Denton and Dukinfield Halls

and the archaeology of the Gentry and Yeoman House in North West England 1500 to 1700

Volume 2 in the Archaeology of Tameside Series

Michael Nevell and John Walker

ISBN 1 871324 27 0

2002 Tameside MBC

116pp £7.95

This is the second volume in the Archaeology of Tameside series, a follow up to the nine volumes of the History and Archaeology of Tameside series which have greatly contributed to interest in the local history and archaeology of Tameside for the past decade.

The subject matter is the two of the demolished halls in the Tameside area, once noted for the survival of so many, which alas is now not the case. Both of these halls, Mediaeval high status structures in origin, were in use as farms at the end of their existences, and it is this that the book seeks to explain.

Both buildings have been the subject of archaeological excavation, Denton Hall having had more attention with three excavations to Dukinfield Hall's two. (The first of these being undertaken by the fledgling Denton Local History Society in 1980).

NeveII and Walker provide a thorough introduction to both sites and devote a chapter to the career of Colonel Robert Duckenfield. There are beautiful reconstruction paintings of the halls in the Civil War period, one of which graces the front cover of the book.

The halls are not only placed in their historical context, but also in their typological context. The change in design from a simple open hailed structure to those with H or T shaped floor plans and a covered hall and then the change into courtyard design is shown with the aid of floor plans from a sample of 64 other gentry houses from Greater Manchester. From this the authors note the differences from mediaeval houses to

post-mediaeval houses (especially the growing trend for privacy) and relate these findings by using the two halls as examples.

The downfall of these houses was that having been adapted so far from their origin, they cam up short against eighteenth century building styles and were abandoned for newer buildings, Dukinfield Hall being replaced by the Strawberry Hill Gothic Dukinfield Lodge for example. These buildings were then encased in brick as happened to both of the halls and let to tenants. Neglect then sets in and there is a wave of demolition from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, during which both of these structures, apart from the detached northern wing of Denton Hall, now relocated to Alderley Edge, and Dukinfield Old Hall Chapel (the first nonconformist place of worship) which sits incongruously in Bardsley's yard were demolished.

This book seeks to remind us of what we have lost with the passing of these structures.

A glossary of other surviving gentry and yeoman houses in the North West completes the book.

This book's predecessor was unfortunately sprinkled with printing errors, and while this is superior in this respect, there are still a few, the worst of which occurs in the page headings to chapter 4. This is sad, as the book deserved better.

This volume marks the end of an era as John Walker is moving from Manchester to York after many years of devoted service to the archaeology of Greater Manchester. I am sure that anyone who is interested in the archaeology of this area will regretfully wish him well.

.

PETER LEEMING

 

 

Denton's "Green Man"

Whilst Nevell and Walker's recent book on Denton and Dukinfield Halls is excellent there is one omission which 1 regret. They barely allude to the decorative work which was visible in Denton Hall. This is a shame as there are two examples of a curious phenomenon to be found within this structure. These are actually mentioned by Pevsner in his South Lancashire volume. He mentions two 'foliate heads'. This is a more 'scientific' way of referring to the decorative style more popularly known as 'the Green Man'. This phrase was popularised by Lady Raglan who hit upon the connection between the faces staring from carvings all over the world and such May-Day types as Jack-in-the-Green, or the Burry Man, or Robin Hood, who is the usual depiction on pub signs for that name. Before Lady Raglan's use of the phrase, there was no name for this phenomenon, indeed we do not even know what the artisans who made them called them.

The pioneering study of this odd form of decoration was that of Kathleen Basford, who produced a beautiful volume of photographs. There is now, thirty or so years later, a fully-fledged Green Man industry. There is an art gallery solely devoted to selling reproductions or new pieces in Pickering, Yorkshire, societies devoted to the recording of occurrences of Green Men and a never ending stream of books on the subject.

What links all these ventures, which range from art history to environmentalism to reconstructed paganism is this enigmatic symbol. Perhaps it is because no-one really knows why these images were made or what they mean, that such a wide variety of interpretations occurs.

There are two main types of Green Man. They are usually given French names, the Tates des Feuilles (faces made out of leaves) and the Masque Feuillu (head with foliage coming out of orifices). The Denton Hall specimens are of the latter variety, also known as 'foliage spewers', but the foliage can come from the ears, eyes and nose as well as the mouth. Why this is is unclear. Many suggestions have been made in the past, but no-one really knows for certain. Are the faces spewing forth the foliage or are they eating it? No-one knows.

