66 A. D. 1850 manufacture of blankets, druggets, carpets, flushings, and coverlets, and the finer descriptions of woollen cloths, introduced some years ago. and for the fulling of which the water of the Calder is peculiarly favourable, are now produced on a large scale, giving employment to thousands of persons in the town and adjoining districts. But if fine cloths are manufactured at Dewsbury, others of a very opposite description have been put together here and at Batley, which, by their extreme cheapness (?) have found a ready sale, to the serious injury, not only of the trade itself, but of the reputation of the Yorkshire cloth manufacturers. The cloths (if such they Cloth made from refuse, can be called) to which we now allude, are composed of refuse called called shoddy, with a very slight admixture of wool, and though worthless" Shoddy." in point of durability, the high finish given to them is calculated to deceive any but practical men. This is a species of trade which cannot be too widely exposed, or too severely denounced. Yorkshire has long been regarded as the metropolis of the woollen manufacture, and in the present age of competition, it is of no small importance that it should maintain its supremacy. The evil, doubtless, had its origin in avarice, and in that inordinate love of gain to which every other consideration is sacrificed. Merchants have been blamed for the introduction of this rubbish, on the ground that the low prices offered by them to the clothiers and small manufacturers, compelled the latter, in self-defence, to make an inferior article. They have been made to order;" and in a company of clothiers, not long ago, one of them said, in answer to some observations of a gentleman, who had condemned the system, -"that it made no difference to him if he put a horse's leg into a piece, so that the goods suited the buyer!" Whatever degree of culpability, however, may attach to merchants, there is a certain class who have given no small encouragement to these productions. Jew slop-sellers, alias tailors, by means of such goods, extravagant puffing, gorgeously decorated premises, and a starvation rate of wages, have derived enormous profits out of that portion of the community-unfortunately, always large, who, led away by the bugbear, cheapness, find themselves in possession of trash, in exchange for their hard-earned savings. But it is to be hoped that this mischievous and ruinous policy will, ere long, be abandoned. The fabrication of such materials is a positive disgrace to the maker; they destroy the reputation of the seller by deceiving the buyer, and, as we have already remarked, they inflict serious injury upon the trade generally. For this digression, for which recent events must be the apology, it may be stated that the prosperity of Dewsbury has been much promoted by the extension of the Calder and Hebble navigation. The river Calder, and the canals connected with it, afford direct communication between the eastern and western seas, and with Liverpool, Manchester, Rochdale, Halifax, and Wakefield, and also with the river Humber. In addition to these facilities, the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Man A. D. chester railway passes close to the west side of the town, direct from the first-mentioned place, and afterwards joins the Leeds and 1837 Manchester, near Hopton, in Mirfield. There are branches to Halifax, Bradford, &c.; and by this line, the route from Leeds to Manchester is shortened eight miles. Cloth and Hall. A Cloth and Blanket Hall was erected in 1837, and is open every Wednesday for the sale of woollen cloths and blankets. The parish, which is of great antiquity, and during the heptarchy extended over an area of four hundred square miles, now comprises 9551 acres, of which 1335 are in the township of Dewsbury; the soil is fertile, and the scenery greatly diversified; the substratum abounds with coal, which is extensively wrought. The church is a structure of very ancient date, and a large portion of it was rebuilt in 1767. There are churches in the adjoining townships, and places of worship for dissenters. A public library is supported by subscription, and there is also a parochial library, established by the Vicar in 1842, which at its commencement contained 600 volumes. Ample provision exists for the instruction of the young by means of schools, one of which, in connection with the church, affords accommodation for six hundred children. Among the relics of antiquity discovered here were a spear-head of metal resembling gold, a Roman urn, and many other articles. The poor Population, law union comprises eleven townships; and the population in 1851 was 71,678, comprising 35,634 males, and 36,134 females. The number of houses at the same period was 14,869. Mirfield is a parish two miles from Dewsbury, situate on the north bank of the river Calder; the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the woollen manufacture, and the making of cards for machinery. There are some large flour mills, and extensive malting