Hindley’s Bad Boy 78. Vauxhall Crossland

Hindley’s Bad Boy?

by Nicola Gray

This month, Local Life goes all the way back to the 1850’s to chronicle the colourful world of Hindley’s original romantic rogue, Richard Pennington. This story of wealth, love, adultery and his ultimate heartbreak created a backdrop worthy of an episode of Downton Abbey, and shocked both his family and the local community to the core. Richard Pennington was born into a wealthy Wigan family who made their fortune employing handloom weavers and later went on to build cotton mills. Richard grew up to work in the family business and eventually became the sole owner of both the Hindley Twist Company at Lowe Mill and Worthington Mill in Hindley. Richard’s road to the head of the family company was a bumpy ride to say the least and much of his early life was steeped in scandal. Richard had a promising future of his own to look forward to, when in 1853 he qualified as a magistrate for the county. However, in 1857 he was ordered by his family to find a suitable residence away from his hometown. Richard was advised to move away to set up home after he started a relationship with Elizabeth Cash, a young mill girl he had fallen in love with. The couple already had a child they moved to Rainford later in the same year, and their second child was born at School Brow in January 1858. To accommodate their growing family, Richard and Elizabeth bought a farmhouse known locally as Mount Pleasant in October 1859, and their third child was born shortly after. The

Muncaster Hall & Pennington Family - courtesy of St Helens Archives Hindley Lodge, Market Street from inside grounds, 1900 - courtesy of Wigan & Leigh Archives

story goes that Richard’s mother disapproved of the relationship and so the couple had to wait four years until her death before getting married in Liverpool in 1861. Throughout this time Richard continued the management of the family cotton mills in Hindley and during the next five years he bought several farms and houses in Rainford and entertained his wealthy friends with shooting parties on his land. In a bid to keep up appearances, Richard started to build a grand stone mansion house on the site of Mount Pleasant and used his neighbouring land to set out the gardens, lake and parkland surrounding it. The work on the hall was completed in 1866 and Muncaster Hall came into existence. Muncaster Hall lived up to the Victorian stereotype in its styling and architecture, including flowery wallpaper, carpets, wellmade furniture, a lake and extensive gardens. Although he now lived in Rainford, Richard always maintained his strong links with Hindley and throughout his lifetime, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the community and was generous with both his time and his money. He was instrumental in the creation of Hindley Local Board, serving as Chairman for 20 years. The town saw significant progress during his time in office, acquiring its own gas facilities, water supply, a library and public park. Richard was also Chairman of Hindley Board of

Worthington Mill - courtesy of Wigan & Leigh Archives

Quiz

Health, Chairman of Rainford Local Board and Chairman of Hindley Conservative Club. Records also show that Richard was largely responsible for the building of Hindley Parish Church where he held the post of senior churchwarden.

Richard and Elizabeth had seven more children throughout their marriage, but the couple separated in December 1874. Three years later, Richard discovered that Elizabeth had formed a new relationship with a former gamekeeper of the estate, and they were divorced in 1878. He subsequently moved back to Hindley and the 1881 census show him living at Hindley Lodge on Market Street. Richard died at the age of fifty-seven on the 10th of July 1887 leaving all his estate in trust for his children until they reached the age of twenty-one. However, in January 1895 the Hindley and Rainford properties were put up for auction and the whole of the Rainford estate including Muncaster Hall, the farms, cottages & houses totalling 315 acres were bought by the Earl of Derby for £37,000. In February of the same year, one month after the hall was acquired by the Earl of Derby, the furniture and other belongings at Muncaster Hall were auctioned off in a three-day sale which left the house empty and with no trace of the family who once occupied it. Richard’s empire may have been no more, but he left a rich legacy in the communities that he called home. His eulogy referred to ‘his affection for his native places and his lavish expenditure of time and money on behalf all good objects’.

With thanks to Wigan & Leigh Archives and St Helens Archive Service. The Archive Service collects, preserves and provides access to unique historic materials that relate to different aspects of life across the boroughs. Find out more information here – www.archives.wigan.gov.uk and www.sthelens.gov.uk/libraries/archive-service/

Magic

1. According to the lyrics of the 1989 hit single The

Magic Number by De La Soul, what is the magic number?

2. In a TV series first broadcast in 1997, who worked as a creative consultant to a stage magician called Adam Klaus?

3. What sport do Orlando Magic play?

4. Who would often tap his magic wand to perform magic when he heard the catchphrase

“izzy wizzy, let’s get busy”?

5. What was the title of the 2015 sequel to the 2012 film Magic Mike?

6. In the story of Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves, a cave full of treasure was sealed by magic. What two-word phrase allowed access to this cave?

7. In the Harry Potter novels, what magical object can change all metals to gold, and can also be used to make a potion called the elixir of life that makes anyone who drinks it immortal?

8. In the fairy tale Jack And The Beanstalk, what does Jack exchange to get the magic beans that cause the beanstalk to grow?

9. Who recorded the album 24K Magic, which won seven awards in total at the 2018 Grammy

Awards?

10. On the TV show The Magic Roundabout,

Zebedee would often close the show by saying what threeword phrase?

Quiz solutions can be found on page 83 of this magazine

72 Money Matters

TEACHING KIDS TO BE SAVVY SAVERS

Most of us have made mistakes with money at some point. Help your children to avoid the same financial pitfalls by giving them the knowledge and skills to build on in the future.

Teach them the value of money

Rather than buying your children sweets each week, give them pocket money, some of which they can use to buy sweets and some of which they can save for a bigger treat. It’s good for children to earn at least part of their pocket money by doing chores. They’ll learn that money doesn’t come for nothing and be less likely to waste it. To make life easier, you could use an app and debit card like RoosterMoney or Go Henry, which were created to help children get to grips with their finances and earn money through chores.

Help them to budget

Encourage children to save up for something they really want rather than just waiting for Christmas or their birthday. You could start by explaining how much they’d need to save each week to achieve their goal. Younger children tend to need quicker results, so start with a small goal that can be achieved in a few weeks rather than months.

Give them responsibility

Part of appreciating the value of money is learning through mistakes. It’s tempting to step in and stop your child from spending their pocket money on things that you know they will quickly discard. Offer advice but let them make their own decisions on low-value items. They may well then think twice next time they want to buy a blind bag or an expensive T-shirt. When older children are ready, you could give them more responsibility for budgeting for the things they need by giving them an allowance for clothes, school dinners, travel expenses, toiletries, days out and so on, and helping them to work out a monthly budget. Again, they can earn more through chores if they want to save up for high-value items.

Discuss money

Don’t be afraid to talk about money with your children. You could share how much you’re setting aside each month for next year’s holiday for example, and talk about your own experiences with money. You can also help your child to see that, while it’s good to shop around for the best price, cheap doesn’t always mean best value. However, try not to make your child worried about family finances. It’s fine to talk about not being able to afford something or how you’re saving up for a big purchase, but you don’t want your child to lose sleep worrying that you won’t be able to pay the bills.

Learn from the experts

Make the most of children’s love for online games. MyBnk is a UK charity on a mission to help children build good money habits. It has created a series of fun online courses for ages 5 to 21. You can access them for free at learning. mybnk.org/our-courses.