GEORGE MELLOR - LOOK BACK AT LOSCOE - HAPPY WALKING - 1997

George Mellor (1917 - 2010) was the son of a coal miner from Loscoe in Derbyshire and seems to have lived in the Heanor/Loscoe area all his life, apart from six years military service stationed in Somalia during World War Two.

He worked as a teacher and on his retirement showed himself to be an accomplished amateur artist, poet and local historian. 

This is the story of his childhood, illustrated with his own sketches and with many digressions into the history of Derbyshire.

This has now become a scarce title, but we`ve kept the price within reason given the current climate. 

We have many titles in stock on the history of the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire area, and also a number of titles on coal-mining, including books by Robin Page Arnot, Keith Staley and Ann Goddard. Hopefully we have something to suit every pocket and every level of interest.

We have one copy of Mr Mellor`s book, which will be number 3809 in our listings and should appear online within the next twelve hours.

Long Eaton Library and a Local Historian`s Legacy

From cowboys and detectives we naturally move on to consider the life of a librarian.

Actually, this is by the way of being a personal request for information.

There is a tradition in our family that an ancestor of my mother`s was instrumental in the setting up of the first ever library at Long Eaton, a small manufacturing town on the Notts / Derbyshire border, in 1906.

 As a youngster I recall being shown a booklet on the history of the library, possibly a booklet commemorating the opening,  including a picture of the person in question. Unfortunately, when the relatives who owned the booklet died, having lived to a very great age, it couldn`t be found.

I believe my exalted ancester may have been Arthur Hooper, librarian at Long Eaton until 1938 and author of a book, possibly called The History of Long Eaton and District, which was published in 1954. He is credited with the quote "there is no castle, great house, battlefield or even moorland to give colour to the story" of Long Eaton.  It is true that the area has a long history (it is mentioned in the Doomsday book as the village of Aitone), but not a colourful one, though it is interesting in terms of the development of industry in the region and the story of the  attendant canals and railways.

I will be making my own enquiries as best I can, but if anyone has any information about Arthur, I`d be very glad to hear from you.

I don`t know if it helps, but I recall that I had two great aunts, Jessie and Edie (Edith), who lived in Long Eaton all their lives, so I presume if Arthur was related to me he was possibly their father or grandfather. They lived to be very old and were possibly involved in the Methodist Church and with good causes generally. I recall them sharing a council flat in later years, and my recollection is that they were unassuming and approachable but with a certain resilience common to many of my female relatives. I well remember my mother pointedly asking Jessie why she gave money to Help the Aged when she had little enough money to spare on herself. "I like to help the old people" she declared airily. She was 88 at the time.

Lastly, if anyone`s interested in issues affecting libraries today, you might like to see my articles Voices for Libraries (29 Sep 2010) and Voices for Libraries # 2 (9 Dec 2010) , both at http://angpav.blogspot.com/.

The Cowboy and the Detective

New Zealand-based author Keith Chapman, who writes as Chap O`Keefe, was kind enough to contact me recently after a reading a review of mine. My review, of  Walter Tyrer`s  The Strange Affair of the Shotgun Sniper, was posted on 4 Dec 2010 at The Sexton Blake Blog and  Mr Chapman`s comments are posted below the review.

MR C was basically contacting me to fill in a few gaps in my knowledge of the life of  author Walter Tyrer. I knew that Tyrer was born in a tough part of Liverpool and began his career writing school stories in the `20s and `30s, before branching out into romances, westerns and detective stories, including a number of rather quirky tales for the Sexton Blake Library series. He published some books, but made his name, and a considerable amount of money, writing as a freelance for the popular story magazines of the day, eventually setting up home in a rather swish residence on the banks of the Thames.  Keith was able to add to this that Walt then moved to Hove (Sussex) and penned some episodes of Coronation Street, also writing for Micron Publishing  under the name J T Lang - his only pseudonym as far as I know.

                                                             
Just as interesting is Mr Chapman / O`Keefe`s own career. Having encountered fictional detective Sexton Blake as a child in 1952 (John Hunter`s the Case of the Crooked Skipper was the first Blake he ever read), he was fortunate enough to work at Fleetway House on the editorial staff of the Sexton Blake Library during 1961/2, and went on to edit the Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine. He spent 35 years in newspaper and magazine journalism before returning to writing fiction in 1992 and is still writing today, mainly westerns, including the Misfit Lil and Joshua Dillard stories. He is editor of http://www.blackhorsewesterns.com/ , and in that respect, perhaps I could draw your attention to his articles `Detectives in Cowboy Boots` and `Farewell to a Small Giant` (a tribute to the late Sydney J Bounds which is also useful for casting light on the many pseudonyms used by Mr Bounds)  - both dated  March 2007.

