Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin

Volume 49 Number 1 2019

Bulletin of the Saddleworth Historical Society

Volume 49 Number 1 2019 The Development and Decline of Railways in the Saddleworth Area 1 David Wharton-Street and Alan Young Arthur Hirst’s Diary - Voyage on the ‘Corinthic’ from Greenfield, England to Kaiapoi, New Zealand, 1913 20 Addendum to Saddleworth Parish Registers 32 Mike Buckley

Cover Illustration: London & North Western Railway Coat of Arms

©2019 Saddlewor th Histor ical Society and individual contr ibutors and creators of images.

ii

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SHSB, VOL. 49, NO. 1, 2019

THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF RAILWAYS IN THE SADDLEWORTH AREA

David Wharton-Street and Alan Young1

BACKGROUND

The most striking facet of both Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire during the

industrialisation of the eighteenth century was the range of dynamic activities; mining,

metal-working, chemicals and textiles; all of which required transportation. These multiple

activities were not just neighbours but overlapped each other and interacted in the same

location; the Saddleworth area being no exception.

The Pennines natural barrier influenced the patterns of urban interactions. Initially, the

majority of industrial traffic across the Pennines was carried most effectively on packhorse

causeways built by township surveyors almost regardless of gradients, and wheeled vehicles

mainly undertook only very localised journeys.

The north-west had a long history of textile production from the 14th century, based mainly

on wool and linen (fustians), and in Yorkshire, the woollen trade grew and flourished during

the period 1500-1700. Initially practised as a domestic industry, the development of technolo-

gy from the 1750s (the flying shuttle, spinning jenny and carding machine) combined with

access to foreign raw materials and markets through the Mersey and Humber, resulted in an

unprecedented increase of production within the textile industry and a move into purpose-built

mills.

PRE-RAILWAY TRANSPORT ACROSS THE PENNINES

Turnpikes

The old packhorse trails could not accommodate the significant increase in trans-Pennine

traffic and it was the clothiers who put forward most of the Saddleworth turnpike proposals to

Parliament. Their construction was accompanied by the emergence of Saddleworth’s villages

and the growth of water mills along the River Tame and its tributaries. The turnpike roads

added to the area’s importance.

The route from Oldham to the county boundary at Austerlands was turnpiked after the

granting of an Act in 1735. It was then joined c.1759 by the Wakefield and Austerlands

Turnpike, which passed through Huddersfield. Other turnpikes followed, providing intercon-

nectivity to this important inter-regional route. The most important of these was the Mumps

to Standedge Turnpike with its various branches connecting large areas of Saddleworth to the

trans-Pennine route.

By the 1820s, passenger coaches were running daily from Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds

over the Pennines to Manchester. Goods wagons were also using these routes to travel

between commercial centres. One of the coaches, called the Cornwallis, charged 12s inside

and 8s outside for the journey from Manchester to Leeds and made the journey in about four

hours. The advertisement for a post coach called The True Briton (Figure 1) boasts of a direct

service between Manchester and York taking about 11 hours.

Despite these improvements, the sheer volume and weight of traffic could not be conveyed

effectively on Turnpike roads.

1 With particular thanks for the significant input and support from Peter Fox, Curator of the Saddleworth

Museum.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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Saddleworth Museum Archives

Figure 1. Advertisement for coach service (1824)

Canals

In parallel with the growth of the turnpike network canals emerged as an important means of

transporting heavy loads within the region and from the ports of Liverpool and Hull. Two

challenges were faced by the canal builders:

access to the Mersey and Humber,

trans-Pennine construction.

Of the three trans-Pennine routes, the first Act was in 1759 for construction of the Calder and

Hebble Canal providing access from Todmorden to the Humber estuary; this was completed in

1770. However, it was not until the Act for the Rochdale Canal in 1776 (to build a canal from

Todmorden to Manchester) and its completion in 1804 that the first route from the Mersey to

the Humber was established. In 1831, Joseph Priestley stated that:

‘This canal is one of the main links in the chain of inland navigation between the east

and west seas, being made for vessels of such a size as enables them to navigate in the

tideway, and to pass between Liverpool and Hull without the expense of re-shipping

their cargoes, thus affording great advantages to the populous towns of Manchester,

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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Rochdale, Halifax, Wakefield, and others on the banks of the intermediate rivers. The

Baltic produce can be thus readily conveyed into Lancashire, and the manufactures of

Lancashire in return exported through the ports of Goole and Hull, to Hamburg,

Petersburgh, Lubeck, and other continental markets. The stone from Cromwell Bottom

and its neighbourhood is hereby also conveyed to Rochdale and Manchester. These

connections are likely to make it ultimately an undertaking of considerable profit to

the proprietors.’2

An Act of 1770 approved the building of a second canal: the Leeds and Liverpool Canal,

which followed a circuitous route and was not completed until 1816.

The third canal was opened as a result of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal Act of 1793. This

canal would connect with the Calder & Hebble Canal. With a climb of 438ft (134 m) to its

summit, it passed through a tunnel at Standedge before descending through Saddleworth and

the Tame valley to the Ashton Canal. There were already many woollen, worsted and cotton

mills along its route which promised ample trade. Construction began in 1794 and, despite

multiple problems, the canal finally opened in 1811. Although it was moderately successful

for a while, several factors made it much less profitable than its main rival, the Rochdale

Canal: the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was limited to boats less than 7ft (2.1 m) wide; there

were numerous locks; and the long Standedge Tunnel proved to be a bottleneck having no

towpaths, the narrowboats having to be propelled through by professionally employed

‘leggers’ - a procedure known as ‘legging’. Although the Rochdale Canal had a similar

number of locks, it was twice as wide and there was no long tunnel.

Thus, by the mid-1820s the Pennines were crossed by multiple roads and canals.

THE COMING OF THE RAILWAYS ACROSS THE PENNINES

The first railway route across the Pennines was the Manchester & Leeds Railway (MLR).

Incorporated by an Act of 4th July 1836, it followed a circuitous route from Manchester

(Hunts Bank) via Rochdale and Todmorden and down the Calder Valley where it formed a

connection at Normanton with the North Midland Railway into Leeds. The length of the line

was 60½ miles in total. The line was opened throughout in 1841 including a junction with the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Victoria station (called Hunts Bank). The railway

became one of the constituents of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&Y) on 9th July

1847.

With seven through trains on weekdays, journey times between Manchester and Leeds

averaged 3hrs 30 mins; with the fastest time being 3hrs 5mins. Journey times in the opposite

direction were slightly quicker, with eight through trains on weekdays.

The route paralleled the Rochdale and the Calder & Hebble canals and the railway company

made specific efforts to attract freight on to rail with the facility, via the Selby & Leeds

Railway and the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, to offer a through service from the

Humber to Liverpool.

Because of its width, the through canal was more successful than the Huddersfield Narrow

Canal and had become the main highway of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire for

transporting cotton, wool, coal, limestone, timber, salt and general merchandise. Between

1830 and 1832, the canal carried 539,081 tons per year, generating £40,123 in toll revenue. In

1839 this had risen to 875,436 tons, generating £62,712 in tolls. However, the opening of the

Manchester & Leeds Railway in 1841 caused a significant drop in trade. The following year,

£27,266 was earned and although a programme of toll reductions succeeded in restoring some

trade, the income remained at a similar level for many years.

2 Joseph Priestley, Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain, (1831),

p. 543.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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RAILWAY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ASHTON AND OLDHAM AREAS

The construction of the railways and their ownership by the various competing railway

companies in Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham had a profound effect on the development of

the railway routes to and through the Saddleworth area.

By 1846, it enabled the three main Railway Companies to be in a position to compete for the

construction of the line from Stalybridge to Huddersfield and Leeds.

Access to both Manchester (London Road) and Manchester (Victoria/Exchange) would, in

due course, be available through Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge as well as Wales and the

west of England via the Stockport connection.

Sheffield & Manchester Railway Company (SA&MR)

A meeting at the Eagle Inn on 19th February 1836 of a number of influential gentlemen

produced a prospectus to advertise their intention to construct a railway line from Manchester

to Sheffield. Within the prospectus it stated:-

‘it is intended that the station in Manchester shall be in or near Store Street, and thence

the Railway will proceed via Gorton, Aston-under- Lyne (with a short branch to

Stalybridge), Hyde and Glossop.’

The proposed 2¼ mile branch to Stalybridge, surveyed by Joseph Locke in 1836, diverged

from the main route at Guide Bridge ‘where the route crossed the canal.’

The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway (SA&MR) was incorporated on 5th

May 1837, the section to Godley being opened on 17th May 1841. The first station at Ashton,

opened in 1842 and called ‘Ashton and Hooley Hill’ consisted of a single line with passing

loops. The name was changed to ‘Ashton’ in 1844 and renamed ‘Guide Bridge’ in 1845.

The Ashton to Stalybridge branch was initially deferred due to lack of finance. The route was

re-surveyed and marked out by 30th September 1843 and an Act of Parliament of 19th April

1844 allowed the construction. The contract was awarded to T.W. & J. Fowler for £35,876.3

It was to build a double track as far as Ashton and was completed in 1845. The line was

continued to Stalybridge in January 1846, though the Manchester Guardian of 20th December

1845 had carried an advertisement stating: ‘the public are respectfully informed that the

Ashton Branch will be opened on Tuesday 23rd December 1845.’

The extension was not without its problems, as the nine-arch viaduct over the River Tame

collapsed ‘arch by arch like a row of nine pins’. The resultant rebuilding therefore delayed the

opening of the route through to Stalybridge, and only then after inspection by the Board of

Trade, who insisted that the viaduct be tested by ‘a train of engine, tender and six carriages

weighing a total of 84 tons.’

Two stations were opened on the route: Dukinfield and Ashton (Park Parade), as well as the

station at Stalybridge.

It should be noted that SA&MR in 1843 had provided a positive response to ‘interested

parties’ in Saddleworth that the branch line be extended as far as Huddersfield. This would

duly happen but with another Railway Company.

On the 27th July 1846 the SA&MR was incorporated into the Manchester, Sheffield and

Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), which, in due course, became the Great Central Railway.

Manchester and Leeds Railway Company (MLR)

The second railway to Stalybridge was constructed by the Manchester and Leeds Railway

from a junction with its main line at Miles Platting. Called the Ashton, Stalybridge and

Liverpool Junction Railway, it was incorporated by Act of Parliament dated 19th July 1844.

