Gleams of Sunshine

We have had an email from  Peter Furnish which someone might find of interest.

I have just read your blog about the Gleams of Sunshine.

I used to live in Manchester (a true Mancunian born and in Higher Blackley) and my grand-folks lived in Allen Avenue, Gee Cross. I migrated to Western Australia in 1972 and then in 2012 went to live in southern Tasmania with my wife Linda. I will be 71 in January but still remember my roots in Lancashire.

Grandad was John/Jack Collinson and Grandma was Maud. When I came to Australia they gave me two original 'Gleams of Sunshine' written by my great grandfather James Leigh. Both books are in good condition and are over a hundred years old. Jack was a very skilled calligrapher and used to the do the book keeping for one of the merchants in Hyde When he retired he was asked to go back part-time to continue his book-keeping, which I believe he did. I think it was called 'copperplate' writing at the time. He was also a skilled water-colour artist and produced many beautiful pictures. He tried to teach me his skills with water-colours to no avail. I am okay with the writing and am a skilled black and white (Inked) drawing artist so maybe something did rub off in the end.

When the grand folks moved from Allen Avenue they went to live in a group of old cottages opposite where the trolley bus used to turn around on the Hyde to Romily main road and go back to Hyde. The end cottage to where my grandparents lived evidently used to be an old Smithy. These cottages had been renovated but as I hazily remember they still had low ceilings and oak beams, steep stairs to the upstairs bedrooms and small windows.

 Due to a bad back and lots of surgery my savings are depleted and I am in the position that I wish to sell one of my 'Gleams of Sunshine' and wondered if you are aware of anybody who might be interested in purchasing one of these copies (Originals)?

If anyone is interested in contacting Peter about one of these books then send in an email and I will pass it on. The book shown above is not the one for sale, that one's mine.

.

Charge of the Hyde Brigade

Charge of the Hyde Brigade

HYDE v. DENTON

 PLAYED AT WALKER FOLD, HYDE

1887.

HALF-A-FIELD, Half-a-field,

Half-a-field onward,

Into the Denton goal

Our forwards they thundered,

Stormed at with shot and shell,

*Lowe bravely fought and well,

But down went his citadel,

And *Denton folks wondered.

Wondered how it was done,

Wondered to see the fun,

Wondered whom Bunyan

Had thrown o'er his head;

Didn't they rave and rant,

'Twas their beloved *Plant,

Into the mud thus sent,

As though he were dead

.

Hark ! how they yell and scream,

Little did Denton dream

That our respected team,

Would conquer them so !

Now all their gas has gone,

And ready brass they've none,

A dollar, alas ! not one

Of them can show.

Hark ! to that deafening roar

Proclaiming the fight is o'er !

And likewise the fact that four

Goals have been got.

Denton have lost the day,

And as they wend their way

Homewards, they seem to say

Sad is our lot.

Now they are put to rout,

And as they face about,

Twenty-six none they shout,

Poor Dentonians.

Do not your fingers flirt,

For with your Sunday shirt

Hyde has wiped out the dirt

Rubbed in by Prestonians.

Pity poor Denton's plight,

Oh ! what a mournful sight

As they went home that night,

Vanquished Dentonians.

Honour the Hyde Brigade,

Honour the win they've made,

When will their glory fade?

Noble Hydonians !

*Lowe and Plant were Denton players,

Bunyan was the Hyde Goalkeeper.

Hyde start their second season in the Conference League away to Forest Green Rovers this weekend... Good Luck to all involved.

Just for the ones who like their United's a nice shade of Red ;O)  

Gleams Of Sunshine

James Leigh

I have been scanning my old tatty copy of Gleams OF Sunshine by James Leigh,alas it is on its last legs so before the pages start falling out I have decided to scan it all. I will then do what I can to make it last that bit longer.

I thought I'd show you the list of subscribers all of which pledged their support to get the book published. I found the list with names and addresses most interesting. Hopefully you might spot a familiar name or address.

If you don't have a copy of this book you can download a copy or read it on line here

http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/james-leigh/gleams-of-sunshine-and-other-poems-ala/1-gleams-of-sunshine-and-other-poems-ala.shtml

Poem By James Leigh

O'er The Heights Of Werneth Low
AN IDYLL OF THE PAST

I'M a captain in the army, and a famous man I be,
And in all the British Army there's no braver man than me;
But of my warlike deeds, without a doubt you know,
I once marched with my regiment o'er the heights of Werneth Low.




