Will – Page 7 – Forgotten Victorians

St Patrick’s, Park Place, Toxteth

September 27, 2017 WillLeave a comment

Liverpool had expanded hugely over the course of the eighteenth century, from a small fishing town with a population of 5,714 in 1700, to a 1,400% increase of population to 77,708 in 1801. The population more than doubled again by 1831 to 165,221. The vast majority was immigration from Ireland. The pressures this created on the need for housing, schools, and churches form a rather murky undertone to almost everything that happens in Liverpool, and particularly the politics. There are other strands as well, the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the Corn Laws in 1815, a succession of poor Irish harvests in the 1820’s and 1830’s, the fight for Catholic emancipation leading to the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, and the fight for Parliamentary Reform.

The following is largely extracted from Thomas Burke’s ” Catholic History of Liverpool,” Liverpool : C. Tinling & Co., Ltd., Printers, 53, Victoria Street. 1910. The wording in brackets is from footnotes in the original.

” The opening year of the nineteenth century witnessed a large influx of poor Irish people into Liverpool. One writer attributed the immigration to the passage into law of the Act of Union [Brook’s History of Liverpool.] which abolished the Irish Houses of Parliament, and provided for the future government of Ireland from Westminster. It is difficult to see how such an Act was directly responsible for sending the Irish of 1801 in large numbers to Liverpool, though it is certain that the result which ensued therefrom created the Irish Liverpool of a later date.

In the year 1821, the Catholic population, estimated by the numbers attending Mass on the Sunday mornings, was 12,000, as compared with a total seating accommodation of 56,200 in all the Anglican and Dissenting places of worship in the town. From a census taken in this same year we learn that the total number of houses occupied were 19,007, the average number of dwellers therein amounting to 5.84.

A distinguished Liverpool Irishman, [Henry Smithers, in Liverpool, Its Commerce, Statistics, and Institutions: With a History of the Cotton Trade, T. Kaye, 1825] calculated that ten years earlier (1811) there were 21,359 Catholics living inside the town boundaries. As corroborating this opinion, a priest attached to St. Nicholas speaking at a public meeting in the schools in 1830, declared that the Catholics numbered not less than one-third or one-fourth of the entire population, [165,221 in 1831] and called special attention to the definitely ascertained fact that in the course of twenty-three years the number of Catholic baptisms had increased 340 per cent. [Liverpool Mercury, 21st May, 1830.]

More churches were needed. The next extension of church accommodation took place at St. Peter’s, Seel Street, the extended church being opened on November 27, 1817.

In 1822, another influx of Irish immigrants arrived in the town, due to the severity of Irish landowners, who demanded their pound of flesh notwithstanding the generally depressed condition of Irish agriculture.

The newspapers record the sequel in these words. ” Crowds of indigent poor sought relief at the workhouse in Cumberland Street, and at the parish church of St. Peter’s, Church Street.” It would be an interesting item of historical value could we calculate the heavy cost to Liverpool ratepayers of Irish misgovernment, and a no less interesting speculation would be the progress of Catholicism in Liverpool had Pitt failed in carrying into law the ill-fated Act of Union. This second exodus from Ireland to Liverpool must have been very considerable, as a local historian* tells us that around the Exchange not fifteen in a hundred were natives of the town owing to the numbers of poor Irish arriving daily. This immense mass of Catholics around the Tithebarn Street and Vauxhall Road area, entailed serious consequences social and economic to the town which have not wholly disappeared to this hour (1910), and brought about the erection of further chapels and schools, but for which the citizens of Liverpool had been brought face to face with insoluble problems of crime and lawlessness. Liverpool has failed entirely to realise its debt to the devoted Catholic clergy and the energetic Catholic laymen who saved the situation to some extent both in the twenties and the terrible years which were soon to follow.

This Irish congestion had a curious sequel if we are to credit the statement that when the “cabbage patches “ which lined ” the road to Ormskirk,” had to give way to much needed sites for dwelling houses, the new street was called Marie-la-bonne, modified to Marybone, at the request of the Catholics ” who began to occupy the houses erected.”! Agricultural land now assumed a high value as ” eligible “ building sites, and brought in its train as a logical result the awful problem of housing the poor which perplexes local and imperial statesmen ignorant of the one method of solving the difficulty.

St. Mary’s Chapel, just sixty-six feet long and forty-eight broad was sorely taxed to find room for the thousands who sought to hear Mass therein…… A similar state of affairs existed at the South end of the town. Seel Street Chapel was utterly unable to cope with the congested Irish population living in the streets off Park Lane and St. James Street, and a lay committee took in hand the erection of a new church to supply the spiritual needs of this Irish colony.

The dedication of the church leaves no doubt as to the nationality of the poor for whom it was founded and quite a thrill of enthusiasm swept over the Irish population at the announcement that the Park Place Church was to be placed under the protection of the Apostle of Ireland. [Strong opposition was offered by the Protestant body to the erection, on the ground that there was plenty of accommodation already.] Touched by the needs of the Irish poor many of the leading Liberals gave substantial assistance towards the undertaking, and the poor contributed their mite generously and whole heartedly. The English Catholics of the town were generous to a degree and on the 17th of March, 1821, not many months after the project had been conceived, the foundation stone was laid amidst scenes of jubilation, probably never equalled since that memorable day.

St. Patrick’s feast occurred on a Saturday that year, not the most suitable day for public rejoicings or processions, but the day mattered not, the heart of Catholic and Irish Liverpool was touched in its tenderest part, and a great procession was the result. Those were the days of great faith. Consequently the day was opened by the Irish Society attending Mass at St. Mary’s, a compliment to the parent church as well as a thanksgiving to God, and then reforming, the procession wended its way to St. Anthony’s, where the second half of the procession had also heard Mass at an early hour. Led by several carriages in which were seated the rector of St. Nicholas, Father Penswick, Father Dennet, of Aughton, and the preacher at the ceremony, Father Kirwan, St. Michan’s, Dublin, the monstre procession moved off on its long march to Park Place. Then followed the Irish Societies, wearing their regalia, bearing banners and flags, and accompanied by numerous brass and fife bands, including the Hibernian Society, Benevolent Hibernian Society, Hibernian Mechanical Society, Benevolent Society of St. Patrick, Amicable Society of St. Patrick, Free and Independent Brothers, Industrious Universal Society and the Society of St. Patrick. The last named organisation was founded specially to raise funds for the new church. Behind these organisations which comprised fifteen thousand men, marched the school children from the schools of Copperas Hill and the Hibernian School in Pleasant Street.

