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HORSEPASTURE (South
Ramsden)
WALSDEN
With
grateful thanks to Marjorie Gabbott for her help and contribution
to this story, and for taking us on the long trek to visit the
ruins of the farm
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sketch of how Horsepasture may have looked,
by Marjorie Gabbott |
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This hill top farm was on the
extreme corner of cultivated land in Walsden, set high on the western
moorland and surrounded by hills. The nearest neighbours were at
White Slack and MIDDLE RAMSDEN Farms, and just like these neighbours,
Horsepasture lies in ruins today. There are only sheep for company
and access is difficult. The ruins indicate this was a much larger
than normal hill top dwelling, built on a slope. |
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The
first known mention of such a farm is thought to be in 1612, when
Nicholas Fielden purchased a messuage and 40 acres of land known
as Horsham, with an annual value of £13.5s.8d. It is believed
this was Horsepasture. |
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The area is known generally
as Ramsden, and in later times Horsepasture was known variously
as Back Ramsden or South Ramsden. There is no mention of it in the
Todmorden Parish Registers before 1783, although it is recorded
that a family headed by an Edmund Taylor lived there in the mid
1700's. |
Cranberry
Dam in the distance |
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By
the time Edmund arrived at Horsepasture, the cellar would have been
over 50 years old. The entrance is outside the house through a stone
arch and built into the hillside. In here they would have stored
meat, milk, beer and anything else that needed to be kept cool. |
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Edmund and his wife had a large
family, mainly girls. With such a family in this remote part of
the township it is natural that there would have been a small home
industry there, where wool would be acquired, prepared, spun and
woven, and then sold to the merchants to supplement any income from
the farm. |
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The girls, at least 7 of them,
regularly attended St. Mary's church and are stated to have followed
their father in single file over the rough and awkward pathways,
over the fields and stone causeways down to NORTH RAMSDEN Farm,
up the path to THORNSGREESE, across Inchfield Pasture to NAZE, down
the rugged almost vertical path to Gauxholme, and along the valley
to Todmorden. |
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It
should be noted that this journey of several miles over rugged hills
and moorland would take a few hours and be unthinkable to most of
us modern folk - bearing in mind they had to get home again! The
girls all wore red cloaks and took the opportunity to attract the
menfolk, as this would be the only day they left the isolated farm
where they lived. They clearly succeeded as they all went on to
marry. |
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1794 the farm had two tenants, suggesting there were at least two
cottages or homesteads at the farm. The annual land tax was 14s.2d.
Samuel Baron was one of these tenants. He moved across the fields
from neighbouring Whiteslack Farm about 1786. His brothers James,
Edmund and Thomas were all farmers and landowners in the vicinity. |
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Samuel
died at Horsepasture in 1799, leaving a will that can be read from
the link below. His widow and children remained at Horsepasture,
and daughter Sarah was married from there in 1800. She and her husband,
James Hollows, continued at the farm for a few years before moving
to the adjacent township of Wuerdle & Wardle. Sarah's sister
Mary, married to Richard Hollows, also remained at the farm for
a few years. |
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The other tenant in 1794 was
a man by the name of Jackson. Several Jacksons pop up at Horsepasture
over the coming years. Brothers John and Thomas with their wives
farmed there together in the first quarter of the 1800's along with
John's wife's sister and her husband John Heyworth. As these three
families overlapped each other, it is presumed there were three
cottages at the time. |
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In
1816, John Heyworth and his family worked as handloom weavers at
the farm. He is recorded in the accounts book for SMITHYHOLME MILL as one of their home weavers. On 26th September that year he
returned finished pieces of cloth to the mill and was paid 14 shillings
for his work.
The
next known occupier was John Highley, otherwise known as Hiley i' th' Horsepasture.
He was a long-time farmer at Horsepasture and was still there with
his family in 1841. He was a grandson of the wealthy JOHN HAIGH OF PASTURESIDE, and received what must have been a welcome legacy
of £100 from his grandfather in 1831. |
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was a large amount in those days and would have set him up for many
years. By about 1843 John and his wife Betty left for a new life
in a neighbouring township and the tenancy was taken over by a branch
of the Law family headed by Robert Law, known as Old Bob i' th' Horsepasture,
whose family remained there until beyond 1901. |
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Old Bob was the eldest son
of Thomas and Betty Law of Height Top Farm Todmorden. He married
Mary Greenwood in 1830 at St. Chad's Parish Church in Rochdale.
