(A) COLDROYD
The settlement at Coldroyd goes back to at least the 17th century when a family named Brook was living there. By the mid 19th century there were ten families living the area all of whom were fancy hand loom weavers. During the next 30 years this traditional pattern of employment changed and by 1880 handloom weaving had ceased altogether although some families were still engaged in textiles, working as operatives in the mills. At this time also about a third of the working population of Coldroyd were stone masons or quarrymen and near to the top of the lane the remains of a large quarry can be clearly seen showing us, perhaps, where these men plied their trade.
(B) KIRKHEATON CRICKET CLUB (see photo)
1983 saw the centenary of Kirkheaton Cricket Club's move to its present ground. The club is believed to have been formed in 1871 when it was known as the Kirkheaton Beaumonts. They played first at Kirkheaton Moor and then in the late 1870s moved to Hole Bottom. The change of name came about in 1880 and the club moved to its present ground, then known as Fletcher Croft, in 1883 for which they paid an annual rent of £7. In 1921, whilst George Herbert Hirst was president, the club bought their ground for £375. The club has had many successes over the years but it is inevitable that its chief claim to fame comes from its association with two of Kirkheaton's most famous sons. From Kirkheaton Cricket Club can be seen across the valley the equally famous Lascelles Hall Club whose greatest days were in the 1870s and who had players representing Yorkshire and England long before Kirkheaton. In a letter to the 'Huddersfield Examiner' a cricket lover writing in the 1890s bemoaned the passing of all the great cricketers and wondered if he would ever see such talent again. In a brief reply the Editor intimated that all might not be lost as he believed there were two promising youngsters playing with Kirkheaton who might go on to greater things. The two 'promising youngsters' George Herbert Hirst and Wilfred Rhodes did go on to greater things and became legends within their own lifetimes. Much has been written about these two great players but we feel that as this walk passes the club with which they were so long associated, a brief account of their careers would be appropriate.
George Herbert Hirst was described by Lord Hawke as the greatest county cricketer of all time. He played for Yorkshire for thirty years and fourteen times performed the double, scoring 1000 runs and taking 100 wickets in a season and once, incredibly, in 1906 he scored 2000 runs and took 200 wickets. George Herbert was a great Yorkshireman who spoke the true dialect all his life. He regarded playing cricket for his county as the greatest honour that could ever be bestowed upon him but he did not like Test matches and rarely justified himself in them, although in the Birmingham test of 1902 he and Rhodes bowled out Australia for 36. After 30 years playing service he took up coaching and he has been described as the greatest cricket coach of all. Coaching to him was a duty and a pleasure and the medium through which he passed his love and enthusiasm for the game to every aspiring cricketer who came before him. He was president of the Kirkheaton club for thirty five years until his death in 1954 at the age of 83.
Like George Herbert Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes was an all rounder, bowling left handed and batting right handed. His career began in 1898 when he was chosen from the Colts to fill a vacancy in Lord Hawke's side. In his first county match Rhodes took thirteen wickets and by the end of his first season had claimed 154. In the next season he took 150 wickets for 16 runs apiece and in the following three seasons 725 fell to his bowling. But despite the universal acclaim for his wonderful bowling he dreamed of one day playing for England as a batsman and gradually batting superseded bowling. Unlike George Herbert Hirst he revelled in the challenge of a Test Match and in 1911 he achieved his ambition for by then he had become England's opening bat and in that year at Melbourne he shared with Jack Hobbs an opening stand of 323. He was by then in his middle thirties and had reached the zenith of his ambition. No more conquests seemed possible but after the First World War when so many players were lost Wilfred once again took up the art of slow bowling and in seven seasons achieved the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a season. In 1926 he became a Test Match selector and he continued to serve the game for the rest of his life. He took up the presidency of Kirkheaton Cricket Club in 1954 after the death of George Herbert Hirst and served the club in that capacity until his death in 1973 at the age of 95.
Hirst and Rhodes - the names are now so linked but the two were never inseparable. When a celebration match was arranged to honour Wilfred Rhodes' seventieth birthday and he was going to bowl the first over, George was asked if he was going to watch. 'Naw', he said, then drily added, 'Ah've seen him bowl afore, tha knaws'.
