Mark Carter, the first of the Carters to reside at Knottingley, married Mary Cood. The couple had probably wed only a short time before taking up residence within the town for at the time of settlement, Mark had only recently come of age.

The Carters had three sons, John, born 1802, Thomas Mark, 1809 and William Edward, 1814. As the eldest son, John naturally inherited his father's estate, becoming a director of the Knottingley brewery company and replacing his father as the managing director in 1836. Under the terms of the document of transfer the remaining sons received a financial settlement with effect from Mark's death in 1853. (1)

Of the younger brothers, Thomas Mark followed his father and elder brother into the family trade, becoming a brewer, first at Barnsley, then at Sandal and finally in partnership with brother John at Market Street, Wakefield. (2) William Edward Carter entered the legal profession, taking out his first practising certificate in Sheffield in 1835. Moving to Pontefract in 1858, William Edward purchased a house in Ropergate and founded the firm of solicitors known today as Carter, Bentley & Gundill. (3)

John Carter married three times. Carter's first wife was Christiana Lund whom he married at Leeds Old Church on the 28th October, 1830, when he was 28 and she was 21. (4) Christiana bore John seven children of whom two daughters, Mary Ann, born 1834, Maria Jane, born 1840 and George William, born 1842, survived into adulthood. (5) Christiana died on the 6th May, 1845, and was buried at Howden.

John Carter's second wife was Sarah, daughter of Henry Longden, joint proprietor of the Phoenix Foundry, Sheffield. Carter had an interest in the Eldon Street brewery throughout the 1840s and may have met Sarah Longden through his business association with her father. (6) The date of the marriage is not known but the Census of 1851 lists no wife within the Carter household so presumably the marriage took place sometime thereafter. Sarah died, aged 57, on Christmas Day, 1870, after a series of protracted illnesses and was interred at Knottingley cemetery. It is of passing interest to note that in November, 1861, John Carter had paid the sum of £45-2-6 for a vault in the newly opened Anglican burial ground adjacent to that opened in 1837 by the Sheffield General Cemetery Co.. The purchase may be an indication of his intention to be buried there with his Sheffield born wife. If so, however, a change of plan occurred and in January, 1870, Carter sold the double plot which housed the unused vault for £22-10-0., one of the few times that Carter lost money on a financial transaction. (7)

Shortly before his death in 1873, Carter married for the third time. The bride was Hannah Martha, daughter of Joseph Senior, farmer of Leys Farm, Darrington. Hannah Martha Carter outlived John by 34 years, dying on the 2nd January, 1907.

Awareness of the possibility of such an eventuality may have prompted John Carter to refurbish the Grange, a property at Hill Top, Knottingley, and make a financial settlement on his third wife shortly before their wedding. (8) As the widow of John Bywater, a Knottingley doctor who had died in November 1863. Hannah brought a substantial dowery to the marriage with Carter in the form of land and property left by her former husband. (9)

John Carter's only surviving son, George William Carter, was married on the 1st July, 1879, to Elizabeth Macmaster Paget Milling at St. George's Church, Harrogate. Carter's wife was the daughter of John and Bessie Milling of Harlow Manor, Harrogate, although she had been born in Eire on the 28th May, 1850. Elizabeth predeceased George William by three years, dying in 1917. (10) The couple had three children, two sons and a daughter, who were the last generation of Carters to be born at Knottingley. The eldest son, John Mark, died at the early age of 23 in 1903. The daughter, Georgina, was born in 1883 and died in 1970 and bore two sons and a daughter. William Edward, who was born in 1885 and died in 1965 was the one through whom the direct line continued, being the father of the present head of the family, Thomas Mark Carter of Eccleshall Castle. (11)

There were two homes associated with the Carter family during their period of residence at Knottingley; Lime Grove and the Grange. Lime Grove was situated at the south side of the brewery complex, the rear of the house opening directly onto the brewery yard. The house was contemporary with the building of the brewery, being built of brick and roofed with slates of Yorkshire stone. The building was specially erected as a residence for Mark Carter, affording him and his successors instant access to the brewery plant at all times. The two storied building had a stuccoed and painted exterior with the centrally positioned main entrance on the south side having a squat porch which lent an impression of strength and elegance to the appearance of the facade. The proximity of the house to the brewery buildings was masked by the surrounding trees which were of goodly profusion and so well sited that numerous photographs of the house, taken from diverse angles, reveal little trace of the brewery beyond. To the east of the house was a lawned area which in turn gave rise to a large paddock which was bisected by a driveway connecting with Weeland Road at Hill Top and serving both residence and brewery. Initially, the entrance to the drive was protected by a lodge house situated to the east side of the gateway. The single path diverted at a point just beyond the lodge to provide access to the Carter residence while the drive continued in a straight line for some distance before curving westerly towards the brewery yard. Over the years the expansion of the brewery business increased the dust and noise caused by the brewery drays and other vehicular traffic and created an increasingly unsightly and inconvenient nuisance. To obviate the problem the drive leading to the house was realigned with the point of diversion being located nearer to the lodge while that part of the drive serving the brewery was used solely for domestic purposes, a new and more distant route being opened for use by the brewery. The alteration was made during February-March, 1882 and was described by George William Carter at that time viz:-

