This whole site has now been demolished and replaced by modern buildings
Victoria Mill was a corn mill built around 1835 and associated with the Green family.
David Green (1787-1844) had moved to the village by 1822 with wife Hannah and set up as a grocer and carrier of goods between Denby Dale and Huddersfield. His oldest son, Noah, joined his father as a grocer whilst his second son, David, became the farmer of Wood Nook Farm which lay behind the mill. The brothers married sisters from Bretton, Sarah and Arabella Dawson. The family grocery store was located just in front of the mill and was in place well before the mill was built. Under Noah it began to thrive and Noah also had a hand in his brother's farm. It may be that the two of them decided to build the corn mill between farm and shop. The farm could supply the corn and the shop could sell the grain and flour, but this is not proven. Certainly they became corn merchants and a small complex developed around the shop with a post office and stables and a public house, the Railway Inn.
David is listed as a beer retailer on the 1861 census and as the innkeeper of the Railway Inn on the 1871 census, but may well have continued to farm. By 1871 three of Noah's children, John, Joseph and Hannah are assisting him in the grocery store and the family are affluent enough to employ a domestic servant. David died in 1873 and his wife left the Railway Inn. Seth Senior, the local brewer, bought and demolished its stables and replaced them with the Prospect Inn, now the Dale Inn.
The following year Noah died but his wife, Sarah, daughter Hannah and son Joseph Henry continued to run the grocery store, Joseph becoming the proprietor after his mother's death. By 1890 Joseph Henry not only sold provisions but was also a draper, general outfitter, ironmonger and house furnisher. He sold, amongst other things, sewing machines, safes, mattresses and agricultural implements and he, at last, is described as a corn dealer.
Wood Nook Farm was sold off to the Norton family in the 1920s and Victoria Corn Mill was falling out of use, its ground floor being leased to a laundry company between 1912 and 1928. Joseph Henry's son, another Noah, took over the grocery store but he was also superseded by his sons, Joseph Henry and Noah and this Noah's sons David and Adrian. In the 1960s David Green took the decision to begin manufacturing animal feeds. New premises were built and the "Greenfeeds" label established, and this then became the core of the business. But in 2008 it was decided to close the Denby Dale premises and continue Greenfeeds from a base in Norfolk bringing the long association of the Green family business with the village to an end.
The graves of David Green d.1844 and his wife Hannah d.1857 and that of Joseph Henry Green d.1896 and his wife Fanny d.1925 can be found in Upper Cumberworth churchyard.
Bucket Trough
An ancient bucket trough can be found built into the wall in a dip of Hollin Edge known as Heywood Bottom. Before the advent of piped water, local people filled there buckets at this spot. Hollin Edge got its name from the number of holly trees once lining it in the days when holly was used as fodder for cattle.
Clapper Bridge
This clapper bridge over the Dearne probably dates back to medieval times. These roughly constructed bridges were often found, along with fords, at shallow river water crossing points and were used by pedlars and their packhorses as well as by the local inhabitants.
Cuckstool
As punishment for scolding their husbands nagging wives could be brought to the cuckstool for punishment which involved ducking them into the icy waters of a stream. Cuckstool Lane derives its name from the location of the ducking stool in Denby Dale village.
Chimneys
Nortonthorpe Mills for a long time had an unusual finial to its tall chimney. When the mills were built in 1885 the whole country was in shock and indignation over the assassination of General Gordon at Khartoum during the Sudanese campaign. Handsome, intelligent and successful, he had been regarded as a national hero, a representative of all the British Empire stood for. His untimely murder forced the nation into mourning. As a mark of respect the Norton ownership decided to finish their new chimney with a symbol representative of the General, a representation of his favourite headwear - the fez. For many years the company also commemorated the date of his death, January 26th, by flying the union flag at half mast. The fez topping lasted until 1950.
The mill sign over the entrance door to Nortonthorpe Mills is rapidly disappearing (* At Risk) See photo carousel
Chimneys galore surmounted Denby Dale House, used until recently as the Surestart Children’s Centre on Wakefield Road but now boarded up (and subsequently demolished).
