Kelly Directory : Macclesfield Forest

MACCLESFIELD FOREST is a township in the parish of Prestbury, 4 1/2 miles east-by-south from Macclesfield, in the Knutsford division of the county, petty sessional division of Prestbury, hundred, union, county court district, rural deanery and archdeaconry of Macclesfield and diocese of Chester. The township, which forms a part of the lofty chain of hills skirting the eastern verge of the county adjoining Derbyshire, is very bleak and mountainous and the land exceedingly unproductive. The Forest of Macclesfield, formerly an extensive demesne, was, like other royal forests, preserved for pleasure and recreation. The chapel, originally built in 1673 and rebuilt in 1834, is a plain edifice of stone consisting of nave and a small western tower containing one bell: there are sittings for about 150 persons. The register dates from the year 1759. The living is a perpetual curacy with Wildboarclough annexed, net yearly value £128, with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Derby, and held since 1901 by the Rev. John Trist Gasking, who resides at the Parsonage, Wildboarclough. Brough's charity of £1 12s. yearly is for distribution in money.

The township contains 3,499 acres, the property of the Earl of Derby K.G, G.C.B., P.C. who is lord of the mannor. The townships of Lyme, Hurdsfield, Kettleshulme. Rainow, Bollington, Pott Shrigley, Upton, Tytherington, Wincle, Macclesfield Forest, Sutton, Wildboarclough and Bosley, formed part of the Royal Forest of Macclesfield. The farms are small and widely scattered. "Shining Tor," 1,834 feet above the sea level and the highest point in Cheshire, is in this township. The population in 1901 was 172; area 3,499 acres; rateable value, £2,158.

Letters through Macclesfield; Wildboarclough, is the nearest post & telegraph office, 2 miles distant. Macclesfield is the nearest money order office.

National School (mixed) for 60 children; average attendance, 30; George Worthington, master.

(There follows a list of 33 names : interestingly Bottom-of-the-oven farm is in this township, it is the neighbouring farm to Broughs Place.)

Kellys Dierectory :Wildboarclough

The following is taken from Kellys Directory of Cheshire 1902 which can be found on the Internet at www.historicaldirectories.org.

WILDBOARCLOUGH is a township in the parish of Prestbury ecclesiastically annexed to Macclesfield Forest, 6 miles south-east from Macclesfield, the nearest railway station, in the Macclesfield division of the county, petty sessional division of Prestbury hundred, union and county court district of Macclesfield, in a bold mountainous district on the verge of the county adjoining Derbyshire and Staffordshire: a great part of the township is uninclosed moorland. There is a Mission room in the Clough, in which divine service is conducted once every Sunday by the vicar of the Forrest. Brough's charity of £1 12s. yearly is for distribution in money. Cragg Hall, the property of the Earl of Derby K.G., P.C., G.C.B. is a mansion of stone, beautifully situated and surrounded with pleasure grounds, but now (1902) unoccupied. "Shutlingslow," a bold peak 1,658 ft. above the sea level, is in this township, which also contains some quarries: in the valley is a fine trout stream. The township contains 5,021 acres of land and 19 of water, all the property of the Earl of Derby K.G., P.C., G.C.B. who is lord of the manor; the soil is sandy; subsoil, rocky. The land is chiefly pasture; the rateable value, £2,561; the population of the township in 1901 was 200.

By Local Government Board Order, ND. 22,378, a part of Wincle township was in 1888 transferred to Wildboarclough.

National School (mixed), erected in 1876, for 55 children; average attendance, 31; Edward Essex, master

Post, Telegraph & Express Delivery Office. - Mrs. EstberSeed, sub-postmistress. Letters through Macclesfield arrive at 10.30 a.m; dispatched at 1 p.m. The nearest money order office is at Wincle.

(30 names follow including Gasking Rev. John Trist (incumbent of Macclesfield Forest), The Parsonage : Remington Wm. Farmer, Dry Knoll: Wheelton Danl. frmr. Lower Nabbs)

Musings.

This is just a posting about thoughts - so if you would rather just skip it that's OK with me. This morning Joseph and I went for a walk across to the old racecourse. Its only about 5 min from where we live but you have to negotiate a narrow 'tunnel' hemmed in on the left by an iron fence to keep locals out of the student accommodation, and on the right the River Irwell. Its a well used haunt of dog owners so you have to watch where you are putting your feet, and this morning was like walking through a cloud of midges. But when you emerge at the other end, out into the light you are faced with a great big open green, a precious emerald. I was hit anew with the sense of peace and quiet ( well relative quiet, as you could still hear the traffic droning away like the irritating buzzing of a wasp). I was thinking back to last weekend, wondering what life was like beyond the reach of the motor car. As a kid I spent much time rambling through woods and where we lived was a quiet backwater, car wise, but can't really appreciate just how much our lives are affected by the constant hum. I fear we shall loose this open space when the new student accommodation opens, sold off for housing no doubt. They are building on the other side of the river ugly modern thrown up monstrosities.