3 George Dow, Great Central, Vol. 1: The Progenitors 1813-1863, (Locomotive Publishing Company, 1959), p. 47.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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The contract was let to Messrs Harding & Cropper on 8th April 1845. The route was over the

difficult badly-drained terrain of Ashton Moss and also requiring a viaduct over the River

Medlock. The line was double track (except across the viaduct) and was opened to Ashton on

6th April 1846; the Manchester Guardian reporting:

‘this branch of the Leeds Railway was opened last Monday as far as Ashton We

understand that the number of passengers during the day was upwards of 1,100. By

way of commemorating the event, the employees of Messrs Harding & Cropper,

contractors, assembled in the evening at the Boar’s Head, where they were treated to a

most substantial supper.’4

The extension to Stalybridge was opened on 23rd September 1846, where, as per the require-

ment of the Act, ‘the terminus was to lie in the same field as that of the SA&MR Station and

that the two lines were to be connected.’ The Manchester & Leeds (MLR) terminus became a

single platform station on the north side separated from the SA&MR station by a wall. The

line was connected to the SA&MR at Stalybridge; the junction between the two lines being

controlled by a signal box manned by the staff of the MLR. There were 7 trains daily in each

direction between Manchester and Stalybridge via Miles Platting.5

On 9th July 1847 the MLR became incorporated into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

(L&Y).

Stockport to Guide Bridge

In 1845 the Manchester and Birmingham Railway was merged into the London and North

Western Railway (LNWR). The new railway company was keen to have access to the tracks

of the Sheffield, Ashton and Manchester Railway (SA&MR) as well as to provide routes to the

north and east of Manchester. To this end, they constructed a line from Heaton Norris

Junction in Stockport to a junction with the SA&MR at Guide Bridge.; the contract being let to

John Brogden and Sons in October 1845.6 The line was opened on 8th July 1849 with 7 trains

from Stockport to Stalybridge and 9 trains in the reverse direction.7

Middleton Junction and Oldham Branch Railway (MJOBR)

The MJOBR was opened on 31 March 1842 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (MLR),

whose chief engineer was George Stephenson.

The MJOBR left the Manchester to Littleborough railway line (opened on 4th July 1839), at

Middleton Junction and passed through Chadderton to a station in the lower part of Oldham

named Werneth. This became the original railway route to Oldham. The Werneth Incline -

1 mile 1,383 yds (3 km) long - was the steepest passenger - worked railway line in Britain,

with a gradient of 1:27 for about a mile, and the earliest trains (with limited horsepower in the

locomotives) required cable assistance to reach the top of the incline.

The railway did not prosper in its first few years and plans were quickly made for the line to

be extended nearer to the town centre of Oldham. This extension was built to Oldham

(Mumps) railway station, including an intermediate station at Oldham (Central); the line and

stations being opened on 1 November 1847.8

Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Junction Railway (OA&GB)

In 1847 the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) had submitted a Bill to

Parliament for a line from Ashton to Oldham, but it had been rejected in favour of a scheme

4 John Marshall, The Lancashire & Y orkshire Railway, Vol.1, (David & Charles, 1969), p. 61. 5 National Railway Museum, Bradshaw’s Timetable for November 1848, Ref. 10/11 p. 76. 6 The National Archives (TNA), Minutes: Manchester and Birmingham Railway Co., RAIL 454/3 and the

contract 454/11. 7 National Railway Museum (NRM), Bradshaw’s Timetable for June 1950, Ref. 12/6, p. 41. 8 Marshall, Lancashire & Y orkshire Railway, pp. 58-9.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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for a line from Oldham (Mumps) via Ashton to Guide Bridge promoted by the Oldham

Alliance Railway Company. Though the Act was passed on 22nd July 1847, shortage of

capital delayed the start of the project and the scheme was eventually abandoned in 1850.

In 1856, a deputation from Oldham and Ashton approached the MS&LR to support the

construction of a line which would connect to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&Y)

and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Oldham (Mumps).9

Alan Young

Figure 2. Map of the early railways serving Stalybridge and Greenfield and their ownership

9 Dow, Great Central, p. 167.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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Initially, the MS&LR had hoped that the other railway companies would support the scheme,

incorporated on 10th August 1857 as a tri-partite. The Bill stated that:-

‘the Intended railway would afford direct communication between the towns of Oldham, Ashton-

under-Lyne, Stalybridge and Guide Bridge in the County Palatine of Lancashire and branches

therefrom to places in‘th the intended neighbourhood. Its name shall be the Oldham, Ashton-

under-Lyne and Guide Bridge Junction Railway.’

The L&Y was interested, but the MS&LR, wishing the line to be a three-way venture, prevailed

upon the LNWR to join in. Not wishing to be associated with the LNWR, the L&Y then

withdrew; thus the line was leased to the remaining two railways who allocated £50,000 each

towards the £140,000 cost10 and it officially became a joint line from 30th June 1862.

The section between the Audenshaw Junctions to the west of Guide Bridge station and the L&Y

at Ashton Moss Junctions, to the west of Ashton, was completed in March 1860. Extending

towards Oldham, wet weather hampered further engineering work which required a long cutting

and an embankment as well as the 12-arch Park Bridge Viaduct. At Oldham, the line connected

end-on with the LNWR branch from Greenfield to Oldham near Glodwick Road station.

Stations were constructed at Oldham (Clegg Street), Park Bridge and Ashton (Oldham Road).

On 26th August 1861 the first trains ran from Manchester London Road via the OA&GB to

Oldham (Clegg Street).

The Hooley Hill Line (the Guide Bridge avoiding line)

Congestion around Guide Bridge led to the LNWR building a new line to avoid Guide Bridge

station. The line ran from Denton Junction (on the Stockport to Guide Bridge route), under the

MS&LR main line east of Guide Bridge, and then ran parallel to the existing Guide Bridge-

Stalybridge line, which it joined at Dukinfield Junction to the south of the MS&LR Dukinfield

station. Completed on 27th September 1882 with a station at Hooley Hill, this line lasted until

the 1970s, when it was dismantled.

However, the LNWR found the new routeing problematic because it required its services to run

over the stretch of line from Dukinfield Junction to Stalybridge Joint station on M&SLR

‘metals’. A new Act, called the Stalybridge Junction Railway, of 7th August 1888 extended the

Hooley Hill line to Stalybridge.

The new through route opened in August 1893. It involved the construction of a 50-span

viaduct over the River Tame and Peak Forest Canal, and included a new station called Ashton &

Dukinfield, which was constructed on 12 arches; the booking office being at street level.

THE INITIAL STEPS TOWARDS A HUDDERSFIELD

TO MANCHESTER RAILWAY

The key decisions affecting the future building of the line originated in Huddersfield.

The railway companies that were initially the key players in the Huddersfield area were the

Manchester and Leeds Railway (soon to become the LYR), the Leeds Dewsbury and Manches-

ter Railway Company and the London North Western Railway (LNWR).

The origins of the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company

The total cost of the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was £402,000. Following

the opening, aggregate tonnage increased from 40,460 tons in 1811-12 to 125,182 tons in 1840;

income from tolls being in the range £6,000-8,000pa in the 1830s. By the 1830s things began to

settle down and business was going well with the canal company being able to commence

paying off some of the money it owed.11 However, the costs of operating the canal were rising;

particularly from 1820 in line with the increased usage of the canal.

10 Dow, Great Central, p. 254.

11 Peter Maw, Transport and the Industrial City: Manchester and the Canal A ge, 1750–1850, (Manchester

University Press, 2013), p. 48.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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The Huddersfield Canal Company became increasingly concerned at the likely effect on their

revenue following the dramatic decline in the revenue of the Calder & Hebble Canal Co. after

the opening of the Manchester to Normanton railway which paralleled that canal.

In 1843 the Manchester Ashton-under-Lyne and Sheffield Railway (MA&SR) outlined

proposals for a Manchester to Huddersfield via Standedge. This would have formed an

end-on junction with the M&LR proposal for a branch to Huddersfield (turned down by the

people of Huddersfield - see below).

In 1844 a group of businessmen met in Huddersfield to consider the possible construction of a

railway line from Huddersfield to Manchester. Pressure was put on the civic dignitaries to ‘put

Huddersfield on the railway map’ and to this end, on 20th April 1844 a local company was

proposed, with the following objectives:

to build through Huddersfield:

a high-level line northwards to the existing Manchester & Leeds Railway (M&LR)

station at Cooper Bridge, near Heaton Lodge,

a high-level line southwards to connect to the proposed station at Stalybridge, which was

to be the terminus of the Ashton-under-Lyne to Stalybridge Branch of the Sheffield,

Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway.

The use of a high-level line through Huddersfield, as opposed to the previous scheme for a

low-level line running parallel to the River Colne along the valley bottom, gave better scope

for connections through to neighbouring towns and cities. The scheme received the backing

of those who had been opposed the M&LR’s low-level proposal.

The Canal Company saw no benefit in opposing the proposition and it was decided to merge

their interests as the proposed railway route would run parallel with that of the canal.

Furthermore, it was intended that the railway tunnel at Standedge would use the canal for

removal of spoil from the excavations through short connection ‘passages’. The Huddersfield

and Manchester Railway and Canal Company was duly formed with the Canal Company

being bought out by the new company in 1845.

The company's Parliamentary Act was given Royal Assent on 21st July 1845. A second

shorter Act was passed in July 1846 to amend the route through Huddersfield and to formally

agree that a section of the line, including the section through Huddersfield Railway Station,

Alan Young

Figure 3. Map of the early railways around Huddersfield and their ownership

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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would be operated jointly with the Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway Company.

The two companies also agreed to jointly operate the new railway station.

The 1845 Act, detailed below, indicated:

in section 4 that the capital to be raised would be £600,000 for 20,000 shares at £30

each,

in section 29 that a branch line would be built to Delph,

sections 40 & 60 that the Canal Company would be transferred into the new Company,

in section 71 that, subject to a majority agreement of shareholders, the new Company

may be leased to the SA&MR.

‘HUDDERSFIELD AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY AND CANAL COMPANY’

‘AN ACT: For making a Railway from the Sheffield-Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester

Railway at Stalybridge, to the Manchester and Leeds Railway at Kirkheaton, with a Branch

therefrom; and for consolidating into one Undertaking the said proposed Railway and the

Huddersfield Canal Navigation

‘3. all other persons and corporations who have already subscribed or shall hereafter

subscribe to the Undertaking hereby authorized, shall be united into a Company for the purpose

of making a Railway from the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway at

Stalybridge, to the Manchester and Leeds Railway at Kirkheaton, in the West Riding of the

county of York, together with a Branch therefrom.

‘…shall be incorporated by the name of "The HUDDERSFIELD AND MANCHESTER

RAILWAY AND CANAL COMPANY," and by that name shall be a body corporate, with

perpetual succession, and shall have power to purchase and hold lands for the purposes of the

Undertaking, within the restrictions herein and in the said Acts contained

HUDDERSFIELD CANAL - Estimated expenditure12

Year Costs £s

1809-10 25,247

1810-11 14,127

1811-12 6,384

1812-13 4,302

1816-17 4,795

1817-18 4,101

1818-19 3,490

1819-20 3,783

1820-21 5,324

1821-22 6,473

Figure 4. Huddersfield Canal - Estimated expenditure 1809-1822

12 J.E. Ginarlis, Road and Waterway investment in Britain, 1750-1850, PhD Thesis, (University of Sheffield,

1970), p. 493.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

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‘4. AND whereas the estimated expense of making the said Railway, Branch Railway and

Works, …BE it Enacted, That the capital of the Company shall be Six hundred and Thirty

thousand pounds, subject to augmentation as hereinafter mentioned.