That year the famous Irish regiment [Connaught Rangers.] whose exploits under Wellington in the Peninsular War were still remembered, was stationed in the town. On hearing of the proposed procession they expressed a keen desire to take part in it, and the Officer in command appealed to the War Office for the necessary permission, which was readily given. Their appearance in the procession, many of them bearing signs of their services to the King, aroused the sympathies of the liberal minded non-Catholic population and kindled the enthusiasm of their countrymen to fever heat. In the absence of the Vicar Apostolic who sent his blessing, Father Penswick well and truly laid the foundation stone, and amidst the jubilation ” of the thousands of English Catholics in the town ” and the plaudits of the immense crowd of native born Irishmen, the new mission was launched on its notable career. The festivities concluded by four public banquets held in Crosshall Street, Sir Thomas Buildings, Ranelagh Street and Paradise Street.

Two years later the unfinished building began to be used and quite a surprise was felt by the average citizen at the strange and unique spectacle of hundreds of men and women kneeling outside the walls of the church on Sunday mornings, unable to obtain admission to the sacred edifice which was crowded to its utmost capacity as far as its condition permitted. Father Penswick, who was the head and front of the scheme for founding the church, made a herculean effort to finish the building. To this end he founded in his own parish an auxiliary branch of the Society of St. Patrick and raised a considerable sum of money. Many distinguished Irish ecclesiastics crossed over to Liverpool and preached in the still unfinished building; the Professor of Rhetoric at Maynooth one Sunday morning collecting two hundred pounds. Irish and English Catholics worked harmoniously until a foolish murmur was spread abroad that Father Penswick intended to put an English priest in charge of the mission and that he intended to frustrate the idea of the lay Trustees to make the ground floor of the church free for ever.

This latter proposal, afterwards carried out, is a striking light on the poverty of the masses of the people at that time. An angry correspondence sprang up in the newspapers and retarded the collection of the needed funds, but eventually the rumours were dispelled by the appointment of Father Murphy.

On the 22nd August, 1827, the church was opened by ceremonies of such splendour and solemnity as had never before been witnessed by Liverpool Catholics of any preceding age. Over forty priests were seated in the chancel, coming from all parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. As a compliment to the founder of the church, Father Penswick was invited to sing the High Mass, an eloquent sermon being preached by Father Walker (later on one of the resident clergy), who had a high reputation as a pulpit orator. The amount collected inside the church on that day reached the large sum of three hundred pounds. The papers of the day paid special attention as usual to the musical portion of the service which was of a very high character, and specifically mentioned a young priest named White whose singing attracted much public attention. He had but recently returned from his studies in Rome and was asked by Pope Leo the Twelfth to join the choir in the Sistine chapel. This flattering offer was declined; the young Levite preferring the hard work of a mission in his native Lancashire to musical fame in the Eternal City. On the Sunday following the ceremony the church was opened free to the public as had been arranged by the Trustees; a stone laid in the outer west wall inscribed with this condition stands to this hour to perpetuate this curious condition. Mr. John Brancker, one of the noblest spirited public men of a generation remarkable for the high character and unselfishness of so many of its leading citizens on the Liberal side, had given generously to the funds for the church. He gave one special gift which against his own wishes told succeeding generations of his great charity. The fine statue of St. Patrick which stands outside the church was ordered by him from a Dublin firm of sculptors and placed in position in November, 1827. It has the distinction of being the first Catholic emblem displayed to public gaze in Liverpool since St. Patrick s Cross in Marybone had been destroyed.

Thirty four years later in 1861, the future Mgr. Henry O’Bryen was the 3rd curate at the church.

A Quaker Funeral, Liverpool, 1774.

September 22, 2017 WillLeave a comment

I came across this piece from a newspaper article written by George J Binns in 1932. He turns out to be a first cousin four times removed, and Jonathan Binns, MD, 1747-1812, his great-grandfather is, by our generation, a great, great, great, great, great-grandfather. Apparently there is a transcript of the diary in the Liverpool Central Library.

” The request for records of Victorian funeral customs has recalled to me the following account of a Quaker funeral at Liverpool, in 1774. It is taken from the diary of Jonathan Binns, MD, 1747-1812, my great-grandfather.

July 16. Was at the Funeral of Sarah Chorley, late wife of Jn^oChorley Mercn^t in Liverp^l to which there was a general invitation of Friends given at the week day Meeting before & a particular invitation on Cards sent along with white Gloves to the Friends with whom they were more particularly acquainted; as also to a few Gentlemen of their particular acquaintance; & to all the Ladies that she had visited since she came to town: the form of invitation was as follows.

“Doctor Binns’ attendance is desired to

the funeral of Sarah Chorley tomorrow at

2 o’clock to go out at 3.

July 15, 1774.”

The Uncles aunts & nearer relations not only of the deceased but also of Jn^o Chorley’s sat in the room where the Corps lay; the Cousins & the BEARERS in another room upstairs; the Ladies in another; all the Friends (except relations or Bearers) in the large Parlour; and the Gentlemen were in a room at their neighbour Savages…..

The procession from their house in Hanover Street, to our Meeting house & Burial Ground was as follows.

The Men invited to the funeral went first without order; next the Eight Women Bearers drest in long Hoods & light drab Gowns went two & two: after them the Hearse containing the Corps drawn by two black Horses; the driver had no black Cloaths but no Cloak as is customary; next to this Jn^oChorley, his late Wife’s Mother & one of her Sisters, then another Chariot with the other Sister & two other aged female relations who cou’d not very well walk.

The rest of the relations followed on foot, & after them the Women drove up the rear.

