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Posts Tagged ‘Joseph Hall’

Cocker Hill Pubs of the 1800s

Posted in Pubs of the 1800s on Cocker Hill, tagged , , , on May 2, 2010| 4 Comments »

According to Rob Magee’s book – Stalybridge Pubs and their licensees 1750 – 1990 there were at least two pubs on Cocker Hill back in the 1800’s. Sadly they are long gone now. How my husband wishes they were still here; he has to walk all the way to the Stalybridge Buffet Bar instead. 

The Pack Horse Inn / The Chapel Inn – 21 Cocker Hill 

From the address I understand The Pack Horse Inn was lower down Cocker Hill than St Georges Church and on the opposite side of the road. (NB as Rock House is currently number 23, the Inn could have been where Blandford Court is now, however it appears re-numbering buildings was fairly common in the 1800s so I can’t be sure.) 

The name presumably comes from the fact that Cocker Hill used to be the main pack horse route over to Yorkshire. 

The road at the side of the inn was once called Hall Street, probably after Joseph Hall who was the innkeeper from 1808 – 1828. Joseph Hall was the son of Joseph Hall who bought Rock Cottage in Nov 1750. The Hall family owned Rock Cottage until 1811. 

1808 – 1828 Joseph Hall 

1828 – 1833 Philip Buckley 

1833 – 1842 James Heap 

James Heap renamed the pub the Chapel Inn when he became licensee; possibly as a result of the bad reputation it had as a meeting place for the body snatchers . 

The Inn was converted into one, or possibly 2 houses in 1842. 

Star Inn – 1 Cocker Hill 1831-1930 

The Star in public house opened around 1831, shortly after Stamford Street had been constructed, and the address was originally given as Stamford Street. 

It changed to Cocker Hill in 1836. The pub closed in 1930. 

1831 – 1832 Joseph Heywood 

1833 – 1836 John Norton 

1836 – 1848 Ralph Lawton 

1850 – 1861 Aaron Swallow 

1868 – 1871 Joseph Ball 

1872 – 1873 Colin Ridge 

1873 – 1874 Thomas Ambler 

1881 – 1882 David Cordingley 

1887 – 1896 Thomas Eastwood 

1898 – 1906 John Hobson 

1907 – 1908 Samuel Marston 

1909 – 1912 Charles W Sharples 

1912 – 1922 William Hallas 

1922 – 1924 Percy Waterhouse 

1925 – 1926 Fred Mills 

1927 – 1928 George E Powell 

1928 – 1930 James Burke

Images below are of the Star Inn. I’ve not found any of the Pack Horse so far. 

 

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Rock Cottage, 25 Cocker Hill; owners 1750 – 1980

Posted in Rock Cottage, Weavers' Cottages, tagged , , , , , , , on May 1, 2010| 13 Comments »

Rock Cottage was built prior to 1750 and as such is one of the earliest homes in Stalybridge. Detailed below is a list of the owners from 1750 to 2000.

Pre 1750

Most of the Land in this area was originally owned by the Earl of Stamford however in this case the land appears to have been owned by the Dukinfields.

1750 – Samuel Dukinfield

The earliest reference I can find for the house was 1750 when Samuel Dukinfield sold Rock Cottage and Rock House (then described as “…. a messe & tenement & several closes of land) to Joseph Hall of Cocker Hill in the parish of Ashton Under Lyne. The land was described as part of the Cocker Hill Estate.

1750 – 1764 Joseph Hall

Joseph Hall bought the property in November 1750. He was described as a Clothier. He died in 1764.

In his will Joseph Hall left the cottage to his sons. George Hall Clothier, Joseph Hall Publican and Neddy Shelmerdine Clothier. Why one of Joseph Hall’s son was a Shelmerdine rather than a Hall I don’t know (yet).

1764 – 1804 George Hall, Clothier, Joseph Hall, Publican and Neddy Shelmerdine, Clothier

From the book Stalybridge Pubs 1750-1990 Rob Magee I know that Joseph Hall (publican) was the innkeeper of the Pack Horse Inn, Cocker Hill from 1808 – 1828

Joseph Hall gets a further mention in this blog as it appears could have been a victim of the infamous Body snatchers. I’ve never seen a ghost; I’m not sure if I believe in them anyway; but if I did want to frighten anyone at Halloween I could dim the lights and talk of the body snatchers taking Joseph Hall off to the surgeons in Manchester………

In Bygone Stalybridge by Samuel Hill there is a reference to a Joseph Hall; born 1787 died 1864.  Could he have been a relation to the other Joseph Halls? It describes this Joseph Hall as being connected with the Staly Hunt and describes his burial in the Cocker Hill church yard “attended by upwards of a hundred devout followers of the chase, many of them dressed in their well-worn livery, and attended by their faithful hounds”.  Apparently the sight provided material for a Lancashire sketch entitled “The Huntsman’s Funeral” by Ben Brierey.  Joseph Hall’s gravestone is still in the Churchyard.

