THE HODGKINSONS OF ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD

 

The name HODGKINSON is a surname strongly associated with the county of Lancashire in the northwest of England.

ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD is a town within the extensive ancient manor of Makerfield, in the Church of England parish of Winwick, Lancashire. It lies 5 miles due south of Wigan.

 

Ashton in Makerfield in 1849

 

In the LDS 1881 census index, there were 7627 individuals in Britain with the name Hodgkinson or variant, 2235 of these enumerated in Lancashire. If the exact spelling of the surname is used, then there were 1125 individuals with the name in the county. Of these, 47 were resident in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Forty gave Ashton as their place of birth, and all but 3 of those born there were resident in Ashton.

• The following table shows the number of individuals bearing the name Hodgkinson in Ashton in each of the census years:

• The following table lists the types of occupations of the Hodgkinsons of Ashton in 1881:

File manufacturing	6
Coal mining	5
Cotton industry	4
Hinge manufacturing	2
Retail trade	1

These occupations reflect the main industries in Ashton:

• manufacture of steel items and tools
• coal mining
• cotton

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THE ASHTON HODGKINSONS

Nearly all of the Ashton Hodgkinsons are descended from John Hodgkinson, (1757?-1816). He developed a filecutting business. John died in 1816, (of "inflammation of the lungs", a fairly typical occupational illness), and his son, also called John (born 1780) took over the business. This second John died in in 1834. At this point the business may have been located in Middle Gennell (see map above). 

The business now became a partnership between three sons of John (born 1780), these being

• John, the eldest and senior partner (1817-1893)
• Bryan (1819-1895)
• Benjamin (1823-1889)

Towards the end of the 1840's the family acquired Field Farm, off Heath Lane behind St Thomas' Church (see map above) and this became the "Field Farm Fileworks", later the "Ashton Fileworks". The firm was known as "John Hodgkinson & Brothers". An elderly relative described going to the "little smithies" there as a child in the early 1900's. To see a picture of the fileworks as it was in the early 1980's prior to demolition click here.

A hand written price list for file-cutting still exists - to see it click here.

John (born 1817) became a prominent local figure, being the Provisional CS of the Oddfellows Society for Ashton for 40 Years. In the 1870's religious disturbances took place at Ashton, the local vicar having become too "high church" for the taste of many of the townsfolk (for more information click here). The Hodgkinsons took the lead in establishing (and actually building) a new church, initially called Christ Church, but soon changing after receipt of a funding gift to the Cave Browne Protestant Institute. This very active church is found in Heath Lane. The last Hodgkinson worshipping there died in the early 1990's. To see a picture of the Cave Browne, click here.

Bryan was also involved with the Oddfellows, and his obituary describes how "the deceased had worked as a file-cutter up to and including his 76th birthday." All three bothers are buried in St Thomas' churchyard.

To read the obituaries of John and Bryan, click here.

Benjamin Hodgkinson and workers (date unknown)

In 1871 John was described as employing "3 men and 2 boys" and in 1881 as "employing two sons", perhaps reflecting some business decline. The firm was taken over by Alfred Sibson Hodgkinson, son of Bryan (to see a picture click here), and (probably) John (son of John). At some point the firm was sold to Cromptons, who had a large factory built probably on the site of the old gennels in the centre of Ashton. The picture below of men who "worked for" Alfred Sibson Hodgkinson, may have been taken after this point.

Files were made by forging a rod or bar of steel to the shape of the file. The forged blanks were then passed to a file grinder who ground the faces, edges, and tang of the file to a high degree of flatness and shape. The blanks were then sent to the file cutter who cut the file teeth using a chisel and hammer on a "stithy."

The base of the stithy shown in the photograph above (actually in Grenoside, Sheffield - with acknowledgements to Grenoside & District Local History Group) was a solid block of sandstone, slightly narrower at the edge facing the worker, so that his knees could rest at either side. In the centre of the metal-edged “anvil” which topped it, was a recess filled with a block of lead (or “stock”) about 6 inches by 3 inches, and 1 ½ inches thick, protruding above the surface of the stone (use of lead being potentially lethal to the filecutter's health). It was on this that the files were cut, the relatively soft surface preventing damage to the first side when the file was turned over to cut the reverse side. The file blank was held immobile by straps, which the cutter steadied with his feet as if in stirrups. Most workshops had long low windows to throw light on the work area. After dark, paraffin lamps would be used, but skilled cutters worked almost automatically, not needing to look closely at what they were doing.

