The History and Topography of South Crosland, Armitage Bridge and Netherton (1938) by Philip Ahier

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THE

HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF

SOUTH CROSLAND ARMITAGE BRIDGE

AND

NETHERTON

PART 1.

By PHILIP AHIER ©

PRICE. TWO. SHILLINGS

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Ca

THE

HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY re aaa SOUTH CROSLAND

ARMITAGE BRIDGE AND

NETHERTON

PART I.

By PHILIP AHIER

[COPYRIGHT]

HouMFIRTH : Exu1 Cotuins & Co., Lrp., PRINTERS, ‘*Express’’ OFFICE

19388

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CHAPTER

IT. IIT.

ae

V.

Vii WAR, VIII, IX.

X. XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

CONTENTS.

Situation, Boundaries and Derivation of the Place-names in the Locality = =

The Manors of North and South Crosland

The Murder of Sir Robert de Beaumont at Crosland Hall in 1341 e =

The Local Government Board of Health of South Crosland, 1876-1894 = =

The South Crosland Urban District Council, 1894-1938 = = = = =

Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland = The Methodist Church at Netherton 2 Netherton Congregational Church = =

Educational Institutions in South Crosland and Netherton = be

Roads and Transport through Netherton =

Halls and Houses in South Crosland and

Netherton = = = = = =

Public Houses in South Crosland and

I Netherton = x = © The South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society = “ 2

Interesting Events in South Crosland, Armitage Bridge and Netherton up till 1876 = = = : = =

Jubilee and Coronation Celebrations in South Crosland and Netherton =

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42 53 58 65

68 84°

90

98

101

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126

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PAL

daa History and Topography of South Crosland could I never have been written without the kind assistance of hosts of friends in South Crosland, Armitage and Netherton.

I must, first of all, place on record my appreciation of the facilities which have been very kindly placed at my dis- posal by the Chairman and Councillors of the former South Crosland Urban District Council, particularly in their loaning to me five account books of the former Overseers of the Poor, the Minute Books of the previous Local Government Board and a number of other documents and manuscripts to be found in their archives.

I am also under a great debt of obligation to Mr. J. H. Bradley, of Nethermoor Farm, for the loan of a number of M.S. note books dealing with the period 1765 to 1840.

To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Hud- dersfield Borough Council, I am once again most grateful for according me permission to peruse the Court Rolls of the Manor of Almondbury and to quote therefrom; to the Town Clerk, Mr. S. Procter, I must tender my best thanks for having given me the necessary facilities.

Others who have rendered me most valuable assistance are Mr. Harold A. Willis, Public Assistance Officer of the Public Assistance Department of the Borough of Hudders- field; Mr. G. Campbell Vaughan, Chief Constable of the West of Yorkshre Constabulary; Mr. Fred C. Crowther, Agent of the Whitley Beaumont Estates; Mr. Brian Crow- ther; the Secretary of the Charity Commissioners; The Rev. T. W. Sweeting, Vicar of Holy Trinity Church; Councillor W. C. Dowthwaite; Mr. Amos Parkin and several other Trustees of the Wesleyan Church at Netherton; Mr. W. France, of the Congregational Church; the Officials of the West Riding Education Offices in Huddersfield; Mr. R. O. Hampton; Mr. W. Hinkins; Mr. W. H. Buckley; Mrs. B. Langrick; Mr. J. H. Boys; Miss M. Wrigley (for the loan of her ‘‘History of Netherton and of the Wrigley Family,’’ and permission to quote therefrom); Mr. F. C. C. Wrigley, J.P.; Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P.; Mr. T.

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Earnshaw (for his kindness in allowing me to summarise from his ‘‘History of the South Crosland and Netherton Co- operative Society’’); Mr. Clive Crosland; Mr. W. B. Crump, M.A.; Mr. H. C. Wallace; Mr. D. H. Hirst; Mr. Alfred Leece; Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Keys; Councillor W. B. Cass; Mr. Ammon Garside; Mr. G. S. Ashworth; Mr. Horace Goulden, F.L.A., Public Librarian of the Huddersfield Public Library, and his assistants; Dr. W. H. Smailes; to all these I must express my very best thanks.

I am most indebted to the Proprietors of the ‘‘Hudders- field Examiner’’ and the ‘‘Huddersfield Borough Advertiser’’ for their kindness in allowing me to quote and reproduce articles previously printed in these newspapers, and to the former for consulting their files on many occasions.

In conclusion, I must express my very best thanks to Mr. G. V. Baxter, Clerk to the U.D.C., for kindly allowing his office staff to type the M.S. in readiness for the printer.

To any others whom I may have omitted in the above list, I express my gratitude for their help and co-operation.

I hope, at a future date, to write an account of the forms of local government which existed in South Crosland previous to the year 1876, viz., the work of the Overseers of the Poor, the Constable, etc. . PHILIP AHIER.

24, Lightridge Road, Sheepridge, Huddersfield. July, 1938.

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CHAPTER I 1.

SITUATION, BOUNDARIES AND DERIVATION OF THE PLACE NAMES IN THE LOCALITY.

Urban District of South Crosland up till March 31st, 1938, comprised the two hamlets of Mag Lordship and South Crosland; the former contained 398 acres of land, the latter 1,436 acres, making a total area of 1,834 acres.

The District was bounded on the north by Lockwood, in the Borough of Huddersfield, and by Linthwaite; on the east by Almondbury, in the Borough of Huddersfield; on the south by the Urban District of Honley; and on the west by the Urban District of Meltham.

The watershed of the District lay towards the east and north, the River Holme forming its boundary on the east side; the Mag Brook, a tributary of the River Holme, form- ing the boundary on the south side.

The actual boundary limits could be defined thus: Com- mencing at Park Valley Mills (the former Dungeon Mills), thence along the River Holme to Steps Bridge, Honley, along the Mag Brook, thence to Healey House, thence to Hall Dyke, thence to Bent Ley at MeJtham, thence in a north- westerly direction to Blackmoorfoot hamlet, thence in a north- easterly direction towards Crosland Moor to the Hole in the Wall, thence to the top of Woodside Road, thence in a south- easterly direction to Butternab, thence in a north-westerly zig-zag direction back to Park Valley Mills.

One of the former boundary stones between the County Borough of Huddersfield and the Township of South Crosland can be seen on the left-hand side of the Lockwood-Meltham road at the previous point of division some 200 yards before coming to the Big Valley proceeding to Netherton. It con- sists of a stone quarried in the form of a wedge with the top surface chamfered. On the Huddersfield side appear the words :— I

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Huddersfield Corporation B Huddersfield (written vertically ) On the other side of the wedge :— South Crosland Township B

South Crosland (also written vertically).

Another similar boundary stone dividing South Crosland from Meltham is to be seen on the main road from South Crosland to Meltham (near Bent Ley Silk Mills).

The population of the District is distributed mainly in the three principal villages of Netherton, Armitage Bridge and - South Crosland, with scattered and isolated houses or small hamlets in other parts, as at Magdale and Crosland Edge. Netherton is practically the centre of the District, and con- tains the largest number of houses, some residential, while other dwellings can be described as being ‘‘a better class of cottages.’’ Armitage Bridge has the lowest altitude of the District, and adjoins the Borough of Huddersfield; its in- habitants find employment at the large mills there, which are principally engaged in the manufacture of woollen and wor- sted clothing; there are also a few small farms, which supply milk to the district and to Huddersfield. South Crosland is the oldest part of the District, the bleakest and the most exposed, being at a higher altitude than the rest of the area; here, the principal occupations are agriculture, milk farms and stone quarries.

DERIVATION of the Place-names in the District.

(a) ARMITAGE BRIDGE.

Armitage Bridge is one of the few West Riding locality names whose origin is French. The derivation is from an old French word, ‘‘hermitage,’’ the abode of a recluse, and the surname Armitage owes its origin to this ancient place-name. The Chartulary of Pontefract contains a deed dated about 1212 in which occurs the phrase ‘‘Heremitagie que jacit juxta Caldwenedenebroc’’ (the hermitage which lies near the Cald- wenedene brook,’’ probably an older name for the Mag

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brook). In an early Yorkshire deed dated 1352, it is spelled ‘‘Ermitage’’; in the Poll Tax Returns of 1379 the name of William de Ermytache appears, while in 1514 we find the modern form, Armitage. A photograph of The Hermitage is to be found in the late Mr. B. Langrick’s ‘‘History of St. Paul’s Church, Armitage Bridge.’’

(b) CROSLAND.

The locality name is derived from two words which, joined together, mean ‘‘the land (or estate) where there is a Cross’’; the word ‘‘cross’’ is probably derived from an old Irish Word of the same form, and was brought to England by the Norsemen, who settled in considerable numbers in Cumberland, Lancashire and in the West Riding of York- shire; the word ‘‘land’’ is derived from an old Norse word so spelt meaning ‘‘an estate’’ or ‘“‘piece of land,’’ hence Crosland was a settlement of Norse immigrants in the district, and had religious associations before the Norman Conquest of 1066, but where the actual cross stood is not known, nor have we any means of locating its site. The first recorded spelling of Crosland is in the Doomsday Book, in which there are two variant renderings, ‘‘Crosland’’ and ‘‘Croisland.”’ In the Pontefract Chartulary, 1212, it is spelled ; ‘ in one of the Wakefield Court Rolls it is written ““Croslande,’ while in the ‘‘Nomina Villarum, 1316, it is recorded as ‘‘Crosseland.’’

(c) NETHERTON.

The locality name means ‘‘the lower farm,’’ the last element in the word, viz., ‘‘ton,’’ being derived either from an old Anglian or Norse word, ‘‘tun,’’ meaning an ‘‘enclosure’”’ r ‘‘farmstead.’’ The first recorded spelling of the place-

name is one of the ‘‘Yorkshire Fines’’ dated 1523.

(d) MAG. The prefix of Magdale and Mag’*brook is probably derived from an old Norse word ‘‘magi,’’ which literally means **stomach’’ or ‘‘belly,’’ and is used in this sense to denote a

narrow river gorge.

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(e) Various Names.

A large number of place-names are to be found in old deeds and documents relating to the former Manors of North and South Crosland, e.g., Stainrigs (14th Century); Botirn- able, 1492; Hessilgresse, 1533; Royd Bank, 1584; Mere- holme, 1584. Other locality names which are mentioned in old M.S. books relating to the District are Steps, Bankfoot Lane, Hill Top, Martin Nest, Dungeon Mills, Big Valley, Blue Slates, Inkerman (after 1854), etc.

The student of the local history of South Crosland is confronted by many difficulties, the first of which is the fact that South Crosland itself, before 1875, consisted of two separate units of quasi-local self-government; (i) the township of South Crosland proper (sometimes known as Crosland-half to distinguish it from North Crosland; (ii) the Mag Lord- ship. Concerning the latter I have no knowledge as to how it came into being, but the fact remains that it had its own township meetings at which Surveyors of the Highways for that area were elected.

A second difficulty is the fact that the former ‘‘Constab- lery’’ of Crosland-half consisted of the major portion of the hamlet of South Crosland as well as of parts of Lockwood and Linthwaite, and that the Constable of Crosland-half re- ceived a rate towards his expenses which had to be met by the inhabitants of these parts of Lockwood and Linthwaite.

Again, a part of the Manor of Quarmby lay within the Manor of South Crosland. This is proved by the fact that in old documents certain place names are referred to as being in both these localities, while in late 18th century days and up till 1834, the Overseer of the Poor of South Crosland paid out of the Poor Rate a sum of money to the Constable of Quarmby. It is possible that this part of the Township of South Crosland which was held under the former Manor of Quarmby was a relic of the re-granting of the Manors in this district by William I after 1085. At some date, not known, both the Manors of North Crosland and Quarmby became in- corporated in the fee of Wakefield, but there were so many disputes over certain areas of land in these localities that it seems possible that in course of time this little strip of South

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Crosland which was in the Manor of Quarmby ultimately lost its connection with the Manor of Wakefield and. became part of the Honour of Pontefract, as was the case of the Manor of South Crosland, which after 1085 became parcel of that Honour.

For ecclesiastical purposes, South Crosland was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Almondbury up till 1866, when it was made into a separate parish and remains so till this day.

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CHAPTER It. THE MANORS OF NORTH AND SOUTH CROSLAND.

ye the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book, 1085, there were two localities so named, North Cros- land and South Crosland. A part of the former is now in- corporated with the Borough of Huddersfield and includes the greater part of Lockwood, and another part is in the former Linthwaite Urban District, but South Crosland, up to March 3lst, 1938, was an Urban District.

North Crosland was bounded on the north by the River Colne, on the east by the Manor of Almondbury, on the west by Linthwaite, and on the south by the Manor of South Crosland.

The boundaries of the Manor of South Crosland were, on the north the Manor of North Crosland, on the east the Manor of Almondbury, on the south the Manors of Honley and Meltham, and on the west the Manor of Meltham and the locality of Linthwaite.

South Crosland is believed to be the manor mentioned in the Domesday survey, and in the days of Edward the Con- fessor was held by one Suuen (who was joint owner of Almondbury). He was dispossessed of his estates, which were granted to Ilbert de Laci, who received a large number of the local manors in return for his services to William the Conqueror. The survey of 1085 further stated that it was ‘‘waste,’’ i.e., uncultivated, that there were two carucates (240 acres) of land, that two ploughs might be employed there, that there was wood pasturable, and that its value for taxation purposes in the days of King Edward the Confessor was 10s.

For a few centuries the Manor of South Crosland was part of the Pontefract fee, held by the de Lacis of the first and second house, while North Crosland was first of all re- tained by the King, but later became, in some inexplicable manner, incorporated in the Wakefield fee.

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In addition to these two Croslands we also find references to Crosland Fosse, which seems to have been the district centred around the former Crosland Hall, of which a part of its old moat (fosse) can be seen in Mr. Saxton’s farmyard.

The de Lacis of both houses apparently retained their. portion of South Crosland for over two centuries, and it would seem that they assigned parts of it in the thirteenth century to the Beaumonts, whose original seat was at Crosland Hall. In the early years of that century, Roger de Laci granted a ‘‘moiety’’ of the Manor of Huddersfield to William de Bello- monte, and it can be conjectured that a similar procedure was adopted with respect to the Manor of Crosland and that it _ was held under similar conditions of tenure by the Beaumonts, although, at the moment, there is no document to substantiate this hypothesis.

In any case, at the Inquisition held after the death of Henry de Laci in 1311, it was found that William de Bello- monte held the fourth part of a knight’s fee in Crosland, and was regarded as Lord of that Manor.

The de Lacis, too, later acquired lands in Crosland from a family named de Rihill, of whom three of them, Richard, Alice (his sister), and Modesta (their niece), apparently granted them their lands.

The story of these lands in Crosland is interesting, for we have an instance of estates in the vicinity of Huddersfield being granted to the Knights Templar.

At an early date, ‘‘Richard de Rihill gave to God and St. Mary and the friars of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon for the health of his soul and that of his father and mother forty perches of land . . . for building in a place which is called Hege in the town of Crosland, and two acres of land near the house of Richard, son of Adam, and all Stainrigs for two and a half acres of land under Stainrigs and one rood for building and making a garden, etc.”’ This document is interesting as it gives two locality names in Crosland, viz., Hege (possibly Crosland Edge) and Stainrigs. _ In another undated deed we read that ‘‘Adam the Pres- byter, late son of Richard del Egge, gave to Robert (his

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brother) all the land which Richard his father held in the town of Crosland and dwelt in a certain place which is called Egge, which land he holdeth of the friers Knight Templars of Solomon’s Temple, etc.’’

Among the witnesses to this document were William de Bellomonte, Richard de Bellomonte, his brother, and Adam de Crosland, all landholders in the locality.

It would be interesting to know exactly why Richard de Rihill granted these lands in Crosland to the Knights Templar. He may, in spite of his pious wishes, have desired to avoid the payment of taxes on these lands; this practice of handing over estates to the Church was ultimately stopped by the Statute of Mortmain, 1285, and in 1312 the Knights Templar were dissolved and their lands confiscated.

However, in 1234, John de Laci, Earl of Lincoln, having acquired these lands from Richard de Rihill and his female relatives, granted them to Richard de Fossato on condition that the latter and his heirs performed ‘‘the service of the fifth part of one knight’s fee for all service and demands’’ to him and his heirs.

Richard de Fossato had one daughter whose Christian name, as yet, has not been ascertained, and who married Sir William de Beaumont, the grandson of the first Lord of a ‘‘moiety’’ of the Manor of Huddersfield. As a result of this marriage, it seems probable that the Beaumonts acquired further parcels of land in Crosland.

The story of the Manor of North Crosland is also a complicated one. The first extant document relating to this locality is dated 1302-1303, when William de Bellomonte gave to Robert, his son, all his lands, etc., which he had inherited from his father, William de Bellomonte, and from Richard de Beaumont, his brother, or which he had purchased from other persons. We are told that some of these lands were in Huddersfield, Crossland-fosse, North Crosland, Meltham, and South Kirkby, and that Robert paid to William de Bello- monte twenty marks, £13 6s. 8d., yearly.

From the Inquisition held after the death of Henry de Laci, Earl of Lincoln and Lord of the Honour of Pontefract, in 1311, we gather that

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I 13 (1) William de Beaumont was Lord of the Manor of

Crosland (whether North or South is not stated) under the fourth part of a Knight’s fee.

(2) Adam de Crosland was the tenant of some lands there, estimated to contain an area of two bovates (30 acres).

Adam de Crosland, if the pedigree compiled in 1665 by Sir Henry Dugdale be accurate, was the son of Roger de Crosland and of Philippa Ufton, and was the ancestor of the Croslands of Crosland Hill, and also, if tradition be correct, of Mr. T. P. Crosland, M.P. for Huddersfield, 1865-1868, and of Sir Joseph Crosland, M.P. for Hud- dersfield, 1893-1895.

This family of de Croslands, who took their name from the locality, built the Crosland Hill Manor House, which still remains in what is known as North Crosland, but which is now part of Linthwaite.

(3) Elie de Burton held one carucate of land (120 acres) in Crosland from the fief of Henry de Shelley.

In 1316, King Edward II ordered all the Sheriffs through- out the country to compile a list of the cities, townships, and boroughs in each hundred or wapentake, together with the name of their respective lord. These returns, which were later known as the ‘‘Nomina Villarum,’’ were required in order to raise military levies. The compiler of this roll stated that one William Dabnon was Lord of the Manor of Crosland, but in another transcript of this document it is stated that in 1316 the Lord of this Manor was William de Beaumont. The name of Dabnon occurs nowhere else in our local history, and it seems highly probable that the copyist of the ‘‘Nomina -Villarum’’ misspelled the surname of de Beaumont and wrote Dabnon!

In 1321, a fine was levied on the Manor of Crosland, on a ‘“‘moiety’’ of the Manor of Huddersfield, and on lands in South Kirkby with remainder to John, Thomas, William, and Henry, sons of Robert de Beaumont.

After 1329, the name of Sir Robert de Beaumont does not appear in any hitherto published documents, and it is this fact which makes the story of the first part of the Elland Feud

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difficult to believe. According to revised opinions, it was in 1341 that this Sir Robert de Beaumont was murdered at Crosland Hall by Sir John de Eland. As yet, there is no documentary evidence to prove this murder.

In 1332, John, the son and heir of Sir Robert de Beaumont, gave to Adam, son of Alexander Radcliffe, all his moveable goods in Crosland whether above or below ground; while the same John de Beaumont, in 1344, and now known as Sir John de Beaumont I, received from his son, John Beaumont II, yearly, during his own lifetime, the rent of five marks (£3 6s. 8d.) to be received from the Manor of Cros- land. This latter procedure was in pursuance of a policy which obtained in the Beaumont family, whereby a father granted his manor to his son on stipulated conditions.

In 1340, an Inquisition was held into the Manor of Almondbury, and among the free tenants recorded was Stephen Walleys, who held one carucate of land (120 acres) in Crosland by service of one-eighth of a knight’s fee with suit at the three weeks’ Court at Pontefract and the payment of 9d. at Michaelmas. It is certain that these lands were situated in South Crosland, and were part of the fee of Ponte- fract. In 1350, these lands and others were in the hands of the then Lord of that Honour on account of ‘‘the under age of the son and heir of Stephen Walleys,’’ and the sum of £16 13s. 4d. was paid to the ‘‘account of the Feodary of the Honour of Pontefract’’ as a relief; the son and heir must have died before 1357, for £14 13s. 4d. was similarly paid to the Lord of the Honour ‘‘by reason of the under age of Elizabeth, daughter and heire of Stephen Walleys.”’

Adam de Crosland, one of the landowners mentioned in the Inquisition of 1311, at some date previous to 1344, gave to John, son of Thomas de Lockwood, a messuage in North Crosland, while another undated deed states that John, William, and Henry, sons of John de Lockwood, gave and demised for the term of eleven years one messuage in North Crosland in the same year. This messuage they had ac- quired by gift from their father, but this particular deed does not give any clue to whom this messuage was given.

Sir John de Beaumont I, the heir of Sir Robert de Beaumont and of Agnes de Quarmby, his wife, married one

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Margaret, and by her had five sons, Sir John de Beaumont II, Robert, Henry, Roger, and another.

In 1354 the above-mentioned Sir John de Beaumont I gave to his eldest son, Sir John de Beaumont II, his Manor of Crosland (a second grant, apparently), and in the deed which records this transaction it is stated that should the latter die without issue (which, as a matter of fact, did happen) the remainder should fall upon his brother Henry.

For a few years it is somewhat difficult to follow the import of the Crosland deeds. New Lords of the Manor of South Crosland are mentioned, and it would seem that the Beaumonts of Crosland Hall were temporarily ousted from © the tenure of their Manor. This may have arisen from the fact that Sir John de Beaumont II left mo heir and that the deed of 1354 was not regarded as valid.

In 1355, ‘‘Adam de Hopton granted to Sir Brian de Staple- ton the Manor of Crosland with the appurtenances, which said Manor he recovered against John Beaumont, Knt., by virtue, etc.’’ This deed is dated 29, Edward III (1355), at York.

In what circumstances had Adam de Hopton acquired the Manor of Crosland? What is the significance of the words ‘‘by virtue of, etc.’’? Unless we can peruse the original deed, of which only a part has been transcribed, it is difficult to state how Sir Brian de Stapleton recovered the Manor against Sir John de Beaumont II. Adam de Hopton was the father-in-law of Sir John de Beaumont II, who had married his daughter Alice at some date between 1347 and 1348. Would a family feud or settlement have been the cause of this temporary dispossession?

There was an interesting sequel to this change of over- lordship. In the same year, 1355, Miles Stapleton, the Sheriff of York, caused John Forrest, of Armley, Attorney, “to deliver to Adam de Hopton possession of the Manor of Crosland with the appurtenances which was John de Beau- mont’s of (? Crosland). The Stapletons, how- ever, retained land in Netherton for several centuries.

But in 1358, the Beaumonts of Crosland had regained possession of the Manor of Crosland, and a deed dated that year stated that Robert, the second son of Sir John de Beaumont I, granted and confirmed to Henry, his brother, all

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the Manor of Crosland, which said Manor descended ‘‘to him after the decease of John his brother, as it appears by the entayle of the said Sir John, his father, to hold for the term of the life of the said Robert,’’ while on the same day that this transfer took place, Robert de Beaumont released for ever to Henry his brother ‘‘all the right which he had in the Manor of Crosland with the appurtenances in Huddersfield, Whitley, and Meltham.”’

Notwithstanding this transfer, it seems that Robert de Beaumont was compelled to re-grant the Manor of Crosland to Sir Brian de Stapleton, as witness the tenor of the tran- script of the following deed :— : ‘‘Robert, son and heir of John de Bellomonte, greeting, whereas Brian de Stapleton, Kt., had held the Manor of Crosland with the appurtenances of the grant of Adam de Hopton for a term of years, etc. Know ye that I have granted and given and for me and my heirs confirmed to the said Brian, the said Manor with the appurtenances to hold to the said Brian and the heirs of his body law- fully begotten, paying to me and my heirs the first eleven years one rose every year, and after the first eleven years £40 at two terms of the year. I also will and grant that if the aforesaid John de Beaumont die before the end of the aforesaid eleven years, and Margery, wife of the aforesaid John, be living and recover her dower against the aforesaid Brian and his heirs, that then two parts of the said Manor do remain to the said Brian and his heirs without any rent paying until the value of the aforesaid third part be satisfied to the said Brian and his heirs.’’

Apparently all these arrangements went by the board, for in 1361-1362, Henry de Beaumont, the third son of Sir John de Beaumont I, was in possession of Crosland, and by deed dated 20 June, 35 Edward III (i.e., 1362) made his brother Roger his attorney to receive the Manor of Crosland and its appurtenances, ‘‘which said manor came to him after the death of John, his brother.’’ Henry de Beaumont was living in 1354, and it seems that he succeeded to the estates at Crosland in 1362. He had a most adventurous career, and the countryside around Cros- land Hall must have witnessed some stirring events in 1389- 1390.

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During those years there occurred a case of cattle- stealing at South Crosland with disastrous results. Sir John Assheton (or Ashton) of Lancashire, took by force of arms some of Henry de Beaumont’s cattle. This seems to have been a favourite pursuit of the gentry in medieval times. In the turmoil which took place at the time of this cattle-raiding, John D’Arcy, one of Sir John Assheton’s men, was killed by Henry de Beaumont. The latter was tried at York, and the indictment against him recites that Thomas Beaumont, son of Henry de Beaumont, of Crosland Fosse, shot John D’Arcy with an arrow, and mortally wounded him. This was not a sufficient death blow, for the indictment further says that Henry de Beaumont gave D’Arcy a mortal wound with his sword on the right side of the head, and that Robert de Roulay struck him on the left side of the head. Such was the weakness of medizval justice that Henry de Beaumont, Thomas, his son, and Robert de Roulay were acquitted.

Not content, however, with having been acquitted, Henry de Beaumont actually sued, in 1390, three members of the Assheton family for having taken away his cattle by force of arms. The sequel to this is not known, but later in the reign of Richard II, in 1392, Sir John Assheton, Thomas Assheton, his son and heir, Alice, the widow of Geoffrey D’Arcy, and others released to Henry de Beaumont all actions of appeal on account of John D’Arcy’s death. Again, at Lancaster, later in 1392, Henry de Beaumont agreed ‘‘that he and his eight sons when they attained their majority should release all actions against Sir John Assheton and several others.”’ In simpler words, the dispute was ended.

Henry de Beaumont seems to have definitely entered into the possession of his estates at Crosland in the year 1370, for, from the returns of an Inquisition held in that year at York, it is recorded that Henry de Beaumont held North Crosland by the service of one quarter of a knight’s fee, and had paid 25s. by way of relief.

On May 1, 1389, Henry de Beaumont, of ‘‘Foss Cros- land,’’ gave to John Wath, Vicar of Huddersfield, and John Sayvell, of Shelley, his Manor of Crosland, etc. One would like to know what was Henry de Beaumont’s motive in so doing. Was he attempting to placate the Church after his murder of. John D’Arcy?

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Henry de Beaumont made his will in 1392, and directed that his body should be interred in the Parish Church of Almondbury. He made a few legacies, and ordered that his goods and chattels should be divided into two parts. The first part was to be left to his wife, Joanna, and her children, while the other part was to revert to his illegitimate children (one of whom, Thomas, was excepted from this legacy). His wife, Joanna, and his third son, Robert, were appointed executors.

Henry Beaumont II, the eldest son of Henry de Beau- mont, succeeded to his father’s estates at Crosland. At the time of his father’s death he was under age. On November 28, 1404, Richard Lacy, of Cromwell Bottom; Henry Beau- mont, of Crosland; and John Kay, of Woodsome, performed “‘homage to the King (then Lord of the Honour of Pontefract) for their lands within the Honour, and the King’s Feodary was commanded to take surety of them for the reliefs due, and then to deliver possession of their lands to them.’’ Henry de Beaumont II paid a fine for refusing knighthood in 1410- 1411.

