Reminiscences of Rotherham
by G. Gummer, J.P.
« « prevwe should have 100 applicants to fill the post at much less money than we paid Mr. Ridal. In the discussion I told the rev, gentleman that I knew of a certain pulpit, which if vacated, could no doubt be filled by equally as good a man as its present occupant and at a lower salary. I have since regretted that remark. It was a foolish and personal retort and should never have been made.
The greatest achievement of Mr. Blazeby’s pastorate, which lasted over 34 years, may be said to be the erection of the Church in Moorgate—a great undertaking for the minister and congregation to accomplish. This was completed in 1880. He was always a popular leader, who was wont to address the thousands who congregated in College yard at political and other occasions, and receive popular applause, until he opposed Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill in 1886. The resentment of the Liberal Party took the form of removing him from the vice-chairman ship of the Liberal Association, and on seeking re-election as a Guardian of the Poor, he found himself in a minority. It must have a painful experience for the reverend gentleman, who hitherto had been received with applause, to find himself howled down at public meetings which he attempted to address. For several years I attended the services at this church, and. I still possess a hymn book presented to me by a few friends of the congregation when elected Mayor in 1899. Names of well-known townsmen I remember attending the church at this period include John Hill, Isaac Walker, William Leggoe, Andrew Thomson, Thomas Cocker, Wilfred Hydes, henry Leadbeater, James Atkinson, Isaac Hanby, 1 George Brooksbank, - Jessop, and William Day. When in 1894 the reverend gentleman retired from the pulpit and left the town, a gap was created that no man, either in the pulpit or in local affairs, has yot quite filled.
FEOFFEES
Twenty.nine years ago I was elected a Feoffee of the Common Lands of Rotherham. A very ancient body, it has always been considered to be one of the highest honours that could be paid to a townsman to be elected thereon. This governing body dates back nearly 400 years. The term 'Feoffee' means a person in whom is vested a fief or lands under certain conditions, and the Greave of a body of Feoffees is, for the time being, the responsible collector of revenues. The original duties of the Feoffees included the application of their revenues to the relief of the poor, the making and mending of roads and bridges, and rivers other duties which they are no longer called upon to perform. The Feoffees new devote their annual income to benevolent, educational, and patriotic purposes. Since 1778 their number has been fixed at twelve, The Lord of the Manor, the Earl of Efflngham, was always a Feoffee whilst resident in the neighbourhood. To become a Feoffee is an object of local ambition, and the body is supposed to be composed of the most influential men in the town.CHARITIES AND DOLES
The Feoffees contributed liberally towards the erection of a new Town Hall in 1827, and up to about 25 years ago they had the use of one of the front rooms for transacting their business. They also contributed towards the cost of the dispensary in College street. These premises are now occupied by Barclay’s Bank and the Feoffees. They also gave substantial aid towards the erection of the Mechanics’ Institute, now the Assembly Rooms. Amongst more recent donations have been £750 towards the Hospital in Doncaster road and £1150 for the providing of the Feoffees’ Nightingale Ward therein, and £500 to the War Memorial Fund. The Feoffees have presumably always been the Governors of the Rotherham Grammar School, but until the acquisition of the Independent College in 1899, they gave little substantial aid.The old Charity School in the Crofts was an institution in which they took great interest. This school was closed in 1892, and a few years later its endowments were transferred to the Grammar School. The Feoffees have a number of small charities vested in them, and the interest is distributed by them or the Churchwardens, or handed to the Hospital. » next
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