Winter/Spring 2013

What is the link between the Charge of the Light Brigade and Worsley?

Newsletter

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Cover Picture

Scene of the 17th Lancers charging at the Battle of Balaclava See article by Norma Slinn on Richard Hall Williams page 8

Chairman’s Introduction

Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2013. Best wishes for 2013. We have GOOD NEWS and, what many consider to be, BAD NEWS. The GOOD NEWS is that £400,000 has been obtained to improve the Old Warke Dam - AT LAST!!! Worsley Civic Trust Committee started campaigning around 1974 to improve the state of the Old Warke Dam. Trevor Royle, Mike Ingham and Bob Boyd all put a great deal of effort into the project. In 2000 The Civic Trust set up the Old Warke Dam Society to take a lead and try to obtain finance and work with officers of Salford Council to improve the Dam. TOWDS had many ups and downs in trying to gain finance. The efforts of the Woods Action Group, Dam Steering Group, Salford Rangers (lead by Annie Surtees) and the Worsley Councillors have had a big impact on the campaign. A big Thank You to all those involved - You know who you are! See more detail in the article. The BAD NEWS is that Peel Holdings in partnership with Taylor Wimpey are applying for planning permission for all our green spaces - starting with 90 houses on Vicars Hall Lane, Boothstown, and in excess of 450 houses either side of Worsley Road referred to as Broadoak Park. At a packed public forum at St Marks Church, on Monday 4 February 2013, local residents voted to form a campaign group to oppose planning applications, which involve the loss of greenfield sites. We will keep you informed. Please check our website and Facebook page for the latest news.

Anne Broomhead

‘ Anne Broomhead

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Inside this Issue

Chairman’s Introduction 2 Your Trust on the Web 3 Core Stategy – Upate 4 The Worsley Woods Action Group 6 Richard Hall Williams – Village Postmaster 8 Worsley and Catherine the Great 11 Bridgewater Canal Development – Update 12 An Appeal to Walkden People 14

Your Trust on the Web www.worsleycivictrust.org

The Worsley Civic Trust website has many interesting links. It is regularly updated with matters of interest. We have a Facebook account on the Internet. Searching for Facebook on your web browser can access this and then when on the Facebook site enter ‘Worsley Civic Trust’ in the ‘Search’ field on the Home Page. (www.facebook.com/pages/Worsley-Civic-Trust/128762887190320) This is being used as a repository for photographs and memorabilia, for scenes and events within the catchment area covered by the Trust - Boothstown, Ellenbrook, Little Hulton, Roe Green, Walkden, Wardley and Worsley. We would like to hear your views about the websites and any other matters including planning applications, which may concern you.

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Core Strategy – Update By Beryl Howard

A public examination was held during September 2012, conducted by an independent Planning Inspector into the Salford City Council’s proposed Core Strategy. After three weeks of submissions and a tour of Salford West, the Inspector wrote to the City Council explaining giving reasons why the Core Strategy was unsound and suggesting that the scale of housing and economic development needed to be increased. That meant more land had to be identified in addition to that already outlined in the Core Strategy. The examination hearing was suspended and the City Council was asked to respond to the Inspector’s concerns. These concerns identified the need to release significant areas of land which was likely to include ‘greenfield’ areas. The conclusion was that it would not be possible to modify the Core Strategy’s proposals at this late stage to satisfy the Inspector’s concerns. It was therefore decided that a Local Plan would be produced which was agreed to by the City Council in November 2012. This course of action would allow the concerns of local communities and other stakeholders to be considered. The documentation relating to the hearing can be found at http;//www.salford.gov.uk/core-strategy-examination-library.html. Although the City council has opted for a Local plan, it will be about 4 years before the document can be produced. This in fact means having to revert to the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) that has been used for the last 16 years. This would not be a problem except that the planning rules have been reduced from 1000 pages to 59 pages now referred to as the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This, unfortunately, does not offer the same ROBUST protection for Greenfield as it does for land designated as Greenbelt. Having attended the public examination of the Core Strategy which was about the whole of Salford, it was very significant that the landowners’ main target was Salford West, referring the Inspector on a daily basis the need for more land to be released for housing. No brownfield sites were of interest!!! Taylor Wimpey has already held two road shows, the first relating to land in Boothstown and second to two parcels of land in Worsley.

