1870

   A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE 

1870

1870 NEWS ITEMS

JANUARY  The Yorkshire miners were threatening to come out on strike. A mass meeting was held at Castleford to demand the return of the 7½% taken from their wages in 1868 after a 42 weeks strike and lockout. The owners had demanded a 15% reduction but the men eventually went back to work for a 7½% drop in wages.

  John Dixon, secretary of the West Yorkshire Miners' Association, said at the meeting none but those who had experienced it could form any idea of the amount of suffering, poverty and wretchedness that strike brought about, and he had no wish to see it return.

  The meeting agreed the owners should be asked to restore the 7½% wages cut now the coal trade had improved. Those present were urged to try and persuade their fellow workers to join the union.

  At a meeting a week later the various lodges reported their respective owners had agreed to restore the 7½% if the other mines did.

MARCH  Mr Parker applied to the County Court for the costs of his attorney and two witnesses in his case against Mr Fearnley who had succeeded him as overseer of Featherstone. The accounts were found to be in order by an arbitrator and it had been agreed the costs of the case would depend on the outcome of the audit. The costs were granted.

  The Pontefract Board of Guardians decided to elect permanent medical officers for the various districts. No.6 district was Purston, Snydale, Featherstone, Ackton and Pontefract Park for which the salary was £10 per year. There were four applicants and the first vote was Atkinson 4, Wood 10, Rhodes 11 and Graham 4. The second vote was Rhodes 14 and Wood 9 so Dr C J Rhodes was declared elected.
  This Ordnance Survey map shows why Pontefract Park was included by the Guardians - because it was part of the Featherstone parish.

 
     The officials appointed for the new administrative year were:

       Featherstone   Overseers     John North and William Woodhead

                               Constables   Amos Hepworth and John Hewitt

       Purston            Overseers     John Waller and Thomas Rowlandson

                               Constables    George Chappel and Joseph Woodhead

APRIL  James Stead was summonsed by Robert Gibson, a Purston wheelwright and joiner, for deserting his service. The defendant was bound apprentice on January 2 1868 and he absented himself on several occasions but had always come back until this time. "The defendant, who looked the reverse of Oliver Twist, pleaded sufficient food was not given to him". The Bench ordered him to return to his employment.

  The housemaid at Purston Hall had placed a quantity of valuable lace on the grass for bleaching and had left it out all night. In the morning it was gone feared stolen. Weeks later it was found to form part of a stormcock's nest and the bird had used the lace as a bed for her eggs.

  The new reading room for Featherstone and Purston was opened with an evening concert of sacred and secular music.

  It was reported in the Press the two thirteen feet diameter shafts at Featherstone Colliery had reached the Stanley Main seam, and sidings were being put in to connect with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

MAY  The Board of Guardians had received a letter from a Mr Atkinson saying the amount of work in the Purston district was too heavy for one medical officer to properly fulfill his duty, and asking the board to appoint him in the event of any alteration.

  William Goodall of Purston was summonsed by Edward Becket, a lad, for 13 shillings, claiming he had been unlawfully discharged from his service. He had been engaged at £5 10s for the year but had been sent home two weeks early. The defendant said the boy had stuck a fork in a cow, and had put 12 mangold seeds in a hole instead of three. The case was dismissed.

  The quarterly return of births and deaths for the West Riding showed the main diseases were smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, fever and diarrhea.

  At the Petty Sessions Abraham Burnley was charged with assaulting James Upton. The Pontefract Advertiser commented "This case appears to be a revival of those abominable and cowardly assaults of which a number were committed some time back among the Purston colliers, among whom a sort of carbonari society seems to exist. Complainant was rather behind with his subscription (to the union) and defendant on the payment in purse or person principle banged his head on the flooring, knelt on his chest, and otherwise behaved in a manner that might have been highly appreciated at Donnybrook fair". The defendant was fined 20 shillings and costs or one month imprisonment.

  John Hallam received a similar sentence for an assault at the same time on James Upton.

JUNE  John Thomas Simpson was charged with having 19 beasts suffering from foot and mouth disease and not reporting it to the nearest constable. He was fined £5 or one month imprisonment.

  An inquest was held on Ambrose Webster who died from the effects of an explosion at Snydale Colliery. Mr Thresh, the overseer, said he had warned Webster, the colliery blacksmith, not to take naked lights down the pit but he had gone with his son Green with a flaming lamp. Aaron Gibbs, the lamp keeper, was in the pit bottom when he felt a rush of air and he heard Webster shout bring a light. He went down the road and met Webster and Green both burnt. He took them to the lamp room and poured oil on their arms and faces. They said they had been up a drift to a water valve. Webster died a few days after the accident. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

JULY  James Knowles was summonsed by his master Robert Whittaker for neglecting to fulfill his contract as servant at Featherstone. He was hired as a farm labourer at the rate of £5 10s and his board, and he was given two shillings as fastening money but he did not turn up. Another man had to be hired at three shillings a day. The defendant expressed his willingness to go to his work and the case was adjourned and nothing would be done if he did his work.

SEPTEMBER  James Stead was summonsed again by his master Robert Gibson with having deserted his service since May 9. Stead made a long rambling statement of his grievances consisting of having more work to do than usual and being spoken to roughly. The Bench committed him to a month at Wakefield and warned him he would have to complete his term of apprenticeship on leaving goal.

OCTOBER  The Purston National School festival was held in Purston Hall park and included a series of rustic and athletic sports. The band of the 1st West Yorkshire Rifles played selections during the afternoon. A public tea was held in a large tent and the Pontefract Advertiser commented "So great was the number of hungry folk that the 500 tickets that it was expected could have been sufficient, being at a premium within five minutes of the bell ringing, were re-collected and retailed, time after time, for a good two hours. The day's amusements were normally ended at half-past six o'clock by the distribution of the prizes by the Revd Thomas Hall, but the tea tent was filled for some time afterwards".

  John Goodson was summonsed by Benjamin Warmsley for removing goods from his house to avoid distraint for rent (commonly called doing a moonlight flit). Mr Wainwright prosecuted and he explained the case was brought to let people in the neighbourhood know the law in reference to the matter, as the population being migratory his client had at different times suffered much from their habits.

DECEMBER  Purston National School was examined on behalf of the Government by the Revd F Watkins to see if it was an efficient elementary school. The attendance never exceeded 56 and was often less than 40, but every child that could lawfully be examined passed in every subject, except for one failure in arithmetic. Children under six were only examined in a general way to ascertain a sound system of instruction prevailed in the infant department. Some signs of backwardness were found in some of the younger ones.