1879
9th. January
Thursday
10th. January
Friday
Rev. William Arthur Darby, M.A., F.R.A.S., died January 10, aged 69. He
was rector of St. Luke's, Chorlton-on-Medlock. He was author of several
Anti-Roman Catholic pamphlets, and of The Astronomical Observer, 1864.(7)
15th. January
Wednesday
Mr. Henry Dunckley, M.A., editor of the Manchester Examiner and Times,
and author of the Letters of Verax, was entertained at dinner at the
Reform Club on January 15. A presentation was at the same time made to him by a
number of gentlemen, of 700 guineas, a silver service, and a number of selected
books.(7)
13th. February
Thursday
St. John's Church, Deansgate, after being restored at a cost of £1,600, was
re-opened on February 13.(7)
18th. February
Tuesday
Rev. Joseph Rayner Stephens died, February 18. He was born at Edinburgh
in 1805, where his father, a Wesleyan minister, was then stationed. He soon
afterwards came to Manchester, and was educated at the Grammar School, and
joined with Harrison Ainsworth in private theatricals. At twenty he
became a Wesleyan minister, and was sent to Stockholm, where he studied
Scandinavian literature with great ardour and success. On his return to England
in 1830, he was suspended by the Conference for speaking in favour of the
separation of Church and State. He was an earnest advocate of the Ten Hours
Bill, and became a leader of the Chartist party. He was tried at Chester,
August, 1839, on a charge of sedition, and sentenced to eighteen months'
imprisonment. His oratorical powers were of a very unusual order, and were again
exerted during the cotton famine. He was resident in Manchester or Stalybridge
for more than half a century (Holyoake's Life of Joseph Rayner Stephens.
London, 1881). It was he who first turned the attention of his younger brother,
Professor George Stephens, of Copenhagen, to the study of Northern
literature.(7)
4th. March Tuesday
Mr. Benjamin Templar, a well-known schoolmaster in Manchester, died at
Southport on March 4. He was a native of Bristol, and obtained his first
appointment in the British School at Bridport. In 1854 he was appointed master
of the Model Secular School, Jackson's Row, Manchester. About 1867 he resigned
this situation and opened a private school at Tetlow Fold, Cheetham, and
subsequently at Birkdale, near Southport. He was author of several manuals,
including Reading Lessons in Social Economy, A Graduated School
Arithmetic, and The Religious Difficulty in National Education.(7)
18th. March
Tuesday
Mr. Alderman Paul Ferdinand Willert died at Higher Broughton on March 18.
He was a native of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and was born in 1794. He
came to England in 1821, and commenced business in Manchester. He was a
commissioner of police from 1828 until the powers of the Commissioners were
transferred to the Corporation. In 1838 he was elected to represent the Ardwick
Ward in the Town Council, and in 1841 he was made an alderman, and assigned to
the Oxford Ward, which he afterwards exchanged for that of Cheetham. Not only
was he a skilful financier, but he was a man of culture and acquirements, for
many years playing second violin in the amateur orchestra of the Forign Library
of which he was treasurer. He was much respected by a large number of
acquaintances.(7)
31st. March Monday
St. James's Church, Broughton, consecrated by Bishop Fraser, March 31.
Paley and Austin were the architects, and the cost of erection was
£7,350.(7)
7th. April Monday
Dr. Andrea Crestadoro, chief librarian of the Corporation Free Libraries
of Manchester, died April 7. He was born at Genoa in 1808, and educated at the
Grammar School there, and at the University of Turin, where he took the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. He shortly afterwards became professor of natural
philosophy in that seat of learning. About the same time he published a
translation of Bancroft's History of America, as well as some minor
treatises on political and social economy. In 1852, being then a resident of
Salford, and at subsequent periods, he patented several inventions, including
one entitled "Improvements in the means and apparatus for navigating the air."
