Lockwood

Mount Pleasant school clocktower

After inspection of the buildings which were deemed unsafe, Mount Pleasant Primary School on the corner of Mount Street and Victoria Road in Lockwood,

became a priority for rebuilding. Work on the rebuild, in two phases, commenced in the summer of 2016 with completion intended for April 2018. Work was completed and the school was re-opened officially in September 2018.

The old buildings incorporated an iconic Victorian clocktower, built in 1875, which had become a Lockwood landmark, and a community campaign was launched to save the clocktower. The tower was retained as a separate entity on the architect's plans and when the relevant Council cabinet agreed to demolish the old building but retain the tower in March 2016 the campaign to preserve it, backed by Huddersfield Civic Society, appeared to have attained its objective. However the Council then went on to issue a demolition order for the tower without explanation on 27th December 2017 to the dismay of the preservationists. To their further dismay the tower was demolished in the summer of 2018.

The school itself was originally built on an acre of land leased from Mr. Joseph Berry and its foundation stone laid by Mr J. Dodds, chairman of the General Purposes Committee on 20th September 1873. Leeds architect Charles Fowler designed the school and clocktower and Messrs. W. Mallinson & Sons employed to build it. It was designed to accommodate 300 each boys and girls and 400 infants. At one time a County Secondary School, it is now a Primary School.

Lockwood Spa

The spa baths were designed by Halifax architect John Oates and built by a private company in 1827 at a time when Lockwood was being promoted as a summer retreat in the romantic and sheltered Holme Valley, within a short distance of all the transport and other facilities Huddersfield had to offer. Lodgings were to be had within the village itself, at the Bath Hotel or at guest houses along Bridge Street, and also in the nearby town. Lockwood had the benefit too of a strongly sulphurous sparkling spring, highly desirable as a health cure in those days. A handsome Grecian style single storied building was erected of Ashlar stone with Tuscan columns to serve as the Spa Baths, with the spring water pumped to it by means of a steam engine. This building, on a bank of the river and set in its own gardens, contained a large swimming pool and a variety of shower baths - cool, tepid, warm and vapour. It was in a secluded spot sheltered by a wooded hillside opposite.

The Spa was approached along a tree-lined avenue off Lockwood Road with open fields all around and the Bath Hotel just across the road, and behind it a bridge was constructed to take strollers for a pleasant walk in the Spa Woods. Initially charges were high - varying from sixpence to use the swimming baths to three shillings and sixpence for a vapour bath, so only the rich would have been able to attend, and there would have been an air of exclusivity. However, all this must have changed as time went on, and in the 1858-9 season over 30,000 bathers were said to have used the facilities. Season tickets could be purchased at the spa itself or in Huddersfield. In July 1834 after heavy rains there was a landslip in the hillside opposite which did not damage the spa itself but moved the nearby wooden foot-bridge over a metre from its moorings. The Holmfirth Floods of 1852 also caused some minor damage.

The Bath Hotel now is pictured

Meanwhile Lockwood was being transformed into more of an industrial hub with the construction of several mills and the resulting huge ingress of mill workers. Also, the new Albert Road cut across the Spa's grounds, meaning it was no longer the remote and quiet spot it had once been. After a succession of private landlords, Huddersfield Corporation bought the building in 1869 for £910, altered and improved it, re-opened them the following year, and continued to operate the Baths, which until 1879 were the only ones in the district. By 1881 they had become dilapidated but the Corporation undertook to repair and even enlarge them and the pupils of local schools were able to have swimming lessons there. They continued to operate until closure in April 1941, after which the building was used as a gas storage depot until 1946, when the Corporation closed the building completely. However, soon afterwards a local company, Shaw and Greenhalgh, bought the building and converted it into an engineering works. The spa building still exists and is still in itself handsome, albeit surrounded now by a less attractive industrial estate.

John Henry Abbey (1831-1880)

John Henry Abbey, architect and surveyor, played a key role in the planning, development and appearance of the new borough of Huddersfield and had a hand in the design of several important buildings in his home village of Lockwood too.