"The old Brewery Road which went straight down from Hill Top (dividing Frank's Close from the Brewery House, Garden and Field in front of the Brewery House) has been done away with, the new brewery road has been made across Frank's Close into Shaw's Lane and the private carriage drive comes partly into Frank's Close- the Lodge and stabling is on Frank's Close property". (12)

Thus, the entrance to the brewery was now considerably lower down Hill Top, running along the eastern edge of Frank's Close. The realignment resulted in some modification in the amount of rent previously paid to Carter by the company as rent for Frank's Close. Between 1875-82 the rent had been twenty guineas a year for the Close and stabling facilities therein but following the road alteration the sum was reduced to £12 per annum to cover the rent of the lodge and stable. (13)

What was lost by Carter in rent was gained in privacy and dignity for the new private entrance to Lime Grove had imposing ornamental gates with lamps installed by Walter Macfarlane & Co., of Glasgow in August, 1882, at a cost of £43-10-6. (14) In addition, the re-siting of the vehicular route enhanced the setting of Lime Grove by opening up a vista of spaciousness and greenery to the south and east as the gardens were supplemented by tree-fringed paddocks.

The Gardens at Lime Grove contained peach houses and a vinery, built to the specifications of John Carter in 1870 (15) as well as more conventional greenhouses. Carter's personal accounts show a payment of £99 to John Brown, a local builder, representing half the cost of the construction of the vinery and accompanying boilerhouse. (17)

In the early months of 1879 George Carter undertook the complete refurbishment of Lime Grove. New hearths were installed, walls replastered and the property decorated internally and the outside repainted, including the greenhouses. (18) Carter's marriage in the summer of that year was the probable reason why the work was undertaken, being both a necessary break with the past and a prelude to a new era. The sale of the brewery to the newly formed public limited company in 1892 also included Lime Grove which continued to provide a residence for the new managing director for a number of years. By the mid-1930s, however, further changes in the company structure resulted in the disuse of Lime Grove as an integral part of the brewery and it was let for individual use, serving as a private school for a number of years and latterly adapted as a series of self-contained apartments. The house was demolished along with the brewery buildings in the late 1960s.

In the Spring of 1871, John Carter, aged 69 and in somewhat indifferent health, began to contemplate retirement. Carter's son, George, although educated for the legal profession, being a qualified barrister at law, began to take an active part in the brewery business at this time. A renumeration of £200, being part of the profit of the previous year's trading was paid to George William Carter in May, 1871. (19) and shortly thereafter George appears to have abandoned all prospect of a legal career, becoming a formal partner in the company and taking half his father's share in the concern. (20) The extent to which George's decision was of his own choice or made at the behest of his father is not known but it is evident that a binding commitment was made by George Carter for whatever reason. One indication is the fact that Carter Senior took active steps to procure a local property to refurbish as a retirement home, leaving Lime Grove for exclusive use by his son in his capacity as head of the company. To this end John Carter placed a deposit of £115 on a property at Hill Top, Knottingley. The property, consisting of a house, gardens, stables and sundry outbuildings, together with an adjacent close of land was known as the Grange and was currently occupied by the owner James Thackray. (21)

The property was situated at the top of Ferrybridge Road near the junction with Weeland Road. Formerly known as Mount Pleasant, the premises had a long and varied history, once having been used as a private school. (22) The purchase was completed in July 1871, when the outstanding balance of £1,035 was paid, (23) the property formed part of the marriage settlement made between John Carter and his intended bride, Hannah Martha, in November of that year. (24)

The new residence stood at a distance of less than half a mile to the west of the brewery, sufficiently removed for Carter Senior to be free of the pressures of business yet close enough to enable a watching brief to be kept on his former fiefdom.