What is known for certain is that this is a very old idea. There are Green Men dated from the second century AD from Germany, Lebanon and Iraq. There is then, at least eighteen hundred years worth of examples to study. The style has retained its popularity and was everywhere in churches, bosses, corbels, misericords, capitals on columns (such as the ones in Manchester Cathedral), gravestones in Scotland and in paintings.

Indeed it is this plethora of churchly examples which leads me to suspect that the theory that part of Denton Hall might have been a chapel at one stage is quite correct. The Green Man does occur in 'secular' contexts, but it is primarily a church decoration during the period in which Denton Hall was built.

The Denton Hall heads are identical twins. They are one either side of a sloping panel (see figs 1 and 2). The carving is rustic, with pudding bowl haircut, protruding tongue and vine leaf branches coming out of the corners of the mouth. (See fig 3).This Green Man has a rather blank expression compared to some which look quite malevolent or in anguish. The ears and nose do make it look a bit animal like. (There are such carvings such as the 'Green Lions' in Manchester Cathedral). The text accompanying the photograph in Denton and Naughton (1977; Compiled by Jill Cronin and the Denton Local History Society) suggests that this possibly depicts the Green Man. I'm prepared to stick my neck out and say that that is exactly what it is. There are hundreds of examples of foliage spewing heads all over the world, but ones with the tongue sticking out are not common. In the history of art the tongue sticking out has been attributed to Bacchus, the Gorgon, the Egyptian god Bes ,the Devil and the equally curious figure the sexually explicit sheela-na-gig, best exemplified by the one in Kilpeck, Hertfordshire, whose open legged posture attracts thousands of sightseers annually. A recent work on sexual carvings on medieval churches Images of Lust by Anthony Weir and James Jerman notes that 'the phallic significance of the tongue needs no inquest.' Returning to the Denton and Haughton book, the suggestion that the Green Man is an early fertility symbol is therefore given more weight. Not only does Denton Hall's example have foliage coming from its mouth, it's showing us more than polite society would perhaps like to know.

Why then were items like this placed in churches? No one knows for sure, perhaps they were 'a sermon in stone', a warning against sinning, a reminder that 'all flesh is grass', a combination of ancient pagan fertility practises. Now there are other interpretations, notably the environmental lobby has taken the Green Man as a symbol of humanity's 'one-ness' with the Ear ]fend a warning about our current deadly antipathetic attitude towards it.

There are other Green Men in the area, indeed once you start looking, there are thousands of them. There are at least three at Bredbury Hall (thank you to Jill Cronin for this information and also for the intriguing suggestion that the style is reminiscent of Celtic stone heads found in the vicinity) which may have been contemporary to Denton Hall's. Also there are two more recent examples, one over the door of the Tontine pub in Ashton, and a lovely foliate mask in the porch of Duldnfield Old Chapel, on the right hand side of the doorway into the main body of the Chapel.

Pevsner in his South Lancashire lamented the parlous state of Denton Hall when he saw it and asked the question that surely it could not be lost totally. Thankfully at least some part has survived, even if it is no longer on its original site.

 

Figs 1,2 and 3 were not available at the time of going to press (Ed).

 

Stories About Local Poets

Failsworth 'has always been noted for its love of music and poetry. There are few places, in Lancashire that have produced so many local poets as Failsworth. Ffist and foremost we have our revered and renowned authoi, Ben Brierley.. Then we have Elijah Rydings, John Rydings, Nathan Rydings, Ned Wright, Sam Collins, and a number of very minor poets. It is about one of these very minor poets. that I wish to tell a story. Connected with one of the places of worship in the district there used to be a person who rejoiced in the name of " Uncle David." It seems that " Uncle David " was a musician, and played the violin. He not only played the fiddle; but he was the respected leader of the • choir at the place of worship where he attended. His services as choirmaster ' were greatly prized, so much 'so that it was thought they ought to be immortalised in sacred song. His friends, therefore, gave a commission to a local Sunday school poet to sing. his praises . in verse, or otherwise adapt a hymn in which

" Uncle David " should figure. This minor poet adopted (. the second course, and adapted a hynn to sing the praises of ." Uncle David." This was to be .sung at the anni¬versary services. The hymn adapted was that which runs as follows

Oh, may our hearts in tune be fdund Like David's hart of solemn sound."

The 'poet altered it to read

"Oh, may our hearts be tuned within Like !Uncle David's! violin."

When the 'preacher 'came to the place he was told they had specially adapted •a hymn to bring in the leader of their choir. Asking for the copy of the altered hymn, there was great consternation caused when it was found that the valuable manuscript had been lost. The local poet was sought for, and told that the copy had been lost. He was asked to pen another copy. He replied, " Well, aw really 'forgettun what aw wrote, but aw know it wur sum.mat abeawt a fiddle. However," he said, " aw'll just try an' unbethink mysel', an' write yo' another copy."

