JACKSON BRIDGE
The bridge owes its name to the Jackson family who are recorded locally from the 1300s. They are chiefly remembered because of Henry Jackson, a prominent Quaker, who built Totties Hall in 1684 and who, according to Morehouse's “History and Topography of the Parish of Kirkburton” of 1861, had the bridge built as a convenient link between his home and Meal Hill. He goes on to say 'There is no reason to doubt this: a survey of 1709 shows that Henry and his son had numerous properties in the graveship, including houses at Staley Royd, Mount and Hullock, together with land at Meal Hill and Foster Place. No doubt, therefore, the place-name goes back some 300 years or more'.
The White Horse Public House
Probably best known as a filmset for some episodes of the BBC TV series “Last of the Summer Wine” in the 1980s and 1990s, The White Horse is a traditional country pub close to the bridge from which the village gets its name.
The inn was in existence by 1833 as, on 30th August 1833, an inquest was held in Holmfirth on the body of John Brooke of Bank House, Holmfirth, who had been drinking in the White Horse a week or two previously with a Jonathan Woodcock. The two got into an argument concerning one of their wives, developing into a fight, in 'the most barbarous and brutal manner' apparently common in the clothing districts, known as “poising each other”. Brooke received several “poises” or kicks to the ribs and other vital areas of his body and had to be carried home, where he died in agony a few days later. A verdict of manslaughter by Woodcock was returned by the Coroner, Mr T. Badger Esq., and Woodcock was committed by him to York Castle presumably for trial.
Such fights seem not to be unusual in the village. The Leeds Mercury of 2nd March 1839 reported on a “Brutal Exhibition” there, an up and down prize fight, in which Amos Brook and Joseph Heeley kicked and pummelled each other before a large crowd of onlookers for a prize of £2 a side. Brook was declared the winner. The paper thought the constabulary ought to clamp down on such disgraceful occurrences. It seems they did not as fights in the village continued frequently up until the end of World War II causing some locals to regard it as 'a hell hole'.
Soon afterwards, on 6th July 1843, the Inn's landlord, William Sutcliffe, put it up for auction when it was described as “old-established and well-accustomed”..... “in an excellent state of repair” and with a good water supply. At that time it consisted of the inn itself with an adjoining grocer's shop and warehouse with a stable and other outbuildings and it owned the valuable plot of land in front of the inn at the junction of the road to New Mill, which was included in the sale. The auction was held at the inn itself. By 1848 J. Lindley was the landlord.
In September 1853 Constable Earnshaw fined the then landlord, Joseph Waterhouse, with keeping his house open out of hours, on a Sunday, both in the early morning and in the afternoon and the landlord was fined a total of 15 shillings and 24 shillings costs. But he didn't learn from this as in August 1856 and April 1857 he faced the same charge and was again fined. A few years later this same landlord was found guilty of assault on a 'tall and stout' widow named Sarah Hartley at Scholes on 4th October 1855 and was fined 5 shillings and expenses of 17 shillings.
In June 1855 a fatal accident occurred close to the inn. 73 year old Mark Hirst of Berry Brow had been delivering a steam pan to the mill and returning home was thrown from the waggon into the road. He was taken badly injured into the inn where he lingered in agony for two days before his death there.
In January 1857 it was reported in 'The Huddersfield Chronicle' that the 'wild people' of Jackson Bridge had some notion that a new year had arrived, as a tea was served by Mrs Waterhouse, landlady of the White Horse, to around 120 old and young ladies of the neighbourhood. But as the tea was served with “Jamaica Cream” it caused 'these mountain dames to become wilder than usual, dancing away like mountain hares, and thus the evening passed cheerfully away'.
In December the same year, 1857, an inquest was held at the inn on a young woman called Jane Senior who had left home one evening to visit the shops in Holmfirth but whose body was found drowned in the reservoir of water at Matthew Mill in Jackson Bridge, only 70 yards from home, the next day. She had seemed in her usual health when she left home and no explanation could be found.
In May 1870 another sombre event occurred – an inquest at the Inn on George Heeley, miner at the Hepworth Iron Company's no. 2 drift mine, who had fallen backwards from a colliery hoist or cage to his death on his way out of the mine after his shift. The manager, Mr Senior, was reprimanded for not keeping the cage in good repair but no reason was found for the man's fall, although the cage did have a hole in its bottom!
