Reg Milon
|
My wife's family, on her paternal side, bear the old and well known Yorkshire name of JAGGER. This particular line of the JAGGER family owned and operated a wire drawing business that had been in existence for five generations, until it ceased operations in 1926. The small, family owned mill was situated in the village of Thurgoland, a few miles from the the town of Penistone, which, until 1974 was in the West Riding. White's Sheffield District Directory of 1871 described it thus; "Thurgoland is a township and scattered village, with several wire mills, 10 miles N-by W of Sheffield, and had 1,793 inhabitants in 1861." Under the business listing, it showed John and George Jagger, wire manufacturers, Old Wire Mills. The advertisement stated that they made cast steel wire for sewing machine needles, fish-hooks, springs, gimlets, awl blades etc. The business was carried on in a building where water power was used. Over one doorway was a stone, engraved with the date 1613. My initial research found some background information on the Old Wire Mill, but I felt I needed more details from an official, archival source. To this end, in July 1993, I exchanged corrrespondence with Sheffield Archives and soon I was in possesion of of extremely helpful and detailed information about the Old Wire Mill, and wirer making specifically. The Archivist sent me the pertinent pages on these subjects culled from Joseph Kenworthy's Local History of Stocksbridge. These pages on the local wire drawing industry were extremely detailed and included interviews with the JAGGERS, masters of the Mill, and others in the trade, explaining how wire was made. In one part of this treatise there was one short, but detailed paragraph, listing the names of the three wire mills in Thurgoland; Tilt Mill, Old Wire Mill, and New Wire Mill. However, Joseph Kenworthy, while decrying the lack of more information on wire making from trade directories, and similar sources, quoted from some notes, which unfortunately he did not specifically identify. From these notes, he went on to list the names and occupations of 14 Militia Volunteers, who marched from Thurgoland to Hemsworth on the night of Thursday Auguat 15 1805. Indeed he stated that 6 out of the 14 were wire drawers, but failed to explain why "this gallant little company" were involved in nocturnal perigrinations. This omission was extremely aggravating, as George JAGGER, wire drawer, was among those listed, and I was intrugued, and became more determined to find out more about this March to Hemsworth. With the help of several organisations, and both Family and Local Historians, and I learned that in the period 1803-1805, there was a real and constant threat of a French invasion of England. While the Napoleonic Wars had been raging for several years at this particular time, invasion seemed a likely and daunting prospect. In an attempt to bolster the defence of England, the Defence Act of 1803 was passed, which compelled Parish Constables to record the names and occupations of all able-bodied men, between the ages of 15 and 60, not already in the Military. Just such a record was discovered in Sheffield Archive, and I was excited to receive, in bold copperplate handwriting, two pages entitled Militia List for the Township of Thurgoland, December 7 1804. Under the heading "Names of persons inroled (sic) to serve as Volunteers, was number 42, George JAGGER, wire-drawer. This was my wifes 2x great grandfather. On this Militia List, the men were enrolled and catagorised according to their fitness, age and family commitments under such headings as:-
This last classification needs further clarification; the regular County Militia was formed from able-bodied men of the County, recruited by ballot. These recruits would not be called upon to serve outside the British Isles, and sometimes not even outside their own County. These Militia men, so selected, were able to rely upon their families being supported by the Parish Poor rates while they were away - a benefit which soldiers' families in the regualr army, did not enjoy. However, it was also possible for a man chosen by ballot to serve in the County Militia to pay for a substitute - some other person - if he did not wish to serve. This system of paying for a "substitute" must have been in use in Thurgoland too, according to the last of the above headings Under this heading are listed a farmer, a butcher, a saddlemaker, a mason and a clothiee. As you may expect, military duties would be regarded as inconvenient interruptions to the serious business of earning a living, regardless of how patriotic you might be. We can only assume that the tradesman so listed were too busy at their trade to take time off to defend their homeland against a possible invasion by Bonaparte. Somewhat ironically, though, had there been a succesful invasion, their livlihood, if not their lives. However, the Supplementary Militia Act of 1796 made no provision for substitution in the case of Volunteers. Once having put their names forward, they would have to respond to the call to arms, whatever the inconvenience. A detailed report in the Wakefield Star & West Riding Advertiser 23 August 1805, describes the various marches made on the 15 August, from different areas by several detachments of the Army, Militia units and Local Volunteers. "The Staincross Volunteers, both Infantry and Cavalry, were assembled, and the Cavalry actually marched to Pontefract . . . the infantry were detained on their march to Pontefract, at Hemsworth, till more particular information could be had." The village of Thurgoland was in the Wapentake* of Staincross, so the Staincross Volunteers would include our "gallant little company" from Thurgoland. The alarm had also spread to the Pontefract Volunteers and to the neighbouring Wapentake of Strafford and Tickhill, where some Volunteers and three troops of Yeoman Cavalry marched to Doncaster. But what had caused the alarm, and why was the march halted? To alert the country and recognise a call to arms, at a time when fast communication was difficult, warning beacons built of combustible materials had been prepared on hilltops throughout Britain - the same method of raising an alarm as was used at the time of the Spanish Armada, more than 200 years before. Apparently, as was discovered later, the alarm was raised accidently by the burning of a farmer's 'close' near Woolley Edge, Wakefield. The column of oily smoke given off by a crop of oil-seed rape in an enclosed field was mistaken for that of a warning beacon, and the entire County was raised. As soon as the alarm was discovered to be false, the march was halted, and the Militia Volunteers were ordered back to their home towns and villages. On the return march, however, they were hailed as heroes by the local inhabitants all along their route, and there were many free toasts to His Majesty's health and a downfall to his enemies! The Sheffield Iris Thursday, 22 August 1805, reported that Mr Tudor of Conisborough, very much to his honour, entertained the volunteers with Bread and Cheese and a pint of strong beer each, as they marched through the town of Doncaster. We can safely assume therefore that this "gallant little company" from Thurgoland, arrived safely back home, but in varying degrees of intoxication! Although the march was fruitless, the brave Volunteers from Thurgoland could feel proud that they had answered the call of patriotic duty, regardless of the outcome. The next day they would go back to their trades and usual occupation, secure in the knowledge that they would not be called upon to serve again. *Note: When Yorkshire, England's largest County, was divided into three Ridings ( a Norse word for thirds) the Riding in turn was divided into Wapentakes (another Norse term referring to the invader's habit of brandishing his weapon). These administrative divisions were responsible for the raising of armies, levying of taxes, mainteanance of law and order, and property transactions Acknowledgements © Reginald Milon 1997 Mail for the author may be sent c/o The Secretary, Barnsley FHS, 58A High Street, Royston, Barnsley South Yorkshire S71 4RN United Kingdom.
This page last updated 12th May 1999 |