‘16. …And be it Enacted, That the said intended Railway shall commence by a junction with

the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester- Railway at Stalybridge, in the parish of

Ashton-under- Lyne, in the county of Lancaster, and shall pass through the following places;

that is to say:

‘- Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge or some of them, in the county of Lancaster:

- Saddleworth, Huddersfield, Almondbury, Kirkheaton, Quick, Marsden, Marsden-in-

Huddersfield, Marsden in-Almondbury, Slaithwaite, Golcar and Longwood or some of them, in

the West Riding of the county of York:

‘- And shall terminate by a junction with the Manchester and Leeds Railway, in the township

of Kirkheaton, in the parish of Kirkheaton, in the said West Riding.

‘... And the said intended Branch Railway shall commence by a junction with the said intended

Railway in the township of Quick, in the said West Riding, and passing wholly within the said

township of Quick, shall terminate at or near Delph, in the same township.

‘25. AND whereas the main line of the said Railway will cross under the turnpike-road

leading from Standedge in Saddleworth, in the county of York, to Oldham in the county of

Lancaster, at or near to a certain place called French Top, in Saddleworth aforesaid, and the

said Delph Branch Railway will also cross under the turnpike-road leading from Dobcross to

Wallhill, both in Saddleworth aforesaid, at or near to a certain place called Tamewater, and

which said crossings will occur at parts where the several lines of the said roads respectively

ascend and pass along hilly or rising ground; BE it therefore Enacted, That the said Railway

Company shall, and they are hereby required to erect and build good, firm and substantial

bridges to carry the said Two several roads over the said lines of the said Railway respectively.

‘AND whereas the said Railway will cross the said turnpike road leading from Standedge to

Oldham aforesaid at or near to a certain place called Brownhill, in Saddleworth aforesaid, but

the above the section and line of the said road are not intended to be varied ; BE it therefore

enacted, that, for the purpose of carrying said Railway across the said road, the said Railway

Company shall construct, at their own expense, a bridge of the width of Thirty feet thereunder,

at the least, for the purpose of forming a clear road of Thirty feet wide, the sides of such bridge

underneath to be lineable and parallel with the present line of the said Road, and the said bridge

to be of such a height from the surface of the said road to the under-side of the said bridge, so

as to leave a clear and uninterrupted headway under the said bridge over the said road of not

less than Seventeen feet in height for the whole width of Thirty feet; and the said Company

shall. at their own expense, pave the whole of the said road under the said bridge with good

sets, and. also make all new fences, drains and works, and alter all such as now exist, and

which it may be necessary to make or alter respectively, in consequence of forming the said

Railway…

‘29. And be it Enacted, That the junction of the Railway hereby authorized to be made and

maintained with the Sheffield, Ashton- under-Lyne and Manchester Railway at Stalybridge…

‘40. And be it Enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act, the said Huddersfield

Canal Navigation, shall be vested in the said Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal

Company hereby incorporated…

‘60. And be it Enacted, That the said Huddersfield Canal Company shall, from and immedi-

ately after the passing of this Act be dissolved.

‘71. And be it Enacted, that it shall be lawful for the Company hereby incorporated, with the

approbation of Three-fourths of the shareholders, present personally or by proxy, in a general

meeting convened for the purpose, to grant a lease of the Railway hereby authorized to the

Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company.’13

Royal Assent 1 July 1845.

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It was obvious to the SA&MR's directors that the way forward was to expand by amalgamat-

ing with other lines. In 1845 they gained their shareholders’ approval to lease the

Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company.14 To this end a number of their

Board Members were also the key shareholders and on the management committee of the

H&M. See Figure 5.

Events did not go to plan, however, as other railway companies competed for access to

Huddersfield.

The Heaton Lodge to Huddersfield Railway

The Manchester and Leeds Railway (MLR) proposed to build a branch line from its main

Manchester - Normanton line to access the expanding industrial town of Huddersfield, along

the floor of the River Colne valley. The branch (from Heaton Lodge Junction) was strongly

opposed by the population of Huddersfield who wanted a line at a higher level. However, the

MLR pressed forward with a Bill; presented to Parliament in 1844. This was later withdrawn

in favour of the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway & Canal Company Bill.

The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway

The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway (H&SJR) was promoted by local businessmen

and was authorised by an Act of Parliament in June 1845. The initial capital was £400,000

issued in 8,000 shares. However, there was difficulty raising the required capital. Despite the

interests of the SA&MR, on 27th July 1846 the H&SJR Board decided that the ownership be

transferred to the Manchester & Leeds Railway Company (MLR) (which became the

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1847) to complete the building of the line. This provided

the LYR with direct access to the thriving town of Sheffield.

13 https://huddersfield.exposed/hwiki/images/b/bb/Huddersfield_and_Manchester_Railway_and_Canal_Act_of_

1845.pdf, (accessed 24th August 2018). 14 Dow, Great Central, p. 46. 15 Railway Chronicle, 4 May 1846. p. 70.

Principal Subscribers and initial Board Members of H&M15

Joseph Walker Huddersfield Chairman

James Adshead Stalybridge also on SA&MR Board

Charles Appleby Sheffield ditto

Joseph Armitage Huddersfield

William Bailey Ashton

William Brooks Huddersfield

Michael Ellison Sheffield ditto

Thomas Firth Huddersfield

Thomas Gatliff Leeds

Cornelius Randall Manchester ditto

Joseph Yates Manchester

Figure 5. Principal Subscribers Huddersfield and Manchester Railway

and Canal Company

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

12

The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway was formally opened on 1st July 1850.

Commencing at Springwood Junction on the Huddersfield and Manchester main line; a mile

to the south of Huddersfield station, the railway was 13½ miles in length and constructed to

link Huddersfield to the station at Penistone where it formed a junction with the Sheffield,

Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway; ‘running powers’ were then required to traverse

the SA&MR line from Penistone into Sheffield.

At Huddersfield, the LYR commenced the building of the railway station, which became

jointly owned with the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) once the Huddersfield to

Manchester line was completed.

As a private venture, the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway was incorporated by an Act

of 30th June 1845 to build a line from Leeds via Dewsbury and Huddersfield to Manchester.

South of Dewsbury, the line formed a junction with the Manchester and Leeds route at

Thornhill. Though the MLR considered purchasing this Company, the price was considered

to be too great.16

Under a further Act of 9th July 1847, the company was dissolved and its powers vested in the

London & North Western Railway Company who obtained a lease for 999 years. The line

was opened in 1848 thereby creating the quickest route from Huddersfield to Leeds.

‘London and North Western Railway. Lease and Purchase of the Leeds, Dewsbury, and

Manchester Railway.

NOTICE is hereby given, that application is intended to be made to Parliament in the next

session, for an Act to enable “the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway Company” to

demise or lease for any term or number of years, and also to sell, dispose of, and absolutely

make over to the London and North Western Railway Company, and to enable the said London

and North Western Railway Company to accept a lease of, and to purchase and take the Leeds,

Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway.’17

Royal Assent to the Act was granted 9th July 1847.

The MLR therefore did a ‘deal’ with the LNWR that it would allow the LNWR access from

Thornhill Junction to Heaton Lodge Junction, on its own line, in return for the LNWR

allowing access, on its line, from Heaton Lodge Junction to Huddersfield. An early timetable

between Leeds and Huddersfield indicates ten trains per weekday and four on Sundays in each

direction.18 This therefore provided direct access for the M&LR to its new line from

Huddersfield to Penistone.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HUDDERSFIELD

TO MANCHESTER RAILWAY

Despite the option in the 1845 Act for the SA&MR to lease the line, both the M&LR and the

LNWR were also interested. With the LNWR prepared to build the ‘high level’ route from

Heaton Lodge Junction to Huddersfield, and the M&L keen to spend its capital building

branch lines to Halifax and Bradford from its main line along the Calder Valley, the two

serious competitors for the H&M were the SA&MR and the LNWR.

At the annual general meeting of the H&M, held in the Guildhall at Huddersfield on 7th

March 1846, the question of amalgamation with the SA&MR was raised.19 According to a

report in the Manchester Examiner: ‘after a very stormy discussion of upwards of four hours

duration, the question went to the vote and the majority appearing against the amalgamation.’

16 Marshall, Lancashire & Y orkshire Railway, p. 222.

17 TNA, The Leeds Dewsbury and Manchester Railway, RAIL 355. 18 NRM, Bradshaw’s Timetable for November 1848, Ref. 10/11. 19 Dow, Great Central, p. 80.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

13

This resulted in a revision of the 1845 Act, and on 7th November 1846 assent was given to

amalgamation with the LNWR.

‘AN ACT: to REVISE the HUDDERSFIELD AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY AND

CANAL ACT of 184520

‘An Act to enable the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company to demise or

lease for any term or number of years, and also to sell, dispose of, and absolutely make over to

the London and North Western Railway Company, and to enable the said London and North

Western Railway Company to accept a lease of and to purchase and take the Huddersfield and

Manchester Railway and Canal, and any branch, extension, and to amalgamate the said Com-

pany with and into the said London and North Western Railway Company…

‘And it is intended by the said Act to alter, amend, extend, and enlarge some of the powers and

provisions of the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Act 1845; the Huddersfield

and Manchester Railway and Canal (Huddersfield Diversion and Cooper Bridge Branch) Act

1846; and the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal (Oldham Branch) Act 1846.’

Royal assent was granted on the 7th day of November 1846.

Land Purchase

Once the line of the proposed railway had been agreed, it was necessary to obtain compulsory

purchase of the land. The size of land plots tended to be small in the mid nineteenth century

although owners often possessed multiple plots. From Stalybridge to Diggle the proposed

route crossed 244 plots of land owned by 69 persons. 43 plots were already in the possession

of the canal company; particularly approaching the entrance to the tunnel at Diggle.

The Engineers and Contractors

Joseph Locke and Alfred Stanistreet Jee were appointed to survey and design the new line,

and at the recommendation of Locke, in anticipation of taking control, the SA&MR had

appointed Alfred Jee to be chief engineer of the H&M assisted by resident engineers that

included his brother Moreland Jee (until 1848) and Herbert F Mackworth. The line passed

through challenging terrain and Jee brought the experience of surveying and overseeing the

building of Woodhead Tunnel, as well as two significant viaducts on the Manchester-Dinting-

Sheffield line. The boring of the Woodhead and Standedge Tunnels would be through

identical geology, the Kinderscout Grit, and the ‘faced’ gritstone used for the Dinting and

Etherow viaducts was identical to the stone used for the Saddleworth viaduct.

An obituary of Jee was published in the Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil

Engineers in 1859.

