Waugh’s Well, Scout Moor, Near Edenfield, Lancashire

OS Grid Reference: SD 8287 1957. On windswept Scout Moor between Edenfield and Cowpe in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, stands the Victorian memorial known as Waugh's Well, named after the famous Rochdale-born dialect poet Edwin Waugh (1817-1890), who was the son of a shoemaker. The poet often came to stay at a farm on the moors and, very often would visit and sit beside a spring of water, at Foe Edge. In 1866 a wellhead with a carved stone-head of the poet and a gritstone wall at either side, was built to honour the man who would come to be known as the Lancashire Poet Laureate and also Lancashire's very own "Burns". Following his death at New Brighton the well became a place of pilgrimage for devotees of the poet, but it was here on the moor at Foe Edge that Edwin Waugh composed some of his famous dialect poems, all having a strong Lancashire feel about them. The well lies about ¼ of a mile to the east of Scout Moor High Level Reservoir on the Rossendale Way footpath. The site is probably best reached from the A680 road and the footpath going past Edenfield Cricket Club, and then eastwards onto the moor itself for a few miles towards Cowpe.

Nick Howorth writing in a magazine article (1996) says of Waugh’s Well that: “The well, originally a spring, was converted into a memorial to Waugh in 1866. This was an extraordinary tribute to a man who was not only still in mid-career at the time, but who had only been famous as a writer of Lancashire dialect songs and poems for 10 years. His fame grew to the extent that by the time he died in 1890 he was variously called '”The Laureate of Lancashire”' or '”The Burns of Lancashire”', although he never achieved an international reputation. The well was rebuilt in 1966 and shows a bronze figurehead of Waugh with his dates, 1817-1890. His connection with the spring on Scout Moor was that he often stayed with friends living at Fo Edge Farm near the well, finding the solitude good for composing songs and poems.

"The name ‘Waugh’ is variously pronounced in Lancashire to rhyme with ‘draw’, ‘laugh’ or cough,…..but today ‘Waw’ is more usual. Edwin was born in 1817 in a cottage at the foot of Toad Lane, Rochdale, the second son of a prosperous clog-maker. All was well until his father died of a fever aged 37 when Edwin was nine years old. Years of penury followed but Edwin’s mother, Mary, held the family together. She was a devout Methodist, intelligent, and a good singer. By being careful, she kept Edwin at school until he was 12. She then educated him at home herself, fostering in him the seeds of artistic talent.”

Howorth goes onto say that: “His early career was a struggle against poverty. He was apprenticed to a Rochdale printer, Thomas Holden, when aged 14. This gave him opportunities to read widely although he was often ‘ticked off’ for reading during the shop hours. He also met local literary figures and politicians. Waugh held strong Liberal views but his boss was a Tory; they did not get on well. Between the ages of 20 and 30, Waugh worked in London and the south of England as a printer, but in 1844 he returned to Rochdale to work at Holden’s. They fell out over politics and Waugh left in 1847. In that year he abruptly married Mary Ann Hill, but although he loved her deeply, their natures were so far apart that the marriage was a disaster.

“For the next five years Waugh worked for the Lancashire Public School Association whose aim was to make a good quality primary education available to poor children. Waugh worked in Manchester, which he hated, but he met many of the city’s literary and intellectual leaders and talked literature, education and politics with other struggling writers. He was beginning to get articles and poems published in Manchester. He worked partime as a journeyman printer, earning money by printing copies of “Tim Bobbin” (John Collier’s masterpiece of 1746). In 1855 he borrowed £120 and published his first volume of essays, “”Sketches of Lancashire Life and Localities””. Then in June 1856 came the big breakthrough when “”Come Whoam to thi Childer an’ Me,”” was published in the Manchester Examiner, bringing him national prominence. The poem was republished as a penny card, earning him £5 for 5,000 cards.

