Thomas Brierley
Encyclopedia
Thomas Brierley was born on July 16, 1785 at Mellor to Joab Brierley and Betty Arnfield. He was also known as Tommy and some references call him Didymus - perhaps confusing him for an uncle of that name or as a common alternative to Thomas.
Thomas became a blockprinter at the mill at Strines
Printworks where calico was printed and later a carter
who plied his trade between Ludworth
and Disley
.
The Lodge migrated from Manchester
to Mellor in 1822 it met at the Devonshire Arms and several other hostelries in the locality before it shifted to the Shuttle Inn (renamed the George) at Ludworth. Returns to the Clerk of Peace between 1834 and 1841 show that the Lodge averaged about 20 members each meeting; chiefly miners and minor tradesmen.
Thomas Brierley was a regular attendee (according to the records that exist between 1824 and 1830 and from 1840 to 1848). He was also Treasurer
of the Royal Arch
chapter (founded 1824). He was also a member of the Moon Lodge of benevolence, a well as other degrees including Mark and Rose Croix.
His connection with Freemasonry is told in this anecdote:
When the Duke of Devonshire
was Provincial Grandmaster for Derbyshire, Thomas and some friends walked to Chatsworth House
which sat in a large Deer
Park
laid out by Capability Brown
where they were refused admittance as the Duke was home. After a great deal of pertinacity, Thomas managed to get a servant to present a message, hastily written in cipher
on a paper scrap. The Duke instantly came in person and showed his humble brother and his friends over the house and ordered lunch to be served to them.
However, an extract from the Mirror of Literature and Amusement 1844 states that The Duke of Devonshire allows all persons whatsoever to see the mansion and grounds every day of the year. Sundays not excepted, from 10 in the morning 'til 5 in the afternoon. The humblest individual is not only shown the whole, but the Duke has expressly ordered the waterworks to be played to everyone without exception. This is acting in the true spirit of great wealth and enlightened liberality; let us add also, the spirit of wisdom."
Either way, he had a stone coffin made by Azariah Ollerenshaw, a stonemason of local repute, and for which he lay down so that the coffin could be accurately cut for his body and head for a perfect fit. (Another source claims that the Duke, hearing that Thomas was ill, had the coffin made for him.)
The coffin was then placed, exposed on a previously purchased grave site at St. Thomas' Church, Mellor. The lid was carved with some Masonic symbols and underneath the words, "I am belied," referring to the accusations of feigned illness. It lay there for some years and because quite a tourist attraction. However, it eventually created too much unwanted attention for the vicar, Rev. Matthew Freeman, who ordered it to be buried in the grave (and it apparently still lies there just below the surface).
Not to be frustrated, Thomas had a memorial headstone prepared covered with 'cipher-writings' and ornate and masonic emblems which was placed over his grave before he died. Subsequently, there was talk of burying him in his stone coffin but it was found to be too heavy to remove to the house and it was not done to take the body to the coffin in the grave. He was buried in a wooden coffin presumably beside the stone coffin.
The cipher on the headstone was presented as a mystery in books and newspaper articles right into the latter part of the 20th century. The headstone is actually written in five pig-pen
variations. The text at the head of the stone says "Thomas Brierley made his ingress July 16th 1785, His Progress was ____ Years And his Egress___". The headstone was never completed after his death (possibly because no one was interested and his father survived him only one more year and was of advanced age).
The cipher at the foot of the gravestone says "Holiness of the Lord". The Pigpen Cipher was used by Freemasons in the 18th Century to keep their records private and surprisingly the cipher on Thomas Brierley's grave seems have a non-standard symbol for the letter "S". It is possible the variation in the cipher is a clue to or a key to documents that he dealt with as the treasurer.
However, at the time of its placement in the graveyard the common impression was that it contained the old charge against his fellows and it was stated to be purposefully written in Hebrew to defy objections to it being placed over the grave during Thomas' lifetime. Indeed, newspaper reports echoed this and one gentleman visiting the grave solemnly asserted it was Greek but when cornered in the subject admitted it was a kind of Greek that a University education had not acquainted him with.
According to some, Thomas Brierley fell to his death from the church tower, but other sources disagree so this story may be an urban legend. To add to the mystery, a bronze plaque was added to the stone in recent times with more cipher upon it, the cipher used being similar but not identical.
He is reported to have died in 1854 aged 69 years although Letters of Administration
, after his death, granted to his father Joab states that he died on the 22nd of July 1855. He was interred in Mellor Churchyard.
Thomas became a blockprinter at the mill at Strines
Strines
Strines is a village in Greater Manchester, located in the valley of the River Goyt midway between Marple and New Mills and about six miles southeast of Stockport. The village falls mainly within Marple parish and Stockport metropolitan borough, though a small part falls within the boundaries of...
Printworks where calico was printed and later a carter
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
who plied his trade between Ludworth
Ludworth, Greater Manchester
Ludworth is an area of Marple, Greater Manchester in Greater Manchester. Ludworth Civil Parish was created in 1896; it was part of Glossop Dale Rural District until 1934 when it was transferred to Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District. In 1936 it was transferred, along with Mellor to Marple Urban...
and Disley
Disley
Disley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the very edge of the Peak District, in the Goyt Valley, very close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills, and south of Stockport, Greater...
