The Butcher's Tale

On 26 September 1788, as England's Industrial Revolution was gathering pace and George III suffered a second period of mental instability, William Pilkington married Margaret Adamson at St Andrew's church in Leyland, a small market town just south of Preston. Born in the 1740s, William was well into his forties and may have been a widower who had lost his first wife, Grace, the year before. Margaret's life before her marriage to William is a mystery; when and where she was born has been lost.

William and Margaret married by licence, which was more expensive but quicker and more private than announcing banns in their parish churches over three Sundays. Perhaps William and Margaret expected one or both of their families to object to the marriage, or they thought there was a need for urgency. Or, they simply opted for convenience!

William Pilkington was a butcher by trade, a physically demanding and often messy job. His daily routine likely involved slaughtering animals, butchering carcasses, and preparing meat for sale. He would have used sharp tools and heavy equipment, working in conditions we would consider unsanitary at best! While butchers like William were essential to the community, he would have had quite a low social status compared to other skilled trades, associated as he was with blood and gore.

The couple settled in Chorley, a town likely experiencing the early effects of industrialization, with the rise of cotton mills and the growth of the local coal industry. In 1789, they welcomed their first son, James. Another boy named William followed in 1791. However, tragedy struck soon after when their youngest son, William, passed away at just five months old in the summer of 1791. A year later, Margaret also passed away, leaving William widowed, possibly for the second time, with a young son.

The loss of his infant son and then his wife within a year must have been incredibly difficult for William. It is unclear whether he remarried or how he raised his surviving son, James. The young boy eventually grew up and married Mary Grey in 1819, settling in Chorley and starting his own family. Their lives will be explored in a later post.

William Pilkington died in 1813, aged 71, and he was buried alongside his wife and infant son at St Lawrence's Church in Chorley.