The first years of their marriage were spent at Height Top with
Roberts' parents. Robert and Mary's first seven children were born
at Height Top with the last three born at Horse Pasture. |
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the children survived infancy with the exception of their 5th child
named Esther who died in 1839 at the age of 8 weeks and was buried
at St. Mary's Todmorden. From family stories regarding Abraham (1850-1911)
who was the youngest member of the family, the children were well
nourished and grew tall and strong. As an adult Abraham was commonly
known as "Big Abe" as he stood well over six foot, and was solidly
built with a strong constitution. |
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The
exception to this was William (1848-1865) who was the second youngest
child, he died at the age of 18 and his death certificate states
he died from "haemorrhage of the chest - not certified" this suggests
that William died from Phthisis otherwise known as Tuberculosis.
No Coroners inquest was held which suggests death by natural causes
rather than an accident or suspicious circumstances. It is well
documented from the time that along with the other late stage symptoms
of Tuberculosis i.e. red swollen eyes, pale skin, thin and emaciated
appearance and coughing of blood, that death was inevitable and
almost always from a massive haemorrhage from the lungs. This theory
is of course speculation but is put forward as the most likely explanation.
As there was no inquest the circumstances cannot be verified. |
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Robert would have farmed livestock;
mainly sheep that could wander and feed on the open moor land, but
possibly cattle too. If any crops were grown these would likely
have been cereals, oats and barley and probably a small vegetable
garden to feed the family. |
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Robert
died aged 71 years in 1869 in tragic circumstances; his death certificate
records the cause of death as "injuries received in and upon
his spine and other parts of his body from accidentally falling
from a certain footpath in Ramsden Wood from walking against a broken
branch of a tree over hanging such footpath, lived one day".
The
Rochdale Observer of Saturday 29th May 1869 reported the Coroner's
inquest under the headline:
SAD
DEATH OF A FARMER -
An
inquest was held on Thursday, at the Waggon and Horses, near Walsden,
before Mr. T. fferrand Dearden, Coroner, on the body of Robert
Law, a farmer, aged 71, residing near that place, and who met
his death under circumstances as under. It would seem from the
evidence that on Saturday night last, deceased had been to visit
one of his daughters who resided in Ramsden Wood. He returned
home between ten and eleven o'clock, being accompanied by another
married daughter and her husband, who walked a short distance
behind him. He was walking fast on the footpath, and having gone
some 400 or 500 yards from his daughter's house, he fell against
the branch of an old oak tree, which had been broken and overhung
the footpath, near the drain which supplied Ramsden Wood Foot
Mill, at a place called Ladder. Deceased fell over the embankment,
a distance of about two yards. Assistance having been obtained,
deceased, who said he was hurt, was carried home. Deceased was
put to bed and the next day Dr Schofield of Todmorden was called
in. He died, however, on Sunday evening, at about 11 o'clock,
from what was described by Dr Schofield as injury to the spine
near the neck. It appears he was both a tall and heavy man. The
jury having heard the evidence, from which the above facts are
gathered, returned a verdict of accidental death.
It
is very likely the married daughter living in Ramsden Wood that
Robert had been visiting on the night of his accident was his eldest
daughter Ann who was married to James Wood. The couple and their
several children were living at Ramsden Wood at the time of the
1871 census. |
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Robert's eldest son, Thomas,
took over at the farm with his wife Elizabeth. His brother Reuben
and mother Mary lived with them. The family was still there in 1881,
although by 1891 Thomas and his family were living in Castleton,
Mary had died, and Reuben had disappeared. A family from Haslingden
were in occupation at Horsepasture. |
the
remains of a large fireplace |
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However,
by 1901 Reuben had materialised again and the Laws were back at
Horsepasture. Robert junior died there in 1902. The farm was still
standing in 1938 and is shown on the OS map of that year as South
Ramsden.
Horsepasture
links:
COMPLETE
TRANSCRIPTION OF CENSUSES AT HORSEPASTURE 1841 TO 1901
WILL
OF SAMUEL BARON OF HORSEPASTURE
BACK
TO TOP |
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