There were many more social gatherings, inquests, and fines issued to the various landlords for being open outside licensing hours or allowing drunkenness or gaming on the premises subsequent to this. Today the White Horse is quieter, a pleasant place to meet in the village centre, sometimes organising events to support various charities and with a collection of memorabilia from the “Last of the Summer Wine” years.The History and Topography of the Parish of Kirkburton and of the Graveship of Holme (1861)
Dobroyd Mills
The mill now known as Dobroyd Mills was originally constructed in1829 and was initially powered by water. On the 1851 Census, John Earnshaw was listed there as Master having 31 hands working for him. A few years later, in 1856, Earnshaw’s son, John William, age 2, fell into the plug hole of a dye pan in the dyehouse near his father’s residence, and received fatal injuries. Jonathon Moorhouse of Moorhouse Bros., Penistone, was in charge soon afterwards, but by May 1860 he had gone bankrupt, putting the mill and its stock up for sale, an offer repeated several times over the coming years when it failed to sell. It remained unsold when local young woman, Mary Webster, drowned herself and her 15 month old illegitimate son in the mill’s dam, tying the child to her beforehand. Mary had not been getting along with her parents for some time resulting in her mother turning her and her child out of the house, leaving her in a quite desperate situation. She lived with a neighbour for a short time, it seems, but the family fallout obviously played on her mind.
In 1872 the mill was being tenanted by John Kilburn when it was again put up for sale, this time successfully. Jonathon Thorp & Sons of Holmfirth Mill were the buyers, but they immediately built a new mill on the site which stood three stories, and later five stories, tall. Several outhouses were added later, as was a square chimney. The advantage of the site was the plentiful water supply from the stream flowing from the Bowshaw Reservoir, essential for the dyeing process in particular. This company produced fine, colourful, worsteds for export. Thorp's treated their workforce well, providing free outings to the seaside for them occasionally in summer. It was unfortunate then that fire broke out in the condensing room at the mill, when the night shift were at work, in the early hours of Saturday, 25th August 1888, Fire engines were summoned and the Holmfirth Unity and Holmebridge Mills but they were unable to save it. Damage was estimated at £30,000 but insurance cover only amounted to £19,000. The mill employed between 300 and 400 people by that time. Rebuilding work took place again to a four or five storey level, but the new build was put up for sale in July 1889 but again did not sell immediately and so could still be used by Henry Thorp, the owner, to celebrate the marriage of his third son, Hubert Thorp, to a Miss Charleswoth with a dinner for family, friends and invited workpeople in January 1895. Hubert, along with his elder brothers, helped manage the mill.
When the mill did not sell it was offered for rent and in 1905 a company called Barker and Moody were using it. By 1907 this had become J.H. Barker & Co., Moody having left the partnership. By 1910 Dennison & Sharman were manufacturing fancy woollens there, becoming C. J. Sharman & Co. by 1917. Then in 1919 Mr William Haigh took control changing the mill's name to Dobroyd Mills Co. and becoming managing director there. Haigh was a real character, a 1st World War flying ace, a national hero, a textile magnate, and a philanthropist. He became known locally as “Buffalo Bill” because of the style of hat he preferred. This new company seem to have been successful immediately, expanding the mill as the need arose. Dobroyd Mills Co. was eventually able to take over Eastwood Brothers' Thirstin Mill at Honley and later Holme Bottom Mill in New Mill in the 1940's. Further expansion took place between the 1930s and 1950s, the company becoming one of the best known names worldwide for women's worsteds.
After William Haigh's death in 1956 his son, Keith took over, the company increasing exports so much that they were awarded the Queen's Award to Industry in 1968, by which time the mill occupied 70 acres and employed 600 people. Another small fire in 1971 was quickly contained. By 1974, however, it was decided that the mill should close. It had enough orders but not, it seems, enough skilled staff to fulfil them. Machinery was sold off and the mill stood empty for some time, parts of it suffering vandalism. In 1978 John Woodhead Ltd., fine wool spinners, of Albion Mills, Thongsbridge moved into the premises. New machinery was installed but by 1982 Woodheads had gone into receivership. The OCM group of Liversedge were in the premises by January 1983, re-employing 60 of Woodhead's former workforce. Other small businesses such as Cottage Knitwear Ltd and Jonathon Thorp (successors) Ltd. and JT Knitting Ltd. joined them in the 1980s. Meanwhile the OCM part of the business was taken over by Z. Hinchliffe & Sons Ltd. woollen spinners, of Denby Dale.