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Fig. 1 Areas under threat in Worsley and Boothstown marked in red

Outline planning permission is expected to be sought in the near future and other applications for other developments in the Salford West area are thought to be imminent.

List of areas under threat at present – December 2012

Location Township Approx. number of houses Broadoak Park Worsley 600 Crossfield Drive Worsley 150-200 Beesley Green Worsley 30-60 Greylag Crescent Worsley 10 Hazelhurst Worsley 400-450 Lumber Lane Worsley 25-30 Mesne Lea Road Worsley 25 Vicars Hall Lane Boothstown 80 Simpson Grove Boothstown 23 The Moorings Boothstown 18 (includes retail units) Please attend all the future road shows to give your views on this assault on green spaces in Salford West. Our Greenfield and Greenbelt spaces are vital lungs for all of Salford. More houses also means more traffic, which we all know will add to the current congestion problems. Be aware that planning applications that will follow these road shows very shortly. Please look out for them and write to Salford Council to give your views on further development of Salford West, whether you agree or not.

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THE WORSLEY WOODS ACTION GROUP By Ged Coeulle

The Worsley Woods Action Group was formed in 2005 by a group of residents who were anxious about the state and future of the woodland and everything in them. They were particularly concerned about the apparent lack of interest by Salford City Council. The group included some councillors, and some representatives of local organisations, but mainly those who use and enjoy the woodland. Meetings have continued since then, meeting in members’ houses, St. Mark’s Church Hall and most recently the meeting room at the Bridgewater Hotel. The Group have been fortunate to have received at all times the help and presence at our meetings of senior staff of the Council’s Ranger Team whose interest in the woods has been of crucial benefit to our funding and organisation of outside and internal activities. Important to our work has been the organisation of volunteer helpers who have carried out countless hours of work throughout the years, on projects prepared and monitored by Ranger staff. This work has mainly been carried out on Saturday and Tuesday mornings and has included rhododendron cutting, path clearance, litter picking, repairing of steps, bench building, hedge building, “Balsam bashing”, stream clearing, fencing repairs, bush planting adjacent to the loop-line and on the path leading to St. Mark’s School, and the planting of oak “whips”. Certainly our most important achievement to date is to secure funding to install several silt traps on the access streams to the Old Warke Dam. Their installation has reduced the problems of the silting of the Dam. There is the possibility of further funding of £103,500 from SITA Landfill Trust and Section 106 planning obligation funding which would allow more work on this project including improvements to the footpaths around the dam. Also we are very proud of the installation of the special children’s play area, made from wooden materials which were funded by Section 106 monies. The Ranger Team has carried out the following improvements to the woodlands - a boardwalk, several wild several wild flower wood-carvings, the stepping-stones and a new bridge next to the stepping-stones. Additionally fifty cherry and fifty rowan trees have been planted during National Tree week and more beeches can now be planted.

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The team has also cleared brook, removed diseased trees, erected notice boards and made a start on the eradication of Japanese Knotweed. Wild flower seeds and plants have been planted and leaflets about volunteering distributed. The Group has lobbied extensively and has succeeded in obtaining funding from the Community Committee, the Bridgewater Canal Corridor Group, Greening Greater Manchester, Section 106 Planning, BIFFA, BTCV, the Big Lottery Fund Bio-Diversity Grant, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Health Improvement team and Red Rose Forest Funding. Voluntary outside help has been received from the Orange Rock Corps, the Wildlife Trust, Pearson Vue volunteers, the Youth Offending Team, the Brownies and even a resident who has erected several bird boxes. Activities in the woods have been encouraged, supported by the Ranger Team. Walks have been arranged to encourage parents and children into the woods, some with a theme (Teddy Bear’s Picnic, Easter Egg Hunt etc.). Other activities have included guided school visits to the woods, fun runs, the Woodlands Race, orienteering events as well an owl box day, bat walks and a fungi training days. Currently we are meeting with representatives of Taylor Wimpey to discuss their proposals to build extensively in the Worsley area, several of which would impinge on the woodlands. STOP PRESS As of the 21st January 2013 funding to the value of £400,000 has been secured and work is be carried out later this month on he Old Warke Dam which is an integral part of Worsley Woods. For an action plan of the work and an explanatory map please see Worsley Civic Trust Facebook page. For more information about our regular meetings contact the Secretary, Ian Macdonald, at macdonaldjwimac@sky.com or 794 2079. For more information about current activities or to get involved in volunteering please contact rangers@salford.gov or 793 4219

