1890

  A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE 

 1890

MAINS WATER TURNED ON

  The Local Government Board held an inquiry in April into the charges Featherstone Local Board proposed for water rates. These were:

       747 houses rated under £6            5s 5d per half year

       389 houses rated £6 to £10           6s 6d

         47 houses rated £10 to £12         7s 7d

         30 houses rated £12 to £17.50    8s 8d

         18 houses rated £17.50 to £25    9s 9d

           9 houses rated over £25            4% of rateable value

  The Local Board said they had laid out £6,000 on the reservoir and mains. The probable revenue for the minimum 30,000 gallons would be £906. The running costs were £490 to Wakefield Corporation, interest on the loan at 3½% would be £231, repayment of principle £220, repairs etc £20. The total was £961 and the difference would be met out of the rates. There were no objections so the inquiry closed.

  At the May meeting the surveyor said there had only been 12 applications to connect dwellings to the water main. Mr Denton proposed to give property owners 21 days to connect their properties to the water supply. Others asked what about those who already had a good supply? Mr Wardman said it had cost him £50 to ensure an adequate supply of rain water. Mr Denton said deal with those who had no water first, and then sample the others to see if it was fit to drink.

  There was a calamity later that month when the wooden roof of the new reservoir collapsed. That caused another row in the boardroom, and the chairman threatened to leave the chair. The clerk said "We are the laughing stock of the county. We sit three hours and don't do an hour's business". Mr Paterson said he wished to leave but he was advised to stay. The clerk said the present reservoir contractor was compelled to carry out the contract and finish it but he refused to guarantee it. Eventually the board voted on a resolution to give the contractor notice and put the rebuilding of the reservoir out to tender. The vote was 3-3 and the chairman gave his casting vote in favour.

  On August 16 it was pouring with rain. That was the day the Local Board members climbed on board a waggonette outside the boardroom and proceeded to Warmfield. They were met there by Mr Porter, the borough surveyor for Wakefield Corporation, who handed over the key for Mr Waller to turn on the water. He did so with the words "God speed the water and the people who use it". The water could be heard rushing into the main as could the steady clanking of the water meter.

  The party returned to the Junction Hotel for lunch, an inspection of the reservoir being abandoned because of the heavy rain. After lunch Mr Waller said he was sure he was glad they had come to have good water in the district, as he considered it one of the greatest blessings in this life. Mr Kaberry said it was a pure soft water, and if ever there was a district where a good and soft water was needed it was Featherstone. Because the bulk of the inhabitants were miners, and having dirty work to do, it was essential they should have means of cleansing themselves better that the imperfect and insufficient ones of the past.

  Mr Denton said the ratepayers would save the cost of the water in soap alone, apart from the great benefits that would accrue to the health of the people and their children. He was thankful the work was done, as it would prove one of the greatest blessings that ever came to the district.

 The reservoir between Streethouse and Snydale.

   These Ordnance Survey maps show the location of the reservoir. The PH under Old Snydale is the Cross Keys Inn. 

 At the September Local Board meeting Mr Battye asked why Dr Buncle had refused to have the water in his house and insisted the water pipe terminated outside. The chairman suggested he could be thinking of lead poisoning. Mr Denton replied there was not an inch of lead pipe in the district. Dr Steven said Dr Buncle was worried about contamination from the drains. Mr Denton said a precedent was involved and proposed Dr Buncle should be instructed to have the water in his house or it would be cut off. The board voted in favour.

  In October Mr Coward objected to the board agreeing to supply Mr Shaw's colliery at 9d per 1,000 gallons when a cottage on a meter had to pay 1s per 1,000 gallons. It was pointed out Mr Coward was present when the proposal was discussed, and large consumers usually paid less than small consumers.

AN INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL

  There was no place in Featherstone to treat anyone with an infectious disease, the biggest scourge being smallpox. The Local Board held discussions with Pontefract Corporation and Castleford Local Board about a joint hospital scheme but nothing happened.