However, this was not to last. The decline of the textile industry made production here no longer viable. Although other small businesses such as computer services, engineering, sheet metal works and motor vehicle services made use of the premises in the early 21st Century, the building eventually became derelict. Planning permission to knock down two sections on the northern end of the complex was granted by Kirklees Council in 2012.The classic car renovation company and the Oil Can café were the last occupants of the mill. However, they both moved out around 2017, leaving the mill empty. Despite proposals in 2018 to convert the buildings into apartments and office space, the chimney stack and some outer buildings were demolished first, followed by the whole complex, bar the Hepworth Band Room, in 2020.
Meal Hill House
Meal Hill is said to be so called because it was the place where the Romans brought their corn to be ground by hand-mill stones to feed their families.
In the later 17th Century Meal Hill became a Quaker enclave with Meal Hill House as its centrepiece. The West Yorkshire Non-Conformist Records for that period record Quaker Richard Batty and his children Barshaba, John, Ann and Lydeay, born between 1667 and 1674, living there. Fellow Quaker Jarves Kay and his brood of children born between the 1660s and 1710s lived there alongside the Jackson family who had also adopted the Quaker religion.
The Jackson family were resident at Meal Hill House for several generations. Humphrey Jackson and his wife Margaret (nee Crossland) had a son there, Henry Jackson (1593-1667), who served as a soldier in the Royalist Army during the Civil War. He and his wife Elizabeth (nee Tyas, widow of Oliver Roberts of Wooldale), her son Oliver by her first marriage, and their own children, Elizabeth and Henry, also lived at Meal Hill. This son, Henry, later built Totties Hall around 1682. Henry was well educated and by this time wealthy, having inherited both the Jackson estates and also those of his childless half brother, Oliver. According to Henry James Morehouse's “History and Topography of Kirkburton” pub. 1861, having often to return to Meal Hill to visit relatives and having to cross a fast flowing stream part way there, this Henry had a bridge built over it for convenience, around which the village of Jackson Bridge subsequently grew. He was a Quaker and a friend of George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement, who preached at Meal Hill and later Wooldale at Henry's invitation. Unfortunately Henry's religion led to his imprisonment, first at Lincoln in 1663 and later at Warwick from 1663 to 1666 and finally at York Castle. It was his eldest son, Elihu, who built Wooldale Hall around 1711. Elihu (1669-1730) was a doctor with a large practice in Doncaster although residing at Wooldale for much of the time. It must have been he who inherited the Meal Hill property because after his death his widow Catherine (nee Vickers), whom he had married in 1695, sold off Meal Hill House in 1739.
The Tinker family then enter the scene. Joshua Tinker, 'late of Meal Hill', was a 'clothier, dealer and chapman' but was declared bankrupt in 1774 as recorded in the Leeds Intelligencer of 9th August and 1st November that year. On 25th July 1774 he assigned all his estate and effects over to his creditors, chief of whom was Uriah Tinker of Hepworth but also included JohnTinker, also of Hepworth, amongst others. Uriah then held property in Mealhill, according to the Land Tax returns, some of which he occupied and some he let out to others including Abel Tinker (1742-1823) who had some property of his own there too, and made Mealhill his family home in the 1770s. He appears to be the son of Tedbar and Martha Tinker of Shelley and had married Ann Hepworth in 1770. His son, Uriah Tinker (1777-1849) of Meal Hill, went on to marry Miss Elizabeth Shaw of Upperthong in January1805.
The Tinkers were involved in both mining and agriculture. They acquired extensive estates, land and property over the next 200 years, their holdings eventually extending from New Mill to Jackson Bridge. They utilised their lands for both agriculture and coal and ironstone mining, so the area became a mining area. Hazelhead Colliery (known locally as Sally Wood) at Crow Edge, Snowgate Head Colliery and Wood Mill drift mine were amongst the most substantial but their enterprises also included short lived shallow mines, drift mines or adits, often called “Day Holes”, workable during daylight hours and usually short lived. Once candles were used the miners employed could travel longer distances into the drift. Uriah Tinker's day hole near Meal Hill was 400 yards long in 1842 for example. Gin pits with winding gear operated by a pony were also developed and Uriah operated some of these too – he was selling off some of the equipment in 1862 after a pit closure. He also on at least one occasion let out some of his land for others to extract its coal and ironstone at a price. Tramways were sometimes constructed to transport the mined minerals and there was one such at Meal Hill itself.