‘MR. ALFRED STANISTREET JEE, son of Mr. Matthew Jee, merchant, of Liverpool, was

born on the 2nd August 1816. In 1831, he became the pupil of Mr. Joseph Locke and in 1838

was appointed under Mr. Locke as resident engineer on the Lancaster and Preston Junction

Railway, where he had the entire charge and management of the works, which were finished in

1840. This enabling him to acquire, at the unusually early age of twenty-four years, an amount

of experience, which gave, through life, accuracy of judgment and confidence in his own

practice in more important undertakings.

‘From the Lancaster and Preston Railway, he moved to the Sheffield and Manchester line, and

during the execution of the works was appointed engineer of the Huddersfield and Manchester

Railway & Canal Company [where he constructed the railway tunnel at Standedge and the

viaduct at Saddleworth].

‘On the Sheffield Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, he constructed the Dinting and

Etherow viaducts, and the tunnel at Woodhead.

‘From 1857 he became engineer of a railway in Spain connecting the port of Santander with

the canal of Castile. The fatal accident which deprived him of life was caused on the 30th

August 1858 by the sinking of an embankment and the consequent overturning of the engine

20 TNA, The Huddersfield & Manchester Railway and Canal Company, RAIL 308.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

14

which he was driving.’22

Although the detailed designs and project management fell to Jee, the initial survey and design

of the new line was carried out in conjunction with veteran engineer, Joseph Locke; the two

having already worked together on the Lancaster to Preston Railway and Sheffield to

Manchester Railways.

1846-1849: Schedule of Property to be Purchased in Saddleworth District.

NAME No. NAME No. NAME No.

Giles Andrew 9 Joseph Harrop 10 Henry Ormerod 2

Joseph Ashton 1 Bernard Hartley 1 Ralph Radcliffe 1

Susannah Ballot 1 Joseph Hesslegrave 12 Joseph Ramsden 1

Abraham Bentley 1 Thomas Gisborne 6 James Rhodes 1

Mary Beckley 1 Mary Hardman 1 Samuel Rhodes 1

Board of Surveyors of

Lords’ Mere 2 George Hurst 1 Giles Shaw 3

John Bottomley 2 Huddersfield Canal Co. 43 John Shutt 1

Mary Bradbury 1 Joseph Hyde 1 Joseph Smith 1

George Bramhall 3 Ann Ingram 1 James Steel 4

James Broadbent 12 Joseph Jones 9 Rev. James Taylor 2

John Broadbent 7 John Kenworthy 2 Trustees of Standedge

Turnpike 3

William Broadbent 12 Tabitha Kenworthy 2 Henry Whitehead 3

Benjamin Brook 1 William Kinder 3 John Whitehead 2

John Brook 1 James Lawton 1 Joseph Whitehead 3

Edward Brown 1 Joseph Lawton 1 Robert Whitehead 1

John Buckley 4 Ralph Lawton 3 William Whitehead 13

John Bramley Buckley 3 John Leathley 8 John Winterbottom 3

Nathaniel Buckley 4 James Lees 6 Ann Wood 1

Robert Buckley 2 John Lees 2 John Wood 1

Joshua Eastwood 3 Mary Ann Lees 1 Edward Wright 1

Mary Finn 1 Rev. William Lees 1 Harrop Wrigley 1

Joseph Fletcher 1 Rev. Thomas Sturgess Mills 2 Joseph Wrigley 1

James Hall 2 William Newton 1 Miles Wrigley 1

Figure 6. Schedule of Property to be Purchased in Saddleworth

21 Extracted from the Supplement to the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway & Canal Co. Act of 1845. 22 Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Volume 18, 1859, pp. 193-196. https://

www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1859.23668, (accessed 28th August 2018).

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

15

In 1823, at the age of 17, Locke went to work for George Stephenson on the first railway in

the world - the Stockton to Darlington Railway. He then worked in Stephenson’s locomotive

works at Newcastle. Appointed as assistant engineer under Stephenson for the Liverpool and

Manchester Railway in 1829 he gained such a reputation that he became Chief Engineer of all

the railway companies from London to Glasgow.

Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as one of the

major pioneers of railway development.

He died in London on 18th September 1860 from appendicitis. He outlived his friends/rivals

Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel by less than a year; all three engineers

dying between 53 and 56 years of age; a circumstance attributed by the famous railway

biographer, L.T.C. Rolt to ‘sheer overwork; accomplishing more in their brief lives than many

achieve in a full lifetime.’

With the exception of the Standedge tunnel, the contract for constructing the line was placed

with building contractors Nowell & Hattersley, a partnership of two Nowell brothers and their

brother in law Richard Hattersley. The two brothers John Willans Nowell (1806-1852) and

Jonathan Willans Nowell (1809-1846) had originally been in business with their father Joseph

Nowell and the family had constructed bridges throughout Yorkshire (including work in

Saddleworth on Tamewater Bridge) and major works and churches. After the death of their

father, the brothers pursued their own business interests for a time; John had constructed the

Chorley and Bolton Railway in 1840 and the Canterbury and Ramsgate line for the South

Eastern Railway Company while Jonathan had constructed the Derby to Burton and the Leeds

and Selby Railways. Jonathan established a reputation as specialist tunnelling contractor. He

died in 1846, but a few months before his death it had been agreed that the brothers, and

Richard Hattersley, would jointly contract to make the Stalybridge and Huddersfield Railway,

the Alnwick branch of the North Eastern Railway, and a railway and tunnel at Idle in

Yorkshire. The contract for the Stalybridge and Huddersfield line was awarded to the partner-

ship but was based on a vague and loose specification, which was interpreted by Jee to the

disadvantage of the contractors. This was strongly contested, and in the end the settlement of

Figure 7. Alfred Stanistreet Jee (1816-1858)

Figure 8. Joseph Locke (1805-1860)

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

16

the cost was referred to arbitration. The arbitration lasted many months, and in the end there

was an award of £70,000 in favour of the contractors, but the works and legal costs resulted in

a final loss of £58,320. The worry occasioned by the dispute affected the health of John

Willans Nowell, and he retired from business. He died on the 21st of December 1851, in his

46th year.23

The contract for building the Standedge tunnel was awarded to Thomas Nicholson (c1784-

1861). Nicholson had worked with Jee on the Woodhead Tunnel, having been awarded the

contract for the construction of the east part. He would also have been well acquainted with

Richard Hattersley, who had been awarded the contract for the west part. Following

completion of the tunnel in 1849, Nicholson maintained an interest in the area, purchasing a

number of quarries in Marsden and Linthwaite and selling stone. He also rented the boatyard

at Woolroad, apparently also trading as a boat builder. Bankruptcy followed in 1857,

apparently due to the failure of his quarry business. After this he returned to railway construc-

tion. Aged 78, his death occurred on 9th May 1861 at Sedbergh, from injuries sustained by

being run over by a railway wagon. He was described at the time as inspector of masonry on

the line.24

Construction of the Line between Diggle and Stalybridge

Jeffrey Well’s book provides a detailed account of the construction of the main line between

Diggle and Greenfield.25

The main contractors for the line, Nowell & Hattersley, commenced work before the contract

was signed and sealed. Based on simple Parliamentary plan and without a thorough survey,

they tendered a price of £288,450.

Alfred Jee subsequently produced a more extensive and detailed plan which included many

additional features, and it is therefore not surprising that the construction firm sought an

increase in the price of the contract. After much wrangling, they finally settled for the original

tender price although, as noted earlier, the issue later went to arbitration.

One of Jee’s ‘variations’ was the substitute of extending the viaduct at Uppermill in place of

an embankment, thus saving 200,000 cubic yards of earthwork.

However, it quickly became apparent that the quality of workmanship and supervision had

much to be desired. The resident on-site engineer complained of slow progress. To speed up

the work on Uppermill viaduct, the Railway Directors served notice on the contractor to

provide an additional ‘goliath’ crane, a travelling crane used to lift and place blocks of stone

in position.

In the first week of September 1947, Jee provided the Directors with a more optimist note,

stating that

‘the viaducts at Stalybridge and Uppermill have been raised, to the most part, to the

level of the arches. All the remaining bridges and excavations are in hand and nearly

4000 men are at work on the line.’

The line was laid double track using rails weighing 75lbs per yard (n.b. the current 2018

weight is 90lbs and 110lbs for either heavy-used or high-speed railway) laid on wooden

sleepers.

23 Frederick Nowell (son of John Willan Nowell), Account of the Nowell Family, 1909, Reprinted in the

Dewsbury Reporter, July 30, 1932. https://www.macclesfieldcanal.org.uk/oldsite/history/nowells.htm, (accessed

11 March 2019); A.W. Skempton et al. (eds), A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and

Ireland 1500-1830, (Institution of Civil Engineers, 2002). 24 Trevor Ellis, The Standedge Tunnels, (Huddersfield Canal Society, 2017), pp. 43-44; Westmorland Gazette,

11 May 1861. 25 Jeffrey Wells, Miles Platting to Diggle (via Ashton), (Challenger Publications, 1996), pp. 12-14.

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

17

On 21st May 1849 the Government Inspector, Captain Wynne, found that ‘the platforms and

signals at the intermediate stations to be generally in such an unfinished state that …. the

railway cannot safely be opened to the public.’ On further inspection on 8th July he reported

that ‘the signals and platforms have been completed and this railway may be safely opened for

the conveyance of passengers.’

Between Standedge and Stalybridge, stations were provided at Saddleworth, Greenfield and

Mossley (all opened 1st August 1849). The date of opening of Diggle station is uncertain. In

the Bradshaw timetable for June 1850 stations are shown at Saddleworth, Greenfield and

Mossley but not at Diggle. However, the November 1850 timetable incorporates Diggle

station.

On 13th July the line was officially opened with a double-headed train of 29 coaches convey-

ing around 1100 passengers. On the return to Huddersfield, the train stopped at Diggle for

refreshments provided by the Directors in picnic style - using the surrounding fields, and on

Wednesday 1st August the full passenger service commenced.

The First Standedge Tunnel

The railway required a new single-track tunnel which was constructed 49yds south of the

canal bore by contractor Thomas Nicholson under the direction of engineer Alfred Stanistreet

Jee.

The H&M commenced work on the tunnel in November 1846, prior to the amalgamation with

the LNWR. Initially it was planned for one bi-directional tunnel but the Act allowed for a

second tunnel if required. Boring started at both ends, Marsden and Diggle, simultaneously.

To remove the spoil, the tunnel also utilised five shafts which had previously been used for the

canal construction but enlarged for the railway and these were augmented by horizontal ‘adits’

to the canal. Fifteen long and four short narrow boats were used for conveying the spoil.26

26 Marshall, Lancashire & Y orkshire Railway; chapter 3 & Appendix 5.

Tom Whitehead 1965

Figure 9. Nicholson’s Standedge Tunnel dual portal at Diggle, 1849

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

18

The hard gritstone rock required blasting with gunpowder and it was then broken by either

hand drills or sledgehammer. Slow progress was made; at times only three feet per week.

