The building itself is oblong in shape, with a gallery on three sides and the pulpit on the fourth. The old three-decker pulpit and the square family pews were removed in 1859, but the gallery remains in its original state. On entering the chapel from the vestry end a long cupboard will be noticed. Here the “bier” is kept. Many visitors, knowing of the close proximity of the village inn to many a parish church, have been interested to hear of the “bier” being kept inside the chapel.
From the inside, the diamond panes, with their background of ivy, stained as they are by green and brown hues, give a subdued light, which adds to the general solemnity of the building; and the quietness and peacefulness, together with the entire absence of decoration and ornamentation, make it an ideal place for the worship of Almighty God.
The choir sit in the gallery, where also the organ sits, as the Irish would have it. In the olden time the choir was led by a man who played upon a pitchpipe, and later again this gave place to a barrel organ, which was wound up for a certain number of verses. The old clock in the gallery, facing the pulpit, used to strike twelve towards the close of the morning service, but it was found necessary to call in the aid of the clockmaker, who arranged that it should strike one instead. In a recess opposite the pulpit an old stove used to crackle away during service, but fourteen years ago this was changed by the introduction of a heating apparatus.
On the whitewashed walls there are two brasses and three other mural tablets. But the attention of the visitor is taken up with the stones which fill the aisles and entrance-hall. Two of these stones are of earlier date than the chapel, having been brought from the parochial chapel- yard in 1859. One of these records the following: —
“E. Long dyed The 1 of April 1651
& John Long her husband 1674.”
Another stone is not without interest: —
“Here was interred ye body of Mr. Samuel Low Faithful minister of Jesus Christ in this place for the space of 13 years & depated this life the 19 day of April An: Dom. 1709.”
The “ r “ was omitted from departed, but a correction was afterwards made.
Another stone is to the memory of the
“Rev. Mr. Turner,
Sometime Minister of ye Gospel in this place.
Died 1737, aged 48.”
Of Mr. Turner, Mr. Green says: “ During the Rebellion of 1715 Mr. Turner, then pastor of Preston, was publicly thanked in the presence of King George’s army for his bravery and for the service he had rendered to the Hanoverian cause. It appears he had armed the young men in his congregation, and one night when on patrol he had taken prisoner a messenger from the rebels, who was the bearer of important dispatches and letters.”
The date given for the gathered church at Allostock is 2nd March 1690, and the first chapel was built before 1705. In those early days it must have been an important congregation. In 1822 the chapel was restored and the galleries removed, and from that time there has been no separate ministry, the minister of Knutsford Chapel being also the “preaching minister “ of Allostock Chapel. It is said that both Lord Clive and General Wolfe received part of their education in the parsonage of one of the early ministers of Allostock Chapel, probably Dr. Samuel Eaton, 1728-1737.1
The Chapel-Yard Sitting on a gravestone in the ancient burying-ground, we could not help reflecting on the changes which had been brought about since the first stone had been raised to mark a spot which ever afterwards was sacred ground, though no rites of consecration had ever been performed. We were undoubtedly on hallowed ground. A little distance away we could hear the whistle of the engine as it entered the station, and so near were we that we could hear the name of the station shouted by the porters, and the banging of the carriage doors, as the train was about to leave Knutsford and speed onward towards Plumbley. Far away we 1 See “ Knutsford: its Traditions and History.” By Rev. H. Green, M.A.,p. xog.
The Rev. George Eyre Evans, in “Antiquarian Notes,” says it was during 1738-1739 that Lord Clive was a pupil of the Rev. William Turner (1737-1746).
could see the Tatton Mere, with the tall trees reflected on the deep water underneath. Within twenty yards ran the highway, and yet notwithstanding this we appeared to be miles away, so peaceful was the scene. The land on which we stood, and on which the chapel adjoining stood, had been given for the use of Protestant Dissenters in 1688 by Isaac Antrobus, who lies buried in the chapel aisle.
