Tuesday 6 September 2016

There was a man called Luke

Who lived his whole life in the small village of Hayfield, Derbyshire. 
In the 1851 census Luke is recorded as

Gender Male
Age 9
Year Of Birth 1842

Occupation SCHOLAR

Street COTE LANE
Parish GREAT HAMLET

As there were two hamlets near each other, both called Hayfield, in those days it was called the Great Hamlet.
In 1861 and unusually Luke is recorded as
Occupation BOOK BINDER

Most ordinary folk in those days were farm labourers or mill workers (calico & printing).

Luke had brothers, John, Esau & Luther (note the biblical names).

1871 finds Luke living in CHURCH STREET. 

By 1881 his given Occupation is STATIONER & NEWS AGENT

He became a well-known and well-respected town worthy, serving the community for many years, 

October 1896 the Sheffield Daily Telegraph has a report of some Sheffield Ramblers who made their way by train to Hayfield intending to walk over Kinder to the Inn on the Snake Pass. 
"Hayfield is a grey, straggling place, snugly ensconced amongst many sheltering hills. Starting on our exhilarating walk, with a guide thoughtfully provided by Mr. Luke to prevent unwary trespassing." 





.

Hayfield, Great Hamlet

Luke, born 1842 son of John b. 1808 and Mary b. 1805
In the 1851 census, they live in Cote Lane, Great Hamlet.

Siblings -
Sarah Ann b. 1829
Betty b. 1832
John b. 1839
Esau b. 1837
Luke b. 1842


1871 
Luke - Head of household is in Church Street and there is a lodger - Benjamin Bowden (1836)


1881
Luke is still in Church St. now referred to as Phoside.
Occupation - Newsagent and Stationer

Wife - Alice (1848)

Siblings
Walter b. 1873
James b. 1876
Mary b. 1879

Sister-in-law
Elizabeth Turner (1850)


1881
Still in Church Street, although an on-line site has wrongly transcribed their address as the 'Bull Inn'.


1891
Town is given as Phoside and adjoining Parish of Hayfield
Luke's occupation given as Bookseller
Luke and Alice only have their son James at home.
Mary married at Bethel Chapel

1891 updated
Luke Stationer and Newsagent
Alice
Walter and James labourers at Calico Print Works
Mary - scholar

Sister-in-law
Elizabeth Turner of Heaton Norris, Stockport (1850)


Checking back thro' census records -
Luke's wife, Alice and her sister Elizabeth were from Heaton Norris, Stockport.
Their parents - James and Martha were from Hayfield, Derbyshire.