The streets were lined with a great number of spectators, & it was with great difficulty that we got to the Meeting house Doors, as they were kept shut, to prevent the rabble from filling the Meeting house before those that were invited got it: on which acc^tthe astonishing crowd which had collected together on the occasion cou’d not easily recede to make way by reason of the narrowness of the street, & others pressing down at the other end; at length with some difficulty & danger of driving over people, but without any hurt (so far as I cou’d learn) the Hearse got just past the doors, the Corps was taken out & carried into the Meeting house under hand by the Eight bearers by towels passed thro’ the handles affixed to the sides & ends of the Coffin which was made of fine Mahogany, with the Initials of her name and her age in brass nails upon the lid. Four or more Friends stood at the doors to keep out rude people.

Two stranger public Fr^ds were invited & came viz Margt Raine from Crawshayb^th& Sarah Taylor fr^mManchester. they were at Lancaster on acc^t of the Quarterly Meet^g when the News got there of S Chorley’s death; they therefore came directly thence.

After sitting in Meeting ab^t 2 hours & something having been said by my Father & Sarah Taylor it was broke up & the bearers then took up the Corps & bore it to the side of the Grave when (after a few minutes stillness) it was let down & covered up. Then the relations & others withdrew, some of the nearest related returned in carriages to JC’s there were likewise Coaches order’d for the Bearers who accompanied them: and thus ended this truly solemn solemnity.

NB: A Dinner was ordered for thirty people (at Banner’s the Goldⁿ Fleece in Dale st) that were to come at a distance; tho several came yet only six dined there.

George J Binns.

Notes & Queries, 27th August 1932 “

The Binns Collection In The Liverpool Public Library

September 22, 2017 WillLeave a comment

I came across a paper entitled ” The Binns Family Of Liverpool And The Binns Collection In The Liverpool Public Library By Eveline B. Saxton, M.A., A.L.A. ” which was published as part of the ” Transactions Of The Historic Society Of Lancashire And Cheshire Vol. CXI. For The Year 1959 “. Miss Saxton seems to have been, at one time, the Assistant-in-charge of the Local History Department, Liverpool Public Libraries. She was also a long-serving member of the Council of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society. One gets the feeling that there is probably rather more to her that that brief description implies.

Miss Saxton throws up almost as many questions as she answers in her paper, she starts:

” All students of Liverpool local history will be acquainted with the most interesting collection of maps, views of old Liverpool and Lancashire, and portraits of old Lancashire worthies in the Liverpool Record Office, which goes by the name of the Binns Collection, and is contained partly in thirty five elephant folio volumes and partly in a number of very large boxes. The originator of the collection was a Liverpool Quaker named Thomas Binns, and it is a remarkable fact that though he was born in Liverpool and belonged to a family esteemed and respected in the town in both public and private life for over a hundred years, when he died in 1842 so little was known of his origin that the prominent Liverpool paper, the Albion, described him as having been born in Ireland. “

She continues:

” It is yet more remarkable that, in spite of two other important Liverpool papers stating that he was born in Liverpool, his Irish birth was accepted as the true version and the error perpetuated in an article in the Lancaster Guardian of 8 April 1911. He was in fact born in Church Street, where his father had lived for over five years, on 24 November 1771, and his name appears in the register of births for the Quarterly Meeting of Lancashire.”

“In 1932 a letter arrived at the Liverpool Reference Library from a Mr. George Binns, a solicitor in Lancaster, who had seen the reference to this Thomas Binns from Ireland in the Lancaster paper, and wrote to refute the statement. He expressed a desire to inspect the Binns Collection on a coming visit to Liverpool, and later not only sent to the Library all the data he could collect on Thomas Binns and genealogical notes on the family, but also lent a transcript of the letters and diaries of Jonathan Binns, the uncle of Thomas, a prominent Liverpool doctor, with permission to copy as much as was thought necessary for the Library records.”

” Thomas Binns died on 27 December 1842, and Gore’s Liverpool Advertiser of 5 January 1843, said, “At his house, Mount Vernon, at the age of 71, Thomas Binns, a member of the Society of Friends. He was a native of Liverpool, and was for a long period highly respected in business, filled the offices of chairman of the Underwriters’ and other associations, and was treasurer to the Infirmary, at the important era of the building of the present edifice”. But however honourably he fulfilled his obligations in business and public, Thomas’s real interest was in the collecting of items of local topography. He was a born collector, and when he died he left, in addition to real property in Liverpool and North Lancashire, the collection of material illustrating the county of Lancaster which we now know as the Binns Collection. It numbered over 6,000 items (the number has of course been greatly increased since then), and comprised maps, plans, views, portraits, MSS. and rare printed items, including broadsheets and election squibs. Many of the portraits are fine mezzotint engravings. While making the collection Binns commissioned certain items, notably the sepia drawings of Liverpool streets and buildings made by James Brierley in 1828-29, which are a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Liverpool topography at that period. “

Liverpool Public Library was started in 1852, and ” In the 2nd Annual Report, 1854, of the Free Public Library occurs this note: “A valuable addition has been made to the Library during the past year, by the purchase from the Executors of the late Mr. Thomas Binns, of the collection made by that gentleman, illustrative of the history of the County of Lancaster, and more especially of the town of Liverpool.”

The collection cost £ 300 in 1853, [ a modern day equivalent of just over £ 300,000 ]

So far, so simple. Then she drops the following into her paper: ” There are about fifty items in the Binns Collection either drawn or engraved by Jonathan Binns, Thomas’s nephew. He was the son of Dr. Jonathan Binns, the younger son of the first Jonathan to settle in Liverpool. ” On this one, she is wrong, well, part right, part wrong. Jonathan Binns (1785 – 1871) was Thomas Binns’s first cousin, not his nephew. But it adds a whole new set of ingredients to the story.

Going back to the Sir Joshua Walmsley story. Sir Josh’s eldest daughter Elizabeth married Charles Binns on the 6th August 1839. Charles Binns “came from a Quaker family with strong Liverpool connections.”

