &c. Nov. 16th, died Frederick William II., king of Prussia, and was succeeded hy his son, Frederick William III. In this year about seventy delegates, from all parts of the kingdom, met the Wesleyan conference at Leeds, and pro- posed that in future the annual con!erence should consist of “an equal number of preachers and representatives of the people,” to be chosen by them. This proposition being re- jected by the conference, the Methodist New Connexion was formed, chiefly by the talents and zeal of Mr. Alex- ander Kilham, a distinguished preacher, from whom they were sometimes called Kilhamites. At its formation, it embraced only seven preachers, seven circuits, and 500 members, very widely scattered, and having but few chapels ; but they so far succeeded, that in fourteen years after their establishment, they had 23 circuits, 101 chapels, 207

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190 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1797.-1798. societies, and 8,292 members; and 44 itinerant, and 229 local preachers. In 1829, they had 162 chapels, 59 circuits, and 492 local preachers, who ministered to 11,777 members. Dec. 19th. A national thanksgiving was observed for the three great naval victories of Admirals Howe, St. Vincent, and Duncan. On the 26th of Dec., aged 73 years, died that distinguished chamberlain and alderman of London, John Wilks, Esq., author of a patriotic article in No. 45, of the north Briton, for which he suffered imprisonment. 1798. In January, the new church at Halifax was conse- crated by the learned Dr. Watson, bishop of Landaff. The corporation of Leeds subscribed £500 in aid of the supplies requisite for the defence of the kingdom, and trans- mitted it to the cashier of the Bank of England, with an order for it to be entered in the books in the following terms :—“ The corporation of Leeds, having no property or income whatever, save the interest of £1,800, arising from fees of admission, and fines paid by those refusing to serve, Fwe Hundred Pounds.” J. Smyth, Esq. of Heath, near Wakefield, subscribed £1,000 for the same purpose, and Sir R. B. Johnstone, bart. most liberally subscribed £1,000 annually during the continuance of the war. These examples were followed by many large towns and opulent individuals. The earls of Harewood and Carlisle each gave £4,000, and the Bank of England £200,000. The duke of Norfolk, for toasting at a whig club, in London, “ The Majesty of the People” was dismissed from the lord lieutenancy of the West- Riding, which was given to earl Fitzwilliam. A new peal of ten bells at the Leeds paris church was opened February 5th, by the Ashton-under-Lyne ringers. A piece of ground on Headingley-moor, containing about one acre, was enclosed, (1798) with the consent of the lord of the manor and freeholders, and vested in trustees, as a provision for a schoolmaster, to teach six poor children. Thomas Maude was born, it is said, at Harewood. near Leeds,in 1717; while another acconnt—though less certain —gives Westminster the credit of his birth. Brought up to the medical profession, and was surgeon on board the Barfleur, with captain lord Harry Powlett. Afterwards he becume steward for the estates of the duke of Bolton, and resided chiefly at his grace’s seat, Bolton hall, in Wensleydale. Published ‘“ Wensleydale, or Rural Contem- plations;”’ and other poems. Died in 1798. In this year Messrs. Rambotham, Swaine, and gatroyd, of Bradford, erected the first mill wrought by steam, in the “Holme.” The engine which supplied the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 191 1798. propelling force was of fifteen horses’ power. Mr. James, in his history of Bradford states, that at this time strong prejudice existed in the minds of the inhabitants, even the respectable portion of them, against factories. A man had commenced conveying stones for the building of the mill, when a large number of the inhabitants assembled to prevent his proceeding to the site of it, and laid hold of the horse’s head. One of the partners, being a man of considerable prowess, stripped his coat, and literally boxed the way clear; and the persons who had assembled to stop the work, seeing his determination, and probably remembering the unlawfulness of their conduct, allowed the horse and cart to proceed. Under such discouraging circumstances was the first of those structures built which have raised Bradford to its present importance among the towns of England. Very soon after Rambotham and Swaine’s mill was at work, other mills were erected in or near the town. It seems that an attempt was at that period made to intro- duce the cotton manufacture here; and one mill, (at least), which is now used in the worsted business, was, early in the present century, built for the spinning of cotton. This branch of manufactures was not, however, long carried on here. The progress of the worsted manufacture in Bradford, has been as rapid and as unexampled as that of its popu- lation. In 1800, according to the census, 1290 persons were employed in Bradford, in trade or manufactures. In 1811, 1595 families were so employed; in 1821, 2452 families; in 1831, 3867, besides 1605 labourers. In 1819, the number of horses’ power employed in propelling the machinery of worsted mills in Bradford and its immediate neighbourhood, was about 492; in 1830, 1047; and in 1840, upwards of 2000. In April, an armed association was formed at Leeds, by persons who found their own accoutrements, and served without pay. Each company had a captain and two lieu- tenants. In May, aged 73, died William Mason, an eminent Yorkshire poet, and the friend and biographer of Gray. He was born in 1725. His father was vicar of St. Trinity hall, in the East-Riding. In 1742, young Mason entered St. John’s college, Cambridge, where he took his batchelor’s degree in 1745. In 1749 he was chosen a Fellow of Pembroke college, and took his master’s degree two years after. In 1754 he took orders, and in 1756 he received the living of Aston, in Yorkshire. In 1762 he.

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192 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1798. was preferred to the canonry of York, the prebend of Driffield, and the precentorship of York minster. Besides his skill in poetry and gardening, he was a considerable proficient in painting, and a respectable amateur in music. Mason cannot be classed with the great poets, yet for many years of his life he was England’s greatest living oet. P After a thunder storm and heavy fall of rain, on June 6th, the river Aire rose two yards in half an hour; by the lightning a boy was killed at Wibsey, and a barn destroyed at Yeadon. Mr. John Swire, of Halifax, unfortunately erished in the snow whilst attempting to cross Knares- borough forest on horseback,:in February, when several other travellers lost their lives by exposing themselves to the severity of the weather.- In June, the militia volunteered their services to Ireland, amongst whom were the Ist West York regiment, who, on the 5th of April, embarked for that ill-fated and injured country, where re- bellion existed in all its horrors, and where the insurgents were expected to be soon joined by the French. The canal from Sowerby bridge to Rochdale was opened. December March 30th. The whole kingdom of Ireland was put under martial law. April 3rd. The duke of York was appointed commander-in-chief of all his majesty’s Jand forces in the kingdom of Great Britain. April 21st. A bill passed on the 20th for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, this day received the royal assent. May 6th. Sir Siduey Smith arrived in London from Paris, having made his escape after a confinement of upwards of two years, in the prison of the temple. May 9th. Geo. III. struck out the name of Mr. Fox from the list of privy councillors. May 23rd. Lady Edward Fitzgerald, relict of lord Edward Fitzgerald, (who had expired on the 19th, in consequence of wounds he had received in a desperate struggle with the police officers of Dublin, in their attempt to arrest his lordship on a charge of high treason), was ordered to quit the British dominions: she was the celebrated Pamela, and daughter of the duke of Orleans. May 25th. Sunday, in consequence of a previous dispute in the House of Commons between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Tierney, a duel was fought by those two great politicians; two cases of pistols were discharged without effect, and as Mr. Pitt fired his last pistol in the air, the matter was accomodated by the seconds. At this time the spirit of military ardour wholly pervaded Great Britain, and all ranks

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 193 1798 -1799. eagerly formed themselves into volunteer corps for the defence of the country. I The canal from Sowerby bridge to Rochdale, was opened December 2st. August lst was fought the ever memorable battle of the Nile, for the services of which day admiral Nelson had the dignity of baron of Great Britain conferred on him, by his majesty George III., with a pension of £3,000 a year. Early in October there were illaminations in all the principal towns of the county in honour of this victory, and liberal subscriptions were opened for the relief of the widows and orphans of the brave seamen who were killed in the action. 1799. There are monuments in the Leeds parish church, “To the memory of John Pate Neville, lieutenant in the third regiment of foot guards, who was wounded in Holland, in an engagement against the French, September 19th, of which wound he died October 10th, 1799”; also, “ To the memory of Brownlow Pate Neville, lieutenant in the third regiment of foot guards, who was likewise wounded in Holland, September 10th, and died September 16th, 1799, aged 23 years.”’ There is one to the brother of the above, who was killed five years before, with an inscription as follows :— to the memory of Charles Henry Neville, lieutenant in the queen’s, or second regiment of foot, who, being on the marine duty on board earl Howe’s ship, after behaving in a most brave and gallant manner in the engagement which took place between the English aud French fleets for three days, was killed by a grape shot, June the Ist, 1794, aged 19 years.”

‘‘Ye sons of peace, who blest With all the dear delights of social life, Behold this Tablet, Which affection reared, To the lov’d memory of the young, the brave ; Whose early bloom, smote by the ruthless hand of war, Fell, admired, lamented : Oh! give one pitying tear, In grateful memory of the generous youth, Who dauntless met the dreadful battle’s rage, And nobly bled, That you might live secure.”

The large centre building of the extensive woollem manufactory of Messrs. Wormald, Fountain, and Gott, at Bean-Ing, near Leeds, was destroyed by fire August llth: five days after which the river Aire overflowed its banks,

17

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P94 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1799. atid did much damage in the adjacent buildings and the hay and corn fields. The weather was for some time wild end tempestuous. Several mills and houses near ‘Holmtirth and Huddersfield were swept away by tite flodds, but this was trifling compared with the devasta- tion in Lancashire and Cheshire, where numerous bridgés nd mills were washed down, and one person lost 800 opieces of finished goods. Ou November 16th, Mr. ‘@ralram’s extensive corn, oil, and scribbling mills, at Kirk- wtall, were destroyed by fire. —Great distress pre- ‘wailed, and subscription soup kitchens were opened in nearly all the large towns in the kingdom, for the purpose of: supplying the poor at ld. per quart, but this was not *‘safficient to allay the craving appetites of the Hudders- ‘fteld workmen, who assembled in riot on the 19th of Nov- ‘ember, and seized all the corn in the market, and sold it vat their own prices. On July 2nd, died, in his 80th tyear, the Rev. Thomas Morgan, who was incumbent of the Presbyterian chapel, at Morley, near Leeds, during thirty- ‘“#ix years, and distiiguished himself for learning and piety “by his excellent sermons, by his writings in the geuntle- man’s magazine, and by his able reply to. the doctrines tofthe Trinity and Atonement, advocated by Dr. Priestley. “His immediate predecessor was the Rev. Mr. Aldred, who héld the living fifty-four years, and during that ‘Jong period was not once prevented by illness from discharging his ministerial duties. Mr. Aldred’s pre- decessor was the Rev. Joseph Dawson, who was ejected from Thornton chapel, under the act of uniformity, and appointed to Morley chapel in 1688. A school of in- dustry was established this yéar in Beezon’s-yard, Leeds, which yard was situate in the position of the present Market-street. . August 5th, died the Rt. Hon. Earl Howe, who so gloriously distinguished himself in the naval engagement of June Ist, 1794. Salem chapel, at Wakefield, was built this year. Nov. 26th, died, aged 71, Dr. Joseph Black, professor of chemistry in the university of Edin- burgh. He was the discoverer of the air balloon nearly fifteen years before the idea suggested itself to M. Mont- golfier, to whom the invention is generally attributed. Dec. 14th, died, aged 68, general Washington, at Mount Vernon, America. David Simpson, a clergyman noted for his writings, was born near North-Allerton, in York- shire, 1745. His father was a farmer, and David was in- tended for the same pursuit, but he was desirous of entering

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 195) 1799.-1800. the church, and went to study at Cambridge. Here he became acquainted with Robert Robinson, the Baptist. minister, and imbibed principles of dissent, which troubled: his whole life by struggles between his interest and his. convictions. He never attained any eminence in the church; indeed, his preaching was such that he was obliged to leave two or He at last settled, at. Macclesfield, in Cheshire, where he died in 1799. He. had previously determined, as his manuscripts show, on leaving the establishment, but he did not live to carry out; his resolution. His principal works are, an “ Essay on. the authenticity of the New Testament,” “A Key to the: Prophecies,’ ‘‘A Plea for the Diety of Jesus Christ, and the Doctrine of the Trinity,’ and a “Plea for Religion. and the Sacred Writings.”°———_The scarcity of corn in Bradford was even greater in this and the following year. than in 1796 ; and work being also scarce, the distress in this town was very severe. Wheat sold for 17s. a bushel; and the poorer class of inhabitants lived principally on. barley, bean, and pea meal, of which only a scanty supply could be obtained. It was a season of distress which is yet well remembered by many. A very severe and long winter, with deep snow, when a great number of sheep and lambs were destroyed. by the frost. The Barnsley canal was opened June 15th, ~1800. Some few readers of the ‘Annals’ will be able to remember what was the condition of Leeds at the beginning of the 19th century ; how groves, green lanes, and fieldg have heen replaced by warehouses, mills, factories, foundries, railway stations, houses, &c. It has already been seen that Leeds, as mentioned in doomsday book, was restricted to Briggate, Kirkgate, and Swinegate. The mud and wattled houses, roofed with thatch, which formed the early dweli- ings of the inhabitants, gave place to timber houses, one of, which, named Rockley hall, in Lowerhead-row, the residence of an opulent family, was existing down to the be- ginning of the present century. It was built entirely of. timber, and was of a very antique form, consisting of a centre and two wings, with a pointed door-way at the lower end of the central part. Instead of deals, or boards, the floors were oak planks, of so considerable a thickness, that joists were subsequently made of them. These timber houses were succeeded by another class of houses built of. a perishable argillaceous kind of stone found in the neigh- bourhood. Then followed brick houses, the first of which built in Leeds, (1628) is known as the Red hall, in Upper-

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196 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1800. head-row. Most of the old buildings in the town have been replaced by larger and more elegant ones. In Briggate, and other parts of the town, a few old houses may yet be seen; but they are scarcely noticed except by the curious. ‘ Austhorpe Hall, near the Friends’ meeting-house, near Meadow-lane, is an ancient building, built of timber and plastered on the outside. It originally belonged to a family of the name of Austhorpe, and a Scotch family named Douglas, “Annys Fearn, wyfe of Myles Douglasse, was buried 3rd September, 1578,” as we learn from the parish register. To the west of Austhorpe hall, is another ancient house, now completely surrounded with buildings, which seems to have been the Water hall of Thoresby. Ingram’s Hall, at the end of Bow-street, is a very old house. Whitaker styles it “Hill House, Bank, where is a fair large house built by Mr. William Ingram.”’ There isa tradition that this house was built by one of the Ingram’s of Templenewsam; but the Ingram who built it was not at ail related to the family at Templenewsam, and, of course, the many other traditions founded on this supposition are void of truth. Richard Hutchinson, Esq., of Astley, is the present proprietor.— Knostrop is remarkable for a very ancient hall with castellated turrets ; in front of the court are two antique stone chairs. Early in the 17th century, the hall was iu the possession of John Stables, one of the first of the people called quakers, who converted part of the orchard beside the hall into a burying ground, where some stones with inscriptions may yet be seen. Whitaker says that “Knowsthorpe hall contains perhaps the latest specimen of a dais or raised step for the high table which is to be foundin England.”’ In North-hall-street, West-end there is an ancient building known as North hall, which was once an important place, as being in the centre of North - hall gardens. This house is thus alluded to by Whitaker, “Mr. George Bannister, sen., first town clerk of Leeds, - purchased the North hall wood estate of alderman Hillary, the benefactor, who built the first house here in the time of Charies I. The population of the parish of Leeds in 1801 was 53,162, in 1851, 172,270. Vast changes must have taken place to meet the requirements of this increase of popula- tion. The number of inhabited houses in 180] was 6,694, and in 1851, 36,165. A survey of Leeds made at the begininng of the present century is highly interesting, as showing the appearance of the town at that time. Park-place is de- scribed as a very elegant range of buildings, with a south

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 197 800. aspect, and which commands a very pleasing view of the country, particularly of the river Aire. A footpath, the en- trance to which was near where Lupton’s warehouse is in Wellington-street, passed through pleasant fields to Burley. The road on the north side of Park-place was not then made. The Infirmary, with the Mixed Cloth Hall, formed one side of a very extensive square, the west of which was East-parade; the north, South-parade; and the east, Park- row : the area of the square was partly laid out in gardens. and partly used as tenter ground. Woodhouse lane, trom its elevated situation, and the fine prospect it afforded of Aire- dale, had hecome a favourite place for building on, es- pecially genteel detached houses, of which there were many etween Leeds and Woodhouse. The situation of St James’s-street, Woodhouse-lane, is described as extremely pleasant, and from its elevation, the air of it is remarkably salutary and bracing, from which circumstance, it was pre- ferred by invalids to any part of the town, and, of course, buildings in it were in great request. The space from Park- lane to Woodhouse moor was pleasant fields. The whole distance between Scarbro’s hotel and Gott’s factory, was fields, gardens, &c. Near to Gott’s factory was a place cajled Monk pits, and on the site of the factory, (which was huilt before the 19th ceutury), was Bene Ing, or Bean Ing. Bene signifies prayers, Ing, field ; that is, the field of prayers. In every part of the town there has been the same rapid accumulation of buildings. Nearly the whole of the West- end, Armley hall, New Wortley, Camp field, Brewery field, a vast part of Hunslet and Holbeck and at the east end of the town, the Leylands, &c., have been built since the year 1800. The subject might be pursued further, but sufficient has been said to call to the minds of readers the changes that have taken place. Aged people, especially, can com- - municate much interesting and valuable information as to the past condition of the town of Leeds. The year 1800 was not a leap year although divisable by four. (see 1751.) The diet of the working classes at this time was quite different from what it is now. It was customary at the winter fair to purchase beef for the pur- pose of being salted and hung for winter food. The broth and rashers which these afforded, with oat cakes, or hard wheaten ,bread, were a perpetual repast. Frumenty, also, in the winter time was much eaten. A large subscrip- tion was raised in January hy the inhabitants of Leeds, to relieve the distress of the labouring poor at that place, oc- casioned by the high price of provisions. A scribbling

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198 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1800. mill at Holbeck was destroyed by fire. About 150 vessels were wrecked on the northern coast, where nearly 1,000 persous perished in the deep. In February, wheat sold in Leeds at from 10s. to 17s. per bushel, according to uality, which varied much owing to the wet harvest of the preceding year. The price of mutton was 2d. per pound higher in April than it had ever been before, but to reduce it, by making it more plentiful, the inhabitants of Leeds determined not to eat lamb tor three months. On May 6th, the Leeds market was disturbed by a great not, caused by the high price of wheat, which in July rose to from 42s, to 50s. per load of three bushels, or from 14s. to 16s. 8d. per bushel. Numerous petitions were sent to parliament by the woollen manufacturers, praying “that the exportation of wool to Ireland may not, on any account, be permitted.” This year Wheeler Medhurst, Esq., of Kippax, murdered his wife in a fit of insanity, and was after ards confined for some years. On October 2nd, died, Harry Rowe, a well known character of York, who was trumpeter in the duke of - Kingston's light horse, at the battle of Culloden, in 1746, and attended the high of Yorkshire as trumpeter at the assizes during 46 years. He travelled in various parts of the kingdom with a puppet show, and died in the workhouse of his native city, at the age of 75 years. At the Otley sessions, in October, three great fore- stallers were tried and punished, viz.: David Oliver, of Lindley, and Thomas Wall, of Addinghan, for forestalling wheat and shelling, each fined £20; and Samuel Wignall, of Keighley, “for eugrossing butter,’? imprisoned one month at Wakefield and fined £40. The Quakers, in an advertisement in the Leeds papers, declared their ab- horrence of adding to the high price of provisions by “forestalling and regrating in the markets, and that they would discountenance any of their who should be guilty of such nefarious practices;” for the suppression of which the law is but too seldom called into action. Messrs. Williamson and Evers’ corn mills, at Keighley, ' were burnt down November 17th. The inhabitants of Leeds bound themselves in an association in December, not to consume in their respective families more bread than one quartern loaf (4 lbs.) per head in each week, till the lst of September following, or until the average price of wheat should be. 10s. per bushel. Messrs. Chasfer, Wilson, and Co.’s scribbling mill, at Dewsbury, was de- stroyed by fire December 11th. About this time Mr.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 199 1800. James Dufton found, in a field at Bramley-town-end, near Leeds, a halfpenny, inscribed on one side “ Francis Conyers, of Middleton, in Yorkshire, 1669’’: and on the reverse, “ for the use of ye. coal pits..,—————The organ of St. Paul’s church, Leeds, was erected this year by subscription. In 1800, the Airedale Independent college, for educating young men for the Independent ministry, was founded at dle; and endowed in 1803, by a bequest of Edward Hanson, Esq., with £5000 three per cent. consols. Mrs. Bacon, of Bradford, in 1829, gave two estates at Fagley and Undercliffe to increase the endowment. The gerin of this institution was an academy at Heckmondwike, formed for a similar purpose in 1756. In the year 1783 the academy was removed to Northowram. The premises at Idle having become too small for the increase of students, a subscription was entered into by the supporters of the institution, for the purpose of erecting the present college at Undercliffe, which was designed by Mr. Clark. The erection of it began in 1831. It is a large and well de- signed and convenient stone building, ornamented witha portico, and has accommodation for twenty students. Owing to its elevated site it has a very imposing appear- ance. The Rev. William Vint was the tutor during all the time the institution continued at Idle, which was re- moved in 1834; but he died soon after its removal, and was succeeded by the Rev. Walter Scott. The institution is now under the superintendance of the Rev. Dr. Fraser. The yearly income arising from the endowment and other sources is about £900. A chapel was, in connection with the college, erected in 1839, in High-street. It is a very handsome structure, and from its elevated and towering position, forms a strong feature in the appearance of the town. The cost of its erection, which was defrayed by subscription, was near £3000. There are in it 800 sittings. The Rev. Dr. Fraser is the pastor. Died, aged 69, William Cowper, Esq., the celebrated poet. Sept. 5th. The island of Malta surrendered to the British, after a blockade of two years; as did also the Dutch island of Curacoa, in the West Indies, on the llth of September. Dec. The quartern loaf in London was at this time la. 10¥d.; and the average price of wheat was 133s. per quarter. In the course of this month several bills brought into parliament in consequence of the scarcity and high price of provisions, were, by the royal sanction, passed into laws, viz.: a bill for allowing bounties on the importation of various kinds of provisions ;

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200 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1800. to prohibit the use of grain in the distillation of spirits and the manufacture of starch; and to prohibit bakers selling any bread until the same shall have been baked twenty-four hours. A bill also passed prohibiting the manufacture of flour or meal from wheat or any other grain, finer than a specified standard, commonly called the brown bread bill, but this last was speedily repealed. Dec. 3lst. From the army returns presented to the House of Commons, by the secretary of war, it appeared that the number of men raised for the army since the commencement of the war, was 208,888. The number of men discharged on account of wounds, was 75,910, but this also included those who had been transferred from one regiment to another. The number of men killed in action, or who died in the service, was 48,971, and the number of effective men, including invalids, militia, and foreign corps in the pay of Great Britain, on the 24th Dec., was 168,082. The progress of machinery may be estimated by the evidence of Mr. Gott, before parliameut in 1800. He then stated that fifteen years previously, 1f would have required 1,634 ersons to do that which was then done by thirty-five Individuals in a week. Of course he was speaking of the process of scribbling aud spinning. He further stated that the average of wages in the woollen manufactory, at that time, was as follows:—men could earn from sixteen to eighteen shillings per week; children could earn three shillings per week; older children, viz., from fourteen to eighteen years of age, from five to six shillings per week; women could earn from five to six shillings per week; and old men from nine to twelve shillings per week. Newcome Cappe, a dissenting divine, was born at Leeds, in 1732. He was educated under Dr. Doddridge, at Northampton, and finished his studies at Glasgow ; after which, he became minister of a congregation at York, where he died in 1800. Jesse Ramsden, an optician, was born at Halifax, in 1735, and served his. apprenticeship to a hot-presser; after which he went to London and studied engraving. He next became a mathematical instrument maker in Piccadilly, and, by marrying a daughter of Dolland, improved his knowledge in that profession. Among other discoveries, he made an accurate division of instruments, which procured him a premium from the board of longitude. He died at Brighton, in 1800. At this time Bradford had a

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 201 1800.-1801. opulation of 6,300. ———— May 15th. His majesty eorge III. narrowly escaped assassination, a pistol having been fired at him as he sat in the royal box at Drury-lane theatre, by a maniac named Hatfield, who was confined for life. Pantaloons, which fitted closely to the leg, were in very common use at this time, and remained so until the year 1814, when the wearing of trousers, already introduced into the army, became fashionable. Although trousers were generally worn after 1815, many elderly persons still held out in knee-breeches against all innovations, and fill the present day, (1859) an aged gentleman may occasionally be seen clinging to this eighteenth century piece of dress. When trousers were introduced, the use of Wellington boots to go beneath them also became common. Black neck- cloths, or stocks, (instead of white), and the surtout, came into vogue about the same time as the boots. 1801. January Sth. Wheat sold at from 52s. to 56s. a load. 20,000 of the inhabitants of Leeds petitioned for peace, and the wealthiest subscribed to supply the poor at reduced prices with soup, rice, and herrings. On March 7th, the late Mr. Edward Baines became proprietor of the Leeds Mercury. A storm of thunder and lightning on July 3lst, killed William Sage, of Almondbury, near Hud- dersfield, whilst sheltering under a tree, and by the compression of a cloud inundated the first floors of many buildings at Aberford and Parlington hall. Many nocturnal meetings were held at Hartshead moor, and other places in the West-Riding, by the dis- affectec. Tu July, the price of wheat was. reduced from £8 to £3 10s. per quarter. Leeds was brilliantly illuminated in October, in consequence of the ratification of eace between Great Britain and France. October 13th, Samuel Predam, of Leeds, aged 28, late lieutenant of his majesty’s 54th regiment of foot, who was shot through the body on the 25th of August, near the gates of Alex- andria, in Egypt, where he displayed the active zeal, the intrepid gallantry, and the invincible spirit and courage of atrue British soldier. A monument in the Leeds parish church has an inscription as follows:—‘In memory of Samuel Predham, of this town, late lieutenant of his majesty’s 54th regiment of foot. This monument is erected by his most affectionate and disconsolate mother on the loss of her only son. In the memorable expedition to Egypt he bore a distinguished part, and displayed on all

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202 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1801. occasions the active zeal, the intrepid gallantry, and the invincible spirit and courage of a true British officer. He was shot through the body, the 25th of August, 1801, near the gates of Alexandria.”

‘“ But like the immortal Abercrombie, He refused to quit his post So long as he could stand. His death, which ensued the 13th Oct. following, At the age of twenty-eight years, To his friends was most affecting, To himself it was glorious As his life had been honourable.”

In December, an epidemic fever raged in Leeds, and amongst its numerous victims were two young sur- geons. This malady produced one beneficial effect on William Atha, a pauper lunatic, in Holbeck workhouse, for it left him in the possession of his reason, of which he had heen bereft upwards of two years, during which he frequently wandered about Leeds in old regimentals, making political harangues in the streets against Mr. Pitt, who, he said, ought to be hanged for ruining the country. Jan. 1. The union between Eugland and Ireland took place. Theking was now styled of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. The arms or ensigns, armorial, of the United Kingdom, were quarterly, first and fourth, England; second, Scotland; third,Ireland. By the articles of union, 100 commoners were to be representatives of Irelaud in the imperial parliament, two for each county, two for each of the cities of Dublin and Cork, one for the university, and one for each of the thirty-one most con- siderable cities and towns. As a compensation to the owners of disfranchised boroughs, the sum of £15,000 was allowed to each. Torepresent the Irish peerage, twenty- eight lords temporal elected for life, were allotted, and four bishops to represent the clergy, taking their places in rotation. The planet, Ceres, was discovered by Piazzi, an Italian astronomer. Jan. 22nd. The imperial parliament assembled for the first time. Died, in the 60th year of his age, at Berne, Switzerland, John Caspar Lavatar, the celebrated physiognomist; also Sir George Staunton, secretary to the earl of Macartney in his embassy to China, and the person who published the interesting account of that embass . Feb. 23rd. The British armament, under the command

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 203 1801.-1802. of lord Keith, consisting of 175 sail, having on board an army of 15,330 men, commanded by the brave Sir Ralph Abercrombie, and destined for the recovery of Egypt, sailed from Minorca bay, on the coast of Caramania, and, after a boisterous passage, arrived in Aboukir bay, on the 2nd. of March. Feb. Average price of wheat 145s. per quarter. Stephen Barrett was born at Kildwick, in 1718, and re- ceived his education at the school of Skipton, from whence he removed to Oxford, where he took his degree in arts, and entered into orders. For many years he was master of the grammar school at Ashford, in Kent, which he resigned in 1773, on being preferred to the rectory of Hoth- field in the same county, where he died in 1801. April 22nd. Battle of Copenhagen—when lord Nelson took, sunk, and burnt 17 sail of Danish ships and batteries. Sir H. B. Hayes tried at Cork, for forcibly carrying off Miss Pike, a rich Quaker heiress ; he was found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged, but was reprieved for transporta- tion. May 4th. A new writ issued by the speaker of the House of Commons for a member for Old Sarum, in the room of Rev. J. Horne Tooke. On May 6th a bill was introduced into the House to declare persons in holy orders incapable to sit, which afterwards passed intoa law. Sept. 2nd. The French garrison of Alexandria of S000 soldiers and 1300 seamen gurrendered to the British; the glorious campaign in Egypt terminated with the fall of Alexandria ; of the whole of the French troops landed in Egypt at various periods during its occupation by them, only 24,00) returned to their native country.- Oct. Ist. Preliminaries of peace were signed in London by lord Hawkesbury, (afterwards earl of Liverpool) on the part of Britain, and M. Otto, on the part of the French republic. Marquis Corn- wallis was appointed ambassador to the French re- ublic. 1802. On January 4th, Messrs. Crowther and Hirst’s scribbling mill, at Morley, near Leeds, was destroyed by fire, with a great quantity of wool. March 2nd, died Francis, duke of Bedford, deeply regretted by the British nation. A rail-road from Leeds to Selby was strongly recommended by ‘ Mercator,” in the Leeds Mercury of Jan. 16. Richard Trevithick took out a patent this year for a locomotive steam-engine, which ran in the Mer- thyr tramway, and drew a load of ten tons at the rate of five miles an hour. Slight ridges were left in the edge of

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204 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1802. the wheels, and on the trams, to prevent their slipping round, and to insure a forward movement. That without this precaution there could be no adhesion or advance, was an idea that long prevailed. The following paragraph appeared in the Leeds Mercury, Aug. 2Ist, 1802 :-—

“Tron RatLways.—Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Esq., so well known as an author, has published an essay on railroads, of which he claims the invention. He states that in 1768 he presented models to the Society of Arts, for which he received their gold medal. recommends an experiinent to be made, which shall demon- strate their advantages beyond the possibility of doubt or cavil. He proposes four iron railways to be laid on one of the great roads out of London, two of them for carts and waggons, and two for light carriages. To accommodate coaches and chaises he would have cradles or platforms with wheels adapted to the railway, on to one of which each carriage would drive up an inclined plane erected at the end of the road for that purpose. The carriage would then be drawn, not upon its own wheels, but upon the wheels of the platform or cradle. “He calculates that a stage coach, with six inside and six outside passengers, would travel at the rate of six miles an hour with one horse. Gentlemen's carriages with two horses would go at the rate of twelve or fifteen miles an hour; and if a railway were laid from London to Edinburgh, the mail coach would go in thirty hours. Even at this great speed the most timid female might trust her delicate frame with most perfect security, for the carriage could not possibly be overturned. Any obstruction from hills would easily be overcome. Mr. Edgeworth proposes to plant a steam-engine at the top of every hill, which would move forward the carriages by a chain, to which they would be connected or detached from at pleasure.”—Leeds Mercury, August 21, 1802.

On the 20th of January a violent storm of wind unroofed several houses, and threw down many stacks of chimneys in Leeds and the neighbourhood. The Mail was blown over near Halifax, and many accidents happened elsewhere. The cotton and corn mill at Blackshaw head, near Halifax, was entirely consumed by fire on March 3rd. The town of Sheffield was visited by a terrific storm of wind in January, 1802, and a sheet of lead, weighing 2,000 lbs., was precipitated into the yard of the Tontine, fell on the very spot where only a minute or two before the Doncaster mail had stood. March 27th. The definite treaty of peace was signed at Amiens, between Great Britain, France, Spain, and Holland, when general illuminations took place in all parts of the United Kingdom. The Halifax volunteers were disembodied May 13th, and the Leeds, Wakefield, and Otley volunteers

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 200 1802. en June Ist, which was a day of general thanksgiving for the restoration of peace, when the colours of the late volunteer corps at Leeds were deposited in the parish church. On the Sth of May, this year, another vote of thanks was passed by the Leeds corporation to the volunteer corps of cavalry and infantry. A dinner was also given in the Music hall, on the 29th of the same month, at a cost of £265. 7s., and at which 330 persons were present. At a court held in the following year, two pairs of colours were ordered to be purchased and pre- sented to the said corps, which was done on the moor at Chapel-Allerton, in the presence of the mayor, recorder, and, eorporation, together with a great number of other in- fluential-persons. The cost of the colours amounted to £61. 83. 4d.— The roof of a new mill at Austonley, near Holmfirth, fell in, and killed three persons, and dreadfully bruised several others, on November 6th, and three days after, the stacks and outbuildings of the Hagg farm, in the same neighbourhood, were destroyed by fire, supposed by an incendiary. The House of Recovery, in Vicar-lane Leeds, was founded by subscripjion, aud opened November Ist. It is now used asadram shop, and is situated opposite the new covered market. May 6th. A bill for the abolition of bull-baiting was thrown out of the Commons by a majority of 13; some members contending horse racing and hunting were more crue] and immoral amusements than either boxing or bull- baiting, but the former were the amusements of the rich and the latter of the poor: June 3rd. The parliament voted £10,000 to Dr. Jenner for the discovery of vaccine inoculation. On the same day £1200 was voted to Henry Greathead, ship carpenter, of South Shields, for the inven- tion of the life-boat ; and £5000 to Dr. J. C. Smith, for his discovery of the nitrous fumigation for preventing the progress of contagious disorders, first recommended by him in 1795. This year was completed the new Methodist chapel, situate in Albion-street, a little below Guildford- street, and now occupied as a warehouse by Messrs. Vance. The first stone was laid April 30th. June. A quantity of silver pennies of William the Con- queror were found in digging the foundation for the new gaol, at York. Sept. 2nd. Early in the morning of this. day Joseph Heald and John Terry committed a most rhorrid murder..qn the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, of Flanshaw, near Wakefield. They were found guilty and 18

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206 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1802.-1803. executed at York, on Monday, March 14th, 1803. Terry conducted himself in the most outrageous manner, and in-= sisted most positively that Heald was innocent. Terry's body was dissected at York, and that of Heald at Leeds. 1803. Feb. 7th. Colonel Despard and nine others were tried in London for high treason; they were all found guilty, and on the 21st, colonel Despard and six others were exe- cuted. May 16th. Great Britain declared war against France, after a peace of one year and sixteen days. May 22nd. Bonaparte gave orders to seize all the British subjects in France and in all countries occupied by French armies, who were to answer for those citizens of the republic made prisoners hy the subjects of his Britannic majesty previous to the declaration of war; upwards of 11,000 persons were said to be arrested in France in conse- quence of this decree. June 13th. The chancellor of the exchequer proposed a tax of one shilling in the pound on to be paid by the landlord; and nine- pence in the pound to be paid by the tenant; and on all other income of one shilling in the pound from £150 and upwards, which afterwards passed into a law. July 23rd. An insurrection took place in Dublin, at the head of which were Robert Emmett and others; lord Kilwarden, chief justice of Ireland, and his nephew, were murdered in Thomas-street, Dublin, by the insurgents ; the insurrection was speedily quelled by the military. August 15th. Hatfield was found guilty of forgery at Carlisle assizes, and executed 3rd September; he had married a young woman commonly called Mary, “the beauty of Buttermere,”’ to whom,.and about Keswick, he had passed himself as the hon. colonel A. Hope, brother to the earl of Hopetoun. A dreadful storm of hail and wind occurred on July 20th, which unroofed several houses, tore up trees, and broke many windows, the hailstones heing some of them three inches in circum- ference. In consequence of an act passed, requiring all the male inhabitants, between the ages of 17 and 55 years, to be enrolled for the defence of the kingdom, the lieutenancy, magistracy, and gentry of the county of York, met at Leeds, and resolved to have none but volunteers “to stand forth to meet aud resist an enemy, threatening us with invasion and destruction.’? Sub- scriptions were immediately opened, and new corps of infantry volunteers formed. The Leeds corps amounted to 2,402 men, and the Huddersfield, including the men of Upper Agbrigg, to upwards of 3,000; those of the

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I THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 207 1803. other towns equally numerous in proportion to their population. A body of volunteers, about one thousand strong, of which John Hardy, Esq., became colonel, was formed at Bradford; the old one having been disbanded. The dress of this body was a scarlet coat turned up with white ; white breeches and black leggings, and linen trowsers for. changes; black caps with a worsted tuft. It is related by impartial judges, that the Bradford vol- unteers, In common with most of those in the West- Riding, were as well disciplined as regular troops. The Leeds subscription amounted to £15,000, and the ladies of the borough provided every man with a flannel waist- coat. The Wakefield and Halifax Journal was es- tablished this year. September Ist. The Manchester college was removed from Manchester to York, where it was placed under the direction of the Rev. Charles Wellbeloved. In October, Johanna Southcott, the prophetess of Exeter, arrived in Leeds. In this year there were 1,364 deaths in Leeds, and in the following year only 671. This decrease of mortality was supposed to have been occasioned by the introduction of vaccine inoculation. Ou January 15th and 18th, Isabella Holmes and Thomas Wilcock, of Gildersome, were killed in Leeds, by carriages passing over them; and on Sep- tember 10th, Mr. Thomas Lambert, of Elland, lost his life by a similar accident, at Salterhebble. The West- Riding militia regiments were embodied March 30th, at Leeds, York, and Doncaster. An act for regulating the coal trade at Leeds received the royal assent in March. Messrs. Taylor’s cotton mill, at Gomersal, was burnt down April 25th, John Galloway, a Leeds clockmaker, who spent most of his life in a fruitless en- deavour to discover the grand secret of “perpetual motion,” died May 8th. — Harry Wormald, Esq., being elected an alderman of Leeds, on June 6th, “paid the customary fine of £400 to be excused.” On July 14th, three divisions of supplementary militia were embodied in the three West York regiments, and on the same day the Leeds cavalry offered their services in any part of Great Britain, in case of invasion. Sub- scriptions were opened at York, to relieve the poor families of those who were balloted to serve in the army of reserve. —This year died at York, Tate Wilkinson, Esq., patentee of the theatres royal York and Hull. Owing to his kindness to his performers, judicious in- structions, and punctually in pecuniary matters, his de-

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208 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1803.-1804. pendents considered him more as a father than a master. e excelled both as a tragedian and a mimic, and as a theatrical tutor he was never eqnalled, as has been testified by many of his pupils on the “London especially the late Mr. Matthews, who, in spite of some natural defects, had long heen in great celebrity, and found himself “at home’’ on every stage. War being re-commenced with France, and as Bona- parte continued to threaten us with invasion, all England, and especially London, kindled at the call of patriotism ; the squares, gardens, and even church yards of the metropolis and its vicinity became places of military exercise, and on the 26th and 28th of October, in this year, the number of effective volunteers reviewed by George III., in Hyde park, was 27,077. Besides this warlike display, a patriotic fund was established in July, and, before the end of August, more than £152,000 was subscribed, towards which the corporation of the city of . London contributed £2,500.—_-—-—In 1803 an act was passed for lighting and cleansing and preventing nui- sances and olstructions in the streets of Bradford, and making provision for the effectual watching of the town. 1804. Jan. 26th. The Toll gate at Halifax bridge was removed, the cost of the bridge being liquidated, and a handsome sum accumulated for repairs. On May 14th, a melancholy accident happened at Blackshaw, near Halifax, to Robert Sutcliff, a poor aged weaver, who, having been frequently injured by his neighbours, imagined that his room was haunted by an evil spirit, and to allay which, he sent for John Hepworth, the Bradford fortune teller, who, after pouring human blood mixed with hairs into a large iron bottle, corked it tightly up, and put it into the fire, where it soon afterwards exploded with terrible violence, killed the old weaver, and greatly damaged the house, to the utter astonishment of the impious exorciser. On January 30th, lady Mary Horton presented the colours of the Halifax volunteers to their commander, colonel Horton; and on March 8th, the Leeds volunteers, commanded by colonel Lloyd, re- ceived their colours from the mayoress of Leeds, Mrs. Ikin; as also did the Upper Agbrigg voluntcers from lady Armytage, they being under the command of Sir George Armytage, bart. On March 25th, Messrs. Ramsbottom and Swaine’s extensive worsted mills at Bradford were nearly destroyed by fire. On May 19th, a wife was sold in Leeds market for

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. ° 209 1804. five guineas, to a gentleman who well knew her merits, and, strange to say, she had been previously sold at the same place before she was born, her mother, when she was in embryo, being disposed of in a similar manner. On June Sth, as Mr. Bedford, butler to Sir G. Armytage, was driving his family in a gig, the horse took fright, upset the vehicle, and killed Mrs. B. on the spot, besides breaking both Mr. B.’s arms and one of his thighs, and severely bruising the rest of the family. A mem- orable four mile race was rode at the York August meeting, this year, by Mrs. Thornton, (hacked by the colonel) and Mr. Flint, the former staking 500 and the latter 1000 guineas. For three miles the fair jockey kept the lead, riding with great skill and spirit, but her horse, Vingarillo, having the shorter stroke of the two, began to lag, aud perceiving that she must lose, she drew up in a very scientific manner within two distances. Up- wards of 50,000 anxious spectators were on the course, and as much as two to one was bet upon the lady. It is said upwards of £200,000 depended upon this extra- ordinary match. Dec. 16th. The woollen manufactory at Laister Dyke was burnt down. On December 17th, Messrs. Atkiuson’s factory, fifty yards long and three stories high, situated at Hunslet, was destroyed by fire, as also was the house of Mr. Olivant, at the foot of Northgate, Wakefield, on December 30th. The warehouse at Bradley mills, near Huddersfield, was burnt down. Joseph Priestley, a natural philosopher and chemist, also a metaphysician and Unitarian divine, was born at Field- head, near Leeds, March 13th, 1733. He was educated at the Daventry academy, under the care of Dr. Ashworth. In his 22nd year he became assistant minister of an In- dependant congregation at Needham market, in Suffolk, and afterwards officiated as minister of a congregation at Nantwich, in Cheshire. In 1761 he received the post of tutor in the academy at Warrington, but, in 1768, he removed to Leeds to undertake the pastoral charge of Mill- hill congregation. He had already published several works of value and importance on philology, history, politics, and physics. His ‘‘ History of Electricity,” published 1767, had proved his strict and careful enquiry into the laws of nature. Encouraged by the success which it met with, he published his ‘“‘ History and present state of Discoveries Relating to Vision, Light, and Colours,’”’ (1772.) He ac- cepted the office of Librarian to the earl of Shelburne, marquis of Lansdowne, made a tour with him on the con-

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210 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1804. tinent, and spent a winter with him in London. In 1773 he published, in the “Philosophical Transactions,” a treatise on the different kinds of air, by which he gained Copley’s medal. It appeared in the following year in an augmented edition, dedicated to lord Shelburne, and ac- companied by three other volumes. This work, rich in new and important facts, formed an era in the knowledge of aeriform fluids, and Priestley’s name became in consequence renowned throughout Europe. In 1774 he made the dis- covery, made also about the same time by Scheele, of pure, or, ashe called it, of dephlogisticated air. In 1776 he com- municated to the Royal Society some interesting remarks respecting the way in which blood receives its colour from the air. In 1778 he discovered the property possessed by plants standing in the sunlight, and of purifying impure air. He was also the author of many other discoveries. In 1775 appeared his ‘examination of the Doctrine of Common Sense,”’’ in answer to Reid, Beattie, and Oswald. Soon afterwards he laid before the public ‘“ Hartley’s Theory of the Human Mind,” in a more comprehensible form than that in which it had been expounded by the author. In 1777 he published his “ Disquisitions on Matter and This was succeeded by ‘“ A Vindication of Unitarianism and of the Doctrine of Necessity.”” He after- wards took up his residence at Birmingham, and before long became the minister to the Unitarian congregation in Birmingham. He here published his “ History of the Cor- ruptions of Christianity,’’? and his “ History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ.’”” The French Revolu- tion broke out in its fury, July 14th, 1791, when the friends of the French celebrated the auniversary of the destruction of the Bastille, in consequence of which a riot took place, his house, with his library, manuscripts, and apparatus, was burned down, and he himself narrowly escaped with his life. Not long afterwards he accepted an invitation to a congregation at Hackney, and re-com- menced there his accustomed pursuits, but the attacks on himself and his family being renewed, he determined at last to leave a country so hostile to his person and his principles. He sailed in 1794 for America, where he died February 6th, 1804. Priestley was a man of perfect sim- plicity of character. In spite of his many controversies, he entertained no personal enmities, and was entirely free from envy and jealousy. In the intercourse of life he was agreeable and benevolent. His mind was active, dis- criminating, and exact ; his knowledge comprehensive and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 211 1804.-1805. various ; his-style in composition was very clear and fluent. On the 19th of August, in this year, died the Rev. Michael Bacon, D.D., who was forty years vicar of Wakefield. The earl of Carlisle presented the dean and chapter of York with some beautiful ancient painted glass, which 1s placed in one of the windows of the minster. The figures are as large as life, and represent the annunciation of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. It was brought from the church of St. in Rouen, in Normandy, and is supposed to have been copied from a design by Sebastion del Piombo, the great favourite of Pope Clement VIII. On the 20th of May, Napoleon was proclaimed emperor of the French, which terminated the republic of France, after it had continued 4,136 days, one day less than the duration of the common- wealth of England. June 20th. A bill introduced intd parliament for the purpose of permitting corn to be ex- ported when the price of wheat was at or below 48s. per uarter, and to be imported when the average price was 63s. This bill afterwards passed into a law. 1805. On the 9th of January, died Jervas Storr, of Leeds, a worthy member of the society of Friends, who possessed an income of several hundred pounds a year, but only ex- pended on himself about £30 per annum, and bestowed the surplus on the poor, within a circuit of several miles round ‘the town, where he weekly searched out the ahodes of the indigent, and administered to them advice, hedding, clothing, and money in the most judicious manner. His spare habit, venerable grey locks, resigned countenance, and coarse garb, gave him the appearance of one of the ancient prophets, and caused him to be regarded with. reverential deference by all who knew him, especially the numerous claimants on his unbounded charity, who deeply regretted his loss. The cotton mill at Longbottom,. near Halifax, was burnt down January 3lst, as also was Hodgson’s scribbling mill and forge, at Hunslet, on Feb- ruary 6th. Lady Harewood, died February 22nd. John Wilkmson, a clothier, of Holbeck, was executed at York, in March, for the murder of his wife. About 600- ieces of silver coin, mostly of the reign of Edward 1, ‘were found under’an old wall at Knaresbro’ priory,. and carried to Sir Thomas Slingsby, the lord of the manor, who generously gave the finder their intrinsic value. In July, Mr. William Stables, a clothier, of Horsforth, was murdered in his own house, and a reward of 100 guineas was publicly offered by his brother John,.

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212 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1805. who, however, was strongly suspected of being accessary to the foul deed, and, either from guilt or insanity, was never happy afterwards, but hanged himself in his own barn in the September following. The organ in Wake- field church was built by Mr. William Gray, of London, and cost six hundred and thirty guineas. On November 20th, the extensive cloth mill of Benjamin Gott, Esq., at Armley, was entirely destroyed by fire. This year, earl St. Vincent, the distinguished naval com- mander, visited York, and received the freedom of the city in a hox of “heart of oak.” The amount of woollen cloth milled this year in the West-Riding was 10,079,256 yards of broad, and 6,193,317 yards of narrow. On the 29th Dec., the remains of Mr. J. Taylor, of Gomersal, were interred in a copse on a declivity, half a mile from his house, a spot which he had long before selected as his resting place. The remains of a Roman wall were discovered by some workmen behind the grand jury room, at York castle, upon which the wall that now meets the eye of the observer was built. At the same time a block of freestone, inscribed “ Divitati,” in Norman characters, was found, while the men were digging a drain. It was supposed to have been a boundary stone, and placed there in the reign of William the Conqueror. Battle of Trafalgar. Ou the 21st of October, a ficet of thirty-three sail, partly French and partly Spanish, met a- British fleet of twenty-seven, under lord Nelson, off Cape Trafalgar, when a battle took place which resulted in the defeat of the French and Spanish fleets, though at the ex- pense of the life of the British commander. Previous to the commencement of the engagement, Nelson hoisted his last signal, “England expects every man to do his duty.” The contest was severe, but never was a victory more complete. After the battle had raged for some time, Nelson was walking on the quarter-deck, when he was pierced by a shot from one of the French marksmen, not more than fifteen yards distant. “They have done for me at last, Hardy,” saidhe. “Inope not,” said Hardy. “Yes, he replied, my back-bone is shot through.” He was imme- diately carried helow. The cock-pit was crowded with wounded and dying men; he insisted that the surgeon should leave him and attend to those to whom he might be useful. “For to me,”’ said he, “you can do nothing.” He lived long enough to he assured that the triumph of his fleet was secured, and he died thanking God “that he had done his duty.”” The loss of the British amounted to 423

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 213 1805 -1806. killed, and 1,064 wounded. Twenty of the enemies’ vessels struck, but through the boisterous weather which imme- diately followed the battle, fifteen of the prizes went down, one effected its escape into Cadiz, and four only were saved. Britain, by this victory, flxed permanently her dominion over the seas and coasts of the civilized world. At this time however, Napoleon was asserting with equal success his supremacy over contiuental Europe. By a sudden, rapid, and unexpected movement, he conducted an army into Germany, where the Austrians were already making aggressions upon ncutral territory. On the 17th October, he took the fortress of Ulm, with its artillery, magazines, and garrison of 30,000 men: a month afterwards he entered Vienna without resistance. He then pursued the royal family, and the allied armies of Russia and Austria, into Moravia; and on the 2nd of December, he gained the decisive and celebrated victory of Austerlitz, which put an end to the coalition, and rendered him the dictator of the continent. 1806. On January 16th, the lower parts of Leeds, Wake- field, &c., were inundated by the overflowing of the rivers, and the bursting of the canal bank, near Huddersfield. Jan. 23rd. Died the right honourable William Pitt, the second son of the great earl of Chatham, aged 47. John Gledhill, Esq., left to the poor of £100, the interest to be distributed in bread. George Hey, the Kirkstall fortune-teller, advertised, in the most solemn manner, that he was by heaven to announce, that on Whit-Monday, in the year 1806, the world would be destroyed by torrents of fire.”’ March 12th. Peter Firth, a blind youth, 19 years old, ran from Halifax to Leeds, 18 miles in two hours and 53 minutes. On March 20th, Musgrave and Co.’s cotton factory, in Simpson’s fold, Leeds, was destroyed by fire. May Sth, Peter Atkinson, of Whitkirk, a depraved youth of 15 years of age, was executed in the city of York, for striking Elizabeth Stocken on the head, with the claw-end of a hammer. On February 17th, died, the Rev. Peter Thomson, minister of the Scotch church, in Albion-street, Leeds, where his congregation erected to his memory a marble monument, bearing an elegant inscription, written by the Rev: William Wilson, of Greenock. A fort- night fair for fat cattle and sheep was established at Otley, on July 7th. Lord Milton was married to the hon- eurable Miss Dundas, July Sth. A fire at Wooley park destroyed all the splendid and newly erected apart-

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214 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1806. ments of the mansion, on July 23rd. amounted to £3,000. August 4th, John Hardy Esq., was elected recorder of Leeds. Sept. 13th. died, the right hon- ourable Charles James Fox. On September 28th, their royal highnesses the prince of Wales and the duke of Clarence arrived at Ledstone hall, near Pontefract, on a visit to Michael Angelo Taylor, Esq. The prince paid a morning visit to lady Irwin, at Temple Newsam, but was revented by indisposition from going to Leeds, where his royal brother however arrived, and, with lord Dundas and Mr. Taylor, visited the extensive manufactory of Messrs. Wormald, Gott, and Co., the Cloth halls, &c. The royal visitors had previously been at Doncaster races and Wentworth house. The following inscription on a plain tablet in the North- East corner of Rokeby’s chapel, in the parish church, Halifax, refers to a gentleman who was long respected in that town, and excited the affectionate regard of the in- habitants:

“Near this place, in the grave of the late Richard Taylor, Esq., are deposited the remains of JosepH M.D. who departed this life on the 2nd day of February, 1806, aged 92 years. He practised physic in this town, with great success, about 63 years. To his patients e was very attentive and humane; to the poor, benevolent and charitable. He was ready in lending pecuniary assistance to most who applied to him, but slow in calling in his debts. He was a man of few words, yet affable and pleasant with his friends. From his medical abilities, his general knowledge, and gentle manners, he was much respected by all who knew him. He was arare instance of temperance and sobriety, water being his common drink from his youth, and for many years he never tasted animal food. This strict regimen did not prevent his taking much exercise, and undergoing great fatigue ; for he was almost daily on horseback, over the neighhouring hills, in every season and in all weather. Though so far advanced in life, yet his hand continued steady, and his judgment clear, so that be died not of old age, but of an acute disease; and in the blessed hope that he should not dwell for ever with corruption.”

