Shawclough & Healey October 2019

usiness in Greenbooth. When Percy took
himself off to London to pursue ventures
new, Arthur married Florence and went
on to have a daughter, Beryl. Both Arthur
and Florence lent enormous support to the
people of Greenbooth and Norden, Arthur
following on from his father as president of
Norden Cricket Club and was to remain in
that role for the next 27 years from 1881
to 1908.
The mill at Greenbooth had been doing well
under Arthurs stewardship but now in 1908
it is up for sale and its closure in many ways
was to signal the death knell for the village
of Greenbooth and its inhabitants. It is a few
years later before the cause of the downfall
is totally revealed. Back in London, Percy
had become reacquainted with a man called
MacKenzie, a previous contact of his, and
a somewhat dubious character. Despite
his privileged and extensive education it
failed to protect him from being led astray
by MacKenzie, a corrupted forger. Meeting
up with him again, at a point where he had
got himself into financial difficulties with
the Blackburn mill, he became caught up in
some issue with the passing of fraudulent
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They whole heartedly supported not only
the everyday working life of the village but
contributed heavily to social functions, often
hosting event at Tenterhouse and also allowing
use of Greenbooth school rooms
as a meeting place for social occasions.
All this paints a picture of great affluence
and yet we know that, due to financial
difficulties, the Mill closed its doors in
1908, so what was it that brought about
this fall from grace? A newspaper article of
1908 discussing the proposed sale, reveals
that the current wage bill was now around
£14,000 a year and that the Mill was the
largest rate payer in the Norden district and
therefore it was very much hoped that the
business would continue. Obviously the
closure of the mill would go on to have
massive implications for the local population.