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A Short History of The Parwich Oddfellows

By Brian Foden

At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, life in a village like Parwich would have been, to say the least, very precarious, and for the labouring classes, the line between survival and reliance on the parish relief, and consequently a pauper's grave was a very narrow one. Most of the common land and common grazing had been enclosed in 1788 and therefore most families relied on labouring work on the new farms and lived in cottages tied to their employer. It only needed the death of the breadwinner of the family, illness or unemployment to force the family into relying on Parish relief from the Overseer of the Poor. It was against this background that self help groups sprang into being in the form of burial clubs, friendly societies and co-operatives and it was only after the repeal of the Combination Act in 1824 that Friendly Societies and Trade Unions became legal.

The Oddfellows probably originated from the earlier Trade Guilds, and got its name from the fact that in smaller towns and villages there were insufficient numbers of Fellows to form a dedicated guild. In these circumstances, fellow workers from all trades joined together and called themselves Oddfellows as they were fellow craftsmen from an odd assortment of trades.

The Loyal Laurel and Crown Lodge in Parwich was formed in 1836 and was part of the Manchester Unity, a breakaway from the Grand United Order of Oddfellows that was based in London. The new Lodge was held at the house of Brother Thomas Kirkham at the Crown Inn, Parwich.

The Lodge was a very formal gathering and had strict rules and regulations. It was headed by the Most Noble Grand Master (chairman) and the Worthy Vice Grand Master (vice chairman) together with the Tyler or Guardian of the Lodge (the doorkeeper who kept a guard on the door at all Lodge meetings). Passwords and coded messages were used to enter the Lodge, some of which still survive in the old Lodge records. Members were summoned to meetings and were fined 6d if they did not attend. Many other fines were imposed at meetings, for example:

The aims of the Oddfellows were to provide for members who were unable to work due to sickness or age, to provide for widows and orphans and to pay the costs of funerals for members and their dependants. It was the solemn pledge that not one of their members should suffer the indignity of a pauper's funeral. Each year, twelve good men and true would be elected from amongst the members to act as official mourners and accompany every member on their last journey to the churchyard. THe mourners would wear black sashes and white gloves and carry the white wands that we still see today on the annual parade. An entry in the Lodge ledgers for the 3rd of June 1855 shows "Liquor at George Austen's funeral 6 shillings" - that would be about six gallons of ale.

The Lodge would retain and employ a local doctor to provide free treatment to all its members and their families, and also have arrangements with the hospital at Derby to provide beds and treatment. Our records show that in 1852, Mr Twigge surgeon was paid £4 5s 6d half yearly for 57 members at 1s 6d each.

Financial provision and travel costs, together with a letter of introduction to the local lodge, would be provided for any member who was unemployed and had to travel to another town or village to seek work. The local Lodge would then be obliged to provide board and lodgings and assistance which could be claimed back from the member's own Lodge.

Once a year, it was the custom of each lodge to hold an annual dinner, known as the Anniversary or Feast. The Loyal Laurel and Crown Lodge at Parwich was no exception and they held their celebration on the Monday nearest to the 29th of June, this being the feast of St Peter, the patron Saint of the Parish Church.

In the early days, the Feast itself was held at the Crown Inn and all members were expected to attend or pay a fine equal to the cost of the dinner. An entry in the minutes for the year 1854 shows that 97 dinners at 1/8d each cost £8 1s 8d and £3 17s 3d was spent on 38 gallons and 5 pints of ale. The format for the day has changed little over the years as can be seen from the rules set out by the Anniversary Committee in 1876, and shown below:

Each member shall pay 2/6d each, 2/0 for dinner and 6d for 1 quart of ale.
Each member attends the Lodge room at half past nine.
Each member proceed to Church in an orderly manner at 11 o'clock, or be fined 1 shilling.
After the service the members to walk round the town and there to be no procession after the dinner.
The band be allowed 1 gallon of ale at each house.
That any member leaving the church during the service with the exception of the two waiters shall be fined 1 shilling.
Any member smoking during the procession or leaving the same shall be fined 1 shilling.
That the Sheen band be engaged to play at the Anniversary for the sum of £3 10s and they play during the pleasure of the members.
That Brothers Samuel Fern and George Swift be appointed banner bearers and the band shall play for the members until 6 o'clock.
That no member shall leave the table without permmission until thanks be returned or be fined 1 shilling.
That Brother Swindell to carry the Dispensation.
That the Rev. L. Buckwell be invited to preach a sermon and dine with members and that the organist and clerk be invited to dine also.
That Brothers William Webster and Samuel Allsop be conductors of the procession and in neglect of duty be fined 2s 6d.
That the members follow the band to the top of the town, and then return.
That Brother James Etherington and John Boden be appointed liquor wardens for the members and that William Twigge be liquor warden for the band.
That each member be provided with a pair of white gloves or be fined 1 shilling.
That the band be provided with refreshments on their arrival.

The first mention of a banner at Parwich is in the accounts for January 1847 when 1s 6d was paid for the carriage of the banner. It also seems that the Parwich banner was hired by other local Lodges who had no banner of their own. The Wands that are carried by members at the Anniversary seem to be unique to Parwich and the first record of them being used is in 1854 when George Ellis was paid £1 13s 0d for supplying new wands and the painting of the old. New members on the Lodge on their first Anniversary walk were required to carry a golden axe at the rear of the procession (I can remember doing this myself 30 years ago). The Dispensation in its gilded frame carried at the front of the procession is the original hand-written document that gave permission to establish the Lodge in 1836. The Anniversary and Feast were held on a Monday at the Crown Inn where the Lodge had built its own Lodge room at the rear. It probably moved its meetings and feast to the Sycamore Inn when teh Crown ceased to be an inn, and the feast moved to the Village Hall when that was built.

The Introduction of the state National Insurance scheme and the National Health Service brought with it the decline of the friendly societies and membership of the Oddfellows fell from over 1 million in 1948 to about 100,000 at the present time. This has not happened in Parwich, where the membership is still about the same as it was in the 1800s and the old traditions continue. The credit for this is due to the dedication, enthusiasm and hard work put in by our long serving secretary Mr Tom Lees.