William Bond and Jane Gudgeon (G6)

William was born before 1762.  He presumably came from a reasonably well off family or was an astute businessman.  In 1798 he referred to himself as an iron turner.  He probably owned a business operating lathes producing metal products, likely for the cotton industry (see below, lower mill).

In 1798 William purchased land, a house, and shop, at Ferry Butts in Chipping (see below) for £150 and sold it again in 1807  for  £205.  A  £45 (30%) profit in 7 years.  It is likely that William lived at Ferry Butts till he married Jane and then moved to Saunders Rake.

Jane Gudgeon was born 11 September 1768 and baptised at All Hallows, Mitton.  Her father was a shoe maker William married Jane on 2 July 1786 at All Hallows Church in Mitton, Lancaster.  In 1801 William was a deacon of the Walkerfold congregational church.   William and Jane were living in Saunders Rake in 1807.   By that time he was referred to himself as a cotton manufacturer and presumably already owned a cotton mill somewhere.

.In 1822 William purchased a cotton mill (higher mill) at Knowle Green which had 38 employees and already owned a lower mill producing metal rollers for cotton spinning.  These mills were powered by water wheels.   The ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ in the names refer to their relative positions on the river.

 William was concerned about the morals of the people who ‘spent their Sundays playing football with fighting being their only recreation and drinking their chief business’.  William advertised for someone to come and work at his mill and act as a missionary to his employees and the villagers.  He initially allowed the new converts to meet in an upper room at the mill.  The then purchased a property for the new church.

‘It is recorded  that at Chipping 'a benevolent individual Mr William Bond at his own expense converted a house into a convenient place of worship for the benefit of the surrounding population.

Or

‘In 1838 mainly through the exertions of the late William Bond of chipping (who had previous converted a house into a place of worship) a plain stone Chapel was built at the west end of the village and opened September 25 1839’.

By the mid 1800’s the Bond’s Knowle Green water powered mills were suffering competition from steam powered mills in towns on the coalfields.  The spinning mill continued spinning cotton till 1864 by installing a steam engine.   In 1864 the mill was only employing 19 people and closed.  William died before 1838.  Their children were

1.        John born on 12 October 1788

2.        Mary  was born in 1789 and married John Porter.   Separate history

3.       Eliza  was born at Saunders Rake near Chipping on the 1st of May 1809 and baptised on the 18th of July 1809.

4.       James  birth date unknown was married on 17 May 1838 at St Lawrence Longridge.  James was a cotton spinner and had been married previously.  His first wife died.  His second marriage was to Elizabeth Jump from Dilworth.  Elizabeth’s father was a farmer.   Interestingly one of the witnesses was another James bond, presumably an uncle or cousin.

5.       Jane  was born abt. 1814 in Saunders Rake.  She married Henry Wood on 20 September 1838 at St Bartholomew, Chipping.  Henry was born abt. 1801.  He was son of Thomas Wood, a labourer of Burnley.   Henry was appointed master of Chipping School in February 1837.