Roy Castle - Early Years at Scholes
Entertainer Roy Castle was born at Holme Valley Memorial Hospital on 31st August 1932 to Hubert (or Herbert) Castle, an insurance agent for Pearl, and his wife Eliza Alice, a mill worker, who lived at Scholes. The couple, who had married in Huddersfield in July 1928, took their young son back home to No. 5 Lee Terrace, a tiny one up, one down back to back terrace house, with no back door and only a small patch of yard to the front. This is where Roy grew up. The house was so small that Roy slept in the same bedroom as his parents until he was 16, suggesting later that this was the reason he remained an only child! He had a happy childhood nonetheless. He later remembered the house had an attic and a rather scary unlit cellar, a fireplace range which needed blackleading every week, a shared outside toilet, with chamber pots under the bed for overnight, and no bathroom, so that a zinc tub had to be placed in front of the fire and hot water brought to it manually before anyone could take a bath. Outside was a communal area with washing lines, a well and hand pump for fresh water. He also remembered having to bring bucket loads of coal from the family's “coal hole” or lock up coal house at the end of the terrace to keep the house fire going. Roy played cricket and other games with neighbouring children on the spare land outside and he went birds' nesting with his pals. He attended the village school and later Holme Valley Grammar School, now Honley High School. He remembered the children's orphanage close to his home with the boys all kitted out in a grey uniform, and some of the shops in the village – the Co-op, the fish and chip shop and Fred Marsden's grocery shop, as well as two cobbler's shops for repairing the clogs the mill workers wore, and also the working men's club with its snooker and table tennis tables. At Easter, after everyone had bought new clothes with their ”divi” from the Co-op there was a parade around the village, partly to show them off, led by the brass band. It seems the clatter of the looms and bobbins working in the nearby woollen mill (Lee Mill) constantly pervaded the village at this time, although the villagers became immune to it after a while, whilst black smoke belched from factory chimneys, coating the houses in grey.
The best thing of all was that Roy's maternal grandparents, Allen and Mary Swallow, lived next door at no.4 in a much larger house. The whole family were invited for Sunday tea there and so Roy spent time with his uncles and aunts, many of whom played musical instruments or sang, and there were sing-alongs. His grandfather, Allen, actually had an organ with foot pedals and stops installed in the house and Roy naturally had to have a go. Allen was bandmaster for the local brass band and played the cornet and he was also the village barber. Later Roy's mother became a ladies' hairdresser, part-time, and she and her father shared premises, a wooden hut, in the village. Roy sometimes swept up the hair for them.
It was probably Roy's mother who encouraged him to perform. She had been talented herself when young, but had been forced by economic circumstances to forget about it and go out to work. But she was a keen member of Huddersfield Choral Society and took Roy along with her, so between the ages of 8 and 10 he was a boy tenor in their concerts. Earlier still, from age 3 he performed in concerts at the local Sunday School and took piano lessons when he was 6. From age 7 he was sent for tap dancing lessons, ostensibly to thicken up his spindly legs! The dance school he attended was Nora Bray's at Brook Street in Huddersfield. Nora was a bit of a battleaxe, very strict, but a talented ballroom dancer, winning competitions with her dance partner, Frank Noble, and even appearing in “Let's Dance” on ITV. She took her pupils to compete at Blackpool's Winter Gardens and she choreographed shows in which her pupils took part, such as the “Follies on Parade” shows to entertain the troops during World War II. She taught Roy from the age of 7 or 8 until he was 12. He performed in exhibition dances then and his Mum made his costumes. Naturally, this engendered a lot of teasing from his schoolmates but somehow Roy weathered it out. One of his fellow dance pupils was Audrey Spencer who went on to open her own dance school in Huddersfield, at first at Union Bank Yard around 1950, moving to larger premises in the Bates Mill complex off Queen Street South, near Huddersfield University in 1999.
Then, when he was 12, Roy's mum saw an advert put out by Mildred Crossley, a dance teacher cum concert party organiser in Elland. Roy went along for an audition, succeeded and became a performer in “Youth on Parade”, Mildred's latest show, performed in church halls, old people's homes, YMCAs, clubs and schools across the north of England. Here Roy broadened his talents, not only tap dancing but appearing in comedy sketches and singing duets. In the summer they put on a show twice a day at Sunny Vale Pleasure Park near Brighouse, the audience coming and going as they left to do other things or were called in for lunch, but still Roy gained more experience.