The poet put his wits together and wrote:— From: Short Stories about Failsworth Folk,

"Oh, may our hearts be hiddle diddle by Sim Schofield (1905).

Like ' Uncle David's' little fiddle,"

It is needless to say that the praises of "Uncle David" were never sung, and that he died without his fame being chanted by his choir.

 

Colin's war....

I sat in the cockpit of aMesserschmitt 109,

went on board a U-boat,

walked through a field of tinfoil dropped byGerman bombers to jam our radar

and took thepolice to a parachute I found hanging from atree in the woods at Denton!

I was two when war was declared. So how can I recall any of it? Because the war lasted six years by which time I was eight, and you don't easily forget happenings during the most momentous years of the 20th century, the wailing of the air-raid sirens, sitting in a communal shelter or under a table while bombs are exploding outside! Also mother confirmed events

I remembered and the Internet filled in historical data about those events.

Denton, where we lived at 3 Arlington Avenue, is as we know about seven miles from the commercial centre of Manchester. In March 1940 the government began to build communal shelters designed to protect around fifty people living in the same area of a city vulnerable to air raids.

We had such a shelter at the bottom of our garden serving all 16 houses in Arlington (with the entrance through our garden) and another entrance at the opposite side serving the next (larger) Beverley Avenue. A mobile anti-aircraft gun mounted on an Army vehicle, driving around the streets, operated for a time in both Arlington and Beverley and there were searchlights on allotments near dad's butcher's shop at Two Trees Lane. Dad was the Co-op butcher, Frank Brannigan.

Made of brick and concrete, the shelters provided more protection than Anderson garden shelters. We went into the shelter (or stayed in the house under the table) when the air-raid sirens sounded announcing the approach of the German bombers. There were slated wooden forms inside and sacking across the entrance. It was damp and smelt of oil from the lamps. I watched as it was demolished after the war.

Dad was too old to serve in the forces but did fire watching duty in Manchester after he finished work, mainly at Ardwick and Gorton, which meant going on the roof of buildings with a stirrup pump and bucket of sand to put out any incendiary bombs. We had a stirrup-pump at home, which I used for fun. The end of the hose was placed into a bucket of water and the handle pumped to draw up the water.

But the most exciting events of all were those I referred to earlier. Can anyone add any more about any one of them? My address is at the end of this article.

 

I sat in the cockpit of a Messerschmitt 109

This was on the market place at Crown Point, Denton. The fighter would have been taken around the country to raise morale and collect funds for the war effort. We queued and waited until it was our turn to sit in the cockpit.

Does any other member recall that?

 

I went on board a U-boat 1023

This was in Manchester Ship Canal. A neighbour took me so dad must have been at work. We queued for a long time and I remember being very disappointed that I couldn't look through the periscope as the submarine was, of course, on the surface] U-1023 sailed up the canal on July 6 1945 and was the last U-boat to sink an Allied warship. In the last days of the war, the captain of U-1023 Heinrich-Andreas Schroeteler damaged a British tanker and .bn the evening of 7 May 1945

Schroteler torpedoed the British minesweeper NYMS 382, before surrendering at Portland six days later. He then spent three years in British captivity.

 

I walked through a field of tinfoil dropped by German bombers

This was in a field behind dad's shop at Two Trees Lane. I didn't know what it was at the time except that I was knee-deep in strips of silver paper (we would call it tin-foil today). The British called it Window and to confuse the German ground radars British aircraft dropped it.

Both sides had developed independently what appeared to be the ultimate anti-radar weapon, but at first both were afraid to use it in case the other copied it! The Germans called theirs Dupple. The idea was incredibly simple, consisting of strips of silver paper in various lengths and widths, some of which were backed by brown paper to give strength. Because radar relies on echoes bouncing off the object it is scanning it could not distinguish between floating clouds of silver paper dropped by the aircraft and the aircraft themselves. German bombers had dropped the silver paper I found.

 

I took the police to a parachute I found hanging from a tree!

This was the most exciting find of all. I was with a friend, Alfie Newton who lived on the Moorfield Estate round the corner from Arlington Avenue. We were in the woods near dad's shop when we saw the parachute dangling from a tree. There was nothing else — just the parachute — and it was too high for us to reach. We had to tell the police and took them back to the woods to show them the parachute. We never knew whether it was British or German and heard no. more about it.