“His reputation was made and he never looked back. His first collection of poems and Lancashire songs followed in 1859. A few of the titles give the flavor: '”God bless these poor folk!”', '”while takin’ a wift o’ my pipe”' and '”Aw’ve worn my bits o’ shoon away.” Apart from courtship and family life, his great love was nature. Many of his essays described excursions far beyond the Lancashire moors, such as Scotland and Ireland. Essays were often published as pamphlets selling for 6d or 1s, eg ‘Over Sands to the Lakes’, ‘Seaside Lakes and Mountains of Cumberland’, ‘Norbreck: A Sketch of the Lancashire Coast’ cost 1d. Waugh’s third area of composition was poetry in standard English. A few titles are: ‘The Moorland Flowers’, ‘Keen Blows the North Wind’, ‘God Bless Thee, Old England’ and ‘The Wanderer’s Hymn’. Subjects like these no doubt reflected the tastes of Victorian England.

Nick Howorth (1996) also adds that: “Another important Waugh activity for many years was giving public readings of his works, rather like his contemporary, Charles Dickens. Although these did not pay very well, they kept his name in the public eye. His big, open, friendly face and soft Lancashire accent made him a popular performer. He did not dress up for these public performances, was always an unkempt figure with big boots, thick tweeds and a heavy walking stick. This emphasized his humble origins to his audiences. In 1869, he read in public almost fortnightly in town halls all over the midlands and the north.

Waugh was an important figure in Lancashire’s literary history because he popularized dialect poetry and made it a valid part of English literature. Before Waugh, Lancashire dialect was difficult to follow, because it contained so many obscure words and spellings. Tim Bobbin, dating from 1746, is the best example of the “”old dialect”’. Readers have to refer constantly to the author’s glossary. Waugh simplified and standardized how Lancashire dialect should be written down, and it has hardly changed since then."

At the western edge of Broadfield Park, Rochdale, overlooking the Esplanade there is a very fine four-sided monument commemorating Edwin Waugh and three other local poets. (See photo below). This monument is called ‘The Lancashire Dialect Writers Memorial’. It was designed by Edward Sykes and erected on the land above the Esplanade in 1900. The pedestal is made of red granite and is topped by an obelisk. The four local poets are: Edwin Waugh (d. 1890), Oliver Ormerod (d. 1879), Margaret Lahee (d. 1895) and John Clegg (d. 1895). This fine memorial is inscribed with various poems and information regarding each writer, with their carved heads. A bit further along the path is a statue of John Bright (1811-1889 the Liberal MP for Manchester. Bright was a reformer and campaigner for the repeal of The Corn Laws (1839). In St Chad’s churchyard, Sparrow Hill, is the grave of Tim Bobbin alias John Collier (1708-1786), the satirical dialect poet who frequented the inns of Rochdale. His grave, with its now worn epitaph, is behind iron railings; but ‘the’ grave has become a place of pilgrimage for devotees of his life and works.

Sources/References:-

Nick Howorth, ‘Edwin Waugh – a man of ink, and his well’, Really Lancashire – A Magazine for the Red Rose County, Landy Publishing, Staining, Blackpool, Issue No. 2, August 1996.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Waugh

http://www.edwinwaughdialectsociety.com/waugh.html

https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2018/03/04/waughs-well-scout-moor-near-edenfield-lancashire/

Copyright © RayS57, 2020.

Around Bamford: St James' Chapel, Chapel Lane Near Rochdale, Great...

Around Bamford: St James' Chapel, Chapel Lane Near Rochdale, Great...: On a hilltop roughly halfway between Carr Woods (Coal Bank) and School Lane, near Norden, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, there is an early 16th century chapel dedicated to St James, and an attached graveyard. See more at the following Link:- https://rays57-aroundbamford.blogspot.com/2020/11/st-james-chapel-chapel-lane-near.html

St James' Chapel, Chapel Lane Near Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

On a hilltop roughly halfway between Carr Woods (Coal Bank) and School Lane, near Norden, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, there is an early 16th century chapel dedicated to St James, and a graveyard. The little building stands at the top end of Chapel Lane next to a building that used to be the Egerton Arms Inn, but which is now a private house. There are good panoramic views from here. The chapel is rectangular shaped and quite small in size (roughly 9m x 6m 29ft x 19ft), and has obviously been rebuilt on a number of occassions; the present building is of 1789 though it was enlarged in 1837. St James' Chapel was built by Thomas Holt of nearby Ashworth Hall in 1514 for the use of his tenents; Sir Thomas, formerley of Gristlehurst, was knighted at Flodden in Scotland in 1544. He was the first priest to officiate at St James' Chapel, Ashworth; he died in 1563. Sir Thomas's nephew, Robert, succeeded him as priest. By the early part of the 19th century the patrons of St James' chapel were the Egerton family of Tatton. Wilbraham Egerton (1781-1856) very likely had the Egerton Arms Inn, formerley called Chapel House, built just opposite the chapel in the early 19th century; and he also had the school-house built on what is now School Lane, in 1838, for the Ashworth Estate. This building is now St James' parish hall and it is still a pretty little building. St James' Chapel is 3 miles northwest of Rochdale town centre.