By now Roy was coming up to school certificate exams at his Grammar School. He was not an enthusiastic pupil, preferring cricket and cross country running to most of the academic subjects except maths. This was just the time when he was contacted by Mildred Crossley about appearing in a two week show in September 1946 at the Queen's Theatre, Cleveleys, near Blackpool. If successful, the company would then be offered a full summer season the following year. This is exactly what happened, so Roy pondered leaving school, aged just 14 and without his certificate, to be able to join the show. His Mum supported him and together they persuaded his Dad to agree. So began Roy's professional career, although he was only performing occasionally at first and had to assist his uncle Alec, who had a motorised fruit and vegetable round in Scholes and nearby villages, in order to earn a living between shows. He remembers calling at homes in the area to take orders and then delivering the veg. Luckily the 1947 Blackpool summer season was a big success. Again Roy appeared in comedy sketches, sang and improved his tap dancing and after that toured provincial theatres in a show called “Happiness Ahead”, the successor to “Youth on Parade”, again organised by Mildred. That Christmas he appeared in pantomime for the first time, as Baby Bear in “Goldilocks” at Stockton on Tees, then back to “Happiness Ahead” in a host of provincial theatres, living in lodgings of varied quality in each town. Not far ahead was his breakthrough to national success but first was to come his two years of national service in the RAF – the place where he learnt to play the trumpet!!
He did return to Scholes in later days though to visit his relatives and also some of his happiest memories.
“The Leas” and the Lockwood family
It was James Lockwood (1823-1876), who had this 12 roomed mansion built as a home for himself and his family sometime between April 1871, when they were living at Sude Hill, New Mill, and January 1874 when they were in residence at “The Leas” in Scholes. James was one of a group of siblings, Messrs Lockwood Bros., who had established themselves as woollen manufacturers in the New Mill area, and were described as “late of Wild Spurr Mill” there in June 1859. At least four Lockwood brothers, John, Charles, Jonathan and James, and later some of their sons, were involved in the company. At some point their business became focussed on Lee Mill on St. George's Road at Scholes, although they did have other mills, at Lockwood for instance. James managed the Scholes works at this time and had his mansion, “The Leas”, built close to his workplace but also close to open countryside enjoying some handsome scenery. James was not able to enjoy his new home for long however. He was seen in Huddersfield quite well a few days before his death, but suffered a bout of bronchitis and died very unexpectedly at home on 8th September 1876, aged just 54, as reported in the Huddersfield Chronicle the following day. In 1882 his family had a stained glass window installed in New Mill church in his memory, a man “who had always been a most kind and liberal supporter of that church” according to the Huddersfield Chronicle of 8th April that year.
James had been born at Fulstone and in 1851 was living with his wife, Ann (nee Hirst), his four young children aged between 1 and 6 and a servant at Fulstone Hall. Aged only 28 he was already a woollen manufacturer employing 39 men, 4 women and 7 children. His older brother, John, also a woollen manufacturer employing 28 men, 6 women and 3 children shared the Hall along with his own family.
Another brother, Charles, another woollen manufacturer and his family were also at the Hall and amongst Charles's household was a fourth brother, Jonathan, described then as a woollen cloth commercial traveller, no doubt selling the cloth the brothers manufactured. Jonathan later moved to “The Royds”, New Mill, and at his death, aged 60, in 1887 was described as “one of the oldest and most successful manufacturers in the Holmfirth Valley, part of the firm of Messrs. Lockwood Bros. who carried out business at Lee Mills, Scholes.” (Huddersfield Chronicle 23rd July 1887)
The 1861 Census shows brothers John and James still living at Fulstone Hall with Charles, by now alone employing 157 hands, living just next door at Bellgrave.
James Lockwood's sudden death in 1876 left his wife Ann as new head of household at “The Leas”. In 1877 the family suffered another shock when one of James and Ann's daughters, Bertha, died aged just 17. The 1881 Census reveals Ann, then 58, in charge, living in the mansion with son Fred, aged 31, himself a woollen manufacturer, and his older sister Mary Jane, 34, and younger sisters Emily, Sarah Alice and Ada, the youngest, who was then 23. All the females are described as annuitants, so their father had obviously left them well provided for. James and Ann's oldest son, Charles, also a woollen manufacturer, had married before all this but was living nearby at Netherfield, Scholes, and still played a large part in his birth family's lives. “The Leas” stood in extensive grounds and had a lodge at its entrance on Park Side. Living there in 1881 was William Atkins, 41, the gardener and his 18 year old son, John, coachman to the Lockwood family. There must also have been a coach house and stable nearby.