A company called Messrs. Tinker Bros. Ltd., colliery owners, Hepworth, was formed. At the1851 Census Ebenezer Tinker(1807-1855) of Meal Hill, unmarried son of Uriah and Elizabeth Shaw, was described as a coalmaster employing 40 men and a farmer of 50 acres employing 3 men. He was responsible for “Old Ebbie's Folly”, later known as “Tinker's Monument”, a house with an adjoining tower used as an astronomical observatory, erected in 1844 on a prominent hill overlooking Jackson Bridge and Meal Hill. After his death in 1855 his brother, another Uriah, took control of the mining business. The development of the mines and their use of technology including the production of coke was advanced by Uriah's son, Charles Shaw Tinker (1848-1923) who was highly qualified in mining. His obituary in the Holmfirth Express of 14th July 1923 mentions not only his membership of the West Riding County Council, Hepworth Local Board and New Mill District Council but also his love of animals, having been for long master of the Rockwood Hunt. At his funeral his coffin was carried out of respect by some of the older miners employed by Messrs. Tinker Bros. For more detail see “Mines and Mining” by Pam Cooksey and Alan Tinsdeall pub. Holme Valley Local History Society.
His son, Major Brian Tinker (1893-1977) became chairman and managing director of Messrs. Tinker Bros. Ltd., the fourth generation of the family to have an interest in mining. He served in the Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons Yeomanry from1912 to1932 and commanded the Huddersfield and Wakefield Squadron, retiring with the rank of Major. He was a warden of Hepworth Parish Church for 40 years and President of the New Mill Branch of the British Legion.
Members of the Tinker family were involved in the religious, educational and social aspects of local life. They granted land and buildings to, and helped finance aspects of the village church in Hepworth and the non-conformist chapels in Jackson Bridge. They served as churchwardens and trustees. They entertained annual Hepworth feasts and Sunday school outings at Meal Hill. Charles Shaw Tinker and Philip Tinker were trustees of the Hepworth Town School, old and new, and after his death Philip's sons remained involved. As mentioned, Charles Shaw Tinker was a County Councillor and he and his son Major Brian Tinker served as magistrates and on New Mill UDC. They were involved with the Rockworth, Badsworth and Grove House hunts, so Meal Hill became a focus for many colourful meets. Nearby Larks House, a tenancy of Meal Hill House, was used for stabling their horses and for kennelling their dogs.
N.B. See also the article about "Tinker's Monument" on the Scholes (Holmfirth) page.
Jackson Bridge WMC
Situated on Chapel Bank, this used to be the Hazelhead Miners' Institute, which was opened by Mr Herbert Smith, President of the Miners' Federation on 20th June 1925. In his speech at the opening Mr Smith extolled the value of such clubs to each mining community and he hoped to see many more of them opened in mining villages. Mr BrianTinker, managing director of Tinker Bros., owners of Hazelhead mine, presided saying the club was for the benefit of any person in the district who cared to join it. He hoped it would be a source of education with visiting lecturers, as well as a leisure facility. The Institute, which was built at a cost of £961, was of modern design, with reading, games and billiard rooms, and was made possible by a grant from the Miners' Welfare Fund, to which every pit in the country contributed. It had a shop but not a bar. It also had a bath for any miners who wanted to use it, which was very unusual at the time. Miners' cottages had no running water before this, so washing meant using a freezing outdoor pump, or a tin bath in front of the fire, and so was often neglected. It wasn't until the 1930s that pit head baths began to appear at the country's largest mines and even later, if ever, at smaller mines. After the opening ceremony, tea was provided for around 200 attendees at the Wesleyan schoolroom nearby. Later a gala and dance, with music provided by Hade Edge Brass Band, was held in the grounds of Meal Hill, Mr Tinker's residence.
Hazelhead Colliery or “Tinkers' pit” was at Farmers Lane off Sheffield Road. It was opened by Mr Uriah Tinker in 1884. Its coal was converted into coke at coke ovens nearby and sent to the Sheffield steel works. It was nationalised in 1945 but closed soon afterwards, in February 1948. By then only 26 men were employed there, as opposed to around 100 in the 1920s, its heyday. Most of these miners had lived in Hepworth, New Mill or Jackson Bridge.
On 8th September 1934 the village held a carnival, the first in 30 years, to raise funds for a hospital in the Holme Valley, and the Institute played its part with tennis, bowls, clock golf and pony rides in the grounds and billiards, fortune telling and a treasure hunt in the building, followed by a concert in the evening.
