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HARVARD
COLLEGE
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THE
HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY
BKADFORD,
(in the county of YORK,)
TOPOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF ITS PARISH.
BY JOHN JAMES.
^LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS;
AND
CHARLES STANFIELD, BRADFORD.
MDCCCXLL
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G. flTAIfPIBLD, raillTBR, BBADPORD.
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PREFACE
Topography, without claiming for it a high rank, may
justly be considered one of the handmaids of History.
That Camden, Leland, Dugdale, Dodsworth, and a host
of their followers have, while laboriously tracing events
connected with particular localities, and describing the usa-
ges and modes of life of the ancient inhabitants, greatly
elucidated many obscure points of English history, and
added to it many curious and important passages, admits
of no doubt. The great charm of topographical works
has, however, a broader foundation in the human heart
than mere historical utility, being based upon a universal
and predominant passion — curiosity ; which on the one hand
powerfully induces all classes to read eagerly that newspaper
which narrates the passing events, however trivial and un-
important in themselves, of the immediate district in which
they live, — ^and on the other, strongly stimulates the more
refined multitude, who, to use the words of an old author,
are "curiously listening after the memory of their ances-
tors," to peruse such volumes as record transactions in
which men who lived on the same little local stage as them-
selves played a part, or contain ancient allusions to the
objects of natural scenery and the structures which they
daily behold.
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IV. PREFACE.
The study of topography as a local chronicle of times
long gone past^ is highly amusing, and to a reflecting reader
conveys much instruction. It is a feet which might lead to
curious remark, that topography, in the amplitude which
it has attained among us, was wholly unknown to the
classical Ancients. It is, indeed, strictly of English
growth, and has in this country been cultivated with great
zeal and success. Almost every district, and town of any
importance in England has been described, and the com-
paratively trivial events connected with it noticed at a length
that formerly was allowed only to great cities or very
remarkable places.
Bradford, however, has hitherto been considered barren
in antiquarian interest ; and no industrious and judicious
antiquary — no indefatigable collector of MSS., has consi-
dered it worthy of his distinct labours. Fourteen pages
in the ' Loidis' comprehend both the ancient and modern
notices of the parish ; and to the former the gazetteers
and other works relating to this district have not added,
that I remember, one fact. It may, therefore^ be broadly
asserted, that the ancient history of this parish was an
unbroken field of inquiry.
When the husbandman first clears the braky and rugged
surface of a piece of ground, and brings it into cultivation,
he is neither considered negligent nor unskilful, if he feil
from poverty, the adverse circumstances of his situation,
or the stubbornness of the ground, to render it ai once a
good and fruitful soil.
If, therefore, I have, in labouring in the unbroken field
of the history of Bradford, failed to produce a work equal
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PREFACE. V.
to the expectations of my readers, I may fairly claim
indulgence. Let it be remembered^ that to have produ-
ced^ in the first instance^ a 'perfect history of this parish^
it would have required — besides antiquarian learning, ele-
gant composition, and plenty of leisure — the industry of
Hercules in collectings from remote, musty, and almost
illegible MSS.^ materials ; the patience of Socrates in
arranging them for publication, and weighing the facts to
arrive at just conclusions ; the eyes of Argus in detecting
errors, and reconciling apparent or real discrepancies ; and,
above all, the purse of Croesus, to pursue with success this
wide and multifarious plan, to tickle the palms of record-
keepers, and cheer the author when subscribers shrunk
back, and the heart faltered at the grim visage of pecuniary
loss. lliere is no local history of any note which has
not had bestowed upon it the labours of many years ; and
very frequently, humble pioneers — zealous collectors — had
preceded, and made the way clear for the author, who
composed the work in learned leisure.
To criticism, whether literary or antiquarian, I may well
plead Coram non Judice, It were idle parade in me to
recount the disadvantages which I, single-handed, have
laboured under in collecting materials and arranging them
for this work, and in composing it. Surely a book which
has in most part been written after the toil of the day,
and in hours stolen from recreation and sleep, is no noble
game for the literary critic to pounce upon ; and the
veteran antiquary may easily pass over the errors of one
who confesses that until this work was commenced, he never
devoted one hour exclusively to the study of antiquities.
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VI. PREFACE.
I hope, however, that the blemishes of the work will
be, to its general merit, merely as a few freckles on a
fair countenance. An amount of time unconceived by my
readers has been bestowed upon the facts. In a pro-
duction of this nature, it is almost impossible to be wholly
correct ; but it is anticipated that errors of fact will not be
more numerous in this volume than in others of its class.
I originally intended to have given the separate authorities
for the whole of my statements, but I soon found that
such a plan would inconveniently load the pages with notes. ^
The arrangement I have adopted is that which occurred
to me as the clearest. There are devoted to the history
of the Liacies a few pages which have no intimate con>
nexion with Bradford ; but it seemed necessary to introduce
them to maintain the continuity of the narrative, and make
the history of the town from Doomsday Survey to the
present time better understood; besides, historical notices
of a family which bore such a large share in the most
important events of our early history, and were lords of
Bradford, cannot be uninteresting to an intelligent inha-
bitant of the town. As I wished the volume to be read
and understood by all classes, I have translated the Latin
Patois of the early charters, and other records of which
I have made use. The rendering of these instruments
into English is a difficult task, even to the learned and
practised antiquary, on account of the unusual and un-
couth terms employed, and the ruggedness of the con-
tractions. But to me the difficulty was greatly increased,
on account of my meagre knowledge of Latin. I obtained
the assistance of several excellent scholars in that language.
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PREFACE. VIK
but, wanting a knowledge of old law tenns, they were
completely mastered by the Babel tongue of the monkish
lawyers, and the labours of translating it eventually fell
wholly upon myself.
With the excusable frailty of an author in his noviciate,
I was extremely desirous, in this first literary effort, to
put forth my utmost strength ; but the little encourage-
ment my subscription list received, precluded even the
attempt ; else it would have been incontrovertibly established
that this parish is not a barren but a productive field of
antiquarian labour. Numerous depositories of MSS. re-
lating to Bradford have not, for the reasons explained in
my prospectus, been explored ; and this occasion past, many
of these MSS. will, very probably, never see the light.
I have not printed a list of subscribers, because I early
discovered that I should not meet with encouragement by
subscription, and determined to rest the success of the
work on the sale after being published. I must, however,
mention that Henry Leah, Esquire, with great liberality,
subscribed for ten copies, and several other gentlemen
for a couple. To all those who honoured me with their
support I return my thanks ; and had the inhabitants
generally, followed their example, my labours would have
been more deserving of commendation.
It becomes my duty to notice the delay that has occur-
red in publishing this book. When the prospectus was
issued, about two years since, the undertaking had not
long been contemplated, and no portion of the materials
had been collected from MSS. So far, however, as the
author is concerned, the work might have come from the
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Vlll. PREFACE.
press at the commencement of this year. Some delay has
occurred in completing the artistical embellishments. These
will, however, I believe, add greatly to the value of the
publication. Three of them have a peculiar interest, as
the productions of Cousen, Bentley, and Geller, London
artists of celebrity, and natives of this town. Two of
the embellishments are by Adlard, a distinguished London
engraver. The other plates, by Cave and Topham, do
not, I apprehend, disgrace provincial talent.
The modesty of the age is such, that before I close,
I owe an apology for having so frequently ventured to
speak in my own person. An author in these latter
days is so diffident, that he must have a partner in all he
says ; and the great WE (proper enough in a newspaper)
is now the representative of almost every individual, from
the literary leviathan who, like the ostrich in attempting
to conceal itself by merely thrusting its head into the
sand, concludes he is out of view when behind this modest
monosyllable, to the petty and sole huckster, who, aping
the age, greets you in the form of plural greatness from
behind his counter. This sham modesty has, however,
been so prostituted, as to have become brazen-faced vanity
under a thin veil ; and plain EgOy though it be egotistic,
is, in truth, less impudent and assuming.
It now only remains for me to return my acknowledg-
ments for the favours which have been bestowed upon
me in connexion with this literary adventure. From
Miss Currer of Eshton-hall I have received many substan-
tial marks of patronage. I had the free use of that in-
valuable store of Yorkshire topography, Hopkinson's MSS.,
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PREFACE. IX.
and was, unlocked for, hospitably entertained several days
while I consulted them. In addition, she, unsolicitedly,
subscribed for twelve copies of the work, and directed me
to obtain, at her expense, two costly plates to embellish
my labours. To William Sharp, Esquire, of Bradford,
I owe many obligations. I am indebted to him for the
use of the plate of Archbishop Sharp, and he induced me
to obtain that of Abraham Sharp by joining in the cost.
T. Wheatley, Esquire, of Hopton, also generously presented
me with an engraving of the beautiful monument to the
memory of his relative, Mr. Balme.
I gratefully acknowledge that without the great indul-
gence of Richard Tolson, Esquire, it would have been
impossible for me to have visited many distant places, in
quest of manuscript notices respecting this parish. I
obtained also many interesting facts from ancient docu-
ments, especially Court Rolls of the manor of Bradford,
preserved in his office. To other gentlemen I am indebted
for MSS. and information. Among these stands foremost
Samuel Hailstone, Esquire, who has, in the most gentle-
manly manner, allowed me the use of his collection of
MSS. relating to Bradford. To his son, Mr. Edward
Hailstone, I am also under obligations for the loan of
MSS. The Rev. John Butterfield allowed me several times
gratuitous access to the parish church registers. The Rev.
William Stamp very readily furnished me with some par-
ticulars relating to Wesleyan Methodism in Bradford. I
lament, however, that I have not more acknowledgments
to render to my townsmen, for I have in fact been little
assisted by them ; and it is quite evident that many must
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X. PREFACE.
possess curious notices respecting the town, which had
they contributed^ the value of my labours would have been
greatly enhanced.
To Sir Francis Palgrave, keeper of the records in the
Chapter-house^ Westminster ; the gentlemen at the Heralds'
office ; the keeper of the records at the Duchy of Lan-
caster office ; and to Thomas Lewis, Esquire, keeper of the
records at Lambeth Palace, I owe obligations for being per-
mitted to transcribe from scarce MSS. in their respective
custodies. I am not the less obliged to Mr. Reay, sub-
librarian at the Bodleian Library, for the handsome manner
he offered me the use of Dodsworth's MSS., though I
was unable to avail myself of his kind offer. John Britton,
Esquire, F.S.A., has my thanks for his readiness to assist
me. Joseph Buckle^ Esquire, very indulgently allowed me
access to the Archiepiscopal Registers of York. Indeed
I have to complain of the keeper of no records except
Torre's MSS., which are made matter of sordid gain and
rude exaction, extremely dishonourable to the Dean and
Chapter of York.
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HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Had the savages who first pitched their rude mud-built huts
on the spot where Bradford stands^ foreseen that their
humble dwellings would form the germ of a great manufac-
turing town^ they could not have made their selection better ;
for it is a fact that cannot be controverted, that it is the
most eligible spot in the parish.
The town lie§ in a valley which may justly be considered
a branch of Airedale^ though from a remote period it has
borne the distinctive appellation of Bradford Dale. This
valley — stretching from the moorlands above Thornton to
the Aire at Shipley — ^forms at Bradford a considerable bend ;
and being at this point joined by two small dells, the town
appears to be seated at the junction of four valleys.
The name is undoubtedly derived from a ford by which,
in times prior to the Conquest, the brook at the bottom of
the Church Hill was crossed. The only difficulty in this
derivation, is that arising from the term ^ Broad' being
applied to a passage over such an inconsiderable stream as
that which now washes the bottom of Church Bank. To
strengthen tlie supposition that the name of the town has
been derived from Broad ford, it has been contended that
in remote ages this brook was much more considerable. It
6
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Z GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
has certainly diminished ; for within the recollection of living
persons a much more considerable body of water swept down
the channel than at present.* The brook is also, at times^ so
swollen with the torrents from the neighbouring hills, as to
render it broad and dilBKcult of passage. There are besides
other streams, which are ordinarily insignificant, to which the
appellation ^ Bradford' has been given, f
These reasons are, however, far from conclusive, and give
room for other conjectures. Dr. Whitaker has alluded to
another derivation of the name. He supposes it might come
from Brae, a hill and ford, — ^that is, the ford at the foot of
the brae or Church Hill. But against this etymology there
is the strong concurrent testimony of Doomsday Book and
ancient charters, in all of which, with one exception, it is
invariably spelled Bradeford or Bradford. That exception
is, however, the next document that I know of after Doomsday
Book, in which Bradford is mentioned — ^the charter for a fair
granted to Edmund de Lacy, about the year 1250, in which
the place is spelled ^ BrafFord.' It is true that by numbers
of the old residents it is termed Brafibrth or Bradforth, but
these seem merely to be corruptions of no old date. The
earliest use of the latter corruption which I have seen, is in
Saxton's Map, published in 1577. The former is merely
labial.:
* It Is A well aficertnliied fac(, that in countries ooTered with wood the streaoif
ore more consldenble. At the time the name— Bradibrd**was given, thii locality
would be thickly wooded. The sinking of coal mine:! in all parts of the district has
also, no douht, tended to lessen the springs of water hereabouts.
t Harrison, in his description of Britain, prefixed to Holinshed, mentions that
the Wye receives " a small beck called the Brad/ard.*'
I I at one time supposed that the name might have been derived from another
drcumstance, and the following is a oopy of a iiaragraph I prei)ared on the ground
of this supposition: '*But both these derivations, when strengthened by uW
that can be urged In their favour, seem unsatisfactory and improbable, and 1 may
therefore be allowed to advance another. Now for instance, places called Stratford and
Bmdfonl, do not teem univerudly to have derived their names from the * fords' being
drsit or broad acrou, but sometimes finom behig so in the length of the stream
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 3
I incline to think the former derivation the correct one,
inconclusive as it appears to be. It must be presumed that
the brook was so considerable at a remote time, as to merit
the appellation broad — ^for by no analogy or reasoning can
the present stream, except on extraordinary and rarely oc-
curring occasions, be so called.
The district around Bradford, though not possessing the
most pleasing features of landscape, is far from being defi-
cient in rural beauty. The aspect of the country is extremely
variegated, and presents a charming alternation of hill and
valley, where
*' Scene behind loene with /air delusiTe pomp.
Enrich the proq>ect — but they rob the lawn;''
forming " a land of various views" — ^to the very boundaries
of vision. Some of the spenery in the neighbourhood of the
town even approaches to the beautiful — ^possessing enough of
wood to render it sylvan — studded with farm-houses and
cottages, hamlets and villages — ^the chequered sides of the
surrounding hills verdant to the top, and fringed with woods
and villas, it forms landscapes which, even in much more
favoured climes, are, in all their features, . not greatly sur-
passed. Manufactures and their appendages have done
much, assuredly, to destroy the happy effect of the nearer
scenery ; but I am speaking of views a short distance from
the town.
Thus it appears that Bradford is not deficient in beautiful
landscapes. She has, however, far more substantial gifts
where the water was fordable. The ford at Stnitibn] upon Avon could never be
called ftraif, as regarded the breadth of the river, which is there veiy great ;
nor could the brook at Bradford, except in times of flood, be called broad.
It seems therefore, that the name has arisen from a circumstance directly
opposite the one prevailing at Stratfoid, viz. that the ford was broad, inasmuch as the
brook could be (Mtssed at anj point on a great length of it.'' Since writing this I
have investigated the subject more, and find that antiquaries have generally derived
the appellation Stratford, from Street ford— that is, a ford on the line of a Roman
road or street.
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4 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
than these. Though her soil yields no " Sabean odours,"
** flowers of all hues and without thorn the rose," " groves
whose rich trees weep odorous gums, or bear fruit burnished
with golden rind;" — ^though her brooks leave no golden sands,
nor her mines teem not with the treasure of Potosi, or the
gems of Ind ; — double harvests enrich not her gamers, nor
genial climes and unclouded skies her portion ; yet, wanting
all these, — with smoky atmosj^ere, polluted streams, and all
the other distasteful accompaniments of manufactures — she
possesses, in the industry, ingenuity, and intelligence of her
manufacturers, in her mineral resources, and in the advantages
of her situation, all the requisites for making her people great,
wealthy, and happy — " So from the fleece how much proceeds."
The town has, from a distance, a very picturesque and
singular appearance. Viewed from the surrounding heights,
the greater part of it seems seated in a bowl-like concavity,
at the foot of an eminence, to the summit of which — houses
overtopping houses — the other parts of the town extend.
The country around within the distance of two miles, seems
to be completely enclosed with high hills, and on every side
there is a quick descent to the town. A great part of the
old streets are narrow and irregular, but the new ones are
well and capaciously laid out. Most of the modern houses
are large and well built. The suburbs are ornamented with
numbers of beautiful houses, which at once shew the opu-
lence and taste of the owners, who are mostly occupiers.
There is a great evil which is daUy gaining ground in the
town : no speculator in buildings now erects houses without
cellars, intended for the abode of the poor classes. These
iU-ventilated, damp, and cheerless cellars are becoming so
numerous that they threaten, at no distant period, to be a
great source of disease in the town.
There are not many woods in the neighbourhood. Cliffe
Wood is the remnant of the wood at Bradford which is men-
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 5
tioued in Doomsday Book, but it has dwindled into a very
small space. There are some large and graceful masses of
wood at Bolton and Bierley, and along the slope near Bold-
shay. The trees principally planted in the vicinage of
Bradford, and which seem to thrive best, are the ash and
the oak. Thej are, I am st>rry to add, very rarely allowed to
reach their full or even a moderate growth. The owners of
the land seem to have no just conception that wood enhances
its value by ornamenting it ; and renders it more fertile in
bleak situations, by protecting it from chilling winds. If
any one doubt this, let him cast his eye on the well wooded
and fertile slope extending from the verge of Eccleshill Moor
nearly to the hill on which the Church stands. This slope
was naturally as barren and unsightly as the tract immedi-
ately to the westward — ^it lies as high and is as much exposed.
Yet mark the contrast. Trees as a shelter and ornament to
the land^ are much wanted in a number of bald and barren
tracts in the locality ; yet no sooner have a few oak saplings
sprung up in the hedge rows of the sordid tasteless owners,
than the tanners tempt with a high price, and the trees are
immediately stripped of their bark.
The stream flowing past Bradford has neither been descri-
bed by Harrison nor sung by Drayton. I cannot therefore
follow the plan of other topographers, and drag to my aid the
lubberly lines of that poet. Our old topographer Leland,
in his Itinerary,. writes — " there is a confluence in this toune
[Bradford] of three brokes. One riseth above Bouline Haul,
so that the bed is a mile dim. from the toune, and this at the
toune hath a bridge of one arche ; another risethe a two mile
of, having a mille and a bridge of . . . r . .The third riseth foor
miles of, having " The whole of these " brokes,"
except the last, are inconsiderable streams.
The source of the first is in several small rills rising in
the Roughs and Park-side between Bowling and Bierley, and
feeding the pond below Bowling Hall. A short distance
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b GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
above Bowling old mill, .the brook is joined by Law Beck,*
which springs at Brown Royd Hill, and after receiving a small
tributary from Dog Croft Wood, divides the townships of
Horton and Bowling. The brook then passes through Cuckoo
Bridge of " one arche," and joins Bradford Beck at the town.
The second brook has its source upon Bradford Moor; and
descending a little below Crow Trees, passes Bower Green,
takes in a rill from Laister Dyke, and running to Penny
Oaks, it receives a nameless stream springing above Bowling
Iron Works. When near the town, it is joined by a stream
issuing from Miryshay, and immediately after falls into Brad-
ford Beck. The mill which was turned by this brook in
Leland's day, has disappeared ; I apprehend this was the mill
which is hereafter mentioned, as having been granted by king
James the 1st, along with the present soke mills. It is descri-
bed in the grant as lying in the ^' eastern part of Bradford."
The chief spring head of Bradford Beck, as it is termed, is
at Bell Dean or Old Allen, in the township of Allerton. In
the progress of the brook down Allerton valley, it receives
several tributary streams. It divides the townships of Aller-
ton and Thornton, and is called Allerton Beck. Just below
Leventhorp Mill, it takes in another brook, having the spring
head at Shay, in Thornton, 6 miles from Bradford ; and receiv-
ing in its progress a tributary from Hole Bottom, in Clayton.
The stream from Shay, in its future course, divides Thornton
and Clayton, to the point where it joins Allerton Beck. After
this junction the body of water is considerable. Near Crosley
Hall, the water is called the Hebble ;t and a small stream
springing in High Field Wood, here falls into it. A short dis-
tance down it receives a brook rising in Bull Greave Wood, and
dividing Clayton and Horton ; next Bull Royd Sike, springing
• So called, mott likely, from fepantiog the Bytr-lawt of Horton and Bowling.
t If Uie oonjedure of Uie Ualiiax anUquaries be right, Uiat the <* HebUe" ii
derived from Uolig or Holy Brook, then our stream will have a similar daim.
Near the place where it is called Hebble, there was undoubtedly in former times a
Holy well.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 7
in Chellow Dean, and separating Allerton and Manniugham
townships. When near Bradford it is joined by Horton
Beck, which at Shear Bridge divides into two branches ; one
rising near Horton Old Mill, and the other coming from
Hajcliffe Hill bottom. Running past Bradford it falls into
the Aire at Shipley.
This stream, from a point a little above Leventhorp Mill
nearly to Bradford, is gracefully shaded with wood ; and the
scenery is of the most pleasing description. The water as it
flows past Bradford, is polluted with the filth of manufac-
tures. There are persons of no great age living, who re-
member it a crystal stream filled with trout, enclosed within
verdant banks, and shaded with large and spreading trees —
even in the heart of the present town.
None of the three streams which unite at Bradford, has
from ancient time had any definite appellation. At least in
the charters and old deeds of land lying upon them which I
have seen, this is not the case. Even the largest of them in
early charters, is merely termed " Aqua quae currit a Brad-
ford" — ^the water which runneth to Bradford.
The town has frequently been subject to calamitous inun-
dations, arising from the sudden overflowing of these brooks.
Two of such inundations were so great, and the mischief ari-
sing from them so extensive, that they may here be mentioned.
One occurred in 1768, and swept away the bridge at Broad-
stones, and a man and a boy who were set in bravado upon
it, watching the rise of the waters, llie other is too well
remembered ; it occurred the 20th of December, 1837. Three
persons, a man, woman, and child were drowned in it; and the
damage sustained by the tradesmen of the town amounted to
a large sum.
Bradford Canal commences at Shipley, and extending
along the east side of the valley reaching to the town, termi-
nates at Hoppy Bridge. Its length is three miles ; with a
rise from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal of 86i feet, by 10
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8 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
locks. The locks are of the same dimensions as those of the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal — 66 feet in length, and 15 feet
2 inches in width. ITie depth of water is 5 feet. At the
time the Act of Parliament* for the project was obtained,
the subscribers consisted of twenty- eight persons ; who were
incorporated by the name of " The Company of Proprie-
tors of the Bradford Navigation." They were empowered to
raise among themselves £6,000, in 60 shares of £100 each.
The works were not to commence till the whole sum was
raised ; and if the above sum should prove insufficient, they
were empowered to raise an additional sum of £3,000, by the
admission of new subscribers. The canal was finished in
1774, and opened soon after. For the purpose of obtaining
a better supply of water to this canal, the . proprietors were
under the necessity of purchasing mills and land contiguous
to its banks ; by which the shares were increased by additional
calls, to £250 a share. In order to secure this part of their
property from the operation of the statute of mortmain,
another Act of Parliamentf was, in 1802, obtained.:|:
Although surrounded with rills and streams, Bradford is,
for domestic purposes, ill supplied with water. All her streams
are rendered impure by being used for manufacturing pur-
poses. A company for the formation of water-works was
established in 1744, and incorporated by Act of Parliament in
1790. The works are on a limited scale, and the supply of
water scanty. The water is conveyed from Brown Royd Hill
in pipes, to a reservoir in Westgate, holding about 15,000
gallons ; and supplying Westgate, Ivegate, Northgate, Kirk-
gate, and Darley-street. Most of the large houses here, that
are not accommodated with water from the above reservoir,
have wells attached to them. The remainder of the town is
supplied by the water carriers, from wells which have been
• (17T1) 11 Geo. 3. cap. S9. t 42 Geo. 3. cap. 93.
} Priett]e}*i HUtofkal Account of Canals, Ac, page 91.
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tSENERAL DESCRIPTION. 9
sunk at great expense to the proprietors, to a depth of 100
jards and upwards, and the water raised by engines. The time,
however, is not fer distant, when a copious supply of cheap
(we hope) and pure water, will be distributed in the town.
It may be expected that in a district abounding with minerals,
the water (drawn from the bowels of the earth) will be impreg-
nated with them, and rendered less fit for domestic purposes.
A great number of the springs are slightly chalybeate ; some
of them aluminous. The water drawn from a well at Messrs.
^Vood and Walker's mill, is strongly impregnated with
isulphur.
Had Bradford not been surrounded by valuable beds of
coal, it could never have attained its present position among
the towns of England, but would have remained in compara-
tive insignificance. Seated, however, close to one of the
richest coal fields in the kingdom, abounding in rills and
streams, possessing abundance of iron and building stone, and
supplying with a branch canal the want of a navigable river,
the town has risen to be the capital of the worsted
trade; and assumed an importance which, when contrasted
with its condition a few short years ago, astonishes. Although
a description of the mineral riches — coal and ironstone —
with which this district abounds, belongs more properly to
the province of the Geologist than the Local Historian, I
shall — so strictly is the importance of .the town interwoven
with these minerals— deviate from the prescribed track, and
give from the materials I possess, a short account of them.
The beds of coal lying around Bradford, are part of the
most extensive and valuable coal field in the island —
stretching from Derby and Nottingham to this district, a
distance of sixty miles ; and ranging in general, 18 miles
in breadth. Tlie lower or better bed coal, lies at a mean
depth of about 80 yards ; and the average thickness of the
seam is 25 inches. This bed is seated upon a peculiar, hard
siliceous sandstone, termed Galliard, which is the same as the
c
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10 GKNERAL DESCRIPTION.
Crow-stone of the Craven limestone^ and like that contains
abundance of the remains of an extinct genus of plants,
called by geologists Stigmaria, Brong. From the uni-
formity with which this siliceous sandstone forms the sill or
floor of the lower seams of coal hereabouts, the whole group
of strata have been very appropriately called the Galliard
Series. The better bed is a bright burning bituminous coal,
leaving flaky white ashes ,* and as its name imports, is the
best coal of this neighbourhood. About 40 yards above the
Galliard seam, in this locality, lies the black bed of coal, the
mean thickness of which is 28 inches, but in some places
it reaches a yard. The black bed coal is very sulphureous, and
deposits brown ashes. There is in this district another seam
of coal, termed by the miners "crow coal," lying from ten
to fifteen yards above the black bed. The crow coal is never
found where the black bed does not lie at a considerable
depth, or where it is wanting. The great coal field stretch-
ing from Nottingham to Bradford, seems to terminate at the
latter place ; for although in the moorlands to the westward,
seams of coal which are worked with advantage sometimes
occur, yet they are thin, and the coal of an inferior quality.*
Immediately above the black bed coal, and resting upon
it, is an argillaceous stratum, of the mean thickness of two
yards ; in which lies imbedded in regular layers, the valuable
ironstone of this district. The stone wears a dark brown ap-
* An intelligent and precUciil person, well acquainted with the Coal Measures of
this neighbourhood, has favoured me with the following remarks: as they may be
Interesting to a portion of my readers I insert them. Bowling : ^Tbe deepest
better bed coal is sometimes 130 yards below Uie surface of the ground, but Uie
mean depth 80 yards ; In some parts the seam is 30 inches, in otliers only 1 1 inches
thick, the average 24 inches. The lowest black bed is somelimes 00 yards from
day, the average 40 yards ; the mean thickness of black bed is 27 inches, the greatest
a yard. Low-Moor :^The beds run about the same depUi as at Bowling, but the
seams are thicker. The better bed averages 29 inches in thickness. liter le^ :—
The better bed lies at a mean of about Ob yards from day, and the seam averages 23
inches. The mean thkkness of the black bed is 20 or 30 inches. Bradford Moor :
—The better bed lies at the depth of 100 yards ; the bhick bed at 00 yaixto— the
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 11
pearance, and yields from 30 to 33 per cent, of ore. The iron
manufactured from it at the neighbouring furnaces of Low-
Moor, Bowling, and Bierley, is esteemed among the best the
kingdom produces. The limestone used in smelting it^ is
brought on the canal from the rock at Skipton ; and its excel-
lent quality for the purpose contributes to the perfection of the
iron. I may here observe, that the works for manufacturing
it at Low-Moor, Bowling, and Bierley, rank with the largest
in the island. It is probable that more iron is made within
the compass of the three miles which encloses the whole of
these works, than on any space of equal extent in the country.
The impulse that they have given to the trade of this locality,
has been productive of great benefit to Bradford.
The rock on which Bradford stands, forms part of the series
which enters the West-Riding from Derbyshire, and passes
Sheffield, Huddersfield, and EUand. The best testimony
that can be adduced of the excellent nature and plentifulness
of this series of stone here, is the appearance of the buildings
in the town ; its durability is shewn in the ancient buildings
which remain ; and its abundance, in the fact that brick,
except for inner walls, is rarely, or never used. The quarries
in the town and neighbourhood have doubtless been wrought
from the most ancient periods for flag and slate ; as quarries
of them near Silsbridge-lane, are mentioned so early as queen
Elizabeth's time. It is extremely probable, that thatch was
never (except in the very early periods of the town) generally
used as a covering for the houses. Great quantities of excellent
senms are not no Uiick as at Bowling. The better bed nnis about 20 inches thick.
AboTe the black beils of Bowling, Low- Moor, and Bradford- Moor, lies the * crow
coal,' in a seam of 18 inches thick, and from 10 to \5 yards above the black bed.
Uurion : — There is the better bed in many places where the black bed is not on ;
about Drown Royd it comes on, and the belter bed then averages a thickness of 30
inches. Fowr'Lane-End9:—A small range of better bed with breaks; where the
breaks do not prevail the seam^averages 32 inches. There is black bed in some
parts. In Heaton and at Shipley Lane EndMy both the hard and soft bed of Halifax,
wh!ch nm underneath Bra<!ford, come in and are wrought.
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12 GENERAL DESCRIFTIOI^.
flagstone and slate obtained in the quarries here^ are coir--
stantly shipped to London and other parts of England.
The coal measures^ beds of ironstone, and freestone of this
neighbourhood, are rich in fossil remains — animal and vege-
table ; each formation presenting a characteristic series.
Plants resembling the tree ferns and bamboos of the tropics
are often met with ; thus shewing that they have either beei^
wafted hither in some diluvial wreck, or that the climate of
this country has at one time been tropical. The fossil
remains of this district, have not yet been collected and ex-
amined as they deserve ; but they will undoubtedly form an
interesting part of the Local Museum recently commenced ia
the town, under the auspices of the ^' Bradford Philosophical
Society"*
Agriculture, as a scientific pursuit, is little, if at all, under-
stood in the vicinity of Bradford. This is partly attributable
to the farms being small, and held for the convenience of
the small manufacturer, who employs his family alternately
at the loom and in the fields, and consumes the produce of
his little farm under his own roof. The soil around Bradford
is, in the lower parts, a rich loam based on clay. Tliough
the soil of the high grounds is for the most part sterile,
and yields with stubbornness to the hands of the tiller, the
lands which lie in the bottom of the valleys are alluvial and
rich, and bear heavy crops. But even the higher and more
unproductive portions of the country have assumed, from
the attentions of man, an appearance approaching to fertility.
The extensive and naturally barren tracts of ground, which a
century or two ago formed Bradford Moor, the wastes of
Bowling, Manningham, and Horton, and which in a merely
agricultural district would for ever have remained unenclosed
and unfertilized, have from their proximity to manufactures.
• See a very lucid article on Uie Flora of the Ancient World in Dt. Use's Geology.
Book 3, cbap. 3.
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GENETRAL DESCRIPTION. 13^
been improved to an extent^ and at a cost, which such proximi-^
ty only could render profitable or expedient. The use of the
plough is very limited. There is comparatively little arable
land. This gives the face of the country an appearance of
uniform verdure — varying from the deep green of the valleys,
to the russet-shaded sward of the surrounding hills. The
produce of the farms is mostly milk and butter ; for which
a ready market is found in the dense population of the town.
No cheese is made.*
The air is thin and piercing, and not suitable to the invalid ;
for the healthy, however, it is, in its pure state, extremely
salubrious. It has not been found from experience, that
the dense and sooty vapours arising from manufactures, have
had any very marked effect upon the health of the inhabitants.
It were folly to deny that in a degree they contaminate the
air of the town ; but the currents of wind from the western
* The following u nu extmct from Brown's Agricultural Survey of the West- Riding,
published in 1799. The survey was made by order of the Board of Agriculture, and
is therefore, I apprehend, of greater value. Although a long period has elapsed
since the survey, yet 1 think the following particulars worthy of notioe ;^
'' The nature of the soil of Bradford is various, some parts being a rich loam, and
others of a cold watery quality. Climate healthful. Land is possessed by small
proprietors, and occupied by small farmers and manufacturers. It is tilmost all In
giasi, and the seeds sown are mostly those of natural hay seeds. Cows are the
principal stock that are kept. When the land is in tillage, wheat and beans are sown
in small quantities, but oats are the principal crop. Some good farmers adopt the
modern rotation of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat. Fallowing is practised, but
often in a veiy slovenly manner; and the rotation in that case, is wheat, oats, oats ;
or wheat, beans^ and oats. The country is all enclosed ; inclosores small, few exceed-
tog six acres; and by them the country has both been enriched and the land improved.
Labourers* wages, nine shillings a week. Ploughmen, twelve pounds a year, with
Tk^tuals, lodging, and washing. Paring and burning only practised where heAth
ground broke up. Few leases are grarited ; those that are, generally for eleven years ;
and the covenants are, to lime all the fallows ; not to take more crops than three ; to
keep the premises in repair ; not to sell hay, straw, or manure— provincially tillage ;
and not to assign. No practices can be pointed out here that would be of advantage
in other districts; the ^habitants havuig both their minds and capitals fixed u[H}n
trade. ''-^Appendix, \u 15.
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14 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
moorlands^ sweeping along the valleys oii which the town
stands to the north and west^ quickly disperse the '^ dark
and spiral wreaths," and purify the atmosphere. Epidemic
disorders have, as far as can be ascertained, rarely occurred
here. Indeed the assertion may be ventured, that they have
been less frequent, and their prevalence of less duration,
than in most places of an equal size in the kingdom. It is
stated that the plague visited the town about the year 1665, or
1666 ; having been conveyed hither in a bundle of old clothes,
sent from the metropolis, where the pestilence was then raging.
The person who first opened the bundle caught the infection,
and the disorder in a very short time made a rapid progress.
Great precautions were used to stay the pestilence. The
plague-stricken were removed to a place called Cliffe Barn,
close to Cliffe Wood, where such as recovered attended upon
the sick. Provisions were conveyed to a spot near the Barn,
and left for the attendants to fetch. Such as died were
buried in the adjacent wood, where about 70 years ago, a
number of grave stones, which had been placed over the
graves of some of the victims of the disorder, were dis-
covered with legible inscriptions upon them.* Indeed, within
the last few years, skeletons have been found in the wood.
The parish church register gives no indications of this calami-
ty, nor are the number of burials increased for those two
years. Probably the names of those who died, and were bu-
ried in the adjoining wood, were not entered in the register.
In the years 1668 — 69, the registers shew a great mortality.
Had my authority corroborated me, I should have said that
these were the years when the plague raged here, llioresby,
in the Appendix to his Ducatus, mentions that in 1675 an epi-
demic prevailed in these parts, which was vulgarly called the
Jolly Kant. The malady was a severe cold and cough, which
• Memoin of General Fairfax, with an account of the Siege of Bradford ; printed
at Leeds in 1770. This publication was edited by a schoolmaster named Hartley,
residing here, who prefixed to it n few paragraphs relating to Bradford.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. \5
afflicted such numbers, that on the Sundays, the preachers
in the churches and chapels could not, without great dif-
ficulty, be distinctly heard. After this I do not find that
the town was visited by any contagion or disorder so general,
or so virulent in its character, as to be noted either in history
or tradition, till the year 1832, when the modern plague,
Asiatic Cholera, appeared among us. Its character however
here, was not marked by any great fatality. The town was
less fortunate in January and February 1837, when the Influ-
enza, (a new term in the nomenclature of medicine,) spread
widely, and carried to the grave great numbers^-eighty-six
burials are noted in the church register for each month.
The facts adduced below, will prove that a fair proportion
of the inhabitants of Bradford have lived to attain a ripe
old age. The accounts of extreme longevity are, as every
well informed person knows, based upon very unsatisfactory
and suspicious evidence. Persons who have attained a great
length of years are prone to extend that length, and deceive
even themselves ; because it is gratifying to a tenant of the
heart — vanity — ^who seldom quits but with life. I have made
no sifting inquiry as to the correctness of the cases of
long life which follow, but they at least are as well authenti-
cated as the majority of accounts of longevity. The parish
church registers of burials, previous to 1813, give no ages,
else I have no doubt my list would have been a long one —
Yean.
1793— Ellen LoUey, of Bradford, . . 109
]g05— John Fawthrop, of Silsbridge-Lane, 102
1811 — Major Pearson, of Bradford, . . 104
1817 — Anthony Wriggles worth, of White- ^
Abbey, Clothier, . . . . >
1821— Betty Moor, AUerton, . . . . 100
1840— Margaret Walker, Widow, Little-^ 99_ii ^^^
Horton-Lane, . . . . • • 3
Since the commencement of 1813 to the present time, I find in
the register of burials, the names of thirteen persons whose
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16 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
ages amounted to 96 years, but were under 100.* The re-
gister has a numerous list of names of those who had attained
80 years and upwards to 96. I opened it, and chanced to put
my eye upon the year 1821, and counted the number of such
names in that and the next year; they amounted to 39.
These statements will be sufficient to shew that instances of
long life are not rare in Bradford.
It has long been an observation derived from experience*
that the English Apennines separating Yorkshire and Lanca-
shire, arrest the clouds of the Atlantic in their progress, and
cause them to deposit their contents ; and that the climate of
the country bordering upon those hills, is more humid than
any other parts of England. Bradford is situated at the bot-
tom of the slope of the above mentioned range of Apennines;
full fifteen miles from their summit. As far as I have been
able to ascertain, no accurate meteorological observations
have been made in Bradford or its neighbourhood ;t and iu
the absence of these, it is impossible to form any tolerably
correct opinion on the humidity of the climate. That it
is greater than the average of the island, must undoubtedly
• 1S14- Charles Wood, Bnwlforf,
. . 06 years.
1S15— Mary Ross, do
96 „
1816-JainesTeUey, Heaton,
.. 98 „
„ — Thnt. Tboroton, Lfgnms,
06 „
„ —Joanna RiishworUi, Manningham,
.. 97 „
ISlS^Tbos. Sharp, do.
08 „
18S1— Jas. Swabi, Great Ilorton,
.. 07 „
I8««— Hannah CuUcr, BowUng,
06 „
18S3- Wm. HiU, Manningham, . .
.. 98 „
18S5— Sarah Myers, Bowling,
97 „
1828~SarahCUrk, do
.. 06 „
1820-.WUUa]n Lee, Bradfoid,
06 „
lS35~Henry Rodlcy, do
.. OT „
t The ftfatheniatidan Sharp, kept for some time a Meteorologiail Journal, wbicli,
by the kindness of S. Hailstone Esq., I have heen allowed to inspect. I bare iiot
boweter been able to deduce any general results from this JoumaL
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION, 17
be confessed ; but when accurate observations are made^ it
will be found, I believe, not much to exceed such average.
The winds which prevail here, are the west and south-west
They are seldom easterly. I am informed that they generally
veer by the west point when they change. The west and
south-west winds here, are often tempestuous : they have,
however, a beneficial effect in clearing the air from smoky
impurities. Severe frost is seldom experienced. Snow, ex-
cept in remote and elevated parts of the parish, soon vanishes
from the ground.
The dialect of the inhabitants of this district is marked
with strong peculiarities, similar to those which prevail in the
parish of Halifax and in Lancashire. The peculiar corruption
which I have observed in the dialect here, is in the pro-
nunciation of the vowel o and dipthong oo ; they are almost in-
variably pronounced as if written with an i immediately after
them — as coal pronounced coil ; hole, hoU ; school, schooilj
noon, noin. The greater part of the other vowels and dip-
thongs are also perverted in the pronunciation ; but the larger
number of these corruptions may be fouAd in the dialect of
the inhabitants of the whole of the western and northern
parts of Yorkshire.
There is one custom in use in the southern and western
parts of the parish, (in common with the parish of Halifax
and many parts of Lancashire) which, for its singularity, de-
serves to be mentioned. In those parts, a man is with
difBculty known among his neighbours by his legal surname.
Instead, long patronymic names, after the ancient British
manner, are used. To give an instance that occurred within
three miles of Bradford : A gentleman wished to see a per-
son, and made inquiries for him, at the place he lived at, by
his legal surname. No one knew the name ; and the gentle-
man was about to give up the inquiry in despair, when he
recollected that the person wanted, had a short time before
D
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18 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
followed a peculiar business. He mentioned this, when one
of the men addressed^ after a reverie of a few moments^
exclaimed, that it must be Bill o'Tom's o'Peg*s that was
wanted. The man proved correct; it was his neighbour, and
he lived close by. Nor is this a rare case. The custom
must have occurred to almost every person having to make
a similar inquiry, in the quarters to which I have alluded.
These barbarisms of dialect, and using patronymics, are,
however, fast receding into the remote parts of the parish ;
and are only in use among the lower classes. Indeed the
latter custom is quite extinct in the immediate vicinage of
Bradford.
If we may judge from the number of persons yearly appre-
hended in this neighbourhood for felonies or other offences,
and committed for trial, or sentenced to the treadmill, the
standard of morals, among a great part of the inhabitants, is
extremely low. And that of manners is not higher; for it is a
rare occurrence that a stranger can pass a group of loungers,
who may be loitering in any of the surrounding villages,
without being grossly insulted. In some parts of the parish,
the brutal mode of up-and-down fighting, practised in Lan-
cashire, is adopted; with all its horrid characteristics of
"pawsing,^^ "gouging ** and biting. Wherever this pre-
vails, it denotes among the class adopting it, the lowest
stage of civilization.
It has been observed, that Bradford has produced more
useful than distinguished characters; but from this it must not
be inferred that the inhabitants in general have no taste for
literary or scientific pursuits. Hitherto, undoubtedly, the con-
cerns of trade have engrossed the attention of the inhabitants,
in common with those of the neighbouring towns, more than
they justly ought to have done, and damped the aspirations of
intellect. A better order of things is, however, now beginning
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 19
to prevail ; and it is sanguinely expected that in this town^
Science and Literature will ere long walk hand in hand with
the Genius of Trade. To the honour of the wealthier inhabi-
tants, charitable institutions are liberally supported. The
lower class are, as is usual in manufacturing towns, an intel-
ligent portion of the community. The politics of the day
form the great topic of discussion among them ; and it is no
unusual incident to find persons who are better acquainted
with the acts of the Ministry than the alphabet ; and more
likely to be able to repeat the items of public expenditure or
of the civil list, than the Decalogue. I speak this not dis-
paragingly.*
It cannot be denied that the means of free instruction are
very limited in Bradford when compared with the population ;
and that the poorer class are, in general, totally unable to give,
if they were desirous, a little education to their children.
I have, however, observed with sorrow, that persons who earn
large wages, and could, with moderate economy, give their
ofl&pring the rudiments of learning, are content to send
them to the factory at the earliest age, to lay the foundations
of long life, morals, and learning, sure and strong.
I possess several curious facts shewing the increase of the
town from time to time in population and in bulk, com-
pared at different intervals with the neighbouring towns.
These facts will appear better in the body of the history than
here. Abstracts of the returns to parliament of the popula-
tion, will be given hereafter among the statistical details.
• The following is from Drunlcen Barnaby's Journal.—l leave ihe translation to
the reader. —
" Veni Bradford cessi foris
In familiam amoris,
Amant vstte et amantur,
Crescunt et multipHcanliir,
• « • «
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20 GENERAL DESCRIPTION'*
For want of a better place^ a wood cut, from a plan* whicli
seems to have been made about the year 1700, of Bradford
and part of the locality around it, is inserted below. I
have no doubt of the authenticity of this plan, as it accords,
in a great measure, with a view of the town taken in the
early part of the last century, now in the British Museum ;
which was executed by Mr. Warburton, Somerset Herald.
I think the wood cut (which is a fac simile) will be interest-
ing ; as, when contrasted with the view in the frontispiece,
it shews in a strong manner, the great increase of the town
in the space of little more than one hundred years. It ap-
pears, from p<irts of the plan which I could not include in
the cut, that there were a few scattered houses in Goodmans -
end and Barkerend ; all else besides that which is shewn in
the cut, is delineated as verdant fields, with here and there
a straggling house.
* Belonging to Mr. Edward Hailstone.
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ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
ADtiquarianisre is merely the younger nster of History, less sedate anJ
more (aDCifoI, and apt to become enamoured of the face of time by looking
so frequently upon it
WhITAKER'S "MANCHESTBa."
Thb whole tract of country about here possesses very few
British^ Roman^ or Saxon remains ; and its history, in con-
sequence, is remarkably barren during this period. In this
parish there are no unequivocal vestiges of Druidism ; no
Cairns^ or British earth-works of any moment. There seems
to have never been a Roman station in the parish. Few
coins or other tokens of the Roman sojourn here have been
found. Nor do I find^ from the Saxon historians I have cur-
sorily looked at,* that any battles or memorable transactions
ever happened in these parts while under the Saxon sway.
If this section, therefore, be short and unsatisfactory, it is
not to be imputed to the writer, but to the want of materials.
I might, indeed, in my eagerness to vamp up this part
of my work, follow the example of an able historian of
an adjoining parish ; and by distorted and stretched
etymologies, ingenious but groundless arguments, convert
almost all the singularly formed rocks in the parish into
Druidical remains ; and endeavour to shew that the parish,
during the Brigantian era, had been a very " Mona" in these
northern parts, and nearly all its inhabitants Druids. 1
prefer, however, that the history of this period, with regard
• The works I particularly allude to, are a Translation of the Saxon Chronicle,
andBffde.
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22 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
to Bradford, should be considered as nearly a void, rather
than fill it with futile imaginations ; and that the merit of
my work should rest upon those parts of it which come
within the limits of certainty.
The Brigantes were, so far as is recorded in history, the
aboriginal inhabitants of this parish. They were the largest
and most powerful of the ancient British tribes. It has
with great probability been conjectured, that the name was
derived from the British word " Brigantwys" — inhabitants of
the hilly regions.* The western boundary of the parish of
Bradford was, very likely, also that of the Brigantian terri-
tory, or nearly so ; and separated it from the country of the
Sistuntii — Lancashire. Dr. Whitaker, in the introduction to
his History of Whalley, seems, indeed, to have thought that
the Sistuntii or Segantii, were merely a clan of the Brigan-
tes, in their province, and under their dominion ; and upon
the authority of Ptolemy, places the Segantii in the moun-
tainous tract called the English Apennines. If he were right,
then the Segantiif might be termed inhabiters of this parish ;
for it is as much a part of these mountains as any district of
Lancashire. The most eminent of our antiquaries have,
however, considered Lancashire only, as the proper country
of the Sistuntii or Segantii, and that they were a distinct
tribe. Whitaker of Manchester says, that about 80 years
before the subjugation of the Brigantes by the Romans, the
former passed over the hills and conquered the Sistuntii.^ The
Dr., in an after part of his work, seems to concur with his
namesake in ranking them as distinct tribes ; for he quotes
him, and agrees with him that several small forts or earth-
works, which remain on the western range of the hills
separating Yorkshire and Lancashire, were erected by the
• Strabo mentions tiie Brigantes of the Alps, and colbi Uiem robben and plonderefs.
t Only anoUier name for the Sistuntii ; fur Rjcbanl of Cirencester (who compiled
in the Uth cent) calls ' Segantiorum portus' of Ptolemy, (wlio wrote about the 1 at
cent.) ' porta SittuntiorumJ
\ IIi«tor>' of Mniirh«*sfiT, book 1, rhnp. 4, sec. 2.
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ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD. 23
Sistuntii^ to defend their country against the inroads of the
Brigantes. It seems^ therefore, that they had the charac-
teristics of distinct tribes ; and that one of the boundaries of
each of their provinces, was near the present line dividing the
parish of Bradford from Lancashire.*
The tribes inhabiting the northern parts of England, were
much inferior to the southern Britons in civilization. The for-
mer possessed few of the arts or comforts of life. Their dwel-
lings or huts were rudely constructed in a round form, of reeds
and the branches of trees wattled, sods and hurdles. Unlike
their southern neighbours, they had no corn, for they tilled
not. The spontaneous fruit of the vast forests the country was
covered with, and the milk and flesh of their cattle, supplied
their scanty food. The dresses with which they covered some
parts of their bodies, were made of the skins of wild beasts.
They had shoes, like the brogues used in some parts of
Ireland, made of untanned leather. They were of large
stature, with blue eyes, which were esteemed a beauty, and
red hair. By this latter distinction, the whole of the northern
Britons, -when they went to assist their southern countrymen
against the aggressions of the Romans, were by the latter
instantly known. In one word, their modes of life, their man-
ners, and their weapons, were similar to those of Savages in
the lowest stage of civilization.f
• Tbfl Monk of Cirenoester, in his description of Britain, book I, chap. 6, sec. 33,
sajrs the Brigantian province was divided into two equal parts by the Apennines ; and
afterwards, sec. 34, says the people west of the chain are the Voluntii and Sbstuntii ;
thua making it appear that they formed part of the Brigantes. Antiquaries have
with one accord, shifted the Voluntii to their legal settlement in another part of the
kingdom. Camden, in his Britannia, also quoting Ptolemy, says the province of the
Brigantes stretched from the eastern to the western sea. The assertions of Ptolemy
and the Monk, no doubt arose from the circumstance of the Sistuntii being undcT
the dominion of the Brigantes at the time the latter were subdued by the Romans.
But the Sistuntii bad been under this dominion only about 80 years, and were beibre
a separate and independent tribe ; and I am speaking of the period when th«fy
were ao.
t My authority for these facts is, for the most part, Whitaker's " Manchester." I
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24 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
But of all the circumstances relating to them which have
descended to posterity, the terrible sway the Druids exercised
over their minds^ and the dreadful nature of the superstition
under which they groaned, have excited most attention.*
Human sacrifices to an extent almost unparalleled in the
history of human madness and folly ,t were offered by the
Druids, who are alluded to in these lines : —
'' Barbarous priests some dreadful power adore,
And lustrate every tree with human gore." J
The victims on great occasions were sacrificed by wholesale,
in large wicker baskets thrown into the fire.§
It is very probable that a Brigantian town stood on the site
of Bradford. Whitaker of Manchester, (on whose learning,
industry, and genius, I place great reliance) says, that in these
northern parts, the towns of the ancient Britons were generally
in the hollows of valleys, either upon the margin of one
stream or confluence of two, for the convenience of water
and security from winds. Such a place is the site of Brad-
ford. A Brigantian town was merely an irregular collection
of huts in the midst of a forest, defended with a barrier
formed of trees felled around, or circumscribed with a ditch.
I know of no British remains in the parish that are not
equivocal, unless a small earth-work lying to the westward
could have obtained sufficient evidence as to the modes of ure, dfcc of the andent
Britons, from Carte, Heniy, and all the other English Historians, but their obser-
vations apply also to the southern tribes, while Whitaker's in general do not
• See Toland*s History of the Druids, and the Notes to MaUet's Northern
AnUquities.
t My readen will remember the Carthaginians sncrltking three hundred youths
of the first families in the dty, as a propitiatory offering to their gods alter a defeat.
Druidism seems to have had its origin in the East
I Rowe's Lucan, book 3, L 594.
^ There is on the veige of Harden Moor, near Bingley, a rock which from
time immemorial has been called the ** Diuids' Altar." Its towering situation, and
the wild scenery just around, composed of rocks tumbled on rocks, seem to fit it as
well lur a place of DniMiral sacrifice as any in this neighbourhood. About half a
mile below, not iar from Rishworth Hall, are two curious earth-works of « round
orooaical ham.
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ANTE-NORMAN, PERIOD. 25
of CuUingworth may be considered of that class. It is
situated on a gentle slope^ about two hundred yards from
a place called Flappit Springs^ on the right-hand side of the
road leading thence to Halifax. The form has been circular.
The greater part of it to the south has been destroyed
by the plough. I took several measurements of that part
which remains^ but have mislaid the memoranda I then
made ; I however estimate the diameter to have been about
50 yards. The ditch to the westward is very perfect. It is
about two yards deep and three wide ; with the earth thrown
up in the form of a rampart on the inner side. The remain
is less perfect to the eastward. Antiquaries have generally
called the " Roundabouts/' or circular encampments found in
the island, British works.* The one I have alluded to is termed
by the neighbouring people Castle Stead Ring. If I may
hazard a conjecture, it probably formed one of a line of forts
erected by the Brigantes, on this side the Apennines, to pre-
vent the inroads of the Sistuntii; and while the others have
long since disappeared by cultivation, this, situated in a wild
and remote part, has escaped total destruction. Or it may
have been an Agrarian camp, constructed to guard the cattle
while in summer they grazed the vast slope on which it
stands, t
It has often been remarked that the names of our moun-
tains and rivers are of ancient British origin. I submit to
• Sir W, Soott« in his PrOTincial Antiquities, page 23, mentions a *' Roandabout'*
aM being a British work.
-t Watson, in his History of Halifax, p. 275, alluding to a similar earth-work
called SM/oldf conceives from this name, and the smaUness of these kind of cnmps,
that they had not been used for military purposes, but merely for the foMlng or en-
ckving of cattle. To shew how fallacious this reasoning is— An old person who bad
vesided near the spot all his life, informed me that in his younger days, the earth-
work I have described was neariy perfect ; and that being a shepherd, he used to
drive his sheep into the '*ring*' for security at nights, and watch them there. The
tract thereabouts was then unenclosed. Now this earth-work might have ob-
tained the name She€p/ald, and yet such name would have had no relation to its
original purpose.
E
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26 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
antiquaries whether Beldon* Hill, in the township of Horton,
has not received its name from the circumstance of the Bel-
tan fires of old having been kindled on its top.f From the
commanding situation of this hill, overlooking a vast extent of
country, it would certainly be well adapted for the purpose.
Although the capital of Roman Britain was so near as
York, yet, as I have before stated, this part of the country
is extremely barren in Roman remains.^ It seems that there
never was a station in this parish, or even in the neighbour-
hood of it ; nor are there (besides the facts hereafter ad-
duced to prove that iron was manufactured in this locality)
any certain memorials of the Roman dominion here ; except
a road (or probably two), shewing that the legions of the
Imperial City trod this part of the land.
This road is thus alluded to by Whitaker in his History of
Manchester : '^ The road from Manchester to Ilkley, after
passing Blackstone Edge, leaving Halifax considerably on
the right, and EUinworth a little on the left, the line passes
through Dinham Park, and runs to the west of Cullingworth ;
and betwixt Cullingworth and Hainsworth it is visible a paved
way more than twelve feet broad, and neatly set with stones
of the country. It is found in several places upon Harding
* Means also in British, head or chief hill.
f The Beltan fires were lighted evei>' midsummer day hy the ancient British upon
the high places.
I A few years since, some Roman Denarii were found on ploughing Idle HiU. I
have seen two of them. On the obverse of one, the head of Trajan, with the
inscription imp. cabs. KsayA trijam avq. obrm. On the retene, a female
seated on a kind of car (probably intended for Victory), with the legend pout. max.
TK. POT. cot. II. On the other, the head of Hadrian, with the inscription imp.
CAE8. TRAJAit HADRiAiict AUG. Revcfw : Victory marching, with the legend p. m.
TR. p. COS. III. 1 see from Akerman on Roman Coins, that these are rare re-
reians. It is not unlikely that there was a Roman exploratory camp on Idle Hill, as
it is a very suitable place ; and probably the remains of the agger could be per-
ceived before the hill was ploughed. At the same time when the above coins
were found, a human skeleton was discovered, which was enclosed within a kind
of grave walled round.
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ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD. 27
Moor, crossing the height of the common, and pointing upon
the Moorhouse above Morton. And it is again visible on
Rumbles Moor.* Upon this wild heath it appears, as I am
informed, a raised paved road overgrown with turf; keeping
upon the shelve of the hills to avoid the cliffs on one side,
and the morasses on the other ; and pointing directly to the
valley of the Wharf, and the village of Ilkley within it."t
I have been at considerable pains to trace correctly this
road through the parish of Bradford. Within the memory of
old persons now living, it was very apparent near Illingworth.
From Illingworth to Peat Dikes, where the parishes of Halifax
and Bradford meet, the vestiges of it are faint and obscure ;
but coupled with the voice of tradition, they are such as not
to be mistaken. At a place called CockhiU, near Peat Dikes,
it is plainly visible ; and near this place it is joined by another
road coming in the direction of Mixenden Ings, to which I
* I hitve traced UiU road over port of Romald's Moor. A person aged 85 years,
who had known the road from his earliest youth, aoooropanied me. He stated,
that he never remembered the road being found in the low lands uf Airedale ; but
said that it cam^ on the slant of the hill from Keighley direction ; and running just
past (Jpwood, was, in his youth, Tisible there. In the allotments from Upwood to
the Moor, he informed me the rood had been dug up, and the stone used in building
the indosure walls, lis traclc, however, is here and there discernible. At Black
Knowle, on the Moor, it appears among the heath a paved way; and thence runs
into, and proceeds for some distance along the present road to Ilkley.
On the 7th of March, 1775, as a farmer was making a drain in a field at Morton
Banks, near the line of this road, he struck upon the remains of a copper chest, about
twenty hiches below the surface, which contained nearly one hundred weight of
Roman Denarii ; including every emperor from Nero to Pupienus— Pertinax and
Didius Julianus only eicepted. The chest had most likely belong^ to the pay-
master of the Roman forces hereabouts, and had been buried in some sudden
emergency.— AVe (o Tkoretlnf^t Ducaius by Dr. W,
» t Second edition, vol. 3., p. 28. A letter from a gentleman named Angler, is
Injterted in Horsley*s Britannia Romana, p. 4 13, respecting the Roman roads, drc. in
this quarter ; but I apprehend he merely took his information from Dr. Richardson's
letter, and from Whitaker^s Manchester. He says, <*' The way from Ilkley is over
Romald*s Moor, and appears by the oouise of it, to leave Riddlesden on the right
hand ; again it is visible on Harden Moor, towards Cullingworth, which it leaves a
little on the left hand, and so through Denham park, and so to the left of Elhsworth,
which I apprehend may have been the further course of it«"
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28 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
shall afterwards more particularly revert. After this junction,
the road proceeded along Black Eklge, just above Denholme
brewery, where several old persons informed me that they
had dug it up. About a quarter of a mile forward, the opera-
tions of the plough have, within the last two or three years,
rendered it very conspicuous in three fields, about a hundred
yards beyond Denholme Gate, on the west side of the turn-
pike road from Halifax to Keighley, in the occupation of
Jonathan Foster, of Dean Brow. The road lay about a foot
deep, and was formed of large boulder stones, some half a
yard square, set very neatly, and so level that the plough
passed over the road without obstruction. It was twelve or
fourteen feet broad, and scooped out on each side for the
passage of the water. A great part of the fences of the fields
are formed of the stones that have been rooted up from this
road. They are yet very discernible in the fences, having a
bleached appearance. Passing Foster's house it crossed a
brook just below, where, in a field called Carperley, a man
named Jonas Hainworth, about 40 years ago, found buried a
large bag of coins, llie man, in the exultation of tjie moment,
twirled the bag in the air, and being rotten, a great part of the
contents fell down a precipice, and a number of them were lost.
I have made inquiries of the man's relations respecting these
coins ; but, as far as I can learn, they were long since either
all lost, or sold to unknown parties ; and the only information
respecting them that I can obtain is, that they were Roman
coins. I could find no vestige of the track of this road
through Denholme Park. It evidently, however, went in
the direction of Manywells Height, just below which I was
told by an old farmer, that in his younger days, it was in
some spots bare, and in others covered with sward ; but thaC
the owners and occupiers of the land had since rooted it up.
It proceeded to the westward of CuUingworth, and within the
last two or three years, as I am informed, was rooted up in
the fields near Mr. Craven's residence. I could never find
it afterwards, though I twice searched Harden Moor with
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ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD. 29
considerable care, and made anxious inquiries — ^unless, in-
deed, it went up Dolphin Lane, and on the present footpath
to Keighley, where I found the remains of a road set with
stones ; the route in this direction would be very circuitous.
This road is laid down in the map of Roman roads in
Drake's Eboracum, as " a Deva ad Vallum." In that part
I have traced} it does not present that bold rampart which
characterises the great Roman Itinera even in this country.
In fact it may be said to be in most part quite level with the
surrounding country.
A native of Bierley, and an ornament to this parish —
Dr. Richardson — gave, in a letter to his friend Heame,
a succinct account of the antiquities in these parts, and of
this road in particular, which Hearne printed in his edition
of Leland's Itinerary (second edition, vol. 1, page 146). I
shall make an extract therefrom in the note below.*
• " Meeting of late the Rev. Mr. Robert*?, rector of Linton, In Craven, he told
me he had observed a paved way of an unusual breadth, between Hainworth and
Culliogworth, in the parish of Bingley, which must doubtless have been a Roman
waj. It appears there bare, being above twelve feet broad, and neatly set of such
stones as the place afforded. Its stateliness shews its origin ; and you may trace it
where the ground is pretty hard, a ridge appearing higher than the suiface of the
earth, in some places being only covered with g^ass; though 1 have been in-
formed that it is often met with at several feet deep upon the Moors, in digging
ibr peats. It crones the height of Harden Moor, where it is visible in several places,
and points at a place called the Moorhouse, above Morton ; and appears again, as 1
have been told, upon Rumbald's Moor, and thence leads to Ukley. Nigh this way,,
upon the Moor before mentioned, are two large heaps of stones, called SIcirts of Stones ;
one of them still of a conical figure, but much the lesser. From the other have been
removed vast quantities of stone employed in walling the neighbouring indosures,
within the memor}' of man. The remainder are now thrown abroad, and cover a
oonsiderable piece of ground. If these had been heaps of earth, or so much a»
covered with earth, being so nigh the way, 1 should have believed them to be tumuU
of the Romans; but being only heaps of stones, I shall su8|)end my thoughts till I
am informed that the Romans ever erected such monuments over their dead." • *
Upon tie top of Harden Moor, not far from the above-mentioned way, was shewn
me by Benjamin Ferraod, Esquire, another Skirt of Stones much less than the two
former, and nigh it a row of stones placed in a line nigh two hundred paces io
length ; but few of them appear above two feet above the heath, and some lie hid
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30 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
I now return to the road which joins the one I have been
tracing, near Peat Dykes ; and although it is out of my pre-
cincts, yet as the further tracing of this branch road may
tend to throw light on the Roman affairs in this quarter, I
shall trespass. Just below Peat Dykes, and in Ogden, this
road was, during the last spring, laid bare by the plough in
a field next to that in which the waters of Ogden and Skirden
meet. It was of a considerable breadth, and neatly set with
large stones. I had the curiosity to trace it further, which
I did satisfactorily by the assistance of the old inhabitants
of the neighbourhood, into the township of Wadsworth ;
and from the direction it points, I think it probable that it
proceeded to Stiperden, joined the Roman road from Bum-
ley mentioned in Dr. Whitaker's ' Whalley,' and went to
Ribchester.*
At all events, if this branch road led to Manchester,
Whitaker's trace of the road from that place to Ukley is
wrong; as he asserts that after passing Blackstone Edge,
under it That these stones were placed here by design, no person can doubt ; but for
what end i cannot conjecture, having never seen any thing of this kind before. There
is no tradition of them; besides being out of all roads, they are known to few. • *
Nigh Cullingworth before mentioned, there is a camp of a circular form now caUed
CafUe Steads, though 1 am convinced there was never any building there. There b
one of this kind upon Thornton, and another upon Wike Moor, of the same form.
From whence it appears that these places of defence were called castles, though
never any building there erected.'*
1 lately searched Harden Moor for the5e Skirts of Stones, but was unable to find
any thing resembling them. They most likely have been removed for building pur-
poses ; as 1 saw a place from which a great number of stones had been removed, and
some few were still scattered about i have no doubt these Skirts of Stones were
British Carneddes, similar to the 'Apron full of stones' mentioned in (he Introduction
of Hunter's History of HaUamshire. A gentleman informs me that he has seen on
Romald's Moor, a great number of heaps of stones, evidently placed there by band.
1 can find no remains of castramentation near Thornton. There is there a place
which U called "CasUes."
• Just by Stiperden, at Merecloiigh, Thoresby, in the Ducatus page 283, mentions
that a great number of Roman remains were found. Ribchester is, (according to
Dr. Whitakrr) the Coccium, or (according to Stukeley and Hordey) RerigomOf of
the Romnns.
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ANTB-NORMAN PERIOD. 31
and leaving Halifax considerably on the right, it ran a little
to the left oli lUingworth ; — and if he be wrong, the road by
Illingworth was a vicinal way from Camhodunum (Slack), to
Olicana (Ilkley).
The road from Bradford to Wakefield, after reaching
Dudley-hill, has for several miles the appellation of " Street."
On whatever points else our antiquaries have differed, they
all agree in this, that where a road has the emphatic and
isolated name of Street, a Roman road lay in the same direc-
tion. Drake, in his Eboracum, says, '^ the Saxon Strete is
apparently from the Latin Stratum, which in Pliny signifies
a street or paved high road. All the Roman roads being
firmly paved with stone, occasioned this name to be given
them. Wherever we meet with a road called a * Street* by
the common people, or any town or village is said to be on
the * Street,' we may surely judge that a Roman road was at
or near it." This is merely an echo of all our antiquaries'
opinions. Thoresby, in his Ducatus, says that Stratum is
the very word used by Venerable Bede, to denote a Roman
way.*
That part of the Bradford and Wakefield road called
' Street,' is, in a great part of its length, considerably eleva-
ted. Such a road is not mentioned in either of the Iters, nor
is it laid down in any of the maps of Roman roads about
here. Of the latter I may safely say that they are, so far as
those roads are concerned, quite worthless, and tend only to
mislead. It seems, however, from its direction, to have
come in the way of Bradford, and might perhaps run from
Legeolium (Castleford), to Calunio of the geographer of Ra-
• Whiiaker, in his Hist. Man., toI 1, page 114, says, " It is justly oKsenred, that
wherever we find the appellation of " Street," we have good reason to expect a road
of the Romans. It may with equal justice be observed, that wherever we meet with
one, we may be sure that such a way has formerly proceeded, or still continues to
proceed along the place ; and when a Roman road has persisted invariably in the
course of a modem highway, the name of Street, along the line of the latter, is the
only proof we can have concerning the existence of the former.'*
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32 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
vennas, and which was undoubtedly Colne. No road that I
can hear of, ever passed by way of Bradford having any of
the characteristics of Roman. But cultivation would long
ere now completely obliterate any such road hereabouts,
and leave the inquirer to search the barren moors to the
westward for it. If it ran to Colne, it probably joined the
Long Causeway a little to the north of Denholme Gate.
There is indubitable evidence, that the ironstone in the
neighbourhood was gotten and converted into iron in the time
of the Romans. Without this evidence, it would have been
extremely likely that the Romans would be induced by the
colour of the streams to search for ironstone —
" Track the yellow streamlet till they reach
The secret place where easy labour gains
The precious stone."
Dr. Richardson, however, in the letter to Hearne before
quoted, says, " That iron was made in this neighbourhood
(Bierley) in the time of the Romans, a late discovery has
sufficiently convinced me. Upon removing a heap of cinders
to repair the highways withal, a quantity of copper Roman
coins were discovered, some of which I have now in my pos-
session. They were of Constantine, Constantius, Diocletian,
and the usurper Carausius. This country abounds with
such heaps of cinders, though we have not so much as any
tradition that ever iron was made there."* We may there-
• Whitaker, even thinks that iron was manufactured by the Northern Britons ;
but this is an opinion that has been strongly disputed. The Belgk tribes on the
southern coast, undoubtedly kne\i' the process. The ibUowing is Whitaker*s ob-
servation : " A considerable manufacture of iron was established in the kingdom
before the reign of Tiberius. In this wouU many domestic uten&ils be formed by
the Britons. Their iron money proves them to have possessed the secret of casting
the metal and stamping it And the manufacture appears to have extended into the
Idrthest parti of the north. But it was considerably enlaiged, 1 apprehend, and the
forges greatly multiplied by the Romans. One perhaps was erected in the vicinity
of every station. In the neighbourhood of North Bierley, amid many beds of
dnden heaped up in the odjacent fields, a quantity of Roman coins was discovered
some yean ago in one of them."— //rs/ory c/* Mtmchester, vol, 2, p* 28.
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ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD, 33
fore be certain that the Romans were busily engaged in this
neighbourhood in the manufacture of iron> and had small
rude forges^ and other requisites for the purpose.
After the Saxons had firmly seated themselves in this coun-
try, they began to till the land, and erect villages and towns.
During the latter part of their rule, almost all our towns and
villages existed in embryo; and were either called by the names
of the possessors, or received their appellations from the Saxon
tongue. This parish was within the kingdom of Deira ; and
afterwards in that of Northumbria, one of the kingdoms of
the Heptarchy. I presume that the limit of the parish of
Bradford to the westward, was nearly the boundary between
Deira and the kingdom of Mercia. This presumption is
founded upon the far from certain fact, that the Ribble was
the western limit of Mercia.*
The Saxons were, on the whole, a very rude and barbarous
people. They, and in fact the whole of the German tribes,
had, however, one redeeming quality. Contrary to the
general practice of savages, and of even some of the most
polished nations of antiquity, they treated their women as
equals. On marriage, the husband and wife entered into
pledges for their good behaviour towards each other. In
Saxon drawings, the women are represented in long loose
robes with wide sleeves, and upon their heads a hood. The
men wore breeches and cloaks. Swine were the chief of
their live stock, and furnished the most of their animal food.
Eels formed a large and peculisu: part of their food, and
even horse-flesh was relished by them. The Thanes, or
higher class, were immoderate drinkers and great gluttons.
The corn produced was mostly oats. Pecuniary mulcts were
inflicted for almost all oflences, from murder to petty theft.
Trial by ordeal of fire and water was common among them.f
• Dr. W., In his History of Wballey, supposes it was.
t Extracted from Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxoiis,
F
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34 ANTE-NORMAN PERIOD.
The Ceorls^ or labouring class^ were almost all slaves, and
were bought and sold like cattle.*
The face of the country was nearly covered with brushwood
intermingled with forest trees ; where the bear and the wolf,
the boar and the wild ox, contended with man for possession.
Around the villages, patches of ground, essarted from the
woody -wild in spots of native fertility, appeared.
Let the reader ascend one of the heights which overlook
Bradford, and contemplate its aspect during this state of
society. On the site of the lower part of Ejrkgate, stood a
few huts, one story high, without chimneys, and thatched
with straw or covered with sods ; formed of mud, wattles,
or wood, according to the poverty or opulence of the
inhabitants, placed at straggling distances and without order ;
around each hut was the homestead, or erection for the shelter
of the cattle, enclosed by its toft or croft. On the summit
of the hill where the church now stands, there was, enclosed
with wood, probably a small chapel, or oratory of wood ;
in which the humble devotions of the inhabitants were offered
up. llie land around, which had been cleared for cultiva-
tion or pasturage, lay open and unenclosed, and had no
bound but the thicket or the brake. All the land would be
in common, as far as enclosures went. The inhabitants
ploughed and reaped together, and divided the fruits of the
earth according to their respective quantities of land or
importance in the village. The herds supplied the want of
fences, and kept the cattle from the corn. Very little land
was in meadow ; for the Saxons seem not to have housed
their cattle much in winter, lliis is a picture that will,
in a great measure, suffice for almost all the Saxon villages
in these northern parts.
• HeniT, In his History of England, vol. 4, p. S38, quotes from WUliam of
Mahnesbury, a Ter>' aflticting account of the slave trade among the Saxons.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES.
M. In Bradeford cu' tI Berewicis h'b Gamel xv Car' t're ad g'ld ubi
posB. e' 'e vui Caicuce. Ilbert h't <& wast. e. T. R. E. val' iiii l*b. Silva
past. dim. leng. <fe dim' lat.
Dooms OAT Book.
Manor. In Bradeford, with six Berewicks, Gamel bad 15 Carucates of
Land to be taxed, wbere there may be 8 ploughs. Ilbert has it, <& it is wa:$te.
Value in King Edward^s time £1. M'ood pasture half a mile long, and
half a mile broad.
Bawden's Translation for Yoreshire.
We now come to the light of written record. Bradford, at
the time of Doomsday Survey, and long before in the days
of the Saxon rule, was the chief vill of the manor, and had
six berewicks, or groups of houses dependent upon it. The
berewicks belonging to a manor are generally enumerated in
Doomsday Book :* here they are not, and conjecture must
supply the blank. As all the villages which are now included
* William having firmly seated himself on the throne, was desirous of knowing
the extent and value of the lands of the Crown and of his subjects ; in order that
the sources of feudal service and revenue might with certainty be ascertained. For
this purpose, Doomsday Survey was begun in 1080, and finished in six yeani. Com-
missioners were appointed to superintend it, and the returns for it were made by juries
of freemen in each district It is stated, that it derives its name from its definitive
authority ; from which, as fipom the sentence of doomsday, there is no appeal. Indeed
as to the question whether lands be ancient demesne or not, its authority is yet
decisive. Stowe gives another reason. He says it Is a corruption of Domus Dei,
the name of a place in Westminster Church, where the Record was deposited. The
former is generally accounted the correct derivation. — Pre/ace to Grose^t Antiquitiet.
I have seen Doomsday Record in the Chapter House, Westminster. It is very
legibly written in Roman mixed with Saxon characters. It Ls much better to read
than records written so late as the time of Henry the 8th, in common hand.
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36 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
in the parish, existed, in miniature, at the time the great
Survey was made, and are, with the exception of Manning-
ham, Great and Little Horton, Haworth, Stanbury, Oxen-
hope, Wilsden, and Denholme, therein mentioned, and their
respective Lords named,* it is extremely probable that some
six of these villages were the berewicks belonging to the
manor of Bradford. Manningham and Stanbury are yet
part of the manor ; they seem, in fact, never to have been
severed from it, as they were comprehended in it upwards of
500 years since.f Besides the circumstance that the two
Hortons are not mentioned in Doomsday Record, although
incontestible proof can be given that they existed very shortly
after it was made, there is a strong probability that soon
after the Conquest they were severed from the manor of
Bradford, and became by subinfeudation a mesne manor : for,
in a suit respecting the manor of Horton, in 1579, the Lord
acknowledged, by his Counsel, that the manor of Horton
was carved out of that of Bradford ; and afterwards, by the
• The eslrads from Dooimdaj Reooid for Bowling and Bieriey, will be given
hereafler under their proper heads. The following is a tnuislatlon of iboae parts of
the Reoonl which relate to other pUioes in the parish.
** Mtmor. In Scipleia Ravenchil had three Caracates of Land to be taxed, where
** there may be two ploughs. Ubert has it, and it is waste. Value in s. e. t. 10s»
** Wood pasture one mile long, and { broad.**
Bolton, from its name, seems, before the Conquest, to have been the residence of
a Saxon Thane, who had Cv nriderable posRsdons in this quarter. Though it is not
within the parish of Bradford, yet as several places in the parish were surveyed
under Bolton, 1 shall extract the following.
" Manor. In BodtUimt Archil had four Caiucates of Land to be taxed, where
^ there may be two ploughs. JIbert has it, and it is waste. Value in x. b. t. 10s.
«< This Laud belongs to this Manor, Cetetiau (Chellow), jilreione, TorenUmty
** ClttUme, fFiUteMe (Wibsey). To be taxed together, 10 Carucates of Land,
^ where there may be six ploughs. It is waste. Value in x. e. t. 40s ; it is now
" nothing.'*— /l«M/eii'« Trmtslaiion/or Yorkshire.
-f In the Inquisition, hereafter particukriy mentioned, taken on the death of
Henry, Eari of Derby, in 1361, Bradford, Maoniqgham, and Stanbury, areckissed
together in such a manner, as to leave litUe doubt that ibe extent of the manor was
the fame then as now.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 37
creation of tenures, was made a manor itself.* At the date
of the Nomina Yillarum, made in 1316, it seems Haworth,
in which Oxenhope was included, had not been granted out ;
but belonged, along with Manningham, to the Lord of Brad-
ford. It may therefore with considerable confidence be
asserted, that Manningham, Stanbury, the two Hortons,
Haworth, and Oxenhope, were the six berewicks dependent
in a manorial capacity, upon Bradford. Dr. Whitaker, in
the " Loidis," classes Denholme as one of them. I have
not, after an attentive investigation, found one tittle of proof
that either Denholme or Wilsden was one of those bercwicks>
except that they are not mentioned in the Survey.
Who was this Gamel that held the manor of Bradford at
the time of the Conquest? It has justly been remarked by
our antiquaries, that the blood of those Saxon Thanes who
vere allowed to hold part of their possessions under the
Normans, can verj seldom be traced into the English families
existing a century later than the Conquest. This chasm in
antiquarian topography, no doubt arises from the fact, that
the posterity of those Thanes generally assumed local sur-
names from the places of their residence ; and thus all
vestige of the Saxon name was lost. I have been unable
to trace any ancient English family to the Saxon Lord of
Bradford. He survived the Conquest, and held some of
bis old possessions under Ilbert de Lacy. It seems Gamel
was a person of considerable consequence, as I find a very
great number of manors in this part of the country, men-
tioned in Doomsday Book as having belonged to him ;t ^^^
• Ezenpliflcation (dated 9tfa June, 13th Chflrles Lst) of two Decrees In the Ducby
Court; one in the dlst end SSnd of Elizabeth, and the other in 10th James l«t.
Horton was a Manor long before the year 1200.
f I remember the following: — EUand, Ovenden^ Goraeml, Thomhill, and
Kirkbeatoo. Heptonstal he retained under Ubert de Lacy. He most likely also re-
tained Elland, (notwithstanding the silence of Doomsday Book), as 1 find he granted
lands there to Fountain's Abbey, whkh grant wns ailerwanls oooftrmed by one o£
tlk! Ellands. The confirmer stated that he held by deed from Gamel.
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38 BRADFORI>— UNDER THE LACIES.
among others Rochdale. The following is Dr. Whitaker's
remark under the head ' Rochdale/ in his History of Whal-
ley : *^ From the arms of Rachdale, of Rachdale, formerly
'' in a window of Elland chapel^ there is some reason to sus-
" pect^ that soon after the Conquest, and about the origin of
" local surnames, this manor [Rochdale] was held by that
" family, perhaps descendants of Gamely and that it passed
'* by marriage to the Ellands." I know of nothing which
can militate against the supposition that the Gamel of Roch-
dale was the same person as that of Bradford.
The whole of the cultivated lands in the manor of Bradford
with its six berewicks, was, at the time of the Conquest, fifteen
carucates,* or 1 500 acres — on which eight ploughs were em-
ployed. These carucates were patches of ground selected
for their native fertility, cleared from the woody waste. The
value of the manor, prior to the ruthless desolation of the
Conqueror, was £4 ;t — ^a considerable sum when compared
with the value of the adjoining manors, and of money at
the time. There are no premises given in the Record, from
which even an approximation can be drawn as to the popu-
lation of Bradford and its dependent knots of houses. It
was undoubtedly very thin ; for if we apportion ten acres to
every family, which, considering the rude state of agriculture
in Saxon times, cannot be too much, and allow with Sir
\Vm. Petty, in his Political Arithmetic, five persons to each
family, the population would only amount to 750 persons, —
of whom one third may be assigned to Bradford.^
• The exact quantity of land in the Carucate mentioned in Doomiday Surrey,
in by no means certain. AocoKling to Selden, it varied with the soil and mode of
huitbandr}'. The number of acres in it ranged at about 100. It originally meant as
much OS could be ploughed in a year,— from Carucay a plough.
t The pound mentioned in Doomsday Book was a pound weight, troy, of silver ;
and its intrinsic value in our money was, therefore, £3; but its extrinsic value
was 100 times more, at least, than £1 of the present day. The annual value hi
King EdwArd*s time of the manor was, therefore, £400 of our money.
I For a very curious account of the Anglo-Saxon population at the time of
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACTES. 39
There was a pasturable wood^ half a mile long and half a
mile broad. It is extremely probable that ClifFe Wood is
the remnant of the ancient sylvan pasture mentioned in the
Survey. At that time, allowing for the ample measure given
by the Norman surveyors, it no doubt reached from near
Boldshay to the extremity of the present wood, and covered
the whole of the slope.
There is no mention of a church existing here. This
silence is not conclusive ; for it is stated by an eminent
authority, that no injunction was laid on the jurors to return
the churches, and that they were, consequently, very fre-
quently omitted.* From my inspection of Doomsday Record,
however, it appears that more care was, by some means or
other, taken to return the churches in these parts than in
others. The churches in this part of the kingdom which,
from other evidence, are known to have existed at the time
of the Survey, are enumerated in it ; and where no allusion
is made to a church hereabouts, it can generally be proved
that its foundation was subsequent to the Conquest. There
is, with regard to Bradford, presumptive evidence that the
parish was severed from that of Dewsbury after the great
Survey. That there was a small chapel here, having right
of sepulture, seems very probable : chapels are never men-
tioned in Doomsday Book. The distance of Bradford from
the mother church, at Dewsbury ; the comparative impor-
DoomAlay Surrey, see Turner's History of Uie Anglo-Saxoa«, vol 3, page S&.7,
(6th edition). This authority shews that such population was very thin.
• In EUisN Introduction to Doomsday Book, vol. 1, sec. 7, it is stated, that "no
<* injunction was laid on the jurors to return the churches. The mention of them,
*' if made at all, was of course likely to be irregular. l*he whole number returned,
" only amounts to a few more than 1700 ; one only can be found in Cambridgeshire,
*' and none in Lancashire (between the Ribble and the Mersey), Cornwall, or eren
" Middlesex, the seat of the Metropolis. It is also known, on the most satisfactory
« evidence, that several churches existed which are not mentioned in Doomsday
** Record. It is commonly stated that the Conqueror destroyed 36 churches to make
" New Forest, and therefore churches must have been plentiful"
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40 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
tance of the place ; and the number of other vills immediately
surrounding it, render it almost certain that a small chapel
stood here.
'' It is waste^^ I What a text on which to descant upon the
tyranny of brutal monarchs! Bradford, the whole of the
neighbouring manors, and, in short, the greater part of
Yorkshire, are described in Doomsday Book as waste.
About the year 1070, there was a revolt in these northern
parts against the Conqueror; who, on hastening with his
army to meet the rebels, swore by God's splendour, his
usual oath, that he would not leave a soul of them alive.
After suppressing the insurrection, he literally fulfilled his
oath. All our old historians* are full of the horrors of the
massacre, and the desolation which ensued. I confess
their accounts of it are as revolting to humanity as any I
remember to have read. Indeed, whoever has perused with
attention the life of this Norman monster, must concur
with the historian Lord Lyttleton, who, speaking of this
slaughter, and the forest laws enacted by the Invader, says,
that Attila did no more deserve the name of '^ Scourge of
God," than this merciless tyrant. On reflecting on the
bloodiest acts of the greatest tyrants, I think they are all
equalled if not excelled by those of our first William.
• Simeon, of Durhnm, gives a very moving account of this massacre ; he sa>s
that the country between York and Durham was so devastated that it lay waste for
nine years ; and that the inhabitants who escaped, eat m\s, mice, and other vermin
to sustain life. This account is confirmed by a Norman^ William of Malmesbury,
who says that there were destroyed and laid waste, such q>lendkl towns, such
loAy casUes, such beautiful pastures, that had a stranger viewed the scene he must
have been moved with compassion • end had one inhabitant been alive, he would
not have lecoUected the country. —
*< Whom e*en the Saxon spared and bloody Dane,
<* The wanton victims of his sport remain ;
" But see the man who spncious regions gave,
" A waste for beasts, himself denied a grave."
Po)*e*M niudt'ir Fvrrs'.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES. 41
Ilbert de Lacy* was one of the Norman adventurers who
followed the standard of the Bastard to the battle of Has-
tings. After the subjugation of the kingdom^ the Conqueror
bestowed on those of his followers who were the chiefs of
his army, or who had signalized themselves in the contest
with Harold^ the lands of the Saxons. The share of Ilbert
de Lacy was very considerable ; he had in the West-Riding
of Yorkshire 150 manors. The wapentake of Morley alone^
contained 25 towns belonging to him. The survey of the
whole of his possessions, in Doomsday Book, takes up seven
pages. As that record shews, he was Lord of Bradford*
When the first Lacy had firmly seated himself in the pos-
session of his gr«at estate in these parts, following the
example of the feudal custom in his own country, he con-
stituted it a Seignory, or Honour — the Honour of Pontefract
— and granted out the smaller of his manors to be holden of
such Honour, by the accustomed feudal rents and services.
He was created Baron of Pontefract in 1070,t having been
in possession of the estate three years. He built the
* I have taken considerable pains to render tbe following account of tbe Lacy fami-
ly correct. There is, in Whitaker's ' Whalley,' a well written history of the Lacies ;
but I have not been guided by this unless corroborated by some other authorities.
The account of the Lacies in the History of Pontefract, by Boothroyd, is taken,
in a great measure, from Whitaker. The other authorities which I have con-
suited, are the Register of Stanlaw Abbey, the Pedigrees of the Lacies from the
Towneley MSS., and the MSS. of the Lacies of Cromwell-bottom, copied in Wilson's
Yorkshire Pedigrees, Leeds Old Library; and Brook's MSS. in the Heralds' Office.
These MSS. are very often at variance with each other. 1 have done my best to
reconcile their discrepancies, and to pick out the truth by comparing the whole of my
authorities. The accounts of the Lacies in Hunter's History of Doncaster, and in
Burke's Dormant and Extinct Peerage, seem to be mere abstracts of Dr. Whitaker's.
I much regret that I have not seen Fime^s " Blazon of Gentrle,*' an old and curious
book, which e^}edally treats of the " Lacies true nobilitie." I however forgot it
while in London, and have not been able to meet with it in these parts. I the more
regret the omission, as I believe Dr. Whitaker had not seen Fime's work when he
wrote his account. I may mention, that I have followed Brook, as to the mar-
riages, «fec., where the other authorities are either silent or contradictory.
t Wilson's Yorkshire Pedigrees, vol. 1, page 209.
G
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42 ' BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
castle of Pontefract for his residence, and to awe his vas-
sals. It is stated that it was twelve years in building,
and was finished about the commencement of Doomsday
Survey. In the 10th of William 1st, he received a confir-
mation of his possessions. He died in the early part of the
reign of William Rufus ; and left^ by his wife Hawise, two
sons, Robert and Hugh. The latter was the founder of a
fiimily in Ireland.
Robert de Lacy, (sumamed of Pontefract, from the cir-
cumstance of his being bom there,) succeeded his father in
the estate. When Robert, Duke of Normandy, attempted
to enforce his just claim to the English crown, Robert de
Lacy, along with a number of otlier English lords, who had
possessions in Normandy, and apprehended that if the Duke
did not obtain the crown he would dispossess them of their
lands there, espoused his cause. Robert de Lacy was at the
battle of Trenchbray, in Normandy, (1104,) fought between
Henry the 1st and his brother Robert. After the defeat of
Robert of Normandy, the King banished Robert de Lacy
and his son Ilbert the realm, and gave the estate to one
Henry Traverse, who, in a short time after, was mortally
wounded by Pain, one of his servants. On the death of
Traverse, the Lacy fee was given to Hugh de Laval, one of
the kindred of the King. Thus far is clear ; but the subse-
quent history of this Lacy, is involved in doubts from which
it is hardly possible to clear it.* The old historians and
• The confused account given by Dugilale in his Baronage, of Uiis Robert de
Lacy, is well known. He informs us ttiat Robert died in exile, and so did his son
Ilbert ; that Heniy, the other son of Robert, taking advantage of the tiouble«l
state of Stephen*s reign, retiimed and dispossessed Laval of the ertate; and
he then corrects the above statement, on the authority of an old hittforinn, who
asserted that Ilbert was restored in the reign of Henry the first. Thu true CAuse of
all this uncertainty lies in the contradictory accounts the Tarious MSS. give of this
Robert. Camden, In bis Britannia, (Gibson's ediUon, p. 71),) savs "But Heniy
de Lacy, his nephew, [that in of Ilbert] being, as the pleadint<« of I hose times tell
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 43
manuscripts disagree as to whether Robert de Lacy returned
from exile^ and was reinstated in his patrimonial estate.
From the circumstance of his being buried at Pontefract, it
seems probable that he returned from exile ; but I have not
seen any proof that he again enjoyed his forfeited estate.*
Indeed the fact that his son liberty after his valorous conduct
at the battle of the Standard, compounded with Laval for
part of his father's confiscated fee, renders it not improbable
that Robert was satisfied, so that his issue obtained the
greater part of the Lacy estate, to spend the remainder of
US, (placit. II, Hen. 3.) in the battle of Trenchbray, against Henry 1st, was dis-
seized of bis Barony of Pontefract, and then tbe King gave the Honour to Wido de
Laval, who held it in King Stephen's time, when Uenry de Lacy entered upon the
Barony, and by the King*s intercession, the dilTerence was adjusted with Wido for
£160." " This Henry hod a son, Robert, who died without issue, leaving Albreda
Lisours, by the mother's side, his heir." Then he adds, "this is word for word
out of the Register of Stanlaw Monastery.'^ This Register, as to the earlier Lacies,
is all wrong. Camden's editor. Bishop Gibson, under the head of Pontefract
Priory, sets his author right ; but it is laughable to see the next editor of Camden,
the judicious Gough, floundering in the same error (vol. 3, p. 286); after stating
Bishop Gibson^s opinion, that this priory was founded by Robert de Lacy the 1st,
Gough prooeed»— " his argument is this, that Robert was banished in the 6th of
Henry tbe 1st, for being at tbe battle of Trenchbray; but the Bishop, with
Camden be/ore his eyes, mlstalces Robert for his grands<m Henry, who was
banished." A similar error is committed by Thoresby, in his Diary.
• Dr. Whitaker, in his History of Whalley, states that he undoubtedly was; and
in proof of this, adduces from Burton's Mon. Ebor. sevend instances of his having
confirmed grants made by Hugh de Laval to Nostel Priory. But all these confir-
mations ate stated to be in the pontificate of Alexander 3rd, which was wholly during
the reign of Henry the 2nd ; for according to Nicolas' Chronology of History, Alex-
ander the 3rd was elected to the papal chair in 1 159, aixl died in 1181. And even
if Robert de Lacy were restored to bis patrimony, it is improbable that tliese confir-
mations were by him ; for, allowing that he was twenty-five years old at the battle
uf Trenchbray, (and it is much more probable that he was thirty,) which was fought
in the year 1104, he would be at the very commencement of Alexander's i)ontificate,
eighty years old. Besides, his son Henry and grandson Roberi, during the whole
of this Pontiffs rule, were in possession of the estate. There is strong susipicion
that these confirmations were made by Robert de Lacy tbe 2nd. Boothro^d states,
I know not on what authority, thai Robert de I^atT the 1st died in the reign of
Henr) 1st ; but on the same page gives a list of the confirmations by him of grants
to Nostel Prioo', i" the reign of Henry 2nd.
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44 BRADFORD^UNDER THE LACIES.
his life in retirement. The fact that liberty and not his
father, obtained from Laval part of the Lacy fee, is as well
established as any circumstance in the history of the early
Lacies. It is not known when Robert died ; he was buried
in the monastery of St. John, at Pontefract,* which he had
founded. By his wife Maud, Matilda, or Mabill, (for she is
called all these,) daughter of John Fitzgeoffrey, Lord of
Alnwick,t he had two sons, Ilbert and Henry.
Ilbert, the companion of his father's exile, returned into
England in the troublesome reign of Stephen ; and was pre-
sent at the famous battle of the Standard,^ fought near
Northallerton, in which the Scotch invaders were totally de-
feated. The courage of Ilbert was so signal, and contribu-
ted so greatly to the victory, that he received a full ptirdon
from the King ; and by his intercession, an agreement was
come to with Gruy de Laval, the successor of Hugh, for the
partition of the confiscated Pontefract fee. The conditions
of this agreement were, that Ilbert should pay to Guy £150,
and possess about forty knights' fees, Laval retaining other
twenty. But before this adjustment had been carried fully
into efiect, Ilbert died,§ sometime in the reign of Stephen.
He had no issue by his wife Alice, daughter of Gilbert de
Gant. He was buried between the tomb of his mother
Matilda and the wall, at the altar of St. Benedict,|| and was
succeeded by his brother Henry.