Mrs Lockwood became something of a leading lady in the village. For instance, the Huddersfield Chronicle reported that the annual school feast parade at Whitsun1891, accompanied by Hepworth brass band, walked from Holmfirth to “The Leas” where Mrs James Lockwood presented each child with an orange while the band played anniversary hymns. On 24th July 1886 the Huddersfield Chronicle had reported on a happy event for the family, the marriage of James and Ann's 2nd daughter, Emily, to Mr. Joe Booth with her elder brother, Charles, giving her away. The happy couple married at New Mill Church, had their wedding breakfast at “The Leas” before honeymooning in Brussels. They received wedding presents from the workpeople of Lee Mill, Scholes and Prospect Works, Lockwood, amongst others. Prior to this, in December 1867, to celebrate the marriage of his son, Charles, James Lockwood himself “of the firm of Messrs. Lockwood of Lee Mill” had treated his workforce to dinner at “The Shoulder of Mutton”, New Mill. Toasts were made followed by singing by a glee party and dancing to music provided by the Hepworth Band. The workforce presented Charles with an elegant timepiece as a wedding present but also addressed him personally to express the feelings of esteem and respect they felt for him (Huddersfield Chronicle 14th December 1867). Charles became part of the Lockwood Bros. Company.
In 1891 Mrs. Ann Lockwood was still head of household at “The Leas” with Fred and his remaining sisters, Mary Jane, Sarah Alice and Ada, all still single, residing there with her, but Ann died in March 1897, aged 74, and was buried at Christchurch, New Mill. Her son, Fred, then became head of household.
He was still involved in business at Lee Mills, of course, and continued to live at “The Leas” after his mother's death, with sisters MaryJane, Sarah Alice and Ann in 1901 and 1911 when Ann was replaced by Ada. They are all recorded as being unmarried still and they still employed a couple of household servants throughout. However, in April 1922, after a lifetime dedicated to the woollen manufacturing industry, Fred, who had been born in Fulstone in 1849, died, aged 72. His older sister, Mary Jane had pre-deceased him only a few months earlier, in August 1921, at Southport. Furniture from the mansion had been auctioned off as early as September 1920 and the house subsequently sold to the Huddersfield Poor Law Union to be converted to become the core of the children's cottage homes, which were officially opened on 11th August 1923.
The Leas Children's Cottage Homes
The children's cottage homes at Scholes were built in the grounds of “The Leas”, a 12 roomed mansion built and resided in by the Lockwood Family who ran the nearby “Lee Mill”, a woollen manufacturing mill complex. The most recent owner of the mansion, Fred Lockwood of the Lockwood Bros. Company, had died in April 1922 and the house was subsequently sold. The purchasers, the Huddersfield Poor Law Union (established in1837) redeveloped the site, building six new cottages, well spaced out, in the grounds, but retaining the mansion as the administrative centre of the new development. The new cottages were built in a style sympathetic to that of the existing building.
The Leeds Mercury of Monday 13th August 1923 described the opening ceremony the previous Saturday, which was performed by Mr. France Littlewood, Chairman of the Board, saying “the home has been converted at considerable expense from a huge private residence, and is in a delightful situation amongst the hills. It is in the centre of 20 acres of grounds including rock gardens and lawns”.
The new cottages which formed the children's homes were given names reflecting their rural location – Oak, Elm, Holly, Hawthorn, Chestnut and Maple cottages. There was capacity for around 100 children in all. Each cottage housed between roughly10 and15 children in the care of a housemother. The mansion was renamed “The Hall” and was a place where the children could come together and intermingle whilst enjoying the communal facilities there. The mansion's original lodge house at the Park Side entrance to the site was retained to serve the homes. Ironically the Huddersfield Poor Law Union was regulated and advised by various local Boards of Guardians on which many members of the manufacturing Lockwood family had diligently served.
In 1930, after Huddersfield Poor Law Union had been abolished, Huddersfield Borough Council took over, only for the West Riding County Council to then take control in 1937. A ceremony to mark the
re-opening of the homes as a West Riding Institution was held on 20th October 1937 and was performed by County Alderman H. J. Bainbridge, chairman of the Public Assistance Committee. This committee advertised and appointed staff including “foster mothers”, cooks and laundresses. After local government reorganisation in 1974, Kirklees Council took over responsibility for the homes.