(C) FIELD HEAD CO-OP (see photo)
Despite the well known claim of Rochdale in Lancashire to be the home of the first co-operative store, it is now believed that a number of co-operatives existed in the North of England before Rochdale and some local historians believe that Field Head Co-op was one of these. Certainly the building with its Venetian windows, large footstones and narrow stone courses dates from the 18th century, although its traditional lines have been somewhat obscured by the modern extension at the front. As well as having a store for the sale of goods to its members, Field Head Cooperative also farmed 17 acres of land, the profits from which benefitted the organisation and its members.
Shortly after Field Head Co-op another 18th century building, the Spangled Bull, can be seen. Modern alterations and cement rendering have obscured its 18th century lines but nevertheless it is an impressive building enhanced by the bull and the date stone (1740) built into its frontage.
(D) KIRKHEATON AND TOWN ROAD
If Kirkheaton can be said to have a centre then Town Road is as near as we can get to it today. But it is not quite as simple as that for, like Lepton, Kirkheaton has grown and spread away from the original settlement. The reason for this in Lepton's case was a road but in Kirkheaton's case it was the church. Again like Lepton, Kirkheaton was an Anglo Saxon settlement and was already established at the time of the Norman Conquest. The description of Heaton in the Domesday Book tells us that at the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) two brothers held the manor which measured three carucates and had three ploughs and was worth 20 shillings. By then Heaton had become part of the Honour of Pontefract which was held by Ilbert de Laci, one of the Conqueror's companions. In 1086 a certain Gamel held the manor of Ilbert but like many of its neighbours it is described as waste and worth nothing. There is no mention of a church at this time.The first mention of Mesne Lord of Heton occurs in the 13th century. They were the de Hetons who were great benefactors to the House of Fountains and who are thought to have lived in the area of Heaton Hall at Upper Heaton which is likely to have been the site of the original Anglo Saxon settlement. The de Hetons were probably chief benefactors in the foundation of the Parish Church after the building of which, in a position convenient for the other townships in the Parish, settlement gradually moved from the high ground and spread haphazardly down the hillside towards the church with new roads or footways, of which Town Road was one, being cut through the open fields.
Town Road is a mixture of architectural styles with the houses and cottages ranging in date from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The name Town Road and the density of housing in the Victorian terraces suggests that it was here that Kirkheaton first began to grow during the Industrial Revolution.
Further up the road a carpet shop now occupies another old co-operative store. Unlike Field Head the building is not of any great architectural interest but its position close to the centre of Victorian Kirkheaton is significant. Many co-ops in many villages have today changed their function but for one reason or another they are usually easy to identify. In this case the two loading doors, cathead and pullies and the cellar entrances can clearly be seen.
At the top of Town Road stands an 18th century house whose massive stone roof comes down almost to the level of the road. It is most unlikely that roof and road were intended by the original builder to be so close and therefore it seems probable that the road was built after the house or at least that the road surface has been raised. Additional corroboratory evidence for this theory can be seen in the now blocked up windows at road level.
(E) COCKLEY HILL LANE
Near to the junction of Cockley Hill Lane with Heaton Moor Road was Kirkheaton's Pinfold, all traces of which have now sadly disappeared. A little higher up the road on the right hand side, the Square will be easily recognised. This development is a mixture of early and mid-Victorian houses whose inhabitants in the 19th century, apart from a few labourers and miners and one Artillery Chelsea Pensioner, were engaged in the textile trade.
As this section of the walk involves a steady uphill climb the walker may care to study the interesting and beautiful landscape. Parts of all four townships that were part of the old Kirkheaton Parish can be seen. If you look to the right, you will see the neatly enclosed fields of Lepton slope gently down to that township's boundary with Kirkheaton. Hard to the left the houses of Upper Whitley can be made out whilst below much of Kirkheaton is revealed with the tree covered slopes of Round Wood in Dalton beyond. Both the cricket fields of Kirkheaton and Lascelles Hall are prominent from here, the latter being taken out of two larger fields known as St. John's Flat. From here also Castle Hill stands out proud and true and as impressive as any bronze or iron age hill fort in the country, whilst the vast escarpements of West and Shooters Nab above Meltham provide a suitably magnificent backcloth.