We there endured great hardships amongst those rugged rocks,
My men were seized with a disease the doctor called smallpox,
So we built a wooden shanty down in the plains below,
A temporary hospital, to put them in, you know.


We had them vaccinated, at least the doctors had,
But, dear o' me, the nasty stuff it almost drove 'em mad ;
With arms as thick as sugar loaves their very hair they tore,
'Twas just a month before my troops were on the march once more.


The anti-vaccinators were loud in their protest
Against this vaccination, and vowed they'd never rest
Until 'twas non-compulsory, for every rank and station,
They said that vaccination was enough to vex the nation.


Now, anyone who disbelieves the story I have told,
Just take a walk o'er Werneth Low, and there you may behold
That grand and noble structure at the foot of yonder hill,
An everlasting monument of architectural skill.


We then besieged the palace of King Frederick the Great,
That tumble-down old building on the Back Bower Estate,
But not a "Godl(e)y" soul we found in that ungodly place,
So we razed the building to the ground, and left of it no trace.



We then marched through the city of Gee Coss, but, strange to say,
The city's ancient glory has long since passed away ;
The only ancients that we saw, beside old Freddie's whims,
Was Robin and his brother Jam, the famous Gee Cross twins.

We halted on Mount Pleasant, and as we gazed around
We felt that we were standing upon historic ground,
For at the foot of Treacle Hill stood gloomy, dark, and grim,
The ruins of a temple, His Majesty's first Whim.

Each warrior bowed his crested head above the Stone Pit wall,
And thus each one soliloquised upon the city's fall.

Oh, city of the ancients, we gaze upon thee now,
Shorn of thy former glory how desolate art thou ;
Thy Market Hall, without a roof, is crumbling to decay,
Thy public park and pleasure grounds have long since passed away.



But soon we noticed that the sun was sinking in the west,
And whether it was time or not, of course the sun knew best,
But we ourselves were weary, though only half-past nine,
The heat is so oppressive in that Oriental clime.

We sought a refuge for the night at Doorbar's famous inn.
The grapes upon the vine without told of the wine within ;
The landlord, though a Doorbar, said we might rest secure,
Against such gallant soldiers he'd never "bar his door."



Next day we marched through Bredbury, and over Haughton Green,
And there our scouts reported some Zulus they had seen ;
My men became quite frightened, and their duty tried to shirk,
But the Zulus turned out colliers that were coming from their work.

We then kept on advancing till we got to Apethorn Sound,
We there embarked on board a ship that was for England bound;
But as we lifted anchor, and were sailing from the quay,
One of old Bennie's boilers burst, and blew our mast away.



We had to put in for repairs at Gibraltar Rocks,
A sort of place that I should call old England's sentry box ;
When our repairs were finished, they fired a great big gun,
In honour of the glorious deeds my regiment had done.

When out upon the open sea a gale began to blow,
The vessel soon went mountains high, and then went mountains low ;
The captain cried, "Put on more steam, for we are sorely pressed,"
When the driver shouted from the shore, "The horse is doing its best."

When we got into port that night Old Joss was striking ten,
We all were proud to set our feet on English soil again ;
My men were all fagged out, and hungry, too, as well,
So we ordered beds and supper at "Isaac Eyre's Hotel."!

My army I've disbanded now, I've had enough of wars,
I am resting on my laurels, like a valiant son of Mars ;
My men now wear a medal each, for deeds of great renown,
They were struck off by a friend of mine, a currier in town.

But now, my friends, I'll say adieu, I've said enough forsooth,
And some of you, no doubt, may think I haven't told the truth ;
However, be that as it may, if you'll be honour bright,
You'll say I'm not far wrong if you but understand me right.

John Critchley Prince (1808-1886)

'Prince writes like an angel and lives like a devil.'

JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE was not born a hydonian, but was adopted by the town. He was born in Wigan, Lancashire, to Joseph and Nancy Prince. What education he received came from a Baptist Sunday School. At nine years old he started work with his father who was a 'reed-maker'. A 'reed' was a tool used by hand-loom weavers to separate the threads. His father was a drunkard and a bully and often beat his son if he caught him reading. At eighteen, he married Ann Orme, a resident here in Hyde. Once he married Ann, a family followed and by 1830 they had a son and two daughters. Employment was bleak, Prince sought work in France, but it didn’t work out. After suffering much hardship on his return journey he arrived home to find his family in the poorhouse at Wigan. In later years he moved between Blackburn, Ashton and Hyde, searching for casual work. He supplemented his income by contributing poems to local papers and begging and borrowing off friends and acquaintances. Effort were made by friends and well-wishers to help Prince lift him from poverty. Several cash grants from the Royal Bounty Fund were given, but each failed because of his addiction to alcohol, which he tried to kick many times but couldn’t.