The home closed in June1983 and the Scholes site then stood empty for four years until bought by Leas Properties Northern Ltd. who transformed it into a luxury housing development. They divided “The Hall” into four apartments and built four new houses on the site in a style similar to the original 'cottages'. These are now handsome private houses still in an attractive rural setting. The site, said to consist of 8 acres and including a tennis court, was then renamed “Leas Country Park”.
From 1923 onwards some Scholes village events were held in the grounds of the children's home. For instance in September 1934 a large garden fete with “all the fun of the fair” was held to raise money for the Holme Valley Memorial Hospital. Attractions included a canary judging competition and a chance, for a few pennies, to pick sweets and toys from the dress of “the lady with a hundred pockets”. There were stalls, side shows, concerts and donkey rides and music was supplied by the Hepworth Ironworks Band in the afternoon and The Roses Dance Band at night. The Huddersfield Daily Examiner of 17th September contained a full report of the event.
According to the entertainer Roy Castle, whose entire boyhood was spent in Scholes, the home was known as “Lee Hall” and the boys there (it was a boys only home at first) known locally as “Lee Hoylers”. “They wore grey trousers, grey socks, grey shirts and grey V-necked pullovers and always smelled of cod liver oil...... most of them were Ok with the exception of one or two rogues......many have made good which has to be applauded unreservedly” he later wrote. Also “their orphanage was a small village of houses surrounded by a high wall” which Roy had to pass on the way to the woods where he collected birds' eggs. After the West Riding County Council took over both boys and girls were accepted at the home.
Christmas parties, visits from father Christmas, summer sports days and other entertainments were organised for the children, some of whom had fond memories of their time there and of their carers. One housemother in the 1940s and 50s, Miss Amy Stanley, was one such fondly remembered member of staff. She brought up the children in Oak Cottage with Christian values and created a caring family atmosphere for them. At Christmas time they were encouraged to make decorations for their home and help prepare the festive foods. Relatives were able to visit the children regularly and even take them to their own homes on special occasions. She even took one or two of the children home with her to Bradford on her days off. The children “were really happy and well cared for but Miss Stanley brought something extra into her work which was her deep love of children” said several thankful relatives in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner of 7th and 21st June 1996.
In1952 improvements were made to the grounds when Holmfirth Round Table members gave up their own time to act as architects, masons, bricklayers and labourers to create a new paddling pool and sandpit for the children. The work took 18 months to complete and a ceremony, with speeches from members of the County and Holmfirth Councils took place there on 24thJuly.
The Boot and Shoe Public House
On 1st December 1835 around 40 friends and supporters of Lord Morpeth dined together at the house of Joseph Jubb, “The Boot and Shoe Inn” at Scholes to celebrate his re-election for the West Riding. The room was decorated with laurel and orange banners with suitable inscriptions. Toasts were made and animated patriotic speeches given. Those gathered were staunch supporters of reform and of civil and religious freedom. Two years later, on 1st September 1837 they gathered again at the inn for a similar celebration of their victory over the Tories at the West Riding elections. A few years later, in August 1841, The Holmfirth Reform Association again met at “The Boot and Shoe” and enrolled 92 new members. The 1841 Census shows Jonas Jubb at Scholes, publican, aged around 45, with his wife Sarah. Their daughter, Mary, born 19th July 1814, married John Lindley at the parish church at Kirkburton on 27th January 1834. After “much respected”Jonas Jubb died in November 1848 this couple appear to have taken over the management of the Inn, although Lindley is described as a woollen manufacturer on the 1851 Census. He must have done both.
A tragedy concerning this couple and the Inn occurred on 11th August 1851. The landlord, John Lindley, 37, had gone out with a shotgun, borrowed from a neighbour called Battye, to shoot sparrows on a wheat field adjacent to the Inn. His 13 year old son was with him to scare the birds into flight for his father to shoot. When doing so the boy heard the gun go off and soon after he and a passer by who had heard the shot found his father dead in the hedge bottom with gunshot wounds to his head. It seems he had been in low sprits for some time before this, but the verdict at his inquest, held at his own establishment,“The Boot and Shoe”, before deputy coroner G. Gledall Esq. was “accidental death”. He left his wife and six children, the youngest being only two weeks old. His widow, Mary Lindley, then seems to have taken over the licence and become the landlady.
This public house was not always exactly where it is now. The Halifax Guardian of 14th January 1854 reported that the licence for the old inn had been removed to the “newly erected and more extensive premises”. The lodge of the Druids who met there had celebrated the move by having dinner together there, supplied by the “worthy hostess”, Mrs Lindley. A speech by Mr. Benjamin Middleton was followed by the company singing the National Anthem.
