1877
18th. January
Thursday
19th. January
Friday
A lecture on the Arctic Expedition was delivered by Captain Markham, one
of its leading officers, at the Athenĉum, January 19.(7)
29th. January
Monday
The English Dialect Society was transferred from Cambridge to Manchester, and
the first meeting under the new arrangement was held January 29.(7)
29th. January
Monday
The Manchester Junior Conservative Club was opened January 29.(7)
31st. January
Wednesday
The last monthly meeting of the City Council was held in the Old Town Hall, King
Street, January 31. The public business in the hall commenced in 1825, and the
first council was formed in 1838. Only one member of the original council was
then alive, and that was Alderman Willert, who had been a member since
1838.(7)
21st. February
Wednesday
A town's meeting was held on February 21, at the Town Hall, King Street, for the
purpose of expressing an opinion on the desirability of devoting that building
to the purposes of a Central Free Reference Library, and a resolution was passed
approving of the plan.(7)
1st. March
Thursday
Alderman Benjamin Nicholls died at his residence, York House, Oxford
Street, on March 1. He was born in 1790, and in 1816 became a cotton
manufacturer in Manchester, and in 1833 built the mill Chapel Street, where he
conducted an extensive and profitable concern for over forty years. In November,
1845, Mr. Nicholls entered the Town Council as representative for St. Clement's
Ward, and in 1855 became alderman for St. George's Ward. In 1853 he was Mayor of
Manchester, and in 1855 became a J.P. for the city. He took a great interest in
education, and by his will founded the Nicholls Hospital.(7)
27th. March
Tuesday
John M'Kenna was executed at the county prison, Manchester, for the
murder of his wife, March 27.(7)
March
Owing to the dangerous character of the Free Library building at Campfield, all
the books were removed to rooms in the rear of the Old Town Hall during the last
few days of March, pending the decision of the City Council as to their ultimate
destination.(7)
25th. April
Wednesday
At an adjourned meeting of the City Council, on April 25, it was resolved that
the Reference Library should be temporarily located in the Old Town Hall, and
that the Libraries Committee be requested to inquire after a suitable site in
the centre of the city for the erection of a reference library worthy of the
city.(7)
30th. April Monday
At a densely-crowded meeting, held at the Free Trade Hall, on April 30, the
carpenters and joiners of Manchester, Salford, and neighbourhood resolved to
strike in consequence of the employers refusing to grant an advance from 81/2d.
to 10d. per hour in wages. The masters had offered 9d. an hour, but refused
more. Accordingly, on the following Friday, about 4,500 men ceased work; 1,700
remaining on the books of the union, whilst others found work in neighbouring
towns.(7)
10th. May Thursday
The foundation stone of the Knot Mill covered market was laid on May 10, by
Councillor John Ashton, chairman of the Markets Committee. It is on the site
of the Knot Mill fair ground.(7)
12th. May Saturday
The first annual May conference and public meeting of the Vegetarian Society was
held on May 12, at the Roby Schools, under the presidency of Professor F. W.
Newman.(7)
12th. May Saturday
The Albert Park, Broughton, containing sixteen acres of land, was opened by the
Mayor of Salford on May 12, in the presence of a great concourse of people. A
hope was expressed that the third park (at Ordsal) would be opened the following
year, and then there would be one hundred acres of park land within the borough.
Albert Park had cost about £6,000 for the land, and another £6,000 for laying it
out.(7)
17th. May Thursday
The first line of tramways in Manchester and Salford was formally opened on May
17th, when thirteen cars were placed on the line and proceeded from the
Woolpack, at Pendleton, to the Grove Inn, Higher Broughton, a distance of two
miles and a half. The Tramways Committees of both Corporations occupied the
foremost cars.(7)
21st. May Monday
The annual Whitsuntide Flower Show at the Botanical Gardens, Old Trafford,
commenced on May 21st, when about 10,000 visitors, or nearly double the number
in 1876, entered the gates, and throughout the week there was a large increase
on previous years, with the agreeable result that the debt which had long
hampered the committee was practically cleared off.(7)
23rd. May
Wednesday
Mr. Philip Pearsall Carpenter, Ph.D., died at Montreal, May 23. He was
born at Bristol, November 4, 1819, and was educated at Manchester New College.
