Forest of Rossendale. 267 



Dragon," Bacup, to a vast congregation, which the fame of his 

 eloquence had attracted from far and near. In the year 1750 he 

 also preached in the district, and a letter {c) to a friend, breathing 

 the earnest and devoted spirit of the man, was indited from 

 Rossendale at this time. 



Mr. Christopher Hopper, famous as a preacher in the early days 

 of Methodism, ofificiated, on one occasion, in the original Methodist 

 Chapel in Lane-Head-Lane, Bacup ; and in his diary, under date 

 January 23, 1780, he records, — "I met with a perfect hurricane 

 at Bacup. I was shut up with mountains of snow with a poor old 

 woman till the 27th, with little fire and small provisions. The 

 same day I set out with James Dawson and John Earnshaw over 

 the hills to Colne." 



The eccentric William Gadsby occasionally visited Rossendale. 

 Once, when preaching at Goodshaw, a company of the Dean 

 " Layrocks " had crossed over the hill to assist the local choir, and 

 fiddling and trumpeting were the order of the day. At the con- 

 clusion of the proceedings, Mr. Gadsby, who was always an advo- 

 cate of extreme simplicity in the services, in his usual blunt manner 

 expressed his disapproval of the musical performances, remarking 

 that the presence of so many instruments of music savoured more 

 of the playhouse than the house of God ; and expressed a hope 

 that if ever he came amongst them again, the fiddles and trom- 

 bones might be dispensed with. 



Turning from preaching to politics, it may be noted that Fergus 

 O'Connor, the celebrated leader of the Chartists, paid a visit to 

 Bacup when in the heyday of his popularity. Rossendale, how- 

 ever, never contributed many supporters to the cause of Chartism, 

 though there were a few who enthusiastically embraced the views, 

 and laboured to propagate the opinions, of this political section. It 

 would appear that Fergus -was not very well received when he 

 came to Bacup, for the only room which could be procured for 

 him in which to deliver an address was the old kiln, used for 



(c) No. 842 in his published correspondence. 



