The Green, Meltham Road, Lockwood

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This page is a bare-bones entry for a location which appears on an historic Ordnance Survey map. More detailed information may eventually be added...

Details

  • location: Meltham Road, Lockwood
  • status: still exists
  • category: private house

Formerly the surgery of Dr. Bladwin and then Dr. J.D. Walker.

In local historian Philip Ahier's The Legends and Traditions of Huddersfield and Its District, he discounts the idea that The Green was formerly Lockwood Hall but gave the following description:

I had the privilege of viewing this homestead in the late Dr. Baldwin's lifetime, and agree with Mr. Taylor Dyson that it is a "charming old house." The attic contains some massive oak beams. The building attached to the dwelling-house was converted into a surgery by one of Dr. Baldwin's predecessors. In the room above the surgery are massive old oak beams, which, in all probability, date to Tudor days. In the year 1832, the room now above the Surgery was used as a Mangle House.

Extracts

The History of Lockwood and North Crosland (1980) by Brian Clarke:

This house, which for many years was the residence of various doctors and surgeons, has been the subject of research by local historians, for there is a theory that part of this house is the remains of the original Lockwood Hall mentioned in the Elland Feud and thereby having a history dating back to around 1180 A.D. However, a house that formerly stood at the top of the Dockery also had claims in this direction and as no further information is likely to be forthcoming this point will forever remain a question mark.

The greater part of the building can without doubt be dated back to around the year 1500 but nothing is known with certainty of its history until early in the last century. Up to around 1830 the lower part of the east wing was used for hand loom weaving while the upper room was a Public Mangle room. This was the place where the women of Lockwood would bring their wet washing and while waiting their turn to use the mangle they would no doubt exchange all the local gossip. To explain to any younger reader, a mangle was the forerunner of the spin-dryer. The machine consisted of two large wooden rollers held tightly together by heavy springs, a handle turning the rollers through a series of gear wheels. The wet clothes were fed between the rollers, the pressure from the springs expelling the water.

For a short period in 1832 this upper room was used by a breakaway group from the Baptist Church as a Meeting House, but this usage came to an end when the Rehoboth Chapel at Yew Green was completed. Shortly after this date the house became a residence for the local doctor, a role it was to play for over a hundred years. The exact date is not known but by 1840 a Doctor Dow was in residence, living there with his brother, sister and one servant. Dr. Dow died in 1873 aged 54. He was instrumental in planning the modernisation of the house and the building of the stables and coach house to the rear of the premises, although the work was not commenced until after his death. Dr. Dow was assisted by Dr. John Wright, but Dr. Wright left the practice in 1850.

Dr. Dow was followed by Dr. James Ashbridge Hall who served our community until 1909. About 1891 Dr. Hall formed a partnership with Dr. Henry Clifford Baldwin and Dr. Baldwin was in residence from 1909 until 1924. The practice and house then came into the hands of Dr. James Walker until 1956 and finally to Dr. G. Rowarth until his retirement in 1968. From 1968 to date the house has been the private residence of a Mr. Drury and his family.

Historic England Listing

  • Grade II
  • first listed 29 September 1978
  • listing entry number 1216126

MELTHAM ROAD (North Side) No 32 (The Green). In 2 parts, the west part C17 or older, the east part probably C18, but refronted in mid C19. Stucco. Pitched stone slate roof. East part two storey and attics. Raised quoins. Stone brackets to moulded gutter. Gabled dormer in centre with round-arched casement in plain raised surround with keystone. Two ranges of sashes with raised surrounds and moulded imposts. Door with fanlight and raised surround with moulded imposts. Rear has one range of sashes, one four-light stone mullioned window with flush-framed sashes on first floor, one two-light stone mullioned sash with glazing bars, and one six-light stone mullioned and transomed staircase window. West part may be timber-framed. Two storeys. Gable end to road, with C19 ornamental bargeboards. Side elevation has one 2-light stone mullioned window with glazing bars. Other windows are renewed but may occupy original openings. All reveals are extremely deep.

Location