The refurbishment of the property amounted almost to its rebuilding. Joseph Brown, a local builder, was in overall charge and was engaged continuously at great expense throughout 1872. Numerous alterations were made internally and externally including retiling of the roof, reglazing of the windows as well as the redesign of the gardens. Carter's private accounts for the period 1871-73 are full of itemised detail concerning the work done and the costs defrayed which amount to several thousand pounds. An interesting entry of the 22nd of July, 1871, records the purchase of a yard dog to guard the property during the period that the work was being done. The practical necessity for such a measure was illustrated the following May when the local police were called following an incident in which vandals (perhaps temperance advocates outraged at witnessing the application of profits from drink) defaced the boundary wall. (25) Work continued well into the following year, and it is somewhat ironic that having spent a fortune on the premises Carter had scarcely taken up residence at the Grange and was still playing an active part in company affairs when his death occurred in October 1873. (26)

Following Carter's death his third wife occupied the property and although she did not die until January, 1907, the Grange was in fact in the ownership of George William Carter several years before that time (27) and was leased by Mrs H.M.Carter in three year terms at a sum of £75 a year. With the death of Hannah Martha Carter, the Grange became part of George Carter’s marriage settlement under the trusteeship of Edwin Lawson, the brewery manager. Thereafter the house had a somewhat chequered history as a leasehold property before it was finally sold to William Bagley, a local glass manufacturer in February,1922, for the sum of £1,250. (28) Following Bagley's death two years later the house was used as a residence for a senior manager of Bagley & Co. Ltd. and was eventually sold by that company and, as in the case of Lime Grove, was redesigned as privately owned flats.

In the years 1811-12, Mrs Brown, a native of Knottingley but then domiciled in York, donated the sum of £200 for the purpose of founding a charity for the education of poor girls resident within the township. The donor stipulated that the charity should be administered by four of the principal inhabitants of the town chosen at a meeting of the Select Vestry. The four appointed trustees were Mark Carter, Edward Gaggs, William Jackson and Richard West. (29)

The distinction conferred upon Gaggs and Carter is at once an indication of their integrity and ability and an acknowledgement of their business acumen as reflected by the rapid and ongoing prosperity of their recently established brewery business. The soundness of the latter quality was clearly exhibited when in 1821 the purpose of the charity was extended and the trustees invested the sum of £60 in Navy Annuities at 5% interest in order to realise an annual sum to be disbursed amongst the poor widows of the town each Christmas. (30) The principal agent in the administration of the widows' fund was Gaggs in his capacity as churchwarden. Following Gagg's death in January 1840, the administrative duty was undertaken by John Carter who had succeeded his father as a trustee a few years earlier. Carter exercised administrative responsibility for the charity until 1871 when a combination of age and failing health resulted in the surrender of his trusteeship. (31)

A further example of the public regard for the ability of the partners is their inclusion as members of the Select Vestry committee appointed by the townsfolk in 1820 to examine and safeguard the ancient privileges of the inhabitants of Knottingley in the light of the proposal of the Aire & Calder Navigation Co. to route a canal through the town.(32) Arising from the opening of the new canal, the partners, together with William Bywater, founded the Knottingley Marine Insurance Society in February, 1826, a company of local owners and part owners of vessels engaged in the coastal and inland carrying trade. The aim of the society was stated to

"...not only be of great advantage to themselves by dividing amongst many those losses/damages which might be ruinous to individuals but will tend to promote the increase of the shipping, navigation and commerce of that Town and Neighbourhood." (my italics) (33)

In view of such social prominence it is evident that the brewery partners were also active in other aspects of the town's management through membership of the Select Vestry although apart from their service vis a vis the canal proposal, nothing is known of their activities as the earliest continuous record of that body only dates from 1840 at which time Mark Carter had retired and Gaggs was recently deceased.

Knottingley Select Vestry had developed in the late eighteenth century from a quasi-ecclesiastical body to become a unit of civic administration consisting of a committee of twenty prominent ratepayers of the town. The office of Vesty Chairman was both prestigious and carried a large degree of responsibility and authority. It was to this office that John Carter succeeded sometime before 1840, probably being elected in his father's place, for the custom had developed of nominating the son of a deceased member (if the son was not already a serving member) as a token of respect for the deceased.