• MS. of Uie Lades of Cromwell-boUom, copted into Wilmn's Yorkshire Pedi-
grees, vol. 1, page 210.
t Towneley MS. copied into Wilson's Yorks. Ptd., vol. 1, page 225.
} It seems from Drayton's Polyolbion, that either Robert, or his son Henry, was»
along with Ilbert, at the battle.
'< With the Earl of Aubermerle^ Especk and PeYerill, knights,
And of Uie Ucles two oft tried in flghts."— &it^, 29.
Hume mentions only Hbert.
S Wilson's Vorks. Ped., vol. 1, page 222.
U Idem. \ol 1, page 2 10.^ MS. of Lades ol Cromwell-ltottom. I suppose
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BRADFORD UNDER THE LACIES. 45
This Henry de Lacy was received into great favour by
Henry the 2nd, and his mother, the Empress Maud. He
concluded the agreement that had been entered into by his
brother Ilbert with Laval.* He married Albreda de Vescy,
daughter of William Lord Peverill, and dying on the seventh
calends of October, * * , in the latter part of the reign of
Henry the 2nd, was buried at Kirkstall Abbey, (which he
had founded in 1159,) and left a son named Robert, who
succeeded him. The widow of this Henry afterwards mar-
ried Eudo de Lisours, and had by him a daughter, Awbrey.
Robert de Lacy the 2nd. — He was one of the barons that
attended on the coronation of Richard 1st. He married
Isabel, daughter of Robert Lord Luzars,t and dying 12th
calends of February, 1193, without issue, was buried at Kirk-
stall Abbey. I have somewhere seen it stated that he died
at Clitherhow castle ; if he did, his body would be brought
on the Long Causeway and through Bradford, to Kirkstall.
According to the superstitious practice of that period, it
would be accompanied by a great number of priests, singing
requiems, and by all the imposing paraphernalia of religious
processions in those times. He devised his immense pos-
sessions to his uterine sister, the above named Awbrey,
daughter of Lisours. She married, for her first husband,
Richard Fitz-Eustace, constable of Chester, and Lord of
Halton ; and carried with her the immense estates of the
Lacies and the Lisours. She had by the constable of Ches-
ter, (who died before Robert de Lacy,) a son named John.
He died at Tyre, in the year 1190, on the 3rd crusade, in
this altar would belong to the Prior)' of St. John, at Pontetract, which was of the
order of St. Benedict
* Certlf. facta de feodis militum temp. Hen. 2nd. Henricus de Lacy debuit in
tervtcio Regi, de veteri feodo Pontisfracti, 60 milites fefatus ; de quibus Wido de
Laval liabet 20 milites excepto 1 et dim :— Harl. MS. 2115. According to Dugitale,
Guy de Laval, in 13tb Henry 2nd, held 20 knights' fe<*s.
t Wilson's Yorks. Ped., vol. 1. page 209.
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46 BRADFORD — UNDER THK LACIES.
which he had, with his son Roger, accompanied Richard
the 1st. He married Alice de Vere, sister* of William de
Mandeville, Earl of Essex, and left by her several children.
Roger, his son, succeeded him, and assumed the name of
Lacy. Within two years after the death of Robert de Lacy,
a fine was levied between Roger de Lacy and Awbrey his
grandmother, by virtue of which the fee of Pontefract
came into his possession. He was a true specimen of the
pious Holy Land crusaders of those days — ^ferocious in a
degree approaching to savageness. His temper was so
brutal, that even in that semi-barbarous age^ he was dis-
tinguished for it. He was very liberal in the building and
endowment of religious houses. Upon the aid for the King's
redemption, in the 6th Richard 1st, he answered £45 15s.
for his fees, and Laval £20 for those he held belonging to
the Lacies. On the King's restoration to his crown, Roger
paid, in the 7th Richard 1st, 2000 marks for livery of the
fee of Pontefract. From the greatness of this sum, it seems
probable that he had incurred the King's displeasure. In
the 1st of John, Guy de Laval died; upon which Roger
agreed to give to the King 500 marks, ten palfreys, and ten
laisse of greyhounds, for the possession of such part of
Laval's lands as belonged to the Lacy fee. Roger, how-
ever, impoverished by the exactions of Richard the 1st,
was unable to pay the 500 marks ; and in the 4th John,
another agreement to pay the same by instalments was
entered into. Roger de Lacy, in his capacity of constable
of Chester, had frequent engagements with the Welsh, who,
restrained by no treaties or token of subordination, often
overran Cheshire and the border counties. He repelled the
invaders with success, and treated them with such severity,
that they gave him the surname of ^ Hell.' He was after-
wards sent into Normandy, to maintain king John's interests
• Wilsou's Pedigrees say "/fW<w."
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48 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
In the time of Edmund de Lacy, 1246, Bradford is
charged for tallage to the King five marks, and the two
Bondi there four shillings. The burgh of Leeds is charged
three marks and a half.* This fact is very conclusive evi-
dence that Bradford had by this time greatly increased
in population. The sum it had to contribute for tallage,
would be at least £50 of our money ; the call made upon it,
was one mark and a half more than Leeds, llie two Bondi
there, were praedial slaves. I shall have occasion hereafter,
to shew more fully the condition of these kind of bondmen.
Owing to the favour of Edmund de Lacy with the King,
he obtained several important grants ; and among others, in
the year 1251, a charter for a market at Bradford, and a
grant of free warren in the manor.f The following is a trans-
lation of the charter.
The King to the Archbishops &c., greeting, Know ye that we
have granted and by this our present charter confirmed, to our beloved
valet, Edmund de Lacy, that he and his heirs for ever, shall have
one market every week, on Thursday, at his manor of Brafpord,
in the county of York, unless this market should be to the injury
of the neighbouring markets. Wherefore, &c. These being wit*
nesses, Ralph son of Nicholas, Bertram de Criol, Master William
de Kilkenny, Archdeacon of Coventry, Artaldo de Sco' Romano,
Robert le NorreLs, Stephen Banthan, Anketin Mallore, and others.
Dated under our hand at Morton, 20th day of Aprils
This is also another proof that Bradford had, in the time
of this Lacy, assumed a considerable station among the
neighbouring towns or villages.
The grant of free warren gave the exclusive right to hunt
and kill beasts and fowls of warren within the manor. A good
authority, (Manwood, p. 94,) says, that the hare, coney, phea-
sant, and partridge, only, were beasts and fowls of warren. §
• Madox*t Hist, of the Exchequer, vol 1, chap. 17.
t Jennlnff^s MSS., Harl. Coll., No. 797.
I Charter Roll, Tower, 35 Heniy 3, in. 8.
^ Some authon have ranked other beastx and fowls as of wanen, but Manwood ts
eonsidered decisive on this subject. Grants of free wanen are the foundation of our
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BRA-DFORD — UNDER THE LACrES. 49
Edmund de Lacy died on the 5th June, 1258, young,
and in the life-time of his mother. He never, therefore,
assumed the title of Earl of Lincoln. He was buried at
Stanlaw, and left a son, —
Henry, the last of the name of Lacy of this line. Indeed
the blood terminated with Robert de Lacy the 2nd. Henry
would also be a ward of the King, Henry 3rd, being only eight
years old when his father died. He was brought up partly
with Edward 1 st, and afterwards became one of his greatest
favorites ; and he well deserved the honour. In the council
he was wise and prudent ; in the field, firm and valorous.
His services as a soldier, seem to have begun in the 1st
Edward 1st, when he besieged and took Chartley Castle,
in Staffordshire, from Robert de Ferrers, who had been at-
tainted in the reign of Henry 3rd, and his estate given to
another.
In the year 1277, 4th Edward 1st, the Inquisitions, form-
ing the body of the Hundred Rolls, were taken. That
part of the Rolls which relates to this district, discloses some
very curious and interesting facts respecting Bradford. The
following is a translation. —
CONCERNING THOSE WHO HAVE ANCIENT SUITS, &C.
They (the jurors) say that the townships of Clayton, Thorneton,
Allerton and Heton, were taxable to the Lord the King, and were
appropriated to the liberty of the Lord Edmund de Lascy, by John
de Hoderode, late steward of the said Edmund, and hitherto the
said customs are kept up by Henry de Lascy, Earl of Lincoln.
game laws. By the feudal law introdnoed after the Conquest, the right of killing
beasts of cbaoe, (buck, doe, fux, martin, and roe,) beasts of venary, (hart, hind,
hoar, and wolf,) and the beasts and fowls of warren, belonged solely to the
King. Afterwards the privilege of taking all these kinds of game was g^ranted to
various subjects, who then had the sole and exclusive power of killing the same within
the bounds assigned in each of their grants. The grant of a free chace alone, em-
powered the killing of beasts of chace ; that of free warren, extended merely to the
smaller sjiecies of game.
H
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50 BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES.
And they say that Peter de Saunton, steward of the said ilenry
de Lascy, hath appropriated the town of Wyk, and of Boiling,
in the last days of the Lord the King Henry, father of the now
King, and that service he hath withdrawn, and appropriated to the
Earl.
CONCERNING THOSE WHO HAVE LIBERTIES.
They say that Henry do Lascy hath many liberties in the town of
Brade/ord; to wit, a gallows^ assize of bread and beer, a market-
place, and a free court from ancient times ; a sheriff's turn made by
bis steward, and the debts of the Lord the King levied by his own
bailiffs.
Also, they say that as well the steward of Alesia de Lascy, as of
the said Henry, use liberties otherwise than they ought to do, and
have taken toll of things bought and sold without the market-place
of Bradeford, at the gates {ad ostid) of the sellers and buyers, and
that toll is called Dortol and Huciol; and if the sellers and buyers
have in any thing opposed tliem, they amerce them ; and other things
they do contrary to ancient usage.
CONCERNING NEW APPROVEMENTS, &C.
And they say that Hugh de Swillington hath approved for himself
a certain inclosure in the Rodes, in a place called Jordansol, in the
time of King Henry, father of the now King, but by what warrant
they are ignorant.
CONCERNING SHERIFFS AND BAILIFFS WHO HAVE AMERCED, &C.
And they say that Gilbert de Clifton, steward of Henry de Lascy
in the time of King Henry, father of the now King, amerced VVm.
de Whiteley of Wilsenden, for not coming to the turn when there
were sufficient persons to make inquisition.
OP THOSE WHO HAVE FELONS, &C.
And they say that Nicholas de Burton, steward of Henry de
Lascy, had Evam, weaver^ (text' ioem) of Gumersal in the prison
at Bradeford, and took from him two cows, and him permitted to go
without judgment.
These extracts from the Hundred Rolls suggest the fol-
lowing remarks. —
It seems that a few years prior to the taking of the Inqui-
sitions on which the facts in the above extracts are founded,
the lordships or townships of Thornton, Allerton, Clayton,
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES. 51
Heatoiiy Bowling, and Wyke, had been taxable to the King ;
and owed no suit to any extra-manorial court, except the
SherifPs Turn, and the Hundred Court. At the time of
Doomsday Survey, they absolutely and wholly belonged to
the Lacies ; but by the process of subinfeudation, the larger
proprietors of the land in each of them, had acquired the
rights appurtenant to mesne manors. These Rolls shew,
that shortly before the year 1272, their suit to the King had
been partially withdrawn, and that they had been appropria-
ted to the Liberty and Leet of Bradford.
The most striking circumstance disclosed in these extracts
is, that the Earl of Lincoln exercised a right of gallows
here. To understand the nature of this right perfectly,
it will be necessary to state some preliminary facts. During
the time of the Saxon sway, the greater part of the Thanes,
either by express grant, or from prescription, possessed the
power of executing thieves found within their respective
manors. In the laws of Edward the Confessor, chap. 21,
express mention is made of this right or power. These laws
were confirmed by the Conqueror, in the fourth year of his
reign, at Berkhamstead. An inspection of the Hundred Rolls
shews that a great number of places in the kingdom had
right of gallows. The instrument of death seems to have
been placed at a distance from the town to which it belonged.
This was the case at Halifax, Otley, Knaresborougli, Kirby
Malzeard, and other towns in the West-Riding ; where the
place of execution of thieves is to this day noted by the
distinctive term " Gallow" being added to the general name
of the spot, as Galloto Close, Gallow Hill, &c. I have
taken considerable pains to ascertain the site of the gallows
at Bradford ; and though it is now impossible to point out
the precise spot, I believe I shall adduce evidence to shew
a probability that it was within a short distance of Bowling
Iron- Works. My reasons for this position are these : — In
looking through the early Court Rolls of the manor, I find
mention made of Gallow Closes in Bradford; which closes
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52 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIE9.
I have, from several circumstances, been able to fix some-
where to the south-east of the town. Again : It is a probable
supposition that the place of execution would be demesne
land of the Lord, and a kind of town's field for sports, in
which, in those days, butts for the exercise of archery would
be erected. In the grant of the manor by Charles the 1st,
hereafter set forth, thirty acres of demesne land in Brasshawe
(or Braeshaw) within the manor of Bradford are included.
One fourth of the manor, along with a proportion of the de-
mesne land, afterwards came into the family of the Richardsons
of Bierley Hall ; and in the conveyance of this fourth to H.
Marsden, Esquire, a reservation was made of two messuages,
called Birks,* and three closes of land called Callow Closes,
or Butts. It is almost certain, therefore, that Birks-Hall
stood on some part of the thirty acres of demesne, and that
Gallow Closes were part of it. Some fields near to those
closes yet retain the name of ^ Shaw'. Indeed, I have no
doubt but that the greater part of the slope between Birks-
Hall and George-street, bore, in ancient times, the appellation
* Braeshaw'.f There is a field near the foundry which now
retains the name of Callow Close. It, doubtless, is cither
one of the above-mentioned three closes, or lies contiguous
to them. It is just without the manor of Bradford, touching
the boundary line. The three closes excepted in the above-
mentioned conveyance must, however, have been within the
manor. Probably a great number of fields contiguous to the
place of execution bore the name of Callow Closes. I know
of no other place for which the slightest reason can be ad-
vanced that it was the site of Bradford gallows. I may add,
that the privilege of executing felons by Lords of Manors,
was not taken away by any Statute, but was lost by desuetude,
on itinerant judges being appointed to take circuits, and dis-
pense justice periodically through the kingdom. I am totally
* A brai.ch of the Rjchttrdjtons lived at Birks-hail, aiiU conveyed Ihis one (burth.
•f Sbaw cones from the SaxoD Scua^ and denotes a woodv slo^.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 53
unable to state when it fell into disuse at Bradford ; but it is
probable that few criminals were executed here after the time
of Henry, Earl of Lincoln.
The assize of bread and beer, was a right which the Lords
of all the towns in the county enjoyed. The officers ap-
pointed by them, overlooked the weight and measure, and
ascertained the purity of these two articles ; and if any de-
linquencies in respect of them were discovered, the offenders
were severely punished. This was a wholesome regulation,
which even in our present advanced state of society, is
greatly needed.
The market-place at Bradford, mentioned in these Rolls,
was probably in the church yard, or at all events contiguous
thereto. It will be seen shortly that the market was held on
the Sunday, although there was a chartered market-day.
There was also, "a Free Court from ancient times, a
** Sheriff's Turn, made by the Earl's own Steward, and the
" debts of the King levied by the Earl's own Bailiff." This
Free Court still exists at Bradford, under the title of the
Manor Court. At the period of these Rolls, its powers were
much larger.
In this domestic tribunal, almost all the grievances rela-
ting to the purses of the Earl's tenants, at Bradford, could be
redressed; as 40s., the amount recoverable in it, was, in those
days, equivalent to upwards of £20 of our money : the Court
Leet avenged the greater part of the wrongs to the person ;
so that justice in these times was, except in the heaviest
matters, brought home to the door of all, at the most trifling
expense. I very much question whether a single action was,
during the middle ages, brought in the Courts at Westmin-
ster, by any of the inhabitants of Bradford. I have looked
through the Indexes to the Pleadings, published by the
Record Commissioners, and cannot find one mentioned.
The Earl of Lincoln had the right of holding, by his
own steward, the Sheriff's Turn at Bradford. This no doubt
is the origin of the Court Leet, as they only differ in name —
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54 BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES.
their jurisdiction being similar in all respects^ except that a
" Turn*' includes within its authority a larger district. A
Court Leet is, like the Sheriff's Turn, a Court of Record ; and
the right to hold either by the Earl, must have been granted
by the King's charter. An important privilege belonging to
Bradford has been irrecoverably lost. The bailiff of Brad-
ford alone, could levy the King's debts in the town, and
commit the debtor to his own prison, in Bradford. I
understand by the King's debts, not merely those of the
Exchequer, but also all debts that were adjudged due in the
King's courts. By a memorandum* I have, it appears there
were altercations respecting this exclusive jurisdiction, and
it is stated that the Earl of Lincoln would not permit the
King's bailiff to levy a distress in the town of Bradford.
The privilege partly existed, as I shall hereafter shew, in
the days of Elizabeth. It is now extinct.
I hardly know what meaning to put upon the words '* at
the gates of Bradford." I am aware that the original words
'^ ad ostiay^ may likewise be construed as meaning ^* at the
entrances." It was, however, customary in the early ages
to erect small wicker or other gates at the entrances to towns,
for the convenience of collecting the toll, and as a security
that none escaped the exaction. The lady Alice de Lacy,
whose steward claimed Dortol and Huctol,f was the mother
of the Earl. It appears that in those days the inhabitants
did not think it right to pay toll for articles bought and sold
out of the market.
There was a prison in Bradford for debtors as well as
criminals. Of the fact that a weaver irom Gomcrsal, was
imprisoned in it, apparently for debt, use will be made in
an after part of the work, to shew that the woollen manufac-
• Taken from a MS. in ihc poaasion of S. Hailstone, Esquire.
t I am nnable to state what kind of toll Dorioi was, as I know of no word like
it, unless it have some affinity to Doriure, a lodging or dwelling. Doe<. it atluJe
to passage toll r Huctot, 1 apprehend, was a tax on articles toU.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 55
ture was carried on here long previous to the time of Edward
3rd^ who is the reputed establisher of it in England.
In 1290 so great was the confidence placed in t&e integrity
and wisdom of the Ektrl of Lincoln^ that he was appointed
First Commissioner for rectifying the grievous abuses that
had crept into the administration of justice in the court of
Common Pleas ; and by his strict and impartial execution of
that office^ he gave great satisfaction.
In 1294 he obtained a charter for holding markets and fairs
at various towns belonging to him. Bradford was among the
number. I give a translation of such part of this charter as
relates to it : —
The King to the Archbishops, &c. Know ye that we have
granted, and by this charter confirmed, to Henry de Lacy, Earl of
Lincoln^ that he and his heirs shall have (inter alia) one market
every week, on Thursday, at his manor of Bradford, in the county
of York ; and one fair there every year, to continue for five days ;
to wit, on the eve and on the day of the blessed Peter ad Vincula^
and for three days following. Witnessed by Edmund the King's
brother, the Bbhops of Durham, Bath, and Wells, and others.
Dated at Westminster, 6th June, [22nd Edward 1st.]*
The first of August is the day of the Feast of St. Peter,
ad Vincula, or in Chains. This fair was afterwards discon-
tinued ; and, as mentioned hereafter, other charters obtained
for the holding of fairs at times of the year found by expe-
rience to be more convenient and advantageous.
About the time this charter was granted, a dispute arose,
which evinces, upon evidence approaching to certainty, that
the ancient bounds of the manors or townships of Bradford
and Horton were not the same as the present. It is well
known to the inhabitants of Bradford, that there is no natu-
ral boundary between these manors ; and that the line which
cuts off the inhabitants of Horton from the jurisdiction or
suit of the Bradford soke mills, is one which the eye of the
• Charter RoU, Tower. Hopkimon's MSS., penes Miss Currer, vol. 2, p. 4.
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5G BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
law only sees. In the early ages, when society was in its
constitution inartificial, the bounds of manors or townships
were generally natural limits ; as water — Chills. There is little
doubt that in those days the manor of Horton (which is co-
extensive with the township), stretched to the Beck at the
Sun-bridge in one direction, and to the water running from
Cuckoo-bridge to where it joins the Beck, in the other ;
the boundary between the two manors at all points being
water. The following account will shew, when and in what
manner, the present manorial boundary between Bradford
and Horton was established, — or at least the cause of its
establishment. Henry Earl of Lincoln approved three acres
(of the measure of that day) from the wastes of Little- Horton^
in a place called Tyrrels or Turles, for the attachment of
his mill-dam, and for ease and liberty about his mill of
Bradford. In consequence of this encroachment, a dispute
arose between him and Hugh de Horton, Lord of Horton,
which was adjusted by a deed dated 1294; whereby the Lord
of Horton granted to the Earl the three acres, on condition
that he and his heirs paid yearly, therefore, the sum of three
shillings. This transaction shews clearly, that at the period
of this dispute, the Lord of Horton had an indefeasible
right to the manor of Horton ; and was sufficiently unshackled
to contend with his superior Lord. The Earl of Lincoln had
to pay for the land he approved from the waste of Horton one
shilling per acre, when his own tenants in Bradford, were
only paying for the like quality of land four-pence.* In
the 9th of Eklward 3rd, the payment of the three shillings
had been discontinued ; and Bradford manor being at that
time held by Queen Philippa, in dower, Hugh Leventhorp,
then Lord of Horton, petitioned the Queen for payment.
She referred the petition to her stewards of the Honour of
Pontefract, and a Bradford jury was called upon to decide
• Eiemplification of Decree in Duchy Court, mentioned page 37. Jenniug^s
MSS. in Hurl. CoUection, 197. Watson^n Histur} of Hniifax, i>agt* 1.52.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 57
upon the right, who found that the rent claimed by Leven-
thorp was justly due.* This payment of three shillings to
the Lord of Horton by that of Bradford, was kept up till
a late period; and, probably, is not now discontinued. The
area of land between the present artificial and the supposed
former natural boundary is, from a rough measurement I
made, about seven acres. One thing, however, is quite
evident, that all that part now called Tyrrels, was formerly
within the manor of Horton.
The Testa de Nevill, in the King's Remembrancer's office,
shews that the Earl of Lincoln had, in this neighbourhood,
the following fees : —
In Boiling, one third part of a knight's fee.
William de Swillington [in Bierley] held one fourth of a fee.
Abbot of Kirkstall, held in Allcrton, one half of a fee.
Robert de Horton held one third part of a knight's fee.
Gilbert the younger, of Horton, held the tenth part of a knight's fee.
Roger de Thornton held one half of a fee.
In Bradford dale, [valiis de Bradeford,] one half of a fee.
Clayton, forScutage, lis. 8Jd.
The whole of the Scutage for the Honour of the Earl of
Lincoln, was only 79s. 2d.
The quantity of land in a knight's fee varied, like that in
the carucate, according to the nature of the soil. I have
a great number of authorities to shew that a knight's fee
sometimes consisted of 480 acres, often of 640 acres, and
at other times of considerably more. It seems the land in
these parts was not of great value ; for, in Kirby's Inquest of
knights' fees held of the King in chief, in the county of York,
taken 24th Edward 1st, a knight's fee hereabouts is rated at
about 2000 acres.f Camden, in his Britannia, says a knight's
fee was as much inheritance as served yearly to maintain a
• Same authorities as in Uie note in the last page.
t Ttie land in Bradford is not menUoned in Kirby's Inquest; but Uiat in the
townships around Bradford is. I shall give, under the heads of those places compre*
bended in the scope of this worlc, all that this Inqu«st contains respecUng them.
I
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58 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
knight with convenient revenue ; which, in Edward the Ist's
time, was about £20. The above fees belonging to the Earl,
were held by knight's service ; that is, the holders of them
were obliged to furnish a certain number of men in military
array, for the King's army, and were bound to do homage to
their chief lord, who had, as incident to the tenure, ward-
ship, marriage, and relief.* The amount of relief, in all
parts of the country, for a knight's fee, was generally £5.
It seems to have been this sum in these parts ; for, in the
Feodary Accounts of the Honour of Pontefract, 33s. 4d. is
mentioned several times as the relief of the Bowlings, and
also of the Hortons. Scutage was a tax raised from knights'
fees towards furnishing the King's army. The sum paid by
Clayton for Scutage, seems enormously large when com-
pared with the sum the Earl had to pay for it.
When Edmund Earl of Lancaster died, Henry de Lacy
was appointed Chief Commander of the army in Gascony.
In 1298 he raised the siege of the castle of St. Catherine,
near Thoulouse, and expelled the French from that part of
the country. In 1299 he had the important post of leading
forward the vanguard at the memorable battle of Falkirk,
and contributed greatly to the victory. In this battle there
were some foot-soldiers who had been drafted from Brad-
ford. I find, from Rymer's F(Bdera,t that a commission was
issued to levy 400 eligible footmen in the wapentake of
Barkeston, and liberties of Selby, Osgolcross, Steyncross,
* Relief wu a nim of money which the tenant who held by knight lerrice, and
was of Ag« on the death of his ancestor, paid unto his lotd on entrance to the land.
If on death of the ancestor, his suooemor was under age, the lord had him or her in
wardship, and irceiTed the profits of the land till the ward attained SI yean. I^rd
LytUeton, in his Histoiy of Henry Snd, mentions enormous sums being given for the
wardship of great heirs and heiresses. The lord also could marry his ward to any fit
iwrmn. Lonl Lyttleton, as abo?e, says that the John de Lacy before mentioned,
paid to have his daughter Matilda manied to Rlchaid de Clan^, a ward of the King,
3000 marks ! a sum, L>t11eton says, equal to £30,000 in his time.
t Vol. 1st, part 9od, 88th Edward 1st.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 59
Almanbury,Srarfe/brrf,and the soke of Snaith, to be at Carlisle
on the Assumption of the Blessed Mary. The same number
of men was also drafted out of the wapentakes of Agbrigg,
Morley, Skyrack, and Claro. What is worthy of remark, is
the circumstance that Bradford was classed among the liber-
ties or particular jurisdictions, and distinct from the wapen-
take to which it belongs.
To shew the great favour this Lacy was in at Court,
and also the high rank he held among the nobility, he
had precedence of all the Peers of England after the
King's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, at the Parliament
held at Carlisle, in the last year of Edward 1st. Henry de
Lacy did not, after the death of this Monarch, fall from royal
favour; for his son retained him in his council and confidence.
When Edward 2nd made the disastrous invasion of Scotland,
which ended in the battle of Bannockburn, the Earl of Lincoln,
who was advanced in years, was left as Protector of England.
Though this great man had, as a subject, ^'touched the
highest point of greatness,'' and attained the " full meridian
of glory," yet his days were greatly embittered by domestic
afflictions, which destroyed the great ambition of his soul —
the perpetuation of his noble blood and name. His two only
sons were killed. Edmund, it is said, was drowned in a well,
at the Earl's castle, at Denbigh. John, when a youth, running
hastily upon the turrets of Pontefract castle, fell down. The
Earl had two daughters, Margaret and Alice, — the former died
before him, and the latter married Thomas, Earl of Lan-
caster. The Earl of Lincoln was twice married, — ^first to
Margaret, daughter of Sir Wm. Longspee ; secondly to Joan,
daughter of Wm. Martin, Lord Camoens, who survived him,
and had Bradford in dower. She married, for her second
husband, Nicholas Lord Andley, of Heleigh.
When Henry de Lacy found that all chance of his leaving
male issue was gone, he surrendered all his lands to his old
friend, Eklward 1st, who regranted them for the term of the
Earl's natural life ; and after his death, to descend to Thomas,
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60 BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES.
of Lancaster^ and Alice, his wife, and the heirs of their bodies ;
failing which, the lands were to pass to Edmnud, the King's
brother, and his heirs. This settlement shews the strong at-
tachment that existed between the Earl and the King's family.
He died 5th February, 1310, aged sixty years, and was buried
in St. Paul's Cathedral; where a splendid monument was
erected to his memory, which was destroyed in the Great Fire.
Upon the death of the Earl of Lincoln, an Inquisition of
all his lands and other territorial possessions was taken at
Pontefract, the 3rd day of March, 1311. This Inquisition,
unlike other records of its class, is the most correct and
important document respecting this part of the kingdom, after
Doomsday Book. The primary office of other Inquisitions,
was merely to inquire who was the next heir, and to see that
the King did not lose his right of escheat. But on account
of the Earl's possessions going to the heirs of the above-men-
tioned Edmund, in default of heirs of the bodies of Thomas,
Earl of Lancaster, and Alice, his wife, the Inquisition was
made with unusual exactness, and may be relied on as giving
a faithful picture of the condition of Bradford at the time.
The following is a translated copy* (for» like all records of
that period, it is in Latin) of such part as relates to the
subject of this history.
£. *. d.
The Earl had at Bradford, a Elall [Aulam\ or manor
house, with chambers, and it \& notJiing worth beyond
necessary repairs, and there are there forty acres in
doraosno, demised to divers tenants at will, the value
whereof yearly, is (8d. an acre) . • • . ..168
And there are there 156 acres of land, approved from
the waste, demised to divors tenants at will, and
valued by the year at (4 d. an acre) •• .. 2 12
Holding the aforesaid from, and paying therefore
at, the Feast of Saint Martin.
And there are there four acres of wood, which is sepa-
rated, and the value of the herbage yearly, is ..020
And there is there one Water- Mill, valued by the year, at 10
* From R copy of the original In Hopkimon'i MSS., peon Mi» Cuner.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES
61
And a Fulling-Mill, which is worth yearly . • • •
And there is there a certain market, every seventh day,
upon the Lord's Day, the toll of which, et p' feria,
is worth yearly
And there is there a certain fair, which is held annually
upon the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the toll
of which is worth yearly
And there are certain Villains who hold twenty-three
oxgangs of land in bondage, and render yearly, at the
Feast of Saint Martin (4s. for every oxgang)
And the same Villains do work in autumn, which is
worth yearly, for every oxgang, 3d.
And the same Villains hold certain parcels of land ap-
proved from the waste, and render therefore, at the
term aforesaid ...
And there are there certain tenants at will, who hold
three oxgangs of land, and render therefore yearly, at
the term aforesaid, (that is, for every oxgang 5s.)
And there are there certain Burgesses [Burgenses] who
hold twenty-eight Burgages, and two parts of one
Burgage, and an eighth part of one Burgage, and render
therefore yearly, at (he term aforesaid
And there are there certain free renters, or farmers, [liber
Jirmarii] who hold certain messuages and certain parcels
of land approved from the waste, rented at their true
value, and render therefore yearly, at the term aforesaid
And there arc there certain freeholders [liber ienenies]
who held their own tenements of the said £ar], and ren-
dered yearly the rents and ser\'ices, at the Feast of
Saint Martin, according to the particulars thereof un-
derwritten : —
Ade de Eton, for a messuage and three oxgangs
Robert de Northcrofto, for a toft and croft . .
Roger Carpenter, for two messuages
Hugh, son of Luke, for two messuages
William de Polevor, for six acres of land
Adam, son of Robert the Clerk, for two oxgangs of land
William Brome, for three oxgangs of land
William Grey, for one oxgang of land
Walter Heris, for two oxgangs of land
William Baume, for ten acres of lund
William Cbildyonge, for ten acres of land
1
3
3
4 16
18 3
15
1 17 6
1 11 4
7
4
4
8
6
7
Z
2
»
3
10
1
4
3
10
4
4
3
4
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62 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
Ade do Eton, for ten acres of land • • . • 3 4
Hugh de BenecIiiTey for ten acres of land . • ..034
Ralph do Ratchdale, for two oxgangs of land in Hortou 2 3
Luke de Horton, for two oxgangs of Land . • ..023
William de Clayton, for ten oxgangs of land in Clayton,
and four oxgangs of land in Oxenhope • • • . 14 10
Jordan de Bierley, for eight oxgangs of land in Clayton,
et uri iibr* c*onium p*ce^ 1 Jd.
William de Horton, for four oxgangs of land in Oxenhope 4
The heirs of John de ilaworth, for four oxgangs of land
in Haworth, and for five oxgangs of land in Manningham 7
Thomas de Thornton, for land in Allerlon, and yielding
53. yearly, and work in autumn •• •• •• 17 10
William de Scholes^ for an oxgang of land • • 3 1
John King, of Horton, for one oxgang and a half • • 6 6
And for the same yields work in autumn 2|d.
John Lemon, for one oxgang of land • . « • ..022
And renders work in autumn yearly l|d.
Ralph de Hill, for one oxgang of land in Horton ..010
And for the same renders work in autumn yearly 1 id.
WMlliam Cremcntor, for two oxgangs of land in Horton 3
Theobaldus de Thomhill, for one essart in Horton ..002
The .\hbot of Kirkstall, for four oxgangs of land in Horton,
a pair of white spurs [for such, I apprehend, the words
par* calcar at mean, — besides, in an after part of this
work, it will be found that land in Horton, in the
, year 1612, yielded to the Lord of Bradford, a pair of
white spurs].
Robert de Northrop, for one oxgang of land in Manningham 9
Robert de Manningham, for two oxgangs of land in
Horton 003
Village of Wike, for work in autumn from ancient times
yearly 020
Land held by the Church of Bradford, eight oxgangs of
land in Bradford, for work in autumn 8d.
Adnm de Windhill, for one essart in Allerton • • • • 2
And the same Earl hath a certain Free Court, from three
weeks to three weeks, and other pleas or perquisites of
court, yearly .. •• •• .. .• ..0 14 4
The whole sum £39 9«. M,
• I «in unable to give the lense of these brokeu w onls with an}* degree of certainty.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACTES. 63
It seems, from the wording of the above part of the
Inquisition, that all the laud whose locality is not specifically
mentioned was in Bradford ; because the land in other places
is so mentioned. If this be correct, then about 1000 acres
of land appear to have been redeemed from the waste in
the township of Bradford. The whole township contains
about 1600 acres, so that more than one half of the township
appears to have been cultivated, or approved from the waste
or common. There is sufficient evidence to shew that the
oxgang of land here consisted of twelve acres.*
A pretty near approximation may, on the above grounds,
be come to, respecting the population of the town at the
time of the death of the Earl of Lincoln. Allowing ten
acres of land for every family in the town, including bond-
men, cotters, and the lowest rabble, the number of families
would be 100. There were also twenty-nine Burgage houses ;
and reckoning one family to each, (which is a low calculation,
as some of them would contain two families,) the whole
number of families would be about 130 ; which, at five per-
sons to a family, gives a population of 650 persons. Several
reasons might be advanced to shew that the population
amounted to this number. One may be mentioned — ^free-
holders holding ten acres of land are enumerated singly;
and it is extremely likely that a freeholder would hold more
than a bondman, as he was in a much superior station of life.
In this Inquisition is first mentioned the Soke corn-mill.
It is remarkable that the profits arising from it were equal
to one fourth of the rents arising from Bradford, and the
places around from which rent was drawn by the lord.t This
• The Church lands ore stated in the Inquisition to contain eight oxgangs. I have
seen the Church lands twice mentioned in aAer-dated documents, as containing
ninety-six acres.
t It may be both curious and interesting to endeavour to shew in what manner
the rent of £10 was made up :— Supposing there were 200 families within the Soke
(Bradford and Manningham), and each family consumed weekly three pecks of oat-
meal, whfch would be then the chief food of these parts : the average price of oats
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64 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
fact led Dr. Whitaker to say, that it was probable the Soke
extended over the whole parish. But it is a wild assertion.
The whole of the rents arising from land out of Bradford do
not amount to more than £3. The Earl of Lincoln was not
the immediate Lord of the surrounding manors of Bowling,
Horton, Thornton, AUerton, Clayton, Wilsden, Shipley, Bi-
erley, and Heaton. In fact, each of these, as is shewn by the
Nomina Villarum, had its mesne Lord. The Earl of Lincoln
had, only in some of these manors, small quantities of land
which were held by certain rents of him. There are grounds
to assume, that there were in Bowling and Horton, corn-
mills at the time of the Inquisition ; the Lord of Horton,
in very early times, even amerced some of his tenants for
carrying their corn to Bradford mill, instead of his own mill,
to grind. There is every reason to suppose that the Soke
merely extended over the same district as at present. If
the distance had not been so great, it might have been
conjectured that it extended to Haworth, as that manor was
then part of Bradford. The Earl of Lincoln exercised no
jurisdiction whatever, over any part of the parish, besides
Bradford, Manningham, and Haworth, (including Oxenhope
and Stanbury,) except that the whole parish was subject to
Bradford Leet.
There had, undoubtedly, existed here, in the interval
between the Doomsday Survey and this Inquisition, a Castle
or Castlet, It has justly been observed by Dr. Whitaker, in
the " Loidis and Elmele," under the head of Wakefield,
that he never knew the word Burgesses or Burgenses used,
but where there was or had been a castle. In ancient
records, the word ' Burgenses* is used with reference to the
inhabitants of Almondbury and Bingley, and we have con-
In the time of Uie laquisitoii, was 3s. a quarter, yi(*lding, say 16 pecks: allowing
the mulcture taken to bare amounted to l-18lb (it is now l-26tb), the amount of
mulcture on tliese suppositions would be about £15, viz, £1J for rent, and £5 lor
millers' wages and profits, i&c.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIBS. 65
elusive evidence that castles stood at those places. In short,
the fact is so certain that a fortress had existed here^ that
I shall not waste any time in endeavouring to shew it clearer.
At the time of this Inquisition it had been swept away. Most
likely it was one of the great number of castles which
sprung up in the time of Stephen ; and was Tazed to the
ground in conformity to the treaty between that monarch
and Henry 2nd9 stipulating that all castles built within a
certain period should be destroyed. One thing, however, is
certain, that in the lapse of 230 years from the Great Survey,
a castle had, at this place, both existed and been demolished.
Where did this castle stand ? Conjecture may supply an
answer to the question. It is not unlikely that the "Aula,"
which in the Inquisition was returned as ruinous, would be
built out of this castle. From my researches in the Court
Rolls, I presume the ancient hall at Bradfcnrd lay a short
distance to the north-west of the parish church. The exact
spot I am unable to point out. The Hall Garth would,
probably, be its site and enclosure. It is known with cer-
tainty, that this Garth lay a short distance to the north-
west of the church. The land to the south of this hall was,
shortly after this Inquisition, called Hall Ings, and consisted
of meadow ; that to the north, Hall Field, or Summer Pas-
ture. The castle here had, probably, been built by one of the
Lacies, as a resting place, in their journeys between their
castles of Pontefract and Clitherhow, and as a security to
their vassals at Bradford. The Lacies were lords of Blstck-
bumshire ; and in their passage to and from it and the
southern parts of the kingdom, undoubtedly took Bradford
in their way.
Wherever a castle was built, persons with trades settled
and formed their dwellings around it, for protection from
the numerous dangers to which English society, in its earlier
stages, was subject. Before the erection of a castle or
castlet at Bradford, nearly the whole of the population
would be engaged in agricultural pursuits. Afterwards, the
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66 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
burgage-houses of the handicraftsmen and tradesmen of the
period, doubtless formed a large portion of the town.
The mention of a fuUing-milly and the considerable sum
arising from it, shews that the manufacture of cloth, in some
of its processes at least, was carried on here. The allusion
to a fulling«mill, is not of itself conclusive evidence that the
cloth was woven in this country, as it might be sent raw
from the Flemish looms to be dressed and fulled here. From
several other circumstances, which I shall shew in another
part of this work, it is, however, pretty certain that the
whole process of cloth-making was carried on here.
One of the most curious facts disclosed by this Inquisition
is, that the market here was held on the Sunday, although
by this time two charters had been obtained for a market on
the Thursday. The following, however, appears to be the
reason for this curious custom. There were at that time,
as far as I can find, no chapels in the whole parish ; and the
superstition and opinions of the period would compel all who
were able, to hear Mass, at least on the Sunday. Thus
being compelled to resort once a week to the parish church
on spiritual afiairs, they contrived to make the journey
one also of secular business, and purchased the articles
which they required at home. These articles would be very
few, for butchers' meat and butter they would have within
or near their own homes. In those days there were few gro-
ceries, and those few were mostly used by the rich alone.
The greater part of the articles exposed for sale would be
pedlary wares, and the produce of the trades of the " bur-
gesses.*' The market-place was probably in the church yard,
inasmuch as in the early ages, it was no uncommon occur-
rence to hold markets in the church yards ; for, in the 13th
Edward 1st, a statute was made, forbidding the holding of
fairs and markets in such places. It seems, however, that
this law bad not had the desired effect ; for, in the year
1444, Archbishop Stafford forbade the same customs through-
out his province. The toll of this Sunday market at Brad-
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES. 67
ford was worth £3 a year, a large sum in those days, —
shewing that the market was considerable.
The fair held on the day of St. Andrew the Apostle, still
continues to be held on the same day, — allowing for the diffe-
rence of styles, and that the fair began (like the other two
fairs) two days before the feast day.
In the days of Henry Earl of Lincoln, there were very few
shops, or probably none in this northern district. To the
great annual fairs that were held, merchants, pedlars, and in
short the whole host of traders, resorted with their wares and
commodities for sale, and the surrounding people attended
to lay in a stock of those articles which could not be procured
at or near home. This accounts for the large sum raised by
the toll of the fair here on the Feast of St. Andrew, amount-
ing to about £40* of our money. The number of persons
resorting to the fair, and of articles exhibited for sale,
must, in order to account for this sum, have been very great.
I have not met with any authority to prove that the fair held
on the Feast of St. Andrew was granted by charter, nor
when it began. It must, however, have been a chartered fair ;
or had in the days of the last Lacy been long held by pre-
scription, else pains and penalties would have been incurred
in holding it.
The Inquisition reveals that the Earl of Lincoln had at
Bradford, five classes of tenants; bondmen or nativi, te-
nants at will, burgesses, free farmers or tenants, and free-
holders.
There were two kinds of villains, or bondmen ; one termed
a villain in gross, who was immediately bound to the person
of his lord and heirs, and could be sold with his sequel, that
is his wife and family, to any other person, like cattle. The
* The rule for reducing money of that period to that of our standmd is (u laid down
by most authorities) to multiply the former by fifteen. A more correct method,
however, may be pointed out by ascertaining the value of wheat or oats at the two
periods, which at present is twelve times higher in price than it was then.
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68 BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES*
other, a villain regardant, could not be detatched from the
manor he belonged to, but could be sold with it. The bond-
men at Bradford were of the latter class. Sir Wm. Temple,
in his Introduction to English History, says, " Villains were
*' in a condition of downright servitude, used and employed
" in the most servile work, and belonging both they, their
" children and effects, to the lord of the soil, like the rest of
" the cattle or stock upon it." So degraded was their condi-
tion, that the Commons petitioned King Richard the 2nd,
that no villains should put their children to school. When
the lord happened to be a compassionate man, and the bond-
man had behaved well, he was manumitted. In other cases,
the bondman by dint of extra labour, amassed a sufficient
sum to purchase his freedom. It is a curious fact, that
though the monks were the great instruments of the manu-
mission of these domestic slaves when they were the property
of laymen, monasteries had bondmen belonging to them in
large numbers till their suppression :* so much for the discre-
pancies between preaching and practice. Tenure in bondage
was, in the time of Charles the 2nd, wholly abolished by
statute.
The bondmen of Bradford, who held 276 acres and seve-
ral parcels of land, seem to have been in a superior condition
to bondmen in general. In the time of the last Lacy their
services appear to have been fixed with some degree of cer-
tainty by custom, and they were fast gliding into the state of
customary tenants. Our best writers on copyholds say, that
tenure in bondage and tenure by custom were the same in
their nature, and were in common the origin of copyholds.
There is every proof that the tenure in bondage at Bradford
merged into copyhold. In 1612 there were sixty-seven copy-
holders in Bradford, holding a large quantity of land. One
of the services of the bondmen here was, to repair the dam
of the lord's mill ; from a petition presented by the copy-
• PiyniM'i CiA. Rec., p. 846.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE LACIES. 69
holders of M anningham^ and set forth hereafter^ it appears
that they owed this service.
The tenants at will were also predecessors of our copy-
holders ; for, originally^ a great part of all copyholds were
mere estates at will, and mostly at rack rent ; but the tenant
and his successors having been long allowed to enjoy the
estate upon yielding the customary rent and services, the law
stepped in and confirmed the estate on the customs of the
manor, which are the pillars of copyhold tenure. The te-
nants at will here, held 222 acres and several parcels of land.
The burgesses, as I have hinted before, were the handi-
craftsmen of the town. To them were committed the arts
and mysteries of trades, — they were the petty shopkeepers
of the place, if indeed any shops were then kept. They
were a superior class to the mere tiller of the ground, or the
two preceding kinds of tenants.
Free farmers were those who farmed at rack rent, beyond
which they were bound to no servile duty to their lord. They
were probably burgesses who held small quantities of land.
According to Plowden, the very reason of the word farm
originally, was in respect of the firm or sure hold the tenants
thereof had over the tenants at will.
The condition of the freeholders need not be explained.
In those days, their numbers throughout the kingdom were
very small. A considerable proportion of these freeholders
at Bradford, are known to have been men of station in their
day. It will be observed, that the great part of these free-
holders paid nearly as much per acre every year, as those
who held under base tenure.
The work rendered in autumn to the lord was called Boon
Work, and was a very common service in those times. It
seems that after the Lord of Bradford had ceased to have
any occasion for harvest labour, the service was commuted
for a stated sum.
The land here averaged for rent yearly, four-pence an acre.
It seems the very best of the old oxgang land here was worth
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70 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
eight-pence an acre. This rent would be equal to ten shil-
lings* of our money an acre ; and when we consider the great
danger that the agriculturist in those days incurred from the
lawless state of the times, and the frequent incursions of the
Scots, who drove all the cattle before them into their own
country, we may double this rent, as that in reality which
the tenant had to yield.
The Abbot of Kirkstall held his forty-eight acres of land
on easy terms — a pair of spurs yearly. Such kinds of tenure
were, at this period, very frequent ; and the religious houses
were those who profited most by them.f
short description of the probable state of the town, and
modes of life of the inhabitants, at the period of the
of Lincoln's death, may be more acceptable to a num-
[>f readers than the dry details of tenures of land, and
ents of families. I therefore present the following
ch.
t that period the town no doubt extended from the
ch to the top of Kirkgate ; while some straggling houses
\ scattered on the site of Ivegate and Westgate. In the
Multiplying by fiAeeo, Dr. Wbitaker*s nile in his ' WbaUey,' Ux redacing rents
s period into the modem value of money.
Dr. Whitaker, in the "Loidis," gives eight Unes of the Inquisition taken on
^ath of the Earl of Lincoln. I have every reason to believe that he extracted
lines from the same source that I did— (Hopkinson's MSS. in the ponession of
Currer), as I know he bad the use of these MSS. in preparing his work. There
•veral typographksal errors in the above mentioned eight lines. One may be
oned, the value of the water-mill per annum, is made to be only lOd., instead
0. In his comment upon them there are, 1 believe, four errors. He 6rit says
the parish contains about 40,000 acres, and that it appean firom the Inqui-
, that little more than 1500 acres of it had been reclaimed. Nothing is,
rer, dearer than that the Inquisition merely related to the mamor of Bradford,
be lands which freehoklers and other tenants held of the Earl under ancient
in the surrounding mesne manon. Kirkby's Inquest mentions more than 1500
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACTES. 71
interval between Doomsday Survey and the Earl's deaths a
church had been erected. It would be of small and humble
architecture. The lord's mill for the orderly grinding of the
tenants' corn, stood on or about the site of the present soke
mills. The burgages, surrounded with their ample crofts and
foldsteads, and of larger dimensions than the other dwellings
in the town, would stretch at irregular distances the whole
length of the three wretched lanes which then formed the
town ; and the huts and cottages of the bondmen and other
tenants, would be placed in disorder in the vacancies between
the burgage-houses. Such is the picture which I conceive of
the appearance of Bradford at that period, drawn from an-
cient representations I have seen of the towns in that age.
Under the fostering care of the Lacies, Bradford had,
in this age, become one of the most important towns in
the north-west of Yorkshire. The reader will remember
the fact, that in the time of Henry the 3rd, it paid more
tallage to the King than Leeds ; and two centuries after
this it was undoubtedly as large as Leeds. For upwards
of one hundred and thirty years after this period (1443),
Halifax contained only thirteen houses. Wakefield was at
acres held m chief in the parish, independent of Bradford manor. The Testa de
Neoill is also against Dr. Whitaker*s theory, — several fees being mentioned distinct
from the manor. The next error is, as to the population. He says, if it be supposed
that the tenants at will and bondmen equalled the burgesses, it would perhaps give a
fair estimate of the population of the town, as there could not be many of the former
from tlie smallness of their rents. Now the fact is, that they held large quantities of
land, and their rents amounted to a large sum, so as to render it probable that the
tenants at will and bondmen at Bradford were considerable in number. I have before
alluded to the erroneous statement made by the Dr., that the soke of the corn-mill
must have extended over the whole parish. The fourth error is, that all the old
manors mentioned in Doomsday, had, at the time of this Inquisition, been absorbed in
the manor of Bradford, and after their union one court every three weeks holden for
the whole. The Nomina Villarum of I31tf, fully disproves that any such absorption
had taken place. A score of other proofs might be brought fonK-ard to shew that
such a statement is incorrect. The court of Bradford was only for the tenants of
Bradford manor, I may, once for all mention, that 1 have the greatest reverence
for Dr. Whitaker*s talents, and consider him the best of all our topof^raphers.
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^^ BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES.
that time not large. In one word, I know of no place in
this part of Yorkshire, for which any single substantial rea-
son can be advanced, that it was at that period larger than
Bradford.
In the earlier periods of English domestic architecture,
the houses were formed of mud, clay, and wattles, and covered
with thatch. Afterwards succeded wood and plaster build-
ings, which was the common style until the days of Eliza-
beth. Specimens of this style of building are yet common
enough in the neighbouring towns. A few wood and plaster
houses are remembered by the inhabitants, as having stood
in Bradford. From the earliest periods, however, most of its
houses have undoubtedly been built of stone ; I believe that
even in 1310, the burgage-houses, at least, were so erected.
It will shortly be seen, that the hall or manor-house of the
Inquisition was constructed of stone. It is also probable that
the houses then in Bradford, were only one story high, and
had no chambers. From the express mention that the
" Aula" had chambers, it may be inferred that they were
not common. Besides it is a well known fact, that long
after this period, chambers were, in these "poor boraile
parts,'' far from being general. The windows in those days
were mere loop-holes. No glass was used ; for Holinshed*
says, " Of old time, our country houses instead of glass, did
** use much lattis, and that made of wicker or of fine riftes of
** oak, in checkerwise." The fire in the middle ages was, in
the common houses, placed in the centre of the dwelling,
against a hob of clay or stones. The ordinary houses had no
chimneys, so that the smoke spread around the room with-
out hindrance, and escaped through an aperture in the roof;
like as in the huts of the Irish peasantry to this day. Holin-
shed, a good old Tory, and a hater of innovation, thus
ludicrously complains in 1570. " Now have we many chim-
" neys, and yet our tenderlings complain of rheums, catarrhs,
• Domn^lic HUtory of T,ng\\*h 5 odety, prefixed to hi» Chronicles of Ef^Und.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACTES. 73
*^ and poses ; then we had nothing but reredosses, and yet
^^ our heads did never ache ; for, as the smoke in those days
" was considered a sufficient hardening for the timber of the
** house, so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep the
*' good man and his family from the quack/' I am afraid
that the inhabitants of the town at this period, had to endure
the most inclement winters, with little alleviation from the
warmth of cheerful fires. Although coal was gotten in the
township of Horton prior to the year 1406, as in that year
the Lord of Horton laid pains on some persons for filling up
coal pits,* yet I do not know that there is any reason
for supposing that so early as the time of the EarPs death,
coal had been brought into use here. There are better
grounds for believing that the very indifferent turbary on
Bradford Moor, and the ancient wood (which had been
contracted to a narrow compass) on the slope above the
church, then furnished the whole of the fuel of the inhabi-
tants of Bradford.
The furniture and lodging of the dwellings of those times,
were not less wretched than the structure of the houses.
Straw was the material of the bed, and a good round log of
wood supplied the place of bolster. From the general use of
straw in those ages for bedding, comes the common phrase,
"the lady in the straw," applied to women in childbed.
"If" says Holinshed, speaking of times subsequent to this
period, " the good man of the house had a mattress or flock
'^bed, and thereto a sack of chaff to rest his head, he
" thought himself as well lodged as the lord of the town ;"
and again, " if they had any sheet above them it was well, for
" seldom had they any under their bodies to keep their rased
"hides from the pricking straws." The furniture of the
ordinary dwelling-houses, chiefly consisted of logs of wood,
stools, or forms, for seats ; rude tables ; and a chest or two or
boxes for the preservation of the more portable and valuable
* Exemplification mentioned in note, page 3T.
L
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74 BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIE8.
articles. Long-bows, quivers of arrows, pikes, and other
instruments of war, graced the walls of every house. The
day of " Aumeries" or cupboards, for common houses, had not
yet arrived. Platters, spoons, dishes, and drinking vessels,
formed of wood, were alone used — wood being the precursor
of pewter.
The principal article of food in these northern parts of the
kingdom was then, as it is now that of the residents in many
places in this parish, "white meats," such as oatmeal-pottage^
milk, &c.* These articles of primeval diet are fast receding
into the glens and remote parts of Yorkshire, where the hale
and robust appearance of the " milk fed fellows, fleshy bred,"
attests, with an emphasis not to be mistaken, the wholesome-
ness of their food. The animal food used was, especially in
winter, preserved. It appears that in the early ages very
little hay was produced ; and consequently, on the setting in
of the hyemal season, the greater part of the cattle were
slaughtered, and the flesh salted and laid up for the winter
store. To this cause may be traced the prevalence of leprous
and scrofulous disorders in those days. Ardent spirits were
only in the phials of the apothecaries for cordials. Ale was
very plentifully drunk. It was, in these northern parts, often
brewed from " Haver malt," that is, malt made from oats.
Sugar, and the commonest articles of grocery, were then
unknown in housekeeping. Bread then, was, in truth, the
staff of life ; as the commonest vegetables — cabbages, onions,
carrots, &c. — ^were brought from Holland, and the wealthy
alone could afford to purchase them.f
• In the Compotut of Bolton Abbey, for the yean 1290^1325, copied In WbiU-
ker^s 'Craven,' mention U made of 108 quarten of oatmeal being consumed by tbe
monks in one year, in tbe single artkde of pottage ; and in another year 1842 quar-
ten of oats were consumed. It must be remembered too, that the monks in tboee
days lived on the fat of the land. One reason of the great use of oats in these nor-
thern parts was, Uie nature of the soil and rude mode of husbandry, for which oats
were best fitted.
t The foltowing Is a scale taken from Stow, Madox, and oUier writen of autho-
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE LACIES. 75
Clothing in those days was very expensive^ the fleece being
worth nearly as much as the sheep. I have collected many
curious particulars respecting the dress of that period ; but
I must bring this article to a close^ as, although I hope it
will be interesting to many of my readers, I remember that
it is not strictly allied with the subject of this work.
The diversions of the people were principally athletic
exercises. Among these amusements, the practice of archery
was the chief. After hearing Mass on the Sundays, and the
numerous holydays with which Saint-days then blessed the
people, the remainder of the day was spent in shooting at
butts, and in other innocent and healthful games of the time.
In our days. Sordid Gain goads on our dispirited and dis-
eased population to work from sunrising to sunsetting six
days, and Fanaticism on the seventh steps in, and, without
being able to compel the multitude to go to church or chapel,
from the healthy amusements of our Christian forefathers
shuts them out, and sends them to seek solace and recreation
from the stimulus of strong drinks.
rity, of the average prices of several articles about 1310 :— Wheat, 6s. a quarter ; oats,
38. ; a cow, 12s. 6d. \ a thetp, Is. 2d. ; a fat hog, 3fl. 4d. ; a fat goose, 2id. ; eggs,
0^. a dozen ; wine, 4d. a gallon ; ale, O^d. a gallon ; a labourer*s wages, l^d. a day,
in harvest-time 2d. ; a journeyman carpenter, 2d. a day ; a horse for military service,
13s. 4d. ; a pair of shoes, 4d. ; an English slave and his family, sold for 13s. 4d. ;
a bible, £33 6s. 8d.; tiie Chancellor's salary, £50.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
It has before been stated that Alice^ daughter and heiress of
Henry de Lacy, married Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lan-
caster. The nuptials, according to the absurd practice of
those days, were celebrated when she was but nine years of
age, and the Earl eleven. She is returned in the before-
mentioned Inquisition as being, at the time it was taken,
twenty-eight years old, and her husband thirty. Thomas
Earl of Lancaster never became possessed of this manor,
owing to the widow of the Earl of Lincoln having it in dower,
as before mentioned. Her second husband^ Nicholas Lord
Audley, in right of his wife, is returned Lord of Bradford,
and also of Manningham and Haworth, in the Nomina Vil-
larum, of 1316. The Earl of Lancaster, however, had the
advowson of the Church of Bradford, and was, as owner of
the Fee of Pontefract, superior lord of the surrounding mesne
manors ; and his fortune is so mixed up with the history of
Bradford, that I shall give a few incidents of his life. — He
was the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom. The old
chroniclers say, that his father-in-law charged him on his
death-bed, to maintain the quarrel which he (the Earl of
Lincoln) had with Piers Gaveston, the minion of the King;
and defend the liberties of the realm. It appears that with-
out this dying injunction, the Earl of Lancaster had suflBcient
personal reasons to oppose the measures of the unprincipled
favourite. Lancaster put himself at the head of the barons
who were determined to maintain the liberties of the king-
dom, and rectify the abuses of the government. ITiese
barons demanded that a number of their body should be
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 77
chosen to correct the mal -administration of the affiiirs of the
nation. The persons appointed for this purpose were called
Ordainers, and among other of their wholesome acts, ban-
ished the King's favourite. The Earl of Lancaster being
the chief of these reformers, incurred more than an ordinary
share of the King's hatred. Indeed the whole of Lancaster's
life, after the death of his father-in-law, was a series of re-
criminations between him and the Eang ; of which the Patent
Rolls contain sufficient evidence. One mode the King took
to annoy the Earl was, to destroy his domestic peace. Most
of the old chroniclers are full of invectives against the Earl's
wife, (Alice Lacy,) as an abandoned lewd woman. There
undoubtedly existed an amour between her and Earl Warren,
owner of Sandal Castle, and the greater part of the parish
of Halifax. On the Monday before Ascension day, in 1317,
the Countess of Lancaster was carried off from her husband's
house, at Caneford in Dorsetshire, by a deformed knight,
and taken to Earl Warren's castle, at Ryegate. It is
stated that the King was privy to this act, and that it was
partly his plot. The deformed knight claimed the Countess
in consequence of an alleged contract with her before her
marriage to the Earl, and asserted that he had cohabited
with her as her husband. He also brought an action in one
of the courts at Westminster, to recover the estates which
Lancaster held in right of his wife. This conduct of the
King brought upon him the hostility of Lancaster, who col-
lected a body of 18,000 men, and prepared to revenge his
wrongs. By the interference, however, of the Pope, the
feud between them was for a while allayed, — and as one of
the conditions of peace, Lancaster obtained from the Earl of
Warren the manor of Wakefield, and in short the whole of
his possessions beyond the Trent, and thus banished his
(Lancaster's) rival from the north.*
* There is good reagon to believe Uiat the Lacies and the Warrens were long be-
fore this on no good terms. In the minority of Henry Earl of Lincoln, a dispute
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78 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
The subsequent events in the Earl of Lancaster's unhappy
life^ his reverse of fortune^ and being taken captive by the
King^ are well known facts of general history ; and I there-
fore refrain entering into any detail of them. He was be-
headed at Pontefract, in the presence of his enemy Earl
Warren^ the 11th of the calends of Aprils 1321, and all his
vast estates confiscated to the King.
There are few characters in English history respecting
whom there are so many contradictory accounts as Thomas
of Lancaster. Munificent to the church and religious houses^
he was lauded by the monkish writers as a saint, posses-
sing every virtue under heaven ; and after his death was
canonized. Other historians say that the greater part of his
wife's faults were owing to his dissolute life, in keeping
sundry mistresses ; that he was cruel in putting to death
persons for small offences ; and that he protected others
who were guilty of great ones. The whole of his public
actions, whatever may have been his moral character, shew
that he was deficient in firmness of soul and perseverance
of conduct.
The Lacy heiress, viewed in the most favourable light,
and admitting of every extenuating circumstance^ undoubt-
edly had none of the qualities which constitute the good
wife. She disliked her husband, and sided with his enemies.
Besides being the primary cause of her husband's death, and
of the celebrated feud between the Ellands and the Lock-
woods and Quarmbys, which ended in the extinction of the
former family,* her conduct was among the greatest of the
means which brought Edward the 2nd to an ignominious end.
arose respecting Uie right to a pasture which lay between their fee9 ou the borders of
the pari&bes of Halifax and Bradford ; and each party armed to auert their right by
force, according to the practice of the times, but were prevented by the Ro}al
intenrentJon.
* The Ellands were feudatories of the Honour of Pontefract, and owned Thumoii,
Earl of Lancaster, as tbeir superior Loid, and took part with him against the Earl of
Warren, whow vaarals the Lock woods and Quarmbys were.
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BRADFORD^UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 79
After the death of the Earl of Lancaster, the King seized
the whole of his estates. So insatiable was Edward, that he
seems not to have been content with the Earl of Lancaster's
own possessions^ for he seized the manor of Bradford, though
held in dower by Joan, the widow of Henry de Lacy, and
she was in no manner implicated in Lancaster's treason ; she
was forced to quit-claim the manor of Bradford to the King.*
Alice, the widow of Lancaster, also quit-claimed the ad-
vowson of the Church of Bradford and the Honour of Pon-
tefract. Alice de Lacy, says Nichols, in his History of
Leicestershire, was repudiated by her husband, the Earl of
Lancaster, many years before his death, and was familiar
with Ebulo de Strange, whom she married afterwards.
She died in 1348, and was buried beside the said Ebulo in
the conventual church of Berling.
After the decisive battle of Bannockburn, the Scots for
years overran the northern parts of England for plunder, and
committed the greatest devastations. During the years 1316
to 1332 their irruptions were unintermitted. In the latter
year they wintered at Morley. The havoc in life and property
which they committed was only equalled by the terrible
devastations of the Conqueror.f At Bradford their presence
was felt severely. In the new taxation of the ecclesiastical
benefices, made in 1318, in consequence of the Scottish
* Brook*s MSS. in the Heralds' office. The whole of the matter in them relating (o
Bradford, is digested under one bead. Also Bishop Stapleton's Kaleiidars of Records
in the Exchequer, toI. 1, page 85, No. 223.
t In one of these Scottish ezcunions, the haToc committed in these parts is thus
described by an old historian, quoted and translated by Dr. Whitaker in his History
of CniTen. " In this work of destruction, no rank nor age, and neither sex was
" spared. Children were butchered before the faces of their parents, husbands bi sight
'< of their wives, and wives of their husbands ; matrons and virgins of condition were
" carried away indiscriminately with other plunder, stripped naked, bound together by
" ropes and thongs, and goaded along with points of swords and lances." The rest of
the picture I omit, for it appears to be overcharged ; but it proves at least the cala-
mities suffered in these parts by the incursions of the Scots.
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80 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
spoliation^ it is shewn that the value of the vicarage tithes
had been reduced nearly one third ; and subsequent to this
the devastations were very great.
In the first year of Eklward 3rd, the attainder against the
late Earl of Lancaster was reversed by parliament, on the
ground that he had not been tried by his peers according to
the laws of the realm. By virtue of this reversal, Henry
Plantagenet, his brother, succeeded to his title and estate,
as heir of his father Edmund, brother of Exiward 1st. It
seems that he did not immediately on this succession, enjoy
the manor of Bradford ; for I have seen several authorities
which state that Queen Philippa had it either in dower, or
received for some purpose the rents and profits of it.* I am
at a loss to understand how this happened, when the reversal
of the late Earl's attainder had taken place. I find too that
the King afterwards had his royal residence at Pontefract
castle. On the death of Henry, E^l of Lancaster, he was
succeeded in his title and estate by his son, —
Henry, Elarl of Derby, afterwards created Duke of Lan-
caster.f This nobleman had in his possession the manor of
Bradford in the year 1342, when an Extent was taken of it,
which is almost as full in its details as the Inquisition made
on the death of the Earl of Lincoln.
The following is a translated copy of such part of the
Extent as relates to the subject of this work :J —
• AmoDg otben, Exemplificattoo mentioned page 37. Waljsoii*s Ilbtory of
Halifax, page 152.
t He was the Ent Englishman that boie the title of « Duke.** The Conqueix>r»
previous to the batUe of Hastings, having only the dignity of a Duke, his suocessun
were jealous of raising a subject to the same honour.
X The original is in the Chapter House, Westminster, placed beside the veritable
Doomsday Book. By the kindness of Sir Frands Palgrave, I was allowed to take a
copy of it. It is written in a fair legible hand ; but the contractions are more than
usually rugsred, and ill to decypber.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 81
And there Ls iLere a certain messuage in ruins, except tbe
stone walls^ tbe chambers whereof are hitherto stand-
ing; which messuage contains three roods of land
by estimation, and valued yearly at . . . . ..020
And there is there a certain meadow called the Hallyng,
containing one acre by estimation^ and valued yearly at 3
Of which part of the said messuage is occupied by
William Walker, at will, for 12d. yearly at the feast
of St. Martin, for the whole year; and the residue
of the said messuage, with the aforesaid meadow,
is occupied by Master Geoffery Langton, Vicar
of the Church of Bradford, for 4s. yearly, at the
term of Michaelmas.
And there are there 40 acres of land in demesne, lying
in the Hall field, in one culture [una culiurd] by itself,
by the perch of 20 feet [p* p*iicat* xocti pedum] from
ancient times held ; viz. — William de Dewsbury, 15
acres ; Hugh, son of Stepiien, 7 J acres ; Ade Nothe-
houne, 7^ acres ; Anabella, widow of Belie, S acres ;
Hugh del Boith, 5 acres and a rood ; for every acre
12d. at the true value [rack rent], on the term of St.
Martin, for the whole year • . . • • . ••200
Also there is there a certain wood not enclosed, containing
16 [acres] by estimation, within which wood there is
certain land, as it is in severalty [iVt separaii], every
year between the fe&st of the Invention of the Blessed
Cross and St. Martin, except the open [ap'to] time
between the time in which the blade is known to be
going in [biacT sciat* intranf\ and the feast of St.
Michael, the herbage of which is valued yearly at . • 2
Also an underwood, which is every fourth year to sell at
6s. Bd., and the value therefore, yearly, is . • • • 1 8
Also the pannage of the same, not surveyed by reason of
the little quantity thereof. Also the pannage of the
hogs of the nativi as under : —
[The list of these Dativi is not given here on aanunt of its bulk.]
And there is there one FuUing-Mill, which is open
[discoopUa] to every house, and it is valued beyond
repairs at . • . • . . . . . • ••080
Held by William Walker and James Walker for
10s., to repair at the lord's charge.
Also there is there a Water- Mill, sufficient for all the
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82 BRADFORD UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
bouses, which^ exclusive of the wheels and all other
utensils repairing, is valued yearly, beyond repairs, at 6 6 8
Also there i*; the toll of the fair, on the day of St.
Andrew the Apostle, for three days duration, which is
valued per annum, one toll for town and country, at • • 5 13 4
Also there are perquisites of the Free Court from three
weeks to three weeks, valued per annum at •• .• 13 4
Which toll of fair and market, and perquisites of
court, are held by the whole for £14 Os. 4d., paid
at the term of St Martin for the whole year.
Also perquisites of two Turns, viz. yearly . . . . 113 4
Also f*m mg*r tr** Merchet and Lecberwite, viz. yearly 13 4
Also the advowson of the Church of Bradford, which is
valued at <£100 per annum, belonging to the same manor.
Also there is there a parcel of land called Bolleshagh,
containing thirty acres by estimation, besides ten acres
at an inferior rent, and valued yearly, according to the
ancient rent, at (besides 40d. for the inferior rent) « • 10
Sum Total, £18 6*. &/.t
This Survey or Extent shews that the messuage in ruins,
which is the same as the ' Aula' of the Inquisition before set
forth, was not built of wood, or lath and plaster, as was
common in those times, but of stone.
The single acre of meadow was rented at full three times as
much as any other land mentioned in the Survey, except the
site of the messuage ; and appears to be a conclusive proof that
there was then very little meadow in Bradford, if that single
acre and such site did not even comprise the whole. It will
also be observed, that the part of the town now called the
Hall-Ings, was very probably the place of the first meadow
in Bradford.
The Hall-field, part of the best land of the manor, was
then, as I understand the words ** una cultura," unenclosed.
* I am unable to make out the meaning of these oontractioni.
t This Extent was made at Bradford, on the 24th of September, upon the oath
of WttUam Hunt of Bradford, Robert de Manyngham, Rkhaid le Smyth, John son
of Ricbaid, William Harwood and John King of the same place, Thomas Northrop
of Manningbam, John at Yaite, Richard White, John AtweU, Ade Willeson, and
Robert Willeson of the same place.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENBTS. 83
The allowance of twenty feet to the perch, shews the great
measure that was given in land, in the early ages. From the
Earl of Lincoln's death to the date of this Survey, the land
in the Hall-field had increased four-pence an acre, yearly.
The fulling-mill appears to have had a soke attached to it,
which was probably co-extensive with that of the corn-
mill. The fulling-mill was held by two Walkers. Here is
an instance of the origin of surnames. In those ages, these
kind of mills were, in the northern parts of the kingdom,
commonly called " Walk" Mills. Indeed such a name for
them is, to my knowledge, not extinct yet in some parts of
Yorkshire. Hence a person who followed the trade of
fulling received the name of Walker.
This Survey proves clearly enough that the soke of the
com-miU was of the same extent as at present. This Survey
was only of the manor of Bradford, and the expression
*' sufficient for all the houses" means, at most, those only in
the manor. Haworth and Oxenhope had, I have reason to
believe, a few years before been severed from Bradford
manor. But the inhabitants of these remote places at no time
ground their corn at Bradford mills ; for the soke was not, in
its origin, a burden, but a blessing, instituted for the ease and
comfort of the lord's tenants. The yearly value of the com
and fulling mills had decreased in thirty-five years, in con-
quence, I conceive, of the Scottish incursions.
The toll of St. Andrew's fair had increased to nearly
double since the year 1310. What crowds of people must
then have frequented this fair, to raise in those times for toll
£5 13s. 4d. 1 I strongly believe that the throng of the fair
then is not much exceeded by that of St. Andrew's fair now,
— and it was then one of great business as well as of pleasure.
A sum equal to £6 or £7 of our money, was raised from
" Merchet" and " Lecherwite." This is the most curious
item in the whole Survey. In very ancient times, so gross
were their manners, that the lord had the privilege of lying
the first night with the bride of his tenant. This custom
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84 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTA6ENET9.
was common in Scotland and some parts of the north of
England, and it may be assumed that it prevailed at Brad-
ford. As civilization advanced, the gross manners of the
age were softened down, and at length the tenant, for a sum
of money, compounded with his lord to forego his privilege
of making the wedding-night of his tenant the most unplea-
sant in the honey-moon. The sum which the tenant paid
was called " Merchet." The lord, or his steward, in those
days seems also to have acted the part of an apparitor, for
Lecherwite was a fine on incontinence.
The Survey proves that ' Bolleshagh' was among the first
places in Bradford that were cultivated. In a former part of
this work it is assumed that the ancient wood here, mentioned
in Doomsday Record, reached from Boldshay to the extremity
of Cliffe Wood. The very names Boldshay, Miryshay, tes-
tify that the slope on which they stand was formerly a wood.
I have followed Bawden, who states that the ^^ leua" of
Doomsday Survey was one mile ; but a good authority,
Blomefield, says it was two miles. If so, the wood at Brad-
ford mentioned in Doomsday Survey, would be two miles
long and one broad, and would cover the whole slope above
the Church.
Appended to this Extent there is a long list of the tenants
of the manor, and the sums paid by them ; but as in its bulk
it is uninteresting, I omit (with the exception of an extract
or two) to insert it.
Henry, Duke of Lancaster, was a man of great military
renown, as all our historians testify. In his time the juris-
diction of the Duchy of Lancaster was instituted. He died
at Leicester, on the eve of the Annunciation of the Virgin
Mary, 1361, of a pestilence which then raged. He left, by
Isabel his wife, daughter of Henry Lord Beaumont, two
daughters, Maud and Blanch, who succeeded to his estate.
Upon his death an Inquisition was taken of his lands, at
York, oa the Sabbath day of the feast of St. George the
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS, 85
Martyr, the same year he died. Bradford is mentioned next
to Pontefract. The Inquisition recites the grant by the Earl
of Lincoln to Eklward 1st, and regrant to the Earl and heirs
of his body ; remainder to Edmund the King's brother, and
the heirs of his body ; and that the father of the deceased
was son of the said Ekimund. The following is a translated
copy of the Inquisition so far as relates to Bradford : —
And the jurors say that there is at Bradford, the site of ono
capital messuage, and one acre and one rood of meadow, and forty
acres of land of the demesne, in the hands of tenants at >vill ; and
they render for the same by the year 339., at the term of St. Mardn,
in winter, for the whole year. And there is there one water-mill
and one fulling-mill, with the toll of market and fair there, in the
hands of tenants at will, and they yield by the year £12, at the
terms of Easter and St. Michael equally.
And there is there of the rents of the free tenants and of the
nativi, [that is bondmen,] by the year £11 4s. 6d., at the term of
St. Martin, in the winter, for the whole year. And there is at
Bradford^ S/andury, and Manyngham, of the rents of the nativi,
by the year X4 4s., at the terms of Easter and St Michael equally.
Also the pannage of hogs, arising from the said nativi there, yields
by the year 24s., at the time of St. Andrew the Apostle, for the
whole year. Also the herbage of Bradford Bank and Rohagh, yields
by the year 2s., at the term of St. Michael, for the whole year.
Also the perquisites of the court, with the profits of the two sheriff's
turns there, are worth by the year 40s.
This Inquisition contains very little more than the prece-
ding Survey, to throw a fuller light on the state of this locality.
Haworth had by this time become disunited from Bradford
manor; and Bradford, Stanbury, and Manningham, seem
then to have formed, as they do now, the manor.
The pannage of hogs was the food which swine gathered
from the spontaneous fruits of the earth ; such as acorns,
mast, earth-nuts, &c. It would appear from the large sum
paid for pannage, that a considerable portion of the manor
was stiU woody ground, unessarted.
Bradford Banky (the ^ Bank' to the north of the Church,)
and Rohagh, are evidently the same as the unenclosed wood
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86 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAOENETS.
meutioned in the ' Extent/ and a remnant of the wood
recorded in Doomsday Survey.
The two Tums^ mentioned in the Extent of 1342 and in
this Inquisition^ I find by an inspection of the Court Rolls of
the manor^ continued to be held under the style of '^ Turns/'
twice a year^ in May and October^ up to the time of Eliza-
beth. Two constables for Bradford, and the constables of
the other towns in the Leet, were in her reign, as now,
chosen in October. In the beginning of the reign of Charles
the 1st, the style of the Court Rolls is altered to " Grreat
Court Leet of the King with the Turn/' being also held twice
a year. When the manor came into the Marsden family,
'Hhe Court Leet of the King," without any allusion to
" Turn," is used. Shortly after this time the uses of Court
Leets were much restricted, and the Court here seems to
have been begun to be held only once a year, in October,
as at present.
Blanch, the daughter of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, mar-
ried the celebrated John of Gaunt, (so called from being born
at Ghent, in Flanders,) 4th son of Edward 3rd. The mar-
riage pair were third cousins, and were therefore united by
a dispensation from the Pope. A partition was made between
the two co-heiresses of their father's lands and possessions,
when the Honour of Pontefract was allotted to Blanch as her
share. After Blanch had issue to her husband, he had, by
the laws of England, livery of her lands ; and his father the
King assigned to him. The manor of Bradford is mentioned
first in the Record, and afterwards, Leeds, Almondbury, and
a great number of other places.* Maud married John Duke
of Hainault, and died in 1362, without issue, upon which
John of Gaunt, in right of his wife, became possessed of the
remainder of the inheritance of the late Duke, and was ad-
vanced by the King to the dignity of Duke of Lancaster.
* Abbreviatio Rotulorum OriginaUum, (In the Renwiubranoer's office,} toI. 9, p. 363.
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BRADFORD UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 87
In the feudal ages, when the rudest manners and most
puerile tastes prevailed, the lords of manors often granted
out lands to be holden by the performance of the most
ridiculous services. Many of our topographical works con-
tain notices of such singular tenures, and Blount has, with
considerable care, collected some of the most curious of them
into a body. One of these singular temires existed in the
manor of Bradford, within the last fifty years or so. The
origin of it has generally been attributed to John of Gaunt.
Gough, in his edition of the Britannia, gives the following
notice of the tenure.*
"Bradford belonged to John of Graunt, who granted to
" John Northrop, of Manningham, and his heirs, three
" messuages and six bovates of land, to come to Bradford on
" the blowing of a horn, in winter, and to wait upon him
" and his heirs, on their way from Blackbumshire, with a
" lance and hunting dog for thirty days ; to have for yeoman's
" board, one penny for himself and a halfpenny for his dog.
" A descendant of this Northrop afterwards granted land
" to Rushworth of Horton, to hold the lance while Northrop's
" man blew the horn. The name of Homman, or Homblow-
" er's Land, was imposed upon the lands in question, and the
" custom is still kept up. A man comes into the market-
" place with a horn, a halbert, and a dog, he is there met
" by the owner of the lands in Horton. After the proclama-
" tion made, the former calls out aloud ' Heirs of Rushworth,
" ' come hold me my hound while I blow three blasts with my
" 'horn, to pay the rent due to our Sovereign Lord the King.'
" He then delivers the string to the man from Horton, and
" winds his horn thrice. The original horn, resembling that
"of Tutbury, in Staffordshire, is still preserved, though
" stripped of its original ornaments."
I shall be able distinctly to prove that the origin of this
tenure is of more remote date than the day of John of Gaunt ;
• A similar ooooimt is given by Blount in his ''Ancient Tenuies.*'
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88 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
that the before -mentioned account of the circumstances of
its origin is not quite correct ; and shall clearly point out
the precise locality of the land that was granted.
In the list of tenants and the sums and services due from
them^ appended to the Extent taken in 1342^ there is the
following entry : —
John de Northrop, for three messuages and six oxgangs of land,
by the service of goiog with the lord as far as Blackbumshire, with
one lance and one dog to take the Woody Boar, for forty days, taking
of the lord per day 1 Jd. for his damages ; to receive hira at Bradford,
when he ascends on the feast of St Martin ; and doing suit to
Bradford Court, every three weeks, in Bradford ; and owing to the
lord 9d. for the land, at the Invention of the Blessed Cross ; released
for the time of forty days — and to go with the bailiff or receiver of
the manor, and conduct him, at the lord's own charges, safe to the
caslio of Pontefract, and protect against thieves.
It is also shewn in the same Extent, that Roger de Ma-
nyngham held in Horton, one messuage and two bovates of
land by the same service ; and the entry in the Extent is
worded in the same manner as the above relating to Nor-
throp's tenure.*
John of Gaunt granted or confirmed to Northrop the three
messuages and six oxgangs, by a charter or deed of which the
following is a translated copy. It is highly probable that the
Duke had been applied to by Northrop to do so ; as in the
instability of property in those days, it was frequently neces-
sary to have successive grants or confirmations to render the
holder secure of his tenure. —
• I give. Sat the atisfacUon of Uie learned part of my readen, the ibllowiug copy
of the original, as they wiU veiy likely be better satisfied with their own translaUon
than with mine:— "Roger de Manyngham p* un* messuag* duo bovates t're per
" servit* eund' cu* D'oo usque Blakebumshire cu' un' landa et un* cane ad apnim
*' Silvester cap' per quadrag' dies cap* de D'no per diem un' den' et ob' pro damna-
** turn 86 pat' apud Bradefoide osoendendo ad festu S'd Martini et fact* sect' cur' de
" Bradelbide de 3 Sept* in Bradeforde et dabit D'no 3d t're Invendonls cnw'
''relax' ad tern* quadr'--et fbit cu' balUo seu reoeptore maneiii usque cast' Pont*
'* In salTo ooodoctu D'ni sumpt' propriis qoodens p'munit' lii'."
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 89
Know all present and future^ that I, John Gaunt, Duke of Lan-
caster» have given and granted, and by this my present charter hove
confirmed, unto John Nortlirop of Manyngham, three messuages
and six oxgangs of land, and sufficient common of pasture to the
same belonging, in Manyngham aforesaid, lying and abutting there
upon one brook running between Manyngham and Horton on the
south ; upon one small brook called Bull-royd syke on the west
part; on the north between Manyngham and Heaton to the height
where the rain-water divides [aqua pluviar dividit] ; and on the east
part upon one small brook called Shaw syke, to the water which
runneth by Bradford ; with all and singular the liberties and ease-
ments in Manyngham aforesaid. To have and to hold the aforesaid
three messuages and six oxgangs of land, with sufficient common to
the same belonging and appertaining with aU the conveniences to the
aforesaid John Northrop, bis heirs and assigns, of the chief lord of
the fee thereof, by his services due and of right accustomed. Ren-
dering therefore yearly to me and my heirs coming to Bradford, one
blast with his horn [unam flatum cornu\ upon St. Martin's day, in
winter; and attending upon me and my heirs coming to Bradford
from Blackburnshire, with one lance and hunting dog[ca/itf fi>enatxc6\^
for the space of forty days, having yeoman*s-board, one penny for
himself, and a halfpenny for the dog, per day, and rendering as well
one of his best cattio \ax>eria\ on the day of death for relief;* and
going with my receiver or bailiff to conduct him wiih his friends
safe to Pontefract, whenever the same shall bo faithfully required.
And I truly tlie aforesaid John Gaunt, and my heirs, the aforesaid
three messuages and six oxgangs of land, with sufficient common,
and all other the premises before mentioned, to the aforesaid John
Northrop and his heirs, against all men \gentei\ will warrant and
for ever defend. In witness whereof, I have to this present writing
put opposite my seal. — Dated at Lancaster, 4th of August, Edw. 3.t
This charter has been published by Dr. Whitaker, in the
Loidis and Elmete ; but from a mutilated copy, the land only
being described as abutting upon " the water which runs to
Bradford" — ^a very vague description. The boundaries of the
six bovates, marked out in the copy of the charter I have
♦ This was a heriot. The custom of rendering these kind of mortuary gifts was
derived from the Danes. The beriot generally consisted of one of the best cattle or
of the best goods the tenant possessed when he dieil.
t Hopkinson's MSS., in Miss Curier's possession, vol. 2, p. 292.
N
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90 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAfJENETS.
given^ are, considering the distance of time, tolerably precise
even at present ; and at this day a land-measurer might lay
his chain over the ground, and calculate the quantity of acres
in it with considerable exactness. The following is a trace of
these boundaries. The southern limit is Bradford beck,
where it divides Manningham and Horton just below Four-
lane -ends. There is a small beck coming from Chellow-dean
which crosses Fairweather-green, and joins Bradford beck,
and to this day is called BuU-royd beck. This is the Bull-
royd sike (the old term for brook) of the charter, and forms
the western boundary. The artificial line between the town-
ships of Heaton and Manningham, as far as the height, near
the road between Bradford and Wilsden, where the rain
water sheds or divides, ( i. e. part ruus down the one slope,
and part down the other) is the. northern limit. And I pre-
sume that the brook running into Bradford beck, a little on
this side of Four-lane-ends, now called Spring-head beck, is
the Shaw sike of the charter, and the eastern boundary. I
estimate the area of the land thus circumscribed, at 200
acres. There is no reasonable doubt that the three mes-
suages stood at Four-lane-ends, which is almost in the midst
of the tract. This immense quantity of land granted for the
paltry service of going with the lord's bailiff (as mentioned
in the Extent) to Poutefract, shews at once that the origin
of this tenure must be attributed to a very early period, when
land was of much less value than in the day of Henry, Duke
of Lancaster. It will be remembered that the yeoman's-board
which was allowed during the forty days, was, at the time of
the probable commencement of the tenure, an actual and fair
remuneration for the service. Not the least curious circum-
stance relating to this tenure, is the fact that, after a lapse of
500 years, part of the land included in the grant, is yet in the
possession of the Northrop family, and a few years since they
were owners of a large portion of such land.
The Extent of 1342, and the grant by John of Gaunt,
clearly proves that the Lacies and Plantagenets took Brad-
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 91
ford in their way, in journeying between their fees of Pon-
tefract and Clitherhow. From Pontefract, the first stage,
says Dr. Whitaker, would be to Rothwell, where the Lacies
had a manor-house ; then to Bradford, where they had
undoubtedly once had a castle. If this castle were not one
that arose and was destroyed about the time of Stephen, as
before hinted at, it might for a long period furnish the
resting place of the Lacies here. It is highly probable that
Bradford, from its sheltered situation, was chosen by the
Lacies as a convenient place to halt at ; and to this circum-
stance may be imputed the superiority it has ever since
assumed among the neighbouring villages. From Bradford,
Dr. Whitaker assumes that the Lacies proceeded over the
moors to Luddenden, and thence to the eastern extremity of
the Long Causeway, by the cross of Cliviger. Nothing,
however, can be more probable, than that the route lay
along that " Long Causeway," whose eastern extremity is a
little to the north of Denholme-gate. This " Long Cause-
way" (for there seems to be another, running from near
Luddenden into Lancashire) was, without the least doubt,
formerly the great trackway between these parts and Lanca-
shire, and it leads straight to Colne, where the Lacies had a
manor-house or residence. To conceive that the Lacies went
by the way of Luddenden, implies that by coming to Bradford
they took a most circuitous route, and completely overthrows
that which the Dr. asserts, viz., that for a distance of
upwards of fifty miles^ in their journeys between Pontefract
and Blackburnshire, they never set foot off ground over which
they were superior lords. No part of the parish of Halifax,
over which they would have had to pass from Bradford to
Luddenden, was their fee, nor did they claim any feudal
rights over it.
When the Lacies and the Plantagenets, with their vast
trains of sumpter horses, and immense host of retainers,
clothed in uncouth, but brilliant habiliments and armour,
arrived in Bradford^ on their passage to and from Blackburn-
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92 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
shire, what a scene would be presented ! — especially to a rude
people, who were devotedly attached to their lords, whose
magnificence and emblems of power would strike with im-
mense force upon their untutored and savage minds. It is
no outrageous assertion, that the displays made by the gor-
geous John of Gaunt, clothed in the most sumptuous robes,
and his army of followers encased in glittering armour,
mounted upon richly caparisoned horses, in his entrances
into Bradford, have never since been equalled here as bril-
liant sights.
Tenure by comage, that is by the service of winding a
horn, was very common in the distracted times of pure feu-
dalism, especially on the borders. Oft in those days the
tenant who held by comage,
*' Curring his perilous tenure, wound Uie horn,"
on the invasion of the enemy, to alarm and raise the country.
The service of comage at Bradford, owed its origin to a dif-
ferent cause.
When the earlier Lacies traversed the parish of Bradford,
it was in great part covered with bmshwood. In this covert
ran, in the earlier periods, the wolf, and, for a long time
after, the wild boar. Besides the country was infested with
vast numbers of robbers and outlaws. Hence the grants by
the Lacies for the service of taking the wild boar, and pro-
tecting them against thieves. It is impossible for me to fix
the date of the origin of the tenures, by which, in 1342,
John de Northrop and Robert de Manynghani held their
possessions. It b clearly shewn that they had their origin
long before the day of John of Gaunt. Although they are
not specifically mentioned in the Inquisition, taken on the
Earl of Lincoln's death, yet, I have no doubt they then
existed. John Northrop and Robert Manyngham are therein
mentioned together, as holding land ; and the sums paid by
both correspond with those in the Extent of 1342. llie
quantity of land that Manyngham held, according to the
Inquisition, agrees with that mentioned in the Extent; besides
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 93
three-pence for two oxgangs of land was such a small sum^
even then, that it may confidently be supposed that, in
addition to the payment of that sum, some service had to
be performed to the lord. In my copy of the Inquisition,
Northrop is mentioned as holding only one oxgang, but I
have little doubt that this is either an error of mine or of a
former copyist. The two oxgangs of Roger de Manyngham
are rated at three-pence, therefore, the six of Northrop's
would, in the same proportion, be nine-pence.
It is highly probable that the messuage and land beld by
Roger de Manyngham, is that called to this day Hunt Yard,
in Horton. I have not met with any grant from John of
Gaunt respecting this. But it may naturally be inferred, that
after the time of Roger de Manyngham, the Hunt Yard
lands came by some means or other into the hands of the
Rushworths ; and they and the Northrops being burdened
with the same services, after a time agreed to coalesce in the
performance of them, the one party holding the lance and
dog, and the other giving the " unam flatum comu."
There is a tradition to this day in Bradford, that the Hunt
Yard lands were obtained by the slaying of a wild boar.
Though I am not disposed to place great reliance upon tradi-
tions, yet my investigations have proved that this one is
partly based upon truth. But were this not the case, I
should sin mightily against my Bradford readers, in omitting
to mention this tradition, as it and that respecting the spectre
appearing to the Earl of Newcastle, at Bowling-hall, and
uttering the ejaculation '^ Pity poor Bradford," are almost
received as Bible -truths; are familiar even to their children;
and he would be considered most heterodox who did not
believe them. In a little book published about sixty years
since, the following account is given of this tradition, and I
willingly insert it, because the writer had been a witness of
the ceremony to which it relates : —
'^ We shall now proceed to take notice of the ancient and
'^ annual custom of blowing the horn and holding a dog on
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94 BKADFOHD UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
" St. M artiu's day in the forenoon^ whereof the common
" received opinion of this proceeding is, that a ravenous
" wild boar, of a most enormous size, haunted a certain
" place called the Cliffe Wood, and at times very much
^' infested the town and the neighbouring inhabitants thereof;
" so that a reward was offered by the Government to any
^^ person or persons, who would bring the head of this boar ;
" which much excited some to attempt it. Now the story
" runs thus ; that this boar frequented a certain well in the
" aforesaid wood to drink, which to this day is called the
" Boar's Well ; that he was watched by a certain person
" who shot him dead there, took his tongue out of his head,
^' and immediately repaired to court to claim the promised
" reward.
" Presently after his departure from the well, another
^' person came thither upon the same intention ; and finding
^' the beast dead, without any further examination, cuts off
'' his head, and away he hastes towards the same place, and
" in expectation of the reward as the former, and there
'^ arrives before him : being introduced into his Majesty's
" presence, the head was examined, but was found without
'^ a tongue, concerning which the man being interrogated
'' could give no satisfactory account.
" Whilst this was held in suspense, the other man was
" introduced with the tongue, claimed the promised reward,
" and unfolded the riddle, by informing his Majesty how,
'^ and by what means he killed the beast ; and thus received
" the following grant ; namely, a certain piece or portion
" of land lying at Great Horton, known by the name of
^' Hunt Yard, and for the tenure of which he, and his heirs
** for ever, should annually attend at the market-place at
" Bradford on St. Martin's day in the forenoon, and there,
'^ by the name of the heir of Rushforth, hold a dog of the
*' hunting kind, whilst three blasts were blown on a gelder's
" horn ; and those words following expressed aloud, * Come,
*' ' heir of Rushforth, come hold me my dog, whilst I blow
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 95
" * three blasts of my horn to pay my martinmas rent
"^withal."'*
Here is a tradition, which in its great feature, has been
faithfully preserved for at least 500 years ; and most assuredly
it did not originate in the reading of any book; for the
account of the tenure, as to the taking of the boar, has
never before been published, nor in any manner brought
to light from the Chapter-house, Westminster. It is not
improbable that the tradition may be even more correct
than I have proved it to be. A ravenous boar might be
killed in Cliffe Wood, and the slayer have for his bravery,
the lands in Horton or in Manningham granted to him, su-
peradding the honorary service of attending the lord and his
bailiff. Blount says, '^ that one Nigell, having killed a large
" boar, in Bernwood Forest, Bucks, and presented its head to
" Edward the Confessor, he gave him the rangership of that
" forest, also a hyde of land called Deerhyde, and a wood
" called Hulewood, to hold to him and his heirs by a horn.^^f
The original horn mentioned by Gough, is now in the pos-
session of Mr. Jonathan Wright. It had, previous to coming
into the hands of the present owner, been handed down from
generation to generation, by the possessors of the Hunt
Yard. Since the time of Gough, it has been reornamented
with silver. It is one of the most beautiful specimens of ox
horn that I have eVer seen. Its colour is a dappled gray.