Charles Binns is the grandson of Dr. Jonathan Binns, (1747 -1818), and one of seven children of Jonathan Binns, (1785 – 1871). Miss Saxton takes an interesting line on both Jonathan Binns. “Dr. Jonathan was a most interesting character,” which is true, but she takes a slightly harsh line with Jonathan junior, who she almost portrays as a Forest Gump character.

She quotes ” a letter sent by a member of the Binns family, which gives an account of the doctor’s strange treatment of his elder son, Jonathan. “Dr. Binns”, says the writer, “appears to have grossly neglected the education of his son, the late Mr. Jon. Binns of Lancaster. He did not have him taught Latin, History or Geography, and at an early age put him to learn farming with a mere yokel, while on the other hand the other [younger] son (William), who died young, was apprenticed to a physician in Darlington to start his career as medical man.” and

” Mr. Jon. Binns spent much valuable time in after life in learning things he should have been taught when young. He was over 6ft. high and marvellously handsome, clever in all ways, and most expert with his pencil”. and then:

” His father did advance the money to set him up in a farm, but he gave this up in 1819, and began business as a land surveyor in Lancaster. His great work is the map of Lancaster which he published from an actual survey made in 1821: during its preparation he collected a number of old people’s recollections.”

We’ll come back to both in other posts, but Dr. Jonathan Binns, (1747 -1818), was one of the only two Liverpool persons who signed the first list of the Abolitionists of Slavery. He then became the Superintendent of Ackworth School [the Quaker boarding school], which both his sons attended.

Jonathan junior’s great work was not a map of Lancaster, though he did make one, but actually a two volume work “The Miseries and Beauties of Ireland” Jonathan Binns 1837 which is fascinating, and, with hindsight, slightly heart-breaking at the same time. It’s in part an account of two years travelling round Ireland, and in part a description of poverty in Ireland, and also very practical plans and suggestion to improve agriculture, and alleviate that poverty.

It’s a tragedy he wasn’t listened to more.

Quaker Petition to Parliament for the abolition of the slave trade 1783

September 16, 2017 WillLeave a comment

Transcription from the Yearly Meeting minutes (Volume 17/298 – 307)

To the Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled.

The Petition of the People called Quakers,

Sheweth –

That your Petitioners met in this their annual assembly, having solemnly considered the state of the enslaved negroes, conceive themselves engaged in religious duty, to lay the suffering situation of that unhappy people before you, as a subject loudly calling for the humane interposition of the Legislature.

Your Petitioners regret, that a nation professing the Christian Faith, should so far counteract the principles of humanity and justice as by a cruel treatment of this oppressed race, to fill their minds with prejudices against the mild and beneficent doctrines of the Gospel.

Under the countenance of the laws of this country, many thousands of these our fellow-creatures, entitled to natural rights of mankind, are held, as personal property, in cruel bondage; and your Petitioners being informed, that a Bill for the regulation of the African trade is now before the House, containing a clause which restrains the officers of the African Company from exporting Negroes. Your Petitioners, deeply affected with a consideration of the rapine, oppression, and bloodshed attending this traffic, humbly request that this restriction may be extended to all persons whatsoever, or that the House would grant such other relief in the premises, as in its wisdom may seem meet.

Signed in and on behalf of our yearly meeting, held in London, the 16^th day of 6^th month, 1783.

Petition from London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, presented to Parliament on 16 June 1783

The petition that the Yearly Meeting sent to Parliament is transcribed in both the Yearly Meeting minutes (Volume 17/298 – 307) and Meeting for Sufferings minutes (Volume 36/ 408 – 413). This transcript is from the Yearly Meeting minutes.

This was the first petition made to Parliament and was signed by 273 Quaker members, including William Rathbone, Dr Jonathan Binns, and Samuel Hoare Jnr.

Ackworth School

September 15, 2017 WillLeave a comment

This is the preface to the ” Ackworth School catalogue : being a list of all the boys and girls educated at that institution, from its commencement in 1779, to the present period. “ published by Harvey and Darton, Gracechurch Street, London : 1831. If you have Quaker relatives, it is an absolute joy because it just lists all 5511 pupils who attended Ackworth School between 1779 and 1831, and the year they left.

” This small work may possibly fall into the hands of some persons little acquainted with the Institution to which it relates For the information of these is inserted the following slight sketch of its history &c extracted with slight alteration from a descriptive sheet accompanying a line Engraving of the School which was published a few years since.

Ackworth School is situate between the villages of High and Low Ackworth, three miles south of Pontefract, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The building is of freestone, obtained from the neighbourhood; and it was erected in 1757, 1758, and 1759, as an appendage to the Foundling Hospital in London. It cost £ 13,000; which sum was defrayed partly by voluntary subscriptions, and partly by aid of parliament.The house was applied to its original purpose, for twelve years, and afterwards remained unoccupied till 1777. In this year, it was purchased with eighty four acres of land, by Dr John Fothergill and three others, for £ 7,000; and in 1779, was opened as a public school for children of the Society of Friends, to which purpose it has been ever since applied. Various additions have been made to the buildings, and the landed estate has been increased to about 242 acres; the whole property being now estimated at about £ 30,000.

The affairs of the institution are under the immediate management of the superintendent, resident at the school; but all matters of importance are referred to a committee of twenty eight friends, in the vicinity of Ackworth, and to another committee of the same number, who, with the treasurer, meet in London. The instruction of the children devolves on eighteen teachers. The boys are under the care of four school masters, with five apprentices; and five school mistresses, with four apprentices, have the charge of the girls. The regular branches of instruction are reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, English grammar, and geography; but there are a few to whom the last two branches are not taught. Sewing, knitting, &c. of course form part of the employment of the girls. Many of the elder boys are introduced to an acquaintance with the more useful parts of the mathematics; and a class consisting of twenty of the most advanced, receive instruction in the Latin language.

Besides attending to their school duties, the boys are frequently employed in farming, or gardening and the girls in various domestic occupations. There are three examinations of the children in the course of the year, the principal of which takes place at the time of the Annual General Meeting of the friends of the institution.