The following inscription is worthy of extraction :—

‘Sacred to the memory of JANR, relict of John Caygill, Esq. of Shay, Halifax, and last remaining issue of William Selwyn, Esq. formerly of Down Hall, Essex, who was lost to her afflicted family the 26th day of July, 1806, aged 84 years. Her heart was the favourite residence of all the gentle and peaceful virtues: warm affection, sin- cere piety, benevolence ani humanity dwelt there, in mental as well as bodily sufferings she was patient aud resigned; to her numerous virtues, held in constant exercise, her relations and friends bear the most ample and sincere testimony, and availing ourselves of her good

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 215: 1806.-1807. example, may we endeavour to tread with religious cheerfulness her peaceful footsteps, for they lead to everlasting happiness. As a tribute of filial veneration and affection her only immediate descendant, lady Jane ]bbettson, caused this monument to be erected, a.p.

“On November 13th, William Wilberforce, and Walter Fawkes, Esqrs. were elected members of parliament for Yorkshire without opposition; Mr. Lascelles having de- clined the contest. Steps mill, near Honley, was destroyed by fire November 14th. January 9th, the remains of the gallant lord Nelson were interred in St. Paul’s cathedral. The volunteers of London on this occasion lined the whole way through which the pro- cession passed. The funeral car of the hero was ex- ceedingly splendid. The sight of the flag of lord Nelson’s own ship, the Victory, borne by a number of seamen who had been under his immediate command, excited strong emotions in the hearts of all who beheld it. A large and handsome house, with a double flight of stone steps in front, and before if a neat court, with trees and shrubs, built on the site of a church dedicated to St. Wilfred, in York, was purchased this year, out of the county rate, and appropriated to the use of the judges of assize, and is now called the judges’ lodgings. It stands in the street called Lendal. Nov. 6th. The French emperor promulgated at Berlin his famous decree, interdicting all commerce between the British dominions and the countries subject to his control. By this decree also, the British islands were declared to be in a state of blockade: subjects of England found in other countries occupied by the French were declared prisoners of war; and all English property lawful prize. Letters addressed to England, or written in the English language, were ordered to be stopped, and vessels touching at England or any English colony, were excluded from every harbour under the control of France. The French emperor declared that the regulations of this decree ‘should be regarded as the fundamental law of the French empire till England recognised the law of war to be one and the same by land and sea, and in no case applicable to private property, or to individuals not bearing arms; and till she consented to restrict the right of blockade to fortified places actually invested by a sufficient force.” 1807. On January 24th, Messrs. Fearnley and Co.’s worsted mill,.at Drighlington, was burnt to the ground. On February 26th, jthe lieutenancy issued from Leeds, militia warrants for 14,000 men, to be ballotted out of

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216 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1807. the population of the West-Riding of the county of York. March 16. The bill for the abolition of the slave trade passed the House of Commons. The slave trade was abolished by France, Spain, and Holland, in 1817. It was entirely abolished throughout the British dominions in 1840, when a compensation of twenty millions sterling was given to the slave owners. On March 18th, died, at East moor, near Wakefield, Mrs. Susannah Robshaw, aged 103 years, and mother of twenty-three children—three of them at a birth. In April, died George Mason, the noted astrologer of Calverley Carr, near Bradford. By bis extensive im- postures, he amassed several hundred pounds. On May 4th, Wentworth house was the scene of the most munificent festivity, in consequence of lord Milton, earl Fitzwilliam’s only son and heir, having attained his majority. Two oxen were roasted whole in the park, and these, with twenty sheep, roasted in quarters, an immense quantity of bread and strong ale, were given to the multitude assembled on the lawn, whilst about a thousand gentry and tenants were sumptuously en- tertained in the house. On May 13th, was held in the castle yard, at York, the courts for the nomination of candidates for Yorkshire. William Wilberforce, Esq., lord Milton, and the hon. Henry Lascelles, (afterwards earl of Harewood) and Walter Fawkes, Esq. were nominated ; after which one of the most celebrated contests in the history of electioneering took place. The real struggle was between Milton and Lascelles, fur Wilberforce was an old servant, in whose election all parties concurred. During the fifteen days poll, the county was in a state of the most violent agita- tion, party spirit being wound up to the highest pitch by the friends of the two noble families, and every thing being done that money or personal exertion could accom~ plish ; the roads in all directions were covered night and day with coaches, barouches, curricles, gigs, fly-waggons, and military cars with eight horses, conveying voters from the most remote corners of the county. On the first day Mr. Lascelles polled the greater number of votes: on the second day lord Milton headed the poll: but on the fifth day Mr. Lascelles passed his opponent, and kept the lead till the thirteenth day, at the close of which the numbers stood, Milton 10,313, Lascelles, 10,255. Now the efforts were prodigious, and the excitement maddening. At the final close of the poll the numbers were as follows :—

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 217 1807.

Mr. Wilberforce, . . .. =, . 11,808. Lord Milton, . . ...... . =%XJ1,177. Mr. Lascelles, . 10,990.

Lord Milton had nearly 9,000 plumpers. The total num- ber of votes tendered was 25,120, of which 23,056 were received. The contest cost earl Fitzwilliam and the earl of Harewood each upwards of £100,000. When the news of Milton’s victory arrived in London, on the Sunday, the different Whig families sported large orange favours at their horses’ heads, and the ladies in Kensington gardens celebrated the return of the popular candidate by a splendid display. On the 19th of May, Richard Bramley, Esq., then mayor of Leeds, imprudently seized a boy who had offended him by crying ‘Milton for but the populace soon rescued the lad, and so “hustled” the mayor, that he immediately read the riot act, called out a troop of horse soldiers, and ordered them to scour the streets. On August 31st, Titley and Co’s thread mill, at Hunslet, was destroyed by fire. On November Ist, died, in his 90th year, the right Rev. William Markham, D.D., the learned and pious archbishop of York, who held the see thirty years. He was succeeded by the Hon. Edward Ver- non Harcourt In August, whilst digging for the founda- tion of a house, near the Mount, without Micklegate-bar, York, the workmen broke into a Roman vault about four feet from the surface. It was built of stone, and arched over with Roman bricks, with a small door of entrance at the north end. It was eight feet long, five feet broad, and six feet high. It contained a coffin of coarse ragstone grit, seven feet long, three feet two inches wide, four inches thick, and one foot nine inches deep, covered over with a flag of blue containing a human skeleton entire, with the teeth complete, supposed to have been a Roman female of high rank, and to have been deposited there from 1400 to 1700 years. Near the skull lay a small phial, and the fragments of another, the inside of which appeared to have been silvered. Near the vault was found an urn of ared colour, containing ashes and bones partly burnt. Feb. 23rd. Thirty persons were crushed to death ina crowd before Newgate, collected to witness the execution of two men named Holloway and Haggerty, who suffered ‘(improperly it has since been thought) for murder. In this year 18 persons were crushed to death, anda

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218 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1807.-1808. great number wounded, at Sadler’s wells theatre, in con- sequence of some imprudent person having given a false alarm of fire. Ann Baynes, by will, dated September 21st, 1807, bequeathed to the Rev. Miles Atkinson and his successors, ministers for the time being of St. Paul’s church, in Leeds, £1000 upon trust, to invest the same at interest in the public funds, or upon parliamentary or real security, and to pay and divide the dividends or interest equally amongst such ten poor widows, residing in Leeds, as the said Miles Atkinson and his successors should select. Up to this year (1807) a custom prevailed among the butchers in Leeds, to kill the cattle only on Sunday and Monday, and to let the beef thus prepared for use supply not only the market on Tuesday, but also that on Saturday ; the consequence was, that an immense quantity of meat in warm weather was either completely spoiled, or when sold was unwholesome and unfit for public use, so that a larger quantity of unsaleable meat was produced in Leeds than in any other place in England. 1808. In January large meetings were held in the West-Riding, and petitions numerously signed, pray- ing for a return of the long absent blessings of peace. The Leeds petition was signed by 28,628, and the Huddersfield by 20,000 persons. In the dread~ ful storm and tempests of February, many travellers per- ished from the severity of the frost, and the northern and eastern shores of the island were strewed with wrecks. Messrs. Ridsdale and Co.’s warehouse and shops, at Woodhouse, near Leeds, were destroyed by fire, June 22nd; as also was a large corn warehouse, with 5,000 quarters of grain belonging to Webster and Co., of Waketield, on Oct. 10th: the damage committed by the latter conflagration was about £15,000. The “devilish practices”? of Mary Bateman, commonly called the Yorkshire witch, who had long resided in Camp field, Leeds, were this year exposed before the magistrates of that town. She was the daughter of a small farmer mamed Harker, of Aisenby, near Thirsk, and was born in 1768. From her earliest years she was addicted to pil- fering and other villanous acts. In 1792she married, after a courtship of three weeks, John Bateman, an honest hard working man. They took up their residence in Leeds, when Mary became a professed fortune-teller. In this capacity she swindled the credulous by wholesale, and her crimes even to murder were nota few. She was, how- ever, always cunning enough to keep out of the reach of

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 219- 1808. the Jaw. During the time she lodged in High Court lane, Leeds, she stole from a fellow lodger a watch, a silver spoon, and two guineas. After a fire in Leeds, in 1796, she obtained from the benevolent a large quantity of sheets and money, under the pretence that she was collecting for the sufferers. She sought to attract notice during her residence in the Black Dog yard, Bank, by producing an egg on which was inscribed the words ‘ Crist is Coming.” It was shown to crowds of visitors who paid from a penny to a shilling for the sight. In 1803 Mary had frequently to assist two maiden ladies named Kitchin, who were drapers in St. Peter’s square. They were taken suddenly ill and died, and their mother, who had come from a distance to attend them, also died. Mary told the neighbours they had died of the plague, and people in consequence shunned the house; but itis supposed they were poisoned. One Judith Cryer, who had a reprobate son, gave Mary £4, (and pawned her bed for the purpose), in order that he might be kept from being hung, which the fortune-teller said was his fate. To save the son of a Mrs. Snowden from a similar fate, she obtained twelve guineas and a silver watch. <A gentleman, living in Meadow-lane, one day bought a leg of mutton at the Shambles, and requested that it might be sent home immediately. Mary, over- hearing the bargain, hastened to Leeds bridge, where she waited for the butcher’s boy. On his approach she made to him in a great hurry, pretended that she was the gen- tleman’s servant, scolded the boy for being so Jong on the road, took the mutton by the shank, gave the lad a bump on the back and said she should take it home herself. Of course the gentleman had to postpone his dinner hour in consequence. She once produced to her husband a letter which professed to be from Thirsk, stating that his father was dying. Theson at once went to pay the last respects to his dying parent, but, on his arrival, found to his astonishment that he was very well. On his return, how- ever, his wife had stripped his house and sold every article of furniture in it. Herown brother had deserted from the militia, and Mary wrote to her mother stating that he had been arrested as a deserter, and that £10 would be required for his release. The money was sent, and Mary used it for her own purposes. The crowning crime, however, of this abominable woman was practised on the ill- fated family of William Perigo, a small clothier at Bramley, whose wife was supposed to labour under an evil wish. This was in the year 1805. up»

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220 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1808. wards of nine months Mary, (aided by an imaginary personage, to whom she gave the name of Miss Blythe), eld Perigo and his wife in her toils, now exciting their hopes, then rousing their fears, but all the time draining their purse, till she had got from them £70 in money, (all they had in the world), and remorselessly stripped the house of its furniture, and the inmates of their best ap- parel. At length, when they had nothing more to give, and when they became clamorous for the fultilment of those promises of happiness and prosperity, which the evil spirit by whom they were plundered had held out to them, she took the desperate resolution to silence their importunities and avoid detection by terminating their lives. With this purpose, and under the pretence of administering a charm, she gave them poison to mix in their food. Both Perigo and his wife partook of the honey and the pudding in which the noxious drug was infused; she to the loss of her life, and he to the injury of his constitution. The death of Perigo’s wife dissipated the delusion under which he had solong laboured. He laid his case before the magis- trates at Leeds, and Mary was committed to York. On the 17th of March, 1809, she was tried for the wilful murder of Rebecca Perigo, aud, being convicted on the clearest evidence, she was ordered for execution on the Monday following. The artifice and falsehood of this base woman was shown even after sentence of death. She stated to the judge that she was pregnant; the law being iu such cases that if the delinquent be four months and a half ad- vanced in that atate, she shall not be executed until after her accouchment. The judge at once ordered a jury of twelve married females to be impanneled to ascertain the truth or falsehood of the statement. Their verdict was, that ‘“‘Mary Bateman was not enceinte’”’; her youngest child was only ten months old. At the appointed time she was executed at York. She was launched into eternity with a lie upon her lips, having denied her guilt to the last. Her body was given for dissection to the surgeons of the Leeds infirmary. The Rev. William Wood, F.L.S., who succeeded Dr. Priestley at the Mill-hill chapel, Leeds, died April 1st, aged 63 years. He for some time conducted the natural history department of the Annual Review, and furnished many of the articles on botany in Ree’s Cyclopedia. Memoirs of his life and writings have been published by the Rev. Charles Wellbeloved formerly of the Manchester college, in York. The Northern society for the en-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 221 1808.-1809. couragement of the fine arts was established in Leeds, on March 4th, but discontinued after three exhibitions. Sept. 5th. Bradley mills, near Huddersfield, were de- stroyed by fire. At the dissolution of the company of cord wainers at York, this year, its members presented a very fine cup or bowl to Mr. Sheriff Hornby, of that city, as.a token of esteem. This elegant piece of plate he soon afterwards presented to the minster. In the middle of it the cordwainer’s arms are richly embossed. It is edged with silver, doubly gilt, and ornamented with three silver feet. Jt was originally given to the above company by archbishop Scroope, in 1398. The amazing successes of Napoleon having inspired him with the idea of universal empire, he went so far as to de- throne the reigning family of Spain, and gave the crown to his elder brother Joseph. Under a sense of wrong and’ Insult, the Spanish people rose in revolt against the French troops. In pursuance of a treaty entered into between England and the provisional government of Spain, a small! army was landed August 8th, 1808, in Portugal, which had been recently taken possession of by the French. Sir Arthur Wellesley, who afterwards became so famous as duke of Wellington, was the leader of this force. The first resistance encountered was at Rolica, where the French general, Laborde, resolutely defended some difficult tangled passes, retiring slowly step by step, and inflicting great loss upon the British, who could not, from the naturo of the ground, return his incessant and well-directed fire with any effect. Laborde retreated rapidly and skillfully, before the English could reach him in any sufficient force. In an engagement at Vimeria, on the 2lst of August, Sir Arthur repulsed the French, under Junot, who soon after agreed, by what was called the convention of Cintra, to evacuate the country; Sir Arthur being recalled, the British army was led into Spain under the command of Sir John Moore, but this officer found the reinforcements poured in by Napoleon too great to be withstood, and ac- cordingly, in the end of December, he commenced a disastrous though well-conducted retreat towards the port of Corunna, whither he was closely pursued by marshal Soult. The British army suffered on this occasion the severest hardships and losses, but did not experience a check in battle or lose a single standard. 1809. In a battle which took place at Corunna, Jan. 16th, this year, for the purpose of protecting the embarkation of the troops, Sir John. Moore was killed. In April war was

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222 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND. 1809. declared by Austria against France. Upwards of half a million of men were brought into the field, under the command of the archduke Charles. Bonaparte moved rapidly into Germany, and, by the victory of opened up the way to Vienna, which surrendered to him. . The decisive encounter was at Wagram, where the strength of Austria was completely broken to pieces. The peace which succeeded, was sealed by the marriage of Napoleon to Maria Louisa, daughter of the emperor of Austria, for which purpose he divorced his former wife Josephine. Taking advantage of the absence of Napoleon in Austria, a considerable army was landed at Lisbon, April 23rd, under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who soon surprised marshal Soult at Oporto, caused him to make a hurried retreat, which soon changed into a headlong flight, and inflicting the most dreadful misery and ruin on the fugitives. After driving Soult out of Portugal, Sir Arthur then made a rapid move upon Madrid. On hearing of the disaster which had befallen Soult, king Joseph advanced with a considerable force under the command of marshal Victor; and on the 28th July, attacked the British and Spanish troops at- Talavera. The contest was obstinate and bloody, and though the French did not retreat, the advantage lay with the British. The loss on both sides was immense. On the British side generals Mackenzie and Langworth fell, and the entire casualities amounted to 5,423 men. The French loss was infinitely greater— said to have been at least For this battle and the passage of Doura, the British general to a peerage under the title of baron Doura, and viscount Wellington, of Talavera. On the 10th of February follow- ing, the House of Commons voted lord Wellington £2,000 a year with succession for two generations. Immediately after the battle, Sir Arthur fell back upon Portugal, where he occupied a strong position near Santarem. There is in the Leeds parish church a most beautiful cenotaph, by J. Flaxman, Esq., R.A., which cost upwards of £600, erected to the memory of two lamented young officers, who were killed at the battle of Talavera. The monument represents a weeping victory, as large as life, seated on a cannon, and supporting her head upon her right hand, which rests on a banner inscribed with the word “ Talavera,” between two wreaths. Underneath is a lion in basso-relievo, and on the base the foilowing in- scription :— . “To the memory of captain Samuel Walker, of the 3rd regt. of

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1809. guards, and captain Richard Beckett, of the coldstream regt. of guards, natives of Leeds; who, having bravely served their country together in Egypt, Germany, Denmark, and Portugal, fell in the prime of life, at the glorious battle of Talavera, in Spain, on the 28th of J uly, 1809. Their fellow townsmen dedicate this monument.”

The first authorisation of a railway by act of parlia- ment is said to have been that of the Surrey railway, an iron track laid from Merstham to Wandsworth, in 1809 ; and of a short line from Cheltenham to Gloucester. In the autumn of this year the British government despatched an armament of 100,000 men, for the pnrpose of securing a station which should command the naviga- tion of the Scheldt. The army having disembarked on the insalubrious island of Walcheren, was swept off in thousands by disease. The survivors returned in Decem- ber without having done anything towards the object for which they set out. In 1809 the act of parlia- ment of the 49th Geo. II]., cap. 122, was passed, en- titled ‘‘ An act to amend and enlarge the powers of an act passed in the thirtieth year of his present majesty, for better supplying the town and neighbourhood of Leeds, in the county of York with water; and for more effectually lighting and cleansing the streets and other places within the said town and neighbourhood, and for removing and preventing nuisances and annoyances therein; and for erecting a court-house and prison for the borough of Leeds, and for wideniug and improving the streets and passages in the said town.”’ July 6th. During the repair of the Leeds parish church, a stone coffin, supposed to have lain in the ground 700 years, was found under the entrance to the bell chamber. It was hewn out of a solid block of stone, and contained a perfect skeleton, with some other human bones, in good preservation, so completely had the air been ex- cluded from them. June 2lst. Died at Stamford, Mr. Daniel Lambert; he was in his fortieth year. He weighed upwards of fifty-two stone. His coffin was six feet four inches long, four feet four inches wide, and two feet four inches deep, was built on two axle trees, with four wheels, and upon these his remains were rolled into the grave. July 12th. Captain Barclay finished his feat of walking 1000 miles in 1000 successive hours, at Newmarket; £100,000 is supposed to have changed hands on this occasion. The Wesleyan conference having passed a resolution condemning the holding of camp meetings by members

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224 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1809. of the society, excluded two brothers named Bourne from that conference. The Primitive Methodist society originated in consequence, in this year. On the 138th of February, 1812, at a meeting called to make some of the necessary arrangements for the new society, the name of Primitive Methodists was assumed, and it was found that the society included at that period thirty- four places and twenty-three preachers. following is said to be the origin of the name of Ranters, by which this body is designated in so many places :— At Belper several meetings for prayer were held in 1814, and “when these meetings were closed, the praying people, in returning home, were accustomed to sing through the street. This circumstance procured them the name of Ranters; and the name of Ranter, which first arose on this occasion, afterwards spread very extensively.” Jan. 16th. Mr. Joseph Lancaster gave a lecture on his plan of educating the poor, at the Leeds Music hall, on Feb. 3rd. Schools on the “ Lancasterian plan’’ were soon afterwards established in most of the large towns in Yorkshire and other counties. On June 30th, a most lamentable accident occurred in Lee, Watson, and Co.’s coal mine at East Ardsley, near Wakefield, owing to the miners breaking through into some old workings, whence there rushed upon them an immense body of water with such force, that three boys only, who hap- pened to be at the bucket, could immediately escape its overwhelming fury, leaving behind them eleven men and three boys, of whose safety but very faint hopes were entertained by their distracted relatives, who stood in painful solicitude at the pit mouth during the three days occupied in draining the mine, for which purpose, two powerful engines were set to work, and the colliers from all the neighbouring pits used every exertion to save, if possible, their immured brethren, who, it was supposed, might possibly be alive in some of the chambers above the inundated passages of the mine; but. only four out of the fourteen were extricated alive from their perilous situation, in which they had existed three days and three nights in the darksome bowels of the earth, without rest or sustenance, except a little bread which one of them happened to have in his pocket, and which he generously gave to his three companions; whilst he allayed his own hunger with some tobacco. Two of the lost men were some time alive with the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 226 1809. less unfortunate four, but were drowned in attempting to make their way out before the water had sufficiently subsided. July 27th. A dreadful thunderstorm was partially felt at Leeds, and was most tremendous about seven miles to the south-east. Several houses at Garforth were struck with the lightning, and among others, that of Mr. Collett; the electric fluid struck the chimney, and went through the wall, which it damaged in several places; it then took another direction, broke a chair and some china, and again penetrated the wall. Mr. and Mrs. Collett had scarcely quitted the room in which they had been sitting, when the lighting entered the apartment, and overwhelmed every- thing in its destructive course. The house of Thomas Webster was also much shattered, and two cows killed. At Barwick in Elmet, the house of Mr. Thomas Stoner was greatly shattered, and a collier standing in his house had his shoe-string burnt by the electric spark. Mrs. Stoner had engaged a party to tea the same afternoon, but had re- versed her invitation at the entreaty of one of her friends, and had gone to visit a neighbour, when the room in which her party would have sat was shattered with the lightning. A tree under whicha number of hay-makers had imprudently sheltered themselves, was shivered a few moments after they had quitted their shelter. A man and his wife at Kip- pax, sitting at opposite sides of the fire, had a dog killed between them, though they both escaped unhurt. Oct. 25th, being the day on which the Royal Jubilee was celebrated, the towns of Yorkshire were not behind the rest of the kingdom in public manifestations of loyalty and affection to their venerable monarch, George III. Joe Brown, the well known “ church was exe- cuted at York, for poisoning a woman with whom he lodged, at Leeds. The better to impose upon the unwary, he for some time wore the garb of religion, but being expelled the society he had joined, he attached himself to a young man of dissolute character, and they, to avoid a warrant against them for burglary, disguised themselves as fortune-tellers ; Joe personating the deaf and dumb, and the other the in- terpreter. They were supposed to be the murderers of the Leeds and Selby carrier, but murder was not proved against them till Joe confessed his crimes, when ahout to embark under a sentence of transportation. Ensign Henry Whitham, of the Craven volunteers, was drowned in the Ouse, at York, where his brother officers erected in the minster a white marble tablet to his memory.

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226- ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1810 1810. Early in this year, Napoleon reinforced the army in Spain, and gave orders to Massena, to “drive the British out of the Peninsula.’’ Wellington posted his troops on the heights of Busaco—eighty thousand in number, including Portuguese—and there, on the 27th of September was at- tacked by an equal number of French. Both British and Portugese behaved well: the French were repulsed with great loss. Wellington now retired to the lines of Torres Vedras, causing the whole country to be desolated as he went for the purpose of embarrassing the French. When Massena observed the strength of the British position, he hesitated; and ultimately, in the spring of 1811, performed a disastrous and harrassed retreat into the Spanish terri- tory. Sir Francis Burdett, member for Westminster, was this year committed to the Tower, by a warrant from the Speaker of the house of Commons, for having made some accrimonious remarks in a letter (which was voted a libel on the house) to his constituents, relative to the exclu- sion of strangers from the House of Commons during the inquiries into the Walcheren expedition. Sir Francis denying the legality of the warrant, resisted its execution by remaining in his own house, where he was protected from the officers by immense crowds of people. After suffering a kind of siege for two days, he was forcibly taken by a large train of soldiers, and lodged in the Tower. By these proceedings, the capital was convulsed for several days and in the course of the tumults which took place, a number of lives were lost. Feb. 11th. Sir Thomas Gascoigne, of Parlington hall, died of grief for the loss of his only son, who was killed by a fall from his horse a short time before. Feb. 14th, two horse-dealers, Mr. Watkinson, of Cheshire, and Mr. Isaac Tetley, of Leeds, returning from Northallerton fair, rode their horses from Harewood Bridge to Jecds, (nine miles) in twenty-six minutes and 12 seconds, fora wager of twenty guineas; the former won by half a length. On May 12th, died Hannah Green, of Yeadon, a noted sybil,, called the Lingbob Witch, who, during 40 years’ practice in the art of fortune-telling, amassed upwards of £1000. A pewter chalice was found in Brotherton church-yard, supposed to have been interred with some distinguished leader in the civil wars of 1461. On the 27th of April, this year, died that remarkable and extraordinary man, John Metcalfe, (usually called blind Jack, of Knaresborough), aged 93. He was born on the 15th of August, 1717. At the age of six years he had the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 227 1810. small pox, which rendered him totally blind. Before he had attained the age of manhood he became famous as a traveller, (without a guide) hunter, racer, swimmer, fiddler, card player, cock fighter, &c. One evening in the year 1735, he undertook to be guide to a gentleman from York to Harrogate, and performed the task without his com- panion having discovered that he was blind. It was quite common for him to travel on foot alone from Skipton over the Forrest moor to Knaresbro’, or, from Ripon to Kuares- bro’. He once travelled from London to Knaresbro’ on foot without a guide. In the early part of his career he used to travel to the sea coast for fish, which he took to Leeds and Manchester to sell. He once travelled on horse- back from Kuaresbro’ to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in a day, a distance of 74 miles. At the age of 21 he stood above six feet high, and was very robust. His runaway wedding with a Miss Benson, on the eve of her marriage to another man, caused much gossip at the time of its occurrence, and no little consternation to the bride’s relatives, who were well todo. He lived in conjugal felicity with his wife 39 years. In 1745 he became a soldier, and travelled in the ranks in England and Scotland. In 1754 he started a stage waggon between York and Knaresbro’, and con- ducted it himself twice a week. He subsequently became famous as a projector and constructor of public highways, bridges, &c. out of a vast number of his works ‘were, the making of part of the turnpike road from Harrogate to Boroughbridge. He road between Harrogate and Harewood bridge; madea mile and a half of the road from Chapeltown to Leeds, and lengthened the arch of Sheepscar bridge ten feet ; made two miles of Burley-road; made a road between Huddersfield and Wakefield ; and part of the road between Wakefield and Halifax. Previous to his death, he published a memoir of his own life, dictated by himself. In a dreadful storm, on Aug. 4th, several houses in Hol- beck and in Hunslet-lane, Leeds, were much injured by lightning, which scorched and wounded some of the inhabi- tants. Aug 15th. Joshua Beaumont, of Kirkheaton, was hanged at York, for committing a rape, and afterwards murdering Lucy Brooke, of Aldmonbury, a widow, aged 56. In September, the following Banking-houses stopped pay- ment, viz.: Seaton, Sons, and Foster, of Pontefract ; Seaton, Brooke, and Co., of Huddersfield; and Seaton, Foster, and Co., of Selby. During the year there were no fewer than 1942 bankruptcies in the kingdom; so general was the distress brought upon the nation by a long war.

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228 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1810.-1811. On December 10th, the lord mayor of York laid the first stone of the new Ouse bridge, which was finished in 1820, and the toll abolished in 1829. Nov. 2nd. Died, aged 27, the princess Amelia, yonngest daughter of Geo. III. 1811. On February 3rd, the wool combers of Bradford kept the septennial festival of St. Blaise. St. Blaise was a bishop of Sebaste, in Armenia, and suffered martyrdom A.D. 316. He is the patron saint of the craft of wool combers, and his name was once considered potent in curing sore throats. On Feb. 4th, - at Shipley, near Bradford, a steam-engine boiler burst in the Providence mill, and killed five young persons. Died on the 6th Feb., the Rev. Miles Atkinson, A.B., Minister and founder of St. Paul’s church, in Leeds, and vicar of Kippax. It was owing principally to his ex- ertions that Sunday schools were established in Leeds, where he was so long a useful and exemplary minister. His works were collected and published in 2 vols. 8vo., with a memoir prefixed. The Halifax Journal, a well written and impartial weekly newspaper, was discontinued Feb. 23rd, after existing nearly ten years. That stu- pendous work of art, the tunnel of the Huddersfield canal, was finished April 4th, after a labour of eighteen years. It became an object of importance with Wellington, early in this year, to obtain possession of the Spanish fortresses which had been seized by the French. On the 22nd of April, he reconnoitred Badajos, and soon after laid seige to Almeida. Marshal Massena, advancing to raise the seige, was met on fair terms at Fuentes d’Onoro, May 5th, and repulsed. Almeida, consequently fell into the hands of the British. General Beresford, at the head of another body of British forces, gained the bloody battle of Albeura (a description of whichis given below) over Soult, and thereby protected the seige of Badajos, which how- ever, was soon after abandoned. During the same season, general Graham, in command of a third body of troops, gained the battle of Barossa. General Hill had also a dashing enterprise at Arroyo de Molinos, where the gallant officer surprised Girard, dispersed his force, captured all his cannon, and 1700 cavalry of the Imperial guard. At the end of a campaign, in which the French were upon the whole unsuccessful, Wellington retired once more into Portugal. Battle of Albeura. On the 16th of May, 1811, was fought the battle of Albeura—one of the bloodiest conflicts upon record. Marshal Beresford was at the head of the allied

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 229 1811. forces consisting of about 31,000 men, and marshal Soult commanded 23,000 veteran French troops. The battle commenced at nine o’clock in the morning and continued until two in the afternoon. The enemy commenced the attack by marching a strong body of cavalry and a division of infantry opposite the allied right. The British guns in the centre, at once opened upon the moving mass and ploughed through its columns with great effect ; but still the enemy pressed on. The Spaniards were at length put in disorder at all points, and the whole heights on which they stood fell into the enemy’s hands, who immediately placed their batteries in such a position as to command the whole field of battle. General Wm. Stewart bravely but rashly endeavoured to restore the battle, and pushing his brigade up the hill he mounted for greater dispatch by columns of companies. The French light cavalry literally cut to pieces each regiment as it crowned the ridge. All seemed now lost. The allies were all in confusion, and to make matters worse, a Spanish and English regiment were firing in mutual error, upon each other. Orders were being issued by Beresford to commence a re- treat, when colonel Hardinge saw that the battle might yet be won, and, witbout the marshal’s permission, he ordered the fourth division and a brigade of the 2nd to advance. These brave men attacked the French on both flanks as well as in front. Fora moment the storm of grape poured from Ruty’s well-served artillery staggered the fusileers; but it was only for a moment, though Soult rushed into the thickest of the fire and encouraged and animated his men; though the cavalry gathered on their flank and threatened it with destruction, on went those noble regiments, volley after volley falling into the crowded ranks of the enemy, and cheer after cheer pealing to heaven in answer to the clamorous outcry of the French, as the boldest urged the others forward. Unable to bear the withering fire, the shattered columns of the French were no longer able to sustain themselves—the masses were driven over the ridge—and trampling each other down, the shattered column sought refuge at the bottom of the hill. The battle was ended, and on that bloody height stood the conquerors. The loss of the allies in killed and wounded was more than 6000 men. The enemy had two generals of division killed and five wounded, and their loss was 9,500 men. Both armics claimed a victory; but the title rested-indubitably with the allies. On June Ist, a storm of wind blew down ten stately

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230 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1811. oaks at Calverley lodge. June 4th. His royal high- ness George prince of Wales, when prince regent, present- ed the city of York with a full length likeness of himself, habited in the robes of the garter, and accompanied with his black valet, painted by Hoppner. It was presented to the lord mayor and commonalty, to be placed in their ‘state-room. At five o’clock in the morning of the 25th of June, this year, Sir John Throckmorton, bart., presented two sheep to Mr. Coxeter, of Greeuham mills, Newbury, Berks, for the purpose of proving that a coat could be made from the wool before night. The sheep were im- mediately shorn, and the wool being sorted, &c., it passed through the usual process of scouring, dyeing, scribbling, spinning, (on the jenny) weaving, (by hand) and a fine kersey cloth was manufactured before four o’clock in the afternoon. The cloth was then put into the hands of tailors, who completed the coat at twenty minutes past six, and Sir John had the pleasure of appearing in it at a public dinner at seven ! June 27th. In the house of peers, lord Stanhope brought in a bill to make it illegal to give more money for guineas, half-guineas, &c. than the value they lawfully bear; and to make it also illegal to take bank of England notes at a less value than they purport to be equal thereto; this bill afterwards passed both houses of parliament. On the 15th of July, the remains of Sir Thomas Pilkington, bart., of Chevet, were interred in Wakefield church, in the vault which was built by Sir John Pilkington, knight, in 1745. Wm. Hodgson, a youth of 19 years, was condemned at York, for a rape ou a stout single woman, (Harriet Halli- day) but as the public feeling was much against the prose- cution, which was supposed to be the result of malice, the Judge respited the exccution of his sentence till Nov. 23rd, previous to which the distressed prisoner received the royal clemency on condition of entering the army: his discharge was purchased soon after. On August 26th, Messrs. Tennant, Shaw, and Cobb’s works, at Hillhouse, bank, Leeds, were burnt to the ground, as also was Hutchinson and Co’s scribbling mill, at Holbeck, on August 29th, together with the dwelling-house of the resident partner. On Sept. 2nd, the tirst stone of the Leeds court house and prison was laid by the mayor and corporation. It is a massive stone building, and was completed in 1813, from designs by Mr. Taylor, then an architect of Leeds. The principal front consists of a centre and two wings; the former has a portico of four Corinthian columns, support-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 231 1811. ing a pediment. The wings have panels, highly wrought in bas relief, containing the fleece, the emblem of the town, and the fasces, as the insignia of justice, &c. The base- ment story, which is entirely arched with stone, consists of an open ground arcade, adjvining which are cells for prisoners. Above is the police office. The gaoler’s house &c., commands the prison courf,. The principal law courts, &c., have been held in the weer stories. It is no longera corporate building, all the Business having been removed (1859) to the Town Hall. Sept. 9th, died, aged 56, Sir W. M. Milner, bart., of Nun Appleton, who served the office of lord mayor of York in 1787, and again in 1798, and was elected representative for that city in 1790. Hudderstield parish church was re-pewed, and graced with a new organ.— Feb. 6th. The prince of Wales was sworn into the office of prince regent. The workshop of Messrs. Butterworth, Live- sey, and Butterworth, engravers, Leeds, was struck by lightning ; the electric matter being discharged down a bell wire, near a cupboard, containing glass, china, silver tea- spoons, and a britannia metal tea-pot; the spoons, being laid across each other, were partially fused at the points of intersection, and adhered firmly together. A circular hole was melted in the side of the tea-pot, and the cup- board wrenched from the wall. A number of flower pots, containing shrubs, &c. were driven from their places in the window seat with great violence, and dashed against the wainscot on the opposite side of the sitting room. Mrs. Dinah and Mrs. Ann Butterworth were seated near the cupboard, but providentially sustained no injury. John Atkinson, an apprentice, who afterwards wrought many ears in the bank of England, where he died, was struck y the lightning, forced from the seat on which he was working, and deprived of the use of both his legs ; to which he was however restored in a considerable degree, in little more than a week. One of his employers, Mr. Wm. Butterworth, had been previously twice struck with the same powerful agent, when traversing the mighty deep. A very remarkable comet discovered by Hangergues was visible this year, from March to October. On September 7th, it presented a tail 50 degrees in length, bent off in two branches. These branches did not proceed from the comet itself; but were hung together at a slight distance from it, aud separated from it by a dark interval, so that they enclosed the comet as a parabola does its focus. Septem- ber 20th, the tail was 10 degress. The first week in

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232 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1811.-1812. October the tail was 25 degrees long, and about 6 degrees broad. It was supposed to have a considerable influence on the heat of the weather, in September and October, being within 100,000,000 miles of the earth. In 1811 Mr. Blenkinso , of Leeds, constructed a locomo- tive steam-engine, for which he took out a patent. A racked or tooth rail was laid along one side of the road, into which the toothed wheel of his locomotive worked as pinions work into arack. The boiler of his eugine was supported by a carriage with four wheels without teeth, and rested im- mediately upon the axles. The wheels were entirely inde- pendent of the working parts of the engine, and therefore merely supported its weight on the rails, the progress being effected by means of the cogged wheel w orking into the cogged rail. Mr. Blenkinsop’s engines began running on the railway extending from the Middleton collieries to the town of Leeds, a distance of about three miles and a half, on the 12th of August, 1812. They continued for many years to be one of the principal curiosities of the neigh- ourhood, and were visited by strangers from all parts. In the year 1816, the grand duke Nicholas (afterwards Em- peror) ) of Russia, observed the working of Blenkinsop’s comotive with curious interest and expressions of no slight admiration. An engine dragged behind it as many as thirty coal waggons at a speed of about three miles and a quarter per hour. 1812. On the 19th of January, Ciudad Rodrigo, in Spain, sur- rendered to the British troops under lord Wellington, after a siege of 12 days. The sacrifice of life was very severe. The casualties attendant on the siege and storm amounted to above 1,000; in addition to which large numbers were killed after the place was taken, by the accidental explosion of a magazine; 80 French officers, and 1,500 men were taken prisoners. On the 27th of March, Badajoz sur- rendered to the English, after a siege of ten days. The loss of the victors in killed and wounded amounted.to 5,000 men. 1300 of the French were killed and wounded, and 4,000 were taken prisoners. In the beginning of July, the opposing armies once more gradually approached each other near Salamanca. A contest of manceuvres took place on the Formes, in which neither side for some time gained any advantage. At length, on the 22nd of July, lord Wellington becoming utterly destitute of the means of keeping the field, determined to retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo. Marmont perceiving this, despatched Thomiere’s corps d’armee with fifty guns, by a circuitous

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route to turn the left of the British army, and thus to prevent its retreat. By this move Thomiere’s corps d'armee extend- ing two or three miles in length, was severed from the main body of Marmont’s troops. This blunder was an enormous one, and the British general after an exulting ex- clamation of “ At last I have hastened to take ad- vantage of the error. Staff-officers went off at a galop.in every direction; the infantry stood to their arms; the cavalry vaulted to their saddles; the artillery unlimbered ; and Marmont’s weakened army was instantly attacked in overwhelming force. The French marshal saw his error, and officer after officer was despatched to command the re- turn of Thomiere. They never reached him. As the head of Thomiere’s heading column emerged upon the Ciudad, Rodrigo road, where they expected to find the British in full retreat, general Pakenham fell like a thunderbolt upon his rear, and rolled up the long straggling line with hideous slaughter, to which no effectual resistance could be opposed. Marmont’s heart died within him at the sight. Brave as steel he struggled desperately to maintain the combat, but the explosion of a shell grievously wounding him, he was carried out of the battle. Clausel succeeded tothe command, but the fortune of the day could not be changed. The French army was utterly defeated, and driven off the field with the loss of two eagles} eleven pieces of artillery, - 7,000 prisoners, and a vast number of slain and wounded men. The total number of the killed, wounded, and missing of the allied troops was 7,264, of whom 690 British, 304 Portuguese, and two Spanish were killed ; and 4,270 British, 1552 Portuguese, and four Spanish wounded. On the 12th of August following, Wellington made his triumphant entry into Madrid, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, and was immediately afterwards appointed generalissimo of the Spanish armies. On the 18th of the same month he was created marquis of Wellington by the prince regent of England. The next great incidents of the war were the unsuccessful attack upon the fortress of Burgos, numerously garrisoned by French troops, commanded by marshal Clausel, the consequeut retreat upon Portugal, and the evacuation of Madrid. Sep. 15th. Napoleon having entered Moscow, the ancient capital of Russia, the Russians set fire to the city before leaving it, which event compelled Napoleon to evacuate the place, and make a rapid retreat to France. It is said that jn this retreat, 180,000 men perished of cold, fatigue and famine. Out of above 500,000 men who started in the ussian campaign, not above 87,000 returned.

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‘234 ANNALS OF DEEDS, YORK, AND 1812. . March 26th. A dreadful earthquake occurred in South America, whichalmost totally destroyed the city of Caraccas ; 4,500 houses, 19 churches and convents, with all the other ‘public buildings, were levelled to the ground; many thousands of the inhabitants were buried in the ruins. The ‘seaport of Laguayra was also laid in ruins, and several other places suffered severely. On May the 8th, the first stone of the Leeds National school (erected near the parish church, on the site of the ancient tithe barn, belonging to the rectory of Leeds), was laid by the Rev. P. Haddon, then vicar of Leeds, and the school was opened February 7th, 1813. At the general election this year, lord Milton and Mr. Lascelles were re- turned members for Yorkshire without opposition. Mr. Stuart Wortley, (afterwards the first lord Wharncliffe, ) offered himself, but withdrew. Mr. Wilberforce, one of late members, retired after having represented Yorkshire twenty-eight years. Oct. Ist. Mr. Sadler ascended with his balloon from Belvedere house, near Dublin, at one p-m., with the wind at S.W., at three he was nearly over the Isle of Man, and the wind blowing fresh, he found him- self rapidly apgroaching the Welsh coast; at four he had ‘a distinct view of Skerry lighthouse, but the wind shifting, he was taken off and lost sight of After hovering about a long time, he discovered tive vessels beating down the channel; he’ precipitated himself into the sea, but the vessels taking no notice of him, he threw out some ballast, ‘and quickly regained his situation in the air. Night now ‘coniing on, he observed three other vessels, he again ‘de- scended, and, after great exertions, he was taken on board ‘of: a‘ herring fisher, from the Isle-of Man. On the 11th of May, the premier, Mr. Perceval, was ‘shot ‘in the lobby of the House of Commons, by John Bellingham,'a merchant engaged in the trade to Russia, whom some private losses had rendered insane. He was ‘shortly after executed at the Old Bailay, London. Inuddites. Vast multitudes of working people were this year thrown out of employment by the stagnation of manu- ‘facturers, and manifested their feelings in commotion and riot. The peninsular war was raging, general distress was felt, a large number of agitators inflamed the minds of the oe and riots were prevailing in many counties. e commercial difficulties to which the country was ‘exposed, the scarcity of ‘work, and the high price of provisions, in the first instance, exicited ‘this unhappy spirit. The disposition to a system of combined

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. “235 1812. operations first manifested itself in the neighbourhood of the town of Nottingham at the close of 1811, in the de- struction of some newly-invented stocking frames, by small parties of men, principally stocking weavers, who had assembled from the neighbourhood. In Nottingham, 1,000 frames had been broken, and thelives of the inhabitants held at the mercy of a ferocious mob. By degrees they became more numerous and more formidable ; and, having obtained arms, disturbed the whole country between Not- tingham and Mansfield, destroying frames almost without resistance. An imaginary personage styled general, alias Ned Lud, was the reputed commander of the rioters. Some mills at Rawden, a village about eight miles from Leeds, were, on the morning of the 24th of March, attacked by a body of armed men, who proceeded with the greatest eircumspection to seize the watchmen, and to place guards at every neighbouring cottage; they afterwards entered the premises and destroyed the machinery. Other build- ings were entered at this place and in the neighbourhood, and the goods which they contained were cut to pieces and destroyed. On the 9th of April, about 300 armed men attacked some mills near Wakefield, and destroyed the valuable machinery and property. They were seen some time before this on the road, marching in regular sections, preceded by a ‘mounted party with drawn swords, and followed by the game number mounted as a rear guard. The inhabitants were intimidated. In May, the store-house of arms for the local militia, at Sheffield, was surprised, and the arms destroyed and carried off. On the night of Saturday, the 11th of April, a most desperate attack was made upon the mill of Mr. Wil- liam .Cartwright, at a place called Rawfolds, in the township of Liversedge, by a considerable body of men, to ‘the number of some hundreds, who were armed with pistols, hatchets, bludgeons, &c. Mr. Cartwright, supported by four of his own workmen and five soldiers, fixed themselves inside the mill, and met the assailants by a vigorous and well sustained discharge of musketry. In the course of the engagement, several desperate attempts were made to break down the doors, and force a way into the mill, but none of them proved successful, and, after a conflict of ‘twenty minutes, in which two of the-assailants were killed, nd:a considerable number wounded, they withdrew in confusion, leaving the gallant little garrision masters of the fiell. The bravery displayed by Mr. Cartwright, in the de-

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236 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1812. fence of his premises, excited the public admiration, and a subscription amounting to upwards of £3,000, was entered into, and conferred upon that gentleman and his family. The first intention of the Luddites was simply to destroy an obnoxious piece of machinery ; the next step was noc- turnal plunder for arms; this was followed by theassembling of a sort of insurrectionary army, and, after the defeat at Rawfolds, George Mellor, the general Lud of the district, announced to his infatuated followers that the system of operations must be changed, and that instead of attacking the mills, they must shoot the masters. The first victim marked out for assassination was Mr. William Horsfall, (father of Abraham Horsfall, Esq., of Leeds, solicitor), a con- siderable manufacturer, at Marsden, by whom a quantity of the obnoxious machinery was employed. Mr. Horsfall, it appears, had expressed himself in strong terms against the delusions under which the workmen laboured, and was probably on this account, selected out for destruction. To effect the diabolical purpose, George Mellor, William Thorpe, Thomas Smith, and Benjamin Walker, being each of them provided with pistols, repaired in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 28th of Aprii, to a small plantation near Crosland moor, on the way from Huddersfield to Marsden; and as Mr. Horsfall returned from the market, about six o’clock in the evening, two of the assassins discharged their pistols, and inflicted upon him a number of wounds, of which he languished till the morning of the Thursday following, when he expired, on the 30th of April. Tosuch a pitch were the atrocities of these miscreants carried, that they nearly killed a young woman in the streets of Leeds, because she had been seen near the spot where a murder was committed, and might have been able to give evidence to lead to the discovery of the murderers. At this place also the rioters determined on the destruction of all goods, which had been prepared otherwise than by manual operation, and proceeded to execute their purpose with unusual dexterity. On the 18th of April, Mr. Cartwright was twice shot at on the high road ; shots were also fired at a constable and magistrate, and several attempts were made to assassinate general Campbell, who commanded the troops at Leeds. Amongst the mischief committed by, or attributed to the “Luddites” of 1812, was the burning of the “ gig-mill,’’? at Oatlands, near Leeds, and Hawks- worth corn mills, near Otley, and the destruction of the machinery in the mills or dressing shops of

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THE SUBROUNDING DISTRICT. 237 1812. Joseph Hirst, of Huddersfield; William Hinchliffe, of Leymoor; John Garner, of Honley ; Clement Dyson, of Dungeon; Mr. Roberts, of Crosland; Frances Vickerman, of Taylor hill; William Thompson and Brothers, of Raw- den; Mr. Smith, of Snowgatehead, near Holmfirth; Joseph Brook, of Horn-coat; James Brook, of Reins; and Joseph Foster, of Horbury. About £500 worth of cloth was torn and cut into shreds in the finishing shops of Messrs. Dickenson, Carr, and Shann, in Water-lane, Leeds, and besides the destruction of their machinery, many of the above-named manufacturers had their houses plundered and their furniture and windows broken to pieces. A vigorous system of police was established by a neigh- bouring magistrate; (the late Sir Joseph Radcliffe, of Milns bridge, who received the houour of a baronetcy for his intrepid conduct at this alarming crisis). Sixty-six persons were, in the course of the year, apprehended and committed to the county gaol, on various charges con- nected with these disturbances ; and iu January following, a special commission of oyer and terminer was held at York, for the purpose of trying the offenders. The pro-- ceedings of the court were of the most solemn and im- pressive kind. Eighteen of the prisoners, including three of the murderers of Mr. Horsfall, were capitally convicted, and seventeen of them were executed, on Friday, the 16th of January, 1813. Of the others, six of them were con- victed of simple felony, and transported for seven years, and the remainder were either liberated on bail or ac- quitted. It is singular that the districts in which the riots were carried to the greatest excess, were those in which the want of employment for the working manufacturers had been the least feit. But the form which the associations assumed was alarming ; a general secret committee had the superinten- dance of all the societies, each of which had its own secret committee for conducting the correspondence, and pureuing measures in concert with the societies estab- ished in other districts in the country. To ensure secresy, an oath was administered to the initiated, of the most detestable nature, an oath which bound him by the fear of assassination never to reveal any of the proceedings of his brethren; and which farther bound him to assassinate, or to pursue with the utmost vengeance, all persons who should be guilty of discovering their secret schemes. As this oath is of a very singular nature, it may be ‘interest- ing to insert it.

