ANNALS OF OLDHAM No. XXIV May 16th – Heavy Rain, loud cracks and vivid flashes of lightning. May 20th – Last night uncommon loud cracks of thunder, with most tremendous flashes of lightning. May 24th – An uncommon fine day, as there is a great change of wheather. May 29th was observed as a day of joy by the Church and King people, who to testify their loyalty put up oak branches at their doors, wich caused great contention betwixt the parties. May 31st – Still cold, whet wheather, but there is plenty of grass. June 3rd – The cold, wet weather still continues, to the great detriment of vegetation, for the air is continually cold and mostly rainy. June 4th – King’s birthday, but being Sunday was observed on Monday with great pomp and festivity. June 9th. – Manchester races concluded, and notwithstanding the wetness of the roads they where attended by an emence concourse of people of both sexes. On Wednesday it rained all day, and at about 2 0’clock afternoon it fell such a hailstorm as was seldom seen at any season. Very few soldiers and but a verey few recruiting parties attended. June 13th – The wet wheather, attended with uncommon cold, still continues. June 20th – Last night an uncommon cold, boisterous night, and still continues, with rain and piercing wind. June 14th – This morning died, at Nathan Roe, Oldham, Nathan Barlow, hatter. June 21st – Uncommon cold, boisterous day. June 22nd and 23rd – Very cold, wet days, so that the crops begin to mourn. June 23rd – Oldham. Last night or early this morning the shop of Henry Harrison, draper and haberdasher, was broke open and robbed of a considerable sum of money. Diligent search is making after the depradaters of this wickedness. June 25 – The wheather is much changed, and from severe wet and cold is turned to moderate warmth. June 19th – This day the supplementary cavallary were swore in at Middleton, when substitutes went from five to ten guineas each. This was an order of Government, and the conditions were that every person who kept a saddle horse was to be numbered, and where the townships did not contain ten horses of this description, townships where thrown together, and classed into tens and lots drawn one out of every ten, which lotted person was to find a man and a horse to exercised to twenty one days, but all the class was at eaquel expence with and same as the lotted person.
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June 30th – Uncomon cold, whet weather, such as was never known before by the oldest person living. About the beginning of May a most dangerous muteney broke out in his Majesty’s fleet, wich lasted till the middle of June, when the different crews returned to their duty and delivered up their delegates, who where emediately tried by a court martial, when Richard Park, their head diligate, and several others, received sentence of death, and where executed. Observations – The rainy wheather which still continues is verey alarming, and much alarms the farmers and others, for where the ground is low and wet it but prommises a light crop, and the earth and air are so cold that what grass is cut it remains in a spoiling state for want of sun and fair wheather. It is allowed by the oldest person living that such a wet spring and thus far of a summer was never known before. Fustian weaving is becoming exceedingly brisk, and masters are beating up in all directions for weavers, but in consequence of the high price cotton, the wages are but little advanced. Cotton common for weaving velveteens. Thicksets, &c., is selling 2s. a pond. All sorts of light goods are very low. July 4th – Died, Sarah, wife of George Rowbottom, of Hollinwood, age 73 years. July 6th – The wet weather still continues, and is extremely cold. Last night and this morning it rained with the greatest velocity, so that the earth was covered with water. July 8th – The rainy wheather still continues. Yesterday the sun shone for about 4 hours with splendour, wich induced several persons to break their hay, &c., when about 4 0’cloch it begun to rain verey much. July 9th – The weather begins to mend, and puts on a better appearance. July 12th – The fustian weaving begins to mend, to the generall joy of the poor weavers. July 15th – The weather continues very good. Yesterday was an exterordenary good hay-day. July 8th – Died, Abraham Dronesfield, of Hollinwood, formerly of Burnley Brow, North Moor. Disorder, consumption; age, 31 yrs. July 18th – This day, as well as the 16th and 17th, have been excessive hot, and good hay days. July 19th – A good hay day and verey hot. July 22nd.– The verey fine hay weather still continues, to the joy of everyone. New potatoes, owing to the coldness of the Spring, have been scarse and dear, and are now selling 1d. per pond the finest sort, but owing to the reasonableness of the price of flower few new potatoes where used. |
