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The Death Of Handsome Jane – A Barden Moor Navvy’s Funeral 1878

The construction of the Upper Barden Reservoir began in 1876 and was completed by 1883. Over those years nearly 500 people lived on the Moor at any one time comprising Scots, Welsh, a few Irish, and many others from various English Counties as far away as Devon.

A group of navvies about 1880

Most navvies were respectable working men, some living in wooden huts on the Moor with their wives and children. However, their itinerant life meant that the opportunity was there for some to escape a shady past, and many adopted or were given nicknames. Amongst those on Barden Moor in the late 1870’s were Jimmy Threeweeks, Six foot Punch, Bumper, ‘Diana’, Wallflower, Blue Guernsey, Bagpipe Willie, Cockney Boss, and ‘Handsome Jane’.

‘Handsome Jane’, whose real name was Leonard Prude, came to work on Barden Moor in 1877 and died in one of the navvy huts at Halton Height on 12^th June 1878 of dropsy and heart disease. He was 32.

He had been born in the hamlet of Little Rissington, Gloucestershire where he, his father and brothers were agricultural labourers. But 20 year old Leonard, along with two friends, was prone to a little night poaching on a neighbouring country estate where they were caught by the gamekeeper on more than one occasion. They were eventually prosecuted and convicted to 3 months hard labour. The prison records show that Leonard Prude was 5ft 9¼ tall, had light brown hair and blue eyes, with an oval visage and a fresh complexion – giving a slight impression of the man who would later be known as ‘Handsome Jane’.

He subsequently joined the North Gloucester Regiment but in 1875 he was listed in the Police Gazette as a Deserter. This is probably when his life as an itinerant navvy began. He came to Barden Moor in the summer of 1877 and lodged with Yorkshire born Jane Hurst who ran one of the Navvy Lodging Huts that stood opposite the car park at Halton Height, and housed 12 navvies plus her navvy husband James and their children.

The site of Navvy Huts at Halton Height

An account of his funeral and his last months is recorded in the diaries of Annie Greenwood, daughter of the landlady of the Masons Arms in Eastby where many navvies were regulars, although ‘Handsome Jane’ was not amongst them. Some navvies had strong religious beliefs with strict Temperance convictions.

On 13^th April 1878 Annie first recorded that her mother had been up to the Moor to visit Mrs Hurst and that ‘Handsome Jane was very poorly’. Annie herself went up a week later and recorded that he was ‘very ill, poor fellow, but he was glad to see me & thankful for the trifles we had sent. He did chat away, & the other navvies were all so respectful to me.’

9^th May 1878 – ‘In the evening, I walked up to see “Jane”. Poor fellow, he was poorly, his skin is quite hard with swelling. He is suffering from dropsy and talked quite calmly of death. How uncertain life is, it feels like yesterday since he was healthy & strong.’

31^st May 1878 – ‘We called in to see poor “Jane”. He did not say much, he was awfully swollen, & seemed in great pain – he said he wanted rest.’

3^rd June 1878 – ‘I called into Mrs Hurst’s to see “Jane”. He has altered and I was glad I had gone. I asked him how he felt about leaving this world; he said “I want to be at rest, I have nothing to live for & everything to gain by dying”. My heart felt almost breaking to see poor Jane in the prime of his manhood calmly giving up this world.’

6^th June 1878 – ‘In the evening I took my knitting & went up to see “Jane”. I found him very much worse. He said “You can’t credit how happy I am, I do long for Paradise & keep thinking of it”. The Revd Mr Bellairs [vicar of Bolton Abbey] had given him the Sacrament & he was so pleased to receive it.’

8^th June 1878 – ‘Whitsuntide. I rode up with Willie Baldwin & Sym Whitaker onto the Moor to see “Jane”. He had expressed a great desire to see me & Mrs Hurst had sent for me. Poor fellow, he is sinking fast. He said “I shall soon be at rest, soon in Paradise, I wanted to see you once more to say God bless you Annie, I hope we shall all meet in heaven”. He lifted his hand as well as he could to shake hands with me & then we said Goodbye on earth.’

13^th June 1878 – ‘Poor Jane passed away in peace about a quarter past 3 am. Mr & Mrs Hurst came & told me how much he had desired that I should attend his Funeral. They called when returning from Skipton & told me of their arrangements.’

HANDSOME JANE’S FUNERAL

14^th June 1878 – ‘At two o’clock Gott’s Mourning coach called for me to take me to Jane’s Funeral [Thomas Gott of the Unicorn, Skipton]. When I got to Mrs Hurst’s hut I had Wine and Biscuits. There was such a respectable lot of navvies, all so well dressed in Mourning & so clean & all had a bow of White Ribbon in their breast button. There were about thirty mourners including Mr & Mrs Hurst and P.C. Skelton [Barden Moor Constable]. We sung a Hymn when we left the Hut & then slowly followed the mourning coach & hearse to Bolton Abbey Church. Arriving there, the Clergyman met us with: “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. He read the Burial Service – it was comforting.

‘After being in the Church we proceeded to the Grave and left Jane in his last resting place. Inscribed on his Breast Plate was “To the Memory of Leonard Prude who died June 12^th 1878 aged 32 years”, & above was “from Christ we receive life, from Adam death”. The beautiful service being concluded I threw a lovely bouquet onto his Coffin; all the people seemed troubled, so was I, but may I be as well prepared as he was. Mrs Hurst was grieved, but she has nobly done her duty and he has had every comfort of this world. Poor “Jane”, may you rest in peace, safe in the arms of Jesus and in Paradise. We rode up to Mrs Hurst’s hut & there we found a beautiful tea prepared for us. I never was at a more sympathetic Funeral & all was so respectably conducted. Goodbye Jane, until, as you said, we meet in heaven.’

These are edited extracts from the Diaries of Annie Parker Greenwood 1875 to 1882 – she was 22 years old when these diary entries were written.

The illustrations show a Group of Navvies in about 1880, and the site of the Navvy Camp at Halton Height.

David Turner, Embsay with Eastby Historical Research Group

David Turner will be giving an illustrated talk for Skipton History Society titled ‘The Barden Moor Reservoirs and the People Who Built Them’, at the Swadford Centre on Thursday 9^th March starting at 7:30pm.