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238 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND - 1812. “J, A. B. of my own voluntary will, do declare and solemnly swear that I never will reveal to any person or persons under the canopy of heaven, the names of the persons who compose this secret committee, their pro- ceedings, meetings, places of abode, dress, features, con- nexions, or anything else that might lead to a discovery of the same either by word or deed, or sign, under the penalty of being sent out of the world by the first brother who'shall meet me, and my name and character blotted out of existence, and never to be remembered but with contempt and abhorrence; and I further now do swear, that I will use my best endeavours to punish by death any traitor or traitors should any rise up amongst us, wherever I can find him or them ; and though he should fly to the verge of nature, I will pursue him with unceasing ven- geance. So help me God, and bless me to keep this my oath invoilable.’’ Money was levied by the rioters, on the villages in which they destroyed the frames; and as the number of the in- surgents increased, the outrages were, by the month of December, extended over Derbyshire and Leicestershire. At the spring assizes, in Nottingham, this year, seven persons were convicted, and sentenced to transportation. The ancient system of watch and ward was renewed in the disturbed counties, and the legislature interfered to increaxe the punishment for the destruction of frames. At Stockport, in Cheshire, subscriptions were instituted for the persons in custody in Nottinghamshire, anonymous letters were circulated threatening still farther devasta- tions on machinery, and attempts were made to carry these threats into execution. Ashton-under-Lyne, Eccles, and Middletown, became scenes of confusion. At thelast- mentioned place, a most daring attack was, on the 20th of April, made on the manufactory of a Mr. Barton, in which the rioters were at first repulsed, and five of their number killed by the military assembled to protect the works; but a second attack was made two days after- wards, in which Mr. Barton’s dwelling house was burned to the ground. At Stockport, the riots were renewed about the middle of April, anda regular system of discipline was established among the insurgents. <A meeting of rioters ona heath, about two miles from Stockport, for the purposes of mili- tary discipline, was discovered and dispersed on the morning of the 15th of April. Manchester now became a scene of disorder: on the 26th and 27th of April, some

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 239 I 1812. thousands of strangers appeared in the town: the local militia was called out, and a considerable military force assembled, but the strangers had dispersed by the 28th. Nocturnal meetings, however, were held for the purposes of military exercise, arms were seized in various places by the disaffected, and contributions in money were levied. Bolton-in-the-Moors, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Wigan, Warrington, and other towns, exhibited symptoms of dis- turbance; a spirit of tumult also appeared at Carlisle; and at Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, the proceedings of the rioters were marked with peculiar atrocity. A large manufactory at West Houghton, in the neigh- bourhood of Bolton-in-the-Moors, was, with great dex- terity, destroyed on the 24th of April, in spite of every effort which could be made for its protection. The plan of attack was, in this instance, executed with singular ability. The rioters first of all assembled; but on the appearance of a military force, they immediately dispersed. The military having returned to their quarters, however, the rioters re-appeared, assailed and forced the manufac- tory, set it on fire, and again dispersed, before the military could be brought to the spot. A letter in the Times, dated Dec. 3rd, 1812, gives an account of further riots at Huddersfield :—‘‘ The spirit of Luddism, which was thought to be extinct, has again ap- peared and raged with more than usual violence. Last Sunday night, about a quarter past nine o’clock, a number of men armed with pistols or short guns, one of them with the lower part of his face covered with a black handkerchief, entered the house of Mr. W. Walker, of Newhall, near Huddersfield, cloth manufacturer, and after taking from him a gun, a pistol, and powder horn, de- manded his money, and obtained from him about £15 in notes, the whole of which they offered to return him, ex- cept one, if he would give them a guinea in gold: not being aware of this decoy, he took out a small purse con-. taining five guineas, which they immediately seized, and took all the gold without returning the notes. The chief then proceeded to ransack his papers, while others of the party presented their pieces at Mr. Walker, and after cautioning the family on pain of death not to quit the house for two hours after, they departed. ‘“‘The same gang on the same night proceeded to the house of a shopkeeper, at Far town, from whom they took a gun, some silver, and notes to the amount of £20, together with a pair of silver tea tongs, and two silver tea spoons ;

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240 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1812. not content with this hooty, they went into the cellar, and seized a bottle of rum and some provisions. From thence they went to a farmer’s house, near Fixby ; four men en- tered, two of them armed with blunderbusses, a third with a gun, and the other witha pistol; their first demand was for arms, but on being told that the family had neither arms nor money, they ordered “ Enoch, Captain, Serjeant, and Hatchetmen’’ to enter; but on promising to find them some money, they retired at the word of command. Here they received £5. They next proceeded to the house of Mr. James Brook, of Bracken hall, in Far Town, where, after conducting themselves in an outrageous manner, they took his watch, a pound note, and four shillings in silver.”’ The Leeds Commercial Bank, (Messrs. Fenton, Scott, Nicholson, and Smith), stopped payment January 8th, 1812. This company subsequently paid 20s. in the pound to its creditors. On April 14th, a large riotous mob, at Sheffield, broke into the local Militia store room in that town, and destroyed 800 guns and bayonets. In August, the best wheat sold at Leeds for £9 per quarter, in consequence of which a riot occurred in the market on the 18th, headed by a woman dignified with the title of lady Lud. The populace furiously assailed the dealers in the market, and seized a quantity of corn which they threw about the streets. The mob proceeded to the present Mill-Green corn mill, called Holbeck Water mill, then in the occupation of Mr. Joseph Shackleton, corn miller, where they broke a many windows in the mil] and in the house adjoining, and tore up the wooden pailings round the house. The mob also threw stones through the . chamher windows of the house and shop in Water-lane, now occupied by Mrs. Middleton, but then occupied by Mr. Jonathan Shackleton. The first stone of the Leeds Royal Lancasterian free school, situate in Alfred-street, Boar-lane, was laid Jan. 24th, by William Hey, Esq. This commodious building, 74 feet by 46 feet, and 30 feet high, is of brick, and lighted by a large lantern and.other windows, and will accommo- date 500 boys. It cost £2,092 13s. 10d. The method of instruction was originally laid down by Mr. Joseph Lan- caster. The school is supported chiefly by annual sub- scriptions, Occasional benefactions, and the children’s pence. There were, during 1856, 277 boys in course of teaching, the cost of whose education averaged 12s. 6d. per annum. The indefatigable master, Mr. Thurnell, who

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 241 1812.-1813. has been for 25 years at the head of this school, devotes great attention to the moral training of the youths under his care. A library is established for the use of the elder boys, and the elements of mathematical drawing are taught. Children are admitted every Monday by applying at the school. In the first instance, this highly useful establishment was held in the old Assembly Room, Kirkgate. About 40 lbs. weight of Roman cop- per coin was dug up on Wakefield Outwood, where the Romans are supposed to have had a station. 1813. 1n the beginning of this year the marquis of Wel- lington (who had been appointed colonel of the Royal Horse Guards, and created a knight of the garter) visited Cadiz’ and sailed thence to Lisbon, where he was received by the population with great enthusiasm. Wellington soon re- organised the allied troops, and advanced rapidly through Spain. King Joseph and his marshals retiring to concen- trate their forces near Vittoria, where on the 21st June,: 1813, they accepted battle, and the total irremediable rout of the French army was the result. That army lost their’ cannon, stores, a vast number of killed, wounded, and about prisoners, and king Joseph was obliged to save himself on horseback, leaving behind his carriages, treasure, and baggage. The loss of the allies in this battle is said. to have heen 700 killed and 4,000 wounded. The French . confess to a loss of 7,000 killed and wounded, but which was probably not less than 10,000. By the 6th of July, the last division of Joseph Bonaparte’s army was driven be- yond the Pyrenees. In forty-five days from the opening of this campaign, Wellington had led the allied army from the frontiers of Portugal to the French border, marching 500. miles without a check. He had defeated the combined forces of the enemy in a general action, taken all their artillery, and had driven them from one strong post to another, till, shorn of his enormous booty, the usurper king was hunted from the soil of Spain. July 11th to 25th. An unsuccessful attempt was made to take San Sebastian by storm, when the loss of the British was nearly 900 men; but on the 19th of August the seige was resumed, and on the 31st of the same month the place was taken by assault. by the British troops, under the direction of Sir Thomas Graham, with the loss of 2,623 men killed and wounded. The loss of the enemy amounted to hors de combat, The French emperor had, previously to ‘this siege, sent Soult from Germany to arrest the conquering march of Wellington I upon Francey and while the storm of war was bursting 21

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242 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1813. upon the devoted city, the terrible battles of the Pyrenees were being fought. Lord Wellington says of these battles, “ The French army must have suffered greatly. Between the 25th of July and the 2nd of August, they were engaged seriously ten times. Their officers declare they have lost 15,000 men; our casualties are 6,000.” Soult gallantly, if vainly, attempted to perform his task ; but the hour of de- feat had struck. Jord Wellington step by step pushed aside or over-leaped all intervening obstacles, and ter- minated the struggle by the bitter fight before Toulouse. (April 11th, 1814). Soult had expressed his determination to “bury himself and army under the ruins of Toulouse rather than suffer himself to be driven away,” therefore the struggle was obstinate and terrific. Soult in the end was repulsed with great loss. The loss of the allied army was very severe; 595 killed, and 4,046 wounded. January 28th. Died Henry Redhead Yorke, a celebrated politician. March, two Roman stone coffins were dug up in a field nearly opposite to Burton Stone, at Clifton, near York, each containing a skeleton entire, with the teeth completely erfect. The coffins measured seven feet four inches long, two feet three inches broad, and one foot ten inches deep; they were of thick, light coloured grit; one side of each had been carved and pannelled, but the other was left quite plain; the carved sides were placed against each other when found, and each was covered with a lid, curiously made in the shape of the roof of a modern dwelling-house, sloping both ways, with small uniform projections on one side, but hewu flat on the other. The Chapel at Wortley was erected about the year 1780, under the influence of the late John Smyth, Esq., the lord of the manor. A dispute upon the subject of the patronage, however, consigned it into the hands of the Dissenters, by whom for some years it was occupied. The trustees and the vicar of Leeds offered to Mr. Smyth the patronage of the chapel for two lives, but he required the perpetual ad- vowson. This originated its temporary alienation. But in 1813 the trustees and the vicar agreed to convey the per- etual advowson to his son, who sold his right in the chapel to three of the inhabitauts of Wortley, upon condition that the patronage should be vested in five trustees, of whom the lord of the manor should always be one. Upon the death of two trustees, the trust is to be filled by the sur- vivors. The chapel was consecrated 1813, by the arch- bishop of York, and the endowment was constituted by

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a

THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 243 1813. the pew rents and surplice fees, and by an engagement upon the part of the trustees that they would advance two hundred pounds for the purpose of procuring three hundred ounds more from the parliameutary fund. The trustees, owever, advanced £400, and received £600; besides which the governors added out of the parliamentary fund £1,400, to be expended in the purchase of treehold land, for the benefit of the incumbent. ‘The ministers who have officiated im this chapel since its consecration, have been, the Rev. George Rickards, the Rev. Mr. Kemplay, the Rev. N. God- frey, and the Rev. W. Pettitt, the present incumbent. Thomas Robinson was born at Wakefield, in 1749, and was educated at the grammar school of his native place, next at Trinity college, Cambridge, where he was elected fellow in 1772. Became curate of St. Martin, in Leicester; and, iu 1778, was presented to the living of St. Mary, in that town, which he held till his death, in 1813. He was cal- vinistic in his sentiments, and firmly attached to the con- stitution of the established church. He published Scrip- ture Characters; the Christian System unfolded; and sermons and tracts. The first stone of the new church, called St. John in the Wilderness, situated at Marshaw bridge, in the parish of Halifax, was laid March 15th. Messrs. Fenton, Murray, and Wood, of Leeds, on the 18th of June, exhibited anew steam boat in the river Aire, when the novelty of the exhibition attracted an im- mense crowd of spectators. On July Ist, the Juhilee coach, on leaving Halifax for Leeds was overturned in its descent to the North bridge, and three persons killed, viz., Joshua Milner, the venerable beadle of Halifax; Mr. John Sykes, an eminent engine builder, of Bolton-le-Moors ; and David Brotherton, the unfortunate driver of the vehicle, several others had their limbs broken, and were dreadfully bruised. The coach had only commenced running the pre- ceding day. On July 18th, died, aged 73, J. Dodsworth, Esq., who endowed a school at Water Poppleton with ten pounds a year for ten scholars. On July 22nd, the lightning killed a boy on Greetland- edge, and tore to pieces a large oak tree, near Kirkburton. On November 2nd, Mr. Whincup’s shelling mill, in Walmgate, York, with a great quantity of corn, was completely destroyed by fire: the damage was estimated at £3,000. On November 30th, the New Inn, in King- was burnt down, and the three ad- joining houses greatly damaged; the fire raged three hours, and a servant girl and boy perished in the flames.

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244 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1813.-1814. __ On December Ist, was a general illumination in Leeds, Otley, &c., in honour of the victories gained by. the allied forces over the French, at Leipsic. On the 27th and 28th, there were great rejoicings and festivities at Halifax ; on the first day the gentry and manufucturers feasted them- selves, and on the second day they entertained the people ina field, at the bottom of Horten-street, where a large ox was roasted. On December 11th, died at Royds hall, near Bradford, Joseph Dawson, Esq., aged 73 years. He was justly esteemed one of the most “enlightened, useful, and benevolent men in Yorkshire, being well versed in classical literature, mathematics, mineralogy, geology, and theology. He left a lasting monument of his scientific skill, ingenuity, and activity, in the extensive iron works at Low Moor, which, twenty years before his death arose under his auspices, and were arranged and established by him in conjunction with several other wealthy and intelli- gent individuals. At eight o’clock in the evening of December 28th, an alarming fire broke out in a detached building belonging to the York luuatic asylum, when two of the patients perished in the flames. The roof, and the interior of several of the rooms were consumed. The walls sustained but little injury. This year, at Leeds, a Methodist missionary association was formed, and the Leeds district national society was incorporated with the York diocesan society.——The lay impropriators repaired the chancel of Waketield parish church, in consequence of an action brought against them by the church wardens. 1814. While lord Wellington had been advancing to the Pyrenees, the allied powers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria, were, by steady though cautious movements, proceeding in an opposite direction to France, driving Napoleon before them, and increasing their own force as the various states became emancipated by their presence. On the 30th of March, the allies entered Paris in triumph; and in the course of a few days, ratified a treaty with Napoleon, by which he agreed to resign the government of France, and live for the future as only sovereign of Elba, a small island in the Mediterranean. France was deprived of all the acquisitions gained both under the republic and the empire, and restored to the rule of the ancient royal family in the person of Louis XVIII. Peace was proclaimed in London on the 20th of June. ‘The war terminated, it was hoped permanently, aud the British troops returned home. Their renowned commander was created, on the 3rd of May, marquis of Douro and duke of Wellington; and in June,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 245 1814. £400,000, making, with a previons grant of £100,000 half a million of money, was awarded him by the House of Commons. On January 10th, died, aged 73, Mr. Joseph Linsley, who for upwards of thirty-four years was governor of the Leeds workhouse, and filled that important, though often unthaukful office with intinite credit to himself and ad- vantage to the town. This benevolent yet economical guardian of the poor was often visited by the philan- thropic Howard, who wrote as follows :—‘ The poor of Leeds are well fed, and taken care of; indeed they, and the people at large, are happy in having a worthy and very honest mau for the governor of the workhouse, a Mr. Linsley, who was formerly a manufacturer in the town. His temper and disposition, as well as those of his wife, seem peculiarly adapted to their charge; mild- ness and attention to the complaints of the meanest, joined with firmness of manner, gain the respect of those who are placed under their care. I am at the same time convinced, by his open manner in showing me the books, that he transacts the business of the town with rectitude and economy.” He was attended to his grave by a great number of the respectable in- habitants. The frost was so intense in January, that all the canals were frozen, and many of the roads blocked up with snow. Mr. John Skelbeck, of Hud- derstield, was frozen to death, on the road near Healaugh; he had with him his son, ten years old, who was found next day almost lifeless, in a brickmaker’s hut, whither he had fled, after using his feeble exertions to awake his father from the fatal stupor into which the piercing action of the frost had thrown him upon the blanched road, within five hundred yards of his brother's house, to which he and his son were journeying from Tadcaster. Feb. 4th. A fair was held on the river Thames, between London and Blackfriars bridges, the surface being frozen over. The frost began 27th December, 1813, and con- tinued with little intermission for about thirteen weeks ; it was general throughout the three kingdoms, and was more intense than had been felt for seventy-three years. The thermometer was so low as 10 deg. The Lagan was frozen over below the Long bridge, at Belfast. At Kelso, on the 22nd January, an ice fete was held on the Tweed, and fifty gentlemen sat down to dinner. On March Ist, a large pile of buildings, in the Talbot Inn yard, in Halifax, wag burnt to the ground; it con+

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246 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1814. sisted of two wool warehouses, and a large school room. The assembly room immediately adjoining suffered con- siderably. March 6th. Lord Cochrane this day effected his escape from the prison of the king’s bench, London, and re- paired to the House of Commons, where he voted. His ordship had previously been indicted, together with his uucle Mr. Cochrane Johnstoue, colonel de Berenger, and Mr. Butt, for a conspiracy, of which they were found guilty. A new trial was moved for June 15th, by some of the parties, which was retused by lord chief justice Ellenborough, on the ground that all the parties did not join in the application for it. On the 2lst of June, the prisoners were brought up for judgment, when lord Cochrane and Mr. Butt were sentenced to pay a fine of £1,000 each, these, with the others were further sen- tenced to be imprisoned twelve months, and to stand one hour in the pillory. Lord Cochrane, on the 5th of July, was expelled the House of Commons, together with his uncle, the latter being also outlawed; the sentence of the pillory was afterwards remitted. “Lord Cochrane successively commanded the fleets of Chili, Peru, Brazil, and Greece, in the struggles of those states for independence. Oct. 17th. In the brewhouse of H. Meux, London, two beer vats burst witha tremendous crash, destroying several houses ; some lives were lost, and the loss of property was estimated at near 9900 barrels of beer.— Dec. 24th. A treaty of peace between Great Britain and America was sigued at Ghent. . On April 7th, the news of the fall of Paris was re- ceived in Yorkshire with rapturous exultation, and was soon followed by a gencral peace, which was celebrated with splendid iNuminations and processions, and sump- tuous public festivities. As ua beneticial memorial of the joy felt at Huddersfield on the return of peace, the in- habitants established a dispensary, under the appellation of the “ Huddersfield and Upper Agbrigg Infirmary.” Mr. Sadler, Jun., ascended ‘in his balloon, at York, August 24th, and at Pontefract September iStii. On the latter occasion he was accompanied by Miss Thompson. Mr. Samuel Birchall, of Leeds, died this year on May 17th, aged 53. He was a member of the society of Friends, au industrious naturalist and antiquary, and author of a work on provincial coins.: A piece of Roman tessellated pavement was discovered in April,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 247 1814.-1815. adjoining the rampart within Micklegate bar, in the city of York, supposed to have been the ground work of a general’s tent. <A part of it only could be pre- served. The portion discovered measured about twenty- four feet by fifteen feet, and had been very handsome. In the centre were two stags, and around it several beautiful borders. A considerable number of coins of the lower empire, and a quantity of pottery ware, were also discovered. 1815. Representatives from the European powers con- cerned in the war met at Vienna October 2nd, 1S814, in order to settle the disturbed limits of the various countries, and provide against the renewal of a period of war so disastrous. In March of this year, (1815) the proceedings of the congress were interrupted by in- telligence that Napoleon had landed in France, and was advancing in triumph to the capital. ‘fhough he landed with only a few men, he was everywhere reccived with affection, and on the 20th of March was reinstated in his capital, which had that morning been left by Louis XVIII. On the Ist of June, Napoleon had 559,000 effective men under arms, of whom 217,000 were ready to take the field. A Prussian army of more than 100,000, under Blucher, and one of about 80,000 British, Germans, and Belgians, under Wellington, were quickly rendezvoused in the Netherlands, while still larger armies of Austrians and Russians, making the whole force above 1,000,000, were rapidly approaching. These professed to make war, not on France, but against Bonaparte alone, whom they denounced as having, by his breach of the treaty, ‘placed himself out of the pale of civil and social relations, and incurred the penalty of summary execution’ Napoleon, knowing that his enemies would accumulate faster in proportion than his own troops, crossed the frontier on the 14th of June with 120,000 men; resolved to fight Blucher and Wel- lington separately, if possible. The rapidity of his movements prevented that concert between the Prussian and English generals, which it was their interest to establish. On the 16th of June, Napoleon attacked the Prussian army under Blucher, at Ligny, and compelled him (after a five hours’ battle) to retire to Wavre, with a loss of 16,000 men, and several pieces of cannon. Early in the afternoon of the same day, Ney (by veteran troops in very superior numbers) attacked the British at Les Quatre Bras, but he was gallantly and successfully

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248 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1815 repulsed. The loss of the British and their allies in this battle amounted to 3,750 hors de combat. The British suffered most severely, having 316 men killed and 2,156 wounded. The duke of Brunswick fell in the act of rallying his troops, and an immense number of British officers were found among the slain and wounded. On the 17th of June, Wellington being apprised that Blucher had retired on Wavre, also retreated and drew his troops across the road to Brussels, near a place called Waterloo. Battle of Waterloo. On the 18th of June, Napoleon de- termined to give battle to Wellington. He had a force of not less than 90,000 men, with 296 pieces of artillery; while the British amounted to but 74,400 men, with not more than 159 pieces. The position which Wellington occupied was in front of the hamlet of Mont St. Jean, ahout a mile and a half in advance of the village of Waterloo. The whole line was formed on a gentle ac- clivity, the flanks partially secured by small hollows and broken grounds. The two points of the greatest importance ia the British position, were, the farm-house of La Haye Sainte, in front of the left centre, which was defended by a Hanoveriau battalion; and the Chateau of Hougoumont, with its wood and garden in advance of the right centre, which was held by part of the guards and some companies of Nassau riflemen. Wellington considered this to be the key of his position, and great attention was bestowed upon its defence. Shortly before eleven o’clock, the enemy’s columns were put in motion against Hougoumont, and the battle of Waterloo began. Comprising three divisions, nearly 39,000 strong, the French attack was made in close columns, supported by the fire of numerous batteries. As the heads of the enemy’s masses rose above the hollow ground which had hitherto concealed their move- ments, the British artillery opened with round and case shot; and the French and Nassau light troops, com- menced a sharp and rapid fusilade; but the latter was forced to yield to numbers—the wood was carried—and the Chateau and its dependencies were vigorously and resolutely assaulted; but the defence was able as it was obstinate. The fire of the English mnusketry fell on the French masses with rapid precision. The French gave ground—the guards charged from the enclosures— part of the wood was recovered—and the fire of the British howitzers cleared the remainder of it from the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 249 1815. enemy. The French attacks were renewed again and again against Hougoumont, but they were as unavailing as they had proved before; every new effort of the enemy increased the slaughter, but failed in abating either the spirit or the obstinacy of the defence. At length the French artillery opened with shells upon the house; the old tower of Hougoumont was quickly in a blaze; the fire reached the chapel, and many of the wounded, both assailants and defenders, there perished miserably ; but still the guards nobly held the place, aud Hougoumont remained untaken. The assault upon Hougoumont was accompanied by a heavy tire from more than two hundred pieces of artillery upon the whole British line. The obstinacy with which Napoleon endeavoured to win this important post, may be best esti- mated by the terrible expenditure of life his repeated attacks occasioned. 10,000 men were killed and wounded in these attempts. While these terrible attacks were continued against the right ceutre, the left of the allied position was also furi- ously assailed. One success only crowned the incessant efforts of Napoleon—the temporary possession of the farm- house of La Haye Sainte, which was surrendered after a heroic defence of two hours. The continued attacks of the enemy on all points was exhausting the strength of the allied army and making its situation every moment more critical. Though masses of the enemy had fallen, thousands came on anew. Many battalions of the British were miserably reduced. The loss of individual regi- ments was prodigious. One (the 27th) had 400 men mowed down in square without drawing a trigger. Another, (the 92nd) when not 200 men were left, rushed into a French column and routed it with the bayonet; a third, (the 33rd) when nearly annihilated, sent to require support : none could be given, and the commanding officer was told that be must “stand or fall where he was.” Thus the battle raged until evening came, and yet no crisis. Wellington as he viewed the diminished numbers of his brave battalions still presenting the same fearless attitude that they had done when the battle opened, felt that to human endurance there is a limit, and turned his glass repeatedly to that direction from which his expected support must come. Af last the welcome sound of distant artillery was heard in the direction of St. Lambert, and a staff officer reported that Blucher was approaching near the scene of action. This was about seven in the evening.

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250 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1815. The enemy then made a desperate effort with cavalry and infantry, supported by the fire of artillery, to force the left centre of the British near the farm of La Haye Sainte. The imperial guard, in close column, came on to the assault and ascended the slope of the position, although the fire of the English guns fell upon their dense masses with ruinous precision. Presently the guards moved forward tothecrest of the height, and the finest infautry in the world confronted each other at the distance of fifty paces. The tirst steady fire of the British guards disorganized the crowded column, and the fusilade was rapidly and steadily sus- tained. ‘The shattered column of the enemy was soon driven down the hill with precipitate confusion. After routing their opponents, the victorious infantry halted, re- formed, fell back, and resumed their former position. Undismayed by the repulse of the first column, Napoleon’s second column topped the height in perfect order, which bespoke the certainty of success; but the musketry of Maitland’s left wing smote the column heavily in front, and the fire of the light regiments fell with terrible effect on the flank of the mass. The ground ina few minutes was covered with dead and wounded men—the confusion increased—the disorder became irremediable—the columns broke and commenced a rapid retreat. Pressed by the guards, charged by the 52nd, retreat became a flight, and Wellington launched the cavalry of Vivian and Vandeleur against the mass as it rushed down the hill in hopeless disorder. Before it was possible for the French to rally and renew the fight, one grand and general attack consu- mated the ruin of Napoleon. Wellington is said to have exclaimed, ‘‘ The hour is.come!’? The word was given to advance. The infantry, in one long and splendid line, moved forward with a thrilling cheer, the horse artillery galloped up and opened with case shot on the disordered masses. Instantly the allicd cavalry were let loose, and, charging headlong into the enemy’s columns, they turned retreat into rout; and ctosed the history of oue of the bloodiest struggles upon record. A complete panic seized upon the French, who threw away their arms to expedite their flight. The Prussian cavalry pursued the enemy from Waterloo to Genappe, and cut them down unmercifully. The roads were covered with dead and dying, and, being obstructed by broken equipages and deserted guns, became almost impassible to the fugitives—hence the slaughter was frightful. Wel- lington recrossed .the battle ground by moonlight, and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 251 1815. I arrived for supper at Brussels. The excited feelings which such a victory must have produced, are said to have suffered a reaction, and given way to a deep despondency as he rode past ‘“‘ the dying and the God knows it was “asorry sight;” for on a surface not exceeding two square miles, 50,000 dead or disabled men and horses were extended. side of the victors, the total of killed and wounded, exclvsive of the Prussians, exceeded 13,000 men, among whom were 600 officers and eleven generals. The total loss of the French amounted to not less than 40,000 men. On his return to Paris, Napoleon made an effort to restore the confidence of his chief counsellors, but in vain. After a fruitless abdication in favonr of his son, he retired on board a small vessel at Rochfort, with the intention of proceeding to America; but being captured by a British ship of war, he was condemned by his enemies to perpetual confinement on the island of St. Helena, in the Atlantic, where he died jn 1821. Joseph Blackburn was born about the year 1770; re- ceived a liberal education ; was articled to an attorney, and about 1793 began to practice that profession in Leeds. He married a lady of most amiable qualities, and respect- able connections ; became the father of two children, and for many years enjoyed the high respect of an extensive circle of acquaintances: no man living enjoyed more generally the credit of integrity and respectability than Mr. Blackburn; but, after twenty years, during which time nothing had tarnished his reputation, or blackened his fame, a person, who had formerly been his clerk, laid an information against him for removing stamps from old deeds, and placing them upon new ones; and also with altering the denominationsof suchstamps. On this charge he was committed to York castle, and on the 18th of March, 1815, put upon his trial for forging a £2. stamp upon a mortage deed of £180, before Sir Simon le Blanc. After the case for the prosecution had been gone through at some length, and the Judge seeming to think the charge clearly established, and overruling every legal objection taken by the defendant’s counsel, he was called upon for his de- fence, and spoke as follows :—‘‘ May it please your lord- ship—‘‘ Gentlemen of the Jury :— “Tn the painful and anxious situation in which I am un- happily placed, I am ill-fitted for the task of addressing you on this occasion.—Agitated as J am between hope and fear, I can only solemuly assure you that I never forged

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252 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1815. a stamp in my life; but the public mind has been prejudiced against me by unfounded reports and advertisements, containing vile insinuations against me. But, gen- tlemen, I entreat and charge you upon your oaths, that you banish all that you have heard out of this court from your minds; and I have to wish from you, is, that you be influenced only by the evidence, and that you will do unto me as you would wish to be done unto, were you placed in my unfortunate situation. I have practised as an attorney among my townsmen and neighbours with credit and respectability for twenty-seven years ; you will hear from them upon their oaths, the character I have Maintained during that period. In making my defence, I have many great and insuperable difficulties to contend with; I am called to furnish an answer, and that by evi- dence, against a charge which I never heard of until I entered this court ; for until I heard the indictment read, I had no knowledge of that which they have imputed to me by this indictment, of course it was absolutely impossi- ble for me to be prepared with evidence to rebut the charge. With respect to the deed in question, I know nothing of it; it has been long out of my possessiou, and it is clear, by the evidence of the witnesses for the prosecution, that it has been very much exposed; I would only observe, that if it had not had a regular stamp affixed to it, the engrossing clerk must have seen it, andit must likewise have been observed at the office when the deed was regis- tered. When my house was searched, my account books were taken away, which has deprived me of all means of tracing the deed in question, or of proving where the stamp was bonght; I had therefore no clue to direct my search. With respect to the spoiled stamps, I would observe, that they have lain by me a long time, and that the period of claiming the allowance for them has long elapsed. It often happens, that after a deed is engrossed, the execution may be delayed a very considerable time beyond the period allowed for claiming the allowance, and if ultimately it should not he executed, the stam would be entirely lost ; this will account for the spoiled stamps, which in a long series of time, have been accumu- lated. I declare to you, gentlemen, that the deed in question had upon it stamp when it was exe~ cuted at my office, and I trust you will not presume any- thing against me; and that you will decide upon my fate with the same candour that you would wish in similar circumstances to be shewn to yourselves. Gentlemen, my

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 253 1815. life is in your hands ; 1 shall bow with resignation to yoar decision; and I trust, I hope, that your decision will be right.”’ A host of witnesses, of great respectability, and most of whom had known the prisoner for many years, appeared and spoke to his character in terms of eulogium that any citizen might be proud of. After the summing up of the evidence by the learned judge, which was thought to have been done with some- what resembling severity towards the prisoner, the jury retired; and, after an absence of fifteen minutes, returned and delivered a verdict of ‘ After this, the prisoner was tried ona second indict- ment; charging him with a similar offence, in conjunction with a Mr. Wainewright: on this charge he was acquitted. Mr. Blackburn was so much affected as not to be able to walk from court without assistance. On the following Wednesday, amid other prisoners, Mr. Blackburn was brought up to receive sentence. In his general address, Sir Simon le Blanc thus particularized the prisoner :— “TI am sorry to remark that you, Joseph Blackburn, whose education and habits of life had furnished you, by the exer- cise of an honourable profession, with the means of main- taining yourself in credit, should have becn induced to resort to such dishonest artifices. But the thirst of money, or the wish to grow rich by means more rapid than by the exercise of patient industry, has induced you not only to plunder the public revenue, but to involve private indivi- duals in distress, if not absolute ruin. By « series of in- genious contrivances, you have been able, by imitating the stamp used in the conveyance of property, to injure the public revenue to a very considerable amount; and, by affixing those forged stamps to conveyances and other in- struments, you have put to hazard property to a very great extent.” The awful sentence was then passed; and Mr. Black- burn, who, during the whole of the address, appeared con- vulsed with agony, was literally carried out of court. The 8th of April was fixed for his execution; but in the interim between his trial and that day, a petition, signed by upwards of three thousand respectable persons, (mostly of leeds), was forwarded to the then prince regent: to this lord Sidmouth sent an immediate negative. An ap- plication was subsequently made to Sir Simon le Blanc,

which was equally unsuccessful. This unfortunate victim 22

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254 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1815. : to the laws of his country, was therefore executed on the above day at York, and his remains were interred at Roth- well, near Leeds. On February 3rd, the festival of Bishop Blaize was re- newed at Leeds, after an interval of 27 years. The exhi- bition was grand beyond all precedent, being got up prin- cipally in honour of the peace which then prevailed. (See 1811.}——The Leeds Soke, with the “ King’s Mills,” was purchased for £32,000, by Mr. Edward Hudson. On February 9th, the archbishop of York consecrated the Vicar’s croft, at Wakefield, as a burial ground. On February 22nd, died, aged 82, the Rev. Peter Haddon, M.4., who was a prebendary of Ripon, and 28 years vicar of Leeds, where he was universally esteemed. On March 23rd, the Rev. Richard Fawcett, M.A., was elected vicar of Leeds.—-——Smithson Tennant, aningenious chemist, was born at Selby, of which parish his father was vicar, Nov. 30th, 1761; was placed in a school at Scorton, next at Tadcaster, and afterwards under Dr. Croft, at Beverley, where he applied himself more to science than classics. Went to Edinburgh in 1781, to study physic, and the year after became a member of Christ’s college, Cambridge, from whence he removed to Emanuel college, where he proceeded to bachelor in medicine in 1788: and took the degree of doctor in 1791. Settled in London in 1812, and delivered lectures on mineralogy ; next year was elected professor of chemistry at Cambridge. Read a course, and went to France, where, as he was about to embark on his return, was thrown from his horse, near Boulonge, by which he fractured his skull, and died Feb. 22nd, 1815. Was fellow of the Royal Society, and communicated numerous pepers, which are published in the Transactions. Joseph Bramah, an ingenious mechanic, was born at Stainborough, in 1749. He received a common education, and wasemployed inearly life in agricultural occupations, till lameness led him to relinquish that line, and was appren- ticed to acarpenter. Had previously made violoncellos and violins. Went to London, and was employed as a cabinet- maker. Undertook the manufacture of pumps, pipes, cocks, &c., for which he received patents. Made hydraulic ma- chines, for which he received a patent. Took out a patent for the application of the hydrostatic uniform pressure of fluids. Employed by the Bank of England, in 1807, to con- struct a machine for printing the date lines of the notes. He died in 1815. March Ist. Mr. Robinson, afterwards lord Goderich,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 259 “1815. brought into the House of Commons the bill to amend the laws respecting the importation of foreign corn; it was passed on the LOth, and sent to the House of Lords, where it passed by a majority of 128 to 21, and on the 23rd it re- ceived the royal assent. This bill enacted that no importa- tion of foreign corn should be permitted until the average price of wheat should be 80s., rye 55s., bariey 40s., and oats 26s. per quarter of eight Winchester bushels. Riots took lace in London during the time of the discussion of the corn bill in the House of Commons. The houses of Mr. Robinson, the lord chancellor, lord Castlereagh, and many other members of parliament were attacked, their windows broken, and furniture destroyed. Two persons were shot in front of Mr. Robinson’s house. William Hutton, a bookseller and author of Birmingham, who raised himself from a condition of poverty to one of great respectability and opulence; was born at Derby in 1723, aud first worked in a silk-mill there, was after- wards apprenticed tu a stocking- weaver at Nottingham, then taught himself bookbinding, and in 1749 walked all the way to London and back to buy the tools necessary for that trade. Having at last sufficient sum, he com- menced busiuess in Birmingham in 1750, though on a very sthall scale. His weekly expenses were only tive-shillings, and the first year hesaved £20. Hutton continued success- ful, and in 1791 gave up his business to his son. He had suffered considerable loss in the church and king riots in Birmingham, but recovered a sum of mouey from the county. He died in 1813, in his 92nd year. Hutton was an author. He wrote, among other works, a ‘“‘ History of Blackpool,’’ ‘“ History of Derby,’’ some poems, and a very amusing and interesting autobiography. A dreadful accident happened at Heaton pit, near New- castle, by the workings overflowing with water: seventy- five men and thirty-five horses were lost. On April 13th, the oil mill, at Crown Point, Leeds, with all its ma- chinery, and a considerable quantity of rape and line seed was destroyed by fire. On June 26th, a tire destroyed several thousand pounds worth of cloth, &c., in the ware- house of Mr. Moore, of Brockwell, near Halifax. The first stone of Christ church, in Bradford, was laid June 4th. An anonymous lady gave £800 towards the edifice, which was raised by subscription. A curious antique stone, formed like a mortar, rudely ornamented in relief, and inscribed “S. H. V.—711,”’ was found at Holbeck, near Leeds. At Marsden, near Huddersfield, was ob-

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256 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND (1815. served for twenty minutes, on September 18th, that singular phenomenon, a water spout, apparently formed of a dense lack cloud, and resembling a long inverted cone, the lowest part of which seemed nearly to touch the ground, whilst above it the clouds were white and fleecy, and seemed much agitated by the water, which, after falling, appeared to rise again rapidly up the vaporous spout with a spiral motion. On May 8th, died the Rev. Joseph Whiteley, A.M., master of the Leeds grammar school, vicar of Lastingham, and domestic chaplain to the earl of Hare- wood. During his residence in Cambridge university, he was greatly distinguished for the excellence of his theo- logical compositions, by which he gained several of the Norrisian prizes. On December 13th, the Austrian archdukes John and Louis, visited the cloth halls and prin- . cipal manufactories of Leeds, where in rapture they ex- claimed to the resident Catholic minister, “C’est vraiment une ville dindustrie.”—( This is truly au industrious town). On December “Oth, in consequence of a sudden thaw, after a heavy fall of snow, the river Aire overflowed its banks, and inundated the lower streets of Leeds, so that the bridge could not be approached except in a boat or carriage ; happily the flood subsided next day, without any serious accident. In this year the act of parliament of the 55th Geo. III. cap. 42, was passed, entitled “An act to amend and enlarge the powers and provisions of an act of his resent majesty, for erecting a court house and prison, or the borough of Leeds in the county of York, and other purposes; to provide for the expense of the prose- cution of felons in certain cases ; and to establish a police and nightly watch in the town, borough, and neighbour- hood of Leeds.’’ After providing for the continuance of the court house rate, until the expenses incurred by the erection of that building were completely defrayed, the act empowered the magistrates at the quarter sessions, to elect a gaoler or governor of the prison with other subordinate officers, to allow the expenses of prosecu- tions in specified cases, and t.» offer proper rewards for the apprehension of offenders. It then arranged for the general police of the borough, by committing to the justices of the peace the prerogative of appointing a chief constable with an appropriate salary, and of elect- ing a sufficient number of persous to be his deputies— by requiring them to select an adequate body of watch- Men and patroles for the town and the suburbs within

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 257 1815.-1816. one mile of the bars—by enabling them to impose such rates as were necessary to defray the expense of the new system of police—and by authorizing them to choose such treasurers, collectors, and other officers, as the ex- ecution of the act might require. Upon this act the present system of police has been founded, numerous and useful changes for the better have since been made in this department of municipal arrangement, and it may be confidently stated that at the present period, the police of this borough, is as active, as eflicient, and as well regulated as that of any other provincial town in the kingdom. The police regulations are now under the control of the corporation. 1816. On January 20th, Messrs. Glover’s factory, in Park- lane, Leeds, was destroyed hy fire. In two causes tried in the duchy court of Lancaster, the inhabitants of Ossett and Gawthorp were released from the Wakefield soke, it being the opinion of Mr. Justice Bayley, Mr. Baron Richards, and the chancellor of the duchy, that they were not subject to the custom, though their ancestors had suffered it to be imposed upon them. The first stone of Coley church, near Halifax, was laid February 26th, and of Lud- denden church, on March 14th. Early on Sunday morning, March 3rd, some lawless workmen broke into the dressing shops of Mr. James Roberts, at Quarmby, and destroyed all the shears, and improved frames. On April 28rd, were christened at Bingley, three children born at a birth, and then six weeks old,and named Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. The Wesley chapel, in Meadow- lane, Leeds, was opened June 27th, and is a substantial brick edifice, and since that time it has been considerably enlarged. It is capable of containing 2,000 persons. An organ was added ahout twenty years ago. During the excavation for this chapel, at the depth of eighteen feet in the gravel, was found a human skeleton, near which were some buckles, and a spear head, supposed to have been drifted there aloug with the sand and gravel. The first stone of St. Ann’s chapel, at Southowram, was laid by the vicar of Halifax, ou July 2nd. The banking house of Messrs. Ingham, of Huddersfield, stopped payment July 4th, as also did that of Messrs. Brook and Sons, of the same place, on July 23rd. On July 24th, died, in his 64th year, universally respected, Alexander Turner, Esq., senior alderman, and twice mayor of Leeds. Liversedge church, at Littletown, built by the Rev. H. Roberson, was consecrated August 29th.

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258 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND

1816 There was great agricultural and commercial distress this

year, and numerous meetings were held in various parts of the kingdom to consider the means of alleviating it, and large subscriptions were raised. August 3rd. Elizabeth Ward, of Rothwell, near Leeds, was tried at York on a charge of wilfully and maliciously administering a certain deadly y poison (arsenic) to Charlotte Ward, her sister, with the felonious intent to kill and mur- der the said Charlotte W ard, on Saturday, the 27th of July, previously. She was found guilty, and the sentence of death passed upon her. During the passing of the sentence the prisoner said,—[speaking to Mr. Staveley, the governor. I “Tf his lordship will hear me, I will tell him the truth.” Mr. Staveley having communicated her request, his lordship said, “I will hear you, but speak the truth.”’ ‘he prisoner then said, “ Please, sir, I have an aunt, and she asked me to go to Leeds and get her some white mercury, to put into some whitening.’’ His lordship here said, “ You will only aggravate your crime if The prisoner then said she would speak the truth; and proceeded to state, that on her return, she gave it to her aunt, who came to their house and mixed something up, and told her that she might go to her work in the kitchen; and that she did not know that white mercury was poison: she had never heard of any such thing, and that she did not mean to poison any body. Great interest was excited by this remarkable case; and at the instigation of some powerful persons, she was re- prieved for three weeks; after this a second reprieve for seven days arrived; and at length an order came for the commutation of her sentence to imprisonment for ten years. This year died R. B. Sheridan, the last of that constellation of talent, which adorned the latter part of the eighteenth century. As an orator he yielded not even to Pitt; ‘whilst in force and acuteness he may be compared with Fox, and in splendour of imagination, with Burke. On September 22nd upwards of 100 pieces of silver coin of the reigns of Eliza- beth and James I., were found in an inclosure, on Wike common, near Bradford. On October 19th, was opened the Leeds and Liverpool canal. In December, the grand duke Nicholas of Russia, visited Leeds, Harewood house, York, and many other places in the county ; amongst his attendants were baron Nicholai, Sir William Congreve, generals Kutusoff and Woronzoff, Messrs. Clincare and Mansell, adjutant Perowsky, and Dr. Creighton.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 259 1816. During this year two adult schools were established by the Quakers in Leeds, and a Sunday School Union by the various religious sects, who in the following year had 5,000 scholars under gratuitous instruction in the town. The late Rev. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, LL.D. and F.S.A., vicar of Whalley, and rector of Heysham, in Lan- cashire, published this year his “ Loidis and Elmete,” and also a splendid edition of the * Ducatus Leodiensis,” of Thoresby, the antiquary, whose last female descendant was espoused by the doctor, who died in 1822, having himself gain- ed considerable celebrity both as an antiquary and historian ; though many of his local sketches bear the evident marks of prejudice and partiality, owing to his rural propensities, and his aversion to populous manufacturing districts, where he too often found his favourite edifices, (churches) crouching under an assemblage of towering chimneys, rising from noisy mills and factories to a greater altitude than the ven- erable parish spire; and, instead of meeting rustic sim- plicity, he found perhaps, men of every class possessed of too much worldly knowledge to be kept in rigid canonical Obedience, especially in the populous par ish of Halifax, where he was “shocked by a tune of defiance in every voice, and an air of fierceness in every countenance.”’ The district having, says he, “declined into mavufactures,”’ but the truth is, that those manufactures have raised it from a sterile wilderness toa fruitful country, abounding in wealth, population, and social comfort, and the manners of the in- habitants wear not that forbidding aspect which the other- wise worthy doctor has attributed to them. In August, this vear, a British armament under lord Exmouth, bombarded Algiers, and reduced that piratical state to certain desirable conditions, respecting the treat- ment of christian prisoners. The Independent chapel, in Lendal, York, was built this year, and cost upwards of £3,000. A public house in York, known by the name of the “Hole in the Wail,” be- coming ruinous, was taken down; when on removing the materials, a subterraneous prison was discovered some feet below the surface. The approach was by a flight of stone steps, at the bottom of which were two massy oaken doors, one against the other, each five feet seven inches high, by two feet seven inches broad, and five inches in thickness. Through these doors, entrance was obtained to the dungeon, which was thirty- -two feet five inches in length, nine feet four inches broad, and nine feet high. The walls were four feet ten inches thick. On the side opposite the entrance

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260 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1816.-1817. were three sloping windows, strongly guarded with iron; and, attached to the walls, were the remains of several staples. In the followiug year, a rude piece of Saxon sculpture, cut upon a stone, supposed to have been the base of the arch over the door-way leading into this dungeon, was found. ‘This singular relic represents a man in the agonies of death, surrounded by demons, who are torment- ing the body, and seizing the departing spirit. It is now deposited in the minster library. A steam-packet, fitted up by Mr. George Dodd, at Glasgow, (being the first that had been seen on the Thames), arrived at London from that port in 121 hours. 1817. The lithographic art was introduced into England this year. On March 24th, Mr. Mawson’s aqua fortis manufactory, at Burmantofts, Leeds, was completely destroyed by fire; unfortunately it was not insured, and the loss was several thousand pounds. This and the four following years, will always be mem- orable as an epoch of extraordinary distress, affecting almost every class of the community. To alleviate the distress of the unemployed poor in Leeds, liberal subscrip- tions were raised by the company frequenting the follow- ing inns, viz.: the George and Dragon, Golden Fleece, Bee Hive, White Swan, and some others, from which up- wards of 2,000 families were repeatedly relieved with beef, potatoes, soup, bread, and coals. Owing to the very bad harvest of 1816, wheat varied in price this year from 24s. to 55s. per load of three bushels. Tumultuary proceedings took place in various parts of the county ; and a desire for a reform in the House of Commons, which was supposed to be the only means of re- ducing the public expenditure, began to take deep root among the working classes. The government adopted expedients for counteracting the force of the popular spirit. Certain political emissaries, who, in the spring of the year, came down into.the north of Eng- land, and who, affecting to be themselves radicals, were, in reality, spies and instigators. The most distinguished of these characters was a person of the name of Oliver, a man of plausible manners and of insinuating address. Mr. Oliver, introduced by a reputed delegate, visited the re- formers in Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, and Lanca- shire, but the south-western part of the county of York was the favourite seat of his mission. Here, as in other places, he and his travelling companion sedulously incul-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 261 1817. cated upon their dupes the belief that the people in the metropolis, and in other populous parts of the kingdom, were ready to rise in open rebellion, and waited only to be joined by the reformers of the north, in order to over- turn the government by physical force. To obtain credit with his employers for zeal and usefulness, he assembled several meetings of persons whom he dignified with the name of delegates. On the 6th of June, a meeting was held at Thornhill Lees, at which Mr. Oliver attended in person to address the meeting. While the assembly, which consisted of about a dozen persons, were preparing for deliberation, they found themselves surrounded by a strong detach- ment of military, headed by major-general Sir John Byng, the commander of the district, by whom ten of them were secured, and conveyed to Waketield, for examination before the sitting magistrates. Mr. Oliver was suffered to escape. The events of this day, however, led to a distinct recogni- tion of his mission, and to a public exposure, through the medium of the press, of his. official connexions. It was now no longer possible to conceal the fact, that a system of espionage had been resorted to, and the first minister . of state, lord Liverpool, when pressed upon the subject in the House of Lords, admitted “that Mr. Oliver had been employed by government, to gain information from the disturhed districts;”’ but his lordship assured the house “that he had been discouraged from endeavouring in any way to excite, or to extend the disaffection which he was to assist in suppressing.”’ A few days after, a full bench of magistrates, with the venerable earl Fitzwilliam at their head, assembled at the Court-house, in Wakefield, and after a patient inquiry into the circumstances of the case, discharged all the prisoners except two of them, who were detained by a secretary of state’s warrant, under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, on a charge of high treason. The late Mr. Baines was chiefly instrumental in exposing the spy system of Mr. Oliver, and the way he did it is very interesting. “On the 13th of June, Mr. Baines received a letter from his friend, Mr. James Holdforth, who, on his way to Man- chester, had heard facts at Dewsbury, which showed that a government emissary, named Oliver, had been attempt- ing to entrap Mr. James Willan, a printer, of that place, to attend a meeting where ten persons had been arrested. Mr. Baines at once took a chaise, and went (accompanied by one of his sons, the present Edward Baines) to Dews-

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262 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1817. bury, to investigate the facts. He repaired to the house of his friend, Mr. John Halliley, jun., where Mr. James Willan, and at his instance Mr. John Dickinson, linen- draper, attended. There the plot was laid bare. Mr. Willan proved that Oliver, who represented himself asa delegate from the radicals of London, had several times, for the space of two months, endeavoured to seduce him into acts of violence and situations of danger; and that he had especially urged him to attend the meeting above- mentioned of ‘‘delegates’”? at Thornhill Lees on the previous Friday, at which meeting ten poor men were arrested by a party of military under the command of major-general Sir John Byng. Willan, who was a con- scientious man and a professor of the principles of the society of Friends, indignantly repelled every invitation to violence, and refused to attend the meeting. The ten prisoners had been conveyed, with Oliver himself, to Wakefield, for examination by the magistrates ; but at that town Oliver was seen by Mr. Dickinson at liberty, and in communication with the servant of general Byng ; and, on inquiring of the servant, Mr. Dickinson learnt that Oliver had been at his master’s house, at Campsall, a few. days before. From this and other facts the character of of the emissary was evident.” Mr. Baines returned to Leeds, and published a full and clear statement of the whole of the facts, with the names of all the parties, in the Mercury of the following morning. He concluded his narrative with the following remarks :—

“From everything we have heard of the character and conduct of general Byng, we are persuaded that he has been merely the medium for receiving Oliver’s information; and that whoever may have em- ployed this double-distilled traitor, the general has acted merely in the discharge of his official duty. But every circumstance we have gust related proves that somebody has employed him, and the question is— who were his employers? “What the trade of this man may be, we cannot pretend to say— but that he isa Green Bag Maker by profession is, is, we think, sufficiently obvious. Why sucha wretch, the mainspring ‘and master-piece of the conspiracy by which the country has been thrown into its present state of alarm and agitation, was suffered to escape, while the poor un- fortunate victims of his machinations are held in confinement, is more than we can say; but the subject requires deep and grave investigation, and we call upon the magistrates of this Riding, now that we have given them them the clue, to go to the bottom of this trans- action. ““'We ask this boon from them in support of their own character: we ask it from a regard to the character of the country: we ask it

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 263 1817. from a regard to the government: we ask it in justice to the advocater of. parliamentary reform: and, above all, we conjure them to enter into this inquiry, from a regard to the families and lives of the men at present in confinement, on the information of this prototype of Lucifer, whose distinguishing characteristic it is, first to tempt, and then to destroy.”