James - obit

Aged 76, and a native of the village, Mr. Garside was the younger son of the late Mr. And Mrs. Luke Garside, and on his fathers side he belonged to an old Mottram family, which came to Hayfield well over a century ago. In his younger days he was employed at Kinder Printworks and also at Hayfield Printworks. On the death of his father, he succeeded to the newsagency business in Church Street, which he carried on until he transferred it to his nephew, Mr. Sam Garside, three years ago. He had also established an extensive business in the Birch Vale and Thornsett district, but was compelled to dispose of it when his nephew joined the army.
As a boy of nine, Mr. Garside began to carry papers to Little Hayfield for his father and after he retired from business he continued that round for old associations sake until about 18 months ago. Altogether he distributed there for about 64 or 65 years. 
Over hill and dale Mr. Garside tramped thousands of miles with loads of papers of all sorts and never had the help of any vehicle, even a bicycle. He was a great walker and for many years he went regularly over Kinder Scout to attend the famous Woodlands Love Feast. At the age of 75 he did this walk last year. For a long period Mr. Garside also walked to Eyam to attend the Plague Service.
In his business Mr. Garside's great ideal was service to his customers and no tradesman was ever more faithful. His holidays were very few indeed. During the great storm of 1941 when neither trains nor buses could get to Hayfield. Mr. Garside tramped three miles to New Mills station to collect his newspaper parcels and distributed hundred of papers.
The late Mr. Luke Garside was an antiquarian and historian of wide repute and he had assembled a considerable library on these subjects. His son inherited his tastes and his books and himself perused the same studies. He had added extensively to his library, which became one of the finest local libraries in the High Peak.
He wrote many articles on Peak history for the Reporter and other journals. His knowledge of Hayfield in particular was unrivalled and he was the recognised authority in village history who was often appealed to and as often responded.
There were occasions when Mr. Garside's researches into Hayfield history were of signal service to the parish and two may be mentioned. In the 1930's there were several floods, one of which did much damage to Valley Road. The County Council, who had become the highway authority, denied that the road was repairable by the inhabitants at large and said it was the liability of the property owners Mr. Garside produced a document which showed the road had been repaired by the surveyors of highways who were the road authority long before there were any councils. The document was accepted by the County Council who repaired the road.
A flood in 1944 washed up Clough Lane at Little Hayfield. Again the County Council denied that it was a highway repairable by the public and said it was the liability of property owners. Mr. Garside produced the account book of the surveyors of highways, which showed that the surveyors had repaired Clough Lane in the 1820s. The County Council accepted the evidence and repaired the lane. 
Mr. Garside was one of the last to hold the ancient office of overseer of the poor before it was abolished, but although he had been rendering public service unofficially for about 50 years, it was not until 1946 that he sought a seat on Hayfield Parish Council. He was elected at the top of the poll. By that time there was adult suffrage for the election of local councils and Mr. Garside received the highest number of votes given to a candidate at Hayfield.
At the first meeting of the council Mr. Garside was elected vice-chairman. It was the custom of the council to appoint the vice-chairman the chairman in the following year and Mr. Garside had expected the custom to be followed. For him 1947 was to be a red-letter year. He had taken part in the agitation to get the footpath over Kinder Scout to the Snake Inn and had led parties over the route before the footpath was dedicated in 1897. The Peak district and Northern Footpaths Preservation Society decided to celebrate the jubilee of the opening of the footpath at Hayfield and asked Mr. Garside to be one of the principle speakers. He had also arranged an exhibition of photographs, cartoons and literature of various kinds relating to the footpath.
To be “Mayor” of his native village on this memorable occasion was an honour Mr. Garside was looking forward to with real pleasure and pride and he had made tentative arrangements for his “Churching” at the Bethel Methodist Chapel. But to his own astonishment and that of the whole village, the Parish Council did not appoint Mr. Garside to the chair. This unkind cut deeply hurt Mr. Garside after his long service and the numerous occasions on which he had helped Hayfield Parish Council. He took part in the jubilee celebrations and staged his exhibition, which earned warm praise. But his interest in Parish Council work waned, and when his term of office expired he did not seek re-election to the council.
For generations the Garside family has been associated with the Bethel Methodist Church. Mr. James Garside was Sunday school secretary for over 50 consecutive years, retiring several years ago when he was presented with book tokens in appreciation of his long services. He was a member of the Old Age Pensioners Association and enjoyed their meetings, and maintained an interest in the Liberal Association. A good mathematician, Mr. Garside took an interest in the Co-operative Holiday Association and was connect with the Literary Society, which used to be in existence in Hayfield. He was connected with the Field Naturalist Society and was a friend of Mr. G. B. Ward, the well-known rambler and writer of Sheffield. 
To the last his native hills and the old customs called Mr. Garside Even in the stormy weather of the days before his death, he was to be seen coming from the Old Pits Plantation where the public had rights, carrying a few sticks for fire lighting. Hayfield will not see his like again and no other will love his native village more or seek to defend its rights and privileges with more precise, knowledge and courage. Hayfield will not know another of his rugged character, or one more faithful to his ideals of service as a tradesman, or to any organization to which he was a member. He was one of Hayfield’s more distinguished sons.