* Short description of Bradford, prefixed to the edition of Fairfax's Memoirt,
mentioned in the note, p. U.
t In Queen's College, Oxford, " The Boar's Head with Mu5itarde," U served up
on Christmaji-day : the bearer, on bringing in the di.sb, chants an old carol, begin-
ning " Caput apri defero.'' At a time when fresh meats were seldom eaten, brawn
was considered a great luxuiy ; and the boar's head soused, was anciently the first
dish on Christmas day. There is an old legend in the above college, that a wild
boar which infested the neighbourhood of Oxford, attacked a fellow of the college,
as he was going to serve a church on ChrLstmas^ay ; and that having Aristotle's
Logic in his hand, he killed the boar by thrusting the book down his throat. This
legenil contributed to establish and continue the custom at the college of sening up
the boar's bead on Cbristmas-day. The late Dr. Harrington of Dath, wrote a song
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90
BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
The length on the outer side, from the tip to the inferior
extremity is twenty-eight inches ; the girt of such extremity
(without ornament) nine inches, tapering beautifully to the tip.
in boDour of tbii custom, which b to full of wit and humour, that were not the sub-
ject even "distantly related'' to the singular tenure at BradR>n], 1 should not far err,
in inserting it to amuse my readers. I have extracted it from Hutchinson's < Cum-
berland/ toI. 2, p. 293.
**TAM MAITI QOAM MIICUIIO.***
I SllfO not nf Roman or Oredaa road gaoica. So dreadful hia brtaila-backed foe did appear,
Voo'd Imt* awom he liad got the wrong pig bp
thttmr;
But, inatcad of avoiding the mouth of the beaat.
Ha ruamed la a rolame, and cried *GraN:nm
eat*
In this gallant action Mich fortitude aliewn ia,
Km provea him no coward, nor tender Adooit ;
No armour but Ingic ; by which we may find,
That logic'* the bulwark of body and mind.
Ye aquircs, that fear neitlier hilb nor rough
rocka,
And tliink you're full wiae, when you outwit a
poor fox ;
Enrich your poor braina^ and ezpoae tliem no
The Pythian, Olympic,or such like hard
Your patience awhile, with aulmianon I beg,
M hibt I atudy to honor the feast of CoL Reg.
No Tliraclan twwb at our ritea e'er prerail.
We temper our mirth with pUin aober mild ale;
The tricks of old Grce deter na from wine ;
Tho* we honor a boar we wont make ourselves
swine.
Gr<«t Milo was famous for slaying his ox.
Yet he prov'J hot an a* in cleaving of blocks;
But we had an hero for all thing* waa fit.
Our motto displaya both his valour and wit.*
Stout Hereiiles laboured, and look'd mighty big
When he slew U»e half starved Erymanthian pig;
nut we ». reUte such a stratagem Ukeo. I ^^^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ „^
Tliat the stoutest of boara could not— acre hi* ^^^^
oca bmcon, I
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 97
This horn has connected with it many associations which
are interesting to the inhabitants of Bradford. It is probably
co-eval with the origin of Bradford arms ; which, without a
shadow of doubt, took their rise from the above-mentioned
singular tenure. These arms are now, according to the cur-
rent representation, — gules, a chevron or, between three bugle
horns strung sable ,• crest, a boar's head erased :* and evi-
dently point at the slaying of the * woody boar,' and the
blowing of the horn on St. Martin's day.
I have heard it stated, that to the same cause is to be
attributed the bearing of the boar's head, charged on the
shoulder of the lion rampant in the arms of the ancient family
of Hortons, of Horton, whose representative was the late Sir
Watts Horton, of Chadderton, in Lancashire.
Edward the 3rd, on the I4th of July, in the 38th year of his
reign, granted to his son, John of Gaunt, and Blanch his wife,
that they and the heirs of their bodies, and all their men of
the lands which belonged to Henry, Duke of Lancaster,
* I will not answer for the colours, as I have not seen these arms set forth on any
authority. The bearings are, however, the same as ha?e been used for a number
of yean. — The ' Bradfords' were an andent family, who in remote times resided here,
and took their name from the place. Whitaker, in his History of Craven, Snd edition,
p. 84, mentions that the Tempests married into the family of Bradfonl> of Bradford ;
and that in a window in Braoewell Church there were the Bradford arms— a leopard**
head erased, between three bugle horns strung sable. Glover, in the visitation, 1590,
gives the same arms to the < Bradfords' then resident at Stanley, near Wakefield.
Dodsworth also says, in 1619, there was in a window of Bradford Church, a Uon'$
head erased, inter three bugles sable, an annulet argent, i^rook also mentions
that when he visited Bowling Hall, there were the same arms as those mentioned
by Whitaker, painted in glass in a window. The arms mentioned by Dodsworth
as being in the chancel window of Bradford Church, in 1619, (Jenning*s MSS.,)
are there yet, and he has undoubtedly mistaken a boar*s bead for a lion's head. I
am unable to state whether the same error is attributable to the other authorities
above mentioned. Tlie arms now remaining in the large window of the chancel
have an ancient appearance, and have remained there very likely since the time when
such window was inserted, (temp, of Elizabeth probably,) and are, I apprehend, with
the exception of the annulet for diflereuce, the legitimate arms of Bradford town.
O
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98 BRADFORD — UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS.
should for ever thenceforward be quit from all pannage, pas-
sage, lastage, stallage, tallage, carvage, pesage, pinage, and
terrage, throughout the kingdom. A short history of this ex-
clusive privilege, and of its operation with respect to Bradford,
will form here a more connected account than if given in chro-
nological order. Richard the 2nd, by his charter, did, on the
15th day of September in the 1st year of his reign, grant to
his uncle, the said John of Graunt, all the powers and liber-
ties which had formerly been given to the duchy, and among
others the exemption from tolls and other exactions above
mentioned. This privilege was also confirmed by statutes in
the time of Henry 4th, Edward 4th, and Henry 7th. Not-
withstanding these grants, disputes arose as to whether the
exemption extended to goods bought and sold by inhabitants
of one town in the duchy, at markets and fairs in another
town in it. To try this question, in the 5th of Edward
the 6th, a suit was brought by Oliver Breers and Henry
Hodgkinson, inhabitants of Preston, against James Thwaites
and others, farmers of the tolls of Bradford, who had forced
the inhabitants of Preston to pay toll. The disputed
point seems not to have been decided in this suit, from its
not being brought to a close. In the 6th of Elizabeth, a
decree was made between the farmer of Wakefield lordship,
and the inhabitants of Bradford and other residents within
the Honour of Pontefract, wherein it was decided that the
exemption from toll, claimed by the inhabitants of the lord-
ship of Wakefield, as tenants of the King's ancient demesne,
extended only to goods bought for their own use, but not to
such as were bought in any duchy town to sell again.
The inhabitants of Bradford obtained royal letters patent,
dated 2nd July, 1690, wherein, after reciting the grants to
John, Duke of Lancaster, and the before-mentioned statutes,
it commanded '^ that our men and tenants, inhabitants of and
''residents of and within our manor of Bradford, in the
" county of York, parcel of our said duchy, shall have, use,
'' and exercise all the liberties in the above grants contained,
" according to the efiect of the above-mentioned grants and
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BRADFORD^-UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS. 99
'' statutes ; and that they be not molested^ provided that all
'^ and singular, the aforesaid men and tenants, do pay toll,
'' pannage, lastage, &c., in all fairs, markets, and places
'^ within the said duchy, wherein the same hath heretofore
" been paid, as is just."
The exemption from the above-mentioned tolls was, at
the time of the grant to John of Gaunt, and up to the period
of 1690, of great importance to the inhabitants of Bradford,
as tolls then were a heavy impost. Now the privilege has
fallen into disuse, and is of no avail.
In the latter part of his life, John of Gaunt granted the
manor to his son, John de Beaufort, Marquis of Dorset,
for the term of his life ; who, in the 21st year of Richard
the 2nd, obtained a grant of a fair, on tlie eve and day of St.
Peter ad vinctda^ and on the day next following ; and one
market on the lliursday.* Nothing shews the insecurity of
privileges founded on royal grants more than the necessity
there was of purchasing, from time to time, a renewal of them.
John of Gaunt died on the third of February, 1399, in
the fifty-ninth year of his age, and was buried near Blanch,
his first wife, in St. Paul's Cathedral.f By his death the
duchy of Lancaster fell to his son, Henry de Bolingbroke,
then in exile. Richard the 2nd, by one of those iniquitous
acts which hastened his dethronement, seized, by an Amove-
antUTy on the death of his uncle, the whole of his possessions,
including the manor of Bradford, then belonging to the Mar-
quis of Dorset. I refrain to set forth the instrument, as, with
the exception of the facts above given, it is mere husk.
• Cbarten In Ihe Tower of London, 21ft, 22Dd, and 23nl Richard 2Dd, No. 5.
t Blanch, his wife, died of a pestilence, when John of Gaunt, in a very gallant
raanner, wooed (the particulars are given by the historians of the period) and married
Constance, the daughter and heiress of Don Pedro, King of Castile, and bore the title
of King of Castile and Leon. Holinshed says that he aAerwards married Catherine
Swinford. a waiting-maid of his wife Blanch, wilh whom he had long before coha-
bited. The match caused much scandal at the time, as he was then veiy old.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN.
Richard the second did not long enjoy the possessions which
he had so iniquitously wrested from the hands of his cousins,
John de Beaufort and Henry of Bolinghroke ; for the latter
returned from exile on the twenty-first of July, 1399, de-
throned the King, and was proclaimed in his stead, hy the
title of Henry the 4th. After he had secured himself on
the throne, knowing that his title to the immense estate of
his late father was much better than that to the crown ; and
that were the duchy lands not dissevered from the Crown,
they would, in the event of the restoration of the right heirs,
follow it, made, with the consent of parliament, a charter,
whereby he vested the duchy in certain feoffees ; and or-
dained that it should be governed as it had been before his
accession to the throne. Bradford, as part of the duchy,
was included in this charter.
After this period, Bradford manor seems, during the whole
time that it belonged to the Crown, to have been leased to
the best bidder ; and for a considerable period, no mention
of moment is made of it either in records or history. From
the Inquisition taken in the 4th year of Henry the 5th, on the
death of Hugh de Horton, he appears to have been lessee of
Bradford manor. After this event the manor probably return-
ed to the Crown, as I find that in the 5th of Henry the 5th, a
warrant dated 20th June, was directed to the stewards of the
Honour of Pontefract, ordering them to pay the 3*. rent due to
the Lord of Horton, for the land which the Earl of Lincoln ap-
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN. 101
proved from the waste, as before mentioned. Henry the 5th,
as will be stated hereafter, granted the advowson of Bradford
Church, to the college of Newark, at Leicester.
During the forty years' intestine war between the rival
houses of York and Lancaster, in which the soil of England
was soaked with her own children's blood, Bradford, in com-
mon with all the towns of these northren parts so often the
scene of dreadful battles, would have a share in the conflict.
It may be presumed that the town sided with the house to
which as part of its patrimony it belonged. No doubt the
blood of hundreds of its sons would be shed in the cause of
the Lancasterian succession.
On the assumption of the throne by Edward the 4th, fol-
lowing the example of Henry the 4th, but for a different
reason, he granted the duchy to nominal feoffees, and pro-
vided that it should remain a corporate inheritance, and be
governed as a distinct portion of the Crown possessions.
During the reign of Edward the 4th, a charter was grant-
ed to the feoffees of the duchy, for two fairs at Bradford ;
and as they continue to the present, I shall give at length a
translated copy of it : —
The King to the Archbishops, &c., greeting. Know ye that we
of our special grace, and of our certain knowledge, and mere mo-
tion, have granted, and by these do grant, for us and for our heirs,
as much as in us lieth to our most reverend fathers Thomas
Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Archbishop of
York ; the venerable fathers Richard of Salisbury, Robert of Bath,
William of Durham, and John of Lincoln, Bishops; our most dear
cousins Henry of Essex, and Anthony Rivers, Earls ; our sincerely
beloved William Lord of Hastings, and John Lord Dynham ; to our
dear and hiitbful Thomas Burgh, William Paire, and Thomas Mont-
gomery, Knights; John Grinthorp, Clerk, and William Huse, our
Serjeant at Law, feoffees of our lordship of Bradford, in the county
of York, parcel of our duchy of Lancaster, that they their heirs and
assigns shall have one market every week on Thursday, at the town
of Bradford, in the county aforesaid, and two fairs there every year.
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102 BRADFORD — UNDER THB CROWN.
both of them to last for three days; to wit, one of them on the day
of the feast of the Deposition of Saint fVilliam of York^ and on
the two days preceding, and the other of them on the day of Saint
Peter which is called in Cathedra, and the two days preceding,
with all liberties and customs to such market and fairs appertaining.
And further of our abundant grace we will, and by these presents
grant for us and for oar heirs, to our feoffees aforesaid, that ail liege
and faithful persons whomsoever, coming to the market aforesaid,
and there abiding and to their homes returning, to pay any
stallages, or tributes, to us or our heirs, for any grain, flesh,
fish, or any victuals whatsoever, by them, or any or either of
them, bought or sold in the market aforesaid, by us or our heirs,
bailiffs, constables, officers, or ministers, of us or of our heirs whom-
soever, or by our feoffees aforesaid, their heirs or assigns, their
bailiffs, officers, or ministers whomsoever, in anywise, shall not be
compelled, forced, arrested, molested, distrained, or in any thing dis-
turbed, but that they and every of them, coming to the market
aforesaid, and the same abiding, and to their homes returning, shall
be exonerated and quit for ever of the payment of such tolls, stallage,
and tributes, for such victuals by them, or any of them, in the
market aforesaid, bought or sold as aforesaid, any statute, act, or or-
dinance, to the contrary. Witnessed by several of the feoffees, and
by Richard Duke of York, Marshal of England, and Richard Duke
of Gloucester. Dated at Westminster, 4th May.
By Writ op Privy Sbal.*
The solicitude to encourage the prosperity of Bradford by
fostering its market, is strongly evinced by the above ex-
emption from toll, which would give this market a decided
advantage over the markets at Halifax, Bingley, and Otley,
which did not belong to the duchy.
The fairs granted by this charter are yet held on the same
days, allowing for eleven days difference between old and new
style. According ]to Nicolas' Chronology of History, the
Feast of the Deposition of St. William of York, is on the
22nd of February (N. S.) ; and that of St. Peter in Cathedra,
on the 8th of June (N. S.). The fairs began, according to
the charter, two days preceding the Feast days. It has been
found in modem times, that one day (3rd) suiBces for the
• Chartiqr Rolls in the Tower, from tiie 15th to the 93iid of Edwaid 4tb, No. 7.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN. 103
transaction of business at the March fair^ though it is nomi-
nally held two. The latter fair is one of both business and
pleasure^ and still continues three days — 17th^ 18th^ and
19th of June.
In the 9th of Henry the 7th, a bill was filed in the Duchy
Court by the inhabitants of Bradford, against John Bradford
otherwise Rawson, which as it discloses some curious parti-
culars respecting the town at that time, I shall give the fol-
lowing extracts from it : —
The complainants say — that William Bradford, otherwise Wil-
liam Rawson, builded a fair place, that at this day is named Brad"
ford Hall, and it standeth upon a piece of ground holden of the
King by copy of Court Roll, after the custom of the manor of
Bradford — that there is one John, son of the said William, who
in the month of October, in the 9th of the Ring's reign, called unto
the said hall his tenants, to the number of fifteen, and caused them
to be sworn to inquire respecting copyhold tenements, holden of the
King as of his lordship of Bradford, and of right ought to have
been enquired after at the Great Leets holden twice in the year, in
Bradford aforesaid. That the said William, in bis lifetime, being
the steward's clerk at Bradford, decayed a messuage with certain
lands thereto belonging, to the number of six score acres, called
Birkcliffe Lands, by the space of three years ; and at the third year
end the said William came to the Great Court, at Bradford, and
took the same, yielding to the King for every acre two-pence, when,
before the decaying of the same, they yielded to the King four-pence
— that the said John Rawson, by reason of having the said hall,
hath escheated certain tenements in Bradford, with certain lands, to
the yearly value of fourteen shillings, which he hath holden for the
space of sixteen years or thereabouts — that the said John hath
holden certain messuages and land to the yearly value of £20, for
which he ought to have come unto the Head Court of Bradford,
and paid fines for admittance to them, which he hath not since the
decease of his said father ; and the said messuage and land, of right,
ought to have been fined for within three head courts next after the
decease of his father — that the said John hath lately taken from the
King's waste at Bradford, certain four acres or more, against the
will and mind of all the freeholders, and yielded therefore nothing
to the King — that there was, at all times heretofore, a Court Baron,
wont to be kept from three weeks to three weeks, which has been
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104 BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN.
•
discontinued, whereby the King; is in divers wajs disinherited, and
the worse rule kept — that the old Court Rolls of Bradford were
wont to be kept fn a chest, within the Toll Booth of Bradford,
which chest had three locks and three keys, and one was kept by
tlie steward, the second by the King's freeholders, and the third
by the bailiff of the town — that there is now one Brian Bradford,
otherwise Rawson, who is now clerk of the Court of Bradford, and
keeper of the Court Rolls, which Brian is brother of the said John,
and now hath in his possession all the Court Roils, and no tenant
can get to them but by his licence, and he may make all to his
brother's advantage.*
These were merely the complaints of litigious neighbours ;
for, excepting the detention of the Court Rolls and the
neglect to hold the Court Baron, all the other acts com-
plained of did not affect them, but the King^s treasury only.
The inhabitants of Bradford, however, had, in a short time,
reason to complain in earnest. It is well known that Henry
the 7th, in the latter part of his days, became excessively
avaricious, and cared little about the means employed to
fill his coffers. The exactions of two of his wicked instru-
ments, Empson and Dudley, are facts of general history.
The former was Chancellor of the Duchy, and was executed
in the next reign for his infamous conduct. Empson farmed
out the duchy lands and possessions at double their value,
and the farmers, with impunity, made use of the most bare-
faced methods to extort money. Raynbron Boiling was the
bailiff of Bradford, and so worthily did he follow the steps
of his master, Empson, that in the 18th year of Henry the
7th, Sir Richard Tempest, John Rawson, John Bowett,
Christopher Rawson, and Leaventhorp, filed a bill in the
Duchy Court against the bailiff. The bill contains a minute
account of his acts of injustice and extortion.
The complainoiils say, among other things, — that there were
three fairs at Bradford, of great resort of merchants, pedlars, chap-
men, and of the inhabitants of the surrounding counlry, and that such
• I extracted this and Uie following from the Reamls In the Duchy of LnncAster
OiSce, London.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN* 105
fairs, by reason of the excessive and unlawful toll demanded by the
batlifTy are much less attended, and the town thereby greatly hurt
— that the said bailiff being farmer of the King's mylnes, hath taken
and exacted excessive mulcture — that the said bailiff taketh and
driveth the cattle off the grounds of the King's tenants at Bradford,
and secreteth them in remote parts of the parish, and then after a
time claims them as waifs — that in the 16th year of the reign of
Henry the 7th, he caused certain women to shear twenty sheep of the
King's tenants, at Bradford, so that thoy were not known again and
claimed — ^that he will not suffer the sheep of the said tenants to go
undipped after Whitsunday, but causes them himself to be clipped
after that time, and taketh the fleece — that on the fiilh of June, in
the 1 7th of Henry the 7th, he took from one Ellen, late wife of
Tristram Boiling, five ewes; from Elizabeth Bristow, two kye;
and from William Wright, a cow — that one William Gordon, a
Scotch chapman, who was coming from Halifax with three packs of
wool, was waylaid by the said bailiff upon Manningham Moor, be-
cause the said chapman ought to have come through Bradford and
paid toll, and cast him down and beat him, and caused him to pay
6tf. Sd. and above, in money.
To these charges the bailiff made a very lame answer^ and
a commission was issued to the Abbot of Kirkstall and Sir
William Calverley, to take the examination of witnesses on
both sides. They sat in the Court-House, at Bradford, on the
holiday of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. The town
was filled with persons from the neighbourhood, who had
come to hear mass and take the part of Sir Richard Tempest
against the bailiff. In consequence of this company, BoUing,
who states himself farmer and bailiff of the manor of Brad-
ford, presented a bill to the Duchy Court, headed, ^^ To the
"right discreet wisdoms of the worthy masters," &c., in
which he complained that Sir William Calverley was cousin-
german to Tempest ; and that by reason of the riotous per-
sons in the town on the commission day, he durst not go to
the Court-House ; and prayed for another commission.
He also stated — that there were two very great fairs every year
at Bradford, on the day of the Feast of Saint Andrew, and the day
of Saint Peter in Cathedra, three days every fair — that he had to
attend upon the King's daughter, the Queen of Scots into Scotland,
p
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106 BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN.
and in his absence Sir Richard Tempest went into the Toll-Booth of
Bradford, and threatened bis servants if they took toll — that the*
inhabitants of Clayton, at the instigation of Sir Richard Tenapest,
waylaid John Aldworth, whom the said bailiff had sent to gather
toll, and beat him unmercifully, so that he had been little able to do
any work since — that the said Tempest had ordered all his servants
and retainers, and had encouraged all others, to beat down the
bailiff's servants when they gathered toll ; and declared that no man
should bear rule in Bradford but himself (that is. Tempest).
I was unable to discover from the papers in the Duchy
Office, what was the event of these suits — ^probably they
were not proceeded on, to a decree. The gross misconduct
of Boiling could hardly be justified even by Empson, and
Tempest knew well that his cause was before a partial court.
But these grievances were not the whole that the inha-
bitants of Bradford manor had to sustain from the iniquitous
conduct of the duchy officers, during the reign of Henry
the 7th. I give the following here, rather than under the
head '' Manningham/' because it is intimately connected
with the preceding subject. — In the time of Henry the 7th,
but in what year I am unable to say, as the bill is without
date, the inhabitants of Manningham complained against
John Clark, the King's auditor : —
They say — that they have occupied certain oxgang land, at 4«. bd,
an oxgang, for the space of 300 years ; and done several services, such
as repairing the mi/l-dam, and have carried great quantities of stone
and other materials to repairing the said dam — that they pay fines
on heirships — that they have hard fare and living — that John Clark,
the King's auditor, hath put them out of their lands and increased
their rents as well freeholders and copyholders — that they have had
common of pasture on the moors and commons adjoining to the town
of Bradford, and that the said auditor hath lately enclosed great
part of them, and left little to the said tenants of Manningham.
These details are sufficient to shew the discord and oppres-
sion which prevailed over the land in consequence of the
King's insatiable avarice. Injustice, when it contributed to
enrich the King's 6tore> was never, during any era of English
history, practised with more impunity than during this reign.
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BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN. 107
These proceedings in the Duchy Court disclose some facts
which merit observation. Just before the 18th of Henry
7th^ Bradford Hall^ the precursor of the present one^ had
been built by the Rawsons. There was a Toll-Booth, which,
very probably, stood at the point where Westgate, Kirkgate,
and Ivegate join, at the bottom of the old market. From the
Court RoUs of 1600, or so, I find that the Court-House, the
same, doubtless, as that in which the Abbot of Kirkstall and
his coUeague opened their commission, is described as standing
in Ivegate. It may fairly be presumed that it formed the
upper part of the Toll- Booth, and was entered from Ivegate.
In the time of Henry the eighth we have given, by Leland,
in his Itinerary, a curious account of the town : — " Brade-
" forde a praty quik market toune, dimidio aut eo amplius,
" minus Wackefelda. It hath one paroche churche, and a
" chapel of Saint Sitha. It standith much by clothings and
**i8 distant vi miles from Halifax, and four miles from
" Christeal Abbay."
We have indubitable evidence that Bradford was, in the
time of Leland, a place of more consequence in trade than
Leeds, and was as large, for he says, '^ Ledis two miles low-
*' er than Christeal Abbay on Aire Rywer, is a praty market,
" having one paroche chirche, reasonably well buildid, [that
" is the town,] and as large as Bradeforde, but not so quik."
In an inquisition taken in the time of Henry the 8th, the
toll of the market was returned as worth yearly £14.
I have not found that Bradford participated in Aske's re-
bellion, though some of the rebels in their influx to the south-
ern parts of England, from Lancashire, would assuredly pass
through the town. Nicholas Tempest (one of the Tempests
of Bowling- Hall) was deeply implicated in it, and was after-
wards executed for his opposition to Henry the 8th's ecclesi-
astical despoliation. The transition from the Old Faith to the
doctrines and discipline of Church of England Protestantism,
seems to have caused no considerable revulsion here. The
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108 BRADFORir — UNDER THE CROWW.
fact of it not appearing that any religious house had a single
acre of land belonging to it in Bradford ; the want of chantries
and other institutions of the Church of Rome ; and the his-
tory of Bradford a century later than the Reformation, very
forcibly shew^ that at that time, the fetters of the Old Faith
were looser here than in almost any other part of the
kingdom. There is sufficient evidence that the principles of
the Reformation met with an early and favourable reception
at Bradford.
In the reign of Mary, the exactions committed by the
stewards of the manor in the time of Henry the 7th, con-
tinued; as I find John Lister, Richard Wrightson, John
Rawson, for and in the name of all the copyholders of the
Hall-field, presented a bill to the Duchy Court, against
Thomas Ledgard and William Ward, (probably sub -lessees
of the Tempests,) for having exacted more rent than was due
from them.
In the year 1577, (I8th Elizabeth,) the survey of the
duchy possessions, commonly called Barnard's Survey, was
made. The survey, as far as regards this district, gives a
pretty accurate Nomina Villarum, and the account of tenures
is very exact. I insert the names of the jurors who made
the return, as they would at the time be men of the greatest
station in the parish.*
Thomas Taylor, of Bradford, Thomas Illiiigwortb, Bolton,
John Webster, do. John Ambler, do.
Thomas Bower, do. Christopher Holmes, Haworth,
Nicholas Tonge, Manningham, John Mitchell, sen., do.
Thomas Swaine, Ilorton, Thomas Scott, do.
John Field, do. Roger Bower, Allcrton,.
Richard Walker, Wyke, William Midgley, Thoruton,
Thomas Hollings, Clayton, Edmund Jowctt, BoIlin<;,
Robert Hayncworth, do. Thomas Holdsworlh, do.
Edward Midgley, do.
• llovkiUMNi's MSS. in Mis» Ciinef's po«e»»ion, \ol. 30, |>. 130.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 109
MANOR OF BRADFORD.
V
Allerton with
V
Horton, Little
H
Wilsden,
V
Horton, Great
V
Bolton,
V
Haworth with
V
V
H
V
Boiling,
Clayton,
Heton with Frisinghali,
Thornton with
V
V
V
V
Oxenhope and
Stanbury,
Manbgham with Northrop,
Wyke,
H
H
Cock ham and
Hedloy,
Capital messuage called
Crosley Hall.
The aforesaid villages and hamlets are within the liberty of the
Duchy aforesaid, and the suit of the Court of View of Frank Pledge,
of Bradford.
Haworth. — One carucate there, formerly of John Haworih, after-
wards of Roger de Manyngham and John Berecroft, lately of
John Rishworth, and now of Alexander Rishworth, held by the
service of one eighth part of a knight's fee. In thb village the
aforesaid Alexander claimeth to have the nmnor by reason of the
land aforesaid.
Oxenhope. — Four oxgangs of land, formerly of William Heton,
afterwards of William Eltofts, and now of Edmund Eltofts, gen-
tleman^ held by (he service of one eighth part of a knight s fee,
in which village he claimeth to have the manor by reason of the
land aforesaid.
Horton. — William Leventhorp formerly held in Horton and Clay-
ton the third part of one knight's fee.
Clayton. — John Lacye, gentleman, held the third part of one
knight's fee, in which village he claimeth to have the manor by
reason of the tenure aforesaid.
Bollinge. — William Bollinge formerly held in BoUinge the third
part of one knight's fee, afterwards John Bollinge, and now
Richard Tempest, gentleman, in which he claimeth to have the
manor by reason of the fee aforesaid.
Clayton. — William de Clayton formerly held in Clayton ten ox-
gangs of land, afterwards John Bollinge, late Robert Bollinge, and
now Richard Tempest, gentleman, the same ten oxgangs are held
by knight's service.
Jordanus de Birkby [qu. Bierley ?] formerly held in Clayton
one carucate, afterwards Thomas Matthewson, sen., and now
Richard Tempest, gentleman, by knight's service.
Allrrton. — Thomas Thornton held in Allerton, in Bradford dale,
half a knight's fee, afterwards John Bollinge, and now Richard
Tempest, gentleman.
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110 BRADFORDjhUNDER THE CROWN.
Six oxgangs of land and a half there, formerly Thomas de
Thornton held of (he Duchy of Lancaster, which to the hands
of the late King, Henry the 8th, came by reason of the dis-
solution of the late monastery of Byland, and now in the tenure
of Richard Tempest, gentleman, and Robert Savile, gentleman.
One ozgang of land there, formerly Thomas de Thornton
held of the Duchy of Lancaster, which to the hands of the late
King, Henry the 8th, came by reason of the dissolution of the
late monastery of Pontefract.
Thornton.^ Roger de Thornton formerly held in Thornton two
carucates, afterwards Thomas de Thornton, late Tristram de
Boiling, and now Richard Tempest, gentleman, in which village
he claimeth to have the manor by reason of the land aforesaid.
Heton. — Lady Margaret Leedes formerly held two carucates in
Heton, before Roger de Leedes, as appears by record, afterwards
Jane Pigott, late Lady Hussey, now Henry Bat, in which village
he claims to have the manor by reason of the land aforesaid.*
The wording of this survey proves that the possession of
a manor followed the holding of a large quantity of land.
Thus nearly all the manors around Bradford took their rise.
In the 40th year of Queen Elizabeth (1598), the bridges
at Bradford were presented to the West-Riding sessions, as
being in a very ruinous state. The following is a copy of the
order of sessions made thereon :t —
Forasmuch as Robert Littlewood, gentleman, and his fellow
jurors, have presented, that there are four bridges of stone within
the town of Bradford, so ruinous and in so great decay, by reason
of certain floods which have happened of late years past, that with-
out speedy amendment and reparation, they will utterly fall down,
and be carried away by the water, to the great hindrance and loss of
all the whole country. And they have further presented, that it is
very necessaiy that a contribution of an assessment should be made
through the whole stewardship of Bradford for the repairing thereof.
It is therefore ordered by this court, that two of the next justices of
the peace shall take a view thereof, and certify at the next sessions
what sum of money will repair the decay, in order that the same
may be levied within the said stewardship.
* Shipley and EodediUl are not enumantad in thif InquMtkm among the villages
dependent upon Bradford Leet. Wike and Bolton afe, UKMigh out of the parish,
t Hof^klnson's MSS., vol. 36.
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BRADFORD — UNDER T1*B CROWN. Ill
In the 43rd year of Elizabeth, a weekly assessment was
made by the justices/ at their sessions for the West-Riding,
for the pensions of maimed soldiers^ on the several parishes of
the Riding. This assessment^ which was made with great
care, shews with considerable correctness the relative popu-
lations of the parish of Bradford and the adjoining parishes.*
d.
d.
Bradford . .
.. 9
Leeds
.. 10
Wakefield
10
Bingley
8
Halifax
Dewsburv
.. 8
6
Keighley . .
.. 8
What is called the county-rate, then only amounted to 40^.
yearly, for the West- Riding.
At Leeds sessions, the 13th day of April, in the 44th of
Queen Elizabeth, before Sir John Saville, Thomas Fairfax,
and other justices, it was agreed that the justices should
meet at Wakefield, upon Wednesday in Whitsuntide week
then next, touching soldiers' pensions, assessments, and other
matters ; and then agree upon a particular estreat aad per-
fect assessment of the towTis within the wapentakes, to be
and remain a precedent to direct other justices to make
equal assessments for these parts when occasion should
require. It may therefore be supposed, that the greatest care
would be taken in making the assessment : it will give the
most correct view in the absence of actual computation,
which can now be obtained of the relative size, population,
and wealth of the towns comprised in such assessment. I
give a copy of such part of it as relates to all the towns
about here.t
d.
Bradford . . . . 20
Bolton . . . . 5
BoDing .. ..5
Calverley and Farsley 1 1
d.
Huddersfield .. 17
Hali&x .. ..19}
Idle .. .. 11
Manningham . . 9
• Hopklnson'* MSS., voL 41, penei
Min Cuirer. t I>>td, vol. 36.
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112 BRADFORD— UNDER THE CROWN.
d.
d.
Dewsbury . . . . I2i
Horton
.. 7
Eccleshill . . 7i
Pudsey
n
Heaton-cum-Clayton 1I|
Shipley
.. 5
Bingley . . . . 9
Wakefield
27
Haworth .. ..12
Leeds
.. 39
From this table^ a pretty near approximation may be drawn
of the population of the town at the time. Thirty-six years
before, (1566,) there were in Halifex 520 householders
that kept fires and answered for vicar dues ; so that the popu-
lation would, at a low estimate, be more than 2,000 persons.
In the space of these thirty-six years, we have abundant
facts to prove that Halifax had greatly increased in popula-
tion. The above table shews with certainty, that Bradford
was in 1602, at least as large as Hali&x, which then pro-
bably contained 2,500 persons.
It seems, that about this period, Leeds greatly exceeded
Bradford in size, — containing, I conceive, double the popu-
lation, as its assessment was double. The following is a
tabular view of the baptisms, marriages, and deaths, in the
two places about this time, taken from the Church Registers
of each place : —
Baptiimi.
Maniages.
Deathf.
1599— Bradford, .
. 137
43
158
1619— Do.
. 191
63
126
1574— Leeds,
. 133
• • • • o^ • • • •
78
1630— Do.
. 384
• • • • §o • • • *
403
This table fully proves two points, viz., that towards the close
of the sixteenth century, Bradford and Leeds contained about
the same number of inhabitants ; and that shortly after the
commencement of the seventeenth century, Leeds had so
quickly increased in size, as to double that of Bradford.
During the reign of Henry 7th, and up to the early part
of that of Elizabeth, the stewards of the manor had granted
out the waste grounds, and oppressed the inhabitants with
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 113
impuuity. Queen Elizabeth directed a royal commission to
Sir Thomas Gargrave and others, to inquire into the number
of acres of heath and waste granted by the stewards of the
manor of Bradford by copy of Court RoD, and incroached,
from the first year of the reign of Henry the 8th ; as pre-
sented by the several juries. The following is a summary
of the commissioners' certificate : —
GRAVESHIP OF BRADFORD AND STANBURY.
The number of acres granted Sums of money Yearly rent
by the stewards by Copy of paid for same to reserved upon
Court Roll, without war- stewards. same,
rant, and incroached.
A. R. P. Je. *. d. £. 9. d.
307 7 141 10 2 2 18 lOJ
It is stated in the certificate^ that it did not appear from the
presentments of the steward, when the incroachments were
made ; but, it was believed to have been during the time Sir
John Tempest was steward, (in the first of Elizabeth,) who
granted 259 acres, taking, for a fine, 10^. to his own use,
and reserving a rent of 2d, for every acre ; — and that the said
Sir John Tempest, when he ceased to be steward, refused to
deliver up the Court Rolls.
From the Court Rolls it appears that the Saviles, of
Howley Hall, were stewards of the manor in the reign of
Elizabeth, and down to the time the manor was granted out
by Charles the 1st. They succeeded the Tempests, who
seem to have been stewards during the reigns of Henry
the 8th, Edward the 6th, and Mary, and in the early part
of the reign of Elizabeth. There is, in the Duchy Court,
a number of leases from the Duchy to the Tempests of
Bowling Hall, of the corn and fulling mills, and toll and
stallage of the town, agistment of cattle in Bradford Bank,
and of the shops under the Hall of Pleas of the town.
On the 2nd of September, 1612, an Inquisition was taken
at Bradford, before Sir William Inglebye, knight, Henry
Q
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114 BKADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN.
Mynors, Esquire^ and Robert Wall, gentleman, by virtue of
bis Majesty's commission, dated 27th of May, the same year ;
to inquire the names of the towns and villages within the
manor of Bradford ; the names of freeholders and copy-
holders, and tenants for years ; by what title they held the
same ; and by what rents and services, &c.
The following is a copy of this Inquisition : —
JURORS.
Richard Baillie, Allerton, Richard AUertOD, Allerton,
Robert Craven, Frizinghall, VVilliam Heaton, Stanbury,
John lllingworth, Allerton, William Crawshaw, Wilsden,
Robert Clayton, do. William Hill, do.
Robert Horton, Bradford, William Aldersley, do.
William Mortimer, Horton, Michael Crabtree, Manningham,
John Lister, do. William Northrop, do.
Thomas Midgley, Clayton,
The jurors say that his Majesty is sole lord of the manor of
Bradford, Manningham^ and Siandury, and hath rents and services
of his freeholders within the towns and hamlets following, apper-
taining to the said manor — Horton, Clayton, Thornton, Allerton,
Wilsden, Oxenhope, and llaworth — that there is divers lands in
Bradford very anciently granted as copyhold lands, and amounting
to 218a. 3r.
That the customs of the customary tenants are as follows :* —
Item. That after the death of any customary tenant, dying
seised of any messuages or lands, parcel of the said manor, if the
heirs of such tenant do not come in and make his claim within
three Great Courts next after the death of his ancestor, then the
lands are to bo seized to his Majesty s use, and he or they to take
it up again by way of seizure, according to the custom, paying such
fines and other duties as in such cases are accustomed within the
said manor, viz., 6s, Sd. for the seisin copy, 2s, Sd, for the entry,
and double fine to his Majesty for the land.
Item. That if any copyholder do surrender his copyhold unto
a tenant of the same to bold to the use of another, and such tenant
* I give an* aooount of these customs solely because they shew the teDure on
which the cop} holds In Bradibid manor were held.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 115
do keep in his or tbeir hands the said sarrender above the space of
three Great Courts^ and do not^ within the said time, present the
same into the court^ that then the lands so passed in the said
surrender, shall be forfeited, and seized into his Majesty's hands;
and if the tenant be requested by him to whose use the surrender
is made, or by him who granteth the surrender, to brin^ in the said
surrender into the court, and they refuse so to do, that then the said
tenant or tenants shall forfeit likewise his own copyhold into his
Majesty's hands, for such his refusal.
Item. That if any married man die seised of any copyhold lands
within the said manor, his wife shall not be endowed of bis copyhold
lands, but the same shall fall and descend wholly upon his heirs,
unless such married man do surrender the same in his lifetime to
the use of his wife.*
Item. That no married woman, during the coverture, ought
to surrender any copyhold lands without her husband^ and before
such time as the same shall be examined by tlie steward of the
court of the said manor, or his deputy.
Item. If any customary tenant, within the said manor, do
obstinately refuse to pay the King's rent, due unto his Majesty for
his copyhold, unto the King s Majesty's Grave,t it is a forfeiture of
his copyhold into his Majesty's hands.
Item. That no customary tenant may let his customary lands
to another by indenture or other writing, but only by surrender,
except only for nine years, and that to three several persons, at
three several times, by several leases, every of them for the term
of three years, and not above, to commence and take beginning one
of them at the end of another ; and if any lease be made otherwise,
it is a forfeiture of such copyhold.
Item. That he to whom any surrender is made of any messuage
or land in fee simple, shall pay for his fine, for every messuage 6(/.,
and for every acre of land Git, and so after that rate ; and likewise
for every messuage taken by surrender, for years, life, or lives, 6d,,
and for every acre of land id.
Item. That if any customary tenant shall receive into his hands
a surrender of any copyhold land to the use of another, and happen
to die within the space of three Great Courts next after the taking of
the said surrender, in such case, the said customary tenant who hath
taken the surrender, may, upon his death -bed, deliver over the said
• The Court RoU of the 6th October, 17th Elizabeth, says the oontery.
'\ Grave from the GermaD Graaf, a steward.
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116 BRADFORD — UNDER THE GROWN.
surrender to any other customary tenant of the same manor, as well
as the said tenant might, if he had so long lived.
Item. That any customary tenant, being seised of any copyhold
lands within the said manor, may, either upon his death-bed, or at
any other time during his life, surrender any of his copyhold lands
to the use of any other, either in fee-simple, fee-tail, or for term of
life, lives, or for years, hy a straw, without surrender in writing ;
and that copyholder who taketh the said straw, may and ought to
present the efTcct of the said surrender, upon his oath, and put the
same in writing.
Item. They say. there is no timber, wood, or trees growing
upon any of the said copyhold lands only in hedgerows, which they
use to cut down fur repairing of their tenements; but for mines of
stone, coal, or metal, they know of none in the same.
And they further vsay that there is a certain moor, waste, or
common, in Bradford, containing 150 acres, or thereabouts, which
is reported or taken to abut and abound as foliowcth, — to wit, upon
the middle of certain clones called the Lady Closes, belonging to
the Free School of Bradford, on the west part ; upon one great old
casten ditch, and certain meer stones, situate between Bradford and
Eccleshill, on the north part ; upon Waynforth Clough on the east
part; and upon the demesnes of Tyersal on the south part; which
said common is very uncossie canen^ and unfruitful ground, and
great part spoiled by highways ; upon which common his Majesty's
freeholders and copyholders of Bradford used to have common of
pasture and turbary,'^ time out of mind. And they further say,
that there is a certain mine of stone upon it, out of which divers
freeholders have gotten, and constantly used to get, stone for building
and repairing their tenements.
And they say that the freeholders' rents, payable unto his Majesty,
within the said town of Bradford, by the Grave there, amount to
£'8 4*. 6£/. ; those of copyholders to £6 12* 3Jr/. ; and the rents
paid by Sir Richard Tempest, for his manors and lands in Bradford
dale, 38*. ; the freeholders of Ilorton 23*. ^d, ; freeholders of
Wike 2*.; Richard Baylie, for Windhill* in Allerton, 2*.; John
Lister, of Little Ilorton, payeth yearly one pair of wuitb spurs.
• It teems, from thi« expievioii, that |wrt of (be fuel of the inhabitants of Brad-
ford, wat, in ancient days, procured from the moor.
t The place here called Windhill, for which two shillings was yearly paid, was
very pr\>l>nbly the essart of Adam de Windhill, mentioned in the Inquisition taken
on the Earl of Lincoln's death.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 117
The land for which John Lister, of Horton, paid yearly a
pair of white spurs, was, I presume, that mentioned in the
Inquisition taken on the Earl of Lincoln's death, as being
held by the Abbot of KirkstaJl. I have endeavoured to
ascertain the exact locality of this land, but have been un-
successful.
Bradford, along with the Honour of Pontefract, was set-
tled by James the 1st upon his Queen, as part of her jointure.
In the settlement, power was given to grant leases on reser-
ving the old rents.
On the 13th of October, 1623, a presentment was made
to the sessions at Leeds, from divers officers in the West-
Riding, of their fees, pursuant to a letter of direction from
the Honourable Commissioners for the redress of grievances.
The following is a list of the fees returned as taken by the
bailiff of Bradford:*—
d.
For summonses 2d. — distringas 2d. . . . . 4
For a venire facias to the jury . . . . 12
To the bailiff for attending the jury . . . . 4
For serving the levy — \d. at every \2d.
For serving executions — 12rf. in the pound, if tlie
same be under £100, — if above, only 6rf.
John Walton, Bailiff.
The first four charges were for fees in the Manor Court. The
fifth and last item shews that the King's executions were
levied by the bailiff of Bradford, — a remnant, no doubt, of
the privilege mentioned at page 54. t
James the 1st, at his death, owed to the city of London
a very large sum of money ; and his son, shortly after his
accession, sold to the city, to repay it, nearly the whole of the
• Hopkiason's MSS., vol 7.
t At this page it is stated that the privilege continued to the time of Elizabeth,
being a mistake for James Ist.
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118 BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN.
crown lauds and possessions^ reserving fee farm rents upon
them. The grant whereby the manor of Bradford was con-
veyed, bears date the 9th day of September, in the 4th year
of Charles the 1st ; and was made to Edward Ditchiield, John
Highlord, Humphrey Clarke, and Francis Moss, four citi-
zens of London, in trust for the corporation ; to be holden
of the King, his heirs and successors, in fee farm, as of the
King's manor of Enfield, in free and common socage, and
not in capite, or by knight's service, and paying yearly £35
4«. G^d. to the King. A rent-charge was also reserved to Sir
John Savile, the steward of the manor, for his life, as an
equivalent for the loss of his office. The following is- a trans-
lated copy of the description of the manorial property con-
tained in the grant : —
All that our lordship or manor of Bradford, parcel of the Honour
of Tickhill,* in (he county of York, with all the righu*, members, and
appurtenances; and all our lands, tenement^ rents, and heredita-
ments, in the said county of York, called or known by the name of
the Manor or Lordship of Bradford. Also all those our rents of
assize, as well of freeholders as tenants at the will of the lord, and of
bondmen, or customary tenants, in Bradford, Clayton, Oxenhope,
Horton, Manningbam, Haworth, BoUingheath, Stanbury, AUerton,
and Wyke, within the manor or lordship of Bradford aforesaid ;
and all other our rents charged under the title of rents of assize there,
by particular thereof amounting to £23 8«. lOd. yearly. And also
all those messuages, lands, tenements, cottages, mills, meadows, pas-
tures, minerals, quarries, and hereditaments there, with the appur-
tenances, in the tenure of divers persons, as well by separate inden-
tures, as by copy of court roll, and at the will of the lord, and charged
under the head of new rents there, by particular thereof mentioned
to be of the annual rent or value of £33 Ss, 6d. And also all those
tolls, stallages, and privileges of the town and lordship of Bradford
aforesaid. Also the agistment of beasts in Bradford Bank^ and
strays and waifs. Also the shojw under the JIall of Pleas {Aulam
• 1 am unable to state the reason of the manor being termed parcel of the Honour
of Tickhill, as 1 have met with no other document in which this circumstance is
stated. Probably the manor bad, during the reign of the Stuarts, been mmuMaify,
for some royal cause, attached to the Honour of Tickhill, (as it now is to the manor
of Enfield,) though It never belonged to it in reulity.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 119
PVitor) of the town or lordship of Bradford aforesaid, now or late
in the tenure or occupation of Richard Tempest, gentleman, or his
assigns, by particular thereof mentioned to be of the annual rent or
value of 51^. %d. Also all that capital messuage, in Bradford afore-
said, and all those thirty acres of land in Brasshawe, vvithin the
manor of Bradford ; and all other rents charged under the title of
coming from the manor there, by particular mentioned to be of the
annual rent or value of 17«. Also all those closes of land in Man-
ningham aforesaid, called Constable Greves, Ilalliwell Greves, Bull
Greves, and Hall-royde Greves, with tho appurtenances, by par-
ticular thereof mentioned to be of the annual rent or value of 3^. 4^.
Also all those perquisites and profits of court, within the manor or
lordship of Bradford aforesaid, now or late in the tenure or occupa-
tion of Nicholas Tempest, gentleman, or lib assigns, by particular
thereof valued at 20*. yearly, (excepting always cJl those two corn
mills there, called Bradford Mills, and another mill in the east part
of Bradford, which were granted to Edward Ferrers and Francis
Phillips, their heirs and assigns, for ever, under the separate rent of
£6 ld«. \d,^ which said lordship or manor of Bradford, and all other
the premises before granted, are in the whole, by particular thereof,
mentioned to be of the clear annual rent or value of <£6 1 6*. \d*
In a memorandum,* made by a gentlemsiu on searching
the Duchy Office records, relative to law proceedings, it is
stated; that " Bradford manor was in settlement as part of
" the jointure of Queen Henrietta Maria, and the receiver's
'' accounts during her life, are in existence in the Duchy
" Office." I am unable to say whether this be correct, or is
a mistake for the Queen of James the 1st, but at all events
the settlement could only be of the fee farm rent reserved
out of the manor on being granted to the city of London.
I have now before me a series of Court Rolls of the time
of Elizabeth and Charles the 1st, and few of dates imme-
diately subsequent to the Restoration. These Rolls con-
tain many entries which elucidate the mode in which the
town was governed in those days ; and exhibit a curious pic-
• In the possession of S. Hailstone, £<q.
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120 BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN.
ture of the manners which then prevailed in Bradford and
the surrounding locality. A few selections from these Rolls
will find a proper place at the end of this section.
The Court Leet* (so called) was held twice a year. A
great part of the offices or duties now performed by magis-
trates^ then devolved upon the Leet jury. At every Leet I
find numbers of persons presented, and heavily fined, for
assaults : for common ones, where no blood was drawn, the
fine was generally 3^. id. ; but in those cases where it was,
the fine amounted to lOs, — a heavy sum then. It will
surprise the fair portion of my readers, when I state, that
their sex were, for drawing blood, very frequently punished
by the Bradford Leet. But the powers of the jury did not
rest here : they exceeded those confided to the magistrates
in these times. Many over-curious persons were presented
and fined at the Leet for eaves-dropping. Heavy mulcts were
also laid for using too freely unruly tongues, or for being
bad neighbours. These were indeed wholesome restraints
which are ill supplied by the law of libel, or the visitations of
the apparitor. As Censor of Morals, the Leet repressed
gaming. Several persons were presented, and fined as much
as 20^., for allowing persons to play at cards and other games
in their houses at night.t Two men were also fined, in
the time of Elizabeth, for being common players at bowls,J
and keeping a private still. Persons were punished for
being disorderly in the night, and obstructing the constable
in the execution of his duty.
The Leet juries appear to have been very watchful to
prevent settlements being gained in the several towns within
• It was, in fact, Uic Sheriff *• Turn, held by the lord's own stewanl, as men-
tioned in the Hundred Roll«, and the Extent of 1342.
f For so I understand tlie words " Ludentes nd pictas cartas, et aP lusus Ulidtos,
tempor' illicit' nocte/' The Court RolU, in the time of Elizabeth and Charles 1st,
are in bnrbarous I>atin, very foenutifully written. For some time aHet the Ret-
ionition, they are partly in Latin and pnrtly in En^li<h.
I Co*i>m lus* ad ^lobos.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN, 121
the Leet. Such orders as the following occur on the Rolls : —
*' Ordered, that no person do entertain a stranger, without
**the consent of the constable and four freeholders under
"their hands, upon pain of 39*. lid. every month;" and
again, " Ordered, that Ann Clough do remove her daughter
" and a child she has, who have come from near Wood-
" church, in ten days, upon pain of 12d. a day if they
" continue longer." Fines were also laid for taking appren-
tices without the churchwardens' leave. Several persons
were presented for harbouring inmates, that is, allowing
other persons to dwell with them in the same houses. The
hiring of young men as servants, was also prohibited ; and
none but " datal" men — ^labourers by the day — were to be
employed.
The Court Roll for 1687 has the following entry— "Where-
" as many young women, healthful and strong, combine and
" agree to cot and live together without government, and
" refuse to work in time of harvest, and give great occasion
"for lewdness, therefore it is ordered, that no person receive
** such into his house as cotter or tabler, without the consent
"in writing of the churchwardens, upon pain of 39^. llrf."
This was a very stringent regulation, and probably arose
from the vexation of the Leet jury at not being able to get
the cotters to work in harvest for inferior wages, when they
could earn much more by spinning or weaving.
It is probable there were, at the time I am speaking of,
no surveyors of the highways here. The Rolls give sufficient
evidence that every person was bound to repair the street
opposite his house, and the narrow pack-horse highway con-
tiguous to his land ; and heavy fines were inflicted for defaults.
There seems to have been gates hung in all the highways
around this town, and the others within the Leet, similar
to those which at present obstruct the traveller upon lanes
adjoining many country villages. It may on this ground
be presumed, that portions of land around Bradford were,
at the time, unenclosed.
R
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122 BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN.
In the days of EUizabeth and Charles, there was no need
for that unwieldy balista, which none but strong pockets
can move — a bill in the Duchy Court — ^to enforce euit and
service from the lower class to the soke mills ; and which^
when brought to bear against the majority of offenders now,
is like employing a seventy -pounder to destroy " small deer."
The Leet jury took upon themselves to enforce the rights
of the soke upon the less wealthy portion of the inhabi-
tants of Bradford. In the Court Rolls of 1602, seven persons
were entered as fined 3^. 4d. each, for neglecting to grind
their corn at the soke mill.
The Manor Court was the only medium used for the
recovery of debts under 40*. The following entry is on the
Rolls — " That no person inhabiting within the jurisdiction
" of this court, do commence any action against any person
" dwelling therein, in any other court, for debts under 40*.,
" under pain of such a sum." The number of actions
brought in this court, in the times of Elizabeth and Charles
the 1st, averaged about twenty a year.
These Rolls prove that the greater part, if not the whole,
of the inhabitants of Bradford, obtained their water from
Bradford beck. The greatest attention seems to have been
paid to keep it from pollution. It is stated that the
miller of Bradford cast ashes into the beck, whereby the
wat«r of the inhabitants was corrupted, and he was fined for
the offence. At that time the maidens of Bradford, like
those of country villages at present, repaired, for recreation,
after the labours of the day, with their water vessels, to the
watering places at the beck side, to meet their female and male
companions ; while the elderly male inhabitants mustered at
eve, at some favourite stone bench, with which the front of
almost every house was graced, and discussed the foreign
and local news of the day. Some of these benches pro-
jected greatly into the street, and incommoded the passage
in it, as directions were given by the Leet jury for the
curtailment of their size.
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BRADFORD — UNDER THE CROWN. 123
To conclude my extracts from the Court Rolls. — The Leet
of Bradford appears to have taken within its cognizance
almost every species of nuisance or petty offence. Fines
were inflicted for allowing swine to go loose without being
rung or bowed ; thus shewing that they were permitted to
run about the streets and green lanes surrounding the town,
without any other impediment than the gate of the next
township. Persons were punished for keeping glandered
horses, or allowing scabbed cattle to go at large. The fines
laid by the Leet jury were summarily, and with eagerness,
collected by the manor steward, to whom they belonged —
immediate distraints followed nonpayment.
The greatest care seems also to have been taken that no
delinquent should escape ; for the jury, besides being under
the obligation of an oath to present truly, took each town
consecutively, and presented the offenders in it, or returned
" ^uod omnia bene" — that all were good. It is a subject
of great regret that the powers and duties of Court Leets
have been suffered to die away, and be transferred, in great
part, to the quarter sessions ; for there is no hazard in
asserting, that although they sometimes were partial, and
trespassed against good policy, yet, as domestic tribunals, to
which all petty offenders could be cheaply and expeditiously
brought and punished, their loss has not been supplied.
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BRADFORD— DURING THE CIVIL WAR.»
A PERIOD is now arrived at^ which^ in the whole of its
events, was more calamitous than any other recorded in
English history. Charles the 1st, educated by his father
in the principles of the divine right of kings, and their
absolute power to govern as they willed ; misled and urged
forward in his encroachments upon the freedom of his sub-
jects by the unprincipled minion Strafford, and the haughty
and misguided prelate Laud ; by a number of acts, which
the most able and zealous of Charles's panegyrists and
defenders have been unable to gloss, at last roused the
representatives of the people to resist his endeavours to
institute a rigid despotism in this land. The part which
* I have, in the main, taken the following account of the conflicts in which
BradJbni Kbaied, during the Civil War, from four sources. The flnt is a very scarce
quarto pamphlet, which 1 found in the BritiUi Museum, entitled " The Rider of the
*' White Horse and his Army, their late good success in Yorkshire, or a true and
" faithful relation of that famous and wonderful victor)' at Bradford, obtained by the
" clubmen there, with all the circumstances thereof, and of the taking of Leeds and
*' Wakefield by the same men, under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, with
'* the manner and circumstances thereof, from good hands ; seriowUy commended to
'* the High Court of Parliament, and all that are of God's side, for their encourage-
" ment. LoiKlon, printed for Thomas Underbill, 1642." This ma«t, therefore,
have been printed the same monUi as that in whk:h the attack on Dradfoid, the
partfeulars of whkrh is narrated in it, took place.— The second source is the " Life of
Joseph Lister," who was an ej e-w itness of the several engagements here. His account
of Uiem is extremely artless and simple, and bean internal evidence of iU truth. The
cdiUon 1 hove used is that printed at Bradford, 1821. The editor states that it was
printed from an old MS. whk:h fell into hi& hands. It is evident that LL«ter's nar-
rative w«s written from memor}*, many years after the Civil War. The third is
«< A Genuine Account of the sore calamiUes which befel Bradford in the time of the
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 125
Bradford took in the civil commotions which followed^ was
probably greater than that of any town of its size in the king-
dom. In March, 1642^ the King^ thinking himself not safe
in London, which was ill affected towards him, removed
his court to York. This step may, in fact, be regarded as
the commencement of the Civil War in these parts.
In August, 1642, Charles erected his standard at Not-
tingham ; and called upon those who were loyal to the throne
to assist him in maintaining the rights of the Monarchy.
This step brought afiairs, in these northern parts, quickly
to a crisis. The greater part of the nobility, gentry, and
landed proprietors in the county, were on the Royal side.*
They enlisted men, formed them into companies and regi-
mentS; and supported them at their own expense ; besides
contributing large sums of money, according to their means,
to meet the King's exigencies, and support a cause which,
they believed, involved the safety of themselves and their
estates. The inhabitants of this locality, being principally
puritans, and possessing, from habits of trade, a strong
devotion to the principles of civil and religious liberty, were
** Civil Wan," and is appended to the edition of Fairfax's Memoirs, mentioned at
page 14. I have a strong belief that it was drawn up by Hartley. In the preface,
it is stated that it was talten from Lister's MS., and that every material circumstance
relative to those " sore calamities" was inserted. The greater part of it is, however,
taken Jrom the ** Rider of the White Horse," without any acknowledgment ; and
some important parts of the latter have, in the former, been suppressed. The
editor or author of the '< Genuine Account" has, in many places, garbled and
mis-stated the accounts of Lister and the '' Rider ;" and, throughout, adopted an
hyperbolic and exaggerated phrase. 1 have, therefore, made no use of the << Genuine
Account" except as to a few particulars not given either in Lister or the '< Rider."
The fourth source is '' Fairfax's Memoirs," and, like Lister's account, bears internal
evidence of truth. The whole of these accounts relating to Bradford are one-sided,
but they are the only ones that ate extant— at least that I know of.
• Lord Ferdinando Fairfax, of Denton in Wharfdale, and bis son, Sir Thomas
Fairfax, were the only penons of any great consequence in the county who were
against the Royal cause. The King meditated, says Echard, taking them into
custody before he left York. If he had done so, most likely bis cause woukl have
proved triumphant.
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126 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
in the interest of the Parliament.* Clarendon, in his History
of the Civil War, vol. ii., part 1, speaking of the strength
the Parliament had in the norths says, *' Leeds, Halifax, and
" Bradford, three very populous and rich towns, (which,
'' depending wholly upon clothing, too much maligned the
" gentry,) were wholly at their disposition."
When the rupture between the King and Parliament be-
came open, the King sent troops to be quartered here, to
keep the inhabitants in awe, and prevent them disciplining
and organizing their strength against the Royal cause. The
brutal conduct of these soldiers tended very much to increase
the hatred of the people of Bradford towards that cause.
A great number fled from the town, in the fear of being
butchered by the soldiers, who stated that they were merely
waiting for orders to put the inhabitants of this disloyal town
to the sword.
After a short stay, these troops were recalled from Brad-
ford to join the Royal army. The inhabitants now began,
with alacrity and vigour, to put the town in a state of
defence, in the determination of opposing the King^s troops,
should they again attempt to occupy the town. Every avenue
was strongly blocked up, and the weakest parts fortified in
the best manner the townsmen, unskilled as they were in
military tactics, could devise. The King's generals were
* From Lister's narrative it is erideot that one caiue of hatred to the Kiiig*s (
in these parts, arose from the belief that the King and his party intended to reinstate
the Roman Cattiolic religion in the country. The year before the Civil War, and
immediately alter the event which is generally termed the Protestant Masacre in
Ireland, Thoresby, in bis Diaiy, states that the inhabitants of the whole country
hereabouts were alarmed by the reporU that the Irish had landed in England.
The inhabitants of Bradford were, oooording to Lister, in the greatest terror and
consternation, and gathered together in parties consulting what to do. At last some
few horsemen were prevailed upon lo go as far as Halifax, to ascertain whether the
report were true or not; when they found that the rumour had arisen from the iact
of several Protestants having escaped out of Ireland into England. There is little
doubt this circumstance increased the disloyalty of Bradford. Lister and the '< Rider**
very frequently call the Royalists " the Popish army.*'
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 127
not ignorant of these preparations for defence ; and a party
of soldiers which lay at Leeds, received orders to attack
and subdue the place. The Bradford men had spies, who
brought quick intelligence of the intention of the King's
party. Upon the approach of the Royalists,* the inhabitants
" sent men to Bingley, Halifax, and the small towns about,
" who came with all speed, with such arms as they had, and
" did much service." The Royal party " pitched their tents
" on that part of the common called Undercliffe, in three
*' separate bodies, where they intrenched themselves, and lay
" there for that day, which was about a mile distant from
" the town. The next morning they struck their tents, and
" advanced towards us and came to the brow of the hill ; here
" they halted, and made every preparation necessary to attack
" us ; they were about seven or eight hundred men, we about
" three hundred ; they had several pieces of cannon, we had
" none ; they began to play their ordnance with great fury.
" We drew close up to the town in order to receive them ;
" they had the advantage of the ground, which exposed us
" more to their cannon, from which we sustained some loss,
" but our men defended these passes so well, by which they
" were to descend, that they got no ground of us. More-
" over, whilst each party were exerting themselves to the
" utmost of their power, a shower of snow descended, at-
" tended with a mighty strong and blustering wind, which
" beat in their faces with great impetuosity, and at the
" same time one of their great guns burst asunder, which
" so intimidated them that they fled towards Leeds in the
" greatest confusion, whilst we, not thinking it prudent to
" pursue them, by reason of the hurricane and other incon-
" veniences, returned into the town."t
In a few days after this repulse, Sir William Saville with
a large force attacked the town. This attack has been
termed the " First Siege of Bradford." I give, in the words
• December, 1642. ■\ From the** Genuine Account.'*
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128 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
of the author of the ^ Rider of the White Horse,* some curious
particulars of events which preceded the attack, as they have
not before been published except in the * Rider,* though they
shew that the inhabitants of Bradford were not so disloyal
as has been commonly supposed ; and that the defence of the
town against the King, originated in other quarters. After
" Fairfax had retired from Tadcaster, the Earl of Newcastle
'^ possessed himself of Pontefract, and so making himself
'^ master of these northern parts, blocked up all passage
'^ between us and our strength, and exacted large sums from
" those hostile to the King*s cause. We could expect nothing
now but destruction. In Leeds^ the Malignant* humour
" predominating, it was easily taken. Bradford was the next
" in their way. The Popish army was within a day*s march
" of the town, grievously incensed at their late repulses,
" and no help could be expected from Lord Fairfax. Many
" of the best affected to the Parliament were so affrighted
" that they left the town, whereupon the Royalists went to
" bring in the army. Some religious persons in the parish,
" considering what danger might occur to their country and
** consciences, and caring nothing for their lives or estates,
" resolved to stand upon their guard, and invited all the
"well affected to assist, and entered the town. When
" our Malignants had returned, with a letter from Sir Wil-
" Ham Saviile, threatening to burn the town if we did not
** contribute to the Royal army, we gave no answer, but
" imprisoned those who brought it, and subscribed to it — a
" very courageous attempt, when we consider our condition,
*' having no one in the parish to command us, and no stran-
** ger willing to take the charge. All our trained soldiers,
" with their arms, were with Lord Fairfax, and most of
" those fitted for service as volunteers ; nor could it be
" expected that the well affected of our poor parish could
" pay a garrison any long time, and none would tarry a
* The Ro3alis1s were termed by the Roundheads. Maligna titis.
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 129
"day without pay. Our neighbours perceiving this, and
" fearing the issue would be our ruin, refused to help us.
" Nor wanted we discouragement from our men ; to instance
" no more, the night before a great part left us. This was
" on Saturday, December seventeenth."
The next morning (Sunday), about nine o'clock, the enemy
were discovered approaching the eastern part of the town.
They were marshalled in two bodies ; " the van was com-
'^ manded by Colonel Evers, eldest son of Lord Evers ; where-
" in were three troops of horse, two companies of dragoons,
" one hundred foot, twenty pioneers, two drakes ; the train
"of artillery commanded by Major Carew, a Dutchman.
" The rear was commanded by Sir Francis Howard ; wherein
'^ were his own and Captain Hilyard's troops, six companies
" of Colonel Eddrington's dragooners, and one hundred foot.
" Colonel Goring came along with them, and some say the
*' Earl of Newport, but whether he had any charge or no
" in the expedition I hear not. All these our Yorkshire
" gentlemen had procured of the Lord of Newcastle, as though
^' Sir William Saville's regiment. Sir Marmaduke Langdale,
*' Sir Thomas Gleman, and Sir John Goodricke's troops,
" Sir Ingham Hopton, Captain Neville, Captain Batt, and
" Captain Binn's companies had not been sufficient to have
^' swallowed our town. I should now shew how our men
" were marshalled. We had the night before got a captain
" from Halifax, a man of military skill.* We had near upon
" forty muskets and calivers in the town ; about thirty fowling,
" birding, and smaller pieces ; and well nigh as many more
"club-men. These our captain disposed in several parts
" of the town ; ten or twelve of our best marksmen upon
" the steeple, and some in the church."
« 1 have somewhere seen it stated, biit cannot remember where, that thi« was
Captain Hodgson, of Coley, in the parish of Halifax. I do not remember whether
he has mentioned the circumstance in his " Memoirs'' (which I have not access to
now) or not.
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130 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
The Royalists* erected a battery in Barkerend, about
three hundred paces from the church, and played their
artillery against the steeple, t My author, however, says
they hardly ever hit it. The Royalists, seeing how advanta-
geous the church steeple, was to the besieged, sent out a troop
of horse under the command of Sir John Goodricke, to
divert the attention of the besieged, while they planted their
cannon in a better position, so that their shot would scour
Kirkgate, and cut off assistance to the defenders of the
steeple and church. The troop of horse encompassed the
town, and in their progress robbed (says my author) a woman
most basely, and cowardly slew two unarmed men. When
the troop came to the west end of the town, the sentinel
there fired upon them, and wounded two or three of their
horses ; and some club-men from Bingley approaching, the
troop retreated to the main body of their party near the
church. In the mean time the Royalists had brought their
cannon nearer, and Major Carew drawing down some foot,
took therewith two houses^ within thirty yards of the church,
without any resistance than from the steeple, the besieged
not having any strength to sally out upon them. The marks-
men in the steeple aimed principally at the buff coats, (that
is, officers,) and when any one came within shot, two or three
guns were at once pointed at it. At noon there came to the
assistance of the besieged some 'fire-men' and club-men
from Halifax, and these were immediately put in requisition,
some in the church, and others in the lanes near it. llie
men in the church and lanes kept those of the enemy in the
two houses engaged, and those in the steeple cut off relief
to them. The largeness of the church windows, however,
• The following is taken from the ** Rider," in nearly the nroe ^•ordx, only the
aooouut is oondrnsed.
t In the " Genuine Aooount*' it is gtated, the steeple was this siege bung round
with wool-packs ; but in the " Rider/' and Lister's Nanatire, no such statement
is made.
{ Probably where the Ticaiage now stands.
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 131
and the smallness of those of the houses^ gave a decided
advantage to the Royalists ; and the besieged being deter-
•mined to dislodge the enemy at all hazards^ made an assault
upon the two houses^ burst open the doors, and slew those that
resisted ; the rest fled into an adjoining fields whither they
were followed by some of the Roundheads^ and a very hot
skirmish commenced. The Roundheads "were too eager
" to keep rank and file though they had known how to keep
" it ; for mixing with the enemy they fought securely in the
** cannon mouth," and within shot of a large body of the
Royalists in the field above them. The Roundlieads defeated
the Royalists. The officers of the latter, exasperated at the
cowardice of their common soldiers, fought with great fury,
and being principally aimed at, suffered severely from the
scythes and clubs of the assailants. Colonel Goring was
nearly taken, (I think it was he, says my author,) but a
party of horse belonging to him seeing their leader taken,
leaped over a hedge and rescued him ; and the enemy's mus-
keteers giving a volley, drove the Roundheads into the town
again. The Royalists seeing no chance of taking the town be-
gan to retreat, and were pursued by fifty fire-men and club-
men from the town, a mile and a half, up to the moor ; and
having the whole enemy as their butt made a considerable
slaughter. The fifty men being fearful of being surrounded
by the Royalists' horse, then retreated to the town. The
fight lasted eight hours.
Lister says, that during the heat of the action, " a stout
" gallant officer, who commanded about four companies of
^^ foot, came running down a field shaded with a hedge,
" intending to come rushing into the church, and to cut off
" the men both in the church and in the steeple ; but the
" men in the steeple having a full view of their design,
" ordered a few men to meet them and give them a charge.
" Well, it fell out that they intended to come through a room
" in a house leading to the church. The commander coming
" first, two of the town's men met him, and struck him down.
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132 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
'^ He cried out for quarter, and they, poor men, not knowing
'^ what the word meant, said they would quarter him, and so
" killed him outright. I think they said he was the Earl of
" Newport, or his son, as I remember.* The enemy sent
" a trumpeter to request his corpse the next day, which was
"delivered unto them. He being fallen that was their
" champion, his men that followed him thither were easily
" driven back to the body of their army that stood within
" a little of where their guns were planted ; so presently a
" panic fell upon Sir William Saville, their commander, and
" they did not fire a gun any more that I remember, but
" plucked up their feet and ran away to Leeds, their den.
" The town's men fell in the rear of them, and some little
" slaughter was made, but not much."
ITie author of the " Genuine Account" has given another
version of the circumstances attending the slaying of the offi-
cer suppposed to be the Earl of Newport or his son. " He (the
" officer) being too sanguine, pushing on a little too fast be-
" fore his men, fell into an ambuscade ; and being cut oiFfrom
" his men, and seeing no way to escape, begged for quarter.
• Dr. WhiUknr has, in the " LoidM," the following note on thU subject :~
'< Thpfv was at this time no Sir John flarp and do Earl of Newport, so that it is
** dlificalt to rectify the mlsnoaier. Sir Riclianl Newport, however, of f ligh Ercal,
'* was created Baron New^wrt 18th Charles 1st He had two sons ; Francis, who
" succeeded him, and Andrew, who, according to Dugdale, was living in 1650.
** Either, therefore, there must have been a third son killed at the time, and in the
*' manner here related, or there must have been an entire mistake as to the name
<' and iamily of the gaUant sufferer. That some young man of rank was thus killed
*' there can be no doubt. The greater of these two errors may easily be conceived of
" a man ill-informed and in an inferior condition of life." This note is appended to
an account of this engagement, contained in fourteen lines, which the Dr. says be
drew up from a nairative by Lister. It will, however, be seen above, that Lister
mentions no Sir John Harp, and speaks with very great doubt as to the Earl of New.
port or his son being dain. The Dr. evklently had befiMe him, not Lister's narrative,
but the " Genuine Account," and was misled by the statement of the editor that it
was drawn fmm Lister. The " Rider" has Sir John Harper (not Harp). I am
anaMe to state whether there was any person of that name in the time of Charles
Uie 1st, as I have not access to Dugdale, or any other authority, to inform me.
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BRADFORD DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 133
'* but was answered by one Ralph Atkinson, spying, ^he would
" give him Bradford quarter.^ and immediately slew him.*'
" 'ITiere was slain," says the * Rider,' " in this engagement,
" Sir John Harper, (as one Saville, taken at Halifax, cou-
" fesseth,) Captain Wray, in whose pocket were found great
'* store of gold, and a commission directed to Major Williams,
^' which makes us think he was the man ; and Captain Binns,
'* whom they carried to Leeds, scarce dead, and buried two
" days after, and more common soldiers than we shall ever
" hear of. Of ours, I cannot hear that two perished in the
'' fight. Sir John Goodricke got a bastinado, and had his
'^ horse killed with a scythe, and about one hundred common
*' soldiers were wounded, as we were informed from Leeds,
" where they are billeted. Of ours, about twelve persons
" wounded, all curable except one or two. There were also
" taken prisoners, Serjeant -major Carew, twenty-six common
" soldiers, ten horses, one hundred and eighty pounds of
" powder, and about forty muskets."*
An account is given of the exploits of a " hearty Round-
head" in this encounter, which rival those of Shaw, the life-
guardsman, at Waterloo. The " Rider" states, that the
Roundhead being deserted by his comrades, " and surround-
^' ed by three' of the enemies' horse, discharged his niusket
^' upon one, struck down another's horse with the butt end of
" it, broke a third's sword beating it back to his throat, and
" put them all to flight."
With the exception of a few " fire-men," that is, mus-
keteers, the whole of the besieged were armed with uncouth
• In this narmtive there is no mention of the Earl of Neirport's son being slain ;
and it may here be shewn how the author of the " Genuine Account" has garbled
this norratiTe. He says, ** There was slain in this notable and remaricable skirmish,
•* Sir John Harp, [most likely a misprint,] the Earl of Newport's Son, (by Atkinson,
" who took great store of gold from his pockets, a gold ring, dec. ; but it is said,
" upon a serious reflection, he greatly repented so rash an action ;) and Captain
'« Binns, whom the enemy carried away to I^eds, who died of his wounds three
" days after," «fec. The rest of the paragraph is in the same wonls as in the " Rider,**
except that a sentence or so is inverted.
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134 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
and unmilitary weapons, such as clubs, scythes, spits, flails,
halberts, and sickles laid in long poles ; and were com-
pletely undisciplined. And it may be presumed that the
Royalists were not much better practised in the arts of war-
fare ; for it is stated, ^' that the cannon which was planted
^^ against the church steeple did it no harm ; and that iu-
'^ tended to scour Kirkgate, though planted in the most
" advantageous place, and the streets were continually crowd-
" ed with people, and though the bullets did hit some of the
" houses, and some whistled through the streets, yet was
" not any man hurt therewith." A strong instance of the
inexperience of the royal artillery-men. Both parties were,
however, at the time of this engagement, an undisciplined
rabble. I believe that this place was the scene of the first of
the Civil War conflicts, at least in the northern counties ; for
Fairfax commences his Memoirs with saying, " The ^rst
action we had was at Bradford."
Sir Thomas Fairfax shortly afterwards came to Bradford.
In his Memoirs, after speaking of the fight at Tadcaster, he
says, " The Earl of Newcastle now lay betwixt us and our
" friends in the West-Riding ; but to assist and encourage
** them, I was sent with about three hundred foot, three
" troops of horse, and some arms to Bradford. Three days
'^ after this, upon better intelligence how the enemy lay, with
" the same number as before, I marched in the night by
" several towns where they lay, and came the next day to
" Bradford, a town very untenable, but for their good affection
" to us, deserving all we could hazard for them.
" Our first wdrk then was to fortify ourselves, for we could
" not but expect an assault. There lay at Leeds fifteen
*' hundred of the enemy, and twelve hundred at Wakefield,
'^ neither place above six or seven miles distant from us.
" lliey visited us every day with their horse, ours not going
" far from the town, being very unequal in number, yet the
" enemy seldom returned without loss, till at last our few
*' men grew so bold, and theirs so disheartened, that they
'' durst not stir a mile from their garrisons.
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 135
*^ While these daily skirmishes were among the horse, I
" thought it necessary to strengthen ourselves with foot. I
" summoned the country, who had by this time more liberty
" to come to us. I presently armed them with those arms
'* we brought along with us, so that in all we were about
" eight hundred foot.
" Being too many to be idle, and too few to be upon con-
^^ stant duty, we resolved to attempt them in their garrisons.
" On Monday, being the twenty-third of January, 1643,
" I marched from Bradford with six troops of horse and
" three companies of dragoons, under the command of Sir
"Henry Fowles, my commissary, or lieutenant-general of
" horse ; and near one thousand musketeers, and two thou-
" sand club-men, under the command of Sir William Fairfax,
" colonel and lieutenant-general of the foot ; one company of
" these also being dragoons, under Captain Mildmay ; about
" thirty musketeers and one thousand club-men marched on
" the south side toward Wakefield, the rest on the north side
" towards Woodhouse-moor."
The bridge at Kirkstall, says the " Rider," had been bro-
ken down for the space of twenty yards, and the greater part
of Fairfax's army, therefore, went by way of Apperley-bridge ;
the rest on the south side of the river, to Hunslet-moor. It
would be foreign to this work, to give a detailed account of
the operations against Leeds. Sir William Saville was in-
trenched in it with nearly two thousand men. Fairfax says,
that although most of his men " were but inexperienced fresh-
" water men, taken up about Bradford and Halifax only the
" Saturday before," yet they behaved with admirable courage,
and the town was speedily taken.*
This action gave the Earl of Newcastle such alarm, that
he drew off his army from Pontefract to York. Sir Thomas
Fairfax and his men pushed on to Selby. They afterwards
sustained a severe defeat at Tadcaster, and both Lord Fair-
• Tbe wor-cr}' and word of encouragement of this army was, Emanuel,
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13G BRADFORD DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
fax and Sir Thomas retreated to Leeds. " We being at
Leeds," says Fairfax, *' it was thought fit to possess some
*' other place ; whereupon I was sent to Bradford with seven or
^^ eight hundred foot and three troops of horse. These two
** towns were all the garrisons we had ; and at Wakefield
" lay three thousand of the enemy, but they did not much
" disturb us."
On Whit-sunday, (2l8t May, 1643,) early in the morning,
the small army from Bradford marched to Wakefield, and
after a severe contest took it ; bringing away fourteen hun-
dred prisoners, eighty officers, twenty-eight colours, and a
great store of ammunition.
The E^rl of Newcastle hearing of these successes,
" marched," says Fairfax, " with an army of ten or twelve
** thousand men to besiege us, and resolved to sit down before
'^ Bradford, which was a very untenable place. Hither my
** father drew all the forces he could spare out of the garrisons;
'^but seeing it impossible to defend the town otherwise
*' than by strength of men, and that we had not above ten or
*^ twelve days' provisions for so many as were necessary to
" keep it, we resolved the next morning very early, with a
*' body of three thousand men, to attempt his whole army as
^' they lay in their quarters three miles off."
The men of the parish of Bradford forming a very con-
siderable portion of the Parliament army engaged at the
battle of Atherton-moor, I presume an account of it in
Fairfax's own words will not be irrelevant or out of place
here, especially as the battle was fought near the town, and
its results were so disastrous to it.
" To this end," proceeds Fairfax, " my father appointed
" four of the clock next morning to begin our march ; but
" Major-general Gifford, who had the ordering of the busi-
*' ness, so delayed the execution of it, that it was seven or
" eight before we began to move, and not without much
" suspicion of treachery ; for when we came near the place we
'^ intended, the enemy's whole army was drawn up in battalia.
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 137
*^ We were to go up a hill to them ; that our forlorn hope
'* gained by beating theirs into their main body, which was
^^ drawn up half a mile further upon a plain called Adderton-
*^ moor. We being all got up the hill, drew into battalia also.
" I commanded the right wing, which was about one thou-
" sand foot, and five troops of horse. Major-general Gifford
^^ commanded the left wing, which was about the same num-
ber. My father commanded in chief.
'' We advanced through the inclosed grounds^ till we came
to the moor, beating the foot, that lay in them, to their
main body.
" Ten or twelve troops of horse charged us in the right
wing ; we kept the inclosures, placing our musketeers in
'^ the hedges next the moor ; which was a good advantage
'* to us who had so few horse.
*' There was a gate, or open place, to the moor, where five
" or six ntight enter a-breast. Here they strive to enter, we
" to defend it ; but after some dispute, those that entered the
" pass, found sharp entertainment ; and those who were not
" yet entered, as hot welcome from the musketeers that
" flanked them in the hedges. They were all, in the end,
" forced to retreat, with the loss of Colonel Howard, who
'* commanded them.
" Our left wing, at the same time was engaged with the
" enemy's foot, and had gained ground of them. The horse
'^ came down again, and charged us, they being about thir-
" teen or fourteen troops. We defended ourselves as before,
" but with more difficulty ; many having got in among us,
'• but were beaten off again with some loss. Colonel Heme,
'' who commanded that party, was slain. We pursued them
'* to their cannon."
'' This charge, and the resolution our men shewed in tbe
*' left wing, made the enemy think of retreating. Orders
" were given for it, and some marched off the field.
" Whilst they were in this wavering condition, one Colonel
^' Skirton desired his general to let him charge once with a
T
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138 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
'* stand of pikes, with which he broke in upon our men, and
*' not being relieved by our reserves, which were commanded
*' by some ill-affected officers, chiefly Major-general Gifford,
'^ who did not his part as he ought to do, our men lost
" ground, which the enemy seeing, pursued this advantage,
" by bringing on fresh troops ; ours being herewith dis-
" couraged, began to fly, and were soon routed. The horse
" also charged us again. We not knowing what was done
'' in the left wing, our men maintained their ground, till a
'' command came for us to retreat, having scarce any way
" now to do it, the enemy being almost round about us, and
" our way to Bradford cut off. But there was a lane in the
" field we were in which led to Halifax, which as a happy
*' providence, brought us off, without any great loss, save of
" Captain Talbot, and twelve more that were slain in this last
*' encounter. Of those who fled, there were about sixty
" killed, and three hundred taken prisoners.
" After this ill success, we had small hopes of better,
"wanting all things necessary in Bradford for defence of
" the town, and no expectation of help from any place.
" The Earl of Newcastle presently besieged the town ; but
"before he had surrounded it, I got in with tbose men
" I brought from Halifax."
I have been twice on the field of battle ; and, with the
assistance of the interesting remarks contained in Mr. Scat-
cherd's History of Morley, have been enabled to form a very
accurate conception of the position of the opposing armies.
The hill gained by the Parliamentarians on beating in
the advanced guard of Newcastle's army, was Wisket-hill.
From inquiries made on the spot, I ascertained that it is yet
called " Red-hill ;" and that numbers of musket-balls are
frequently found buried just beneath its surface. The
conflict appears to have been severe in gaining this hill.
The battle has even been named from it ; for Roseworra,
in his " Historical Relation of eight years' services for the
King and Parliament," states that about July 4th, 1643,
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 139
the Earl of Newcastle beat the Parliamentary army at
" Whisket-hill."
The following seems to have been the position of Lord Fair-
fax's army : — The right wing was stationed at a point on the
south-west side of the moor, where there still remains the
end of the lane along which Sir Thomas Fairfax retreated.
It is at this day called Warren's-lane : within the memory of
old persons resident on the spot^ it led to Oakwell-hall^ and
in the direction of Halifax. On the west of the moor there
is another lane leading to Birkenshaw, and out upon Tong-
moor. Where this lane joins the moor the centre of the line of
the Roundheads was stationed, commanded by Liord Fairfax.
Near the windmill standing to the north of the moor, was
most likely the post of Major-general Giflford. Mr. Scatcherd
says, (and the residents on the spot comfirm it,) that in the
fields north-west of the windmill, the number of bullets
discovered in turning up the ground have been so great that
a dozen have been found in a day.
The contest seems, from the number of warlike missiles
discovered, to have been greatest at the centre and the left
of Fairfax's army. The Parliamentary line was formed
altogether in the enclosures bordering upon the moor ; which
were never left but when Newcastle's troops were pursued
to their cannon.
I do not remember having seen the battle of Adwalton
(or Athertou) moor noticed in our general histories. From
Roseworm's " Historical Relation," it might be inferred that
the battle was fought in the beginning of July ; and from
Lister, about the middle of June. Fairfax does not mention
the precise time. Rushworth,* however, gives the following
account of the battle, and states the day on which it was
fought. — " The Earl of Newcastle, on the 22nd June, took
" Howley-house, in Yorkshire, and therein Sir John Saville.
" From thence he marched to Bradford, a Parliamentary
garrison. In the way he was met at Atherton-moor by
iC
• Historical Collection?!, vol. 2 , part 3, p. 279.
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140 BRADKORD-^DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
" Lord Fairfax, where, on the last of June, a smart battle
** was fought between them. The Earl of Newcastle had
*^ the advantage in number^ especially in horse, but Fairfax's
" foot first got the ground, and had almost encompassed the
" Earl's train of artillery and put his force to rout, when a
*^ stand of pikes gave some check to their success, and at
'' the same time a body of his horse fell upon their rear and
" routed them ; so that the fortune of the field being changed
" in a minute, Fairfax's army was utterly defeated, and several
'' pieces of ordnance taken ; four or five hundred slain, and
" as many taken prisoners. Lord Fairfax's forces retreated
" to Bradford, but the Earl following the same night, they
" were shortly forced to quit the town."
Lord Fairfax retired to Leeds, and thence to Hull ;
leaving Sir lliomas with a force of eight hundred foot and
sixty horse to defend the town. The place was immediately
put in a state of defence, and every effort made to sustain
with success " the second Siege of Bradford."
The Earl of Newcastle took up his quarters at Bowling-
hall, and spent two or three days in investing the town and
bringing down his cannon. The besieged party again con-
verted the church steeple into a fortress ; and hung, says
Lister^ wool-packs on that side of the steeple which faced
the enemy's battery. llie Royalists' cannon was planted
against the steeple, and " gave it many a sad shake." \\ hen
the shot cut the cords whereon the sheets of wool hung, and
down they fell, the assailants loudly huzzaed. The store of
ammunition of the besieged, consisting only of twenty-five or
twenty-six barrels of powder, was consumed at the beginning
of the siege ; nor had they a single match but such as were
made of twisted cord dipped in oil. The next day being the
Sabbath, the Earl of Newcastle sent a trumpeter to offer con-
ditions ; which Fairfax agreed to accept, so that they were
honourable to take, and safe to the inhabitants. Fairfax
sent two captains to treat with the Earl, and a cessation of
hostilities was agreed to during that time.
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BRADFORD— DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 141
The parley lasted most part of the day. The enemy took
the advantage of it to remove their cannon nearer to the
town, and fixed it in Goodmansend, directly against the
heart of the town. Fairfax suspecting that Newcastle de-
signed to surprise him, sent commissioners to obtain the
Earl's answer. They did not return till eleven o'clock, and
then with a slight answer.
" Whilst they were delivering it to us," Fairfax proceeds,
*^ we heard great shooting of cannon and muskets ; all run
" presently to the works, which the enemy was storming.
" Here for three-quarters of an hour was very hot service,
" but at length they retreated.
^' They made a second attempt, but were also beaten off;
" after this, we had not above one barrel of powder left, and
'^ no match : I called the officers together, when it was advised
" and resolved to draw off presently, before it was day, and
" to retreat to Leeds, by forcing a way, which we must do,
" for they had surrounded the town.
" Orders were dispatched, and speedily put in execution.
" The foot commanded by Colonel Rogers was sent out,
** through some narrow lanes, and they were to beat up the
" dragoons' quarters, and so go on to Leeds.
" I myself with some other officers went with the horse,
** which were not above fifty, in a more open way.
" I must not here forget my wife, who ran the same hazard
^* with us in this retreat and with as little expression of fear ;
" not from any zealy or delight in the war, but through a
^* willing and patient suffering of this undesirable condition.
" I sent two or three horsemen before, to discover what
" they could of the enemy ; who presently returned, and told
*^ us there was a guard of horse close by us. Before I had
*' gone forty paces, the day beginning to break, I saw them
" upon the hill above us, being about three hundred horse.
" I, with some twelve more, charged them ; Sir Henry
" Fowles, Major-general Gifford, myself, and three more
" brake through ; Captain Mudd was slain, and the rest of
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142 BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
'^ our horse being close by^ the enemy fell upon them, and
*' soon routed them, taking most of them prisoners, among
" whom was my wife, the officer William Hill, behind whom
" she rid, being taken.
" I saw this disaster, but could give no relief ; for after I
" was got through, I was in the enemy^s rear alone ; those
''who had charged through with me, went on to Leeds,
" thinking I had done so too : but I was unwilling to leave
" my company, and stayed till I saw there was no more in my
" power to do, but to be taken prisoner with them. I then
" retired to Leeds.
'' The like disaster fell among the foot, that went the
" other way, by a mistake, for after they had marched a
" little way, the van fell into the dragoons' quarters, clearing
'' their way ; but through a cowardly fear, he that command-
" ed these men, being in the rear, made them face about, and
" march again into the town, where the next day they were
" all taken prisoners, only eighty or thereabout of the front
" that got through, came all to Leeds, mounted on horses
" which they had taken from the enemy, where I found them
" when I came thither, which was some joy to them all, con-
" eluding I was either slain, or taken prisoner."
The road taken by Fairfax and his followers in retreating,
was the old road to Leeds, up Barkerend. The point where
Lady Fairfax was captured, would be about where the road to
Eccleshill branches off. " Not many days after," says Fairfax,
" the Earl of Newcastle sent my wife back again in his coach,
" with some horse to guard her ; which generous act of his
''gained him more reputation than he could have got by
" detaining a lady prisoner upon such terms."*
• I have loiiieirlierB seen an anecdote which shews that this lady was a Royalist
at heart The substance of the anecdote Is this: — When sentence was pronounced
on Charles the Ut by Bradshaw, In the name of the people of England, she was con-
cealed In the court, and rising up energetically exclaimed, to the astonishment and
alarm of the rvgiciJal tribunal, that the people of England were averse to sue** a
sentence, and knew nothing about it.
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BRADFORD — DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 143
After the retreat of Fairfax, those remaining in the town
were filled with the utmost fear. Lister in his Narrative,
writes — " O ! what a dreadful night was that in which Bradford
" was taken ! What weeping and wringing of hands ! None
" expected to live longer than till the enemy came in ; the
" Duke of Newcastle having charged his men to kill all — ^man,
" woman, and child in the town, and to give them Bradford
" quarter, for the brave Earl of Newport's sake. However, be-
*' fore the town was taken, the Earl gave another command,
" viz., that quarter should be given to all. It was generally
" reported, that on the Lord's day, at night, something came
*^ and pulled the clothes off his bed several times, till he had
'^ sent out his second order that none should be slain, and
*' then that thing which troubled him went away. This I
'^ assert not as a fact, but this is a truth that they slew very
*' few. Some desperate men wounded several that afterwards
" died of their wounds ; but I think not more than half a
'* dozen were slain."
Another account of this ghost-story has been given in the
" Genuine Account," namely, that the Earl of Newcastle
being in bed, at Bowliug-hall, an apparition appeared to him,
and importuned him with these words, ^' Pity poor Bradford!
Pity poor Bradford r
Afterwards, the soldiers of the Earl entered the town and
pillaged it. Lister says, " The women gathered meal in the
" streets, of which there was plenty ; for the soldiers emptied
'' the meal -sacks into the streets, and filled them with any
" thing they found that was more valuable." The Royalists
having encamped near Bowling-hall,, and having emptied the
town of what was worth carrying away, now sat down and
sold those things that would sell. It seems too, that they
were not content with one payment of the purchase-money :
for Lister relates that he was sent by his mistress to the
camp, and bought a cow in the forenoon which was driven
away again before night ; and that another day he went and
bought another, which was also taken.
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144 BRADFORD DURING THE CIVIL WAR.
The cannon used in this and the former siege was^ it is
probable, not larger than eight-pounders. Two or three
balls of this weight have^ at different times, been found in
pulling down buUdings, &c., in Bradford, which no doubt
had been used in these sieges. There are a few marks on the
steeple which shew the places where it was hit by these ' small
shot/ but the damage done seems to have been very trivial.*
The Earl of Newcastle, with his army, did not remain long
in the neighbourhood of Bradford ; but, leaving garrisons in
Bradford and other towns, withdrew his forces into the
midland counties. I do not find that Bradford had any
share in the events of the year which succeeded the siege to
the battle of Marston-moor, which decided the King's cause.
I would willingly believe that few of the Bradford Round-
heads were in favour of the bloody sentence on Charles the
1st ; for although no doubt remains of his intentions to over-
throw the liberties of his subjects, yet the guilt is more
imputable to bad counsel than to his own disposition.
The shock which the prosperity of Bradford sustained in
these internal commotions was very great. No other town
in these quarters suffered so much. In a hundred years
subsequent to the war the town had not recovered from its
effects. The following table, taken from the parish registers,
will forcibly shew this : —
Baptiims. Marriages. DeaUis.
1G39 209 61 183
1659 113 38 117
1739 182 94 134
• In March, 1S27, on pulling down the premL«e8 adjoining the Uniooro Inn, in
Kegate, an eight-pounder, supposed to have been sliot from the cannon of the Earl
of Newcastle in this siege, was fuund in the roof.
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BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES.
The manor^ after passing into private hands, is no longer
intimately connected with the history of the town. The
successive descents by which it became vested in the present
possessor are numerous and unimportant ; and I would wil-
lingly omit themj as more properly belonging to the province
of an investigator of the legal title to the property than to
the general reader. It has, however, been suggested, that
it would only be in accordance with my plan, to bring down
in an unbroken manner, these descents to the present time.
The following is a succinct account of them in a connected
form : —
In 1629, Ditchfield and his co- trustees, by the direc-
tion of the common council and aldermen of the city of
London, conveyed the manor to John Okell, vicar of Brad-
ford, William Lister of Manningham, gentleman, Robert
Clarkson and Joshua Cooke, of Bradford, yeomen, (subject
to the fee-farm rent of £35 4*. 6Jrf.,) upon trust for such
purchaser or purchasers as should pay unto Robert Bateman,
treasurer of the city of London, for the use of the citizens
thereof, the sum of £1200.
Okell and his fellow trustees enfranchised a great number
of the copyhold estates in the manor, and granted out much
of the commons and waste grounds.
It is probable that they did not perform their trust to the
satisfaction of the corporation of London ; for, in performance
of a decree, made 5th of October, 1637, by the right hon-
ourable the vice-president of the council established in these
northern parts, they conveyed the manorial property to Richard
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146 BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES.
Brooke of Baildon^ Joshua Field of Shipley, Joshua Baillie
of Cottingley, and James Sagar of Allerton, yeomen, in
trust for purchasers.
