This grave holds two people from very different backgrounds, who both met a sad and early end – and of course, as with so many stories like this, there’s also the story of one person in particular who they left behind…
Frank Nuttall, the second person buried here, was the first person born to this tale. He was the second youngest child of James and Sarah/Sally (Wadsworth) Nuttall of Wellfield House. Wellfield House had been built by Thomas Fielden, the brother of Honest John himself, but after he moved permanently to Crumpsall in Manchester the house was up for grabs. James was partnered with the artist and iron founder William Dewhirst via both business and the marriage of two of their children, and together they ran Ferney Mill at Ferney Lee. William handled the metalwork and James the cotton manufacturing, and both men were very wealthy indeed. Frank’s upbringing was one of luxury. He joined the Harmony Lodge of Freemasons and as the eldest son began preparing to take over James’s share of the business at some later date.
Meanwhile, a few years later, Margaret Brownbridge was born in Manchester. Margaret’s parents William and Mary (Bancroft) Brownbridge were originally from Whitby but had settled in Lower Broughton so William could work as a joiner and timber sawyer. Margaret was the younger of their two – only two – children, with an older sister named Martha Ann. In 1863 both William and Mary died, and the girls were left apparently without any family nearby who could take them in. Martha Ann was twelve and Margaret was ten…too young to fend for themselves, too old to adopt. But they were lucky as Mary’s youngest sister, Ann Bancroft, had recently moved to Todmorden to take over the running of the White Hart and was in need of some help. It was also a chance to do a good deed for her deceased sister. So the girls came to Todmorden, and when they were old enough to work each one left school and came on board to help run the pub. Come 1871 and Margaret’s role at the White Hart was that of waitress.
The wealthy mill owner’s son and the publican’s waitress niece…it’s not quite John Fielden and Ruth Stansfield, but it’s close, and while that love story was drawing to its own sad end the one of Frank and Margaret was just starting. The pair were married in June 1876 in Manchester – a possible elopement to Margaret’s parish of birth? It doesn’t seem implausible! A few months later Margaret became pregnant and in May 1877 she gave birth to a daughter named Cora Margaret.
A month later, she was dead at 24. The cause was our old friend phthsis, aka tuberculosis. No mention of childbirth hastening things along so she must have already been quite poorly, with postpartum issues not figuring into her final decline. She spent her final days at Ann’s home on Garden Street, away from Frank and presumably also little Cora.
Frank was understandably devastated. More was to come; in 1880 his father James died and it took some time to settle his estate. Frank’s own health was also suffering, and the added stress of a small child at home meant that on the 1881 Census his occupation was given as “retired cotton manufacturer”. He was only 34. Fred, his younger brother, had stepped up to help keep things going on the business front but the Nuttall sons were finding it hard to keep the ship righted and had already begun trying to sell Ferney Mill. They finally did in 1881 for £4200, but Frank was too unwell to enjoy the extra wealth.
Frank finally became too tired to fight anymore in 1882 and died at the age of 35. His cause of death was also phthsis, and the added note saying he had been unwell for “4 or 5 years” is tragic in its own way. Did he catch the disease from Margaret?
Cora was sent to live with her wealthy aunt Grace Nuttall Norfolk who had moved to Beverley and was an active member of Hull’s high society. Cora became a talented singer and musician and her services were highly sought after for violin concertos and accompaniments at balls and events. She was sent to a posh all-girl’s school in Middlesex to be educated, attended the University of London, and generally (at least materially) bounced back well from her early bereavements. But in 1911 she appears on the census as a patient at a sanatorium on Bournemouth, and in 1921 was back living with Grace Norfolk and a servant in Beverley. Both are on “home duties”, and Cora never appears in the newspapers again. Her performing days appear to have been over, and we don’t know why.
Aunt Grace was kind to her, and her Nuttall inheritance will also have helped, and she was able to continue living on her private means long after Grace’s death. She moved first to Ripon, then Plymouth, and later to Altrincham, and she died there in 1954. She’s buried there. As far as we can tell she never returned to Todmorden, and her parents’ grave was an overgrown mess of ivy when we first began clearing the yard here. They’re visible again now though.