In 1414, Henry Beaumont gave to Thomas Sayvell de Thornhill, Henry Sayvell, of Copley, and Richard Dransfield, Rector of Heton, all his lands in Whitley, Crosland, and Huddersfield. Shortly after this date he died, and was suc- ceeded by his son, Richard Beaumont.

An inquisition was held in 1425 into the Honour of Ponte- fract, of which South Crosland was a part, and from the various transcriptions of this document we gather the follow- ing details respecting the holders of land in Crosland :— (i) Richard Beaumont held 1-5 part of a Knight’s fee in Crosland, formerly William de Bellomonte. (ii) The heirs of Elias de Burton held one carucate of land (120 acres) in Crosland from the fee of Henry Shelley. (iii) The heirs of Adam de Crosland held certain lands and tenements which were estimated at two bovates of land. (iv) John Heton held the moiety of the vill of North Crosland, lately Elias de Burton, and paid at the same term 4s. and lIlb. of pepper.

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(vi) William Beckwithe held a certain culture called tenements in North Crosseland, lately Brian Stapleton’s, and paid yearly at the same term 2s.

(vi) William Beckwithe held of certain culture called Butternabe, lately Brian de Stapleton’s knight, and paid yearly one pair of gloves at the same term of the price

of 2d.

These extracts are rather confusing, but it can be concluded that :—

(i) Richard Beaumont held the Manor of South Crosland.

(ii) The Crosland family held lands around the present Manor House at Crosland Hill.

(iii) Parts of the Manor of North Crosland were held respectively by John Heaton and William Beckwith.

The Beaumonts of Crosland Hall had now removed their abode to Whitley Hall, for, from the same survey, we read that Richard Beaumont held Whitley Hall, lately Henry d’Eyville’s. A branch of Henry de Beaumont’s family continued to live at Crosland Fosse or Crosland Hall. In 1426, Roger de Beaumont, a son of Henry de Beaumont I (the victim of the cattle thefts) gave to the above-mentioned William de Beck- withe de Clynt and to John Bannister, of Newhall, ‘‘all his goods, moveable and immoveable, whether alive or dead.’’

There is reason to believe that this branch of the Beau- monts continued to live at Crosland Hall till the days of Henry VIII, and it is said that the Beaumonts of Meltham were descended from Roger de Beaumont. Certainly the Beau- monts of Darton, and later of Bretton, now represented by Viscount Allendale, were descended from this Roger de Beaumont. I

In 1428, we hear for the first time of the existence of Crosland Mills. In that year, Oliver Woodrove, Esq., Lord of a ‘‘moiety’’ of the Manor of Meltham, gave licence to Richard Beaumont to attach the head of the mill dam which extended itself to the mill of Richard Beaumont, called Cros- land Mill, which piece of land belonged to the said Oliver from the south part of Meltham.

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This is one of the earliest references to mills at Crosland, corresponding to the mills in Colne Road, which were the property of the Lord of the Manor of Almondbury.

Although the Beaumonts of South Crosland now resided at Whitley Hall, they still retained the overlordship of the Manor of South Crosland, and from the middle of the fifteenth century they began to grant parcels of their property to tenants. Thus, in 1462, Richard Beaumont, of Whitley, demised a tenement in Crosland called Botirnable for twenty years to William Armitage of the Armitage (the ancestor of the Armitages of Dudmanstone, High Royd, Honley, and Milnsbridge House, now represented by Mr. George Pollard Armitage, J.P., of Hunters Leaze, near Bradford-on-Avon).

The Beaumonts also continued their policy of granting lands on their estates to their eldest sons during their own lifetime. Thus, in 1478-9, Thomas Beaumont, of Whitley, a son of the former-named Richard, gave to Robert Beaumont, his son and heir apparent, ‘‘divers lands and tenements in Crosland with the appurtenances, paying yearly to the afore- said Thomas Beaumont and Elizabeth, his wife, during his life 4s., and during the life of his wife, 13s. 4d.”’

In 1488, an indenture was signed between George Fryston and Isabel, his wife, formerly the wife of Robert Beaumont, and Richard Beaumont, the son and heir of Thomas Beau- mont, by which the two former released to Richard Beaumont the feoffment of Crosland which had been made to Isabel and her first husband, Robert Beaumont, by the payment of £6 8s. yearly during Isabel’s lifetime.

In 1499, some breach of the peace must have occurred in South Crosland, for William Beaumont, of Crosland, was ordered to keep the peace against Robert Raynford. The securities of the former were Gilbert Beaumont, of Meltham, and Nicholas Beaumont, of Newsome, who were his bond for £50 before Brian Palme, Seneschal of the Honour of Ponte- fract.

In 1529, Richard Beaumont, of Whitley, gave to his brother-in-law, Sir John Neville, of Liversedge, and three others, one of whom was Thomas Beaumont, a messuage in Crosland Fosse as part of a marriage settlement when the marriage between Richard Beaumont, his grandson, and

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_ Katherine Neville, the daughter of Sir Robert Neville, of Liversedge, took place.

An Inquisition was held into the Manor of Wakefield in 1577, and we gather that the Manor of Crosland was divided into two parts :—

(i) ‘‘One carucate of land of the.fee of Henry Shelley, formerly Elias de Burton’s, afterwards Richard Beau- mont’s, lately Edward Beaumont’s, and now Richard Beaumont, holds from the said Lady Queen Elizabeth as from her Duchy of Lancaster, but by what services the jury are totally ignorant. But some record that it is held by military service of the said Richard.”’

(ii) Crosland. Adam de Crosland formerly held there by estimation two bovates of land, afterwards Richard Beaumont, then Edward Beaumont, Esq., and now Richard Beaumont, Esq., holds the said bovate from the Lady Queen as from her Duchy of Lancaster by military service, and the said Richard is now a ward of the Queen. (Richard Beaumont, after Sir Richard Beaumont, known to posterity as Black Dick). I

No hint is given in this return as to which of the two Croslands is intended, but there seems every reason to believe that the lands mentioned in this Inquisition were situated in North Crosland, as this Manor was part of the Wakefield fee, while other lands in South Crosland in the Pontefract fee were now in the possession of the Beaumont family.

_A portion of South Crosland was incorporated in the fee of Pontefract, for, at the Inquisition held into the Manor of Almondbury in 1584, the Jury reported that this Manor (of which Queen Elizabeth was Lady as part of her Honour of Pontefract) extended ‘‘unto the Manor of South Crosland, for that, that one Thomas Beaumont and John Cryer do hold two messuages and certain lands freely lying in South Cros- land as of the said Manor of Almondbury, and also that John Armitage, of the Armitage, holdeth one parcell of ground in South Crosland aforesaid called Royd Bank, and one meadow called Mereholme, lying in South Crosland as of the said Manor of Almondbury.’’

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Thomas Beaumont, mentioned in this Inquisition, was second son of Richard Beaumont and of Katherine Neville, while John Armitage, of the Armitage, was the great-grandson of William Armitage mentioned in the deed of 1492.

Thus, by 1584, parts of the Manor of South Crosland under the jurisdiction of the Court Leet of the Manor of Almondbury, and was designated Crosland Half in the Rolls of that Court, at which, until recent years, were elected a constable, a pindar, and a by-law man for that locality.

And so we come to the end of the transcripts of deeds copied by Dodsworth when he visited Whitley Hall in 1621; until other later documents are available, it is impossible to give further information concerning the subsequent manorial history of these two localities.

Both Manors since that date have been held by the Beaumonts of Whitley Hall. There have been four branches of this family; the first terminated with Sir Richard Beaumont (1574-1631), the holder of a ‘‘moiety’’ of the Manor of Huddersfield till a few days before his death in 1631. He bequeathed his estates to his cousin, Major Thomas Beaumont, who was afterwards knighted. He died in 1668. The Manors remained in the possession of the second branch of that family till 1820, when it died out in the male line with Mr. John Beaumont (1752-1820). His brother, Mr. Richard Henry Beaumont (1748-1810), was the celebrated antiquarian who transcribed a good many of the deeds relating to the Manors of Huddersfield, Quarmby, North and South Cros- land, besides other documents of historical importance. The third branch of the family of Beaumont began with Mr. Charles Henry Beaumont, LL.D., an illegitimate son of Mr. John Beaumont. He was born in 1777 and died in 1813. He bequeathed his entire estates to his only son, Mr. Richard Henry Beaumont (1805-1857), and with him terminated the third branch of that family.

Mr. R. H. Beaumont bequeathed his estates to his adopted son, Mr. Henry Frederick Beaumont, M.P., who himself was descended on both his father’s and mother’s side from the Beaumonts of Whitley Hall. He was born on March 10, 1833, and died on October 6, 1913. He married, on September 1, 1857, Marie Johanna, the only surviving

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daughter of William Garforth, Esq., of Wiganthorpe, and left two sons and several daughters. His eldest surviving son is Capt. Henry Ralph Beaumont, the present Lord of the Manors of North and South Crosland.

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CHAPTER III.

THE MURDER OF SIR ROBERT DE BEAUMONT AT CROSLAND HALL IN 1341.

murder was one of three committed by Sir John de Eland in that year. As yet no satisfactory explanation as to why he murdered Sir Robert de Beaumont has been given, although there are various theories. The following is a summary of ‘‘The Elland Feud,’’ of which the above murder formed a ‘scene’’ in the first ‘‘Act.”’

Sir John de Eland, Lord of the Manor of Elland, lived at Elland Hall, and was noted ‘‘for both pride and envy.’’ While he was Sheriff of Yorkshire, he had a quarrel with Sir Robert de Beaumont, who lived at Crosland Hall (the moat of which remains to this day at South Crosland). Gathering his tenants together, Sir John de Eland set off by night for Quarmby Hall and there murdered Hugh de Quarmby, a friend of Sir Robert de Beaumont. From thence, Sir John proceeded to Lockwood Hall, where William Lockwood de Lockwood met with the same fate. On the following morning Sir John de Eland and his men besieged Crosland Hall. It was then surrounded by a moat, and it was some time before they could effect an entrance. Their opportunity occurred when one of the maids from the Hall let down the drawbridge. Once it was down, Sir John and his men rushed over it and entered the building. They dragged Sir Robert de Beaumont from his bed, mercilessly carried him into the entrance hall, where they murdered him in the presence of his wife by cutting off his head. The murderers demanded food; meat, ale, wine and bread were set before them. The two sons of the murdered man were ordered to dry their tears and sit at the table along- side their father’s murderers. The younger, then a child, obeyed, but the elder, Adam Beaumont, flatly refused. Sir John de Eland gave him bread, but Adam flung it back at him. Whereupon, Sir John vowed that he would ‘‘weed out the offspring of his blood as they weed out the weed from the corn.’’

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After the murder of her husband, Lady Beaumont, with. her two sons, fled to Brereton, in Lancashire, where they were joined by William de Quarmby and William de Lockwood, the sons of Sir John de Eland’s victims, and also by one Lacy.

Fifteen years elapse, so the writer of the Ballad of the Elland Feud states, but it is more likely to have been under ten years. Then one day in Cromwell-bottom Woods, between Brighouse and Elland, Adam Beaumont, William de Lock- wood, William de Quarmby and Lacy lay in wait for Sir John de Eland as he returned from the Brighouse ‘‘tourn’’ (or court leet) and there Adam Beaumont slew his father’s murderer. Adam Beaumont and his fellow conspirators fled to Furness Fells, in Cumberland. Their ‘‘revenge’’ was not yet com- plete, however, for on the following Palm Sunday (April 10th), 1351, Adam Beaumont, along with young Quarmby, William de Lockwood and some others, laid in ambush in Elland Mill for Sir John’s heir, Sir John de Eland the younger, as he was crossing the stones over the river from Elland Hall to Elland Church. The younger Sir John was killed by an arrow fired by young de Lockwood, and his infant son was mortally wounded. The men of Elland rose in arms and pursued the conspirators to Ainley Wood, where young de Quarmby was left to die at the hands of his pursuers.

Beaumont and de Lockwood fled to Huddersfield, the former to his ancestral home at Crosland Hall, where for a while he defied his pursuers, and spent: his time in ‘““hunting the red fallow deer between Honley and Holmfirth.”’

From the ‘‘Discourse of the Slaughter of Eland, Beaumont, Lockwood, Quarmby, etc.,’? we gather that de Lockwood sought refuge at Cannon Hall, where he made love to the daughter of its tenant, Bosville, the owner of the Hall and also the Sheriff. Later the Sheriff with his men sur- prised de Lockwood and his lover while they were philandering within its walls. He attempted to elude his captors and probably would have done so had not she, in ‘‘Delilah-like fashion,’’ cut his bowstring. De Lockwood then surren- dered and was put to death. (A variation of this story states that Lockwood was murdered in Emley Park).

Adam Beaumont eventually heard of the death of young de Lockwood and that a warrant was out for his own arrest.

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He fled the country and finally entered the service of the Knights of Rhodes. He subsequently obtained the command of one of their bands, and fought in Hungary against the Turks. Before his death, he is said to have written a letter to Jenkyn Dixon (or Dyson), of the Hoyle House, Slaith- waite, giving an account of his life and adventures in Hungary. After his death his friends in this district received a narrative of his experiences in Rhodes and Hungary.

At the present moment, no documentary evidence is forthcoming to prove that Sir John de Eland the elder mur- dered Hugh de Quarmby, Lockwood de Lockwood and Sir Robert de Beaumont, but there extant which confirm the murder of Sir John de Eland in Cromwell-bottom Woods in the October of 1350 and that of his son in 1351.

THE MOAT OF CROSLAND HALL.

Pheer topographers are agreed that the first Crosland Hall, the residence of Sir Robert de Beaumont, one of the victims of Sir John de Eland, in the celebrated Elland Feud, 1341—1351, stood on or near the site of the existing Lower Old Hall Farm at South Crosland.

This farm house can be approached from Netherton by walking down to Bank End past the Congregational Church, till a stile in the wall on the right-hand side is reached. A path leads from this opening to the above- mentioned farm. It can also be reached from Healey House by getting out at the bus stage and walking down the hill leading to the Crosland Factory. A lane on the left leads to both Lower Hall Farm and Lower Old Hall Farm.

No remains of the old Hall are to be seen. Hobkirk, in his ‘‘History of Huddersfield,’’ states that ‘‘the wood and stone work of the original building were used to build a mill about two hundred years previously,’’ that is, about 1668. Hobkirk, however, was not quite accurate in his statements, for Crosland Hall is marked on Robert Morden’s Map of the West Riding compiled in 1695, while on John Warburton’s Map of the District, compiled about the year 1720, it is clearly indicated in miniature by a two gabled dwelling house.

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This representation suggests an Elizabethan structure, and it is also quite possible, as in the case of Quarmby Hall, the scene of the first murder in the Elland Feud, that Crosland Hall was rebuilt in Tudor days. Ona Map of Huddersfield and District, compiled about the year 1789, Crosland is marked but no Hall indicated; hence it would appear that the Hall was demolished between 1720 and 1789.

On the other hand, a tradition has been handed down that the stones of the old Hall were used to build Lower Hall, which is adjacent to the existing moat. Would this House have been one of the original mills, and later have been con- verted into a dwelling-house? Some very old stones are to be seen in the walls of the barn attached to the building known as the Lower Hall, while a derelict pig sty has in one of its walls a massive stone whose section is a trapezium.

Very little information is known about the first Crosland Hall, which apparently stood here in 1341, assuming, of course, that the first ‘‘act’’ of the Elland Feud is historically true. Documentary evidence is forthcoming to prove the second and third ‘‘acts.’’ Some details concerning this medizeval building are derived from the Ballad of the Elland Feud (first printed in 1775), wherein we gather that :—

(1) The murder of Sir Robert de Beaumont took place within its walls, possibly in 1341.

(2) It was the temporary place of refuge of Adam Beaumont, his son, after his flight from Ainley Wood following the murder of Sir John de Eland the younger on Palm Sunday in 1351.

(3) A moat surrounded the house— ‘“‘The Hall was watered well about, No wight (person) might enter in Till that the bridge was well laid out They durst not venture in.’’

So sang the balladist.

The remains of this moat can be seen almost at right angles to the Lower Old Hall Farm, and practically parallel with the house now known as Lower Hall. Local tradition states that Sir Robert de Beaumont was murdered in the cellars of this building (!) The moat runs ina N.E.—S.W.

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direction. Up till some years ago the moat could be dis- tinctly traced on three sides of Crosland Lower Old Hall Farm, and at the moment there are traces on the south, side of Lower Hall. It was also visible in the courtyard of the former farm, now in the occupation of Mr. G. H. Saxton, who informed me that he had filled up this part of the moat in order to make a level piece of ground in front of his dairy.

The moat is about 120 feet long, and its greatest breadth is 30 feet. At its southerly end it seems to run into a small stream which flows into the Mag. In one part its depth is five feet, although it is quite possible that in former days it may have extended to a greater depth, as there is evidence. here and there, of its having been filled up. On both sides of the moat are ‘‘ramparts’’ which extend beyond its length, a few depressions filled with water lie by its side, and a few walls which may have been a part of the original parapet of the “‘rampart’’ can also be seen. In 1933, some wire netting was placed along the moat between it and the courtyard of Lower Hall, to prevent poultry from straying.

Hobkirk tells us that Mr. Jonas Oldfield, the Surveyor of South Crosland in 1868, had informed him ‘‘that he had struck upon a portion of the parapet wall on each side of this moat. It was about four feet thick and built of the rough stones obtained from the bed of the streamlet which runs at the foot of the small wood behind. The interior was built strong and firm, but the external one was not so compact, indeed, it was not needed, there being a good natural em- bankment for the moat in the rising ground on that side. On the South side the interior wall only had been struck upon.”’

Even to this day, some of these stones are visible; a piece of stone work suggests that it may have been the buttress end of the drawbridge, but this may have been a later devel- opment.

At the time when Sir Robert de Beaumont was murdered in his own abode, the moat must have encircled the whole area of the Hall.

In Hobkirk’s days, there could be seen a triangular fish- pond. grandfather of the present occupier was living when it was tenanted by the finny tribe, but it is now quite

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dry and under cultivation; whether the moat was joined to the fishpond is a question not easily determined, but it may be traced to within a few yards of it.’’ This fishpond is no longer visible, unless the depressions mentioned above are remnants thereof.

The stream called Mag or Hall Dyke flows quite close to the moat on the Honley side, so that the only approach to the Hall in medizval days would be from South Crosland, Netherton and Healey House.

Crosland Hall, as already stated, was the abode of the Beaumonts of Whitley long before they were seated at Whitley Hall.

The late Mr. D. F. E. Sykes suggested in his ‘‘History of Huddersfield and Its District’’ that during the days of its prime, at Crosland Hall, as well as at other Halls in our district, ‘‘the sons and daughters of the great house were doubtless instructed after a sort by a domestic chaplain or by the parish priest.’’

As previously hinted, it is quite conceivable that Cros- land Hall saw changes during Tudor days and was deserted by its owners and finally demolished in the eighteenth century.

A small but beautiful waterfall is to be seen a little higher up the Mag stream. It is quite possible that at one time the power obtained from this waterfall was used to work primitive machinery. I I

After the pedestrian has explored the remains of Cros- land Hall moat, he may then proceed along the road which leads to the Crosland factory. On the right-hand side of the road he will see Crosland Hall Farm, where there is a very old barn. It is 40 feet high, 40 feet broad and 35 feet long. Previous to May, 1920, its length was 60 feet, but one Saturday night in that month a part of the roof collapsed, and it was not replaced. The roof of the remaining pertion of this barn is supported by two massive beams of old oak from which diagonal rafters traverse its length.

(The story of Local Government in South Crosland from 1066 to 1875 will be discussed in the second part of this History).

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CHAPTER (TV.

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD OF HEALTH OF SOUTH CROSLAND, 1876-1894.

HE Public Health Act of 1848 (brought into being by the cholera epidemic of 1847) which constituted a Board of Public Health with numerous local authorities working under it, was the first great sanitary statute passed by Parliament. It was followed by revised schemes passed in 1858, 1866, 1872 and again in 1875.

From 1874 to 1876, we still find the Ratepayers’ Meeting of the Maglordship still controlling the highways of Netherton and Armitage Bridge; two rates of 5d. and 10d. in the £ were levied in the February and August of the year 1873, while on the 2nd of March, 1875, the Surveyor of the Town- ship of South Crosland applied to the Magistrates to levy a Highway Rate of 10d. in the £, and was accorded his re- quest. There are record books of the ‘‘Incidental Expenses’’ of the Hamlet of Maglordship for the year 1876, and these financial statements appear to be the last references to this little self-governing unit, whose origin, as I have alredy stated, I am unable to ascertain.

In 1875, as above stated, a new Public Health Act was passed by Parliament which is the basis of modern law of sanitation and which was administered by the Local Govern- ment Board created in 1871. As the result of representations made to the two bodies (the Township of South Crosland and the Hamlet of Maglordship) by the Local Government Board, they became amalgamated and came under the control of the South Crosland Local Board for the Urban Sanitary District.

The time was opportune for the union of the two areas; they had been originally a part of the chapelry of Honley; in 1837 they had become joined together as the Parish of South Crosland for the administration of Poor Law relief, while in 1866 they had become incorporated into the Ec- clesiastical Parish of South Crosland, having formerly been

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an Ecclesiastical District after the building of sing Trinity Church in 1829.

Among the chief provisions of the Public Health Act of 1875 which were to be administered by the newly-formed Local Boards for the various Sanitary Districts were :—

(i) The maintenance and improvement of public high- ways; although this was not the primary duty of these Local Boards, yet in virtue of the fact that they carried on the work of the former Surveyors of the Highways, these items of work became part of their functions.

(ii) The laying down of drains and sewers in the prin- cipal roads in their Districts and the enforcement of the provision and proper management of sanitary accommodation in all inhabited houses, factories and shops, and, most important of all, the removal of refuse and ‘the scavenging of streets.

(iii) The making of regulations for preventing the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases, the visitation and inspection of houses believed to contain persons suffering from such diseases, which ultimately re- sulted in the appointment of a Medical Officer of Health.

(iv) The supply of water to every house in its District and the prevention of the fouling of running water by sewage, rubbish and other nuisance. (‘‘An Out- line of English Local Government,’’ by Prof. E. Jenks, D.C.L., Ch. VII.)

The principal officials of a Sanitary District were the Chairman of the Board, the Medical Officer of Health, the Inspector of Nuisances, the Surveyor of the Highways, the Clerk to the Board, and the Treasurer.

Unfortunately, the earliest Minute Books of the Local Government Board of South Crosland are missing; I have been informed that these were destroyed during a fire at the Oddfellows’ Hall, where the Board then met. Fortunately, other possessions of the Board were rescued.

I have spent a considerable amount of time in searching through the files of the ‘‘Huddersfield Examiner’’ and the

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‘‘Huddersfield in order to ascertain the exact date of the formation of the Board.

It seems that after the passing of the 1875 Act, meetings were held in South Crosland, at Netherton, at Armitage Bridge and at Armitage Fold, in public houses, where town- ship and kindred meetings were usually held, to consider the advisability of the amalgamation of the two areas and to nominate nine gentlemen as members for the proposed new Board; such nominations had to be received before the 21st of February, 1876.

A public meeting, presided over by Mr. Allen Graham, the Senior Overseer, was held at the Oddfellows’ Hall on the 25th of February, 1876, to read the list of nominations, and to ascertain, if possible, whether there were any withdrawals.

The control of the election for members of the new Board lay with the Huddersfield Board of Guardians, and in this immediate connection, Mr. Allen Graham was deemed res- ponsible.

The voting papers were handed out on the 28th of February, 1876 (Voting by ballot had not yet come into force); they were collected on the 6th of March, and counted on the 7th, at the house of Mr. Graham. The scrutinising took place in the presence of Mr. J. Hall, the Clerk to the Union of Guardians, Messrs. James Mellor, of South Cros- land, Benjamin Shaw, of Armitage Bridge, and William Bottomley.

The following was the result of the Poll :—

1. Mr. John Barker, Netherton i a ae 2. Mr. George Dyson, Corn Bank, Solicitor Sie 3. Mr. J. B. Donkersley, Mag Dale, Merchant... 307 4, Mr. William Barrett, Crosland Edge, Farmer ... 273 5. Mr. John Mellor, South Crosland, Farmer ... 263 6. Mr. Ben Atha, Armitage Bridge, Woolsorter ... 260 7. Mr. Francis Levi, Armitage Fold, Gentleman ... 249 8. Mr. John Bates, Delves, South Crosland ok (Cee 9. Mr. Samuel Pontefract, Bank End, Gentleman... 205

The above nine gentlemen were, therefore, according to the terms of the Act, duly elected the members of the South Crosland Local Board for the Urban Sanitary District.

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The following gentlemen were defeated :—

10. Mr. Alfred Beaumont, Parkstone Grove, Woollen Manufacturer ... wy 162 11. Mr. W. H. Blakeley, Netherton, Master Joiner... 148 12. Mr. Henry Wrigley, Croft House, Cotton Spinner 78 13. Mr. R. Skilbeck, Crosland Hall, Woollen Manufacturer 68

On the 15th of March, 1876, the first meeting of the South Crosland Local Board took place at the house of Mr. Allen Graham, and the following members of the Board were present: Messrs. Francis Levi, Benjamin Atha, John Mellor, John Bates, Joseph Bedford Donkersley, William Barrett, Samuel Pontefract, George Dyson, John Barker.

Mr. George Dyson was elected chairman of the Board for the ensuing year, on the proposition of Mr. Mellor, seconded by Mr. Atha.

It was resolved that the three members who received the least number of votes at the election should retire at the end of the first year, that the three members above them should retire at the end of the second, and the three who received the most votes should retire at the end of the third year. It was also agreed to accept the offer of the Committee of the Mechanics Institute to allow the Board to use their Library as Offices. The Board decided to hold its monthly meeting's on the first Monday in the month, and to advertise for a Clerk.

The second meeting of the Board was not fully reported in the local Press, but from receipts and other documents in the possession of the Urban District Council, Mr. Alfred Blakeley was appointed Clerk to the Board, and his name occurs in this capacity during the years 1876 to 1879. At this meeting, held on the 10th of April, 1876, Mr. Joseph Senior was appointed the Inspector of Nuisances and Rate Collector, while a Working Surveyor was also appointed. Dr. T. Smailes, of Honley, was appointed Medical Officer of Health, which post he held till his death in 1915.

The Board must have been very busy during the first two years of its existence, as there had been many complaints in the local Press concerning the unsatisfactory state of the roads previously under the control of the Surveyor of the Highways of South Crosland.

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of February, 1875, under the heading of South Crosland, appeared the following paragraph :—

‘“‘Work for the Netherton Surveyor.—The recent frosty weather, followed by the heavy rains, has had the effect of undermining many of the hard walls and road stone fences in various parts of this district. No place seems to have suffered more than Netherton. At various points the wall has fallen for yards in length, the displaced stones and other débris have filled up the whole length of the footpath, etc.’’ The paragraph, however, con- cluded thus, ‘‘Since the above was written, we have been informed by the Netherton Surveyor that the wall is not in their district but in South Crosland.’’

Again, on July 5th, 1875, in the same ‘‘Weekly’’ there were ‘‘Complaints about the South Crosland Surveyors and their Dangerous Roads,’’ and the following paragraph gave an instance of a ‘‘danger spot’’ :—

‘‘At one point just above where the Netherton Toll Bar stood, a gap in the wall fence extends for about twelve yards, and should a vehicle on a dark night go over this (it being a curve) the results would probably be fatal, as the drop of the road to the lower ground is about 9 or 10 feet.’’

There was thus plenty of work for the newly-elected Board to do in Netherton, as well as at South Crosland and Armitage Bridge. As already stated, the Minutes of the Board are missing from March, 1875 till March, 1883, and a summary of the work done in that period can only be obtained by a perusal of the contemporary local newspapers.