Keith is in good company in choosing the western as his chosen vehicle. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bret Harte, Stephen Crane and O. Henry all donned their metaphorical stetsons at one time or another. His  Detectives in Cowboy Boots article, mentioned above,  is a fascinating guide to crime fiction writers who have also turned out westerns as a sideline - a surprisingly long list that includes Frank Gruber, John Creasey, John Hunter, Sydney Bounds and T C H Jacobs.

Should you wish to sample some of Mr O`Keefe`s work, then help is at hand ; a free excerpt from Chap O`Keefe`s Doomsday Mesa can be found at www.blackhorsewesterns.com. For further details of his back catalogue, visit http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/chap-okeefe . Hopefully we`ll be able to keep you up to date with his activities as we go along.

That, then, tells us a little of the life and times of Tyrer and O`Keefe. Walter Tyrer`s words are still read today (I`m one of the people that read them), when many of his more exalted peers are almost totally forgotten. Who`s to say that the same won`t happen to Chap O`Keefe ? Time will tell. 

Ironworks Revisited Again

We`ve looked at the issues surrounding the Stanton and Butterley Ironworks before ( A Tale of Two Ironworks, this blog, 6 February 2010 and Ironworks Revisited, this blog, 21 February 2010 ).

Now there`s further news on the fate of the Butterley Ironworks site, a place with a long and unique history (built in 1790) that takes in the Napoleonic Wars, the Pentrich Revolution and the building of  St Pancras Station !

I`ve touched on the underground wharf that allowed raw materials to be delivered by narrowboat, with finished products being lowered down a shaft to be distributed in the same way.

We`ve also looked at the presence of  inspectors on the site after demolition work by the site`s former owners, Coast Properties (a company that has now gone into administration, I understand),  caused complaints.

It now seems that English Heritage are likely to recommend to the minister that the site be
given special protecton as a scheduled ancient monument.

Friends of Cromford Canal (FCC) welcomed the news, commenting that "the wharf is a unique structure in the UK".

English Heritage expect to make their recommendations during February. FCC have indicated that they are "very happy and very hopeful" at that prospect.

ON THE WEB

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/

http://www.cromfordcanal.org.uk/

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

Andrew Polkey - The Civil War in the Trent Valley - Walk & Write, Darley Dale, Matlock, Derbyshire -

Born and raised in Derby, Andrew Polkey worked as a teacher in Nottingham before transferring to Burton and setting up home on the banks of the Trent.

For years, he waited for someone to write the story of the Civil War locally, but nothing was forthcoming. Deciding to unleash his passion for penmanship upon an unsuspecting world, he produced a published paperback, a picture of which you see above. Polkey`s persistence had paid off !

Ignore my awful aliteration, the truth is, in my opinion, we wrongly neglect key areas of our history such as the Civil War, Runnymede / the Magna Carta etc. Clearly, there is a lot of interest in local  / regional history wherever you go in the UK, and if Polkey can bring the two things together in a readable fashion, I`m all for it.

The Civil War in the Trent Valley is at 3778 in our listings.

William Longdon of Cotmanhay

This unusual monument can be found in the grounds of the church by the market place in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, which I gather is called St Mary`s. 

The monument was erected as a tribute to William Longdon of Cotmanhay, described as "Sergeant of the East Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry and many years Guardian of the Poor, Collector and Asseessor of Taxes, Constable for the Parish of Ilkeston."

His death, we are told, was "hastened by his unremitting exertions" and "his afflicted widow has lost a kind husband, the Shipley Troop, a trusty yeoman, the Parish of Ilkeston, an invaluable officer and the whole neighbourhood a conservator of  the peace whose name was a terror to evil-doers."

We are told that he died on 17 May 1821* ,  at the age of 41 or 42 and was buried in Ilkeston churchyard with full military honours, and that the monument was financed by contributions from his numerous friends.

He sounds a remarkable man and I`m sorry to say that his monument is beginning to look a bit weathered and overgrown. I suppose it is difficult to properly maintain these things - I don`t suppose I`d look so good if I`d been stuck in a churchyard for over 100 years !

