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WINDMILL LAND - THE ALLEN CLARKE STORY ( A Potted Biography)
by Shirley Matthews B.A. (hons) Allen Clarke's grandaughter.
Vice Chair of The Friends of Little Marton Windmill & Events Officer
member of the L.A.A. The Bolton & Blackpool Civic Trusts. Lytham Heritage Group
Fylde Rep: for S.P.A.B (Mills section) & Member for the Blackpool Heritage Forum
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Charles Allen Clarke /Teddy Ashton
Charles Allen Clarke was born 27th February at 47, Parott Street Bolton, in 1863 and worked as a child (half timer) in a cotton mill, before winning a scholarship which enabled him to become a student and pupil teacher at the age of 13. He was along with other literary people a founder of the Lancashire Author's Association www.lancashireauthors.btik.com which celebrate their Centenary in 2009.
He is pictured here proudly wearing his speedwell badge (an association he was very fond of.) When he died Little Marton windmill was dedicated to his memory and given by Cornelius Bagot the last miller to be held in trust by the Speedwell Fellowship. He died December 12th 1935 in his 73rd year.
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LANCASHIRE AUTHOR'S ASSOCIATION
Excerpt By Alfred H. Pearce: (Being a condensed report of his paper read at the meeting of the Lancashire Author's Association at Blackpool June 27th 1936)
...Allen in his adolescence could not boast of any classical or indeed secondary education, going to work in a Yorkshire cotton mill and at another in Bolton...
Allen Clarke lived his life according to his desires...He captured the love of Lancashire men and women in far larger measure than have many of his predecessors or his contemporaries. Naturally much of his writing will perish as time and development render it obsolete; but equally certain it is that a goodly proportion will survive as permanently interesting, and as valuable reflex of the Lancashire scenery and character and circumstance of the recently past and present eras.
I had the privilege of more or less intimate friendship with Allen Clarke for nearly 40 years and therefore know something of the characteristics and work of the man I am speaking about. When I think of the time and print space that have been devoted to the work of men whao have not done for their fellows one tithe of that accomplished by Allen Clarke in his long and active life. I feel that the good work he did deserves far wider recognition than has yet been accorded to it. Apart from his editing, his output of general literary matter was tremendous. And it was his endeaver to teach and uplift his fellows as well as to amuse.His mental capacity and practical experience of life quickly made up for his lack of early education.
He became a reader of men and of matters, and his ready pen enabled him to exercise this faculty to the full. His first book, 'The Lass at the Man and Scythe,' (a Bolton Hostelry) was published in 1891. This is a small volume of 112 pages, he afterwards amplified into a full-size story under the title of, 'John O' God's Sending.' The story has as a background the Cromwellian soege of Bolton in 1644.
To be sure, of late years and since his death, he has been alluded to as, "the well-known Lancashire writer," or "the popular Lancashire-dialect exponent," but his work as a prolific Lancashire novelist, as a social writer and striver for the welfare of his fellows, as a rhymester and a poet, as a humorous-character creator, as a writer on such diverse subjects as, "The Object Of Life," Tum Fowt Sketches," "Medical Humbug," "Eawr Sarah's Chap," and "Windmill Land."...
In 1909 he took a foremost part in forming our Lancashire Author's Association and was for several sessions its Chairman of the committee. In later years he held an Honary position to which he was deservedly elected.
To conclude I will venture to prophecy. I make bold to say that in times to come our successors in the L.A.A., and in other similar bodies in different parts of the England, will fully recognise the work of Allen Clarke, and, in consequence, will, as we have done today make pilgrimage to pay personal and floral tribute to the worthy life and writings of this worthy son of Bolton in Lancashire.
I might add that it is grand to know plans are already in progress to fund a permanent memorial to him in his well-loved, "Windmill Land," and it is truly hoped that ere long those plans will receive the monetary help necessary to bring them to complete fruition.
Papers he edited or had columns in:
He started The Labour Light at the age of 26
The Bolton Trotter (a half penny humorous weekly)
The Gazette & Herald
Bolton Evening News
Teddy Ashton's Journal
The Northern Weekly
The Fellowship Journal
Teddy Ashton's Annual
The Cotton Factory Times
The Liverpool Weekly Post
Punch Magazine
and many more......
Excerpt from...TEDDY ASHTON'S ANNUAL 1936-1937 Edited by Edward Vernon Clarke Allen's youngest son Teddy my father.
Charles Allen Clarke - President of the L.A.A.
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Charles Allen Clarke, President of the Lancashire Author's Association.
A society he founded and loved and would be happy it is still thriving today as they celebrate the big one this year.
He was very keen to set up a Literary circle in Blackpool and over the years the Blackpool Writer's Circle have brought out some good poets and novelists.
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His love affair with windmills started from his first glimpse of one at Treales near Preston, from a train carriage window, on a cheap day trip for poor children, organised by a mission in Bolton. There were at one time over 40 windmills, watermills and post (peg) mills in the Fylde and Over Wyre.
Allen Clarke coined the nickname, 'Windmill Land,' for the Fylde and Wyre and was inspired to write the books 'Windmill Land' & 'More Windmill Land.,' which describes how many windmills were working and the characters he met on his rambles.
He eventually came to live in Blackpool and worked as a journalist on the Blackpool Echo and the Blackpool Gazette & Herald as well as the Bolton Evening News.