The first Minute Book of the Local Board begins with the proceedings of the Meeting held in the Board Room on Monday, April 2nd, 1883, when the following members were present: Messrs. C. Skilbeck, A. Wrigley, Jos Radcliffe, George Dyson, J. Barker, Samuel Pontefract, while Mr. A. J. Slocombe was the Clerk to the Board in that year.

The type of work done by the South Crosland Local Board for a few years can be best illustrated by taking ex- tracts (or summaries of them) from the Minute Books :—

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1 May, 1883.—Mr. Thomas Brooke (afterwards Sir Thomas Brooke) elected Chairman of the Board; at this meeting the Highways and Nuisance Committees were appointed.

2 July, 1883.—Bye-laws respecting common lodging houses, nuisances and the removal of house refuse, the planning of new streets and buildings, were passed.

6 August, 1883.—(i) Six pounds compensation was paid to the South Crosland Gas Co. for loss of gas by reason of the carelessness of the plumbers employed in the erection of lamps in the village. (ii) The Surveyor was asked to put the sewerage purification works in order.

1 October, 1883.—‘‘Allen Hirst, the lamplighter for Crosland, reported that some Jbad-disposed person had turned the gas taps belonging to 3 of the lamps in Crosland and allowed the gas to escape between 11 o’clock on Saturday night last and Sunday evening, instructions were given to endeavour to find out who it was and report them to the Board.”’ 7 January, 1883.—‘‘A letter from the L.G B. was read asking the Local Board to consider whether they would not themselves undertake the removal of house refuse in- stead of making bye-laws imposing the duty upon the occupiers within the district.’’ ‘‘Resolved that the Clerk be instructed to reply that the Board had considered the subject of the letter from the L.G.B., and were of opinion that the duties should be imposed upon the occupiers and that the Board are of opinion that the removal will be carried out with the necessary frequency in the Board’s District’’ ( !) 31 March, 1884.—Dr. T. Smailes re-appointed Medical Officer of Health for South Crosland. His appointment was renewed every year. May, 1884.—The Annual Perambulation of the Township pursuant to the Public Health Act of 1875 took place on May 10th, 1884. There were present, the Chairman, (Mr. Thomas Brooke), Messrs. George Dyson, J. A. Wrigley, S. Pontefract, J. Radcliffe, B. Atha. (This annual perambulation took place for many years—the last took place in June, 1936.)

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7 July, 1884.—‘‘A complaint was read that the Meters to the lamps at the Bottom of Big Valley had been broken open and damaged and that the Huddersfield Corpora- tion gas men had taken a meter indication without apply- ing for a key.’’

5 January, 1885.—Regulations made and approved by the Local Board for the Urban Sanitary District of South Crosland and signed by Mr. Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Brooke, Chairman.

4 May, 1885.—(i) ‘‘The Clerk was instructed to inform the Huddersfield Corporation that under ordinary circum- stances the Board must have the full 3 days notice before breaking into the public roads to lay gas and water pipes.”’ (ii) Mr. Charles Milner appointed the Surveyor and Mr. Joseph Senior the Inspector of Nuisances.

(iii) The Mag Brook Valley sewage works com- menced at a cost of £309 Os. Od.

6 July, 1885.—‘‘A letter from the Town Clerk of Huddersfield was read stating that he had given directions to prevent the flooding in getting rid of the waste water in Beau- mont Park.’’

10 August, 1885.—Orders for the Netherton Well to be closed as the water therein was found by Dr. Frankland, the County Analyst, to be contaminated. Posters issued to this effect were signed by Mr. A. J. Slocombe, the Clerk to the Board. A copy is still to be found affixed in the Minute Book.

17 Sept., 1885.—A letter was read from Mr. A. Bradley com- plaining that he was prevented from entering upon his land at Hill Top on account of the obstruction to the road there caused by the drainage works.

5 October, 1885.—‘‘A letter from Mr. Dunderdale (Mr. F. Beaumont’s agent) was read stating that Mr. mont’s tenants at Lane End were not willing to have the Huddersfield Corporation water.’’

2 November, 1885.—(i) The Clerk was instructed to ask Messrs. Green to deliver dross with more expedition.

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_ (ii) The Board agreed with the adoption of the principle of voting by ballot at L.G.B. Elections. (iii) A reward of £5 offered to any one giving in- formation leading to the conviction of any person found damaging gas lamps. (!) (iv) A ratepayer was asked for ‘“‘payment of sand taken from the Roads by him without permission.’’

7 December, 1885.—The above ratepayer was offered the privilege of gathering the sand in the roads for £2-0-0 yearly, paid in advance.

4 January, 1886.—Mr. J. A. Wrigley informed the Board that the Mechanics’ Institute would shortly cease to exist, and that they were willing to hand over their fur- niture and library to the Local Board if the Board were disposed to continue the Library as a Public Library. (This matter was adjourned.)

13 January, 1886 (Special was decided to re- commend the Board to take up the tenancy of the premises at the Mechanics’ Institute at a given rent; and to allow the Library to remain as at present until the future dis- position was decided upon.

1 February, 1886.—(i) The Board decided to hold their meetings in a room at the Oddfellows’ Hall, and took over three other rooms there at a rent of £12-0-0 per annum.

(ii) It was reported that the Huddersfield Corpora- tion had decided to supply free drinking water for a trough at Spring Vale, provided the South Crosland L.G.B. built the said trough.

(iii) Sewerage operations in Netherton commenced by Mr. J. H. Hanson.

1 March, 1886.—The duties of the Caretaker of the Board. Room: defined, and the remuneration fixed at £6-4-0 per annum.

5 April, 1886.—(i) Mr. Thomas Brooke was thanked for having kindly presented a copy of the Honley Award to the Board.

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(ii) Mr. J. H. Hanson was asked to continue the new sewerage works in Netherton up to Moor Lane. (iii) The widening of Lane Side projected. (iv) Future meetings of the Board fixed for 5-0 in the afternoons.

3 May, 1886.—(i) Mr. Thomas Brooke appointed the Chair- man for one year. (ii) The fire extinguishing apparatus ordered to be put on a more satisfactory basis. (iii) The Highways Committee were empowered to paint and repair the directional posts within the Board’s District.

7 June, 1886.—The Nuisance Inspector instructed to take steps to remove a nuisance caused by liquid manure flowing from a certain pig-sty.

5 July, 1886.—The Oddfellows’ Society ordered to abate a nuisance caused by a drain being choked.

2 August, 1886.—(i) The second section of the Mag Valley Drainage Scheme ordered to be put into

(11) Outbreak of scarlatina reported by the M.O.H.

(iii) ‘“The Clerk reported that the Board would be unable to claim any compensation in respect of the damage to the Board’s roads caused by the leading of material used in the building of a Mansion at Helme.”’

6 September, 1886.—School closets ordered to be cleaned monthly. (!)

1 November, 1886.—‘‘A letter was read from the Vicar of Armitage Bridge stating that the school closets were being cleaned weekly.’’ (!)

30 November, 1886.—Dr. Gresswell, the Medical Inspector of the Local Government Board, gave an address to the L.G.B’s of South Crosland and Meltham on the sanitary conditions prevailing in these two districts. One of his indictments was, ‘‘Scavenging at South Crosland was compulsory under bye-law, but as far as he could make out no effort was made to carry it out.’’ (!)

3 January, 1887.—(i) A proposed road from Big Valley to Butternab projected to be built by the Beaumont Estate.

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(ii) ‘‘That a man be employed to remove from the privies and ashpits whatever rubbish might be ob- jectionable or prejudicial to the same to the farmers taking the contents of such privies. Also to assist the farmers in the work of removal.’’

26 January, 1887.—(i) Robert Sykes appointed cleaner of privies and ashpits and to assist the Surveyor.

(ii) Mr. Dunderdale (Mr. H. F. Beaumont’s agent) submitted plans for the new road between Butternab and Big Valley. The Board resolved that the road shewn on the plan submitted by Mr. Dunderdale be accepted (when completed, etc.) as a highway repairable by the public.

14 February, 1887.—Special meeting convened to- consider Dr. Gresswell’s recommendations on the sanitation of the District. Three resolutions were passed, of which one stated that Crosland should be sewered, and another that the M.O.H. be asked to furnish a list of premises not having a proper supply of pure water. I

A warning was issued against the drinking of water from Dean Clough Brook.

7 March, 1887.—(i) A Scavenger appointed at the rate of 3/6 per day. (ii) A Fire Brigade for South Crosland and Nether- ton inaugurated. Suggestions for apparatus for firemen approved, and plans made for co-operation with the Hud- dersfield Corporation regarding water.

2 May, 1887.—-Mr. Thomas Brooke appointed Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year.

6 June, 1887.—Drainage of South Crosland ordered to be commenced 4th July, 1887. Three persons warned against throwing offensive matter into the street grates.

7 November, 1887.—The Clerk wrote to the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society informing them that the Board had no present intention of providing a public slaughterhouse.

20 February, 1888.—A large number of persons ordered to erect new privies.

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7 May, 1888.—The L.G.B. asked what steps the S.C.L. Board had taken towards providing for the disposal of the Crosland sewerage.

4 June, 1888.—(i) The Clerk was instructed to write to the Postmaster at Huddersfield to ask for a telegraph station at Netherton.

(ii) The Clerk was instructed to write to the Hud- dersfield Corporation to complain of the nuisance caused by the ponds in Beaumont Park being let off in the Board’s sewers, ‘‘thereby polluting the water at Armitage Fold and causing one of the most serious nuisances that had happened in the Board’s district.’’( !)

13 August, 1888.—(i) The Huddersfield Corporation were permitted to connect their drain on Butternab Road with the Board’s sewers on definite conditions.

(ii) Drainage between Netherton and the National School at South Crosland ordered to be done.

1 October, 1888.—(i) One case of outbreak of small-pox reported.

(ii) ‘‘That in future the Nuisance Inspector and the Surveyor sit in the adjoining room at all meetings of the Board.’’ (!) 5 November, 1888.—(i) ‘‘That the Board accept the Butter- nab Road (built by the Beaumont Estate) as a Highway repairable by the inhabitants at large.’’

(ii) Letter from the P.M.G. read saying that the P.O. Department ‘‘could not consider the extension of the telegraph line to Netherton as the revenue would not pay for the expenses, etc.’’

3 December, 1888.—‘‘That the Clerk be instructed to issue a notice warning persons against interfering with public lamps or throwing offensive matter and rubbish down the tap water drain.’’ (!)

7 January, 1889.—(i) A smoke nuisance reported at Netherton.

(ii) A notice sent to a butcher to discontinue the slaughtering of animals on his property.

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4 February, 1889.—(i) A fat boiling nuisance reported at Netherton, and ordered to be abated.

(ii) A case of scarlet fever reported.

7 March, 1889.—(i) Mr. B. S. Sykes appointed Scavenger to the Board. I

(ii) Report of the M.O.H. suggesting additional sewerage schemes presented.

6 May, 1889.—Mr. J. A. Wrigley appointed Chairman.

These extracts give some idea of the work undertaken by the South Crosland Local Government Board of Health during the years 1883 to 1889 on such important items as sanitation, sewerage, road repairs, etc. Up till 1892, the Minutes were all written by hand, but after this year they were printed along with the monthly statement of accounts.

Chairmen of the South Crosland Local Government Board. 1876-1877 ... Mr. George Dyson. 1877-1881 ... Mr. James Wrigley. 1881-1889 ... Mr. Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas) Brooke. 1889-1894 ... Mr. James Albert Wrigley, J.P.

Clerks to the Local Government Board.

1876-1883 ... Mr. Alfred Blakeley. 1883-1894 ... Mr. Alfred J. Slocombe.

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CHAPTER V.

THE SOUTH CROSLAND URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL, 1894-1938.

N. 1894, the former Local Government Board of Health of South Crosland came to an end, and under the terms of the then newly-passed Local Government Act of 1894, the Urban District Council of that area came into being.

The new members of the Urban District Council were elected on the 15th of December, 1894; the first meeting of the newly-elected Council took place on the 3lst of December of that year.

The first members of the Council were Messrs. William Kaye Baxter, William Henry Blakeley, David Earnshaw, Hamor Oldfield, Joseph Radcliffe, Alfred Rushworth, Walter Scott (now one of the three Councillors for the Lockwood Ward of the Huddersfield Borough Council), William Henry Sykes, and James Albert Wrigley, J.P., who was elected Chairman, having been, as already stated, the Chairman of the former Local Government Board.

The Council had delegated from time to time, as need arose, the greater bulk of its work to several sub-committees, Finance, Housing, Rating and Valuation; it had repre- sentatives on the Boards of Managers of the Armitage Bridge Church of England School, South Crosland Church of Eng- land School, Holmfirth Holme Valley Grammar School; it also had three representatives of the Honley and South Crosland Joint Sewerage Board and one of the Colne and Holme Isola- tion Hospital Committee; there were also representatives on the Guardians Committee, the Education Committee of the West Riding County Council, the local Library Committee and the Old Age Pensions Committee, the Trustees of the Godfrey Beaumont Charity.

The District was divided into three wards: Armitage Bridge, Crosland and Netherton.

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The work of the Council since its inauguration in 1894, can be considered under its various aspects.

I. The Repair of Roads.

The Urban District Council was deemed responsible for the repair of the Lockwood and Meltham Road for 24 miles of its length up till March, 1930, when, after that date, the duty of repair was taken over by the West Riding County Council under the terms of the Local Government Act passed in 1929,

Since that date, the West Riding County Council had, however, delegated the repair of the main roads in the area to the local Urban District Council; on the other hand, the widening of this road at Stables Turn, near Healey House and Scotchy Dyke, was effected by the West Riding County Council itself, but the re-surfacing was undertaken by the local Council; this re-surfacing, it should be added, con- sisted of tarred slag and tarred limestone. The Urban District Council, however, curbed the whole of the length of the road in its area, and placed concrete posts and galvanized iron rail fences at danger spots. I

II. Housing Schemes. I

The first building scheme which the Council projected could not be put into operation, as the building charges at the time were too high. However, a housing scheme for the erection of a block of houses in Delph Road was passed by the Council on the 5th of May, 1924. From that year till 1929, 35 houses were erected in Crescent Road and Delph Lane; in 1930, three blocks of four houses were built in Hawkroyd Bank; while in 1931 eight houses in two blocks of four were erected in Bankfoot Lane.

The total number of houses erected since 1924 can be set forth in the following tables :—

(1) (a) Houses built under the ‘‘assisted’’ scheme ... 35 (b) Houses built by the Council itself (‘‘unassisted’’) ... val iN Cl Be

Total Hi fhe Oth GD

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(2) (a) Houses built before 1929... ue si Lee Houses built since 1929 ... i si vet see 35

(b) Houses built at Hawkroyd Bank in 1930 Houses built at Hawkroyd Bank in 1931 Houses built in Bankfoot Lane, 1931... Houses built in Bankfoot Lane, 1932...

™ I 00 ® 00 es

TORBL 65: cows

III. Sewerage.

It is believed that Mr. Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P. (afterwards Sir Thomas Brooke), paid for the laying down of a sewer from Armitage Bridge to Netherton, as the former very primitive sewers discharged into the Dean Clough and polluted the water required for the Armitage Bridge Mills. Reference to this ‘‘anonymous gentleman’’ who so generously presented these sewers is to be found in a report presented to the South Crosland L.G.B. and included in one of their Minute Books.

In 1908, the whole area between Honley, Netherton and South Crosland was re-sewered and put into operation on the 3rd of September in that year. These sewerage operations were effected by the Honley and South Crosland Joint Sewer- age Board, on which there were representatives from these two District Councils.

Previous to this date, some sewerage cperations had been effected in South Crosland in the year 1892, partly due to the fact that the sewers then existing were very primitive. Such work, however, had been undertaken by the former Local Government Board.

There were also some small tanks near the Armitage Bridge Cricket Field; the Surveyor to the L.G.B. and later to the Urban District Council was deemed responsible for the removal of the sewerage refuse.

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In connection with the housing schemes above outlined, new sewers were laid down in Delph Lane in 1924, in Hawkroyd Bank in 1928, while a syphon sewer was laid down from Bankfoot Lane to Stockwell Hill, Berry Brow, which was opened on the Ist of May, 1929. .A new sewer was laid down ‘‘by contract’’ from Bankfoot Road to ‘‘Sandy- lands,’’ in the Honley Road, in 1935.

The whole of the loan floated by the Joint Sewerage Board has been paid off, and the Board is now entirely free from debt.

IV. Health. Dr. Thomas Smailes, of Hawthorn House, Honley, was Medical Officer of Health for the South Crosland District from 1876 until his death on June 24th, 1915, and there were some remarkable changes during this period.

The births in 1876 numbered 113 ina population of 2 863 people, and the deaths were 82, including six from phthisis and 19 from infectious diseases. By way of contrast, in 1914, with an estimated population of 3,150, we find that there were 45 births and 38 deaths, including one from infectious disease and one from phthisis thus the decline in the birth rate which has been a feature of the past 40 years receives ample confirmation from these figures; it is comforting to reflect that the death rate has shown an equal decline.

The deaths from phthisis fluctuated from 15 in 1879 to two in 1900, rose again slightly during the early years of this century, and have remained at a very low figure ever since; those from infectious diseases show a corresponding decline during the whole period, and there is much evidence that the intensity with which these diseases attack the popula- tion has undergone a remarkable lowering.

The deaths of children under one year of age were 16 in 1876, reduced to five in 1914.

The year 1891 was notable for a severe outbreak of in- fluenza from the middle of April to beginning of June, and will be remembered as the Spanish variety of this plague; fortunately, the deaths do not seem to have been high, but further visitations are recorded in 1893, 1895, 1899, and almost each year subsequently.

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1892 had a serious outbreak of diphtheria, and enteric fever claimed several cases about the close of the century, but never approached the proportions of an epidemic.

We find a note about smallpox in 1903, but the one case, apparently, was a mild variety.

The first note about patients removed to Hospital is in 1904, when the Colne and Holme Isolation Hospital was opened at Meltham; this number increases from five out of 10 cases in that year, to 25 out of 39 in 1914.

Dr. W. H. Smailes succeeded his father as Medical Officer of Health for South Crosland in July, 1915, and con- tinued in that capacity till the 31st of March, 1938.

Vv. The Honley and South Crosland Joint Sewerage Board.

This body was constituted by Provisional Order dated the 10th of April, 1897.

The Board consisted of 10 members, of which the chair- men of the two respective Councils were ex-officio members. Four members were elected by the Honley Council from its own members, and a similar number from the South Crosland Council.

The expenses of the Joint Board were borne by the con- stituent districts respectively, in proportion to their rateable values.

As already stated, the whole amount of money originally borrowed has been repaid.

VI. Other Items.

(a) The Council granted petroleum licences and controlled private slaughterhouses, which had to be _ similarly licensed.

(b) In 1927, the Poor Rate was abolished and the Overseers ceased to exist; the Council was then held responsible for the collection of the Poor Rate (required by the Upper Agbrigg Public Assistance Committee), which was then: merged into one rate called the General District Rate.

(c) The Rate for the year 1937-1938 was 12/6 in the £.

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VII. Movements towards Amalgamation with the Huddersfield Corporation.

In 1931, the West Riding County Council made certain proposals to the Urban District Councils in their area sug- gesting that the various Urban District Councils should become amalgamated into one large Council, according to the County Council’s schedule. These proposals were read at a meeting of the local Council held on June 6th, 1932; this suggestion was put forward in concrete terms, namely, that Honley, South Crosland and Meltham should be grouped together and form one Council.

Considerable discussion took place at the meeting of the Council held on that date, and it was resolved unanimously ‘‘That the Council’s policy is that it prefers to stay as it is, but fearing this to be an impossibility, it should approach the Borough of Huddersfield and ask for their terms, and I if these terms should turn out unsatisfactory it should negotiate with Meltham only.’’

It was further decided to forward a letter to the Hud- dersfield Corporation asking if a deputation from the South Crosland Urban District Council could meet a sub-committee of the Borough Council regarding the above matter.

On June 23rd, 1932, a letter from the Town Clerk of Huddersfield was read to the effect that although his Sub- Committee was interested in the matter, and as the amalga- mation proposals were still under consideration, no definite reply could be given.

At a meeting held on the 14th of December, 1932, after a report from representatives of the Council had been given of their meeting at Wakefield with the West Riding County Council, it was resolved, ‘‘with only one dissentient, that the local Council ask the County Borough of Huddersfield to take the whole of the Urban District into the Borough, but that if this were impossible they be asked to consider an alternative scheme whereby the whole of the land which fell and drained towards Huddersfield be taken into the Borough. That the necessary maps and particulars be prepared by the Surveyor and Rating Officer and forwarded to the Hudders- field Corporation. That a copy of such map and information

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be sent to the West Riding County Council and that they be informed of the Council’s action.”’

A special meeting of the Council was held on the 10th of July, 1933, to consider the scheme submitted by the West Riding County Council for the partitioning of the District. As this scheme was exactly the same as was presented to the Council in December of 1932, it was resolved to object to this scheme and press the County Council Review Committee to accept the local Council’s scheme ‘or the alternative scheme submitted to them in December of 1932.

It was resolved also to hold two ratepayers’ meetings, one for the Armitage Bridge Ward at the Armitage Bridge School on the 13th of July, 1933, and one for the other two wards at the Oddfellows’ Hall on the 14th; and also that reply paid postcards be sent to all ratepayers asking them if they were in favour of joining the Borough or the County Council’s scheme.

A large number of ratepayers attended the meetings held at the two places mentioned above, and the following resolu- tion was carried unanimously at Armitage Bridge and with only two dissentients at Netherton :—

‘“‘That this meeting of ratepayers in the Armitage Bridge, Netherton and Crosland Wards of the South Crosland U.D.C. does not approve the West Riding County Council’s proposed scheme.’’

‘‘We fully endorse the action taken by our Council in negotiating for the whole of the South Crosland Urban District being incorporated with the Borough of Hud- dersfield, or failing this, for that portion of the South Crosland Urban District Council which naturally drains to Huddersfield being incorporated in the Borough of Huddersfield. The Council has our full approval to make this objection to the West Riding County Council and to the Minister of Health.’’

A further meeting of the local Council was held on the 17th of July, 1933, to draft a letter to the Review Committee of the West Riding County Council, in which its objections to the proposed amalgamation of South Crosland with Honley, Meltham, Thurstonland and Farnley Tyas could be stated,

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and giving the Review Committee its reasons for inclusion in the Borough of Huddersfield. Two important paragraphs in this lengthy communication read thus :—

(i) ‘‘There is no community of interests between ours and the other districts in the proposed scheme: The whole of our interests are with the Borough of Hud- dersfield: For example, the Huddersfield Corporation supply us with Gas, Water, Electricity, and provide our Transport, and for the first three services, ratepayers in the district are charged at a higher rate than the rate- payers in the Borough. Our present sewerage system drains towards Huddersfield and could easily and inex- pensively be connected to the main Huddersfield sewers.’’

(ii) ‘‘There is no appropriate centre of administra- tion in the proposed enlarged district, and no centre could be fixed which would lend itself to a central ad- ministrative office, and efficient working. The centre of Huddersfield is only 24 miles from the centre of our district and is joined by a direct bus service: the most appropriate centre of the proposed district is 4 to 5 miles away and without direct communication: this would add serious difficulties to such matters of representation, paying of accounts, etc.’’

The result of the postcard vote was also sent to the Review Committee of the West Riding County Council. 80% of the cards were returned; of these 95% were in favour of joining the Borough of Huddersfield, and only 5% in favour of being united with Honley, Meltham, Thurstonland, and Farnley Tyas. ‘The letter concluded thus :— ‘‘There can be no doubt as to what are the wishes of our inhabitants or where its interests and welfare lie. My Council has reason to believe that the Borough of Huddersfield would not be averse from incorporating our REM hee

‘‘A copy of this letter has been sent to the Town Clerk of Huddersfield.”’

Incidentally, it was also sent, as stated above, to the West Riding County Council Review Committee.

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An inquiry to consider this Review Scheme of the Local District Councils by the West Riding County Council was held on the 26th of November, 1935, at the County Hall, Wakefield, by the Inspector of the Ministry of Health, Mr. G. H. Thistleton Dyer. Representatives from the local Council were present at this Inquiry. The Inspector decided in favour of the scheme already agreed upon by the South Crosland U.D. Council, viz., its amalgamation into the County Borough of Huddersfield subject to a small adyjust- ment of the boundary line between Meltham and Honley.

The Inspector visited the District on the 9th of July, 1937, to settle the boundary between those parts of South Crosland which were to be incorporated with Meltham and Honley; there was a great deal of opposition on the part of Meltham to the suggestions of the South Crosland U.D. Council. However, in August, 1937, the Council was in- formed that the Inspector (Mr. G. H. Thistleton Dyer) had concurred with the boundary line agreed by its members, viz., from Scar Top to Cocking Steps Bridge, and that this was to be the future boundary line between Honley and Meltham.

The members of the South Crosland Urban District Council up to its termination on the 31st of March, 1938, were :—

Chairman: Mr. H. Borwell, J.P. Vice-Chairman: Mr. L. T. France. Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P., Messrs. W. C. Darby- shire, W. B. Cass, W. Dowthwaite, A. V. Shaw, A. E. Carter, G. F. Oldfield, H. Mellor, G. W. Schofield, A. Avery. Chairman of the General Purposes Committee: Mr. W. Dowthwaite. Clerk to the Council: Mr. G. V. Baxter. Medical Officer of Health: Dr. W. H. Smailes. Surveyor and Sanitary Inspector: Mr. H. Boys. Rating Officer: Mr. H. Hoyle.

List of Chairmen of the South Crosland U.D.C.

1894-1919 ... Mr. James Albert Wrigley, J.P. 1919-1924 ... .Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P. 1924-1930 ... Mr. J. Barker, J.P.

1930-1938 .... Mr. H. Borwell, J.P.

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List of Vice-Chairmen.

1896-1898 Mr. Joseph Radcliffe. 1898-1899 Mr. Walter Scott. 1899-1902 Mr. G. H. Edgecombe. 1902-1903 Mr. John Pogson. 1903-1910 Mr. W. K. Baxter. 1910-1912 Mr. H. Oldham. 1912-1919 Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P. 1919-1922 Mr. W. C. Darbyshire. 1922-1925 Mr. F. C. C. Wrigley, J.P. 1925-1930 Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P. 1930-1931 Mr. A. V. Shaw. 1931-1938 Rit. das b. Brande. List of Clerks. 1894-1919 Mr. A. J. Slocombe. 1919-1923 Mr. Joe Hadfield. 1923-1938 Mr. G. V. Baxter. List of Surveyors. 1914-1938 Mr. H. Boys.

Since the 3lst of March, 1938, that portion of South Crosland ‘‘which naturally drains towards Huddersfield’’ has been incorporated into the Borough; one part is now in- cluded in the Lockwood Ward, represented in the Borough Council by Councillors W. Scott, T. Smailes and A. Sutcliffe; Armitage Bridge is now included in the Newsome Ward, represented in the Council by Councillors C. E. Perry, Dr. J. H. Kahn and F. Bower.

Of the remaining portions of the former Urban District Council, Magdale is now part of the Honley East Ward of the newly-formed Urban District of Holmfirth, whose repre- sentatives to that Council are Councillors Isaac Brook and Reginald Hartley.

-Blackmoorfoot, Bank End at Netherton, and Healey House are now included in the Urban District of Meltham, and are served by the Urban Councillors for that District, Councillors Gerald Greenwood, Joseph C. Callander, Ernest

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Moorhouse, Arthur L. Butterworth, Miss Hilda B. Haigh, Edmund L. B. Lart, Robert F. Woodhead, Percy Matthews, Ernest V. Quarmby, Arnold Haigh, The Rev. T. Kenyon, Edward Quarmby, J.P. Councillor Edward Quarmby, J.P., is the Chairman, and Councillor A. L. Butterworth, Vice- Chairman.

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CHAPTER VI.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, -SOUTH CROSLAND.

[i has already been observed that the Township of South Crosland was originally incorporated with the Parish of All Saints, Almondbury. At some date unknown, the in- habitants worshipped at the Honley Chapel, and appointed one of their number to act as Chapelwarden to the Vestry Meeting held there.