*I was pretty sure he died in May 1821 at the age of 42, but I gather the relevant Parish Register has no corresponding entry for those dates, though it does record the burial of William Longdon, aged 41,  of Cotmanhay on 20 May 1827. I`ve gather  the local history society has also transcribed the inscription, and that they have it as 17 May 1827 and in the 42nd year of his life - see  http://www.ilkestonhistory.org.uk/.

Here are some more pictures, which may prove easier to read for those with sharper eyes than myself ! 

I am but a simple dabbler in such matters. In an ideal world I`d like to know more about this man and it would be nice if this fascinating item could be properly preserved - but I have limited spare time and little idea how these things are done. Does anyone else now ?

If this article interests you, you may also like `Thomas Richardson MBE, of 12 Squadron Bomber Command and Later a Trade Unionist`, which I posted on this blog 29 Nov 2009 if I recall correctly.

Colonel John Hutchinson and the Civil War in Nottingham

As a child, I was fascinated by stories of the English Civil War, a fascination helped along, no doubt by the fact that I grew up in Nottingham, a city with many sites associated with the war - Standard Hill, The Old Salutation Inn,  St Nicholas` Church, and with a number of place names commemorating that history - Parliament Street, Parliament Terrace etc.

Doing a bit of reading on the subject, I found pretty much straight away that one local story concerning the siege(s) of Nottingham Castle is not in fact true ! Many people believe that the steeple of St Nicholas` Church was shortened to allow Royalist artillery in the area behind the church to fire on the Castle, which was held by John Hutchinson`s Parliamentary forces. In fact, this is what normal people call `rubbish` ! The steeple of the church was used by Royalist snipers armed with muskets to fire into the Castle grounds, but no artillery was involved and in fact the church was demolished shortly afterwards (circa 1643) on Hutchinson`s orders to prevent a recurrence - the current church on the same site dates from 1682.

So who was this Hutchinson I hear you ask ? By happy chance I`m in a position to answer. 

 Born in Nottingham in 1615, John was the son of Sir Thomas Hutchinson MP , so unsurprisingly he grew up steeped in Parliamentary tradition, though in fact his mother was related to the Byrons, a family united in the Royalist cause.

University educated, John was something of a dilettante until meeting his future wife, Lucy, a  serious and studious girl who was to become his biographer. Perhaps appropriately, young Lucy was born in the Tower of London, where her father was a high-ranking official ! Eventually, John and Lucy set up house together in the Hutchinson family home in  Owthorpe, Notts.

Both had Puritan views and were critical of the rule of Charles I. When hostilities broke out between Royalists and Parliamentarians, Royalist forces attempted to seize Nottinghamshire`s supply of ammunition and gunpowder . Hutchinson demanded that they stop, but was ignored. Adapting his methods on the spot, he went away, but returned with a group of around 300 local people to back him up and announced that he and his new found allies were "prepared to lose their blood" if it came to a fight. The Royalists threatened that he had made himself "a marked man", but did so whilst beating a hasty retreat !  

When Royalists occupied the Newark area, Hutchinson took himself to Nottingham and repeated this tactic, rallying 700 local people to form a Defence Committee. One of his recruits was Henry Ireton of Attenborough, later to become Oliver Cromwell`s son-in-law.

Hutchinson was made Governor of Nottingham Castle in 1643 and is held to have conducted a vigorous defence, though some question why he prepared the castle for a siege instead of defending the whole town.

In 1646 he became MP for Nottingham and was later one of the men who signed the King`s death warrant.

Originally a radical, who regarded the King as a man who had declared war on the people, Hutchinson opposed Cromwell`s assumption of power in 1653 and refused to serve under him. Throughout  the 1650s Hutchinson and Lucy opted for a quiet life in Nottinghamshire, enjoying the countryside and  involving themselves in the education of their children. John served as a Magistrate during this time. However , the restoration of the monarchy was to bring an end to this idyllic existence, as the Royalists sought revenge on the `regicides` who authorised the execution of Charles I.

 Fearing that he would choose not to defend himself, Lucy wrote a letter to the authorities purporting to be from her husband, stating the reasons for his actions. Astonishingly, her improvised defence, taken together with other factors, proved persuasive and he was reprieved from a possible death sentence. There are various accounts of some of the various strategems behind this episode, an overview can be found in our man`s Wikipedia page.

