2013

SD9303 : Blind Joe

taken 11 years ago, near to Lees, Oldham, England

This is 1 of 3 images, with title starting with Blind in this square
Blind Joe
Blind Joe
A closer look at SD9303 : Alexandra Park, Statue of Joseph Howarth. This statue of Joseph Howarth "Old Blind Joe", in Alexandra Park, was erected in 1868. Joe was blind from birth but had an amazing memory. It is said that he could recite chapters from the Bible once they had been read to him. He was elected as the town’s bellman (Town Cryer) in 1820; a role he carried out conscientiously until 1860. One of his jobs was to ring his bell to open and close Tommyfield Market where he also had a pie and muffin stall. For many years he was also a Wesleyan lay preacher. It was stated that the Statue was not erected to commemorate his services as a bellman but to honour his services to religion. He died in 1862.


The inscription on the plinth reads:
JOSEPH HOWARTH
UPWARDS OF 40 YEARS THE WELL KNOWN
BLIND BELLMAN OF OLDHAM
ERECTED BY VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTIONS
PRESENTED TO THE PARK MAY 9TH 1868
_________________________________

HE DIED ON THE 17th DAY OF MAY 1862
IN THE 76th YEAR OF HIS AGE

It has been suggested that, at the time of its unveiling in 1868, this was the only statue in England where the subject is wearing a top hat, but I have been unable to confirm whether or not this is true. There have been other such statues erected since then, notably several of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel featuring his trademark top hat Link .
Alexandra Park, Oldham :: SD9304

ALEXANDRA PARK:
Job creation schemes are not only a modern phenomenon; Oldham’s Alexandra Park is an example of such a scheme from the mid nineteenth century.

The American Civil War had prevented the export of raw cotton from America and created “The Lancashire Cotton Famine” (LinkExternal link ) of 1861–1865 causing chronic unemployment in the Lancashire textile towns such as Oldham. The town council was offered a loan by the government of the day to purchase the Swine Clough Estate on condition that unemployed cotton workers were employed to carry out the work.

Work began in 1863 and the park was officially opened in August, 1865; an event commemorated by a blue plaque (SD9204 : Alexandra Park: Blue Plaque ) on the wall of the North Lodge. Somewhat ironically, the American Civil War had ended earlier that year and cotton was once more being supplied to the Lancashire mills. The park was given its name in honour of Princess Alexandra who had recently married Albert, Prince of Wales.

Although the “Cotton Famine Park” became somewhat run down in the latter half of the twentieth century, it has now been restored to its former glory with significant investment backed by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and was reopened in 2004 with refurbishment bringing a return to the near-original landscape as envisaged in 1863.

Alexandra Park is a Grade Two site of national importance on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

There is an excellent website (LinkExternal link ) which provides a history of Alexandra Park in postcards and photographs showing comparisons between its current appearance and views from the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries. Some other links are given below:

LinkExternal link - The Cotton Famine (Wikipedia)
LinkExternal link Alexandra Park (Oldham Council)
LinkExternal link (Flickr group)


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Oldham's Alexandra Park [11] · Statue of Joseph HOWARTH Old Blind Joe [5] ·
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Grid Square
SD9303, 67 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 3 March, 2013   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 4 March, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 9314 0396 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:31.9350N 2:6.2978W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 9314 0396
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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