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This article appeared in The Dewsbury Reporter on Saturday 26 Jun 1875 and is written by Dr. Thomas Birkhead Oldfield, who resided at Hill Top House, Heckmondwike and was very much interested in all things historic. In this article he describes what Heckmondwike was like 70 years earlier.
He also wrote a series of 10 articles called Rambles on the Slopes of Liversedge which also appear on this website.
The latter part of the last, and the beginning of the present century, were eventful periods in the history of England, periods of war, dear provisions, high rates and distress amongst the people.
At this time Heckmondwike may be considered as one of the nooks of old England, which the piercing eye of the antiquarian had not perceived or but slightly so, and the bustling commercial travellers' visits were not so common as nowadays.
The population numbered about two thousand, and though we can still perceive the outlines of the old town, modern improvement has greatly changed the aspect of the place. No streets then existed, the main thoroughfare, the Halifax and Wakefield Turnpike Road, was the principal road, from which branched Beck Lane, Walkley Lane, Back Lane, Chapel Lane, Cawley Lane, Kilpin Hill Lane and other bye-ways.
We had no continuous line of buildings, but groups of houses here and there, the recollection of which is gradually fading from the memories of the old inhabitants, very few of whom are now left to give a description of the past.
The trade at this period was more of a domestic character, especially that of the manufacture of blankets; the clack of the loom was heard in most households, now almost unknown; the bobbin wheel, warping woof and spinning jenny, and raising perch, were household articles, indispensable to the manufacturer of that most useful article a blanket.
The making of carpets also employed a portion of the inhabitants, a trade which has so increased here that more looms are employed in weaving a great variety of these articles, not so essential to our personal comfort as blankets, than in any other place engaged in the trade. These were the staple trades of the town, with others necessary for our comfort and living.
Mills were becoming gradually established, destined eventually to supplant the old order of things, and though some might lament this the comforts of the people would bear no comparison with those now enjoyed; indeed we might fear almost a revolution were we compelled to go back to the diet of hung beef and bacon, oatcakes and porridge, and hard-baked wheaten bread, or dress in the style of that day.
In this year, 1805, a poor rate of two shillings in the pound, being the second rate for the year, was laid on the 30th day of August, for the use of the poor and for other uses, Mr Francis Allatt being churchwarden and Mr Nathaniel Burnley, overseer, and whether this was the last for the year, I cannot ascertain, probably not. The state of the town at this period could not be very satisfactory, and though wheat was not quite so dear as previous years, yet its price was more than double of the present time.
If your readers will follow me, I will briefly give an account of the town and some of its leading inhabitants, and starting from the extremity of the township adjoining Dewsbury, the first house, a small farm, was then occupied by Edward Crosland, farmer, and to show the difference of the rateable or annual value then and at present will not be uninteresting to your readers, house and shop, etc. in 1805 ÿ2 2s, now £15; land £17 13s, now £29. Proceeding on Walkley Lane, descend to the Bottoms, and you will find a fine old English homestead erected by Joseph Swallow, dyer, in 1696, and subsequently occupied by William Watson, fellmonger, and during his occupancy it was rated at, the house, etc. £2 9s 6d, now £23 5s; land £16 5s 6d, now £25 10s. Skinning was also carried on here by Peter Hartley, a well-known and respected townsman, and by others, but this branch of business there has died out.
A short distance from the Bottoms were what were then termed Barker Mills, used for the manufacture of carpets, blankets, dyeing and fulling purposes. Mr John Barker was the proprietor, and one of the largest employers of labour and ratepayer. His descendants went to Leeds and were merchants. Since that time Mr Samuel Cater was owner, hence the name Cater Mills. Mr Henry de Paiva, who married his only daughter, carried on the cloth trade here, and his children would inherit their mother's fortune.
Proceeding towards the town, we find Walkley Cottage, formerly occupied by Mr John Oates, draper and blanket merchant, of a family closely connected with Heckmondwike commercially. Advancing towards the town, we pass Beck Lane, the mill at this time being occupied by Mr Henry Hirst, an active townsman, and cut off in the prime of life, and other buildings as carpet manufactory by Mr George Goodall.
Arriving at the Market Place, little altered, even now, from its original shape, there was the maltkiln of Mr George Scott, who died in 1825, aged eighty years. His son, the late Mr George Scott, continued the business and was a well-known active political character. He retired from the business many years previous to his death and died in the services of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company in 1858, aged 73 years. The village smithies of George Scott and John Sunderland were often the resort of the newsmongers and idlers of the day.
Four ancient hostelries existed, but presenting a different appearance than they do at the present. The George and Dragon was kept by Mr Francis Popplewell, where the first blanket market was established. His father Jonathan was the previous host, a highly respected man, and a local poet thus sings of him:
"He served his station well on earth,
Preserved the honours of his house,
From wicked oaths and filthy songs,
From vice, and wars, and foolish games,
There he has oft reproved sin,
His house a house of prayer has been,
He loved Christ's ministers and saints,
Revered the Sabbath's sacred rest."
