The Papers of A W Boyd

I have only been working (as an Archives Assistant) at Cheshire Archives for two months but in that brief time, I have seen (and carried!) a lot of Electoral Registers, municipal minute books, great civic treasures, parish records, tithe maps – the list goes on and on. However, what I want to focus on here is the breadth of material from personal collections also held in the Archive. In another life, as a book collector and natural historian I am a fan of the Collins New Naturalist collection of books. I was therefore thrilled to find that the personal collection of Arnold Whitworth (A.W.) Boyd was housed here (Ref D 5154). Boyd wrote “A Country Parish” in 1951, one of the most personal and idiosyncratic of the early titles which is an in depth study of his local parish of Great Budworth in Cheshire.

Upon consulting the catalogue a wealth of material presents itself. As this states, “Boyd was a naturalist and antiquarian with interests in local history, folklore, dialect and conservation.” This is very well illustrated within the papers and ephemera at the Record Office. Much of the collection relates to his wife’s extended family (the Conybeare and Markland lines). Outside of that, in itself fascinating, material, it’s like stepping into the mind (and desk) of a man with hugely varied interests. Don’t believe me? Then how about an “Autographed drawing by Edward Lear. Inscribed ‘He called and had no card in his pocket’.” (D 5154/8). Look again and there is a “Lady’s Riding Glove. Contains calling card of Miss Irene Conybeare claiming a date of 1680 for glove, which contains tag marked ‘Markland’.” (D 5154/30).

Elsewhere the collection includes early photographs of the Halton Soulcakers (D 5154/124) along with “Letters and notes relating to folklore, folk music and dialect” (D 5154/103), a personal scrapbook containing newspaper cuttings relating to cricket from when A.W. Boyd was 12 in 1897 (D 5154/95), and last but by no means least some “Photographic prints and negatives relating to ventilation features in farm buildings and the feeding of calves” from the 1930s (D 5154/125).
If your appetite isn’t sated after looking at this little lot, and you want to investigate A.W. Boyd himself a little deeper, the Archive also holds copies of his published works, along with several articles (many in Cheshire Life, bound copies of which are held on the open shelves in the searchroom) about the man himself and the observatory erected as a memorial to him at Rostherne Mere, and a “postcard from A.W. Boyd, Northwich to Dr H Terry, Bunbury concerning the different spellings of ‘Eddisbury’ and ‘Bunbury’ “(D 3277/11) .

One thing leads on to another, and then another, and then something else entirely. And that’s the point. As well as everything else we hold, we are full of treats and treasures like, but not really like at all, this fascinating and very personal collection. The problem is just where to begin.

The full catalogue of the collection can be viewed on our online catalogue
 

Diary of a somebody - Frank Simpson's war diary part 7

Frank Simpson (1863-1942) was a prominent figure within his native city of Chester. During the First World War he was Quartermaster of the Chester Volunteers formed for home defence in 1914. One of our volunteers has begun to serialise his diaries. Our seventh installment looks at the fall out from the recruitment incident we learnt about in part 6. 

September, Saturday 5, 1914

I met, during the day, inspector Wymme, and he informed me that he had made a report to the Chief-Constable (of what took place last night) and that the chief had informed the Major, who had communicated with General McKinnon, and had also forwarded a copy to Lord Kitchener. During the day arrangements had been made so that the recruits that night would have the use of the Northgate skating rink, which they did. This skating rink, not being used, should have been requisitioned earlier; this would have saved much unpleasantness. 

The City magistrates having passed an order that all public houses and hotels close at 9pm and not open before 9am. It was enforced for the first time this Saturday evening. The various clubs are included in this order as far as intoxicating drunks are concerned. Colonel Neville, now in charge at the castle, has issued an order that any publican supplying drink to a soldier in uniform before 12 noon, or after 9pm the house will be put out of bounds.

September, Monday  7, 1914

Today Monday 1300 men headed by two bands came by rail to Chester and marched through the streets to the castle where they all enlisted in Kitchener’s army. The men came from Port Sunlight, Wallasey, and Ellesmere Port. Sir William Lever, and Mr Gershom Stewart, M.P. for Wirral, led the contingent. General Mackinnon addressed the men upon their arrival in the castle square.

(Side note – “These men eventually became the 13th Battalion”).

The beautiful game

With the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup upon us, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a look at our county’s relationship with football over the years. How long have people being playing football in the area? Was there always such enthusiasm for the sport as we see in more recent times? Our research has revealed that Chester especially has a longstanding connection to the game, but we do see other references being made to it across the county over the years.