In 1864 he was appointed chief librarian of the Manchester Free Libraries, and
in 1878 he was created by the King of Italy a Cavaliere dell' Ordine de Corona
d'Italia. In 1861 he published a work entitled, Du Pouvoir Temporel et de la
Souverainete Pontificale. His aptitude for bibliography was exceptional, and
for some years he undertook the compilation of the British Catalogue for
Messrs. Sampson, Low, and Co. In 1856 he published a pamphlet on the Art of
Making Catalogues. The first volume of the catalogue of the Manchester
Reference Library was compiled by him, and is a work which exhibits much
industry and ingenuity. He is buried at Ardwick Cemetery.(7)
19th. April
Saturday
The Pendleton Reporter,
No. 1, was published April 19. The title was altered to the Salford,
Pendleton, and Broughton Reporter, June 28, 1884.(7)
21st. April Monday
Mr. George Hadfield died at his residence, Conyngham Road, Victoria Park,
April 21. He was born at Sheffield in 1788, and was articled to an attorney of
that town. In 1839 he removed to Manchester and began business as a lawyer in
partnership with a Mr. Knight, their office being in Ridgefield. With different
partners, and sometimes on his sole account, he had a lucrative business till
his retirement in 1852. In 1852 he was a member of Parliament for Sheffield in
the Liberal interest, which town he represented until 1874. He was one of the
founders of the Anti-Corn Law League, and an earnest advocate of Free Trade; but
in questions relating to the rights of Dissenters he manifested the greatest
interest. He was an active member of the Mosley Street Independent Chapel, and
when the Independent College at Withington, of which he laid the
foundation-stone, was established in 1840, he contributed the sum of £2,000. To
the religious body of which he was a member he was a liberal benefactor. He was
also the principal promoter of the litigation as to Lady Hewley's charities.
Some letters and details of his connection with the Congregational Church,
Rusholme Road, are given in Griffin's Memories of the Past.(7)
5th. May Monday
Mr. J. L. Purcell-Fitzgerald, MA., died May 5, at Boulge Hall,
Woodbridge, Suffolk, in his sixty-eighth year. His favourite residence was
Castle Irwell, and he had large property in the neighbourhood of Pendleton. He
took a warm interest in the evangelisation of the masses, and frequently acted
as a missioner. When the lease of the old racecourse, which was on his estate,
fell vacant, he refused to renew it, although the action was a considerable
loss. He published a pamphlet explanatory of his reasons. He was a brother of
Mr. Edward Fitzgerald, the poet.(7)
7th. May Wednesday
Mr. Charles William Sutton was appointed chief librarian of the
Manchester Free Libraries, in succession Dr. Crestodoro, May 7.(7)
13th. May Tuesday
The Greengate Liberal Club was opened on May 13 by Mr. William Mather,
J.P.(7)
23rd. May Friday
42 Victoria, cap. 36. Act for enabling the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of the
city of Manchester to obtain a supply of water from lake Thirlmere, in
Cumberland, and for other purposes. May 23.(7)
31st. May Saturday
St. James's Iron Church, Moss Side, erected at a cost of £1,200, was opened on
May 31.(7)
May
Mr. Ralph Abercrombie Leake, of Manchester, bequeathed by will, proved in
May, the sum of £2,130, respectively to the Chetham College and the Manchester
Grammar School.(7)
May
The Manchester Magazine, an Illustrated
Northern Serial, No. 1, was published
in May by John Heywood. The last number appeared in August, 1880. The
editor was Mr. William Gee.(7)
7th. July Monday
Mr. Alderman James Bake died July 7. He was born in Manchester in 1800,
and early apprenticed to the saddlery business. Subsequently he began business
on his own account in Port Street. In 1833 he disposed of his business and
became the landlord of the Post Office Hotel, from which he retired with a
competency in 1849. In 1853 he was elected to the Town Council, as a
representative of the Oxford Ward, and in 1856 he was elected to represent the
Cheetham Ward. In 1865 he was elected an alderman, being appointed to the Oxford
Ward. He was a member of the Board of the Prestwich Union, and one of the
trustees of the Bury New Road.(7)
24th. July
Thursday
42 and 43 Victoria, cap. 190. Act for empowering the Manchester Suburban
Tramways Company to construct further tramways in the neighbourhood of
Manchester, and for other purposes. July 24.(7)
2nd. August
Saturday
Ordsal Park, Salford, was opened by Mr. Alderman T. Davies on August 2.