Can anyone say more about the parachute or any of the events I've recalled? If so please contact me and I will do a follow-up piece for Allan! My address:

Colin Brannigan, Whitbeck, Newbiggin, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3TD Tel: 01969 663954 Email: brannigan@onetel.netuk

 

 

 

 

Below Article - Not Complete

11 William Street
Box Hill, Victoria 3128
Australia
St (03) 9899 6975
7 October 2002

Mrs J Cronin
Denton Local History Society
Denton
UK

Dear Jill,

My letter of 15 September 2002 went a little further in answering the questions:

• What is the connection between Denton and The Denton Hat Mills factory in Melbourne; and

• who was Edward Shaw?

We saw that the factory was set up under another name at the comparatively early date of 1874, incorporated innovation in the use of steam power and saw a surge of success between 1876 and 1882 under Thomas Shelmerdine, 'the son of a Lancashire hat manufacturer'. We also saw that between 1884 and 1892 the factory began to be commonly referred to as The Denton Hat Mills and that the first mention of Edward Shaw that I can find in this context is in 1884. Remember that in my first letter Edward Shaw is reported to have worked for hatting companies that appear to me to have had a Denton connection.

I have been able to confirm that the use of 'Denton' in company names persisted until 1971, but I don't know if these names were promoted actively (see attached sheet). Tracing original company documents to see if they cast any light on connections with Denton will need a lot more time than I have at the moment — perhaps you have some ideas?

However, I have followed more fruitful leads.

In my last letter we traced a little of Edward Shaw's life and this left us with a possible address and period for his death and a probable name for his wife (Hannah).

With some work at the Public Records Office Victoria and some guessing, I have been able to confirm the following.

• Edward was born in Hyde in about 1847 (his father John being a 'Cotton Operative) and he married Hannah Robinson in Marple in 1869.

• Hannah was born in Cheshire (Marple?) in about 1846, her father, Hezekiah Robinson being described as a 'Hatter'.

• Edward died at the age of 59 in 1906 at his home in Collingwood near the factory, Hannah living to the age of 84 and dying in 1930 in Mitcham, then (but not any more) on Melbourne's rural fringe.

• They both seem to have arrived in Victoria in 1882, suggesting that they left England in 1882 or 1881 (I have seen sea passages of the time referred to as taking '140 days', that is, 5 months).

The attached sheets are taken from the hand-written Death Certificates (any strange punctuation or use of capitals is not mine!).

From a quick review of the State of Victoria Inward Passenger Records of 1882, it looks like Edward may have arrived here 6 months before Hannah, but I had better not say too much before I have had time to check this thoroughly.

So, that is it for the time being. Although we have a good idea who Edward was, we still do not know if there were Denton entrepreneurs behind the business, or, increasingly likely, whether Edward simply responded to a job advertisement and in time introduced the trading label 'Denton' as to him it symbolised hafting at its best.

Any thoughts you may have or any facts that the Society can uncover would be gratefully received. Good luck!

DENTON HAT MILLS COMPANY NAMES

(Source — PROV, ceased companies listings)

Ceased 21.12 1910

The Denton Mills Hat Factory Co. Ltd.

The Denton Mills Hat Factory Company Limited.

Ceased 24.12 1920

The Denton Hat Mills Ltd. The Denton Hat Mills Limited.

Ceased 21.12 1971 Denton Hats Ltd.

Denton Hats Pty Ltd.

Edward Shaw anf the Denton Hat Mills, Abbortsford, Melbourne, Australia

Edward and Hannah Shaw

You may recall that I have written previously to the Society about my enquiries into the history of one of Melbourne's significant buildings, the former Denton Hat Mills, a building that seemsilinked to Denton not only by name and product but also by the possibility that its first or one of its first managers, Edward Shaw, had worked in the trade in Denton.

To recap, we have seen reference to Edward Shaw having been previously "engaged in Messrs. Cheetham and Sons, Cook Bros., Down and Sons' and several large rhanufactories of the kind", suggesting a Denton connection. In my letter of October 2002 I reported that I had traced the death certificates of Edward and his wife, Hannah. This information confirmed that Edward was born in Hyde in 1847, his father, John, being a cotton operative. Edward married Hannah Robinson in Marple in 1869. Hannah was born in Cheshire in about 1846, her father, Hezekiah being a hatter.

The death certificates record the place of burial in Melbourne and after further correspondence I have been able to locate what turned out to be three family plots side by side. I enclose a photograph of the plot at Bundoora Cemetery some 6 kilometres from Edwards home at the time of his death. The central monument of grey granite, one of the more imposing in this large cemetery, is to Edward and Hannah. The inscription for Edward states that he had been a JP. On the left is a pink granite memorial to their second born child, John (died 1896 aged 23), and his wife, Harriet. On the right is a grey granite memorial to their third born, Charles Edward, and his wife Hannah Harriet Shaw.

