Cleckheaton Local Board

The Cleckheaton Local Board of Health was formed in 1863 after adopting the Local Government Act 1858.

Initially the Local Board consisted of 11 members; 6 for the township of Cleckheaton; 3 for Scholes and 2 for Oakenshaw. One third of the Board had to annually retire from their post, but could be re-elected. The Chairman was elected annually by the members and could also be re-elected. Many of those who served on the Board are names you may instantly recognise. To start with, meetings were held on a monthly basis but it was later adopted at some stage to hold fortnightly meetings. The townships of Scholes and Oakenshaw would eventually leave the district in 1869, but then return some years later.

After 1869 the Local Board would consist of 9 members. When Scholes and Oakenshaw rejoined in 1877, the Board consisted of 12 members: 8 for the township of Cleckheaton and 2 each for Scholes and Oakenshaw.

The details obtained, regarding the various meetings, have been extracted from the local newspapers of the day. Unfortunately, it hasn't been possible to locate the reports on every meeting held. Certainly, in the early years, reports seem very hard to come by, so at the moment, there are plenty of gaps. Hopefully some of these gaps can be filled over time.

This page is under construction and more details will be added in due course.