Long before Knutsford became a parish (church erected 1744) the minister of the chapel in the fields, which was in the parish of Rostherne, was a Mr. Turner, whose1 “ conversation was so eminently holy and discipline so strict, that few or none attempted to come to the Lord’s table but who were persons of sober and blameless lives. Some of the inhabitants that were for a greater strictness in the rituals of religion, and a greater liberty in morals than Mr. Turner had approved of, were very industrious to have a minister of their own temper, and they were successful in securing the appointment of Mr. Holmes, who had been chaplain to ‘“Knutsford: its Traditions and History.” By Rev. H. Green, M.A.
Lord Delamere. Many of the inhabitants that had never been dissenters refused to own him as their minister, and joined with others that had been always dissenters in judgment to set up a meeting and invite a dissenting minister to come and preach to them.”
The seats at each of the four entrances (above and below), while they may be used by late comers to the services, or by tired pilgrims, suggest that they in those stormy times may have been intended for other purposes, for it is significant that in the original trust deed provision is made for any possible contingency: —
“It is hereby mutually covenanted declared and agreed by and between all the parties to these presents for themselves severally and respectively and for their severall and respective heirs executors Administrators and Assignes that if the tolleration and liberty granted by a late Act of Parliament entituled an Act for exempting severall of theire Majt,es protestant subjects from the penalties of cer- taine laws should be at any time hereafter taken away or withdrawne that then and from thenceforth it shall and may be law-
full to and for the said Isaac Antrobus his heirs or Assignes peaceably and quietly to have hold occupy possess and enjoy the said chappell or meeting-house and the said parcell of land with the Appurtenancies for and during soe many of the before granted terme of one thousand yeares as the said toleration or liberty shall be soe taken away or withdrawne and to Imploy the same for a dwelling- house or outbuilding to his or theire owne use and behoofe at his or theire owne will and pleasure (keeping and maintaining the said buildings in sufficient re- paire) and that in such case it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Peter Coulthurst John Leadbeater John Bos- tocke John Beard Peter Wood and Robert Kell and the survivor of them and the executors and assignes of the survivor of them to take and carry away the Pulpitt and all the pewes within the said building and to dispose of them to such persons as haue been at the charge of them anything before herein to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.”
The chapel, which Mrs. Gaskell is believed to have faithfully described in “Ruth,” is one of three built about the same time, and probably by the same architect. Dean Row, Macclesfield, and Knutsford Chapels, all have their entrances to the gallery from the outside, and the grey stone steps are stained by time and weather.
One of the first stones we look upon bears an inscription written in that quaint style which at one time seemed quite fashionable: —
“Upon this Stone who fix their Eyes, To learn whose Dust beneath it Lyes; Her Name, her Age, her Family May i’ th’ following Letters See, Anna Colthurst, &c., &c.”
And then follows a verse which shows that the aforesaid Anna must have been the compendium of all the virtues: —
“The Vertues of th’ Exalted Mind That Left its Partner Here behind Nor mouldering Stone, nor Mournfull Verse Are fitt or worthy to Rehearse.”
In close proximity to this there are other stones erected to the memory of membe
rs of the same family. We will quote the epitaph from one of these,
in order to show their many sterling qualities: —
“This Stone over the Remains of Peter Colthurst of Sandlebridge, who died June 16 1741 aged 72.
And of Elizabeth his Wife who died June 15 1740 aged 74. In His Mind were assembled all the Virtues which rendered Him happy in Himself, usefull to the World an Ornament to human Nature, She was truly worthy of such an Husband in all Goodness, a kind Assistant and generous Rival. Their lives were stained with no Dishonour but Piety and universal Benevolence recommended Them to the Friendship of the Wise and Good. And those valued Them most who knew Them best The Bad avoided Them except they wanted Relief.”
As we stood, paper and pencil in hand, a starling which had built under the chapel eaves came home to its hungry and noisy brood with a worm in its mouth, and its croaking, discordant notes startled the sparrows, busy among the ivy which almost covers the building. A thrush was singing near by, and now and again a swallow would skim past, while the spotted flycatcher, tamer than most other birds, darted now and again from the boundary wall in search of his winged prey.