Joseph Hall, Huntsman

  1804 – John Hall?

This is where things get confusing…….from an Abstract of title of Thomas Walker 1873 it appears that the property was sold at auction to John Hall for £359. It then looks like John Hall planned to transfer the sale onward to Samuel Gartside (Publican) for £20, however although the £20 was paid it appears that sale did not go through and the property reverted back to previous owners.

Indenture of lease and release dated 15th/16th February 1811 confirms that the sale to Samuel Gartside did not go through & states that the property reverted back to the trustees. (George Hall, Joseph Hall, & Neddy Shelmerdine).

Next it states that James Hall (cotton manufacturer) was a part owner too and that “he produced documents to show that he was the owner of the largest and most profitable lot”.

The indenture then states that the three properties were to be sold to Rev John Cape Atty – Clerk in holy orders for £355.10/.

Rev Cape Atty also paid Samuel Gartside (publican) & Edward Gartside (cotton manufacturer) 5/- a piece to confirm that they had no claim on the land or 3 houses.

1811 – 1822 Rev. John Cape-Atty

Rev Cape Atty was curate of Old St Georges From April 1807 to his death in 1822.

Rev Cape Atty talks of the house in the “Articles of Enquiry” (a questionnaire, completed by Atty, for the Bishop of Chester). In the questionnaire he states “I reside in a house close to the Chapel, which House I bought at some inconvenience, by the Desire of my Congregation, …………………….It is a substantial Stone Building, with a stable and Cow-house on the premises. Also a garden.”  I think that the stable and cow house he refers to is actually Rock Cottage’s kitchen.  The reference to “some inconvenience” over the purchase probably relates to the uncertainty regarding the previous ownership.

Rev. Atty’s will dated 2/3/1818 left Rock Cottage to his sister Sarah, wife of John walker, in trust for her sole use and further trust that it should pass through her will to her kids and grandkids.

John Walker (coal merchant) (Sarah’s son & his nephew) and Ralph Hall (cotton spinner) (Sarah’s son in law) were appointed executors.

Rev John Cape Atty dies and is buried in the Cocker Hill graveyard 20 May 1822.

1822 – 1835 Sarah Walker

Sarah had 3 kids John Walker, Thomas Walker and Elizabeth Hall (wife of Ralph Hall.) Sarah Walker died and was buried on Cocker Hill 22 October 1835. It looks as though she did not make a will leaving the Cocker Hill Houses to her kids – it is not clear what happened next.

I think it was shared between her three children: John Walker (coal merchant), Thomas Walker (coal merchant) and Elizabeth Hall.

1835 – 1853 John Walker (coal merchant), Thomas Walker (coal merchant) and Elizabeth Hall.

Then it looks as though Ralph & Elizabeth Hall sold their share to Edward Appleton. The new owners were presumably John Walker, Thomas Walker and Edward Appleton

John Walker died 9/8/1853 & his will dated 6 May 1951 left an annuity of £500 to Barbara Walker his wife and left his share of the Houses to his brother Thomas Walker (Sarah’s other son possibly) along with other property.

Barbara Walker died 4/5/1872 without children.(buried in Maryport)

1853 – 1873 Thomas Walker – from Maryport in the County of Cumberland

Thomas Walker, Sold both properties at Auction in 1881, by Messrs Henry Heap & Son at Commercial Inn, Stalybridge

1873 – 1881 Thomas Alexander Skirvin Saxon – Manager of A Cotton Mill

Thomas Alexander Skirvin  Saxon bought the cottage at Auction on 19/11/1873 at The Commercial Inn. He  paid for & took ownership on 31 December 1873.

Thomas was married to Harriet Ann Saxon

Thomas is apparently pictured 3rd from the left on the picture below; doesn’t he look smart in his top hat!

Chapel Street Sunday School, built in 1815. From left to right; Allen Wilde, Robert Platt Whitworth, Thomas A. S. Saxon and James Moore (From: ‘United Methodist Centenary Souvenir’, 1915

Thomas Alexander Skirvin Saxon died 24/1/1881

1881 – 1888 Harriet Ann Saxon

Harriet Ann Saxon died 1 February 1888 and left the property to Robert Whitworth Saxon.

1888 – 1929 Robert Whitworth Saxon (Mechanic) & (Mrs) Mary Saxon

Robert Whitworth Saxon died 2 September 1929.

