Of rebellion, romance and Chorlton’s part in the march of the Young Pretender

Now I was brought up on the romance of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the last Jacobite attempt to regain the throne for the Stuarts, which  isn’t surprising since our  family only crossed the border into England at the turn of the last century, and ours was a long journey south from the east Highlands.

"............ I have thrown away the scabbard"

Added to which uncle George always insisted we were part of the Clan Frazer.

So, I grew up with songs of that Jacobite rebellion, from those chronicling the brave Highland clans to the lament at the defeat at Culloden, and the departure of the Young Pretender.

They still make wonderful listening, but hide the reality of the savage aftermath of the last battle, the feudal nature of the Highlands and the betrayal of the cause by the Prince himself who left the Jacobite’s to their fate and died in Rome in 1788.

The Highlanders, 1746

And of course, you have to question the whole escapade which was designed to substitute one dynasty for another, but was bound up with the dominance of England and the Lowland Scots, and today by the renewed interest in Scottish independence set against the huge chasm which is Brexit.*

All of which means I only gave scant interest to the presence of the Jacobite army here in Chorlton,

And it was only after a discussion with Victoria at Chorlton book shop last week, that I began to ponder on a story.

The route of the Highland army south is well known.  It crossed the border into England on November 8th and arrived in Manchester on the 31st, where “several gentlemen and about 200 or 300 of the common people joined the rebel army, [forming] a separate body which was called the Manchester Regiment, commanded by Colonel Francis Townley, a gentlemen of good family in Lancashire, and a Roman Catholic”.**

Manchester in the 18th century

There is a slight discrepancy in accounts of just when the army arrived and left, with another source recording the entry of the vanguard into the city on November 28th, with  “the main body under the command of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, (the young Pretender) …at about ten o’clock on the morning of November 29th”.***

Either way Manchester and its neighbour Salford, were split over how to react, with some having contributed to a subscription of £1,966 to pay for a troop of soldiers to fight the Jacobite's, and others celebrating the impending arrival of the Highland army.

And it was in Salford, that The Prince’s father was declared James III, followed by public illuminations.

The army remained for two days before setting off for a crossing of the Mersey, which may have been achieved at several points from Didsbury, to the temporarily repaired Crossford Bridge at Stretford.

The Royalist army, 1746

And there is evidence that one unit was here in Chorlton.  Some of this is circumstantial, like the speculation that there was an encampment on the slight rise of land around High Lane, which shows up on maps of the mid-19th century as Scots Hill. But there are also accounts from from several local historians including our own Thomas Ellwood, that Hough End Clough was used by locals as a hiding place for their horses.

The same Thomas Ellwood referred to regular meetings of a Jacobite club in what is now Jackson’s Boat, which included a toast to the “King over the water”. ****

I doubt we will ever know how many in Chorlton and the surrounding townships were supporters of the Pretender’s cause, but there must have been a few, give the numbers in Manchester.

The Battle of Culloden, 1746

And I think we can be fairly confident that some of the army they supported passed through.

All of which is nice, interesting, and a bit twee, but doesn't quite prepare for the final out come at Culloden, the brutal reprisals in the immediate aftermath of the battle or the equally savage repression in the years after that.

The impact of which was reflected in the comments of my uncle, who while he spoke fondly of the young Bonnie Prince Charlie, would also refer to "Butcher Cumberland", the commander of the Royalist forces.

Location; Chorlton, and Culloden

Pictures; "Gentlemen he cried, drawing his sword, I have thrown away the scabbard", from Scotland's story: a history of Scotland for boys and girls, Marshall, H. E. 1907, Manchester in the 18th century, from Shaw William, Manchester Old and New, 1894, and The Battle of Culloden,
David Morier, 1746

*That said recent research has shown that the Highland army,included, Lowland regiments such as Lord Elcho's and Balmerino's Life Guards, Baggot's Hussars and Viscount Strathallan's Perthshire Horse as "Highland Horse" along with the English Manchester Regiment, and French and Irish regulars.   Aikman, Christian, No Quarter Given: The Muster Roll of Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Army, 1745–46, 2001

**Home, John, The History of the Rebellion in Scotland in 1745, 1822, page 105

***Axon, William, The Annals of Manchester, 1885 page 84

****Ellwood, Thomas, Chapter XX111, Inns April 17th, 1886 from History of Chorlton-cum-Hardy