On the 9th of June, some hundreds of persons assembled about midnight, at a place adjoining the town of Hudders- tield, called Folly Hall bridge, under a delusive expecta- tion that they would be joined by other insurgents from various parts of the kingdom, and that, when united, their force would be sufficiently strong to overturn the govern- ment of the country! The approach of half a dozen yeomanry cavalry produced considerable alarm amongst them ; but they mustered military ardour sufficient to tire several shots, and one of the cavalry horses wus wounded in the head. The yeomanry, not considering it prudent to engage with so great a disparity of numbers, retreated for the purpose of obtaining a reinforcement, but, before they could return to the field, a panic had seized the motley assembly at the bridge, and, in a few minutes, their force was completely dispersed. Four and twenty persons, charged with having in some way participated in this futile enterprise, were subsequently apprehended and committed to York castle, and several others escaped. At the assizes in July, ten of the prisoners were put upon their trial before baron Wood, part of them charged with stealing fire arms on their way to the place of rendezvous, and the remainder with aiding and abetting certain per- sons unknown, in firing at, with an intent to kill, maim, or disable Mr. David Alexander, the yeomanry cavalryman whose horse was shot in the head. Both the charges being ill-supported by evidence, all the prisoners put upon their trial were acquitted, and the bills presented against the principal part of the other prisoners were thrown out. Jan. 20th. The prince regent opened parliament in person. In the latter part of this year, the armies of the allies were withdrawn from the French territories— The riotous spirit which had lately displayed itself, broke out again on this occasion; and the prince on his way to the house was assailed by tumultuous expressions of disapprobation from an unusually large concourse of people, whose conduct on tbe return of the procession be- came more violent, the royal carriage being attacked with stones and other missiles in an alarming manner; a reward of £1,000 was offered for the apprehension of the offenders,

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264 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1817. but they were never discovered. Feb. 7th. Lord Castlereagh announced in the House of Commons, that the prince regent, sympathising with the sufferings of a gen- erous public, had determined to give up £50,000 per aunum of his income; at the same time his lordship communicated the intention of ministers voluntarily to dispense with one-tenth of their official incomes; lord Camden, as one of the tellers of the exchequer, relinquished the whole of the enormous profits of that sinecure office, except £2,500, the regulated income of the other tellers ; the expenditure of this year, on the reduced scale, was estimated at £6,500,000 less than that of the preceding one. This year Watson, Preston, Hooper, and Reene were committed to the tower for high treason; a reward of £500 was offered for the apprehension of Thistlewood, and a further reward of £500 for the junior Watson. Disturbances at Manchester. At a public meeting held near St. Peter’s church, on the 3rd of March, by persons denominating themselves friends of parliamentary reform, notices were issued that the espousers of their doctrines should assemble at the same place on the 10th, and pro- ceed thence to the metropolis to present a petition to the prince regent, that they might be enabled to undeceive him. Accordingly on the appointed day, crowds of people flocked into the town from all directions; the instigators were mounted in a cart, and harangued the people, until their increasing numbers suggested the propriety of putting in force the civil and military powers. A party of ragoons, accompanied by the magistrates, surrounded the cart, and conveyed the entire group upon it to the New Bailey prison, and several others were seized by the soldiers on their way there. The concourse of auditors, which amounted to about 30,000, were forthwith dispersed, without the infliction of any severity. A considerable number set out on their mission to London, taking the route of Stockport; but about forty of them were re- conducted to Manchester, and others were secured at . Stockport. Most of them were provided with knapsacks, &c., containing blankets and other articles : not more than 500 penetrated so far as Macclesfield. Nothing could be more wretched than their appearance: some actually fainting through weariness, and all of them without provisions, or any apparent resource with which to pro- ceed twenty miles further towards London. Thus ended what has since been known under the quaint appellation of the “ Blanketeering Expedition.”,»————June. Watson,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 266 1817. : Thistlewood, and some others, were put on their trial, in the court of king’s bench, for high treason; but, chiefly from the discredit thrown upon the testimony of Castles, the principal witness and an accomplice or spy, they were acquitted.—In the course of the summer, the turbulent disposition of the manufacturing classes ex- hibited itself in many parts, by atrocious acts of tumult and outrage; and it was found expedient to appoint a special commission, to sit at Derby to try the offenders. The first four prisoners who were tried were found guilty ; nineteen of the others were allowed to plead guilty, with an understandiug that mercy would be extended to them, and twelve were acquitted; sentence of death was pronounced on twenty-three of these deluded men; and three of them, Brandreth, Ludlam, and Turner suffer- ed the full penalty of the law. On the 12th of Feb., died Joshua Walker, M.D., one of the society of Friends, and twenty-five years a physician of the Leeds infirmary, where he paid unwearied attention to the duties of his office, and, in a pecuniary point of view, was atruly liberal benefactor to that institution. He originally commenced his professional career at Hull, where his success was so great as to afford him the means of supporting a respectable: establishment in the short space of one year. His removal to Leeds opened a wider field for the exertion of his talent, and he soon rose to considerable eminence. Poetry was his favourite re- creation in his younger days, and his love of classical and polite literature was uniformly conspicuous during his whole life. November 6th. The princess Charlotte, only child of the prince regent, died immediately after having given birth to a dead son. Nov 10th. The gig mill of Willans and Sons, Hunslet-lane, Leeds, was consumed by fire, and, as the pipes of the engines brought to extinguish the flames were wilfully cut, if was strongly suspected that the fire had been lighted by an incendiary, for the purpose of de- stroying the machinery. On Dec. 11th, died the Rev. Henry Wm. Coulthurst, D.D., who was twenty-seven years vicar of Halifax, during which time he distinguished himself as a pastor, by piety and zeal; as a magistrate, by activity and judgment; as a subject, by loyalty and patriotism; and as a man, by his urbanity and benevolence. A beautiful monument, executed by Westmacott, was erected to the memory of this excellent man in the 3

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266 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1817.-1818. parish church, in Halifax, by the parishioners. The work- manship is finely executed, a bust of the Dr. surmounts the following translation of the epitaph, from the pen of the late Dr. Whitaker :—(Christ.—‘ Alpha and Omega.’’) Henry William Coulthurst, D.D., descended from an ancient and respectable family in Craven, formerly scholar of St. John’s college, afterwards Fellow of Sid- ney Sussex college, Cambridge. As tutor in his college, as moderator in the public schools, he acquired among his contemporaries no common celebrity. For twenty- seven years he was a most vigilant vicar of this church. His discourses (assiduously delivered, not from his pulpit only, but in the several chapels of this extensive arish), were simple and persuasive. As a magistrate, he was the dispenser of equity and justice, without super- ciliousness or prepossession. In _ social intercourse, pleasant, facetious, elegant, yet ever with a view to edification. As a servant to Christ, in words, in actions, in heart, devoted to his Lord. Though temperate in diet, abstinent in wine, he was removed by a stroke of apoplexy, sudden indeed, but to a soul holy, tranquil and heaven-aspiring, not untimely, on the llth day of December, a.D. 1817, in the 65th year of his age. To him, revered in life, in death lamented, his Halifax parishioners raised by public subscription this memorial. The Leeds infirmary grounds were considerably ex- tended this year by subscription ; four thousand square yards were purchased by Richard Fountayne Wilson, Esq., for £1,500, which he gave to that institution. The eight bells at Wakefield were replaced by a new peal of ten, cast by Thomas Mears, of London; the tenor weighs 3l cwt. 9 lbs. The chimes which play on them were made in 1795, by George Goodall, of Tad- caster. 1818. John Squires, of Leeds, gave a fatal notoriety to his name by his follies, after having lived many years in high respectability. He was appointed to the situation of treasurer of the Leeds workhouse on the 16th of August, About four years after that, a deficiency appeared in his accounts of about £50. Squires ex- plained the cause of this, and was forgiven, the council cancelling one half of the debt, and taking his note for the other. This kindness, it was naturally thought, would have had its due influence on the mind of the treasurer; but, alas! for evil habits in 1817, another deficiency occurred, attended with circumstances that

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. I 267 1818. : called for investigation. Squires was summoned to pre- duce his books and attend the committee—he absconded, by that act tacitly admitting his guilt. On examining his accounts, a defalcation nearly amountinn to £2,006 was discovered. A warrant was issued, and he was apprehended at York. At the Spring assizes of 1818, he was brought to trial before Mr. Justice Bayley.—Mr. Williams, with others, were retained for the defendant, and made the most strenuous exertions in his behalf: the particulars, from their legal technicality, are omitted. The indictment consisted of three counts, and stated, that John Squires, being a clerk and servant to the churchwardens and overseers of the township of Leeds, did receive, by virtue of such his employment, the sum of fourteen guineas, which he fraudently embezzled and converted to his own use. Mr. Hardy stated “ this was a prosecution founded on the statute 33rd Geo. III, passed to remedy a defect in law, and to make it larceny for any clerk or servant entrusted with money for the use of their employer, to embezzle or convert the same to their own use. ‘*The prisoner was employed by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of Leeds, as their clerk, to receive and pay money on their account; and in the course of his employment he received, on the 23rd of June, the sum of fourteen guineas from the overseer of Lepton, for money advanced by the township of Leeds for the payment of their poor. This money the prisoner did not account for, but secreted and converted it to his own use. In the month of January last, in conse- quence of some suspicion entertained of his conduct, the committee, consisting of the churchwardens and Overseers, appointed a day for the examination of the out-town paupers and of his accounts. Notice was sent to the members of the committee, desiring their at- tendance; aud in pursuance thereof they did attend, but the prisoner aid not make his appearance, and it was soon discovered he had absconded.”’ After the case had been fully gone through, the jury conferred together a few moments, and found the prisoner “Guilty ;’? but expressed their wish that the court would, in consideration of his former good character, shew him all the mercy the circumstances of the case would admit. On Monday, after sentence had been passed on the

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268 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1818. other prisoners, John Squires was placed at the bar, and, being asked in the usual terms what he had to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him, pleaded the benefit of clergy, adding, ‘1 hope, my lord, you will be merciful; I did not intend to defraud any one.’’ His lordship shook his head in token of his dis- approbation, and thus addressed the prisoner :— is very painful to me to have to pass sentence upon a man of your age, and who has for so many ears filled a respectable situation in life, and received so high a character from so many respectable persons ; and this pain has been much increased by what I have just heard you say, that you did not mean to defraud, ecause it shews that you have not that contrition which you ought to feel, You were placed in a situation of trust: you enjoyed, and it was supposed you deserved, the confidence of your employers; you had a salary which would have enabled you to maiutain yourself and pass the latter period of your life respectably and creditably, as you had done until these transactions took place. ‘‘ How far and how dreadfully have you fallen! The crime was committed with a deliberation, and it had the great aggravation of being often repeated; for, besides the particular sum of £14 14s., which forms the subject of the charge against you, which it was your duty to have entered to the credit of your employers, and to have ac- counted to them for, you have admitted a defalcation to no less a sum than £1,800. If there could have been the least pretence or ground for supposing that the omission to enter the account for that sum, was the effect of mistake or accident, the jury, who were so much inclined to pity you, and who recommended that the court would extend towards you all the mercy the circumstances of the case would allow, would not have found you guilty. ‘““This recommendation the court does not forget, and under all the circumstances of your case, the court doth adjudge, ‘‘ That you be imprisoned in the House of Cor- rection at for the term of two years.” On January 7th, pursuant to the resolutions of a ublic meeting, a Savings’ Bank, since called the Leeds, kyrack, and Morley Savings’ Bank, was established in Leeds, on the plan proposed by government. It is a very handsome stone building, and is situated at No. 30, Bond- street. In November, 1857, there were deposits amounting to £304,322 3s. 1d., belonging to 11,447 depositors, 97 charitable societies, and 93 friendly societies. The bank

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 269 1818. is open every Tuesday morning from half-past 11 to half- _ past 1; Tuesday evening, from 6 to half-past 7; Thursday morning, from 12 to half-past 1; Saturday morning, from 12 to half-past 1, for general business, and again on Satur- day evening, from 6 to half-past 7 o’clock, for receiving deposits only. Mr. Wm. Tanner is secretary. Jan. 14th. A calamitous fire destroyed Mr. Thomas Atkinson’s cotton mill, at Colne bridge, near Huddersfield, and no fewer than seventeen females, between the ages of nine and eighteen years, perished in the flames, as is recorded on a neat monument erected to their memory in Kirkheaton church yard. On March 12th, the first stone of that handsome structure, the Wellington bridge, which crosses the river Aire at Bean Ing. near Leeds, was laid by B. Gott, Esq. It was built by subscription, under an act of parliament, and was completed in 1819. It isa handsome structure of one noble elliptical arch of 100 feet span, designed and executed by the celebrated engineer John Renuie, at the cost of £7,000. In excavating the site of an ancient house in Wade-lane, Leeds, in April, were found a quantity of copper coins, so much corroded, that the inscriptious were very imperfect ; they each bore a crowned head, and on the reverse some had a male and others a female, in different attitudes. They were probably some of the early Roman coins, at least one of them ap- peared to be of the emperor Otho. June 25th. At the general election lord Milton and the hon. J. A. Stuare Wortley were elected members of parliament for the county of York. The Savings’ Bank, at Huddersfield, was established this year.——The seventy-fifth Wesleyan Methodist Conference was held in Leeds, in August. A lizard was found alive in a solid block of coal, raised from the middle of a seam, 150 yards below the surface of the earth, in William Fenton Esq.’s coal mine, at Wake- field Outwood. It was five inches long, of the species vulgarly called askers, and, on being exposed to the air, it died. On September 30th, several human skeletons, without any coffins, were found ina gravel pit between York and Holgate, five or six feet below the surface. One appeared to be the skeleton of a female, for round one of the wrists was acurious plaited bracelet, and near the skull a pair of silver ear-rings. Three small coins were found at the same time, two of the emperor Constantine, and one of Crispus. The West-Riding pauper Lunatic Asylum, at Wakefield, was opened November 23rd, and cost upwards of £40,000. Queen Charlotte, consort

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270 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1818,-1819., of George III., died November 17th. The Leeds gas light company was incorporated by act of parliament, this year. he original works are in York-street; afterwards a gasometer station was made at Sheep- scar, and in 1857 new and extensive works, nearly equal to the old works, were erected at New Wort- ley, near Leeds. The original capital, £20,000; the present capital, with loans, about £150,000. The offices of the company, No. 18, Boar-lane. Mr. W. C. Raper, general manager. 1319. William Hey, Esq., F.RS., an eminent surgeon of Leeds, was born at Pudsey, on the 3rd Sept., (23rd Aug., old style) 1736, and was third son of Mr. Richard Hey, drysalter, of that town. His mother was the daughter of Jacob Simpson, surgeon, of Leeds, and grand- daughter of William Simpson, M.D., of Wakefield. When William Hey was about four years old, he lost the use of his right eye by a wound received from a penknife whilst cutting a piece of string. At the age of seven ears he was sent to an academy at Heath, near Wake- field; conducted by Mr. Joseph Randall, and with Dr. Dodgson, bishop of Elphin, and the Rev. Mr. Sedgwich, (afterwards head master of the free school, at Leeds), as classical tutors. During the seven years that he remained at this school, he applied himself twhis studies with great diligence and industry, and thus acquired a vast amount of useful knowledge. At the age of four- teen years he was apprenticed to Mr. Dawson, a surgeon and apothecary, at Leeds. He served his time with great credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of his master. During this time he was most assidious in the studics connected with his profession, and was particu- larly remarkable for temperance, industry and picty. In the autumn of 1757, he went to London to complete his professional education. During the whole winter he seldom employed less than twelve hours daily in the lecture and dissecting rooms, and thus he was enabled to acquire a thorough and practical knowledge of ana- tomy. He became_a pupil of St. George’s hospital, under William Bromefield, Esq. Early in 1759, he at- tended the lectures of Dr. Mackenzie on midwifrey, and early in April of the same year, he returned to Leeds to enter upon his practice as a surgeon and apothecary, d&c., but for several years his progress in gaining busi- ness was very slow. On the 30th of July, 1761, Mr. Hey married Alice, the second daughter of Mr. Robert

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 271 1819, Banks, a gentleman of Craven, in Yorkshire. After the establishment of the Leeds general infirmary, he was appointed one of the surgeons, and in November, 1773, became the senior surgeon of the institution. Three or four years before this time, he commenced a friendly intercourse with the celebrated Dr. Priestley, who then resided at Leeds, and the two together conversed with the greatest freedom and harmony on _ philoso- phical subjects; but on theological matters there was much difference of opinion between them, though not sufficient to sever their friendship, which remained steadfast for many years. On the recommendation of Dr. Priestley, Mr. Hey was, in the yeat 1775, elected a fellow of the royal society. In the year 1778, Mr. Hey had the misfortune to receive a kick from his horse, which threatened for a time to terminate his professional labours. He then stood very high as an operating surgeon, aud had a large practice. By this accident, his leg was permanently injured, so that till his death he was never able to walk without the aid of a crutch. He was then obliged to pay his professional visits in a carriage. On the formation of a Leeds philosophical society in 1783, Mr. Hey became president, and read many valuable papers to the members during the three years of its existence. In 1786 he was elected an alderman of the borough of Leeds; and in the following year was ap- pointed mayor. He was again elected mayor in 1802. In the spring of 1800, he gave a course of twelve anatomical lectures at the Leeds infirmary. The first eleven lectures were delivered on the body of a malefactor who had been executed at York. The clear profits of the course were given to the infirmary, and amounted to £27 6s. In 18038 he gave a second course, the subject being the body of one of the murderers of an old woman near He presented the profits (forty guineas) to the infirmary. In 1805 he gave a third course, by which the institution gained £45 7s. In the year 1809 he gave a fourth and last course. The subject dissected was a woman of atrocious character—Mary Bateman. A great many people attended these last lectures, aud the profits Mr. Hey presented to the institution, amounting to £80 14s. On October 7th, 1812, he resigned his office of surgeon to the Leeds infirmary, which he had held above forty-five years, thirty-nine of which he had been senior surgeon. On the following day his son William was unanimously elected to the office vacated by the resignation of his

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272 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1819. father. The following document will illustrate the feelings with which the trustees of the intirmary accepted the resignation of Mr. Hey. It was beautifully engrossed on vellum, and ornamented with a vignette of the in- firmary :—

“ At a special meeting of the trustees of the general infirmary, at Leeds, held the 22nd day of October, 1812, in conformity with a resos lution passed at the annual board, on the 7th instant :—It was resolved unanimously— “That the thanks of this meeting be given to William Hey, Esq. F.R.S , late senior surgeon to the Leeds infirmary, who, by his zealous exertions in originally promoting its foundation, and his unwearied at- tention to its interests for a period of forty-five years, is justly entitled, to the appellation of a parent to the institution ; and who, by a skilful and unremitting discharge of the duties of his professional situation in the establishment, from his appointment to it in the year 1767, to his late resignation on account of advanced age, has rendered the most essential services to so excellent a charity, and furnished a bright ex- ample to all those who may hereafter be called to fill the same im- portant station. Kesolved— “That as a permanent mark of gratitude fur his public exertions, ani esteem for his character, the friends of the institution shall be allowed to place his portrait in the board room. Resolved— “ That the address of thanks, prepared by the committee appointed for that purpose, at the meeting of the 7th of October, and now read, be presented to Mr. Hey by the chairman, together with these resolu- tions: and that the resolutions be published in each of the Leeds newspzpers. (Signed) W. York, chairman. Mr. Hey acknowledged the honour conferred on him by the following letter addressed to the trustees :— “‘Gentlemen,—T he unusual manner in which you were pleased to ex- press your vote of thanks for my past services to the charity, calls for my mast grateful acknowledgment. I am truly sensible of your kind- ness, and could have wished to express in person the sense which I en- tertain of your distinguished favour; but my feelings quite overcame me, and rendered it impossible for me to express what I wished to say on the occasion. Be assured, however, that I shall retain a lively sense of your kindness, as long as the remembrance of past events shall remain with me. If I have contributed in any degree to the formation and support of this institution, which is now extending its charitable as- sistance to so great a number of our afflicted fellow-creatures, I desire to consider myself only as an humble instrument in the hands of that gracious Being who endears us to each other by making us virtually the channels of his hounty. Permit me, gentlemen, to assure you that my prayers for the success of this benevolent institution will never be wanting; and allow me to add, that the sight of this house of mercy is one of the daily sources of consolation that attend my declining years. “T remain, gentlemen, with great respect, “ Your obliged and humble servant, Oct. 9th, 1812. “WILLIAM HEy.”

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 273 1819. “To William Hey, Esq., F.R.S. “Sir—The trustees of the general infirmary in this town cannot satisfy their feelings with the tokens of respect and gratitude which you have already received, however unanimously, however cordially the same were conveyed, without some further expression of their sense of your services. After having actively assisted in the original formation of this institutioa, you have continued through the long period of forty-five years, to afford it the advantage of your professional skill with diligence and fidelity. I You have often effectually recom- mended it to the patronage of your friends. You have often contributed largely to its high and deserved estimation with the public. You have esseutially served its funds by repeated liberal communications of knowlege in your lectures to those pupils who may, at some future period endeavour to follow in your footsteps. “ You retire, sir, from your charge, but we trust you will never he unmind{ul of the interests of the infirmary, nor fail to promote its welfare, while the Almighty preserves your valuable life. ‘“* May the evening of your days be cheered with the blessings of multitudes who are ready to perish! May this expression of the unanimous feelings of the friends and supporters of the institution contribute to soothe your declining years, and may you experience the high gratification of seeing your son emulating his father, and pro- mising to terminate his services with equal honour! With sincere and due respect and esteem, we have the pleasure to subscribe

ourselves ‘Your faithful and humble servants, “W. YORK, THOMAS BISCHOFF, T. 8S. B. READE, JOHN BLAYDS, JOHN CLAPHAM, THOMAS TEALE, Leeds, Oct. 22nd, 1812. “ Committee.”

Mr. Wey highly deserved these laudations. His in- tellectual powers were of a high order. He was capable of profound investigation ; was acute in discovering the - difference of things: patient and diligent in his researches. His chirurgical writings evince a strong, comprehensive, and enlightened view of the subjects which he undertook to illustrate, and are very valuable to the faculty. In the exercise of his profession, he was indefatigable; in its attainments eminently distinguished. In domestic life he was kind, tender, and affectionate; as a magistrate, just, legal, and conscientious. Through life he was re- markable for sobriety and temperance, united with wisdom and christian piety. At the age of 82, his eye-sight was remarkably good, so that he could read and write ina good light without spectacles, and his handwriting was firm and distinct, without any of those irregularities which denote a tremu- lous pen. His hearing was very acute; and his vocal powers, although much diminished, were agreeable. The distinctness of his conceptions, the soundness of his judg-

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274 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1819. ment, his orderly and correct mode of thinking, and his facility of conveying his notions with perspicuity, copious- ness and fluency did not appear to have suffered any dim- inution. This eminent man died on Tuesday, the 23rd of March, 1819, full of honours and at the advanced age of 83. On the following Saturday he was buried at St. Paul’s church Leeds. His funeral was attended by a great num- ber of his friends and fellow-townsmen; and a funeral sermon was preached on the following day (Sunday) by his friend and highly respected pastor, the Rev. Miles Jackson, in the church of St. Paul, where Mr. Hey had been a constant attendant on divine worship since its consecration in 1793. The death of Mr. Hey was au event deeply felf and sincerely lamented throughout the borough of Leeds. A . full length marble statue of Mr. Hey (by Chantry) was subsequently erected by the subscriptions of his fellow- townsmen, and is placed in the Leeds general infirmary. The Leeds Independent newspaper was first published on Jan. 7th, and existed till 1826. The Leeds Gazette was established in 1829; it lived twenty-two weeks. A preleminary meeting for the formation of the Leeds Philosophical and Interary Society was held at the court house on the 11th of December, 1818, at which the venerable Mr. Hey, then 83 years of age, and within a few months of his death, presided. Among those present were Mr. Gott, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Tottie, Mr. William Hey, Mr. George Banks, Dr. Thorp, Mr. John Bischoff, Mr. Thomas Blayds, Mr. M:chael Thomas Sadler, Mr. John Atkinson, (Surgeon,) Mr. Jonathan Wilks, Mr. W. Osburn, Dr. Payne, Dr. Hunter, Mr. C. J. Thackrah, Mr. John Gott, Mr. West, Mr. E. S. George, Mr. Baines, sen., and Mr. Baines, junr., and others. ‘lhe foundation stone of the hall, which is situated in Bond-strect, at the junction of Park-row, was laid by the late Benjamin Gott, Esq., July 9th, 1819, and the building executed from designs by R. D. Chantrell, Esq. It is a handsome stone structure, consisting of two stories, having the upper one externally adorned with coupled pilas- ters of the Doric order. The principal entrance is in Bond- street, and opens into a vestibule, or entrance hall, 22 feet by 16, leading to a commodious lecture hall, 44 feet hy 31, having seats for 300 persons ; the council room, 12 feet by 14; library, 25 feet by 13; and ante-room, 15 feet by 14. The principal parts of the museum are the upper story, and consist of curator’s room, 24 feet: by 18; gealogical room 49 feet by 15; 24 feet hy 20; and zoological room, 42 feet by 31. In the centre of the latter are tables giving

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 275 1819. 295 feet of space; and in the general geological room, two tables occupying 88 feet, and two cases 100 feet. The museum is equal, if not superior, to that of any other pro- vincial institution in the kingdom.

In the vestibule is placed the entire skeleton of an elephant, a splendid skull and tusk of the same animal, a very fine specimen of the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus. some remarkably fine specimens of fossil plants, a basaltic column from the giant’s causeway, and a statue of the late M. T. Sadler, M.P., modelled by Parke. The geological] collection comprises 7,000 specimens; some of these are unique, many of great value, and every formation is represented by some of its characteristic fossils. The mineralogical series extends to 1,300 specimens, and includes examples of most of the metalliferous and earthy compounds. The zoological collection, 6,000 in includes quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, zoophytes, mollusca, inyects, crustacea, and other invertebrated animals. The museum also con- tains many other objects of great interest and value, particularly the Egyptian mummy, one of the most interesting which has heen brought to Europe Itcame from Trieste, and was pre-ented by Thos. Blayds, Esq. The coftin is covered with mythological representations and in- scriptions, which have been interpreted by W. Osburn, Esq., M.R.S.L., a townsman, proving it to contain the mortal remains of Ensa Amoun, who was one of the higher order of the priesthcod—the hierogramma- tists, who lived during the reign of Rameses, or Ramses IX., and was incense-bearer and scribe, who took part in the religious ceremonials in the memnonium at Thebes, about the year 1075 before Christ, or, according to archbishop Usher’s chronology, early in the reign of Saul, king of Israel. The body is in a remarkable state of preservation. There is also a collection of domestic and warlike instruments of foreign nations. The library contains 1,200 vols. on natural history and numismatics; many, rare and costly. In 1854 the society was enriched by the valuable collection of coins, medals, and books on the study of archzology, bequeathed by the late George Baron, Esq, of Drewton manor. This collection comprises a series of upwards. of 2,000 coins and medals of great variety and beauty, including Roman, Grecian, Saxon, early British, English, Scottish,and Oriental examples: also casts from Roman large brass coins, the whole containing 216 gold, 1,259 silver, 246 bronze, and 363 brass coins and medals, besides tokens, money weights, &c. The right hon. lord Londesborough has also recently presented 300 Roman coins, found near Methall, in the East- Riding, the supposed site of the Delgovitia of Antoninus’s Itin- erary: and, in the year 1858, George Lane Fox, Esq., of Bramham hall, liberally presented his museum, containing several hundred specimens of birds, shells, fossils, minerals, antiquities, &c., some of them of great rarity. . The arrangement of the museum has lately been materially im- proved, and new cases added. In the zoological room will be found ample illustrations of all the classes of the animal kingdom, embracing the most interesting and important specimens. The shells have been re-arranged, with upwards

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276 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1819. of 2,000 additional specimens from Jamaica, California, &c. The geological specimens, illustrative of the Yorkshire coal-field, and its superficial deposits have been separately arranged, by which, not only an epitome of the geology of the immediate neighbourhood, but practical illustrations of the organic remains of the carboniferous epoch, is obtained. In the centre of this room is deposited the most extensive series of Hippopotamic bones ever exhumed in England: all were discovered in a brick-field at Wortley, in the parish of Leeds, in 1852. From the bones thus obtained, it was evident four specimens of this animal—three adult and one young—had been submerged in the locality, together with the Mammoth and Bos primigenus. Amongst the Ichthyological remains is the unique head of the Megalichthys Hibberti from the coal formation at Low Moor, and other valuable specimens of the fish of the carboniferous era. In the general geological room, there is an extensive and valuable series of organic remains, illustrating the various formations, em- bracing several fine Saurian reptiles, a magnificent skeleton of the gigantic Irish Deer presented by W. Gott, Esq., (one of the most muni- ficent supporters of the institution, as may be seen by the rare and valuable contributions inscribed with his name); and one of the finest heads and horus in the kingdom, of the same noble animal, presented by Sir George Goodman; fine slabs of new red sandstone, containing the footmarks of the Labyrinthodon; several splendid specimens of Encrinites; a magnificent skull and entire skeleton of the Great Cave Bear, from the caverns of Sundwig, in Westphalia; and an interesting series from the celebrated cave at Kirkdale, in Yorkshire. The British birds have also been re-arranged, and consequently rendered more availiable for reference, and some rare specimens have been added to both the Foreign and British series—as the noble specimen of the Condor, presented by the earl Fitzwilliam ; the Cassowary, from lord Londesborough ; and the splendid Trogon from Arthur Marshall, Esq. The hall contains three fine busts and pedestals in marble, viz:— the late Benjamin Gott, Esq., presented by his sons, and executed by Joseph Gott, Esq., of Rome; the late John Marshall, Esq., (the first president) presented by his sons, and executed by Macdonald, of Rome; the Rev. Wm. Sinclair, M.A, presented by a number of subscribers, and executed by Baron Marochetti; and a cast of the late Wm. Hey, Esq., F.R S., presented by Wm. Hey, Esq., &c.

The opening of the museum to the public at the merely nominal charge of 1d., has done much to foster a taste for the study of natural history, and it may be questioned whether any town of like magnitude with Leeds, can boast of such a number of naturalists, especially among the working classes, many of whom associate together in clubs, for the purpose of aiding each other in procuring specimens illustrative of the various kingdoms of nature. Numerous lectures are delivered on almost every subject within the range of philosophy, science, and literature, and

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“eed ts

THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 207 81 men.of the most eminent qualificationsare wsnally selected as lecturers. During the last few yeure the society, bas been honoured with the presence, in of some of the most distinguished men of the time. A conversazione is held once or twice during: the year, when the council invite the elite of the town and neigh- bourhood. The Rev. Dr. Hook, dean of Chichester, was the last president. The officers and council for 1859, are—

OFFICERS :—-President,—Rev. Alfred Barry, M.A. Vice-Presi- dents,—John Hope Shaw, Rev. H. R. Reynolds, B.A. Treasurer,— Henry Oxley. Honorary Secretaries,—Wm. Sykes Ward, F.C.S., P. O’Callaghan, B.A. Honorary Curator in Geology,—J. G. Marshall, F.G.S. Honorary Curators in Zoology,—T. P. Teale, F LS. Rev. Thomas Hincks, B.A. Honorary Curator in Antiquities and Works of Art, &c.,—Thomas Nunneley. Honorary Librarian,—Dr. eaton.

The above Officers, and the following Gentlemen, compose the

CouncIL:—William Scrope Ayrton, F.S.A.; William Blanshard, Charles Chadwick, M.D.; Samuel Hey, Joshua Ingham -Jkin, John Jowitt, jun., Christopher Kemplay, George Morley, George Pyemont Smith, M. D., T. W. Stansfeld. Sub- Curator,—Henry Denny,

ALS.

May 24th, Queen Victoria born. The first steam vessel from America, arrived July 15th. The first stone of the Leeds Subscription Baths was laid May 15th. The site of these baths are now occupied by Cooper’s warehouse; in Wellington-street.——Leeds was first lighted with coal gas on February 4th. The first stone of the Episcopal chapel at Sowerby Bridge was laid on the 24th of April, by ‘hos. Dyson, Esq., and onthe 10th of May, that of the Independent chapel at Halifax, by the Rev. Edward Parsons. Ou-May 29th, Mr, Asquith, of Hipperholme, was cruelly thrown over the battlements of Halifax bridge, by some unknown assassin, and, being precipitated to a depth of forty-six feet, was found dead the next morning. Afterwards the bridge was surmounted with iron palisades, in the hope to prevent any similar occurrence. On the same day was laid ‘the tirst stone of the large Methodist chapel, in Hudders-. field, where the erection of a national school commenced September 3rd. On December 17th, Benjamin Surr, a poor innocent of Leeds, about thirty years of agc, was found chained to the wall in his father’s cellar, in which distressing situation he had been inhumanly confined

during fifteen years, with uothing but a few sacks and a . 24

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278 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1819. little straw for his bed, and such a scanty supply of food that his bones had in several places penetrated through his skin, which appeared not to have been washed for many years. He was removed to the workhoure, but only sur- vived thirteen days. This year, John Pollard, Esq., erected, at the cost of £1,500, an iron bridge over the Aire, near Horsforth. B. Haigh Allen, Esq., built Trinity church, near Huddersfield. A new spring was dis- covered at Harrogate, of the same quality as the Chelten- ham water. In the autumn of this year, the misery of the working classes had reached its greatest height, and still parliamentary reform was demanded, as the only measure which could permanently improve their prospects. A party called Radical Reformers, obtained much notice by their active exertions among the lower orders. One of their first steps was an application to the magistrates of Manchester, to convoke a meeting for the alleged purpose of petitioning against the corn bill, which was refused; and, in consequence, the meeting was summoned by an anonymous advertisement, and Mr. H. Hunt, who was selected as the hero of the day, was condacted to the place of meeting in a sort of triumphal procession, and a strong remonstrance to the prince regent was adopted ; the assemblage, however, dispersed without tumult. In Lancashire, female reform societies were formed for the purpose of co-operating with the men, and of instilling into their children ‘“ deep rooted hatred of our tyrannical At Birmingham, the reformers haz- arded a bolder experiment than they had before displayed. This was the election of a member to represent them in parliament, and on the 12th of July, Sir Charles Wolseley was put in nomination, and instantly chosen by an assem- blage of 15,000 persons. A few daya after this, it was resolved, at a meeting in Leeds, that a similar election should take place as soon as an eligible member should be found. On the 24th of July, an atrocious attempt was made to assassinate Mr. Birch, deputy-constable of Stockport, by whose exertions Sir C. Wolseley and Harrison, two radical reformers, were arrested. The Manchester reformers posted up notices of a meeting, to be held on the 9th of August, for the purpose of electing a member as at Birm- ingham; as the object of the meeting was illegal, the magistrates would not suffer it to take place. In conse- quence of this determination, they relinquished the design, and issued notices of a mecting, for the legal object of

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 279 1819. petitioning for a reform in parliament, to be held on the 16th of August. An open space in the town, called St. Peter’s field, (since Peterloo), was selected as the place of assembly; some hours before the proceedings were to commence, large bodies marched in from the neighbouring towns and villages, formed five deep, and preserving a military regularity of step: each body had its own banner, bearing a motto, and underneath a white silk flag; two clubs of female reformers appeared; the numbers col- lected were estimated at 60,000. A band of special con- stables,stationed on the ground, disposed themselves so as to form a line of communication from a house where the magistrates were sitting, to the stage fixed for the orators. Soon after the business of the meeting had been opened, a body of yeomanry cavalry entered the ground, and ad- vanced to the stage with drawn swords ; the commanding officer called to Mr. Hunt, who was speaking, that he was his prisoner; Mr. Hunt, after enjoining the people to be tranquil, and offering to surrender to any civil officer who should exhibit his warrant, was taken by a constable, and several other persons were apprehended. Some of the yeomanry now cried, “have at their flags!’ and they began to strike down the banners which were raised in various parts of the field, when a scene of dreadful confusion en- sued. The people stood in a very compact mass, and re- fused to move. The yeomanry were then ordered to clear the place. Their charge swept everything before it. People, yeomen, and constables, in their cunfused attempts to escape, ran one over the other so that the fugitives were literally piled up to a considerable elevation above the level of the ground. About thirty wounded persons were carried to the infirmary in the course of that after- noon and the following day; and about forty more were able to go themselves to have slighter injuries looked at and dressed. The greater number of the injuries were contusions or fractures. The cases of sabre wounds do not appear to have been more than twenty or thirty. Three or four persons were wounded on the evening of the fatal day by the fire of one of the regiments of foot, which was ordered to clear the streets, where the people had re-assem- bled in great numbers, and their conduct had begun to be threatening. Altogether, the number of lives lost appears to have been five or six, including one of the special con- stables, ridden over hy the hussars; and one of the Man- chester yeomen, struck of his horse by a brick-bat, and who had his skull fractured either by the blow or the fall. Mr.

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rh ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 19. Hunt subsequenty stated in the House of Commons thst 14 were killed, and: 618 wounded; but.this seems to have been exaggerated. The tragic nature of this event, and its ap- pesring as.an invasion of the popular right of meeting: for redress: of grievances, produced strong marks of public rescutment; but the magistrates who conducted the attack, received the thanks of the government. Meetings were held in London and other places, and reso- lutions passed, strongly censuring the conduct of the ma- wistrates and yeomanry of Manchester. Never was public: detestation more strongly and generally expressed than on. the “ Marichester massacre,” which, notwithstanding, re-: ceived the sanction of the prince regent and the ministers, though no justifiable plea could be advanced to warrant the: proceedings of the hot-headed yeomanry ; and it is believed that Mr. Hunt might have beeu secured without spilling one drop of human blood, if the veteran regulars, who were on the spot, had been employed. These consisted of a detachment of the 15th hussars, and the 31st regiment of infantry, supported by artillery. Reform meetings were held on Hunslet moor, near Leeds, on June 5th, 14th, : and 2Jst, and on July 19th, Sept. 20th, and on Dec. 9th ; also, on Skireoat moor, near Halifax, on Oct. 4th; at York, on. Sept. 20th and Oct. 14th; at Huddersfield, on Aug. 2nd; at Wakefield, on Aug. 30th and Nov. Ist; at Barnsley, Nov. 8th; at Dewsbury, Nov. 11th; and at Otley, Nov. 22nd. When parliament re-assembled ‘in November, acts were passed to suppress unstamped political publications, to prevent secret training to arms, and to restrict the right of calling a publie meeting to magistrates. This year was remarkable among other things, for the provision made by act of parliament, for the resumption of cash payments at the bank. Government found’it expedient to abandon the threatened prosecution of Hunt and his colleagues for high treason, and informed them that they would be pro-. ceeded against for a conspiracy only, which might be bailed ; Hunt refused to give hail, but some of his friends liberated: him. His return from Lancaster to Manchester was one long triampttal procession; waited upon by thousands on horse, on foot,'and m carriages. The grand jury of Lan- caster found true bills against Hunt, Johnson, Moorhouse, and others” ‘The prisoners availed themselves of traversing till the ‘spring avsizes of 1820, and the trial took place at York. After a trial of ten days, Hunt, Johnson, ‘Knight, Healey, and’ Bamford were found guilty, aud: sentenced in. the ensuing term; Hunt to be imprisoned in gaol:

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9 THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT, 28I 1819. two years and six months, and to find sureties for his good behaviour for five years; and Johnson, Bamford, and Healey be imprisoned each one year in Lincoln castle, and to find sureties ; four of the prisoners were acquitted. I Oct. 21st. The venerable ear] Fitzwilliam was removed from the office of lord-lieutenant of the West-Riding of Yorkshire, hy the prince regent for having attended a county meeting at York on the 14th of October, to petition fora full enquiry into the Manchester massacre. It is said that 20,000 people were present at this meeting. So strong was the public feeling against this sudden removal of an old and faithful statesman, that many distinguished persons resigned their commissions in the Yorkshire corps of yeo- manry and militia. The office was bestowed on the earl of Harewood. May. As a number of labourers were excavating a piece of ground contiguous to the river Aire, near Simpson’s fold, now Dock-street, Leeds, about three feet below the bed of the river, they discovered three large oak trees, decayed, and as black as charcoal, and one quite sound at the heart; they were employed by the Aire and Calder company in making a basin, or dock, to communicate with the Aire, and to their astonishment found evident traces of a goit; large quantities of piles or stakes were discovered on each side of the course of the water, exhibiting the appearance of its having formerly been the course of the river. Part of a Roman ford was also discovered; the substance of which if was composed seemed calculated to dely the action of water, being as hard as iron, close and compact, and of a composition known only to that adventurous people. From observations made when the water was at a very low ebh, the ford appeared to have crossed the Aire in a line with the east end of the Aire and Calder company’s new corn warehouses stretching from Call-lane to the south side of the river, and nearly opposite to the flax manufactory, in Dock-street. James Watt, a distinguished engineer and natural philo- sopher, who has gained great celebrity by his improve- ments in the steam-engine, was born at Greenock, in Scot- land, January 19th, 1736. His father was a ship-chandler, builder, and merchant, and filled an honourable station in his native town, where he was much respected. James, his eldest son, was, when a child, very weak in health, and early showed a taste for scientific pursuits. He was fond of chemistry, and also of medical and surgical studies ; but he determined to become a mathematical instrument maker.

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282 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, 1819. In 1755, after a previous apprenticeship, most likely-“in* Glasgow, Watt went to pursue his business in London, where: he remained little a year. After’ his return, he endeavoured to establish himself in Glasgow ; but in consequence of not being @ burgess; hé met with much he was unable to obtain a workshop. The university offered to reteive him into their precincts, which were-not under the civic jurisdiction, and also ap- pointed him their mathematical instrument maker. This happened in 1757, when Watt: was scarcely 21. In the winter of 1763-4 he was applied.to by a professor of natural philosophy to examine and repair a model of Newcomen’s steam-engine, which would not work. This incident to those inventions which have immortalised his name. In: 1764 Watt married the daughter of a freeman of Glasgow, and by that means acquired the right of one himself. ‘He therefore settled in the city, and there pursued not only his. first business, but also that of land-surveyor and civil engineer. He continued his experiments on the steam-engine, and in 1768 applied for a patent, which was: granted in 1769. After the application had been. made, he found a person able and willing to support him in a Dr. John Roebuck. Their connection did nof, however, last long; for Roebuck lost so much by mining~ speculations that he was obliged to relinquish the steam-. engine experiments. From this period till 1773 Watt was : employed in engineering and surveying. He then, his first: wife being dead, acccpted an invitation to go to England. Dr. Roebuck gave up his share in the invention to Mr. Boulton, the founder of Soho, a manufacturing village near: Birmingham. Watt entered into partnership with him in- 177-4, and the connection continued until 1800, when Watt: retired from business. They obtained: an extension of the- patent, and ‘in spite of all opposition, prejudice, and in-: fringements of thcir rights, from all of which they had to: suffér, Mr. Boulton’s exceHent business -qualities, Watt’s: industry and ingenuity, and the liberal views and generous: spirit of. both, received in time their due reward. James Watt died at his estate of Heathfield, near Birmingham, . August 25th, 1819, in his 88rd year. He was a pleasant, cheerful.man im his latter years, though it appears that when young: he was ncrvousand depressed ; his disposition. wax. generous-and affectionate. He was twice married: two-only:of his‘ children. survived him. A haronctcy was offered to Watt afew his death, but he de- clined the honour.. “A monument, whichis one of Chantry’s-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 283 1819.-1820. : a finest works, has been erected to his memory in West-' mins ter abbey. ‘4820. On the 21st of Jan., the duke of Kent, fourth son of Geo. III., died, leaving an infant daughter, Victoria, with a very near ‘prospect to the throne. On the 29th of January, George III. died, at Windsor, in his 82nd year, and‘ sixtieth year of his reign, witliout having experienced: any lucid‘ interval siiice 1810.’ The prince regent was. immediately proclaimed George IV. March 20th, Lord Milton and J. A. Stuart Wortley, Esq, were elected members of parliament for Yorkshire. April. About this time, the spirit of discontent created tumultuous proceedings at Glasgow and Paisley. On Sanday, April 2nd, a treasonable proclamation was posted on fhe walls in Glasgow, and its neighbouring towns and’ villages, supposed to emanate from ‘the committee for thé*formation of a Provisional and recom-~ mendtmg the proprietors of large manufacturies to suspend their employments, till order should be insured by the Organization alluded to, &c. The weavers and colliers in Paisley and Glasgow declined work, and this baneful ex- spread through numerous: bodies of other artizans. Glasgow now exhibited a most extraordinary aspect, the streets crowded with throngs of people idly loitering their tim@ away, but who did not attempt by any act to violate the public peace, except in one instance, viz.: on Wed- nesday, when an individual of the Stirling yeomanry, pro- ceeding from Kilsyth to Falkirk, fell in with a party armed with muskets, pikes, and pistols, who demanded his arms, whith he refused to surrender, when several shots were discharged at him; he, however, escaped uninjured to Kilsyth: the commanding officer immediately despatched a party of cavalry and yeomanry to'scour the road to Fal- kirk. The military soon came in sight of the insurgents, who were augmented in number, and had posted them- selves on a rising ground in Bonnymuir, and had sought the protection of a stone walk, from behind which they fited several] times, but were however overpowered by the military : many of the insurgents were severely wounded and ten taken prisoners, who afterwards were put on thefr trials and found guilty, but the royal clemency was. exfendéd to-all but three; who were executed. Ang. 6th. Died Frederica Charlotte Wlrica, duchess of York, in her 54th years she was interred by her express desire, iti the village church of Walton, in Surrey. Cato- Street conspiracy—On Feb: 23rd, was discovered a

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284 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1820. conspiracy to assassinate his majesty’s ministers, to over- throw the existing government, and plunge these realms into anarchy and confusion. The principal leaders in this atrocious and absurd plot, were Arthur Thistlewood, Ings, Davison, Brunt, Tidd, and about forty other misguided persons, eleven of whom were taken prisoners, by a large party of constables, headed by Sir Richard Birnie, a magistrate, and a detachment of the Coldstream guards, in a room in Cato-Street, London, where their meetings were held. Bills of indictment, on a charge of high treason, were found against them on March 27th, and a commission was opened on April 17th, when the five before named were tried, condemned, and after been hanged, were beheaded. The other six being permitted to with- draw their original plea, now pleaded guilty ; one of the number, it appeared, was ignorant of the purpose of the meetings in Cato-street, and was pardoned ; the remain- ing five were transported for the term of their natural lives. William Smith, butcher, of Leeds, was charged on an in- dictment with stealing two sheep, the property of Joseph and Thomas Smith, farmers, of Rothwell; and another in- dictment with stealing two other sheep, the property of the said Joseph and Thomas Smith, and of William Lund, of Claxton. The jury found the prisoner judge said it was the only verdict that could be returned; and ad- verting to the death of the prisoner’s mother, said it was a most melancholy circumstance, but it was not uncommon for the misconduct of children to bring the grey hairs of their parents with sorrow to the grave. Great efforts were made to obtain a commutation of his sentence, but in vain; and on the 12th of August the pri- soner was executed. Benjamin Taylor, William Shiers, and James Gray, pleaded “Not guilty,’ at York, to an indictment charging them with assaulting James Nicholson, town clerk, of Leeds, on the highway, and taking from his person a watch and gold seal, on the 17th of November, 1819. Mr. Nicholson described the assault as follows :—I had been dining with Mr. Pullan, of Leeds, on Wednesday, the 17th of November, and set off on my return to Chapeltown, where I reside, about eight o’clock in the evening: I was about half a mile beyond Sheepscar turnpike, when I met three men, one of them on foot, and the other two mounted on one horse. The man on foot said “Good night;”’ I re-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 285 tarned his salutation and went on. I had proceeded about thirty yards when I heard a footstep: I turned, and saw’a: man close to me: it was dark, and I saw but indistinctly ; he said’ something, concluding with “I will blow your brains out.” °‘f struck at tim immediately with a stick which Mr. Pullan had lent me. I struck the man down.. Another then came ‘up and said ‘let him go,” but I still held the man whothad first attacked me. The then went to the road side and tovk up a large stone and threw it at me; he subsequently threw another, a smaller. one.’ I continued to hold the first man. The second man then produced a pistol dud fired at me, but it flashed in the pan. He then rushed in, but I held the first man with one hand, and struck at the second with my stick. The man whom I held called out « Bill, why dost not thou come on.” A third man then appeared (this was subsequently proved to be Shiers) and joined in the attack. I fought as long as. I could, but they got me down and rifled my pockets. They took my watch and some patterns of scarlet cloth. I cried out “ Murder,” and one of them put his hand over my mouth. When they had got my watch, they gave me- two or three blows on the head with a stick, aud then left: me. I felt very weak, but I got up, and seeing a cottage near, was going towards it; when a man came up and said some one was coming witha light. I had lost m hat and the stick Mr. Pullan lent me in the scuffle: I found. my hat and proceeded towards the turnpike, where I found the prisoner Taylor in custody. I went to Leeds in a coach whieh passed soon after. I was very ill and confined to my hed for ‘five weeks, and to my house for six' weeks after- wards. The prisoners said nothing in their defence, anda verdict. of “Guilty ” was returned—Sentence of death was imme- diately pronounced upon the prisoners. Some mitigatory circumstances in these cases induced a commutation of sentence: Shiers and Taylor were transported for life, and Gray imprisoned for a considerable time. Thomas Robinson pleaded “ Not at York, to an indictment, charging him with stealing, at Wetherby, the mail hags; containing letters fram ‘Knaresbro’ ; Harrogate, and Ripley. : said nothing in his defence.—The learned judge summed up, and a verdict of “Guilty”? was imme- diately returned by the jury: sentence was passed, and he was executed accordingly. Milner, D:D., F.R.S., dean of Carlisle, president of