By November 1949, after Hazelhead's closure, the club was know simply as the Miners' Welfare Club.
By 1983 the Working Men's Club definitely had a bar and about 250 members. Some used the bowling green, some were in the club's cricket or snooker teams whilst most used it to meet and chat with others and to have a drink of course and perhaps have a game of bingo. Entertainment was provided at the weekend. In summer a gala and hog roast was organised with a float parading around the village, often led by a local brass band. The club, then and now, was always involved in raising funds for charity.
The club houses a large wooden Second World War memorial plaque in its snooker room with the names and photographs of all those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice losing their lives whilst serving their country between 1939 and 1945.
There must have been an earlier version of a Working Men's Club in Jackson Bridge which was in full swing in April 1888 when, under the presidency of Mr. Brook Mitchell, Mr. Fred Booth of Hepworth gave a talk about “the use and abuse of leisure time” to a goodly audience who afterwards debated the subject. This was one of a series of lectures presented in an upper room there during 1887 and 1888. Perhaps this club was not yet established when, in January 1880, Messrs John Thorpe and Sons of Dobroyd Mills treated all the children and young people working at the mill to an excellent tea followed by games and dancing at nearby Scholes WMC instead.
The (Hepworth) Wesleyan Methodist Chapel
In 1797 a group of prominent local men approached the Archbishop of York with a request that the house of John Kay of Jackson Bridge be registered as a place of worship for non-conformists. By 1802 they were negotiating with Uriah Tinker of Meal Hill about a possible piece of land on which to build the chapel and burial ground. In the end land was bought from Abel Tinker for this purpose in 1808 and building work commenced. Located on Chapel Bank, Jackson Bridge, the chapel was opened in 1809. The reported cost was around £1,400 raised from a public subscription together with a business loan. It could seat around 370 people. The chapel joined the Holmfirth Methodist Circuit and by 1810 had 78 members. The burial ground was in use from at least 1813.
The trustees began to experience financial difficulties by the early 1830s, unable to meet the ongoing repayments and interest on the initial loan, and had to sell off the copyhold of the land in order to survive. This inability to repay the loan lead eventually to a Court of Chancery case in 1857 when the lenders demanded repayment in full. As a result the chapel and burial grounds were auctioned on 14th March 1858 and purchased for £305 by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference. By August of that year, though, the original trustees had re-acquired both the chapel and grounds with a loan from the Conference.
Meanwhile attendance had improved. On the last Sunday in March 1851 170 people attended the afternoon service, whilst 87 people had already attended that morning.
When the Wesleyan Reform Church emerged in 1848 the congregation split and by 1851 the Wesleyans were using the chapel for their services, Sunday school and meetings whilst the reformers used the separate Sunday School established in the 1820s for theirs. This arrangement didn't always run smoothly, though. One Sunday evening in 1858 the reforming preacher, Thomas Crosland of Scholes, turned up only to find the door of the Sunday School locked against him, and so had to hold his service outdoors.
Improvements were made to the chapel building in the 1860s and payments made to Uriah Tinker and a Mr Boothroyd for land for the burial ground along with other outlays, so that by 1870 the chapel was again facing financial difficulties and a fund had to be set up for the reduction of the chapel and schoolroom's debts. A group of wealthier local gentlemen members contributed to pay off the Conference loan. In 1880 the chapel was able to acquire an acre of adjacent land but it took another 20 years before they were able to build the new Sunday School upon it.
The first half of the twentieth century saw a decline in people attending services and this, together with the problem of dry rot throughout the chapel needing extensive building work decided the remaining 42 members to close it in August 1969. The Chapel was sold off and later demolished in 1975 and the Sunday School converted to a private house. The burial ground remained open until 1977 when it too closed.
Pamela Cooksey's booklet “Chapels and Churches of the New Mill Valley” published in 2009 by Holme Valley Civic Society's Local History Group has a more detailed account of the chapel's history. Huddersfield and District Family History Society have published a booklet with graveyard plans and an index to the graves there with some of the memorial inscriptions.
