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STUDIES IN LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY - Part III.
The ‘‘Houses’ in the Manor of Hudderstield.
THE CLOUGH HOUSE
and its Associations,
BY
PHILIP AHIER.
(COPYRIGHT)
HUDDERSFIELD :
ADVERTISER PRESS LIMITED.
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CONTENTS. PAGE Preface by V. Chapter VII.—The Clough House and its Associations. i Introduction 91 ll. Derivation of Clough Hides 92 iil. Description of the Clough House 92 iv. Description of the Gardens, Be... 96 V. The Owners and Occupiers of the Clough House . 100 (a) From 1549 till 1680 . 100 (b) The Firths at the Clough House... 102 (c) The Macaulays of Huddersfield... 107 (d) The Rhodes’ at the Clough House 112 (ce) The Scholes’ at the Clough House 120 vi. The Last Days of the Clough House . 124 vii. The ‘‘Remains’’ of the Clough House ... 125 viii. Stories of the Clough House 128 x. Clough House Mills 130 +: Mr. George Scholes, 1805—1872 1383 xi. Appendices 135
lil
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. The Clough House. 2. Two of the Gables of the Clough House. 3. The Courtyard of Clough House. 4. The Dining Room of Clough House. 5. The Clough House. I 6. Part of the Tennis Court at the Clough House. 7. The Lawns in front of the Clough House. 8. Winter Scene at Clough House,
9, Mr. William Rhodes. 10. Mrs. William Rhodes. © 11. Mr. Thomas Coard Rhodes. 12. Mrs. Thomas Coard Rhodes. 13. Mr. John Scholes. 14. The Sundial on the Gable at the Clough House. 15... The Sundial &c., of ee House, now in Norman Park? 16. The Houses in Halifax Old Road on the Site of the Clough
House.
if. George Scholes; .
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PREFACE.
There is very little original research in this book, as the Clough House had been previously discussed by the late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson, the late Mr. George Gelder, the late Miss M. Rhodes, Mr. Philip H. Lee and Mr, J. W. Scholes, all of whom dealt very fully with nearly all the aspects of the old home— stead. The writer has collected the essential facts from these former topographers, and has incorporated what they had written under the respective sections, so much so that the story of the Clough House will read something like a novel by the late Mr. Wilkie Collins.
The writer desires to express his best thanks to Mr, Philip H. Lee, of 140, Halifax Old Road, for his kindness in permitting extracts from his ‘‘Reminiscences’’ to. be quoted; to Mr. J. W. Scholes, of Grimscar, for the use of his Family History MS., and for a complete account of the early history of the Clough House Mills; to Mr. J. E. Stork for the loan of his Press—Cutting Book ; to Mr. George Gelder for the use of his father’s Notes; to Miss E. Rhodes for the compilation of the pedigree of her family; to Messrs, Jubb, Booth & Helliwell, Solicitors, of Halifax, for their kindness in allowing him to view the Macaulay Papers and MS. ; to Mr. L. G. Thornber, B.A., B.Sc., for information respecting the Armytage Charity; to Mr. Horace Goulden and his assistants, in particular, Mr. Charles Bennett, for most valuable assistance given at the Public Library; to Messrs. Abbey & Hanson for the loan of photographs; and to Messrs. Abel Heywood & Cc., of Man-— chester, for permission to reproduce the ‘‘Peace Egg.”’
The writer desires to express his appreciation of the patronage
accorded te Part Il. PHILIP: AHITER.
24 Lightridge Road, Sheepridge, September, 1934.
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Vi.
THE CLOUGH HOUSE. Demolished in 1899. Photo by the late Mr. John Edward Shaw.
TWO OF THE GABLES OF THE CLOUGH ‘HOUSE. Photo by Mr. G. H. Charlesworth.
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CHAPTER VII.
THE CLOUGH HOUSE. i INTRODUCTION.
The writer must confess at the commencement of this Section that it was never his privilege to see the old Clough House, which formerly stood in Halifax Old Road, between Poplar Street and Cowcliffe Hill Road, and which was pulled down in 1899. All he has seen are the H in Norman Park, which will be des- cribed in Section vil.
As already stated in the Preface, the Clough House was very fortunate in having had no less than five topographers :—
(a) The late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson, F.S.A., in the Hudders— field Parish Church Magazine for December, 1885, gave a short description of the house and a very full account of the owners and occupiers from 1549 till 1801.
(b) The late Mr. George Gelder, in an article which appeared in the ‘‘Huddersheld Weekly on April 22nd, 1899, shortly after the Clough House had been demolished, reprinted the essential details of Mr. Tomlinson’s description and added a few other facts. 3
(c) The late Miss E. Rhodes, whose family had lived at the Clough House from. 1815 till 1861, gave an account of the internal features of the building and described the gardens. This account appeared under Mr. Gelder’s monograph. (d) Mr. J. W. Scholes, whose family lived at the Clough House from 1868 till 1894, related the story of the Clough House Mills and wrote a short account of the house and garden. This also appeared in Mr, Gelder’s history. (e). Mr. Philip H Lee, in his of the Old Clough House,’’ written in 1922, combined all the important features mentioned by the above four.writers. Mr, Lee. intended to issue a second edition of these ‘‘Reminiscences’’ in which additional matter would have been incorporated;. but illness. prevented him. from proceeding with the work. He has, however, kindly placed at the writer’s disposal, further cetails fron his MS., which are intro— duced in the present book. Mr. Lee’s ‘‘Reminiscences’’ is out of print, and he has willingly permitted the writer to quote extracts from it,
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The writer proposes to reproduce in full the most interesting parts of Mr. Tomlinson’s researches, and, even at the cost of a certain amount of repetition, will let these former topographers relate the story of the homestead in their own words.
li. DERIVATION OF THE WORDS ‘‘CLOUGH HOUSE.”’ The word ‘‘clough’’ (pronounced cluff) is derived from ‘‘an Old English word ‘cloh’ meaning a ravine with steep sides form- ing the bed of a river.’’ (Armitage Goodall, ‘‘Place Names in South West Yorkshire.’’) No doubt the original builder of the house came to the conclusion that, as it was bemg erected near
a ravine, a part of which is now Norman Park, Clough House would be an appropriate name for his homestead.
Mr. Goodall said that ‘‘the word is of frequent occurrence in South-West Yorkshire,’’ and gives the following examples :— Catclough, : Magdalen Clough, Meltham; Pennant Clough, Stansfield; Stainery Clough on Broomhead Moors; Strines Clough near Holmfirth.
Mr. J. W. Scholes, in a letter to the ‘‘Leeds Mercury,’’ dated Jan. 12th, 1901, said that ‘‘the word ‘clough’ is not confined to one wen but is known in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire and various parts of Ireland.’’ He then gave a list of over one hundred place—names in which the word ‘‘clough’’ appears. We select a few which occur in our district :—Clough House Mills, Huddersfield; Clough House Mill, Slaithwaite; Clough House Inn, Marsden; Cellars Clough Mills, Marsden; Dry Clough, Cros— land Moor; Dean Clough, Crosland Moor; Marsden Clough, near Marsden; Cuckold’s Clough, Fartown, etc. “In a few in- stances,’’ said Mr. Scholes, ‘‘in some other districts, ‘clough’ has another meaning, and sometimes pronounced ‘clow,’ to mean a shuttle or little door raised by a: handle to let water run out of a reservoir into a goyt or stream.’
ili. DESCRIPTION OF THE CLOUGH HOUSE.
Those, who, like the writer, did not see the old building, will be able to form an idea of its appearance by the photographs which are reproduced in this book.
Mr. Tomlinson prefaced his article on the hoyse with this paragraph :—
‘‘T think one of the prettiest walks in the immediate neigh-— bourhood of Huddersfield is the one by what is known as the
2s.
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Halifax Old Road, and whether we consider the actual beauty of the road itself as it winds at the foot of Grimscar, or the views it commands of the town and the ranges of hills beyond, it must be allowed on either ground to bear the palm. One of the most striking objects on the road is Clough House, a charming old building with four gables looking upon an old fashioned garden with grass terraces, full of solemn yew trees and sweet smelling flowers. Over the door is a tablet with the date 1697, and the letters, A.M. and F. above, over the tablet a Sundial, ‘numbering only summer hours.’ The whole is enclosed in one of the loveliest bits of colour in the neighbourhood, in the shape of an old bound-— ary wall, mellowed by countless sunsets into the richest hue.’’
The photograph on p. v. shews, as stated above, a house with four gables. Each gable was surmounted with cap-—stones. Below the finial of the second gable stood the sun—dial previously mentioned. Tall chimneys emerged from the roof. The en- trance gates in Halifax Old Road were unique. The wooden gates were enclosed by two posts made of brick and surmounted by capstones. Mr. Philip H. Lee wrote the following description of its exterior :— ‘“‘The pointed Elizabethan roofs were made of solid oak beams, and at the front of the house were long herring-bone pinnacles brought from Exley Old Hall, Elland, which previously formed part of the Halifax Old Farish Church. The drawing room at the Eastern end cf the house contained some fine old oak panelling and a beautiful carved mantel—piece. This room was known as ‘The Ghost Room,’ but it is not exactly known how it received its name. It was said, however, that when a death occurred in the house, the bodies were placed in coffins in this room, and this probably explains the reason why the room was so—called.’’
‘“‘The windows in the different parts of the house» consisted originally of small headed square and diamond shaped panes, and the glass in some of the windows, instead of being of a white colour, was greenish, and many windows contained a knot, the round centre of the blown glass, through which it was impossible to see, but which admitted a little light. Some of the windows were protected by large iron bars so fixed so as to prevent thieves from getting into the house.”’ ‘‘Although in no sense historical, Clough House was held dear, and the ancient habitation with its four gables faced South and looked upon an old-fashioned garden.’’ Miss M. Rhodes gave additional details concerning the herring—bone pinnacles :— 7 They ‘‘were brought by the late Dr. G. W. Rhodes, when a boy, from an old family house named Exley Hall and placed there
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between the four gables on the roof, and all the tall chimneys were built by my grandfather, Mr. William Rhodes.’’
Mr. J. W. Scholes further stated that ‘‘the balls and pin-— nacles upon the house were removed from the old Parish Church of Huddersfield when it was restored in 1836. The windows at each end of the house originally contained small leaded-—lights resembling those in the centre. The old Sundial was fixed in 1805.”’ aS Regarding the age of the house, Miss M.-Rhodes, said :— “Tt should not be a foregone conclusion: that: the date 1697 was the year in which Clough House. was‘built..- It was, no doubt, the date when Abraham and Mary Firth restded there, and was mest: probably carved out in the stone by them. ° 3 irst, the two central gables, comprising the dining room, .and: the gable con- taining the dining room, to which was built the old end: wall, four feet thick, then finally another small room was added, which was called the school room, at the end near the road. The two central gables were the most ancient, and if one may judge by the yew trees (the yew tree takes five hundred years to grow to maturity, and five hundred years to die down), then the original house must have been very much older than 1697. Indeed, no one living can form a correct idea of its true date.”’
The interior of the Clough House was very interesting al- though it did not contain such wonderful carved panellings as those to be seen at Newhouse. The Drawing Room was origin- ally beautifully panelled in oak, but Mr. J. W. Scholes informs the writer that in the late 80’s of the last century, these panels were painted in white enamel !
Before the house was demolished in 1899, late Mr. John Edward Shaw, of Burlington House, took photographs of the Dining Room, the Drawing Room, and of the Back Windows of the Clough bike from the Court Yard, for Mr.. J, H. Hanson, who had purchased the Estate. Through the courtesy of Mr. Frank Abbey, of Messrs. Abbey & Hanson, Cloth Hall Street, the writer is privileged to reproduce a photograph of the Dining Room. It will be seen that the floors consisted of stone flags, and that it led into the Drawing Room.