The inn was used for the sale of property and land by auction. On 1st April 1854 the Huddersfield Chronicle announced just such an auction “at the house of Mrs. Lindley, the Boot and Shoe Inn in Scholes” when Mr George Tinker offered for sale various houses, warehouses, a dyehouse and dam, a barn and stable and numerous plots of land all at or near Scholes.
Inquests were also held at the Inn by the coroner assisted by a jury. In February 1853 an inquest was held on the body of John Vantry, 16, before Mr. Dyson. The boy had been at work greasing machinery when he was caught by a machine strap and died of his injuries. This was considered to be “accidental death”. The Huddersfield Chronicle of June 21st 1856 reported on the inquest held on the body of Joshua Bailey of Scholes, a stonemason, who with two others was quarrying ironstone at Ballans Booth, a remote place near Jackson Bridge, when a “slip” occurred and he was knocked down and half buried by shale. He was removed to Jonathan Schofield's house nearby but was so badly injured that he died that morning. He was only 31 and left a wife and child “to lament his untimely end”.
Some of the drinkers at the Inn ended up appearing before a judge at Holmfirth Petty Sessions. In January 1878 John Castle, mill worker of Paris, was charged with being drunk and refusing to leave the pub when requested by the landlady on 26th December. Police Constable Fox had to be called and coaxed Castle to leave eventually. But a 5 shilling fine and costs was still imposed. This was just one of many cases of drunkenness associated with the pub.
The landlords and landladies of the inn were sometimes on the wrong side of the law themselves. In December 1859 landlady Mrs. Lindley was up before the magistrates accused of allowing gambling in her house. She said she did not know allowing a game of dominoes if it were not for money was an offence but was informed that any form of gambling, for money or not, was. She was fined 5 shillings and 9 shillings costs.
The Noah's Ark lodge of the Druids held their meetings at “The Boot and Shoe” during the 1850s and also their anniversary dinners which were well attended by over 80 members. Speeches and entertainments usually followed. They had their own lodge room at the inn.
Then in December 1879 George Frederick Trotter, surgeon, of Jackson Bridge, was arrested at “The Boot and Shoe” accused of killing Herbert Wagstaffe, son of John Wagstaffe, mill hand of Underbank, Holmfirth on the 9th. The boy and others had been walking in the road at Norridge but moved to the edges when they saw Trotter approaching fast on horseback. It seems he ran over the boy in his haste but did not stop, although acknowledging that he had done so. When arrested he said “well, least said is soonest mended”. He pleaded 'not guilty' before the magistrates but they sent him for trial at Leeds Assizes the following month.
In July 1883 a slightly inebriated man, John Thomas Crossley, fell over a wall surrounding a field opposite “The Boot and Shoe” head first into the road. He had been walking in the field and it was getting dark. He was brought, bleeding about the face, into the inn and a doctor sent for who mentioned possible brain injuries. He was taken, semi-conscious, to the infirmary but died there a few days later.
In October 1892 John Lees, landlord, was summoned for causing a nuisance by failing to have his closet emptied despite notices issued by the Scholes Local Board. Lees said that a member of the board had offered to cart the waste away upon payment of a shilling per load and he had been waiting for him to say when he was ready to do so. The Board adjourned the case for two weeks, advising Lees to have it emptied meanwhile.
In the 20th Century the pub became one of the meeting places for the Holme Valley Beagles and lots of meets, followed by hunting in the countryside nearby occurred. Legislation which banned hunting came in to force in 2005 but beagle packs often continue to meet and follow scents across country rather than live prey.
Totties Hall
Totties Hall was built by Quaker Henry Jackson (1633-1710) between 1682 and 1684 and was licensed at first to hold meetings of members of the Society of Friends who lacked their own place of worship in the vicinity at the time. Jackson was later very much involved in the foundation of the Quaker Meeting House at Pell Lane, Wooldale, and instrumental in founding the High Flatts meeting. The Wooldale Meeting House was visited by George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement, himself in 1669. Henry also was a preacher, travelling across England to spread the Quaker ideology.
The Jackson family hailed from Meal Hill near Hepworth. Our Henry Jackson's grandparents were Humfray and Margaret (nee Crosland) Jackson of Meal Hill whose son Henry (1593-1667) served in Charles I's army during the Civil War and married Elizabeth Roberts (nee Tyas) in 1635. She already had a son, Oliver, by her first marriage to Oliver Roberts of Wooldale. This new couple had two children, a daughter Elizabeth and a son, Henry, the founder of Totties Hall.
