John Linaker – The Hesketh Family’s Steward

John Linaker (1766 – 1846) who married Jane Culshaw in 1787 was my 4th great grandfather. He lived and farmed at Meols Hall and was the steward of the Hesketh lords of the manor.

John was a very interesting man. I would like to thank Roger Dickinson for what follows. He too is a descendant of John Linaker. The quotes and references are his.

‘Apparently he (John Linaker) was one of the signatories to the invitation to William Alexander to take up the ministry in Churchtown. … the letter is reproduced in “Memoirs of the Rev. William Alexander by his son, John Alexander”, Norwich, 1856, p. 179. The letter is as follows’:

The church of Christ, of the Independent denomination, assembling at Church Town, North Meols, Lancashire, to the Reverend William Alexander, pastor of the church at Leigh, near Bolton.

VERY DEAR SIR,

Our good Lord having lengthened our cords and strengthened our stakes, so that we have two chapels and congregations; and our pastor having seen it to be his duty to remove to Southport, in this parish, where the new chapel has recently been built; we, with his full approbation and best wishes, have agreed to make an effort to have a minister to watch over us in the Lord. And, after giving the matter mature consideration, and committing our ways to our gracious God, we have unanimously fixed our choice upon you; and now solemnly invite you to be our pastor, according to the merciful appointment of the Great Head of the Church, as revealed in the New Testament.

We are sorry that the salary that we can offer you is only £45 per annum, but we hope to do more if the Lord shall prosper us; and we promise to do all in our power to make you comfortable. You will be glad to know that this unanimous call of the church has the full approbation of the congregation usually assembling with us.

Signed on behalf, and at the desire of the church, the 10th October, 1824.

JOHN LINAKER

JAMES HOOTON

Witness,

George Greatbatch

P.S. We request an answer, as soon as your mind is made up, and hope you will be guided in the right way by the Holy Ghost.

Despite his role as steward to the Heskeths, John Linaker was a nonconformist and his association with the first congregational minister of Churchtown, George Greatbatch, went back some years. In fact John’s daughter Alice had attended a private school in Chester with George Greatbatch’s  own daughter Mary Ann. I have letters from both daughters dated 1814 which I will reproduce at another time. The other signatory of the letter, James Hooton, was the son of John Hooton who had been so important in helping the establishment of Churchtown’s Congregational Church (see here). Just by the way, John Hooton was my 4th great grandfather.

Roger Dickinson continues: ‘It appears that John Linaker also played a part in enabling the construction of the new chapel in Southport mentioned in the letter. An incident is recorded in “Lancashire Nonconformity” by Rev. B Nightingale, 1906, p27 as follows’:

One of the Lords of the Manor was passing the place [a leaky chapel constructed in 1821 in Southport] one Sabbath with his steward, and seeing a large and respectable congregation issuing from the rude structure, stopped and asked with much surprise who these people were. He was told that they were Dissenters, to whom Mr Greatbatch had been preaching. Grieved that he had refused land to so respectable a body of persons, he told his steward to intimate to Mr Greatbatch that he would be willing to give him a site on which to erect a more suitable and convenient structure. The site chosen was a plot of land in East Bank Street which was granted on very liberal terms.

‘Nightingale indicates that the Lord of the Manor in question was Robert Hesketh.’

‘There is also an account of the incident in “Annals of Southport” by E Bland, Southport, 1903, p. 95 which is more specific about names’:

1823, December 18th. Eastbank Street Congregational Church opened, the Rev. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, and Mr. Steele, of Wigan, preaching the opening sermons. For some years the Rev. G Greatbatch had held meetings, during the season, in the large room of the Original Hotel. Afterwards a wooden structure, about six yards by five, and covered with oilcloth, was put up in the sandhills, on the spot now occupied by the platform of Lord Street Station. It was badly built, and in wet weather the congregation had to put up their umbrellas. One day Mr. Peter Hesketh was passing with his father’s steward, Mr. Linaker, when the congregation were leaving. On ascertaining the facts, Mr. Robert Hesketh sent the steward to tell the friends that they could have a piece of land on which to build. Great joy was felt, for many times had they applied and failed. The spot in Eastbank Lane was selected, and given by Mr. Hesketh. During the winter Mr. Greatbatch went to Manchester and collected £200, in Liverpool he got over £100, and in Southport more than £50, while the farmers carted bricks and other building materials free of charge. In less than twelve months a building costing £700 was erected and paid for. The foundation stone was laid by a gentleman residing in Everton, on July 6th, 1823, so that the building operations occupied little more than 5 months.