The (Hepworth) Wesleyan Methodist Day and Sunday School
In 1826 it was proposed in an indenture that a piece of land in Jackson Bridge known as “Meal Hill Bottom” be purchased on which to build a day and Sunday school, run by the Wesleyan Methodists but otherwise open to all denominations. Such a school had been established in nearby Scholes in 1818. Leading proposers were Ebenezer, Phillip, Uriah and Abel Tinker, all supporters of Wesleyan Methodism and leading landowners in the area. The Sunday schools of the day taught not only religious education but basic subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic to both illiterate adults and children locally.
A one room school was then built with separate entrances for boys and girls either side of the school bell mounted high on the building's front wall. The Sunday School would have been run by Methodist chapel members whilst a school master and mistress were appointed to run the day school. In 1841 John and Susannah Whitehead filled these paid positions.
In the 1850s mention is made in the local newspapers of sermons being preached in the Wesleyan Chapel to raise funds for the Sunday School and it is likely that annual feast days were held by the Sunday School. One such is reported in the Leeds Intelligencer of 30th May 1857 when, after the customary walk around the village by teachers and pupils followed by the serving to them of tea, coffee and buns and the presentation of a large cake “for home consumption”, the pupils were sent home but the teachers and supporters stayed on to listen to interesting addresses.
The school was in use in 1884 when pupils of Hepworth Town School moved in whilst their new school was being built but by the 1890s it seemed the old building was inadequate, too small for the number of pupils, without separate classrooms and inconvenient for public meetings so a new school was needed. An acre of land adjoining the chapel had been purchased in 1880 but it was a long time until funds were sufficient to build a better schoolroom. In April 1895 a bazaar was held at the Town School in Hepworth to raise funds. However, it was not until 1900 that the Sunday School was built. An opening ceremony was held on 6th October 1900, the Huddersfield Chronicle remembering the old school's “cold bare walls and cramped space”. The new school, designed by Joseph Smith of Sheffield, had an assembly hall with infant's classroom and four other commodious classrooms. A procession from the old to new school took place consisting of teachers, scholars and Methodist Circuit ministers and officials, followed by a service and sermon and then tea was served. The evening meeting was well attended with speeches about the value of Sunday Schools to the community. The old school was sold off to become a private house, the income from the sale helping to fund the new building.
Declining congregations and structural issues led to the chapel closing in 1969 and then being demolished in 1975. The adjoining burial ground was closed in 1977.
Mount Tabor Methodist Free United Chapel
After the emergence of the Wesleyan Reform Church movement in 1848 some members of the congregation of the Jackson Bridge Wesleyan Methodist Chapel felt sympathetic towards it and eventually, by the end of 1851, formed a separate congregation.
They began to meet in the Sunday School building instead of in the main chapel. But in 1858, arriving for their usual meeting, they found the door locked against them and had to hold that service outside. They then held a meeting in the village and decided to establish their own chapel to be know as Mount Tabor, in association with the United Methodist Free Church, a successor to the Wesleyan Reformed Church.
This group purchased land at the corner of Parkside and Scholes Road, on which to build their new chapel, from a Mr Firth at a cost of £3.15s in September 1861. A month later the foundation stones were laid. Money for the new building was raised by subscription, building work followed, and in June 1862 the new Mount Tabor Sunday School was opened followed by the chapel itself in August. In the following years numbers attending the new chapel and pupils attending the Sunday School swelled to a peak in the 1890s. In May1891 there were 132 scholars attending Sunday School taught by 22 teachers! The chapel closed briefly in December 1871 for the installation of gas, presumably to enable heating, at a grand cost of £20 for which those attending were very grateful.
Entertainments attracting a large audience were sometimes held such as a “sewing tea” in April 1884 followed by songs, readings and recitations given by the teachers and friends. This raised money for 'the sewing fund'. An annual feast day at Whitsuntide was also held with a procession around the village and its surrounds, starting from Mount Tabor and led by a local brass band with stops for singing. Stops were also made at local mansions such as 'Merehouse', home of the Thorps of Dobroyd Mill, and 'The Lees', home of the Lockwoods of Scholes Mill, where the children were given a treat by the wealthy householders. As late as 1960 this was still being held in corroboration with the village's Wesleyan Sunday School and Scholes Wesleyan Church when a united sing was held. As before, an evening gala with children's sports and more band music was held in a nearby field.