Children are admitted between the ages of nine and fourteen. £ 10 per annum is to be paid for each child; but the average cost is about £ 18, [ a modern day equivalent of £ 21,390.00 ] including clothing, stationery, &c. The number of scholars is limited to 300, viz. 180 boys and 120 girls, rather more than 100 being admitted and dismissed annually. The number admitted, since the opening of the school in 1779, to the present time is 5511; and an average calculation will show, that, from among the children of Friends in this country, about one seventh receive some part of their education in this establishment. Ackworth School 7th mo. 1831. “

Ackworth School Catalogue

List Of All The Boys And Girls

Educated In That Establishment

From Its Commencement In 1779 To The Present Period

London

Harvey And Dart

On Gracechurch Street

1831

The Garstang Farmer’s Society Annual Meeting and Show 1818

September 15, 2017 WillLeave a comment

On the 16th September 1809 the following announcement appeared in the Lancaster Gazette:

“In consequence of a request made to me, as Chairman of the Association assembled at Garstang for the Protection of Property, on Tuesday the 7th September inst, to convene a meeting for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety and utility of forming an Agricultural Society, as useful and beneficial to the neighbourhood, – I hereby accordingly desire a meeting of the gentlemen who think themselves interested therein at the Royal Oak in Garstang on Thursday the 28th day of September inst at one o’clock in the afternoon.”

Alex Butler
Kirkland Hall, September 9th, 1809

Garstang Agricultural Society was formed in 1809 with the aim of being “ useful and beneficial to the neighbourhood, ” and held its first exhibition in 1813. There were 13 prizes, “ premiums, ” for crops and stock, and 12 ” sweepstake “ prizes for stock.

The following is from 1818.

The Garstang Farmer’s Society held their annual Meeting and Show on the 24th September The Premiums awarded are as follow

To:

Alexander Whitehead the Premium of Two Guineas for a crop of Red Clover of the first year

Samuel Hinde Esq. Two Guineas for a crop of Turnips to be consumed on the farm

Robert Whiteside Two Guineas for a crop of Potatoes

David Hawthornthwaite a Cup or Three Guineas for a Long horned Bull of any age

Jonathan Binns a similar premium for a Short horned Bull

Joseph Fielding Esq. ditto for a Long horned Heifer

William Thulfall ditto for a Short horned ditto

Samuel Hinde Esq. Two Guineas for a two shear Leicester Ram

Jonathan Binns ditto for a pen of two shear Leicester Ewes

Robert Whiteside a Cup or Three Guineas for a two year old Colt

John Whiteside ditto for a two year old Filly or Mare

The subscribers and the public were much gratified with the Stock shown particularly the Leicester Sheep which were large and beautiful animals They afterwards dined at the Royal Oak Joseph Fielding Esq. President in the Chair where the evening passed very agreeably to all parties

Sweepstakes at the Garstang Meeting

Ram any age Jonathan Binns

Ewe any age Ditto

Yearling Ewe Ditto

Yearling Ram William Thulfall

Tup Lamb Samuel Hinde Esq

Ewe Lamb David Hawthornthwaite

From: The Farmers Magazine, A Periodical Work Exclusively Devoted To Agriculture And Rural Affairs, Edinburgh, 1818

Dr Bartholomew Verling 1797-1893

September 8, 2017 WillLeave a comment

Bartholomew Verling of Cove [ b. c.1715 ] has two grandsons also called Bartholomew Verling who are first cousins.

The elder Bartholomew Verling (1786 – 1855) of Cove is John Roche of Aghada’s nephew twice over. His mother is John Roche’s sister [ Ellen, or Eleanor Roche ] who married John Verling, and his father is Mary Roche’s (nee Verling) brother John Verling. He is the political one, and a merchant, and Spanish Consul in Cobh.

The younger Bartholomew Verling (1797 – 1893) of Oxclose, is also a nephew of John Roche of Aghada, but only as the son of Edward Verling and Anne Ronayne, – a brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. He is one of two contemporaneous Dr Verlings. The other being James Roche Verling (1787 – 1858). Both were naval surgeons.

Bartholomew Verling (son of Edward Verling and Anne Ronayne) naval surgeon, of Oxclose, Newmarket, County Cork; formerly of Heathfield Towers, near Youghal, born1797; died 1893; married (1st) Mary (who died 18 January 1844; aet. 30 years), daughter of Thomas Walsh, of Youghal. A tombstone in the North Abbey, Gneeves, Newmarket, bears the inscription “Erected by Bart. Verling, of Gneeves, Newmarket,in memory of his wife Mary and infant son Bartholomew.”

By his wife Mary, he had issue: Bartholomew; ob. juv.; Catherine; ob. juv.; Mary;
married Francis Power, of Roskeen, near Mallow.

He married (2nd) Sabina, daughter of Walter Hervey Kavanagh, of Ballyhale, County
Kilkenny (who died 1853), son of Morgan Kavanagh, of Ballyhale, and of his wife,
the Lady Frances Butler, and great grandson of Morgan Kavanagh, of Castle Morres,County Kilkenny.
By his wife, Sabina, he had issue: Walter Kavanagh Verling, MD, of Oxclose, who
married Mary, daughter of … Malpas, Esquire, and had issue nine sons and one
daughter; Arabella, died young.

And also.

There was a Mary Walsh, daughter of Thomas Walsh of Youghal, who died 18 January1844 aet 30, who married Bartholomew Verling, Naval Surgeon, of Oxclose, Newmarket, County Cork. A tombstone in the North Abbey, Gneeves, Newmarket, bears the inscription “Erected by Bart. Verling, of Gneeves, Newmarket, in memory of his wife Mary and infant son Bartholomew.”

Bartholomew and Mary had three children:

Bartholomew, ob. juv.,
Catherine, ob.juv., and
Mary, who married Francis Power, of Roskeen, near Mallow.

