A Hidden Landscape: Heaton Industry in the Eighteenth Century

A Hidden Landscape: Heaton industry in the eighteenth century Derek Barker For centuries Heaton had consisted of a pattern of cottages, small farms and fields, some of which pre-dated the late eighteenth century’s Enclosure Act. Around the time of this Act local landowners began to exploit land, previously used solely for agriculture, by promoting extraction industries like quarrying, coal mining, limestone burning, and brick making. The financial rewards of such activities were aided by an improved infrastructure of turnpike roads and canals. After a century or so the profitability of these industrial activities declined in their turn. The expansion of Bradford, with the development of a rail link from Frizinghall in 1875, made sales of land for villa development more desirable. Mine shafts and quarries were filled in and waste tips removed. Heaton today is a quiet residential suburb in north Bradford whose ‘post- industrial landscape’ is so extremely post-industrial as to be virtually hidden. Predictably, much Heaton history was recorded, a century or more ago, by William Cudworth.1 In 2001 the late Stanley King published the only modern study of the township.2 Nobody will ever surpass the pride, love, and knowledge which this author possessed for the place of his birth. He studied very widely, and is reliable in his recording, but the lack of an index and detailed referencing can make the confirmation of individual facts from his necessary account quite difficult. Nonetheless readers may reasonably ask if I can now contribute anything new to these authors’ contributions. The first essay I wrote on local history, ‘Coal Mining in Heaton Woods’, was the result of interest stimulated by a woodland walk with an historian, the late Kath Alred. The current work was in turn generated by discussions I had with my long-standing friend and collaborator, the late Tony Woods. Tony believed that there was indeed more to say in one area at least: the industries which once exploited Heaton’s natural resources. He followed Stanley King in making the pilgrimage to Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Eire where the Earls of Rosse have long preserved an archive of Heaton related material. Tony made a photographic record of a great many documents which subsequently transformed my understanding of Heaton in the early modern period. I have certainly drawn heavily on King when providing an historical background to my study, but I believe I have added new material in three significant areas. I always knew that stone was quarried in Heaton but not how very extensive this undertaking had been. I have now learned that limestone was brought to the village a generation before the opening of the Leeds- Liverpool Canal, and that later Heaton exported coal to Kildwick and elsewhere using the newly opened canal. Finally, and most surprisingly, I discovered that there had been an extensive brick-making industry at Heaton in the late eighteenth century, of which almost no trace survives, and which King does not mention. Tony Wood’s premature death was a huge loss to Heaton and Shipley historical studies but, with the permission of his partner Jane, I shall try to use the material he gathered, and our conversations, to tell at least a part of the story on which I hoped we might work together. The Evidence Heaton ceased to be a combination of two hamlets, Heaton cum Clayton, at the beginning of the eighteenth century.3 Documents from the Birr Archives, such as Joshua Field’s account books and journals, are the best primary source for its subsequent history. Cudworth and King are the best secondary sources, although industry formed a relatively small part of the narratives that they both wrote. The Field family will feature prominently in my essay. They possessed several landed estates, but I shall take care to use only material that can be definitely ascribed 1 to Heaton. In italicised direct quotations from the archive material I will normally expand contractions and modernize spelling. My own comments on such quotations are enclosed within square brackets. The word Field, with an uppercase initial letter, will always refer to the family, never the land division. The names of fields, and trackways, are good guides to early industrial locations. King produced a most useful map of Heaton field names although I am not always sure on what evidence it was based, and fields may in any case change their designations. He also published a valuable glossary of local place names and their meanings, although it is no criticism to say that certainty over such derivations can seldom be assured.4 Stanley King’s map of Heaton field names in 1839. There is so little archaeological material now visible that reflects former industry that I feel able to describe eighteenth century Heaton as ‘a hidden