(F) BELLSTRING LANE
According to W.B. Crump writing in 'Huddersfield Highways Down the Ages' Bellstring Lane was part of an important highway leading from the North, through Elland to Barnsley and the South. The road from Elland led through Bradley and crossed the Calder and Colne at the ancient crossings of Cooper Bridge and Colne Bridge and ascended Dalton Bank on to Heaton Moor. Although our walk does not pass it it is worth recording the existence of a guide stoop opposite the Blacksmiths Arms which directs to Barnsley (12 miles), Halifax (6 miles) and Huddersfield (6 miles). The fourth side has the date 1738.
From the Blacksmiths Arms the old road continues first as Highgate Lane then, at the junction with Cockley Hill Lane, as Bellstring Lane. Both names, Crump believes indicate the nature of the old road, that is, an upland way used by strings of pack horses headed by a bell horse. From the Freemasons Arms the road continued to Dransfield Hall and led eventually through Flockton and Midgley to Barnsley and the South. Unlike Lepton's Highgate Lane this highway was never turnpiked and it retains traces of the characteristics of an ancient upland way, a contour road in this section, skirting the ridge that divides Kirkheaton and Lepton from Hopton and Mirfield.
Some readers have expressed the view that 'Bellstrings' as they remember it was near to Kirkheaton Cemetery in the area of Lane Side. However, none of the O. S. maps back to 1854 mention 'Bellstrings' in that area and do show Bellstrings lane between Cokley Hill and the Freemasons Arms. It is most likely that a temporary name transference occurred at some point.
(G) CARR MOUNT (see photo)
The settlement here is a characteristic mixture of 18th century buildings. Look for the windows that once lit the old weaving chambers which clearly indicate the principal occupation of the original tenants. Inevitably in such a settlement one would also expect to find some evidence of farming and indeed the end building was once a barn with the arch springers in the wall showing the position of the doorway. The date-stone on one cottage bears the legend R.I.M. 1799, but this does not indicate the initial building of Carr Mount as some of the houses have characteristics belonging to the earlier part of the 18th century.
(H) ST. MARY'S (see photo)
A hundred years ago the cottages here housed 21 families, most of whom, predictably, were engaged in the textile industry. There is reason to believe, however, that the plot of land called St. Mary's on which the cottages are built had some ancient and important ecclesiastical function. Leigh Tolson, writing in 1929, says 'although nothing is known of its origin the name suggests something more important than its present humble appearance'. He goes on to suggest that it had some association with the Hospitallers who, as we have seen, had considerable holdings in the parish in mediaeval times. There may well be also some connection with the Chapel of the Blessed Mary (now known as the Beaumont Chapel) in Kirkheaton church. Such Chantry Chapels often had their own incumbent and a certificate of the Commissioners of Edward VI issued after the dissolution of the Chantry of the Blessed Mary, states that there was a house with a parcel - but at that time no Chantry Incumbent.
However, the will of Thomas Wood of Heton dated 1543, seems to contradict this as he bequeathed 12 pence to Sir Thomas Wilson, Ladie Priest. It may well be that in those times of religious turmoil the Ladie Priest had gone into hiding, at least whilst the King's Commissioners were about. Although it cannot yet be proved that the house and parcel of land mentioned above were here, the name St. Mary's at least suggests a possible association.
A little way along St. Mary's Lane look out on the right for a road into an estate of modern houses named Furbrook Gardens. Here is the approximate location of The Old Brown Cow, an inn that was once a great calling place for people travelling up the hill to Kirkheaton. The inn which was demolished between the wars to allow the road to be straightened faced south over the valley towards Lascelles Hall. It was quite a small building with walls and roof of local stone and small paned windows in the lower floor rooms. For well over a century the inn was in the hands of the Hirst family and it was here, whilst his grandfather was licensee, that George Herbert Hirst was born and spent the early years of his boyhood. It is said that he used to practice in the yard in front of the inn and even at such an early age showed great promise.
(I) THE VICARAGE (see photo)
This building stands on the left hand side of St. Mary's Lane near to its junction with Church Lane. Of the ancient Rectory little is known save that it was on or near the site of the present building. It was demolished in 1729 by the then incumbent the Rev. Thomas Clarke, formerly headmaster of Wakefield Grammar School, who then erected the building which forms the main part of the present structure. A Terrier of 1743 describes the new Rectory and its grounds thus:
'A Parsonage House, Barn, Stable, Pigeon Cote, Garden and a small piece of Ground from the further Garden Wall to the Water-side, Foldstead, water course and a little croft behind the Barn with other conveniences and Easment thereto belonging.'