  In August Mary Hill and her three children were admitted to the Workhouse Hospital at Pontefract suffering from typhoid fever. The Pontefract Union's deputy clerk told the Board of Guardians their absolute destitution and miserable condition made it compulsory they should be admitted. The Guardians were not convinced and wrote to Featherstone Local Board pointing out accommodation in the hospital was very limited and was for pauper cases and workhouse inmates. Featherstone would have to make its own provision for other cases.

  Dr Steven told the board the typhoid victims were indeed paupers and he had to seek their removal to the workhouse because the house was destitute of ordinary nourishment and the smallest degree of household comfort. The typhoid epidemic died out and an infectious diseases hospital for Featherstone was put on hold.

SAMUEL CUNLIFFE LISTER BUYS INTO FEATHERSTONE

  In July the whole of George Bradley's former holdings in Featherstone were put up for sale, including Manor/Ackton Hall Colliery, Ackton Hall, Featherstone Hall, and his interest in Featherstone Main Colliery. George Bradley thought he was being badly done to and took his case to the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice before Mr Justice North.

  A motion was asked for on behalf of George Bradley of Ackton Hall that the University Life Assurance Society or anyone on their behalf be restrained from selling or offering for sale several of George Bradley's properties. It was claimed the mortgagees had mortgages for £100,000 and wanted to sell properties worth £200,000.

  In August after an adjournment for a week the court decided Mr Howgate, the receiver previously appointed by the court, could go ahead with the sale. Two weeks later it was announced Samuel Cunliffe Lister of Bradford had bought 1,200 acres of George Bradley's estate for about £192,000. Mr Bradley would retain Ackton Hall and the land it was on but would lose the mineral rights.

  Featherstone Main Colliery would continue to be leased to John Shaw at a minimum rent of £3,000, and Mr Lister was to develop Ackton Hall Colliery where the current output was only small. Mr Chapman of Wakefield was appointed as agent of the estate. 
  The advertisement for the sale is shown below. 

 

   The photo below of Samuel Cunliffe Lister (on the left) is from Flickr. The photo of George Bradley is from the Tony Lumb Collection.   

                                                                 

SCAVENGING

The polite term for emptying the dry closets or privies was called scavenging. At first it wasn't a problem because the farmers were willing to empty the privies and spread the contents on their fields. But the increasing population meant this solution would not last. As rows of houses were built the owners had to arrange the scavenging themselves or pay the farmers to do it.

  At the Local Board meeting in May David Denton proposed the board should take over the emptying of privies and ash pits. He said sometimes the contents were thrown near the doors of dwelling houses and allowed to remain there for hours, and sometimes for days, and the board should take it over and let it out by contract.

  He said some ash pits were badly constructed, and a sledge should be used to get to awkward places. He thought it was outrageous to common decency for broken pots, old tins and other rough stuff to be thrown in the roads and bye-lanes.

  Dr Buncle was not present, but the clerk reminded the Board Dr Buncle had recommended such a course for the past five years as he considered it would improve the health of the district. David Denton's proposal was passed unanimously and it was agreed to divide the district into sections and put them out to tender.

  In August the contracts were awarded to Thomas Holiday, who had put in a tender of £24 6s for Old Featherstone and all above the railway line, and to Mr H Hardy who agreed to do South Featherstone below the railway for £36, and Purston for £16.  All the contracts were for 12 months.

  At the October meeting a letter was read out from Dr Spier of the Local Government Board which stated the privies and middens in Featherstone were a great source of nuisance and asked what the Local Board were doing about the situation.

  The Local Board replied with details of the new scavenging scheme, and Dr Buncle was asked to put in his next annual report what was being done to get rid of those middens which were a nuisance.
  The photo below of a typical privy is from Wikipedia. The seat lifts up or off to remove the contents. The other photo was taken by Tony Lumb. It shows the abandoned privy at Featherstone Vicarage. The seat was missing but the container was still there.

  

A STATION SUBWAY

  In January a survey was done at the Station Lane railway crossing and in six days 29,125 pedestrians and 1,010 carts crossed the lines. In March the railway company gave way and said they would have a subway if the Local Board would cover the cost of draining it. It would have to be at the station side to connect the platforms so that passengers would not have to cross the lines. The Local Board did not agree. They wanted the subway at the Pontefract side where the footpath was (there was still no pavement at the other side).