However, the tunnelers also encountered geological faults which contained overlying bands of

porous shale and coal measures which, over time, led to rock falls and flooding. In fact, in a

report to the Directors of the H&M by Alfred Jee, dated 13th May 1850, he identified a

number of locations within the tunnel which he considered to be unsafe.27

The cost of the tunnel, including portals at Marsden and Diggle and 50 yds of the second

tunnel, aligned to the south east of the first tunnel, was £201,608; this accounted for one third

of the capital raised for the line. Dual portals were constructed at each end, in anticipation of

a future second tunnel, but this was not to happen for another twenty years.28 The first trial

train ran through the tunnel in June 1849; the official opening ceremony being carried out on

13th July.

Because the tunnel consisted of one single line, it was necessary to regulate the trains at both

ends. Provision was made for an ‘electric telegraph’ between the signal boxes at Marsden and

Diggle, but initially, a pilot engine was used; the operation stipulating that no train could enter

the tunnel without the pilot engine attached.

The Second Standedge Tunnel

By 1860 the service between Leeds, via Huddersfield and Stalybridge, to Manchester had

increased to 21 trains in each direction, with the fastest limited stop journey time taking 1hr

34mins and the all stations taking 2hrs 22mins.29 The shortening of the journey time was due

to the improved speed and hauling capacity of the next generation of LNWR locomotives.

The frequency was now causing problems with the single-track Standedge Tunnel.

Despite Parliamentary Powers being granted in the 1845 Act for a second tunnel, this had been

time-limited and therefore further permission was sought as part of the London and North

Western Railway (New Lines) Act of 30th November 1865.

The engineer was Joseph Buck, an engineer with the railway company and the contractor,

Thomas Nelson, a Scot who had earlier worked as a mason for George Stephenson.31 The

quote of £121,500 from the contractor was accepted in February 1868 and work commenced

27 British Transport Commission Archives.

28 The Nicholson portals have recently been Grade II listed by Historic England, MVL3/41, list-entry 1452141.

29 NRM, Bradshaw’s Timetable 1860, p. 98. 30 From TransPennine Route Statement of Historical Significance: West of Leeds V3.1, Prepared for Network

Rail; March 2017. 31 Trevor Ellis, The Standedge Tunnels, (Huddersfield Canal Society, 2017, p. 47). Other sources e.g. engineer-

ing-timelines@severalworld.co.uk, (accessed 6th September 2018) give William Baker (1817-78), as the engineer -

from 1859 he had been Chief Engineer to the LNWR.

Figure 10. A section through Standedge Tunnel, reproduced from a 1925 LMS illustration30

RAILWAYS IN SADDLEWORTH

19

in the March; again utilising 21 adits from the canal tunnel. It comprises a brickwork and

stone lining and is of similar dimensions and construction to the first tunnel. The new tunnel

lay to the south-east of the 1849 tunnel and was eventually completed in February 1871.

As a result, one tunnel was allocated for trains in the Leeds direction and the other in the

Manchester direction. The method of working was that only one train at a time was allowed

in each tunnel; the section being controlled by the signal boxes at Marsden and Diggle.

The Third Stanedge Tunnel

The line between Huddersfield and Manchester was quadrupled in the late 1880s/early 1890s.

The final stage of the project involved the construction of a third, double-track tunnel, which

was built in 1890-94 under the LNWR (Additional Powers) Act 1888. The new 5,344 yds

tunnel was located on the north-west side of the 1849 tunnel (see Figure 10). A length of the

canal tunnel at the Diggle end was replaced by a cut and cover extension which enabled the

new tracks to cross the canal tunnel. Direct labour was used but it was completed by

sub-contractors Williams, Lees & Thomas. The tunnel opened in August 1894.

To service the water troughs inside the new two-line tunnel, an iron water tank and water

treatment plant were constructed at the east end of the station between the 1849 and 1894

tunnels. The treatment plant was required to handle the acidic water derived from the

moorland above.

Trevor Ellis excellent book, The Standedge Tunnels, published by the Huddersfield Canal

Society (2017), provides a more detailed account of the canal and railway tunnels and their

construction.

P. Hutchinson, Aug 1958

Figure 11. Diggle portal of the 1894 tunnel in 1958, showing water tank

and treatment plant on the island platform. The express train emerging from the tunnel is

hauled by Class 5MT 4-6-0, 45211.

20

SHSB, VOL. 49, NO. 1, 2019

ARTHUR HIRST'S DIARY

VOYAGE ON THE ‘CORINTHIC’

FROM GREENFIELD, ENGLAND TO KAIAPOI, NEW

ZEALAND, 19131

Arthur Hirst was 19 in 1913 when he left Greenfeild with his parents and brother and sister to

emigrate to New Zealand. His father John (Jack) Hirst was a cotton worker at Wellington

Mills and it is supposed that it was a result of a downturn in the industry that he and his wife

Elizabeth decided to emigrate. John and been a stalwart of the Greenfield Co-operative

Society and on the eve of their departure the Society held a farewell party for Jack and his

family in true Edwardian style.

‘On Monday evening last a gathering of Co-operative friends and co-workers was held

in the Co-operative Hall, Greenfield, to take leave of Mr John HIRST, on the eve of

his departure for New Zealand. The chair was occupied by Mr Geo. BOOTH, the

president of the Greenfield Society. Supper was served by the women's guild.

‘The chairman said Mr HIRST had been an active and capable worker on both the

general and educational boards, and had filled the position of treasurer to the

education department, and they all felt that they could not let him go without carrying

away in some tangible form an evidence of their esteem. He had great pleasure in

handing to him a silver lever watch as a token of their esteem, and he hoped it would

remind him of the many pleasant hours they had spent in co-operative work.

1 Our grateful thanks are due to Arthur’s grandson Peter Williams for bringing this account to our attention, for

granting permission for its publication. and for information on John and Arthur Hirst. Thanks are all due to other

members of the family for information, particularly Liz Hirst. We would also like to thank Ian Douthwaite, one of

our New Zealand members living in Christchurch, for tracking down members of the Hirst family.

Figure 1. Jack and Hettie

Hirst with children Arthur,

Gilbert and Ada outside

14 Berry St, Greenfeild.

c. 1911

Hirst family collection

21

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

‘Mr Harry WHITEHEAD, president of the joint committee of Saddleworth Societies, on behalf of the joint committee, asked Mr HIRST to accept an excellent gold fountain pen and a number of Co-operative books.

‘Mr HIRST, in reply, thanked all present for their kindly feelings towards him. He

had recently received a letter from Mr J. E. SHAW, their late president, who was

now in New Zealand, who wished to be remembered to all his co-operative friends in

Saddleworth.

‘The rest of the evening was pleasantly passed, songs being rendered by Mrs

COWLEY and Messrs G.T. RHODES, T. WOOD and J.W. SHAW, and recitations

by Messrs HIRST and BOOTH.

The young Arthur, kept a day by day diary of, what for him must have been an exciting

voyage to a the new life in New Zealand.

MY DAIRY FROM GREENFIELD TO NEW ZEALAND

FROM SEPTEMBER 10th 1913

It was with mixed feelings that I left my old home of Greenfield on Wednesday September

10th 1913. In the first place I was glad because at last I was to get my greatest ambition but

again I was awfully sorry to have to leave such dear friends behind. When I landed at the

station, I could hardly believe that so many people had come to wish us God Speed and when

I came to think that I would never see some of them again it was very hard indeed. Never will

I forget the kind words and the handshakes that everyone had for us, and I am sure that night

will forever live in my memory. At last we were off, a party of 6, including our family of 5,

and Miss Allott of Dobcross who was going out to join her brother in Wellington. At Lees we

found quite a crowd assembled to wish Mr A. Shaw God Speed. He was going out with his

two little children to join his parents who went out 2 years ago. On leaving Lees we were

startled to hear a number of fog signals, which had been placed on the line by A. Shaw's

workmates in the Lees shed. This incident was again repeated at Glodwick Road. Leaving

here by the 10.20, we left the last few of our old friends, some of whom had come from

Greenfield and others friends from Oldham. Here I left one of my dearest friends my Uncle F.

and I am sure this was one of the hardest partings in the lot, but we both expressed the hope of

meeting again before many years have passed.

Arriving at Stockport at about 11pm we had to wait till the 12.5 London express, we travelled

very well, and landed us in London only about 3 min. behind time (about 5.55am). From

Euston we took a small bus to Fenchurch St. station where we left our luggage while we had a

look round London. First we made our way towards the Tower and the Tower Bridge, the

latter being a magnificent structure, and while our folk sat on a seat on the embankment, I

along with Miss Allot, and our Gilbert had a walk over the bridge. Retuning to Fenchurch St.

we again left Father and Mother, along with A.S. and his children and set out again this time

towards London bridge, on our way climbing the monument which was erected to commemo-

rate the Great Fire of London (1666). 310 steps had to be climbed before the top was reached,

but the sight from the top was well worth the trouble, as you can see many miles round. Back

again to Fenchurch St. we just missed a special train to the docks but we caught the ordinary

at 1.15pm which took us straight to the tender which was waiting to take us to the Corinthic

anchored out in the river.

Scores of relatives and friends came on board to say goodbye and I felt very grateful that we

had no one there to see us off. I don't think I ever saw a more touching scene and I was glad

to see the last of the tenders.

2 The Mossley and Saddleworth Reporter - Saturday, 13th September 1913. 3 Uncle Fearnley Bennett - eight years Arthur’s senior, he later followed the family out to Kaiapoi.

22

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

On reaching the side of the Corinthic4 everyone had to walk past the doctor and all children

had to be examined before leaving the tender. Once we got on board our first job was to find

our cabins, ours being No. 233, and situated right for'ard while my mother and Ada's was No.

35 and at the other end of the boat. After looking round a while we went down to tea, which

consisted of cold meat and pickles, jam, bread and butter, and cakes to which we did full

justice. While we were having tea they were getting to start and by 5.15pm we were off down

the river. After tea I strolled round the deck and retired for the night about 9 o'clock, sleeping

well till about 5.15am Friday morning.

(Sometime on Saturday Sept. 13) a page missing.

Singing hymns. Bought a Daily Sketch this morning and had to pay a penny for it. We left

Plymouth about 2.45 and getting out beyond the breakwater we found a big swell on the wa-

ter. Quite a lot of people sick tonight. Miss Allott pretty bad, felt rather queer myself but was

not sick. Went to bed just after 9pm and slept very well.

Sunday Sept. 14. Got up about 7.15am. A lot of people sick. Missed breakfast this

morning. Did not feel up to it. Went to bed just before dinner and didn't get up again. Moth-

er and Ada said Miss Allott very bad had to be helped in and out of bed. Arthur Shaw seems

to be sticking it all right.

The ship's log from leaving Plymouth at 3pm Sat. to 12noon today reads 273 miles.