Well attended Jubilee celebrations were held in October 1912 with services, sermons, a public meeting and tea and choir singings. At some point the chapel was closed for refurbishment and the installation of a new church organ, but by 1922 it was noted in the chapel minutes that numbers attending the services were declining. In1932 Mount Tabor joined the congregations of Holmfirth and Netherthong chapels to form the Holmfirth United Methodist Circuit. But dwindling attendance during the Second World War caused the trustees to consider closure, the chapel only being saved when a group of enthusiastic young people joined the congregation. But this couldn't continue forever. In 1966 the decision was taken to close the chapel which was sold off in 1968. The money raised, £351, was given to the Wooldale Church for their Sunday School extension. The building was demolished the following year and a residential property, which incorporates the chapel's gateposts, the only reminder that the chapel existed, was built on the site.
The Red Lion Public House
The Red Lion was in operation in 1868 and probably much earlier than that but definitely so in January 1868 as the Huddersfield Chronicle of 4th January 1868 reported that “manufacturers, Lockwoods, partook of supper at the house of Mr. Edward Brown, the Red Lion Inn, on Saturday evening. About 60 persons partook of the edibles”.
Located on the main Sheffield Road it was a convenient stop for anyone using that road and was mentioned as a beerhouse in 1879 and 1897 directories. It is also mentioned in the newspapers of the day, especially when something dramatic happened there or nearby.
The Huddersfield Chronicle of 15th June 1878 mentions Adam Castle of Jackson Bridge and Joseph Hartley of Springwood, miners, being drunk and disorderly there and refusing to leave. Police Constable Fox had to be called to deal with the situation. Castle had a similar previous conviction and both were fined 5s plus costs at Holmfirth Petty Sessions. But a more profound event was soon to happen near the Inn.
A “brutal assault” took place very near the Inn. On Saturday 5th October 1878, late in the evening, two rock salt hawkers, Jonathan Stockdale and William Stutton from Bradford had been drinking at the pub and sought lodgings for the night there, but as there were no vacancies determined to walk to Barnsley that night. But they only got a few hundred yards when they were attacked, severely beaten, kicked insensible, and robbed by a gang of local youths, principally Aaron Whitehead (18) and George Haigh (18). Whitehead's brother Daniel (17) and John Marsh (24) were also involved as were four others. The Bradford men, unable to move, lay where they were attacked, in a field, all night but next morning were able to summon a policeman from New Mill who took them back to The Red Lion, then to the Whitehead abode in the village, where they both identified Aaron as their attacker. He denied it, but he and the gang members were arrested. Their case, which had excited a lot of local interest, was brought before the police court in Holmfirth the following week. Stutton, his head in bandages, was able to tell what had happened and identify his principal assailants, but Stockdale was too ill to appear. One of the gang, Sam Booth, decided to give evidence for the prosecution. It seemed that a few of the gang members had tried to discourage the attack once it was underway. However, all seven were sent for trial at Wakefield Quarter Sessions the week after. Here too there was a great deal of public interest in the case with large crowds waiting outside the Court House for the verdicts. Despite evidence to the contrary, Aaron Whitehead and three other defendants were acquitted. Apparently there was a close resemblance between the two brothers which threw doubt on Aaron's identification. Daniel Whitehead and George Haigh were given 6 month prison sentences and John Marsh 4 months. All this was reported in the Huddersfield and Holmfirth Examiner on 12th and 15th Oct and in the Yorkshire Post on 24th October 1878 .
Another dramatic incident occurred in 1884 when Job Senior, 61, died suddenly shortly after leaving the Red Lion beerhouse where he had just had dinner consisting of cold meat and potato pie, currant cake with cheese and a glass of beer. He walked about 150 yards, fell and was taken into a nearby house and died. He was employed by Fulstone Local Board. The incident was recorded in the Leeds Times of 20th Dec 1884.
The Miners' Refuge Friendly Society was a Friendly Society formed in 1872. By 1885, the society was meeting at the Red Lion Inn, Jackson Bridge.
In June 1890 the 'freehold beerhouse known as The Red Lion', along with three cottages and a plot of land were sold at auction to Messrs. Brook & Co., brewers, of Penistone for £500.
In the 1930s the inn began hosting Beagle meetings in line with many other country pubs up and down the country. It had hosted Harriers meetings earlier in the century.
In 1950 an application for a licence to sell wine and spirits at the pub was refused on the grounds that the building was not suitable. Alterations had to be made and were and the place redecorated, so that a full licence was then granted to landlord Herbert Mellor in March 1959. After this the pub began to work harder to attract customers with music, including Irish folk music events, and even drama performances by Mikron Theatre in the 1980s. There was also a greater emphasis on providing hot meals rather than just bar snacks as before. The pub also had a successful tug o' war team in the early 1980s. By the 1990s jazz bands regularly played at the pub. Around this time the pub had a sports and social committee which organised an annual fun run and barbecue and raised money for local charities.