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286 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1820. queen’s college, Cambridge, and lucasian professor of mathematics in that university, by his talents and industry made his way from the humblest ranks of life, to the first honours of one of the first universities in the world. He was born in the neighbourhood of Leeds, and his earl years were devoted to mechanical labour. When Josep Milner, his brother, (see “ Annals,” page 189), became master of the grammar school, at Hull, he sent for Isaac, who assisted him in the tuition of the lower classes. He was then nineteen years of age, and had been accustomed to work at the loom with a Tacitus by his side. The prospects of this young man were soon turned towards the church ; and, after assisting his brother for some time as an usher, he removed to queen’s college, Cambridge, where he was entered a sizar. For his newstation Mr. Isaac Milner, was admirably fitted; and before he went to the university, he was allowed to have attained a senior optime’s knowledge in algebra and mathematics. Possessed of useful ambition, he now aimed at the first honours of his college, and had talents and perseverence sufficient to obtain them. Ac- cordingly, in the year 1774, he became senior wrangler, with the honourable distinction of incomparabilis. He also gained the first mathematical prize. In 1782 he served the office of proctor, and in 1792 was honoured with the vice- chancellorship. Intense study, however, had secretly laid the foundation of a nervous disorder, which undermined the sources of existence, and occasionally embittered the remainder of his life. While at Cambridge, Mr. Isaac Milner became acquainted with Mr. Wilberforce, and cor- dially and conscientiously embraced the scriptural principles of that gentleman on religious subjects. After a short ac- quaintance, the two friends proceeded on a tour to the continent, accompanied hy Mr. Pitt, but had not travelled far before the last of these gentlemen was recalled, in con- sequence of some political changes which afterwards ele- vated him to the premiership. The others accompanied him on his return, and an intimacy ensued, which continued for life. This occurred in 1788, in which year Mr. Milner was elected president of queen’s college. He now com- menced some salutary reforms, and, recollecting, that when he was an undergraduate, if was the custom of the sizars to wait hehind the chairs of the fellows at dinner, he had spirit and good sense enough to abolish those servile distinc- tions, which were coeval with the days of monkish ignorance and superstition. In 1792 he took out his doctor’s degree, and was presented with the deanery of Carlisle. At Hull

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 287 1820. he retained lodgings during the life of his brother. This became a favourite residence ; and here he had a compiete workship, where he was accustomed to relax his mind daily from the fatigues of study. He found manual labour a great source of happiness, and spared no expense in ob- taining the most perfect and expensive machinery. Asa proof of this, his lathe and appendages for turning cost him no less than one hundred and forty guineas. On the death of Dr. Waring, in 1798, Dr. Milner was nominated lucasian professor of mathematics, an office worth about £350 a year. On Saturday, March the Ist, 1820, at the house of his esteemed friend, William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., and in the 70th year of his age, died this venerable scholar, and exemplary christian ; and the final close of such a life must not be announced without a farewell tribute, however trifling to his memory. He was in every respect an extra- ordinary man. Inearly youth he rose superior to difficulties, with which few could have successfully contended; and his academical career was eminently distinguished. By the splendour of his reputation while in the vigour of life, and by uncommon zeal and activity in the cause of science, he gave a strong impulse to the study of mathe- matical and philosophical learning in the university. April 3rd. Died at his house, in Hanover-square, London, Edward, earl of Harewood, in his 8ist year, having sur- vived his eldest son, years. His lordship was succeeded by his second son, Henry. Thomas Gray, a native of Leeds, this year published a seven-and-six- penny octavo, which went through tive editions in five years, entitled ‘Observations ona general iron railway, or land steam conveyauce, to supersede the necessity of horses in all public vehicles; shewing its vast superiority in every respect over the present pitiful methods of con- veyance by turnpike roads aud canals.”” In 1820 and 1821 he presented a petition to lord Sidmouth, who was the minister, and in 1822 another to Sir Robert Peel. Onthe ublication of a second edition of his work, he sent circu- ars to the merchants of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, and London. He proposed that the plan should first be tried between Manchester and Liverpool. In 1822, the Cesirahility of having a railway between these two places: was cousidered. A committee was formed, who visited: the different railways in the collieries, and reported to a. meeting, which determined to apply foran act. The plans. of rai} ways which he suggested are published in his work in 1822, and were those that were first carried out. Im

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'288 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1820. . '1846.a testimonial was originated by the mayor and other gentlemen of Exeter, in arder to acknowledge the great services Mr. Gray had rendered to his age and country in ithe conception of the national system of railway commu- ication, and his claims on the liberality and gratitude of the nation were urged by several speakers. Whatever effect Gray’s labours may have had in direeting attention to the subject of railways and in suggesting views to others, ‘he himself gained neither reward nor honour. His late years were passed in obscurity. as a dealer in glass on commission at Exeter, in which city he died October, 1848, aged 61 years. The manufacturing parts of the country having laboured many months under extreme distress, a disposition to tumult and insubordination began to prevail amongst the operative classes, and on the night of Friday, the 31st of arch, a simultaneous rising was appointed to take place in the populous villages around Huddersfield, where a large gumber of pikes were found. A plan of approach from various points, for the purpose of capturing the town, and giving a signal of successful rebellion, by stopping the stage coaches, was organized, and partly carried into effect. Towards the hour of midnight, considerable bodies of men marched from the different villages to their ap- pointed stations, Huddersfield forming the centre and oint of attack. The eastern division bivouacked near the obelisk at Kirklees, (called the Dumb Steeple), and committed some excesses on two or three persons, who were travelling in that ‘direction; from some cause not well ascertained, but probably from the detected treachery of their instigators, the insurgents not only here, but at ll the other stations, dispersed suddenly, and returned to their homes wilhout making their intended hostile attack. The itinerant emissaries, of which there were numbers passing about the country, represented this as a premature movement, to remedy which, the night of the Wednesday following was appointed for the breaking out of the grand rebellion, and Grange moor, a large plain centrally situated between Huddersfield and Barnsley, was the appointed place of rendezvous. A number of infatuated men, prin- cipally from the town and neighbourhood of Barnsley, many of them workmen out of employment, and none above the rank of labourers, repaired to the moor in the course of thenight. After waiting till morning in anxious expectation of the approach of a triumphant army, which they had been led to believe was advancing from the north

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 289 1820. on its route to London, they began to disperse, and their movements were considerably quickeneg by the appear- ance of a body of the king’s troops from Huddersfield. As soon as the first alarm had subsided, several of the in- surgents, both in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield and Barnsley, to the number of twenty-two, were apprehended and committed to York castle, where they were arraigned for high treason, at the summer assizes, aud charged with conspiring or intending to levy war against the king. On Monday, the 11th of September, an adjourned assize was held for the purpose of proceeding with the trials of these prisoners, but during the evening of the preceding day an offer had been made to them, by the authority of the law officers of the crown, to the effect that if they would con- sent to plead guilty of the charge preferred against them, their lives should be spared, and the sentence of death which must be passed upon them commuted to some more lenient punishment. Comstive, a disbanded soldier, and one of the heroes of Waterloo, who appears to have been the leader of the Barnsley division, aud whose fate, had the trials proceeded, seemed inevitable, exerted himself with great vigour and success to obtain the acquiescence of his fellow-prisoners in this proposal, which was in the end unanimously acceded to. ‘The.prisouers, on being placed at the bar, all pleaded guilty, and the'final decision of the crown was, that they should all, without exception, be transported beyond the seas for the term of seven years. On October llth, the extensive corn mill of Messrs. J. and L. Simpson, in North-street, York, was consumed by fire, with a great quantity of corn. ‘the damage was es- timated at £7,000, and the scene of destruction was rendered still more melancholy on the following day by the falling of a ruined wall, which killed a boy and a girl, and severely bruised and wounded about twenty other persons, some of whom were subsequently obliged to undergo amputation. In November, Leeds and many other towns were illuminated by the numerous friends of queen Caroline, on the abandonment of the bill of paius and penalties, instituted against her majesty by the king. Amongst numerous presents manufactured for the queen, was a penknife containing 2,016 blades, made by a cutler at Sheffield, where a subscription was raiscd for a splendid piece of silver plate for her majesty, but she did not live to enjoy these specimens of the varied mannfactures of her Sheffield friends. Nov. 29th. Her late majesty, queen Caroline, went to St. Paul’s cathedral, to return 5

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(290 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1820.-1821. ,thanks to Almighty God for the defeat of the proceedings -against her.on the bill of pains and penalties being re- Jinquished, in consequence of there being only a majority .of nine for the bill being read a third time. I The Leeds Cavalry Barracks, situated at the north en- ¢trance of the town, fronting. the. Roundhay-road, with the pprincipal entrance in Chapeltown-road, were erected in 1820, by Messrs. Craven and Co., of York, at a cost of ,£28,000, and occupies an area of eleven acres of ground, ‘In an open and healthy locality. ‘The barracks have been lately occupied by artillery as well as cavalry, and are generally head .quarters. The. largest proportion of a -regiment of cavalry are usually stationed here. 1821. On January 3rd, Mr. David Howard’s cotton mill, near Leeds bridge, was destroyed by fire. On April ‘7th, died, at Bramham park, in his 63th year, James Fox, _Esq., nephew of lord Bingley. He was universally res- ;pected.m On the 30th of April was laid the first stone ‘of St. George’s church, in Barnsley, which has in its, win- ;dows. some honourable testimonials of the abilities of «Heaps and Fenton, of Leeds, in the fine and delicate art of glass staining, part of whose other productions may be seen in the windows of Attercliff church, near Sheflield ; ‘St. John’s, at Ripon; in the new chapel, at Ilkley; and at Leeds. The first aunual meeting of the Yorkshire horticultural society was held at the Star ‘inn, Kirkstall bridge, on April 30th. On July 4th, a great vestry meeting was held, by adjournment, in the Cloth Hall yard, at Leeds, for the purpose of elect- “ing an organist of Leeds parish church, at a salary of £30, , which office being in the patronage of the rate-payers, .and there being three candidates, a poll was demanded. ; For three days Leeds exhibited some of the party spirit and confusion incidental toa contested county election. processions of voters from the out-towns in .the parish came to poll with music and banners. Six- teen booths were erected for the convenience of. the ‘clerks of the poll, which at the close stood as fol- lows :—for Mr. Greenwood, 2,608; for Mr. Hopkinson, ‘4,242 ; for Mr. Theaker, 259. On May 7th, died, Henry _Clemetshaw, who was fifty years organist of Wakefield church. Though he lost his sight at the age of four years, he rose to great eminence in his profession. . Feb. 8th. Sir Francis Burdett was sentenced to three mouths’ imprisonment, and fined £,2000, for a letter ‘addressed to his constituents on the proceedings at ‘Manchester.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 291° 1821. ‘March 31st, a ploughman turned up at Lingwell gate, near Wakefield, a quantity of clay moulds, in which coin * had been cast by the Romans, and four crucibles, in which” the metal had been melted. Similar antiquities were* found a century before at the place, and silver Roman coins have often been found there. The inhabitants of Leeds, &c., petitioned against the wool tax. 4 Napoleon Bonaparte died on the island of St. Helena,'! on the Sth of May, after a painful and lingering July 19th. The coronation of George IV. took place : under circumstances of great splendour. On this occasion * queen Caroline made an attempt to enter Westminster abbey, for the purpose of witnessing the ceremony, but was’ repelled by the military officers who guarded the door; an? insult which gave such a shock to her health, as to cause her death on the Sth of August.- July 19th was laid the first stone of the new church at Pudsey, by the Rev. D.-§ Jenkins. It has 2,000 sittings, and was built under the’! million act, from plans’ by the late Mr. Taylor, architect, * of Leeds. During an alarming storm of thunder and lightning, on July 29th, the electric fluid struck Manningham hall, near: Bradford, the seat of E. C. Lister, Esq., and having thrown ° down a stack of chimneys, passed through the dining- - room, where about thirty persons were sitting, hut fortu- »* nately they were but slightly injured, excepting a servant ° girl, whose arm was severely scorched ; most of the bell » wires were melted, and the walls of the apartment bore - visible marks of the awful visitation. On Sunday, Sep- ! tember 16th, a numerous body of Primitive Methodists: ¢ having crowded into the upper room of a wool warehouse, at Keighley, the floor suddenly gave way, and precipitated - them into the apartment below, where from fifty to sixty ° persons were severely crushed and wounded ; one of them’ died on the following day, and eleven had broken bones. Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, being situated at the:: junction of the Holm and Ribbleden rivulets, in a deep: valley under those stupendous mountains termed the * English appenines, is liable to frequent inundations. On_ September 2lst, after a continuance of heavy rain, the + great reservoir above Black-Sike mill burst its embank- - ment, and rolled down the valley a prodigious volume of § water, which forced down the buildings in its course, - leaving the inhabitants and the workmen in the mill ade + joining, and at Burn Lee dyehouse below, only just time ¢ to hurry to the heights, and escape its destructive fury. ©

ow

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292 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1821. _. The flood commenced at seven o’clock in the evening, and the water had subsided at ten, but the inhabitants did not dare to retire to rest. The next day presented a truly affecting scene of desolation ; mud, stones, timber, broken furniture, work tovls, and prostrate trees were spread over the fields for a considerable extent, and the herbage, fences, and buildings in many places were destroyed. Happily no lives were lost, although the loss of property was very great Huddersfield was firat lighted wit as on October Ist, by the contractors, Martin Cawood and Son, of Leeds. -At York, on July 2nd, the minimum of the thermometer was 34 degrees, and on November Ist, 49 degrees, being #3 degrees colder at the former than the latter period. -The Leeds Guardian Society and General Penitentiary, _ 48, St. James’s-street, was established in 1821. Its . fect is to afford an asylum for females, who have departed rom the path of virtue: its operations have been highly beneficial, but the resources are by no means commen- surate with its beneficent and christian design. ‘The Leeds General Eve and Ear 167, Park- lane, was first established in Kirkgate, 1821. Its objects were to afford to the poor gratuitous relief in the diseased organs to whichit refers. It is supported by annual sub- scriptions and voluntary donations. The patients are admitted every Tuesday and Saturday, from twelve to one o’olock. It has been conjectured, and apparently on good grounds, that the Romans had some small estab- tishment at Dewsbury. A Roman spear was found some years ago upon the estate of Mr. Halliley ; aud in 1821, when an excavation was made for the purpose of laying some foundations for offices, a small building of stone was discovered, covered witha stroug arch, about three feet “below the surface of the ground ; and at a short distance from the building an ancient well walled round with masonry, about eight yards deep, filled up with rubble stones, and supposed to have remained for many centuries ina state of obscurity and uselessuess. Ann Barber, a native of Yorkshire, was born about 1784. She was educated amid the persons called Ranters. She was inhumble, buf not the lowest circumstances; and in her youth esteemed handsome. She married in 1805 to one James Barber, a Ilnborious and respectable man who resided near They lived very happily for some years, when a person named William Thompson became — acquainted with them. This man ultimately became a

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THE SURROUNDING’ 293° 1821. lodyer in their house, ‘and there an illicit intercourse com> menced between Mrs. Barber and him. I She at length left her husband and resided with-her paramour at Potoveng, near Waketield:: they resided together.a week as man and wife, and then she returned to her husband’s house. She returned on the 4th of January, 1821; and: on the 16th of March she administered poison to her husband, thereby causing his death: For this crime she was tried at the York‘summer assizes of 1821, found guilty, sentenced to death, and afterwards executed. ’ The electors of Grampound having been convicted of bribery and corruption, a bill was brought into parlia- ment by lord John Russell, during the session of 1821, to disfranchise that borough; and in order to render the, number of burgesses to serve iu parliament complete, it was proposed that the borough of Leeds, having, ag the bill sets forth, ‘“‘of late years become a place of great trade, population, and wealth, should return two burgesses to serve in parliament, in lieu of the said borough of Grampound.”’ As the bill originally stood, every. man in the borough, occupying property to the amount of £10 a year, would have had a vote; but at, the instance of J. A. Stuart Wortley, Esq., then one of the Yorkshire members, the qualification of a voter was raised. to £20 per annum, and the bill passed the House of Commons: it was, however, re-modclled in the House’ of Lords, and, instead of two members being returned for Leeds, it was finally enacted that “the county of York should return four members instead of which indeed gave more general satisfaction than the first proposal. The curious cave at Kirkdale, twenty+ five miles north of York, was discovered this year, and found to contain the antediluvian bones of the hyzena, tiger, bear, wolf, fox, weasel; the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and horse; the ox, and three species of deer; the hare, rabbit, water rat, and mouse; together with bones’ of the following birds, viz.: the raven, pigeon, lark, smal] duck, and one about the size of a thrush. I Curious epitaph in the parish church of Brighton:— I

“IN MEMORY OF HESSEL, WHO WAS BORN AT STEPNEY, IN THE YEAR 1713. SHE SERVED FOR MANY YEARS AS A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN TH 5TH REGIMENT OF FOOT IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF EUROPE, AND IN THE YEA 1745, FUUGHT UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND AT THB BATTLE’ OF FONTENOY, WHERE SHE RECEIVED A BAYONET WOUND IN HER ARM. HER LONG LIFE, WHICH COMMENCED IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE, BXTENDED TO THE REIGN OF GrORGE IV., BY .WHOSE MUNIFICENCE SHR RECEIVED COMFORT AND SUPPORT IN HER LATTER YEARS. SHE DIED AT BRIGHTON, (WHERE SHE HAD LONG RESIDED), DECEMBER 12TH, 1821, AGED

108 YEARS.”

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294 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND t821.-1822, The.census of this year showed that the number of éuhabited houses in the township of Leeds was 10,338 ; and in the borough 17,418. The number of houses building in the township were 69; in the borough 115. The number of uninhabited houses in the township was 657; in the borough 1170. The number of males in the €owuship was 23,178; in the borough 40,548. The num- Ayer of females in the township was 25,425; in the borough 43,198. The total population of the township was 48,603; in the borough 83,746. 1822. On Sunday, February 3rd, the river Aire over- flowed its banks, and at Leeds inundated Meadow-lane, Water-lane, and Hunslet-lane. The floods at Bradford, and all places communicating with the Craven hills, were sudden and alarming, aud did considerable damage, especially in Bradford; where Mr. Benjamin Baines, foreman at Messrs Maude and Co.’s, chemists, un- fortunately lost his life, after saving most of the perish- able property in the lower story of his own house and workshop, and assisting Mr. Bradford, at the Swan inn, to remove his; having employed himself actively till four o’clock in the morning, in rendering assistance to others, he returned home, and whilst examining a water mark which he had set up on the wall of the laboratory, the heap of rubbish on which he stood gave way, and pre- cipitated him into a rapid current below, in which he perished unseen, and his body was not found till Wed- nesday, when it was discovered in the stream at Bolton, two miles below: he left a widow and two children. The storm was severely felt at Wakefield, and at York the Ouse rose five feet in the course of a few hours. At eight in the evening of February 6th, a fire broke out in Mr. Marshall’s stuff manufactory, in Bowling- lane, near Bradford, and the two upper stories were speedily destroyed ; but the stock and machinery in the lower parts of the building were saved from the flames. The property not being insured, a loss of £4,000 was sustained. On the night of the 7th of February in this year, es small publican named Thomas Hellewell, and his family, residing at Bruntcliffe, were aroused by fire in the stack garth—one or two of the stacks were consumed, and, had it not been for the powerful and ac- tive assistance of the neighbours, there is no doubt that the flames would soon have reached the mistal, where thirteen head of cattle were housed. The detection

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THE SURROUNDING. DISTRICT. 295 18272. I of the incendiary was accomplished by means the most extraordinary. A slight fall of snow had just covered the ground, and footsteps were clearly discernible about the stack yard, formed by very remarkable shoes, the sole of one of them having been curiously mended, and the nails being very prominent. Hellewell pursued this track with singular activity and resolution, and suc- ceeded, after a devious chace, in capturing the incen- diary at Beeston, with the very shoes on his feet, before eight o’clock the same morning. John Vickers proved to be his name, and revenge for a very trivial provoca- tion was his motive. He was convicted at York, and only escaped from execution by being transported for life: : Mr. James Warbrick, a worsted stuff manufacturer, of Bradford, having procured one of the then obnoxious power looms, in 1822, sent it as privately as possible to a mill at Shipley, where its operations were to commence. The people, however, soon ascertained the fact, public notice was given of its arrival in, all the neighbouring villages, a great number of weavers assembled and threatened to level the mill with the ground if the loom was not instantly taken away, it had no soouer been placed in a cart, protected by a body of constables, than the exasperated weavers rushed upon it with ir- resistible fury, the constables were compelled to seek safety in flight, the loom was destroyed, and its roller and warp was dragged in triumph through Baildon. The unfortunate operatives were, however, unable to obstruct the general adoption of the detested machines, they were soon almost universally introduced info the mauufactories, and there are now a vast number of power looms in active operation in Bradford and its neighbourhood. On the 25th of March, this year, as two labourers were trenching the land for liquorice at paper-mill field, near St. Thomas’s hill, Pontetract, one of them struck his spade against a stone coffin, which weighed about a ton and a half, and, on examination, was found to con- tain the skeleton of a man, with the head between the legs, in good preservation; these were supposed to be the decapitated remains of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, who suffered on the 22nd of March, 1322, exactly 500 years previously. The coffin and its contents were re- moved into the grounds of R. P. Milnes, Esq., Frystone hall, where they now remain, inclosed within a palisade.

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296 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1822, - Near a windmill, whicht now occupies the site of St. Thomas’s chapel, great quantities of beautiful carved stones were dug up in 1841, and were removed by the earl of Mexborough, as owner of the soil; from the sculpture of the stones, the building to which they be- longed seems to have been of Gothic architecture. In April, a Mr. Wright, at Sheffield, walked 1000 miles in 1000 successive hours —In July, five men were killed by fire damp, in a coal pit, near Sheffield. . August 12th, the marquis of Londonderry, (late lord Castlereagh,) secretary tor foreign affairs, committed suicide at. his house, North Cray. May 13th, died at Milton, near Peterborough, aged 74, the Rt. Honourable ' Charlotte Countess Fitzwilliam, daughter of Wm. Ponsonby, earl of Beesborough, by Caroline, eldest: daughter of Wm. duke of Devonshire. She was married, July 11th, 1770, to Charles Wm. Wentworth, earl Fitzwilliam, by whom she left one son, Charles Wm. Wentworth Fitz- william, viscount Milton, who first sat in parliament as one of the members for the county of York, in the year 1807. May 20th, after a severe thunder storm, a cloud burst on the hills above Holmfirth and Meltham, and from the junction of the channels of those valleys, sent down the vale below a breast of water from seven to nine feet high; but happily no lives were lost. In the spring of this year, in Thompson’s garden, near Well Close place, Leeds, was found a small gold coin, of the date of the second year of James I. It was called a half-crown, and was in value one eighth part of a coin, called an Unitie, from the union of England and Scotland. Legend on the head side, “J.D.G. Rosa Sine Spina, viz., James by the grace of God: “a rose without:a thorn.’’? On the obverse side, ‘“* Tueatur Unita Deus,” “ God guards the Union.” June 9th, the extensive corn and scribbling: mills, at Calverley, were burnt down; damage £5,000. ‘ July 13th, was completed, under the superintendence of J. L. M’Adam, Esq., the Leeds, Pontefract, and Barnsdale Turnpike Road, which not only passes through a pleasanter country, but is leveller, and four miles nearer from Leeds to Doncaster than the old north road by way of Ferrybridge. July 5th, a Peace Society,” was formed in Hudders- field, for the purpose of co-operating with a similar insti- tution in London, ‘for the promotion of permanent and universal peace.” July 3lst. The inhabitants of Leeds met in the parish

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 297 1822. ‘ church, and, by a great majority, determined to remove the Middle-row, an ancient pile of buildings, which in- cluded the Moot-hall, and extended along the centre of Briggate, from Kirkgate end, a little above Woodsstreet, contracting the road so much on each side, that it was dangerous for two carriages to pass each other. The expense of effecting this great improvement was esti- mated at £12,000, it cost, however, £15,097 4s. 2d., which was agreed to be levied upon the inhabitauts, by. five annual rates of five pence in the pound, and one rate of twopence in the pound. The demolition was completed May 30th, 1825. The — first rate was levied in 1825; and the debt cancelledein 1833. The buildings were not removed till 1825. On August 3lst, all the carts attending Leeds market with vegetables, fruit, &c., and which formerly stood in Briggate, took their station in the Vicar’s Croft. William Herschell, a celebrated astronomer, born in Hanover, in 1738, died in 1822; theson of an able musician; for some time followed his tather’s profession; in April, 1759, settled in England, where, with difficulty, he gained a livelihood by teaching. In 1765 he was appointed organist at Halifax, and in 1766 at Bath. Then his condition began toimprove. From the study of music he was led to the study of mathematics, and thence he proceeded to as- tronomy, which he at first cultivated only as a recreation; but soon having gained brilliant success therein, he gave up his profession and devoted himself exclusively to his new pursuit. Too poor to buy telescopes, he began to make them himself, (1774), and soon formed instruments superior in execution and power to any before known; among others a telescope forty feet long, which took four years of labour. (1785-89). With the aid of this instru- ment he made the most unexpected discoveries ; thus, he discovered a new planct, Uranus, (March 13th 1781), then his satellites, (1787), and two new satellites of Saturn, (1789); he ascertained that the solar system is not fixed, and that it is in motion round the constellation Hercules. He also gave special attention to the Nebulae, perceived iu the white masses of which they consist a prodigious num- ber of smal] stars, and discovered among them central stars round which the rest regularly revolve. King George III. showed particular favour to Herschell, granted him a pension for life of 300 guineas; and, in order to have the astronomer near him, gave him a residence at Slough, near Windsor castle, and there Herschell made the greater part

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298: ANNALS OF LEEDS,: YORK, AND” 1822 -1823. JF of; his observations. Herschell had for an-‘auxilikry in the -> construction of his telescopes one of his brothers, and in’ the recording of his observations his sister Caroline, who: » made some discoveries herself. He left a son, John Hers- chell, who, inheriting his scientific tastes and his secrets - for the formation of telescope glasses, has gained high. * distinction among men of science. , The town of Bradford up to 1822 had been lighted by I oil lamps. In that year an act received the royal assené for lighting. Bradford and the neighbourhood with gas. : The subscribers originally consisted of forty-one ants of the place, who were incorporated under the title of the “ Bradford gas-light company,” and empowered to raise a capital of £15,000, in £25 shares—no subscriber to © hold more ‘than forty shares. By this act it is rendered imperative upon the gas company-.to supply the public lamps of the town ‘with gas, of such a quality as.should I at all times afford a cheaper and better light: than could be.obtained from oil; and that ‘“‘ every contract or agree- ment which shall be cntered into for lighting with gas ::. such public the said company, shall ‘contain a clause providing that it shall be obligatory on the said company that such public lamps shall, at all times, be better and cheaper lighted by the said company than could be done by oil.’ This obligation was imposed on the company as an equivalent for being allowed to break up the pavement and soil of the streets, &c., to lay the pipes. Aug. 22nd. A numerous:and respectable Reform meeting was held at York, in the long room of Etridge’s hotel, under the presidency of Walter Fawkes, Esq. Oct. 29th. The term of Henry Hunt, Esq ’s, imprison- ment in Ilchester gavl expired, and the event was hailed in most of the Yorkshire towns with enthusiastic joy by the numerous bodies of reformers. December 7th, that fine old mansion, Burley hall, near Otley, the seat of the Rev. T. F. Wilson, was, with all its costly-furniture, destroyed by fire. The loss was about £4,000, About the close of this ycar the Yorkshire Philosophical Society was founded; and in’ the year 1827 grant from the crown of nearly three acres of ground . within the ancient precincts of the monastery at York, including the remains of the abbey church, with the ex- ception of the choir, as a site for buildings appropriated to the purposes of science. 1823. Jan. 22nd. The freeholders of Yorkshire held

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THE. SURROUNDING DISTRICT. v299 1823. © .another Reform meeting at York castle, for the purpose of petitioning for a.more equitable representation of the -people in parliament. Wakefield was first lighted -with gas January 20th. The first stone of St. Mary’s church, Quarry-hill, Leeds, was laid on the 29th of January, 1823, hy the vicar of Leeds, the Rev Richard Fawcett. This edifice was built junder parliamentary. sanction. It was opened in 1827. There is nothing very striking in its style of architecture, . being a mere specimen of what is-termed “Carpenter's Its external appearance is somewhat incongruous, -and although the tower rises to a considerale height, it is rather heavy in its general effect. Its erection was under the direction of Mr. Taylor, architect; and cost £12,538 10s. 8d. It will accommodate above 1,200 persons; up- , wards of 800 of the seats are free. The burial ground is very extensive. A little to the east of the church is a large _and convenient school-room, which was built after the consecration of the church. The present incumbent is the Rev. John Bickerdike, M.A. The first stone of Christ church, Meadow-lane, was laid on the same day, by lord Pollington, assisted hy the masonic body, of which he was the P.G.M. for the West-Riding, after which the masons celebrated the event at their hall, where his lordship pre- sided. These were the first of the parliamentary churches founded in Leeds. It is a handsome Gothic edifice. R. D. Chantrell, Esq., was the architect. It consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a massive tower rising to the height of 127 feet, and is one of the decorated style of the Mth century. The mainentrance in Meadow-lane, consists of a pointed arch flanked hy small pannelled buttresses, and enriched by a pedimental canopy crocketed, and ter- -‘minating in a beautiful cruciform finale; in the spandrils are shields, that to the right charged with the borough arms, and the other with those of the archbishop of York, impaling that of his see; above is some very curious work in quatrefoil pannelling, over which is a pointed window of three lights, with cinquefoil heads, a transom and tracery in the sweep of the arch, besides which are many other adornments. The interior has a very commanding aspect. -The aisles, which are divided from the body of the church by six depressed pointed arches, resting on lofty columns, formed by an union of four long and four small cylinders. At the west end is a spacious which is an organ, consisting of stops, and also five in the swell. Under the gallery is an octagonal font of. very chaste exe-

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300 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1823. cution, adorned with quatrefoils. Over the altar is a painting of Christ instituting the sacrament, by Brockendon, which was exhihited in one of the northern society’s exhi- bitions in Leeds, and cost £100. The church will accom- modate 1,249 persons, and 800 of the sittings are free. The incumbeucy is at present vacant. The town of Halifax was first lighted with gas on the 15th of February———George Ridsdale Esq., laid the first stone of the new church, at Alverthorpe, near Wakefield, on March 12th.———On April 23rd, Benjamin Sadler, Esq., laid the first stone of St. Mark’s church, Woodhouse, near Leeds: a very massive stone edifice, built in the style of the 15th century, and is the third church in the town erected under parliamentary sanction, at a cost of £10,000. In 1852, the large five-lighted east window was fitted in with stained glass, which is remarkably rich, and illustrates the leading events in the life of our Saviour. The window was presented by the late Mrs Blesard, of Blenheim-terrace, in memory of her husband and their four children. The church wil] accommodate 1,500 persons. The vicarage is ‘va'ued at £140 per annum. The Rev. Kettlewell is the vicar. The Bazaar, New Shambles, and Fish Market.—This range of buildings was originated this year, by a company of shareholders, and in 1826 was opened to the public. ‘The entrance to the bazaar is arched, flanked with two attached Tuscan pillars, over which is a niche, surmounted witha couchant lion of large size, which was modelled under the supceriutendance of the late Mr. J. Rhodes, artist. The building is 219 feet long, and lighted from the top. On each side are two strects, Cheapside and Fleet-street, of the same length, opening into Briggate, and called “‘ The Shambles,” where a good show of butchers’ meat is ex- hibited. At the cast end of the bazaar (now used as a carpet warehouse) is the fish market, the stone pillars of which were removed from the Old Cross in the [cad Row. June 16th. A meeting was held at the Leeds court house, of a number of persons favourable to the establishment of a public market place in the south division of the town, at which it was determined to form a company for that pur- pose, under the denomination of the Leeds South Market Company, “hen very commodious buildings were erected at the expense of £22,009. The. first stone of Christ church, near Huddersfield, which was endowed by John Whitacre, Esq., of Woodhouse, and built near his mansion

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 301 1823. for the hamlets of Deighton, Bradley, and Fartown, was ‘laid July 24th, by Thomas Walker, Esq., of Berry hill, near Mansfield, but formerly of Masbro’ iron works, near Rother- ham. By an especial act of parliament, the patronage of this church is vested for ever in the founder and his heirs. I Aug. 7th. The first stones of two new churches in Dews- bury parish were laid, viz.: St. John’s, on Dewsbury moor, by John Haigh, Esq., of Crow nest, and St. Paul’s, at Hanging Heaton, by the Rev. John Buckworth, A.M., the vicar. Aug. 28th. The Fleece coach, on its road to Sheffield, was overturned at the foot of Shelly bank, six miles from Huddersfield, owing to the coachman driving at full speed down the hill, without locking the whee]. Amongst the passengers were nine Methodist preachers on their way to the conference at Sheffield ; two of them, the Rev. Mr. Sargent aud the Rev. Edward Baker Lloyd, were killed on the spot, and six of the others received either fractures, dislocations, or dangerous contusions, from which they ulti- mately recovered. A verdict of manslaughter was re- turned against the driver. Aug. 23rd. The first stone of St. Matthew’s church, at Wilsden, near Bradford, was laid by the Rev. Henry Heap, vicar of Bradford. Aug. 28th. A meeting of the principal inhabilauts of Leeds, and within a mile of the bars of the town, was held in the parish church, where they unanimously agreed, that the vicarage-house, with the out-buildings, yards, gardens, and croft, comprising altogether about 9,758 syuare yards of land, should be purchased for the purpose of widening the contiguous streets and lanes, and improving the market then held there, by providing ample and gratuitous accom- modation for the dealers in cattle, pigs, hay, vegetables, fruit, and other produce. The farmers and graziers subse- quently preferred paying a small toll—In the same year, the town and parish of Leeds was blest with another great public benefit, viz.: the commutation of all the mixed and ersonal tithes, payable to the vicar and clerk of Leeds, or an annual income of £500, arising from £14,000, one half of which was the munificent gift of Richard Foun- tayne Wilson, Esq., M.P., and the other half was raised b subscription. Before this commutation, the vicar of Leeds was entitled to the tithes or agistment of herbage of turnips, sown and eaten upon the ground by barren and unprofitable cattle, which, if sold, the tithes were to be paid by the occupier of the ground, after the rato of one- tenth part of the money the turnips were sold for: to the agistment of barren and unprofitable cattle, ane also the

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302 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1823. tithe of potatoes grown and gathered, and turnips pulled from the ground. He was entitled to a customary pay- ment of threepence yearly from each householder, residing within the bars of the town, in respect of his dwelling- house, and one penny yearly for an easter offering, from every householder in the parish; of twopence yearly in lieu of tithes of ancient garden; of twopence ycarly in lieu of tithes of ancient orchard ; of one penny in respect of each “plow,” kept upon every tenement in the parish; of two- pence in lieu of tithes for a calf dropt, and of the milk of each cow ; of one halfpenny in lieu of eggs of each duck ; of twopence yearly in lieu of tithe of heus’ eggs laid upon each tenement; and likewise to an offering or customary payment yearly for and in respect of every person above the age of sixteen years, resident in the family of each householder in the parish, such sum to be paid by the house- holder. And the said vicar was entitled to receive the tithe of rapeseed, common and other modern gardens; and in case any parishioner kept twelve cows, to a yearly cus~ tomary payment of six shillings in lieu of tithe milk ; for six cows, two shillings ; 3; and in case any parishioner had six calves dropt in his tenement in one year, six shillings ; five calves, one shilling and fourpence ; four calves, teh- pence; as customary payment in lieu of tithes of such calves; likewise the said vicar was entitled to a customary payment of twopence yearly from each householder residing within the bars of the said town of Leeds; also for the tithe agistment of one dry or unprofitable cow, one penny; and also one penny in licu of tithes of bees, except when the parishioner had six swarms of bees in one year, in which case one swarm was due; of one penny in lieu of tithes of eggs laid by each turkey ; of sixpence in lieu of each foal dropt within the parish; and generally the said vicar was eutitled to all other tithes, great and small offerings, oblations and obventions, and other ecclesiastical. dues and duties within the said parish, (save and except the tithes of corn, grain, and hay, and the tithes of two mills in the said parish, commonly called the king’s mills; ‘ which mills were formerly belonging to the ear] of Lincoln, afterwards to the crown, then to J. P. Neville, Esq., and are now in the possession of Hudson, Esq. On September 4th, Mr. W. W. Sadler ascended in his balloon at Leeds, from the area of the Coloured Cloth Hall, and having been in the air about 50 minutes, and travelled in a direct line 36 miles, he descended at South Cliff, 11 miles west of Next day Mr. Green ascended at Leeds, from the area of the White Cloth Hall,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 303 1823. in his large and splendid balloon, which was 107 fect in circumference, composed of 700 yards of silk, and capable of containing 126,210 gailons of gas. After a fine lofty voyage, he descended at Haxey, nine miles north of Gains- bro’, and found the lower current of air blowing a hurri- cane, so that the moment his grappling irou caught firm hold of a tree, the cable broke, and he was thrown out of the car, without receiving auy serious injury; whilst the balloon, lighteued of ifs burthen, reascended to a vast al- titude, aud speedily in the direction cf the German ocean, across Which it was borne to the coast of Holland, where it was found by a Dutchman, who required no less a sum than £18 fur its restorat.on, though it was much toru, and the barometer lost. — On September 23rd aud three following days, was heid the first Yorkshire Musical Festival, in the spacious nave aud side aisles of York minster, for the benefit of the York county hospital, and the three geueral infirmaries of Leeds, Hull, aud Sheffield. At an early hour of the first day of the festival, all the principal roads leading to York were thrunged with carriages of every description, so that by ten o’clock the streets were crowded with vehicles and visitors hastening to the cathedral, where every seat was occupied long before the grand performance commenced, aud many who wished for admission, could not even be ac- commodated with standing places. The floor of the ex- teusive nave aud its aisles was boarded over, and the passages to the scats covered with matting. 1 immense gallery was constructed at the west end, projecting 83 feet, and the seats covered with crimson cluth. The orchestra was erectcd beneath the great tower, and the whole was fitted up with great splendour and magnificence, in a style suited to the superb gothic character of the edi- fice. The performances consisted of selections of sacred music, from Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Graun, Croft, Pergo'esi, Marcello, Leo. and Jomelli. The number of the vocal band was 285, including madame Catalani, and other eminent vocalists, and the instrumentalists numbered -180. Thomas Greatorex, Esq., was the conductor. ‘The number of persons preseut on the first day, was, 3,850; on the second, 4,685; on the third, 4,840; and on the fourth, 4,145. The amount of the receipts, including the cvening performances in the assembly rooms, was £16,174 16s. 8d., out of wh:ch gum, after paying all expenses, £7,200 remained for the benefit of the four charities, each of which received £1,800. On the third day, madame Catalani sung Luther’s

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304 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1823. ° celebrated hymn, accompanied on the trumpet by Mr. Harper, and this venerable and simple melody produced a greater impression than avy other during the whole of this extended festival, being admirably suited to the powerful voice and majestic style of that celebrated vocalist, whilst the sound of the trumpet, pruceeding from nearly the top of the orchestra, appeared as if it descended from the open space of the great tower above; and the thrill of awe, not unmingled even with terror, which it produced, was such as no pen can describe ; and the harmony, when reinforced by all the voices in chorus, was inexpressibly powerful and affecting. Since this, there have been two other musical festivals in the cathedral, for the benefit of the same charities, under the patronage of the late king, George IV., and presidency of the archbishop. The second grand musical festival for the benefit of the sume charities was held September 13th, 1825, and three following days, when the entire band, vocal and instrumental, consisted of 615 performers, and the loud pealing thunder of the choruses, produced by their united exertions, was grand and almost overpowering. Addi- tional galleries were erected in the side aisles, the orchestra was of ample extent, and, like the other tem- porary erections, was handsomely decorated, and lined with crimson. An ingenious apparatus was contrived by Mr. Ward, an eminent organ builder, of York, by which the organ was played from the orchestra, at a distance of 125 feet from the instrument. The total numher of persons present at the four performances, was 20,873, and the total receipts £20 876 10s., including the evening concerts, &c. The third musical festival was held September 23rd, 1828, and the three following days; the aggregate number of the band was 618, and the number of persons present at the four performances, was 14,425, and the total receipts, £16,769 6d. Mr. Cramer was the conductor. The Leeds Free Grammer School was repaired and greatly enlarged this year, at a cost of £1,087. As the servant man and boy of Mr. Evers, of Fleet mills, near Leeds, were turning up some ground on the low side of Wakefield Outwood, in order to the erection of posts and rails, the buy struck his mattock against what he con- ceived to be a Jarge stone, but which, he being unable to remove, informed the man, who on examining the supposed stone found it to be a piece of Roman pottery, the cover of which the boy had accidentally broken: the whole mass was then and found to be filied with Roman

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 305 1823. copper coins of various emperors ; they appeared imbedded together in an incrustation of verdigris, which, when re- moved, showed mauy of them in a state as perfect as when fresh from the mint. The whole of these weighed 62 lbs., and consisted principally of coins of the emperor Constan- tine and his sons Constans, Constantius, and Crispus, of Licinius and Macentius, together with the city coins of Rome and Constautinople. September 26th, the work- men, whilst making a new road from Hunslet to Bellisle, near J.eeds, uncovered a stone coffin, containing some thigh, leg, and arm bones, under a covering of plaster, which, when removed, exhibited the cast of a human body, with the impression of the linen which had enveloped it. The face appeared to have been covered with a semicircular glass, which was partially decomposed; the skull had perished, but the teeth remained in excellent preservation. A cousiderable number of glass beads were found in the coffin, of various colours and sizes; but, though the coffin and its contents were carefully washed, no coin or inscrip- tion was found to fix the date of the interment. Mr. Blen- kinsop took charge of the coffin, which appeared to be of the Bramley Fall stone, and was covered with a lid five inches thick. October 23rd, was laid the foundation stone of the South market, in Hunslet and Meadow-lanes, Leeds, by George Banks, Esq. This market was erected from designs by R. D. Chantrell, Esq. In the ceutre is a circular temple, composed of twelve Dorit pillars outside, and the same number inside. The outer ones support a bold entablature, and above rises a large cupola, used by the committee for meetings. Itis enriched by twelve small attached columns, and covered in with a hemispherical leaded dome. Encircling this building, is a double series of stalls, standing back to back, with eaves projecting over the causeway; these are enclosed within the outer buildings, which are arranged quadrangularly, and consist of an inn and shops, with dwelling-houses over them. The cost of the building was £22,000, raised in £50 shares. This mar- ket is not used except for the holding of the leather fairs. Nov. 5th., the foundation stone of Shipley church, dedi- cated to St. Paul, was laid by the vicar of Bradford. On the night of December 3rd, Leeds and the country for many miles round were visited by a dreadful storm of wind, which blew down many chimneys, and several un- finished buildings, amongst which was a house at the top of Marsh-lane, (which overwhelmed a weaver’s shop) ; part of the South market, the lofty chimneys of Mr. Hirst’s

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306 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1823.-1824, paper mill, and of Crank mill, near Morley; a factory five stories high, at Ovenden, and many stacks of chimneys at York, Wakefield, Leeds, &c., but happily no lives were lost, though many persons were seriously injured. Dec. llth. George Rawson Esq., laid the first stone of the Independent chapel, in Queen-street, Leeds, called Queen-street chapel. It is built of brick, the front ex- hibiting a projection with the pediment, which is orna- mented by four Tuscan pilasters on the first story, sup- porting a frieze and entablature, on which are raised four Ionic pilasters, supporting the cornice and attic, which is also divided by smaller pilasters. Theinterior is very neat, with accommodation for 2,000 persons. There are two galleries, one of which is appropriated to the children of the Sunday schools. A burial ground is attached. The Rev. Wm. Guest is the minister. Wakefield church spire was again repaired, and raised to its original height, 237 feet, by Mr. Charles Mountain, of Hull. A vane of lighter weight than the old one was placed on the top. 1824. Jan. 7th. The dressing shop, with its machinery, belonging to Messrs. Sayner, of Hunslet-lane, Leeds, was destroyed by fire. Jan. 19th. A Roman brick and tile kiln was discovered, twenty inches below the surface, ou B. H. Allen, Esq.’s estate, at Slack, in Longwood town- ship. The tiles were very perfect, together with several tubes used for conducting heat from the fire to the kiln ; the former were twelve inches long by five broad, and one thick, and chequered, as also were the tubes. A piece of tile or brick was inscribed, ‘‘COH. IIII. BRE.” an inscrip- tion which Camden says was often found upon bricks at Grimescar, near Hudderstield. Slack is supposed to be the Cambodunum of Antonine. On the extinction of vicarial tithes in the borough of Leeds, in pursuance of the 5th Geo. IV, cap. 8, it was ordered by the corporation on the Sth of February in this year, that the treasurer should pay out of their stock such a sum not exceeding £500, as might “‘ be wanted to complete an object attended with such manifest advantage to the parishioners at large.’’ In February, a piece of coal, completely covered with cockle shells, was found at the depth of 150 feet, in a mine near Dewsbury. Feb. 6th. The extensive premises Occupied by Messrs. Stirk and Horsfield, as machine makers, John Hilton, a tobacco manufacturer, and Charles Atkinson, a cloth frizer, in York-street, Leeds, were de- stroyed by fire. A number of silver coins, of the reigns of Mary, Elizabeth, Charles I., and James I. were

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THE SURROUNDING DI8TRICT. 307 1824. found March 11th, under an ancient building at Scholes, near Leeds. Died, on the 25th of February, this year, aged 89 years, Richard Birdsall, for sixty-two years a very highly respected local preacher in the Methodist connexion. His labours were incesssant in the service of religion— labours from which no opposition could deter, and no flattery seduce. He was a preacher amongst the Method- ists at a time whenits profession was considered a re- roach, and when that body were subject to a great deal of persecution. He was a pioneer in the cause, and had to bear the brunt of the battle. He is still remembered by hundreds and thousands of Methodists in Yorkshire as an. yet sincere, simple, and impressive preacher of the gospel: abounding in faith, love, and zeal. He was born on the 14th of March, 1735, at Kirby, in the parish of Kirby-Overblow, in York- shire. He died at York, and was interred in the church yard of St. Lawrence, without Walmgate bar. The Leeds Public Dispensary, situate 171, North- street, was established by public subscription in this year, and was intended for the relief of such sick poor as were, by circumstances, rendered unable to avail themselves of the advantages and benefits of the infir- mary. Its chief peculiarity consists in the visitation of the poor in their own homes by the medical officers. Many hundred cases of disease are thus annually treated, which could otherwise obtain no relief, the sufferers being too poor to provide themselves with medical as- sistance, and being at the same time unable to leave their families to seek the benefits of the infirmary. The funds of the Institution are but very small, the total amount of annual subscriptions only reaching £531 4s. 6d. The institution is under the management of twelve gentle- men.—Treasurer, Sam]. James Brown, Esq., 28, Com- mercial-street; physicians, Dr. Wilson, Dr. Chadwick, Dr. Heaton; surgeons, W. R. Cass, Esq., Henry Chorley, Esq., and Claude Wheelhouse, Esq.; apothecary and secretary, Mr. Fred. Holmes; auditors, J. D. Luccock, Esq., and C. G. Maclea, Esq. The Leeds Mechanics’ Institution and Literary Society was established on the Ist of December, this year, in a confined and remote locality, at the back of Park-row.

The names of the first officers of the institution were—Benjamin Gott, Esy., president; John Marshall, Esq., and John Luccock, Esq., vice-presidents; John Darnton, Esq., treasurer; Mr. Todd, secretary; and the following directors:—Rev. G. Walker, Mr. Cawood, Mr.

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308 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1824, Rawson, Dr. Williamson, Mr. E. S. George, Mr. E. Baines, jun., Dr. Hunter, Mr. West, Mr. John Heaps, Mr.S8. Petty, jun., Mr. Thomp- son, Mr. J.O. March, Mr. Joshua Dixon, Mr. Wood, and Mr. W. Davies.

The present hall is a plain but tolerably commodious building, situated in South-parade. The ground floor is occupied for schools connected with the institute, and the upper consists of the large room used as a lecture and news-room, and also as a library. At the end is an elevated platform, divided by columns, which serves as a rostrum for the lecturer. The walls are adorned with busts of literary and scientific men, aud an ex- cellent full-length portrait of the late Edward Baines, Esq., (who was one of the best friends of the institu- tiou) painted by Richard Waller, of Leeds. The portrait was preseuted by subscribers, chiefly confined to the members of the institute. But a far more valuable and useful covering of the walls is found in the books con- stituting the library, now numbering 11,000 volumes, many of them of a highly scientific character, and cir- culating widely amongst its 1,646 members. The total issue for 1858 was 36,831. The books are so arranged as to be closed in when the room is required for lectures, &c., and the newspapers, ordinarily arranged over the entire room, are then removed to a lower one. The news-room is open daily from 9 am. to 10 p.m., and contains 11 daily papers, 28 weekly newspapers and periodicals, 3 fortnightly periodicals, 41 monthly, and 15 quarterly journals. The session commences in October, and lectures are delivered weekly, or oftener; the usual evcnings are Monday and Wednesday, commencing at eight o’clock. The officers of the society consist of a president, two vice-presidents, treasurer, two honorary secretaries, and eighteen directors; secretary and libra- rian, Mr. Jobn Pickering; assistant librarian, Mr. James Burgoyne. The following curious epitaph is on a tombstone in the Low-moor church yard, near Bradford :— ‘‘In Memory of Christopher Barlow, blacksmith, of Raw Nook, who died October 9th, 1824, aged 56 years.”

“My stithy and my hammer I reclined ; My bellows, too, have lost their wind ; My fire’s extinguished, and my forge decay’d, And in the silent dust my vice is laid: My coal is spent, my stock of iron’s gone, My last nail driven, and my work is done.”

