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Monkey Town: The History of Heywood

Heywood People in 1825

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The following page is taken from the 'Village Directory of Bury Parish' section of Edward Baines' 1825 publication History, Directory, and Gazetteer, of the County Palatine of Lancaster.

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© and website design: Christopher Dawson MPHA (Qld)

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Ashworth
Ashworth Valley
Bamford
Birtle
Cemeteries
Chartists
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Co-operative Movement
Coal mining
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factory conditions
Gnat Bank
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Hooley Bridge
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'The Old Mills of Heywood' Project

Explore the history of Heywood's old workplaces.

Popular Pages

The Devil and the Monkey Puzzle Tree

The Monkey Puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ) is not a common sight in Monkey Town. The rather exotic spiked trunk and winding branches always caught the attention of local children, and two in particular that stuck in the memory were the trees in a front garden on Heywood Hall Road (which was on the route to Queen’s Park for many people). One well-remembered aspect of these trees was the superstition surrounding them. Some parents actually told their children to be quiet as they passed the tree, various reasons being that they would have bad luck or lose something, or in some cases even grow a monkey’s tail! This led those children who actually wanted a monkey’s tail to shout out as they passed by the trees. Superstitions about the Monkey Puzzle tree can be found throughout Britain. One widely-shared bit of folklore is that the Devil himself sits in this tree and people have to be quiet when walking past or else they will attract the Devil’s attention and get bad luck. In some

General Timeline of Heywood History

This timeline of the history of Heywood is a work in progress. It is intended to be as accurate as possible, and suggested corrections or additions are welcome. Pre - A.D. 1270 7th century: Middleton is thought to have been settled by this time. 1086: Rochdale recorded in the Domesday Book as Recedham. 1164: Heywood family recorded in local area. 1183: Records for Ashworth start around this time. 1197: Reference to Birtle in records. 12th century: Hopwood family recorded at site of current Hopwood Hall. 1210: Reference to hamlets of Lumhalghs (Lomax) and Hep (Heap) in records. 1260: Land at Pilsworth granted to William de Radcliffe. 1270-1600 1260s-70s: Adam de Bury grants land to Peter de Heywood during this time. 1278: William del Bridge granted land near Bury. 1292: Reference to Hoppewode in records 13th century: Bamford family living in Bamford area. 13th century: Peter de Heywood builds Heywood Hall. 13th century: Woollen mill recorded

1830s Heywood by Edwin Butterworth

E. Butterworth. (Edward Parr, Gallery Oldham) Some of the best historical descriptions of Heywood were written in the 1840s-‘50s, after the town was visited by such writers and chroniclers as Edwin Waugh, Samuel Bamford and Edwin Butterworth. Butterworth (1812–1848) was the earliest of these men. A Lancashire topographer from near Oldham, he travelled on foot through nearly every town and village in the county over six years during the 1830s while researching for Edward Baines’ History of Lancashire , and his account of Heywood, published in 1840, was based on these notes. In 1833 he wrote of his difficulties doing this research: ‘At last, after considerable trouble, pain, and perambulation, I have completed my inquiries in Bury parish, and a most tedious and perplexing matter it has been. To go over a parish ten miles in length and five in breadth, to call on persons sometimes denominated (but too often erroneously) intelligent men, and to procure the steam power requi

The Old Mills of Heywood: P-R

Perseverance Mill, Green Lane. You can also find information about the following mills on this interactive map. See all the A-Z listing of old mills and workplaces of Heywood here Park Mill (originally River Street Mill ) Cotton spinning and manufacturing River Street, Hooley Brow 1848: Not present on OS map 1871 directory: Brocklehurst William & Co. (manufacturers), River street mill Hooley brow. 1890: Marked on OS map as unnamed cotton mill. 1922 directory: Operated by Kershaw, A. 1928: Named on OS map as Park Mill (cotton). 1937: Marked on OS map as ‘disused’. 1957: Marked on OS map as Park Mill (cotton). 2018: Building still present and in use. Park Mill, OS map, 1930. Park Street Mill Cotton spinning Park Street, Hopwood 1847: Not present on OS map. 1875 directory: Hoyle John, Park street mill, Heywood. 1888 directory: Park Street Cotton Spinning Co. Limited, Park Street Mill, Hopwood. 1891 directory: Park Street Cotton Spinning Co

The Fall of the Weavers

‘Fifty years ago there lived in this district a goodly number of handloom weavers; a class of men to which Lancashire is indebted for much of its subsequent commercial prosperity. Some of these men had a narrow and stern piety, but their thoughtfulness, good common sense, and general sterling qualities left their mark upon us.’ ( Heywood Advertiser , 1908) ‘The handloom weavers... though they labour 14 hours upwards daily, earn only from five to seven shillings a week. They... are affected by all the causes of moral and physical depression... ill-fed, ill-clothed, half-sheltered and ignorant - weaving in close, damp cellars or crowded workshops.’ (Dr J.P. Kay, 1832) One of the trades worst affected by the onset of the Industrial Revolution during 1760-1840 was handloom weaving, in which cloth was spun and woven inside the home. When it came to weaving, Heywood was exclusively a cotton village (whereas Middleton had a thriving silk industry). Although the weavers were not a wea

A Walk Around Market Place in 1848

Cordwainer. The following account is taken from the Heywood Advertiser , 21 December 1888. The writer, Sam Heywood, recalls the scenes around Market Place as it used to be back in the 1840s, and his splendid description of the shops and the personalities of the various shopkeepers gives a great insight into the young town, as it was then. Most of these shops and people are long forgotten, but some places remain familiar, such as the Queen Anne, the Masons Arms, and the King's Arms (then known as the 'New Inn' and used mainly by the Orangemen). No doubt some of the surnames will be quite familiar too. This piece begins after an account of a visit to the Central Baths (then kept by a Ms E. Brierley) on a Sunday morning: 'HEYWOOD MARKET PLACE FORTY YEARS AGO. ‘By a genuine Monkey’ ‘Upon leaving the Central Baths, I received a terrible shock on discovering that another old landmark had been removed from the Market Place. It may be a very small trifle to some pe

Submit a Story

If you have researched any aspect of Heywood history and would like to submit an article to Monkey Town, please contact me.

Thanks to the following people for their contributions:

Michael Baron:

'The Age of the Electric Tram in Heywood'

Neil J Richardson:

'The Story of Michael Rukin and Charles Martin Newhouse'

Alan McCarthy:

'Heywood Spitfires'

This website created by Christopher Dawson.
Member of the Professional Historians Association (Qld).
BA Anthropology (University of Queensland); Grad. Dip. Applied and Local History (University of Queensland).
Back o'th' Moss/Mossfield Primary/Siddal Moor
All original material © C Dawson
dawsonchris@outlook.com

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