Henry Bradshaw of Manningham, bought one fourth part
of the manor ; Richard Richardson, Esquire, of Bierley Hall,
another fourth ; the said Baillie, John Crabtree of Clock-
house, Robert West of Bradford, tanner, and Joseph HoUings
of Bradford, another fourth part, in equal shares ; and John
Hollings and Thomas Wilkinson another fourth, of which
Hollings had three parts and Wilkinson the remaining one
part.
I. Bradshaw bought, in 1660, of Phoebe, widow of John
Wilkinson of Manningham, and one of the daughters and
co-heiresses of the said John Hollings (then deceased), one
half of his part for £31 19s. Bradshaw's son, in 1662,
sold to Henry Marsden of Gisbum, gentleman, his fieither's
share and that purchased of Phcebe Wilkinson, for £140.
n. Mr. Richardson devised by will, dated 14th February,
1655, his portion to his son, John Richardson of Bradford,
gentleman ; who, in 1669, purchased the shares of the said
Baillie and Crabtree for £42. In 1676 this John Richardson,
then of Birks-Hall, sold the whole of these shares to the said
Marsden for £165; reserving out of the conveyance two mes-
suages called Birks, and three closes called Gallow-closes
or Butts, at a rent to the lord of the manor of Is. id.
III. In 1669, Tobias West of Bradford, tanner, son and
heir of the above-named Robert West, sold to Marsden, for
£19 lOs., his father's part. In 1678, Joseph Hollings of
Bradford, son and heir of the above-named Joseph Hollings,
in consideration of £20, conveyed his father's share to
Marsden.
IV. The remaining moiety of the above-named John
Hollings's portion was sold by Mary, his other daughter and
co-heir, and her husband, the Rev. Josiah Holdsworth of
Oakwell, in the parish of Birstal, clerk, to the said Henry
Marsden, for £30. Wilkinson, in 1640, sold to Thomas
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 147
Hcllings of Manningham, half of his part for £20; and the
devisees under his will (John Rollings of Allerton, Isaac
Hollings of Clayton^ John Boilings^ John Sagar, and Joseph
Lister, of Cottingley) sold it to Marsden, in 1667, for £10;
that is, half of what it was worth the year previous to the
Civil War — and then, on account of the gloominess of the
political horizon, it was sold under its woith. The other
half part of Wilkinson's share, was conveyed, in 1669, to
Marsden, by Thomas Wilkinson the younger, for £10.
The manor had been leased in the time of James the first
for a term of ninety-nine years ; as I have seen a deed, dated
in 1667, in which Mary Hollings, widow and executrix of
Isaac Hollings of Allerton, assigned all her interest in the
manor, for the residue of a term of ninety -nine years,
(granted by an indenture of lease, dated 5th October, 17th
James, to Sir Henry Hubbard, knight, and others,) to Henry
Marsden, for the sum of £18.
Thus the manor became vested in Marsden. There
seems no reason for the purchase by a gentleman so far
resident from the place, except that at the time he was in
possession of the adjoining manor of Allerton-cum-Wilsden.
The whole of the above sales were made subject to the
payment of the due proportion of the fee-farm rent, with
which the manorial property was burdened. Nothing can
more forcibly shew the havoc which the war had produced
in Bradford^ than the immense depreciation of the value
of the manor which followed it. In 1671, Marsden pur-
chased, for £591 4«. 8rf., the above-mentioned fee-farm
rent of £35 4«. 6|(i., of the commissioners appointed by
letters patent of Charles 2nd, (11th November, 1670,) in
pursuance of an act of parliament passed in the same year, for
advancing the sale of fee-farm rents belonging to the crown,
for the purpose of paying off the King's debts at interest.
From Henry Marsden of Gisburn, the manor descended
to Henry Marsden of Wennington Hall, in the county of
Lancaster, who was, I perceive from the list of game cer-
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148 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
tificates in 1745, then lord thereof. In 1780, his brother
and heir at law, John Marsden* of Hornby Castle, lAnca-
shire, was the lord ; and by indentures dated 12th and 13th
February, 1795, conveyed the manorial property to Benjamin
Rawson, Esq., of Bolton-in-the-Moors, for two thousand
one hundred pounds.
During the period the Marsdens had possession of the
manor, they had numerous disputes with the Rawsons of
this place, respecting the coal, and other manorial rights.
A long suit-at-law took place between them and Sir William
Calverley, lord of the manor of Calverley, respecting the
bounds of their respective manors on Bradford-moor. After
the cause had been carried to York, it was finally settled by
arbitration, according to the present metes and bounds.
In the above-named Benjamin Rawson, Esq., the manor
is yet vested.
I have found no historical notice of this town during the
Protectorate. There is no evidence that Bradford received
any marks of favour from Cromwell or his ministers, for the
great sacrifices and unwearied zeal of the inhabitants in the
cause of the Parliament. The towns of Leeds and Halifax
had the privilege granted them, in the time of the Inter-Reg-
num, of sending each a member to parliament. One great
reason of this favour being withheld from this town, probably
arose from the fact of its being reduced by the war from a
third rate town to an insignificant place ; whereas Leeds and
Hali&x (especially the latter) sufiered little from it.
The Restoration caused no satisfaction to a large portion
of the inhabitants of Bradford; as much of the old leaven of
• This was tbe gentleman reelecting whose will there has been so much litigation
in the well-known cause, •« Tatham against Wright/'
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BRADFOilD — IN MODERN TIMES. 149
republican puritanism still continued to work in their minds.
A crude and ill-digested scheme was formed by the Round-
head* party in the West-Riding, in 1633, for the purpose of
overturning the Government, and establishing a '^ Christian
Magistracy" and " Gospel Ministry;" and a great number
of the inhabitants of this town appear to have been deeply
implicated in the plot. On the 12th of October a conside-
rable number of the conspirators met, according to appoint-
ment, in the Great Wood at Farnley, near Otley ; but finding
their numbers much less than expected, and fearing a body
of troops which was sent against them by the Lord-lieutenant
of the county, they hastily dispersed without taking any
decisive step ; and many dreading the consequences of their
treason, fled to foreign countries. There were sixteen per-
sons all resident in the neighbourhood of Bradford^ who
were the leaders or principal concoctors of the plot; and
among them was an old Parliamentary officer, resident in
Bradford, named John Locock. Ralph Oates, one of the
conspirators, on being apprehended, made a confession of all
the circumstances attending the plot. In his examination,t
taken the 2Ist of October, 1663, he says, '^ he heard firom
'^ Joseph Crowther that a party expected firom Bradforth, to
'^ the number of three score failed them, who should have
'^ been conducted by Henry Bradshaw of Manningham ; and
'^ so from Skipton, led by one Butler ; and that one Locock of
" Bradford, an old officer, should have been lieutenant in the
'^ service." And again, in a further examination taken the
next day, says, " that he had heard that Bradshaw, Locock,
'^ and the party there, had provided three stone of powder, and
^' the like of ball ; and that one George Ogden of Gildersome,
• As many of my readers may not know the meaning of " Roundhead/' it may
be well for their benefit to state, that CaTalier and Roundhead, were then party
names, the same as Whig and Tory now. The Cavaliers were Royallstt. The term
Roundhead originated in the puritans of the day having, in opposition to the
licentious fashion of the age, their hair cropped short.
t Printed in Wbitaker's Leeds, under the head ^ Farnley."
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150 BRADFORD — IN MODBRN TIMES.
'' was sent with Joshua Sparling towards Bradforth^ to meet
" Bradshaw^ who was to command sixty horse^ and Butler
'^ who commanded eighty horse^ and to bring them on to the
'^rendezvous, at Famley Wood." ''Also, this examinant
*' saith, Joseph Crowther sent Richard Crowther his brother,
" to Bradforth, the 10th instant, [two days before the meet-
*' ing at Famley Wood,] to see whether they would come to
" the place of meeting at the time appointed ; and they
" returned this answer, Bradshaw had fallen off, but Locock
*' would bring up most of his men." A commission of oyer
and terminer was sent down to York to try the prisoners in
January, 1664 ; and twenty-one were convicted and execu-
ted. From the list of these unfortunate persons, given in
Drake's " Eboracum," I do not perceive that any one from
Bradford suffered the penalty of death. Locock probably
escaped, like many of his accomplices, beyond the seas ; and
Bradshaw^ most likely was not apprehended, on account of
having retreated in time from the conspiracy. In the Life
of Colonel Hutchinson, written by his widow, it is stated
respecting " Farnley Wood Plot," that Government " sent
" out trepanners among the discontented people, to stir them
''to insurrection, to restore the old parliament, gospel
" ministry, and English liberty, which specious things found
" many ready to entertain them ; and abundance of simple
" people were caught in the net whereof many lost their lives."
Thus it appears that the " spy system" was then a machine
of the Government ; and that had Bradshawe proved firm to
his promise, sixty armed horsemen from Bradford would
most likely have endangered their lives in a project, the most
quixotic and ill-planned that can well be conceived.
The lord of the manor, (Marsden,) in 1689, leased to
William Rawson, the stallages, tolls, and all other dues be-
• I premme this k the nme penoa that bought ooo foorth of the
Bndfoid.
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BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES. 151
longing to the market and fairs of the town ; the execution of
all precepts of court ; together with ^^All that messuage^ situa-
ted at the upper end of the town of Bradford^ and a bam and
croft thereto adjoining," for the term of seven years, at £12
a year. If any further proof were wanted of the calamities
inflicted on Bradford by the Civil War, it is here. The
yearly value of the tolls, together with that of a house, &c.,
did not amount to as much, in forty-six years after the
termination of the war, as they did in the time of Henry
the 8th, when as before stated, the tolls of the market were
worth £14 a year.
About the time this lease was granted, the valuable coal
bed on the east part of the town, (that is, on the moor, &c.,)
was also leased to Rawson, for the consideration of £20
a year.
In the year 1672 the copper tradesmen's-tokens, which
had been allowed to be coined during the Protectorate, were
cried down by proclamation. They first began to be used
about 1649,^ when very little copper money being coined by
authority, tradesmen were obliged to devise some substitute
for it. Thoresby says that almost all the chief tradesmen in
these parts issued tokens ; and sorting boxes were kept, into
which were put tokens of the different neighbouring trades-
• Id the latter end of lait and beginning of this centuiy, tradennen's tokens were
again isned in considerable numbers. In 1819, Menrs. Layoock of Bradford, Spirit-
Meicbants and Grocers, issued a silTer shilling token. These are remembered by
the name of *' Laycock's Shillings." On the obverse is Bradford arms, with the
inscription around, 'James Latcock, Bradford/ On the other side, a figure of
Justkse holding the scales, Ac. ; on her left, a puncheon or hogshead, bearing the
words ' Wine & Spirits ;' and a bale of merchandize on her right ; (what Emblems !)
and the inscripUon * One Shilling Silver Token, 1812.' The coin is a litUe laiger Uian
our present shillings, and of good workmanship, having a boM die weU finished.
About twenty-three years ago, copper and silver tokens were so numerous in the hands
of Uie poorer classes, Uiat an order was made Uiat the poor-rates might be pakl in
them. When so paid, they were stamped with the words <' Bradford Workhouse,"
and circulated ogain, the overseers undertaking to exchange Uiem for current coin.
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152 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
men who issued such coin ; and when a considerable quantity
was collected^ exchanges were made^ somewhat similar to
those between one country bank and another. Some of
these domestic coins were issued by Bradford tradesmen.
The harsh and tyrannical laws^ made against the Non-
conformists in the reign of Charles the second^ were severely
felt in Bradford by a large portion of the inhabitants^ who
could not conscientiously conform to the doctrine and dis-
cipline of the Church of England. Whoever has attentively
studied the character of the greater part of these Seceders,
must acknowledge that they discharged the moral duties
of life with exemplary attention ; though they were in
the main gloomy-minded^ and great precisians. The Non-
conformist ministers oft mistook the means of religion
for the end^ and frequently prolonged their pastoral minis-
trations for the space of six or seven hours; they were,
with all these drawbacks^ a worthy and conscientious body of
men. It must not be forgotten, that to the Nonconformists,
Englishmen are indebted for some of the most valuable
prerogatives they enjoy. The men who stiffly and at an
immense sacrifice maintained the right to worship accord-
ing to the dictates of their own conscience, were also the
most devotedly attached to the principles of civil liberty :
they had sought its presence in the fields of death, and their
motto was —
" *Tis Liberty that cxowns Britanoia's isle,
" And makoi her barren rocks and her bleak mountains imile."*
The Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, published by
James the second, gave great satisfaction to most of the
Nonconformists at first, because they did not perceive the ul-
terior designs of James. We have it on record, that in no
place was the joy more general and unfeigned than here,
when the Prince of Orange ascended the English throne.
• Addison's Poetical Letter from lUly.
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 153
About the year 1738, the persons receiving relief from the
parish funds had become so numerous, that it was deemed
expedient to erect a workhouse for their accommodation.
The following is a copy of an agreement, fairly engrossed
on parchment, and executed by eight of the most influential
inhabitants of Bradford at the time, for carrying into effect
this project : —
Whereas at several publick meetiDgs and consultations of greatest
part of the principal freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of
Bradford, in the county of York, it hath upon mature deliberation
by them been fully ordered concluded and agreed upon, that for the
better providing for all such poor people of or belonging to the said
town of Bradford, as now are or at any time hereafter shall or may
become chargeable to the said town, a Workhouse should with all
convenient speed be erected in some proper place near the said town,
according to a certain plan already agreed upon, and that the several
sums of money now owing by diverse persons to the said town,
amounting in the whole to sixty pounds or thereabouts, should be
called in and applied towards the erecting the said Workhouse : And
as the said sum of sixty pounds has upon computation been found
by far too little to answer the expense of erecting such a Work-
house, it has been ordered concluded and agreed, that all such
further sum and sums of money, as shall be found requisite and
necessary (over and above the said sixty pounds) to be raised and
applied towards the erectiog the said Workhouse, and compleat-
ing and finishing the same, should bo raised from time to time by a
poor-rate or assessment for the poor of the township of Bradford
aforesaid, and collected by the churchwardens and overseers of the
poor for the time being. — And Whereas it is computed and adjudged
that the expenses of erecting and finishing the said Workhouse, ac-
cording to the above-said plan, will amount to the sum of three
hundred pounds or thereabouts, (over and besides the said sum of
sixty pounds) ; and that the raising so large a sum of money* by
way of poor-rate upon the said town in a short time, may be very
grievous and burlhensome to several of the small freeholders and
other inhabitants of the said town, We therefore whoso names are
hereunto subscribed and seals affixed, do covenant and agree for
ourselves respectively, and for our respective hoirs, executors, ad-
* Jn 1840, a sum of nbout £300, nearly as much as the cost of building the worlc-
booA?, has been given for an Iron safe for the Union books and registers, &c.
W
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154 BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES.
ministratorsy and assigns, to and with Timothy NichoUs, Benjamin
Jowett, Barnard Shackleton, and Abraham Foster, the present
churchwardens and overseers of the poor of Bradford aforesaid and
their successors, that in order to the carrying on and compleating of
the said work with all convenient expedition, the said churchwardens
and overseers of the poor and their successors for the time being,
shall and may from time to time as any sum or sums of money shall
be wanted for that purpose, borrow and advance (he same upon the
securities of themselves and their successors, at as low an interest
as they can, and pay the same into the hands of such person or
persons as now are or hereafter shall be appointed trustees or mana-
gers of the said work, and that all such sum or sums of money so by
them borrowed on such securities for the purposes aforesaid, together
with the growing interest thereon, shall be paid off and discharged
by the moneys hereafter to be raised by such yearly poor-rates upon
the said town as shall hereafter yearly by assessment or assessments
(of the time of making of which such public notice shall be given
that all the freeholders and inhabitants may attend that please) be
laid rated and assessed by the said freeholders and inhabitants, and
by them adjudged the least grievous or oppressive to the said small
freeholders and other inhabitants of the said town. In witness
whereof we have hereunto sett our hands and seals, the twenty-fifth
day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
thirty-eight.
Ro^. Stansfield, (l.s.) Hen : Hemmingway, (l.s.)
Jere : Rawson, (l.s.) Isaac Wood, (l.s.)
C. Booth, (l.s«) Hen : Atkinson, (l.s.)
J no. Rawson, (i^s.) Joseph Shaw, (l.s.)
I have given this document in full, with all its verbosity,
to shew the layers and enforcers of poor and other rates in
our times, the great and humane care taken by their pre-
decessors a century since, to render the rates not " grievous
and burtfaensome" to the poorer inhabitants. It is a lesson
which they may con with great advantage to the comfort of
a large class of persons.
The above-named Robert Stansfield was a wealthy drysalter
in Bradford; his son Robert, in 1755, purchased of the
Calverleys, Esholt-hall. I believe Jeremiah Rawson was
an attorney at law, at least his signature in the old engross-
ing hand, bespeaks this. He married a cousin of the cele-
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 155
brated LAwrence Sterne ; and dying without issue^ left the
Bradford estates to his first cousin, Benjamin Rawson.
The inhabitants of Bradford, in common with those of the
neighbouring towns, were in great alarm in the rebellion of
1745, as it was believed that the Pretender would march in
this direction ; and many prepared for the worst, by con-
cealing their most valuable effects. These fears were, how-
ever, unfounded, as the rebel army went by way of the
west country to Manchester, and thence to Derby. Sub-
scriptions were raised in the town in aid of the funds of the
military association formed in the county, for the support
of the Brunswick dynasty.
About this time, commodious turnpike-roads began to be
formed in these parts, in the place of the narrow pack-horse
lanes. The turnpikes were, by the lower class, universally
regarded as an obnoxious regulation, — more adopted for the
convenience of the wealthy portion of the community, whose
carriages could hardly pass on the old roads, than the benefit
of such class. In this neighbourhood, many disturbances at
first arose in enforcing the turnpike -tolls.
This town joined in the political agitation raised by the
celebrated Wilkes. He was a favourite with the inhabitants ;
for on being liberated, on the 18th of April, 1770, from his
long imprisonment, the event was honoured here with great
rejoicings ; the town being the scene of illuminations and
fireworks, and enlivened by the ringing of bells. " Wilkes
and Liberty*' and ** No. 45" were seen in almost every window.
A spirit of enterprise had now been infused into the in-
habitants. The erection of the Piece-hall in 1773, and the
completion of the Bradford Canal in the following year, (of
which an account is given in another part of this work,) clearly
import that the town had begun to recover from the shock its
y
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156 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIME9.
prosperity had sustained in the Civil War. The church
registers prove that within the last twenty years the popula-
tion had nearly doubled itself.
Riotous mobs, in ITSS, assembled in Radford and the
neighbouring market-towns, and demanded an immediate
reduction of the high price of com. On the market days,
and at other times^ they seized all the com and meal on
which they could lay their hands, and exposed it for sale
at their own price. A spectator informs me that the meal
was strewed about the streets, and that the desperadoes who
acted as salesmen, in most cases kept the money produced
by it.
In January 1789, subscriptions were opened in this town
for the relief of the numerous distressed poor.
In 1792, a public demonstration was made by the inhabi-
tants of their detestation of the '^ Rights of Man" and
" Age of Reason." An effigy of Paine, habited as a stay-
maker, with the books in his hands, was paraded through
the town, and then burnt. The popular clamour in Brad-
ford was so great against Paine and his writings, that a few
respectable individuals who had imbibed his (pinions were
forced to leave the town.
In 1793, the act establishing the Court of Requests at
Bradford and the neighbouring towns, upon the basis on
which it continued till 1839, was passed. In 1776, an
act was obtained (afterwards amended in 1779) principally
through the agency of a gentleman resident in Bradford,
named Isaac Willson, who was appointed clerk of the court.
These acts were most iniquitous and oppressive, and a dis-
grace to the parliaments that passed them. The commis-
sioners under them seem also to have carried the provisions
of these acts into effect with little humanity or pmdence.
Numbers of persons were committed to prison for a period
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BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES. 157
of three months, in liquidation of debts so small as four
shillings ; and it was given in evidence before a committee
of the House of Commons, that there were at one period
in the court prison, fifteen persons (the parents of seventy-
three chOdren) owing only seventeen pounds. The act of
1793 was therefore passed to remedy the defects of the former
acts. In it the following forty-eight persons, residents and
householders within the parish, were appointed commissioners
for the Bradford district : — ITie Rev. John Cross, vicar,
the Rev. William Atkinson, clerk, Charles Swain Booth
Sharp, Richard Hodgson, Joshua Field, Abraham Bahne,
Samuel Skelton and Thomas Skelton, Esqs. ; Tommis Atkin-
son, Jonas Atkinson, Cowling Ackroyd, sen., John Aked
the elder, John Aked the younger, Robert Aked, Thomas
Broadley, Samuel Broadley, John Balme, sen., Samuel Cross-
ley, Francis Duffield, Isaac Hollings, Dawson Humble,
William Hustler, John Hodgson, Richard Holmes, John
Jarratt, John Key, Benjamin SLaye, Thomas Mann, George
Mawson, William Maud, James Marshall, John Maud sen.,
Thomas Naylor, Henry William Oates, Thomas Outhwaite,
William Pollard, Edmund Peckover, Joseph Priestley, Ro-
bert Ramsbotham, James Smith, Richard Sclater, William
Sharp, John Sturges, Jeremiah Thornton, Joseph Thornton,
John Wood, James Ward, and Robert Wright.* The pro-
visions of the act are similiar to those by which Courts of
Requests are in general governed. The commissioners were
to possess £500 in personal, or £20 a year in real property
(clear of debt) ; they were authorized to determine on cases
where the debt did not amount to forty shillings, and to
award for that sum forty days' imprisonment; where the
debt should be under twenty shillings, only twenty days.
When the original bill came into parliament, there was
great difficulty in getting the imprisonment clause inserted.
• I give this list solely because it contains at the period the names of niovt of
the lespectable penons then dwelling in Bradlbni.
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138 BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES.
In the act of 1793, Mr. Willson's salary is fixed not to exceed
£400, that of future clerks not to be more than £300. The
provisions of these acts so exasperated the people of Bradford
against the promoter of them, that a large body of per-
sons riotously assembled here, with the intention of pulling
Willson's house down to the ground, and were only prevented
by the ^' Ready and Steady" men being called out.
Though not in strict chronological succession, it may be
better to add here a further notice of this court. In 1839
an act was obtained for enlarging the jurisdiction of the
court to the recovery of debts under £15, out of the Honour
of Ponteiract, and £7 lOs., in the places within it By this
act, however, the duties of the commissioners were dispensed
with ; and the power of trial committed to a barrister (or
attorney) to be appointed judge, either alone, or in certain
cases, with a jury of three or five persons. This was a very
important modification.
In 1794, volunteer corps were formed in most places in the
West-Riding for internal defence. There was throughout the
kingdom, and especially in the West-Riding, a strong feeling
of discontent against the Government, and large numbers
of persons openly avowed their sympathy for the French
revolutionists, and their desire to overturn the established
institutions of this country. To counteract the designs of
these men, and provide against insurrections, the volunteers
were raised. During the American War, a corps of them
had also been established in Bradford. That formed in
1794 here, was commanded by Colonel Busfeild. The fol-
iug details respecting it, I have obtained from a person who
served in it. The corps consisted of eight or nine hundred
men. Attached to it were two field pieces, (four pounders,)
and thirty-two artillery-men. The dress of the Bradford vo-
lunteers was scarlet coats turned up with buff; white breeches
and leggings ; black caps and "bobtails,^* On their buttons
they had inscribed the words ''Ready and Steady." On this
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 159
account, this corps (and the preceding one also) was termed
the "Ready and Steady."*
On the 27th of June, 1794, General Cameron reviewed the
Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, Huddersfield, and Wakefield volun-
teers upon Chapeltown-moor. At this grand military spectacle
were present sixty thousand spectators, and three hundred
carriages. My informant, with great zest relates^ that the
Bradford division were distinguished for the excellence of
their firing. About two years after (he relates), they were
reviewed at Heath, near Wakefield.
The inhabitants of Bradford were also very zealous in
obtaining men for the service of the navy. In March, 1794,
a sort of recruiting party, headed by a procession of a great
number of gentlemen and tradesmen of the town, paraded
the streets, accompanied by a band of music, for the purpose
of raising the required quota of men firom this town for the
navy. Admiral Pasley visited Bradford on the 26th of
July, this year, for the purpose of getting the loss of a leg
supplied by one of Mr. Mann's patent invention.
On the alarm of an invasion in 1803, another body of
volunteers, about one thousand strong, of which John Hardy,
Esquire became Colonel, was formed here ; the old one hav-
ing been disbanded. The dress of this body was scarlet coat
turned up with white ; white breeches and black leggings, and
linen trowsers for changes ; black caps with a worsted tuft.
It is related by impartial judges, that the Bradford volun-
teers, in common with most of those in the West- Riding,
were as well disciplined as regular troops.
Wheat sold in January 1796, from 12*. to 13*. per bushel;
*■ More tiian one song was composed in honour of Colonel Busfeild's ** Ready and
Steady." 1 once beard an old volunteer sing wiUi great spirit one of these songs,
of which I remember this jingling triplet.
" 1 thought I heard Colonel Busfeild say,
** Come my lads, march away
" 0*er the bills and far away."
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160 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
and the principal inhabitants of Leeds and Bradford entered
into a solemn agreement to reduce its consumption in their
families at least one thirds till it should fall to 8s. per bushel.
The scarcity of corn was even greater in 1799 and the
following year ; and work being also scarce^ the distress in this
town was very severe. Wheat sold for lis. a bushel ; and
the poorer class of inhabitants lived principally on barley^
bean, and pea meal, of which only a scanty supply could be
obtained. It was a season of distress which is yet well
remembered by many.
The town had now risen to a size and population that
required some municipal regulation for lighting and cleansing,
and preventing nuisances and obstructions in the streets, and
making provision for the effectual watching of the town. A
bill was therefore brought into parliament in 1803, for ac-
complishing these purposes. The jurisdiction of the act
extends over Bradford and part of the hamlet of Little-
Horton. Fifty-eight persons were appointed commissioners,
with power to appoint others — ^the qualification for office
being an estate of £1000, either real or personal. Very
large powers are given to the commissioners, which if rigidly
exercised, would be very obnoxious to the public ; but
hitherto they have been used with moderation and good
judgment. I am unable to give even a summary of the
multifarious sections of this long act. There is in it am-
ple provision for preventing nuisances and obstructions in
the streets, and for paving and improving, lighting and
watching them. * There is in it one section which contains
provisions which have not been enforced. In this section it
is enacted, that all persons resident within the township of
Bradford and the hamlet of Little-Horton, making use in
their buildings of fires casting up large quantities of smoke or
flame, should construct the chimneys of such buildings of such
a height as the commissioners may direct ; for the purpose of
preventing, as much as possible, the smoke and flame becom-
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BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES. 161
lag a nuisance. And that the owner of every fire-engine
or steam-engine within the above-named jurisdiction^ should
construct the fire-places and chimneys thereof in such
manner as most effectually to destroy and consume the
smoke^ provided they do not infringe on any patent ; and
on their refusing to comply with these provisions, after notice
from the commissioners, they are subject to a penalty.
The town had hitherto been lighted by oil lamps. In
1822 an act received the Royal assent for lighting Bradford
and the neighbourhood with gas. The subscribers originally
/consisted of forty-one inhabitants of the place, who were
incorporated under the title of the '^ Bradford Gas- Light
Company," and empowered to raise a capital of £15,000,
in £25 shares — no subscriber to hold more than forty
shares. By this act it is rendered imperative upon the
gas company to supply the pubhc lamps of the town with
gas, of such a quality as should at all times afford a cheaper
and better light than could be obtained from oil ; and that
" every contract or agreement which shall be entered into
'' for lighting with gas such public lamps by the said com-
'^ pany, shall contain a clause providing that it shall be
'^ obligatory on the said company that such public lamps
'' shall, at all times, be better and cheaper lighted by the
" said company than could be done by oil." This obligation
was imposed on the company as an equivalent for being
allowed to break up the pavement and soil of the streets*
&c., to lay the pipes.
On the 25th of March, 1804, Messrs. Ramsbotham and
Swaine's extensive worsted-mill (the first erected at Brad-
ford) was nearly destroyed by fire. December 16th, the
woollen-manufactory at Laister-dyke was burnt down.
The neighbourhood of Bradford has ever been prolific in
'^ wisemen," astrologers, and other impostors of that descrip*
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162 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
tion. The tribe in these parts, notwithstanding the spread of
general intelligence and the progress in civilization, is still
numerous ; and continues to thrive on the credulity of the
lower class of inhabitants. On the 14th of May, 1804, a poor
aged weaver named Robert Sutcliffe, having been frequently
injured by his neighbours, imagined that his house was
haunted by an evil spirit ; and to lay it, had recourse to
John Hepworth, the notorious Bradford fortune-teller, who,
after pouring human blood mixed with hair into a large iron
bottle, corked it up tightly and put it into the fire, when it
soon after exploded with terrible violence, and killed the old
weaver. I cannot learn whether the impious exorciser were
punished or not. So lucrative has the profession of fortune-
telling in this neighbourhood been, that many of the adepts
in it have died worth considerable sums of money. In 1810,
Hannah Green, the Lingbob witch died; having amassed
during forty years' practice of the art of fortune-teUing,
upwards of £1000.
The floods at Bradford, and all places communicating with
the English Apennines, (the Back-bone of England,) were
sudden and alarming on the 3rd of February, 1822, and did
considerable damage here. Mr. Benjamin Baines, druggist-
assistant, unfortunately lost his life in this flood. While
examining a water-mark which he had set up at the back of
his house adjoining the beck, a heap of rubbish on which he
stood gave way and precipitated him into the water, where
he perished unseen, and his body was not found tiU three
days after.
While on this head I may add, that the floods were very
great at Bradford at the following times previous to this
period : — December 26th, 1763. In July 1768, large quantities
of cloth, wool, &c., were swept away by the flood. A
man and a boy, as before stated, were standing on the church
bridge, and were carried away with it and drowned : the
man's name was Jennings. An informant states that this
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BRADFORD^IN MODERN TIMES. 163
flood happened on a Sunday forenoon ; and that the congrega-
tion on coming from church, could not get over the bridge. .
20th and 21st of October, 1775, another great flood. In
December, 1790, another flood. 9th of February, 1795, a
destructive flood, in which James Robinson of Frizing-hall
mills, lost his life in attempting to cross the road near his
own house ; again, January 16th, 1806, and December
30th, 1815.
This town, in common with all other towns in the king-
dom of its size, evinced its joy by illuminations and other
displays on the various sea and land victories gained during
the French war, and on the proclamations of peace. I
have not thought it worth the space to particularize these
illuminations.
Shortly after the return of the Marquis of Anglesey (then
Lord Uxbridge) from the battle of Waterloo, he travelled
from his seat at Baudesert in Staffordshire, to Bradford in
one day, to make the preparatory arrangements for being
supplied with an artificial leg, the ingenious invention of
Mr. Mann, of this place. The noble warrior was received
with every mark of respect by many of the most respectable
inhabitants, and went through the piece-hall, conversing
familiarly with the manufacturers. He afterwards invited
Colonel Kutusofi*, a Russian officer under Mr. Mann's care,
(having sustained a similar loss to the Marquis,) to dinner.
The noble Marquis immediately returned into Stafibrdshire,
but promised to be again at Bradford in a few days, having
expressed a hope that he should soon be able to receive the
Prince Regent on his legs. He accomplished his hope.
1825, February 3rd. This year the septennial festival
in honour of Bishop Blaize, was celebrated with unusual
splendour. In 1811 and 1818 the occasion was honoured
with considerable pomp and show, as also at preceding sep-
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IG4 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
tcnnial periods, especially in 1769. I need not particularly
recur to the tradition occasioning these displays in honour
of the Bishop, who
-o*er Vulcaiiian stoves.
« With tepid lees of oil and spiky combs,
*' Shewed how the fleece might stretch to greater length,
'< And cast a glossier whiteness.
" Hence the Glad Cities or the Loom his name
*' Honour with yearly festivals ; and thro* the streels
" The i)omp, with tuneful sounds and order just
" Denoting labour's happy progresN, moves-^
*' Procession slow and solemn."
Dyer'M "Fleece/'
Although the sister towns in the worsted and woollen trade,
have from time to time celebrated the septennial festival of the */
inventor of wool-combing with due honours, yet the memory
of the Bishop has been commemorated with greater splendour
here than in any other town in the kingdom, — especially
in 1825. As it appears probable that the honours then paid
to the wool-combers' Saint will be the last of the kind ren-
dered here, (two septennial periods having since elapsed
without any display,) I shall give an account of them.
The weather being very fine, at an early hour in the morn-
ing the surrounding towns and villages began to pour in their
population. On no occasion within the memory of living
persons were the streets of Bradford so densely thronged.
About eight o'clock in the morning, the persons intending
to form part of the procession began to assemble in Westgate;
and shortly before ten o'clock, under the superintendance of
Matthew Thompson, Esquire, were formed in the following
order : —
Herald, bearing a flag.
Twenty- four Woolxtaplen on horseback, each bone caparisoned with a fleece.
Thirty-eight Worsted-Spinnen and Manufacturers on homeliack. In white stuff*
waistcoats, with each a sliver of wool over his shoulder and a white stuff
sabh: the hor«es' necks covered with nets made of thick }am.
Six Merchants on horseback, with coloured sashes.
Three Gitanls. Ma4ers* Culoiira. Three Guanls.
Fifty- six Apprentkrcs and Masters' Sons on hon-ebuck, with ornamented caps, Maf
let cokNired ooad, white stuff waistcoats, and blue pantaloons.
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BRADFORD— -IN MODERN TIMES. 165
Bradfaird and Keighiey Bandt,
Maoebearer, on foot
Six Guards. King. Queen. Six Guards.
Guards. Jason. Pringbsb Medea. Guards.
Bishop's Chaplain.
BISHOP BLAIZE.
Shepherd and Shepherdess.
Shepherd-Swains.
One hundred and sixty Woolsorters on horseback, with ornamented
caps and various coloured slivers.
Thirty Comb- makers.
Charcoal Burners.
Combers' Colours.
Band.
Four hundred and seventy Wool-combers, with wool wigs, dbc.
Band.
Forty Dyers, with red cockades, blue aprons, and crossed slivers of
red and blue.
Just before the procession started, Mr. Richard Fawcett,
who was on horseback at the head of the spinners and
manufacturers, pronounced, uncovered, the lines in the under-
printed note,* which it had long been customary to repeat
on the festival of Bishop Blaize.
* " Hail to the day, whose kind auspicious rays
** Deign'd first to smile on famous Bishop Blaize \
" To the great author of our combing trade
" This day^s devoted, and due honours paid
** To him whose fame thro' Britain's isle resounds,^'
" To him whose goodness to the poor abounds.
** Long shall his name in British annals shine,
" And grateful ages offer at his shrine !
" By this, our trade, are thousands daily fed ;
" By it supplied with means to earn their bread.
'* In various forms our trade its works imparts ;
'' In diflerent methods and by different arts
" Preserves from starving, indigents distressed ;
" As comben, spinnen, weavers, and the rest.
" We boast no gems, nor costly garments vain,
" Borrowed from India or the coast of Spain ;
" Our native soil with wool our trade supplies,
" While ibreign countries envy us the prize.
'' No foreign broil our common good annoys,
" Our country's product all our art employs ;
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166 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
The procession started about ten o'clock, and proceeded
throagh the principal streets and roads of the town ; and did
not disperse till about five o'clock. The whole cavalcade
reached upwards of half a mile. Several splendid and well-
painted flags were displayed.
The person who figured as the " King" in the procession,
was an old man named William Clough, from Darlington,
who had sustained the part on four previous occasions.
Jason was personated by a John Smith. The fair Medea
rode by his side. Bishop Blaize was represented with
becoming gravity by another John Smith, who had, too,
borne the pastoral crook on several other commemorations.
His chaplain was James Beetham.
The ornaments of the spinners and manufacturers had a
neat and even elegant appearance, from the delicate and
glossy whiteness of the finely-combed wool which they wore.
The apprentices and masters' sons, however, formed the
most showy part of the procession ; their caps being richly
ornamented with ostrich feathers, flowers, and knots of
various coloured yarn ; and their stuff garments formed
of the gayest colours. Some of these dresses were very
costly, from the profusion of their decorations.
The shepherd, shepherdess, and swains were attired in
bright green. The wool-sorters, from their number, and
the height of their plumes of feathers, which were mostly
" Oar detfcy flocks abound in eveiy vale,
" Our bleating lambs proclaim the joyful tale.
" So let not Spain with us attempt to vie,
" Nor Indians wealth pretend to soar to high ;
*' Nor Jason pride him in his Colchian siniil,
" By banlship gainM and enterprising toil ;
'* Since Britons all with ease attain the prize,
"And every bill resounds witb golden cries.
" To celebrate our founder's great renown
" Our shepherd and our sbepberdes we cniwn ;
" For England's commerce, and for Geoige's tway,
•• Each foyal subject give a loud Huzza ! Huxu?»*
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 167
of different colours, formed in the shape of a ^eur-de-Hs,
had a dashing appearance. The comb-makers carried before
them the instruments here so much celebrated, raised on
standards, together with golden fleeces, rams' heads with
gilded horns, and other emblems. The wool-combers were
neatly dressed, and looked mighty wise in their odd-fashioned
and full flowing wigs of combed wool. And the garb of
the dyers was quite professional.
The year 1825 was the most disastrous to Bradford in its
events of any in modern times. From the great pomp with
which the Bishop Blaize festival was in February celebrated,
it seems that the trade here was then very prosperous. The
wool-combers and stuff-weavers of Bradford and the sur-
rounding villages had long been discontented with their wages
(though they were then very high), and after unsuccessfully
endeavouring to obtain an advance, "turned out" of their
work. On the 14th of June this famous " strike" commenced.
The workmen, to the number of nearly 20,000, associated
themselves in the name of the Bradford Union, under the
leadership of a wool-comber named John Tester. Their de-
mands were perseveringly opposed by the masters ; and, as
a consequence, the trade of Bradford was nearly stopped.
The unemployed men were supported by subscriptions from
the operatives in various parts of the kingdom ; the sums
raised for the purpose were immense, and enabled the mal-
contents to strive with the masters for twenty-three weeks ;
when the money began to fail, and Tester absconding with
part of the funds, on the 7th of November the Union was
dissolved ; but 1200 of the wool -combers and weavers, and
1000 of the children could not find employment even at the
old prices.
Added to the calamity of the trade of the town being
almost discontinued for twenty -three weeks, the house of
Wentworth, (?haloner, and Rishworths, Bankers, with which
the tradesmen of Bradford had large dealings, stopped pay-
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168 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
ment on the 9th of December. This event created a panic
here such as had never before been experienced ; the effects
of it are yet felt.
In the unhappy commotions of Luddism, in 1812, I do
not find that Bradford bore any share, although distress was
very prevalent among its operatives. It seems to have been
also free from the disturbances of 1820. The spirit of
Luddism partially broke out in the neighbourhood in 1822.*
In May, 1826, however, the workmen manifested a deter-
mined disposition to destroy the machinery for weaving,
which had been introduced into the town. On the Ist of
that month, in the afternoon, a meeting of unemployed
workmen took place on Fairweather-green, near Bradford.
The number of persons assembled amounted to about two
hundred and fifty ; who, after consulting together some time,
proceeded at five o'clock in the afternoon to the mill of
Messrs. Horsfall, situated at North-wing, which contained
a number of power-looms for weaving stu&, and commenced
a partial attack upon the mill, but without doing any mis-
chief except breaking the windows. They then proceeded
to Bradford-moor, where they were joined by about two
hundred more, and with this reinforcement they returned
to the mill, and made a second attack between eight and
nine o'clock ; but the riot act being read, the mob after a
time separated. This was on the Monday, and all remained
quiet until the Wednesday, when another public meeting
was held on Fairweather-green, far more numerous than
• A riot took place on the 18th of April, 1832. Mr. Jamei Wartirick, of
Bradford, a wonted^uff-manufacturer, got a power-looni made as secreUy as po»>
•ible, and sent it privately to be set at work in a mill at Shipley ; but it was scarcely
put in motion, ere the bellman was sent round to give notice in the neighbouring
Tillages of its arrival ; and a great number of weaten shortly surrounded the mill,
and threatened the whole fabric with destnicUon if the loom was not ia^antly
removed. It was therefore immediately taken down and phioed in a cart, under
a convoy uf constables; the enraged weavers, however, routed the constables,
destro}'ed the loom, and dragged its roller and waip in triumph through Baiklon.
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 169
that on the Monday ; and after forming in several groups till
about twenty minutes past three, they again moved in a body
to Messrs. Horsfall's mill, where they arrived a little before
four. They began throwing stones as before. The squares
which were broken on the Monday, about two hundred and
forty in number, had since been glazed. They continued the
attack about half an hour, when they had completely de-
molished three of the windows — stancheons, frames, and every
thing connected with them. But on the preceding day, iron
bars had been fixed in front of the low windows ; and as the
doors were secured by three-inch planks, it was next to im-
possible to force an entrance. At half-past four. Colonel
Plumbe Tempest, accompanied by a number of special con-
stables, appeared on the ground adjoining the mill, and read
the riot act. The mob still shewed no disposition to disperse,
but^ continued throwing stones. All other efforts hitherto
adopted proving unavailing, and one of the mob having fired
a pistol into the mill, the persons who were defending it,
amounting to about forty, fired from twenty to thirty shots
upon the mob, by which two persons were killed, viz., Jonas
Barstow, of Queen's Head, aged eighteen years, and Edward
Fearnley, of Bradford, a boy thirteen years of age ; and a
considerable number wounded. The mob soon afterwards
dispersed. Two of the rioters were sent to York Castle.
In 1830^ application was made to parliament for an act to
form a railway between Bradford and Leeds. The line was
intended to commence close to the Bowling Coal-staith, in
Leeds-road; and proceeding past Quarry-gap, leave Stan-
ningley a little to the north, run through Wortley and
Holbeck, and join the Leeds and Selby railway. The
money necessary to construct this railway was estimated at
£191,000. Although such a communication between this
town and Leeds would have been of great advantage to the
former place, yet the application for the act failed after con-
siderable expense had been incurred, principally through
Y
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170 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
the opposition of the Marchioness of Hertford, through
whose property at Holbeck, it was intended to carry the
railway.
The year 1832 is memorable in the annals of Bradford,
for the franchise of returning two members to parliament
being conferred upon it by the Reform Bill. The inhabitants
of Bradford had fully shared in the political agitation which
preceded and caused the passing of that measure. The
limits of the parliamentary borough of Bradford, are those
of the townships of Bradford, Horton, Bowling, and Manning-
ham. The first candidates for the representation of Bradford
were E. C. Lister, Esquire, of Manningham -house, and John
Hardy, Esquire, of Heath, near Wakefield. Both these
gentlemen were intimately connected with the town by
many personal ties, and both came forward as reformers.
The third candidate was George Banks, Esquire, of Leeds,
who professed conservative principles. Immediately after
the dissolution of the old parliament, in December 1832,
the Returning Officer for Bradford took the necessary steps
preparatory to the election.
Thursday, the 13th of December^ being the day appointed
for the nomination of candidates, the morning was ushered in
by the ringing of bells, (which were heard at intervals during
the day,) and the town assumed a bustling appearance. At
twelve o'clock, the Returning Officer, J. G. Horsfall, Esquire,
accompanied by Mr. Hardy and Mr. Banks, and their friends,
and also the friends of Mr. Lister, who was confined by
indisposition to his room, appeared upon the steps in front
of the Piece-hall.
The Returning Officer opened the proceedings in a short
speech. The usual formalities having been gone through,
Charles Harris, Esquire, came forward and proposed Mr.
Hardy. Mr. Hollings seconded the nomination.
Mr. Hardy then addressed the meeting. After some pre-
liminary observations, he said he had received a letter from
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BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES. 171
the secretary of the Bradford Political Union, in which the
following question was asked : " In the event of your being
*^ returned as a member to serve the borough of Bradford in
*' parliament, will you, in the ensuing session, bring in or
^^ support a bill or bills the object of which shall be to extend
" the sufirage to householders at least ; to limit the duration
" of parliament to three years at most ; and to cause every
" election to be taken by ballot ?" With respect to the ballot,
he said he had both spoken and written on the subject ; and
from the experience he had from day to day, he was convin-
ced that the ballot was more and more necessary. (Cheers.)
To the question whether he would limit the duration of
parliament to three years, he replied he would not. (Dis-
approbation.) He thought septennial parliaments too long,
and triennial parliaments too short ; and for some point be-
tween the two he could conscientiously vote. He was of
opinion that the extension of the sufirage to householders
would be a most impolitic measure. He had been asked
whether he would vote for the separation of the ('hurch and
State. He would not. The hisses and other marks of dis-
approbation were here so violent that Mr. Hardy could not
for some time proceed. He was afterwards asked wTiether
he would support a bill which should have for its object the
admission of the right of free discussion, on all subjects,
both in speaking and writing. Mr. Hardy answered in the
negative.
Mr. John Hustler, jun., then nominated Mr. Banks ; se-
conded by Mr. James Garnett.
Mr. Banks, in addressing the meeting, said that he was a
member of the Church of England ; but that, like all other
institutions which carry in them the principles of decay,
there was room for reform in the establishment ; and he
would support such reform, but would not carry it to the
subversion of the Church, — ^but for the purpose of placing it
on a firmer footing. He was also an advocate for a revision
of the corn-laws, with a view to considerable alterations.
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172 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMKS.
He would advocate the abolition of the slave-trade as speedily
as practicable. He then proceeded^ '^ I come now to the last
^^ question^ and on which I believe there exists some difie-
*' rence of opinion ; but it is one of those subjects on which
*^ I cast expediency aside. This question^ then, I nnhesita*
^* tingly approach. My opinion on it was formed before that
" event which brings us together to-day was in contemplation.
" I allude to the ten hours' bill. (Cheers.) I am no advocate
'' for legislative interference in matters of trade ; but in this
'' case it will place the humane and feeling master on a level
'^ with his unfeeling and inhuman competitor. (Applause.)
** Here is an acknowledged case made out ; and the only
*' question is, what degree of labour a child can bear. The
" question I will put to every father and mother in this as*
^' semblage is this — ^Vhether they think the tender offspring
'^ of their union should be compelled to work more than ten
^* hours a day ? I acknowledge no human authority on this
*' point. I go at once to the fountain-head of human nature.
" I dive into the hearts of you parents, for an answer to the
** question I have put ; and lay your hands on your hearts to
'^ answer it, that you may lay your heads on your pillows in
" peace. (Applause.) Eloquent and feeling advocates for
^^ the Black whom you have not seen, will you be less elo^
" quent — less feeling for the white infant slaves whom you
^' daily see / What I heard last night I take as a test of your
" sincerity ; I boldly answer for you, I am sure you will not.
" Ten hours a day I say ought to be the maximum of infant
'Mabour. (Cheers.) At this period of the year do you
*' adult artizans generally work ten hours a day i Is the
" rising and setting sun to be no measure of time to the
*' infant labourer ?" He was then asked the same questions
as Mr. Hardy. With respect to household sufl^ge, he wish-
ed to see how the great change which had been effected
would work. As to vote by ballot, he thought the old mode
more English-like.
Mr. Richard Margerison nominated, and Mr. J. Peacock
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BRADFORD^IN MODERN TIMSB. 173
seconded Mr. Lister^ who was^ as before stated^ prevented
attending by indisposition.
Mr. John Wood^ jun., and the Rev. Messrs. Boddington
and Bull^ proposed questions to the candidates respecting
taxation^ the factory-bill, a revision of the poor-laws in
England and the establishment of them in Ireland ; the
answers to which were satisfactory.
On a show of hands being called for^ a decided majority
appeared for Mr. Lister. Between Mr. Hardy and Mr. Banks
the numbers were so nearly equal that a second show was
called for ; when the Returning Officer declared that it was
in favour of Mr. Lister and Mr. Hardy, and he accordingly
declared them duly elected.
Mr. Hustler demanded a poll on behalf of Mr. Banks,
which was granted, to commence on the next day.
STATE OF THE POLL.
FirMt Day, Second Day. plumpers.
Mr. Lister . . 483 Mr. Lister . . 650 224
Mr. Hardy. . 321 Mr. Hardy . . 471 49
Mr. Banks .. 281 Mr. Banks .. 402 .... 114
Nine hundred and sixty-seven persons voted.
It was intended that the chairing of the newly-elected
members should take place on Monday next after the elec-
tion, and two splendid chairs were provided for the occasion ;
but both members being indisposed, they were represented
in this ceremonial by their sons. The populace, either not
approving of the members thus performing their first duties
by proxy, or what is still more probable, instigated by the
mere love of fun, made an assault upon the procession long
before it reached its destination, the Sun Inn, and threw
the young proxies out and tore the chairs to pieces.
At a public dinner, given on the 28th of December to
Mr. Banks by his supporters, in the large room of the Ex-
change-buildings, a most splendid silver epergne, purchased
by subscription, was presented to him as a mark of his
public worth.
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174 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
The first reformed parliament was dissolved on the 29th of
December, 1834 ; and immediately the various political sec-
tions of the borough were actively employed in preparing
for the ensuing election. The candidates were the two
former members, and George Hadfield, Esquire, of Man-
chester, a Radical. A meeting of the reformers of Bradford
had been held at the Sun Inn in the previous November ;
and in consequence of the resolutions then passed, Mr. Had-
field was invited to become a candidate for the representation
of this borough, and he accepted the invitation. The writ to
the Returning Officer for Bradford, J. G. Horsfall, Esq.,'hav-
ing been received, and the usual preliminary formalities gone
through, Thursday, the 8th of January, 1835, was fixed for
the day of nomination. On that day, at twelve o'clock, the
Returning Officer appeared at the Court-house steps, to pro-
ceed in the election of two members for the borough. There
were present about ten thousand persons.
Mr. Keighley nominated Mr. Lister; seconded by Mr.
Thomas Hill.
Mr. Hardy was proposed by M. Thompson, Esquire ; se-
conded by H. Harris, Esquire.
Mr. Robert Milligan nominated Mr. Hadfield ; seconded
by Mr. Joshua Lupton.
Mr. Lister then shortly addressed the electors, and ob-
served that his political principles were well known : his
conduct in parliament was before the electors, and they could
judge of it.
Mr. Hardy next presented himself, and met with conside-
rable interruption : he said, '* I am glad the day has arrived
" when I can clear myself of the falsehoods and misrepresen-
" tations that have been propagated to my disadvantage. It
'' has been stated, that I have been wanting in diligence in
'^ my parliamentary duties. I can appeal to my late colleague
** for a refutation of this calumny." He then proceeded, " I
'* voted in the house, on Mr. Buckingham's motion, to prevent
" the imprc.'-h.mont of ticamcn ; the two members for the Ri-
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BRADFORD — IX MODERN TIMES. 175
" ding voted against it. You have heard a great deal about
" the pension-list ; I voted with Mr. Whittle Harvey on every
'' occasion for an inquiry into that list. When Liverpool^
" Hertford, Stafford, and Warwick had bills brought in to
" disfranchise them, I voted for those bills. (Great uproar
" which lasted a considerable time.) With respect to reli-
*^ gious liberty, I and my colleague voted for every bill for
" the better observance of the Sabbath : the object of those
" bills being that every man should be at liberty to attend
" upon the worship of God when and where he pleased, let
^' his station in life be what it might. I brought a bill into
" the House of Commons, which was carried through that
*' house in spite of the opposition of Dr. Lushington and
" other reformers, that every man might have liberty to
" assemble his friends to worship God in his own house. I
" challenge any man to stand forward and charge me with
" ever having opposed any means calculated to secure the
** civil liberty of the people. With respect to economy, I
" am an advocate for the wiping off all taxes which press upon
" the labouring poor ; substituting in their place a property
^^ tax ; for depend upon it, if such a tax can be imposed that
*' will touch immediately the pockets of the M. P.s, we
^^ shall have economy enough. It has been stated, that I am
" a supporter of the present administration, and that I have
'^ thought it right they should have a fair trial. It is abso-
" lutely false. I am for measures, to be sure, not men ; and I
** care not who the men are that tender me a measure for the
" good of the country, it shall have my support.. My con-
" duct has been misrepresented by certain parties, who, like
" the Irish justice, would only hear one side of the case, be-
" cause both sides bothered them."
Mr. Hadfield was reeived with three rounds of applause.
After some prefatory observations, he said, " Mr. Hardy
" stands before you in a dilemma. Does he advocate reform ?
" — what then will become of his Tory friends ? Does he
" advocate Toryism ? — what will become of the half-and-half
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176 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
^' reformers who support him ? Mr. Hardy says, I am for
'^ measures^ not men. Mr. Canning very properly observed,
'^ Away with the cant of measures not men. Is it the harness
" or the horses that draw the chariot ?'* Mr. Hadfield then
proceeded to give a summary of his political creed. He was
for triennial parliaments ; an extension of the franchise ;
vote by ballot ; would vote for a bill for the general education
of the people of England ; was for cheap justice ; doing
away with all capital punishment ; for the abolition of all
unnecessary oaths ; for a repeal of the corn-laws ; the abolition
of taxes on knowledge ; economy in the public expenditure ;
abolition of flogging, and impressment of seamen ; and
would vote against bishops sitting in parliament.
The show of hands was greatly in favour of Mr. Lister
and Mr. Hadfield, and a poll was demanded on behalf of
Mr. Hardy.
The polling commenced on the Friday morning at nine
o'clock, and at four o'clock the numbers were — Lister 373,
Hardy 314, Hadfield 277.
On Saturday the polling commenced at eight o'clock.
In two hours Mr Hardy's committee proceeded in a body
to vote, and brought him to the head of the poll. After
this, Mr. Lister's committee in a body, headed by a band
of music, marched to the poll. Most of them split with
Lister and Hadfield. The polling after this went on very
slowly. There were not more than one hundred and fifty or
two hundred electors remained unpolled ; and at the usual
half-hour'^ announcement of the poll, Mr. Hadfield rose, and
addressing the Returning Ofiicer, said, " The time has now
'^ arrived when I should declare my sentiments as to the
'* continuance of the poll ; I stated my intention last evening
'^ to keep open the poll till four o'clock to-day ; but, with
" the advice of my committee, I deem it best to retire at
" present from the poll, as it is evident that in the fur-
" ther prosecution of it I have no chance of defeating Mr.
'* Hardy."
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 177
The Returning Officer addressed the court, and proposed
three cheers for Mr. Hadfield, which were cordially given.
The scene now changed to the front of the Court-house.
Mr. Lister addressed the multitude ; he said that he won the
last election in gallant style, hut that on this he had had a little
extra-weight to carry, and consequently only came in as a
good second. If there were ten thousand boroughs to repre-
sent, he had rather be returned for Bradford than them all.
Mr. Hardy then presented himself, but could not be heard,
owing to the hisses and other marks of disapprobation.
On the Monday following, at twelve o'clock, the Returning
Officer having received the poll-books from Mr. Tolson, the
poll-clerk, broke them open and proceeded to cast them up.
The numbers were —
PLUMPSaS. SPLIT TOTU.
Hardy 611 . . 413 Hardy and Lister. . 186
Lister 589 . . 25 Hardy and Hadfield 12
Hadfield.. 392 . . 2 Lister and Hadfield 378
One thousand and thirteen persons voted.
The Returning Officer then declared the two former to be
elected. Both the members addressed the crowd. Mr. Hardy
observed that if there was a man who went to parliament
desirous to promote reform, to accelerate the abolition of
abuses, and still maintain uninjured the venerable institu-
tions of the country, he was the man. He was ready with
any man to take the pruning-knife and lop off the excrescences
of the good old constitutional tree ; but he would not join
any man who came with spade and pick-axe to uproot and
level it with the earth.
Three cheers were afterwards given for the Returning
Officer, and the court then broke up.
A large number of the electors for the borough being
dissatisfied with the parliamentary conduct of Mr. Hardy,
a requisition, signed by six hundred and two voters, was
presented to William Busfeild, Esquire, of Upwood, a Whig,
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178 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
desiring him to become a candidate for the representation
of Bradford at the next election. Mr. Busfeild acceded
to this request. His nephew, William Busfeild, Esquire, of
Milner-field, also signified his intention of competing in
the same lists. On the dissolution of parliament in 1837,
there were, therefore, four candidates in the field. The writ
for the election here, reached the Returning Officer on Wed-
nesday, the 19th of July, and the ensuing Tuesday was
fixed for the day of nomination. On the morning of that
day a large procession, accompanied by four bands of music,
was formed to escort the two liberal candidates from Man-
ningham-house to the hustings. The Conservatives were
also not idle, but proceeded in great numbers, four a-breast,
with a band of music and several blue flags, from the White
Lion Inn to the Court-house. The hu.<tings, capable of
holding five hundred persons, were well filled. The Con-
servatives ranging on the right and the Reformers on the
left. Not less than twenty thousand persons were present ;
and the excitement of the various political parties greatly
exceeded that on the two former elections. Mr. Lister and
Mr. Busfeild of Upwood united their strength, as did also the
other two candidates. After the accustomed preliminaries,
M. Thompson, Esquire, nominated, and John Rand,
Esquire, seconded, Mr. Hardy as a candidate.
Mr. George Oxley proposed, and Charles Harris, Esquire,
seconded, Mr. Lister.
Mr. Busfeild of Upwood was nominated by Mr. Thomas
Hill ; seconded by Mr. Thomas Greenwood Clayton.
George Pollard, Esquire, proposed Mr. Busfeild of Mil-
ner-field ; seconded by Mr. Cowling Ackroyd.
Mr. Hardy and Mr. Lister having addressed the electors,
Mr. Busfeild of Upwood presented himself, and said, " With
'* respect to my political principles, they are those which I
" have held for the last forty years. During that period I
" have ever endeavoured to support genuine honest reform.
" If you return me to parliament I will endeavour to carry
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 179
*' out the Reform Bill in all its principles. I will vote on all
" occasions for the investigation of all hidden abuses. I am
" here a Whig, and will not turn Tory when you elect me."
Mr. Busfeild of Milner-field, stated that he was a firm
and unflinching supporter of our Protestant Church, but was
at the same time ready to redress every grievance in it ; to
give the curates a better salary, and abolish pluralities.
" I will relieve Dissenters of every hardship of which they can
" conscientiously complain, but will never allow them to de-
" stroy the Church. I am actuated by a firm and sincere
" determination to support the institutions of the country,
** and at the same time remove every corruption or evil that
" can be found in them by any sound-thinking man." Would
vote for the repeal of the New Poor-law, and for a commission
to inquire into the condition of the poor hand-loom weaver.
The Returning Officer then called for a show of hands,
when there was a great majority for Messrs. Lister and
Busfeild (of Upwood), and a poll was demanded on behalf
of the other two candidates, which was arranged to take
place the next day. Afterwards, questions were put to the
two liberal candidates. From Mr. Lister's answers it ap-
peared that he would vote in favour of a ten hours' bill, but
recommended an eleven hours' bill to be obtained first, as
a step to the other ; — that he had staid in London to vote for
household suffrage, which measure he was desirous to carry ;
that he would vote for a property-tax, if the circumstances
and the manner in which it was levied gave a fair promise
that it would relieve the people from unfair taxation. Similar
answers were given by Mr Busfeild of Upwood.
On Wednesday the polling commenced at eight o'clock, at
six booths ; — three at the Court-house, one in Tyrrel-street,
another in Well-street, and the other at the Court of Re-
quests. The Reform party came up in good force, and in
the first half-hour polled two hundred and fifty for both their
candidates. At twelve o'clock the numbers were — Lister 603,
Busfeild 565, Hardy 397, Busfeild, jun. 353.
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180 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
At the close of the poll the numbers were —
PLOUPERf. SPLIT VOTCS.
Lister 635 . . 6 Lister and Busfeild 601
Busfeild, sen. 621 . . 6 Lister and Hardy 28
Hardy 443 . . 29 Busfeild and Hardy 9
Busfeild, jun. 383 . . 1 Busfeild and Busfeild . . 5
Hardy and Busfeild, jun. 377
One thousand and sixty persons voted.
Mr. Lister and Mr. Busfeild now came upon the hustings
at the front of the Court-house, and addressed the electors ;
as did also Mr. Hardy and Young Busfeild afterwards from
the balcony in front of the White Lion Inn.
On Thursday, at eleven o'clock, the Returning OflGlcer,
with his deputy, Mr. Tolson, (who had filled this office on
the two former elections,) appeared at the hustings, when
the poll-books were cast up, and the successful candidates
were declared duly elected. After an address from them,
and a vote of thanks to the Returning Officer had been
passed, the multitude quietly dispersed.
The year 1837 was marked at Bradford by the occurrence
of a serious riot, arising out of the introduction here of the
New Poor-law. In February, the Bradford Union had been
constituted, comprising the whole of the townships in the
parish of Bradford, with the exception of Haworth ; and
also the townships of t>rii;hlington, Cleckheaton, Hunsworth,
Tong, Calverley-with-Farsley, Bolton, Idle, and Pudsey.
'Vho Union was placed under the direction of a board of
thirty-two guardians ; of whom six are chosen for Bradford ;
three for Horton; two each for Bowling, North Bierley,
Pudsey, and Thornton. The magistrates residing within
the Union are also guardians ex -officio. The Union has
been divided, for the purposes of the registration act, into
thirteen districts. On the Sunday before this act came into
operation at Bradford, the baptisms were so numerous at the
Old Church that it was past eight o'clock before they were
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 181
concluded, and during the week the number of christenings
amounted to nearly five hundred. This press arose from a
report which prevailed that after the new law for registration
came in force, the offices of the Church, so far as registra-
tion was concerned, would cease and become invalid.
On Monday, October 30th, 1837, the guardians of the
poor for Bradford Union, met at the Court-house to make
arrangements for taking the management of the poor into their
hands. Mr. Power, one of the assistant-commissioners, was
present to render the guardians advice and assistance in the
discharge of their duties. The meeting was first held in the
jury -room ; but on account of the violence of the crowd in the
Court-house to obtain admission into the room, the board ad-
journed to the Sun Inn. On the recommendation, however,
of one of the guardians, they at last held their meeting in open
court, to which the public were admitted. After the business
of the meeting had been transacted, the populace, who during
the proceedings had been very tumultuous, followed Mr.
Power, the commissioner, as he was returning to the Sun Inn,
and treated him roughly, pelting him with mud and stones.
ITie meeting was adjourned to Monday, the 13th November.
On the Sunday preceding, Mr. Power came to Bradford to
be in readiness for the adjourned meeting. He was met by
two or three of the guardians and two magistrates, who
strongly advised him not to hold the meeting the next day,
as there would no doubt be a breach of the peace, and the
civil force would not be sufficient to put it down. On this
intimation the meeting was again adjourned to the 20th;
and in the mean time, application was made by the assistant-
commissioner for the aid of the military. Accordingly, on
Saturday evening the 18th, a detachment of about forty of
the 15th Hussars, commanded by Captain Murray and
Lieutenant Pilgrim, arrived in the town. At ten o'clock
on Monday, the guardians met at the Court-house, and pro*
ceeded to business. Not above one hundred persons were
then present. About twelve o'clock they amounted to five
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J82 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
or six thousand. All the doors leading to the Court-house
were barricaded and scoured ; and the crowd finding it im-
possible to obtain access^ began to throw stones at the win-
dows. One of the magistrates went to the Talbot Inn for
the soldiers, who came at hand gallop, and formed in a line
before the iron palisading in front of the Court-house, and
for some time remained inactive. At length a daring fellow
contrived to remove the barricade, and immediately a body
of men rushed up the stairs and began to force the folding-
doors leading to the place of meeting of the guardians. As
soon as Mr. Paley saw these movements he read the riot act.
This did not avail ; upon which the military were ordered to
clear the Court-house yard and steps ; which was effected
after a considerable resistance, and some of the soldiers had
been severely wounded with the showers of stones with which
they were assailed from Leeds New-road. The charges and
countercharges between the mob and soldiers continued for
several minutes, the latter behaving with great forbearance
and using only the back of the sword. A pause now took
place, after which a number of the mob proceeded to the
field to the north of the Court-house, and began very deli-
berately to smash the windows. On hearing this the soldiers
leaped their horses over the low wall and quickly dispersed
the people. The mob were now comparatively quiet till the
breaking up of the meeting of guardians. When the guar-
dians in company with the magistrates left the Court-house,
they were followed by several hundreds of people. When
they came near Brook-street they were assailed by volleys
of stones, one of which struck Mr. Paley on the head, but
his hat saved him from serious injury. The party of guar-
dians and magistrates were upon this obliged to take shelter
in a warehouse. A party of soldiers shortly after arrived
and escorted them into the town. The people about three
o'clock began to disperse, and the military were ordered to
their quarters. When the soldiers had disappeared, the peo-
ple were emboldened to assemble again at the Court-house ;
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 183
again attacked the windows of the building with great assi-
duity, and before the arrival of the military, had nearly
demolished every pane. The mob now began to shew a
determination to oppose the soldiers ; and darkness coming
on, a desultory skirmish took place, which was prolonged till
seven o'clock. The soldiers, having received much provoca-
tion, began to display less command, and used their pistols
and the edge of the sword. A young man was shot through
the arm, and obliged to have the member amputated. Several
were slightly wounded, but none mortally, as the soldiers,
pursuant to orders, fired very low. Several persons concerned
in the riot were taken and committed to York-castle to take
their trial.
On Wednesday, the 20th of December, 1837, the most
alarming flood that had ever occurred at Bradford took place.
This flood has been before alluded to in a brief manner.
I may, however, here add the following particulars. It had
rained incessantly on the Sunday and Monday, and likewise
on the Tuesday afternoon, and the water in the beck had
consequently been greatly increased. On the Wednesday
morning the rain descended in torrents for six or eight hours.
About twelve o'clock the water in the beck had increased
so considerably that the inhabitants in the lower parts of
the town began to remove their goods. About two o'clock,
the passage being choked up, the water shortly overflowed
the whole of the lower part of the town. One continuous
and impetuous current flowed from the end of Thornton-road,
down Tyrrel-street, over the area of the Sun-bridge, Bridge-
street, Market-street, and Well-street ; and reaching up the
hill as far as Hustler-gate on one side and Skinner-lane on
the other. In many parts of the streets the stream was six
feet in depth. From the Old Brewery, not only an immense
number of empty casks, but several barrels of ale were swept
away. At one time, a waggon laden with wood was seen
majestically floating down the stream. The loss of property,
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184 BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES.
especially by grocers, in the lower part of the town was very
great. Three persons perished in the flood — Thomas Keeton,
head ostler at the Sun Inn, while attempting to save some
floating casks, slipped into a water-course in Union-street
and was drowned. A female named Susannah Lightowler,
of Wibsey, while attempting to cross Thornton -road was
swept away ; and a child belonging to Thomas Taylor, in
Dunkirk-street, was drowned in a cellar before the mother
could get it away. The loss to poor cottagers was very
considerable.
During the latter part of the year 1839, the Chartist
agitation in this neighbourhood caused much apprehension
to the inhabitants. Considerable numbers of men were
furnished with fire-arms and pikes, and openly practised
military evolutions upon Fairweather-green. After a num-
ber of infatuated and imprudent actions, a plan of insurrec-
tion was formed, which the police were acquainted with ;
and about two o'clock on the morning of the 27th of January,
1840, a number of armed men appeared in the Green-market,
having taken two of the watchmen of the town prisoners.
A signal was to have been given by means of a rocket, for
the assembling in the same place of various armed parties,
who were at the outskirts of the town awaiting the signal.
The police, assisted by a few special constables, succeeded
in capturing sixteen of the insurrectionists, who were com-
mitted to York-castle, and most of them sentenced at the
ensuing assizes to various terms of imprisonment. In rash-
ness of enterprise and folly of execution, this outbreak was
a perfect counterpart of the Farnley Wood Plot of 16G2.
Two public undertakings of great importance to the inha-
bitants of Bradford are, at the period when this work is
brought to a close, contemplated : namely, the formation
of works to supply the town plentifully with water ; and of
a railway communication between Bradford and Leeds. For
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BRADFORD — IN MODERN TIMES. 185
carrying into eflTect the former project, an Act will probably
be obtained in the ensuing session of parliament ; and it is
sanguinely expected that the latter undertaking will not re-
main much longer unexecuted.*
Excepting Brighton, there is no town in the kingdom
that has within the last forty years, so fast progressed in
population as Bradford. The consequent demand for habita-
tions, has caused building speculations to prevail here to an
extraordinary extent; and all the legerdemain of modem
builders has been employed — ^fragile walls, hastily and loosely
constructed, or rather " run up," with ill-attempered lime,
and at all seasons of the year ; roofs of unseasoned worthless
deal, and of strength hardly suflGlcient for a hen-cote — ^per-
vious to all the elements ; are the characteristics of whole
masses of modern houses in the town. It may of them truly
be observed, (as the pedlar said of his razors,) they are
formed for sale^ not for use. To such erections may be
applied Dr. Whitaker's sarcasm on modern dwellings — " That
** while walls, floors, and roofs vibrate with every gust of wind,
'' and almost every tread of human foot, the inhabitant reflect-
'' ing that frail as his dwelling is, he inhabits another tene-
" ment which will probably perish before it, gladly bestows the
'' sums which would formerly have been applied to purchase
'^ stability and duration, on paint and varnish." These flimsy
habitations may indeed rear their heads during the lives of the
present owners, but another generation will see their wreck.
With the " mind's eye,** the history of Bradford has been
feebly traced for a period of seven hundred and sixty years.
• A considerable portion of the informaUon contained in this notion has been
obtained liom the local newspapers. The << AnnaU of the Clothing District/' s
work containing a great body of local information, has been consulted. The
account of the votes on the final close of the poll at the three elections, has been
toicen from Crosby's Parliamentary Record.
2 A
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186 BRADFORD— IN MODERN TIMES.
What a contrast between the condition of the place at the
extremes of this interval ! — At the one we see it a small
knot of mud huts, and inhabited by semi-barbarians : the
" hum of men" scarcely breaking the desolation and stillness
of the desert scene. — On the other hand, we behold it with
the bodily eye, standing supremely the '^ Metropolis of the
Worsted Trade ;*' its hundred streets, stretching their wide
arms for miles ; filled with tens of thousands of busy merchants
and manufacturers, artizans and operatives ; and the immense
products of its stupendous mills — ^where hundreds of clacking
power-looms and thousands of whirring spinning-frames din
the ear— exported to almost every civilized country of the
globe.
-to spread
*' Among the habitations of mankind,
'< The various wealth of toil, and what the fleece
'* To clothe the naked, and her sh'l/ui horns
•' Peculiar gife." Dyer.
That Bradford, raised to a proud pre-eminence among the
manufacturing towns of the kingdom, may, so long as manu-
factures flourish or are known in this our ** ocean speck,'*
(alike distinguished for arts and arms,) increasingly maintain
the honourable distinction it now enjoys, is the sincere wish
of one of its humble denizens — ^the Author.
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•■/.la' ■
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THE PARISH CHURCH.
It has often been observed by antiquaries^ that the obscure
origin of great part of our parishes is one of the opprobria of
English topography. The exact time when the parish of
Bradford was formed and a church erected here, cannot be
ascertained. It is an incontestible fact^ that about the period
of Doomsday Survey, the parish of Bradford, in common
with a large tract of Yorkshire lying on this side the river
Aire, belonged to the ancient Saxon parish of Dewsbury.
The necessity and circumstances which occasioned and re*
suited from the sub-division of the extensive Saxon parishes,
are clearly set forth by Burton, in the preface to his Monas*
ticon Eboracense; in which, after observing that such parishes
being of very great extent it was found necessary to erect
chapels of ease, or oratories, as they were then called,
proceeds — ^^ These were used only for common prayers or the
^'ordinary divine service, the mother church enjoying as
** well the sole right of baptism, marriage, and burial, as all
'^ the tithes and possessions with which she was originally
" endowed, without any defalcation thereof for the supply of
" such oratories. But the same reasons which rendered the
** institution of parishes necessary, held in a certain degree
*' for allowing all the oiEces of religion to be performed in
" such chapels, and thereby making them parochial. The
'^distance from, and the danger of going to the mother
" church, were also reasons for making several of these
" chapels parochial. But though chapels or churches were
" thus made parochial, yet some of them paid an acknow^
^^ ledgement in token of subjection to the Mother Church.
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188 THB PARISH CHURCH.
'' The bishops, too, finding it proper to encourage the building
** and endowing of more churches, were obliged at last to
'* put the latter churches upon an equal footing with the first,
" and to assign them all the tithes within their precincts ;
** consecrating church-yards, and granting the right of burial
'^ and christenings to make them distinct parishes, indepen-
" dent of the mother church."
These observations of a very learned writer on the subject,
apply strictly to the manner in which the church of Bradford
became parochial. The earlier Lacies were a devout church-
building race, and would by their influence fiftcilitate the
excision of Bradford parish from its parent one ; and either
build a church here at their own expense, or contribute,
along with the inhabitants, to the erection. In either case
they would, as lords of the manor, become the patrons.
The church was endowed by them with ninety-six acres of
land.
•The church of Bradford pays to that of Dewsbury eight
shUlings yearly, in token of ancient dependence upon it as
the mother church ; and in the absence of aU direct evidence
to shew at what precise time after the Conquest the parish
of Bradford was separated, the fact of this small payment
may assist in forming a probable conjecture as to that period.
I have before advanced reasons from which it may unhesita-
tingly be inferred that a church did not exist here when
Doomsday Survey was made. That this parish was instituted
soon after such Survey, is almost certain, for the following
reason : —
The respective sums paid by the churches formerly de-
pendent upon Dewsbury would, at the time of their parishes
being parcelled out, be in proportion to the value of the
tithes and profits arising from the district comprised within
each parish ; because, at the time of the separation, such
sum was a kind of composition or equivalent for the loss
occasioned to the mother church by the subtraction of the
tithes and profits. The ancient payment of eight shillings
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 189
a year from Bradford to Dewsbury is so small a sum, that
it may resusonably be presumed that it was accepted as a
composition or equivalent for the tithes during the time the
parish lay waste.*
The first mention of Bradford church which I have seen,
is in the register of Archbishop Wickwayne, in the year
128 l,t where there is an entry of the institution of Robert
Tonnington to the rectory, on the presentation of Alice de
Lacy, widow of Edmund de Lacy. This entry is sixty-four
years after the commencement of the Archiepiscopal Re-
gisters of York ; and those of two out of the three interme-
diate archbishops are lost.
From the first foundation of the church, to the year 1293,
the clerical duties were performed by the rector ; but the
living having become a lucrative one, and worthy of the
ambition of rich and lazy dignitaries, in that year the rector,
with the assent of the above-named Alice de Lacy, first
presented a vicar to the church. J From this time there has
been a regular succession of vicars.
The first three vicars were presented with the assent of the
patron ; but in the reign of Edward the 3rd, the rectors,
either through the negligence of the patrons, or with their
consent, began to perform this duty alone, and continued to
do so up to the time of the grant to the college of Leicester.
• Huddersfi«fld church pays four shillings yearly to that of Dewsbury, and their
separation is well known to have occurred within twenty years after the Conquest,
and HuddeisAdd was then waste. Kirkheaton pays twent}'-three shillings and four-
pence, and Almondbuiy forty-six shillings and eight-pence ; they were taken, 8ay»
Br. Whitaker, from Dewsbury parish about the year 1200. Huddenfield church was,
in 1292, valued at £9 Or. 8</., and the vicarage £6 13«. id.; Kirkheaton at £20,
and Almondbury at £40— yearly. I think from these fads it is very probable,
that the (Kiyment from Bradford was first accepted ns a comimsition long before
the year 1200. Probably about 1 150.
t No. 128, folio 9 of his register.
I " Robert, rector of the church of Bradford, by the assent of Alice de Lacy,
** patroness of the same, presents to the vicarage, eighth year of Archbishop Romaiue,
*^ folio 20 of his register." Jenning*s MSS., Harleiao CollecUon, No. 797.
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190 THE PARISH CHURCH.
In 1288, Pope Nicholas the 4th, gave to Edward the Ist,
the tenths of all the ecclesiastical benefices in England, to-
wards defraying the expenses of an expedition to Holy Land ;
and that the tenths might be collected at their full value, a
taxation was made of those benefices, which was finished in
1292. This is commonly called Pope Nicholas' Taxation, and
exhibits a very correct view of the value of English church
livings at the time. The following is the entry in it respect-
ing Bradford —
£. 9, d.
Church of Bradford 53 6 8
Vicarage there 13 6 8*
This shews, that in 1292, the living had become of very
considerable value.
On account of the incursions of the Scots, after the battle
of Bannockbum, a great number of the ecclesiastical benefit
ces in the north of England, had so depreciated in value, that
another taxation of them was made in 1318, called '^ Nova
Taxatio," in which the value of Bradford church is shewn to
be only
£.
Church 28
Vicarage 5
A strong instance of the sufferings inflicted on the inhabitants
of Bradford by these incursions.
The manor and advowson of the rectory, descended
together in the Lacy family till the death of the Earl of
Lincoln, when the former became the dowry of his widow ;
and the advowson descended to lliomas, Ektrl of Lancaster,
in right of his wife, Alice, daughter of the Earl of Lincoln.
On the confiscation of the estates of Lancaster, Edward the
2nd, as before mentioned, seized the advowson. The record,
dated at Felton, 8th August, 1322, by which it became the
• The taxation of the church of Leedf was XSO, Ticange £13 (to. Hd ; chuidl
of Halifax £93 ««. S</., ricarage £16 ; chureh of HTakefiekl £33 (to. U.
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THK PARISH CHURCH. 191
property of the Crown, is given in Rymer's Foedera ; but
as it contains no fact worthy of notice, except that the
advowson had come to the King's hands by reason of Lan-
caster's treason, I refrain giving a copy of it. llie manor
also having been wrenched from the Earl of Lincoln's widow
by the King, the advowson and manor again became con-
joined. In the inquisition taken on the death of Henry,
Earl of Lancaster, in 1361, the advowson, by which un-
doubtedly is meant the church living, is stated to be worth
£100 yearly. The manor and advowson continued in the
same hands till the grant of the former by John of Gaunt
to his son, the Marquis of Dorset, when the latter was
reserved.
On the seizure by Richard the 2nd of the possessions of
his deceased uncle, John of Gaunt, the manor and advowson
were again coupled, and so continued till the reign of Henry
the 5th, who, by a grant dated at Carron, 7th November,
1416,* gave the church of Bradford to the college of the
Blessed Mary, commonly called the Newark, at Leicester.
This college had been founded and liberally endowed by his
ancestors. In the same year as this grant, the church was
appropriated to the college by Henry Bowet, archbishop of
York. I have seen the ordination of the vicarage in Bowet's
register ; and as the purport, and indeed the only part which
is not mere formal verbiage, is given in the following extract
from Torre's MSS., I did not think it necessary to incur the
heavy expense of a copy. ** In the appropriation there is
" reserved out of the fruits of the church a competent portion
" for the perpetual vicar, who then was, and for his successors
'* serving therein, who shall be henceforth presentable by
'^ the dean and canons of the college of Leicester ; and
''have for his maintenance the same allowance which the
'' present vicar and his predecessors used to receive."! The
• Patent Heiny 5tfa, ao. 3, p. 2, m. 19, in the Tower of London. Brook's
MSS., citing Hutton*8 Collections,
t Tone's MSS., in the custody of the Dean and Chapter of York.
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192 THE PARISH CHUROH.
wording of the original is in these general terms. The arch*
bishop also reserved to himself and his guccessors, out of
the fruits of the churchy a pension of 20s. per annum ; to
the dean and chapter of York 6s. 8d. yearly ; and, in accor-
dance with the ancient right of the poor to a share of the
tithes for their support, ordained that the college should pay
to the poor of Bradford 20s. yearly, to be distributed among
them.
From the vague terms in which this ordination of the
vicarage of Bradford is coached, it cannot be correctly ascer-
tained in what the ancient endowment of the vicarage con-
sisted. It may, however, be fairly inferred, that the vicarial
tithes were in and long previous to 1416, the same as they
are now. In 1292, the value of Bradford vicarage was equal
to that of Leeds, and nearly to that of Halifax ; and in the
endowment of Leeds vicarage in 1242, and of Hali&x in 1273,
were certainly included the whole of the small tithes now
belonging to the vicar of Bradford. It is very probable
that the ancient endowments of the whole of these vicarages
were not much dissimilar.
To the time of the grant to the college of Leicester,
the rectors were in regular succession presented by the Lacies
and their successors patrons of the Church. The following is
a list, as correct as I am able to make it out, of these rectors :
Robert Tonnington, presented, as before stated, in 1281.*
Robert de Baldock the younger, presented by Edward the
second, in 1323.t He was professor of the civil law. Se-
questration of the living was granted to him third kalends of
May, 1324, by the Archbishop of York.J
• The niroaine of Uie rector who in 1S93 pre«ntcd Uie flrrt vicar b not given ;
I cannot, therefore, nj whether it was Robert Tonnington or a iacoe»or. Burton,
In the Moo. Ebor. mentioni that " John son of Reginald clerli of Bradford gave
land in Bowlii^ to KirkstaU Abbey;" but I luiow not at what date he lireJ, oor
hare seen any other notice of him.
t SUUi year of Bishop Melton folio I6t of his register, Jeoiiii«s's MSS.
X Brook*s MSS., quoting Hutton's CoUedions.
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THE PARISH CHyUCH. 193
Robert de Walkington was next rector, and immediately
after him
William de Mirfield.* — No doubt he was of the ancient and
affluent family of the Mirfields of Tong. This rector had
large possessions in the neighbourhood.f He appears to have
been a liberal man. In 1374 he obtained a licence from the
King to grant to William Cotes, then vicar of Bradford, and
his successors for ever, a house in Bradford to reside in. j:
There is, to me, not the slightest doubt that this was the old
vicarage-house in Ooodmansend. He died in 1377.
In the same year John of Gaunt (King of Castile, as he
is styled in the Archiepiscopal Register) presented to the rec-
tory, vacant by the death of Mirfield, Wm. de Wynceby.g
Thomas de Durysch was the last parson (in the proper
sense of the word) of the church of Bradford. On the grant
of the church to the dean and canons of the college of Lei*
cester, some agreement seems to have been entered into be-
tween Durysch and them, and on the second of January,
1422, he resigned to them the rectory. |J
During the latter part of the period in which the church
belonged to the college of Leicester, the advowson and rec-
tory were leased to various persons, who presented in two
instances the vicar. U
• " Robert de Walkington, rector of the church of Bradford, and immediately after
'' him Willioni de MirBeld was rector of the same church." Jennings's MSS.
t In the Escheats, 22nd of Edward 3rd, it is stated that it would not be for
the damage of the King if Benedict Normanton enfeoflfed William de Mirfteld^
priest, of the manors of Fersley and Shelf, held of the King in eapite, payiag
yearly to Normanton and his heirs 60«. These manors were held ^Oth of Edward
3id by William de Mirfield the day he died, of the King In eapite, by the service
of one penny yearly. — Vide Watson's * Halifax,' p. 1 16.
X Escheats, 47th Edward 3rd, No. 11, quoted hi Brook's MSS.
§ Archbishop Nevile's Register, folio 19, quoted in Jennings's MSS.
II Archbishop Hutton's Collections, p. 1 16, quoted Id Brook's MSS.
% ** Thomas Ogden, vicar of the church of Bradford, by the resignation of William
'* Weston, on the presentation of William Ranold, by reason of the grant to him hf
'* Robert Bone, dean of the coUege.** Brook's MSS. See also list of vicars hereafter,
2 B
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194 THE PARISH CHURCH.
In the Ecclesiastical Survey, made by order of Henry the
8th, Bradford rectory is returned, under the notice of the
possessions of the college of Leicester, as being of the value
of £50 a year. In this Survey (commonly called the " King's
Book") the vicarage of Bradford was totally overlooked ; and
at the end, under the head of " Omissions," it was merely
stated that its value amounted to £20 yearly, and the tenths
to £2, without giving, in the usual manner, any details.
On the dissolution of the college of Leicester, the rectory
and advowson of the vicarage vested in the Crown. In the
5th Mary, this advowson was, along with that of Calverley,
granted by her to the Archbishop of York. For some reason
I am unacquainted with, Queen Elizabeth presented afterwards
to both livings ; but the Archbishop of York presented to
them in the reign of James the first — in consequence, I pre-
sume, of the above-mentioned grant ; not by lapse. It seems,
however, that the Archbishops had not, with the exception of
a single presentation, any benefit from the grant of the
advowson of Bradford vicarage.
The rectory from time to time, after it became vested in
the Crown, was leased out by the officers of the Duchy of
Lancaster. In 1G07 the rectory was in the possession of Sir
Richard Tempest ; and it appears from the following precept
directed to him, that the impropriator of the rectory had
been accustomed to pay the procurations and synodals, which
at this time amounted to 7s. 6d, (subsidies, £1 I6s.)
After our hearty commeDdations. Forasmuch as we have received
a resolutioD by fiiU coDsent of the Doctors of the Civil Law, having
argued the case at large among themselves at the Doctors' Commons,
that the Rectory of Bradford by the appropriation thereof is bound
to pay all procurations at visitations and synodals and not the Vicar;
and it appeareth also that before the 8uppres«ion of the Collegiate
Church of Leicester, the Dean and Canons of the same Church did
in their leases covenant with their farmers that they should at their
proper costs and charges find a proctor to appear for them, and to
answer in their names at all such meetings and congregations of the
Clergy within the Archdeaconry of York, however in late leases since
the suppression of the said College this covenant hath been left out.
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THE PARISH OHURCH. 195
These are therefore to will and require you that after the receipt of this
our Letter, you persist no further in refusal of ihe payment of them.
And this we doubt not but that you will the rather do at our motion
for the favour you have -lately received from us in your lease of the
said Rectory, and for the benefits which you receive thereby far
above that which the Vicar hath allotted for his portion, although
his labours and continual residence with so great a people may justly
look for a more full maintenance, otherwise upon knowledge of your
refusal we shall take such order as shall be fitting, and so we bid
you farewell. From Westminster the 25th day of June, 1607.
Your loving friends,
j. fortescub,
John Brogravb.
The former. Sir John Fortescue, was chancellor^ and the
latter attorney of the Duchy. It seems from the introduction
of this document, that there had been a suit as to the person
who was bound to pay the procurations. In the inquisition of
1612, before set forth. Sir Richard Tempest is returned as
having the rectory lands, and paying therefore to the lord of
the manor, one shilling and four-pence yearly.
From the Duchy of Lancaster the rectory and advowson of
the vicarage came into the possession of Sir John Maynsrd of
Footing Greveny, Surrey, knight, who in 1638 made a survey
of the value of the rectorial tithes of the parish, which is well
known in Bradford, and has been published.* I have now
before me a very old copy of this survey and other documents
relating to the church. In the survey the tithes of Bradford
were set down as being worth five hundred and ninety pounds ;
and that there were in Bradford seven hundred and seventy-
five acres of land, and one hundred and fifty acres of com-
mon. In the year 1639, about one hundred and twenty
acres of the land was made tithe-free, for the sum of about
ninety-four pounds. The tithes were valued at the rate of
• In a small useful pamphlet, entitled " Documents relating to the Parish Church
of Bradford," edited by Dr. Outhwaite. The greater part of this pamphlet was
printed from a duplicate of the " Old Copy,'' next mentioned; but several judkioui
additions were made by the editor.
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196 THE PARISH CHURCH.
fifteen shillings an acre, for all the land in Bradford, except
about, one hundred and twenty acres lying in the Mill Cliffe
hy the water side, and in the Hall-field, which then paid
tithe corn and hay in kind, and valued at seventeen shil-
lings an acre. The rest of the land in the township paid
tithe corn only in kind, and a composition for hay.
The following is the account in this Survey of the quantity
and value of the parsonage lands : —
A Valuation of Lands belonging to the Parsoooge, in particulars,
as follows; —
The Cliffe Field or Wood Field
The Broome Closes
Dunnel Holme, otherwise Parsonage
Holme or Ing
The Doles
The Little Holme
The Nether Barker Leys • •
The Close called the Flatte & Par-
sonage Fold
The Wheat Close
The two Closes called Folder! ngs
The R\G Closes called Flashes
The three Closes called Uurrikcrs
The four Closes called Fulley Closes
The Upper Barker Leys
The Middle Barker Leys • .
Webster Parrack
Starkey Close
Jepson Parrack
The Lower Flats 2
S4 2 8.. 1347 14
The number of acres here given amount only to seventy-
eight, but the quantities of four closes are not shewn. Id
the same Survey, however, these parsonage lands are stated
to amount to ninety-six acres, which was their real and
ancient quantity.
Total value
Yeariy at 16 yean*
QnanUty.
value. purchase.
A. «.
£. M.
d. £. 9. d.
22 2..
16
0..256
5 0..
5 10
0.. 88
2 2..
5 10
0.. 88
1 2..
2 10
0.. 40
1 0..
2
0.. 32
2 0..
2 10
0.. 40
4 3..
8
0..J28
2 0..
4
0.. 64
• ■
4
0.. 64
9 0..
4
0.. 64
11 0..
6 16
0..109 6 8
5 0..
5 13
0.. 91 3 4
6 0..
6
0.. 96
2 2..
3 4
0. . 5] 4
• •
1
0.. 16
1 2..
2 13
0.. 42 13 4
• •
1 6
8.. 21 6 8
2 0..
3 10
0.. 56
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 197
The total value of the rectorial tithes in the parish of
Bradford, in 1638, is thus shewn : —
The Total Sums of the whole Rectory or Parsonage of Bradford.
£. s. d.
The Tythes of Bradford 590
The Parsonage Lands 1332
The Tythes of Manningham 450
The Tythes of Boiling 404
The Tythes of VVibsey 101
The Tythes of Allerton and Wilsden . . . . 82
The Ty tlies of Thornton 345
The Tythes of Eccleshill, together with Wool, Lamb,
and Common thereto belonging, and are sold to Mr.
Calverley of Calverley, for £145 . . . . 120
The Tythes of Shipley 79
The Tythes of Hortons 603
The Tythes of Eaworth 200
The Easter Book 470
The Tythes of Wool and Lamb 256
A Note of such parcels of the Parsonage of Bradford, as have
been sold off.
In 1637. £. 8. d.
The Tythes of the New Land in Haworth, and Fifty
Shillings per annum of the Easter Book, sold for - • 260
The Tythes of the New Land in Clayton, sold for 100
The Tythes of the New Lands in Boiling, sold for • • 45 5
In 1639. ,
The Tythes of the half of Eccleshill, together with the
whole Tythe of Wool and Lamb and Commons, sold
to Mr. Calverley, for 145
The other half did belong to Savill, and he hath sold it.
Part of the Tythe of Horton, sold to John Sharp, Jun.,
and John Mortimer, for • . . . . . 195 18 2
Part of the Tythes of Bradford and Manningham, sold
to Mr. Okell and others, for 341 14 8
The Easter Book alluded to in this Survey, comprised the
moduses or compositions for the rectorial tithes collected at
Easter.
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198 THE PARISH CHURCH.
In the Parliamentary Survey of church livings, made in
1650, during the Protectorate, there are the following en-
tries : — *
Wee fiadc belonging to the Fish Church of Bradford a viccaridge
presentative with cure of souls, and Sir John Maynard hath the ad-
vowson and also the Impropriate Rcclorie there.
The Viccaridge-house, small tithes, and profitts, was worth about
seaventye pounds p. anu.* but by reason of the late warrs not now
worth above forty e pounds p. ann. or thereabouts.
There is no Mynister the Viccaridge being vacant
Wee finde there be three Chapells or Chapellryes in the said pa-
rish, viz. the Chapells of Wibsey, Thornton, and Ilaworth. [The
survey of these chapels will be given under their proper heads.]
After this the advowson and rectory came into the hands of
Jonas W^aterhouse, clerk.f This was the Jonas Waterhouse
mentioned by Calamy, in his Nonconformists' Memorial of
Ejected Ministers, as having been ejected from the ministry
of Bradford church. The following is Calamy's notice of
him : " Mr. Jonas Waterhouse, M. A., sometime fellow of
" St. John's College, Cambridge, a learned man, a lover of
*^ peace, and greatly esteemed for his works' sake. After his
*^ ejectment he lived privately and frequented the established
** worship, but usually preached on Lord's Days' evenings in
" his house."
Though there is no direct evidence to prove that Water-
house was the sole minister of the church at the time of the
survey of 1650, yet it is probable. j: I am unable to state how
• I have (o acknowledge my (Obligation to J. A. LewU, Eaqiiin), keeper of the
reoonls at Lambeth Palace, for having, la a very bandcome manner, sent me thlt
traowript from the original. I am aware the Survey ha» been printed by the Reooid
CommLviioneri, bat 1 have been unable to obtain access to the printed copy.
t After the advowion of the vicarage came into private hands, it Is not easy to
trace its descent from one private hand to another. The following account of its
descent is partly taken from Dr. Outhwaite's pamphlet before meutfoned; with
additions from an abstract of the title to the rectorial Uthes ; Bacon*s Librr Regis;
and other sources.
