Cudworth, William

This item is active and ready to use

Cudworth, William

Portrait of William Cudworth, Journalist and Bradford Historian, by John Sowden, 1889.

Sowden's note in notebooks -
'Was born in Bradford in 1830. After such schooling as came within his range the son followed his father in the printing trade, & was apprenticed to Mr Wm Byles, proprietor of the Bradford Observer in 1842 and remained on the staff of the Observer until 1898, when he retired from active association with the `Observer', having been over 50 years on the paper as printer & journalist. His first published book entitled 'Round About Bradford' published in 1876 had a circulation of over 2,000 copies. His second work was 'Historical Notes on the Bradford Corporation' in 1881. In 1886 he published the first of a series of township histories, entitled 'Rambles Round Horton', a second volume on the townships of Bolton and Bowling in 1891, and a third volume dealing with manningham, Heaton & Allerton in 1896. These volumes involved a vast amount of original research, forming an invaluable reference for the future. In 1889 he published the 'Life & Correspondence of Abraham Sharp' mathematician and astronomer & assistant to Hamstead (sic) [actually Flamsteed], first Astronomer Royal. This was Mr Cudworth's most important literary effort. The work deals with contemporary families, with pedigrees & portraits, & attracted considerable attention in the London press. Amongst his minor contributions were 'Worstedopolis' 1888, 'Musical Reminiscences of Bradford' 1885, 'Yorkshire Dialect Sketches' 1884. He was for many years secretary of the Bradford Antiquary & wrote a number of articles for that paper. In 1892 Mr Cudworth celebrated the jubilee of his connection with the Bradford Observer, on which occasion he was the recipient of a gold watch and a purse of 150 guineas in recognition of his many contributions & interesting research into matters pertaining to the history of his native town. Mr Cudworth died in 1906 and left a numerous family.'

Creator

Sowden

Image filename

sowden-145