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Knutsford Literary Society enjoyed
a lecture on The Poet, Thomas Gray and at their next meeting the
subject would be Mahomet. The last meeting of the session was: 'An
Evening with the late Sir Arthur Sullivan' given by G.W.Bebbington
, the Parish church organist and choirmaster.
At the end of the month the AGM of Knutsford Literary Institute
and Working Men's Library was held in the reading room. There was
a record attendance as Rev G.A. Payne was voted to the Chair. He
asked for more liberal support for this assett to the town. It had
a well stocked library (gifts of books were welcome ) kept the daily,
weekly and illustrated papers. There were rooms for chess, draughts
and dominoes : all this for a penny a week. Richard Harding Watt
regretted that business pressures forced him to relinquish the office
of Chairman. He might have added that he was busy obtaining 'hundreds
of signatures' in favour of the Pure Beer
Bill!!
Rev Payne's book: 'Knutsford and Mrs Gaskell'
was going into a second edition.
On 16 March, after several postponements for weather, Mobberley
Ploughing Match was held with five classes, including ploughing
double and single furrows and best ploughman under 20.
A Knutsford man was sentenced to one month's hard labour for stealing
a pigeon from a loft on Moorside. It was found in his house
cooked and ready to eat. He had been warned once.
The May Day Committee met at the Town Hall on 7 March and ballotted
for Lottie Cragg as May Queen.
Left: Committee Notice 1894
Council business concerned the management of piggeries in the town,
enforcing bye laws. There was a difference of opinion about those
behind the Feathers in Canute Place; neighbours had signed a petition
saying they had no objections. It was decided that properties in
King Street should be numbered.
There was confusion between the fire bell and the work house bell
so it was recommended that the latter should be tolled instead of
rung.
Many older Knutsfordians
will remember these cottages (above) - The Feathers was closed down
about 1910 . I remember a strong wall at the back ,made of upright
stone slabs which must have housed the pigs.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer was believed to be considering
the imposition of a cycle tax. There were now 2,000.000 cycles but
such a tax would not yield a great sum and would be as unpopular
as the dog muzzling order.
Murder at Marthall John Hyland ,
a 21 year old farm labourer was accused at Chester Assizes of killing
Martin Mullin at Marthall on 9th February.A group of farm labourers
left The Egerton Arms aand were nort drunk but Patrick o'Connor
truned round and saw the prisoner strike Mullin and the face and
kick him when he fell. The others pulled him off as he said: 'I
gave him what he wanted and have a good mind to go back and finish
him'. He died three days later. The two men had an old grudge. Hyland
was sentenced to five years for manslaughter.
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History
Now
that name was familiar to me and I already knew that he had married
the daughter of the previous owner of the Royal George, Thomas Hooley,
who had been there when Queen ( then Princess) Victoria visited
it in 1832; that was when the inn became The Royal George but you
can still see George and the Dragon decorating the archway. I also
found his grave in St John's church yard.
Checking
the family in the 1861 census I found that the eldest son in 1861
was 16 year old Frederick Hurst, bank clerk. I had 'met' him before,
when researching the life of Trumpet Major Smith who withdrew some
money from the Union Bank before committing suicide; Frederick Hurst
gave evidence at the inquest. I found more details of Frederick
from the burial inscriptions of St John's where his (now missing)
grave stone recorded his residence at 'The Coppice' which is on
Tabley Road. He died in 1942 at the advanced age of 97.