Mr. J. W. Scholes, in his MS., has the following interesting note j--
The corner of the old Clough House was marked with the Government Ordnance Survey Broad: Arrow and put down on the maps. Two of the fields near the house were called Tan Yard Ing and Carter Ing—Ing meaning a small
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THE COURTYARD OF CLOUGH HOUSE. Photo by the tate Mr. John Edward Shaw.
) x
res tx is DINING ROOM OF CLOUGH HOUSE.
Photo by the iate Mr. John Edward Shaw.
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96 iv. DESCRIPTION OF THE GARDENS & SURROUNDINGS.
The gardens around the house must have presented a beau- tiful picture in summer, as witness the testimonies and descrip-— tions which follow. One of the photographs (p. 97) depicts a tennis court immediately in front of the house, while on the right is a summer house. Mr. Lee wrote :—
“Through the large front wooden gates, on each side of which were stone posts capped with large balls, and all painted white, a lovely view of the front of the house arrested the eye. It was delightful to stroll about the primitive garden, and to tread the velvety turf on which croquet and lawn tennis were played. Near the house there were parterres of bedding plants, of richly coloured hyacinths, tulips and crocuses, and at the bottom of the garden, near Ash Villas, stretched one of those gardens familiar enough to many lovers ‘of English mansions. The front of the house was clad with foliage. A thriving vine (a Black Hamburg) completely decked one of the gables; near by stood an almond tree and two fig trees, whilst rosemary and virginia—creepers overspread the remaining gables. The front garden, as it was called, was one mass of old-fashioned roses, many of which came from near Lake Windermere. The old white, the old red and white-striped, the maiden’s—blush, which was beautifully scented, and the old red were specially noticed.’’
‘‘Sweet rosy—cheeked apples, large luscious plums (Victorias and Greengages) and large mellow Jargonclle pears hung on the high brick wall to the East. There were large fine strawberry beds and raspberry bushes, a walnut tree, several well-laden red and Morello cherry trees, a pleasing Siberian crab tree, and amongst other fruitful trees a fine old mulberry, with two trunks of nearly equal girth, which seemed to join near the soil, and which often yielded a plenteous crop of deliciously flavoured berries.’
Miss M. Rhodes said that this ‘‘old mulberry tree was planted by two maiden ladies, each planting a separate branch, but the names of these ladies we are not sure about, probably members of the Macaulay family or some of the Firths. The mulberry tree used to be laden with delicious large fruit, and it was always our delight as children to spread a large white cloth to catch the fruit.’’ Miss E. Rhodes, the sister of the late Miss M. Rhodes, has in her possession a snuff box made from the wood of this mul- berry tree. I Mr. >. W. Scholes, en the other hand, says that the mulberry tree was planted nearly a hundred and thirty vears ago (t.e., about 1800) by the late Mrs. Ashworth, who was Miss Ann Macaulay previous to her marriage.
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THE’ CLOUGH HOUSE. Photo by Mr. G. H. Charlesworth.
The late Alderman Charles Glendinning seated on the railings. o
A. PART OF THE TENNIS: COURT: AT THE CLOUGH
Photo by the late Mr. Isaac Hordern, reproduced by kind permission of the Huddersfield Public Library Committee.
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Miss M. Rhodes continued :—
‘“‘The old walnut tree in the garden was planted by Miss Charlotte Frances Rhodes in 1827, on her tenth birthday. At the time of the Rhodes’s residence, the front of the house was covered with creepers. The vine flourished and completely covered the drawing room gable, the almond tree covered the two gables of the large hall, and a plum tree, Pyrus japonica, and rosemary and Virginian creeper the remaining gables. A fig tree also grew and flourished on the wall on the old stone terrace, and delicious figs they were; indeed the garden was a perfect bower of all manner of old roses and flowers of every description, apples, plums and strawberries and other fruits were always most plentiful in the season.”’
Mr. J. W. Scholes further stated :—
‘“There were originally twelve yew trees named after the twelve apostles. St. John always flourished the most, having more sunshine than the others. Most of these trees (walnut, vine, almond) were destroyed by a severe frost about 1879.’’
Mr. Philip H. Lee gave a description of the vegetable garden :—-
‘“To the East of the flower and fruit garden, was the kitchen garden, in which vegetables were grown. ‘This garden was divided into squares by walks edged with dwarf box. At the back of Old Clough House was a courtyard paved with cobbles (worn smooth by wear and age), the entrance to which was by some large white wooden doors from the road, and near it stood a coach—house with a harness room above. Next to the coach— house was a large barn with stables and loose boxes underneath, in which were kept at various times hunters, carriage, riding and cart horses, besides three small ponies. <A carriage drawn by two little ponies always attracted and amused the children.’’
A photograph of the courtyard of Clough House is shown on p. 95. Miss M. Rhodes said that “‘in 1819, within one week. of September the 14th, a fire broke out, when the old barn was burnt down, and eight cows and one horse were burnt to death, and hay, straw and carriages along with the farm implements de-— stroyed. Some of the unfortunate animals were buried in the field below the house called the Tan Yard Ing (now Norman Fark),’’ and ‘‘the others were buried in the flat field up the valley below hedges which join Ainley’s Field and Carter—Ing Field.”’ (Scholes MSS.). Mr. Philip H. Lee also gave a description of the outbuild— Ings i—
‘“The stables were entered from the courtyard, to the East of which was a mistal large enough to hold ten cows. One of the farmer’s men had a name for each cow; one was called ‘Old—
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THE LAWNS IN FRONT OF THE.CLOUGH HOUSE.
WINTER SCENE AT .CLOUGH. HOUSE: Photo by Mr. G. E. Scholes.
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stick—in—the—mud,’ because it often wandered into boggy places and got stuck fast. At the top end were two very old double- storied buildings adjoining each other. The cold wooden floors were creaky-and badly moth—eaten, and the one nearest the mistal had a long pair of old tumble—down steps leading to the rooms above, which it was dangerous to ascend. These were opposite the entrance door, which was a thick wooden one. This place had served Messrs. Rhodes for brewing porter, but it was sub— sequently used for storing fire-wood.’’
‘‘Beyond these two cottages was a grass—covered yard, with a small house, where forty pigeons and many rabbits were kept, and opposite were three piggeries and places close by for turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea—fowls and poultry. Two large fine pea— cocks and pea—hens used to strut about, and sometimes roost in the large trees above the road.”’
‘“There was also a small reservoir of water in what was known as the ‘farm yard,’ ai the back of the mistal, besides a two— storied cottage house at the end of the barn; and at the bottom of Cowcliffe Hill, rose a one-decker, and another a few yards away. <A little further up stood two double storied cottages, facing South, with a garden in front and some fruit trees, one of which (a pear tree) had its branches over the reservoir, and at the back of the reservoir facing East into the field, was another one—decker cottage. Behind the piggeries were cart sheds,° so that the grounds of Old Clough House, with its adjoining build— ings, covered all the space between Cowcliffe Hill Road and Ash Villas, including part of Clough Road and adjacent houses.”’
“On the roadside, in Halifax Old Road, was a strip of green grass planted with evergreen shrubs, which formed a_ pleasant contrast in colour to the brick wall. All this space is now over- built with dwelling—houses.”’
V. THE OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS OF CLOUGH HOUSE. (a) From 1549 ro 1680.
The bulk cf our information concerning the owners and occupiers of the old building is derived from the researches of the late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson which we will quote in full as well as other details from his MSS. in the possession of the Huddersfield Public Library.
As already stated, the date 1697 on the tablet the doorway did not represent the date of its erection. Amongst the archives of the Ramsden Estate now in the custody of the Huddersfield Cor— poration Estate Offices is a conveyance of the building from William Ramsden of Longley to his son William in 1549. It is not known for how long it remained in the possession of the Ramsdens;
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apparently they must have sold it which was contrary to their usual policy unless they were compelled to sell land by Act of Parliament. Perhaps the Ramscens in the mid-sixteenth century did not think it worth their while exploiting the Birkby end of the town. However, in 1599, with the purchase of the Manor of Huddersfield and Bay Hall from Queen Elizabeth, they made their first move in that direction (Chapter VI., Section iii., pp. 65-66). It is singular that there is no mention of the Clough House in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1523, 1545 and 1588 although it is quite possible that the compilers of the above Rolls recorded the names of the owners in those years but omitted to state their place of abode.
Mr. Tomlinson continued :—
‘‘How long it remained in the hands of the Ramsdens i: not known but there are numerous entrics in the Registers of the Church which show that for a time many changes took place, but whether of ownership or occupation only, I cannot say.’’ The following were the owners or occupiers from 1609 to 1680 when the house was bought by John Firth from Joshua Horton :—- 1609-1624 William Prook at ‘‘Clowhouse.”’ 1624-1646 Edward Brook. 1646-1655 Edward Dawson. 1656-1664 ? Richard Hirst. 21664-1680 Joshua Horton. 1680-1697 John Firth. In 1664, a Hearth Tax was imposed upon the inhabitants of the district. From the Returns (printed by D. F. E. Sykes in his ‘‘History of Huddersfield and Its District,’’ p. 182) we gather that Richard Hirst of the Cloughouse paid tax on five hearths. In this respect, the building contained the same number of hearths as the old Greenhead Hall, then owned by Henry Hirst. From the ‘‘Note Book’’ of Captain John Pickering (1625-1699) J.P., in the West Riding of the County of York we learn some interesting details concerning Richard Hirst of the Clough House during the winter months of 1657-8. The Captain’s ‘‘Note Book’’ is interesting because it is a record of all the criminal cases brought before him at Wakefield, and as such, gives details con— cerning the customs and manners of the seventeenth century.
Richard Hirst of the Clough House appears to have violently assaulted Thomas Brocke of Pirkby and as a result. was ordered to appear before the General Quarter Sessions at Wakefield :-— ‘‘Recognizance and Sessions, 19th of December, 1657. Md. That Richard Hirst of Cloehouse, in the Parish of Huthersfeild,
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acknowledgeth himself to owe unto his Highness the Lord Pro- tector and his successors the sum of £60 and Will. Rhodes of Merfeld, yeoman, acknowledgeth himself to owe unto his Highness the Lord Protector and his successors, the sum of £40 upon this condition that the said Richard Hirst shall personally appear at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held for this Riding to answer upon such matters as on behalf of his Highness the Lord Protector, shall be objected against him concerning the wounding of one Thomas Brook of Huthersfeild, so that he is in danger of death, and then and there undergo the censure of the Court.”’ Apparently Thomas Brooke recovered for on the ‘13th of January, 1658. Md. That Arthur Hirst of Birkby of Huthersfeild, clothier, Informs upon oath that Thomas Brook of the same, clothier, is cured of the wound given by Richard Hirst of the same, yeoman, so that the wound is become a slight wound.”’ (Publications of The Thoresby Society, Vol. XI., pp. 99, 100). Unfortunately, nothing else is known concerning this affair.
(b) Tun FirTHS AT THE CLouGH HOUSE, Quoting Mr. Tomlinson again :— ‘The association of the three names as owners of Clough House, Ramsden, Horton and Firth is rather curious, all three families having their origin in the Parish of Halifax and in the neighbourhood of Greetland. We turn again to the Registers and find as follows :— I me
3rd Nov., 1650—Abraham, son of John Firth, of Deighton, was baptised. 5th June, 16583—John, son of John Firth of Deighton, was baptised. I 12th Feb., 1698—Judith, wife of John Firth of Cloughhouse, was buried. I 27th Dec., 1697—John Firth, of Cloughouse, was buried.”’ “The gravestone of John Firth is still in the Parish Church— yard, having survived the vicissitudes of two centuries; he is stated to have been 78 years old at the time of his death on the 23rd of December, 1697. (The writer has made a few searches for this gravestone in the Huddersfield Parish Churchyard but has not been able to locate it). He was a man of considerable substance, and in one of the deeds connected with the property is described as of Greetland. He owned land in Barkisland, Bankhead House being mentioned; there is now just above Barkisland Hall a place called Bank Top and Bank Hall, probably the same place. A little below Barkisland there is Firth House, which probably derives its name from the same family from which John Firth sprung.
