Benjamin Brierley
Encyclopedia
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
and writer in Lancashire dialect
Lancashire dialect and accent
Lancashire dialect and accent refers to the vernacular speech in Lancashire, one of the counties of England. Simon Elmes' book Talking for Britain said that Lancashire dialect is now much less common than it once was, but it is not yet extinct...
, was born in Failsworth
Failsworth
At Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the...
, the son of humble parents, and started life in a textile factory
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
, educating himself in his spare time. At about the age of thirty he began to contribute articles to local papers, and the republication of some of his sketches of Lancashire character in A Summer Day in Daisy Nook
Daisy Nook
Daisy Nook is a country park in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England. The park runs through the Medlock Valley in an area once called Waterhouses. Waterhouses was one of three 'houses' in the Failsworth area, the other two being Millhouses and Woodhouses.-History:The name Daisy Nook came from a...
(1859) attracted attention.
In 1863 he definitely took to journalism and literature as his work, publishing in the same year his Chronicles of Waverlow, and in 1864 a long story called The Layrock of Langley Side (afterwards dramatized), followed by others. He started in a weekly titled, Ben Brierley's Journal, which remained in publication until 1891, and he gave public readings from his own writings, visiting America in 1880 and 1884. His various Ab-o'th'-Yate sketches (about America, London, etc.), and his pictures of Lancashire common life, were very popular, and were collected after his death. In 1884 he lost his savings by the failure of a building society, and a fund was raised for his support. He died on 18 January 1896, and two years later a statue was erected to him in Queen's Park, Manchester
Harpurhey
-Landmarks:Harpurhey Edwardian Swimming Baths, situated on Rochdale Road was built between 1909-10 by Henry Price, Manchester's first City Architect. Listed grade II in, the baths were closed to the public in 2001 after serious defects were discovered and the entrance building is currently being...
.
Today Brierley is remembered in a new bronze statue in his birthplace at The Rocks in Failsworth. A local pub, The Ben Brierley, situated on Moston Lane is also named after him. The pub has now closed down and is now a Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens Advice Bureau
A Citizens Advice Bureau is one of a network of independent charities throughout the UK that give free, confidential information and advice to help people with their money, legal, consumer and other problems....
.
Partial bibliography
- Chronicles of Waverlow, 1863
- The Layrock of Langley-side: a Lancashire Story, 1864 (Google Books)
- Irkdale, or, The Odd House in the Hollow: a Lancashire Story, 1865
- Traddlepin Fold; and Other Tales, 1867
- Red Windows Hall; a Lancashire Story, 1868
- Ab-o'th' Yate in London: or, Southern Life from a Northern Point of View, 1881
- Ab-o'th'-Yate in Paddy's Land: From his Own Goose-wing, 1881
- Ab-o'th'-Yate in Yankeeland: the Results of Two Trips to America, 1885 (Google Books)
- Tales and Sketches of Lancashire Life, 1886
- Cotters of Mossburn, 1886
- Spring Blossoms and Autumn Leaves, 1893