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The 1850s

11/ 6/2003

Jacob Bright is first Mayor

A FAMOUS Rochdale name was elected the town's first citizen.

Jacob Bright beat a man from another distinguished Rochdale family, Albert Royds, in the election held by town council members on 19 December 1856.

Mr Bright's father was the famous reforming millowner of the same name, while his brother John was known all over the country as a distinguished MP.

Jacob was no stranger to the limelight himself. He worked closely with former Rochdale MP W Sharman Crawford, and spoke publicly in favour of universal suffrage.

In the debate over whether Rochdale should be divided into three, five or eight wards for election purposes, Jacob opposed his MP brother in siding with the radicals, whose viewpoint won the day.

Politicians with an axe to grind saved the Observer

RADICAL politicians in the town saved the Rochdale Observer in its early years.

The Observer was set up by printers R and J W Lawton, based on The Butts, and its first issue was printed on Saturday 16 February 1856.

Lawton and his colleagues found producing the paper was beyond them after four issues and had already written the farewell editorial when they were approached by a group of politicians.

The debate raging at the time was how the new borough of Rochdale - to be formed on 9 September that year - would be split into wards for voting purposes. Liberals wanted the borough split into five or eight small wards. Radicals believed there should only be three large wards to stop certain powerful individuals controlling particular areas.

On hearing the Observer was in financial trouble, the radicals approached Lawton offering to take over the financial responsibility for the newspaper. They wanted a journal in which to promote their side of the arguments over the make-up of the new borough, and the Observer fitted the bill.

There had been previous attempts to start newspapers in the town, such as the Rochdale Sentinel which enjoyed a brief life in 1855, but this and others failed.

The Observer was amalgamated with the Rochdale Standard in 1857, and has been with us ever since.

MP cleared of bribery and intimidation in election campaign

ROCHDALE MP Sir Alexander Ramsay was cleared of using bribery and intimidation in his 1857 election campaign.

Sir Alexander avenged his defeat in the 1852 parliamentary election by Liberal Edward Miall with victory in the poll in March 1857. But a petition was presented to Parliament in May claiming Sir Alexander and his supporters used improper tactics to gain the win.

The case took a dramatic turn on Friday 19 June. Abraham Rothwell, a witness against Sir Alexander, claimed he had been offered £50 by local beer seller Peter Johnson to go to the United States so he wouldn't be able to give evidence. Parliamentary agent John Newall presented a petition to Parliament about this claim, but a House of Commons Select Committee dismissed it, saying there was no conclusive proof.

After five days of hearing evidence in the case against Sir Alexander MPs decided the charges hadn't been sustained. The committee felt the evidence against the Rochdale MP was contradictory. It also said there was no proof that bribery and intimidation had occurred with the knowledge and consent of Sir Alexander or his agent.

Key events - 1850 to 1859:

1850 - Milnrow Pioneers Society formed with premises in Kiln Lane; Rochdale Freeholders Society formed to help more people get the right to vote.
1851 - Strike in the iron trade which lasted six months; Yeomanry cavalry troop paraded in The Butts and marched to Worsley where they formed a guard of honour for the Queen with their regiment.
1852 - Woollen traders Kelsall and Bartlemere gave financial assistance to their employees who lost money in a bank failure.
1853 - John Bright presented with a library of 12,000 books worth £5,048, 8 shillings and one penny.
1854 - Whitworth and Rochdale Agricultural Show first held.
1855 - Cemetery in Bury Road opened with 10,000 people in attendance; Former MP W Sharman Crawford presented with a silver plate in recognition of his services to the town; YMCA formed in the town.
1856 - Rochdale Observer first published; Charter of Rochdale Corporation received and election of 30 councillors in three wards; Thomas Livsey told a government select committee that Rochdale paid Liverpool £4,100 in import and export duties.
1857 - Former governor of Hungary Louis Kossuth lectured in the public hall; Rochdale Standard amalgamated with the Rochdale Observer; Meeting in the town adopted a resolution in favour of manhood suffrage, secret ballots, triennial parliaments and re-distribution of seats.
1858 - Old Town Hall was demolished; Last internment inside Parish Church took place; Landlord of the Lodge Inn, Hollingworth, fined for arranging cock-fighting.
1859 - Richard Cobden elected MP for the borough; General Tom Thumb appeared in the public hall; Subscription Turkish Baths on School Lane opened.