Holmfirth Flood of 1852 - Burials

This page is part of the Holmfirth Flood Project which aims to make content available to researchers in advance of the 175th anniversary of the 1852 Flood which will be commemorated in 2027.

The following list includes both primary and secondary victims of the Holmfirth Flood of 1852. The latter are shown in italics.

Names marked † are not listed in the burial register (or the register no longer exists) but their burials were reported in the local press. Spellings are used from the register, even if they are different from other official documents.


St. David's, Holmbridge

Monday 9 February 1852

Tuesday 2 March 1852

Hinchliffe Mill Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

Sunday 8 February 1852

Monday 9 February 1852

Sunday 15 February 1852

Monday 16 February 1852

Wednesday 3 March 1852

Tuesday 6 July 1852

St. John's, Upperthong

Sunday 8 February 1852

Monday 9 February 1852

Tuesday 17 February 1852

Saturday 21 February 1852

Wednesday 3 March 1852

Sunday 28 March 1852

Lane Independent Chapel

Sunday 8 February 1852

Holy Trinity, Holmfirth

Monday 9 February 1852

Wednesday 14 April 1852

Holmfirth Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

Sunday 8 February 1852

Monday 9 February 1852

Saturday 21 February 1852

Wednesday 18 August 1852

Christ Church, New Mill

Sunday 8 February 1852

All Saints, Netherthong

Monday 9 February 1852

  • A girl (name unknown) found drowned in the river at Thongsbridge (2)

St. Mary's, Honley

Sunday 8 February 1852

Monday 9 February 1852

  • Alfred Mettrick (6) son of James Mettrick of Water Street, Hinchcliff Mill, Holmfirth

All Hallows, Kirkburton

Sunday 8 February 1852

Tuesday 10 February 1852

  • Lydia Midgley (46) of Holmfirth, wife of Samuel Midgley — aka Greenwood

Wednesday 11 February 1852

St. John the Baptist, Kirkheaton

Tuesday 10 February 1852

  • Foster Crosland (9) son of Jonathan Crosland, clothier of Hinchliffe Mill, Almondbury

St. Mary's, Mirfield

Saturday 7 February 1852


Missing List

The following known victims are missing from the available burial registers and no report of their burial was found in a newspaper report during research.

Ellen Wood (c.1830-1852)

  • Born in Shepley, she worked as a servant for Jonathan Sandford. Her body was recovered and formally identified at the inquest by her mother, Bathsheba Hirst. However, it seems the body was not returned to Shepley for burial as there is no entry for her in the Shepley burial registers nor in the Kirkburton registers (Bathsheba was living in Shelley township in 1851 but there was no church there until 1868). Since Sandford's two daughters are not listed in the burial register of Holmfirth Wesleyan Methodist Chapel but are known to be buried there, it may be that Ellen was also buried there but similarly not entered into the register. Since Jonathan Sandford's father was wealthy, he may had offered to cover the burial cost.

Ellen Ann Hartley (1849-1852)

  • Ellen Ann's older sister Hannah formally identified the body at the inquest. However, afterwards, Aner Bailey "claimed" the body as being of his missing daughter Ann and buried it at St. John's, Upperthong. It is more likely that Ann's body was instead the one found in Victoria Street that was taken to the Waggon and Horses Inn, remained unidentified and was buried as "Girl unknown" also at St. John's.

Joseph Marsden (c.1834-1852)

  • Joseph's body remained missing and had not been recovered by the summer of 1852. No further reports were found during research.

Emor Charlesworth (1845-1852)

  • Sometimes named as "Hamer" in reports, there are no references to a body being identified as his nor are there any burial records in his name. Newspaper coverage of the coroner hearing evidence on Saturday 7 February 1852 as to the identities of the recovered bodies suggests that two unidentified bodies could have been Emor's but both appear to have been subsequently identified (as neither was the "unknown boy" buried at St. John's, Upperthong, the following day). In a subsequent statement, Emor's father stated that the body had yet to be found.