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Richard  Hall  Williams  –  Just  A  Village  Postmaster?  by Norma Slinn

Have you ever wondered who has previously lived in your house? I was intrigued after looking up previous residents of my home, which was built in the 1700’s. In 1901, my home served as Worsley Post Office. In that year you were likely to have been attended to by an elderly postmaster or his wife, Richard and Fanny Williams. In the census of 1901 Richard is recorded as being eighty-one and Fanny sixty-seven. The couple lived with their two sons, Charles and George, aged thirty six and twenty six, two unmarried daughters, Florence and Maud, aged thirty one and twenty-seven, and a married daughter, Harriet Taylor, aged thirty five together with her son Richard aged five. Charles and George are both listed as being clerks and Maud's occupation is that of telegraphist. Florence does not have an occupation but is recorded as being an "imbecile". They had two other daughters, Emma and Laura, who lived away from home by 1901 and a son Richard who had died in 1885 aged sixteen. But who was Richard Hall Williams? He was born in 1819 near Bath and his father was the owner of a tailoring business selling fine clothes to the local gentry. In November 1843 he enlisted into the 17th Lancers in London. By September 1851 he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant and had served in Ireland during the potato famine riots. He then served in the Crimean War for two years, seeing action at the battles of Alma, Sebastopol, Balaclava and The Inkerman. It was during the Battle of Balaclava that the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred on October 25th 1854. Six hundred and seventy three cavalrymen took part in the ill-fated charge. One hundred and ten men were killed, one hundred and thirty were wounded and fifty-eight were captured. Richard was one of the lucky ones who emerged unharmed, or at least, unharmed by the Russians. He had been suffering from a painful boil on his nose and during the charge was seen to be wearing a muffler around his face. He later reported, "My visage was so fearsome that the Russians even held their fire. But the pain was so great that on the following day I had to report to the Regimental Surgeon, a step not to be taken lightly then. Two orderlies

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held me and I received a smart buffet on the nose, which dispersed the fluid." In 1855 Richard was promoted to Troop Sergeant-Major and by the end of 1857 he was aboard the SS Great Britain on his way to India. He took books with him and taught himself the Hindustani language during the long voyage. This stood him in good stead as it meant that on his arrival he was made Quartermaster. He saw action in the Indian Mutiny at Zeerapore and Baroda. His wife and two daughters joined him and in 1865 his son Charles was born. Richard obviously loved life in India because, when it was time for him to retire in 1867, he and Fanny wanted to remain in the country. He made a request to stay to his Colonel, the Duke of Cambridge. Back in England, Francis Charles Egerton, the 3rd Earl of Ellesmere, had a slight problem. He needed a new drill instructor for the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry, based in Worsley. The retiring instructor, Sergeant Major Will Adams, was a distinguished veteran who had fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and the Earl wished his replacement to be a man of similar distinction. He asked his friend, the Duke of Cambridge to find him such a man. He recommended Troop Sergeant Major Williams and so the family reluctantly left India and settled in Worsley. Richard began his duties as instructor in October 1867 and was also given the position of Worsley Postmaster based at 61 Barton Road, opposite the Lime Kilns. He was Postmaster for thirty-six years and by 1901 he and the post office had moved to Worsley Road, opposite the Estate Offices at the junction of Mill Brow. The present owners still have part of the original post office counter. During his time at Worsley, Richard served as sidesman at St Mark's Church for over thirty years, drilled the local boys and girls for over twenty years and was secretary of the Worsley Library and Institute. He was also responsible for the founding of a Masonic lodge, which met at the Courthouse and had the Earl of Ellesmere as its first Grand Master. Richard Hall Williams died on July 7th 1910 aged ninety-one and his headstone can be still be seen in in St Mark's churchyard. Richard Hall Williams was more than just a village postmaster!

