Lockwood

Lockwood is a former township within the Parish of Almondbury. It is situated approximately 1 mile to the south-west of Huddersfield.

History

Historically, Lockwood was part of the North Crosland Estate and stood at an ancient crossing point of the River Holme, with the next crossing point being Armitage Bridge.

According to West Yorkshire: An Archaeological Survey to A.D. 1500, the township took its name from "a wood in the vill of North Crosland, its adoption as a township name paralleling that of Longwood".

The Township of Lockwood comprised the hamlets of North Crosland and Crosland Half, with the main areas of habitation including Lockwood Bar (where the Lockwood and Meltham Turnpike branched off from the Huddersfield and Woodhead Turnpike), Rashcliffe, Crosland Hill and Milnsbridge. The estates of Thornton Lodge, Woodfield House and Crosland Lodge were also situated within the township.

Lockwood Station is on the Penistone Line, with Lockwood Viaduct carrying the railway line across the Holme valley. The former Meltham Branch Line diverged from the Penistone Line between the station and the viaduct.

Extracts

Pigot and Co.'s Royal National and Commercial Directory of August 1841:

Lockwood is a village and township in the parish of Almondbury, now nearly united to Huddersfield. The village is beautifully situated in the valley of Holme, and in the midst of a romantic and finely sheltered country. The great attraction of this place is its spa and baths : the water is highly esteemed for its medicinal properties, and the baths, which afford ample accommodation for visiters, comprise swimming, warm, Buxton, shower, vapour, sulphurous, fumigating and shampooing. There is a good inn close to the baths. For the convenience of the increasing population, a church has likewise been erected, of which the Rev. John Wright is the minister. There are two chapels for particular baptists. The township numbers upwards of 3,000 inhabitants.

A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) edited by Samuel Lewis:

LOCKWOOD, a chapelry, in the parish of Almondbury, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 1½ mile (S.W.) from Huddersfield; containing 4182 inhabitants. It comprises by computation nearly 1700 acres; the soil is fertile, and the substratum abounds with stone of good quality for building and other purposes. The village, which forms a rural suburb to the town of Huddersfield, is beautifully situated in the vale of the river Holme, near its confluence with another tributary of the Colne, and on the road to Sheffield; it is extensive and well built, and contains an hotel for the accommodation of persons visiting the spa in its immediate vicinity. Lockwood Spa, erected in 1827, in a deeply-sequestered spot, sheltered by a lofty and well-wooded ridge on the east side of the river, is a handsome range of building, comprising warm, tepid, vapour, cold, and shower baths, with a large swimming-bath, and every requisite arrangement for the internal and external use of the water. The manufacture of woollen-cloths, and the weaving of fancy goods, are carried on extensively in the township; and there is a large brewery, established in 1790. The chapel, now a district church, dedicated to Emmanuel, was erected in 1830, at a cost of £3000, by the Parliamentary Commissioners, on a site given by Sir John Ramsden; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a campanile turret, and contains 920 sittings, of which 400 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Almondbury, with a net income of £150. A residence for the incumbent has been erected at the expense of John Brooke, Esq., of Armitage Bridge Hall. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1872) edited by John Marius Wilson:

LOCKWOOD, a village, a township, a chapelry, and a sub-district, in Almondbury parish, Huddersfield district, W. R. Yorkshire. The village stands adjacent to the river Holme, and to the Huddersfield and Holmfirth railway, 1 mile SSW of Huddersfield; is large and well-built; and has a station on the railway, and a post office under Huddersfield. The township comprises 804 acres. Pop. in 1851, 5,556; in 1861, 6,755. Houses, 1,448. The increase of pop. arose from the erection of several new factories. The chapelry includes also part of Almondbury township; contains the villages of Lockwood, Salford, Newsome, Primrose Hill, Taylor Hill, and Crossland Moor; and was constituted in 1842. Rated property, £15,327. Pop., 8,783. Houses, 1,820. The property is much subdivided. The manufacture of woollen cloths, both plain and fancy, is carried on; machines of all kinds, for manufacturing uses, are made in an extensive iron and brass foundry; and there is a Very large brewery. Chalybeate springs and baths also are here; have a handsome building, erected in 1827; and are highly esteemed for their medicinal qualities. The Huddersfield and Sheffield railway traverses the chapelry, and has here a viaduct 350 feet long, with 36 arches, and with a maximum height of 136 feet. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ripon. Value, £300. Patron, the Vicar of Almondbury. The church is in the decorated English style; and has a fine E window, and a bell-turret. A portion of the chapelry around Rashcliffe, with a pop. of 4,140, was recently made a separate charge. A national school there was built in 1860, as a memorial to J. Fenton, Esq., and was used also as a church. There are two Baptist chapels and a Free Methodist chapel in Lockwood, a Free Methodist chapel in Crossland Moor, a large national school at Lockwood, a national school at Newsome, and a mechanics' institute, with library and reading-room, at Lockwood. A family who figure in the ballad, the "History of Sir J. Ealand" took name from Lockwood. The sub-district comprises Lockwood township and part of Linthwaite township. Acres, 1,329. Pop., 9,488. Houses, 1,988.

Further Reading

Gallery

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Parish Boundary

The extent of the Lockwood Ward of the County Borough of Huddersfield (compiled from O.S. maps of the early 1890s) is shown below.