DEAR wife, we struggle in a time

Saddened by many a shade,

For warfare in another clime

Has paralysed my trade;

And 'mong the thousands of our class,

So meanly clothed and fed,

We've had our share of grief, alas!

Pining for needful bread.....

JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE

His wife Ann died in 1858, and four years later he married Ann Taylor. His final years were marred by declining health and hardship from the near collapse of the cotton industry during the American Civil War, what was known around Hyde as the Cotton Famine. John Critchley Prince died here in Hyde, in 1866, he was by then almost blind and partially paralysed by a stroke suffered shortly after he remarried. He was buried in St George's churchyard.

　

His works of poetry are well worth seeking out and should be available in the library.. Two books to look out for are ‘The Life Of John Critchley Prince & The Poems of John Critchley Prince both by R.A. Douglass Lithgow

Hyde's 'home-grown' poet James Leigh and many other poets were so moved by his life and death that they penned poems about him... below is one of the 3 poems I've read from James Leigh concerning Prince.. Leigh was presented with Prince's prised snuffbox.

Line on being presented

with

Critchley Princes Snuffbox

This box is a relic
Thou you may not know it,
Of John Critchley Prince,
The Lancashire Poet.
It has been handed down
As an heirloom to me;
I, Jammie o’ Tim’s,
Better known as Jim Leigh

Hyde Lane & It's Off-Shoots

A History Of Hyde Lane

The track that was to become Hyde Lane was never a good road in olden days, in winter and wet weather it was almost impassable, as none of the brooks that it crossed were bridged or culverted until the beginning of the 1800s. The lane began at the entrance of the road from Lancashire into Cheshire. Crossing the river Tame by the ford from Broomstair, the road reached a point on the Hyde side of the river, just below the junction of the Tame and the brook coming from Godley and Newton known as Wilson Brook.

Old cottages in Kingston Hollow
Showing the road to the old ford crossing

The road followed the course of the brook to the foot of " Bowker's " Brow , now known as Kingston Brow, then it ascended the brow to the entrance gates to Hyde Hall (White Gates).

The White Gates Inn

The road to the hall was also the road to the Old Corn Mill, and to another ford which crossed the Tame below the Corn Mill, for Glass House Fold, the Coal Pits, and Haughton Green.

Hyde Cornmill

Sometime in the mid 1700s, Squire George Clarke built a bridge over the river Tame at Broomstair, made a connecting road and another bridge over Wilson Brook near to the cottages in the picture above, to the foot of Bowker's Brow, and by agreement with the inhabitants of Hyde and Haughton, dedicated them to public use, he to have the old road, ford, etc., and the public to repair the bridge and new road for ever.

Manchester Road where the road cross Wilsons Brook

Hyde Lane crossed the canal by a bridge which is still known as Hyde Lane Bridge, and went on towards Hollow Brow, Newton Street.

Newton Street-Dukinfield Road Junction

When the Ashtons built the "Hollow Factory," early in 1800s, Hollow Brow was only a Pack Horse Road, worn down between lofty banks, and so narrow that two horses could not pass. It was shaded by high hedges and trees. The road forded the brook at the bottom of the brow, and winding its way up the opposite slope, went along the Old Road to the junction with the ancient highway from Yorkshire to Lancashire Bennett Street and what was then called Muslin Street but now known as Talbot Road.

Top Of Matley Lane

The Waggon and Horses on Mottram Road

Muslin Street/Talbot Road

The Yorkshire road came from Saltersbrook, the meeting place for the exchange of traffic by the Lancashire and Yorkshire carriers ; it crossed the moors of Longdendale, Hollingworth, made its way down Matley Lane, Bennett Street, Newton Hall, Dukinfield Hall, to Shepley Bridge, which at one time the only bridge across the Tame in these parts. At he time of the building of the Hollow Factory there was a water wheel on the Newton side of Wilson Brook, which worked "Pump Trees," up to the coal pit at Flowery Field. The Ashtons widened Hollow Brow, built the bridge, and altered the road to its present course, and established a Toll Bar at Bayley Field, and tolled all wheeled vehicles until the road was taken over by the township. The point of junction of Hollow Brow with Hyde Lane was called Atterclough, and the length of the road from this point to Hoviley Lane was called Red Pump Street.