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 309 1824. An instance of undaunted and successful courage oc-~ curred in Ardsley, in the year 1824, so truly extra- ordinary that it deserves distinct record in the “ Annals.” Mr. John Boyle, a gentleman upwards of eighty years of age, and who had been reduced to extreme debility by a long illness, lived with his wife and a servant girl in a lonely house and in a bad neighbourhood. Since it was known that he had lately received his rents, six or seven ruffians determined to rob the house, and from the desperate depravity of their characters, there is little doubt that they would not have hesitated to add. murder to robbery. About one o’clock in the morning of the 25th of July, they arrived at Mr. Boyle’s resi- dence, and by the noise they made in entering, awoke Elizabeth Balmforth, the servant girl, who with wonder- ful presence of mind first secured a door which opened upou the landing of the better rooms, and then alarmed her master. The courageous old man armed himself with a carbine which had not been fired for two years, and a double barrelled pistol which he put into his pocket, and, followed by his wife, who carried a drawn sword, proceeded down the principal staircase to attack the robbers. Perceiving a man by the kitchen door he fired his carbine, which mortally wounded the robber, and the remaining miscreants, with the cowardice which always accompanies guilt, immediately tvok to their heels. The wounded robber crawled from the house, and was perceived at day break in the agonies of death. He proved to be a Mr. John Scott, an inhabitant of Morley, and maintained to the last his fidelity to his comrades, making no confession whatever. Two of them were, however, soon afterwards apprehended and sentenced to die—they were not executed, but were transported for life. The Leeds Oil Gas Company was established in January, this year, and in a short time obtained a capital of £20,000, raised in £10 shares; but after an unsuccessful career of about nine years, the company was dissolved by act of parliament. The Leeds new gas company purchased the apparatus, &c., for £5,300. York was first lighted with gas on March 22nd, this year, under an act passed in 1823. On the 26th of April, this year, was laid the first stone of Brunswick chapel, Brunswick-street, Camp-road, Leeds. It is a large and handsome stone edifice, one end of which is semi- circular. A burial ground surrounds the chapel, and the

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310 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1824. whole is enclosed by a wall surmounfed by iron palisa- ding. The spacious interior has a gallery extending all round the building, and 2,500 persons can be accom- modated with sittings. On the walls are four beautiful monumental tablets in marble. The pulpit is a very handsome one, of polished spanish mahogany; and the noble organ which stands in the gallery immediately behind, has an elegant case of the same wood richly carved, with gilt pipes in front and sides, as well as a screen for the orchestra, resembling the case, on a smaller scale. The whole when viewed from the ground floor, has an imposing effect, and harmonizes well with the pulpit. The organ was built in 1827, by the late Mr. Joseph Booth, of Wakefield, but has within the last few years been greatly enlarged by his son, Mr. F. Booth; it is considered one of the sweetest-toned in- struments in the county, and is fortunately in the hands of a master of his profession, Mr. Edward Booth, organist, of Leeds. It cost £1,821, for the principal part of which amount, the trustees were indebted to the muni- ficent generosity of William Smith, Esq., of Gledhow. The organ was opened by the late Samuel Wesley, father of Dr. S. S. Wesley, late of Leeds. The stationed ministers are the Revs. T. Vasey, J. D. Brocklehurst, and G. W. Olver, B.A. On April lth, Isaac Crowther’s woollen mill, at Morley, was burnt down. Ono April 14th, Mr. Green ascended in his balloon from the Halifax Piece Hall, and alighted near Hornby castle, the seat of the duke of Leeds, sixty-three miles from the place of his ascent. “The Leeds Patriot’? was commenced in April, this year, by Messrs. Fothergill and Thompson, and was published on the Saturday for some time afterwards ; the day of publication was then changed to Tuesday— subsequently it appearel again on the Saturday, and in December, 1828, became the property of Mr. John Foster. The institution of the Leeis or Haigh park races on the 23rd of June, this year, was an unfortunate event for the town: cherishing a spirit of gambling, exercising an in- jurious influence upon public morals, and interruptiug the employment and consequently diminishing the comfort of many who derive their daily bread from the produce of their hands. The race course, which is admirably adapted for the purpose, is situated about three miles south from the town, on the new road to Pontefract; it was provided with a grand stand and the usual appendages of such a

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 311 1824. place, with accommodation for horses and their riders. At first these races were held annually in June, but in 1830 it was determined that for the future they should take place in August. The most extraordinary feats ever performed in the race ground were achieved by captain Polhill, of the first dragoon guards, then stationed in Leeds barracks. On November 9th, 1826, this officer, for a wager, rode ninety-five miles in four hours and seven- teen minutes, and on the 17th of April following, the same officer on the same ground walked fifty miles, drove fifty miles, and rode fifty miles, in the short space of nineteen hours and five minutes, and was afterwards drawn by the populace to the barracks in his carriage. In June, a child was stolen from William Rodgers and wife, of Hunslet, near Leeds, by Charlotte Peck, alias Shaw, a woman who had been accustomed to va- grant habits, but who for a short time had taken lodgings in Hunslet, but subsequently went into the service of Mrs. Urquhart, in whose name she committed this cruel fraud, under pretence that Mrs. Urquhart’ was desirous of seeing the child. As soon as the little boy was missed by its distressed parents, suspicion fell upon the woman, who had often been seen noticing the child in the street, and who had not been at hér employer’s since the hour when the child disappeared. The feelings of the parents may be better imagined than described ; for three months they were doomed to the most distressing suspense, though week after week the father was running over the country in quest of his lost boy, then only four years old, and the newspapers in all parts of the kingdom reported his sufferings, and described the person and dress of the kidnapper, which active publicity furnished him ever and anon with a gleam of hope, and kept him in chase of the run-a-way, whose movements were so rapid, that during three months she travelled with the child upwards of 1,500 miles in England, Scotland, and France, whither the father followed her to Calais, but found she had left before his arrival, a painful disappointment which he several times experienced. At length she was taken at Swansea, in Wales; the child was restored to its parents, but died soon after, and the criminal was sentenced to be transported for seven years. She, however, died in York castle, supposed of grief. Died on July 7th, aged 81, Sir George Wood, wha, during a great part of his life sat as judge in the

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312 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1824. Northern circuit, and was one of the barons of the ex- chequer. He was born at Barnsley, where he was articled to Mr. West, an attorney, who often declared that “‘George Wood would become a judge.’’ So soon did he indicate that sound judgment in which he ex- celled on the bench, though he had not much oratorical power, and retained the characteristic bluntness of a Yorkshireman. He retired from office in 1823, and died worth £300,000. On July 16th, Messrs. Brancker, Brown, and Co.’s woollen manufactory, in Mill Garth, Leeds, was destroyed by fire; but the warehouse was providentially saved. On July 28th, was laid the first stone of the concert room, at York. Sept. 2nd. The inhabitants‘ on the banks of the river Aire were greatly alarmed by the disruption of a bog at Crow-hill, above Haworth, in a wild part of the. county of York, adjoining to Lancashire, which kept the water of the river Aire in such a turbid state, that for some time ‘it could not be used, either for culinary or manufacturing purposes. The event was thus described in the Leeds Mercury as follows :—Crow hill, the scene of this phe- nomenon, is about nine miles from Keighley, aud six from Colne, at an elevation of about 1,000 feet above the former place. The top of the moor, which is nearly level, is covered with peat and other accumulations of decayed vegetables of a less firm texture; the whole appeared saturated with water, and in most places trembled under the tread of the foot. The superfluous water at the east end of the moor drained into small rivulets at the bottom of a deep glen or gill, down a precipitous range of rocks, which presented the appearance of a gigantic staircase. This rivulet passes down the valley to Keighley, and enters the Aire, near Stockbridge, about a mile below that town. At the distance of about 500 yards from the top of the glen, the principal discharge seems to have taken place: here a very large area of about 1,200 yards in cir- cumference, is excavated to the depth of from four to six yards ; and at a short distance from this chasm there is a similar excavation, but much less in extent. These con- cavities have been emptied, not only of their water, but also of their solid contents. A channel about twelve yards in width, and seven or eight in depth, has been formed quite to the mouth of the gill, down which a most amazing quantity of water was precipitated, with a violence and noise of which it is difficult to form an adequate conception, and which was heard to a consider-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 313 1824, able distance. Stones of an immense size and weight were hurried by the torrent more thanamile. It is im- possible to form any computation of the quantity of earthy matter which has been carried down into the valley; but that it is enormous is evident from the vast quantities de- posited by the torrent in every part of its course. This destructive torrent was confined within narrow bounds by the high glen through which it passed, until it reached the hamlet of Pondens, where it expanded oversome corn fields covering them to the depth of several feet ; it also filled up the mill-pond, choking up the water course, and thereby putting an entire stop to the works. A stone bridge was also nearly swept away at this place, and several others in its course were materially damaged ; and it is remarkable that it was not fatal to life in a single instance. The torrent was seen coming down the glen before it reached the hamlet, by a person who gave the alarm, and thereby saved the lives of several children, who would otherwise have been swept away. The torrent at this time presented a breast of seven feet high. The track and extent of this inundation of mud may be ac- curately traced all the way from the summit of the hill to the confluence of the rivulet with the Aire, by the black deposit which it has left on its banks. The tirst bursting of the bog took place at six o’clock in the evening of Thursday, the 2nd instant, and another very considerable discharge occurred on the following day, about eight in the morning, and it is highly probable that other extensive portions of the bog will, from time to time hereafter, be discharged into the Aire in a similar manner. No human being was on the spot to witness the commencement of this awful phenomenon and of course, we cannot arrive at an absolute degree of certainty as to its cause; the most probable one, is the bursting of a water-spout. The suddenness and violence of the disruption strongly favours this supposition. It would evidently require a power acting with a great degree of momentum to move and break in pieces the large and almost solid masses of. peat and turf which were forced down the hill, to say nothing of the detached rocks which were moved. The state of the atmosphere about the time when the disruption took lace, also renders this solution highly probable, the air eing fully charged with electric matter.” “At the time of the irruption,” says Mr. Bronté, “the clouds were cop- “per coloured, gloomy, and lowering ; the atmosphere was ‘strongly electrified, and unusually close.” These appear-

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314 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1824. ances, as they indicated, were followed by a severe thunder storm, during which it is more than probable that some heavily loaded cloud poured its contents upon the spot. We may add, in support of this hypothesis, that more water seems to have been sent down the glen than could have been supplied by the contents of the two bogs which have been excavated. But, perhaps, a still more important inquiry is, what can be done to prevent a re- currence of similar eruptions? This is rather a difficult uestion; there is, however, no doubt but the drainage of the moss would remove the danger, as no instance exists of either the bursting or floating away of a drained hog. Probably the channels now made, should they remain open, will give the requisite stability to the peaty _ Sept. 6th. St. Peter’s church, at Stanley, near Wakefield, was consecrated by the archbishop of York. The new market, at Bradford, was opened on the 16th of September, this year. September 22nd, was laid the first stone of St. John’s church, at Roundhay, which was founded and endowed by Stephen Nicholson, Esq., in whom and his heirs the patronage is vested for ever by a special act of parliament, obtained in the 5th of George IV. n the 5th of November, Mr. Moses Atkinson’s extensive flax mill, at the Bank, in Leeds, was destroyed by fire: damage £10,000. On the 26th of November, was laid by Lepton Dobson, Esq., the first stone of the Leeds Cen- tral Market, Duncan-street. This handsome covered market was erected from the designs of F. Goodwin, Esq,, of London, and was opened in 1827. The building is of stone. The front exhibits a striking elevation of Grecian architecture, consisting of a central division and lateral wings. The columns are of the Ionic order, aud the words “ Central are inscribed on the archatrave. The interior ig very spacious, the centre being divided into three walks, with stalls. A gallery is carried round three sides of the ‘building, and was for many years fitted with stalls, and used for the sale of hardware, fancy articles, &c.; but has been occupied as a shoe market since the removal of the stalls from Briggate. Around the exterior of the edifice, are a number of shops, chiefly occupied by provision dealers. The want of success of this valuable market was, we believe, mainly attributable to the bad regulations and want of cleanliness; but considerable improvements have been effected. The building cost £35,000, including the ground. The market opens at 8 a.m., and cluses at 8 p.m. ; excepting between Easter and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 315 1824. Whitsuntide, and three weeks before Christmas, when it is open till 9 p.m., and every Saturday till 11 o’clock, p.m. December 2]st. The river Aire again overflowed and inundated the lower streets of Leeds, and washed away fifty yards of the embankment wall in Water-lane, the toll-bar and wooden house at Waterloo ford, and Redcote bridge, Kirkstall. Dec. 27th. The wife of Charles Hardy, of Bradley mills, was safely delivered of three fine girls, who were baptized Faith, Hope, and Charity. The Leeds and Yorkshire Fire and Life Insurance Com- pany was established this year, witha capital of £1,000,000. The site for their recently erected and elegant stone edifice is well chosen, at the junction of Commercial-street and Albion-street. The exterior presents a beautiful and striking elevation in the Italian style, having an enriched rusticated ground story, supporting a principal story, with a suite of windows all round, parted by Corinthian columns, and surmounted by an ornamental entablature, over which is another story carrying the building to an imposing height. Its cost was about £6,000. W. B. Gingell, Esq., of Bristol, architect. W. Lister, Esq., is managing director, and B. F. Scott, Esq., secretary. The company’s engine is kept in the Rose and Crown yard. About the same time was established in the city of York, the Yorkshire Insurance Company, with a capital of £500,000, and like that at Leeds, “for the insurance against fire, and on lives and survivorships; endowments of children; and for the purchase and sale of revixions and annuities.”———_This year the duke of Devonshire sold the town of Wetherby in 174 lots. There was, this year, areduction of the duties on coals and rum, anda repeal of the duties on law proceedings. An important enactment of this session was one which established a uniformity of weights and measures. A committee of the House of Commons, with Mr. Hume as chairman, recommended (and which was soon made law) a repeal of the laws which prohibited the emigration of artizans. The House of Commons also reduced the duties on raw silk to 3d. per lb: from 5s. 7d. on all that did not come from Bengal, and 4s. on all that did. The duties on thrown silk were reduced from 14s. 8d. to 7s. 6d. per lb. The importation of foreign silks was still prohibited up to July, 1826, when they were to be admitted at an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent. The case of the woollen manufacture, which received a similar boon this year, was somewhat different from that of silk. No duty was laid

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316 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1824.-1825. on wool till 1803, and then it amounted to little more than wd. perlb. The duty never exceeded 1d. per Ib. till 1819, when Mr. Vansittart most imprudently increased it to 6d. per lb. Mr. Huskinson introduced a measure reverting to to the former plan: Foreign wool imported for Euglish consumption of the value of 1s. per 1b. and upwards was to pay a duty of 1d. per lb; and wool of an inferior quality was to pay 4d.perlb. English wool growers were now permitted to export wool on payment of a duty of 1d. per Ib. In the summer of this year, there was dis- covered in a quarry at Morley, ina solid block of stone, and at a depth of twenty-five feet from the surface of the earth, eight or ten fossil nuts or acorns. The nuts were “ovate” and “angular,” which proves them to have been oak acorns; besides which, they did not seem to have been fixed in a calix or cup, but like stone fruit to have hung suspended by astalk. In the same block of stone were also fossil remains of the cane or reed, which is now a native of the Indies; and what is more curious, a piece of iron of the wedge form, two or three inches long. 1825. On the 12th of January, twenty-five men and boys were killed by an explosion of fire damp, in the Gosforth coal mine, at Middleton, near Leeds. Feb. 3rd. The septennial festival in honour of Bishop Blaize, was celebrated at Bradford with unusual splendour. As it appears probable that the honours then paid to the wool-combers’ Saint will be the last of the kind rendered here, it will be interesting to give an account of the cere- mony. The weather being very fine, at an early hour in the morning the surrounding towns and villages began to pour in their population. About eight o’clock in the morning, the persons intending to form part of the pro- cession began to assemble in Westgate; and shortly before ten o’clock, under the superintendance of Matthew Thompson, Esq., were formed in the following order :—

Herald, bzaring a flag.—T wenty-four woolstaplers on horseback, each horse caparisoned with a worsted spinners and manufacturers on horsebick, in white stuff waistcoats, with each a sliver of wool over his shoulder and a white stuff sash: the horses’ necks covered with nets made of thick yarn.—Six merchants on horse- back, with coloured sashes.—Three guards.— Masters’ colours.—T hree Guards.—F ifty-six apprentices and masters’ sons on horseback, with ornamented caps, scarlet coloured coats, white stuff waistcoats, and blue pantaloons.—Bradford and Keighley bands.—Macebearer, on foot.—Six guards.—King.—Queen. —Six guards.—Guards.—Jason.—

Princess Medea.—Guards.—Bishop’s chaplain -BISHOP BLAISE.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 317 1825.

—-Shepherd and shepherdess.—Shepherd swains.—One hundred and sixty woolsorters on horseback, with ornamented caps and various coloured slivers.—Thirty comb makers.—Charcoal burners —Combers’ colours.—Band.—Four hundred and seventy wool-combers, with wool wigs, &c —Band.—Forty dyers, with red cockades, blue aprons, and crossed slivers of red and blue.

The procession started about ten o’clock, and proceeded through the principal streets and roads of the town; and did not disperse till about five o’clock. The whole caval- cade reached upwards of half a mile. Several splendid and well-painted flags were displayed. The person who figured as the “ King’”’ in the procession, was an old man named William Clough, from Darlington, who had sus- tained the part on four previous occasions. Jason was personated by a John Smith—the fair Medea rode by his side. Bishop Blaize was represented with becoming gravity by another John Smith, who had, too, borne the pastoral crook on several other commemorations. His chaplain was James Beetham. The ornaments of the spinners and manufacturers had a neat and even elegant appearance, from the delicate and glossy whiteness of the finely-combed wool which they wore. The apprentices and masters’ sons, however, formed the most showy part of the procession; their caps being richly ornamented with ostrich feathers, flowers, and knots of various coloured yarn; and their stuff gar- ments formed of the gayest colours. Some of these dresses were very costly, from the profusion of their decorations. The shepherd, shepherdess, and swains were attired in bright green. The wool-sorters, from their number, and the height of their plumes of feathers, which were mostly of different colours, formed in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, had a dashing appearance. The comb-makers carried before them the instruments here so much cele- brated, raised on standards, togother with golden fleeces, rams’ heads with gilded horns, and other emblems. The wool-combers were neatly dressed, and looked mighty wise in their odd-fashioned and full flowing wigs of combed wool—and the garb of the dyers was quite pro- fessional. Sunday, April 3rd, Abram Rhodes and Co.’s extensive woollen mill, at Woodhouse carr, near Leeds was partly destroyed by fire, which commenced in the third story, _ and consumed all the machinery, &c., in that and on the two next floors above and below; but the two lower stories were saved. April 26th. As the workmen

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318 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1825. were employed at the height of fifty-one feet, in fixing the roof of the new Independent chapel, at Back-greeu, Hud- dersficld, a plank of unusual length, without any support in the centre, suddenly broke, and precipitated seventeen men into the body of the chapel, where two were killed ou the spot, two more died soon after, and the rest were dreadfully hurt. March 16th, was laid the first stone of the Indepeudent chapel, at Gomersal. May 24th. The vicar of Dewsbury laid the first stone of a new church at Earls Heaton. The demolition of the Middle row, at Leeds, was completed May 30th, and Briggate, in which the ancient pile stood, was rendered one of the tiuest pro- vincial streets in the kingdom. June 9th. Mr. Green, sen., made his 32nd ascent from the coloured Cloth Hall yard, Leeds, in his beautiful balloon, which descended at Askham-Richard, eighteen miles from Leeds. Mr. Green was accompanied in this ascent by Miss Stocks, the young lady who ascended with Mr. Harris, from London, and fell with him from a great elevation, in consequcuce of the sudden escape of gas. July 6th. Was opened, the new turnpike road from Leeds to Birstal, by way of Wel- lington bridge; it is tifty feet wide, and avoids all difficult ascents; the committee and many other gentlemen per- ambulated the whole line. In April, this year, a Mechanics’ institute was established at Huddersfield. This year was the most disastrous to Bradford in its events of any in modern times. From the great pomp with which the Bishop Blaize festival was celebrated in February, it seems that the trade here was then very prosperous. The wool-combers and stuff-weavers of Bradford and the surrounding villages had long been dis- contented with their wages. (though they were then very nign), and, after unsuccesstully endeavouring to obtain an advance. “turned out” of their work. On the l4th of June this famous “ strike’? commenced. The workmen, to the number of nearly 20,000, associated themselves in the name of the Bradford union, under the leadership of a wool-comber named John Tester. ‘Their demands were perseveringly opposed by the masters; and, as a conse- quence, the trade of Bradford was nearly stopped. The unemployed men were supported by subscriptions from the operatives in various parts of the kingdom ; the sums raised for the purpose were immense, and enabled tho malcontents to strive with the masters for twenty-threo weeks, when the money began to fail, and Tester abscond- Ing with part of the funds, on the 7th of November the

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 319 1825. union was dissolved; but 1,200 of the wool-combers and weavers, and 1,000 of the children could not find employ- ment even at the old prices. July 7th, were opened the new Baths, at Slaithwaite, ‘where some years before a spa was discovered, rising in the channel of the river, from which it has been separated. About the same time the spa at Lockwood, near Hud~« dersfield, was first brought into notice. July. A large block of grit stoue, with the indention of a palm leaf near the base, and exhibiting other symptons of organic remains, was brought from the quarry at Bram- ley fall, to the Central market, where the workmen pre- pared it for building. Large masses of petrified timber are so common in this neighbourhood, as scarcely to duce any surprise in the mind of the geologist. On the 30th June, the merchants and manufacturers of Saddleworth gave a pnblic dinner, with a silver cup of fifty guineas, to William Hirst, of Leeds, as a testimony of the high sense they entertain of his abilities and perse- verance as a woollen manufacturer; and of their esteem for his frankness and liberality in communicating his im- provements to the public.”.———On the 30th of July, one of the projecting wings of Armley mills, belonging to Messrs. Gott and Sons, was destroyed by fire: the damage was estimated at £5,000. In August, much interest was excited in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, by the discovery of some diluvian remains, with impressions in the sand stone of animals and plants; a number of them evidently such as could only have existed in tropical climates. Died on the 25th of October, at his house in Portman-square, London, Walter Fawkes, Esq., of Farnley hal!, near Otley. Public credit in Yorkshire received a distressing shock on December 9th, by the stoppage and bankruptcy of Messrs. Wentworth, Chaloner, and Rishworths; the bankers of London, Wakefield, Braa- ford, and York. . In September, this year. a railway was opened which led from the mines near Darlington to the wnarts on the Tees, at Stockton—the whole distance about twenty miles —for the transport of coal. The waggons were drawn by horses, and ten miles un hour was the usual speed. In the following year two of Stephenson’s locomotives were employed on the line in addition to the horses. Stephen- son’s assertion, during an examination before a committeo of the House of Commons, on the subject of railways, that if would not be difficult to make a locomotive travel

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320 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1825.-1826. fifteen or twenty miles an hour, provoked one of the members to reply, that the engineer could only be fit for a lunatic asylum. 1826. In January, the new churches at Leeds, Wood- house, and Roundhay were consecrated by the archbishop. Quarry-hill church, Leeds,.was consecrated Oct. 12th. On January 19th, about four o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. George Hammond’s flax mill, at the Bank, in Leeds, took fire, and the flames spread with such rapidity, that many of the workmen were severely scorched, and about ten persons in the attic had no means of escape, except passing through the roof, and thence into an adjoining mill; the building was reduced to a ruin, and the loss of machinery and goods amounted to £3,000. The years 1824, 1825, and 1826, will ever be memorable for the creation of Joint Stock Companies, by which im- mense loss was sustained by persons in all parts of the kingdom. There was a perfect rage to take shares in companies started for ever conceivable object—such as baking, washing, baths, life assurance, brewing, coal -portage, wool growing, &c. There was such a rage for steam navigation, canals, and railroads, that in the session of 1825, 438 petitions for private bills were presented, and 286 private acts were passed. The acknowledgment of the independence of some of the South American states, turned the tide of speculation in that direction. Companies were formed to obtain gold and silver from the mountain ‘tops and clefts, where there were no workmen or tools to do the work, no fuel for the fires, and no road or carriages to bring away the produce. There was to be so much gold and sliver, that after the national debt had been paid off, the value of money in England and all Europe would be essentially changed. Gems and pearls were to abound tv such a degree, that the jewels of ancient families were soon to be shamed. People who declined stock exchange speculation, aimed at growing rich by trading to the land ot gold. It is said that more Manchester goods arrived at Rio Janeiro, than had been before required for twenty years, and merchandise was left exposed on the beach till the over-crowded warehouses could afford room for its storage. Then came the. collapse—cotton, wine, silk, and other foreign products came into the market in such vast quantities, that prices fell incessantly. Then followed a panic unequalled in history for the extent of ruin 16 produced, the intensity of its distress, and the universa ity of its alarm. Commercial houses of long standing failed,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 321: 1826. that were supposed to be immensely rich. The bank of Eng- land narrowed its discounts. On the 5th of December, 1825, the banking-house of Sir Peter Pole and Co., stopped ; and had accounts with forty-four country banks. The news of this failure spread, and the funds went down imme- diately—and faster still next day, when the bank of Williams and Co. stopped. From this time the crash went on without intermission, till in five or six weeks from sixty to seventy banks had stopped payment. Between October 1825 and February 1826, fifty-nine commissions of bank- ruptcy were issued against English country banks; and four times the number of private compositions are said to have taken place hy banks during the same period. On the stoppage of Pole’s bank, an issue was made of one and two pound bank notes for country circulation ; and the Mint was set to work to coin sovereigns as fast as the machinery would go. For about a week the coinage amounted to 150,000 sovereigns per day. While merchants and manufacturers were unable to meet pecu- niary obligations, their workmen were without employ- ment, and distress reached every class of the community. He was indeed a lucky man that was not affected by this panic. After the panic, the fearful sufferings of the poorer classes led them into riotous proceedings. The. rioters of Lancashire commenced the destruction of power-looms, supposed to be the cause of their distress. In one day every power-loom in Blackburn, and within six miles of it was destroyed. In less than a week a thousand power-looms were destroyed. The mob went from town to town in thousands, armed with table knives made into spikes, and sledge hammers, and did a great amount of mischief. The Thames tunnel was commenced this year by Mr. Brunel, the engineer. The work was continued for two years with various disasters, but with an indomitable per- severance on the part of the engineer. Then the directors became discouraged, the funds were exhausted, and the tunnel was shut up for seven years. It was afterwards prosecuted to completion. January 5th. Assome workmen were removing an ancient wall, at Garforth, near Leeds, they found a leathern purse, containing forty-one pieces of coin, of the reigns of Eliza- beth, James I., and Charles L., which are supposed to have been deposited there in the time of the civil wars. this year, at Wilsden, near Bradford, in the 93rd year of her age, Mrs. Hannah Jowett, who, while all the

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322 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1826. family were in attendance at public worship, had knelt down near the fire, in the act of private devotion, when her clothes caught fire, and she was burnt in so dreadful a manner as to occasion her death two days after the catas- trophe. Nearly all the female children of the parish for two generations, had been indebted to the pious dame Jowett for their early instruction. The density of the atmosphere in London, on Monday, January 16th, was so great that carriages in many places were absolutely immoveable, simply by the horses not being able to see the ground, while the darkness was so great that no part of St. Paul’s cathedral could be seen from the western railing; Cheapside and the city generally pre- sented a scene of real desolation, and all the manufactories and workshops were obliged to use their full complement of night lights. Thomas Wade left money in 15380 for the repair of certain roads, out of which fund £1,000 was obtained this year and paid towards the opening of Bond-street from Albion-street to the infirmary. The establishment of an universify at Leeds was recom- meuded by Mr. Marshall._—Jan. 15th. At the parish church, Calverley, were buried, James Brayshaw, of Idle, cloth maker, aged 87, and Martha, his wife, who had been married and lived together sixty-six years, and had a family of nine children, fifty-nine grand-children, fifty-five great grand- children, and three great great grand-children, in all 126. During the intensity of the frost that generally prevailed in England,there was a wren’s nest built under the eaves of a thatched cottage, at Beighton, near Sheffield, con- taining five young ones, hatched at Christmas, which were regularly fed by the parent bird, from placed within its reach. An apple tree in the same neighbourhood ex- hibited five or six apples in a growing state. In January, a box was sent from Leeds to Newcastle, directed to a Mr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, and was found to contain the corpse of a Mr. Daniel, who had been in- terred in St. John’s church yard, Leeds, on the 1st of January, and on searching the grave, the coffin was found empty. Mr. Daniel’s son immediately went to New- castle, where he recognised the body of his deceased parent, Thomas Daniel, by various well-known marks Imprinted upon it with gunpowder. In the mean time, George Cox, the son of a broker and box maker of Leeds, was recognised by the clerk of the telegraph coach. office, as the man who delivered the package. He was conse- quently apprehended, and though he pleaded that a

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 323 1826. stranger Jew, who had lodged a short time at his father’s, had employed him to make the box, and that he knew not its contents, though he took it to the coach-oitice, he was found guilty of body stealing at the sessions, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in York castle. In February, a package similar to the above was sent from Leeds by coach, directed to Mr. Jackson, of Edin- burgh, but if was also opened at Newcastle, and found to contain the body of a man, about sixty years of age. Feb. Sir Sandford Graham gave the munificent sum of £500 towards the erection of a church at Kirkstall, near Leeds. On February 16th, died Lindley Murray, who wrote and published so many excellent elementary and other works, principally for the use of schools. He expired in his 8lst year, at Holdgate, near York, where he had lived many years. He was the son of a miller, and was born at Swetara, near Lancaster, in Pensylvania, in the United States of America, which he left in 1784, and settled in England. Feb 20th. Died, aged 61 years, Mr. Matthew Murray, engineer, of Leeds, whose improve- ments in the steam-engine flax spinning, and other ma- chinery, will be a lasting testimony of his skill. In the course of the week previous to the 11th of March, a pig, fed at Parlington, near Aberford, was slaughtered in the shambles, at Leeds, which weighed 46 stones 6 lbs., long weight. In March, the body of Martha Oddy, 15 years of age, the daughter of a clothier, was stolen out of its grave in Armley church yard, and was also despatched to Edinburgh, but after a long, persevering, and painful chase, was regained by the distressed parents, brought back, and re-interred in its original grave. A few days after the re-interment, three men were apprehended on suspicion of having committed this daring offence, and one of them, Michael Armstrong, was sentenced at the Leeds sessions to six months’ imprisonment in York castle. In March, this year, the long pending Wakefield Soke Cause, which commenced in 1820, was terminated at York, before Judge Bayley, and a special jury, who by their verdict established the custom of the soke, in favour’ of the plaintiffs, Sir Edward Dodsworth, bart., Godfrey Wentworth Wentworth, Esq., Sir William Pilkington, bart., and Jose Luis Fernandez, the miller. The defend- ants were William Ingham, Charles Adams, and Joseph Smith, Esyrs., of Ossett. The places which were included

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324 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1826. in the soke by the plaintiffs were Horbury, Ossett-cum- Gawthorpe, Alyerthorpe-cum-Thornes, Wakefield, Stanley- cum-Wrenthorp, Sandal, Criggleston, and New-miller dam, the inhabitants of which places were compelled to grind their corn, whether for their own consumption or as an article of trade, at the soke mills. The soke has since been purchased by the inhabitants of Wakefield, for which rates ave been laid. April. Sarah Baker, of Somerton, Oxfordshire, widow, died this month, aged 106 years. She officiated for many years as parish clerk, and when 99 years of age reaped in the fields for a whole day. On levelling a piece of ground near Fishergate bar, for the new cattle market, at York, many relics of mortality were exposed, it having been former'y the site of All Saint’s church, an ancient rectory, given by William Rufus to the abbess and convent of Whitby, on condition that the monks there should pra for him and his heirs. The expense of the land, pens, an buildings of this new and commodious market-place, was £8.400. The tolls were soon after let for £130 per annum. May Ist. In the afternoon of this day, a meeting of un- employed workmen fook place on Fairweather green, near Bradford. The number of persons assembled was about 250, who, after consulting together for some time, pro- ceeded at five o’clock in the afternoon, to the mill of Messrs. Horsfall, situate at North Wing, near the old church, Brad- ford, which contained a uumber of power-looms for weaving stuffs, and commenced an attack upon the mill, but without doing any mischief, except breaking the windows. They then proceeded to Bradford moor, about a mile on the Leeds road, where they were joined by about 200 more, and, with this reinforcement, they returned to the mill, and made a second attack between eight and nine o’clock; but the riot act being read, the mob after some time separated. This was on Monday, aud all remained quiet until Wednesday, when another meeting was held on Fairweather green, far more numerous than that on Monday, and, after forming in scveral groups till about twenty minutes past three, they again moved ina body to Messrs. Horsfall’s mill, where they arrived a little before four o’clock. They began throwing stones as before; the squares which were broken on Monday, about 240 in number, had since been glazed. They continued the attack half an hour, when they had completely demolished three of the windows, staunchcons, frames, and everything connected with them. But on Tuesday, iron bars had been fixed in front of the low win-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 325 1826. dows, and as the doors were secured by three inch planks, it was next to impossible to force an entrance. At half- past four, colone] Plumbe Tempest, accompanied by a num- er of special constables, stood on the ground adjoining the mill, and read the riot act. The mob still showed no disposition to disperse, but continued throwing stones. All other efforts hitherto adoptcd proving unavailing, and the mob having fired a pistol into the mill, the persons who were defending it, amountivg to about forty, fired from twenty to thirty shots upon the mob, by which two persons were killed, viz., Jonas. Barstow, of Queen’s head, aged 18 years, and Edward Fearnley, of Bradford, a boy 13 years old; and a considerable number were wounded. The mob soon after dispersed. Two of the rioters were sent to York castle. The first stone of the Leeds Commercial Buildings was laid May 18th, this year, by Lepton Dobson, Esq. This noble and elegant structure is situated at the junction of Park-row, called Quebec, and the end of Boar-lane, called West-bar, and was opened October 12th 1829: the site is most eligible, fronting the west entrance into the town. The building stands perfectly isolated, being surrounded by streets, excepting the back, which overlooks the burial ground of Mill-hill chapel. The style of architecture is Grecian—the plan a parallelogram, with the south-western corner rounded off, and formed into a spacious and elegant circular portico. The building presents six different sides, or facades, of unequal length; the one towards Park-row has two, and that towards West-bar four recessed fluted columns. The row of columns of the portico facade or principal entrance, adjoius and connects the two preceding, but recedcs a little. There are five openings, and as many flights of steps, on which stand four columus, with appro- riate autz supporting the sweep of the circular entab- lature, which is surmounted in the centre by a clock, and in the rear of it is an elevated substruction. The columns of the portico, and the two facades named, are fluted and upwards of four fcet in diameter at the base of the shafts, and nearly forty fect in height, from the top of the base- ment on which they stand, to the saffet of the architrave of the entablature which is supported by them. Over the entablature, which completely environs the building, an attic parapet wall, with suitable pilasters, is erected. Thig lofty pile of buildings is overtopped bya circular tower, with a finial ornament of scrolls and honeysuckles, sur- mounted by acornice, which, when viewed from a distance, 28

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326 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1826. has an imposing effect. The interior is in perfect keeping with the exterior. The first apartment is the vestibule, beyond which, and separated from it by a screen of Ionic columns, is the saloon of the grand staircase, an entire circle, thirty four feet six inches in diameter, and above sixty feet to the top of the dome. At the bottom of the staircase, on each side, are two lofty ornamental can- delabra, from which palisading, surmounted by a broad mahogany hand-rail, tences the ends of the steps and landings. The stairs branch right and left to the top of a broad landing, communicating with another saloon, and separated by a screen of Corinthian columns. The upper part of the staircase is decorated with twenty Corinthian columns, recessed, supporting an enriched en- tablature of the same order, and the panelled dome. A cupola crowns the dome, glazed with stained glass. In the intercolumniations on the wall are niches, each sur- mounted by a wreath. This staircase has a grand effect. On the ground floor, to the right of the entrance, is the news, or reading-room. It is sixty-five feet long, thirty- three feet six inches wide, and twenty-five feet high, and is divided longitudinally into three aisles, by two rows of twelve Corinthian columns. The walls have a similar number of corresponding pilasters and niches ; windows, doors, or fire-places, are faced in the intercolumniations, and the ceiling is tastefully ornamented. The room im- mediately over the news-room is of precisely similar dimensions, but undivided by rows of columns. The walls are decorated with coupled autz, which supports a rich entablature, aud a beautiful ceiling. Upon the opposite side of the entrance is another large room, the walls decorated with pillars, which support an entablature, and a light arched ceiling, divided into compartments, and over thisroom is asimilar one. There is attached to the news-room, a room for the superintendent, and a com- mittee-room. There are other rooms on the opposite side fitted up with great taste. The cellars form two ex- tensive ranges of wine vaults. The whole building covers an area of 1,324 square yards, and cost, with the ground, near £34,500. The architect was John Clark, Esq., of Edin- burgh. The upper story is occupied by the Leeds District Court of Bankruptcy; the other as offices, chiefly by brokers and professional men. The subscription to the news-room is 25s. per annum, and the subscriber has the liberty of introducing a stranger. Mr. Thomas Duncan is. honorary secretary of the news-room.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 327 1826. The foundation stone of the Bradford Dispensary was laid by the Rev. Henry Heap, vicar, on the 29th of May, in this year. The first stone of the Leeds Corn Exchange, top of Brig- gate, was laid ina private manner, by Mr. John Cawood, on the 3lst May, on of anancient chantry, supposed to have been founded about 1470; that of the west wing on the 4th of January, 1827; and that of the principal wing was laid with great ceremony on the 27th of August, in the same year. The structure is of stone. The lowerstory of the front is rusticated; and above rise two Ionic columns, supporting an entablature and pediment. Between the columns is a niche, in which is placed a well-executed ‘marble statue of queen Anne, by Carpenter, of London. Above the statue is a clock, and on the roof is a small cupola for the bell. The front of the building is occupied by shops, with dwelling-houses attached. At the side is a court with a piazza, where the dealers exhibit their samples and conduct their sales. There is likewise an excellent hotel for their accommodation. The market is open from eleven to one o’clock every Tuesday. The building cost £12,500. On June 21st, for the first time, four knights of the shire were elected at York, as members of parliameut for York- shire, viz., Jord Milton, the hon. Wm. Duncombe, John Marshall, Esq., and Richard Fountayne Wilson, Esq. Five candidates were nominated by the high sheriff, and a poll was confidently expected, but previous to the day of elec- tion, Richard Bethell, Esq., withdrew hisname. Although there was no contest, the expenses of the four candidates amounted to £150,000. June 28th. In this year, one of the most severe thunder storms ever remembered, prevailed in the neighbourhood of York. At Poppleton, to the west of that city, hail- stones fell in great abundance, and of unusual dimensions, gome measuring five inches in circumference. Several in- habitants had every square of glass in the premises broken, and many of the gardens were laid waste by the storm. Near Tadcaster bar, on the York road, a man, by trade a wire worker, was struck by the lightning, and killed on the spot. During the same storm, a young woman was killed by the electric fluid, whilst working in a hay field near Wetherby. The thermometer was at 85° on Saturday and Sunday in the shade, and in the sun at 124°. Such was the drought and sultriness of the weather, that even in the midst of the hay harvest prayers were offered up in the

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328 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1826. churches and other places of worship forrain. In the month of July the extensive moors in the West-Riding of York- shire were in,a state of conflagration, which not only spread over a wide extent of surface, cousuming the moss, but also burnt to a great depth, igniting the peat under- neath. Hawksworth moor was entirely consumed; on Ilkley moor five hundred acres were burnt; Thornton moor was entirely destroyed; Burley moor was on fire. With the destruction of Thornton moor is t» be enumer- ated the losa of all the young plantations, which cost up- wards of £2,000. Oaksworth moor was entirely burnt; and Ovenden moor, Holme moss, Burnsall fell, also Hebden, Grassington, Rombalds, and Harden moors were on fire. The flames and smoke together presented an imposing and formidable appearance from high grounds, whence a view of them might be obtained. John Flaxman, a celebrated sculptor, was born at York, in 1755, and from 1810 till his death, was professor in the royal academy. He received his education partly from his father, who was a sculptor, and partly in the academy. He afterwards visited Italy, where he studied from 1787-94. He composed several works during that period, and among them his celebrated illustrations fo Homer, Dante, and Aeschylus, which procured him admission to the academy of Florence and Carrara. His most famous sculptures in Sngland are the monument of lord Mansfield in West- minster abbey, a model of the shield of Achilles, according to Homer, a monument to the poet Collins, and one of Miss Cromwell, in Chichester cathedral, one of the countess Spencer, at Brington, a monumental bas-relief to the memory of his heloved pupil Thomas Hayley, at Eartham, a monument in the Parish church, of Leeds, to the memory of two townsmen viz., captain Walker and captain Beckett, who fell at the battle of Talavera, and a mon- ument to the Baring family at Flaxman died in 1826, six years after his wife, Anne Denham, to whose ecclesiastical taste he was much indebted. July 12th. J. A. Stuart Wortley, Esq., of Wortley hall, near Peniston, was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Wharncliffe, previous to which he had been many years member of parliament for Yorkshire. On the 18th of September, in this year, at his seat, Gledhow, near Leeds, died Sir John Beckett, Bart. aged S4 years. He was born in 1743, and in 1774 married Mary, third daughter of Dr. Christopher Wilson, bisho of Bristol, grandfather of R. F. Wilson, Esq., and ha

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 329 1826.-1827. by her eight sons and three daughters. Sir John was created a baronet in 1813, was twice mayor of Leeds, and as a magistrate for that borough and the West- Riding, he was distinguished for legal knowledge and impartiality: to whose memory and that of lady Beckett, there is a tablet erected in the Leeds parish church, situated on the north-east side of the interior. He was succeeded in his titles by his son, the late right hon. Sir John Beckett, M.P., who married lady Anne Lowther, third daughter of the earl of Lonsdale. On the night of November 18th, the dyehouse of Messrs. Halliley, Son, and Brook, of Dewsbury, was ‘discovered to be in flames by the watchman, who im- mediately alarmed William Hanson, one of the company’s overlookers, a faithful servant, who had been in their employ thirty-three years. When poor Hanson arrived, and saw the building in flames, his feelings were so deeply affected, that he fell to the ground, and instantly expired. The sequel of this mournful occurrence was still more affecting, for, on the following day, whilst Mr. Wigglesworth, the coroner, was preparing for an inquest on the body of Hanson, he was suddenly seized with a fit of apoplexy, and fell, in the presence of the jury, into the arms of Mr. Brooks, and died in a few ours afterwards. 1827. January 5th, died his royal highness Frederick, duke of York, in his 64th year. February 3rd, was laid, by Dr. Outhwaite, the first stone of the Bradford Exchange Buildiugs, opposite the Piece hall. Feb. 9th, died Dr. Pelham, the bishop of Lincoln, in consequence of a cold caught while attending the duke of York’s funeral. March 4th. A fire broke out in the Flax mill of Mr. Bowes, in the Steander, Leeds: damage about £1,200. Mar. 17th. In taking down the premises adjoining the Union inn, Ivegute, Bradford, -a cannon ball was found in the roof, an eight pounder, sup- posed to have been shot from one of the field pieces used by the army of the earl of Newcastle, in the siege of 1643. June 18th. The first stone of the Hudders- field Joint Stock Bank was laid by B. H. Allen, Esq. June 13th, a large portion of Mr. Flax mill, at the Bank, in Leeds, was destroyed by fire. In July, an uncommon instance of long continued sleep occurred at Woodhouse, near Leeds, where Elizabeth Armitage, spinster, aged 69, suddenly fell into a state -of lethargic stupor, in which she continued without

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330 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1827. uttering a word, receiving any food, or showing any signs of life, except breathing, for the space of eight days, when she expired without a struggle. For some months previous, she had been gradually declining, and had taken very little sustenance. July 4th. For some weeks previous to this time indications of a fire beneath the surface of the ground, had been observed in St. Peter’s-square, in Leeds; and on this day, the smoke issued in such quantities as to create considerable alarm in the neighbourhood. An excavation being made to discover the cause of this extraordinary phenomenon, a large body of fire was found, which on the accession of air, burst into a vivid flame. Engines were procured, and a quantity of water thrown into the excavation, which tor the time appeared to have extinguished the tire; but on the two following days, the smoke was seen to issue in various places, in very considerable quantities, when a number of excavators were employed to remove the earth, and ascertain the cause, which was discovered to proceed from the ignition of a bed of coal, about two feet in thickness, and only five feet beneath the surface of the gronnd; a considerable portion of which was reduced to ashes. The ignition of the coal was produced by the furnace of a pipe- maker, which had been erected immediately over it, which was cut out, and the space filled up with gravel, well saturated with water. July 17th. As Jonathan Wilson was looking at the lion Wallace, in Wombwell’s menagerie, then at Leeds, he incautiously placed his hand upon the bottom of the den, when the ferocious animal made a spring at him, and with his claws drew the unfortunate man’s arm against the grate, inflicting upon it with his fangs several dreadful wounds, of which he died at the in- firmary, by mortification, eight days afterwards. The large scribbling mill, at Bramley, Hough-end, was burnt down August 1. On Monday, Aug. 6th, a fortnight sheep and cattle fair was held in the free market, at Leeds; but on October 10th the day was changed to Wednesday. August Sth, died the right hon. George Canning, first lord of the treasury, and chancellor of the exchequer, which elevated situation he had held only four months. He was born on the lith of April, 1770, and was buried in Westminster abbey, on Thursday, the 10th of August, this year. He was followed to the grave by the dukes of Clarence

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 331 1827, and Sussex, all the cabinet ministers, marquis Clan- ricarde, the dukes of Portland, Devonshire, &c., &c. Meetings were held in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, &c., to pay tributes of respect to his memory. August 23rd, the Leeds Branch Bank of England was opened under the management of Thomas Bischoff, Esq. The business of the bank was for several years transacte in the premises situate in Bank-street, now occupied as offices by Mr. Ward, solicitor; but now (1859) carried on in a plain building, 18, Albion-street, which was formerly occupied by Thomas Tennant, Esq. C. E. Mac Carthy, Esq., is agent. On September 24th, his grace, Arthur, duke of Wellington, the hero of Waterloo, made his public entry into the city of York, preceded by a grand pro- cession of the lord mayor, corporation, and a great number of nobility and gentry. His grace visited many other places in the north of England, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm a grateful people could evince for the eminent military services he had rendercd his country. September 29th, a fire broke out in the Cotton- mill of Messrs. Jonas Brooke and Erothers, at Meltham, near Huddersfield.—Same day, died at the advanced age of 100 years, Mrs. Eve Randall, of Leeds. October Ist, Mr. Sam]. Lumb, sen. of Sowerby, 83 years of age, was married at Halitax, to Mrs. Rachel Heap, to whom he had been previously married about 25 years before. Her first husband had entered into the army, and was at the time of her first marriage with Mr. Lumb, supposed to be dead. In a few years, however, he returned, and demanded his wife, whom he found living with Mr. Lumb, and by whom she had three children. But, after some negociation, Heap agreed to sell her, and Mr. Lumb bought her, and she was actually delivered to him in a halter, at Halifax cross. At her last marriage she was given away at the altar, by Mr. Lumb’s grandson. Her first husband had died the April before. October 6th, the Leeds central market was opened, with great spirit and animation, a band of music enlivened the crowded scene. The first Leeds quarterly leather fair was neld October 17th, in the South market. October 15th, was laid the first stone of the new church at South Crossland, on ground given by Richard Henry Beaumont, Esq. The struc- ture was finished in July, 1829.——On October 24th, early in the morning, Mr. James Cordingley, a tanner, of Little Horton, near Bradford, was found in his yard nearly dead,

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332 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1897. having been worried by two dogs, which he kept for the protection of his property ; his arm was nearly severed from his body, and his throat dreadtully lacerated, with the windpipe partly torn out ; he expired soon after he was found. October 27th, two men in attempting to cross the river Aire in a boat, near Castleford, were hurried away by the stream over the middle-dam, when, probably under the influence of panic, they leaped out of the boat, and were both unfortunately drowned. The Yorkshire Philosophical Society was founded in the year 1822. Having obtained a grant from the crown of three acres of ground on the Manor Shore, comprising the site of the ruins of the abbey (the preservation of these in- teresting relics of antiquity from further decay being one part of their design,) this society erected its museuin in the centre between them and the Roman multangular tower. The foundation stone was laid on the 24th of October, 1827, by the archbishop of York, and the building was opened on February 2nd, 1830. The principal front, which looks towards the river, is nearly 200 féet in length, of pure Doric architecture, and has a central portico, con- sisting of a pediment, supported on four columns, resting upon a basement of three steps. The internal arrange- ments consist of an entrance hall, 29 feet by 18; a theatre or lecture room, 44 feet by 35; a library, 31 feet 9 in. by 18 feet 6 in.; a council room, and various apartments for the extensive collections of specimens in natural history, antiquities, &c., and also a dwelling-house for the sub- curator, Mr. H. Baines. The main design was furnished by that eminent architect, William Wilkins, Esq, R.A., and the interior portions have been principally constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Sharp and Mr. Pritchett, of York. Since the bequest of £10,000 to this institution by the late Dr. Beckwith, who, during his lifetime was one of its warmest supporters, the botanical garden has undergone the most extensive alterations and improve- ment, and is now carried down to the promenade on the river side; a house also for the sub-curator has been erected at the back of the museum, adjoining to, and corresponding with, the architecture of the Manor house, besides various other improvements. ‘The geological col- lection was under the care of professor Phillips, and is considered one of the best in the kingdom, containing up- wards of 10,000 specimens of British organic remains, arranged in the order of their position in the earth. The collection of minerals is classed according to their chemical

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 333 1827. relations, and contains above 2,000 specimens. Those of ornithology and zoology are also very extensive ; as is also that of antiquities, in the Hospitium, containing most of the ancient British, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon remains that have been found in York and the neighbourhood. A few yards in front of the Museum stands a small observa- tory, built in 1833. The Roman multangular tower is an interesting relic of ancient Eboracum, and is situated on the right-hand side of the garden, immediately on the entrance through the handsome Doric lodge gateway. Respecting this tower, the Rev. C. Wellbeloved, who has long paid great attention to the antiquities of this locality, observes, that ‘ the wall procecding from it in a south-east direction, is of such a nature that every intelligent antiquary who has in- spected it, is of opinion that it was an angle of the wall of the ancient Eboracum. The discoveries made at different times of the foundatinn of the ancient wall, and of the remains of towers in connexion with this tower, leave no doubt as to the foundation of the wall of Eboracum, at least on one side of the river. English coins of various dates were found in the upper part of this tower; and when the accumulation of rubbish, which had been col- lecting for ages, was clearcd away, many Romau coins were found in the bottom.” The ruins of St. Mary’s abbey are situated on the opposite side of the museum to the Roman multangular tower; the principal ruin consisting apparently of the church of this once flourishing monastic establishment ; one side of which having eight light gothie arches for windows, with carved capitals, and a small portion of the clustered columns of each end, now only remains. In building the museum, extensive excavations were made, and the foundations of the abbey exposed to view, when they were carefully measured, and as- certained to be 371 feet in length, and 60 feet in breadth. A little to the east of this ruin is a small court, sur- rounded by a wall built of broken columns, capitals, and stones, bearing marks of fire, and supposed to be part of the former abbey, which perished in the ex-~ tensive conflagration of 1137. Over the entrance to this court is a mutilated tombstone, with the inscrip- tion now scarcely legible :—wic IACET : STEPANO AB. B. ISPN., supposed to have covered the tomb of the first abbot, Stephen de Whitby, who died in 1112. Nearer to the Manor house (the ancient building at the back of the