This state of affairs lasted until the early decades of the last century, when two circumstances led to the building of a large number of churches in the vicinity of Huddersfield. First, there was a ‘‘township consciousness’’ in South Cros- land and Netherton which ultimately developed into an ‘‘ecclesiastical district and which made the inhabitants in the locality desire to have their own parish church; with an increase in population, this ambition be- came strengthened. Secondly, the growth of Nonconformity, particularly Wesleyan Methodism, which, although it had not yet erected ‘‘chapels’’ in Netherton, still had ‘‘meeting places’’ where its followers congregated to worship according to their custom.

These two circumstances, however small a part they may have played in the lives of the church people in South Cros- land at the time, were increased by the fact that Parliament, after the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, to make a thank offering for that victory, voted £1,000,000 towards the building of churches in localities where they were most needed. Under the terms of this Act, sometimes known as ‘‘The Million Act,’’ a large number of churches were built in the former ancient Parish of Almondbury; the first was at Linthwaite, in 1828, and the second in South Crosland, in 1829.

Thus the Church of Holy Trinity, South Crosland, came into being. It was originally termed a chapelry of the ancient Parish of Almondbury, the officiating clergyman

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54 designated as the Incumbent, although the Act of Parliament dated 1819, which made it possible for the church to be built, styled him a ‘‘Stipendiary Curate.’’ The cost of the building, made of ashlar stone, was £2,168; its seating capacity was 700, of which 322 were free sittings.

The foundation stone was laid on the 15th of October, 1827, by the Rev. Lewis Jones, the Vicar of Almondbury, who was later known as the ‘“‘Church Building Vicar.’’ The stone bore the following inscription on a plate :—

first Stone of a Church, to be called the Holy Trinity Church, in the Township of South Crosland, in the Parish of Almondbury, built under the direction of the Honourable Board of Commissioners for Building New Churches, was laid by the Rev. Lewis Jones, on this 15th day, of October, A.D. 1827, being the eighth year of His Majesty King George the Fourth.’’

Richard Henry Beaumont, Esq., Donor of the Site. Mr. P. Atkinson, Architect. Mr. Joseph Mellor, Churchwarden.’’

The Church had a gallery on three sides; the font was placed in the front of the pulpit, which had three reading desks. In the tower was one bell, and the structure was designed in the plain style of the period. ‘‘There was no . organ in those days, no gas and no evening services. There was a reading clerk who read the Psalms alternately and gave out the hymns. The heating was by a stove fixed from the tower, and pipes under the floor, and in winter, the Church was very cold. The sexton kept order. There was Holy Communion once a month,’’

The Church was opened for Divine Worship on Sunday, October 23rd, 1829, when the Rev. Lewis Jones, the Vicar of Almondbury, preached the first sermon. The Communion plates were the gifts of Miss Marianne Armitage, of Honley.

The sacred edifice was consecrated on the 2nd day of Sep- tember, 1830, by the Right Rev. Charles Vernon Harcourt, Archbishop of York. ‘‘At last, the great day arrived. The Archbishop came, and some 700 people joined with him in the solemn act of Consecration. The building was set aside for all time, for the Worship of God, to be used solely for

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the ministrations of His Word and Sacraments. Not the building only was so offered and hallowed, but His people, too, were blessed and consecrated anew to His service and to the lifelong offering of themselves.’’ (The Rev. T. W. Sweeting in the Holy Trinity Church Parish Magazine, September, 1937.)

In 1842, by an Order in Council dated the 10th of December, South Crosland became an Ecclesiastical District with definite boundaries, and in 1866, after the death of the Rev. Lewis Jones, the Vicar of Almondbury, the district became a new parish, with the Incumbent styled as Vicar.

The Rev. George Hough was the first Incumbent and Vicar, being appointed by the Rev. Lewis Jones; he con- tinued in that capacity till the time of his death, the 6th of June, 1879. The Vicarage House was erected in 1846 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, but the Vicar (Mr. Hough) contributed to its being of a larger size. Mr. Hough made several bequests to the Church and Parish, full particulars of which are to be found in Canon Hulbert’s ‘‘Annals of Almondbury.’’

From 1840 onwards, improvements and additions were made to the Church, of which the following particulars are the most important. In 1860, the flat ceiling of the Nave was raised and a chancel built, at a cost of £420. The first organ was built in June, 1840, and was opened by Mr. Henry Horn, the Organist of St. Paul’s Church, Huddersfield; the second and present organ was built in April, 1864, by Messrs. Kirt- land and Jardine, of Manchester. ‘‘It has three manuals, 9 stops on the great organ, 9 on the swell, 6 on the choir, and one pedal stop, large open diapason, 16 feet. The organ cost £630.’’ In 1877, a stained glass window in three lights, repre- senting four scenes from ‘‘The Good Samaritan,’’ was placed at the East end of the Church to commemorate the 80th year of the first Vicar’s age and the 48th year of his Incumbency.

In 1885, a new Pulpit, Prayer Desk and Lectern were placed in the Church in memory of Mr. George Dyson, who had been Churchwarden for many years. In 1887, the high- backed pews which formed part of the original edifice were removed, and replaced by pitch-pine sittings with rug seating; at the same time a porch was built on the south side of the

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56 I Church, new heating apparatus was placed, and a Font (octagonal in shape, the gift of the Sunday School Teachers, Scholars and others, in memory of Messrs. James Herbert Thornton and Benton Oldfield) placed in the original tower porch; these improvements cost over £500.

In 1895, further improvements were effected to the sacred edifice ; the walls of the Church were decorated, the Altar was raised one step, and Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Booth furnished it with a Cross. A Credence Table was provided, while a painted text was placed over the Chancel Arch.

In 1898, the choir and gallery were re-seated as a memorial to Mr. Samuel Pontefract, who had been the first Organist in 1840 and who held that office as well as Choirmaster till 1879, and was Churchwarden from 1894 to 1896. Improve- ments in the chancel were effected between 1909 and 1910; an oak reredos and oak panelling were placed in the chancel, with a brass tablet on the north wall recognising ‘‘the faithful services for 27 years of the Revd. W. Le Neve Bower— April 9th, 1910.’’ In 1925, electric light and power were in- stalled in the Church, and the interior of the edifice re- decorated, while in 1929 an Oak Litany Desk was presented by the Mothers’ Union of the Parish in memory of Mrs. Le Neve Bower.

Vicars of Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland.

The Rev. George Hough, 1829-1879. The Rev. George Coulton, 1879-1883. I The Rev. William Le Neve Bower, M.A., 1883-1932. The Rev. W. J. W. Tunnicliffe, 1932-1935. The Rev. T. W. Sweeting, 1935-

Churchwardens.

It is somewhat unfortunate that a complete list of the Churchwardens of Holy Trinity Church from 1829 to the present time cannot be compiled.

The following list has been compiled from the Rev. W. Le Neve Bower’s ‘‘Centenary Souvenir’’ (p. 41), and the dates during which the Churchwardens held office obtained by a consultation of the Church records :—

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Mr

Mr Mr

. Robert Wrigley, 1829-1833. . Charles Brook, 1834-1835. . George Dyson, 1859-1884. . Edward Wrigley, 1877-1886. . Henry Wrigley, 1877-1880.

57

. Robert Skilbeck, 1879-1880, 1884-1886. . James Albert Wrigley, 1880-1894, 1897-1919. . Arthur Dyson, 1877, 1886-1887, 1897-1898. . Joseph Radcliffe, 1883-1884. I . Thomas J. Dyson, 1889-1890. . Edmund Parkin, 1890-1892. . J. J. Booth, 1892-1893;

1894-1896, Vicar’s Warden.

. Samuel Pontefract, 1894-1896 (died holding office). . G. W. Dyson, 1896 (elected at an extra Vestry Meeting). . G. H. Sarll, 1899-1900. . D. White, 1901-1905. Major Thomas Brooke, 1906-1918, People’s Warden. TP, 1919-1922, Vicar’s Warden. . B. Schofield, 1919-1920;

Mr

Mr

Mr Mr

Mr

1924-1925, Vicar’s Warden.

. J. H. Duckenfield, 1921-1922, Vicar’s Warden. 1923-1924, Vicar’s Warden. _ A. E. Carter, 1923-1924, 1934-1935. . W. Dowthwaite, 1925-1926, 1936-1937. . Frank Lomax, 1927-1929, People’s Warden.

1929-1931, Vicar’s Warden.

. G. W. Schofield, 1929-1931. . A. V. Shaw, 1931-1932. . Hubert Lunn, A.R.C.O., 1938-1939.

. H. G. Barwood, M.A., 1938-1939.

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CHAPTER THE METHODIST CHURCH AT NETHERTON.

Nao in Netherton owed its origin to the forma- tion of the first Wesleyan Society in the district, namely, at Netherthong, where, shortly after John Wesley’s visit to that locality, Mr. John Oldfield (the grandfather of the late Mr. John Oldfield who died in 1908) was appointed a class leader at the Society then recently formed. Mr. Old- field afterwards threw in his lot with the old Greencliffe Chapel at Honley, built in 1814. A story is related that he had two sons, John and Edward, but, unfortunately, there was only one hat for the both of them; consequently, one stayed at home while the other accompanied his father to the Chapel at Honley one Sunday, and vice versa on the next.

These early followers of John Wesley, after a hard day’s work at the hand loom and spinning jenny, or on the farm, tramped through Honley Wood, over Honley Moor to Nether- thong to join in the fellowship of the Class Meeting held there.

This state of affairs lasted for some time until meetings were held in the houses and cottages of the adherents of Methodism; in the year 1797, Societies had been formed at South Crosland and at Netherton, and, from the membership returns compiled in that year, we gather that there were 21 members at the former hamlet and 20 at Netherton. Services were held at the houses of Mr. Joseph Beaumont, of Road Side, and of Mr. Joseph Taylor, at Hill Top, in Netherton, while in South Crosland they were held at the house of Mr. George Roberts. In 1799, the membership of the Societies was returned as nil, due, perhaps, to several causes, the chief being the Kilhamite disruption with Methodism resulting in the forma- tion of the Methodist New Connexion. It has also been suggested that the reactions of the French Revolution and of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 upon the people in the West Riding caused Methodism to wane temporarily, for there was a con- siderable loss in membership in 1799.

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Every member of the Societies from the two villages had joined the Methodist New Connexion, who, for several years, held their services in a cottage at South Crosland; eventually, when the members returned to the ‘‘Old Body,’’ as the Wesleyan Methodists were termed, these services were discontinued.

In 1820 or 1822, the Wesleyans, Baptists and Calvinists raised subscriptions to build a school in the Jumble in Netherton, which, for many years, went by the name of the ‘‘Old School.’’ At this school, which was undenominational in character, the elements of reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic were taught. The Wesleyans, eleven in number, held their services therein on Sunday evenings, and here re- ceived their quarterly tickets of membership. This arrange- ment lasted for a number of years, but, as was the case where a building was used by a number of different religious bodies, friction frequently occurred, ‘‘owing to the tenacity with which the different sects upheld their respective doctrines.’’

In 1828 the number of members in the Wesleyan denom- ination was recorded as 28. Amongst those early followers of Methodism in Netherton were Mrs. Charles Oldfield, of Lane Side, who received her first ticket of membership in September, 1832 (now in the possession of her grandson, Mr. William Charlesworth), and her five sons and five daughters, all of whom later became prominent members in those early days. Besides attending the Sunday evening meetings in the ‘‘Old School’’ in the Jumble, the members worshipped at the Old Green Cliff Chapel at Honley, morning and afternoon. The last service held in this Chapel was conducted by ‘‘Squire’’ Edward Brooke, the ‘‘earnest, energetic, erratic’? Wesleyan local preacher, in 1827, previous to the building of Honley Wesleyan Chapel.

In either 1835 or 1844 (there is some discrepancy in the date given in the two M.S. histories of Methodism in Nether- ton which I have been very kindly permitted to read; I suspect, however, 1844 is correct), the Methodists rented a room in the ‘‘Long Baulk’’ in Netherton Fold from Mr. Thomas Wrigley, and fitted it with a pulpit and some pews. This room, in the evenings, was ‘‘illuminated’’ by ‘“‘penny candles,’’ and if they were not snuffed properly it became filled

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with smoke, so much so ‘“‘that one could not see from one end of the room to the other.’’ The person responsible for lighting and snuffing the candles had to be on the alert lest one end of the room was in darkness while the other was lighted during the course of a service!

On Christmas Day, 1848, a public tea meeting was held in the ‘‘Long Baulk’’ to raise money towards the building of a Chapel in Netherton, and resulted in £5, which was placed in a bank until the present Church was built in 1867.

In 1848, the nucleus of a Sunday School was commenced by a few young men and women who had previously attended the Berry Brow Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School.

In 1849, disruption again occurred among the Wesleyans at Netherton.,We gather that one Sunday afternoon the Rev. F. A. West preached at the ‘‘Long Baulk’’ and said some ‘“‘unpleasant things,’’ with the result ‘‘that part of the con- gregation walked out of the service’’ and eventually allied themselves with the Wesleyan Reformers, later known as the United Methodist Free Church. The Reformers took a cottage house at ‘‘Bank End’’ and fitted it up as a place of worship; they also commenced a Sunday School, which at- tracted such large numbers that they rented the Oddfellows’ Hall for services till 1860. The Reformers, however, found the expense of maintaining these two meeting places too bur- densome, and decided to rejoin Wesleyan Methodism, if accepted. A deputation, consisting of Messrs. Joseph Bax- ter, John Oldfield and Tom Charlesworth, waited upon the Rev. John S. Workman, the Minister of Buxton Road Circuit, to ask whether they could be received again into Wesleyan Methodism. This was granted, and arrangements were made for the reunion to take place ‘‘at once.’’ It is stated that the present Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Netherton would never have been built but for this reunion which took place at that time.

The religious enthusiasm which took place at the meet- ings held in the ‘‘Long Baulk’’ caused some apprehension amongst the neighbours, who, on one occasion, went in search of a policeman for his intervention. The officer complained to Mr. Joseph Baxter about ‘‘the row,’’ as he termed the fervour, whereupon Mr. Baxter replied, ‘‘Let them

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alone, for when they come out they will go straight to their homes, and no one will be molested.”’

In 1858, special services were held in Netherton at the ‘‘Long Baulk,’’ conducted by Mr. John Storr, of Pickering, and 80 new members were enrolled. The result of this increase in membership was that the building became too small for the increasing congregations, and the Oddfellows’ Hall was rented for the Sunday Services, while the ‘‘Long Baulk’’ was used for the week-night meetings and as a Sunday School. The services in the Oddfellows’ Hall con- tinued till the building of the present Church.

Several attempts had been made to enlist the sympathy © of the Ministers of the Buxton Road W.M. Circuit and others to build a Chapel in Netherton, but without success until 1864, when the Rev. James Loutit was appointed Superin- tendent Minister of that Circuit. He supported the idea of erecting a Chapel at Netherton, and his attitude was backed by ‘‘Squire’’ Edward Brooke. Shortly after the September Quarterly Meeting, both these gentlemen rode round the village to select a suitable site for the Chapel. Fortunately, one of the trustees of the estate was a friend of ‘‘Squire’’ Brooke, who persuaded his fellow trustees to sell the land whereon the present Church stands.

The foundation stone was laid by Mr. Oates Bairstow, of Huddersfield, on the 5th of May, 1866. A somewhat amusing story is told in connection with this ceremony. The trustees of the new building presented Mr. Bairstow with a silver trowel and a mallet costing £5 in order to perform the ceremony, expecting a good donation from him towards the cost of the building. However, Mr. Bairstow’s donation was exactly £5, the cost of the trowel, etc. Some months later, Mr. Bairstow’s house in Huddersfield was entered by thieves, who took the trowel, amongst other ‘“‘booty,’’ and that,’’ as one compiler wrote, ‘‘was the end of the trowel.’’ The inscription on the trowel read thus: ‘‘Presented to Mr. O. Bairstow, Esq., (sic) on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of a Wesleyan Chapel at Netherton.”’

The original Trustees of the Chapel, elected in 1867, were Messrs. Joseph Baxter, William Henry Blakeley, Edwin Blakeley, James Varley, George Henry North, John Oldfield,

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Benjamin Gledhill, Thomas Haigh, Oates Bairstow, Charles Wood, Jonas Jagger, Eli Mallinson and Charles Wilkinson.

On the 4th of April, 1867, the Chapel was opened by the Rev. George Dickenson. Sermons were preached by the Rev. James Sugden, of Manchester. Tea was served in the new Sunday School, and the following ladies presided at the tea tables: Mrs. Allen Graham, Mrs. Fanny Blakeley, Mrs. George Haigh, Mrs. William Haigh, Mrs. William North, Mrs. W. H. Blakeley, Mrs. Edwin Blakeley, Mrs. Mary E. Todd and Mrs. Wimpenny.

The opening services were continued on the following Sunday, when the preachers were the Rev. James Loutit in the morning and the Rev. Richard Green, of York, in the afternoon and evening; the total proceeds of the opening services (collections and profits on the tea) amounted to £63.

Towards the erection of the Church, a subscription list was opened which contained the names of 400 persons who contributed sums of money ranging from threepence to a hundred guineas; the sum of £1,100 was raised in this way. Three years after its opening the Church was freed of debt.

Various expedients were adopted to raise money to pay off the cost of the building, including Bazaars and Lectures. At one Lecture, given by a Mr. Johnson (who used to preach on Easter Day at Meltham) on Easter Saturday, the sum of £75 was collected. It was also decided to have an Ex- hibition of curios, paintings, etc. Previous to the date of holding this Exhibition, the members went up and down the district endeavouring to get loans of objects towards this effort, leaving a bond for some of the curios lent as a surety for their return. During the days and nights the Exhibition was held, the premises were guarded by two watchmen, as there were, amongst other objects lent, paintings valued at £100. The result of this Exhibition yielded a sum of £100, but the expenses of carriage, surveillance, etc., were so great that only about half the takings was profit.

In the early days of the Church the singing was accom- panied by a harmonium, but at some period before 1880 a small organ, which originally came from Linthwaite Wesleyan Chapel, was placed in the building—a gift from Mr. Joseph Baxter. In 1880, a new organ was installed by Messrs. James

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Conacher & Sons. For over thirty years the organist was Mr. Hamor Oldfield.

The remaining items of interesting history relating to the Chapel can be stated in summary form :—

1870.—Formation of the Netherton Wesleyan Carol Singers, who held Old Folk’s Teas and Concerts, presided over for more than 30 years by Mr. Thomas Seymour, locally known as ‘‘Hallelujah Tommy.’’

1888.—Coming-of-age celebrations of the Church.

1893.—Hot water system of heating the building installed at a cost of £250.

1905.—Organ renovated and enlarged. The Church re- decorated. Both these improvements cost £250, towards the cost of which, money was raised by Bazaars, ‘‘At Homes,’’ and Entertainments organised by Mr. Beau- mont Crowther.

1911, April 25.—£100 presented to the Trustees by Mr. Samuel Sykes, in memory of his sister, Miss Eliza Sykes.

1916, June 17.—Death of Mr. Samuel Sykes, who, by his will, bequeathed £300 to the Church.

1917, Easter Day.—Jubilee Services of the Chapel. The preacher was the Rev. William Bradfield, B.A. On Easter Monday, a Public Meeting was held, presided over by Alderman Carmi Smith, afterwards Mayor of Hud- dersfield. The gifts to the Jubilee and Thanksgiving Fund amounted to £180.

1921.—The Church and School fitted with electric light at a cost of £500, which also included alterations and re- decorations.

1923.—The boiler house placed outside the Church premises at a cost of £500; the heavy expenditure incurred was due to the fact that excavations had to be made through a rock.

1927, April.—Diamond Jubilee Services. Preacher, the Rev. W. Russell Maltby, President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference. The Thanksgiving Fund realised £160.

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In 1919, a house was purchased in Moor Lane for a

Resident Minister;

the following Ministers have been in

charge of the Netherton, Honley and Berry Brow Methodist Churches, and have resided therein :—

1919 The Rev. F. C. Hoggarth. 1919-1922 The Rev. R. Robertson. 1922-1926 The Rev. A. E. Davidson. 1926-1929 The Rev. W. Rhodes. 1929-1933 The Rev. C. H. Stanley. 1933-1937 The Rev. A. J. W. McKay.

The present of the Church are Messrs. Amos Parkin, Thomas Seymour, George Mitchell, W. Charles- worth, J. F. Froggatt, A. Cuttell, W. A. Littlewood, ws Jones, A. H. Daniel, J. H. Hellawell, A. E. Todd, E. Nicholson, H. Rowbottom, N. Littlewood, R. Blakeley, W. B. Mitchell.

A History of Methodism in Netherton would not be com- plete without honourable mention being made of the following Leaders, who also worked strenuously to build up the Church and make this account possible: Messrs. J. -M’Cullum, Allen Beaumont, George H. North (Teacher of the Young "Men’s Class), Elliott Smith, Ben Roberts, John Oldfield, Ben Old- field, Hamor Oldfield (Voluntary Organist), William Blake- ley, Edwin Blakeley, Charles Blakeley (Voluntary Choir- master for over thirty years), A. A. Cass (Schoolmaster of the Day School), Amos Parkin (oldest living Trustee), Fred Graham, Beaumont Crowther, William Charlesworth, George Mitchell, Mrs. Heppenstall, Mrs. Elliott Smith, Mrs. John Furness, Miss S. Bamforth, Miss B. Sugden, Miss Fanny Blakeley.

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CHAPTER VIII. NETHERTON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

te Church is shortly approaching its Centenary, for the first Church was built in 1843 by contributions, and opened on the 10th of May of that year by the Rev. James Prudie, of Halifax. There were twenty-two subscribers, amongst whom were various members of the family of Wrigley. Mr. James Wrigley, in addition to his gift of £25, also gave the land on which to build the Church. The building cost £203 1s. 6d., while £204 3s. Od. was raised by subscriptions.

In 1846, a Day School was commenced in connection with this Church, but it only lasted a few months, as it had very few pupils; in the same year, a Sunday School was initiated which has lasted to the present day. In the following year, 1847, Whitsuntide Treats were inaugurated, when the Sunday School scholars were regaled with buns and tea after they had sung in procession through the streets of the village, and on the ‘‘Rocks’’; this procedure has been continued up to the present time.

A ‘‘gigantic day trip’’ was organised to Goole on Satur- day, June 30th, 1855, by the ‘‘Teachers, Scholars, Parents and Friends,’’ and proved a huge success. The excursionists, 2,400 in number, met at the Church at 4-0 a.m., walked to Berry Brow Station, where 80 railway coaches carried them to Goole. The prices charged for this day trip were: Child- ren Is., adults ls. 6d.! During the next five years similar day trips were arranged for Grimsby, Liverpool, Scarborough, Rhyl and Blackpool, but not one of these proved as popular as the first.

In the year 1857 there were on the Sunday School roll 70 boys and 80 girls, while the Teachers’ Meetings were held once a month ‘‘at the the time of the full moon,’’ so the record in the minute book states.

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In 1863, Mr. William Wrigley promised £50 per annum for three years to a suitable man ‘‘who would be present in the Sunday School each Sunday afternoon and preach each Sunday evening.’’. Mr. Edward Haywood was the ‘‘man’’ appointed, and we learn that ‘‘on his first Sunday evening he had a large congregation.’’ The harmonium was first used on this occasion, the accompanist thereon being Mr. Richard Mellor, of Huddersfield. Mr. Haywood rendered valuable service in the cause of Congregationalism at Netherton for two years until 1865, when he became the preacher at the Kirkheaton Congregational Church.

Mr. Charles Henry Jones was the Superintendent of the Sunday School from 1851 to 1869, but, having been elected the first Mayor of the newly-formed Borough of Huddersfield in 1868, he found his Mayoral duties so strenuous that he was reluctantly compelled to tender his resignation as Superin- tendent. He was succeeded by Mr. James Armitage.

During the Superintendency of Mr. C. H. Jones, the Sunday School became affiliated to the Huddersfield Sunday School Union.

In 1865, a month after Mr. Edward Haywood had left the pastorate of the Church, Mr. Robert Turner, of Cheshire, was appointed. He performed meritorious work for nearly five years, during which time he formed a Day School which had an attendance of about forty scholars; in 1869, application was made to the Government for a grant, but, owing to the passing of the Education Acts of 1870-1873, this grant could not be given, and consequently the Day School ceased to function.

In 1869, Mr. Alfred Jones, of Huddersfield, became the Pastor of the Church, and ministered to both the congregation and Sunday School on the same terms as his two predecessors. His son, Mr. A. E. Jones, later became a most energetic Superintendent of the Sunday School, and journeyed from Huddersfield to Netherton, in wet or fine weather, in this capacity for over 40 years.

In 1903, the Rev. Hugh J. Boyd took charge of the Church in conjunction with that of Netheroyd Hill, an ar- I rangement which was made possible by an annual grant from the Huddersfield Congregational Council. Mr. Boyd was

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SL much respected both in Netherton and at Netheroyd Hill, and served both Churches till 1910. Since that date, the joint Pastorate of these two Congregational Churches has been held by Mr. G. H. Crowther, 1911-1915; Mr. C. Barrett, 1916-1919; Mr. C. H. Slack, 1919-1924; Mr. S. D. Martin, 1927-1929. ff

For more than forty years three brothers of the name of Aspinall have been enthusiastic workers in the cause of the Church, viz., Messrs. Arthur, Charles and Edward Aspinall; the latter passed away a few years ago, but the others are still actively engaged in the work of the Church and School.

In 1921, the building was enlarged very considerably by a schoolroom and vestry being added at a cost of £1,500.

In 1937, the Deacons of the Church were Messrs. C. Aspinall, W. France, J. W. Heeley, and Mrs. W. France; the Superintendents of the School were Messrs. A. and C. Aspinall, J. W. Heeley and Miss Edith Sharp.

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CHAPTER IX.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH CROSLAND AND NETHERTON.

OTH South Crosland and Netherton were most fortunate in possessing educational facilities which were, in nineteenth century days, unequalled in any township outside Huddersfield, except, perhaps, in Almondbury and Lindley.

_. The Crosland School, or Crosland Free School, was one of the oldest scholastic institutions within a ten-mile radius of the Huddersfield Market Cross. As will be stated later in this section, there have been in former days no less than two Church of England Day Schools, three Nonconformist Schools and two Private Schools in the area previously ad- ministered by the South Crosland Urban District Council.

For evening students, too, there was the Mechanics’ Institute, to which persons well over the school age attended to supplement the instruction they had received during their short stay in the Day Schools of their childhood.

The following is a list, in chronological order, of schools of all types which are known to have existed in the locality :—

(i) Crosland Town School ... Date of foundation unknown

(ii) The School’’ in the Jumble ‘ye ie bees (iii) South Crosland C. of E. Schools... Mi i. Ae (iv) Armitage Bridge C. of E. Schools bis ... 1835 (v) The ‘‘New School’’ in Netherton be ... 1846 (vi) The Wesleyan Day School We fi oe (vii) The Memorial School (C. of E.) Ms Lo 3 ss (extended) ... see (viii) The Netherton W.R. Council School ... — ... 1916

to which must be added :— (ix) The Rev. George Hough’s Private School 1850-1870 (x) Mrs. Calvert’s Private School... Date unknown (xi) The Mechanics’ Institute ... a on to 1885

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The story of each of these schools can now be considered separately :—

(i) The Crosland Town School.

The former ‘‘one decker’’ building stands below the ‘‘Top of the Hill,’’ at the north end of the village of South Crosland, near Stoney Batter.

As far as can be ascertained, the Crosland School was probably the second oldest school within a ten-mile radius of the Market Cross at Huddersfield, King James’s Gram- mar School at Almondbury being its senior. The date of its foundation is as yet unknown, and practically nothing is known concerning its early history. It was certainly in exist- ence in 1672, for Godfrey Beaumont, of South Crosland, by his will dated the 3lst of March in that year, directed his Trustees to pay the sum of £3 to the Schoolmaster of South Crosland ‘‘who shall teach there from time to time, for the time being for ever.’’

