1845. May 14. The foundation of this most valuable and humane
institution bears date from this period. A public meeting of the
inhabitants was held at the Town Hall, on May 14th, 1845, under the
presidency of Edward Terry, Esq., the Mayor, "For the purpose of
adopting such means as might be deemed best calculated to afford
efficient medical relief gratuitously to indigent persons residing in
the district, and especially of considering whether the establishment
of a hospital at Dennis Park, to be called the Dudley and Stourbridge
Hospital, be desirable or otherwise." The subject was discussed with
much animation and consideration for the wants of the indigent poor
in the Dudley district. It was, moreover, considered that the wealth
and kindly feeling of the inhabitants of Dudley and its immediate
neighbourhood was a sufficient guarantee that a dispensary should and
could be handsomely supported and maintained in the town of Dudley,
irrespective of any pecuniary assistance from the Stourbridge district.
After much discussion, the following resolutions were unanimously
carried:--1st, "That in consequence of the distance of the intended
hospital from this town and parish, such an institution would not be
attended with so much advantage to Dudley and its immediate locality
as a Dispensary." 2nd, "That this meeting is fully of opinion that
the establishment of a Dispensary to provide gratuitous medical
assistance to those who are unable to procure professional relief for
themselves, is the most desirable plan that can be adopted for this
immediate district, and that a subscription be now opened to carry this
object into effect." The handsome sum of £178 was speedily collected
in donations, and premises were taken in the Upper High Street at a
rental of £40 per annum, and converted into a Public Dispensary. Mr.
Richard Meredith was appointed the first resident Medical Officer,
and the Institution was opened with an annual subscription list of
£289. In 1860 it was deemed necessary to enlarge the usefulness of
this charitable institution by erecting a more commodious building
better adapted to its yearly increasing requirements. The noble
Earl of Dudley, under the circumstances, presented the committee
with a very eligible building site in the Priory Road; and that
ever-to-be-remembered humble and unostentatious townsman, Joseph Guest,
Esq., and friend to every good cause in Dudley, at once volunteered
to erect the new dispensary at his sole cost. This noble and truly
Christian offer was at once accepted, and the present Dudley Dispensary
stands amongst us as a living testimony of the benevolent consideration
of a worthy Dudley gentleman, the late Joseph Guest, Esq. It was said
that the dispensary cost upwards of £1,600 in its erection. There
is one feature in the management of this valuable institution which
requires immediate rectification, viz., that a large number of patients
_who now_ derive benefit from this valuable institution _are not_
the kind of people (the indigent poor) for whom it was originally
established, and the rules of the institution are constantly broken by
subscribers giving tickets to such applicants for medical relief.
Railway speculations, and numberless new railway projects cropped up
all over the kingdom, and at Dudley we had the honour of entertaining
what was called "_The Battle of the Gauges_," a most scientific
difference of opinion, "whether the Narrow Gauge, or the Broad
Gauge," was likely to be the most conducive to the public good. We
had _numerous private_, and _two public, meetings_ held to discuss
this important question, inasmuch as two Railway lines were projected
from Wolverhampton (via Dudley), to London and Bristol, &c. The one
named the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway (Broad Gauge),
the other was called the Tring Railway (Narrow Gauge), branching off
to Birmingham in its route to London. After much ignorant conception
and argument about the merits of each project (for we were entirely
in the hands of the Speculators, Lawyers, and Engineers), it was
_unfortunately_ for the _future advantage_ of Dudley decided to support
the "Broad Gauge" (the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line),
which Bill passed the House of Lords on July 31st, 1845, and was
commenced shortly afterwards.
1846. Mr. C. F. G. Clark, Chemist of this town, who had taken a very
prominent part in supporting sound Odd Fellowship in this town and
district, delivered a very luminous and entertaining lecture in the
Lancaster School-room, Dudley (Dr. Browne, Vicar in the chair), "On
the Origin, History and Principles of the Society of Odd Fellows."
This lecture (on a novel subject) attracted upwards of 500 of the
public, and the clear, and lucid manner in which the lecturer stripped
Odd Fellowship of many of its believed absurdities, and shewed "the
advantages of a society, which not only affords a vast amount of
assistance to its own members, but also relieves the Poor Rates, and
other burdens upon parishes to an unparalleled extent, by teaching its
members to be provident, sober, loyal, and industrious." The profits
of the sale of this lecture were given to the Widows and Orphans'
Fund, when upwards of £50 was added to that excellent Fund. Mr. Clark
continued to lecture in this laudable cause for some years in this
district.