  An agreement was made in May. The company would construct a subway at the station side and have power to stop foot passengers crossing the lines. The Local Board would maintain the subway. At the October meeting of the Local Board Joseph Battye brought the matter up again. The clerk said the necessary Parliamentary powers had not yet been obtained.

1890 NEWS ITEMS

JANUARY The Wakefield to Goole passenger train broke a crank at the station and had to wait 40 minutes until another engine was brought from Wakefield.

  There was a rabies scare so the West Riding County Council ordered all dogs to be muzzled. Peter Hickman of Featherstone was fined 5s for not complying.

FEBRUARY  The Local Board received a letter from Jonah Barratt saying Mr Leatham, Mrs Hall and Lord St Oswald had put fences round their property and enclosed one or two yards of the road as well, making the roads narrower than the required width. After much argument the Board voted 4-3 to commit the letter to the waste paper basket.

  Thomas Price was accused of assaulting fellow miner John Jones. Price demanded 7s for deadwork from Jones, but Jones said he hadn't received it yet and a fight ensued. After conflicting evidence the case was dismissed. (This case shows one of the many disadvantages of the butty system.)

MARCH  The Miners' Federation wanted a 5% increase at once and another 5% in July. The owners did not give a direct answer so the miners were ordered out on strike. After a week the owners gave way.

  A meeting of the Band of Hope pledged to withhold their votes from any candidate in the Local Board elections who was interested in the drinks traffic and to request others to do the same.

APRIL  The election result for the Local Board was Wardman 723 votes, Cowling 571, Waller 571, Hoyle 562 and Eley 509. The first three were elected and Cowling replaced Eley.

  The miners at Ackton Hall Colliery went on strike because half of the 10% unconditional rise was taken off their wages without warning. They resumed work the next day on the understanding a fortnight's notice would be given of any change in wages.

  Nine Featherstone miners were charged with playing pitch and toss at Featherstone Common crossroads. Supt Whincup claimed Joseph Debney, William Speight and Robert Kitson were professional gamblers who could turn a coin in any way they thought proper, and the others were ignorant youths who had no more sense than to gamble their week's wages with these three. The three "professionals" were fined £2 or one month in jail, and the others 10s or 14 days.

  Mr W G Jackson had taken the place of the bankrupted George Bradley on the Board of Guardians, but he was no more of a regular attender as he only turned up to one meeting in the 1889-90 year. Richard Cowling for Featherstone went to 23 meetings and John Waller turned up 25 times.

MAY  The Burial Board raised the charge for the hearse to 3s in the Board's district and 1s extra for every five miles outside the district.

  At the Local Board meeting the newly elected members took the usual declaration they were possessed of property to the value of £500. John Waller was re-elected chairman. A rate of 1s in the £1 was fixed for the half-year.

  At the seventh half-yearly meeting of the Featherstone Main Colliery Accident Fund Mr Tew, treasurer of the Pontefract General Dispensary, expressed his gratitude at the financial assistance given and said it was hoped there would soon be several beds provided for serious cases.

  Special collections had been made for Pontefract General Dispensary (£23), Clayton Hospital (£22) and Benjamin Wilson who had been badly injured (£11). There was criticism of the £45 a year paid to Dr Buncle (John Shaw paid another £45). It was agreed to make this £10 for each 100 members. Other matters decided were to buy a new horse ambulance, the annual outing would be to Blackpool, and this time there would be no saloon or first-class carriage and no free tickets for the committee men's wives.

  It was agreed to allow expenses to Solomon Haines who had lost an arm and had to make frequent journeys to Leeds for examination.   

  There were three court cases in one week concerning Featherstone Main Colliery. Enoch Holmes was fined £1 for ill-treating a pony because it would not pull four full tubs. William Dixon and Arthur Hargreaves were fined 5s each for setting off an empty wagon down an incline and derailing it. George Smith and William Corden were charged with staying away from work from April 22 to 30. The company said it had brought the case to show the men they could not do as they liked, and claimed considerable loss was being caused by the irregular working by the men. They were ordered to pay damages and costs.    

