INCORPORATION OF THE BOROUGH.

TO SAMUEL RUDGE, Esq., MAYOR OF DUDLEY.

We, the undersigned, Ratepayers and Inhabitants of the Parish of Dudley, respectfully request you to convene a PUBLIC MEETING, for the purpose of considering the desirability of presenting a Petition to the Queen in Council, praying Her Majesty to grant a Charter of Incorporation to this Borough.

James C. Browne, D.C.L., vicar

Alexander George Davies, M.A., incumbent of St. James’s

John Davies, M.A., incumbent of St. Edmund’s

E. H. L. Noott, B.A., incumbent of St. John’s, Dudley

Robert Harper, M.A., head master of the Grammar School

George Lewis, Presbyterian minister, Dudley

Richard Rymer, Wesleyan minister, Dudley

David Evans, Baptist minister, Dudley

Matthew Gibson, Unitarian minister

Jas. Bond, Catholic priest, Dudley

Samuel Price, tanner and currier

Hy. Coldicott, solicitor

Theophilus Tinsley, merchant

Thos. Sheppard, ironmonger

Geo. J. England, maltster and brewer

Ed. M. Warmington, solicitor

John Round Tilley, tanner

Daniel Timmins, surgeon

R. C. Buck, chemist

W. Challingsworth, victualler

Reginald Unwin Dudley, silk mercer

William Beddard, Jun., wholesale grocer

John Finch, iron founder

Henry Bagott, woollen draper

C. F. G. Clark, chemist

Thomas Price, tanner and currier

J. O. Pearse, agent

James Cartwright, wine merchant

Saml. D. Fereday, surgeon

J. H. Deakin, wine merchant

Joseph Taylor, agent

W. H. Laxton, bookseller

Thos. Baker, shoe manufacturer

John Dawson, chemist

John Whitehouse, Dudley

Saml. Bastick, hatter

John S. Fisher, jeweller

James Hemmings, shoe manufacturer

H. Wythes, plumber

Ed. Bowen, draper

Joseph Sheldon, milliner

Alexander M. Intyre, draper

Thos. Maguire, boot maker

Ebenezer Hutchings, news agent

C. Cetti, furniture dealer

Joseph Holland, pork butcher

William Coleman, spirit merchant

Isaac Collins, hosier

William Hewitt, fruiterer

George Henry Hewitt, ditto

E. Lancey

George Whitford, bookseller

S. Q. Cook, draper

Joseph Caswell, tobacconist

J. C. Green, banker

John Cartwright, banker’s clerk

E. Dunn, chemist

W. Piddington, tobacconist

Henry Woodhouse, innkeeper

F. C. Hickling, clerk

John Bromwich, jeweller

Cornelius James, wire worker

George Thorns, pork butcher

Edwin Baker, fruiterer

J. C. Westley, brass founder

B. Wilcox, currier

J. Parsons

Alexander Barker

Bartholomew Duffy, shoemaker

James Frost, iron merchant

Jos. Walker, wholesale draper

William Palmer

William Holland, builder

John G Wright, auctioneer

S. Grosvenor, M.B., Oxon.

W. Fletcher and Sons, nail ironmongers

William Smith, victualler

James Grigg, wheelwright

William Wilkinson, vice and anvil manufacturer

James Woodall, builder

Matthew Smith

John Jones, shoemaker

Charles Pardoe, victualler

Thomas Parsons

John Baker

Thomas Lees, shopkeeper

William Iles, iron dealer

Saml. Ward, butcher

Charles T. Sturtevant, artist

James Henry Bourne, grocer

Joseph Owen, broker

John Fisher, merchant

William Richards, draper

Richard Coates, watchmaker

William Insull, bookseller

Fredk. Tandy

Saml. Lee, baker

Hy. Mence, shoemaker

J. Thompson, painter

Richard Davies, fruiterer

J. T. Edwards, watchmaker

Francis Garner, confectioner

Richard Williams, shoemaker

Joseph Watson, victualler

Henry Bodin, builder

George Grove, builder

Wm. Hooper, victualler

George Smith, engineer

Edward Round, agent

George Hartshorne, iron merchant

Daniel G. Ward, iron merchant

George Cooke, victualler

James Wright, engineer

H. and J. Wright and Co., engineers

Thomas Ward, victualler

Jesse Crompton, farrier

John Hyslop, wine merchant

George Ashfield, baker

Thomas Hale, schoolmaster

Thomas Marsh, grocer

William Nelson, builder

George Chaplin, hatter

Robert Houghton, draper

John Williscroft, hatter

Thomas Roberts, draper

John Evans, hosier

C. H. Gare, chemist

John Smart, fruiterer

Mark Malugani, umbrella manufacturer

Thomas Timmins, butcher

Joseph Waterson, cabinet maker

Mark W. Dickins, agent

Joseph Williams, schoolmaster

Charles W. Westley, brass founder

Hy. Harper, coal master

James Fisher, surgeon, Dudley

John Tandy, Dudley

William Gordon Coulton, solicitor, Dudley

George Wood, wine merchant

Joseph Stokes, solicitor, Dudley

Samuel Mills, stationer, Dudley

Enoch Brooks, currier

James Shedden, stationer

William Waring, tailor

Samuel Waring, tailor

Thomas Wright, ironmaster

James Wilkins, hair dresser

Samuel Dudley, confectioner

Joseph Green, millinery warehouseman

John Harris, hosier

James Homer, butcher