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334 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1827. museum) stood the domestic offices of the abbey, where still remain two vaults; 129 feet long, 23 feet wide, and seven feet high; each vault containing a well of ex- cellent water. Over these were the kitchens, and part of the huge fire-places are still preserved. Nearer to the river stands the Hospitium of the abbey, which has recently been repaired. The ancient entrance to the abbey and its grounds was through the old archway in Marygate, adjoining which is a massive old building, formerly the prison of the abbot’s jurisdiction, but now fitted up as a The Manor house was built by order of Henry VIIL., after the dissolution of St. Mary’s abbey, as already noticed. It was then called the king’s manor, and that monarch resided in it for a few days in the year 1541; afterwards it was used as the residence of the lords president of the north. James I. (the arms of this monarch are placed over the entrance to the interior court) had it again converted into a regal palace, and with his queen resided here in 1603. Here, in 1633, Charles I. was crowned; and that unfortunate prince, after he commenced his disputes with the parliament, retired to this city, and here assembled those of the lords and commons who were favourable to his interest. In 1696 a royal mint was established in it; the coins struck at it bear a Y under the king’s head. The building is now used for the Yorkshire school for the blind, an excellent and benevolent institution founded in 1833, as an appropriate public testimonial to the memory of William Wilberforce, Esq., (the persevering and successful advocate of the rights of the oppressed Negro race), who had represented the county of York in six successive parliaments. The funds were raised by public subscription; and in 1834 the governors ob- tained a lease of the manor house and grounds for a term of 99 years, at a yearly rent of £115. Children of both sexes are admitted; and since it was opened for the reception of pupils in October, 1835, it has con- tinued in a prosperous state. Besides being instructed in reading, arithmetic, history, music, &c., the boys are taught some branches of useful handicraft, as basket-making, &c., and the girls, knitting and needle- work. Nov. 22nd. The True Blue coach, returning from Wake- field to Leeds, was overturned at Bell-hill, and three per- sous died by the accident, viz., William Herfield, the driver,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 335 1827. killed on the spot, Mr. Charles Cope, of Leeds, and Mr. James Burrell, of Arkendale, who died soon after. On the night of December 1st, a fatal affray occurred in Kirklees park, between Sir George Armitage’s gamekeepers and watchers and a body of poachers. Uriah Womersley, one of the watchers, was killed by a bludgeon, which frac- tured his skull, and several of his party were severely wounded hy these desperadoes, six of whom were secured, and taken to the hall, and one of those who escaped died of his wounds soon after the con- flict. Six of the poachers were tried at the ensuing assizes, and were acquitted of murder; five of them afterwards pleaded guilty to the.charge of being out armed at night, with the intent to kill game, and were sentenced to be transported seven years. Dec. 7th. The foundation stone of the beautiful new church, at Oulton, near Leeds, ‘was laid by John Blayds, Esq., of Leeds and Oulton, who munificently bequeathed the funds necessary for building and endowing the edifice, which is dedicated to St. John, and erected from plans by Rickman and Hutchinson, archi- tects. Early in the morning of December 18th, Kirk- stall abbey mills were destroyed by a fire, which in the short space of one hour consumed property worth £12,000. The building belonged to Sir Sandford Graham, bart., and the occupants were Messrs. O. Willans and Son, cloth manufacturers, of Leeds. Calvert’s museum was opened in October this year, at No. 10, Commercial-street, and contained upwards of 15,000 specimens in natural history, &c. It has ceased to exist some years ago. The Protestant Methodists, or as they are now called the Association of Wesleyan Methodists ; or United Free Church (with whom the Wesleyan reformers have recently amal- gamated,) separated fromthe Wesleyans in 1827. Itseems that soon after the erection of Brunswick chapel in Leeds, in 1825, a project was formed of introducing an organ into that splendid place of worship. When this project was matured, a strong protest against it, signed by sixty local preachers, was presented to the proper quarter. The im- mediate cause of the separation was no doubt the suspen- sion of one of the local preachers for three months, on account of his activity in resisting the introduction of the obnoxious instrument. His companions and friends made common cause with him; they resolved, in the words of their historian, ‘“‘ to consider the sentence of the suspended individual their sentence, and his punishment their punish- ment; and they determined that they would preach no

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336 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1827.-1828, more in the Conference connexion until the sentence was revoked, or the period of punishment terminated.” No satisfactory agreement having been made, the preachers aud avery great number of members of the society, per- manently left the Wesleyan Methodists. They soon be- came regularly organized; the Stone chapel in Leeds, formerly occupied by the Baptists, was taken for their use, and they speedily commenced the erection of a spacious new chapel, in Caroline-strveet, called Park chapel. This religious body have the following places of Leeds, viz.:—Lady Lane chapel; the Tabernacle, Meadow-lane; Bethel chapel; Woodhonse chapel, St. Mark’s-street; Hunslet chapel, Wilson-street ; also in the principal villages in the vicinity. Previous to the amalgamation, the Wes- leyan Reformers had places of worship in Sweet-street, Wilson-street, Woodhouse-Carr, and Stock Exchange, Albion-street. Lockwood Spa, near Huddersfield, was erected in 1827, in a deeply sequestered spot, sheltered by a Jofty and well- wooded ridge on the east side of the river, is a handsome range of building, comprising warm, tepid, vapour, cold, and shower baths, with a large swimming bath, and every requisite arrangement for the internal and: external use of the water, which issues from a spring, and is pumped into the baths by a steam-engine. The water, which has a strong sulphureous smell and taste, contains a small pro- portion of carbonate of lime and sulphate of magnesia, with thirty-five parts of carburetted, and seventeen of sul- phuretted hydrogen, seven of carbonic acid, and forty- one of azotic gas. 1828. Jan. 23rd, some workmen engeged in widening the road in Clegg’s-lane, found near the surface a bayonet, and on the following day a quantity of human bones. A human skuil was discovered in the year 1816, near the same place. In January, an ornament of red leather, resembling a bunch of lotus flowers, was found among the bandages of the mummy, presented to the philo- sophical society of Leeds, by the late John Blayds, Esq. The parts representing the half expanded calices of the flowers, are stamped with hieroglyphic characters, which determine the date of this very interesting monument of antiquity. (See Annals, page 275). Feb. 9th. Mr. George Hammond’s Flax mill, at the Bank, Leeds, was totally destroyed by tire: damage about £5,000. Feb. 2ist. The Hanover arms, Leeds, was entirely de- stroyed by fire, not a vestige of any kind of property could

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 337 I 1828. be saved. Mar. 5th. An extraordinary spring tide in the Thames did considerable damage to the contiguous wharfs, &c. In the year 1235 it rose so high, that the lawyers were brought out of Wéstminster hall in boats. In 1489, the conservation of the Thames was given to the lord mayors of London. In the summer of 1592, its channel was 80 shallow, that a man might ride over it near London bridge. On the 22nd of March, 1682, it ebbed and flowed three times in four hours. Ou November 4th, 1777, it ebbed and flowed twice in three hours. April 2nd. William and John Dyon, father and son, were executed at York, for the murder of John Dyon, sen., brother to William. ‘The body of Joln Dyon was taken to Leeds for dissection, and on the following day was ex- hibited to the public; about 2,000 persons witnessed the sad spectacle. On the 30th of April, three men, named Marrott, Wilkinson, and Harrison, were executed at the same place, for horse stealing. Mar. 25th. The money collected in England, for the year ending at this date, for the relief of the poor, amounted to £7,391,528; of this gum, £759,905 was collected in the county of Middlesex ; in Yorkshire, £556,999; and in Lancashire, £496,776. The first stone of St. Jolin’s church, in Golcar, was laid March 12th, by the Rev. James Clarke Franks, vicar of Huddersfield. March 28th, was opened a new branch canal, from Salterhebhle to Halifax. Mar. 30th. About two o’clock in the morning, a most dreadful and destructive fire, supposed to be the work of an incendiary, broke out in the extensive premises of Messrs. Joshua Lockwood and Co., manufacturers of cotton and woollen cords, in Mauchester-strect, Huddersfield, and the devouring element raged with such fury, that in about tweuty mintites the roof of the principal mill fell in, and shortly after all the floors in succession; the whole factory, six stories high, then bccame one mass of fire, and the flames rose perpendicularly to such a height, as to be seen by all the surrounding country to a great distance. Fortu- nately, by dint of unremitting exertions, the remaining parts of the premises were preserved. This was the most dreadful conflagration which had happened in the town or neighbourhood of Huddersfield for many years. The loss sustained was about £10,000, and no part of the premises was insured.—-—At the Haigh Park races, in April, an attempt was made to revive the ancient game of wrestling, which, though an old British sport, had long been neglected in Yorkshire. The wrestling prizes contended for were 29

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338 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1828. £30, £20, £15, £10, £7, and £5, which were awarded to the men vf Devonshire, except £1 Is. to Finney, an Hibernian. July 7th. The first stone of the church dedicated to St. Stephen, at Kirkstall, was laid by the vicar of Leeds. R. D. Chantrell was the architect. It is situated on an eminence, and is in the early English style, witha tower, surmounted by a lofty spire. It cost about £3,500. The intcrior is handsomely arranged, and contains 1,000 sittings, of which 500 are free. The site of the church and church-yard, which is planted with trees, comprising an area of two acres, was given by the earl of Cardigan. There is also a heautiful parsonage corresponding in style with the church, and two parochial schools in which 400 children receive instruction. The Rev. T. 8. Bowers is the incumbent. A monument executed by J. Gott, Esq., to the memory of colonel Lloyd, was erected in the Leeds parish church in March, 1834. It is constructed of beautiful white marble, and the inscription, of which the following is a copy, is surmounted by an admirable bust of the deceased :—

“To the memory of Thomas Lloyd, Esquire. In his character were eminently displayed loyalty to the king, zeal for his country, and all the social virtues which mark the English gentleman. He was twice called by the general voice of the anhabitanis of this borough to the important trust of leutenant- colonel commandant of the Leeds volunteer infantry. First an the year 1794, for the protection of their property, en- dangered by the spread of anti-social and revolutionary principles. Secondly in the year 1803, for the preservation of their homes and liberties, wnder the menace of foreign invasion. By military ardour and firmness, tempered with discretion, and by kind offices of friendship and hospitality he won the affection of his corps, and was honoured with several valuable tokens of their esteem, as well as with other testimonies of public approbation. He contributed greatly to rouse that sprit of loyalty and patriotic devotion, which secured domestic order, and finally achieved the country’s over her foreign foes. He died at Kingthorpe house, near Pickering, the 7th day of April, 4.D., 1828, aged 77 years. For a memorial of their high regard, and to hand down his bright ecample to future ages, some of his surviving volunteers and friends have erected this monument.” July 29th. The ancient and beautiful mansion in Bram-

ham park, the seat of George Lane Fox, Esq., was de- stroyed by fire, with most of its costly furniture, plate, and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 339 1828, paintings. The house was built by the first lord Bingley, in the reign of yueen Anne. Aug. 13th. Mr. Green, the aeronaut, ascended in his balloon from Keighley, ac- companied by Mr. Lawson, of that place. ‘They alighted safely near Colne, in Lancashire. August 27th. Mr. Green, accompanied by his brother, asceuded from Bradford, and alighted near Otley. Sept. 4th. The first stone of Emanuel church, at Lockwood, was laid. October 3rd and 18th, Mr. Green made his sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth ascents, at Huddersfield. On the latter day, the balloon, after being inflated at the gas works, was attached toa carriage, and drawn into the Market-place, where most of the population of the town and neighbourhood assembled to witness the novel sight. Mr. Green was accompanied in his ascent by a gentleman of the town, and after re- maining twenty-four minutes in the air, descended at Upper Bagden. The third Yorkshire Musical Festival was commenced September 27rd. In November were laid the first stones of St. Paul’s and All Saint’s churches, Huddersfield. ——In December, public meetings were held at Leeds and other towns in York- shire, as well as in all other counties, and petitions sent to parliament, both for and against Catholic emancipation. This year the external appearance of the York assembly rooms was greatly improved by the erection of a new facade, of polished frecstone. May. 14th. Died in Bethlehem hospital, the celebrated Margaret Nicholson, who attempted the life of king George III. She had been confined in the above establishment forty-two years, and was insane during the whole of that period. She was supposed to be nearly 100 years of age. May 19th. Died at Wilsden, Joseph Pickles, in his 96th year. He left a surviving progeny of seven children, seventy-three grand children, 179 great grand children, and 50 great great grand children, in all 309, exclusive of 101 deceased. July 27th. In Mr. Green’s stone quarry, at Marsh, South- owram, near Halifax, were found three horus petrified and embedded in the flag stone, quite perfect. When found they were soft, but became hard hy being exposed to the air. They were found in a bed of two anda half yards thick, having one yard above them, and one and a half yard below. ‘They were about two feet long, and nine inches round in the thickest part, ringed from the point to the root, and grained lengthwise between the rings, which were about one inch apart. It appears, by a police report published this year, by the House of Commons, that

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340 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1828, the committals to the borough gaol of Leeds, from the year 1816 to 1827 were 17,463 persous, being an average of 1,455 per annum. Sept. 19th. A mare, the property of Mr. Joseph Wallace, of Dewsbury, died suddenly. On opening her, four large stones were found in her body, ove of which weighed 5 lbs., and was perfectly globular. The three others were of a triangular shape; the angles were rounded a3 if by attrition and weighed together 4 Iba. 12 oz. Octoder 25th was the day fixed hy the directors of the St. Catherine’s dock company, London, for the opening of the dock, then completed. At a quarter before two o’clock, the noble ship Elizabeth, an East India free trader, made her majestic entry amidst a disc harge of artillery, and universal English huzzahs! This extensive undertaking was com- menced and completed in a very short space of time. Nov. 8th. A labourer, who was digging uear Low moor, turned up a large quantity of ancient silver and copper coins. They all appeared to be of Roman origin, though struck in different of the empire; some having Greek aud others Egyptian characters mixed with the common Ronan letter. They are principally of the age of Julius and Augustus Ceesar Dec. 4th. Died, at Combe wood, the earl of Liverpool, late first lord of the treasury. Dec. Ist. Mr. Ramsbottum’s cotton factory, at Hebden bridge, was destroyed hy fire, when about 60) persons were thrown out of cmployment, and the loss was esti- mated at £12,000. Dec. 15th, An infant school was estab- lished at Huddersfield. Tec. 22nd. Died, at Holbeck, near Leeds, Betty Jackson, aged 105 years. She resided in that village all her life, and when in her twenty-third year accompanied the pack horses with rations to general Wade’s army, lying at Tadcaster, on its route to Scotland, to oppose the rehels in 1745. The Test aud Corporation act was repealed this year. The dissenters first separated from the church of England in 1571. The practice of ‘“ Burking,” (called after the murderer Burke), or budy snatching, to supply the hospitals with human bodies for dissection, was very common iu various parts of the kingdom. All sorts of expedients were adopted to obtain bodies, which were sold at a price of sixteen guineas cach; but acheck was in some measure put to the trade by” astartling disclosure in this year, which showed that a regular system of murder had been going on for some time, in order to supply subjects for the dissecting rooms. In the house of a man named Burke, in Ediuburgn, the dead body of a woman, who had a few

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 341 1828.-1829. hours before been in good health, was discovered. Burke himself confessed tifteen murders, which he and his ac- complice Hare, had perpetrated togcther. ‘Their practice was to note helpless, half-witted, or unfriended per- . sons in the streets, and invite them home, making them first merry, and then stupidly drunk: and then suffocated them by covering the mouth and nose, and pressing upon the body. The murderer Burke was executed at Edin-« burgh, on January 29th, 1829, 1829. This year was the centenary of Methodism, which was founded by the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., at Oxford, in 1729. Jan. Ist. A couple of the name of Heeson, resident at Whitkirk, had their feelings greatly distressed by finding the grave of their newly-interred child opened, the body gone, and the empty coffin and shroud left in the adjacent Jane by the sacrilegious depredators. On the 10th of January, Messrs. James Akroyd and Son’s warehouse, at Brook-house, near Halifax, was destroyed by fire, together with about 2,000 pieces of worsted stuff, and a quantity of wool.——On Jan. 13th, another dreadful fire destroyed the extensive factory at Tameside, near Dobcross, except the outer walls. On the 14th of January, B. Wilson, Esq,, laid the first stone of the new church at Netherthong, of which Mr. Chantrell, of Leeds, was architect. Jan. A poor weaver named David Lindsey, residing in Manchester, fell heir to an estate of about £300,000, by the decease of his uncle, colonel Lindsey, of the Mount, near Cupar, Fife, in Scotland. When the letter arrived, an- nouncing David’s windfall, and enclosing £150 to defray the expenses of his journey, with his wife and three children, to his country seat, he was sitting at breakfast of butterless bread and sugarless coffee. The demand by the postman of 4s. 9d., completely stunned David, for his whole stock did not amount to more than 2s. —‘ The letter would have been returned to the post office but for the arrival of a neighbour, who volunteered, after feeling that the letter contained “summut,’’ to assist David in raising the wind. A pig was killed at Cooper bridge, belong- ing to Mr. John Howgate, at the age of twenty-four weeks, which weighed nineteen stones twenty-one pounds. In January, the workmen employed in excavating the foundation of the York mnseum, on the Manor shore, near St. Mary’s abbey, found seven antique statues, of a strong and robust appearance, and clad in antique drapery, which had been splendidly coloured and gilt. One of them re-

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342 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829. presents Moses, bearing the tables of stone (and the brazen serpent) with a beard, which has been richly gilt: two of the others have books in their hands, and other two have lost their heads. They are all barefoot, and five of them are in a very perfect state. On the 2nd of February, in this year, Jonatban Martin, a religious fanatic, a native of Hexham, in Northumber- land, set fire to York minster, by which the wood work of the choir and its roof, with the organ, was completely destroyed. The clustered pillars being of magnesian lime- stone, were much injured; as were also many of the tombs and monuments at the east end. Fortunately the stained glass of the east aud other windows escaped such injury. Jonathan was apprenticed to a tanner, and was some time at sea, where his skull was fractured ; but had for several years previous to his setting fire to the minster, obtained his livelihood by hawking a pamphlet, containing a narrative of his life. He alleged that he was prompted to set fire to the place by two dreams. He ac- complished his purpose by concealivg himself in the min- ster during divine service, on Sunday, the ist of February, having first provided himself with a razor, which he used as a steel, some tinder, matches, and a penny candle. This latter having burnt out before he had concluded his opera- tions, he procured a wax candle, which had been used the previous evening. He went to the belfry, where he struck alight. He then cut ahout ninety feet from the rope of the prayer bell, which he converted into a ladder, by tying knots at certa‘n distances, aud made use of if to obtain access to the intericr of the choir. There he first cut away the gold fringe ornaments from the pulpit; and the velvet from the archbishop’s throne, and the dean’s and precentor’s scats. He next piled all the cushions, sur- plices, and books which he could get, in two heaps, one near the archbishop’s throue, and the other near the organ, aud set fire to them. He then made his cscapc by breaking one of the windows, (to which he ascended by means of the machine used for cleaning the minster), and letting himself down by the knotted rope. Ue teok with him the gold fringe, velvet, and a small bible. The fire was dis- covered about seven o’clock in the morning, by one of the choristers, a lad named Swinbank, who saw smoke issuing from the roof; and although the most prompt assistance was given, the fire raged with great fury for several hours, but it was found impossible to save any part of the wood work of that part of this noble edifice. The roof caught

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. - 343 1829. fire from the organ ; and by half-past eleven o’clock, the whole of the beautiful tabernacle work of carved oak, which adorned the prayer-housc, the stalls, the pulpit, the cathedra, the fine organ, and the roof, were destroyed ; aud nothing remained but a mass of burning ruins, which covered the floor, and transformed this part of the cathedral into a vast ignited furnace. ‘The investigation set on foot into the causes of the fire tixed the guilt so clearly on Martin, that a reward of £100 was of- fered for his apprehension; and he was taken the Friday following, at Codlaw-hill, the residence of a relation named Kell, about three miles from Hexham. He was tried at the assizes fullowing, before Mr. Baron Hullock, and acquitted, after a trial of nine hours, on the ground of insanity. He was ordered to be confined in St. Luke’s hospital, London, where he died in 1838. The damage done amounted to about £70,000, and nearly the whole of this sum was raised by public subscription. The govern- ment gave timber to the value of £5,000, and the stone was given by Sir E. M. Vavasour, bart., of Hazelwood. The magnificent organ was presentcd by the hon. and Rev. J. L. Saville (afterwards the earl of Scarborough); and the communion plate by his grace the archbishop. The minster was opened again tor divine service on the 6th May, 1832. - Feb. 3rd. Vhe festival of bishop Blaise was celebrated at Wakefield. Feb. 21st. A fire broke out in the east end of the attic story of oue of Messrs. Marshall and Co.’s flax mills, in Water-lane, Holbeck. Upwards of forty tons of flax was in the room where the fire originated : a considerable quantity of which was destroyed. March 6th. A large building, occupied as a wool ware- house and tobacco manufactory, in the Calls, at Leeds, and partly inhabited by Mr. John Wadc, was destroyed by fire, and the corpse of his son was with difficulty saved from the devouring clement. Mar. 6th. Michael Thomas Sadler, Esq., of Leeds, was returned M.P. for Newark. Mar. 21st. Died, in the 92nd year of his age, John Sowden, of Brighouse, near Halifax. He was born in the house where he died, and never lived one month inany other. He brought up to manhood in the same house ten children,six of whom were at this time living: and had forty-five grand children, and fifty-three great grand children, twenty-three of whom were married. April Sth. The town of Dewsbury was lighted with gas for the first time. April 13th. The Roman Catholic relief bill received the royal assent, thus setting at rest

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344 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829, that question, which, for half a century, agitated the empire, embarrassed the government, and divided the people. April 26th. A fire broke out in the south end of Ross mill, Bramley, belonging to Mr. James Hudson, and damage was done to the amount of £4,000. During the month of April, a number of rare organic remains were found in a stone quarry, near Huddersfield. The most remarkable of these relics is that of a petrified fish, resembling the anguilla specics, and about three feet six inches in length; near the head the circumference is. about eleven inches, in the middle six inches aud three quarters, and just above the tail, four inches. The singu- larity of this specimen is increased by the division of the whole length of the fish into joints about five or six inches froin each other, resembling the joints of a branch or trunk of a tree. The exterior of each joint has also that sulcated appearance, sO common in many of these lithophytic remains, and which has often been compared to oriental bamboo. The number of joints iu the fish are nine, but in some of the smaller specimens, the exterior appearance is the same, though the joints are fewer. Along with these remains were collected some petrified shells, apparently of the muscle genus, and others more like oysters. These geological discoveries were the more remarkable, as almost all that had hitherto been discovered in this coal district, were evidently remains of the vegetable kingdom. The Leeds Commercial News Room, in the Exchange, was opened May Ist, this year, by 500 subscribers of one guinea and a half each per annum. On Sunday, May 38rd, commenced a most disgraceful contention in the village of Meltham, which was continued several weeks, in consequence of Mr. Kean, the curate of the late incumbent of the chapelry, refusing to give up possession of the benefice to the vicar of Almondbury, the Rev. L. Jones, who, in exercising his right of presentation, had nominated himseif, it being a better living than his vicarage. On the Sunday morning, Mr. Kean and his party took possession of the church before six o’clock in the morning, and locked and barricadoed the doors, both of the church and church yard. At half-past ten, the Rev. L- Jones arrived with a large body of special constables, and forced the gate, and afterwards the door of the church. When they arrived in the interior, they found Mr. Kean in the pulpit, and the Rev. Vicar demanded that it should be given up tohim. This was peremptorily refused, and the vicar was prevented ascending the pulpit stairs by a crowd

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 345 1829. of persons standing on them ; he therefore proceeded to read himself in, in one of the pews, which he supposed would answer every legal purpose; and then left the church. Mr. Kean afterwards performed divine service, morning and evening, and, on his leaving the church, his party locked and sccured the doors. During the continuance of this shameful clerical contest, much violence and outrage was committed by both parties, but it was finally settled by the archbishop, in favour of the vicar of the parish. May 4th. The earl of Surrey was elected member of parliament for Horsham, being the first Catholic member returned to the Commons after the passing of the Catholic relief bill. April 12th, A fatal accident happened in the Methodist chapel, at Heckmondwike, where, during the time that Mr. Dawson, of Barnbow, (a popular preacher among the Wesleyan Methodists), was preaching to a crowded congregation for the benefit of the Sunday school, the noise occasioned by the falling of a stove pipe created such an alarm, that the people, fearing the gallery was falling, made a simultaneous rush towards the doors, and, in an instant, such a scene of consternation and confusion ensued as no pen can describe. Those who first gained the narrow passages, leading from the galleries, were thrown down by those behind, who, in their turn, were overturned by those rushing from the body of the chapel. In vain did the preacher attempt to calm the tumult, for his voice was drowned in the shrieks of the terrified and the groans of the dying. When the alarm had subsided, the most appalling spectacle presented itself; two heaps of persons unable to rise were piled up at the doors to the height of four or five feet, and five persons wcre taken out dead ; six or seven were removed apparently in a lifeless state, and twenty others were slightly injured. April 18th. The Halifax tithe commutation bill, intituled “ An act for extinguishing tithes, and payments in lieu of tithes, mortuarics and Easter offerings, and other vicarial dues and payments within the parish of Halifax, in the diocese of the county of York; and for making compensa- tion to the vicar in heu thereof, and enabling him to grant certain leases of lands belonging to the vicarage,”’ received the royal assent. By this act the annual stipend of £1,409 153. 6d. was to be paid to the vicar of Halifax, by the various townships in the parish, in certain proportions, and was to be levied by an assessment on all inhabited houses, corn mills, and arable, meadow, and pasture lands, orchards, and gardens in each township. On May 16th, B. Haigh

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346 - ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829. Allen, Esq., of Greenhead, was interred in Trinity church,. Huddersfield, which edifice he had recently built and en- dowed. Such general esteem had his character as a magis- trate and a gentleman acquired him, that his funeral was attended by about seven hundred persons, clad in mourning, and all the shops and warehouses in the town. were closed during the melancholy ceremony. May 25th. Healey mill, at Ossett, belonging to Messrs. Wilby and Co., scribbling and fulling millers, was destroyed by fire. June Gth. A sturgeon was caught iu the river Ouse, near Selby, which weighed 176 lbs., and measured seven feet three inches in length. On the following morning this monster of the deep was brought to Leeds, where it was purchased by Mr. Denny, for thc museum of the Leeds. philosophical and literary society. On June 3rd the foundation stone of the Union or Suspension bridge over the Aire, at Hunslet, to communicate with the York road, was laid by Mr. John Danby. It is of a very curious construction,. designed by Mr. Leather, C.E. The suspending arch is about 150 feet span. It cost £4,200, and affords consider- able accommodation between Hunslet-lane and Knostrop- road. June 13th. Huddersfield was visited with a dreadful hurricane, which suddenly filled the town with such a dense cloud of dust, that the inhabitants could not see the houses on the opposite sides of the streets, and some passengers were in danger of suffocation. ‘The wind ap- peared to blow from every quarter, and at Taylor hill, a large quantity of dye-wood, spread out to dry, was carried’ far away from its owner. June 21st, was laid the first stone of the new church at Morley. On the 29th of the. same month John Charles Ramsden, Esq., M.P, laid the foundation stone of the Huddersfield and Upper Agbrigg infirmary. July 4th, appeared the first number of the Halifax com- mercial chronicle newspaper.——July 6th, was commeuced the erection of the bridge which crosses the Aire at School close, Leeds. It is a neat and substantial structure, of” the Doric order, built under the direction of Mr. Leather, C.E., hy Mr. Mark Faviel, at a cost of £3,000. It is of one arch eiglity feet span, and forty-five feet broad between the battlements. A toll-house is erected at the side. The bridge is now free fur foot passengers. It was opened on the 18th of September. July 31st. Died, in the 66th year of his age, baron Hullock, one of the judges of assize. On August 5th, was laid the first stone of St. church, at Holbeck. It is a large and handsome fabric,.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 347 1829. and is in the early English style of architecture. It was erected by government in lieu of the ancient chapel, which was mentioned in a Bull granted by the Pope to Ralph Paganell, who lived in the time of William the Conqueror, and has been given by the said Ralph Paganell to the priory of the Holy Trinity, at York—the date 1089. The edifice was consecrated January 3rd, 1832. The perpetual curacy, valued at £70, is in the patronage of the vicar of Leeds. The Rev. J. H. F. Kendall is incumbent. Hirst mill, at Longwood, was destroyed by fire August 18th. On the 26th and 2Sth of August this year was held on the Humber, at Hull, a splendid regatta for yachts ; sailing vessels under forty tons; six oared boats, four oared jolly boats, gold dusters, &c.; these and many others being intermixed witha great number of steam- packets, trimmed like the rest, with holiday flags, &c., rendered the whole an amusing and interesting spectacle. On the night of July 1lth, a dreadful inundation oc- curred in Leeds and the neighbourhood, occasioned by the bursting of a reservoir, situate at Black hill, near Adle, about seven miles north-west of Leeds, which broke down its banks. The reservoir is situated uearly at the head of the stream known by the various names of Adle beck, Woodhouse beck, and Sheepscar beck, through which places it passes in its course to Leeds. The dam occupies an extent of from twenty to twenty-five acres, and is rather formed by natural than artificial means, the only embankment being at the east end, which is about fifteen feet high, and it was the breaking or giving way of this embankment, which caused the flood. A breach having *been made, the water rushed through with dreadful im- petuosity, swelling the small rivulet of Adle beck to a mighty stream, and carrying ruin and destruction along with it, until it emptied itself into the river Aire, at Leeds. Wothing could arrest its progress. It threw down bridges, develled walls, uprooted fences, and carried devastation into all the adjoining lands. Nor was the injury confined to mill-owners and those of large property. The dwellings of the humble cottagers were deluged, many of whom suffered severely, and some were deprived of every vestige of clothing and furniture they had in the world. The whole contents of this vast reservoir emptied itself in two hours, and the flood reached to a greater height than any that had occurred since that at the close of the contested election in 1807, known at Leeds by the name of the Milton flood. During this month, the men employed

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348 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829. in lowering the road at Quarry-hill, Leeds, discovered several specimens of fossils, and other relics of ‘olden time,’? amongst which was a quern, in good preserva- tion; an utensil which, in the time of the Anglo-Saxons, was used in every family for the purpose of grinding corn into fiour. On September 23rd, was laid the first stone of Birkinshaw church, near Birstal. About eleven o’clock on Monday night, the 9th of November, this year, died, in the 7Ist year of his age, Samuel Hick, of Micklefield, in Yorkshire, well known as the village blacksmith, and a popular itinerent Wesleyan preacher. He was born at Aberford, September 2th, 1758, and was one of thirteen children. His parents were very poor and could not afford to give him an education, so that he grew up to manhood without being able to read or write. At the age of 14 he was bound apprentice to Edward Derby, of Healaugh, near Tadcaster, to learn the trade of a blacksmith. During his apprenticeship, he was frequently impressed with religious feelings, especially by the addresses of Richard Burdsall, whom he followed from place to place, travel- ling many scores of miles, and never hearing him with- out being blessed under his preaching. Just before the expiration of his time, Samuel fell in love with his master’s daughter, or, rather, she fell in love with him. Mr. Derby, coming down stairs one morning sooner than usual, found the girl seated on Samuel’s knee. Without saying a word, he went to consult his wife as to what should be done to stop the affair, saying, ‘I believe she is as fond of the lad as ever cow was of a calf.’ The upshot of the matter was, that with a good deal of angry feeling, the master ordered Samuel to leave his house and service. Samuel did not stick fast ; to use his own narration, “ When I was one and twenty years of age, there was a shop at liberty at Micklefield, aud my father took it for me. I here began business or myself, and when I had paid for my tools, I was left without a penny in my pocket, or a bit of bread to eat: but I was strong, in good health, and laboured hard, and that God who sent the ravens to feed his servant, fed me. One day, while at work, a man came into my shop, who told me that his wife had fed the pig so fat, as to render it useless to the family, and that he would sell me the one half of if very cheap. I told him that I wished it were in my power to make the purchase—that I was much in need—but that I was

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 3419 1829. without money. He replied, he would trust me, and I agreed to take it. I mentioned the circumstance to a neighbour, who offered to lend me five pounds, which I accepted; and out of this I paid the man for what I had bought. I continued to labour hard, and the Lord in his abundant goodness, supplied all my wants.’ After being established in business eighteen months, he observes, ‘“ The Lord saw that I wanted a helpmeet: knew the charac- ter that would suit me best, and was so kind as to furnish me with one of his own choosing.’’ He soon unbosomed his feelings, was accepted, and _ finally united in holy matrimony~in Spofford church. The union proved a long and happy one: his wife was about five years his senior,and survived him three years. On leaving the church, after the marriage, a number of poor widows pressed around him to solicit alms—his heart was touched :. began the world ”’ said he to himself ‘“‘ without money, and I will again begin it straight.’’? He thereupon emptied his pocket of all the money he possessed. After marriage, (his frugal wife, Martha, looking after the cash), he pros- pered: he used to say, ‘“‘ The Lord gave mea good wife, and I have never wanted money since.’’ He says, “ That for some time after marriage, both he and his wife were strangers to saving grace—that he was converted through a vision which appeared to him in his sleep. His mother- in-law, who had been a member of the Wesleyan Con- nexion, died, and he dreamed that she appeared to him arrayed in white, took him by the hand, and affectionately warned him “to flee from the wrath to “‘ My eyes,” said he, ““were opened—I saw all the sins I had com- mitted through the whole course of my life—I was like the psalmist,—I cried out like the gaoler—I said my prayers as ] never did before.”” From that time till his death, he followed a career of christian usefulness, always exhibit- ing astrictly moral conduct. He became a joined Methodist, and soon after made up his mind to preach. “I know that the Lord,”’ says he, “has given me one talent, and I am resolved to use it. He has given friend D. ten; bit I am determined that he shall never run away with my one.’’ About the year 1797, Mr. Dawson says, that Samuel was actively engaged as a prayer-leadcr and exhorter in the villages of Garforth, Barwick, Kippax, Micklefield, &c.; and, having a horse at command, he could go to the most distant places without difficulty. He was subsequently (about 1803) on both the Selby and Pontefract plans as a ocal preacher. ‘In person he was tall and bony, rising 30

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300 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829. to the height of about six feet. Hard labour and the nature of his employment gave a roundness to the upper part of his back, and aslight elevation to his right shoulder. His hair was naturally light, his complexion fair, his face full, but more inclined to the oval than the round, and his general features small, with a soft, quick, blue-grey, twinkling eye.” His mind was peculiarly constructed. There was no system about his sermons; his thoughts seemed broken into fragments. His mode of expression, half solemn, half comic, would cause his hearers one moment to smile, the uext they would be in tears: such was his sudden transition from one train of thoughts to another. There was no polish about his speech. His language was of the broadest West-Yorkshire dialect; but to thousands of the poor and others as unlettered as himself, the village blacksmith was of essential service. His zeal was not a mere crackling blaze in the pulpit. His workshop was his chapel, and many were the homilies which he delivered over the anvil and over the vice, to both poor andrich. He says, ‘In those days there were not many uoble, not many rich, called. For my own part, I have travelled many scores of miles, and neither tasted meat uor drink till I got home. [in the evening]. I have very often had snowballs thrown at me, and been abused by the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have been turned out of places where I have been preaching by the clergy and the magistrates; but bless the Lord, I have lived to sce better days.” Through the exertions of Samuel, a Methodist chapel was erected at Aberford, his native town, towards which he gave £20. Mr. Dawson says, “Samuel Hick laid the first stone; and, as he offered the first prayer upon the first stone that was laid, so in the pulpit of the same chapel, he preached his last sermon and poured forth his last public prayer for the prosperity of zion.’ His charity was unbounded—indeced his wife had now and then to stop the supplies, or he would have been a poor man all his lite. ‘His heart always melted at the sight, or on hearing the tale of woe. He could not hear of per- sons in distress, but he wept over them; and if they were within his reach, he relieved them according to his ability.” One day, as he was returniug from the pit with a load of coals, a little girl secing him pass, asked him for a piece of coal, stating that her mother was confined, and the family without fire. He went with the girl home, found the story correct, brought the cart

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 3901 1829. to the door, and poured down the load free of cost. Another time, some soldiers on a forced march, halted at Micklefield early in the morning. A thrill of loyalty and sympathy filled Samuel’s bosom. He soon placed before the men the whole contents of the buttery, pantry, and cellar: bread, cheese, milk, butter, meat, and beer speedily went. When his wife, Martha, came down stairs, she proceeded to the buttery to skim the milk for breakfast. To her astonishment all had disappeared. Enquiry was made, and when she found how the things had been disposed of, she chided him, saying, ‘You might have taken the cream off before you gave it to them.” Samuel replied, ‘ Bless thee barn, it would do them more good with the cream on it.” He once visited a poor aged widow, and gave her sixpence, all the money he had with him. The widow was overpowered with gratitude, and Samuel was greatly affected by it, saying to him- self, ‘Bless me, can sixpence make a poor creature happy? Wow many sixpences have I spent on this mouth of mine, in feediug it with tobacco? I will never take another pipe whilst I live: I will give to the poor whatever I save from it.”” Soon after this Samuel was ill, and his medical attendant said it was in some measure caused by his suddenly breaking off the use of the pipe. The following dialogue occurred :— Physician—* You must resume the uso of the pipe, Mr. Hick.’? Never more, sir, while I Physician—“ It is essential to your restoration to health, and I cannot be answerable for consequences, should you reject the advice Samucl— Let cone what will, never take another pipe: I’ve told my Lord so, and I'll abide by it.’ Physician—* You will in all proba- bility die then.’? Samuel—Glory be to God for that! I shall go to heaven. I have made a vow. and Ill keep it.” To illustrate Samuel’s faith in the eflicacy of prayer, we will give the following anecdotes:—In the course of a summer of excessive drought, a few years back, when the grain suffered greatly, and many of the cattle, es- pecially in Lincolnshire, died, Samuel was much affected. He visited Knaresborough, at which place he preached on the Lord’s day. Remaining in the town and neigh- bourhood over the Sabbath, he appeared extremely rest- less in the house in which he resided, during the whole of Monday. His restlessness and singularity of manners attracted the attention of the family so much, that they asked if anything was the matter wlth him. “ Bless

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302 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829. you, barns,’’ was his reply, “do you not recollect that I was praying for rain last night in the pulpit? and what will the Infidels at Knaresbro’ think, if it do not come? —If my Lord should fail me, and not stand by me? But it must have time: if cannot be here yet. It has to come from the sea. Neither can it be seen at first: the prophet only saw a bit of cloud like a man’s hand; by and by it spread along the sky. I am looking for an answer to my prayer; but if must have time.” “Towards evening the sky became overcast, and the clouds dropped the fatness of a shower upon tke earth.” In 1817, Samuel was. about to hold a love-feast at Micklefield, and had invited persons from Knuottingley and other places. He had promised that two loads of corn should be ground for the occasion. The day fixed for the love-feast drew near: there was uo flour in the house, and the windmills, in consequence of a long calm, stretched out their arms in vain to catch the rising breeze. In the midst of this death-like quiet, Samuel, carried his corn to the mill nearest his own residence, and requested the miller to unfurl his sails. The miller objected, stating that there was *‘No wind.” Samuel, on the other hand, continued to urge his request, saying, ‘I will go and pray while you spread the The miller stretched his canvass, and, to his utter as- tonishment, a fine breeze sprung up—the fans whirled round—the corn was converted into meal—and Samuel returned with his burthen rejoicing, and had everything in readiness for the festival. A neighbour who had seen the fans in vigorous motion, took also some corn to be ground; but the wind had dropped, and the miller remarked to him, “You must send for Samuel Hick to pray for the wind to blow again.” Samuel was ounce ut a friend’s house, at which was present the Rev. A. L., and Mr, U., a solicitor. During the evening a prayer- meeting was held. Samuel was called upon to pray, in the course of which he prayed that Mr. A. L. might obtain a good wife. He then prayed for the conversion of Mr. U., saying, ‘“‘Lord save the ’torney. What he is thou knowest—I know not; but when he is saved, he will not charge folk so much money for their jobs. Thou hast saved an attorncy at Long Preston, and he gets as good a living as any of them. Lord save this man.” At the beginning of 1826, he had made sufficient money to enable him to retire from husiness. He then entered upon a wider sphere of usefulness, preaching in several

9

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 353 1829, circuits in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and travelling en- tirely at his own expense. His addresses in the pulpit rarely exceeded half an hour. He used to say, “I cannot go straight forward in preaching; but when I miss my mark in going, I often fell them in coming back.” A friend urged him to employ more method in “his sermons, he replied, bless you barn, I give it them hot off the He continued until the very year of his death, preaching, travelling, and visiting the sick. In September of 1829, hearing that a nicce of his who resided at Grassington, was very ill, he took the coach for Skipton. The day was exceedingly wet, and he being on the outside, his clothes were drenched with rain. He arrived a few days before his niece died, but received his own death-stroke from the journey: for he caught a severe cold, which settled upon his lungs, and from which he never fully recovered. On his return home he was only able to preach a few times and attend two missionary meetings. He now began to sink fast, though not confined to bed till a short time before he died. He died on the day men- tioned at the beginning of this sketch. Such was the esteem in which he was held, that his remains were followed to Aberford by about a thousand people. In Samuel Hick, was an amazing amount of simple, pure, unsophisticated nature, combined with the strictest moral conduct and the most fervid zeal. He was remarkable for great openness of disposition and unbounded gener- osity, as well as faith and prayer; and by his one talent yielded a greater harvest of good to the christian church than many with their ten. His memoirs, by Everett, © (to which the compiler is indebted for this sketch), passed through eleven editions in about as many years, embracing between twenty and thirty thousand copies. A large portion of Calverley mills, occupied by Mr. William Greenwood, was destroyed by fire, on the 2nd of December. Dec. 18th. The wool-combing shop of W. Burnley and Sons, of Gomersal, was completely destroyed by another accidental conflagration. Dec. 7th. The woollen mill belonging to Abraham Haigh and Co., of Longwood, near Huddersfield, was totally destroyed by fire. The bridge at the bottom of Lady-lane, Leeds, was enlarged this year. On the 30th of December, a large and beautiful wild swan was shot at Cross Aipes, near Huddersfield. It measured from the extremities of the wings eight feet

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354 ' ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND ‘1829, six inches, and from the beak to the tail three feet six inches. On being divested of its skin, the body was cooked, and afforded a repast for twenty-one persons. During this year great distress prevailed in the town of Barnsley, the principal seat of the Yorkshire linen manu- facture. Anattempt was made on the part of several of the masters to reduce the wages of the weavers, and a long strike was the consequence. After of five months, the workmen found themselves under the necessity of ac- cepting the reduced rate of wages. The Liverpool and Manchester Ratlway Company having offered a prize of £500 for the best locomotive engine, the 8th of October in this year was fixed for the trial, and on the appointed day three engines were brought forward to compete for the prize. Stephenson was there with his “Rocket? ; Hackworth with the “Sanspareil’’; and Braith- waite and Ericsson with the “ Noveity.”’ The test assigned was to run a distance of thirty miles, at not less than ten miles an hour, backwards and forwards, along a two miles level near Rainhill, drawing a load three times the weight of the engine. The Novelty, after running twice along the level, was disabled by failure of the boiler plates, and withdrawn. The Sanspareil traversed eight times at a speed of nearly fifteen miles an hour, when it was stopped by a derangement of the machinery. The Rocket travelled over the stipulated thirty miles in two hours and seven minutes, nearly, with a speed at times of twenty-nine miles an hour, aud at the slowest nearly twelve: in the latter case exceeding the advertised maximum, in the former, almost tripling it. The prize was at once awarded to the Rocket. The Rocket weighed six tons: locomotives now weigh from thirty to forty tons. The first application to parliament for the bill to construct the Liverpool and Man~ chester railway was made in 1825, when the interest of the proprietors of the navigation defeated it; the application was renewed in1826, and succeeded. The capital of the company was £510,000, raised in shares of £100. Mr. George Stephenson was appointed the principal engineer, at a salary of £1,000, and he carried through the work in the most admirable manner. ‘The operations were commenced in June, 1826, by the draining of Chat Moss. ‘Three additional acts were obtained by the company in different years, one for borrow- ing £100,000, another for shortening the original route, and a third for raising the additional sum of £127,500 for the carrying department of the railway, and also for continuing the railway by a bridge over the Irwell, into Manchester.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 35.9. 1829. The railway commences at Wapping, near the banks of the Mersey, in Liverpool, and is carried under the town by a spacious tunnel, 2,250 yards long, of which 1,980 yards form a regular slope, rising 123 feet, or three-fourths of an inch to the yard: the tunnel is twenty-two feet wide, and s1x- teen high, and is arched over, whitewashed, and illumi- nated with gas. There is another small tunnel connected with the railway at Liverpool, intended for the landing of passengers by the coaches at the upper part of the town, and of such goods as may require to be left there; this tunnel is 290 yards long, fifteen feet wide, and twelve high. The whole length of the railway is thirty-one miles. The most magnificent construction on the line in its ex- ternal appearance is the Sankey viaduct, upwards of four- teen miles from Liverpool, where the railway is carried across the valley and canal of the Sankey, at an elevation of seventy feet, by an extensive embankment, and a stu- pendous bridge of nine arches, each fifty feet span, and twenty-five feet in width. The vessels on the canal sail under the bridge with their masts and sails up, and the effect of the erection is scarcely inferior to that of the finest Roman aqueducts. Near the town of Newton, the railway passes over a lofty bridge of four arches and a high embankment. If then passes through the Kenyon excava- tion, out of which 800,000 cubic yards of clay and sand were dug. Chat Moss, over which the railway passes for four miles, was thought by some to present an insuperable difficulty to the completion of the work. It is a huge bog, twelve miles square, and from ten to thirty-five fect deep ; in many places so soft that cattle cannot walk upon it, and that an iron rod would sink by its own weight to the bottom of the Moss. ‘The railway,’’ says Mr. Henry Booth, “for the most part floats on the surface, its com- pactness and buoyancy in the most fluid places being assisted by hurdles of brushwood and heather, laid under the wood sleepers which support the rails. The portion of the which presented the most difficulty in its com- pletion, was about half a mile on the east border, where an embankment of about twenty feet had to be formed above the natural level. The weight of this embankment resting on a semi-fiuid base, pressed down the original surface: Many thousand cubic yards gradually and silently dis- appeared, before the line of road made any approach to the roposed level. By degrees, however, the whole mass beneath and on each side of this embankment became con- solidated by the superincumbent and lateral pressure, and

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356 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1829.-1830. a little persevcrance finally completed the The construction of this line was a great trial, not only of the skill amd energy of the engineer, but of the patience of the directors. For a fuller account of the railway and the difficulties attending its construction, see Dr. Smiles’s life of Stephenson, to which we are indebted for an account of the :— 1830. Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway— “At length the line was completed, and ready for the public ceremony of openivg, which took place on the 30th of September, 1830. This important event attracted a vast number of spectators from all parts of the country. Strong palings were erected for miles along the deep cuttings near Liverpool, to keep off the pressure of the multitude, and prevent them falling over in their eager- ness to witness the passing trains. Constables and soldiers were there in numbers to assist in keeping the line clear. The completion of the railway was justly regarded as an important national event, aud the cere- mony of opening was cclebratcd accordingly. The duke of Wellington, then prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, secre- tary of state, Mr. Huskisson, one of the members for Liverpool, and an earnest supporter of the project from its commencement, were amongst the number of dis- tinguished public personages present. Eight locomotives constructed at the Stephenson works, had been delivered and placed upon the line, the whole of which had been tried and tested weeks before, with perfect success. The various trains of carriages accommodated in all about six hundred persons. The “Northumbrian” engine, driven by Mr. George Stephenson himself, headed the procession; then followed the “ Phoenix,” driven by Robert Stephenson ; the “North Star,’? by Robert Stephenson, sen., (brother of George); the “Rocket,” by Joseph Locke ; the “Dart,’” by Thomas L. Groch; the “Comet,” by William Allcard ; the “ by Frederick Swanwick; and the by Anthony Harding. The procession was cheered in its progress by thousands of spectators, through the deep ravine of Olive mount, up the Sutton incline, over the great Sankey viaduct, beneath which a multitude of persons had assembled—carriages filling the narrow lanes, and barges crowding the river: the people below gazing with wonder and admiration at the trains which sped along the line, far ahove their heads, at the rate of some twenty-four miles an hour. At Parkside, some seventeen miles from Liverpool, the engines stopped to take water.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. jar 1830. Here a deplorable accident occurred to one of the most distinguished of the illustrious visitors present, which threw a deep shadow over the subsequent proceedings of the day. The Northumbrian engine, with the carriage containing the duke of Wellington, was drawn up on one line, in order that the whole of the trains might pass in review before him, and his party on the other. Mr. Iuskisson had, unhappily, alighted from the carriage, and was standing on the opposite road, along which the Rocket engine was observed rapidly coming up. At this moment the duke of Wellington, between whom and Mr. Huskisson some coolness had existed, made a sign of recognition, and held out his hand. A hurried but friendly grasp was given; and befure it was loosened, there was a general cry from the bystanders of “Get in, get in.’ Flurried and confused, Mr. Huskisson en- deavoured to get round the opened door of the carriage, which projected over the opposite rail; but in so doing, he was struck down by the Rocket, and falling with his leg doubled across the rail, the limb was iustantly crushed. His first words on being raised, were, “I have met my death,” which unhappily proved too true, for he expired that same evening in the neighbouring parsonage of Eccles. It was cited at the time as a remarkable fact, that the Northumbrian engine conveyed the wounded body of the unfortunate gentleman a distance of about fifteen miles in twenty-five minutes, or at the rate of thirty-six miles an hour. This incredible speed burst upon the world with the effect of a new and unlooked for phenomenon. The lamentable acc:dent threw a gloom. over the rest of the day’s proceedings. The duke of Wellington aud Sir Robert Peel expressed a wish that the procession should return to Jiverpool. It was, how- ever, represented to them that a vast concourse of people had assembled at Manchester to witness the arrival of the trains; that report would exaggerate the mischief, if they did not complete the journey, and that a false panic on that day might seriously affect future railway travelling, and the value of the company’s property. The party consented accordingly to proceed to Manchester, but on the understanding that they should return as soon as possible, and refrain from further festivity. Jan. A pig was slaughtered by Thomas Spedding, of Dewsbury, bred by Abraham Ibbetson, Esq., which weighed fifty stones eight pounds, one of the hams weighing eighty

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358 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. pounds. On the Gth of January, the extensive cotton and woollen mill, at Wheatley, near Halifax, belonging to- Mr. James Greenwood, was destroyed by fire. It employed above 400 workmen. Jan. 20th, Messrs. Barker and Musgrave’s woollen mill, at Bramley, was destroyed by fire. During the severe storm in the early part of this year, upwards of sixty deer perished in the park of Sir George Armytage, at Kirklees. Jan. The Airedale heifer, the property of Mr. Slingsby, of Riddlesden hall, near Keighley,,. was slaughtered in consequence of a severe contusion on one of her hind quarters, which turned to a mortification. The owner had 400 guineas offered for her, and was to receive one half of the profit arising from her exhibition in England. She weighed 41 stones 12 lbs., per quarter, 16 lbs. to the stone, and measured eleven feet ten inches from her nose to the stump of the tail, and ten feet six inches in girth; she was eleven inches deep in fat on the ribs. Jan. The celebrated William Cobbett was at. this time on a visit to Leeds, and gave a course of three lectures at the theatre, Hunslet-lane, on “ The present distress, and the means to be adopted to alleviate it.’ A local paper says, that “As everybody flocked to hear him, so everybody taiks of his person, his performanccs, and his. Feb. 3rd, died the venerable earl of Mex- borough, of Mecthley park, in the 69th year of his age. The Exchange buildings at Bradford were opened this. rear. —Feb. The inhabitants of the villages of Calver- ey and Idle and the district surrounding, were thrown into a state of great agitation by the discovery that the body of Sarah Gomersal, a young woman about 28 years of age, which was interred on the 8th of January, had been stolen from her burial place, in Calverley parish church yard. Feb. 15th. A mecting of the “Leeds stuff manufactures, operatives, and others connected with their was held at the new top mill, Bank, when if was resolved to petition parliament ‘‘To curtail the rapid increase of the power-loom, by the imposition of a. tax on the goods manufactured by that means. The petition is curious, as showing the ideas respecting ma- chinery thirty years ago. It states ‘That the rapid increase of that branch of machinery, which inverts the decrees of Providence, by superseding manual labour, is an evil of such magnitude as to strike at the actual ex- istence of the working classes at no distant period. That the situation of the hand-loom weaver and his famiiy in this district is wretched in the extreme, &c., &c. Your

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 399 1830. petitioners implore your honourable house to take their case into your immediate and most serious consideration, and by cramping that engine of misery, tbe power-loom, afford relief to thousands of your peaceable and industrious fellow-subjects, now grovelling in poverty and wretched- ness, through the all-absorbing influence of that most in- jurious of inventions.” This petition received 1,500 signatures, and was presented by M. T. Sadler, Esq., M.P. The Leeds stuff weavers were shortly after this time on the strike for an advance of wages. Feb. 23:d. A motion by lord John Russell, in the House of Commons, for leave to bring in a bill to enable the towns of Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham, to return represen- tatives to parliament, was lost by 188 against 140. Feb. 29th. A fearful accident occurred at the new Brunswick theatre, Wells-street, London, (during the time of rehearsal, when many people were in the theatre,) caused by the walls giving way, and by the falling in of the iron roof; ten houses on the opposite side of the street were destroyed, and some passengers and a dray and horses crushed. Eleven persons within the theatre were killed, and twenty others severely hurt. The coroner’s jury sat six weeks, and returned a ver- dict of strong cersure against the architects of the building. Mar. 13th. The Manchester and Hudders- field mail was overturned at Longroyd bridge, and the coachman and passengers were precipitated a depth of ten or eleven yards upon some large stones by the river Colne, by which accident Mr. Samuel Statham, of Huddersfield, was killed, and Mr. D. Berry, of Almondbury, had his leg broken. Mar. 25th. The first stone of St. James’s church, Halifax, was laid. Mar. 30th. Died Mr. J. Thomas, aged 89. He held the office of town’s cryer, in Leeds, upwards of fifty-five years. April Ist. Mr. Peel brought a bill into the House of Commons, which passed into law, to abolish the punishment of death for forgery, except for the forgery of the great seal, the privy seal, and the sign manual. April 5th. William Shaw was executed at York, for the murder of Rachel Crossley ; after the murder he threw her body into a coal pit, at Kirkburton. April 14th. The foundation stone of St. Martin’s church, Brighouse, was laid. May llth. Lord Milton presented a petition to the House of Commons from Leeds, signed by from 13,000 to 14,000 of the inhabitants, praying for retrenchment and parliamentary reform. May 15th. Died, aged 37, the

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360 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. Rev. George Walker, M.A., late fellow of Trinity college, Cambridge, rector of Papworth Everard in the same county, head muster of the Leeds free grammar school, and officiating minister of Trinity church, Leeds. He was aman of unquestionable talents and high attainments, and discharged his various duties with that vigorous at- tention and efficiency which mental ardour and cultivation. He was appointed head master of the free school in 1818, and succeeded the Rev. G. P. Richards, M.A., on his resignation. He was entombed in one of the vaults of St. Paul’s church, Leeds. On the 28th July following, the Rev. Joseph Holmes, M.A., of Croxton, near Caxton, late fellow and tutor of queen’s college, Cam- bridge, was elected head master of the Leeds free school, in the place of Mr. Walker.—The masters of this school since its commencement to this date have been ;—

Samuel Pullen, D D.,4.0.1624. I Thomas Barnard, M.A. 1712. Joshua Pullen, D.D., . 1630. I R. Sedgewicke, M.A. . 1750. John Garnett, M.A., . 1651. I Samuel Brooke, M.A. . 1764. Michael Gilberts, M.A.. 1662. I Thos. Goodinge, 1778. Edward Clarke, M.A.,. 1690. I Joseph Whitely, M.A. . 1790. Miles Farrer, M.A., . 1694. I Geo. P. Richards, M.A.. 1815. Thomas Dweyer, B.D... 1698. I George Walker, M.A. . 1818. Thomas Dixon, M A. . 1706. I Joseph Holmes, D.D. ~. 1830.