The house, up to the present time, I believe, continues closed on Sundays, except to tavellers. Mr Francis Popplewell is still well remembered, and died in 1818, in his 69th year. His tombstone in the Upper Chapel burial ground has upon it the following very significant line: "He was a Father to the Poor."
The Woodman, at this time called the King's Head, was occupied by Christopher Jewison, father to the late Mr Christopher Jewison, coroner for the honour of Pontefract, a well-known gentleman. Mr John Scholefield changed the name to the Woodman, and many will recollect the old sign board, and upon it painted the woodman, with axe over shoulder, and his dog. A few years ago this gave way to another woodman, getting somewhat invisible, and the following lines:
"Woodman, spare that tree,
Touch not a single bough,
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now."
Close to the Woodman stands the Red Lion, and upon the sign board recently:
"High in the street o'erlooking all the Market Place,
The Red Lion showed his kindly face,
His ample jaws extended from side to side,
His eyes were glaring and his nostrils wide,
Yet nothing dreadful to his friends the sight,
But sign and pledge of welcome and delight."
Mr James Firth was host, and he, with his fellow publicans above mentioned, exercised also the calling of a shopkeeper.
Opposite the Lion was the meekly Brown Cow, now Commercial Inn, occupied by George Scott, the village blacksmith. Both the external appearances and the internal arrangements of these inns are quite modernised, and Goldsmith's descriptiveness would hardly apply to them. Another poet says:
"All the comforts of life in a tavern are known,
'Tis his home who possesses not one of his own,
And to him who has too much of that one,
'Tis the house of a friend where he's welcome to run,
The instant you enter my door you're my lord,
With whose taste and whose pleasure I'm proud to accord,
And the louder you call and the longer you stay,
The more I am happy to serve and obey."
These inns, with the Woolpack, kept by William Firth, were all we had at the beginning of the current century. The rateable value of the George was £5 19s 6d, now £45; the Woodman £2 12s, now £36 10s. I have not been able to ascertain the original value of the Commercial or Red Lion but the present is £36 for the Lion and £50 for the Commercial. The above statistics show how the value of property has increased in the present century in the Market Place.
In 1796, a fair was established for horses, cattle, pigs and pedlary, held on the first Monday in May and November, and which has continued with more or less success up to the present time, and a market a few years afterwards held on a Thursday, and it was proposed to erect a Doric Cross with belfry, the model of which is in the possession of Mr Stephen Walshaw, but on account principally of the death of Mr Henry Hirst, this was not carried out, and the market gradually died out, but in after years was resuscitated, and, considering the size of the town, it is not surpassed if equally by any other in Yorkshire. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, on the latter of which the town assumes a very busy and animated appearance. The Markets and Fairs Clauses Act was adopted in March 1866, and the market re-opened under that Act in February 1868.
Leaving the Market Place, we will advance up High Street, at the bottom of which stands Beevor House, the original name being Brook House, at present the residence of Mr Matthew Firth, a zealous member of the Local Board of Health. The Beevors, a family of great antiquity, formerly occupied it, the last resident of the family there was the Rev. William Beevor, and Sir Thomas B. Beevor of Harham Hall, Norfolk, is the direct representative of the Yorkshire branch of the Beevors, and descended on the maternal side from the Batts, of Oakwell Hall, Birstall, a family of note.
At the head of Shaver Hill stands "Stubbins Mill," originally belonging to a company of shareholders, hence called subscription mill or new engine. It was looked upon as a great success, and if a workman was employed there, it was a common saying that he had got bread for life. Subsequent events caused it to fall into the hands of Messrs. Henry Oates and Son, who have greatly enlarged it, and more modern machinery and the power loom have converted it into a manufactory more in accordance with the times in which we now live.
A little higher up is "Goose Hill Mill," where the first steam engine was started in Heckmondwike, the owner being Jos. Popplewell. Grove House was then occupied and owned by the Rev. Thomas Hale, minister of the Upper Chapel for nearly twenty seven years. He died in 1821, in the 59th year of his age.
Upper Chapel, sometimes called the Heckmondwike Chapel, the old chapel, was the only place of religious worship, and the burial ground, therefore, the last resting place of most of the inhabitants, though just outside of the township, in Liversedge, was the Lower Chapel, the original name being Ebenezer, of which the Rev. William Honeywood was the pastor, and resided in Oldfield Lane. After a few years he discontinued his pastoral duties, and died in 1820. These two ministers were all to look after the spiritual interests of the people.
Grove Mill, formerly termed Dex Mill, is the property of the well-known firm of John Burnley and Sons, and used for spinning and carding purposes for the manufacturers of the town. Robert Dex was the original proprietor, and others conjointly with him. He died in 1820, in the 63rd year of his age, somewhat suddenly. He is interred in the Upper Chapel yard, and upon his tombstone recording his age, etc., are the following lines:
"A soul prepared needs no delays,
The summons came, the soul obeys,
Swift was his flight and short the road,
He closed his eyes and saw his God."