{ There was In the middle aisle of the Church a monument with the foUowing
Inscriptkin on It, but some despoiling hand has removed it :^*' Sub hoc cippo reponit
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 199
Waterhouse obtained the rectory and advowson from Sir John
Maynard ; but about the year 1678, the former conveyed all
his interest therein, to Mary, the daughter and heir of Sir
John, and wife of Buller, Esquire, of Shillingham in
Cornwall, who left it to her second son, James Buller of
Shillingham. In 1707, he created a term of five hundred
years, for the benefit of his wife, and died 14th of September,
1709. From the trustees, the rectory and advowson came
to the Rev. Nicholas Woolfe of Boynton, Yorkshire, Clerk ;
who intailed them by his will, dated 1748, upon the children
of his sister Lydia, the wife of Francis Dawson of Kingston-
upon-HuU, merchant ; and Samuel Dawson, her eldest son,
by force of this devise, became possessed of them, and bar-
red the intail by a fine levied in 1780. He afterwards died
intestate, and his father, the said Francis Dawson, obtained
letters of administration to his property. From this Francis,
the rectory and advowson came to his son, Francis Dawson of
Newmarket, Esquire, who sold the advowson to the Rev.
John Crosse, the vicar ; of Mr. Crosse it was purchased by
Henry Thornton, Esquire, of Clapham, whose executors sold
it to Mr. Richard Fawcett, who afterwards conveyed the
advowson to the Rev. Charles Simeon, vicar of Trinity
Church, Cambridge, now deceased, and in his trustees it
is now vested.
Such part of the rectorial possessions as are not sold, belong
to the Rev. Francis Dawson <^ Chiselhurst, Kent, as ad-
ministrator of the personal estate of his father, the last-
mentioned Francis Dawson, who died intestate.
In a mortgage of the rectorial property, effected in 1796,
the glebe lands of the parsonage were stated to consist of one
hundred and eighteen acres of land ; being the eight oxgangs
anciently belonging to the church, with the addition of a few
*Mo quod mortnle fuii Jons Waterbouse, A.M., Divi Johannis Coll., Cantab, quon.
''dam Socii; Viri Don in eruditi Qui (in novi&sime elapsft nil infelicLssim4
« Monarcbie el Episcopatus intemiptiune) fuit bujos Ecclesis Minister band infidelLk
" Ob. 13o Febniarii, Anno Domini M.DCCXVl. iEtatis LXXXX/'
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200 THE PARISH CHURCH.
acres of new inclosures. The tithes in that year were let for
the sum of sixty-two pounds. The same year the greater
part of the glebe lands were conveyed for the remainder of
the before-mentioned term to William Pollard, William
Hustler, Thomas Jones, John Hodgson, and lliomas Skel-
ton, for three thousand six hundred and forty-nine pounds.
These lands were all situated above the church, in Under-
cliife-lane, Barkerend, and that locality. Since 1796 a large
portion of the rectorial tithes has been sold.
To churchmen resident in Bradford, and whose ancestors
for generations dwelt in it, the fabric of its parish church is
an object of peculiar interest, and connected with many
powerful associations. Such men may emphatically exclaim
''It is our holy aud beautiful house where our fathers
*^ worshipped." With it are joined many pleasing and sorrow-
ful reminiscences to thousands in Bradford — their bridals
were celebrated within its walls, or the ordinances of the
church administered to their children — underneath the nu-
merous grave-stones, "worn smooth with busy feet now
seen no more," with which its floor is covered, or in its yard
" ruffled with the cells of death," their fathers, or some one
near and dear to them, sleep. Nay even to every inhabitant
of the town professing the Common Faith, whose feelings are
not lamentably warped by party prejudices, the Old Church
is an object of venerable interest. For four centuries the
offices of Christianity have been performed within its walls,
and very probably on the same spot for eight centuries !
With Addison's beautiful and touching reflections on West-
minster Abbey in his hand, a thinking man may, even in this
comparatively obscure church, preach himself a sermon
which will be of lasting advantage to him. In its chancel lie
mingled the remains of priests of the Old Faith and Protes-
tant clergymen. Within its walls, the ("hurchman and the
Dissenter — the Whig, the Tory, and the Radical, rest peace*
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 201
nbly together. In this House of the Dead^ how all the little
quarrels and petty differences in politics and religion, that
make man the enemy of man — all the worldly jarrings, are
hushed !
The present church, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in
the time of Henry the sixths and finished in the thirty-sixth
year of his reign (1458). The difficulty in raising in
those times heavy rates was so great, that there is no doubt
it was a considerable period in building. The erection of
Halifax church occupied twenty years, and I presume the
church here would not be completed in much less time.
There requires no stronger instance that this work had ex-
hausted the pockets of the inhabitants of the parish, than the
fact, that the steeple occupied fifteen years in building, and
was not completed till fifty years after the body of the
church ; being finished the twenty-third of Henry the seventh
(1508).
Of the Norman church, which preceded the present one,
not a vestige remains. There is no ground for doubting that
it stood on the site of the present pile : if there were, several
reasons might be advanced, rendering the point sufficiently
certain. The Norman church being built at a time when
the population of the parish was thin, would only be of small
dimensions ;* and as Dr. Whitaker observes, the date of
the erection of the present church may clearly be ascertained,
as that also of a great increase in the population, by means of
the extension of the woollen-manufacture. It was then the
place of worship for the inhabitants of the whole parish^
• There is a current tradition in Bradford that the ancient chtuch here was called
" Chapel in the Wood." 1 was once informed by a werj old man residing on the
jnoors above Thornton, that he had heard his father say that in olden tiroes the
inhabitants of those parts came to worship at ** Chapel i'th Wood, at Bradford-"
This tradition is alluded to in the Introrluclion to the ' Memoirs* edited by Hartley,
mentioned at page 14, published upwards of sixty yean since. One fact is oertali^
that that quarter of Bradford where the church now stands was fonnerly veiy woody^
2 C
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202 THE PARISH CHURCH.
except Haworth, where there was a chapel in the year
1317, as wiU be more fully adverted to hereafter.
Bradford Church is a good specimen of the style of eccle-
siastical architecture prevailing in the reign of Henry the
sixth; and a person in his noviciate in such matters would find
no difficulty in assigning the erection to that period, were
it not recorded ; so plain and distinct are the characters of
its style. It stands on a site rapidly declining to the west.
The length of the nave (inclusive of the lobby or vestibule,
thirty-seven feet) is one hundred and seven feet; its height
to the ceiling, thirty feet ; and breadth fifty-four feet. ITie
chancel is forty-seven feet in length. The great length of
the body of the church, built with fine free-stone, its large
and numerously ramified windows, pinnacled battlements,
varied ornaments, and lofty and beautiful tower (thirty yards
high), give the whole structure an imposing and picturesque
appearance. There is probably no parish church in York-
shire that has a nobler or more venerable aspect, or presents
a better example of the decorated style of English church
architecture than this church.
The interior is too much crowded with galleries to have
a graceful or striking effect. The nave consists of three
aisles, and from the steeple to the upper choir, is supported
on each side by eleven gothic substantial arches. In the
lobby, which is separated from the body of the church by
a wooden partition, stands the baptismal font, of dimensions
sufficient for the immersion of the whole body of the infant.
This font seems not of any ancient date. The cover to it
is a choice piece of crocketted lattice-work ; I have never
seen a better. I have been informed, but have not seen it,
that in the interior of it there is a date sometime in the
latter part of the sixteenth century. Whether this be so or
not, it is quite certain that this cover is of considerable
antiquity. The screen which formerly separated the body
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 203
of the church from the chancel^ has long since disappeared.
Its place is now occupied by a large and low gallery, which
has a displeasing effect on the interior of the church. The
nave would be very darksome, on account of being sur-
rounded by galleries, were it not for a range of clere-story
windows. The chancel is elevated above the floor of the
nave three steps. Dr. Whitaker observes of the great
eastern window of the choir, " It is an awkward insertion,
" containing a multitude of lights, apparently about the time
^^ of James the first, and I much suspect that the much hand-
" somer though smaller window which now appears on the
** south side of the choir, and eastward from the Boiling
'^ chapel, to have been the identical one which was removed
" on that occasion." There are in this window a few frag-
ments of painted glass, but nothing perfect except the
representation of Bradford Arms.
There appears not to have been a chantry in this church ;
at least Archbishop Holgate, in his return of chantries in
Yorkshire, in the reign of Edward the sixth, is silent as to
one being here — but it is an indisputable fact that there are
very numerous omissions in that return. There was, how-
ever, in the church, a chapel belonging to BoUing-hall, on
the south side of the chancel. The place is yet well known.
From the fact of the Boilings directing their bodies to be
buried before the altar,* it seems probable that the cha-
pel had not been formed till the time of their successors,
the Tempests. Sir Richard Tempest, of Boiling -hall,
knight, by his will, proved twenty-ninth of January, 1537,
gives his soul to God Almighty, and his body to be buried
in Our Lady's Queers, in the church of Bradford.f There
is little doubt, as he was the possessor of BoUing-hall soon
• Robert Boiling made bis will, proved 1487, giving bis soul to God Almigbty, St.
Mary, and all Sainti, and bis body to be buried before tbe altar in Bradfonl Cbuitb.
t Torre's M8S., page TP7.
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204 TH£ PARI8H CHURCH.
after the above-named Robert Boiling, that he had formed this
chapel, and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary ; and probably a
small altar stood in it, at which a temporary priest afterwards
chanted requiems for the repose of the souls of him and
his successors. Several of the ancient race of the Tempests
are buried in that chapel. When Dodsworth visited the
church, in 1619, there were in the great window of the
south choir the arms of Badelsmere, Scargil, Eland, Boiling,
and the Earl of Lancaster.
By deed dated the first of March, 1671, Peter Sunderland,
Esquire, of Fairweather-green, gave a rent-charge of forty
pounds a year, out of houses and land in Bradford, &c., to
trustees, " To the intent and purpose to permit and suffer
" from time to time, for ever thereafter, a pious learned and
** able preaching minister of God's Holy Word, being of the
" degree of master of arts at the least, and conformable to the
'' discipline of the Church of England as it then was establish-
'' ed, and of a sober and Christian conversation, and lawfully
'' licensed according to the canons and constitutions in that
'' case contained, and duly exercising his ministerial function
" of prayer and preaching every Sunday or Lord's Day in the
" afternoon, in the parish church of Bradford aforesaid, as a
" lecturer or assistant to the vicar, to receive the said yearly
" rent-charge." Mr. Sunderland directed that the lecturer
should be chosen by the trustees for the time being, the vicar
to be one ; and if they neglected to do so within eleven weeks
after the death of a former lecturer, then the power of appoint-
ing one, devolved upon the Master and Fellows of St. Peter's
College, Cambridge. He also directed that in remembrance
of this act of charity, and of his having presented to the
church a large silver communion cup, and also a silver paten,
the vicars of Bradford should, upon every second Sunday
after Easter, in the forenoon, preach a commemoration ser-
mon, and the lecturer to be at the charge of the vicar's
dinner for that day.
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 205
The old vicarage-house in Goodmansend having become
ruinous and unfit for residence^ in the year 1695, the present
vicarage-house was bought for the sum of one hundred and
fifty-three pounds, raised by voluntary subscriptions.* It
had shortly before been occupied by Francis Gledstone,
lecturer at the church. Along with the vicarage, passed also
*' one barn, commonly called the tithe or teaned laith, situate
*' in the croft, on the south side of the said messuage." Thus
the residence of the vicar was removed from Goodmansend.
The site of the old vicarage was about the spot where Messrs.
Wood and Walker's immense worsted-mills stand. What a
transformation ! I have been unalile to ascertain whether
the road now called " Vicnr-lane" be of ancient date ; if so,
it would probably form the track of the old vicars from their
residence to the church.
* Tb« following are the names of the subscribers, with the sum given by each : —
£. #. d. £ s. d.
Jobn^Lord. Archbishop of York.. 50
JohnRookesofRoyds-hallyEsq. 10
F. Liodley of BoUlDg-baU, Esq. 6
John Weddell, Esq 6
Mr. John Field of Shipley ..500
William Mortimer of Schoolmore 5
E.HortonofTbornion-b8ll,Csq. 6
Mr. Isaac Hollings 5
Mr. VVilUam Swaine . . ..300
Mr. Thomas GiU 4
Mr. Thomas Hook 3
Mr. Richanl Smith .... ..200
Mr. John Lister of Manningham 2
Mr. Jas. Smith of Manningham 2
Jeremiah Bower 3
Mrs. Mai}' R«rHsby 5
Mr. John Smith of Wakefield.. 2
Thomas Ledgard 2
Mr.JobnListerof Little- Norton 2
Mn Sharp of Liltle-Horton ..0 10
Mr.TsaacShari) of Little- HortoQ 10
Williain Dixon 2
Thomas Ho(Ig»-on 15
Mr. Richanl tlawson . . ..500
Jonas Holdsworth 10 a
Mr. William Rawson of Boiling . 1 10
Mr. Wil Ham Rawson of Bradford 1 10 O
Mr.Ctickcrort 3 4
David Parkinson . . . . . . I O
Jaspar Pickard 5a
Benjamin Bower 2 • Mr. Joslas Midgley of Headley 3 O
Abraham Balroe 2 Mr. T. Crabtive of Clockbouse I a
Thomas Rowland 10 Wm. Lepton I O
Mr.WlUiam Field of Shipley .. 2 ' Mr. R. RichanlM)n of Newhall I (f
William Wilkinson 1 | Mr. Thos. Walker 10
James Garth of Heaton . • . . 2 i Isaac Ellis 10
Samuel Stonsfteki 2 ! Jonathan Hopkinson .. .. 10 9
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206 THE PARISH CHURCH.
In 1703^ the rate amounted to two hundred and forty
pounds^ and the next year to one hundred and eighty pounds.
I apprehend these heavy rates were connected with the
pewing of the church.
Previous to the year 1705^ the sittings in the church were
mere stalls^ of irregular shapes and dimensions. A commis-
sion was granted hy John Sharp, Archbishop of York, to
twelve inhabitants of the parish, to pull down these stalls,
and pew the church in an uniform manner ; and in execution
of this commission the church was pewed as it now remains.
In the year 1715, the old bells were recast, at a cost
of nearly two hundred pounds. The church-rate for that
year amounted to two hundred and forty pounds.
The church was, in 1724, roof-casted, and the timber for
the purpose was brought from Tong Wood. This measure
emanated from an order of vestry, at which only six per-
sons were present, and which had not been convened by
public notice. The churchwardens and chapelwardens of
eight of the townships in the parish, (chosen according to
custom,) sent a written remonstrance to the vicar, Mr.
Kennet, against enforcing this order of vestry ; but their
efforts were of no avail. The rate for 1724 and the next
year, amounted to two hundred and ten pounds.
On the 4th of March, 1785, a faculty was granted to vicar
Crosse to erect the south gallery. There was a gallery
(probably where the organ is) before, as the faculty directs
that the passage to the former should proceed up the '^ pre-
" sent staircase leading to the old gallery, through the end of
" a pew belonging to Mr. Sclater." The seats in this gallery
were sold by Mr. Crosse for upwards of three hundred
pounds.
Mr. ('rosse, on the 28th of January, 1786, obtained
another faculty for the erection of the north gallery. The
money arising from the sale of the pews in the north and
south galleries, was invested in the purchase of Upper
Ponden Farm, in Wilsden ; the rents of which for ever
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THS PARISH CHURCH. 207
were to be applied in payment of the organist's salary.
He now receives them. The organ had just before been
erected by voluntary subscription.*
The appropriation of the money arising from the sale of
these pews, was among the causes that led to the unhappy
law-suits with the inhabitants of Haworth, for refusing to
pay their ancient proportion of the church-rate, as they con-
tended the money should have been applied to the purposes
of the rate.
The hearers at the parish church during Mr. Cressets
incumbency increased so rapidly, that even with the addi-
tion of the above-mentioned two galleries, the accommodation
was not sufficiently ample for his numerous congregation ;
and on the 9th of May, 1797, another faculty was obtained
for erecting the east gallery. For this purpose Mr. Crosse
purchased the chancel of the lord of the manor, to whom and
his predecessors it had immemorially belonged.
The church-yard having become too small for the decent
interment of the dead, an act of parliament was obtained
in 1817, for enlarging the church-yard, by adding to it a
piece of land called Mountain-croft, adjoining on the north
side. The trustees appointed by the act, and their successors,
were authorized to divide the additional burying-grouud into
two moieties, the one to be set out for the use of the public,
and the other to be sold in lots to such persons as were wil-
ling to purchase the same for private burial-ground.
The church was refronted with large free-stone and reslated
(the old slate being decayed) in the year 1833. The old
oak timber being perfectly sound, was allowed to remain.
An elegant ceiling was also put up, and other alterations
made. The costs of these repairs amounted to about one
thousand eight hundred pounds, including one hundred
pounds laid out in repairing and beautifying the organ.
• The Rererend Edward Balme, Ticar of Flncbingfleld, In ttie county of Emoc,
gave eighty poonds for augmentlQg the organist's salaiy.
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208 THE PARISH CHURCH.
A custom has immemorially prevailed of raising the rates
for the repairs of the churchy in certain proportions from the
different townships of the parish. There is the following
entry in the Vestry Book of 1679 : — ^^ It is an ancient custom
" in the parish of Bradford thus to proportion the church lay.
'' Firsts that the chapelry of Haworth pay a fifth part of the
" whole sume ; then Bradford town a third part of the re-
** maining sume ; and the rest to be equally divided accor-
'' ding to the ch'wardens of the several towns of Thornton,
" Heaton-cum-Clayton, Allerton-cum-Wilsden, Great and
" Little Horton, Wibsey and Bierley, Shipley, Manningham,
'^ Boiling, Eccleshill." It is evident that this usage must
have taken its rise in times when Haworth bore a different
relation to the other townships of the parish in wealth and
population to that in which it stands in modern times. The
inhabitants of Haworth in 1785 refused to pay their ancient
proportion ; and in 1789 an action was brought in the Eccle-
siastical Court of York against them, to compel them to pay
it. It was afterwards discovered that the Ecclesiastical Court
had no jurisdiction to enforce the payment of church-rates,
and a mandamus was obtained from the Court of King^s l^nch,
commanding the chapelwardens of Haworth to levy the rate
according to the ancient custom. After some technical pro-
ceedings, an action to determine the question of the custom
was tried at York, before Mr. Justice BuUer and a special
jury, in 1792, and a verdict given against Haworth. A mo-
tion was made for a new trial, which was unsuccessful. The
inhabitants of Haworth after this paid their ancient propor-
tion till the year 1810, when they again refused, and another
mandamus was applied for without success, on the objection
that the rate was retrospective, being laid to reimburse the
churchwardens for sums expended by them. A rate was,
however, shortly laid prospectively, and another action tried
at York Lent assizes, in 1812, when Haworth was again
worsted.
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THE PARISH CHURCH.
209
Close Catalogue of the Vicars of Bradford,
TIME OF IN.
BTITOTIOri.
HOW
VACATED.
Robert Rector with the assent /
of Alice de Lacy \
Same Resigned
Same
Same
Same Robert
Same
Same
William de Mirfield
Same
Same
Same
Wtlliam de Wynceby
5 Dean and Canons of the Col-
I lege of Leicester
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
By death
1293 Richanl de Hallon, Presbyter \
Richard de Irby
1309 Richard de Eure, Pbr.
1387 Robert Mor,„,Ch,ptai„ j '^jgSSock Re^of t!'":!*! '"j «-te"«'
1328 Robert de Byngham, Pbr.
1331 William de Preston, Chaplain
1335 Henry de Latry-nton, Chaplain
1337 GeofTry de Langton, Pbr.
1348 Adam de Lymbergh, Pbr.
Richard de Wilsden, Pbr.
1364 William Frankelayn
1369 William de Norton, Pbr.
1370 William del Cotes, Pbr.
1374 Stephen de Eccleshill, Pbr.
William
1401 William Rodes, Pbr.
Thomas Banke, Pbr.
1432 Dyonis Gellys, Pbr.
1464 Henry Gellys, Pbr.
1476 John Webbester, Pbr.
Richard Strateburell
--!>« 5 ^'- Gilbert Beaconshaw, Deer.
*^"'* \ B. or BeaconhiU
1537 Wm. More ( Bp. of Colchester ?)
1541 William Weston, S.T.P.
1556 Thomas Okden, Clerk
1563 Laurence Taylor, Clerk
1563 Christopher Taylor, Clerk
1595 Caleb Kerope, CI., S.T.B.
1614 Richard Uster, Clerk, A.M.
1615 John Oakel, A.M.
1639 John Kempe, Clerk
1640 Edward Hudson, Clerk
1667 Abm. Brooksbank, Clerk, A.M.
1667 Abm. Brooksbank, A.M.
1677 Francis Pemberton
1608 Benjamin Baron
1706 Bradgate Ferrond
1710 Thomas Ciapham
1720 Benjamin Kennet, A.M.
1752 John Sykes, A.M.
1784 John Crosse, A.M.
1816 Henry Heap, B.D.
1839 William Scoresl^y, D.D.
Resigned
By death
> Same
Resigned
By death
Same
Siime
Same
Resigned
By death
Same
Same
Siime
Resigned
Same
Same
John, Bishop of Lincoln
A$?»igns of the Col. of Leicester
Other Assigns
Queen Elizabeth
Same
Archbishop of York
FrancisMorrie& Francis Phillip By death
Same
Same
Same
By death
]{e.signed
By death
Same
Same
Same
Sam?
Same
Same
Assigns of Sir John Mayuard
Charles the first
Mar}' Maynard
Jonas Waterhouse
BiiUer and Wife
Archbishop of York, by lapse
James Buller
Francis Buller
Joseph and Jane Sykes
Hammond Crosse, Esq.
Daniel Sykes and others
Trustees of Mr. Simeon
2 u
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210 THE PARISH CHURCH.
The notices which I am able to give of the vicars of Brad-
ford are unusually short. I know of many sources, written
and printed, where much information on this head, and on
other subjects connected with the church of Bradfonl might
have been obtained ; but in order to avail myself of them,
it required much more time and money than, with the pros-
pect I had of being repaid, I am able, prudently, to expend.
The following remarks on the list of vicars are desultory and
disconnected. —
The vicarage for sixty years after the Scottish incursion
immediately subsequent to the battle of Bannockburn, was
of so small a value, that eight (if not more) of the first vicars
successively resigned. I have before stated that Mirfield, the
rector, was a liberal man. I believe that besides giving the
vicarage-house, he allowed the vicars, presented by him, to
receive the rents of his land at Shelf.*
It is probable that the vicar of Bradford had, in ancient
times, two chaplains or curates to assist him in the perfor-
mance of the offices of the church. In the list of tenants
appended to the survey or extent of 1342, of the manor of
Bradford, made during the time it was in the possession of
Henry Duke of Lancaster, as before fully mentioned, there
are the following entries : —
William Dewsbury , capelan', tenet tertiam part' unius Burg*.
Adam Boiling, capelan*, tenet two Burg*.
It is almost certain that these chaplains were engaged in the
service of Bradford church, or of some chapel in the town.
Two of the earlier vicars, Wilsden and Eccleshill, were
very probably natives of the parish, as in the times in which
they lived, local surnames were a pretty sure index of
residence.
• WUHain de Mirlleld, panon of the cfatircb of Bradford, on the death of WiUiain
de Cotet, vicar, wai found by inquWtlon post morlem, to be the owner of OM
hundred sbilUngs yearly \mi\ng out of land at Shelf, which bad been rroelred by
the said Cotei. Cal. Inq. pott mort , vol. 8, p. 3S9.
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 211
Waiiam Rodes and Henry Gelles, among a number, no
doubt, of the old vicars, were interred in the chancel.*
As to the statement in the list of vicars that William
More, bishop of Colchester^ was vicar of Bradford, I am
unable to give any explanation, except that it is, at least,
an error respecting Colchester, which neither is, nor, as far
I know, ever was the seat of a bishoprick.
Vicar Brooksbank was of the family of the Brooksbanks
of Horton.
I believe vicar Baron was curate to Mr. Pemberton. He
was collated to the vicarage by John Sharp, Archbishop of
York, who possessed the right by reason of Buller, the patron,
not presenting a clerk for induction in proper time.f
Bradgate Ferrand, M. A., was the second son of Robert
Ferrand, Esquire, of Harden-grange, near Bingley, a magis-
trate and deputy - lieutenant of the West -Riding; and
nephew of the Rev. Samuel Ferrand, vicar of Calverley.
Bradgate Ferrand was born in 1682, and died on the third of
May, 1709. He graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
He lies buried in the chancel, and over the spot there is a
grave-stone with a brass plate to his memory.
The next vicar, Clapham (of the ancient family of the
Claphams of Bethmesley, Craven), was head master of the
grammar-school when he was inducted into the vicarage.
He died 1719, aged forty-nine years, and was buried in the
church, where there is a monument to his memory.
His successor was of the family of the Sykes' of Drighling-
ton, who appear, from their court of arms, to have been a
* William Rodes, vicar of St. Peter's, Bradfonl, by bis will, proved on tba
Feast of the Bebeading of St. John the Baptist, 1435, gave bis soul to God Al-
mighty, St Mary, and all Saints, and his body to be buried in the chancel of Brad-
ford church. Henry Gelles, M.A., vicar of Bradford, (will proved 2nd April, 1476,)
gave his soul as above, and bis body to be buried in the chancel of Bradford church.
t There is an entry in one of Bradford Church Registers, that he was collated by
Archbishop Sharp to the vicarage 24tb November, 1698, on the resignation of
Pemberton.
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212 THE PARISH CHURCH.
branch of the ancient family of the Sykes' of Leeds. He was
presented to the living of Bradford by Joseph and Jane Sykes,
(I presume his father and mother^) who had bought of the
patron the right of next presentation. Mr. Sykes died at
Bradford^ August 7th, 1783, aged sixty years. I have been
informed, but not been able to meet with the work, that he
wrote a History of Trade. There is a monument to his
memory in the chancel.
The next vicar, the Rev. John Crosse, was bom in the
parish of St. Martins-in-the-Fields, London, in the year 1739.
He was educated at a school at Hadley, near Bamet, Hert-
fordshire. He was afterwards entered at St. Eklmund's Hall,
Oxford, and received the degree of M. A. from that college.
It is not known by what bishop, or when he was ordained ;
but his first curacy was in Wiltshire, whence he removed to
Lock Chapel, London. In 1765 he went abroad, and travel-
led for three years through the greater part of Europe. A
MS. account of his travels is still extant. Soon after his
return to England he was presented to the then very small
livings of Crosstone and Todmorden, where he continued
six years. He then became incumbent of White C/hapel,
Cleckheaton. His father, Hammond Crosse, Esquire, of
Kensington, having bought for him the next prebentation
of Bradford vicarage, he was presented to it in 1784. He
was vicar of Bradford thirty-two years, and died after a
short illness June 17th, 1816. He lies interred on the north-
west side of the church-yard, where his grave is distinguished
only by a plain slab over it. It is, however, at the time this
is written, the tardy intention of several of his admirers to
raise by subscription a monument to his memory.*
• 1 have been imiebted to the Rev. Wm. Morgnn, incumbent of Christ Cburcb,
for lite greater part of the abore particulari relating to Wie Rev. Mr. Cros«e. Mr.
Morgan la at the lime thi« is written, |)re|)ariiig for the press a lile of this venerable
vicar, and I have ever)* reason to think that it will be an intervsting work ; certainly
no man is better fitted for the task, as Mr. Morgan was for a long period on terms of
strk't intiimiQ with Mr. Crosse.
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 213
Though for a few years before his death he was totally
blind^ yet he continued to perform the offices of the church
till a fortnight before his death. There are few ministers
who have enjoyed so unbounded a popularity in their own
parishes as Mr. Crosse. He lived on the most friendly terms
with men of every grade of religious and political belief.
He was, in doctrine, of the Evangelical school, taking (as
is not generally the case with that section) the Arminian
view of the Scriptures. During his ministry, there was not
sufficient acommodation in the parish church, even with the
three large galleries he built, for his numerous hearers. In
a word, he was a counterpart of Chaucer's good parson, and
his character has been felicitously described* in the words
of that poet, from which description I extract the following :
" He was a shepheid, and no mercenary.
" To draw forth to heaven with fairness,
'* By good example was his business.
" He waited after no pomp nor reverence,
'* Nor marked him no spiced conscience ;
" But Christ's love and bis apostles twelve
" He taught, but first he followed it himself."
The successor of Mr. Crosse, the Rev. Henry Heap, was
born at a farm-house in the township of Langfield, near
Todmorden, in March, 1789. His father was a mason ; and
on the formation of the canal up Todmorden valley, entered
into some successful contracts, and amassed by honest means
a small fortune. When Mr. Crosse was incumbent at Cros-
stone, he and Mr. Heap's father (who then resided at Mill-
wood, in Crosstone) were intimate ; and it was principally
through the endeavours of Mr. Crosse, that the son was
brought up to the Church. Mr. Heap was educated for the
ministry chiefly by the Rev. Samuel Knight, vicar of Halifax.
He was never entered as a student at any university. Through
the instrumentality of Mr. Crosse, he was first curate of St.
James's church, in Manchester, under the late Rev. Dr. Bailey.
• In the pamphlet edited by Dr. Outhwaite, before mentioned.
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214 THE PARISH CHURCH.
In 1816 he was presented to the vicarage of Bradford, which
he held to his death, on the 17th January, 1839 ; having nearly
completed his fiftieth year. The Archbishop of Canterbury,
on the strong recommendation of his Grace of York, bestow-
ed upon him the degree of B. D. He possessed many sterling
excellencies of heart. There are in the character of Chaucer's
parson, some traits which I believe may be appositely applied
to Mr. Heap. —
" He was in adrenity full patient,
"And soch one be was provid ofte sithes,
" Full loth were biro to cursin for bis titbes,
" But rather wolde be giTen out of dout,
** Unto bis pore pari^b^ners all about :
*' Botb of bis offo'ng and of his substaunce,
" HeoouUi in lityl thing have sufficaunce."*
He lies in the south aisle of the church, where the spot is
marked with an inscribed grave-stone. He was twice mar-
ried. He had, for his second wife, the daughter of Richard
Fawcett, Esquire, of Bradford.
I have been unable to make out a consecutive list of the
lecturers at the church under Sunderland's gift. Francis
Gleadstone, A.M., was lecturer for twenty-one years, and died
on the 7th October, 1692. There is a monument to his me-
mory in the chancel of the church. Sometime after him the
Rev. Mr. Hill was lecturer, and he was succeeded by the Rev.
Mr. Butler, who held the lectureship fifty years. It is now
held by the Rev. William Atkinson, A. M. ; but the duties
are performed by the Rev. John Butterfield, A. M.
I give here a copy of the following terrier : —
A TRUE NOTB AND TERRIEa
Of all the glebe lands, meadows, gardens, orchards, houses, stocks,
implements, tenements, portions of tythes, and other rights belong-
ing to the Vicarage and Parish Church of Bradford, in the county
and dioceso of York, now in the use and possession of Henrt
• Prolofoie to Canteriiuiy Tales, in Ursy's edition or Cbauoer.
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THB PARISH CHURCH. 215
Heap, clerk, vicar of the said church, taken made and received the
twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-five, by the appointment of the most
reverend father in God, Edward, Lord Archbishop of York, to be
exhibited at his ordinary visitation, to be held at Leeds, in the said
county and diocese, on the first day of August in the said year. —
First. The vicarage-house, built with stone and covered with
slate, situate in Barkcrend in the township of Bradford, sixty-four
feet in length and thirty-one feet in breadth within the walls, con-
taining on the first floor five rooms, four of which are ceiled, three
of them are floored with boards and the other two with stones, one
cellar beneath the boarded room ; at the west end of the house on
the second floor are seven rooms, all of which are ceiled ; one brew«
house or out-kitchen adjoining to the said house eighteen feet long
and ten and a half feet broad within the walls ; one slated barn and
stable under the same roof, walled with stone and brick, thirty -seven
feet long and thirteen feet broad within the walls ; one coach-house
and harness-room ; one small garden on the south-west part of the
said house, bounded on the west by Dead (Vicar) lane : also three
closes of meadow ground lying contiguous and adjoining to the said
house, commonly called the New Vicarage Closes, containing three
acres, bounded by the said garden on the north, by a close in the
occupation of Charles Harris on the south, and by a lane called
Dead-lane on the west : also one small court between the said dwel-
ling house and the high road leading from Bradford to Leeds.
Second. The ancient glebe lands formerly consisted of three
enclosures of meadow ground, lying contiguous in Goodniansend
(Bridge-street), within the township of Bradford aforesaid, com-
monly called the Old Vicarage Closes, containing together four
acres ; but as the smoke from the different mills has rendered the
grass or herbage unfit for cattle the half of this land has been sold
for £1750, and the money placed in the three per cent consols,
interest for which amounting to £62 \5s. Sd. is regularly paid to
the vicar; the remaining two acres are bounded by the high road
leading from Bradford to Wakefield on the east, by a house garden
and close in the occupation of John Wainwright or his undertenants
on the south, by a brook called Bowling-beck on the west, and by
two closes in the occupation of William Maud on the north. Part
of the fences are walls and part of them quicksets.
Third. The church-yard containing by estimation (with the
additional ground consecrated in the year 1819) one acre and
thirty-four perches, is bounded by the high road leading from Brad-
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216 THE PARISH CHURCH.
ford to Leeds on the south, by a road to Stott-hill on the east, by
the road to Undercliffe on the north, and by a foot-path leading to
the premises formerly the free grammar school on the west.
Fourth. The vicarage is endowed wiih several small tythes,
Easter offerings, mortuaries and surplice dues, and other customar)'
fees which are paid throughout the parish.
Fifth. Belonging to the said church are one silver flagon and
one large cup with a cover, two silver chalices and two silver patens
the weight not marked, one folio bible and two common prayer
books, a brass candlestick with sixteen branches, five brass candle-
sticks in the pulpit reading desk and clerk's desk, one font and cover,
one church clock, eight bells with their frames and chimes, and a
tinkling bell, one large organ, four surplices, eight register parchment
books, and three paper register books for marriages, baptisms, and
funerals, pursuant to the late act of parliament.
Sixth. The church and church-yard fence are repaired by the
parish; the chancel is repaired by the Impropriator, the parish
finding moss, mortar, and glass.
Seventh. To the Parish Clerk there are due from every family
keeping a separate fire two-pence, from every one keeping a plough
four-pence yearly ; for every publication of banns one shilling, for
marriage by banns sixpence, by license two shillings and sixpence,
for every funeral in the church-yard sixpence, for every funeral in
the church five shillings and in the chancel seven shillings, and for
every proclamation in the church or church-yard two-pence. To the
sexton there is due for digging a grave and tolling the bell two
shillings, and for digging a grave in the church and tolling bell seven
shillings and sixpence. The sexton is obliged to make the graves
for children three feet in depth and of others four feet in depth. The
clerk and sexton are appointed by the vicar.
Eighth. In the year of our I»rd 1671, Peter Sunderland, late
of Fairweather-green in this parish, Esq., left £40 per annum for
a lecturer or assistant to the vicar of Bradford.
Ninth. For every interment in the church five guineas is (are)
due to the vicar.
AlsOy Nathan Dixon, late of Shipley in this parish, left the
yearly sum of ten shillings for preaching a sermon every Can-
dlemas day in the said church, which is now paid by William
Wainman, Esq.
N. B. There are six chapels of ease in the parish, in five of
which the curates take the surplice fees and account with the vicar
for the same at Easter.
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 217
The walls of the church are incrusted with a number of
beautiful monuments. In the large copies of this work, I
have given an account of those most worthy of attention.
The undermentioned three, however, deserve a notice here.
On the north wall of the upper chancel, and within the
altar railings, is probably one of the finest pieces of sculpture
that this age has produced. It is to the memory of Abraham
Balme, a gentleman of Bradford ; and by the chisel of the
celebrated Flaxman. Cunningham, in his life of Flaxman,
says that the great sculptor thought this monument, and one
erected for the Yarborough family at Street Thorp, near
York, to be *^ two of his most effective compositions." That
to Mr. Balme is a choice piece of " motionless grace." It is
a personation of venerable Age instructing Youth. Whether
the symmetry, ease, and beauty of the figures — the natural
disposition of the drapery — or the happiness of the conception
be considered, it must be regarded as a piece of almost
unequalled excellence in English sculpture. As the graver
will, next to a personal inspection, give the best idea of the
beauty of this monument^ an engraving of it accompanies
this work.
In the space which anciently formed " Boiling Chapel,"
and which is now enclosed with iron rails, there is an elegant
marble monument to the late William Sharp, Esq., of this
town, surgeon. — A female figure of excellent sculpture, and
of the human size, is leaning in a sorrowful attitude upon a
square pediment, on the front of which is a basso-redievo like-
ness of Mr. Sharp.
In the chancel, a marble monument erected by Miss
Hartley to the memory of her parents, Samuel and Mary
Hartley. The monument is surmounted by a beautifully ex-
jecuted figure in relief of a female in the attitude of submission
to the dispensations of Providence.
2 E
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218 THE PARISH CHURCH.
The church contains sittings for fourteen hundred persons.
The whole of the pews and seats are private property, and
attached to the houses throughout the parish. Many of the
owners of such of these houses as are not situated in or near
the town^ let for hire the church-seats belonging to them.
The parish of Bradford is, in an ecclesiastical respect,
within the diocese of Ripon, the archdeaconry of the West-
Riding, and the deanry of Pontefract. The vicarage of
Bradford is worth a little less than five hundred pounds
yearly ; which is but a poor income, when the extent of the
population under the vicar's care, and the numerous pecu-
niary calls on his income are considered.
The following, taken from an ancient document, shews
the nature and amount of the vicarial dues : —
THE SMALL TYTHES
Wherewith the Vicarage of Bradford is endowed are these: —
Calves, Milk, Pigs, Geese, Turkeys, Fools, Bees, Eggs, Blaster
OfTerings, &c.
CALVES.
Calves are not paid in kind, but by immemorial custom eight groats
have been the modus for a calf, which is due when any one person
hath six or more calves calved in one year : the Vicar allowing out
of the said eight groats three half-pence a-piece for so many calves
as such person wants of ten ; and if any one person hath five calvesi
in one year, there is a modus of sixteen -pence due for half a calf.
MILK.
. Milk is not paid in kind, but by a modus of three half-pence for
every cow that hath calved within the year, provided they exceed not
the number of four ; for whore a calf or half a calf Is paid for there is
nothing due for milk ; and for every cow that hath not calved, com-
monly called strip, there is one penny due.
PIOS.
Pigs are paid in kind according to this custom : — If the sow hath
six or more pigs there is one pig due, the Vicar pacing to the owner
as many pence as there wants of ten ; and if she hath under six there
is a penny a pig due for as many as she hath.
OBESB AND TURKRYS.
Geese are gathered in kind where the Vicar pleaselh ; where they
w not taken in kind there is a penny a-piece due for every goose the
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 219
owner hath hatched and brought up in that year. There are few
turkeys kept in the parish, but some there are and they pay as geese
do, one at nix ; the Vicar paying as many pence as there wants of
ten, and so of geese and other tythable things.
FOALS.
Foals are not taken in kind, but a modus of three half-pence is
paid for every foal.
BEES.
Bees are taken in kind if the Vicar pleaseth. — When any person
hath six or more hives which swarmed that year, there is one due to
the Vicar, he paying the owner a penny for every hive there wants
of ten. There is half a hive due when the owner hath ten, for
which he must agree with the Vicar, and a penny a hive is due for
every hive any person hath under six.
Noie, — That only the increase of bees is to be paid for; so that
nothing is due for a hive of bees that did not swarm that year.
EGGS.
It is said that eggs were formerly gathered in kind at Shrovetide,
one for every hen and two for every cock, but that in regard to the
great trouble of gathering them it hath been a custom of long standing
for every person in the parish that keepeth hens to pay a penny for
them at Easter when they pay their other dues, the chapelry of
Haworth only excepted where they are yet gathered in kind accord-
ing to the former custom.
EASTER OFFERINGS.
The Easter offerings are two-pence for every person who is 16
years old or above throughout the whole parish, under the name of
communicants, and every householder pays a penny for his house and
a half-penny for his reek or smoke, which are called house dues,
and one penny for his garden. Here note that the master or mistress
of the family is liable to pay for all that are in his or her house or
family, whether relations or friends, boarders or servants. And it is
said that if any person comes to reside in any family, and hath lain
nine nights in the house before Easter, the master or mistress of the
family is obliged to pay for him or them as communicants.
All these small tythes and other dues (except those in the chapelry
of Haworth) are to be paid before Easter ; the Vii-ar sitting in the
Free School to receive them, on Tliursday before Palm Sunday, and
on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Easter. Bat in the
chapelry of Haworth the Vicar receives them there every Easter
Monday, after he has preached a sermon at that place.*
* This practice of sitting in the scbool, and going to Haworth, has been discontinued.
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220 THE PARISH CHURCH.
THE SURPLICE FEES
Belonging to the Vicar of Bradford, according to an old document: —
MARRIAGES.
For marrying with a license, five shillings.
For banns publishing in the Church, commonly called here spur--
rings, sixpence, which is paid at the time of bringing the names of
the persons to the M inister.
And at the time of marriage, one shilling.
Note, — That if either the man or woman live in this parish and
IS married in another, he or she ought to pay the full dues to this
Church. — Sed Quere.
BURIALS.
For burials in the Churchy whether young children or upgrown
persons, five groats.
And in the Church -yard for every corpse borne underhand, ten-
pence.
And for young children usually carried upon the head of a woman,
five-pence.
CHUBCHINOS.
For churching of women, sixpence.
Note, — That these surplice fees are the same at all the Chapels iu
the Parish, which the Curates take for the Vicar, and account with
him and pay him at Easter.
MORTUARIES.
Mortuaries are paid in all parts of the Parish, according to the
Act of Parliament for settling mortuaries.
MILLS.
There are fourteen mills for corn in the parish, every one of which
it is probable paid a modus formerly, but now but six of them pay
any thing to the Church, — the time of payment is at Easter.
*. (/.
Great IJorton Mill I 8 Bradford Mil!
Sam's Mill in Horton 1 BolUng Mill
Lenthorp Mill 2 Frizinghall Mill
Dixon Mill in Shipley 2 6 Roydes Hall Mill
Thornton Ilall Mill 2 Wilsden Old Mill
A new Mill in Wilsden .... 2 Haworth Mill
Oxenhope Mill
Stanbury Mill
In the extract from Leland's Itinerary, given in a former
part of this work, mention is made of a chapel of St. Sitha,
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THE PARISH CHURCH.
221
which in Leland's days stood in the town. It seems to have
been a foundation detached from the church ; but I have not
been able to obtain, from written records, a single trace
to any circumstances relating to it, although I have searched
for information on the subject in the proper quarters. A
tradition prevails in the town that this chapel stood imme-
diately to the west of the Bee-hive inn, in Westgate. There
is some probability of this being correct ; for, besides the
tradition, which is of no new date,
there is, under an archway adjoining
the above-named inn, a doorway
which has all the resemblance of
having belonged to such a place as
an ancient chapel.
Close to the west gate of the
church-yard, there is lying a stone
six feet in length, upon which is
rudely sculptured the figure of a
tree, branching at the top in the
form of a cross. I know that in
the middle ages, crosses of a simi-
lar kind prevailed. It is far from
being improbable that this stone,
of which I annex a cut, once stood
erect in some part of Bradford
church-yard ; as, in former days,
crosses were very commonly erect-
ed in such places.
The notices of the new churches in Bradford may, without
any impropriety of arrangement, be comprised in the same
section and under the same head as the mother church. —
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222 THE PARISH CHURCH.
CHRIST CHURCH
Was built in the year 1815, by subscription, at a cost of
£5400. An anonymous lady gave to the work, through
the hands of the Rev. Dr. Gascoigne, for a long period
secretary to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge,
and the intimate friend of Mr. Crosse (vicar), the munificent
sum of £800. The church, which is in the pure Carpenters'
Gothic style, with square turret, was erected from a design
by Mr. J. Taylor of Leeds, and consecrated the twelfth of
October, 1815. It was, in 182(3 and 1836, enlarged and re-
paired : at a cost, the latter time, of £900, obtained in sub-
scriptions. The living has at various times been augmented
from parliamentary grants by lot, first in 1816 with £800 ;
1817 with £G00, and in 1822 with £800. The church con-
tains one thousand three hundred sittings, of which four hun-
dred at the origin of the church were made free. Other two
hundred are free, in respect of sums granted by the Society for
enlarging Churches. It presents a very elegant interior, and
has a fine-toned organ, llie patron is the vicar of Bradford
for the time being. On the erection of the church, the Rev.
William Morgan, B.D., was presented to the living by Vicar
Crosbe, and still holds it.
ST. JAMES*S
Is a beautiful specimen of the Lancet-Gothic style, with a
handsome tower and spire. There are few finer structures of
the kind. It was built under the superintendance of Mr.
Walker Rawstorne of Bradford, at the sole cost of John
Wood, Esq., and the first stone of it was laid by him Octo-
ber 31 "-t, 1S36, in the presence of a large concourse of people.
Tlie whole expense of erecting the church, and parsonage-
house and school-room attached to it (inclusive of the cost
of the land), amounted to nearly fourteen thousand pounds!
The endowment will require a considerable additional sum.
So long as one stone of this structure continues upon
another, it will remain a monument, more durable than
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THE PARISH CHURCH. 223
brass^ of the noble liberality of its worthy founder. It
contains eleven hundred sittings, of which six hundred are
free. It is, on account of an unfortunate dispute respecting
the surplice and other fees claimed for the mother church,
not yet consecrated; but was opened for public worship
under the bishop's license in 1838. The Rev. G. S. Bull
was the first incumbent, but has lately resigned the living,
and no one has yet succeeded him in it.
ST. J0HN*8.
This church has been built at the sole expense of J.
Berthon, Esquire, a gentleman of fortune, residing in the
Isle of Wight. Bradford had no claims upon the generosity
of Mr. Berthon beyond any other town in England, except
the notorious want of church accommodation for its great
population. The cost of the structure, inclusive of the
site, amounted to nearly £4000. There are one thousand
one hundred and fifty sittings in the church, none of which
are free, but many of them are let at a very low rate. The
fabric was opened, under the bishop's license, for public wor-
ship on the 27th of September, 1840. The endowment, at
present, consists only of the rents of the pews, and of the sur-
plice fees. The Rev. J. C. Pearson is the present incumbent.
Another church which has not yet received its name, is
now in course of erection on the confines of the townships of
Manningham and Bradford. The cost (inclusive of the land)
is estimated at upwards of £5000, and will be defrayed by
subscription. £2000 have already been subscribed by the
gentlemen of Bradford.
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THE DISSENTERS.
It is not within the province of this work to enter into any
detailed account of the rise and progress of Nonconformity
or Dissent. To the general reader^ however, the following
slight sketch may prove of interest. — When either religious or
political opinion has been long pent up, it is apt on breaking
the barrier, to run beyond the line marked out as its limits by
those who first gave it freedom. Thus it was at the Reforma-
tion. From the days of Elizabeth to those of Charles the
first a spirit of very free inquiry on religious topics prevailed.
The Church of England invested herself with the authority
of that of Rome, and endeavoured t6 prescribe the bounds
of religious belief. The results were the violent struggles
between the hierarchy and those who assumed the liberty
of thinking and acting unfettered on religious subjects, which
ended in the death of Charles. During the time of Cromwell,
the State Church was modelled on the Presbyterian plan, in
which the distinguishing difference from the Episcopalian one
was church government. The greater part of the Presby-
terian ministers being stem republicans, several severe and
impolitic measures were, on the restoration of Charles the
second and the reinstation of Episcopacy, resorted to in
order to silence them. The first of these was the Uniformity
Act, passed in 1662, which decreed that all ministers who
refused to comply with its t^rms should resign their livings
on Bartholomew Day in that year. These terms were so
narrow and rigid, that many orthodox divines who were well
affected to the monarchy, and also to the ritual of the church,
were obliged to quit their benefices. Two thousand ministers
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THE DISSENTERS. 225
were by that act ejected from their homes and livings^ and
turned adrift on the world.* The Uniformity Act was, in
1665, followed by what is termed the Five-Mile Act. In 1672,
a Royal Declaration was issued, abrogating the laws which
had been passed against Dissenters ; but this declaration
was shortly afterwards suspended. The Dissenters at Brad-
ford, notwithstanding these persecutions, continued a nume-
rous and influential body till 1688; when liberty of conscience
was declared to be the law of England. After this time they
seem to have lost their zeal. Many of the old Presbyterians
* The ministers gected from their livings in Uiis neighbourhood were, according
to Calamy, these : —
Jonas Waterhouse, A. M., minister of Bradford, of whom an account is given
before. I find, however, from the notes to Thoresby's Diary, edited by Mr. Hun-
ter, that be was the son of Henry Waterhouse of Tooting, in Surrey, to which part
a branch of the Waterhouses of Halifax had migrated ; that he was the friend of
Thoresby, and often preached in Mill-hill Chapel, Leeds; and that he was one of
those Nonconformist ministers who were supported by Philip, Lord Wharton.
Thomas Sharp, A. M., was the eldest son of John Sharp, (the head of that
family, who resided at Horton-hall,) and the brother of Abraham Sharp, the Mathe-
matician, and cousin to Archbishop Sharp. His father was a great favourer of the
Parliament and the Presbyterians, and had a good estate. Thomas Sharp was sent
to Cambridge in 1 649, and put under the tuition of his maternal uncle, the Rev.
David Clarlcson of Clare-ball. When his uncle was presented to the living of Addle,
he became a pupil of Mr. (afWrwards Archbishop) Tillotson. Having been ordained,
he entered upon the mbiistry at Peterborough, whence he returned to his native
place in 1660, and on the death of his uncle he became minister of Addle. On the
Restoration he resigned it to avoid a law-suit. He afterwards lived in his father's
house at Llttle-Horton retiredly ; but on the Royal Declaration being issued in 1672,
be licensed a room in his father's house to preach in, and formed one of the first
societies of Dissenters here. He afterwards preached at Morley, and finally became
pastor of MUl-hill Chapel, Leeds, where he died bi 1693, aged fifty-nine years, and
was buried in the New Church. He published a work called '' Verses on Sleep,'' and
" Divine Comforts antidoting inward Perplexities.** Besides these he left several
tracts and poems in MS. He was the particidar friend of Thoresby. — Fide Calamy,
and alao Fawceti't Life of Oliver Heywood.
Mr. Robert Town, senior, formerly minister of Elland, was ejected from Hawortb
chapel. He died in 1663, aged seventy.
Mr. Joseph Dawson ejected from Thornton chapel. He lived after his ejectment
near Halifax, and preached near Birstall. He afterwards was pastor at Morley, vaA
4i0d there, June 1709, aged seventy-three. He was a pious and learned man.
2 o
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226 THE DISSENTERS.
conformed to the Established Church ; and the others
gradually adopted Unitarian views. In the latter part of
last century the Baptists, Independents, and other sects
obtained a footing here. That period may be considered
as the era of Modem Dissent in Bradford ; since which it
has increased with a rapidity almost without parallel. Its
professors form a large and respectable portion of society
in Bradford, and possess numbers of capacious and elegant
chapels.
PRESBYTERIANS.
These are only known here as Unitarians, but I shall notice
them under their old name. Their meeting-house in Chapel-
lane is an old but convenient building. Fawcett, in his Life of
Oliver Heywood, says that it was erected in 1717^ and that
previously the Dissenters of Bradford " assembled to worship
" at Little-Horton, and at a place not far from Wibsey."
This statement appears not to be quite correct, for I have
seen mentioned, long before 1717, the meeting-house in
Chapel 'fold at Bradford ; and Oliver Heywood, in his
Diary states, that in the year after the Royal Declaration of
1672 had issued, chapels were erected at Bradford, Halifax,
and other places in the neighbourhood. The present chapel
was probably built about the year 1717 ; but it seems
there had been a dissenting place of worship here before^
and that its site was somewhere in Chapel-lane. The in-
terior of the present structure is fitted up with a quantity
of old oak wainscoting, brought from Howley-hall on ita
demolition; and the current tradition is, that the ancient
gateway to the chapel was also brought from the same place.
It is a piece of ancient and curious workmanship, — an engra-
ving of it is inserted in these pages. The congregation, like
many of the old Presbyterians, adopted, about the year 1770^
Unitarian opinions ; but for a considerable period previous
they had been tending to that point. The chapel is richly
endowed. Jeremy Dixon of Heaton-royds, yeoman^ by his
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THE DISSENTERS. 227
will, dated 22nd February, 1724, gave a farm in Denholme,
called Birchin Lee, being then of the yearly rent of ten
pounds, unto the trustees of this chapel, to the use for ever
thereafter of the minister, being a Protestant Dissenter from
the Established Church. This farm now yields a considera-
ble rent.
I have not been able to obtain a list of the ministers at
this chapel. The late Mr. Dawson, a partner in the Low*
moor Iron-works Company, was for some time pastor of it ;
after him the Rev. Mr. Dean ; then the Rev. W. Turner ;
and next the late Rev. N. T. Heineken. This last gentle-
man was a true specimen of the old Presbyterian ministers
— a learned and truly good man.
INDEPENDENTS.
This denomination had, in Bradford, a three-fold origin. —
First : when the old Presbyterians adopted Unitarian tenets,
and otherwise began to swerve in their belief, several members
seceded from Chapel-fold. Second : in the year 1767 the Rev.
Mr. Stillingfleet, a grandson of the celebrated Bishop Stil-
lingfleet, began to preach at Bierley Episcopal Chapel. He
was a powerful preacher, and was Calvinistic in his opinions.
Great numbers went constantly from Bradford during the
five years he continued at Bierley, to hear him preach there,
— were converts of his ministry, and adopted his views.
Third : during the times that the celebrated Whitfield
preached here, a number of persons became Methodists of
his persuasion. These holding the tenets of particular re-
demption and its concomitant articles of belief, could not
associate with, nor closely join, the Wesleyan Methodists.
There being thus three bodies of Christians here agreeing in
the general principles of their creeds, and without any place
of worship, they tacitly united to form a congregation, and
a room was hired in the Old Brewhouse, where they first met
for public worship, under the guidance of an Independent
minister, and laid the foundation of a society of Indepen*
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228 THE DISSENTERS.
dents.* ITie congregation having increased, and gained
strength and consistency of opinion, they erected their chapel
in Little-Horton Lane in 1780. The Rev. James Crosley
was the first pastor, but he died after having preached in it
only one Sunday. He was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas
Holgate, who was pastor up to the year 1808, when the Rev.
Thomas Taylor was chosen. Immediately after his entry
upon the office, the congregation which had before been only
thin so greatly increased, that the chapel was enlarged. The
Rev. Jonathan Glyde is the present pastor. The chapel con-
tains fourteen hundred sittings, of which eleven hundred and
fifty are let.
The Independents of Bradford so rapidly increased in
numbers, that Salem Chapel was built, at a cost of about
£5000, a large part of which yet remains unpaid. It was
finished in February, 1836. There are in it eleven hundred
and fifty sittings. It is a large massive building, and has,
externally and internally, a handsome appearance. Since
its erection, the Rev. J. G. Miall has been the minister.
Airedale Independent College. — The germ of this institu-
tion for educating young men for the Independent ministry,
was an academy at Heckmondwike, formed for a similar
purpose in 1756. In the year 1783 the academy was re-
moved to Northowram. In 1800 the Airedale Independent
College was founded at Idle ; and endowed in 1803, by a
bequest of Edward Hanson, Esquire, with £5000 three per
cent, consols. Mrs. Bacon of Bradford, in 1829, gave two
estates at Fagley and Underclifiis to increase the endowment.
The premises at Idle having become too small for the increase
of students, a subscription was entered into by the supporters
of the institution, for the purpose of erecting the present
• Tbe late Rer. Mr. Cockin of Halifax, (Independent minifter,) very frequently,
befoie the Indepemlents had a meeting-bouie at Bradford, preached In tbe oj)en air
in the old market-place at the bottom of Wettgate, standing upon loiiie ttepi at tbe
konXU Aibop.
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THE DISSENTERS. 229
college at Undercliffe, which was designed by Mr. Clarke.
The erection of it began in 1831. It is a large and well
designed and convenient stone building, ornamented with
a portico, and has accommodation for twenty students.
Owing to its elevated site it has a very imposing appearance.
In 1834 the institution was removed from Idle to it. The
Rev. William Vint was the tutor during all the time the
institution continued at Idle ; but he died soon after its
removal, and was succeeded by the Rev. Walter Scott, who
now holds the office. The yearly income arising from the
endowment and other sources is about £900.
A chapel was, in connection with the College, erected in
1839, in High-street. It is a very handsome structure, and
from its elevated and towering position, forms a strong fea-
ture in the appearance of the town. The cost of its erection,
which was defrayed by subscription, was near £3000. There
are in it eight hundred sittings. The Rev. Walter Scott is
the pastor.
BAPTISTS.
The Baptists owe their origin indirectly to what in the quaint
phraseology of the old Dissenters is called an ^^ Interest"
which they had at Rawden. During the latter part of the
seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, a
Baptist minister, named William Mitchell, preached at
various places in the West- Riding, and among others at
Rawden. The fruit of his labours, was the formation in
1707, of a Baptist " Interest'^ there. Many of its members
were local preachers, and laboured in the surrounding vil-
lages ; at Heaton, a branch society was formed, which was
in 1753 transplanted to Bradford. The members here,
originally amounted to twenty-three.* The first meeting-
* The ouDibera, however, increased fast. In )757 eighteen were admitted
members, and in the following year forty. In a few yean after the first ibrmatioD
of the society, it contained one hundred and thirty members. In 1770, thirty
members were dJsmiased to form the society at Parsley. But previous to the corn-
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230 THE DISSENTERS.
house of the Baptists at Bradford, and I believe the second
in the West-Riding, stood in the "Tyrrels," behind the
Commercial Inn. The place had been previously used as a
licensed cockpit. It is one of the old buildings now standing
on the above-mentioned spot. The Baptists, about the year
1755, removed from the ' Cockpit' to a small meeting-house
they had erected at the top of Westgate, near the site of the
present chapel, which was built in 1782. Westgate Chapel
was, in 1817, greatly enlarged, and a Sunday-school added
to it, at an expense of £1050, which was raised by the con-
tributions of the congregation.
The first settled Baptist pastor in Bradford was William
Crabtree, who, for a period of nearly fifty years filled the
office.* The elder Baptist ministers were averse to the cere-
mony of baptism being performed in any building. During
all the time of Mr. Crabtree's pastorate, the members admit-
ted into the society were bi^tised in the mill-got^, some-
where at the bottom of Silsbridge-lane ; but shortly after
the late Dr. Steadman succeeded Mr. Crabtree (1805), a
baptistry was formed in Westgate Chapel. Dr. Steadman died
in 1837, and the Rev. H. Dowson succeeded him as pastor.
The Baptists erected, in 1823, a large chapel in Bridge-
street, called Sion Chapel. It was opened May 5th, 1824.
nenoement of Dr. Steadman*! laboon, the minister taaiing become incapacitated
for bif duty, tbe aodety dwindled oondderably. In the first year, bowever, of Mr.
Steadman*s mlnistiy, forty-dx peraons were added to tbe society ; and after eight
yean' residence, he had gained to tbe society one bandied and seventy^lve OBem*
beci. In 1824, tbe society consisted of between three and four hundred members.
In that year twenty-three roembeis were dismissed from Westgate Chape], to form
the nucleus of the society at Sion Chapel ; and in 1895, eighteen wera also dis-
missed, to form a society at Heaton.— 7)le Livet qf Crabirte mmd Sieadmam*
• For several yean aAer Mr. Crabtree came to Bradford, the Baptists were ao
poor that he at first veiy honourably earned the greater part of his livelihood by
following his trade of Shalloon Weaver. An old and respectable Baptist gives,
tradltlooally, a strong instance of this poverty. He sUtes that when the first Sodety
obtained a house to wonhlp hi, they oouU not aflbid to buy benches ; and that ** the
*' oU women who attended the meeting, wended their way thither with their sMb
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THE DISSENTERS. 291
The site was given by Miss Ward, and the building erected
by subscription. The Rev. B. Godwin was the first pastor of
it, and the Rev. Thomas Steadman succeeded him.
Baptist College. — In Dr. Steadman's Life, by his son, there
is an account of the origin of this institution, from which
the following particulars are extracted. In the year 1804 a
society was formed called the " Northern Education Society,"
for the purpose of educating pious young men for the Baptist
ministry. In January, 1806, an acadekny for the purpose
was begun at Little-Horton, under the superintendance of
the Rev. William (afterwards Dr.) Steadman. The premises
were rented. The principal contributor to this institution
at its commencement was James Bury, Esquire, of Pendle-
hill, Lancashire. In 1814, the Rev. John Sutcliffe of Olney,
died, and bequeathed his library, worth £500, to the academy,
upon condition of paying the expences of its removal^ and
£100 to his executors. In 1817, Thomas Kay, Esquire, of
Fulford, near York, gave £1271 for the purchase of the
present premises for the college ; and, on his suggestion,
the name of the original society was changed to ^^ Northern
Baptist Elducation Society." Miss Ward of Bradford, left
in 1834, by her will, £500 to the college ; and next year
Samuel Broadley, Esquire, of the same place, gave (by
his will) £5000, upon trust, that the interest thereof
should be applied to the purposes of the institution for ever.
Among the other donors to it were James Bury, Esquire,
£500 ; and J. B. Wilson, Esquire, of Clapham-common,
£950. The premises were greatly enlarged, and the presi-
dent's house built in 1824. There is accommodation in
the college for twenty students. In 1836 Dr. Steadman
resigned the presidentship of the college, and was succeeded
by the Rev. James Ackworth, M.A.
The General Baptists (that is. Baptists who do not hold
Calvinistic tenets) in 1836 built a chapel in Prospect-street,
which was opened on the 15th January, 1837.
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232 THE DISSENTERS.
WE8LEYAN METHODISTS.
The first visit of Mr. Wesley to the neighbourhood of
Bradford^ was on the 17th of June, 1744, when he preached
at Little-Horton.* Tradition says it was at Little-Horton
Hall, the residence of the Sharps. Previous to the intro-
duction of Methodism into these parts, Mr. Ingham, founder
of the sect of Inghamites, had established several societies in
the neighbourhood; and among these, there was one at
Bradford, and another at Horton. There is the following
entry in Mr. Wesley's Journal, respecting these two societies.
" 1745, April 25th, I preached at Horton and Bradford.
" Here I could not but observe how God had made void all
" their labour, * who make void the law through Faith ;' out
" of their large societies in these towns, how small a rem-
" nant is left. In Horton, scarce ten persons out of four
" score, and in Bradford not one soul." On January 24th,
1746, and April 25th, 1747, Mr. Wesley again visited Brad-
ford and preached. On the latter occasion, a small class was
formed — ^the germ of the Bradford Methodist Society.t
* It is mentioned In the journal of Nelson, one of the earliest Methodists, that he
was confined in the old dungeon in Bradford. It appears that he had heen pressed
as a soldier, and that his captain put him in the dungeon for security over night.
I am glad to state that the authorities of the town had no hand in this act of injustice.
Nelson gives a moving account of the nauseous state of this dui^eon, which was
then the common "black hole" of the town. It is about two stories beneath the
surface of the g^round, and under the northernmost of the two houses which stand
at the bottom and liioe direct up Westgate. The entrance to it in Ivegate remains
yet Nelson says the dungeon smelt worse than a hog-stye, owing to the blood
and filth which sunk from the place over it, where the butchers killed ; and that the
Methodists of Bradford sung and prayed all night outside the dungeon, and he
joined them in their exercises from within. He was imprisoned 4th May, 1744.
t On the first introduction of Methodism, the spots generally selected for outndoor
preaching by Wesley, WbitfieM, Grimshaw, and the other eariy propagators of
Methodism here, were the Bowling-green front, the open space in the Tyrreb
near the cockpit, and the spot lately occupied as a coal-staith in Well-street. This
latter phice was the particular arena of Mr. Grimshaw. The Vicar of Bradford com-
plained to the Archbishop of York, and wished measures to be taken to put Metho-
dism down here ; but be returned for answer, ** Oh» let those mad fellows alone."
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THE DISSENTERS. 233
The first meeting-house of the Wesleyan Methodists in
Bradford, was a large room in the Cockpit, which having in
1755 been vacated by the Baptists, under the leadership of Mr.
Crab tree, the Methodist society rented it. The floor of this
place after a short time giving way, the society occupied for
a period, a barn behind the Paper-hall, then in the occupation
of Mr. James Garnett ; but they afterwards returned to the
room at the Cockpit, and worshipped there till 1766, when
their first chapel, generally termed the *^ Octagon," in Great-
Horton-Lane (on the site of which Grove -house stands),
was built. Mr. Wesley, in his Journal, (July, 1768,) says,
" They (the Methodists of Bradford) have just built a preach-
" ing-house fifty-four feet square, the largest octagon in Eng-
*' land ; and it is the first of the kind where the roof is built
" with common sense, rising only tt third of its breadth."
During the first stages of Methodism in Bradford, polemi-
cal theology ran high. The Antinomianism which had been
sowed in the town by Ingham, was not dead. It caused
considerable dissensions amongst the first members of the
Methodist society in this town. Wesley alludes to these
"jarrings" in his Journal, May 2nd, 1788. It appears that
Mr. Crabtree gave the early Methodists some disquietude res-
pecting his tenets ; for Wesley also says, that " an Anabaptist
" teacher had perplexed and unsettled the minds of several ;
" but they are now (1761) less ignorant of Satan's devices."*
• This \s a harsh and unjtist obseiration, and very probably arose frora the fullow-
ing circumMance:— Mr.Hampson, one of the earliest Methodist preachers in Brad-
ibrd circuit, preached one evening in the Methodist Chapel, on the doctrine of the
final persevernnce of saints. One of the members of Mr. Crabtree's Baptist Society
(William Cook), was not satisfied with Mr. Hampson's arguments against that doc-
trine, and afterwards challenged him to dispute the point in public, to which Mr.
Hampson agreed. A stage being erected in Burnet-fields, (formerly belonging to Kirk-
stall Abbey,) near LitUe-Horton, the wordy combatants, surrounded by a large con-
course of i^eople, entered the lusts. Mr. Crabtree and Mr. Samuel Taylor were on
the Calvinistic side ; and Mr. Ilampson and his fellow preacher, Mr. Titus K nighty
were on the Arminian side of the question. The result, as stated in Mann's Life of
Crabtree, wtis, that Mr. Knight became a convert to Calvinism, lie afterwaixk
2 H
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234 THE DISSENTERS.
In 1769 Bradford became the head of a circuit, including
the present circuits of Halifax, Sowerby-bridge, Yeadon,
Woodhouse-grove, and Shipley. The first Wesleyan preach-
ers stationed in Bradford, were John Oliver and Thomas
Lee. On May second, 1788, Wesley preached to a large
congregation in Bradford Church.
The following statements shew the number of members in
Bradford circuit, at every decennial period from the forma-
tion of the Society : —
1770.... 807 1810. ...2000
1780. ...1754 1820. ...1720
1790 ...1085 1830. ...2500
1800 1440 1840. ...3549
The decrease in 1790, arose from Halifax having been
in 1785 formed into a circuit ; and that in 1820, from the
formation of Woodhouse-grove circuit, llie numbers in
1840, include those of the west and east circuits.
I find it recorded in the local newspapers, that in May, 1792,
'* the Wesleyan Ministers of Leeds, Brculfordy Wakefield,
" Sheffield, Birstal, Dewsbury, and Otley circuits, met at
" Leeds, and resolved not to separate from the Church."
In 1811 the Methodists at Bradford built Kirkgate Chapel,
at a cost of about £G000. It has seats for one thousand five
hundred persons. A fine-toned organ has, during the last
year (1840) been erected in it. llie building is very plain
in its exterior, but has a handsome appearance inside.
In 1825 Eastbrook Chapel was erected. It contains about
one thousand five hundred sittings. The expense of building
it was about £7000. Its front is in the Gothic decorated
style of architecture. It is one of the finest erections in the
town.
bfcame pasdor of the Independentu at Halifax. It is amiLMni; to contemplate the
proceedings of \h\% extraoidinary deputation, membling the public cont«.*fts of the
schoolmen in the middle age^,— and the memblanoe is not diminl^ihed, when the
large white wig and small cocked hat, for which Mr. Crnbtree i% so well remem-
bered, are brought Into the picture.
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THE DISSENTERS. 235
White- Abbey Chapel, built in 1838, has seven hundred
and fifty sittings.
The Centenary Chapel, erected in 1839, contains four hun-
dred sittings.
Besides these chapels, there is one at Bradford-moor and
another at Undercliffe.
In 1835 Bradford circuit was divided ; viz., into Brad-
ford West, including Great-Horton, Low-moor, Clayton-
heights, Clayton, Wibsey, Allerton, Manningham, and
Heaton. — Bradford East, including Bradford-moor, Dudley-
hill, Parsley, Calverley, and the adjoining hamlets.
The New Connexion Methodists have a large chapel at the
bottom of Bowling-lane, which they opened at Whitsuntide,
1839. It contains room for one thousand sittings, — but a
considerable part of it is not yet pewed. The expense of
the erection (including £700 given for the site) amounted to
£2500.
A chapel, built by the Wesleyan Associationists in Bridge-
street, was opened in June 1838. It contains room for six
hundred sittings, — but the ground floor is not pewed. The
outlay on the building, and in the purchase of the site, ap-
proached nearly to £1500.
PRIMITIVE METHODISTS.
These people built a large chapel in Manchester-road, and
opened it in November 1824 ; having expended £2300 in
the building and purchase of the site (£700). The chapel
has sittings for about twelve hundred persons.
The Primitive Methodists also occupy a chapel in Spring-
street, having sittings for five hundred persons. The " Gos-
pel Pilgrims" built it, but their pilgrimage, as a distinct sect,
was short.
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236 THB DISSENTERS.
QUAKERS. '
This name, originally a mark of reproach and ridicule,
is now one of honour ; for the Quakers having laid aside
or smoothed the greater part of their peculiarities, are only
distinguished as a people eminent for the faithful discharge
of all the moral duties of life. They very early gained a
footing in Bradford. By feofiment, dated thirty-first De-
cember, 1672, William Wright of this place, clothier, gave
" a croft or close of land, containing about one acre, lying
*' and being in Goodmansend, in Bradford, on the south side
** of the highway, adjoining or lying near to two messuages
*' or dwelling-houses in the occupation of Samuel Hudson
" and Jane Roe," to John Green, John Winn, and Joshua
Dawson, upon trust for " the Children of Light whom the
people of the world commonly call Quakers," to use it as a
burial-ground for them and their succeeding generations.
There is considerable certainty that in 1672, or before, the
Quakers had a meeting-house also, adjoining this burial-
ground. I have seen extracts from deeds, dated previous to
the eighteenth century, in which allusion is made to a meet-
ing-house. Several circumstances mentioned in these deeds
indicate that it had not been built expressly for the purpose,
but had been formed out of a dwelling-house purchased by
the Quakers. In a conveyance, however, in 1732, of an
additional piece of land for burial-ground, the " new meeting-
house then built" is expressly mentioned. They erected
the southern part of their present place of worship on the site
of the old chapel in 1811, and added the eastern end in 1825.
The building, which is unadorned without and within, con-
tains sittings for one thousand four hundred persons.
The Swedenborgians had, a few years since, a meeting-
house in this town, but they are now. extinct here as a reli-
gious sect. The Southcottians have a chapel in a street
branching from Manchester-road^ and were once nimierous in
the neighbourhood, but happily their numbers decrease daily.
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237
ROMAN CATHOLICS.
The second introduction of Roman Catholicism into Brad-
ford, as regards the public offices of its church, occurred
in 1822, when the Rev. Mr. Ryan settled here as priest. A
room was hired in Commercial-street, for the performance of
public worship ; but, on account of threats, the owner would
not allow it to be occupied. Public Mass, probably for
the first time from the days of Mary, was celebrated in a
room in the Roebuck Inn. Some of the persons in authority
at Bradford interfered in a very improper manner ; jmd the
landlady being threatened with the loss of her license for
allowing her room to be used by the Roman Catholics, they
thereupon took a building in Chapel-lane, which had formerly
been occupied by the Southcottians, and worshipped in it
till they built their chapel at Stott-hill in 1824. It is a very
handsome structure, in the Gothic style, with lancet win-
dows. The cost of the erection amounted to about £2000.
In 1839 it was enlarged, and a Sunday-school and house for
the residence of the priest built adjoining it, at an outlay of
other £2000. There are sittings in the chapel for seven hun-
dred persons. It has a fine-toned organ. Mr. Ryan was
succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Brennan as priest, — after him the
Rev. F. Murphy, then the Rev. I. Maddocks, and now the
Rev. P. M. Kaye.
In 1828 a novel disputation took place in the Eastbrook
Methodist Chapel, between a number of Roman Catholic
priests and Protestant ministers, as to their respective articles
of belief. This public display originated in Mr. Maddocks
(the priest here) having interrupted the proceedings of a
Bible Society. The disputation was held on Wednesday and
Thursday, the third and fourth of December, and on both
days the chapel was crowded to excess. As is usual on such
occasions, both sides confidently claimed the victory.
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
Till within a short period there was not^ with the exception
of the Free Grammar School and Subscription Library, any
public literary or scientific institution (properly so called) in
the town. Its inhabitants, in common with those of most of
the towns in the West-Riding, did not seem to entertain the
sentiment that " Knowledge is the wing wherewith we mount
to heaven," but were content to rise on other pinions. Two
institutions — the Philosophical Society and Mechanics' In-
stitute — ^have, however, now been permanently formed in
Bradford ; at which all her sons, high and low, may, and
it is hoped will, taste, nay drink, of the fountains of lite-
rature and science.
FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
In Carlile's (yoncise Account of Endowed Grammar Schools,
and in Gilbert's Liber Scholasticus, it is stated that this
school was supposed to have been founded in the reign of
fxlward the sixth. It, however, can plainly enough be
proved that it dates its commencement in times long anterior
to that reign. After the dissolution of chantries, there had
been a claim made to some of the property appertaining to the
school, on the ground that it had been chantry possessions,
and, therefore, belonged to the King. The question was
tried in the Duchy Court, in Easter term, 1553, when it
was decreed, ** that one messuage and one rood of land in the
" tenure of Robert Sowden ; one close called Milne Holme,
" containing one acre, in the tenure of Joseph Large ; one
** messuage and half an acre of land in Milne Cliffe, in the
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 239
tenure of Amos Grave ; one acre of land in Milne Holme^
in the tenure of William Rawson ; one bakehouse-yard, in
the occupation of Christopher Bank ; one yearly rent of
five -pence out of certain lands in M anningham, and paid
by Joseph Northrop ; one yearly rent of two shillings paid
by Thomas Wade, anciently belonged to the living and
sustentation of a school-master teaching grammar within
the town of Bradford." Upon this decree being made,
letters patent, dated 20th May, sixth Eldward 6th, were
obtained, commanding that such property should remain to
the same use for ever.
The ancient endowment of Bradford School thus is shewn
to have consisted of two messuages, about three acres of
land, and two shillings and five-pence rent-charges.
In one hundred years after the date of the above-mentioned
letters patent, the school had been endowed with a large
accession of property ; for, by an inquisition taken at Brad-
ford the 1 8th of October, 1655, before the commissioners
appointed to enquire into charities, the jurors say —
That ihere is and hath anciently belonged to the Free Grammar
School of Bradford — One messuage with the appurtenances and
two crofts of land in Manningham, in the occupation of Richard
Tempest, containing by estimation one aero and three roods — One
other messuage there in the occupation of John Iredale, Abraham
Thomas, and Richard Sutcliffe — Three closes of land there called
Croft, New Close, and Rood End, now in the occupation of John
Crabtree and Susan Sowden, containing four acres or thereabouts —
Also one other close there called Bradshcy, containing three roods
or thereabouts — One other close and parcel of land there called Old
Manningham, both in the occupation of Francis Hall, lying on both
siles of the way leading from Bradford to Haworth, containing by
estimation two acres and a half — One other close there also, in tho
occupation of William Wilkinson of Bradford, abutting on the lands
of John Lister of Manningham on the north, lying betwixt two
lanes leading from Manningham to Bradford on the west and east,
and containing one acre and twenty perches — One close there called
Holme, and certain parcels of land called the Coal Holes, abutting
upon Manningham Beck on the east, and upon the lands of Thomas
Wilkinson and Gregory Cockcroft on tho south, and containing one
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240 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
acre and two roods — A parcel of meadow there called Cruccleswell,
containing one rood lacking three perches. AH which lands lying
in Manningham contain by e-ttimation fifteen acres, three roods, and
seventeen perches — A yearly rent-charge of ten shillings lssuii)g out
of three intacks heretofore cncloited from the commons of Manning-
ham — Another yearly rent-charge of ten shillings out of three intacks
enclosed from the common of Manningham — Another yearly rent-
charge of sixpence out of a close called Hencroft.
One acre of land at Allerton pays six shillings and eight-pence
rent — A yearly rent-charge of ten shillings out of lands called South
Fields in Great-Horton.
A messuage in Bradford, and barn, garden, and croft, containing
eighteen perches of the measure of twenty-one feet to the perch —
One close of land in Milne Cliffc containing three roods and thirteen
perches — One other close called Milne Clifie containing one acre
lacking seven perches — Two crofts lying on the south side of Milne
Gate containing one rood and a half and seven perches : all which
contain two acres and a half — Also one burgage there anciently
extended into two messuages with garden and crofl, one acre and six
perches — One close there in Milne ClifTe, one acre and three perch-
es — One other close lying in same, half a rood— One other close in
Milne Cliffe containing one acre — One other parrock in Milne Cliffo
containing sixteen perches — One other close called Scilbrigg HolmCy
with a parrock adjoining, one acre : in the whole four acres, one
rood, and five perches. — Also a tenement and other buildings in
Bradford — Also one close there called Milne Holme, bounded by a
pool or pit called Stott Pit, and containing one rood and one perch —
Also certain closes called Middle Shey Bank containing fifteen acres
and ten perches, called of late by the name of Lady Closes — A rent-
charge of ten shillings issuing out of lands there belonging to Thoma^i
Hodgson, 08 it appears by inquisition taken at Elland 15th April,
43rd of Elizabeth, before Baron Savile and other commissioners —
One rent-charge of three shillings issuing out of lands in the tenure
of George Pearson in Bra«lford — Another of six shillings and eight-
pence Issuing out of Bakhouse-yard at Bridge Bnd — Another of
sixpence issuing out of land in the occupation of William Walker —
Another of three shillings issuing out of lands in the tenure of John
Rawson. All which appears by the said inquisition taken at Elland.
The trustees of the school were incorporated by letters
patent, granted by Charles the second, and dated the 10th
of October, 16G3, by which it was ordained —
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 241
1st. That there shall be a grammar school here, to be cal-
led the Free Grammar School of King Charles the Second at
Bradford, for teaching, instructing, and better bringing up
children and youth in grammar, and other good learning and
literature; to consist of one master or teacher, and one
usher or under teacher.
2nd. That there shall be thirteen men, of the most dis-
creet, honest, and religious persons in the neighbourhood,
whereof the vicar of Bradford shall always be one, who
shall be governors, and be a body corporate, with continued
succession, and be able to purchase, receive, and enjoy lands.
3rd. When any of the governors, except the vicar, shall
die, or dwell above two miles out of the parish for one year,
the rest of the governors are to nominate another in his
place within eight weeks of such vacancy. If the election
be deferred beyond eight weeks, the Archbishop of York,
or {sede vacante) the Dean of York, with the consent of
five of the governors, to appoint.
4th. That they shall have a common seal, and be able
to plead and be impleaded.
5th. Power is given to the governors, under the common
seal, to constitute a discreet and fit person, who hath taken
the degree of A.M., to be schoolmaster ; and so from time to
time, as the place shall become vacant, within sixty days, to
present some other meet man for knowledge, religion, and
life, unto the Archbishop of York, or (sede vacante) the Dean
of York, who shall allow him to be schoolmaster ; to continue
so long as he shall be found by the governors to be diligent
and faithful in his oflSce, and fit for the same both for his
religion, knowledge, and conversation, and no longer.
()th. llie governors may, upon one quarter's warning, dis-
place the schoolmaster and elect another ; and if they shall
not present a fit schoolmaster within sixty days after a
vacancy, the Archbishop of York, or (sede vacante) the Dean
of York, to elect a fit person, with the consent of five of the
governors, who shall then be admitte.l under the common seal.
2 I
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242 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
7th. Power is given to the governors to nominate an usher
or under teacher, from time to time, within one month after
a vacancy, and to displace him for neglect or unfitness.
8th. Power is also given to the governors to make statutes
and ordinances in writing, under their common seal, to be
kept under two locks, the master to have one key, and one of
the governors, by consent of the rest, to have the other.
9th. The governors, master, and usher, before they enter
upon their offices, are to take an oath before a justice of
the peace of the county of York, to be faithful and careful
for the good of the school, in all things appertaining to his
office and charge, and also the oaths of allegiance and
supremacy.
10th. The governors are empowered to keep lands already
given to the school, and to purchase and take any lands and
possessions not exceeding the clear yearly value of one hun-
dred marks.
11th. The Archbishop of York for the time being, is
constituted visitor of the school.
From the time of Charles the second, the governors have
been selected from gentlemen of the greatest respectability
in the parish.
The school was formerly open to boys of the parish
indefinitely, but of late years their numbers have been re-
stricted to fifty, who are admitted when qualified to begin the
Latin Accidence : no period of superannuation is prescribed.
They are admitted on application to the head master. The
Eton grammar is used, and the system of education is left
entirely to the discretion of the master. Though the admis-
sion to the classics is free, quarterages are charged for
writing and arithmetic.
llie school is entitled to send candidates for exhibitions
under the will of Lady Elizabeth Hastings. Some of my
readers may desire some information respecting these exhibi-
tions. Lady Elitabetb Hastings, daughter of the Earl of
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 243
Huntingdon, by will, dated twenty-fourth April, 1739, de-
vised an estate at Weldale, in the West-Riding, to the
Provost and scholars of Queen's College, Oxford — so that
five scholars, out of eight (inter alia) of the principal schools
in Yorkshire, of which Bradford School is one, should be
entitled to the exhibitions. It is directed by the will that
the rectors and vicars of several churches in the West- Riding
of Yorkshire therein named, shall meet in the best inn in
Aberforth, on the Thursday in Whitsun week, in the year
wherein exhibitions shall commence, and shall then return
ten of the best exercises of the scholars who are candidates
for the exhibition, to the said Provost and fellows, who shall
chuse out eight of the best, put them in an urn, and the
five exercises first drawn by ballot, shall entitle the scholars
to whom they belong to the exhibitions.
The date of the erection of the old school-house, situated
on the west side of and immediately adjoining to the church-
yard, was uncertain ; but it appeared to have been built at
difierent periods, and to have undergone great alterations
and repairs. Having become ruinous, the governors, in
1818, obtained an act of parliament for selling the old school-
house and other possessions of the school, and for granting
building-leases. The schoolhouse was sold for £315, with
a condition that £300 should be expended in the erection of
buildings upon the site.*
Under the powers given by the act of parliament, they built
the present schoolhouse at North-parade in 1820. It is a
spacious and elegant building. An excellent house was also
erected contiguous to it, for the residence of the master.
The endowment has at various times since the inquisition
of 1654, undergone great changes. It has been greatly
improved since 1818, when the above-mentioned act was
• Under tbe powers of Uiis act, nine dwelltng-bouics and cottages in Westgate,
and a dose of land adjoining theni, containing one acre ; and a dose of land in
Bradford, called Randall-well HoIddp, containing about tliree acres and one rood,
belonging to tbe School, were sold to Richard Fawcett, £squirK, for £5500.
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244 LITEKAKY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
obtained, so that it now yields an income of five hundred
pounds a year.
The management of this school gives no satisfaction to the
inhabitants. When the Rev. James Barmby was the master,
the salary was £160 only, and he had generally fifty scholars,
and neither he nor the under master took boarders ; and yet
at the present time, with the great increase in the size of the
town, not above half that number have for a considerable
time been on the foundation. It cannot be said that the
respectable portion of the inhabitants are averse to giving
their sons a classical education, when almost all of them do
so at great expense. The inhabitants of Bradford loudly
ask the master and governors if they have, according to their
solemn oath, heen faithful and careful for the good of the
school ? If they have not, a heavy religious and moral res-
ponsibility rests upon them.
I am unable to give an unbroken list of the masters of
this school. Under the year 1703, there is the follow-
ing entry in Thoresby's Diary* — " With Mr. Kirk to visit
" Mr. Sturdy, the quondam famous schoolmaster of Bradford,
" whose account of the Hcematites wrought into iron is regis-
** tered, Phil. Trans. 109 ; but alas ! he was seduced to the
" Romish Church." On his changing his faith, he was of
course ejected from the school. After him Thomas Clap-
ham, who became vicar of Bradford, was ra&ster twenty
years : then Thomas Wood, A. M., who died seventeenth
of April, 1712, aged sixty-six. There is a monument
to his memory in Bradford Church. About the year 1780
the governors chose Mr. Baldwin as the master, and he held
the office for about twenty years. He is well remembered
for some pungent pamphlets. Mr. Crane, who had been
educated at the school, succeeded him, and remained a
very short time. About the year 1802 Mr. Barmby was
appointed. On his resignation in 1818, the present master.
• Vol. 1, p. 440.
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 245
the Rev. Samuel Slack, A. M , was nominated as his suc-
cessor.
Among the eminent men educated at this school, may be
mentioned Archbishop Sharp, Dr. Richardson, and Abraham
Sharp, of whom notices are given hereafter.
James Scott, D.D., fellow of St. John's College, Oxford,
a man eminent in the latter part of last century, was also
educated at this school. In the days of Wilkes and Liberty,
he gained great reputation as a writer of letters under the
well-known signature of *Anti-Sejanus,' in the Public Adver-
tiser, against Wilkes ; and, in common with hundreds of
others, received church preferment as the reward of political
services. Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty,
obtained his presentation to the rectory of Simonburn in
Northumberland, in the gift of the governors of Greenwich
Hospital. It is painful to note the latter days of this man.
They were one continued scene of ruinous and profligate
litigation with his parishioners, respecting the rigid exaction
of his tithes and dues. After his death the parish was
divided into four lucrative benefices.
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.
About fifty years ago a philosophical society was established
in Bradford, under the auspices of the late Joseph Priestley,
Esquire, an eminent Mathematician. After continuing some
time the society broke up.*
A similar society was, in 1823, formed, principally through
the exertions of Samuel Hailstone, Esquire — a gentleman to
* An anecdote has been related to me respecting the researches of two of the
members of this society (whose names I suppress). One of them an eminent chemist,
had, by dint of numerous experiments, discovered a method^ by means of a strongs
acid, of rendering oils pure and tmnsiuirent. One of his fellow philosophers of the
society, a respectable clock and watch-maker in the town, thought that he would
make experiments too ; and in cleaning a great number of clocks, used this purified
oil. The consequence was, that the strong acid in it corroded their works, and half
of the cltKks in the town were sfKiiled by the clock maker's spirit (or oil) of philosophy.
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246 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
whom science owes many obligations. I have before me a
copy of resolutions, passed at a '' meeting of the inhabitants
" of the town and neighbourhood of Bradford, subscribers
'' to the forming of a Literary and Philosophical Society and
" Hall in that place, held at the court-house, January 15th,
" 1823, John Hustler, Esquire, in the chair." About forty-
two persons subscribed fifty pounds each towards a fund for
erecting a hall, and purchasing a library, apparatus, &c.
The vicar of Bradford having, however, preached a sermon,
in which he enlarged on the irreligious tendency of a phi-
losophizing spirit, several of the subscribers took fright,
and withdrew their subscriptions ; and thus a society so
auspiciously formed, was broken up.
In the winter of 1838 — 39, a course of lectures on several
branches of natural philosophy, was delivered in the Ex-
change Buildings, by William Sharp, Esq., F.R.S., of Brad-
ford, with a view to excite among the higher class of the
inhabitants of the town, attention to the pursuits of science,
lliese lectures were attended by a great portion of the respec*
table families in the town and neighbourhood. At the close
of the course, Mr. Sharp invited such of the gentlemen of
the town and locality as were disposed to unite in the forma-
tion of a Philosophical Society to assemble at his house, to
take the preliminary steps for such a measure. Accordingly,
on the 12th of April, 1839, a number of gentlemen met,
when the fundamental rules of the society were agreed upon,
and the following gentlemen elected the officers for the ensu-
ing year : — President, Mr. Sharp : Vice-president, John
Garnet t Horsfall, Esq. : Treasurer, Alfred Harris, Esq. :
Honorary Secretary, Mr. John Darlington : Honorary Cu-
rator, Dr. Farrer : and ten gentlemen appointed as Council.
The primary object of this society, and that which distin-
guishes it in its scope and design from similar institutions,
is expressed in its second rule, viz., ** the formation of a
" LOCAL MUSEUM, or a collection of the natural productions of
" the district within fifteen miles of Bradford.'* The prac-
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ticHl results arising from the adoption of Local Museums in
every town throughout the kingdom^ would be of the greatest
importance to the interests of science ; as the natural and
artificial productions of every district throughout the country,
whether considered in reference to agriculture, botany, geolo-
gy, animated nature, or manufactures and the arts of life, would
be accurately investigated ; and thereby infinite advantage
accrue to the particular locality, and the country in general.
To the credit of Mr. Sharp it must be recorded, that he
has taken considerable pains, by reading papers before the
British Association for the Advancement of Science, and
the Royal Society, to recommend the adoption of such mu-
seums ; and the plan has been approved by several of the
most eminent sons of science of the present day.
The success of this infant institution in Bradford, exceed-
ed in the first year the most sanguine expectations of its
promoters. In that period, one hundred and seventy-two
ordinary, and fourteen honorary members were elected. A-
mong these honorary members, may be mentioned the dis-
tinguished names of Sir John Herschel, Buckland, Sedgwick,
Brewster, Farady, Roget, Lyell, Phillips, Whewell. The
President of .the Royal Society is Patron. Several of these
gentlemen sent donations of books to the library ; and many
presents have been made towards forming the museum. Du-
ring the last session, numerous interesting papers on scientific
subjects were read by the members ; some of them of ster-
ling merit, especially those on magnetism, by Dr. Scoresby,
the vicar, whose knowledge in that department of science is
extensive and original. The monthly meetings of the society
have hitherto been well attended.
A very wholesome regulation is made by the thirty-fourth
rule of the society, — " That no paper shall be read, and no
" discussion permitted at the meetings of the society, on any
" question of local or party politics, or on any topic of con-
'' troversial divinity, or on the practical branches of law or
*^ medicine ;" thus securing, as far as possible, this small
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248 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
bark of science from foundering on the religious and political
shoals and quicksands^ which endanger^ in Bradford, every
project set afloat for the public weal.
There are now in the society about two hundred members.
The annual subscription is half a guinea, to be paid in ad-
vance. Meetings are held on the evening of the first Mon-
day in each month, for the purpose of receiving scientific
communications ; for the admission of members, and for the
encouragement of practical science.
The society have a commodious room in Exchange-street,
for holding their meetings in ; and it is intended, when their
funds will allow of it, to erect a hall for their use.
mechanics' institute.
The first origin of a mechanics' institute took place in
1825, when an embryo institute was formed, principally
through the agency of Mr. W. O. Geller and a small knot
of literary friends. Joshua Pollard, Esquire, was the Patron ;
a medical gentleman named Sherwin, then resident in the
town, was President ; and Mr. Squire Farrar, Secretary. In
a town like Bradford, a society depending for support on
the mass of its inhabitants, and constituted, as this was, of
a considerable number of persons professing great latitude of
opinion on religious and political subjects, contained within
its own bosom the seeds of speedy decay. After a small
library had been formed, and a code of rules had been
drawn up, the more bigoted portion of the members gra-
dually quitted the society's ranks, and the whole project
quickly fell to the ground.
In the last months of 1831, the subject of a Mechanics' In-
stitute was again brought prominently before the inhabitants,
and after several preliminary meetings, the Institute was, on
the 14th of February, 1832, permanently organized ; and on
the 20th of March, the rules and constitution of the society
were brought before the public. Dr. Steadman, the principal
of Horton Baptist Colloge, was the first President.
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 249
The three great objects of the Institute are — " the provision
" of an extensive and well-selected library, for the use of all
" its members and subscribers : the supply of popular and
" attractive instruction, through the medium of public lec-
" tures ; and the formation of classes, under well qualified
" masters, in which every facility should be aflforded for pur-
" suing the various branches of useful knowledge with plea-
" sure and success.'*
The following summary, extracted from the Yearly Reports,
shews the progress of the society. —
Af enibcn Bnd
Vols, in the
VoU.toued
Subacriben.
Libnwy.
in the Ytar.
1833
.... 352 ....
800 ....
4642
1834
.... 446 ....
1100 ....
11400
1835
.... 414 ....
1500 ....
11671
1836
.... 461 ....