He was Unitarian minister at Stand 1841-46, and at Warrington 1846-58. He then
visited America 1858-60, and returning to England was married October 1, 1860,
at the German Church in Manchester, in which city, from 1862 to 1865, he gave
much time during the cotton famine to teaching the unemployed operatives. In
1865 he settled at Montreal, where he died. The life of this singularly fine
character has been told by his brother in the Memoirs of P. P. Carpenter,
London, 1880. He was an ardent social reformer, and a man of great scientific
ability, especially in the domain of conchology. He was a prolific writer on
temperance, hygiene, morals, and science.(7)
23rd. May
Wednesday
The first of the cocoa rooms or temperance taverns about to be started in
Manchester was opened in Shudehill, May 23.(7)
24th. May Thursday
Mr. William Lloyd Garrison visited Manchester. This was the last visit to
England of the great friend of the American slave. He died May 24, 1879.(7)
25th. May Friday
Mr. John Alexander Bremner, F.S.S., died at his residence Hilton House,
Prestwich, May 25, 1877. He was educated at the Grammar School, and first
appeared prominently before the public as one of the Executive Committee of the
Education Aid Society, of which society he was, after the death of Mr. E.
Brotherton, chosen honorary secretary, and he was often consulted by Mr.
Forster when he was preparing the Education Bill of 1870. Mr. Bremner was a
member of the Manchester Board of Guardians, a deputy-treasurer of the Royal
Infirmary, and a J.P. for Lancashire and for the city of Manchester. He was also
hon. sec. of the Spencer Society.(7)
25th. May Friday
Mr. Henry Ratcliffe, for twenty-nine years secretary to the Manchester
Unity of Oddfellows, died in Manchester, May 25. Admitted a member of the Order
in 1833, he was three years later elected Provincial Grand Master. In addition
to the onerous duties of this office, he had been entrusted with the compilation
and publication of statistical tables and reports on the financial condition of
the Unity, and other works of a similar character. In 1862, from data obtained
between 1856 and 1860, Mr. Ratcliffe published his second series of observations
on the rate of mortality and sickness existing amongst Friendly Societies; and
in 1872 a third contribution to this subject from data obtained between 1866 and
1870. In 1871 he was instructed to prepare a valuation of the assets and
liabilities of every lodge in the Unity, with the view to financial adjustment,
and this great work was completed and published in 1873. He was appointed
Treasury public valuer for England and Wales under the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, and also to certify annuities, which was a fitting tribute to his great
talents as a statistician.(7)
26th. May Saturday
Sir James Philips Kay-Shuttleworth, Bart., died May 26. He was born in
Rochdale, July 20, 1804, and became a physician in Manchester, and, as Dr. J. P.
Kay, attained a high reputation in his profession. His extensive knowledge of
educational statistics led to his being appointed Secretary to the Committee of
Council of Education, on resigning which office, in 1849, he was created a
baronet. Sir James was the author of Scarsdale, Ribblesdale, and also of
some works on social politics. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1864, and in
1870 received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford. On
February 24, 1842, Dr. Kay married Janet, only child and heiress of
Robert Shuttleworth, of Gawthorpe Hall, and assumed by royal licence the
additional surname of Shuttleworth.(7)
30th. May
Wednesday
Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, ex-president of the United States
visited Manchester on May 30, and besides accepting the usual address and
luncheon from the Corporation, he visited the works of Sir Joseph Whitworth,
Messrs. Watts's warehouse, and other objects of interest, remaining during the
night at the Town Hall as the guest of the mayor.(7)
2nd. June Saturday
Mr. Hugh Birley, M.P., laid the foundation stone of the new Adult Deaf
and Dumb Institution in Grosvenor Street, Oxford Street, on June 2.(7)
4th. June Monday
The Corporation obtained an injunction on June 4, in the Chancery of Lancashire,
restraining a potato dealer from selling wholesale in a cellar in Shudehill,
near the plaintiffs' market. The case,' 'The Mayor, &c., of Manchester v.
Clarke," is reported in local papers.(7)
26th. June Tuesday
The new line from Manchester to Liverpool, in connection with the Cheshire Lines
Committee, was opened on June 26 to its full extent.(7)
4th. July
Wednesday
At a meeting of the shareholders of the Manchester Aquarium Company Limited, on
July 4, it was resolved to wind up the same, as the receipts were less than the
expenditure.(7)
4th. July
Wednesday
At a meeting of the City Council, July 4, the scheme for supplying Manchester
with water from Thirlmere was adopted.(7)
5th. July Thursday
The first meeting of the Council of the newly elected Liberal Association for
Manchester was held at the Reform Club, July 5.(7)
9th. July Monday
The Central Station, Windmill Street, was opened for general traffic, July 9.(7)
16th. July Monday
The memorial stone of the new Church of St. Mary, in Palmerston Street,
Bradford-cum-Beswick, was laid by Bishop Fraser, July 16.(7)
18th. July
Wednesday
The opening recital on the organ erected by Mons. Cavaille-Coil, of Paris, in
the New Town Hall was given by Mr W. T. Best, July 18.(7)
25th. July
Wednesday
Mr. Joshua Procter Brown Westhead died, July 25. He was the son of Mr.