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He also held land in North Crosland and Dewsbury. He seems to have conveyed, in his life-time, to his son Abraham all that he intended to leave him; and, in his will, made shortly before he died, left all or nearly all ot his remaining property to his grandson Abraham.’
John Firth by his wife Judith, left two sons and two daughters, Ann Firth and Elizabeth Firth. His younger son, John Firth, was born in 1658 and left two sons Abraham Firth and another whose Christian name is not mentioned in Mr. Tomlinson’s pedigree.
‘‘John Firth was succeeded at the Clough House by his eldest son Abraham Firth I. who was baptised at the Huddersfield Parish Church on the 8rd of November, 1650, and was married twice; his first wife, Martha, was buried on the 6th of September, 1696, leaving five children. He married secondly in 1698, Ann Green, who died in the same year and month as himself, July 1719. Abraham Firth I. was a busy thriving man and added considerably to the family estates. In 1680, Cloughhouse was conveyed to him by his father; in 1684, Blackhouse came to him in the same way; in 1694, John Gill conveyed to him Sinderforth Spring; sundry messuages and lands in Dewsbury were conveyed by John Firth of Greetland and from time to time he made considerable purchases in Birkby. In addition to the above, he bought property in Golcar from John Sykes of Milnrow, the Yew Tree property in 1697, and many others too numerous to mention. When Abraham Firth removed to Clough House, in his first wife’s time, he put up the tablet over the door, and probably enlarged the place to suit his growing wealth.’”’ ‘In 1718, a marriage took place between Thomas Thompson and Sarah Firth, the daughter of Abraham Firth by his first wife, she had £l, 100 to her fortune secured on lands in Birkby and Woodside. In 1719, Abraham Firth died, having made his will the same year, he mentions his sons, John and Francis, and left them certain lands at Cawthorne, Hoyland Swaine, and the Hagg in Honley. John Firth was a merchant in Halifax, and died in 1751, leaving his property to his nephew William.”’ Abraham Firth I. was one of the executors of the will of Thomas Armitage dated the 21st September, 1647, who ‘“‘gave to the poor of Huddersfield £200 and willed that the same might be put forth, and that the increase and profit thereof might be dis— tributed by the Vicar of Huddersfield, and other persons who should have the charge thereof, to buy wool, and to deliver the same to the said poor people to work, that they might have where— withal to sustain themselves, the same to be distributed on the evening of Christmas Day.’’ ‘“The sum of £160, part of the £200, was laid out by Abraham Firth, the elder, William Brooke and others, who were formerly trustees for, or had the charge of the charity money, with the
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consent and agreement of the churchwardens, overseers of the poor and chief inhabitants, in the purchase of certain lands in the township of Huddersfield; .... etc.’’ (‘‘Charity Commissioners Report,’’ 7th July, 1827). , The original purpose for which this Charity was instituted was diverted in 1866 and is now incorporated in ‘‘Armytage’s Technical School Endowment.’’ ‘‘The endowment of the Foundation now (in 1897) consists of
(i) A sum of £14,085 3s. 2d. New Consols, held by the official Trustees of Charitable Funds, the dividends whereon amount to £285 19s. 4d. per annum.
(ii) A sum of £300 Huddersfield Corporation £3 per cent. Redeemable Stock, the dividends whereon amount to £9 a year. The gross income amounts therefore to £394 19s. 4d.”’ (Charity Commissioners’ Report, 1897, pp. 28-88). The Technical College still receives the sum of £384 19s. 4d. per annum which is devoted to the Armytage Scholarship Fund. I
Mr. G, W. Tomlinson continued his story of the Firths of Clough House :—
“Abraham Firth II. (son and heir of Abraham Firth I.) inherited largely both from his father and grandfather; he was born in 1694, and in 1729, marriage settlements were made between him and Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Gibson, of Slead Hall, and Elizabeth Lord, his wife’’. (Here follows a narrative of the Gibsons of Halifax) Gibson brought a portion of £1,000, which was secured to her by her husband on Clough House, and 15 closes and 7 other messuages with lands attached.’’ ‘Abraham Firth II. made his will in 1765, in which he men— tions that his eldest scn would come into a large estate at the death of his mother, and makes provision for his son William, who also inherited his brother John’s property. Abraham Firth II. died in 1765 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Abraham Firth Ill.’ Abraham Firth I. and Abraham Firth II. were assessors of the Surveyor’s Accounts in the Township of Fartown, the first in 1715, 1716; Abraham Firth II. acted in that capacity 1719, 1720, 1723, 1726, 1728, 1729, 1740, 1745 and 1746. ‘“Abraham Firth III. was baptised in 1784, and seems to have died unmarried the year following his father’s death.’’? Mr. Tomlinson, in his MSS., says that ‘‘he shot himself near his own home on November 22nd, 1769. He had been at the Almondbury Pig Fair.’’ The Estate then devolved upon his brother, William Firth, who appears to have lived at the Clough House. He had several sisters, the eldest of whom married Edward Brook of Marsh.
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Under her father’s will she inherited lands in Edgerton and Marsh. Two of her sisters, Catherine and Amelia died young. William Firth left the whole of the Clough House property on his death in 1771 to his surviving sisters, Sarah Firth, born in 1732 and Ann Firth, born in 1735. A few words will now have to be said about these two ladies :—
(i) Sarah Firth married Jonathan Nicholls from Booth Town, near Halifax, about the year 1772. They had an only daughter, Sarah Nicholls, who died in 1796 at the age of 21; both mother and daughter are buried i in the crypt of the Huddersfield. Parish Church, There is a monument to their memory on the North Wall of the Parish Church :—
‘‘Near this place lie the remains of Sarah Nicholls, of Clough House, widow of the late Jonathan Nicholls, died May 11th, 1809, aged 76 years. Also Sarah, his daughter and only child, who departed this life May 27th, 1796, aged 21 years.”’
The late Mr. Friar Abbey, in a communication to Mr. Philip H. Lee gave some interesting details concerning Mr. Nicholls :—
‘‘The late Dr. G. W. Rhodes told my father last week (i.e., in March, 1878) that Mr. Nicholls was a Colonel in the Army and a man of some position. Mr. John Berry of the West Riding Union Bank recently came across two doors of a carriage which are said to have belonged to Mr. Nicholls, which from the good finish, etc., would indicate a considerable degree of luxury.’’
(ii) Ann Firth, was born in 1785, she married Thomas Macaulay of Throxenby in the Parish of Scalby; she died in 1795 leaving two children, Abraham Firth Macaulay and Ann Macaulay and upon these two devolved both their mother’s property and that of their aunt, Sarah Nicholls.
A tablet to her memory can be seen on the North Wall of the Parish Church :—
‘*Sacred to the memory of Ann Macaulay of T hase in the County, who departed this life, September 18th, 1795, aged GU years.
The reader will notice a difference in the of the place— name. Thus it came about that the Clough House Estates upon the Macaulays who had had previcus connections with
Huddersfield.
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Tue PEDIGREE or tHe FIRTHS orf Tue Croucu House. (compiled by the late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson).
John Firth, of Dighton = Julith, bur. 12 Feb., 1693
d. 1697, Aged 78, bur. at Huddersheld
I ae I Martha (i) — Abraham Firth (I) = (2) Ann Green Ann Elizabeth John Firth bur. ap. 3 Nov., m. 1698 b. 1658 b. 1663 b.. 1653 9 Sept., 1650 bur. 14 July, sees 1696 bur. 3 July, 1719 (i) Abraham 1719 (ii) another (i) (i) (i) (ii) (ii) (ii) (ii) (ai) (ii) I I I (i) Jolin Firth ioe Pe (I]) =Elizabeth, (i) Firth (i) Francis Firth b. 1691, d. 1740 1694 I dau. of b. 1686, d. 1703 ie Aap, a. 4719 (ii) eT Firth 1729 Michael Gibson, _ (iii) Firth (ii) William Firth 1685 bur. 1765 I of Slead Hall, 1689, d. 1703 b. 1699, d. 1700 ane Thompson in crypt of d. 1770 (iii) George Firth m. 23 Apr., 1713 Parish Church b. 1707 (iv) Martha Firth b. hy I (v) Mary Firth b. 1702, d. 1770 ! (vi) ise Firth b. 1710, d. 1751 eC ge ga ah Ps \ (i) Abraham Firth (IID (i) William Firth Sarah Firth Ann Firth b. 1734 b. 1742 b. 1732 b. 1735 d. 1769, Noy. 22 d. 1771 m. 1772 m, 1773 (ii) Catherine Firth (ii) Elizabeth Firth d. 1809 d. 1795 (iii) Amelia Firth _b. 1730 os Nicholls, —Thomas Macaulay, —Zdward Brook on own, i alifax
bas. ae. by, 1801 Sarah Nicholls I b. 1775
issue d. 1796 See Pedigree of the Macaulays (p. 114)
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107 (c) THe MacauLays oF HUDDERSFIELD.
(CLOUGH HOUSE AND Prospect House, BirKBy).
This family who lived in -the town in the eighteenth century and in the early days of the nineteenth and whose name is per-— petuated in Macaulay Street in the heart of the town and in Macaulay Road, Birkby, is one of the first recorded instances of the peaceful invasion of Huddersfield by the Scots.
The first of the name who settled here was Alexander McAulay, the grandson of Sir Aulay McAulay, Laird of Ardencaple in Dumbartonshire. He appears to have resided in Huddersfield in the days of Queen Anne when our town was a mere ‘‘moorland village.”’ The bulk of our information concerning Alexander McAulay is derived from the researches of the late Mr. Stephen Macaulay, of Accrington, (but a native of Huddersfield), a descendant of the above Alexander McAulay, who, in a lengthy letter to the late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson, dated the 11th of February, 1869, copied out an interesting document originally signed by his ancestor and also two letters which Alexander McAulay wrote during his lifetime. Through the courtesy of Mr. Horace Goulden, Public Librarian, the writer is able to reproduce these letters as well as Mr. Stephen Macaulay’s comments upon them.
In 1711, Alexander McAulay requisitioned Daniel Cooper to build him a house in the present Market Place. Mr. Stephen Macaulay said that ‘‘Alexander McAulay paid Daniel Cooper before Mr. Horghley what was due in full according to custom.’’
The following is a copy of the memorandum agreed by Alexander McAulay and Daniel Cooper :—
‘“Memorandum its agreed upon the 26th Day of July—Anno Domini 1711 Betwixt Daniel Cooper of Hudd'sfield in y° County of York Innkeeper & Alexand: Macaulay of Hudd"™field afores* y' y© Sd Daniel Cooper cor his Ex's-Adm's or Ass® shall build up a Gavel end betwixt y® s¢ Dan! Cooper new House in y® Market Place in Hud@ afores’ & ye s¢ Alex's new House whose breadth & height shall be equall to y° sd Alex's House at y° South Gavel end thereof and for y® half of y° Walling thereof y° sd Alex" or his Ex's Adm's cr Ass’ shall pay unto y® s¢ Dan! Cooper his Ex's Adm's or y® sum of 9¢ p Rood for the same when its finished ;—
And if y® s¢ Dan! Cooper raise y® Gavel end any higher than y® s’ Alex's house ye overplus in height is to be wholly at his own charge. And for y® overplus yt y® new Gavel end shall be broader than ye s¢ Dan! Coopers end of his new house ye s? Alex’ or his Ass* is to pay unto y® s? Dan! Cooper or his Ass’ y® s? sum of 94 p. Rood for y*® s¢ overplus, wholly of his
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own charge and its agreed yt y® s¢ Gavel shall be raised five Distant from y° Alex's house end throughly.