It was an ideal place for the birds. Seldom frequented save on the Sabbath and by an occasional visitor from afar, and being well sheltered by an ancient sycamore — older, perhaps, than the chapel itself — and by a few thorn bushes, a weeping ash, one or two rose trees and dark-leaved yews, it was the haunt of many birds which made music among the boughs.
Under one of the yew trees stands a headstone which attracts the attention of many visitors: —
“In Memory of Samuel Leicester, Of Cross Town, Knutsford.”
[And then there is a space left for the date of death to be filled in.]
Old Samuel is still alive, at the ripe age of eighty-nine; and before he became too feeble to walk down, it was his custom to go and carefully weed his own grave, where his wife was laid to rest twenty- three years ago.1
A little distance away is a stone to the memory of the Rev. Henry Green, M.A.,
“Minister of this chapel 1827 to 1872.”
But there is one grave we have not mentioned, which is the most frequented of all. It is marked by a simple stone cross, under which lie the mortal remains of
“Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Born September 29, 1810; Died November 12, 1865.
And of William Gaskell, Born July 24, 1805; Died June 11, 1884.’’
Here the visitor to Cranford, the lovers and admirers of the works of the gifted authoress, the friends of the saintly man whose memory lives in many minds today, all unite in paying homage to the shrine of a noble pair of workers in God’s vineyard.
1 The old man passed away January 19, 1900. 56
This ancient graveyard, hallowed by sacred associations, still bears its silent testimony to the worth of many noble souls who have brought sunshine and gladness into the hearts of the living, and who “live again in minds made nobler by their presence.”
CHAPTER II
MRS. GASKELL
BIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM
It is to be regretted that no full and complete biography of Mrs. Gaskell has been or can be written. It is constantly stated by writers on this subject that the reason for this was that her experiences connected with “ The Life of Charlotte Bronte” were so painful as to cause her to forbid it; but we understand that this is not so, and that the resolution was made prior to the publication of that “ Life,” which Mr. Clement Shorter says “ ranks with Bos- well’s ‘ Life of Johnson ‘. and Lockhart’s ‘ Life of Scott.’“ Thackeray had expressed a desire that no biography of himself should be written, and Mrs Gaskell was none the less earnest in making a similar request. The best that has been published is that written by Miss Hamilton in her “ Women Writers” (second series), which is considered an accurate account. Another was written by the late George T. Bettany as an introduction to the “ Minerva” edition of “ Mary Barton.” Both writers received considerable help from Dr. Ward’s article on Mrs. Gaskell in the “ Dictionary of National Biography” and from the article by Miss Flora Masson in the “ Encyclopaedia Britannica,” and we, in our turn, must express indebtedness to each of the above- named writers for many facts.
When Mrs. Gaskell started to write “ The Life of Charlotte Bronte” she found it necessary to visit Haworth for local colour, and her first chapter very faithfully describes the journey from Keighley to Haworth. Its seems only a right and proper thing to do, in writing a biography, to visit the old haunts, but it is this freshness and interest which are wanting in the biographies of Mrs. Gaskell we have named. Neither Miss Hamilton nor Mr. Bettany appear to have visited Knutsford. Mrs. Ann Thackeray Ritchie, before she wrote the introduction to the 1891 edition of “Cranford,” did visit Knutsford, and, though it was only a visit of two days, she managed to gain a great deal of information even in that short space of time. Hugh Thomson, the artist who illustrated this edition, made a great mistake in not visiting Knutsford and taking a few original drawings. But he profited by experience, and when later he illustrated Miss Mitford’s “ Our Village,” a companion volume to “ Cranford “ in the same series, he took care to include a number of drawings of the original places mentioned in the story.
Proceeding now to the biography, it appears that Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson was born on September 29th, 1810, in a house in Lindsey Row, now a part of Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where Thomas Carlyle lived. She was the daughter by a first marriage of William Stevenson. He was a native of Berwick-on-Tweed, who, after quitting the Unitarian ministry, had taken to agricultural pursuits (compare the minister farmer in “ Cousin Phillis”), had written upon commerce, and finally settled as keeper of the Records to the Treasury of London, where he continued to write.