‘Although there seems to be disagreement over which Hesketh witnessed the congregation leaving the chapel it is clear than John Linaker was present. Perhaps he put in a good word for the congregation and helped to change the mind of Robert Hesketh over allowing a new chapel to be built. In any case, allowing the building to go ahead would be likely to benefit Robert Hesketh because it would attract more visitors and aid the development of the town as a resort.’

‘It is quite striking how many of the grandchildren of John and Jane Linaker were baptised at the Independent Chapel in Churchtown up to the 1830s… (including) children of William and Jane Gregson, William and Catherine Linaker, and Peter and Alice Blundell. I found it slightly amusing that William and Catherine Linaker had their children baptised at the chapel up to their daughter Jane on 14 August 1834. But from their son Charles Edward (bapt.  11 Apr 1836) onwards they were baptised at the parish church. I am sure this was due to the fact that the family employer and landlord, Charles Hesketh, arrived as rector in 1835.’ I am sure Roger is correct in this supposition. William and Catherine (Gorstage) Linaker were my 3rd great grandparents.

‘The Linakers seem to have played an active role in parish affairs in the 19th century and the names of John and his son William crop up all over the place.’ Roger wrote an article in the Autumn 2011 issue of Sandgrounder (the magazine of the North Meols Family History Society) ‘about a proposal to build a workhouse in North Meols which mentions the involvement of both of them’.  The workhouse was eventually not to be established for reasons Roger discusses in his article. Here are just two extracts that mention the involvement of John Linaker and his son William:

It was decided at the meeting to appoint a committee to obtain as much information as possible on the benefits of a workhouse from other townships which had one and to report the findings back to a meeting of the parishioners. The committee consisted of the Rev. Richard Walker (Curate of St. Cuthbert’s), the Rev. William Docker (Minister of Christ Church), Richard Hunt, Thomas Baker, Mr. Maddocks, John Linaker, William Linaker, John Rimmer, and Mr. McKeand.

and:

A committee consisting of the Rev. Gilbert Ford (Rector), the Rev. Richard Walker, the Rev. William Docker, Mr. Maddocks, Mr. Linaker (probably John), William Ball Junior, William Linaker of Churchtown, John Spencer and Thomas Baker (churchwardens), and Richard Hunt and Robert Wright (overseers) was formed and requested to obtain plans and specifications, and to manage the construction of the workhouse.

Clearing Up Some Early Linaker Confusion in North Meols

Most, if not all, of us with Linaker family in North Meols trace our family back to a Henry Linaker and his wife Majorie/Margery. I will call this Henry ‘the founder’ to make what follows slightly clearer.

Henry was probably born around 1600 in North Meols, though there is no conclusive evidence for this. The issue for most is from which of Henry’s two sons do we descend? Many people have ‘trees’ giving the wrong line. Even Peter Aughton in his truly excellent book North Meols and Southport gives the wrong information in his tree of the Linaker family, although he does indicate with dotted lines that what he has is conjecture. I would add that Joyce Otterstrom does get it right, but she doesn’t (perhaps wisely) conjecture the name of one missing Linaker, which I will. In what follows I will indicate when any statement I make is conjectural.

Henry Linaker/Linacre ‘the founder’ had at least four children John, Ann, Richard and Alice. When he wrote his will in 1668 he was ‘of Crossens in North Meols’. In his will he refers to two sons, John and Richard, plus a daughter Anne.  Alice might have died. He left ‘one great Arke or chist (chest)’ which he said was a ‘great areloume (heirloom)’ to his grandson Henry (John’s son Henry  born 1661). He continued, ‘all the rest of my goods that I have I bestow I give unto my daughter Anne Linnicer if she does ever come back from beyond the seas’. If she didn’t return then these goods were to be divided between the ‘twoo sonns’ of his son John and the ‘eldeste daughter’ of his son Richard – thus three grandchildren. He also left his son John his ‘house and tenement’ i.e. his farm.

As Henry left his house and tenement to his son John and not to Richard implies, I think, that John was the elder. We know that Richard was baptized in Croston parish in 1628, so John was in all probability born before this. But it also may be because his son Richard had only daughters while his son John had two sons, this is pretty explicit from the wording of Henry’s will when he divides his absent daughter Anne’s share between three grandchildren.

This is the crucial point, Henry the founder’s son Richard had no sons!

We know from Henry the founder’s will that his son Richard (1628 – 1702/3) had at least two daughters, and two were certainly alive in 1668: Ann born circa 1655 (and thus the eldest daughter of Richard referred to in Henry the founder’s will), would marry Hugh Stevenson in 1684, and Margery (born 1660), baptized in St Cuthbert’s, North Meols on 6 January 1660.  In an indenture entered into by Richard in 1700 he refers only to his daughter Ann ‘wife of Hugh Stevenson of Much Hoole in the said County’ and ‘Thomas & Jane their son and daughter’, again confirming that Richard had no sons.

