MORLEY LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY Newsletter

February 2020 Founded 1965 www.morleylhs.btck.co.uk

Tonight We welcome the return of Jackie and Bob Lawrence of East History Society. They will give an illustrated talk on two accomplished citizens of Leeds: Leonora Cohen, the long-term worker for women’s rights, and Montague Burton who produced good quality clothing at a reasonable price.

The Last meeting Dr Phil Judson of gave us a detailed and intricately researched talk on the threat of the Zeppelins during the Great War. The Zeppelins were a new form of warfare which quite rightly terrified British civilians who had previously been physically immune from war outside of the country. While these airships did cause a lot of damage and concern he told how British defences nullified their effect by code cracking their messages and went on to show how this kind of work helped deal with the incursions of the Luftwaffe later. A full discussion followed this knowledgeable talk

The Society Trip After considerable consultation and planning, we wish to put forward the following plan for the Society trip. We propose that it takes place on Saturday, 13th June to sites of historical interest in Halifax. Our friend David Glover, who gave us a talk about the area in September has agreed to be our guide. We are now able to suggest the following plan: Using a quality coach we would leave Morley at 9:30am and travel to Bankfield Museum on the outskirts of Halifax. This is set in delightful surroundings and it contains local artefacts beside an acclaimed costume display. It is the regimental museum of the Duke of Wellington regiment. Refreshments are available. The staff know of our plans and they will be happy to see us. We then plan to go into central Halifax in the afternoon and David Glover has said he will give us a guided tour of the and its surrounds. It has an extremely long history since it was started in the 12th Century by Benedictine Monks from Cluny in central France. It has, of course, been necessary to make many additions and restorations over the years. David is fully aware of its history and the Church welcomes visitors. Halifax Minster The Society Trip (continued) As with all of our trips there will be free time outside of the tours and the centre of Halifax gives plenty of opportunity to see places with cultural interest. The committee is going to Halifax this coming Thursday to meet David and finalise the details. We are hoping that it will be possible for us to get a meal in the early evening before a return to Morley around 7:30 to 8pm. A trip to Shibden Hall is impossible in June since it is closed for filming more of the saga about . It would surprise me if there are not reminders of this remarkable woman in the centre of town. We have set the cost for the trip at around £20 and this is based on a party of 24. If more people go then this will decrease and discounts will be given in such a case. It is vital that we know how many of you are interested and I would urge you to give Alan your details tonight if you wish to go.

The Repair of Andrew Lane In 1871 Morley’s first form of elected local government was 10 years old and it had already made some big changes to the town, reorganising street lighting, upgrading the supply of water with a reservoir and generally improving the layout of its highways. That year the Board wished to improve the area known as Andrew Lane. It had been a lovely green lane in living memory but the increased industrialisation since the railway came to town in 1848 had turned it into a veritable tip, according to the philosophy ‘Where there’s muck there’s brass’. The Board tried to persuade the owners of the land to pay for this but they refused so it took them to court to claim for this. This was at because the town did not have a local courtroom but, nevertheless, many local folk gave evidence in the case, demonstrating the town’s wish to pursue this matter. The majority, including Andrew Cowburn who was Lord Dartmouth’s steward, a Board Member and, later, the Town’s postman, claimed that it was a private road and that the town had never repaired it. However it was conceded that most of them had used it for some kind of transport not connected to the various owners’ businesses

Andrew Cowburn and this was likely to increase. The landowners were mainly textile manufacturers and included William Jackson who had one of the biggest mills in Morley. Later he went on to build Thornfield House but the court decided that he and a number of others had to pay for the refurbishment of Andrew Lane. The Jacksons were landed with a bill of just over £77 out of a total cost of over £210 (In 2020 terms: they had to pay £9200 out of a bill of £25000). I’m sure the Jacksons and the others did well out of this. Andrew Lane was renamed Peel Street after the repair and it made their Edward Jackson son of William business, Peel Mills, more accessible for traffic and workers. Clive McManus