An interesting digression in respect of such nomination concerns Grace Gaggs, widow of Edward Gaggs. As the son of the couple was resident at Howden he was ineligible to become a member of Knottingley Select Vestry. The honour was therefore accorded to Grace Gaggs. However, the protracted and scrupulously observed mourning rites of widows of that period confined Grace to purdah and it was not until March,1844, that Grace Gaggs was elected. That hers was a token membership is indicated by the fact of its being confined to a single year, but the great significance of the event lies in the fact that it is the only instance of a female being allowed to serve on the Select Vestry throughout more than half a century of its recorded history. As such it is a singular mark of the esteem in which Edward Gaggs was held by his fellow townsmen. (34)

John Carter held the office of Vestry Chairman for almost forty years until his death in 1873. (35) In addition, Carter also held supplemental civic duties being the Surveyor of Highways in 1850-51, (36) and as a member of the newly established Burial Board from its institution in 1858 until the time of his death, being constantly re-elected at triennial periods.(37) Perhaps the most poignant indication of Carter's service as a Vestryman is the fulsome but sincere tribute paid by his friend, John Howard, at the Vestry meeting convened on the 30th October, 1873. (38)

In a wider public context John Carter was also a Commissioner of Income and Property Tax in the Upper Osgoldcross division, becoming the Chairman of the Commissioners. (39) The two separate offices entailed meeting regularly at Pontefract to adjudicate upon income, property and all aspects touching the same such as the number of servants, horses, windows, etc., which were subject to assessment of the rate of tax to be levied. Quite apart from ability, the position of Commissioner demanded great tact and delicacy as it involved detailed knowledge of everyone's business. (40)

John Carter was also the Chairman of the Knottingley Gas Co. and a trustee of the Leeds & Barnsley Turnpike Trust. In addition, his name was on the roster for appointment to the bench of West Riding Magistrates. However, being a brewer, he was legally debarred from such office. A letter written by the Lord Lieutenant of the County at the time of Carter's nomination indicated that the appointment would be made upon Carter's retirement from active business life. That day never arrived, however, Carter being in business at the time of his death. (41)

From the mid-nineteenth century, social and demographic change arising from technological and political factors engendered a gradual transformation in public awareness. As a result, new attitudes were formulated which stood in sharp contrast to, and challenged, the traditional basis of Select Vestry membership. An important factor in changing public perception was the extension of the franchise following the 1867 Reform Act. An increase occurred in the number of people able to comply with the property qualification which conferred eligibility for Vestry membership and this enabled men of only 'middling' prosperity to be elected. Indeed, it has been claimed that Knottingley had a proportionately higher number of the less prosperous class of ratepayer than almost anywhere else in England at that period. (42) Thus, by the 1870s a sharpened political distinction had occurred between the local adherents of the two national political parties. The schism was mirrored in the deepening division within the Select Vestry with an increasing element composed of townspeople whose prosperity and social status arose from association with minor trades, small manufacturers and commerce. Such men were generally non-conformists in religious belief and Liberals in political allegiance. Within the township this element found a figurehead in the person of Sydney Woolf, owner of the Ferrybridge-Knottingley potteries, established by his father, Lewis Woolf, a generation earlier. (43)

Lewis Woolf had been elected to the Select Vestry in 1851 and served continuously until 1861. Sydney Woolf had served for a single year in 1858 and then had succeeded to his father's place in 1862, becoming a leading figure and serving until 1880 at which time he became Liberal M.P. for Pontefract. (44) Of Jewish origin, Woolf was nevertheless closely identified with the Wesleyan element in Knottingley. John Carter, although an Anglican and churchwarden of St. Botolph’s church, was a Liberal in politics, being chairman of the local Liberal Association and parliamentary agent for the Rt.Hon. Hugh Childers, member for Pontefract, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The shared political philosophy of Carter and Woolf, allied to a mutual generosity, provided common ground and the two men frequently supported common causes and jointly participated in social and civic events.

Despite the fact that the Wesleyan fraternity was the foremost champion of the temperance movement in the district and therefore hostile to the business interests of John Carter, he was nevertheless respected for his urbane and genial disposition and welcomed within the very portals of Methodism. An indication of Carter's acceptance is shown by the fact that he was invited to lay the first stone for the new Ropewalk Methodist Chapel on the 20th March, 1845, and often shared the platform with Woolf at functions held under the auspices of the local Methodists.(45)

In general the brewing trade gave support to both political parties with a slight balance in favour of the Liberals. For John Carter and many of his contemporaries the Liberal party represented a radical alternative to the Establishment with its entrenched reactionary attitude as represented by the Tories. (46)

As provincial brewers amassed private wealth and acquired land and property they inclined towards Conservatism, particularly post 1870 when Liberal policies alienated them and united them almost completely in support of the Conservatives. The political outlook of George William Carter therefore stood in sharp contrast to that of his father. Whereas John Carter with his somewhat parochial life drawing to a close was too advanced in years to dance to a new political tune, George, with his university education and more cosmopolitan background was more willing to tread a different measure.

