Birth & Early Life :

1825 - 28th January : William John Crombleholme [Cro0712] (1825- 1884) was born at Chipping, Lancashire on January 28th 1825. He was baptised on 30th January at Chipping and Leagram RC Church, the son of Thomas  C [Cro0710] & Elizabeth (nee Crombleholme) [Cro0690] . A younger brother Joannis (John) Crombleholme [Cro0713] was baptised at the same church on 23rd October 1829. These are the only two entries relating to this family at this church.  

His mother Elizabeth Crombleholme [Cro0690] was the daughter of John Crombleholme [Cro0523] b.1756 and Elizabeth (nee Walmsley) [Cro0524] - see 1823 below for marriage.

1823 - 29th September : William’s [Cro0712] parents Thomas [Cro0710] & Elizabeth [Cro0690] were both Crombleholmes (probably cousins - to be confirmed) and they both from parish of Whaley & Whitewell. They were married by banns at Whitewell on 29th September 1823 with witnesses John Coupe & Nancy Hay. Married by John Whalley, curate.   (Source : Parish Reg Whalley & Chapelry of Whitwell - county of York & Diocese of Chester page 19 entry No 55) 

The descent of his parents as known is shown above in the tentative tree. They had 4 children :

(Father) William Crombleholme [Cro0712] born 1825; died 1884.  Priest (this section) 

John Crombleholme [Cro0713] born 1829; married Jane (nee Parkinson) [Cro0778] of Longridge in 1859 in Old Fylde Office. A daughter Mary Crombleholme [Cro0779] was born in 1860.

Richard Crombleholme [Cro0735] born 1835 (from Preston Census 1841); married Sarah (nee Elston) [Cro0780] in 1864.

Jane Crombleholme [Cro0912] born 1832; died in Blackburn in 1836 as a child. 

Career :

1843 :  When 18 yaers old, William Crombleholme [Cro0712]   became a Christian Brother in the Order of La Salle and taught in Liverpool and Bolton. In 1853, he was permitted to study for the priesthood by Dr Turner Bishop of Salford who adopted him and sent him to the Lesser Seminary in Roulers in Belgium where he studied from 1853 to 1855. From there, he progressed to the Grand Seminaire at Bruges also in Belgium where he studied theology for two years. He was ordained a priest on September 27th 1857 and returned to Salford (aged 32). (Source *: His obituary  - Catholic Times, January 25th 1884)

1851 Census : Ashton-under-Lyne : William Crombleholme (more detail req’d)

1853 - William was permitted to study for the priesthood (*see above)

1853 - 1855 : William sent to and studied at Lesser Seminary in Roulers, Belgium (*see above)

1855 - 1857 : William moved to and studied theology at the Grand Seminar at Bruges in Belgium (*see above)

1857 - 27th September : William was ordained a priest and returned to Salford (*see above)

1858 : William Crombleholme wrote a personal letter to his former tutor Guido Gezelle whilst working at St Annes Ashton-under-Lyne ....."my great work ....in the Lord’s vineyard”,.....and about his projects, ambitions and first small results. Guido Gezelle taught at Roulers and received some criticism from his superiors for trying to convince his pupils of the urgent need to join the great work of the evangelisation of England ! He was also a prolific writer & poet.     (Source : Catholic Archives 1988 No 8 page 28 - Journal of the Catholic Archives Society) 

Note : Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.

The now "Father" William Crombleholme  [Cro0712] took charge of St Ann's Church, on Burlington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester and managed the local Catholic workers to raise funds to build the new church. Ashton-under-Lyne had grown quickly from the late C18th as cotton town. A school with chapel was originally built in 1852 to serve a growing Catholic community which had been greatly increased by the influx of Irish workers. 

A new church built :

1859 - Work started with the architect being the now famous "Mr E W Pugin of London" who had designed it in C13th Gothic style with a wide nave maximising the views of the altar. The contractors engaged to build the church were Eaton, Burton and Burrows of Ashton and the work was completed in 1860. The original design had a tower with spire in the southwest corner but this was not built due to lack of funds. The church was dedicated by the Bishop of Salford in November 1860 - the new altar and reredos were described at the time as "chaste and substantial".