Thus there are no descendants of this Richard Linaker bearing the name Linaker. They all, including my own, descend from Henry the founder’s son John.

Henry the founder’s son John and his unknown wife had at least two children, and indeed, as we know from his father’s will, two sons. One was Henry born in 1661, who was left the family heirloom by his grandfather. This Henry was to marry Jennet Nixon (d 1714) in North Meols on 27 March 1706. They had: Ellin in April 1706 (who married James Boond), John in December 1709 (who married Jennet Ball in 1730 and is almost certainly the one who built Churchtown’s stocks in 1741), Elizabeth in 1710 (who married William Howorth), Ann in 1711, and a second son Richard in 1713 (who probably became a ‘shopkeeper’). This is all quite clear and many North Meols Linakers are easily traceable to this family.

But we know that John (d 1706), the son Henry ‘the founder’, had another son as well as Henry (1661 – 1713), a son who was certainly already alive in 1668. This is the missing Linaker. The other North Meols Linakers, including my own, descend from him. Of this we can be pretty sure. He was likely born sometime between say 1663 and 1675. I believe that he too was probably called Richard, for reasons I will give. I’ll refer to him as Richard* as I have no record of his birth.

That he existed can be deduced from what we know of my own 6th great grandfather, Richard Linaker (1699 – 1766 ) who married Ann Wright in 1721. In an indenture made for his farm in 1747 it was said, ‘… Ann the Wife of the said Richard Linaker aged forty Eight Years or thereabouts, Henry Linaker Son of the said Richard Linaker aged Twenty Years or thereabouts, and Alice Linaker Daughter of the said Richard Linaker aged Fourteen Years or thereabouts’.

This implies a date of birth for Richard of about 1699. The important thing about this is that it is several years before Henry the founder’s son Henry married Jennet Nixon in 1706, so Richard can’t be their son. In Richard’s will dated 1765 he mentions his son Henry several times and his daughter Alice who had married John Aughton in 1749 but had died in 1753:  ‘I will and Order that my said Son Henry Linaker pay unto my Son in Law John Aughton the sum of one shilling.’ And his grandchildren: ‘John Aughton & Richard Aughton my Grandsons’. He also mentioned ‘Isabel Wright my Sister in Law’. The crucial thing however is that he names as executors: ‘Henry Linaker my Son and Henry Son of John Linaker my Kinsman.’  The John Linaker his ‘kinsman’ can be no other than the John who had married Jennet Ball in 1730 and whose son Henry was born in 1739  and who married Alice Rymer. John the ‘kinsman’ was therefore this Richard’s cousin, being the son of Henry (1661 – 1713) and Richard being the son of John’s missing brother Richard*.

The evidence is, I believe, quite conclusive, all North Meols Linakers who are descended from Henry ‘the founder’ Linaker are descended from his son John (d 1706) and none from his other son Richard (1628 – 1703).

But what was the name of the missing Linaker, the putative father of Richard Linaker (1699 – 1766) who married Ann Wright? I have suggested Richard* because there are two burials in St Cuthbert’s in 1702/3: One on 4 October 1702 and the other on 11 February 1703. One of these is very likely Henry the founder’s son Richard born in 1728 and therefore about 74 years old. The other one might be our missing Linaker? I can’t find any other Richard Linakers who it might be.

But could the missing Linaker be someone else? I’ve seen it in some places that Richard Linaker (born 1699) was the son of a John Linaker and wife Ann Rimmer both born in circa 1684/5, which would make them 14 or 15 at the time!

So for the time-being I’ll stick with the name Richard* for the missing Linaker until there is any evidence to the contrary.

Where was Richard Linaker’s Farm in 1747?

Richard Linaker (1699-1766) was my 6th great grandfather. When he was granted a tenancy in 1747 by lord of the manor Peter Bold we read:

This Indenture made the Second day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty Seven, BETWEEN Peter Bold of Bold in the County of Lancaster Esquire of the one part, and Richard Linaker of North Meols in the said county husbandman of the other part…

Richard was granted a tenement in North Meols as follows:

All that close or parcel of Land usually called Randle Wignall’s three Nook, Randle’s Carr and Meadow, the hillocky hey, the long acre, the white hey, the Randle’s meadow now called Hodges and part of Watkinson’s meadow thereto adjoining, containing by Estimation Ten Acres of Land of the Measure there used or there abouts be the same more or less and now in the possession of the said Peter Bold his undertenants or assignes, together with all and Singular Ways Waters Watercourses Libertys easements priviledges profits commodities advantages and  appurtenances whatsoever to the said closes closures and parcells of land or any of them lying belonging or in anywise appertaining, or accepted reputed taken or known to be as part parcel or member thereof…

Would anyone be able to precisely identify where these lands were/are? He lived in Crossens.

