Bygone Burnley, with BILL ASHWORTH. . .

EARLIER this year I went to the view day of articles for sale at Walton and Walton Auction House in Burnley which was featured on TV several months ago.

I was intrigued to find amid the various items of furniture, clothing and crockery a solitary Spy Cartoon hanging a little despondently on a side wall and attracting no attention at all.

When I looked at it more closely I saw it was a Spy Cartoon of a man of outstanding wealth and position in this part of the world who lived many years ago.

His full name was Sir John Ormerod Scarlett Thursby known to his familiars as "J.O.S."

We have good records about him because he was the eldest child of Sir John Hardy Thursby who lived at Ormerod Hall, Burnley.

But who were the Thursbys and what position did they have in our area and what part did they play?

A full answer to these questions needs not an article but a book such as written by our old friend the late Leslie Chapples under the title "From Ormerod to Thursby."

Leslie's book traces the history of how the Thursbys came from outside our area, married into the female line of the Ormerods and established something of a Thursby dynasty. Financially this was largely based on coal and in particular the Hargreaves Collieries of Burnley and District which they controlled. (often known in the district as "the Exors.")

"J.O.S." was born on April 27, 1861, educated at Eton where he was one of the top boys in his final year and then at Trinity College, Cambridge.

He represented his university at chess and built on this skill so successfully that he became president of the British Chess Federation.

In 1883, "J.O.S" married Ella Beatrice, the daughter of Colonel Crosse, of Shaw Hill, near Chorley. This is an elegant mansion standing in its own attractive grounds and now used as a superior country club with golf course.

After his marriage "J.O.S." and his wife lived at Bank Hall in Burnley but their only child, Clara, was born at their London home in 1889.When his father died in 1901, "J.O.S" inherited the baronetcy and he and his wife became Sir John O.S. Thursby and Lady Thursby. They moved into Ormerod Hall with daughter Clara and her friend and companion, Alison Lindsay, the youngest child of an Indian Army Officer's family living in Hampshire.

To judge from the sporting facilities at Ormerod Hall the family and friends were an athletic group. In its grounds were a cricket pitch, a hockey pitch and tennis court plus a small golf course, mainly for Sir John's use.

Horse racing was another interest of the Thursby family and in 1915 "J.O.S" was appointed senior steward of the Jockey Club. Earlier, in 1906, he had suffered one of the worse agonies of an owner when his horse John O'Gaunt was pipped at the post in the Derby -- a race it was expected to win.

The many local punters who had backed John O'Gaunt must have suffered even worse agonies than "J.O.S" as its defeat hit their pockets hard. Sir John's brother George, a successful amateur jockey, was riding the horse so there could well have been repercussions within the Thursby family after that Derby!

It would be easy to think that Sir John O.S. Thursby spent all his time indulging in upper class pursuits but he spent much of his time and effort working in and for the community of Burnley.

However, before we look at his unpaid work, he was first and foremost the holder of a senior position and then that of chairman of Hargreaves Collieries in Burnley.

This was in the forefront of Lancashire Coal Companies. Locally, when anyone spoke of the Exors, they usually were referring to this particular company which in effect was the basis of the Thursby family wealth.

The main community position which "J.O.S" held was the chairmanship of the Victoria Hospital. His family had been involved with this vital enterprise from the beginning.

His position as chairman was far from a formality as he and Lady Thursby were regular visitors and donors to the hospital during their long years of association with it.

I have only referred to a selection of the local interests of "J.O.S" but perhaps his crowning community achievement was as High Sheriff of the County of Lancashire at a time when the county was, as it were, a whole county!

Lady Thursby died in 1915 after a period of declining health which caused much sadness in the area. Following her death, "J.O.S." curtailed his local activities and his death followed some five years later in 1920.

He died in Grenoble, France, in somewhat unusual circumstances. These merit a further article especially as the circumstances of his death led to a law suit in the King's Bench Division of the High Court.

Perhaps I have overlooked one point which may be intriguing the reader and who asks the question "What happened to the Spy Cartoon in the Auction House?

I am happy to say that after a short but sharp encounter my bid was successful and the Spy Cartoon hangs happily on my wall!