In 1827, the Charity Commissioners visited Huddersfield to enquire into the various charities then existing, and their report on Godfrey Beaumont’s Charity read as follows :—

“‘The yearly sum of £5 is paid by the perpetual Curate of Meltham as a charge on his benefice, £3 thereof to the Master of the Township School of South Crosland and £2 to the Overseers of the Poor, to be distributed as a dole and which is distributed accordingly to poor persons. We have met with no writings relating to this charity.’’

In Slater’s ‘‘Directory of the Northern Counties,’’ pub- lished in 1854, the educational establishment is described as a ‘‘Free’’ School, but not as a Free Grammar School, as that of Almondbury is designated in the same Directory.

The attributive ‘‘Free’’ in front of the word School suggests that the institution was originally exempt from such control as was once exercised by cathedrals, colleges, mon- asteries or trade guilds, and not one where the pupils, or a majority of them, were educated without the payment of fees. The whole subject of ‘‘Free’’ Grammar Schools is very fully discussed by Mr. Taylor Dyson, M.A., in his ‘‘History of

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3

King James’s Grammar School, Almondbury,’’ and readers are referred to this work for further information on this matter.

In the absence of original documents relating to this School, it is impossible to state how the School obtained the title of ‘‘Free,’’ nor can we say anything regarding its founda- tion.

The names of four headmasters have been preserved :—

(i) From 1765 to 1815 the Headmaster of the School was William Sykes, ‘“‘the scholemaster’’ who ‘‘wrote up’’ the accounts of the Chapelwardens of South Crosland for Honley and also those of the Overseers of the Poor. In the school- room, the monthly meetings of the inhabitants of the Town- ship were held, and the references in the early Account Books of ‘‘Ale to the School’’ (sums of money varying from 2s. to 4s.) and ‘‘tobacco to the school,’’ suggest that the inhab- itants combined business with pleasure when they had to discuss matters appertaining to Poor Law Relief. William Sykes, the schoolmaster, also received a sum of money from the Overseers for ‘‘fires and candles.’’ In 1799, he was appointed ‘‘clerk’’ to the Overseers.

(ii) Eli Oldfield appears to have succeeded this William Sykes as the Schoolmaster in 1816, and continued in that capacity for some years; his name is mentioned in Baines’s of Yorkshire’ (Vol. II) as the (day) school- master at South Crosland in 1822. From 1818 to 1820 he acted as Assistant Overseer. He seems to have been desirous of raising the tone of the meetings of the inhabitants, and designated them in the Account Book (No. III) as ‘‘Vestry’’, and charged the Overseers with ‘‘Vestry Rent’’ whenever meetings were held at the School in connection with Poor Law Relief.

Two important meetings were held at the School House in 1828 which will be discussed in a later section; suffice to say, that, at the second, a resolution to elect a ‘‘Select Vestry’”’ was carried by a majority, but apparently was not put into effect. I

Two curious entries in the Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor refer to this School; the first is in John Bradley’s

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accounts for 1829-30, and reads, ‘‘pd. Mr. Clough Bill of Ex- penses belonging to Crosland School, £21 4s. 1lld.’*; a similar item occurs in Thomas Beaumont’s accounts for 1833, ‘‘pd. Mr. Peace’s bill belonging Crossland Towns School, £39 15s. 1ld.’’; these two items were paid out of the Poor Rates, and suggest that some litigation had been incurred in connection with the Crosland School.

(iii) The name of Francis Duce appears in William Parson and William White’s Directory of Leeds, 1830, as being the master of the ‘‘day school.’’ His name, however, is spelt Dews in the Account Book of the Overseers of the Poor of South Crosland for the years 1834 to 1840.

(iv) The last Headmaster concerning whom we have any record is Mr. Enoch Roberts, who is described as the (day) Schoolmaster of the Free School in South Crosland in Slater’s ‘‘Directory of The Northern Counties’’ published in 1854.

The last item which I have discovered concerning this School is found in the Charity Commissioners’ Report of 1897, which reads :—

‘“‘The payment (of £3 yearly, as above recorded under Godfrey Beaumont’s will) was formerly made to the old Town’s School, but when the master died, about thirty years ago, it was transferred to the National School, which was the only other School then in exist- ence. A Wesleyan Day School has since been founded at Netherton, but the trustees (of Godfrey Beaumont’s Charity) have not considered themselves bound to divide the payment between the two schools.’’

Thus the old Town School of Crosland seems to have come to an end about the year 1867, having been in existence for at least two hundred years, if not more.

Above the doorway of the School building, which is now a private dwelling-house, is a stone containing the date MDCLXXII (1672), while on the right-hand side of the entrance door is another stone containing the incised letters and date :—

gn

(762 1781.

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The letters W.S. may refer to William Sykes, who, as we have already mentioned, was the Schoolmaster of the Crosland Free School in that year.

(ii) The ‘‘Old School’’ in Netherton.

This building, part of which can still be seen in the ‘‘Jumble,’’ was built in 1822, by the joint efforts of the Calvin- ists, Baptists and Wesleyans. As already stated, the School was undenominational in character, which suggests that it might have been originally built in connection with the British and Foreign School Society founded in 1814 to develop the ideas of school teaching originally promulgated by Joseph Lancaster in 1798. It was, as we have already remarked, the first meeting-place (apart from cottage services) of the Wesleyans in Netherton.

The first reference I have discovered relating to the Old School in the ‘‘Jumble’’ is in the Accounts of Joseph Mellor, Overseer of the Poor for South Crosland for 1823; from: these Accounts we gather that the large sum of 1/54 was ‘‘taken off’’ from the ‘‘Receivings’’ for Netherton School.

The Netherton School, as it was known in 1838, was the meeting-place of a Committee consisting of the Church- wardens of Holy Trinity Church, the Overseers of the Poor and prominent members of the Township of South Crosland to consider the Revaluation of the Township now that it had become incorporated into the Huddersfield Union of Guardians.

(iii) and (vii) The National Schools at South Crosland I and at Netherton.

The first National School in the locality was built in 1835, some five years after the foundation of Holy Trinity Church, and a small house was erected for the use of the headmaster, as was the custom in those days. The building can be seen on the right-hand side of the road leading to South Crosland just before coming to the Parish Church. Mr. Richard Henry Beaumont, of Whitley Hall, on the 4th of November, 1834, for the sum of £10, conveyed a plot of land at South Crosland, part of a close called Great Holt Hill, containing 500 square yards, to Mr. Walter Williams

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Stables and seven other gentlemen, upon trust, so that the school-house could be erected ‘‘to be used as a school of education for the poor children of the township of South Cros- land, according to the system recommended and adopted by the National Education Society, known as ‘Bell’s System.’ ”’ By the terms of the indenture, the trustees were empowered to appoint the headmaster and headmistress of the School and to keep the school-house in good repair.

In 1873-1874, the Memorial School at Netherton was built at a cost of £1,918 as a tribute to the memory of the sister of the first Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, the Rev. George Hough, who had lived with him after the death of his wife in 1834, and who, for over thirty years, had rendered devoted service to the Parish Church. At the time of the opening of these premises, Mr. Hough desired that they should serve a double purpose, an Infants’ School in the day time and a Mission Room in the evenings and at week-ends.

The Rev. G. Hough purchased the site for this Memorial School from the Trustees of Godfrey Beaumont’s Charity for £242, and the property was conveyed by deed dated Sep- tember 15th, 1873, from Messrs. George Armitage, Joseph Taylor Armitage, and William Brooke (Trustees of the above Charity) to the Trustees of the Memorial School, then the Rev. George Hough, Messrs. James Wrigley, Joseph Wrig- ley, Henry Wrigley, James Albert Wrigley and Mr. George Dyson, to be used for the purposes of Divine Worship and Education. Discretionary powers were given in the deed to the Trustees to alter the Trust, and ‘‘particularly to make conveyance of the whole or part of the premises for the site of a church.’’

After the building of these premises the infants from the former School-house at South Crosland were removed to the Memorial School, and the older premises built in 1835 were retained for the boys’ and girls’ departments up till 1934.

In 1894, the National Schools at South Crosland were extended owing to the growing needs of the district. The sanction of both the Board of Education and the Local Govern- ment Board of Health of South Crosland was necessary before these extensions could proceed. However, in the September of 1893, the plans were approved, and building operations

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commenced shortly afterwards; the additions to the older School premises were completed in March, 1894.

In 1893-4, only one original Trustee of the 1835 School- house was alive, namely, Mr. William Brook, of Healey House. New Trustees were then appointed, and, according to the terms of the Trust Deed, three of them must be the owner of the Whitley Hall Estate (as Lord of the Manor of South Crosland), the Vicar of Holy Trinity, South Crosland, and the Vicar of Almondbury Parish Church.

The increased accommodation was as follows: ‘‘A new class room, 15 feet by 22 feet, was built, with basement cellars for the heating apparatus; the outer wall which divided the former class room from the new room was taken down, folding doors enable the rooms to be divided when necessary, or to form one large room, and the upper class room was much improved by raising the ceiling.’’

An extension to the original Memorial School premises was effected from 1933-34 as a result of a sum of money having been left in trust for that purpose by Mrs. E. M. Laing. was a certain amount of delay before these building extensions could come into operation. The plans of the pro- posed extensions, designed by Messrs. Lunn & Kaye, were submitted to the South Crosland Urban District Council in January, 1933, and were approved.

The School extension was dedicated by the Right Rev. _ the Lord Bishop of Wakefield on the 26th of May, 1934, and a few days later the new building was opened for public in- spection, while on the 4th of June, 1934, the premises were first used for school work.

The Memorial Schools now consist of three new class rooms (as extensions of the former infants’ department), a large hall, two separate playgrounds, a staff room, a kitchen equipped with utensils necessary for the preparation of meals, cellars and a detached store. The furniture was provided by the Education Committee of the West Riding County Council. The accommodation of the School is 136, and, as already stated, both the infants and the mixed departments are amalgamated.

A bronze tablet in the Assembly Hall (in the older part of the building) bears the following inscription :—

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*‘This School was built in 1873 by public benefactors in memory of Miss Elizabeth Hough, for the mainten- ance of religious education. ‘‘The land was given by her brother, the Rev. George Hough, first Vicar of this Parish. ‘‘The School was extended in 1934 by means of a fund left in trust by Mrs. E. M. Laing, and was dedi- cated on the 26th of May, 1934, by the Right Rev. James Buchanan Seaton, D.D., Lord Bishop of Wakefield.”’

The School receives a grant from the Richard Beaumont Charity, which was renamed the Beaumont School Trust in 1882. From the Charity Commissioner’s Report of 1897, we gather that from 1882 to 1897, the sum of £276 Is. 6d. had been granted by the Trustees of the Beaumont School Trust to the South Crosland National School.

Each child attending the School receives a Bible under the terms of one of the legacies left by the Rev. George Hough, the first Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, South Cros- land.

A complete list of the Headmasters of the South Cros- land C.E. Schools from 1835 cannot be but the fol- lowing have acted :—

-1854- Mr. Thomas Rushford, Miss Sarah Benton. 1862-1866 Mr. B. Bentley. 1866 Mr. A. Smith (temporary). 1866-1867 Mr. Joel Sykes. 1867-1872 Mr. A. Gardiner. 1872-1911 Mr. Daniel White. 1911-1919 Mr. Edgar Dearnley. 1919-1921 Mr. Sidney Broomfield Leonard. 1921-1936 Mr. Stanley Wright. 1937- Mr. W. Hinkins. It. is also interesting to record that the late Miss Maria Wrigley, of Croft House, Netherton, was the Secretary and Treasurer of the Memorial Schools from 1879 to 1894.

(iv) Paine’ Bridge Church of England Day Schools. The first school building erected in 1835 at Armitage Bridge, was due to the instrumentality and generosity of Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, who, some ten years previously,

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had transferred their woollen and worsted industry from Honley to Armitage Bridge. This school accommodated boys and girls, while an infant school was built in a field opposite the Armitage Bridge Cricket Field, near by some cottages in the locality.

The original building for the boys and girls consisted of a large room without any cloak room; small skeps served this purpose, and we learn that at the close of school, ‘‘the children’s coats and hats were emptied on to the figor and the scholars sorted out their possessions as best they could.’’ ( !)

This room (the large bottom room) was surrounded by a playground, a relic of which is enclosed by the spiked rail- ings fencing the School off from Bankfoot Lane.

From records supplied by the then incumbent of St. Paul’s Church, Armitage Bridge, the Rev. Henry Windsor, to the Committee of the Council on Education (the predeces- sor of the present Board of Education), the first Headmaster of this School was Mr. Grant King, while his wife, Mrs. Hannah King, was the first Headmistress.

In 1848, the Mistress in charge of the Infant School was Miss Bradley, who, as Mrs. Clay, was presented, in 1890, by the Managers of the School with a silver teapot in recog- nition of her forty-two years’ service. i

At some date between 1849 and 1854, the former Infants’ School was transferred to a building added on to the School building erected in 1835. It then consisted of two rooms, a fairly long one and a class room attached, which still shows signs of “its implastered walls’’; at the end of the larger room was a gallery. To this added portion, Mrs. Clay and her infant scholars were transferred, and here they continued to be taught.

The next portion added to the building was the part now used as the Parish Room, which was built for Sir John Arthur Brooke’s Bible Class, and when this was disbanded it was converted into a Woodwork Centre and used for even- ing school work as well as for a day school.

In 1892, two new class rooms were built, and since that date the elder scholars have been taught in the upper rooms and the infants in the rooms below.

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The Manual Instruction and Domestic Centre was built in 1900 at the sole expense of the late Mr. William Brooke, but the cost of its equipment was originally partially met by the West Riding County Council Education Committee, under circumstances which arose thus: In 1889, The Technical In- struction Act was passed, which gave County Councils the power to assist technical or manual instruction, and thus it came about that the room built by Mr. William Brooke was able to be equipped in 1915 for the teaching of cookery, housewifery and laundry. This building is now a recognised Manual and Domestic Centre for the scholars of Armitage Bridge, Honley, Netherton and South Crosland.

Messrs. John Brooke & Sons have made themselves res- ponsible for the alterations and repairs to the building at various times in its history, and every year grant a subscrip- tion towards its upkeep.

Canon Hulbert, in his ‘‘Annals of Almondbury,’’ written in 1882-4, said that ‘‘the Schools belong to the joint estate of Messrs. John William Brooke, of Sibton Park, Thomas Brooke and William Brooke’’; at the moment they still belong to the successors of the late Mr. J. W. Brooke, Sir Thomas and Mr. William Brooke; the Managers pay a nominal rent of 1/- per week for their use.

The following is the list of Headmasters since its forma- tion in 1835: Mr. Grant King, Mr. Hayden, Mr. Conner, Mr. Green, Mr. Stephenson, Mr. S. H. Ward (1879-1881), Mr. H. Brown (1881-1886), Mr. J. Quinn (1886-1892), Mr. Benjamin Langrick (1892-1926, Dec.), Mr. W. H. Buckley (1926- } )

(v) The New School at Netherton.

The ‘‘New School’’ was the name given to the day school originally commenced by the Congregationalists in their

Church premises in 1846, but which only lasted for a few months.

A second attempt to form a day school on these premises was made in 1869, but, owing to their unsuitability, a grant towards its furtherance could not be obtained under the terms of the Education Act of 1870, and consequently the idea had to be abandoned. It is interesting to know that the

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name ‘‘New School’’ clings, as it is still applied by older residents of Netherton to the Congregational Church.

(vi) The Wesleyan Day School.

After the passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870, the Trustees of the Wesleyan Chapel decided to com- mence a day school for boys and girls (mixed) and an infants’ department under the terms of that Act; they also appointed Managers to be responsible for its supervision and upkeep.

This School continued to exist under the management of the Wesleyans until 1904, when it was transferred to the Education Committee of the West Riding County Council, who eventually built a new school in Honley Road in 1915- ais.

Through the courtesy of Mr. R. Q. Hampton, the present Headmaster of the Netherton Council School, I have been able to peruse the pages of the log-book of this Wesleyan Day School, which contains most interesting and at the same time many amusing entries.

The first reads as follows :—

‘April 24th, 1871.—The Wesleyan Day School com- menced this day. There were 32 scholars present in the morning and 32 present in the afternoon of the opening day. The School has been specially adapted to meet the requirements of the Committee of the Privy Council. The teacher of the school is Miss M. E. Buck, a provisionally certificated teacher from Summer Bridge Wesleyan Day School, Nr. Ripley. George H. North.’’

The following is a list of the Head Teachers of the School since its formation and up to the date of its transference :—

Miss M. E. Buck (April 24, 1871-Aug. 2, 1875). Miss Ellen Warwick (Aug. 3, 1875-May 31, 1877). Miss Hannah Marrs (June 1, 1877-Dec. 31, 1883). Mr. Arthur A. Cass (Jan. 8, 1883-Feb. 28, 1911). Mr. Harold Whitehead (March 1, 1911-1915).

In one of the reports, dated 1895, the School premises consisted of one schoolroom 42 feet by 30 feet, one infants‘ class room, 28 feet by 14 feet, and one class room, 14 feet by 11 feet; there was also one cloak room.

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On the 23rd of April, 1889, the accommodation was given as being for 275 scholars, ‘‘allowing 80 cubic feet for each. ’’

Previous to the passing of the Education Act of 1902, the Managers had had considerable difficulty in satisfying the requirements of Government Inspectors, who, on many oc- casions, adversely criticised the premises, the playground, etc.; the frequent epidemics in the early days of its existence compelled the School to be closed for varying intervals of time, while the cost of maintaining the premises and supplementing the Government grant had to be met by voluntary subscrip- tions, which were increasingly difficult to obtain.

One of the last entries in the log book previous to the West Riding County Council Education Committee’s taking over the management of the School refers to a grant of £53 having been paid on the 2nd of February, 1904, by the North Central Wesleyan Association ‘‘for the purpose of mainten- ance.’’

Considerable credit must be given to those Methodist pioneers of elementary education at a time when there was a certain amount of conflict between Provided schools and Non-provided (National or Denominational) schools. It must be stated that from 1875 up till 1905, the ‘‘Reports’’ were quite good, and considerable praise was often bestowed upon the staff for their work under rather adverse conditions.

The following account of the Netherton Wesleyan Day School appeared in the Charity Commissioners’ Report of 1897 :— I “*The school is stated by the Rev. John Nancarrow (Wesleyan Minister) to be conducted in rooms on the ground floor of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Netherton, the site and premises of which were settled upon the Trusts of the Skircoat Model Deed by an in- denture of the 30th of August, 1865. Trustees were last appointed by a Memorandum of choice and appointment, dated the 3rd June, 1893, and the surviving trustees at the date of Inquiry were: Messrs. W. H. Blakeley, G. H. North, J. Oldfield, C. Smith (afterwards Alderman Carmi Smith, Mayor of Huddersfield), B. Roberts, Amos Parkin, E. Parkin, J. E. Garside, A. A. Cass, C. Blakeley, B. Oldfield, B. Crowther and W. Boothroyd.

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school is conducted as a Public Elementary School, and has 247 school places and an average attend- ance of 98. There is no income from endowment, but grants are received under the Beaumont School Trust. From 1882 till 1897, the sum of £40 was paid by the Trustees of the Richard Beaumont Trust to this School.’’

(viii) The Netherton (West Riding) Council School. — After the Wesleyan Day School had been taken over by the Education Committee of the West Riding County Council in 1905, the scholars attending it still continued to be taught on the premises below the Church until better and more modern educational accommodation could be provided for them. The new Council School was built at the corner of Netherton Moor Road in 1915-1916; it was opened on the Ist of February, 1916, with Mr. Harold Whitehead (who had been the Headmaster of the Wesleyan Day School from the Ist of March, 1911) as its Headmaster.

The following Headmasters have officiated in that ca- pacity since 1911 ;— _ (i) Mr. Harold Whitehead (1st Feb., 1916-30th Sept., 1925). (ii) Mr. Roger B. Hirst (1st Nov., 1925, up till the time of his resignation, due to ill-health, on the 30th of November, 1935). During his illness there were several temporary Headmasters.

(111) Mr. R. Q. Hampton (1st November, 1935).

Since April Ist, 1938, the Netherton Council School, Armitage Bridge C. of E. School and the South Crosland C. of E. School have come under the control of the Hudders- field Education Committee. Councillor T. Smailes, one of the representatives of the Lockwood Ward in the Borough Council, has been appointed Visitor to the Netherton Council School and nominated as the representative of the H.E.A. on the Board of Managers of the two Church of England Day Schools.

(ix) The Rev. George Hough’s Private School. _ The first Vicar of South Crosland, the Rev. George Hough (1829-1879), supplemented his clerical income of £40

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a year by taking pupils at a house in Bank End before he went to live at ‘‘Rose Cottage,’’ Netherton. Canon C. A. Hulbert, in his ‘‘Annals of Almondbury,’’ said that several of the most distinguished gentlemen in the neighbourhood ‘‘received their early education at the Rev. Hough’s School; among those who attended in their younger days were Sir Thomas Brooke, Sir John Arthur Brooke, Mr. William Brooke, the Rev. Joshua Ingham Brooke, and the Rev. Ed- ward Brooke (the sons of Mr. Thomas Brooke, of Northgate House, Honley), Mr. William Brook, Rev. James Brook, Rev. Alfred Brook, Mr. Charles John Brook and the Rev. Arthur Brook (the sons of Mr. Charles Brook, of Healey House), Mr. Henry Wrigley, Mr. Edward Wrigley, Mr. Fred Wrigley and Mr. George Dyson. It is said on good authority that Mr. Hough’s pupils had to go to the Church on week-days as well as on Sundays’’ and had to take their luncheons with them previous to going to Church.

(x) Mrs. Calvert’s Private School. Mrs. Calvert was the wife of the first medical practitioner (though unqualified) who settled in Netherton and who kept a druggist shop in the Market Place; she supplemented her husband’s income by taking a few private pupils at a house Road

The building was afterwards converted into a carpenter’s shop kept by Mr. Ephraim Parkin, later used by Messrs. Beaumont & Furness as a joiners’ and cabinet makers’ es- tablishment, but within recent years it has been reconverted into a private dwellinghouse.

(xi) The Mechanics’ Institute. This building once stood on the site formerly occupied by the offices of the South Crosland Urban District Council.

The building was originally erected by Captain Robert Wrigley (1784-1833), known in his day at ‘‘Old Robert,’’ and his nephew, ‘Young’’ Robert Wrigley (1796-1833), as a weaving shed and warehouse at some date in the ‘‘twenties”’ of the last century. It is not known for how long weaving was carried on at those premises. From Mr. John Oldfield’s we learn that ‘‘power looms were first in- troduced at Wrigley’s Mill’’ and it is conceivable that among

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the various weaving sheds erected by these two members of the Wrigley family there would be some placed in this build- ing, particularly as John Oldfield said that in Netherton Fold there was ‘‘a big shed full of looms.’’

Later, at some date which I have not been able to ascer- tain, the premises were converted into a Mechanics’ Institute. This was probably after the year 1841, when similar institu- tions were being formed in Huddersfield, Lindley and Holm- firth, at which young people, who had had little or even no education, attended, in order to improve their knowledge of the three R’s, and even to learn drawing, music and elocution.

The first reference which I have been able to discover regarding this Institute is in Mr. Thomas Earnshaw’s ‘‘History of the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society.’’ This Society passed a resolution on the 19th of January, 1847, to the effect ‘‘That the sum of £1-0-0 be granted to the Mechanics’ Institute.’’ This extract, as Mr. Earnshaw rightly observes, shews that the members of the local Co-operative Society were taking an interest in educa- tional matters in their own locality.

A second resolution passed by the same Co-operative Society some six years later shows that its Committee was I interested in the education of the children of its members :—

‘‘Resolved that we subscribe £1 1s. Od. to the Mechanics’ Institute and be entitled to send a scholar, the president to send his son, if he have one, if not, the committee to send one they think proper.’’ (Resolution dated February, 1853.)

Mr. Earnshaw says he remembered Mr. John Rowbottom telling how ‘‘he, as a lad, living in Crosland and working half-time at the Crosland Factory, attended classes at the Mechanics’ Institute in Netherton, after having worked from six o’clock in the morning till half-past one and school from two o’clock till half-past four. The fees he had to pay were twopence per week out of a wage of one shilling and six- pence.”’ At the Institute, I gather from those who attended in

their younger days, classes were held in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, etc., both in the afternoons and even-

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ings, for those who, as already stated, wished to supplement the education they had’ received in the primary schools of the day (although they were not then known as such). Among the teachers at the Institute was Mr. William Henry Armi- tage (of the firm of Messrs. Armitage & Norton, chartered accountants, Huddersfield), who taught writing and geog- raphy. Mr. Armitage’s penmanship was reputed to be excellent.

The Institute possessed a library, which was offered to the Local Government Board, but it is not known what ulti- mately happened to its books.

From Miss Wrigley’s ‘‘History of Netherton and of the Wrigleys,’’.we learn that in 1873, a private Billiard Club was formed by seven members of the Wrigley family, Messrs. Henry, Edward, Layton, James, George Henry, James Albert and Fred Wiley, who occupied a room in the former warehouse and converted it into a billiard room; this club, we are informed, lasted for many years. :

The premises were next taken over by the Netherton Conservative Club, who acquired the billiard table and other furniture belonging to the Wrigley Private Billiard Club.

In 1924, the Misses Wrigley, to whom the premises belonged, sold them to the Urban District Council.

The Urban District Council, in 1925-6, demolished a good deal of the original building in order to widen an awk- ward corner in Netherton Fold, and, after rebuilding the front of the former premises, converted them into three Council offices and a Council chamber.

~The Council Chamber is now used as a branch of the Huddersfield Public Library.

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CHAPTER X.

ROADS AND TRANSPORT THROUGH NETHERTON. (i) The Turnpike Road from Lockwood to Meltham.

ryan Rev. J. Hughes, in his “‘History of Meltham,’’ says that the Turnpike Road from Huddersfield to Meltham was begun in 1819. As a matter of fact, there were a few attempts to construct this road at an earlier date. At the Wakefield County Hall is to be found a collection of Road Plans which were deposited with the Justices of the Peace after the year 1800. In this collection are to be found road plans of :— (i) Lockwood and Meltham, 1809, which has written upon it ‘‘Plan of an intended Turnpike Road from Lockwood, to Meltham. Surveyed in Octr. 1809 by J. Johnson’’ (No. 6).

(ii) Lockwood and Meltham, 1814 (No. 19). (iii) Lockwood and Meltham, 1817 (No. 29).

This road and its continuation to Wessenden Head is not marked on Tuke’s Map, 2nd Edn., 1816, or on any of the earlier ones, but on the Ordnance Map of 1848-1854 (lst Edn.) the road from Lockwood to Meltham is marked as the ‘‘Lockwood and Meltham Trust’’ and beyond that point as the ‘‘Meltham-Wessenden Head Trust.’’

On this 1848 Ordnance Map four turnpikes are marked :— (a) Dungeon Turnpike (a little south-west of the Rail- — way Viaduct) ; I (b) Netherton Turnpike (at the fork near Holy Trinity Church) ; (c) Harewood Turnpike (at Harewood Bridge at the fork for Meltham Mills) ; (d) Brink Turnpike (at the Parsonage and Shepherd’s Inn beyond Meltham).

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It seems, therefore, that the Turnpike from Lockwood to Meltham was constructed between 1819 and 1848, and the Rev. J. Hughes, in his ‘‘History of Meltham,’’ says that an Act for the Improvement and Maintenance of this road was passed in 1825. Mr. W. R. Crump, of Leeds, who has given me valuable help in the compilation of this section, is of the opinion that as ‘‘the Holmfirth and Wessenden Head Turn- pike dates from 1822, it seems likely that the continuation forward from Meltham to Wessenden Head was undertaken in 1825, but I have no memoranda of the Act authorising it.’’