As Witness their hands y® Day & year first above mentioned. To make all y° Wall equally substantial throughout. To leave y® Corners over and short to Four to as they goe Witnesses James Murgatroyd B. Farkey Dan: Cooper’’ By the side of this memorandum appear the words :—‘‘Alex"
Macaulay paid Dan. Cooper before Mr. Horghley what was due in full according to Custom.”’
The curious part of this document is that Alexander Macaulay’s signature is missing.
Alexander McAulay had a brother Archibald who appears from letters written by the former to have been resident both in London and in Scotland between 1719 and 1727. Alexander wrote a letter to his brother Archibald which reads as follows :—
Letter sent by Alexander Macaulay to his brother relating to the Duke of Argyle.
Huddersfield June 8th, 1719.
Lo: Bro. This day I rec’d yo:’s and I’m sorry to hear of the disappoint— ment you have met with about yo :" Bro Grearsons Business as also that you have not come to an accommodation with yo :" Landlord nor Effected the other Concerns that you mentioned and that upon the account of your friends & favourites being out of town for which reason I find you design to return home next week, but before you come hope you'll not forget yo :" duty, that is to pro— cure some friend or other to introduce you into the presence of his Grace the Duke of Argyle and his bro the Earl of [ley to pay the respect that is due not only from us but from all our family in General as also to Congratulate y® late Revolution or rather Restoration into his Majesties favour which is no small satis— faction to us and to all their true wellwishers and altho: perhaps they cannot remember me when a school boy yet if it were not too much presumption could wish you to give my humble and hearty service to them: forasmuch as scarce any with a more fervent zeal can have a greater veneration for their persons and merits than him who is resolved the first opportunity yt offers to give myself the Honour and them the trouble of a visitor and according to my Cappasity to pay the tribute that is Justly owing to their name and fame for the many good offices and repeated services they have Gloriously Effected for their King
vw.
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& Country to the lasting honour of their noble and ancient family which I hope will never be shaken or shaded by the dark Curtain of Oblivion or the Malevolent malice of such as have been their previous Enemies and may the Almighty direct protect and prosper them in alk their undertakings that are according to his will whilst here, and the full enjoyment of true felicity to all Eternity hereafter is the hearty wish and prayer of their devoted servant and yo:' Lo: Bro
A.M.
Mr. S. Macaulay made the following comment upon this letter :-—
“‘This was after George I. ascended the throne. — In this letter, as you will see, Alexander alludes to his having known the Duke of Argyle and the Earl of Iley when a school boy, but thinks it possible they may not recollect him; this shows that Alexander, as a boy, was educated in Scotland and left there probably about the time of the Massacre of Glencoe, as this letter was written soon after George I. became king. It is to that Monarch that he alludes when he asks his brother Archibald on behalf of the family to congratulate the Duke of Argyle on his restoration to the Royal Favour. <A reference to history shows that in 1715 (that is, four years before the date of this letter), the Duke of Argyle had command of the Royal Forces in Scotland and had had several engagements with the troops under the Earl of Mar (Sheriffmuir, 1/15) who had proclaimed the Elder Pre- tender or the Chevalier de St. George at Castleton in Braemar as James VIII. of Scotland. It is therefore of the services rendered by the Duke of Argyle to George I. that Alexander writes in his letter. *’
The second letter written by Alexander Macaulay (a copy ot which is to be seen in the Tomlinson MSS. at the Public Library) is a ‘‘letter of introduction”’
Huddersf* 17, 1744.
Son
The Bearer hereof M'. George Kitson: you know his Parents are very honest people and have brought him up a good Scholar and writes a fine Hand and is a very good Arithmetician, besides bears the Character of an honest sober youth as any in our Town, He being desireous to go to London and try his Fortune Requested me to write to you that if you know any fair Dealer y has occasion for a Bookkeeper or an Assistant y‘ you would Recom— mend him to them and I dare say he will give Content : I my self am become very weak & feeble so that to all appearance I am near my Final Dissolution. If you chance to come near these parts in the Spring I dispute not but you will call & if I
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be alive shall be glad to see you who am with Respects to all friends. I Yo' affec® Father,
Alext Macaulay.
To M' Macaulay © in Bull & Mouth Street near Aldergate London
Mr. S. Macaulay’s comments upon this letter were as follows :—
‘In 1744, during the reign of George II., the same Alexander Macaulay wrfote a letter from Huddersfield to his son, Richard Macaulay, in London, he must, therefore, at the date of this letter have been resident in Huddersfield for at least thirty-three years. I send a copy of this letter as I think it 1s a good illus- tration of the qualifications required in a young man of the period who was going from Huddersfield to London to seek his fortune. It is upon this letter that an impression still remains in wax of the Family Arms taken from an old iron seal which I now have and (1) have put a seal from it upon the copy of the letter. I have no doubt from the shape of the seal that he brought it, as well as the silver-hilted rapier which was his (and is now in my possession) from Scotland.’’
Unfortunately the seal on the copy of this letter is now broken. I The Parish Registers of 1715 and 1718 give us the following information concerning Alexander Macaulay’s family :—
(i) James, son of Alex Mackaulay, buried 30 Jan., 1715.
(11) Rebeckah, uxor (=wife) of Alexander Macaulay, bur. 20 April, 1715.
(iii) Rebeckah, dau. of Alex. Macaulay, bur. 16 Dec., 1718.
Alexander McAulay died in Huddersfield in 1745, and for about thirty years we lose sight of the family in our town. His sons, Aulay, Richard, Robert and Archibald may have resided elsewhere. ©
His grandson, Thomas McAulay, of Throxenby, in the Parish of Scalby, however, seems to have been fascinated with the attractions of Huddersfield, and, in particular, with the beauties and charm (if not the wealth) of Ann Firth, co—heiress of William Firth, of the Clough House. He was a Doctor (see the pedigree of the Gibsons, Firths and Macaulays, printed by J. Horsfall Turner, in his of Brighouse, Rastrick and Hipper- holme,’’ p. 237). By marrying an heiress he was able to pursue his profession in comfort.
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Thomas Macaulay (he appears to have altered the spelling of his surname) and Ann Firth, his wife, together with his sister—in— law, Mrs. Sarah Nicholls, benefited under the terms of the Hud-— dersfield Enclosure Act. On the 7th of March, 1789, these three were awarded 9 acres 2° roods and 4 perches of common land, no doubt in Birkby. (See D. F. E. Sykes ‘‘History of Huddersfield and its Vicinity,’’ p. 218). Thomas Macaulay died in 1801 and was buried at Throxenby. By his wife, Ann Firth, he had one
son and one daughter :—
(i) Abraham Firth Macaulay was born in 1775 and married Mary Redfern for his first wife. He left the Clough House and settled at Slead Hall in Brighouse. He also followed his father’s profession and became a surgeon. He died on the 15th of Janu— ary, 1823, aged 48. He had seven sons, Henry, William, George Gibson, Thomas Firth, Charles Harold, Francis Edwin, Arthur Frederick. His will makes reference to his second wife, whose Christian name was Mary Ann, but the writer has not been able to ascertain her maiden name and parentage. In the Parlia— mentary Election of 1807 he voted for the Hon. Henry Lascelles, the Tory Candidate. (D. F. E, Sykes, ‘‘History of Huddersfield and its District,’’ p. 409.)
(ii) Ann Macaulay was born in 1781, and lived at the Clough House up till the time of her marriage to Richard John Daventry Aishworth, Esq., of the Middle Temple, at the Huddersfield Parish Church in 1802. The announcement of their marriage appeared in the ‘“‘Halifax Journal’’ of January 2, 1803 :— “On Saturday last, at Huddersfield, R. J. D. Ashworth, Esq., of the Middle Temple, London, to Miss Macaulay, of Clough House, near the former place.’’
In her younger days she had planted the mulberry tree in the gardens of the Clough House (p. 96). Mrs. Ashworth died in 1863 at the age of 82, and left a family of four sons and three daughters.
In 1861, a deed of partition of the Firth-Gibson estates was effected between Mrs. Ashworth and the sons of her brother, Dr. Abraham Firth Macaulay.
Mr. G. W. Tomlinson wrote :—
‘‘A deed of partition was executed by which the old Firth- Gibson estates were divided between the Macaulays and the Ashworths. There can be no doubt that if the property had been kept together the income from it would now have been consider- able. The annual statement of the income and expenditure for Mr. Abraham Firth Macaulay’s portion of the estate for 1785 is now before me and the amount received is £1142 12s. 7d., a very large sum of money a hundred years ago. Amongst the items I note that Mrs. Nicholls is charged £27 10s. Od. per annum for
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112
the rent of Clough House, and also that the agent for the pro-— perty was Mr. Thomas Thompson.’’ In 1861, a part of the Clough House Estates were sold by
Mrs. Ashworth to Mr. Abraham Hirst, of Hullen Edge, Ellana,
who divided the old homestead into two dwellings.
From 1809 till 1815, we are ignorant as to who lived in the old homestead. At this point the writer begs to correct a state— ment made by Mr. Philip H. Lee in his ‘‘Reminiscences’’ (p. 12), ‘about this time, 1785, Mr. Nicholls occupied Clough. House, for which he was charged a rental of £27 10s. Od., and after his decease, his widow apparently continued to live there until 1815, when the Rhodes family rented the house.’’ As already stated, Mrs. Nicholls died in 1809, and it would seem that the Nicholls’ and the,Macaulays jointly occupied the house from 1785 till 1809. In 1815, the house was occupied by Mr. William Rhodes, senr.
Thomas Firth Macaulay, the fourth son of Dr. Abraham Firth Macaulay (according to Mr. Horsfall Turner’s pedigree, but designated the third.son in certain legal documents which the writer has perused) settled again in Huddersfield, but did not live at the Clough House, which, as we have noted, was occupied by Mr. William Rhodes. He owned a good deal of lands in Birkby, and purchased in 1842, Thomas Wilson’s Brewery, which stood near the corner of the present Birkby Hall Road and
Wheathouse Road, and which included the old Tudor homestead —
known as Prospect House (now divided into three dwelling— houses) which some former writers have thought, but. wrongly, to be the original Birkby Hall. This estate in later documents is always referred to as the ‘‘Birkby Old Brewery Estate.’’ A plan of Fartown and Birkby, dated the 23rd September, 1842, gives the area of this estate as 5 acres 1 rood 82 perches, and
states that ‘‘to this lot is appurtenant a pew in the Huddersfield Parish Church.’’ Mr, Thomas Firth Macaulay also owned lands —
adjacent to the Brewery which are indicated on this plan.
Mr. Macaulay also built a Brewery which formerly stood in Green Street, off Viaduct Street, and during his wanderings in this locality lived at Crosland Hill Manor House as well as at Prospect House.
In the early part of 1869, Mie: Macaulay imagined that he was in financial difficulties and could not meet all his obligations, so, on the 9th of May of that year, he filed his petition in bankruptcy. Strange to say, the estate showed a considerable surplus after the
payments of his debts in full. However, Mr. Macaulay decided
to entrust the residue of his estates in the hands of trustees. On the 18th day of September, 1871, Messrs. Charles Aspinall, of Northgate, Halifax, and Mr. William Broadbent, of Brighouse, were duly appointed. After the death of the former, on the 16th of March, 1885, Mrs. Ann Aspinall, his widow, and her son, Mr. George Aspinall, joined the surviving trustee,
*%
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Mr. Thomas Firth Macaulay died on the 21st of January, 1874, at Prospect House, Birkby. In the Obituary Columns both the ‘‘Huddersheld Weekly and the ‘‘Hudders— field Weekly Chronicle,’’ he is described as a brewer. By his wife, Mary, he had three sons and two daughters, Messrs, George Gibson Macaulay, Thomas Firth Macaulay, Junr., Arthur Frederick Macaulay, and the Misses Ada Josephine and Anne Adelaide Macaulay.
