Tideswell in an Uproar,
Or the Prince in the Town, and the Devil in the Church.
One Sunday in 1806 the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., passed through Tideswell, in the High Peak, and stopped to change horses at the principal inn of the place. The circumstance caused, as was only natural, considerable excitement in the place, which culminated in not only the whole of the congregation of the parish church, but also the clergyman himself, and his clerk, forsaking the service to see him pass. This circumstance gave rise to much merriment, and more than one ballad was the result. The following is the best:—
Declare, O Muse, what demon 'twas
Crept into Tideswell Church,
And tempted pious folk to leave
Their parson in the lurch.
What caused this strange disaster, say,
What did the scene provoke?
At which the men unborn will laugh,
At which the living joke!
The Prince of Wales, great George's Heir,
To roam once took a freak;
And as the fates did so decree,
He journey'd through the Peak.
But, ah! my Prince, thy journey turn'd
The Sabbath into fun day;
And Tideswell Lads will ne'er forget,
Thy trav'ling on a Sunday.
The Ringers somehow gain'd a hint,
Their loyalty be praised!
That George would come that way, so got
The Bells already rais'd.
The Prince arrived, then loudest shouts
Thro' Tideswell streets soon rang;
The loyal clappers strait fell down,
With many a merry bang.
To Pulpit high, just then the Priest,
His sacred gown had thrust;
And, strange coincidence! his Text
"In Princes put no trust."
With Man of God they all agreed,
Till bells went clitter clatter;
When expectation did them feed,
But not with heavenly matter.