A later Terrier (1825) gives more details of the Rectory itself describing it as a house 3 stories high, built of brick. It had 5 rooms on the ground floor, six on the second floor and four on the third. All the rooms were 'parted with brick and veiled with lath and plaster'. One ground floor room was wainscotted with wood and the others were plastered and stained. All the ground floor rooms had stone floors except that of the drawing room which was wood. All the upper rooms were floored with wood and papered except one which was stained. It was a fine example of 18th century architecture. At this time the entrance to the Rectory was from the south, the drive way being marked by a line of ancient thorn trees. The inscription over the door reads:
Thomas Clarke
Anno MDCCXXIX
Nonnobis
C. Alderson Renovic
MDCCCXXXVIII
The Rev. Christopher Alderson was Rector of Kirkheaton for 44 years and, as the inscription suggests, was responsible in 1838 for remodelling the Rectory, building additional premises, new boundary walls, forming a new drive and entrance to the house and laying out the gardens much as they exist to the present time.
(J) THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (see photo)
The Church of St. John the Baptist at Kirkheaton has a long and, at times, complicated history and indeed there is enough information known or waiting to be found for the subject to warrant a book of its own. For obvious reasons then only a cursory history can be given here and rather than attempt to give a shortened chronological history we have chosen to highlight a few facts, events and customs of the church which we think will be of most interest to the reader.
The history of Christianity in Kirkheaton goes back to a long time before the first church of which we have any record was built. The existence of a tombstone with Anglian runic lines dating from not later than the 10th century, which is still preserved at the church, provides evidence of the early establishment of the Christian faith in the district. Other pre-conquest remains include stones and a cross (a full sized model of which can be seen in the Tolson Museum) of Anglo Danish style dating from the second half of the 10th century. It is generally agreed that during the Saxon and early Norman dynasties Kirkheaton was .within the district visited by the Clergy residing at the Paulinus missionary station at Dewsbury. Dewsbury was the mother parish of all the ancient churches in our area and priests would be sent from there to carry the gospel to the scattered and sparse communities of the time.
Although there is no mention of a church at Heaton in the Domesday Survey that does not rule out the possibility that a simple building of some sort existed in or before the 11th century. If such a building did exist it is possible that it was destroyed during the ravaging of the North by the Conqueror's army or that it was simply unnoticed at the time of the Survey because it was unendowed with any Glebe lands.
However, this must remain conjecture and we move on to the first church of which there is a definite record. It believed that the Parish which was made up of the townships of Heaton, Lepton, Dalton and Whitley was severed from Dewsbury and formed into a separate Parish about year 1200. The first distinct notice of the church is in 1245 when the de Burg family appear as Patrons. It is likely then that between those two dates the church was built on a site as nearly central as possible for the three townships of Heaton, Dalton and Lepton. It is thought that whilst the de Hetons were the chief benefactors of the new church (a stone with their arms has been found there) other landowners in the area resident for example at Rawthorpe Hall, Fleming House and Lascelles Hall would also have contributed to the erection of a building which would, in that age, be considered to be a great advantage to themselves and their families. Little is known of the mediaeval church but parts of the famous Beaumont Chapel date back to the 14th century. The chapel which, before the Reformation, was the Chapel of the Blessed Mary is frequently mentioned in the archives of the Beaumont family as the place of burial of the Lords of the Manor. It contains a collection of monuments, brasses and banners all relating to various members of the family of which the monument to Sir Richard Beaumont (Black Dick) who died in 1631 is the best known.
It is thought that in the 15th century the original church was rebuilt as the tower dates from that period and the east window before the alterations of 1823 was of the same period. In 1663 a new north aisle was built at a cost of £120 the money being raised by contributions from twenty six men including Sir John Kaye £22, Sir Thomas Beaumont £20, Doctor Anthony Clarke £6.13, Robert Lyley £5, Richard Thewlis £2 and Henry Spivie £1.