Henry did not have an easy time and faced many trials because of his religious beliefs. Quakers at this time neglected to attend Church of England services or take the Oath of Allegiance and often refused to pay Tithes. For this Henry was fined and even imprisoned.
He was imprisoned at Lincoln in 1663, Warwick in 1663-6 and later at York. He was in York Castle prison when James II issued a Declaration of Indulgence, which exempted Catholics and Dissenters from punishments exacted by previous legislation. This led a few years later to the Toleration Act of 1689. Henry Jackson was released from prison by an order of 30th March 1686. He had been well educated and was to inherit both his father's lands and wealth as well as that of his half brother, Oliver, who died childless in 1668. This enabled him to build Totties Hall which was the centre of a 17 acre farmstead with farm outbuildings close by. Henry is credited with building 'Jackson Bridge' over the stream between Totties and Meal Hill. Sone of the Jackson family remained in Meal Hill and they frequently visited each other, hence the need for a bridge to make the journey a little easier.
The settlement now called Jackson Bridge, or 'Jigby' by locals, grew up around the bridge later.
Henry had married Katherine, daughter of Charles Cooke of Hatfield in February 1665, hence the stone above the main entrance to the Hall (J/H K) has J for Jackson followed by his and her initial and the date 1684. They had eleven children including three sons, Elihu, Henry and Abel. Elihu (1669-1730) founded Wooldale Hall in 1714, Abel became a London merchant, but it was middle son Henry (1680-1727) who succeeded his father at Totties Hall. This Henry, like his father, was a Quaker and a travelling preacher covering the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. He married firstly Barbara Lupton of Skipton in 1703 and then after her death in 1717 he married Mary Elwood,daughter of Thomas Elwood of Kendal. His daughter, Martha, married a Mr Lister of Bradford in 1735 whilst his son, Ebenezer (1715-1775) eventually inherited the Hall. Sadly he died without issue, so the Hall then passed via his Will to his sister's child, Henry Lister. In 1794, via this Henry's Will, the Hall passed to Thomas Lister, surgeon and later merchant, of Bradford. Unfortunately Thomas went bankrupt in 1814 and his estate had to be sold off to pay debts.
The Totties estate was sold in 2 lots:
Lot 1 was bought by Thomas Morehouse of Netherthong, passing to his daughter Ellen on his death. She had married Thomas Dyson of 'Elmwood', Netherthong, a merchant.
Lot 2 was bought by James Moorhouse of 'Downshutts', Scholes, whose son inherited when he died.
Since then the property has changed hands many times and in modern times has been divided up into several different private homes with a variety of owners over the years.
Old Genn
A massive sundial known as “Old Genn's Dial” once stood outside a house in Totties, built of stone in the shape of a grandfather clock and owned by Quaker Henry Genn. The dial had the date 1672 and a motto about time flying, plus the initials of the owner and the sculptor imprinted upon it. At some stage the dial was removed and placed on top of one of the farm outbuildings, whilst part of the stone pillar had been erected in Holmfirth by 1801 but was knocked over by the 1851 Great Flood. This caused an outcry amongst locals to have it restored and resurrected. It became part of the “Peace of Amiens” monument still in Holmfirth today which also bears a memorial to those who lost their lives in the flood. In September 1864 the stone was removed from a place in Holmfirth where it was an obstruction to a quieter place where it could become an ornament instead. Scores of people turned out to see the pillar erected in its new position. Mr Thomas Boothroyd of the White Hart Inn, who had written a history of the stone, which reputedly has a strong connection to Totties Hall, laid the foundation stone for the pillar, placing a time capsule beneath it. The ceremony was recorded in more detail in the Huddersfield Chronicle of 10th September 1864.
Scholes Working Men's Club
On February 1st 1876 a meeting was held in the village school to decide if it was advisable to establish a Working Men's Club. J. F. Tinker Esq. was appointed chairman of the meeting and some resolutions were formulated, the first of which was 'it was desirable for the social, intellectual and material improvement of the people in the area to establish such a club'. This was approved unanimously. Almost 50 people promised to become members if one were established and it was hoped this number could be improved upon. A provisional committee was then set up to canvas for memberships and subscriptions and to oversee the foundation of the club. Members of the committee included Mr Tinker as treasurer, Fred Lockwood, John Castle, Josiah Thorpe, John Lindley, Abel Roebuck and others with Fred Shaw as secretary. A subscription list was opened then and there and the attendees were enthusiastic about the future of the club. Meetings were held at first in the Town School and later, for 21 years, at premises belonging to member Richard Swallow.
