William Newton (poet)
| William Newton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1750 Abney, Derbyshire |
| Died | 1830 Tideswell |
| Education | Local dame school and apprenticeship |
| Occupation | Poet and Mill owner |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Coo |
William Newton (1750–1830), a labouring class poet often referred to as 'the Peak Minstrel', was born near Abney, in the parish of Eyam, Derbyshire on 28 November 1750. He was well regarded by other more notable writers and made his fortune as owner of Cressbrook Mill, near Tideswell. He died on 3 November 1830.
Newton was born at Cockey Farm near Abney. He was a carpenter's son and, after attending a dame school, followed his father into that trade. He soon showed mechanical skill in constructing spinning-wheels, and was apprenticed for seven years as machinery carpenter in a mill in Monsal Dale. Through a mutual interest in books,he came to the notice of Reverend Peter Cunningham, a minor poet who was the curate at Eyam and encouraged Newton to write himself. In the summer of 1783 Newton was introduced to Anna Seward, who encouraged him in his writing and corresponded with him until her death.
Miss Seward also wrote an account of their meeting and expressed a high opinion of "the elegance and harmony" of his writing. This appeared the following year under the title "The Minstrel of Woodlow" in The Gentleman's Magazine and at the start of 1785 in both the The Scots Magazine, when it was under the editorship of James Boswell, and in the newly founded Edinburgh Magazine. Accompanying it was Newton's complimentary address to Cunningham on one of his own poems and Seward's address to Newton, "Written in the blank leaves of her own poems, presented by her to William Newton":
Seward's poem is also an evocation of the wild moorland scarred by quarries and smoking lime kilns, among which he works unregarded like a second Chatterton.
Newton was soon to contribute to the industrialisation of the area himself, for he went on to become the agent of Richard Arkwright, often called "father of the industrial revolution" for his invention of the spinning frame, at nearby Cressbrook Mill. He was dismissed by Arkwright in 1790 and Anna Seward came to his rescue with a financial loan, enabling him to invest in a new mill around this time. Later Newton personally rebuilt Cressbrook Mill after its destruction by fire. Archives at Manchester Central Library contain evidence that he sought to provide better living conditions for his apprentices than were prevalent at many other mills, and he oversaw the construction of model cottages and a village school. However, an apprenticeship even at Cressbrook Mill was far from ideal. There are accounts of Newton's bullying treatment of the three or four hundred indentured boys from orphanages and charity hospitals employed there. Any offence resulted in a beating from him with "hazel sticks across our bare buttocks and loins till he cut the flesh and made the blood flow".
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