Mr. George Gibson Macaulay, the eldest son of Mr. Thomas Firth Macaulay, died on the 7th of February, 1874, just a fort- night after the death of his father. He married Ellen Ridley, and left a family of four sons and one daughter, Messrs. Charles Harold Macaulay, George Gibson Macaulay, Kynaston Walker Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, and Mary Anne Macaulay. I Mr. Charles Harold Macaulay, the eldest son of Mr. George Gibson Macaulay, settled in Thirsk between 1885 and 1890, along with his mother and brothers. He married Miss Ellen Horner, and had one son, Mr. George Gibson Macaulay, the Yorkshire cricketer, who was born on December 7th, 1897. Mr. C. H. Macaulay died in 1909.
After the deaths of Messrs. Thomas Firth Macaulay and George Gibson Macaulay, the trustees of the Macaulay estates decided to sell ‘‘The Birkby Olid Brewery’’ estate. It was sold on the 7th of October, 1874, at the George Hotel, the auctioneers being Messrs. Eddison & Taylor. Lot 1 comprised ‘‘The Birkby containing an area of 8260 yards. Lot 7 comprised ‘‘Prospect House, now in the eccupation of Mrs. Macaulay,’’ . containing an areca of 2478 yards. The principal purchasers of the Birkby Old Brewery Estate were Captain Joseph Taylor Armitage, of Birkby Grange, and Mr. John Scholes, of the Clough House, who had their respective portions conveyed to them on the 18th of February, 1875,
The remaining portions of the Macaulay estates in Birkby were sold by the remaining trustee, Mr. George Aspinall, of Halifax, on 21st of September, 1897.
It has been said that the Macaulays of the Clough House, and later of Prospect House, were a collateral branch of the family of Lord Macaulay, the well-known historian, but the writer has not yet come across a pedigree to prove this statement.
The Pedigree of the Macaulays was in its earliest part com- piled by the late Mr. Stephen Macaulay, of Macaulay Street, it was then continued till 1823 by the late Mr. G. W. Tomlinson, the writer has brought it by the help of documents in the possession of Messrs, Jubb, Booth & Helliwell, Solicitors, of Halifax, through the courtesy of Mr. H. D. Heiliwell.
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THe PEDIGREE or tu—E MACAULAYS or DUMBARTON ;
Clough House, Huddersfield; Slead Hall ; Prospect House, Huddersfield, and Thirsk. Sir Aulay McAulay, Laird of Ardencaple in Dumbartonshire
I Sir items mab McAulay
eee I Sir Aulay McAulay Archibald McAulay Alexander McAulay
(issue) issue) came to Huddersfield before 1711, d. 1745 “eee b. 1682, d. 20 Ap., 1715
I I I I Aulay Macaulay Richard Robert d. 1761 (issue)
Pies ac 90 Macaulay— ~ ae dau. and coheiress of Abraham Firth II. of the Clough House, . 17 Jan., 1773 1735, d. Sept. 21, 1795
ca Scalby, 1801
I I Abraham Firth Macaulay—(i) Mary Redfern Ann Macaulay
of Slead Hall, Brighouse d. Aug. 9, 1848 m. 1801, d. 1863 b. 1775, d. Jan. 15, 1823 rn John Daventry Ashworth, Esq. (ii) Mary Ann......... Four en I Three Daugk.ters I I A I I I Thomas Firth Macaulay, Henry William ~° George Charles Arthur of Prospect House, Birkby Gibson Harold Frederick b. 18 an. i 4 I "d. July 23, 1877 Po I I I George Gibson Macaulay—Ellen Ridley Thomas Firth Arthur Frederick (i) Ann Josephine (ii) Anne Adelaide d. Feb. 7, 1874 Two children BS I I I Harold ora Horner Kynaston George Thomas Mary 909 Walker ibson Babington Anne Macaulay Macaulay Macaulay
George Gibson Macaulay b. Dec. 7, 189 (The well-known Yorkshire Cricketer)
i I I
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(d) THe Ruopes’ AT THE CLouGH House. As already stated, Clough House was let to Mr. W. Rhodes ,in 1815 (p. 91). The late Miss M.+Rhodes in her monograph, contributed the following details of her family’s residence there :—
‘‘Clough House was inhabited by the family of Rhodes for a period of 47 years, my grandfather, the late Mr. William Rhodes, and family going to reside there in the year 1815, three of whose family were born there, the late Dr. George Winter Rhodes, of Queen Street South, and two daughters. After Mr, William Rhodes’s death in 1841, his widow continued to reside there until her death in 1845. The house was then occupied by daughters and a son-in-law; the late Mr. Thomas Coard Rhodes, son of the above, resided there with his family until 1861.”’
‘‘Very many were the happy memories we have of the old home, especially the Christmases, when the mummers and rapier dancers came, musicians and singers from far and near, the old folk were feasted and entertained in the Hall, and the Yule log burned in the great fire—place.”
Mr. William Rhodes, senr., the founder of the firm of William Rhodes & Sons, Wine, Spirit and Hop Merchants, in King Street, was the son of Mr, William Rhodes, of Crofton, near Wakefield. He settled in Huddersfield about the year 1815, and commenced brewing porter at the Clough House, but later removed his business to King Street. Mr. J. W. Scholes, in/a communication to the writer, thinks the porter and the black beer were brewed in the old building on the top of the courtyard of Clough House, where once stood a large set pot in one corner. Mr. W. Rhodes was born on the 2nd of May, 1778, and died on the 20th of December, 1841. He had four sons, Messrs. William, Thomas Coard and Richard Rhodes, and Dr. G. W. Rhodes, and three daughters, one of whom, Miss Charlotte Frances Rhodes, planted the walnut tree in the gardens of the Clough House in 1827 on her 10th birthday.
The Vaults of Messrs. Rhodes are still in existence, being situated under Market Walk and King Street; they were by parties of amateur antiquarians in July, 1932, and Christmas, 1933,
Mr. Thomas Coard Rhodes, the:second son of the above Mr. William Rhodes, was born on the 26th of May, 1808, and died on the 9th of November, 1868. He married Mary Ann Green Armytage, the daughter of James Green Armytage, Esq., and of Elizabeth Butterworth, his wife. Mrs. T. C. Rhodes died on the 28th of April, 1905, at the advanced age of 85. Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Rhodes had a family of daughters of whom, Miss Maria Rhodes wrote an interesting account of the Clough House, extracts from
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which have been quoted at the commencement of this Section. Miss Emily Rhodes, of 79 New North Road, is the last surviving member of Mr. T. C. Rhodes’s family,-and has very kindly sup-— plied the writer with details concerning the family. I After the deaths of Messrs. Thomas and Richard Rhodes in 1868, the business of wine merchants was relinquished. Dr. George Winter Rhodes, the fourth son of Mr. William Rhodes, senr., was born on the 5th of December, 1822, and died in November, 1892. His surgery was in Queen Street South, and is now used as an annexe of the Huddersfield Technical College. This building is shortly to be demolished and an In- stitute of Chemistry is to be built on its site at an estimated cost of £63,000. He married Miss Georgina Mary Peacock, of Whalebone House, Rumford. She died in 1890. Dr. G. W. Rhodes had a family of daughters, one of whom married the Rev. W. Le Neve Bower, formerly the Vicar of South Crosland Church. She died on the 8rd of November, 1924, anu is buried at South Crosland. Mr. William Rhodes, senr., and his sons, were great friends of Richard Oastler, and manifested their friendship to him in a practical way while he was a prisoner in the ‘‘Fleet’’ at the suit of his former employer, Thomas Thornhill, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Fixby. The gifts which Oastler received from the members of this family are recorded in his ‘‘Rent Roll’’ :— (i) ‘‘My kind old friend and old neighbour, Mr. Rhodes, Junr., of Clough House, Huddersfield, left me a bottle of cordial and two pounds of tobacco.’’ (ii) ‘I received a pair of black gloves in memory of my old and faithful friend William Rhodes, Esq., late of the Clough House, near Huddersfield, who died on my birthday, December 20th, 1841.”’ In one. of his Fleet Papers (Vol. I., pp. 273—274), Oastler describes a visit which he had received while in prison from Mr. William Rhodes, Junr. ‘Tl have just had two friends from Yorkshire; Mr. Rhodes, _junr., from Clough House, near Huddersfield, and Mr. Nichols, Junr., from Wakefield, and right True Blues they are.’’ ‘“Mr. Rhodes gave all the news about Huddersfield, and re- minded me of a very interesting conversation which took place about four or five years ago, when he, myself, and his brother— in-law, Mr. Wilson, banker, of Huddersfield, were, one evening, walking up to Fixby Hall from Clough House, etc.’’ Miss E. Rhodes has in her possession a snuff box made from the mulberry tree which her aunt planted in 1827, and has also some of the furniture which belonged to her father and grand- father which formerly rested in the old homestead. The pedigree of the family of Rhodes has been compiled by the writer from details kindly supplied by Miss Rhodes.
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tHE PEDIGREE OF THE RHODES’ OF CLOUGH HOUSE, HUDDERSFIELD. : William Rhodes, of Crofton, Near Wakefield.
William Rhodes, of the Clough House=Maria Brook, of Cinderhills, Mirfield.
b. May 2, 1778. b. 2 May, 1780.
William Rhodes
d. May 16, 1850.
I Maria Rhcdes
d. Dec 20, 1841.
d. 1845.
I I Thomas Coard
Khodes,
b. 26 May, 1808, d, 9 Nov. 1868.
Rhodes d, Aug. 1868.
=Mary Anne_ Green Armitage, daughter of James Green Armitage, b. 16 Dec. 1820, of Aus- tonley, Holmfith, d 28 April, 1905, and of Elizabeth Butterworth
Richard Henry George Winter
I I I I Charlotte Frances Maria Rhodes Jane Isabella
Rhodes, M.D. b. 1817. = John Wilson =William Dobbings
b, Dec. 5, 1822 d. Nov. 1892.
= Georgina Mary Peacock, of Whalebone House, Romford
I I
Emily Rhodes 7 other children
I George Francis Rhodes
b. 10 July, 1858. d. 16 April 1923.
Georgina Isabella
b. 1848 3, 1924.
= Rev. W. Le Neve Bower
Two Sons Two daughters
Three other children
117
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118
Mr. WILLIAM RHODES. 1778—-184T.
Mrs. WILLIAM RHODES, 1780—1845.
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119
Mr. THOMAS COARD RHODES. 1808—1868.
Mrs. THOMAS COARD RHODES. 1820—1905.
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120 (ce) THE SCHOLES’ AT THE CLOUGH
As previously stated, Mr. Thomas Rhodes left the old home- stead in 1861.
Mr. J. W. Scholes continued the story in the ‘‘Huddersfield Weekly Examiner.’’ (April 22nd, 1899) :—
“The house was then divided into two dwellings, Mr. John Scholes occupied the larger portion and Mr. Samuel Hirst the smaller portion. The House and Mill premises were then leased to the late Mr. Abraham Foes of Hullen Edge, Elland, who was part owner of the estate.’
