Nathan Mather’s passion for sports can be discovered within the pages of sporting newspapers at the later end of the 19th century. His name was prominent in the racing columns, match results tables and featured in many sporting event articles. One sport that Nathan was linked too was Pedestrianism.
Pedestrianism was a 19th-century form of competitive walking, often professional and funded by wagering, from which the modern sport of race walking developed. – Wikipedia
Born on the 17th of May 1845, Nathan spent his youth growing up with his five siblings in the public houses of Blackrod, namely the ‘Three Crowns’ & ‘Three Axes’. His occupation early in his adult life was ‘clogger’; an employment that was predominant on his mother’s side of the family.
Clogger: made clogs, wooden shoes worn by the lower classes. – familyresearcher.co.uk
A young lad by the name of John Ralph Orrell worked alongside Nathan as an apprentice. One evening when John was walking home from work, he was remarkably struck by lightning! Census records show that he survived and continued in his trade as a clogger in Blackrod.
Blackrod to Preston
Nathan Mather moved away from Blackrod to Shepherd Street, Preston sometime between 1878-1881 and married landlady of the Arkwright Arms in 1881.
Alice Heap (nee Turner) a widow, had two children: Mary Alice Heap and her brother Thomas.
Thomas went on to run a successful betting business. His life can be explored further in the blog post ‘Tommy Mather: The Boy Bookmaker‘.
Evidence suggests that Nathan had known Alice for some time prior to them being married, as he had mixed in the same sporting circles as her late husband Thomas Heap.
Nathan’s keen interest in race sports was very much established before he moved to Preston.
Sources from the early 1870’s show that Nathan was attending rabbit coursing matches in Blackrod and Wigan, and he would also travel to pre-arranged halfway points such as Manchester, to match his dogs against those of other enthusiasts.
Nathan kept numerous racing dogs over his lifetime with names including Luce, Bruce, Honeymoon, Mad Sweep, Mulled Ale, Bad Tenor, and ‘Sprint’.
As well as racing his dogs he would also enter them into dog shows at the local agricultural fairs.
At a Leyland Agricultural Show in 1887, Nathan had a narrow escape when he was trodden on by a runaway horse! He was left with serious bodily bruising and a very severe cut over his left eye.
New Cock Yard
Not long after his marriage to Alice, the family moved to the ‘New Cock Inn’, a public house located in Fishergate’s New Cock Yard. It was suggested later by his stepchildren that he spent very little time managing the public house, leaving that to his wife Alice and stepson whilst he continued to focus on his sporting pleasures. He would go away sometimes for weeks at a time for coursing and shooting matches.
Nathan also backed a number of amateur runners and sprinters, including an early trainer of Preston North End FC, John Fishwick, as well as Essex born Fred. E Bacon, a fine runner who briefly held the ‘world mile record’ and went on to become head trainer for Manchester United Football club until 1912.
“Watching with apparent nonchalance was Mr. Nathan Mather, of the Preston Pleasure Grounds, whose happy and healthy-toned countenance and burly figure, so indissolubly associated with Willie Cummings enterprises, was warmly welcomed.” – A ‘Sporting Life’ reporter present at the Two Mile World Championship at Celtic Park, Glasgow 1896. Competing was Fred.E Bacon against his Irish rival T.P “Tommy” Conneff. It was a finishing win for Fred Bacon.
As well as employed as a ‘part-time landlord’, Nathan was also proprietor of the Preston Borough Race Grounds, formally in the possession of Alice’s first husband Thomas Heap Snr.
It was here that Nathan managed one of the most famous names in foot racing, his friend Mr. William Jeffery Cummings, a native of Paisley and a champion of long distance running. William was also married to Alice Mather’s sister Esther.
Nathan was a staunch supporter of William and had arranged the championship races against W.G. George in the middle and late 1880’s.
Described as ‘historic’, the first ‘mile challenge’ was held in 1885 at Lillie Bridge, witnessed by some 30,000 spectators. William lost this race to W.G George but defeated him at a 4-mile challenge in 1885 (Edinburgh) and again soon after at Lillie Bridge when they ran it out over 10 miles. *
“Cummings beautiful style was never more strikingly illustrated than on this occasion… he is undoubtedly the best man from one to ten miles ever seen on the path.” – Ten Mile Event at Lillie Bridge.
A rematch of the 1885-mile challenge was organised in 1886, again at Lillie Bridge in front of crowds of a similar number to the first race. Walter George took the win and beat Cummings record time.
Mile Run Records
William Jeffery Cummings 14 May 1881 – Time 4:16 1/5
Walter Goodall George 23 August 1886 – Time: 4:12 3/4
Nathan can be seen second on the left, standing next to William Cummings on the mark to start their 1886 race.
1889
Football
Nathan also took an interest in football. On Christmas Day morning of 1893, a team representing Nathan and Jimmy Trainer battled it out for the prize of a common or garden potato pie!
Friendship
A good friend of Nathan Mather was Joseph Smith Hodgson, a commercial book traveller who often stayed in Preston. They knew each other for thirty years and had first become acquainted when Joseph had heard that Nathan was a “celebrated man in sport”.
Another close friend of Nathan’s was Thomas Kershaw, a plumber of Miller Road, Preston. Kershaw often placed his sports bets with Nathan and then later with his step son Thomas Heap.
Marriage
Nathan’s wife Alice passed in 1900. Five years later he married Mary Ellen Wilkinson and lived the later portion of his life at 28 Lathom Street in Preston. Nathan’s sister Jane Elizabeth also lived with them.
Nathan described himself as a retired innkeeper on the 1921 census. One year later on the 5th of May 1922 Nathan died aged seventy-six.
Known property acquired by Nathan Mather over his lifetime aside from the New Cock Inn and Borough Race Grounds, include his home on Lathan Street, Preston. Houses on Tulketh Crescent and Powis Road in Ashton. Two neighbouring houses on Ribbleton Lane and the ‘Sir Walter Scott’ public house.
Sources & Further Reading:
- Ancestry
- Find my past
- Lancashire Record Office
- British Newspaper Archive
- The Graphic
- ‘The 100-up-excercise” – By W.G George
- Wikipedia
- Ownership Electors Register