Holmfirth Local Board

Holmfirth Local Board was the local authority body responsible for issues relating to public health in the area round Holmfirth. It was formed in 1884 by the amalgamation of the local boards of Upperthong, Cartworth and Wooldale.

An earlier attempt to amalgamate the three local boards in April 1863 was abandoned.[1]

Typically elected by local rate payers and property owners, Local Boards were formed following the Public Health Act 1848 and the subsequent Local Government Act 1858, and had responsibility for the oversight of sewers, water supplies, public toilets, street cleaning, slaughterhouses, pavements, and burial grounds within their district.

Nominations for the new local board were submitted in October 1884. The full list was reported as follows (those in bold were duly elected):[2]

  • Joshua Barber (manufacturer) of Holmbridge, Thomas Barber (manufacturer) of Binn Villa, Emmanuel Booth (schoolmaster) of Muslin Hall, James Boothroyd (draper) of Undercliffe, John Bower (manufacturer) of Bank End, Jonathan Bower (manufacturer) of of Park Riding, William Brown (joiner & builder) of Hawthorn Bank, Edward H. Burtt (yarn spinner) of Winney Bank, Benjamin Butterworth (gentleman) of Beech House, Henry Butterworth (gentleman) of Hinchliffe Mill, Joshua Butterworth (manufacturer) of Holmbridge, William Butterworth (manufacturer) of St. John's Place, Eli Collins (printer) of Newtown, James Donkersley (grocer) of Town End, James Haigh (gentleman) of East View, John Tinker Hampshire (joiner) of Upperthong, William Harpin Jnr (stone merchant) of Birks House, Harry Heeley (solicitor) of Fern Bank, George Hinchliffe (farmer) of Longley, George Henry Hinchcliffe (commission agent) of Nab, John Hinchliffe Jnr (inspector) of Hade Edge, William Henry Hinchliffe (farmer) of Longley, William Holden (grocer) of Underbank, Clarke Turner Kaye (manufacturer) of St. John's Place, Thomas Larder (stone merchant) of Woodhouse, Arthur Lockwood (manufacturer) of New Mill, Joe Longbottom (ironfounder) of Lane, William McNish (draper) of Victoria Street, James William Mellor (mungo merchant) of Lydgate, Joseph Ramsden Mellor (cloth finisher) of Nabb Ingle, Walter Middleton (railway carrier) of Lane End, Jonathan Moorhouse (manufacturer) of New Mill, William Moorhouse (gentleman) of Sandy Gate, Alfred Peace (druggist) of Holmfirth, Walter Preston (manufacturer) of Woodleigh, John Ramsden (commission agent) of Cliffe, Thomas Rhodes (cloth finisher) of Mytholmbridge, William Riley (boot & shoe maker) of Clifton Bank, Green Roberts (farmer) of Bottoms, Henry Roberts (manufacturer) of Spring Bank, Jonathan Sandford (manufacturer) of Underbank, Joseph Shaw (joiner & builder) of Victoria Street, Thomas Stanley Jnr (farmer) of Ryecroft, James Sykes (stone merchant) of White Abbey, John Sykes (India rubber merchant) of Upperthong, William Sykes (auctioneer) of Holmfirth, John Thorp Taylor (gentleman) of Oaklands, Henry W. Tinker (fire brick manufacturer) of Ash Grove, Charles John Trotter (surgeon) of Sunny Bank, Hugh Turner (butcher) of Uppermill, John Turner (stone merchant) of Magnum, Thomas Bond Watkinson (manufacturer), Eli Wimpenny (manufacturer) of Stoney Bank, Samuel Wimpenny (gentleman) of Burnlee, Joseph Bailey Wood (yarn spinner) of Underbank, John Woodhead (yarn spinner) of Thongsbridge, and Joshua Woodhead (manufacturing chemist) of Nether House.

In 1894, Holme Local Board rejected a proposal to become part of an enlarged Holmfirth Local Board District.

Holmfirth Local Board was abolished towards the end of 1894 when, together with Austonley Local Board, it was superseded by Holmfirth Urban District Council.

Holmfirth Local Board District

Historically, Holmfirth lay at the confluence of three township river boundaries — Wooldale, Upperthong, and Cartworth — with a complex distribution of detached portions of land in the hamlet of Scholes (in Wooldale) and the neighbouring townships.

The distribution of land under the control of the Holmfirth Local Board at the time the 1892 O.S. map was surveyed is shown below shaded in green (with the townships shaded in red), and includes the remaining detached portions. The Holmfirth Local Board District at that time included the entirety of the townships of Upperthong and Cartworth, most of Wooldale (the remainder being largely under the control of Scholes Local Board), and around 150 acres of mostly uninhabited[3] detached land in Hepworth.

Notes and References

  1. "Holmfirth: Wooldale Local Board" in Huddersfield Chronicle (25/Apr/1863).
  2. "Nominations for the Newly-Formed Holmfirth Local Board" in Huddersfield Chronicle (23/Oct/1884) and "The Holmfirth Local Board" in Huddersfield Chronicle (05/Nov/1884).
  3. The only property shown on the 1892 map was at Ing Royd off Strines Moor Road.