In 1535 Henry VIII surveyed the ecclesiastical establishments throughout the country for taxation purposes. The king appropriated the first-fruits and tenths formerly paid by each benefice to the Pope. Kirkheaton Church was valued in the Liber Regis (Kings Book) at about £28 and the sum, being the first years income, was payable by each new incumbent on his entrance to the living being styled the 'first-fruits' of the benefice and the tenths were yearly tax of one tenth of this amount.
The parish of Kirkheaton was much concerned in the Civil War. The Rector of the time the Rev. Richard Sykes, had been presented to the living by the King and, like the Lord of the Manor, he was staunchly loyal to the Crown. Consequently when the Parliamentary forces triumphed, the Rector refused to subscribe the Covenant and was therefore fined the enormous sum of £ 1,000 and forcibly ejected from the living. The use of the surplice and Prayer Book was prohibited and a Covenanting minister the Rev. Christopher Richardson was appointed to perform services according to the will of Parliament. In the Parliamentary survey of 1653 Mr. Richardson is described as, 'A godly man and well Affected Mynister who receiveth the Proffitts and performs the Cure'. He was a very remarkable man being held in high favour in Parliamentary circles and entrusted with more than spiritual authority in the district. He remained in possession until the Restoration when, refusing to conform, he was in turn ejected and, as Mr. Sykes had died, the Rev. Dr. Anthony Elcocke was appointed Rector. Mr. Richardson bought Lascelles Hall for £720 and formed there the first Nonconformist congregation in the Parish. He later removed to Liverpool where he founded the first Presbyterian Church in that city. To his memory a tablet in the church is inscribed:
To the Memory of Christopher Richardson M.A.
of Trinity College, Cambridge and Lassel Hall
in this Parish
Rector of Kirkheaton 1646 - 1661
In which latter year he was silenced.
He established the first Presbyterian Church in
Liverpool in 1668
and died in that city in 1698 aged 80.
In the 18th century much of the Rector's income came from the Glebe Lands with their Messuages and cottages and from tythes of corn and grain, spring woods, hemp, potatoes, wool, lamb, geese and pigs which were effective throughout the township of Kirkheaton. The other townships in the Parish also contributed to the Rector's tythes although part of the tythe of corn in Lepton was taken in kind by the Beaumonts for which they had to pay annually £4. 1 s. 4d.
Further income was raised by the Easter dues and Surplice Fees and as these give an insight into an early form of rate paying we quote verbatim from the Terrier of 1743:
'The Easter dues run thus: All the ancient and more considerable Mansion Houses pay one shilling and six pence for their modus of Tythe Hay. Whitley Hall, Lassels Hall, Rawthorpe Hall, Nether Hall, Fleming House and the House where Mr. Pilkington lived, now in the possession of Michael Sheard, and some others pay some one shilling some much less according to custom. For every House is paid three half pence. For a Garden a penny. For every Communicant two pence. For every Calf three half pence but if there be two Calves one shilling and eight pence. If ten, three shillings and four pence. For every Strip a penny. For Chickens three pence whether there is one or more broods it makes no difference. For Bees a penny a swarm. For a Foal one shilling. For an old Sheep a penny. For a Lamb two pence. The Surplice Fees include The Publication of Banns of Marriage Six Pence. Marriage with License - Five Shillings, without License - one shilling and six pence: Burial - one shilling and two pence, of a child under seven years - seven pence only. For a Churching - five pence. For a new grave stone in the Church Yard - three shillings and four pence. For a Tomb - six shillings and eight pence. For breaking the ground in the Body of the Church - six shillings and eight pence. In the Chancel - thirteen shillings and four pence.'
A Terrier of 1817 mentions the Parish Clerk's and the Sexton's dues as follows: 'The Clerk's dues are according to custom. For every Cottage or Farm House where no plough is kept Two Pence at Easter; but at those Houses where a plough is kept Four Pence. For every Farm is due at Christmas a Wheat Loaf or Two pence. For a funeral in the Church or Chancel 3/4d.; if in the Churchyard Seven Pence. For singing a Psalm in the Church or Churchyard One Shilling. The Sexton's dues are - For tolling a Passing Bell Six Pence. Tolling for a funeral per hour Four Pence. Making a grave in the Church or Chancel 3/4d. Ditto in the Churchyard 1/6d., ditto when the deceased is under seven years One Shilling. For taking up and laying a Grave Stone One Shilling.'