‘“Mr. John Scholes bought the house from the late Mr. Hirst and from the executors of the late Mrs. Ashworth (nee Ann Macaulay) in the year 1868. Mr. S. Hirst removed, and Mr. Scholes made the house again into one dwelling, where he con— tinued to reside with his family until 1894.”’ I
Mr. Abraham Hirst died on the 15th of January, 1864, and was buried in the Huddersfield Parish Church. A tablet stone to his memory can be seen on the North wall of the nave of the Church :—‘‘In affectionate remembrance of Abraham Hirst, of Hullen Edge, who died the 15th of January, 1864, aged 73 years.”’ Mr. Abraham Hirst gave an annual rent dinner to his tenants at the Warren House Inn, Lindley. ;
Mr. John Scholes, who purchased the Clough House estates in 1868, was the eldest son of Alderman John Scholes, of Sheep- ridge, and of Harriett Milner, his wife. He was born on the 15th of July, 1828, and died on May 17th, 1901. He married twice, his first wife was Sarah Booth, the daughter of William Booth, of Hipperholme, near Halifax. Mr. and Mrs. Scholes were mar= ried at Ramsden Street Congregational Church on the 21st of December, 1849. Mrs. Scholes was born on the 18th of October, 1826, and died at the Clough House on the 25th of June, 1869. By his first wife, Mr. Scholes had ten children, the eldest of whom is Mr. J. W. Scholes, of Grimscar.
In 1871 at Brunswick Street Free Wesleyan Church, Mr. J. Scholes married Ann Eliza Webb, the daughter of Thomas Webb, of Ebor Mount, New North Road. Mrs. Scholes was born on the Ist of November, 1842, and died at Bournemouth on February 7th, 1929. By his second wife, Mr. J. Scholes had five children,
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one son and four daughters, of whom two of the latter are still alive.
Mr. Scholes was a Councillor for the Birkby Ward from 1885 till 1891. He was also the Treasurer of Brunswick Street Church from 1871 to 1879.
While Mr. J. Scholes lived at the Clough House, the Sunday School scholars of Brunswick Street Church held their annual ‘feast’? in the grounds on Whit-Mondays. Mr. J. Scholes left the Clough House in March, 1894, ana later resided in London, where he died on the 17th of May, 1901.
A stained glass window to the memory of Mr. J. Scholes can be seen on the North wall of St. Andrew’s Parish Church, Leeds Road. On it are inscribed the words: ‘‘To The Glory of God and in Leving Memory of John Scholes, of Victoria, Tanfield, and Clough House Mills, Fartown. Born at Sheepridgeée, 15th July, 1828. Died 17th May, 1901. This Window is erected by his eldest son, J. W. Scholes.’’
The pedigree of the family of Scholes was originally com- piled by Mr. J. W. Scholes, of Grimscar (eldest son of the above named Mr. J. Scholes), in 1881; he has since brought it up—to— date and is reproduced here.
Mr. JOHN SCHOLES. 1828—1901.
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THE PEDIGREE OF THE SCHOLES’ OF FARTOWN, CEOUGH HOUSE:
Richard (son of John Scholes of Ffartowne), bapt. at the Huddersfield Parish Church, March 23, 1703 Richard Scholes of Upper Newhouse or The Cot, ries bapt. Oct. 12, 1726, d. April 9, 1801; aged 74 b. 1737, d. March 29, 1793, aged 56
I I I I I Nancy Scholes, George Scholes of Upper Newhouse or The Richard Scholes Hannah Scholes James Scholes b. 1762, d. Dec. 1, 1822 Cot, b. 1765, d. May 19, 1833 —Martha Hudson, —=James Astley, —=William Wilcock —Martha Payn, of Bradley Hall, b. 1768, a widow. lived in Sheffield b, 1761, d. Dec. 8, 1824 d. Dec. 2, 1836, bur. at Christ Church, Nee Hepworth and Accrington Woodhouse (issue) I I I I I I I Elizabeth Scholes Mary Scholes John Scholes of Bradley George Scholes of the Clough Richard Scholes, Sarah Scholes b. Jan 5, 1793 b. Feb. 19, 1795 b. March 31, 1802 House Miils, Alderman of b. July 5, 1809, d. April 15, 1884 b. June 21, 1811 d. Oct. 26, 1824 d. June 20, 1826 m. Oct. 2, 1823 Huddersfield — (i) Elizabeth Beaumont Riley Firth —=Thomas Stork d. Aug. 1, 1857 b. Oct. 27, 1805 b. 1808, d. Feb, 7, 1849 b. Nov. 19, 1808 (issue) b. 1796 —=Mary Ann Chadwick d. Dec. 8, 1872 = (ii) Sarah Dyson d. Oct. 16, 1877 d. April 11, 1874 b. 1796 — Harriett Milner b. 1819, d. June 21, 1853 (issue) (issue, See Pedigree d. Jan. 6, b. April 5, 1805 — (iii) Mary Batley of the Storks, (issue) d. June 15, 1855 (issue) Ch. VI. p. 88) I
I I I I I I I I I Sarah John Scholes of the William Scholes Elizabeth George Martha Ann Mary Ann Walter Milner Harriett Milner b. Apr, 4, 1827 Clough House b. Nov. 11, b. Mar. 23, b. Sept. 30, b. Dec. 19, b. Mar. 16, d. May 30,1827 b. July 15, 1828 1829 1832 1834 1837 m. (i) Dec. 21, 1849 Went to sea d. Nov. Il, d. Mar. 9, d. April 21,
BRADLEY, SHEEPRIDGE,
d. May 17, 1901 — (i) Sarah Booth, dau. of William Booth b. Oct. 18, 1826 d. June 25, 1869 = (ii) Ann Eliza Webb, dau. of Thomas and Mary Webb of Ebor Mount b. Nov. 1, 1842 . (ri) 1871 d. — 7, 1929
and last heard of at Pernambuco.
18352
—=Elizabeth Dickenson I
1870
Armytage (issue)
+e)
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(i) (i) (7) (i) (i) (i) (i) (i)
John William Scholes Louisa Ann Henry Charles James Albert Clara Jane George Booth Sarah Florence Harriett b. Oct. 18, 1850 b. Sept. 22, b. July 17, 1855 b. Dec. 20, b. June 22, b. June 23, b. Nov. 7, Alberta m. April 28, 1881 1852 d. June 16, 1897 1857 1860 1861 1862 b. May Ill, — Elizabeth Hannah =Thomas Roe- —Harriet Roebuck d. Mar. 21, d. July 9, —Peter 1864 Stringer, dau. of buck Whitley. Whitley 1864 1861 McGregor, Henry Rowe I M.D. ’ Stringer I (issue)
b. June 9, 1860 I
d. Jan. 19, 1918
123 = on < O oO a O > tx]
(i) (i) (ii) (ii) (ii) (ii) (ii)
Edith Rose Emilene George Ernest Ethel Marion Annie Beatrice Mabel Mary Elaine b. June 27, b. April 24, b. Feb. 17, b. June 23, b. Dec. 20, J; b. April 20,. 1865 1868 1872 1873 1876 1877 1880 d. Aug. 22, —Francis d. 1910 d. Aug. 3l, —Robert Bielby 1865 Cunningham 1876 (issue) Macaskie (issue) I
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vi. THE LAST DAYS OF THE CLOUGH HOUSE.
Mr. J. Scholes left the old homestead in March, 1894, and removed to London in the month of May of that year. From March, 1894, up till the time of its demolition in 1899, it remained unoccupied. Efforts were made by Mr. J. Scholes to secure a purchaser for the Estates. The house and all the immediate property were offered to the late Mr. Peace Sykes, the well- known Huddersfield artist, but he declined to purchase—a fact much regretted by his descendants. Before Mr. Scholes left his abode, he had sold the Clough Cottage property in March, 1894, but it was not until November 13th, 1897, that the Clough House Freehold Estates and Freehold Ground Rents were sold by auc-— tion. They were purchased by Messrs. Joseph Armitage Armitage, of Storthes Hall, and John Henry Hanson. The pro- perty was bought by them with a view of utilising the site and grounds for building: purposes. The Clough House Estates were _conveyed to Messrs. Joseph Armitage and John Henry Hanson on the 18th of December, 1897. Mr. J. A. Armitage died in 1898, and his share of the Estate was purchased by Mr. J. H. Hanson on a 2nd of May, 1900.
Joseph Armitage Armitage was the eldest son of Mr. pene Armitage, of Milnsbridge House, and of Caroline Dowker, the eldest. daughter of James Dowker, Esq., of North Dalton, N.R. He was “bere on the 23rd of September, 1840, and married Julia Frances, second daughter of George T. Pollard, Esq., of Ashfield, Cheltenham. He was a partner in the firm cf Messrs. Armitage Bros., Milnsbridge. (See Chapter IV., p. 38). He died at Storthes Hall on the 2nd of April, 1898, and was buried at Kirk— heaton. A tablet to his memory is to be seen in Milnsbridge Church, which reads :—
‘In loving memory of Joseph Armytage Armitage, J.P., °
of Milnsbridge House, who died at Storthes Hall, Kirk— burton, April 2nd, 1898, aged 57.”’ The reader will note the discrepancy in the spelling of one of the Christian names of Mr. J. A. Armitage.
A casual observer of this tablet might be tempted to put an entirely different construction on the phrase ‘‘at Storthes Hall,’’ if he were unaware that in 1898 Storthes Hall was then a private residence and not a Mental Hospital.
Mr. J. A. Armitage had one son, Mr. G. P. Armitage, of Conkwell Grange, Bath, and one daughter, Miss Julia Ethel Armitage, who married Mr. Thomas James Dyscn, of the firm of Messrs, Laycock, Dyson & Laycock, Solicitors, Cloth Hall Street.
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The story of the demolition of the Clough House and the building operations which ensued is told by Mr. J. W. Scholes in his MSS. :— “©1898. April 4. Mr. Harry Woffenden (connected with the ‘firm of Messrs. Fisher & Co.) began to build two villas in Clough House Garden.
1898. July 11. Further villas began to be built in Clough House Garden.
1898. July 16. A drain made through Clough House Garden, I
July 16. The high red brick wall pulled down.
1899. Jan. 30. Clough House pulled down in order to widen Halifax Old Road.
June 14. Read’s Cottage (a one-decker) at the bottom of Cowcliffe Hill Road pulled down, April 22. The article on the ‘‘Clough House’’ by George Gelder, J. W. Scholes, Miss M. Rhodes appeared in the ‘‘Huddersfield ~ Weekly Examiner.”’ Nov. 24. Harness Room, Barn and Giggle’s Cottage in the courtyard pulled down.’’
The only comment one can make on these entries in Mr. J. W. Scholes’ MSS. is ‘‘Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.”’ Whilst the Clough House was being demolished in January, 1899, one of the workmen employed by Mr, J. E. Flynn discovered in a wall an old coin which was in an excellent state of pre- servation; it was a William III. half-penny, dated 1699, and must have been accidentally dropped by one of the Firths who then resided there.
Vil. THE REMAINS: OF “THE . CLOUGH HOUSE.
Some of the ‘‘relics’’ of the old homestead were removed in 1905 to a corner of Norman Park in what is facetiously known as.the ‘‘Old Men’s Corner’’; these included the old Sundial, the Tablet Stone on which were inscribed the initials of Abraham and Martha Firth, F, A.M. 1697
and a few finials and capstones,.
The Sundial measures 3!’ 4” by 4! and lacks at the moment, an iron pointer whereby the shadow of the sun can be projected
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on the slab. In its right hand corner is carved out the date of its erection, 1805. The stone framework containing the original dial is modern, having been placed around it at the time of. its being removed to Norman Park.
Below the Sundial is the Tablet Stone previously mentioned. Its dimensions are 4/ 3” by 2’ by 10”. At the present moment the letters are hardly visible, but the date, 1697, stands out minenily.
In this ‘‘Corner’’ are to be seen three of the original cap-- stones and three finials belonging to the cld Clough House.
The general opinion of the frequenters of this ‘‘Corner’’ is that the Sundial should be removed from its present position, repaired and restored, and that the Roman Numerals should be re-gilded and the whole structure placed in such a position in Norman Park so that the shadow of the sun could determine the hour of the day. One hour, of course, would have to be added by an observer while Summer Time is in operation.
There can be no question that the other ‘‘relics’’ of the Clough House should be relegated to some more prominent place in order that they might be preserved against weathering and wanton destruction. The writer is inclined to think that the ornamental stones should be removed to the Ravensknowle Museum.