It is disappointing, then, to record that after prospering at first with over 100 members, membership gradually declined so that by November 1882 there were just 28 and the club was at a critical point. It would only survive with the generous support of the working men and tradesmen of Scholes. The club had not been managed or supported vigorously enough. Its existence in the village seemed to have been forgotten, its usefulness and purpose ignored. 'One Interested' wrote to the Huddersfield and Holmfirth Examiner on 24th November that year exhorting those of influence in the village to ensure the survival of the club by giving it their unremitting and magnanimous support. He begged anyone interested in the village to come forward and help make the club an efficient and honoured institution.
In February 1895 a severe frost meant all outdoor work had ceased on top of a scarcity of work in the district anyway. Many families fell on hard times. In response the WMC opened a soup kitchen to provide the hardest hit with a meal. Wealthier residents, such as the Rev. Briggs, the Tinkers, Miss Lockwood of “The Leas” and some local farmers subscribed or gave goods in kind to support this.
The Yorkshire Factory Times of 1st January 1897 reported that Mr John Francis Tinker of “Downshutts House” had left a bequest in his Will of £1000 to build new club premises. Mr Tinker had long been a keen supporter of the WMC and had served as its President even running a night school at “Downshutts” for members. He died on 17th May 1896 aged 53. His solicitors were able to inform the club's secretary of the welcome news shortly after his death. Mr Tinker stipulated the new club be called “St. George's”.
Land was acquired next to Mr Lindley's shop on St. George's Road. On the day the foundation stones were laid, a procession left the site of the new building, led by Hepworth Band, followed by Mr S. Shaw, H. Tinker, and J. R. Bower on decorated cycles. Mr Jonathan Mettrick, Joe Holmes and William Booth followed on horseback. Miss Tinker travelled in a carriage and Mr Bolland’s carriage also included the architect Mr Birch. Another carriage carried some past and present members of the club, now mostly in their 70s and 80s. The route passed Paris, Scholes Moor, Chapel Lane, and passing the club site, went onto Totties before returning back. Mr Tinker's sister, Sarah Jane Tinker, laid the first foundation stone for the new club and this can still be seen near the club's site on St. George's Road. It was made of stone quarried in Holmfirth and Miss Tinker used a presentation trowel to lay the stone. A second stone was laid by Col. T. Brooke, J.P. who was presented with a mallet and trowel. On this occasion speeches were made by Col. Brooke, Fred Shaw and the Rev. T M Turnbull and afterwards Hepworth Band played the National Anthem. A public tea was then provided at Mount Tabor Methodist Free Church schoolroom.
Then on Saturday 16th September 1899 the new building was officially opened. Mr. Charles Lockwood of “The Royds”, New Mill, opened the new club. The “handsome little building” cost £1,100 mainly paid for by Mr. Tinker's bequest. Mr Tinker's friend, G.H. Birch FSA, of Lincoln Inn's Field, London, was the architect and he donated “100 best books” as the nucleus of the club's new library. After a procession to the new club the opening ceremony began. Mr Fred Shaw presented Mr Lockwood with an ornate silver key with which to open the door to the club which was then viewed by those present. A terracotta bust of Mr Tinker was presented to the club by Miss Tinker, his sister. Mr Lockwood then gave a speech referring to his long association with the club and Sir Thomas Brooke, J.P., who had been present when the foundation stones were laid, gave a congratulatory address and hoped the club would be a huge success. A public tea was then provided for around 400 people followed by a soiree presided over by Mr K. Lockwood. Initially the club itself was alcohol free!
The club house contained a committee room, reading room, billiard room, bathroom and two games rooms. Local firms had been chosen to carry out the work, masons F Marsden & Sons, plumbers and glaziers Joah Tolson, George Quarmby & Sons painters, Messrs. Haigh Bros, plasterers all of Holmfirth, and Jonas Battye, joiners of Scholes. Extra funds had to be raised to furnish the interior as Mr Tinker's legacy only provided enough for the build, so various fund raising events had been held locally.
And so the club prospered for a while but, like with so many other organisations, attendance dwindled with the onset of picture houses in the early 20th Century and television later. It closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2013 to be replaced by a row of new homes. The club's stone name plate and its two foundation stones survive, though, and are still visible close to where the club once stood.