In 1985 the inn, “situated in picturesque countryside” free of ties, and “constructed of traditional local materials” was put up for auction “offering an excellent opportunity to acquire long established easily run premises”. At the time the premises consisted of an open lounge with views, a games room, bar, ladies and gents toilets, preparation kitchen, cellars, 3 bedrooms, living room, bathroom and private kitchen. It had a beer garden to the rear and three storage rooms beneath and another at the end of the property. It had gas central heating too and was a freehold property. The auction was advertised in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner of 15th March 1985.
Former New Mill U.D.C. Council Offices
Towards the end of 1895 New Mill Urban District was formed with the merging of the urban districts of Hepworth, Scholes and Fulstone. The Local Government Act of 1894 enabled the replacement of Local Boards by these elected Urban Districts Councils which were given increased powers and responsibilities.
Candidates were sought to act as councillors, polling stations set up at Hepworth, Scholes and New Mill, and a vote taken on 30th November 1895. The election results were subsequently declared at the Jackson Bridge council room.
In late May1899 New Mill UDC took formal possession of their new council offices at Jackson Bridge, designed by Mr Joshua Barrowclough of Holmfirth. Rooms included a council room, committee room, clerk's office, store room and caretaker's house. The build cost was £1,000.
Huddersfield Chronicle of 1st Dec 1900 reported on one of the fortnightly meetings of the Council held at the Jackson Bridge Council Offices, listing the Council members attending, with Mr Charles Tinker as chairman. This provides a snapshot of a typical meeting.
Its Health Committee were at that time enquiring into why certain persons had connected their W. C.s to the mains sewerage system without Council approval.
The Highway Committee were concerned about repairing a certain road an individual resident had complained about, and establishing or repairing fencing along the main road. They were also investigating the variation in gas consumption at different street lamp locations and ordering several new lamps.
The Finance Committee scrutinised the accounts, approving some items of expenditure and taking measures to recover certain debts owed to the Council.
A letter or two to the Council were read and dealt with and then a certain Councillor suggested the Post Office be contacted and asked to make the postal service in New Mill as good as in neighbouring villages. He complained that a letter posted to him, as a business man, in Scotland on a Friday did not reach him until the following Monday morning!! Other businesses in the district suffered likewise.
The Council were responsible for the water supply in their district and in1898 a legal action was brought against them by Ebenezer Heeley, colliery proprietor of New Mill for laying defective pipes which had flooded his mine. An arbitrator agreed with him and awarded him £420 in damages.
Under the Representation of the People Act of 1918, the urban district became part of the Colne Valley Parliamentary Division.
New Mill Urban District was abolished in 1938 following a county review under the terms of the Local Government Act of 1929. Despite the existing council members protesting that they did not want to be united with Holmfirth, the area was divided as follows:
4,212 acres were transferred to an enlarged Holmfirth Urban District with a population of 4,250
2,047 acres were transferred to an enlarged Penistone Rural District with a population of 288
The council offices were soon put to good use. On 5th July 1939 an inquest was held there on Miss Kathleen Hollingsworth, 33, of Ivy Cottage, Jackson Bridge. She had been found dead in her own home, of natural causes the coroner decided.
On 26th August 1947 another inquest was held there, this time on Harry Brook, 58, landlord of “The Red Lion” public house, who had committed suicide there after his wife left him.
Later the Council Offices were used as a child welfare centre serving families in Jackson Bridge, Scholes and even Wooldale. By June 1969 it was solely used for this purpose and the Holmfirth Council was considering the future use of the building. They thought it unfair that it was being used for a function which the County Council, not the local council, was responsible for and at a very low rent. They had suggested the County Council buy the building or at least pay the full cost of its maintenance but they had declined in both cases. So they decided to suggest some alternative venues for the child welfare centre.
Eventually the building was sold off and by August 1986 had been converted mainly into a private residence – Midgebottom House – which was up for sale. The new house, standing in large terraced gardens overlooking woodland, had been modernised but retained many of the original features including the ex-council chamber with its domed ceiling as one of its eight large rooms. The principal floor could be used for either residential or business use, for which planning permission was available. Central heating and part double glazing had been installed. It was offered for sale again in February 1999 and subsequently.