Some of the stones of the old homestead were used to form part of the boundary walls of gardens on the right hand side of Halifax Old Road, leading on to Grimiscar.
The original Clough House Wells still remain and are to be seen in the courtyard of Clough Edge, Halifax Old Road. The water in one of them is a yard deep above its source and never runs dry even in the hottest of summers; two other wells are under the drawing room floor of the house. Some old piping and a rubbled drain were found when a garage was built by the side of this house in 1924.
Mr, J. W. Scholes in his MSS. says :— :
‘Clough House was supplied with pure water through lead pipes from Ainley’s well in the field below Fletcher’s Garden at the top of Bromley Road, and also from three springs in a field below Ainley’s well. These were the days before water was supplied by the Huddersfield Corporation.’’
Pe
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be
THE SUNDIAL, TABLET STONE, CAPSTONES and FINIALS OF CLOUGH HOUSE, now in Norman Park, Birkby. Photo by Mr. Alfred Wainwright.
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128 Vill. STORIES OF THE CLOUGH HOUSE.
Very few stories are told of the Clough House, this may be due to the fact that it stood on the old turnpike road from Hud- dersfield to Halifax, and not in a secluded valley like Newhouse Hall. No ghost stories are related, but one room, as has already been noticed, was called the Ghost Room (p. 938).
(a) Mr. Abraham Firth (IT.) committed suicide near his own home on November 22nd, 1769, on his return from the Almond- bury Pig Fair. (b) Richard Oastler paid many visits to the Clough House while he was the Steward of Thomas Thornhill, Esq., at Fixby Hall. As has already been stated, Oastler was on intimate terms with the members of the Rhodes family. Miss E. Rhodes informs the writer that Oastler dearly loved to hear her aunt, Miss Maria Rhodes, play the piano, and frequently asked her to come over to Fixby Hall and play on his piano. After Oastler left Fixby on the 25th of August, 1838, he made his triumphant entry into Huddersfield vid Lightridge Road, Cowcliffe Hill Road, and passed the Clough House and the Hill House before arriving at the bottom of Ramsden Street. As he passed the Clough House, the residents gave him a tremendous ovation, while the building was decked with bunting and banners. (See ‘‘The Northern Star’’ for Sept. Ist, 1838, for an account of Oastler’s Farewell to Fixby).
(c) While Mr. J. Scholes lived at the Clough House, he entertained several distinguished persons, amongst whom. was Dr. Robert Moffatt, the well-known Missionary to the Bechuanas and the Translator of a New Version of the Old Testament. (d) We have previously noted that Miss M. Rhodes makes reference to the visits paid at Christmas time by mummers and rapier dancers (page 115). Mr, J. W. Scholes in his MSS. says that certain customs were observed at the Clough House on specified days during I the year :— On the Monday before Ash Wednesday, his mother was besieged by children who besought her in the following words, ‘‘Pray, my dame, a collop,’’ or ‘‘Prithee, dame, a collop,’’? where- upon Mrs. Scholes would present the children with a small slice of bacon.
On the evening before Guy Fawkes Day (November 5th), children observed ‘‘Mischief’’ Night, as that evening was known. They entered the gardens of the Clough House and surreptitiously removed all the fallen branches and tree twigs which lay on the
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ground with a view of using them for their bonfire on the fol-— lowing night. 7 On the other hand, Miss E. Rhodes informs the writer that the last day of April was also a ‘‘Mischief’’ night, when lads plastered doors and door—knockers with mud, and also performed practical jokes on the occupants of houses,
On Christmas Eve and early on Christmas Day, Brass Bands played Christmas Hymns and Carols in front of the House; boys shouted ‘‘A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year’’ through the keyhole of the House, and, of course, expected a ‘‘solatium.”’
Mr. Scholes also mentions the Rapier or Roper Dancers, and says that parties of amateur actors (mostly boys from Fartown and Birkby) gave performances of ‘‘The Peace Egg,’’ or ‘‘St. George,’’ which was broadcasted on Easter Saturday, 1934, from Midgeley, near Halifax, Mr. Scholes remembers the ‘‘sweeping’’ operations of little Devil-Doubt who swept the fire—place in the Drawing Room of the Clough House.
(d) A certain gentleman was very much impressed with the wooden gates of the Clough House and the two brick posts which enclosed I it, that he had a “replica made for his garden entrance at his abode in Scotland.
The Houses erected in’ Halifax Old Road on the Site of the Clough House. Photo by Mr. Alfred Wainwright.
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130 (ix) CLOUGH HOUSE MILLS.
The Clough House Mills in early and mid-nineteenth days. were intimately connected with the old homestead.
The writer proposes to reproduce in full the researches of Mr. J. W. Scholes who has supplemented the information which originally appeared in the ‘‘Huddersfield Weekly Examiner’’ of April 22, 1899 :— ‘‘In the early part of the 19th century the old mill was built as a corn mill and later used as a wood mill and was worked by a large water wheel. The workpeople of the district called it the ‘‘Close Mill’? perhaps because it had been built in a close or small field, I never heard when or by whom it was built. It might have been after the termination of the Napoleonic war in 1815.’’ (The earliest printed reference to Clough House Mills is in Baines’ Directory of Yorkshire 1822 (Vol. I., p. 212) where in the list of Shear Makers occurs the name of W illiam Wilcock, Clough: House Mill).
“At this time hand-loom weaving in cottages was in existence but power—looms were commencing to be used and cloth finishing was more needed.”’
‘‘For this purpose the old mill was bought by Mr. B. Carter, machine maker, then it was tenanted by Mr. John Hannah who employed the mill for cloth—finishing and yarn spinning.’”’ was afterwards occupied partly by Messrs. Dickinson & Platts for cloth—finishing and yarn spinning and partly by Messrs. Helm & Manufacturers, of Rastrick. The last named gave up its portion in 1854.”’’
‘“There were stocks in the bottom room of the old mill; slubbing was done in the room above, while spinning mules were placed in the room on the third floor and in the attic.’’
‘The Mill originally had three reservoirs of water, the largest was a fine sheet of water and a rowing boat was kept at the north— east end. The reservoir contained various kinds of fish, trout, gudgeon and perch, while on one occasion, a large eel got into the pipe which supplied the boiler of the mill and stopped the engines !”’
‘“The water in the stream which supplied the reservoirs was quite clear until some copperas works were commenced above Birchencliffe. The poison killed the trout but later the water from the copperas works was diverted into the drain which runs under New North Road.’’ Mr. Walter Platts says that a good deal of the water came ‘“‘from old workings in Grimscar.’’
in winter was often indulged in and the pond was lit up with candles stuck in lumps of snow. There was a cottage at the back of the Mill where the engine tender (Benny Thornton) lived.’’
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‘“The reservoir contained perch and gudgeon while the bottom small reservoir had chub and dace placed in it; the _ former could be seen at times swimming near its sides. This reservoir was afterwards filled up by Messrs. Middlemost and garages built over it.’’ ‘‘The water—wheel was pulled down about 1854 and replaced by a Beam Engine made by Mr. Robert Gledhill, of Bradley Mills, and a few years after a ‘‘Pusher’’ was inserted by the west side of the Mill.”’
‘“The water from the old water—wheel ran away down the race but the hot water from the engine ran into the bottom small reservoir. The old water—wheel race had flags at the bottom and a stone wall at each side; it still runs under Norman Park play-— ground to the stream whence it goes underground; it is about four feet high and three feet wide. In very hot weather, the grass above the flags appears a little dry and brown while the course of the drain can be seen rising in a direct line from the end of the : ‘‘Formerly there were tenters for hanging pieces on the steep hill-side between Halifax Old Road and the back of Benny Thornton’s cottage; the ground here was partly carted away when the Willow Room and the Dye House were built.’’
“In 1854, Alderman George Scholes with his son, Mr. John Scholes of the Clough House and his nephew, Mr. Joseph Stork, later of Newhouse Hall (Chapter VI., pp. 86, 87), commenced the business of Woollen and Angola Yarn Spinning for Scotch and other markets and also the manufacture of Merinos, Cassinetts, and Union Doe Skins, under the style of Messrs. George Scholes & Co. The cloth trade was abandoned soon after as the yarn trade was found to be more profitable.”’
1860, Mr. J. Stork retired from the firm and com- menced the business of yarn—spinning with his two brothers, Mr. John Stork, of Fell Greave, and Mr. William Stork, of North Bank, Birkby, (Chapter VI., p. 88) at Bay Hall Mills, Birkby, under the name of Stork Bros.”’
‘On the retirement of Mr. J. Stork, the name of the firm was altered to Messrs. George Scholes & Sons. The business was prosperous and in 1862, Mr. G. Scholes (as will be stated further on) was able to pay off his former creditors.’’ (Section X., p. 138).
Mr. J. W. Scholes tells some interesting episodes which took place at the old Mill and at the New Mills which were erected in 1872 and 1873. (The tablet stone on the Mills has the date 1873). (i) ‘‘The Firm had its offices up some steps in a two—storeyed building behind Clough Cottage at the back of Brown Mill (next to Dr. J. Prior’s house) until it was burnt down. After the fire, three pairs of hand mules were placed into a small shed at Brown
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Mill but were soon removed to Clough House hand shed which had been built in 1872. When one of these mules had started and was in good working order, someone sent a short-sighted old
man, Titus Thewlis, with a note to the foreman spinner.
Titus went up to the head-stick breaking all the threads as he went !”’
(ii) ‘‘A Factory Inspector on one occasion paid his customary
visit to see whether any boys under statutory age were being.
employed. <A young lad heard him comiug and hid himself behind some bales of wool. After a while, the boy, fancying all was clear, shouted out, ‘Has he gone?’ ‘You can come out now,’ said the Inspector. The boy obeyed and was sent home.’’
(iii) ‘‘Shortly after aniline dyes had been introduced in the dyeing industry, a customer ordered some yarn to be dyed a certain hue. The dyer at the Mills made a mistake and produced a dye of a very bright colour, in fact, it turned out to be magenta, which when put into the yarn gave a surprising but pleasing tint. Al- though the yarn proved to be of the wrong shade, yet the customer was delighted and ordered further quantities, thus a new fashion in colours was commenced.”’ “Mr. J. Scholes (father of Mr. J. W. Scholes) bought the Clough House Estates in 1868 and Messrs. Dickinson and removed to Newtown Mills. The firm began to build the New Mills in 1872 at the end of the old one, they erected a new Willow Room, Dye House, Stables and Offices on the road side. Mr. George Scholes died on the 8th of December, 1872, and the business was taken over by his son, Mr. John Scholes and his grandson Mr. J. W. Scholes, but it was given up in 1889.”’ Mr. Philip H. Lee in his ‘‘Reminiscences’’ then continues the story of the Clough House Mills :—
‘“The mills and water supply were then purchased by Messrs. Armitage and Clelland who carried on business as Fine Cloth Manufacturers. They pulled down the old shed and built a larger one. In addition to this they put a storey on the top of the drying stoves, pulled down the old offices and cart shed.’’ “On February 3rd, 1894, Messrs. Armitage and Clelland were unfortunately compelled to suspend payment and their business was then discontinued.”’ : I ‘‘In 1895, the Mills became the property of Messrs. Middlemost Bros., and Co., Fancy Woollen Manufacturers. Their business was subsequently'turned into a private limited company, the present chairman of the Directors being Mr. H. E. Middlemost.’’
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133 xs
Mr. GEORGE SCHOLES, 1805—1872, OF THE CLOUGH HOUSE MILLS.
Mr. George Scholes was the fourth son of Mr. George Scholes of ‘‘The Old Cot,’’ Sheepridge, and of Martha Payn, of Bradley Hall, his wife. (See Chapter VI., pp. 61, 62, for details concerning ‘‘The Cot.’’) He was born on the 27th of October, 1805, and died on the 8th of December, 1872. He: married Harriett Milner. He was the first Alderman of the Fartown Ward in the first Huddersfield Town Council in 1868. He was one of the founders of Brunswick Street Free Wesleyan Church and also the Superintendent of the Sunday School from 1862 to 1872.
