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Dean
is an ancient farm on the edge of Inchfield Pasture. Access is either
upwards from Inchfield Bottom at Clough and across the wild moor
northwards past Pastureside Farm and Hollow Dean, or straight up
from Frithswood in Dulesgate. Either way is difficult, steep, rough,
and impassable for vehicles that are not designed for cross-country
trekking. |
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This
small farm was in the hands of a Stansfield family who were yeoman
farmers. John Stansfield was born there in 1683, and when he died
in 1763, he passed it equally to two daughters and his grandson:
Susan Stansfield, Mary Haigh and James Stansfield. This James Stansfield
was already in occupation of the farm. |
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| Mary
Haigh was the wife of John Haigh the elder of Pastureside Farm,
and according to the laws of the day, any property belonging to
a woman passed over to her husband. Therefore, in 1763, John Haigh
became part owner of Dean Farm. Some five years later, Susan Stansfield
and James Stansfield passed over their shares to John. He now owned
it all. |
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On
his death in 1772, John passed Dean over to his younger son Reuben.
He and his wife Mary moved to live at the farm in 1795 after it
had lain empty for a year or so. They paid 4s.6d land tax on the
property. Reuben had plenty of work, looking after his small farm
and managing a large family who busied themselves hand weaving.
He prepared the warps and wefts for their looms and fetched and
carried their work to and from the merchants. Dean Clough water
ran through his land, and this he sold to Messrs John and William
Helliwell of Friths Mill, Dulesgate, for the sum of £20. |
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Reuben
died in 1806, leaving his estate to be shared equally amongst his
surviving children, but stated this could not come to fruition immediately.
His wife was given the right to remain at Dean and take the rents
and profits from it until their youngest child reached the age of
15 years, which turned out to be the year 1810. After that time,
he willed that the estate be sold. |
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The
proceeds were to be divided equally amongst his eight surviving
children after deducting his wife's dower and giving her his best
bed. Mary remained at Dean for a few years and then moved down to
the more conveniently located Friths, Dulesgate. She
paddled on until 1831. She is buried at St. Mary's, with the following
inscription on her tombstone:
Twelve
children dear I had,
In
whom I took delight.
May
they prepare for heaven
And
do the thing that's right.
Her
son Reuben junior continued farming at Dean until 1812 when he was
accidentally killed while working in a small quarry on the pasture
above his house. John Hamer was also a tenant there at this time,
and his son Luke lived there with his wife Jane, daughter of John
Haigh of Pastureside. In 1823, John Hamer was paying rent to the
Haigh family of 4s.10d. |
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| Meanwhile,
in accordance with Reuben's will, the farm had to be sold so the
proceeds could be shared amongst the children. His brother John
Haigh of Pastureside stepped in and bought it sometime prior to
1823. John was a low, thickset man, known locally as Cocky Duck
or Great Collop. The latter name arose out of his habit of always
helping himself to the largest slice or portion of food, particularly
when feeding his labourers after a day's work. |
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When
John Haigh died in 1831 his son, also John, inherited Dean. By this
time he was living in Middleton and the farm was used to house various
Haigh relatives. John Haigh, a distant cousin, and his wife Betty
(Clegg) moved in with their family about 1836. In 1841, they were
living in one of the three small dwellings at Dean with 8 of their
children, 3 grandchildren, and a niece. The other two cottages were
occupied by two of their daughters and families.
John
died in 1849, leaving Betty the matriarch of a large family of 10
children and 2 grandchildren for whom she took responsibility. Dean
was far too difficult a place to live for a lady of Betty's age.
She was 66 when she was widowed and would have found the walk to
and from the valley impossible, so she uprooted and moved down to
Frithswood Bottom. |
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Betty's
home was always open to her family . newly wed children and husbands,
widowed daughters, illegitimate grandchildren, all were welcome.
Sadly for her, 3 of her children emigrated to Massachusetts during
1855.
John
and Betty were the last Haigh family to live at Dean, which had
been owned by the family for three generations.
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The
influx of picker makers living at Dean from 1861 onwards is probably
due to the opening of a picker works at Friths Mill.
Today,
the farm is still standing and occupied as a private house. I hope
they have a 4x4, or better still, a tractor!
DEAN
LINKS
Article on
Dean in Inchfield and the Stansfields by R. E. Stansfield:
'Family, Faith, and Farming in Early Modern Lancashire: The Stansfields of Inchfield, Walsden, c.1633-1763', TRANSACTIONS OF THE HISTORIC SOCIETY OF LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE , 159 (2010), pp. 19-44.
COMPLETE
CENSUS TRANSCRIPTION 1841 TO 1901, LAND TAX & 1843 SURVEY
WILL
OF JOHN STANSFIELD
WILL
OF JOHN HAIGH THE ELDER
WILL
OF REUBEN HAIGH OF DEAN
WILL
OF JOHN HAIGH OF PASTURESIDE
BACK
TO TOP
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