The Rev. J. Hughes, in his ‘‘History of Meltham,’’ con- tinues: ‘‘The road must have conduced greatly to advance the social condition of the people, by affording them facilities of intercourse with their Huddersfield and other neighbours, and opening out markets from which their ancestors were formerly excluded. The completion of this road gave a con- siderable impetus to trade and industrial pursuits of every description.’’ There were toll bars at the various turnpikes on the road, and toll was demanded for vehicles and horses before they could pass along the road. The toll bars stood at Lockwood, at Netherton at the junction of Church Road and Meltham Road, and one at Meltham Mills at the junction of the roads. There are references in Joseph Eastwood’s Accounts (the Constable of South Crosland in 1780 and 1781) of work done upon a Turnpike Road for two years previous to the 7th of December, 1780, but the Constable does not state on which Turnpike Road the work was done. The Road Commis- sioners visited Honley to discuss the allocation of the existing roads among the ‘‘three Hamblets’’ in April, 1780, but, as yet, I have seen no reference to the construction of the Lockwood-Meltham Road in the Account Books which I have had lent to me. Miss M. Wrigley, in her ‘‘History of Netherton and of the Wrigleys,’’ says that the firm of Wrigley, of Cocking Steps Mills, contributed £50 towards the construction of the © Lockwood-Meltham Road. She further states that her grand- father, Mr. Robert Wrigley (1796-1833), one night found the gates at Netherton Toll Bar shut, so he ‘‘put his horse at them and cleared them nicely and went on his way well pleased with himself.”’

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Mr. John Oldfield, in his ‘‘Recollections of Netherton,”’ said that ‘‘when the Turnpike was made, all the married men in Netherton gave a day’s work at the tipping of Barker’s, at the bottom of Big Valley, to fill up the valley.’’

In the Leeds Mercury of the 15th of July, 1843, appeared the following advertisement :—

& Meltham T. P. Trust. Tolls to Let. Apply J. C. Fenton, Clerk to the Trustees, Huddersfield.’’

I have not been able to discover when the Tolls along this road were abolished.

(ii) Omnibuses to Meltham.

I iow seems that shortly after the construction of the Lock- wood to Meltham Turnpike Road (if not before), enter- prising owners of waggons began to run a service of transport between Huddersfield and Meltham. These, however, were known as “‘carriers,’’ and probably conveyed both passengers and merchandise; thus, from Baines’s ‘‘Directory of the County of York,’’ 1822 (Vol. II, p. 215), in the list of ‘‘Country Carriers,’’ we find that of J. Siddall, who left the ‘“White Lion’’ in Cross Church Street for Meltham at 9-0 a.m. and returned from thence to Huddersfield at 4-0 p.m.

An omnibus service was certainly in existence in 1854; we read in Slater’s ‘‘Directory of Yorkshire,’’ compiled in that year, that :—

(i) ‘‘To Huddersfield, an Omnibus, from Meltham, calls at the Beaumont Arms, South Crosland, every morning, at a quarter past 10, and evening at 7.”’

(ii) ‘‘To Meltham, an Omnibus, from Huddersfield, calls at the Beaumont Arms, South Crosland, every morning at eight, and afternoon at half-past four.’’

Mr. John Oldfield, in his ‘‘Recollections,’’ says that the

Meltham Bus ran by Bankfoot, over Taylor Hill to Hudders- field.

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A few accidents on these buses are recorded by the late Mr. Allan Parkin in his ‘‘Chronology of Huddersfield and District’’ :— :

(i) April 22, 1856.—Hodgson’s Bus plying between Mel- I tham and Huddersfield was coming down the Big Valley when the hind wheels collapsed. Twenty outside pas- sengers were thrown into the road, and the ten inside passengers were very much jostled.

(ii) July 26, 1856.—Another accident to the Meltham bus, which was heavily laden with passengers, while going down Chapel Hill, Huddersfield, took place. The right wheel broke and the bus was upset. Several passen- gers were flung into the street, many received severe injuries, one child had to be taken to a doctor.

(iii) June 28, 1860.—A bus party consisting of sixteen gentle- men who were going shooting were involved in an accident which occurred beyond Netherton. The fore axle broke, and the body of the bus fell on to the road. The horses pulled the fallen conveyance some distance when it became detached, and then the horses galloped off with the bare pole, leaving the passengers (some of whom were bruised) stranded in the middle of the road.

Transport from Huddersfield to Meltham and vice-versa, from 1869 to 1920, was mainly effected by the L. & Y. Rail- way, which was opened for passenger traffic in that former year. Shortly after the War, Messrs. Baddeleys, of Hudders- field, began running a motor omnibus service from Lockwood to Meltham.

The Huddersfield Corporation, in conjunction with the London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company, inaugurated ’bus services to the following places :— (i) Lockwood to Netherton, April 21, 1923. (ii) Lockwood to Meltham, January 26, 1924. (iii) Huddersfield to Meltham, March 22, 1924. (iv) Huddersfield to South Crosland, April 19, 1930. (v) Huddersfield to Marten Nest, August 6, 1933.

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88 (iii) The Huddersfield—Meltham Railway.

Ee first sod of the Huddersfield - Meltham Railway line was lifted on the 4th of April, 1864, by Mr. Charles Brook, of Enderby Hall, in a field near Meltham Mills. Rain fell heavily during the ceremony, but there were many people present. Mr. James Wrigley, of Netherton, presented the spade, and Mr. Brook then cut three sods, placed them in a wheelbarrow, wheeled it along a platform, and then tossed them out! The Act of Parliament for the construction of this Railway was obtained in 1861. Mr. Perrin, of Manchester, was the surveyor, and Mr. Brown, engineer, also of Man- chester, superintended the building. I The construction of this single line was a most ex- pensive piece of railway engineering, as twe tunnels, the Butternab tunnel (325 yds. long) and the Netherton tunnel (210 yards long) had to be excavated before the line could proceed to Netherton, while five embankments (one at Dun- I geon) had to be made, besides the railway stations at Nether- ton, Healey House and Meltham. There was also a station at Woodfield, on the low side of Beaumont Park, at one time. It was computed that the line took five years, three months and one day to be built before it was eventually opened for passenger traffic. The first sod of the Netherton tunnel was cut by Mr. Joe Mellor, the landlord of the ‘‘Rose and Crown’’ Hotel at Netherton. During the work of construction, a large number of navvies lodged in Netherton, and the stable of Croft House (the residence of one branch of the Wrigley family) was used by many of these men as a sleeping place. The first railway locomotive engine, named the ‘‘Mel- tham,’’ ran from Huddersfield to Meltham on May 13th, 1867. It conveyed a number of railway officials, who dined at ‘‘The Rose and Crown,’’ Netherton. On Monday, August 3rd, 1868, the railway line was opened for goods traffic, but it was closed in the following month owing to one of the embankments having given way; however, on the 6th of February, 1869, it was re-opened for goods traffic. The inhabitants of Meltham and of Netherton benefited considerably by this goods line, as we gather from a contemporary newspaper report that in Meltham the price of coal per ton was reduced by 3/6.

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The railway line, after many delays, was inspected by Colonel Yolland, Board of Trade Inspector of Railways, on June 30th, 1869, and the public was notified that it would be opened for passenger traffic on the following Monday.

Consequently, on July 5th, 1869, the first train from Huddersfield to Meltham left the former station at 7-20 a.m. It consisted of an engine, tender and eleven carriages. The engine was driven by Mr. McConkey. In the first coach were Messrs. Normanton (Assistant Superintendent of the L. & Y. Railway), Thornton (Superintendent of the Locomotive Department), Golds (the Contractors’ Engineer) and Thomp- son (the Station Master at Huddersfield), besides other © railway officials.

On this day of opening, the public was permitted to travel free from Huddersfield to Meltham and vice-versa, and to and from any intermediate station on the line, but they had to obtain tickets at the railway stations in question.

There were great demonstrations at every station, and flags and bunting were displayed along the line not only at the stations but at the signal boxes. As the train left the Huddersfield platform, fog signals were fired, and this pro- cedure was effected at each railway station on the line. At Lockwood, about twenty passengers boarded the train; at Netherton, a large crowd collected and welcomed the train with cheers, hundreds got into the train, while Mr. James Wrigley, who had been keenly interested in the construction of this railway, was the first to obtain a railway ticket. At Healey House, there was another demonstration, while at Meltham, thousands, so the newspaper report says, witnessed the arrival of the train.

From the junction at the Lockwood Viaduct to Meltham the distance is only three and a half miles, but the gradients vary; from Dungeon Wood to Butternab the gradient is 1-60, from thence to Netherton it is 1-95, from Healey House to Meltham it is 1-120, but the line is level at each railway station.

On the day of its opening, ie contractors, Messrs. Barnes & Beckett, gave a sumptuous banquet at the **Rose and Crown’’ Inn, Netherton, in commemoration of the final

opening.

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CHAPTER XI.

HALLS AND HOUSES IN SOUTH CROSLAND AND NETHERTON. .

(i) Crosland Hall.

wes is the modern building situated on rising ground at the bend of the Huddersfield-Meltham Road, and was probably built in mid-18th century days by some member of the family of Beaumont of Whitley.

It seems to have been the residence of Mr. George Beaumont in late 18th century days. In the various taxation lists and assessment returns compiled by both William Sykes, Senr. (the Schoolmaster of Crosland Town School) and his son, William Sykes, there are several references to Mr. George Beaumont, of ‘‘Hall.’’ In a return of all the landowners and tenants of houses, farms, etc., compiled in 1805 by William Sykes for the Court of Quarter Sessions, is a lengthy statement of Mr. George Beaumont’s tenancies from R. H. Beaumont, Esq., of Whitley. The Hall was assessed at £11 18s. 6d., the largest rated house in the Township.

The next occupant was Mr. Walter Williams Stables, who tenanted it, as well as the Crosland Factory, from the Lord of the Manor of South Crosland.

Mr. W. W. Stables was a supporter of Holy Trinity Church, opened in 1829, and was President of the Hudders- field Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society for seventeen years. He married Nancy Glover Chippendale. By his wife, he had one son and four daughters; one of the latter married her first cousin, Henry Stables, who was an Overseer of the Poor from April to September in 1834 and who lived at Lockwood House, Lockwood. Canon Hulbert, in his ‘‘Annals of Almondbury,’’ said that Mr. W. W. Stables resembled King William IV in appearance.

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The late Mr. John Oldfield, in his ‘‘Recollections of Netherton,’’ gave an interesting item of information con- cerning the marriage of Mr. W. W. Stables’s daughters:

“William Stables left £30,000 and two of his daughters married parsons (the Rev. John Swainson, of Preston, and the Rev. Joseph Cousins, Curate of Lockwood). Walter Stables (son of William W. Stables) went to the husbands to make arrangements, but they demanded the will carrying out just as it was willed and they broke up the old business. Walter Stables went to London.”’

Mr. W. W. Stables died at Crosland Hall in September, 1847, at the age of 82 years, and was buried in the crypt of the Parish Church, Huddersfield. It is interesting to note that a street in Huddersfield is called after him.

From 1847 to 1863, I have not been able to ascertain who lived at the Hall. From entries in the Whitley Hall Rental Book, there is evidence to believe that the Hall, the Factory and Crosland Hall Farm were let simultaneously to the same tenant; certainly, Crosland Factory and Crosland Farm were let together up till the year 1896.

The next tenants of both the Hall and the Factory were Messrs. Heap Brothers, from 1863 to 1877. They were fol- lowed by Mr. Robert Skilbeck, who lived at the Hall from 1873 up till the time of his death in 1894; his executors con- tinued the lease till 1896.

Subsequent tenants of Crosland Hall were :—

(1) Mr. George T. Porritt. May, 1897—Nov., 1904. (ii) Mr. T. H. Freeman. July, 1905—May, 1907. (iii) Mr. Frank Holmes. May, 1907—May, 1911.

The Hall was empty from May, 1911, till November, 1920. In November, 1920, Crosland Hall was sold to Mr. Stanley Faulkner by the Whitley Hall Estate. The Hall in 1938 is now occupied by Mr. Joe Lumb.

(ii) Field House. Field House was built in the nineties of the eighteenth century for Mr. John Wrigley (1774-1833), the second son of Mr. James Wrigley, on the occasion of his marriage to Hannah Batley.

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92 There was a warehouse at the end of the building where cloth was stored; this warehouse was pulled down in 1876,

and two rooms built in its place, but one of the windows of the former warehouse still remains,

Mr. John Wrigley had a family of three sons and six daughters. One of the latter, Emily, married Mr. Joseph Dixon Asquith, the father of Mr. Herbert H. Asquith, M.P. (afterwards Lord Oxford and Asquith), Prime Minister, 1908-1910, and again from 1910 to 1916; another daughter, Elizabeth, married Mr. William Willans, the father of Mr. J. E. Willans, J.P., LL.D.

Mr. John Wrigley was connected with the firm of Messrs. John Wrigley & Sons, Cocking Steps Mill, and was Overseer of the Poor of South Crosland from 1812 to 1813.

Mr. James Wrigley (1809-1893), the second son of the former, lived here up till the time of his death, when the two upper stories of the house were pulled down and the rest of the building occupied by Mr. J. A. Wrigley’s coachman. Further extensions were effected when Mr. Frederick C. C. Wrigley took possession, and also when his father, Mr. J. A. Wrigley, went to live there. In 1925, Mr. F. C. C. Wrigley left Netherton, and the house was sold to Dr. Squire, of Lockwood, who occupied it for several years. Dr. Ingham then followed. At the present moment the house is un- occupied.

(iii) Healey House. The mansion was built in 1802 by Mr. Charles Richard Beaumont, LL.D., Lord of the Manor of South Crosland. It has a handsome frontage looking south towards the Meltham Valley and the wood stretching from Honley to Thick Hollins.

From 1830 till 1869, it was leased by Mr. Charles Brook, the youngest son of Mr. William Brook, of the firm of Jonas Brook & Brothers, of Meltham. Mr. Charles Brook was born on March 12th, 1792, and died at Healey House on the 13th of November, 1869, and was buried at Christ Church, Helme, near Meltham. He married Anne, the eldest daughter of Mr. William Brooke, of Northgate House, Honley. An amusing story is told which took place at the dinner given

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to the workpeople of Meltham Mills at the time of his wed- ding; one of the company remarked: ‘‘His master was a queer fellow, for the first thing he did was to knock his wife’s e’es out.’’ (The lady becoming Brook instead of Brooke.)

Mr. Charles Brook enlarged Healey House by the ad- dition of two wings, one of which contained a conservatory.

By his wife, Mr. Charles Brook had a family of five sons and four daughters; one of the latter, Miss Frances Brook, continued to live at Healey House after the death of her _mother. Miss Frances Brook died on the 21st of December, 1901; the lease was retained by her executors till 1902, but from 1902 till 1904, the house was unoccupied.

In May, 1904, Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P., took up the tenancy of Healey House, and in October, 1919, he purchased the estate from Captain Henry Ralph Beaumont, Lord of the Manor of South Crosland.

(iv) Netherton Hall.

This building stood a little lower down than ‘‘White- gates,’’ and in 1877 was demolished and ‘‘Whitegates’’ built.

Very little, if anything, is known about the history of the Hall except that it was to this homestead, in 1768, James Wrigley I and his wife, Elizabeth Kenworthy (their united ages were under 40 years) with their infant son, James II (1767-1815), came from Saddleworth to live. The house had been left to him by his uncle, John Wrigley, whose brother, Robert Wrigley (father of James I), had been Overseer of the Poor of South Crosland in 1745-6.

James Wrigley I died here in 1809, and by his will left the homestead to his son, Joseph Wrigley I (1778-1833), and ‘‘a house containing two rooms for his mother to live in, rent free, was to be provided by John (one of the executors) within one month of his father’s decease.’’ (Extract from the will of James Wrigley I.)

Joseph Wrigley I was the Overseer of the Poor of South Crosland from April to August in the year 1830, and had been previously the Constable of the Township from 1824 to 1825. He died in 1833 at the Hall, and his widow continued to live

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here till 1842, when she went to Lower Broughton, Man- chester. 3 His son, Joseph Wrigley II, who married Hannah Spurrell in 1838, lived here after his mother’s removal to Manchester and remained here till his death in 1877. The Hall was then sold to Mr. George Henry Wrigley (1837- 1884), who demolished it and rebuilt it as ‘‘Whitegates’’ a little higher up Corn Bank.

Mr. George Henry Wrigley lived at ‘‘Whitegates’’ till the time of his death in 1884; his widow continued residing there for a few years, when it was rented by Mr. J. J. Booth, who purchased it in 1936.

(v) The Elms, Lane Top.

Lane Top, later known as ‘‘The Elms,’’ was the second house occupied by the family of Wrigley in Netherton. It was built for James Wrigley II (1767-1815), the eldest son of James Wrigley I, on the occasion of his marriage to Betty Parkin on the 27th of December, 1792. At the same time, so Miss Margaret Wrigley, in her ‘‘Family History,’’ says, ‘there was a large barn built with a door opening into the next field, but that field never came to James as it was meant to do.’’

After the death of James Wrigley II in 1815, it was occupied by his only son, Robert II, who, in that year, was only nineteen years old; his grandmother, Mrs. James Wrigley, kept house for him until 1819, when he married Harriett Berry at the Huddersfield Parish Church.

Robert Wrigley II was a most important person in South Crosland and Netherton. From 1827 to 1829 he acted as Special Constable, and from 1829 to 1830 was the Constable of South Crosland, having been elected to that office at the Court Leet of the Manor of Almondbury in October, 1829. Previous to the building of Holy Trinity Church at South Crosland he had been Chapelwarden of South Crosland for the Chapelry of Honley from 1822 to 1824, and was the first Churchwarden of Holy Trinity Church when the church was built in 1829 and continued in that capacity up till the time of his death i in 1833. He was also the Chairman of the Rate-. payers’ Meeting of the Township of South Crosland respecting Highway matters.

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95 (vi) Croft House. This pleasantly situated house standing in its own grounds, almost at the corner of Moor Lane and the road to Meltham, was built by Robert Wrigley I (1784-1843) about the year 1812. There is an element of romance attached to its building. Both Robert Wrigley I and his brother William (1779-1797) were in turn engaged to Miss Ann Blackett, of Brixton, whom they had met in connection with the business founded by their father, James Wrigley (1748-1809). William Wrigley died in 1797 at the age of eighteen. Ann Blackett evidently came to his funeral, which took place at the Almondbury Parish churchyard, and walked with his brother Robert. A friendship between the two bereaved young people sprung up, but it was not until 1812 that Robert Wrigley I married Ann Blackett. They lived at Stone Pit Hill while Croft House was being built, and it was through her influence that the large entrance hall was made.

By his wife, Robert Wrigley I had two children, a son, Blackett Wrigley, who emigrated to Australia, and a daughter, Emily, who married Thomas Connah, of Liverpool.

Miss M. Wrigley, in her ‘‘History of the Wrigley Family,’’ depicts Robert Wrigley in these words :—

‘* ‘Old’ Robert, or the ‘Old Captain,’ as he was called later, was in the Army of Defence in the Napo- leonic Wars; he became Ensign in 1803, Lieutenant 1805, and Captain in 1810. He had not a good character to hand down, but we won’t judge him harshly, for he was the sixth son and had to turn out of the business which his father had started. He tried to do a bit of weaving with his nephew, ‘Young Robert’ (Robert Wrigley II, 1796-1833), in one of the warehouses, and evidently did not succeed. Times were rough and the long wars made havoc of everything. He and his wife are both buried at South Crosland, and the daughter too, for she outlived them only a few years.”’

On the other hand, Robert Wrigley rendered services to his township which are worthy of placing on record; he was Overseer of the Poor under the old régime in 1815, and was the first Guardian of South Crosland in the Huddersfield

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Union from 1837 to 1839, and again from 1841 up till the time of his death.

In 1841, Croft House was leased from Robert Wrigley I by his nephew, John Wrigley (b. 1815), but he and his family did not live there very long, for the Rev. G. E. Wilson, who married for his second wife Cecilia Wrigley, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Wrigley II, occupied the homestead in the early sixties.

The next occupants were a family of Mallinsons, who lived there for al while, and the property was then bought by Mr. Henry Wrigley (1821-1883) from the Connah family, to_ whom it had been bequeathed after the death of Mr. Robert Wrigley I. It is now the residence of the Misses Wrigley, the daughters of the above-mentioned Mr. Henry Wrigley.

(vii) Fieldhead.

Fieldhead was built for Mr. James Albert Wrigley (1839- 1920) on his marriage to Miss Mary Carr in 1865. By his wife he had nine sons and one daughter. Mr. James Albert Wrigley was the second son of Mr. James Wrigley III (1809- 1893). He was an important social worker in his lifetime. He was Surveyor of the Highways of the Mag Lordship from 1867 to 1869 and Chairman at various Ratepayers’ Meetings in connection with that body; he was Chairman of the Local Government Board of Health of South Crosland from 1889 to 1894 and of the Urban District Council from 1894 up till 1919; for nearly forty years he was Churchwarden of Holy Trinity Church. Two of his sons were Messrs. Ernest Albert Wrigley (1866-1902) and Frederick Charles Carr Wrigley. In 1919, Mr. Gerald Cozens-Hardy Willans, son of the late Mr. J. E. Willans, purchased the house, and lived there for a few years. The house is now divided into three home- steads, occupied respectively, in 1938, by Messrs. J. Manks Brook, Stanley Moorhouse and F. A. Klowman.

(viii) The Oddfellows’ Hall, Netherton.

The building was erected in 1854; the Society had originally intended to build on a site afterwards occupied by

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the ‘‘Commercial Inn,’’ but the foundations were found to be unsuitable, and it was abandoned in favour of the present one, which is on the Godfrey Beaumont Trust Estate. The ground was leased from the Trustees of this estate on the 28th of July, 1855, for a term of 999 years.

Unfortunately, the Society has no record of the date of the opening of the Hall.

Up till 1860, the Wesleyan Reformers (later known as the United Methodist Free Church) used the premises for their Sunday evening services, but they found the expense of maintaining a cottage house at Bank End and the Hall too great, and ultimately decided to return to Wesleyan Methodism.

From 1858 to 1867, the premises were used by the Wes- leyan Methodists for their Sunday ere services until the opening of their own Church.

I In February, 1886, the South Crosland Local Govern- ment Board rented four rooms in the Hall at a rent of £12 ‘per annum, one, in which they could hold their monthly meet- ings, and three others for offices, etc.

At some date which I have not yet ascertained, a fire occurred on the premises. Efforts were made to recover the Minute Books of the Local Government Board, but those from 1876 to 1882 were destroyed, as these were not in the pos- session of the former Urban District Council.

The building is now used for political meetings, public teas and dances, and was used on the evening of the Corona- tion of King George VI for entertaining the school children from the schools in the area.

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CHAPTER XII.

PUBLIC HOUSES IN SOUTH CROSLAND AND NETHERTON.

PASE public houses were convenient meeting places for the inhabitants of either the Maglordship or South Crosland to transact their respective local administration in former days. In the 18th century, matters relating to Poor Law Relief were discussed at the house of Daniel Dyson or of Joseph Barker in South Crosland; in the 19th century, the ratepayers of the hamlet of Magilordship usually met at the ‘‘Rose and Crown,’’ Netherton, although once they met at the ‘‘Big Valley Hotel,’’ while the inhabitants of the Township of South Crosland foregathered at the ‘‘ Beaumont's Arms’’ or at the ‘‘Kings’ Arms.”’

At the present moment (1938) there are three public houses in Netherton, viz.: ‘‘The Rose and Crown,’’ ‘‘The Butchers’ Arms,’’ and ‘‘Big Valley Hotel’’; in South Cros- land, there are the ‘‘Beaumont’s Arms’’ and the ‘Kings’ Arms,”’ the latter being in the village itself. Baines’s Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire, compiled in 1822, gives the names of three public houses in South Crosland and their respective landlords in that year :— (i) The ‘‘Fleece’’—James Barker. (ii) The ‘‘Kings’ Arms’’—William Murgatroyd. (iii) The ‘‘Travellers’ Inn’’ at Blackmoorfoot— Joseph Brayshaw. No taverns nor inns are mentioned under the heading of Netherton. The first and third public houses in the above list no longer exist. James Barker, the landlord of ‘‘The Fleece’’ in 1822, was the Overseer of the Poor in 1830-1831, and Surveyor of the Highways of South Crosland in 1831-1832.

William Murgatroyd, the landlord of ‘“The Kings’ Arms’’ in 1822, was a most important townsman in South Crosland

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in his day. In 1790-1791, he acted as Overseer of the Poor, and again from 1797 to 1798 in conjunction with the brothers Beaumont, when he combined this responsible position with that of Constable. From 1805 to 1810, he was the Chapel- warden for South Crosland of Honley Chapel. He died on the 22nd of February, 1827, at the age of 86, and was buried in the cemetery of Almondbury Parish Church; his wife, Elizabeth, who died on the 18th of January, 1796, was also interred at Almondbury.

The ‘‘Beaumont’s Arms’’ at South Crosland seems to have had an extension effected in 1828, for a tablet stone containing that date is to be seen over ‘the doorway of the hay loft.

In Slater’s Directory of the Northern Counties, pub- lished in 1854-5, the following public houses are mentioned under “Crosland”? :—

(i) The ‘‘Beaumont’s Arms’’—William Barker. (ii) The ‘‘Fleece’’—James Reynard. (iii) The ‘‘Kings’ Arms’’—Francis Rogers. (iv) The ‘‘Travellers’ Inn’’—Henry France.

The only public house mentioned as being in Netherton in 1854 is the ‘‘Rose and Crown,’’ with Mr. Joseph Mellor the landlord. Mr. Mellor was the Surveyor of the Highways in the Maglordship from 1855 to 1857, and at odd intervals between 1859 and 1869. As already mentioned, the rate- payers of the Maglordship met at his house to discuss the repair of the highways. Mr. Mellor cut the first sod of the Netherton Tunnel when the Huddersfield-Meltham railway line was constructed, and at his house the contractors gave a dinner on the evening of the day of its opening for pas- senger traffic on July 5th, 1869. Three other public houses existed at one time in Nether- ton, “‘The Rising Sun,’’ the ‘‘Commercial’’ and ‘‘The Thorn Inn,’’ but all have lost their licences. The ‘*‘Thorn Inn’’ stood at the corner of Meltham Road and Moor Lane. In one of William Sykes’s Note Books, kindly lent to me by his great-great-grandson, Mr. John Henry Bradley, of Nethermoor Farm, is

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‘*A True List of all the Innkeepers in the Constablery of Crosland-half and their Sureties’’ for the year 1795.

They were :— ‘‘William Brayshaw; William Murgatroyd, Surety. William Murgatroyd; William Brayshaw, Surety. Joseph Barker; William Arlom, Surety. William Arlom; Joseph Barker, Surety. Thomas Parkin; William Brayshaw, Surety. Taken and Sworn the 11th day of September at the White Hart Inn at Wakefield. George Sykes, Constable.’’ (William Arlom kept the ‘“‘Swan’’ in Swan Lane at Lockwood).

One of the duties of the Constable of South Crosland was to give notice to the landlords of public houses to renew their licences, and to present a list of these innkeepers to the Brewsters’ Sessions held at Wakefield up till about 1797, and after that date in Huddersfield.

The ‘‘Big Valley Hotel’’ contains the Two Headed Cradle formerly used by mothers of twins under circumstances which were given in a Yorkshire newspaper some years ago :—

‘‘Sometime in 1859, a poor woman gave birth to twins. The women of the neighbourhood clubbed to- gether and bought a two-headed cradle which was used for rocking the twins. About April, 1880, another woman had twins. The father wanted to have the use of the cradle, but as he was not a subscriber, it was held he was not entitled. However, another two-headed cradle was bought at a cost of £4. This was only to be let to subscribers, and, when not in use, it was to be kept at the ‘Big Valley Hotel.’ ’’

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CHAPTER XIII.

