Chesham woods is an area Pasture and woodland on the edge of Bury, it offers a variety of walks and trails and is a local nature reserve, but in previous centuries it was the site of three grand houses, the homes of numerous influential Victorian families.
Danesmoor, was originally called Helensholme, and was home to James R Crompton, Paper Manufacturer, along with his wife, son, sister in law and three servants.
James's widowed mother Elizabeth lived nearby at Gorsey Brow with a second son Percy, also listed as a Paper Manufacturer. (see the Wrigley family of Green Bank )
The 1901 census shows George Edward (b:1848)& Mary Downing Wike (b:1829) previously of Elton House (1881-1891), living at Danesmoor in Chesham. George was a Leut.-Colonel,1st Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, and succeeded his neighbour Oliver Ormerod as Mayor of Bury in 1897 - 1899.
Percy Whitehead, was son of Henry and Louisa, born in Ainsworth, he and Dorothy had the following children, Kenneth G. Whitehead(1913-2004) and Elizabeth Myrtle Whitehead(1915-2006) Peter Fernie Whitehead(1919-1933) who died at 14, Olive Mary Whitehead(1911-2003) who married a Prestwich man called Osborn, and another child who died in infancy.
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James R Crompton (Snr.) had purchased the Elton Paper Mills in 1856 via auction, after it had gone bankrupt under Robert Hughes.
Following his death in 1874, the mill was run by his three sons. The third son, Ralph, lived at Oaklands in Walmersly.
G.E. Wike (b:1848) and his brother William ran G.E.& W. Wike, Wollen Manufacturers, owning Openshaw Fold Mill.
They were sons of Mr. George Wike (b:1805) (and his wife Elizabeth Openshaw), whose father, Mr. John Wike had partnered with Lawrence & Thomas Openshaw, trading as George Openshaw & Co. until dissolving in 1824. John Wike then founded the firm of woollen manufacturers which in 1838 was originally known as John Wike and Sons.
[1825 gazetteer shows John Wike, Woollen Manufacturer living at Croft House,Walmersley and Shuttleworth]
During the 19th century, Bury gradually found fame as a thriving centre of music and song. One of the best teachers at that time was considered to be John Mellin Wike, organist and choirmaster at St Paul’s Church.
The first son of G.E. Wike, John Mellin Wike (1834-1896), was a prominent Free Mason and "was the organist for many years at St. Paul's Church, and the choir under him attained to a condition of great proficiency. He was one of the founders of the Bury Choral Society, which held its earlier meetings at St. Paul's (Bell) School and afterwards at the Athenaeum. Many concerts were given, and several of Mr. Wike's more successful pupils — for he taught singing with no inconsiderable success — frequently gave their services at these concerts. Shortly after he withdrew from the Choral Society and associated himself with the Bury Musical Society, the former ceased to exist. He was the prime mover in all the concerts given by the Choral Society, and for many years, along with Mr. J. R. Openshaw, of Walmersley Road, took a very prominent part in the arrangements for the concerts given by the Musical Society. He was also one of the founders of the Bury Amateur Dramatic Society, his connection with which he maintained until 1865, on each occasion acting as musical director." John Lord. Commissioner of Bury 1860-1866]
Wike made sure that his singers were well trained and his choirboys were the first in the town to wear surplices. His talents, however, were not confined to choral music.
He produced the play "The Miller and His Men" with the help of famous local painter James ‘Clock’ Shaw. When Shaw’s famous actor friend Henry Irving helped produce Hamlet in the town, Wike was the musical director.
G.E. & Mary had a daughter, Dorothy Myrtle Wike(1889-1972), who married Percy Kay Whitehead (1877-1960) in 1910, and they took up residence next door at Green Bank in 1911
During the 1930s Mrs Whitehead ran a Girls Dance School at Danesmoor, and during WWII she took in children (9 babies and 30 boys) evacuated from Guernsey. Two swings, a see-saw and a sand-pit were erected on one of the lawns and later a prefabricated hut for use as an outdoor playroom.
In all 70 children were accomodated over five years. They were far from safe as several bomb raids on the Mills of bury took place one bomb landed just 200 yards away, luckily it did not explode.
Mrs Whitehead had never forgotten a child's birthday, provided 'stockings' at Christmas, and an annual visit to Belle Vue, the show-place of Manchester. 'She was a real fairy godmother,'
Read more about the evacuees here
A lot of the family tree info, and backgrounds to the people mentioned above came from Bygone Bury
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Read about the neighbouring property Green Bank
Read about the neighbouring property Chesham Woods
