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Cedric was the pseudonym adopted by two of Mobberley’s historians.
The first was William Norbury (1827-1910).
Born in Pownall Fee district of Wilmslow he had possibly three sisters and spent the early years of his life living with his maternal grandparents (Goodiers) in the Bollin Fee district.1
He married Ann Burgess in 1852 and they had at least three children, Hannah (c1858), Ann (c1864) and Mary (c1861)
At the age of 53 he was an “Inspector Of Nuisances, Buildings & Canal Boats”.
It was around this time he was writing about the local area in “Notes and Queries” columns of Manchester City News and the Stockport Advertiser. He, along with John Owen, was also a member of, and contributor to, the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society” under his own name as well as CEDRIC*
His stories were signed off, “Rotherwood - CEDRIC”.
Now Cedric of Rotherwood was a Saxon Lord, father of Ivanhoe in Sir Walter Scotts’ classic fiction of the same name**.
As there is a Rotherwood connection in Wilmslow it is assumed that William Norbury took on this name for that reason. Rotherwood Road runs between Moor Lane and Newgate, Morley, Wilmslow.
Nine years before his death on 22nd. July 1910 aged 82, William Norbury was still married to Ann and living in the Birkdale area of Lancashire; he had retired from farming. Ann died in 1902 and William possibly moved back to Wilmslow because he was buried at St.John the Evangelist Church, Lindow.
1. 1841/1851 Census:
* Thanks to David Gilligan, editor North Cheshire Family Historian in which# he has a feature on “Family History at Mobberley” and “Visiting Mobberley in 1888”.
** Thanks again to David for providing this connection.
#For more information see Vol.33 No.2 - May 2006.
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The second was Herbert Hulme (c1868-1947) CedricII and sometimes “Dulciana3”. He was born into a farming family, 134 acres in High Legh. His father James, and mother Elizabeth, had seven other children, Elizabeth, Mary, John, William, James, Walter and Joseph2
In his early years he was a law clerk and between 1896-99 married Knutsford girl Lizze Clayton at Rostherne’s St. Mary’s. They lived on Chelford Road in Knutsford2
Herbert was organist and choirmaster at Mobberley’s St.Wilfrid’s for over forty years. His writings were published in the Stockport Advertiser and local pamphlets3 and later these stories were collectively published, as “Old Mobberley”, in a dozen bound volumes which were distributed to local libraries and the churchwardens at St.Wilfrid’s.
(The webmaster has some of the original cuttings but unfortunately they are undated so library records will need to be consulted to establish the period over which he wrote.)
The preface to “Old Mobberley” suggests that the stories were published before 1909.
Other titles credited to Cedric II are:
Bygone Rostherne and Tatton in the County of Chester and.
Cheshire Antiquities. Volume 1
2 - Census returns 1851, 61, 71, 1901.
3 - A History of Mobberley Village by members of the WI
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