H.D.Clayton in his very interesting book 'A History of Ashworth near Rochdale' (1979), tells us more about St. James' Church: He says:

"Ashworth Church is dedicated to St James, but when that dedication took place is not known. Its distance from Ashworth Hall, the ancestral home of a branch of the Holt family, would preclude the idea of its having originally been a private domestic chapel. According to the Ecclesiastical Year Book it was in existence in 1514. It was probably built during the reign of Henry VIII by the Holts for the use of their tenants. Amongst the Holt family records of 1522 occurs more than once the name of 'Sir Thomas Holt, capellanus', and it may be assumed that he officiated at Ashworth. The inventory of Church goods taken by order of Edward VI in 1552 gives details of 'one vestment, chalice and paten as belonging to a chapel called Assheworthe in the parish of Middleton.' It remained in the parish of Middleton until 1867, when it became the parish of Ashworth covering the town- ship of Ashworth. In 1559 Robert Holt left '6s. 8d. to sustentation of Ashworth Chapel to be paid when the church reeves require it.' This Robert Holt, a nephew of Sir Thomas, is thought to have been priest at the chapel from 1548-52. The Chapel is shown on Saxton's Map of 1577. Because it was a Chapel of ease to Middleton for over 300 years, it is still known locally as Ashworth Chapel.

"The church, with the exception of the Chancel, was rebuilt and enlarged in 1789. In 1837 the Chancel, the only relic of the old building, was done away with and the east end of the Church made to assume its present shape. By this alteration and others in the gallery about 110 additional sittings were added, and the whole of the gallery, with the exception of that portion reserved for the singers, was understood to be appropriated 'henceforth and forever' for the use of the Sunday Scholars. The whole building was thoroughly repaired and wooden Gothic Mullions introduced into the windows.

"The church as it now stands is a plain rectangular building with the rather austere interior relieved by a very fine East window, given in memory of the Rev. David Rathbone, Vicar 1832-71, and members of his family. On the wall at the east end are miniatures of the Rev. Joseph Selkirk, Vicar 1821-32, and his wife. Many gifts to the church, too numerous to mention, have been made by parishioners. The Egertons of Tatton, as patrons of the living for nearly 200 years, helped financially when necessary and gave the Font, made of stone from Mount Tabor near Halifax, in 1852; a bell which did duty from 1774 to 1895, and a silver Chalice and Paten engraved with the Egerton Arms and the date 1808. Originally the clerk's desk, reading desk and pulpit were placed one behind the other, each being raised slightly higher than the one in front of it. In some churches these three were contained in a three decker pulpit. In the 18th century this arrangement was altered and, in 1933, Miss E. Baron gave a new pulpit, the old one going to a church in Northumbria. There is an unusual memorial inside the church on the west wall. It reads:

"Requiescat in Pace. Near this place rest the mortal remains of Benjamin Cass of Birtle, aged 64, and Alice his wife aged 78 obt. October 1st 1825

Let the man who lives without God in his life, Give ear to the voice from the grave; Tho' he look for tomorrow, the murderer's knife May attack when ther's no one to save.

We looked for tomorrow as we went to repose Thro the night on our lone humble bed. But the murderer came and the sun never rose To us - for our spirits had fled.

Live then to God whilst thou livest below And to Him give each day as it flies, Prepare for the grave, that when dead thou may'st go To dwell with thy God in the skies."

H. D. Clayton adds that: "Dr. Temple, Bishop of Manchester, preached at Ashworth in 1928 shortly before becoming Archbishop of York."

Source / References:-

Clayton H. D., 'A History of Ashworth near Rochdale', Ashworth Hall, Rochdale, 1979.

http://rochdalenorthwest.org/st-james/ https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ashworth,_Lancashire_Genealogy