THE SOUTH CROSLAND AND NETHERTON CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY.

te History of this Society has been written by Mr. Thomas Earnshaw (1929), and this section is merely a summary of the most important features of the Society’s sphere of activity as related by him.

It seems that an attempt to form a co-operative society in South Crosland was made at some date previous to 1840, but little is known concerning it except that it closed down!

The second attempt was much more successful, for the present Society was founded in 1840, although its Minutes do not commence until the 24th of March, 1845.

There seems to be some divergence of opinion as to the exact site of the Society’s first premises, but the concensus of belief is that it started in ‘‘a building somewhere about the Market Place.’’ The original Society was known as the Netherton Trading Company, and possessed a stamp press, now the property of the present Society.

In 1845 (March 24th), Mr. John Ratcliffe was elected Chairman; Mr. John Sykes, Vice-Chairman; Mr. John Schofield, Salesman; Messrs. John Beaumont and Joseph Kaye, Trustees. The Committee consisted of Messrs. John Ratcliffe, John Kaye, Benjamin Todd, Abraham Sharp, Henry Bradley, Humphrey Gledhill, Jonathan Lunn, John Bamforth, John Blakeley, John Sykes, Thomas Bottomley and Edwin Beaumont.

It would seem from the Minutes of the meeting held on the 24th of March, 1845, that the Society made a profit for the first time since its formation in 1840, for a resolution was passed to the effect :—

‘“‘That all members of this Society that have been members from the commencement and that are entitled to the full profit, shall receive £2 10s. Od. from the funds

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of the Society, and that a provision be made for the members who are not entitled to the full profits.’’

Another resolution shewing the difficulties which the early members of the Co-operative movement had to encounter reads thus :— ‘‘That this Society do not send the five years’ Report to the Clerk of the Peace until we receive an order from him.’’ Further difficulties arose when the members of the Society failed to pay their debts. It seems that goods were supplied on credit, and many efforts were made by the Committee to get these defaulting members to discharge their obligations. On the 5th of April, 1847, a resolution was passed to the effect that

‘‘Should a member of the Society contract a debt the amount of which exceeds £3 10s. Od., the board of directors shall cause a written notice to be delivered to the salesman, such notice to be signed by the secretary and chairman, prohibiting the salesman from selling such member any goods without the value of such goods in ready cash, until ordered to do so by the board. The board shall also order such member to pay his or her debt by instalments of not less than three-pence per week, and to be subject to fine and suspension for non-payment as specified in the 25th Rule.’’

Conditions in Netherton, as well as elsewhere, during the Forties’? were very bad for the majority of the workers. Mr. John Oldfield, in his ‘‘Recollections,’’ in a few terse sentences paints graphic word-pictures of these times :—

‘‘Our food was nearly all porridge. Ebenezer Par. kin made oatbread, and I have often sat by the back stone and eaten the shavings made. In 1845, my father played a whole winter and never earned a penny. When I was getting 4/6 weekly at Lord’s Mill, flour was 4/6 to 5/0 a stone, and I was nearly clammed to death. I used to take a meal dumpling for dinner and to eat it at breakfast time, and then work and clam till I got home at night, when I had porridge. I have pined many a score of days after eating my dinner at breakfast time, and then having had to wait till night.’’

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No wonder the committee of the Co-operative Society was prepared to accept ‘‘a member’s offer to pay 3d. per week’’ towards the reduction of his debt, but this was qualified by the rider that ‘‘he only be allowed to trade for ready money.”’ Money must have been somewhat scarce in 1847, and it would take some 280 weeks at 3d. per week to discharge a debt of £3 10s. Od., the limit which the Society then decided a mem- ber could incur.

The membership seems to have been very small in 1847, for at a meeting held on the 20th of July in that year, a person applying for membership was rejected by 16 votes at a meeting when only 22 members were present. And yet, in those early days of the Society, women were debarred from being members as per a resolution of November, 1846 ( !)

The resolution passed prohibiting members from obtain- ing goods on the credit system seems to have had little effect, for another one was passed on the 19th of October, 1847, which read :— ‘“That the Board of Directors or Salesman shall not allow any member to contract a debt which shall exceed £5 Os. Od. without the consent of a general meeting, of . which every member of the Society shall have had notice. Should this rule be broken without the consent of a general meeting the chairman shall be responsible.”’

The dividend in the year 1849 seems to have been paid on the share capital held by each member and not on the purchases effected at the shop; a resolution was passed to this effect: ‘‘Resolved that there be the sum of £1 Os. Od. paid out to the members for every paid-up share.’’

The Society apparently allowed non-members to deal at the ‘‘Stores,’’ but these latter were as careless as the mem- bers in discharging their liabilities, so on the 16th of October, 1849, the committee passed a resolution to this effect :— ‘‘Resolved that this Society purchase a book to enter the debts of non-members.’’

In the early days of the Society’s existence, it had pos- sessed a sink or stamp, no doubt a kind of seal, but in 1850, it got lost and efforts were made for it to ‘“‘be sought by the committee and if not found by the next half-yearly Meeting

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day’’ another was to be purchased. It must have been found, as Mr. Earnshaw says it is still in the possession of the Society. In 1850, two innovations were introduced; the first was the system of paying dividend on purchases and ‘not on the share capital, a system then known as the ‘‘new Lepton Plan of Trading,’’ while the second was the holding of a tea party at 4d. per head.

On the 5th of February, 1852, occurred the terrible Holm- firth Flood, whereby 81 lives were lost. The committee of the Society felt it incumbent on themselves to alleviate the distress and suffering which the Flood had caused, and called a general meeting for the 25th of that month to consider ‘‘the propriety of making a donation towards Holmfirth.’’ At this meeting it was decided, strange to relate, “by a majority,’’ to give £3 ‘‘to the Holmfirth Subscriptions.’’

By the year 1855, the membership of the Society seems to have been increasing, for it was resolved to order ‘100 balance sheets printed as soon as the present one has been passed.’’ At the same time, the committee decided to in- troduce gas on their premises.

Alterations to the existing premises were effected in 1856, and the following tenders were accepted: ‘‘Mason work, George Haywood, £56 18s. 0d.; Joinery work, James Blakeley, £92 15s. Od.; Plumber, Thomas Hayley, £14 14s. Od.; Painter, John Brook, £7 18s. Od.; Plasterer, Thomas Longbottom, £6 12s. Od.; a total cost of £178 17s. Od.

The entries in the Minute Book for the year 1857 are rather interesting :—

(i) Resolved that the Society subscribe annually 2/6 towards the public light of the neighbourhood. (ii) Resolved that the Lockwood Co-operative Society (viz., Wm. Horsfall & Co.) have a firkin of butter at the price put in the book, viz., 112d. per Ib. (iii) Resolved that our secretary write to Dennison and Gadridgh (? Goderich), the members for the West Riding, and see if the duty on currants at present cannot be reduced.

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(iv) That any committee man entering into any other business before another is finished, he shall be fined a penny. (This was possibly due to the fact that certain committee men were ‘‘garrulous.’’)

In 1860, the Society decided to join the Wholesale Depét which was being formed in Huddersfield. Two delegates, Messrs. John Ratcliffe and J. Balmforth, were deputed to attend a meeting at the Zetland Hotel on July 13th, 1860, and the Committee convened a meeting of members ‘‘to determine the number of shares we intend to hold in the General Wholesale.’’

During the years 1860 and 1861, efforts were made to increase the membership, and a minute passed on the 3rd of October, 1860, reads: ‘‘Resolved.that any respectable person of the age of 21 years may become a member of this Society.’’

Efforts had been made to commence a butchering de- partment between the years 1860 and 1864, but in the March of this last-named year, the Committee decided to give it up.

Apparently, in 1865, the Society did not make very great profits, for on the*lst of May in that year, the committee decided to borrow £140 ‘‘for the purpose of paying dividend.”’

The public spirit of the Society from the years 1864 to 1867 is shewn by these entries :— (1) September 12th, 1864: ‘‘Resolved that 7/6 be paid towards the expenses of finding water for this neighbourhood.’’ (This entry suggests a shortage of water in that year.) (ii) November 21st, 1865: ‘‘Resolved that this Company give 5/0 a year towards public lights.’’

(iii) August 4th, 1867: ‘‘Resolved that this Company give £1 towards the Public Well at Netherton.’’

From 1867 to 1870, attempts had been made to alter the title from the Netherton Trading Company to the Netherton Co-operative Society. At a special general meeting held on April 8th, 1867, 44 members were in favour and 20 against, and as there was not a sufficient majority ‘‘according to Act of Parliament, there must be no change.”’ However, the committee, at their meeting held on the 28th of December, 1870, ‘‘Resolved that the present Company be wound up

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voluntarily, and to approve of an agreement of disposing of the business of the Company to the Netherton Industrial Co- operative Society.”’

There is no record whether a general meeting of mem- bers confirmed this resolution, but the Committee, at their meeting held on January 12th, 1871, resolved ‘‘that the fore- going resolution re change of Society be confirmed.’’

The year 1880 saw several innovations in the Society’s work. The first was the introduction of a departmental dividend; the committee decided that their trade should be divided into ‘‘Corn, Drapery, Grocery and Coals, and dividend paid in proportion to the profit made on each.’’ The second was the introduction of metallic checks; those for payment of ld., 2d., 3d., 6d., ls. 2s. were in thin brass, those for 5s., 10s., £1 and £10 were in tin. The third was the appoirt- ment of ‘‘three good writers’’ to assist the committee at stock taking; while the fourth was an endeavour on the part of the Committee of the Society to solve the unemployment problem which prevailed in Netherton in that year, the committee was empowered to relieve ‘‘distress where they have confidence that such members are deserving of it, etc.’’

In 1886, the committee decided to add six members to their number ‘‘to ascertain the probable cost of rebuilding the front of the Grocery Department.’’

Several attempts had been made to commence a butchery business in connection with the Society. From 1864 to 1888, a butcher’s shop had been opened and closed again, while in 1870, the shop, slaughterhouse and cottage had been let to Daniel Eastwood; however, on March 5th, 1888, the com- mittee decided once again to have ‘‘another try’’ at the butchering business, and appointed George Wood as their butcher.

In 1890, the Society had been in existence for fifty years, and the Committee decided to have a Jubilee Celebration and a public tea costing 6d. per head.

The Society resolved on the 13th of April, 1891, to give a donation of ten guineas towards the cost of a new Burying Ground in South Crosland.

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In 1893, the Society invested £100 in Messrs. George Thompson’s,. Whitacre Mills, Deighton, and £50 in the Leicester Hosiery Manufacturing Society. Later, in that year, the Society again changed its name from the Netherton Industrial Society, Ltd., to the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society, Ltd.

Two years later, in 1895, the Society commenced the business of repairing boots, shoes and clogs. In 1897, shortly before Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the com- mittee gave a donation of £25 to the Local Celebration Fund.

In September, 1897, the Society embarked upon a scheme of building several cottage houses, and decided to accept Mr. Berry’s (afterwards Alderman Joseph Berry, Mayor of Huddersfield) plans. The meeting, at which this step was taken, must have been an exciting one, for it was resolved to eject a certain member from the room!

From 1900 to 1901, the committee decided to enquire into - the merits of the climax check system, now used in many Co-operative Societies, and in the February of 1901, it was resolved to adopt it in the butchering department only. Mr. Earnshaw gives a most amusing and interesting account of what eventually happened to the old metallic checks which had been in vogue from 1880 to 1901, and states that some were even brought in by pawnbrokers from Huddersfield !

In 1902, an attempt was made to obtain a uniform divi- dend on purchases made in all departments, but after much discussion at a general meeting of members, it was resolved ‘to pay the departmental dividend as usual’” and 5 per cent. on share capital.

In the first decade of this century, the Society, in order to assist the quarry workers in North Wales who had been locked out by Lord Penrhyn, took up 25 one pound shares in the North Wales Co-op. Quarries, Ltd.; the investment did not prove a paying proposition, and was ultimately written off the balance sheet. At the same meeting, the Society contributed a sum of money for the relief of the Mexborough Co-operative Society whose funds were very low as a result of a strike at the Mexborough and Thorne Colliery.

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A Children’s Field Day was inaugurated in 1906 instead of the annual Tea Party. Mr. Earnshaw gives a most amusing account of how the committee ‘‘proposed’’ a certain scheme for the separate provision of tea and buns to the one and how the mothers and children ‘‘disposed’’ of the plan.

A new draper’s shop, at a cost of £1,500, was opened in 1909, when Mr. J. Shillito, the President of the C.W.S., performed the ceremony.

Considerable progress in the management of the Society was effected in 1910, when, at a special general meeting held on June 6th in that year, it was decided to adopt the climax check system in all departments; to pay a uniform dividend and not a departmental one as hitherto; to employ a full time secretary, thus bringing the Society more into line with other Co-operative Societies.

Later in the same year, it was resolved that no refresh- ments be provided in future at the general meetings of the Society. Mr. Earnshaw says that previous to this resolution being adopted, coffee, beer and cakes had been provided at the conclusion of these meeting's and handed to those who cared to have them. Unfortunately, some members were not much in- terested in the business proceeding’s and more concerned about a ‘‘sup of beer.’’? ‘‘On one occasion,’’ Mr. Earnshaw writes, ‘‘a matter had been under discussion for rather a long time, and the patience of one of the members becoming exhausted, he shouted out, ‘Sit thee daan, tha’rt baan to talk all t’ neet; t’ ale will be as flat as a pancake.’ ’’ (!)

In October, 1912, the rules of the Society were revised and brought up to date.

The years 1914-1918 were those of the Great War, and Mr. Earnshaw, in two very interesting pages, gives most graphic accounts of the many difficulties the Society had to contend with, especially in supplying necessary foodstuffs to their members. Six employees of the Society joined up in the Army, and all returned save one, Arthur Matthews. During the War, the Society took over Bank End Farm at South Crosland, but it proved a source of worry to the direc- tors, and ultimately, in February, 1923, it was abandoned.

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On July 18th, 1919, a greengrocery department was opened, and in the following year the share capital per mem- ber was increased from £40 to £200. I

Mr. Earnshaw also gives a most amusing account of an early wireless ‘‘demonstration’’ in October, 1923, when, owing to some defect in the apparatus, only squeals, yells and howls resulted, causing one boy in the number of children who came, to remark, ‘‘Come on! Him and his Blooming Band.’’ ‘‘The children scampered out of the room, shouting in derision, and so ended the one and only wireless demonstra- tion at the Stores in Netherton.’’

In connection with the Coronation of H.M. King George VI, in 1937, the Society made a grant of £10 to the local Celebration Fund.

During the year 1937, three employees of the Society retired after many years’ service therein: Mr. Harry Wilson, who had been employed in the grocery department for 50 years; Miss A. A. Pearson, with 26 years’ service, including a period as manageress of the drapery department; and Mr. J. Webster, who held the office of secretary of the Society for 20 years. At a meeting of the members of the Society held on November 17th, 1937, tangible tokens of appreciation were rendered to these three long service employees.

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CHAPTER XIV.

INTERESTING EVENTS IN SOUTH CROSLAND, ARMITAGE BRIDGE AND NETHERTON from the earliest times till 1876.

1085.—Visit of the Domesday Commissioners. 1274.—An inquisition reported that the King’s Bailiffs were not allowed to enter Crosland to execute their accus- tomed offices by order of the officers of Henry de Laci, Lord of the Honour of Pontefract.

1292-1293.—Richard, son of Adam de Crossland, hung him- self in a wood in Crossland in a certain tree with a certain cord. (Assize Rolls of Yorkshire)

1296.—Roger de Crosland owed 2/0 rent to the Lord of the Honour of Pontefract, and was reported as being in arrears. i

1340.—Inquisition into the Manor of Almondbury. First mention of the Armitage family, the ancestors of the Armitages of Highroyd, Milnsbridge, Storthes Hall, Hunters Leaze, near Bradford-on-Avon. Adam del Her- mitage was recorded as holding land under the Lord of the Manor of Almondbury.

1341.—Murder of Sir Robert de Beaumont at Crosland Hall by Sir John de Eland. (As yet, there is no documentary evidence to prove the murder. )

1379.—Imposition of the Poll Tax. Twenty-three persons recorded as paying this tax in ‘‘Crossland-fosse.”’

1389-1390.—Henry de Beaumont’s cattle at Crosland-fosse raided by Sir John de Assheton, of Lancaster; murder of John D’Arcy by Henry de Beaumont.

1425.—Inquisition into the Manor of Almondbury. Mention of Thomas Hermitage as holding a ‘‘vast piece’’ of land called Rodbanke.

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1523.—Subsidy levied by Henry VIII. Eleven persons in South Crosland recorded as paying this tax levied on both ‘‘Lands’’ and ‘‘Goods.’’ :

1545.—Subsidy again levied by Henry VIII. A larger number of persons in South Crosland were mulcted for this tax than in 1523.

1584.—Inquisition into the Manor of Almondbury.—The jury reported that the ‘‘Manor of Almondbury doth extend itself into the Manor of South Crosland, for that (=because) one Thomas Beaumont and John Cryer do hold . . . . lands in South Crosland as of the said Manor I of Almondbury, etc.’’ The Constable and two men of the township of South Crosland also mentioned as owing suit at the Court Leet of the Manor of Almondbury.

1588.—Subsidy levied by Parliament to equip the fleet and man the ships required for the defence of England against Philip II of Spain and his Invincible Armada. Four persons resident in South Crosland reported as paying this tax. 1626.—Three men from South Crosland, William Dyson, John Oldfield and Nicholas (surname not known) en- rolled in Sir John Ramsden’s Company of the Regiment of Sir Henry Savile, Bart.

1672, March 3lst.—Will of Godfrey Beaumont, of South Crosland, yeoman: ‘‘And the residue of my messuages, etc. . .. I give unto Anthony Armitage of Thickhollin’s, yeoman, that they .... shall from time to time and at all times for ever faithfully and truly pay yearely and every yeare for ever unto the poor people of South Crosland aforesaid the summe of forty shillings to be equally distributed at the discretion of the Overseers of the poore there from time to time for ever. And also pay yearely and every year for ever the summe of Three pounds of lawfull money unto the Schoolmaister of South Crossland which shall teach scollers their, .....

1690, January 3lst.—‘‘An assessment made upon the In- habitants in Crosland-half for the payment of £43-12-6 as their proportion charged upon them for 12 months beginning from the 25th Day of December last past and to be paid at 4 Quarterly payments and as part of the

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£1,651,702-18-0 Granted by Act of Parliament Intitled an Act Granting an Aid to their Majesty William and Mary Our Most Gracious King and Queen of England, France, Scotland and Ireland, Defender of the faith, etc.

Assessed by us Joseph Haigh Daniel Dyson As Witness our hands Adam Beaumont

Joshua Dyson”’

(The above is the earliest taxation record in William Sykes’s M.S. Note Books.)

1701, Nov. 4.—Will of Joseph Haigh. The following clause occurs: ‘Also I give to the Poor and Necessitous living within Magg Lordship the sum of twenty shillings for ever to be paid by my Executors hereinafter named out of my Personal Estate to the Overseer of the Place suc- ‘cessively to be distributed by them to the said Poor.’’

It is not known whether the testator’s wishes were ever carried out, and certainly there was no record of this Charity in the Charity Commissioners’ Reports of either 1827 or of 1887.

1703, June 8.—Will of Richard Beaumont of Whitley Hall (1677-1704), proved at York, 25th August, 1704.—He bequeathed to his cousin, Richard Beaumont, the younger (1670-1723), son of Richard Beaumont, of Lascelles Hall (1638-1706), all his manors, etc., upon condition that the said Richard Beaumont, the younger, should pay the legacies thereafter mentioned, also the annuity for putting out poor boys as apprentices. He also gave to the townships of Kirkheaton, South Crosland, Mirfield and Lepton the sum of £40 for ever to be paid and equally distributed by the Overseers of the Poor of the said townships.

1775, June.—Armitage Bridge damaged by a flood.

1775, July 12.—The inhabitants of South Crosland determined how and when their Overseer of the Poor was to be appointed.

1777, June.—Betty Bradley, a child, drowned at Armitage Bridge.

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1777, July 23.—Third recorded Holmfirth Flood, the first being in 1315, the second on May, 7, 1735. Considerable damage done to Armitage Bridge, which was repaired jointly by the townships of Crosland and Almondbury. Lockwood Bridge also damaged.

1779, Jan. 14.—‘‘Abraham Taylor having broken Joseph Eastwood’s Butcher’s Shop and Stolen some Beef, I (William Ayre, the Constable of South Crosland, 1778- 1779) was called upon to raise men to pursue him.”’ July 14.—William Ayre, the Constable, proceeded ‘‘to Crosland with Joseph Miller to take John Dyson but he outran us.’’ September.—Armitage Bridge again repaired. (This was always an annual occurrence for many years.)

1780, February.—Wells made at ‘‘Lain End.”’ December 7.—Joseph Eastwood, Constable, in his Ac- counts, records that he paid a Bill of £1 11s. 9d. ‘‘for getting One Day from working upon the Turnpike road For Two Years.’’

1781, April.—‘‘Six Huge Stones set up by the roads, to and for to Show each Hamblet their proportion of roads which is to keep in repair.’’ (This seems to have been the result of a report from the Commissioners of Roads, who met at Honley on March 19th, 1781. The three ‘‘Hamblets’’ would be Mag lordship, South Crosland and Honley.)

1783, September.—Bridge made over Delf Dyke.

1784, August.—Repair of Magbridge. (This was also an annual occurrence. )

1786, February 14.—Protest Meeting held at Joseph Barker’s (who kept the ‘‘Fleece’’ Inn at South Crosland) against the imposition of taxes on Horses and Carts. Similar meetings were held in Leeds and Huddersfield.

1787, August.—Bridge made over Clough Foot.

1790, May 29.—Attempt made to stop Fulling Mills from ‘‘working on the Sabbath.’’ John Dyson, the Constable, spent 4s. in visiting the mills in the Constablery when Mr. Benjamin Ingham ordered him to make this in- vestigation.

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1792, August.—A Plank stone bridge placed over Dry Clough. I

1793, December 5.—Inquest on Mr. John Wrigley (cause of death not stated in the Accounts of the Constable).

1793-1794.—-Commencement of the dispute between the Townships of Honley and South Crosland regarding the removal of the pulpit in the Honley Chapel.

1795, April.—A Joint Protest Meeting of the Inhabitants of Crosland, Honley, Almondbury and Slaithwaite ‘‘to put a stop to the Regulation.’’ (This seems to have been some alteration in the customary procedure of adminis- tering the Elizabethan Poor Law Act of 1598.) June.—Repairs effected to Butternab Bridge. September.—Meeting of the Inhabitants of South Crosland ‘‘to take into consideration as Touching (the) Award”’ of the recently passed Enclosure Act for Honley, 1788.

1795-1797.—Endeavours made to ‘‘hire’’ three men to serve in H.M. Navy. The total cost of these recruiting efforts, shared between Crosland-half and Meltham, amounted to £60 3s. 6d. (!) 1796, February 23.—Repair of Crosland Hall Bridge.

1797.—Formation of a ‘‘Subscription Club’’ to assist Re- cruits, Volunteers, Militiamen and their wives during the first Napoleonic War.

1797, January-February. Revaluation of South Crosland Township for the Poor Law taxation. July.—Arrest of a vagrant woman in Dungeon Wood. September.—First mention in the Constables’ Accounts of the Brewsters’ Sessions being held in Huddersfield ; these had been previously held at Wakefield. 1798, June.—First record in the Accounts of the Overseers of ‘‘poor law’’ children of South Crosland being sent to **Factories.’”’ October.—Inquiries made by the Constable concerning one William Quarmby ‘‘to see who he was.’’ 1799, February.—Heavy Fall of Snow in South Crosland and Netherton. Numbers of men employed to remove the snow.

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_ April 25—Meeting held at the ‘‘Travellers’ Inn’’ at Black- moorfoot regarding the filling up of Income Tax forms, Income Tax as a form of taxation having been first in- troduced this year. I Mention in the Overseer’s Accounts of William Crosland being the Overseer of the Poor of Huddersfield in this year, 1799. May 25.—William Sykes, the Schoolmaster of South Crosland, appointed Clerk to the Overseers of the Poor. August.—Attempts made by the Township of South Cros- land to have a joint workhouse with either Linthwaite or Lockwood. Four meetings were held. Previous to this date, South Crosland had shared with Honley the use of a workhouse at Thirstin.

1801, April.—First census of the populatior of South Cros- land taken. Population, 1,221. October.—Mr. Thomas Abbey (the great-grandfather of Mr. Frank Abbey and of Mr. Sidney Abbey) recorded as Overseer of the Poor for Lockwood.

1803, January 25.—Ely Dyson, the Overseer, went to the Crosland Factory to give Ann Scholefield ‘‘Notice to Quit Town’’ (!) This is the first of several similar entries which occur in the Accounts of the various Overseers of the Poor for South Crosland.

1803-1805.—Endeavours on the part of the Overseers and Constables to get recruits from South Crosland for the Army and local Militia on the resumption of the Napo- leonic War.

1803, August 4.—-The Overseer gave ‘‘Bridget Barraclough Notice to quit the Town.’’

1804, January.—South Crosland Volunteers drilled by Ser- geant John Bastow. The Volunteer Movement was or- ganised in Huddersfield in 1803. May 1.—Mention in the Overseer’s Accounts of Stephen Furness as Constable of Quarmby. July.—Valuation and Survey of South Crosland for Poor Law Purposes undertaken by Mr. John Johnson at a cost of £31 10s. Od.

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November 8.—Another young woman ordered ‘‘to quit our Town.’’

1805, January-March.—A second revaluation of South Cros- land by Messrs. William Roberts and Elihu Dickenson at a cost of £61 9s. Od.

April 14.—Apprehension of Hannah Elliott, ‘‘a lude woman,’’ in Dungeon Wood by the Constable. Mention made in the Overseer’s Accounts of a Folly Mill in Honley.

1806, February 21.—Meeting held in Huddersfield concern- ing ‘‘the Army of Defence’’ at which the Overseer of South Crosland attended.

1807.—Litigation between South Crosland and Honley re- garding the removal of the organ to the west end of the Honley Chapel by the ‘‘Honley people.’’ Parliamentary Election at York.—The candidates were William Wilberforce, Lord Lascelles and Viscount Milton. Twenty-two voters from South Crosland and Netherton registered their votes.

1807, April 12.—Two men from South Crosland ‘‘hired’’ into H.M. Navy.

1809, May 17.—Mention in the Overseer’s Accounts of a ‘*Sick Club’’ in South Crosland. June 6.—Mention in the Overseers’ Accounts of an ‘‘In- dicted Road’’ in South Crosland, but no indication of which road.

1810, November.—Guide Posts ordered to be erected in South Crosland by order of the J.P.s, the Constable to super- vise their erection.

1811, June.—Second census taken in South Crosland. Popu- lation, 1,424. I December.—Dispute between Honley and South Crosland as to the repair of Magbridge.

1812, April-August.—Luddite Riots. ‘‘Watch and Ward’’ proclaimed in South Crosland. Special Constables sworn at Huddersfield to preserve order in the locality. Local Militia called out to assist in this duty. Extra local taxes imposed in South Crosland to pay the ‘‘Lud Bill.’’

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1813, July.—Flooding of the River Holme; damage done to Armitage Bridge. October 30.—Martha Thorp ordered to quit the town.

1814, February and March.—Collapse of both Armitage Bridge and Hall Bridge. 1814-1815 (Winter).—Dungeon Mills ‘‘idle’’ due to the col- lapse of stone and rubble into the river Holme, and to the raising of Lockwood Mill dam.

1815, August.—Appointment of two men to “‘try weights and measures.’’ Previously, this duty had been that of the Constable. September.—Dispute of the Township with David Harrison concerning the administration of the Richard Beaumont Charity. 1816, March.—Trial at York of one Lever for ‘‘the Killing and Slaying of Jeremiah Much.’’ 1819, April.—Imprisonment of Thomas Hirst for having ‘‘in his possession embezzled materials belonging to the Woolin Manufactures.’’ 1819-1825.—Probable dates during which the Lockwood- Meltham Turnpike Road was built.

