Pressed Plants and Mosses
Tameside Museums are very lucky to have a beautiful collection of pressed plants and mosses. These are rarely seen as they are very fragile, sensitive to light and difficult to display.
He was born in a cottage in the Brushes Valley high above Stalybridge and grew up surrounded by the countryside which inspired his love of nature. He worked in the local cotton industry and eventually became a manager at Cheetham Mills. The long hours he worked did not detract from his enthusiasm for natural history and he collected specimens of wildflowers, mosses, insects, moths, butterflies and shells. He became well-known by other botanists especially through his work with local societies that had grown up in many towns to promote the study of natural history.
One of his fellow botanists described him as: "A good botanist and entomologist and an enthusiastic admirer of nature, whose open countenance and straightforward conduct plainly showed the kind heart within him."
He left mill work in later life, working as a shopkeeper and publican. His final job, which must have been a dream job for him, was a gardener at Eastwood Park in Stalybridge. When he died in 1871, at the age of 83, a monument was built to him in Stamford Park and a blue plaque dedicated to him is situated at the entrance to Stalybridge Country Park.
Moss collected by Jethro Tinker