Monday Sept. 15 Still pretty rough. Got up and tr ied some breakfast but it soon came

back, got one or two ships biscuits, very hard like dog biscuits but very sustaining. Went to

bed again soon after breakfast but got up just about teatime and stayed on deck awhile - about

9 o'clock. Felt pretty bad but was better lied down.

Log from 12 to 12 noon 297 miles.

Figure 2. R.M.S. Corinthic

4 The CORINTHIC was a 12.231 gross ton ship, length 152.40m x beam 19.29m (500ft x 63.3ft), one funnel,

four masts, twin screw and a speed of 14 knots. She had accommodation for 121 - 1st, 117 - 2nd and 450 - 3rd

class passengers and was equipped with refrigerated holds for the carriage of frozen meat. Built by Harland &

Wolff, Belfast, she was launched for Shaw Savill & Albion and the White Star Line, joint service to New Zealand

on 10th April 1902. Her maiden voyage started on 20th November 1902 when she left London for Cape Town and

Wellington. Taken over under the Liner Requisition Scheme in 1917 and returned to her owners in 1920. On 20th

January 1920 she resumed service on the UK-Panama-Wellington route and in 1923 rescued the crew of the

Newfoundland schooner MARGUERITE RY AN. In 1926 she raced the New Zealand Shipping Company ship

REMUERA outbound to New Zealand and ships were virtually in sight of each other all the way. She commenced

her last sailing from Southampton to Wellington on 14th August 1931 and in December 1931 was sold to Hughes

Bolckow for scrap and was broken up at Wallsend-on Tyne.

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

23

Tuesday Sept. 16. Felt a lot better this morning, sea rather calmer , but ship rolling a bit

yet. Missed breakfast again also dinner, but Miss Allott, our Gilbert and my father all went

down to theirs. After breakfast there was a little meeting of the girls with the assisted passag-

es at which several hymns were sung and a passage in the Bible read by the head stewardess,

and after that a prayer was offered. The meeting then closed with another hymn. I missed

dinner but Miss Allott, our Gilbert and my father went down for theirs. After dinner all kinds

of games, cards, ludo, draughts etc. My father met his match at draughts, being beaten 4

times in succession by an old man who was quite adept at the game. When the tea bell rung

there was quite a rush today, nearly everyone looking in good form. It's the first good meal

I've eaten since Saturday and I felt a deal better for it. After tea we sat on the upper deck a

while till it came dark. It was a glorious sunset and it was a surprise to see it go dark in a few

minutes. After sitting on deck with Miss Allott for a while I retired for the night at about 10

o'clock and soon fell asleep.

The log for the day was 319 miles.

Wednesday Sept. 17 Sea about the same. Went down to all three meals today. A cargo

steamer passed this morning, couldn't see the name, seemed to be loaded with timber or cases

of fruit. Everybody seemed to be writing letters today, as it is post time from 8 to 8.30pm.

Very hot towards midday, sailors put awnings over the decks.

Had rabbit for dinner today, very good. Games on deck again. I had a few games of deck

quoits. Ada more like herself today, seemed about well now. Had bit of fun on deck in the

evening with some young men and women. One a lively customer from Bolton-le-Sands near

Morecambe, called Peter Sandham. About 8 o'clock a concert started on the upper deck at

which there was dancing, singing and reciting, my father giving two recitations. It passed a

very pleasant evening away. Very hot but grand night. Went to bed about 10.30pm, some

men slept out all night.

Log for the day 317 miles.

Thursday Sept. 18 Awoke about 5am by a row caused by the lowering of the anchor ,

found ourselves in the harbour at Tenerife. Lovely sight to see, sunrise over the hills. Soon

after boats came ladened with fruit and tobacco, also men wanting to sell passengers tickets to

go ashore. Looking round, Tenerife looks a very quaint and pretty place. All along the front

big guns can be seen, and secreted in the hillsides there are others which no one but those who

work them can tell where to find them. It seems quite a busy place, as while we were in there

two big steamers, and several small ones steamed into the harbour. All kinds of goods could

be bought off the Spaniards who came aboard, tobacco, cigars and cigarettes being very

cheap, just before we were ready for sailing. Another lot were selling fancy tablecloths, silk

shawls etc. while another was selling beads and fans and straw hats. In little boats close by us

there were several boys diving in the water for coppers thrown in by the passengers on board.

They are very clever at this kind of work and will sometimes bring as many as 5 or 6 coins up

in one dive, catching them as they are going down in the water. It was rare fun watching them

for a while. Between 11 and 12 passengers who had gone ashore started to come back and

everyone seemed laden with baskets of fruit etc. At one o'clock we were due to sail and about

that time they started to weigh anchor and we were off for another 15 days before we put into

harbour again at Cape Town. S. Africa. We idled the afternoon away reading and dozing, and

then went down to eat a hearty tea. After tea a meeting was held in the dining room at which

a committee was formed to arrange sports and concerts during the voyage for the entertain-

ment of the passengers. After the meeting the majority adjourned to the upper deck where

another voluntary concert was held. After which I had a walk and then went to bed.

The log for the day read 222 miles.

Friday Sept. 19 Rose about 7. Herr ing for breakfast. Passed a very uneventful day, did

nothing but read, eat and sleep. In the afternoon a swimming bath was fixed up at the bow of

the boat in which first some officers, then some passengers and men went in. It was about 5

yards square and about 5ft. Deep, being made of sailcloth. It was almost watertight. A great

24

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

deal of fun was caused by several of the ships men going in just as they were with shirt,

trousers and caps on. Another concert was held on the upper deck but consisted of nearly all

dancing. These Scotch people never seemed so happy as when they are dancing.

Log for the day 311.

Saturday Sept. 20 Got up about 7am. Saw several shoals of flying fish, one flying on

deck, which someone caught, cleaned and stuffed. Several boys in the bath this morning.

(Got very hot towards midday, passengers lying in all directions).

Fire drill was held this morning, a lot of the stewards taking part. In the evening a grand

concert was held on the 3rd class main deck, programmes being specially printed for the

occasion and a very pleasant evening was passed. Tonight ladies were allowed to sleep on the

top deck aft and a good many took advantage of this, carrying their beds out of their bunks

and placing them on deck to sleep on.

Log 321 miles.

Sunday Sept. 21 Got up about 7am. Sea like glass. Very hot again. Divine service at

10.30. am. (Church of England) in 3rd class saloon. Children's service on the aft poop deck

in the afternoon, and service on 3rd class main deck in the evening conducted by a vicar who

is travelling on the ship. Sat on upper deck all afternoon and evening. Passed another liner

tonight. Saw a lot of porpoises and sea birds.

Log 334 miles.

Monday Sept. 22. Got up about 6am. Meant to have a bath but water was off. Went in

swimming bath after breakfast with Gilbert and Father. Children's sports 10.30.am. Ada won

1st prize. Children's sports again afternoon. Light showers before tea, very heavy rainstorm

after. Few people sick again. One lady been in hospital about a week, developed pneumonia,

a little better I now believe. An alarm of fire in the women's quarter in the night, an oil lamp

fell and the oil caught fire. No damage done. Arthur Shaw fainted today. The heat and over

exhaustion caused it I think. My straw hat blew in the sea.

Log for the day 324 miles

Tuesday Sept. 23 Very nice morning. Sea just a little swell on. At 10.30 more spor ts

started, the wheelbarrow race, cockfighting for men, egg and spoon race for the ladies,

skipping for girls (567 winner) and three-legged race for men. S.M. Winning first in both the

wheelbarrow race and the cockfighting. We crossed the line tonight about 9 o'clock, an

incident which was signified by the sending up of rockets and a floating light which was

visible for a long time after. Quite a sensation was caused by these, some people thinking that

something was amiss but this fright was soon allayed when everyone knew what it was. After

sitting on deck all night I retired at about 10.30.pm.

The log for the day was 329 miles.

Wednesday Sept.24 Very fine morn scarcely a r ipple on the sea. Spor t again at

10.30.am. Including three- legged race for girls & tie tying comp. In the afternoon Father

Neptune arrived on the scene accompanied by a full court, and several police, a doctor & a

barber. Then prisoners were brought forward, chiefly the ships men (but a few passengers

were included) and put before the judge, who prescribe what punishment they were to receive.

The majority had to take a black draught and a pill, the draught consisting of ink pepper and

salt, while the pills were made of soap. All ran the risk of being taken and one of the ships

officers (the purser) had to go through it. After the doctor had done with them the barber took

them over and lathered them with a whitewash brush then shaved them with a big wooden

razor after which they were severely ducked in the swimming baths. At the end all the

performers had to be ducked as well, both Father and Mother Neptune included. This show

lasted while teatime after which there was a dance on deck.

Log for the day was 318 miles.

Thursday Sept. 25. Late for breakfast this morning near ly everyone finished when I

landed down. Rather dull and windy. More sports this morning. Sack race for men and

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

25

driving comp. For partners. None in afternoon because of baggage day.

Log read 312 miles.

Friday Sept. 26. Rather dull morn, light wind. Spor ts continued, including nail dr iving

comp. In morning for men and 1 for women, the men being blindfolded. In the afternoon

obstacle race over a course laid by the sailors which consisted of 1st obstacle 2 rope ladders

hung up about 5ft. High over which the competitors had to crawl as best they could. Then the

2nd obstacle was a long canvas ventilator tube through which they had to crawl (flour having

been thrown inside) then a large net hung about 10ft. High had to be climbed over, then under

a rail and a run of about 40 yards, then back over the rail, again over the net and through

another ventilator, this time through soot, once again over the ladders and home.

Altogether it was a very hard course and one which needed some covering, although it was

past a joke when it came to the flour and soot. This was the only race I took part in so far, and

I just managed to win my heat in it though there were two of us on the last obstacle at the same

time. In the final I was the last to get on the ladders, and in the tubes so seeing the other two

too far ahead I didn't bother going through the soot and I let the other two finish alone, there

only being two prizes.

The log reads 306 miles for the day.

Saturday Sept. 27 Dull morning, rather cold. Tug-of-war comp. 6 teams entered. Slope

of deck against a fair pull, the bottom team generally winning. Another concert held on deck

tonight, better than last weeks. Boat drill again today.

Log 316 miles.

Sunday Sept. 28 Divine service in saloon, service read by purser . About 3o'clock in the

afternoon we passed a Union Castle liner, not a very big boat, one that sails between London

and Cape Town. (mostly a cargo vessel). Too far away to see the name. After tea sea was

rather rough , most people turning early.

Log today 303miles.

Monday Sept. 29 Sea very rough again. Went to breakfast but only ate por r idge. Went

down to dinner but left it without touching it, so didn't risk tea. Early in bed.

Log 261 miles.

Tuesday Sept. 30 In bed till just before tea, sick two or three times. In bed again soon

after tea.

Log 230 miles. The log shows how rough it has been.