Football in Cheshire, and indeed the whole of the UK, is clearly very popular and a sport enjoyed and engaged in by many. In Chester today, the sport is thriving and even though the name of the club may have changed over the years, ‘The Blues’ or ‘Chester FC’ continue to draw in the crowds on match days. Interest and involvement in the sport is not a modern occurrence, although as we shall see, the purpose for playing the game may have altered somewhat over time.

The earliest mention of football being played in the city is in 1540, with sure suggestions that it was being played much earlier than this as part of the Shrovetide celebrations. The Chester shoemakers guild are recorded as delivering to the drapers guild ‘one bale of Lether caulyd a fout baule’ at the cross of the Roodee. A game of ‘football’ was then played between the Roodee and the Commonhall in the city. The mayor Henry Gee is recorded as suggesting more appropriate forms of recreation to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, such as foot races and shooting in long bows. Why would football need to be replaced you might ask? Did the mayor have a personal preference towards these alternative forms of recreation? Or had the game taken on a level of disruption or violence which made it an unsatisfactory way to celebrate Shrovetide in the city? We cannot answer this here with any certainty, but we can get more of a feel of how football was played by looking at later documents.

 

                                               

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, ZAB 1

It is later in 1608 that we start to find football mentioned in other contexts and it’s fair to say the circumstances in which it is mentioned are not always good! For example, we see a particular problem in Dodleston where two cases are being read before the consistory courts of football being played in the churchyard. Perhaps the activity of playing football itself was not the root of the problem, but rather the ‘brawling and chiding in an unchristianlike manner’ of the people playing it! Clearly, the church disagreed with such activities, especially within the church grounds!

 

   

 Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, EDC 5/1608/69 and 70

 

We encounter another displeasing situation, this time in Crosthwaite churchyard in 1640 and again heard before the consistory courts. This time, the vicar of the church, Richard Routh, is being accused of ‘...drawing blood, pulling...hair, sitting drinking all night and playing at football abusing the players and laying violent hands on them’! Violence and improper behaviour seem to be a recurring theme so far when football is mentioned, but we can’t help but feel as though the game is getting a bad press. The evidence is not clear that violence and poor behaviour are a result of playing the game, but rather that these behaviours are occurring at the same time as it is being played. Certainly in this case, there is only one person being abusive and violent, not all of those taking part!

 

 

 

 Cheshire Archives and Local Studies EDC 5/1640/71

In 1617, we find an examination in the Quarter Sessions files of a Richard Rodes who is witness to a game of football being played in Tattenhall. Here, he saw a ‘...John Calley breake Tho. Bruse his head...’. The text then goes on to state ‘...but what the occation of there quarrell was he knoweth not...’. Hoorah! Football is redeemed! We can rest assured that in this instance, playing the game wasn’t necessarily the cause of such poor behaviour and resulting injuries.

  

 

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, QJF 46/2/43

  

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, QJF 46/2/45

 

This feeling of redemption is shortlived however, since in around 1671 we get a detailed account of the rules of the game of football played to honour the Shrovetide celebrations and behaviours displayed during it. This is a retrospective account originally captured in approximately 1595. The account unfortunately gives another negative slant on the playing of football when it describes how ‘...some haueinge theire bodies brused & crushed, some theire, armes, heades and legges broken and some otherwise mayemed or in perrill of theire liffe’. And there we were thinking that the evidence that football was a violent activity was circumstantial!

  

 

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, DCC 19

 

Further references for the playing of football in Cheshire continue up until the modern day. Indeed, we hold collections with references to various football clubs and associations and numerous articles written on the subject. Although direct references to the game provide us with a somewhat negative outlook, it is difficult to see that this was the only context in which it was played. Did the game itself promote violent behaviour? Or was it subject to violent behaviour because of the context in which it was played? Everyone will draw their own conclusions. What is clear however is that Cheshire, and specifically the city of Chester, has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the game and no doubt will continue to do so for many years to come.

Diary of a somebody - Frank Simpson's war diary part 6

Frank Simpson (1863-1942) was a prominent figure within his native city of Chester. During the First World War he was Quartermaster of the Chester Volunteers formed for home defence in 1914. One of our volunteers has begun to serialise his diaries. Our sixth installment looks at the huge number of men that turned out to sign up.