His paternal grandfather, Thomas (1766-1826), arrived here from North Yorkshire and established himself as a road surveyor. He surveyed the Birstall to Huddersfield Turnpike in 1818 and the Lockwood to Meltham Turnpike in 1822 and was associated with the Lockwood Estate. Four of his sons, Thomas, Mallinson, William and John followed the same calling, so by the time John Henry was baptised in September 1831, his father, John (1796-1847), was already well established in the area as a surveyor of roads. His achievements included designing the bridge over the Colne at Salford, Lockwood in 1833. He had married Mary Goodwin of Denby Grange in June 1826 and they lived at first in Swan Lane, but tragedy struck when John died around his 50^th birthday and his widow, Mary, was left to bring up the family alone, albeit with a pension to live on. By 1851 the widow and her children were living at Royd House just off Swan Lane and her eldest, Thomas, was himself a surveyor of turnpike roads, whilst John Henry was working as a surveyor's clerk to Mr Thomas Brook of Huddersfield, and later as apprentice to Mr Martin, civil engineer, of Leeds, learning the trade. Meanwhile, several of John Henry's cousins also pursued the same career.

Lockwood Mechanics Institute

In 1853 John was appointed Surveyor to the Huddersfield Improvement Commission and also to Lockwood Local Board. But in 1857, when his uncle Mallinson Abbey died, he left to join his cousin in taking over his uncle's surveying business, with the intention of expanding the practice and his own experience. He succeeded so well in this that his services were soon in demand. In particular, his skill as a valuer of land and property saw his opinion being sought in several arbitration cases. Then in 1868 he was elected Borough Surveyor to the newly created Huddersfield Borough Council. This was his finest hour as he became involved and influenced the layout of the new town, planned major roads, bridges, water and sewerage works and the new cattle market in Beaumont Street. He had also become an architect by this time and designed several important buildings in Huddersfield, notably the new borough offices in Ramsden Street and the handsome public building in Princess Street which was to become the Town Hall. He was also responsible for laying out Beaumont Park after the land was donated to the town by Henry F. Beaumont. He didn't neglect Lockwood either, designing Lockwood Town Hall, the Mechanics Institute and the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Bentley Street. He also started a timber merchant's business at the Albert Saw Mills here.

John Henry had married a Huddersfield fruiterer's daughter, Ann North, in October 1856 and the couple continued to live at Royd House or “Sun Royd” off Swan Lane. They had eight children there and were able to employ two servants. Three of his sons went on to assist him in his work. Despite his heavy work load, John was able to take an active part in the community of Lockwood. He was a cricketer and secretary of Lockwood Cricket Club, churchwarden of Emmanuel Church, a Freemason and at one time Master of Huddersfield Lodge no. 290, and a member of the Huddersfield troop of cavalry. He was also agent for several important local estates. However, declining health forced him to retire in August 1879 and he died, aged only 49, in November 1880. His funeral was impressive with representatives from all his business and leisure pursuits in attendance and on the day of his funeral curtains were drawn as a token of respect throughout the township. He was buried in the family vault in the grounds of Emmanuel Church. Later, moneys were raised at services there to build a memorial pulpit to him in the church.

Lockwood Town Hall

Designed by John Henry Abbey and built in 1866 at a cost of £1015, the old Lockwood Town Hall on Swan Lane was commissioned by Lockwood Local Board,

established 3 years earlier, and one of the first small local authorities to feel the need for its own regular meeting place. But the building's use as a Town Hall was short lived as in 1868 Lockwood became part of the County Borough of Huddersfield and it became redundant as far as the original intention was concerned. This annoyed at least one local ratepayer, as rates had risen steeply to pay for the building, now deemed useless, and he vented his anger in the columns of 'The Huddersfield Chronicle'. But a variety of other uses were gradually found for the premises.

Whilst still serving as a meeting place for Lockwood Local Board, in fact, members agreed in 1866 and 1867 to the use of a room in the building by the police for their meals and rest during Lockwood Feast, providing no prisoners were kept there, although later there were reports that some prisoners had in fact been brought into the building causing disturbances and even fights. Similarly it was used as a place of refreshment for the choirs singing at Honley Feast. In the 1870s it briefly became the Headquarters of the Lockwood Board of Health, whilst in 1872 a proposal was made that it serve as a school temporarily until a more suitable building could be erected. Local firms then began to use the premises for their annual workers' teas. Workers from local companies arranged their own meetings there too, often followed by a meal and a dance, combining work with pleasure. Public meetings and lectures began to be held there also, often political or educational in nature. In January 1881 a meeting was held to discuss the advisability of adopting the Public Libraries Act. Meetings were held to select candidates to represent the Lockwood ward on Huddersfield Town Council and the Hall began use as a polling station, after which the votes for the whole district were brought here to be counted.

