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Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1868.
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HUDDERSFIELD:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1868.
"HUDDERSFIELD, a parish, manufacturing and market town and parliamentary borough, in the wapentake of Upper Agbrigg and liberty of Pontefract, West Riding county York, 35 miles S.W. of York, and 189 N.N.W. of London. It is situated in the centre of the great woollen manufacturing district of Yorkshire, on the high-road from Manchester to Leeds, and is connected by numerous railways with all the great seats of industry in the N. of England. The Huddersfield and Ramsden canal communicates with the great canals of Yorkshire and Lancashire, and opens up direct communication between the Mersey and the Humber. The prosperity of the town, which has more than quadrupled in wealth and population during the present century, in a great measure depends on the abundant supply of water-power afforded by the numerous streams falling into the Calder, and the near proximity of good coal and building stone. The Holme and Colne, which unite their waters in the town, fall into the Calder about 3 miles below it, turning in their course numerous mills for the manufacture of woollens, and for fulling and washing the cloths. The country surrounding the town is hilly and naturally unproductive, but careful husbandry and artificial appliances have brought it into a high state of cultivation. Only one-fourth part of the parish, which is very extensive, comprising 15,080 acres, is included within the parliamentary borough of Huddersfield, the limits of which are co-extensive with those of the township, being about 3,950 acres; the remainder comprises the townships of Golcar, Lindley-cum-Quarmby, Longwood, with parts of Marsden, Scammonden-with-Deanhead, and Slaithwaite. The population of the parish, according to the census of 1861, was 52,250, and that of the borough 34,874, which latter includes the hamlets of Fartown, Bradley, Deighton-with-Sheepridge, and Marsh-with-Paddock. The borough was created by the Reform Act of 1832, and returns one member to parliament. It is governed, so far as all improvements, lighting, watching, sewerage, and police are concerned, by a body of Improvement Commissioners, under an Act obtained in 1849, and elected partly by the rate-payers, partly by Sir J. W. Ramsden, Bart., of Byrom, to whom, as landlord, all Huddersfield belongs. The town, which has been greatly extended of late years, is built on the slope and summit of a hill above the Colne. The streets are clean and well paved, and the leading thoroughfares have recently been widened. Among the most conspicuous improvements are the new streets and ranges of buildings round St. George's-square, including the railway station and Station Hotel, opened in 1848, the Lion Arcade, and the Britannia Buildings. Opposite the Corinthian portico of the station is a military trophy of Russian cannon brought from Sebastopol. The market-place is a large area surrounded by good houses and shops, where the buyers and sellers of cloth used to meet in the open air prior to 1768, when the commodious cloth hall was erected and presented to the town by Sir John Ramsden, Bart. This edifice is of brick, two stories high, and forms a circle of 880 yards, divided into two sections by an avenue of stalls, for the sale of woollen goods, running through the centre. The main building is divided on the one side into separate compartments or shops, and on the other into open stalls. It is open for business on Tuesdays and part of Fridays, when above 600 manufacturers attend from the surrounding villages. The other principal public buildings are-the Chamber of Commerce, opened in 1853; the mechanics' institute, completed in 1861, at the cost of £4,500, and situated in Northumberland-street; the Philosophical Hall, in Ramsden-street, erected in 1837, and capable of accommodating above 1,000 people; the Gymnasium Hall and riding-school, both in Ramsden-street, erected in 1847the latter being also used as a theatre; the savings-bank, in Buxton-road; the court-house and police station for the Upper Agbrigg division of the West Riding, in Princess-street, where petty sessions are held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; the borough prison and police station, in Victoria-street; the infirmary, in the New North-road, to which a new wing has recently been added, enabling it to accommodate 60 indoor patients; the Huddersfield College, also situated in the New North-road, and affiliated to the University, of London-it is divided into the lower and upper schools, and is attended by about 140 students; the Collegiate Institution, situated at Clare Hill, a Gothic building erected in 1839; the masonic hall, erected in 1838, and situated in South Parade; the Freemasons' hall, in Fitzwilliam-street; the model lodging-house, erected in 1854, and under the supervision of the Improvement Commissioners; the Young Men's Christian Association, situated in the market-place, and having a library of 500 volumes; the Literary and Scientific Society, in King-street, established in 1857; the Female Educational Institute, in King-street, established in 1846, on the same principle as the mechanics' institute; and the Church Institute, established in 1860, with its library and reading-room. Besides these are the buildings belonging to the four banking companies of Huddersfield, insurance offices, breweries, hotels, factories, dye-houses, and warehouses, many of which surpass in appearance the public buildings-as for instance the Britannia Buildings, built by G. Crosland, Esq., which are ornamented with carved stone bas-reliefs, and surmounted by a colossal figure of Britannia. Most