The Licensing Bill of 1871 with its proposals for reducing the opening hours of public houses and an increase in the incidence of inspection of such premises by state representatives were only two measures which threatened the existing laissez-faire situation within the licensing trade. Whilst public hostility engendered by the brewing lobby resulted in a modification to the original proposals and produced a milder enactment in the form of the Beer Act of 1872, the Act, together with an earlier one in 1869, had roused the hostility of those such as George Carter who had a vested interest in the trade. In addition, the local rating qualification introduced by the Liberal administration gave local authorities more freedom in levying rates. The measure had considerable financial consequences in respect of the tied houses of the company as shown by extant data concerning the public houses and brewery buildings at Knottingley (47) In addition, the measure had the practical effect of conferring on the ratepayers of any given district the power to decide the number of licensed houses. (48)

Quite apart from his disenchantment regarding legislation which had directly adverse consequences upon his profession Carter found himself in disagreement with other aspects of Liberal Party policy. One such area was with regard to the provision of public education and it was this issue which more than any other divided the local bourgeoisie during the 1870s. The single issue which most clearly defined the political attitude of the Knottingley ratepayers was that concerning the provision of public education within Knottingley. The Education Act of 1870 had cleared the way for the establishment of nondenominational local school boards with power to levy a rate to provide a financial subsidy for the education of local children. The wealthier ratepayers who not only made private provision for their own children but also often subsidised the Church controlled National School, objected to the prospect of an increase in the local rate in order to subsidise the education of children of the non-ratepaying citizens. (49)

Of seven nominated candidates for election to the first School Board in 1872 four were Anglicans, two of whom, John Carter and William Jackson, were closely associated with the National School. There were three Nonconformists, of whom Sydney Woolf and William Worfolk, a local landowner and shipbuilder, were governors of the Wesleyan School. Politically, the candidates were well balanced, three being Conservatives and four Liberal, one being John Carter.

The Conservatives sought to make a virtue of necessity by using School Board membership to restrict the Board's scope for action. John Carter, although a regular financial supporter of the National School was not a political ideologist and therefore provided a natural catalyst for consensus. Carter, however, weary and failing in health, declined the nomination. (50)

Following the election in June, 1872, a School Board was formed with two Liberals, two Conservatives and an Independent minister to hold the balance. Nevertheless, without John Carter as chairman to provide a consensual focus, political and sectarian machinations were afforded free play.

The year 1872 also witnessed the establishment of the local Conservative Association in which George Carter was instrumental. Formed as an anti-School Board pressure group with Carter as its president, the organisation's membership of fifty increased fivefold within its inaugural year. (51)

Emboldened by the evidence of political support, Carter and his supporters adopted a more assertive attitude to issues raised within the Select Vestry, to which body Carter had first been elected in 1866. (52) The sharpening of political conflict must have been a painful experience for John Carter, torn between his life-long loyalty to the Anglican church and its institutions on the one hand and his political philosophy and allegiance to the Liberal cause on the other. In little more than a twelvemonth, however, John Carter was dead. Shortly thereafter, a power struggle ensued between the faction led by George Carter and that of Sydney Woolf for the vacant chairmanship of the Select Vestry and, ipso facto, control of the township's civic affairs

If Sydney Woolf provided the leadership of the emergent class of self- made, Nonconformist, small businessmen and shopkeepers who supported the Liberals, George Carter with his intellectual ability and wealth derived from a more traditional, longer established business, was the natural leader of the Anglican propertied class within local society who were conservatives in nature and politics. The power struggle reached its height with the undignified and acrimonious 'Vestry Riots' of March, 1874, when despite fierce opposition George Carter was elected as Vestry Chairman, thereby breaking the long established Liberal control embodied in his late father. (53) However, the assumption of control of the family business left George Carter with less and less time for the pursuit of political objectives. When his arch rival, Sydney Woolf, resigned from the Select Vestry to become Liberal M.P. for Pontefract in 1880, Carter also retired from active politics.