September, Friday 4, 1914

About 10:30 this evening, Grosvenor Street was crowded with recruits waiting for the clock to strike eleven when they fall in on the castle square so that they may be billeted at the various public houses in the city. From 11pm until 12:30am, Saturday morning, the crowd of recruits numbering about twelve hundred stood on the square singing various patriotic songs, during this time various detachments were sent to their respective billets. Upwards of 1000 were marched out to the various billets; the acting Sergeant Major then told the others they sleep on the square, this caused friction, some, as the castle gates were closed, climbed over the railing and jumped into the castle ditch on the south-west side of the castle, known to old Cestrians as “Peter Hughes’s field”. Others tried to argue with the Sergeant Major and his subordinates, without effect: they then sprang forward pushed aside the military men at the gates – opened them, and came out. About 1am, an officer came forward (I believe it was Captain Hussey) he spoke to the men and asked if they had come for feather beds or to fight for the King. One man replied “we have come to fight for the King, not to remain here; I left a good home, and a good place, I have left my wife and five children to fight for the King, I slept on this square last night; I have been here two days and had nothing”. A voice cried out “let’s mob them”. Then inspector Wymme of the police force stepped forward and said “who said that”, no one replied, I spoke to several, the man who said it was evidently ashamed, as the whole lot of them stood still, and there was no disorder – many saying come on lets go in, and a lot did so. It was unfortunate that this should happen, but as a matter of fact, everybody was tired out. The staff was not large enough to cope with the work, no-one dreamed that the recruits would come in such great numbers.

‘The giddy young Damsel’

Next we move on to another unusual marriage. A reader was working their way through microfilms of the Chester Courant newspapers and stumbled across an article which caught their attention. They rushed to inform us of what they had found and again, we were unable to resist looking into the story behind it.

The article was a transcription and entitled ‘161 Years Ago’. As we do not have copies of the Courant dating back to 1753, we relied on the article from 1914 to inform us for the next part of research. It detailed how a marriage took place between a ‘Mr Robert Allen, an eminent Pawnbroker, aged 75, to Miss Catherine Powell, of about 17...’ at Chester St Bridget’s parish church. It goes on to compliment Catherine on her stellar qualities and remarks that it is these qualities ‘...which will render the Marriage state very happy...’.

 

                                               

This information then allowed us to find Robert and Catherine’s marriage using the Cheshire Collection on Find My Past. The couple were married at Chester St Bridget’s parish church on 28th August 1753. The entry in the marriage register gives nothing away as to the age of the couple, so without our prior knowledge from the newspaper article, the marriage wouldn’t have appeared unusual at all!

 

                                              

Although the marriage entry did not state that the couple were married by licence, it seemed like it was worth looking into because of the age difference. By simply entering Roberts name and marriage year into the section for Cheshire marriage bonds and allegations on the Cheshire Collection, we were able to see straight away that Robert and Catherine were indeed married by licence. This was issued on 22nd August 1753, 6 days before they were to be married. The sum to be paid if the marriage did not meet the requirements set by law was £100 which is a substantial £8,500 in today’s money!

 

                                                

The marriage bond itself has its own quirks and adds to the exceptional nature of this marriage. First of all, Robert is listed as a Surgeon, whereas the newspaper article states he is ‘an eminent Pawnbroker’. Quite different professions we are sure you will agree!

 
Secondly, the licence states that Robert is aged ‘fifty years and upwards’. Exact ages were not always given on marriage bonds, or in marriage registers for that matter. However, the more common phrases tend to be ’over 21 years of age’ or ’21 years and over’ owing to the fact that minors engaging in marriage without proper consent was an issue. Still, even the figure of ‘fifty years and upwards’ does seem to be stretching the description of Roberts age somewhat! Furthermore, Catherine is described as being ‘…of about 17…’ in the newspaper article we have already seen but as ‘the age of twenty’ on the marriage licence. Neither the marriage register nor the bishops’ transcript give an exact age for Catherine, so we can only assume that she is aged between 17 and 20 when she marries. Even so, three years difference does seem more accurate than the twenty five given for Robert!

 

                                        

It is quite clear from all documentation, especially the marriage bond, that Robert was of the parish of St John in the city, rather than St Bridget’s, which was his bride’s parish, and where they had their marriage ceremony. It seemed likely that Robert was going to succumb not long after his marriage due to his advancing years. A quick search on the parish burials section of the ‘Cheshire Collection’ revealed that sure enough, Robert was buried in St John’s churchyard on 14th July 1755. It doesn’t include his age, but, considering the century this happens in, and the pattern already in use in the burial register, this is not unusual.