TINKER’S MONUMENT
This was a well known local landmark, consisting of a large house with a high tower at one end sitting on a hilltop easily seen from Scholes. Although it is long gone, the hill it was built on is still referred to by local people as Tinker’s Monument.
The monument was built in 1844 by Ebenezer Tinker and was nicknamed “Old Ebbie’s Folly”.
It is thought that Ebenezer, the son of Uriah Tinker of Meal Hill, used it as an observatory and there was a report in 'The Huddersfield Chronicle' of 31st July 1852 of a group from Holmfirth Mechanical Institute making their second annual excursion to the recently erected observatory of Pike Law Hill. The article goes on to describe the event:
“A marquee of a rude and primitive design but extensive and commodious was fitted for the accommodation of such visitors as chose to partake of tea or other refreshments. Accommodation was provided for a limited number in the tower.” A temperance brass band attended and Beaumont’s Brass Band was also there. Around 5 o’clock people began to gather from all directions their number growing to about 1,500 with about 300 taking tea. Mr Tinker kindly permitted the visitors to have use of his powerful reflecting telescope, six inches in diameter. The telescope had been made by a Mr Creaser of Meltham who also attended the event.
At least two other interesting events happened at the Monument. On June 22nd 1897 a large bonfire was lit to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and on May 31st 1931, Herr Magersupper, the German sail planning expert gave a demonstration there.
The monument was brought down by high winds which had been consistent for a few days. The tower crashed down shortly after 2.30am on the morning of Friday 21st January 1949.
The stones fell onto the adjoining property and Mr Nathaniel Whiteley said it was amazing that the family had escaped. The worst part affected was their son William’s room but the whole house was affected and they lost most of their furniture and personal possessions. The Shepley branch of the National Farmers’ Union came to their aid and inaugurated a fund to help replace the family’s belongings.
The Whiteleys were taken in by the owner of the Tower, Major and Mrs Brian Tinker at Meal Hill.
Mr Whiteley, who had lived there for at least 25 years, commented “I heard a rumble and some creaking. I thought the tower was giving way and I got my wife and son, William, up and into the barn…. You would have thought nobody could escape” as reported in 'The Huddersfield Examiner' on Saturday January 22nd 1949.
COOK’S STUDY
Cook’s Study has been described as “a romantic tower on a hill above Hepworth.” It was situated on “Godfrey Hill” above 'The Weathercock Inn' (also known as 'The Cart and Horses'). It was situated in an area of moorland above Holme, 3 miles south of Holmfirth, close to Snailsden Reservoir, and it is thought that the earliest structure may have been made of wood but had disappeared by the early 1800’s.
People have said Cook’s Study was named after a vicar in Holmfirth who used to go up there, but records show there was no vicar called Cook. The next idea was that maybe Captain James Cook, the British explorer, frequented it, but this is unlikely. However the theory that historians have come to favour is that it was named after a local man called Matthew Cook, who strolled up to Cook’s Study and sat and read or gazed around at the scenery. Locals at the nearby 'Weathercock Inn' would say, when he passed by the pub with a book under his arm “that Cook’s been at his study again”. And so the legend was created. The Huddersfield Examiner reported in 1997 that a book belonging to Matthew Cook had been given to a Henry Castle, who lived close to Cook’s Study, and was still in his family. The prayer book was signed by Matthew Cook and dated 1792.
A more substantial subsequent building may have been a shooting lodge or gamekeepers' store and owned then by the Duke of Leeds. It was burned down in the early 19th Century during some land ownership disputes.
Following one of a number of Enclosure Acts the land was bought by John Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall. Around 1851, following a visit to the location with his friend the sculptor Francis Leggatt Chantrey, later a Sir, he designed a new tower for use as a shooting lodge. Chantry, born in Sheffield, had scupltures in Westminister Abbey. The structure was then named 'The Chantrey Tower', it was 20ft by 20ft square and 40ft tall, but this also burnt down in 1860.
There is a picture postcard of Cook's Study in the Huddersfield Local Studies collection and it was posted to Bridlington in 1908 and a duplicate one sent to Criccieth, Wales in June 1925.
Cook’s Study has virtually disappeared, there are just a few carved stones laying around now, the only evidence that it ever existed. An archway taken from the entrance to Chantrey Tower was at some time removed and rebuilt in the grounds of Cannon Hall near Barnsley, his residence, by the owner John Spencer Stanthorpe and it still stands as a decorative feature in the gardens there today.