His will was dated 17/March 1914. He appointed his wife Mary as Executor.

1929 – 1936 Mary Saxon

Mary Saxon died 27/02/1936 and left the property to her daughter Harriet Shaw

1936 – 1960 (Mrs) Harriet Shaw

Harriet Shaw died 14/08/1960.

1960 – 1961 Executors of the Estate of Harriet Shaw

1961 – 1982 Noel Backhouse

(Green Grocer) & (Mrs) Elizabeth Backhouse

Noel Backhouse died 14/01/1982

1982 – 1989 (Mrs) Elizabeth Backhouse

Elizabeth Backhouse Sold the property in 1989 and moved into Blandford Court just behind Rock Cottage.

Rock Cottage, July 2009

 

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Body Snatchers on Cocker Hill

Posted in Body snatchers on Cocker Hill, St Georges Churchyard, tagged , , , , , , , on April 28, 2010| 3 Comments »

200 years ago there were no accurate models of human bodies for Doctors to train on. People didn’t leave their bodies to “medical science” so it was difficult to train Doctors and Surgeons. The only bodies Doctors were allowed to dissect for training were the cadavers of those who had received the death penalty for a crime. With an increase in medical schools and less harsher sentencing the Doctors did not have enough cadavers to allow them to train properly so they turned to body snatchers to supply bodies fresh enough to be examined.

Body snatching became so common in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s that it was not unusual for relatives and friends of someone who had just died to watch over the body until burial, and then to keep watch over the grave after burial, to stop it being stolen.

During 1827 and 1828, some body snatchers changed their tactics from grave-robbing to murder, as they were paid more for very fresh corpses. Their activities resulted in the passage of the Anatomy Act 1832. This allowed unclaimed bodies and those donated by the deceased’s family to be used for study which essentially ended the body snatching trade.

Stalybridge was not without its own band of Body Snatchers. Captain Sellars and his band of resurrectionists met in the Pack Horse Inn on Cocker Hill to plan and plot and the graveyard itself was pilfered many times.

The following is taken from the book “Reminiscences of a Chief Constable” by William Chadwick. William Chadwick was made Chief Constable of Stalybridge in 1862 and remained there until he retired in 1899.

“It was on a certain night, over sixty years ago, three men assembled in the bar parlour of the “Pack Horse ” Stalyley, smoking out of long clay pipes and drinking glasses of spirits. The evening was so far advanced that the spindle had ceased to whirl and the shuttle to rattle, and all was quiet save the heavy steps of the watchman proclaiming the hour in the lower portion of the village, varied by the screeching noise of an owl in the wood on the opposite side of the River. The men were deeply engaged in conversation carried on in an undertone, and there was such an air of mysteriousness about their conduct that the host was anxious for the room……..”

How good a start is that to a story? Love it.

After the described meeting in the pub the three  proceeded to Mottram Churchyard where they stole a body and placed it in a sack in a hamper and took it to a stable in Stalybridge. Later the following day a carrier’s cart received the hamper and took it on to Manchester. A well organised trade involving most of the graveyards in the area.

Another mention of Cocker Hill in William Chadwick’s account concerns a John Chadwick (no relation). John apparently had a strange way of walking and a slight speech impediment causing him to say “Bup a den”. Upon his death he was buried in the Cockerhill Churchyard. The doctors were specially anxious for his body as they thought it was likely to possess some peculiar features. A good sum was offered and the body snatchers went to work in earnest. The men were just lifting the body out of the coffin to put  it in a hamper, when the wind, whistling among the tombstones seemed to say “Bup a den”. At this one of the robbers took to his heels, and in his fright jumped over the graveyard wall, rolled down the hill to the river.

This and other cases caused a further search of the graveyard and it was discovered that the bodies were missing of old Joseph Platt, carrier, Rassbottom Street; old Joseph Hall, clothier, Cocker Hill. Joseph Hall has special significance to me as he could have been one of  Joseph Halls who owned Rock Cottage on Cocker Hill many years ago.

The Churchwardens at Cocker Hill prohibited the opening of any more graves to check the occupants; however when the graveyard was remodeled in 1972 it was noted that a number of the graves were empty.

The photo below shows one of the gravestones still in the Cocker Hill Graveyard with the Caption “This grave not to be re opened”. Whether that stone was first moved by Captain Sellars and his gang or when the graveyard was remodeled I wouldn’t like to say!

Cocker Hill Churchyard; Gravestones now used as a path into the town.

 

You can find a full list of the burial records for Old St Georges Churchyard together with the gravestone inscriptions on the website for New St Georges Church Stalybridge. Burial records Old St Georges.

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