Salvation Army
The local corps of the Salvation Army was founded on 11th September 1884 in a wooden hut near the centre of the village with Captain Mary McIver as first officer. General William Booth, founder of the movement, visited Denby Dale in July 1907 and large crowds gathered to hear him speak. He made a second visit in August 1909. The foundation stone for a new hall was laid in July and a well attended opening ceremony held on 4th December 1926. Chairman of the West Riding County Council, Sir James Peace Hinchliffe, was guest of honour. The building was constructed with stone from the nearby Sovereign Quarries and had electric lighting and central heating. The main hall could seat between 200 and 300 people whilst the schoolroom below could accommodate up to 200 pupils. At the time of opening funds were still being raised to meet the £2,678 cost of the building, but Mr Hinchliffe, who had already donated £50, promised another £50 on opening day. Meetings were held here until the corps disbanded in 1970.
Methodist Chapels and Victoria Memorial Hall
The Primitive Methodist Chapel on the corner of Miller Hill and Cuckstool Road opened in 1837 and lasted until 1962 when it was taken over by Lewis Craven & Son and used as a printing works. During the chapel's religious existence Miller Hill became known locally as "Ranter Hill", an indication of the enthusiasm of its congregation!
The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Cumberworth Lane was founded by woollen manufacturer John Wood who had initially held meetings in his textile manufactury, Field House. He purchased a piece of land on Cumberworth Lane and had the chapel erected. It opened in 1799. A minister's house was built adjoining it. John Wood's sons, James and Tedber emigrated to Australia in 1848 but on a visit home years later donated moneys towards building Denby Dale's first school. 100 years after first opening a plaque was erected on the chapel mentioning extensions carried out in 1839. The handsome Victoria Memorial Hall, used as a Sunday School and for large meetings and other functions was built just across the road in 1903 at a cost £4,000. During World War I, however, it was put to use as a convalescent hospital for injured servicemen, having 40 beds and a team of nurses installed. Between 1916 and 1919 it received 924 patients. Afterwards, whilst still being used as a Sunday School, various sports clubs also used the premises, and musical entertainments sometimes took place there. Sadly, the building eventually became too expensive to maintain and was sold off in 1976, the new owner demolishing it in 1977 and new houses were then built on the site.
Springfield Mill
The owner and founder, John Brownhill, was born in Cumberworth in 1836, the fourth son of Thomas and Elizabeth Brownhill. Thomas was a weaver and clothier and John enthusiastically took up the same trade. He married Jane Mary Schofield
in 1863 and went into partnership with a Mr Scatchard in 1868 establishing a business at Inkerman Mill on the Barnsley road, Denby Dale, with him. John and his family lived at Inkerman House nearby. Before too long, though, the partnership ended and in the early 1880s John chose a new site for his works with a better water supply from the Dearne, and this was to develop into Springfield Mill.
By 1881 his worsted manufacturing business was employing 130 people and became a company in 1900 by which time John's sons, James and Charles Henry, were also working for their father. The company produced a wide range of textiles including cottons, brocades, taffetas, damasks and during World War II even made parachute silks and khaki shirting.
Its most prestigious engagement, though, was in 1923 when the company was asked to produce the silk for Elizabeth Bowes Lyons' wedding dress when she married Albert Duke of York, later to become King George VI. She, of course, became Queen at that time. Charles Henry's son, John Kenneth Brownhill joined the company in 1930 by which time it had two new directors, Frederick Eley Bart and Algernon Hall. Charles Henry died in the 1930s and his brother and managing director, James, in 1942 to be succeeded by his daughter Marjorie Hopson, his son, Major Cecil Naylor Brownhill, having been killed in a car crash in South Africa in 1938.
John Kenneth Brownhill served in World War II but was taken prisoner in Burma by the Japanese. He returned home and rejoined the company in 1945, Algernon Hall having largely taken charge during the war during which time he re-organised production and introduced more modern machinery. Business continued into the 1950s when over production by other companies and cheap imports began to threaten profitability. In 1961 the company was sold to Qualitex Fabrics Ltd of Colne, thus ending the Brownhill family's involvement, although the new company did move production to Denby Dale from Colne and kept on most of the workforce.