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Worsley and Catherine the Great by Christopher Richardson

Having readily acquiesced in the plot to depose and strangle her husband Tsar Peter III, Catherine II ruled Russia from 1762 to her death in 1796. Known by history as Catherine the Great, the Empress was a woman of many parts. She was one of Europe’s benevolent despots and closely involved herself with the political and military intrigue of her day, bent on the security and aggrandisement of the Russian Empire. In 1764, for example, she helped her lover Poniatowski gain the throne of Poland, thus strengthening her power in the region. Catherine had intellectual tastes, corresponding, among others with Voltaire and Diderot. As well as her interest in philosophy she kept herself informed about contemporary developments in literature, art, architecture and the sciences. She set an example in the early days of inoculation by successfully undergoing it herself. The Empress was intent on making St. Petersburg as elegant and distinguished as Paris or Vienna. She had a particular passion for English-style gardens and to enhance her numerous palaces she was a collector on a monumental scale. In 1779, for example, she bought some 400 paintings from Houghton Hall in Norfolk, originally collected by Sir Robert Walpole. These were later to provide the core of the great Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. In the decade before Catherine’s accession the Industrial Revolution was underway in England. An important part of this was to lead to the development of a network of canals across the United Kingdom. In the forefront of this activity was Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, later known as the Canal Duke. Part of his widespread estates comprised the Manor of Worsley, which included richly endowed coalfields. Such was the atrocious state of England’s roads that the transport of goods and raw materials by water was realised to be both cheaper and more efficient. Francis had to distribute his coal to its ultimate markets and he conceived the idea of the Bridgewater Canal, which initially was to go from Worsley to Manchester. To this end an Act of Parliament in March 1759 allowed a start to be made and following two further Acts the canal reached Manchester in 1764. Among the notable features of design was the underground canal system,

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which enabled coal to be taken in narrow barges called starvationers from the mines to the Delph where it was transferred to conventional barges for the onward journey to Manchester. Equally celebrated was the aqueduct at Barton enabling boats to cross by this means over the River Irwell and continue along the canal to Manchester. These inventions attracted visitors from all over the country and abroad. One was Josiah Wedgwood, who became the greatest British innovator and manufacturer of ceramics. A shrewd operator, he too realised the benefits to the Staffordshire pottery industry of extending the river routes currently used for conveying goods to and from the potteries by means of connecting canals, thus eliminating the reliance on road transport for some 30 miles of the journey. He was personally received in Worsley by the Duke on 6 July 1765 and given a conducted tour. His own canal plans were shown to the Duke who not only offered his patronage, realising the benefits of cooperation for future developments, but ordered a creamware table service costing £160.00. Josiah then sailed across the aqueduct in the Duke’s gondola to Manchester. Many potters in the 18th century produced the cream glazed pottery, which was destined to revolutionise the market for tableware both in Britain and overseas. Wedgwood’s efforts in the 1760s to perfect his creamware, which could be decorated with painted motifs and printed patterns, played a major role in establishing its enormous popularity. The new wares were basically low in price, attractive and quite durable. Although Wedgwood was by no means the only exponent in developing and refining creamware, he was undoubtedly one of the most successful. Later in 1765 Josiah was greatly helped by an order from Queen Charlotte for a creamware tea set. By 1766 he was known as ‘Potter to the Queen’ and had adopted the name Queen’s Ware for his product. An even more prestigious order was received in 1773 from Catherine the Great, who had previously commissioned a dinner service for 30 in Queensware known as the Husk Service. This time it was a dinner and dessert service for 50, which as to comprise some 952 pieces. Each piece was to be decorated with different British views. This became known as the Frog Service, every item bearing a green frog

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crest, in allusion to the Chesmensky Palace for which it was made, in an area know as La Grenouilliere, the Frog Marsh. Subjects to be included were English gardens, so dear to Catherine’s heart, landscapes, country houses and some industrial scenes, the latter reflecting the Empress’s interest in significant modern developments. The huge undertaking was completed in just over a year and before being dispatched to Russia much of it was displayed in London to a selected audience. An oak leaf border was used for the dinner service and one of ivy leaves for the dessert service. The colour of the decoration was described as black heightened with a purplish cast. Among many others were depicted views of Kew Gardens, Stowe, Chatsworth and Harewood House. The industrial scenes included the Prescot glass works, a colliery in Kingswood, Colebrookdale and two views of the Bridgewater Canal; one was the Barton Aqueduct, the other a view of the Worsley Bridge on the Bridgewater Canal. (See below)

The former piece has not survived but the latter, on a 16inch oval dish, remains. The scene is still familiar today, more than 230 years later, with the former Lantern Gallery centre and two arches of the bridge to the right. To mark the bicentenary of Josiah’s death, an exhibition was held in 1995 at the Victoria and Albert Museum – The Genius of Wedgwood. More than 300 pieces of the Frog Service were lent by the State Hermitage Museum, where the service is now displayed. The dish depicting the Bridgewater Canal was included in the exhibition, illustrated not only inside the catalogue but also on the back cover. Such is the celebrity of the Duke’s canal.