Of course there were the usual rights reserved for the landowner:

Except and always reserved out of this present demise unto the said Peter Bold his heirs and assigns all Woods Mines Delfs and Quarrys, and all manner of free Warrens Birds and Beasts of Free Warrens with Liberty to and for the said Peter Bold his heirs and assignes and his and their servants and others by his and their order or appointment to enter into the said demised premisses or any part thereof to hawk and hunt all manner of game and to kill and take by anyways or means whatsoever all fish and wild fowl in and upon the said premisses and the same so killed and taken to carry away, and except likewise and  always reserved unto the said Peter Bold his heirs and assignes full and free liberty from time to time and at all times during the term hereby demised to inclose fence in and improve for his and their own use and benefit any part or parts of the Commons or waste grounds which now are or lye open or uninclosed within the said manor of North Meols at his and their free will and pleasure without the interuption or hinderance of him the said Richard Linaker his heirs and assignes,

Richard and his heirs were to:

To have and to hold the said closes closures parcells of land and premisses hereby demised

and

Richard Linaker his heirs and assignes for and during the natural and several life and lives of Ann the wife of the said Richard Linaker aged forty eight years or thereabouts, Henry Linaker son of the said Richard Linaker aged twenty years or thereabouts, and Alice Linaker daughter of the said Richard Linaker  aged fourteen years or thereabouts and for the life of the survivour and longest liver of them….

Regarding the rent:

The yearly rent or sum of thirteen pounds and seven shillings of lawful money of Great Britain clear of all parliamentory and other taxes charges and deductions whatsoever at and upon the feast days or times of penticost and Saint Martin the Bishop in winter by even and equal portions, the first payment thereof to begin and be made at and upon the feast day of Penticost now next ..

There were also the usual additional medieval services to be rendered:

also all such yearly boons dues, dutys suits and services as have been usually paid done and performed for and in respect of the said demised premisses, And grinding all such corn grain and malt as he the said Richard Linaker… his heirs and assignes and undertenants of the premisses or any of them shall use or spend ground in house keeping at all times during the said term at some of the mill or mills of or belonging to the said Peter Bold….within the said Manor of North Meols and not elsewhere, and also doing Suit of Court for and in respect of the said premises…

But if the

said Richard Linaker his heirs or assignes shall fail to yield do pay or perform any of the aforesaid Boons Dues Dutys Customes and Services or any of the covenants and agreements hereinafter in these presents mentioned to be observed done or performed by and on the part of the said Richard Linaker his heirs or assignes, or shall make cause or suffer to be made any willful or voluntary waste in or upon the said premisses or any part thereof, or shall kill and destroy any game upon the same by anyways and means whatsoever, or shall demise grant assign sett over or exchange the said premisses or any part thereof to or with any person or persons (except to and for the use of himself his wife and child or children) without the lycence and consent of the said Peter Bold… and obtained in writing

then

it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Peter Bold…  (to) herein-enter and… re-posess and enjoy as in his and their former Estate…

Martin Mere and the Seddons of Wyke and Midge Hall farms in Scarisbrick

‘Scarisbrick Parish, the largest in Lancashire was in early times much avoided by travellers.  With its vast tracts of poorly drained peat marsh and the huge lake of Martin Mere forming its northern boundary it was difficult terrain to cross.  The original small scattered farmsteads of the parish now form the basis of today’s hamlets of Barrison Green, Bescar, Carr Cross, Drummersdale, Hurlston, Pinfold and Snape.

Map of 1786 showing Martin Mere and Wke and Midge Hall farms

Farming was hampered by poor drainage but these conditions led themselves to the growing of flax, hemp and willow – used by local craftsmen to produce rope, baskets and linen.  There was ample fishing in the mere and the drainage ditches for freshwater fish and eels.  This was an important supplement to the farm produce which could be taken to the nearby Ormskirk Market.

The successful drainage of Martin Mere and the adjoining marshes in 1774 by Thomas Eccleston of Scarisbrick Hall transformed farming in the area, allowing the full use of its rich soils.  In the 19th Century Scarisbrick farms became major suppliers to the growing city of Liverpool, the growing of potatoes and other vegetables a speciality.

In 1777, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal opened up new markets for local produce, and made the transportation of heavy goods much easier.  The prosperity of local farms was enhanced, and advantage was taken of the canal to import manure from Liverpool to fertilise the fields, and limestone from the Pennines to enhance the fertility of the soil replacing the locally dug marl that was used previously.’