An act of parliament was obtained on the Ist June, this year, for making the Leeds and Selby Railway. The com- pany of proprietors, incorporated by this act, were authorised to raise money amongst themselves for the un- dertaking, not exceeding £210,000. to be divided into shares of £100 each; they might also raise an addi- tional sum of £90,000,” by way of mortgage. The work ‘was commenced at the beginning of 1831, and the road was opened for passengers on September 22nd, 1834, and for the transit of merchandise on the 15th of December following. The station is in Marsh-lane. ‘This was the jirst line that was opened in connexion with Leeds. —— An application was made to parliament during this year, to form a railway between Leeds and Bradford, which failed after considerable expense had been incurred, principally through the opposition of the marchioness of Hertford, through whose property at Holbeck it was intended to carry the railway. On June 26th, died, at Windsor castle, George IV., aged 68 years. He was born on the 12th of August, 1769, and succeeded his father, George III.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 361 1830 For many years the king had been scarcely ever free from gout; but its attacks had been resisted by the un- common strength of his constitution. Pains of the eyes, and defective vision, gout in the feet aud hands, and lastly, the great malady of his family, dropsy, to which the duke of York, and his sister the queen of Wur- temberg, had fallen victims, befel him. In April, his malady assumed a decisive character, and bulletins began to be issued. In May, a commission was ap- pointed to fix the royal signature; the king signifying his assent by word of mouth. Before his death it was with difficulty he could whisper his verbal affirmative. About a week before he died, the physician delicately announced to him the inevitable catastrophe. ‘God’s will be done!”? was the reply. The king’s faculties continued unimpaired to the last. On administering to him the last sacrament, the bishop of Chichester re- minded him of the duke of Sussex; when the king charged the prelate after his death to carry a message to the duke, saying all his offences were forgotten, and to assure him of his fraternal affection. His majesty’s sufferings were very great; during the paroxysms of pain, his moans were heard even by the sentinels on duty in the quadrangle. On the night of the 25th of June, his cough was unsually painful, and about three o’clock in the morning of the 26th he expired, having a few minutes previously faintly ejaculated, ‘‘Oh! God, I'm dying,” and “this is death.’ In his youth he was eminently handsome, liberally educated, with intellect of a superior order, and great powers of conversation, he justly merited his title of most accomplished gentleman in Europe;”’ and although many actions of his private life deserve censure, as a sovercign, alike in his regency and in his reign, he will ever hold a dis- tinguished place in English history. June 30th. The largest spot which had been seen on the sun for many years, was observed at eight o’clock on the morning of this day. The diameter subtended an angle of thirty-seven seconds of a degree, and therefore, taking the sun's diameter at 809,000 miles, it extended 23,750 miles in length, and being nearly circular, it covered 443,000,000 square miles of the sun’s surface. _ July 3rd. The proclamation of king William the fourth’s accession to the throne, took place at Leeds in the presence of an immense assemblage of the inhabitants of the town

and neighbourhood. At the conclusion of the ceremony, 31

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362 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. the mayor and corporation, the clergy, and the military officers, &c., partook of an excellent cold collation at the Royal hotel. Briggate. July 10th. William Walker, Esq., of Wilsick, near Doncaster, was thrown from his horse, near his own house, and received so much injury that he only lived about two hours and a half after. The deceased was a barrister-at-law, deputy recorder of Don- caster, and a partner in the firm of Sir W. B. Cooke, Childers, and Co., bankers there. He was born in 1778, and was the second son of William Walker, Esq., of Killingbeck, by Jane, daughter of Samuel Hallawell, Esq., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, granddaughter of the Rev. William Horsley, A.M., the celebrated author of Britannia Romana. July 15th being the day of his late majesty’s funeral, the shops and other places of business in Leeds wereclosed. The mayor and corporation walked in pro- cession to the parish church, the 10th hussars playing the dead march in Saul. July 19th. Mr. Hare, surgeon, this day applied to the magistrates of the borough of Leeds, being the quarter sessions, fora licence to use Castleton lodge situate in the township of Armley, for the reception and cure of persons afflicted with disorders of the mind. The licence was granted, and visitors appointed according to 9th Geo. IV., c. 40. July 28th. The 87th annual con- ference of the Wesleyan Methodists commenced at Leeds. July 29th. A local paper of this date states, that “About a year ago, the hair of a person named George Wright, 63 years of age, who resides at Beeston, which was thena dark brown, turned completely white: in the course of two months it camo entirely off, and in about two months more he had a fresh crop of dark brown hair, which he now wears.”’ Mrs. Ingle, of Chapeltown, near Leeds, bequeathed the interest of £300 for ever, to the poor widows attending divine worship in the Episcopal chapel at that place, to be distributed on the third Sunday in every month; and £200 in liquidation of the debt owing by the trustees of the Methodist chapel, at Chapel-Allerton. July. During this month a great sensation was produced in Britain by a revolution which took place in France, the main line of the Bourbon family being expelled, and the crown conferred upon Louis Phillipe, duke of Orleans. In September, an insurrection broke out at Brussels, which ended in the separation of Belgium from Holland. County Election. The death of George IV. and the ac- cession of William IV., caused a general election in the summer of this year. Both lord Milton and Mr. Marshall

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 363 1830. announced their retirement from the representation of Yorkshire: the former, after a term of service of twenty- three years, withdrew, owing to the probability, from his father’s great age, that he would soon be called to the House of Lords; and Mr. Marshall retired from feeling himself unable, at his advanced period of life, to sustain the representation of the county, or even to continue in parliament in a time of such high excitement. From similar motives Mr. Fountayne Wilson, one of the tory members, had likewise resolved to withdraw from public life. July 9th. M. Stapylton, Esq. announced to the freeholders of the county, his intention of soliciting their suffrages at the general election, on the hon- ourable principle of freedom of election, by the freeholders coming to the poll at their own expense. The hon. Wm. Duncombe also announced his intention of again coming for- ward for the county. On the 28rd of June, a meeting was held at Etridge’s hotel, York, for the purpose of in- viting two independent gentlemen, of liberal principles, to become candidates to represent the county, when it was resolved to call forward lord Morpeth and Henry Brougham, Esq. On the 21st, Richard Bethell, Esq., of Rise, also de- clared himself a candidate, having been cailed upon by a numerous body of freehoiders Thus, there were ilve candidates in the fleld. Thursday, August 5th, was the day appointed for the election, when the city of York witnessed a vast influx of freeholders on that morning. The West- Riding, especially the populous clothing district, poured forth an astonishing number of freehulders to the place of election, in vehicles of every kind, from the carriage and four down to the capacious waggon, as well as on horseback, and even on foot. As early as four o’clock, six carriages and four, several chaises, and a great number of gigs and horsemen, together with a stage coach, filled inside and outside with the trustees of the Leeds Cloth hails, set out from the Commercial buildings, in Leeds, and, being joined by vast multitudes on the road, arrived at York in an apparently endless train, before eight o’clock. The several candidates arrived at the castle yard between nine and ten o’clock, on horseback, wearing court dresses. Around the castle yard twenty-one booths were erected for the accommodation of the voters going to poll. When the proceedings commenced, it was calculated that there were upwards of twenty thousand persons present. The high sheriff, the hon. Edward Robert Petre, entered the castle yard in his carriage, at a quarter before ten o'clock,

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364 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. and the usual preliminaries being gone through, Sir William Foulis, bart. proposed the hon. Wm. Duncombe, who was seconded by Mr. Alderman Wall, of Leeds. Sir. J. V. B. Johnstone, bart., proposed lord Morpeth, seconded by Charles Wood, Esq. Richard Bethell, Esq., was proposed by william Beverley, Esq, and seconded by J. S. B. Morritt, Esq.; and Henry Brougham, Esq., was proposed by Daniel Sykes, Esq., M P., and seconded by William Birkbeck, Esq. As no one came forward to propose Martin Stapylton, Esq., that gentleman proposed himself. After the several candidates had addressed ‘the meeting, the high sheriff put the propositions in the usual way, when there appeared very tew hands in favour of Mr. Stapylton; who, however, demanded a poll, which was commenced and kept open till eight in the evening. Ata few minutes past ten on the following morning, (Friday), the high sheriff and the candidates appeared on the hustings, when the poll was again opened, and kept open until three o’clock; Mr. Stapylton having absented himself, the high sheriff demanded of each of the candidates if they objected to his making proclamation that the poll should close; the other four candidates by themselves or friends replied, that they did not. He then addressed the free- holders, stating that, if any freeholder was dissatistied with his peremptorily closing the poll, he was then invited to come forward and he should be heard, and no objection being made by any freeholder, the under sheriff then brought up the result of the poll, which was as follows :—

Lord Morpeth, cee cee nee 1,464. Henry Browgham,... wc. eee eee Hon. W. Duncombe, ... 1.2 oe 1,128. Richard Bethell, ... 12. 1,064.

Martin Stapylton, ... 0... 0... ee 94.

The four first gentlemen were of course declared duly elected. One important feature in the above election is, that of the members being returned free of expense, which, in a county sv extensive as Yorkshire, had hitherto been attended with almost ruinous consequences. Aug. 19th. A most melancholy accident occurred on the river Ouse, uear York, by which seven persons lost their lives; six of them being members of one family. The particulars of which are as follows :—On the afternoon of that day, the family of Mr. John Rigg, nursery and seeds- man, Fishergate, York, consisting of two daughters and four sons, with Miss Robinson, from Aytou, near Scarbro’,

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 365 1830. and Mr. Thomas Sellers, of the Falcon inn, left home in the full flow of health and spirits, and went on board a pleasure boat, for a water excursion. ‘The party pro- ceeded up the river, and had been out rather more than an hour, when they came in contact with a keel, which was coming down the river, before the wind, under a press of sail, and the boat being struck on the larboard quarter she immediately swamped, and the whole party was pre- cipitated into the Ouse. Assistance was soon at hand, but only two of the number were saved. A monument to the Rigg family was subsequently erected by public sub- scription, in the church yard of St. Lawrence, in that city. The tablet bears the inscription :— “RAISED BY FRIENDSHIP, IN MEMORY OF FOUR SONS AND TWO DAUGHTERS OF JOHN AND ANN RIGG, OF THIS CITY, VIZ:—ANN GUTHRIE Riaga@, AGED 19 Years; Euiza Riae, aGeED 17; THomas Gorwoop Rice, AGED 18; JoHN Riee, AGED 16; James Surrn Rice, AseED 7; AND CHARLES RIGG, AGED 63

WHO WERE DROWNED BY THEIR BOAT BEING RUN DOWN ON THE RIVER OUSE, NEAR YORK, AuGusT 19TH, 1830.

“ Mark the brief story of a day ! At noon, youth, health, and beauty launch’d away ; Ere eve, death wreck’'d the bark, and quench’d their light, Their parents’ home was desolate at night : Each pass’d alone, that gulph no eye can see— They met next moment in Eternity.

Friend, kinsman, stranger, dost thow ask me where ? Seek God’s right hand, and hope to find them there.”’

lt is a singular coincidence that the very day on which the above dreadful accident happened, a similar occurrence took place on the river, near Norwich, where three brothers were drowned in the presence of their parents, who were in another boat upon the spot, and witnessed the dread- ful catastrophe, without being able to render assistance. Another boat accident happened at Beal, near Ferrybridge, on Thursday the 29th of this month, when three young men lost their lives. Their boat was carried by the stream over the dam and upset. From the report of the parliamentary commissioners concerning charities, it appeared that the income arising from the pious use property in the town of Leeds was as follows, viz: property and funded stock belonging to the free grammar school, £1,674 17s. 6d.; ditto for providing clothing for the poor of the parish, £267 17s. 10d.; ditto for repairing the highways, roads, &c., in the parish, £818 15s. 6d.; making a total annual income of £2,761 10s. 10d. On the 30th of August, St. Peter’s church, Morley, was

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366 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. consecrated by his grace the archbishop of York. On the 3lst of August, the Holy Trinity church, at Idle, was con- secrated by the same archbishop. On the lst September he consccrated the new church at Paddock, in the parish of Huddersfield ; and on the same day, the new churches in the townships of Golcar and Lindley, in the same parish. On the 2ud September he consecrated the new churches at Lockwood and Netherthong, in the parish of Almondbury. In clearing away the rubbish from the interior of the organ scrcen in York minster, the workmen came to the foundations of an ancient choir. ‘These walls are six feet eight inches thick, and run from east to west, passing the pillars of the lantern tower; a portion of them having been cut away to admit the bases of those pillars. They are composed of rough granite and coarse saud stone. This discovery proves that the old choir was much longer west- ward, and narrower from north to south, than the present one. More of the walls have been discovered, tending eastward; they have been traced toa considerable distance, and have been found to return in a cross or transept form to the north and south. It is conjectured with every reason of probability that these walls are the remains of the erection of archbishop Thomas, who rebuilt the choir on a nobler scale in 1070.” Aug. 3lst. A pubiic meeting was held at the Leeds Court house, for the purpose of taking into consideration the the propriety of forming a Temperance society. ‘‘ The objects of which were to advocate the entire suppression of the use of distilled spirits, except when recommended medically, and to check the immoderate use of all other kinds of liquor.” The meeting was adjourned to the 9th September following. At the adjourned meeting, Mr. Edward Baines occupied the chair. Mr. Stenson read a report, showing the necessity of a temperance society, and proposed that the following declaration should be signed y every person who became a member of the society :— whose names are subscribed, believing that in- temperance with its attendant evils, is promoted by the prevailing opinions and practices with respect to the use of intoxicating liquors, and that decided means of re- formation are indispensible, do voluntarily agree to abstain from the use of distilled spirits ourselves, (except for medicinal purposes), to disuade others from using them, and by all proper means to discountenance the causes and practices of intemperance. The Rev. James Fawcett proposed, that the words ‘and from the use of all intoxi-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 367 1830. cating liquors in public houses’’ be introduced after the words “ Medicinal ‘The general feeling of the meeting was in favour of the original declaration, and Mr. Fawcett withdrew his amendment. A provisional com- mittee was then appointed. After the lapse of about four years—during which great exertions were made to direct publicattention to the evils of intemperance—the principles of total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors began to be advocated, as necessary for the effectual reformation of drunkards, and the accomplishment of the great objects for which the society was established—the cure and pre- vention of habits of intemperance. A pledge to this effect was then introduced, and from that time until June, 1836, persons could join the society by signing either of the two declarations. At a public meeting in the Music hall, it was then decided to use the teetotal pledge only, as it is now generally designated. This society has been instrumental, under the blessing of God, in reclaiming hundreds of drunkards, and preventing many more from acquiring habits of drinking. The good which it has done can never be fully estimated. The society some time ago purchased the Stone chapel, in St. Peter’s-street, which has been converted into a Temperance hall. Sept. 20th. At the annual meeting of the Leeds Mechanics’ Institute, held at the Court-house, Dr. Williamson in the chair, Henry Brougham, Esq,, delivered a most eloquent specch. Sept. 23rd. A public meeting of the inhabit- ants of the borough of Leeds was held in the Coloured Cloth Hall “ To take into consideration the propriety of preparing an address to the throne, and petitions to both °* ouses of parliament, praying for the total abolition of Negro slavery in the British colonies.” The address and petitions were agreed to unanimously. Chistopher Beckett, Esq , the mayor, presided, and the meeting was addressed by George Rawson, Esq.; Wm, Hey, Esq.; the Rev. Thos. Scales; the Rev. R. W. Hamilton; lord Morpeth; Henry Brougham, Esq.; James Richardson, Esq.; John Clapham, Esq., the vicar of Leeds, and others. Sept.28th. A great public dinner was given at the Commercial buildings, Leeds, to lord Morpeth and Henry Brougham, Esq. in celebration of their return to parliament for the county of York. T. W. Tottie, Esq., presided. The Halifax literary and philosophical society, with a museum attached, was established in the month of September. Oct. 8th. Immense sensation was caused in Leeds by the on a charge of bigamy, of John Stanley, of

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368 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1830. Crimbles lodge, Camp-road, a most respectable wool merchant and broker. that on the 16th of June, 1829, at Knaresbro’, Mr. Stanley was married to Ann Daniel, governess to Mr. William Gott’s children. On the 7th of October, 1830,a bustling good looking female, at- tended by her son, aged 22 years, arrived in Leeds from Cumberwell, near London. She brought:a letter to a res- pectable resident, and immediately introduced herself as the wife of Mr. Stanley, whom she married in 1806. She stated also, that she had horne him eleven children, six of whom were living, and the eldest of whom accompanied her. In support of these and other allegations, she pro- duced a regular marriage certificate. Mr. Sowrey, the constable, had charge of the prisoner at Crimbles house, where Mr. Gott and Mr. Barr were taking the usual in- formation in such cases. By some means or other the prisoner was suffered to escape, and was not heard of afterwards. The new beer act, passed in the llth George IV., which repealed the duty of 10s. per barre] on ale and porter, both of which are commonly called beer, and which authorized the sale of beer on the premises, the {dealer taking out a licence annually, for which he is to pay £2 2s8., and a further sum of £2 if the parties brew the liquor, came into operation on the 11th October, 1830. In the month of October, an ancient British celt (stone battle axe) was found by Mr. Thomas Pitt, of Hudders- field, on the south of the mount and above the Meltimers, near Pike Law, one of the highest points in the interesting and romantic district around Holmfirth. It measures rather more than seven inches in length, and about three inches in breadth at the broadest part. Its weight is 2 lb. 10 oz.; in shape it nearly resembles the common axe used at the present day; the cutting edge is wedge shaped, and about three inches broad on the face; the other end is rounded, and about five and a half inches in circumference. November. By the event of the French revolution a great impulse was given to the reforming spirit in Britain, and the demands for an improvement of the parliamentary representation became very strong. The consequence was the retirement of the Wellington administration in Novem- ber, and the formation of a Whig cabinet, headed by earl Grey. The agitations of the time were much increased b a system of nocturnal fire-raising, which spread through the south of England, and caused the destruction of a vast quantity of agricultural produce and machinery, and was

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 369

1830. greatly aggravated by the gencral distress which prevailed.——Nov. 2nd. The highest tide known for many

years occurred at Hull, when there was twenty-nine feet four inches of water at the Humber dock gates. ' Nov. 15th. A shocking accident occurred at Stare bridge mill, near Farnley, in the occupation of Messrs. Pawson and Son, cloth manufacturers, by the bursting of the engine boiler. Two of the workmen were killed, and several others seriously injured. Nov. 22nd. Mr. Brougham’s elevation to the woolsack, and a peerage, caused a vacancy for the county of York. Onthe 7th of December, the election came on in the castle yard at York. Francis Hawksworth Fawkes, Esq. of Farnley, proposed, and John Charles Ramsden, Esq. M.P. for Maltou, seconded the nomination of Sir Joha Johnstone. An elector out of the crowd proposed, and a butcher named John Saville, seconded the nomination of George Strickland. A show of hands was taken which was given in favour of Mr. Strickland. Sir J. Johnstone demand- ed a poll, which took place the following day, about two o’clock, Mr. Strickland withdrew from the contest. The votes then stood as follows :—

Sir John Johnstone ... we «(Gl George Strickland, Esq. ... ... ... 104

Mr. Stapylton, and Daniel Sykes, Esq., two other can- didates had withdrawn previous to the election. Mr. William Hirst passed the Leeds bankruptcy court. By the turn out of the cotton spinners in the latter part of this year, in and around Ashton, Dunkinfield, Staley- bridge, &c., fifty mills were at a stand, and about 30,000 work-people out of employment. This led to riot and tumult, which caused the government to issuea proclamation “prohibiting the use of fire-arms and illegal meetings.” The usual mude adopted by the rioters was to set fire to property. At the special commission in Hampshire, up- wards of 300 persons were tried for arson and other crimes. At several places in the West-Riding of York- shire, viz: Barnsley, Leathley near Otley, Baildon, &c., &c., numerous buildings and stacks were set on fire, supposed to be done by incendiaries. Dec. 20th. William Hey, Esq. having resigned the office of surgeon to the Leeds Infirmary, his son William Hey, jun., was elected in his place. Dec. 3ist. The woollen mill at Woodhouse, near Hud- dersfield, the property of John Whitacre, Esq., was de- stroyed by fire. ‘The damage was estimated at £10,000. A fireman named John Hartley, was killed by a fall from a ladder.

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370 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. 1831. The census of this year showed that the number of inhabited houses in the township of Leeds, was 15,001, and in the borough, 25,456. The houses building in the township was 178: in the borough, 273. The uninhabited houses in the towuship was 1,064; in the borough, 1,862. The number of males in the township was 34,672 ; in the borough, 60,473. ‘The number of females in the township was 36,930; in the borough, 62,920. ‘The total population of the township was 71,602; in the borough, 123,393 ; and the total increase of the population of the borough from 1821, was 39,647, or 4734 per-.centum. On the Ist of January a cotton mill at Skipton, belong- ing to Mr. John Dewhirst, was destroyed by fire; damage about £8,000. This fire was supposed to be the work of an incendiary. Jan. 12th. The extensive. premises of Messrs. Bullman and Son, upholsterers, in Commercial-street, Leeds, then opposite the Leeds library, were destroyed by fire, damage more than £6,000. Feb. 6th. Died at Hastings, the hon. F. W. Robinson, only son of lord Grantham, in the 2lst year of his age. By this death the only son of viscount Goderich, then in- his fourth year, became heir presumptive to the earldum of de Grey, the barony of Grantham, and a baronetcy. Feb. 10th. A public meeting took place at the Coloured Cloth hall, Leeds, John Marshall, Esq., in the chair, to. petition parliament in favour of parliamentary and economical reform, and particularly for the grant of the elective franchise to Leeds and other populous places. The following gentlemen took a prominent part in the proceedings, viz.:—Mr. Rawson, Mr. Wailes, barrister- at-law; Mr. John Marshall, jun.; Mr. John Clapham, Mr. S. Clapham, Mr. John Peele Clapham, Mr. Baines, Mr. E. Baines, jun., Mr. Luccock, Mr. Tetley, Mr. John Heaps, and Mr. Richardson. Mcetings for similar objects were held about the same time at Wakefield, Halifax, and other places. This petition was presented in March, and was signed by 17,200 persons. The petition prayed for vote by ballot, and triennial parliaments. Feb. 15th. More than 200 of the weavers in the employ of Messrs. Gott and Sons, Leeds, turned out at this time for an advance of wages, and continued on the strike until the 4th of October, exactly thirty-three weeks from its commencement. Messrs. Gott’s met a deputation from the workmen, and after a most frank and amicable discussion, agreed to give the advanced prices which had originally been required, and which amounted to 5d.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 371 1831. per string on the first eight sets of gears, and a correspond- Ing increase on the other sets, with the customary 8d. per web for knotting and cleaning. Between five and six thon- sand pounds were contributed in the town, for the support of the weavers during the strike. In May, Messrs. Gott’s employed some weavers from a distance, this led to serious riots and the workmen had to be conducted to their homes by constables. St. Patrick’s chapel, York-road, Leeds, was founded on the 1st of March, 1831, and opened on the 12th of July, 18382: John Child, Esq. was the architect. Itis in the pointed style of the 14th century, and is ornamented with turrets and crosses, and lighted by lancet windows. The small lantern tower in the centre of the roof has five lancet windows, of three lights each. The interior contains a gallery, with richly ornamented panels in front. Opposite the altar a pelican is represented feed- ing its young, on one side of which is a wheaten sheaf, and on the other a vine branch. The windows contain borders of stained glass, and in the centre light of the triple win- dow is a cross of another coloured glass, over which is represented the holy dove. The other parts of the interior are finished in character with what has already been described. Within this chapel is a monument to the late Dr. Underhill, who was for thirty years priest in Leeds. The cost of erection, including land, amounted to £2,500. The Rev. M. O’Donnell is the priest. Mar. Ist. Lord John Russell moved for leave to bring a bill into the House of Commons, for amending the representation of the people in England and Wales. He proposed to disfranchise sixty boroughs with a less population in 1821 than 2,000. Forty-seven boroughs with a less population than 4,000 in 1821, were to loose one member. Seven large towns including Leeds, Shef- field, Birmingham, and Manchester, were to have two members each; and twenty other towns, including Wakefield, Halifax, Bradford, and Huddersfield, were to return one member each. London to have eight more representatives. Yorkshire to be divided into three parts, each Riding to send two members. Devon- shire, Cumberland, Lancashire, Staffordshire, &c., four members. In cities and boroughs, all who paid a rent of £10 a year, to be entitled to vote. The 40s. free- holders were to be allowed to vote. The franchise was to be extended to copyholders of £10 a year; and lease- holders for twenty-one years, not renewed within two years, and all leaseholders for twenty years, by whom

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372 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. property was held of the value of £50. After a spirited debate of seven nights, the bill was read a first time. (March l4th). <A division took place on the 22nd March, or the second reading, when it was agreed to by 302, against 301. . On the 19th of April the third reading was lost by 299 against 291. In conscquence of this vote, the ministers withdrew the bill, and advised his majesty to dissolve parliament, which he did on the 22nd of April. A general election immediately followed. On Thursday the 3rd of March, Richard Norton, pay- master’s clerk belouging to the 10th Hussars, hanged himself in a bed-room of the Horse and Trumpet inn, Briggate, Leeds. His funeral was appointed to take place in Quarry-hill church yard, on the Sunday after- noon following: and, as he was carried to the grave with the usual military honours, a great concourse of eople flocked to the place of interment. The Rev. Mr. Wardle, who officiated, declined reading the burial service over the body, aud was in consequence subjected to a great deal of abuse. The body was left in the church all night. On the Monday afternoon, Mr. Wardle again attended at the church in the performance of his clerical duties. There were several corpses to bury; and immense crowds (said to exceed 5,000 persons) again assembled. A party of the 3rd Dragoons was also present. On entering the church yard, he found every part of it filled with agitated spectators: the church was also crammed. Mr. Wardle taking into consideration the excitement of the multitude, and fearing the con- sequences which a persistance in his refusal to go through the service might occasion, performed it much to the satisfaction of the multitude, who instantly dispersed. Mar. 10th. A public meeting of tho inhabitants of the borough of Leeds was held in the Cloth Hall yard, ‘“‘To consider the propriety of petitioning in favour of lord John Russell’s reform bill.” The mayor having declined to call the meeting, John Marshall, jun., Esq., occupied the chair, and the resolutions were passed with a great deal of unanimity. Mar. 22nd. A county meet- ing was held inthe castle yard, York, for the same purpose. April 6th. The freedom of the city of York was pre- sented to lord Brougham. After the learned lord had taken the foreman’s oaths, R. Davis, town clerk, presented his lordship with a copy of the oaths, engrossed on vellum, and contained in a box made from the wood of the cele-

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 373 "1831 brated Cowthorpe oak, growing on the estate of the hon. E. R. Petre. The box was five inches long, by three anda half broad, and two inches deep, beautifully mounted with silver gilt both inside and out, aud the oak wood brilliantly polished. In the centre of the lid was a square shield, on which was engraved the arms of Lord Brougham, and the following inscription :—"* The freedom of the city of York, presented tu the Right Hon. Henry Lord Brougham and Vaux, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, in testimony of the feelings of admiration and respect entertained by the corporation of York, for the nurivalled talents and un- deviating patriotism of that eminent statesman. April, 1831. The Right Honourable Lord Dundas, (third time) mayor.”’ April L'th. Ata meeting of the Leeds con- servativers, held at the office of the Leeds Intelligencer, Henry Hall, Esq., in the chair, a declaration was unani- mously agreed to, expressing “unequivocal dissent both from the principle and the details of the reform bill brought into parliament by his majesty’s ministers.” Ata meeting of the Leeds corporation, held at the Court-house on the following day, ‘a petition to the House of Com- mons against the reform bill, was unauimously adopted.” May 6th. The election of four members of parhament for the county of York, took place in the castle yard, at York. The hon. Sir Edward Vavasour proposed and John Marshall, jun., Esq., seconded the nomination cf lord Morpeth; F. HW. Fawkes, Esq., proposed and Sir George Cayley seconded Sir John Johnstone; M. Wyvill, Esq., proposed and the Hon. and Rev. William Herbert, rector of Spofforth, scconded John Charles Ramsden, Esq.; Fraucis Cholmley, Esq., proposed aud George Rawson, Esq., seconded George Strickland, Esq. No other candidate being proposed, the high sheriff declared lord Morpeth, Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, John Charles Ramsden, Esq., and George Strickland, Esq., duly elected. The result of the general elections gave the ministers a majority of 369 to 233 in favour of the second reading of the reform bill. The following is the inscription on a valuable piece of plate presented to T. W. Tottie, Esq., of Leeds, by the representatives for Yorkshire :— “To Thomas William Tottie, Esq., this cup is presented, as a token of esteem and gratitude, for his services, professionally and friendly, at the general election for the entire county of York, May, 1831, by his obliged and attached friends, Lord Morpeth, Sir John V. B. John- stone bart., J. C. Ramsden, Esq., and George Strickland, Esq.”

May 13th. Died, aged 52 years, Roger Holt Leigh, Esq., 32

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374 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. of Leeds. He left Leeds on the 3rd inst. to give his vote as a freeman of the borough of Wigan, and was so mal- treated by the mob on the 4th, that he died in consequence of the injuries received. His brother, Sir Robert Holt Leigh, bart., of Hindley hall, was also roughly used. The deceased was elected a common council man of Leeds, on the Ist September, 1893. He was one of the patrons of the vicarage of Leeds; a governor of the Leeds free gram- mar school; a trustee of the charity of pious uses; aud president of the committee of the Leeds public library. He was a strenuous suppurter of almost every charity in the town. After the interment of Mr. Leigh, his friends im- mediately started a subscription to erect some memorial of him, the result of which was to his memory by Mr. Westmacott, jun., which wassubsequently placed in the Leeds parish church. Itis an excellent work of art. The design consists of a delicately white marble five feet statue of the deceased ina sitting posture, in his civic robe, having an open volume in his hand, inscribed ‘ 1688.” On the tablet beneath the statue is this inscription :— “SaCRED TO THE MEMORY OF RoGer Hott Lercn, Esquire, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS A MEMBRR OF THE CORPORATION, AND A STRENUOUS SUPPORTER OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE BOROUGH OF LEEDS. “He was a warm advocate of the established church, an uncom- promising defender of the glorious constitution of 1688, a consistent atriot, and a faithful friend. During the general election of the year 1831, whilst engaged in the exercise of his franchise asa burgess of Wigan, his native place, he was so severely injured by an excited populace, that he died at Hindley hall, the seat of his eldest and only surviving brother, Sir Robert Holt Leigh, bart., May 13th, 183), aged 52 years. Asa memorial of their esteem and admiration of his in- flexible public integrity and private worth, his numerous friends have caused this monument to be erected. Mr. Leigh’s remains were in- terred in the family vault at Up Holland Abbey church, in the county of Lancaster.”

May 16th. Died, at Halton, near Leeds, Thomas Rollin- son, gardener. He was 100 years old on the 27th January, 1831. With the exception of the loss of his eyesight a short time before his death, he had enjoyed uninterrupted good health. He had a perfect recollection of visiting the encampment on Clifford moor, in 1745; and many other events of that period were frequent subjects of his aged narration. He lived to see four generations of his own descendants, who all attended him to his grave. Though humble in Jife, he adorned hia station for more than a cen- tury by a life of integrity, sobriety, and iudustry.

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 375 1831. _ May 27th. A very violent thunder storm occurred at Leeds. The electric fluid knocked down one of the chimueys of the residence of Mr. Barnard Brown, of Burmautolts, and afterwards passed through the roof to the bell wires, several of which fell to the floor in a state of fusion. The wires acting as conductors, passed through nearly every room in the house, turning the walls at the angles of the wires to the colour of brimstone, interspersed with black, and filiing many parts of the apartments with smoke. The persons in the house sustained no injury. On Sunday, the 5th of June, the body of Thomas Rothery, a dyer, (whose death wasoccasioued by his having fallen into a dye-pan filled with heated liquor, in the dye-house of Messrs. Scarth and Sons), was interred in the bunal ground of the episcopal chapel, at Wortley; and on the Tuesday night following, was stolen from the grave. A Mr. John Hodgson, clerk to Mr. Gaunt, solicitor, was taken into cus- tody for stealing the body, he having had it conveyed to Mr. Gaunt’s office, where it was found. He was tried at the Leeds borough sessions, on July 4th, for body stealing; and, after a four hours’ patient trial, was found guilty. He was sen- tenced to be imprisoned in the castle of York for the space of six weeks, aud to enter into recognizauces to keep the peace for two years; himsclf in £100, and two sureties of £50 cach. After the defendant had been found guilty, he stated “that he was connected with a medical man iv the taking of the body, and it was for the purpose of mutually dissecting it. He could not give the name of the medical man without utterly ruinivg him, and that if he was sent to prison, it would ruin his prospects in life for ever.”’ June 8th. A society called “The Leeds True Blue Con- stitutional Association’? was formed. The principal speakers were Henry Hall, Esq., the chairman; M. T. Sadler, Esq., M. P.; Ralph Markland, Exsq., and the Rev. J. A. Rhodes, of Horsforth hall. June 13th. A nu- mcrous and highly respectable meeting of the inhabitauts of Leeds, was held at the Court-house, the mayor in the chair, ‘“‘to consider the propriety of originating such measures as may contribute to the present and permanent relief of the Irish poor, (in Ireland) who are suffering the most appalling distress from famine and A petition to the House of Commons was agreed to, praying that relief might be granted from the public purse. Besides which, a committee was formed to ccllect subscriptions from the inhabitants of Leeds. A large sum was soon collected. June 20th. The foundation stone was

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376 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. laid of a new college for the.cducation for the ministry of young men of the Independent denomination of dis- senters, at Undercliffe, year Bradford, by John Holland, Esq., of Slead house, near Halifax. A great number of peopie asseinbled to witness the ceremony. The Thomas Seales, of Leeds, commenced the service by reading the Latin inscription upov the plate to be fixed in the stone, aud the following literal translation in English :—

to the service of Gol. This building, preceded by an institution denominated ]dle academy, was erected in order that, when its perpetuity has been secured, pious and talented young men may continue to be educated gratuitously, and prepared for the gospel ministry: the first stone of which was laid by John Holland, Esq., one of the treasurers, on the 20th day of June, and the first year of the reign of William the Fourth, 1831. Mary Bacon, the pious donor of the sit? an:! sur- rounding estate; William Vint, tutor OF ‘THR CoM- MITrKER —MINtsteers: Abraham Clarkson, seeretary; Thomas Scales, James Scott, Joseph Stemus Crisp, John White, Henry Bean, James William Tiler, Layman: Christopher Andersoa, co- treasurer; James Hoatson, John Horsfall, J. Sugden, Joseph Hinchliffe, Robert Milligan, William Baldwin, Edwin Firth, Robert Howitt, John Peele Clapham, James Garnett, Jolin Aked, Thomas Clapham, James Burnley, Sumuel Hodgson, and John Clark, architect, on the day when the foundation was laid.”

The Rev. R. W Hamilton, of Leeds, delivered an address suitable to the occasion. ‘The site of the building and the surrounding estate, to the value of upwards of £3,000, were presented for the purpose by Mrs. Bacon, of Bradford. (For a further account of this college, sce page 199 of the ‘ Annals.’) June 24th. Lord John Russell again introduced the reform b.ll to the Louse of Commons. The debate on the second reading commenced on Mouday, the 4th July, and ter- minated ou the Thursday morning following, at four o’clock. The numbers were, for the sceond reading, 359; against, 233 —.n jority, 86. ‘The reform bill passed its final stage in the House of Commons on the 22nd September, discussion of three nights continuance, by a majority of 109. After the passing of the reform bill throngh the House of Commons, meetings were held in various parts of the country to petition tne House of Lords in favour of the bill. A meeting for this object was he'd on the 25th Sep- tember, in the Cloth Hall yard, in Leeds, John Marshall, Esy,in the chair. Oa the Sth of October, the House of Peers rejected the refurm bill by a majority of 41. On the 12th ot October, a county meeting was held at York, at

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 377 1831. which the county members attended, when an address was voted to his majesty in favour of the reform bill. On the news of the rejection of the bill by the peers reaching Derby, Nottingham, Bristol, and other places, dreadful riots occurred, and at the latter place several lives were lost, and a vast amount of property destroyed. June 29th. The ceremony of opening the Huddersfield and Upper Agbrigg infirmary, the first stone of which was Jaid on Monday, the 29th of June, 1829, by John Charles Ramsden, Esq., M.P., of Newby park, took place this day, in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators. The infirmary is an elegant and substantially built stone edifice. The principal front is ornamented in the centre by a mag- nificent portico built in the Grecian Doric style of archi- tecture, supported by four massive pillars, and ascended to by nine steps. The length of the front is 120 feet, and the wings at each end are sixty fect deep. A handsome wall and pallisading incloses a large plot of land surroynd- ing the building. The building is replete with every con- venience for carrying out the objects of the charity. July. The sexton of Dewsbury parish church found an ancient silver coin, in good preservation, in digging a grave on the south side of that edifice. It wasa half groat of Edward IV., and as the motto indicated, was coined at Canterbury. The Jegend when complete has been as follows :—Obverse—-EDWARD DI. GRA. REX. ANGL. Z. ERA. Reverse.—POSVI DEVM AUDITORE. (Auditorem). MEVM. Inner circle—CIVITAS CANTOR. July 7th. Mr. William Cobbett was tried in the court o king’s bench for publishing a seditious libel inciting the people to arms, in the Weekly Register. The jury, after being locked up fifteen hours, stated that it was impossible for them to be unanimous in their verdict, and were discharged. July 12th. The roof of Woodchurch, near Dewsbury, fellin with a tremendous crash, and buried the nave, pulpit, pews, &c.. in the ruins. On hearing of this mis- fortune, Mr. Scatcherd, the antiquarian, hastened to the spot, and states, in a letter which subsequently appeared in the Leeds Intelligencer, that :—

“The chancel was uninjured, except as to the arch, dividing it from the nave, which was muchshaken. The light now diffused through the chancel roof, enabled the visitor to perceive that its walls were hollow, or rather that they had, at some after period, been lathed and lastered, (or “stoothed,” as the term is), and what was more remark- able, it enabled the antiquary to discover the reason of this alteration.

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378 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. Upon the ancient walls, from the ceiling downwards, and from the arch to the eastern wall, some old black letter characters were “dimly visible,” in separate compartments, surrounded with antique scrolls or borders. They were all in Latin, but so darkened and concealed were they, by the “stoothing,” that the word “Thomas,” alone could be made out. In fact. the rotten state both of the roof and ceiling, in- creased considerably the dilliculty of the task. The body of the church being nearly rebuilt, I revisited Woodchurch on February Ist, 1832, and have been repaid for my trouble. The arch before-men- tioned it was to take down; and, in putting up a new one, the workmen were compelled to displace some of the lath and plaster of the chancel. Judge my surprise when I perceived a portion only of the ancient interior! It now appears that the whole of these walls (or nearly so) have been painted and gilded, having on them roses, white and red, tulips, anemonies or poppies, and other flowers; grapes, peaches, and various choice fruits, with leaves and other decorations, the colours of which, even yet, are delightful. For what purpose was all this charming work of art concealed by a casing of lath and plaster? I can solve the question by supposing the black letter characters relate to that which, even by Catholic Harry the 8th, waSconsidered superstitious or idolatrous, and that policy suggested this mode of putting it out of sight; and, certain [ am, that nothing short of imperious necessity could have effected an alteration so singular, and. apparently, useless. I Burton informs us in his Monas- tacon, that “in the 3lst of Henry 8th, the sight of Nostel priory was given to Thomas Leigh, doctor of laws, and one of the king’s visitors of relivious houses;’’ an‘ its subordinate cell at “ Wodckirke” being evidently destroyed at the same period, it is highly probable that the site of this also, was given to Dr. Leigh. My reason for this belief arises from the name of tho Kirk fair, which is still called “ Leigu” or “Ler.” “Fair;” besides the recollection of family connections between the ancient family of Leigh, and those of certain noblemen, now Jords of manors in this vicinity. It is certain, however, that the preference of lath and plaster to whitewash, did not answer the expec- tations of the black canons at “ Wodekirke in the middle of the 15th ceutury.”

The name of Woodchurch sufficiently testifies both to its character and antiquity. It designates a very ancient fabric, composed of the usual materials of which even sacred buildings were constructed in remote ages, and devoted at a very early period to the worship of God. Woodchurch was noticed by Leland, who says of it, “At Woodchurch, in Morley Wapentake, near Dewsbury, was a cell of black canons from Nostel, valued at seventeen pounds per annum.”’ Although Woodchurch was however but a cell to the priory, the remaining foundations prove it to have been of considerable comparative extent. The church was conventual as well as _ parochial; was Supposed to be possessed of considerable sanctity, and

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THE SURROUNDING DISTRICT. 379 1831 enjoyed a very extensive religious renown. After the falling in of the edifice, Mr. Scatcherd took drawings of the principal objects of interest to the antiquarian, and thus describes them :—

“In the east window of Woodkirk chancel there are five shields of arms in broken painted glass, but so made up from the broken glass of other windows, that little can be gathered from them. There are two birds facing each other, apparently intended for bustards or large hawks; but, as [ believe, really intended for eagles. The arms of Soothill, of Soothill hall, were an eagle displayed, argent, and these birds have been argent; but they are not displaye!, which causes me to doubt whether Sir John Topceliffe may not have had these birds (if bustards) for his supporters. In one of these shields, ona piece of glass which seems once to have been silvered, is a saint upon a wheel cross in the agonies of martyrdom. A hand appears over his head, which I imagine has belonged to another figure, perhaps to the Roman Lictor. The tower of Woodchurch, which has evidently been rebuilt since the days of the black canons, displays a portion of the zig zag or chevron arch moulding Its bells, according to tradition, once be- longed to Ardsley, but this J] doubt for reasons mentioned in my history. fof Morley.] I now come to the most amusing part of my narrative. King Henry I. granted the canons of Nostel the privilege of holding a fair there at the feast of St. Oswald, (August 5th), the two preceding and two following days. In this reign, Woodkirke, as a cell of black canons, was also founded; and it is probable, if not certain, that there was a similar grant of a fair to this convent. This fair, however, which, tradition says, was once held for three weeks, was ahout the time of St. Burtholomew, September 5th. The fair of St. Oswald, at Nostel, appears to have been suppressed by John de Insula (De Lisle) on account of the riots and disorders with which it was attended. The court roll of the manor of Wakefield gives some curious scenes as occurring at the fair helonying to the canons of Woodkirk. One John, of Newcastle, complained of John de Heton, for an assault an} battery, at the same fair, to his damage of 100 shillings; and one William, (the) Carter, complained that the said John had come into his stall at the fair, and had overturned it, by which he lost twenty gallons of beer worth 2s. 4d.; a cask value 12d.; and a sack worth 8d. The covering of his stall was also torn, damage 12d.; and other injuries. ‘Total loss forty shiliings—a great sum of moaey in those days. But I have something still more re- markable to say about Wodekirke, or Leigh fair, which iy that on St. Bartholomew’s day, the scholars from the grammar schools of Leeds, Wakefield, &c., were brought to this place for disputation, or to ascer- tain their proficiency in classical learning. annually, down to the early part of last century. When first I gained this information—coming as it did, from very creditable, but uneducated old men, I donbted the truth of their forefather’s tradition, but finding that the fair once lasted about three weeks, and that the last day was on St. Bartholomew —the ‘patron or tutelary saint of scholars—reflecting too on the accounts of Stowe, Lilly the astrologer, and others, 1 am now as sure that these

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380 ANNALS OF LEEDS, YORK, AND 1831. disputations were at Lee fair as if I had seen them—for how could old labourers and mechanics know anything about St. Barthoiomew or the usages on his day? One old man, who died about 1780, and from whom my informant had his account, related that his father, wh2n a boy, was present during a disputation, and hid well nigh been knocked on the head by a beadle—for, happening to ask one of the boys who stood up the Latin words for certain articles which I dare not myself put, even in that language, in this place; the gentleman in gold laced robe and cocked hat, applied his truncheon so forcibly to the ‘pericranium’ of the catechiser, as made him remember his im- pudence and indecency all his life afterwards. My respectable neigh- bour and tenant, Mr. Mark Hepworth, an enthusiast in antiquities like myself, from his childhood, had this last narration from two very aged persons, Joseph Bold and Richard Moreby, men of goo! character, who died above thirty years ago, as appears by the Woodchurch register.”’

July 13th During a thuuderstorm at Fluddersfield, the electric fluid struck the White Lion inn, in Cross Church- street,