The above is from Frederick W. Knight, “Notes on the Family of Ronayne or Ronan of Counties Cork and Waterford” (Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society for April June, July September, October December, 1916; April June, July September, 1917.

and from the NUI Landed Estates database

Verling – In the 1870s Bartholomew Verling, Springfield Lodge (Oxclose), Newmarket, county Cork, medical doctor owned 883 acres in county Limerick and 110 acres in county Cork. He appears to have acquired his county Limerick estate post Griffith’s Valuation. Bartholomew Verling (1797-1893) was a naval surgeon of Oxclose, Newmarket, county Cork. He was the son of Edward Verling and his wife Anne Ronayne. The Verlings were established at Newmarket by the late 18th century.

The Papal Jubilee – Rome, 1908

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This was the jubilee to celebrate fifty years of Pope Pius X being a priest. In family terms, the baton has been passed from Mgr Henry O’Bryen as a papal chaplain, to Mgr Manuel Bidwell; though they weren’t related to each other.

Sunday, November 22, 1908.

THE JUBILEE FUNCTION IN ST. PETER’S.

Judging by some appearances, there were many pilgrims in Rome who did not go to bed at all last Sunday night ; for long before the dawn, indeed as early as four o’clock, a very early newspaper bird found a group of over a hundred of them waiting patiently outside the doors of St. Peter’s. Alas, that such patience should have been utterly without its reward, for some two hours later a whole regiment of soldiers marched sleepily and silently into the great Piazza, mercifully dislodging the peaceable enemy and making it take up its position at the foot of the steps leading to the Basilica, where it was hardly better off than the thousands and tens of thousands that arrived between six and seven o’clock. During the hours of waiting they had the satisfaction of watching the Italian troops make a series of wonderful evolutions for some recondite object, probably known to the commanding officers ; but shortly before eight the first chapter of the waiting closed, when those possessing tickets were allow to pass through a hedge of bayonets, and to enter the Basilica. Here it was warmer and more interesting.

The immense interior was decorated in festive damask ; a broad space, secured by a wooden barrier and by a double line of the Palatine Guard, was left open in the centre, and two hours more passed quietly and pleasantly enough, in spite of the crush (and the crush was in parts so thick that there were a few cases of fainting), and the long standing—for it was impossible to plant even a tiny campstool anywhere. It is estimated that St. Peter’s when quite full will “stand” about ninety-thousand persons, but last Monday the space between the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and that of the Pieta was curtained off; so was the opening all down the centre, and the free wide circle round the papal altar, and the entire apse reserved for the dignitaries, and the tribunes, which meant that a third of the available space was unavailable for the eager multitude ; and so there must have been between fifty and sixty thousand persons present when the trumpets rang out the glad news that the procession, till now hidden by the acres of curtain on the right, had begun to move, and the first notes of the Sistine choir were heard, faintly at first, but growing louder and stronger each moment until even those in the far distance in the transepts could distinguish the “Ecce Sacerdos Magnus !”

It had been announced very sternly that on this occasion there were to be no tribunes except those reserved for the Pope’s Family, Royalty, the Roman Patriciate, the Knights of Malta, and the Diplomatic Corps. But there were vacant spaces under the two choirs and in a few other places which afforded a little room for benches, and so a couple of hundred persons did after all secure a special position. The tribune next to the throne, divided only by an invisible barrier from that of the Roman Patriciate (which was full), was occupied by the Holy Father’s brother, his three sisters, his nephew Mgr. Parolin, and his niece ; the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta with nearly all the chief dignitaries left no vacant places in the tribune reserved for them ; the Royal tribune held the Princess Matilda of Saxony, and the Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia with her consort the Grand Duke Michaivich and their seven children ;

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and his wife Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna.

a score or so of Extraordinary Embassies and Missions sent by Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Presidents to represent them at the Pope’s Jubilee had their own place of distinction, as had the entire diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and all these tribunes glistened with brilliant uniforms and flashing decorations. This time also a position of distinction was reserved for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which was represented by Count Fabio Fani, Procurator of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, for the Knights residing in Rome, Sir Thomas H. Grattan Esmonde, M.P., representative of the Order in Ireland, and Mgr. Rivelli, a Knight Commander of the Order. Among the English-speaking Chamberlains on duty at the tribunes were the Marquis MacSwiney, Colonel Bernard, Chev. De Falloux Schuster, and Comm. Christmas, while among the others who took part in the historic function were Mr. Stuart A. Coats, the Hon. A. Wilmot and Captain Bartle Teeling. Mgr. Bidwell was one of the four Chamberlains in attendance on the Holy Father.

THE PROCESSION.

Long before the Holy Father himself appeared before the expectant gaze of the multitude the procession was moving rhythmically up the middle of the basilica. A Pontifical Master of Ceremonies led it, followed immediately by Papal Chamberlains of Sword and Cape, both private and honorary, the Procurators di Collegio, the Apostolic Preacher with the Confessor of the Pontifical Household, the Procurators General of the Mendicant Orders, the Bussolanti, the Custodian of the Tiaras flanked by two Chamberlains bearing the tiaras, the Private Chaplains bearing the mitres, two mace-bearers with silver maces, the Assistants of the Chamber, the Private Chaplains, the Private Clerics, the Honorary Chaplains, Consistorial Advocates, the supernumerary Honorary and Private Chamberlains, the Auditors of the Rota, the Master of the Apostolic Palaces, Prince Ruspoli, Master of the Sacred Hospice, Mgr. Bressan with the ordinary.mitre of the Holy Father, the thurifer, the Papal Cross borne by Mgr. Pescini, surrounded by seven clerics, Mgr. Sincero, Auditor of the Rota, and Apostolic Sub-deacon, between the Greek deacon and subdeacon of the Mass, the Penitentiaries of St. Peter’s preceded by clerics bearing the Verga decorated with flowers, the Abbots General of the Religious Orders and the Abbots nullius, the Bishops, Arch-bishops, and Patriarchs, a long line of prelates of the Latin and Oriental Churches numbering almost three hundred, the Sacred College of Cardinals, represented by thirty-five of its members, and then the Pope— borne aloft over the heads of the people on the sedia gestatoria carried securely on the shoulders of twelve stalwart pontifical chair-bearers, with two Chamberlains on either side bolding the long flabellm, and surrounded by the Commandant and the officers of the Swiss Guard, and by four guards bearing the four great medimval swords that symbolise the four cantons of Switzerland, by Prince Rospigliosi, Commandant of the Noble Guard with his officers, by Count Pecci, Commandant of the Palatine Guard, and by numerous mace-bearers and functionaries, while the Marquis Clemente Sacchetti, charged as Foriere Maggiore with the duty of watching over the moving throne, walked immediately behind it, and before Cardinals Segna and Della Volpe, who were to assist the Pope at the Mass. The second part of he procession consists of the Dean of the Rota, the two Grand Chamberlains on duty, the Pope’s Physician, the Majordomo, the Protonotaries Apostolic, and the Regent of the Apostolic Chancellery, and then the Generals of the Religious Orders and Congregations.