of the private houses are built of a light-coloured stone, giving to the whole town an appearance of cleanliness and solidity not generally characteristic of the manufacturing towns of England. The most important industrial products of Huddersfield are plain and fancy woollen cloths, serges, kerseymeres, cashmeretts, cords, mohair, and sealskin, besides an endless variety of fancy goods composed of worsted, silk, and cotton combined, including shawls, waist-coatings, and fancy dresses of the finest quality. Silk and cotton-spinning are also carried on, and there is a large organ-building manufactory, belonging to Messrs. Conacher, affording employment to a great number of workmen. There are several extensive iron foundries and engine works, for the manufacture of steam-engines, hydraulic-presses, and every description of machines employed in the manufacture of fabrics. Besides being a parliamentary borough, Huddersfield is a polling-place for the West Riding. It is the head of a Poorlaw Union embracing 25 parishes, and of superintendent registry and New County Court districts-the last being held in a building in Queen-street. The workhouse is situated at Almondbury, a village 2, miles from the town: and in the vicinity of the New North-road is the cemetery, opened in 1855; it comprises 13 acres of land well laid out and planted, having in the centre two Gothic chapels-the one half is consecrated for the use of the Established Church, the other is used by Dissenters. At Lockwood, about half a mile from the town, are the Spa baths, the waters of which are strongly sulphureous. The parish church, dedicated to St. Peter, stands in the town, and was rebuilt in 1837, at the cost of £10,000. It is a spacious structure, capable of accommodating 1,800 persons, and has a tower containing a clock and ten bells. In the interior are several carved stone screens, and numerous windows of stained glass. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Ripon, value £600. In addition to the parish church there are twelve district churches, the livings of all which are perpetual curacies, varying in value from £300 to £150. St. Paul's church was built by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1830, and contains 1,243 sittings. It has an E. window of stained glass. Christ Church, which was built and endowed by John Whitacre, Esq., stands on an eminence at Woodhouse, a little to the N. of the town. Holy Trinity church was erected by the late B. Haigh Allen, Esq., in 1819, and is situated at Westfield. St. John's church, a Gothic structure with tower and spire, was erected in 1853, at the cost of £7,000, by Sir John W. Ramsden, Bart. St. Thomas's church is a remarkably beautiful structure, with a tower and spire at the S.W. angle. It was built and endowed by the firm of Messrs. Starkey Brothers, at the cost of £10,000, and was opened on the 30th of June, 1859. It contains a richly-carved pulpit, and font of Caen stone, and a stone reredos in the chancel. The floor of the chancel is laid with Minton's patent encaustic tiles. Without the town are All Saints, at the populous village of Paddock; St. John's, at Golcar; St. Stephen's, at Lindley; St. Mark's, at Longwood; also churches at Scammonden, Slaithwaite, with Lingards and Marsden-in-Huddersfield; also a small chapel-of-ease, dedicated to St. Paul, at Aspley. The Dissenting places of worship are numerous, and some of them imposing structures, as the Free Wesleyan Church, in Brunswick-street, which was erected in 1859, at the cost of £7,000; the Unitarian Church, in Fitzwilliam-street, built in 1854 at the cost of £3,000; St. Patrick's Roman Catholic chapel, in the New North-road, built in 1832 at a cost of £2,000; the Christians' meeting-house, in the Bradford-road, built in, 1861; besides others belonging to the Baptists, Independents, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, New Connexion Methodists, Evangelical United Independents, and Society of Friends. There are National, British, Wesleyan, and infant day-schools, besides large Sunday-schools. The charities, including the Dole land, which comprises 25 acres, produce about £250 per annum. There are three newspapers, published every Saturday, in the town-the Chronicle, Examiner, and Times. Markets are held on Tuesdays, principally for the sale of woollen goods, and onSaturdays for general produce. Fairs are held on 31st March and 4th October, and a large cattle fair on 14th May and the day following."
"BIRCHAM CLIFFS, a hamlet in the chapelry of Lindley, and parish of Huddersfield, wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 2 miles to the N. W. of Huddersfield."
"BRADLEY, a hamlet in the township and parish of Huddersfield, wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, near Huddersfield. The London and North-Western railway passes near it."
"CHRISTCHURCH WOODHOUSE, an ecclesiastical district in the hamlet of Fartown, parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, adjoining the town of Huddersfield, containing, in 1861, 3,324 inhabitants. The church was erected in 1824, at a cost of £4,000."
"DARK LANE, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood and parish of Huddersfield, in the West Riding of the county of York, 3 miles W. of Huddersfield."
"DEIGHTON, a hamlet in the parish of Huddersfield, in the West Riding of the county of York, containing Sheepridge."
"DOD LEE, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood and parish of Huddersfield, in the West Riding of the county of York, 2 miles W. of Huddersfield."
"FARTOWN, a hamlet in the parish of Huddersfield, wapentake of Upper Agbrigg, West Riding county York. It is a suburb of the town of Huddersfield, and includes the village of Cowcliffe, where the Wesleyans have a chapel. There is a National school."