I have now studied the State of Victoria Inward Passenger Records for details of the Shaws' arrival in Australia. Shaw turns out to be a fairly common name but I had a rough year of arrival to go on from other references. In addition, the ages on the graves had shown that one of their children, John, was born in about 1873, and therefore likely to have travelled out with them (I have since obtained a copy of John's death certificate, recording birth in 'Cheshire' and an unfortunate death from typhoid fever at a young age in Melbourne). This assumes that Charles, their first child, had already died in Britain, the couple also naming their next child Charles (born in Melbourne in 1884).

The 'best fit' for the family journey to Melbourne seems to be on the 'Indus', a ship of surprisingly small size (2,089 tons) sailing from London in 1882, bound for Sydney and landing passengers in Melbourne on the way on 5 September 1882. A 'Mr & Mrs Shaw' and a 'Master Shaw' are recorded.. The journey would have been 4 or 5 months.

Why Melbourne?

We do not know if Edward Shaw was invited to Melbourne or just decided to try his luck but within a few years, if not from the beginning, he had become a manager.

We have already seen that manufacturing was supposedly started on the Denton Hat Mills site in 1874, being referred to in 1875 as the Turner and Martin Hat Factory. Business was reportedly initially slack while the public was being weaned off imported hats but improved after 1876 under a new manager-lessee, Thomas Shelmerdine, who is referred to as the son of a Lancashire hat manufacturer.

Bearing in mind that Denton was then in Lancashire, are the Shelmerdines the link with Denton and / or with the Shaws?

We have also seen that around 1882, the probable date of Edward Shaw's arrival, Shelmerdine left whatever the business was then called (there is no mention of Denton Mills at this time in sources consulted) to build Collingwood's second hat factory.

The first reference to Edward Shaw being in Melbourne is in the 1884 street directory (Shaw, E, hat manufacturer). Denton Hat Mills are not mentioned and there is nothing to suggest why Edward Shaw was in Melbourne.

The Company

have viewed at the Public Records Office the original Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Denton Mills Hat Factory Company Limited, dated 4 August 1887. Two of the 'Objects for which the Company is established' are as follows.

• 'to purchase or otherwise acquire the business of hat manufacturers at present carried on by Messrs. L Stevenson and Sons of Melbourne merchants at Nicholson-street Collingwood under the style of "The Denton Mills Hat Factory" And also to purchase or otherwise acquire the business of hat

manufacturers carried on by Messrs. Paterson Laing and Bruce of Melbourne merchants at Park-street North Fitzroy under the style of "The London and Paris Hat Company".

• 'To carry on the business of hat manufacturers in all its branches'.

The Memorandum confirms that there were initially 6 shareholders, the major ones being Edward Shaw holding 1000 and George Stevenson 5000 of the 6900 shares, with no overseas shareholders.

By 1889 there was an extensive list of shareholders, none of which were overseas or appear to be related to an overseas business.

Company Reports show a steady growth and a keen interest in new techniques and in investment in new technology. In January 1890 Frank Tayloi, Assistant Manger, was in England and secured 'some of the latest plant introduced into the best mills in Europe ' In 1892, 1896 and 1899, Edward Shaw visited Europe for similar

purposes and in 1900 he visited 'Europe and America'. These sea journeys must have occupied a considerable amount of his time.

The Report of 30 June 1907 expressed deep regret that the Company had lost 'the valued services of its late Manager, Mr. Edward Shaw, who had held that appointment since the inception of the Company until the date of his death

In October 1909 the Company wound up by consent in order to change its name to the simpler 'Denton Hat Mills Ltd'. At that time the Company Directors were all from Melbourne and there was only one overseas shareholder, a Charles Weston of Surrey, describe'd as 'Gentleman'.

Conclusions

It would seem that Edward Shaw is likely to have been involved with the Denton hatting industry and that he had family connections to hatting and textiles. We do not know if his coming to Melbourne in 1882 was specifically to manage what was or became the Denton Mills Hat Factory, but by 1887 he was both a shareholder and Manager. The Shelmerdine family connection is unclear. Perhaps the thoughts expressed in my first letter remain valid, that is, that 'Denton' was adopted simply because it was associated with good hats and / or because key personalities had mastered their trade there before emigrating. This would be disappointing if we were desperate to prove the involvement of Denton businesses in the venture, but in reality the linking of a name to skill and quality is probably a more profound tribute to Denton.

If members have the time it would be interesting to see if more can be found about Edward Shaw's Hyde / Marple family background in cotton / hatting, or evidence of his work for Denton companies.

Robert Cooper February 2003