THE MASS.

There is hardly a sound to be heard throughout the basilica as the Pontiff passes along between the crowds, blessing on either side, but almost everybody present seems to be waving silently a white handkerchief— a curiously impressive sight to one looking down on it from above, and noting how in a moment the black sea of heads is transformed into a fluttering white ocean. Only as the Pope reaches the section reserved for the pilgrims from the Venetian province, where perhaps he bends a little more towards the people as he forms again and again the sign of the cross with his hand, he hears a low murmur from the proud and affectionate people there asking God to bless him, and he is for a moment visibly moved.

All had taken their places in the sanctuary when the “sedia gestatoria” reaches it, is softly lowered to the ground, and the Pope advances to one of the two thrones where he receives the obedience of the Cardinals, and some Archbishops, Bishops and Abbots. Then he is vested for the Mass while “Nones” [part of the Divine Office] is being sung. He assumes the pontifical vestment known as the ” fanone”, and the Mass is begun, his Holiness being assisted by Cardinal, Serafino Vannutelli, as assistant priest, by Cardinals Segna and Dela Volpe as assistant deacons, and by Cardinal Cagiano as ministering deacon. The ceremonies of the Mass were the same as on all similar occasions, and the music was rendered by two choirs, the Sistine under Perosi, and a Gregorian made up chiefly of students under Mgr. Rella. At the end of the ceremony Cardinal Rampolla fulfilled the ancient custom of offering the celebrant a purse containing 25 giulii (about half-a-sovereign) ” for a Mass well sung.” Everybody from the altar to the door tried hard, but not always effectually, to kneel as the Pope intoned his blessing. The procession was formed again, and passed back by the path it had come, and shortly the red curtains in front of the Chapel of the Pieta hid the Jubilarian Pontiff from the people.

The bleak and wintry weather which filled the rest of the day in Rome did not prevent the multitudes from coming out after dusk to witness the illuminations of the facade and colonnade of St. Peter’s, of all the houses in the Borgo, of all the churches and religious houses of Rome, and of a great number of the private dwellings ; but it did prevent the sight that was most eagerly looked forward to, that of the illumination of St. Peter’s dome, an event not witnessed since ” black ’70.” [ The fall of Rome to the Italians in 1870] However, the disappointment was remedied on Thursday, when the rain stopped for half an hour as if on purpose to gladden the multitude with the wonderful sight.

The above text was found on p.17, 28th November 1908 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .

National Building Society: A Link With Cobden And Bright.

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This was from the Times in 1935, entitled: ” A Link With Cobden And Bright: The History Of The National Building Society. “ The National Building Society started as the National Permanent Mutual Benefit Building Society founded by two Liberal M.P’s, Sir Joshua Walmsley and Richard Cobden, in 1849. In 1944, the Abbey Road Building Society and National Building Society merged to become The Abbey National, which it remained until 2004 when it was bought by Santander. At the time, Sir Josh and Richard Cobden were next-door neighbours in Westbourne Terrace. Both houses were slightly larger than the ” modest villa(s) ” they were promoting. Both houses were six storeys, with twenty rooms, and in 1851 the Walmsleys had a household staff of six.

The history of the National Building Society, which dates its beginning from a meeting at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate, in 1849, is related by Mr. George Elkington, F.R.T.B.A., chairman of the society, in “The National Building Society, 1849-1934,” just published (W. Heffer and Sons, Cambridge).

The original meeting decided to form a society for the purchase of land to enable members to qualify as voters by acquiring a plot of land of the annual value of £40. Among the founders were the leaders of the Anti-Corn Law agitation, Richard Cobden, John Bright, Joseph Hume, and Sir Joshua Walmsley.

In its early days the movement had many enemies. Mr. Elkington quotes from an article on the Reform Bill in a magazine published in 1852:-” You have only to walk to Stoke Newington, and at the back of the Coach and Horses Lane you will see the new-fledged free- holders all working like negroes to raise up a modern Utopia.”

The original political object of the movement soon passed, and the society is entitled to look upon itself as one of the pioneers of the great building society movement. The cost of building 80 years ago, when compared with the price of modem houses, seems incredible.

In a circular published in 1854, the directors of the society presented articles and plans descriptive of houses ” suited to the wants of a considerable number of members.” The first of these was a modest villa containing on the ground floor a front and back parlour, hall and kitchen, and on the upper storey a landing and three bedrooms. The cost of erection was estimated, ” in the near neighbourhood of London, at £160.” [ a modern day equivalent of £115,000] “The next design, somewhat more ambitious, was for a pair of houses with, for each house, a half-sunk basement containing two kitchens, a ground floor with hall, dining room, parlour, bathroom, and one bedroom, and an upper storey with three bedrooms and a dressing room. The estimated cost was £700 a pair. [ a modern day equivalent of £500,000]

The period since the War is described by Mr. Elkington as the years of swift expansion. The present time, he says, finds the building society movement with a remarkable history of swift expansion still actively progressing and discovering fresh opportunities of service int its wide field.

from The Times, January 18, 1935

Rome December 1878

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THE VATICAN.