Then in Oct 1890 Huddersfield Borough Council's Watch Committee approved plans, prepared a few years previously by the Borough

Surveyor, and accepted various tenders for, the proposed conversion of the ground floor of the Town Hall to a police station. This left the upper floor free until, in January 1893, Huddersfield Corporation agreed to lease that to Huddersfield School Board's Technical Instruction and Evening Classes sub Committee, for use as a woodwork classroom. The rent charged was £20 per annum, with the proviso that the room could be used now and then for elections and public meetings. And so the Town Hall became a woodwork centre, attended by hundreds of local young men.

An amusing incident happened at the time of the Municipal Elections of 1891 when the Town Hall was in use as a polling station. One local

resident set off from home to vote accompanied and even preceded by his pet goose, Sol. Sol climbed the front steps and entered the hall to the astonishment of the police officer and alderman on duty there. One of the clerks threw him a piece of bread, declaring it should not be taken as a bribe for the goose to vote in a particular way. Both man and goose went behind the screen where votes could be cast in secrecy. On emerging from the hall onto the front steps, Sol let out a bellow to announce he had completed his important task but declined a drink at the local pub! The incident was reported in 'The Huddersfield Chronicle' of Monday 12 August 1895.

Dixon's Milk Ices

Present residents of Lockwood Town Hall are the locally well known ice cream company, Dixon's (see photo above). Edward Dixon acquired the company in August 1961 from Ernest Rhodes who had sold ice cream from his Lockwood base for some years previously. The business began to expand, so much so that in 1973 a business partner was sought, and Mr Charles Cartwright filled the bill, becoming a full partner in 1992. Edward Dixon retired in 2003, but his son, Charles Dixon, took over his father's role. The business continued to do well, opening a second shop on Leeds Road, Huddersfield in 2012, and introducing new flavours to sell in both their ice cream parlours. The company now has a staff of 21, some driving their vans, which tour the district's streets selling directly to the public in the traditional way.

Albert Mills

The plentiful water supply in Lockwood, which sits near the confluence of the rivers Holme and Calder, not only provided pure water for the spa. Manufacturers were not slow to realise it could also be used to power their mills and dispose of any waste, and so a number of large mills developed in the area, eventually killing the area's

scenic beauty and its attractiveness as a spa resort. One such mill was the Albert Mill, built around 1853 on the newly created Albert Road (or 'New Road' at first) in close proximity to the spa building. At least the mill was attractively built in brick and Yorkshire stone with decorative architectural features and finials. In 1856 the building was leased to Josiah Berry and Joseph Brooke Turner. The Berry family members owned land in Lockwood already and Josiah's father, Godfrey, had already purchased Broadfield Mills with partner Henry Crowther in 1845. When his father died Josiah took over his father's interests there, but later Josiah seems to have left the partnership, as Henry continued his own business as "Henry Crowther & Sons" alone, and Broadfield Mills then continued in other hands. Josiah turned his attention to the Albert Mills and the manufacture of woollens. He had married by now and he and his wife, Jane, and their children lived in Yews Hill which looked out over the various manufacturies.

Albert Mill at this time consisted of the mill, a dyehouse, wharehouse, sizing room, engine house and several outbuildings including a stable. It was six storeys high, each with

fifteen window bays, with cast iron columns and cross beams inside which would not burn should there be a fire. In 1871 a new mill, eleven bays long and five wide, was added and a number of weaving sheds built between the old mill and the river. Offices were also added, as was the entrance archway, pictured, to control access, creating a large complex.

By 1875, though, the partnership between the two men had been dissolved. Josiah retired to Harrogate, dying there in 1901 and although Joseph Brooke Turner continued alone for a while the business was not successful under him and the West Riding Bank took over in 1882 when his company went into liquidation. The Bank then leased out a section of the property to a yarn manufacturer, Ben Lawton, before selling off the complex to Messrs. Brierley Brothers of Ashbrow Mills, Fartown, very shortly afterwards.

See also Lockwood page 2