1781 ....
13096
1837
.... 562 ....
1909 ....
17118
1838
541
2249 ....
19000
1839
.... 512 ....
2615 ....
18251
1840
.... 492 ....
2615 ....
16000
1841
.... 472 ....
2675
17630
The depression of trade, and the consequent inferior wages
earned by the working classes, are undoubtedly the great
causes of the gradual diminution of late years in the numbers
of the society; but no man can be so blind as not to perceive
that the same bigotry and party-spirit which gave the death-
blow to its predecessor, have wounded and greatly disabled
the present institution. Its rules provide that all subjects
immediately connected with controversial theology or party
politics shall be inadmissible into its discussions, proceedings,
or library. Every real friend of the institution will attend
to its permanent success, and general usefulness, by carefully
avoiding even the semblance of religious or political party
zeal (which is foreign to its nature and object) to i^pear in
its proceedings or councils.
On the 1st of April, 1839, the first stone of the hall of
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250 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
the Mechanics' Institute was laid, and an address delivered
by the Rev. James Acworth, A.M., the President, who on
the death of Dr. Steadman was elected to the office. Beneath
the foundation-stone was placed a copper box containing a
number of documents relative to the Institute ; to convey to
distant posterity, it is hoped, an account of its present state.
The whole expense of the erection (inclusive of the site,
£635) amounted to about £3300 ; of this sum nearly £2000
has been raised by subscription, llie hall is a large and
handsome building, containing an elegant and commodious
theatre for the delivery of lectures, a large library room,
and indeed all the offices and conveniences that can be
desired in such an edifice. — Situated at the junction of Well-
street and the Leeds New-road, and fronting up the latter, it
has, to persons entering Bradford in that direction, an im-
posing and handsome appearance, — an ornament to the town
and an honour to the Institute.
Through the exertions of Mr. Joseph Farrar, the secretary,
who was principally instrumental in establishing the Institute
in 1832, and has zealously attended to its interests ever since,
a respectable collection of one hundred and four cases of
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birds and other objects in natural history has been purchased
by subscription^ and forms the rudiments of the museum.
The EiLhibition of specimens in natural history, paintings,
antiquities, curiosities, models, and machines, &c., which
on the 12th of August, 1840, opened in the hall of the
Institute and temporary erections adjoining, forms an in*
teresting epoch in the history of the Institute. The success
of the exhibition exceeded the expectations of its most
sanguine promoters ; and from the great pains taken to render
it worthy of public patronage, success was deserved. A
nobler collection of works of nature and art, and especially of
paintings, has been seldom, if on the whole ever, brought
together in a similar exhibition. The seeds of knowledge
which were sown in the breasts of thousands by this Hand-
maid of science and the arts, will assuredly bear abundant
good fruit many days hence. During the fifteen weeks the
exhibition was open, 46,754 single ticket (6^.), and 91,036
season ticket (2s. 6d.) visitors passed through it ; making,
with 4,869 visitors to the soirees, a grand total of 142,659 !
The following is a statement shewing the net proceeds appli-
cable to the purpose for which the exhibition was originated
— the payment of the debt on the hall : —
Receipts for season and single tickets, donations, £.
sale of materials used during the exhibition, &c. . 2345
Disbursements (including outstanding claims) .... 1665
£680
The Exchange-buildings, of Grecian architecture, are a
great ornament to the town. They were erected from designs
by Mr. F. Goodwin of London, at a cost (inclusive of site)
of upwards of £7000 ; the greater part of which was raised
by a company of shareholders, in shares of £25 each ; and
were opened for public use October 1st, 1828. The large
room on the ground-floor is used as a news-room, supported
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252 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.
by about two hundred yearly subscribers at £1 1*. each.
The room over this is appropriated to the purposes of lec-
tures, concerts, balls, exhibitions, and public meetings. A
room in the building contains the Subscription Library, es-
tablished about forty years since. There are one hundred
and forty-two subscribers at £1 l«. yearly. The original
subscription tickets are £8 each. The library contains about
5500 volumes of the most approved works in all departments
of literature and science, llie late Miss Jowett bequeathed
£1000 towards paying off the debt on this building.
There have been three weekly newspapers started in Brad-
ford. Two of them, the Bradford Chronicle and Bradford
Courier, were commenced about the same time, viz., July
1825 : the former was carried on only till the April following,
and the latter till April 1828. Both these papers were
conducted on Conservative principles — the Courier ultra,
and the Chronicle moderate. In February 1834, the Brad-
ford Observer was commenced by a company of shareholders.
It has since passed into private hands, and is conducted
in a respectable and moderate manner. The opinions ad-
vocated in it are liberal.
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
In the Inquisition of 1655, quoted in the last section, it is
stated that the following houses, lands, and rents, belonged
to the poor of Bradford : —
One messuage or cottage in Manningbam, late purchased ^ith
the poor's money of William Pearson of Manningbam — One close
of land, lately enclosed from the waste of Manningbam, lying on
the north side of High Field — One other close lying on the north
side of the higb%vay between Bradford and Manningbam — One close
there enclosed from the waste, containing one acre and a half, joining
the highway leading from Wheatley-causey to Fairweather-green on
the south, all which were purchased of the said William Pearson —
One messuage with the appurtenances in Wilsden, and three closes
of land there, late purchased of Tobias Greenwood with the poor's
money, abutting upon Gomersal-lane on the north, and upon the
commons of Wilsden on the east and west — One half of two closes
in Exjclesbill, the one called the Pea Field, the other More Close,
purchased for the remainder of a term of 1000 years therein of Abra-
ham Kitchen, for the use of the poor — Also the sum of £10 in the
hands of Samuel Widdop, for which be pays 12*. yearly — £\5 in
the hands of Barbara W^alker, for which she pays 18*. yearly — One
parcel of land in Great*Horton, or a rent out of same of £2 9s, —
A parcel of land there, or a rent of £1 8*. 6d. — Another parcel of
land there, or a rent of £1 1*. — Also a rent of 20*. given by
Laurence Roberts, out of bis house in Westgato.
The following extracts from the seventeenth Report of the
Commissioners appointed to inquire into Charities, will shew
that by some means or other, all the old possessions belong-
ing to the poor of Bradford have been swept away, with the
exception of the land in Wilsden, and the rent-charges issu-
ing out of lands in Horton. The above-mentioned Report
is so full, and is drawn up with so much care respecting the
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254 CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
charity estates now belonging to Bradford^ that although I
have copies of the documents whereby the whole of the mo-
dem gifts were given, yet it seems better to notice them in
the words of the (/ommissioners — and subjoin the observa-
tions which occur to me. —
POORS BSTATRy AND QUIT RENTS.
This property, as to the acquisition of which no deeds or writings
are now extant, is appropriated to the use of the poor of the several
townships within the parish of Bradford, with the exception of
Clayton and Heaton, and consists of the following particulars :
1. The Norhill Farm, in the township of Wilsden, consisting of
a house, barn, and stable, and four fields, containing together forty
acres, in the occupation of widow Ramsbotham, under a lease for
twenty-one year<3, commencing in 1812, at the yearly rent of i,'27 I0»«
2. Two closes, formerly in one, called the Crack Field, in the
township of Wilsden, in the occupation of Dan Brierley, under an
agreement for a lease for fifteen years from the 2nd February 1818,
at the yearly rent of £18.
The above property is under the management of the church-
wardens of Bradford, and is properly let.
3. Certain quit-rents issuing out of different lands in Horton,
amounting together to £4 ]8«. a year.
The annual income is divided in certain fixed proportions for each
township in the parish, except Clayton and Hcaton, and is distributed
by the parish officers acting for each township, among poor persons
not receiving regular parochial relief.
pollard's charity.
Richard Pollard, by will dated 20th August, 1735, devised to
his nephew Joseph Pollard all his messuages, lands, and hereditaments
in Bradford, to bold to him and his heirs, upon condition that he
and they should pay unto the poor of Bradford the sum of Z5s.,
and to the poor of Bierley 25^., and to the poor of Ilaworth and
Stanbury 50*., yearly, for ever, and ho appointed Thomas Pighells
and George Taylor, and their heirs, joint trustees, to receive the
said 50t9. for the uses of the poor of f laworth and Stanbury, and
appointed the said sums to be paid on the 25tb December, yearly.
The above yearly sums are paid by Samuel Hailstone, E«tquire,
solicitor, Bradford, out of his estate situate in Goodmansend in
Bradford. The sum of 25«. a year for the poor of Bradford is
distributed by Mr. Hailstone himself, among poor persons of Bradford,
and the other suraM in the will mentioned are paid by him to one of
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 255
the parish officers of Bierlej nnd Ha worth rospectiFely, for the
poor of those townships, and are distributed among poor persons.
JOWETT's CHARIT7.
Mary Ann Joweti^ spinster, by will dated the 19th September,
1811, bequeathed to the vicar of Bradford, and the churchwardens
of the township of Manningham, for the time being, £400, upon
trust to lay out the same upon government security, and to di<;pose
of the proceeds, after defraying the charges of the trust yearly, in
the vestry of the parish church of Bradford, on old New Vear's-day,
unto and for the benefit of poor widows, and single women of
industrious and virtuous characters, above the age of fifty years, one
half of such persons to be residing in and to have been inhabitants of
the township of Bradford for ten years preceding, and the other
half of them to reside in and to have been inhabitants of the town-*
ship of Manningbaro, or Frizinghall and Cursyke in the township of
Heaton, for ten years preceding, and the same to be distributed
amongst them in suras of not larger than 20s, and not less than 5s»
to each ; ond the testatrix, among other directions as to the manage-
ment of the trusty directed that the vicar should keep in his hands,
as treasurer, the proceeds of the £'400, until the same should be
distributed ; and that a proper deed should be prepared for perpe-
tuating and establishing the charity.
The sum of £360, the amount of the legacy after deducting the
legacy-duty, wa« laid out in 1813 in the purchase of £500 four per
cent consols, and after the reduction of that stock to three and a
half per cent annuities, the principal money (which was paid io
consequence of no assent to the reduction of the stock having been
expressed by the trustees, in whose names it was standing) was laid
out, after deducting the amount of some necessary charges, in January
1 826, in the purchase of £499 1 7«. Sd, new four per cent annuities,
in the names of the Rev. Henry Heap the vicar of Bradford, and
Thomas Rhodes and Joseph Carver, late Churchwardens of Man-
ningham.
The dividends are duly applied according to the directions of the
testatrix, being distributed, one half among poor widows, and single
women of Bradford, and the other half among poor widows and sin-
gle women of Manningham, Carsyke, and Heaton, in sums varying
from 58. to £1.
PIBLn's CHARITT ESTATE.
By Indentures of Lease and Release of 11th and 12th August,
1686, William Field conveyed to Thomas Ledyard and James
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256 CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
Denham, their heirs and assigns, an undivided rooietj of a messuage or
tenement called Black Abbey, in Bradford, and of four closes thereto
belonging, called the Abbey Croft, the Far Old Earth, the Middle
Old Earth, and the Narr Old Earth, containing by estimation four-
teen days ploughing, to the use of the said William Field and the
heirs of his body, and in default of such issue, to the intent that the
said Ledyard and Den holme, and their heirs, should yearly receive
and dispose of the rents and profits for and towards the yearly relief
and maintenance of the poor of the town of Bradford.
On a partition of the estate made by deed, dated 20th March, drd
James II., part of the north-east end of the messuage, with some
outbuildings and a garden, a part of the ground called the Middle
Fold, and the closes called the Abbey Croft and the Narr Old Earth,
with a right of way over the other part of the estate, were assigned
to liedyard and Denham in lieu of an undivided moiety of the estate.
The heirs of the body of William Field having become extinct, the
estate has been conveyed from time to time to successive trustees,
upon trust for the charitable use ; and the present trustees are Messrs.
Francis Simes, John Priestley, and William Skelton, the survivors
of four trustees to whom the charity-estate was conveyed by deeds,
dated the 2nd and Srd November 1818.
The Narr Old Earth, containing 2a. Or. 32p. is let to James
Boyes, as yearly tenant, at £12 a year, the full annual value.
Part of the Abbey Croft, forty-five yards on the north, twenty-five
yards on the east and west, and sixty yards on the south, has been
demised to Robert Brook, by lease, dated 14th November 1818, for
999 years from the date of the lease, at the yearly rent of £13.
The remainder of the estate was let to Joseph Green, by lease,
dated 1st November 1819, for 999 years from the date thereof,
at the annual rent of £86, but part thereof, containing 490 square
yards, has since, by deed, dated 1st October 1819, been assigned
by Green, and lot by the trustees to John Bottomley by lease, for
the remainder of the said term of 999 years, at the yearly rent of
£7 I9s, 3d. the residue of the rent of £80 a year, viz. £78 Os. 9d.
being payable by Green.
The whole of the property before the leases were granted was let
at the yearly rent of £38, which was the full annual value to be ob-
tained on a yearly letting, and the trustees were induced to grant the
leases (which were taken for the purpose of erecting buildings on the
ground) in ordor to increase the annual income for the benefit of (he
poor. Houses have since been erected, or are in the course of being
built, which will afford a sufficient security for the rents reserved,
and the leaner contain covenants to keep the buildings in proper
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 257
repair. There is no doubt that the trustees were influenced by no
other motives in granting the leases than a desire to improve the funds
of the charity to the utmost, and the land was offered to the best
bidders, but the terms granted appear to us to be of excessive and
unreasonable length ; it is alleged, however^ that building-ground is
usually demised in Bradford for (erms of similar duration.
The rents of the property are disposed of by the trustees in a dis-
tribution of money among poor persons of the township of Bnidford
whom they consider most deserving, and a regular account is kept of
its application.
This charity is well known as ' Black Abbey Dole.'
FARRAND's CHARITY.
Thomas Farrand^ by his will, dated 27 tb June 1724, directed
his trustees therein named to settle out of his real estates an annuity
of iriO, to be applied in paying for the instruction of poor children in
learning to read English, and write, belonging to the town of Brad-
ford, whose parents were not able to pay for such their learning, at
the discretion of the trustees.
By Indentures of Lease and Release, dated the 27th and 28th
September 1726, an annuity or yearly rent-charge of £10 was
charged and secured on several closes and parcels of ground culled
the Far Lang Sides, in Horton, in the parish of Bradford, and a mes-
suage and bam thereon, and was vested in five trustees, upon trust,
to apply the same for the purposes in the will mentioned, and the
deeds contained a proviso for continuing the trust by the appointment
of new trustees on the death of any two of them.
New trustees have been chosen from time to time, and by the last
deed of appointment, dated (he 18th April 1802, the rent-charge is
vested in Mr. John Stanfield and Mr. James Wilkinson, the present
surviving trustees.
The property subject to the charge belongs to Henry William
Oates, Esquire, and the money is applied annually in leaching as
many poor children to read as the fund will suffice for, the number of
children instructed being at present 17, and there is a balance in
hand of £2 2s.
For a long time past the children have been taught to read only,
and the reason assigned for their not being taught to write also is the
desire of the master that a larger number might receive some instruc-
tion.
The property now belongs to Mr. R. S. Ackroyd of Field
Head, out of which estate the annuity is payable. The pre-
2 L
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258 CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
sent trustees are Messrs. John Bonnell, Charles Stanfield^
and others, llie money is now paid to two schoolmasters, for
teaching ten children to read and write.
INFIRMARY AND DISPENSARY.
A Dispensary was first commenced in Bradford in 1825,
when a small house in High-street was rented for the purpose :
the present building in Darley-street being opened for a Dis-
pensary in 1827. The cost of the erection amounted to
about £2000, besides £1500 paid for the ground and some
adjoining buildings. lu 1833 the funds of the Dispensary had
considerably increased, and twelve beds were fitted up in the
building, to afibrd accommodation as an Infirmary to in-
patients.
The great increase of patients, particularly of in-patients,
and the flourishing condition of the institution, have in-
duced its officers to purchase the '* Lodge," situated at the
top of Westgate, for the sum of three thousand guineas,
in the design of erecting an Infirmary and Dispensary on
the spot. The building (which has not yet been commenced)
is to be constructed from designs by Mr. Walker Rawstornc,
of Bradford. It will be of the Tudor style of architecture ;
one hundred and fifty-eight feet in length and thirty-six in
height. It would be a great embellishment to the town were
it to be placed in a more public situation. There will be, in
large and small wards, accommodation for sixty patients ;
apartments for the medical officers and servants ; and other
convenient offices usual in such edifices. The expense of
the erection is estimated at about £4G00 ; and it will require
other £1500 in furnishing it, &c.
From the commencement of the charity in 1825, up to April
1840, 34,33G patients had received its benefits ; of whom
16GG out-patients, 878 home-patients, and 92 in-patients,
were admitted in the year 1869-40. According to the last
Annual Report, there are three hundred and twenty -five
annual subscribers, whose subscriptions amount to about
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 259
£540. The yearly expenditure^ according to the average
of the two last ye€U*s, is about £600. In addition to the
subscriptions^ there is a small yearly sum arising from
the rents of buildings belonging to the charity, and, at
present, the interest of such part of the donation fund as
hath not been expended. Since the commencement of the
charity, the sum of nearly £5000 has been given to it in
donations and bequests, exclusive of £1000 recently be-
queathed by Miss Jowett. There are two physicians to the
Infirmary, Drs. Outhwaite and Macturk ; and two surgeons,
Mr. Sharp and Mr. J. A. lUingworth. In the Dispensary,
Messrs. Casson, Douglas, and Roberts are the medical officers,
llie services of all these gentlemen are rendered gratuitously.
" The Benevolent or Strangers' Friend Society" was estab-
lished in 1813. Its visitors seek out the abodes of misery
and sickness, and with the trifling yearly sum of about £100,
raised in small subscriptions and donations, dispense an in-
calculable amount of good. The afiairs of the society are
managed by Wesleyans, but there is nothing of a sectarian
spirit in its rules, or in the manner in which its funds are
distributed. Hitherto the disbursements of the society have
been year by year greater than the small receipts ; and if the
latter were ten times the amount they are, the visitors, in the
great errand of benevolence they are engaged in, would find
occasions, even with their present economy, for expending
the amount to great advantage.
In 1798, that indefatigable friend of the distressed, the
late Mrs. Rich, founded " The Lying-in and Gruel ("harity,"
for the purpose of relieving, and providing comforts for poor
married women of the town in time of travail. Such a
charity imperatively demands the assistance of every right-
minded female who possesses afluence. It is, so far as it
extends, (for the funds are very limited,) one of the most
valuable charities in the town.
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260 CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
There is a vagrant office at the Court-house, under the
direction of Mr. Charles Ingham^ and about the sum of £30,
paid out of the poor rates, is yearly expended in providing
lodging and meals for such destitute travelling persons as are
not deemed to be practised vagrants.
SCHOOLS.
A National School is kept in the large Sunday-school in
Wcstgate belonging to Christ Church. The school is gene-
rally attended by ninety boys and sixty girls, who are charged
two-pence a week — and those who learn to write, three-peuce.
The school was built in 1831, at an expense of nearly
£1000, including the purchase of the ground, raised partly
by subscription. The National Society made two grants to
it,, amounting to £150, and the Diocesan Society £40, on
condition that it should be used as a National as well as a
Sunday-school.
There is also another National School in the town which is
connected with St. James's Church. About forty boys, thirty
girls, and sixty infants, are usually educated in the school on
similar terms as at that in Christ Church school.
The British and Infant Schools are among the most ex-
cellent establishments in Bradford. This school was begun
in 1816 by the Quakers; and in 1831, the present large
and handsome structure in Chapel-street, Leeds-road, was
erected at a cost of £2300, raised in subscriptions by the
Quakers. The ground for the site was given by Charles
Harris, Esquire, and Mr. John Hustler advanced the mu-
nificent sum of £300 towards its erection. The school is
free to children of all denominations without distinction.
About two hundred boys, one hundred and forty girls, and
one hundred and thirty infants are taught in the school on
the Lancasterian plan. The charge is two-pence a week,
with an extra penny for those scholars who learn to write.
School of Industry. — In 1806, a few ladies of Bradford
established this school, which was till 1821, taught in a
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 261
house in Westgate^ when the present convenient building
was erected by subscription, and the lord of the manor
gave the site. Sixty is the full number of girls on the
foundation ; but they have of late not been so numerous —
some of the subscribers having discontinued to support the
charity. The scholars, who are chosen by the subscribers,
are taken in at eight years of age ; and are taught to sew,
knit, and read. They have materials to work upon found
free, and the profits of their labours are expended in clothing
them. The scholars also attend the school on the Sunday,
and are taught to read and the Church Catechism, and attend
church. Many excellent maid-servants have been reared in
this school.
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.
In a town like Bradford, where a great portion of its ju-
venile population is engaged in the factories, — where the means
of free instruction are very limited, and a host of parents
remarkably inattentive of the education of their progeny,
Sunday-schools are important agents in the cultivation of the
young and tender mind. These schools are in Bradford un-
usually numerous, are conducted with great care and zeal,
and contribute much to neutralize the evil effects of the con-
taminated moral atmosphere which in Bradford, as in all
great manufacturing towns, is breathed by a large mass of
the youthful population.
The following is a statement, drawn up from information
obtained from persons actively engaged in the superinten-
dence of the Sunday-schools in this town, of the number of
children attending them.
Parish Church Sunday-schooL — Nine hundred and eighty-
five scholars' names on the books at the last anniversary ; —
average attendance, four hundred and fifteen boys and three
hundred and twenty-five girls. There are to the school forty-
three male and thirty-five female teachers. The school-room,
situated near the church, was built by subscription in 1828^
at a cost of about £1000.
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262 CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
Christ Church. — Seven huDdred scholars are numbered
on the books of the Sunday-school annexed to this church.
The average attendance is two hundred boys and two hundred
and fifty girls, — twenty -six male and thirty -two female
teachers.
St. Jame^s. — There are two hundred and twenty-four boys
and two hundred and thirteen girls who attend this school^ —
thirty-four male and thirty-seven female teachers. A female
adult school is also held in the vestry of the church, at which
about thirty attend, lliis seems a novel institution, and
would, if its objects were fully and extensively carried out,
be of very great utility.
8t. JohrCz. — The Sunday-school connected with this church
is yet in embryo, having been commenced only very recently.
Roman Catholics. — Two hundred and thirty boys and two
hundred and fifty girls attend the Sunday-school taught in
the school-room adjoining the chapel.
Independents. — Horton-lane. — Four hundred and twenty-
six scholars are numbered on the books of the school. There
are at the whole of the Sunday-schools connected with this
chapel in and out of the town, one thousand and forty-five
scholars, viz., besides at Horton-lane Sunday-school — Wibsey,
three hundred and thirty-eight ; and Little Horton, two hun-
dred and eighty-one ; — average attendance, six hundred and
ninety-one. Teachers, seventy-five on the average.
Salem Chapel. — Two hundred and thirty boys and one
hundred and eighty-seven girls attend this school; — the
average attendance is about two hundred and ninety scholars.
There are seventy teachers.
College Chapel. — Boys, one hundred and seventy — girls,
one hundred and twenty-eight — teachers, thirty-eight.
Baptists. — ^Vestgate. — Two hundred boys and two hun-
drcd girls. At the whole of the Sunday-schools connected
with Westgate Chapel, in Bradford and out of it, seven
hundred scholars are entered on the books ; — the average
attendance is about three hundred boys and three hundred
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 263
girls, under the direction of one hundred and thirty-eight
teachers.
Sion Chapel. — Two hundred boys and one hundred and
eighty girls. Teachers, seventy.
General Baptists. — Prospect-street. — One hundred and
thirty-four boys, one hundred and ninety girls, and forty-
seven teachers.
fi^esleyan Methodists. — Kirkgate Chapel. — Average at-
tendance, eighty boys and ninety-four girls; sixteen male
and twenty-four female teachers.
Eastbrook Chapel. — Number of scholars, four hundred and
twelve. Average attendance — ^boys, one hundred and seventy-
six — ^girls, one hundred and ninety — teachers, ninety.
Park-street. — Average attendance — eighty - eight boys,
ninety girls, forty-four teachers.
Centenary Chapel. — One hundred and forty-four boys and
one hundred and thirty-two girls.
Bradford Moor. — One hundred and twenty-three boys,
one hundred and twenty-two girls, and ninety-eight male
and eighty female teachers.
White Abbey. — One hundred and fifty boys, and one
hundred and seventy girls.
Primitive Methodists. — Manchester-road. — Average, one
hundred and eighty-two boys, two hundred and one girls,
and one hundred and seven teachers.
Spring-street, — Average, forty-six boys, forty-three girls ;
teachers, twenty-five.
Methodist J\"ew Connexion. — Average attendance — one
hundred boys, seventy girls, and fourteen teachers.
fVesleyan Association. — Fifty boys, eighty girls, and thirty
teachers.
Unitaria?is. — Twenty-five scholars and two teachers.
lliere is also a Sunday-school on Bradford-moor, belonging
to no particular denomination, which is attended by one
hundred and eighteen boys and one hundred and fifteen
girls, — sixty-nine male and forty-eight female teachers.
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264 CHARITIES AXD CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
PROVIDENT INSTITUTIONS.
In August 1818, the East Morley and Bradford Savings*
Bank was commenced. Its officers in 1837, were enabled
to erect a large and elegant building in Kirkgate, in which
to transact the business of the bank. The cost of the
erection (inclusive of site) was about £2300. Since the
commencement of the institution, there has been £240,682
deposited by five thousand nine hundred and fifty-three
persons. At the present time two thousand and thirty-four
(an increase of one hundred and fifty since 1839) have
accounts open, amounting in the aggregate to £52,488.
llie Quakers have an institution in Bradford (established
November 1832), called the Friends' Provident Institution,
for the purpose of granting annuities, life assurances, &c.,
to persons of their persuasion throughout the kingdom. The
amount of capital in August 1840 was upwards of £110,000.
The number of policies granted from the Institution since
its commencement, on annuities, life insurances, endowments,
&c., is one thousand five hundred and ninety- three. Mr.
Benjamin Ecroyd is secretary to the society.
Friendly societies, secret orders, free gifts, and other
provident combinations, are extremely numerous. It was
once intended to give a detailed account of these societies,
but it was found that more time would be required to perform
the task in an accurate manner than could be devoted to it.
Though it is not intended here to laud the mummeries and
nonsensical ceremonies which characterise the proceedings of
some of the secret societies — ^nor to commend the unmeaning
frivolity and childish display of numbers of their processions,
yet all these societies demand a large meed of unadulterated
praise. By means of friendly societies, thousands of families
in Bradford have been kept from being a burden upon the
parochial funds. — And it is a question requiring a deeper pe-
netration into the mysterious working of the human heart and
the innate weakness of its nature than I pretend to possess, to
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CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 265
answer whether it would be well that the ceremonies and
pageantry of secret orders should be dispensed with ; for it is
notorious that thousands have been by those allurements
induced to become members, and thereby tasted of the ex-
cellent fruit of which such ceremonies are the mere shell :
man is, even in his wisest state, not enamoured of naked
utility, — he requires her to be decorated in a gorgeous, motley
dress in order to catch his eye.
In 1803, I find, from a parliamentary paper, there were
twenty-two friendly societies in Bradford, with two thousand
five hundred members. At present there are nine friendly
societies having £1527 deposited in the Savings' Bank.
ITie Odd Fellows— Manchester Unity — ^are the most nume-
rous body of members of secret orders here. In 1837 they
built in Thornton-road, a large and substantial building, as
a hall, for the purposes of their society at Bradford. It
cost (with site) nearly £3000.
'4 M
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
Up to the middle of last century, the manufacture of wool-
len cloths formed the staple trade of Bradford, in common
with the whole of these parts of Yorkshire. In noticing,
therefore, the ancient trade of this town, it will be necessary
to take a short view of the origin and progress of the woollen
trade in England.
It has long been a disputed point, whether the manufac-
ture of woollen cloths in England did not owe its origin to
the care of Edward the third. It is, however, now a fact well
established, that it did not ; but was known and practised
during the earliest stages of English history after the Con-
quest. Gervase, a monk of Canterbury, who wrote in the
early part of the thirteenth century, says, that " the art of
" weaving seemed to be a peculiar gift bestowed upon the
'^ inhabitants of this country by nature ;" and Madox, in his
History of the Exchequer, mentions a great number of guilds
or iraternities of weavers settled in various parts of England,
who paid considerable sums for their privileges in the reigns
of Henry the second and Henry the third, and (page 231)
particularly mentions that the weavers of York gave a large
yearly sum for the enjoyment of the privileges of their guild.
That the inhabitants of this country were long before the
time of Edward the third engaged in the clothing trade, is
fully borne out by the following quotation from Hale — a judi-
cious writer on all the subjects he treated upon. " In the time
*^ of Henry the second and Richard the first, the kingdom
** greatly flourished in the art of manufacturing woollen goods ;
" but by the troublesome wars in the time of King John and
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 267
'^ Henry the thirds and also Edward the first and Edward
" the second, this manufacture was wholly lost, — and all our
" trade ran in wools, wool-fells, and leather."*
There are a few pertinent remarks on this part of my
subject by an author intimately connected with Bradford, t —
" Gilds of weavers were formed under Henry the second
^' in London and other places, and though it may be supposed
" that the workmen were neither very numerous nor expert
" in their business, yet they served to keep up the little
" skill in the manufacture of cloth which they then possessed,
" and prevented it being entirely lost. The gilds and com-
'^ panics might be dissolved, and the workmen dispersed,
" in the confusions that followed his reign, but the art of
'^ weaving would be so far retained as to supply the common
** people with coarse cloth. And there is no reason to doubt
" but that weavers were to be found in most counties, who
'^ supplied the neighbouring inhabitants with their manufac-
" ture, though too few in number in most places to be formed
" into gilds."
The above terms ^^ wholly lost," used by Hale, cannot
mean more than that the manufacture had greatly decayed,
and its produce, as an article of export, had ceased ; as there
is evidence almost amounting to a certainty, that in the reigns
of the first and second Edwards it was carried on in this
neighbourhood. In the Hundred Rolls of 1284, before
quoted, the mention of Evam, weaver, of Gomersal, being
confined in the prison of Bradford, is proof that the weaving
of cloth constituted one of the arts of life practised in this
locality ; and the fact that in the inquisition of the Earl of
Lincoln's possessions, taken at Bradford, a Fulling-mill at
• Prim. Orig.
t Since page 212 was printed off, 1 have seen Uw work Uiere alluded to as having
been written by the Rev. James Sykes, vicar of Bradlbfd. The work is in two
volumes, and is styled " Remarks on the History of the Landed and Commercial
Policy of England." It shews the author to have been a tolerable pro6dent in
composition, and his views are, on the whole, enlightened and just.
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268 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
this town is mentioned as being worth yearly, in those days,
the sum of twenty shillings, is an indication sufficiently
conclusive, of the fact that the inhabitants of Bradford were
employed in those early times (if not long before) in the
manufacture of woollen cloth.*
So early as the 15th of Edward the first (1287), Prizing-
hall, near Bradford, is mentioned as belonging to Robert de
Everingham.— There is a strong probability that it took its
name from the coarse cloths called Frieze or Prize being
manufactured there in early times ; and that nothing beyond
coarse cloths were then made in England, as fine cloths
were received from the Flemings and others in part exchange
for wool.
It is, however, unquestionable, that on Edward the third
coming to the throne, all our foreign trade ran in wools,
wool-fells, and leather ; and that the manufacture of woollen
cloths had declined so greatly as not to be an item of national
wealth. Wool was, in those times, in truth, the Bank of
England, (to allow the expression,) as the loans obtained by
Edward the third were efiected on it with the Lombard and
other merchants.! The value of it about the year 1300, will
be expressively shewn by the following extract from Dr.
Whitaker's History of Craven : — " A sack of wool sold for
'^ £6. The sack consisted, according to Spelman, of twenty-
^' six stones, each weighing fourteen pounds. A labourer
" then only received a penny a day, and an ox was worth
** about thirteen shillings and four-pence ; whence it follows,
** that at that time two and a half stones of wool would pur-
'' chase an ox, whereas a labourer will now earn the value of
" a stone of wool in a week — at that time it would require
• A fttniple might be nUaed that the dotha fulled hare, were piobably exiwrted
nw from the Flemish looms, and fulled in Englon 1 ; but this objection does not seem
veiy tenable.
t In AiKlenon's Histor) of Commerce, vol. I, page 185, it is stated, that in one
)enr, 31,d5l saclcs valued at £6 a sack, wexe exported. Other autbon evem
»ttttc more.
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 269
" sixty days, so that poor sheep walks were as valuable as the
" best land."
But, lucrative as this trade in the raw material was, Ed-
ward the third (who may justly be styled the Father of wool-
len and worsted manufactures) conceived the noble design of
reviving the almost extinct art of manufacturing it into
cloth, and thereby securing to his people the full advantages
to be derived from their fleeces. The Flemings were at
that time the most celebrated for the fabrication of cloths,
and owing to the King's marriage with the daughter of
William, Earl of Hainault, great facilities were afforded for
carrying into effect the King's design. He invited skilful
Flemish manufacturers to settle in various parts of England,
and gave them great privileges. Some of them settled at
" ^Vorsted" in Norfolk, from which place it is commonly
stated that the stuffs which form the staple of Bradford
trade obtained their name. In 1331, Edward the third gave
letters of protection to John Kemp, a Flemish master-manu-
facturer, to establish himself at York with weavers, fullers,
and dyers, to carry on his trade ; and in 1336 two Brabant
weavers, styled in their letters of protection, " Willielmus de
Brabant and Hankeinus de Brabant, Textores," settled in
York. It is not improbable that from the name of the latter
the term " Hank" was given to the skein of worsted or other
thread.
Along with the Flemish manufacturers who settled at York,
no doubt others migrated to this neighbourhood, and gave
a great impulse to its former trade by introducing many
improvements.
The notice by Leland, that the inhabitants of Bradford
stood much by clothing, siiews that in the reign of Henry
the eighth that trade was flourishing here ; and previous to
the Civil Wars it was at its zenith of prosperity in the manu-
facture of woollen cloths, as Clarendon calls it a rich and
populous town, and depending upon clothiers.
From very early times the woollen cloths that were made
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270 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
in Yorkshire had an ill name, which they have not yet quite
lost. llie facetious Fuller thus alludes to this in his
" Worthies," under the head of " Farewell to Yorkshire." —
" I am glad to hear there is plenty of a coarser kind of cloth
'^ made in this county, whereby the meaner sort is much
" employed, and the middle sort enriched ; so I am sorry
^^for the general complaints made thereof, insomuch that
" it has become a general by-word ' to shrink as northern
^' ' cloths,' (a giant to the eye and a dwarf to the use thereof,)
^' to signify such who fail their friends in deepest distress
'^ depending on their assistance. Sad that the sheep, the
*^ emblem of innocence, should unwillingly cover so much
" craft under the wool thereof ! and sadder that Fullers,
" commended in scripture for making cloths white, should
''justly be condemned for making their own consciences
" black by such fraudulent practices. I hope this fault for the
" future, will be amended in this county and elsewhere ; for
" sure it is that the transporting of wool and fullers' earth,
'' both against the law, beyond the seas, are not more pre-
''judicial to our English clothing abroad than the deceit of
" making cloth at home, debasing the foreign estimation of
" our cloth to the invaluable damage of the nation."
The Statute Book is loaded with enactments to prevent
the rogueries of the old Yorkshire clothiers in making and
preparing cloths. Although since old Fuller's time the trade
of this town has changed from the woollen to the worsted
fabrics, yet a few of the manufacturers in Bradford may con
with considerable advantage his remarks, and learn that to
make stuffs a giant to the eye but a dwarf in the ttse, is a de-
ceit which debases the domestic and foreign estimation of our
goods, to the invaluable damage of this town and the nation.
In a small work before alluded to, published about sixty
years since,* there is the following paragraph : — " The town
• The edition of Fairfaxes Memoirx, mentioned In the note to page U as havii^
a ver>' »hort (and in some respects erroneous) account of Bradlbnl prefixed to it.
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 271
" had a market weekly for woollen cloths, in and about that
" part of the town called the Lees ; the cloth being reserved
^^ from one market-day to another in cellars prepared solely
^' for that use. Great part of this cloth was manufactured
" in and about the town ; for, if credit may be given to
'^ tradition, Bradford has been a much larger place than it
'^ even is at present, and extended west a considerable dis-
'^ tance." Thoresby mentions, in his Ducatus, another mode
of sale used by the clothiers in those days. He says the
makers carried samples of their goods to the merchants they
dealt with, and the merchants came into Bradford-dale and
other parts to buy.
After the Civil Wars the woollen manufactures of Bradford
gradually diminished, and at length died away. In the
former part of last century, the making of worsted goods
began to flourish. The editor of the book last mentioned,
after noticing the fact of the decay of the woollen trade,
proceeds — " For many years past, the manufacturing of wor-
'' sted stuffs, such as calamancoes, &c., which is arrived to
'^ great perfection, is now become the chief staple trade
^^ within the town and its neighbouring villages. For the
" sale of such goods there was erected in the year 1773, by
" the subscription of the gentlemen, merchants, woolstaplers,
'^ manufacturers, and others in the town and neighbourhood,
" a very elegant and commodious hall, about fifty yards in
^Mength and eleven broad,* the lower room of which is
"divided equally into two, by a brick wall running from
"end to end of the said building; against this wall, in
" these apartments, are fixed about one hundred closets,
" in a very commodious manner, with a shew-board to every
" such closet to shew the goods upon. These closets are
" the property of such manufacturers as at first subscribed,
" with power to transfer. In these closets are reposited
• Its length if one hundred and forty-four ftet, and breadth thitly-siz.
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272 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
'^ goods from one market-day to another. The upper room
'^ is also closeted, but upon a different plan ; these are
'^occupied by such as did not subscribe, paying a certain
" rent yearly for the use of them. Hither are brought great
*' numbers of pieces of different kinds, besides worsted tops
*^ and gross yarn, which are exposed to sale every market*
" day, which is on Thursday, precisely at the hour of ten
*^ in the morning, announced by the ringing of a bell hung
^^ in the cupola for that purpose. It holds till half-past eleven,
" when the said bell gives notice for the immediate breaking
^' up : and likewise at the hour of two in the afternoon of
'^ the same day, the bell again is rung for the opening of a
" market for the sale of worsted tops and gross yarn, and
" holds till half-past three, when in like manner as before
'^ the market is rung off."
Notwithstanding the hum of the spinning-wheel (not
the idle trills of the piano) was heard in every house in
Bradford, yet during the latter part of the last century, its
looms increased so fast that yarn could not be produced in
the town in sufficient quantities to supply them, and most part
of it used in the manufacture of Bradford goods, was spun
by the inhabitants of Craven and the northern valleys of
Yorkshire with the domestic spinning-wheel, which had not
long before superseded the primitive distaff. The manufac-
turer then was generally both woolstapler and spinner for
himself. Imagine him accoutred, according to the uncouth
fashion of the day, in huge wig and cocked hat, mounted
upon his staid " Old Dobby," with a quantity of wool tops
behind him, setting out to Craven or the north with work
for the spinners. Unlike his sons, he was content to get
money slowly and laboriously, so that he gained it surely ,*
but now the maxim is reversed.
The impossibility of obtaining from the common wheel
the necessary supply of yarn to meet the continually in-
creasing demand, led in Bradford, as in other places, to the
introduction of spinning-machines, llie first of these used
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 273
in Bradford, was set up about sixty years since iu the Paper-
hall, by Mr. James Garnett, the grandfather of the present
Messrs. Garnett. This machinery was what is technically
called a mule and throstle, and wrought by hand^ That
the introduction of machinery into Bradford was regarded
with great hatred by the lower class of inhabitants, is so
natural a consequent, that it is almost superfluous to advert
to it.
ITiere have been two remarkable attempts made at dif-
ferent times, and at a long interval between them, by the
inhabitants of Bradford, to check the trade of the town.
In the Court Rolls of 1678, I find the following singular
order made by the Leet Jury — " That the inhabitants of
" Bradford shall not let any houses to persons to be clothiers,
" upon paine of 39^. lid. every month ; nor set on work any
" fit to be servants except datal men." It will be borne in
mind that the woollen cloth manufacture was then the staple
trade of this place. It seems probable that the Leet Jury
and the inhabitants were desirous of keeping the trade as
much as they could in their own hands.
An enterprising gentleman, named Buckley, (residing at
the time in Bradford, but who afterwards removed to Tod-
morden,) formed, in 1793, the design of erecting a factory
here, to be wrought by a steam-engine, llie land for the
building had been purchased nearly opposite the Primitive
Methodists' Chapel in Manchester-road, and the respectable
residents in Tyrrel- street and that quarter of the town,
viewed with dread the threatened infliction of such a smoky
nuisance as a steam-engine. Accordingly, a number of them
signed a notice, threatening Mr. Buckley with an action
at law should he persist in building the mill to be wrought
by steam. This proceeding had the desired effect, as Mr.
Buckley, seeing such a formidable array against him, gave
up his project. As the notice has been considered in
the town a curiosity, and is a great topic in any conversa-
tion relative to the introduction of factories and machinery
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274
WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
into Bradford, I give a copy of it and a fac-simile of the
names subicribed. —
To Mr. John Buckley, cotton-manufacturer, in Bradford, in
the West-Riding of tho county of York.
Take notice, that if either you or any person in oonexion with
you, shall presume to erect or build any stearu^^engine for the
manufiu^ture of cotton or wool, in a certain field in Horton near
Bradford aforesaid, called or known by the name of the Brick-kiln
Field, we whose names are hereunto subscribed shall, if the same
bo found a nusance, seek such redress as the law will give. Wiiness
our hands tbis 2drd January, 1793.
^^^^^^.^ ///Z€j?.jr
^t^
(^>^.-<r
i-^
IT,
^/^.^^
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 275
Some of the gentlemen who appended their names to this
notice, were afterwards largely concerned in worsted-mills
erected in the town.
Although the introduction of these mills into Bradford
was thus deferred, yet the delay was only for a short time,
as in 1798 Messrs. Ramsbotham, Swaine, and Murgatroyd
erected one in the " Holme." The engine which supplied
the propelling force was of fifteen horses' power. An anec-
dote has been related to me by the son of one of the above
partners, which strongly and ludicrously shews the great
prejudice which existed in the minds of the inhabitants, even
the respectable portion of them, against factories. A man
had commenced conveying stones for the building of the
mill, when a large number of the inhabitants assembled
to prevent his proceeding to the site of it, and laid hold
of the horse's head. One of the partners, being a man of
considerable prowess, stripped his coat, and literally boxed
the way clear ; and the persons who had assembled to stop the
work seeing his determination, and probably remembering
the unlawfulness of their conduct, allowed the horse and cart
to proceed. Under such discouraging circumstances was the
first of those structures which have raised Bradford to its
present importance among the towns of England, built.
Very soon after Ramsbotham and Swaine's mill was at
work, other mills were erected in or near the town. It seems
that an attempt was at that period made to introduce the
cotton-manufacture here ; and one mill, (at least,) which is
now used in the worsted business, was, early in the present
century, built for the spinning of cotton. This branch of
manufactures was not, however, long carried on here.
The progress of the worsted-manufacture in Bradford, has
been as rapid and as unexampled as that of its population.
In 1800, according to the census, 1290 persons were employed
in Bradford in trade or manufactures. In 1811, 1595 families
were so employed; in 1821, 2452 families ; in 1831, 3867,
besides 1605 labourers. The first mill wrought by steam in
2 N
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276 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
Bradford, (1798,) had, as before mentioned, a 15-hor8e engine;
in 1819, the number of horses' power employed in propelling
the machinery of worsted-mills in Bradford and its immediate
neighbourhood, was about 492 ,- in 1830, 1047 ; and now,
1840, it is upwards of 2000.
Since the year 1800, Bradfonl has felt fewer of the vicis-
situdes of trade than, it may safely be affirmed, any other
trading town of its size in the kingdom. It is true its
prosperity received a considerable shock by the wool-combers'
strike in 1825 ; and the failure of Wentworth & Co.'s bank,
the next year, added a more distressing blow to its trade ;
but, with both these drawbacks, and the mercantile embar-
rassments which have occurred in Bradford of late years, in
common with the whole kingdom, its prosperity has been
great, and almost unexampled in the history of mercantile
towns, so as almost to become a proverb among its neighbours.
In and about the year 1826, power-looms were introduced
into the town in considerable numbers. The riots which
such introduction occasioned are before noticed. With the
exception of these disturbances, Bradford has been free from
the great excesses which have strongly, and for long con-
tinued periods, marked the conduct of the working classes
in densely populated manufacturing districts, with respect
to the use of machinery.
The ancient trade of the parish of Bradford (woollen
manufacture) has almost disappeared from its tract. Its
northern, eastern, and southern borders are a very correct
line of demarcation between the worsted and woollen manu-
factures. In Eccleshill and Shipley there are two or three
woollen mills, but more northernly or westemly one cannot be
found in Bradford parish, nor hardly a single clothier on
these quarters of or in Bradford. On the western verge of
the parish a couple of cotton mills have, owing to the proxi-
mity of Lancashire, reared their heads, but they seem not
to be placed in a very congenial district.
The worsted goods principally manufactured at Bradford
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 277
are merinos, saxony cloths, shalloons, moreens, Orleans cloths,
figured crapes, and, in short, of almost every description.
To an inhabitant, it is needless to mention that the whole of
the wool used in these fabrics, is long wool ; but to others it
may be information. Until these late years, the wool used in
the Bradford trade was almost wholly of British growth.
In 1831, it was estimated that the quantity of wool produced
in this country, amounted to from sixty-five to seventy mil-
lions of pounds weight ; and in that year, nearly two thirds
of this produce was consumed in Bradford, and the district
immediately around it. Since then, however, large quanti-
ties of colonial wools have been introduced into the worsted-
manufacture.
About forty years since, Wakefield was, in these parts, the
principal mart for wool; and the Bradford spinners and
manufacturers, together with their neighbours, resorted to
Wakefield to purchase their wool. For a considerable time
past, Bradford has been the great market for wool in the
north of England.
A considerable portion of the fleece which is picked out
and assorted by the woolsorters, and technically called shorts,
and also such parts as remain after the long wool has been
combed, termed noils, and not adapted to the worsted
trade, are bought by the woollen manufacturers from the
populous clothing villages of Heckmondwike, Gomersal,
Calverley, Idle, Pudsey, Stanningley, Dewsbury, and other
places, and made into blankets, napped coatings, ladies'
pelisse cloths, duffils, and other inferior woollen fabrics.
Besides the manufacture of worsted stuffs and the yarn used
in them, a large and very important trade has of late years
been carried on in Bradford, in the spinning of worsted yarns
for supplying the market of Norwich for its bombasin and
camlet trades ; of Huddersfield for its fancy trade ; of Kid-
derminster and other places for their carpet manufacture ;
of Bacup and Rochdale for their bocking and baize manufac-
ture ; and of Paisley and Glasgow for their shawl trades.
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278 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
Since the year 1825, a considerable export of worsted
yarn spun at Bradford has taken place, the laws prohibiting
its exportation having been then repealed.
Within the last four years, great numbers of cotton warps
have been introduced into the manu&ctures of Bradford, and
the pieces composed of these cotton warps woven with
worsted weft, are termed Orleans cloths. Of the fact whether
this admixture has not a tendency to injure the good name
which Bradford wool-made fabrics have enjoyed, I leave others,
better conversant with the subject than I am, to judge.
A few years since, the bulk of the goods produced in Brad-
ford, were bought in the white by Leeds merchants; and
after being dyed and finished there, were exported to Ger-
many, America, and other parts of the globe. ITiis practice is
becoming less prevalent every day — extensive dyehouses, fit-
ted up in the most complete manner for carrying on the trade
in its finest branches, have been erected — ^large numbers of
merchants, foreign and domestic, have taken up their resi-
dence in the town ; and the greater part of Bradford goods
are now finished on the spot, and transmitted at once into
the retail shopkeepers' hands, or exported. This change is
of the utmost importance in calculating the future and per-
manent prosperity of the town ; and every inhabitant of it,
whose breast is embued with local patriotism, will earnestly
desire that the produce of its looms should be bought and
finished by its own merchants.
Where machinery is so extensively employed, it may
naturally be inferred that the making of it forms one of the
staple branches of industry of the town. Machines of the
most improved and complicated construction are made in
Bradford to a large extent, where '' the makers exhaust the
** science of mechanics, and employ all its manoeuvres for
" directing power and rendering it efiective."
Notwithstanding the numerous improvements which have
been made in the machinery used in the various processes
of the worsted-manufacture, very little wool is combed by
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 2?9
mechanical means. About sixteen years since^ a machine
resembling, in most respects, the carding-machines employed
in the woollen -manufacture, was used in Bradford for combing
wool. After the great strike of the combers for an increase
of wages in 1825, the spinners in this town turned their
attention to combing by machines. One was invented by
Anderton, which wrought on the principle used by hand-
combers. It consisted of a revolving cylinder provided with
rows of wire teeth thirty inches long, which caught tlie wool
as it was carried towards them, and every comb became
charged with finely drawn wool. The combs were then
cleaned by another machine, invented by Gilpin of Sheffield.
These artificial means were, however, found to be far inferior
to combing by hand, and the machine by Anderton was
gradually disused. Of late, a machine has been invented
by Messrs. Collier of Manchester, for the purpose of comb-
ing. A few of these are used by some of the spinners in
the town ; but it is not expected that they will to any degree
supersede hand -combing.
It is estimated there are now in the borough of Brad-
ford, and principally in the town, about 70 worsted-mills,
with an aggregate of 2000 horses' power. In these mills
are about 2000 spinning-frames, which each spin from five
to six gross of hanks of yarn a day, each hank measuring
560 yards. The usual numbers spun are from twenty-fours
to eighties, that is, where twenty-four or eighty hanks make
a pound weight of worsted. In some instances the spinning
of yarn has been carried to such an extreme fineness, that
one hundred and twenties have been spun, that is, nearly
forty miles length of yarn to the pound of worsted. Besides
these spinning-frames, there are in the town about 1500
power-looms propelled by steam, each loom working off about
half a piece a day, narrow width. There are also vast num-
bers of worsted pieces yet woven by hand in the surrounding ^
villages ; but the hand-loom weavers are a very ill-paid and
indigent class, struggling ineflfectually against that never-tired
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280 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
all-powerful drudge^ the steam-engine. It is sorrowful to
add that the small manufacturers^ who (alternately following
with their £aimilies the labours of the loom and agriculture),
a few years since, thickly inhabited the countless detached
houses with which the slopes of Bradford parish are covered,
and make it appear almost like one vast town, are quickly
disappearing ; and their children are exchanging the domestic
loom for the labours of the neighbouring mills. Alas ! many
of them recollect with sorrowful emotions the looms of their
fathers' hearths. —
'' Sweet were the Uboun of tiie loom,
*' By healUi and ease aooompanied.''
Among all the improvements in machinery, there is none
excels that of the Jacquard loom, by which the most com-
plicated and beautiful patterns are embroidered upon, and
interwoven in, the piece. A very great number of these
looms are employed in the immediate neighbourhood of Brad-
ford, in the manufacture of figured-worsted-stuif pieces. —
'< loTentren of Uie woof, fair Lina flings
<' The flying shuttle Um>' Uie dancing strings,
'* Inlays (he bioidered weft with floweiy dyes ;
** Quick beat the reeds, the pedals faU and rise :
" Now horn the beam the lengths of waip unwind,
" And dance and nod the nuMSf weights behind."— jOotimji.
Under various acts of parliament, the consumers of long
wool are entitled to a drawback for the soap used in the
washing or combing of it ; and by the same authority a
committee is appointed to put in force those several acts,
the great object of which is to prevent frauds by the work-
men, to whom wool or yarn is committed to be wrought up ;
and the committee have a power to order a portion of the
drawback to be paid over to them, to cover the expense of
putting these acts in execution, llie committee appoint
inspectors and a clerk ; and a return is made by the excise
to the committee, through their clerk, of the drawback claimed.
From these yearly returns a calculation was made in 1831,
by a gentleman who gave evidence on the subject before the
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
281
House of Commons, and produced the following account of
the consumption of wool in Bradford and the district of
which it is the capital : — lbs.
Average of three years ending in 1822 . . 24,917,887
Do. do. do. 1829 . . 33,279,245
In the year 1830 alone 43,736,380
Although it is evident that a table drawn from such a source
as the mere drawback on the soap used in the worsted-manu-
facture, will be, for numerous reasons, far from accurate,
yet it may be considered a fair approximation to the actual
result ; and I have, therefore, extracted from the returns
of the drawback, an account of the consumption of wool
in the district of the worsted trade for the following years : —
tbs.
1838 50,764,800
1839 59,481,600
1840 (about) . . . . 47,000,000*
But whatever other value these kind of numerical state-
ments have, they will, at least, shew the progress of trade in
Bradford for the last twenty years. The number of pounds
weight of wool consumed in the parish, as deduced from
the above-mentioned returns, was in the following years
as stated below: —
1822
1825
1828
1831
1834
1836
1838
1839
1840
Town
of
BnuJfonl.
4,060,640 .
6,382,080 .
8,386,460 ,
12,357,120 ,
10,156,320 .
12,295,680 .
12,168,950 ,
13,580,100 .
11,826,624» ,
In Horton,
Bowling, and
Mannlngham.
All other
ports of
the parish.
2,522,880
3,206,400
3,174,680
1,980,640
2,277,120
2,134,400
• To these amounts are added two millions of pounds used by a firm in Bradfonl
which is not in the returns.
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282 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
To shew the paramount importance of Bradford in this
branch of national industry, and its just title to be termed
the Capital of the Worsted-Manufacture, a calculation has
been made of the quantity of wool used in the neighbouring
towns and districts in 1839, as taken from the returns of
the drawbacks : — lbs.
Keighley 4,293,120
Bingley 822,160
Halifax 5,022,120
Other parts of Halifax parish . . 6,969,600
Wakefield 2,353,480
The consumption of wool in the parish of Bradford alone,
in 1839, was nearly equal to the aggregate of that of all the
above-mentioned places ; and the consumption in the town
of Bradford was considerably more than that of the whole
parish of Halifax. In that year, the wool used by three
Bradford spinners amounted to about six millions of pounds
weight.
In what is provincially termed a lather of wool (twenty-
four pounds weight), the combers consider that about six
pounds will be left in noils and wasted ; so that in the whole
of the above statements, one-fourth must be deducted in
order to shew the actual quantity of wool used in the worsted-
manufacture.
The wages of the persons employed in several of the
branches of Bradford trade, have of late years considerably
decreased. It is impossible to give with any degree of
certainty a scale of wages, but the following is about the
truth : — ^woolsorters will earn 30*. a week, or upwards, in
summer, and from 20s. to 25*. in winter. Woolcombing
was, a score of years since, a pretty lucrative employment ;
now a good hand will seldom make more than 12*. a week.
Overlookers at mills, 24*. to 30*. a week ; females employed
at the mills, from 6*. 6rf. to 11*.; and children from 2*. Or/,
to 6*. 6£{. a week.
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 283
I have^ since the preceding part of this section was printed
off, been favoured by Robert Baker, Esq., Inspector of Fac-
tories, with the following tabular statements, which I appre-
hend could not have been furnished by any one else. Mr. Baker
has proved himself on many occasions a veteran in statistics,
and I doubt not that his obliging contribution to this section
of my work will greatly enhance its value.
An account of the number of mills, quantity of propelling-
power, and number of persons employed in them, in the
Parish of Bradford, in 184 L —
JVymber of Worsted Mills,
Allerton 1
Bradford 38
Bierley 1
Bowling 4
Clayton 4
Eccleshill 1
Great-Horton 9
Little-Horton 13
Haworth 19
Manningham 3
Shipley 5
Thornton 4
Wibsey 1
Wilsden 9
There are also six woollen mills, three at Eccleshill and
three at Shipley ; and two cotton mills, one at Haworth and
one at Wilsden.
Number of Engines and Wheels.
Engines. Horse-power. WheeN. Hone-power.
Woollen 5 .... 150 1 .... 12
Worsted 88 .... 2059 20 87
Cotton 1 14 3 22
94 2223 24 121
Number of Persons employed.
From 9 to 13. From 13 to 18. Totnl.
Woollen 194 244 681
Worsted 1597 4890 10896
Cotton 20 43 98
1811 5177 11675
2 o
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284 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
In a parliamentary paper, printed in 1831, it is stated, that
in that year there were employed in the parish of Bradford, in
the worsted and woollen manufacture, 7,900 men — of course
a large portion of these were hand-loom weavers.
Number of worsted mills in the Borough of Bradford in
1841, with the aggregate amount of their propelling
power, and the number of hands employed therein. —
Number Number of Number of Engines
of Mill &c.
Mills. Oocupien. Engines, Hcrse-pow,
Bradford 38 57 49 . . 1202
Little-Horton 13 24 14 . . 480
Great-Horton 9 II 9 . . 194
Bowling 4 13 4 . . 98
Manningham 3 4 4 . . 84
67 109 80 2058
Persons employed in the above Mills.
From 9 to 13. 13 to 18. Abore 16.
Malei. Fern, Males. Fem, Males. Fern.
504 .. 899 929 . . 31C0 462 . . 4456
Total 10,410
To a stranger it is proper to state that, with an exception
or two, the mills set down under the head Little-Horton,
are, in truth, in and form part and parcel of the town of
Bradford, though not within its township.
The population of the district now comprised within the
limits of the Borough of Bradford, was, in 1831, 43,537 per-
sons. It will be seen from this table, that (even considering
the increase since 1831) nearly one-fourth of the entire popu-
lation of the Borough is engaged in the mills, of which five-
sixths are females, — " an important feature," as Mr. Baker ob-
serves, '^ in the consideration of the domestic and social con-
dition of its people."
In 1835 the horses' power employed in propelling the
machinery in the mills of the Borough, was 1388, and the
number of hands engaged in the mills, 6022. From that
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WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 285
time to 1841, the increase in the former is 670, and in the
latter 4388 ! — "an increase," says Mr. Baker., " unequalled,
" perhaps, in the history of any manufacturing population in
" this or any other part of the world."*
He continues, " The educational condition of the chil-
" dren employed in these mills is now, happily, attended to ;
'' and a feeling of its desirableness prevails so much, both
" among the manufacturers and the operatives, that conside>
" rable improvement is beginning to exhibit itself amongst
" these children. Nevertheless, the early abstraction of the
" female portion of them from home, and the impossibility,
" for this reason, of their obtaining any amount of domestic
" instruction, is a circumstance to be deeply lamented, and
" is deserving of serious consideration by all classes."
The Piece-hall is now used only by the smaller manufac-
turers for the shewing of their goods. The larger ones exhibit
their pieces at their spacious warehouses. On Thursdays the
Piece-hall and premises around it exhibit one of the busiest
scenes that can be beheld in England. As Bradford is the
sole great market for worsted goods, hither resort the mul-
titude of manufacturers of those goods in the surrounding
district. On Mondays a considerable amottuf^of business
has of late years been transacted in wool.
The Banks are a subject incident to this chapter. I am
unable to state when the first bank was established here,
but I have seen notes of one about the year 1760, under the
firm of Leach, Pollard, and Hardcastle. This bank failed.
Afterwards, (about 1802,) the " Old Bank," (now Messrs.
Harris's,) was established in Bank-st., by E. Peckover, Esq.,
* While writing this, a fad has oome to my knowledge which I think is worthy of
notice. Mr. Ramsbotharo, previously to building the mill in the Holme in 1798,
turned a quantity of spinning machinery, which he had fijced in bis premises near the
Piece-hall, by means of a hurw-gin. Many Bradford manufacturers had recourse to
the same means.
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286 WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE.
and on the 7th of July^ 1827^ Bradford Banking (/ompany ;
by a return to the committee of the House of Commons,
appointed in 1837 to report on Joint Stock Banks, it appears
that it had then 167 subscribers or partners, and the paid-up
capital amounted to £77,900. The present paid-up capital is
£1 16,400, besides the guarantee fund £34,607. The Bradford
Joint Stock Commercial Bank was formed February 27, 1833;
and according to the above return, the number of subscribers
or partners, were then 155 ; the paid-up capital £48,095 ; the
paid-up capital now amounts to £7 1 ,200. The Leeds and West
Riding, and the Yorkshire District Banks, have each a Branch
here. I need not allude to Wentworth & Co.'s Branch Bank
— " Wentworth" is graven indelibly on the hearts of many
a Bradford tradesman.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
The notices which I had collected relative to the history of
Bradford^ and the institutions and principal part of the struc-
tures in the town, are now completed. But there yet remains
several buildings, and numerous interesting particulars, which
come under none of the preceding heads, nor could, conve-
niently, be incorporated into the preceding pages. It is,
therefore, proposed to take not a strict topographical survey
of the town, but only such an one as shall include in it several
places worthy of note, which have hitherto either not been
mentioned, or only slightly, and on which a passing remark,
or an extended notice may be interesting.
To begin at a convenient point —
TyrrelSy or, according to the ancient term, Turles, now
gives name to a street. Though no profession is made by
me to antiquarian etymology, yet I am induced to believe
that this name (Turles) is derived from TTiur, a Danish
word signifying a brook or rivulet, and Leys, the Saxon for
fields. I know of a number of places named Thursby,
Thurleys, &c., which all lie on the banks of a brook or river.
A judicious topographer says he knows of no places whose
names are so compounded but which lie on some brook.
The * Turles^ seem formerly to have been a noted place for
the diversions of the inhabitants; by the very oldest of
whom the Cockpit, (before alluded to, and which, happily, is^
no longer needed in the amusements of the residents here,)
and the Bowling-green with its host of players, are remem-
bered. Immediately on the south side of the Sun-bridge,
(about two centuries since called Ive-bridge,) stood, about
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288 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
forty years since^ the town's prison — a small and isolated
building. The land lying adjoining between the Mill-race
and the Beck was anciently called the Holme (signifying
a piece of ground enclosed by water) ; and some part of it
Milne Cliffe (or Clough).
Queen's Mills. — It has been before mentioned that in
ancient times the lords of manors built mills for the con-
venience of their tenants ; and there was either a tacit or
express understanding that the latter should always grind
their corn at the lord's mill. It is impossible to state when the
first corn-mill was built at Bradford. One has been shewn to
have been here (and undoubtedly on or about the same spot as
the present) in 1310; and reasons have been given in proof
of the soke being then as extensive (and no more) as it is
now. Other particulars respecting these mills are scattered
through the foregoing pages.
The mills followed the descent of the manor, and vested
with it, as part of the possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster, in
the Crown; to which they were annexed till the reign of
James the Ist, who, by letters patent, dated the thirty-first of
July, in the eighth year of his reign (1612), granted them
to Edward Ferrers and Francis Philip, citizens of London,
by the (translated) description of ^' All those two corn mills
" under one roof, called Bradford Mills, situate lying and
" being in the south part of Bradford, in the county of York ;
*'with the dam, brook, soke and suit, and all other the
*' rights and appurtenances to the said mill or either of them
*' belonging or appertaining, now or late in the occupation of
** Richard Tempest, knight, or his assigns, by particular being
'< of the annual rent or value of £6 6s. 8d. ; and all that
" water-corn-mill, of late erected, lying and being in the east
*' part of the town of Bradford aforesaid, with the water-dam,
'^ water-course, and the soke and suit, and all the rights and
*' appurtenances to the aforesaid mill belonging, in the oc-
*' cupation of Richard Tempest, knight, or his assigns, by
" particular mentioned to be of the annual rent or value of
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 289
" 6s, Sd. ;" to be holden of the King's manor of Enfield, in
free and common soccage for ever, at the above yearly rents
ijn fee farm.
These mills, thus granted to Ferrers and Philip at fee-
farm rent, were conveyed to Sir Richard Tempest. I have
never seen any subsequent account of the mill on the eastern
part of Bradford. A trial took place between this Tempest
and some persons within the soke, who refused to do suit at the
mills by grinding their corn, and the contest was most impor-
tant in its consequences, as I believe it was the first time the
rights of the soke had been formally and with vigour con-
tested, and the judgment then given in the Duchy Court has
been ever since decisive. —
Sir Richard Tempest, on the 20tli of November, 1624, ex-
hibited an information in the Duchy Court against Wm. Lister, Thos.
Hustler, Roger Bovver, Wm. Jowett, and John Bawme, and other
inhabitants of Bradford and Manningham, for withdrawing their
suit and soke from the said mills, the defendants therein then pre-
tending that their copyhold lands only were bound thereto, and
the cause being heard against Lister, (all the other defendants hav-
ing submitted) in Michaelmas Term 1627, a decree was made in
favour of the plaintiff, declaring that the town of Manningham, where
the defendant Lister dwelled, was parcel of the Manor of Brad-
ford, and that Lister, his grandfather, father and mother, and his
elder brother, having the same lands both freehold and copyhold in
Manningham and Bradford which the defendant Lister had, did their
suit and grind their corn at the said mills without exception, whether
it grew upon freehold or copyhold lands, and that the court was then
of opinion that all his Majesty's tenants, either freeholders or copy-
holders, or other inhabitants within any of his Majesty's manors,
ought to grind all their corn growing upon any of their lands, or
bought and spent in their houses, at his Majesty's mills in every such
manor, and so likewise at the same mills being in the hands of his
highness's fee-farmers or patentees. Therefore the court did declare
their opinion that all the tenants either freeholders or copyholders, or
other inhabitants within Manningham, and in other towns within
the manor of Bradford, dwelling within iwo miles of the said mills,
should do their suit and grind all their corn spent in their houses at
the said mills, so as the same should be ground within twenty-four
hours after being brought to the said mills; and did further decree
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290 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
coDcerning the defendant Lister, his heirs and assigns, of all his and
their lands hoth freehold and copyhold in Manningham and Bradford,
that he and they should do their suit and grind their corn at the said
mills, and if the corn could not be ground there within twenty-four
hours, then to go to any other mills at pleasure.
The defendant Lister being dissatisfied with the decree, applied to
have the same reheard, and the same was reheard on the 21st of
May following (1628), when the former decree was affirmed, and
the defendant directed to pay twenty nobles, costs.
Sir Richard Tempest, on the 28th of February, 1648,
(being then a prisoner in Clitherhow Castle, as a partisan of
the King,) sold these mills to Nicholas Shuttleworth, Esq., in
fee. There was, during the inter-regnum, an act passed for sell-
ing the fee-farm rents, and other possessions of the Crown, and
the commissioners appointed under this act for the purpose,
sold the fee-farm rent of £6 I3s. 4d. issuing out of the mills
unto Shuttleworth, and released them therefrom.
The mills are now the property of J. G. Smyth, Esq., of
Heath-hall, near Wakefield.*
* To a general reader it would be quite uninteresting to show tlie Taitous inter-
mediate steps by which the mills came from Shuttleworth to Smyth, and therefore the
foUowing is not Inserted in the text— Feb. 38, 1648, Sir Richard Tempest sold and
conveyed the mills to Nicholas Shuttleworth, Esq., in fee, who died seised thereof,
having, May 6th, 1678, by his will of this date, devised the snme unto Ricbaid,
Ughtied, Ralph, Elizabeth, and Judith Shuttleworth, his sons and daughters in fee.
Judith died intestate and unmarried, leaving Richard, her eldest brother and heir,
who thereby became entitled to her fifth part Elizabeth married Richard Grimshaw,
Esq., and July 6, 1684, they sold her fifth part to Richaid her eldest brother. Ughtred,
on the 10th of April 168^, sold hit fifth part to the said Richard, his eldest brother,
and Ralph, on the 1 1th of January 1686, sold his fifth part to the said RJcfaaid, bia
eldest brother, who thereby became seised of the whole. May 19, 1704, the said
Richanl Shuttleworth conveyed the whole to his brother Ughtred, hi fee. December
^\, 1731, the said Ughtred conveyed the same to his brother Ralph Shuttlewortli,
in fee, who died seised thereof, and, Nov. 30, 1744, by his will of this date, deviaed
the same to Ralph Shuttleworth, his younger son, tn fee. Mareh 24, 1740, the
same Ralph mortgaged in fee the same to Allan Johnson, in trust for Thomas Ferraad,
and May 27, 1747, the said Allan Johnson convened the same to the said ThonMa
Ferrand in fee ; April 11, 1750, Thomas Ferrand conveyed to Edwanl Holme, in
fee ; this conveyance was a pledge for money, but Ferrand not being able to re.
deem It, Nov. 12. 1768, Edward Holme, with the consent of Thomas Fetnnd, <
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 291
Although in these days the soke would, if its rights wefc
strictly enforced, be an intolerable burden upon the inhabitants
of Bradford, yet no man understanding anything of the founda-
tions of property, can for a moment doubt the just power which
the owner of the soke has to enforce its rights ; and that no
plan can be devised, by the ingenuity of man, for getting rid of
it according to law, except by purchase.
There seems every probability for supposing that Good-
man's-end derived its name from the residence of the ancient
vicars standing in it.
The Court-house was built in 1834, at an expense of £7,000.
It is a very substantial and handsome building, adorned by
a portico of very massive and noble columns. Previous
to its erection, the Quarter Sessions were held in the Piece-
hall. The inhabitants very liberally subscribed about £4,000
towards its erection, and the remainder was defrayed out of
the county-rate. In exterior it is surpassed by few, if any, of
the Court-houses in the West Riding, and in internal arrange-
ments and conveniences by none. While on this topic, it may
be mentioned that two constables have for a long period been
chosen yearly at Bradford Court Leet, for the town, and to them
are committed its police arrangements and government. These
constables chuse a deputy, who with two or three assistants
constitute the whole police force of the town (exclusive of the
night-watch.) This small but efficient force, has on all, except
a few rare occasions, been amply sufficient for the preservation
of the peace of town, and the apprehension of offenders.
The Temperance-society in Bradford built in 1837 a Tempe-
veyed to John Smyth, Esq. April 1771, John Smyth died, and John Smyth his only
son and heir, became seised, who held the nme till his death in February 1811, from
whom it came to bis §on, the present owner. In Michaelmas Term 1775,
Mr. Smyth exhibited an information in the Duchy Court in the name of him-
self, and his then tenant Wm North, against Stephen Hill, Wm. Varley, and other in-
habitants of Bradford and Mannlngharo, (which other inhabitants submitted,) for
withdrawing their suit and soke from the mills.
2p
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292 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
rance-kall adjoining Leeds-road. It is a handsome and large
stracture : the cost amounted to about £1400, which was
in great part raised in one pound shares and in donations.
I understand that this hall was the first of its kind built in
England. Disputable as some of the arguments of the ad-
vocates of total abstinence undoubtedly are, there is no
question that drunkenness (with its concomitants) is the
great bane of British society, and that he deserves to be
ranked among the benefactors of the human race who ho-
nestly endeavours to suppress it.
Hall'Ings have before been mentioned as having been in
ancient times the first and only meadow-land in the town.
The commissioners under the Lighting and Watching Act,
built in 1837, in the Hall-Ings, a very convenient Station-
house for the nightly watch, and depot for the fire-engine,
with suitable offices for the transaction of the business under
the above-mentioned Act. llie cost of the erection was,
inclusive of ground, about £1500.
In the reign of Elizabeth, I perceive from the Court Rolls,
that there was a '^ Bark House" at the bottom of Barker-
end ; but whether this circumstance had anything to do with
giving the name to that quarter of the town, I am unable to
state. The inhabitants of Barkerend claimed some peculiar
rights in the year 1573, as there was a suit to which they were
parties, in the Duchy Court, as to the agistment of Brad-
ford Bank, or CliflFe. If there ever was a Tide, Wake, or
Feast in Bradford distinct from its fairs, it has long been lost.
Barkerend Tide yet remains, and a few rustic sports are yearly,
on Old Michaelmas Day celebrated. The "Paper Hall" in
Barkerend, has been one of the noblest mansions in Bradford,
but it is now in a miserable state of dilapidation and neglect.
It is a fair specimen of the mansions of the gentry of this part
of the country a couple of centuries since. There are, in this
quarter of the town, several old mansions. Two of them may
be described. Boldshay^ (that is, Botl^ residence, and Scau^ a
woody slope,) is mentioned in 1345, with its thirty acres of land.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEV. 293
It seems to have descended with the manor to the Crown^ as
I find from the pleadings in the Duchy Courts that there was
a suit respecting it in the thirteenth of Elizabeth, between
George Waterhouse (claiming the reversion of it by convey-
ance, from Richard Tempest) and Hugh Chamley, claiming
it by grant from the Qtieen, when Sir John Tempest was
steward of the manor. In the same suit there was a contest
respecting a right of way " through Barcar End Street to the
City of York/' but I am not able to stat-e any other particulars.
Afterwards, Boldshay belonged to Sir John Maynard, owner
of Bradford Rectory. It then became the property of Henry
Hemingway, an attorney, who resided there in the middle
of last century ; and in his line it still continues.
Miry shay, I presume, is from mere and scau, Cowel ob-
serves, that words beginning or ending with mer or mere, de-
note fenny places. The family of the Smyths, of Heath-hall,
near Wakefield, resided here for many generations. ITie pre-
sent house, built apparently in the 17th century, is in the best
preservation of any of its class in the parish.
Returning down Barkerend —
In Bradford Beck, to the north-west of the Church, was
two centuries ago fixed the Tumbrill or Ducking-stool, for the
punishment of scolding and unruly women. The Court Leet of
Bradford seem to have taken considerable care to keep
this correctional instrument in repair, as I find such entries
as the following on the Rolls, "Ordered, that the Con-
" stables do, under pain of 39«. lld.y repair the Pinfold and
" Ducking-stool." From the earliest times till these late years,
to the disgrace of our nation, was used the Ducking-stool.
When the Canal was formed, the Stool was transferred to its
banks, not far from its old post. There are numbers of resi-
dents in Bradford, who remember it being freely used, and the
poor object followed by a rude rabble. Thanks to the better
feelings of humanity, these scenes have now for ever vanished.
Again it may be mentioned, that in some part of the locality
immediately to the north-wrst of the Church, if is probable
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294 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVKV.
the Castle stood^ which once indubitably reared its embattled
front here. I am told by an old inhabitant, that there was in
that locality a piece of land^ called Bailey Croft ; and if it did
not receive its name from some person^ it would not be a wide
hypothesis to say, that the Castle stood on this Croft. It is
well known that, " Bailey" was the ancient name for Castle.
There is not one single reason for thinking, as has been
suggested, that the Castle stood on or about the site of the
Manor House.
The Cliff^e Wood is a mere remnant of the extensive tract
which was, in early ages, covered with large oak timber.
Even in 1788 I find ClifFe Wood mentioned in the advertise-
ment of the sale of the manor, as containing fine oak timber
trees. Here tradition says is the well where the mighty boar
came to drink, and was killed, as stated fully in a preceding
part of this work. Spink- well was, in 1788, also advertised
along with the manor, and its cold bath and bowling-green
is mentioned. The house there was afterwards used as a
lunatic asylum. The well has evidently been of note for
a long period in this neighbourhood. I am unable to say
what the meaning of " Spink" is. Spelman, in his Glossary
under this word, says " Vox que mihi apud solum Markahum
"in arte aucupari& occurrit nescio an a' Lat spinus, avis." In
the north, finches are commonly called spinks, such as gold-
spinky hxi\[spink.
It is well known that our forefathers, among others of their
superstitions, were wont to dedicate wells to their favorite
saints, and to attribute to the waters uncommon virtues.
There is hardly a district in the kingdom in which these kind
of sainted wells are not found. I have observed that the
water of all the wells of this description which I have seen
is naturally of an extremely fine kind. There were several
near Bradford, but I know of none within the township.
In a field a short distance on Manningham-lane, and a little
without Bradford township, there is a fine well, in old deeds
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 295
called Helly- well, (that ia Holy -well,) which has been covered
over and preserved with great care, at the bottom of a close to
this day called Helly-well Ash, now broken up as a stone-
quarry. It is probable that the inhabitants of Bradford were
wont, in ancient times, to resort on Sundays and holidays
to this well, as a common place of meeting, to drink of its
waters, and partake of their supposed preternatural virtues.
In the surrounding locality there are several of these sainted
or holy wells. The " Lady's Well," (that is, dedicated to the
Virgin Mary,) in the " Roughs," on the west side of Dudley-
hill, within these few years was in repute for its water.
Piper^H'grave, — There is a tradition, that a * Piper,' who
committed /elo de se, was buried (according to the custom of
the time) at the junction of the roads there.
Skinner-lane gives its own etymology.
Darley-street takes its name from Darley-hall, the seat of
the Lord of the Manor. In this street, besides the Infirmary,
is a commodious structure, erected by the commissioners of
the Court of Requests, for holding their courts in.
The JVew Market-place^ the property of the Lord of
the Manor, was opened in September, 1824. There have been
two market-places in Bradford, previous to the forming of the
present one; namely, the old market, which will be mentioned
immediately, and another adjoining the New-street. This
latter was formed about thirty years ago, and was at the time,
a neat and commodious market-place, furnished with shambles,
and all other conveniences. But on the great increase of the
town in population, it was found to be much too little, and
therefore the New Market-place was formed. Although it
occupies a considerable area, and there are two bazaars, nu-
merous butchers' shops, two butter crosses, and a green-market,
yet it cannot be concealed, that it is neither sufficiently capa-
cious nor convenient for a town of the size of Bradford. A
gentleman attempted in 1825, to form a market-place, with
appropriate conveniences, upon his estate in the Hall-Ings, —
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296 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
but it wafl discovered, after some litigation, that the Lord of
the Manor, was, without any doubt, alone entitled to the pro-
fits of the market, and the plan of forming a market-place in
the Hall-Ings, was given up.
Manor-hall. — It has before been shewn, that in the reign
of Henry the 7th, the Rawsons '^ builded a fair place called
Bradford -hall." The present structure was erected in 1705.
It has a noble exterior, three stories high, with embellished
front ; and would, at the time of its erection, be considered a
splendid building. The staircase was painted in the early part
of last century, by Parmentier, a French artist ; who is stated
by Walpole, in his Anecdotes of Painting, to have been
employed in painting, in Yorkshire. Thoresby also mentions
the artist as having executed a much commended painting of
* Moses delivering the Law/ for the altar-piece of St. Peter's
Church, Leeds. On the right of the staircase is a represen-
tation of the rescue of Andromeda from the sea-monster, by
Perseus on his winged horse. On the left is another subject
from mythology. The fable is not very clearly developed by
the artist, but I take it to be intended for the visit of Bacchus
to Ariadne, in the Isle of Naxos. There are several emblems
of Bacchus; and the seven stars are depicted, with which
mythology says he crowned Ariadne. Some of the parts of
the painting are certainly inapposite to the subject of his
fable. The female figures in both these designs shew, that al-
though Parmentier is considered a good painter, he did not
excel in depicting female grace. On the ceiling there is, by
the same hand, a beautiful allegorical painting of the Four
Seasons. This appears to me to be both masterly in concep-
tion and execution ; and were it in my province, I would give,
as it well deserves, a full description of it. On each side of
this design are groups of cherubs, personifying in the happiest
manner. Time and Eternity. Indeed I do not remember hav-
ing seen anything more happily, or poetically conceived than
the subjects on the ceiling ; and the colours seem better pre-
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 297
served than those of the subjects on the sides of the staircase^
which have suffered from time. The stairs are very curiously
inlaid with oak. The house has long been deserted by its
owners^ and is now unoccupied.
The building (now modernized) which stands at the junc-
tion of Kirkgate, Westgate, and Ivegate, was, I believe,
from several circumstances, the ancient Toll-booth of the
town, and which is alluded to in the pleadings printed at
page 106^ and also in the Court Rolls of the manor. From
the latter it is certain that about the year 1600 the entrance
to the Court-house was in Ivegate, and it may therefore be
presumed that Courts Baron and Leet were held over the Toll-
booth, and that there the Abbot of Kirkstall and Sir Walter
Calverley opened their commission, and sat and examined
witnesses, as mentioned at page 105. This court-house was
also undoubtedly the " Hall of Pleas," comprised in the
grant of the manor by Charles the first. Underneath was
the town's dungeon^ where in more modern times Nelson,
the Methodist preacher, was confined. The entrance to it
from Ivegate yet remains. Although the Toll-booth, Court-
house, and Hall of Pleas have passed away, the miserable
cell remains — a vestige of the barbarous policy of our fore-
fathers. The dungeon is very deep, so much so that there
is now a cellar over it.
Ivegate, — The prefix " Ive" is found in the names of
numbers of places in England, such as Ivelet, Ivegill. A very
able etymologist has favoured me with his opinion of its mean-
ing, which entirely coincides with the one I had formed on
perusing several topographical works. The signification of Ive-
gate, as given me by this gentleman, is the elevated or steep
gate or road. All the places having the term " Ive," or some
root or derivation of it in their names, lie on steep acclivities.*
• Ang. Sax. — HefCf He/ed ; the labial letters / and v are easily convertible.
As example! of places on steep aocllrities having ' Ive' in the composition of their
names, may be mentioned Ivelet, in Swaledale ; Iven or Hlven House, in Warley
and Southowram ; and Hive, in the East Riding. Ive and Hive wem transposable.
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298 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
The Old Market'place of Bradford comprised the area at
the bottom of Westgate. After the market ceased to be
held in the church-yard or its vicinity, it was probably re-
moved hither. Some thirty years since, on the Thursday,
the whole of the space at the bottom of Westgate was filled
with butchers' stalls, and the butter-cross, where the farmers'
wives of the surrounding district stood with their butter-
baskets, was in the building standing at the bottom and
facing up Westgate. I cannot find that any cross, properly
so called, is remembered as standing in this market-place,
but about two centuries since one is mentioned in the Court
Rolls in this form, " Ordered, that the street be repaired
"round the market cross." Until within the last thirty years,
the pillory, often in former times resorted to as a means of
correction, was placed in this market-place, opposite the Bull's
Head Inn. The last person who stood in it in Bradford was
a woman from Clayton, for theft.
'There are in Westgate several "old hostelries," where
many a Bradford FalstafT, in days long gone by, quafied his
mug of nut brown ale.
Sill-bridge-lane y (that is, the Zoir-bridge-lane,) was for-
merly the old road to Halifax. In this quarter of the town
the most ancient quarries of stone and slate at Bradford ap-
pear to have been wrought, as in the days of Elizabeth actions
were brought against several persons for getting stone near
Sill-bridgc-lane.
When the manor came into the hands of the Marsdens,
they appear to have removed the Manor Courts from the
building in Ivegate ; as they built, in 1688, the Manor Court-
house in Westgate. Here the Manor Courts were constantly
held till within the last forty years. The interior was fitted
In tbe parish of Dalston in Cumberland, Uiere is a brook called h-n ; and on \\s ele.
rated banks stands a castle, which in ancient reconis was called tbe " Peel of HiT«,**
f . e., Cnstle of Ive. From a careful perusal of several topographical works in which
tbe term under various modifications occun, 1 am fully of opinion that the significa-
tion of /trgale given in tlie text is correct.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 299
up in the form of a court of justice. The arms of England
still remain painted on the wall over where the steward of
the court sat. It was formerly customary to whip, up West-
gate to this place^ at a cart's end, persons convicted of petty
theft or small offences.
Ratten Row. — At the upper end of Westgate there is a
place remembered by the oldest inhabitants of the town
under this name. Watson, in his History of Halifax, quo-
ting Stukeley, thinks that the places thus named were an-
ciently used for the holding of fairs or panegyres. Most of
our antiquaries have deduced ^^ Ratten" from a German word
signifying to muster, that is, in ancient times the ** men at
arms" mustered at the places thus named.
Till lately, I had concluded that " Brick Lane^' was a
modem appellation, but I have found it mentioned in the
Manor Court Rolls, under the title of " Breyke Lane," at
so remote a period as the reign of the first James. I cer-
tainly do not think that the name is derived from ' Brick/
Black Abbey. — I am unable to account for the name of
this place. It is just within the bounds of Bradford township,
and for at least two hundred and fifty years has had this
appellation. I have seen it mentioned in the Court Rolls of
so long a date ; and in 1686 it is conveyed under that name
by Field, the grantor of " Black Abbey Dole." I have not
met with any authority to shew that one religious house held
a single acre of land in this township. If a religious house
of the Benedictine order had any land here, the name
" Black Abbey" might arise, like as at Accrington, in
Lancashire, where Dr. Whitaker, in his History of Whal-
ley, says Earkstall Abbey had a grange, and probably a
small cell, from which the grange and land belonging to it
were, in after times, called " Black Abbey." Most assuredly,
as at Accrington, no abbey ever stood within the township
of Bradford. Tanner, in his Notitia, says that a hospital of
St. Helen, at Braceford, in Yorkshire, was entered on the
Rolls, but that he was never able to meet with any notice of
2q
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300 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
it afterwards. The locality of this hospital has never yet
been settled. Whether 'Braceford' was a mere mis-spelling of
Bradford I shall not pretend to decide. No notice has
occurred to me from which it could be inferred that such a
hospital stood here. The name White Abbey, given to a con-
tiguous locality, is merely an appellation of modem times.
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This manor^ which lies on the slope of the hill to the south
of Bradford, is first mentioned^ as found on record, in the
celebrated Doomsday Book, where there is the following
entry : — " In BolHnc Sindi had four carucates of land, which
" payeth to the geld, where there may be two ploughs. Ilbert
" has it and it is waste. Value in King Edward's time, 5«."
As to the etymology of the name I shall follow Brook,*
who observes, " The origin of the names of most places is con-
" jectural, and every one thinks that probable which best
" pleaseth him ; but it is not unlikely but that this was de-
" rived from the Saxon, Botl, a house, and Inge, a meadow,
" that is, the house in the field or meadow ; as to the ter^
^^ mination inc which we find in Doomsday Book, that is evi-
" dently an error of the Norman scribes, of which many are to
** be found in that ancient book ; for ing, which the place has
'' again received, is a very common termination of the names
" of places all over England."
Who the Sindi was that Boiling belonged to before the
Conquest, nowhere appears ; but then we find it became part
of the large possessions of Ilbert de Lacy. How long it
continued in the hands of the Lacies I have not seen, but
it is probable that they regranted it to its former owner,
Sindi, or his descendants, to be holden of the Honor of
Pontefract. Robert de Boiling, who died the 43rd of Henry
• Brook'i MSS., in ibe Hemld*s CoUege; from these MSS. ami Wilson's (com-
piled from Hopkinson'K) in the Old Library, lieeiis, I hare taken a great |Nirt of
the following deseent of Boiling Manor.
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302 BOWLING.
third/ is the next owner I find mention of, and his fiuaily
continued to hold it for several centuries. Brooke observes,
" It is not unlikely that this Robert was the descendant of
" Sindiy for several of our antiquaries have observed, that
" the posterity of those Saxons frequently assumed local
" names from the places of their residence, but no connection
" now remains to join the family of Boiling to this Saxon."
I shall now give the descent of the manor from the above-
mentioned Robert Boiling to the present time.
. On his death, his son John, on succeeding to the manor,
paid 33s, 4d,,{or his relief, as appears by the Feodary Account
of the Honor of Pontefract.
He was succeeded by his son William, who gave to the
Hospital of St. Peter at York, twelve acres of land in Boi-
ling, called Walter's Essart, in pure alms.f
William, his son, by the name of " William, son and heir
of William," gave common of pasture in Boiling to Kirkstall
Abbey.f In Kirkby's Inquest^ of Knights' Fees, 24th Edward
first, William de Boiling is mentioned as holding three cam-
cates of land in Boiling, where twenty made a fee, and of
which the Abbot of Kirkstall had three oxgangs. This Wil-
liam is witness to a lease from Sir Adam Swillington, of a
farm at Bierley, dated 1 1th November, 1315; and in the
Nom. VilL of 1316, is returned Lord of the Manor of Boi-
ling. At his death he left two sons, Robert and John.
The former succeeded him, and left
Robert Boiling his son and heir, who married Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of Roger Thornton,^ of Thornton. By
• Copj of ihe Feodftiy Account of Uie Honor of Pontefract, in Leedi Granmnr
School Libraiy.
t Jennlngi' MSS., Brit. Mini., lb. 797.
I fnm the copy in the Libraiy of Leeds Grsmmar ScbooL
^ In Uie Pedigrees deposited In Leeds Old Ubrary, and copied from Hopkinsoo's
MSS., It IssUted Uiat John BolUi^ (Robert's son) mairied Thoralon's d««blfT.
This is also stnted in Tboresby ; I chuse, however, to follow Brook on Uito polnW
a« lie ap|)ear» to be right in reganl of time and other ciicumstances.
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BOWLING. 303
this marriage the estate of the Boilings was greatly increased,
as Roger, by a fine levied 22nd Edward third, settled the
manors of Thornton, Allerton, and Denholme, upon his daugh-
ter and her husband, and the heirs of their two bodies. They
had issue,
John, who succeeded to the estate. He was witness to a
grant by Richard Adamson, whereby he gave a messuage
and lands to Kirkstall Abbey, 22nd Richard second. He
had issue, Robert and James, and died the 14th of Henry
the fourth.
The former came to the estate, and paid for his relief, 338.
4d., for the third part of a knight's fee in Boiling. In the
Inquisitions post mortem, 4th Edward fourth, there is this
entry : —
Robtus BoUyng atiinctus
Bollyng Maner, >
Thornton Maner, J ^^''''•
The Boilings were all strong partisans of the House of LAn-
caster as their chief lords ; and on the accession of Edward
the fourth, Robert Boiling might be attainted, and his estates
confiscated for the part he took against the Yorkists. He
did not suffer execution, for I find that after this he
made, at Boiling-hall, his will, viz. 1467, whereby he direct-
ed his body to buried before the altar in Bradford Church.*
If not before, the estates would be restored on the accession
of Henry the seventh. He had issue, Humphrey, and Agnes
who married Robert Hunt, of Carlton, near Rothwell.
Humphrey had issue,
Tristram, who married Beatrice, daughter of Walter Cal-
verley of Calverley, in the 24th of Henry the sixth.
Thomas his son and heir, married Margaret, daughter of
Nicholas Wortley, Esq., and had issue,
Tristram, at whose death, in the I7th of Henry the seventh,
(aged twenty-six years,) the manor of Boiling was valued at
• Torre's MSS., Tertamentary Burials.
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304 BOWLING.
£24 per annum. He left Rosamond, his only daughter and
heir.*
She married Sir Richard Tempest, of Bracewell in Craven,
knight, and thus the ancient family of the Boilings of Boiling,
who had possessed the estate most likely for four hundred
years, became in this line extinct.
Although the Boiling estate went out of the family, yet a
collateral branch was thriving at Chellow. At what period
the Boilings first settled there I am unable to state, but in
Torre's Testamentary Burials I find the following entries —
** Tristram Boiling of Chellow, made his will 3rd of January,
" 1502, whereby he gave his soul to God Almighty, St. Mary,
" and all the saints, and his body to be buried in the High
" Queere of Bradford Church." Again, " Edward Boiling
" of Chellow, will proved 19th March, 1543, giving his soul
" to God Almighty, and his body to be buried in the High
" Queere of Bradford Church."
It appears from the records in the Duchy of Lancaster
Office, that Sir Richard, the husband of Rosamond Boiling,
and the Boilings of Chellow, were in perpetual feuds. I find,
so early as the reign of Henry the seventh, that there was
a suit between Sir Richard and Ralph Boiling, respecting
land in Bradford manor. I have no doubt that Raynbron
Boiling, whose proceedings are mentioned at page 106, was
one of the Chellow branch. The Boilings were seated at
Chellow and its neighbourhood in the last century, as appears
by a mural monument in Bradford Church, to the memory of
William Boiling of Manningham, who died 29th of Joly,
• Both Brook'f and Wibon^t MSS. agree as to Uw Intennediate dMoenti be t we m
the last Robert and tbe lost Tristram Boiling, and I therefore do not venture to nMke
any alteration ; but I am jealous that there is some enror in these descents, otthoiigh
I am unable to point it out. Robert paid his relief, on entering Into pni^rton ol
the fomlly estates, 14th of Henr>' fourth ; and he was holdbig courts at Thomtoo
in Uie I5tb of Edward fourth. The flnt Tristram was married 24lh of Henry sixth ;
and the last Tristram, father of Rosamond, (altliough stated otherwise in the obote^
mentioned MSS.,) undoubtedly died 17th of Henry seventh. By considering these
dates, the inlermeJiatP descents api^^^nr^ in the time, too numerous to be prnbsblo.
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BOWUNO. 305
1730» aged seventy-seven years; and of John Boiling of
Chellow, who died 15th of July^ 1729, aged twenty-seven.
Mary, wife of William lliomas, of Marylebone, London,
Esquire, and only daughter and heir of the above-named
John Boiling, by Anne, daughter of Colonel John Beckwith,
erected the monument in 1752.
The posterity of the Boilings of Chellow and Manninghara
are now settled in Wharfdale.
The husband of Rosamond was a man of great note in his
time. He had a principal command at Flodden Field, under
the Earl of Surry. Whitaker, in his History of Craven, thinks
that he was buried in Bracewell Church, but the following
extract from Torre's Testamentary Burials, (before quoted,)
does not countenance such a supposition — *^ Richard Tempest,
'* of Boiling, knight, will proved 29th January, 1537, giving
*' his soul to God Almighty, and his body to be buried in
" our Lady's Queere, in the Church of Bradford."
