THE HISTORY OF GREENMOUNT VILLAGE
The name Greenmount only came into existence in 1848 when the Old School was built as a Sunday School and called Green Mount Sunday school, now the Greenmount Village Community Centre which is still owned and administered by Greenmount United Reformed Church
The name Greenmount came into existence when, what we know today as the Old School main hall was built in 1848 and called GREEN MOUNT SUNDAY SCHOOL. It cost £1186 to build. At that time this area was in the village of Tottington, gradually the name Green Mount was extended to the surrounding area and so Greenmount became the village called Greenmount.
How Greenmount Village came into existence.
Greenmount came into existence through, Samuel Beswick, manager of Tottington Mill changing his mind about employing Robert Hadfield, who was totally unsuitable for the job on offer.
This is how it happened.
Robert Hadfield
Robert Hadfield lived in Manchester, where he was a Sunday School teacher at Ashley Lane Congregational Sunday School. He was a man of outstanding character, a good musician, passionately fond of Sunday school work and particularly good at dealing with young people.
He became unemployed shortly after his marriage in 1823. Edward Bond, a man he knew through the Sunday School, gave him a letter of introduction to Samuel Beswick manager of Tottington Mill. Robert, in his desperation for work walked the 12 miles to Tottington mill only to be told by Samuel Beswick that there was no job for him. With a heavy heart and probably an empty stomach he started to make his way home, but stopped when he heard a man calling in Lancashire dialect “Eh! Owd top coat, Yo’mum cum back, Mester Beswick wants you”. He returned to find that Samuel Beswick had changed his mind and now offered him a job as a Crofter. Crofting was heavy work, involving carrying printed rolls of cotton out into the nearby fields, where they were stretched out to bleach. At the end of the week Robert returned home and Samuel Beswick didn’t expect to see him again as he was so physically unsuitable for the work, but Robert returned and continued crofting until someone was required for office work. He was offered the job when his employers discovered that he could read and write.
Robert Hadfield was invited by his employer, Joshua Knowles, who was chapel warden at St. Anne’s Church Tottington, to help with the Sunday School. Robert had been brought up a Dissenter, but willingly agreed to help and in time became the Superintendent. The Sunday school became extremely successful and was reputed to be the best in the area, but his methods of teaching the children didn’t suit the church authorities, who stated that their Sunday School was nothing more or less than a Methodist Sunday School. One Sunday morning when Robert arrived he was surprised to find that a new Superintendent was about to take charge. The minister, without consulting the Sunday School officers, had appointed the head of the recently opened Day School as the new Superintendent. A meeting of teachers was held that evening, at which Robert and Samuel Knowles, the mill owner’s step brother, resigned, followed by most of the other teachers and many scholars, causing the Sunday School to virtually fold. Parents of children who had left were very concerned and they organised a petition signed by 40 parents representing 125 children in which they ‘hoped that arrangements could be made whereby their children could still benefit from his valuable service’.
Premises to rent were found which were considered suitable for a Sunday School, despite the fact that the building was in an isolated spot in the countryside, described by the Rev. B. Nightingale in his book on Lancashire Non-conformity as a house far away in a quiet glen called Holhouse. It was a square building with a courtyard in front, surrounded by iron railings and trees with a stream running by. The inside walls were removed, leaving one large room upstairs and another downstairs. These were fitted out for teaching with a hole being made in the floor of the upper room and a pulpit erected so that the superintendent could keep his eagle eye on all scholars upstairs and down. There were lessons both morning and afternoon plus a preaching service before the school ended.
Site of the original Sunday School
Greenmount Primary School at the 150th Anniversary
of the Sunday school in 1994
It was known as the Providence Independent Sunday School, opened on 19th May 1844 with a total of 198 scholars and teachers. Its first superintendent was Robert Hadfield, Secretary Samuel Knowles and Treasurer Samuel Beswick. The school proved so successful that it soon became necessary to find larger premises. A suitable plot of land was found on the outskirts of the village of Tottington. The foundation stone was laid in 1848 and the building costing £1186 was completed within a year. They called it Green Mount Sunday School Tottington. Through the naming of the Sunday School the village of Greenmount came into existence.
Centre of Greenmount 1930
In 1856 a church with 14 members was formed from the Sunday School and the Rev. J. Spencer Hill appointed as minister. The Sunday School cum church became so popular and so well attended under its second minister Rev. Joseph Bliss, appointed in 1857, that its adaptability for its various purposes was tested to the full, and the growing needs and prosperity of the Congregational movement made it apparent that separate buildings for church and school were necessary.
Plans were made in 1862 for the new church building to be built on nearby land. The enthusiasm of the local people was bolstered by the support of the Lancashire Congregational Union, which offered £500 towards the cost of construction which started in 1865. The first service in the new building, called Green Mount Congregational Church, was on 24th February 1867.
A Potted History of the Greenmount Old School building and Greenmount Old School Users Association
In 1867 Greenmount Church was built and the Sunday School building became a Day School. 3 class rooms, kitchen and 3 small rooms were added in 1890.
With the building of local housing estates in the 60’s and 70’s a new day school was needed. It took 11 years from 1971 to 1982 for all pupils to be transferred to their new building. The old school became the village community centre. From 1971 nothing was done to the building which by 1980’s was in a very dilapidated state.
The building is owned and administered by Greenmount Church, but with expensive church renovation in the 1980’s still to be paid for the Elders voted 9 to 1 to sell the building to a developer, but as Greenmount Church is a United Reformed Church where all the members have a vote, this decision was overturned. With the Church’s blessing the Old School Users Association was formed in 1988 to ‘Save’ our village community centre. The committee has always been made up from representatives of all the groups using the building.
The Users association with the church has proved to be a very good partnership; the church pays the running costs out of the rents paid by the users, whilst the Old School Users Association raises money for the renovation work and improvements.
In the association’s first 3 years, with the help of the community £30,000 was raised to do essential renovation work, saving the building as a community centre.
Over the years the association together with many volunteers have raised thousands of pounds through recycling our villagers’ unwanted goods at our Jumble Sales and now our monthly Table Top Sales, better items being sold at our annual Collectors Fairs, any items not sold go to St Paul’s church Salford for their work with the people of inner Salford providing shelter, food and goods for the most venerable of that city.
As well as helping to raise funds, volunteers enjoy being part of our association and often make new friends. Anyone interested in joining us, please phone Christine on 0785 4260947.