THE FEATHERSTONE ........CHRONICLE....... ........1086 to 1885........: 1678 to 1820

A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE

1678 to 1820

1678 BURIED IN WOOL

The entry in the parish register for August 31 1678 reads "Certified before Justice White by Arthur Greenwood and Alice Whitley yt Issabell ye wife of ye above named Arthur Greenwood was buryed in sheepes woole only."

There was a glut of wool in the country so Parliament passed the Burial in Wool Act which provided that "no corpse of any person (except those who shall die of the plague), shall be buried in any shirt, shift, sheet, or in any stuff or thing, other than what is made of sheep's wool only, or be put in any coffin lined or faced with any other material but sheep's wool only". An affidavit had to be sworn at each burial that this was carried out.

The penalty for failure was £5 but there was an exemption for those too poor to afford the wool. The legislation was in force until 1814, but it was generally ignored by 1770.

1741 THE TURNPIKE

As previously explained the roads were in a mess until the passing of the Turnpike Act which allowed the setting up of toll booths and charging the road users. The Wakefield and Weeland Turnpike Trust was set up in 1741 and a toll booth was built at the junction with the road that became known as Hall Street. Typical charges were a penny for a horse, three pence for a coach and 4d to 6d for a heavily loaded cart.

1743 ARCHBISHOP HERRING'S VISITATION RETURNS

Archbishop Thomas Herring "being by God's Providence called to a new Diocese" (of York) decided the best way to become acquainted with his parishes was to send a questionnaire to each vicar. His questions and the Featherstone vicar's answers give an insight into the parish as it was in 1743. Note the parish of Featherstone included Purston, Whitwood, Whitwood Mere and part of Pontefract Park district.

1 What numbers of families have you in your parish? Of these how many are dissenters? And of what sort are they?

We have about 137 families. Of these three are Papists, one Presbyterians.

2 Have you any licences or other meeting house in your parish? How many? Of what sort? How often do they assemble? In what numbers? Who teaches them?

None at all.

3 Is there any public or charity school, endowed or otherwise maintained in your parish? What number of children are taught in it? And what care is taken to instruct them in the principles of the Christian religion, according to the doctrine of the Church of England; and to bring them duly to church as the canon requires?

Two private schools, not endowed, where children (whose number cannot be guessed their parents sending them as they can spare them from business) are taught to read and write, and once a week instructed in the Church catechism, and brought duly to church on the holidays.

4 Is there in your parish any alms-house, hospital or other charitable endowment? Have any lands or tenements been left for the repair of your church; or to any other pious use? Who has the direction of such benefaction? How are they managed? Do you know, or have you heard of any abuses or frauds committed in the management of them?

An old alms-house endowed with lands rented at £2 14s 5d which is duly twice a year collected and distributed to three women. Twenty shillings a year was left to the poor at Purston Jaglin by Mary Cawthorne and lands bought with money left in charity to the same town, which yield nearly fifteen shillings, both which are faithfully distributed to the poor on St. Thomas Day.

5 Do you reside personally upon your cure, and in your parsonage house? If not where do you reside? And what is your reason for your non-residence?

I reside personally upon my cure, and in the vicarage house.

6 Have you a residing curate? Is he duly qualified according to the canons in that behalf? Does he live in your parsonage house? What allowance do you make him?

I have no curate.

7 Do you know of any who come to church, who are unbaptized? Or that being baptized, and of a competent age, are not confirmed?

I know of none that come to church, who are unbaptized, and I hope those, who are not yet confirmed, and are of a competent age, will be prepared to receive it from your Grace.

8 How often is the public service read in your church? Is it duly performed twice every Lord's Day? If not how often, and at what times is it performed? And how come it not to be twice done, as the Act of Uniformity and canons of the church require?

Divine Service is duly performed twice every Lord's Day, once every holiday, and on Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent.

9 How often and at what times do you catechise your church? Do your parishioners duly send their children and servants who have not yet learned their Catechism, to be instructed by you?

I normally catechise the children on Sunday afternoons in the summer, there being then most leisure; several of my parishioners neglect sending their children and servants.

10 How often is the sacrament of the Lord's supper administered in your church? What number of communicants have you in your parish? How many of them usually receive? Particularly, how many did communicate at Easter last?

The sacrament of the Lord's supper is administered eleven or twelve times in the year. The number of communicants last year 351. Number last Easter 136.

11 Do you give open and timely warning of the sacrament before it is administered? Do your parishioners send in their names as required? Have you refused the sacrament to anyone? For what reason? And how has the person so refused behaved himself since that time?

Open and timely warning is given. The parishioners do not send in their names. I have never refused but one for visible signs in his behaviour at the rails that he knew not what he was about, but he was afterwards admitted to receive on his being better instructed.

The Featherstone reply is signed by Christopher Driffeild (he signed that way) vicar of Featherstone, who was installed to this parish on August 9 1734.

1772 THE WENT CANAL

In the 100 years or so before the railways were built a series of canals carried much of the trade across the country. The Aire and Calder navigation system had a monopoly of water borne transport from Wakefield to Goole and Hull. In an attempt to overcome that monopoly an engineer called John Smith put forward a proposal in 1772 to make the River Went navigable. He surveyed the land from the river Calder at Wakefield to the River Went at Streethouse with the idea of connecting the two by a canal.