establishments, and a good trade is likewise carried on in agricultural and mineral produce, for rhe conveyance of which the Calder and Hebble navigation affords great facilities; the Manchester and Leeds railway passes through the parish. An account of the horrible murders committed at this place a few years ago, will be found in the first volume of the Annals. DONCASTER. This place was by the Saxons called Dona Ceastre, from which its present name is obviously derived; the great Roman road, the Ermin-street, which crossed the river here, may still be traced in several parts of the vicinity, and numerous coins, fragments of urns, and other remains of Roman antiquity, have been discovered on the south side of the town, among which was a votive altar, dug up in 1781. In 750, according to Camden, the town was destroyed by lightning, and the castle, of which the founder and the period. of its erection are equally unknown, is supposed to have shared the same fate. At the Conquest, the manor was granted by William, 66 with numerous other lands, to his brother, the Earl of Morton, by whose son and successor they were forfeited in the reign of Henry I., and after passing through various owners, the manor and soke of Doncaster were sold to Henry Percy, second Earl of Northumberland, on the death of whose son, at the battle of Towton, they became forfeited to the crown; but the estates were subsequently restored, with the exception of the lordship of Doncaster, which was bestowed by a charter of Henry VII. upon the corporation of the borough, to be held in a fee-farm rent of £74 13s. 111⁄2d. During the insurrection in the reign of Henry VIII., called the Pilgrimage of Grace," Aske, the leader, at the head of 30,000 men, marched to this place, but a party of the royal army, consisting of 5,000 men, defended the bridge, and successfully opposed their entrance into the town. The insurgents encamped on Scawsby Lees, where they held a parley with the Duke of Norfolk, which terminated in a petition to the king; and on the 6th of December, 1536, a conference was held here, when the king granted a general pardon, and the insurgents dispersed and abandoned their enterprise. In 1642, Charles I. visited the town on his route to Nottingham, and attended divine service in the church; and after the battle of Marston Moor, the Earl of Manchester established his head quarters here, while besieging the royal garrison of Pontefract. Doncaster is pleasantly situated, chiefly on the south bank of the river Don, and consists of several streets, of which High-street, about a mile in length, is spacious and handsomely built. The town is well paved and lighted with gas, at the expense of the corporation, under whose direction also the inhabitants are amply supplied with water, of which the cost is defrayed by a rate. Little either of trade or manufacture is carried on here; there are two or three foundries, a sacking and twist manufactory, and a flax spinning mill. The traffic arises chiefly from the situation of the town, in the midst of a fine rural plain, on the line of the great thoroughfare from London to Edinburgh. The absence of manufactures, however, offers compensating advantages; for the position of Doncaster, in a district abounding with pleasing and richly diversified scenery, combine to render it the favourite residence of numerous opulent and highly respectable families, whose mansions are conspicuous in every direction. Edmund Beckett Denison, Esquire, M.P., for the West-riding, and chairman of the Great Northern Railway company, has resided here for many years. A. D. 1536 That which gives Doncaster its principal attraction are the races, Races. the Great Northern Meeting, ranking second to the renowned "Derby," at Epsom. These races have long been celebrated, and are attended by families of rank from all parts of the kingdom. The meeting takes place in September, and within the last few years, an important, and it is believed, a judicious alteration, has A. D. 1850 been made in the order of running. The races formerly commenced on Monday, the great event of the week, the St. Leger, being run for on Tuesday, and the next, in point of interest, the Cup, on Thursday. By the existing arrangements the sport does not commence till Tuesday, and the St. Leger stakes are fixed for Wednesday, and the Cup on Friday. The interest of the meeting, therefore, is kept up throughout the week, instead of flagging, as it sometimes did, under the previous regulations. The course, one of the best in England, is about a mile from the town, and the grand stand, erected at the expense of the corporation, is not to be surpassed in point of elegance and accommodation. That body, knowing how much the prosperity of the town depends upon the great gathering, have always evinced a warm interest in its success, and they now contribute upwards of £1,000 per annum, appor tioned to various stakes, by the stewards, who have recently added to the "list" some valuable prizes for competition, which excite much interest in the betting circles. But