 

The cutting was done with a short broad chisel - Alfred Sibson Hodgkinson's chisel being shown above (these pictures courtesy of Susan John) - working steadily down the length of the file, then turning the chisel through an angle of 90 degrees to complete the “teeth”. Rasps were cut differently, using a punch which cut each tooth individually. 

The hammer had a slightly curved handle, fixed near to one end of the head. The hammers varied in weight depending on the type of work, but could be as much as ten pounds. The worker held the handle near to the head, extending the thumb to steady it. It was not raised high above the block; the cutting power came from the weight of the hammer-head, not the strength of the arm. Aiming for a steady rhythm rather than speed helped to ensure precision. The hammer was a very personal instrument - the 'grip' in the shaft actually being worn through use.

The cut files were then taken for heat treatment to harden them, after which they were greased and packed for sale.

 

WHERE DID THE HODGKINSONS COME FROM?

The name Hodgkinson does appear in the Winwick registers in the 1600's, but only sporadically. These Hodgkinsons could be connected to the Hodgkinson families of Deane or Leigh, but it is more likely that this family may have its origins in Warrington.

Of interest is the family of John & Elizabeth Hodgkinson nee Mather married 1748, in which there is a gap which could contain the birth of the 'original' John Hodgkinson:

1749 (10/5) HANNAH d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H bp. @ Newton

1750 (23/9) ALICE d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H bp. @ Newton

1752 (16/7) BETTY d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H bp. @ Newton

1755 (8/5) MARGARET d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H bp. @ Newton

1756 (30/9) MARY d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H bp. @ Newton

 ? 1757 JOHN

 1758/9 HENRY (s. JOHN & ELIZABETH H buried Warrington 6/3/1764, aged 6)

1760/1 PEGGY (d. JOHN & ELIZABETH H buried Warrington 29/4/1764, aged 4)

1762 (24/1) MARTHA d JOHN & ELIZABETH H @ Warrington

1770 (28/1) THOMAS s. JOHN & ELIZABETH H @ Great Sankey

John Hodgkinson was perhaps the son of Henry (born 1723) and Alice , and  was a husbandman of Rixton (Warrington) on 10 April 1748 when he took out a licence (supported by John Hall of Newton) to marry Elizabeth Mather of Billinge at Wigan or at Burtonwood chapel (Warrington parish). The marriage took place at Wigan later that day.

John and Elizabeth Hodgkinson seem to have lived for at least the first eight years of their marriage at Newton-in-Makerfield (a chapelry of Winwick), where their first five children (all daughters) were baptised. These were Hannah (21 May 1749, born 10 May); Alice (23 September 1750, born 15 September); Betty (16 July 1752, born 2 July); Margaret (8 May 1755, born 21 April); Mary (30 September 1756, born 18 September).

After Mary’s baptism in 1756 we lose track of the family’s movements for eight years and it may be that John Hodgkinson was working as a travelling weaver.] A son Henry was born c. 1758. In April 1760 ‘Peggy, daughter of John Hodgkinson’ was baptised at St John’s, Lancaster. Among other possible children of John and Betty/Elizabeth are some baptised at Preston (John, 1763; Betty, 1766; Mary (1767 and 1774); Margaret (1774)]. 

John and Elizabeth Hodgkinson seem to have been living at Warrington from at least 24 January 1762, when Martha (1762–1827), daughter of John Hodgkinson, weaver and Elizabeth his wife was baptised there.

Henry, son of John Hodgkinson, weaver and Elizabeth his wife was buried at Warrington on 6 March 1764, aged six. Peggy, daughter of John Hodgkinson, weaver and Elizabeth his wife was buried at Warrington on 29 April 1764, aged four. Of John and Elizabeth’s nine children four or more, survived to adulthood: these were their son Thomas, their unmarried daughter Martha, their daughter Mary Lowe and another daughter, the mother of Ellen Bailey.

The family then began a strong connection with Great Sankey ( immediately adjacent to Warrington). John and Elizabeth’s only surviving son Thomas was baptised at Great Sankey on 28 January 1770 and the connection was to last until the burial of Thomas’ only son Thomas Mather Hodgkinson, 108 years later.

John Hodgkinson was buried at Sankey on 7 December 1789 and Betty Hodgkinson (probably John’s widow Elizabeth) on 20 March 1791.

 

Contact Peter Hodgkinson

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GENEALOGICAL DATA

Click here to begin to access the family trees, starting with John & Betty Hodgkinson. A blue underlined link associated with a surname in capital letters will take you to another tree from that individual's family. The link <parents> will take you back to the previous tree.

Click here to go to a list of surnames associated by marriage with the Hodgkinsons in the trees.

Click here to go to an index of the Hodgkinsons listed in the trees.

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