Bagden Hall
George Norton (1806-1865), the son of Benjamin Norton (1770-1839), built Bagden Hall. Benjamin had established a small manufacturing business producing fancy waistcoat goods at Cuttlehurst Mill in 1801. George's three older brothers had all in turn assisted their father in the clothing business but then gone off to establish businesses of their own, so it was left to George, the youngest son, to stay with his father and develop that business as best he could. Unfortunately Benjamin's attempts to help his second son William out financially when his enterprise at Spring Grove Mills, Clayton West, ran into severe difficulties (see below) meant that his own mill was also in jeopardy. Luckily George married well in 1828 to Betty Race, daughter of George and Hannah Race of Dudfleet Mills, Horbury and after her husband's death was able to borrow sufficient funds from Hannah to save Cuttlehurst. George then purchased the mill from his father in December 1832 and after this his fortunes improved as there was still at this time a strong demand for fancy goods. Not long afterwards George was able to think of ways of expanding and improving the premises, introducing steam power and jacquard looms, but he particularly wanted to add a finishing plant, having already added a new 3 storey hand-loom weaving shed on Cuttlehurst Hill. The problem was that the current mill's growth was restricted with a hill behind and a large loop of the River Dearne to the side. It was while searching for additional land on which to expand nearby that George discovered Bagden and Lower Bagden farms surrounded by delightful countryside yet within close proximity to the works. In arranging the purchase of the farms George seems to have changed his intentions and decided to build a substantial new home for himself and his family, suitable to his new status as a wealthy manufacturer by this time.
Until then George had lived adjacent to his father who had built his own home on
Cuttlehurst Hill adding several attached cottages for his sons when they helped him with the business. To acquire the Bagden estate George had to enter into negotiations with the Stanhopes of Cannon Hall and the Beaumonts of Bretton Hall who both had claims and various rights on the land. The house was probably built from 1845 onwards but George had to overcome a contretemps with his brother Joseph Norton, who seems to have “borrowed” his architect, Ignatius Bonomi, his plans and his workforce in the process in order to build his own Nortonthorpe Hall (now demolished) on Busker Lane, identical to Bagden except for the colour of the roof slates. Meanwhile the work at Bagden was put on hold delaying its completion. George employed local companies to carry out the work – George Hinchliffe, quarry owner and stone mason of Clayton West was the principal contractor with the woodwork supplied by Joseph and James Kaye of Scissett. George now turned his attention to improving access to his new home particularly to and from his workplace. He actually went to the trouble and expense of diverting the Dearne from its meander next to the mill by creating a new short course for it. This freed up land for extension to the works but also to create Bagden Lane which led directly from there to the estate. Meanwhile he deterred “Sunday walkers” from invading the family's privacy by building more lodges at the Hay Royds and Clough House Lane entrances and lockable gateways at other entry points. By contrast at various periods the Norton family also often invited local schoolchildren and other groups, including the World War I soldiers recuperating at Victoria Memorial Hall in Denby Dale, up to the hall to enjoy feasts and games on the grounds. The relationship between the family at the Hall and the local villages was in fact cordial. The Bagden womenfolk took a genuine interest in village affairs whilst the menfolk involved themselves with local clubs and societies and were often either chairman or guest at many meetings and lectures and otherwise extended their patronage throughout the district, sometimes gifting small parcels of land to worthy causes. In 1873 a new approach road from the main Denby Dale to Wakefield turnpike road was completed with its own “New Lodge”.
George and brother Joseph had often worked closely together, their respective mills of Cuttlehurst and Highbridge being in close proximity to each other, so that, after a serious fire in 1852 which gutted Highbridge, the brothers rebuilt creating the Nortonthorpe Mill still on site today. George's son,
Thomas, later joined Joseph's sons, Walter and Benjamin, to continue the company as Norton Brothers & Co.
George Norton died in 1865 but his son Thomas Norton (1846-1935) took over his role, continuing to live at Bagden. He married twice, became a J.P., a Doctor of Letters and Deputy Lieutenant of the County. He expanded the estate and his son George Herbert Norton (1873-1950) eventually played a large part in the company. Due to foreign tariffs, the fancy weaving trade collapsed around 1895 and by 1897 Nortonthorpe and Cuttlehurst Mills were being leased out to other companies, but George Herbert went on to recover the company after about 1913. He lived at Highfield House, Denby Dale, leaving Bagden Hall in the
occupation of his stepmother, Jessie J. and sister, Alice. When Jessie died Alice moved out and the Hall was put up for sale in 1958. Later, between 1989 and 1992 the Hall was extensively renovated by Jack Braithwaite and became a quality country hotel with its own 9 hole golf course (the golf course subsequently closed).