Wednesday Oct. 1 Rather calmer this morning, quite a lot on deck. Went to breakfast

and dinner today. Saw several Cape or Southern gulls, quite large birds measuring 3 or 4 ft.

from tip to tip. Also some smaller black birds, can't say what they are. Rather quiet day.

Log 279 miles.

Thursday Oct. 2 Wrote several letters this morning ready to post at Cape Town

tomorrow. Not much going off, everyone looking forward to getting on land again. Saw one

or two whales blowing in the distance, also several more porpoise. Nice day, cold night.

Log 305 miles.

Friday Oct. 3 Awoke ear ly. Men making a big row, getting ready for moor ing to

quayside. I got on deck about 6.30am and found we were just in the docks all being ready for

landing. The dock hands then began to land all with the exception of the foremen being

coloured men some, working in bare feet and knocking about in the coal, just as if they had

shoes on, their feet looking as hard as leather. Everyone looked in high glee this morning and

by about 8 o'clock passengers started to go ashore but we had a little breakfast before we went,

it being 9 o'clock before we went. Close to the ship we got on the train, which took us right to

the centre of the town for a fare of 3d. Getting in the centre of the town there are some fine

shops, the majority of them being new buildings no doubt built since the S.A. War. After a

walk through the town our folk sat down and so our Gilbert and myself went for a stroll on our

26

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

own. After looking at the shops a while we went down Government Avenue which is lined on

each side with large oaks, which are reported to date back to the earliest settlers in Cape Colony

according to a small handbook which a man was giving on board. On either side of the avenue

are situated the municipal buildings of the town including the Parliament Houses, Government

House, Museum, Art Gallery, School etc. besides the Botanical Gardens, which in themselves

are a treat. We then went to look for a dinner place, and finding a fish and chip shop we went in

and had for our dinner fish and chips, bread and butter and tea. The proprietor of the shop was a

Yorkshire man being born in Leeds, so he said, but when quite a boy he ran away from home to

London from which place he came out 10 years ago and by what he said never intends to go

back. After dinner we had another look round this time making towards the castle, an old

building which was intended I suppose in the old days to fortify the town. It is situated on one

side of a large parade ground, a big open space, on which volunteers are regularly drilled, in the

middle of which there is a statue of King Edward V11

Soon after this we made our way towards the station and found our folk there, laden with fruit.

wanted about an hour and a half before we were due on the boat so my father, our Gilbert and

myself went for another stroll, visiting the museum on our way round. It is a very fine building

and contains a very varied collection. At the back in the grounds there are two skeletons of

whales, one of them measuring 70ft. Long. We then made our way toward the boat but instead

of riding, we walked the length of the docks. Before we set off back I bought two magazines,

“The Grand” and “The Novel” both 4½d books for which I had to pay 6d. Each. We landed to

the Corinthic about 5.20pm and before we set sail there were two rather exciting incidents. First

one of the stokers had to be brought on board by one of the officers. He was drunk of course,

and looked as if he was going to desert the ship, and as soon as he got on board he threw a rope

over the side and slid down it into the water then starting to swim away. Another of the sailors

however went in after him and brought him on board again. Then another who was worse for

drink was going for one of the officers with a knife, because he had said something to him

about his condition. At last we were off about 6.30pm for another 3 weeks without a stop and

nearly everyone wishing we were at our journeys end.

Saturday Oct.4 Got up about 6.30am and found the time had gone back about quar ter of

an hour. There was a sad occurrence this morning, a baby 8 months old dying about 4 o'clock

am, having had consumption of the bowels. Nothing much going on today. Plenty of people

looking bad as the ship rocks a bit. A big swell running. At about 8 o'clock pm I was in my

mother's cabin when I heard the engine stop and was told they were just burying the little child.

A performance that I was not very keen on witnessing. The purser read the funeral service and

then at the words “I commit the body to the deep” the sailors upended a plank on which the

coffin had been placed and let it slide into the sea. A concert was held tonight in the third class

saloon at which the ships surgeon presided. It was a very good programme one of the stewards

playing a very good clarinet solo.

The log for the day.

Sunday Oct. 5. Rose about 7am. Nice morning but a big swell on the water . Mother bad,

missed all the meals. Went to service night in saloon, two parsons taking it. Went to bed about

10pm.

Log for the day reading.

Monday Oct.6. Very cold day. Nothing much going off. Father bad today. Quite a big

swell on wave rising as high as the deck.

Log read.

Tuesday Oct. 7. Got up too late for breakfast this morning. 2nd sitting ready when I got

down. Wrestling with one of the stewards in afternoon (who is an old wrestler) and H. Emmott

of Bradford, an old member of Bradford All Saints Gym, and a friend of L. Hanson, England's

champion gymnast. Very cold and a big sea running again.

Log for the day.

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

27

Wednesday Oct. 8. Got up about 7 am. Father and Mother both a little better today. I

felt pretty bad myself, had a touch of diarrhoea. Colder than ever today. Whist drive in the

evening in dining room. 3 prizes for Ladies, 3 Gents and 2 boobies.

Log.

Thursday Oct.9. Got up much better , had a good long walk on deck this morning. Miss

Allott been bad a day or two now though she has been better today. Had sleep in afternoon.

Nothing much doing today.

Log for the day 300 miles. Had some good fun watching crew skipping.

Friday Oct. 10. Nice morning, warmer . Near ly everyone skipping on deck this last day or

two to keep warm. Ada in bed all day today. Went to whist drive in evening but didn't do so

well scoring 132 in 20 hands. It passed a very pleasant evening over.

Saturday Oct. 11. Woke about 7am by father say a boat was in sight. She proved to be

one of the N.Z.S. Co cargo steamers bound for New Zealand, having set off above a week

before us and is due to arrive a week later. Sea calmer today than it has been since leaving

Cape Town. Towards night we seemed to run into a heavy mist. A concert was held in the

evening at which the sports prizes were distributed, our Ada's prize for girls 7 years and under

being a very nice link of beads. Some very good prizes were given, there being about 40 in all.

The barber again gave two monologues, which were very well received. Retired about

10.30 pm after a very nice evening, although I would rather have been to the Palace with the

boys.

Log read 308 miles.

Sunday Oct 12. Didn' t feel very well this morning but went to breakfast and tea though I

missed dinner. Did nothing but lie about today.

Log very good again today 322 miles.

Monday Oct.13. Still cold and misty, very miserable on deck, spent most of my time in

smoke room watching them gamble. Ada came to table to tea, for the first time since Thursday.

Log for the day 320 miles.

Tuesday Oct. 14. Weather still bad, rain and cold. Whist Drive again tonight at which

my Father, our Gilbert and myself all took part. My score being 127 in 20 games, our Gilbert

131 while my Father tied for the booby and lost the cut off his score being 114.

Record log today 335 miles.

Wednesday Oct.15. Near ly missed breakfast again this morning. Cold and wet still, most

of time spent in smoke room. Playing football on deck with ball made of bits of rope.

The log for today is 305 miles.

Thursday Oct. 16. Very nice morning but came on wet afternoon, sea running pretty high

and wind blowing hard. Playing football again, fell and hurt my knee on deck. Tea at 4 o'clock

today on account of children's party, which started at 5.30. They had a fine tea, all kinds of

cakes and sweets, nuts and fruit, after which they had a concert at which our Ada sang and a

young Scotch lad danced in full highland dress, and wearing all his medals over 50 which he

had won with dancing. Altogether they had a fine time I believe. The sailors have been busy

today getting tackle ready for hauling luggage up when we land.

Log today reads 320 miles.

Friday Oct. 17. Very nice morning, rather high sea running and strong cold wind, but

very warm in the sun. The last whist drive of the voyage tonight, my father winning the 2nd

prize, our G and myself being nowhere, with scores of 133 and 131 respectively. Arthur Shaw

at the table today for first time since Tuesday having been in bed 2 days with a bad throat.

Today's log 325 miles.

Saturday Oct. 18. Very wet morning, better after about as rough a day as we've had so

far. Rather an amusing incident occurred at the dinner table today, a wave dashing through one

28

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

of the open portholes and soaking a young lady sitting at the table, besides splashing several

others. Had a sleep in the afternoon. Then went to concert, which was given by the crew in the

evening. It was a great success, and quite the best of the of the voyage, the first half of the

programme being taken by the minstrels of the Corinthic, and the second by singing etc. Spent

a very pleasant evening altogether.

Log for the day 318 miles.

Sunday Oct. 19. Nice day but cold, Gilber t in bed all day with sick headache. Heavy

gambling in smoke room one chap losing about £8.10s. Nothing much doing today.

Log 307 miles.

Monday Oct. 20. Very nice morning, and warmer . Quite a crowd on deck this morning.

Gilbert better and up by about 8 o'clock. Cold again tonight.

The log today is 305 miles. Wrote a few letters home today.

Tuesday Oct. 21. Another fine morning, but rather cold. Watched them clean the ship's

two guns and saw one of the sailors show how they were fired. About 1.30 pm I heard

someone say land in sight, and on going up on deck I could just distinguish some hills in the

distance. There was also a sailing vessel in sight and in an hour or two we were quite close to

both, the Corinthic signalling to the other. It proved to be a double masted sailing vessel and a

fine sight it was, all painted white and all sails set. About five o'clock we passed a big rock that

stood by itself in the sea, and it was absolutely covered with sea birds. A notice was posted

tonight to the effect that all passengers must muster at 6.30 am in the morning to pass the doctor

so that everyone seems busy getting ready. On going forward to bed, about 10 o'clock I found

the Corinthic was signalling to the shore for a pilot, one coming aboard about 10.30 in a steam

launch. It was impossible to fall asleep till 11 o'clock as about that time we dropped anchor and

as the engines that work the chains are just over us there was an awful noise.

Log for today 320 miles.

Wednesday Oct.22. Got up about 6am. Dressed and went down in saloon about 6.30 and

had to wait till about 7.30 before the doctor passed us. The crew were passed first, then the 1st

and 2nd class, our turn coming last. It appeared a proper farce as we had only to walk pass the

doctor, lots of people never noticing him at all. We got ashore about quarter to nine with every

prospect of having a very nice day. After a walk through one or two principal streets went to

the residential part of the town and found that the majority of houses were of wood with

corrugated iron roofs. We spent about half an hour sitting in one of the public parks, then went

to find a place for dinner. After dinner we went on the car to Sandy Bay, a little bay down the

coast, where with it being a general holiday in Hobart there was quite a crowd on the beach.

We stayed there till about 4.30 pm. Then got back to Hobart to the same shop for tea. When

we had dined we bought some fruit and our folk took it back to the ship while I had a walk

round the town with a young fellow from Bolton-le-Sands, called Peter Sandham. Hearing a

band we went and spent an hour in the park after which we had another walk round the town

returning to the ship about 10.30 pm. On arriving at the docks we found them packed with

cargo that been landed from the Corinthic amongst which there were 5 motorcars. They were

still unloading when we landed down and it was useless trying to sleep with all the noise so it

was after mid-night when I retired very tired after a busy but pleasant day.