 

                                       

We then went on to run a search on the section dedicated to wills and probate records on the Cheshire Collection. We were able to find a will for Robert written 7th July 1755, seven days before he was buried. In the will, Robert is described as being ‘Sick and Weak in Body but of sound mind…’. It then goes on to detail how he is distributing his estate. He leaves his wife Catherine £5, which is just over £400 in today money. This is a fair amount you may think? It is not until you carry on reading the full text that this amount comes into question. Robert leaves £20 to his grandson, £10 to his daughter and all of the remaining estate to his son, also named Robert. So perhaps Katherine did get a raw deal?

 

                                               

Our knowledge of Catherine stops at this point, but many questions are still to be asked. Did she bear any children? Did she re marry after Roberts death? How long did she live for and where was she buried? These questions will remain unanswered for now, but the temptation to look for her is there…

BEHOLD! A peculiar marriage!!

The parish registers in our collections are amongst some of the most heavily used records here and have been made even more accessible through the introduction of the ‘Cheshire Collection’ on Find My Past . This accessibility has brought with it increased exposure to the records and the wealth of information within them. One marriage in particular sparked some interest and we could not resist looking into it further.

The marriage was stumbled across by a researcher in the marriage register for Mottram in Longdendale St Michael. It jumped out from the page thanks to its enticing title. It read ‘Behold! N:B: A peculiar Marriage!’ So what makes this marriage so peculiar? Perhaps it was because the marriage took place between a couple with a considerable age gap; one was aged 23 and the other 83! Some 60 years difference. What is all the more remarkable is that the groom, Daniel Broadbent, is the younger of the two. His spouse is named Martha Cheetham, aged 83 and they were married by licence on 9th March 1780 at the parish church in Mottram in Longdendale.

                                               

The couple had their marriage licence issued on the same day and the resulting bond survives in our collections. The fact that a licence was issued for the marriage to take place, as opposed to reading of banns in the church three Sundays before the wedding, is not unusual considering the age difference between the two. It details how a sum of £200, a staggering £15,000 in today’s money, was to be forfeit if the marriage was deemed unlawful.

 

 

                          

The surprises carried on coming when we discovered that one half of the couple died the following year. ‘What’s so surprising?’ you might ask. Martha was 83 when she married and 83 is a grand old age, especially in 1780. But think again. It is not Martha who passes away, but Daniel! His burial is entered into the Mottram in Longdendale burial register on 30th May 1781.

 

 

We think you will agree that this is indeed an unusual marriage to have come across. The search for more continues...

Diary of a somebody - Frank Simpson's war diary part 5

Frank Simpson (1863-1942) was a prominent figure within his native city of Chester. During the First World War he was Quartermaster of the Chester Volunteers formed for home defence in 1914. One of our volunteers has begun to serialise his diaries. Our fifth installment looks at the logistics of recruitment in the city.

September, Wednesday 2, 1914

About 2,600 recruits are now at the Castle waiting orders to proceed to Salisbury Plains for training.

September, Thursday 3, 1914


A unique sight presented itself to view in Grosvenor Street last night, where, between 10pm and 11pm hundreds of recruits were lying on the parapet on either side of the street, in some places they were three deep. On the stroke of eleven the castle gates were opened and the men made their way into the castle-yard where they fell in two deep, about 2,000 were lined up in this way 1,000 of which had to be billeted out at the various public houses in the city. They were formed in various detachments and sent on to the allotted billets. Some of the larger Public houses having to put up as many as 60 or 70. The latter number was billeted at the Albion. The bear and Billet; and the White Bear each took in 60. Beds are out of the question. The men sleep on the floor or in the stables. This work of billeting continues night after night commencing at 11pm and continues until about 1am. Today, Thursday 1,150 were drafted off to Birkenhead (150) and the other to Tidworth, Salisbury Plain. The acting Sergeant Major informed me this midnight that they had 2,400 recruits on the Roodee this morning. Although so many had been sent away during the day, the sleeping accommodation at the castle is fully occupied and 900 had to be billeted out. Whilst looking on at the castle, as I did from 10:45pm to 12:40, it was specially noticeable how tactful the soldiers were with the large and mixed assembly of recruits, how when getting them onto the castle yard they called out “now lads come along those who want beds”, one soldier held out a little further inducement by calling out, “now my lads those who want to sleep on a feather bed and have ham and eggs for breakfast in the morning come this way. First come first served and so receive the best billets”, but a voice from the crowd cried out “feather beds and ham and eggs – I don’t think”. It is quite evident that the recruiting staff are quite unable to deal with the large number of men enlisting, but for all that everyone appears to take it in good part and as they march out of the yard on to their billets they sing away as if it was all part of the game. The most popular song being, “It’s a long way to Tipperary”. Another mixed ditty is, “Are we down hearted no no no” this they sing to the tune of a well known hymn – “Sum of my soul”.