Concerning Mr. Stevenson, a note appeared in the A themeum for September 12, 1891, by “ E.V.T.” who quotes from the Ammal Obituary for 1830 (Longmans).
This note we here reproduce, as it very conclusively proves that a great deal of Elizabeth’s cleverness was inherited from her father.
“The literary and scientific world has sustained a great loss in the death of Mr. Stevenson, a man remarkable for the stores of knowledge which he possessed, and for the simplicity and modesty by which his rare attainments were concealed.” The article then gives a long account of his career. His father was a captain in the Royal Navy, but his son seems from boyhood to have inclined only to intellectual activity. His earliest post was that of classical tutor in the Manchester Academy, so well known through the Aikins and Barbaulds. After preaching for a short time at a neighbouring Unitarian chapel, and making an unsuccessful attempt at farming in Scotland, he settled in Edinburgh, taking in students for The University to board with him, but at the same time editing the Scots Magazine, and “contributing largely to the Edinburgh Review.” Here he was introduced “to the Earl of Lauderdale, who had just been appointed Governor General of India, and was selected by him to accompany him as his private secretary. But upon repairing to London to make preparations for his voyage, the decided opposition of the East India Company rendered Lord Lauderdale’s appointment nugatory. Through his interest, however, Mr. Stevenson obtained the office of Keeper of the Records to the Treasury.” This appointment as Lord Lauderdale’s secretary took him up to London, where he lived in Mayfair and then in Chelsea. “ He laboured with unremitting diligence,” contributing to the Edinburgh Review, the Oxford Review, the Westminster Retrospective, and Foreign reviews, and writing articles for Dr. Brewster’s “Encyclopaedia “ and for the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge. “ He had,” the Annual Obitmry continues, “ the true spirit of a faithful historian, and contrary to the practice too prevalent in those days, dived into original sources of information.” It is interesting that Mr. Stevenson’s nephew, Father Stevenson, S.J., of Farm Street, should have shown the same turn for historical research.
Mis. Gaskell’s mother was a daughter of Mr. Holland, of Sandlebridge, three miles from Knutsford (probably the Heathbridge
of “Cousin Phillis”), Mr. Holland being the descendent of an ancient Lancashire family.
Early in 1899 the David Lewis trustees purchased the estate of Sandlebridge for the purposes of founding an epileptic colony. Writing to the Manchester Guardian of March 4, 1899, a correspondent described it as “ sufficiently removed from any great highway to enjoy the privacy which is to be desired in a colony of the kind proposed, and yet it is very accessible by good roads, and is adjacent to the Chelford station on the main line of the London and North Western Railway from Manchester to London. The situation of the estate is healthy in the extreme. The land stands high, and the subsoil is of the kind best suited for human habitations. Its undulating character lends charm and variety to the landscape, which is well wooded, and has its beauty considerably enhanced by the clear brook which runs along the valley and ripples under the bridge at the forge.”
Mrs. Ritchie charmingly describes Sandlebridge, where, until quite recently, a very fine old shuffleboard could be seen. The farmer was allowed the use of this pretty and useful piece of furniture, which contained many drawers and cupboards underneath, until it was required by the Holland family.
“The old house stands lonely in a beautiful and tranquil position, with a waving prospect of fields and shady trees and hedges, reaching to the hills which rise in the far distance. As we stood there we could see Alderley Edge clear painted against the stormy sky. Just before reaching the house the road dips into a green hollow, where stands a forge which has been there for over two hundred years, handed down from father to son. Just beyond the forge is an old mill, shaded by beautiful trees; we could hear the peaceful sounds of labour, the clanking blows of the anvil, the soft monotonous thud of the mill. Sandlebridge is now given np to a farmer; a pretty flagged stone path leads up to the front door.”
Delphi Complete Works of Elizabeth Gaskell Page 583