The Dexes were an old Heckmondwike family, but there is no direct male representative left of it. John Robinson, a humorous shoemaker, lived in Chapel Lane, along with other well known characters, the chief of whom were Jonathan Lockwood and Alvery Newsome. Jonathan was a shopkeeper, a hale, hearty man, and when beef steaks rose to 10d per pound, he vowed he would eat no more until the price fell. Notwithstanding Jonathan's vow, beef steaks did not go down in price, but in other respects did, so he said he had committed an error, took to his steaks, and died at the advanced age of 93 years, a practical result of good living.
Newsome was well known as a fortune teller, planet ruler, etc., and his power as such brought him many patrons of all classes. He exercised power over witches, and his neighbour, Joseph Haigh, being in a desponding way, fancied he was bewitched, consulted Alvery, who declared his power to relieve him and rid him of the witch, for which purpose the oldest clock which it was possible to find must be secured. Newsome, who was a general trader, had an eye to business, and told Haigh he had the very clock. This was bought of him, taken to Haigh's house, put up the chimney, and set on fire, which was so raged that the the house also caught fire and was with difficulty extinguished. What became of the witch deponent sayeth not. We are apt to laugh at the credulity of our ancestors, but even at the present day, fortune telling, table turning, spiritualism and many other foolish isms have their votaries, and are patronised by all classes.
Joseph and Thomas Birkhead, who resided at Hill Top, were of an old family, conspicuous in the history of the town. The latter was half owner of Goose Hill Mill, and had also a general store for the sale of oil, malt and other commodities. He was a promoter of the town's schools, and a trustee of the same, and died in the prime of life in 1813.
At the Height resided David Popplewell, an old homestead, formerly the residence of the Beevors. Popplewell was a cloth manufacturer. At Kilpin Hill , the original name is Kilpin Town, resided Joseph Tattersfield, a fine specimen of Yorkshire clothiers, and who retained to his death the dress of the early part of this century, top boots, breeches, etc. He was a very successful blanket manufacturer, a member and deacon at the Upper Chapel, and upon the monument in the burial ground is inscribed: "In affectionate remembrance of Joseph Tattersfield, of Kilpin Hill, who departed this life the 11th September 1851, aged 72 years. He was a man of integrity and truth, a warm and faithful friend, a kind husband, a tender parent, a man of God, and his end was peace." His descendants are largely engaged in the same trade.
Upon Cawley Hill a windmill stood, the miller being John White, who also occupied the farmstead, the annual value of which was £1 9s, now £12, land then £7 10s 9d, now £41. The tanning business was carried on at Stanningley, by John Horsfall, on the premises now occupied by Mr Charles Cardwell, and be Benjamin Birkhead, woolstapler.
Mr Birkhead was a somewhat eccentric character and fond of good and practical jokes: however, his heart was in the right place, and he was of a generous and charitable disposition. He died in 1829. He kept a diary, recording his various transactions, which I once had an opportunity of securing, but failed to do so, thus depriving me of mentioning many facts and incidents of an interesting nature.
In other parts of the town resided various tradesmen, whose history would furnish material for a more lengthened article than this. The Keighleys, the Oldroyds - a family of masons for generations - the Rangeleys, the Newsomes, the Hemingways, the Brewertons, the Firths, the Naylors, the Walshaws, the Allotts, the Lees, and others were amongst the principal ones, and most of them the occupiers of the land. George Chaster and John Nichols were coal proprietors, the former in conjunction with his brothers, constructing the waggon road running from White Lee to Dewsbury.
Blanket manufacturers were, some of them, what were termed country hawkers, or employed men in that capacity, and amusing are some of the stories told of them. As a race they may be said to be almost defunct, and the only one who exercises that calling nowadays is George Oxley, of Nunroyd.
The Green, as now, was an open space, and its aspect somewhat rugged, a kind of common ground for everything, but a few years ago its manorial rights were purchased by the Board of Health, and now it may be said to be the town's property.
Where the co-operative stores are erected, upon the site of which stood the house of Joseph Popplewell, joiner, afterwards the post office, Popplewell died suddenly. He had called to see Dr. Sykes, of Gomersal, who principally visited Heckmondwike as the medical adviser of its inhabitants. The doctor said to him, "Joseph, I have told you many times you ought not to walk over the Barley hills here. You should get a pony, or you will be having a fit." The doctor's words were scarcely uttered before Popplewell fell in a fit, and after lingering a little, died at the house of the doctor. Mr Popplewell's nephew, Edward Goodall, was in London, at Mr Robert Popplewell's, his son's, and heard a voice loudly cry, "Edward," and he exclaimed, "Uncle, is that you?" but looking for him was greatly disappointed, he did not appear. Singular to relate, at that very hour his uncle was dying, and when he arrived at home he had expired.
At Flush, Joseph Crawshaw had commenced the carpet trade, and was succeeded by Mr John Hanbury, thus forming the nucleus of the very extensive works of Messrs. Edwin Firth and Sons. The tithes were rated at £20 per year in value, and as Easter dues, etc., are done away with, it would be an advantage if the land could be rid of these tithes, which, if not very large, are certainly annoying; besides they belong to a wealthy college, Trinity, Cambridge, and probably might be purchased at a moderate rate.
Much more might be said of Heckmondwike and its people seventy years ago, but I must forbear touching upon the subject, at least for the present.
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