Messrs. T. and S. Davies, spirit merchants

C. H. Tyler, cement manufacturer

W. Morris, tailor

John Bagott and Son, tailors

E. Hollier, chemist

T. L. Rutland, clothier

Edward Smith, grocer

John Neale, hatter

George Morris, cab proprietor

M. Dennison, chemist

Thomas Willis, wholesale grocer, Market Place

Fox Wright, commercial traveller, Rose Hill

Thomas Stevenson, clothier

Benjamin Guest, confectioner

Edward Wood, woollen draper

Thomas Reynolds, confectioner

Thomas L. Stevenson, clothier

James Cowden Haxeltine, butcher

Thomas Allen, wine merchant

James Ellis, wine merchant

Richard Clark, haberdasher

George Stevenson, clothier

Edward Devall, clothier

Joseph Stevenson, clothier

Joseph Goodwin, printer, &c.

John Davies, furniture dealer

Henry Timmins, butcher

James Brown, egg merchant

William Pearsall, victualler

James Smitheman, victualler

M. Brown, agent

Hughes and Hanson, wine merchants

Cordy Manby, merchant, Dudley

Henry Jennings, clerk, Dudley

J. W. Matthews, oil merchant, Dudley

Joseph Eld, tobacconist, Dudley

George Edward Horton, surgeon

John Underhill, licensed victualler

Owen Wright, vice and anvil manufacturer, Tower-street

J. Houghton, surgeon, New-street

Evan Roberts, innkeeper

Thomas Brettell, surveyor

Thomas Davenport, innkeeper

Thomas W. Smart, bacon factor

Arthur Timmins, upholsterer

John Castree, agent

Geo. Burn Lowe, attorney at law

Thomas Morris, chemist, &c.

Chas. Russell, auctioneer

John Bent, Jun., auctioneer

Thos. Steedman, merchant

Richard Winter, banker’s clerk

James Sackerson, cabinet maker

Richard Wilkinson, vice manufacturer

Joseph Skidmore, victualler

A. Gaul, saddler

George Bagott, Chemist, High-street, Dudley

E. T. Terry, grocer, Dudley

John Danes, shoe manufacturer

William Summerland, milliner, &c.

John Jordan, grocer

Edward Grainger, draper

Rudge and Griffith, drapers

James Shedden, tailor

Alexander Shedden, tailor

Alfred Bowers, butcher

Isaac Aulton, victualler

William and Edward Thompson, maltsters

Edward Packwood, pork butcher

Thomas Danks, auctioneer

William Steele, photographer

Henry Smith, maltster

Frederick Blunson, hosier, &c.

George Pitt, currier

Joseph Hillman, currier

Thomas Harvey, general dealer

Daniel Timmins, hairdresser

John Roberts, watchmaker

Henry Hayward, butcher

James Stokes, cutler

William Bagott, draper

Henry Wood, grocer

Thomas Mason, tobacco dealer

Thomas Smith, maltster

James Evans, butcher

Job Thomas Hamblett, grocer, &c.

Ann Richards, grocer

Henry Rushton, builder

Solomon Danby, victualler

John Chambers, victualler

Joshua Wilkinson, vice maker, Freebodies

William Clarke, baker

Thomas Westwood, slater

Jacob Westwood, slater

John Lloyd, victualler

Daniel May, butcher

Henry Beeston, butcher

Thomas Price, pawnbroker

And others, making a total of 717 signatures of largest Ratepayers.


In compliance with the above numerously signed Requisition, I hereby convene A PUBLIC MEETING to be held in the PUBLIC HALL of the NEW MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE, Wolverhampton Street, on FRIDAY Evening, JANUARY 22nd, 1864, at half-past Six o’clock.

SAMUEL RUDGE, Mayor.

January 15th, 1864.


MUNICIPAL INCORPORATION
OF THE
PARLIAMENTARY BOROUGH OF DUDLEY.

WHEREAS, in pursuance of the Provisions of the Act of Parliament passed in the 5th and 6th years of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, chapter 76, entitled “An Act to provide for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in England and Wales” and of other Acts of Parliament passed for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations, and of a Petition of the Inhabitant Householders of the Parliamentary Borough of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, addressed to the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council, praying for a Charter of Incorporation to the said Parliamentary Borough of Dudley.

INQUIRY has been directed to the subject Matter of such Petition.

NOTICE is therefore hereby given, that on FRIDAY, the 15th day of JULY instant, at Eleven o’clock in the forenoon, at the MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE, IN DUDLEY, CAPTAIN DONNELLY, R.E., the Commissioner appointed by the Lords of Her Majesty’s Privy Council for the purpose:—Will proceed upon the said Inquiry, and will then and there be prepared to hear all Persons (being Inhabitant Householders within the said Parliamentary Borough of Dudley), or their representatives, desirous of being heard before him upon the subject of the said Inquiry.

