12 February 1677: Heavy snow leaves Oliver Heywood unsure whether to cross the Pennines into Lancashire
Oliver Heywood. 1883. The Rev. Oliver Heywood, B.A., 1630-1702, Vol. 3/4. Ed. J. Horsfall Turner. Bingley: T. Harrison. Get it:
.Excerpt
I promised to go, designing gathering some rents as my main business, yet intending to preach at Rochdale on Monday night. But upon Saturday it fell a considerable snow, and my wife was unwilling I should venture over Blackstone Edge. My maid on Saturday told John Stott that it was doubtful whether I came, and my friends advised me not to go. I promised my wife that morning that if it snowed I would stay at home. About 9 o’clock it snowed again, upon which I settled myself in a resolution to stay at home, studied till noon, then the sun shone, it was fair, one came and dined with us, told us it was good travelling, upon which I got myself ready, set forward after one o’clock, yet had some discouragements: (1) my wife was troubled at my going, (2) I was much straitened at parting in prayer, (3) at the end of my croft my horse stumbled to his knees, which my wife observed, called me again, I went on still, and (4) found bad way in the Hough. There I debated with myself, turned back, to my inner satisfaction, visited Mr Clay, sick, was helped to pray with him, God wonderfully enlarged my heart in family duty.
To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:
- ER: East Riding
- GM: Greater Manchester
- NR: North Riding
- NY: North Yorkshire
- SY: South Yorkshire
- WR: West Riding
- WY: West Yorkshire
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Original
The like suspense I was in upon February 12, 1677, about going into Lancashire: for I promised to go, designing gathering some rents as my main business, yet intending to preach at Ratchdal on Monday night, but upon Saturday it fell a considerable snow, and my wife was unwilling I should venture over Blackstone Edge. My maid on Saturday told John Stott that it was doubtful whether I came, and my friends advised me not to go. I promised my wife that morning that if it snowed I would stay at home. About 9 o’clock it snowed again, upon which I settled myself in a resolution to stay at home, studied till noon, then the sun shone, it was fair, one came and dined with us, told us it was good travelling, upon which I got myself ready, set forward after one o’clock, yet had some discouragements: 1) my wife was troubled at my going, 2) I was much straitened at parting in prayer, 3) at the end of my croft my horse stumbled to his knees, which my wife observed, called me again, I went on still, and 4) found bad way in the Hough – there I debated with myself, turned back, to my inner satisfaction, visited Mr. Clay, sick, was helped to pray with him, god wonderfully enlarged my heart in family-duty. The week following I went, and it proved much better for 1) Mistress Lambert, and others came out of Craven, next Saturday, spent the Sabbath with me, designing a journey into Lancashire, and I went with them, very opportunely, 2) it was seasonable weather, I had a comfortable journey, 3) I found my own father sick, begun that week, came as if I had been called – where god melted my heart, 4) I was not expected at Ratchdal, performed my preaching work before the week following – got home safely – blessed be my god.
310 words.
Tags
Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.
- Blackstone Edge (1)
· - Craven (8) ·
- Heywood, Oliver (1630-1702) (34), Bolton-born nonconformist minister and diarist, active in the West Riding, resident at Northowram, ejected for his beliefs ·
- Horse (71) ·
- Lancashire (34) ·
- 📌Northowram (14) ·
- Pennines (11) ·
- Renting (2) ·
- 📌Rochdale (8), old Lancashire mill-town at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, 9.8 miles (15.8 km) northeast of Manchester ·
- Snow (16) ·
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