© S M Jones
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Steve and Pauline Jones’ Family History
If you don’t know where you came from,
you won’t know where you are going.
You have to study your history. Gil Scott-Heron
Note for Benjamin Bradbury (1797-1879)
In
his
book
“At
the
Sign
of
the
King’s
Head”,
published
in
1925,
author
Ammon
Wrigley
tells
the
story
of
an
old
folks’
festival
held
at
Dobcross
on
28/8/1845,
where
140
people
(125
of
them
aged
77
years
and
upwards)
dined at the Kings Head kept by Thomas Lawton and the Swan kept by Ben Bradbury. Wrigley wrote:
“On
Thursday
the
28th
day
of
August,
1845,
an
Old
Folks’
Festival
was
held
at
Dobcross
in
Saddleworth,
and
if
there
has
been
anything
like
it
in
the
parish
either
before
or
since
it
is
unknown
to
me.
There
must
have
been
hundreds
of
famous
feasts
and
thousands
of
dalesfolkgreased
from
ear
to
ear
in
Saddleworth
during
the
past
80 years, but never one that has left a saviour like this old Dobcross feast .….
“The
inns
would
be
in
stone
and
timber
what
the
landlords
were
in
flesh
and
bone,
soaked
with
generous
feasting
….
I
think
of
Tom
Lawton
and
Bradbury
on
that
dinner
day
in
1845,
as
two
lusty
kings
of
sirloin.
Each
would
stand
at
the
head
of
his
table
stripped
to
the
shirt,
with
his
sleeves
rolled
up
above
his
elbows,
and
wouldn’t
he
slash
hot
platefuls
from
the
mighty
roast.
Now
and
then
he
would
rest
for
a
moment
and
say,
“By
th’
Mass
this
is
warm
wark,”
then
he
would
“slart”
the
sweat
from
his
brow
on
to
the
floor
with
the
back
of
his
thumb.
How
he
would
shout
when
he
saw
an
empty
plate:
“Neaw
then
owd
barrel
bally,
send
thi
plate
op
for
another
huggin,
an’
blow
that
snuff
off
that
sawt
spoon.
Come
Jamie
lad
shap
thisel;
theau’rt
beawn
to
be
at
th’
heel oth hunt. Shift it mon, get it eaut oth seet, theau’rt wur nur owd Mally o’ Skenner’s.”