The peal of six bells, cast in 1818 by Messrs. Mears of London, was set up in that same year and in 1823 the whole of the south front of the Church was rebuilt under the supervision of Benjamin Wilkinson of Houses. On Sunday 21st February 1886 the Church was badly damaged by fire. The morning service had ended about an hour before the fire was discovered and the parishioners in a desperate attempt to save their Church brought buckets, cans, jugs and anything capable of holding water to try to beat the flames. The Huddersfield Borough Fire Brigade arrived and after about three hours of strenuous work the outbreak was extinguished but not before considerable damage had occurred. The Church was insured for £2,600 but only £850 was received for the damage done. Despite this the then Rector (the Rev. R.H. Maddox) after consultation with the Church Wardens decided that the Church should be rebuilt from the foundations. The tower and the Beaumont Chapel had been untouched by the fire but the rest of the Church was pulled down and rebuilt, under the supervision of Mr. J.W. Cocking, the work being completed in 1888. The cost was £7,122 which, with the exception of the amount received from the Insurance Company, was raised by subscription and special efforts. Thus, much of the Church we see today is of the late Victorian style and it is a matter of some regret that so little remains of the early English Church which played such an important part in the lives of generations of people who lived in the ancient Parish of Kirkheaton.
The Parish Registers are of great interest to students of the area, and many of them are available at the Kirklees Local History Library. They date back to 1653 and are intact, being fortunately uninjured by the fire. In them can be found details of the lives and deaths of most of our local people as well as other items of Parish business.
(K) KIRKHEATON SCHOOL (see photo)
The school buildings as they now stand date back to 1914 but a school has existed on this site for nearly four centuries. In 1610 the Rev. Alexander Stocke, in conjunction with Sir Richard Beaumont and others, erected a Free Grammar School at Kirkheaton, near to the church and on the waste. The building stood on a steep declivity which soon became known as School Hill. In his will, dated 1619, Mr. Stocke left an annuity of 10 shillings for the repair of the School House at Kirkheaton and the maintenance and education of boys in Kirkheaton in good learning. If the School House ceased to be used as such then the annuity was to become void. In later years the 10/- seems to have been mainly used for the repair of windows in the school.
In 1685 Mr. William Lyley bequeathed £5 yearly to the Master of the School 'for teaching 10 poor scholars' and in 1714 Mrs. Frances Beaumont, widow of Richard Beaumont, bequeathed £100 to be laid out in lands for the School Master of Kirkheaton. In 1844 when the School became connected with the National Society, unsuccessful attempts were made to find any person with legal rights to the site of the school and it was decided that no specific trust could be attached to the premises. The school had been governed by a succession of self electing Trustees appointed originally in conformity with the will of Mr. Lyley. The then Trustees, Mr. Walker of Lascelles Hall and Mr. R.H. Beaumont of Whitley Hall who had held their positions for 17 years were therefore asked to execute a conveyance of land so that the school could be administered by the National Society as an Elementary School for the education of the Poor in the principles of the established church under the control and management of the Rector, Mr. Beaumont, Mr. Walker and others. And so in 1844 the Free Grammar School of Kirkheaton became Kirkheaton National School and later the Church of England School. A drawing of the early school, dated 1844, in the Kirkheaton Parish documents shows a two storey building with a stone roof and two chimneys. The windows on both floors are small paned and the building has a lean-to on the south east side.
From time to time this building was altered to meet the increasing demands of the Board of Education and by 1913 demands for extra floor space made it necessary to extend and improve the school premises on a large scale. The alterations and extensions involved the erection of a new wing containing four classrooms, basement provision of improved cloakrooms and lavatory accommodation, the enlargement of the existing classrooms and the extension of the playground. The cost of the improvements was £2,000, most of which was raised by special efforts including a three day Bazaar, and by private contributions. The result was a school of seven classrooms with a central hall, accommodating 350 children. With the introduction of separate secondary education and later the building of new primary schools at Dalton and in Kirkheaton itself, and with the reduction of the birthrate numbers on roll began to fall and the school was finally closed in the summer of 1982 - a sad end for a site that has been connected with the education of children for some 370 years.