Old Images of Accrington, Lancashire

Historic Book

Extract from “Messrs. Hargreaves’ calico print works at Accrington, and recollections of Broad Oak ” by Benjamin Hargreaves

Published in 1882

Page 31

At the time of which I write , men of business had no convenient
way of getting to Manchester market except on horseback . There
were no coaches nor chaises , ( a chaise not being obtainable nearer
than Preston ) .

Small parties of gentlemen travelling from Burnley ,
Clitheroe , and Clayton – le – Moors , used to meet at the Hare and
Hounds at Enfield , and formed a little cavalcade . They were
joined on their way by others from Accrington and Haslingden ,
and rode to Manchester .

When business was finished they returned
in much the same order as they went . All who lived to the south
of Enfield left the party for their respective homes . The rest
journeyed onward and parted at the Hare and Hounds . It was a
four – lane – end rendezvous both going and returning . Many a
parting cup has been quaffed there , and many a loyal toast gone
round at that noted hostelry .

A change came over this mode of
travelling to the cotton emporium – no less than the starting of a
four horse coach from Clitheroe to Manchester . I shall never forget
the enthusiasm with which the first appearance of the Clitheroe
Coach ( as it was called ) , gaily bedecked and caparisoned , was
greeted on its first traversing the principal street or thoroughfare
of the town . The road was lined with spectators , three or four file
deep , and shout after shout burst forth from the delighted in
habitants of the town and neighbourhood assembled .

After some
years other coaches were established , and travelling to Manchester
market on horseback became a thing of the past .

Pages 41-44

In the spring of 1826 , my brother Robert being in the works , I
went to Mr. Dalton , of Manchester , to improve myself in calculation ,
in which I was sadly deficient …..

These lessons continued six months ,
but before they were finished there broke out over North – East
Lancashire one of those wild theorisms that overwhelm all reason ,
like the out – pourings of a volcano , that the power – loom ( then just
coming into use ) was destroying the hand – loom weavers .

The
latter had suffered long and patiently , and for a few years my
mother’s door had been beset with supplicant weavers from Padiham ,
Colne , and the neighbourhood . My mother being a truly unself
ish , charitable woman , gave them sixpences , oat – meal , and bacon ,
and did her best to allay their temporary wants .

It was , to the best of my recollection , the month of May 1826 ,
that a huge mob of some three or four thousand men , woman , and
lads , armed with cudgels , sledge – hammers , crowbars and scythes ,
were seen coming into Accrington . They marched direct to
Messrs . Sykes ‘ mill , at the Grange .

My brother Robert hearing
that a mob was coming , and having an intimation what it was after ,
hastened to the mill and hid himself behind the chimney of a house
near at hand and saw all that passed .

The first thing was that of
a woman smashing a clock that hung in the passage . The next
was an onslaught on the looms with crowbars and sledge – hammers .
These disappeared like potteryware , and all was finished in the way
of destruction . A consultation was held , at which the question
was put ” Shall we go to Broad Oak ? ” It was decided not to go ,
for Mrs. Hargreaves , they said , had always been kind . Thus , as
an aunt of ours once remarked , ” Your mother’s meal and bacon
saved Broad Oak . “

Now as there were no power looms at Broad Oak , to have
destroyed the machinery would have been going beyond the
province of power – loom breaking . The mob , triumphant at
Accrington , next visited White Ash , destroying everything
connected with power – loom weaving . From thence they proceeded
to Blackburn and Haslingden , demolishing every power – loom they
could find .

The agitation went on for a week , spreading to Bury ,
Oldham , and Manchester , and would have augmented at a fearful
rate , but at Chatterton they were met by about twenty riflemen ,
and the Riot Act having been read , a volley was fired amongst
the rioters , and five or six of them killed . This was a check to such
mobism , and outlawism soon ceased .

It took the county by sur
prise , when it was called upon to pay the piper for all this destruc
tion of property . The distress in North – East Lancashire was still

great ; power – loom breaking had done no good , serving only to
destroy confidence , and throw back any hopes of improvement .

The Government came forward , offering loans of money for public
works to employ the unemployed . Mr. McAdam , a noted surveyor
and improver of road construction , came down to Blackburn , to see
what could be undertaken in the way of public works , and all who
had anything to suggest were invited to wait upon him .

A public
meeting was held at Accrington , at which it was suggested that a
new and direct road to Blackburn was desirable . The late Rev.
John Hopwood , then incumbent of St. James ‘ Church , and myself
( for I had returned from Manchester ) , were deputed to wait upon
Mr. McAdam . We did so , and the scheme being regarded in a
favourable light , a loan was granted , and the work commenced .

Ultimately the road was handed over to the Bury and Whalley
Trust Commission , and the money advanced by Government re
funded by the commissioners , who had the privilege of collecting
the tolls , until the Act of Parliament , under which the trust was
held , expired .

This road was found the greatest benefit to Accring
ton and the neighbourhood , and was followed in a few years by the
Burnley road , constructed by the Blackburn and Addingham Trust
Commissioners .

In a former paper I have spoken of the building of Warner street
being thought a great thing . The reader may imagine what Accring
ton was without Culvert – street , Oak – street , Blackburn – road , and

Peel – street , which last was only a private carriage road from
Accrington House to St. James ‘ Church .

Whilst treating of
Accrington , I may mention that , a few years before my father
purchased Grange estate from John Duckworth ( better known as
Jackey Duckworth ) , there was a row of fine pine trees ( Pinus
Asturus ) where the north wall of Christ Church now stands . These
were cut down , I imagine to make a little money before my father’s
purchase . There were also one or two of the same description of
trees behind the old house now standing at Grange , but these
gradually died away from old age . Such pine trees are generally
found about monastic ruins , and speak volumes for the Grange
having been what it has traditionally been represented from times
immemorial , a Grange to Kirkstall Abbey . This being assumed ,
we may well believe what it was represented historically , to have
been the site of a monastic grange erected by an abbot of Kirkstall .
This monastic institution having been burnt down and the poor
monks massacred some hundred years ago , has left legacies or
mementoes in the names of Grange , Black Abbey , Priest Heys , and
Abbey – street .