BY ORDER.

Dated this 5th day of July, 1864.

JONAH CHILD, Portrait Painter, and Modeller.

Specimens may be seen at his Residence.

“Think not, my friend, with supercilious air,

I rank the Portrait as beneath thy care:

Blest be the pencil, which from death can save,

The semblance of the virtuous, wise, and brave;

That youth and emulation, still may gaze

On those inspiring forms of ancient days,

And, from the force of bright example, bold,

Rival their worth, “and be what they behold”

Blest be the pencil! whose consoling power,

Soothing soft friendship in her pensive hour,

Dispels the cloud, with melancholy fraught,

That absence throws upon her tender thought.

Blest be the pencil! whose enchantment gives

To wounded Love the food on which he lives;

Rich in this gift, tho’ cruel ocean bear

The youth to exile from his faithful fair,

He in fond dreams hangs o’er her glowing cheek,

Still owns her present, and still hears her speak.

Oh! Love, it was thy glory to impart

Its infant being to this magic art!

Inspir’d by thee, the soft Corinthian maid

Her graceful lover’s sleeping form portray’d;

Her boding heart his near departure knew,

Yet long’d to keep his image in her view:

Pleased she beheld the steady shadow fall,

By the clear lamp, upon the even wall;

The line she trac’d with fond precision true,

And drawing, doated on the form she drew;

Nor, as she glow’d with no forbidden fire,

Conceal’d the simple picture from her sire:

His kindred fancy still to nature just,

Copied her line, and form’d the mimic bust,

Thus from thy power, inspiring Love, we trace

The Modell’d Image, and the Pencil’d Face.”

The publication of the following celebrated Will, led to the resuscitation of a valuable charity bequeathed to this town.

EXTRACTS FROM THE WILL
OF THE
LATE REV. HENRY ANTROBUS.

“In the Name of God, Amen. I, Henry Antrobus, Rector of Himley, in the County of Stafford, and now living at Dudley, in the County of Worcester, being in perfect health, and of sound mind, memory, and understanding, blessed be God for it, do make and ordain this my last will and testament.

“For my body, I desire it may be buried in the same grave with my dear mother, in the centre of the dome of St. Edmund’s Church, in Dudley; on the right side of which I desire may be fixed in the wall, a small monument of marble, of an oval form, with this inscription:—”Near this place lies interred the body of Penelope Antrobus, widow, who departed this life the 10th day of Aug. 1756, aged 59, adding these words: “She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” On the left side I desire another for myself, and of the same size and form, with this inscription:—“Here lies the body of the Rev. Henry Antrobus, &c.” adding these words:—“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” As for my worldly estates, which God of his undeserved goodness hath given me, I dispose thereof as follows:—

“Whereas, it was my aunt Oliver’s desire, that I should buy Land to the value of ten pounds per Annum, to pay a School Mistress FOR TEACHING FORTY POOR GIRLS, of the Parish of Dudley, to read, sew, and knit; that they be brought to church constantly when there are prayers, and to be catechised every Friday in Lent, by the Minister of the Parish; which Land is not as yet purchased. I do hereby give, devise and bequeath MY ESTATE AT HOKEHAM, which John Whitehouse holds of me, for that purpose; and desire my executrix, hereafter mentioned, to lay out the sum of SIX HUNDREDS POUNDS, the profits whereof to make a provision for Clothing the said Girls every year, and to buy Books for the use of the School.

Item.—I give, devise, and bequeath MY ESTATE which William Aynsworth holds of me, in the Parish of Rowley Regis, to the intent TO CLOTHE, (according to Mr. Oliver’s will, who left One Hundred and Fifty Pounds for that purpose, to which was added Fifty Pounds more by his Wife, which money remains in my hands, and has not, as yet, been disposed of,) SIX POOR MEN, belonging to the Parish of Dudley, upon every 1st day of November for ever; and if the profits of the said Estate will bear it, to add a seventh then to the above-mentioned number.

“Whereas, my aunt Oliver had desired that FIFTY POUNDS might be given to erect a GALLERY in the NEW CHURCH in Dudley:—I desire my executrix, hereafter mentioned, to pay within twelve months after my decease, or begin the Gallery, and carry it on as far as the money will go, as soon as possible.

“I do hereby appoint and nominate the said Elizabeth Perry, sole executrix of this my last will and testament: CHARGING HER, AS SHE MUST ANSWER IT AT THE DREADFUL DAY OF JUDGMENT, to fulfil the Will of the Rev. Thos. Oliver, my aunt, and my own, as punctually as may be; and to have all the Charities enrolled in Chancery, as soon as possible; THAT THE POOR MAY NOT BE DEPRIVED OF THEIR RIGHTS!!! To this my last will and testament have set my hand and seal, this 30th day of December, 1762.”

Proved at London, 9th Dec. 1766, by the oath of Eliz. Antrobus, formerly Perry, widow, relict of the deceased.