Rushden School In Duck Street
Mr Mather of Wellingborough, Inventor of Instruments (a disciple of Newton, Sir Isaac). Mr Mather was born on October 17^th, 1841, 7^th son of Mr John Mather, farmer, Knuston, Irchester. He first went to John Barry’s School in Duck St, Rushden (so he says). All he remembers of the School was that on the occasion of Ditchford Mills being burnt down, he, with some other boys went to see the fire, and on returning to school they were rewarded by a taste of the stirrup iron and strap which Barry used for he was a shoemaker as well as a “teacher”. Next he went to Higham Ferrers Grammar School & Mr John Sanderson gave him a book to read which dealt with Newton’s discovery in astronomy. Talking of his early days at Knuston Lodge, Mr Mather said his father had a blacksmith’s shop for the purpose of shoeing the farm horses and repairing the implements & young Mather like Newton began to make water clocks, windmills & a machine that could thresh mustard & cress seed which was worked by a billy-goat going round & round. It was the result of an accident in falling into a thrashing machine & being spun round that he discovered the truth of the theory of Newton’s as to the rotation of the earth. This Knuston Farm must be quite noted because Mr Jonathan Austin, who lived at Knuston Farm after Mather, built an organ in the barn there on a new principal, it was built on a loft & I think I was about the first to see it, Mr Austin being a great friend of mine & I taught his son John the organ (in Parish Church) who is now one of the great leaders of organ building in America if not the largest. He has been to see me twice, sent me some fine catalogues & illustrations of his fine great organs. His brother Basil Austin went out to Klondyke, now I think he is with John in the organ trade.