Ramsbottom Grant Arms Hotel in Market Place was the home of William and Daniel Grant, 19th century industrialists closely associated with the rise of the town and reputed to be the inspiration for the Cheeryble brothers in "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens. The Grants' employees were paid in tokens that had to be redeemed at a public house owned by the company. The landlord converted the tokens into cash, but only after deducting threepence per person, which had to be spent on beer, a variation on the truck system. A network of roads and railways routed through Ramsbottom allowed for a
Dickens in America completely restored. Miriam tells us that when Dickens came to the hall for his public reading there was a poultry show going on downstairs and when the janitor turned on the lights for the show, the roosters thought it was morning and started to crow. They continued to do so throughout the reading. Dickens was quite put out. Miriam finishes her tour of America with a special meeting at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library on Saturday, December 18, 2004. Everyone who appears in the series, from Boston to St. Louis to Montreal, was invited and