This led on to contemplation of another area of fascination for me at the present time. The Quakers. The search for inner silence is quite appealing. At the moment I am reading a book called "Quaker Annals of Preston and the Fylde" by Dilworth Abbatt. It was written in 1931 and is kept in the bowels of Manchester library - you have to fill in a paper slip hand it over to the librarian and then wait for it to come up in a 'dumb waiter' (I think that is the correct name for it). They then stamp the book, so you can see how many times it has been consulted before - there are only about a dozen stamps and the one before mine was in the 1960s, imagine that book has been sitting inside that building waiting 40 odd years for me to call it out into the light of day once more. How many other books are hiding down there in the gloom, forgotten unloved, what secrets do they hold. You are not allowed to borrow it and take it home. You have to sit in this awe inspiring room - round with a domed roof, but completely impractical for studying as every little sound is amplified and one hardly dares to breathe and disturb anyone else. The librarians seem quite immune to this and hardly whisper their conversations ! tut tut. I have spent three hours already on this book and I am still only on page 15.

The Remingtons at Wildboarclough.

Sometime between 1891 and 1901 William Robert, Isabella, HenryLeech and his wife Esther moved to Wildboarclough.

I would love to know the reason behind the move. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Perhaps William Robert got the offer of the gamekeeper job, I seem to remember reading that they preferred to employ 'non locals' as they would be less likely to turn a blindeye to locals poaching. It seems to me (at the moment) more probable that the area of Wildboarclough was an area in decline and the Earl of Derby wanted to encourage anyone to come into the area. I think the Earl had land in Lancashire, perhaps the offer of a job came through the Abbeystead estate. Perhaps there were no empty farms in Over Wyresdale or perhaps there was a sense of adventure. On the other hand moving about as farmers seemed to be quite common. As William Robert was unmarried perhaps Isabella went along to do the womans work on the farm and Henry Leech and Esther went along to help run the farm. Looking at the 1901 census they are not listed as visitors, I have looked at all the pages in their 'district' and there is one visitor noted so I think if they had just been visiting from Wyresdale that would have been written on the census. There are a few empty properties at that time including a farm. I also wonder how they learned the job of gamekeeping : did they just improvise as they went along? did the head gamekeeper or another gamekeeper show them the ropes? what did the work of a gamekeeper involve?

Anyway, sorry for rambling on, to return to the 1901 census the details are as follows :-

Wildboarclough, Dry knowl
Wm Remington Head 31 Gamekeeper Farmer born Yorks. Twislton
Isabel sister 23 born Wiradale
Henry L. brother 25 Farmer born Wiradale
Harriet s-in law 31 born Southport
Frederick Gardiner servant 15 Shep. born Wildboarclough

On ancestry they are mistranscribed as Rimington.
(Ref: RG13 piece 3315 folio 51 page 1 Macclesfield, Sutton District 11)

Rene told me that Esther was called Ettie.

Two marriages took place,
Jun 1904 Isabella Remington and Arthur Wheelton Lancaster 8e 1435

Arthur Wheelton was a local man from Wildboarclough in 1901 he was listed at his fathers farm Lower Nabbs.

Dec 1905 William Robert Remington and Isabella Annie Briscoe Settle 9a 15

The Over Wyresdale Remington family.

I am typing this at 00.15 because I cannot sleep and I did not get time today to sit at the computer. I have been trying to think of the best way to describe the various families on here in a clear fashion. I don't know about you but I easily get confused as to which person goes with which family and which William is which. So I am going to try colour coding and see how that goes.

Isabel sent me, via David the Remington tree which she has worked so hard on (although it arrived on A4 sheets which I am still trying to piece together). A big thank you to Isabel, I am not going to try and replicate it here but the information Isabel supplied has been used.

Get on with it Elizabeth, stop chattering on..............

So I will begin, not with the beginnings of the Remington family but with the family living in Over Wyresdale. I am going to colour this family green - I hope it shows up. I am also going to use capitals, yes I know it is frowned upon and regarded as shouting by some in the cyberworld but I want the names to stand out.

JOHN REMINGTON b. 1835
ISABELLA REMINGTON (nee LEECH) b. 1843
children:
-WILLIAM ROBERT REMINGTON b. 1867
-JOHN REMINGTON b. 1868
-RICHARD SLINGER REMINGTON b. 1870
-ANNE AGNES REMINGTON b. 1873
-HENRY LEECH REMINGTON b. 1875
-ISABELLA REMINGTON b. 1877
-BEATRICE MARY REMINGTON b. 1880
-THOMAS REMINGTON b. 1882

Using information from the census returns John Remington and his family moved to Over Wyresdale sometime between 1871 and 1873.