One family who farmed in this area were the Seddons. From at least the early nineteenth century they farmed either one, two or three farms lying close to each other along the western edge of the former Martin Mere along present-day Wyke Lane. The farms were Wyke, Old Midge Hall and New Midge Hall. On a map from the late eighteenth century these are clearly marked and are the only farms on the Mere’s western shore (see map, you can download it to enlarge).

Old Midge Hall

In the excellent Martin Mere: Lancashire’s Lost Lake, a whole chapter is devoted to these Seddons. First the authors set the topographical background:

In the late eighteenth century there were just two farmsteads in this locality, Wyke and Midge Hall. They lay in close proximity to the old basin of Martin Mere, recorded on Yates’ map (1786) as dry only during summer months. Half a century later the remoteness and dampness of the area was undiminished, for the tithe map (1839) could still describe the Scarisbrick portion of the old lake as marsh used as summer pasture. The map depicts Wyke farmhouse as lying within a nook of land at the extreme northern tip of the township, an area probably known as Otterhouseholme in medieval times. By the mid-nineteenth century Wyke Farm was banded by the former basin of the mere, by the drained Wyke outlet towards the west and by enclosed mossland. Midge Hall, almost a mole to the south-east, occupied a sliver of land between other mossland enclosures and the former brink of the mere. Both tenements comprised a mix of older fields and later allotments of mossland. In 18939 the final improvement of the waste in this part of the township was perhaps a relatively recent undertaking; the tithe map left many fields unnamed and a few of these attached to the Wyke estate even remained in their natural heathland condition.

At this time neither the Wyke nor Midge Hall held any parts of Martin mere. The area remained in the hands of Charles Scarisbrick and in 1845 horses and cows were agisted there at the weekly rates of 3s 6d and 2s 6d per animal respectively. Land from the old lake basin perhaps passed into tenant hands when Midge Hall tenement was divided in the 1870s. After this division the original farmhouse became known as Old Midge Hall. Its daughter settlement, New Midge Hall, was constructed in the 1870s about a quarter of a mile to the north-west….

The authors then go on to tell the (partial) story of the Seddon farmers. I’ll quote only a little:

Thomas Seddon founder of Seddon and Sons

In 1839 James and Thomas Seddon were tenants of Wyke and Midge Hall farms respectively. By 1876 Wyke Farm was occupied by the Howard family, but the original Midge Hall perhaps continued to be farmed by Thomas Seddon. This Seddon had four sons: James… , William, Thomas and Nathan. William eventually became tenant of Old Midge Hall while James ultimately acquired both this farm and New Midge Hall. There was, however, no opportunity for Nathan and Thomas Seddon to continue the family farming tradition. Instead Nathan trained as a blacksmith and later went to America on behalf f the government to buy horses for the Boer War. Thomas, a joiner and wheelwright, helped in the construction of New Midge Hall and in due course founded the Southport firm of Seddon Undertakers.

James Seddon’s acquisition of Old Midge Hall and New Midge Hall was due to the misfortunes encountered by previous occupants. At Old Midge Hall, William Seddon suffered financial problems; at New Midge Hall, the first tenant was evicted for shooting a pheasant. Both James’ son, Robert, and grandson, also Robert, were born at New Midge Hall….

There is more of great interest and even some photographs of the Seddons farming.

New Midge Hall

The two Seddons said to have occupied Wyle and Midge Hall in 1839, James and Thomas, were in fact father and son. James was my 3x great grandfather.

Actually farmer James, who was born in nearby Halsall in 1778, came with his large family to farm in this area well before 1839, perhaps even twenty years before. As well as Thomas he had two other sons: Edward and Nathan (my great great grandfather).

James and son Nathan farmed Wyke farm while son Thomas took over at Midge Hall. James and son Nathan left Wyke sometime in the 1850s, Nathan to farm nearby at Park Hall Farm in Moss Lane. But before they did Nathan and his wife Margaret Blundell had a ninth and last child born at Wyke Farm, namely Richard Seddon (1851-1893), who was my great grandfather (he married Margaret Linaker).

There’s lots more to tell, but maybe another time.

William Linaker and the History of Southport

History of Southport
by Frances Bailey.