Rosamond was a fruitful wife, and had to him nine chil-
dren, who arrived at maturity and married.* She died 1st
• 1st. Sir Thomas Tempest, Knight, High Sheriff of Yorlcsbire, 34th Henry
eighth, who married, for his first wife, Maigaret, daughter and oo-heir of William
BoTile of Cheiit, Esq., and afterwards, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Tempest,
his great uncle, and died without surviving imie. In the war with Scotland he bad a
command, and burnt the town of Jedburgh.
2nd. Sir John Tempest, Sheriff of Yorlcsbire, 1546, married Anne, daughter of
William Lentball, Esq., and hod no surviving issue.
3rd. Nicholas Tempest married Beatrice, daughter of John Bradford of Brad-
ford, Esq. This Nicholas was, like all the Tempests, a strong stickler for the Old
Faith, and took a leading part in the Pilgrimage of Grace, and other rebellions.
4th. Tristram married to Joan Methley.
5th. Henry, who espoused EUinor, daughter of Christopher Mirfleld, Esq , ol
Tong-ball, by whom Heniy Tempest acquired that estate, and was founder of tfa*
family of the TempesU of Tong.
«th. Elizabeth, to Sir Peter Fretchvito, Knight.
7th. Jaoe, to Sir Thomas Waterton of Watarton, Knight
8tb. Anne, to John Lacy, Esq., of CromweUbotham.
Mh. Beatrice, to WUliam Gascoigne, Esq.
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306 BOWLING.
of Elizabeth, when an inquisition was taken of her estates,
and 4ier second son, John, (Thomas being dead,) then aged
fifty-four, became possessed, in right of his mother, of Boi-
ling-hall and the manor.
After the death of John, the manor came to his brother
Nicholas. It then descended to the son of the latter, Richard
Tempest, who is returned the lord, in Barnard's Survey, 1577.
Dying without issue, the manor came to his nephew. Sir
Richard, the son of his brother Robert. This' Sir Richard
was Sheriff of Yorkshire, 20th of James the first, and died
April 1639. He had, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of
Francis Rhodes, Justice of theXommon Pleas, a son, Richard,
and several daughters.
This Richard Tempest, (the last of the Tempests
who possessed BoUing-hall,) was a weak, imprudent man.
He was, like all his family, a zealous Roman Catholic and
Royalist, and commanded a regiment of horse for the King
in the Civil Wars. On the overthrow of the Royal cause, he
compounded with Parliament for his estates, on paying the
heavy sum of £1748. He was a desperate gamester, and
no doubt the following distich, mentioned in Wilson's MSS.,
alludes to his gaming propensities. It is stated that the
owner of Boiling-hall being engaged in a game at put, in
which the hall and estate were staked, and having a run of
bad luck, exclaimed, while the cards were in the course
of being dealt,
** Now aoe, deuce, and iny,
" Or faieweU BoUing.haU tor ever and ajre."
And SO, says my authority. Boiling-hall was lost.
By some such means it is likely that it went out of the
hands of the last of the Tempests of Boiling. In 1657 he
was a prisoner for debt in the King's Bench Prison, and
November 30th, the year after, he died within its rules.
He devised the Bracewell estate to the celebrated puritan,
Rushworth, author of the Historical Collections, and left
his only child, Elizabeth, wife of John South, Esq., merely
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BOWLING. 307
£2500. Rushworth seems not to have profited greatly by this
iniquitous devise, for he died of dram drinking, in gaol.*
BoUing-hall and the manor, next became the property of
Henry Savile, Esquire, of Thornhill. He was the third
son of Sir George Savile, Knight, and married Anne, daugh-
ter of Robert Cruse of London, by whom he had several
children. He resided at Boiling-hall at the time Dugdale
made his last visitation to this county, in 1665. He, how-
ever, in 1 668, sold the manor to Francis Lindley, Esq.
This Francis Lindley, who thus became Lord of Boiling,
was the son of William Lindley, a merchant at Hull;
Francis was a barrister of Gray's Inn, and vice-chamberlain
of Chester ; and at the time Dugdale made his last visitation
to this county, reelided at York, and gave such proof of his
descent from the ancient family of Lindley, of Lindley in
Yorkshire, that he had their arms conferred on him, and the
pedigree fully entered in the Herald's College. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of John Lightbourne of Manchester, by
whom he had two sons and a daughter ; who, I suppose, died
young, as he left BoUing estate to — . Pigott of Lancaster, who
had married his niece (the daughter of William Simpson of
Sheffield, by Elizabeth Lindley). This Pigott was succeeded
in the estate by Thomas Pigott of Boiling, Esquire, who
married a sister of Sir Ralph Ashton of Middleton, in Lan-
cashire, Bart., but having no issue, devised the manor of
Boiling to Charles Wood, Esquire, a captain in the navy,
and a distant relation. His great grandmother was Elizabeth
Lindley, above-named, who married, for her second hus-
band, a Wood. This Charles Wood received a mortal wound
in the engagement between Sir Edward Hughes and a French
squadron, in the East Indies, the third of September, 1782,
and the manor descended to Francis Lindley Wood, his son,
(now of Hickleton, Bart.,) who sold the manor to John
Sturges, Thomas Mason, and John Green Paley, Esquires,
* IVhiiaker'i Craven, under Braceweil.
2r
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308 BOWLING.
for upwards of £20^000^ having previously sold the coal in
Boiling to the Proprietors of Bowling Iron-works for more
than that sum. In 1821, Messrs. Sturges^ Mason, and Paley
divided the estate into three equal parts ; and the manor^
hall, and chapel in Bradford church belonging to it, were
idlotted to Mr. Mason^ as part of his share. In 1834, he
conveyed his share to Mr. Paley, in whom the manor, the
hall, and large estates in Boiling are now vested.
From the earliest times to the passing of the statute abo-
lishing military tenures, the manor was held of the Honor of
Pontefract, in capite^ by knight's service.
Boiling-hall is still a stately pile. Its site is very elevated,
overlooking an extensive tract of country. It has two fronts.
The south and principal one, is flanked at each end by a
square tower or wing, of much more ancient erection than
the rest of the building, and are undoubtedly remains of the
ancient residence of the Boilings. The western tower is
again of a more remote period than the other, bearing all
the marks of having been reared in the days of the earliest
Boilings. It is far from being an outrageous conjecture in
stating, that most likely for the space of five hundred years
the town of Bradford has been overlooked by this tower.
Its apartments are, notwithstanding the lapse of time, fit for
a genteel family ; and it may safely be asserted that it is, as a
habitable structure^ one of the oldest in Yorkshire. That
part of the hall on the southern front which is bounded by
the towers seems, from its large embayed windows, and the
general style of its architecture, to have been the work of
the earlier Tempests. Of late years a trifling change has
been made in this part ; but in the plate given in this work
I have chosen to represent the hall as it appeared before the
alteration was made. The northern front consists of a centre
and twq deep wings, and seems to have been added after the
hall passed out of the hands of the Tempests. When Brook
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I., t
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BOWLING. 309
visited BoUing-hall, about the middle of last century, there
were^ he states, in the hall- window, thirty-five shields of arms ;
in the staircase-window^ four ; in the glass-door leading to
the garden, three ; and in the window of the gallery, two.
He says several of these came from Bierley-hall, as the
owner, on repairing and improving it, took out the painted
glass of the leaded windows, and replaced it with modern
lights, and that his neighbour, Mr. Pigott, (owner of Boiling-
hall,) begged this painted glass and put it in his own windows.
When Dr. Whitaker visited Boiling-hall, in the beginning
of this century, he was completely bewildered among this
heterogeneous collection of arms, so totally unconnected with
the families to whom the manor had belonged.
Anciently, Boiling-hall was surrounded by an extensive
park, stocked with deer. From Saxton's Map of Yorkshire,
published in 1577, there appears at that time to have been
only three parks in this neighbourhood paled round — Boiling
and Denholme, and one at Calverley. When Boiling park
was parcelled out and enclosed I am unable to state — it was
after the manor left the Tempests. The tract of land which
lay within its pale is still called " The Parks."
Denholme park also belonged to the Tempests of Boiling-
hall, and they greatly improved (and probably enlarged it)
and stocked it with a fine breed of red deer ; but I shall
shew hereafter, under the proper head, that Dr. Whitaker is
in error in stating that the Tempests first formed this park.
After the acquisition of the Boiling estate, the Tempests
principally resided here, as it was then a much pleasanter
part of the country than Bracewell. The proofs are numerous
and strong that Boiling-hall was, after the marriage of its
heiress, Rosamond, the principal abode of its owners, the
Tempests, and that they exercised a large control over
Bradford.
Boiling-hall has, to a sensitive and reflecting mind, con-
nected with it many interesting associations. Its history
conjures up recollections " rich with the spoils of time,"
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310 BOWLING.
contemplated either in the days of feudalism^ when its lord^,
surrounded by their armed vassals marshalled on the fist
roof of the embattled western tower^ watched the approach
of an hostile force ; or when the entrance-hall, (now remaining
with its balcoay,) in the days of the Tempests, was the scene
of joyous festivity on the safe return of the heroes of Flodden
Field, and Jedburgh, and their chieftains.
" There oft the titled dames were wont
" To give the dance a sparkling front ;
^ And as the hlushing beauties moved,
*< The conquering heroes saw and loved." — fFesfail.
In ancient records two Boilings are mentioned. Great Boi-
ling and Little Boiling. I presume that the latter was formed
of the straggling houses which lay to the east- ward of the pre-
sent turnpike road to Halifax.
It is not improbable that Dudley -hill took its name from
Tootlaw,* either from the circumstance of the ancient Druid-
ical fires being kindled on that " high place," and on Beldon-
hill in Horton, and at Baildon, in honor of Teut or Bel ; or
as Watson (in his History of Halifax, speaking of Toothill)
conceives from tuyte or tote, to blow a horn, and the sur-
rounding country being on public occasions summoned from
that place. All the places having Toot in the composi-
tion of their names, are situated on elevated spots. In the
reign of Edward the first, we have Alice Toothill, who held
lands at Manningham. I am quite certain, whether either of
the above etymologies be received or not, that " Dudley" is a
corruption.
On the confines of the township, towards North Bierley,
lies Newall, or New-hall, anciently one of the seats of the
Richardsons of Bierley. From an inscription over the door,
within a scrolled tablet, it appears to have been built in 1672,
• « Law" itKir oneans hill ; hot we have numerous Instances of < hill' heiog added ;
such as Cop-Uw-hai, Pike-Uw-hiU. «« Don'* also, b Uie British lor hiU ; and
yet we say Bcldon-bill, dkc. The reason is, Uiat the signification of ** Law" I
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BOWLING. 311
by Richard Richardson^ during the life of his second wife^
Elizabeth. Though now occupied by cottagers, there are many
traces indicatory of its formerly having been a fine mansion.
It is built of large blocks of stone, and consists of two wings
and a centre. The porch or entrance, according to the style
of that day, projects unsymmetrically from one of the wings.
The timber and wainscotting is of black oak, and the massy
door, studded with broadheaded nails, strongly contrasts with
the light and elegant doors of modern mansions. I do not
find that any of the Richardsons resided there after the builder.
The extensive Iron Works at Bowling were first commenced
upwards of fifty years since. A partnership was formed in
1789, between John Sturges the elder, of Wakefield, John
Sturges the younger, of Bowling-hall, Richard Paley of Leeds,
William Sturges of Datchett (Bucks), and JohnElwell of Fall-
ing, in Sandal Magna, for carrying on the business of Iron
Founders at Bowling and Fall-Ing, for forty years. The foun-
dry at Bowling was erected on land purchased of Madam
Rawson of Bradford, and her son Benjamin. In 1792 the
partnership was dissolved so far as Elwell was concerned, and
he withdrew from the Bowling concern, on having Fall-Ing ap-
portioned as his share. In 1800 another and more numerous
partnership was formed. The mining operations for supply-
ing this foundry with ore and coal, have covered the once plea-
sant aspect of Bowling with unsightly heaps of shale, spread-
ing over several hundred acres. Many of these have been
planted with trees, and form graceful knolls.
Several gifts of land in this township were made to Kirk-
stall Abbey.
William de Horton, son of Maud, relict of Robert Hunter,
confirmed all that land here called Walter Rodes, which
Jordan de Boiling gave.
John son of Adam de Boiling quit- claimed one oxgang of
land here.
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312 BOWLING.
John, son of Reginald, Clerk of Bradford, gave three oxganga
of land in Greater Boiling, with three acres of land thereto
belonging. In 1248, Johnde Scorchys, son and heir of Suain
de Leicester, gave all his land here.
These I find in Burton's Mon. Ebor., under " Kirk-
stall Abbey." Two of the Boilings, as before mentioned,
made grants of land here to religious houses. Part of the
above-mentioned land given to Kirkstall Abbey was called
Burnt Field, and on the dissolution of monastries was granted
by King Henry the eighth, in the thirtieth year of his reign,
to William Ramsden.* It is yet called Burnet Field.
On the 7th of April 1840, the first stone of a handsome
Gothic church at Bowling was laid. This fabric will be
erected and endowed at the expense of the Proprietors of the
Bowling Iron Works. These Proprietors have presented the
patronage to the Vicar of Bradford, on the stipulation that
graduates only of Oxford and Cambridge shall be appointed
to the incumbency. The building will be a good specimen of
church architecture, with transept and spire, and will contain
sittings or kneelings for 980 persons, of which 314 will be free.
Previous to this erection there was no episcopal place of
worship in Bowling, except a school-room licensed for church
service.
A handsome National School was built in Bowling, in 1838,
by subscription. John Green Paley, Esq., gave the site.
Before quitting this section it may be proper to mention, that
until the middle of last century, this place was invariably
termed ' Boiling,' and that the present spelling, ' Bowling,* is
quite a modem corruption. In speaking of the manor or
hall, in ancient times, I have therefore chosen to retain its
proper name, as I find it in all the MSS. I have quoted from ;
it would have sounded anomalous had I written '' Boilings of
Bowling."
• Brook's MSS.
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NORTH BIERLEY
Slopes to the southern verge of the parish of Bradford.
There are two apt enough derivations which may be given to
the prefix " Bier," namely — Byre, Saxon for manerium ; and
Byer, from Baur, German for ru^ticus ; so that Bierley may,
without any strained etymology, be construed as the Manor-
field, or the Husbandman's-field.
Bierley is thus mentioned in Doomsday Record : " Manor.
'^ In Birle, Stainulf, had four carucates of land to be taxed
'^ where there may be two ploughs. Ilbert has it, and it is
" waste. Value in King Edward's time, 10*. Wood pasture
" half a mile long and half a mile broad."
It is probable that the district now called East Bierley, was
included in this survey, as it is clear that at that time North
Bierley, taken without reference to Wibsey, would not have
four carucates of land in cultivation ; and no other Bierley is
mentioned in Doomsday Record. 'NVibsey, in that book, is
mentioned as belonging to Bolton manor, under the name of
Wibetese.
I presume that soon after the Conquest, North Bierley and
Wibsey ^ere granted by the Lacies, who are returned lords
in Doomsday Book, to the ancient family of the Swillingtous
of Swillington ; and that the part called East Bierley was
granted to another family.*
* AlUioogh East Bierley is not mentioned in Doonisday Book as a distinct manor,
it appears dear that shortly after the date of that record, it was severed from North
Bierley, as the Thorohiils are, in the Nom. Vill. of 1316, returned lords of Huns-
worth and East Bierley, and they bad previously obtained free-warren in the latter
place. From the Thomhills, East Bierley came with Hunsworth, by marriage, to the
Saviles ; and by marriage with the latter to the family of the Earls of Scaiborongh.
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314 NORTH BIERLEY.
llie Swillingtons had not the whole of North Bierley iu early
times^ for on the pleas of Quo Warranto^ held at Scarborough,
7th, 8th, and 9th of Edward the first, Geoffrey de Nevile,
who was one of the justices itinerant in that reign, and
who married Margaret Longvilliers, answered to a Quo
Warranto, (demanding why he claimed free-warren in certain
lands) — " that all these lands, except the half of Brerlay,
" were the right and hereditaments of Margaret his wife, and
" as t^ the aforesaid half of Brerlay which was his perquisite,
" he claimed free-warren there by charter from the King.*'*
At the same pleas, Hugh de Swillingtou responded to a
Quo Warranto. — ^^ Wherefore he had approved a small
'^ enclosure in the Rodes in a place called Indansal,t and other
'^ lands in the commons there, without licence of the King or
*' his predecessors ; and Hugh, by his attorney said, that he
'^ had a certain woody close which contained forty acres, lying
" near his court, where no common of pasture was owing, nor
" common, from time of the memory of man."
In this woody pasture the Neviles claimed common of
pasture, as I find that Margaret de Nevile brought an action
in the Court of King's Bench against William de Swillington,
respecting common of pasture of certain lands, which he had
approved (that is enclosed and cultivated) from the wastes
and moors of Wibsey, and a concord or agreement, dated at
Wibsey, the twentieth day of the moon after the feast of the
Nativity of the Blessed Mary, 24th of Edward the first, was
come tx), by which it is agreed that Swillington should have
power to approve in one place from the wastes of Wibsey wood,
within these bounds, namely, from " the Oak, which is called
*^ the Dryoke to Rammesdene broke, directly under the house
**of Hugh de Bosco (that is, *of the wood') of Birle, and
*' thence running to Okenshaw broke, and from that place of
* Pleas of Quo Wammto, published by Ibe R«oord CommitsioDen.
t Tbb is Uie same as the Jordansal mentioned in Uie Hundred Rolb^ beftw
(piloted : it seems to have been tliorou^h Tftreapland.
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NORTH BIERLEY. 315
** Okenshaw Broke unto a certain small sike [rivulet] running
" into the same broke between Hammondsfrode and Wyke-
'' hsLuk, and from that place by the metes, as laid down, to
" Morley Sykes, and from that place of M orley Sykes, upwards
" to the Dryoke."* Some of these bounds are yet known.
That the Swillingtons, however, were lords of North Bierley,
even at this time, there seems no reasonable doubt, as Edward
the first, in the second year of his reign, granted free warren
to Hugh de Swillington, in his demesne lands of Bierley.
That this was North Bierley is sufficiently established by the
fact, that nearly contemporaneous, free warren was granted to
John de Thornhill in East Bierley. Kirkby's Inquest of
Knights' Fees in the County of York, shews that in 1287,
Adam de Swillington held in " North BirilP' two carucates of
land, where eighteen made a knight's fee. Edward the se-
cond, in the fourth year of his reign, also granted to this
Adam free warren in Bierley ; and in the Nomina Villarum
of 1316, he is returned lord of North Bierley. t
The Swillingtons were also lords of the adjoining manor
of Shelf. They were strong adherents of the House of Lan-
caster in all its vicissitudes. Adam de Swillington was fined a
thousand marks for taking part with Thomas Earl of Lancas-
ter, against the Spencers. In the sixteenth of Richard the
second, Roger de Swillington held North Bierley and Shelf,
having succeeded his father, Robert, the brother of the last-
mentioned Adam.
The Swillingtons failing in the male line, the manor of
North Bierley came, in the latter part of the fifteenth century,
to Sir Arthur Hopton, knight, as their heir ; and he sold it to
Richard Farmer, of London, merchant, who disposed of it in
sale, sometime before the twenty-ninth of Henry the eighth
(1538), to William Rookes.
• Hopkinson*!} MSS., penes Mus Currer.
t My nutliority for the whole of the facts in this paragruph is Brooke.
2s
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316 NORTH BIBRLET.
The descent of the mansion from the Rookes' of Royds-hall,
to Eidward Leeds/ Elsq., the last possessor of the Rookes'
family^ will be shewn in the pedigree at the end of the large
copies of this volume.
The manor and mansion of Royds-hall, were sold by the
assignees of Edward Leeds, a money scrivener, and bankrupt,
(who died before the sale,) to Messrs. Hird, Dawson, Jarratt,
and Hardy, in 1788, for £34,000. The landed property was
then worth between £800 and £900 a-year, and the colliery
£950 a-year. From an advertisement for the sale of the
estate, which I have seen in a London newspaper, of the date
of 1786, Mr. Hardy of Bradford, (who, as is well known, was
the father of the late M. P. for this place,) eventually one of
the purchasers, was the solicitor employed on the sale.
The Proprietors of the Low-moor Iron-works, are the pre-
sent lords of the manor. From a very remote period it has
been termed the Manor of Royds-hall.f
Bierley-hall is a large and elegant mansion. It has, how-
ever, much greater claims on the topographer, as the resi-
dence for several generations of a family the ornament and
honor of this parish — a family uniting great scientific attain-
ments and literary accomplishments with qualities of even a
nobler kind. It has never been whispered in tradition or other-
wise, ihat a Richardson of Bierley, in the long line of their
descent, was a bad neighbour, a vicious, hard-hearted, un-
charitable man, or a tyrannical and oppressive landlord. The
memory of such a family smells sweet, and blossoms in the
grave. And I may add without hesitation, that the repre-
sentative, the present amiable and beneficent owner of Bierley-
hall, has neither tarnished the literary nor virtuous character
of her ancestors.
• His origliial name was Rookes. He took tbe sarname of Leeds on roaniage.
t WiUiam de SwUUngUm, son of Adam and broUwr of Robert de SwUUi«(ion,
released, in ttie Sid of Ricbaid second, to hb uncle, Robert SwilUi^n, and bis
heirs >I1 r^ffht in the maMr of iWev, and in lands and tenements in Bieriey and
Wibse}, Shelf and Oakensbaw^/lrooi^*« M&S.
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NORTH BISRLEY. 317
There is a view of the hall in the British Museum^ taken
by Warburton^ Somerset Herald^ in the beginning of last
century, from which it appears to have been a noble old-
fashioned building. Of its present appearance, the accom-
panying faithful print (the unsolicited gift of Miss Currrer),
will give a much more vivid description than I can with the
pen.
In front of the hall stands a majestic Cedar of Lebanon — a
pleasing memorial of one of the greatest of the family — Dr.
Richard Richardson. It was, when a seedling, sent with
some others to him as a present by his friend Sir Hans
Sloane. Under the impression that the cedar would not
thrive in the open air of this country, this seedling was planted
in a flower-pot, and placed in the hot-house, but on observa-
tion that it flourished better in the open air, it was planted
about one hundred years since on the spot where it now rears
its noble and graceful form. Its present girth at the root is
fourteen feet, and immediately under the commencement of
the branches, fifteen feet. I estimate its height at about se-
venteen yards.* I apprehend that there is no tree of the same
description in England that has been so long planted or is of
the same size. In many beautiful passages the Cedar of Le-
banon is a simile used by the Prophets for everything noble,
graceful, or goodly — and were it only on this account, this tree
at Bierley would have many interesting claims on the atten-
tion. But although it is but as a child to the giants of Leba-
non, its appearance is remarkably noble and graceful, at all
seasons being an evergreen ; and, in the words of the Prophet,
unless 'Hhe feller goeth up against it," which it is to be hoped
never will happen, it will remain for centuries an ornament to
• The Cedar of Lebanon rises, when at its full growth, to the height of thirty or
forty yards, and is sometimes from thirty-five to forty feet in girth. It has leaves
something like those of Rosemary. The bark is remarkably rough and scaly. Its
wood was highly valued by the andents of the East, and possessed the reputation of
inoomiptibility .— Caimel.
Buickhaxdt, in his Travels in the East, mentions that only a few cedan remain on
the mountains of Lebanon.
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318 NORTH BIERLEY.
the spot. There were^ a few years since, two other cedars near
it of much inferior size^ but as they darkened the house^ they
were cut down.
Another memorial of Dr. Richardson has now disappeared,
— a hot-house, which was the second constructed in Elngland.
John Blackburn, Esq., of Orford near Liverpoool, constructed
the first; as soon as it was finished, the workmen proceeded to
build that at Bierley. It was glazed with small leaded panes.
In/the grounds adjoining the house. Dr. WiUiam Richard-
son, who did much to embellish the appearance of Bierley, laid
out a Druidical circle or temple. The great bulk of the mde
rocks, disposed in irregular order, would induce a spectator,
were he not acquainted with their history, to refer them to the
period of Druidism. There is also a subterraneous cave, the
entrance to which is formed of rocks piled on rocks.
The hall is now the residence of Henry Leah, Elsquire,
as tenant to Miss Currer of Eshton-hall, Craven.
Bierley Chapel was originally built in 1766, at the cost of
the celebrated Dr. Richardson, but not consecrated till 1824 ;
in 1828 it was enlarged for the exclusive accommodation of
the poor, at the expense of its munificent patroness, Miss
Currer. It is in the Grecian style of architecture, and is a
small but handsome structure, capable of seating nine hundred
persons. The living is a curacy in the gift of Miss Currer,
and is valued in the Parliamentary Return of Church Livings,
at about £135 a year. William Richardson, Esquire, in 1786,
bequeathed £500 to be invested in the four-per-cent consols,
and the proceeds to be applied towards the maintenance of
the minister here. The living was augmented in 1825, by par-
liamentary grant, by lot, with £1800; in 1826 with £300 from
the same fund, to meet a benefaction of £200 from Miss
Currer; in 1828 with £200 from the Royal Bounty, and
£300 from parliamentary grant, to meet a gift of land from
Miss Currer worth £400. In 1831 an additional gallery
was erected, and also an organ purchased by subscription
amounting to £177; in 1836 the organ was removed, and the
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NORTH BIERLEY. 319
singers' seats repaired^ at the expense of Mr. Leah. The
patroness repaired the roof and windows of the original chapel
in 1834. There is a good glebe house.
The subjoined note contains a list of the curates from its
foundation to the present time.*
Bierley Iron-works were commenced shortly after the year
1800^ when the coal and iron-stone under Miss Currer's
estates were leased to Henry Leah^ Esquire^ and others, for
forty-six years. Soon after the date of the lease (which has
been renewed) the iron-works were commenced. It is well
known that the eminent success of this undertaking is, in a
great measure, due to the talented management of Mr. Leah.
That tract of North Bierley in which Bierley -hall stands,
and which forms the estate of Miss Currer, is by far the
most pleasant portion of this township, and although its
appearance is considerably marred by mining operations, it
yet possesses many graces of scenery.
High on the southern extremity of the parish is seated
Royds-hall, next to Bowling-hall, the finest old mansion in
the parish. It appears to have been the work of one of the
earlier Rookes*. They resided here from the time of Henry
the eighth to the close of the last century. There is some
difficulty in saying whether the name be derived from Royd,
an essart, that is, a piece of woody land grubbed up and
cultivated, or from Rood, a cross. The situation of the
• The Rev. James Stilliogfleet was the fint minister. He has been mentioned in
the preceding pages. He continued at Bieiley about five years, and afterwards became
vicar of Hotham, and died there in 1826, aged eighty-six. After him the Rev. M.
Ollerenshaw was minister for nine years. From 1781 to 1787, the Revds. J. and W.
West, Dr. Bailey, his brother, and the Rev. Wm. Wood of Tingley, oiBdated. Then
the Rev. Thomas Wade, for twelve years. The Revds. Messrs. Balmforth, Booth,
GiUy Morgan, Heslop, Grainger, Hollist, Barmby, Parkin, Johnson, Weddell,
Clarkson, and Beaumont, (besides several other clergymen assisted occasionally,)
were the ministers from 1799 to 1823, when the Rev. J. B. Cartwright succeeded,
and on his resignation in 1826, the Rev. G. S. Bull, who was minister till 1839,
when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Barber, who now fills the office.
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320 NORTH BIBRLEY.
place favours the former conjecture ; but I have seen a deed
of the fourteenth century^ wherein one of the boundaries of
some land is fixed at the Cross, near Rodes-hail. It was
also in ancient times called Rodes^ not Royds-hall, and I
need remind only few of my readers that " Christy who died
upon the rode^" that is rood^ was a common expression of
ancient times. From appearances, it may be judged that
the hall was formerly surrounded by a park.
For half a century Royds-hall has been the residence of
the Dawsons. Joseph Dawson, Esquire,* one of the first
proprietors of Low-moor Iron-works, the father of the present
possessor, was the intimate friend of Priestley ; and what is
worthy of observation, part of the apparatus is yet at Royds-
hall with which that great philosopher made his discoveries
respecting the qualities of air and the phenomena of electri-
city. So long as science is honoured, or genius admired,
the name of Priestley, despite grovelling intellects, will be
had in green remembrance.
The Church of the Holy Trinity at Wibsey was built, says
Archbishop Sharp, at the expense of Richard Richardsoa
of Bierley-hall, William Rookes of Royds-hall, gentleman,
and other inhabitants of Wibsey and Bierley. In their pe-
tition to Archbishop Neile, in 1636, they set forth that they
will, at their own proper charges, procure a curate or preacher,
to be elected and nominated to the Archbishop, and vicar of
Bradford for the time being, to serve the said inhabitants
of those two villages in the same chapel, which said curate
shall have settled on him £20 10s, a year, for his salary.
Whereupon, Archbishop Neile commanded Richard, Bishop
of Sodor and Man, to consecrate the chapel, and chapel-yard
thereof for a burying-place, which was done 2l8t of October,
1636.
* He was of the same religious persua«on u PrieiUey, and partook Vugdj of
hit taste for literary and scientific pursuits.
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NORTH BIERLEY. 321
In the Parliamentary Survey of Church Livings, in 1-655,
this chapel is thus mentioned — " We finde there be three
'' chappells or chappellryes in the said parish, [Bradford] viz.
** The chappells of Wibsey, Thornton, and Haworth. Wyb-
'^ sey chappell is distant from its parish church two myles,
** and three from any other church or chappell. One Mr.
'^ Tempest EUingworth is mynister, who hath, as belonging
'' to the same chappell, only forty shillings per annum for his
" maintenance, the rest is arbitrary at the benevolence of
" the people." The Parliamentary Commissioners then re-
commended that the chapel should be made a parish church,
*' and endowed with mayntenance for preaching ministers."
In 1720, the living was augmented with £200 of Queen
Anne's bounty, to meet a like benefaction from Richard
Richardson and William Rookes, Esquires ; in 1735, with
£200 of bounty, to meet a benefaction of the same sum from
Richard Richardson and Edward Leeds, Esquires ; and in
1815 a parliamentary grant was made of £300, to meet a gift
of £200 from the Rev. R. Powell, the incumbent. The net
value of the curacy, according to the parliamentary return,
is, with these augmentations, about £160 a year. There is
a good glebe house.
Till about sixty years since, the chapel was a mean straw-
thatched building.
On the 6th of October, 1819, an additional burial ground
was consecrated ; and in 1820 the church was enlarged, at a
cost of about £500. In 1838, principally through the exer-
tions of the present incumbent, the chapel was so greatly
enlarged and altered as to be almost rebuilt, at a cost of
about £1200, part of which was raised by subscription, and
a large part by the profits of a bazaar held in the Ex-
change-buildings, Bradford. Previous to this enlargement
there was church room for six hundred and fifty persons ;
eight hundred and four sittings have been added, of which
three hundred and four are free, in respect of a grant of £250
from the Society for enlarging and rebuilding Churches. The
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322 NORTH BIERLEY.
registers for baptisms and burials commenced soon after the
erection of the chapel — in 1744.*
At Buttershaw (quere Burtreeshawf) in Wibsey, John Har-
dy. Esquire, one of the proprietors of the Low-moor Iron-
works, built in 1838, a small but handsome church.
These proprietors in 1814, built, at the cost of about
£1000, a national school at Low-moor, which has been of
great advantage to the inhabitants.
The following is from the Commissioners of Charities*
Report : —
It appears by an entry in a terrier of the lands and possessions,
^c, belonging to the chapelry of Wibsey, that John Wilton, clerk,
in the year 1669, gave a farm at Wibsey, called Penny Close Farm,
to certain trustees, who, after deducting forty shillings a year to be
given to one poor man, should pay (he remainder of the rent to (be
minister of Wibsey chapel.
The property Ls vested in eight trustees, who let the farm at £12 a
year, the full annual value, and after deducting forty shillings a year
for the poor, pay the remainder to the minister. The forty shillings a
year is distributed by the committee of the vestry-meeting, at (heir
half-yearly meetings, among poor persons of North Bierley not re-
ceiving regular parochial relief.
Who are the trustees who thus allow the intention of their
testator to be grossly contravened ?
The immense Iron-works at Low-moor, were commenced
about sixty years since. The original partners were Richard
Hird of Bradford, John Preston of Bradford, and John Jarratt
of Little Horton. Immediately after the purchase of the
manor of Royds-hall, and the coal under the manor, a new
partnership was formed, consisting of Hird, Preston, Jarratt,
Joseph Dawson, then residing at Royds-hall, John Hardy of
Bradford, and John Lofthouse of Liverpool, coal-merchant.
• A considerable porUon of the IfifonnaUon rnspecting tbU cbepel I bare obtained
from Lamion** Parocbtal History of tbe Diocese of Yorlc.
t Burtree is an ancient term for the Elder, and is yet used by the lower dais of
the inhabitants of Yorkshire. Dr. Whitaker is quite puzzled with the word in Glo-
ver's notice of the Battle of Towton. See Loidis and EUnete, under '* Berwic in
Eimet."
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NORTH BIERLEY. 323
This latter gentleman did not remain long as a partner; Pres-
ton and Jarratt's shares were afterwards purchased by the
other partners.*
The aspect of the country at Wibsey, is naturally steril
and uninteresting, and a great tract of it almost completely
covered with shale hills — ^the refuse of the coal and iron-stone
mines. Were these hills planted, it would be to the infinite
improvement of the appearance of the locality.
Most of the inhabitants of North Bierley, like those of
Bowling, are wholly employed at the coal and iron-stone
mines, and at the foundries.
The Wesleyan Methodists have two large chapels at Low-
moor and Wibsey. ITie former built in 1807, and the latter
in 1838. An Independent chapel is in course of erection at
Wibsey.
* See a gnphic account of these Cydopian workg in Head's Tour through the
Manufacturing Districts. I would have transcribed part of (he account, or given in
my own language an extended notice of these works and the immense operations at
them, but space absolutely forbad.
Miss Cuirer is the Lady of the of^oining manor of Oakenshaw-cum-Cleck-
heaton. The manor of Oakenshaw was formerly the possesion of John de Beaufort,
Duke of Exeter, second son of John of Gaunt
2t
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HORTON.
" HoRTON is so called (qu. Horetown) as being often gray
" with sleet when the lower grounds are unsprinkled. Every
** village of this name I am acquainted with, stands com-
" paratively high." So observes Dr. Whitaker, in his His-
tory of Craven, under the head of Horton in Ribblesdale ;
and his observations equally apply to this Horton.
At the time of Doomsday Survey, Horton was a berewick
or hamlet, depending on, and surveyed under the manor of
Bradford.
From the earliest times the manor belonged to a family
residing at and taking their name from the place. From the
following entry, it seems that they bore the name of Staple-
ton, previous to settling at Horton : " Robert de Lacy, (who
** lived in the reign of Henry the second,) and was lord of the
''manor of Bradford, granted to Hugh, son of Robert de
" Stapleton, four carucates of land, to hold to him of the
" Honor of Pontefract, by the service of a third part of »
"knight's fee, to wit, in Great- Horton twenty oxgangs, in
" Little -Horton fourteen oxgangs, and in Clayton six oxgangs
" of land."* This seems to have been the foundation of the
Hortons' title to the manor ; for, as it frequently happened
before the reign of Edward the first, they obtained the manor
by reason of their large tenure of land in the place, not by
express grant; and in this way, nearly all the manors in this
parish went out of the hands of the Lacies.
• Jennings* .MSS. 797. — Twelve acres made an cugnng, and eight oxgangx a cara-
cate in Horton.
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HORTON. 325
This grants however, included only a portion of the land
in HoTton, which then belonged to the Lacies; for, besides
the evidence of the inquisition taken on the Earl of Lincoln's
death, in which numbers of freeholders in Horton are
mentioned as holding immediately of the manor of Bradford,
there is an express gift of land in Horton after the date of
this grant, as Roger de Lacy, the successor of Robert,
" gave to John Le Archer, for his homage and service, four
" oxgangs of land in Horton, in the town of Bradford.^^*
Nor did the grant to Hugh carry with it all the rights
appurtenant to a manor, as long afterwards, when the
Hortons had been firmly established in the manor, the
lords of Pontefract Honor had the wardship and marriage of
freeholders in Horton. In the Feodary Account of the Honor
for 1353, there is an entry of fifteen shillings, for the custody
and marriage of John, son and heir of Thomas Hine, for
land in Horton.*
The above-named Hugh, granted one-fourth part of Den-
holme to Byland Abbey, by charter, to which William de
Middleton, sheriff of Yorkshire, was witness ; and he filled
that office in 1239. lliis Hugh also, by the name of Hugh,
son of Robert of Horton, granted by deed, without date, for
homage and service to Hugh of Heldersheym, four acres of
land in the territory of Horton, upon the moor of Little-
Horton. His brother Roger of Horton, enfeoffed him by the
name of " Hugh of Horton, my brother and lord," with two
oxgangs of land in Horton ; and by another deed without
date, Robert Brown, gave to Hugh, his lord, an oxgang of
land. I cite these, as they sufficiently show that the Hortons
at this early period began to exercise manorial authority.
By another deed without date, this Hugh de Horton en-
feoffed Thomas of M anningham, for homage and service of
two oxgangs of land in Great-Horton, to wit, those which
Richard the huntsman held, reserving two shillings yearly,
Jennings' MSS.
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326 HORTON.
and doing foreign service^ as much as belonged to two ox-
gangs of land, where twelve plough lands (carucates) made a
knight's fee. There are several particulars in this grant
which induce me to believe that these two oxgangs were the
same as those of the Hunt-yard, and before mentioned as
surveyed in the extent of the manor of Bradford in 1342.
They were granted to a person of the same name, and the
quantity and rent were the same.
This Hugh of Horton was succeeded in the manor by his
son Hubert. From a grant made by him, it is certain that
there were slaves or villains attached to the manor of Horton ;
but they seem to have been villains regardant, as he enfeofied
Diomise, his daughter, of two oxgangs of land which Peter
held, and further granted the said Peter, and all his sequel,
that is, his wife and family, and their deceudants.*
Robert, besides this daughter, had a son, Hugh, who suc-
ceeded him. It was he who granted in 1294, the three acres
in 'Turles,' as before minutely mentioned. He seems to have
died before the 24th of Bxiward the third, as Wm. Leven thorp,
who married his daughter and heiress, is stated in Kirkby*s
account of knights' fees taken that year, to hold in Horton
and Clayton, three carucates of land, where twenty-four
made a fee, of which Jordan de Birill held four oxgangs.
The manor of Horton thus passed to the Leventhorps of
Leventhorp or Lenthorp, near Thornton.
Hugh Leventhorp, son of the above-mentioned William,
was returned in the Nomina Villarum of 1316, as lord of
the manor of Horton ; and, as stated at page 56, petitioned
Queen Philippa for the rent of the three acres in the * Turles.*
Jefirey, the son of William, paid 33s. id, for his relief to
the Honor of Pontefract, for the third part of a knight's fee.
He was lord of Horton in the 6th of Henry the fourth ; and
at a court held by him that year, pains were laid on several
• I bftTe taken the fongoing partkalan retpectiog the Horton lainUy, from a Decree
mwle in the Duchy Court in the reign of Elizabeth.— See the next page but one.
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HORTON. 327
persons for filling up pits where coal had been c^ug, within the
manor of Horton.
John Leventhorp was lord in the reign of Henry the fifth,
and dying the 12th of Henry the sixth, his son William paid
33«. 4rf. for his relief. WOliam Leventhorp was lord of Hor-
ton in the 9th of Edward the fourth.
In the 21st of Edward the fourth Robert Leventhorp was
lord ; and in the 2nd of Richard the third fifteen freeholders
did suit at his court at Horton. He was also lord in the
13th of Henry the seventh.
On his death Oswald his son inherited the manor, and dying
without male issue, his sister Alice carried the estate to the
Lacies of Cromwellbotham, having married John Lacy of
that place, Esq. This John Lacy, and William Rookes of
Royds-hall, gentleman, lord of the manor of Royds-hall, had a
dispute as to the boundaries of their respective manors, which
dispute arose respecting the coal, and was referred to John
Tempest of Boiling, Esq., William Paslew of Riddlesden,
Esq., and two others, who made their award on the 21st of
October in the 21st of Henry the eighth, whereby they de-
termined the bounds of the manor of Horton as it adjoins
that of Royds-hall to be as follows : —
The fyrst bounder to begyn at a well spryngyng above the hede of
one close or medowe called Depe Carr Hede, and from the seyd well
80 up the hill or banke unto a certejn ground called Hunter Lawe,
to the heyght of the seyd Hunter Lawe, and so dyrectelye and
lenyally from the heyght of the seyd Hunter Lawe unto a grete
stone erected and set upp in the amyddst of a pete-mose, or slake,
called Hately Slake, and so dyrectelye and lyneally from the seyd
Hately Slake unto one other stone set uppe in the syde or skyrte of
one hill called Revy, and so dyrectelye and lyneally from the seyd
stone to one other bounder or stone erectyde and set uppe in the
amyddst of the seyd hill called Revey, and from the seyd stone
dyrectelye and lyneally unto a crosse called Revey Crosse, set and
standyng upon Revey Nabbe, and from the seyd crosse dyrectelye
and lyneally as it is severede and hathe beyn severede by the occu*
pacions of the Col/e Myns, as well by the workmen or collyers of
the seyd John Lacye, as by the workmen and collyers of the seyd
William Rookes.
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328 HORTON.
In 1579, a suit was brought against this John Lacy in the
Duchy Court, in the name of the Queen, to recover the
manor. It was therein alleged that Lacy had intruded into
thirty- four messuages, four cottages, and one hundred and
eighty-three acres of land, one water corn-mill, and one mine
of coals, in or near Horton, the Queen's possessions. He
shewed his title by proving from ancient Court Rolls, that
his ancestors, the Hortons and Leventhorps, had amerced
persons for trespassing upon the waste grounds ; for going
from the mill at Horton to that of Bradford with com to
grind ; for the getting of coals and selling of turf ; and that
the Earl of Lincoln was obliged to pay a quit rent for land he
approved from the wastes of Horton. He also shewed that
those ancestors held courts for their manor of Horton from
time immemorial, and had suit and service of numerous free-
holders. The main proof brought forward on the part of the
Queen was, that Horton was appendant to Bradford manor,
inasmuch as in the survey of 1345, it is shewn that divers
freeholders held of that manor, in Horton, seventeen ox-
gangs of land. The counsel for Lacy (as in a preceding
part mentioned) confessed that the manor of Horton was
carved from that of Bradford by the creation of tenures, and
that those seventeen oxgangs had been granted out while
Horton was appendant to Bradford manor. The Queen's
claim was set aside by a decree.
This John Lacy married, first Jane, daughter of Sir Rich*
ard Tempest of Boiling, and secondly, Alveray Gascoign of
Garforth, near Leeds. By his first wife he had, besides
Richard, hi^ eldest son, several sons and daughters. Ellen,
one of them, married Walter Paslew of Riddlesden.
Richard, his eldest son, (who died July IGth, 1591,) mar-
ried Ellen, daughter of Lawrence Townley of Barnside, and
had by her a son, John, and two daughters.
This John married twice ; by his second wife, daughter of
Martin Lister of Frerehead, [in Craven, he had a son, John,
who died without issue.
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HORTON. 329
A collateral branch of the Hortons of Horton had settled
in the parish of Halifax, and one of this branch, Joshua
Horton, Esquire, of Sowerby, in the early part of the seven-
teenth century, purchased of the last named John Lacy the
ancient family estate of the manor of Horton. From Joshua
Horton the manor came to his descendant, the late Sir Watts
Horton of Chadderton, in Lancashire, and is now possessed
by his son in law. Captain Rhyss. The intermediate steps
of the descent are numerous and unimportant, and present
no feature to strike the attention of the general reader. I
have, however, for the satisfaction of the more curious, given
them in a pedigree at the end of the large copies.
Little Horton was for several centuries the residence of
the distinguished family of the Sharps. The elder branch
of this family resided at Horton-hall, (now the residence of
Samuel Hailstone, Esquire,) and were strong Parliamenta-
rians and Dissenters. John Sharp, the owner of it in the
Civil Wars, received from parliament, during the Protec-
torate, a gold medal with the figure of Fairfax on the obverse;
round the rim of the reverse, " post hac meliora," in the
centre, " meruisti."* It was afterwards the residence of his
second son, the celebrated mathematician, Abraham Sharp.
• This is ihe John Slmr|> who was Joseph Lister's master. — See Memoirs.
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330 HORTON.
I give a cut of this interesting and venerable structure as it
stood in his day ; since then, the wing to the right has given
place to a handsome modern building. The tower in the
centre (which yet remains in its primitive state) was used by
the mathematician as an observatory, from which to survey
the heavens. His study yet remains, but as I shall advert
more particularly to these matters in his life, hereafter given,
I refrain to enlarge on them in this section.
About fifty yards distant, is the family seat of a younger
branch of the Sharps of Horton. John, the second cousin
of the above-named John, dwelt here, and was a devoted
Royalist. In an engagement he received a severe wound
in the head from a battle axe, and never perfectly recovered.
After the decapitation of the King he never suffered his
beard to be shaven. The mansion is now occupied by F. S.
Bridges, Esquire, a descendant of John the Royalist (see
Pedigree).
A little below stands the mansion of the Listers of Little
Horton, where, and on the site, they dwelt from a remote
period. In the 6th of Elizabeth, Thomas, son and heir of
Richard Lister, had in Horton a messuage and land ; and
in the 4th of James the first, livery was given in the King's
name to John, son and heir of Thomas Lister, of a messuage
and three oxgangs and a half of land, containing forty acres,
held of the King, in capite, by military service. This was
very probably land which belonged to the Abbey of Kirkstall,
and which John Lister paid a pair of white spurs for, an
mentioned before. The Listers of Horton bore the same
arms (ermine, on a fess sable three mullets or, a canton
gules) and were a branch of those of Shibden, (see their
pedigree in Watson's History of Halifax, page 254,) and
were allied to those of Manningham.
In 1612, Thomas Sharp, John Field, and Gilbert Brooks-
bank, freeholders of Little Horton, were complained against
in the Duchy Court for enclosing waste land in Little Horton ;
they, however, proved grants from the Lacies of Cromwell-
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HORTON. 331
botham. In recent times, a claim was attempted to be set
up by a gentleman to the manor rights of Little Horton, but
without the shadow of a pretence.
The Hortons, lords of the manor, had, in ancient days, a
manor-house a little to the east of Great Horton, the site of
which is yet known by the name of Hall-yard.
There was also an ancient corn-mill in Horton, which was
a soke-mill for the manor. I am not certain whether it stood
on or about the site of the present old mill or not, as some
circumstances lead me to believe that it was near the hall.*
I have before stated all I know respecting the * Hunt-yard.*
Lidget (Lidgate) Green, a small hamlet within the town-
ship of Horton. There have been many opinions respecting
the derivation of this and simUar names. It has been de-
duced by some from Leodgate, signifying, in Saxon, either
a gate on or near a public road, or else the road itself ; and
as the ancient road to Halifax ran through Lidget-green, the
above deduction seems not strained, as applied to this place.
A handsome National School was erected at Lidget-green
in 1837, principally by subscription. The land for the site
was presented by Joshua Pollard, Esquire.
Scholes-moor is another small hamlet in Horton. Scholes,
or SchcUeSy was a term (probably derived from Scalingd) in
our ancient tongue denoting huts or shells. The ancient
and respectable family of the Midgleys resided here in the
early part of last century. They were connected by marriage
with the most respectable families in this neighbourhood.!
• In the 37th of Heniy the eighth, Thomas Foxcroft held Horton Mill of the lord,
John Lacy, by military service. — Hopkiturn'M MSS., voi. I., /». 134.
t The arms of the Midgleys were sable, two bars gemels aigent, on a chief
ai^nt, three caltrops sable. There is a handsome mural monument of maible,
bearing the above arms, and those of Hollings, at the east end of the north aisle of
Bradford Church, to the memory of John Midgley of Soolemore, gentleman, who
died 23rd of June, 1730, aged 55 years, and of Bathsheba his wife, daughter of
John Hollings of Crosley-hall, who died August 29, 1736, aged 49. From the words
(in the Latin inscription) " Juris et Legum peritium," I infer be was an attorney.
2v
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332 HORTON.
That Kirkstall Abbey had four oxgangs of land in Horton
is certain from the Inquisition taken on the Earl of Lincoln's
deaths but who was the donor is unknown ; it was, however,
from the honorary service, very likely the gift of the Lacies.
On the dissolution of the monasteries, this land with a house
was granted along with Burnet Field in Bowling, to Rams-
den, by the description of " all that messuage in the tenure of
" James Sharp, and all those closes in the occupation of John
^' Horton, late belonging to the Monastery of Kirkstall.'* It
appears likely, from the description, that this land lay near
Burnet Field. I know of no other religious house possessing
land here.
The chapel, which is a plain unadorned edifice, capable of
seating five hundred persons, was built by subscription in
1807, and consecrated July 1st, 1809. The communion
plate, pulpit, vestments, &c., were the gift of several wealthy
parishioners. There is no glebe house. The net yearly value
of the living, or perpetual curacy, is £99. It was augmented
in 1810 with £200, in 1812 with £1000, in 1817 with £600.
and in 1821 with £200, from parliamentary grants, by lot.
The vicar of Bradford is patron. The Rev. Samuel Redhead
(now vicar of Calverley) was the first minister ; now the
Rev. John Boddington.
The Moravians have a handsome little chapel at Little
Horton, built in 1838.
In Great Horton, the Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists
have each a large chapel.
The following is from the Commissioners of Charities*
Report. —
ashton's coaritt.
John Ashton, by will, dated 4tb August, 17I2, devised his mes-
suages in Horton, and the buildings and land thereto belonging, unto
four trustees and their heirs, upon trust, to distribute the clear reDt%
half-yearly, amongst such poor, aged, and necessitous people of the
town of Horton as should subsist without the town allowance, and
should appear to the trustees to have been industrious, and have
^come most needful ; and he bequeathed to the trustees all Hut
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HDRTON. 333
residue of his personal estate, upon trust, to put forth the same at
interest, or purchase land therewith, and distribute the interest or
pro6ts amongst such poor people as aforesaid ; and he directed that
when any three of the truslces should die the survivor should convey
the premises unto four other honest substantial inhabitants of the
town of Ilorton, upon the trusts above-mentioned.
The residue of the testator's personal estate was laid out in the
purchase of a messuage in Horton, with a barn, orchard, and garden,
a close called Wheat-hole, and three closes, then in five, called
Hatcliffe-close^, containing by estimation five days* work.
The charify estates were vested in Joseph Barrans, as surviving
trustee, under deeds dated the 1st and 2Dd November, 1813, and
consist of the following particulars: —
Three cottages, a barn, and certain closes of land at Horlon, let
to Joseph Gomersal, as yearly tenant, at £30 per annum.
A blacksmith's shop and shed let to John Garthwaite, as yearly
tenant, at £7 per annum.
A farm at the Solitary, in Norton, consisting of a dwelling-house
divided into two, a barn, and several closes, containing thirteen or
fourteen days' work, or about nine acres, let in different parcels to
George Binns and Daniel Dracup, as yearly tenants, at rents amount-
ing to £16 a year.
The property is all let at its full annual value.
The sura of £80 was borrowed, and laid out about two years ago
in repairing a bam, and part of the rents is appropriated to the pay-
ment of the debt.
The coals under the land occupied by Gomersal were sold by
agreement, in January, 1822, for £90, of which £10 was paid at
the first, £5 was to be paid on the 2lst of January, 1828, and the
remainder was to be defrayed by half-yearly payments of £7 10*.
The clear income, after deducting what is retained for payment
of the debt, and the charge for a dinner on the rent-days, being
about £2 5s. a year, is distributed among poor people in Horton
not receiving parochial relief.
This charity is commonly called " Ashton's Dole." The
above-named Barrans, in 1826, vested the charity estate in
Thomas Cousen, Thomas Booth, Thomas Ackroyd, and John
Bilton, as joint trustees.
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CLAYTON
Adjoins the manor of Horton to the westward, and lies high
on the southern shelve of the tract of country which has from
a very remote period been termed Bradford-dale. Nearly
the whole of the township of Clayton is upland little diver-
sified or marked except with straight stone fences, and here
and there a solitary tree to break the dreariness of the scene.
Clayton was surveyed in Doomsday Record under the
manor of Bolton, to which at the time of the Conquest it
belonged as a berewick. The name has changed little since
then, — ^in that record it is written " Claitone."
The grant of the six oxgangs of land in Clayton to Hugh
de Horton, as mentioned under the head of Horton, seems
to have carried with it manorial privOeges, as the manor of
Clayton to the time of the Lacies of Cromwellbotham fol-
lowed the course of that of Horton, and had the same lords.
In Kirkby's Inquest the same lord is returned for both ;
and in 1316 Hugh de Leventhorp is returned lord of Hor-
ton and Clayton.
Lake every other village in the parish, Clayton gave name
to a family who held large possessions in it. William de
Clayton is mentioned in Kirkby's Inquest as holding in Clay-
ton eight oxgangs of land. These were held immediately of
the manor of Bradford; and according to the Inquisition
taken on the Earl of Lincoln's death (1310), he paid 14«.
lOrf. yearly for them.
I have not seen it mentioned in a printed authority that
any religious house had land here ; but in Hopkinson's
MSS. there is, in an account of knights' fees in the Honor
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CLAYTON. 335
of Pontefract, 29th Edward the second^ the following entry :
" John de Brerley for one carucate of land in Clayton in
'^ Bradford-dale^ of the fee of Byland ;" so that this caru-
cate was held of Byland Abbey. In Kirkby's Inquest Jordan
de Birill is stated to hold ten oxgangs here ; and in the In-
quisition of 1310^ this land merely paid a trifle of free or
quit-rent^ — a strong presumption, coupled with the entry in
Hopkinson^ that this was abbey land.
In Barnard's Survey, 1577, John Lacy (lord of Horton)
is stated to have the manor. That survey shews that the
land which had belonged to William Clayton and Jordan de
Birill had come to the Bowlings, and thence to the Tempests.
From the Lacies of Cromwellbotham the manor came to
the Midgleys. Mrs. Martha Midgley was lady of it the lat-
ter end of last century. The late Miss Jowett possessed it
at her death.
The soil of Clayton is based upon a substratum of clay,
from which circumstance doubtless the name arose. At no
very remote period, it is apparent, much the larger part lay
open and unenclosed ; and even now the old oxgang land
in it may with tolerable accuracy be pointed out.
The greater part of the inhabitants are hand-loom weavers.
There is no Episcopal place of worship here ; but steps are
in the course of being taken to rear a church at or near
Clayton.
The Baptists have a chapel here, built in 1830 ; and the
Wesleyan Methodists one, reared in 1806.
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THORNTON.
This place^ at the time of the Conquest, also belonged to
the manor of Bolton, and was surveyed under that head in
Doomsday Record. It is there spelled " Torenton."
I apprehend there is no difficulty in the etymology of
the name, but that at the time it was given, the locality was
covered with brushwood or thorns. Ton is a very common
termination of the names of places in England.
Long before the passing of the statute " Quia Emptores,**
in the reign of Edward the first, a family bearing the name
of Thornton held large quantities of land here ; and thus
obtained the privileges of a manor.
Although Thornton, along with Bolton, was given to the
Lacies, yet it appears from the Hundred Rolls that the
former had been taxed, and service owing for it to the King,
and that Edmund de Lacy appropriated the village of Thorn-
ton to himself.
The first of the Thorntons, lord of Thornton, I have seen
mentioned, is Hugh Thornton, who was living in the time of
Henry the second, and had issue, Thomas and John.
The former married Isolda, daughter and heir of William
Preston, lord of Kellington, who bore him two daughters,
his co-heirs. Matilda married Robert of Horton, and In-
scella married, first Hugh, lord of Broadcroft, and secondly,
Sir Roger Calverley, alias, Scott of Calverley.
John, the second son and heir of Hugh, and heir male of
his brother Thomas, had issue,
Walter, who had is>sue,
Roger, a witness to a grant to Byland Abbey of laud iu
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THORNTON. 337
Denholme, about 1230. He was also, says Wilson, witness
to a deed of gift of land to Kirkstall Abbey, in 1248. The
witnesses to conveyances of property were then men of the
greatest note in the neighbourhood. This is quite apparent
to any one who has perused old charters. Roger had issue,
Thomas, who was a man of considerable property. To
shew the value of money in his day it may be mentioned,
that in 1288 he mortgaged the fourth part of the village of
Barkisland for three marks and forty pence, with a condition
that unless repaid in six years ^t should be forfeited, and the
condition was not fulfilled.* He had also the manor of
EUand.* In Kirkby's Inquest, he is stated to hold two caru-
cates of land in Thornton, where twenty made a knight's fee.
He had a son, Thomas, who is returned lord of Thornton
and AUerton in the Nom. Vill. of 1316. He had also the
fourth part of Stainland. He had a son,
Roger, whose daughter married Robert Boiling, lord of
Boiling, and her father levied a fine in the 22nd of Edward
the second, whereby Thornton manor and the other posses-
sions of the Thorntons passed into the hands of the Bollings.f
On the death of Tristram Boiling, its last lord of that
name, the manor was valued at £7 13s, Ad.
From the time of the above-mentioned marriage, the de-
scent of the manor is the same as that of Boiling until about
the year 1620, when Sir Richard Tempest sold the manor of
Thornton to Watmough.
A branch of the Thorntons continued to reside at Thorn-
ton, and had considerable possessions there, long after the
manor passed out of the family. At length William, one of
this branch, in 1424 married Matilda, daughter of William
Tyersal of Tyersal, and removed thither, from whom des-
cended Richard Thornton, Esquire, the learned Recorder
• Watson's Hall/ax, under Uie heads « Barkisland," " EUand."
t This descent of the Thornton family is taicen, with additions, from Wi]son*s
MSS.» in Leeds Library.
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338 THORNTON.
of Leeds, and friend of Thoresby. There is little doubt
that the Thorntons late of Birks-hall, were descendants of
this Tyersal branch.
In the Court Rolls of Thornton manor, John Watmough,
a minor, is stated to be lord in 1630. It was sold before
1638 to the Midgleys, as at that time John M idgley is men-
tioned in those Rolls as lord. I have not seen any such
Court Rolls, nor do I know that any Manor Courts were
held here after this date. It seems from the Court Rolls I
have perused, that Thornton .moors supplied a large portion
of the fuel consumed by the inhabitants of the surrounding
neighbourhood, and pains are laid to prevent turf being got-
ten on those moors by any but the inhabitants of Thornton.
In 1703, Josias Midgley, of Headley near Thornton, had
the manor ; and in that year he and his son William Midg-
ley, (who was curate of Sowerby, and died there in 1706,)
mortgaged it.
In 1715 it was conveyed by Josias Midgley, along with
the Headley estate, to John Cockcroft of Bradford, attorney.*
In 1746 a moiety of the manor, along with Headley, was
purchased by John Stanhope, Esq., who married Barbara,
daughter of Cockcroft. In the Stanhope family it is now
vested.
The Hortons, previous to the purchase by Stanhope,
bought the other moiety ; it has descended with Horton
manor to Captain Rhyss.
In an Inquisition taken the 18th of Henry the seventh, it is
stated that Thornton manor was held of the Abbey of Sawley.
In no other place have I seen this statement repeated, and I
can give no opinion as to its correctness. Sawley Abbey was
founded by the Lacies, and they endowed it with the greater
part of its possessions.
• In the cbancel of Bradfonl Church there Is a hatchment with the amis of Cock-
croft and Femod ; he married Ann, daughter of Robert Ferrand of Hardeo-grai^e,
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THORNTON. 339
The viUage of Thornton has almost been rebuilt within
the last few years. It lies high on the southern slope of the
valley, and is unsheltered and ungraced by trees. Indeed
the whole township, with the exception of that part about
Leventhorp, and a few other sheltered spots, is unpicturesque
bald moorland, which has not been long enclosed. An act
of parliament for enclosing the moors and waste lands of
Thornton, was obtained in the 10th of George the third.
Thornton-hall is a large square building, close to the
chapel, seemingly of the period of the first James. Elkanah
Horton, Esquire, a barrister, (son of Joshua of Sowerby,)
resided here in the beginning of last century, and since his
day it has, along with a moiety of the manor, continued in
the Horton family. Though a great part of it is now inhabited
by cottagers, it has once been a place of considerable note.
Leventhorp-hall, a square double-roofed building, with large
windows, was once the residence of a considerable family
in these parts. The Leventhorps, as before mentioned,
were lords of Horton, and along with that manor Leven-
thorp estate went to the Lacies by marriage. According
to an inquisition taken on the death of Alice, the wife
of John Lacy, she died possessed of the manor of Leven-
thorp. I have never seen it thus described except in this
inquisition, but it is at present a reputed manor. Leventhorp
mill was anciently a fulling-mill, and is so described in this
inquisition.
At Hole-Ing there is an old house with the initials and
year '^T. L. and E. L. 1588" upon a stone in the building.
I have not been able to make out what family the initial L.
was intended for, but it is not improbable the building was
the residence of one of the Leventhorps.
At Hedley, or Headley,* there is a fine old mansion in the
Elizabethan style, with large and curiously-leaded windows
and oak wainscotting. The western wing bears the inscrip-
• As the name implW, it U seated on a head of land, or bill.
2 w
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340 THORNTON.
tion, " Wm. Midgley, 1589." Over the porch on the eastern
part (which appears to have been added to the other), '^ J. M.
1604." Headley was for several generations the residence of
a branch of the Midgleys. llie estate descended with a
moiety of the manor of Thornton to the Stanhopes.
I should have received pleasure in minutely describing
these and the other old mansions in the parish, but I have
neither time nor space for the purpose.
There is at the western end of Thornton chapel this inscrip-
tion, (partly obliterated,) in characters of the early part of
the seventeenth century, " This Chappell was builded by
" Freemason in the yeare of our Lorde 1612."
I presume that no chapel of ease stood here before. The
structure is thus noticed in the Parliamentary Survey of 1655:
— '^ lliornton chappell is distant three myles from its parish
^^ church, and further from any other church or chappell.
" Mr. Jeremiah Maston, a constant and faithful mynister,
" is pastor there, whose salarye is arbitrarye." The parlia-
mentary commissioners then recommended that it should be
made a parish church, and endowed with a sufficient main-
tenance for a '^ preaching mynister."
On the passing of the Act of Uniformity, Mr. Josepii
Dawson was the minister, and was ejected.
llie chapel is dedicated to St. James. On the 9th of May,
1759, a faculty was obtained to erect the gallery. On the
26th of June, 1818, a faculty was also obtained to re*build
part of the chapel, re-roof it, and erect the cupola. The
chapel has since been considerably altered and repaired. It
has seats for six hundred persons.
The curacy, of which the vicar of Bradford is patron, is
valued according to the parliamentary return at £155. About
£7 per annum was settled upon the curate by John Sunder-
land, Esquire. The living was augmented in 1760 with
£200, by parliamentary grant; in 1766 with other £200, to
meet a benefaction of £200 from John Stanhope, Esquire ;
in 1802 with £200, on the like sum being given by John
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THORNTON. 341
Scholefield Firth, Esquire ; and in 1821 with another £200,
by parliamentary grant by lot.
There is a glebe house, which in 1818 was returned as fit
for residence : it has since been returned unfit.
The registers commence in 1678.
The Nonconformists had one of their earliest chapels at
the outskirts of Thornton, it was called " Kippin* chapel,"
or as Joseph Lister, in his Memoirs, styled it " the church
at Kippin."t It was endowed with land and houses worth
about £30 a year. The chapel stood, says tradition, on the
site of a barn at the western extremity of Thornton village.
The house which adjoins this bam to the west is yet called
" Kippin." In the garden there are three yew trees of great
antiquity. The Independents now enjoy the endowment.
The chapel at Kippin was, about 1770, deserted, and one
built in the village.
The Wesleyans have a chapel here, built in 1824.
A great part of Denholme^ once belonged to Byland Ab-
bey. In Burton^s Mon. Ebor. I find the following : " Hugh,
" son of Robert de Horton, gave to Byland Abbey, in free
" alms, the fourth part of Denholme, between Subden brook
^* and Akenclough, and between Denholme brook and the
" boundaries between Oxenhope and Denholme, (except the
" Park or enclosure of Depeker, and the closes of Roger de
" Thornton,) and the boundaries of Depeker towards the
*' south and the nearer wood towards the north, where from
'' the Hare Heved as the Dambsike falls to the great brook
• Is Kippin a corruption of '' Cockham" mentioned in Barnard's Survey as being
a bamlet attached to Thornton.
t See Lister's Memoin for a further account of Kippin-cbapel. It may be worth
a passing notice, that Lister is buried in Thornton chapel-yard, where a grave-stone
marks the spot.
X Dene, in the &ixon language, signifies a valley. Holme, generally means land
enclosed by water.
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342 THORNTON.
'^ which runs under Denholme." To this charter William
de Middleton, sheriff of Yorkshire, and Roger de Thornton
were witnesses. This circumstance fixes the date pretty
correctly, as Middleton was sheriff in 1239.
Another one-fourth of Denholme was given to Byland
Abbey by William Scott (alias, Calverley) of Calverley, by
these bounds : — '^ the boundaries between Denholme and
*^ Oxhope, going by the middle of Wyggeschaghe — and
*^ stretching as far as Akenclove, and so by the middle of
" Akenclove till you come to Denholme brook."
From the expression " Park," in the exceptive part of the
grant by Hugh de Horton, I presume that the germ of Den-
holme Park was formed long before the day of the Tempests
of Boiling — contrary to the opinion of Dr. Whitaker. At
the Dissolution, this land and other possessions in this quar-
ter belonging to Byland Abbey, were granted by King Henry
the eighth to Sir Richard Tempest.
During the day of the Tempests the park was several miles
in compass, well stocked with red deer, and divided into the
low (or doe) park, and high park. A considerable portion of
the park waU yet remains. There is a current tradition in
the neighbourhood, which I shall neither contradict nor con-
firm, that this wall was built so anciently that the labourers
had a penny a day, or a peck of meal, for their work. In
the palmy days of the spirited Tempests of BoUing-hall,
what scenes have been witnessed in Denholme Park, when
the owners with their guests and large retinues, enjoyed
the pleasures of the chace. An old inhabitant of Denholme
states, that it is a tradition that Denholme-gate was in an-
cient times the great entrance to its park. Another principal
entrance to it yet remains — Thorn-gate. I am unable to say
whether the modem name, Cullingworth-gate, has any rela-
tion to an ancient gate to the park. I have never seen any
notice of the time when the park was parcelled out. It was
probably immediately after the wreck of the fortune of the
Tempests of Boiling, in the early part of the 17th century.
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THORNTON. 343
The manorial rights of Denholme are vested in the free-
holders.
The district of Denholme is composed of numerous deans
or doughs^ intersecting high moorland. The soil of some
of these little dells is good, and they present in some parts
pleasing scenery ; the rest is bleak and uninviting.
Denholme is a straggling moorland village of considerable
population. A mechanics' institute was established here in
1837. Several denominations of Christians have places of
worship at Denholme.
In the Report of the Commissioners of Charities there is
a full account of the charities in this township, which I
transcribe. —
THE SCHOOL.
This scbuol is under the direction of trustees, chosen from the
inhabitants of the chapelry, the number of them at present being
twelve.
The school was established by subscription, and is endowed with
lands in Bradford and Thornton, settled near the time the school
was founded, by George Ellis and Samuel Sunderland, for the main-
tenance of a school-master to teach children of the inhabitants of
Thornton and Allerton, in Latin and English ; and the endowment
has been augmented with an allotment of land in Thornton, pur-
chased by the trustees, with money in their hands, and with an
annual sum of two pounds paid in respect of a farm and lands called
Leventhorp-mill, in Thornton, the property of Thomas Barstow,
and an annuity of twenty shillings given by Thomas Sagar, in or
about the year 1672, out of an estate called AUerton -grange, now
the property of William Rawson, Esquire.
The following is an account of the above-mentioned settled estates
belonging to this school : —
A school-house lately rebuilt with money in the hands of the trus-
tees and subscriptions.
A house and 18a. Or. 26p. of land in Thornton, called Wilcock
Royd, in the occupation of the school-master, of the value of £20
or thereabouts.
Two allotments in Thornton, containing 8a. 3r. 36p., in the occu-
pation of — Bairstow, at the rent of <£8.
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344 THORNTON.
A messuage and buildings and 7a. 3r. 4 p. of land at Labter-dyke,
in tbe occupation of A. Roberts^ at the yearly rent of £15 I5s.
The master of the school, who Ls appointed by the trustees, re-
ceives the annual rents and profits of the estates, after the deductions
for necessary repairs^ and the rent-charge of two pounds a year.
The rent-chorge of twenty shillings a year out of Allerton-graoge
estate has not been paid for several years, and the estate was lately
purchased by Mr. Rawson, without notice of the charge, but he ha.4
undertaken to pay the. arrears of the annuity from the time of his
purchase.
The school has always been conducted as a free school, for instruc-
tion in Latin and English of the children of the inhabitants of tbe
chapelry, by masters properly qualified ; but of late there has not
been much demand for instruction in Latin. The sum of one shilling
a quarter is paid by each scholar for general instruction in reading*
and a quarterage fixed by the trustees is also paid for instruction
in each of the following several branches of learning, viz. — writing,
arithmetic, and mensuration.
The school is attended by about eighty-five children, of whom
about seven are taught Latin.
sagar's charity.
James Sagar, by will, dated fifteenth of February, 1665, de-
vised to two trustees and their heirs, a close called Randal- well
Close, situate in Horton, near Bradford, upon trust, out of the
rents and profits to pay twenty shillings yearly to the minister of
Thornton chapel, and to divide and bestow the residue thereof among
the most needful poor within the chapelry.
New trustees have been appointed from time to Umc, but Che
number of them has been increased, and the estate now belonging to
the charity was conveyed to twelve trustees in 1826.
The Randal- well close was let in 1821 for eight pounds a year,
being the full annual value on a yearly letting ; but being of great
value as building-ground, it was lately exchanged, under, the authori-
ty and in the manner directed by the act of the 1st and 2nd Geo. 4,
c. 92, for certain closes with farm buildings thereon at Clayton West,
in the parish of Bradford, containing thirty days* work, or twenty
acres of land, and that property is now let to Jonas Wilkinson from
year to year at £50 per annum, the full annual value ; but as the
land in Clayton was more than a just equivalent, it became necessary
to pay the difference of the value in money, to be rai^^ed out of iho
rents and profits of the land at Clayton, and at the lime of thi^*
enquiry there remained due from the charity estate the sum of £50,
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THORNTON. 345
The yearly sum of 20s, has been regularly paid to the roiDister,
but in consequence of the debt incurred on the occ&sion of the ex-
change, and the expenses attending the conveyance of the land at
Clayton to the trustees, there has not of late years been any distri-
bution of the surplus rents. It is intended, however, as soon as the
debt is discharged, to distribute the surplus in the manner the surplus
rents of the Randal-well close was distributed, viz., among poor persons
of the several townships or hamlets in the chapel ry not receiving
regular parochial relief, one fifth being apportioned for each township
or hamlet.
It may be a question whether the proceedings under the act, so
far at least as respects the money paid for compensation, were strictly
regular, but we have found no reason to suppose that the permanent
interests of the charity were not duly attended to and maintained.
The following rent-charges have, at different times, been anciently
given for charitable purposes, viz. —
Miss Midgley gave a rent-charge of 10^. a year out of a farm in
Thornton, now belonging to Joseph Thwaites; 6s, Sd, out of Upper
Headley estate, now belonging to Isaac Wood ; and 3s. Ad, out of
Doe-park, now belonging to the devisees of E. W. Buck, Esquire,
to the minister of Thornton chapel, for sermons on the afternoon of
Christmas Day and the morning of St. John the Evangelist's Day.
An unknown donor gave to the master of Thornton school a yearly
rent-charge of £2 out of Leventhorp-mill estate, belonging to T.
Bars tow.
The sum of one pound a year is paid to the minister, and the
other sums are paid to the master of Thornton school, and of a
township school in Wilsden,
There are in the township of Thornton numerous excellent
slate quarries, and at these and the loom most of the in-
habitants are employed.
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HAWORTR
Wr have now reached the western limits of the parish of
Bradford, where a wide expanse of desolate moors, unbroken
by cultivation, divide the counties of York and Lancaster.
Dr. Whitaker justly observes that Haworth is the very coun-
terpart of Heptonstal ; the site of both is cold, barren, and
difficult of access ; and both lie embedded in the moors
between the two counties.
There are few places in England which present such a
striking example of the mastery of man over the most in-
tractable, barren, and inhospitable spots. By dint of great
and unremitting labour for centuries, every patch of land
in the chapelry of Haworth capable of being redeemed from
the desolate waste, has been rendered comparatively pro-
ductive. The alluvial land of the numerous small valleys
and dells which intersect the moorlands of Haworth, having
received great attention from the hand of the husbandman ,
are abundantly rich. From the earliest times the inhabitants
of Haworth have been a race of manufacturers or weavers ;
and in an eminent degree, in earlier days, the small estates
into which this district was divided belonged to the occupiers,
who thus had, from ownership, occupation, and the wealth
accruing from manufactures, three inducements to cultivate
with care every corner of their small family estates.
At the Conquest, Haworth was very probably one of the
seven unnamed berewicks dependent upon and surveyed under
Bradford manor. It was created the latest of all the manors
in the parish, and may, with the most propriety, be called a
mesne manor, dependent upon Bradford.
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HA WORTH. 347
In Kirkby's Inquest, 24th of Edward the first, it is stated
that GeoflFrey de Haworth, Roger de Manningham, and Alice
de Bercroft, held in Haworth four oxgangs of land, where
twenty-four carucates made a fee.
The Inquisition taken on the Earl of Lincoln's death also
shews that the family of the Haworths held land here ; but
the small quantity mentioned in this and in Kirkby's Inquest,
renders it very probable that little was at that time redeemed
from the waste.
In 1316, Haworth was an adjunct to Bradford, and the
same lord is returned for it as Bradford in the Nomina Vil-
larum of that year. There is good reason, however, for
believing that shortly after it was silently severed from Brad-
ford manor, or openly by some express grant carved from it ;
as, in the Inquisition taken on the Earl of Derby's death,
it is not mentioned along with Manningham and Stanbury
as part of Bradford manor.
However this happened, Haworth, before 1577, had become
a mesne manor. I may mention here, once for all, that very
numerous manors anciently arose without any express grant
from the paramount lord ; but those persons who held large
tenures, and subgranted their possessions to numerous te-
nants, either in base or free tenure, found it necessary to
hold courts for the better government of these tenants and
the internal management of their estates ; and thus, by slow
degrees, manorial rights were obtained in the localities com-
prised in the great tenures.
Barnard's Survey (1577) shews that the land held by the
Haworths, and to which the manor had become appendant,
afterwards descended to the Rushworths, and was then in
the hands of one of them.
From this time I find no trace of the descent of the manor
till 1671, when Nicholas Bladen, of the Inner Temple,
London, Esq., (who appears from the conveyance to have
obtained the property from Martin Birkhead of Wakefield,)
2 X
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348 HAWORTH.
sold the manors of Haworth and Harden to William Midglej
of Haworth, and Joseph, his son, for £80.
In 1690, this Joseph Midgley settled these manors apoo
himself for life, remainder to his brothers, Thomas and Wil-
liam, and the survivor. In 1723 the manor was in the hand
of David Midgley, of West-nest-head, in Haworth, who
devised it to his cousin Joseph, son of William Midgley of
Oldfield, near Keighley.
From Joseph Midgley, a descendant of the last-named
Joseph, the devisees in trust under the will of Benjamin
Ferrand, Esquire, of St. Ives, purchased in 1811, for £4100,
arising out of the sale of wood of the St. Ives estate,
the manors of Haworth and Harden, together with some
closes of land called Stanbury Carrs. There was a Chancery
suit respecting the completion of the purchase.
By virtue of this purchase, Edward Ferrand, Elsquire, te-
nant in tail of the St. Ives estate, became lord of the manor
of Haworth ; now Mrs. Sarah Ferrand, the next tenant in
tail, is Lady of it.
There is some difficulty as to the original meaning of the
first syllable in ** Haworth.'' If it were considered as a
corruption of " High," it would agree with the situation of
the village, which is seated on a bleak and elevated spot
There are two other derivations from which the syllable
^* Ha" may come, viz., from Ea, Saxon for water, or Hay
or Haighy a hedge. The first derivation seems the most
probable one. fVorth generally means a farm or cultivated
spot.
Oxenhope lies in a narrow vaUey to the south-west of
Haworth. Hope, in the ancient speech of our ancestors,
denoted a narrow valley. As to the prefix Oxen, I have no
other etymology for it than the vulgar one.
At the time of the Conquest, Oxenhope, along with
Haworth, was most likely an adjunct to Bradford manor.
In Kirkby*s Inquest, 24th of Edward the first, William
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HAWoaTH. 349
de Horton held in Oxenhope four oxgangs of land, and
William de Clayton four oxgangs, where twenty-four caru-
cates made a knight's fee.
In the interval to IS??, manorial rights had attached to
the four oxgangs of William de H(Nrtony mis-spelled Heton
in Barnard's Survey, as the Eltofts, who succeeded to those
four oxgangs, are then returned lords.
From a conveyance of the manor of Thornton, about 1700,
I perceive that four shillings yearly was payable out of Ox-
enhope to Thornton manor. How this payment arose I have
no knowledge.
Joseph Greenwood, Esquire, of Spring-head, is now lord
of the manor of Oxenhope.
Stanbury is seated upon the very pinnacle of a precipitous
hill, weU cultivated to the summit. The village, interspersed
with trees, strongly contrasts with the naked appearance of
the surrounding country.
Stane or Stonyburgh, seems to have been the original
name : from the termination bury or burgh,* it is not im-
probable that some fortification stood here in ancient days.
I strongly suspect, but have not had time to make sufficient
inquiries on the subject, that here was a small station on the
Roman way which ran from Calunio (Colne) to some of the
stations to the east and south of Bradford.
From the Conquest to the present, Stanbury has remained
part and parcel of the manor of Bradford. It is now impos-
sible to say by what strange caprice a place eleven miles
distant from Bradford, and separated from the manor eight
miles, should, notwithstanding the subinfeudation of all the
places in the parish with the exception of it and Manning-
ham, still continue through the lapse of seven centuries con-
nected with Bradford manor.
Anciently, nearly all the inhabitants of Stanbury were
* In the Saxoiii Burgh siip^nifted a fortified place.
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350 HAWORTH.
nativiy or bondmen of the manor of Bradford. Till within
the last one hundred years^ a large portion of the land in
Stanbury was copyhold ; since then, by enfranchisement,
some has become freehold, and more from neglect of the
lord.
In 1805, a school for teaching the English language, wri-
ting, and arithmetic, to all children and young persons above
the age of six years, residing within either Stanbury or
Haworth, was established at Stanbury. A dwelling-house
for the master, and a school-room, were erected by voluntary
subscription ; and the sum of £600 secured upon the tolls
and duties of the Leeds and Liverpool canal navigation, was
assigned by Mr. John Holmes, as a provision for the master.
The trustees of the old Baptist chapel are trustees also of
this school.
From a remote period the district comprised within the
chapelry has been termed Haworth parish. The chapel or
church of Haworth deserves a particular notice, — ^more espe-
cially as a claim to antiquity has been set up on its behalf
exceeding that of all other churches and chapels in this part
of the kingdom. Dr. Whitaker, in his " Loidis," after
merely naming lliomtou and Wibsey chapels, thus pro-
ceeds : —
'' Haworth alone is prior, and not long prior, to the Refor-
" mation ; a tremendous anachronism indeed, if we are to
*' believe a modern inscription near the steeple : — Hie fuit
** Coenobium Monachorum Auteste fundatore anno Christi
'^ sexcentessimo, — that is, before the preaching of Chris-
*^ tianity in Northumbria.* The origin of this strange mis-
• It is a well BiceriaiMd fact Uiat Uie first Chriitian miarioDaiy oame loto Nor>
tbumbria (all tb««e northero parts were so called) in the reign of Edwin the Gi«at,
about 730. The name of this miMonaiy wa^i Paulinm. Of coune monasteries wvre
of much later errction hereabouts.
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HAWORTH. 351
'^apprehension is visible on an adjoining stone: — Orate pro
" bono statu Eutest' Tod, in the character of Henry the
" 8th's time. Now every antiquary knows that this formu-
" lary of prayer, * pro bono statu,* always refers to the living.
'^ I suspect this singular Christian name has been mistaken
" by the stone-cutter for Austat, a contraction of Eustatius ;
'' but the word ' Tod,' which has been misread for the Arabic
'^ numerals 600, is perfectly fair and legible. I suspect,
" however, that some minister of the church has committed
'^ the two-fold blunder, first, of assigning to the place this
^' absurd and impossible antiquity ; and secondly, from the
" common form, * Orate pro bono statu,' of inferring the
" existence here of a monastery.
" But hce nugce seria ducunt in mala ; for ignorance, as
'^ often happens, opened the door to strife.
" On the presumption of this foolish claim to antiquity
" the people would needs set up for independence, and con-
'^ test the right of the vicar to nominate a curate. The
" chapel itself bears every mark of the reign of Henry the
'^ eighth, but has some peculiarities, as ex. gr., only two
'^ aisles, a row of columns up the middle, and three windows
" at the east end, one opposite to the columns."
On this text of Dr. Whitaker I shall engraft these obser-
vations : — The modem inscription at the west end of the
chapel near the steeple, is as follows : —
Hie olim fuit Monachonim,
Ccenobium ad Honoreni,
Sancti Micbaelii, et onioium
Angelorum Dicatum ;
Auteste Fondatore Anno Christi
Sesoenteaimo.
The other inscription which seems to have either given rise
or been considered as countenancing this fabulous antiquity,
is on a stone in the south side of the steeple. This inscription
appears, from its freshness, to have been either re-chiselled,
or else altogether re-copied from a more ancient stone. It is
placed under a stone bearing arms of which I can only deci-
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352 HAWORTH.
pher a bend and a cross saltier on the lower part. A trans*
lation of it is inscribed on a modern stone placed in juxta-
position. The following is a correct copy of both: —
(fitrate 9 6ono Pray for y«
J^tattt ffnteilt SouL of
()(S> jfti^^— 600
llie translation of " Statu" into '^Soul/' gave rise to the
just observation of Dr. Whitaker, that the words ** bono
statu/' always refer to the " good state" of the living, and
not the dead ; and every novice in these matters knows that
this is perfectly correct. The whole of the inscription
is quite plain, and it is wonderful how the letters of the
last word should have been construed as numerals. I give
the exact form of the letters in " Tod."
The absurdity had evidently its rise long before the date
of the modem inscription ; for in the inside of the chapel
against the steeple, is chiselled in stone, in italic characters
of about two centuries since, as well as I can judge —
'' This Steeple and the little Bell were
" made in the year of our Lord 600."
I had some curiosity, and mounted into the belfry to see
this little bell. I found on it, " Deo altissimis 1664." I am
unable to reconcile these inconsistencies on any other groand
than by supposing this inscription is merely the copy of a
former one.
The assertion in the modern inscription, that a monastery
stood here, is on a level with the ridiculous antiquity assign*
ed to a chapel at Haworth.
The lower part of the steeple bears, I think, marks of being
long prior to the day of Henry the eighth ; and although
the body of the chapel has been thoroughly modemiied, yet
the two eastern windows which remain, and are of the style of
that on the south side of the chancel of Bradford Church,
and the pillars, evince the structure to have been erected
before the reign of Henry the seventh.
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HAWORTH. 353
The jtist claim of the chapel at Ha worth to great antiqui-
ty, has, by reason of the preposterous assertion before al-
luded to^ been overlooked. On account of the remoteness of
the place from any known church of the Saxon or early Nor-
man period, it is highly probable that a field-kirk, oratory, or
small place of worship^ would be erected in the earliest times
for the convenience of the inhabitants. We have, however,
independently of this probability, a positive fact that there
was a chapel here at a remote period. When I was search-
ing the Archbishops' Registers at York, I saw, under the
date of 1317^ a decree that the rector and the vicar of Brad-
ford, and the freeholders of Haworth, should pay to the curate
of Haworth chapel^ the pension due to him^ in the propor-
tions to which from ancient times they were liable. From
the decree, it seems that this payment had been discontinued.
Haworth was anciently within the parish of Dewsbury, and
as part of the fee of the Lacies^ was naturally included in
Bradford parish on its separation from Dewsbury.
There was undoubtedly a chantry in Haworth chapel, for
in the eleventh year of the reign of Edward the third, an
Inquisition, €Ld qtiod dampnum, was taken by Roger de
Thornton and eleven others, whereby they returned, '' that
*^ it would not be to the damage of the King, if permission
^' were given to Adam de Batteley to give and assign one mes-
** suage, seven acres of land, and twenty shillings rent, with
'^ the appurtenances in Haworth, to a certain chaplain, in
'' augmentation of his support, to celebrate divine service
'' for the soul of the same Adam, and the souls of his ances-
^* tors, and all the faithful deceased, in the chapel of St. Mi-
" chael at Haworth, every day ; and the jurors returned that
*^ the messuage and three acres and a half of the land were
" held of William de Clayton by knight's service, of Queen
" Philippa, as of the Honor of Pontefract, and the remainder
*^ of the land was held immediately of the same Honor."
This Adam had two other names, Adam de Copley,
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354 HAWORTH.
and Adam de Oxenhope. His family seems to have been
settled at Oxenhope, as he is called the oftenest by the latter
name, and by it founded a chantry in Batley church.* He
was lord of the manor of Batley, which in the Inq. ad quod
dampnum is mentioned to be, clear of all issues, worth yearly
£10. From the words '^ in augmentation/' it may be inferred
that there was, previously to this, a chantry in Haworth
chapel, and that the two were conjoined. The three and a
half acres were part of the four oxgangs returned in Kirkby's
Inquest as belonging to William de Clayton, lliis inquisition
discloses that the Queen of Edward the third was then in pos-
session of the Honor of Pontefract.
On the Dissolution of Chantries, in the reign of Edward
the sixth, this property was alienated by the Crown.
In the Parliamentary Survey of 1655 there is this entry—
" Haworth chappell is distant from its parish church seaven
"myles. Mr. Robert Towne is mynister there, being a
'^ constant preacher of God's word, and hath for his sallarye
*^ twenty-seaven pounds thirteene shillings and foure pence p.
" ann., arysing out of lands allotted for that use." And the
commissioners then recommended that it should be made a
parish church.
How these lands were allotted to the minister I have no
knowledge. I find, however, the following in Archbishop
Sharp's MSS. — " The curate of Haworth is nominated by
" the vicar of Bradford, in conformity to the choice of the
'^ freeholders, and particularly the trustees of lands heretofore
'' purchased for the augmentation of the curacy, and at their
" instance and request." Probably the ancient pension due
from the rector and vicar of Bradford, and the freeholders of
Haworth, had by consent been commuted, and these lands
purchased in its stead.
• He teems, from tbe tenns of Uie endowmeot, to have been related to tbi*
Thorntons, as tbe chaplain was, among other things, to pray for tbe souU of Tbomw
de Thornton and EUen his wife, /or all whote gootls he had ill goitem, and for tbe
souls of the faithful departed. This Adam died possessed of land in Haworth.
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HA WORTH. 355
The right of the freeholders and trustees to chuse a minis-
ter, to be appointed by the vicar of Bradford, has, since the
day of Archbishop Sharp, been lost, for the vicar now ap-
points the curate of his own accord. Previous to the induc-
tion of the present curate, a gentleman was appointed who
did not meet with the approbation of the inhabitants of
Haworth. The ludicrous but effectual means which they
took to expel him, are not within my province to allude to
more particularly.
In 1754, the chapel having become dilapidated, and the
money necessary for the repairs having been raised under
a brief, a faculty was granted on the 17th of June, 1755,
by the authority of which the chapel was enlarged, and re-
paired and pewed. Another faculty was obtained on the
29th of July, 1779, to erect the gallery.
The pews on the ground floor are of old black oak. The
chapel contains sittings for one thousand persons. The
monuments in it are few and not worthy of notice. There
is an organ. In the tower are three bells, but they are not
noted for their musical qualities. The registers commence
in 1645.
The perpetual curacy is worth £170 a year. There is a
good glebe house. The Rev. Patrick Bronte, B. A., is the
present curate.
The Rev. Wm. Grimshaw, the great apostle of Methodism
in these parts, held the curacy of Haworth for twenty years.
He was born near Preston, in Lancashire ; at eighteen years
of age, admitted at Christ's College, Cambridge ; in 1742,
inducted to Haworth curacy, and died there April 7th, 1762,
aged fifty-five. For fifteen years he used to preach fifteen,
twenty, and sometimes thirty times a week.*
The Baptists formed one of their first settlements in the
West- Riding at Haworth. In 1752 they erected a chapel
• See Wesley '« Jounial for other partkulais.
2 Y
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356 HAWORTH.
here^ and enlarged it in 1775. It is endowed with property
yielding about £15 a year. The Baptists increased so
rapidly, that in 1825 they built another chapel, at a cost of
about £2000. The Wesleyans have a large chapel at Ha-
worth, built about 1758, and since enlarged.
The following is extracted from the Commissioners of
Charities' Report : —
TUB FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
Christopher Scott, by will, dated fourth of October, 13lh of
Charles the first, gave a 9chooI -house, which he had built on groood
adjoining the church-way, with an annuity of eighteen pounds a year,
purchased of one Cockcroft and one Murgalroyd, which he desired
might be, if it was not then already, vested in eighteen or twelve
feoffees at the least, to be chosen of the chief men of the parish of
Haworth, for and towards the maintenance of a school-master, abic
and willing to teach his scholars Greek and Latin in such a manner
that they might be fit for either of the Universities of Oxford oi
Cambridge ; and he desired to have the schoolmaster chosen out of
the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge by all the voices of the
feoffees, or at lca-<t the greater part of them, whereof he willed that
his brothers' heirs should have a double voice ; and he would have
such a one that was a graduate at the least, or bachelor, if not a
master of arts, and if there were any that should stand to have the
place which should be of his blood, and a sufficient scholar in manner^
and learning, he desired that he should be chose before another ;
and if the master should become negligent and of evil report, it
should be lawful for all the feoffees, or the greater part of thero» to
expel him and make choice of another more worthy ; and be gave to
the poor within the parish of Haworth, for ever, the residae of an
annuity which was purchased of Murgatroyd, which was forty shil-
lings by the year, be that more or less, to be distributed among them
at Easter and Christinas.
It appears by a deed, dated eighth of January, 1665, that the
property thereby conveyed to new trustees of the school, consisted
of the six perches of land on which the school was built ; a c)<xe
called Mytholme, occupied as three closes; and an annuity of
fourteen pounds, payable by Cockcroft, but no mention is made in
the deed of annuity of six or four pounds a year payable by Mur*
gatroyd. It is probable, therefore, that the land at Mytholmo w««
received in lieu of that annuity.
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HAWORTH. 357
It appears by a deed, dated 28th of October, 1691 , that Thomas
Cockcroft paid to the feoffees of the school two hundred and sixty-
five pounds, as the principal money and consideration for the annuity
of fourteen pounds a year, and that two hundred pounds, part of the
money, was placed out upon mortgage^ and sixty-five pounds, the
remainder, was lent upon bond ; and it further appears, by a deed,
dated seventeenth of August, 17 13, that the sum of one hundred and
fifteen pounds was laid out in the purchase of a messuage and certain
lands, Heyley-field, (now called High-binns,) which were conveyed
by that deed to the feoflfees.
By the last deeds of conveyance to new trustees, dated the twenty-
fourth and twenty-fifth of April, 1791, the school property was
conveyed to eighteen trustees (of whom seven are living), by the
description of a parcel of land, containing by estimation, six perches,
with a school-house thereon, near the lower end of a lane leading
to Oxenhope, and a messuage or tenement called the Mytholrae,
with the buildings and closes to the said messuage belonging, within
Haworth ; and a messuage called the Mould-greave, with the build-
ings and closes of land to the same belonging, in Oxenhope, for-
merly purchased by the feoffees of the school of Benjamin Ferrand,
Esquire ; and a messuage called the High-binns, with the buildings
and closes of land to the same belonging, in Oxenhope, fonnerly
purchased by the feoffees of one Jeremy Pearson, upon trust, to re-
ceive and employ the rents and profits towards the maintenance of an
able and painful schoolmaster of the Free Grammar School of
Haworth, qualified, elected, and lawfully licensed thereto, accor-
ding to the foundation of the school, and the meaning of the said
Christopher Scott, declared by his will ; and upon trust that when
the trustees should be reduced to the number of twelve, the survivors
should elect six other persons out of the chief men of the parish or
reputed parish or township of Haworth, and convey the premises
to the use of the surviving and new-elected feoffees.
The property of the school in its present state consists of the fol-
lowing particulars : —
A school, which was enlarged in 1818, and a house for the mas-
ter adjoining, which was erected in the same year by the trustees.