In his MSS., Mr. J. W. Scholes wrote the following bio-— graphy of his grandfather, Mr. George Scholes :—
‘He was a Woollen Cloth Manufacturer at Sheepridge, but the commercial panic of 1837 to 1839 caused him to call his creditors together; he gave them everything he had; the largest creditor then sent him to York Castle because he could not pay any more. When he walked home from York after his imprison— ment he had only sixpence in his poéket with which to start life anew. He became salesman for Messrs. Milner & Hale, Victoria Mills, Leeds Road, his son, John, being the manager until 18064, when father and son commenced business together as Woollen Cloth Manufacturers at Clough House Mills.’’
1862, George Scholes paid off his old debts some twenty years after his failure, the largest amount being paid to Judge Stansfield at Halifax. By so doing, he was able to perform an act which he had always resolved upon, namely, of paying his former creditors twenty shillings in the £. This he did although he was under no legal liability to do so, but it gave him more pleasure than any incident of his past life. It took three or four years to find their legal representatives.’’
Mr. Philip H, Lee in his ‘‘Reminiscences,’’ says that Mr. G. Scholes’ creditors presented him with a silver cup as a token of their esteem,
The Rev. Bruce W. Rose, in his ‘‘History of Brunswick Street (F.W.) Church,’’ wrote the following paragraph concerning Mr. G. Scholes’ work in connection with that Church :—
‘“‘Hé was a man of strict integrity, and had a modest, un- assuming manner, too much so almost for the position he held (that cf Sunday School Superintendent). Lively scholars some- times took full advantage of this modest worthy, and behaved accordingly. Those who were scholars in his day will not forget
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134 his peculiar way of closing the school. He would pronounce the usual Benediction, concluding with ‘for ever and ever, Amen, please distribute hats and caps’ all in one sentence !”’
A stained glass window to the memory of Mr. George Scholes can be seen on the North Wall of Christ Church, Woodhouse. At its base are the words :—
the Glory of God and in Affectionate Remembrance of Alderman George Scholes, Clough House Mills, Fartown. Born at Sheepridge 27th Oct., 1805. Died 8th December, .
Mr. GEORGE SCHOLES. 1805—1872.
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APPENDICES. ci
Mr. Tomlinson’s note on the Gibsons of Halifax :—
‘““The Gibsons were a family of position in the Parish of Halifax, and some account of them will be found in Watson’s History. The grandfather of Mrs. Abraham Firth was Robert Gibson, who died in 1691, aged 63, by his wife Rhenetta (who died in 1715), he left three children: Elizabeth, who died un-— married in her father’s lifetime; Michael, who married Elizabeth Lord in 1696; and Edward. Michael Gibson made his will in 1731, and died in 1738, aged 72, leaving several children; Robert, who died without issue in 1746; George, who left (by will) all his property to his only surviving brother, William, an M.D., and Professor of Anatomy in the University of Cambridge, who died intestate in 1753, aged 39. The whole of the property devolved upon his two sisters, Elizabeth and Ann Gibson.’’
Elizabeth Gibson married Abraham Firth II. <A _ pedigree of the Gibsons, Firths and Macaulays is to be found in J. Horsfall Turner's ‘“‘History of Brighouse, Rastrick and Hipperholme,’’
(p. 237). th.
The Tomlinson Box in the Huddersfield Public Library con- tains the deed of partition of the Gibson—Macaulay estates, an old pedigree of the Firths and Gibsons of the Clough House, a list of the baptisms and burials of various members of the Firth family, and other interesting documents concerning the families of Firth, Gibson and Macaulay.
IIT,
Mr. J. W. Scholes’ MS. Book centains a Iist of the baptisms and burials of various members of the Scholes family from 1705 till 1787, and a pedigree of the Scholes’ of Fartown, Paddock and Meltham.
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Through the courtesy of Messrs. Abel Heywood & Co., Man- chester, the writer is enabled to reproduce the whole of the play which will bring back memories to those who performed it at the Clough House and elsewhere :—
SPE gia or VSL) ACT: Enter Actors. I 4 FooL— Room, room, brave gallants, give us room to sport, For in this room we wish to hold our court, And here repeat to you our merry rhyme, For, remember, good sirs, this is Christmas time. Stir up the fire and let us have a light, And you shall see our jovial act to—night ; Make room, brave gentlemen, let our actors come, At the sound of the trumpet and beat of the drum, We are the merry actors that traverse the street, We are the merry actors that fight for our meat; And if you can’t believe the words I say, Step in, St. George, our champion, and clear the way.
a te
Enter St. George. St. GEORGE— I am St. George, who from old England sprung, My famous name throughout the world hath rung; Many brave deeds and wonders have I made known, I And made tbe tyrants tremble on their throne; i I followed a fair lady to a giant’s gate, Confined in dungeon deep to meet her fate; There I resolved, with true knight errantry, To burst the door and set the prisoner free, When a giant almost struck me dead, But, by my valour, I cut off his head. I’ve search’d the world all round and round, But a man to equal me I never found.
Enter Slasher to St. George. SLASHER— 7 . I am a valiant soldier, and Slasher is my name, With sword and buckler by my side, I hope to win the game; And for to fight with me I see thou art not able, So with my trusty broadsword I soon will thee disable.
ST. GEORGE— ’ Disable ! disable! it lies not in thy power, I For, with my glittering sword and spear, I soon will thee devour ; Stand off, Slasher ! let no more be said, For, if I draw my sword, I’m sure to break thy head !
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SLASHER— How can’st thou break my head? My head is made of iron, And my body’s made of steel, My hands and feet of knuckle bone— I challenge thee to field. (They fight and Slasher is wounded. Exit St. George).
Enter Fool to Slasher. FooL— Alas ! alas! my chiefest son is slain, What must I do to raise him up again? Here he lies in the presence of you all, Ill speedily for a doctor call; (Aloud) A doctor! a doctor! ten pounds for a doctor, I'll go and fetch a doctor (going). Enter Doctor. Doctor—Here am I. you a doctor? Doctor—Yes; that you.may plainly see, by my art and activity. I’oot—Well, what’s your fee to cure this man? Doctor—Ten pounds is my fee; but if thou be an honest man, Ill only take five off thee. Foot—You’ll be wondrous cunning if you get any; (aside) Well, how far have you travelled in doctorship ? Doctror—To Italy, Portugal, Germany, France and Spain, and now I am returned to old England again. Foot—So far, and no further ? Doctror—O yes! a great deal further, Foot—How far? Doctor—From the fireside cupboard, upstairs, and into bed. Foot—What diseases can you cure? Docror—All sorts, all sorts. Doctor—the itch, the pitch, the palsy, and the gout; if a man gets nineteen devils in his skull, L’ll cast twenty of them out. I have in my pockets crutches for lame ducks, spectacles for blind bumble bees, pack saddles and panniers for grass— hoppers, and plaisters for broken—backed mice. I cured Sir Harry of a nag—nail about fifty yards long; surely I can cure this poor man.—Here, Slasher, take a little out of my bottle, and let it run down thy throttle ; if thou be not quite slain, rise, Slasher, and fight again. (Slasher rises). SLASHER—Oh ! my back !
Foot—What’s amiss with thy back ?
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SLASHER—
My back is wounded, And my heart is confounded, To be knocked out of seven senses into four-—score, The like was never seen in old England before.
(Enter St, George).
SLASHER—
ST.
O hark ! St. George, I hear the silver trumpet sound, I That summons me from off this bloody ground, Down yonder is the way (pointing), Farewell, St. George, I can no longer stay.
(Exit Slasher, Doctor and Fool.)
ACT II. GEORGE— I am St. George, that noble champion bold, And with my trusty sword I won ten thousand pounds in gold, I that fought that fiery dragon, and brought him to the slaughter, And by those means I won the King of daughter, And as I rode from Egypt’s plains my journey to pursue, Four of these savage Moors I met, and three of them I slew, But their commander did escape by flight, If e’er I meet that Moor again, I'll ight him day and night. 7 Enter Prince of Paradine.
PRINCE—
ST.
I am the Prince of Paradine, born of high renown, Soon I will fetch St. George’s lofty courage down ; And if thou be that noble knight, these words I will make I good, For from thy dearest body, George, I'll draw thy precious - blood.
GEORGE— Stand off, thou black dog, Or by my sword thou’lt die; I’ll pierce thy body full of holes, And make thy buttons fly.
PRINCE—
Si
Draw out thy sword and play, Pull out thy purse and pay, For I will have recompense Before I go away. GEORGE— _ Now, Prince of Paradine, where have you been, And what fine sights, pray, have you seen? Dost think that no man of thy age Dares such a black as thee engage? Lay down thy sword, take up to me a spear, And then [ll fight thee without dread or fear.
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(They fight and the Prince of Paradine is slain.) St. GEORGE— Now Prince of Paradine is dead, And all his joys entirely fled. Take him and give him to the flies, To never more come near my eyes.
Enter King of Egypt. I am the King of Egypt, as plainly doth appear, I’ve come to seek my son and only heir. St. GEORGE—He is slain.
KInNc— I Who did him slay, who did him kill, And on the ground his precious blood did spill? ST. GEORGE— I did him slay, I did him kill, ‘And on the ground his precious blood did spill, Please you, my liege, my honour to maintain, Had you been there, you might have fared the same.
KInG— Cursed Christian! What is this thou’st done? Thou hast ruined me and slain my only son,
ST. GEORGE— He gave me a challenge; why should I it deny? How high he was, how low he now doth lie.
KInc— O, Hector! Hector! help me in with speed, For, in my life, I never stood more in need. Enter Hector. And stand not there with sword in hand, But haste and fight at my command.
HECTOR— Yes, yes, my liege, I will obey, And by my sword I hope to win the day; If that be he who doth stand there, That slew my master’s son and heir, If he be sprung from royal blood, I’ll make it run like Noah’s flood.
ST. GEORGE— Hold, Hector ! do not be so hot, For here thou knowest not who thou’st got, For I can tame thee of thy pride, And lay thine anger, too, aside; I’ll inch thee, and cut thee as small as flies, And send thee over the sea to make mince pies; Mince pies hot, and mince pies cold, I’ll send thee to Black Sam before thou’rt three days old.
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HECTOR—
How can’st thou tame my pride, And lay mine anger, too, aside, Inch me, and cut me as small as flies, Send me over the sea to make mince pies? Mince’ pies hot, mince pies cold, I’ll send thee to the devil ere thou’rt nine days old. My head is made of iron, My body’s made of steel, My hands and feet of knuckle bone, I challenge thee to field.
(They fight and Hector ts wounded.)
HECTOR— I am a bold and valiant knight, and Hector is my name, Many bloody battles have I fought, and always won the same, But from St. George’s sword I got this bloody wound, (a Trumpet sounds) I Hark! Hark! I hear the silver trumpet sound, Down yonder is the way, (pointing) Farewell, St. George, I can no longer stay ; To die in fighting is the least I fear, Appoint a place and I’ll meet-you there.
St. GEORGE—
cross the water, at the hour of five, And meet you there, sir, if I be alive.
(Exit. St. George, Hector and King.) ©
Enter Beelzebub. BEELZEBUB—
Here come I, Beelzebub, And over my shoulder I carry a club, And in my hand a dripping pan, And I think myself a jolly old man, And if you don’t believe what I say, Enter Devil—Doubt and clear the way.
Enter Devil-Doubt. Devit—DousT— Here come I, little Devil—Doubt, If you do not give me money, I’ll sweep you all out, Money I want, and money I crave, If you don’t give me money, I’ll send you all to the grave.