As a town, Southport may be said to have “come of age” in 1846, when a special authority, which may be regarded as an embryo town council, was set up by Act of Parliament to carry out certain local improvements. The Act (9 Vict. c. 30) was entitled, “An Act for paving, lighting, watching, watering, cleansing, regulating and otherwise improving the Town of Southport in the County Palantin of Lancaster and for establishing and regulating a Market and Market Places therein”. ……..It was accordingly enacted that a corporate body, to be called, “The Southport Improvement Commissioners,” be set up, consisting of twenty-four persons nominated by the Act, together with the resident Justices of the Peace sitting, ex-officio. The original twenty-four were the Rev. Charles Hesketh, the Rev. William Docker, the Rev. Jonathan Jackson, the Rev. Charles Hesketh, the Rev. John Hill, William Wales, James Longton, Richard Wright (land agent), Richard Wright (builder), William Ball (captain), William Jolley, Bennett Smith, Singleton Cooper, Samuel Whitely, William Linaker, William Gregson, Richard Lewis, Charles Clough, Thomas Hulme, William Walker, James Mawdsley, Richard Ball (brewer) and William Tyrer. These were to hold office until 1849, when a system would begin to operate by which one-third were to retire annually and their places be filled by electin. All ratepayers occupying property of a yearly rateable value of from 6 to 50 (pounds) had one vote, with further votes (up to a maximum of six) for each additional 25 (pounds). Election would be for a term of three years.

William Linaker was a farmer and blacksmith – my 3rd great grandfather. Born in Crossens, North Meols in 1796 and buried in St Cuthbert in North Meols (Churchtown) on 26 Oct, 1864.

Nonconformists and life in North Moels, Lancashire

The John Hotton I mentioned here (my 4th great grandfather), appears to have been a character, read on. The Rev. George Greatbatch’s daughter went to school in Chester with the daughter of John Linaker (another 4th great grandfather – see here)

The Story of the Lancashire Congregational Union 1806 – 1906, B. Nightingale (1906):

It has already been stated that the first Itinerants, those engaged by the Itinerant Society from 1801-5, were sent to South-West Lancashire, in particular to North Meols and district; and in reference to that district those appointed to labour there appear to have been at a loss to find language sufficiently expressive in which to describe its lost and immoral condition. “The land of the shadow of death,” writes one, “whose vices and miseries have been its powerful advocates in demanding our exertions.”

The author of that sentence was the Rev. George Greatbatch, the first of the men sent to labour in these parts. This good man, the Father of Southport Congregationalism, and for more than fifty years a principal figure in the life of the town, whose rise and progress he witnessed, was born in October, 1779, at Shelton, in the Potteries. It is recorded that his father made considerable sacrifices for the Protestant faith, and that one of his ancestors was a noted preacher in Cromwell’s army. Converted under the ministry of the Rev. James Boden, of Hanley, whose Church he joined in the seventeenth year of his age, his original intention was to offer himself for foreign service in connection with the London Missionary Society, and to this end it was proposed that he should enter Mr. Haldane’s Academy at Edinburgh. Meeting, however, with Mr. Roby of Manchester, who laid before him the needs of Western Lancashire, he was induced to abandon the idea and to succeed Mr. Hacking there as agent of the Itinerant Society. At the age of twenty-three years he gave himself to this work, taking up his abode in 1803 at Newburgh, near Ormskirk, a central place for his wide field.

Here he “occupied a part of the cottage tenanted by one of his hearers, expecting it would be only for a month or two ; but prejudice would not allow him to rent a house in the village, and he, with his increasing family, remained ‘ in his own hired ‘ lodgings upwards of four years.” His life during this period is thus described: ” His salary was fixed at £80 a year; but as it was necessary for him to keep a horse, and as wheat ranged from 21s. to 30s. Per bushel, his worldly prospects were not very inviting. How, indeed, man and horse, wife and child could exist in such circumstances is truly wonderful. His residence was fixed at Newburgh, and from thence he made daily excursions to the surrounding villages. Every evening, however, he was obliged to return to Newburgh, as at no place except Ormskirk could he obtain a bed. On many a wild night he and his pony had to struggle with the tempest, and only reached home at midnight, drenched with rain and benumbed with cold.” Those “daily excursions” took him long distances—to Southport, Blowick, and Crossens on the one hand, Ormskirk and Bickerstaffe on the other, and Rufford, Bretherton, Leyland, and Eccleston on the other. It was an immense district which he endeavoured to cover, a part of the country little touched by outside influences of any sort. And he was “in perils oft.” When he journeyed on foot he was frequently accompanied by a person named Hooton, a devoted friend, at whose cottage he was accustomed to preach. Mr. Hooton, being a tall, strong man, used to ford the rivers which stood in their way with Mr. Greatbatch on his shoulders; and in the Scarisbrick district he was often seen by the minister’s side armed with a stout cudgel to protect him against assaults from the Roman Catholics.