Father William Crombleholme had defended the Church and Catholic faith in the local press against assaults of ultra-Protestants during the mid 1860's and had protected the interests of the Irish poor as a poor-law guardian and on the Borough Relief Committee during the cotton famine the early 1860's. 

Ashton-under-Lyne then fell victim to the effects of the "Cotton Famine" or "Cotton Panic" (1861-1865) when a widespread depression in the cotton industry was caused by over production and the shortages of the raw product caused by the American Civil War. This caused much poverty and the setting up of local relief committees.

1861 Census : Father William Crombleholme [Cro0712] is recorded as living at 46 Burlington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne with a visitor on that night  being a certain George Spencer, a fellow priest aged 61 giving his place of birth as "London, Admiralty House". This Father Spencer (1799-1864) was the younger brother of the 3rd & 4th Earls Spencer. He had converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism and joined the Passionist Order in 1847 assuming the religious name of Father Ignatius Paul. He died in 1864 from heart failure and was found in a ditch during a missionary tour of the country. He was declared "Venerable" by the Catholic Church in 2010 - the first stage in the cause for Beatification. He was the x3 great uncle of the late Diana, Princess of Wales and x4 great uncle of her children. (Source : Information kindly given by Andrew Snape email Jan 2021) 

The Murphy Riots :

However, from 1867, the situation became very tense and with the arrival of the infamous William Murphy (an Irish catholic who became an ultra protestant) and who belonged to the Protestant Evangelical Mission and Electoral Union. Following his lectures in the area during January 1868, a stone throwing mob attacked St Anns church before being stopped by the police force and the army.  The "Murphy Riots" of 1868 had resulted in considerable damage being done to the building after a anti-Catholic mob had damaged windows, doors and internal fittings including burning of the crucifix. 

There were street riots and fighting during May 1868 during which catholic buildings including the church were again damaged. The Mayor read the Riot Act at the catholic chapel and a detachment from the 8th Hussars and another from the 70th Regiment of Infantry arrived in the town. There was provocation on both sides with an Irish priest being accused for wounding a man with a gun - he was acquitted. After St Ann's church was damaged the mob went down Burlington Street and smashed all the windows, shutters and doors in Father Crombleholme's own house 

The neighbouring church of St Marys was severely attacked causing some £3500 of damage. These so called "Murphy Riots" left three dead and hundreds injured or homeless. For a month afterwards, it was not deemed safe for Catholic clergy to visit the town and presumably Father William Crombleholme had to keep a very low profile.

A letter from Father William Crombleholme [Cro0712] recalls the events :

"We were in the centre of the district where these disturbances took place and we were its chief victims  Our church, school and presbytery were attacked and broken into, and altars, statues and paintings were burnt; even our lives were in danger. One hundred and eleven houses of our faithful Irish catholics were gutted, their furniture, clothing and bedding destroyed and their provisions carried away. No protection was afforded us by the authorities. The fact of the matter was that in the beginning of the agitation, so little danger was appended to the peace of the town that Chief Constable Dalgliesh had gone to Southport to visit a sick member of his family and the Mayor (Henry Thomas Danton Esq) was out of the town at the time. One thing is certain that everything was done that could be done to cope with a mob of such overwhelming proportions by those on the spot. Inspector Bamforth and his men acted with great courage and discretion  and Mr Dalgliesh, on his return, proved himself quite worthy of the confidence reposed in him by his achievements, while Mr High Mason has been spoken of by all parties in the highest terms.The clergy was obliged to leave the town, and for an entire month it was not deemed safe for them to do more than revisit the parish at a certain time of day, for the sake of the sick"     (Source Letter by Rev W J Crombleholme printed in the Catholic Times January 25th 1884)

The church community led by Father William Crombleholme [Cro0712] was thus left with even larger debts and he led an appeal to repair the damage and to meet their large debts caused by the original building project. The courts did convict some of the offenders but no compensation was granted. However, this did not stop Father Crombleholme from opening a school chapel in nearby Denton.