Log from midday yesterday was 147 miles.

Thursday Oct. 23. Got up about 7am. And had a dr ink of tea and a sandwich in the

cabin, going ashore about 8 o'clock. We walked up the main streets and made a few purchases,

then went back to the boat, reaching it about 9.30 am. The gangway was lowered and we were

away at 10.10 am. Only 10 min. after the stated time. On the dock were several who had come

out on the boat and had come to bid the friends they had made on board Good-bye. We had a

long sail down the river and straits with grand gardens on each side so that land was in sight for

several hours after leaving Hobart.

Up to noon we had a log of 10 miles.

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

29

Friday Oct. 24 Nice morning, got up about 7.15, sea calm and sun shining, nothing much

going on today.

The log today was 318 miles.

Saturday Oct. 25 Weather still very nice. Saw a shoal of whales this morning, one very

close to the ship. A whist drive was held again tonight at which a presentation was made to

Mr. Griffiths, the secretary of the sports and entertainment committee. (His present, a dressing

case.) I had a ticket to go but I was taken very bad with indigestion and could not go. In bed

about 7 o'clock.

Sunday Oct. 26. Got up and went to breakfast, but was taken bad again worse than

before. Went to bed again and stayed till about 7 o'clock when I went a walk on deck.

A lighthouse could be seen tonight on the coast of New Zealand so it looks like being at it

soon.

Monday Oct. 27. Everybody busy this morning finishing packing, land very close soon

sailing between North and South Islands. Saw several dolphins quite close to the ship this

morning. Another muster in the dining room to pass the doctor.

(Diary ends here).

POSTCRIPT

On arriving in New Zealand the family settled in Kaiapoi, a town in the Waimakariri District

of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. They lived in Cass St for a

time and then bought a property on the corner of North Road (now Williams St.) and Ohoka

Road. John Hirst and the two sons had no job to go to when they arrived but John soon found

one on a farm. He later set up his own newsagent’s business.

Less than eight months after their arrival the world was plunged into war. Arthur joined up in

1916 and was part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces present at Ypres in 1917-18. He

was wounded in August 1918 but continued in service until the end of the war. He was

discharged on 2nd February 1919 having served as Lance-Corporal.

He worked at Evans's flour mill at Weatherall for a time before going into business with his

brother as Hirst's Cash Store (grocery) until the business was sold in 1951 but he remained

with the new owner until his retirement in 1954.

Arthur was an very active member of the Kaiapol community. He was keenly interested in

music, church work and sport. Both Arthur and Gilbert were active members of Kaipoi

churches. Arthur was choirmaster of the Kaiapoi Methodist Church choir, secretary of the

men's fellowship and a church trustee, Gilbert an elder, choirmaster, Sunday School superin-

tendent and secretary to the board of managers at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

Only Butter Rationed

The older generation of Greenfield will remember his brother Harold, who was a well-known

member of Boarshurst Band and a prominent conductor in his time.

Mr Hirst recalled the presentation to him when he left Greenfield of a watch by the local

co-operators and said he had carried it with him all those years but, when coming through the

tropic zone of the Panama, the heat caused the spring to break. “So now” he added with a

twinkle in his eyes, “I shall ask the Greenfield Co-operative Society if they can get it repaired

for me.”

“Prices in New Zealand are much the same as over here,” he says. “The only thing now

rationed is butter. Meat is plentiful and he mentioned casually how his son came home on a

Tuesday with a quarter of a lamb on his shoulder.”

As he was allowed to bring 50lb of food home with him he has not yet been affected by

rationing here, and is not likely to be, seeing that other food is being sent to him from

New Zealand. He left, for instance, 10lb. of honey to be posted to him.

30

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

Cigarettes don't trouble him because he has never smoked. “On the way over the captain

offered me a cigarette, but I told him it was a bit too late in life for me to start smoking.”

Gathering of the clans

Two years ago in his house, Grenfilt, there was a gathering of Saddleworth men which

included Seth Schofield, who emigrated many years ago from Delph, George Dransfield, who

went from Uppermill and who at one time worked at Frenches Mill with Mr. Hirst, and Amos

Dobson from Delph, who is himself on holiday in this country at present. “We had a real

chin-wag about old days in Saddleworth,” said Mr. Hirst.

He recommends eligible and efficient men to emigrate to South Island, New Zealand. In

Kaiapoi he does not know of a family that is waiting for a house, but things are not so good in

North Island.

Glancing at the mist-covered hills of Saddleworth he told of the glorious atmosphere of

New Zealand where the hills seventy miles from his home looked as clear as did Alderman

from Chew Valley.

Mrs. Hirst, who before her marriage was Miss Hetty Bennett, of Greenfield, died twelve

months ago.

John was a Justice of the Peace and served for a time on the Kaiapoi Borough Council. He

died at his residence, 36 Ohoka Road, Kaiapoi on 20th August 1952, his wife, Hettie having

pre-deceased him, dying on 19th November 1947.

John’s presentation pocket watch, a treasured heirloom, is still in the possession of the family.

It is inscribed ‘Greenfield Cooperative Society Ltd. Presented to Mr John Hirst As a token of

esteem By his colleagues on leaving for New Zealand September 8th 1913’. The family also

have an oil painting by John of the Greenfield valley painted in 1944 and presented to his son

Arthur.

ARTHUR HIRST’S DIARY

31

Figure 3. Arthur Hirst (L) &

uncle Fernley Bennett (R)

Figure 4. Jack Hirst,

Hettie, Arthur,

Gilbert and Ada at

their house Grenfilt

in Haiapoi

32

SHSB, VOL. 49, NO. 1, 2019

1 Thanks are due to member Trevor Lawton for flagging up the fact that the bishop’s transcripts for 1696 con-

tains marriages which are absent from the published Radcliffe Registers. 2 J. Radcliffe (ed), The Parish Registers of St Chad, Saddleworth, 1613-1751, (Uppermill, 1887). 3 Lancashire Archives, Bishops Transcripts, Saddleworth, 1696

ADDENDUM TO SADDLEWORTH PARISH REGISTERS

1696

Mike Buckley1

The first volume of John Radcliffe’s monumental work on St Chad’s Church Registers was

published in 1887.2 Radcliffe meticulously transcribed and indexed the original registers,

which were then housed in the church, from their first entries in 1632 through to 1800. With a

few exceptions the registers were very badly kept and in very poor condition, with gaps of

several years and large numbers of missing entries (Figure 1) To add to his difficulties many

pages were faded, discoloured and unreadable. Fortunately, a statute of 1597, required copies

of the registers to be sent annually to the bishop’s registry at Chester. The Saddleworth

ministers carried out their duties in this respect with about the same diligence that they applied

to the keeping of the originals and, before 1723, often failed to even send in the annual

returns. To add to the confusion, sometimes entries in original registers were omitted from the

bishop’s transcript and sometimes the bishop’s transcripts contained entries missing from the

original registers. Radcliffe compared both the originals and bishop’s transcripts and in his

published work included the entries from both sources indicating differences where they

occurred.

Radcliffe’s transcriptions were carried out with great care and his published volumes have

been the definitive and trusted reference source for family historians since their publication.

But now, the bishops transcripts can be easily accessed on the internet, as well as the mormon

church copies of the originals. In view of the care take by Radcliffe it came as a surprise to

learn that he had missed some of the entries in the 1696 bishop’s transcripts, particularly the

marriages, which were entirely absent in the originals. A careful comparison of the two

sources revealed that it was not just the marriages that had been missed but some entries in the

bishop’s transcript that were absent in the originals.

The Bidhop’s Transcript for 1696 is given below. Entries in the original registers missing

from the bishop’s transcripts are shown in square brackets.

A Transcript of the Register at Sadleworth for the yeare; 16963

Baptized in 1696

May John fil: John Bredbury 3

Decembr: Mary fil: Samuel Winterbotham 9

Sarah fil: John Bredbury 25

Ann fil: Gyles Shaw 31

January Ann fil: Robert Wood 17

John fil: Joshuah Platt 17

February John fil: George Scholefield 14

Mariages in 1696

Aprill Daniel Marsland & Martha Whithead 14

John Lees & Martha Taylor 14

May John Hinchliffe & Ann Hudson 12

June Joshuah Platt and Grace Armitage 2

August: Jonathan Hinchliffe & Sarah Shaw 4

Robert Buckley & Mary Hoyle 25

Septembr: Robert Buckley & Elline Andrew 14 John Broadbent & Martha Winterbotham 29

33

SADDLEWORTH PARISH REGISTERS

Octobr: John Broadbent & Mary Wood 27

Novembr: Thomas Bredbury & Jane Wood 10

John Foley & Ester Rhodes 17

Decembr: Edmund Buckley & Mary Andrew 2

John Thornely & Alice Buckley 9

James Broadbent & Jane Kenworthey 31

George Lawton & Sarah Buckley 31

January Bejamin Whithead & Susannah Whithead 5

James Kenworthey and Silence Winterbotham 12

Joshuah Platt & Annah Buckley 25

February John Twedale & Mary Bamford 16

Buryalls

March; Ann uxor Thomas Harrope 27

Thomas Wood 28

[Aprill Sarah Wooley 10]

[ Thomas Wood 14]

May Ann uxor John Buckley 5

Sarah fil: Jonn Bredbury 16

[ Mary, uxor John Bredbury 17]

June Alice Whitehead vid: 7

[ Jonathan Shaw 15]

Josiah fil: Mary Lawton vid: 16

William Scholefield 18

[ Mary, uxor John Buckley 27]

July Ann Scholefield 8

Martha uxor James Kenworthey 28

August Sarah fil: John Wood 2

Daniel fil: Thomas Winterbotham 19

[ Ann Harrope 19]

[ Ann Briereley 21]

John fil: John Buckley 21

[ James Brierley 29]

John Platt 23

Septemr Elizabeth fil: James Wrigley 13

James Wood 17

John fil: Thomas Millns 18

Octobr James Briereley 16

Novembr Edmund Buckley 2

Alice Houlden 3

Sarah fil: George Wrigley 12

Mary fil: Daniel Marsland 15

[ Alice Houlden 17]

[ Daniel Marsland 25]

Mary Lawton vid 28

Decembr Sarah uxor Rich: Dronsfield 12

Ann Scholefield vid 21

January John Shaw 4

[ John Shaw 26]

[February Alexander Radcliffe 4]

John Wrigley 6

Charles fil: James Whithead 9

[ John, fil James Wrigley 17]

[March Ann Scholefield 1]

Alexander Radcliffe 2

[ Isaack, fil Isaack Wrigley 4]

[ Ed Buckley 9]

Joh fil: Joshuah Platt 16

[ James Lees 17]

[ Sarah, uxor Richard Dronsfield] 24]

34

SADDLEWORTH PARISH REGISTERS

Figure 1. Page from the Original Church Registers, 1696

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