JUNE  An inquest was held on Elizabeth Luckman who had fallen on a trip to Barnsley and hit her head. She did not seem to be injured but she became ill and died four days later. Dr Steven said a post mortem did not show the cause of death and the jury returned a verdict of natural causes.

  At the Pontefract and Featherstone Hospital Fund's meeting it was announced £33 had been collected last autumn from Featherstone and Purston tradesmen. This had been increased to £55 by collections at the collieries and churches. The usual contribution had been made to Clayton Hospital. This was in addition to Featherstone Main's £23 and £10 from Snydale which was paid direct to the Pontefract Dispensary Accident Ward Fund. A circular from Mr Tew said the dispensary committee had now agreed to undertake an accident ward.

  James Walton had received a notice, served by PS Sparrow, to quit a Richard Cowling house. He did not move so was summonsed but the court refused to confirm the order because it did not give seven days notice.

  The Featherstone Main trip to Blackpool was supported by 1,076 persons. The trains left just after 5am, and in spite of the decision at the half-yearly meeting there were first class carriages for the committee and wives. The trains arrived home at 1am Sunday morning.

  At the annual meeting of the Reading Room it was said there were 40 members of the library and there had been 800 book issues during the year. Fifty new books had been provided by the Rebecca Hussey Fund. The debating society had folded because of lack of members.

JULY  Moses Makin, a deputy at Snydale Colliery, collapsed while doing his booking down the pit. He was brought out but declared dead by Dr Steven. At the inquest Dr Steven said there was a history of apoplexy and the jury decided that was the cause of death.

  Dr Buncle's annual report for 1889 said scarlatina had been epidemic in the district for three years. There was an epidemic of measles in the second half of the year which caused eight deaths, and 12 cases of typhoid in South Featherstone which caused three deaths. 

  PS Sparrow and PC Phillipson found three men drinking beer in the passage at the Bradley Arms at 10.20am on a Sunday. They were fined 5s each. The landlord, George Pfisterer, was put up. He claimed the men were genuine travellers from Normanton, and thus allowed to be drinking at that time. The police said the men lived in South Featherstone. The chairman said there was a doubt about it and dismissed the case. One of the three men, Richard Lawrence, was put up again. He said he lived in Featherstone but had slept in Normanton the night before. The Bench decided he was a traveller and dismissed the case against him.

AUGUST  Mr H Handy, a Purston farmer, had six panes of glass broken in one of his front windows, all at different times in the afternoon and evening. He and others hid in the trees, searched the house, and tried all ways to catch the offender. Finally he decided it must be someone in the house, and the likely culprit was Elizabeth Rowley, a 14 year old servant. She eventually admitted it but gave no reason. In court she said she only admitted it because Mrs Wainwright (Handy's sister) had offered to pay for the damage if she owned up. She was found guilty and fined 5s plus 4s damages or 14 days in prison. She elected to go to prison.

  Eight miners were fined 2s 6d each for playing pitch and toss at Featherstone Green.

  At a meeting held by the Salvation Army regret was expressed that according to posted notices three applications were to be made for licences (for alcohol). In the opinion of the meeting the neighbourhood was already provided for and a request would be sent to Their Worships not to grant these applications.

  The Local Board approved plans for  a proposed hotel in Green Lane for J Carter and Co of Knottingley (The Featherstone Hotel).

SEPTEMBER  Reuben Johnson of the New Inn beerhouse applied for a full licence. On his behalf it was said the premises had been enlarged and improved at a cost of £800 and he had been there for seven years without trouble. There was an increased population round it with two or three families in one house. If a house became vacant there would be up to 40 applications. A petition of 400 names was handed in, but after the Temperance Society produced a similar one in opposition the application was refused.

  Several Featherstone families were taken to court for refusing to quit John Shaw houses. They all said they could not get another house but were ordered to quit in 21 days.

  An accident ward was opened at Pontefract Dispensary. It was hoped all local workers would contribute to the cost of running it.