landscape’, but small amounts do survive. The local woodland contains evidence of coal mining and fireclay extraction. The products of stone quarrying: flags, setts, roof-stone, wall-stone and so forth remain all around us. Twentieth century aerial photographs of Heaton exist which can be employed for archaeological purposes, 2 but sadly the Environment Agency’s LiDAR survey scarcely touches this area. A LiDAR image of Northcliffe Woods combined, with very great skill, with an aerial photo, by Tony Woods. The top right of the image across the Northcliffe Dike was, Tony discovered, considered to be part of Heaton. You can see extensive mining shaft remains there, also modern golf course greens. The Field & Rosse families The Field family had provided the Lords of the Manor of Heaton since the seventeenth century. 5 During the eighteenth century the lordship was principally held by two men, John Field (1701-1772), and his son and successor 'Squire' Joshua Field (1742-1819). Both men lived at Heaton Hall where their house and parkland roughly corresponded in extent to the St Bede’s & St Joseph’s Catholic College playing field perimeter. To the best of my knowledge Heaton Hall was built in the reign of Queen Anne and was reconstructed in 1765-1774.6 At the end of its life the hall was purchased by the Roman Catholic diocese (in 1920) and was demolished in 1938-39, at least partly to enable road-widening to take place in Highgate.7 3 Joshua Field married Mary Wilmer, the daughter and heir of Randal Wilmer of Helmsley, and Joshua and Mary were the parents of several children. Most significant was John Wilmer Field (1775-1839) who inherited the lordship of Heaton and acquired that of Shipley by purchase in 1819. His daughters Mary (1813-1885) and Delia (1814-1873) had no brother and so after their father’s death all his property was divided between them, with Mary receiving the Heaton and Shipley estates. Mary had married Lord Oxmantown who later succeeded to the Earldom of Rosse. He was a noted astronomer and at Birr Castle, his family home in Ireland, rents from Heaton must have contributed to the construction of what was then the world’s largest telescope. In 1911 his successor, William Edward 5th Earl of Rosse, sold his estates near Bradford but his descendants have continued to live at Birr until the present day. Heaton Hall in late eighteenth – early nineteenth centuries (image from Cudworth). In the eighteenth century, as Lords of the Manor, John and Joshua Field would have possessed rights over the common land of Heaton Moor, some of which would have been devolved to twenty or so freeholders. Mineral rights were valuable: Heaton had economically useful seams of coal, fireclay, and sandstone which geologically formed part of the rock series known as the Lower Coal Measures. Deposits under Field estate land would have been owned outright: these could be leased or ‘farmed’ by others for a consideration. Coal was being mined around Heaton by the eighteenth century and evidence of mining can still 4 be seen in Heaton Woods. By this time, if not earlier, 'delvers' had started to remove lovely honey-coloured sandstone from the township's many 'delphs' or quarries. Local ‘Elland Flags’ sandstone splits easily and so provided flagstones, roofing slabs and wall-stone for field boundaries, many of which are still visible today. The Lord of the Manor had other rights over common land which could be shared with freeholders after payment. These shared rights varied between manors but may have included: digging wall-stone, cattle grazing, cutting bracken, collecting dung or cutting and drying turf (turbary).8 Turbary is important since evidence of the widespread use of turf as fuel would indicate that coal was not available, or at least not available at an affordable price. A portion of the Heaton Enclosure Map. The roadway shown is modern Highgate (previously Town Gate) which becomes Shay Lane and passes through Heaton Woods. All the woods were awarded to Joshua Field, some as his manorial right. Joshua Field provided spring-fed water ‘wells’ for his community. Three remain: at Heaton Syke, the Heaton Royds trough and at the bottom of the hill in Highgate.9 The ‘town well’ was in Leylands Lane. In 1775 Field was receiving money for 'sough water' which I assume means that he had arranged to bring a convenient supply into Heaton. A sough (suff) was a stone lined conduit used for mine drainage or other water movements. 5 The water trough at Heaton Syke. Although local cottagers would have enjoyed some access to the waste or common land, both Fields were litigious men when they saw any threat to, or infringement of, their rights. Joshua took civil action against Jonas Greenwood for ‘trespass & replevin’ in 1773, after Greenwood ran cattle on Heaton Common which were not his own property.

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