In the 1891 census the whole family was living at Dowholme farm. The details are:-

John Remington 52 farmer born Ellel
Isabella 49 born Yorks. Clapham
William Robert 24 farmers son born Ingleton
John 22 Estate Labourer Ingleton
Richard Slinger 20 Estate Labourer Ingleton
Ann Agnes 17 Farmers Daughter Over Wyresdale
Henry 15 Farmers Son Over Wyresdale
Isabella 13 scholar Over Wyresdale
Beatrice Mary 11 scholar Over Wyresdale
Thomas 9 scholar Over Wyresdale
Richard Slinger 72 visitor retired Clitheroe
Isabella 77 aunt Yorks. Clapham

(Census ref: RG12 piece 3462 folio 13 page 6, Lancaster, Ellel district 2)

But by the next census in 1901 the family had split up.

Three marriages had taken place :

Sep 1896 Lancaster 8e 1447 John Remington + Hannah Mason
(Lancaster Friends Meeting House, Preston AP49/1/68)

Jun 1899 Lancaster 8e 1441 Ann Agnes Remington + John Taylor

Sep 1899 Lancaster 8e 1537 Henry Leech Remington + Esther Wilcockson Dilworth

References are GRO index taken from the freeBMD site, the month refers to the quarter within which the marriage was registered.

William Robert, Henry and Isabella had moved to Wildboarclough. Along with Henry's wife Esther.

Richard Slinger was living on the Abbeystead estate where he worked.

Ann Agnes was living in Lancaster with her husband.

John and Hannah were living on another farm in Wyresdale with their two little ones ; Ruth and Isabella.

Beatrice Mary and Thomas were still living at home on Dowholme with parents John and Isabella.

Sheila's information.

I have typed up the information as passed on by Sheila. The first part has words missing from the copy but does not directly refer to the Remingtons but have tried to include it as it relates to Broughs and also refers to Wheelton.

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The Billinges were therefore connected.................to Broughs for over fifty years. There were other members of the family ............................Wildboarclough. To summarise.

William Billinge was...................................He married the girl next door.................farmed Broughs and Wilsher with some land from...........probably from the date of his marriage. The couple had eight children, who may all have been born at Broughs. William died in 1840. His widow remained at Broughs, but Wilsher and the land from Cuckoo Rocks passed to her husband's brothers. About 1847 Alice remarried, to John Boothby, by whom she had one daughter. The couple continued to farm Broughs until the death of Alice's father, John Barlow, some time between 1851 and 1861; they then moved to the larger Dry Knowl and handed Broughs over to Alice's son Thomas and his wife Sarah Hannah formerly Wheelton. Thomas also farmed the lands of Wilsher, the house of which was empty from at least 1861. Thomas remained at Broughs until at least 1871, but by 1881 he had been replaced by his brother William, who farmed there until he died in 1890. His wife Maria died in 1892.

Remington.
The next record found relating to Broughs is in the Township Minutes, which record that Henry Leech Remington, of Broughs Place, was elected Overseer in 1907. His name recurs in this connection in 1908, 1909 and 1910. There is no other mention of Broughs between 1890 and 1907; but Henry Leech Remington can be placed in Wildboarclough (and therefore presumably at Broughs) in the Wildboarclough Register. Baptisms are recorded of children of Henry Leech and Esther Wilcockson Remington as follows: Henry Leech in 1901, Thomas in 1904, Richard Slinger in 1907 (who only lived 5 days), and finally Richard in 1909. This Richard had the distinction of being the first child to be baptised in the new church of St. Saviours.

A William Remington is listed in Kelly's Directory for 1902 as farmer at Dry Knowl. By 1906 William was listed at The Cottage, gamekeeper to the Earl of Derby. He is also listed at the Cottage in 1910, and Harry at Broughs.

In 1914 Kelly's Directory listed John Trelfa at Broughs.

The information also included two maps :- Tenancies at 1844 Sale and Tenancies at 1848 Tithe Apportionment. These show the fields of Broughsplace.

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Other information passed on through Margaret.

Henry Leech Remington, gamekeeper, lived at Broughsplace. He had a sale on 24th March 1911 contents were:
1 sheep, 13 cattle, 3 horses, 28 poultry, 3.5 in wheel cart, mowing machine, horse rake, spring trap, cart gears, cake crusher, chaff cutter, churn, usual farm tools.

William Robert Remington, gamekeeper, lived at Crag Cottage in 1908 but previously lived at Bleak Knowl and Dry Knowl where he had a sale on 24th March 1904. He sold:
2 sheep, 30 cattle, horse, 40 poultry, 2.5 in wheel cart, 1 horse mower, horse rake, gears, cheese presses, vats and tins.

Wildboarclough : Grahams pictures.

A very big thank you to Graham. He has sent us a picture of St Saviour Church in Wildboarclough. It has reminded me how important photos are - I think I said two steep stone steps out of this church onto the lane, as you can see below it was a flight of steps. The two steep ones that I was remembering now comes to mind as being at the car park at St Stephens.



Graham took the photo below on a previous visit to Wildboarclough. It shows the derelict Bleak knoll in the distance.

I have also noted the corrections pointed out by Margaret and Graham - thank you.