all things have their decadence. The course, at Doncaster, undoubtedly does not present that splendid appearance which it was wont to do in the more palmy days of racing, where the equipages of Earl Fitzwilliam, and other noblemen, dazzled the eye with their splendour. Yet, in point of numbers, whether on the stand, or on the ground, there has been no falling off. The year 1850, will be memorable in the annals of the turf. On that occasion it is computed that not fewer than 200,000 persons were present on the St. Leger day, attracted together from all parts, by the celebrity of the horses that were known to be engaged. From Sheffield alone, the railway trains conveyed 13,000, numbers of whom, for want of better accommodation, sat or laid upon the roofs of the carriages, to the imminent peril of their lives; the attendance from other large towns was proportionately large. The inns, eating houses, and every other place where refreshments were likely to be had, were literally besieged, and in hundreds of instances the applicants came away "empty," being unable to obtain either meat or drink for "love or money." The "harvest" to the innkeepers and others, must have been bountiful, indeed. The race for the St. Leger terminated in a dead heat, between Voltigeur, the winner of the Derby, of the same year, the property of the Earl of Zetland, and a Irish horse, called Russborough. The deciding heat did not take place till six o'clock, and the excitement which prevailed amongst the immense multitude, when the horses made their appearance a second time, was, perhaps, unparalleled. The backers of Voltigeur, especially those who had heavy bets depending, presenting the appearance of men standing on the brink of a precipice, and afraid of falling in, so completely were all their calculations set at nought by this unlooked for event. A few minutes, however, and their pursed-up visages became relaxed, the rider of Voltigeur landing him in a winner, after a well-contested race, amidst deafening shouts of applause, and a tossing up of hats which literally darkened the air. The moment the result became known, there was a simultaneous rush to the railway station, every person wishing to secure a seat and reach home. The confusion, as may easily be imagined, was immense, and the efforts of the officials to maintain anything like order were utterly frustrated. Parties precipitated themselves into carriages, without inquiring the place of their destination, and the result was, that in some instances, they found themselves scores of miles away from the place of their residence. Fortunately, however, no accident occurred, a gratifying circumstance, and which, considering the occasion, may be regarded as miraculous. The interest of the week did not terminate here. On Friday, Voltigeur started for the cup, when he encountered a formidable opponent in the Flying Dutchman, belonging to the Earl of Eglinton, also a winner of the Derby and St. Leger. The attendance was again large, and the interest excited very great. At one period of the race, the Dutchman was so far in advance, that it was thought he could not be overtaken. But Voltigeur ultimately “collared" him, passed him, and won cleverly, to the infinite delight of his admirers, and the mortification of the supporters of the Dutchman, against which horse they said it would be "madness to start anything." The enthusiasm was immense, and was even shared in by ladies of rank on the grand stand. When the animal was brought within the enclosure, the Countess of Zetland descended from the stand, and decorated the favourite with ribands, amidst tumultuous applause. Voltigeur presented the first instance of the same horse having won the three events, and hence, he was proclaimed the first racer of his day. Others contended that the Dutchman was not in a fit condition to start for the cup, and that the result was a "mistake." In order, however, to put the merits of the two to the test, a match for one thousand guineas was made between the Earl of Zetland and the Earl of Eglinton, which were to come off at York in the following year. On the day appointed, the race course at Knavesmire, presented such an assemblage as had not been witnessed before. The day was beautifully fine, and the scene altogether of the most exhilarating kind. In addition to a host of the nobility and gentry, staunch supporters of the turf, who thronged the grand stand, there were present his Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Prussia, his Royal Highness Prince Henry of the Netherlands, and many other foreigners of distinction. Previous to the race the betting was even, the Flying Dutchman however having the call. Voltigeur led off at a rattling pace, and maintained a position of several lengths in advance, till he arrived at the straight running, when the Dutchman, whose terrific strike began to tell, came alongside, challenged him, and one of the most splendid and exciting contests on record ensued, which ended in the defeat of Voltigeur by about half a length, as A. D.. 1850 |