.
Freemasonry
The Freemason Lodge of Union (originally a Lancashire Lodge of Union #50) received its Warrant on September 27, 1788.The Lodge migrated from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to Mellor in 1822 it met at the Devonshire Arms and several other hostelries in the locality before it shifted to the Shuttle Inn (renamed the George) at Ludworth. Returns to the Clerk of Peace between 1834 and 1841 show that the Lodge averaged about 20 members each meeting; chiefly miners and minor tradesmen.
Thomas Brierley was a regular attendee (according to the records that exist between 1824 and 1830 and from 1840 to 1848). He was also Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of the Royal Arch
Royal Arch
The Royal Arch was erected in Dundee between 1849 and 1853 to commemorate a visit to the city by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1844.The Royal Arch, , consisted of a large, triumphal arch, flanked by two smaller side arches, and surmounted by two central turrets. It was 80 feet across...
chapter (founded 1824). He was also a member of the Moon Lodge of benevolence, a well as other degrees including Mark and Rose Croix.
His connection with Freemasonry is told in this anecdote:
When the Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
was Provincial Grandmaster for Derbyshire, Thomas and some friends walked to Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
which sat in a large Deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
Park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
laid out by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
where they were refused admittance as the Duke was home. After a great deal of pertinacity, Thomas managed to get a servant to present a message, hastily written in cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
on a paper scrap. The Duke instantly came in person and showed his humble brother and his friends over the house and ordered lunch to be served to them.
However, an extract from the Mirror of Literature and Amusement 1844 states that The Duke of Devonshire allows all persons whatsoever to see the mansion and grounds every day of the year. Sundays not excepted, from 10 in the morning 'til 5 in the afternoon. The humblest individual is not only shown the whole, but the Duke has expressly ordered the waterworks to be played to everyone without exception. This is acting in the true spirit of great wealth and enlightened liberality; let us add also, the spirit of wisdom."
An early burial
Thomas seemed to have some periods of illness and had recourse to the sick funds of the society. A number of members complained and made unpleasant personal remarks, as apparently his illness coincided with a slack time at Strines Printworks. It is said that he was "an honourable man and this charge grieved him sore." (Other sources refer to him as one who was prone to display his membership of the masonic fraternity and to make it known that his worth was not sufficiently recognised.)Either way, he had a stone coffin made by Azariah Ollerenshaw, a stonemason of local repute, and for which he lay down so that the coffin could be accurately cut for his body and head for a perfect fit. (Another source claims that the Duke, hearing that Thomas was ill, had the coffin made for him.)
The coffin was then placed, exposed on a previously purchased grave site at St. Thomas' Church, Mellor. The lid was carved with some Masonic symbols and underneath the words, "I am belied," referring to the accusations of feigned illness. It lay there for some years and because quite a tourist attraction. However, it eventually created too much unwanted attention for the vicar, Rev. Matthew Freeman, who ordered it to be buried in the grave (and it apparently still lies there just below the surface).
Not to be frustrated, Thomas had a memorial headstone prepared covered with 'cipher-writings' and ornate and masonic emblems which was placed over his grave before he died. Subsequently, there was talk of burying him in his stone coffin but it was found to be too heavy to remove to the house and it was not done to take the body to the coffin in the grave. He was buried in a wooden coffin presumably beside the stone coffin.
Mystery
Pigpen cipher
The pigpen cipher is a geometric simple substitution cipher which exchanges letters for symbols which are fragments of a grid...
variations. The text at the head of the stone says "Thomas Brierley made his ingress July 16th 1785, His Progress was ____ Years And his Egress___". The headstone was never completed after his death (possibly because no one was interested and his father survived him only one more year and was of advanced age).
The cipher at the foot of the gravestone says "Holiness of the Lord". The Pigpen Cipher was used by Freemasons in the 18th Century to keep their records private and surprisingly the cipher on Thomas Brierley's grave seems have a non-standard symbol for the letter "S". It is possible the variation in the cipher is a clue to or a key to documents that he dealt with as the treasurer.
However, at the time of its placement in the graveyard the common impression was that it contained the old charge against his fellows and it was stated to be purposefully written in Hebrew to defy objections to it being placed over the grave during Thomas' lifetime. Indeed, newspaper reports echoed this and one gentleman visiting the grave solemnly asserted it was Greek but when cornered in the subject admitted it was a kind of Greek that a University education had not acquainted him with.
According to some, Thomas Brierley fell to his death from the church tower, but other sources disagree so this story may be an urban legend. To add to the mystery, a bronze plaque was added to the stone in recent times with more cipher upon it, the cipher used being similar but not identical.
He is reported to have died in 1854 aged 69 years although Letters of Administration
Letters of Administration
Letters of Administration are granted by a Surrogate Court or probate registry to appoint appropriate people to deal with a deceased person's estate where property will pass under Intestacy Rules or where there are no executors living having been validly appointed under the deceased's will...
, after his death, granted to his father Joab states that he died on the 22nd of July 1855. He was interred in Mellor Churchyard.
Links
- Simon Singh website - Brierley Memorial http://www.simonsingh.net/The_Black_Chamber/gravestone.html
- Simon Singh website - Pig Pen http://www.simonsingh.net/The_Black_Chamber/pigpenWithMenu.html