It was to prove only a temporary respite, as John was falsely accused of participation in "a Northern plot" (revealing choice of words !) against Charles II. Imprisoned initially in  the Tower of London, the birthplace of  his wife, he was then transferred to Sandown Castle in Kent. Lucy rented rooms nearby and set off to Nottinghamshire to fetch the children. On her return, she learnt that her husband had died "of a fever" in her absence, a diagnosis she never accepted.  He was buried beneath the north wall of Owthorpe church, where I understand a Hutchinson Memorial can be seen today, complete with an inscription thought to be Lucy`s work.

What kind of man was Hutchinson ? He is said to have been an "untypical" Roundhead - reserved, polite and fashion-conscious, with long curly hair. It is recorded that he played a musical instrument, the viol, and enjoyed falconry.

As Governor of the Castle, he "ran a tight ship", with penalties for soldiers who behaved badly, which was unusual for the time. He allowed local people to live within the protection of the castle walls in return for their help with building defences. Lucy often acted as nurse during hosilities.

He treated his enemies well, possibly because he knew that some of his friends and family fought in the Royalist cause, and even on occasion invited prisoners to share an evening meal with him.

There was one occasion when his reputation for courteous and gentlemanly behaviour took a slight dent, when Royalist soldiers disguised as civilians entered Nottingham carrying concealed weapons. Forewarned, Hutchinson arranged for his troops to intercept them, which they did without difficulty. Some of the would-be attackers were believed to have drowned in the Trent during fighting on the bridge while a number were taken prisoner. 

For some reason, the incident enraged Hutchinson, who stated variously that he would have been happy if his men had thrown their captives into the Trent, that the prisoners should be executed as spies since they were in disguise and that they should be tortured to obtain details of the plot (though it is unclear what information he hoped to obtain).  In the event, none of the above actually took place. One of the prisoners was recognised as a former Parliamentarian soldier who had defected and he alone was executed. The others were exchanged for Roundhead prisoners held by the Royalists.  

After the war, Hutchinson had the castle demolished, much to Cromwell`s annoyance, stating he never wanted to see it used again in such a struggle.

He seems to have been troubled over the matter of King Charles` death warrant, possibly due to Cromwell`s heavy-handed efforts to get the verdict he wanted. According to Lucy, her husband prayed for guidance and eventually found "confirmation in his conscience that it was his duty to act as he did". In the event, he was the thirteenth person to sign the warrant. He is said to have later expressed remorse over this, but it is unclear if this is an accurate representation of his feelings on the subject.

Although he refused to serve under Oliver Cromwell, he did agree to act as Sheriff of Nottingham under the rule of Oliver`s son, Richard.

Was Hutchinson a good man ? I believe he was, also that he was a remarkable man who deserves to be remembered and is entitled to our respect.

 I don`t suppose this little article is much in the scheme of things, but if it introduces a few people to the life and times of Colonel John Hutchinson, I shall be happy with that. Most of the information above comes from Ian Brown`s A Guide to the Civil War in Nottingham (Nottinghamshire County Council) - any mistakes and misconceptions are my own, I`m sure ! 

There are a number of books about on the Civil War in Notts - here are a few that may be of interest, though I can`t claim to have read them all myself ;

1) Unknown (Royal Commission for Historical Monuments) - Newark on Trent ; The Civil War Siegeworks - HMSO, 1964

2) Lucy Hutchinson (author), James Sutherland (editor) - Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson - OUP, 1973

3) A C Wood - Nottinghamshire in the Civil War - OUP, 1937

4) Tim Warner - Newark : Civil War and Siegeworks - Notts County Council

5) Unknown (Notts Archive Office)  - Discovering the Civil War in Nottinghamshire (Notts County Council)

6) Ian Brown* (author) , Gillian Elias (illustrator) - A Guide to the Civil War in Nottinghamshire (Notts County Council)

A copy of this last item is available from Hoonaloon Books (our item number 3697) , as are   ;

7)  Unknown - The Civil War 1642 - 1651 : A Pitkin Guide - Pitkin Pictorials 1993 (our item number 3698).

8)  Young - An Illustrated history of the Great Civil War 1642-1648 - Spurbooks (our item 1883)

9) Plowden - The Women All on Fire  - Sutton (item 2552)

* A number of booklets by Ian Brown can be found in our listings, including Nottinghamshire Industrial heritage (2505) and Samuel Butler of Langar (2219).