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July 15th – Wife of Henry Harrison, merchand draper, Oldham, entered this day. The trials of the mutineers still continues, and a great number have been executed. July 24th – On Monday the author of these memoirs verey narrowly escaped the fangs of death, but through the interposition of the Almighty God miraculously escaped. July 26th – Exalent fine wheather, and new potatoes sold 1¼ pond for 1d. July 28th – The wheather is again turned to wet and cold. July 25th – Died, Ann, wife of Joseph Parr, inn holder, Streetbridge. She had been for a long time afflicted, having the use of her legs taken. July 30th – An uncommon boisterous stormy day, with loud cracks of thunder at Bury. There was an uncommon hail storm, which broke a deal of windows and did other damage. July 30th – Died, George Rowbottom, of Hollinwood, originally of Hunt-lane, blacksmith; age 65 years. The weather for several days past as been weet and stormy, attended with a deal of thunder and lightning, wich did a deal of damage. August 6th. – Being Sunday, as is customary, tho a very bad habbit, George Metcalf, hatter, of Oldham was drowned in a pit near Bent, with imprudently going past his depth. This day nine of the mutineers were executed on board their respective ships, lying near Sheerness. August 14th – A verey wet night last. August 17th – An uncomon fine day, as was two of the last. The beginning of this month died at Edenburgh Thomas Peter Legh, Esquire, of Golburn, near Warrington, and of Lyme, in Cheshire, member of Parliament for Newton, Lancashire, and collonol of the Lancashire Light Dragoons. August 18th – Great storm of thunder, lightning, and rain begun this morning about six o’clock, which was tremendous behind expression. The cracks of thunder were awfully loud, the lightning very expressive, and came oftner in the course of a minute than ever remembered before. One James Andrew was killed with lightning near Lees, and the waters in consequence of the uncommon raining rose astonishing high, swept everything before it that fell in its way. At Middleton a son of Abraham Harrison’s, keeper of the Suffield Arms there, whilst viewing the rapidity of the stream, fell into the water, and notwithstanding in the presence of a great number of people, was drowned. He was found in the afternoon about one mile below Middleton after the water had abated. His father was present when he fell into the water, and was an unhappy spectator of the above catastrophe. He was betwixt nine and ten years of age.
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August 22nd – Saddleworth, this day a great number of people attended at a place called Raven Stones in Greenfield, for the purpose of blowing up by gunpowder a venerable large stone, called one of the Raven Stones, wich was situated upon a very high and lofty rock. When the people were mineing under the stone in order to lay their powder, the stone suddenly fell down and made its way down a large precipice, where a great number of spectators were assembled. Happily there was but one man killed but a great number where much wounded in its way to the water, wich runs down Grinfield, Its velocity and weight where so great that it crushed the smaller stone and levelled the ground so much that it resembled a new baldered road. The following was taken from the ‘Manchester Gazette’ of August 19th, 1797, the National Debt of Great Britain is £409,665,570, yearly interest £17,272,597, expense of the war last year only £62,357,312. According to Whitaker, the debt at the commencement of the war in 1793, was £239,250,248. In August, 1797, it was £170,000,000 more, over £40,000,000 a year being added for the four years. Among other remarks made by Hone, I find the following on the crisis: “So much coin had left the country for payment of troops abroad, and as subsidies to allies, that the Bank of England during 1796 began to feel a difficulty in satisfying the demands made upon it. At the close of the year the people began to hoard coins and to make a run on the country banks. These applied to the Bank of England for help, and the consequence was that a run upon it commenced in the latter part of February, 1797. This great establishment would only keep itself afloat by paying in sixpences. Notwithstanding the sound state of its ultimate resources its immediate insolvency was expected, an event the consequence of which must have been dreadful. In that exigency the Government stepped in with an order in council, February 26th, authorising the notes of the bank as a legal tender until such time as proper remedies could be provided. This suspension of cash payments by the Bank of England, a virtual insolvency, was attended by the usual effect of raising the nominal price of all articles, and of course it deranged reckonings between creditors and debtors. It was believed, however, to be an absolutely indispensible step, and the Conservative party always regarded it as the salvation of the country. A return to cash payments was from the first promised, and expected to take place in a few months, but, as is well known King Paper reigned for 22 years. During most of that time a guinea bought 27s. worth of articles. It was just one of the two features of the case that even a return to what should never have been departed from could not be effected without a new evil, for of course whereas creditors were in the first instance put to a disadvantage debtors were so now. The public debt was considered as enhanced a third by the Act of Sir Robert Peel for the resumption of cash payments, and all private obligations rose in the same proportion.” |
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William Rowbottom's Diary as published in the Oldham Standard |
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