Removing to Churchtown, in July, 1807, he found the same difficulty in securing a house in which to live. “The influential men of the village,” writes one, “had resolved that he should not reside there “; but eventually “a friend, whose heart the Gospel had reached, converted his barn into a dwelling-house for the preacher. It was a very humble abode. The floor and walls were of clay and the roof of straw. There were only two rooms, one of which, serving both for parlour and study, was so low that the occupant could not stand upright in it; the other, serving for kitchen, etc., was so high that nothing could be hung up in it without a ladder.”

Mr. Greatbatch’s change of abode did not alter the sphere of his labours, for precisely the same places are mentioned as enjoying his ministrations. It enabled him, however, to give more attention to North Meols. now represented by Churchtown, where, on February 10th, 1807, a place was opened for public worship. The building had accommodation for 200 people, and was literally erected by himself and his hearers, its cost being £70. It was built of ” wood and clay mingled with straw.” and was “completed in one month.” The style of architecture is said to have been “original and indescribable, neither primeval nor modern, the first and last of its class. Its grotesque form was so unlike any style of earth architecture, that no one ever ventured to describe it except a lady, who said it reminded her of Noah’s Ark.”

For twenty years or more Mr. Greatbatch laboured most devotedly here, building up a promising  Church, and living to see a great change in the habits and morals of the people. Writing after eleven years’ work, he says: “I sometimes endeavour to recall those impressions to my mind which I felt when I first saw North Meols, but I cannot. I had for some years previous to that time had a strong desire to be a Missionary to the heathen (a cause which still lies near my heart), but little thought there was a station for me at home which so much resembled the ideas I had formed of an uncivilised heathen land. I recollect the awkward gaze wherewith the people looked upon me, and the painful feelings of my heart when I retired to a little hovel from among them. The impressions I feel at this moment are so powerful that I can scarce believe I am in the same place now that I was then. Poor creatures ! Such was their ignorance and general behaviour that for a long time my heart sank within me when I must leave my family at Newburgh to preach among them. The thought of living among them would at that time have overwhelmed me.” Then he gratefully indicates some of the achievements of his ministry there.

Lancashire Non-conformity, B. Nightingale (1893)

In 1806 the Lancashire Congregational Union took the place of the Itinerant Society, and in the first Report, issued January, 1808, North Meols occupies the first and largest place. Previous, however, to the issuing of this Report three events of importance had taken place. One was the erection of a chapel at Churchtown in 1807. It was a very modest structure, cost only some £70, had sitting accommodation for less than 200, and was completed in a month’s time. The following interesting account of the opening is taken from the Evangelical Magazine for 1807: Feb. 10. A small place of worship was opened at North Meols, near Ormskirk, Lancashire. Mr. Parkin, of Wigan, preached from Rom. iii., 28; and Mr. Ralph, of Liverpool, from Isa. lx., 7-8. It is about five years since the Gospel was introduced into the above parish, by means of an itinerant minister. At that time the ignorance and depravity of its inhabitants were awfully manifest. Of late many have been deeply impressed, and are now adorning the Gospel. No house being large enough to contain the hearers, they set to work to build the above of wood and clay, mingled with straw, which was completed in one month to the joy of many.

And:

From the Rev. John Alexander’s ‘Memoirs’ I transcribe the following passage as further illustrative of the benighted condition of this now fashionable part of Lancashire: ‘At the beginning of this century, when Mr. Greatbatch began his itinerant ministry among them, most of the people were unable to read, very few of them possessed a Bible, and multitudes devoted the Sabbath day to the practice of all iniquity. In North Meols stalls for the sale of cakes, toys, and other articles, and for purposes of gambling, were erected every Sunday on the way to church. After the service the bellman stood on a gravestone and gave notice of the business to be transacted during the week ; and the clergyman spent the evening of that holy day with his jovial companions in the alehouse. Mr. Greatbatch having urged the people to read the Bible, an effort was made to find one in some of the houses, but for some time unsuccessfully. The churchwarden, it was said, had one, but when his family were asked the question they stared with all the astonishment of ignorance, and said ‘they had none such a thing’. At length, however, a copy of the New Testament was found at the bottom of a chest in a farmer s house, and the man, who was able to read, opened it towards the middle of one of the Evangelists. After he had read aloud for some time of the treatment which Christ received from the Scribes and Pharisees, one of the party, who was listening, said within himself, ‘They’ll kill that fellow before they have done with him,’ and then asked the reader how long it would be before they would hear of the mon being kilt. He took hold of about half the leaves of the book and replied, ‘He should have to read haply all that before they came to the part which  told about his being kilt.’ As the history was deemed too long to be continued then, the book was closed. The man who asked the question was afterwards converted under Mr. Greatbatch s ministry, and continued a consistent member of the church for more than forty years. In that same parish, when Mr. Honeywood and Mr. Hacking, the first itinerants, had preached a few times, one of the people said to his neighbours: ‘You may think what you like, but I think they are highwaymen, for every time they have come to preach there has been a storm of wind.’ (Pages 183, 184.)

