Benjamin Barlow, clockmaker
of Oldham and Ashton was the son of Edward Barlow
clockmaker of Oldham and was
born July 14th 1736,
the third child of Edward and Anne. He eventually
became one of nine children, having four brothers and four sisters.
Benjamin Barlow married a
lady named Betty, this being proven by the register of baptisms,
with children recorded as being born to a Benjamin Barlow, clockmaker,
Oldham and his wife Betty. The only wedding that I have
traced bet-
ween a Benjamin
Barlow and a Betty, is that of a Betty Ogden and
this took place at St. Michael’s Church Ashton
Under Lyne on October
29th 1761. A Betty Ogden was born and christened at the same
church on July 28th 1734. This would make Betty
27 when she married Benjamin and 28 when she had her first child.
Betty Barlow died March
28th 1788, aged 54 and was stated as living at Cowhill Vale Oldham. Today,
Cowhill borders
on Chadderton which is part
of
the borough of Oldham. As for Benjamin’s death, I have searched
all the records and cannot trace any record of his burial in the Parish
of Oldham.
When Benjamin and Betty
had their third child Robert in 1766, they are recorded as living
at Horsedge fold. I would imagine that this area used
to be the land surrounding what is now Horsedge Street behind
Oldham Parish Church.
This area was known as the
hill around St. Mary’s church were the village started and even at
the first census of 1801 showed a population of around
2,800 which amounted to just over 20% of the total population
of the extensive Old-
ham township.
This area as the central position within the town would
have been an ideal place for Benjamin to
have had his workshop
and place of trade.
Longcase clocks are
known to have been signed by Benjamin Barlow both as Oldham
and also Ashton (watchmakers
and clockmakers of the world
by G H Baillie, page 16, ref. Barlow ), and I have recently purchased
a 30 hr brass dial in an oak case signed Benjamin Barlow Ashton.
It is therefore possible that through marriage (we know
that his wife Betty came from Ashton) or business, Benjamin
had some links with Ashton and also possible that it is St.
Michael’s Church Ashton where Benjamin is buried. Perhaps some
time after his wife died Benjamin moved from residence
in Oldham and lived in Ashton to work closer alongside his brother William.
It is more than likely that Benjamin and his new wife Betty after
they were married lived in Ashton for a short period of time and hence
had their first two children Mary and Edward christened at St Michael’s
Ashton. However we know that by 1766 they were living
in Oldham and this move was probably forced upon them by the roots of the
family clockmaking business being well established in Old- ham.
Another one of Edward Barlow’s
sons was William Barlow born 1748 and William Barlow was working
as a clockmaker in Ashton in the 1770-1810 period. It may well
have been that Benjamin had work shops in Oldham and Ashton and that William
was his apprentice just as Benjamin had been Edward’s apprentice
some years earlier. It seems certain
that Benjamin was close
to his brother William and they probably ran the company business
together as their father Edward and his brother John took a back
seat in the business as they grew older. It could
also be possible that Ben- jamin and William had to move
to the next town and become free of that town as
clockmakers simply because there
was not enough business for
them in Oldham alongside Edward, John and other local clockmakers.
Benjamin and Betty Barlow
had six children :
Mary September 1762
Edward April 11th 1764
Robert December 31st 1766 Died at the age of 19 April 12th 1786
William August 2nd 1771 Named after Benjamin’s brother
Thomas March 17th 1776
Hannah April 16th 1778
Benjamin Barlow was a clockmaker working in Oldham in the latter half of the eighteenth century. He would have almost certainly been apprenticed to his father and followed in his footsteps. There is no doubt that they would have both been making and selling clocks at the same time probably as a family business and also along side his uncle John. Benjamin was probably very similar to his father and would have also been a well respected gentleman within the town. As was the case with his father, Benjamin was also made a constable of the borough of Oldham and acted as deputy to John Marlow, shoemaker, when he was a constable.
In 1771 as well as being a
clockmaker, he took possession of the Nagg’s Head Inn and ran
this ale house for a period
of ten years.
In April 1781, it is noted that the Nagg’s Head Inn is
to be let, perhaps it became to much for him to
run alongside a booming clock
business. It is also of great interest, to learn that
another Oldham clockmaker, John Banks, was also associated
with the tenancy of the Nagg’s Head Inn. I have also
read in William Rowbottom’s diary 1787-1799, that a John Lees was
a former keeper of the Nagg’s Head, who died in 1788.
There was a clockmaker
from Oldham recorded as Jonathan
Lees (Leese), is this possibly the same man, and if so, did
the Nagg’s Head have three landlords all of them being clockmakers?
Thomas
Oldham Barlow
Engraver
London, England
The
Graphic - April 05, 1873