Naturally, social status and civic prominence carried not only duties but financial burdens and obligations in the time honoured tradition of noblesse One aspect of such duty is seen in the frequency with which John Carter fulfilled the role of trustee, administering the affairs of friends and public organisations. Usually Carter is the sole nominated trustee outside the deceased's own family, as in the case of his partner, Edward Gaggs (54) and also his friends, William Moorhouse (55) and William Jackson (56) as well as in numerous other instances. (57) Two examples of a more general kind bespeak Carter's acceptance to local Methodist groups despite his trade and religious connections which were anathema to Nonconformists. One is the inclusion of Carter's name amongst the list of trustees of Kellington Methodist Chapel in September 1844, (58) and the other concerns the same connection with the Ferrybridge Wesleyan Chapel in 1858. (59)

References to acts of benefaction contained in the Carter archives are merely fiscal records made of necessity to ensure accurate accounts. Such entries are naturally understated, providing a tantalising but insubstantial indication of the background events which prompted the generosity for which John Carter in particular was noted. Occasionally an entry is sufficiently indicative of the humanity of the man who was described as being

"....ever ready to forward by the aid of his purse and active sympathy, every measure brought forward by his fellow townsmen." (60)

Thus an entry

"To Mary Proctor, wife of late brewer, 10 shillings - gift."

and again,

"Present to Mr Skelsey [Company Traveller] to go to the seaside - £1."

reveal not only loyalty and a sense of appreciation to past and present workers but a degree of consideration and thoughtfulness which belies much of what is known of the laissez faire philosophy of Victorian employers. (61)

As one might expect, the same virtues engendered acts of generosity to members of the family in the form of Xmas gifts, personal allowances and sundry gifts so numerous that they, being of a familial nature may be taken for granted. One, however, is recorded in such touching words that it clearly reveals the tender feeling underlying the anguish of bereavement and is therefore very poignant. John Carter's second wife, Sarah, who suffered several prolonged bouts of illness before her death in 1870 was nursed by her sister, Margaret, assisted by the household maids. Within a month of Sarah Carter's death John's account book records the sum of £50

"...paid to Miss Margaret Longden for her loving and unwearied attention to my late dear wife during her long and last illness." (62)

Nor was this unique for similar tokens of appreciation had been bestowed on Miss Longden and the servants following earlier periods of illness suffered by both Carter and his wife. (63) John Carter's devotion to his wife, expressed in tokens of appreciation to those who shared her suffering and his grief is also revealed in other more incidental ways which again, provide a glimpse of the private personality underlying the public figure. On going through the late Mrs Carter's personal effects Carter came across the sum of £17-10-0 left in a purse by the deceased and reserved the amount to defray the cost of iron railings for her grave. (64) Also, shortly after the death of his wife Carter donated £5 to the Ladies Dorcas Society of Knottingley as

"... a present in memory of the late Mrs Carter." (65)

As a churchwarden of St. Botolph's Church, Carter frequently donated money for the upkeep of the fabric, and sponsored events organised by the church. At the period of his death the Church was undergoing a complete process of restoration including the addition of the present tower. (66) Only two days before his death Carter subscribed £30 towards the restoration. (67)

Two years earlier a donation had been made to the Rev, H.E. Wood, Vicar of Knottingley East Parish, towards the purchase of a new peal of bells for Christ Church. (68)

Not surprisingly, perhaps, given his support for the Anglican based National Schools movement, George Carter followed his father's practise of making donations to support the local church. Thus, in 1887, when substantial alterations were made to St. Botolph's Church necessitating complete refurbishment, the chancel fittings and the east window were presented by George William Carter. (69) George Carter was also generous to his workpeople and local organisations allied directly or indirectly to his business life. In this respect George was merely continuing an aspect of his father's liberality. Thus annual subscriptions to Pontefract Agricultural Society, (70) Brotherton Show, (71) Pontefract Races, (72) and Cricket Club, (73) are only a few examples of their patronage. It is particularly unfortunate that such benefactions apart from attracting a degree of personal publicity were also events which provided ample scope for the sale of the sponsor's products, thereby laying him open to charges of self-interested benevolence regardless of how generous and disinterested his contribution. The lack of vested interest is seen ,however, with regard to two donations concerning Knottingley institutions both of which survive to this day. A donation of £2, in 1871, to Sydney Woolf Esq.,

"....being the guarantor of the Cricket Club."

suggests that the club had but recently been formed and that despite being underwritten by Woolf was seeking financial solvency through the benevolence of local worthies such as John Carter. (74)

The Cricket Club continued to be subsidised by George Carter in the years following John's death, George being a keen sportsman in his younger days as is testified by a family photograph showing him dressed in athletic gear, although it is unrecorded whether he ever played cricket.(75)

The second organisation to receive a donation was Knottingley Town Band which was in receipt of money from John Carter in April,1861. (76) By the late eighteenth century such bands were beginning to form an important aspect of popular local culture in many small towns and villages. The bands were frequently associated with local inns which offered facilities for practice and storage and whose landlords encouraged their development to promote both entertainment and the sale of beer. Money for purchase of the instruments was commonly raised by public subscription or sponsored by the brewer. (77) There is thus the distinct possibility of such a connection between Knottingley brewery and the town band.