"GOLCAR, a township in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 3 miles S.W. of Huddersfield, its post town. It is situated on the river Colne, and the Huddersfield and Manchester canal. It contains the village of Wellhouse, and several hamlets The Leeds and Manchester branch of the London and North-Western railway has a station here. The manufacture of fancy woollen goods affords employment to many of the people. This neighbourhood is much resorted to on account of its chalybeate waters. There is a local board of health, also a mechanics' institute at Wellhouse. The surface is boldly undulated, rising in steep acclivities from the banks of the river Colne. There are several mills, the machinery of which is driven by water power, but of others by steam. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Ripon, value £150, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield. The church is a stone edifice, erected in 1829 by grant from the parliamentary commissioners. It is dedicated to St. John. The Baptists, Wesleyans, and New Connexion Methodists have each a chapel. There are National and other day schools for both sexes. The trustees of the Savile estates are the lords of the manor."
"HILL TOP, a hamlet in the chapelry of Lindley and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.W. of Huddersfield."
"HIRST, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood, and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 3 miles W. of Huddersfield."
"LINDLEY, (or Quarmby-with-lindley), a township and chapelry in the parish of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 3 miles N.W. of Huddersfield, its post town. The chapelry contains Birchamcliffe and five other hamlets A portion of the inhabitants are employed in the woollen manufacture, for which there are several large establishments. The village is large and well built. The land is chiefly pasture and woodland. Building stone is extensively quarried. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £150, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield. The church is dedicated to St. Stephen. It was erected in 1830 at an expense of £2,700, granted by the Parliamentary Commissioners. The sites for the church and cemetery were given by the late John Thornhill, Esq. The Baptists, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Kilhamites, have places of worship. There is a National school with a small endowment."
"LONGWOOD, a township and chapelry in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 2 miles W. of Huddersfield, its post town. It is a station on the London and North-Western line of railway. This township consists chiefly of a narrow ridge rising rapidly from the banks of a rivulet. It includes several hamlets, of which Dark Lane and Dod-Lee are the principal. The village is very considerable. It contains several scribbling and fulling mills, and a mechanics' institute. Here are the reservoirs for supplying the town of Huddersfield with pure water. The place is lighted with gas, and the streets are clean, though only partially paved. The people are mostly employed in the cotton trade, and in the manufacture of woollen and fancy goods. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £150, in the patronage of the vicar of the parish. The church is dedicated to St. Mark. The parochial endowments produce about £100 per annum, applied to school purposes. The Wesleyans have two places of worship, and the New Connexion Methodists one. There are National and Free schools for boys and girls. At Slack Hill, in this township, were discovered a Roman altar, dedicated to Fortune, a bath and hypocaust, and a tesselated pavement nearly a yard in thickness, which discovery has induced some antiquarians to consider this place, and not Almondbury, as the site of the Roman station Cambodunum."
"MARSH, a hamlet in the township and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, near Huddersfield."
"OAKS, a hamlet in the chapelry of Lindley, parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.W. of Huddersfield.,"
"OUT LANE, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 4 miles N.W. of Huddersfield."
"PADDOCK WITH MARSH, a township in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York,½ mile W. of Huddersfield, of which it is a populous suburb. The inhabitants are employed in the woollen manufacture, which is extensively carried on. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £150, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield. The church, dedicated to All Saints, has a square embattled tower, and was erected in 1830 at a cost of £2,500 by grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners. There is a National school and several Dissenting places of worship in the township."
"QUARMBY CLIFFE, a hamlet in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of Agbrigg wapentake, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.W. of Huddersfield. It is joined with Lindley to form a chapelry."
"ROYD'S HALL, a hamlet in the chapelry of Lindley, and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.W. of Huddersfield."
"SALENDINE NOOK, a hamlet in the chapelry of Lindley and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.W. of Huddersfield."
"SCAMMONDEN, a township and chapelry in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of Agbrigg wapentake, West Riding county York, 7 miles W. of Huddersfield, its post town. The surface is mountainous and the district wild. The village, which is considerable, is situated on an acclivity in a dell watered by a rivulet. A portion of the inhabitants are employed in cotton spinning, and in the manufacture of fancy woollen goods. The township is bounded on the W. by the lofty ridge of Blackstone Edge. About half the land was enclosed in 1820, and has been brought into profitable cultivation, the remainder being principally mountain pasture or uncultivated, with only 10 acres of woodland. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £186, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield. There is a National school for both sexes. The Baptists have a place of worship."
"SLAITHWAITE, a township in the parish of Huddersfield, upper division of Agbrigg wapentake, West Riding county York, 5 miles S.W. of Huddersfield, its post town. It is a station on the Leeds, Huddersfield, and Manchester section of the London and North Western railway The village, which is extensive, is situated on the river Colne and the Leeds and Manchester railway and canal, the former having a station here. A portion of the inhabitants are employed in the woollen and cotton mills. In the vicinity are mineral baths, much frequented during the summer season. The town is lit with gas. The living is a perpetual curacy annexed to that of Lingards, value £192, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield. The church is dedicated to St. James. The register dates from 1685. The parochial charities produce about £42 per annum, which goes to the free school. There are National schools for both sexes. A court-baron is held every October at the Manor House. The Earl of Dartmouth is lord of the manor. A fair is held twice a-year."
"SNOWY LEE, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood, parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 3 miles W. of Huddersfield."
"SUNNY BANK, a hamlet in the chapelry of Longwood and parish of Huddersfield, West Riding county York, 2 miles W. of Huddersfield."
[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013