He died in 1935 at his home 17, St Ives Avenue Blackpool and is buried in Little Marton Cemetry Blackpool with his wife Eliza.
His first wife Lavinia (who died tragically as a young bride and childless) is buried in Bolton, his children Lavinia, baby May and his first son Frank Allen who was drowned in a clay pit aged seven, are interred with her as Allen and Eliza thought of her as their spirit mother.
His other children Franklin, Charles, Edward (Teddy) and Dorothy are buried in Blackpool and abroad.
"GRADELY"
A Gradely Babby
A Gradely Lad
A Gradely Mon
An' a Gradely Dad.
(Edward Vernon Clarke, Allen's youngest son)
ALLEN AND ELIZA'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH WINDMILL LAND
Allen's sorrow at the death of his beloved:
"OUR HONEYMOON STILL CONTINUES IN WINDMILL LAND"
I thought my Lady and I would have had the autumn of our days together. I used to indulge in a dream of an aged couple sitting in an engardened little cottage in Windmill Land in the sunset of their life, hand in hand and heart to heart, sometimes talking odf the rides and rambles they had shared by the windmills and up the river and on the sea shore, but the gods denied us even that very modest dream and so I fare towards the earthly end alone.
Yet we had our joys of life, our paradise palship, our friends, and once we heard 3,000 children sing at the Hippodrome our "Windmill Land," song, the song that it pleased us to know had become a "National Anthem," in our region, being taught and sang in our schools. My Lady did not want to leave this beautiful, wonderful, sad, glad dear old world. Why should a malignant and incurable disease cut her off almost in her prime? Alas, how many think and ask that pathetic question, the great, sad riddle of "fate," "luck," or whatever we choos to call it.
WHY?
On a vernal day when the countrside was all in blosom as a bride, we took my invalid wife for a ride through Windmill Land in the gay Sringtide. And it broke my heart to hear her cry
"It is a shame that I should die. That I so soon must pass away from a world so fair as it is today. A world wherein I would remain in the golden sunshine and silver rain, till mu full span and yet I know soon I must leave it - I must go!"
And as we talked so sad, so sweet, the half moon shone above the street like a Chinese lamp in a twilight sky and it broke my heart to hear her sigh,
"It is a shame that I should die, that I should pass before my time, that I should perish in my prime. Oh God! Why is it? - Hear my cry! Can earth or heaven tell me why?"
A. Clarke.
Allen and George Hylton
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Allen Clarke on left with his friend and entertainer George Hylton in Blackpool
Allen used to play with a little girl in Rothwell Street, Bolton, who used to call Allen a, "Mischievious young divvle!"
That girl was to become the famous impressario Jack Hylton's mother, and Allen was friends with his father working in the mills together as youngsters in Bolton.
Jack learnt to practise the piano in a socialist club nearby for free.
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Clarke Author association
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Charles Allen Clarke, pictured here as First Chairman of the Lancashire
Authors Assosiation (1909 - 1935)
and the
L.A.A. President Dr. Henry Brierley, B.A., L.L.D.
(1909 - 1933)
(Courtesy of the L.A.A.)
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ALLEN CLARKE AND OWD TOM HUGHES BOTH CYCLING LEGENDS
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Firm Friends!
Allen Clarke (Teddy Ashton)
with his cycling chum (Owd Tom Hughes)
They were often seen cycling the Lancashire Lanes in the 1920s
(Courtesy of Albert Winstanley's book Owd Tom a Cycling Legend)
Albert 91 is still a member of 'The Autumn Tints Cycling Club,' in Bolton.
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Teddy Ashton was to become a firm friend of Owd Tom and cycled to Wembley 9th August 1924 both of them on 'Roadster bikes,' Teddy on a sit up and beg modelwearing his familiar Homburg hat. Both wearing collar and ties and Albert watch chains snaking to their waistcoat pockets. A friend of Albert once said of Teddy and Owd Tom, "They don't make men like that today!"
(THE AUTUMN TINTS CYCLING COMRADES MOTTO!)
Founded by TOM HUGHES July 12th, 1924 at the Unicorn Cafe and Tea Rooms Walton-Lea-Dale, near Preston.
He who is enrolled in this unique club must be either grey or bald, at the least fifty, yet at a hundred he's not auld. There must be silver in his hair for him to come up to scratch but he is allowed a fringe of greyless hair if the top is void of thatch.
The ladies, God bless 'em, may be registered at fifty years of age, provided they can stuff an old bird with onions and sage. For the old cocks of the north need women to look after 'em, so they'll keep the men correct by persuation or stratagem.
(By --Owd Gabriel)
'Windmill Land' by Allen Clarke 1916 First Edition is now available online as an eBook at:
House
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Grahame House (miller's house)
Cornelius Bagot's House which was once the Old Coaching Inn on the old Roman Rd to Kirkham.
(look at the large boat shaped cap on Little Marton Windmill
on other side of the Rd) very out of context with the mill!!
This Picture courtesy of Barry Shaw's history archive
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Cottage
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Grahame House Miller's Cottage
as it is now 2009 burned and derilict
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Bus Tour
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Bus tour of Windmill Land
by Allen Clarke's son my father, Edward Clarke (Teddy) and mother Gwendoline Clarke (carrying on the tradition)
my father leaning out with moustache and mother in pale hat beside him!!
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