Inclusive of the purchase of land the park cost £15,000.(7)
31st. August
Sunday
The corporation licences, required to be taken out annually by butchers, under
the Manchester Markets Act, 1846, were abolished by the City Council as from
August 31.(7)
1st. September
Monday
The new railway from Manchester to Whitefield was opened by the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway Company, September 1.(7)
15th. September
Monday
Mr. John Benjamin Smith, J.P., died at his residence, at Ascot, on
September 15, in the 86th year of his age. Mr. Smith was a merchant in the
cotton trade in Manchester. In 1839 he was president of the Manchester Chamber
of Commerce. He was a prominent member of the Anti-Corn Law League, and during
the years 1847 to 1852 he represented Stirling in Parliament, and from the
latter year until 1874 was the member for Stockport. He published several
pamphlets on the Increased Supplies of Cotton. He was appointed a justice
of the peace for Lancashire in 1836.(7)
20th. September
Saturday
Mr. Henry Nield died September 20. He took great interest in agriculture,
and from his farm, The Grange, Worsley, wrote many letters to the public press
on the progress and the improvement of farming.(7)
27th. September
Saturday
The Library Association of the United Kingdom held its annual meeting at
Manchester during the week ending September 27.(7)
29th. September
Monday
M.Camille Saint-Saens, the eminent French musical composer, assisted at a
concert in the Gentlemen's Concert Hall, on September 29, and gave organ
recitals in the Manchester Town Hall on September 30.(7)
16th. October
Thursday
The Marquis of Salisbury visited Manchester from the 16th to the 20th of
October, and was present at a great Conservative demonstration held at Pomona
Gardens on the 18th.(7)
25th. October
Saturday
A great Liberal demonstration was held at Pomona Gardens on October 25. The
Marquis of Hartington and Mr. John Bright delivered addresses.(7)
October
Manchester Diocesan Churchman
commenced in October. It appeared monthly, under
the editorship of the Rev. J. Robert 0. West, until December, 1881, when
it ceased to be issued.(7)
October
The Manchester Arts Club, established for the social meeting of members of the
various artistic, literary, and scientific professions, was inaugurated in
October.(7)
26th. November
Wednesday
Mr. Henry Rawson died at his residence, Prestwich Lodge, on November 26.
He was a native of Nottingham, and began business in Manchester as a
stockbroker, in which business he had a successful career. He was, from 1847 to
1849, and from 1861 to 1869, chairman of the Manchester Stock Exchange. He was
for some time a principal proprietor of the Manchester Examiner and Times,
and the chief proprietor of the Morning Star. In 1874 he was president of
the Manchester Reform Club, and In 1868 he was a candidate for the
representation of Salford.(7)
3rd. December
Wednesday
The last of the Manchester Science Lectures delivered at the Pendleton Town
Hall, December 3, by Captain W. de W. Abney, F.R.S. The penny lectures
were then discontinued, owing to the falling off in public interest. The
lecturers included Prof. T. H. Huxley, William Huggins, W.
Pengelly, and other distinguished savants, and their lectures, edited by
Prof. H. E. Roscoe, have been printed, and form eleven volumes of Science
Lectures for the People. (Manchester: John Heywood, 1871-1880.)(7)
22nd. December
Monday
Mr. Joseph Manchester died at Sale on the 22nd of December. He was one of
the early proprietors of the Prince's Theatre, a promoter of the Brasenose Club,
and a director of the Mechanics' Institution. He was 58 years of age.(7)
27th. December
Saturday
Rev. Edward Dudley Jackson, B.C.L., died December 27, in his 77th year.
He was educated at Cambridge, and was at one time English Master of the Grammar
School and perpetual curate of St. Michael's. In 1847 he became Rector of St.
Thomas's, Heaton Norris. He was the author of the Devotional Year, 1833;
Nugæ Lyricæ, 1870, and other works. He is buried at Cheltenham.(7)
27th. December
Saturday
Mr. William Hepworth Dixon died at London, December 27. He was born in
Ancoats, and in his early life was employed in a factory. He left Manchester in
1846, and in 1853 became the editor of the Athenæum, a post which he resigned in
1869. He was the author of lives of Howard, Penn, and Robert
Blake, of Royal Windsor, Her Majesty's Tower, Spiritual
Wives, and other works. He was offered and refused a baronetcy.(7)
1879
Much distress prevailed among the
working classes during the winter of 1878-9, owing to bad trade and severe
weather.(7)
1879
A small book was published entitled
Religion in Manchester, by John Pollitt, Oldham, 1879, containing
descriptions of the Sunday services of the Salvation Army, the Jews, the
Josephite and Brighamite Mormons, the Atheists, the Secularists, the
Spiritualists, the Christadeiphians, the Quakers, Mr. William Birch's Free Trade
Hall Assembly, Young Men's Christian Association, the Irvingites, the Boatman's
Bethel, the Greek Catholic Church, the United Friends, the American Church, and
the Deutsche Protestantische Kirche.(7)
1879
At the annual meeting of the United
Kingdom Alliance, Sir Wilfrid Lawson was elected president in consequence
of the death of Sir Walter Trevelyan, who died March 29th. Sir Walter was
a man of varied accomplishments, an accomplished antiquary, a lover of art, and
a man of science.(7)