However, some good did emerge finally with widespread revulsion of ultra-protestantism and an alliance grew between Catholicism and Liberal nonconformity. Father William Crombleholme chaired an election meeting at St Ann's during which the sitting MP Milner Gibson addressed the meeting and a resolution was passed pledging Catholic support for the Liberal cause. The Liberals made contributions to repair Catholic buildings and the press gave more generous coverage to the catholic community. By 1871, matters had greatly improved and the local paper the Reporter declared : Mr Crombleholme has generally worked well with the Liberal party in Ashton"

1869 - On 29th May, the foundation stone for a new church St Mary, Our lady of Sorrows in Duke Street, Denton. Manchester was laid and when completed in the same year Father William Crombleholme became its first rector in addition to being rector at St Anns.  It was made a separate mission in 1888. He also also established an industrial school at Ashton, a school at Hooley Hill and projected missions at Mossley and Staybridge.

1870 - 30th May : The Rev William Joseph Crombleholme,[Cro0712] catholic priest of Ashton under Lyne was party to a conveyance on this date.   (Source : Gt Manchester CRO Cat Ref B28/5/2/3 (Creator : Hall, Brydon & Diggines Solicitors Manchester) (not seen )

Fund raising in America & Canada :

In 1873, still heavily in debt, Father William Crombleholme [Cro0712] was given permission by his Bishop to go on a five year missionary / fund raising tour of America and Canada. He visited friends and people who had emigrated from the area. After the first trip he was able to settle the most pressing demands of the creditors. There are interesting references to him during the sea journey in April 1877 back to England from America after his first visit.

There were several Catholic priests on board and one passenger remarked "... We have more masses than any cathedral in the country"

Father William had a very unusual mobile altar, obviously used during his travels .......His altar was a most ingenious contrivance, which it will interest your readers to have described. It was a rose wood box and looked like a large dressing case. It contained every article necessary for the celebration of mass. When opened, it was seen that on the cover was suspended a fair sized cross, and the altar cards were attached to it. Between these and the solid cover was a compartment for all the sacred vestments. The vestments were light, but beautiful. In the body of the box was contained the chalice (which was silver and constructed in three parts), the missal, stand, cruets, lights, flask of wine and a box with altar breads. The central one of these contained the altar stone. When the wings were unfolded, you had the Epistle and Gospel sides. Branches for candles were attached to hooks on the cover. The little altar was perfect" He gave the last rites to 76 year old John Fay who died on board and took his funeral service the next day when he was buried at sea.

William meets the Pope & Saint John Vianney :

Father William Crombleholme [Cro0712] also managed to visit Rome (presumably on his way home) and was received by Pope Pius IX  who blessed him and remarked ..."that no one had ever asked so many Holy things from him as this little Reverend Gentleman." 

From his obituary (see below) - During another visit to France, he met with Saint John Vianney (1786-1859) - "the Cure d'Ars" (ie the parish priest of Ars, France).

His Death in America :

William returned to England with failing health but managed to visit America for a second time in 1883. However after a year on his second mission, he had travelled from New York to Washington and told his friends that at the house at which he had been staying in Washington, he was one night going to the parlour at a rather late hour and mistaking the cellar door for that of the parlour was precipitated (!) to the bottom of the steps, where he had to remain lying until he recovered himself sufficiently to find his way to the parlour. There was no one up in the house except a coloured servant who gave him a little wine. The next morning on going to church, he slipped on a piece of ice and aggravated the shock he had received on the previous night. On the 17th of January, he received  a telegram inviting him to visit Lawrence and instead of remaining quiet started upon the journey. He was taken ill on his way to the station and when the train arrived at Lawrence, he was carried to the United States Hotel where he later died.    (Source : The Catholic Times January 25th 1884 and History of Ashton-under-Lyne - by William Glover c 1910 ? - digitised by Google)

1884 - 17th January :  He thus died in Lawrence, some 30 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.on January 17th 1884 (aged 59) (Record ref Vol 357 - p16 - not seen) He was also buried at Lawrence (burial record not found as yet) . After Father William Crombleholme's death (which was advised by telegram from America - first tans-Atlantic telegraph was operational in 1860's), a marble plaque was erected in St Ann's church in his memory (see below) and one preacher at the ceremony was his nephew Father John Crombleholme.** 

A stained window in his honour also exists in the church. (see below)

In 2003, St Ann's parish was amalgamated with that of neighbouring St Mary's when that church (St Marys) was demolished.  

(Source : Ashton Weekly Reporter and Staybridge & Dukinfield Chronicle)

Father William Crombleholme's Obituary