1821, April.—Third census of South Crosland taken. Popu- lation, 1,583.

1822.—The ‘‘Old’’ School in the ‘‘Jumble’’ built, used as the first meeting-place of the Wesleyan Methodists.

1825, June.—‘‘New Improvements’’ recorded by the Over- seer of the Township of South Crosland, but no informa- tion is available as to the nature of such ‘‘improvements.’’ 1827, March.—Visit of the Charity Commissioners to Hud- dersfield. The Overseer of the Poor of South Crosland attended the inquiry concerning the Richard Beaumont Charity and the Godfrey Beaumont Charity. October 15.—Foundation stone of Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, laid by the Rev. Lewis Jones, Vicar of Almondbury.

1828, March 10 and March 28 dea made to form a Select Vestry at South Crosland. Although the scheme

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was definitely agreed upon by a majority, yet it does not © seem to have been put into execution.

Appointment of William Sykes (son of William Sykes, the Schoolmaster of South Crosland Free School) as ‘‘Stand- ing Overseer of the Poor’’ for South Crosland. This appointment lasted, however, but for one year.

June.—Epidemic of mad dogs in South Crosland. Several destroyed by the Constable.

1829, October 23.—Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, opened for Divine Worship; Preacher, the Rev. Lewis Jones, Vicar of Almondbury.

1830, September 2.—Consecration of Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, by the Right Rev. Charles Vernon Harcourt, Archbishop of York.

1831, April.—Fourth census of South Crosland. Population,

2,258. 1833, June.—The mills in the Township ‘‘measured’’ accord- ing to the Magistrates’ order.

1834, April.—Petitions against the proposed new Poor Law got up in South Crosland and sent to London.

August. Petition got up in South Crosland for the Assizes to be at Wakefield instead of York.’’

1835.—Building of South Crosland Church of England Schools and also of Armitage Bridge Schools.

1836, June.—Escape of Mary Dyson, a native of South Crosland, from the Huddersfield Poor House. She had been previously lodged at Dog Hall, a house on the Lockwood-Meltham Road. Efforts were made to find her.

1837, February 10.—Election of the Huddersfield Union of Board of Guardians. Mr. Robert Wrigley, the repre- sentative for South Crosland on the newly elected Board. April.—Meeting held at South Crosland at which resolu- tions were passed condemning the Poor Law Amend- ment Act (the new Poor Law Act). October 1.—Death of Dr. Harrison, of South Crosland, who was buried in his own garden on October 2.

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1838, March.—Meeting at the Netherton School in the ‘‘Jumble’’ to consider the revaluation of the Township of

South Crosland now that it had become incorporated in the Huddersfield Union of Guardians.

1839.—Formation of the first Armitage Bridge Cricket Club. The Club played in a field near a house belonging to a . Mr. Edgecumbe. This field was later converted into arable land, and the Club moved to a common above the wood. This field in turn was used for pasture land, and the Club had to move again. A field was next taken to what was commonly known as ‘‘Neddy Field.’’ The. ‘‘Neddy Field’’ Club ceased after a few years, and for a short time no cricket was played at Armitage Bridge until the present one, now known as the Armitage Bridge Cricket Club, came into existence, and which played in its early days in Armitage Bridge park, kindly lent by Mr. Thomas Brooke (afterwards Sir Thomas Brooke, Bt.).

1840.—Formation of the South Crosland and Netherton Co- operative Society.

1841, April.—Census of South Crosland. Population, 2,705.

1842, August.—The Plug Riots. Among the mills in the township of South Crosland which were visited by the Plug Rioters from Lancashire were the Crosland Fac- tory, Wrigley’s Mills (Cocking Steps Mill) in Honley, and Messrs. John Brooke & Sons at Armitage Bridge. — The boilers were ‘‘plugged’’ as the expression was then termed (‘‘unplugged’’ would have been more appro- priate), the fires extinguished and the shuttles of the dams drawn. December 10.—South Crosland made into an Ecclesiastical District.

1843, May 10.—Opening of the Netherton Congregational Church. Preacher: The Rev. James Prudie, of Halifax.

1844.—The Wesleyan Methodists began in the “Long Baulk.’’

1846.—New Day School in connection with the Congrega- tional Church commenced, but abandoned. after a few months.

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1850, February.—Netherton was the scene of much _ up- roar (so contemporary newspapers reported), which usually took place on Sundays. Superintendent Thomas Heaton, in charge of the Huddersfield Constabulary, determined to put an end to the lawlessness which characterised the locality. On one particular Sunday he found a foot-race in full progress. Before he could get to the actual scene, George Heaton, one of the spies of the organisers of this race, jumped on a wall, and by means of signs and gesticulations, notified the promoters of the race that the police were in sight. The racing fraternity hurriedly disbanded, and the police had to be content with summoning a few persons on the charge of obstructing the highway. When these were presented before the Police Court, they were dismissed on payment of costs. I George Heaton was then charged under an old statute which enacted that persons should attend church upon the Sabbath, and was charged ‘“‘that he not being a person of good account and orderly life, did not attend Divine Service.’’ George Heaton said he had no clothes to go to church. “‘I’ve only these I’m wearing now; my wife an’ childer goa, an’ surely that’s enuff ei’t o’ one ‘eaes. Besides, I got on t’ t’ wall to show th’ superin- tendent an’ th’ bobbies t’way ’at men had run, an’ if they had been sharp they could ha’ catched ’em.’’ The magistrates thought that the defendant had turned the tables on the police, and had no alternative but to dis- miss the case.

1851, April.—Census of South Crosland. Population, 2,784.

1852, February 5.—The Holmfirth Flood. The havoc from the bursting of the Bilberry Reservoir extended to Armitage Bridge, where the loss of property ‘‘was fear- ful.’’ Two children, a boy and a girl, were found dead above the ‘‘Golden Fleece Inn,’’ and a woman was dis- covered dead in a field near Armitage Fold. At the above named public house, one of the bodies was identi- fied by Abraham Bailey as his daughter. The little girl at first was stated to be that of William Metterick, but was afterwards sworn to be one of Hartley’s children

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and at the inquest was named as such, but eventually Abraham Bailey claimed the body as that of his daughter and was buried by him. The little boy’s body was never identified. At the ‘‘Oddfellows’ Arms,’’ Big Valley, the woman whose body had been found in a field was stated to be Rose Charlesworth, aged 40.

1854, October-November.—Outbreak of cholera in Armitage Bridge. A whole family of the name of Drake were the victims of the scourge which ravaged Armitage Bridge in the last days of October of this year. Two brothers and a sister died within a week; the father, Thomas Drake, was seized with this plague late on Saturday, October 21st; at 1-0 a.m. on Sunday he died, and was buried before daylight that morning. Mrs. Drake was attacked on Monday, October 23rd, died on the fol- lowing day, and was buried the same night; she was the last of a family entirely swept away by this scourge. A father and son of the name of Hayes were also taken ill with cholera at the same time; both died, and were interred on the same day. In consequence of this epidemic, a local committee was formed in the village for the purpose of alleviating the prevailing distress. In this connection, Mr. John Brooke, of the firm of John Brooke & Sons, Armitage Bridge Mills, worked assiduously in the work, and after each case of infection, which necessitated the burning of the furniture, bedding, etc., replaced the goods which had been so destroyed.

Opening of the Oddfellows’ Hall, Netherton.

1856, May 29.—Peace Rejoicings in Netherton to celebrate the termination of the Crimean War.

1857, August 15.—A very heavy fall of rain in the vicinity of Armitage Bridge, which resulted in the River Holme being flooded. At Armitage Bridge, the water was 18 feet deep, and swept over a new embankment which had only then been recently constructed in the hope of with- standing floods similar to that of the Holmfirth catas- trophe of February 5, 1852. Dungeon Mill (now Park Valley Mills) sustained damage to the extent of £400.

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1858, January 20.—John Whiteley, a teamer employed by Messrs. J. & T. C. Wrigley, at Dungeon Mill, while riding on the shafts of the waggon, when returning from Netherton, fell; the wheel passed over him, and he died the following morning.

1859, September 5.—Funeral of Mr. Thomas Brooke, of Northgate House, Honley. The entire population of Honley and Armitage Bridge assembled to pay a last tribute to a good man—‘‘an Israelite indeed.’’ The principal tradespeople and others from Huddersfield walked in procession, and at Armitage Bridge were joined by about three hundred workpeople from the Mill. They then proceeded to the gates of Northgate House, and followed the cortege, thence to the Church, where the first part of the burial ceremony was performed. It was estimated that more than three thousand persons were present in the cemetery.

1860, July 17.—-Five boys were bilberrying in Dungeon Wood when one of them spotted the game-keeper. The boys, fearing a visit from his savage watch-dog, ran down the embankment. One of them, Thomas Garside, aged 12, in his rush, fell down a precipice into a disused quarry, some 22 yards in depth, and was immediately killed. It appeared later that the keeper with the savage dog had left a week previously, and the new keeper, David Fearnley, did not possess a ferocious animal. I

1861.—Census of South Crosland. Population, 2,794 (an increase of 10 in 10 years). Act of Parliament obtained for the building of the Hud- dersfield-Meltham Railway.

April 1.—George Taylor, a weaver, of South Crosland, fell down a rocky slope of about seven yards into Mr. Joseph Gledhill’s garden, and was killed. June 12.—Marriage of Mr. George Dyson, solicitor, of Netherton, to Jane, eldest daughter of Mr. J. C. Laycock.

July 12.—William Kaye, aged nine years, son of Mr. Joseph Kaye, Cloth Presser, of South Crosland, while playing near Dungeon Reservoir on his way home from

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school, fell in the water near the water wheel, was drawn into the wheel, and died from the injuries received.

December 21.—H. Armitage, a hand-loom weaver, of Netherton, shot himself in a field not far from his home.

1863, March 24.—Death of Mr. John Blakeley, of South Crosland, aged 87 years. At the time of his death, he had 105 descendants alive: Four sons, three daughters, 27 grandsons, 15 grand-daughters, 27 great-grandsons, 27 great-grand-daughters and two great-great-grand- children. I

1864, April 4—First sod of the Huddersfield-Meltham Railway line cut by Mr. Charles Brook, at Meltham.

1866, May 5.—Foundation stone of the Netherton Wesleyan Methodist Church laid by Mr. O. Bairstow, of Hudders- field.

South Crosland made into an Ecclesiastical District.

1867, April 4.—Netherton Wesleyan Methodist Church opened for Divine Worship by the Rev. George Dickenson.

May 13.—First locomotive from Huddersfield to Meltham ran.

1868, August 3.—Railway line from Huddersfield to Meltham opened for goods traffic.

1869, July 5.—Opening of the Railway line from Huddersfield to Meltham for passenger traffic.

1871.—Census of South Crosland. Population, 2,863.

1872, April 27.—Presentation of a tea service to Mrs. Thomas Brooke by the inhabitants of Armitage Bridge, as a recognition of her unceasing efforts for the benefit of her fellow creatures in house-to-house visitations of the poor and sick of the locality.

1873, January 4.—The employees of Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, Armitage Bridge, presented to Mr. John Arthur Brooke (afterwards Sir John Arthur Brooke, M.A., J.P.) a handsome timepiece on the occasion of his marriage.

January 10.—Law Schofield, aged 23, a healder and twister at Dungeon Mill, was found drowned in the canal.

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124 I 1874, January 3.—The Netherton Memorial School, erected by public subscription to the memory of Miss Hough, the sister of the Rev. G. Hough, the first Vicar of South Crosland, and built on the south side of Moor Lane, was opened. Mr. Thomas Brooke (afterwards Sir Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P.), on behalf of the Trustees and Subscribers, handed over the building to the care of the Vicar to use it as part of the ecclesiastical property of the parish. The building cost £1,600, and was then free from debt. March 10.—Alice Berry, aged seven years, the daughter of William Berry, of Netherton, was left with a younger sister alone in the house. A little later she ran into the road with her clothes ablaze. Help was quickly ren- dered, but too late to save her life.

July 25.—John Hobson Shaw, a dyer, of Armitage Fold, Armitage Bridge, was run over by the fire engine be- longing to Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, Armitage Bridge, which was going to a fire at Field Mill, Canker Lane, Huddersfield. He died on the following Tuesday.

September 5.—First out-of-doors Show held at Netherton. It was estimated that 2,000 persons were present.

1875, September 8.—Water turned on for the supply of the inhabitants of Netherton for the first time. Alderman Wright Mellor, D.L., J.P., performed the ceremony. November 18.—The workpeople of Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, Armitage Bridge, presented addresses, the first one to Mr. William Brooke, on the occasion of the birth of a son (now Major Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P.), and a second address to Mr. J. A. Brooke (afterwards Sir John Arthur Brooke, M.A., J.P.) on the birth of a daughter. 1876, March 6.—First Election of the first Local Govern- ment Board for South Crosland. March 15.—First Meeting of the Local Government Board. August 12.—Netherton held its Flower Show and Athletic Sports in a field near the Railway Station. December.—Completion of the Blackmoorfoot Reservoir by the Huddersfield Corporation. Commenced in 1871, the capacity of this reservoir is 75,000,000 gallons.

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Interesting Statistics relating to the former

Urban District. Population in— 1901 1911 1921 1931 4 1937 (estimated) Number of Inhabited Houses I in 1937 Rateable Value in 1937 oe Births in 1937-8 Deaths in 1937-8 Births in 1876 ... Deaths in 1876...

125

2,974 3,124 3,054 2,985 2,939 1,016 £13,786 40 38 113 82

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CHAPTER. XV.

JUBILEE AND CORONATION CELEBRATIONS IN SOUTH CROSLAND AND NETHERTON.

ECORDS of former Jubilee and Coronation celebrations are always interesting, and memories of these red- letter days will probably be recalled by a perusal of the fol- lowing accounts of the proceedings on these occasions.

(i) Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, June 20th, 1887. On this day of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne on June 20th, 1837, the Sunday School scholars of the three Churches in the Township, Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Congregational Church, over a thousand in number, met at their respective Sunday Schools, and, pre- ceded by the members of the Oddfellows Society, marched in procession through the district, first, to Crosland, then to Corn Bank, thence to Hill Top, then to the Square, next to Stone Pit Hill and back again into Netherton, where the National Anthem, ‘‘Rule Britannia,’’ and Jubilee hymns were sung. The singing was conducted by Mr. J. E. Ibeson, then the organist of Holy Trinity Church, and accompanied by a string band in which Mr. Charles Auty and his son played the cornet. At the conclusion of the musical programme, the scholars proceeded to their own particular schoolroom to have tea, and each was given a Jubilee medal. After tea, all the scholars, teachers, parents and others re-assembled in ‘‘The Square’’ field, where sports and games concluded the day’s rejoicings and when nuts and sweets were distributed to the children. The old folks in the district were entertained to a meat tea at the Oddfellows’ Hall. _ The committee responsible for the Jubilee arrangements consisted of the Reverend W. Le Neve Bower, M.A., Vicar _of South Crosland, Messrs. D. White, Joe Radcliffe, F.

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France, J. Rowbottom, J. Garside, H. Oldfield, B. Old- field, A. A. Cass, J. Baxter, J. Charlesworth, A. E. Jones, Heeley and Haywood.

(ii) Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, June 22nd, 1897. The proceedings on this day (Tuesday) were very similar to those ten years previously. The teachers and scholars from the three Sunday Schools and a large number of the inhabitants of the locality formed in procession from Sun End, South Crosland, preceded by the Meltham Mills Junior Brass Band, the Rev. W. Le Neve Bower, M.A., (the Vicar of South Crosland), Mr. J. A. Wrigley (the Chairman of the South Crosland Urban District Council'and of the Celebrations Committee) and Mr. J. Mellor (Member of the Huddersfield Board of Guardians for South Crosland).

In the procession was a prettily decorated waggon drawn by a pair of fine horses sent by Mr. Taylor, the landlord of the ‘‘Beaumont Arms,’’ South Crosland. The procession paraded the district and sang hymns at various places, con- cluding at the Market Place, where the National Anthem and other musical items were rendered under the conductor- ship of Mr. Hubert Lunn, the organist of Holy Trinity Church. At 4-0 p.m., the scholars then proceeded to their res- pective schools, where they, and any inhabitants of the district who so desired, were regaled to tea. At the Con- gregational Sunday School, 270 persons from the Armitage Bridge district, who found that they were unable to partici- pate with their children in the arrangements made by the Huddersfield Corporation, were entertained there to tea through the generosity of Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, of Armitage Bridge Mills. After tea, an adjournment was made to a field in Ran- field Lane (sometimes known as Lightenfield), where a band played musical selections and sports were held for the children. At the conclusion of the day’s festivities, each child received a parcel of sweets and nuts, a Jubilee medal and a Jubilee gill cup. Some of the houses in Netherton were gaily decorated with bunting.

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128 (iii) The Coronation of King Edward VII, I 1902. The Coronation of King Edward VII was originally fixed for June 26th, 1902, but owing to the Monarch having been taken seriously ill with appendicitis a few days before this date, necessitating an immediate operation, the ceremony had to be postponed till August 9th. I

The sudden illness of the King upset a good many of the festivities which had been organised months in advance. At South Crosland, however, the majority of the celebrations took, place after the King’s illness had been announced and when it was known that he was on the road to recovery.

A tea for the Sunday School scholars was given at their respective school premises on Friday, the 27th of June, and the committee of celebrations decided to carry on with the original arrangements the next day.

On Saturday, June 28th, the scholars met at their res- pective schools, where they were presented with medals kindly given by Mr. Philip Heaton, of Leeds, and formerly of Netherton. They next assembled in procession. under the marshalship of Mr. C. Blakeley, and marched to Crosland, the Market Place, Hill Top Bank and back again at the Market Place; at various ‘“‘halts’’ they sang the National Anthem and other appropriate songs.

The younger scholars were conveyed in gaily-decorated waggons provided by Messrs. James Varley & Sons, W. Sykes, Joe Radcliffe, Jonas Brooksbank and Moses Marsh. The evening was spent in a field kindly lent by the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society, where sports and games took place. The old folks of the district were provided with a tea at the South Crosland Schools and at the Wesleyan Methodist School. Each person was provided with a quarter pound of tea or a quarter pound of tobacco, again kindly given by Mr. Philip Heaton, of Leeds. A public meeting was held in the Memorial on the following Monday evening (June 30th), presided over by the Reverend W. Le Neve Bower, M.A., Vicar of South Crcsland; for the purpose of returning thanks for the King’s speedy recovery. Addresses were given by the Vicar and

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Mr. A. E. Jones, of the Congregational Church. The remainder of the evening was spent in musical and other The Misses Nellie Todd, Betsy Garside, C. Rawlinson (now Mrs. Joshua Heap), E. Walker, Messrs. C. Blakeley, A. Swallow, P. Schofield, F. Roberts, while the accompanist was Mr. Hubert Lunn, the organist of Holy Trinity Church.

The local Coronation Celebrations Committee consisted of the following gentlemen. in the district: The Reverend W. Le Neve Bower, M.A. (Chairman), Messrs. George Cuttell (Secretary), A. Aspinall (Treasurer), Charles Hobson, Charles E. Redfearn, J. W. Taylor, Fred Graham, George Mellor, A. Oldfield, A. E. Jones, Joseph Kaye and W. Booth- royd.

(iv) The Coronation of King George V, June 22nd, 1911. I

The celebrations on this day (Thursday) commenced with a service in Holy Trinity Church at 1-30 p.m., when special hymns were sung, and after an address had been given by the Vicar, the Rev. W. Le Neve Bower, M.A., the service concluded with the ‘‘Te Deum’’ and the National Anthem. A procession of Sunday School children from the three places of worship in South Crosland next took place; the younger ones, as in 1902, were conveyed in waggons, kindly lent by Messrs. Barker Bros. (motor), Messrs. John Brooke & Sons, Messrs. Blakeley & Sons, Mr. Moses Marsh, Mr. Joe Mitchell, Mr. Robert Bradley and the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society. The Chief Marshal of the procession was Mr. C. Blakeley.

During the course of the procession, the children sung special hymns at ‘‘Midway,’’ and on their return to Netherton in the Market Place, under the conductorship of Mr. Hubert Lunn, the organist of Holy Trinity Church. Before the rendering of the National Anthem, the Rev. W. Le Neve Bower announced that Mr. Thomas Brooke, M.A., J.P., of Healey House, had handed over the title deeds of the new recreation ground to Mr. J. J. Booth, of ‘‘Whitegates,’’ the Chairman of the local Coronation Celebrations Committee. Three cheers for Mr. and Mrs. Brooke were given, and Mr. Brooke suitably replied.

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Tea for the school children was served in the three Sunday Schools, and a Coronation mug was presented to each scholar.

After the tea, the scholars, teachers and others proceeded to the new recreation ground, now known as the Coronation Field, and spent the rest of the evening in sports and games.

The inhabitants of Armitage Bridge, on this occasion, joined with the inhabitants of Berry Brow in their Coronation celebrations. The evening was spent in Armitage Bridge House park, which was kindly lent for the purpose by Lady Brooke, when sports and games were indulged in till night- fall.

(v) The ‘‘Peace Day’’ Rejoicings after the Great European War of 1914-1918, July 19th, 1919.

The proceedings on this Saturday afternoon commenced with a procession of children who marched to the drums and bugles of the Boy Scouts; members of the Urban District Council, Friendly Society Lodges, Discharged and De- mobilized Soldiers also took part in this great procession, which wended its way from Netherton to South Crosland, and back again to Netherton.

The procession was marshalled by Mr. C. Blakeley, assisted by the Superintendents and officers of the three Sunday Schools in the District. A large number of the children were attired in fancy dress costumes, for which prizes were awarded for the best design and effect.

At various halting places on the route suitable hymns were sung by the processionists, under the conductorship of Mr. Hubert Lunn, A.R.C.O., organist of Holy Trinity Church.

Later in the afternoon, the scholars of the various schools, accompanied by parents and friends, were enter- tained to tea at their respective Sunday Schools.

In the evening, a gala was held in a field in Delf Lane, kindly offered to the Peace Celebration Committee by Mr. Walter Bates. Games and sports took place till nightfall, when the prizes for the latter were distributed by Mr. J. A. Wrigley, Chairman of the Urban District Council.

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131 From 11 p.m. till nearly midnight, fireworks and army

‘flares’? were sent up by Mr. John Schofield, B.Sc., A.R.C.Sc., from the Scar Top Rock.

(vi) King George V’s Silver Jubilee, May 6th, 1935. I 3 The rejoicings on this memorable occasion (Monday ) commenced with a civic service held at Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, in which all sections of the community joined, in particular, the members of the Urban District Council, the members of the British Legion and other public organisations.

The service was conducted by the Reverend C. S. Dunn, the Vicar of St. Paul’s, Armitage Bridge, who read an address which had been prepared by the Reverend W. J. W. Tunni- cliffe, Vicar of Holy Trinity, and who could not, by reason of throat trouble, deliver it. The Reverend J. W. Hard- castle (of the Methodist Church) and Mr. W. France (of the Congregational Church) also took part in the service of thanksgiving; the singing was led by a united choir, under the conductorship of Mr. Hubert Lunn, the organist of Holy Trinity Church.

In the afternoon, the children met at their respective Day Schools and marched in procession to the Market Place, where Mr. Hubert Lunn conducted the singing of well-known hymns, concluding with the National Anthem.

Afterwards, they proceeded to the Memorial School for tea, and later, each child was presented with a Union Jack and a balloon, which were kindly given by the South Crosland and Netherton Co-operative Society.

Sports were held in the evening at the recreation ground. Among the races was one for married men and one for single men, while two tugs-of-war formed exciting ‘‘events.’’ Prizes for all the races through the generosity of the Co-operative Wholesale Society.

At the conclusion of the day’s proceedings, Mr. T. Earn- shaw thanked all who had helped to make the Jubilee cele- brations such a great success.

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(vii) The Coronation of H.M. King George VI, May 12th, 1937.

On Sunday, May 9th, a public service was held in the morning at St. Paul’s Church, Armitage Bridge, conducted by the Vicar, the Rev. C. S. Dunn, which was attended by members of the Urban District Council, the British Legion, and other public bodies. In the afternoon, a similar service was held at Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, conducted by the Vicar, the Rev. T. W. Sweeting.

The former custom of holding a procession through the district was again put into execution on this occasion. A procession, led by the Marsden Senior School Band, was formed at Armitage Bridge, and was joined at Stone Pit Hill by the processionists from Netherton. The two contingents then proceeded to the Market Place, where hymns were sung under the conductorship of Mr. Hubert Lunn, the organist of Holy Trinity Church, concluding with the National Anthem. The processionists next wended their way to South Crosland, and returned to the Memorial School in Netherton, I where tea was provided for the children, who were presented with a Coronation mug, while all persons over sixty years of age received tea-caddies containing tea.

Owing to the inclement weather, the sports which had been arranged as part of the evening’s festivities were post- poned to a later date. The Oddfellows’ Hall and the Co- operative Hall were available for entertainments. After tea, the school children were entertained at these places by Mr. Littlewood and his Dancing Dolls, while a band played for dancing.

Later in the evening, in the Memorial School and its immediate vicinity, those present heard the broadcasting of His Majesty’s speech. A torchlight procession took place through the district, which ended up at the Coronation Field in Hawkroyd Bank, where a huge bonfire was lit by Mrs. Borwell, the wife of Mr. H. Borwell, Ate the Chairman of the Coronation Committee.

Prizes for the best decorated house and garden, and for the best costumes in the procession, were offered by the Committee. The following is a list of the prize-winners :—

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Brest GaRDEN.—Mr. Littlewood and Mrs. North, of Armitage Bridge. I Best DecoraTED House.—Mr. Atkinson, Moor Lane; Mr. Gill, Armitage Bridge; Mrs. Sanderson, Armitage Bridge. Brest COSTUMES IN THE PRocESSION.—(a): Under 8. (I) Nursery Rhymes: Kathleen Wood, Philip Seymour. (II) Fancy Dress: Enid Moorhouse, Jean Lodge, Colin Robertshaw, Derick Booth. (b) Between 8-14: Margaret Crossley, Joan Fletcher. Open Ciass.—Fancy Dress: S. Seymour, T. Avison, Peter Swallow, Raymond Hinchliffe, Terence Lockwood.

DECORATED VEHICLE.—Jean Robertshaw, Dorothy Taylor.

Mrs. Buckley and Mrs. Hampton presented the prizes at the conclusion of the proceedings, presided over by Coun- cillor H. Borwell, at which the Reverend C. S. Dunn briefly spoke.

The final meeting of the Coronation Committee was held on the 2nd of June, 1937, and it was resolved that the Com- mittee’s best thanks be given to all who had helped to make the local Coronation celebrations such a great success, while the sentiment was expressed that all political feelings had been sunk in order to achieve that object.

The following is a list of the Committee :— Chairman ... Councillor H. Borwell, J.P. Vice-Chairman ... Councillor L. T. France. i Li eae ses Es ORB Dy ROME, i Bs BO

Committee. Councillors Major T. Brooke, M.A., J.P., W. C. Darby- shire, A. V. Shaw, B. L. Atha, W. Dowthwaite, H. Mellor, G. F. Oldfield, A. E. Carter, G. W. Schofield, and W. B. Cass. Mr. Henry Boys and Dr. W. H. Smailes. Rev. T. W. Sweeting, Messrs. T. Earnshaw, J. H. Hellawell, Hubert Lunn, A.R.C.O., C. E. Aspinall, H. Ellis,

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H. Wilson, W. B. Hardy, A. L. Chappell, A. Avery, A. Earnshaw, H. Heyden, G. Ashworth, H. Smith, H. Roebuck, W. A. Littlewood, W. H. Buckley, R. Q. Hampton, E. Foster, H. Potter, H. Haigh, W. Hinkins, and W. Wood; and Mrs. W. B. Cass, Mrs. P. Shires, Mrs. H. Roebuck, Miss E. Sykes and Miss E. M. Jones.