Edward Westhead, a smallware and fringe manufacturer. He was born on April
15, 1807, in Faulkner Street, Manchester, and became a partner with his father.
He was a promoter of the early railways, and in 1847, for his services, he was
presented with a service of plate of the value of £2,400 by the shareholders of
the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. In 1846 Mr. Westhead removed from
Manchester to Lea Castle, near Wolverley, Worcestershire, and in 1847 was
elected M.P. for Knaresborough, as a Liberal. At the contested election of 1850,
all three candidates having received an equal number of votes, Mr. Westhead
withdrew. In 1850 he assumed the surname of Brown before that of Westhead, and
in 1861 became vice-chairman of the London and North-Western Railway. In 1857 he
was elected M.P. for York, and sat till 1865, when he was defeated. In 1868 he
was re-elected for York, but in 1870 he was compelled by ill-health to resign
his seat, as also his office of vice-chairman of the London and North-Western
Railway Company.(7)
7th. August
Tuesday
The Congress of the British Medical Association was held in Manchester on August
7, 8, 9, and 10. The Association had twice previously visited this town-in 1836
and in 1854. On the first occasion it numbered 600 members, on the second,
2,900, while on this occasion it had increased to upwards of 7,000 of the
leading practitioners spread over the kingdom.(7)
8th. August
Wednesday
The first reception held in the new Town Hall took place on August 8, when the
members of the British Medical Association and a number of local gentlemen were
the guests of the Mayor and Corporation.(7)
21st. August
Tuesday
At a town's meeting in the old Town Hall, on August 21, it was resolved to open
a subscription on behalf of the sufferers by famine in Southern India.(7)
31st. August
Friday
Dr. Vaughan, Bishop of Salford, having purchased the Manchester Aquarium
for £6,950, a meeting of Roman Catholics of Manchester and Salford was held at
the Aquarium, on August 31, to consider how it might be utilised. It was decided
to form a board of management and carry it on as before for a few months, in
order to judge whether the people of Manchester whished the aquarium to remain
open to the public as such.(7)
1st. September
Saturday
A great political demonstration by the Conservative and Constitutional
Associations of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire,
was held at Belle Vue, September 1.(7)
5th. September
Wednesday
At the meeting of the City Council, on September 5, Alderman Curtis
presented the Corporation, on behalf of the subscribers, with a magnificent
service of plate, costing six thousand guineas, the result of a subscription
initiated and chiefly collected by Alderman Curtis during his second mayoralty,
1875-6. The service is of solid silver, parcel gilt, and weighing upwards of ten
thousand ounces. It comprises one plateau, 15ft. long by 2ft. 7in. wide; two
candelabra, 3ft. 4in. high, and each bearing thirteen lights; ten candelabra,
2ft. 10in, high, and each bearing nine lights; three centre pieces, oval in
shape, fitted with dishes of ruby glass, to contain flowers; ten fruit stands,
12in. high, fitted with dishes of ruby glass; twenty-four compotiers, fitted
with ruby glass dishes; twenty-four ice dishes; in all, a total of seventy-four
pieces. Added to the service are two loving cups, specially presented by the
Overseers. These are 18in. high by 91/2in. diameter of bowl, and each has three
handles. The design of the service is Gothic, of the Early English period, with
a free use of ornament based upon Byzantine examples; the intention of the
designer and the architect being that the service should harmonise with the
style of the building in which it is to be placed.(7)
13th. September
Thursday
The new Town Hall of the City of Manchester, the first stone of which had been
laid on October 26, 1868, and the top stone of the tower fixed on December 4,
1875, was opened by the Mayor (Alderman Abel Heywood) on September 13.