A messuage called Mytholmes, with a small barn and about ten
acres of land in Haworth, let to Thomas Sugden as yearly tenant,
at the annual rent of eighteen pounds.
A house and barn called the Mould-greave, with twelve acres of
old enclosed land, and an allotment of fourteen acres or thereabouts
let to Joseph BInns as yearly tenant, at £31 per annum ; part of the
allotment is moor-land, and not yet converted into tillage.
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358 HAWORTH.
A messuage called Higb-binns, witb a bam and about seven acre:*
of landy let to Mr. Wright as yearly tenant, at the annual rent of
nineteen pounds.
The property is let at tl»e full annual value, and the land -tax upon
the school-premises has been redeemed out of the surplas rents.
The sum of £'100 was borrowed about ten years ago for the |Hir-
pose of improving the land, building the school-house, and making
other repairs, and the further expense of building the hoose was de-
frayed with money retained out of the rent.
The salary of £60 a year is paid to the master, and the surplus
rent, £8 a year, is applied to defray the interests of the debt of £100,
the expenses of the repairs, and other expenses^ affecting the trust.
The present master, who had previously had the school at Harehill.
in the parish of Keighley, was appointed at Midsummer 1826; and
ho instructs the children of all the inhabitants of the ehapeliy of
Haworth who apply for admission, both boys and girls, in reading
writing, and arithmetic.
The master is competent to teach Latin, but he is not a graduate
of either of the Universities, and though a man of considerable at-
tainments, is not duly qualified as teacher of a grammar school ; vre
find, however, that the school has not for a long time been maintaioed
as a regular grammar school ; that there is little or no demand for the
advantages of a classical education for their children among the in-
habitants of the chapelry ; and that from the situation of the school
and the amount of the endowment, it would be difficult to support the
institution, or procure a proper master to conduct the school with
utility, according to the founder's intention as declared in his will ;
and we are induced to conclude that the trustees did the best in their
power for the charity, under all the circumstances, in the Appoint-
ment of the present master.
The master having considered himself bound to admit all scholar^
who apply to him, has about two hundred in the school, some c4
whom are extremely young, and attend to be taught the alphabet ;
he teaches them with the assistance of his son, but finds the number
of scholars much greater than he can properly instruct; it seems
right therefore, that some qualification as to the age and ability to
read of the children admitted to the school should be insisted cq,
and that in case of dispute, the applications for admission should be
made to the trustees.
kitcqin's cuarity.
By an iiidcntiiro of feoffment, dated the l^th of April, 164 4«
Abraham Kitchin conveyed unto trustees a mcs^iuage called VVhit>*
ncy-hill, and land in Far Oxcnhope, and directed that they atsd
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HAWORTH. 359
their auccessors should roceive out of the rents thereof, a 10^. yearly
rent-charge, to be paid for the use of the poor of the parish of Ha*
worth at Martinmas day. The estate belongs to Janaes Feather of
Far Oxenhope, and for thirty years previous to making the report of
the commissioners, it had not been paid ; but they intimated to
Feather the existence and nature of the charge, and the propriety of
his paying it.
midglbt's charity.
David Midgley, by his will, dated 5(h March, 1723, devised, after
the death of his wife, a messuage and thirty acres of land at Withens,
in Haworth, unto trustees, to the intent that they should yearly on
Martinmas day, out of the rents, clothe with good blue clothes and
other necessary wearing apparel, ten poor children under seven years
of age, of the township of Haworth, to be chosen by the trustees for
the time being. The property lets for about £30 per annum, and
has, since the death of Midgley, been considered as private property,
and sold as such, subject to the above said charge. The estate now
belongs to the St. Ives estate. The children are chosen by the chapel-
wardens of Haworth, with the concurrence of the owner of the estate.
The boys receive each a coat, waistcoat, and breeches, of blue cloth;
and the girls a blue cloth jacket, two petticoats, a blue cap, and a
pair of blue stockings.
On the 2nd of September, 1824, a disruption of a bog or
peat-moss at Crow -hill, on the moors to the west of Haworth,
took place. The torrent of mud was confined within a narrow
glen, and did not spread till it came to the hamlet of Ponden,
when it covered a number of corn-fields to the depth of seve-
ral feet, carried away the bridge, and did other damage.
In several of the gazetteers relating to this county, it
has been stated that George Kirton, Esquire, who died in
1764, at the age of one hundred and twenty-five years,
resided at Oxenhope, was a remarkable fox hunter, and
attended the chace on horseback till his eightieth year ; and
from that period to his one hundreth year, regularly attended
the unkennelling of the fox in his one-horse chaise. He
enjoyed his bottle freely till within ten years of his death.
I am sorry to rob Haworth parish of the honour of this man;
but I perceive from the Annual Register of 1764, that he
lived at Oxnop-hall, near Reeth, in the North-Riding.
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ALLERTON-cuM -WILSDEN.
The addition of " cum Wilsden" to the name of this manor
is comparatively modem. It anciently was termed the manor
of AUerton only ; Wilsden being merely a hamlet within it.
The notice of the manor of AUerton applies, therefore, equally
to Wilsden.
AUerton is undoubtedly derived from the circumstance of
the place anciently abounding in alders, vulgarly (and in
remote times) caUed ellers. The term " ton," arises, I
apprehend, from the circumstance of our Saxon ancestors
casting around their dwellings and tofts a ditch, and planting
a strong hedge upon it, as a protection from plunderers.
These hedges were called tuns^ or tunes, and, by a figure of
language, in time denoted the dwellings surrounded by them.
AUerton (then written Alretone) was, at the Conquest,
parcel of the manor of Bolton.
Soon after it became the property of the Thorntons. In
Kirkby's Inquest, Thomas de lliornton is mentioned to hokl
in AUerton four carucates of land where twenty made a fee,
and of which the Abbot of Byland held six oxgangs and a
half, and the Prior of Pontefract one oxgang. In 1316 thi**
Thomas de Thornton was returned lord of AUerton. After-
wards it had the same lords as Thornton manor, tiU sold by
the Tempests.
llie second Sir Richard Tempest of BoUing-hall, granted
out large portions of the waste to the freeholders at quit
rents, and did not reserve the coal and minerals. This land
is known by the name of Old Land.
During the time Richard Tempest, gentleman, held the
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ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDBN. 361
manor of Allerton, a suit was commenced in the Duchy
Court against him, at the instance of the Queen, to recover
it, on the ground of its being parcel of the manor of Brad-
ford. A decree was made in his favour in 1580. It contains
many curious particulars respecting AUerton. It appears by
this decreee, that Tempest proved that his ancestors, the
Thorntons and Boilings, held courts for the manor, and had
wardships, marriages, suits, and services appendant to it.
He shewed that Thomas Thornton, lord of AUerton, granted
land before the time of Eklward the first, to William, the
son of Alexander Pirkley ; that before 1244, William de
Dewsbury gave to Thomas, son of Roger de Thornton, his
lord, half an oxgang of land in AUerton ; that in the year
1244, the said Roger granted to the Abbot of Byland, for
ten years, all the herbage within the bounds of AUerton and
Thornton. He (Tempest) proved that in the 35th of Edward
the third, Robert Boiling held the town of AUerton of the
Duke of Lancaster, by a knight's fee and \ls. \0d. rent.
From the Court Rolls produced, it appeared that the free-
holders of AUerton, in the middle ages, did their suit and
service at the court at Thornton, which for the sake of con-
venience was held for both manors. These Court Rolls
proved that several freeholders of AUerton, particularly a
person for land at Aldersley, did suit and service to the
Thorntons and Boilings. That at a court held the 26th of
Henry the seventh, John Phillip did his fealty for a messuage
and a bove (oxgang) of land in AUerton, bolden by knight's
service, and by the further tenure " of enclosing the lord*s
orchard with a wcUl" A great number of the rents in
AUerton were anciently very smaU sums, with the addition
of roses.
In the 13th of Charles the second, the manor of AUerton
was sold by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard
Tempest, Esquire, the last of that name of BoUing-hall,
and by Edward Rodes and John Rushworth of Lincoln's Inn^
(the celebrated Puritan Rushworth,) to Henry Marsden, for
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362 ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN.
£758. It had, in 1648, been mortgaged by this Richard
Tempest to Richard Marsden, Esquire, of Pendleton, to se-
cure £500.
In 1670 an agreement being come to between Henry
Marsden of Gisbum, the lord, and thirty-five of the free-
holders in Allerton and Wilsden, large quantities of the
waste were conveyed by him to them, at one shilling an acre
yearly free rent, reserving the coal, minerals, and royalties,
and suits and services to his Court Baron. The land thus
granted out is known by the name of New Land.
The manors of Bradford and Allerton had, till 1794, the
same lords. In that year John Marsden of Hornby-castle,
Lancashire,* sold the manor of Allerton-cum- Wilsden to
Benjamin Ferrand, of St. Ives, Esquire, for £2400.
The next lord was Edward Ferrand, Enquire, of St. Ives.
Mrs. Sarah Ferrand is now lady of the manor.
The quit rents of the manor amount to about £40 a year.
The sum of two shillings and four-pence is paid to the lord as
a fealty on every descent of property in the manor by death*
or on the purchase of such property, and eight-pence for re-
lief on the descents by death.
Crosley-hall, now a mean decayed building, was for cen*
turies the residence of a family of considerable consequence
in the parish of Bradford.
Shuttleworth-hall stands on the outskirts of Fairweather-
green. It belonged to the Shuttleworths, who formerly were
owners of Bradford Soke-mill. Peter Sunderland (of the
ancient family of that name in the parish ot Halifax), who
founded the lectureship in Bradford Church, resided at it.
Allerton has within its township several other old mansions.
One of them is yet called Allerton-hall, of which I know
nothing except what is modern and not worthy of notice.
• The Mine genUeman respecting whose will there has been to much Utig«tio»
in Uie great caute " Tatham v, Wright/'
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ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN. 363
The Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem in
England, had in Allerton a manor called the manor of
Crosley. I find in a Charter Roll relating to the possessions
of the Hospitallers, taken in 1617, from the evidences kept
in St. Mary's Tower, York^ the following (translated) notice :
CROSLBIA MANOB.
Adain de Busthwait gave to the same brethren his waste grounds
of Crossland. Roger de Thornton one messuage and toft in Allreton.
Henry, son of Alec de Wilsiden, one acre of land in Wilsiden.
William, son of Nicholas of AHerton, four oxgangs of land in Aller-
ton. Philip, son of Jordan do Man', attorned to Richard, son of
Roger, to render thirteen shillings yearly out of tenements in Allerton,
Jordan, son of Henry de Denby, twenty acres of land in Crosleia.
Agreement between the same brethren and John of half (he
mill of Allerton.*
There is another entry in this record, which is curious.
I can give no explanation respecting it : —
Manor of Crosley. — Wm., son of Ralph, granted to the church of
Gisbum all that land in Thornton held of the Hospital of Jerusalem,
viz., ten acres in Holmo Gristatl, and five acres near Wirkewelle.
The tenants of the Knights of St. John had, in ancient
times, very great privileges and immunities granted to them
by several royal charters : viz., freedom from many imposts,
such as murage, pannage, portage, &c. ; exemption from
sokes. I remember, in one of these royal charters, granted
by Henry the fifth, a rather curious privilege was conferred on
these tenants — " That they should be free from cutting the
feet of their own dogs for ever." I infer from this, that the
lower classes were obliged to maim their dogs to prevent
them running down game. The men of Crosley manor
now gain nothing by this ancient grace to their ancestors.
The manor is not continuous, but made up of small scattered
possessions belonging to it in Allerton. Crosley-hall is within
its bounds. The free rents arising from it are 9«. yearly. It
is conjoined with other two manors, (formerly belonging to
• These grants were, from the uames of the grantors, made in the I3lh centurj*.
2 z
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364 ALLERTON-CUH-WILSDEN.
the Hospitallers,) under the title of " the manor of Crosley,
" Bingley, and Pudsey, formerly parcel of the possessions of
" the dissolved Priory or Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem
" in England." The sum paid for fealty is 4«. 6rf., and for
relief 8rf.
Proof of wills within this manor, was one of the privileges
enjoyed by the Hospitallers, and the right was exercised here
so late as 1795.
In Burton's Mon. Ebor., it is stated under the head of
* Selby Abbey,' that William Scot de Calverley gave the
moiety of an essart of land called Heton Sty, in AUerton, near
Bradford, which was confirmed by Jane, daughter of Thomas
de Thornton, widow, and by Henry, son of Robert Wallens.
In Hopkinson's MSS., vol. 2, page 154, it is stated that
Thomas Crosley gave all his lands at Crosley, in AUerton, to
Byland Abbey.
There is in the eastern part of AUerton a messuage yet
called " The Grange." Either Selby or Byland Abbey had
very probably a farm-house on or about its site.
Notwithstanding AUerton was an independent manor soon
after the Conquest, yet the Inquisition taken on the Elarl of
Lincoln's death, and other records, shew that some few
freeholders held their possessions immediately of the manor
of Bradford. This is accounted for by supposing that soon
after the Conquest, the Lacies granted to the Thorntons the
greater part of the land in AUerton, who subgranted it to
various tenants, and claimed manorial rights over them ; and
that the remainder of the land here being parcelled out long
afterwards by the Lacies, was held immediately of them.
This observation applies to all the surrounding manors in
which freeholders held immeiliately of the manor of Bradford.
A large portion of AUerton township stUl continues waste
ground. An act of parliament was la3t year (1840) obtained
by the lady of the manor, with the concurrence of the free-
holders, for enclosing and parcelling out this waste land.
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ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN. 365
The Independents have a large and commodious chapel,
built in 1814, at Allerton.
Wilsden is a village within the manor of Allerton-cum*
Wilsden. It is, along with Allerton, part of the tract of
country anciently distinguished by the name of Bradford-
dale. The locality of Wilsden is, in the valleys, shaded with
woods, and the appearance is diversified and pleasing.
Wilsden is thus mentioned in Doomsday Survey : — Manor.
In Wilsedene Gamelbar had three carucates and a half of
land to be taxed.
In Burton's Mon. Ebor., this place is written fVilsenden,
or fVol/enden, If this latter were the proper spelling, it
would imply that the locality had been a harbour, or spot
noted for wolves : but the older spelling of Doomsday record,
and the invariable manner in which the name was anciently
written, (with the above-mentioned single exception,) clearly
enough prove that the first syllable, JVils, is derived from
the personal appellation of the first Saxon who possessed or
resided in this dene^ or bottom.
In the 13th century, Thomas de lliornton gave all his
land in this place to Byland Abbey, with the homage and
service of Godfrey de Wilesden and his heirs, and of Thomas
de Threapland and his heirs, and confirmed the grant of his
meadow here; all which lands granted to this Abbey and
that of Joreval, were confirmed by Thomas de Waldeby,
Archbishop of York, in the year 1301.*
The decree respecting Allerton manor before alluded to,
mentions the deed whereby this grant was made, and states
that in it the bounds of the land were set forth as between
the top of Old Allen to Potter-gate. Old Allen is still a
well known place. Several of our antiquaries have deduced
the names of places beginning with Allon or Allen from
Alni or alders.
• Burton's Mon. Ebor., under the hea-l " Byland/'
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366 ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN.
In 1244, Nicholas de gave the moiety of his
wood here, for which a fine was levied in the 30th of Henry
the third.
Nearly the whole of the territory of Wilsden was anciently
the possession of Byland Abbey, and the Abbot was in I3I6
returned lord of Wilsden. How this happened I know nol ;
but it appears certain from the decree respecting Allerton
before quoted, that Wilsden was only a hamlet of Allerton
manor, and that the Thorntons and Bowlings exercised long
before the Dissolution manorial rights over it. In rentals of
the manor, dated 22nd of Henry the sixth, 16th of Edward
the fourth, and 17th of Henry the seventh, twenty-two iiee-
holders of Allerton and Wilsden are mentioned, who yielded
for their lands yearly, 47s. 4d., and roses to the Boilings. It
appears from the Court Rolls of the manor of Allerton, that in
the time of the Boilings, freeholders of Wilsden did suit and
service to them.
This may probably be explained, by supposing that the
Abbey of Byland had manorial privileges in the six oxgangs
of land belonging to it, and that the remainder was under
the manor of Allerton.
Shortly after the Dissolution, the village of Wilsden came
to the Tempests ; as I find from the following notice in Hop-
kinson's MSS., vol. 1, p. 125:— ''The King granted (32nd
*' Henry the eighth) unto Richard Williamson and Thomas
'' Drax, of Halifax, to alien all that village (vUlamJ or
" hamlet of Wilsden, in Bradford-dale, lately belonging to
'' the Monastery of Byland ; and all that messuage and tene*
'* raents in Wilsden-dale and Bradford, to John Tempest and
'' his heirs." In an Inquisition taken the 4th of EUizabeth, it
is stated that John Tempest paid 2(k{. fine for the village of
Wilsden.
In Kirkby*s Inquest, the Abbot of Byland is said to hokl
in Allerton six oxgangs of land, and the Prior of Pontefract
one oxgang. In Barnard's Survey, (nearly three hundred
years afterwards.) the Abbot and Prior are mentioned as
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ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN. 367
having had this land previous to the Dissolution ; and that
it had come to the hands of the Tempests and Saviles/ by
grant from King Henry the eighth. From this survey it
appears that Thomas de Thornton was the donor to Byland
Abbey and Pontefract Priory of this land. That belonging
to Byland Abbey undoubtedly lay in Wilsden. I see no
single reason for concurring with Dr. Whitaker that it formed
part of Denholme Park.
There is an old and substantial house in Wilsden township
called Hallas. I have seen it spelled in many ancient deeds
" Hallows." I have no doubt that it obtained its name from
some superstition of our forefathers. Probably it was part
of the possessions of Byland Abbey. In the Escheats Rolls,
13th of Elizabeth, it is stated that Nicholas Tempest held
lands and tenements in the Hallows, of the Queen, by the
same tenure as his manor of Allerton, This implies that it
had been granted by the Crown, especially when it is con-
joined with the fact that 5s. Ad. is yet paid out of Hallas for
King's rent.
There was a soke corn-mill formerly in Wilsden, as free-
holders are mulcted in the days of the Boilings, lords of
Allerton, for not grinding their corn at Wilsden mill.
The first stone of a church (dedicated to St. Matthew)
at Wilsden, was laid in August, 1823. It was built under
the direction of the Parliamentary Commissioners, and cost
£7710. llie late J. Oates, Elsquire, was the architect ; and
it is a good specimen of his talents. It was made a district
church for Allerton and Wilsden. There are in it sittings
for 1415 persons, and about 500 are free.
The living is returned at £46 a year. In 1828 it was
augmented with £1000, and in 1832 with £200, both by
parliamentary grant (by lot). ITie Ripon Diocesan Society
• By some mp«n< lli«» Tempe*?!* shortly nftw ohtnlned the p«rt helonfling t»» th«»
SnvHe«,
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368 ALLERTON-CUM-WILSDEN.
for building and endowing Churches, last year made a grant
of £200 in augmentation of the living, and intend (as they
state in their report) to give a similar sum towards the
erection of a glebe house.
The Independents have a chapel built here in 1817, and
the Wesleyan Methodists one built in 1823.
About 1680, Henry Marsden, Esq., lord of the manor,
granted a piece of ground at Mytholme to two trustees of the
name of Midgley and Kitchin, for one thousand years, at four-
pence yearly rent, upon trust to build a school-room. There
is no doubt that it was built by subscription. An unknown
donor gave to the school-master a yearly rent-charge of
three shillings and four-pence, issuing out of the Doe-park,
lately belonging to the devisees of E. W. Buck, Esquire.
R. Ferrand and Richardson Ferrand gave each a yearly rent-
charge of t«n shillings out of Harden-hall estate, now be-
longing to Mrs. Sarah Ferrand. Of late years, the building
has been disused as a school, and the payments discontinued.
llie habitations in AUerton are scattered. Anciently there
was not even a hamlet or knot of houses in the township.
The yeomen in Allerton and Wilsden were then a numerous
class, and the homestead of each was surrounded by his own
farm. Of late years, the number of yeomen, or persons
farming their own land, in this manor has greatly decreased.
The land in the bottom of that fork or branch of Bradford-
dale which comprises the township of Allerton, is good, and
the aspect far from displeasing. The upper part is barren,
and the summits covered with purple heath.
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HEATON.
This name^ anciently spelled Heton, seems to be merely a
corruption of Highton, agreeing with its situation.
This Heaton is not mentioned in Doomsday Book ; but
Chellow, now within its township, is noted in that record as
one of the dependencies of Bolton manor. Whether Chel-
low (there written Celeslau) at that time included the whole
or greater part of the locality now comprised within the ma-
nor of Heaton, I have no means of judging.
In the copy of Kirkby's Inquest which I have access to,
Heaton is not noticed ; but in the Nom. Vill. of 1316, it is
stated that Roger de Leeds was lord of it.
From the family of Leeds the manor descended on the
marriage of Emma de Leeds, daughter of a Roger de Leeds,
and heiress of her brother William, with Geoffrey Pigot,
about the reign of Henry the fifth. From the Pigots it
descended to the family of Nussey ,' and in 1577 Henry Bat
was returned lord of it.
How the manor came to the Fields of Heaton, I have
no means at present of ascertaining ; but in Brook's M SS.
Joshua Field, Esquire, is mentioned as the lord the middle
of last century. Lord Oxmantown and Captain Duncombe,
in right of their wives, the daughters and co-heiresses of
the late John Wilmer Field, Esquire, are joint lords.
Chellow, — I apprehend that the first particle of this word
comes from the same root as chilly and the latter from Aoir,
a hill. However this may be, it is one of the chillest and
bleakest spots in this parish, lying on the side of a high and
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370 H EATON.
exposed copped hill. Chellow was a manor of itself. Robert
de Everinghani gave this place to the Selby Abbey, for the
good of his own soul and that of Isabel, his wife, which she
afterwards in her widowhood confirmed ; and John de Lacy,
lord of Pontefiract, did the same.* I apprehend that the
number of masses which were said or sung for this barren gift
would be scanty.
In a plea of Quo Warranto, brought in the reign of Ed-
ward the first, against the Abbot of Selby, to shew cause
why he claimed free warren in this place, he pleaded a charter
for the purpose, granted the 36th of Henry the third.
The Abbot of Selby was lord of the manor. He had here
a farm-house, the site of which (if not some part of the
buildings) is known to this day under the name of Chellow-
grange. Hither, it is probable, following the practice of
those times, the Abbot and his community resorted at the
time of sheepshearing for innocent recreation, and to collect
the great treasure of those days — ^the fleece.
I have before aUuded to Frizingley or Prizinghall as be-
ing so caUed from the circumstance of friezes being made in
the locality. It is now a small village, having more of a
rural appearance than any place I know of about Bradford.
The village is graced with tufts of large trees, which give the
ficenery a pleasing cast.
Heaton-hall is a substantial and rather majestic building.
For a considerable time it was the seat of the family of the
Fields, a pedigree of which is given in the large copies of
this work.
Heaton-royds was for centuries the seat of the ancient and
respectable family of Dixons, a pedigree of which I also give.
The Baptists formed here one of their first settlements
• Burton's Mon. Ebor., article "Selby Abbey."
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HEATON. 371
in the West- Riding. They have (as well as the Particular
Baptists) a chapel at Heaton.
What is worthy of remark^ Heaton and Clayton were^ in
the reign of Elizabeth, linked together in one township;
and so continued until at least the latter part of last century.
What led to this connexion I am at a loss to discover.
If I were asked what was the principal component of beau-
tiful scenery or happy prospects^ I should, to the question
thrice repeated^ answer — Wood — Wood — Wood. The lower
part of the township or manor of Heaton is ornamented with
several fine woods ; and the undulating face of the country
agreeably variegated with hawthorn fences sprinkled with
timber trees — shewing that the former proprietors have nei-
ther been void of taste to plant and adorn their grounds, nor
so needy as to be forced prematurely to apply the axe. The
numerous stripped oak saplings which constantly appear in
various parts of this parish, prove either need or avarice,
and the rectilinear stone fences which are daily supplanting
the winding quickwood hedges, augur ill for the taste of the
owners.
A large portion of the land in the township of Heaton, lay,
until the close of the last century, open and waste, but was
enclosed under an Act obtained in the 20th of George the
third.
3 A
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SHIPLEY
Is a large and flourishing village, seated at the junction of
the valleys of Bradford and Aire. The name seems originally
to have been derived (like Skipton and other similarly-named
places) from the circumstance of the locality anciently abound-
ing with extensive 8heep*-walks. Shipley is thus mentioned
in Doomsday Book : — " Manor — In Scipleia Ravenchil had
'* three carucates of land to be taxed where there may be two
" ploughs. Ilbert has it and it is waste. Value in King Ed-
" ward's time, ten shillings. There is a woody pasture half a
" mile long and half a mile broad."
It thus became at the Conquest the property of Ilbert de
Lacy. How it passed out of the Lacy family there is no trace.
In Kirkby's Inquest there is a curious entry which shews that
at the time it was taken, Shipley belonged to the King ; and it
also proves that there was some feudal connexion between
Shipley and Manningham. The following is the entry: —
" Maningham — Margerie de Maningham and Alice de Tothill
" held four oxgangs here, which is held of Pontefract fee,
" except the village of Shipley , which u held of the King.*^
In 1316 Nicholas de Marrays was lord of it.
I have other reasons for supposing that Shipley was not
held of the Honour of Pontefract, and anciently not within
its fee. In Barnard's Survey it is not returned as being within
Bradford Leet.
In the Visitation of this county in 1666, it is stated that
the manor of Shipley came to William Rawson, Esq., (one of
• Anciently <|h»IM Seep.
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SHIPLEY. 373
the family of the Rawsons of Bradford,) by marriage with
Agnes, daughter of William Gascoigne, Esq., of Milford.
It then came to his third son> Lawrence, and then (the
fourth in descent from him) to William Rawson, who married
Judith Prescot, and dying without issue in 1745, devised the
manor and estates of Shipley to his wife. She married for
her second husband Jackson, M.D., of Stamford, and had
two sons; Cyril, Dean of Christ Church, and William, Bishop
of Oxford. The devisees of the former sold the manor to the
late J. W. Field, Esq., of Heaton-hall, whose devisees now
hold it.
The parliamentary commissioners built, from designs made
by J. Oates, Esq., a handsome Gothic church at Shipley:
The first stone was laid 5th November, 1823, and the struc-
ture cost £7687 19«. 3d. The land for the site was given by
the late J. W. Field, E^q. It is a district church for Shipley
and Heaton. It has seats for 1488 persons, of which 332
are free sittings. On the 20th of May 1829, a faculty was
obtained to erect an organ. There are six bells in the tower.
The living (which is in the gift of the vicar of Bradford)
is returned as worth £50 a-year. It was augmented in 1830
with £600 from parliamentary grant by lot. There is no
glebe-house.
Present incumbent, the Rev. T. Newbery.
The Wesleyans erected one of their earliest chapels here,
and the Baptists built a chapel in 1826.
Under an Act obtained in the 55th of George the third,
277 acres of land in Shipley, which lay open, was enclosed.
Owing to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal passing through
it, Shipley has become a place of considerable magnitude and
trade. There is a large sprinkling of clothiers or woollen cloth
weavers in its township. The land in general is rich, and the
landscape in the lower parts beautiful, opening into the well-
wooded and picturesque district of lower Airedale.
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MANNINGHAM.
It is probable that this name is derived from Mani, or some
such Saxon personal appellative^ and ham, a habitation — thai
is^ the home or habitation of Mani. The two redundant
letters ng are often found in the composition of local names.*
In early periods the place was constantly written ' Maning-
ham*
Manningham is not mentioned in Doomsday Survey, as it
was without any doubt one of the nameless berewicks then
belonging to the manor of Bradford, and from that time to
the present has never been separated.
In the 3dth of Henry the third, Edmund de Lacy obtained
a grant from the King of free warren in Manningham.
According to Kirkby's Inquest, 24th of Edward the first,
Margery de Maningham and Alice de Tothill held four
oxgangs of land here, which was held of the Honor of
Pontefract.
The Crown had, in respect of the manor of Bradford,
large quantities of land in Manningham ; even so late as
the 45th of Elizabeth, all those closes of land in Manning-
ham, in the county of York, called Constable-greaves,
Helliwell-greaves, Bull-greaves, and /fti^-royd-greaves, were
granted by the Crown to Edward Newman for thirty-one
years.t
In remote times, nearly all the tenants or landholders in
Manningham were nativi, or held in base tenure, and one
• Whitaker's « CrsTen," under Um bead '< Addingbam."
t HopkloBon^i MSS , Toh2., p. 154.
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MANMNGHAM. 375
of the conditions under which they, as well as the bondmen
of Bradford, held their land, was to repair the lord^s mill-
dam at Bradford. Like that at Leeds, it might justly be
called " Bondman's dam." See page 106.
Previous to the days of Charles the first, the greater part
of the township of Manningham consisted of waste ground,
called the " moors and commons of Manningham ;" and
nearly the whole of the old or enclosed land was copyhold.
In the year 1638, Okell, vicar of Bradford, and the other
grantees of the manor of Bradford, enfranchised numbers of
copyhold estates; and in the deeds of enfranchisement granted
certain portions of the commons in such form as the following,
extracted from one of those deeds : — " And also eleven parts
" of all and singular the commons, moors, and waste grounds,
" and soil and ground of the same, now lying open and not
" enclosed within the town and township of Manningham,
** and of aU mines and quarries lying and being within the
" said commons, the same being divided into four hundred
" and eighty-nine parts."
Soon after this period, these commons and waste grounds,
except some detached pieces, and certain stripes lying con-
tiguous to old enclosed lands between them and the public
roads, were enclosed. The old freeholders would of course
participate with the enfranchised copyholders in the division
of the commons. The freeholders of Manningham now claim,
by virtue of these deeds of enfranchisement and other grants,
the waste grounds and mines.
A branch of the ancient family of Listers of Amoldbiggin,
and bearing the same arms, have for a long period been
located and had large possessions here. A grant of land
in Manningham was made to one of the Listers by Henry
the eighth, as lord of the manor of Bradford. A descendant
of the grantee/ named John, had two sons.
First, Thomas, vicar of Ilkley, who had issue, three daugh-
ters, the eldest of whom, Elizabeth, married Mr. EUlis Cunlifie
of Addingham, whose son John had issue, Ellis Cunliffe.
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376 MANNINGHAM.
Second, John, an attorney at Manningham, who persuaded
his brother, the clergyman, to make a deed of gift of the
Manningham estate to him. This John had a son, Samael,
an attorney at Manningham, who married Mary Stapleton,
aunt of the present F. S. Bridges, Esq. of Horton, and three
daughters, one of whom, Elizabeth, married a Mr. Myers of
Leeds, and had issue, Ruth Myers. Her uncle Samuel
having no issue, devised the estate at Manningham to her
and her issue, and in default of issue, to E. Cunlifie, (grand-
son of the above-named Ellis Cunliffis) who married Rath
Myers, and thus became possessed of the estate, and took
the name of Lister. Ruth, his wife, had no issue who lived
to benefit by the limitations of Samuel Lister's will. E. C.
Lister, Esq., the present possessor of Manningham-haU and
estate, married for his second wife, the daughter of William
Kay, Esq., of Cottingham, and has by her a numerous issue.
The present hall, a handsome modern mansion, surrounded
by a park, was built about seventy years since, on the site of
the old hall. When the latter was erected I am unable to
state, but I am informed it had the appearance of considerable
antiquity. On taking it down, a quantity of ancient armour,
stowed up in an unused room, belonging to the Lister fistmily
in their warlike days, was sold.
I have seen in deeds of ancient date, several fields here
mentioned under the name of Old Maningham. They are
within the tract of land granted to Northrop, by John of
Gaunt, as mentioned before.
There is an old house in the east part of Manningham ,
which formed one of the residences of that branch of the
Boilings of BoUing-hall which removed to Chellow and Man-
ningham. Over the door are the initials of the name.
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ECCLESHILL.
There is a tradition of old date, that on the separation of
Bradford parish from that of Dewsbury, Eccleshill was left out
of the former, because the inhabitants had killed a monk, and
thereby excluded themselves from the pale of the church.
How long Eccleshill has by common repute^ belonged to Brad-
ford parish I am unable to state, but so early as 1680 it paid
a proportion of the lay or rate to Bradford Church. Eccles-
hill, however, long after the separation of Bradford parish,
continued part of that of Dewsbury ; and at least some por-
tion of the above tradition is correct, for in the endowment of
Dewsbury vicarage in 1349, mention is made of the '^Decimee
** et portionum Garbarum de Eccleshill," as belonging to that
vicarage.
Eccleshill, in Barnard's Survey, is not mentioned to be in the
Leet of Bradford, but that of Wakefield ; and it is in fact within
the manor of Wakefield (though so far divided from it) at this
day. It formerly was, as parcel of that manor, the possession
of Earl Warren, and that might account for it not being in-
cluded in the Lacy parish of Bradford.
I have not seen it mentioned in Doomsday Record. I am
unable to conjecture with probability the meaning of the
name, unless it comes from EglywSy Church, that is, Church-
hiU.
Some measures have been taken to accomplish the building
of a church at Eccleshill, but hitherto they have been un-
successful, though one is much wanted.
The Wesley ans have a chapel here, built before 1788, as in
Wesley's Journal of that year, he writes — " I have spent some
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378 ECCLESHILL.
^' hours with the trustees of Eccleshill house, hut I might a*
^^ well have talked to posts^ It seems the Eccleshill clothiers
were very intractable, and would keep the management of the
chapel they had raised in their own hands. The Independents
built a chapel here in 1823.
x\n Act has been obtained this year (1841), for enclosing
the wastes of Eccleshill. The devisees of Jeremiah Raw-
son are loint lords of the manor. It formerly belonged to
the Hirds of Apperley-lane. The devisees of the late
Christoper Hird, Esquire, sold it in 1825.
The inhabitants are principally engaged in the woollen-
manufacture. Eccleshill township lies on the western slope
of Lower Airedale.
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
ip this parish have not, like some Attic soils in the kingdom,
been remarkable in giving birth to men whose souls, * touched
to fine issues,' challenge the admiration and et^nal gaze of
posterity, it has assuredly not been barren in talented and
memorable individuals. This volume can claim some, as
sons of Bradford, to whom Knowledge largely unrolled her
ample page — men who have justly been awarded an hono-
rable station in our country's Temple of Fame, and whose
names are inscribed in the never-fading page of literature
and science.
The * notices' comprised in this chapter, include only the
names of those who adorned our parish in comparatively
modern periods ; and lest it should be imagined that none be-
sides worthy of remark breathed here their natal air, the
authority of Thoresby may be adduced. In his Diary, under
the year 1705, he writes that he had been engaged at
Bradford, " taking extracts from the registers of the Arch-
** bishop and other noted authors.''''
Among the MSS. belonging to Thoresby, and dispersed at
his death, there was, as stated in the Ducatus, " An account
" of remarkable men born and beneficed at Bradford." What
a precious mine of materials for the present portion of my
labours would this MS. have been, if accessible to me ! But
I fear it is irretrievably lost, the most diligent inquiry having
proved unavailing in recovering it. This loss might, indeed,
have been partly compensated, by wading with great labour
and persevering pains, through Anthony Wood, and nume-
rous other voluminous and scarce works of the same class^
3 B
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380 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
only to be found in distant libraries. But this was im-
possible, as the stern monitions of prudence, the loud calls
of * daily bread,' imperatively forbad that either more day-
time or money should be expended on this doubtful literary
speculation.
RICHARD RICHARDSON, M.D.*
The subject of this notice could boast of a long and bono-
rable descent; but (to use the terse and forcible phrase
of Dr. Whitaker) " Where there is so much mind and cha-
'' racter, I leave to the genealogists their own perpendicular
** and horizontal lines.'^t He was born at Bierley-hall, the
residence of his ancestors, the sixth day of September, 1663,
and baptised at Bradford church. He had not attained the
fourth year when his father, William Richardson, died, leav-
ing also a younger son and a daughter. Their mother, one
of the talented family of the Saviles, in the parish of Halifax,
possessed, besides the hereditary abilities of the family, great
domestic virtues. She reared her children with extreme care,
and watched with solicitude the development of their moral
and mental characters. It is pleasing to add, that her labours
were neither unrewarded nor forgotten by her eldest son : he
was early distinguished for his attainments in learning, and
it is alike honorable to both, that so reciprocal was their
affection and regard, that she lived with him at Bierley-hall
after he had been twice married, and died under his roof.
In the youth of Dr. Richardson, Bradford Grammar
School stood high as a seminary.^ The masters were learned,
exemplary in the discharge of their duties, and ambitious
• A great portion of the infonnation contained in this notice \% taken from th»
memoir contaim^ io NicboPs lUustiations of tbe Literature of the eighteenth Centiio*.
t " Loidit,'' page 2&4, on tame subject.
I This ic evinced by tbe Letters from Pr. Arthur Chartlett (an eminent claxsioai
scholar) to Dr. Richardson, whicfa are printed in Nicholses Illustrations. In tboe
letters, Clmrtiett mys, under the year 17 13, " Give my senrice to the careful master
<< of Bradford School." Again in 1718, " 1 bo}^ your neigfabouifng remmcneii SdiocA
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-A ^.
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380 _ BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
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380 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
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3ftn BIO«RAPHTCAT. NOTICKfi. — "
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RICHARD RICHARDSON, M. D. 381
of rearing able scholars. To this school he was sent at an
early age, and remained there, studying with eminent success
the classics, until his removal to University College, Oxford.
Being intended for the profession of physician, he applied
his studies at Oxford more particularly to medicine, and took
the degree of Bachelor of Physic.
The University of Leyden enjoyed at the close of the 17th
century, the highest reputation as a school for medicine ; and
thither resorted, for the benefit of the lectures and instruc-
tions of the celebrated professors who filled its chairs, most
of the youth of Europe destined for the highest department
of the healing art. Dr. Richardson studied at Leyden three
years, during which period he lodged in the house of the emi-
nent botanical professor, Paul Hermann ; and I doubt not to
this circumstance is mainly to be attributed the Dr.'s pas-
sionate and untiring fondness for, and great attainments in,
botanical persuits. Among the eminent scientific men he
formed an intimacy with at this University, the celebrated
Boerhaave stands distinguished; and being of congenial
minds and tastes, the friendship thus formed, lasted their
joint lives.
On his return from Leyden, he obtained at Oxford the de-
gree of Doctor of Physic, and retiring to enjoy atBierley-hall,
" The mild majnsty of private life,
** Where Peace, wiUi ever blooming olive, crowas
" The gate,"
devoted a long and virtuous course to science and works of
mercy. Having an ample estate, he did not practise physic
as a means of support ; but when he attended his friends pro-
fessionally, like the indefatigable Dr. Martin Lister, he made
those visits subservient to the gleaning of knowledge in
" of Broil/on) contiDues to flourish. I do not foiget my debt to their library.** In
another letter he say^, <* It is long since 1 contracted a debt to the famous School of
** Bradford ;" and he then mentions that he had sent by the Bradford carrier a present
of boolcs. I thinlc Chartlett must have been educated at this school.
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382 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
botany and antiquities. His skill in medicine was sound
and extensive^ and at all times readily and gratuitously ex-
ercised for the benefit of the poor.
The blossoms of virtue and beneficence must early bud in
the soul^ else few of their flowers are rarely found in after life.
An anecdote is related of our philosopher on attaining his
majority, which reflects lustre on his character. His father
died intestate; and, although possessed of very extensive
landed estates, left no personal property beyond that required
for the payment of his debts, and his younger son and
daughter were left totally unportioned and without fortune.
The Dr., when a boy, desired his mother to educate bis
brother and sister at his expence, and when he obtained the
estate, settled upon them ample fortunes.
The life of a retired scholar like Dr. Richardson, furnishes
few incidents for biography. In 1712, he was admitted a
fellow of the Royal Society. For a long period of his life,
he lived in terms of the strictest friendship with the President
of that illustrious body — Sir Hans Sloane; and he numbered
among his friends and correspondents the most eminent
naturalists of the age. In the list are included the names o{
Dr. Dillenius, Ray, the two Sherards, Willoughby, Uvedale,
Lhwyd, Brewer,* besides a number of noble and titled promo-
ters of science. Heame, Thoresby, Marmaduke Fothergill,t
« Brewer was a native of Trowbridge, and engaged origiiuiily in the wooUen
manufactory. Being unsuooeasful in tmde, be deroted bis attentioD to botany, ami
accompanied Dr. DiUenius in bis botanical tour tbrougb Wales. In 1728 be cune
and resided at Bradford, and assisted Dr. Ricbardmn, wbo reliered bis pecuniaiy
necessities. He prepared for the press a ** Botanical Guide," wbich was never
publisbed. Jn botany and otber parts of natural bistory be greatly excelled, and in
tbese studies be was employed by many of tbe most eminent men of bis day. He
died at tbe bouM of Mr. Jobn Pollard of Bierley, and was buried at Cleckbe«toa
ChHpel.
t Tbis gentleman was I believe uncle, or at least a near relative of tbe celebrated
Quaker, Dr. FotbeigUl, and was a veiy learned man, and greatly attacbed to our
Lituryo*. 1 ^^^ always tbougbt it was tbrougb tbe friendabip between tbis gentle-
man (wbo lived at Pontefract) and Dr. Ricbardaon, tbat Dr. Fotbergill was bounii
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RICHARD RICHARDSON, M. D. 383
Drake^ and many other antiquaries and classical scholars,
were his intimate friends.
He married twice, first Sarah, only daughter and heiress
of John Crossley of Kershaw-house, in the parish of Halifax,
and of Crosley-hall in this parish. She died in 1702, within
three years after her marriage, leaving no issue who survived
her. He selected for his second wife, Dorothy, second
daughter of Henry Currer, Esq., of Kildwick, and had by
her twelve children, seven of whom outlived him. (See
pedigree,)
The Dr. considerably augmented the family estate, and to
his second wife, this honour may partly be attributed, as
she ably, and almost solely, managed his domestic concerns.
After a long life spent under the applauding smile of hea-
ven, he died at Bierley the 21st of April, 1741, and was
buried at Cleckheaton chapel, which he had re-edified. A
handsome monument, with a neat Latin inscription to his
memory, graces the chapel.
I am saved the task of pointing out his merits in his
favourite walk of science, inasmuch as an able writer on the
subject. Dr. Pulteney, thus adverts to them in his Botani-
cal Sketches : — " Among those whom Dillenius has recorded
" in the preface to the third edition of Ray's Synopsis, and
" his Historia Muscorum, as having amplified English Bota-
" ny, the names of the Sherards and of Dr. Richardson
" obtain a superior distinction. The merits of Dr. Richard-
'^ son, both from his undoubted skill in the science and his
'' well known patronage of those who cherished it, demand a
'^ more particular commemoration than I am able to give."
After detailing a few circumstances of his life, he then pro-
ceeds, — '^ He had travelled into various parts of England for
'^ the investigation of plants, and had been successful in his
no apprentice to Mr. Bartlett, an apoUiecary in Bradford, and intimate ooquaiotanoe
of Dr. Richaidion. Bartlett lived in that bouse upon Stott-hiU now occupied by the
Rev. John Butterlleld, and there the celebrated Fothergill served his apprenticeship.
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384 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
" tour into Wales, having more especially made discoveries
*' in the Cryptogamia class. His garden was well stored
" with exotics,* and with a curious collection of English
" plants."
It is well known as a fact in the history of botany, that
the Cryptogamia class, or imperfect plants, owe most to the
labours of Doody and Dr. Richardson for their illustration.
He never published any work on botany. His labours
were freely offered to the botanists of his time, and his
name frequently appears in their works. He seems \jq have
wanted the two great impulses to write — vanity and pecu-
niary gain.
There are scattered through the Philosophical Transac*
tions, many able contributions from him on various subjects
of natural history. His letter to Hearne, published in that
gentleman's edition of Leland's Itinerary, sufficiently evinces
the attention paid by the Dr. to local antiquities, and that
he was a skilful and judicious antiquary. To his care in
preserving that treasure of Yorkshire topography, Hopkin-
son's MSS., and the liberality of his descendant. Miss Currer,
this humble literary effort, is, like the '' Loidis," and many
other topographical works, greatly indebted.
What is infinitely scarcer and more laudable than talents
and great attainments, he possessed in an eminent degree the
social virtues. In all the private relations of life, as son,
husband, father, — landlord, friend or neighbour, he was un-
impeachable. When collecting materials for this work, I
had some conversation with an elderly and respectable person
at Bierley, whose grandfather was a tenant to the Dr., and
among other enquiries as to what had been heard from this
• In another part of this work, the Cedar of Lebanon planted, and tlie bothoue
built by bim, are noticed. I find from NicholK*» Illustrations, that in 1912, Uii»
Cedar measured, at some distance from the ground, twelve feet eight Inches in gtrL
In 1616 It measured in circumference at the bottom, twelve feet four inches ; and at
the top of the solid tnink, twelve feet nine inches ; and in height, to where the tiee
began to bmnrh out, fourteen feet.
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ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 385
ancestor, asked him respecting the character of the Dr., when
he answered the question by another — "Whoever heard of a
bad Richardson of Bierley-hall ?" This simple interrogatory
speaks more forcibly than either the lapidary eulogiums which
so often travesty and mock the character of the dead, or the
pompous and highly-coloured sketches which characterize the
pages of partial biography.
Of his personal appearance, the accompanying correct
print, engraved from an original painting at Bierley-hall, will
give the best description, lliere are two characteristics in
the painting which the skill of the graver could not set out —
a fair and roseate complexion, and blue eyes.
ARCHBISHOP SHARP.*
It is a rather singular coincidence, that the adjoining parish-
es of Bradford and Halifax gave birth to two men who filled at
the same time the Archiepiscopal thrones of England, and
were the great pillars and ornaments of our Church. Tillotson
and Sharp were also Dissenters by parentage and education,
bore the same christian name, and assisted each other in
their advancement to the high station they attained.
John Sharp, the subject of this notice, was born at Bradford,
on Shrove- Sunday, February the IGth, 1644, in a house upon
the site of which the house adjoining the Unicorn Inn to the
west, now stands. His father, Thomas Sharp, the second
son of a younger branch of the Sharps of Horton, who
resided at and were the possessors of Woodhouse, near Brad-
ford, followed the trade of drysalter and oil-dealer.
The Archbishop's father belonged to the straitest sect of
the Puritans, and warmly adhered to the Parliament in the
C/ivil Wars. Lord Fairfax, during those unhappy commotions,
made the father's house his head quarters when in Bradford,
and offered his host a commission in the Roundhead Army ;
* The facts in Ibis notice arn taken principally from Newcomers Life of Uie
Archbishop.
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386 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
but our author's mother, Dorothy, daughter of Mr. John
Weddal of Widdington, being a devoted Royalist, prevented
her husband's acceptance of Fairfax's favour.
To Jier indeed may be attributed the bias which led her
eldest son to the Church ; for it is recorded, that with great
ingenuity and care she concealed that proscribed volume in
all Puritan families, the Church of England Book of Common
Prayer, and delighted, in stolen moments, to instruct her son
in the beautiful and devout offices of the Church. His admi-
ration of that most perfect (in my opinion) of all formularies
of devotional supplication, the Litany, was early displayed,
and continued through life.
He received the whole of his education, previous to his
removal to the University, at Bradford School. On attaining
the age of fifteen years, his classical learning was so ex-
tensive, and talents so precocious, that his father, although
he had other five children, and could not be considered
wealthy, determined to send him to Christ College, in the
University of Cambridge.
Previous to this period, his father, although like his class,
a pious and rigidly moral man, had, in accordance with his
own views of the Christian scheme, instilled into the mind
of his son the extreme doctrines of the Genevan creed.
He particularly cherished the sentiments contained in such
works as Cole's " Sovereignty of God," which in our day
are little inculcated, either from the pulpit or by the press.
His college tutor, however, took some pains in convincing
him, that from the nature of the Deity, his glory could
not consist in that which if attributed even to man, would
Tender him tyrannical and hateful, and the result was sue-
cessful, — ^the Archbishop from that time renounced those
doctrines.
While at the University, he made great progress in all
branches of learning, and particularly excelled in his know-
ledge of the Greek language. He was early in life enamoured
of natural and experimental philosophy, and understood it welL
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ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 387
He gained no academical honours until the fourth year,
vrhen he obtained a scholarship in his college. He earnestly
and perseveringly endeavoured to obtain a fellowship, but
did not succeed. Having taken his bachelor's and master's
degree, he quitted the University and returned home without
any hope of preferment.
The whole success of the Archbishop's future career rested
upon a trivial accident. While at the University, he attract-
ed, by his proper and decorous manner of reading the scrip-
ture lessons in the college chapel, the attention of that great
philosopher and learned divine, Sir Henry More ; who being
written to by Sir Heneage Finch, the Solicitor General, to
recommend a domestic chaplain and tutor for his sons, pointed
out young Sharp, although unknown to him as a friend.
Before he had remained a month in Yorkshire, he received
the appointment from the Solicitor General, and immediately
hastened to fill it. In a few months he entered into holy
4)rders. When this event happened his father was living,
but he died shortly after, in the sixty-third year of his age.
The future Archbishop resided as chaplain and tutor in the
family of Sir Heneage for five years ; and during this time
he applied himself so unintermittingly to study, and at such
unseasonable hours, that he severely hurt his health.
Sir Heneage, bj his interest at Court, obtained for his
chaplain the valuable promotion of the Archdeaconry of Berks,
in the disposal of the Crown. When he received this prefer-
ment he had entered his twenty-eighth year. Shortly after
his patron veached the Woolsack; and now a long vista
of church honours and emoluments opened on Sharp. In
1675, the Lord Chancellor bestowed upon him successively,
a prebend of Norwich, the living of St. Bartholomew's Ex-
change, and lastly, the rich and important rect^y of St.
Giles-in- the- Fields. For the two former his patron would
not suffer him to pay the usual seal fees ; and as a further in-
dication of esteem for his late chaplain, presented the Church
of St. Giles with communion-plate to the value of £100.
3 c
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388 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
Immediately after induction into this rectory, he married
Elizabeth Palmer, whose family resided at Winthorp, in
Lincolnshire, llie lady's mother being strongly tainted
with Puritanism, would not consent to the marriage before
consulting the well-known Baxter, who not only approved of
the match, but added, that had he a daughter to dispose of
he would not refuse her hand to Sharp. So favourable an
opinion from such a source, is indisputable evidence of his
exemplary character.
Dr. Tillotson solemnized the marriage. The intimacy
between the two great north country divines commenced
thus : — Tillotson had a brother in London, a wholesale dry-
salter and oil-drawer, and Sharp, (soon after he entered the
Solicitor General's family,) going with a money-bill from his
father to the drysalter's warehouse, met accidentally the
future Archbishop of Canterbury, and a friendship com-
menced which was cemented during life by mutual good
offices. To this unexpected meeting, Sharp, as the sequel
will shew, probably owed the see of York.
He continued rector of St. Giles for sixteen years, and
performed the onerous clerical duties of this extensive and
populous parish with undiminished zeal. His reputation as
a divine and preacher extended through the Metropolis.
Bishop Burnet, (no favourable witness,) in the " History of
" his own Times," states, that " he was both a very pious
" man and one of the most popular preachers of the age.^
During the early part of the time he held the rectory of
St. Giles, he took on the Friday evenings the lecture at St.
Lawrence, Jewry. The pulpit of this church had long been
noted for the excellence of the discourses delivered from it.
Many of the admirable sermons of Dr. Tillotson (who held
the Tuesday lecture) were first preached here, and during
the lectureships of Tillotson and Sharp, the audience at
St. Lawrence often resembled more a convocation of divines
than a lay congregation.
In 1679, the University of Cambridge created him Doctor
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ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 389
of Divinity. His great patron obtained for him in 1681 the
deanery of Norwich ; but here was an end of all preferment
from this source, as in the year following the Chancellor died.
Fortune did not, however, desert Sharp, as his old patron's
son, who succeeded to the title of Lord Nottingham, inherited
the good will of his father towards the Dean of Norwich, and
being in favour with the Crown, greatly befriended him.
We now arrive at an eventful period of the Archbishop's
life. The disastrous efforts of James to reinstate the
Roman Catholic faith in this country, and the imprudent
and harsh measures he employed to accomplish this object
need no particular notice here. Sharp's educational prejudi-
ces to the Old Faith were strong, and being a man of warm
temper, he inveighed from the pulpit of St. Giles against it
with great and persevering zeal and acrimony, llxis soon
reached the Royal ear ; and Compton, Bishop of London,
received orders to suspend the obnoxious rector. The Bishop
refused, and was himself suspended. These are broad facts
of English history ; and I shall not advert to them further
than to remark that Sharp was inadvertently one of the pri-
mary causes and accelerators of the Revolution. He made his
submission to the King, and for the rest of the reign bridled
his tongue on the doctrines of the Romish Church.
In the af&irs of the Revolution he took no active part, nor
did he quit his allegiance to James till both houses of par-
liament had declared that the Crown was vacant.
Lord Nottingham, the son of his old patron, being one
of King William's councillors, by his influence sepured for
Sharp, in 1689, the deanery of Canterbury, vacant by the
promotion of Tillotson. In the summer of 1690, our author
visited Bradford, where his mother resided. On his return to
London, the King offered him the choice of one of the sees
vacant by the deprivation of their bishops. He, however,
waved the honour from conscientious scruples, which so of-
fended his Majesty, that in all probability Sharp would have
forfeited all further court favours, had not Tillotson in this
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390 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
respect greatly exerted himself in his fovosr; and with m
disinterestedness which sheds lostre on his character, per-
suaded Sharp to consent that the Eang should be solicited
for the Archbishopric of York when it became vacant By
the joint interest of TiUotson and Lord Nottingham the
boon was gained, and in about a fortnight after the aged
Archbishop of York dyhig. Sharp obtained that see. It is
pleasing to relate that before his consecration, he assisted at
that of his friend TiUotson to the see of Canterbury, wha
also performed the ceremony on Sharp.
He was in the 47th year of his age when he mounted the
Archiepiscopal throne of York. And henceforward the
twenty-three years of his life were faithfully appropriated
to the discharge of the high offices of his station. For
this period his coarse may, for the purposes of this work, be
rapidly sketched.
Our Primate administered with a bold and firm hand
the afiiurs of his province. He laid down as an inflexible
rule, that all the prebends of York Minister should be distri*
buted among the most worthy clergymen of his diocese ; and
took great pains in watching the conduct of his clergy, and
admonishing such as did not conduct themselves as became
their sacred character. He was a scrupulous censor of man-
ners ; and for the purpose of repressing oiienders, made too
much use of that very objectionable instrument — ^the Spiri*
tual Court His conduct in this respect was, though weU
intentioned, and springing from a laudable desire to repress
immorality, sometimes ludicrous ; and when I reflect on it,
the spirited description given by our old English bard in
his Canterbury Tales, of apparitors and the courts to which
they belong, rushes into my mind.
The Archbishop was in great favour with Queen Anne^
who appointed him her Almoner. He enjoyed more of her
confidence than any other man of his cloth ; and she con-
sulted him on all occasions when any church preferment in
the gift of the Crown had to be filled up. It is a well-known
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ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 391
fact in literary history that Swift lost an English bishopric,
and was exiled to the deanery of St. Patrick, through the
influence of Archbishq^ Sharp. To this Swift alludes in a
poem entitled ''The Author upon himself, 1713." Sharp
thought (as all other men think) that a man of Swift's
libertine opinions and life would disgrace the Church by
being thrust into a bishopric, however worthy of it on account
of learning and talents. Archbishop Sharp was a partizan
of the Tory side of the House of Lords, and in this he
accorded with the taste of his Royal Mistress. He spoke
seldom in the House of Lords. The specimens of his oratory
there, which have descended to us, are very clear, and devoid
of all ornament.
He died at Bath, on the 2nd of February, 1713, aged
sixty-nine years ; his body being brought and deposited, in
St. Mary's Chapel, York Minster, where a sumptuous mo-
nument, with a beautiful Latin inscription to his memory by
Dr. Smalridge, was erected over him by his executors. An
engraving of it is given in Drake's " Eboracum."
He was dark in complexion, and naturally choleric in
temperament, but this infirmity he almost eradicated by
a long habit of control which he had gained over all his
passions and frailties. It will never be disputed that Arch-
bishop Sharp was a man of real piety — far from avaricious ;
afiable to inferiors, kind to his clergy — especially those of
merit, and of great honesty of purpose.
His sermons, like those of Tillotson, still retain a high
distinction in the department of literature to which they
belong. Dr. Felton, in his '^ Dissertation on reading the
Classics," proposes them as a model for forming a pure style.
They are quite unomamented, but very few writers exceeded
him in that cardinal requisite of good composition — ^perspi-
cuity of expression. The sermons of Archbishop Sharps
however, lose much of that excellence which they possessed
when delivered by him, hs he was a perfect master of a
graceful and impressive delivery .
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392 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
Of his other works, I have seen a MS. account by htm
of English, Scotch, and other coins, which was published
in Mr. Ives's Select Papers. Another paper of his, entitled
" Observations on the Coinage of England," is published iu
the 35th number of the ^^Bibliotheca Topographica Briton-
nica,^^ He excelled in the knowledge of coins, and had
formed a collection equalled by few of his day.
He also collected, principally from Torre's MSS., a Pa-
rochial History of his Diocese, to which this work is indebted.
Torre's Digest of the Archbishops of York's Registers fell
into his hands, and were on his death given by his executors
to the dean and chapter of York ; and from the manner they
are kept, and made profit of, this gift must ever be considered
as a great loss to Yorkshire topography.
He had issue, fourteen children, only four of whom, two
sons and two daughters, survived him. fSee pedigree. J
ABRAHAM SHARP.
This distinguished mathematician was born in 1651, at
Little-Horton, where his ancestors, a race of substantial
yeomen, had resided for generations. The house in which
he first breathed, and where he resided for the greater part
of his life, and died, still remains, and forms part of Little-
Horton-hall. In the preceding pages of this volume, I have
given a wood engraving of the front of this interesting old
house, with the memorable observatory upon which Sharp,
in his latter years, gave his nights to study
" The fabric of the sphere,
*< The changeful moon, Uie circuit of the stnr,
" The golden zone* of Heaven.''
His father, John Sharp, held, like great numbers in Brad-
ford and the neighbourhood, puritan tenets, and zealously as-
sisted the Parliamentarians in the Civil Wars. Joseph Lister
was apprenticed to him, and frequently mentions the part his
master took in those commotions. Abraham, the second
son, received his education at Bradford School. The Sharps
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392 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
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ABRAHAM SHARP. 393
of Horton were proverbially a clever and talented family ;
and we may safely conjecture that Abraham made considerable
progress in scholastic learning while at this seminary. It
would now be a vain endeavour to trace the causes which
disposed his mind to the pursuit of mathematics ; but,
whether self-acquired or taught by some one whose name
has descended to oblivion, he had, when very young, made
great progress in the pure sciences.
On leaving school, he was articled to a merchant at Man-
chester, and while here he devoted all his leisure hours, and
probably more, to lines and (not sordid) numbers. This
application of his time ill suited with the requirements of
trade ; and^ with the consent of his master, he retreated
before the term of his articles had expired, to enjoy unin-
terruptedly his favourite science. He fixed upon Liverpool
for his residence, and for some time devoted himself wholly
to mathematical studies.
Here he became acquainted with a merchant from London,
and young Sharp, on finding that the celebrated astronomer,
Flamsteed, lodged in his house, obtained the situation of
bookkeeper to the merchant. While in this employment he
contracted an intimacy with Flamsteed, who, pleased with
the sober deportment and mathematical attainments of his
young friend, obtained for him a profitable ofiice in the dock-
yard of Chatham.
Flamsteed, however, soon discerned that the young York-*,
shire adventurer would be an acquisition at the Royal Obser-
vatory at Greenwich, recently erected, and took him as
assistant. He had at this early age, for he had now only
attained his twenty-third year, acquired, by some means or
other, great dexterity in the construction of mathematical and
other instrutments requiring mechanical skill and ingenuity
of no common order. He constructed and graduated most of
the instruments used at the Royal Observatory. The great
mural arch fixed at this place, was made by his own hands in
fourteen months. The celebrated civil engineer, Smeaton, an
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394 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
excellent authority on such a Hubject^ inasmuch as he was in
his earlier days the best astronomical instrument maker of
the time^ gave as his opinion that it was the best instrument
of its kind^ and that Sharp was the first who cut delicate
divisions on astronomical instruments with exactness. I am
curious to know by what steps this extraordinary ability had
been acquired by so young a man ; but it is now impossible
to inquire with success. Sharp was twenty-five years of age
when he constructed the mural arch, and Flamsteed thirty.
The latter ever spoke in terms of admiration of this instm-
ment. I have seen a fragment of Flamsteed's Diary, in which
Sharp is mentioned.
While at the Observatory, he assisted Flamsteed to " model
Heaven and calculate the stars." The celebrated catalogue,
published by the latter, of three thousand stars, with their
longitudes and magnitudes, their right ascensions and polai^
differences, with the variations while they change their longi-
tude by one degree — a mighty work — owes much to the laboors
of our countryman, who affords one instance more of genius
whose honours have been appropriated by other hands.
Being constitutionally weak, and of a thin habit of body,
the constant observation of the stars, heedless of sleep €n
the harmful damps of night, greatly impaired his health, and
early in life he retired to Little-Horton to recruit his debili-
tated constitution. By the deaths of his elder brother and
that gentleman's son, he obtained the family estate, worth
about £250 a year.
From Little-Horton he never again for any lengthened
period removed. When he had recoverd from the eflfects of
the toil at Greenwich, be built a square tower to his house,
and fitted it up as an observatory, with every description of
astronomical instruments. The telescopes he made use of
were of his own construction, and the lenses ground and
admirably adjusted with his own hand.
To every person intimately connected with Bradford, this
Tenerable relic, the ' lonely tower' where Sharp with midnight
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ABRAHAM SHARP. 395
lamp so oft ^ outwatched the Bear/ possesses peculiar interest.
I will not conceal that the sight of Sharp's Observatory
raises in me many powerful emotions, as the place where a
renowned Son of Science noted the ** pensile planets wheel
their circuit round the year," measured the eccentric cycles
of the comets, or '^ looked back on all the stars whose blended
light as with a milky belt invests the orient."
From the period our mathematician came to reside perma-
nently at Horton until his death, he lived the recluse life of
an anchorite, and he rarely held personal communication with
any one. Thoresby, and a minister or two of his own reli-
gious persuasion, sometimes visited him. Two gentlemen
of Bradford, the one a mathematician and the other an
apothecary,* were at favoured times allowed his conversation.
These gentlemen, when they went to visit him, rubbed a
stone against a prescribed part of the outside wall of the
house, and if he wished their company were admitted by him,
otherwise they returned disappointed.
This secluded and austere manner of life would, no doubt,
have rapidly hastened his death, had he not taken considerable
exercise in constructing mathematical and other instruments.
He had a workshop fitted up with a curious collection of tools,
most of them made with his own hands. Some years ago
these tools were dispersed by sale, but a cart load of them may
yet be collected. A curious lathe, constructed by him for
turning work in wood and brass, is yet partly remembered,
and preserved. In this workshop he employed all the time
unappropriated to sleep and the severe studies of mathematics
and astronomy.
After he had settled at Horton he still continued to assist
Flamsteed. The elaborate tables in the second volume of the
Historia Ccolestis were calculated by him ; and for this work
• I prexume this apotbecar>' was Mr. Swaine, as there was at the time a medical
genlleman of that nnme holding the same religious opinions and frequenting the
same place of worship as Sharp. There is a tradition that the mathematidBn's naoia
mhB Dawson.
3d
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396 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICRS.
he also prepared drawings of all the heavenly constellations,
which is alluded to in his monument in Bradford church.
These drawings were sent to Amsterdam, to be engraved by
an eminent artist ; and it is a proof of the care and excellent
handiwork of Sharp, that the origmals were superior to the
engravings in finish and elegance.
During his long residence at Horton, he maintained by
correspondence an intimacy with several of the most celebra*
ted mathematicians and astronomers of that eminent age —
Sir Isaac Newton, Drs. Halley and Wallis, Sir Jonas Moor,
Sherwin, Taylor, Hodgson, and a multitude of others. It
was part of the system of education prevalent in Sharp^a
younger days to learn youth short hand, in order that they
might record, for future benefit, the long-winded sermons
of the day. The letters of these celebrated men to Sharp
are yet I believe preserved by his relations ; but the answers,
being generally written in short hand, cannot be decipherecL
I have seen specimens of his short hand, and it seems formed
on a principle of his own. Being a man of unwearied per-
severance, and accounted the most accurate computer of his
day, he was the common resource of Newton, Flamsteed, Sir
Jonas Moor, Halley, and others, his scientific contemporaries,
in all descriptions of difficidt and laborious computations.
Genius bears, in more than one point, a strong resemblance
to folly; but eccentricity of conduct, a characteristic of both,
is oftener a legitimate sprout of the latter. Men gifted in
original trains of thought, endowed with super-eminent talent,
or employing for long periods their powers on subjects re-
quiring deep abstraction of mind, are, from their habits,
often careless to tread in the common track of life. In
these only can the deviation be tolerated. Our mathematician
was, like many of his deeply-poring tribe, extremely eccentric,
and the single state he continued in through life, tended to
increase his peculiarities of character.
The Sharps of Little-Horton gave the ground upon which
the old meeting-house in Chapel-lane is built. To that place
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ABRAHAM SHARP. 397
of worship he constantly resorted on the Sabbath. He was
very pious, charitable, and, among other devices for relieving
the needy, on his departure for the chapel filled his pockets
with halfpence, which he suffered to be taken out of his hand
held behind him, by the indigent persons who thronged the
road for the purpose of partaking of his charity. It has been
supposed that in this mode of dispensing relief, he had in
mind Christ's precept — " When thou doest alms, let not thy
left hand know what thy right hand doeth." If this were
so, he wonderfully overlooked the admonition contained in
the same verse — " not to be seen of men when giving alms,"
for it is evident that curiosity would attract many to behold
a noted and aged man give his pence in such an odd manner.
There is, however, no doubt of his benevolent intentions.
He had a liberal estate, and his charity to the poor of his
neighbourhood was amply displayed.
The room he had fitted up for his study still remains, and
keeps much of its primitive appearance. An old oak table,
in which cavities, worn by the long and incessant rubbing of
his elbows with writing, appear, is yet part of its furniture.
He had several rooms in the house appropriated to his own
use, and -into which his servants were not permitted to enter.
He was very abstemious, and seldom took his meals regularly.
In order that his reveries and calculations might not be
disconcerted and impeded, he had a square hole, which is
yet visible, cut in the wainscot or partition between his
study and an adjoining room, and before this hole he con-
trived a sliding board, by which the servant could put his
victuals into the room without making any noise or being
perceived : as he had opportunity he visited the spot for
refreshment. When engaged on abstruse subjects, it fre-
quently happened that breakfast, dinner, and supper remained
together untouched by him. Once, it is related, he was so
absorbed in the solution of a profound mathematical problem,
that he neglected his meals for an alarming long period, and
his friends were induceil, contrary to his prohibitions, to
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398 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
break in, on the third day, upon his reverie. He complaineJ,
with his accustomed mildness, that they had disarranged a
series of investigations which it had cost him three days to
form, and that he would have to begin the work nearly anew.
Mathematicians, like the elder chemists in pursuit of the
philosopher's stone, have often run after shadows, and idly
endeavoured to lay hold on that which in the very nature of
things cannot be grasped by man. llie quadrature of the
circle, the mock and sttdti aurum of mathematics, en-
gaged largely the attention of Sharp, and he greatly dis-
tinguished himself on the problem. I will rapidly trace the
circumstances which led him to the investigation. Archi>
medes, by an excellent process, was the first that showed
with any degree of accuracy the relation between the cir-
cumference and diameter of a circle, viz., that if the latter
were considered as unity, the former would be about Syg.
The principles laid down by the Glory of Syracuse, were
sufficient to carry the approximation to any degree of
nearness ; but with the good sense of the ancient geome-
tricians, he appears to have aimed at nothing more in this
unsolvable problem, than a simple rule sufficient for the
ordinary purposes of life. Shortly before the time of Sharp,
the problem of ' squaring the circle' attracted considerable
attention from the mathematicians of Europe; and Van
Cuelen, a plodding Dutchmam, by following out Archimedes*
plan, the inscription of polygons in a circle, and describing
others of an equal number of sides on the outer periphery,
deduced the quadrature of the circle to thirty-six places
of decimals. This calculation, which required a labour and
attention wholly unimaginable by those not acquainted with
the subject, drew upon the Dutchman the eyes of all Europe,
and wrote indelibly his name in the history of mathematics,
though known for little or nothing besides this immense
computation. He had (after the example of Archimedes)
the process inscribed upon his tomb.
While this problem engrossed universal attention, and the
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ABRAHAM SHARP. 399
fkme of Van Cuelen continued fresh^ Sharp^ in 1699, undertook
for his amtisement the quadrature of the circle ; and surely
no man was, from his habits, abler, had the problem come
within the scope of possibility to accomplish. He carried
the calculation to double that of Van Cuelen ; and by means
of two infinite series, (a formula of Newton or Gregory,)
deduced the quadrature to seventy-two places,* as may be
seen in Sherwin's Tables of Logarithms. This mathematical
exploit will alone render his name familiar to all future time.
It is singular that two natives of the adjoining parishes of
Halifax and Bradford, should have been the great improvers
and illustrators of the then newly-propounded doctrine of
logarithms. Briggs and Sharp are mentioned in conjunction
by Sherwin, a contemporary, in his Tables of Logarithms,
which I have now before me^ as having done much in perfect-
ing that branch of mathematics. In this treatise also may
be seen Sharp's ingenious improvements in the construction
of logarithms, and of natural sines, tangents, and secants.
His labours in the logarithmical department are also honour-
ably mentioned by Dr. Hutton, in his Mathematical Tables,
as being great and meritorious. The fifth table in that work,
of the logarithms of all numbers to one hundred, and of
all prime numbers to one thousand one hundred, each to
sixty-one places of decimals, was calculated by our mathema-
tician. Dr. Hutton adds, that he was ^one of the most
accurate and indefatigable computers that ever existed,^
I know of no other work that he published, except his
Geometry Improved, which he printed without his name,
and signed ' A. S. Philomath.' The mathematician, says Dr.
Hutton, an able judge, meets with something extraordinary in
Sharp's elaborate treatise of Geometry Improved : containing
a large and accurate table of segments of circles, and their
* Since Sharp's time, a foreign officer, wboM name 1 forget, has carried the
quadrature of the drde, by one of Euler's formulas, to 140 places of dccimalfi.
Thl* compiiler might truly say, * Elithcrto shalt thou go but no farther.'
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400
BIG^GRAPHICAL NOTICES.
various uses in the solution of several difficult [problems^
with compendious tables for finding U true proportional part,
and their use exemplified in making logarithms, or their
natural numbers. In this work is also a concise treatise
of Polyedra, or solid bodies of many bases, both of the
regular ones and others; to which are added twelve new
ones, with various methods of proving them, and their
exact dimensions in lines and numbers. The work is illus-
trated with a number of copper-plates, neatly engraved with
his own hands. I have heard this production of Sharp's
spoken of very highly. There is now extant a fragment in
some portion of mathematics, if I remember right, tri-
gonometry, in Sharp^s handwriting. As an instance of the
assiduity and unwearied attention of Sharp, it may be men-
tioned, that there yet remains a meteorological journal, or
diary,* extending over several years ; and it shews that he
was in the habit of making and noting the observations
several times a day. The diary is in his small and beaatifli]
penmanship.
It is greatly to be regretted that Sharp devoted so much
of his time and energies to the futile labours of ' squaring
the circle,' constructing logarithms to sixty-one places of
decimals, and making long and laborious calculations for other
mathematicians ; for it cannot be doubted that had he apfdied
his clear head, great powers of abstraction, and wonderful
habit of patient perseverance, (three powerful auxiliaries
to discoveries in the abstract sciences,) with that determina-
tion that he did to those computations, he had made important
accessions to our mathematical knowledge, and placed his
fame upon a broad and adamantine basis.
The long life of Sharp proves that the severe study of
• BoU) Uieae MSS. are in the (XMKssion of Samuel IlaUstone, Esquire. I nay
add, tiiat in Little- (lorton Hall are yet several curious baiomeleis fixed to tbe
wainscot, <lte., and made by Uie iiand of Sharp. The lathe before-roentioiied 15, I
understand, in the possenion of the Hex, Godfrey Wright, and one of the telrxupe*
made by Sharp f^ In the Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Sbdety.
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JOHN FAWCETT, D.U. 401
mathematics^ even over the ' sickly taper', when accompanied
by temperate habits and due exercise, has no tendency to
exhaust speedily the constitution. He lived (like Newton)
to a patriarchal age — ^attaining ninety -one years. He was of
middle stature, of spare body, and constitutionally weak.
For three or four years before his death he became very
infirm and feeble. He died on the 18th of July, 1742, and
was interred in Bradford church with great solemnity : crowds
of people followed him to the grave, and a funeral oration
was pronounced on the occasion. A mural monument to his
memory, with a chaste Latin inscription, printed in the larger
copies of this work, adorns the chancel.
JOHN FAWCETT, D.D.,
Stands in the list of those persons who from humble birth,
and notwithstanding the most adverse circumstances, raised
themselves by dint of native energy and genius to high dis-
tinction in the learned and literary walks of life. On this
account a more extended notice of him will be given. He
was born at Lidget-green, the sixth of January, 1739, (O.S.)
His father, Stephen Fawcett, a farmer, died before the son
reached twelve years of age, leaving a widow and a nume-
rous progeny of small children.
At the age of thirteen years his mother put him as an
apprentice to, I believe, a staymaker in Bradford, for the
period of six years. Like most men who have gained any
great celebrity in letters, young Fawcett, from his earliest
youth, betrayed a fondness of books, and read with avidity
such as fell in his way. The experience of all ages teaches,
and too often in lessons of misery, that the love of literature,
when carried to any great extent, has an almost irresistible
tendency to abstract the mind from the irksome trades and
occupations of life ; and that strict attention to business is
seldom or ever compatible with the ardent pursuit of literary
pleasures or learned researches ; of this fact Fawcett's master
and mistress seem Qike those of Gifford) to have been fully
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4U2 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICCS.
aware^ and discouraged his literary taste by every means in
their power. Our young scholar, however, appeared to know
the full force of Horace's remark —
" The yootti who hopes the Olympic prize to gnin,
<' AU aits must tiy, and mery toil sustain.*' Fronds.
Although engaged in his trade from six in the morning
till the late and unconscionable hour of eight at night,
yet from the remaining ten hours he contrived, with a
determination which no ordinary obstacle could abate, to steal
several hours for study. He had a small lodging-room for his
own use, and his master and mistress, according to the
good custom of the times, went to rest early. Fawcett, to
avoid suspicion, apparently retired to bed at the same time ;
but placing his lighted candle under an earthen chamber
vessel till he knew that the family were asleep, he then
commenced the labours of study. After the lengthened toil
of the day, the long neglected claims of sleep became im-
portunate, and, like Aristotle, he had recourse to various
methods to cheat Nature in one of her necessary dues.
It maybe presumed, that in the course of years, such a strict
and closely followed up plan of study was eminently success-
ful. He became a good linguist, and laid the foundation of the
extensive biblical knowledge for which he was in after years
so greatly distinguished. It is recorded, that even between
the early years of twelve and fourteen, he had read the sacred
volume several times over. In his classical studies he re-
ceived great assistance from the Rev. Mr. Butler, master of
the Bradford Grammar School. I have no means of know-
ing whether these aids were given in the stolen intervals of
Fawcett's apprenticeship or after the expiration of it. It is
highly honourable to the memory of a long-forgotten man, that
he rendered this literary assistance, and lent Fawcett books,
without any chance of receiving pecuniary compensation, but
solely from the wish to serve a clever and deserving young
scholar ; and it is a sufficient indication that Fawcett, in hia
low circumstances, dcsen*ed this attention.
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JOHN FAWCETT, D.D. 403
They were of dissimilar religious opinions, which so often
breed unfriendly offices and eat up the charities of life.
The celebrated Whitfield visited Bradford when Fawcett
was about sixteen, and preached to about ten thousand persons
at the Bowling-green. The great and commanding eloquence
of Whitfield must ever be admitted ; and far be it from me to
commend his doctrines, when I say that he was the very
Demosthenes of pulpit eloquence. The effect of Whitfield's
preaching made impressions on Fawcett, as it did on hun-
dreds of others in Bradford, which death only effiiced.
At the age of nineteen, he offered himself to the Baptists
assembling in the Cockpit, under the ministry of old Crabtree,
as a member, and continued in fellowship with them for five
years.
At the end of this period he presided as pastor over a body
of Baptists assembling at Wainsgate, in the parish of Halifax.
He spent his life afterwards in the labours of his pastorate,
and in scholastic duties and study.
He established an academy at Ewood-hall, which attained
considerable celebrity, and brought him a handsome com-
petence. Although he had offers of advancement in life he
refused them, and remained with the small society he had
coUected at Hebden-bridge on leaving his first charge at
Wainsgate.
The prostituted American diplomas have been conferred
with such a liberal undiscriminating hand upon unworthy
subjects, so far as respects learning, (of which academical
degrees are intended to be the true badge,) that they have
been looked upon with just contempt, and even been refused
by many persons of distinguished talent, as carrying no
honour. In the year 1811, the fame of Fawcett, as a scholar
and biblical critic, had reached the ear of a transatlantic
university, and the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him.
It may be observed, that at least he was as deserving of such
an honour as most of those perisons on whom it has been
bestowed.
3e
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404 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
He died on the 25th of July, 1817, in the seventy-seventh
year of his age. His personal character may be summed up
in a few words : — he was a plain Yorkshireman, of great ho-
nesty of purpose, and in dress and carriage altogether devoid
of the aiFectation and deceit of polite modes and practices.
He was a voluminous author, and printed himself most of
his own works. I may be allowed first to speak of his Hymn
to Spring, " Lo the bright the rosy morning," which has
gained considerable attention and circulation by being inclu-
ded in the ' Readers,* &c. It was one of my very earliest
favorites ; and while I pen this sentence, the thought of it
brings to my mind many humble but to me pleasing associa-
tions, which a long distance of time had rendered faint and
obscure. I may, therefore, be prejudiced on its side, but
my early judgment of its excellence has not been altered
in riper years ; and I have no hesitation in avowing that had
Fawcett written a few more such pieces, he had been ranked
among our poets. Though he wrote much in verse, the rest
I have seen is comparatively worthless. Of his prose com-
positions, though they have in some quarters been highly
eulogized, I confess that, apart from the subject, I am no
admirer of them. They are not remarkable for either strength,
beauty or novelty of thought, elegance, or richness of lan-
guage. His Essay on Anger, which is among the best of
his prose compositions, certainly contains many very sen-
sible and even shrewd remarks, conveyed in an unostentatious
and clear style. But of all his works, the elaborate Com-
mentary on the Bible, undertaken by him on the verge of
the grave, is the most remarkable. From a long habit of
study and comparison of the Scriptures, he was eminently
fitted to expound them ; and he had sufficient learning to
illustrate, according to sound critical principles, the dark
and intricate passages. Fawcett's Commentary is a text-
book among Christians of all denominations, but particularly
those of his own persuasion.
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 405
Before the biographical portion of this work is closed^
it may be mentioned that David Clarkson, (the young
man, I believe, who had a narrow escape at the siege
of Bradford, as mentioned by Joseph Lister,) an eminent
divine, was born here in 1622. Abraham Sharp's mother
was sister to him. He was educated at Clare-hall, Cam-
bridge, and became fellow of it. Here he had Archbishop
Tillotson for a pupil. He held the living of Mortlake, and
was dispossessed of it in 1662 for nonconformity. He then
officiated to an Independent congregation in London, and
died in 1686. He was the author of several controversial
pieces^ and of a volume of sermons printed in folio after his
death, which are yet considered of some note. Calamy men-
tions him.
A gentleman born in this parish was thought by Dr. Whi-
taker deserving of a niche in the ' Loidis.' This was Joseph
Hulme, M.D., who was bom in the village of Little-Horton,
the second son of Samuel Hulme, a dissenting minister,
(I believe at the old Presbyterian chapel here,) and the friend
of Dr. Doddridge, under whom Joseph was educated for the
ministry. Changing his views, he was placed as a medical
pupil with Dr. Nettleton. He afterwards went to the Uni-
versity of Leyden, where, in 1743, he took the degree of
M.D., and returned to Halifax and succeeded his old master.
He died there February 2nd, 1806, in the ninety-second year
of his age. He was a learned and skilful physician and an
amiable man.
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STATISTICS.
I HAVE purposely reserved for this section two or three tables
which could not appropriately be included in the preceding
pages, but which seemed to contain information that would
be acceptable to several readers. Under this head may also
be conveniently included a few numerical statements relative
to the parish^ which have not before been noticed.
The parish of Bradford is, from its south-eastern extremity
to its western limits on the almost untracked moors between
Yorkshire and Lancashire, about sixteen miles in length,
varies from five to nine miles in breadth, and contains 33,373
acres of land. Its thirteen townships contain respectively
the following territorial quantities : —
Arable. pMtare. Wood. W«t«r,Ac. Total.
Allerton township. .
554 .
. 1108 ..
38
. . 173
. . 1873
Bowling do. . .
34 .
. 1173 . .
31
.. 200
. . 1438
Bradford do. . .
34 .
. 1046 ..
18
. . 100
.. 1198
Clayton do. . .
140 .
. 1456 . .
4
. . —
.. 1600
Eccleshill do. . .
— .
• " • ■
—
. . —
.. 1070
Haworth chapelry. .
— .
— • .
—
. . —
..10540
Heaton township . .
170 .
. 523 ..
50
. . —
. . 743
Horton chapelry . .
310 .
. 1505 . .
3
.. 6
.. 1824
Manningham to?m.
676 .
. 572 . .
—
. . —
. . 1248
North Bierley do. .
276 .
. 2250 ..
238
.. 500
. . 3264
Shipley chapelry . .
346 .
. 694 . .
247
.. 43
.. 1330
Thornton do.
1148 .
. 3444 ..
46
, . —
. . 4638
Wilsden do.
513 .
. 1500 ..
294
.. 300
.. 2607
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STATISTICS.
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408
STATISTICS.
Table deduced from the Returns mode to Parliament, pur^uaia
to 55 Geo. 111.
Townships.
Bradford
Bowling .
Horton . .
Manningham
Townships.
E«timat«
of the
Annual
Value of
r«al
Property.
£.
76773
9548
8348
3942
Money raised for
Poor- Rates in
1813
£.
3186
889
1586
782
1814
£.
3465
778
1374
646
1815
£.
3228
681
1254
575
Monej espeikled in
Relief of the Poor io
1813
2572
707
1262
588
1814
£.
2681
677
1035
460
18U|
2791'
531 1
1042 I
519 1
Bradford....
Bowling ....
Horton
Manningham :
Number of Persons
permanently relieved in
1813 1814
200 I 187
(57 53
104
3S
100
35
1815
198
49
102
31
Number of Ptenoos ■
in Workhouse in
1813
45
9
24
1814
49
5
22
1815
49
2
lb
Townsftiips.
Bradford. .. .
Bowling • . . •
Horton
Manningham
Average Number
of Members of
Friendly Societies
for the 3 }ean.
Average annual amouist of
Charitable Donations under cue of
Parochial Ofiioen.
1581
120
569
620
For Parochial
Purposes.
£.
300
PoroUier
£. #. I/.
35 O
2 10
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STATISTICS.
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410
STATISTICS.
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STATISTICS.
411
Summary of the Population Returns for those Townships of the
Parish not included in the Borough.
TowmUpf.
1801
1811
1821
1831
AUerton
Clayton
Eccleshill
Heaton
Haworth
North Bierley . .
Shiploy
Thornton
Wilsden
809
2040
1351
951
3164
3820
1008
2474
913
1003
2469
1608
1088
3971
4766
1214
3016
1121
1488
3609
2176
1217
4668
6070
1606
4100
1711
1733
4459
2570
1452
5835
7254
1926
5968
2252
Abstract of
Populal
ion Returns for 1841.
Townships.
Hoiues.
Inhabited.
Uninha-
bited.
Bidkliner.
Males.
Female*.
Total.
Bradford • • • •
6585
656
202
16812
17748
34560
Bowling ••••
1719
199
14
4284
4634
8918
Horton • • • .
3419
313
72
8628
8990
17618
Manningham .
1066
74
19
2759
2863
5622
Alierton •••.
342
40
18
962
952
1914
Clayton* ....
854
203
. •
21 9S
2149
4347
Eccleshill • .
614
48
. •
1525
1483
3008
Hawortht ..
• .
. .
. .
. *
6301
Heaton ....
306
22
1
780
793
1573
North Bierley
1760
97
8
4777
4734
9511
Shipley ....
458
72
10
1193
1220
2413
Thornton..^.
1285
203
9
3474
3314
6788
Wilsden ....
501
79
5
1337
1347
2684
• Clayton is the only place in the parish in which there has been a decrease linoe 1 831 .
t I have not the details for Haworth.
3 P
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412
STATISTICS.
Tho following Tabular Statemeuty drawD from one for Bradford
Union prepared by order of the Poor-law Commisdonersy shews the
state of parochial affairs here immediately preceding the introduction
of the New Poor-law.
Average
Asadssment
Amount of Poor-nto.
Ptuipeis Bt the 1
doMoflSSe. 1
Townships.
Laod.
HOUM.
}834
1835
1836
lo^loor.
Out-door.
£.
£.
£.
£.
£.
Bradford. ••
3087
34901
3780
3016
2911
29
312
Allerton . . .
1443
300
266
244
245
2
67
Bowling . . .
1377
1766
531
470
428
4
71
Clayton...,
1075
1070
436
408
433
2
84
Heaton ....
1674
149
259
194
190
• •
38
Horton • . . .
1715
1859
1099
1029
977
. .
176
Manningham
1460
1220
343
366
821
a .
29
N. Bierley. .
3053
2213
916
883
840
11
142
Shipley....
871
875
217
190
152
• .
42
Thornton . •
1969
2044
704
650
685
4
109
VVilsden . . .
• .
• •
286
267
243
1
43 1
I have no statements for Haworth, not being in the Union.
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CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.
Those eirore in orthography which arise from the press, and syntacUcal mislalies, I
do not intend to point out or correct I trust that they are not numerous, and will
easily be overlooked.
Pages 1 et «y.— Since writing that part respecting the derivation of * Bradford,'
where I have confessed that the reasons for deducing the former part of the name
from ' broad' are inconclusive, 1 have received some observations on the subject from
an eminent antiquarian etymologist. He derives * Brad' from some one of the fol-
lowing terms :— Gaelic Braid, BraidA, or Brath, aU having reference to a hill or
acclivity. In the Islandic Brad, Swedish Braft, and several other slmUar words
found in the northern languages, denote accUvities. If the former part of the name
of our town came from any of these, or from the same root, then we may assign to
' Bradford' the probable signification of the HiU Ford, or ford at the bottom of the
hill ; and in this case tiie name of the place would most likely be given before the
setUement of the Saxons here. I leave my readers to accept this derivation or not ;
it is as probable a one as has been offered, and accords with the locaUty of the an-
cient ford. It also agrees in the sense, with the derivation of Brae-ford hinted at
by Dr. Whitaker, and removes the objection to it us to the spelUng and pronunciation.
Page 2.— The next mention of Bradford that I have seen after that In Doomsday
Book U in 1246, and not ia 1250-5 1, For rectification of tills error, see p. 48.
Page 15.— There is now residing in Pit-lane, Bradford, a widow named Mercy
Drake, who is steted to be 101 years of age. Her maiden name was Ackroyd, and
she states she was baptized at Coley chapel.
Pages 36 and 37.— When tiiese were written I was not aware tiiat Wilsden was
mentioned in Doomsday Record, as it was omitted in tiie copy I bad taken.
Page 43.— In the note to this page I have misconceived the meaning of Dr. Whi-
taker, and also of BooUiroyd, who copied from him ; since writing it 1 have referred
to Burton, and find that the confirmations to Nostel Priory were made by Robert de
Lacy and Pope Alexander the thlid, at different times. From the manner in which
ihe list of tiiese confirmations is printed in juxta-position in Uie History of Whalley,
I was led into tiie error. My beUef, however, tiiat Robert de Lacy never enjoyed
his forfeited estate, is not abated, but strengtiiened by further Investigations.
Page 54.— For < Elizabeth' read < James.'
Page 50.— For ' Andley' read * Audley.'
Page 66.— The remark, that in 1310 tiiere was no chapel as far as I could find
in all Uie parish, was made before 1 had consulted tiie Archiepiscopal Registers at
York, where I found that there was a chai)el at Haworth before 1310.
Page 180.— The whole of the historical portion of tiiis volume was printed many
montiis before Uie late election (June 1841) was even contemplated. In order to
complete my work in tiiis respect, it may not be irrelevant to give a brief account of
the late contest for the representation of the borough. Long before tiie election, a
requisition signed by upwards of 600 electors had been presented to Mr. Hardy,
desiring him again to come forwanl as a candidate for the representation of Bradford.
On the dissolution of parliament he responded to the call. E. C. Lister, Esq., retired ;
and his son WUliam, and Uio former member, WiUiam Busfelld, Esq., offered
themselves as candidates In the Whig interest, and supporters of the ministerial mea-
sures respecting Uie duties on com, sugar, and timber. A Chartist candidate was
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414 CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.
also'brougbt forward. On Tuesday, the 20tb of June, the nomination day, Mr.
Hardy was met at Low- moor by a huge procession of people in carriages, on bone-
baclc, and on foot, with bands of music and numbers of flags, to escort him to the
hustings at the Court-bouse. The Whig candidates were also accompanied to the
hustings by a large and splendid procession. John Crofls, Esq., the Retuming-oflSceTv
opened the proceedings. The Whigs occupied the right of the hustings, the Chartists
the centre, and the Conservatives the left. Mr. Busfeild was nominated by Mr.
George Oxley and seconded by Mr. Robert Milligan ; Mr. Hardy by Matthew Thomp-
son, Esq., seconded by Mr. Cowling Acktoyd ; Mr. Lister by Mr. Thomas Hill,
seconded by Mr. George Hanson. The Chartist candidate was then nominated.
The show of hands was declared in favour of Mr. Hardy and the Chartist ; the latter
retired from the contest. A poU was demanded, which commenced nest day in five
booths. The Whig candidates took the lead, but were passed early in the fore-
noon ; and at the close of the poll the numbers were, Hardy 6 12,«— Lister 540, —
Busfeild 536. The Retuming-olBcer appeared on the steps in front of the Piece-
boll (the Court-house being occupied with the sessions) on the Thursday, and
declared the number of votes as above, and that Mr. Hardy and Mr. Lister were
duly elected, and both of them addressed the multitude. The whole of the election
pasted off peaceably, althoggb more money was never spent, nor greater display seen
at a former election here.
On account of the sudden death of Mr. Lister, (who was buried on the very day of
the meeting of Parliament,) another election is at hand. The candidates are William
Busfeild, Esq., of Upwood, on the Whig, and William Wilberforoe, Esq., (son of
Wilberforce the Philanthropist,) on the Tory side. Before the election however
takes place, this work will be printed off.
Page 207.— The Parish Church was refronted in 1832. On taking down the old
wall, fragments of an ancient cron and of sculptured stones were found built in it, and
had vei7 probably been remnants of the previous Norman church. This fact supports
the supposition that it stood on or about the same site as the present one.
Page 208. — At this page I have given an extract from the Vestiy-book of 1689,
and on perusing it I think it may lead to an erroneous belief as to the proportions of
church-rate anciently paid by some of the townships in the parish. I therefore give
from the Vestrj'-book of that 3'ear, the proportions in which a church-rate of £40
was raised, after giving credit for £1 lis. paid over by the former churchwardens. —
"Haworth £8, Bradford £10 \3t. 4(/., Thornton £2 \6s, Ud., Heaton-cum-
<' Clayton £2 16j. I1</., Allerton^m-Wilsden £3 16s. Ud., Great and Little
<'Horton £2 16#. Ud., Wibsey and Bierley £2 16#. Ud., Shipley £1 S#. 5d.»
<* Manningham £2 16f. Ud., Boiling £1 8#. bd., EccleshiU £1 8#. bd.**
Page 214.— For • Uray's' read ' Urry's.*
Page 222.— For * Gascoigne' read * Gaskin.'
Page 298.— For * 1688' read « 1678.'
Page 3l8.~It was not Dr. Richardson who built Blerley Chapel, but his son and
successor, Richard Richardson, Esq. The latter gentleman also constructed the
Dniidical Temple, dec., and not his brother William, as stated at this page. Ac-
cording to WUson^s MSS. Bierley Hall was built in 1636, by the father of Dr. Rk^-
ardson.
It may be well to inform the curious portion of my readers, that the portrait of
Archbishop Sharp is taken from the same plate as that osed Ui Newcomers llle uf
him. The portrait of Abraham Sharp was copied from a large and scarce engraving
of him by Virtue, executed in 1744,— immediately oAer Sharp's death.
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