Among the articles recently presented to the Holy Father were some curious and beautiful baskets made of the inner bark of trees, the work of the Indian tribe of Abenikis in Maine, U.S. Two pairs of elaborately ornamented mocassins were also presented to the Pope from the same tribe by the hands of Dr. James Healy, of Portland, Maine. His Holiness inquired minutely into the condition of this interesting tribe of Abenikis, who some centuries ago were converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries, one of whom, Father Sebastian Rastes, was martyred by the new Englanders. An apostate was never known among this tribe. Leo XIII. gave to Bishop Healy a splendid medal for the chief of the tribe, and also wore a pair of the mocassins the evening of the day when they were presented, when Bishop Ryan, of Buffalo, took farewell audience. A beautiful carpet, the pattern of which represents the dome of St. Peter’s, was presented to the Pope by a society of French ladies. A deputation of the clergy and chapter of Fano had audience of his Holiness. On Monday, November 25, there was the customary reception of visitors in the Consistorial Hall. Mgr. Paolo Scapaticci and Commendatore Egidio Dati, the President and Vice-President of the Roman Diocesan Council for the Pious Work of the Propagation of the Faith, were received in private audience.

On Wednesday, the 27th November, Leo XIII. gave audience in the Throne Room to the Professors of the Gregorian Pontifical University, established in the German and Hungarian College under the direction of Jesuit Fathers. The professors belonged to the Chairs of Theology, Canon Law, and Philosophy, and were headed by Father Cardella, Provincial, Father Molza, Rector, and Father Kleutgen, Prefect of Studies. Father Cardella read an address in Latin, expressing the constant affection and firm devotion of the Company of Jesus to the Apostolic See. He mentioned that from the University on whose behalf he spoke had issued nine Pontiffs, of whom the reigning Pontiff was the last. He rejoiced in being enabled to make that statement, and returned thanks to God. He then declared the unalterable obedience of the University to the desires of Leo XIII., and especially with reference to the wish of the Pope that the theological and philosophical course of teaching should be rendered more efficacious for the contests against error. His Eminence Cardinal Parocchi, Archbishop of Bologna, was received in private audience by the Pope on the 27th. His Eminence laid an offering of Peter’s Pence at the feet of his Holiness, from the parish priests and some pious Institutes of Bologna.

THE ROYAL ENTRY

King Humbert and Queen Margharita made their entrance into Rome on Sunday, the 24th, amid great official rejoicings. The Royal Family were well guarded from the danger of assassination. Their carriage, in passing from their Palace to the railway terminus in Naples, was surrounded with troops. The terminus was strongly guarded. The entire line of railway from Naples to Rome was protected by sentinels stationed at intervals to give the alarm in case of danger. In Rome the Questor, Signor Bolis, made some hundreds of arrests, and, it is said, discovered some terrible plots against the life of the King. Several regiments of infantry were called to Rome to keep order. The houses along the route between the railway terminus and the Quirinal were carefully examined by police agents, and all suspicious persons removed. A number of officers, not on regimental duty, were selected to walk on either side of the King’s carriage during the drive from the railway station to the Quirinal. A squadron of Cuirassiers rode in front of the Royal cortege. King Humbert looks wretchedly ill, and had a severe fit of coughing just before entering his carriage at the station. In the carriage with his Majesty sat the Queen, the young Prince of Naples, Prince Amadeo, and Signor Cairoli. The Via Nazionale and the Via Quirinale were lined with soldiers. Their Majesties arrived at the Quirinal in safety and without any disturbance of the public peace. On the evening of the 24th, and also of the 25th, the Corso was illuminated and also the public buildings. On the latter morning soldiers from every regiment in Rome were supplied with torches, and marched, with the torches burning, from the Piazza del Popolo to the Quirinal.

STATE OF PUBLIC SECURITY.

The condition of Italy is at present truly alarming. The Internationalists seem determined to force on a revolution. They are said to have obtained the two and a half millions of francs which were so mysteriously stolen between Ancona and Genoa, and to have bought some thousands of rifles. The accounts of explosions of bombs, and of seditious demonstrations at Pesaro, Pisa, Genoa, San Sepulcro, Bologna, &c., &c. prove the fact that almost all Italy, and notably the Romagna, is ripe for revolt. In Rome the windows, or gratings, in the basement story of the Home Office were walled up, to prevent the Internationalists from blowing up the Palace by dynamite, or burning it with petroleum.

ENGLISH SERMONS IN ROME

By the wish of the Cardinal-Vicar, the Rev.H. Morgan, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, will preach every Sunday at three o’clock in the afternoon, in the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte, commencing on Sunday, the 1st of December, being the first Sunday in Advent.

THE SCOTS’ COLLEGE

The Feast of St. Andrew, the Patron of Scot-land, was duly commemorated in the Scots’ College in Rome. The church was beautifully arranged with festive hangings, and the external front was repaired and freshly decorated. Dr. Campbell, the Rector, sung the Mass, the music being plain, with voices only. Among those present at the commemoration were the Bishops of Beverley, Liverpool and Armidale, Lady Margaret Howard, Lord Ralph Kerr, Miss Clifton, Mrs. Vansittart, Mrs. Savile Foljambe, Mrs. Kinloch Grant, Monsignor Stonor ; Monsignor Agnozzi, Secretary of Propaganda; Monsignor Kirby; Monsignor Cretoni, Sub-Secretary of State ; Very Rev. Dr. O’Callaghan, Rector of the English College ; Monsignor Rinaldini ; Very Rev. Dr. Hostlot, Rector of the American College ; Father Mullooly, Prior of St. Clement’s ; Professor Dr. Bernard Smith; Rev. Dr. English ; Mr. Winchester ; Mr. Bliss ; Mr. Plowden ; Mr. Hugh Gladstone ; and Cavaliere Fontana.

THE PROPAGANDA

Monsignor Achille Rinaldini, who was Sostituto in the Secretariat of the Propaganda and for a long time was Minutante for British affairs at Propaganda, has retired from those offices and has taken possession of his canonry at Sta. Maria Maggiore. He is succeeded in the office of Minutante by the Rev. Signor Zonghi.

The above text was found on p.17, 7th December 1878 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .