1883
2nd. January
Tuesday
22nd. January
Monday
The Manchester Ship Canal Bill was declared, on January 22, by the examiner of
Private Bills in the House of Commons, to have failed to comply with the
standing orders of Parliament.(7)
27th. January
Saturday
The Right Rev. Richard Roskell, Catholic prelate, died at Whitewell,
January 27. He was born August 15, 1817, and appointed successively to St.
Augustine's and St. Patrick's, Manchester; and to the Cathedral, Salford; first
provost and vicar general of the diocese of Salford ; he was consecrated Bishop
of Nottingham, September 21, 1853; translated to Abdera, July 5, 1875.(7)
1st. February
Thursday
The last services in the Oldham Street Wesleyan Chapel, previous to its
demolition, were held February 1. The chapel was erected in the life-time of
Rev. John Wesley.(7)
16th. February
Friday
Mr. Charles Leigh Clare, J.P., died at his residence, Higher Broughton,
February 16, in the fifty-third year of his age. He was largely engaged as a
merchant in the African trade, and for some years a director of the Chamber of
Commerce. In philanthropic and social reform movements he was a devoted worker.
He was honorary secretary of the Prisons Conference, which consists of the
visiting justices of county prisons.(7)
2nd. March Friday
The Ship Canal Bill allowed to proceed by the Standing Orders Committee of the
House of Commons. March 2.(7)
15th. March
Thursday
Mr. James Gascoigne Lynde died March 15, aged 67 years. He was a native
of the South of England, but in 1857 came to Manchester as City Surveyor, which
position he retained until his resignation in March, 1879. Among the more
notable undertakings carried out under his supervision were the widening of
Deansgate, the improvement of the river Medlock, and the construction of the
Corporation Gasworks at Bradford Road. He prepared the plans for laying out
Alexandra Park, and those for the Southern Cemetery. The Queen's Road Viaduct,
the Smedley Road Bridge crossing the river Irk, the Waterloo Bridge which
crosses the Irwell in Strangeways, the Irwell Street Bridge in connection with
the Quay Street improvement, and the Prince's Bridge which provides
communication between Manchester and Salford by way of Hampson Street, Oldfleld
Road, were all constructed from his designs. Mr. Lynde was one of the oldest
members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, having completed his fiftieth
year of membership; he was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a
member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.(7)
20th. March
Tuesday
A supplementary Royal Charter was granted, which authorised the Victoria
University to confer medical degrees. March 20.(7)
28th. March
Wednesday
General Lord Wolseley visited Manchester on March 28 and 29 for the
purpose of being present at the founding of the Wolseley Masonic Lodge. He was
also entertained at a banquet in the Manchester Town Hall.(7)
1st. April Sunday
The Very Rev. Canon James Wilding died April 1. He was born at Yealand,
November, 1820; ordained and appointed to the Salford Cathedral, December 19,
1846; Granby Row, November, 1854; Missionary Rector and Dean, November, 1859.(7)
14th. April
Saturday
The High Sheriff, Mr. Thomas Ashton, publicly escorted from his residence
at Didsbury to meet the Judges of Assize on their arrival in the city. April 14.(7)
20th. April Friday
Alderman Thomas Baker received the honour of knighthood at Osborne, April
20.(7)
27th. April Friday
Mr. John Townsend, formerly Councillor for St. Clement's Ward, 1862-77,
died at Blackpool, April 27, aged 58.(7)
6th. May Sunday
Mr. E. Crompton Potter, Manchester merchant, died at Brighton on May 6.
He was the son of Mr. Edmund Potter, calico printer, of Manchester, and
Dinting Vale Works, and was born at Manchester, July 22, 1830. He was educated
at the Chorlton High School, Dover Street, and at the Manchester New College,
Grosvenor Square, and at the age of twenty-one became a partner in the firm of
E. Potter and Co. For some years previous to his death the main responsibilities
of the business rested upon Mr. E. C. Potter. The Unitarian Chapel at Dinting
was built and endowed by the firm, and Mr. Potter was a liberal donor to the
Unitarian chapels at Gee Cross, Platt, and in Brook Street, Chorlton. He was a
very competent connoisseur and art collector, having one of the finest
collections of cloissoné ware in the kingdom. Among the pictures at his
residence, Rusholme Hall, was the "Welsh Funeral" of David Cox. Believing
in the educational power of art exhibitions, he was always ready to assist in
such objects both with money and loans of pictures.(7)
8th. May Tuesday
Mr. Robert Holt, bookseller, of Shudehill, died at his residence, 1,
Kirkmans, Prestwich, on May 8, aged 53. He left bequests to the Chetham Library
and to the Owens College.(7)
15th. May Tuesday
No. 1 of the Textile Recorder issued May 15.(7)
28th. May Monday
A meeting of ratepayers of the parish of Manchester was held to authorise the
application for a faculty to make alterations and restorations at the Cathedral.
May 28.(7)
9th. June Saturday
The premises of Messrs. Baerlein and Co., Blackfriars Street, were struck by
lightning and set on fire on June 9. The damage was estimated at about £20,000.(7)
13th. June
Wednesday
Mr. F. W. Pullen died at his residence in Urmston, June 13. He was born
in 1828, and a considerable portion of his life was spent in Manchester and
Liverpool, in the service of the firm of Messrs. W. and S. Caine and Co. Mr.
Pullen was an admirer of the writings of Mr. John Ruskin, and in the hope
of helping forward his work, Mr. Pullen in 1879 became associated with a number
of other friends in the formation of the Ruskin Society. The Manchester centre
was followed by similar groups at Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham, and elsewhere.
Mr. Pullen was the honorary secretary, and afterwards chairman of the committee
of this organisation. He had previously been a correspondent of Mr. Ruskin, and
some of his letters appear in "Fors Clavigera." A few members of the society,
including Mr. Pullen, met Mr. Ruskin at the St. George's Museum, Sheffield. The
society desired to have a motto, and Mr. Pullen sought Mr. Ruskin's help. In
reply he wrote: "It is curious that with your note came another (which won't be
answered), asking for an autograph and for my motto-also curious that I've just
marked in Plato a motto which I am thinking of taking for all my books in future
editions-?????????-Always gratefully yours, J. Ruskin." Mr. Pullen was
interested in the fate of St. Mark's, at Venice, and when alarm was excited at
the proposed alterations organised the meeting held in the Manchester Town Hall,
26th November, 1879. Mr. Pullen's life as a public man was exclusively confined
to action for the spreading of the influence of Mr. Ruskin's ideas, and that
chiefly, if not entirely, in their social relations. To this task he brought
transparent candour and honesty, unbounded enthusiasm, and no mean power of
exposition.(7)
14th. June
Thursday
The Osborne Street Corporation Baths were opened by the Mayor, June 14.(7)
22nd. June Friday
Mr. Joseph Simpson, formerly alderman of Manchester, died at Stanford
Rivers, June 22.(7)
23rd. June
Saturday
The British calico printers' second garden party was held at the Botanical
Gardens, June 23.(7)
5th. July Thursday
Mr. Peter Spence, J.P., F.C.S., died at Erlington House, Old Trafford,
July 5. He was born at Brechin in 1806, and, having received a fair education,
became an active worker in the temperance cause. He turned his attention to
chemistry, and patented a series of processes which revolutionised the alum
manufacture. The Pendleton Alum Works, founded by Mr. Spence, was removed from
that plate in 1857, after a remarkable legal contest at Liverpool Assizes in
that year. They were then continued at Newton Heath. As an employer he was just
and liberal. He was a Congregationalist, and an advanced Liberal in politics,
but declined all invitations to contests for a seat in Parliament. He was the
author of several scientific memoirs.(7)
6th. July Friday
The Salford Sewage Works at Mode Wheel were formally opened July 6.(7)
7th. July Saturday
The Earl of Shaftesbury visited Manchester on July 7, for the purpose of
laying a corner-stone of an addition to the Boys' Refuge in Strangeways. During
his stay an address was presented to his lordship by a large number of
operatives in the Free Trade Hall, as an acknowledgment of his endeavours to
reduce the hours of labour amongst the working people. He remained in Manchester
until the 10th, and was the guest of the Mayor at the Town Hall.(7)
12th. July
Thursday
The Manchester Ship Canal Bill passed the third reading in the House of Commons,
July 12.(7)
14th. July
Saturday
The foundation stone of the new museum at Queen's Park laid by the Mayor, July
14.(7)
1st. August
Wednesday
Mr. John Pooley, formerly alderman of Manchester, died August 1, aged 82.(7)
1st. August
Wednesday
Mr. James Crossley, F.S.A., died at Stocks House, Cheetham Hill Road, on
August 1. He was born at Halifax, March 31, 1800, his father being a merchant of
moderate position. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, at
Skircoat, in Halifax, where he obtained a good knowledge of the classics. At the
age of sixteen he came to Manchester, and was articled to Mr. Thomas
Ainsworth, solicitor, father of Mr. Ainsworth, the novelist. In this
business he afterwards became a partner, and later the principal, when the firm
was known as that of Crossley and Sudlow. Some years before his death he retired
from professional life. But it was chiefly as a man of letters and as a book
collector that he was one of the most remarkable men of the city of his
adoption. Even in his teens he was able to write mature and polished articles
for Blackwood. In the December number of 1820 is an article of his on the
Literary Characters of Bishop Warburton and Dr. Johnson, and later
numbers contained articles from his pen which Dr. Johnson himself might
have been proud of. In 1820 he became a principal contributor to the
Retrospective Review, which was then launched with the aid of some of the
leading writers of the day. Subsequently he gave valuable assistance to Mr.
J. G. Lockhart in the preparation of the Quarterly Review. The great
feature of Mr. Crossley's life was the formation of the Chetham Society. This
society, whose first formal meeting was held in the Chetham College on March 23,
1843, was originally suggested by Mr. Crossley, who, at the death of Dr.
Holme in 1847, became its second president, which office he held until his
death. For this society he edited vol. i. of The Diary and Correspondence of
Dr. John Worthington, Potts's Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster,
etc. Among his intimate friends was his fellow clerk, Mr. W. H. Ainsworth,
who was indebted to him for suggesting the idea of more than one of his novels.
In his younger days he was prominent among the Tory politicians, and was always
ready to aid the cause with a polished and brilliant speech. He was also
president of the Spenser Society, and was more or less identified with all the
educational and literary movements of Manchester from 1830 until his death. In
18?7 he was elected honorary librarian of Chetham's Library. As a book collector
he amassed a collection of some ninety thousand volumes, including the most
complete collection of De Foe's works then in the possession of one
person. His literary knowledge was deep and wide, his memory a storehouse, and
his command of language remarkable.(7)
7th. August
Tuesday
Rev. Robert Moffat, D.D., died at Leigh, Kent, August 7. He was born at
Inverkeithing in 1795, and when employed as a gardener, at High Leigh, decided
to become a missionary. For this purpose he joined the missionary college at
Manchester, under Mr. Roby, and was sent out in 1816. His labours amongst
the Bechuanas form one of the most interesting chapters in the history of
missions.(7)
9th. August
Thursday
The Manchester Ship Canal Bill was rejected by the House of Lords Committee,
August 9.(7)
31st. August
Friday
The Manchester City Art Gallery, hitherto known as the Royal Institution, in
Mosley Street, was opened by Lord Carlingford, on August 31.(7)
1st. September
Saturday
Mr. William Evans, founder of the Manchester Evening News, died at
New Mills, September 1, aged 58 years.(7)
9th. September
Sunday
Mr. Hugh Birley, M.P., died at his residence, Moorlands, Didsbury,
on September 9. He was born at Blackburn, October 21, 1817, and was educated at
Winchester School. Coming to Manchester, he became a partner in the firm of
Messrs. Charles Mackintosh and Co., indiarubber manufacturers, and the
originators of the waterproof garment of the same name. Early in life he began
to manifest an active interest in religious institutions, and his donations
given at various times to found churches in Manchester and neighbourhood
amounted to not less than £100,000. To the erection of St. John the Baptist, St.
Michael's, St. Philip's, St. Stephen's, and St. Mark's, in Hulme; St. Matthew's,
Ardwick; St. Clement's, Longsight; St. Paul's, Chorlton-on-Medlock; Holy
Innocents', Fallowfield; St. Martin's, Manchester; St. John's, Longsight; St.
James the Less, Ancoats; and St. Luke's, Miles Platting, he was either the chief
or a large contributor, while he was also identified with numerous benevolent
institutions. He was a magistrate for the county of Lancaster, and was appointed
a deputy-lieutenant in 1874. From 1868 until his death he was M.P. for
Manchester as a Conservative. In 1857 he published a small volume of poetry
entitled The Outward Bound: an Overland Voyage in 1843 and 1844. He was
buried at Didsbury Church.(7)
15th. September
Saturday
Mr. Henry Ogden, formerly councillor for Exchange Ward (1858-64), died at
Midhurst, September 15, aged 67 years.(7)
16th. September
Sunday
Alderman William Booth, J.P., of Cornbrook, died at Pensarn, North Wales,
September 16. He was born in 1812. He was first elected a member of the City
Council in 1859 to represent St. George's Ward. In 1868 he was elected an
alderman and assigned to St. George's, and afterwards to Medlock Ward. In 1871
be was elected mayor, and again in 1872. His connection with the Sunday schools
of St. Peter's Church was almost life-long. He was a member of the Chorlton
Board of Guardians from 1858 to 1861. For some years he was chairman of the
Stretford Gas Company. He possessed a large private library, which was sold
after his death.(7)
27th. September
Thursday
The Manchester Technical School, which was established in connection with the
Mechanics' Institute in Princess Street, was opened by Mr. Oliver Heywood,
J.P., on September 27.(7)
September
Mr. John Standring, formerly councillor for St. George's Ward (1815-8),
died in September, at Bowdon, aged 78.(7)
1st. October
Monday
A contested election for two city auditors was held October 1, Only nine hundred
and seventy-three votes were recorded as follows: Joseph Scott 765,
William Milne 105, John Kingsley 90. Mr. Milne resigned his office
two days afterwards, and Mr. Frank Hollins was elected October 18 without
a contest.(7)
4th. October
Thursday
The election of a Member of Parliament in place of Mr. Hugh Birley,
deceased, took place October 4. The votes were: Mr. W. H. Houldsworth,
(C.) 18,188; Mr. R. M. Pankhurst (R.) 6,216. There was no official
candidate put forward by the Liberal party.(7)
16th. October
Tuesday
Mr. John Slater, violoncellist, died at his residence, at Cheadle, on
October 16. He was born in Manchester in 1798. He was a zealous floriculturist.(7)
30th. October
Tuesday
Mr. Henry Julius Leppoc, J.P., died at his residence, Kersal Crag, Higher
Broughton. October 30. He was born at Brunswick on September 9, 1807, and in
1834 came to Manchester to manage a branch of the firm of Messrs. Michaelis &
Samson, of Leipsic. The style of the firm in Manchester was that of Samson and
Leppoc, and he directed its affairs until 1870, when he retired. For some years
he was a director of the Chamber of Commerce. Money and time he gave liberally
to nearly every charity in the neighbourhood. The Eye Hospital, the Barnes
Charity, and the Deaf and Dumb Institution were under weighty obligations to
him; as were the Athenĉum, the Mechanics' Institution, and the Model Secular
School founded in Manchester in 1854. As a magistrate and as, for many years,
chairman of the Board of Guardians, he rendered great services to the public.
His family name was originally Coppell.(7)
14th. November
Wednesday
Mr. William Lockett, chairman of the Newton Heath Local Board, died
November 14, aged 59.(7)
16th. November
Friday
Count Ferdinand de Lesseps visited Manchester from the 16th to the 19th
of November. The principal motive of his visit was that he might ascertain the
views of the citizens of Manchester with regard to the Suez Canal. Numerous
addresses of a complimentary character were presented to him during his visit.(7)
18th. November
Sunday
Lord Overstone, formerly of the banking firm of Jones, Lloyd, and Co., of
Manchester and London, died, November 18, aged 87. He was an unsuccessful
candidate for Manchester in 1832.(7)
20th. November
Tuesday
An action was brought in the Chancery of Lancashire by Mr. Henry Lawlor
to restrain the Corporation from charging their market tenants with tolls on
goods sold in addition to rent for ground occupied. Vice-Chancellor Bristowe
heard the case on October 22 and 23, and on November 20 gave judgement in favour
of the plaintiff. This decision caused a complete revolution in the mode of
managing the Corporation markets.(7)
20th. November
Tuesday
The Deanery of Manchester was accepted by the Very Rev. John Oakley, Dean
of Carlisle, November 20.(7)
30th. November
Friday
Mr. Richard Haworth, J.P., died on November 30, at his residence, Mersey
Bank, Didsbury. He was born at Bury in 1820, and was the son of a poor artisan.
At the age of twelve he was employed in the mill of Messrs. Openshaw and Co.
From this position he rose to be the head of a large cotton spinning firm, whose
mills are situated in different parts of Manchester. He was chairman of the
Equitable Fire Insurance Company, and of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Accident
Insurance Company. He was a member of the first Manchester School Board, and an
influential member of the Wesleyan body.(7)
2nd. December
Sunday
Mr. Joseph Binyon Forster died December 2, in his fifty-second year,
after a long and painful illness. He was the leader of a party of dissident
members of the Society of Friends, who held meetings at the Memorial Hall. He
was the editor of the Manchester Friend, 1871-2.(7)
3rd. December
Monday
Mr. Isaac Slater died at his house in Fallowfield, December 3. He was a
self-made man, and was born in Great Ancoats Street in 1803, and was apprenticed
about the year 1817 to Mr. James Pigot, engraver and copperplate printer,
in Fountain Street. Mr. Pigot established himself in 1795 in Bark Street, and as
Mr. Slater succeeded him he was entitled to speak of his business as dating from
the last century. Early in the present century Mr. Pigot compiled and published
a Manchester directory in conjunction with Messrs. R. and W. Dean, booksellers,
Market Street. Subsequently Mr. Pigot began the issue of a Manchester directory
on his own account. The directory for 1813, which was one of the later
directories prepared in conjunction with Messrs. R. and W. Dean, is not larger
than a handbook. Technically it would perhaps be described as a crown 8vo, and
it contains three hundred pages, with about twelve thousand names, including
many repetitions. Mr. Slater, some years after the completion of his
apprenticeship, entered into partnership with Mr. Pigot, and the firm, after
undergoing several changes, became Pigot and Slater. About the year 1840, on the
retirement of Mr. Pigot, Mr. Slater became the sole proprietor. From an early
date the work of issuing directories was left largely with Mr. Slater, and under
his skilful management it grew rapidly. About the year 1821 the firm issued a
directory of Lancashire and also a directory of London. Some county directories
were afterwards undertaken, as well as directories of the larger provincial
towns of the three kingdoms. Mr. Slater retired a few years before his death
from the active control of the business, which has devolved upon his son, Mr.
J. W. Slater. Mr. Slater married Miss Ellen Wetherall, who died in
1873.(7)
4th. December
Tuesday
Mr. Nicholas Kilvert, Councillor for St. John's Ward (from 1868 to 1877),
died at Ashton-on-Mersey, December 4, aged 61.(7)
5th. December
Wednesday
The Crown Prince of Portugal, the Duke of Braganza, visited
Manchester on December 5. His visit was limited to one day.(7)
6th. December
Thursday
Mr. John Thomas Pellett, ex-alderman of Salford, died December 6, aged
67.(7)
10th. December
Monday
The Miles Platting Ritual Case, Heywood v. The Bishop of Manchester, tried
before Baron Pollock. December 10 and 11. (See under date January 22,
1884.)(7)
11th. December
Tuesday
A great storm raged in Manchester and elsewhere, December 11 and 12.(7)
12th. December
Wednesday
The Right Hon. Sir Charles Hall died, at Farnham Chase, December 12. He
was born at Manchester in 1814, and was the son of a merchant, who lost most of
his fortune by the failure of a bank. Mr. Hall entered an attorney's office, but
soon after entered as a student of the Middle Temple, and by hard study acquired
a high reputation as a lawyer. His arguments are regarded as models of legal
learning and acumen. He never "took silk," and his earnings latterly were said
to be over £10,000 per annum. In 1873 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor. a post
which he resigned after a paralytic attack in June, 1882.(7)
15th. December
Saturday
Mr. Thomas Ashton, M.D., died at his residence, Norwood, Altrincham, on
December 15. He was born in Manchester in 1800, his father being a well-known
baker and flour merchant near the Mosley Hotel. He studied, and in 1832
graduated, at Leyden. In 1841 he became a Licentiate of the Royal College of
Physicians, London, and subsequently took his degree of M.D. He commenced to
practise in Manchester, where he soon obtained an extensive connection, which he
retained until his retirement in middle life. He was the author of Visits to
the Museum of the Natural History Society, and The Sabbath and the Sunday.
(Baker's Memorials, p.130.)(7)
21st. December
Friday
Captain Henry Anthony Bennett, J.P., died December 21, aged 64.(7)
27th. December
Thursday
Mr. John Ashton died December 27, at his residence at Whalley Range. He
was born in 1810. By his ability he won a partnership, in 1845, in the business
of Mr. John Curtis, currier, and in 1869 he became the principal
proprietor of the business. He represented the Cheetham Ward in the City Council
from 1865 until 1880, when he was elected an Alderman and assigned to the St.
James's Ward. Failing health induced him to resign his aldermanship in 1883.(7)
1883
Mr. Edmund Potter, F.R.S., J.P.
and D.L. of the county of Derby, died at his residence, Campfield Place,
Hatfield. He was born at Ardwick in 1802, and passed through an apprenticeship
of seven years. He went to Dinting Vale when he was 25 years of age, and in
partnership with another young man commenced business as a calico printer. The
tax on prints was so heavy, however, that the business at first was not
remunerative. In 1830 he and others interested in the manufacture endeavoured to
obtain a repeal of this tax; but it was not until the advent of Lord Grey's
ministry that the imposition was removed. In 1836 the Dinting Vale printing
business began to show signs of success, and ultimately became one of the
largest printing establishments in the world. From 1861 until 1874 Mr. Potter
represented Carlisle in Parliament as a Liberal. He was the author of numerous
pamphlets, including History of Calico Printing, Limited Liability, etc.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of the scientific
knowledge which he showed in the development of calico printing. He was also
president, from 1858 to 1860, of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.(7)
1883
The Ristori Performance given in
December in aid of the Manchester and Salford Medical Charities realised £213.(7)