The Life and Work of Edward Burlend Back to the Main Historical Society page
Back to the Barwicker Contents page

The Life and Work of Edward Burlend


Barwicker No. 19
September 1990


The writer, Edward Burlend, was born in Horsforth on 18 April 1813. His parents, John and Rebecca Burlend (neé Burton), took a small farm in Barwick on a 14 year lease in 1817, and Edward spent his boyhood there


Life for the Burlends was not easy as Rebecca describes:
'as corn at that time was selling well, the rent was fixed at too high a rate for us to obtain a comfortable livelihood. We did indeed, by dint of great industry and strict economy, maintain our credit to the end of the lease; but the severe struggles we had to meet our payments, (led to) the gradual diminution of our little property and the entire absence of any prospects of being able to supply the wants of a large family.'


There were personal problems too. Of the nine Burlend children born in Barwick, four died including a pair of twins before they were baptised. (See 'A Mother's Lament' in 'Village Rhymes'). Edward did not enjoy good health but despite all these troubles, his memories of the time are clearly happy ones.

When the lease on the farm expired in 1831, his parents emigrated to Illinois in the United States leaving him and his eldest sister Mary, who was 'in service with a respectable family'. He had received sufficient education at Barwick village school under John Irvine and others to secure the position of under teacher at a boarding school. His education was by no means complete, as he explained: 'Brought up to the plough till I was 18 years of age, and then thrown onto my own resources to make my own way as a teacher, it will easily be understood that for many years I had to devote my leisure time to strictly laborious study'. He subsequently taught in Hunslet and in 1839, he married Hannah Watson, a schoolteacher and daughter of John Watson, a wood dealer. They appear to have had no children. In 1843, Edward accepted the post of schoolmaster in Swillington, the birthplace of his wife.

His parents prospered in America despite early hardships and in 1845 Rebecca returned to England on a visit. Edward's 6ister and her family later returned with her. As a result of this visit, Edward Burlend wrote 'A True Picture of Emigration' describing the experiences of his parents in America. This was first published anonymously in 1848, but was later ascribed to his mother. In the Prefatory Remarks he says: 'the materials and facts herein contained were delivered to him viva voce by his mother the principal agent in the narrative, during a visit to this, her native country . . . It is what it professes to be: "a true picture"; the incidents are fact not fiction; the language only in which they are described belongs to the author.' In addition to a copy of this book, there is, in the Leeds City Reference Library, an edited version published in 1936 in 'Lakeside Classics', a series of books on American history. Some of the material given here and the photograph of Edward Burlend are taken from this edition. A second version of the book entitled 'Wesleyan Christianity Tested and Exemplified' appeared in 1856 or 1857 under Edward Burlend's name, but we have not located a copy. Rebecca was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Society and must have been familiar with the Old Chapel, now the Welfare Institute in Chapel Lane, Barwick.

At the time of the 1851 census, Edward and Hannah were living in Swillington, described as Schoolmaster and Schoolmistress. By the following year, he had retired from teaching, perhaps because of ill-health. In spite of this, the 1850's and 1860's were his most productive years as a writer. In 1858, he published 'A Catechism of English History', perhaps to be used as a teaching aid. In 1858, a book of 58 poems called 'Village Rhymes' appeared. We have not located either of these publications. In 1863, the novel 'Amy Thornton or the Curate's Daughter' was published (see an article on this in Barwicker No.5 . This is set partly in the Barwick of the 1820's. We think that this is partly factual and that he has woven real people and incidents into a work of fiction.

In 1868, he brought out a second, enlarged edition of 'Village Rhymes', with 72 additional poems, including a long poem called 'Barwick-in-Elmet'. The poem describes the Barwick of his boyhood, in the second and third decades of the last century. The book shows that Burlend was a competent poet; imaginative, articulate and well-informed. It is the historical value of the poem which is for us its most important contribution. It is the only source of information that we possess which was specifically written to tell the reader what life was like in Barwick at that time. Other documents - census returns, church records, parish account books, deeds, wills, etc - were written for some other purpose.

On 28 February 1872, Hannah died, followed three years later by Edward. Their tombstone in Swillington churchyard, reads ―

‘In memory of Edward Burlend of Swillington, schoolmaster, who died on April 6th 1875. Under social disadvantages and under extreme delicacy of constitution, he taught with marked success a competent knowledge of classics, mathematics and other branches of science and literature. As an original thinker his prose works, and as an elegant writer, his poetry will remain evidence of his power and ability, Cautious, peaceful and retiring in nature he lived respected, and at his end truly deserving the character of a Just man.’

ARTHUR BANTOFT


Back to the top
Back to the Main Historical Society page
Back to the Barwicker Contents page