The River Went would then be made wide enough and deep enough to take canal boats to the River Don, and then on to Goole and Hull. The total cost was estimated at £36,414 1s 7d.
In the Purston section there would have been a fixed carriage bridge in Wragby Road costing £150 and four swing bridges at a cost of £154 16s. The total cost of the Purston section including three canal locks was about £2,500. The photo below of the Purston section, a personal one, shows it was not a practical venture. The necessary finance was not raised and the scheme was dropped.

PIT DEATHS

For about 200 years few details were put in the parish register. An entry could be as little as "John Smith buried", then gradually more information was given. The following burials occurred over a relatively short period.

January 7 1770 Joseph Stott age 12 son of James Stott of Pontefract Park killed by a fall (of roof) in a coal mine.

July 20 1773 Edward Copley age 49 of Featherstone killed by a fire damp. He probably blew himself up by igniting gas with his candle or oil lamp.

March 20 1774 James Stott age 39 of Pontefract Park killed in a coal pit. He was almost certainly the father of the above Joseph Stott.

September 23 1774 John Farrar age 26 of Featherstone crushed in a coal pit.
February 9 1775 Thomas Barker age 39 of Featherstone killed by a fire damp.

March 11 1776 William Cowdray age 37 of Pontefract Park killed by a fall into a pit. He probably fell down the shaft into a bell pit.

April 15 1779 George Collier age 22 of Featherstone killed in a coal pit.

This Ordnance Survey map shows the Pontefract Park District began at the eastern edge of (North) Featherstone. The coal pits where the accidents could have happened are above where Pontefract is printed and between the N and E of Featherstone.

The method of working was called bell pits form the shape of them. There was no ventilation and no roof supports. When it looked like the roof was going to fall in it was abandoned and a new one started. Photo - Old Pits on the internet.

1807 VOTING - OLD STYLE

In 1807 very few people had the vote, and there was no secrecy about the polling, so it can be assumed just about everyone entitled to vote was "persuaded" to do so by one or other of the candidates.

A Parliament was called to be held at Westminster on June 22 1807 and the County of York was entitled to return two members. The usual writ was sent to the Sheriff of York and he called a special county court at York Castle. The candidates were William Wilberforce, the Hon. Henry Lascelles, and the Rt. Hon. Lord Milton.

Upon a show of hands the High Sheriff decided Lascelles and Milton were elected, but Wilberforce demanded a poll. This was held over 15 days and the names of those voting at York Castle together with how they voted was published. The local entries are:

Aikton

Sir Edmund Mark Winn, Bart - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Williamson, husbandman - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Featherstone

Thomas Atkinson, farmer - Lascelles and Milton
William Frobisher, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Heptonstall, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

George Desmoth Kelly, clerk, - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Charles Lake, husbandman - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Wilson, yeoman - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Woodhead, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

William Wightman, gent - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Purston Jackling

William Ashton, farmer - Wilberforce and Milton

Edward Crossley, gent - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Garratt, millwright - Wilberforce and Lascelles

John Maude, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Richard Nuns, bricklayer - Lascelles

Thomas Oldfield, farmer - Milton

Thomas Rowlandson, farmer - Milton

Bartholomew Spink, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Nathaniel Scholey, farmer - Lascelles and Milton

Robert Warwick, farmer - Wilberforce and Lascelles

Thomas Whitlam, publican - Wilberforce and Lascelles

William Wilberforce was justified in demanding a poll because he topped it with 11,806 votes. Lord Milton was next with 11,177 and Henry Lascelles was bottom with 10,989.

There were no railways at this time so the locals would have to get to York and back by horse power. It would have taken them a whole day to record their votes.

It can only be speculation, but does the fact Thomas Whitlam is the only publican voting mean his was the only public house in Purston or Featherstone? He was the landlord of the Malt Shovel Inn, the whereabouts of which are unknown.

1810 DEATH AT PURSTON WINDMILL

A boy age 14 lost his life at Purston Windmill in April 1810. He was greasing the wheels and singing, and the miller mistook it for an order to take the brake off and put the mill in motion, and the boy was killed instantly. The Ordnance Survey map shows where the mill was situated.

1816 PURSTON WESLEYAN CHAPEL

A Wesleyan Chapel was built in Hall Street, Purston in 1816. This Ordnance Survey map shows its position near to the junction with Ackworth Road.

1819 ABSCONDER WANTED

The Featherstone Association for the Prosecution of Offenders put a notice in the Leeds Mercury offering a reward of three guineas for the apprehension of William Bainbridge of Purston who had stolen a game cock, the property of Henry Thompson of Purston. He had absconded leaving his wife and four children chargeable to the township of Purston.

1820 A NATIONAL SCHOOL

The National Society for Promoting Religious Education was founded in 1811 with the aim of providing a school in every parish to give elementary education to the children of the poor in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England. The parents had to pay a few coppers a week. A National School was built in Church Lane near to Featherstone Parish Church.