The members of the Council assembled at the old Town Hall, and marched three
abreast, with proper accompaniments of horse and foot soldiers, fire brigade,
and policemen, to Albert Square, where Sir Joseph Heron presented the
Mayor with a golden key, with which he opened he doors, and the Council
proceeded straight to their chamber amidst a flourish of trumpets and the
performance of the National Anthem. A meeting of the Council was then held under
the presidency of the ex-Mayor (Alderman Curtis), and on the proposition
of the two oldest aldermen, Messrs. Willert and Bake, an address
for presentation to the Mayor was adopted, and afterwards presented in the
banqueting-room. In the evening a banquet was given by the Mayor and Corporation
in the large public room, the guests numbering four hundred, and including the
Lord Chief Justice (Sir Alexander Cockburn), Bisbop Fraser,
Lords Tollemache and Winmarleigh, Mr. Justice Hawkins, the
Right Hon. John. Bright, M.P., and other members of the House of Commons;
the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of York, the Right Hon. the Lord Provost of
Edinburgh, and the mayors of the neighbouring towns; the members of the City
Council, and representatives of the magistracy, members of the legal, medical,
and clerical professions, and representatives of public bodies. On the same day
the Mayor was presented with a richly-cut large glass goblet, bearing a
beautifully-cut full front view of the Town Hall, manufactured and given by the
men at the Prussia Street Flint Glass Works, Oldham Road. On the following day,
September 14, the bakers of Manchester presented his worship with a
beautifully-illuminated address, and the operative stonemasons' societies of
Manchester, Salford, and Hulme presented him with an illuminated address in the
shape of a book. In the evening the reception and ball took place in the large
public room and was numerously attended, invitations having been issued to about
three thousand people. The public celebrations were brought to a close on
Saturday, September 15, when a great demonstration of trade and friendly
societies took place. The huge procession, which was between five and six miles
long and contained nearly 50,000 persons, started from the Infirmary en route
for Albert Square about twelve o'clock. When several of the societies had
reached the Square the bands played the National Anthem, followed by three
cheers for the Mayor and Mayoress and John Bright; the bells then
commenced playing, and the procession marched past. Sixty-nine societies took
part, and afterwards went, some to Manley Park and Pomona Gardens, others to
Alexandra Park, and others to Belle Vue. The total cost of the Town Hall
building and fittings was about £480,000, and, including land, about £775,000.
During one time more than 1,000 builders' men were engaged, and for more than
twelve months between 600 and 700 masons were kept in constant employment, being
fully 100 more than were ever engaged upon the Houses of Parliament at any one
time. Of stone, 480,000 cubic feet were used; bricks, 16,500,000; roofing, two
and a half acres; iron beams and girders, two miles; lead, 129 tons; tracery in
windows, 9,000 superficial feet; stone columns and shafts in groins, 13,500
feet; bulls'-eyes in ornamental lead windows, 12,120; and gas burners, 3,000.
The total number of rooms in the building is three hundred and fourteen. Messrs.
Taylor, of Loughborough, considered that the peal of bells was the greatest
undertaking of the kind previously attempted. They form an almost chromatic
scale of twenty-one bells, reaching within half a note of two octaves. Ten of
them are hung as a ringing peal, and are of the same weight as the famous Bow
bells. The large bell, G, weighs 6 tons 9 cwt., and is believed to be the fourth
largest in the country and the sixteenth in the world. Big Ben, at the Houses of
Parliament, weighs 13 tons 11 cwt.; Peter of York, 10 tons 15 cwt.; and Tom of
Oxford, 7 tons 12 cwt.; but Big Ben is cracked, and Tom cannot be used. Each of
the twenty-one bells has on it the initials of a member of the Town Council (of
that date) or Corporation official, and round the top of each there is also
inscribed a line of Tennyson's well-known lyric from his "In Memoriam." The
quotation begins with the last line in the second verse, and after giving two
verses ipsissima verba, omits the next, and then adheres to the text in
the other three verses.(7)
2nd. October
Tuesday
The first number of Comus, issued October 2. No. 21, the last number, was
issued February 21, 1878.(7)
3rd. October
Wednesday
Mr. Charles Swallow died at his residence, Ardwick, on October 3, aged
70. He was born at Sterne Mills, Halifax, in 1807, and had lived in Manchester
more than forty years. In 1854 he became agent for the Manchester Auxiliary of
the British and Foreign Bible Society, afterwards becoming Secretary of the
Lancashire district for the parent society. A few years before his death he
retired on a pension.(7)
3rd. October
Wednesday
A house dinner was given on Wednesday, October 3, by the members of the Reform
Club to the Mayor of Manchester (Alderman Abel Heywood).(7)
10th. October
Wednesday
The corner-stone of the gasworks at Philips Park was laid by Alderman
Hopkinson, October 10th.(7)
23rd. October
Tuesday
The Church Club, at the corner of John Dalton Street and Deansgate, was formally
opened by Bishop Fraser on October 23.(7)
29th. October
Monday
The ceremony of blessing the foundation of the new Roman Catholic College of St.
Bede, Alexandra Park, was performed by Dr. Vaughan, Bishop of Salford,
October 29. The building was previously the home of the Manchester Aquarium.(7)
11th. December
Tuesday
The first public meeting in the large room at the New Town Hall was held on
December 11, when Sir Arthur Cotton and Mr. John Bright delivered
addresses on the means to prevent the recurrence of famines in India.(7)