  At the Local Board meeting Mr Battye said dead pigs and slops from privies were being thrown into the beck. The board ordered the beck to be cleaned out and notices posted saying that offenders would be prosecuted.

OCTOBER  Ben Massey, a Featherstone miner, got into a non-smoking compartment with friends at Sharlston. Frank Wood, an elderly Featherstone miner, asked them to stop smoking as his weak chest could not stand the smoke but Massey refused. At Featherstone Station Wood grabbed Massey and called for the stationmaster, but Massey knocked him down. Massey was fined £1.

  The School Board refused Mr Freeman the use if a room in the Boys' School for a dancing class.

  Messrs Balfour and Co Ltd were given permission to erect stamp machines and postcard machines next to the pillar boxes.

NOVEMBER  Miss Florence Montague, magnetist, mesmerist and biologist, gave shows for three days in the Boys' School. They were poorly attended but for two hours at each show the audience was kept in roars of laughter at the antics of those mesmerised.

  There was an odd law in the cemetery that not all graves could have a headstone. The Burial Board wrote to the Secretary of State to allow headstones to all who wanted one. He replied his sanction was not necessary so the board agreed to ignore "the 15th rule".

  Snydale Colliery No.2 Branch held a social gathering in the Boys' School where 300 people sat down to tea. John Harper was chairman and the main demands in the speeches were an end to the butty system and an eight hour shift.

  William Booth, a shoemaker age 70, lived in Featherstone with his second wife. He arrived home for dinner one day and found his house completely stripped of furniture and his wife gone. It was alleged his two stepsons had brought a wagon and emptied the house. He was taking proceedings against them.

  The Archbishop had agreed to plans for a new vicarage for the Featherstone parish. Samuel Lister had given £50 towards the cost. Plans were also being made for a new mission church in the south of the parish and Mr Lister (not yet Lord Masham) had promised £100 towards that. York Church Extension Society had also promised help. The new church would seat 300, and discussions were being held on its use as an infants' school during the week.

  Henry Bradley, age 18, was ordered was ordered to pay 3s 6d a week out of his 30s wages for the illegitimate son of Hannah Williams. He had offered to marry her but as she was not sixteen until December her mother said she was too young.

  Martha Lumb was travelling up Ackton Hill in a cart with her husband Jabez when she had a fit and fell out. She was taken home and attended by Dr Steven but she died the next day. The inquest jury's verdict was death from injuries to the spinal chord caused by falling from a horse and trap.

  There were long arguments at a court case after a fatal accident at Snydale Colliery in which Samuel Raleigh was killed. John Webb was prosecuted by the owners for not having distributed timber at the working place where Daniel Green and Samuel Raleigh were working and where a fall took place. The defence was he was only a night examiner and not a deputy and therefore not responsible. Daniel Green was prosecuted because he was an experienced workman and Raleigh had not been a filler (trainee collier) for two years, thus Green was responsible for taking any necessary precautions. Webb was fined £2 4s and Green was fined £2 12s or a month's jail in each case.

DECEMBER  The eighth half-yearly meeting of Featherstone Main Colliery Accident Fund decided to hold 6d collections for Pontefract Dispensary General Fund, Pontefract Dispensary accident ward and Clayton Hospital. The meeting upheld the decision of the committee in not agreeing to the request of Solomon Haines, who lost an arm, for £50 to help him set up a business.

  There was £12 to distribute from Bailey's Charity. Pontefract Dispensary was given £2 and 55 old folk each received 3s 8d. A "kindly lady friend in the parish" gave all the women a shoulder shawl and all the men woollen muffs. This was the second year she had remembered the poor.

  A travelling collection of waxworks owned by John Manders was on exhibition on the waste ground near the Girls' School.

  Featherstone Church Sewing Society had for two years been working hard to obtain funds for new surplices and a new organ. Mr J T Bennett, churchwarden and manager of Featherstone Main Colliery, took the matter in hand and obtained the extra finance needed. Special services were held for the inauguration. The organ was said to be of very pretty workmanship and mellow in tone and was made in New York.