"ODD FELLOWSHIP, M.U.--On Friday evening week, March 27th,
1846, a lecture was delivered in the Lancasterian School
Room, Stafford Street, Dudley, by Mr. C. F. G. Clark, "On the
Origin, History, and Principles of the Manchester Unity of
Odd Fellows." The audience was very numerous, and the room,
which is large, was well filled. The chair was taken by Dr.
Browne, Vicar of Dudley, who briefly claimed for the lecturer
a patient hearing. Mr. Clark opened his lecture with an
introduction on the character of benefit societies in general,
showing the superiority of Odd Fellowship over most other
similar institutions. No society, he observed, that had ever
been established in this country had afforded the amount of
real benefit to its members which had been conferred by the
Loyal and Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the Manchester
Unity. He briefly noticed the origin of these institutions,
expressing his opinion that they were to be traced from the
Ancient Guilds, established by the church, in the time of the
Saxons. He explained several of the laws of the societies of
Guilds, and showed that they were established for a similar
object to that of the societies of Odd Fellows. The Manchester
Unity, he observed, was established in 1812 by twenty-seven
working men, in Manchester, and remained in obscurity for
some years, until in 1820 it was introduced into many of the
large towns in the kingdom by the migrations of the Manchester
brethren, and from that time its progress was rapid and signal.
In 1838, it was introduced into Scotland, where it has been
fostered with a spirit highly creditable to that far-seeing
and intelligent people. In the Isle of Man, the doctrines of
the Order had been so propagated that scarcely a man of any
degree of station or character remained unconnected with it.
There were upwards of 4,000 lodges in the Unity, and they
were dispersed throughout Great Britain and Ireland, Malta,
India, Australia, the Canadas, the United States of America,
and other possessions of the British empire. In the year 1844
the society received into its funds £326,207, out of which was
expended in purposes of relief £170,182, and for carrying on
the extensive working of the system £71,420. Mr. Clark next
noticed the system of government adopted by the institution,
and most minutely explained the advantages arising from its
completeness and comprehensiveness. He then called attention
to several individual cases of benefit, and showed that Noah
Clarke, of the Cumberland Lodge, received up to his death in
1843, upwards of £300 from the funds of the Cumberland Lodge,
in the Manchester District. He noticed the objections which
had been raised by many men to the Order, which he replied to
with much ability. In closing his remarks, the lecturer noticed
the benefit which the institution had afforded in Dudley. In
the year 1842 and 1843, when trade was so bad, £432 3s. 3d.
was paid on account of sickness and distress by the Wellington
Lodge alone. During fifteen years and a half, David Pearson,
of the Good Intent Lodge, held in High Street, had received
upwards of £145; and Thomas Tomlinson, of the Wellington Lodge,
in Stone Street, during fourteen years and a half, upwards of
£120. He concluded by reading an eloquent tribute to the Order
written by Dr. Wright, of Birmingham, and sat down amidst loud
applause. Thanks were afterwards voted to the chairman for his
kindness in presiding, and to Mr. Clark for his eloquent and
instructive lecture."--From the _Birmingham Journal_.
Died June 22nd, 1846, Mr. Jeffrey Finch, of Portersfield, Fender
Manufacturer; a true specimen of a kind, genial, "Dudley man of ancient
descent." Aged 59 years.
Died June 24th, 1846, Mr. Rice, Castle Street. Aged 56 years.
1846. June 30th. The jury at Worcester Sessions awarded the sum of
£3,440 to Mr. Ralph Musselwhite, Draper, for his shop and house being
pulled down, standing on the Market flat, he demanding from the Dudley
Town Commissioners £4,800!!!
1846. November 10th. A piece of very handsome silver plate was this
day presented to Captain Wm. Bennett, of this town, as the result
of a public subscription, "to mark the sense of his public services
and worth." The testimonial was presented by Lord Ward in a very
complimentary speech.
Died February 1st, 1847, Mr. James Morris, Chemist and Druggist, of
Dudley, a famous freemason. Aged 48 years.
Died March 22nd, 1847, old Mr. Wm. Fellowes, Senior, Castle Street.
This old gentleman was a well known person in this town, and an acute
lawyer in his day, with some eccentricity of character and thought.
Aged 86 years.
In the month of June this year, it was quite evident in the political
horizon that a dissolution of Parliament was at hand, and that our
member, Mr. Jno. Benbow, M.P., would seek re-election; accordingly, on
the 6th of July, the following address was freely circulated in the
borough:--