Discovering Old Huddersfield: Part 1
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Front cover:- Bay Hall, Birkby. Back cover:- Market Cross, Highburton First published in 1993; republished in digital form by Huddersfield Local History Society in 2010; Digitised by Book Scan Bureau A division of Hollingworth & Moss Ltd. www.bookscanbureau.co.uk 0113 2438642 DISCOVERING OLD HUDDERSFIELD PART ONE By Gordon and Enid Minter Illustrations by J. R. Beswick This book is dedicated to the memory of Charles Robert Beswick 1946-1991 whose love of the area and its history was as great as ours. IBSN O 9524747 0 CONTENTS Page Introduction Tour No. I - The Old London Road I Tour No. 2 - Mansions and Mills 68 Illustrations Clough House, Birkby 26 Lych Gate, Kirkburton 65 Huddersfield Hall 76 Rawthorpe Hall 83 Fancy Cross, Whitley 89 Old Longley Hall, Almondbury 106 In Odersfelt Godwin had six carucates of land for geld where eight ploughs can be Now the same has it of Ilbert but it is waste. Wood pasture one league long and one wide. In the time of King Edward it's value was 100 Shillings. Huddersfield, Domesday Book, 1086 INTRODUCTION Over the years several excellent books have been published dealing with the history of the Huddersfield area or some aspect of it and they offer a wealth of information to the interested reader. It occurred to us though that very few of them are specifically aimed at those people who, like us, have a mild curiosity about the past and who might like to go out to see for themselves just how the concerns, needs and even whims of their ancestors have formed the landscape they see today. As a convenient way of presenting the history of the roads, railways and canals, the rivers, streams and bridges, the woods, parks and fields and the houses, churches and factories that make up the Huddersfield area we have devised two routes, one linear, one circular, both starting in St. George's Square, neither of any great length and both of which may be undertaken wholly by car or in parts on foot. The resulting work is not chronological, nor is it scholarly, nor is it exclusive but by pointing out on site that, for example, a particular road has followed its present course for a thousand years or more, or that an old bridge stands on the remains of one very much older, or that a mill stands on a particular site because of a bend in the nearby river, we hope we have provided a historical immediacy that will be appealing to the reader. In setting out the tours we have chosen to give the directions for the whole route before the historical commentary in order to avoid the confusion that might arise if we mixed the two together. However, each feature discussed in the commentary has been given a reference number which appears in the appropriate place in the directions and which should help to locate it. For example, in tour two, Oakes Fold will be found as Townend Lane No. 46. We have not confined our commentary exclusively to existing features. Several things of past importance have now disappeared but their sites may be identified and when we pass such places we tell the story. For instance, Bradley Spout was, until the nineteenth century, a vital water supply for the townspeople. All traces of it are now gone but, at the beginning of tour two, as we pass its approximate location we note it and tell its story. We have tried to make our directions clear and easy to follow. Where there might be some difficulty we have either provided small maps or given the precise distances involved - and we have used miles rather than kilometres because signposts and most car mileometers do the same. As the routes are divided into short measured sections you, the reader, might like to find a parking place and tackle some of the sections on foot. In certain places where we know that it is possible to park we have suggested this with the symbol (P). Occasionally, to see some particular place of interest, it is necessary to leave the car and walk a short distance, Such places we have marked (P.W) but we leave the matter entirely to your discretion. In both directions and commentary instead of using compass point directions we have used left hand and right hand sides and these should, of course, be taken to refer to the direction in which you are travelling. It is worth bearing in mind that travelling the routes in winter, spring and autumn is easier than in summer when the vegetation might well obscure certain features mentioned in the directions. In undertaking the tours it is important to remember the difficulties and dangers of followmg an unfamiliar route by car as well as stopping, suddenly perhaps, to look at the various places of interest. In towns and on busy main roads traffic moves quickly and sites are passed before they are noticed. In the eountry slow driving along narrow lanes is sure to irritate other drivers. With this in mind we suggest that you carefully read through each tour before setting out. This will not only give you some idea of where you are heading but also allow you to locate anything of particular interest and be ready for it as you come across it. Of course, those familiar with the area may prefer merely to cover the journey in their imaginations from the comfort of their armchairs. It was our original intention to include six tours in one book but it soon became apparent that, if we were to keep the book to a manageable size, the number would have to be reduced. Consequently, this book of two tours we have designated part one and we hope to produce parts two and three at some later date. As our book is intended to be of general recreational interest rather than a scholarly work we have not provided footnotes but we have included a list of sources and references which we hope will be of interest to anyone who might wish to pursue a particular interest. It is undoubtedly true of any guide book that some information given in it will be out of date by the time the book is published. Buildings are demolished, new ones are built, roads arc realigned, hedgerows arc removed, trees are cut down: the environment is in a state of perpetual change as, of course, it has been throughout history. In the face of such changes, whether small or large, we cannot even say that our routes are accurate at the time of going to press, only that they are as we found them the last time we travelled them. Few books can be produced without help from others and we would like to thank Kathryn Beaumont, Michael Sharpe and Sue Cottrill for their cheerful and courteous help and Mike and Cynthia Beaumont and Dr. Jane Minter for checking directions. Neil and Elaine Hughes also deserve special thanks for their extra zeal in checking the routes in the dark. ii Tour No.I THE OLD LONDON ROAD In the year 1675 a surveyor, John Ogilby, published a series of maps showing the country's principal routes, one of which led from London to Oakham in Rutland and continued northwards to Richmond in Yorkshire. Nearly three hundred years later W.B.Crump in his 'Huddersfield Highways Down the Ages' discussed a section of Ogilby's London road as it runs through our district between Kirkburton and Elland. It is this route that we follow in the second part of tour No. I. The first part of the tour takes us from Huddersfield to Cowcliffe and through Grimescar Wood on the turnpike road opened in 1777 to replace the more difficult route over Cowcliffe Hill. Because we thought that Kirkburton Church would be a suitable place to end the journey, we chose to travel in the opposite direction to that take by Ogilby and his surveyors who travelled from south to north. Of course, we do not concentrate exclusively on the old highways as the route passes many other interesting features such as churches, houses, factories, woods, parks and streams all of which, whether they pre or post date the road, are discussed. DIRECTIONS Section 1. The tour starts in St. George's Square (1.2.3). Leave the Square passing the George Hotel on the left and turn left at the lights into John William Street (4). Continue straight on under the railway viaduct to join St. John's Road (5.6.7,8,9) and.follow this across the ring road to St. John's Church on the left (10). Continue straight on to the traffic lights at Blacker Road and go straight ahead into Wheathouse Road (11.12,13.14). At the top of the hill carry on straight ahead into Grimescar Avenue. After crossing Grimescar Dike (15) in the valley bottom the route veers right into Alwen Avenue to join Halifax Old Road. Thzs 1s 1.3 miles.from the starting point. Section 2. From Alwen Avenue turn left into Halifax Old Road (16) and follow the road through Grimescar Wood (17.18) for about 1.6 miles to a T junction (19). Turn right into Brighouse Road (20) and.follow this for a mile to the motorway bridge. Immediately after the bridge take the first left into Pin.fold Lane (21). This is 2. 7 miles from Alwen Avenue. Section 3. At the end of Pin.fold Lane turn right into Dewsbury Road (B6114) (22).