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Bridgewater Canal Improvement Scheme Visit to Lancaster Canal

By Anne Broomhead Last year a lottery bid by Salford Council, to develop the Bridgewater Canal corridor from Barton through to Astley Green, successfully got through the first round of the bidding process. A grant of £76,000 was given by the National Lottery for the second round of the bidding process in which more detailed plans will have to be developed and submitted if the bid for a grant of £10 million is to be successful. As part of the development stage Council officers, in conjunction with members from local community groups, are visiting other canal groups who have received grants, to use their experiences and expertise to assist Salford in the bidding process. Anne Broomhead and Andrew Darlington are representing the Civic Trust on this group. The first visit took place in mid December to the Lune River Aqueduct, where the Lancaster Canal crosses the River Lune to the east of the city. A two hour site visit, followed by a further hour and a half question and answer session in the offices of the Canal and Rivers Trust, highlighted a number of areas which need to be addressed if, not only the bid, but the long term success of the Bridgewater Corridor, is to be assured. Among these areas are adequate parking and toilet facilities for users of the corridor; the long-term involvement of the community and local businesses; educational benefits which can accrue from viewing visitor notice boards; and, the use of technology. Visits are planned to other canals projects, which have received lottery funding so that Salford’s final lottery bid will benefit from suggestions and ideas, gained from these visits.

Fig 1 Lancaster Canal Aqueduct over River Lune

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How to View Salford’s Planning Applications Part of the remit of the Civic Trust is to help retain the character of the area. Plans for developments and alterations to properties can be viewed, on line, through the City of Salford’s website, follow this link. http://publicaccess.salford.gov.uk/publicaccess/. This will take you to the ‘Search Page’ where you can find applications submitted to the Planning Department at the Council. If you see anything that might need bringing to the Committee’s attention please inform us by phone or by email. (See rear cover for details)

An Appeal to Walkden People Dear Sir/Madam Amberley Publishing is currently looking for new or experienced authors, photographers and key members of the community to contribute to our exciting Through Time series of local history books. In your area we have the following potential title; Walkden Through Time. The Through Time concept is ninety-six pages, a then and now book, containing around ninety-two old photographs or postcards, each paired with a new photograph in full colour to show how the same scene, or a related one, has changed over time. Each pair of photographs will have a short descriptive caption. From doing our research, I can tell Walkden is a vibrant area, with a rich local history. If you are interested in producing this kind of book for us, or know of anyone else who might be, please let me know, or pass on my contact details, which can be found below. I can of course supply any further information as required. Kind regards, Rosie Rogers r.rogers@amberleybooks.com The above was passed on, for circulation amongst our membership, by Neil Stapleton from Friends of Walkden Station.

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Subscriptions Have you paid your 2012/13 subscription? If not, please send a cheque, made payable to “Worsley Civic Trust’’ Please note below address details. Also if you know of anyone who would like to join, please pass on the form below.

Current Membership Fees

Individual £7 per annum Family £12 per annum Corporate £25 per annum Life member £100 (Maximum 20 years)

Please make cheques payable to ’Worsley Civic Trust’ and send to our Membership Secretary, Worsley Civic Trust, C/O 24 Grange Road, Winton, Eccles M30 8JQ Tel No 0161 789 2023

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President Robert Boyd Chairman Anne Broomhead

Hon Treasurer Andrew Darlington Secretary Annette Walsh

Paul Burgess Michael Corless Adrian Dunning Karen Garrido Beryl Howard John Mosley

Christopher Richardson Norma Slinn

Committee 2012-2013

Contact Point 24 Grange Road Winton, Eccles M30 8JQ

Tel No. 0161 789 2023 Email: info@worsleycivictrust.org

Visit our Website as it contains links to other pages that may be of interest to the membership.

www.worsleycivictrust.org