Behind the brass plate : life's little stories / by Alfred T. Schofield.

  • Schofield, A. T. (Alfred Taylor), 1846-1929.
Date:
[1928]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Behind the brass plate : life's little stories / by Alfred T. Schofield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “he,” feminine “heo” or “oo,” neuter “hit” or “it.” Of these three we chiefly have only preserved the first and last —“he” and “it,” but Lancashire has all three, “he,” “heo,” and “hit.” They are a rough folk, quite ignorant of the Norman graces which more or less adorn the southern counties. The scale in the different towns is said to run as follows:— “Liverpool—gentlemen; Manchester—men; Rochdale—fel¬ lows; Bolton—chaps; Oldham—rough-heads; and I think on the whole even to-day the descending grade is fairly well borne out. The living room in the cottages was always entered directly from the street, there being no such thing as passages. These cottages, unlike others, were always built in rows, and three storeys high. I speak now of fifty to one hundred years ago. The top storey was one unbroken line of casement windows and contained hand looms, which required a great deal of light in weaving. The living room when you entered it had an air of great comfort, for coal was cheap and there was always a good fire, while the cleanliness of the Lancashire housewife kept everything in spotless condition. From the ceihng hung a square wooden frame with strings tightly stretched across, a sort of ceiling horse; and from it suspended very often a week’s wash; at other times oat cake. The staple food was hung up there to become dry and crisp. Since the war Lancashire has become much more conventional, and many of the distinctive features of domestic life have disappeared. The Lancashire man is very clear still that he is the head of the woman. In this sense there is no equality of sexes in the county, although now both work on equal terms in the factories. Out of doors, however, and especially on Sundays, the man seldom walks by the side of the woman, but nearly always in front of her. The noise about six o’clock in the morning in the streets of Rochdale was perfectly deafening. All the streets are paved and flagged, and the clattering of thousands of clogs—the women always with shawls over their heads—going to the factory was terrible. In the town there are some ironworks; but the principal factories are either cotton or woollen. The