Newton Street - Manchester Road Junction

Hoviley Lane branched off Hyde Lane at Squire Hegginbottom's house, later the District Bank at the corner of the market, and passing the Ridling Pits, and went down Hoviley Brow and forded the Lumn Brook near the printworks' gates. From here it went to Hoviley Ford, which, previous to the building of the printworks, was opposite the site of the Talbot Inn.

Hoviley Brow

The brook having been diverted for the purposes of the print works. After leaving this ford, the road skirted Newton Green which was then common land, joined the road coming over Newton Moor from Ashton, then forded the brook from Goodier Bottoms, and finally went to Pudding Lane, which ran by Brook House Farm to Mottram.

Continuing from its junction with the Hoviley branch, Hyde Lane went past several old cottages and a farm, then Hegginbothams Tan Yards now the site of Corporation Street, to where the road crossed the brook to run down Mill Wood to the river Tame. Next it passed some low-lying houses and the village Pinfold and the Stocks. It passed a footpath which as grown into Union Street which led across "Shepley Fields" to Ridling Lane, and, further on, a road leading to various farms and Wood End-Church Street.

Higher up, on the easterly side of Hyde Lane, were several Squatters' cottages, which existed until the start of the 1900s. The lane went by these to Tinker Hill, where a junction was made with Back Lane. This lane led to Walker Fold Lane, down Lumn Hollow, where an ancient bridle path, passed by Lumn Farm, then branched off, and then it became Ridling Lane, until it joined Hoviley Lane at Ridling pits (on the site of Queen's Hotel, Clarendon Place).

Walker Fold Birth Place of Hyde Poet James Leigh

From Back Lane to Smithy Fold, Hyde Lane had wide margins of grass land on each side. Smithy Fold was really a small hamlet with farm houses, cottages, etc., and the road passing through the midst of them. From this Fold Hyde Lane wound its way past Clough Gates, Back Bower Lane, and eventually became part of the Turnpike Road, close to which Hyde Chapel had been built in the year 1708.

----ooo----

While doing this post, I was very much aware of all the streams/brooks and such like that had now been crossed. There's folk in Hyde who do not even realise how many there are. Some are now but trickles but at one time these brooks have been put to good use for the running of water wheels and such like. In the 1800s they were culverted and bridges built to carry the roads over them. As these brooks were in valleys, these would have been needed to be filled in... changing the lay of the land to what we know it as now. Some of us recall the amount of earth moved when the M67 was cut in the 1970s.... none of us can remember the earth that must have been needed to level the valley's and gully's of old. It would have been the same with the canal and railways... Hyde as certainly seen its fair share of civil engineering take place, and Hyde Lane must have been quite an achievement when it was done. Next time you are out and about and near to a stream just think of it's course and how it cuts through our town on it's way to the Tame.... think of the work that was done, some over 200 years ago and marvel at the workmanship and a job well done...

Town Hall Post Cards

From The Book

Gleams Of Sunshine

By

James Leigh

Opening Of Hyde Town hall Clock And Bells
October 18th 1884
Presented By
Mr. Joshua Bradley, Of Godley

.
Hark! To those sounds of jubilee
In honour of our friend J.B.;
Hark! To those sounds -
Loud cheers are heard on every hand,
Whist with the music of the band,
The town resounds

.
With joyful step and hearts elate
This noble gift we celebrate
With demonstration:
Our hearty cheers this day we raise,
The givers worthy of all praise
And emulation.

.
But now’s the time, and now’s the hour
J.B. ascends the Town Hall Tower
To play his part, -
He starts the Clock, the Bells chime out,
And with the sounds, a mighty shout
Doth thrill the heart.
.

.
And now they’re off - the Town Hall Bells,
Each listening heart with pleasure swells,
To view the scene;
Strains of sweet music fill the air,
Whilst joyful faces everywhere
With pleasure beam.
.
As to the clock our eyes we lift,
We thank the donor for his gift
With loud acclaim.
And others will in future times,
When listening to those mellow chimes
Pronounce his name.
.
That grand old spinner’s played his part,
For he with large unselfish heart
Doth noble give;
Then let this mighty concourse sing
The words that in my ears now ring
Long may he live
.
Long may he live to view with pride
The gift he as bestowed on Hyde
For many years;
And when this generation’s gone,
Those Town Hall Bells may still chime on
For other ears.

Walker Fold

Birth Place of

'The Hyde Poet'

James Leigh

I remember, I remember,

The house where I was born.

The little window where the sun

Came peeping in at morn

...