Greatbatch himself wrote:

It is eleven years this day since I entered upon my labours in this part of the Lord’s vineyard, and, I assure you. the circumstance brings many pleasing and painful things to my recollection. I sometimes endeavour to recall those impressions to my mind which I felt when I first saw North Meols, but I cannot. I had for some years previous to that time had a strong desire to be a missionary to the Heathen (a cause which still lies near my heart], but little thought there was a station for me at home, which so much resembled the ideas I had formed of an uncivilised heathen land. I recollect the awkward gaze wherewith the people looked upon me, and the painful feelings of my heart when I retired to a little hovel from among them. The impressions I feel at this moment are so powerful, that I can scarce believe I am in the same place now that I was then. Poor creatures! such was their ignorance and general behaviour that for a long time my heart sunk within me when I must leave my family at Newbro to preach among them. The thought of living among them would at that time have over whelmed me. You will perceive, sir, how unfit I should have been for a missionary station ; for, compared with many such stations, mine, with all its unpleasantness, was comfort itself. Thus cast down, but not in despair, I continued to labour for upwards of two years, when the Lord was pleased to revive His work, and I was animated with pleasing prospects. … In a little more than two years after this pleasing revival I was sorely tried from another quarter, and He who has promised never to leave His people knows best what I endured. I then preached in a little cottage, which was very humbly fitted up with benches and a pulpit, and had been once enlarged to accommodate the pleasing numbers who flocked to hear the Word. I recollect telling Mr. Roby in a letter, when this place was first opened for preaching, that I hardly thought Solomon felt greater pleasure in dedicating his temple to God than I did when I first preached in this place. Little did I think that I must ever be forced from it; and little do my dearest friends know what I felt when this was the case. I was then seen again preaching in the house of one of the few who still chose to hear me. ‘Notwithstanding all these things the Lord stood with me and strengthened me,’ and I was enabled to go forward ‘preaching among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ’. Early in 1807 our present chapel was built, and I find, by looking at some memorandums, that we had in the summer of that year about 50 regular hearers. Soon after the opening of our chapel a church was formed, consisting of 7 persons, and in the following July I came to reside among them. In weakness and in fear and in much trembling I have continued among them to this day, and can review another year with peculiar pleasure, because it reminds me of the tender mercy of God in sparing an unworthy servant, and restoring me to health, and, I hope, to usefulness again.

A Lancashire Farmer Writes to his Wife – 1825

A large part of my family were farmers in North Meols, just outside the ‘modern’ town of Southport in Lancashire. They had names like Seddon, Blundell, Aughton, Baker, Rimmer, Culshaw, Halsall and Linaker. They constantly intermarried. My 4x great grandfather was called John Linaker (1766 -1846). He was quite prosperous and owned several farms and buildings around Moss lane and nearby Banks (see map, notice that Southport didn’t yet exist). I might return to him later, but here I just want to copy a letter he wrote to his wife Jane (Culshaw) from London in 1825. He was there to appear before the House of Lords because, it seems, of some land dispute. I have left the spelling and punctuation unchanged:

London April the 23 1825

Dear wife I rite afue Lines to say I am nowat London wee nought on Thursday about five of Clock and I was so hured as I had not take very litel mate that night but after geten anight rest I am now very well and Hapey in my mind as I Hope wee shuld not stop much above another week at Lundon yesterday wee was before the House of Lords to be severn to the Charge of Lands to day be fore the Jugegs, give my Love to all my dear Children and ther partners in Life and my grandchildren and tel Forsterd my man it is time to sow the potafeeld with Oates and sow Clove seed in it for moing you may get it at my Sisters give my Love to Her and famaley tel Our Wm to see How the Brick men are going on Mr Hesketh give me His Leys Lisence just before I left and it is in my gray coal Cote pocket if Mr Hesketh Have not tould of it send by Our William to Mis Leggs my Dear wife all the Cares of our afares is put to you to Luke after as I am now absent.

And ther is won thing needful that is our immortel souls that must never dy the vanateys of this world is apt to Anger the mans hart but ther is a god and asavour to Keep us from harm

So now more at present  yours  John Linaker

If you rite to mee direct to

Wm Hore Gredison Caffee House  Temple  London

You can hear the Lancashire accent clearly if you read this aloud. As to spelling etc, well he was obviously literate but hadn’t had ‘correct’ spelling yet drummed into him. I have a letter written to John by his 10 year-old daughter Alice in 1814, from her private school in Chester, it’s perfectly written; John wanted to improve his family.

Old Map of North Meols before Southport existed – 1786