Many of this Norton dynasty are buried in High Hoyland churchyard. The founder, Benjamin, having originated from there.
William Norton overstretched his finances after acquiring and over expanding Spring Grove Mills at Scissett. He was evidently over optimistic of success but in fact ended up in serious financial difficulties and in conflict with the law when he failed to meet the continuing mortgage payments due to his financiers. Declared a bankrupt he was arrested and detained at the house of John Lancaster, sheriff's officer of Huddersfield, and held in a room 4 storeys up. But Mr Norton made his escape during the night of 14th December 1828 by means of a rope stretched between his bedstead and the Methodist Chapel below. After that, a sum of £20 was offered for his detention. However, Mr Norton seems to have recovered after this low point for himself and his family members, whom he put under considerable stress. He was able to return to the textile manufacturing business, even registering new patents for his ideas to improve the industry.
The Kelso Travelling Theatre
Although born in London on 10th July 1865 fairground entertainer, comedian and music hall artiste, William (Billy) George eventually settled in Denby Dale towards the end of a career as a travelling entertainer. He worked at first with his two younger brothers, Henry and Thomas, the act calling themselves “The Kelso Brothers”, entertaining at feasts and fairs around the country, Kelso being a stage name. The company was known as “The Kelso Empire Portable Theatre”. Eventually the brothers split up, Billy creating his own company of performers and continuing to tour, as did his brothers, and all extensively visited the towns and villages of our area with their shows. Earlier their father, another William George, had set them an example by becoming a music hall artiste himself. These travelling theatres spent the warmer months, perhaps from Easter to September, touring, returning to base for the winter months. In winter they appeared at established theatres such as those owned or leased by impresario Milton Bode. In summer they temporarily set up their portable theatre in such places as Dewsbury, Batley, Cleckheaton, Kirkburton, Meltham, Honley, Skelmanthorpe and Scissett in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Billy married his first wife, Rebecca Ada in 1885 and they went on to have 3 sons, but sadly she died and Billy went on to marry another stage performer, Minnie Hayes in March 1905. She used the stage name Minnie Parker, an attractive singer and actress, and she gave birth to twins the following year. The family lived in a comfortable wheeled caravan during the touring season. Billy now described himself as a comedian and stage manager and advertised for acts to come and join the show frequently, especially those who had “been with me before”. As they grew, the children would have helped out with the business, perhaps selling tickets and snacks and manning various stalls. Eventually one of Billy's older sons, Frank, joined his father and the two then performed comedy routines as 'Keith and Kelso'. But Billy, Minnie and company also acted in melodramas or plays.
However, demand for travelling entertainments of this kind declined with World War I and the beginnings of the movie industry and as a result Billy and Minnie decided to settle down, and in 1917 or thereabouts they settled at Robinson's Croft, now called Norman Croft near the viaduct and the then Prospect Inn (now Dale Inn) in Denby Dale, renting the croft or land there and living in a fine pair of travelling caravans which became objects of interest for the villagers. They continued to tour during the summer and perform locally in the winter with Denby Dale as their base until about 1925. In February 1926 they advertised for sale their collection of theatrical dresses, wigs, books, hats and swords cheap in 'The Sheffield Independent' and went into retirement.
N.B. The caravan illustrated is similar to the ones used by the Kelso family
Billy George died in March 1932 and Minnie in December 1949. They are
buried in Upper Cumberworth churchyard.
A strange incident occurred involving one of the Kelso brothers one night in July 1896. A policeman on patrol in Eldon Street, Barnsley, noticed a pony and trap with a child seated inside left unattended for several hours there. The policeman eventually took charge of it and conveyed it to the Cock Inn, Shambles Street, leaving the child in the charge of the landlady there. A letter addressed to the Theatre of Varieties, Skelmanthorpe, was found inside, signed by a J. W. Jessop. He was a servant of the proprietors and complained of being wrongly accused of dishonesty by them, so had determined to leave. The letter was sent on to Skelmanthorpe when it was discovered that the pony, trap and child belonged to Mr Harry Kelso. Jessop had been asked to take Mrs Kelso to Denby Dale station with the child, but instead of returning had gone on to Barnsley, boarding a train to Sheffield and leaving the child alone. Mr Kelso had been out all night searching for his missing daughter!!