Other small donations in the Carter accounts include those towards a testimonial to Mr Alford, Railway Manager, by the tradesmen of Knottingley in June, 1861, (78) and a similar donation made by George Carter to Miss Powell, National School Mistress, along with annual subscriptions to that institution. (79)

A further act of a more general philanthropic nature is the annual donation to the Port of Hull Society made via the Society's Knottingley representative, William Worfolk. Apart from its humanitarian considerations the subscription is perhaps an unspoken acknowledgement of the part played by the maritime element within and beyond the town in the prosperity brought to the brewery by its regular custom. (80) A more local donation concerns the gift of £1-5-0 made by George Carter to the poor widows of Knottingley in December,1877, which whilst revealing George Carter's generosity echoes the role of his father in the disbursement of Mrs Brown's Charity. (81) Many spontaneous acts of generosity doubtless went unrecorded, when having met an immediate need they were then lost in time.

---

NOTES: (Some details missing from my original copy)
(1) C.A.E. Uncatalogued miscellaneous business papers. Deed of Transfer dated 1-2-(?)
(2) I am indebted to Mr John Goodchild and Mr David Parry for information concerning Thomas Mark Carter's brewing interests.
(3) The precise date of W.E.Carter's move from Sheffield to Pontefract and the motive underlying the transfer are not known. Carter was joined by W.H.B.Atkinson who qualified in 1878 and by J.A.Bentley who qualified in 1889. In 1907, Bentley's nephew, Will Bentley joined the firm. Solicitors in those days were named after the partners so the firm started as W.E.Carter, became Carter & Atkinson and then Carter, Atkinson & Bentley, before adopting the present title. I am indebted to Mr N. Gundill for this information.
(4) The Census Return for 1841 records John Carter's age as 35, an obvious discrepancy as the age does not accord with the known date of birth.
(5) The Census return of 1851 give the respective ages of Carter's daughters as 17 and 11, thus making their dates of birth before 1841. The Return of June of that year, however, records only a son, John, aged 4 and a daughter, Elizabeth, aged 1.
(6) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1837-74, folio 71.
(7) C.A.E. folio 91.
(8) W.Y.A.S. Wakefield.Indenture 15-11-1871.
(9) Knottingley Township Rate Book, 1857, folios 22-25 & 178, gives the extent of the Bywater estate as in excess of 34 acres. The land contained numerous cottages and diverse properties.
(10) I am indebted to Mr T.M.Carter of Eccleshall Castle for providing me with a copy of the family pedigree and for information concerning individual family members.
(11) Thomas Mark Carter Esq.,F.R.I.C.S.,married Celia, daughter of Major & Mrs H.C.Wegner in 1965. Their offspring consists of two daughters, Melissa and Catherine.
(12) C.A.E. Rent Ledger,1875-85, pp1-2.
(13) [not available]
(14) [not available]
(15) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1869-73, (n.p.) passim.
(16) ibid.
(17) ibid, entry 1-2-1870. Also c.f. entry 6-12-1870 and passim.
(18) C.A.E. G.W.Carter's Private Ledger, 1873-80, folios 18 & 199.
(19) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1869-73 (n.p.) entry 1-5-1871.
(20) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1870-78, folio 53.
(21) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger,1869-73, (n.p.) entry 31-5-1871.
(22) W.Y.A.S. Wakefield. 660/412/474.
(23) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger,1869-73, (n.p.) marginal note 1-7-1871.
(24) W.Y.A.S. Wakefield. 669/156/162.
(25) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1869-73, (n.p.), entry 29-5-1872.
(26) Pontefract Telegraph, 18th October 1873, & Pontefract Advertiser, 11th October,
(27) Knottingley Township Rate Book, 1902, folio 84.
