Samuel Laycock

Samuel Laycock

Samuel Laycock (1826–1893) was a dialect poet who recorded in verse the vernacular of the Lancashire cotton workers. He was born on 17th January 1826 at Intake Head, Pule Hill, Marsden, West Yorkshire, the son of John Laycock, a hand-loom weaver. He had no formal education apart from Sunday school and a few months at a local school. In 1837, when the family moved to Stalybridge, Cheshire, he worked as a cotton weaver. The American Civil War (1861-1864) badly affected the Lancashire cotton towns as supplies of raw cotton dried up. Laycock was one of the thousands unemployed and tried to earn a meagre living by writing verses which the unemployed could set to music and sing in the streets for pennies. In 1864, he published "Lancashire Rhymes" and in 1866, "Lancashire Songs", poems which documented the everyday life of cotton workers.

In 1865, Laycock became the librarian at Stalybridge Mechanics' Institute, and in 1867, took up a similar post at The Whitworth Institute, Fleetwood. He continued writing while working as a photographer, while his wife ran a lodging-house. Just before his death in 1893, he published a collection of poems, "Warblin's fro' an Owd Songster".

In 1850, Laycock married Martha Broadbent, a cotton weaver, but she died two years later, and he remarried in 1858 to Hannah Woolley, who died in 1863. His third marriage in 1864, was to Eliza Pontefract who survived him. He had several children by Hannah and at least two by Eliza, including Arthur, who became a novelist.

Laycock died of influenza which developed into acute bronchitis [ [http://gerald-massey.org.uk/laycock/b_biographical.htm Biographical notes] ] on 15th December 1893, at his home, 48 Foxhall Road, Blackpool. He was buried in Layton Cemetery, Blackpool. [ [http://domain1041943.sites.fasthosts.com/laycock/index.htm Laycock biography] ]

References

External links

* [http://domain1041943.sites.fasthosts.com/laycock/index.htm Samuel Laycock, Lancashire Poet]
* [http://www.tameside.gov.uk/blueplaque/samuellaycock A Tribute to Samuel Laycock 1826 - 1893]
*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stalybridge — Coordinates: 53°29′00″N 2°02′24″W / 53.4834°N 2.0400°W / 53.4834; 2.0400 …   Wikipedia

  • Marsden, West Yorkshire — Coordinates: 53°36′04″N 1°55′36″W / 53.6011°N 1.9267°W / 53.6011; 1.9267 …   Wikipedia

  • 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. The terms sometimes includes or… …   Wikipedia

  • Layton Cemetery — Layton Cemetery, Blackpool is a graveyard located at Talbot Road, Blackpool, FY3 7BB. It was opened in 1873 when Blackpool parish church was replete with burying. The site encompasses 30 acres, having being regularly expanded during its history.… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Lat–Laz — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1864–1869 — This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly elected for the 5th Legislative Assembly at the 1864 colonial election. Name Electorate Years in office Alexander, MauriceMaurice Alexander Goulburn 1861–1872 Arnold, William… …   Wikipedia

  • Psychology (The separation of) from philosophy — The separation of psychology from philosophy Studies in the sciences of mind 1815–1879 Edward S.Reed THE IMPOSSIBLE SCIENCE Traditional metaphysics The consensus of European opinion during and immediately after the Napoleonic era was that… …   History of philosophy

  • Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1859–1860 — This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1859 to 1860: Name Electorate Years in office Arnold, William MunningsWilliam Arnold Paterson 1856–1875 Asher, MorrisMorris Asher Hume 1859–1860 …   Wikipedia

  • Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1860–1864 — This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1860 to 1864: Name Electorate Years in office Alexander, MauriceMaurice Alexander 4 Goulburn 1861–1872 Allen, William BellWilliam Allen Williams 1860–1864 …   Wikipedia

  • Stream X-Machine — The Stream X machine (SXM) is a model of computation introduced by Gilbert Laycock in his 1993 PhD thesis, The Theory and Practice of Specification Based Software Testing .Gilbert Laycock (1993) The Theory and Practice of Specification Based… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”