(28) C.A.E. G.W.Carter's (& Heirs) Private Ledger, 1906-45, folios 135 & 136.
(29) Forrest, op cit, p61.
(30) ibid.
(31) C.A.E. Uncatalogued miscellaneous papers. Account Book, Mrs Brown's Charity, 1853-71.
(32) Forrest, op cit, p76.
(33) Goodchild Collection, Wakefield. Articles of Knottingley Marine Insurance Co.,1826. I am grateful to Mrs R.Bowyer, of Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, for providing me with a transcribed copy of this item copied by kind permission of Mr Goodchild.
(34) K.S.V.M. Book, 1840-52, p93.
(35) K.S.V.M. Books, 1840-73, passim.
(36) K.S.V.M. Book, 1840-52, p275.
(37) K.S.V.M. Book, 1861-81, pp178-79. Also, Knottingley Burial Board Minute Book, 1858-92, (n.p.), passim.
(38) K.S.V.M. Book, 1861-81, pp186-87. Reprinted as Appendix 1. Spencer T. 'The Select Vestry 'Riots' -Knottingley, 1874., unpublished monograph. (1992).
(39) Pontefract Telegraph 8th October 1873
(40) Pontefract Advertiser 18th October 1873.
(41) Pontefract Telegraph 8th October 1873.
(42) Winters.J.G. 'Knottingley & Its School Board'. Unpublished and undated Mss. Also, Pontefract Advertiser 1st February,1873.
(43) Blanchard, op cit, Volume 1, pp30-31.
(44) K.S.V.M. Book,1852-61, p208 & loc cit, 1861-81, pp22-276 passim.
(45) Chapman, Rev. S., op cit, p11, citing Pontefract & Castleford Wesleyan Methodist Circuit Record, 1885. Also, Pontefract Advertiser 1st April 1865.
(46) Mathias, op cit, p336.
(47) C.A.E. Note pasted inside back cover of Rent Ledger, 1876-85.
(48) Girouard. M. 'Victorian Pubs', (1974, paperback ed.) p60.
(49) Winters, loc cit, contains an excellent account of the background to the establishment of the Knottingley School Board while Blanchard, op cit, Volume 2, pp143-48, outlines the historical development of education within the township. Also c.f. Forrest, op cit, p71.
(50) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger,1869-73 (n.p.), entry 1-10-1871, records a donation of £5 towards clearance of debt on the National Schools, one of many such subscriptions.
(51) Pontefract Advertiser 11th January 1873, quoted in Winters, op cit.
(52) K.S.V.M.Book, 1861-81, p121 and passim.
(53) W.Y.A.S. Wakefield. MU/59/39 & passim.
(54) loc cit, NQ/86/86 & passim.
(55) loc cit, XM/270/293.
(56) loc cit, MH/48/53. & MZ/619/564 & passim.
(57) loc cit, PC/243/229.
(58) loc cit, UB/139/51.
(59) Spencer T. 'The Select Vestry Riots, Knottingley, 1874'.
(60) Pontefract Telegraph 18th October 1873.
(61) C.A.E. Company Account Book,1860-70, folios 226 & 112.
(62) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger,1869-71, (n.p.), entry 17-1-1871.
(63) ibid, entries 7-1-1867 & 21-3-1868.
(64) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1869-73, (n.p.), entry 6-8-1872.
(65) ibid, entry 30-12-1870.
(66) Pontefract Advertiser 15th November 1873, & 22nd November 1873, for full account of restoration of St.Botolph's Church and construction of new tower.
(67) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1870-78, folio 95.
(68) C.A.E. John Carter's Private Ledger, 1869-73, (n.p.), entry 15-9-1871.
(69) Kelly's Directory, 1904.
(70) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1860-70, folios 37,83, and passim.
(71) C.A.E. G.W.Carter's Private Ledger,1881-85, folio 15 and passim.
(72) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1860-70, folios 83,107 and passim.
(73) C.A.E. Company Account Book,1873-80, folio 204.
(74) C.A.E. John Carter's Personal Ledger,1869-73, (n.p.), entry 14-7-1871.
(75) C.A.E. G.W.Carter's Personal Ledger,1881-85, folio 15.
(76) C.A.E., Company Account Book,1860-70, folio 8.
(77) Wier C. 'Village & Town Bands', Shire Publications, (1981), pp7-8.
(78) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1860-70, folio 12.
(79) C.A.E. G.W.Carter's Private Ledger, 1881-85, folio 102.
(80) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1870-78, folio 127.
(81) C.A.E. Company Account Book, 1873-80, folio 160.